The Magic of Leftovers

Because of a "lovely" stomach virus, not alot of people in our family were up to eating as much as they would like to on Christmas Eve. The result: lots of leftovers!!!
So last night I got creative with dinner with a very yummy outcome! The menu last night was porkchops and potatoes. Kinda boring right?
Well, I used the leftovers of my goat cheese crostini to make a really yummy dinner.

Take 1 1/2 cups of balsamic vinegar. Bring to a boil, and then lower the heat to medium low, reduce by half. Add 1/2 cup of brown sugar and the left over cherry relish (recipe for the relish is in the previous post). Continue cooking until the mixture becomes syrupy. Then set aside.
Season the pork chops with salt and pepper. Sear each side on high heat and then move to a 250 degree oven till cooked thru. At least 160 degrees.
To serve, top with the balsamic reduction.

To use the rest of the goat cheese, I simply cooked up some hashbrowns with onions, and then sprinkled the goat cheese on top, right before serving. (hint: par cook the potatoes in a dish of water covered in saran wrap for 5 minutes in the microwave before you begin to fry them up)

The tang of the cherry relish works wonderfully with the fattyness of the pork, and the goat cheese adds a wonderful depth of flavor to the hashbrowns.

(I can't include any pictures because I left my camera at my inlaws Christmas day, and haven't gotten it back yet!)

The Final Leg of My Marathon!

It was a crazy day yesterday. I knew I had alot to get done, and even tho I was organized it was still quite a feat!
I didn't do any chocolate bark, but we made and decorated about 45 sugar cookies! It was alot of fun for the kids, and it is amazing how far sprinkles can travel! I used a recipe I found on Foodnetwork.com for the dough, and was really pleased on how it turned out. The dough was easy to work with, and the taste and texture of cookies were just about perfect! I was able to double the recipe very easily!

Sugar Cookies
Ingredients

* 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon fine salt
* 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
* 3/4 cup granulated sugar
* 1/2 cup confectioners' sugar
* 2 large eggs
* 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla paste or vanilla extract

Directions

Whisk the flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl.

Beat the butter and both sugars in another medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 30 seconds. Add the eggs and vanilla mixing until fully incorporated. Slowly add the flour mixture, and continue beating just until the dough comes together, stopping and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.

Divide dough in half, pat into disks, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 2 hours.

Generously flour a clean work surface. (For a nice, even layer of flour, lightly sift flour over the work surface.) Gently roll chilled dough about 1/4-inch thick. Cut into desired shape using a cookie cutter, working quickly enough so dough remains chilled. If dough gets too soft, refrigerate on a lined baking sheet until firm again, about 30 minutes.

Transfer cut cookies to un-greased baking sheets, leaving about 1-inch between cookies. Refrigerate the formed cookies for at least 30 minutes. Lightly dust off excess flour with a dry pastry brush. (Excess dough can be pressed into a disk, chilled and rerolled.)

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Bake the cookies, until the bottoms are golden, about 12 to 15 minutes depending on shape. Cool on the baking sheets until firm enough to transfer to a rack to cool. Decorate as desired and serve. Store in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 1 week.

In addition to the baking I did alot of prep for our Christmas Eve dinner. This year we decided to start a new tradition of having appetizers for dinner. Our menu includes my spanakopitas, turkey meatballs in a paprika sauce, goat cheese crostini's with a dried cherry relish, shrimp cocktail, and my hubby is making up some sushi rolls.
I won't post the recipe for spanakopitas, it is in a previous post. I have made one change to it, and instead of using bread crumbs, I use ground up Ritz crackers! It adds a wonderful buttery crunch.

My dried cherry relish I found on foodreference.com. I used it for Thanksgiving and it was a big hit.

DRIED CHERRY RELISH
Makes about 2 cups; 12 servings as a relish.


1-1/2 cups dried tart cherries
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon margarine
1 large red onion, finely chopped
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper


In a medium bowl, combine cherries, red wine vinegar and balsamic vinegar. Let soak 30 minutes.

Heat butter in a large skillet. Add onion; cook 5 minutes, or until onion is soft. Add sugar; mix well. Cook, stirring occasionally, over low heat 10 minutes.

Add cherries with soaking liquid to onion mixture. Simmer, uncovered, 10 to 15 minutes, or until almost all the liquid is evaporated. Season with salt and pepper. Serve warm.


I had some fun changing up the recipe for my turkey paprika meatballs. My mom has some diet restrictions, so I changed it up so she would be able to enjoy it!

Turkey Meatballs in Paprika Tomato Sauce

1lb ground turkey, thawed
1 cup cooked white rice
1 carrot minced
about 5 button mushrooms diced
1/2 tsp chinese five spice
salt and pepper
1 egg

Mix ingredients together. Form balls and bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Once they are cool you can refrigerate them over night. Before serving put them in a pot with a can of fire roasted tomatoes, add 1 tsp of soy sauce and cook them over low heat for about 45 minutes, till they are heated through. You can serve them on bread, or just by themselves!

Christmas Marathon: Day Three!

It has been a crazy couple of days! No matter how well I plan holiday's love to throw me some curve balls, so even though it is a day late I hope you enjoy the story of the next day of my marathon.
For day three I made chocolate bark and added a mix of dried fruit and almonds. I really enjoyed this one. The fruit was a mix of apples, plums, pears and apricots. To add some crunch I just put some sliced almonds on the top. I think it is actually my favorite of the barks.
For the cookies I made my husbands favorite cookies. Oatmeal cookies with crasins, white chocolate chips and macadamian nuts. The original recipe didn't have the nuts, and they are still wonderful without them, but the nuts add a nice bit of crunch.

