Once Bitten, Forever Smitten December 14, 2009

A few weeks back at the end of November, I had some free time and was able to browse one of my favorite food blogs, Mark Bittman’s Bitten. I have sung the praises of Bittman before, and when I first started this blog, I often referenced his articles, recipes, videos, and cookbook. As life has gotten busier and my budget tighter, I haven’t been able to experience with Mr. Bittman’s recipes as much as I used to. But I recently stumbled upon a recipe involving pasta that I knew I would have to give a try.

Pasta With Chicken and Mushrooms, Risotto Style

2 tbsp. olive oil, more as needed
1 shallot or small onion, chopped (I used 2.)
1 tbsp. minced garlic  (I used 2 cloves.)
2 cups crimini, shiitake, or button mushrooms, cleaned, trimmed and sliced (I chose shiitake because it was what was available in the grocery store.)
1/2 pound cut pasta like gemelli or penne, or long pasta broken into bits (I opted for my new favorite mini-penne.)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine or water
3-4 cups of vegetable or chicken stock
2 boneless chicken thighs, diced
fresh parsley, chopped
freshly grated Parmesan, optional

Put two tablespoons olive oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat. When hot, add shallot, garlic and mushrooms. Cook, stirring occasionally, until it is glossy and coated with oil, 2-3 minutes. Add a little salt and pepper, then wine. Stir and let liquid bubble away.

Ladle stock into skillet, 1/2 cup or so at a time, stirring after each addition and every minute or so. When liquid is just about evaporated, add more. Mixutre should be neither soupy nor dry. Keap heat at medium and stir frequently.

Begin tasting pasta 20 minutes after you add it; you want it to be tender, but still with a tiny bit of crunch. When pasta is about 3-5 minutes away from being done, add chicken and stir to combine. Continue to cook until chicken is done- it will be white on inside when cut- and pasta is how you like it. Taste, adjust seasoning, garnish with parsley and Parmesan if using, and serve.

This dish was phenomonal, for being so easy to make. With so few ingredients it came out rich, creamy, and decadent. I didn’t even use the white wine, and substituted water instead. It really only did take about a half an hour, even though the directions make it seem like it is a lengthy process to continuously add vegetable broth. In fact, I only needed to add around 1 and 1/2 cups, as opposed to 3 or 4. The meal served two with a few leftover for lunch this week.

This a great, easy meal to make for a weeknight dinner, but easily can be used to serve guests at a dinner party and make it seem like you put a lot of time and effort. Also, it is probably very easy to fool around with flavors- get creative and add or substitute different spices, vegetables, or meats to this dish.

Festive Cupcakes December 13, 2009

Last weekend Stu and I went to our first Holiday party of the season. It was hosted by a friend who prides himself each year on throwing out a huge Christmas Ham dinner for all friends and family. He asked each guest to bring a dessert or hors d’oeuvres.

I am really bad at picking out appetizers/hors d’oeuvres. I am good at bruscetta, salsa, or any kind of dip, but not great at picky foods. I plan on exploring this area in upcoming weeks as I prepare for a New Years Eve party, but until then I decided to stick with dessert.

I chose Red Velvet cupcakes, as I figured it was the perfect way to kick off the holiday season. Plus I had been reading a lot about Red Velvet in the past few weeks and was curious to see what they turned out like.

I used a recipe by Paula Deen from The Food Network.

Red Velvet Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 cup buttermilk, room temperature
2 large eggs, room temperature
2 tablespoons red food coloring
1 teaspoon white distilled vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 (12-cup) muffin pans with cupcake papers.

In a medium mixing bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a large bowl gently beat together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla with a handheld electric mixer. Add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet and mix until smooth and thoroughly combined.

Divide the batter evenly among the cupcake tins about 2/3 filled. Bake in oven for about 20 to 22 minutes, turning the pans once, half way through. Test the cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness. Remove from oven and cool completely before frosting.

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 pound cream cheese, softened
2 sticks butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
4 cups sifted confectioners’ sugar

n a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, butter and vanilla together until smooth. Add the sugar and on low speed, beat until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and mix until very light and fluffy.

