Freeing My Martha

Meyer Lemonade Cookies

2011-08-17T17:34:00.000-07:00

My kids and I had fun making these today. They are light, slightly crispy, soft and cakey, super flavorful and really lemony! They taste just like Summer:) If you don't have Meyer lemons, regular lemons will work just fine. Also, if you don't have sparkling sugar to sprinkle on them, regular granulated sugar will work. However, you want to let the cookies cool before sprinkling. Hope you enjoy these as much as we did!

Meyer Lemonade Cookies
Makes about 70 small cookies

Lemon Syrup:
3/4 cup strained lemon juice
3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon zest

Cookie Batter:
3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 sticks (16 tablespoons) butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs

1/3 cup of reserved lemon syrup
Sparkling sugar for sprinkling

For the syrup:

Combine juice, sugar and corn syrup in a non reactive saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat, stirring frequently. When all the sugar is dissolved, remove the pan from the heat and cool to room temperature.
When it is cool, stir in the lemon zest and set 1/3 cup of this syrup aside to use after the cookies are baked.

When the syrup has cooled and been divided, start making the cookies:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In a bowl, combine flour, baking soda and salt. Stir well and set aside.

In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together the butter and sugar until combined and fluffy. Beat in eggs, one at a time, beating smooth after each addition. Lower the speed and beat in half the flour mixture, then the lemon syrup (don't add reserved 1/3 cup,) and the remaining flour mixture.

Remove bowl from the mixer and give the batter one final mix with a rubber spatula.

Drop teaspoonfuls of batter 3 or 4 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper or a silicone mat. Bake for 8-10 minutes or until the tops are slightly light golden.

While they are still hot, brush cookies with the reserved lemon syrup and sprinkle with sparkling sugar.

Quinoa and Corn Salad with Toasted Pepitas

2011-01-21T12:00:00.000-08:00

Although I have made no formal resolutions this year, I am trying to not only eat healthier, but also to feed my family healthier. This recipe is inspired by a lovely corn salad I had at a friend's house, but I incorporated quinoa (keen-wa) because it is so good for you, and gave it a somewhat Southwest flavor. Quinoa is considered a "complete protein" as it has all 9 amino acids. And it is packed with magnesium, B2, B6, E, iron and zinc. It's also gluten-free. All of that and it's also delicious:)

Quinoa and Corn Salad with Toasted Pepitas

Dressing:
1/4 to 1/2 cup fresh lime juice (from about 3 limes)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt to taste
1 tablespoon white balsamic vinegar

Quinoa:
2 2/3 cup water
1 1/2 cups quinoa, rinsed and drained
2 cups frozen cut white corn kernels (or 2 ears of fresh corn, cut from the cob)
1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, cut in half or quartered depending on size
3 scallions, sliced
1 large jalapeno, diced (ribs and seeds removed)
1 ripe avocado
1/4 cup raw, hulled pumpkin seeds, lightly toasted

Whisk together lime juice, cumin, chili powder, garlic, oil and salt and vinegar
Bring water to boil. Add quinoa, stir once, bring back to a boil, lower heat to simmer and cover. Cook until quinoa is tender but still chewy and has absorbed all liquid (about 15 min). Turn off heat, fluff with a fork, and put the corn on top of quinoa. Cover and let sit 5 min. Transfer to a bowl and let cool.

Add tomatoes, scallions, jalapeno to quinooa along with 1/2 cup of dressing, toss and season with salt.
Slice avocados and serve on the side or you can incorporate into salad if you wish. Sprinkle pumpkin seeds on top.

Julie's Amazing Tosca Bars (Toscabitar)

2010-12-23T12:52:00.000-08:00

My good friend, Julie gave me this recipe over a year ago, but procrastinator-me waited this long to actually try it. Oh what a mistake! I saw the recipe and thought this was going to be a granola-type bar, but it is anything but granola. It has a super light pastry crust, an amaretto scented cake center (although there's no Amaretto in the cake...it's the almond paste), and an almond toffee topping! Amazingly good a definite must try, and a new regular on my dessert roster. Thanks, Julie!

Speaking of amazing, Julie is also a talented designer of handbags, totes, and baby items. Check out her etsy store =)

Julie's Tosca Bars (Toscabitar)

Crust: (Basic Pastry Dough)
1 stick butter
1/3 c. sugar
1 egg yolk
1 1/3 c. sifted all-purpose flour

Filling:
1 stick butter
1/4 c. sugar
1 can (8 oz) almond paste
3 eggs
1/3 c. sifted all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder

Topping:
1 stick butter
1/2 c. sugar
1 c. sliced almonds
2 Tbs. flour
2 Tbs. milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Prepare the pastry dough.
Pastry Dough: Cream the butter and sugar. Stir in the egg yolk. Add the flour and work the dough with your hands until well blended and smooth. Press it out on the bottom of a buttered cake pan, 9 x 13 inches.

Prepare Filling. Beat together the butter, sugar and almond paste. When smooth and creamy, beat in the eggs, one at a time. Blend in the flour mixed w/ baking powder. Spread the filling on top of the pastry. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes.

Prepare Topping
To make the topping, melt the butter in small saucepan. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer constantly stirring. DO NOT BOIL. Remove from heat.

When the cake is done, spread it with the warm topping. Switch from "bake" to "broil" and return the cake to the oven. Broil until golden brown. Let the cake cool in the pan. Cut in bars 1 1/2" x 2 1/2".

If you like, paint the bottom and the sides of each bar with melted chocolate.

Pan Grilled Chicken Breast with Spicy Soffrito

2010-11-09T15:08:00.000-08:00

I am forever trying to find new ways to serve chicken breast cutlets. They can be so boring, yet they are a healthy and convenient meal. This time I made a soffrito to go with it and it turned out delicious. Soffrito is kind of like a relish, sweet and sour. This one has some heat because of the added jalapeno and crushed red chili flakes. I prefer thin-cut breasts because they grill up so quickly, but you can use regular breasts if you prefer. This soffrito is equally delicious with fish and pork.

Soffrito:

1 cup finely chopped white onion
1 small carrot, peeled and finely chopped
1 stalk of celery, peeled and finely diced
1/2 yellow bell pepper, seeds removed, finely chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, ""
1/2 green bell pepper, ""
1/2 jalapeno, ""
1 large clove of garlic, finely chopped
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 teaspoons red wine vinegar (or more to taste)
1 1/2 teaspoons honey (or honey powder)
2 pinches crushed red pepper flakes (or more to taste)
Kosher salt and pepper to taste

In a medium saucepan, combine olive oil, all the chopped veggies and peppers, vinegar, honey, and red pepper flakes. Season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and freshly ground pepper.
Cook over medium heat until the liquid in the pan has reduced and the veggies are tender (about 45 min to 1 hr)
Adjust seasoning to taste using vinegar, crushed pepper flakes, salt and pepper.

Pan Grilled Chicken Breast:

8 thin sliced chicken breast cutlets (or 4 regular cutlets)

Salt & Pepper

Lightly oil a grill pan and grill chicken until done

Pumpkin Cupcakes with Maple-Cream Cheese Frosting

2010-11-05T09:55:00.000-07:00

It's that time of year again; when the flavors of pumpkin, ginger, and cinnamon reign. I LOVE it and as soon as I see the jumbo pumpkin puree packs at Costco, I load up:)

I made pumpkin cupcakes with two kinds of frosting: a maple-mascarpone frosting and a maple-cream cheese frosting. I'll write out the recipe for both. The cream cheese frosting is tangier and a bit sweeter; the mascarpone, more delicate. If you are going to make the mascarpone frosting, make sure you whip all of the ingredients except the mascarpone really well first. And then beat in the room-temperature mascarpone at the very end and only until it in incorporated. Otherwise, you may have a grainy, separation issue. Also in the cupcake recipe, "scant" 29 ounce can means that you should probably leave just a little bit at the bottom of the can because it's a lot of puree.

Pumpkin Cupcakes

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teasponn baking powder
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon Vietnamese cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
Scant 29 ounce can of pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 cup unsalted butter, melted, and cooled
1 cup sugar
1 cup brown sugar
4 large eggs lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 350. Line two standard cupcake tins with liners.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and spices.
In another bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, melted butter, sugars, and eggs.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and slowly whisk in the pumkin mixture. Whisk until smooth.
Divide evenly into the cupcake liners (I use an ice cream scoop.)
Bake between 15-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted it the center comes out clean.

Maple-Cream Cheese Frosting

1 cup butter (2 sticks), room temperature
1/2 cup of Superfine sugar
16 ounces cream cheese
1/4 cup pure maple syrup

Maple-Mascarpone Frosting:

2 cups butter (4 sticks), room temperature
1/2 cup Superfine sugar
16 ounces cream cheese, room temp
3/4 cup pure maple syrup
16 ounces mascarpone cheese, room temp

Blend butter and sugar until smooth in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Add cream cheese and maple syrup, blend until smooth and creamy.

*Add mascarpone at this point.

dry ingredients

all mixed together

Plum Galette

2010-09-12T16:22:00.000-07:00

I have a wonderful friend with whom I get together as often as possible. We have been cooking together for well over a decade (almost two...GAH!) and I cherish our times together. I packed up the kids on Friday night and we had a sleepover at her house and spent all of Saturday cooking our little hearts out. Here's one of the many things we made. Uh-ma-zing!

Plum Galette

Dough:

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour

2 sticks cold butter

ice water

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon salt

Whisk together in a food processor until it resembles sand. Drizzle in approximately 1/2 cup of ice cold water or just enough so if you squeeze the dough in your hands, it will keep it's shape. Form into a ball, flatten in into a disc, and cover with plastic wrap. Refrigerate for an hour.

Filling:

1/4 cup toasted almonds

3 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon flour

In food processor, pulse all of the ingredients until it resembles sand.

Topping:

Approximately 5 firm but ripe plums, halved and sliced.

Sugar

2 tablespoons heavy cream

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Roll out dough into a circle about 1/4 inch on a lightly floured surface (we rolled it out on parchment paper)

Sprinkle almond filling around the dough leaving about 2 inches around the edge.

Gently place plums around the dough and fan out into a pretty pattern, leaving 2 inches around the edge.

Gently fold in the edges.

Refrigerate for 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350

Brush the edges with cream and sprinkle sugar over the plums and the edges of the dough. Bake for 70 minutes.

Serve while it is warm with a scoop of vanilla ice cream (this part is optional, but recommended).

Mandu

2010-07-15T13:06:00.000-07:00

Every Thanksgiving my family would get together and make mandu. Kids, cousins, aunts, mothers would all sit around a table and assemble platter after platter of these tasty dumplings. My mother would make a huge mound of filling, and we would stuff the store-bought wrappers, seal them, and shape them. As they were being assembled, my aunt would boil them, dozens at a time and we would eat bowlfuls of them as we were assembling more. When they were all made, more would be boiled, and fried and devoured. Bragging rights were given to the family member who could eat the most mandu at one sitting. I think my cousin was able to eat 25 boiled dumplings one year. It was a happy time, it's a great memory. As we kids got older and started living our own lives, the gatherings became fewer and farther between and eventually they stopped altogether. But mandu is still a comfort food for me and making them brings back all of those happy memories of my childhood.
I made the wrappers from scratch this time and was surprised at how easy it was. I used a combination of pork, beef, tofu, shitake mushrooms, onion, scallions, and kimchi. The amount of filling this makes required 3 batches of wrapper dough. You can always halve the filling recipe if you don't want a huge amount. I didn't actually count the number of dumplings, but they filled two large baking sheets. If you have kids or a willing partner, it will go faster if you enlist their help. Even if you don't, once you get making the wrapper down, the rest is really a breeze. If you don't feel like making your own skins, you can always buy the pre-made kind at the store. The only thing to keep in mind with the premade is to not overfill, as they tend to rip. You also need to moisten the edges with some water. With homemade, you have more flexibility. If you want to fill them up more, the dough stretches enough that you don't have to worry about it. And you don't need to moisten the edges, a gentle pinch is sufficient to seal them.
This was a great batch. Super tasty, moist filling, and so flavorful. You can used different meats and vegetables, but make sure you squeeze out any excess liquid. Sometimes I mix in some diced raw shrimp and that is good too. My own family prefers them cooked pot sticker style. But my personal favorite will always be boiled, because that's how we ate them during those Thanksgivings.

Meat and Kimchi Mandu:

Filling:
1 pound ground pork
2 pound ground beef
2 packages of tofu (4 large squares)
1 bunch of scallions (green onion), chopped
1 bag (approx 2 cups) bean sprouts, blanched
5-6 cloves garlic, chopped (optional)
2 cups sliced dried Shitake mushroom, soaked and squeezed dry, and chopped (if your Shitakes are whole, use about 10)
2 cups very ripe kimchi, chopped
Salt
Pepper
Soy sauce
Sesame oil
Sugar

Put the ground meat into a large bowl, Salt and pepper.
Put green onions in a separate bowl, drizzle with sesame oil and a little soy sauce. Put in the meat bowl.
In the same small bowl you used for the greed onion, put in the chopped mushroom. Make sure all of the liquid has been squeezed out. Mix this with a 2 teaspoons of soy sauce, 2 teaspoons sugar, and a tablespoon of sesame oil. Put this in with the meat.
Squeeze out all of the water from the bean sprouts and drizzle with soy sauce and sesame oil. Put in the meat bowl.
Put the tofu into a cheesecloth or a non-fuzzy towel and squeeze out all of the liquid. Put the tofu into the small bowl and season with sesame oil and salt and pepper. Put this into the meat bowl.
Squeeze the liquid out of your kimchi and put that into the meat bowl.
Mix everything together by hand. Cover and set aside in the refrigerator.

Dumpling dough:
2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup of just boiled water

In a food processor, put in the flour. With the machine running, stream in the hot water. As soon as the water has been poured, stop the machine and check the dough. It should look rough, but hold together if you pinch it. If necessary, add more water a tablespoon at a time.
Run the machine for another 10 seconds and then transfer the dough to a board. Knead briefly until the dough is smooth and somewhat elastic. It should hold the impression of your finger if you poke it.
*If you don't have a food processor, you can hand mix it with a wooden spoon and then transfer it to a board to knead it.
Put it in a Ziploc plastic bag and let it sit for about 20 minutes. The steam will make the dough very soft and easy to work with.
When you are ready to assemble your mandu, take the dough out of the plastic and divide it into four pieces. Keep one out and put the rest back into the bag and seal it.
Roll the piece out into a 1-inch log and then cut them into 1-inch pieces. The end pieces will have to be cut a little longer because they are thinner. I didn't use a ruler, but a good way to gage how big the pieces need to be is to compare it in your mind to a piece of Bazooka bubble gum. That is size and shape you will need.
Keep a piece of plastic wrap over the pieces so they don't dry out. You will need a small dowel or rolling pin to shape them into small circles. They do not need to be perfect. Make sure you lightly flour your board as you are rolling so they don't stick. You can flip the disc over as you work and add a little more flour to the board.

Assemble your mandu:
Put about a teaspoon of filling in the center of your dough disc. Fold in half (like a half-moon) and seal the edges. Dredge lightly in a little flour and set aside on a parchment lined platter or baking sheet. Continue until all of the filling has been used.
*Mandu can be frozen. First freeze on a parchment lined baking sheet (make sure you lay them out flat so they are not touching. Once they are frozen, you can transfer them to a freezer bag. You can cook them directly from frozen.

To cook:

*Pot sticker style- Heat up a non-stick skillet that has a tight fitting lid. Add 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil and add your mandu. Brown on one side, flip over and add about 1/4 cup of water to the hot pan. Cover right away and continue cooking until all of the water has evaporated.
*Steam: Preferably in a bamboo steamer.
*Boil
*Deep Fry (like an egg roll)
*Put in soups

Dipping Sauce:
1 Tablespoon vinegar
2 Tablespoon soy sauce
*optional chives

Knead. Notice how the imprint of my finger is visible

Seal in plastic bag

Cut into four sections (A metal bench scraper works the best for cutting dough)

Roll out

Cut into small pieces (think Bazooka)

Remember to lightly flour your working surface

Enlist help

My recipe makes two of these sheet pans, so reduce if you don't want that much.

Boiled (my favorite) with soy sauce on top

Pot sticker style. This is where I browned one side and poured in the water. Cover immediately and cook until the water evaporates.

Chili

2010-07-09T09:06:00.000-07:00

Homemade chili...mmmmm. Lots of meat, lots of layers of flavor, hold the beans! This might look complicated, but really it's not. Just have everything cut up and ready to go. I use a separate saute pan and a large Dutch oven side-by-side to assemble this. I like my chili hot, but you can adjust the heat to suit your taste. Then top with some cheddar and sour cream and you have a hearty meal.

K.P.'s Chili:

1/2 pound bacon, roughly chopped
3 pounds pork butt, cut into 1-inch cubes
3 pounds beef sirloin, cut into 1-inch cubes

3 cups diced white onions
3 jalapenos, seeded and diced
2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes
1 (28 ounce) can tomato puree
3 tablespoons cumin
1/2 cup chopped, roasted New Mexico chili (Pasilla chili will work)
1/3 cup dried New Mexico red chili powder (You can choose the heat level)
Cayenne pepper to taste (I use about 1 1/2 teaspoons)
3 tablespoons chopped garlic
2 tablespoons Kosher salt
3/4 cup water
2 pints Bass Ale
Juice of 1 lemon

For garnish:

Sour cream
Sharp Cheddar cheese
Chopped onion or chopped green onion

In a large saute pan, cook the bacon until crisp. Reserve the bacon fat in a heatproof bowl.

