Uncanny Goodness. Time Saving Recipes

Lamb Tagine with Chickpeas and Apricots

2011-10-01T20:42:00.000-04:00

Featured Ingredients: Diced Tomatoes, Chickpeas AKA Garbanzo Beans.

AAH-ctober! crisper air, lower humidity and the perfect backdrop for Uncanny Goodness. I took quite a hiatus since summer. Mostly busy because of my job which takes me away from home for at least 12 hours a day.

Today was a great day, so I wanted to share it with you and celebrate with a long overdue blogpost. My family and I went to the Greenwich Audobon Society Hawk Watch event. For those of you not from the Fairfield County CT area, Greenwich is an EXTREMELY affluent area, with some homes ranging in the 10's of millions! Greenwich boasts residents like Ron Howard, Mel Gibson (at one time), Kathie Lee Gifford, among other less notable figures with similarly deep pockets. Unfortunately, no celebrity bird enthusiasts were to be found. I live in nice town, but not nearly of that caliber. My son and I believed there were bluebloods looking down on us saying "This is what shows up when you open up these events to the public." With that kind of financial backing it was a great event. They had live raptor bird shows featuring Falcons, Hawks, petting zoos, eco-friendly vendors and all sorts of activities.

This Great Horned Owl was awesome. You could walk pretty much right next to it, and it could care less that you were there. Beautiful bird with talons that can exert 100 lbs of pressure. I was amazed by how quiet there wings are when they flap them, so they can really take their prey by surprise.

Here I am with a burmese python:

Oh well, unlike most Greenwich residents, I had to rush home as it is a 45 minute drive and rely on my own personal chef self to make dinner. Recently I saw this dish in the October issue of Bon Appetit. I adapted the recipe a little for 1.5 lbs of lamb and to save time.

Lamb Tagine with Chickpeas and Apricots (About 5 servings depending on how hungry you are)

1 19 oz. Can of Garbanzo Beans, drained and rinsed - I used about 1/2 a can
3 garlic cloves minced
1 large cinnamon stick
2 tbsp olive oil
1.5 lbs leg of lamb or leg, lamb shoulder or leg of lamb steaks cut into 1/2" cubes* If you use steaks save the bones and braise them with the rest of the meat for additional flavor. Then scrape off any meat at the end remove bones.
1 medium onion diced
3 tsps Spice Mixture (recipe follows)
1/2 tbsp peeled chopped fresh ginger
1 cup canned diced tomato with juices
1 3/4 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup dried apricots quartered
1 tbsp chopped cilantro
1/2 tbsp cornstarch
Salt and Pepper as needed

Spice Mixture (This makes more than you need for the recipe, so save the extra)
3/4 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp turmeric
Heat oil in a shallow dutch oven or "tagine" over medium high heat. Season lamb with salt and pepper and brown lamb on all sides working in 2 batches about 4 minutes per batch. Transfer lamb to a bowl. This is the before picture:

Big Pile O Lamb

Add onion to pot, season with salt, reduce heat to medium and saute until softened and beginning to turn golden about 5 minutes. If the fond on the bottom of your pot starts to get too brown add stock now to deglaze. Add minced garlic, spice mixture and ginger, stir one minute. Add tomatoes and return lamb to pot with any juices. Bring to a boil reduce to a simmer. Add a cinnamon stick. Partially cover and simmer for 1 hour or until lamb is tender.

Bubble Bubble

Stir in chickpeas and apricots, simmer until heated through about 10 minutes.

Remove cinnamon stick. Ladle out about 1/4 cup of cooking liquid from the pot and add about 1/2 tbsp cornstarch, to create a slurry. "A pourable thickener". Add back to pot and let simmer another 5 minutes until more thickened like a stew. Add cilantro and serve over couscous.

The mixture of warm spices like cinnamon and ginger mingle so well with savory tomatoes and sweet plump apricots. Comfort food at its best.

Lamb Tagine with Chickpeas and Apricots

Couscous. (Follow the package directions, but simply:

1 cup chicken stock
1 cup couscous
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp butter
Tiny pinch of saffron

Heat stock, salt, butter and saffron to a boil. Add couscous. Cover and remove from heat for 4 to 5 minutes. Fluff with fork.

Summer Zucchini Carrot Bread

2011-07-20T20:35:00.000-04:00

Walnuts

Featured Ingredient: Walnuts (Optional)

Time to enjoy Summer's Fresh Bounty of produce. We all are probably less apt to use canned goods this time of year, especially with the bevy of fruits and vegetables that the summer months bring at reduced prices. I don't know about you, but this year I'm not seeing as much of a difference in the cost of the local fare than the produce that came from Chile in the winter time. Probably has a lot to do with the freight cost of $4+ dollars a gallon. Fortunately, my area has one beacon of hope. If I am looking to make a pie or something that requires several pounds of something, I tend to take a trip over to Food Bazaar a limitless international market, with prices that are more in line with what you would expect in Summer. Last week I got beautiful, just ripe peaches for 99 cents a pound. They were transformed into a Peach Pie, topped with Tahitian Vanilla Ice Cream and Whipped Cream. That's a recipe for another time. Or the next time they go on sale.

Summer Zucchini Carrot Bread

This is one of the my favorite summer quick breads.

It's filed under Walnuts. If you don't want the additional texture, just omit them. (I had to put this entry somewhere). As all us foodies know, people eat with their eyes. The beauty of this bread is when it's sliced, it's also very pretty with its little emerald and topaz flecks. Let's be honest, quick breads are really loaf-shaped muffins in disguise and muffins are really heartier cupcakes. However, the ingredients in this quick bread are rather healthy and could justify an additional piece or two. There's beta carotene from the carrots, low cholesterol canola oil, antioxidants from the cinnamon and of course fiber from the unpeeled zucchini. It's a great mid morning snack or accompaniment to your afternoon coffee or tea. Instead of big loaf make small little loaves to help with your denial. You can also freeze the loaves for up to a month, so none of this scrumptiousness goes to waste. If you don't have one of these, I seriously recommend you buy one. I got this one at Home Goods a while back. It makes the perfect size little loaves, that are also great for gifting around the holidays.

I love this thing!

Zucchini-Carrot Bread

2 medium zucchini - washed but not peeled (about 1 lb)
2 large carrots (about 1/4 lb)
2 large eggs
1 3/4 granulated sugar
3/4 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
3/4 cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease and lightly flour the bottom of a 9" x 5" loaf pan or multipe mini loaf pan.

2. In a food processor fitted with a shredding disk, process zucchini and carrots until shredded. (You should have about 4 cups of shredded vegetables.

Shredded Carrot and Zucchini

3. In a large bowl, combine eggs, sugar, oil and vanilla untl blended. In another bowl, combine flour, salt, baking soda, baking powder, and cinnamon. Gently fold dry ingredients into egg mixture, stirring until combined (batter will be thick). Add zucchini-carrot mixture; stir until combined.

4. Turn batter into prepared pan (s). If using the 9" X 5" pan. Bake 1 hour and 5 minutes and check with a toothpick. If if does not come out dry, continuing baking. Baking time vary by oven. You are better off, checking before it's overdone. For smaller loaves bake about 45 minutes.

5. Transfer pans(s) to wire racks. Let cool 15 minutes. Remove bread from pan and let cool completely before slicing.

Moist heavenly-ness!

Zucchini Carrot Bread

Jam-Asian Fusion Paella

2011-07-05T21:50:00.001-04:00

Featured Ingredients: Kidney Beans & Coconut Milk

Hope everyone had an enjoyable 4th of July weekend. Aside from the extra day off, which should be standard, it was a typical weekend. My favorite part was that I got to listen to fireworks for 4 straight days. The neighboring towns each had their turn. The fact that my town is bordered by 5 others, makes me that much more fortunate in this regard. Last year, I was lucky as it poured rain on the 4th of July. Ahh peace.

My kids don't care anymore, so now fireworks are nothing more than noise. At least with a commercial show you can guarantee things will get quiet by 10:30 p.m. Then there are the (insert descriptive expletive noun here) that just can't get enough and stock up so they can shoot them off around 11 p.m. or later. I'm also fortunate enough that firework purchases are legal in my state. I used to have a neighbor that lived behind me, who would shoot of bottle rockets and all sorts of very loud fireworks, close enough for me to find pieces of ash in my yard. Probably to impress his kids, or so he thought. He and his wife got divorced a couple of years ago. I guess she got sick of the fireworks too. The neighborhood has been far quieter ever since.

Well, aside from the fireworks, nothing is more synonymous with July 4th than a picnic. We laid low this year, but we did do some outdoor dining. Here is one of the Uncanny Goodness dishes I made.

I started with Chorizo Sausage with Mango from Whole Foods.

Chorizo Sausage with Mango

I thought the best way to incorporate this would be to take flavors from cultures that dominantly use these ingredients in their cooking. I ended up with a fusion dish borrowing tastes from India, Thailand, Latin America and Jamaica, creating somewhat of a deconstructed Paella.

Starting with fragrant Basmati rice I did a variation on Caribbean Rice & Peas which is really Kidney Beans, using Coconut Milk and a bit of Curry Powder. I topped that with Sausage and Chicken Vegetable mixture with Mango Chutney to bring out the sweet mango flavor. (I found their weren't enough pieces of mango in the sausage - but the idea was there.) In retrospect I would have sliced the sausage vs. cooking it outside of its casings and had larger pieces of chicken. But the flavors did come together and was a nice switch from our predominantly Mexican, Italian, or American Bistro repetoire.

Jam-Asian Fusion Paella - Serves 4

Rice Recipe:
1 1/2 cups basmati rice
2/3 cup Coconut Milk
1 3/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 tsp curry powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 14.5 oz can kidney beans

Rinse Rice until water runs nearly clear. Let drain. I have been reading about this method and it really works. Other sites say to soak it, but I was very happy with the results with just the rinsing. Another great tip is to let the rice cook about 10 minutes on low heat until the water is absorbed (it seems to absorb way faster than it is supposed to - then take off the heat and let the rice expand and soften for another 10 minutes). You should end up with separate tender grains - not a sticky mess.

Heat chicken broth to boil. Stir in coconut mik, curry and rice. Stir. Reduce heat and let cook on low to simmering heat for about 10. Check rice after 10 minutes to make sure it is not sticking to the bottom. Stir in kidney beans. When rice is al dente. Take off the heat and let it sit for another 10 minutes or so until tender. Fluff rice with fork

Meat Mixture
Olive Oil as needed
1 cup chopped vidalia onion
1 large clove garlic minced
1/2 cup sliced celery
1/2 cup diced red pepper
3 links chorizo sausage
2 cups cooked chicken
1 tbsp mango chutney
1/2 tsp coriander

Salt and Pepper to taste

Heat olive in a heavy 12-in skillet. Add onion, pepper celery and saute until vegetables are shiny and the celery and red pepper are crisp tender (about 3 minutes). Add garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add sausage and cook until cooked through (the idea is to make sure your vegetables are not overdone by the time your sausage is done (about 10 minutes). If you find you are getting a lot of brown bits add a little chicken broth to deglaze the pan. Add mango chutney, coriander and cooked chicken and saute until heated through.
Use 1 tbsp cilantro as garnish.

Serve over rice.

Jam-Asian Fusion Paella

Summertime Treats - Ice Cream and Strawberries

2011-06-21T21:47:00.001-04:00

As summer rolled in a few hours ago, it seems appropriate to celebrate some of its pleasures.

The other evening as I was walking my dog with my husband asv as Good Humor truck chimed its way down a quiet street. It's comforting with all the changes and technological advancements since I was a child in the 70's and 80's that there are a few lingering details that still hold true today. Unfortunately, instead of kids creatively playing on that quiet street, they are more than likely chained to their XBox or texting their next door neighbor, which leaves little hope for the Good Humor lady. Our street is the only one where she may have a prayer. We happen to live across the street from a rather heavy set and lazy family. (We live walking distance from a Stop & Shop and they constantly order from their Pea Pod delivery service, among other things). My husband said, when the Good Humor truck comes, he has never seen them move so fast.

I've traded in my Good Humor days for something more sophisticated. Recently, I found the above carton/jar of gelato. I was immediately drawn to it, because of its unique clear packaging. I think it's brilliant. This way the consumer has an idea of what he or she is getting. Sometimes you buy ice cream on sheer description alone and hope that the flavor meets your expectations. For this brand you can also taste with your eyes as well. The textures and swirls of flavors like White Chocolate Raspberry, Black Cherry and Caramel Cookie Crunch and the bold bright color of a Blood Orange Sorbet come through a simple transparent container and naturally add color to the packaging. I'm glad to say that indeed the gelato is as delicious as it looks. It has a homemade taste vs. an overly sweet manufactured product.

So what pairs better with ice cream than strawberries. Last weekend my husband and younger son headed to a local farm in Shelton, CT as strawberry season was officially on. It's a great place where you can pick strawberries and blueberries when in season and Christmas Trees in the winter time. They have a sort of a flat bed covered truck called the "Berry Ferry" that takes you out the field where you go with basket in hand and collect your fill. The squatting is also great for your thighs. Usually the cost per pound is more expensive than what you would get in the store (and you're doing the labor), but they are organic and you are mostly paying for the experience.

Frozen Strawberry Jewels from the Farm

We loaded up 8 lbs, so what I we didn't eat fresh, we frozen and stored for later use. I have a recipe for an incredible strawberry tea bread, which I will share with you shortly. This day job is really cutting into my blogging time. We also planted some of our own strawberry plants this year, so we'll see how that goes.

Enjoy these pleasures of summer... individually or together.

Guest Contributor - My husband Paul's Pastitsio

2011-06-14T21:30:00.000-04:00

Featured Ingredient: Diced Tomatoes

Now that I've gone back full time into the workforce, I don't have as much time to devote to my blog. My cooking is pretty much reserved for the weekends and my husband takes over during the week. This basically means manly meals, that are usually calorie-laden and full of fat (which usually also means good). Most are not the best choice for my figure, but beat the hell out of having to start from scratch at 7:30 p.m. (after walking the dog). Otherwise I have to go my repetoire of under 5 minute meals - because I'm starving. One can only have so many egg and cheese sandwiches and soup.

Now that my husband is the weekday chef, it seems he has blogging aspirations. Recently I found pictures of my husband's Pastitsio recipe on the camera, and figured that is a perfect example of Uncanny Goodness. To me it's the Greek offspring of beefaroni and moussaka. Aside from finding entry ideas for my blog, I've also been treated to random photos of me filling my bird feeder in pajamas, my butt, and other candid beauties. (Please don't mind that I don't share these).

Pastitsio is a great Sunday dinner. I like to reserve Sunday's for something that will deliver multiple servings. Then I know when I come on Monday and maybe even Tuesday, I just have to nuke my way to quick and satisfying meal. Making hamburgers for example is a not a good use of time, as they don't reheat well the next day and after everyone finished there are no leftovers. Stews fit this bill perfectly. But as the weather has gotten a little warmer, I've moved on to casseroles which are also a perfect candidate. A delicious dining experience can be derived from a simple mish mosh of ingredients.

For the macaroni
1 1/2 cups of elbow macaroni
1 egg

For the beef mix
1.3 pounds of 85/15 ground beef
1 onion diced
2 cloves of garlic
1 – 8 oz can of tomato sauce
1 – 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes undrained
1 TB red wine vinegar
1TB chili powder
½ tsp allspice
¼ tsp cinnamon

For the white sauce
3 TB butter
3 TB flour
¼ tsp black pepper
1 1/2 cups milk
1 egg beaten
½ cup Italian blend shredded cheese

Salt & Pepper as needed

Preheat oven to 350F

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil. Cook macaroni until al dente. Drain. Combine pasta and 1 beaten egg.

Meat Sauce: Cook ground beef, onion and garlic together in a skillet until meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain off fat. Stir in diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, vinegar, chili powder, allspice, cinnamon. Bring to boil and simmer for about 10 minutes.

White Sauce: Melt butter in a saucepan over medium and stir in flour and pepper. Add the milk all at once. Whisk and stir until smooth thick and bubbly. Beat an egg in a 2 cup pyrex measuring cup. Slowly add hot liquid to temper the mixture - to ensure not scrambling the egg. Return egg mixture to the saucepan, stir in 1/2 cup shredded cheese.

In a square baking dish, add 1/2 the pasta mixture. Next add all the meat sauce. Then add the remainder of the pasta and top with the white sauce.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Let stand about 5 minutes before serving. The white sauce will firm when cooked.

Barbecue Pork Quesadillas with Spanish Rice

2011-06-05T20:14:00.001-04:00

Featured Ingredients: Fire Roasted Tomatoes and Black Beans

Here is a delicious double duty meal. One night make this simple pork roast. You can even make the marinade in the morning. Marinate your pork all day then throw it in the oven for about an hour after you come home. The barbecue pork roast recipe is primarily inspired by Paula Deen. The flavor and smell that this marinates imparts is a literal translation of an old fashioned package barbecue sauce in a container, without the artificial flavor you would get from, well, a pre-packaged sauce.

Barbecue Pork Roast
1/4 cup worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup tamari
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
3 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon dijon mustard
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
2 large cloves garlic minced
One 2 1/2 lb pork loin roast

In a bowl combine all ingredients. Whisk together. Pour into a resealable plastic bag and add pork roast. Seal and marinate in the refrigerator for at least 1 hour or more. No more than overnight.

Remove roast from bag. Place on a rack in a roasting pan and discard marinade. Pour about 1 cup water into the roasting pan (only if pork is on a rack). This helps form a dark rich barbecue au jus or gravy whatever you want to call it. It will be thin. Save this for the next recipe. Roast pork at 340 degrees for about 1 hour or until pork reaches 160. (Or at 325F if you have more time). Let rest 10 minutes. Serve. Strain out the leftover sauce, au jus or whatever you want to call it for the next day.

Barbecue Pork Roast

NEXT DAY:

Barbecue Pork Quesadillas - Makes 10 or more 6 inch quesadillas

2 cups remaining pork roast sliced and diced
1 cup black beans rinsed
3.5 oz. salsa (my husband gets these single serve packages which are great for recipes like this when you don't think you will use a whole jar).
1 tablespoon leftover au jus.
2 big blocks of monterey jack and cheddar cheese grated.
20 (2 packs) 6 inch soft flour tortillas

Slice and dice remaining pork roast.

Mix with beans, salsa and au jus. Grate cheese.
Heat a griddle to medium heat. Spray with cooking spray.

Heat oven to 275 degrees.

Place cheese and pork mixture in the middle, leaving about a 1/2 inch border by first layering a large pinch of cheese on the bottom of the tortilla. Add a couple of tablespoons of pork mixture and then another pinch of cheese on top. You can alternate with monterey jack and cheddar or use one kind.

Place gently on a griddle and press down. Cook uncovered for a few minutes until bottom tortilla starts to crisp up. Flip carefully with a spatula and repeat on other side.

Not Pancakes

Place on a broiler pan or rack in the oven (with preferably something under it to keep warm and finish heating through and catch any oozing cheese). I find if you put it on a pan with tin foil, the bottom gets a little soft and soggy.

Before you start cooking the quesadillas and are about finished with your prep is a good time to put on your rice.

Spanish Rice

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup onion finely chopped
1 large clove garlic minced
1 1/2 cups Carolina Long Grain Rice
1 can Fire Roasted Tomatoes
3 cups chicken broth
1 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt

Heat olive oil in a 10 inch skillet. Add onion and a little salt to release moisture and saute for a couple of minutes. Add rice and toast until some kernels are translucent. Add garlic and saute 1 more minute.
Add tomatoes, broth and spices. Bring to a boil and reduce to a low/simmer. Simmer covered for about 10 minutes. Stir rice and continuing simmering about another 10 minutes until rice is cooked through.

Serve your quesadillas and rice with a simple guacamole. Mix one soft avocado with juice from half a lime.

Barbecue Pork Quesadillas with Spanish Rice and Simple Guacamole

Memorial Day Picnic - Grilled Caribbean Chicken with Mango Avocado Spinach Salad

2011-05-29T21:32:00.010-04:00

Featured Ingredient: Crushed Pineapple

Since the weather seemed to change literally overnight from damp, dreary and chilly to something more summer like, my family and I figured we would break in the picnic table last night and resurrect the grill. This got me thinking about what I was going to make for Monday's celebration.

As you are perusing recipes for your Memorial Day festivities or even another summer party, I would like to offer this for your consideration. While I only cooked for a small intimate crowd. The below serves at least 8.

This is by far my favorite chicken recipe... ever. It was my favorite recipe long before Uncanny Goodness. Now that a warm spring is upon us, I wanted to share it with you. It's from the June 2000 issue of Working Mother, when I was 8 months pregnant with a 3 year old in tow. Searching for an easy to prepare recipe yet flavored for an adult palate, I came across this article. Something about the sweet, citrus and spicy notes infused by the marinade married with the char of an open flame is nothing short of magical. It pairs well with Mango Avocado Spinach salad (recipe follows) and fragrant white basmati rice.

You can use any part of the chicken for this. Last night we used breasts. I think the best choice is boneless thighs. They cook quicker than bone-in chicken parts and are meatier and juicier than breasts, that dry out more easily. I used to have a grill that used to char everything way before it was cooked. So I would sear the outside of the chicken and infuse the outdoor grill flavor and finish them in the oven at 375F. This is another strategy that works. The grill is key however for that smoky punch.

