Tag Archives: recipe

Apr26

Trifling

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How did it get hot so quickly?  The temperature barely crept above 50 degrees most of last week and now, BAM!, it’s almost 90! Craziness I tell you.  I was hoping for the cool Spring weather to last just a wee bit longer, but ohs well; no use complaining.  I will, however, wax poetic about my latest kitchen creation.  Let me start by saying I like to cook, just not desserts.  You would think that with my insatiable sweet tooth I’d be a whiz in this department, but alas I am not.  So when Easter rolled around and my MIL started planning her big day menu, I offered to make the dessert.  Why would I do that when I know I’m not good at this meal category?  I blame it on the heat induced delirium.

Now that I had committed myself, I had to figure out what exactly I was going to make.  Whatever it was, it had to be light and refreshing since it was the second act to a huge meal.  Amidst my pondering inspiration struck: a trifle!  I’ve never actually made a trifle before and I didn’t own a trifle bowl, but I wasn’t going to let those minor details stop me.

My first maneuver was to swing by Target to pick-up a trifle bowl.  Check.  Next step was to find a good and easy trifle recipe.  Check (thanks to allrecipes.com).  Then I had to buy my ingredients.  It calls for strawberries, blueberries, cool whip, vanilla pudding mix/milk, and pound cake.  Me being me, I modified this list a bit and ended up replacing the cool whip with real whip cream (homemade of course!) and angel food cake instead of pound cake. 

To make the trifle, you start by cutting your cake in half and cutting the half into squares.  Place these in your (clean) trifle bowl.  Then mix your pudding mix with 2 cups cold milk (I used 2%) with a whisk.  Pour ½ of this mixture over the cut up cake in your bowl.  Layer on sliced strawberries and blueberries. 

Cut up the other half of your cake and repeat the first couple of steps (pour remaining pudding, layer fruits).  Then top with your whipped cream.  Garnish with remaining blueberries and strawberries and chill for at least 1 hour.  And that’s it! 

Super easy and it tastes great.  I’ll definitely be doing this dessert again!

Jan19

Now dip, baby, dip!

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Now that I’m on this health kick, cooking a nutrituous and tasty dinner each night takes a bit more thought.  Sometimes, I prefer to whip together a quick snack-style dinner where everyone can help themselves to their heart’s content while minimizing the saturated fat and caloric intake.  This is just what I did the other night when I created a dip trio!  For the how-to lowdown, follow this link or click 2011 Resolution: Live Healthy: Recipes. 

Hummus

Tzaatziki

Salsa Gaucamole

Dec22

Toffee, Toffee! Read all about it!

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In my quest to make this yet another (mostly) handmade Christmas, I decided I needed to toss a little sweetness into the gift baskets we’re making for our family. As I was perusing the internet for ideas, I remembered Martha Stewart and all the wonderful seasonal ideas her website offers. After a quick search on her site, I found exactly was I looking for! A recipe for Fleur de Sel Toffee. It was quick, easy, and required only a few ingredients.

When I finally managed to eke out some free time I decided to make a test batch of the toffee to ensure it was both delicious and as easy as I presumed. When I read the recipe I was admittedly a bit confused. It calls for sugar. Did that mean white or brown? And if it was calling for brown, light or dark? Instead of getting frustrated, I just used what I had on hand ending up with a half and half mix of white and brown. Apparently, that must have been the right thing to do, because my first batch came out amazing!

Here’s how you to do it (ingredients first):

  • Vegetable oil cooking spray
  • 1 pound (4 sticks) unsalted butter
  • 2 2/3 cups sugar
  • 1/3 cup water
  • 1/4 cup light corn syrup
  • Sea salt for sprinkling (I used gray sea salt)

The first step is to spray a rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray. Then bring your butter, sugar, water, and corn syrup to a boil in a large saucepan, whisking frequently until sugar dissolves and butter melts.

