I always loved Sunday dinners at Grandma's and now that I don't live at home (or even remotely near home) I have to make my own version of Sunday dinner (and breakfast... and lunch...). So today is a great day for a full-out Sunday dinner because it's rainy and we worked hard on the house yesterday. So last night I told hubby I'd make breakfast tomorrow morning.
So I made a frittata this morning. So delish and so easy to make. I took four sausages and par cooked them in a skillet (with sides). Meaning, cook them almost all the way, but not quite. When they're browned and almost there, remove them and set them aside to cool. Then I sauted some broccoli in a little olive oil and then added some red pepper. When that's about done, add the sausage back in & season it. While that's cooking, in a bowl whisk 8 eggs (& season). When your eggs are whisked, put some shredded cheese (I used sharp cheddar) on the broccoli/pepper/sausage mixture then pour the eggs on top of everything. Add some more cheese on top for good luck :) Then swirl the pan so there's eggs on all sides and let it be. When very little egg jiggles on top, pop it in the oven under the broiler. Leave it there for a while. It varies depending on your broiler. When it's done cooking, let it sit to cool a bit, cut up like a pie and enjoy! It's a colorful delicious meal.
Lunch for us today is snacky stuff because dinner tonight (early, of course) is Boeuf a la Bourguignonne. It's delicious and this time I'm making Julia Childs recipe. woot woot :) I'll update once it's made (and I'll include her recipe). But it takes 3 hours to cook in the oven, so you have to start early (in fact I'm a little behind already... oops...) So wait and see.... and bon appetit!
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Monday, August 9, 2010
Weekend at the Lake
So I'm not cooking tonight because we went away this weekend, came back yesterday night and painted baseboards then cut and installed those baseboards, and then this morning, carpet was put in the guest rooms and the upstairs hallway. So I am tired, there's nothing in the house, and I had to play cat wrangler while the carpet guys installed our beautiful carpet. Check out facebook for pictures - it's beautiful.
But, I do have a wonderful Mother-in-Law dish to share. My mom-in-law makes Paula Dean look like a home cook. She's really quite brilliant. And she made this great appetizer last weekend that I decided to try and replicate this weekend for our friends. Happily, it turned out really well and our friends all loved it! It's pretty simple, but could be more complex depending on how you want to budget your time and ingredients. The appetizer is a cold dip, very festive for the Christmas season if you're interested, and quite delicious.
So it's a layered dip: white, green, white, red, white. My mother-in-law did it in a bowl with plastic wrap on the bottom so she could invert it on a plate. I wasn't feeling so ambitious. So I took two of my corning ware leftover dishes and made it in those plus a pyrex leftover dish. (I made a lot, there were about 20 people this weekend). So the white is a mixture of goat cheese and cream cheese. To make the amount that I did, I used two blocks of Philly Cream Cheese (reduced fat... save a couple calories) and two 4 oz. logs of plain goat cheese (mine had some herbs on the crust of the log to give a nice speckled look on my white). I mixed them by hand using the back of a spoon, which was fine, but I suppose you could use a mixer. Then the green is pesto. You can buy it, or you can make your own (like I did a couple days ago). I couldn't tell you how much I used, but Classico makes a pesto in a small container and I can't imagine it would be much more than 1 of those. And the red is sun-dried tomatoes. I bought an 11.7 can of sun-dried tomatoes and put them in my mini food processor to give them the same consistency of the pesto (and I put in the oil and it was just fine). I didn't use it all, but save the rest and I bet you'll use it at some point - even if only with your leftover pesto on crackers or something.
Then, obviously, you just layer them together. The goat/cream-cheese mixture is easy to layer on the bottom and wicked hard to layer on top of the pesto & sun-dried tomatoes. The pesto & tomatoes aren't solid-solid so it's hard to use a spoon to layer the cheese mixture. I wound up using my hands and molded the cheese like play dough in order to get it to cover the other layers. However you want to do it, though, works for me. It was a delicious dip and when paired with those flatbread crackers or the wheat thin crunchables? So good. Nice flavors, very rich and creamy, you'll love it! And thanks to mother-in-law for a delicious (easy!) appetizer!
Bon Appetit!
But, I do have a wonderful Mother-in-Law dish to share. My mom-in-law makes Paula Dean look like a home cook. She's really quite brilliant. And she made this great appetizer last weekend that I decided to try and replicate this weekend for our friends. Happily, it turned out really well and our friends all loved it! It's pretty simple, but could be more complex depending on how you want to budget your time and ingredients. The appetizer is a cold dip, very festive for the Christmas season if you're interested, and quite delicious.