Oatmeal Crasin White Chocolate Macadamian Nut Cookies
2/3 cup butter
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 lrg eggs
1 1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1 1/2 cup four
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 6 oz package of cranberries
2/3 cup white chocolate chunks or chips
1/4 cup chopped macadamian nuts

Preheat oven to 375. Using an electric mixer beat butter and sugar together in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy. Add eggs, mixing well. Combine oats, flour, baking soda and salt in a separate mixing bowl. Add to butter mixture in several additions, mixing well after each addition. Stir in cranberries and white chocolate.
Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
Makes approx. 2 1/2 doz cookies

Christmas Marathon: Day Two!

For day two I decided to re-create one of my favorite snacks in chocolate bark form. I love Snyder's Pretzel-Peanut Butter Sandwiches dipped in chocolate. So I pressed broken pretzels, as well as peanut butter chips into my semi-sweet chocolate bark. The result: a wonderfully salty sweet treat!
I tried a new cookie recipe for Mexican Chocolate Shortbread from the Food Network Magazine. It seemed a little dry to me, but I think I just over cooked it. I also tried doubling the recipe instead of making two separate batches and I think that might have affected the outcome. The taste is wonderful tho, and I will be trying this one again!

Mexican Chocolate Shortbread

12 Tblsp unsalted butter, softened, plus more for the pan
1 1/2 cups flour
3 Tblsp sliced almonds, plus more for topping
6 Tblsp Dutch process cocoa powder
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
Pinch of cayenne pepper
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tblsp raw sugar

Preheat the over to 350 degrees. Butter a 9 inch square baking pan, then line with parchment paper, leaving an overhang on all four sides. Pulse the flour, almonds, cocoa powder, cinnamon, salt and cayenne in a food processor until the almonds are finely ground.
Beat butter and sugar in a large bowl with a mixer until light and fluffy. Add the flour mixture and beat until just combined (dough will be crumbly). Press the dough into the bottom of the prepared pan.
Prick the dough all over with a fork, then use a sharp knife to cut into 18 strips. Top with almonds, lightly pressing them in. Sprinkle with raw sugar. Refrigerate until the dough is firm, about 10 minutes.
Bake until the shortbread is slightly puffed and firm, 30 to 35 minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and immediately retrace the strips with a knife; cool completely in the pan on a rack. Lift up the parchment paper to remove the shortbread from the pan, then separate into bars. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Christmas Marathon: Day One!

Today began my Christmas baking. Don't get me wrong, I have been baking this whole season, but now it is specifically for Christmas Eve and Day.
What I have decided to do this year is do one type of chocolate bark, and a cookie each day. Today I made peppermint bark, and my mocha chip cookies.
Now everyone usually has their favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe. Personally, I just use the one on the back of the bags of whatever chips I have, and have never been disappointed. What I do to turn them into mocha chips is add one tsp of instant decaf coffee. It really brings out the chocolate flavor and adds a real depth to the classic cookie.
I got the recipe for chocolate bark from the Food Network Magazine. I did use chocolate chips instead of block chocolate because not only was it a bit cheaper, it also took one of the steps out and made it even easier. I will post the basic recipe today, and then share what I added to each one of the barks that I make.

Line baking sheet with foil, shiny side up, smooth out the creases.
Pick your ingredients. Must include 1 lb chocolate either bittersweet or semisweet, and then whatever toppings you like. Today I used crushed up peppermint candy with white chocolate.
Make sure all your tools are dry. Chop chocolate into 1/2 inch pieces if you are using a bar instead of chips. Place all but 1 cup of the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl. Microwave 30 seconds, then stir with a rubber spatula. Continue microwaving and stirring at 30 second intervals until melted. 3-5 minutes total.
Immediately add the reserved chopped chocolate to the bowl. Stir vigorously until melted and shiny. Don't worry if there are a few small unmelted pieces.
Pour the chocolate onto the prepared baking sheet; use the rubber spatula to spread it into a 10 to 12 inch circle, about 1/4 inch thick.
Press your toppings into the chocolate, arranging them so each bite has a mix of flavors and textures. Let bark harden completely at room temperature, about 1 hour. Break into pieces and store in a airtight container at room temperature of 1 to 2 weeks.

3 1/2lbs Confectioners Sugar on My Counter.....

This year I was introduced to my husbands family's tradition of making Christmas candy. We have wanted to try it out for years, but one thing or another kept getting in the way.
Last year when we moved into our house one of the first things my husband and mother-in-law both said was..."your island will be great for Christmas candy".
What they didn't tell me what that the candy involved MOUNTAINS OF POWDERED SUGAR!!!!!! For those of you who know me, you can imagine the look on my face as they pour 3 1/2 POUNDS OF POWDERED SUGAR on my island!
The next step involved patting down the mountain until it was an even slab. The kids had fun with that, although I don't know exactly how even it was! The grownups had to help them with that.
Then we drew furrows through the confectioners sugar, which held the molten candy as it was poured. The next step was covering the candy in powdered sugar until it cooled down and then cut/broke into pieces. We also got a bit inventive and let the kids make handprints in the powdered sugar to make lollipops!

It was messy...but alot of fun. You are able to keep the left over powdered sugar for the next year. And I think I will be finding little bits of powdered sugar till then!

Christmas Candy

3 3/4 cup sugar
1 cup water
1 1/2 cup light corn syrup
1 tsp flavoring oil
citric acid
coloring as desired

Combine sugar, water and corn syrup over medium heat until it reaches the "hard crack" stage. Take it off the heat. When it stops boiling add coloring and flavor. Pour into your powdered sugar molds. Cover the candy with powdered sugar. Let cool.