If the flavor profile of the chicken is far too sophistacated for your child's or chldren's taste, create these for them with some hamburger and save more chicken for you!

Hamburger Faces

Grilled Caribbean Chicken - Serves 8

8 pieces bone-in or boneless chicken pieces (drums, thighs, or whole breast halves)

Marinade:
1 can 8oz crushed pineapple (2 are pictured but you only need 1)
4 tbsp lime juice
4 tbsp dijon mustard
4 tbsp vegetable oil
3 large cloves garlic
1 tbsp plus 1 tsp light brown sugar
1/2 tsp dried thyme
2 tsp ground allspice
2 tsp ground cloves
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper.

Rinse chicken and pat dry.

Squeeze juice from pineapple can into a liquid measure and add enough pineapple to equal a 1/2 cup.
In a large resealable bag add the rest of the marinade ingredients. Add chicken and squeeze out as much air as possible out of the bag. Marinate for at least 1 hour or up to 1 day.

Remove chicken from marinade and shake off excess. Throw marinade away!

Preheat grill. Oil rack and place over medium heat. Grill chicken skin side down first to sear. When grill marks are achieved turn chicken. Cook depending on size of meat until a meat thermometer registers at 175 for thighs and 165 for boneless breasts. Remove from heat to a plate and let rest a few minutes under tin foil. Again, if you are working with large pieces of bone-in chicken like whole chicken legs, you can sear them and finish them in the oven.

Grilled Caribbean Chicken

An even more simply accompaniment is the Mango Avocado Spinach Salad. Basically that is all the ingredients except for a few splashes of balsamic vinegar dressing. The bright note of the mango and creaminess of the avocado is a perfect match with the seasoned chicken.

Mango Avocado Spinach Salad - Serves 8

2 large mangos
2 avocados
A few handfuls of baby spinach.
A couple of dashes of balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

Peel mangos and slice the cheeks around the pit. Slice thinly.
Peel avocado. Remove pit and slice about the same width as mango.
Wash spinach and add as much as you like.
Drizzle and toss salad with prepared balsamic vinaigrette dressing right before serving.

Happy Memorial Day!

Caribbean Chicken, Basmati Rice and Mango Avocado Spinach Salad

Refreshing Thai Cucumber Salad

2011-05-27T21:55:00.000-04:00

Tamarind Juice

Featured Ingredient: Tamarind Juice

Last weekend the cuisine of choice was Thai. Grilled Lemongrass Pork Tenderloin, Bok Choy, Basmati Rice and a Refreshing Cucumber Salad. Of all these, I thought the Cucumber Salad had the best blend of flavors. After it was portioned out, my husband asks me "Did you take a picture?" In the rush of putting all the elements of dinner together, it completely didn't occur to me that I used a canned ingredient. I even served it in one of the dishes I use for my photos.

In my defense, I normally don't put recipes on my site if the item hasn't been tested or came out well. Sometimes it's frustrating when I take pictures throughout the prep and find the final product is average at best. I hadn't tried this salad before, so I didn't know this Thai-inspired vinaigrette would be a perfect blend of sweet, sour, salty, spicy with a bright crunch. Next time I make it I will add the finished photo.

OK, while this recipe fits well with Time Saving... Tamarind Juice is not the most run of the mill ingredient. However, if you live in or near a metropolitan area, this can be found rather easily in International Markets, or even in a large chain like a Stop & Shop in more ethnically diverse communities.

Tamarind has sweet and sour taste and there is no clear cut substitute. I found some sites on the web that recommend how you can reach a similar taste profile. But I haven't tried them, so I don't feel comfortable endorsing them.

This recipe is borrowed from All Recipes. I thought it was so perfect in flavor, it didn't need any modifications. I ended up using Honey Roasted Peanuts, because as I was making dinner I realized we didn't have any peanuts. So I sent my son out to get some. Even though he called me on his phone to confirm what I asked for he still brought home the wrong thing. Maybe he has a secret culinary talent, because they actually worked really well with the other ingredients.

Never trust a 14 year old boy with his head in the clouds to do your grocery shopping. But as he loves food like I do, he is one of my best critics.

Refreshing Thai Cucumber Salad
Serves 4

1/2 cup tamarind juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped peanuts
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 tablespoon brown sugar
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1-1/2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons toasted Asian sesame oil
1-1/2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger root
2 cucumber, thinly sliced

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Slice 2 English cucumbers in half lengthwise then cut the slices cross-wise. Add cucumber and coat with vinaigrette. Cover and let sit in the fridge for 10 minutes before serving.

This is perfect summer side for grilled meats.

Twice Tested Time-Crunch Turkey Meatballs

2011-05-22T20:14:00.000-04:00

Can Do Cooking: Turkey Meatballs - Made with Ground Turkey Breast. Yes you can make this taste good!

Will it stop raining already? I thought it was supposed to be April Showers = May Flowers. Anyway, I have a love hate relationship with this time of year. While hooray the weather is warmer, and everything is blooming, this means a fresh new crop of chores (pun intended).

The part of spring I love

Beautiful Lilac has such a short window for beauty

Winter means only inside responsibilities, except for snow removal.  The warmer months mean planting, weeding, feeding, mowing lawns, fending off insects and a bevy of other things besides indoor maintenance. It's when construction starts, perhaps painting and spring cleaning.

With twice the work, you need to be as efficient as possible with your time. Quick prep meals are key.

One Sunday my husband brought home ground turkey breast. I've cooked in the past with Ground Turkey with some success. But ground turkey breast?  Low fat, and similar looking to ground chicken, it didn't really hold high hopes for something YUMMY. My husband is not even a fan of ground turkey. He actually bought it on my behalf as he thought I would enjoy something bland and chewy.

It had been a busy day, and I wasn't in the mood for "catering service."   In my house that means multiple meals to make everyone happy. Maybe I could turn it into make-shift spaghetti and meatballs and sell it my husband as well as my kids. My youngest is very aware when I substitute a different type of meat, so it wouldn't be easy.

The Plan:

My inspiration was a recipe I had seen once for Seitan. If you have ever made or had Seitan, you know it's created by mixing water and vital gluten flour and is a vegetarian's meat. As you can imagine the end result tastes like nothing. That said, it will take on any flavor you put into it. Since beef is traditional in spaghetti and meatballs, my goal was to assimilate beef like characteristics into the turkey, which also has little flavor. I had seen a recipe for "beef flavored" seitan. The key ingredients were tamari and worcestershire sauce.... I thought, if I add this to turkey mixture maybe I can boost the flavor and make it less turkey-like. Indeed it was recipe for success.

Turkey Meatballs

Extra Virgin Olive Oil as needed
3 cloves garlic mashed into a paste or minced
1 lb. ground turkey breast

3 slices soft italian loaf bread
1/4 cup milk to moisten
1 egg beaten
1/4 small onion chopped
1/4 cup parmesan cheese (the finely grated kind)
black pepper to taste
1/2 tsp salt
5 to 7 dashes tamari
6 to 8 dashes worcestershire sauce
1/8 tsp allspice
Handful of italian parsley chopped
24 oz. prepared jarred sauce. Plus part of another jar for saucing your pasta. I had best results with Prego Tomato Basil Garlic.

Chop garlic. Add a little salt and a little olive oil to your board and continue mincing. The oil and salt helps the garlic stay in one place. Scrape garlic with the back of a chef's knife to make something close to a paste. (If you have a garlic mincer save yourself the trouble and run the garlic through there).

Combine the garlic and the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl.

Run your hands under a slow stream of water to moisten them. Shape meatballs into about 1 to 1 1/2 inch balls.   You may need to wet your hands from time to time.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a heavy skillet over medium low heat. Carefully drop meatballs into skillet in a clockwise direction.  (They are too fragile to drop in all at once, and this way you can keep track of which one has been in the longest and so on). Cook meatballs on one side until a light crust forms and the meatballs don't stick as easily to the bottom of the skillet. Turn them over with a fish spatula or delicate tool.

Pour a 24 oz. jar of desired jarred pasta sauce. NOTE: that is enough sauce to cook the meatballs but not enough for your pasta. Heat up some more sauce for your pasta.

Turn up heat to a boil and watch just until pasta sauce starts to just bubble then turn down to simmer. Make sure to cover quickly or you will have a big mess.

Simmer until meatballs are cooked through to 170F. Cooking times will vary depending on how long you cooked them prior to adding sauce and what size they are. Check after 10 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit for 5 minutes.
These are also great in a meatball sub with melted mozzarella cheese.

Twice Tested Turkey Meatballs

Chocolate Lace Sandwich Cookies

2011-05-15T20:39:00.001-04:00

Quaker Oats

Featured Ingredient: Old Fashioned Rolled Oats

Last night I had the rare pleasure of going out to dinner with my husband. My oldest son is now 14 years old and I figured he would be willing and able watch his 10 year old brother for a couple of hours (at least for money). After dinner my husband and I went to Home Goods to look for some bargains. For those of you who don't have Home Goods it is a discount store that's part of the TJ Maxx family which sells, as you might expect, all sorts of housewares.

While perusing the cooking and appliance section (big surprise) I came across a giant cookbook by bon appetit dedicated specifically to desserts. Nearly 700 pages of anything and everything decadent from cakes to cookies, custards to candy. 200 recipes alone of something with chocolate in it. At $22 that was a no-brainer. You can also get a full year subscription to the magazine by buying the book (offer expires 5/31/11) so I got it just in time.

One of my goals for Sunday, besides adding a blog post, was to break in the cookbook. I came upon a recipe for Lace Cookies with Chocolate filling. When I was a little girl, my parents used to go Jutland Bakery in Darien, CT on Sunday mornings after church. I would always ask for chocolate lace cookies. That bakery is no longer there but my fondness for lace cookies with chocolate lives on. Since it was Sunday, the recipe seemed appropriate. This is a cookie, I never made before. It was actually quite easy. The key is to have at least two racks and a decent size work area where to cool your cookies and then place them on paper towels to absorb any excess butter.

The recipe calls for 2 teaspoons orange zest. I thought these were yummy but ended up with a little too much of an orange note for me. I might cut back to 1 teaspoon and replace the other teaspoon with vanilla extract next time.

Chocolate Lace Sandwich Cookies - Makes 20 cookies

1 cup (packed) light brown sugar
2/3 cup old-fashioned oats (not quick cooking)
1/2 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup sliced almonds
2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest (from 1 large orange)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted, butter melted
1/4 cup whole milk
4 oz Ghiradelli bittersweet or seminsweet chocolate, chopped

Position rack in top third of oven and preheat oven to 350F.

Line a heavy rimless cookie sheet with a silpat or foil. (I used foil). Stir together brown sugar, oats, flour, orange zest, baking powder and salt.

Add melted butter and milk and stir well. Let batter stand for 15 minutes.

The recipe book said 10 but I found with each batch, as the batter sat longer the baked cookies were less spread out and more uniform.

Drop batter by rounded teaspoonfuls onto cookie sheets, space at least two inches apart. (You will be surprised that 1 teaspoon makes such a large cookie. They are twice the size you would see in a bakery.)

Bake for 9 to 10 minutes until cookies are bubbly and golden brown. Remove from oven. NOTE: the cookies will be very soft and will fall apart if you try to move them individually at this time - they will harden and stick together as they cool). Carefully slide baking mat or foil with from cookie sheet with cookies on it onto a rack to cool. Once cooled remove cookies with a small offset spatula by sliding it under them and then transfer to paper towels to absorb any excess butter. Use clean foil or mat for each batch.

Lace cookies out of the oven

Marry up matching size cookies and line a baking sheet with foil. Melt chocolate in double boiler. Spread a little bit of chocolate on the bottom side of one cookie. Press a similar size cookie on top and place on cookie sheet.

Repeat with other cookies. Once completed place cookie sheets in refrigerator to cool and solidify chocolate.

Enjoy your piece of crispy chocolate heaven.

Chocolate Lace Sandwich Cookies

This post is linked to: Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms

Dinner after a Day at the Bronx Zoo - Chicken Enchilada Suizas

2011-05-07T20:45:00.002-04:00

Green Chiles

Featured Ingredient: Green Chiles

Yesterday, I went with my child's 4th grade class on a trip to the Bronx Zoo. It was the culmination of their Endangered Species project where they got to see up close (or as close as safety permits) some of the animals they learned about and grew to love over the last couple of months. It couldn't have been a more beautiful day to experience that. Once you got into the zoo, you were free to roam about, I didn't really have to chaperone any other kids, so it was a nice opportunity to spend time with youngest son. As I also love animals and wildlife, signing up for this trip was a no-brainer.

We got to the zoo about 10:30 a.m. (after sitting in traffic for two hours) and had until 3:00 p.m. before we were travel back in the same two hour traffic. Needless to say I got my exercise, going from one side to the other, trying to hit every exhibit. When we returned back to school, I felt like this:

I was pretty exhausted, but still had to get dinner on the table. In this situation I tend to lean towards easy Mexican dishes. With some pre-cooked ingredients you can create a quick and satisfying family meal in a relatively short amount of time without too much effort.

One of my favorites in Enchiladas Suizas. While the "suiza" really refers to Swiss cheese, I prefer Monterey Jack. If you are not a fan of burn-your-throat spicy but like flavor, this is great meal. Serve this with one of the Goya Rice Mixes and maybe "Mexicorn" in a can... and you are "bueno a ir" (good to go).

Enchilada Suizas - Serves 4 to 5

3 cups shredded or chopped cooked chicken
2 jars (8 oz. each) Ortega Green Taco Sauce (Mild) - Made with Green Tomatoes and Tomatillos
2 1/4 cups grated Monterey Jack Cheese
1 4 oz. can chopped mild green chiles
1/8 cup chopped cilantro (chopped cilantro should equal scant 1/8 cup)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 package flour tortillas 10 count (6 inch diameter)
Scant 1 cup sour cream
2 to 3 scallions for topping/garnish

Preheat oven to 375F

In a large bowl combine chicken 1/4 cup taco/tomatillo sauce, 3/4 cup shredded cheese, cilantro, cumin and green chiles.

Mix sour cream and taco/tomatillo sauce in about equal parts. Scant 1 cup sour cream to 1 cup taco sauce.

Wrap tortillas in damp paper towels and microwave for 1 minute to make more pliable.

This would be a great stopping point to put on the Goya rice mix, as it takes 25 to 30 minutes, so each dinner element finishes at about the same time.

Spread about 1/2 cup sour cream/taco sauce mixture on the bottom of a 9" X 13" in baking pan.

Add about 1/3 cup of chicken mixture in the middle of the tortilla. Fold top and bottom portion of tortilla toward center. Roll in left and right side, being sure that top portions are tucked in. Place seam side down. Repeat with other tortillas. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and sprinkle with scallions.

Bake in a 375F oven for 20 minutes until bubbly and heated through. To add additional color you can broil for additional 2 minutes or so until desired color.

Now your rice should be done and if you opted for frozen vegetables you probably put these on somewhere after the enchiladas were baking.

Enchilada Suizas Deliciosas

Una buena cena para su familia! (Mr. Forte your teaching is not lost on me some 30 years later... God Rest Your Soul!)

Vegetable Lasagna with Parmesan Bechamel Sauce - Take Two

2011-05-04T22:46:00.001-04:00

Featured Ingredient: Ricotta Cheese

In sunny 60 degree weather, what do you serve? It's too high up on a thermometer for a heart-warming stew. It's hardly the dog days of summer when something grilled with a side of fresh salsa is in order. I think this is the perfect territory, for something fresh, yet filling and cheesy -- like a vegetable lasagna. A great way to take advantage of spring's fresh bounty of produce appearing in your supermarket, at more affordable prices.  The most prominent right now is Asparagus. Nothing says spring more than those long slender stalks that my son used to call "trees."

I'll admit this is not a time-saving recipe. But it's worth the work. You can think of it as saving time during the week, as you can make a big batch in 9" X 13" pan and reheat portions the next couple of nights, depending on the size of your family.   You can also reduce prep time as I did in this recipe with no boil lasagna noodles. The lasagna is layered with a mix of asparagus, broccoli (mostly florets), fresh spinach and shredded carrots along 3 cheeses (parmesan, ricotta and mozzarella) along with a creamy flavor infused bechamel sauce. I thought it would be too heavy, but because the vegetables are so light, it actually works well.
I'm calling this take two as the last time I attempted it using a different strategy, but the same basic recipe, my lasagna was lacking height and bulk and ended up on the watery side. Fortunately this version is not dry, nor do you have to worry about floating pasta... well maybe not exactly floating but wading?

Key things ensure your vegetable lasagna does not come out watery whether you use boil or no boil noodles.

1. After you saute your vegetables let them drain off any excess moisture.

2. If using no boil noodles, don't let them sit in water to be a bit more pliable. (Except for maybe the top layer pieces, as they are not weighted down with as much liquid and moisture as the middle and bottom layer of pasta.) You end up having more than enough moisture in this recipe so use them dry as it gives them something to soak up.

3. Add an egg to your ricotta. In baking, eggs are used to set liquids, batters etc. So it doesn't hurt to have them add a little bit of their protein to help the cause. (Plus it seems to make the ricotta fluffier).

Vegetable Lasagna with Bechamel

Sachet D'Epice
1/4 small onion
1 bay leaf
10 black peppercorns
Cheesecloth and Butcher String

Make a sachet d'epice. I learned this in culinary school.  Wrap a quarter of an onion, a bay leaf and about 10 peppercorns into cheesecloth and tie with butcher string. This helps infuse the onion flavor into your bechamel sauce, while keeping it silky and free of little bits of onion.

Sachet d'epice

Parmesan Bechamel Sauce
5 tbsp butter
4 tbsp flour
4 cups milk
1 tsp salt
1/8 tsp ground fresh nutmeg
1/4 cup finely grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 375F
Melt butter into a large saucepan over medium heat and whisk in flour to form a loose roux. Stirring very frequently let this bubble for a couple of minutes or until it reaches a golden color.
Whisk in milk slowly for the first cup then add the rest. Attach your sachet to the pan handle and dip into pan. Add salt. Continue whisking until milk comes up to temperature and mixture begins to thicken. Stir in nutmeg and parmesan cheese. Remove from heat and keep warm.

Parmesan Bechamel

Vegetable Lasagna
9 no boil noodles
Extra virgin olive oil as needed
4 cloves garlic minced
10 oz fresh baby spinach (I used one 5 oz. box and the spinach literally disappeared as it cooked down)
One large bunch fresh broccoli (I mostly used the florets and the top portion)
2 cups shredded carrots
20 large asparagus spears
(Bottom line is you are looking for at least 6 to 7 cups of cooked vegetables)
32 oz. Part Skim Ricotta cheese (most of the container)
1 beaten egg
1 block grated Part Skim Mozzarella cheese (like Polly-O) not the fresh kind remember too much water content
Grated Parmesan cheese as needed
Salt and Pepper as needed
Fresh Parsley for garnish

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large skillet. Add spinach. Saute one minute and 2 cloves garlic, salt and pepper. Cover and steam/saute until bright green and wilted. Remove to a colander over a large bowl and let drain.

Add more olive oil if needed and add broccoli, asparagus and carrots. Saute one minute to release moisture and add 2 cloves garlic, salt and pepper. Like the spinach cover and steam/saute until vegetables are still bright and crisp tender. Remove to colander with spinach to drain.

Mix ricotta (nearly the entire container) with egg.

Begin assembly. Lightlhy cover the bottom of the pan with bechamel sauce. Add three no boil noodles going across, spread apart evenly. Lightly spread a good amount of ricotta cheese on the pasta, top with heaping spoonfuls of the vegetable mixture cover with bechamel sauce. Then sprinkle with mozzarella cheese.
Add another layer of pasta and repeat.

Add final layer of pasta. If you soaked these in hot water for a few minutes. Pat them dry before you add to the pan. Pour over bechamel sauce and top with mozzarella and parmesan cheese.

Tightly cover the sides with tin foil, but carefully tent the top as to not have the cheese stick to the foil. Bake for about 40 minutes. Remove foil and let bake an additional 10 minutes until bubbly. If it still doesn't have that nice golden color. Broil for a couple minutes until desired color.

Let rest on a rack for 15 minutes.

As with all lasagnas, it will taste better and come out the pan better the next day. Hey it may have been hard work, but you don't have to worry about dinner tomorrow.

Vegetable Lasagna with Parmesan Bechamel Sauce

Tortellini Soup with Chicken

2011-04-30T21:00:00.000-04:00

Featured Ingredient: Diced Tomatoes

Here is a nice variation for those nights when you have had enough ravioli with sauce, but not enough time to make much more of anything else. The preparation and cook time can vary based on how much time you have. If you have a little more time to spare, I would recommend simmering the soup so it can develop more flavor. If not you can rapidly increase its finish time by boiling the ingredients.

This makes a nice side or a main dish soup with some crusty Italian bread and a salad. I adapted this recipe from an old Family Circle cookbook.

Chicken Tortellini Soup - Serves 6

Extra virgin olive oil as needed
1 large onion chopped = to 1 cup
1/2 cup sliced carrots
1/2 cup sliced celery
3 cloves garlic minced
8 cups low sodium chicken broth (canned or two boxes)
1 14 oz can diced tomatoes undrained
1 tsp dried marjoram
1 tsp dried basil
2 dried bay leaves
9 oz. tri-colored cheese tortellini
1 cup sliced cooked chicken
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
Grated Parmesan cheese as desired

Heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large Dutch oven or soup pot. Add onion, carrot and celery and "sweat" the vegetables over a low medium heat (don't brown) until the onion starts to become translucent - about 5 minutes.

