Sunday, December 5, 2010

Experiments in Fruitcake (Bars), Part I

We still haven't really settled into Tampa. We're moved in and all but our routine still has a bit of a foreign, transient feeling to it. Maybe it's all the cheap, falling down strip malls and billboards or more likely, it's because I've been lazy about trying to make friends. Anyways, my homesickness has turned into old timey nostalgia as of late because Mei and I have been reading Anne of Green Gables together.
In that vein, I had plans of making a real, old fashioned, booze soaked fruitcake this holiday season but totally chickened out. So...baby steps: enter a recipe for Martha Stewart's fruitcake bars. You can use whatever combination of fruits, nuts and liquor you like and so far, I have used golden raisins, cranberries, cherries, apricots, dried apple and grand marnier for my liquor. Step one: get a whole bunch of dried fruit, dice it up and then pour a bunch of honey and brandy (or liquor of your choice, in my case it's grand marnier) and let it sit for 2-14 days. I'll post the final product in a week or two. Wish me luck!

Here is the recipe from the Holiday Cookie 2010 magazine (I couldn't find it on line):

2 1/2 cups dark raisins
2 1/2 cups golden raisins
2 cups dried currants
2 cups dried sour cherries
2 1/2 cups dried cranberries
1 cup dried apricots, diced into 1/4 inch pieces
3/4 cup honey
1 cup Cognac

1 1/2 cups unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups bread flour, plus more for dusting
1 Tb coarse salt
1 1/2 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground cloves
1 1/2 cups walnuts, coarsely chopped
1 1/4 cups sugar
7 (!) large eggs

1. In a large nonreactive container (glass, ceramic or plastic) combine dried fruits, honey and Cognac, let macerate at room temperature for 2 days up to 2 weeks covered with plastic wrap.

2. Preheat oven to 275. Generously butter and flour 2 8 inch square pans, tap out excess flour. Whisk to combine flour, salt, ginger, cinnamon, and cloves in a bowl. Stir in nuts.

3. In a separate bowl, beat butter and sugar with an electric mixer on medium high speed until pale and fluffy, about 3-4 minutes. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down side of bowl as needed. Transfer to a large bowl. Using a flexible spatula, fold in flour-nut mixture and drained fruit mixture, stir to evenly distribute fruits and nuts.

4. Divide batter between prepared pans, use an offset spatula to smooth tops. Bake until a cake tester inserted into center comes out with only a few moist crumbs attached. 2-2 1/4 hours. Transfer pans to wire rack to cool completely. Invert cakes onto racks to unmold. Invert again, top sides up. Cakes can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature up to 2 months.

5. Using a serrated knife, cut cake into thirds. Slice each third into 1 inch thick slices. Bars can be stored in an airtight container at room temperature for up to one week.

Saturday, October 16, 2010

Chunky Two-Bean and Beef Chili

We made this last weekend during the unfortunate Michigan v Michigan State game. I won't hold the chili responsible for Michigan's loss---how could I? Especially when it is so good garnished with either queso fresco or monterey jack cheese (or both?!).

Ingredients:
1 tbsp canola oil, divided
Cooking spray
1 1/2 pounds beef stew meat (chef's note--I am okay with not using any meat in this recipe--but the lars likes it otherwise. we compromise and put in about half).
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped green bell peppers
1 tbsp minced fresh garlic
2 tsp finely chopped jalapeno pepper
2/3 cup Cabernet Sauvignon or other dry-red-wine
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 1/2 tbsp brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp ground ancho chile-pepper
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground red pepper
1/2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp ground coriander
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1 (28 oz) can whole tomatoes undrained and chopped
1 (15 oz) can dark red kidney beans rinsed and drained
1 (15 oz) can hot chili beans

1) Heat 1 tsp of oil in a large dutch oven with cooking spray over medium high-heat. Sprinkle beef with salt. Place half of beef in pan, saute eight minutes or until browned. Remove from pan and repeat procedure with remaining beef. Remove from pan.

2) Add 2 tsp of oil, onion and bell pepper to pan and saute 3 minutes. Add garlic and jalapeno; saute 1 minute. Add wine, scraping pan to loosen browned bits. Return beef to pan.

3) Stir in tomato paste and remaining ingredients (I like to put all the spices/sugar together in a bowl before I start making this dish and then just dump it in when the time is right) and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 1 1/2 hours or until beef is tender, stirring occasionally. Yield 6 servings (serving size about 1 1/2 cups).

