Christmas Dinner

I love that Christmas is a great excuse to fix fancy food. This year our menu consisted of: Prime Rib with Yorkshire Puddings, Garlic Butter Roasted Mushrooms, mashed potatoes and French green beans.

Because of time spent in England, my husband loves Yorkshire Puddings. I usually only make them once a year at Christmas. I ought to make them more!
Here's the Prime Rib, roasting away.
The mushrooms before roasting

And after. Can I just say the garlic sauce in the bottom was lovely poured over the meat and for dipping the Yorkshire puddings in? Thanks to my favorite cooking blog, smittenkitchen.com. Here's the link to the recipe if you're interested (if you like mushrooms, you're interested):

www.smittenkitchen.com/2010/12/garlic-butter-roasted-mushrooms/#more-6986

The Prime Rib and Yorkshire Pudding recipes are from Cook's Illustrated Website and Best Recipe Cookbook (respectively). Here they are, tweaked just a bit (and in the portions I cooked for our family):

PERFECT PRIME RIB (serves 4-6)

prime rib roast, about 3 1/2 lbs (2 ribs)

1. Set rib roast out for about 2-3 hours on counter to come to room temperature.

2. Heat oven to 200F. Meanwhile, bring roasting pan to medium-high heat on stove.

3. Dry roast with paper towels and tie a piece of kitchen twine around roast between ribs.

4. Sear roast in pan, turning as needed, until all sides are well-browned.

5. Remove roast from pan, place rack in pan and place roast on rack.

6. Cook, uncovered, in oven about 2-2 1/2 hours, until center of meat registers 130F on instant-read thermometer (for medium-rare).

7. Remove roast from oven and let rest 20-30 minutes, while making:

YORKSHIRE PUDDINGS (Makes 12)

3 large eggs at room temperature

1 1/2 cups whole milk OR 1 c half and half+1 c regular milk

1 1/2 c flour

3/4 tsp salt

3 T beef fat (reserved from roasting pan)

1. Whisk eggs and milk together in bowl until well-combined (if possible, use a large liquid measuring cup or bowl with a pour spout).

2. Add flour and salt to egg mixture, whisk quickly until combined and smooth, about 30 seconds.

3. Cover batter with plastic wrap and let stand at room temperature at least 1 hour, up to 3 hours.

4. After roast is out of oven, measure 1 T fat from roasting pan and whisk into batter. Raise oven temperature to 450F.

5. Measure 1/2 tsp fat each into 12 muffin cups (standard-sized muffin pan) and place muffin pan in 450F oven for 3 minutes. Fat may smoke.

6. Working quickly, remove muffin pan from oven, close oven door, and divide batter evenly among cups, filling them about 2/3 full.

7. Immediately return pan to oven. Bake, without opening the door, for 20 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350 and bake for an additional 5-10 minutes until deep golden brown.

8. Remove the pan from the oven and pierce each pudding with a skewer to release the steam and prevent collapse. Serve immediately.

TO CARVE PRIME RIB

Place roast on its side on cutting board (ribs should be perpendicular to cutting board). Use sharp knife to separate ribs from roast. Turn roast onto cut side and cut into thick slices.

Happy Holidays!

I'm Baack . . .

Well, life got crazy there for a while and I was not a great blogger. I hope to be better!

I'll start with a restaurant review for our fellow Ithacans.

We went to Delilah's with some friends a couple of nights ago. Delilah's used to be Wildfire. They changed the name and revamped the restaurant to reflect a Southern/Creole theme.
Overall I would say it was a good restaurant. Although I clearly ordered the wrong dish! On the waitresses recommendation I ordered the fried chicken, which was overcooked. The skin was too crunchy and the chicken inside was dry.
However, the appetizers we ordered were fantastic. We had the fried green tomatoes and the day's special tuna with buckwheat noodles. The fried green tomatoes were served with a crispy coating that was deliciously seasoned and also came with a fabulous balsamic sauce. The tuna was perfectly cooked and tender.
My husband had crab-encrusted red snapper, which was very fresh and delicious.
Delilah's is also trying to establish a reputation for their gourmet cupcakes, which I have to say were a bit of a disappointment. The cupcakes were moist but quite heavy and the flavors were prosaic.
Overall, I would try it again, the cuisine definitely had brilliant spots and the pricing was less than many of the other gourmet restaurants in town (about $12-18 a plate).

Peach Shortbread

We had some company over for a BBQ a few nights ago. I had these yummy local peaches that were perfectly ripe and I was going to make a peach pie. Then I checked one of my favorite cooking blogs, www.smittenkitchen.com and found a recipe for peach shortbread.

The great thing about this recipe: you don't even have to peel the peaches. Just wash and slice.
These turned out so very tasty. I tweaked the recipe/directions just a little. If you want to see the original, you can go to the smittenkitchen blog (see above).

PEACH SHORTBREAD

This recipe uses browned butter, which in my opinion makes them fabulous, but if you don't want the hassle, you can omit that step and just use softened butter. You may have to add a bit more flour if you do that. This recipe makes a 9x13" pan full.

1 c white sugar

1 tsp baking powder

3 cups flour minus 2 T

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1/8 tsp nutmet

1/4 tsp salt

1 c (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter

1 large egg

2 peaches, pitted and sliced 1/4" thick

To brown butter: Melt butter in small saucepan over medium-low heat. Allow it to melt, foam, then turn golden, and finally start to brown and smell nutty. In early stages, you can stir occasionally, but watch VERY closely near the end, it burns very easily. Set in the freezer until solid (about 30 minutes).

Preheat oven to 375F. Spray a 9x13" pan with nonstick spray. In bowl of your food processor, add sugar, baking powder, flour, salt, and spices. Pulse several times to mix. Add brown butter and egg to mixture. Pulse in 1-second pulses until mixture comes together and resembles coarse crumbs (If you don't have a food processor, you can whisk dry ingredients together, then mix in brown butter with your fingers or pastry blender but I had difficulty doing this with the hard frozen butter, so let it sit for a few minutes to soften if you have to do it by hand).

Pat 3/4-7/8 of crumbs into the bottom of the prepared pan and press firmly. Tile peach slices in a single layer. Sprinkle remaining crumbs over peaches and bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes, until top is slightly brown and you can see a little darker color around the edges. Cool completely in pan on wire rack before cutting.

As you can see, they turned out lovely and were so delicious. Much better than a peach pie!

I have to say I was a skeptic about what the result of this experiment would be. Apparently my mother-in-law had tried this before. But when we were getting ready to go in 80s weather and she told me we were going to make homemade ice cream in our backpacks as we hiked, I definitely thought, "No way is this going to work. It's just too hot." Well I should have known better as my mother-in-law is the expert on all things camping (especially on food)! It was amazing. So, here are the instructions. Give it a try-it makes a hot hike very worthwhile!

BACKPACK ICE CREAM

1 c cream

1 c milk

1/3 c sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

Mix-ins, if desired (ie: broken cookie or candy bar pieces, nuts, etc.)