"Hard-Crack Stage
300° F–310° F
Sugar concentration: 99%

The hard-crack stage is the highest temperature you are likely to see specified in a candy recipe. At these temperatures, there is almost no water left in the syrup. Drop a little of the molten syrup in cold water and it will form hard, brittle threads that break when bent. CAUTION: To avoid burns, allow the syrup to cool in the cold water for a few moments before touching it!"

Sweet Potato Muffins

As I was reviewing this blog I realized that I have left out one of my favorite "go to" recipes....Sweet Potato Muffins. I am a big fan of muffins and quick breads because they are so portable.
I discovered this recipe in a magazine last year, and have made it countless times since! It is a great way to use leftover sweet potatoes.
The recipe calls for raisins, but I have also used crasins with wonderful results. The cinnamon and sugar on top provides a wonderfully crisp, crunchy topping, and the muffins are moist and soft. If you have a picky eater this is a great way to sneak some veggies in without them even knowing it!

ENJOY!!!

Sweet Potato Muffins

½ cup butter (softened)
1 ¼ cups sugar
2 eggs
1 ¼ cups mashed sweet potatoes (1 lrg potato)
¼ cup milk
1 ½ cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
¼ tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg
½ cup raisins
¼ cup chopped pecans

Topping: 2 TB sugar/ ¼ tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375. Cream butter until light and fluffy. Gradually add the sugar, beating on a medium speed. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in the sweet potatoes and milk. In a separate bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add to the creamed mixture, stirring just until moistened. Fold in raisins and pecans. Spoon batter into greased muffin tins, filling 2/3 full. Mix together sugar and cinnamon and sprinkle liberally over each muffin. Bake at 375 for 25-27 minutes.

A Great Way To Start The Day....

I am always on the look out for good things for breakfast. It is the one meal of the day that I tend to neglect because I really don't feel like cooking first thing in the morning.
Last year I was watching "Barefoot Contessa" and saw a recipe for wonderfully simple cheese danishes. I really wanted to try them, but never got the chance until I came across the recipe again in one of her cookbooks.
They really are wonderfully easy, and extremely tasty, as with all of my favorite recipes look and taste like a lot more energy than they are.
I made them for playgroup this morning and actually cut the puff pastry smaller so I could get more of them and make them more kid size friendly and they turned out wonderful!
I plan on making these for Christmas breakfast...they are filling and we can eat them quick and get to presents!


Easy Cheese Danish

8 oz cream cheese as room temp
1/3 cup sugar
2 extra large egg yolks at room temp
2 TBSP ricotta cheese
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 TBSP grated lemon zest (about 2 lemons)
2 sheets (one box) frozen puff pastry defrosted (I usually leave it in the fridge over night)
1 egg beaten with 1 TBSP water for egg wash

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Place the cream cheese ans sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and cream them together on low speed until smooth. With the mixer still on low, add the egg yolks, ricotta, vanilla, salt and lemon zest and mix until just combined. Don't whip!
Unfold one sheet of puff pastry onto a lightly floured board and roll it slightly with a floured rolling pin until its a 10x10 inch square. Cut the sheet into quarters with a sharp knife.
Place a heaping tablespoon of cheese filling into the middle of each of the 4 squares. Brush the border of each pastry with egg wash and fold two opposite corners to the center, brushing and overlapping the corners of each pastry so they firmly stick together. Brush the top of the pastries with egg wash. Place the pastries on the prepared sheet pan. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry and refrigerate with filled Danish for 15 minutes.
Bake the pastries for about 20 minutes, rotating the pan once during baking until puffed and brown. Serve warm.

If you make these in advance, reheat them in a 350 degree oven for 5 minutes.

Out of the Mouths of Babes......

Cameron has always been a good eater. There have been a few things here and there that he hasn't really enjoyed, but over all he will eat anything.
This morning I got to enjoy having breakfast with him, it was just him and me. Reagan and Daddy were sleeping in. Cameron requested cinnamon toast. I asked him if he would like a banana with it. He said sure!
I got ready to serve him his toast with a side of banana. Then he told me he would like it sliced on top. I thought, sure why not?
I was surprised on how delicious it was! Plus, it added some extra nutrition to the cinnamon toast!
So here is Cameron's recipe that we have named....Banana Deliciousness with Cinnamon Toast!

Toast your choice of bread. Spread some butter and sprinkle it with cinnamon and sugar. Then slice a half of banana and layer it on the bread. (This does make the bread quite heavy, so it is easier to eat if you cut it in half!) Enjoy!

Facing Past Failures

I have come to realize that part of my cooking/baking journey is facing past failures. When I think about my cooking catastrophe's I have to put Beef Stroganoff, Green Tomato Pie, Biscuits, Italian Meatball Meatloaf, and a casserole with apples, sausage and sweet potatoes in it.
Some of them I don't plan on revisiting, the memories are just too painful! However, I have conquered the Beef Stroganoff, and just recently tackled biscuits again.
Before when I have made biscuits they have turned out more like crackers then bread. I have tried all sorts of recipes and tricks, but recently discovered a recipe that worked really well, well enough that we actually ate the entire batch of them! The recipe wasn't in any fancy or secretive cookbook, but simply on the back of the baking powdered can!