This recipe is from the March 2006 Cooking Light.

Sunday, September 19, 2010

Corn Chowdah

Nothing says the return of fall like good soup. We're loving the crisp autumn weather in Ann Arbor and thought we'd celebrate football season, cooler temps and delicious corn with corn chowder. Or, as I like to pronounce it, "chowdah".

I've tried a couple different Corn Chowdah recipes and this is the one I like the best. We like ours with a little kick so also add hot pepper flakes (and I've also put in jalapeno before). Its good just on its own. Its from the old classic, Joy of Cooking.

Corn Chowder
About 6 Cups

Cook, stirring, in a soup pot over medium-low heat until beginning to crisp, 10-15 minutes:
  • 4 slices bacon, chopped (I tried turkey bacon and there's really, for soups, no substitute for the real deal).
Leaving the bacon in the pan, spoon off all but two tablespoons of fat. Add and cook, stirring until tender and slightly browned, 10-15 minutes
  • 1 small onion, chopped
  • 2 medium celery ribs, diced
Meanwhile, remove the kernels from:
  • 6 small ears of corn
Set the kernels aside and add the cobs to the pot, along with
  • 4 1/2 cups milk
  • 2 medium potatoes diced
Submerge the corncobs with the milk. Bring the milk almost to a boil, reduce hte heat and simmer, covered, until the potatoes are tender, 10-15 minutes. Remove the cobs and stir in the reserved corn kernels with
  • 1 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon white or black pepper.
Simmer gently until the corn is tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from the heat. With a slotted sppon, remove 1 1/2 cups solids from the soup and puree until smooth (or use your immersion blender until desired consistency is reached). Return to the soup and add
  • 1 Tablespoon of butter (we don't do this but its in the recipe!).
Let stand until the butter is melted, then stir and serve.


Saturday, September 11, 2010

African Peanut Butter Soup

So a woman I work with has been making this soup and bringing it into the office ever since she started working with me three years ago. I have always been intrigued but never daring enough to make it---I mean, it doesn't *sound* great when you sell it as "peanut butter soup"...unless, of course, peanut butter is your thang. But guys, it is REALLY good. And very healthy. Think of all the protein you're getting sans meat. The texture of the rice and the sweet potato puree and the tofu and the scallions. D'lish!

Here is the recipe on Epicurious.
It makes GOBS-full. You can freeze and save for later. I ate mine with some sourdough bread and chopped up canteloupe for added fun.

The only thing I would do differently is add a little bit more cayenne pepper. I did not get the heat kick that I anticipated with it. I'm sure a jalapeno or two in the mix wouldn't hurt, either.

Saturday, August 14, 2010

Summer/fall sweet potato salad

Friends, this is soooo good. And it's very easy (as long as you read the ingredient list and remember to buy the limes and then read the recipe so that you put the onions in to roast with the potatoes at the beginning rather than halfway through when you're supposed to be going to pick up some limes, and then all hell breaks loose because the husband you're supposed to be picking up after you finally get the limes got caught up in the ICU and then you decided to take a shortcut that leads to a no left turn onto your street so you have to backtrack and the baby has been whining/wailing for a good half hour at this point. And no one was there to praise your excellent parallel parking job when getting the limes!). Perhaps an unnecessary digression, but since there isn't much else to say other than THIS IS SO GOOD AND EASY so I guess I needed something else to beef up the post.

Anyway, we first discovered the fab salad last summer and ate it a bunch then and I'm so glad I found the recipe again. I throw in an avocado, and it's a great complement. Tonight I'm putting the leftovers in quesadillas with jack cheese. I don't know how they will turn out, but I can't imagine they won't be good - jack cheese, tortillas and a spicy summer salad. Right? I'll let you know if they're a massive failure.

Monday, July 5, 2010

Almond Cake

We had friends and babies over for dinner on Saturday night. We served pesto, chicken sausage, watermelon and bread from Zingermans. It was good, I won't lie. But the real star was this fantastic almond cake that our friend brought. So delicious!

As David Leibovitz says in his article, "This is one of those cakes that's hard to mess up"...and apparently its adapted from Chez Panisse! I smell a blind taste test sometime in early August! Oh, what I would do to eat this sweet cake again and again and again and forever.