So it's a layered dip: white, green, white, red, white. My mother-in-law did it in a bowl with plastic wrap on the bottom so she could invert it on a plate. I wasn't feeling so ambitious. So I took two of my corning ware leftover dishes and made it in those plus a pyrex leftover dish. (I made a lot, there were about 20 people this weekend). So the white is a mixture of goat cheese and cream cheese. To make the amount that I did, I used two blocks of Philly Cream Cheese (reduced fat... save a couple calories) and two 4 oz. logs of plain goat cheese (mine had some herbs on the crust of the log to give a nice speckled look on my white). I mixed them by hand using the back of a spoon, which was fine, but I suppose you could use a mixer. Then the green is pesto. You can buy it, or you can make your own (like I did a couple days ago). I couldn't tell you how much I used, but Classico makes a pesto in a small container and I can't imagine it would be much more than 1 of those. And the red is sun-dried tomatoes. I bought an 11.7 can of sun-dried tomatoes and put them in my mini food processor to give them the same consistency of the pesto (and I put in the oil and it was just fine). I didn't use it all, but save the rest and I bet you'll use it at some point - even if only with your leftover pesto on crackers or something.
Then, obviously, you just layer them together. The goat/cream-cheese mixture is easy to layer on the bottom and wicked hard to layer on top of the pesto & sun-dried tomatoes. The pesto & tomatoes aren't solid-solid so it's hard to use a spoon to layer the cheese mixture. I wound up using my hands and molded the cheese like play dough in order to get it to cover the other layers. However you want to do it, though, works for me. It was a delicious dip and when paired with those flatbread crackers or the wheat thin crunchables? So good. Nice flavors, very rich and creamy, you'll love it! And thanks to mother-in-law for a delicious (easy!) appetizer!
Bon Appetit!
Friday, August 6, 2010
Betty Crocker, you've met your match.
Yesterday I was Betty Crocker and June Cleaver combined. It was amazing(ly frightening). We're going away tomorrow to visit some friends at their lake house and were asked to bring an appetizer or dessert to share. Well, since I spend my summers at home pretending to be a stay-at-home wifey, I decided I could do both an appetizer and dessert because I know other people have to work every day. Well, I might have gotten carried away... We had so much zucchini, I knew I wanted to make my Nana's Chocolate Zucchini Cake and I had a great appetizer recipe from my mother-in-law. Then, I thought about breakfast, and decided to make some muffins too. So, yesterday, I made:
Chocolate Zucchini Cake
Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes
Banana Nut Muffins
Blueberry Muffins
Cinnamon Crumble Muffins
plus... a delicious comfort food dinner.
I used all our new toys from the wedding and watched 6 hours of HGTV. tee hee. I shredded zucchini in our Cuisinart (so awesome), mixed cake in our KitchenAid mixer, washed dishes in our rolling dishwasher, and baked everything in our 1972 oven. It was a good day. But the recipe I want to share right now is my Nana's Zucchini Cake. Nana is my great-grandmother and what I remember of her is a mixture of real memories and stories. My Nana loved my sister and I, probably because we were awesome, but more practically because we were the first great-grandchildren. But anyways, Nana was a great cook and loved my mama because she tried everything Nana put in front of her. My mom even ate raisins, which she HATES.
Anyways, Chocolate Zucchini Cake is a great way to get kids to eat zucchini AND it makes the moistest cake ever. This recipe makes one 9x13 cake or about 36-40 cupcakes. Yesterday, I made three batches. oy. I hope our friends are hungry this weekend... hubby even took a bunch to work today, haha.
Ok, I'm copying the entire recipe just as Nana wrote it, but I'll do some explaining and substitutes for people like me who had no clue what Oleo was.
325 degree oven for 45 minutes (about 30 minutes for the cupcakes)
Ingredients:
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup oleo
1/2 cup oil
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking soda
4 tbs cocoa
1/2 cup chocolate chips
3 zucchinis, 6 in. long, grated
Directions:
Cream sugar, oleo, eggs, oil, mix well, measure dry ingredients, add to creamed ingredients, add zucchini, mix well, grease 9x13 pan, add batter and pour chips on top & bake.
So... as you can tell, Nana liked to leave some stuff out. First, I'll tackle the ingredients. Oleo, come to find out, is a shortening like lard. I just used butter and it worked out just fine. 1/2 cup of butter is a full stick, let it warm up on the counter for a bit before using it to let it cream easier. Buttermilk - I don't know about you, but I don't have buttermilk in my fridge and, as luck would have it, my Food Network Magazine came in the mail and Paula Dean gave us a substitute for buttermilk! For 1 cup of buttermilk (I did this and just poured half of it in for each batch), pour in a tbsp of white vinegar (or lemon juice) then fill up to the 1 cup line with milk. It's awesome - works perfectly. Oh, and the cocoa. I didn't have any cocoa in my pantry but I did have baking squares. One baking square equals 3 tbsp of cocoa. So make do. Be sure to melt it a bit though, before adding it to the batter. And be careful when you melt it so as not to burn the chocolate...
But, this is so delicious. It's one of my faves and, thanks to my Grandma, I now have all of my Nana's recipes in one fantastic book. So look for more of Nana's recipes later, but enjoy this one for now! I'll let you know how our friends enjoy my baking efforts hahaha
Bon Appetit!!
Chocolate Zucchini Cake
Chocolate Zucchini Cupcakes
Banana Nut Muffins
Blueberry Muffins
Cinnamon Crumble Muffins
plus... a delicious comfort food dinner.