Ice

1/2 c rock salt

2 quart-size zipper lock bags

1 gallon-size zipper lock bag

Newspaper

Tape (preferably electrical or duct tape)

In one quart-size bag, put cream, milk, sugar, vanilla, and desired mix-ins. Let all air out and seal bag. Gently massage and shake bag to mix ingredients. Place in second quart-size bag and press out air and seal. Place in gallon-size bag and fill with salt and ice. Press out air and seal. Wrap in several layers of newspaper and tape securely. Place in your backpack and go for a hike. Don't forget the spoons! This amount was perfect for 2 adults and 2 children to have a snack at the end of the hike. If you want more, don't double the recipe inside the bag, just make more bags and make everyone carry one! Thanks Holly!

Outside Cooking . . .

So, for anyone who has not heard, the East is under a record-breaking heat wave right now. Which means my stove and oven are pretty much off-limits. Why? Well, we don't have central air-conditioning. So trying to keep our house bearably cool is difficult, and would be impossible if I was doing a lot of cooking. So we've had to be very creative and cook outdoors. It hasn't been too bad, it just takes a little more planning and work.

Sunday, we had company coming and did a butterflied chicken on the grill (wish I had taken a picture, it was beautiful), boiled potatoes, gravy, cauliflower, watermelon, and dutch-oven peach cobbler. Most of this we did outside, and it turned out great. And I turned out exhausted!

Tonight it was a little simpler and so so yummy. One of our all-time favorite recipes is Pizza Margherita. I haven't made it lately because it cooks in a 500 degree oven. But I decided to give it a try on the grill.

The recipe is in my older posts, a few pages back. It didn't take much to modify it for the grill. I used the same dough (which I love because you make the whole dough in the food processor, so fast and you don't have to get your hands dirty!). Once the dough had risen, I divided it into 8 pieces and rolled each thin, then placed between floured sheets of waxed paper.

I made the sauce according to the recipe.

Instead of cubing the cheese, I shredded it.

Preheat the grill and scrape the grates clean. Turn the burners to about medium-high. Toss on as many dough rounds as will fit on your grill and let them cook until starting to brown on bottom. Watch the first batch carefully to make sure they don't burn, since every grill varies in temperature. Once they are brown, flip them over and, working quickly, top with sauce (spread with a spoon) and cheese. Close the grill lid for just a minute or two.

When the cheese is melted and bottom side of pizza is lightly browned (or darker if you prefer it crunchier), remove pizzas to a tray or cookie sheet. Sprinkle with chopped basil, kosher salt, and drizzled olive oil. While you're finishing the pizzas on the tray, you should also throw more dough rounds onto the grill for the next batch. Enjoy. And enjoy your nice cool house!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

No, these chocolate chip cookies are NOT overdone.

This comment is specifically for my dad, who is extremely picky about the "done-ness" of his cookies. When any of us bake the family-standard chocolate chip recipe, you have to watch the cookies like a hawk. Dad really likes them pretty pale. I can't blame him in a way, I don't like crunchy chocolate chip cookies. The best ones are a little crisp on the edges and pleasantly chewy and a little gooey on the inside.

So, back to these particular cookies, they are not overdone, they are brown because they are 100% WHOLE WHEAT. Yup. And guess what? They taste fabulous.

So on one of my favorite foodie blogs, I saw a recommendation for a new cookbook called "Good to the Grain". It's a cookbook with familiar recipes that are modified to include more whole grains. Well, we've been trying to eat more fruits and veggies and whole grains, so this cookbook seemed like a good choice. I really like it so far (but have only tried 3 recipes). I'll certainly post more about it as I go along. These cookies were intriguing to me the first time I leafed through the book. I love chocolate chip cookies. I keep trying new recipes, just to see what each different one is like. I honestly did not think these would be that great. Wow was I surprised. The wheat flour gives them a different texture and a sort of nutty taste, but these are both unexpectedly pleasant. It felt like kind of a grown-up, sophisticated sort of chocolate chip cookie with a really savory aftertaste that left me wanting more. Maybe it was partially the kosher salt. I have a longstanding love affair with kosher salt, but I haven't used it much in baking. This cookbook seems to call exclusively for it in all the recipes.

PS-My kids loved the cookies, too.

WHOLE WHEAT CHOCOLATE CHIP COOKIES

(modified slightly from "Good to the Grain" by Kim Boyce and Amy Scattergood)

Dry mix:

3 c whole-wheat flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
Wet mix:

8 oz (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" pieces

1 c dark brown sugar (don't substitute light brown, you really need the dark to contend with the strong wheat flavor)

1 c granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 (12 oz) package of good quality semisweet chocolate chips

Spray cookie sheet/s with nonstick spray. Heat oven to 350.

Add all dry ingredients to large bowl and whisk together. Set aside.

Add butter and sugars to bowl of standing mixer with paddle attachment. With mixer on low speed, mix until butter and sugars are blended, scraping sides of bowl if necessary. Add eggs one at a time, mixing until each is combined. Mix in vanilla. Add flour mixture to bowl and blend on low until the flour is just combined, about 30 seconds. Scrape down bottom and sides of bowl. Add chocolate chips all at once, and mix on low until chocolate is evenly combined. Scrape the batter out onto a work surface and use your hands to fully mix everything.

Scoop mounds of dough, 2-3 tablespoons depending on desired size (I liked these a little bigger, I think it helped contribute to a nice chewy center). Larger cookies will only fit about 6 to a sheet. Bake the cookies 15-20 minutes, until cookies are evenly dark brown. Transfer to a wire rack and continue to bake dough. Eat warm with milk! This recipe also halves nicely.

Strawberry Fields Forever . . .

A little background on me and fresh strawberries--whenever I go picking, I always pick WAY more than I think that I have. Probably due to my complete ineptitude at any type of spatial reasoning. Probably also partially due to the fact that fresh strawberries smell so amazingly good. No wonder the Beatles wrote a song about strawberry fields (although who knows how much of that song reflects actual reality).

Anyhoo, my little helper Jack and I went strawberry picking Monday. We proceeded in a very short amount of time to pick 15 POUNDS of strawberries! Yikes! But they looked great and smelled great and according to my little helper, tasted great too.

What to do with that many strawberries you ask?

Well, this is what my box looked like AFTER 3 batches of freezer jam.