2 cups all purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup shortening
3/4 cup of milk
1 TBSP soft butter

In a medium mixing bowl stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Using your hands (they called for a pastry cutter, but I have found that my hands work better), work in the shortening till mixture resembles course crumbs.
Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add the milk all at once. Using a for stir just till moistened and dough pulls away from the bowl (dough will be sticky). On a floured surface lightly knead dough with floured hands for 30 seconds or till nearly smooth. Lightly roll dough to 3/4 inch thickness. Cut dough with a 2 1/2 biscuit cutter, dipping cutter into flour between cuts. Place biscuits close together on a lightly greased baking sheet. Brush tops with soft butter. Bake in 475 degree oven for 11-15 minutes or till golden brown.

Baking with Beer.....YES PLEASE!!!!!

I have cooked with beer before. I love adding it to things like chili and beer, and one of my favorite soup recipes calls for 12 oz of beer. I had never thought of baking with it though.
Yesterday it was very cold and rainy and I really wanted some gingerbread. Not cookies, but gingerbread cake. So I began searching through the recipes on foodnetwork.com. I kept running into the problem that I didn't have any crystallized ginger in the house.
Then I found a recipe from Emeril. I read down the list of ingredients and was surprised to see a cup of Guiness. Now Guiness is one of my favorite beers and we have even paired it with chocolate icecream with wonderful results, so I decided to give it a try.
I did change the original recipe a little. I didn't have any raw sugar, so I substituted a 1/2 cup of white sugar and 1/2 cup of brown sugar. The cake came out moist and light and perfect with a nice hot cup of tea. I just sprinkled the top with a little powdered sugar. It would also taste really good paired with some cinnamon applesauce.

Ingredients

* 1 stick unsalted butter
* 1 cup turbinado sugar (1/2 cup white sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar)
* 3 large eggs
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 2 teaspoons ground ginger
* 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
* 1 teaspoon cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
* 1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
* 1 cup molasses
* 1 cup Guinness, or other dark beer
* Spiced Creme Anglaise, recipe follows
* Confectioners' sugar, for dusting

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 13 by 9-inch cake pan and line with parchment paper. Grease the parchment paper and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the butter and sugar. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time. In a medium bowl, sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, cloves, and nutmeg. In a third bowl, combine the molasses and beer and stir to dissolve. Add the dry ingredients and beer mixture alternately to the egg mixture, beating after the addition of each.

Pour into the prepared pan and bake until puffed and set, about 35 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cool in the pan on a wire rack. Sprinkle top with some powdered sugar before serving.

Spiced Creme Anglaise:

* 2 cups heavy cream
* 1/2 teaspoon orange zest
* 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
* 1/8 teaspoon grated nutmeg
* 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
* 3 large egg yolks
* 1/4 cup sugar

Combine the cream, the zest, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ginger in a medium saucepan and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Remove from the heat.

In a medium bowl, beat the egg yolks and sugar until pale and frothy, about 2 minutes. Slowly drizzle in 1/2 cup of the hot cream, whisking constantly. Return the mixture to warm milk and stirring constantly, cook over medium heat until thick, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and serve warm. (Or, to serve chilled, place in an ice bath to cool, then cover with plastic wrap, pressing down against the surface to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate until well chilled, about 2 hours.)

Yield: 2 cups Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 6 minutes Inactive Prep Time: if chilled, 2 hours

Hamburgers Impossible

Last Monday I had burgers on our menu for dinner, and to be honest I wasn't too excited about it. We had been out of town for the weekend and eaten fast food, and the idea of another burger was just not appetizing. So I went on Food Network.com to look for inspiration.
I found it! Robert Irvine, chef on "Dinner Impossible", had posted a recipe for Llama burgers that sounded delish. Now Llama isn't something that I have in my kitchen, so I took a couple of liberties with the recipe. It turned out a burger that was very refreshing and light. It turned out so wonderful that I have a feeling we will be having them more often.

Burgers
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
1 tsp minced thyme leaves
1 tsp minced rosemary leaves
1/4 cup crumbled feta cheese
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 vine-ripened tomatoes, sliced
a drizzle balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped onions
fresh raw spinach
burger buns

Blend the meat, the egg, bread crumbs, lemon juice, thyme, rosemary, feta, and salt and pepper, to taste. Mix well and form into 8 equal round patties, no more than 3/4-inch thick. Refrigerate for 30 minutes, allowing the ingredients and flavors to blend together.

Heat the grill to medium-high heat.

Add the burgers to the grill and cook until desired doneness is achieved, about 6 to 8 minutes per side. Remove and arrange place on buns with the onions,spinach and tomatoes drizzled with the vinegar.

(I am thinking that next time we will also top with a little bit of olive tapenade.)

Meatloaf....the center of contraversy!

I have come to realize lately that when it comes to meatloaf, people have very definite feelings on this dish. People either love it, or hate it.
In our family we love it. Now I have played with a couple of different recipes during the years and have found out that the simpler the better. (This was after the Italian meatloaf debacle)
However, recently I was inspired by the show "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" to do a little revamping on my recipe, and it turned out wonderfully. Carrots, onions and mushrooms gave it some wonderful texture and added flavor.

Updated Meatloaf

1 1/2 lbs of ground beef (on a side note, if you can find a meatloaf mix of meat (pork, ground beef and veal, it is worth the extra money)
2 Tblsp Worcestershire Sauce
1 egg
3/4 cup bread crumbs
salt and pepper to taste
3 carrots
1 small onion
1/4 lb mushrooms
Ketchup

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Put carrots, onion and mushroom through the food processor. Mix well. Add meat, Worcestershire, egg, breadcrumbs and salt and pepper. Form into a loaf or bake in a loaf pan. Drizzle top with ketchup, and bake for 45 minutes.

Now, you can't serve meatloaf without mashed potatoes, that would just be silly! I use sour cream, butter, salt, pepper and some freshly grated Parmesan cheese to mine.