I used all our new toys from the wedding and watched 6 hours of HGTV. tee hee. I shredded zucchini in our Cuisinart (so awesome), mixed cake in our KitchenAid mixer, washed dishes in our rolling dishwasher, and baked everything in our 1972 oven. It was a good day. But the recipe I want to share right now is my Nana's Zucchini Cake. Nana is my great-grandmother and what I remember of her is a mixture of real memories and stories. My Nana loved my sister and I, probably because we were awesome, but more practically because we were the first great-grandchildren. But anyways, Nana was a great cook and loved my mama because she tried everything Nana put in front of her. My mom even ate raisins, which she HATES.
Anyways, Chocolate Zucchini Cake is a great way to get kids to eat zucchini AND it makes the moistest cake ever. This recipe makes one 9x13 cake or about 36-40 cupcakes. Yesterday, I made three batches. oy. I hope our friends are hungry this weekend... hubby even took a bunch to work today, haha.
Ok, I'm copying the entire recipe just as Nana wrote it, but I'll do some explaining and substitutes for people like me who had no clue what Oleo was.
325 degree oven for 45 minutes (about 30 minutes for the cupcakes)
Ingredients:
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup oleo
1/2 cup oil
3 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp baking soda
4 tbs cocoa
1/2 cup chocolate chips
3 zucchinis, 6 in. long, grated
Directions:
Cream sugar, oleo, eggs, oil, mix well, measure dry ingredients, add to creamed ingredients, add zucchini, mix well, grease 9x13 pan, add batter and pour chips on top & bake.
So... as you can tell, Nana liked to leave some stuff out. First, I'll tackle the ingredients. Oleo, come to find out, is a shortening like lard. I just used butter and it worked out just fine. 1/2 cup of butter is a full stick, let it warm up on the counter for a bit before using it to let it cream easier. Buttermilk - I don't know about you, but I don't have buttermilk in my fridge and, as luck would have it, my Food Network Magazine came in the mail and Paula Dean gave us a substitute for buttermilk! For 1 cup of buttermilk (I did this and just poured half of it in for each batch), pour in a tbsp of white vinegar (or lemon juice) then fill up to the 1 cup line with milk. It's awesome - works perfectly. Oh, and the cocoa. I didn't have any cocoa in my pantry but I did have baking squares. One baking square equals 3 tbsp of cocoa. So make do. Be sure to melt it a bit though, before adding it to the batter. And be careful when you melt it so as not to burn the chocolate...
But, this is so delicious. It's one of my faves and, thanks to my Grandma, I now have all of my Nana's recipes in one fantastic book. So look for more of Nana's recipes later, but enjoy this one for now! I'll let you know how our friends enjoy my baking efforts hahaha
Bon Appetit!!
Monday, August 2, 2010
Farmer's Market Dinner
I love farmer's markets. I think they're the greatest thing ever. I'm a big believer in eating local and buying local, and what's more local than farmer's markets! Or even your own backyard! My own garden is currently in containers because I was completely overwhelmed with my gardens when we moved in. So next year I'm definitely planting a veggie garden. Right now, my side porch holds a container with green bell peppers, a container with basil & borage, an earth box with summer squash & cucumbers, two pots with a tomato plant in each, a pot with chives, and a pot with hot chiles & thai chiles. The porch also holds our grill and sometimes we can even stand on it :)
Anyways, my basil is going crazy. I planted two plants from a 4-pack from your favorite greenhouse and mine, Lucas Greenhouse :). They are huge - I picked a giant bowl of basil today and I've been picking a handful every day for about two months. It's crazy. But I decided its time for some pesto. Pesto is typically basil, garlic, pine nuts, and parmesan cheese all blended then EVOO is added gradually to make it delicious and saucy. I have no pine nuts though, so I used a mixture of walnuts and almonds (cause I had both of those in my pantry). I use garlic like its water, so I buy a huge container of pre-minced garlic. I put in three heaping teaspoons of garlic and I sprinkled grated parmesan cheese to cover the top. Then I added probably 3/4 cup to 1 cup of mixed walnuts and almonds. On top, I filled my 14-cup food processor with basil. My guess is 6-7 cups of basil? Something like that. Anyways, I pulsed it till it was all chopped and then turned my food processor to 'on' and added oil till it looked like pesto. I split the pesto in half and put it in a container to freeze, so I have it for later. I bet I'll have to make a batch of pesto like this at least one more time before my basil is spent.
Hubby and I are eating healthy (he's working out right now) so we can try to lose some weight, so I am trying to plan more vegetarian dishes. Tonight we're having a pesto pasta. I'm making bowtie pasta (cause they're fun) and I chopped some grape tomatoes that I got at our farmers market (a pint for 1.50 - amazing). We are also so lucky to have a cheese farm (I don't know what to call it) nearby that sells goat cheese and feta. So I picked up some feta the other day and will top off our pasta with some feta. I make a full pound of pasta so we have leftovers for lunches, and will only eat a small portion tonight. I'll split it into four so we each get a portion tonight and a portion for lunch.