So, I continued on to make 1 batch of cooked strawberry jam (you know, the kind you seal so it can keep outside of the freezer or fridge). I've never been excited about the cooked jams because the freezer jam tastes so fresh and yummy. But honestly we're at a premium for freezer space right at the moment. And the cooked jam actually tastes pretty darn good.
And here's the lovely compost bucket as testament to my efforts. P.S.--If you don't have a nice sharp little paring knife, you need one. It's one of my handiest kitchen tools.
The freezer jam sitting its required 24 hours on the kitchen sink.
Now, some information on jam-making that I discovered. I have used several different kinds of
"pectin", the stuff you use to set the jam. I don't like switching around on what I use, but for some annoying reason the stores don't always have the same kinds available. So, here's a bit on what I have learned:
PECTIN--There is actually a product named simply Pectin. It works well, the only hitch is that you have to remember that you need lemon juice in addition to your fruit and sugar. I also have not been able to find Pectin for a long time. Maybe it's not available much in the Midwest and East where I've mostly lived the last 10 years. I could always find it in Utah, but haven't looked recently.
SURE-JELL--This is the product I have used most, so I like it because I'm familiar with it. You only need the Sure-Jell, fruit, and sugar. The hitch with this one is that you have to boil the powder in a little water (3/4 cup) before you add it to the jam. Honestly for me, that really hasn't been too big of a hangup. It doesn't take long.
CERTO--I have just discovered this product and like what I see so far. I sent my husband to the store for Sure-Jell and he couldn't find any. So this is what he brought home. This is made by the same company as Sure-Jell. As far as I can tell, you end up with a similar result using either product. This product is a liquid, unlike the other two above. It actually comes in packages of 2, so it's a little more expensive, but also makes double the jam. This one, like the Pectin, requires lemon juice for many of its freezer jam recipes, but not for cooked jam. I liked the convenience of just dumping this in, no dissolving required. I used it only for my cooked jam and the jam set up perfectly so I was pleased with the product.
BALL BRAND--I am not certain if there's a product name, but there was a Ball brand pectin that I used last year. I was very unhappy with the resulting jam. If I remember correctly, you do add a little less sugar to the jam, and maybe that's a plus for some people, but the resulting product was poor. The taste was mushy, almost stewy, and quickly becomes discolored in the fridge. This is very unappealing, especially compared to other freezer jams that I can keep in the fridge for weeks with little or no change in the products appearance or taste (maybe just a little change in the consistency, it sometimes gets a little runny from being in and out of the fridge). I (guiltily) actually just got rid of quite a bit of the stuff I made last year with this product that was still in my freezer because we just didn't like it. I don't recommend this!
So, with the remnants (quite a bit!) of the berries, we made strawberry ice cream and strawberry shortcake. YUM! This post is already too long, so next time I'll share my favorite homemade Angel Food Cake recipe that we love for strawberry shortcake.
"Let me take you down 'cause I'm going to strawberry fields . . ." (The Beatles)

Lime-Coconut Cream Pie

I haven't made a cream pie for a LONG time, and this one sounded fantastic with the lime (we can't resist anything that has lime!).

LIME-COCONUT CREAM PIE

(modified slightly from Cooks Illustrated)

Crust:

6 ounces animal crackers (I like Barnums best)

2 T unsweetened shredded coconut

1 T granulated sugar

4 T butter, melted and cooled

Filling:

1 can coconut milk (full-fat, not light)

1/2 c heavy cream

1/2 c milk

1/2 c unsweetened shredded coconut

1/2 c granulated sugar + 1 T

3/8 tsp salt

5 large egg yolks

1/4 c cornstarch

2 T butter, cut into 2 pieces

1 tsp vanilla

zest grated from 1 lime (about 1 1/2 tsp)

Whipped Cream/Garnish:

1 1/2 c heavy cream (cold)

2 T granulated sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

1 T unsweetened shredded coconut, toasted in small skillet until golden (watch carefully or it will get too toasty!)

For crust: Heat oven to 325. In food processor, pulse animal crackers, coconut, and sugar to fine crumbs, 18-20 one-second pulses, then process about 5 seconds more until powdery. Transfer crumbs to bowl and add butter. Toss with a fork until crumbs are evenly moist, then empty into 9" pie plate. Using bottom of ramekin or drinking glass, press crumbs evenly into bottom and up sides of pan. Bake until fragrant and medium brown, about 15 minutes, rotating midway through baking time. Set on wire rack to cool while making filling.

Filling: Bring coconut milk, cream, milk, shredded coconut, 1/2 c sugar, and salt to simmer over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally so sugar will dissolve. In medium heavy bowl (a heavy bowl will make it easier to quickly whisk the mixture while tempering the eggs), whisk yolks, cornstarch, and remaining 1 T sugar until well combined. To temper the eggs: gradually ladle about 1 cup of hot milk mixture over egg mixture, whisking briskly and constantly until combined. Whisking constantly, gradually add remaining most of remaining milk mixture to eggs, then return mixture to saucepan and cook until thick and mixture just boils, whisking constantly, about 1 minute. Off heat, whisk in butter, vanilla, and zest until butter is fully incorporated. Pour hot filling into shell and smooth surface with spatula. Press plastic wrap directly against surface of filling and refrigerate until firm, at least 3 hours and up to 12 hours.

For topping: Just before serving, beat cream, sugar, and vanilla with electric mixture until soft peaks form. Top pie with cream and sprinkle with coconut.

The milk mixture with the unsweetened coconut. If you're not familiar with it, you can usually buy it in bulk sections of the supermarket or whole foods store (next to the nuts, grains, and granolas in my store). Using this instead of the bagged sweetened coconut makes it so the pie is not overly sweet.
The cooling crust waiting for the filling.

The egg mixture, ready to be tempered. It's a fairly thick mixture so it's a little tricky to whisk quickly, but very important!

The almost-complete filling with the lime zest added.

The beautiful finished pie right before serving. We really liked this dessert, my only complaint (because I have a MAJOR sweet tooth) is that it could have been a tad sweeter, but I think everyone else liked that it wasn't so sweet. The lime flavor was very subtle, next time I might even try and mix a little lime juice with the filling or cream topping. We'll see . . . !

The Truly Delicious "Big Mouth Burger"

Well, the warmer weather means my favorite season--Grilling Season! We do try and grill as much of the year as we can but it's much more enjoyable in nice weather!

One of our favorite things to grill is homemade burgers. I truly believe these are some of the best burgers I have ever eaten. Combined with the homemade hamburger buns (see my earlier posts), they simply can't be improved upon!

GRILLED CHEESEBURGERS

(modified slightly from The Best Recipe Grilling and Barbecue from Cook's Illustrated)

1 1/2 pounds hamburger (I don't recommend it any leaner than 85% for grilling!)

1 tsp (or to taste) kosher salt

1/2 tsp (or to taste) freshly ground black pepper

1/2-3/4 c cheddar cheese (can use other cheese if desired: blue, feta, monterey jack, etc.)

Place hamburger in large bowl. Break up with your fingers so the meat is loose. Add salt, pepper, and cheese. Mix gently with your fingers until combined. Divide into burgers (this amount of meat for us usually makes about 4 good-sized burgers). Shape into 1/2-3/4" burgers gently, pressing meat so that it holds together but is not tightly packed. After each burger is formed, lay on a flat surface and press gently into the center of each burger a slight but definite circular indentation (about 1/2" circumference). The purpose of this is to make the center of each burger slightly thinner than the rest of the burger so the burger will cook at a uniform rate. After preheating and cleaning grill, cook each burger about 3 minutes on each side. Do NOT press down on hamburger with spatula during grilling. Serve immediately with your favorite condiments and toppings (some of our favorite toppings are tomatoes, pickles, avocados, mushrooms, lettuce). Tell me if it's not one of the best burgers you've ever had.

Update on Homemade Naan . . .