In the same saute pan, saute as much of the pork as you can fit in the pan without crowding it, with a few tablespoons of the bacon fat. When the pork is brown, move it to the Dutch oven (or stock pot). Continue to brown the pork until it is all done. Then do the same thing with the beef.

When all of the meat is browned, add the onion to the saute pan and cook until translucent. Add the chopped jalapeno and saute for a few more minutes. Move this mixture into the Dutch oven.

Saute the green chili and the garlic until garlic is fragrant and move this to the Dutch oven.

Now add the bacon, tomatoes, tomato puree, cumin, red chili powder, Cayenne, salt, water, Bass Ale and lemon juice. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until the meat is tender.

Serve hot, top with garnish of choice and a side of cornbread:)

Here is the meat: bacon, pork, and beef

The browned pork

Onions sauteing, this is the point where you add the jalapenos

Before the liquid and spices are added

Bring this to a boil

Pasta, Ham, and Vegetable Gratin

2010-07-06T20:22:00.000-07:00

There are infinite leftover possibilities but there are very few that my family will actually eat. This is a challenge when you cook big for a small family. I found this very simple but super delicious recipe by Jacques Pepin. There are no processed, salty, condensed soups in the recipe (although I admit to occasionally using condensed soups).
Here's the recipe as it was written, but I did need to adjust the cooking time. Just broiling the casserole alone wasn't enough to warm it through in my oven, so I actually baked it at 425 degrees for an additional 20 minutes and that worked. I left out the peas because I didn't have any on hand and used frozen corn kernels instead of fresh. Just make sure that your sauce has thickened up sufficiently before adding your cream. This is not a typical "mac and cheese" type casserole where you are going to have a bunch of gooey cheese sauce. The sauce is actually quite thin and the picture in his cookbook even shows a thin sauce. Even though this recipe calls for milk and heavy cream, it is surprisingly light. I loved how all of the fresh vegetables stayed crisp-tender. And my children loved it too! Surprise-surprise! <3

Pasta, Ham and Vegetable Gratin:
From the cookbook, Jacques Pepin Fast Food My Way

About 1 3/4 cup pasta shells or penne (about 5 ounces)
1 1/2 cups diced (1/2 inch) cooked ham (about 7 ounces)
3/4 cup corn kernels (from about 1 ear of corn)
1/2 cup peas, fresh or frozen
1 1/2 cups cubed (1/2 inch) zucchini
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
3/4 cup grated Swiss (Gruyere or Emmenthaler) cheese

White Sauce:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups milk
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tablespoons freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Bring about 2 quarts salted water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the pasta, stir will, and return to a boil. Boil, uncovered, until cooked but still slightly firm, or al dente, about 12 minutes. Drain, coll under cold running water, then drain again. (You will have about 3 cups)
Put the cooked pasta in a large bowl and stir in the ham, corn, peas, zucchini, salt, pepper, and Swiss cheese.

For the white sauce:
Melt the butter in a saucepan, add the flour, and mix it in with a whisk. Add the milk and bring to a boil, stirring occasionally with the whisk, especially at the edges of the saucepan. The sauce should thicken. Remove the pan from the heat, and mix in the cream. Let cool to lukewarm.

Heat the broiler. Combine the sauce with the pasta mixture in the bowl and transfer to a gratin dish or shallow baking dish with about a 6-cup capacity. Sprinkle the Parmesan cheese on top.

Broil about 4 inches from the heat source for 6 to 8 minutes, or until bubbly hot an the surface is lightly browned. Serve immediately.

*Make ahead:
The gratin can be made ahead, sprinkled with Parmesan, and kept covered, at room temperature for a few hours or refrigerated for up to a day before it is finished in the oven. If refrigerated, bring back to room temperature and bake on a cookie sheet for about 30 minutes in a 425 degree oven until heated through and lightly browned on top. Do not try to keep the cooked gratin a a warm oven for more than 10 to 15 minutes, or the pasta will swell up in the liquid and become gooey.

Before the white sauce is added

Right before baking

Ginger-Cinnamon Tea (Sujungwa or Sujeongwa)

2010-06-29T18:38:00.000-07:00

This is the Korean equivalent to Sweet Tea. Not only is it refreshing and delicious, but it is quite healthy. Ginger has many health benefits as does cinnamon and honey. Many Koreans think of this drink as a health tonic. I just remember drinking this when I was young and always loving this sweet, spicy and fragrant treat.

This is quite sweet, but it should be served over lots of ice, which tends to dilute it. You can always add less honey if you prefer.

Ginger Cinnamon Tea with Dried Persimmons

1 cup peeled and thinly sliced ginger
10-12 cinnamon sticks
2 cups honey or honey powder
5 dried persimmons
4 quarts water (16 cups)
Toasted pine nuts

Peel a large knob of ginger (this is easily done with a spoon) and slice thinly. You should have about 1 cup.
Bring ginger, cinnamon sticks and water to a boil, and then reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes.
Turn off heat and let it steep for about 10 minutes.
Add honey or honey powder.
Using a fine mesh strainer, strain into a large bowl or container.
Cool to room temperature
Clean persimmons and remove the hard stem
Put dried persimmons in the bottom of a glass pitcher or container and pour the tea over it.
Refrigerate for several hours or overnight. This will keep in the refrigerator for approximately 3 to 4 days.
To serve, pour over lots of ice and sprinkle toasted pine nuts over it.

Peel ginger with a spoon

Slice thin

Strain into a bowl

Dried persimmons can be found at Korean grocery stores

Sprinkle with pine nuts

Baked Chili Cheese Dogs

2010-06-24T13:05:00.000-07:00

Summer is here and I have been busy being outdoors and entertaining my children. I thought that I would make something fun for the kids and at the same time, easy for me. Chili cheese dogs, stromboli style came to mind. I made use of some frozen dough balls by defrosting them in the refrigerator the night before. And I made these really fun and tasty treats. My children were VERY impressed:)

Baked Chili Cheese Dogs

Frozen, uncooked dinner rolls (2 dough balls for each chili dog that you want to make)
American cheese slices (1 for each dog)
Your favorite brand of chili, or homemade if you have it
Hot dogs

The night before, put the desired amount of frozen dough balls in a plastic bag and defrost in the refrigerator. You will need two for every chili dog.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
Squish two dough balls to make one larger one and briefly knead on a lightly floured board. Set aside and let it rest for 20 minutes.
Roll out into a rectangle
Spread about a tablespoon of chili in the center of the dough. Cut a cheese slice in half and lay both halves over the chili. Starting from the top, roll the dough over the hot dog. The ends of the hot dogs should be peeking out of the sides. Pinch the end closed and lay them on a parchment paper or Silpat lined baking sheet, seam side down.
Bake for approximately 10 minutes or until the tops of the bread are a golden brown.
Cool briefly on a wire rack and serve.

Cinnamon Rolls Revisited

2010-06-14T17:07:00.000-07:00

A few months ago, I did a post on cinnamon rolls, and while they were very good, I didn't feel like they were the ultimate. They were so rich and the dough, while very soft, was also quite heavy. I wanted to find a way to lighten them up a bit.
I recently saw a cinnamon roll post from A Southern Grace, and based on reader's suggestions, she tried the cinnamon roll recipe from the Pioneer Woman. She loved them and thought they were just about perfect. Now, I own the Pioneer Woman Cooks, and had been looking at her cinnamon roll recipe for a while, but I didn't think that I would care for her maple icing, which incorporates maple flavoring as well as a small amount of strong coffee. But based on ASG's review, I thought it was worth a try. And you know, it was really good. I did however feel that it still wasn't quite what I was looking for. The filling was very sweet, the amount of butter used made the whole thing kind of runny and greasy and the icing was thin. My family really liked them, but later that day my daughter asked if I would make another batch, "but more like regular cinnamon rolls this time". She thought these tasted more like Honey Buns than cinnamon rolls.

I used the Pioneer Woman's dough (which really was perfect) with the filling from my other cinnamon rolls, and cut out the maple icing. I went ahead and made a cream cheese icing, but left out butter, opting instead to just use cream cheese, powdered sugar, vanilla, and a little milk. This made for a lighter, not so rich icing that was thick enough to be decadent, but light enough to not be cloying and had that wonderful cream cheese tang. The result was amazing! Now, I won't say that these are THE best cinnamon rolls ever, because not everyone may find this version better than the ones their mother makes, or the ones you get from the local mall, but I have to say that in my humble opinion, these are the best cinnamon rolls I have ever eaten.

The Ultimate Cinnamon Rolls:)

Dough:
2 cups whole milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 pkg active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoon)
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour, divided
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 tablespoon salt

Filling:
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon
1/3 cup butter, softened

Icing:
4 ounces cream cheese
1 tablespoon whole milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
For the dough, heat the milk, vegetable oil, and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Do not allow the mixture to boil. Set aside and cool to lukewarm.
Sprinkle yeast on top and let it sit on the milk for 1 minute.
Add 4 cups of flour, stirring until just combined. Cover and let it rise for 1 hour.
After the hour, add the additional 1/2 cup of flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt and thoroughly combine. Use the dough right away or refrigerate, covered for up to 3 days.
To assemble rolls, place the dough on a floured surface, roll the dough into a large rectangle, about 30 x 10 inches.
Spread the softened butter on the dough, then sprinkle the dough lightly with a little flour.
Spread the brown sugar/cinnamon mixture on the dough, and then sprinkle lightly again with a little flour.
Roll starting from the top end: there are photos in my first post
With a sharp knife, cut into 1 1/2 inch slices.
Place them in a large, greased baking sheet and bake them for approximately 20 minutes (until the tops are golden brown.)

While the rolls are baking, make the icing by whisking all the ingredients together in a bowl. Ice the rolls with half of the icing while they are still warm, let them sit for a few minutes, and then ice them again with the other half.

Spam Musubi

2010-06-02T16:58:00.000-07:00

A lunchbox favorite with my children, this easy dish is delicious, inexpensive to make, and quick to disappear. A Spam musubi mold makes life easier, but it's not absolutely necessary. I have seen this made with a Spam can that has been cut on both ends, and it can also be done with a simple sushi rolling mat. The molds are inexpensive and can be ordered through Amazon.

Spam Musubi:

2 cups of short-grain rice, cooked according to your rice cooker's instructions (brown rice can be used)
1 can of Spam (I use low sodium)
4 sheets of nori, cut in half lengthwise
Soy sauce
Sugar

Get your workstation ready by laying out a stack of nori, a bowl of cooked rice, a small bowl of water (to dip the top of the musubi mold into so the rice doesn't stick)
Slice Spam in approximate 1/4-inch slices, this should give you about 8 equal pieces
Brown in skillet
Sprinkle one side with a little sugar (approximately 1/4 teaspoon, but I just eyeball it)
Drizzle each piece with a little soy sauce
Place the pan of cooked Spam near your workstation
Lay out one piece of nori, place the tube portion of your musubi mold in the center
Put approximately 1 1/2 tablespoons of rice into the mold
Wet the top of the mold and then press down on the rice, to make it flat and even inside the mold
Place a slice of Spam in the mold on top of the first rice layer
Put another 1 1/2 tablespoons of rice in mold, and flatten again with the top which has been dipped in water again.
With the top still pushing down on the top layer of rice, lift up the tube portion
Starting at the bottom of the nori, fold it up over the rice and Spam
Roll until it is completely covered and then seal the end by rubbing a cooked grain of rice along the edge to act as the "glue"
Repeat
When all of the Spam musubi have been assembled, slice into four even pieces

Sheets of nori

Cut in half (easiest to use a sharp pair of scissors)

Slice your Spam

Fry it up

Sprinkle with sugar

Drizzle with soy sauce

Get everything ready in your workstation

Assemble

Then you can fill up a cute little bento box and send it off, or better yet, just eat them right then and there:)

Cinnamon-Sugar Muffins

2010-05-31T11:35:00.000-07:00

I saw a show on Food Network last night called, The Best Thing I Ever Ate. The owner of Sprinkles said she had these muffins somewhere that were coated in cinnamon-sugar and it was the best thing she has ever eaten. It even inspired her to make a cupcake version at her bakery. Well, it sounded pretty darn good to me too, so I decided to give it a shot. I used a basic muffin recipe and threw in a little cinnamon and buttermilk, and here is the very tasty result. I always keep a jar of cinnamon-sugar in my pantry because I love cinnamon-sugar toast and my family loves to put this mixture on top of their French toast instead of syrup. So I figured this would be a hit. And it was!

The muffins are dipped in melted butter and then rolled into the cinnamon-sugar mixture, so you have that awesome salty (from the butter) and sweet combination. These muffins are very moist and tender to begin with, but with the addition of that crunchy little coating, they are taken to a whole other level. Love!

Cinnamon-Sugar Muffins:

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon grated or ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup (one stick) butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla

Topping:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
1 1/2 cups cinnamon sugar mixture

Preheat oven to 400 degrees
In a large bowl, mix flour, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon.
In a second bowl, whisk together, eggs, buttermilk, sugar, melted butter, and vanilla
Add the wet mixture to the dry and with a spoon, gently mix until it all the dry ingredients are moistened. Do not over mix as this will make the muffins tough.
Divide the muffins among the muffin cups (I made 12 muffins with this)
Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center of one of the larger muffins comes out clean.
Let it cool for 2-3 minutes and remove them to a wire rack to cool further.
When the muffins are cool enough to handle, dip them into the butter, and then into the cinnamon-sugar mixture and set on a plate. Cover the entire muffin. Repeat until all of your muffins are coated.

Fresh Apricot Coffee Cake

2010-05-30T19:18:00.000-07:00

Our tree is loaded right now with ripe apricots. This is our first Summer in this house and really, my first experience with fresh apricots. Sure I've had them before, but never in huge amounts like this and my feelings for them were, for lack of a better word, meh. I didn't love them or hate them. They were one of the fruits that I never really gave a second thought to. Apricots look like mini peaches. They even have a lightly fuzzy skin. But their flavor is milder, sweeter, less tangy. They are also similar to plums but the flavor is not as pronounced and strong. They are growing on me as well as our tree, but this sudden abundance has me scrambling to find recipes. I came across this one on All Recipes and made some adjustments according to the reviews. The consensus seemed to be that cooked apricots became rather tart. When eaten raw, these apricots don't have the faintest bit of sourness. But cooked? Holy moly! When I took my first bite, it was a bit of a shock, but crazy as it sounds, the tartness of the fruit with the sweetness of the cake becomes unusually addictive. I will be making this again... probably today, because the first cake is already gone.
The recipe below is with my adjustments, which have to do with additional sugar and milk, but the original can be found on the link above.

Fresh Apricot Coffee Cake:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 cup sugar
1 egg
2 tablespoons butter
1 scant cup milk (not quite a full cup)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups pitted, diced apricots
1/4 cup sugar to toss with the apricots

Topping:
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
In a large bowl, mix flour, salt and baking powder
In a separate bowl, cream 1/2 cup sugar, butter, and egg until light and fluffy
Mix in milk, water and vanilla until blended
Pour the wet mixture into the flour mixture and beat just until smooth
Spread batter evenly into a greased, 8-inch square baking pan
Toss the diced apricots with 1/4 cup of sugar
Sprinkle the apricots over the batter
Dust the whole thing with the cinnamon sugar topping

Bake approximately 45 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.

Bacon and Artichoke Heart Pizza with Pineapple

2010-05-26T10:45:00.000-07:00

A Hawaiian friend (who happens to be a chef) once informed me that putting pineapple on pizza is an abomination. Chef or no chef, he doesn't know what he's missing. Pineapple on pizza is fabulous! The sweetness cuts the saltiness of the rest of the toppings and the flavor is unbeatable.
I use apple wood smoked bacon and non-marinated artichoke hearts (the canned ones packed in water) on this pizza. I top it all off with a clipping of fresh chives and try to eat it secretly in the kitchen so I don't have to share. But the smell always tips off the rest of the family and I have to either share and make another one, or get my hands bitten off. It's a good thing it only takes a few minutes to make.
For the crust, I use the recipe for Pizza Napoletana and sometimes I use mushrooms instead of artichoke hearts (My kids prefer the mushroom version).
I normally use a baking stone to make pizza, but when I use heavy toppings, I prefer to just use a baking sheet lined with a Silpat liner (you can use parchment paper). Let me take a minute to give a shout out to my Silpat liners: You guys rock my world! I don't know how I survived all of those years without you. You make life easier by reducing my clean up and by ensuring that everything I cook with you is perfectly brown and crispy. You are browned and stained, but you are still beautiful to me. I love you.