Add garlic and saute for about 1 to 2 minutes until fragrant. Be sure not to let garlic brown, or it can add a bitter taste.

Add broth, tomatoes, marjoram, basil and bay leaves. Heat to boiling. Reduce to a simmer and add tortellini, chicken, salt and pepper. Simmer until vegetables are tender and tortellini is how you like it. I like my tortellini a little softer and past al dente so they are at their "plumpiest".

If you are on a time schedule or are really hungry. You can speed up the cooking process after you heat ingredients to a boil by continuing to boil everything is tender. I don't recommend a vigorous boiling, but maybe a rolling boil will complete your dish faster without totally obliterating the tomatoes. It's a very forgiving soup either way.

Top with grated parmesan cheese

You could also try this with meat tortellini and eliminate the cut up chicken.

Now that I think about it I should have made Italian Wedding Soup for today's blog post with little meatballs and escarole as my second cousin the "Un-Valley Girl" got married today in Canada. Oh well, maybe Italian Wedding Soup isn't the most appropriate choice as we are Lithuanian. I wish her a great honeymoon and a future filled with love, comfort and comfort food. Can't wait to see her pictures on Facebook.

Tortellini Soup with Chicken

Easter Dessert Disasters

2011-04-26T21:25:00.001-04:00

Featured Ingredient: Frustration

I think we've all been there. You are in charge of an entree, a dessert or even the entire meal and something goes horribly wrong, just doesn't work, or goes beyond the point of salvaging. Welcome to my Easter Weekend.

I was going to make fruit tart. I usually buy the large pre-made sponge shell and fill it with vanilla pastry cream and fresh fruit. This year, I couldn't find the shell, so I figured I could make a crust. I found one with almond paste (in a can) that I thought I would share on my blog. It turns out that was the beginning of the tart from hell. The instructions were not that descriptive and using my limited pastry behavior knowledge I combined the ingredients and let it rest in the fridge. The dough was very moist and when rolled out kept falling apart. Fortunately it was extremely forgiving and I was able to put it back together in the tart pan.

Before the disaster

However, when I blind baked the crust, I got baked sides and an uncooked bottom. Maybe I should have poked holes in it. The recipe I got this from said to just throw it in the oven. But I made that mistake with quiche in the past, where the dough rose so there was no divet left for pastry cream and fruit. So that went in the garbage.

This recipe also had a method for a mock pastry cream. I think the proportions were wrong because I got a yellow blob that wouldn't leave my whisk... this however I was able to thin out and save with some low fat milk... Thank heaven for small favors.

Take 2. I would make straight tart dough.

One of the annoying things about dough is it is a long process. You have to make your dough... let it rest for at least 30 minutes to an hour, then hope it rolls out OK, then hope it doesn't crack when you bake it. If it fails in the 3rd step and you have to redo it, that's another at least hour and half you have to invest. Versus something like whipped cream. If you let it go too far, you just pour in more whipping cream, powdered sugar and vanilla and let it run again for 5 minutes.

I've made dough in a stand mixer so I started the process there, then when the butter was more incorporated, I finished kneading by hand. I formed it into a ball and put it in the fridge. When I tried to roll it out, the dough kept cracking. Again I was able to reform it in the tart pan. But when it baked the dough shrunk so it looked a broken sidewalk.

That was it for tarts for now. I still had Sunday morning.

Since my kids don't eat fruit, I thought I could bake a marbled angel food cake and serve it with ice cream and chocolate sauce. It said to bake it on the lower third of the oven?? Ungreased tube pan?? I even reduced my baking time, because my oven tends to bake stuff faster. What did I get but a slighly burned cake stuck to the tube pan that never even rose properly. I never made angel food cake before and the recipe I used didn't explain how to incorporate the flour in as well as another recipe I read later. I got a gummy more dense cake, not the ethereal light hi-rise cake I see in the stores.

Tart Take 3
Now that I ran out of butter and was nearly out of flour. I ran to Stop & Shop which is ALWAYS open and restocked. I swallowed my pride and bought an Angel Food Cake. For the tart I was going to go with prepared pie crust as I was running out of time. Pie crust is a bit different than tart crust, but I use it for quiche and it's close enough.

Would you believe this also cracked! But only a little spot which I figured wouldn't matter. When I went to remove the bottom of the tart pan after I put the tart on cake tray, the sides and bottom cracked a little more. Oh my god. At that point I had one hour left. I gently put the one side back together and added my pastry cream. Fortunately with the consistency of the pastry cream, you don't have too worry too much about it oozing all over the place. In fact I was rather surprised when I finally served the tart, all the parts stayed together rather well. My husband said if you didn't tell anybody about the cracks no one would have known... or honestly cared.

In spite of the fact that I was baking for the holiest day of the year, and one of the desserts I was making was angel food cake, God was not on my side.

So what did we learn?

If you are cooking for a special occasion use a proven recipe or really reliable source
It's OK to substitute a store bought product or shortcut in cases of dire emergency
If the meal was for your family they will still love you for the effort
If it was for your business, use it as a learning experience and find another client -- the beauty of the food industry is everybody eats!
We all make mistakes so just try to laugh it off

And...take a step back, maybe it's not so bad

Tart from Hell

This Top Chef Masters ain't no Top Chef All-Stars or even the last Top Chef Masters

2011-04-20T22:19:00.001-04:00

I love the Top Chef series. I've watched episodes from each one... and followed Top Chef All Stars very closely. As that competition is over and perhaps Bravo is casting a new group of chef hopefuls for its next season we have Top Chef Masters. I watched the last edition of Top Chef Masters which seems to be reverse of this season. Last time it was a poorly casted host and a stellar group of chefs (that I've heard of) including Rick Bayless and Hubert Keller. This time the host, Curtis Stone, is perfectly delicious in this role but the contestants are a bunch of nobodys with the exception of two chefs that I've seen before, Chef Traci and Chef Tio. It's akin to this season of Survivor that brought in a new group and peppered in Rob and Russell from seasons... Plural...past most likely in attempt to boost ratings. One tribe made the mistake of throwing a challenge to get rid of Russell and that began their demise... but that is another recap.

Chef Traci is the one that looks like she is always angry. I would agree that she deserves to be in this competition as she kicked Mario Batali's butt on Iron Chef. Apparently, one chef is vegetarian so he can't taste his meat dishes... I mean seriously there was no other carnivorous chef to choose from?

I caught last week's episode, which did not do much in terms of influencing me to set my Tivo this week. The quickfire judge was Kelis. I thought the only food she was familiar with was a "Milkshake". If you don't understand the reference that was her one hit wonder. She was billed as a grammy-nominated artitst as well as a trained chef. Maybe she should go back to cooking as her music career has gone nowhere.

Seriously?

For the elimination challenge the chefs needed to update classic dishes from the 1960's. They brought in Christina Hendricks (the red head with the big boobs) from Mad Men and her husband who is also some marginal actor. I had a hard time getting through the show at this point. One chef had to update ambrosia which seemed too much beneath him. That's Uncanny Goodness right there especially with the mandarin oranges.

Some chef I never heard of lost. Oh well. I'm super disappointed with the casting of this Top Chef Masters season. I didn't even spot any rivalry or bad chemistry to keep the show interesting. I'll wait for the next Top Chef. Let me know if you agree or disagree.

Dark Chocolate Lentil Brownies

2011-04-16T21:07:00.001-04:00

Black Lentils

Featured Ingredient:

In my ongoing for quest for canned goods, I came across canned lentils in a local natural food store. I wanted to challenge myself with something more than lentil soup and figured I would go in a totally different direction and venture into dessert territory - Lentil Brownies.

If that sounds crazy to you, I encourage you to read on. Or maybe you are more adventurous since you were already searching for something like this. Before you start running for the hills, this is truly a scrumptious brownie. I even surprised myself. If someone told me a few years ago you could make a delicious, moist brownie, using lentils that doesn't have the taste or texture of cardboard, I would have thought they were out of their mind. Recently, I've come across other blog posts raving about black bean brownies, I thought maybe I could try something similar using canned lentils. I found that pureed lentils work great in brownies. There isn't a gritty taste and because lentils themselves are relatively flavorless they assume whatever flavor you put into them.

I like to eat healthy, but I'm not someone who goes to extremes. I also like to indulge, especially with dessert. This brownie is a perfect marriage of healthy and indulgent. Somewhere between fudgy and cakey, it's not overly dense and has a moist, light, mouthfeel. The other beauty of this brownie is cuts so easily. Some brownies can be overly crumbly and very difficult to slice into equal portions.

Dark Chocolate Lentil Brownies - 8 X 8 inch pan

One 15 oz. canned black lentils (rinsed and drained)
1 cup all purpose flour
3/4 cup turbinado sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I used Hershey's Special Dark)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp cream of tartar
pinch of salt
3 large eggs
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
4 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
Confectioner's sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350F

In a food processor, pulse lentils until smooth.

In a large bowl mix dry ingredients - flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, cream of tartar and salt

In a smaller bowl whisk together wet ingrdents - eggs, applesauce, grapeseed oil and vanilla. Whisk in pureed lentils.

Put the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and fold with a spatula until combined, trying not to overwork the batter. Fold in chocolate chips.

Looks like brownie batter to me

Pour brownie mix into an 8 X 8 inch pan. My husband bought that perfect brownie pan (which is approximately that size). I don't use the dividers but it does have a bottom like a springform pan that you can push out.

Bake for about 25 minutes until the batter looks set and a toothpick comes out nearly dry, with a little chocolate on it.

This brownie has vitamins, fiber, protein from the lentils and the applesauce; antioxidants from the dark chocolate; and is low fat because of grapeseed oil. Plus it tastes good too. My picky, junk-food friendly kids even enjoyed them.

Now here's the truth: the brownies are not very pretty by themselves... They may even look burned to you.

However, that is nothing a little powdered sugar can't fix. As the brownies are not overly sweet on their own, the addition of the confectioner's sugar adds just a hint more of sweetness that strikes a perfect balance.

Give these a try. I dare you. :)

Dark Chocolate Lentil Brownies

Easy Surf and Turf Paella

2011-04-10T17:04:00.003-04:00

Chicken Broth and Diced Tomato

Featured Ingredients: Chicken Broth X 2 and Petite Diced Tomatoes

I miss my blog. I started a new job on Wednesday. Back in Marketing, the old 9 to 5 grind... but really, who in Marketing works 9 to 5? After the 25 mile commute against traffic and wolfing down whatever my husband threw together for dinner, chasing down my boys to do homework, walking the dog, or working out, there is not much energy left to cook. I don't have the pleasure of the extra time anymore.

On the flip side, my culinary choices are based now even more on recipes with fewer ingredients or things that can simmer or bake so I can multi-task. So now Uncanny Goodness really lives up to its Time Saving philosophy.

That said, what's easier than the one pot meal. Now that the snow and ice dams have melted, the trees are budding and robins are scurrying around, stew weather is behind us. But the crisp spring air is perfect for a satisfying paella.

I make mine with chorizo. Chorizo is available in varying degrees of heat. I used this kind:

It says it's hot, but it was a mild heat. Only a little more kick than kielbasa.(Trust me I'm a wuss when it comes to spicy food.) Whole Foods sells a really good chorizo, which I wouldn't classify as hot. If hot is your thing, you can use Andouille or Linguica or a hotter Chorizo.

I also add chicken. This is a great way to use up leftover cooked chicken, from say a store-bought rotisserie chicken. Finally, to me, a paella is not complete without some form of seafood, so I add shrimp. My older son and I are the only shrimp eaters. So in this case, I saute them separately and place them on the plate that wants them. By cooking and adding them last minute, this also ensures that the shrimp don't get overdone and gummy. Plus it takes not time to cook them in a saute pan.

Easy Surf and Turf Paella - Serves 8

Extra virgin olive oil as needed

12 oz. package or 4 links chorizo sausage sliced into about 1/2 in rounds

1 medium onion finely chopped

1 cup diced red pepper

2 gloves garlic minced

1 1/2 cups long grain white rice

1/4 tsp turmeric (turns rice yellow and cheaper than saffron)

1 14.5 oz. cans diced tomatoes, undrained

2 14.5 oz. cans low sodium chicken broth

1 cup diced cooked chicken

1 cup frozen peas, thawed

salt and pepper to taste

24 shrimp, shelled and deveined (less if not everyone is a shrimp eater)

1/2 lemon for lemon juice

1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped

In a heavy 12 inch pan, heat 1 tbsp oil over medium heat. Saute chorizo about 4-5 minutes until it starts to brown. Remove from pan. Add red pepper and saute about 2 minutes to start cooking process, scraping up brown bits. Remove to the pan with sausage. Add onion and saute until translucent 3 to 4 minutes. Add rice and toast a few minutes until you start to see translucent grains 1 to 2 minutes.

Stir in turmeric, tomatoes and broth, scraping any more brown bits. Stir in chicken. Heat to a boil and reduce to a low simmer. To borrow a line from Guy Fieri... Everybody in the pool.

Cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Check liquid level and doneness of rice. Add a little water if needed Stir in peas. NOTE: the peas will also release a little water. Cook about 5 more minutes. Finish with parsley.

Separately, squeeze a little lemon juice on your shrimp. I usually put them in a colander with a bowl underneath. Heat a non-stick saute pan with 1 tbsp olive oil. Add shrimp and saute. Turn shrimp over when you start to see pink underneath. Shrimp should take more than 5 minutes to cook. When they are pink and begin to curl they should be done.

Plate paella and top with shrimp.

Easy Surf and Turf Paella

Bruise-Berry Cornmeal Muffins

2011-04-06T20:05:00.000-04:00

Quaker Corn Meal

Featured Ingredient: Cornmeal

There is a sense of accomplishment when you use up those last bit of random ingredients and turn them into something yummy. That's what I did last night. I call these berry muffins - bruise-berry muffins because the liquids from the fruit bled a bit more than I would have liked. Didn't compromise the flavor at all, just added a little character to the muffins.

Nuffins better than muffins. I love all kinds and have the muffin top to prove it. It's a great on the go snack for any time of day. Since they are basically cake in disguise, you can save yourself a few calories by using the standard 12 muffin pans instead of the super size 6. They are quick and easy to prepare, only require two bowls and no electric appliances.

These are a nice hybrid between a corn a blueberry muffin. You get the texture of the corn along with the juicy fruit bite (not the gum). Make these and your family will fight over them.

Makes 12 standard muffins

Cooking Spray as needed
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp finely grated orange zest
4 tbsp sour cream plus 2% milk until it reaches to 1 1/4 (you can also substitute buttermilk)
2 eggs
2 tbsp grapeseed oil
1 1/4 cup mixed berries (I used blueberries and raspberries) - fresh or frozen
(if frozen add while still cold, do not thaw)

Heat oven to 400F. Lightly spray the bottom of the muffin cups in a standard 12 tin

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, salt and orange zest.

In a medium bowl, whisk the sour cream, milk (or buttermilk), eggs, and oil until well blended. Make a well in the dry mixture, add wet ingredients and stir until batter is just blended. Using a spatula, gently fold in the fruit.

Divide batter evenly among muffin cups. Bake the muffins for 15 minutes or until the tops are golden and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool muffins in the pan on a wire rack for 5 to 10 minutes before removing. Cool completely.

Bruise-Berry Cornmeal Muffins

Deconstructed Ground Lamb Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce

2011-04-02T20:22:00.000-04:00

Fage Greek Yogurt

Featured Ingredient: Greek Yogurt

I live in a house with 3 boys... rather 1 man, 1 hungry teenager, and one boy. All die hard carnivores. As you can imagine, I don't serve a lot of tofu, quinoa, or wheatberry - unless I hide it in something. The two older "boys" enjoy lamb gyros. Without the yogurt sauce I can also sell it to my youngest and pickiest eater as mini hamburger. It's an easy dish that can be served any time of year. It is especially great in the summer time as I can use an outdoor grill vs. my indoor grill pan and can enhance the sauce and the burger with fresh herbs from my garden. This is the early spring recipe.

Lamb Patties - Makes 12 small slider size patties
2 lbs ground lamb
3 garlic cloves finely minced and crushed with back of knife
1/2 tsp onion powder
1 1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tbsp Fage Greek Yogurt from an 7 oz. container

Tzatziki Sauce:
Remaining yogurt from the 7 oz. container
1/2 a cucumber seeds removed and grated
1/2 tsp red wine vinegar
3/4 tsp dried dill weed - In summer or when available substitute with fresh dill and or fresh mint!!!
Salt and Pepper to taste

Serve with:
Wheat or White Naan Bread - warmed in oven according to package directions
Red Leaf Lettuce
Chopped Tomato
Thinly sliced red onion (if you like)

Prepare Lamb Patties:
Mince garlic:

In large bowl add ground meat and all ingredients up to and including yogurt. Fold with hands to combine. Shape meat into about 1 inch meatballs and flatten to make 2 inch or so wide patties. Set aside in fridge to let flavors meld.

Prepare Tzatziki Sauce:

Add yogurt to a small bowl. Grate cucumber into yogurt. Add red wine vinegar, salt and herbs. Taste and adjust seasonings.

On a grill or grill pan set to medium heat, cook meat on both sides until 165F.

Deconstructed Ground Lamb Gyros with Tzatziki Sauce

Israeli couscous makes a great side dish to this Middle Eastern treat!

Top Chef All-Stars Winner - Richard Blais. Fabio Robbed of Fan Favorite.

2011-04-01T20:03:00.001-04:00

Hooray, Richard Blais won Top Chef All-Stars. I'm glad he won because he came so close in his season and I feel he got robbed, so this win was just pure justice. Now he truly has it all. Family, Notoriety and Success. Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

According to the editing it seemed like a neck to neck race through the entire final show. Besides Richard winning my favorite part of the show was when Gail Simmons, off site at some finale party in Chicago, said you'll find out in 30 seconds who is Top Chef ... at 10:30 p.m. (Obviously she meant 30 minutes). I guess that's what can happen when you are live.

While I hoped that Richard would win, I think the producers of Top Chef All-Stars knew they would get an onslaught of hate mail if ultimately Mike Isabella won the title. Who really got the shaft was Fabio for fan favorite. Instead it went to Carla Hall? I mean she's endearing with her "food is love" philosophy, but Fabio is far more charming, far funnier and just a joy to watch. He is also extremely likeable. Why this man doesn't have a national endorsement by now, is really beyond me. Apparently their scores were very close, but Carla edged him out.

Since I voted for Fabio, TWICE, here is my interpretation. Similar to American Idol you can vote multiple times. If I am not mistaken for this contest I think you could have voted up to like 82 times. Carla may have had a giant posse to keep voting for her until each person's voting maxed out. How do you think that no talent Nikki what's her face on the first season of American Idol got to third place behind Justin Guarini and Kelly Clarkson and knocked out far more talented singers. Who's was Nikki, you say... Exactly.

Looking forward to the finale of Chopped All-Stars on Sunday. I'm hoping either Aaron Sanchez or Nate Appleman wipe the floor with Anne Burrell. Her bigger than life personality comes across as just arrogant and not in a such over the top endearing way like Gene Simmons. That contestant from The Next Food Network star, has a better personality... but unfortunately I don't think has a prayer.

Sandwich Showdown - Blog Party

2011-03-28T14:54:00.000-04:00

For lunch today I made Cuban Sandwiches from the previous night's pork roast.

Cuban Sandwich

My favorite time of the day is lunch time. I am the most voracious and gastronomically adventurous when the clock strikes noon and love a great original sandwich or amped up classic.
No canned ingredients are necessary. Whatever you love to slap between two pieces of bread.

Cook Once Eat Twice - Roast Chicken and Chicken Tarragon Salad

2011-03-26T14:32:00.001-04:00

Chicken Gravy

Featured Ingredient: Chicken Gravy

I'm cheating a little bit on the secret ingredient as it has more of supporting role than an integral role in this first chicken dish (it's optional).

That said, who doesn't love roast chicken? The simplicity of throwing a raw protein in the oven, basting once and being rewarded with a golden, juicy bird. Good on its own, with a side of mashed potatoes and the aforementioned gravy PLUS the perfect base for leftovers!

The flavor of this roast chicken is clean and subtle. It is not overly seasoned as this keeps it kid friendly. The ingredient measures are approximate depending on the size of the bird which can range from 3.5 lbs to 5 lbs.

Simple Roast Chicken - Recipe #1

1 small onion quartered
1 stalk celery cut into three pieces
1 large lemon wedge
Salt and Pepper
1 tablespoon fresh italian parsley chopped - you can also substitute 1 tsp of a mild dried herb like marjoram
6 1/2 tablespoons of unsalted butter softened

P:reheat oven to 400 degrees F

Remove chicken livers etc from inside of chicken. Rinse inside and out with cold tap water. Pat dry. Tuck wings under chicken.

Insert onion, celery and lemon wedge into chicken cavity. In a microwave safe dish mix herbs with the softened butter - to make a compound butter. With a butter knife carefully detach skin from the bottom of the chicken breast to form a pocket. Shove about 5 tablespoons of butter underneath the skin into these pockets and distribute with the back of the butter knife or with your hands. Try to push some butter onto the top part of the thighs. Be careful not to pierce skin.

