The Errant Cook

Sauerkraut with Gin and Caraway

2011-05-10T14:33:00.000-07:00

The fifth installment in this month's blog project was such a dismal failure, I didn't even bother taking a photo. It sounded promising - sauerkraut with gin and caraway seeds - and the accompanying article in Bon Appetit by noted blogger and fellow Okie Molly Wizenberg was lovely. Besides, we already like sauerkraut, and my husband is a fan of gin. What could go wrong?

The plan was to make the kraut as a side/topper for some grilled bratwurst, served alongside fried potatoes. I opened a can of regular kraut, drained it, and added the gin (Tanqueray No. 10) and caraway seeds as instructed. After simmering for the called-for 30 minutes, I gave it a taste. So did my husband. Neither one of us thought it was palatable.

We enjoyed our brats and potatoes. Next time, I'll stick to my usual can of Bavarian sauerkraut, which is sweet and already seasoned with caraway. :\

Recent cakes I've done!

2011-05-09T12:21:00.000-07:00

As an amateur cake maker who only bakes for family and friends, I don't get to do cakes very often. However, when I do, it's riotously fun and enjoyable. Here are some of my recent creations!

Smash cake (left) and full size cake for a 1 year old boy- my first time baking without dairy.

Cupcakes for my sister's birthday.

Detroit Red Wings jersey cake for my husband's birthday. Logo is hand painted.

Tree stump cake for a girl's 5th birthday.

Ballerina cake for my grandmother's 80th birthday.

For my dad and stepmother- my first wedding cake. Italian cream cake with cream cheese frosting, cream cheese-pineapple filling.

Thomas the Tank Engine cake for my cousin's little boy's 3rd birthday. Hand painted.

Beef Stew from America's Test Kitchen

2011-05-09T12:08:00.000-07:00

The fourth installment in this month's experimental recipe project, Operation: Expand Horizons, was a creation from the venerable America's Test Kitchen for beef stew. I already have a good recipe for beef stew in the repertoire, but when we watched the episode of this version being made, we got quite curious (and hungry). So here it goes.

This recipe turned out just okay, especially disappointing considering the expense of the meat and the time it took. It's not going to replace my regular stew, especially since it's terribly time-consuming. Granted, much of the time is non-active oven-cooking time, but still. My regular old stew is better, in our opinions, and takes less than a third of the time. Plus, it cooks on the stove.

The cooking process for this recipe was rife with substitutions and omissions, some less advised than others. Use your best judgment in your own kitchen.

I wound up using sardines instead of anchovies despite the advice of foodies on various websites, since the amount was so small as to not matter, and I didn't want to go back to the store for one damn can of anchovies when I already had Spanish sardines in olive oil (the good kind, not mustard packed cheapies).

I couldn't find chuck eye roast and used arm roast instead, which yielded tender meat overall, but with some dryness. My husband doesn't like pearl onions, so I left those out. There are sliced onions already in the stew, but the cooking process renders them into the base of the sauce, which was just fine. I added a palmful of minced fresh chives before serving for a punch of oniony flavor.

He's also not a huge fan of peas, so I only used half a cup instead of a whole cup. I also left out the addition of softened gelatin, which is instructed to be added at the end to thicken the liquid. The stew was more than thick enough already.

Overall, the stew was not really impressive. My husband said he definitely likes my old version better, which has a thinner tastier broth, pearl barley, and cabbage.

Best Beef Stew

Serves 6 to 8

Use a good-quality, medium-bodied wine, such as Côtes du Rhône or Pinot Noir, for this stew. Try to find beef that is well marbled with white veins of fat. Meat that is too lean will come out slightly dry. Four pounds of blade steaks, trimmed of gristle and silver skin, can be substituted for the chuck-eye roast. While the blade steak will yield slightly thinner pieces after trimming, it should still be cut into 11/2-inch pieces. Look for salt pork that is roughly 75 percent lean. The stew can be cooled, covered tightly, and refrigerated for up to 2 days. Reheat it gently before serving.

INGREDIENTS

2 medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
4 anchovy fillets , finely minced (about 2 teaspoons)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 boneless beef chuck-eye roast (about 4 pounds), trimmed of excess fat, cut into 1
1/2-inch pieces (see note and step by step below)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion , halved and cut from pole to pole into 1/8-inch-thick slices (about 2
cups)
4 medium carrots , peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces (about 2 cups)
1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups red wine (see note)
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 bay leaves
4 sprigs fresh thyme
4 ounces salt pork , rinsed of excess salt (see note)
1 pound Yukon Gold potatoes , scrubbed and cut into 1-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups frozen pearl onions , thawed
2 teaspoons unflavored powdered gelatin (about 1 packet)
1/2 cup water
1 cup frozen peas , thawed
Table salt and ground black pepper

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position and heat oven to 300 degrees. Combine garlic and anchovies in small bowl; press with back of fork to form paste. Stir in tomato paste and set mixture aside.

2. Pat meat dry with paper towels. Do not season. Heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil in large heavy-bottomed Dutch oven over high heat until just starting to smoke. Add half of beef and cook until well browned on all sides, about 8 minutes total, reducing heat if oil begins to smoke or fond begins to burn. Transfer beef to large plate. Repeat with remaining beef and 1 tablespoon vegetable oil, leaving second batch of meat in pot after browning.

3. Reduce heat to medium and return first batch of beef to pot. Add onion and carrots to Dutch oven and stir to combine with beef. Cook, scraping bottom of pan to loosen any browned bits, until onion is softened, 1 to 2 minutes. Add garlic mixture and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, until no dry flour remains, about 30 seconds.

4. Slowly add wine, scraping bottom of pan to loosen any browned bits. Increase heat to high and allow wine to simmer until thickened and slightly reduced, about 2 minutes. Stir in broth, bay leaves, thyme, and salt pork. Bring to simmer, cover, transfer to oven, and cook for 1 1/2 hours.

5. Remove pot from oven; remove and discard bay leaves and salt pork. Stir in potatoes, cover, return to oven, and cook until potatoes are almost tender, about 45 minutes.

6. Using large spoon, skim any excess fat from surface of stew. Stir in pearl onions; cook over medium heat until potatoes and onions are cooked through and meat offers little resistance when poked with fork (meat should not be falling apart), about 15 minutes. Meanwhile, sprinkle gelatin over water in small bowl and allow to soften for 5 minutes.

7. Increase heat to high, stir in softened gelatin mixture and peas; simmer until gelatin is fully dissolved and stew is thickened, about 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste; serve.

Marinara Sauce

2011-05-09T11:35:00.000-07:00

The third installment for Operation: Expand Horizons was a recipe for classic Marinara sauce from America's Test Kitchen. I must admit that I've been gleefully consuming jars of Prego traditional style pasta sauce for years, having tried several recipes for homemade spaghetti sauce but never finding one that really hit the spot. This one comes darn close. It will be tweaked on future incarnations.

Like most of the recipes provided by the lovely folks at the Test Kitchen, this one may seem a little intimidating at first, but don't fret. All of the instructions, while thorough, are intended to help you do a better job. Read carefully beforehand, purchase good quality ingredients, take your time, make sure you do your mise en place, and cook away.

As I said, this recipe comes *thisclose* to being my go-to for spaghetti night. My husband said it needed some spice, and I agreed. A little red pepper flake would do some good on that point, as would a bit more oregano. The depth of flavor could be improved if I'd had a drier, more robust red wine. Instead of the Chianti or Merlot called for, I used Pinot Noir that I already had, and although I'm no connoisseur of wine, I'm pretty sure Pinot is milder. So blame that part on me.

The only change I made in the recipe was in technique, not ingredients: I did not do any blending or pureeing of the sauce. We like a little chunkiness to our pasta sauce, so I just tore up the peeled tomatoes by hand before cooking.

I served this sauce atop a pile of spaghetti and homemade meatballs from a recipe by Alton Brown that I've made dozens of times.

Marinara Sauce

Makes 4 cups

This recipe makes enough to sauce more than a pound of pasta; leftovers can be
refrigerated or frozen. Because canned tomatoes vary in acidity and saltiness, it's best to add salt, pepper, and sugar to taste just before serving. If you prefer a chunkier sauce, give it just three or four pulses in the food processor in step 4.

INGREDIENTS

2 (28 ounce) cans whole tomatoes , packed in juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion , chopped fine (about 1 cup)
2 medium cloves garlic , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 2 teaspoons)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/3 cup dry red wine , such as Chianti or Merlot
3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
1 - 2 teaspoons sugar , as needed (see note above)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Pour tomatoes and juice into strainer set over large bowl. Open tomatoes with hands and remove and discard fibrous cores; let tomatoes drain excess liquid, about 5 minutes. Remove 3/4 cup tomatoes from strainer and set aside. Reserve 2 1/2 cups tomato juice and discard remainder.

2. Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and golden around edges, 6 to 8 minutes. Add garlic and oregano and cook, stirring constantly, until garlic is fragrant, about 30 seconds.

3. Add tomatoes from strainer and increase heat to medium-high. Cook, stirring every minute, until liquid has evaporated and tomatoes begin to stick to bottom of pan and brown fond forms around pan edges, 10 to 12 minutes. Add wine and cook until thick and syrupy, about 1 minute. Add reserved tomato juice and bring to simmer; reduce heat to medium and cook, stirring occasionally and loosening browned bits, until sauce is thick, 8 to 10 minutes.

4. Transfer sauce to food processor (or transfer to saucepan and insert immersion
blender) and add reserved tomatoes; process until slightly chunky, about eight 2-second pulses. Return sauce to skillet and add basil and extra-virgin olive oil and salt, pepper, and sugar to taste.

Mediterranean Grain Salad

2011-05-09T11:15:00.000-07:00

The second installation for Operation: Expand Horizons is a simple dish from the folks at Martha Stewart's magazine Everyday Food called Mediterranean Grain Salad. The original version is slated as a vegetarian main serving one, but I decided to serve it as a side dish in my pregnancy-related craze to pack more veggies onto my plate at every meal.

As are all of the creations of the folks at Everyday Food, this dish wasn't difficult or ground-breaking. It's a basic riff on classic tabouli salad, sans cucumber- soaked bulgur wheat, tomatoes, fresh parsley, and a simple vinaigrette of minced shallot, red wine vinegar, and olive oil, with the nontraditional inclusion of goat cheese.

Being a fan of tabouli, I knew I'd like this one. My husband, as expected (not a tabouli fan), passed, but 4 year old Eva enjoyed it.

I made one small adjustment in my preparation- leaving out the goat cheese. First, I knew I'd be serving this as a side instead of a main, and didn't want to add more fat to my plate. Second, goat cheese is freakin' expensive, and part of my adventures in the kitchen is to make good food on a reasonable budget.

All in all, a modicum of success was achieved. I will make this simple salad again when I have some lovely garden-grown tomatoes this summer.

Note the sunny yellow tomatoes- sweet and lovely in salads.

I ate the salad as a side with grilled pork chop, steamed green beans, and mashed potatoes.

Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese

2011-05-04T21:29:00.000-07:00

The first recipe for week one of Operation: Expand Horizons was stovetop macaroni and cheese from America's Test Kitchen. I've tried several different mac and cheese recipes and never really found one that we all liked. This one is a step in the right direction- simple and fast- but just needs different cheese next time.

The original recipe calls for sharp cheddar as one option, which is my husband's favorite, but the Vermont white cheddar I used was too sharp. I will probably use a mixture of sharp cheddar and a milder cheese like Colby next time. My husband thought it was too cheesy, so I might adjust the amount down too, but maybe milder cheese would take care of that issue.

I made a couple of minor adjustments when I prepared this dish. First, I cut the recipe in half to serve it as a side dish for 2 adults and a 4 year old. We had some left over. Thankfully, our child is a mac-o-phile and devoured hers, so I'm trusting she'll eat the leftovers as well. Secondly, I skipped the bread crumb treatment, since it's not usually our thing. I might try it next time though. Cody thought the macaroni could use a little punch of garlic, and garlic bread crumbs would be a good way to do that.

Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese
Recipe by America's Test Kitchen
Serves 4 as a main course or 6 to 8 as a side dish

If you’re in a hurry or prefer to sprinkle the dish with crumbled common crackers
(saltines aren’t bad either), you can skip the bread crumb step.

TOASTED BREAD CRUMBS
1 cup fresh breadcrumbs from French or Italian bread
Pinch table salt
1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted

CREAMY MACARONI AND CHEESE
2 large eggs
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
2 teaspoons table salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dry mustard , dissolved in 1 teaspoon water
1/2 pound elbow macaroni
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
12 ounces sharp cheddar cheese , American cheese, or Monterey Jack cheese, grated (about 3 cups)

INSTRUCTIONS
1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix bread crumb ingredients together in small baking pan. Bake until golden brown and crisp, 15 to 20 minutes; set aside.

2. Meanwhile, mix eggs, 1 cup of the evaporated milk, pepper sauce, 1/2 teaspoon of the salt, pepper, and mustard mixture in small bowl; set aside.

3. Meanwhile, heat 2 quarts water to boil in large heavy-bottomed saucepan or Dutch oven. Add 1 1/2 teaspoons of the salt and macaroni; cook until almost tender, but still a little firm to the bite. Drain and return to pan over low heat. Add butter; toss to melt.

4. Pour egg mixture over buttered noodles along with three-quarters of the cheese; stir until thoroughly combined and cheese starts to melt. Gradually add remaining milk and cheese, stirring constantly, until mixture is hot and creamy, about 5 minutes. Serve immediately topped with toasted bread crumbs.

Operation: Expand Horizons, Week One

2011-05-01T21:08:00.000-07:00

The first week's worth of recipes for Operation: Expand Horizons are:

~ stovetop macaroni and cheese (America's Test Kitchen)
~ Mediterranean grain salad (Martha Stewart Everyday Food)
~ marinara sauce (America's Test Kitchen)
~ iron skillet succotash (Bon Appetit)
~ sauerkraut with gin and caraway (Bon Appetit)
~ best beef stew (America's Test Kitchen)

This week is short one new recipe because of a night out for my darling husband's birthday. Never you fear, I will do my best to make it up to you. <3

Operation: Expand Horizons, second edition!

2011-05-01T20:57:00.000-07:00

Well, dear readers, May is once again upon us, and I have decided to revisit last year's blog project I called "Operation: Expand Horizons." If you haven't read about it yet, check out the archive here. This project is basically an attempt to introduce a wider variety of choices into our gustatory repertoire here at the Errant Home.

It accomplishes a couple of other things in the process: it helps me to flex my culinary muscles, helps expose our 4 year old daughter to new tastes (whilst I sneak in extra veggies for good measure), and gives me an opportunity to try things out on my husband, who was raised in a less-than-adventurously-eating household.

Last year, I put a lot of pressure on myself for this project. That was Mistake Number One. This is supposed to be FUN! I also put a lot of pressure on my husband to LOVE. EVERY. DISH. NOMATTERWHATDAMNYOU! Again, wrong-headed. So this year, I'm easing some of the pressure by having my husband actually help choose the recipes. Involving him in the process ensures that although we are trying new recipes, we are trying things that he might actually eat. Whoda thunk?

Another part of fixing last year's mistakes is how I'm assembling the recipe list. Last year, I chose all the recipes in advance. This year, I've got a 20-item list to start, but I'm going to be more flexible and go week by week with the actual choosing. This will also enable me to select recipes based on what I find on sale at the grocery store and what looks good at the farmer's market.