Bacon and Artichoke Pizza with Pineapple: or Bacon and Mushroom Pizza with Pineapple:

1 portion of Pizza Napoletana dough
Mozzarella cheese
Marinara sauce (preferably homemade, but a good quality jarred will work)
3 slices of thick cut apple wood-smoked bacon, lightly cooked and crumbled into bite-sized pieces
8-10 canned, water-packed whole artichoke hearts, cut in half (or fresh mushrooms, sliced OR 4 oz can of mushroom pieces)
1/2 cup golden pineapple, cut into bite-sized pieces
Chives, snipped over the top

Preheat oven to 475 degrees
Drain and dry on paper towels, artichoke heart and pineapple (this is important for non-soggy pizza)
Form the pizza dough to the thickness and size desired right on top of the baking sheet
Layer as follows:
Marinara sauce
Cheese,
Artichoke hearts or mushrooms
Pineapple
Bacon
Chives

Cook until golden brown (approx 10 to 15 minutes)

Philadelphia Style Strawberry Ice Cream

2010-05-25T12:23:00.000-07:00

There are two basic styles of ice cream: French and American (Philadelphia). The difference is eggs. French-style ice cream uses egg yolks to make a custard first and is creamier and smoother. It is also quite richer. Philadelphia-style just uses cream and milk and is therefore lighter, but freezes harder and is a bit firmer. I love both, but chose the Philadelphia style here because I was in the mood for a lighter ice cream. Next time, I'll make it French-style and will love it just as much, I am sure.
I strained my strawberry puree because my family doesn't care for seeds. Because of this, I increased my strawberries by 1 cup. It's personal preference though and if it were just me, I would have left them in.
Because this recipe does not have the richness of the custard base, you want to make sure the fruit you use is perfect because that is what is showcased here. Taste the puree and if you find it too tart, you may want to add some superfine sugar to sweeten it up to your liking.

Strawberry Ice Cream, Philadelphia Style
from the cookbook, The Ultimate Ice Cream Book
by Bruce Weinstein

2 cups heavy cream
1/3 cup sugar
3 cups fresh strawberries
1/4 cup milk

Heat the cream in a large heavy saucepan over medium heat until small bubbles appear around the edge. Do not let the cream boil. Remove from the heat and add the sugar, stirring until the sugar dissolves completely. Cool to room temperature.

Meanwhile, cut the berries into quarters and place in a blender with the milk. Blend until the berries are pureed. Add the puree to the cooled cream. Refrigerate until cold or overnight. Freeze in 1 or 2 batches according to the manufacturer's instructions. When finished, the ice cream will be soft but ready to eat. For firmer ice cream, transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze at least 2 hours.

Fresh strawberries

Ready to be pureed

Cream and sugar

Straining out the seeds

Thomas Keller's Buttermilk Fried Chicken

2010-05-24T15:40:00.000-07:00

I am enamored with Thomas Keller and all of his huge, coffee-table book size cookbooks. When I first got them, I was expecting them to be just that; not really practical or usable, pretty coffee table books. I was wrong. They are packed with recipes that are very usable and dare I say, even simple? Well, o.k., there are some that I wouldn't even begin to attempt, especially in his, The French Laundry book. But a girl can still look and be inspired right? This one is out of his "ad hoc at home" book.
I seem to be on a fried food kick right now. The secret to this chicken is in the aromatic and flavorful brine. I will list the recipe as written both for the fried chicken and the brine, but I cut everything in half for my family and I fried the chicken just until I achieved the color that I wanted and finished off the cooking process on a baking sheet in the oven at 350 degrees. I do this with fried chicken because I tend to burn the coating before the thicker pieces get cooked through all the way. But again, I am listing the recipe as is written in the book and you choose whichever method works for you.

Buttermilk Fried Chicken
from the cookbook, ad hoc at home by Thomas Keller

Two 2 1/2 to 3-pound chicken
Chicken brine (recipe below)

For dredging and frying:

Peanut or canola oil for deep-frying
1quart buttermilk
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Coating:

6 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup garlic powder
1/4 cup onion powder
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon paprika
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon cayenne
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Ground fleur de sel or fine sea salt
Rosemary and thyme sprigs for garnish

Cut each chicken into 10 pieces: 2 legs, 2 thighs, 4 breast quarters, and 2 wings. Pour the brine into a container large enough to hold the chicken pieces. Add the chicken and refrigerate for 12 hours (no longer or the chicken may become too salty)
Remove chicken from the brine and rinse under cold water, removing any herbs or spices sticking to the skin. Pat dry with paper towels, or let air-dry. Let rest at room temperature for 1 1/2 hours, or until it comes to room temperature.
If you have two large pots, and a lot of oil you can cook the dark and white meat at the same time; if not, cook the dark meat first, then turn up the heat and cook the white meat. No matter what size pot you have, the oil should not come more that one third f the way up the sides of the pot. Fill the pot with at least 2 inches of peanut oil and heat to 320 degrees. Set a cooling rack over a baking sheet, Line a second baking sheet with parchment paper.
Meanwhile, combine all the coating ingredients in a large bowl. Pour the buttermilk into a third bowl and season with salt and pepper. Set up a dipping station: the chicken pieces, one bowl of coating, the bowl of buttermilk, the second bowl of coating. Transfer to the parchment lined pan.
Carefully lower the thighs into the hot oil. Adjust the heat as necessary return the oil to the proper temperature. Fry for 2 minutes, then carefully move the chicken pieces around in the oil and continue to fry, monitoring the oil temperature and turning the pieces as necessary for even cooking, for 11 to 22 minutes, until the chicken is a deep golden brown, cooked through, and very crisp. Meanwhile, coat the chicken drumsticks and transfer to the parchment lined baking sheet.
Transfer the cooked thighs to the cooling rack skin side up and let rest while you fry the remaining chicken. Make sure that the oil is at the correct temperature, and cook the chicken drumsticks. When the drumsticks are don, lean them meat side up against the thighs to drain, then sprinkle the chicken with fine sea salt.
Turn up the heat and heat the oil to 340 degrees. Meanwhile, coat the chicken breasts and wings. Carefully lower the chicken breasts into the hot oil and fry for 7 minutes or until golden brown, cooked through, and crisp. transfer to the rack, sprinkle with salt, and turn skin side up. Cook the wings for 6 minutes, or until golden brown and cooked through. Transfer the wings to the rack and turn off the heat.
Arrange the chicken on a serving platter. Add the herb sprigs to the oil and let them cook and crisp for a few seconds, then arrange them over the chicken.

Chicken Brine:

5 lemons, halved
24 bay leaves
1 bunch (4 ounces) flat-leaf parsley
1 bunch (1 ounce) thyme
1/2 cup clover honey
1 head garlic, halved through the equator
1/2 cup black peppercorns
2 cups (10 ounces) kosher salt, preferably Diamond Crystal
2 gallons water

The key ingredient here is the lemon, which goes wonderfully with chicken, as do the herbs. This amount of brine will be enough for 10 pounds.

Combine all the ingredients in a large pot, cover, and bring to a boil. Boil for 1 minute, stirring to dissolve the salt. remove from the heat and cool completely, then chill before using. The brine can be refrigerated for up to 3 days.

The brine minus the bay leaves

Getting ready for the bake (this is not in the recipe, but it's the only way for me not to burn my chicken)

Chicken Fried Steak With Country Gravy

2010-05-22T14:34:00.000-07:00

I used to buy the frozen pre-breaded chicken fried steak that comes with the plastic pouch of gravy that you heat separately. To be honest, it's actually not half bad. But the thing is, this dish is easy to make from scratch and so much less expensive. Cubed steak is pretty cheap (3.99 per pound, and it wasn't on even sale. Each steak cost less than $2.00 and each of us were only able to finish half a steak.). In fact, this whole meal which was too much for my entire family of four to finish, cost less than $10.00 for all of it, including the potatoes and green beans. So how's that for a cheap, hearty meal? And let's face it, chicken fried steak, while not the healthiest of meals, is awesome!

Chicken Fried Steak:
*Each cubed steak was about half a pound and each of those were cut in half. Two pieces (1 steak) will feed 1 very hungry person, but most will probably only eat one if served with all the fixin's
**Instead of draining fried meat on paper towels, I like to use a wire rack set inside a baking sheet. This will ensure that the steak stays crispy. If you leave the fried steak on paper towels, they tend to re-absorb the oil from the paper towels and get soggy.

1 1/2 to 2 pounds cubed steak
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon each-garlic powder, paprika, cayenne pepper
Black pepper to taste
Additional salt and pepper to season meat
Vegetable oil for frying.

Cut each cubed steak in half and season lightly with salt and pepper
In a pie plate or flat bowl, beat eggs and milk
In a separate plate, mix flour with seasonings
For each steak:
Dredge in flour mixture
Dip in egg mixture
Dredge in flour again
Dip in egg again
End with another dredge in the flour and set aside.
Repeat

Heat oil in a large skillet (preferably cast iron) over medium high heat. Fry 3 pieces of meat at a time until they get golden brown and turn over to cook the other side. Drain over a wire rack.

Country Gravy:

1/4 cup of the same oil you used to cook steak
1/3 cup of flour
Approximately 2 cups of milk
Salt and pepper to taste

After frying all of the steak, pour off most of the grease, leaving about 1/4 cup. Sprinkle the flour over the grease and using a whisk, mix the flour with the grease making a loose roux. When the mixture is a golden color, slowly pour in milk, while continuing to whisk. The gravy will become thick. Add more milk if necessary to keep the gravy from getting too thick. Season with salt and pepper. This should be enough gravy for all of your steak and some mashed potatoes.

Cubed steak. This is about half a pound. You want to cut this in half.

Here is the wire rack set inside of a rimmed baking sheet.

This is what approximately 1/4 cup of oil looks like

Then you add your flour

The roux

Quick Peach Cobbler

2010-05-22T08:29:00.000-07:00

Peach cobblers I have had have been really-really good, or really-really bad. I love a soft, fluffy, cake-like topping; not a big fan of overly sweet, crisp or sugar cookie type toppings. And the filling has to be perfectly sweet, not tart, or overly sugary. Picky, picky. In non-peach season, I prefer to use canned peaches. Most are canned at their perfect ripeness so I don't have to worry about having a tart/sour cobbler and also, I don't add sugar to the filling as it is already sweet enough. Topped with a dollup of whipped cream, it is a wonderful ending to any meal.

Peach Cobbler:

Filling:
5 cups peeled, pitted, thinly sliced peaches or 1 pound (2 large cans or 1 jar) canned peaches, drained (reserving the canning syrup)
1/3 cup sugar (if using fresh peaches, omit sugar if using canned)
2 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup water (or 1/4 cup canning syrup if using canned)
2 tablespoons butter, cut in small pieces

Topping:
1 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
2 eggs, beaten
4 tablespoons butter

Preheat oven to 375
Lighty butter or spray with cooking spray, a baking dish (8 inch or 1 liter)
Combine peaches with syrup or water, sugar, 2 tablespoons flour, cinnamon and vanilla. Stir together and pour into the baking dish. Top with butter pieces.

Combine the topping ingredients in a different bowl and spoon evently over the peaches.
Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the topping is a golden brown.

This is the brand of peaches I used. I prefer the fruit in these jars rather than cans. I think they taste better, but that may just be me.

Here is the peach mixture

Cubed Steak Sandwich

2010-05-20T16:36:00.000-07:00

I found this recipe in The Pioneer Woman Cooks and I thought it would be something my family would like. They love "country" style foods like chicken fried steak, steak fingers, fried _____, gravy......etc. This steak sandwich is made from cubed steak (which is normally use for chicken fried steak) and grilled onions. I amp'd it up a little by using homemade sandwich rolls and by adding cheese. Six thumbs up from one man and two kids.

Cubed Steak Sandwich
from the cookbook, The Pioneer Woman Cooks

1 large onion or 2 small/medium onions, sliced
Butter, lots of it
2 or 3 pounds of cube steak
Seasoned salt
Lemon pepper
Black pepper
Worcestershire sauce
Tabasco
4 French or deli rolls
**Optional- cheese! Provolone would be divine. I used good ole American, because it was what I had in the fridge.

In a skillet, melt 1/4 stick of butter.
Add onions and cook over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until soft and light brown, 5 to 7 minutes.
Remove onion from pan and set aside.
Cut each piece of cubed steak against the grain into 1-inch strips. Season the meat with season salt, lemon pepper, and black pepper.
Add 2 tablespoons butter to the same skillet in which you cooked the onion. Turn the heat to high. Let the butter begin to turn brown and then add enough meat to make a single layer. Cook until brown on both sides and fully cooked. Set aside and cook remaining meat in single layer.
Return all of the meat back to the pan, add the onion. Pour in Worcestershire sauce and Tabasco sauce to taste. Add additional 2 tablespoons of butter. Simmer the mixture over low heat for about 5 minutes to thoroughly warm.
Cut each roll in half lengthwise. Spread with butter, then brown on a griddle or skillet. Place the rolls face up on a plate then place the meat mixture on the bottom half. Spoon 2 or 3 tablespoons of the pan juices over the top. *Optional-top with cheese:)

Homemade bread recipe-I just shaped the bread into torpedoes this time.

I shaped most of the dough into dinner rolls for later and made 4 sandwich rolls

Here are the sandwich rolls right out of the oven

Sweet and Salty Chocolate Cake

2010-05-16T21:04:00.000-07:00

This recipe is from Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito's Bakery, "Baked" in Brooklyn. Their first cookbook, also named Baked has an amazing array of wonderful, decadent recipes. This cake is their most loved and most requested recipe and I can see why. It is a chocolate cake with salted caramel and whipped caramel-chocolate ganache frosting. It is definitely a "grown up" cake with that fabulous sweet and salty combination that we adults love. As far as kids go, mine liked the cake but would have preferred if I left off the salt sprinkles (They thought the salt was gross but I thought it was the best part!) It is super rich and so very sinful. The salted caramel almost didn't make it on the cake because I was eating spoonfuls of it all by itself. Holy smokes!

I have an aversion to making layer cakes. They are quite the undertaking for simple, sheet cake loving me. But with the right tools, I was able to tackle this without too much drama. It came out a little lopsided, but not bad for a beginner. I made it for my baby brother's 31st birthday:) We had it with some strong coffee, but a glass of cold milk would have been just as good.

One tip I will give out is to do your dishes right after you make each element of this cake. You will be using the same pots over and over again, so it just makes it easier if you get yourself really organized. There are quite a few steps, but they are pretty simple. Also, as far as the caramel making goes. The recipe says to cook the syrup until it registers 350 degrees on an instant read thermometer. That did not work for me. The caramel will go from perfectly golden to a burnt amber within seconds if you try to get the instant read thermometer to read. Also my candy thermometer was either not reading properly or 350 was way too high. So I learned the hard way to just use my eyes and get the syrup off of the stove when it just starts turning golden. You can always darken it up a little more after you get your cream mixture in it. If something smells scorched, you have cooked it too long. Start over.

Sweet and Salty Cake
from the cookbook, Baked
by Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito

For the classic chocolate cake layers:
3/4 cup dark unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 cups hot water
2/3 cup sour cream
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1 1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
3 large eggs, at room temperature
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

For the salted caramel:
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon fleur de sel (or sea salt)
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
1/4 cup sour cream

For the whipped caramel ganache frosting:
1 pound dark chocolate (60 to 70 percent cacao), chopped
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 cup sugar
2 tablespoons light corn syrup
2 cups (4 sticks) unsalted butter, soft but cool, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
**After frosting the entire cake, I still had a tub of this frosting leftover, so unless you like a LOT of frosting on your cake, you can probably reduce this.

To assemble the cake:
2 teaspoons fleur de sel, plus more for garnish

Make the chocolate cake:
*Preheat oven to 325

*Butter three 8 inch round cake pans, line the bottoms with parchment paper (cut them to fit the pans) and then butter the parchment too. Dust with flour and knock out the excess flour.
*In a medium bowl, combine the cocoa powder, hot water, and sour cream and set aside to cool.
*Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together into a medium bowl and set aside.
*In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and shortening on medium speed until ribbon like, about 5 minutes. Add the sugars and beat until light and fluffy, about 5 minutes. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition, then add the vanilla and beat until incorporated. Scrape down the bowl and mix again for 30 seconds.
*Add the flour mixture, alternating with the cocoa mixture, in three additions, beginning and ending with the flour mixture.
*Divide the batter among the prepared pans and smooth the tops. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through the baking time, until a toothpick inserted in the center of each cake comes out clean. Transfer the cakes to a wire rack and let cool for 20 minutes. Invert the cakes onto the rack, remove the pans, and let cool completely. remove the parchment.

Make salted caramel:
*In a small saucepan, combine the cream and fleur de sel. Bring to a simmer over very low heat until the salt is dissolved.
*Meanwhile, keeping a close eye on the cream mixture so it doesn't burn, in a medium saucepan combine 1/4 cup water, the sugar, and corn syrup, stirring them together carefully so you don't splash the sides of the pan. Cook over high heat until an instant-read thermometer reads 350, 6-8 minutes. Remove from heat and let cool for 1 minute.
*Add the cream mixture to the sugar mixture. Whisk in the sour cream. Let the caramel cool to room temp, then transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate until you are ready to assemble the cake.

Make the frosting:

*Put chocolate in a large heatproof bowl and set aside.

