So I'm a bad blogger. Life gets hectic - and the last thing I have time for is cooking - thus nothing to post about. But today I whipped up something! We're heading to the country with some friends for the weekend. Low-key chill people who don't require a ton of energy - my idea of a mini-vacation. We're all splitting the food - Q and I are in charge of dinner tonight while they are handling breakfast and lunch tomorrow. We're bringing a mixed greens salad with dried cherries and goat cheese. Plus chicken thighs which have been brining all day that we'll grill - and smother with homemade BBQ sauce.
Additionally, we're bringing lemony asparagus quinoa salad. You know how sometimes you make things because you have them in your fridge/cupboard - and other times you make a mad dash to the store to assemble something respectible? Well, this is one of the former recipes. I had picked up some asparagus last weekend at Costco thinking I'd make a dinner of asparagus, chicken and cashew stir-fry (which sadly has not materialized). So I had asparagus and quinoa in the cupboard plus the always on-hand lemons.
This salad is perfect for spring - and is light, crisp and fresh tasting!
Lemony Asparagus Quinoa Salad
1 lb asparagus, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup quinoa
Water, according to your package (I've found that different brands have conflicting ratios)
Juice from 1 lemon
1/4 cup of olive oil
3/4 cup snipped fresh parsley
1 garlic clove, minced
Cook quinoa according to instructions. Bring a pan of water to boil - and toss in the asparagus. Cook for about 2 minutes. Drain and run cold water over asparagus to stop additional cooking. Toss the asparagus and quinoa together.
Meanwhile, whisk the lemon juice, olive oil, parsley, garlic and salt & pepper together and pour over quinoa/asparagus mixture.
This would be fine to serve room-temperature!
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Sunday, February 20, 2011
Homemade Chocolate Pudding
I've always loved pudding. I don't know if it was those Bill Cosby commercials, but pudding has always been a favorite of mine. I like the traditional flavors best - chocolate and vanilla. But you could throw in butterscotch or pistachio, and I would gobble it up too! My all time favorite is tapioca. I don't know what those little kernels really are, but I will eat the hell out of some tapioca!
My sister and her family are gluten-free. It makes dessert time a little of a challenge, but I try. She does a wonderful job of finding really good gluten-free recipes for cakes and cookies - I leave that to her. But traditional-style desserts are more my specialty so I scour the cookbooks for any recipe that doesn't use flour. So far, we've done a flourless chocolate cake with strawberry coulis and creme brulee. Tonight, we go with homemade chocolate pudding.
Homemade Chocolate Pudding
2/3 cups sugar
3 1/2 tbsps cornstarch
3 tbsps cocoa powder
1/8 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups whole or 2% milk
2 tbsps unsalted butter (optional, but ideal for the 2% milk to add more richness)
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, broken up into small pieces
2 1/2 tsps vanilla
In a large saucepan, stir together the sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder and salt until blended. Add about 3/4 cup of the milk and stir until incorporated. Slowly add the remaining milk and butter. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring. Constantly stirring, bring to a boil until the mixture bubbles and thickens slightly. Immediately remove from heat and add the chocolate, stirring until melted, no streaks remain and the mixture is smooth. Stir in the vanilla.
Strain through a medium-fine sieve into individual pudding dishes. (I prefer to strain in a serving bowl and then ladle into individual dishes - slightly less mess). Press plastic wrap directly into pudding to prevent it from developing a skin.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours. Serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream!
My sister and her family are gluten-free. It makes dessert time a little of a challenge, but I try. She does a wonderful job of finding really good gluten-free recipes for cakes and cookies - I leave that to her. But traditional-style desserts are more my specialty so I scour the cookbooks for any recipe that doesn't use flour. So far, we've done a flourless chocolate cake with strawberry coulis and creme brulee. Tonight, we go with homemade chocolate pudding.
Homemade Chocolate Pudding
2/3 cups sugar
3 1/2 tbsps cornstarch
3 tbsps cocoa powder
1/8 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups whole or 2% milk
2 tbsps unsalted butter (optional, but ideal for the 2% milk to add more richness)
4 ounces bittersweet chocolate, broken up into small pieces
2 1/2 tsps vanilla
In a large saucepan, stir together the sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder and salt until blended. Add about 3/4 cup of the milk and stir until incorporated. Slowly add the remaining milk and butter. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring. Constantly stirring, bring to a boil until the mixture bubbles and thickens slightly. Immediately remove from heat and add the chocolate, stirring until melted, no streaks remain and the mixture is smooth. Stir in the vanilla.