We'll see how my pesto turns out.. but this is truly a local dinner. I bet you can find great food at your local farmers market and I encourage you to try growing your own veggies! It's not hard (you just have to remember to water them) and you'll save so much money in the long run.
Bon Appetit!
Anyways, my basil is going crazy. I planted two plants from a 4-pack from your favorite greenhouse and mine, Lucas Greenhouse :). They are huge - I picked a giant bowl of basil today and I've been picking a handful every day for about two months. It's crazy. But I decided its time for some pesto. Pesto is typically basil, garlic, pine nuts, and parmesan cheese all blended then EVOO is added gradually to make it delicious and saucy. I have no pine nuts though, so I used a mixture of walnuts and almonds (cause I had both of those in my pantry). I use garlic like its water, so I buy a huge container of pre-minced garlic. I put in three heaping teaspoons of garlic and I sprinkled grated parmesan cheese to cover the top. Then I added probably 3/4 cup to 1 cup of mixed walnuts and almonds. On top, I filled my 14-cup food processor with basil. My guess is 6-7 cups of basil? Something like that. Anyways, I pulsed it till it was all chopped and then turned my food processor to 'on' and added oil till it looked like pesto. I split the pesto in half and put it in a container to freeze, so I have it for later. I bet I'll have to make a batch of pesto like this at least one more time before my basil is spent.
Hubby and I are eating healthy (he's working out right now) so we can try to lose some weight, so I am trying to plan more vegetarian dishes. Tonight we're having a pesto pasta. I'm making bowtie pasta (cause they're fun) and I chopped some grape tomatoes that I got at our farmers market (a pint for 1.50 - amazing). We are also so lucky to have a cheese farm (I don't know what to call it) nearby that sells goat cheese and feta. So I picked up some feta the other day and will top off our pasta with some feta. I make a full pound of pasta so we have leftovers for lunches, and will only eat a small portion tonight. I'll split it into four so we each get a portion tonight and a portion for lunch.
We'll see how my pesto turns out.. but this is truly a local dinner. I bet you can find great food at your local farmers market and I encourage you to try growing your own veggies! It's not hard (you just have to remember to water them) and you'll save so much money in the long run.
Bon Appetit!
Friday, July 30, 2010
It's been a while...
Sorry it's been a while. I've been doing other things (taping, mudding, painting, shelving, making curtains...) but I have been cooking. A few delicious meals lately that I wanted to share. Probably not cooking tonight since we're on our way up to our parents' for my sister & brother's grad party tomorrow. But this should tie you over till I cook again Sunday or Monday.
So we made grilled pizza the other day. It was so delish. One of our fave restaurants here has a flatbread pizza that we love so I wanted to recreate it, but on the grill. I made my own pizza dough - so worth it, it's flaky and delicious and just yum. It's from one of my Italian cookbooks that I think I borrowed from my grandma and never gave back.... whoops.
Pizza Dough
1 tbsp dry yeast (it's one packet)
1.5 cups lukewarm water
3.5-4 cups flour (approx) - I used a little less than 4 cups
1 tbsp. sugar
1.5 tsp salt
2 tbsp. shortening (Crisco) - yea, I used butter
1. Add yeast to water. Stir after 10 minutes.
2. Add shortening to yeast mixture.
3. Add dry ingredients, saving out about 1/2 cup of flour. (I put in 3.5 cups and left out .5)
4. Place dough on floured board and knead for 5 minutes, using whatever you need of the reserved 1/2 cup of flour so dough is not sticky.
5. Place dough back in greased mixing bowl. Cover tightly with saran wrap and let rise till double in bulk - about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
6. Punch dough down and divide into four pieces. This makes four mini-pizzas - each piece rolls out into about half a cookie sheet.
Then, in my brilliant glory, I cut some goat cheese, scallions, and bacon for toppings. Hubster put some oil on the dough and dropped it on the grill while I cooked up chopped bacon on the stove inside. Hint: get the bacon that comes in those plastic containers and freeze it. It's so easy to take it frozen and chop it into tiny bits before cooking. And, it lasts longer.
Once the pizza was flipped, we spread goat cheese on top then added the cooked bacon & scallions. I was shopping quickly this week and accidentally got fig goat cheese instead of plain... I was worried, but it actually was delicious. A nice nutty flavor to counter the scallions and salty bacon. It's a great meal or a delicious appetizer. Whatever you prefer!
I'll share my asian inspired marinade another time... I am a self-proclaimed master of the asian cuisine.
Bon Appetit!
So we made grilled pizza the other day. It was so delish. One of our fave restaurants here has a flatbread pizza that we love so I wanted to recreate it, but on the grill. I made my own pizza dough - so worth it, it's flaky and delicious and just yum. It's from one of my Italian cookbooks that I think I borrowed from my grandma and never gave back.... whoops.