*Add the cream to the caramel and stir to combine. Stir slowly for 2 minutes, then pour the caramel over the chocolate. Let the caramel and chocolate sit for 1 minute, then starting in the center of the bowl, and working you way out to the edges, slowly stir the chocolate and caramel mixture in a circle until the chocolate is completely melted. Let the mixture cool, then transfer it to the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the bowl feels cool to the touch. Increase the speed to medium-high and gradually add the butter, beating until thoroughly incorporated. Scrape down the bowl and bear on high speed until the mixture is fluffy.

Assemble the cake:
*Place one cake layer on a serving platter. Spread 1/4 cup of the caramel over the top. Let the caramel soak into the cake, then spread 3/4 cup of the ganache frosting over the caramel. Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of salt over the frosting, then top with the second cake layer. Spread with caramel frosting and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon of salt. Then top with the third layer. Spread with caramel. Crumb coat the cake and put the cake in the refrigerator for 15 minutes to firm up the frosting. Frost the sides and top with the remaining frosting. Garnish with a sprinkle of fleur de sel.

Crumb Coat: A crumb coat is a very thin layer of frosting applied to the cake to keep the light crumbs suspended so they wont appear in the final layer of frosting. A crumb coated cake should be refrigerated for at least 15 minutes prior to applying the next frosting layer.

This is the cocoa powder I used

Here is the combined cocoa powder, hot water and sour cream

The cake batter divided into three pans (I didn't have any 8-inch pans, so I used 9-inch)

Here is the sugar mixture right before I took it off the heat. You want it just a tad darker than this, but not much

After I mixed in the salted cream mixture. Make sure you let it cool completely before you try tasting this. Otherwise you will burn the skin right off of the roof of your mouth (don't ask me how I know this.)

The brand of chocolate I used for the frosting.

I just put the chopped chocolate directly into the bowl of my electric mixer instead of dirtying up another bowl.

Here is the chocolate with the caramel mixture poured on top.

Here is is after it's all melted and mixed. Make sure you cool it completely after this point and before you start mixing in the butter.

I bought an inexpensive turntable to make frosting cakes a lot easier.

And about a dozen of these cardboard things that really made the transferring of the decorated cake to a cake stand drama-free.

So here is the first cake layer on top of the cardboard thing, on top of the turntable.

The caramel ready to be spread. I actually used more than this, but it's what I started with.

The first layer of frosting over the caramel with a sprinkle of salt.

Layer number two.

All three layers with a crumb coating over the whole cake. On to the refrigerator.

The finished, slightly lopsided cake.

Stacked Green Chile and Grilled Chicken Enchiladas

2010-05-14T08:25:00.000-07:00

I joined the The Daring Cooks and The Daring Bakers and this was my first challenge. Our hosts this month, Barbara of Barbara Bakes and Bunnee of Anna+Food have chosen a delicious Stacked Green Chile & Grilled Chicken Enchilada recipe in celebration of Cinco De Mayo! The recipe, featuring a homemade enchilada sauce was found on www.fine cooking.com and written by Robb Walsh.

Stacked Green Chili and Grilled Chicken Enchiladas:

1½ pounds Fresh Anaheim chiles (about eight 6 to 8 inch chiles) 24 ounces 678 grams - roast, peel, remove seeds, chop coarsely. Other green chiles (NOT bell peppers) could probably be substituted but be conscious of heat and size!)
7-8 ounces Tomatillos (about 4-5 medium)212 grams - peel, remove stems
4 cups Chicken broth (32 ounces/920 grams)
1 clove Garlic, minced
2 teaspoons yellow onion, minced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
½ tsp Kosher salt (add more to taste)
¼ tsp Black Pepper (add more to taste)
2 tablespoons Cornstarch (dissolve in 2 tablespoons water, for thickening)
Hot sauce, your favorite, optional
2 Boneless chicken breasts (you can also use bone-in chicken breasts or thighs)
3 tablespoons Olive oil or other neutral vegetable oil (use more as needed)
Kosher salt and pepper
12 Small Corn tortillas (5-6 inch/13-15 cm). (you can also use wheat tortillas or other wraps)
6 ounces grated Monterrey Jack, 170 grams (other cheeses (cheddar, pepper jack, Mexican cheeses) can be used. Just be sure they melt well and complement the filling)
Cilantro for garnish, chopped and sprinkled optional

Roasting Fresh Chiles:
1. Coat each chile with a little vegetable oil. If you are doing only a couple chiles, using the gas stove works. For larger batches (as in this recipe), grilling or broiling is faster.
2. Lay the oiled chiles on the grill or baking sheet (line pan with foil for simpler clean-up). Place the grill or broil close to the element, turning the chiles so they char evenly. They should be black and blistered.
3. As they are completely charred (they will probably not all be done at once), remove them to a bowl and cover with plastic, or close up in a paper bag. Let them rest until they are cool.
4. Pull on the stem and the seed core MAY pop out (it rarely does for me). Open the chile and remove the seeds. Turn the chile skin side up and with a paring knife, scrape away the skin. Sometimes it just pulls right off, sometimes you really have to scrape it.
5. DO NOT RINSE!

Green Chile Sauce:

1. Put a medium saucepan of water on to boil and remove the papery outer skin from the tomatillos. Boil the tomatillos until soft, 5 to 10 minutes. You can also grill the tomatillos until soft.
2. Drain and puree in a blender or food processor.
3. Return the tomatillos to the saucepan along with the chicken broth, chopped green chile's, minced onion, oregano, garlic, salt and pepper.
4. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and then reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
5. Add the cornstarch/water mixture and stir well. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thickened and reduced to 4-5 cups, another 10-15 minutes.
6. Adjust seasonings and add hot sauce if you want a little more heat.

Stacked Green Chile and Grilled Chicken Enchiladas:

1. Heat a gas grill to medium high or build a medium-hot charcoal Coat the chicken with olive oil and season well with salt and pepper. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Grill the chicken until just cooked through, 4-5 minutes a side for boneless chicken breasts.
3. Cool and then slice into thin strips or shred.
4. In a small skillet, heat 3 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat until very hot. Dip the edge of a tortilla into the oil to check – it should sizzle immediately.
5. Using tongs, put a tortilla into the pan and cook until soft and lightly brown on each side, about 15-20 seconds per side (at the most).
6. Drain on paper towels.
7. Add oil as needed and continue until all 12 tortillas are done.
8. In a baking dish large enough to hold four separate stacks of tortillas, ladle a thin layer of sauce.
9. Lay four tortillas in the dish and ladle another ½ cup (4 ounces/112 grams) of sauce over the tortillas.
10. Divide half the chicken among the first layer of tortillas, top with another ½ cup of sauce and 1/3 of the grated cheese.
11. Stack another four tortillas, top with the rest of the chicken, more sauce and another third of the cheese.
12. Finish with the third tortilla, topped with the remaining sauce and cheese.
13. Bake until the sauce has thickened and the cheese melted, about 20 minutes. Let rest for 5-10 minutes.
14. To serve, transfer each stack to a plate. Spoon any leftover sauce over the stacks and sprinkle with cilantro, if you wish. The stacks may also be cooked in individual gratin dishes.

This recipe was yummy. The rules did allow for some substitutions so I used New Mexico roasted chiles and grilled pork instead of chicken. Other than that, I followed the recipe. I loved the little bit of tang that the tomatillos added to the sauce and will continue using it in my enchiladas from now on. This was a big hit with the family and although the recipe looks time consuming, it really wasn't too bad. Thumbs up!

Sesame-Encrusted Seared Ahi

2010-05-07T11:57:00.000-07:00

My favorite fish is ahi. I love it raw; I love it seared; I love it in sushi rolls. This is an amazingly flavorful and simple way of preparing ahi.

Sesame-Encrusted Seared Ahi:

1/2 cup white sesame seeds
1/2 cup black sesame seeds
1 tablespoon wasabi powder
1 tablespoon sesame oil
Kosher salt
Pepper
2 pieces tuna loin (about 8 oz each), cut in half
*serves 2 hungry eaters, or 4 light eaters

Combine sesame seeds and wasabi powder in a bowl and lightly salt and pepper the mixture.
Heat large pan on medim high and drizzle with sesame oil.
Salt tuna lightly and coat in the seed mixture
Reduce heat to medium and sear tuna on all sides until lightly browned (about 2 minutes)

(Day 4- 7 upper body/TKB)

Thai Beef Salad (Yum Nuah)

2010-05-06T16:48:00.000-07:00

I will admit upfront that I cannot stand Thai restaurant food. However, I took a Thai cooking class about 20 yrs ago, and everything that I made from the class was fabulous so I can't say that I dislike Thai food. The great thing about homemade is that you can adjust ingredients like sugar and omit flavors that you don't care for.

This is a recipe for a hot and sour beef salad. The fresh lime juice in the dressing is amazing. You can adjust the heat according to your taste preference. If you want it hotter, you can use fresh red Serrano chili, chopped. Or if you prefer a milder version, you can use dried crushed red pepper. This is another addictive salad. But it's not a meal to feel guilty about.

Thai Beef Salad
2 pounds steak ( I used rib eye, sirloin would work well also)
Juice of 1 juicy lime (about 1/4 cup)
1 large tomato, sliced thin
2 stems green onion, chopped fine (white and green parts)
4 stalks cilantro, chopped fine (optional)
1 tablespoon red crushed chili
3 tablespoons fish sauce
1 small head of lettuce (I used mixed baby greens)

Broil steak in oven until it is done the way you like it (mine is medium well, although the picture would have been prettier if it were medium rare). Slice thin.
In medium bowl, combine lime juice, fish sauce, green onion, cilantro, and red chili
First toss the beef slices in the sauce, and set aside.
Then toss the lettuce and tomato in the sauce and arrange on a plate with beef slices on top.

(Day 3- 8/lower body, TKB)

Children's Day Tea Party

2010-05-05T17:06:00.000-07:00

Happy Children's Day!!

Since it happened to be a minimum school day for my kids, I thought I would surprise them with a tea party. We had four different kinds of tea sandwiches and chocolate covered strawberries. What can I say, it made them happy. And their happiness is what this day is supposed to celebrate.

My daughter was so happy she burst into tears and my son said that this was the best Wednesday of his life. I love it when they are this grateful over something so small:)

Tea Sandwiches:

Cucumber with cream cheese
Mediterranean salmon salad
Sockeye salmon, chopped cucumber, chopped tomato, chopped Kalamata olives, olive oil vinaigrette
Pesto with chicken
Chicken Salad

Cut off crusts and cut sandwiches into bite size pieces.

Here's the pesto with chicken

And the salmon

Cucumber

(9 cardio/abs)

Brown Rice Bibimbap

2010-05-04T17:06:00.000-07:00

In the quest for healthier eating, I made one of my Korean favorites: bibimbap. It is basically a variety of vegetables, some meat and an egg over rice. You mix it all up and eat it and it is not only healthy, it is addictively good. I made mine with brown rice, and grilled, organic chicken breasts. I sauteed all of my veggies including the carrots and added chopped kimchi. The result was great. I felt like I was indulging, but I knew that everything I was eating was good for me.
I am including the link to Maangchi's website where she has a video of how to make all of the vegetables. I omitted the sugar because I am trying to cut it out of my diet for a while, but the fern brake (gosari) needed a little sweetness. I added just a pinch of honey powder and it turned out perfect.

(10, Cardio/Upper body)

Six Week Clean Eating Challenge

2010-05-04T13:51:00.000-07:00

It has not quite been 3 months since I started Freeing My Martha. But the Martha that I am freeing is a bit on the "fluffy" side. I have gained a whopping 20 pounds in 3 months!! GAH! So I am going on a self-imposed six week clean eating challenge. Martha needs to get her big butt back into shape! I have also noticed a major mood and energy difference since eating all of this wonderful sugar-laden food. And the bread.....don't get me started on the bread.
My plan is not one of deprivation. Believe me when I say that I have tried every diet out there known to man. No carb, low carb, low fat, no fat and just healthy eating. They all work. Until you start eating like a normal American again, then it all comes back in half the time it took to take it off. Sooooo, I am just tweaking my favorite foods a bit. Using brown instead of white. Incorporating more fresh vegetables and cutting out as much sugar as I can possibly bear.
Now, my son's birthday is in 3 days, then my brother's is next week. And well, you know, Mother's day is right around the corner too. (And the Mother's day gift I asked for and that has been purchased is a total diet buster in and of itself). So cutting out sugar completely in the next six weeks will be virtually impossible. So I am giving myself a once a week cheat day...and I don't feel guilty about it.
While I will not give you my current weight, I am setting a goal of 10 pounds in the next six weeks. So I will start out my first post with a 10. As my weight loss progresses, I will give the number of pounds remaining until my goal of 10 has been reached. I am also getting back into the gym. So I will list my daily routine. If that bores you, sorry. It will be at the bottom of the regular posts.

Devin's Cheesy Princess Biscuits

2010-05-03T14:56:00.000-07:00

My 10 year old daughter received the Pink Princess Cookbook as a gift last weekend and has been dying to make something from it. So yesterday we made cheesy biscuits because it looked fairly easy and I had all the ingredients for the recipe. She made these mostly by herself. I only helped roll out the dough for her. The biscuits turned out lovely. They are the texture of pie crust, and super cheesy.

Cheesy Biscuits
from the cookbook, Pink Princess Cookbook
by Barbara Beery

1/2 cup butter, softened
2 cups grated cheddar cheese
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
Pinch cayenne pepper

Preheat oven to 375 degrees
In a large mixing bowl, combine butter, cheese, and Worcestershire sauce. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until all ingredients are well blended. Stir in flour, salt and cayenne pepper.
Roll out or press out dough on a lightly floured work surface. Cut into assorted small shapes and place on a foil-lined baking sheet that has been very lightly sprayed with cooking spray.
Bake 10 to 12 minutes or until very lightly browned.

Creamy, Satiny New York Cheesecake

2010-04-30T09:40:00.000-07:00

New York cheesecake is sweet, tangy and rich. The flavor is simple and pure. The texture is thick, smooth, and creamy. Not dense like other cheesecakes, it is more velvety and suede-like. Not overly sweet or cloying, it is amazing alone or topped with a tangy fruit puree. LOVE! This cake has a pretty great stature. It is made with 2 1/2 pounds (5 bars) of cream cheese and 6 large eggs plus two additional egg yolks. It fills a 9 inch springform pan to the rim. The crust is made of graham crackers. To. Die. For.

New York Cheesecake
from the cookbook, The New Best Recipes

Crust:
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted plus 1 tablespoon melted unsalted butter for the pan
8 whole graham crackers (4ounces) broken into rough pieces and processed in a food processor to fine, even crumbs
1 tablespoon sugar
*I also added a pinch of salt, but it is not in the recipe

Filling:
2 1/2 pounds (five 8 ounce packages) cream cheese, cut into rough 1 inch chunks, at room temperature
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups (10 1/2 ounces) sugar
1/3 cup sour cream
2 teaspoons juice from 1 lemon
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 large egg yolks, plus 6 large eggs, at room temperature

For the crust:

Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Brush the bottom and sides of a 9-inch springform pan and press evenly into the pan bottom. Bake until fragrant and beginning to brown around the edges, about 13 minutes. Cool on a wire rack while making the filling.

For the filling:

Increase the oven temp to 500 degrees. In the bowl of a standing mixer, beat the cream cheese at medium -low speed to break up and soften it slightly, about 1 minute. Scrape the beater and the bottom and sides of the bowl well with a rubber spatula; add the salt and about half of the sugar and beat at medium-low speed until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape the bowl; beat in the remaining sugar until combined, about 1 minute. Scrape the bowl; add the egg yolks and beat and med-low speed until thoroughly combined, about 1 minute. Scrape the bowl; add the remaining eggs, two at a time, beating until thoroughly combined, about 1 minute, scraping the bowl between additions.
Brush the sides of the springform pan with the remaining 1/2 tablespoon melted butter, Set the springform pan on a rimmed baking sheet (to catch any spills if the pan leaks). Pour the filling into the cooled crust and bake 10 minutes; without opening the the oven door, reduce the oven temperature to 200 degrees and continue to bake until the cheesecake registers about 150 degrees on and instant read thermometer inserted in the center, about 1 1/2 hours.
Transfer the cake to a wire rack and cool until barely warm. 2 1/2 to 3 hours. Run a paring knife between the cake and the pan sides. Wrap tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate until cold, at least 3 hours. (The cheesecake can be refrigerated for up to 4 days.)
To unmold the cheesecake, remove the sides of the pan, Slide a thin metal spatula between the crust and the bottom of the pan to loosen, then slide the cake onto a serving plate, Let the cheesecake stand at room temp about 30 minutes, then cut into wedges and serve with fresh strawberry topping if desired.

Look at all of that cream cheese! This is definately not a lowfat recipe:)

Press the crumbs down with a cup or bottom of a ramekin.

Use the back of a spoon to smooth it all down.

After the crust has cooled completely from baking, fill it with the cheesecake mixture. Make sure it is set on a rimmed baking sheet.

After it is baked, let it cool on a wire rack.

This topping is just a puree of strawberries, some sugar to taste, a squeeze of lemon juice and a pinch of salt. I strained it through a fine mesh colander to make it seedless...so good!