I hope you'll follow along with this year's project and maybe get inspired to do your own. I love feedback and questions, so sock it to me.

The Errant Cook is cookin' up another baby!

2011-04-15T13:54:00.000-07:00

Hey y'all, long time, no post.

No excuses, people. I'm lazy. I still cook dinner every night, though, and occasionally make a fancy lunch for me and the 4 year old spawn when leftovers don't interfere.

A couple of big news items- me and my husband have successfully bred again, and we'll be having an Errant Baby sometime in mid-November. This pregnancy is going as well as can be expected (giggle- see what I did there?) - I'm eating all the damn time, taking regular naps, and already outgrowing my regular jeans (argh). But my mom friends assure me that fattening up early is very common to second pregnancies.

Secondly, I've officially decided to redo last year's blog project called Operation: Expand Horizons this May. This time, however, to assure more success and less stress, I'm choosing the recipe list with the help of my husband, rather than foisting my choices upon him. :D

Thanks for continuing to read this little project of mine! I love you all!

Fish Tacos with Green Chile-Yogurt Sauce and Cilantro-Cabbage Slaw

2011-03-22T12:37:00.000-07:00

I've been in the mood for fish lately, and decided to try some from my regular grocery store's meat and fish counter instead of driving through the construction-riddled hell that surrounds my local fishmonger at present. I picked up some fresh Basa fillets for under $4.00 a pound. Can't beat that with a stick!

I was undecided as to how I was going to cook these bad boys until I decided to make grilled chicken fajitas one evening for dinner. I thought, why not throw the fish in a foil packet and grill it, too? So here we are.

First I made a slaw of sliced cabbage, chopped cilantro, fresh lime juice, and salt and pepper. After tasting a few times, I tossed in a sprinkle of sugar to balance the flavors.

Then I threw a small can of diced green chiles into the blender with some homemade yogurt, a little cilantro, and salt and pepper. I put the resulting mixture into a reusable bottle since it made more than I needed. This is a good general sauce for tacos of all kinds.

The Basa fillets were seasoned with kosher salt, black pepper, and New Mexico chile powder before being wrapped up in their foil packet and grilled until flaky. Make sure you don't overcook them- fish cooks very quickly.

Chunks of fish were laid out on warmed flour tortillas, drizzled with the green chile sauce, and topped with cabbage slaw.

Delicioso!

Happy birthday, Barney!

2011-03-11T22:44:00.000-08:00

Happy 14th birthday to our beagle Barney, resident old man, sad eyes giver, lover of little kids and ladies with fingernails, loud-ass snorer, sneak farter, and stealer of hearts.

We love you, Bug. Many happy returns.

Laying on Pookie, his teddy bear, whom he snuggles, noms, and kneads.

Dad's butt makes a good pillow.

Kissin' on Mama.

Wearing a yarmulke and curls I crocheted for his Barn Mitzvah last year. *snicker*

He used to do this when he wanted to go outside. HA!!!

Banana Bread with Cinnamon Crumble Topping

2011-03-03T22:05:00.000-08:00

Kitchen Apprentice Extraordinaire sprinkles on the cinnamon topping.

She mixes like a pro!

Oklahoma pecans...oh, how I love thee. I added about half a cup, because to me, if it's banana bread, it's gotta have pecans in it!

Practicing her Paula Deen "Hey, y'all!"

I somehow neglected to take a finished photo of this uber-tasty banana bread before we scarfed it all down, but please enjoy some production shots anyway.

I don't have a lot of time or energy to type right now, but please trust me when I say that this banana bread is freakin' awesome. Make some this weekend. It's almost more like cake than bread, and it'll make an impressive showing at your next brunch.

Find the recipe here.

Pasta E Fagioli

2011-02-26T22:51:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, you just have to depend on an outside source to get something accomplished that you can't do yourself. Such was the case with this recipe. I've had a copy of a recipe called "Olive Garden's Pasta E Fagioli" in my collection for a few years, but never made it because my husband seemed apathetic about it.

A lady he works with brought a batch of soup to a potluck recently, and he uncharacteristically raved about it, telling me it had hamburger, beans, carrots, tomatoes, etc. I said, "That sounds a lot like a recipe I have already..." and asked him to get the coworker to give him a copy of what she had cooked. Well, lo and behold, it was the exact same, a creation of the folks over at Top Secret Recipes.

The recipe is super simple, hearty, and delicious. Best of all, it doesn't call for any abnormal ingredients that you'll have to lay out ridiculous cash for. Most home cooks will have these things on hand already. Nice, right? Nothing irritates me more than trying a new recipe that requires weird stuff, and then subsequently tastes like utter crap. Thankfully, this wasn't one of those.

The recipe as it stands worked great. I did not make any modifications to the ingredients list. I did make one small change in technique, though, and I would recommend you do the same. The original recipe calls for cooking the ditali pasta for 10 minutes until al dente. Previous experience with soggy pasta in soups gave me pause. Six minutes of cooking the pasta was enough- I set the timer after dumping the pasta into boiling salted water. After draining the pasta and adding it to the hot soup, it was cooked just perfectly and not at all soggy.

A green salad beforehand and some crusty bread alongside, and you'll have the perfect comforting meal for a cool winter's evening. We have plenty of leftovers for tomorrow's lunch, and in this case, I'm glad that's so.

Just perfect for a late February evening.

Black Bean Soup

2011-02-25T22:58:00.000-08:00

The finished product, topped off with a little homemade yogurt and fresh cilantro.

Tonight's dinner was comprised of two prongs- a new recipe from a trusted source (chicken enchiladas from chef Rick Bayless, a future blog post), and an experiment of my own for a simple soup.

I've made black bean soup once before from a Bon Appetit recipe and found it lacking in taste and interest. Also, my 4 year old kiddo has taken a recent liking to the version offered at Panera Bread, thanks in part to our regular weekly visit changing from Monday to Tuesday. She usually ordered baked potato, but now that we go on Tuesday, it's not available and she has to make do with "black soup," as she calls it. Thankfully, it's very tasty, healthy, and she likes it a lot. These things inspired me to give another shot to making it at home, and I decided to wing it.

It seemed like an easy enough proposition to make a small pot of black bean soup myself, without a recipe. Several ingredients of Panera's version are easily discernible: red bell pepper, onion, garlic, a bit of cumin. I started with those things and added my own tweaks. I wound up with a pretty good little pot of soup- so good, in fact, that my normally picky little eater asked for a second bowl and declared it better than Panera. (!!!)

Because of my new budget-friendly habit of freezing beans, I have a stack of zip-top bags of legume-y goodness on ice. You can certainly use canned beans, if you prefer. I have packaged my frozen beans in roughly the same quantity as a can, about 15 ounces, liquid included. My frozen beans are only lightly salted, so if you use canned, make sure you don't add too much salt until you've tasted the finished product.

This recipe also makes use of the vegetable bouillon paste I blogged about not long ago. If you want, you can use canned veggie broth or a combination of water and bouillon cubes. Again, make sure you go easy on the added salt.

TIP: This recipe calls for a single chipotle chile, which are sold in small cans containing a dozen or so chiles plus adobo sauce. When you first open a can of chipotles, use what you need and put the rest of them in a clean ice cube tray, one chile and its clinging sauce per space. My ice cube trays hold about 1 Tbsp. per section, which is the amount often required for a recipe. When frozen, pop them out and put in a zip-top bag in the freezer. They keep for a long time, and are fine even if frost accumulates in the bag.

Black Bean Soup
Serves 4-6

2 bags of thawed frozen black beans, or two 15-ounce cans of black beans, not drained
1/4 cup jarred roasted red pepper, diced
1/2 cup onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, smashed and minced
1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce, minced (optional- I added this for my husband's taste but since he didn't seem interested in eating the finished product, I'll leave it out next time.)
1/4 tsp. New Mexico chile powder
1/4 tsp. Ancho chile powder (Note: find New Mexico and Ancho chile powders in the Latin section of your supermarket, or in Latin grocers.)
1/2 tsp. cumin
2 cups water
2 tsp. vegetable bouillon paste
1 Tbsp. olive oil
Kosher salt and fresh black pepper
Sour cream or plain yogurt and chopped fresh cilantro, optional, for garnish

In a stock pot, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook, stirring frequently, until they begin to turn translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic, roasted pepper, and chipotle, if using, and cook for another minute. Stir in chile powders, cumin, bouillon paste, water, and beans. Cover the pot and bring to a good steady simmer for about 30 minutes. Remove the lid and simmer for another 10 minutes or so until the soup is thickened. Season to taste with salt and pepper, and serve with small dollops of sour cream or yogurt and a sprinkling of chopped cilantro.

Used this brand for the first time. Good stuff. The peppers in the jar are nearly whole. I used about half of one.

Chipotle, garlic, roasted red bell pepper.

Dueling chile powders. Each type of chile powder in the Latin section has a distinct flavor. New Mexico gives a light spiciness while Ancho offers a darker, smokier taste.

Sauteing the veggies and spices.


Bags o'beans

Yum! Very filling but completely good for you- high in fiber, low in fat.

Vegetable Bouillon

2011-02-21T14:42:00.000-08:00

I'm the type of cook that's always looking to see if something I can make myself is better for me/tastier/cheaper than the versions people usually buy at the store. In the interest of saving time and shelf space, I often use bouillon cubes and water in place of stock or broth.

I came across a recipe for homemade vegetable bouillon on a food blog called Simple Scratch Cooking and decided to give it a shot. The recipe was, as promised, so simple.

I cut the recipe in half, because the original makes a full quart (that's 4 cups for you cooking measurement n00bs) and I never make that much of a recipe until I know for sure it's a keeper. I did a couple of small substitutions based on what I had on hand. A package of reconstituted dried wild mushrooms were added to a few fresh mushrooms to make the full contribution, green onions stood in for leeks, and dried parsley was substituted for fresh, since my garden was covered in snow. Next time, I will smash the peppercorns first, because they did not get ground up in the food processor. I filled a pint jar with the resulting paste and it sits in my fridge now.

It is quite tasty- not by itself, naturally, unless you're into eating wet, salty, pureed vegetables. But stir a spoonful into a mug of hot water if you're feeling a bit under the weather, and you've got a quick, tasty, and healthy bit of broth.

It's not very picture-worthy, being an orangish-brownish paste and all, but once you taste it (simmered with water and lentils, perhaps, for a simple soup or as a flavor base in a recipe, or stirred into the cooking water of white rice), you'll be glad you tried it.

This week's menu

2011-02-20T12:18:00.000-08:00

Menu planning is a big help to me, and I try to make a regular habit of it. It helps me create an accurate grocery list (I'm bad about forgetting things that I need), lets my husband know what we're having for the week in case he needs to object or has something in mind he wants, and eases my self-induced stress when 4:00 rolls around and I don't have to wonder what I'm supposed to cook.

Here's what I have planned for this week.

Fried chicken (a new recipe from the Pioneer Woman cookbook I got for Christmas), mashed potatoes, hominy

Penne alla Betsy (ditto, from the PW cookbook), salad, crusty bread

Wienerschnitzel, braised cabbage, German potato salad

Enchiladas Especiales Estilo Tacuba (a Rick Bayless recipe), fruit salad, rice

Marsala chicken with sage and mushrooms (from Martha Stewart), rice pilaf, broccoli

Pork and poblano chile verde (an adaptation of a recipe I made camp-side and blogged about here), three-cheese beer bread from Brown Eyed Baker

Pasta e fagioli (an Olive Garden soup), garlic bread

Magic Chocolate Ice Cream

2011-02-14T10:39:00.000-08:00

A recent freebie issue in the mail from Cook's Country, one of the publications from the charming and oh-so-scientific folks at America's Test Kitchen, arrived at La Casa Errant Cook not long ago, and I've begun working my way through some of the supremely delicious-looking recipes.

Naturally, when I came upon the recipe for Magic Chocolate Ice Cream, promising rich and creamy chocolaty decadence without the need for churning in an ice cream machine, I knew that I had found my first test subject.

My husband and I normally eat chocolate ice cream with shovels rather than spoons, but even we were floored by the richness of this stuff. Small servings won't leave you disappointed. You and your waistline have been warned.

Magic Chocolate Ice Cream
Adapted from Cook's Country
Makes about a half gallon

2 tsp. instant coffee or espresso powder
2 tbsp. hot water
8 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped fine
1 cup sweetened condensed milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
Pinch salt
2 1/2 cups cold heavy cream

Combine the coffee powder and hot water in a medium bowl and let it sit for about 5 minutes, until the powder is dissolved. Add the chopped chocolate and sweetened condensed milk and microwave until melted, about 2 minutes, stirring every 20 seconds or so. Stir in salt and vanilla and set aside to cool.

Whip the heavy cream in a large bowl or in a stand mixer until soft peaks form, about 5-7 minutes.

Whisk about 1/3 of the whipped cream into the chocolate mixture until incorporated. Stream the chocolate mixture into the remaining whipped cream and fold gently with a large rubber spatula until combined.

Transfer to a freezer-safe container and freeze 6 hours or overnight.

The inspiration.

The chocolate.

If you don't have sweetened condensed milk, you can use evaporated milk and sugar- one 12 oz. can to about 1 2/3 cups of sugar, heated gently in a saucepan and stirred until the sugar is dissolved. Measure what you need out of the pan and put the rest in a glass jar with a lid in the fridge to use later.

Chopped chocolate. Try not to eat too much of it.

Chocolate is combined with coffee powder, hot water, and condensed milk before being melted in the microwave. Try not to eat too much of it.

Whip the tar out of the cold heavy cream until soft peaks form.

About 1/3 of the whipped cream is whisked into the chocolate mixture.

Fold the chocolate mixture into the rest of the whipped cream.

Be careful. You too will make stupid faces like this once you taste what you've created. Try not to eat too much of it.

The completed mousse-like mixture, ready for the freezer. An old sherbet container serves me well in this instance- it's the perfect size and it's a good way to reuse!

OH SWEET LORDY, YES.

I have joined the Dark Side. Follow me, minions.

2011-02-14T10:10:00.000-08:00

Yep. At the urging of mi amiga bloggerista Tasha over at Tasha Does Tulsa, I have finally signed up for The Twitter.

Follow me at @ErrantCook.

Wordless Week, Episode Eight: Beef Stir-Fry with Snow Peas, Broccoli, and Bell Peppers

2011-02-07T21:05:00.000-08:00

Wordless Week, Episode Seven: Cuban Sandwich

2011-02-07T21:02:00.000-08:00

Wordless Week, Episode Six: Chicken Fettuccine Alfredo with Roasted Asparagus

2011-02-07T20:59:00.000-08:00

Wordless Week, Episode Five: Beef Stroganoff

2011-02-07T20:57:00.000-08:00

Tyler Florence's Beef Stroganoff with Buttered Noodles

Wordless Week, Episode Four: Strip steak, roasted sweet potatoes, and bulgur-chickpea salad

2011-02-07T20:53:00.000-08:00

Wordless Week, Episode Three: Apple-Raisin Turnovers

2011-02-07T20:51:00.000-08:00

Wordless Week, Episode Two: Mighty Meaty Meatloaf with mashed potatoes and steamed carrots

2011-02-07T20:48:00.000-08:00

Emeril Lagasse's Mighty Meaty Meatloaf

Wordless Week, Episode One: Spice-Rubbed Chicken and Hominy Saute

2011-02-07T20:44:00.000-08:00

A brief explanation: I've been putting off blog updates due to a lot of different things interfering with both my creative jones and my free time. The backlog has had the ironic consequence of making it even harder for me to sit down and be in the mood to blog. So in order to get some of these dishes posted and take some of the pressure off, I'm doing a Wordless Week, as many other bloggers do Wordless Wednesday.