I know I haven't posted in a while . . . life just gets crazy and some things have to go by the wayside! I have a couple of posts I will sit down and work on soon, but wanted to give an update on the homemade naan bread from the shakshuka post. The recipe I listed makes a TON of dough, enough for 16 large pieces of naan. This is way too much for my family, and you can half the recipe, but it was too much of a pain for me last time. So, AFTER rising, I divided the dough in two, wrapped one half securely in press and seal wrap and stuck it in the freezer (I labeled it, too, because I don't know about your freezer but sometimes there are a few mystery items . . . ). Last night I wanted shakshuka again but didn't have the time to make the dough. So I took the frozen dough out, let it sit on the counter for a while (maybe 45 minutes), then divided it into 8 and rolled and cooked the naan according to the original recipe. When I divided it, some pieces were fairly cold and a tiny bit frozen still, but working with it warmed it up and when I rolled it, it was just fine. I was pleasantly surprised, the resulting naan was great, the only difference between the fresh dough was that the frozen resulted in slightly chewier naan, but it was still tasty and DEFINITELY worth the time/work savings for last night's dinner.
You can freeze other doughs, I've had varied results with them. Pizza dough tends to work out okay, bread dough is okay but I don't think it's as light with frozen/thawed dough. Just make sure if you're going to freeze dough that you do it AFTER the initial rise.
Enjoy!

Smitten . . .

I've started to check out some other cooking blogs. There are a lot out there! A friend sent me to smittenkitchen.com. So far, it's great. I love the nice photos and the wide variety of recipes. Today I made my first recipe from the site. And it was definitely going out on a limb. It is an Israeli dish called shakshuka, which is (I don't know if this is a translation or just an English description!) Eggs Poached in Spicy Tomato Sauce.

I have to admit I was a little nervous, especially as the recipe called for 3 jalapenos (although I halved the recipe as I assumed my kids wouldn't eat it!). But, I actually didn't taste much heat at all. The sauce was mildly spicy, but a very different flavor than I have tasted before. We also had it with homemade Naan bread (an Indian specialty). It all ended up being very tasty! I love it when experiments turn out . . .

If you want to be brave and try it, go check out http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/04/shakshuka

Here's the recipe for homemade Naan (modified from allrecipes.com):

1 package yeast

1 c warm water

1/4 c sugar

3 T milk

1 egg, lightly beaten

2 tsp salt

4 1/2 cups flour

olive oil or butter

In stand mixer or bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water, let stand until frothy. Stir in sugar, milk, and egg. Add 2 cups flour and stir. Continue adding flour, kneading with the dough hook as you go, or turning out when you can no longer stir if kneading by hand. Knead dough until smooth and place in greased bowl. Cover and let rise until double. Punch down and pinch off small handfuls of dough the size of golf balls, roll, and place on greased tray. Cover and rise until double. You can cook naan on a grill or in a skillet. I prefer cast iron because it retains an even heat so well, but you could also use a nonstick skillet. Roll each ball into a thin circle. If desired, brush with olive oil or butter before grilling, or add just a little olive oil to the pan before cooking each one. If desired, keep warm in 200F oven as you cook all the dough.

Spaghetti Alla Carbonara

The editorial in my new Saveur magazine made me hungry. The editor talks about living in Rome and learning to make Spaghetti Alla Carbonara, because it uses few ingredients (good if you're on a budget!) and is absolutely divine. How can you go wrong with only 7 ingredients 5 if you don't count the salt and pepper)? I've never made it before, so we tried it.

Disclaimer: not exactly a dieter's dish, but we had it with a big tasty salad.

We really liked this dish. My 8-year-old liked it best of all. He ate a plateful and then polished off the leftovers the next day.

It's a creamy, flavorful, and satisfying. I felt like I was making real, actual Italian-style pasta, and you even use water from boiling the pasta in the final dish. YUM!

SPAGHETTI ALLA CARBONARA
4 T extra-virgin olive oil
4 oz thinly sliced guanciale or pancetta OR bacon (I used bacon, but I'm sure the dish would be even better with the fancy Italian meat if you want to spring for it!), cut into 1/2" pieces
2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper (I just ground it really coarsely in my grinder)
1 3/4 c finely grated Parmesan at room temperature
1 egg plus 3 yolks at room temperature
kosher salt to taste
1 lb spaghetti

Heat oil in 10" skillet over medium heat. Add the meat (whatever you chose) and cook, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned, 6-8 minutes. Don't overcook. Add pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until fragrant, 2 minutes more (this is a lot of pepper, if you're concerned about that, you might start out with 1 1/2 tsp and add more later if you want it--we love pepper, so it was fine for us). Transfer mixture (oil, meat, and all) to a large bowl and let cool slightly. Add 1 1/2 c Parmesan and egg and yolks and stir well to combine, set aside.
Bring large pot of water to boil, be sure to add salt to the water. Add pasta and cook until al dente. Reserve 3/4 c water, then drain pasta and transfer it to meat and egg mixture. Toss, adding pasta water a little at a time to make a nice creamy sauce. Season with salt and pepper as desired, and serve with remaining Parmesan.

Neiman Marcus Cookies

Urban legend tells that a woman and her friend had lunch at a Neiman Marcus department store. Along with lunch they had chocolate chip cookies that they loved. When they asked the waiter for the recipe, he replied that they could buy it. There was some misunderstanding when he stated the price, and what they thought was a reasonable price turned out to be very unreasonable. So, legend states that the angry women whom Neiman Marcus refused to refund since they already possessed the recipe determined to spread the recipe to as many people as possible. Here's the supposed recipe:

"Neiman Marcus Cookies"

2 c butter

2 c sugar

2 c brown sugar

4 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

5 c blended oatmeal (pre-measured then processed in blender)

2 tsp baking powder

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

4 c flour

24 oz chocolate chips

1 8-oz Hershey bar, grated

3 c chopped nuts

Cream butter, sugars, eggs, and vanilla. In separate bowl, mix oatmeal, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and flour. Add to wet ingredients and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips, nuts, and Hershey bar. Roll into balls and place two inches apart on cookie sheet. Bake 10 minutes at 375. Makes a LARGE batch of cookies--over 100, but can be halved.

***So, I never knew if this myth was true until recently. I was perusing the cookbook section of the library and saw "The Neiman Marcus Cookbook". Suddenly curious, I looked up chocolate chip cookies. The book briefly retold the legend, then said it was absolutely not true and they weren't sure who started it! However, in response to the myth, their chef developed a chocolate chip cookie recipe, which we tried last night (pictured above). Here it is:

Neiman Marcus Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 c butter

1 c brown sugar

3 T granulated sugar

1 egg

2 tsp vanilla

1 3/4 c flour

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 c semisweet chocolate chips

1 1/2 tsp espresso powder (I left this out)

Cream butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla. Mix dry ingredients in separate bowl, then add to wet ingredients and mix well. Stir in chocolate chips and espresso powder if desired. Roll into balls, place on greased cookie sheet, and bake at 350 for about 12 minutes.

***Well, interestingly enough, of the two recipes we much prefer the "fake" Neiman Marcus cookies. Who developed it and why the legend to go along with it? Who knows!

Frozen Foods--A Fiasco?