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

P-Dub's Pico De Gallo & Shredded Beef Tacos

Pioneer Woman's Pico de Gallo

Sometimes its so easy to just buy pico de gallo at the grocery store that I would never really ever consider making it myself. HOWEVER, this recipe from Pioneer Woman is fantastic and I really liked it a lot more than the pre-made stuff from the grocery store.

This weekend I had hoped to have a couple of people over to our new place for Father's Day. I thought the easiest thing to do would be have kind of a high class taco bar--so I found a recipe for shredded beef tacos (surprisingly, none of my cookbooks had a shredded beef taco recipe; only ground beef!), and did it up all fancy-like with chihuahua cheese, homemade pico de gallo, avocados, limes, black olives, ...the works. Then Bjorn came down with a 103+ fever on Saturday night so we cancelled Father's Day dinner and ended up with copious leftovers. However, I am happy to report that the shredded beef tacos were good enough to eat at least three nights in a row. We *COULD* eat them again tonight but I'm tuckered out on that food front.

Seriously, though--make the pico. Its SUPER easy. Then get some good tortilla chips. And a corona. And a lime. Oh, heaven.

Sunday, June 13, 2010

Grilled Rosemary Chicken Breasts With Blackberry Mustard Glaze

Super easy and pretty sure this is Lars' favorite chicken dish ever. That said, I only make two so his choices are limited...still pretty good.

Ingredients
4 boneless skinless chicken breast halves
salt & pepper to taste
1/4 cup olive oil
3 tbsp white wine or tarragon vinegar
1 tbsp Soy Sauce
1 clove of garlic minced
2 tsp minced freshly chopped rosemary
1/4 cup seedless blackberry jam
1 tbsp Dijon mustard

Trim the chicken and pound to an even 1/2 inch thickness. Season chicken to taste with salt and pepper and place in a flat baking dish. In a small bowl, combine the olive oil, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic and rosemary. Pour over the chicken, turning to coat. Let stand for 30 minutes or cover and refrigerate for 2-3 hours.

In a small bowl stir the blackberry jam and mustard together.

Remove chicken from the marinade and grill for 3-5 minutes per side or until cooked through, brushing with the blackberry mixture for the last minute on each side to glaze.

Serves 4.

Friday, June 11, 2010

Killer Cabbage Slaw

Now--if I saw the title of this recipe I would think "blech" because I'm not really a "slaw" type of person. I think this is mainly because everytime I eat it brings back forsaken memories of the KFC drive-thru that we ended up eating at when my dad was out to sea (this is not a metaphor). ANYWAY--its really good. Yummy and I am going through a real sesame thing right now. Sesame bagels, sesame dressing, sesame slaw! Love love love! Also please note the "SERVES 12" below--I would imagine you could make this smaller but just use minimal amounts of the seasoning in the ramen packet.

Dressing:
3 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1/3 cup canola oil or any vegetable oil
½ teaspoon pepper
Seasoning packet from Japanese ramen noodle mix

Salad:
2 tablespoons sesame seeds
½ cup slivered almonds
1 (3-oz.) package Japanese ramen soup mix noodles
4 cups shredded cabbage (I buy the pre-shredded cabbage)
1-2 cups shredded iceberg lettuce
3 green onions, finely chopped

Make salad dressing and allow time for flavors to blend. Toast sesame seeds and slivered almonds in a fry pan until they begin to brown/golden. Cool. Place soup mix noodles in a plastic bag and break up or roll with a rolling pin (not too fine). Mix with toasted sesame seeds and almonds. Combine shredded cabbage, shredded lettuce and chopped green onions. Just before serving, add sesame seeds, almonds, noodles and dressing. Mix lightly. Serves 12.

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

Avocado Salad With Carrot Ginger Dressing

I saw this recipe earlier today and immediately became obsessed. I just had to make it.

One of my favorite eating experiences in the world is the side salad you get right before you get your sushi at any Japanese restaurant. Who knew you could make it at home?! And with avocado?! Score x 2! I made mine with butter lettuce (which maybe is the same as bib lettuce? I can't tell--but it was still v good). Also, I ommitted the red onions because I don't really like them raw and I didn't have any in the house. One less thing to chop. Really, it was quite good. It makes so much dressing that you can have it twice. Now if only I could figure out how to save a half used avocado. I could just eat it for dessert...but that might be a little intense.

