Daily*Dishin

Grilled Jarlsburg and Black Forest Ham with a Surprise

2013-03-06T12:00:00.000-05:00

A touch of apple jelly added to the smokey flavor of Black Forest Ham just seems natural, especially with the nutty sweetness of Jarlsburg. I've always liked the addition of sweet honey mustard to this sandwich but decided to try something new and it was even better! Black Forest Ham develops a distinctive flavor as it is smoked with fir branches and seasoned with juniper, pepper, garlic, coriander. Echo these flavors by adding a sprig of rosemary to purchased apple jelly and leaving it overnight.

The result is not pungent; just a hint of something mysteriously woodsy and well matched to the ham. Fresh herbs are always available in the produce area if you don't grow them. I picked this from the herbs growing on my sunporch and realized the entire plant had completely dried out while I was away on vacation. It still worked just fine. Little bit crispy, that's all.

Well, since I had all that great crispy rosemary crumbled up I decided to add some to a bit of softened butter and carry the flavor boost on to another level. Have a little pot of herbed butter on hand all the time. After using it to grill my sandwich I'll use it later to enrich some french green beans, maybe brown a bit of it to make an omelet, or just slather some on a piece of toast.

And on to ham and chee assembly. Shopping List: Black Forest Ham, Jarlsburg Cheese, Apple Jelly, Italian Bread, Rosemary Sprigs.

Spread both pieces of bread with jelly. Pile on the ham, grate a heap of Jarlsberg on top, and squeeze it all together for the move to the griddle.

AFTER a butter up, of course.

Make sure the griddle is sizzling along, but lower it a bit if the bread is browning too fast for the cheese to get warm and melty. Any cheese bits that fall out and get crispy are purely a bonus. Eat them immediately.

Ahhh, the toasty finish. Hot and sizzley, sweet and savory. Carry on.

You'll find me at the Comfort Food Feast which continues at the Food Network Blog this season. Here are the other Foodies who blogged about grilled cheese this week:

Jeanette's Healthy Living: Grilled Cheese With Kale Artichoke Pumpkin Seed Pesto

Cooking With Elise: Inside-Out Grilled Cheese With Bacon
Red or Green?: Grilled Cheese Sandwiches Red or Green-Style
Napa Farmhouse 1885: Grilled Ham and Cheese Sandwiches
Weelicious: Kentucky Hot Brown Panini
Virtually Homemade: Grilled Cheddar, Apple and Arugula Sandwich
The Sensitive Epicure: Individual Goat Cheese Mac & Cheese (Gluten-Free, Lactose-Free)
Devour: Caramelized Onion Grilled Cheese
Thursday Night Dinner: Grilled Cheese and Tomato Soup
The Heritage Cook: Open Faced Grilled Halloumi Sandwiches
Big Girls, Small Kitchen: Muhammara Grilled Cheese
FN Dish: Grilled Cheese Goes Beyond Cheese
Feed Me Phoebe: Mexi Grilled Cheese With Avocado, Pepper Jack and Refried Black Beans

Bacon Jam

2013-02-27T12:00:00.001-05:00

(Printable Recipe)

Not quite like anything else, this bacon spread is a bit sweet, a bit tangy-smokey, and plenty of good ole baconey. Although it starts out on the stove, the jamminess mostly happens in the slow cooker while you're off living your life. No big complicated jelly/jam making or canning processes here. It keeps in the fridge for quite awhile but no need to have an exact measure on that because it won't hang around for long once you try it.

Assemble the entourage:
1-1/2 pounds sliced bacon
2 sweet yellow onions, preferably Vidalia
3 garlic cloves, crushed
1/2 cup cider vinegar
1/2 cup packed dark-brown sugar
1/4 cup real maple syrup
3/4 cup coffee (I used Via instant)

Start by freeing that bacon from its plastic home and cutting through the whole chunk in 1" sections to make lots of little strips. Get these cooking in a wide skillet, stirring frequently to keep them browning evenly.

The bacon will increasingly foam as it cooks. When there appears to be more foam than bacon stir and turn one more time to assure that all is well browned and remove with a slotted spoon to drain on paper towels.

Pour the bacon fat into a glass bowl and wipe out any dark grit but do not scrub off the browned part on the bottom of the skillet (flavor alert! we're going to use that part!). Now, return just one tablespoon of the bacon fat to the skillet and add the onions and garlic which you should have chopped into nice small dice, if the food blogger had only reminded you earlier.

Cook and stir until translucent, maybe 5 minutes or so and add the bacon back to the skillet. Now add all the other ingredients as well and bubble it about 2 minutes as you stir and scrape all those browned bits up from the bottom of the skillet.

Now it is all be ready to move to the slow cooker set on high. BIG NOTE TO NOTE HERE: Do NOT cover it. That is, no lid or it will not work right at all. The idea is to let the syrupy mess gradually cook down into a nice rich jammy spread and if covered it just become more liquidy from all the steam.

Leave it alone for 3-4 hours. You will still see some liquid but not covering the bacon and onion pieces and it will be much darker. It will thicken as it cools and change consistency considerably. Either now or after it cools overnight in the fridge put it all in the food processor and pulse 5, 6, 7 times until smoother. I left mine a bit chunky, but it's a matter of taste. Well, it's going to taste great whether it's smooth as jelly or chunky as jam, so have at it whichever way you wish!

Quick Cream Biscuits

2013-02-27T12:00:00.000-05:00

(Printable Recipe)

Tender, rich biscuits that are also easy and quick? Yep, it's possible and so simple and there's no "cutting in the lard until it resembles the size of small peas." Also, there's no lard. Cream provides the richness that makes these biscuits perfectly flaky and delicious and is the reason they're so easy to put together in just minutes.

Here's what you'll need:

2 cups all purpose flour
3 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups heavy cream

Join me in the scoop and scrape as this is my favored method of flour measurement. The back of a butter knife works just fine but if there's a prime implement for a job, I want to have it, so here I'm using a table crumbing device carried by waiters in snooty restaurants everywhere.

Blend the dry ingredients with a whisk to thoroughly incorporate the baking powder into the flour.

Ok, that took 5 minutes. Here's the last 5 minutes and you're done. Pour the cream into the dry ingredients in a steady stream as you stir a few times around until it's more stuck together than not. It will look like a big shaggy mess. That's fine. Turn it over and dump it out on a floured countertop. Scoop and press it together with your hands, fold in half and flip it over. Do this just another time or two and it will suddenly hold together and get a better personality.

Starts out like this.....

...really does end up like this. Now don't touch it anymore (except to press into a parchment lined 8" pan). The secret to tender flaky biscuits is not to work on them very hard at all. Roll and beat and press that dough more than about 30 seconds and you'll be rewarded with heavy little biscuit rocks.

Bake just 15-18 minutes at 425 until lightly browned and just baked through. Now go make some o' that Bacon Jam in the picture above and your evening will be complete!