Strain through a medium-fine sieve into individual pudding dishes. (I prefer to strain in a serving bowl and then ladle into individual dishes - slightly less mess). Press plastic wrap directly into pudding to prevent it from developing a skin.
Cover and refrigerate for at least 2-3 hours. Serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream!
Monday, February 14, 2011
Healthy Eating vs. Ordering Quick, Easy Pizza
So the hubs and I are trying to eat healthy. Thus the turkey meatloaf, etc. Last night was a challenge for both of us. I had planned a grilled chicken Banh Mi, but in my haste to meet my mother for a pedicure, I forgot to marinate the chicken (for 3 hours) and pickle the veggies (at least 30 minutes). Come dinner time, we were presented with a challenge: be good and use the thawed chicken breasts in another way OR order a pizza! After much hemming and hawing, we opted for Chicken with Tarragon and White Wine...well really, it was called Chicken with Tarragon and Vermouth, but the husband had finished off the vermouth in his last Manhattan. And I had purchased brussel sprouts at the grocery this weekend as well - and the rest of the weeks' menus did not leave room for the brussel sprouts.
Sadly, we were both expected it to fail so we could order that pizza, but it was fine. Not great, not horrible, but edible...mostly.
Tonight - Casablanca at the Belcourt which will easily make up for any lackluster dinner or bad day.
Sadly, we were both expected it to fail so we could order that pizza, but it was fine. Not great, not horrible, but edible...mostly.
Tonight - Casablanca at the Belcourt which will easily make up for any lackluster dinner or bad day.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Happy Birthday Lauralita!
Tonight, we are celebrating my friend Laura's birthday! On the menu is a modified cassoulet and a chocolate raspberry cheesecake. Cassoulet is traditionally made with sausage, pork and duck or goose. Duck and goose are a little hard to come by so I use chicken thighs, smoked turkey sausage and pork. My cassoulet comes from Cook's Country and uses a crock-pot for an easy one dish meal.
Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake with Raspberry Coulis
Crust
3 tbsps. butter
1 generous cup chocolate graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp vanilla
Melt butter. Stir in vanilla. Add crumbs and mix well. Press into a generously greased 9.5-10 inch springform pan. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes - until set and fragrant. Once cool, arrange raspberries on top of the crust.
Filling
5 blocks cream cheese, softened
1 1/3 cups sugar
8 eggs
4 ounces chocolate - bittersweet or semi-sweet or a combo
1 tsp vanilla
2 pints fresh raspberries
Place sugar and cream cheese into a mixer. Mix on med-low/med for 4-5 minutes - scrapping sides often. Meanwhile, break the chocolate into small pieces and place in a glass bowl. Heat a small amount of water in a saucepan - be sure that when the glass bowl is placed on the saucepan, the bowl doesn't touch the water. Bring the water to a bowl, reduce head to a simmer and place bowl of chocolate on top. Stir chocolate frequently until almost melted. Remove from heat and continue to stir vigorously until completely melted. Allow to cool. Add cooled chocolate to cream cheese mixture and incorporate. Then add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each one. Add the vanilla and pour over the raspberry lined crust.
Be sure to wrap the springform pan in aluminum foil. Place 1-inch of water in a large roasting pan, and place the springform inside.
Bake for 15 minutes at 325, then reduce the temperature to 300 and bake for 1 hour, 20 minutes or until the center barely jiggles when softly shaken. Place cheesecake on a cooling rack. Cool for 10 minutes and then run a thin-edged knife slowly around the edges to release the cheesecake from the sides of the pan. Allow to cool until room temperature. Chill in the fridge for several hours before eating.
Coulis
1 bag frozen raspberries
1/4 cup raspberry liquer or wine
3 tbsps cointreau
1/2 tsp corn starch
Sugar to taste
Place the frozen raspberries, sugar, cornstarch, cointreau and raspberry wine in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and strain.
To serve, slice cheesecake and drizzle with coulis! Happy Birthday!
Chocolate Raspberry Cheesecake with Raspberry Coulis
Crust
3 tbsps. butter
1 generous cup chocolate graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp vanilla
Melt butter. Stir in vanilla. Add crumbs and mix well. Press into a generously greased 9.5-10 inch springform pan. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes - until set and fragrant. Once cool, arrange raspberries on top of the crust.