Red Velvet Cupcakes

The cupcakes came out awesome.  The frosting recipe made more than enough and I shoved it all into a Ziploc bag, snipped off the end, and piped it onto each cupcake; slowly and delicately. It was a process, but well worth it. I bought some of those silver edible shiny ball sprinkles from Fantes in the Italian Market, and sprinkled on tiny ones and topped each cake with a single large ball. They came out very fancy! Some people were even afraid to eat them.

After consulting with a Red Velvet specialist at the party, she decided that the recipe could have had more cocoa powder in it. After reviewing the recipe, it only calls for one teaspoon, but could probably use a whole tablespoon for more sweetness. Red Velvet cake can sometimes border on the “cornbread” taste. But the frosting covered any of that up and made these beautiful treats just as delicious and decadent as they appeared to be!

Arroz y Frijoles December 7, 2009

Arroz Y Frijoles, or Rice and Beans, is what I spent most of last week cooking and eating. I am in the midst of a big move in my apartment, as one roommate was moving out and another moving in. I had a shortage of cookware and times were tight financially, as I was saving up to purchase a couch. So rice and beans it was- along with some pasta and left over soup from months past.

I found a great, easy recipe for Rice and Beans from Simply Recipes. It was full of flavor, very colorful, and packed with just enough nutrition to get me through the night on a full stomach.

Easy Black Beans and Rice

1 cup uncooked white rice
1 tbsp. olive oil
1 small onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/2 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
3 cloves minced garlic
2  16oz. cans of black beans, rinsed and drained
2 tbsp. white vinegar
few dashes of tabasco sauce or 1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder
1 tsp. dried oregano or 1 heaping tbsp. chopped fresh oregano
salt and pepper to taste
lime wedges and cilantro for garnish; optional

Cook rice according to package instructions. White rice usually takes 15 minutes to cook once the water is simmering, and 10 minutes to sit.

Heat oil in a large skillet on medium high. Sauté onions and bell peppers for 3-4 minutes, until just beginning to soften, then add garlic and sauté a minute more. Add the black beans, vinegar and Tabasco or cayenne. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer for 5 minutes.

Stir in rice and oregano. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Photo from Simply Recipes

Quick, easy, and not too spicy depending on how much hot sauce you add. This got me through the week with lunch and dinner, and I could probably keep eating it through this week, if I had enough of it! A great quick fix for any night of the week when you don’t have time to plan a meal.

Thanksgiving: A Retrospect December 3, 2009

So the Thanksgiving Holiday has come and gone. I found myself caught in a whirlwind of traffic, shopping, cooking, baking, and trying to settle in with friends and family for my short weekend spent at home in Connecticut. I wasn’t sure what the long Holiday weekend would bring, but I can tell you now, that I was not disappointed.

As happenstance would have it, one of my aunts was unable to attend Thanksgiving dinner due to the flu. Poor Aunt Kathy was in charge of the ever-popular Sweet Potato Casserole. Without it, no Thanksgiving dinner is complete. After we got the phone call at 10am that Kathy was a no-go, we got to work. I looked up a recipe, sent my sister out for some sweet potatoes, and got to work.  We had to use a recipe that was quick, yet packed full of flavor. I settled on a recipe from the Food Network, and doubled it.

Sweet Potato Casserole

2 1/2 pounds sweet potatoes, scrubbed
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
3 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted, plus more for the preparing the pan
2 tbsp. packed dark brown sugar
1 tsp.  kosher salt
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
pinch freshly grated nutmeg
freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Put the sweet potatoes on a baking sheet and pierce each one 2 or 3 times with a fork. Bake for 45 to 50 minutes or until tender. Set aside to cool.

Turn the oven down to 350 degrees F. Scoop the sweet potato out of their skins and into a medium bowl. Discard the skins. Mash the potatoes until smooth. Add the eggs, butter, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, and the pepper to taste. Whisk the mixture until smooth.

Butter an 8-by-8-inch casserole. Pour the sweet potato mixture into the pan and sprinkle the top with the pecans. Bake until puffed, about 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

Sweet Potato Casserole

As you can tell from the photo, I had to omit some nuts for Grandma! The potatoes were delicious and creamy, and full of bold Fall flavors. It tasted like a delicious combo of sweet potato and pumpkin pie. We were a little short on the pecans, so I chopped up some walnuts and threw those on as well.  The extra crunch was a great touch!

I also had the opportunity to make some cranberry sauce. I have been wanting to do this for a while, as I heard it was unbearably easy. I found a great recipe from Real Simple, but you can feel free to find your own.