Comfort Food Feast continues on the Food Network's FN Dish blog! You'll find me there all winter and today you can check out these other wonderful biscuit ideas:

What's Gaby Cooking: Cheddar-Bacon Buttermilk Biscuits
Jeanette's Healthy Living: My Mom's Beijing Biscuits "Shao Bing"
The Cultural Dish: Pineapple Biscuits
And Love It Too: Coconut Flour Country Biscuits
Red or Green?: Green Chile and Olive Oil Biscuits
Napa Farmhouse 1885: Extra-Virgin Olive Oil Drop Biscuits With Cheddar and Garlic
Made By Michelle: Swiss Chard and Feta Fritters
Devour: The Best Mix-Ins for Your Biscuits
Virtually Homemade: Strawberry-Tangerine Shortcakes With Bisquick Drop Biscuits
The Heritage Cook: Gluten-Free Buttermilk Biscuits
Thursday Night Dinner: Winter Shortcake Stuffed With Jam and Whipped Cream
FN Dish: 15 Takes on Biscuits

Chocolate Chip and Candied Bacon Cookies with Pecans

2013-01-16T12:00:00.000-05:00

(Printable Recipe)

Come on, off course Candied Bacon makes a Chocolate Chip Cookie even better! It's chewy, sweet, little bit smokey, just a touch salty. You've got to do it. And here's what you'll hear, "Mine didn't have any bacon in it, but it was really good!" Candied bacon is not plain bacon. It's like candy.And here's how it all happens:

Press the bacon into brown sugar spread on a plate until it is coated well on both sides. I used 5 pieces of thick cut bacon for this recipe. If you use regular cut bacon you may need 6 or 7 pieces.

Bake at 375 degrees for 20-40 minutes, checking closely from 15 minutes on. Cooking time depending on the thickness of the bacon, which should be very dark and crunchy when done. Some edges may get too dark.

Don't forget to spray a rack really well with cooking spray to reduce sticking. Put this over a foil lined baking sheet to catch the mess.

There will be some really dark edges that may or may not be burned. Don't toss them without tasting! You may be surprised. Let everything cool well before attempting to break into small pieces.

Now, assemble the cookie ingredients. You'll need

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1-1/2 cups chocolate chips
1 cup rough chopped pecans

Start by creaming together both sugars and the butter until nice a smooth and fluffy.

Add the eggs one at a time. I think it's safest to break eggs into a small cup and then slip them into the mix to avoid any mishaps. Removing eggshell from a cup is simple compared to trying to dig it out of an entire bowl of dough or batter. Also add the vanilla now.

Whisk the dry ingredients together briefly to combine well.

I like to use whole pecans and chop them myself with a chef's knife so the pieces are larger than the pre-chopped or "chipped" kind. The bacon is actually more difficult to chop than just break into pieces by hand.

Add these last three ingredients with a big wooden spoon rather than letting the electric mixer do it. This way the chunky nuts and bacon won't break down further, but will stay nice and chunky.

Bake them up at 375 for about 15-18 minutes. Keep an eye on them and remove when they're just beginning to brown. Bacon. It's not just for breakfast anymore.Oh, my, I really did just say that.

It's time for the Comfort Food Feast on the Food Network's FN Dish blog! You'll find me there all winter and today you can check out these othercookie ideas:

Big Girls, Small Kitchen: Oatmeal-Chocolate Chip Cookie Breakfast Bars
Jeanette's Healthy Living: Gluten-Free Chocolate Cranberry Walnut Cookies
What's Gaby Cooking: Salted Brown Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies
The Lemon Bowl: Gluten-Free Chocolate Chip Cookies
From My Corner of Saratoga: Chocolate Chip Cookies
Napa Farmhouse 1885: New Year's Resolution Chocolate Chip Cookies
Red or Green?: Tao's Double-Chocolate Chip Cookies
Made By Michelle: The Best Blondies, Ever
Cooking With Elise: Chocolate Chip Cookies
Sweet Life Bike: Dulce de Leche Chocolate Chip Cookies
Virtually Homemade: Salted Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies
The Cultural Dish: Chocolate Chip Cookie Goodness
Thursday Night Dinner: Chocolate Chip Coffee Cake
Dishin & Dishes: Chocolaty Chocolate Chip Cookies
Devour:5 Takes on Classic Chocolate Chip Cookies
FN Dish: The Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookie

Grandma's Chicken Pot Pie

2013-01-02T11:52:00.003-05:00

If you've ever had really good pot pie like a grandma would make, something that in no way resembles those rock hard little things from a mini pie tin in the freezer section, then you know this is a dish good enough to serve to company and have them ask for it again.

Printable Recipe

My long time favorite recipe for Chicken Pot Pie can be prepped in about 30 minutes and baked in another 20-30. And today, for one special price I'm going to share that recipe and throw in a completely FREE bonus recipe for Cheesy Vegetable Cream Soup, and I mean cheesy in a good way.
Start by getting the vegetables ready for the pot. Chop 1 lg onion, 1 lg carrot, 1 lg potato, 2-3 ribs celery. 1 cup baby peas just need a quick run under hot water to thaw them out, unless you are so lucky that you have fresh ones on hand. I like to take the carrot down to fairly small rough dice with my food chopper (generic version from Ikea, seen in the background next to the oh-so-not-generic chunk of black granite mortar-n-pestle). These smaller carrot pieces cook more evenly with the rest of the vegetables. Usually I cut the potato into small dice as well but these were gold fingerlings and just looked so nice in these little half moons.

Melt 5 Tbs butter over med heat till foamy and drop in everything but the peas. Saute and occasionally stir for 5-8 minutes until vegetables soften some and onions are translucent. While the vegetables cook measure up the rest of the ingredients and warm the milk for about two minutes in the microwave.

That's 2 cups Chicken Stock, 2 cups Whole Milk, 1 Tbs Chicken Soup Base, 1/3 Cup flour.

Now the next step is going to seem messy and not right, but just keep stirring and it will all work out. Sprinkle the flour over the vegetables and keep everything moving steadily, scraping the bottom of the pot, for just a few minutes until the flour smells nutty instead of like raw flour. It will brown quickly and really only take 2 or 3 minutes.

The pan will look sticky and brown at this point; before it goes any further, pour the warm milk in all at once and turn the heat up a little; keep stirring and it will start to thicken almost immediately. Don't do this with cold milk or you'll have a lumpy mess instead of a velvety smooth sauce. Whisk the soup base into the broth for extra flavor and add that to the pot in a steady stream as you continue stirring. Let is lightly bubble over med heat and cook for another 10 minutes or so, giving it the occasional stir to be sure it isn't sticking to the bottom. If it starts to bubble hard and fast, lower the heat and keep an eye on it. You just want a nice gentle simmer. Now is the time to taste for seasonings. It shouldn't need anything but a good shake of pepper, probably no salt necessary because the soup base and broth are usually both quite salty.