I'll post a pic or two of the dish and text of or a link to the recipe, if available. Enjoy.

Episode One: Spice-Rubbed Chicken with Hominy Saute. I served this Martha Stewart combination with some simple buttered noodles.

Spice Rubbed Chicken with Hominy Sauté

Serves 4

1 tbsp. paprika

½ tsp. ancho or chipotle chile powder

½ tsp. oregano

Coarse salt and ground pepper

8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (about 3 pounds total)

1 tbsp. vegetable oil

2 cans (14 oz. each) hominy, rinsed and drained

4 to 5 scallions, thinly sliced

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved

Preheat oven to 425º. Combine paprika, chile powder, oregano, 1 tsp. salt, and ¼ tsp. pepper. Place chicken on a rimmed baking sheet and rub with spice mixture. Bake until 165º internally, about 20-25 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add hominy and scallions; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until scallions are softened, 2-3 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook until warmed through, 2-3 minutes. Serve alongside chicken thighs.

New Year's Eve Seafood Dinner with Rum Cake

2011-01-07T22:24:00.000-08:00

My husband and I started a tradition when we were first dating of staying home and making a fancy dinner instead of going out for NYE. We also always get a bottle of Asti. In years past, we've made prime rib- delicious slabs of herb and garlic crusted beefy goodness. We decided to do a seafood dinner this year.

My husband suggested shrimp two ways (peel-and-eat with cocktail sauce, and scampi), crab legs, crab cakes, garlic bread, and baked potatoes, plus dessert. "Holy shit," I said to myself- there's no way I can eat like that and still respect myself on New Year's Day.

I wound up getting all the fixins and suggesting a two-part dinner. In case we got seafood overload on the first round, we could always have the rest the next day. That wound up being the case. We had the peel-and-eat shrimp (sans cocktail sauce- in all my grocery planning, I neglected to write that one down) and the crab legs with baked potatoes and dessert. It was delicious.

For dessert, I went with a traditional favorite from my family- rum cake. My great-grandmother, Lucy Castle, a sweet and much-loved lady, was known for her version of the decadent, boozy cake every holiday season, and I was very fortunate to inherit both her recipe and her actual Bundt pan. I'm not a religious or even "spiritual" person by any means, but I do have a fondness for the idea that personal items can have good mojo. I feel good and have good memories of Grandmother Castle every time I bust out that pan.

For tonight, I'm feeling too lazy to go get the newspaper clipping and type out the rum cake recipe, but it's readily available online so I'll give you the guidelines. It's simple enough, and uses a yellow cake mix. (Oh, the horror!) This is one of the very few times I can bring myself to use a cake mix. I pride myself on scratch baking, but since it was good enough for Grandmother Castle, it'll be good enough for me.

Rum Cake
Serves 12-14

Cake:
1 box yellow cake mix
1 (3.4 ounce) box instant vanilla pudding
4 eggs
1/2 cup each cold water, vegetable oil, and dark rum
Generous cup of chopped pecans

Glaze:
1 stick (1/2 cup) butter
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
1/2 cup dark rum

Preheat oven to 325º. Grease and flour a Bundt pan, or spray with Pam baking spray that contains flour. (The spray works great, is less messy, and avoids a floury crust.)

Dump the cake mix, pudding mix, eggs, water, vegetable oil, and rum into a large bowl and mix thoroughly with a whisk or electric mixer.

Place chopped pecans in the bottom of the prepared Bundt pan and pour cake batter on top. Smooth batter and bake cake for about an hour, until a toothpick or skewer just comes out clean. Allow the cake to cool for about 15 minutes before inverting it out of the Bundt pan onto a sheet pan with a cooling rack inside.

While the cake is cooling, prepare the glaze. Melt the butter in a small saucepan and add the water and sugar. Boil for about 4-5 minutes, or until the sugar has melted. Remove from heat and carefully stir in the rum.

Using a fork, gently prick the cake all over. Pour the glaze over the cake, cool completely, and serve.

My pint-sized helper took a photo of the cake ingredients in the bowl before she used the electric mixer on them.

A generous cup of chopped pecans goes into the well-lubed Bundt pan. I use Pam baking spray with flour.

She liked the rum cake batter a little *too* much. :D

Soo...much...food...

Unglazed rum cake.

After being stabbed repeatedly but gently with a fork, the cake is glazed.

Hello, sexy!

One piece was never enough.

Recipe Collection Meets Technology

2011-01-07T21:30:00.000-08:00

While I don't have a lot of actual cookbooks to speak of, I've had an extensive recipe collection for some time now. I store them a few different ways. The recipes I find online and print out go into 3-ring binders, in plastic sheet protectors, and are divided by category- chicken, desserts, breads, etc.

I also had a subscription to two different cooking magazines, Martha Stewart Everyday Food and Bon Appetit, for about 3 years each. Every month when I received a new magazine, I pored over it cover to cover. I marked recipes that looked good with a tiny Post-It note with the recipe name written on it.

About 2 years ago, I started an index system to keep track of what I had. I went through the binders and magazines and made a list. Binder recipes were indicated by "NB" for notebook. Magazine recipes were marked with "BA" or "EF" and the issue date. That way, I could scan the list of recipes, make up a menu, and mark my menu with a quick notation of where to find the recipes. Easy peasy, and that system worked well for quite a long time.

Here comes the end of 2010, and I've got a big drawer full of back issues of magazines taking up valuable storage space in my dining room, and a brand new Nook Color for Christmas. (If you haven't laid eyes on this fancy schmancy e-reader from Barnes and Noble, go get you some.) Not only can you read electronic books, magazines, and newspapers, but you can store and view photos, play Sudoku, do crosswords, listen to Pandora, surf the web (with WiFi), and read Word and PDF documents. It's like a mini iPad for the PC crowd, but without the $600 price tag. Economy WIN!

I'm the wife of a computer dude and somewhat of a gadget whore myself, so one of my dreams in recent years was to have an electronic recipe collection at my fingertips in the kitchen, completely paperless. Now, I had the perfect piece of equipment to help facilitate my dream.

Over the last week or so, I've been visiting the websites of Bon Appetit and Martha Stewart, looking up the recipes I have marked in my issues, and creating PDF printouts of each one. It sounds time-consuming, but has gone very quickly. I do a little at a time, and my stacks are getting smaller. I will take my paper issues to the local library to give away- they have a give-away magazine shelf that gets pawed through daily by patrons. I've offered this culinary goldmine to two people in my family who proclaim to be learning to cook, but they turned them down. I call "bullshit" on their purported interest in cooking.

Soon enough, minions, a world of electronic recipes will be at my fingertips! *insert maniacal cackle here*

Some of my Everyday Food issues with their wee little Post-It notes.

A fraction of my Bon Appetit mags. Good bye, friends. You've served me well.

Puff Pastry Appetizers with Bratwurst and Andouille Sausages

2010-12-28T00:30:00.000-08:00

My husband and I don't collaborate often in matters culinary, mostly because my menu making and grocery shopping and dinner starting are all usually done while he's busy at work. But when we do get together, it's often amazing.

We were tasked with bringing a dish to a family Thanksgiving gathering, and rather than my usual dessert category, I wanted to make an interesting savory appetizer. With Dear Husband's help, it was decided that I'd start with a puff pastry base and make two incarnations, both laden with sausage: one with bratwurst, and one with andouille (Cajun smoked sausage).

The bratwurst variation used a special seasonal sausage made with Spaten beer by our local German deli and restaurant, Siegi's. We used Siegi's for the Cajun version, also. While choosing our sausages, we tasted a few kinds of cheese available at the deli to determine the best pairings. Jarlsberg (like Swiss) was chosen for the bratwurst and smoked cheddar was chosen for the andouille.

A test run of cooking helped me decide what other toppings would pair well. Sauerkraut and onions were a no-brainer for the brats. The andouille was a little tricker. Thinking back to my favorite Cajun dishes, bell pepper repeatedly popped up as an ingredient. I used both green and yellow bells. I also tried and really liked diced sun-dried tomato- it added richness.

The veggies were sauteed in butter before the diced sausage was added and heated through. Then the mess was spread onto a sheet of puff pastry and sprinkled with cheese before baking according to the puff pastry package directions. With the heavy load of toppings, baking times were a little longer than expected, but still worthwhile.

While the puff pastry was a little limp underneath, the overall effect was achieved and the appetizers garnered rave reviews. Next time, I might put squares of pastry into mini muffin tins and make little pouches instead of a big pizza style sheet.

Spaten beer bratwurst. Achtung!

Smoked andouille sausage. Ha eee, I gah-ron-tee!

Andouille with yellow and green bell pepper.

Diced sun-dried tomatoes.

Bratwurst with red onions.

Puff pastry on a parchment-lined cookie sheet.

Bratwurst, drained sauerkraut, red onion, and Jarlsberg cheese.

Andouille, bell pepper, sun-dried tomato, and smoked cheddar cheese.

Roast Beef Sandwiches with Au Jus

2010-12-28T00:03:00.000-08:00

For most people, a homemade roast beef sandwich is an elusive delight. However, with a little know-how, tender and delicious meaty goodness can be yours at home.

It all starts with time and a good cut of beef - arm roast, in this case. A chuck roast would work, as well. You want a thick, well-marbled piece of beef, and you want to season it gently and cook it slowly so that the lovely fat and connective tissue inside can work their magic.

A cast iron Dutch oven is a must for any cook, I've come to find. When I received one as a Christmas gift years ago, I was doubtful about how often I'd actually use it. Little did I know. It's one of my favorite pots now, glossy and seasoned to perfection, and perfect for making delectable pot roast.

I started with about a 2 1/2 pound arm roast, purchased from a local family-owned farm- fabulous grass-fed, hormone free Oklahoma beef (no more grocery store crap for us, tyvm). I slathered the roast with a paste of kosher salt, fresh black pepper, minced garlic, chopped rosemary, and extra virgin olive oil, plunked it down in the Dutch oven, slapped on the lid, and threw the whole thing into a 350º oven. (My, that was some violent cooking!)

After about 3 1/2 hours, the meat was tender and tasty. While it cooked, I prepared the rest of the goodies for the sandwiches: caramelized red onions and crusty rolls with Swiss cheese. The onions are sliced fairly thick and sauteed in butter over medium-low heat until softened and slightly browned. Crusty French rolls are split, buttered, toasted, and dressed with Swiss cheese that is then melted under the broiler.

When the meat was ready, I set the roast aside, strained the pan juices into a saucepan, added some beef broth (hot water and a bouillon cube), and brought the liquid to a simmer. Taste, adjust seasoning with salt and pepper if needed. Slice the roast with a serrated knife across the grain into 1/4" slabs, layer onto the toasted and cheesed rolls, top with onions, and serve with cups of au jus gravy.

Oh hell yes!

Pepper, kosher salt, minced garlic, and minced rosemary.

Lovely bit of beef.

Making the tasty paste for the meat.

Slathered, smothered, and covered.

Yay for beef!!! I made a semi-healthy avocado pico de gallo salad to balance the meaty overload.

Neapolitan Style Limoncello

2010-12-27T23:34:00.000-08:00

A Facebook link to this blog post last month intrigued me. The post is all about making homemade limoncello, an Italian style lemon liqueur. With the holiday party season fast approaching, I jumped at the chance to make a tasty libation for sharing. Booze, lemons, sugar...what's not to love, right?

The limoncello itself is super easy to make. The only thing you need to have is patience. It takes about 30 days to steep the lemon peels, and I'd recommend heartily that you give your finished limoncello at least another week to mellow before serving. There's a noticeable difference in flavor after a week- less hellfire and more lemony sweetness.

The magic all starts with grain alcohol- the revered and feared Everclear. Everclear is mighty powerful stuff, and although it's diluted by half with sugar syrup, it'll still knock you on your ass if you're not careful. I dunno if there's a connection, but I served this stuff at a party last weekend and there was very nearly a drunken brawl shortly thereafter. Don't say I didn't warn you.

Anyhoo, on with the show. Check the link above for the actual recipe. It turns out I used 750mL of Everclear instead of the 1L called for, but it's so stout, I doubt I'd use a whole liter next time.

Limoncello is delicious as an aperitif or as part of a mixed drink. Keep a bottle in the freezer, because it tastes best ice cold. I like mine mixed with Sprite and ice. I think it might also be good in a champagne cocktail. Although I can't in good conscience recommend it, it's a fantastic shooter as well.

Removing lemon zest with a vegetable peeler- by far the easiest way.

Don't scrape into the bitter white pith.

Illegal in some states.

Good time to use that glass pickle jar you've been holding on to. Let the peels soak in the booze for a good month.

Easy peasy, lemon squeezy. I made a big ass pitcher of lemonade with the juice. Nothing wasted!

The lemon peels have been seriously dessicated after 30 days in Everclear.

Lemon-tinged Everclear. A most unappetizing color at this stage.

750 grams of sugar for simple syrup. Thanks for jacking my pics up, Blogger.

One liter of water for simple syrup.

After boiling the simple syrup, remove from heat, add lemon peels, and let cool.

Mixing the two parts together. Notice the lovely milky yellow hue.

Grolsch beer bottles work great because of the nifty flip tops, and my husband was kind enough to drink some of his beer for me so I could have them. I filled four bottles, which are 16 oz. each.

After straining the lemon peels from the simple syrup, I tossed them with sugar and allowed them to dry. Well, I allowed most of them to dry. They were so delicious I ate a bunch while they were damp.

Holy crap, do I suck at blogging.

2010-12-27T12:33:00.000-08:00

Yep. I suck at blogging. It's been since the beginning of November that I last posted. /facepalm

My apologies, minions. It's not that I haven't been cooking, and I have taken some pictures with the intent of posting. I guess the impetus to actually write about it hasn't been with me this holiday season. So please, forgive me, and check back over the next couple of days for some real updates.

Coming soon are posts about making Neapolitan style limoncello, beef stroganoff, stromboli, puff pastry appetizers, roast beef sandwiches, and more.

Thanks for still reading!

Pumpkin Cheesecake Dip

2010-11-09T19:31:00.000-08:00

I volunteered to bring a snack for tonight's meeting of Tulsa Cake Club, and this is the result...pumpkin cheesecake dip. Easy. Autumnal. Pumpkiny. Sweet and gently spiced. What's not to love?

I saw this recipe online somewhere a few weeks ago, cut and pasted the directions from the website into Word, and printed it out, so I couldn't tell you where it's from. Sorry, original recipe person! Also, I made a couple of adjustments in the form of adding cinnamon and vanilla.

Anyway, this stuff is awesome with gingersnap cookies and sliced apples. Pictured are slices of a Gala apple, but any not-too-sweet kind will do. I'm noshing on some Golden Delicious right now with a dollop of the dip.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Dip
Serves 8-10

1 (8 ounce) block cream cheese, softened
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
Dash vanilla
1-2 tbsp. heavy whipping cream, optional (I didn't need any.)
Gingersnaps and/or fresh fruit for serving (I used apples. Pears would be good, too. So would graham crackers.)