Reviving an Old Favorite

As I have mentioned in my last post, I really love the fall. Last night I broke out one of my favorites, a potato soup recipe. I have changed a couple of things and switched it to a crock pot recipe. It turned out to be delicious! It does have a couple of steps, but the steps make it worth it!
Ingredients
10 potatoes (I just use the small ones that come in a bag)
3 cans chicken broth
2 cups frozen corn
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup sour cream
2 onions
1 head of garlic
Shredded cheese, chives and bacon for toppings

Early in the day, cut up the onions into four pieces each. Place them in a baking dish along with the head of garlic cut in half. Drizzle with olive oil and roast in the oven for 20 minutes on 350 degrees.
Once they are cooled enough, chop up both the garlic and onions, place to the side.
Cut up the potatoes and place them in your slow cooker. Add chicken broth making sure that the broth just covers the potatoes. Add onions, garlic and corn.
Cook on high for four hours. After the four hours are done, add salt, pepper and whipping cream. Stir and continue cooking on low for additional two hours.
Right before serving stir in sour cream.
Serve with shredded cheddar cheese, bacon cut and fried till crispy and chives. Enjoy!

My love affair with all things pumpkin

I absolutely love fall. When it comes down to it I really think it is my favorite season. I love the colors, the weather and the smells.
One of the smells that means it is fall to me is the smell of pumpkin. So you can imagine my dismay when I heard that there was going to be a canned pumpkin shortage this fall. Everytime I went to the store I looked in vain for the cans that would make my fall season complete. I was loosing faith that I would be able to have my fill of this wonderful vegetable.
Then on one of my recent trips I saw an entire display devoted to canned pumpkin. It took all of my will power not to buy the entire display!
To celebrate I made cheesecake filled pumpkin cupcakes. They were delicious. However, the recipe I am sharing today is a recipe for pumpkin cookies. I baked them last night and they are wonderful. They are a wonderfully cakey cookie, which I am thinking of turning into whoopie pies in the near future. I left off the glaze, because I was afraid of covering up the fall tastes that I love. My son and his friend helped me bake them, and I was surprised at how quickly they gobbled them up after they were done baking!

Wonderfully Cakey Pumpkin Cookies

Ingredients

* 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1 teaspoon baking soda
* 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
* 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
* 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1/2 cup butter, softened
* 1 1/2 cups white sugar
* 1 cup canned pumpkin puree
* 1 egg
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
*
* 2 cups confectioners' sugar
* 3 tablespoons milk
* 1 tablespoon melted butter
* 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, ground cloves, and salt; set aside.
2. In a medium bowl, cream together the 1/2 cup of butter and white sugar. Add pumpkin, egg, and 1 teaspoon vanilla to butter mixture, and beat until creamy. Mix in dry ingredients. Drop on cookie sheet by tablespoonfuls; flatten slightly.
3. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes in the preheated oven. Cool cookies, then drizzle glaze with fork.
4. To Make Glaze: Combine confectioners' sugar, milk, 1 tablespoon melted butter, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add milk as needed, to achieve drizzling consistency.

Nemesis....thy name is Beef Stroganoff!

There aren't many dishes that make me nervous to try....however, when I was making up the menu for this pay period my husband requested....dah.dah...daaahhhh.....BEEF STROGANOFF!!!!
Immediately I felt kinda clammy...while I LOVE to eat the dish, the thought of making it is intimidating! You see, back when I was a teenager I decided to make my mom a special birthday dinner. I knew she loved mushrooms, and decided to try my hand at beef stroganoff. I didn't realize the problem until I went to serve it and it was literally SWIMMING in grease. You see, the directions said to drain off excess grease. In my young mind, excess means extra..which I interpreted as, "not all of the grease". It was pretty gross...that event scarred me.
But my husband rarely requests certain dinners, so I decided to try my hand at it, again. I got the recipe from my mother-in-law and read it thru multiple times to make sure I was prepared.
I started out strong, the steak was seared to perfection, and I actually used baby portabello mushrooms, the kitchen was smelling incredible! The problem came when I began to make the sauce. I added the tomato paste and beef stock. It thickened up nicely, but it looked really red, so I added the sour cream and sherry....still looking WAY too red!
My husband found the problem. I had added an entire can of tomato paste instead of the 1 tablespoon that I should have added! However, this catastrophe was a little easier to fix, we just added alot more beef stock, sour cream and sherry. It tripled the recipe. So if anyone wants some beef stroganoff....come on by!

Beef Stroganoff
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 lb steak
1/4 cup butter
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tablespoon tomato paste (not a can)
1 1/4 cup beef stock
1 cup sour cream
2 Tablespoons dry sherry

Combine one tablespoon of flour with salt and dredge the meat in the mixture.
Heat the skillet, then add half the butter. When melted, add the meat strips and brown quickly, flipping the meat to brown on all sides. Add the mushroom slices, onion and garlic. Cook three to four minutes until the onion is barely tender.
Remove the meat and mushrooms from the skillet and keep warm. Add the remaining butter to the pan drippings. When melted blend in the remaining flour with a whisk. Add the tomato paste. Slowly pour in the meat stock. Cook, stirring constantly with the whisk, until the mixture thickens.
Return the meat and the mushrooms to the skillet. Stir in the sour cream and sherry and heat briefly. Serve over egg noddles.

No Meat?