**STOP RIGHT THERE. The longer you simmer this the more it thickens, so for that bonus recipe, stop now and add a handful or two of good sharp cheddar cheese and dish it up for a perfect cream of vegetable soup to go with a crunchy green salad or maybe a hammy panini sammy. That's silly cook talk for ham panini sandwich, ya'll. **

Back to our Pot Pie - when the filling has bubbled along over low to med heat about 15-20 minutes and is nice and thick, remove from heat and add the peas and 2 cups Chopped Cooked Chicken. You'll note that I am taking the easy route and using Pillsbury All Ready Pie Crust, but you feel free to whip up a homemade one if you are more virtuous than I.


This one took a little extra rolling because I'm using an oval dish.

If you need to roll the crust out a little larger, do it on top of a piece of wax paper, then flip it over, gently peel off the paper, and fold in half to move onto the pie so that it doesn't tear. It will need plenty of small vents made with a sharp knife to let the the steam out as it cooks in a 375 oven just until the crust browns, usually 20-30 minutes. Beautiful and ready to serve!

Oven Ready!

THE SHOPPING LIST
5 Tbs Butter
1 lg Onion
1 lg Carrot
1 lg Potato
2-3 ribs Celery
1 Cup Baby Peas
2 cups Chicken Stock
2 cups Whole Milk
1-2 Tbs Chicken Soup Base
("Minors" is the best or "Better Than Bouillon")
1/3 Cup flour
1 Pie Pastry

It's time for the Comfort Food Feast on the Food Network's FN Dish blog! You'll find me there all winter and today you can check out these other great pot pie ideas:
Made by Michelle: Chicken and Biscuits in a Pot
The Lemon Bowl: Chicken Pot Pie With Phyllo (Dairy-Free)
Napa Farmhouse 1885: Roasted Root Vegetable Pot Pie With Extra-Virgin Olive Oil Biscuits
Red or Green?: Bean and Green Chile Pot Pie With Cornmeal Biscuits
FN Dish: Post-Holiday Pot Pies

Almond Chutney Chicken Lettuce Wraps

2012-10-17T01:55:00.003-04:00

Printable Recipe

Fresh lemon lends a bright refreshing lift to this out of the ordinary lettuce wrap. The chicken salad-like filling is served cold with a side of cucumber and a plate of crispy lettuce leaves to wrap burrito style and eat at the table. A delicious luncheon or light dinner served with hot soup. Or may be eaten at midnight standing in the open refrigerator door - let's not get too fussy, here, shall we...not?

So, let's get ready to roll! We're going to make this quick and easy by buying a roasted whole chicken at the grocery and pulling the meat off the bone.

But first let's combine the rest:
1 small red onion
1 lemon
1 jalapeno
2 celery stalks

Chop the onion very fine. Split the celery into two or three pieces lengthwise and then chop into fairly small pieces crosswise. From the lemon, we want to use the inside and out both. Using a fine rasp, grate the zest stopping just short of the white pith which is bitter. Don't want that. Now, halve and juice the lemon, too.

Mix 1/3 cup Mayo or Miracle Whip and about 1/2 jar of Major Grey's Chutney. Add all the zest and maybe 1/2 the lemon juice to start and taste it. It should be both sweet and tangy but not make you pucker up like a lemonhead. More lemon juice if it needs it.

Finally, add 1 cup of almonds, roughly chopped. I love these smokey salty almonds and they really added an extra element to this dish.

I pulled the chicken into a big pile and just rough chopped through the whole stack with a large chef knife until it was taken down to smaller than bite size pieces.

Mix all together and let sit at least a few hours to marry all the flavors together.


Wrapping it up right at the table.

THE SHOPPING LIST

    One 3-pound roasted chicken
    1 medium red onion
    1 large lemon
    1 jalapeno, fresh
    1 jar Major Grey Chutney
    1/3 cup mayonnaise
    Salt and fresh-ground black pepper to taste
    Celery
    1 cup whole salted almonds, coarse chopped
    1 large head Bibb lettuce
    1 large cucumber
Summer has given way to Fall Fest at the Food Network website where you'll find my foodie blogs along with other great food lovin' bloggers, offering up our best ideas all the way through the holidays! Each week we'll be blogging together with the FN Dish to produce fabulous ways to enjoy your produce! This week, it's Mixed Lettuce, next week come on back for perfect ways with Pumpkins. Check out these other delicious ideas:

Jeanette's Healthy Living: Quinoa and Black Lentil Salad With Mixed Salad Greens
Cooking With Books: "Chopped" Salads
Haute Apple Pie: Roasted Butternut Squash Salad With Warm Bacon Dressing
Dishin & Dishes: Beet Salad With Garlic Vinaigrette
Thursday Night Dinner: Mixed Lettuce, Caramelized Onion and Goat Cheese Pita Pizza
And Love It Too: Rainbow Salad
Made By Michelle: Bacon, Lettuce and Tomato Sandwiches
Feed Me Phoebe: Hearts of Romaine With Beets, Pistachios and Roasted Garlic Vinaigrette
HGTV Gardens: Garden-to-Table: Mixed Lettuce
Virtually Homemade: Mixed Fall Greens With Dijon Chive Vinaigrette
Devour: Lettuce (Hold the Salad)
Delicious Lean: Chiffonade of Mixed Greens
FN Dish: Top 12 Lettuce Wraps

Spinach-Sausage Saute with Pan-Fried Gnocchi

2012-10-03T01:23:00.001-04:00

Printable Recipe

Starting the skillet with a good spicy sausage gives a blast of flavor to the handful of spinach you'll toss in to melt together with a bit of chipotle in adobo and then, voila - dinner is on the table. Take an extra few minutes to pair it with a side of pan fried gnocchi and you have a great last-minute dinner that doesn't feel last-minute at all.

Start by assembling ingredients. As with any quick fix meal you'll want everything out of the package and at hand, ready to hit the skillet. Pre-washed spinach unbagged, chipotles rough chopped, sausage into 1" dice.

I've used a lean turkey kielbasa link sausage here because it is what I had on hand, but pancetta would be excellent and chorizo would really spice it up! Look for the freshest and softest gnocchi because we're not boiling it first. That's right! I haven't lost my mind. I lifted this idea straight from Nigella the Queen of Bites. I found this little pearl of an idea on her iPad app called Nigella Quick Collection. Great collection of recipes taken from half a dozen of her cook books and loaded with in-app videos.
While I was making a brief advertisement for Nigella the sausage took off cooking without me. I am not Nigella's agent but I would like to meet her whenever she's ready, ahemmm.

When the pan is good and crispy on the bottom and the sausage browned, drop in a few handfulls of spinach and a tablespoon or two of chopped chipotles, depending on how hot you like it, baby.
Let it all melt down together which will only take a few minutes.