Beat the cream cheese and pumpkin with a mixer until smooth. Add the powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time until incorporated. Add the spices and vanilla. If the mixture seems too thick, add some of the whipping cream to thin it out. Chill thoroughly before serving.

It occurs to me as I'm finishing this post that the leftover dip I brought home from my meeting would be quite tasty as a topping for tomorrow morning's toast or bagel...hmm...

Homemade Green Bean Casserole

2010-11-09T13:08:00.000-08:00

Green bean casserole is a longtime favorite of mine, and it's pretty much universally popular as a Thanksgiving side dish. Are you sad that you're relegated to the old standby of globby canned cream of mushroom soup, limp green beans, and greasy French-fried onions? Think again. You can make this deliciousness from scratch, and it's very easy.

All you need are:

~ 3 cups fresh green beans, washed and broken into pieces 1 1/2" to 2" long
~ 1 tsp. fresh thyme, minced
~ 2 shallots or 1/4 of a red onion, diced
~ 4 oz. cremini mushrooms, washed and diced
~ 2 cloves garlic, minced
~ 2 oz. unsalted butter (half a stick, 4 tbsp.)- divided
~ 2 tbsp. all purpose flour
~ 2 cups milk
~ 1/2 cup panko (Japanese style bread crumbs)
~ kosher salt and fresh black pepper

Place the green beans in a shallow pan with about 1/2" of water. Cover, bring to a boil, and cook until just bright green. Drain off the hot water and dump the beans into a bowl of ice water. Set aside.

Saute the chopped mushrooms, shallots, garlic, and thyme in 2 tbsp. unsalted butter over medium heat. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in the flour and mix thoroughly. Slowly add the milk while stirring and cook until thickened. Season to taste and add the drained green beans. Heat through.

Preheat the oven to 400º. Put the green bean and mushroom mixture into an 8" baking dish. In a small bowl, melt the remaining 2 tbsp. of butter. Toss with the panko and spread the buttered breadcrumbs on top of the green bean mix. Bake until bubbling and golden brown. Cool slightly before serving. Serves 4-6.

Fresh green beans were first broken into 1 1/2" to 2" pieces, and then steamed in a small amount of water until bright green.

See the pretty bright green color? Drain off the hot water and toss those puppies into a bowl of water and ice. This stops the cooking and retains crispness.

Saute some chopped mushrooms, thyme, shallots, and garlic in butter with salt and pepper. Add flour and combine thoroughly.

Stir in some milk and cook until thickened. Adjust seasoning and add green beans.

Mix together some panko bread crumbs and melted butter for a crunchy topping.

This is an 8" round baking dish.

Bake until golden and bubbly. In hindsight, a cup of panko was too much topping for this small batch. Half a cup should suffice.

Om nom nom nom!

Happy Not Yet Thanksgiving!

2010-10-19T12:16:00.000-07:00

My husband is head-over-heels for a full bore turkey dinner with all the trimmings. Thankfully, so am I, because this meal is definitely time-consuming. Once fall hits, it's hard not to make a big special meal outside of the holiday celebrations. I have a big family, and my aunts and grandmothers are often the ones preparing the special dinners. With the use of bone-in turkey pieces, however, I can make a real turkey dinner for just the three of us.

The technique I use for turkey was featured on America's Test Kitchen. Go on over there and git yerself a membership. It's well worth it!

The turkey preparation basically involves slow roasting a bone-in breast (plus thighs and drumsticks, for a larger crowd) on a rack over chopped veggies, herbs, and broth, followed by a resting period and then broiling for crispy skin. The turkey-and-veggie infused broth from the roasting pan is then turned into the most singularly delicious gravy I've ever made.

On the side, I made some mashed potatoes, pumpkin pie with homemade whipped cream, steamed green beans, and cornbread dressing. I also opened a can of jellied cranberry sauce, a great pantry stand-by if you aren't in the mood to make your own.

My cornbread dressing is the same that my late stepmother used to make, and it's not so much a recipe as it is a method. It's easy, delicious, and makes great leftovers.

Cornbread Dressing
Serves 8

2 boxes Jiffy cornbread mix, prepared according to package directions, baked, and cooled (You can do this the night before and let it sit, covered, on the counter.)
1 lb. pork sausage, regular or sage flavored
1 cup white onion, diced
1 cup celery, diced
2-3 cups chicken broth
Garlic powder or granules
Poultry seasoning

Crumble the cooled cornbread into a large mixing bowl and break it up with your hands. Heat a large skillet over medium-high, add the sausage, and cook until nearly browned through, breaking up pieces with a wooden spoon. Add the diced onions and celery to the sausage. Sprinkle on some garlic powder and poultry seasoning and stir well. Add about a cup and a half of chicken broth and bring to a simmer. Cook until the onions become translucent. Taste and adjust seasoning with more garlic and poultry seasoning if needed. Transfer the sausage mixture to the bowl with the cornbread and mix with a wooden spoon until moistened. Add more broth as needed until the mixture is completely moistened and sticky.

Transfer to a 9" square baking dish, spreading with a spatula to level. Bake, covered with foil, in a preheated 400º oven for about 20 minutes. Remove the foil and bake for another 20-30 minutes until the edges are browned. Serve.

Turkey breast basted with melted butter and seasoned with salt and pepper.

Roasting pan of vegetables, herbs, and broth.

The turkey roasts skin-down for the first hour, then is flipped over until done.

Carving the boid.

I suck at making pretty pie edges, so I rolled the excess dough and used tiny cookie cutters to make the border.

I adhered the leaf shapes with a little water.

See? Purty!

Whipped cream beaten into submission.

*Drool.*

Huzzah!

Farmer's Market Haul, $40 Compost Bin!

2010-10-09T11:40:00.000-07:00

I made the drive to downtown Broken Arrow, a lovely suburb of Tulsa, this morning to visit their farmer's market and take advantage of not only some tasty local produce, but a compost bin special offered by the Metropolitan Environmental Trust, the area group that heads up recycling and environmental education efforts.

I bought the Garden Gourmet compost bin for $40, nearly half price. Wahoo!

Sadly, the farmer's market season in Oklahoma is pretty much over, but I got some very photogenic produce today- locally grown zucchini, red potatoes, green beans, jalapeños, and sweet green heirloom chiles that originated in Italy but I didn't catch the name of. And, I sampled some yummy smelling hand lotion from Cheeky Munky Soap Company.

My drive home was filled with culinary inspiration brought upon by my purchases.

The zucchini will probably be sauteed as a side dish and possibly turned into bread or muffins. The jalapeños will be used in some Mexican dishes, which I love to eat any day of the week. I may even get a wild hair and make a batch of my Uncle Frank's special salsa. The red potatoes will be roasted with the sweet chiles for a first attempt take on papas con chile.

The huge batch of green beans will be divided into two dishes- steamed, and as delicious homemade green bean casserole. I've planned it in my head: béchamel sauce, lots of diced mushrooms, blanched green beans, shallots, garlic, and a little thyme, baked with a topping of buttery bread crumbs. Yum!

Chicken Parmesan, Baked Ditalini, and Bruschetta

2010-10-09T11:02:00.000-07:00

Chicken Parmesan is one of those dishes that so many Italian restaurants do poorly, but it's ridiculously simple. I can't tell you how many times I've had one that's greasy, over-sauced, and dripping with too much melted cheese. You can eat a breaded chicken breast that's not completely unhealthy!

Chicken Parmesan
Serves 4

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, patted dry
1/2 cup dried bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten with a bit of milk
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese (PLEASE don't use the crap in the green can!)
1 Tbsp. dried Italian herbs, or 1 tsp. each dried basil, oregano, and marjoram
Kosher salt and fresh black pepper
Olive oil
Homemade or jarred pasta sauce, about 2 cups
Additional grated Parmesan cheese, if desired, for serving

Heat oven to 400º. Drizzle olive oil into the bottom of a 9" x 13" baking dish to coat.

Place the flour on a dinner plate and season with salt and pepper. Put the beaten egg and milk in a shallow bowl. Mix the dried herbs and Parmesan cheese with the bread crumbs in a separate shallow bowl.

Working one at a time, dredge each chicken breast into the seasoned flour, shake off excess, dip in beaten egg, and roll in breadcrumb mixture, pressing to adhere. Place each breaded breast in the prepared baking dish.

Bake until the edges and tops of the chicken are golden brown and juices run clear, about 20 minutes. While the chicken is baking, simmer the pasta sauce in a small pan until slightly thickened.

Serve each chicken breast with some sauce spooned over, and sprinkle on additional grated Parmesan, if desired.


Chicken Parmesan and baked ditalini

On the side of chicken parm at restaurants is usually a pile of spaghetti marinara. My husband asked for some baked ziti or something similar, and so I made this simple dish. He prefers baked pasta that is not loaded down with cheese, and that is heavier on tomatoes.

Instead of ziti, I used ditalini, which are tube-shaped like ziti but much shorter, making them kid-friendly and good for soaking up all the sauce. I simply boiled about a cup of dry pasta in salted water until it was *almost* done, mixed it in a shallow baking dish with a generous amount of pasta sauce, covered it with foil, and baked it alongside the chicken. After it was hot and bubbling, I tossed some Parmesan on top.

For an appetizer, we went further with the crazy tomato goodness by having bruschetta on fresh French bread.

Bruschetta (say it correctly, please- broos-KET-uh, not broo-SHET-uh) is super simple and very customizable. I diced 3 tomatoes, finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, and mixed in some freeze-dried basil, olive oil, salt and pepper, and a splash of balsamic vinegar. After chilling briefly, the concoction is spooned over slices of crusty bread. You can toast the slices first with a drizzle of olive oil, if desired.

Buon appetito!

Cashew Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-10-09T10:39:00.000-07:00

My adorable kitchen assistant, Eva, is sadly allergic to peanuts. Fortunately, she is able to eat tree nuts. She will eagerly scarf down pecans, cashews, walnuts, almonds- you name it. I happened upon a marked down brand of salted cashews at the grocery store a couple of weeks ago and picked up 2 boxes. One was eaten as snacks, and the other was destined to become cashew butter for cookies.

While cashew butter is often available on grocery store shelves, it's usually unsalted, and in my opinion, a bit bland. I tossed the whole container into my food processor, held onto the handle (the processor has a tendency to dance around), and blended them until I got the smoothest consistency I could manage. You could always stir in some chopped cashews after blending for a chunkier consistency.

I used my old standby peanut butter cookie recipe out of my red and white checked Betty Crocker cookbook and substituted an equal amount of cashew butter for the peanut. I am impatient and was baking with an almost 4-year-old kid, so we skipped the dough chilling portion of the instructions. I'd recommend you go ahead with it- the cookies will be pretty flat if you don't.

After scooping balls of dough, I flattened each one slightly with my fingers and let my kiddo push chocolate chips onto the top of them.

You could also substitute soy nut butter or almond butter. Delicious!

Betty Crocker Cookbook Peanut Butter Cookies

1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup peanut butter (or cashew butter)
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix sugars, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and egg in large bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients. Cover and refrigerate about 2 hours or until firm.

Heat oven to 375ºF.

Shape dough into 1 1/4-inch balls. Place about 3 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten in crisscross pattern with fork dipped into sugar.

Bake 9 to 10 minutes or until light golden brown. Cool 5 minutes; remove from cookie sheet. Cool on wire rack.


Dough was portioned with a spring-handled ice cream scooper.

Sampling the dough for texture and consistency.

More quality checks. She goes the extra mile to ensure that our cookies are the best!

The finished product. Yummy!

Guest Blogging: Tulsa State Fair

2010-10-07T10:08:00.000-07:00

The adorable and creative force behind the local blog Tasha Does Tulsa, Natasha Ball, asked me to do a guest blog post on my trip to the Tulsa State Fair, featuring the rides, the food, and the people.

Enjoy!


Mmmm...corn dog.


Like mother, like daughter.

Sweet baby piglet trying to find the nipple he likes best.

Feeding exotic cattle in the petting zoo.

OMG...so cute!!!

Mommy-baby goat sweetness.

Truckin'

Her third and final trip on the Sky Ride.

The 30-Day Food Challenge: My focus

2010-10-02T23:17:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I blogged about a 30-day food challenge to be more efficient in the kitchen: to buy more locally, eat more healthily, and be less wasteful overall. My focus is a little different than the challenge creator over at Living On This Farm. I'm using this as an impetus to go forth with buying local and eating better, but I'm also addressing some other issues I have. Those issues are sticking to my grocery list, and making too much food to the point that I have to throw stuff away.

I've been in the beneficial habit of making a weekly menu and an accompanying grocery list, but I always wind up coming home with stuff I didn't set out to buy. My pantry is not bursting at the seams because of it, but my bill at checkout time is always higher than it should be. I keep a notepad on the side of my fridge, and when I'm running low on an item, I write it down. When I make my menu, I write down the recipe-specific items that I don't already have on hand.

I also wind up throwing away leftovers too often. In our house, I'm usually the one who will be stuck eating leftovers and there are numerous times when I'd just rather eat something different, or I've made more than I'm willing to polish off by myself. This needs to stop. We are a family of three, and while my husband can pack it in when he's been playing a lot of hockey and my growth-spurt-having almost-4-year-old daughter can, too, there's no reason for me to have to toss food like I do now.

Here's the beginning of my challenge to myself. I'll be posting my menu, my grocery list, and my overages from the grocery store trip. Hopefully, putting this down in writing will help me, and you, to be more vigilant.

Everything on this list is made from scratch, except for the chips. Also, the corned beef comes with a seasoning packet.

Menu for October 1-9

Chicken noodle soup (leftovers will be lunch)
Split pea soup (lunch for myself and my daughter)
Shepherd's pie
Corned beef and cabbage, potatoes and carrots
Chicken Parmesan, baked ditalini (like ziti, but smaller pieces), and balsamic vinegar-tomato bruschetta with ciabatta bread
Chicken Cordon Bleu (non-breaded experimental recipe), salad, steamed green beans
Wienerschnitzel, potato pancakes, homemade applesauce
Beef enchiladas with ranchera and chile verde sauces, papas con chile
Hamburgers, chips (lunch)
Ham steak, hash browns, pancakes with peach puree

Shopping List
Oatmeal
Orzo
Croutons
Lunch meat- ham and turkey
Orange juice (We go through a lot of O.J. It ain't cheap!)
Fettuccine
Sugar
Ham steak
Potatoes (I buy Yukon Golds. They're much less starchy than Russets.)
Primatene inhaler refill
10% benzoyl peroxide gel
Ditalini pasta (Short little tubes)
Fresh green beans
Pork cutlets
Buns
Bread
Chips
Cereal
Corned beef
Cabbage
Lettuce
Pears
Carrots
Corn tortillas
Paper napkins
Juice
Queso fresco
Margarine
Poblano chiles
Cilantro

I got everything on my list. I was able to save $3.45 using coupons. I've recently begun printing coupons off of a couple of different websites, and they're very handy. You have to be careful with coupon usage- it's very tempting to buy something just because you have a coupon for it. Remember that you're only saving money if you're buying an item you actually *need* already.