We like meat around this house. Since marrying Andrew I have gotten quite good at cooking a steak. We very rarely have vegetarian dinners, one of the reasons being that most of the time the veggie recipes don't tend to be as filling.
However, last night I made Ina Garten's Dinner Spanakopitas. They are fantastic!!!! They were so filling that two and a half of them fed all three of us. I served it with a green salad.
I will share the recipe, but I changed it a bit. My son isn't too keen on the taste of feta cheese, so I cut that amount in half and added more Parmesan cheese and it was delicious. Another helpful hint is that the phyllo dough is not that easy to work with. It dries out and cracks very easily, so cover all the sheets that you are not working with at the time with plastic wrap and then drape a wet paper towel over the plastic wrap. It will make the process alot easier!!! I made them ahead of time, while both kids were down for a nap, and then kept them in the refrigerator until it was time to bake and it worked really well.

Dinner Spanakopitas

1/4 cup good olive oil
1 cup chopped yellow onion
3 scallions, white and green parts chopped
2 10 oz pkg of frozen spinach, thawed
4 extra large eggs, lightly beaten
3 TBLSP parmesan cheese
Plain dry bread crumbs
1 tsp grated nutmeg
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground pepper
2 cups small diced feta cheese
3 TBLSP toasted pine nuts
24 sheets frozen phyllo dough, defrosted
1/4 pound unsalted butter, melted
Flaked sea salt, such as Maldon for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Heat the olive oil in a medium saute pan, add the onion and cook for 5 minutes over medium low heat. Add the scallions and cook for another 2 minutes until the scallions are wilted but still green. Meanwhile, gently squeeze most of the water out of the spinach and place it in a large bowl.
When the onion and scallions are done, add them to the spinach. Mix in the eggs, Parmesan cheese, 3 TBLSP bread crumbs, the nutmeg, salt and pepper. Gently fold in the feta and pine nuts.
Place one sheet of phyllo dough flat on a work surface with the long end in front of you. Brush the dough lightly with butter and sprinkle it with a tsp of bread crumbs. Working quickly, with slide another sheet of phyllo dough on top of the first, brush it with butter and sprinkle lightly with bread crumbs. Pile 4 layers total on top of each other this way, brushing each with butter and sprinkly it wil breadcrumbs. Cut the sheets of phyllo in half lengthwise. Place 1/3 cup of spinach filling on the shorter end and roll the phyllo up diagonally as if folding a flag. The fold the triangle of phyllo over straight and then diagonally until you reach the end of the sheet. The filling should be totally enclosed. Continue assembling phyllo layers and folding the filling until all the filling is used. Place on a sheet pan, seam sides down. Brush with melted butter, sprinkle with flaked salt and bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until the phyllo is browned and crisp. Serve hot.

If I wasn't Irish....

.....I would want to be Italian. I have yet to meet an Italian food that I didn't like. Now granted, I have only tasted "American" versions of Italian dishes, but still, I love Italian food.
That being said, I love making Italian food. One of the first dishes I ever attempted was lasagna. I can make a mean lasagna. However, I was always upset in the fact that my lasagna never stayed layered, and I wanted to add so many flavors that I only got two or three layers to begin with.
Still, I was hesitant to change the recipe because I really did love how it tasted. That all changed when I watched John Besh's show, "Inedible to Incredible" on TLC. He fixed this one woman's lasagna by making it alot simpler. He made the point, "more layers, more love". That made me think, and I started working on a plan of attack.

First, I didn't want to change the flavor, I love my peppers and onions. So instead of leaving them whole, I pureed them into my tomato sauce. I simple sauteed the onions, peppers, carrots, celery and tomatoes together, and then pureed it in my blender and I got my tomato sauce. I like leaving the tomato skins on when I saute them because I think it really adds to the flavor.
The second thing I changed was making my ricotta into a cheese sauce. To that I added my spinach and roasted garlic. I like adding the garlic to the cheese sauce instead of the tomato sauce because I feel like you can taste alot more of the wonderful garlic flavor when it is paired with the cheese.
The only "chunky fillings" I added were the Italian sausage and sliced zucchini. I would put the sausage on the layer with the tomato sauce and the zucchini on the layer with the cheese sauce.
By adjusting the technique I was able to keep all of my flavors, and now have more layers in my lasagna!

More layers....more love!

I went BANANAS!!!!!

I really enjoy bananas. However, I am very picky when it comes to eating my bananas in their true state. They have to be at the perfect place between being ripe, but not too right. A little green at both ends is that perfect place.
Once they move beyond that I really have no interest in eating them, and have to find other ways of using them. Today I was faced with the task of using up 6 bananas. And before you read any further, yes I do know that you can freeze them, but I haven't found a way to do it that doesn't turn them into a yucky mess.
So I tackled the bananas. My first thought was to turn them into banana cupcakes with a chocolate ganache frosting. I mixed up the batter and then found out that I didn't have enough cupcake papers. So we made 8 cupcakes, and baked the rest into a 13x9 cake. The chocolate ganache called for whipping cream, which I didn't have in the house, so after contemplating dragging two children out in the pouring down rain, and deciding that it was not a good idea, I made a simple chocolate frosting.
It turned out really well, the bananas kept the cake nice and moist and the chocolate frosting was wonderful.
(my little banana helper)
That used up four bananas. I still had two left, so I turned them into banana chocolate chip bagels. I did have to adjust the recipe adding almost two extra cups of flour because I didn't realize how much the banana would affect the consistency of the dough. They did turn out quite nicely, I might add more bananas next time. I will still have to play around with that one.
But here are the recipes for the Banana Cake/Cupcakes and Chocolate Frosting that I used.


Banana Cake
3 cups flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 1/8 cup canola oil
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
4 bananas mushed
1 1/2 cups of milk

Combine all ingredients and mix until moist. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes for cupcakes. The cake took around 40 minutes to bake.