Don't empty that skillet yet! First let's grab up all that flavor on the bottom with a quick splash of water. Even 1/4 cup will do it as long as the pan is good and hot. It should sizzle immediately and dissolve all that flavor into a wonderful savory glaze as you scrape the skillet and keep everything moving.
Now transfer all to a serving platter and give the skillet a quick wipe out with a dry paper towel.

There should still be a fine layer of browned fond left behind which will help the gnocchi to brown well. Film the skillet with a layer of mild olive oil and raise the heat to medium high.

Toss the gnocchi to coat with the oil and spread them out in a single layer with enough space to allow them to brown. Watch the heat and reduce if necessary. Flip the ghnocci when they have browned well and repeat on the other side. Serve immediately with the Spinach and Sausage for little out-of-the-ordinary meat and potatoes meal!

THE SHOPPING LIST
Bag of Prewashed Spinach
One Pkg Fresh Gnocchi
One Pound Link Sausage (Kielbasa, Pancetta, Chorizo)
Small Can Chipotle in Adobo

Summer has given way to Fall Fest at the Food Network website where you'll find my foodie blogs along with other great food lovin' bloggers, offering up our best ideas all the way through the holidays! Each week we'll be blogging together with the FN Dish to produce fabulous ways to enjoy your produce! This week, it's Spinach, next week come on back for tasty ways with Turnips. Check out these other delicious ideas:

Jeanette's Healthy Living: Skinny Hot Spinach Dip
Feed Me Phoebe: October Evening Lentil Soup With Spinach
And Love It Too: Grain-Free Spinach Pie
Cooking With Elise: Baby Spinach Salad With Cranberries, Spiced Pecans and a Maple Vinaigrette
Virtually Homemade: Three Onion Dip With Spinach
HGTV Gardens: Garden-to-Table: Spinach
Napa Farmhouse 1885: Whole-Wheat Pasta With Spicy Spinach and Peanut Butter Pesto
Thursday Night Dinner: Spinach Ice Cream
Cooking Channel: Fresh Spinach in Indian Recipes
Delicious Lean: Spinach Leaf Roll Ups
Bacon and Souffle: Baby Spinach Pizza With Sopressata and Sriracha
FN Dish: Stuff It With Spinach

Easier-than-Pie Creamy Apple Bake

2012-09-12T11:03:00.001-04:00

(Printable Recipe)

Not an apple cream pie, not a pudding, not a baked apple...maybe a little of all those in one? This super simple creamy-licious apple dessert comes from the maven of classic desserts, Maida Heatter, whose cookbooks I often turn to when I'm ready to try something new and want some no-fail perfection going on in my kitchen. When I read her description of this dish, I thought she might be using the term "pudding" as the Brits do to simply mean dessert of any kind because the topping was rich with butter but lacking the milk needed for a true pudding. I decided it didn't really matter to me what it was called when I considered the ratio of ingredients because that much butter, sugar, and egg could only lead to something scrumptious.

I chose a mix of McIntosh and Granny Smith apples for a balance of flavor. Granny Smith is one of the most tart cooking apples while McIntosh is quite sweet. Check out the Apple Chart at the bottom of this post for your own combos.

Peel and quarter the apples, removing the core in the process. Chop these quarters into approximately one inch chunks and move to a large bowl.You should have around 4-5 cups full.

Add 1-2 Tablespoons of real Maple Syrup - use the real thing, not maple flavored pancake syrup! Add 1/4 cup sugar and toss well. Turn into a well buttered 2-quart casserole dish.

Now for the topping ingredients:
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
2 eggs
1-1/2 sticks butter

Microwave the butter for a minute or so to melt while starting on the the rest.

In an electric mixer beat the eggs and sugar until smooth and creamy.

Add both the butter and flour all at once and continue beating until smooth again.

Are you wondering what's awry in this picture? If it looks like I'm wearing my right hand backwards, that would be because it's my left hand twisted around at a ridiculous angle. This is what comes from insisting on shooting the camera righthanded no matter what sort of contortions are required by the poor left. And, nope, there's nobody holding that Pyrex measuring cup...it's just wedged there. Really.

Beat for a few minutes and scrape down around the edges until the flour has blended in well and all lumps are dissolved.

Top the apples evenly with this luscious not-a-pudding mixture and pop this into a 325 oven. Start checking it around 45 minutes, but it may take as long as an hour to cook all the way through. Check it by pressing into the center of the dish with the back of a spoon to be sure there is no liquidy center remaining. It will be soft set and still moist when done and only slightly browned. Delish!

Serve warm with a dollop of sweetened cream whipped with a pinch of cinnamon.

It's still SummerFest at the Food Network website where you'll find my foodie blogs on the Food Network along with other great food lovin' bloggers, offering up our best ideas for your Farmer's Market finds all summer long. Each week we'll be blogging together with the FN Dish to produce fabulous ways to enjoy your produce! This week, it's Apples, next week Potatoes. Check out these other delicious ideas:

Jeanette's Healthy Living: Gluten-Free Jewish Apple Cake
Virtually Homemade: Apple Pie Muffin
Chez Us: Baked Apples With Creme Anglaise
Made by Michelle: Pear Apple Crisp
Napa Farmhouse 1885: Apple, Fennel and Cheddar Cheese Panini
From My Corner of Saratoga: Spiced Apple Dutch Baby
Thursday Night Dinner: Apple Bread Pudding
Devour: 7 Apple Desserts Beyond Pie
Healthy Eats: Marrying the Apple With New Flavors
FN Dish: Let's Go Apple Picking

Honeydew Salad with Genoa Salami and Mozzarella Fresca

2012-08-22T12:00:00.022-04:00

Printable Recipe

Honeydew's gentle sweetness is just what a good salami needs to enhance its flavor and cut its saltiness. Adding a mellow cheese like Mozzarella Fresca is the perfect accompaniment for both, adding no extra saltiness, only cool smooth flavor and texture.

Honeydews when ripe might be a little sticky on the outside but the skin should not be slick or slimy. A few freckles are fine also, they just indicate ripeness. Try to choose one that is good and heavy for its size. It's OK to leave it sitting out on the counter for a few days and it will continue to ripen, then it needs to be refrigerated. OK, that's the honeydew lesson.

Now, here's a little basil info. I chose this variegated leaf basil because it is very mild and sweet. I wanted a touch of basil flavor but nothing pungent. If you don't grow this type or can't find it, either skip the basil or just use a single leaf of the basic variety, very finely minced.

I used only half this melon and cut it into small dice as pictured here. Making these slices about half an inch thick or less made it easy to crisscross cut them into dice.

I did the same thing with the fresh mozzarella, slicing it a little thicker than 1/4." This salami was already thin cut. If you don't have the same brand look for another another that is actually made in Italy. The difference in flavor is very much worth the few dollars more you will spend. It will be much more tender and tasty, not like chewy harsh tasting cheap salamis. Yep, I know I'm handing out a lot of shopping advice this week. That's what I'm here for.