BBQ Pork Ribs

2010-04-27T19:10:00.000-07:00

Ribs are succulent. Done right they are tender, meaty, with just the right amount of smokiness. Believe it or not, I didn't grow up eating ribs. Well, I DID eat a whole lot of beef ribs (Korean style-Galbi), but pork ribs were pretty much unheard of in our house. My first experience was as an adult, out with friends. And my love for them has only gotten stronger.
I use a different method for making my ribs. I am a notorious BBQ burner. I have a hard time staying in one spot for more than a few minutes at a time, so there is no way I could manage slow cooking ribs on a charcoal grill without charring the daylights out of them. My trick is to cook them in the oven first, wrapped in plastic wrap AND foil. I used to cook them at a very low heat for 3 hours, but they were so tender, that they would fall apart before I could get them on the grill. And really, I like my ribs with just a little bit of chew. Not much, but enough so you have to bite down before the meat comes off. Otherwise, it feels more like I'm eating braised short ribs, and that's not what we are going for here. I cook them at 300 F for an hour, then put them on a charcoal grill for the smoky flavor.
I use a dry rub without salt, so you may want to salt them at the end of cooking or before they go on the charcoal grill. (I find that the sauce adds enough salt for me but I tend to like my food less salty than most.) Then finish them off with my homemade BBQ sauce. Served with side of collard greens, corn, and macaroni and cheese, and you have a feast fit for any occasion.

BBQ Pork Ribs

3 Slabs of pork spareribs
Dry Rub
BBQ Sauce

Dry Rub:
1 cup paprika
1/2 cup chili powder (I used New Mexico, of course)
4 tablespoons onion powder
Store what you don't use in a sealed container.

Rinse and dry the ribs. Pull off the membrane. Season both sides with the rub. Wrap ribs and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.
When you are ready to start cooking, preheat oven to 300 degrees. Wrap each individual slab with plastic wrap, and then again with aluminum foil. Set the ribs on two rimmed baking sheets. Bake for an hour to hour and a half.
Get charcoal grill ready. Try to maintain a low heat.
When the ribs are done in the oven, unwrap carefully and place the ribs on the charcoal grill. Grill for about 20 minutes, flipping a couple of times to keep them from burning. At the end of grilling, baste each slab with BBQ sauce. Remove from grill.

Here are the ribs cleaned, but still with the membrane attached

After they have been rubbed

Wrapped in plastic

Wrapped in foil over the plastic

Ready to oven bake

Done from the oven, now onto the grill

On the grill

Homemade BBQ Sauce

2010-04-27T16:00:00.000-07:00

I like my BBQ sauce sweet and spicy. If you prefer a milder sauce, leave out or reduce the cayenne. That is the beauty of homemade sauce, you can tweak it to suit your taste. Not into sweet sauces? Reduce the honey. Want it tangier? Add a little more vinegar or lemon. Want a Southwest kick? Add some cumin.

I made this for ribs, but it is equally as good on chicken or on pulled pork.

KP's Sweet and Spicy BBQ Sauce

2 cups ketchup
1 cup water
1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
5 tablespoons light brown sugar
5 to 6 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper
1/2 tablespoon onion powder
1/2 tablespoon ground mustard
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional or minimize to taste)
2 drops liquid smoke (I used Hickory, but Mesquite works too)

Combine all ingredients in a medium saucepan. Bring to boil, reduce heat to simmer. Cook uncovered for 1 hour.

Raspberry Chocolate S'mores

2010-04-26T10:55:00.000-07:00

I had this idea of raspberry s'mores in my head and this was the reason I made the graham crackers. And the end result is very yummy! I am not normally a marshmallow fan, nor am I a s'more lover. I was never a girl scout and camping is not on my list of things I like to do. However, changing the flavors and using homemade everything makes plain old, not so exciting s'mores into something that even a non-girl scout, anti-camper like me a fan of. What's next? Strawberry chocolate s'mores? Double chocolate s'mores? Mint chocolate s'mores? Oooh, the possibilities!

To start, you want to make the homemade graham crackers.

Then, you make the homemade raspberry marshmallows. When everything is set and ready, you roast the marshmallow with a fresh raspberry skewered between the slices and smoosh it between two graham crackers and a piece of dark chocolate....mmmmm!

Raspberry Marshmallows:

1 cup confectioners' sugar
3 1/2 envelopes unflavored gelatin
1 cup cold water, divided
2 cups granulated sugar
1/2 cup light corn syrup
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 large egg whites
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon raspberry extract
3 drops red food coloring
1 drop blue food coloring

Oil bottom and sides of a 13x9 inch metal baking pan and dust with confectioners sugar
In bowl of a standing mixer, sprinkle gelatin over 1/2 cup of water
In a saucepan, cook granulated sugar, salt, corn syrup and 1/2 cup of water over low heat, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Increase heat to medium and boil without stirring until a candy thermometer registers 240 F (about 12 minutes). Remove pan from heat and pour this mixture over the gelatin mixture and stir.
Beat with the whisk attachment on high speed until white and thick, about 6 minutes.
In separate bowl, whisk egg whites until they hold stiff peaks.
Add the egg whites to the gelatin mixture and continue beating.
Add extracts and food coloring and continue beating until the color is completely incorporated.
Pour mixture into baking pan and even it out with a rubber spatula.
Sift confectioner's sugar over the top and refrigerate uncovered until firm, at least 3 hours.
Invert onto a cutting board and cut into squares with a sharp knife or kitchen shears.

Graham Crackers

2010-04-25T19:09:00.000-07:00

I was so excited to get Nancy Silverton's Pastries book, but I have to tell you honestly that it's been a pretty disappointing book so far. I've made a couple of recipes including the disastrous donuts (that was mostly my fault for using whole wheat pastry flour). And while my kids liked the donuts, I wasn't really fond of the flavor profile. I also made her Pretty Pear Cookies, which I almost posted under the title "My ugly version of Nancy's pretty pear cookies" and holy smokes, those were an ALL DAY project for some really bland and tasteless cookies that I threw out. Her book has no pictures, and while I am pretty good at following recipes without pictures, HER recipes NEED pictures to understand the sometimes vague and confusing instructions. A lot of her recipes require special equipment that most home cooks wouldn't stock in their kitchen like flan rings and cake rings, and not just one, but EIGHT for one recipe (at about $12.00 a piece through a wholesale restaraunt supply store)!!!! NOT happening! But anyway, enough ranting about what I don't like about this book, and onto a recipe that I do like.

THIS is a good recipe. And? I was able to use up some of that pesky whole wheat pastry flour...woo hoo! She does say that she prefers the flavor of these crackers using unbleached all-purpose flour or pastry flour, but 1/2 of it can be substituted with whole wheat, so I did. Also, I will list the directions as they were written, but I chose to make my crackers smaller because I am ultimately working my way to making amazing raspberry chocolate S'mores with these and I wanted them bite size. I originally made them into 2 inch squares, but found them hard to manage because they soften up so quickly. I ended up using a round scalloped edge biscuit cutter and worked quickly and they turned out great. I made two batches because we ate up the first batch before the S'mores could be made. I also found that these are better the next day. The graham flavor really develops after a day...if you can keep them away from your kids, or in my case, away from myself.

Graham Crackers:
from the cookbook, Nancy Silvertons's Pastries from the La Brea Bakery

2 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons unbleached pastry flour or unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup dark brown sugar, lightly packed
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
7 tablespoons (3 1/2 ounces) unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes and frozen
1/3 cup mild-flavored honey, such as clover
5 tablespoons whole milk
2 tablespoons pure vanilla extract

For the topping
3 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

In the bowl of a food processor fitted with the steel blade or in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Pulse or mix on low to incorporate. Add the butter and pulse on and off, or mix on low, until the mixture is the consistency of a coarse meal.
In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, milk, and vanilla extract. Add to the flour mixture and pulse on and off a few times or mix on low until the dough barely comes together. It will be very soft and sticky.
Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface and pat the dough into a rectangle about 1 inch thick. Wrap in plastic and chill until firm, about 2 hours or overnight.
To prepare teh topping: In a small bowl, combine the sugar and cinnamon and set aside.
Divide the dough in half and return one half to the refrigerator. Sift an even layer of flour onto the work surface and roll the dough into a long rectangle about 1/8 inch thick. The dough will be sticky, so flour as necessary. Trim the edges of the rectangle to 4 inches wide. Working with the shorter side of the rectangle parallel to the work surface, cut the strip every 4 1/2 inches to make 4 crackers. Gather the scraps together and set aside. Place the crackers on one or two parchment-lined baking sheets and sprinkle with topping. Chill until firm, about 30-45 minutes. Repeat with the second batch of dough.
Adjust the oven rack to the upper and lower positions and preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Gather the scraps together into a ball, chill until firm, and reroll. Dust the surface with more flour and roll out the dough to get about two or three more crackers.
Mark a vertical line down the middle of each cracker, being careful not to cut through the dough. Using a toothpick or a skewar, prick the dough to form two dotted rows about 1/2 from each side of the middle dividing line.
Bake for 25 minutes, until browned and slightly firm to the touch, rotating the baking sheets halfway through to ensure even baking.

The mixture in the food processor

Flattened out on a board before chilling

How I cut my first batch. I used a round biscuit cutter for the second batch and that was easier.

Italian Hoagie Rolls

2010-04-21T16:01:00.000-07:00

The best sandwiches start with the best bread. This is another great from The Bread Baker's Apprentice. The biga is made the day before and refrigerated overnight. The recipe is good for two 1 pound loaves of Italian bread, or 9 torpedo (hoagie) rolls. Scrumptious!

Italian Bread:
from the cookbook, The Bread Baker's Apprentice

3 1/2 cup (18 ounces) biga
2 1/2 cup (11.25 ounces) unbleached bread flour
1 2/3 teaspoons (.41 ounce) salt
1 tablespoon (.5 ounce) sugar
1 teaspoon (.11 ounce) instant yeast
1 teaspoon (.17 ounce) diastatic barley malt powder or barley malt syrup (optional)
1 tablespoon (.5 ounce) olive oil, vegetable oil, or shortening
3/4 cup to 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons water (or milk if making torpedo rolls), lukewarm (90 to 100 F)
Semolina flour or cornmeal for dusting

Remove biga from refrigerator 1 hour before making the dough and cut it into 10 small pieces with a pastry scraper or serrated knife. Cover with a towel or plastic wrap and let sit for 1 hour to take off the chill.
Stir together the flour, salt, sugar, yeast and malt powder in a bowl or in the bowl of an electric mixer. Add the biga pieces, olive oil, and 3/4 cup water or milk and stir together until a dough forms, adjusting the water or flour according to need. The dough should be slightly sticky and soft, but not batterlike or very sticky. If the dough feels tough and stiff, add more water to soften (it is better to have the dough too soft than too stiff at this point.)
Sprinkle flour on the counter, transfer the dough to the counter, and begin kneading (or mixing on medium speed with the dough hook). Knead for about 10 minutes, adding flour as needed until the dough is tackym, but not sticky, and supple. The dough should pass the windowpane test and register 77 to 81 F. Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it to coat it with the oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap.
Ferment at room temp for approximately 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size.
Gently divide the dough in 2 equal pieces of about 18 ounces each or into 9 pieces of about 4 ounces each. Carefully form the pieces into batards degassing the dough as little possible. Lightly dust with a sprinkle of flour, cover with a towel or plastic wrap, and let it rest for 5 minutes. Then complete the shaping, extending the loaves to about 12 inches in length or shaping the torpedos rolls. Line a sheet pan with parchment and dust with semolina flour or cornmeal. Place the loaves on the pan and lightly mist with spray oil. Cover loosely with plastic wrap.
Proof at room temp for about 1 hour, or until the rolls have grown to about 1 1/2 times their original size.
Preheat oven to 500F. Score the breads with 2 parallel, diagonal slashes or 1 long slash.
Rolls can be baked directly on the sheet pan. For loaves, transfer to a pizza peel and gently onto hot baking stone. Pour 1 cup hot water into steam pan and close the door. After 30 seconds, spray the walls of the oven with water and close the door. Repeat once more after another 30 seconds. After the final spray, lower the oven setting to 450F and bake until done, rotating 180 degrees, if necessary, for even baking. It should take about 20 minutes for loaves and 15 minutes for rolls. The loaves and rolls should be golden brown and register at least 200F at the center.
Transfer the rolls to a cooling rack and cool for at least 1 hour before slicing or serving.

The dough after the first fermentation

Divided into 9 pieces

Shape into batards

Set onto baking sheet

Bake and cool

Strawberry Pancakes with Strawberry Sauce

2010-04-17T10:07:00.000-07:00

I thoroughly enjoyed eating these this morning. I just bought a huge container of strawberries without keeping in mind that strawberries do not stay fresh for very long. My daughter wanted pancakes, so this was a perfect recipe to satisfy her craving and use up some of the strawberries. And what could be a better on top of strawberry pancakes than a wonderful, fresh strawberry sauce and lightly sweetened whipped cream?

Strawberry Pancakes:

1 1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups sliced strawberries

In a medium bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients
In another bowl, whisk egg, milk and vanilla
Add the wet to dry and whisk until just blended
Fold in strawberries.
Spoon batter onto hot buttered griddle or pan. Cook until set and bubbly, flip cook until both sides are golden brown.

Strawberry Sauce:

1 pint of strawberries, cleaned and sliced in half
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon water (or more as needed to get the consistency desired)

In small saucepan, cook strawberries and sugar over medium high heat until sauce thickens. Take off heat and with an immersion blender, blend to the smoothness desired (or put the entire mixture into a blender and puree.)
Put back into saucepan and add water if you want thinner sauce.
Spoon over pancakes and top with a dollup of whipped cream

Seed Lover's Granola

2010-04-14T12:29:00.000-07:00

I love granola, but the granola found in stores have always been a little too sweet for me. I love the fact that you can personalize granola to suit your own tastes and while this may not be everyone's cup of tea, this is my personal favorite. I LOVE seeds so I incorporated sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, raw pumpkin seeds and pine nuts. I also added some pecans, pistachio nuts, unsweetened coconut flakes and sliced almonds to the mix. We are not big dried fruit people here so you won't find it my house, but if you do, add it in! I love to layer it with greek yogurt and fruit. It is wholesome and very, very yummy.

Basic Granola Recipe:

4 cups old fashioned rolled oats (NOT quick cooking)
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup light oil
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
*Increase by 2 tablespoons each: brown sugar, honey, and oil if using the seed and nut mixture below

Seed Lover's Granola Seed Mix:

*If you are going to add all of these seeds and nuts, increase your brown sugar, honey and oil amount by 2 tablespoons each
1/4 cup sesame seeds
1/2 cup each:
Raw, unsalted pistachio nuts
Raw, unsalted sunflower seeds
Raw, unsalted pine nuts
Pecans
Sliced Almonds
Raw, unsalted pumpkin seeds
Unsweeted coconut flakes

Preheat oven to 350
In a large bowl, mix oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt.
In another bowl mix vegetable oil, honey, and vanilla
Add the honey mixture to the oat mixture and fold together until combined.
Add nuts and seeds
Lay out on a large, rimmed baking sheet, lined in foil or Silpat
Bake for 10 minutes and then stir the mixture. Put it back in the oven until it is golden brown all over (another 5 minutes or so)
Let it cool completely and then scrape with a spoon to get lumps.

Mix together

Lay out on baking sheet

Bake at 350

Bernadette's Stuffed Squid

2010-04-13T12:56:00.000-07:00

My most memorable New Year's Eve was not spent partying in Las Vegas, or watching the ball drop in Time Square. My most memorable New Year's Eve was spent in a home in the suburbs of Southern California eating these. I was 16 and spent the evening at my best friend's house sharing their family tradition of having a seafood feast. It was amazing and these little guys were burned into my memory forever.
I finally got the recipe from her a few years ago, and a few days ago got the permission to post it. Thank you, Bernadette!

You want to use baby squid for this recipe and Bernadette's directions are to NOT use garlic, oregano, thyme, or rosemary in the sauce. However, there is some garlic powder and Italian seasonings in the stuffing. The first time I saw my friend Vanessa make the stuffing, she tore up the bread by hand. I just used my handy dandy food processor and gave it a little whirl. Also there are no specific measurements for the olive oil, water, or herbs. All I can tell you is that I added the olive oil in tablespoon increments and I ended up using about 3 tablespoons all together. I also used about 1 tablespoon of water. For the herbs in the stuffing, the instructions are to sprinkle the basil until it covers the top of the stuffing (I used about a teaspoon), and easy on the garlic. I used a pinch each of the other herbs and garlic powder, and 1/2 tsp of onion salt. I won't list that in the final recipe though because those aren't her instructions, just my own approximations. Stuffing the squid will take a little practice because they are quite small. I used my iced tea spoon (which has a small head) and my finger. Just don't overfill because they will burst in the sauce.

Stuffed Squid
recipe courtesy of Bernadette G.