So, the recipe is actually by way of Gwyneth Paltrow's lifestyle website, Goop, and from a newsletter where she talks about doing a cleanse to lose a couple of pounds--but don't be fooled by that--it still tastes great! We ate it tonight coupled with a helping of Kung Pao Chicken and it worked just swell.

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Like Thanksgiving dinner...but not

Grilled thin sliced turkey cutlets (tiny bit of kosher salt and pepper and olive oil so it didn't stick)--Thanks Trader Joes
Steamed pre-cut green beans--also courtesy of TJs
Sweet potato sticks (TJs, of course) seasoned with "salmon seasoning" in a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes
Jarred lingon berry sauce--from Ikea

The ultimate lazy meal that took less than 20 minutes and for some reason everyone was thrilled. Oh Trader Joes, how I miss thee! It's almost worth a weekly 35 minute commute over the bridge and through the woods.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Spring Chicken With Leeks and Peas (Served With Lemon Rice)

I have been so reluctant to try anything other than our core staples--it just feels hard to invest the energy into something and not know how its going to turn out (although I have been eye'ing Ginny's curry pot pie for as long as its been posted!). The daffodils in our courtyard and the warmer weather inspired me, though--there's something about just throwing open the windows and letting spring smack you in the butt like the flirt that it is. Also, does not hurt that Bjorn jumparoos on his own while I'm cooking for longer periods, now. Anyway, let's get to it.

I made this from my Rachael Ray: 365 No Repeats cookbook. Haters to the left? I mean, she is pretty annoying but her recipes are sometimes fantastic. This wasn't the best I've had but it didn't take 30 minutes (it took less!) and it was pretty satisfying and different enough to be added to the repertoire. Also, have discovered I love peas and rice. The texture is fantastic!

Ingredients:
2 Cups Chicken Broth
1 cup white rice
Zest and juice of one lemon
3 tablespoons of EVOO
1 tablespoon of unsalted butter
1 1/2 to 2 pounds of chicken breast tenders, cute into large bite-size pieces about 2 inches
2 medium leeks
1/2 cup dry white wine (or substitute chicken stock if you don't have any wine on hand)
1 10 oz box of frozen tender green peas
Handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves finely chopped

Bring the chicken to a boil in a small pot. Stir in the rice, lemon zest and 1 tbsp of hte EVOO. Return to a boil and then reduce the heat toa simmer and cover pot. Cook for 17-18 minutes or until tender.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the remaining 2 tbsp of EVOO and the butter. When the butter melts into the oil, add the chicken to the pan and saute until lightly golden on both sides; about 4 minutes

Cut the leeks into half lengthwise, then slice into 1/2 inch half moons. Place the leeks in a collander and wash under cold running water separating the layers and releasing all the grit. Drain the leeks well and add them to the chicken.

Cook the leeks with the chicken until they wilt down; 3 minutes or so. Add the white wine to the pan and scrape up any pan drippings. Add the peas and heat through; about another minute. Turn off the heat and season with salt and peper. Drizzle the lemon juice over the chicken and leeks.

Fluff the rice with a fork. The zest in the cooking liquid will have infused the rie with lemon flavor. Add the parsley and toss the rice to combine.

Pile the chicken and leeks on dinner plates and top with a small mound of lemon rice.

Thursday, February 25, 2010

Curry Chicken Pot Pie

We had this for dinner a couple nights ago and Ryan was impressed that I served homemade chicken pot pie during a weeknight, but this is probably one of the easiest pot pies ever. I made a "turkey cobbler" (same difference) after Christmas that was probably tastier but I slaved over that thing for a LONG time. Active cooking time is less than 30 minutes but it does need 45 minutes in the oven so this is not something to make when you get home late from work.

The recipe is from Alton Brown and very simple, especially if you bake/broil some chicken breasts ahead of time (I often bake/broil 3 thawed chicken breasts in the oven and use throughout the week in salads, pastas etc). The addition of curry really helps this pot pie stand out without being overwhelming, my kiddos loved it. Excellent comfort food and so much better tasting and better for you than those Marie Calendar's individual pot pies from my childhood.