Pizza Dough
1 tbsp dry yeast (it's one packet)
1.5 cups lukewarm water
3.5-4 cups flour (approx) - I used a little less than 4 cups
1 tbsp. sugar
1.5 tsp salt
2 tbsp. shortening (Crisco) - yea, I used butter
1. Add yeast to water. Stir after 10 minutes.
2. Add shortening to yeast mixture.
3. Add dry ingredients, saving out about 1/2 cup of flour. (I put in 3.5 cups and left out .5)
4. Place dough on floured board and knead for 5 minutes, using whatever you need of the reserved 1/2 cup of flour so dough is not sticky.
5. Place dough back in greased mixing bowl. Cover tightly with saran wrap and let rise till double in bulk - about 45 minutes to 1 hour.
6. Punch dough down and divide into four pieces. This makes four mini-pizzas - each piece rolls out into about half a cookie sheet.
Then, in my brilliant glory, I cut some goat cheese, scallions, and bacon for toppings. Hubster put some oil on the dough and dropped it on the grill while I cooked up chopped bacon on the stove inside. Hint: get the bacon that comes in those plastic containers and freeze it. It's so easy to take it frozen and chop it into tiny bits before cooking. And, it lasts longer.
Once the pizza was flipped, we spread goat cheese on top then added the cooked bacon & scallions. I was shopping quickly this week and accidentally got fig goat cheese instead of plain... I was worried, but it actually was delicious. A nice nutty flavor to counter the scallions and salty bacon. It's a great meal or a delicious appetizer. Whatever you prefer!
I'll share my asian inspired marinade another time... I am a self-proclaimed master of the asian cuisine.
Bon Appetit!
Monday, July 12, 2010
Chicken Soup for the Summer Soul
It's been a while, sorry. We finally got drywall up in the office plus did some much needed shopping for hardware, fabric, rugs, and tools. Now all we need to do is finish unpacking and maybe it'll start looking like a real home!
So I made a whole chicken yesterday for the first time and it was a bit of a nightmare. Tasted delicious, but it was quite the journey to get there. Anyways, Husband carved the bird and saved all the scraps for me to use for soup. And I decided today was a good day. Why make soup when it's freakin' humid & hot? Well, because I have piano lessons to teach this afternoon near the air conditioner, far away from the hot stove. Bazinga.
So I make soup differently than my sister makes soup which is weird because we both learned from my mother. Oh well. And I make soup differently than my mother-in-law makes soup which Husband used to be quick to remind me. However, he's come around to liking my soup too. [which is good, cause he wouldn't eat if he didn't.]
So to start, chop an onion, a couple stalks of celery (I do about 4), a couple big rabbit carrots (you know what I mean - I did about 4 too) so it's a mire-poix ratio of 1 to 1 to 1. Heat some oil on the stove in a huge soup pot and drop those babies in so they can cook for a bit. I pepper them only because I wind up over salting things I think and it's just better to let people salt their own soup - esp since I like to use parm cheese instead of salt at the end. Anyways, pepper it a bit and let them cook out for oh, 5ish minutes? Then drop your chicken bones in. I put the carcass [what a gross sounding word. carcass] in an the wings cause we never eat those. Then fill 'er up. With water. Seriously, fill the pot. Well not completely full, but you know, full enough. Then let it cook down and render out all that delicious chickenness. You'll have to let it simmer and cook for about an hour or so, longer if you want, shorter if you're in a rush. I usually let mine go for 1.5 to 2 hours. And be sure to scrape off the fat that rises to the surface. That's the gross stuff.
Once the stock has reached the color you like - it really is up to you. Take out all the bones. And try really hard to take out all the bones cause inevitably you'll forget one and find it when you're eating, but try. Those suckers are tiny. Then you can do a couple of things, you'll want to add chicken, but it's up to you how you do it. You can take raw chicken cut it to tiny pieces and poach it in the stock, you can take pre-cooked chicken from a previous meal and let it heat in the soup, or you can brown some chicken on the stove, par cook it, and let it cook the rest of the way in the soup. Whatever you want, add chicken next. Then I add my noodles to cook right in the soup. I use acine de pepe which are small noodles that are delicious and so made for chicken soup, but Husband doesn't always like them. He likes bigger noodles. So we've been experimenting lately. But today, I'm using acine de pepe. Then, secret ingredient... I whisk two eggs together and fiercely stir them into the soup. They're delicious. Serve with whatever you like - I like to put parmesan cheese on top of mine and eat with some delicious bread. Which I also made last week. Dang, I need to get more planning for next year done. I've been baking too much...
Oh well, bon appetit!
So I made a whole chicken yesterday for the first time and it was a bit of a nightmare. Tasted delicious, but it was quite the journey to get there. Anyways, Husband carved the bird and saved all the scraps for me to use for soup. And I decided today was a good day. Why make soup when it's freakin' humid & hot? Well, because I have piano lessons to teach this afternoon near the air conditioner, far away from the hot stove. Bazinga.
So I make soup differently than my sister makes soup which is weird because we both learned from my mother. Oh well. And I make soup differently than my mother-in-law makes soup which Husband used to be quick to remind me. However, he's come around to liking my soup too. [which is good, cause he wouldn't eat if he didn't.]