I also saved $0.50 by bringing my own grocery bags. I have ten canvas tote bags that I keep in the trunk and bring for every single shopping trip. My local store pays $0.05 for each reusable bag.

I wound up buying several items that were not on my list.

Non-List Items
Kraft Colby cheese (1 package) - $2.40
Justification: regular use, sale price

Hatch tomatoes and green chiles (2 cans) - $1.00
Justification: sale price

Frozen easy-peel tail-on shrimp (3 one-pound bags) - $8.97
Justification: deep discount (weekend seafood sale)

Turkey franks (1 package) - $2.67
Justification: We had leftover chili to eat them with and my husband and child like them.

Kiwi fruit (3 pieces) - $1.00
Justification: None. Total impulse buy. They were there, and they're delicious.

Bananas (1 bunch) - $1.28
Justification: regular use, low price for organic.

Butternut squash (1 piece) - $1.93
Justification: None. Total impulse buy. I've been wanting to try it as a side.

The sub-total for my non-list items was $19.44. Local sales tax adds 8.917% for a total of $21.17.

I spent an EXTRA TWENTY BUCKS on stuff that was not on my list. Sheesh.

Date night! (BONUS = Local chocolate!)

2010-10-02T22:36:00.000-07:00

As we stay-at-home moms know all too well, it's not common enough that we can get out of the house for dinner with nice clothes, makeup, and good hair. I treasure every single date night that my husband and I can manage. Thankfully, I have awesome (childless) siblings who are always up for niece-sitting. On this eve in particular, my sister was home without her business-tripping husband and graciously provided her services.

Our night out was fantastic. We started off with dinner at a local Mexican joint, Compadres Mexican Grill and Cantina, where we scarfed down chips and queso before enjoying fajitas and carnitas tacos. We polished it off with the best flan this side of the Pecos and a couple of sopapillas that were to die for. Sure, the food was good, but our waiter was out of this world. His name was Samuel, and if you ever make it to the south Tulsa location of Compadres, make sure you sit in his section!

After dinner, we took a drive, meandering north toward downtown. A leisurely drive through the Brady Arts District took us past a glowing window that looked to me like a chocolatier. Cody drove around the block for a second look, and sure enough, that's what I saw. (Does this tummy have GPS or something?)

We walked into a charming small chocolate shop, Glacier Confection, with the most gorgeous hand-crafted candies I've ever seen- glossy jewel tones, domes of silky chocolate, intricately painted truffles, and artisan chocolate bars from exotic locales.

We wound up buying a selection of truffles and a dark chocolate bar. The truffles were fantastic- my favorite was the amaretto. And the lemon. And the dark chocolate. We scarfed down all nine of the truffles while standing in the dining room.

Owner and Chief Chocolate Officer Bill Copeland was wonderfully friendly and helpful, explaining all about the bean-to-bar chocolate he offers from Askinosie Chocolate.

Askinosie's mission is small batch chocolate making that allows the purchaser to know where the beans themselves came from- there's a photo of the farmer on the bar's package! If you're looking to know more about the origins of your food, this chocolate is a good place to start.

All in all, this was a freaking awesome date night.

The 30-Day Food Challenge - A Cooperative Blogging Effort

2010-10-01T14:10:00.000-07:00

This image is of a poster from the Depression, published by the U.S. Food Administration to encourage responsible eating during tough times. These days, with so much overabundance and over-consumption, it's not a bad idea to return to the ideals embodied by the hard times endured by our grandparents and great-grandparents.

A friend pointed me in the direction of a blog called Living On This Farm the other day. The author, Lisa, is a self described "former restaurateur from Seattle who was abducted by aliens and placed on a farm in rural Oklahoma." (That part made me giggle.) She has issued a fun but meaningful challenge to her blog's readers to adhere to the 6 tenets of the poster pictured above for 30 days.

My husband and I have had several recent discussions on the merits of locavorism, the practice of eating locally grown and produced foods whenever possible. I'm committing to join Lisa in her challenge and finally make the leap to buying food locally.

I'm hoping to join the Oklahoma Food Cooperative this weekend and start shopping online for anything that tickles my culinary fancy. I've already mentally chosen free-range eggs, potatoes, spinach, and cherry tomatoes. The list goes on.

I'm super excited and I hope you'll join us in this effort to eat in a way that nourishes our bodies, our state, and our community.

Key Lime Icebox Pie

2010-09-28T20:46:00.000-07:00

The recent grocery store find of $0.89/pound bags of organic key limes sent me scurrying to the recipe from Cook's Country for Key Lime Icebox Pie. I'm a huge citrus fan and have wanted to try this recipe for a while now.

It's a simple, no-cook dessert, and despite being a *bit* too tart (which I could've fixed but didn't- don't ask me why because I don't have a good reason), we still enjoyed it after adding ridiculous dollops of homemade whipped cream.

My first task was to juice two pounds of key limes. The original recipe calls for using regular (Persian) limes, which would've been easier, but apparently I'm a glutton for punishment. Juicing 50 to 60 teeny tiny limes is a great way to find every single cut and hangnail on your hands!

It's also time-consuming, but I just juiced a few here and there while I was doing other stuff in the kitchen, rather than all at once. And thankfully, these little green gems were thin-skinned, which made for easier juicing. Take note- it's also easier to juice citrus that has been brought to room temperature rather than cold fruit.

So tiny and cute!

Strained juice, lime carcasses, and whole limes being stripped of their zest.

The chilled pie, complete with homemade graham cracker crust.

Plain slice - a bit too tart for our tastes but still pretty!

Now *that's* more like it! :D

Browned Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

2010-09-28T20:26:00.000-07:00

Every little kid likes cookies, and my kid is no exception. I recently decided to make a batch during daylight hours (daytime baking is a rare treat for me- most of it is done well after dark). So I got my mini helper in the kitchen with me for some tasty treats.

My go-to recipe for chocolate chip cookies comes from the ever-trusty Alton Brown, of the Food Network show Good Eats. Alton is my culinary crush (nerdy, cute, a killer cook- what's not to love?) and his recipes are at the top of my list when I'm looking for something new to try.

Alton's recipe uses melted butter instead of softened. An article in my local paper got me thinking. The article described a chocolate chip cookie made with browned butter- a simple but significant tweak in the flavor of that baking standby, by which the butter is melted in a saucepan and gently cooked until the butter solids turn golden brown. This imparts a nutty, toasted flavor to the butter that is a great complement to many baked goods.

Since Alton's recipe has more brown sugar than white, I figured that the browned butter would go nicely to further the caramel-y flavor of the cookies. I was right!

I didn't make any alterations to Alton's recipe, with the exception of browning the butter. Make sure you are patient with the dough chilling portion. I'm always scooping the dough while it's still soft, and my cookies are always too flat. But they manage to wind up in my tummy anyway! :)

First, get yourself an assistant-slash-taster.

Melt the butter gently in a saucepan.

It will foam quite a bit. You can sorta see the solids browning.

Nope, that's not beer. It's butter, baby!

Cute assistant sold separately.

Ghirardelli bittersweet chips are *the best tasting* chocolate chips for baking. America's Test Kitchen told me so, and they were right!

Gotta make this kid earn her keep somehow. Lookit those guns!

A one-ounce ice cream scoop works well for measuring out the dough. It's also useful for meatballs.

Lumps of happy goodness waiting for the oven.

If you aren't impatient like me, your cookies won't be so flat. Let the dough chill completely before scooping.

Flat or not, they taste frickin' awesome!

Campfire Cookin' - Pork Chile Verde

2010-09-05T21:22:00.000-07:00

This past June, I had the distinct pleasure of taking a road trip with my brother, sister, and brother-in-law to a family reunion in Montana. On the way there, we camped out in Yellowstone National Park. Hooray for that! It was my first ever time camping and I had a great time, although I froze my ass off that night, had to get up to pee at o'dark thirty (sans contact lenses, in an unheated bathroom that thankfully had a flush toilet but no hot water), and I'm pretty sure I was sleeping head-down on an incline. >.<

That being said...when we began to plan our camping portions of the trip, I decided that it would be a blog-tacular culinary adventure to cook over a campfire. I offered to make the food for our dinner in Yellowstone, and I had the perfect adaptable recipe from the March 2010 issue of Bon Appetit magazine- Pork and Poblano Tamale Pie. I blogged this recipe previously as part of my Operation: Expand Horizons.

I made some changes to the recipe to make it a little simpler for campfire preparation, brought along my trusty Lodge cast iron Dutch oven and some nonperishable supplies, and bought the rest of the stuff in Cody, Wyoming, a charming little burg you'll want to visit some day.

The adaptations I made to the recipe were mostly to make the dish cheaper and easier to cook out of a cooler. Instead of the scratch cornbread topping, I used a box of trusty Jiffy brand corn muffin mix and left out the cheese. I omitted the freshly ground spices and opted for the simpler taste of the roasted peppers. I didn't spring for any cilantro, and I used canned corn instead of frozen.

It was simple and rustic and tasted freaking delicious, although my own tastes and the compliments I received may have been tinged somewhat with a healthy amount of road weariness and an overdose of convenience store snacks. Either way, mission accomplished!

Supplies

Blurry picture- pretty sure it's my fault.

Dutch oven on the campfire

Sauteing the pork cubes in olive oil

Adding salsa verde, onions, garlic, water, and chicken bouillon cubes

Lazy girl's chile-roasting setup for 2 poblanos and 1 bell pepper

Peeling roasted peppers

Dicing roasted peppers

Adding corn and roasted peppers...looking good!

Cornbread topping. If this was oven-baked, or perhaps buried in coals, the cornbread would brown. Since we used the Dutch oven's lid and bottom heat, it steam-cooked and was light and fluffy.

We pretty much ate the whole pot.

I ate lots of roasted marshmallows for dessert!

Cooking 101: Lesson One - Prep work is everything!

2010-09-05T15:44:00.000-07:00

If you're new to cooking, there are a few things you should practice along with the actual food. Preparation is the key to successful food making. It's especially helpful in lowering your stress levels while learning a blood pressure-raising task such as cooking.

The French, while snotty and lacking in personal grooming, have their shit locked down in the kitchen. There is a French term, "mise en place," which is used in the restaurant industry. It means "putting in place" and refers to the chef's setup.

When I get ready to cook dinner, there are several steps I go through before I ever turn on a stove burner or the oven. They help me maintain an organized workspace, an organized brain, and a cleaner kitchen.

Begin with clean countertops and an empty sink. You'll be glad you did.

1. Look at your recipe. Give it a good read and determine the time needed for the steps. Is it a crockpot-dump-and-forget-it, or is there ongoing work? Do you have all of the ingredients?

2. Sharpen the knife or knives you'll be using. I use a sharpening stone with two wheels- one rough and one smooth. Wipe the knife with a clean towel to remove sharpening debris.

3. Get out the pans you'll need and set them on the stove. Also retrieve any utensils you will be using- wooden spoon, rubber spatula, garlic press, measuring cups and spoons, etc.

4. If the kitchen trashcan is not near your work area, move it next to where you'll be standing. If you use a compost bucket, have it nearby as well, ready for veggie scraps.

5. WASH YOUR HANDS with soap and warm water. Dry them on a clean kitchen towel and keep that towel handy.

6. Get out all the ingredients you will need- spices, meat, veggies, eggs, olive oil, etc. and set them in your work area.

7. Measure out spices and put them in small bowls. I have 4 tiny glass bowls I got at a restaurant supply store. Each only holds about 2 Tbsp. but they are perfect for minced garlic, spices, and small amounts of garnish like chives or parsley. Also measure out any liquids you'll be using, such as chicken stock, water, or milk.

8. Starting with vegetables, do all of the necessary chopping. Set veggies aside in small bowls. You can combine the ones that will be cooked together to save space. After all of the veggies are prepped, cut your meat, if using.

9. Put the meaty cutting board and knife in the sink, wash your hands again, and wipe down the countertop.

10. Now...cook!

Vegetables prepped for a Japanese style hibachi stir-fry

Mise en place for rice pilaf- minced garlic, chopped onion, vegetable bouillon cube, thyme sprigs, white and wild rices in measured amounts

Mise en place for spring vegetable couscous. Here are my tiny prep bowls- so cute and so functional!

The Errant Kitchen

2010-08-25T14:11:00.000-07:00

I've read my fair share of food blogs, and I always wonder what those cooks are working with in their kitchens. Do they have a sprawling country kitchen or are they bumping their elbows in a NYC style postage stamp?

Wonder no more about my humble kitchen, kiddies. Here she is in all her mid-century modern glory.

Galley-style 1950s kitchen

If it hits the ground, it goes to the hound. This is Barney, the eldest of our 3 dogs. That is Barney's Laying Spot.

Limited counter space, so I've got to keep it clean and cleared off.

Fridge cluttered with recently used recipes, magnets, some artwork from my kid, and a few notes.

My kitchen gadget wish list on the left, and this week's menu on the right.

My favorite magnet.

More cool magnets- we found the gears a few years ago at Pottery Barn Kids and I got the Dr. Seuss ones in the dollar bin at Target.

Wall O' Workhorses- KitchenAid food processor, vintage chrome and glass Osterizer blender, compost scraps container, cool toaster I got for Christmas, and awesome thermal carafe Cuisinart coffee pot, also an Xmas gift.

Designated greenery. I have to keep the tendrils tucked in because they tickle me in the face while I do dishes if they get a little long.

My much loathed glass-top stove with one bad burner (came with the house), bread dough rising, good knives from Victorinox, Wüsthof, and Henckels, vintage canisters, organic bananas, and my KitchenAid stand mixer under its dust cover.

Freezing beans

2010-08-24T12:14:00.000-07:00

I'm on a multi-sided mission lately: trim out even more processed food, reduce waste, and reduce my grocery budget. We already eat a pretty good diet that very rarely includes anything processed, so it's not hard to find substitution methods for those things we do buy in a package.

We love beans of all kinds, and I recently decided to start cooking them from scratch more often. However, dried beans take some forethought, and I don't always have things planned like I should, so I thought I'd try the freezer for another option.

As for the budgetary concerns, while canned beans aren't what you might consider expensive, it can get pricey if you eat them frequently enough. One 15-ounce can is about $1.25 to $1.50. They are about 3 times more expensive than dried beans, can be loaded with salt if you're not careful, and they add to the trash by being packaged in steel cans. (Sadly, steel recycling in my city is not readily available.) Plus, since canned beans weigh more than dried, it's more costly to ship them.

Dried beans to the rescue! Using some tips I read online, I decided to freeze some portions of cooked dried beans. Here's what I did.

This time around, I chose to make some pintos and some black turtle beans. I started with the requisite pre-soak. I dumped each 1 pound bag of beans into a big bowl, covered them with about 2" of water, and left them on the counter for about 15 hours. Normally the instructions say to soak for 6-8 hours, but I found that a much longer soak meant fewer burst beans and a shorter cooking time.

After that, I drained off the soaking water, gave the beans a rinse, and put each batch into a stockpot with a fresh 2" cover of water. I brought each pan to a low boil, reduced the heat slightly, and simmered them for about 35 minutes until they were just barely done. (A website suggested that a little underdoneness can help frozen beans retain better texture.)

Each pot was drained of its cooking liquid before being measured out into freezer bags. Each pound of dried beans netted 2 pounds 6 ounces of cooked beans, which I divided into 3 portions. I then made a brine of a cup of hot water and 2 teaspoons of kosher salt and added about a 1/3 of a cup to each bag, bringing each bag's weight to about 15 ounces, the size of a can of beans.