Apple Cranberry Sauce

1 lb. cranberries, fresh or frozen
1 cup apple cider
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar

In a saucepan, combine cranberries, apple cider, and  sugars.

Simmer until the cranberries begin to pop and the sauce thickens, approximately 12-15 minutes.

Let sit for about 15 minutes before serving.

Apple Cranberry Sauce

For a less sweetened version, substitute water for the apple cider. This went great along side my grandmother’s famous Cranberry Relish.

The Table Spread

The dinner was a hit, aside from the fact that it was dad’s first time roasting a turkey on his own. The whole family contributed a dish, dessert, or appetizer, making it a huge success!  After watching all of the hard work put in by my dad and my family, this year I was thankful that I only had to cook two dishes instead of the whole meal!

Scones, improved! December 2, 2009

Over the weekend I did plenty of cooking and baking, but one of my most successful recipes was an attempt to clear the air of the botched up scones I attempted last week. This time not only did I use the correct amount of milk, but I found a recipe from All Recipes that gave the scones a bit more flavor.

Cranberry Scones

2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter, chilled and diced
1 cup fresh cranberries, roughly chopped
1/3 cup white sugar
1 grated zest of one orange
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup half-and-half cream
1 egg

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large bowl, stir together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, nutmeg and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.

In a separate bowl, toss cranberries with sugar; add to flour mixture along with orange peel and nuts. Mix lightly.

In another bowl, beat together cream and egg; slowly pour into dry ingredients, mixing with rubber scraper until dough forms. Knead dough 4 or 5 times, being careful not to over handle. Divide dough in half. Turn out onto lightly floured surface. Shape each half into a 6 inch circle. Cut each circle into 6 wedges. Place scones on lightly greased baking sheets.

Bake in preheated oven until golden brown, about 20 minutes.

Cranberry Scones, Photo from All Recipes

I omitted the orange zest as I did not have any oranges on hand. And I used dried cranberries because all of my fresh ones went into the cranberry sauce. for Thanksgiving.  You can substitute orange extract, if you are looking for that citric orange flavor.

These came out great. Just enough balance of moisture and dryness. I used them as a housewarming gift for a friend who just got her own apartment. I’ll be making them again over the next few weeks as Christmas gifts and host/h0stess  gifts for upcoming holiday parties. They also make a great morning breakfast snack and are perfect for this kind of year.

The Great Soup Debate Results November 30, 2009

So as I mentioned in my original post about the Great Soup Debate, I ended up choosing the Cream of Winter Squash and Tomato Soup recipe for Thanksgiving dinner. Only to find out moments before cutting the squash in half, that my dad opted out of soup as a first course. His reason? He didn’t have enough matching bowls.

So, I made the soup anyway. I had tomatoes to use before leaving the apartment for four days, and plus I was curious to find out what it turned out like. I made a big batch, enjoyed a hot bowl for dinner on Tuesday night, and froze the rest. Now I have Winter Squash soup for days!

I found the recipe from TheKitchn.com, which is a website I have been frequenting lately for recipes as well as ideas for our kitchen, as Stuart is moving in with me and we are looking to make some changes in the apartment. I highly recommend the site for wonderful seasonal ideas when it comes to food and to decorating

Cream of Winter Squash and Tomato Soup

1 small winter squash of your choice; I used butternut
4 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 bay leaves
salt & pepper to taste
1 teaspoon paprika
4 cups canned diced tomatoes
3 cups broth (vegetable or chicken)
1 to 1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Cut the squash in half and scoop out the seeds. Rub the cavities with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Bake at 425 degrees F for 20 minutes or until the flesh is tender enough to scoop out. Remove from oven and let cool to a point where you can handle them.

Meanwhile in a large pot saute the onion, garlic, and bay leaf in the olive oil. Scoop the squash from its shell, discarding the skin. Add the roasted squash flesh to the soup pot and saute for a few minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle in the paprika. Add the tomatoes with their juices. Add the chicken broth. Simmer over low heat for 30 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

Remove the bay leaves. Puree the contents of the pot and strain through a mesh sieve. Return to the pot and over low heat, stir in the cream. Gently simmer for 10 minutes. Serve with toasted bread.