So to start, chop an onion, a couple stalks of celery (I do about 4), a couple big rabbit carrots (you know what I mean - I did about 4 too) so it's a mire-poix ratio of 1 to 1 to 1. Heat some oil on the stove in a huge soup pot and drop those babies in so they can cook for a bit. I pepper them only because I wind up over salting things I think and it's just better to let people salt their own soup - esp since I like to use parm cheese instead of salt at the end. Anyways, pepper it a bit and let them cook out for oh, 5ish minutes? Then drop your chicken bones in. I put the carcass [what a gross sounding word. carcass] in an the wings cause we never eat those. Then fill 'er up. With water. Seriously, fill the pot. Well not completely full, but you know, full enough. Then let it cook down and render out all that delicious chickenness. You'll have to let it simmer and cook for about an hour or so, longer if you want, shorter if you're in a rush. I usually let mine go for 1.5 to 2 hours. And be sure to scrape off the fat that rises to the surface. That's the gross stuff.
Once the stock has reached the color you like - it really is up to you. Take out all the bones. And try really hard to take out all the bones cause inevitably you'll forget one and find it when you're eating, but try. Those suckers are tiny. Then you can do a couple of things, you'll want to add chicken, but it's up to you how you do it. You can take raw chicken cut it to tiny pieces and poach it in the stock, you can take pre-cooked chicken from a previous meal and let it heat in the soup, or you can brown some chicken on the stove, par cook it, and let it cook the rest of the way in the soup. Whatever you want, add chicken next. Then I add my noodles to cook right in the soup. I use acine de pepe which are small noodles that are delicious and so made for chicken soup, but Husband doesn't always like them. He likes bigger noodles. So we've been experimenting lately. But today, I'm using acine de pepe. Then, secret ingredient... I whisk two eggs together and fiercely stir them into the soup. They're delicious. Serve with whatever you like - I like to put parmesan cheese on top of mine and eat with some delicious bread. Which I also made last week. Dang, I need to get more planning for next year done. I've been baking too much...
Oh well, bon appetit!
Thursday, July 1, 2010
Asparagus Risotto Deliciousness
So I just finished making asparagus risotto. It was the most delicious thing I've made yet this week. It's a little intimidating and completely new to me, but so good. So risotto is a rice dish (vegetarian, sweet) that you have to stir constantly which is kind of a pain in the butt, but makes for some sweet eats.
So since I've never made risotto before I consulted epicurious on my phone - but you can try it at epicurious.com. It's a great reference and resource. Anyways, you have to get Arborio rice, which is expensive, but so worth it. So first, I put my asparagus 2-in pieces in hot water for 2 minutes before I drained them and then put them in cold water. While I did that I brought 5 cups of chicken broth (or if you're going completely vegetarian, some other broth...) to a simmer. Then, I chopped a small onion and put it in a skillet with sides with some EVOO till the onion was clear. Then, add a cup and a half of rice with a wine glass full of white wine. Let that soak up, stirring, for a bit. Then start adding your simmering broth a cup at a time. You have to stir constantly so it'll take about 20 minutes. Mine took 20 exactly - so weird.
So, once all your broth has been added, let the rice soak it up - it will. Oh, and your burner should be about Medium. Sorry, I forgot to mention that. Anyways, then add your asparagus and stir for about 2 minutes. Take it off the heat and add half a stick of butter (preferably cut up). Stir that in then add parmesan cheese, however much you want, but remember that it's gonna give a salty taste. Season it with pepper (the parm cheese will do the salt) and serve! It's so delicious. So great.
Anyways, risotto is wonderful, so enjoy it and good luck! You'll have a great meal and hopefully learn a new dish! Bon appetit!
So since I've never made risotto before I consulted epicurious on my phone - but you can try it at epicurious.com. It's a great reference and resource. Anyways, you have to get Arborio rice, which is expensive, but so worth it. So first, I put my asparagus 2-in pieces in hot water for 2 minutes before I drained them and then put them in cold water. While I did that I brought 5 cups of chicken broth (or if you're going completely vegetarian, some other broth...) to a simmer. Then, I chopped a small onion and put it in a skillet with sides with some EVOO till the onion was clear. Then, add a cup and a half of rice with a wine glass full of white wine. Let that soak up, stirring, for a bit. Then start adding your simmering broth a cup at a time. You have to stir constantly so it'll take about 20 minutes. Mine took 20 exactly - so weird.
So, once all your broth has been added, let the rice soak it up - it will. Oh, and your burner should be about Medium. Sorry, I forgot to mention that. Anyways, then add your asparagus and stir for about 2 minutes. Take it off the heat and add half a stick of butter (preferably cut up). Stir that in then add parmesan cheese, however much you want, but remember that it's gonna give a salty taste. Season it with pepper (the parm cheese will do the salt) and serve! It's so delicious. So great.