Microwave the remaing butter mixture until melted and brush it all over the chicken. Sprinkle the chicken liberally with salt and pepper. Truss the chicken legs with kitchen string for better form.

Place chicken on a rack in a 9 X 13 roasting pan. If you don't have a rack it's no big deal. Add about 1/4 cup of water to the roasting pan. You just don't want it in too large of a roasting pan as the water and any of the juices from the chicken will evaporate and burn onto the pan as the chicken cooks.

Roast for a a 1/2 hour, rotate pan, and baste chicken with juices. Add more water if there are brown bits on the pan to help form an au jus. Roast for another 25 minutes and check the chicken temperature. Cook times will vary depending on the size of your bird. If the thigh registers at 180F and the breast at 165F you are good. Remove to a rack and let rest for 10-15 minutes.

Simple Roast Chicken with Compound Butter

Heat chicken gravy. Serve over chicken and mashed potatoes if desired.

THE NEXT DAY....

Make a wonderful lunch for yourself.

This recipe is very special to me as it reminds me of Copley Square, Boston, Massachusetts 1987. I fell in love with a quaint little cafe chain called Au Bon Pain when I was a freshman in college. I would go there after I finished my shift at Mrs. Field's Cookies and later on at Rizzoli Bookstore. I'd sit in this manufactured French cafe and watch people, wait for people and experience that first taste of being on your own in charge of your own destiny. I didn't love the cafe so much as one of their signature sandwiches - Chicken Tarragon. I would order this every time... in any Au Bon Pain I could find... for years. One day, I went into an Au Bon Pain in New York City for lunch and looked at their newly refurbished menu. That special sandwich was Chicken Tarra-GONE! After that, I rarely went back.

There are no Au Bon Pain's in my immediate area. I've seen them in airports, but the franchise doesn't have the presence it used to. I still love that sandwich and memories it inspires. So like most things that I love that got discontinued, I created a very similar tasting substitute, that reminds me of my favorite time and place in the world.

Chicken Tarragon Salad - Recipe #2
Measures are approximate - The below recipe is based on one serving.

1 cup roasted chicken diced (mostly breast meat, but you can use thigh as well)
1 small celery heart finely diced
1 tbsp mayonnaise or less (I don't like my chicken salad very mayonnaise-y, I just want a little binding to hold it together
Sliced almonds (about the same amount as the diced celery)
1 tsp dried tarragon ( I actually prefer the fresh minty like flavor of dried tarragon to its fresh counterpart).
Pinch of salt and pepper.

Mix all ingredients in a bowl. Serve on a crusty piece of french bread with a romaine lettuce leaf and tomato if desired.

One bite of this transports me back. Who would have thought all those memories could be unleashed by the contents between two pieces of bread.

Chicken Tarragon Salad

Later on in my career, due to disappearance of Au Bon Pain in my neck of the woods, I found another sandwich place I loved with a signature Chicken Salad Sandwich made with fresh dill at a place called Congress Rotisserie. Wouldn't you know that place is gone now too, but I have another variation of my chicken salad recipe with this place in mind, but I'll save that for another time.

Milda's Kitchen LLC - Personal Chef Service

2011-03-25T08:36:00.000-04:00

I created a website for my Personal Chef service serving Fairfield County, Connecticut. I changed over DNS servers (whatever that means) and it is now live. I did it myself using a site called Wix.com. For someone who has no idea how to program flash, write html or can design something from scratch -- unless it's a baked good --- it is extremely user friendly and has some nice templates.

I'm happy with the results. Maybe working in Marketing Services for all those years taught me something. As I'm budget conscious I went with the cheaper package so the site still has the Wix ads.

Check it out:
http://www.mildaskitchen.com/

Can Do Cooking on Top Chef All Stars

2011-03-24T19:26:00.005-04:00

I am beginning to think I am ahead of my time, or am definitely on the pulse of at least the trend toward the resurgence of canned goods. Over the last couple of weeks I have seen canned goods thrown into TWO celeb-reality chef shows. First it was Chopped All Stars with canned haggis and yesterday one of the options on Top Chef All Stars in the quickfire challenge was to create something out of canned goods. Mike assigned that challenge to Antonia. I have to admit her task was a little bit more daunting as she couldn't use any fresh ingredients. She still came up with a Curry Soup with Shrimp and Andouille Sausage, that looked yummy.

Photo Courtesy of BravoTV

Richard was charged with turning hot dogs into something worthy of fine cuisine, and Mike had to make something in one pot. Half way through the challenge, Padma threw in another twist. The chef-testants would assign that "punishment" to each other as well. Richard could only work with one hand; Mike couldn't use any utensils, and they brought back Carla so they could tie her to Antonia.   Mike's tough pork and beans won the quickfire!
The elimination challenge was assigned by the quickfire winner.  The task... prepare a last supper for either Michele Bernstein, Masahura Morimoto and Spago's Wolfgang Puck. Mike gave Antonia, Morimoto. Good strategy. Richard could have nailed it. So he gave the Italian girl from L.A. the task of creating a memorable final meal for a veritable Japanese Iron Chef Master! Mike settled on making fried chicken and biscuits for Michele Bernstein. Thus leaving Richard with Wolfgang Puck. All the Master chefs chose a meal that reminded them of home and was near and dear to their heart. The chef-testants had a lot to live up to.

Let's cut to the chase. Antonia delivered perfect rice, which is no small feat. Sushi chefs have to master their rice making skills for two years before they move on to anything else. Unfortunately her miso soup was too salty. She is a bit heavy handed on the sodium. I've heard her criticized for this before.

Mike sous vide his chicken which is in essence simmering it (why) then fried it and his biscuit was an empanada with a egg yolk inside. Yuck. I'd rather have KFC.

Richard recreated the flavors of Wolfgang Puck's mother and well as adding his own Blais spin to it, without ruining the integrity or expectation of traditional Beef Goulash and Apple Streudel. In the end Richard was safe and onto the finale. Whew!

Mike and Antonia had one last chance to make one bite of whatever in 45 minutes to secure the second spot. Mike made a surf and turf..Lobster over Beef Tartare with Black Olive and Chimichurri Sauce and Antonia made Seared Grouper over a Coconut Lobster Broth . I hate some of these judges, they are so pretentious. I was surprised that it came to a 3 to 4 split favoring Mike. I mean, I never understood the appeal of chopped up uncooked proteins, basically it wasn't cooked and shouldn't win. Why don't you chew on a raw hamburger... YUM.

I do wish that Antonia won, aside from the fact that she deserved it... but also because I think Richard could easily beat her.

Richard Blais Top Chef???

My vote goes to Richard for the Top Chef All Stars win. I've been rooting for him all along, and I'm sure I'm not the only one. He deserves it the most. I think he got robbed in his season finale. You can see how much this competition means to him, how much he hungers for that title. I think he is someone who is a little insecure and craves validation, even though it is obvious he is an amazing and creative chef.

I saw the promo for the final episode and read the Bravo TV blog and I'm really concerned that Mike is going to take this from him. Richard is a perfectionist. It seems to me he tends to overthink things and second guesses himself, which can at times lead to your own demise. Bravo described it as heart-wrenching and Richard winning wouldn't be heart-wrenching, Mike on the other hand..... Either way he seems like the nicest, sweetest guy and he has a wonderful family - so he has plenty of more important things in his life than a Top Chef title... but I'm sure it would be nice.

Next week they bring back some "chopped" chefs to help... including this hottie!!! They should have just kept him for his commentary alone.

I LOVE FABIO

Aromatic Automatic Rice Pudding

2011-03-21T14:26:00.001-04:00

Featured Ingredient: Evaporated Milk

This is my second attempt at this pudding. I thought fragrant basmati rice would make a great base for a rice pudding. Inspired by a Indian savory rice dish, I omitted the savory ingredients and balanced the pudding with sweet coconut flavor, the spice of cinnamon and fresh citrusy orange zest. Plus a few plumped up golden raisins for additional texture.

The last time I made this the flavor was good, but the pudding ended up more like a risotto. I figure OK. Make the pudding and cook the rice simultaneously but separately -- then add together. What I got was the creaminess of a pudding married with tender grains of rice. Total cooking time from start to finish about 22 minutes.

Aromatic Rice Pudding - Serves 3

Make the pudding:
1/4 cup white sugar
1 tbsp plus 2 1/2 tsps cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup plus 3 tbsp whole milk
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp coconut extract
1/4 cup golden raisins

Whisk first three dry ingredients in a medium saucepan. Add milk, whisk together. Turn on to medium heat While mixture warms up continue whisking until bubbly and thickened. Make sure the mixture is a little thinner than standard pudding as you are going to add rice to it. Remove from heat stir in butter until melted. Stir in coconut extract and raisins.

Make the rice:
1/3 cup basmatic rice
5 oz. can of Evaporated Milk (add enough water to come up to 1 cup of liquid)
pinch of salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp grated orange zest

Heat milk and water until it just starts to boil, you don't want to scald the milk, immediately turn to low and stir in rice. Let simmer on low for about 15 minutes. Check doneness of rice and add water if needed, if all the liquid has been absorbed. Cook another 5 minutes until tender. Remove from heat, stir in cinnamon and orange zest.

Put them together:

Put rice into the pudding. If you want a creamier texture add less rice if you love want more texture add all rice.

Aromatic Rice Pudding

This is linked to Melt in your Mouth Mondays on:
Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms

Mediterranean Barley Salad - Go to Your Happy Place

2011-03-20T20:12:00.001-04:00

Artichoke Hearts

Featured Ingredient: Artichoke Hearts

Spring is around the corner. The snow, at least the less than 8 foot piles, have melted, and purple crocuses are appearing in random patches. In celebration of the turning of the season, I thought I would contribute a refreshing cold salad, studded with colorful vegetables and herbs.

This dish was inspired by one created at my favorite grocery store. Palmer's Market in Darien, CT has been around since 1921. What was once a small general store is now a gourmet destination run by the at least the 3rd maybe 4th generation of Palmers. Their prepared deli foods are not what you would expect to find. Dishes like Pistachio Crusted Mahi Mahi and Lobster Ravioli share space with the more typical Tuna Salad and Country Cole Slaw. Palmer's is 20 miles away from me, so I'm not in the neighborhood too often. But when I am in the immediate vicinity you will always find me stocking up on meats, fresh baked monster cookies, and surveying what's behind the glass in the deli section. I affectionately call Palmer's my Happy Place. If I tell my husband I'm going to my Happy Place he knows exactly where I'm headed. If on the day I go they have Mediterranean Barley Salad (which is not something they offer all the time) my day is made.

It's more of a spring or summer dish so I haven't seen it in a while. So it was time to figure out the recipe myself. I took a vinaigrette from one recipe that sounded good, cooked the barley and randomly threw in the same ingredients as Palmer's and... Success! It tasted identical if not as wonderful. As if it was meant to be, I arrived at my Happy Place.

Mediterranean Barley Salad - Serves 6 (as a side dish)

1 cup pearl barley
1tsp olive oil
3 cups chicken stock* (Use vegetable stock for a totally vegetarian option)
1 can artichoke hearts (2/3 cup sliced)
10 Kalamata olives - seeds removed
1/4 cup red onion finely chopped
1/2 cup red pepper diced (You can use red, orange, or yellow or a mix - green not recommended)
1/4 cup chopped parsley
4 oz. feta cheese diced
Fresh ground black pepper to taste

Dressing:
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp sherry vinegar
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

Heat chicken stock and oil to a boil add barley and turn to low. Simmer for 40 minutes until barley is tender.
* You can drain any excess liquid. Layout on a sheet pan lined with parchment to speed up cooling process.

Meanwhile... chop/dice and prep remaining salad ingredients

Barley Salad Prep - I ran out of prep bowls

Make dressing:
Mix lemon juice and sherry vinegar into a bowl. Add olive oil in a slow stream while whisking to form an emulsion.

Add cooled (not cold) barley to a large bowl. Add dressing and all ingredients except cheese. Mix well, but gently. Slowly fold in cheese.

Let chill in refrigerator for at least 1 hour, to help mesh the flavors. The olives and feta are very salty so the dish doesn't need any additional salt.

Happy Spring!

Mediterranean Barley Salad

To Russia with Love

2011-03-18T15:47:00.001-04:00

For someone like me who least favorite thing is diving into data, I can't get enough of the stats on Blogger. I spent a little time working in online marketing, back to 2004, before this giant wave of social media and growing digital landscape, so I have some idea of what the stats mean. I am most intrigued by my audience. Unfortunately, Blogger only shows my overall top 10 vs. a laundry list of countries. Those appearing on my top 5 are U.S., Canada, U.K, Germany and RUSSIA.

I am convinced the Russian visitors are the probably the same person. I've seen a correlation between this person's visits and the search terms. They may have happened upon Uncanny Goodness by accident, but it seems to me that they now type in my URL to find me again.

Though I appreciate everyone's visits and comments, I wanted to send a special shout out to my Russian friend or friend(s) half way around the world, and let you know. I appreciate you stopping by.

(Maybe I should turn on the translator feature?)

Tuscan Ribollita - Reinventing Soup and Yourself

2011-03-17T11:15:00.001-04:00

Chicken Broth, Cannellini Beans

Featured Ingredients: Chicken Broth, Cannellini Beans

Ribollita is the pinnacle leftover soup. In fact Ribolitta in Italian means twice cooked or reboiled. The concept being it tastes better the next day. I'd say this is also true for other Italian dishes, like lasagna and tiramisu. As I recall from culinary school, ribolitta is a Tuscan dish that was basically created from leftover minestrone. Thus reinventing it into another meal.

I felt a little like Ribollita last night. I went to a speed networking event in Manhattan. It's like speed dating for the underemployed. It was actually a lot of fun. Your mission is to condense who you are, what you do, what are your goals in 2 minutes or less. If you have 20 years of history under your belt, are looking to change careers and are tackling a couple of key projects at the moment it's not that easy. The good thing is it forces you to self edit. I'm not the best at interviews, as I'm not the most articulate person on the fly so the practice was good. I think that is why I am most comfortable behind a keyboard, or quite honestly with paper and pencil in hand. As you met each potential contact you needed to reboil your speech. You would start out at a slow simmer and slowly build to a rolling boil and then overflow with your hopes and dreams or at least short term goals. It was neat to meet people I probably would have never encountered in such a short amount of time. These were all people from the culinary world, recipe developers, food writers, event planners ranging from just out the school to approaching retirement, a very interesting diverse bunch.

The biggest challenge was having four people on either side of you, yammering about who they were to their partner while trying to listen to your partner and not lose your train of thought when your turn came up.
If it were up to me, I would have used up the extra bit of table they had left over and separated the seats a bit more. This type of networking was good forum for me. As cocktail parties aren't my forte, I don't think I would have been very successful meeting these people if I had to rely on just my mingling skills. On that note, let's mingle some ingredients together and get Ribollita:

Ribollita - Serves 4 or more

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
1 cup onion
3 medium carrots, sliced
3 stalks celery, sliced
3 garlic cloves minced
4 oz. pancetta diced
1/4 cup tomato paste
1 bay leaf
Salt and Pepper as needed
1 48 oz. can chicken stock (plus water as needed)

2 cups sliced napa cabbage (the thinner more delicate leaves cook quicker)

1 15 oz. can cannellini beans
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/3 cup grated parmesan cheese for garnish

Heat olive oil in a large pot. Saute onion for 3 to 4 minutes until translucent, add carrots and celery and saute about 3 more minutes. Add garlic and pancetta and saute for a couple of minutes more.

Add tomato paste, chicken stock, cabbage and bay leaf and bring to a boil then reduce to simmer.

Simmer for about 15 minutes until vegetables are near tender. Add canned beans and simmer until heated through. Add parsley in the last couple minutes of cooking. Taste soup and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

Garnish with parmesan cheese. Serve with bread.

Some hard core ribollita recipes insist on adding bread to the bowl and ladling the soup over the bread. Up to you! It really depends if you are a crackers in the soup or crackers on the side kind of person.

Tuscan Ribollita

On the way out of the networking event, I realized I had a little deja vu. I passed by Michael's Restaurant with its big bow windows that jut out onto 55th St. It was comforting to see with all the restaurants that have come and gone in Manhattan in the last 19 years, that this one was still there. This familiar sight also reminded me that I used to work in the building on the corner. It was when I was in my young 20's starting out in the advertising business. My clearest memory of this place was the office was so dimly lit, you could unintentionally match dark navy and black in your outfit and no one would know the difference.
It's funny when you think about it. I couldn't I have predicted when I walked this street back then, that nearly 20 years later I would be on this same block, reboiling and reinventing myself.

Can Do Cooking on Food Network Chopped All-Stars

2011-03-14T19:17:00.000-04:00

Featured Ingredient: Canned Haggis

I applaud the diabolical staff who put together those crazy chef baskets on Chopped. For the all-stars edition they have really upped the ante with ingredients that seem more like a dare than something you would think would work in a cohesive and flavorful dish. Sunday's episode felt like it had Uncanny Goodness in mind.
This episode of Food Network All Stars featured an appetizer round with a basket filled with teething biscuits, hungarian hot peppers, raspberries, and canned haggis. For those who aren't natives of Scotland, haggis is organ meat, mixed with onions, oats and spices - so there already is a built in challenge of trying to make something like that taste good. It's unappetizing even in its "freshest" form so you can imagine what I might be like canned. I haven't even found this product in my local international market. Are they too embarrassed to carry it? I've seen cans in my Stop andShop for "Spotted Dick" so carrying canned haggis can't be much worse.

The featured chefs were Anne Burrell, Robert Irvine, Claire Robinson and Duff Goldman. The first two chefs created something not only palatable and even whimsical. Robert went the traditional route and put a modern twist on bangers and mash. Anne made a grilled flat bread and stuffed it with a combination of the haggis and other ingredients,and made a dish that might even rival some of the New York street vendors.

The point is they made a canned product that looked akin to dog food when opened into not only something edible but according to the judges, very good. While we may not be the level of chef of these two food network stars, we can make some tasty restaurant worthy dishes with canned goods. Come on in and explore.

As an aside, for a really funny review of this episode, check out the Food Network Humor blog.

Smoky Tomato Bisque with Arugula and Cashew Cream

2011-03-12T20:23:00.000-05:00

Featured Ingredients: Tomatoes and Vegetable Broth

As winter draws to a close, and what a winter it was, the downside is those cold days that beg for comfort food, will soon be behind us... at least for a while. In honor of the passing of winter, I figured I would throw in one more soup entry as a last hurrah.

This is a nice rich tomato bisque that is thickened with cashew cream. For you lactose intolerant folks and vegetarians, this concept may very familiar to you. I was actually quite intrigued. The inspiration for this recipe was in an heirloom seeds brochure. The method and ingredients weren't yielding my desired end result. The mixture ended up being a creamy but gritty tomato mixture, not optimal for a soup.

My method is modified so that you separately create the cashew cream to incorporate later in the recipe. This way you can strain out any pulverized bits of nuts and finish with a smoother end result.

Note: You don't have to worry about perfectly chopping the onion or garlic as the final mixture will be pureed.

Smoky Tomato Bisque with Arugula and Cashew Cream

1/2 cup raw cashews (must be raw)
1/2 cup hot water
Olive oil as needed
1 cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic
1 28 oz. can Fire Roasted Tomatoes
1 14.5 oz. can Vegetable Stock
2 tsps salt
1/8 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp chipotle chili powder (Add more if you like more heat. This provides a subtle burn on your throat)
1 cup chopped arugula
2 tbsps chopped fresh basil
1/3 cup water or more to thin

1. Make the cashew cream. Heat water to boiling. Put nuts in a heat proof bowl or pyrex measuring cup. Pour hot water over cashews (there should be enough water to submerge the nuts). Let this soak for at least a 1/2 hour. The raw nuts absorb the water and turn this:

Into This.

Pulverize the nuts and water in a high speed blender. If your cream is too thick, thin it out with some water. Strain through a fine mesh sieve.

2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large saucepan and saute onion until translucent and slightly golden. Add garlic and saute a couple of minutes until aromatic. Add tomatoes, vegetable stock, salt, pepper, and chipotle chili powder. Bring to boil and simmer for about 10-15 minutes.

Bisque Pre-Cashew Cream

3. Stir in cashew cream. Reduce heat and let simmer for about 5 minutes.

4. Let cool and puree soup in batches. Or use an immersion blender.

5. Stir in arugula and basil. Add remaining 1/3 cup water or more if you would like a thinner soup and heat through.

6. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Smoky Tomato Bisque with Arugula and Cashew Cream

This bisque actually thickens as it sits and becomes a wonderful sauce. Serve it the next day over penne pasta with grated smoked gouda, for a quick dinner.

Vegetable Crumble Casserole

2011-03-07T20:23:00.000-05:00

Featured Ingredients: Diced Tomatoes and Vegetable Broth

This recipe comes courtesy of one of my clients. It has been in their family for a while and is one of their staples as the head of household is a vegetarian. Since my client pointed this out to me when I met with her, I figured I would start my first meal with them, with something they know and love. I did a test run in my own kitchen on Sunday with a variation on the root vegetables that they like.

Loaded with heart healthy nuts and satisfying, hearty vegetables, this makes for a great side or filling main meal. I brought the cookbook back today, so I'm doing this from memory. This is from an English cookbook so the recipe is in oz and grams. So get out your kitchen scale.