Photo courtesy of The Kitchn

The soup was awesome. I was totally disappointed that I couldn’t share it with my family for Thanksgiving. However, more for me! Even Stu, who has been protesting anything with butternut squash lately, enjoyed it! He said that it was the perfect combo of tomato bisque and cream of squash. Awesome.  I am now eating it all week, with warm crusty bread followed by a slice of leftover apple pie. Mmmm-mm!

I Forget How Scones Taste November 23, 2009

This past Sunday was the first in a long time that I was able to laze about the apartment. I drank my coffee, had some oatmeal for breakfast, and watched a food-studded episode of Sunday Morning on CBS. Yay!

After an hour or so, I decided to be productive. I recently received a copy of The JVC Casa Iggy Cookbook back from when I was volunteering California. One of my roommates shipped it to my from Washington, as I never actually received my original copy. Within its wonderfully photo-copied pages are tons of recipes compiled by each of the roommates whom I shared a house with.

I stumbled upon a recipe for scones that my very kitchen-friendly roommate Katie used to make on Saturday mornings. With a lot of entertainment opportunities coming up, and the idea of home-made Christmas gifts in mind, I thought Sunday would be the perfect opportunity to give them a try.

Katie’s Scones

2 and 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/4 tablespoon salt
1/3 cup butter
2 eggs, beaten
3/4 cup whipping cream
1/2 dried currants or snipped raisins (I used cranberries)
whipping cream or milk
sugar

Preheat oven to 400F. In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. Using a pastry blender, cut in butter until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture, then set aside.

In a medium bowl, combine eggs, 1/4 cup of whipping cream, and currants. Add the egg mixture all at once to the flour mixture. Using a fork, stir until just moistened.

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead dough by folding and gently pressing it for 10-12 strokes or until dough is nearly smooth. Divide the dough in half. Pat or lightly roll each dough half into a 6-inch circle. Cut each circle into 6 or 8 wedges.

Place the dough wedges 2 inches apart on an ungreased baking sheet. Brush wedges with whipping cream and sprinkle with additional sugar. Bake for 12-14 minutes or until golden. Remove scones from baking sheet; serve warm or room temperature.

Cranberry Scones

Now, here comes the dilemma at hand. In the ingredients, it calls for 3/4 cup of whipping cream. (I accidentally used heavy cream, which can also be part of the cause of the problem.) In the recipe instructions, it refers to “the 1/4 cup whipping cream,” when combining wet ingredients.

As I was reading the instructions, I of course added 1/4 cup of heavy cream, omitting the other 1/2 cup. My scones came out a little dry, but then again, aren’t scones supposed to be dry? I really can’t tell what exactly went wrong and whether I was supposed to add 1/4 or 3/4 cups. After looking at various scone recipes on AllRecipes.com, most of the ingredients list 3/4 cup, 2/3 cup, or 1 cup of milk, half and half, or some variation. It seems as if I did add a little less milk than I should have.

However, after various taste-testers sampled the results, it was agreed that they were fine, and not too dry. Personally, I couldn’t eat a bite without dipping it in tea, coffee, or cocoa, but maybe it’s because I was so aware of my error.

I will definitely have to try this again, following the 3/4 cup that the ingredients list, or maybe following a different recipe all together. I actually stumbled upon a great one here, while referencing All Recipes. My scones are not quite up to gift-giving par at this point though.

The Great Soup Debate November 23, 2009

So for Thanksgiving this year, among many things, I was directed to be in charge of making a soup. Preferably a squash/pumpkin flavor. I am to make this soup in Philadelphia this week, transfer it into tupperware containers, and drive it up to Connecticut, to be enjoyed by my family on Thursday afternoon.

This in itself is quite a feat to accomplish with all of the other general craziness that is happening in my life these days. But my biggest challenge for now, is deciding what soup I should make.

I have three recipes to choose from. The first is:

Roasted Pear and Butternut Squash Soup with Crumbled Stilton
As seen in this post here from a few weeks ago.

Apple and Squash Bisque
Found here and given to me from my friend Nichole, who made it a few weeks ago.

Cream of Winter Squash Soup
I found this recipe on TheKitchn.com, which is quickly turning into one of my favorite websites.

 

I am mostly leaning toward the last soup, as I have alot of tomatoes in my house right now that I need to get rid of before I am gone for four days over Thanksgiving break. The recipe calls for canned diced tomatoes, but I always favor fresh tomatoes diced, its much more flavorful and gives it a less saucey taste.