Filling
5 blocks cream cheese, softened
1 1/3 cups sugar
8 eggs
4 ounces chocolate - bittersweet or semi-sweet or a combo
1 tsp vanilla
2 pints fresh raspberries
Place sugar and cream cheese into a mixer. Mix on med-low/med for 4-5 minutes - scrapping sides often. Meanwhile, break the chocolate into small pieces and place in a glass bowl. Heat a small amount of water in a saucepan - be sure that when the glass bowl is placed on the saucepan, the bowl doesn't touch the water. Bring the water to a bowl, reduce head to a simmer and place bowl of chocolate on top. Stir chocolate frequently until almost melted. Remove from heat and continue to stir vigorously until completely melted. Allow to cool. Add cooled chocolate to cream cheese mixture and incorporate. Then add the eggs one at a time, mixing well after each one. Add the vanilla and pour over the raspberry lined crust.
Be sure to wrap the springform pan in aluminum foil. Place 1-inch of water in a large roasting pan, and place the springform inside.
Bake for 15 minutes at 325, then reduce the temperature to 300 and bake for 1 hour, 20 minutes or until the center barely jiggles when softly shaken. Place cheesecake on a cooling rack. Cool for 10 minutes and then run a thin-edged knife slowly around the edges to release the cheesecake from the sides of the pan. Allow to cool until room temperature. Chill in the fridge for several hours before eating.
Coulis
1 bag frozen raspberries
1/4 cup raspberry liquer or wine
3 tbsps cointreau
1/2 tsp corn starch
Sugar to taste
Place the frozen raspberries, sugar, cornstarch, cointreau and raspberry wine in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat and strain.
To serve, slice cheesecake and drizzle with coulis! Happy Birthday!
Meatloaf and Roasted Cauliflower
We had a freak snowstorm yesterday. People were stuck in traffic for hours. I left work a little early to try and beat some of the insanity - that and I drive a lightweight pickup truck which SUCKS in any kind of snowy/icy weather. I made it to my husband's work with a little slipping and sliding on the interstate. He weighed down the bed of his truck, and we headed home. We slipped and slid up hills, down hills, into cars, etc. Needless to say, my nerves were shot by the time we arrived.
This morning, we headed into his work to see how the roads were. I opted to not go much further than that and spent the rest of the day at home. Tonight seemed like a good night for comfort food. So we had some local ground pork and ground turkey thawed which means tonight we are having turkey/pork meatloaf and roasted cauliflower.
If you've never tried roasted cauliflower, I highly recommend it. Simple, easy, healthy and delicious!
Roasted Cauliflower
1 head of cauliflower
Olive Oil
Kosher/Sea Salt
Pepper
Cut the cauliflower into 1-inch or so pieces. Sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Pop into the oven at 425 for about 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
Yum!
This morning, we headed into his work to see how the roads were. I opted to not go much further than that and spent the rest of the day at home. Tonight seemed like a good night for comfort food. So we had some local ground pork and ground turkey thawed which means tonight we are having turkey/pork meatloaf and roasted cauliflower.
If you've never tried roasted cauliflower, I highly recommend it. Simple, easy, healthy and delicious!
Roasted Cauliflower
1 head of cauliflower
Olive Oil
Kosher/Sea Salt
Pepper
Cut the cauliflower into 1-inch or so pieces. Sprinkle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Toss to coat. Pop into the oven at 425 for about 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
Yum!
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Northerner or Southerner?
I have this debate with people all the time - am I a Northerner or a Southerner? When people ask me where I'm from, I say Wisconsin. Of course, I moved from there when I was 8 to podunk Alabama. Then a few years later, we moved to Nashville, TN, and I've been here on and off since the mid-80's. Many consider the place in which you go to high school as the place in which you're from...I don't.
Don't get me wrong - I like the South. I like Nashville, the seasons, the people....and the FOOD! I mean - cold fried chicken, meat & three (where macaroni and cheese is a vegetable!), BBQ, hot chicken.... and the list goes on. On the other hand, there are quite a few Southern dishes that I've never been able to wrap my fork around - any kind of greens, grits, boiled peanuts...
But the North has great food also. I love me a Friday night fish fry - complete with potato pancakes. I've even been known to schedule my trip home to coincide with Friday fish fry. Oh and frozen custard!! It's the most wonderful of all frozen dairy desserts... creamy, rich, soft. On a trip to Iowa in a blizzard, I nearly wrecked my truck twice because I wanted a butter burger and frozen custard. I keep a map of Culver's locations in my truck for road trips. And of course, cheese. Cheese is wonderful - I can't get enough.
Bratwurst is easily my favorite food from the North. When we first moved South, my grandmother would come down for a visit and stash some brats in a cooler for us. At the time, we couldn't get them in the grocery store. Today, not only can we get them at our local Kroger, but I have been lucky enough to find them at our local farmer's market. Let me tell you - fresh, homemade brats are AMAZING!