Vegetable Crumble Casserole - Fits an 8 X 11 baking dish

10 oz. whole wheat flour
3 oz. butter (enough to turn the whole wheat flour into a coarse meal)
4 oz. grated cheddar cheese
2 tbsp toasted sesame seeds
salt & pepper

1 large onion
2 tbsp butter
1 1/2 lbs. mixed root vegetables (carrots, parsnips, red potatoes, sweet potatoes.. - whatever you like)
olive oil as needed
salt and peper to taste
1 oz. whole wheat flour
1 cup diced tomatoes
1 cup vegetable stock
1/2 cup milk
3 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp crushed fennel seed
(the herbs are my add)

Rub butter and flour together with your hands to make a coarse meal, then mix with cheddar, nuts, and seeds.

Chop vegetables in varying sizes, depending on how quickly the vegetables soften, so that they cook as evenly as possible. Put the chopped vegetables in a bowl and toss with a little bit of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.

Over medium heat melt 2 tbsp butter in a large sautoir or skillet with high sides. Saute onion for about 5-8 minutes until soft. Add vegetables and saute for 10 minutes. Add flour, tomatoes, stock and milk. Stir and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 15 minutes until "sauce" has thickened and vegetables are nearly tender.

Transfer to a baking dish and top with the crumb topping. Press topping into the vegetables.

Bake at 375 for about a 1/2 hour until bubbly.

Vegetarian Crumble Casserole

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sesame Tahini

2011-03-05T20:27:00.000-05:00

Sesame Tahini

Featured Ingredient: Sesame Tahini

I feel like I haven't blogged in so long. This week was crazy. Interviews, lunches, networking... I definitely wasn't bored. I am proud to say I got an offer to be a personal chef on Thursday and I'm still waiting on another client. As I don't have extensive experience in fine dining, but many years as a recreational cook, I do appreciate these people giving me a chance. So I have been spending the weekend thus far testing recipes for Monday's dinner, and by golly two of them contain canned goods!

One family is very health-conscious, with the head of household being vegetarian. I was racking my brain and going through my recipe book trying to find a baked good, that didn't use white flour or white sugar and actually tasted good that I could serve for dessert. I was intrigued by this one from Eating Well. The sesame tahini got me. I modified a few ingredients and was very happy with the results. It tastes on the healthy side with the oatmeal texture, but has a hint of sinfulness with the chocolate chips. It is a firm cookie, but doesn't turn into a hockey puck after it has cooled. Hope my new client likes them. My kids did, and it is a chore to get them to eat anything with nutritional value.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies - Makes about 35 cookies

2 cups rolled oats (not quick cooking)
1 cup whole wheat PASTRY flour
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup tahini (make sure to remix it as the oil separates in the can)
4 tbsp cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 cup brown sugar
1 large egg
1 egg white
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup semisweet or bittersweet chocolate chips ( I used bittersweet)

How to:

Position racks in the upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat to 350F.

Whisk oats, flour, cinnamon, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.

Open tahini and remix with an electric or stand mixer until smooth. Beat remixed tahini with butter until blended into a thickened but loose paste. Add sugar and continue beating until well combined. (The mixture will still be grainy). Beat in whole egg, then egg white then vanilla. Stir in the oat mixture by hand with a wooden spoon or spatula until just moistened. Stir in chocolate chips.

Using a tablespoon measure scoop out a rounded tablespoon of batter - remove batter with another spoon and with damp hands roll the batter into a ball. Place on a ungreased cookie sheet and set each little ball two inches apart. Continue with remaining batter. Once cookie sheet is full, press down on each ball to flatten (but don't let sides crack).

Bake cookies until golden brown about 15 minutes. Be sure to rotate pans from back to front and switch pans from top to bottom mid way through baking. Cool on cookie sheets for 2 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool. Let pans cool for a few minutes before baking another batch.

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies with Sesame Tahini

Each cookie is only 102 calories. So be healthy and indulge! You can store these for up to 2 days in an airtight container or freeze if you just can't bear to throw them away and want to pace yourself so you can enjoy these over a longer period of time.

Shepherd's Pie with Bison

2011-03-01T21:19:00.002-05:00

Featured Ingredient:

I've been staring at that square package of bison for years. (Not the same one, just every time I look in the organic, more expensive meat section at Stop & Shop it taunts me.) I'm not too adventurous when it comes to meat. I've tried ostrich in the past. I ate boar and sweet breads (the thymus gland of a calf) in culinary school, so maybe I could handle this. It is funny that sweet breads are considered part of the "offal" family of cuisine. Take a second and think about what "offal" sounds like.

I took the plunge and bought the ground bison meat. Flavor and texture wise bison it wasn't much of a departure from ground beef. I figure next time I'll make bison sliders and call them "buffalo chips."

The bison was an interesting twist on a very traditional dish of Shepherd's Pie. This dish reminds me of the my childhood as it was 1 of the 5 dishes in my mother's evening meal rotation. After she went back to work when I was 10, peeling the potatoes became one of my after school responsibilities, so they were ready when she came home.

In spite of the bison, this is not my mother's shepherd's pie.
Serves 6

1 lb ground bison or ground beef
1 small onion chopped
2 large garlic cloves minced
1 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried marjoram
1 tbsp tomato paste
1/4 cup red wine (merlot)
1/2 cup beef broth
1 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup frozen mixed peas and carrots*

Peel potatoes and put them on to boil.

Brown beef in a large skillet and drain a a majority of the fat. Remove to another plate. In remaining fat add onion and saute until nearly translucent. Add garlic and saute a couple of minutes until fragrant. Return bison to skillet and add thyme, marjoram, tomato paste, wine, broth, and worcestershire sauce, stir to combine. Add peas and carrots. Bring to boil and reduce to simmer, until beef mixture is slightly thickened and vegetables are tender - about 8 minutes.

1 lb russet potatoes, peeled, cut up and boiled until very tender
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp butter
1/4 cup parmesan cheese
1/4 cup or more 2% milk as needed
Salt and Pepper to taste

When potatoes are cooked, add cream, butter and parmesan cheese and milk. Mix and mash. Add additional milk if needed to get a creamy, smooth, yet slightly stiff and spreadable consistency. You should be able to stand a fork in it.

Put meat in bottom layer of baking dish and top with potatoes.

To Bake or Not to Bake:

Most Shepherd's Pie recipe recommend baking the dish 25 minutes at 350-400 degrees. I don't think this makes the dish taste any better. It forms a skin on the top potato layer and delays the time before you can dig into this comforting deliciousness. If you want a nice presentation, throw it under the broiler for a few minutes - under close watch until lightly browned. Otherwise when you spread the potatoes over the meat, you are technically done.

Shepherd's Pie with Bison

*My mom used canned peas and carrots for her pie. Even though this blog is all about Uncanny Goodness, I feel canned peas and carrots produce an inferior final product for this particular application vs. the frozen vegetables. The tenderness of the frozen veggies holds up better during the cooking process. You can still use canned veggies in a pinch.

Shrimp Arrabbiata

2011-02-26T20:48:00.001-05:00

Featured Ingredient:

Diced Tomatoes

Arrabiata is Italian for angry. The angry part of the dish refers to heat from the crushed red pepper. If you are like me, and not a big fan of spicy, you might only throw in a couple of red pepper flakes, so your dish will end up at best mildly miffed.

This recipe was inspired by a March 2007 issue of Cooking Light. It's another quick fix dinner... where the biggest work is in the prep.

Once you are done chopping, mincing, and grinding... the cooking process is rather fast. So if you have some appliances that can help you out with this, put them to work and get finished plates to your table even faster. If you plan ahead, this can be put together in no time when you get home.

Shrimp Arriabbiata - 4 servings

1 16 oz. package fresh fettucine
2 tbsp olive oil divided
16 oz. raw shrimp thawed and deveined* (see note below)
Lemon juice
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup chopped onion
3 large garlic cloves or about 2 tsps finely chopped garlic
1/2 tsp crushed fennel seeds (you can break these up using a rolling pin, mortar and pestle or a small electric grinder
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper (optional - if you like heat or black pepper if not so much)
1.5 oz prosciutto diced
2 14.5 oz cans tomatoes undrained (I used diced for sauciness and 1 stewed for texture. You can use any combination)
2 tbsps chopped fresh basil

Put water on the boil and add 1 tsp of salt. Put on pasta to cook at Step 3.

1. Thaw shrimp and squeeze a little fresh lemon juice over them just before cooking.

2. Heat 1 tbsp oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add shrimp, saute for 3 minutes until pink but not completely cooked through. Remove shrimp from pan.

3. Heat remaining 1 tablespoon of oil and add onion, garlic, crushed fennel seeds, pepper (red or black depending on your heat preference) and prosciutto to pan, saute 1 minute. Stir in tomatoes, bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook 3 minutes. Return shrimp to pan and cook another 2 minutes or so until shrimp is cooked through. Taste sauce and adjust seasoning. Garnish with basil.

Another alternative: Use 8 oz. of shrimp and 8 oz. sweet Italian sausage (in this case omit the prosciutto). Cook sausage first, set aside and keep warm and reincorporate it at the end.

NOTE BELOW: *Most shrimp that you buy at fish markets or in your grocery store has been previously frozen anyway. Save yourself the markup and buy a bag of frozen shrimp. Shrimp in these bags are normally flash frozen very soon after they are harvested, so the thawed shrimp in the fish case may be no fresher than the ones in the freezer next to it. You can even find shrimp that have already been deveined and save yourself some time there as well. Since they are small, they can be thawed quickly under cool running water. Then let them drain until they don't feel so solid anymore. If you are not ready to use them by this time. Put them in the fridge until ready to use. Double check your package for instructions.

Shrimp Arrabbiata

You should be very happy with the end result of this "angry" little dish.

Portable Apple Pies with Cinnamon and Coriander

2011-02-23T22:10:00.003-05:00

How about them apples? Today I took a trip to Fresh Market in Westport, CT. It's a far more simplified and smaller version of Whole Foods with the same organic, gourmet feel. I came across this giant Fuji apple. It is 4" tall. Here it is next to its more average and smaller size hybrid cousins. For this recipe you will need 3 cups of apples or maybe 2 of these Fujis.

There are some herbs and spices that seem to be made for certain foods. Their flavors marry well together and enhance each other such as: Tomato and Basil or Lime and Cilantro. For me that combo is Apples and Coriander. Whether in a sweet or savory dish these two flavors are meant for each other and in fact if mixed with an apple's more traditional spicemate cinnamon heightens and dimensionalizes the apple even more.

It was the smell of coriander, the half eaten bag of little apples, and remaining puff pastry that inspired me to create this dish.

Portable Apple Pies

Recipe created by Milda's Kitchen - Makes about 15 pies

3 cups diced apples (any sturdy baking apple, I used golden delicious)
Heaping 1/2 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup white sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsps flour
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp coriander
small pinch of salt
2 tsps lemon juice
1/4 tsp lemon zest
3 strips puff pastry - thaw according to package directions but keep in fridge until ready to use.
2 tbsps butter
1 beaten egg plus two drops of water

Preheat oven to 420F
Peel and dice apples.

Mix apples in a bowl with raisins, sugars, flour, cinnamon, coriander, salt, lemon juice and zest. Taste your filling and adjust to your liking.

Melt butter in a smaller skillet over medium heat. Saute apples and raisins for about 5 minutes to begin cooking process, plump raisins and carmelize sugars. Apples should still be firm. (The cooking time in the pastry isn't very long so this helps so your apples aren't still hard when the pies come out of the oven).

Remove from heat to cool. Beat egg and add water.

Roll out 1 strip of puff pastry until about an 1/8 of an inch thin. Cut dough with a pizza cutter to about 4" X 4" inch squares. If they are a little rectangular the world won't end.

Dip brush into egg wash and lightly brush all sides of pastry. This gives a good bullseye area to put about 1 tablespoon of your apple filling. Fold over opposite ends together and pinch to seal. Use the tines of fork to help seal as well. Repeat. Keep other puff pastry strips cold until ready to use or the dough doesn't rise as well.

Lay pies on an ungreased baking sheet. Brush tops with egg wash. You may need to do two batches. Bake for about 20-22 minutes until golden brown. If you accidentally poke a hole in the dough you might get some apple gooeyness pouring out. But is that really bad?

Portable Apple Pies

This recipe is linked to:
Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms

Chicken Pad Thai

2011-02-21T11:20:00.001-05:00

Featured Ingredient: Bean Sprouts

Bean Sprouts

As with any stir fry dish all the work is in the prep. Composing the dish is rather easy. One of the key components to achieving authentic Pad Thai flavor is Tamarind Paste. That was my biggest challenge in the recipe.

Chicken Pad Thai

6 oz. package Thai rice noodles
4 tbsps fish sauce
1 tbsp tamarind paste or 2 or more tablespoons tamarind pulp mixed with flour - see below**
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp Thai sweet chili sauce
2 limes. 1 juiced; 1 cut into 6 wedges
12 oz. skinless boneless chicken breast thinly sliced
Vegetable oil as needed
2 large garlic cloves finely chopped
2 eggs lightly beaten
1 cup bean sprouts, rinsed and patted dry
3 tablespoons lightly salted peanuts chopped
1/2 cup scallions thinly sliced
1/8 cup fresh cilantro fine chopped

** For this recipe, I went to 4 stores including a large international market and could not find tamarind paste to save my life. I found Tamarind drink, soda, pulp... no paste. Here is what it looks like in case you get lucky.

Given this hurdle, I compared other recipes for Pad Thai that use this ingredient. It mainly needs to be dissolved or watered down anyway to be incorporated into the sauce. You are really going for the sour element, not so much the texture. I found tamarind pulp in the same type of boxes that you would find soy milk. I figured that would be the closest form. It is quite thin when it is poured out. I heated about a 1/3 cup of juice wtih about two teaspoons of flour, to a boil in a smal saucepan, whiskly constantly until reduced and thickened to about the consistency of gravy. My goal was to make similar a looking and tasting mixture as a watered down the paste as well as flavor profile by reducing the pulp over heat thus concentrating the flavor. It balanced well with the sweet from the brown sugar and chili sauce, salt from the fish sauce and tang from the lime. So my substitute was success.
Directions:

Prepare rice noodles according to package directions. Depending on how fast of a "prepper" you are, don't do this first. The noodles only have to soak for about 8 minutes. Soak them until just softened but not mushy. Some packages have you soak in cold water, others want you to soak in boiling water. So keep this timeline in mind as you prepare your other ingredients. Prep remaining ingredients as needed.

Whisk together 3 tbsps fish sauce, tamarind paste (or tamarind pulp mixture), brown sugar, sweet chili sauce and lime juice. Taste and adjust flavorings to your liking

Sprinkle remaining fish sauce over chicken. Heat wok or large stainless steel skillet over medium high heat. Add 1 tbsp oil (Hot wok, cold oil). Saute garlic cloves for 30 seconds until fragrant and lightly golden (so it doesn't burn). Remove from pan. Add chicken, when cooked half way through add garlic back to pan. Finish cooking chicken. Remove to plate.

Add more oil as needed and pour in eggs and let set for about 30 seconds. Lightly scramble but not totally cooked through. Add chicken back to skillet, add noodles carefully back to pan. Gently stir to noodles to minimize breakage. Add bean sprouts, half of peanuts, scallions and fish-sauce mixture. Cook 2 to 4 minutes until ingredients are coated and noodles are tender. Add a good pinch of cilantro and cook 1 more minute.

Garnish with remaining peanuts, cilantro and lime wedges.

Chicken Pad Thai

Beef Ragout with Merlot and Root Vegetables

2011-02-20T11:17:00.001-05:00

Featured Ingredients: Crushed Tomatoes, Beef Broth

4:00 p.m. is the witching hour. It's the time when I start to figure what am a going to make for dinner. It's when I might hit the recipe books or internet looking for something deliciously different. It's when I might make last minute dashes to the store to pick up any stray ingredients that are missing. If the ultimate decision is some form of stew, I need to start on it around 4:45 p.m. in order to get it on the table by 6:30 p.m. By throwing just a few simple ingredients (which you may already have on hand) into your magic kettle you can transform them into a silky, delicious stew with not too much toil and trouble.

The great thing about a ragout, stew, pot-au-feu, daube or whatever you want to call it is that it can be unique every time depending on what you throw into it. You just need to follow some basic guidelines to serve a group of 6 to 8.

About 1.5 lbs meat
About 4 cups of liquid (broth, wine, vegetable juice)
About 5 1/2 cups of vegetables (potatoes are a must as the starch helps thicken the liquid)
Onion and Garlic (for flavoring/do not count as part of the vegetables)
Herbs of choice
Salt and Pepper

Below is my result using this ratio. What do you think of my title? It sounds so much fancier than Beef Stew. The final dish yields a silky, luscious and creamy-like sauce that merits a better descriptor.

Beef Ragout with Merlot and Root Vegetables

olive oil as needed
2 tbsps all purpose flour
1.34 lbs of beef stew meat cut in 1 inch pieces
1 3/4 cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic
1 cup merlot wine
3 cups low-sodium beef broth (1 15 oz. can yields a little less than two cups - so would need two cans)
2 cups crushed tomatoes
1 tsp dried rosemary leaves
1 tsp dried marjoram leaves
1/2 tsp oregano
2 dried bay leaves
1 tsp salt
2 cups carrots sliced
1 cup parsnips sliced
2 cups potatoes in 1 inch pieces (russet not recommended as they break down to easily - all purpose, red, yukon work)

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a 5.5 quart dutch oven over medium high heat. Season beef and place into a plastic bag with the flour. "Shake it Up!" In two batches sear beef on almost all sides. I don't brown the meat all the way, as I find the fond or brown bits become black bits on the bottom of my dutch oven by the end of the second batch. Remove meat to separate plate. This is how brown I go:

Lower heat to medium, add additional oil if needed and sautee onion for about 3 minutes and garlic for another minute until soft and fragrant and starting to brown. Remove to plate with meat.

Add merlot, bring to boil and reduce by half. I'm not a drinker so these are great for cooking. I don't have to waste a whole bottle. Each bottle equals about 1 cup of wine. It adds better flavor than the cooking wines you find in your grocery stores. As the cardinal rule is do not cook with something you would not drink by itself.

Return meat, onion and garlic to dutch oven and add broth, tomatoes, herbs, and salt. Bring to a boil and reduce to a lower simmer. Simmer for an hour. Be sure to check after a few minutes to make sure that your ragout isn't rapidly boiling and adjust temperatures so that it stays at a slow and steady simmer.

Cut up remaining vegetables and set aside. Keep potatoes in cold water.

After 1 hour add remaining vegetables and bring to a boil again, then reduce to a low simmer. Simmer until vegetables are tender about a 1/2 hour.

Beef Ragout with Merlot and Root Vegetables

I cook stew on my range top vs. the oven. The great thing about one pot meal like this is although they take some time to develop the flavor you don't have to babysit it much and can clean up and multi-task in the meantime. This leaves the oven free if you want to bake some biscuits to go with the stew or even a pie using prepared crust. If you have more time, have two ovens, or aren't baking anything else you can put the dutch oven in your bigger oven at 350F and simmer for the hour. Then add the vegetables and continue for another 1/2 hour.

Chicken Fried Steak with Creamy Beef Gravy

2011-02-17T21:36:00.001-05:00

Featured Ingredients: Evaporated Milk, Beef Broth

I participated in a webinar the other day sponsored by the IACP (Institute of Culinary Professionals) on 10 things every food writer should know. I could stand to learn more than 10 things but I thought it would be a good start. The guest speaker was Dorothy Kalins the founder of Saveur Magazine. One of the topics discussed was about honoring and glorifying the home cook vs the rock star chef. Simply put, the home cook prepares meals differently than a chef does. The knife skills may be more rustic, the ingredients are familiar, but the flavors can be just as good and the meal a lot more comforting. We can all stand to benefit from home cooking, by selecting our own ingredients, limiting the amount of fat used and thus controlling our and our family's calorie intake. OK, this recipe doesn't necessarily qualify as calorie conscious, but I have a family of naturally thin active men, with high metabolisms so they don't care. It does however qualify as down home cooking.

On that note, this meal doesn't get any more down home. It originates from the Southern United States and is the epitome of comfort food. It looks like a chicken cutlet but under that crispy coating is a steak in disguise. Ramp up the level of comfort and serve this with a luscious latte-colored gravy and some silky mashed potatoes. And if you really want to increase the carb factor, add some country biscuits.

For this recipe I opted for my 12 inch big-ass deep skillet...

Chicken Fried Steak

1.25 lbs cubed steak (you can buy this already prepared in the store)
Salt and Pepper or All Purpose Seasoning like Adobo
1 cup all-purpose flour for dredging
3 large eggs beaten
1/2 cup vegetable oil (enough to coat bottom the skillet and come up a little up the sides - you don't want to submerge the steaks)

Heat oil to 375F over medium heat
Heat oven to 250F. This will keep the steaks warm when you prepare the gravy. Put in a rack over a large sheet pan or a broiler pan so any of the excess fat can drain.

Season steaks:

Dredge meat in flour. You can pat the flour into the meat a little to help it stick. Dip in eggs and dredge in the flour again.