Anyways, risotto is wonderful, so enjoy it and good luck! You'll have a great meal and hopefully learn a new dish! Bon appetit!
Wednesday, June 30, 2010
Grilled Chicken Sandwiches
I finally, at 3:30pm, took a shower. It's one of those days. I woke up and had my coffee leisurely while reading a book (since I read a book a day during the summer). Then I decided to tackle my laundry room. What on earth possessed me to do that...
Anyways, I began ripping out the linoleum, cleaned the floor, and started laying new peel-n-stick tiles. I didn't think it would be that hard, but, of course, nothing is straight and level. So I feel like I'm putting together a puzzle to make these tiles look normal. Whatev. Good thing it's a laundry room and the only people going in and out of there are going to be hubby & me. So, not quite done, but so much better than before already. Now I just need to get the rest of the wall painted, the rest of the floor done, and all of the laundry room goodies back in their places.
But the real reason it's gonna be one of those days is because, in my infinite can-do wisdom, I decided that teaching three consecutive piano lessons for three hours beginning at 5 would be a good idea. Not so much - especially when one also decides to begin a blogging experience that requires one to cook every night. Stupid. But, at least I can still cook. Well, prep. Hubby will cook for himself and I'll do mine when lessons are over.
So I prepped everything for our simple summer meal. I took chicken out of the freezer and let it sit on the counter till it pretty much thawed through - which was about 1pm. Then I searched through my fridge for something to marinate it with - I found this Asian Sesame salad dressing that smelled good, so poured some of that on the chicken and back in the fridge it goes! I took our some hamburger rolls to thaw (still sitting on the counter) and decided on a green salad and asparagus for sides.
Hubby will grill chicken when he gets home and grill asparagus in our handy dandy veggie basket for the grill. It's sweet and a fantastic tool/gift for the griller in your life. Even if that griller is you. Not too exciting and not many risks taken, but sometimes, you need one of those days.
Bon appetit! I'll be thinking of you all eating while I'm sitting at a piano teaching Fur Elise for the twentimillionth time....
Anyways, I began ripping out the linoleum, cleaned the floor, and started laying new peel-n-stick tiles. I didn't think it would be that hard, but, of course, nothing is straight and level. So I feel like I'm putting together a puzzle to make these tiles look normal. Whatev. Good thing it's a laundry room and the only people going in and out of there are going to be hubby & me. So, not quite done, but so much better than before already. Now I just need to get the rest of the wall painted, the rest of the floor done, and all of the laundry room goodies back in their places.
But the real reason it's gonna be one of those days is because, in my infinite can-do wisdom, I decided that teaching three consecutive piano lessons for three hours beginning at 5 would be a good idea. Not so much - especially when one also decides to begin a blogging experience that requires one to cook every night. Stupid. But, at least I can still cook. Well, prep. Hubby will cook for himself and I'll do mine when lessons are over.
So I prepped everything for our simple summer meal. I took chicken out of the freezer and let it sit on the counter till it pretty much thawed through - which was about 1pm. Then I searched through my fridge for something to marinate it with - I found this Asian Sesame salad dressing that smelled good, so poured some of that on the chicken and back in the fridge it goes! I took our some hamburger rolls to thaw (still sitting on the counter) and decided on a green salad and asparagus for sides.
Hubby will grill chicken when he gets home and grill asparagus in our handy dandy veggie basket for the grill. It's sweet and a fantastic tool/gift for the griller in your life. Even if that griller is you. Not too exciting and not many risks taken, but sometimes, you need one of those days.
Bon appetit! I'll be thinking of you all eating while I'm sitting at a piano teaching Fur Elise for the twentimillionth time....
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Asian Pork Tenderloin, Part 2
Part Deux begins with checking the pork that's been marinating. Hubby is cleaning up right now so I can post on my fabulous dinner. Also, I should note, "Meals for Megan" is made possible because Megan lives on the west coast (I can't remember if I wrote that already or not).
So, I took the pork out of the fridge to let it get to room temp before cooking. While it warmed up, I took out my zucchini, grillin' beans, a cucumber and two tomatoes. I started with the cuc and the tomatoes and I made my salad that I had made last night. I love it - it's my summer staple and I absolutely love it, so I make it all the time. While I'm chopping away, hubby came home and turned on the grill. I don't grill, hubby does. He also cleans up if I prep. It's a pretty sweet deal.
So I had some goat cheese from a local farm out with crackers and we munched on those while we cooked. Pork goes on the grill (must consult hubby for times) - pork is cooked for about 30 minutes, turned four times for cross marks or turned once, 15 min on a side, at 450 ish. Part way through he put zucchini spears on too - about 10 minutes, also turned once. Zucchini was tossed with EVOO, salt & peppa, and some lemon juice.
Then, when the zucchini went on the grill, I opened a can of whoop ass.... just kidding... a can of Bush's Grilling Beans, the brown sugar and bourbon kind, on the stove. We hadn't tried those before, but they were delish. So when everything was done, we plated our to-go containers first so they could cool before putting them in the fridge. So a delicious dinner, with leftovers for a delicious lunch tomorrow.