So, I went out of town recently and since my hubby couldn't come I stocked the fridge, freezer, and cupboards with easy meal ideas so he wouldn't feel too neglected.
One new thing I found: this Tyson Grilled and Ready Chicken Breast Fillets. It seemed healthy and tasty.
As usual, I overstocked and he didn't use this, so when I got back I thought, great--easy meal! I cooked them up with some veggies and potatoes for Sunday dinner. YIKES!
I just have decided that buying pre-prepared frozen food is just not worth it. These chicken breast fillets were just NASTY. I ate mine, feeling guilty about wasting it, but it just wasn't good. They apparently add some kind of flavoring to make it taste like it has been grilled. Yuck Yuck Yuck. I don't even know what to do with the rest of the package. I've been similarly disappointed in other frozen foods. I bought some frozen stir fry meals with veggies and meat when we were moving last summer and I was looking for some quick, easy meals in my disassembled kitchen. They were equally NASTY.
Also:
I bought some Eggo waffles while we were moving, hoping to give my kids a change from cereal and toast. Never again. These were not worth buying or eating. I don't understand how so many Americans love these, never mind the commercials of my childhood implying they are worth fighting over. I guess that processed taste is just impossible to mask.
I guess I'm just spoiled to have time to make my own waffles (I really think it's worth the extra 10 minutes in the kitchen to whip up your own homemade waffles, and it's probably a lot healthier, too).
I was a little shocked to see now that they have frozen pancakes available. How do you freeze a pancake and have it remain good?

I was even recently disappointed in these Pilgrims Pride frozen chicken wings. I was having a group of people over for the Super Bowl and wanted to make a bunch of hot wings. These were a bargain over the fresh chicken wings. Now I know why--these were just not meaty or flavorful.


So, now a couple of SAFE frozen food bets (at least from my own experience!):
Pilgrims Pride frozen chicken breasts. Not as good as the Kirkland brand frozen chicken from Costco, but since I don't have a Costco within 4 hours of me, I have to buy these and they're not too bad. I discovered long ago that frozen chicken actually beats fresh a lot of times when you're just buying boneless, skinless breasts. Many times the fresh in stores are tough and can be dry. The frozen ones are injected with a little extra water (and sometimes salt) so they freeze well, which actually helps them to stay tender. They're also usually cheaper than fresh.

I also like the Birds Eye frozen corn and peas, they are definitely worth spending a little extra for above the store-brand price, they are usually very flavorful and taste fresh.

And finally, our frozen food of choice: Vanilla Ice Cream. Whatever brand might be on sale at the moment. We're not terribly picky (although we don't buy off-brand). Good luck shoppers!

Homemade Hamburger Buns . . . WOW!

So does anyone remember from the movie "Father of the Bride" where Steve Martin sort of goes a little nuts at the supermarket and gets arrested after he freaks out about hot dog buns? Well I feel the same way about hamburger buns. I'm annoyed that they only come in packages of 8. And they don't keep well, even in the freezer. And I don't like the "cheap" kind of hamburger buns. So I feel like you spend a fortune to buy the good kind of buns for your burger, then you waste half the package. And even then, the buns are nothing to shout about.
So, Saveur Magazine's September issue title: "The Burger Bible". We love a good burger, so of course I've read it cover-to-cover. The best find: a recipe for fantastic homemade hamburger buns that I tried for the first time this week. The only question now is how I will ever buy store buns again. Given that I may not always have the time to make these when we want a burger, maybe I'll see if the homemade ones will freeze! Hope you enjoy them as much as I did:

HOMEMADE SESAME SEED BUNS (Makes 12)
1 1/4 oz package active dry yeast (about 2 1/2 tsp)
1 1/3 c milk, heated to 115 degrees
1 1/2 tsp plus 2 T sugar
t c flour
1 1/4 tsp kosher salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
4 T unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" cubes, softened
3 tsp sesame seeds

In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together yeast, milk, and 1 1/2 tsp sugar, let foam. Stir in remaining sugar, flour, salt and egg with paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until dough forms. Replace paddle with dough hook, add butter. Knead on medium-high until dough pulls away from sides of bowl, about 8 min. Transfer dough to bowl sprayed with nostick spray, cover with plastic wrap. Let rest until doubled, 1-2 hours. Heat oven to 400. Divide dough into 12 portions, shape each into a tight ball. Place balls on baking sheet sprayed with nonstick spray. Lightly spray or brush balls with oil, cover loosely with plastic and let rise 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Uncover dough and, using a spray bottle filled with water, moisten dough; sprinkle each ball with 1/4 tsp sesame seeds. Bake, rotating tray once in oven, until golden brown, 18-20 minutes. Let cool.

Foodie Mags

I occasionally have a friend ask me about foodie mags, and since I have subscribed to several, here are my reviews (in no particular order, since I can't manage to get the blog photos in the order I would like!):

1) Saveur magazine is my current favorite. However, it's not the magazine to get if you're looking just for recipes. I like it because it has great articles about food and ingredients in all areas and cultures of the world. And, their Saveur 100 issue (pictured above) has great reviews on equipment, cookbooks, and other foodie stuff.

2) I subscribed to Cooks Illustrated magazine for a few years. I think hands-down, Cooks Illustrated is the BEST source for good quality recipes. They are the same company as Americas Test Kitchen (on PBS) and their philosophy is to test and retest recipes, ingredients, and equipment and tweak everything until it's just right. Their recipes almost always turn out fabulous and many become old favorites. However, I don't think the magazine is the best investment. I found that I wasn't interested in more than a couple of recipes per issue. It's not a cheap magazine, at over $30 a year, because they don't advertise (which is actually nice and allows them to offer unbiased reviews). But, I think a better choice for your $30/year is cooksillustrated.com, their website. For your subscription fee you get access to all of their years of recipes, reviews, and ratings. That way I can look up the recipes that I want to make. Very worthwhile!

3) Bon Appetit and Gourmet Magazine (until recently) were published by the same company. Bon Appetit is just not what I'm looking for in a foodie mag. I believe it's too trend-based, superficial, and even a little political. The articles are not well-written and the reviews on the whole are focused on really expensive, ritzy equipment and ingredients. I guess I'm just more of a back-to-basics kind of gal.

4) Cook's Country Magazine is published by the same company as Cook's Illustrated. I subscribed to it for a year or two. The caveat is that it was several years ago, so keep in mind my review may not be current if they've changed things. I was not thrilled with this additional offering from Americas Test Kitchen. The recipes were not as appealing to me, with things like cornflake-crusted chicken, and unlike the CI recipes, they just didn't turn out as well. That's a big thumbs-down for me when you spend a good amount on a recipe-only magazine. I wondered if maybe ATK had stretched themselves a little thin . . .

5) Alas for Gourmet magazine. I really enjoyed this magazine, with well-written articles, solid reviews on all ranges of equipment and ingredients, and some good recipes. However, they stopped publication November of 2009. I read that, in part, it was because they had to pay their writers more than Bon Appetit. It's amazing how price and quality almost always go hand in hand. But, if you like Gourmet or would like to check it out they actually have a ton of content online, including a lot of content from many years worth of issues.

If you have other foodie mags you like I'd love to hear about them! Happy Reading!