Martha recommends letting the mixture cook, undisturbed until a candy thermometer registers 300 degrees. Seeing as how I do not own a candy thermometer nor need to, I took her other advice and let my mix cook for 12 minutes. After the 12 minutes transpired, I took a whisk to the mixture and gave it a few good spins to make sure everything was smooth and blended (and of course take an opportunity to “test” the recipe).

You have to whisk quickly though, before the mix starts to set. Pour it immediately onto your greased cookie sheet, letting it spread over the entire pan. Let stand for 30 seconds, then sprinkle with fleur de sel. Let cool for roughly 30 minutes.

Then the last step: breaking the toffee into pieces! I found this pretty fun for the first minute and then my hands got sore. It’s a great tension tamer though. Anyhoo, the toffee tasted amazing and my first batch virtually disappeared within three days.

Seeing as how this recipe makes a ton of toffee, that must mean it was good. As for the packaging, I’ll detail that after Christmas.  I don’t want to ruin the suprise for those recieving this as part of their gift completely.  Cheers!

Oct21

Comfort Food

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We all have a certain, food, smell, or flavor that makes us feel safe and comfortable.  For some it’s chocolate, or chicken noodle soup, or even your mom’s meatloaf.  After a busy day a the office and at home, I was in dire need of my comfort food:  risotto.  I love it’s creaminess and fresh out of the pan warmth…it was exactly what the doctor ordered.

If you haven’t made risotto before, have no fear.  It is relatively easy, although it does need regular attention during its preparation.  The upside is that you can make an infinite number of variations on the basic recipe.  So gather your ingredients and let’s get started!  You’ll need olive oil, Arborio rice (2 cups), 6 cups chicken broth, and salt and pepper for the basic recipe.  For mine, I also used 1 cup sliced mushrooms, turmeric for color, Comte cheese (shredded), and a dash of heavy cream.

First step is making your broth.  I started by making a 6 cup batch of broth using three cubes of chicken bouillon.  After my broth was done, I set it aside. I then heated about tbsp. of olive oil in a heavy bottom pan on medium (I have gas so sometimes it’s hard to tell how hot I have it).  Once the oil was heated, I poured in my rice, stirring to coat for about 2 minutes.  Do not let the rice burn! 

 Next pour in one cup of broth.  Occasionally stir your rice.  Once the broth is absorbed, our in another cup. You continue to pour a cup at a time, letting the rice absorb the majority of the liquid until you add another cup. 

When I have two cups of broth remaining, I add in my mushrooms or whatever other veggies you want to add, along with my turmeric.  This particular spice lends a lovely color to the dish.

 

Once my broth is roughly 90% absorbed I throw in dash of heavy cream and ½ cup of shredded Comte cheese.  I turn my heat to low, stirring so all ingredients are melted, absorbed, and well-mixed.  Then I spoon in to a bowl, garnish with parsley sprigs and more shredded Comte, and eat! Total cook time is roughly 35-45 minutes.

 

Feel free to modify your risotto by tossing in a little prosciutto or salami, using different veggies, tossing in pine nuts, and/or substituting Comte for blue, brie, or whatever else you have on hand.  Enjoy!

Sep17

Cool Down

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Fall is my favorite time of year!  I openly welcome the cooler weather after a hot summer and get giddy when the leaves start to change color.  We went ahead and turned off the a/c and have all our windows open to get some fresh air into the house and enjoy the cool nights.  While the evenings have been blissful and dropping into the 60 degree range, the days, on the other hand, have been quite warm and in the 90’s. 

At this point in the year, we’re not going to turn the a/c back on unless some major heat wave comes roaring through (not likely).  The upside of this is a lower utility bill and better indoor air quality. The downside is trying to come up with a dinner plan that doesn’t require turning on the oven or stovetop.  Last night I whipped up one my favorite hot weather dishes and it was both satisfying and cooling: Gazpacho!