Squid Sauce:
1 can tomato sauce
2 cans chopped tomatoes
1/2 onion, diced
Basil (to taste)
Salt and Pepper (to taste)
Pinch of sugar for acidity

Saute onion in olive oil
Add the rest of the ingredients and simmer on low for 1 hour

Stuffing:

1/2 loaf of bread
Parmesan cheese (She listed 1/2 cup?, but I used about 3/4 cups)
Basil (sprinkle til it covers top)
Oregano
Thyme
Rosemary
Garlic powder
Onion salt
Olive oil
Water

Mix all ingredients to taste (use more Basil, light on the garlic)
Mositen mix with water and olive oil so it mushes together (Even if it looks dry, try squeezing a small amount with your fingers, if it clumps together, it's probably moist enough)

Squid

Baby squid (she doesn't list an amount, but I used approx 3 pounds)

Clean squid. Rip out heads and ink pouches, rub and peel off the purple skin until you see the white skin. Take ball out of tenticles, remove everything out of the body cavity and rinse inside and out. Wash all iodine away and flush cavity with water.
Stuff body cavity with stuffing making sure not to overfill because it will burst. Close the tops with toothpicks.
Cook squid in the sauce for up to 45 minutes but not any longer because the squid with get tough. (Mine was done after 25 minutes)

What the squid looks like before and after cleaning

The stuffing. See how it clumps together when you press it

After you stuff it, secure it with a toothpick

Nestle them together in the sauce

BLT Salad

2010-04-12T13:27:00.000-07:00

Since I started this food blog 2 months ago, both the hubs and I have gained a whopping 15 pounds...each. I suppose that's a good enough reason to put salad back into my meal rotation. Will this be the end of my dessert and bread making days? Yeah, right. My carb addiction is a voracious and relentless beast. So while I may not make a new dessert every day, I will certainly still be making (and eating) dessert!

This salad may not be low on the fat scale, but it is quite low on non-complex (simple) carbs. The only sugar is in the white balsamic vinegar used in the vinaigrette and the small amount of natural sugar found in tomatoes. It is my version of diet food (not really much of a sacrifice). Now if this were to be eaten just as a side salad, or a starter with no concern of carbs, I would venture to say that a crusty piece of French bread with a slather of butter would make a nice accompaniment. But today this is my lunch, without bread:(

BLT Salad
serves 4 as a side salad or 2 as lunch

8 thick slices of bacon, cut in half
1 teaspoon of minced shallot
2 tablespoons white balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste
1 head of butter lettuce, torn (or half butter lettuce and half red leaf lettuce)
Large handful of grape or cherry tomatoes, cut into small wedges
6 ounces of blue cheese, cut into small wedges, or crumbled

In skillet, cook bacon until crisp and set aside on paper towel.
In small bowl,whisk together shallots, vinegar, olive oil, and lemon juice. Salt and pepper to taste.
In a large bowl, toss the lettuce with the vinaigrette, mound on a plate and arrange bacon, tomatoes and blue cheese around the lettuce.

Grilled Salmon with Citrus Salsa Verde

2010-04-11T14:32:00.000-07:00

My children and I are salmon lovers. We love it grilled, poached, broiled, and even raw. This is a very fresh approach to serving this healthy fish and I think it's outstanding.

Since I still have a bounty of oranges, I thought this would be a perfect recipe. It is from Giada De Laurentiis's book, Giada at Home.

Grilled Salmon with Citrus Salsa Verde:
from the cookbook, Giada at Home
by Giada De Laurentiis

Salsa:
2 large oranges
1 teaspoon grated lemon zest
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (from 1 lemon)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 scallions, finely sliced
3 tablespoons chopped fresh mint leaves
2 tablespoons capers, rinsed, drained, and coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
Salt and freshly ground pepper

Salmon
Vegetable oil or canola oil for the grill
4 4 to 5 ounce skinless center-cut salmon fillets, each about 3 inches square
2 tablespoons amber agave nectar or pure maple syrup
Salt and freshly ground pepper

For the salsa, grate 2 tablespoons zest from the oranges and put in a medium bowl. Peel and trim the ends from each orange with a sharp knife and cut along the membrane on both sides of each segment. Free the segments and place on a cutting board. Coarsely chop the segments and scoop them into the bowl with the orange zest. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, olive oil, parsley, scallions, mint, capers, and red pepper flakes. Toss lightly and season with salt and pepper. Set aside.
For the salmon, place a grill pan over medium high heat or preheat a gas or charcoal grill. Brush the frilling rack with vegetable oil to keep the salmon from sticking.
Brush the salmon on both sides with the agave nectar and season with salt and pepper. Grill for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, until the fish flakes easily and is cooked to medium. Transfer to a platter and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
Spoon the salsa on top of the salmon or serve it on the side as an accompaniment.

Jacinta's Alcatra

2010-04-10T17:59:00.000-07:00

One of my good friends is a very proud, very generous Portuguese mother, wife, daughter, sister and friend. She was nice enough to share this wonderful recipe with me. It is a Portuguese pot roast called, Alcatra. It is marinated overnight in a wonderful wine and spice base and roasted the next day with smoked pork or linguica (I chose the linguica). It was enjoyed by the whole family, even the picky kids:) Thanks, Jacinta!

When you serve this, make sure you put plenty of the sauce over it, almost swiming in it because that is the best part. Sopping it up with bread would be divine. Oh, and she recommends this be enjoyed with a nice Portuguese red wine...but don't tell her mother she said that!

Portuguese Alcatra
recipe by Jacinta
from island of Terceira, Azores Island

4 pound beef roast (not too lean or too fat)
1 bay leaf
1 cup white wine
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
2 cloves crushed garlic
5 whole allspice
1/2 cinnamon stick
2 onions, sliced
1 cup smoked pork or Linguica
Salt to taste

In a roasting pan, place meat, vinegar, wine, water, garlic, cinnamon, allspice, bay leaf and salt. Cover and refrigerate overnight.
When ready to bake, preheat oven to 450 degrees, then turn it down to 350 degrees.
Either in the same roasting pan, Dutch oven or clay pot, put the meat and marinade mixture. Add the sliced onions and Linguica or pork.
Cook in the 350 oven for 3 to 3 1/2 hours until the meat is fall apart tender, flipping over once during cooking. If the roast looks dry, add some hot water.
Serve with lots of the gravy poured on top.

Misoyaki Roast Chicken with Shoyu Onion Sauce

2010-04-10T11:41:00.000-07:00

I found a new roasted chicken recipe and wanted to give it a shot. It got a little darker than I would have liked, but it took cooking it this long for the inside to be completely cooked. I may have not scraped off enough of the marinade as is recommended. But blackened chicken skin is not the worst thing in the world. As a matter of fact, it's rather tasty.

If you're looking for a different roasted chicken recipe, this is a winner...literally. It won Food 52's roasted chicken recipe contest. Here's the link.

It is so good, with or without the sauce (which is also amazing). Totally different, but not so much that it would be an aquired taste. I do believe this will be loved by pretty much everyone. Yum!

Misoyaki Roasted Chicken with Shoyu Onion Sauce
by timWuNotWoo
found on Food 52

For the chicken:
• 3.5 pounds chicken
• 1/2 cup red miso paste
• 1/2 cup mirin

For the onion sauce:
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup mirin
• 1 clove of garlic, grated
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1/2 cup miced onion

1. Mix the mirin into the miso paste to loosen it up until you get something like the consistency of a gravy or a fresh banana smoothie. Some miso pastes are thicker than others, so if it’s too thick, just add more mirin. Easy beans.
2. Smother the chicken with the marinade all over, be especially sure you cover the inside cavity too. This way the marinade flavors the chicken from both the inside and out, huzzah.
3. Put the chicken in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap or if you have a Ziploc and/or Glad bag big enough for a whole chicken, that is most preferred. Park it all in the fridge and let sit for at least three hours, overnight would be nice.
4. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
5. Take the chicken out of the fridge and take a spoon, fork, knife, dowel rod, comb, whatever your scraping tool of preference is, and wipe off the excess marinade, it’ll just burn~
6. Don’t run the chicken under water or anything though, just make sure there aren’t large clumps of marinade plopped on the bird.
7. Brush on some vegetable oil or melted butter over the chicken, nestle it in a roasting pan, and throw it in the oven.
8. Roast at 450 degrees for 25 minutes, then turn the heat down to 350, and roast for an additional 40.
9. IN THE MEANTIME…. Make the ONION SAUCE.
10. In small sauce pan, sweat the ½ cup of minced onion in a bit of vegetable oil or butter.
11. When they start to become translucent, add the water, mirin, soy sauce, and grated garlic.
12. Bring to a simmer, turn the heat down to low and let bubble while the chicken cooks.
13. 5 minutes before the chicken’s done, sprinkle on some mirin. It gives the bird a delightful shine and sweetness. When time's up, take it out of the oven, cover with a sheet of aluminum foil, and let rest for 10 minutes.
14. IN THE MEANTIME, we finish the sauce.
15. Melt in a tablespoon of butter, and take it off the heat
16. Mix the tablespoon of miso. Miso actually loses its flavor the more it's heated, so do this off the heat.
17. Carve the chicken, serve atop a bed of white Japanese short grain rice, and ladle on the the onion sauce.

Banana Bread

2010-04-08T08:32:00.000-07:00

Banana bread seems like it would be a pretty simple, fail-proof thing. But for some reason, I have never been able to get it just right. I have tried using butter, milk, buttermilk, sour cream...you name it. But I always got a bread that was heavy, flat, or greasy or even too light. I think I finally found a good recipe. The secret ingredient? Plain yogurt.

I knew I wanted walnuts in it, but I opted to leave out any other extras like chocolate or cinnamon. I like most of my food pretty straight forward, and unaldulterated.

The key for this recipe is to not overmix. The batter will be lumpy and that is what you want. Gently fold the wet ingredients into the dry...don't stir! Also, you want to hand mash the bananas well with a fork or potato masher. And make sure those bananas are very ripe. Brown and speckled is a good thing here.

Banana Bread
from The New Best Recipes

2 cups (10 ounces) unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups walnuts, chopped coarse
3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces sugar)
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 very ripe, soft, darkly speckled large bananas, mashed well (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup plain yogurt
2 large eggs, beaten lightly
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Adjust an oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat teh oven to 350 degrees. Grease the bottom and sides of a 9 by 5 inch loaf pan; dust with flour and tap out the excess
Spread the walnuts on a baking sheet and toast until fragrant, 5 to 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.
Whisk the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, kand walnuts together in a large bowl; set aside.
Mix the mashed bananas, yogurt, eggs, butter, and vanilla with a wooden spoon in a medium bowl. Lightly fold the banana mixture into the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula until just combined and the batter looks thick and chunky. Scrape batter into the loaf pan.
Bake until the loaf is golden brown and a thoothpick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 55 minutes. Cool in the pan for 5 minutes then transfer to a wire rack. Serve warm or at room temp.

The wet ingredients

Fold the wet into the dry

Pizza Napoletana

2010-04-07T15:19:00.000-07:00

Let me start by saying that hands down, the best cookbook investment I have ever made is when I purchased The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart. I have never had a failed recipe from this book. As a matter of fact, every recipe I have tried and re-tried has been the best of whatever it is that I have attempted to make. This book is now stained, and wrinkled, and is showing signs of the numerous uses I have gotten out of it but I would trade all of the fancy cookbooks that I have collected over the years for this one book. It's that good. That being said, this next recipe is no exception. I have made a lot of pizza, but this crust tops the charts. It is not only the most delicious, it is so incredibly easy. The texture is crispy and crunchy; it is meant to be thin, but still has a nice tenderness that is amazing. I will also tell you that my kids don't care for pizza. Strange but true. This is the exception. It's the crust...it's all about this crust.

It is a two day process (if one can really call mixing the dough and refrigerating it a process). And the dough is very delicate, so it should really be tossed or stretched, not rolled. Also for best results, a baking stone is recommended.

Pizza Napoletana Crust
from The Bread Baker's Apprentice, by Peter Reinhart

4 1/2 cups (20.25 ounces) unbleached hi-gluten, bread, or all-purpose flour, chilled
1 teaspoon (.11 ounces) instant yeast
1 3/4 teaspoon (.44 ounces) salt
1/4 cup (2 ounces) olive oil (optional)
1 3/4 cups (14 ounces) water, ice cold (40 F)
Semolina flour or cornmeal for dusting

Stir together the flour, salt, and instant yeast in a 4 quart bowl (or in the bowl of an electric mixer). With a large metal spoon, stir in the oil and the cold water until the flour is all absorbbed (or mix on low speed wtih the paddle attatchment) *If you are mixing by hand, repeatedly dip one of your hands or the metal spoon into cold water and use it, much like a dough hook to work the dough vigorously into a smooth mass while rotating the bowl in a circular motion with the other hand. Do this for 5 to 7 minutes or until the dough is smooth and the ingredients are evenly distributed. *If you are using an electric mixer, switch to the dough hook and mix on medium speed for 5 to 7 minutes or as long as it takes to create a smooth sticky dough. The dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick to the bottom of the bowl.
Sprinkle flour on the counter and transfer the dough to the counter. Prepare a sheet pan by lining it with parchment and misting the parchment with spray oil. Using a metal scraper, cut the dough into 6 equal parts or larger if you are comfortable with shaping large pizzas. Sprinkle flour over the dough. Lift each piece and gently round it into a ball. If the dough sticks to your hands, dip your hands into the flour. Transfer the dough balls to the sheet pan. Mist the dough generously with spray oil and slip the pan into a food-grade plastic bag
Put the pan into the refrigerator overnight to rest the dough, or keep for up to 3 days. You can store the dough balls, zippered in freezer bags. Dip each doughball into a bowl that has a few tablespoons of oil in it rolling the dough in the oil, then put each ball into a separate bag and freeze for up to 3 months. Transfer them to the refrigerator the day before you plan to make pizza

On the day you plan to make the pizza:

Remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator 2 hours before making the pizza. Dust the counter with flour, and then mist the counter with spray oil. Place the dough balls on top of the floured counter and sprinkle them with flour; dust your hand with the flour. Gently press the dough into flat disks about 1/2 inch thick and 5 inches in diameter. Sprinkle the dough with flour, mist it again with oil, and cover the dough loosely with plastic wrap. Let it rest for 2 hours.
At least 45 minutes before making the pizza, place a baking stone either on the floor of the oven, or on a rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven as hot as possible. If you do not have a baking stone, you can use the back of a sheet pan, but do not preheat the pan.
Generously dust a peel or the back of a sheet pan with semolina flour or cornmeal. Make the pizzas one at a time. Dip your hands including the backs of your hands and knuckles, in flour and lift 1 piece of dough by gettting under it with a pastry scraper. Very gently lay the dough across your fists and carefully stretch it by bouncing the dough in a circular motion on your hands, carefully giving it a little stretch with each bounce. Once the dough has expanded outward, you can advance to a full toss. If you have trouble tossing the dough or if the dough keeps on springing back, let it rest for 5 to 20 minutes and try again. You can resort to using a rolling pin, though this isn't as effective as the toss method.
When the dough is stretched to your satisfaction, lay it on the peel or pan, making sure there is enough semolina to allow it to slide. Lightly top it with sauce and other toppings, keeping in mind that less is more.
Slide the pizza onto the stone or bake directly on the sheet pan. Wait 2 minutes and take a peek. If it needs to be rotated 180 degrees for even baking, do so.

Dough made and separated

I put them directly into separate ziploc bags with olive oil drizzed in the bags beforehand

Roll the dough balls around in the oil a little and refrigerate

The next day, pull out the dough and set it on your work surface, dust it with flour

Here are some toppings I had ready (fresh pineapple, fresh mozzerella, olives, mushrooms, ham)

The finished pizza

I probably used more toppings then recommended, but I have no regrets:)

Bean and Ham Soup

2010-04-07T10:58:00.000-07:00

What to do with all of the leftover Easter ham? Bean and ham soup, of course. Yummy! And I am not even a bean lover. This is hearty and warm and so satisfying with a big slice of skillet cornbread. And the fuss level of this meal is so very low. It's about as easy and hands-off as you can get. Got a crock pot and a knife? Then you have all the equipment you need.

Bean and Ham Soup

1 1/4 cups small dried white beans, rinsed and picked over
1 meaty hambone
7 cups water
1/2 onion, chopped
3 cerlery ribs, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Salt and pepper to taste
**Optional 1 diced potato and extra ham chunks.

Put all ingredients except salt and pepper (or potato) into crockpot the night before you want to serve it (or the morning of if you want this for dinner). Set it on low.
**If you are using potato, you want to put those in in the final hour of cooking so they don't get too mushy. I opted to leave them out of this batch, but they are a great addition.
Next morning (or that evening) , get all the bones out of the soup, and season to taste.

Mild Ddukboki

2010-04-02T13:34:00.000-07:00

A classic Korean comfort food; I grew up eating the bright red, spicy version. It is also a popular Korean street food. I didn't discover the mild version until I found an old Korean cookbook years ago. Since then, I have made and consumed large quantities of this hearty and savory dish. It is a family favorite now. Today I used Maangchi's recipe. (She's amazing, by the way. If you love Korean food, you should bookmark her page. I can tell you as a Korean, that her recipes are very authentic.) I made just a few tweaks because I didn't have any beef strips or steak to make into strips. I substituted ground beef, because it's what I had on hand, and added fresh spinach, because I love it. Season to taste by adding a little more soy sauce and a pinch more sugar if you need it. I also added a few grinds of pepper.