Pizza Margherita

One of my first posts extolled the virtues of Margherita Pizza. So, I figured I had better share my recipe! I also did a little research about it and discovered:
1) It was supposedly named after a Queen Marghereta in whose honor the recipe was developed. She was visiting Italy and a chef created this pizza and was so pleased by her praise of it that he named it after her.
2) This is considered (unlike many pizzas today!) a more authentic Italian pizza. Although, to make it truly authentic would be difficult at home, it normally requires a VERY HOT (800 degrees!) pizza oven and would only cook for a minute or two!
3) This is most likely healthier than many pizzas, using only a few fresh ingredients.

So, without further ado:
PIZZA MARGHERITA (courtesy of Cook's Illustrated, although modified just a bit)
This recipe makes 2 pizzas, but as they're thin, it only serves about 3-4 adults. You can shape the second pizza while the first is cooking. They cook quickly and get cold quickly so be ready to eat when the first pizza comes out!
Crust:
1 1/4 tsp instant yeast
1 c water
1 3/4 c all-purpose flour
1 c cake flour (although I usually substitute all-purpose flour, just measure one cup and remove one Tablespoon of flour from it before adding it to the recipe)
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp sugar
Topping:
1 (28-oz) can diced tomatoes
1/2 tsp sugar
1 small garlic clove, pressed through a garlic press or minced
1/4 c chopped fresh basil (I just roughly chop it)
table salt
8-oz fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
kosher salt

Adjust oven rack to lowest position, set pizza stone on rack, and heat oven to 500 degrees. Whisk yeast into water to dissolve. In food processor, combine flours, salt, and sugar to combine. With machine running, pour liquid slowly through feed tube. Continue to mix until comes together in smooth, cohesive ball. If dough sticks to bowl, add a little flour at a time until it forms ball. Or, if dough appears dry, add a little water at a time until ball forms. Turn out of food processor bowl onto floured surface, and divide dough into two smooth balls. Place on greased baking sheet about 3 inches apart and cover loosely with greased plastic. Let rise until double, about 1 hour.
In clean food processor bowl, process tomatoes two or three 1-second pulses, until broken up a little. *Be cautious here, if you like chunkier bits of tomato, process less. If you process too much, it ends up almost like juice. Pretty much useless! Transfer tomatoes to fine-mesh strainer set over bowl and let drain 30 minutes, stirring occasionally to release liquid. Transfer to bowl and add sugar, garlic, 1 T of chopped basil and 1/4 tsp salt.
When dough has risen, working with one round at a time, carefully stretch or roll dough into 12" round (will be thin). At this point, if you have a pizza peel, you can proceed to top the pizza on the peel, then transfer to the stone. If, like me, you don't own a peel, carefully remove the hot stone from the oven, immediately place the dough round onto it and, working quickly, spread about 1/2 cup of sauce over the round, leaving about 1/2 inch border. Replace in oven and bake until crust just begins to brown, about 5 minutes. Remove from oven and quickly sprinkle half of cheese cubes evenly over, then replace in oven. Bake just 4-5 minutes more until cheese is melted. Shape 2nd pizza crust while baking. Remove pizza to large cutting board so stone is free to cook 2nd pizza. On finished pizza: sprinkle 1/2 of chopped basil, drizzle 1 tsp olive oil, and sprinkle with a little kosher salt. Slice and serve (while cooking the 2nd pizza!). Delizioso!

Cook's Prerogative?

So I feel a little guilty. I've been married 12 years, and have known for about 11 of those 12 years that my husband just really doesn't like beef stew. Yet for 11 years, I have continued to make beef stew. Not very often, maybe 3 or 4 times a year. I really thought about it last night for the first time. I made a nice savory, beefy stew with onions, carrots, potatoes, celery, beef, and the easy stew packet mix from McCormick. My husband, always the sport, ate his bowl without complaint. The only way I could tell he really didn't love it is that he "washed it down" with copious amounts of bread. Like almost half a loaf. My eight-year-old tasted one bite and refused to eat any more until we ordered him to eat his compulsory "five bites". My two year old had a bit more, but not a lot. And then there was me, savoring every delicious morsel. The truth is I really like beef stew a lot. I am a big comfort-food girl, especially in the cold weather months. I love the satisfying beefy taste of stew. I love the texture of the tender veggies and the meat almost melting in your mouth. I admit not being able to comprehend why my family dislikes this dish. Yet, here we were last night.
So I had a thought-should I continue to selfishly make this dish for my own enjoyment only? Is it the cook's prerogative to make things that she likes without regard to what everyone else thinks? The funny thing about this dish is it's not even really a recipe. It's not like it's an insult to my cooking skills that they don't like it. It's not really even cooking--chop everything up, dump in water and the mix and turn on the crockpot. I also wondered, are there dishes I cook that I don't like but I know my husband or family does? I can't think of any! Of course there are things I make for my kids that I think are nasty, case in point: boxed Mac and Cheese (like any normal American kid they don't like homemade mac and cheese!), hot dogs, etc. But those are not things I eat. I make them for the kids and make something else for me.
I still haven't come to a decision about this. But especially after writing about beef stew, I can't imagine never making it again. My mouth was practically watering trying to describe the taste and I was secretly grateful there's a serving of last night's dinner tucked away in a corner of my fridge. One of life's great dilemmas . . . .

Chinese take-in

Given many let-downs by Chinese take-out establishments, I rarely do Chinese take-out anymore. Off the top of my head, the only restaurant Chinese food worth eating is from the Mandarin

in Bountiful. Given that the Mandarin is 2,059 miles from where I currently live, I have to make my own Chinese.

I experimented with 2 recipes tonight, Orange-Flavored Chicken, and Stir-Fried Shrimp and Snow Peas in Coconut Curry Sauce, both courtesy of Cooks Illustrated. The shrimp dish was a bit bland, but I'll have to try making it again. I realized as I was cleaning up that I didn't shake up the coconut milk can well enough and most of the yummy stuff was still at the bottom. Oops. However, the chicken was FABULOUS. And not that tricky. So, here it is! Enjoy--

ORANGE-FLAVORED CHICKEN

Marinade and Sauce:

1 1/2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces

3/4 c low-sodium chicken broth

3/4 c orange juice, plus 1 1/2 tsp grated zest and 8 strips orange peel (use very sharp vegetable peeler), from 2 oranges

6 T white vinegar

1/4 c soy sauce

1/2 c packed dark brown sugar

3 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 T)

1 piece fresh ginger (about 1"), grated (about 1 T)

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (can add 1/2 extra for more heat if desired)

1 T cornstarch, plus 2 tsp

2 T water (cold)

8 small whole dried chiles (optional)

Coating and Frying:

3 large egg whites

1 cup cornstarch

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp baking soda

3 c oil for frying

1) Place chicken in 1 gallon zipper-lock bag, set aside. Combine chicken broth, orange juice, grated zest, vinegar, soy sauce, sugar, garlic, ginger, and cayenne in large saucepan, whisk until sugar is fully dissolved. Measure out 3/4 cup mixture and pour over chicken in bag. Press out air and seal bag. Refrigerate 30-60 minutes (no longer).

2) Bring remaining mixture in saucepan over high heat. In small bowl, stir together cornstarch and cold water, whisk into sauce. Simmer sauce, stirring until thick and translucent, about 1 minute. Off heat, stir in orange peel and chiles, set aside.