Chocolate Frosting
6 Tblsp butter softened
2 2/3 cup powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk
3/4 cup cocoa

sift cocoa and sugar together. Cream butter. Add sugar and milk alternating between the two.

Spanish Style Stuffed Peppers

Over the past year I have developed a love affair with chorizo and goat cheese. I have incorporated them into everything from eggs to salads. But the recipe I am most proud of is my Spanish Style Stuffed Peppers. I finally perfected the recipe last night, so I thought I would share!

4 Green or Red Bell Peppers
3 ears of cooked corn, taken off the cob
2 cups of cooked white rice (not instant)
1 lb chorizo sausage, browned
8 oz tomato sauce
1 onion diced
1 tsp Cumin
1 tsp Spanish Paprika
1/2 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1 Tblsp butter
1 Tblsp flour
1 cup milk
8 oz goat cheese

Preheat oven to 350.
Cut peppers in half and scoop out the insides. Place in a 13x9 baking pan. Brown chorizo and onions together. Then add the corn, rice, tomato sauce, cumin, paprika and pepper flakes. Stuff peppers.
Bake them for 45 minutes in oven.
While the peppers are baking, make the goat cheese cream sauce. Melt butter in a saucepan on medium heat. Add flour and cook until a paste is formed. Add milk, lower heat to low. Cook until it begins to thicken. Add goat cheese and continue cooking until thickens.
Place the peppers on a plate and spoon the cheese sauce on top and enjoy!

Our Saturday Night Dinner

This week we have done alot of leftover dinners, soups, chili's casserole's that have been hanging out in our freezer. While the dinner's have been tasty and wonderfully easy, I really miss cooking. So we decided to do one of our favorite dinners last nite, so I thought I would share. Rosemary Mustard Pork with Peaches.
I love this recipe because it give Andrew and I a chance to cook together. We each have our "jobs" to do and when we come together we are left with a wonderfully tasting dinner. I really treasure the time that we have to work together on something.
We did have to deviate from the recipe a bit. After our pork tenderloin thawed, we discovered it had gone bad, so we used chicken breasts instead of the pork. It was just as good. We paired it with a loaf of home made Italian bread, (my first attempt at a slow rise bread), and sauteed zucchini with garlic, olive oil, oregano, basic, salt and pepper. The zesty-ness of the zucchini pairs really well with the sweetness of the pork....as for the bread....well in my mind bread pairs well with everything!!!!

Rosemary-Mustard Pork with Peaches
2 1 lb pork tenderloins trimmed
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Vegetable oil for the grill
3 firm ripe peaches halved, pitted and cut into wedges
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1 lemon
2 tsp whole grain mustard
1/4 tsp chopped fresh rosemary, plus 2 small sprigs

Preheat a grill to high. Pat the pork dry and season with salt and pepper. Lightly oil the grill, then grill the pork, turning until marked, about 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine the peaches, wine, brown sugar and 1/2 cup water in a saucepan. Remove zest from lemon, add to pan and then juice the lemon. (if you don't have a lemon I used about 2 tsp of bottled lemon juice). Cover and cook until the peaches are just tender about 5 minutes. Take peaches out and set aside, leave the juice in the pan.
Add mustard 1/2 tsp of salt and pepper to the juices in the pan. Transfer 1/3 cup of the liquid to a small bowl and stir in the chopped rosemary, brush onto the pork and continue grilling till meat thermometer register 145, about 10-15 more minutes.
Simmer the remaining liquid in the saucepan until syrupy, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat ans season with salt. Return the peaches to the pan along with the reosemary sprigs. Slice the pork and serve with peaches.


My first loaf of Italian bread!!!

And the carb loving continues.....

From bagels I am moving on to loaves of bread. I remember my mom baking bread, and watching the dough rise in her huge ceramic bowl, which I really wish I had, by the way,. I have used my bread machine almost weekly since I got it, but I want to try my hand at baking bread. To me it is a very iconic symbol of being a wife and mom, so I am starting to tackle it.
My first recipe is for a crostini, I picked it because it didn't need a ton of time to rise, and I could tackle it in one day. I used it for a goat cheese and sundried tomato crostini, but have also used the bread after the first baking for dinner to accompany soup. Both ways it was delicious. It is an airy bread, with a wonderfully crispy crust.

Crostini

2 tsp instant yeast
3 cups unbleached all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp granulated sugar
1 1/4 cups lukewarm water
1/4 cup olive oil
cornmeal for pan

In the bowl of an electric mixer combine all ingredients mixing until a rough dough forms. Mix for 7 minutes with the flat beater. It will become smooth, but stay sticky. Transfer the dough to a lightly greased bowl, cover the bowl with lightly greased plastic wrap and let the dough rise for an hour.
Move the dough to a lightly oiled work surface. Divide into three pieces. Work with the pieces until they are 3 16 inch logs. Place them on a cornmeal covered baking sheet. Cover with greased plastic wrap and let proof for an hour and a half.
Preheat oven to 425. Bake 20-25 minutes, until golden brown.
Let cool completely, even overnight if you have time. Then preheat oven to 275. Cut into slices and place on cooking sheets coated liberally with olive oil. Brush olive oil over the bread as well. Bake for 45 minutes. Then top with your choice of toppings.

(to make a loaf bread, don't divide the bread into thirds, just form a loaf and bake for 20-25 minutes.)

Sundried Tomato Relish


8 oz sundried tomatoes with oil
1 TBSP olive oil
1/2 onion sliced
1 clove of garlic minced
2 TBSP sugar
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup water
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Add tomatoes, olive oil, onion and garlic to a pan. Saute till onions are translucent. Add other ingredients, simmer till reduced by half. You can either leave it chunky or put it through a food processor or blender.
This is wonderful on top of goat cheese!