Mild Ddukboki
by Maangchi

1 package of rice cake
220 grams beef strips
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tablespoons chopped sliced onion
3 to 4 white mushrooms
2 green onions, chopped

Saute beef strips with soy sauce,sugar, minced garlic, and sliced onion.
Add sliced white mushrooms and chopped green onions and stir it.
Add 1 cup of anchovy broth and put rice cake in it and keep folding until rice cake is soft
**Add two handfuls of fresh baby spinach leaves
Serve it on a plate and eat it when it is warm

Anchovy broth:
7 dried achovies, cleaned
4 cups water
Boil for approx 10 minutes

This is what the package of rice cakes looks like. It says ovaletts, but that's incorrect. There are ovaletts, but they are oval and thin. You want to look for the ones that look like little sticks.

If you find a market that sells the rice cakes, you will probably be able to find dried anchovies too. This is a large bag that I keep in the freezer, but they sell smaller portions.

I clean the anchovies (pull off the heads and take out the black grossness) and put them in a little contraption that is meant for tea. You can just boil them without this, but you will have to "fish" out the fish when you're done.

The biggest challenge in making ddukboki is separating the dduk (rice cakes).

I have found the most effective way for me is to separate them with a bench scraper. Don't use a knife!!! It's dangerous, and you don't want to cut the rice cakes, just use the corner of the scraper and gently pull them apart.

Start by sauteeing the meat, garlic, mushrooms, sugar and soy sauce.

Add a couple of ladles of the hot anchovy broth and the rice cakes and keep folding and stirring until they are soft. Add more broth as needed.

When the rice cakes are nice and soft, add some spinach (optional)

Triple Orange Biscotti

2010-04-01T11:36:00.000-07:00

Crunchy biscotti is always a special treat, but homemade biscotti is a lot less jaw breaking, and so much more flavorful. These have a wonderful crunch and the orange flavor really shines through. Great by themselves, with a hot cup of tea or of course, dipped in coffee. The original recipe calls for nuts, but I opted to just leave them plain. Delicious.

Triple Orange Biscotti
from Fine Cooking magazine, by Susan Betz

12 ounces (2 2/3 cups) all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoons table salt
Finely grated zest of 2 oranges to yield a scant 1/4 cup lightly packed
4 1/2 ounces (1 cup) coarsly chopped nuts *optional
3 large eggs, at room temp
5 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons orange juice
1 tablespoon orange liqueur

Position oven racks in the middle and top of the oven and heat the oven to 350 F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment
In a large bowl, whisk the flour with the sugar, baking powder, and salt to combine. Put a bit of the flour mixture in a small bowl, add the orange zest and rub the zest into the flour mixture.Stir the zest and nuts into the rest of the flour mixture.
In a small bowl, whisk the eggs with the olive oil, orange juice, and the liqueur until well blended. Pour into the center of the flour mixture and stir with a wooden spoon until the dough is blended. The dough will be very sticky.
Dump the dough onto a heavily floured work surface and divide into 6 equal portions. roll each portion into a log that is 12 inches long, dusting with flour along the way to keep the dough from sticking.
Set the logs about 3 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets and press gently to flatten each log so that it's 1 1/2 inches to 2 inches wide.
Bake until the logs are golden and the tops are fairly firm near the center, 22 to 25 minutes, rotating the sheets and switching their positions after 10 minutes to ensure even baking.
Set the sheets on racks until the logs are cool enough to handle. Leave the oven set to 350F
Transfer the logs to a cutting board and using a serrated knife, saw them on a sharp diagonal into slices 1/2 inch thick. Arrange the slices on the baking sheets, laying them flat with cut side down. Return the baking sheets to the oven and bake the biscoti for about 6 minutes. Turn the biscotti over, rotate the sheets and switch their positions, and bake until the biscotti are golden, another 8 to 10 minutes.
Let cool completey to crisp up.
Store at room temp or freeze in an airtight container, separating the cookie layers with waxed paper.

The dough

After the first bake, and cut

Ready for the second bake

Dinner Rolls

2010-03-31T07:59:00.000-07:00

The best dinner rolls I have ever made are from a recipe in The Bread Baker's Apprentice. This recipe makes 18 good sized rolls, which for a family of four seems like a lot. So when I tell you that there were no leftovers, you will know just how good these are. I used whole milk instead of water and sprinkled poppy seeds on half and left the other half plain. You can use this same recipe to make 2 loaves of white bread or hamburger buns, or even hot dog buns.

These rolls are very lightly sweet. Not as sweet as Hawaiian rolls or Portuguese sweet bread, but just the tiniest bit which is perfect with any meal. They are soft and tender, but have just the slightest bit of chew. I made these pull-apart rolls by setting them on a baking sheet just barely touching. You will only need one baking sheet if you are planning on making these pull-apart. My oven cooks rather unevenly, so as the outer rolls became brown, I removed them to cool and set the other center pieces back in the oven to cook further.

Dinner Rolls
from the cookbook The Bread Baker's Apprentice

4 3/4 cups (21.5 ounces) unbleached bread flour
1 1/2 teaspoons (.38 ounces) salt
1/4 cup (1.33 ounces) powdered milk
3 1/4 tablespoons (1.66 ounces) sugar
2 teaspoons (.22 ounces) instant yeast
1 large egg, slightly beaten, at room temperature
3 1/4 tablespoons (1.66 ounces) butter, margarine, or shortening, melted or at room temp
1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon to 1 3/4 cups (13 to 14 ounces) water, buttermilk, or milk, at room temperature
1 egg, whisked with 1 teaspoon water until frothy, for egg wash (optional)
Sesame or poppy seeds for garnish (optional)

Mix together the flour, salt, powdered milk, sugar, and yeast in a 4 quart bowl or in the bowl of an electric mixer.
Pour in the egg, butter, and 1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon water and mix with a large spoon or on low speed of electric mixer with paddle attatchment until all the flour is absorbed and the dough forms a ball. If the dough seems very stiff and dry, trickle in more water until the dough is soft and supple.
Sprinkle flour on the counter, transfer the dough to the counter, and begin kneading or mix on medium speed with the dough hook, adding more flour if necessary to create a dough that is soft, supple and tacky, but not sticky. Continue kneading or mixing for 6 to 8 minutes. (In the electric mixer, the dough should clear the sides of the bowl but stick ever so slightly to the bottom.) The dough should pass the windowpane test and register 80 F.
Lightly oil a large bowl and transfer the dough to the bowl, rolling it to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl in plastic wrap.
Ferment at room temp for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until the dough doubles in size (the length of time will depend on the room temp).
Remove the fermented dough from the bowl and divide it in half for sandwich loaves, into eighteen 2 ounce pieces for dinner rolls, or twelve 3 ounce pieces for burger or hot dog buns. Shape the pieces into boules for loaves, or tight rounds for dinner rolls or buns. Mist the dough lightly with spray oil and cover with a towel or plastic wrap and allow it to rest for 20 minutes.
For loaves, lightly oil two 8 1/2 by 4 1/2 inch loaf pans and place the loaves in the pans. For rolls and buns, line 2 sheet pans with parchment. rolls require no further shaping. For hamburger buns, gently press down on the rolls to form the desired shape. Transfer to sheet pans.
Mist the tops of the dough with spray oil and loosely cover with plastic wrap or a towel. Proof the dough at room temp for 60 to 90 minutes, or until it nearly doubles in size.
Preheat the oven to 350F for loaves or 400F for rolls and buns. Brush the rolls or buns with the egg wash and garnish with poppy seeds or sesame seeds.
Bake the rolls or buns for approx 15 minutes or until they are golden brown and register just above 180F in the center. Bake loaves for 35 to 45 minutes, rotating 180 degrees halfway through for even baking. Internal temp of loaves should be close to 190F and should sound hollow when thumped on the bottom.
When loaves are finished baking, remove them from pans and cool on a wire rack. Rolls should cool for 15 minutes on a rack before serving.

Cut into 18 pieces

Shaped into rolls and set to proof on baking sheet

Risen rolls, ready to bake

Crisp and Spicy Chicken Tenders with Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce

2010-03-30T20:41:00.000-07:00

This is a super quick and easy recipe that I have used several times and is always appreciated by my family.
Instead of chicken tenders, I actually use whole chicken breasts. I have 3 people in my family who are very particular about their food and tenders have a big tendon running through them which grosses them out. So I cut out the tendon from the breasts and cut the breast into tender-like pieces. These are really different from your average chicken strip and so good. They are moist and are reminiscent of buffalo wings in flavor. The panko gives them a nice crispiness which I love. These are a hit with the kids as well as us older kids. And the blue cheese dipping sauce is to die for!

Crisp & Spicy Chicken Tenders
from Fine Cooking magazine

2 1/2 cups panko
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders
1/4 cup mayonaise
1 tablespoon Frank's Red Hot sauce
1/4 teaspoon cayenne

Trim off any exposed tendon ends from the wide tips of the chicken tenders. In a medium bowl, whisk the mayo with the hot sauce, cayenne, and 1/8 tsp salt. Add the chicken and toss with your hands to coat well. Coat each tender in the panko and arrange in a single layer on a heavy-duty rimmed baking sheet. Refrigerate while you heat the broiler and make the sauce.
Broil the tenders, flipping once, until they are crisp and golden brown in spots on the outside and cooked through, 4 to 6 minutes per side.

Blue Cheese Dipping Sauce

1/2 cup mayonaise
1/2 cup sour cream
3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese (about 4 ounces)
3 tablespoons milk

Whisk all ingredients together until well combined and only small bits of cheese remain intact.

Baklava

2010-03-28T17:15:00.000-07:00

Gooey, rich, buttery, and sweet. Baklava is a dessert that is claimed by many cultures as their own. Whether it is Greek, or Turkish or even Chinese, makes no difference to me. All I know is that it's good, really good.

Walnut Baklava:

1 1/4 cups (2 1/2 sticks) butter, melted
4 cups chopped walnuts
1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup sugar
1 package frozen phyllo dough, thawed in refrigerator

Syrup
3 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups water
1 cinnamon stick
2 whole cloves

Preheat oven to 375F
In a food processor, pulse walnuts with the cinnamon and sugar, set aside
Place stack of thawed phyllo sheets on a work surface
Brush the bottom of a 13 x 9 inch lasagna pan with butter
Lay one sheet of phyllo dough in the pan and brush it with butter.
Repeat until you have 4 layers on the bottom of the pan, brushing each with butter as you layer
Sprinkle phyllo stack with 1/3 cup walnut filling
Lay another sheet of phyllo on top and brush with butter. Repeat until the filling is used up, reserving 5 sheets of phyllo for the top layer.
With a sharp knife, trim the edges
Using a sharp knife, cut unbaked baklava into squares, or triangles, or diamond shapes
Bake until puffed and golden 30 to 35 minutes.
*While it is baking, make syrup by bringing all of the syrup ingredients to a boil and letting it simmer until the sugar is dissolved and mixture is syrupy (approx 10 minutes)
Transfer the baklava out of the oven onto a wire rack and let it cool slightly
Pour hot syrup over the baklava and let it stand at room temperature until syrup is absorbed, at least 3 hours.
To store, keep at room temp for up to 3 days.

Brush each layer with melted butter

Sprinkle in walnut mixture

Trim the edges

Cut

Finished

Serve

Tangy Meatloaf

2010-03-27T16:13:00.000-07:00

I've never been much of a meatloaf fan. I don't know if it's just the name, "meatloaf" that sounded unappealing to me. Nah, I just never had meatloaf that was anything other than greasy yet surprisingly dry, and full of gristle. I thought I would give it another shot since I'm an adult now (in age anyway). I pulled out my "The Pioneer Woman Cooks" cookbook and made this. The white-ish chunks inside the loaf are not fat. Those are chunks of bread. Apparently I didn't smush it up enough. But I was pleasantly surprised. This was very tender, not greasy and flavorful. I used a good quality, organic beef and freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. If you are a meatloaf fan, or even if you aren't, you should try this recipe...if only for the meatloaf sandwiches you can make with the leftovers. The meatloaf was good, but the meatloaf sandwiches were awesome!

Meatloaf:
from the cookbook, The Pioneer Woman Cooks

1 cup milk
6 bread slices
2 pounds ground beef
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon seasoned salt, such as Lawry's
Freshly ground black pepper
1/4 to 1/2 cup minced flat leaf parsley
4 eggs, beaten
8-12 thin bacon slices

Tomato Gravy:

1 1/2 cups ketchup
6 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon dry mustard
Dashor two of hot sauce

Preheat oven to 350 F
Pour milk over the bread and allow it to soak in for several minutes
Place the ground beef, milk-soaked bread, Parmesan chees, salt, seasoned salt, black pepper, and parsley in a large mixing bowl and pour in the eggs.
With clean hands, mix ingredients until well combined.
Form the misture into a loaf shape on a broiler pan, which allows the fat from the meat to drain.
Lay bacon slices over the top tucking them underneath the meatloaf
Make the tomato gravy by mixing all of the ingredients in a bowl
Pour a third of the tomato gravy over the top of the meatloaf
Bake for 45 minutes, then pour another third over the meatloaf again.
Bake for another 10 minutes
Serve with the remaining tomato gravy on the side as a dipping sauce

Easy Stromboli

2010-03-26T09:19:00.000-07:00

As some of you know, I pack my family's lunches for work and school. I try to pack them things that will keep them eating because they tend to get bored quickly and easily. I used a big shortcut for these stromboli...frozen pre-made bread dough. Hey, I made these at 6:30 this morning...dont judge me!!! You really can't tell the difference in this recipe because the bread is not the stand out ingredient. So if you can save yourself some time, why not?

Easy Stromboli:

*This makes 4 almost foot long stromboli
2 loaves of pre-made frozen white bread dough (I used Rhodes brand)
Filling of choice

Defrost the bread dough overnight in the refrigerator
In the morning or day of:
Preheat the oven to 400F
Dust the work surface with flour
Roll out the dough into a rectangle, divide the dough in half crosswise
Roll each piece of dough into a larger rectangle, approx 1/4 inch thick and 11x14 inches wide, with the wide side facing you
Cover the dough with the sauce or mayonaise and mustard, sprinkle the cheese and add the filling
Roll from the wide side, from bottom to the top and seal the edges and the sides by pinching them with your fingers
Lay them seam side down on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper or a Silpat liner
Let them sit for about 20 minutes (this is not absolutely necessary, they will not rise anymore, just get kind of puffy.) and then cut slits on top to let air escape..The seam cutting part is very necessary!
Bake until the crust is golden brown (about 20-30 minutes), rotating occasionally for even cooking.
Let it cool on a baking rack for at least 5 minutes before slicing.

Below are the fillings that I used this morning, but as with most of my recipes, you can use your favorite ingredients and personalize this.

Pepperoni filling:
Shredded mozzarella cheese
Marinara or pizza sauce
Mini pepperoni

Deli filling:
Swiss chees
2 slices of deli ham
2 slices of deli turkey
Mayonaise
Dijon mustard

Mediterranean (not pictured, but I am eating it as I am writing):
Marinara sauce
Feta cheese
Spinach
Kalamata Olives
Ham

The dough

Rolling up with pepperoni filling

Deli filling

Ready to bake

Cooling

Deli stromboli

Carmelized Onion, Wild Mushroom and Cheese Ciabatta

2010-03-24T14:54:00.000-07:00

Fresh ciabattas are crunchy on the outside, pillowy and tender on the inside. What could make such an incredible bread better? How about carmelized onions, wild mushrooms and Parmesan cheese? That seems like an awful lot to pack into one batch of bread, but oh my, the flavor is awesome. I used the biga version of the ciabatta recipe from "The Bread Baker's Apprentice" and combined three of the variations he listed. I made a few adjustments on the filling only because I was using all three. It is a two day process to make this bread. But I think you will agree with me when I tell you that it is worth every minute.

Ciabatta, Biga Version

from the cookbook The Bread Baker's Apprentice

3 cups (16 ounces) biga

2 cups (9 ounces) unbleached bread flour

1 1/2 teaspoons (.37 ounces) salt

1 1/2 teaspoons (.17 ounces) instant yeast

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons t 1 1/8 cups (7-9 ounces) water (or substitute milk or buttermilk for all or part of the water), lukewarm

1/4 cup(2 ounces) olive oil-optional

Remove biga from refrigerator 1 hour before making the dough. Cut it into about 10 small pieces with a pastry scraper or serrated knife. Cover witha towel or plastic wrap and let sit for 1 hour.
To make the dough, stir together the flour, salt and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer. Add the biga pieces and 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons water and the oil. **If you are adding reconstitued wild mushrooms, you add them here. On low speed with the paddle attachment, mix until the ingredients form a sticky ball. If there is still some loose flour, add the additional water as needed and continue to mix.
Mix on medium speed with the paddle attachment for 5 to 7 minutes, or as long as it takes to create a smooth sticky dough. Switch to the dough hook for the final 2 minutes of mixing. The dough should clear the sides of the bowl, but stick to the bottom. You may need to add additional flour to firm up the dough enough to lear the sides of the bowl, but the dough should be soft and sticky.
Sprinkle enough flour on the counter to make a bed about 8 inches square. Using a bowl scraper or spatula dipped in water, transfer the sticky dough to the bed of flour and proceed with the stretch and fold method. Divide the dough into 3 loaves. Mist the top of the dough with spray oil and dust with flour, and loosely cover with plastic wrap.
Let it rest for 30 minutes and stretch and fold again, mist with spray oil, dust with flour, and cover. Allow the covered dough to ferment for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. It should swell but not necessarily double.
Set up a couche (towel covered in flour to use as separators for the loaves). Carefully remove the plastic from the dough and shape the dough. Mist the top of the dough with oil and dust the dough with more flour, the cover the cloth with a towel.
Proof for 45-60 minutes at room temp
Prepare the oven for hearth baking. Preheat oven to 500F. Make sure to have an empty steam pan in place.
Generously dust a peel or the back of a sheet pan with semolina flour or cornmeal and very gently transfer the dough pieces to the peel or pan, using the pastry scraper if you need support. Lift the dough frome each end and tug the dough our to a length of 9 to 12 inches. if the dough bulges too high in the middle gently dimple it down with your fingertips to even out the height of the loaf. Slide onto a baking stone or bake directly on the sheet pan. Pour 1 cup of hot water into the steam pan and close the door. After 30 seconds, open the door, spray the side walls of the oven with water and close the door. Repeat twice more at 30 second intervals. After the final spray, turn the oven setting down to 450F and bake for 10 minutes. Rotate the loaves 180 degrees, if necessary for even baking and continue to bake for 5 to 10 minutes loger or until done. The bread should register 205F in the center and should be golden in color (but the flour streaks willalso give it a dusty look). The loaves will feel quite hard and crusty at first but will soften as they cool.
Transfer the bread from the oven to a cooling rack and allow to cool for ath least 45 minutes before slicing and serving.