Brats are on the menu tonight - along with another staple for the northern cookout - baked beans. I don't know what it is about brats and baked beans, but I have to have them together. I've been meaning to learn the art of making baked beans from scratch, but haven't made the effort, so we work with canned beans - I doctor them, of course.
Baked Beans - The Easy Way
1 can Bush's baked beans - original flavor
1 tbsp. ketchup (I eyeball this)
2 tsps. yellow mustard (again, we're eyeballing)
1 tbsp. brown sugar (plus a little extra if you like it sweet)
Simmer.
Brats should only be cooked over an open flame. Boiled brats = rubbery nastiness. I want them char-grilled. They should have a "crunch" to them when you bite into one. If you want to boil them in beer and onions before you pop them onto the charcoal grill, that's not always a bad idea either. Don't use the fancy beer...PBR, Milwaukee's Best, etc., will do the job just fine. I'm partial to sauerkraut, ketchup and homemade pickles. Many a Yankee would argue that ketchup is wrong, but it's the way I've always had them - and probably always will.
I guess I'm a SoNotherner at heart!
Don't get me wrong - I like the South. I like Nashville, the seasons, the people....and the FOOD! I mean - cold fried chicken, meat & three (where macaroni and cheese is a vegetable!), BBQ, hot chicken.... and the list goes on. On the other hand, there are quite a few Southern dishes that I've never been able to wrap my fork around - any kind of greens, grits, boiled peanuts...
But the North has great food also. I love me a Friday night fish fry - complete with potato pancakes. I've even been known to schedule my trip home to coincide with Friday fish fry. Oh and frozen custard!! It's the most wonderful of all frozen dairy desserts... creamy, rich, soft. On a trip to Iowa in a blizzard, I nearly wrecked my truck twice because I wanted a butter burger and frozen custard. I keep a map of Culver's locations in my truck for road trips. And of course, cheese. Cheese is wonderful - I can't get enough.
Bratwurst is easily my favorite food from the North. When we first moved South, my grandmother would come down for a visit and stash some brats in a cooler for us. At the time, we couldn't get them in the grocery store. Today, not only can we get them at our local Kroger, but I have been lucky enough to find them at our local farmer's market. Let me tell you - fresh, homemade brats are AMAZING!
Brats are on the menu tonight - along with another staple for the northern cookout - baked beans. I don't know what it is about brats and baked beans, but I have to have them together. I've been meaning to learn the art of making baked beans from scratch, but haven't made the effort, so we work with canned beans - I doctor them, of course.
Baked Beans - The Easy Way
1 can Bush's baked beans - original flavor
1 tbsp. ketchup (I eyeball this)
2 tsps. yellow mustard (again, we're eyeballing)
1 tbsp. brown sugar (plus a little extra if you like it sweet)
Simmer.
Brats should only be cooked over an open flame. Boiled brats = rubbery nastiness. I want them char-grilled. They should have a "crunch" to them when you bite into one. If you want to boil them in beer and onions before you pop them onto the charcoal grill, that's not always a bad idea either. Don't use the fancy beer...PBR, Milwaukee's Best, etc., will do the job just fine. I'm partial to sauerkraut, ketchup and homemade pickles. Many a Yankee would argue that ketchup is wrong, but it's the way I've always had them - and probably always will.
I guess I'm a SoNotherner at heart!
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Tuesday Night Soup Club
Every Tuesday night, we have Soup Club. No, it's not like Fight Club...but we do have simple rules. If you come to soup night twice, you must host. So far, in 1 year of doing soup night every Tuesday, we have not had a repeat soup. So every week, whoever is hosting, scours their recipes for something fresh and new. We try to stay in season, if possible.
This week was my turn. I had completely forgotten about soup night until Monday afternoon. I was a flurry of internet searches for recipes... You'd be amazed at the number of boring and blah soup recipes there are in the world. I had previously had my eye on a corn chowder, but someone had done a rendition of that just 2 weeks earlier. Oh - the stress of coming up with just the right soup to wow our members.
I decided on Escarole and Orzo Soup with Turkey Parmesan Meatballs (courtesy of Epicurious). Of course, I modified it to my liking and doubled it to feed the 6 of us (and to include leftovers for Meghan who had to work and for the fiancee's lunch). I hit the Kroger on the way home to grab a few things that we didn't have on hand...one being Escarole. And let me tell you - what a pathetic excuse for escarole! I had my pick of varying degrees of wiltedness... I grabbed the one that would yield me the 8 cups of decent escarole and chugged on.