Here we go, taking it all down to size. For the meat: I just left it stacked the way it came in the package and cut through in strips, then cut it crossways some too. Just let it tear as you go, doesn't matter. Stacking the basil leaves makes them easy to cut into thin julienned strips.Now toss all together and don't worry about adding any sort of dressing, you won't need it. The salami lends a bit of oiliness to the moisture of the honeydew and creates a bit of its own "dressing."

Colorful, a bit unusual, but so tasty! Paul Dean and Bobby Flay have both made the Watermelon Feta Salad popular in the last few years. Well, this Honeydew Salad is my take on the prosciutto-wrapped-melon-slice idea with a little bolder flavor in a quick, easy salad. Buon appetito!

THE SHOPPING LIST

1 small Honeydew Melon

1 4-6 oz pkg Genoa Salami

4 oz Mozzarella Fresca

1-4 Fresh Basil leaves

SummerFest is on at the Food Network website (FN Dish)! Once again, you'll find my foodie blogs on the Food Network along with other great food lovin' bloggers, offering up our best ideas for your Farmer's Market finds all summer long. Each week we'll be blogging together with the FN Dish to produce fabulous ways to enjoy your produce! This week, it's Melon, next week Eggplant. Check out these delicious ideas:

Jeanette's Healthy Living: Watermelon-Mint Freeze
What's Gaby Cooking: Melon and Prosciutto Salad
Cooking With Elise: Quinoa Crunch With Melons, Blueberries and Yogurt
Haute Apple Pie: Watermelon and Feta Salad
Cooking Channel: Five Things to Make With Watermelon
Healthy Eats: Melon Refreshers
Ingredients, Inc.: Melon-Arugula Salad
Made by Michelle: Cantaloupe Popsicles
Chez Us: Cantaloupe Lime Agua Fresca
Napa Farmhouse 1885: Mixed Melon Smoothie
Virtually Homemade: Melon-Mint Popsicles
Thursday Night Dinner: Cantaloupe With Figs, Basil and Kalamata Olives
Zaika Zabardast: Cantaloupe Soup With Cardamom Infused Cherry Syrup
Sweet Life Bake: Paletas de Melon
HGTV Gardens: Garden-to-Table: Melons
FN Dish: There's More to Melon

Caramelized Grilled Peaches

2012-08-15T12:00:00.002-04:00

(Printable Recipe)

Fresh peaches on the grill, brushed with brown sugar and butter, drizzled with raspberry juice. The only thing that could make this any better might be to swirl it all with some brown sugared vanilla cream in the ice cream maker and turn it into...oh my, that's another post altogether. Back to the grill - these will be ready in a snap so let's pull it all together before the meat hits the flames.

For 3-6 peaches, you'll need 2 Tbs of Butter and 1 Tbs of Brown Sugar. Peel the peaches, split in half, and pop out the pit.

Now, some recipes will tell you to blanch the peaches to loosen the skin and make them easier to peel. Here's what makes them easier to peel: A Decent Peeler. Get yourself a nice quality vegetable peeler and throw out that ancient one that's as dull as rubber. I use a Cutco peeler because that thing would take the hide off a coconut. It's kind of pricey at around $30, but it's a tool I use constantly in the kitchen, just like my good knives. If you cook often, you don't need to feel guilty about investing in decent tools for the job. The "shop" in our garage is full of all manner of self-important tools. Well, my kitchen is my "shop," so there.

Before I got off on that rant I believe I was about to say let's get the caramel coating ready for our peaches. Here is the simplest possible way to make it - put the butter and brown sugar in the microwave for 1 minute only and then whisk immediately very quickly to blend into a smooth liquid caramel. And yes I have whisks in 6 sizes all the way down to this itty bitty and look how cute that is.

Brush both sides of peaches and move them to the grill in the least hot spot. Depending on how hot or not hot that spot is, they will need anywhere from 2 to 5 minutes on each side to get some grill marks and just warm and sweeten up. Sugar burns easily so keep a close eye on them, maybe checking once a minute to be sure they don't burn. These will be delicious just as they are but when has that ever stopped us before?

Raspberries and peaches were made for each other so let's marry them together. This is one 6 oz package of fresh berries to whir in the food processor with 2-3 Tbs sugar and a squeeze of lemon.

I don't mind the seeds and don't bother to strain them out, but you can do so if you wish. Just press through a fine mesh strainer and use the remaining puree to guild your lovely peaches just before serving. Or you could serve this rich ruby sauce in a small glass pitcher or bowl and let your guests choose for themselves.

SummerFest at the Food Network website (FN Dish) is back! Once again, you'll find my foodie blogs on the Food Network along with other great food lovin' bloggers, offering up our best ideas for your Farmer's Market finds all summer long. Each week we'll be blogging together with the FN Dish to produce fabulous ways to enjoy your produce! This week, it's Peaches, next week Melon. Check out these delicious ideas:

Delicious Lean: Smokey Peach Chipotle Grilled Chicken
Jeanette's Healthy Living: Peach Blackberry Arugula Salad
Cooking With Elise: Streusel Topped Peach Muffins With Peach Butter
Heather Christo Cooks: Peach Coconut Pancakes
Ingredients, Inc: Easy Peach Pie
From My Corner of Saratoga: Grilled Peaches With Caramel-Ginger Sauce and Pound Cake
Dishin & Dishes: Peach Lacquered Chicken Salad
Big Girls Small Kitchen: Easy Peach Limeade
Napa Farmhouse 1885: Fresh Peach and Coconut Cake
Thursday Night Dinner: Peach Shortbread
Sweet Life Bake: Jicama Tortilla Salad With Peach Dressing
I Am Baker: Cilantro Peach Salsa
Zaika Zabardast: Donut Peach Quesadilla
And Love It Too: Peachy Coconut Streusel Muffins
Daydreamer Desserts: White Peach Margaritas
Cooking Channel: 4 Savory Uses for Peaches
Healthy Eats: What to do With Overripe Peaches
FN Dish: Peaches Move to the Big Kids' Table

Shrimp and Chorizo with Red Pepper Chermoula Sauce

2012-08-08T11:35:00.002-04:00

(Printable Recipe)

Why not double dose this shrimp with spicy and exotic flavors both? The chorizo gives a nice deep heat and savor while the chermoula sauce adds a top note of piquant green and lemony tang along with a snap of red chili.

If you haven't heard of chermoula sauce before, I'll bet you soon hear of it again or see it on a trendy menu. It's a traditional Moroccan marinade that seems to be making an appearance in all sorts of dishes these days. I've added a few non-traditional ingredients while keeping the basics. And we're going to make it first so the flavors can mull a bit. A night or two in the fridge would be even better!