Add meat in batches to pan, be sure not to overcrowd pan or that reduces the temperature of the oil too fast and your meat absorbs more oil. I had two larger pieces and four smaller pieces. I cooked the two larger pieces first then cooked the four smaller pieces.

Cook for about 3 minutes and turn when steaks start to "bleed". You only want to turn the steaks one time. Cook another 3 minutes or so, until juices start to look clear. NOTE: Frying eats up a lot of salt and seasonings. So season the steaks with a little salt and pepper when they come out of the pan. Place in oven to keep warm.

Creamy Beef Gravy

1/4 cup of pan drippings
3 tbsps flour
1 12oz. can of Evaporated Milk
1 cup Beef Broth
Salt and Pepper

When steaks are cooked. Remove all but 1/4 cup of pan drippings. Over low-medium heat, add 3 tbsps of flour and whisk, to incorporate drippings and flour. Add evaporated milk and beef broth and continue whisking until mixture begins to thicken and coats the back of a spoon. The fancy French term is "nappe" - like "Nap-Ay". Pour over steak and whatever other accompanying carb you have on the plate.

Chicken Fried Steak with Creamy Beef Gravy

Moroccan Spiced Chicken Braise with Figs

2011-02-15T20:21:00.001-05:00

Featured Ingredient: Figs

As a part of my mission to expand the list of canned good options for this blog, I give you the following recipe. It is inspired by a Chicken Tagine recipe I made in Culinary School.

My first impression of these figs was not what I expected. While they are in light syrup, the flavor they gave off was more of a salty brine with a teeny bit of sweet. I had found a similar recipe for Moroccan Chicken that used green olives, but after tasting the figs, I think I had that color and flavor covered, so I did without the olives. I added golden raisins for additional sweetness. The addition of the almonds was my own inspiration. Not only are they good for you, but if you are nuts over nuts, they work really well with this dish and add a nice delicate texture.

Moroccan Spiced Chicken Braise with Figs

Olive oil as needed
2 lbs bone in chicken thighs without skin
1 3/4 cup Spanish onion chopped
1/2 tsp powdered ginger
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp coriander
1 tbsp honey
2 cups chicken broth
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
1 15oz can Figs, cut into bite sized pieces (about 1 1/4 cup)
1/2 cup golden raisins
Sliced almonds for garnish

Heat a small amount of olive oil in a deep skillet or wide rondeau on medium high heat. Season chicken with salt and pepper. "Brown" chicken until lightly golden on each side, but not cooked through. Remove to another pan.

Lower heat to medium and add the onion and sweat until translucent. Add ginger, cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, coriander and cook about 2 more minutes, until fragrant. Add broth, honey and bring mixture to a boil, then reduce to simmer.

Return chicken pieces to pan and simmer chicken bone side up for about 15 minutes. Turn pieces over and add figs, and raisins. Simmer an additional 10 minutes until chicken registers at 180F. Sprinkle with cilantro and slivered almonds if desired for additional texture.

Serve with Israeli Couscous

Moroccan Spiced Chicken Braise with Figs

Field Trip - Food Bazaar

2011-02-13T20:11:00.002-05:00

I wanted to share with you one of my favorite places to go re-stock my inventory of cans. This is Food Bazaar in Bridgeport, CT. It's a small chain of grocery stores in the tri-state area (NY, NJ, CT) that cater to a very diverse and multicultural demographic. The chain is relatively small, but everything else about Food Bazaar is larger than life from the mounds of Yucca and Tomatillos to the 9 ft. floor to ceiling end cap displays.

For those who live in New York City, this store offers about the equivalent in terms of the availability of unique ingredients that you wouldn't find in a suburban Stop and Shop.

In case you are looking forward to a recipe with this ingredient, I wouldn't hold your breath. Or this one...

The contents of this package were not visible, nor could I bring myself to even look at them. But it is intriguing.

Along with about every edible piece of an animal, there are some great deals, for the more traditional carnivore.

I also love exploring the aisles. This place redefines the small selection of ethnic ingredients you might find elsewhere. Instead of Latin foods, aisles are specifically marked Eucadorian, Colombian, Peruvian, catering to every little deviation of South American cuisine. Asian aisle? No, there's Korean, Chinese, Japanese, Thai, not to mention what you can find in the refrigerated sections. So you can imagine what kind of cans I find...

I didn't even know what this was. It is apparently the national fruit of Jamaica and needs to be harvested, prepared and cooked very carefully or you will be "ackee-ing" all over the place and can potentially die. The fruit needs to be picked only when the pod it comes in has naturally opened. Only the arils of this fruit can be eaten and need to be boiled for 30 minutes. Under ripe fruit is toxic. I got a kick out of this description on Wikipedia. "Though it may be poisonous when improperly prepared, ackee has high nutritional value and is rich in essential fatty acids, vitamin A, zinc, and protein." I don't know, maybe not worth the risk. Instead, I bought a can of Lychee and Figs - so let's see what I come up with for that.

I took this picture in case someone comes after me for using Andy Warhol's image in my masthead

Cans at Food Bazaar also come in all sorts of shapes and sizes including this 6 lb commercial sizes

If you ever get a chance you should visit this store. It is highly educational and a lot of fun. That's about it for our visit. Thanks for coming shopping with me.

Valentine's Day Dessert - Sachertorte

2011-02-12T20:47:00.002-05:00

Apricots

Featured Ingredient: Apricot Halves

The Sachertorte originates from Vienna, Austria, a beautiful romantic city. I have traveled to some beautiful European cities three times in my life and ironically every time, I traveled solo. There was just something magical about traveling as a young woman to a beautiful country in search of romance.

If you have already have that someone special or have a similar love for chocolate with a hint of fruit, this dessert is for you. I will caveat that this is not a time saving recipe. But if you are creating it for someone you love, I'm sure you don't mind spending a little extra time. The cake is adapted from Bon Appetit. The apricot and chocolate glaze recipes were modified to incorporate elements of our Featured Ingredient.

This dessert requires a lot of tools and equipment, but is really well worth effort.

Sachertorte:
4 1/2 oz. bittersweet chocolate, like Ghiradelli, finely chopped
9 tbsps unsalted butter ( 1 stick plus 1 tbsp) at cool room temperature
1 cup confectioners sugar
6 large eggs separated, cool room temperature
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup all purpose flour

Torte: Heat oven to 375F. Butter a 9 inch springform pan and line the bottom with parchment paper. Dust sides of the pan with flour and tap out excess.

Melt chocolate in the double boiler over simmering water stirring with whisk or microwave at medium power. Remove from heat and let cool.

Beat butter in stand mixer with paddle blade on medium high speed until smooth about 1 minute. On low speed at confectioner's sugar. Return to higher speed and beat until light and fluffy about 2 minutes. Beat in egg yolks one at a time. Scrape down sides of bowl. Beat in chocolate and vanilla.

In a separate large bowl, beat egg whites and granulated sugar with a hand held mixer at high speed until they form shiny white peaks.

Stir in about 1/4 of the beaten whites into the chocolate mixture to lighten it, then gently fold in remaining egg whites, leaving some whites showing. Sift half of the flour over the chocolate mixture, gently fold in with a rubber spatula. Sift remaining flour and fold in gently again.

Spread evenly into prepared pan.

Bake for about 45 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Remove sides of pan and invert the cake onto the rack. Remove paper. Flip cake back over and cool completely.

While cake cools make Apricot Glaze

1 15oz. can Unpeeled Apricots - peeled and pureed

(Save syrup in the can for use in the Chocolate Glaze)

3 heaping tablespoons Apricot Jam

Remove apricots from can and remove apricot skin with your fingers. The apricots are soft, so the skin comes off rather easily. Puree apricots in a food processor or mini chopper until smooth. Add to saucepan along with the apricot jam. Whisk to incorporate.

Bring apricot mixture to rolling boil over medium heat and cook stirring occasionally with a whisk until thickened, about 5 minutes. Use while still warm.

Apricot Glaze

Back to Torte:

Using a long serrated knife, trim top of cake to make level. Cut cake horizontally into two equal layers (as best as possible). Brush top of cake generously with glaze. Brush top of bottom layer with glaze, spread any remaining glaze in center of bottom layer and replace top layer. Be sure to glaze sides of cake as well. Let cool for about 1/2 hour until glaze is set.

Place cake on a cake stand and place fat strips of parchment paper under the cake. The paper will catch the overflowing chocolate glaze that we will make next.

Chocolate Glaze

3/4 cup heavy syrup from apricots

6 ozs. Dark semi sweet chocolate coarsley chopped.(I bought a special block for this).

In a heavy bottom medium size sauce pan bring the syrup and chocolate to a rapid boil. Reduce heat to medium. Using a digital thermoter cook and stir glaze until it reaches 234F. Remove from heat.

Stir to cool and slightly thicken about 1 minute. Pour gently over cake spreading evenly over the top and sides with an offset spatula. Place in the fridge for about 1 hour to harden. The chocolate glaze should have a soft fudge like consistency when set, not like a hard ganache.

Serve with whipped cream or additional apricot puree for color.

Easy Whipped Cream:

1 cup heavy cream

2 tbsp confectioners sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

Whisk on high speed until white peaks form. Don't over beat or you'll get butter.

Valentine's Day - Sachertorte

May you have a wonderful evening.

Spanokopita Triangles - Mini Greek Cheese Pies

2011-02-09T20:47:00.001-05:00

Spinach

Featured Ingredient: Spinach

Here is something you might to throw into your afterschool snack rotation. My 14 year old, who is a big eater but has limited palette, has been choosing these over nachos. These hand held goodies also are a great idea for an appetizer.

Spanakopita Triangles - Yields 15 triangles. Double the recipe for a party

1 15 oz. can of spinach (yields 3/4 cup spinach once drained and "de-moisturized" You can of course use frozen spinach for this as well)

4 oz. of feta cheese crumbled
3 tbsps ricotta cheese
1/4 tsp lemon zest
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
3-4 scallions chopped
1 large clove garlic minced
3 sheets of Puff Pastry - Thawed according to package directions
1 egg beaten

Preheat oven to 375F

Drain spinach and squeeze out as much water as possible. I put it in a fine mesh sieve and press the water out. Then I put the spinach between two paper towels and press to release moisture. You should end up with about 3/4 cup. Place in a large bowl.

Add feta, ricotta, lemon zest and nutmeg. The lemon zest is key. It brightens up the flavor of the canned spinach.

Saute onions and garlic for about one minute until fragrant and onions are a bright green. Add to spinach mixture.

Roll out puff pastry. Create 4" X 4" squares with a pizza cutter. It's OK if your square are not perfect or a little rectangular.

Brush sides of pastry with egg. Place about 1 tablespoon of spinach mixture toward the top left side of your square. Make sure to leave a little border to seal the packet. Fold the opposite corner over and seal with your fingers or with a fork.

Ready for the oven

If your square was more of a rectangle you can fold over any additional dough to seal. Seal well or the pies tend to open while baking. If they do, the filling doesn't run out of them.

Brush tops of triangles with egg before baking

Bake for about 25 minutes until golden and sizzly on the inside

Spanokopita Triangles

Red Quinoa and Cherry Muffins

2011-02-08T15:55:00.003-05:00

Beets

Featured Ingredient: Beets

I made these in honor of Valentine's Day this year, with their warm pink color studded with deep red cherries it just seemed an appropriate way to start you and your loved one's morning off right with a healthy breakfast before loading up on wine, chocolate, and other guilty pleasures.

In honor of Valentine's Day, I wanted to make these muffins as red as I could using nature's palette, so I chose beets. I had food coloring but considering these muffins have a number of natural power food ingredients like quinoa and beets, I couldn't bring myself to enhance them with artificial food color. Make no mistake these muffins are not savory but have a sweet cinnamon flavor are loaded with satiating fiber.

Red Quinoa and Cherry Muffins
1 cup red quinoa rinsed
1 8 oz. can Beets undrained
1/4 grapeseed oil
2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup turbinado sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
2 tsps cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup dried cherries
3/4 cup beet puree
1 egg
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1-2 tbsp grape juice

Preheat oven to 350F. Cook quinoa according to package directions until tender. Grains should separate when mixed. Best way to judge doneness is there are little white rings around each grain. You will end up with a little more quinoa than you need for the recipe. Spread out on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper to cool.

Meanwhile brush a standard 12 cup muffin pan with cooking spray and puree beets with juice in a food processor until smooth.

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, salt and dried cherries. Add 2 cups cooked quinoa.

In a small bowl whisk together oil, egg, beet puree, vanilla extract and grape juice (optional). I added grape juice for a little extra sweetness and red color.

Add wet mixture to dry mixture and stir until combined. Do not over mix. Divide mixture among muffin cups. I had batter for a little more than 12 muffins.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean about 25-30 minutes. Rotate your pan in the oven, 1/2 way through bake time. Cool muffins in pans 5 minutes then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.

Red Quinoa and Cherry Muffins

This recipe is linked to: Tastespace Breakfast Club #9
and Fuss Free Flavours

Easy Pork Stir Fry with Even Easier Asian Noodles

2011-02-07T17:35:00.001-05:00

La Choy Bean Sprouts

Featured Ingredient: Bean Sprouts

There are about 5 meals that my family and I agree upon. That means on those days I only need to work on one meal vs. "catering service" to ensure everyone eats and everyone is happy.

I usually create this recipe by eyeballing and adding a bit of this and a dash of that. So with measuring cups and spoons in hand I've created my version of an Easy Pork Stir Fry with Asian Noodles. You can use a wok or a stainless steel 12 inch skillet.

There are two key thing to remember for stir frys:

1. Hot Pan. Cold Oil

2. It's all about the prep. All ingredients need to be fabricated, chopped, minced, shredded, whatever before you are ready to cook. The actual cooking process is rather fast, there is not much time in between the addition of each ingredient.

Pork Stir Fry - Serves 6 easily
2 tbsp toasted sesame oil* (divided)
1 tbsp fresh ginger minced
2 large cloves garlic
1/2 cup scallions divided (leave a little for garnish)
1 lb pork tenderloin or boneless pork sirloin chops cut into 1 inch pieces
1 tbsp cornstarch
2 carrots - about 1 cup shredded
1 cup Bean Sprouts
2 1/2 cups coleslaw mix or cabbage shredded
2 tsps rice wine vinegar
1/3 cup stir fry sauce
Salt and Pepper to taste

3 eggs
olive oil cooking spray
Toasted Sesame Seeds for garnish
* NOTE: There are two types of sesame oil, use the one for cooking not just flavoring.

Set a pot of salted water to boil.

In a small bowl add pork and one tablespoon cornstarch, mix and set aside.

In a heated skillet or wok, pour in 1 tbsp toasted sesame oil, add ginger, garlic and scallions and stir until fragrant about 1 minute. Add pork and stir fry until lightly browned on outside and nearly all pink is gone on the outside (do not cook through - it will cook more later). Remove to a separate bowl.

Add another tbsp of sesame oil and add carrots, coleslaw mix, and bean sprouts. Add vinegar to help scrape up bits from bottom of pan. Stir fry for about 2 minutes

Return pork to skillet and add stir fry sauce. Mix all ingredients and continue cooking for 3 to 4 minutes until thickened and pork is cooked through. Set aside skillet and keep warm.

Beat eggs and cook in another wide non-stick skillet by rotating raw eggs in pan. Flip. (It's OK if it doesn't flip perfectly as your going to cut up the eggs into pieces when they are done). Add cooked eggs to pork. Season dish with salt and pepper. Garnish with remaining green onions and toasted sesame seeds.

Asian Noodles
12 oz. dried linguine
2 tbsps toasted sesame oil
3 tbsp teriyaki sauce
1/3 cup stir fry sauce

Cook linguine according to package directions. Drain. Return linguine to pot.
Add sesame oil, teriyaki sauce and stir fry sauce. Mix together until noodles are a shiny light brown color. Adjust amout of sauces according to tastte.

(Any long flat or fat spaghetti like noodle with a little surface area works for this. Really thin pastas like angel hair and capellini are not recommended.)

Easy Pork Stir Fry with Even Easier Asian Noodles

Pretzel Pop Chicken Nuggets

2011-02-03T20:50:00.002-05:00

This recipe does not have a featured canned ingredient. But it does feature 2 processed products. I created it on a whim yesterday, because I had uncooked chicken thighs left over, from my Winter Cassoulet.

I've mentioned before how much I love the show Chopped, especially when they throw gummi bears, marshmallows or Fruit Loops into the basket (and not for a dessert course). And thus, Pretzel Pop Chicken Nuggets were born.

If you are a food snob, you might as well stop reading now. But if you don't mind taking your kids to McDonald's once in a while, don't care that every last thing that they eat is organic and have picky young children (or spouses), this recipe is for you.

Pretzel Pop Chicken - Serves 6 (measures are approximate)

2 lbs boneless chicken thighs - trimmed and cut into nugget size pieces
2 cups Rold Gold Pretzel Sticks (these are nice because they are not too salty)
3/4 cup Kellogg's Corn Pops
2-3 tbsp All-Purpose Flour
2 eggs beaten
Salt, Pepper to Taste
1 1/2 cup canola oil

Heat oil in a deep 10 inch skillet to 375F
Heat oven to 250F

Season chicken with salt and pepper

Pulse pretzel sticks and corn pops in food processor until ground. Add flour. (This makes a fine cornstarch- like powder that adheres well to chicken). As there are corn pops in this I could see how the coating might achieve this characteristic

Beat eggs in a bowl and dip chicken pieces into coating mixture. (I usually put breading on a piece of tin foil and tilt the tin foil to help coat the chicken vs. my fingers).

Fry in batches. About 7 or 8 per batch. 3 or 4 minutes per side, or until dark golden brown. (Remember not to overcrowd the pan as it reduces the temperature of the oil too much.) Transfer to a rack and/or paper towels to absorb excess oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Transfer to oven to keep to finish any remaining cooking. Nuggets should register 180F when done.

My kids loved these! My 14 year old requested to make them again. As frying pulls out pretty much what salt you put in, you end up with a crunchy, well-seasoned chicken nugget with just a tiny hint of sweetness. Chicken thighs also hold their moisture better than breasts, so you also get a tender and juicy nugget of flavor.

Colonel Sanders would be proud!

Pretzel Pop Chicken Nuggets

Speaking of McDonald's, I read that their chicken nuggets are 44% chicken and have 38 ingredients. Mine are 90% chicken if you count the breading as 10%. These have a better ratio and were fried in healthy canola oil... so I think we're ahead of the game.

Game... maybe make them for Super Bowl.

This post is linked to:
Daily Organized Chaos - Foodie Wednesday

Winter Cassoulet with Italian Sausage and Chicken

2011-02-01T20:39:00.002-05:00

Chicken Broth, Tomatoes, Beans

Featured Ingredients: Chicken Broth, Cherry Tomatoes, Cannellini Beans

Is there anything better on a frigid winter night than a stew? Although cassoulet sounds so much prettier, it is literally the French translation for stew. This one tastes as good as it sounds.

I pulled this recipe from my vast binder of printouts and torn magazine pages that I have collected over the years. The end result is an adaptation of one from Real Simple magazine. It's one of those recipes that I set aside to try, but never got around to it. Now I'm wondering why I waited so long. The original recipe only called for Italian Sausage. When I wrote out my grocery list, I actually misread the recipe and thought it also needed chicken. As I recall when I made cassoulet in culinary school, there was more than one protein. So now I had to work in the chicken.

I reduced the number of beans (3 cans - or 1 can too many if you ask me) and added 1lb of chicken thighs to share the stage. This addition makes the cassoulet not too filling but doesn't leave you hungry.

Cassoulet - Serves 6 to 8

1 tbsp olive oil
1 lb sweet Italian Sausage (casings removed)
1lb boneless chicken thighs, most of fat removed and cut into 2 inch stew size pieces
1 1/2 cups Chicken Broth
1 onion, thinly sliced
3 carrots cut into 1/2 inch pieces (about 1 1/2 cups)
3 parsnips cut into 1/2 inch pieces (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 15 oz. can Cherry Tomatoes undrained
2 15 oz. cans Cannellini Beans
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
1/2 tsp salt
Dash of black pepper
3 cloves garlic minced
1 cup plain dry bread crumbs
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsps unsalted butter melted

You will need a 5 1/2 quart cast iron dutch oven or a vessel that you can use on your rangetop and then put safely into the oven.

In your vessel of choice (I love my Le Creuset pot) heat oil over medium heat. Cook the sausage until browned, breaking up into bits with a wooden spoon or spatula. Place in a dish lined with paper towels.

In remaining oil/fat saute chicken for about 4-5 minutes to soak up sausage flavor and begin cooking process. Do not cook through. Remove to another plate. Pour out any excess fat.

Add chicken broth, onion, carrots, parsnips, beans, thyme, salt, pepper,1/3 of the garlic and return sausage and chicken to pot with any remaining juices. To borrow a line from Guy Fieri, "everybody in the pool."

Stir and scrape up any brown bits. Bring to a boil and reduce to a slow, steady simmer. Cover and cook for about 35 minutes until vegetables are nearly tender and liquid has thickened.

Heat oven to 400F. In a bowl combine melted butter, breadcrumbs, parsley and remaining garlic.

(I combined it in the pot where I melted the butter. Anywhere you can save doing a dish.) Sprinkle evenly over the cassoulet and place in the oven.