So no great tips for this post. Except maybe our fave new glass-a-night wine: Black Box. I heart it. Our local ine store just started carrying it and we buy it so they don't discontinue it. We tend to favor the cab sauv and lately we've been putting a box in the fridge of either their sauv blanc or their chard. I like the sauv blanc Black Box style, but not the bottle style. Husband-of-the-year (for cleaning up) likes the bottle style but not black box. So we compromise on the chard which we both like black box. Anyways, they're a fantastic alternative to bottles. They last longer, they're less expensive, and they don't use glass or cork, so I guess they're better for the environment.
Well, bon appetit and I wish you luck with your pork! It's delish... you'll love it :)
So, I took the pork out of the fridge to let it get to room temp before cooking. While it warmed up, I took out my zucchini, grillin' beans, a cucumber and two tomatoes. I started with the cuc and the tomatoes and I made my salad that I had made last night. I love it - it's my summer staple and I absolutely love it, so I make it all the time. While I'm chopping away, hubby came home and turned on the grill. I don't grill, hubby does. He also cleans up if I prep. It's a pretty sweet deal.
So I had some goat cheese from a local farm out with crackers and we munched on those while we cooked. Pork goes on the grill (must consult hubby for times) - pork is cooked for about 30 minutes, turned four times for cross marks or turned once, 15 min on a side, at 450 ish. Part way through he put zucchini spears on too - about 10 minutes, also turned once. Zucchini was tossed with EVOO, salt & peppa, and some lemon juice.
Then, when the zucchini went on the grill, I opened a can of whoop ass.... just kidding... a can of Bush's Grilling Beans, the brown sugar and bourbon kind, on the stove. We hadn't tried those before, but they were delish. So when everything was done, we plated our to-go containers first so they could cool before putting them in the fridge. So a delicious dinner, with leftovers for a delicious lunch tomorrow.
So no great tips for this post. Except maybe our fave new glass-a-night wine: Black Box. I heart it. Our local ine store just started carrying it and we buy it so they don't discontinue it. We tend to favor the cab sauv and lately we've been putting a box in the fridge of either their sauv blanc or their chard. I like the sauv blanc Black Box style, but not the bottle style. Husband-of-the-year (for cleaning up) likes the bottle style but not black box. So we compromise on the chard which we both like black box. Anyways, they're a fantastic alternative to bottles. They last longer, they're less expensive, and they don't use glass or cork, so I guess they're better for the environment.
Well, bon appetit and I wish you luck with your pork! It's delish... you'll love it :)
Asian Pork Tenderloinm Part 1
First installment - this is a two-parter. So I finished painting three walls in our office this morning plus I did the last touch-up mudding in the laundry room. Now hubby needs to finish putting up drywall so I can tape, mud, and paint! But that has nothing to do with food...
After lunch today I took out the two tenderloins for dinner tonight/lunch tomorrow and removed the silver skin so I could marinate them in huge ziploc freezer bags. I mix my marinade in a liquid measuring cup cause it's easier to see how much i'm making. So I put about a third cup of sesame oil, then a quarter cup soy sauce, with a tsp of mustard, about a clove of garlic, and about a tsp and a half i think of grated ginger. Then I put some Siracha sauce cause it's spicy and delicious and mix and taste. If it tastes good, leave it, if not, add whatever you want. I usually put more mustard or siracha in if I don't like it. Mix well, pour over the tenderloin in the bag, zip and fridge it flipping it every hour and a half or so.
Trick with ginger - the pre-grated & ground stuff just isn't good enough. Go to the store and get a ginger root, clean it (get rid of the fuzzy stuff), and put it in a ziploc bag in the freezer. This way, when you need it, you just get your handy dandy microplane grater and grate some fresh. It grates better when its frozen and it stays good for longer.
Now I have to clean my kitchen from yesterday... I was lazy last night and didn't want to clean it up. Be back later for part deux...
After lunch today I took out the two tenderloins for dinner tonight/lunch tomorrow and removed the silver skin so I could marinate them in huge ziploc freezer bags. I mix my marinade in a liquid measuring cup cause it's easier to see how much i'm making. So I put about a third cup of sesame oil, then a quarter cup soy sauce, with a tsp of mustard, about a clove of garlic, and about a tsp and a half i think of grated ginger. Then I put some Siracha sauce cause it's spicy and delicious and mix and taste. If it tastes good, leave it, if not, add whatever you want. I usually put more mustard or siracha in if I don't like it. Mix well, pour over the tenderloin in the bag, zip and fridge it flipping it every hour and a half or so.
Trick with ginger - the pre-grated & ground stuff just isn't good enough. Go to the store and get a ginger root, clean it (get rid of the fuzzy stuff), and put it in a ziploc bag in the freezer. This way, when you need it, you just get your handy dandy microplane grater and grate some fresh. It grates better when its frozen and it stays good for longer.
Now I have to clean my kitchen from yesterday... I was lazy last night and didn't want to clean it up. Be back later for part deux...
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