The greens are cilantro and about twice as much parsley. (So, here I've used 1/4 C Cilantro, 1/2 C Parsley.) The spices: 1 tsp each of cumin, coriander, and paprika. Unless you use ground coriander often, buy it fresh just before you make this or buy coriander seed and grind it yourself in a clean coffee grinder or mortar and pestle. It should smell like a fresh cut lemon. Anytime you open a spice bottle and smell nothing, throw it away. Just to intensify the flavors of these 3 spices further still, we're going to borrow a tip from India and heat them in a skillet over low heat. Use just a drizzle of oil with the 3 spices and move it all constantly with a spatula until it bubbles, maybe one minute. It should smell very fragrant.

Now drop all the greens, two seeded red chilies, and a garlic clove into a food processor with the heated spices. Process with 2 Tbs olive oil and 2 tsp lemon juice until well combined and smooth. Taste test. I like to add a pinch of sugar to balance that lemon flavor, if the coriander was good and potent. You be the judge. I also like a grate or two of ginger, which is completely un-traditional, but again, try it and judge for yourself.

Now it's time for shrimp! You can thin slice the chorizo if that works. This particular link was almost falling apart when I cut it so I just removed the casing and cooked it in "crumbles" in the skillet. The point is to flavor the skillet before the shrimp hits it, so really let the chorizo brown well and develop a nice fond on the bottom of the skillet.

It almost looks too done, doesn't it? That messy looking skillet is just what we want, though.

Now, add the rinsed shrimp and stir quickly to pick up all the good bits on the bottom. It will be ready within just 5 minutes or so. Select the largest shrimp and cut in two to be sure it's white all the way through if you're not sure whether they are all done.

Serve with a side of Red Pepper Chermoula Sauce!

SummerFest at the Food Network website (FN Dish) is back! Once again, you'll find my foodie blogs on the Food Network along with other great food lovin' bloggers, offering up our best ideas for your Farmer's Market finds all summer long. Each week we'll be blogging together with the FN Dish to produce fabulous ways to enjoy your produce! This week, it's Peppers, next week Peaches. Check out these delicious other great ideas:

Jeanette's Healthy Living: Stuffed Peppers With Quinoa Grilled Vegetables and Pesto Sauce
Cooking With Elise: Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
What's Gaby Cooking: Oven-Roasted Peppers With Herbed Breadcrumbs
And Love It Too: Roasted Red Pepper Paleo Hummus
Feed Me Phoebe: Grilled Flank Steak With Gazpacho Sauce
Big Girls Small Kitchen: Seared Pepper Tacos With Pintos and Avocado Crema
Delicious Lean: Peppery Kung Pao
Napa Farmhouse 1885: Spicy Roasted Red Pepper Dip With Baked Corn Tortillas
Thursday Night Dinner: Black Bean and Sweet Pepper Salad
Cooking Channel: 5 Stuffed Pepper Favorites
HGTV Gardens: Garden to Table: Peppers
Sweet Life Bake: Rajas de Poblano con Elote y Crema
Dishin & Dishes: Bacon, Onion and Green Chile "Jam"
Healthy Eats: Peppers for Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner
FN Dish: Meat and Peppers

Spicy Tomato-Tomatillo Chicken Tenders

2012-08-01T12:00:00.000-04:00

(Printable Recipe)

How about tenderlicious chicken smothered in a quick sauce of tomatoes, garlic, leeks, and tomatillos, baked up with just enough cream and mozzarella to make it seem decadent? Are you with me? Well, now that I've given you the whole recipe, go and whip it up - blogster is out to lunch.

Nah, as always, I have obsessively detailed pictures and directions for you so let's get at it.

Here's my take from the Farmer's Market this weekend: beautiful heirloom tomatoes (I asked for the best cooking tomatoes, meaty and light on the acid), some of those funny green tomatillos, and nice young leeks so small they look almost like scallions. Not interchangeable! Leeks seem tough when you slice them but their flavor is oniony but wonderfully mild and just a little heat almost makes them melt.

So start by washing everything up. Pull the husks from the tomatillos; they'll be quite sticky but only need a good rinse under the tap. The leeks may be another story because they can hold a lot of soil and grit. Rinse them and slice to the end of the white part, then swish around and soak well in a big bowl of water to get any soil from between the layers.

Let these soak while you chop the tomatillos in half and quarter the tomatoes, or eighth the larger ones. I think they're actually easiest to peel after cutting them up. Thought you read that wrong, didn't you? Well, try it. The skin usually comes off in an easy single piece or two with no need to blanch them first or anything else if you peel the cut pieces.

See, I have a picture to prove it:

What is NOT in the pictures above is the hot pepper you need to add! (How did I miss that??) Chop one fresh Serrano, jalapeno, or hot pepper of your choice, discarding seeds if you can't take the heat. I wear surgical gloves to handle them, even if it's just one pepper.

Now, drain the leeks and throw everything in a pot with 3 or 4 cloves of peeled garlic. Pour on just enough chicken broth to cover. We want to simmer the lot long enough to soften everything up, so add about 1 tbs. salt, cover, and when it comes to a boil reduce the heat and let it go for about 10 minutes. When ready, scoop the vegetables into the food processor with liquid no more than half as deep as vegetables to help keep everything moving as you process into a puree.

Save that delicious broth for soup!

You'll probably end up with twice as much of this sauce as you need. It freezes perfectly in a ziplock bag, though, so save it for later! For now, just pour an even layer over the chicken tenders so they are smothered in the sauce.

1/4 cup Half&Half - 1 cup Mozzarella

Drizzle with the Half & Half. Don't worry, it will mix together as it cooks.

Top with the mozzarella. We're baking these tenders
at 350 for about 20 minutes until chicken is just cooked through, but they could be simmered in a skillet covered in this sauce as well. To brown the top it would have to go under the broiler just a minute or so. Don't wait for the cheese to brown in the oven either or the chicken could get tough, instead of tender tenders. It's better to put them under the broiler to brown the cheese if you want it that way.

Voila, la finished dish!