Biga

2 1/2 cups (11.25 ounces) unbleached bread flour

1/2 teaspoon (.055 ounces) instant yeast

3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons to 1 cup (7 to 8 ounces) water, at room temp

Stir together flour and yeast. Ad 3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons water, stirring until everything comes together and makes a coarse ball. Adjust the flour or water, according to nedd, so that the dough is neither too sticky nor too stiff. (it is better to err on the sticky side, as you can adjust easier during kneading.)
Sprinkle some flour on the counter and transfer teh dought o the counter. Knead for 4 to 6 minutes, or until the dough is soft and pliable, tacky but not sticky. The internal temp shou ne 77 to 81 F.
Lightly oil a bowl and trasfer the dough to the bow, rolling it around to coat it with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap andferment at room temp for 2 to 4 hours, or until it nearly doubles in size.
Remove the dough from the bowl, knead it lightly to de-gas, and return it to the bowl. Place the bowl in the refrigerator, covered overnight. You can keep this in the refrigerator for up to 3 days or freeze it in an airtight plastic bag for up to 3 months.

Filling:

***5 dried shitake or porcini mushrooms, broken into pieces and reconstitued with 6 tablespoons warm water***If you are going to use these, they need to be added when you mix the dough for the ciabatta.

4 cups sliced onions

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 cup chopped fresh herb blend (I used thyme)

Salt and pepper

2 cups shredded parmesan

Prepare the onion herb mixture at least an hour before making the dough or the day before. In a large pan, saute the onions in teh olive oil over medium heat until they start to caramelize or turn brown. Add the sugar and continue to cook until until the sugar melts and the onions turn golden brown. Add the balsamic vinegar and stir until the onions are evely coated. Turn off teh heat and add the herbs, tossing just until they are evenly distributed and wilted. Season with salt and peper. Set aside to cool.
Make the dough as directed. When performing the stretch and fold steps, spread some onions and cheese over each piece of dough each time and fold them in.

If you have any questions about this recipe, the method or techniques, shoot me an email and I will try to explain it better:)

Bacon Wrapped Asparagus

2010-03-24T09:32:00.000-07:00

Asparagus is one of my favorite vegetables. Easy to prepare and goes nicely with just about anything. This is one of the easiest and most delicious ways to make it. It really doesn't require a recipe. Just buy as much asparagus as you plan on eating or serving, wash it, snap off the tough ends or use a vegetable peeler to peel off the the tough skin on the ends. Assemble by creating little bundles of 4 or 5 asparagus and wrap with half a piece of bacon. That's it. No need to secure with a toothpick, just lay the bundles, seam side down on a rimmed baking sheet and bake at 400F until brown.

Banana Pudding

2010-03-23T12:16:00.000-07:00

This dessert reminds me of banana cream pie. It has all of the same components except instead of a pastry crust, it uses Vanilla Wafers. The flavors are so good together. It is the perfect lightly-sweet ending to any meal. This is another Joy of Cooking recipe. I use this book so much, one would think it's the only one I own. I'm just so excited to have it back after such a long time that I can't put it down. Don't let the simplicity fool you, this is a winner.

Banana Pudding
from cookbook Joy of Cooking

2/3 cup sugar
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 cups whole milk
3 or 4 large egg yolks
2 to 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
60 to 70 vanilla wafers
4 to 5 ripe, firm, large bananas

Mix first three ingredients together in a medium heavy saucepan
Gradually stir in milk, making sure to dissolve the cornstarch
Whisk egg yolks in thoroughly
Add the butter
Cook on stovetop over medium heat until mixture comes to a simmer, stirring constantly
Reduce heat to low, stirring briskly, bring to simmer and cook for 2 minutes
Remove from heat and stir in vanilla
Press plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding and set aside
Peel and slice bananas
Line the bottom and sides of a 2 to 2 1/2 quart dish with the wafers
Cover with half the pudding and bananas. Arrange a layer of wafers over the top, then cover with more pudding and the rest of the bananas. Spoon pudding over any exposed bananas to prevent browning.
Press plastic wrap directly on surface of pudding and refrigerate for at least 4 hours.
Just before serving, top with whipped cream.

Make the custard and cover it with plastic

Layer bottom and sides of dish with Vanilla Wafers (I only layered bottom)

Alternate with pudding, bananas, more wafers, pudding, bananas

Cover with plastic and chill

I also made some individual ones in small glasses

Top with whipped cream

Quick Southwestern Frittata

2010-03-22T13:12:00.000-07:00

Frittatas are basically baked omeletes. There isn't a pastry crust like a quiche. There is no bread or custard base like a strata. A Frittata is a quick alternative to those other egg dishes, yet is equally impressive when served to your family or friends. I made a Southwestern version this morning, but just like the breakfast strata, you can customize it with your favorite ingredients and make it your own.

This is a quick assembly meal, so make sure you have all ingredients ready to go.

Southwestern Frittata:

10 large eggs
1/4 cup half and half
1 can of Rotel, drained
*optional 1 tablespoons minced canned chipotle chilies in adobo sauce
1 small zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
3 strips of bacon, diced and cooked
3/4 cup cubed plus 1/2 cup shredded pepper Jack cheese plus 1/2 cup shredded
1 cup crushed baked tortilla chips
*optional cilantro
Salt and pepper

Whisk eggs, half and half, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl (add optional chipotles if using). Stir in cubed cheese.
Heat oil in a large ovensafe nonstick skillet over medium-high heat.
Add zucchini and rotel and saute until zucchini is tender and most of the moisture has evaporated. (you want this as dry as possible)
Add chips, cooked bacon and egg mixture and cook, stirring with a rubber spatula until large curds form but eggs are still very wet.
Distribute eggs evenly and cook without stirring until bottom is set.
Sprinkle cheese on top.
Put under a broiler until surface is spotty brown (3 to 5 minutes)
Remove, let it stand for about 5 minutes, and then slide the frittata onto a cutting board and slice into wedges.

Cook vegetables until tender and moisture has evaporated

Add chips, bacon, and eggs

Cook while stirring until you see large curds, sprinkle with shredded cheese

Broil

Slice and serve

Crispy Crabcakes

2010-03-21T11:01:00.000-07:00

Crab is so flavorful and succulent that one would assume crabcakes would be so as well. So I have always been disappointed by the crabcakes that I have tried at various restaurants as well as the ones I have ordered online. Instead of tasting crab, the dominant flavor in all of the crabcakes I have tried is red pepper. And the texture like stuffing with hardly a trace of the succulent crab that I was looking forward to.
These are different. These crabcakes taste like crab. Every other ingredient is a pleasant backdrop, but the crab takes center stage. I use just a little bit of fresh breadcrumbs to pull the ingredients together and dredge them with panko to give them a nice, light crispiness. No stuffing here, folks.

Crispy Crabcakes:

2 tablespoons finely chopped chives (you can substitute with dill or parsley, or omit altogether)
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
2 splashes Tobasco sauce
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
2 1/2 tablespoons mayonaise
2 large eggs
3/4 to 1 cup fresh breadcrumbs
Panko crumbs
1 pound good quality lump crab meat
salt and pepper
Butter and olive oil

Mix together the first 6 ingredients until well combined.
Add the crabmeat (gently so you dont break up the pieces too much) and fresh breadcrumbs. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Divide the mixture into 6-8 portions and flatten out into patties. (I made 7 patties)
Pour a small mound of Panko crumbs onto a plate or cutting board and dredge each patty. Set the patties aside.
Refrigerate the patties, uncovered for at least 1/2 an hour up to overnight (to dry them out a little).
Heat a little olive oil with a pat of butter in a heavy bottomed skillet (I used cast iron, but I have made these in a non-stick skillet and that worked fine too)
Add the patties in small batches and brown on both sides.
Serve immediately with a squeeze of lemon juice

I used my little mini blender to make fresh breadcrumbs. You can use a regular blender or mini food processor, or you can even crumble it up by hand.

This is the brand of crabmeat I use.

The first 6 ingredients

Add the crab and breadcrumbs

Dredge in Panko

Set aside and chill

Fry

Serve

Squeeze a little lemon juice on these and eat them while they are still hot.

German Chocolate Sheet Cake

2010-03-20T18:51:00.000-07:00

I am not big on fancy layered cakes. I mean I like them, but making them intimidates me. Sheet cakes are more my style-all of the layered cake goodness without the layered cake fuss. I do need to start practicing making layered cakes soon because I promised my 7 year old that I would make his birthday cake this year (May-only a month and a half away!). Unfortunately he was very specific in his wants. He wants a layered chocolate cake with a fresh strawberry and cream filling and chocolate dipped strawberries on top. Oooooh. Kaaaaaay. But I digress. This post is not about my layered cake anxiety. It is about a decadent German chocolate cake with the most amazing coconut pecan frosting. Amazing. Seriously.

German Chocolate Sheet Cake

Recipe from Cooks Illustrated magazine

When you frost the cake, the frosting should be cool or cold. To be time efficient, first make the frosting, then use the refrigeration time to prepare, bake, and cool the cake. The toasted pecans are stirred into the frosting just before the cake is frosted to keep them from becoming soft and soggy.

Frosting:

4 egg yolks

1 can (12 oz) evaporated milk

1 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

6 tablespoons unsalted butter (3/4 stick), cut into 6 pieces

1/8 teaspoon table salt

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 1/3 cup sweetened shredded coconut

1 1/2 cups finely chopped pecans, toasted on baking sheet in 350 oven until fragrant and browned

*Whisk yolks in medium saucepan: gradually whisk in evaporated milk. Add sugars, butter, and salt and cook over meduim-high heat, whisking constantly, until mixture is boiling, frothy, and slightly thickened, about 6 minutes.

*transfer mixture to bowl, whisk in vanilla, then stir in coconut. Cool until just warm, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until cool or cold, at least 2 hours or up to 3 days. (Pecans are stirred in just before the cake assembly)

Cake

4 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine

1/4 cup dutch-processed cocoa, sifted

1/2 cup boiling water

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus additional for dusting pan

3/4 teaspoon baking soda

12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened

1 cup granulated sugar

2/3 cup packed light brown sugar

3/4 teaspoon table salt

4 large eggs, room temperature

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

3/4 cup sour cream, room temperature

*Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees.

*combine chocolate and cocoa in small bowl;pour boiling water over and let stand to melt chocolate. Whisk until smooth; set aside until cooled to room temperature.

*Meanwhile, spray 13 by 9 inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray. Line bottom of pan with parchment or waxed paper and spray. Dust pan with flour, and knock out excess. Sift flour and baking soda into medium bowl or onto sheet of parchment or waxed paper.

*In bowl of standing mixer, beat butter and sugars and salt at medium-low speed until sugar is moistened, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until mixture is light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula halfway through.

*With mixer running at medium speed, add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down bowl halfway through. Mix in the cooled chocolate and cocoa mixture. Beat in vanilla; increase speed to medium-highand beat until light and fluffy, about 45 seconds.

*With mixer running at low speed, add dry ingredients, alternating with sour cream, beginning and ending with dry ingredients, and beating in each addition until barely combined. After final flour additon, beat on low until just combined, then stir batter by hand with rubber spatula, scraping bottom and sides of bowl to ensure that batter in homogenous.

*Pour into prepared pan and level with rubber spatula.

*Bake cake until toothpick inserted into center of cake comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes.

*Cool in pan 10 minutes, then invert cake onto greased wire rack; peel off and discard paper, Cool cake to room temperature before frosting, about 2 hours.

*To frost the cake, stir toasted pecans into chilled frosting. Invert cake onto serving platter. Using spoon, place dollops of frosting evenly spaced over cake. Using icing spatula, spread frosting evenly over surface of cake. Cut into squares and serve.

*Cover leftovers and refrigerate for up to 3 days. If refrigerated longer that 2 hours, let cake stand at room temperature 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

Here are the egg yolks, sugars, salt and evaporated milk boiled, frothy

Here is the chocolate and the cocoa powder with the boiling water poured over the top

This is the cake right out of the oven. The holes on top are where I tested for doneness with a toothpick. You can see I tested several times...because I don't trust my oven.

This is the cake inverted onto the baking rack. I skipped the parchment paper and dusting the pan with flour. I just used Pam cooking spray and it worked for me. Do whatever you are comfortable with.

Right after I pulled the cake out of the oven and while the oven was still warm, I toasted the chopped pecans. Kill two birds with one stone, right?

Here, right before frosting the cake, I mixed the nuts into the frosting...did I mention how amazing this frosting is?

Seriously, it tastes like the best vanilla custard pudding with coconuts and pecans. So good!

Frosting the cake on my platter (the platter was slightly too small for the cake)

The finished cake

Ta da!!! Even my coconut hater loved this:)

Pork in Red Chili Sauce

2010-03-19T10:52:00.000-07:00

Tender bites of pork smothered in a red chili sauce. So good, you won't be able to stop eating it. You can use this as a burrito filling, or a tamale filling. I like to just scoop it up with homemade tortillas and eat it plain. If you make this is the morning, or by some off chance you have some left over from the night before, this makes a wonderful breakfast burrito too.

You can purchase dried New Mexico red chili pods at your grocery store. The ones they sell there are generally pretty mild. They usually come in 1 1/2 oz bags, this recipe calls for two bags. If you just don't have the time or the desire to make your own sauce, you can use a good quality canned enchilada sauce instead. But if you do have the time, it's worth the effort.

Pork in Red Chili Sauce:

2 pork tenderloins

1 recipe Red chili sauce or a large can of red enchilada sauce

*cut the pork into bite sized pieces and brown in small batches in a heavy bottom pan or dutch oven

*pour in red chili sauce and let it simmer for 1 to 2 hours until meat is tender

*Season to taste

Red Chili Sauce:

3 ounces of dried red chile pods

1 clove garlic

1 carton Chicken broth (32 oz)

2 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt

pinch of oregano
*Optional-cumin

*Pull off the stem and dump the seeds out of each chili pod and give it a quick rinse

*In a saucepan, put chili and water to cover and bring it to a boil. Turn down heat and let it simmer for a few minutes until the pods are soft.

*In a blender, put all the chili, a clove of garlic and a ladle full of the hot chili water from pan

*Blend until it is completely smooth

*In a heavy bottomed pan, heat olive oil

*Sprinkle in flour and make a loose roux

*add the blended chili and saute for a minute or two being careful not to scorch

*Add the chicken broth a little at a time.

*Let it cook down until it becomes the consistency of gravy

*Add a pinch of oregano and season for taste

Best breakfast burrito ever!

Swiss Chard

2010-03-19T10:20:00.000-07:00

Swiss chard is not only delicious, it is beautiful. It comes in different colors, but all have pretty much the same flavor. If you love spinach, this is it's grown up, glamorous big sister.

As with most vegetables, freshness is key. I found these at the local Farmer's Market. The farmer told me next week he will have a striped variety. Can't wait.

Preparation is quite simple, although there are some complicated recipes floating around out there. I prepare my Swiss Chard the exact same way I prepare my spinach: sauteed in olive oil and garlic, with a splash of white balsamic vinegar. Wash your leaves thoroughly and cut out the center rib and stem, roll the leaves and chop into 1-2 inch slices.

Simple Swiss Chard:

2 large bunches of fresh Swiss Chard

2 small cloves of garlic, sliced

3-4 tablespoons of olive oil

Pinch of dried crushed red pepper

1 tablespoon of butter

Salt

Splash of White Balsamic Vinegar

*Wash and prepare Swiss Chard

*In a deep saute pan with a lid, heat olive oil on medium heat

*Add the garlic and crushed red pepper flakes and saute for a few seconds

*Add chopped Swiss Chard (still wet from washing) and cover

*After about 5 minutes, flip the leaves over in the pan. If it looks dry, add a couple of tablespoons of water

*After another 5 minutes check for doneness, add butter, salt to taste and a splash of vinegar.

Mmmmmm:)