All you need are:

  •  diced and peeled tomatoes (although I tend to skip peeling them)
  •  a peeled and diced cucumber
  •  one orange or red bell pepper (seeded and chopped)
  • one chopped onion
  • salt and pepper
  • lemon juice
  • chopped celery
  • one avocado (for garnish)
  • Basil and parsley leaves (fresh)

 

Rough chop all your veggies, basil and parsley leaves and toss them into your food processor or blender.  Pulse the contents so that it finely chops rather than purees.  Pour into a bowl and add the juice of one lemon and salt and pepper to taste.  You can add a little tobacco if you want some heat. 

Spoon into a bowl and garnish with a salted slice of avocado and parsley.  Serve with galletas, rustic hard crusted bread, or cornbread.  So easy and oh so fresh! 

Sep13

Kneading a Fix

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I love homemade bread.  I love its warmth and the amazing aroma of carbohydrate goodness wafting throughout the house.  I began making my own bread almost three years ago (my how time flies!).  Did I go out and buy an expensive bread maker? If you know me, then you already know the answer to that is a resounding N-O.  Instead of shelling out wads of hard earned dough, I trekked over to the nearest thrift store, perused their collection for one of the better looking models, and made my purchase.  And do you know how much it cost me?  $5.  Yes. You read that correctly: five dollars!

Apparently, bread makers turned out to a quickly dying trend.  Kind of like hummers for the civilian population.  Anyhoo, getting a bread maker for such a steal is a blessing in multiple ways.  1) I don’t have any guilt because I spent too much money and don’t use it frequently enough, and 2) I get to make fresh bread whenever I want! 

The only downside to the bread maker is that when you want bread you have to have flour, salt, yeast, flavoring, etc.,etc., etc. on hand, too.  At least I thought that was the case until I went to the store and, while innocently looking for pizza yeast, saw this:

 

Making my own bread was as simple as pouring in the mix, adding a cup of warm water, and pressing ‘Start’.  I decided to give a whirl and see how it compared to the hard way.  And the result?  One word: Delicious! 

 The Hawaiian Sweetbread was unbelievably tasty, light, and perfect with a light smear of butter.  I also happened to pick up two other flavor, 9 grain and honey wheat.  I’m guessing that they will prove just as delicious! 

Sep10

The Big Apple

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I mentioned last post that the fam and I went apple picking.  We opted for three different varieties, four bushels total.  We didn’t just choose Jonagolds, Golden Delicious, and Fuji by chance, rather we choice these so I could whip up some tasty apple sauce when we got back home.  I planned to use my batch of apple sauce for baking as a substitution for eggs, to which Little Man is allergic, and as a snack.

Making homemade apple sauce is actually very easy.  The first and most important step in my opinion, is washing the apples thoroughly to remove any lingering pesticides.  Then its time to pull out a sharp knife and apple corer and get down to work.

Apple sauce is actually quite easy to make, particularly since you do not have to peel the things.  You just have to core them to remove seeds and stem and quarter them.  Next step is to boil them in a heavy bottomed stock pot until soft all the way through.

After they are soft, you can seive them if you want to do it the “right” way.  Me?  I put them in my food processor until smooth because I prefer easy and quick.  After it is all pureed, add cinnamon to taste and pour into sterilized mason jars.  You can easily sterilize your glass jars with a quick sanitizing cycle in the dishwasher or by placing them empty in boiling water for a few minutes.  Once your jars are filled and lids on tight, pop them into a stock pot of boiling water for 10 minutes.

Pull the jars out after the alotted time and place them on a dry towel, leaving them undisturbed for 24 hours.  After a day has passed, store in a cool dark spot.  Or you could use your apple sauce as a base for…..tune in tomorrow to find out :) .

Jun29

Soup du Jour

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I feel like a lot of my posts lately have been about food.  I blame it mostly on the heat.  There aren’t too many projects I feel very compelled to accomplish when the temps are soaring towards a 100 degrees.  So I cook instead.  That actually sounds counter intuitive, given that standing over a hot stove sounds ridiculous on a hot day.  Nevertheless, the glories of a/c make it an easy enough task. My latest meal involved soup, yet again.