SummerFest at the Food Network website (FN Dish) is back! Once again, you'll find my foodie blogs on the Food Network along with other great food lovin' bloggers, offering up our best ideas for your Farmer's Market finds all summer long. Each week we'll be blogging together with the FN Dish to produce fabulous ways to enjoy your produce! This week, it's tomatoes, next week Peppers. Check out these delicious other great ideas:

Cooking With Elise: Fresh Tomato Sauce
Jeanette's Healthy Living: Tomato Gazpacho Salsa
Napa Farmhouse 1885: Tomato Cobbler Anyone?
Virtually Homemade: Spaghetti With Tomatoes, Prosciutto and Fresh Corn
What's Gaby Cooking: Chicken Kebabs With Romesco Sauce
Big Girls, Small Kitchen: Salmon Spaghetti With Plum Tomatoes and Avocado
Feed Me Phoebe: Roasted Fresh Tomato Puttanesca Sauce
Chez Us: Easy Tomato Tart
Made By Michelle: Tomato and Pesto Pizza
Ingredients, Inc.: Lighter Fried Green Tomatoes
Delicious Lean: Creamy Light Tuna Salad Stuffed Tomatoes
From My Corner of Saratoga: Tomato Jam
Dishin & Dishes: Tomato Zucchini Frittata
And Love It Too: Roasted Garlic, Basil and Tomato Paleo Tart
Healthy Eats: The Fresh-for-Once Tomato
Sweet Life Bake: Pico de Gallo
Zaika Zabardast: Grilled Tofu and Sun-Dried Tomato Pesto Sandwich
Thursday Night Dinner: Tomato and Watermelon Salad
Cooking Channel: How to Prepare Summer Tomatoes
FN Dish: Tomatoes Go Beyond Salads

Summer Squash Confetti Salad

2012-07-25T12:00:00.004-04:00


(Printable Recipe)

Yellow squash picked young and tiny is nicely sweet and perfectly paired with sweet corn and peppers in this cool, creamy side dish. It's a good salad stand-in too, already dressed with the perfect dressing that you may find yourself using on lots of other veg combos once you taste it.

Ah, if only this was sweet corn season this picture would be perfect. Alas, Del Monte Summer Crisp is the closest I can get at this moment. Fortunately, yellow squash is fairly easily available almost any time. Buy them as small as you can find. And I think the best and least seedy ones are the straight, rather finger shaped type. You'll also need a green bell pepper and purple onion. Don't substitute red bells here; they're sweeter, I know, but the bright green bite of this bell is part of what makes this dish.

To start, slice the 2 or 3 yellow squash lengthwise and then into thin halfmoon slices. If you find any that are seedy, chuck them in the trash bowl.
That's right, I tossed this entire squash because it wasn't worth using. Well, I did use the slender neck of it because that part was tender and clear of seeds.
Tiny seeds don't matter as long as the flesh is firm and a taste test proves out.

Drain the corn well and mix together with squash. We're going for about an equal amount - around one cup of each. To this, add 1/4 cup of finely chopped purple/red onion and 1/3 cup of green pepper. Toss all together and dress with the following, my secret weapon in the last minute, yet wildly irresistible, salad arsenal.

This will probably make twice as much dressing as you need, but it keeps well and you'll use it up, trust me. To 1/2 cup Miracle Whip (no substitutions!) add 1 Tbs White Vinegar, 1 tsp Sugar, 1/2 tsp Celery Salt. Whisk all together well.

I learned to make this special dressing from my husband's Grammy who was famous in our family for her coleslaw. This was coleslaw that ruined you for ever eating coleslaw anywhere else for any reason at all. The dressing was the secret of course. I have added the celery salt for this particular recipe but it's just as good without it.Start by adding only half the total recipe to the Confetti Squash mixture above and give it a taste. Come to think of it, double the amounts of all vegetables heretofore mentioned and just use all the dressing because you're going to need it if you decide to share this dish with anyone else! Bon Appetit!

THE SHOPPING LIST

3-4 Small Yellow Squash

Bell Pepper

Purple Onion

Miracle Whip

Celery Salt

SummerFest at the Food Network website is back! Once again, you'll find my foodie blogs on the Food Network along with other great food lovin' bloggers, offering up our best ideas for your Farmer's Market finds all summer long. Each week we'll be blogging together with the FN Dish to produce fabulous ways to enjoy your produce! This week it's week summer squash, next week tomatoes. Check out these other tasty ideas for squash:

Jeanette's Healthy Living: Quick and Easy Sesame Summer Squash Stir-Fry
Cooking With Elise: Orange Summer Squash Bread
Feed Me Phoebe: Summer Squash and Cornmeal Cakes With Tarragon
Chez Us: Zucchini Pancakes With Minty Dill Crème Fraiche
And Love It, Too: Peter Pan Squash Spiced Oven Fries
Made By Michelle: Pattypan Squash and Tomato Frittata
Cooking Channel: Our Top 5 Favorite Squash Recipes
Delicious Lean: Summer Squash Ribbons With Feta and Pine Nuts
Napa Farmhouse 1885: Summer Squash Chips
Ingredients, Inc.: Summer Squash and Kale Sauté
Thursday Night Dinner: Summer Squash Medley
Sweet Life Bake: Zucchini Fried With Tequila-Spiked Avocado Dip
Dixie Chik Cooks: Fried Summer Squash Parmesan Sliders
Healthy Eats: Summer Squash Any Way You Slice It
FN Dish: Cheesy Summer Squash

Roasted Chicken with Plum Chili Salsa

2012-07-18T12:00:00.000-04:00

(Printable Recipe)

This fabulous chicken is saturated with plum marinade and served with spicy plum salsa so good you'll forget that salsa usually means chips and dip and look for other reasons to make this salsa, especially when plums are in season. It's hard to describe how good it tastes because there's really nothing to compare it to. I would say, think cranberry sauce on Thanksgiving without the bitter twang, but too many people don't love cranberry sauce. So forget that and just try this and find out for yourself. This is an Epicurious recipe first published in Gourmet magazine. Reviewers raved over the salsa and 100% said they would make it again. I have to agree.

First the marinade, since the chicken needs to rest in this for at least an hour, overnight is even better. Here's the marinade list:

4 large plums

2 garlic cloves, crushed

1 Tbs Sesame Oil

1/4 c Soy Sauce

Juice of 1 Large Orange (1/2 Cup)

1/4 c White Wine Vinegar

3 Tbs Sugar

Fresh Ginger Root (about an inch)

1/2 tsp Dry Mustard

One Jalapeno Pepper, seeded and rough chopped (Wear rubber gloves!)

Pit and chop the plums, peel and chop about 1" of the Ginger Root, and measure 1 Tbs of the chopped Jalapeno. Add these and all other ingredients to the food processor and pulse until liquefied.

The recipe called for 8 chicken legs but I used boneless, skinless thighs. Chicken breasts would work as well, but thighs have more flavor and are more moist and worth a try if you haven't used them before. Whatever you use, pour the marinade over all and refrigerate for at least an hour or overnight. Now, you can put these in a 450 oven to roast for about 30 minutes, with a spoonful or two of marinade over each piece of chicken, but I tried them two ways and thought they were much better in the slow cooker. You can get by without marinating or even thawing first if you just put the whole thing in the crockpot and set for 4 hrs on high, about 6 on low. They'll be falling apart when ready and very tasty.

Serve with a side of Plum Chili Salsa.

Plum Chili Salsa

Now for that Fabulous Salsa!

4 Ripe Purple or Red Plums, diced

1/3 cup Red Onion, Minced

1/4 cup Fresh Cilantro, finely chopped
1 tsp minced fresh Jalapeno Pepper
1 Tbs fresh Lime Juice
2-4 tsp sugar, to taste

Stir together all in a bowl and allow the flavors to meld for several hours if possible before using. (Click here for an easy method for pitting and preparing the plums...and don't forget to wear rubber gloves when handling those Jalapenos!)