After being labeled, the bags were left to cool on the counter for a bit before hitting the freezer.

I kept out one of the 15-ounce portions of black beans so that I can make black bean soup tomorrow! :)

Hummus and Veggie Wrap

2010-08-24T11:56:00.000-07:00

In an attempt to atone for last night's dinner of Philly cheese steaks with fried potatoes, I decided to make a super healthy lunch of hummus and veggie wraps. Thankfully, it was also kid-friendly, which for my über-carnivore child is a big deal.

Hummus is widely available in grocery stores, but homemade is so much better. You can better control the content of the salt, for one, and you can also customize it to your tastes. Some places add too much tahini (sesame seed paste) for my liking, which can add unwanted bitterness. Others make theirs the consistency of baby food- I like mine free of chunks, but I don't mind a little texture.

I blogged about the simple joys of hummus once before, and you can find my recipe here.

I made myself a wrap with a generous schmear of hummus on a small tortilla and piled it high with an assortment of vegetables- cucumber, tomato, carrot, and alfalfa sprouts. I sprinkled a little kosher salt on the tomato slices before closing it up.

My kiddo had a dollop of hummus on her plate with some carrot and cucumber slices and wedges of tortilla for dipping. She also used her finger to get up the last few bits! :D

Oatmeal Sandwich Bread

2010-08-18T21:39:00.000-07:00

Oklahoma summer has been especially cruel to this lover of all things that come from the oven. With our 1-year-old AC even struggling to stay below 78 on these 100-plus days, baking of any kind has been strictly forbidden by my heat-intolerant husband. In fact, he's broken his takeout-only streak and actually taken *me* out to eat in order to avoid my turning on the stove for dinner.

So when we got some torrential rain and accompanying cool front yesterday, after I got done dancing a gleeful jig, I celebrated by baking a loaf of bread. The recipe was one I had not yet tried and was made available by fellow Okie and famous-ish blogger and writer Molly Wizenberg of Orangette.

I'm not a regular of Molly's blog for no reason other than my own apparent inability to remember to visit it (call it mommy brain), but you should definitely check it out. She also writes monthly for Bon Appetit magazine.

This bread turned out to be everything it was promised- simply delicious. I will make it again. And again. It's easy, the dough rose like the dickens, and the texture is divine.

I made one small substitution to the recipe - available here in case you missed it - I used maple syrup instead of molasses, for the simple fact that I didn't own any molasses but I did have the syrup wasting away in the fridge.

Chicken Chili

2010-08-18T21:19:00.000-07:00

While fall has not *officially* arrived, I'm still already craving autumnal dishes. We eat a lot of chili when it's cold outside, and I've managed to create a pretty damn good chicken version.

I started off a few years ago with a recipe from my uncle Frank, a kickass cook in his own right. I tweaked the ingredients to better suit our tastes- less heat, black beans instead of great northern- and voila! An easy one-pot dinner that garners me lovely compliments from anyone who eats it. Even a confirmed novice can make this one, and it's very kid friendly and full of veggies and fiber.

Chicken Chili
Serves 4-6

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 cup chopped onion
2 stalks celery, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, chopped or put through a press
1 - 15 oz. can black beans, drained (I don't rinse mine)
1 - 15 oz. can corn, drained
1 can Ro-Tel tomatoes with green chiles, mild or regular, *not* drained
2 tsp. chile powder (I buy chile New Mexico powder from the Latin section of the grocery store- it's inexpensive, mild, and has a nicer, purer flavor than the mixture called "chili powder")
1 tbsp. ground cumin
1 tsp. dried oregano
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
3 chicken bouillon cubes
2-3 cups water (or omit cubes and just use 2-3 cups of chicken stock)
Olive oil
Kosher salt and fresh black pepper
Garnishes as desired: chopped fresh cilantro, sour cream or yogurt, green onions, chipotle Tabasco sauce (a mild and smoky hot sauce)

Heat a good drizzle of olive oil in a large stockpot over medium-high heat. Add the cubed chicken, season with a little salt and pepper, and cook, stirring frequently, until chicken is almost cooked through, 5-8 minutes. Add onion, celery, and garlic and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Stir in chile powder, cumin, oregano, and Worcestershire. Add the bouillon cubes, water, beans, corn, and Ro-Tel (with its liquid). Bring to a simmer and cook, uncovered, for about 15 minutes.

Garnish with cilantro, sour cream, or other things as desired. My husband likes his a little smoky, so he uses the chipotle Tabasco.

It's especially good as leftovers.

Peach Butter

2010-08-18T21:04:00.000-07:00

Part of my recent adventure into the world of canning has already included the putting up of some beautiful local peaches. There's a small town called Porter near Tulsa, where I live, and Porter is famous for its delicious summery, fuzzy fruit.

I purchased a few more pounds recently, intending to put up more jars of peach halves. However, I procrastinated and several of the peaches wound up a little too soft and bruised for that. Never fear! Fruit butter to the rescue.

I looked to a blog called Food In Jars for help. Their site has some general instructions, but no specific recipe, so if you're also a canning n00b, do as I did and venture forth at your own peril.

It all starts with fresh peaches, relieved of their skins by a brief dip into boiling water. This is best accomplished by making a small X in each peach's bum with a sharp paring knife, dunking a few of them at a time into a roiling stockpot, and removing them carefully with a wire spider or slotted spoon. When they've cooled enough to handle, gently slip the skins off and discard them. Better yet, throw them in the compost bin!

Nekkid peaches! :O

Next the fruit is cubed. There's no need for anything close to perfection. You'll be cooking the bejeesus out of these babies, so whack away.

A small amount of water is added and the pot is brought to a boil.

After a thorough boiling, the whole mess is moved to a crock pot for slow cooking, which will reduce and thicken the peaches without the hassle of monitoring the stovetop. Prop open the lid with a wooden spoon to allow the steam to escape. My crock pot is old, so I turned it to high. Most newer ones will work on low.

I cooked mine for a good part of the day, but I'm bad about timing so I can't tell you how long it took to wind up like this. You'll just have to judge for yourself!

One more reason why I need an immersion blender. This stuff is super hot and I was very careful when transferring it in and out of my regular blender to puree it.

After pureeing, I added sugar, cinnamon, ground ginger, and some lemon juice to my taste, filled my jars, and processed them. Since my batch was smaller than the one on Food In Jars, I had to wing it.

Purty orangey-brown goodness for my toasty and waffle-y enjoyment!

Pecan Waffle with Peach Puree

2010-08-11T21:52:00.000-07:00

We love eating a big breakfast on the weekend, and last Saturday night, while thinking about the next morning's fare of waffles and bacon, I was struck with an inspiration. Peaches. And pecans. And a waffle. Delicious inspiration, to say the least.

Alton Brown of the Food Network has a great scratch waffle recipe that I use all the time. Trust me- you won't want boxed mix waffles again after you try it. (He also has a really good pancake recipe.)

I made my husband his plain waffle and then started on mine. I ladled batter into the waffle iron like usual, only this time, I sprinkled the top of the batter with a healthy dose of chopped pecans before closing the lid.

Instead of regular pancake syrup, I made some peach puree out of some peaches I canned myself last month. I threw the chunks and some of the juice into the blender with a healthy pinch of brown sugar and a sprinkling of cinnamon and blended it smooth.

The resulting photo does look a little like a waffle covered in nacho cheese, but trust me, it was amazing. The peach puree was just right, a welcome fruity change from the overly sweet syrup I normally use. I will definitely be making my waffles like this again!

The Well-Appointed Pantry

2010-08-11T21:36:00.001-07:00

A sampling of what's in my pantry...

Back row, from left: dry pinto beans, ground flax seed, instant potato flakes (for making bread only!), lentils, rigatoni, slivered almonds, bulgur wheat (for tabouli), egg noodles and rice stick noodles, and Bob's Red Mill 7-Grain hot cereal.

Front row, from left: green split peas, black turtle beans, great northern beans, red beans.

I've been doing some organizing and deep-cleaning in my kitchen lately. I did an inventory, got rid of a couple of things, and cleaned each shelf in the pantry. A bottle of red wine vinegar was out of date and looking nasty, so I poured it out and threw the rinsed bottle in the recycling. (Remember the 3 Rs...reduce, reuse, recycle!)

While I was doing this mini-project, I decided a blog post was in order on a well-stocked pantry. Dry goods are an essential part of cooking, as they can be a big money saver.
Some of my favorite dry goods are rice, wild rice blend, black beans, red beans, pinto beans, lentils, split peas, canned fruit, Craisins, and old fashioned oats. Try some in your next kitchen adventure. Your wallet and your belly will thank you!

Chicken Saltimbocca with roasted red potatoes and cucumber-tomato salad

2010-08-11T21:17:00.000-07:00

Oh yeah. This is what I'm talkin' about...an easy-peasy dinner that looks awesome but is super simple to make and tastes delicious.

I had never tried Chicken Saltimbocca before seeing it featured on an episode of America's Test Kitchen. I snagged the recipe and have made it twice now. It's perfect for impressing company while not spending all night in the kitchen.

"Saltimbocca" apparently means "jumps in the mouth" in Italian, which is what the flavors of this dish are supposed to do. It's a simple combination of sage and prosciutto that I really like.

Chicken Saltimbocca
serves 4

2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts, halved horizontally into cutlets
1/4 cup all-purpose flour, seasoned generously with fresh black pepper
1/4 cup fresh sage leaves, chopped
4 thin slices prosciutto (not shaved, just thinly sliced)
Kosher salt
Extra-virgin olive oil

Pat the chicken dry with paper towels and sprinkle on just a bit of kosher salt. Dredge the chicken in the peppered flour and shake off the excess. Lay the cutlets flat, divide the chopped sage between them (one side only), and press gently to adhere. Press a slice of prosciutto on top of each cutlet, over the sage.

Heat about 2 tbsp. of olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Place each cutlet in the pan gently, prosciutto-side down, and cook for about 3 minutes. Flip and cook through. Serve. (I wound up flipping a second time to get the cutlets cooked thoroughly and nicely browned.)

I served the chicken with some roasted red potatoes and an easy salad of summer's favorite veggies. I drizzled sliced tomatoes and cucumbers with olive oil and balsamic vinegar, sprinkled salt and pepper over them, and crumbled some feta cheese on top. So good!

The roasted red potatoes were super simple, too. I just scrubbed some small ones, cubed them (skins on, of course!), and tossed them in a roasting pan with a sliced shallot, olive oil, and garlic salt and pepper. I roasted them in my oven on the convection setting at 400º for about 20 minutes, give or take, until they were fragrant and starting to brown.

Delish!

Baked Potato Soup

2010-08-06T15:42:00.001-07:00

Baked potato soup has to be, hands down, one of my favorite spoon-eaten meals. It's also my kiddo's most recent favorite lunch. We go to Panera Bread every week and she always wants a bowl. I decided to make some for lunch at home.

Being that it is the middle of summer here in Oklahoma, and the average daily temperature is hovering around 285º Fahrenheit, I'm loathe to use my oven right now. Crock pot to the rescue! I've used my slow cooker once before to make baked potatoes in this heat, and while the result wasn't my husband's favorite for a side item with steak, it is perfectly fine for other applications.

I started off with about one and a half pounds of Yukon Gold potatoes (about 7 medium). If you've not yet tried Yukons, get on it! Their flavor and texture is far superior to the more common Russet. Their skins are thin and perfect for skin-on eating. There's an abundance of good-for-you fiber and nutrients in them thar skins, so leave your peeler in the drawer.

I put the crock pot on low, made a large pouch out of foil, and put the whole taters in it. Before closing the pouch, I poked each potato with a knife, spritzed on some Pam, and sprinkled them liberally with kosher salt. After cooking them overnight, I turned off the crock pot and took my kid to the library for story time.

By the time we came home, the whole potatoes had cooled enough to handle. I cubed them and set them aside while I started on the soup base.

Mmmmm...bacon. I diced up 4 strips of bacon and cooked them in a stock pot. After the bacon is crispy, remove it to a small bowl and pour off all but about a tablespoon of the grease.

Saute some chopped onion (about 1/2 cup), celery (1 stalk), and garlic (2 medium cloves) in the remaining bacon fat until just starting to soften. Sprinkle on 1 tablespoon of flour and stir.

Add 1 cup chicken broth and 3 cups milk, scraping the bottom of the pan with the spoon to get up all that delicious brown stuff, called "fond" by the French. It's pure flavor.

Add the cubed potatoes to the pot and simmer for about ten minutes, or until the celery and onion are tender. Mash the potatoes slightly. Don't obliterate them- you want some good chunks in there.

To make this soup really thick and good, I pureed about 4 ladles-full in the blender. Be careful with this step. Make sure you hold the lid on or you could splatter yourself with very hot soup.

Return the pureed portion to the pot, stir well, and season to taste with salt and pepper. I threw in a palm full of chopped chives from my garden. You could also use thinly sliced green onions. It really gives a good flavor boost. Yum!

Strawberry Lemon Marmalade

2010-07-30T18:31:00.000-07:00

The gals over at the blog Doris And Jilly Cook have a recipe for Strawberry Lemon Marmalade that a friend of mine recently made and raved about, so I thought I'd give it a shot.

I've only begun canning and preserving in the past month or so, and had never before made jam or jelly. I love strawberries and lemons, and this time of year is perfect for tasty and inexpensive berries from my local grocery store, so I thought I'd have a go.

Sterilized half-pint jars. The recipe said it makes 4-5 half pints; I wound up with six. Thankfully I prepared an extra when I saw the quantity of marmalade that was cooking.

The gorgeous fresh strawberries I used. The original recipe is for frozen sugared berries; since they're in season, I used fresh, chopped them up, and sweetened them. I used about a quart and a half of whole berries to wind up with 4 cups of chopped. It may have contributed to the excess that I wound up with. It's impossible to know, when someone says to use a quart of berries, if their berries were smaller than mine, or if they were whole or chopped up.

Thinly sliced and chopped lemons are brought to a boil in water and left in their cooking liquid overnight. Next time, I'll use my mandoline slicer to get paper-thin slices.

Chopped sweetened berries and more sugar are added to the lemons and the whole mess is cooked until syrupy. See Doris and Jilly's blog for tips on getting the right consistency for gelling if you've never made jam before.

A couple of lessons were learned from this, my first jam-making experience.

One: Boiling marmalade/jam/preserves is the culinary equivalent of freshly spewed lava from Mt. Kilauea. Cook on a back burner so as to avoid splattering yourself with this sticky stuff that's about as hot as the sun. Thankfully, I thought about this beforehand and wasn't injured. Cleanup is also markedly easier if you wipe splatters and spills immediately with a warm wet towel. After it dries, good luck. Grease up those elbows.

Two: The recipe calls for 4 medium lemons. Three of mine were more on the large side, which I think accounted for part of having six half pints instead of 4 or 5. It also made the marmalade a little more tart than I might have preferred.

Three: This was a lot easier than I thought it would be, very rewarding, and definitely worth another batch eventually.