3) Start oil heating over high heat in dutch oven or heavy pot, until registers 350. Place egg whites in pie plate and beat until frothy. In second pie plate, whisk cornstarch, cayenne, and baking soda until combined. Drain chicken in colander and pat thoroughly dry with paper towels. Place half of chicken in egg whites, turn to coat, then transfer to cornstarch mixture and coat thoroughly. Place carefully in oil and fry until golden brown. Remove to paper towel-lined plate. Repeat with second half of chicken.

4) Add chicken to sauce, toss gently, and serve immediately.

Pork continued . . .

So I chatted with my local Wegmans butcher again today, curious about the spareribs. He confirmed that they usually are more moist and tender than baby backs, just due to a bit more marbling. I asked him about whether they were meatier, and he said that it just depends. He said that they really tried to bring in quality meats, which in this case means meatier ribs.
So, the lesson here: get to know your butcher! I think if you're going to splurge a bit on something like ribs, it's worth finding a place that really provides quality meats and has a knowledgeable butcher on staff. It doesn't have to be a fancy place, if you can find a supermarket that focuses on quality. Don't be afraid to ask questions, request specific cuts, and request high quality product. Good luck!

Pork spending . . .

One of our favorite
"splurges" is baby back ribs. They are a bit pricier meat than we normally buy but they sure are tasty.
Well, in the interest of saving money this week I made a surprising discovery in a new cut of ribs.
So, from what little research I have done, here is Pork Ribs 101 (if you know more than me, feel free to correct any errors!):
1) Baby back ribs are located along the backbone. They are generally liked because they are meaty and the bones are smaller and provide a "rack" that is manageable to cook and eat.
2) Spare ribs are located further down the side, more towards the stomach. The bones are generally larger and flatter. They contain a little more fat content. Here's where my research gets muddled because some of my sources said these can be less meaty--but keep reading . . .
3) Rib tips are the furthest in to the stomach, and are small and meaty
4) Country style ribs are up near the shoulder and contain no actual rib bones
So, the cut I bought at the store was labeled "Center Cut Pork Spareribs". Regular price, they were probably at least $1/lb cheaper than baby backs. On special (my bargain instincts kicking in!) they were even less. They looked just like baby backs, only the racks were larger. I had a brief chat with the butcher and he indicated his preference to these above baby backs. So I decided to give them a try.
SLAM DUNK. They were fantastic. I cooked them just like baby backs, and they were better. They were meatier (a little confusing, see #2 above), and more moist and tender (probably because of the increased fat marbling being closer to the stomach). If you decide to try them out I hope you have the same experience I did. Here's how I cook them: remove the tough membrane on the bone side of the rack. You may have to use a pair of pliers. Then, I rub them with our favorite dry rub, courtesy of Cook's Illustrated (recipe below). I wrap them in 2 layers of foil and cook them for 2-3 hours at about 350-375. The bones should be exposed, with the meat clearly pulling away. Last, I liberally brush them with Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce. If you want to make them ahead, you can stick them in the fridge then warm them up on the grill, just be sure to use lots of barbecue sauce and watch them so they don't dry out. TASTY!

Dry Rub for Barbecue
4 T sweet paprika
2 T chili powder
2 T ground cumin
2 T dark brown sugar
2 T salt
1 T dried oregano
1 T granulated sugar
2 T ground black pepper
1-2 tsp cayenne pepper
Mix all ingredients together, adjust seasonings as desired based on your taste. Will generously cover about 3 large racks of ribs.

A kitchen necessity . . .

No, the kitchen necessity I'm writing about is not a grilled cheese sandwich. Although, depending on how hungry you are . . .

Rather, I'm bragging about one of my Christmas gifts, a new Calphalon nonstick skillet.

Most of my cookware is professional stainless steel, which works great for most things. However, despite having at least a couple of frying pans in my stainless set and a couple of old well-seasoned cast iron skillets, I think a good nonstick frying pan is essential. Here's why:

1) We're very picky about our fried eggs around my house. I don't like them greasy, so a good nonstick pan with a little mist of nonstick spray is perfect. They must be perfectly over-medium. Cooked enough so the white part is not rubbery yet, but is not runny or mushy. And, even our kids don't like a fully-cooked yolk. (Am I making my kids into food snobs?) This new skillet, in addition to the nonstick properties, has a nice heavy-bottom which helps keep the temperature even, which makes it easier to get that yolk just perfect.

2) I love a good grilled cheese. I have found it difficult to do a good grilled cheese in a skillet. It's difficult to get the temperature right--too hot and the bread scorches before the cheese melts. Too cool and the bread gets a bit soggy. I used to get out my big old electric fry pan to do a good grilled cheese. I tested out my nice new pan this last week and wow. Perfect. It maintained a great even temperature and put a nice brown toasty crust on my bread. Another weird thing about me--I love cheese sandwiches dipped in marinara. It's so tasty! And a little less work to heat up than tomato soup.

Best thing about this new pan: I got a fantastic deal on it. We found a "Chef's Outlet" at the outlet shopping center near us. Because this pan was considered a "second" for minor cosmetic flaws which we have still to discover, it was an amazing steal at $32 (normally over $200). Doesn't get much better than this . . .

Used Food

Admissions first, I did not take this photo. It belongs on bonappetit.com. It looks fabulous, doesn't it?! This recipe really appealed to me in my November Bon Appetit magazine. It's for Turkey Empanadas and appealed to me because it looked and sounded tasty and best of all, called for turkey leftovers! We had plenty of turkey, gravy, cranberry sauce, and stuffing left over after Christmas Dinner at a friend's house. So, I was so excited to try this recipe. I must say how much I LOVE puff pastry. It's one of the few prepared, packaged ingredients that I really like. The puff pastry didn't disappoint. I even tasted the turkey, stuffing, gravy, and everything else as I was assembling these. Increased anticipation.

To my dismay I discovered a truth that describes accurately my relationship with leftovers. You may do whatever you want to them, but most of the time they still taste like leftovers, or as my husband's family coined the title to this post "Used Food". So, here's my guilty admission that I don't really like to eat leftovers. Every once in a while there is something that is okay. But most of the time I eat leftovers because I feel guilty. That if this food is not consumed in some way that it will be wasteful. Maybe in my next life I'll be better!

Still, this recipe is not half-bad and next year I may just make it again, maybe with "New Food" this time!

TURKEY EMPANADAS
Ingredients
2 cups diced cooked turkey (white and dark meat)
1/2 cup chilled gravy
1 1/2 cups 17.3-ounce packages frozen puff pastry (3 sheets), thawed
1 cup mashed potatoes, divided
1 cup stuffing, divided
1 egg white, beaten to blend with 1 teaspoon cold water (for glaze)
Cranberry sauce

Mix turkey with chilled gravy in small bowl. Roll out 3 pastry sheets to 12-inch-long rectangles on floured work surface. Cut out 2 six-inch rounds from each pastry sheet, using small plate as guide (6 rounds total). Place each round on one 8- to 9-inch parchment square.
Spoon 2 1/2 tablespoons mashed potatoes onto half of each pastry round; press lightly to flatten, leaving 1/2-inch border. Top with 2 to 3 tablespoons stuffing, then about 1/3 cup turkey mixture.
Brush glaze around filling on 1 pastry half. Fold plain pastry half over filling, stretching dough to cover. Seal edges with fork tines. Repeat to form 5 more empanadas. Transfer empanadas (still on parchment squares) to 2 rimmed baking sheets (3 on each sheet), spacing 2 inches apart. Chill empanadas 20 minutes.
Preheat oven to 425°F. Press edges of empanadas again with fork tines. Brush empanadas with egg-white glaze and cut small slits in top to allow steam to escape. Bake empanadas 10 minutes. Reduce heat to 350°F and bake empanadas until puffed and golden, 25 to 35 minutes longer. Serve empanadas, passing cranberry sauce alongside.