Bake uncovered for 10-15 minutes until crust is golden and your cassoulet is bubbly and delicious. If you find your crust isn't browning fast enough and you don't want to over cook vegetables, put the broiler on for 1 minute or 2 to help you along.

Your final stew should be moist but not have a lot liquid leftover. The flavor of the Cassoulet marries perfectly with a glass of Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc.

Winter Cassoulet with Italian Sausage and Chicken

Farfalle with Butternut Squash and Arugula Walnut Pesto

2011-01-30T20:14:00.001-05:00

Diamond Shelled Walnuts

Featured Ingredient: Shelled Walnuts

This product fits into my "other can-tainers" category. While not a traditional can, this product has a pull top made out of sheet metal so it qualifies.

If you like efficient recipes where you can multi-task and work on several elements at one time, this is the recipe for you. You can roast the squash, while your pasta water boils and you prepare the pesto part.

The most challenging part is preparing the squash. Personally, I like dishes with more rustic knife cuts, but I tried to make some effort to make semi uniform dices for the final picture. When I was in culinary school, they gave us the tool below as a guideline to help us hone our knife skills. Do the ends justified the means? Do we really need to waste so much of each vegetable to have geometrically shaped food on our plates?

Farfalle with Butternut Squash and Arugula Walnut Pesto

1. Roast Butternut Squash. You will need:

4 cups large diced butternut squash (these don't have to be perfect)
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
1/2 tsp salt
Dash of pepper
2 tsp brown sugar
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 400F
Mix ingredients in a large bowl. Spread out on one layer on a large baking sheet. Roast 30-35 minutes until fork tender, not mushy rotating squash about 1/2 way through cooking time.

While butternut squash roasts... Set water in a large pot to boil. Add 1 tbsp of salt to water

2. Prepare Pesto. You will need:

1/2 cup walnuts
2 cups baby arugula
2 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest
1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 cup parmesan cheese divided

In a food processor, pulse walnuts, arugula, garlic, lemon juice, lemon zest, salt and pepper until combined but some texture remains. Slowly pulse in olive oil. Stir in 1/4 cup of cheese. Taste and adjust seasonings.

3. Boil 1lb Farfalle Pasta until al dente. Save 1/2 cup of the pasta water.

Return pasta to pot add pesto, pasta water and mix to combine. Fold in roasted butternut squash. Top with additional parmesan cheese and chopped walnut pieces.

Farfalle with Butternut Squash and Arugula Walnut Pesto

Mango Banana Quick Bread

2011-01-27T20:25:00.003-05:00

Featured Ingredient: Mango

I have a special place in my heart for mangos. That may sound weird, but I associate some wonderful times in my life with a Mango. Like my first trip to Grand Cayman, driving by all the ripened mango trees, and buying those just picked fruits bursting with a slightly superior juicy sweetness.

Then there is the proudest moment in my career. I was working for Snapple and suggested we use employees instead of models on our bottles for a promotion as a way to tie it back to its roots, as Wendy the Snapple Lady was actually an original employee. 105 employees showed up for an internal photo shoot and 24 were chosen by the promotion agency. Perhaps I got a spot because I take a beautiful photograph with a fish eye lens. Based on a random drawing my Snapple flavor would be 8,000,000 bottles of Mango Madness.

I suggested they temporarily rename the flavor to Milda Madness, but that didn't happen. The promotion was very successful. CNN did a piece on the newly revived brand and I got my mug in the story. Snapple employees loved that they or their friends were on bottles and part of this big marketing program. I was on top of the world.

So mangos make me happy. But, right now the mangos at the store are green. I also had coconut left over from the pina colada cheesecakes and always have frozen bananas on hand. I figured I would continue my tropical tangent with an Island inspired quick bread. Canned mangos don't seem to hold up as well in liquid as peaches for example. These were rather soft. But since they are being mixed into a batter with a mashed banana, it was fine for this purpose.

Mango Banana Quick Bread - Serves 6 - 8

3 tbsps butter
1/3 cup sugar (I reduced the sugar, because the mango is in syrup)
1 egg
1/2 cup mashed banana
1/2 cup mango medium dice
2/3 cup sweetened coconut divided
1 tsp orange zest
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
3/4 tsps baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/3 cup milk

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. With an electric mixer or stand mixer with paddle attachment cream butter and sugar until light. Add eggs and mix to combine. Add banana, mango, orange zest and mix to combine. I like using the "cake" method for quick breads - which is creaming butter and sugar together, adding egg, flavorings then alternating remaining dry and wet ingredients. This seems to yield a lighter tasting and more moist bread.

3. In a separate bowl mix remaining dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt.

4. Add 1/3 of flour mixture to wet ingredients in bowl, stir briefly to combine, add 1/3 of the milk - not 1/3 cup. Alternate with dry and wet ingredients 2 more times, ending with milk. Make sure not to stir ingredients too much and overwork batter. Fold in 1/3 cup of coconut.

5. Spray an 8 in X 4 in pan with cooking spray and pour batter in pan. Top with remaining coconut.

6. Bake 50-55 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean.

Mango Banana Quick Bread

Petit Pina Colada Cheesecake Pie

2011-01-25T20:23:00.006-05:00

Featured Ingredients: Sweetened Condensed Milk, Pineapple - Crushed

More snow in the Northeast today had me craving a tropical destination. Nothing reminds me more of the warm sun on your face and your feet in the sand than a Virgin Pina Colada. Drinking one on the beach is the defining moment that says "I'm on vacation."

I know this is a very long-winded title for such a little dessert. I recently bought a set of 4 - 6 oz. little pie tins. I originally was going to make this recipe into bars or put this into an 8 inch pie plate, but the thought of a personal size petite little treat was too good to pass up.

Pina Colada Cheesecake

Crust:
1 1/4 cup Honey Maid graham crackers crushed
1/3 cup melted butter

Crush graham crackers in food processor. Remove to a bowl and stir in melted butter until combined.
Press crumbs into pie plate or bottom of an 8 X 8 pan if you are making bars. If you decide to make bars, spray the pan with cooking spray and put a piece of parchment paper into the pan with enough paper to fit the pan with a little bit hanging over the sides. This will help the parchment paper stick but will help you lift the dessert easily out of the pan so you can make even cuts.

Filling:
1 8 oz. package of cream cheese (1/3 less fat) softened
1 tbsp flour
1 tsp lemon zest
1 tbsp pineapple juice (from canned pineapple)
2 tsps coconut extract
5 oz. sweetened condensed milk
1 egg

Mix cream cheese, flour, lemon zest, pineapple juice, coconut extract and sweetened condensed milk with an electric mixer until smooth. Add egg and mix until well combined.

I read that cheesecakes that have flour in them are less likely to crack. I actually tested two cheesecake recipes and both didn't crack. In this recipe it doesn't matter, as this cheesecake would be covered with a topping, but its good to know for future reference. Place cheesecake(s) in a shallow roasting pan with a little bit of water.

Topping:
1/8 cup sugar
1 tbsp cornstarch
10 oz. crushed pineapple in juice undrained
1/2 tbsp butter

1 cup sweetened coconut, toasted

Stir together sugar, cornstarch, pineapple and butter in a small saucepan. Heat over medium heat and stir frequently until thickened.
Cool to room temperature. Spread over cheesecake. Meanwhile preheat oven to 325F. Lay out coconut in a single layer on a baking sheet. Toast coconut 3 minutes. Keep checking coconut frequently and keep mixing coconut so it toasts evenly. Toast until fragrant and lightly colored. Sprinkle coconut over pineapple topping.

So, "if you like Pina Coladas..." you'll love this dessert.

Petit Pina Colada Cheesecake Pie

This recipe is linked to:
sweet-as-sugar-cookies.blogspot.com

Italian Vegetable Soup

2011-01-24T19:54:00.001-05:00

Vegetable Juice

Featured Ingredient: V8 Vegetable Juice and a cast of Characters from the Land of Misfit Vegetables.

My husband and I have a Saturday night ritual of watching a movie. Last Saturday's selection was a movie called Paper Man. It stars Jeff Daniels as a reclusive less than successful author with an imaginary friend and desperate need to connect with someone that understands him. I would recommend it. It has a nice story and it doesn't hurt that Ryan Reynolds is dressed up in a skin tight Superhero outfit.

This recipe was actually inspired by the movie. In the movie Jeff Daniels hires a babysitter for himself and she makes him soup. The soup is more of a metaphor than a meal. I don't know what was in her soup besides a carrot, potato and beer, but she created the soup using what he had in his kitchen, so that was my objective as well. This soup was a great affirmation that something so wholesome and wonderful can come from a big mess of ingredients. I think that is true metaphor. Here's some more info on the movie if you are interested http://www.papermanthemovie.com/

I noticed as I was collecting the veggies from my fridge that the majority of them were the kinds you would find in Italian dishes, so I figured that was the culinary direction in which I would go.

Italian Vegetable Soup

1 1/2 fennel bulb - sliced and roughly chopped
1/2 cup onion chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
2 cups tomatoes on the vine. Halved and seeds removed
6 cups chicken broth

2 5.5 oz. cans V8 Vegetable Juice
1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp marjoram
2 bay leaves
1 cup carrot thinly sliced
1 cup potato diced

1 tsp salt - plus more to taste
1/4 tsp pepper
1/3 cup orzo (or other small pasta)
2 cups roughly chopped zucchini

Heat oil over medium heat in a 5qt soup pot. Add fennel, onion, and garlic, season with a dash of salt, saute about 3 minutes. Add tomatoes, broth and vegetable juice, herbs, bay leaves carrot, potato and orzo, salt and pepper. Stir ingredients to make sure none are sticking to bottom. Heat to boil and reduce to simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally or until vegetables are near tender. (NOTE: fennel takes the longest to soften). Add zucchini and simmer for an additional 5 to 10 minutes. Enjoy.
This recipe is merely a guideline depending on what you have on hand. Maybe you will come up with a new family favorite. I'd love to hear what bit of wonderfulness you create!

Italian Vegetable Soup

Holy Mole Chili con Carne with Corn Muffins

2011-01-22T20:09:00.001-05:00

Kidney Beans, V8, Diced Tomatoes

Featured Ingredients: Kidney Beans, Vegetable Juice, Diced Tomatoes

Tomorrow is apparently the big game? At least that is what my husband told me. It will determine whether Pittsburgh or the Jets go to the Super Bowl. Events like this call for a manly meal... so we have a pre-Super Bowl and definitely winter staple.

This chili has layers upon layers of flavor. Where else can you get "a whole serving of vegetables" and your chocolate fix in one pot?

To accompany this I made home made corn bread. Since I made the chili and corn bread from scratch I settled on Minute Rice.

The base of this recipe comes from "Old Faithful." My Better Homes and Gardens Cook Book. Forget the La'Gastronomique Reference Bible I received from Culinary School. It's too pretty to get dirty. This is my go to reference book.

Chili Con Carne - Serves 6

12 oz. ground round
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped green pepper
2-3 cloves garlic minced
2 14.5 oz. cans Petite Diced Tomatoes
1 5.5 oz. can V8 Vegetable Juice
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp salt
2 tsps chili powder
1 tsp chipotle chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp coriander
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp spanish paprika
2 tbsps Unsweetened "Special Dark" Cocoa Powder (here's where the "mole" comes from)
1 tbsp brown sugar
1 15 oz. can Kidney Beans
Handful of parsley finely chopped
White cheddar cheese for topping or Sour Cream on the side

1. Heat a small amount of oil in a 5qt Dutch Oven. Add peppers, onions and garlic until fragrant add ground beef and saute until beef is browned. If you use a lean ground round, there is no need to drain.

2. Stir in undrained tomatoes, vegetable juice, tomato paste, spices, chocolate and brown sugar. Mix well. Add Kidney Beans. Bring to boiling and reduce to a simmer. Simmer for 25-30 minutes. Season with additional salt and pepper if desired. Or more chili powder if you like more heat. This chili is relatively mild.

Corn Muffins - I got this off the Quaker Yellow Corn Meal Box. I found these to be bit on the dry side, but a great compliment to a moist dish like chili. For a less labor intensive muffin you can use one of those Jiffy Mixes or Trader Joes.

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup corn meal
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsps baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup 2% milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 egg

Preheat oven to 400

Mix dry ingredients. Mix wet ingredients. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, pour in wet ingredients until just combined. Grease 12 count muffin tin with cooking spray. Pour batter into cups using a 1/4 cup measuring cup.

Bake for 15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Do I really need to give you the recipe for Minute Rice?? :)

Chili con Carne

Another Super Bowl Idea - Pulled Pork Sandwich with Fennel Apple Carrot Slaw

2011-01-21T14:45:00.002-05:00

Orange Juice Concentrate

Featured Ingredient: Minute Maid Frozen Orange Juice Concentrate

Did you think that I would leave you with all that frozen orange juice concentrate, after only utilizing only 4 tablespoons of it in the last recipe? If nothing else, I hate wasting stuff. Unless you used the rest to make orange juice.

This pulled pork recipe is a derivative of another derivative of another recipe I have.  Besides the brown sugar, the pork gets its sweetness and tang from a variety of different forms of fruit. From the orange juice, to the ginger mango flavor in the Pickapeppa Sauce in the braising liquid to the apple in the accompanying Slaw recipe when it is finally composed as a sandwich.

What's Pickapeppa sauce? If you haven't tried it, I highly recommend it. It comes in mild and more spicy flavors and is great on meats and chicken. It has been called "Jamaican Ketchup" for its versatility. I first discovered it on a trip to Grand Cayman. I thought it was exclusive to the islands with flavors that include scotch bonnet peppers and mangos. So I stashed a few bottles into my suitcase. I was thrilled when I found my favorite flavor was sold in my hometown.   Here is a link http://www.pickapeppa.com/. Don't forget to come back for my pork recipe.

Pulled Pork - Serves 4 plus leftovers

3.5 lbs pork butt cut in half

1/2 medium onion chopped
1 large celery stalk or two smaller hearts chopped
3 cloves sliced garlic

1/4 cup soy sauce
1/2 cup Minute Maid Frozen Orange Juice Concentrate
1/4 cup Ginger Mango Pickapeppa Sauce
1 tsp chipotle chili powder
1/4 cup Thai Sweet Chili Sauce
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 cup water
Dash of Rice Wine Vinegar or White Wine Vinegar

Preheat oven to 325F

Slice pork butt in half.

Heat oil in a 5 qt dutch oven on medium heat. Sautee onion and celery for about 3 minutes then add garlic and saute for 1 minute.   Remove from heat unless you have all other elements at the ready.

Add soy sauce, orange juice concentrate, PP sauce, chili powder, chili sauce, brown sugar. Put in both pieces of pork butt sideways and add 1/2 cup water. Liquid should come up about 1/2 way up the sides. Heat to a rolling boil. Cover with lid and place in the oven.

Braise pork for 1 hour. Flip pork pieces on the other side so they get immersed in liquid. Braise for another hour. Total cooking time about 2 hours.

Remove pork from dutch oven and shred with fork.

Strain cooking liquid to remove large vegetable chunks. Spoon over shredded pork to moisten. Put remainder in a small bowl in the fridge. Next day, scrape off the top layer of fat and reheat with pork.

Fennel Apple Carrot Slaw
This slaw adds a tartness and tang to your sweet pork.  The fennel adds a nice refreshing compliment to the fruit essences in this dish along with some crunch.

1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/4 tsp celery seed
1/8 tsp salt
1-2 tsps sugar
2 small carrots
1/2 a large fennel bulb
1 granny smith apple.

Mix mayo, vinegar, celery seed, sugar and salt to make a "dressing". Adjust flavorings to your liking. Shred carrots and apples in a food processor. Thinly slice fennel bulb.   Put carrots, apple, fennle in a bowl add in "dressing" .

To serve. You can use rolls, but depending on the size, I find the bread to pork ratio for a normal serving size is too high. I grilled some hearty italian bread.

Pulled Pork Sandwich with Fennel Apple Carrot Slaw

Asian-Style Orange Chicken

2011-01-19T11:02:00.003-05:00

Frozen Orange Juice

Featured Ingredient: Minute Maid Frozen Concentrated Orange Juice

I went out to lunch with my 14 year old son yesterday because his school issued yet another snow day. He is very low maintenance when it comes to food, as I'm sure most suburban teenagers are. We went to Red Lobster. I hadn't been in a long time. I used to go with my mom years ago, so I thought would be be nice to go with my kid. I pass by this newly refurbished one in Bridgeport, CT all the time and never went in. I have been really disappointed by the chain restaurants in my area and figured given its location, it would also not meet minimum standards.

I'm glad to say I was pleasantly surprised. The place was updated inside, very clean, service was well timed and friendly, and the food, for a chain, was good. The meals were reasonably priced for lunch. The bathroom was also clean and had warm water in the sink. I would definitely go back there again. So ends my review of Bridgeport's Red Lobster. Like most chain restaurants, it's the luck of the draw.

Later that afternoon my husband and I were brainstorming dinner ideas and he suggested an orange chicken recipe he had, which is very cumbersome and requires a bit of prep work. This lead me to think that a form of orange juice comes in a can... and the rest is history. This recipe was adapted from one I found yesterday on foodandwine.com. It was originally published in 2003. Goes to show, classics never die.

Asian-Style Orange Chicken - Serves 4.

4 tbsps tamari or soy sauce
2 tbsps brown sugar
4 tbsps orange juice concentrate
2 large garlic cloves minced
2 tsps finely grated orange zest
2 tsps minced fresh ginger
2 tsps kosher salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Four bone-in large split chicken breasts with skin about .85 lb each) - then cut in half crosswise

Preheat oven to 450F

In a medium bowl whisk together all ingredients except chicken. Add chicken and turn to coat. Pour remaining sauce into a baking dish and transfer chicken skin side up.

Roast chicken in oven about 20 minutes. Brush with sauce a couple of times during baking. Turn on broiler and broil chicken until it reaches a carmelized color about 2-4 minutes. When done chicken should register at 175F (for breasts). Let rest 5 minutes. Transfer to plates and spoon additional sauce and juices from baking dish over chicken.

Asian-Style Orange Chicken

Serve with Brown Rice and Snap Peas or Chinese Noodles (recipe follows).
This recipe varies by how many noodles you put into the pot. You can use Chinese Wheat noodles or Linguine. So here is a basic breakdown:

Boil noodles according to package directions to desired tenderness.
Add a few splashes of teriyaki sauce, stir fry sauce and toasted sesame seed oil in about equal parts. Stir to coat.

Easy Dinner - Salisbury Steak

2011-01-17T20:08:00.002-05:00

Campbell's Mushroom Gravy

Featured Ingredient: Campbell's Mushroom Gravy

It happens. You are stressed out. You got stuck in traffic. You are tired and don't have much energy to make dinner. But you are struggling with this underlying guilt to feed your family or even just yourself and your significant other a wholesome home cooked meal and don't want to order pizza again.

Personally, I love this recipe even if I am having a great day. It is so basic, but really good and it's one of the few recipes where I can make 4 servings of one dish and everyone is happy and digs right in.

I can't claim this Salisbury Steak recipe as my own. I made one little variation. It used to be on the back of the can of Mushroom Gravy, when it still was under the Franco American brand and the food styling wasn't as sophisticated as the current package.

This is my Love & Heirlooms cookbook.
It is so beat up. The binding on one side has come apart. I can't remember exactly when I got it, maybe 15 years ago. The point of the cook book is you create it. The authors give you one recipe in each section, and the rest of the pages are blank. Every time I made something everyone liked it would go in the book. Mine is now filled with magazine clippings, handwritten notes, and my grandmother's Lithuanian meat dumpling recipe that we made together years ago. I've crossed out less used categories and expanded other sections. This Salisbury Steak recipe lives there.

Salisbury Steak - Serves 4
1/4 cup Campbell's Mushroom Gravy + rest of can
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs (finely ground in food processor)
1 egg
1 lb ground round

Beat egg, add onion, breadcrumbs and 1/4 cup gravy. Fold in ground beef and shape into 4 oblong patties.
Heat 1 tbsp oil in a non stick skillet on medium to high heat. Brown patties on both sides, but do not cook through.

Add remaining gravy and bring to boil. Reduce to simmer. Cover. Set timer for 5 minutes. When 5 minutes is up turn beef patties to other side. Continue to cook for another 4 -5 minutes until done and patties register at 165F. Remove to plates and spoon remaining sauce over "steaks."

Serve Salisbury Steak with mashed potatoes and green vegetable of your choice or a salad. You can even make something so basic look a little glamorous.

Salisbury Steak with Mashed Potatoes

Falafel with Sesame Tahini Yogurt Sauce

2011-01-16T20:20:00.000-05:00

Sesame Tahini and Chick Peas

Featured Ingredients: Sesame Tahini and Chick Peas or Garbanzo Beans

Recently, I've been pulling out my favorite recipes from Culinary School and revisiting that time in my life. I made one last week that was for a Chicken Tagine, that actually didn't work very well. It called for nearly 6 cups of water. It sounded like a lot but I trusted the source. Unfortunately at the end the dish tasted, like someone left a pot of it out on an outdoor patio table in the rain. I do recall that the instructor would, at times, modify the recipes in our binders during class. I was using the original copy and that may have been the case with this recipe as it wasn't the wonderful dish I remember.