Bageling...take 2!!!

Last night I had a very weird dream about donuts....since I am scared to try them, I decided that bagels were a close second.
I knew that this time I wanted to try to make them a little smoother, and I wanted to try different flavors.
I folded the dough on itself when I formed the balls to proof. Kinda like you would pizza dough. It worked really well.
I did two flavors. One was a sweet one, Chocolate Chocolate Chip. I added about 1/2 cup of chocolate chips to the dough, as well as 2Tblsp of unsweetened coco. During the kneading process the chocolate chips that I had added melted into the dough, so I added some more when I formed the bagels so that little bits of chocolate would be throughout. The finished product turned out wonderful! Not too sweet, and will be great toasted with some strawberry jam spread on it.
The second flavor I made this morning is what I am calling a "Simon and Garfunkel" bagel, because I added, "parsley, sage, rosemary and thyme" to the dough as I was kneading it. The herbs were fresh from my garden. I brushed the top with an egg wash and sprinkled kosher salt on top. You taste the salt right away, and then the herbs come along and soften the harshness of the salt. Can't wait to make a sandwich on them!

Here we come a "bageling"......

My newest adventures have involved baking bread type products. They have been a big hit in our house because this is a carb loving household!
Here is a big tip that I have picked up that has made a HUGE difference. Proofing your yeast! Add your yeast, a portion of the water your recipe calls for as well as some sugar in a bowl before you begin mixing your other ingredients. This not only turns quick acting yeast to instant yeast, but makes sure that your yeast is still alive. Before adding it to the other ingredients make sure you see a layer of bubbles on the top.
I have baked bread before, but decided on trying my hand at bagels after my mother in law was talking about how much she mixed "salt sticks". Basically bagels, in bread stick form, sprinkled with kosher salt and caraway seeds. So my hubby and I decided to surprise her with some.
I was nervous, because making bagels doesn't have the greatest history with our family. I believe, the term, hockey pucks were used at one time. So my hubby and I tackled the recipe together. It turned out with great success, so I decided to try it own my own. Again, success!
Next I want to try experimenting with different flavors. On the agenda....chocolate chip bagels, and a chedder and sundried tomato bagel.

Bagels

Dough:
1 Tablespoon Instant Yeast
4 cups unbleached bread flour
2 tsp salt
1 Tablespoon brown sugar
1 ½ cups lukewarm water

Water Bath:
2 quarts water
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 Tablespoon granulated sugar

Combine all the dough ingredients in a mixing bowl and knead vigorously, by hand for 10 to 15 minutes or by machine on medium low speed for 10 minutes. Since you are using a high protein bread flour it takes a bit more effort and time to develop gluten. The dough will be stiff.
Place dough in a lightly greased bowl and set it aside to rise until noticeably puffy, about 1 to 1 ½ hours.
Transfer dough to a work surface and divide it into eight pieces. Roll each piece into a smooth ball. Cover balls with plastic wrap and let sit for 30 minutes.
While the dough is resting, prepare the water bath by heating the water, and sugar to a very gentle boil in a large, wide diameter pan. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Use your index finger to pike a hold through the center of each ball and twirl the dough on your finger to stretch the hole until its about 2 inches in diameter. Place each bagel on a lightly greased or parchment lined baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough.
Transfer bagels, four at a time if possible, to the simmering water. Increase the heat under the pan until you bring the water to a gently simmering boil. Cook the bagels for two minutes, then flip and cook for another minute. Place bagels back on baking sheet.
Bake the bagels for 20 to 25 minutes until they are as deep brown as you like them. Turn them over at about 15 minutes with will help them stay tall and round.

(if you want to add toppings glaze them one egg white and one Tablespoon of water after boiling. Add toppings, bake as directed, except don’t turn them over!)

The First Course

Well, I have always enjoyed being in the kitchen for as long as I can remember. Before I was allowed in the real kitchen I would have my own "mud bakeries" outside in the backyard. The idea of experimenting and developing new things always interested me.
I was so excited when I became old enough for my mom to allow me in the kitchen to experiment. Like any novice cook I had my fair share of catastrophe's. Green Tomato Pie, Beef Stroganoff just to name two of them, but overall I think I did pretty well.
I got away from cooking after high school. I was too busy working to really have fun in the kitchen. I had my old favorites that I would bring out from time to time, like my lasagna, but I didn't really have a chance to experiment.
After I got married in 2006 my husband joined the Army and went off to Basic Training. I moved in with my in laws. My father-in-law is a wonderful cook and began teaching me the basics such as how to make different sauces. I was amazed that making an Alfredo sauce really wasn't that difficult.
I got to stretch my culinary wings when we got stationed in Arizona. Again, I had some difficulties, such as my Italian Meatball Meatloaf, (great in theory, awful in execution), and a sweet potato, sausage and apple concoction that I cooked beyond recognition in the crockpot.
Since then I have done some studying, watching Food Network and becoming more knowledgeable of flavors and spices and techniques and why they work together, (or don't in some aspects).
I have come to realize that foods are wonderful tools to hold memories. I can still remember working in the kitchen with my Grandma making her meatloaf and bbq spareribs. I remember standing next to my mother learning how to scramble an egg. And Thanksgiving doesn't seem like Thanksgiving unless my grandmothers sausage and apple stuffing is on the table. I want my children to have those same sort of memories. I want the recipes I use today to be passed down as my family grows.
This is my way of sharing with the world. I will be sharing recipes, cooking adventures, and because I love history some of that will be included along the way.