1 8 1/2 ounce sheet of frozen puff pastry, thawed (usually come in 2 pack boxes)

2 Tbs of unsalted butter

1 Cup of onion, chopped

1 cup celery, chopped

4 cups frozen vegetable medley (I used peas, corn, carrots and green beans)

1 1/2 cups low sodium chicken broth

1/2 cup milk (he recommended whole milk but I used 2% because that's what I had, it turned out perfect but I'd stay away from the nonfat milk for this recipe because it may not thicken as needed)

3 Tbs flour

1 Tsp curry powder

2 Tsps dried parsley

1 Tsp kosher salt

1/2 Tsp black pepper

1 1/2 cups cooked chicken, coarsely chopped

1. Unfold the thawed puff pastry and pierce with a fork. Cut into 2 inch rounds with a biscuit cutter or a glass. Set aside. If you like a lot of pastry and have a small casserole dish you could probably skip this step and just lay the whole pastry sheet over the top of the casserole.

2. Heat oven to 400 degrees.

3. Melt 1 tbs of butter in a large saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion and celery and sweat until the onion is translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the frozen veggies and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, 7-8 minutes.

4. Meanwhile, combine the broth and milk in a 2 cup microwave safe container (measuring cup to make pouring easier later) and heat in the microwave oven until almost boiling, about 2 minutes.

5. Add remaining 2 tbs of butter to the veggies and melt. Add the flour and curry powder and whisk for 1-2 minutes. Whisk in the hot milk/broth mixture and cook until thickened, 3-4 minutes. Add parsley, salt and pepper to taste. Add the chicken and stir to combine. Pour into a 9 X 13 inch baking dish or your favorite casserole dish. Mash down the mixture to compact the casserole and top with the puff pastry circles.

6. Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 45 minutes or until puff pastry has browned and the mixture is hot and bubbly. Cool for 15-30 minutes before serving.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Good stuff

We made this the other night. Actually, we=Steve. When he set out to get dinner started for me, he was shocked at the recipe's simplicity. Then, realizing how easy it was, he decided that he was going to make dinner and instructed me not to touch anything. He claims he put a secret ingredient in it, but I don't believe him. I'm not wild about tomato sauces, but this was so so good. It's great on it's own, but I think it would be excellent with some fresh seafood. I think we'll try shrimp or scallops sometime.

Steve's TPIW debut gave me time to make some caramel corn I'd been meaning to try for a while. Also very good and pretty easy. Take seriously the instruction to work quickly when stirring in the caramel... I didn't get it as evenly distributed as I should have. And I think I'll sprinkle some extra salt, maybe flake salt, before putting it in the oven next time, but this probably depends on how salty your popcorn is to start. Nevertheless, it was some good noshing while watching the Olympics on a winter night!

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

Chicken Fettuccine With Creamy Red Pepper Sauce

Many of you have been lucky enough to hear me bemoan my weight gain during pregnancy. I think this puts the k'bosh on my incessant whining if I resign myself to making dishes like this. So bad. So good. What's a girl to do?

My mom started making this for Lars and I when she comes out to visit and play with Bjorn. Lars has requested that it become a "staple"--ie, something that I make frequently. Its super easy to make and super fast, too...we make it spicier than the recipe calls for but you can make it as spicy as you want. I love love love the carmelized red onions in this. Delicious. This fed four people with leftovers.

Fettuccine with Chicken and Red Pepper Cream Sauce

12 ounces skinless, boneless chicken breasts (or chicken tenders)
1 tablespoon butter
2 large red peppers, thinly sliced
1 small red onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, minced
½ teaspoon dried crushed red pepper (I used ¾+ teaspoon because Lars likes things spicy)
1 ½ cup whipping cream
1 cup chicken stock or broth
3 tablespoons fresh basil
8 ounces fettuccine
Parmesan cheese

Cut chicken into bite-size pieces (if you cut the chicken while it is still just a little frozen, it is easier to cut than totally defrosted). Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper. Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook until brown on both sides, about 5 minutes. Transfer chicken to plate. Add red bell peppers and onion to same skillet and sauté until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Add minced garlic and crushed red pepper to skillet and sauté 4 minutes. Add whipping cream and chicken stock. Simmer until sauce thickens slightly, about 8 minutes.

Add chicken and simmer until chicken is cooked throughout, about 2 minutes. Add basil and ¼ (or more!) cup grated Parmesan cheese to sauce, stirring to incorporate.

Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until tender but still firm to bite. Drain and return to pot. Add sauce and toss to coat. Serve with more Parmesan.