This recipe was also from Culinary School, I took some liberties this time. It seemed there was too much of some elements and not enough of others, so creation is actually a merger of the school's recipe and one I saw recently on Budget Bytes. The falafel recipes are similar. I just serve mine with a Sesame Tahini dressing.

Falafel - Serves 4 (about 3 patties each)
2 cups Goya Chick Peas (rinsed and drained)
1/2 a red onion - roughly chopped
1/4 cup parsley (washed and dried with paper towel)
1/4 cup cilantro (washed and dried with paper towel)
2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tsp salt
3 cloves garlic - roughly chopped
2 tsps baking powder
2 tbsp flour plus more if needed

Pitas, Lettuce, Tomato and Cucumber

Tahini Yogurt Sauce (recipe follows)

Place chick peas, onion, garlic, parsley and cilantro, cumin, salt and black pepper in a food processor. I like to rough chop the onion and garlic to give them a head start. Process until blended but not pureed. This way everything ends up with the desired texture.

Falafel Mixture

Remove to a bowl and add baking powder. Add 2 tbsp of flour, you may need to add more depending on how wet your mixture was initially. You should be able to form a small ball and it should not be sticky. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Meanwhile make Tahini Yogurt Sauce

7 oz. Fage 2% Greek Yogurt
2 tbsps Sesame Tahini (Mix the Tahini in the container to help recombine)
2 tbsps fresh lemon juice
1 tsp salt or more to taste
Additional water

When you open the Tahini it looks like peanut butter in its own juice. It's sort of the same principle as peanut butter as it is ground up sesame seeds. The school recipe called for Tahini Paste, which I couldn't find, so I actually used the pasty part of the Tahini with some of the liquid to help thin out the yogurt.

Whisk yogurt, tahini, lemon juice and salt in a small bowl. Add 2 tbsp water, or more if you like a thinner sauce. I kept mine the consistency of soft serve ice cream. When you first add liquid and start mixing it, it doesn't look good, but keep whisking and the sauce will become silky smooth.

Back to Falafel

Using a tablespoon scoop heaping spoonfuls from the giant falafel ball. Form into smaller balls and pat down into patties.

Heat 1 tbsp oil in a non stick skillet and fry falafels on medium heat in batches until golden on both sides. These things suck up oil, so you may need more as you go along. (Don't overcrowd pan). If you have a fish spatula, consider yourself fortunate, as you need to flip them delicately so they don't fall apart.

Serve with lettuce, tomato and cucumber on pita. I like to cut the top and around the pita so it looks like a sleeping bag. This way you can lay lift the top of the pita and lay out your falafels with the lettuce, sauce etc, evenly without breaking the bread and then cover them with a "blanket".

Falafel with Tahini Yogurt Sauce

I have a question. Is it falafel or falafels? Are you refering to each individual falafel patty or is the falafel the sandwich itself. Is it like asparagus? Is the plural asparagi? Because asparaguses sounds wrong. I digress. Either way it's healthy and delicious. Enjoy!

Oreo Brownie Ice Cream Cake

2011-01-14T21:38:00.005-05:00

Edy's Grand Vanilla Bean

Featured Ingredient: Edys Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

We all know ice cream doesn't come from a can. Maybe there is some freeze dried version somewhere in the world, but it is not sold at my local Stop & Shop. So I'm taking creative license and featuring a different type of container. Hey, it's my blog, I can bend the rules.

I made ice cream cake for the first time today. I've read different recipes on it before, but I was always concerned I would melt the ice cream too much and it just wouldn't work. I'm sure you've seen the remnants of melted ice cream that has been refrozen. It takes on this watery ice crystal texture and taste that is not optimal.

I wanted to make something special for my son's 14th birthday. He said he didn't want cupcakes, he didn't want chocolate cake, and you can't shove a candle into a cookie. He said he would like ice cream cake. Now, I could have gone to my local ice cream store or bought one of those Carvel cakes that have been sitting for who knows how long...but I figured I'd give it a shot. I watched a video or two on you tube, which I didn't like, but it gave me enough of an idea of where I was going to go. I'm proud to say, this recipe is all mine!

Vanilla + Oreos = Heaven

Sometimes I get a bit too ambitious with my recipes. For example I could have bought Cookies and Cream Ice Cream, but instead I opted to make my own with Vanilla so I could control the amount of cookie and sweetness. Every ice cream cake also needs some layer of cake, otherwise it's just one formed mound of ice cream, I figured I would top it with a layer of "cake like" brownies. I did cut corners and used a brownie mix. Where would the time savings be if I actually made brownies from scratch as well. Plus the advantage of the brownie mix is those mixes are so full of leaveners and conditioners that the brownies are light, buoyant and cut easily. No worries.

Oreo Brownie Ice Cream Cake
1 pkg Famous Chocolate Wafer Cookies (about 1 cup crushed)
1/4 cup melted butter
1 reem of Oreos - Crushed
1.5 qt Edy's Grand Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
1 Family Size Brownie Mix
1/2 cup whipping cream
1 tbsp confectioners sugar
1/4 tsp vanilla
Extra Crushed Oreos for Garnish.

The prep time for this recipe is pretty fast if you coordinate your elements just right.

Preheat oven to 350F

Mix brownies according to package directions and pour into a 13 X 9 inch pan. Bake a 350F for 22-25 minutes. Meanwhile make crust. By the time you put this together you can throw this into the oven with the brownies during the last 10-12 minutes.

For the crust crush about a 1/2 a package of the chocolate wafers either in a plastic bag or food processor. Add melted butter and stir together. Press cookies into a 9" springform pan. Using a cup with a rounded bottom works nicely. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Let ice cream sit out at room temperature in its container for about 30 minutes to soften and put into a large bowl. This is the perfect consistency. Add 1 reem of crushed oreos. Again you can smash them yourself in a plastic bag or use food processor. I left some little larger chunks for texture.
Now, one of the more important things I learned in culinary school is you need to taste each element of your dish, for consistency, flavor,etc. So be sure you don't miss one step when putting this together. I sure didn't.

Cool brownies and remove from pan. Put crust and brownies in freezer for a few minutes to speed up cooling. I was going to put them in "Nature's Blast Chiller (see photo). As it was just as cold if not colder outdoors.

When crust and brownies are cool. Put ice cream into springform pan and top with brownies. Gently press brownies into the ice cream. For this recipe I had enough ingredients to reach the exact top of the springform pan. Cover with foil and place into freezer for at minimum 4 hours.

Nature's Blast Chiller

When ice cream has set run a thin knife or offset spatula around the cake. It should remove easily from pan. Make whipped cream. Mix whipping cream, confectioners sugar and vanilla in cold bowl, ideally in a stand mixer and whip until it forms soft peaks. Top cake with whipped cream.

While that's going take out a handful of oreos and lightly crush. Sprinkle oreos on top of whipped cream.

By the time your whipped cream and oreos are done your cake will have been out about 10 minutes at room temperature and be ready to serve.

The bottom line was I was proud of my creation and my son loved it. Hope you do too!

Oreo Brownie Ice Cream Cake

This recipe is linked to:

Make Ahead Meals for Busy Moms

Snow Day - Cherry Almond Bars with Lemon Icing

2011-01-12T21:29:00.000-05:00

Solo Almond Paste

Featured Ingredient: Almond Paste
Snow Day. My area of Connecticut reported that we got the most snow in a 24 hour period since like the 1800's.

On a snow day there is nothing better to do than bake. Since I am fortunate enough to have a husband and teenage son, I am able to bypass shoveling duties. One of my major roles in this family is to cook, as you have probably guessed by now. So I am more than happy to have hot chocolate, coffee and snacks at the ready when my boys come out of the snow.

Like the two feet of snow outside, this recipe was a challenge. The steps in itself couldn't be easier once you have it down. However, I was testing a couple variations today, adapting the recipe from one I found online on the Better Homes and Gardens site.

The biggest hurdle was the icing. I wanted to use white chocolate, to match the landscape outside.

It melted just fine, when I tried to thin it out so I could drizzle it two separate times with two different liquids, it turned into a big curdled mess. I think I found the solution with the lemon icing, as I occasionally like to add a bit of citrus, whether zest or juice when I bake fruit desserts as it seems to highten the flavor. Let me know what you think.

Cherry Almond Bars with Lemon Icing - Makes 12 bars

Crust -
1/3 cup butter (plus extra for greasing)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup all purpose flour

Topping -
1/4 cup all purpose flour
2 tbsp granulated sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup almond paste
2 tbsps butter

Filling -
2/3 cup Hero Black Cherry Preserves
1/3 cup dried cherries (optional). I mixed the cherries with the preserves for some added texture.

Icing -
1 cup confectioners sugar
1-2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350F

Grease an 8X8X2 pan with butter. For crust beat butter in a medium bowl with electric mixer or use stand mixer on medium to high speed for 30 seconds. Add granulated sugar, beat until combined. Add flour and beat until combined. (Mixture will be relatively dry and crumbly). Press mixture into prepared pan and bake for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile make topping by combining flour, sugar and cinnamon in a small mxing bowl. Cut in almond paste and butter with pastry blender until crumbly, set aside.

When crust is done let rest 5 minutes then spread preserves over top. Sprinkle almond mixture over top. Bake for 20-25 minutes until topping is golden. Cool in pan on wire rack.

For icing - Stir lemon juice slowly into confectioners sugar until it's "drizzleable" I just made up a word. Dip fork into icing and drizzle diagonally one way then diagonally the other to make a cross hatch.

Cherry Almond Bars with Lemon Icing

A Super Bowl of Soup - Roasted Chicken Tortilla Soup

2011-01-11T22:08:00.001-05:00

Canned Tomatoes & Chicken Broth

Featured Ingredient: Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes with Green Chiles and College Inn Chicken Broth (Lower Sodium)*

Super Bowl is around the corner. Not that I follow football, I am only mindful of this time as my dog was born on Super Bowl Sunday 3 years ago. But like the Super Bowl players I like to have game plan that will help me achieve my goal of great meal in record time.

After dinner last night, I was already thinking about what would be on tomorrow's menu. I knew I had a 3.5 lb raw chicken in the fridge that I could throw into the oven, to save myself some prep time today. Below are my go-to ingredients for a simple roast chicken:

Onion, lemon, celery, butter & some form of fresh mild herb. For this chicken I had dill on hand.

I put a couple slices of onion, lemon, and two small stalks of celery into the cavity of the chicken. (Don't over stuff). Soften about 4 tbsps of butter and blend in 1/4 cup of chopped herb, salt and pepper. With a butter knife loosen the skin on the chicken breast and insert butter under the skin and then spread out the butter by running the knife over the skin. Be sure to leave little butter mixture. Melt butter and herbs and glaze the top of the chicken with a pastry brush. Put a little water in the bottom of your pan. Bake at 400 for about 25 minutes Baste chicken with juices and add more water if needed (about 1/2 way through baking for a 3.5 lb bird). Roast for an additional 25 minutes until thigh registers at least 175F. Let chicken rest for 10 minutes so it can reach 180F.

Now all you have to do is put together your soup.

Roasted Chicken Tortilla Soup - This soup serves 4 very generously.

1 cup thinly sliced/shredded cooked chicken
1 14.5 oz. can Muir Glen Fire Roasted Tomatoes with Green Chiles undrained
2 tsps oil
2 cloves garlic minced
3 scallions
1/2 tsp cumin
3 cups low sodium chicken broth* (if you don't use low sodium don't add the additional salt in the recipe)
2 tsps salt
1/2 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 avocado peeled, pitted and cut in chunks
1 tbsp fresh squeezed lime juice + a little extra

Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add scallions and garlic and saute for 1 minute. Add broth, tomatoes, cumin. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Add chicken and simmer an additional 5 minutes, until heated through. Stir in lime juice.

Meanwhile cut up chicken and avocado. Drizzle avocado with lime to help retain color and deter oxidization. Grate cheese.

Don't you just a love a perfect avocado

The Fire Roasted Tomatoes with the Chiles already pack a lot of flavor, so you don't need a lot of extra ingredients. There is a subtle heat to this product that gives the back of your throat a slight burn.

You could also garnish with cilantro, but I didn't think it needed it. The creaminess of the avocado and the cheese counter balance the heat from the tomatoes. Sometimes when there are too many ingredients it becomes a clutter of flavors, that is not necessarily ideal. In this recipe you can taste each note individually and how well the ingredients work together as a team

Topped with Tortilla chips, avocado, cheese and you have your soup and deconstructed nachos all in one SUPER BOWL.

A Super Bowl of Soup - Roasted Chicken Tortilla Soup

This post is linked to: Girlie Chef - Tortilla Soup Challenge

Sunday Dinner - Pistachio Flecked Pork Tenderloin with Cranberry Orange Gastrique

2011-01-09T20:31:00.000-05:00

Ocean Spray Cranberry Sauce

Featured Ingredient: Ocean Spray Whole Cranberry Sauce

Here is a perfect Sunday meal, that can also warm you up any day of the week as it can be prepared rather quickly. It looks and sounds glamorous yet is very simple to prepare. For the pork tenderloin, everything you need for the breading goes into a food processor. A few steady pulses and you are good to go.

The gastrique can be made while your pork finishes in the oven. What is a gastrique? It's a french term meaning a thick sauce produced by a reduction vinegar, wine, sugar and usually fruit... and which sounds a lot fancier than sauce. I like using the whole cranberry sauce. The chopped pistachios and the select whole cranberries in the sauce add a nice texture to this dish.

I happened to be in my old neighborhood yesterday. As it is 20 miles away I don't go there that often. When I do I always make sure to stop at Palmer's Market in Darien, CT. It's been there since 1921 and has come a long way from a small family-owned grocery store, to real gourmet establishment. It's still owned and run by a Palmer. They have the best proteins around! So when I go there, I make sure to stock up. Look at this beauty.

Pork Tenderloin Recipe:

1/2 cup raw shelled pistachios

1/2 cup plain bread crumbs

1/2 tsp lemon zest

2 garlic cloves

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp dijon mustard

1 egg

Preheat oven to 400.

Season tenderloin with salt and pepper. Place pistachios, bread crumbs, lemon zest, garlic into food processor. Pulse until the pistachios are finely chopped. Pour out onto a plate or on a piece of foil. (Think ahead... double this recipe freeze extra breading and for a later time.I'm sure you know you put away the extra breading in your food processor before you dip raw pork and egg in it. I just thought I'd put it out there.)

Beat egg and dijon mustard in a medium bowl. Dip tenderloin into egg then coat with breading mixture.

Heat oil in a non stick skillet. Lightly sear tenderloin on both sides until a golden brown, about 3 minutes per side.

Spray an oven safe dish with cooking spray. Place pork on dish and put into oven for 15-20 minutes, until pork reaches 155-160F. Set dish aside on rack cover with foil and let rest. Your "rested" pork should have a slightly blushed color when sliced.

Cranberry Orange Gastrique

1 cup Ocean Spray Whole Cranberry Sauce

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

1 garlic clove minced

1/4 tsp orange zest

2 tsp butter

Salt to Taste

Heat sauce, vinegar, garlic and orange zest in saucepan over low/simmering heat for about 15 minutes. Stir every few minutes. When thickened swirl in butter at the end.

Cranberry Orange Gastrique

Pistachio Flecked Pork Tenderloin with Cranberry Orange Gastrique

Serve this with something creamy like mashed potatoes.

Panko Crusted Tilapia with Peach Salsa over Basmati Rice

2011-01-07T14:50:00.000-05:00

Featured Ingredient: Del Monte Sliced Peaches

While I like the fact that I started this blog in winter I find myself missing some of the fresh flavors of the warmer seasons. Right now the choices for fruit are limited -- apples, pears, and various species of orange are the only things that seem to be at their peak of flavor. Other fruits are from South America or Mexico and since you need to allot for a longer travel time, the fruits we get, such as mangoes are green and hard and don't seem like they will ever reach their succulent ripeness like they do when they are in season. Doesn't seem to justify $1.50 for one price tag.

This is a great time to take advantage of canned fruits. Fruits that are canned are picked at their peak of flavor before they are packaged up. So you don't have to worry about getting an unripe or mealy peach. You can rely on the fact that you will receive consistent flavor from each peach slice. I like to use fruits in their natural juices. Peaches especially hold their shape well in the can and bring a nice sweetness to this dish.

While I was cooking the rice the fragrance wafted through my kitchen over to my cutting board and married up with the lingering scent of the peaches like they were meant for each other. This entire dish has nice balance of textures and flavors. Tender, crunchy, salty, tart and sweet.

Serves 4.

Peach Salsa

I make salsa complete by eye and taste. My measures are only guidelines. Basically the peaches need to be the most dominant ingredient. The rest of the ingredients complement the peaches but are in smaller amounts. If you use an entire 14 oz. can of peaches using the above guidelines you will get about 2 cups of salsa.

1 can peaches - small dice

1 kiwi - small dice

1/2 red bell pepper - small dice

1/4 of a red onion (more or less depending on what you like)

1/2 lime juiced

1/4 cup cilantro

1/4 tsp salt

Adjust number of ingredients and flavors to your liking.

1 cup Basmati Rice. Cooking according to directions. Add butter as recommended on package.

Panko Crusted Tilapia

I like to use a mix of panko and regular breadcrumbs, as you get the crunchiness of panko and the regular breadcrumbs help more thoroughly coat the fish.

4 pcs Tilapia

2 eggs

1 tsp dijon mustard

1 cup regular breadcrumbs

1 cup panko breadcrumbs

Salt and Pepper

Lemon

Rinse and dry fish. Squeeze half a lemon over the fish and pat dry again. Season fish with salt and pepper

Mix eggs with dijon mustard in a bowl.

Dip fish into egg mixture and coat with breading.

Heat olive oil over medium heat in a skillet. Cook fish about 4 minutes per side until golden brown on each side. Cover skillet in between to promote cooking.

Serve over basmati rice and spoon salsa over fish. Close your eyes and picture a serene warm tropical retreat.

Panko Crusted Tilapia with Peach Salsa over Basmati Rice

Mexican Tortilla Casserole

2011-01-06T20:26:00.000-05:00

Tomatoes, Black Beans, Chiles

Featured Ingredients: San Marzano Tomatoes, Bush's Black Beans, Old El Paso Green Chiles

This is another recipe adapted from one of those little cookbooks you find at the check out line. This one was low fat meals. I fattened this up a bit for better flavor and uncanny goodness. Like most "lasagnas", the portions don't come out in perfect stacks until the next day. But let the casserole sit for about 10 minutes after its done cooking to have some time to settle.

Mexican Tortilla Casserole

This works perfectly for a 11 X 8 X 2 inch pan.

1 can 15oz Goya Black Beans
4 oz. diced cooked chicken
1/2 cup mild salsa
3/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
4.5 oz can Old El Paso green chiles
2 scallions minced
1 1/2 cup San Marzano crushed tomatoes
1 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp cumin
1 tsp salt
dash black pepper
6 flour tortillas (fajita size)
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup reduced fat sour cream + some milk
1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1. Preheat oven to 425F. Coat an 11 x 8 baking dish with cooking spray.

2. In a medium size bowl mash beans and salsa with fork or potato masher, until paste like with some texture. Add 1/3 cup jack cheese, chile peppers and scallions. Mix together.

3. Combine crushed tomatoes, chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper in a pyrex measuring cup (if available)

4. Spoon half of bean mixture into prepared baking dish. Top with three tortillas. Like illustrated below.

Then pour half of the tomato mixture over tortillas. Repeat with remaining bean mixture, tortillas and finish with tomato mixture.

5. Put sour cream in small bowl and thin out with a little milk so it is the consistency of yogurt and easier to spread. Spoon sour cream on top of tomato mixture in dollops and even with back of spoon. Top with mozzarella and remaining monterey jack cheese.

6. Cover with foil and bake for 15 minutes. Uncover and bake for an additional 20 until cheese is melted and begins to brown. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Here is a piece I had for lunch today!

My house is full of men so this had "manly meal" all over it. I made this yesterday and by today this was what was left. I always know if my husband likes a dish because he goes back for seconds. Otherwise he eats like a bird and says it's "fine." Unfortunately his type of food and my type of food don't match 80% of the time, so more food gets wasted than I would like. These type of sights make me happy and are what you can also expect with this dish.

Nothing to Throw Out

UNUSUAL CANNED GOODS - THE YES WE CAN CHALLENGE

2011-01-05T16:00:00.000-05:00

Yes, that says Canned Bacon

Ever since I started this blog it has opened my eyes to a whole new world of canned goods. I've become more conscious of canned goods whether I'm at my local Stop and Shop up the street or the great multi-cultural markets one town over from me. I'm fascinated by any new items I've never seen.

According to the Can Manufacturers Institute there are over 1,500 varieties of foods available in cans. In fact just last year was the 200th anniversary of the beginning of canning foods. The can was born in 1810 when Englishman Peter Durand received a patent from King George III for a tin-plated iron can to be used as a food container.

There are some I come across that I just can't bring myself to cook with as I don't think some products translate well from fresh to canned. I also thought I would do some of my own research as to what might be considered atypical canned goods. This undoctored image was the most interesting can I found. It was on a survival website, encouraging consumers to stash some into their bunker. This would be one of those cans you won't find in my recipes.

Here is my challenge to you. I'd love to hear from you. I can't offer much incentive beyond offering a mention on the blog. I'm new to blogging. I don't have sponsors yet, so I can't offer a bevy of cash and prizes for best entry. My hope is you will join me simply for the fun of it.