An oldie but goodie . . .

This image is a familiar one for most of us. The cheerful red and white checked book is almost an icon to American home cooking. I actually own two different editions of this cookbook.
This picture is of the 1976 edition, the one I imagine my mother probably received for her wedding. The book that contained the one recipe that my family has probably made most over the years.
I remember making this recipe many times growing up.
The funny thing is, by the time I remember starting to make this recipe, the cookbook had started to disintegrate with much use and many of the most well-loved pages had fallen out. This particular page had not only fallen out, but was dog-eared, wrinkled, and a little discolored with grease. But, we always made the recipe from this little scrap of the original page. I'm sure we must have written it down other places, and at times one or more of us had the recipe mostly committed to memory. But we were always on the search for this poor little page. I think it's nothing short of a miracle that it never got lost. . . I wonder if my mother still has it?
I now make the recipe from a copy. But I never forget what the original looked like. I don't use my "Better Homes and Gardens" cookbook for new recipes much--maybe I should? I actually really like it for: the substitutions list on the back inside cover, the "canning and freezing" section for its basic instructions, and a few very basic but essential recipes: white and hollandaise sauces, butter frosting, and angel food cake (from scratch--the ONLY way to go!). But I'll always be grateful for this one recipe because it will ALWAYS taste like my home:
CHOCOLATE CHIPPERS
1 c shortening
1 c white sugar
1/2 c brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 c flour
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp soda
1 package of chocolate chips
1 c broken nuts (optional)

Cream shortening, sugars, eggs, and vanilla with electric mixer. Mix flour, salt, and soda in separate bowl until well combined. Add to sugar mixture and beat well. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts. Drop with spoon onto greased cookie sheet and bake 10-12 minutes at 350. Makes about 2 1/2 dozen average-sized cookies. A tip from my dad: The cookies are better a little under-done, so don't let them get too brown. A tip from me: take a plate to someone else because if they sit around the kitchen you may eat them all yourself. Happy Baking!

Some Like it Hot!

I love football. I love to watch the games, I love "football food". One of my favorite football foods is hot wings. Sometimes I just need something spicy.
Cook's Illustrated has a really great recipe, which stars "Frank's RedHot Sauce". They are FABULOUSLY spicy, and the blue cheese helps tone it down just a little so you can eat more than a couple! My only complaint with hot wings: sometimes there's just not enough meat. So, yesterday I made the recipe with chunks of chicken instead of wings. Heavenly. Although maybe not quite the depth of flavor with the hot wings (I imagine the skin, bone-on meat, and darker meat add a little extra flavor). So, however you prefer it, here's the recipe:

Buffalo Wings:
SAUCE:
4 T butter
1/2 c Frank's Louisiana RedHot Sauce (original is best)
2 T Tabasco (I couldn't find it, so I used Cholula, plenty spicy-YUM!)
1 T dark brown sugar
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
WINGS:
1-2 quarts of oil for frying
1 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp table salt
3 T cornstarch
3 lbs chicken wings OR 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
CREAMY BLUE CHEESE (Absolutely essential!!):
2 1/2 ounces blue cheese, crumbled (I don't like a strong blue like Stilton, rather a Danish or some other blue a bit more on the mild side, but use what you like!)
3 T buttermilk
3 T sour cream
2 T mayonnaise
2 tsp white wine (or just plain white) vinegar
Veggies if you like, we think celery is essential and also like apples with the blue cheese

Heat oil in large dutch oven or other heavy pot over medium-high heat to about 360. (Cook's note: if you don't have a thermometer for measuring oil temperature, you really should get one. When frying, it's important to have the oil at the right temperature to prevent food from either absorbing too much oil at a too-low temperature, or ending up with food scorched on the outside and raw on the inside from a too-high temperature!).
Sauce: Melt butter in small saucepan over medium heat. Add remaining sauce ingredients, whisk well, and set aside.
Wings: Cut through skin between 2 larger sections of wing, pop joint by bending sections back, then cut through to separate 2 portions. Hack off wing tip and discard. If using chicken breasts, cut breasts into equal-sized chunks, about 2-inch chunks work well. Heat oven to 200 (use it to keep the wings warm while you finish cooking). Add cayenne, black pepper, salt, and cornstarch to large bowl and whisk to combine. Add meat and toss well to combine (I think it works best to use your hands). When oil is at temperature, fry meat in 2 batches (don't overcrowd the pot!), frying until golden and removing to a baking sheet lined with paper towels. Keep the first batch in the warm oven until the second batch is done. The wings can sit in the warm oven up to 1 1/2 hours, so if you're preparing other foods these can be done a bit in advance. Just before eating, toss the wings in the sauce. Serve immediately.
Blue Cheese Dressing: Mash blue cheese and buttermilk together with a fork in a small bowl until it resembles cottage cheese (only blue!). Mix in remaining ingredients and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve alongside wings and veggies. TASTY!

Fondue Failure

Fondue is a long-standing tradition with my husband's family. It's a great New-Years-Eve meal, with lots of time to sit and enjoy eating. They have always done the hot oil fondue. Last night, I really wanted to try and do cheese fondue. The catch: we don't consume alcohol.

I knew that texture could be an issue when trying to substitute out the alcohol. So, I did some research and everything I read claimed that adding an acid, like lemon juice, would solve the problem. So, I made two different pots of cheese fondue:

Pot 1: chicken broth, lemon juice, emmentaler, gruyere, smoked pavarti (a fabulous cheese! thanks to Harry the cheese guy at Wegmans . . . ), cornstarch.

Pot 2: apple cider, lemon juice, mustard powder, cornstarch, sharp cheddar.

The results: Disappointing. I followed all the advice to melt the cheese "low and slow" with constant stirring. The resulting fondue was grainy in texture, the cheese just refused to incorporate. I tried raising the temperature, adding more lemon juice, whisking, and just about everything I could think of! Finally I had to serve the fondues, which were tasty (the favorite was the traditional Swiss fondue with the emmentaler and gruyere) but lumpy and grainy in texture. I guess this is an item for further study. The food chemistry must prove that something about the alcohol allows the cheese to incorporate. Some friends suggested trying a non-alcoholic wine, but would that make any difference?

The bright spot: the websites I looked at had some great suggestions for dipping. We did the traditional baguette, but also had blanched veggies (cauliflower, broccoli, and mushrooms), cooked steak and shrimp and sausage, and grape tomatoes (surprisingly tasty!). And of course the dessert fondues (chocolate and caramel) were fabulous.

Happy New Year!