The recipe called for making turkey meatballs, chilling them and then dropping them directly into the soup to cook. I; however, thought the picture of said balls looked quite unappealing floating in the soup with nothing to cover them so I opted to quickly pan fry the little suckers first. I truly believe it made a world of difference in the flavor! The only other modification to the recipe I made was to throw in - eh - about a cup of white wine to the broth. We have a ton of random bottles that people leave at parties in the fridge, and I'm not much of a white wine drinker, plus I think it adds a little richness to soups/stews/chilis/sauces.
There were rave reviews - and one person even said, how perfect it fit with the season and weather. I highly recommend this soup - with the modifications. Try it tonight for dinner. It was simple and easy to make!
Escarole and Orzo Soup with Turkey Parmesan Meatballs
If desired, grate a little extra Parmesan cheese for passing; a sprinkling over the soup will echo the flavor in the meatballs.
Yield: Makes 4 main-course servings
1 large egg
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup plain dried breadcrumbs
12 ounces lean ground turkey
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
8 cups (or more) low-salt chicken broth
1 cup chopped peeled carrots
3/4 cup orzo (rice-shaped pasta)
4 cups coarsely chopped escarole (about 1/2 medium head)
Whisk egg and 2 tablespoons water in medium bowl to blend. Mix in breadcrumbs; let stand 5 minutes. Add turkey, Parmesan cheese, parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper; gently stir to blend. Using wet hands, shape turkey mixture into 1 1/4-inch-diameter meatballs. Place on baking sheet; cover and chill 30 minutes.
Bring 8 cups chicken broth to boil in large pot. Add carrots and orzo; reduce heat to medium and simmer uncovered 8 minutes. Add turkey meatballs and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in chopped escarole and simmer until turkey meatballs, orzo, and escarole are tender, about 5 minutes longer. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper.
Ladle soup into bowls and serve.
This week was my turn. I had completely forgotten about soup night until Monday afternoon. I was a flurry of internet searches for recipes... You'd be amazed at the number of boring and blah soup recipes there are in the world. I had previously had my eye on a corn chowder, but someone had done a rendition of that just 2 weeks earlier. Oh - the stress of coming up with just the right soup to wow our members.
I decided on Escarole and Orzo Soup with Turkey Parmesan Meatballs (courtesy of Epicurious). Of course, I modified it to my liking and doubled it to feed the 6 of us (and to include leftovers for Meghan who had to work and for the fiancee's lunch). I hit the Kroger on the way home to grab a few things that we didn't have on hand...one being Escarole. And let me tell you - what a pathetic excuse for escarole! I had my pick of varying degrees of wiltedness... I grabbed the one that would yield me the 8 cups of decent escarole and chugged on.
The recipe called for making turkey meatballs, chilling them and then dropping them directly into the soup to cook. I; however, thought the picture of said balls looked quite unappealing floating in the soup with nothing to cover them so I opted to quickly pan fry the little suckers first. I truly believe it made a world of difference in the flavor! The only other modification to the recipe I made was to throw in - eh - about a cup of white wine to the broth. We have a ton of random bottles that people leave at parties in the fridge, and I'm not much of a white wine drinker, plus I think it adds a little richness to soups/stews/chilis/sauces.
There were rave reviews - and one person even said, how perfect it fit with the season and weather. I highly recommend this soup - with the modifications. Try it tonight for dinner. It was simple and easy to make!
Escarole and Orzo Soup with Turkey Parmesan Meatballs
If desired, grate a little extra Parmesan cheese for passing; a sprinkling over the soup will echo the flavor in the meatballs.
Yield: Makes 4 main-course servings
1 large egg
2 tablespoons water
1/4 cup plain dried breadcrumbs
12 ounces lean ground turkey
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh Italian parsley
2 garlic cloves, minced
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
8 cups (or more) low-salt chicken broth
1 cup chopped peeled carrots
3/4 cup orzo (rice-shaped pasta)
4 cups coarsely chopped escarole (about 1/2 medium head)
Whisk egg and 2 tablespoons water in medium bowl to blend. Mix in breadcrumbs; let stand 5 minutes. Add turkey, Parmesan cheese, parsley, garlic, salt, and pepper; gently stir to blend. Using wet hands, shape turkey mixture into 1 1/4-inch-diameter meatballs. Place on baking sheet; cover and chill 30 minutes.
Bring 8 cups chicken broth to boil in large pot. Add carrots and orzo; reduce heat to medium and simmer uncovered 8 minutes. Add turkey meatballs and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in chopped escarole and simmer until turkey meatballs, orzo, and escarole are tender, about 5 minutes longer. Season soup to taste with salt and pepper.
Ladle soup into bowls and serve.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