 

Please post with your votes and help me decide by tomorrow night!!!

Seasonal Chili November 22, 2009

When it starts to get colder out, there are few things that are easier and more enjoyable to make than a big pot of chili. No matter what kind of food you’re into, there’s a chili recipe out there for you. I  usually prefer a vegetarian chili or a ground turkey chili over the big beefy man chilis. I also like my chili on the milder side, with just enough spice to warm you up, but not quite enough to burn your tongue.

This past Saturday, Stu and I stayed in and made chili from a recipe that I’ve been wanting to use for a while. It’s from Better Homes and Gardens and it calls for all types of ingredients that you might use for the Thanksgiving holiday. I’m thinking about bringing it to a holiday potluck dinner next weekend, so I wanted to give it a try. The link to the recipe is here, but we don’t have a slow cooker/crock pot, so I’ll post my version, with Stu’s adjustments below.

New World Chili
(adapted from Better Homes and Gardens)

1 lb. ground turkeybreast
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes (or you can dice yourself)
1 15 oz. can black beans
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
1 cup peeled, seeded, and cubed butternut squash (pumpkins were hard to find by the time of the season)
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1 1/2 cup whole kernel corn (Stu loves corn. So do I.)
1/2 cup dried cranberries
2 jalepeno peppers, 1 with seeds, 1 without, finely chopped
3 1/2 tablespoons chili powder (Stu’s contribution).
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups shredded spinach
4 oz. Monterey Jack cheese with jalepeno peppers, shredded
In a skillet over medium heat, sautee the turkey meat until no longer pink.

In a large pot over medium high heat, sautee onions, garlic and jalepeno peppers until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the meat and stir until combined.

Add the squash and cook over medium heat until squash softens, about 5-8 minutes.

Add the black beands, crushed tomatoes, corn, cranberries, tomato sauce and vegetable broth. Stir in chili powder. Bring to boil, then simmer as long as desired, up to 2 hours.

Before serving, stir in shredded spinach and sprinkle with Monterey Jack cheese.

New World Chili

The chili was delicious, not exactly what I expected, maybe a little too tomato-y. But it was very different from any other kind of chili that I’ve had recently. Next time, I will omit Stu’s additions, such as extra jalepenos, chili powder, and corn.  I think the flavors of the squash and cranberries might stand out more without the overbearing flavors of spiciness from the peppers and chili powder.

I must also mention that along with our chili, we were able to guzzle the sweetness of Russian River Brewing Company’s Blind Pig IPA, thanks to a new take-out beer store that opened not too far from our neighborhood. Hawthorne’s, a beer cafe, is new to the area and offers mix-a-sixes as well as…. Growlers! My favorite! We took home a growler of our favorite IPA, which complimented the flavors of our chili very well and made for an excellent evening at home.

Mid-Week Baking November 16, 2009

This past Wednesday I had Veteran’s Day off from work, which was probably the best thing I could possibly ask for. The holiday season is upon us, and things are going to start getting crazy, so now is the time to relax before life gets hectic.

The weather was chilly and rainy, so I spent most of the day lazying about, but I made sure I took a little time to do some baking. With Thanksgiving approaching, I am starting to plan out recipes for the big turkey dinner, as well as a potluck meal my girlfriends and I are having over the weekend. I wanted to test out a recipe for Honey Cornbread Muffins I found in Real Simple.

Honey Cornbread Muffins

4 tablespoons unsalted butter (1/2 stick), melted, plus more for the pan
1  and 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, spooned and leveled
3/4 cup cornmeal
1 and 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
2 large eggs
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup honey

Heat oven to 375° F. Butter a 12-cup muffin tin.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and baking soda.

In a large bowl, whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, honey, and melted butter. Add the flour mixture and stir to combine.

Divide the batter among muffin cups and bake until golden brown and a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, 30 to 35 minutes.

Honey Cornbread Muffins from Real Simple Magazine

 

They were yummy, warm, and moist as they came out of the oven. After a day or two though, they dried out a bit. Butter or some kind of jelly or spread would definitely help. But they are a great way to get ready for Thanksgiving and even to enjoy on a rainy afternoon. I will definitely be featuring them in the Thanksgiving meal.