My poor husband is forced to eat a lot of soup.  While it is homemade, he tends to get a little tired of it.  Me, on the otherhand?  I love it!  I could eat soup every day and be as happy as a lark.  It is so versatile and can be chilled, hot, chunky, smooth, spicy, sweet…whatever your heart so desires.  My latest soup was made because we had lots of veggies that needed to be used before they got too past their prime.

I chopped the carrots, celery, leeks, and asparagus I had laying around into rough drunks.  I then heated freshly minced garlic in olive oil in a large, deep pan. 

After I could smell the garlic starting to brown, I added my chopped veggies along with a little salt n’ pepper stirring everything to coat.

I covered the veggies and let them cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally.  I let them cook for about 12-15 minutes, or until softened.  In the meantime, I warmed up 4 cups of chicken broth.  After the veggies were softened, I poured the broth in with the vegs and added fresh thyme and two bay leaves.  The mix cooked on low, covered, for about 20 minutes.  Once I could really smell the bay leaves, I removed them and poured everything into my food processor.  Once thoroughly mixed to almost smooth consistency, I poured back into the pan and added aged english cheddar chunks.  I stirred until melted and served hot.

We enjoyed our little soup cups with a nice steak covered in blue cheese, sauteed asparagus with toasted walnuts, and a yeast roll.  Yum!  Just what the doctor ordered after a long day.

Jun15

Comfort Food

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I was feeling a bit under the weather this weekend and, as such, got very little accomplished outside of convalescing in my bed.  Not too mention that it was hot.  Very hot.  Now, however, I am feeling ten trillion times better.  At times like these, I remember an old Helen Keller quote, “The marvelous richness of human experience would lose something of rewarding joy if there was no limitations to overcome.  THe hilltop hour would not be half so wonderful if there were no dark valleys to transverse”

So now that I waxed philosophical on you, I will admit that when I am sick I want soup!  Well, at least, when I can manage to eat.  But anyhoo, come Sunday evening I got that same old hankering for a nice, hearty bowl of soup.  I had saved a recipe from the Canadian Food & Drink magazine, a periodical that is issued by Ontario’s Liquor Control Board (or something like that).  This little glossy is stock full of delicious recipes and drink pairings and it just so happened to feature a recipe for Cauliflower Stilton soup.  Yummers!

Without further ado, here is the recipe:
 First gather your ingredients.  It sounds like a lot of items, but all contribute in their own way.

  • 1/2 head of cauliflower
  • 2 stalks celery
  • 1 onion
  • 1 leek
  • 4-5 thyme sprigs (fresh if available)
  • 2 tbsp. butter
  • 4 cups chicken stock (use vegetable if you prefer)
  • 5 oz. Stilton ( or roquefort or other blue if you prefer)
  • salt and pepper

Directions:

First remove the outer leaves from the head of lettuce and pull off the stem.  Pour the chicken stock into a medium saucepan, add the stem and bring to a boil.  Once boiling, turn it down to a simmer for 20 minutes.  While your stock is  simmering, chop your celery, leek, and onion and melt your butter in a large saucepan.  Once the butter is melted, add your veggies and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until soft but not before they loose their color.  Chop cauliflower florets into 2 inch pieces.  After the veggies have cooked for their allotted time, add florets and the leaves of the thyme only (no stems).  Stir and add a double dash of salt and some cracked black pepper.  Strain your stock and pour it over the veggies. 

 Cover the mixture for 20 minutes or until florets are soft.  Once soft, pour your mixture into a food processor or blender.  Blend until smooth. 

 Return to saucepan.  Add 5 oz. stilton, 1/3 cup whipping cream, and salt and pepper to taste.  Serve hot and enjoy!

So that is it!  But I will tell you that the original recipe had directions to make a date, apricot, pine nut relish, but in my near delirious state I forewent that part.  Instead I used Major Grey’s chutney.  It added a nice kick to the soup and was as easy as going to the market.

I also made a quick london broil that I had been seasoning in baslamic vinegar oil concoction.  I used this to make roast beef sandwiches to go with the soup and provide just a touch more sustenance.  Let’s just say that Hubs was pleased, and my weary body revived.