Hibachi-Style Steak and Veggies with Ginger Sauce

2010-07-30T17:48:00.000-07:00

Some spare vegetables and an extra ribeye gave me divinely delicious inspiration recently: Benihana-style faux-hibachi dinner. I've done this before and it is easy and tasty, not to mention LOADS cheaper than a night out at your local Japanese steakhouse. All you need are quality ingredients, an electric griddle (it's not just for pancakes), and a good dipping sauce recipe. Here we go!

First, the sauce. We've tried innumerable store-bought Asian-style sauces with no luck. They were all too something: too salty, too sweet, too fishy, too bland. I've never been to an actual Benihana restaurant, but we have a local version here called Shogun that has similar food, from what I'm told. Shogun's ginger dipping sauce is fantastic, and I thought maybe Benihana's would be too.

I found a recipe purporting to be the one used at Benihana, tried it, and modified it to be even better. This sauce is perfect with steak, chicken, and vegetables. You'll have more than you need for this meal, so stick the rest in a zip-top bag and freeze it for later!

Ginger Soy Dipping Sauce
makes about a cup and a half

1/4 of a medium yellow onion, chopped
1 tbsp. peeled and grated fresh ginger
2 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/2 cup soy sauce (I like the Kikkoman low sodium version.)
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 tbsp. Asian garlic chili sauce (I like the Roland brand.)

Whir it up in a blender until combined. Set aside until ready to serve.

This is my griddle, a very old but dependable Presto that I received secondhand many moons ago. The knob goes up to 400º (presumably that's close to actual heating temperature), so that's what I set it to. I greased it lightly with vegetable oil.

Mung bean sprouts are a key part of the vegetable portion of this meal. They are cheap - about 99 cents a bag - and provide a welcome crunch.

I used traditional hibachi steakhouse veggies- onions, zucchini, and mushrooms. Don't cut them too small. You want some substance even after they are cooked.

I had one ribeye left out of a bulk package from Sam's Club. I seasoned it with kosher salt and fresh black pepper before letting it rest and warm up a little. Cold meat doesn't cook as well.

I started the steak first, getting a good brown seared crust on one side before flipping it over and covering it with a saucepan lid to help hold in heat. I wound up flipping it a couple of times to cook it thoroughly- we like our steak medium to medium-well.

While the steak is cooking on one side of the griddle, start cooking the onions, zucchini, and mushrooms on the other. Mix them together, season with kosher salt and pepper, and stir occasionally with a spatula. You don't want to have too much liquid around them, or they'll get soggy instead of browned. A squeeze of lemon juice as they finish cooking is quite nice.

When the vegetables are almost done, stir-fry the mung beans by themselves for a minute or two before mixing them in with the other veggies.

Serve a hunk of steak, a pile of veggies and sprouts, and plain cooked rice with a small dish of ginger sauce for dipping and drizzling.

Now that's umami.

Greek Yogurt

2010-07-30T15:08:00.001-07:00

A sweet lady named Paula (codename: Romaine) has a blog called "Salad In A Jar," and she has a popular post detailing how to make Greek yogurt at home. I followed her instructions and have been making my own yogurt for the past couple of months. It's super easy and waaaaaay cheaper than buying yogurt. In fact, the batch I just made the other day was created with a half-gallon of milk I purchased for only $0.99. I got about a quart of yogurt for a buck!

Paula uses skim milk to make her yogurt, but since we drink 2%, that's what I use.

After scalding the milk, cooling it slightly, and adding the starter, I cover the bowl in plastic wrap and set it on a heating pad turned to "low" for about 11 hours. I check the temperature periodically with my Fluke infrared thermometer to make sure it hovers around the 100º mark. If it gets a little warm, I just pull back the towel and plastic wrap for a bit.

Overnight is about right, and by morning the yogurt is ready for straining. I gently pour off whatever whey I can, and then briefly strain scoops of yogurt in a very fine mesh strainer. The yogurt pictured here looks lumpy for some reason, but it's not.

My new interest in canning has provided me with some spare glass Mason jars, so that's how I store my yogurt since glass keeps odors out.

See the post below for a tasty way to eat this kind of yogurt. You can also use it in recipes, in place of sour cream, or in a fruit smoothie.

Honey-Walnut Granola

2010-07-30T14:52:00.000-07:00

For some reason, certain types of food are quite pricey at the store, despite the fact that they are cheap to make at home. Granola is one of them. Plus, store-bought granola always has something I don't like- either too much sugar, too much fat, or some kind of dried fruit I'm not a fan of. This version is simple, good for you, and SO easy to make.

These measurements are approximate, since I threw this together on a whim.

Honey-Walnut Granola

Preheat the oven to 350º. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss together 2 cups of oats (I used old fashioned- quick oats would probably be OK too), half a cup of sliced almonds (you can use more- that's what I had sitting in the pantry), and about a cup and a quarter of walnut pieces (I bought a 6 ounce bag and broke up larger chunks with my fingers).

Mix together about 1/4 cup of vegetable oil and about 1/2 cup of honey. This will take a bit of stirring. A fork works better than a spoon. Drizzle the glaze over the oat/nut mixture and toss well with a rubber spatula to coat. Give the whole mess a generous sprinkling of cinnamon, and about a pinch of salt. Toss well.

Bake in the preheated 350º oven for about 15-20 minutes until golden brown and fragrant, tossing with a spatula about halfway through. Stir again a few times as the granola cools, which will help keep it from sticking to the baking sheet. Store at room temperature in a sealed container.

As you can see from the top photo, I like my granola in parfait form. I layered some homemade Greek yogurt (a future post), a sprinkling of brown sugar, some fresh blueberries, and a generous amount of granola. It's delicious for breakfast OR dessert!

Bundt Pan Roast Chicken

2010-07-21T20:56:00.001-07:00

Roast chicken is easily one of my favorite meals, and it's so easy. I read about using a Bundt pan to roast chicken on a blog recently and I thought I'd give it a shot.

First, you should know that meat and chicken cook more evenly and brown better if you don't try to roast or grill them cold. My chicken was pretty cold, so I put it in a sinkful of hot water first, still in its package.

After the chicken was room temperature, I removed the gizzard, liver, and neck and discarded them. (You can reserve them for chicken stock, if desired, and the gizzard and liver make excellent dog treats once cooked.)

Preheat the oven to 400º and lower the rack to the bottom third of the oven.

I prepared some vegetables for the bottom of the Bundt pan- small Yukon Gold potatoes, carrot chunks, and wedges of red onion. I seasoned them with salt and pepper and tossed in 4 sprigs of thyme from my garden.

This Bundt pan originally belonged to my Great-Grandmother Castle, a helluva lady and a great cook. She made fantastic rum cake in this pan every holiday season, and I hope I do her memory justice. I like to think this pan has good kitchen karma.

Place the Bundt pan on a sheet pan- not a cookie sheet, but one with sides, just in case some juice escapes. Plop the chicken ass-down over the center of the Bundt. Brush it with melted butter and sprinkle generously with salt and pepper. Stuff the neck cavity with an onion half and some more thyme sprigs.

Roast the bird and veggies in the preheated 400º oven for about an hour, until the skin is golden brown and an instant-read thermometer registers 160º. Serve the carved chicken with the vegetables and drizzle everything with the pan juices.

Perfect!

Easy Chicken Caesar Wraps

2010-07-21T20:40:00.001-07:00

These chicken Caesar wraps were my husband's idea for lunch one day, and I must say, I'm very happy with myself for the execution.

The foundation of the wrap was a mixture of lovely vegetables- Romaine lettuce, red onion (always the best choice for salads and sandwiches because of its sweetness), and home-grown yellow and red tomatoes.

Chicken cutlets were sprinkled with garlic salt and fresh pepper before being grilled until cooked through but still juicy, and then they were sliced thinly.

We had been on the hunt for a good quality creamy Caesar dressing for salads, and boy howdy, did we find one! Brianna's Home Style Asiago Caesar Dressing is the bomb. It's made in Texas, but I forgive them for that. ;) I chose it because it won a Chef's Best Award, which is a sign of a good product in the food world.

You could use pita or other flatbread for this wrap, but I chose to use my favorite tortillas, La Banderita. They're delicious and soft, and the soft taco size is perfect for this and other uses.

I piled the sliced chicken and veggies on each tortilla and gave them a generous drizzle of the Caesar dressing before rolling up. Super simple, healthy-ish, and so delicious!

Philly Sandwiches

2010-07-21T20:16:00.000-07:00

OK, so I completely had brain farts during the photography section of this meal and missed out on several key shots, so you'll just have to imagine pics of the completed sandwich in all its beefy, cheesy glory.

Philly sandwiches are so often messed up in restaurants it's not even funny. I haven't had a "real" one since I've never been to PA, but I know from TV what goes into one and I know enough about food to take that stuff, cook it, and make a delicious Philly. So here goes.

The key to the Philly is the meat. You want a decent cut of steak that won't be tough when cooked quickly. I like to use flat iron steaks. They're inexpensive and taste really good.

Slice about a pound of cold flat iron steak into thin strips. Season the strips with garlic salt and fresh black pepper. Cover the meat with a paper towel and let it rest and warm up a little to room temperature.

Slice up some red onion and green bell pepper. I cut my onion into 1/4" half-circles and the bell pepper into 1/2" wide strips. I normally prefer red or orange bells, but for this sandwich, the tangy flavor of a green bell is better suited.

In the meantime, prepare the buns and preheat the oven to 350º. I like soft hoagie rolls with sesame seeds on top. Lay the bun halves out on a sheet pan, spread both halves with Cheez Whiz (my husband prefers sliced Swiss, but supposedly, good ole Whiz is more authentic, and I like it better), and place the pan in the oven to heat and soften the buns and melt the cheese.

Heat a little vegetable oil in a large skillet, preferably cast iron, on medium-high heat until the oil is shimmering. Add the steak strips to the skillet and cook, stirring frequently, for about 2 minutes. Add the onions and peppers. Keep the skillet contents moving and make sure the heat is adequately high- you want to sear this stuff, not boil it.

When the meat is cooked and the onions have started to caramelize, your sandwich guts are complete. Pile them onto your warm, cheese-coated hoagie roll and enjoy.

Slurp!

Pork Stew with Hard Cider, Pearl Onions, and Potatoes

2010-06-18T14:36:00.000-07:00

The February 2010 issue of Bon Appétit offers a decidedly wintry concoction called Pork Stew with Hard Cider, Pearl Onions, and Potatoes. However, I loves me some stew any time of year, and given that my husband is a die hard meat-n-taters man, I figured this would be a good choice. It was, but I'd make some changes for next time.

We thought the finished product was a little too sweet, probably due to the inclusion of a chopped Granny Smith apple. I'll leave that out next time. I'll also leave out the thickener, a paste of butter and flour whisked into the finished stew. It wasn't necessary.

A delectable mix of root veggies was used. The purple onions came out of my vegetable garden. For some reason, they all came out really small, but since this recipe calls for pearl onions, they were the perfect size!

Chopped bacon is cooked and removed to be added back later. I love bacon!

Cubes of boneless pork shoulder, also called Boston butt, are seasoned with salt and pepper before being browned in the bacon fat.

The cider I used was a kind I drink regularly, Hornsby's Hard Cider Amber Draft. I'm not a beer drinker, but this stuff tastes deliciously apple-y. I halved the recipe, so part of the cider was for cooking and part of it was for drinking. My kinda dinnertime!

This was the first time I've ever cooked parsnips, which were sautéed with chopped shallots.

The photo of the finished stew keeps winding up funky on the post's layout, so I'll try to add it again later.

Pork Chops with Peppers and Green Beans

2010-06-18T14:15:00.000-07:00

The May 2010 issue of Everyday Food offers a recipe for Pork Chops with Peppers and Green Beans that is simple and tasty. I'm always looking for ways to sneak more vegetables into our meals, and this is a good one. You simply grill bone-in pork chops with some salt and pepper, and make the veggies separately to pile on top of the cooked chops.

I substituted garlic for the ginger because I forgot to buy fresh ginger, and I left out the jalapeño because I was feeding a 3 year old. The green bean and roasted pepper combination was unexpectedly good. I love roasted peppers, and fresh green beans are welcome on my plate any time.

This was one of the dishes I knew my husband would complain about, so I served him a plain pork chop and made some Rice-A-Roni wild rice pilaf on the side, which he likes. I'd prefer to ditch boxed sides altogether, but we compromise with rice and I often make my own with onion, garlic, parsley, and chicken broth instead of the plethora of unpronounceable crap that goes into a box of rice mix.

Operation: Expand Horizons - The Moral of the Story

2010-06-18T14:01:00.000-07:00

I'd have to say that Operation: Expand Horizons was a blessing and a curse. The blessing part was that I got to try some new recipes, cook some interesting dishes, and clean out the recipe collection a bit.

The curse part was that my picky-eater husband pretty much bitched the entire month. How dare I ruin a perfectly good pork chop by putting stuff on top of it, and why can't we just have rice or potatoes or green beans for every side dish?

There were some good things in the process, too. I realized that planning a menu ahead of time, even just week by week, helps reduce stress tremendously. The simple act of having a list on the fridge of what's on deck for that week makes things easier.

I realized that despite my husband's pickiness, I am a pretty good cook, and even though feeding him for the rest of my life will most assuredly be a pain in the ass at times, I do thoroughly enjoy cooking and baking and feeding my family good food. I'm damn stubborn and I can't shake the feeling that I will change this man's mind eventually.

At any rate, I'm still going to throw in a new recipe once or twice a week, and when I feel like eating something really weird, I'll make it for lunch.

The blog goes on. Thanks for reading!

Day Twenty-Five: Creamy Lemon Squares

2010-06-01T12:59:00.000-07:00

Day 25 of Operation: Expand Horizons brings another dessert from Everyday Food- Creamy Lemon Squares from the June 2008 issue.

This simple yet delicious dessert comes together quickly and easily. The crust only has four ingredients: butter, salt, flour, and powdered sugar. The filling has only three: lemon juice, sweetened condensed milk, and egg yolks. After briefly baking the shortbread-like crust, whisked-together filling is poured in and the whole thing gets baked until set. Chill, cut, and dust with powdered sugar, and you have a dessert that's sure to please.

Yum!

Equipment Corner: Mandoline Slicer

2010-06-01T12:39:00.000-07:00

I'm not usually one for expensive kitchen gadgets. My husband, however, thought I should have a mandoline slicer and bought me one for my birthday a few years ago. He got me the De Buyer Pro-V Mandoline V Professionelle, which retails for around $230.00. It came with a carrying case, two horizontal slicing blades (one flat and one ridged), and three different sized julienne blades.

This is an item that I thought I'd never use. That all changed when I realized just how great it is. It saves time, creates perfectly even slices, and multi-tasks. You can cut not only slices of varying thickness, but you can make waffle cuts, ridged cuts, and juliennes with precision.

There are other models out there for a lot less money, and I'm sure you can find a decent one for around fifty bucks.

Day Twenty-Four: Arroz Con Pollo

2010-05-30T12:50:00.000-07:00

Day 24 of Operation: Expand Horizons is another recipe by America's Test Kitchen, Latino Style Chicken and Rice, aka Arroz Con Pollo (registration required).

I've eaten Arroz Con Pollo before, as prepared by my amiga puertorriqueña Becky, but I've never cooked it myself. This version is simple, if a little time-consuming. My husband thought it lacked a certain something (maybe spiciness?). However, it was good, and certainly deserved a try.

Day Twenty-Three: Coconut-Pineapple Loaf Cake

2010-05-27T12:32:00.000-07:00

Day 23 of Operation: Expand Horizons brings a tasty dessert- Coconut-Pineapple Loaf Cake from the June 2008 issue of Everyday Food.

This simple dessert comes together quickly and tastes fantastic. I've always loved the combination of coconut and pineapple, and this cake is just right. I would make one small change next time. The recipe calls for toasting all of the coconut, a portion of which is scattered on top of the batter before baking. Because it was already toasted, some of the topping coconut got a bit over-browned for my tastes. Next time, I'll toast the coconut that goes into the batter but leave the topping as is, allowing it to toast while the cake bakes.

This cake is quite tasty the next day as breakfast! :D

Temporary hiatus- not to worry!

2010-05-25T15:26:00.000-07:00

Operation: Expand Horizons is on hiatus for a few days. My husband and I have both been feeling kinda crappy lately and haven't been in the mood for any new recipes. In fact, I'm lobbying for takeout tonight because I am SO not up for cooking.

Nevertheless, the cooking and photography and blogging will continue soon, pinkie swear!

Day Twenty-Two: Three Cheese Beer Bread

2010-05-23T15:44:00.000-07:00

Day 22 of Operation: Expand Horizons brings a recipe from the food blog Brown Eyed Baker. I'm not sure where she got the idea for Three Cheese Beer Bread, but it was inspired!

This tasty carb-load falls into the category of quick breads, which are risen without the use of regular yeast. This particular bread gets its bubbles from baking powder and 16 ounces of beer. I used a tall can of Coors Light, which was 16 ounces exactly, and just the kind of crisp lager taste that would match well with bread and cheese.

My careful planning left me with not the quite amounts of the required cheeses, so I took small liberties with the types and quantities- adding a little Swiss where I lacked some Gruyère, and a little Butterkäse (a mild, buttery, semi-soft cheese from Germany or Austria) and mozzarella where I lacked some white cheddar.

I took a loaf of this bread to a cookout and it was well received, despite a glaring omission during the mixing of the dough. I made the mistake of talking on the phone for an hour to my darling friend Allison from Eat Well Love Life while I was in the kitchen and accidentally left out the tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce. D'oh!

Nevertheless, the bread was delicious, and next time, I'm sure it will be even better. Thanks to Brown Eyed Baker for her blog and this great recipe. I have a few more of her recipes to recreate over the rest of this Operation.

Day Twenty-One: Multigrain Bread

2010-05-23T15:29:00.000-07:00

Day 21 of Operation: Expand Horizons was a baking day. Multigrain Bread from America's Test Kitchen (sign-up required, but the recipe is free for now) was, as promised, easy and pretty good. It toasts nicely and has a good hearty texture and flavor.

My one complaint about this bread is that it was a bit crumbly. Half-inch slices for a sandwich did not hold up well. A bit of internet research indicates that maybe I somehow used too much flour. Perhaps I need more practice with breadmaking!

I used Bob's Red Mill 7-grain hot cereal mix, as indicated in the recipe. I bought salted sunflower nuts instead of unsalted as the recipe calls for. If they were unsalted, I would wind up with a whole bag that none of us would eat, so I reduced the recipe's salt by about half. It seems a worthwhile compromise.

Day Twenty: Chicken Salad Sandwich

2010-05-20T19:55:00.000-07:00

Day twenty of Operation: Expand Horizons was an original mash-up recipe using leftover green chile mayo from the burgers and fries posting a couple of days ago.

I poached a medium-sized chicken breast in water seasoned with some kosher salt, black pepper, dried parsley, and dried chives. Poaching, if you're unfamiliar, is gentle simmering in water and seasonings, usually herbs or other aromatics like onion and garlic. It infuses flavor without causing the tough texture usually imparted by boiling the meat.

I removed the chicken from the cooking water and let it cool briefly before chopping. I also chopped up 1/4 of a Gala apple and two green onions. I mixed the chicken, apple, onion, and a large pinch of slivered blanched almonds with the remaining green chile mayo, seasoned it with salt and pepper, and piled it onto some homemade multi-grain bread with a piece of romaine lettuce.

Delicious!

Day Nineteen: Quick Lemon Mousse

2010-05-20T18:26:00.000-07:00

Day nineteen of Operation: Expand Horizons brings a fast and easy dessert from Martha's minions- Quick Lemon Mousse from the May 2010 issue of Everyday Food.

This citrusy, creamy concoction is made up of no more than gelatin, sugar, lemon juice, water, and heavy cream, and is chilled briefly before being served with some berries to balance the tanginess. I would love to have used the blackberries called for in the recipe, but again, my budget dictates my ingredients, and blackberries are about $5.00 for a half pint. No thanks! I had some good (and inexpensive) strawberries, and they were an excellent substitute.

The recipe states it serves 4, but it could have easily served 6 instead, especially when you have plenty of fruit to pair with. The generous portions were a little too much, and the lemony flavor can be a little overwhelming if you eat the whole bowl. Nevertheless, this super fast and elegant dessert is a must for the repertoire of sweets.

Day Eighteen: Spring Vegetable Couscous and Steak Kebabs

2010-05-20T17:47:00.000-07:00

Day eighteen of Operation: Expand Horizons offers one new recipe from the May 2010 issue of Martha Stewart's Everyday Food, Spring Vegetable Couscous, as a side dish to some tried-and-true steak kebabs.

I've never tried couscous before, and it was super quick to prepare. The dish itself is simple- asparagus, green onion, frozen peas, parsley, couscous, and water. I really liked it, but my husband, who is season-weary of asparagus, complained about it and also said it had too many peas. I think I might make a variation of this dish as a cold salad, using tabouli wheat (bulgur) instead of couscous. I may even spring it up further by adding some shredded spinach!

The magazine version calls for lemon zest and fresh lemon juice. Knowing our tastes (asparagus may well pair with lemon according to traditional cooking lore, but I find it has too much bitterness), I omitted the lemon and added two small cloves of garlic. The magazine also calls for adding shredded rotisserie chicken to make this a main dish, but that sounded weird to me and I opted instead to make it as a meatless side.

I like to keep frozen peas in the fridge at all times. For one, I got lucky with a youngin who will literally eat peas as a snack. Secondly, the frozen variety are infinitely more tasty than the canned variety. I learned my lesson buying the cheap store brand frozen veggies. There is a noticeable difference in flavor and texture- I now buy either Green Giant or Birds Eye exclusively.

Here's the recipe as it appears in this month's Everyday Food, with my changes noted in italics. I halved the recipe to make it a side for two adults and a 3 year old, and had about a serving left over.

Spring-Vegetable Couscous with Chicken

Serves 4

3 tbsp. unsalted butter

4 scallions, white and green parts separated and thinly sliced crosswise

2 wide strips lemon zest plus 1 tbsp. lemon juice (I omitted in favor of 2 cloves garlic, minced)

coarse salt and ground pepper

1 lb. asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1/2" pieces

1/2 c. frozen peas

1 cup couscous

leg and thigh meat from 1 rotisserie chicken, turn into bite-size pieces (I omitted.)

2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley

Melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high. Add scallion whites (and garlic) and cook, stirring constantly, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add lemon zest and 1 1/4 cups water and season with salt and pepper. Cover pan and bring liquid to a boil, then add asparagus and peas. Return to a boil and stir in couscous. Add chicken and remove pan from heat; cover and let sit 7 minutes. Add lemon juice (I omitted), scallion greens, and parsley and season with salt and pepper. Fluff with a fork and serve.

I have a well-worn recipe my husband found online for a dry rub for steak. It's purported to be like that used by Outback Steakhouse, but whether that's true or not, it's a good mix.

Steak Rub

Makes about 1/2 cup. Mix the following in a small bowl. Sprinkle generously over steak or pork chops about 1/2 hour before grilling. Store leftovers in a sealed container with your spices.

4 tsp. kosher salt

4 tsp. paprika

2 tsp. ground black pepper

1 tsp. onion powder

1 tsp. garlic powder (I use garlic granules, which I think have a more potent flavor.)

1/2 tsp. cayenne powder

1/2 tsp. ground coriander

1/2 tsp. ground turmeric

Day Seventeen: Burgers and Fries

2010-05-17T20:43:00.000-07:00

Day seventeen of Operation: Expand Horizons is a new interpretation on a family fave, burger night. Everyday Food offers up an Emeril Lagasse recipe for Pork and Chorizo Burgers with Green Chile Mayo. I also tried a new method of makinghomemade fries with a technique offered up by America's Test Kitchen.

Keep in mind that the fry recipe is available now for free from ATK, but you must have a login for their website and it won't be free forever!

While the pork and chorizo burgers weren't all that great, the green chile mayo was fantastic. It's a simple combination of roasted poblano pepper, mayonnaise, garlic, and lime juice, thrown together in the blender. I'll definitely make it again. In fact, it would be a good base for a chicken salad sandwich!

The fries were awesome as well. I think I cut them a little bit big, but they still turned out crispy and cooked all the way through without being overly greasy. Another thing to remember: the fry recipe is for Yukon Gold potatoes, not Russet! Yukon Golds have a firmer texture than Russets, and hold their shape better.

There are 3 cutting steps for evenly sized fries: squaring off the potato sides, cutting them into 1/4" planks, cutting the planks into 1/4" batons.

Finished fries. A wire spider is the key to fishing hot fries out of hot oil with a minimum of clinging oil. It's also a useful tool for cooking tempura in a wok.

Day Sixteen: Breaded Pork Chops and Wild Rice with Mushrooms

2010-05-17T20:14:00.001-07:00

Day sixteen of Operation: Expand Horizons seemed like it would be a very picky-husband-friendly meal. It wasn't his favorite, but he didn't hate it. The March 2010 issue of Martha Stewart's Everyday Food brought both new recipes for this dinner- Breaded Pork Chops and Wild Rice with Mushrooms and Parsley.

The pork recipe makes 8 chops and is actually a freezer batch. I made 3 chops and skipped the freezing. I don't know if this made a difference, but the crust didn't seem to adhere well to the chops. The recipe indicates that any other herb can be substituted for the fresh sage. I never have sage, but I have thyme in a pot on my back patio, so that's what I used. It usually matches well with Dijon mustard, and this was no exception. The chops were a little too mustardy for our tastes. They also took longer to cook than the recipe indicates, but I also don't broil meat on the top rack for fear of burning the outside and having a raw middle.

The mushrooms and wild rice was a good basic side that I will make again. It's a simple mixture of cooked wild rice blend, sautéed mushrooms, garlic, and fresh parsley. The recipe called for some fresh lemon juice at the end, but I didn't think it needed any so I omitted it.

I have a trusty container of Rice Select rice blend that I use frequently. It contains white, brown, wild, and red rices, and has a mild, nutty flavor that I really enjoy.

The EDF recipe calls for making the rice according to package directions. I find that packages vary, and Martha's people often use less water than I do. My way of making rice is very simple and no-fail.

In a straight-sided sauce or sauté pan, combine 1 part rice with two parts water, a drizzle of olive oil, a good sprinkling of kosher salt, and a few grinds of black pepper. Cover and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cook without stirring until the top of the rice is no longer submerged and there are holes throughout the surface. Remove from the heat and let it stand for 5-10 minutes before fluffing with a fork and seasoning to taste.

You can also make a simple pilaf by heating some olive oil in the pan and sauteing some chopped onion and minced garlic before adding the rice, water, and a bouillon cube for extra flavor.

Candied Orange Peels

2010-05-17T13:29:00.000-07:00

When life gives you lemons, or oranges, limes, or grapefruits, save the peels and turn them into a tasty, chewy candy.

With a sharp paring knife, remove the outermost layer of the citrus peel(I used 5 large oranges), avoiding the white pith. Cut into 1/4" strips. Boil in water for about 10 minutes. Strain out with a slotted spoon and let dry on a baking rack for about 15 minutes. Rinse out the pan you boiled the peels in and add a fresh cup of water and a cup of white sugar. Bring to a boil, add the peels, and boil for another 8-10 minutes until the peels start to turn translucent. Return the peels to the baking rack and allow to dry for 1 hour. Coat liberally with more white sugar. Peels will keep unrefrigerated in a plastic bag or container for 2-3 weeks.

Day Fourteen: German Chocolate Cake

2010-05-16T13:08:00.000-07:00

Day fourteen of Operation: Expand Horizons was a bit of a cheat. We had dinner plans at a restaurant to celebrate my brother's Master's degree completion, so I wasn't going to be cooking. Additionally, I was tapped to provide a cake. When my bro requested German chocolate, I decided to try a version from America's Test Kitchen that I had not used yet.

ATK hasn't failed me yet with their über-tested recipes, and this cake was no exception. It was delicious! The recipe says it serves 12-16, but I cut thin slices of this 4-layer monster for about 15 people and had cake left to spare.

Normally, German chocolate cake only has frosting between the layers. The outside chocolate frosting is my addition to pretty it up for a party. The "Perfectly Chocolate" frosting on the side of a box of Hershey's cocoa is a great basic recipe, and it's what I used. I added additional powdered sugar to make it stiff enough for piping.

German Chocolate Cake with Coconut-Pecan Frosting

Adapted from America's Test Kitchen

Serves 12-16

FILLING:

1 ½ cups pecan halves, toasted in a 350º oven and cooled

4 egg yolks

1 – 12 oz. can evaporated milk

6 Tbsp. unsalted butter, cubed

¼ cup light brown sugar, packed

1 cup sugar

1/8 tsp. table salt

2 tsp. vanilla extract

2 1/3 cups sweetened shredded coconut

Whisk egg yolks and evaporated milk together in a medium saucepan. Add butter, sugars, and salt. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until bubbling and foaming. Pour into a bowl and add vanilla and coconut. Let cool to room temperature, cover bowl with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until cool and thickened. When ready to fill the cake, chop the toasted pecan halves and fold into cooled filling.

CAKE:

4 oz. bittersweet chocolate, chopped

¼ cup cocoa powder

½ cup boiling water

4 eggs

2 cups all purpose flour

¾ tsp. baking soda

1 ½ sticks unsalted butter

1 cup sugar

2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed

¾ tsp. table salt

1 tsp. vanilla extract

¾ cup sour cream

Preheat oven to 350º. Spray two 8” round cake pans with nonstick spray. Line bottoms with parchment paper and spray again. Coat the bottoms and sides of pans with flour, tapping out excess.

Combine chopped chocolate and cocoa powder in a small bowl. Pour boiling water over the mixture, cover with plastic wrap, and let sit for 5 minutes.

Whisk together flour and baking soda.

In a stand mixer, beat butter, sugars, and salt for about 4 minutes until creamy. Add eggs one at a time, scraping down mixer bowl and blade in between. Add vanilla. Whisk chocolate mixture and add to creamed mixture. Blend well.

With mixer on medium-low, alternately add flour mixture and sour cream. Don’t overbeat. Finish incorporating by hand. The batter will be very thick. Divide evenly between the two prepared pans and smooth the tops with an offset spatula.

Bake in 350º oven on the center rack for about 30 minutes, rotating the pans halfway through. Cool cakes in pans for about 5 minutes. Invert cakes onto cooling racks that have been sprayed with nonstick spray, peel off parchment paper, and allow to cool about 1 hour.

Split layers in half horizontally and spread about 1 cup of filling between each layer and on top.