SummerFest at the Food Network website (FN Dish) is back! Once again, you'll find my foodie blogs on the Food Network along with other great food lovin' bloggers, offering up our best ideas for your Farmer's Market finds all summer long. Each week we'll be blogging together with the FN Dish to produce fabulous ways to enjoy your produce! This week, it's plums, next week summer squash. Check out these delicious ideas:

Ingredients, Inc.: Pork, Plums and Rosemary Kabobs
Virtually Homemade: Grilled Plum Pizza With Goat Cheese
Cooking Channel: Best Plum Dessert Recipes
BGSK: Grandma Esther's Plum and Walnut Cake
Delicious Lean: Plum Delicious Pork Chops
Healthy Eats: 6 Ways to Cook With Plums
Napa Farmhouse 1885: Time for Plum Cobbler?
Thursday Night Dinner: Plum BBQ Chicken
From My Corner of Saratoga: Plum Upside Down Cake
Cooking With Elise: Vanilla Plum Tart
Sweet Life Bake: Plum Pineapple Margarita
And Love It Too: Plum Pickin' Pineapple Jam
FN Dish: Perfect Plum Recipes

Southern Benedictine: Creamy Cucumber Spread

2012-07-11T12:00:00.001-04:00

(Printable Recipe)

Benedictine is the creamy cucumber spread, a true southern original, served at many an afternoon tea and still present on luncheon menus as Benedictine Sandwich throughout the south. This is the original method for making it, with one exception. No green food coloring. You can add it if you like, but I must decline. That pale fake green sends a flavor signal to my mind that flashes I'm Minty, I'm Minty, and I probably don't have to tell you that my palate doesn't want to embark on a voyage that marries mint, cream, and cucumber.

I will not judge you, however, if you generously spread this delicious filling upon white bread with its crusts trimmed away. There be no disparaging remarks about the complete lack of nutritional virtue in that bread, for this is the one time it has a place. Now let us begin quickly, lest I slip into rhyming verse recounting my sweet memories of summer lunches in the Orchid Room on Louisville's Fourth Street of yesteryear.

Our ingredients are only three: cream cheese, onion, and cucumber.

I have used an English cucumber here but a garden cucumber lends more flavor and is recommended. Vidalia onion in my opinion is the ONLY onion suitable. That means you will be confined to making this in summer, which is only appropriate anyway.

Give the cream cheese about a minute on half power in the microwave if it is not already at room temp when you start.

We are only going to use the juice of the two vegetables in keeping with the authenticity of our dish. The quickest way to get the amount needed is by grating to a fine shred over a bowl. Please disregard the terribly gaudy orange nail polish. It was too dark in the den when I was painting those nails to see how bad they looked.

There should be more than enough juice from just the one cucumber. Leaving the peel intact results in a rich green juice that will naturally (and only slightly) tint the cream cheese.

Press to extract all the juice and discard the pulp.

Now, for the onion. If you've gone willy-nilly into the produce department and grabbed any old onion, prepare to cry. The elegant Vidalia, however, will allow you to retain your dignity as it invokes no tears. And yet gives forth the abundance of juice you now seek.

3 Tablespoons of Cucumber Juice, 1 Tablespoon Onion Juice

And add the softened cream cheese, whisking all together.

Add salt and pepper to taste. No other seasonings are needed.

And yet, you may gild the lily a bit with some fresh dill and chives
if you choose.

Finally, the taste test: A finger dollop will do, or a slice of cucumbre, or a dainty triangle of white bread. Whichever you choose, do enjoy with a sip of sweet iced tea.

THE SHOPPING LIST

1 Onion

1 Large Cucumber

8 oz Cream Cheese

What's Gaby Cooking: Cucumber, Herb and Pita Salad
Ingredients, Inc.: Easiest Cucumber Salad
Virtually Homemade: Cucumber Strawberry Cooler
From My Corner of Saratoga: Marinated Cucumber Salad
The Cultural Dish: Pasta With Roasted Shrimp and Cucumbers
Delicious Lean: Cucumber Jicama Salad
Napa Farmhouse 1885: Cucumber and Avocado Open-Face Sandwiches
And Love It, Too: Fermented Spicy Garlic-Dill Cukes and Zukes
FN Dish: No-Cook Cucumber Recipes
Cooking With Elise: Wedge Salad With Cucumber-Ranch Dressing
The Sensitive Epicure: Chinese Style Cucumbers

Not Your Grandma's Pimento Cheese

2012-05-24T15:17:00.000-04:00

(Printable Recipe)

If you grew up in the south you probably grew up eating pimento cheese. And if you didn't,then I'm about to introduce you to a new addiction. And, yes, this IS a photo of a grilled pimento cheese sandwich with my Cool and Zesty Cukes: 7 Minute Summer in a Jar pickles because you do not have to eat cold pimento cheese on a cracker or a piece of white Bunny bread. That hot pepper on top is reminding me that this was a batch of hot pimento cheese because that's what I was in the mood for and my brother had dropped off a passel of hot peppers from his garden. Well, now, that made me go look up "passel," wondering if it is just a corrupted version of "parcel." Indeed it is, although it doesn't quite fit to exchange the uncorrupted word in this example sentence given by the online dictionary: "The President faces a passel of domestic issues." Hmm, well I know this much: easier to face those issues fortified with a grilled pimento cheese in your hand.


Smoked Gouda, Extra Sharp Cheddar, Asiago

One reason my pimento cheese rarely turns out the same way twice is the variety of cheeses I use to make it. Generally, a good sharp cheddar is the base with other chunks from my cheese bin thrown in. I like to buy small pieces of cheese from the bargain basket at Whole Foods or Fresh Market for this very purpose, but I often have left over ends from cheeses I've recently tried and want to use up. The best balance of flavors is a mix of the cheddar with something nutty and rich like parmesan or pecorino romano or asiago and maybe something smokey like this gouda or even a smoked blue - go easy on strong cheeses though or they'll overpower all the other flavors. Even a little of something sweet like gjetost can make a really interesting mix. You can always tone it down with more cheddar if you make the combo too strong. Now, run it all through the grater of your food processor, or Kitchenaide Mixer grater-attachment like I use, and we'll talk about dressing it up in a minute.

Pimento and Pimento

There are two ways to come by a pimento. Near the pickles at your local grocery. Near the peppers at your favorite Farmer's Market in summer. When you see some of these flat little red gems, grab them all! Make a huge batch of pimento cheese to share with your lucky friends or grind all the pimentos at once and save in little freezer bags to parcel out all winter long ("passel" does not work here). There's so much more flavor in the fresh ones, obviously, since they haven't been heated in the canning process. But their season is short and I never see them anywhere the rest of the year, in spite of my habit of roaming groceries and markets, large and small, popular and obscure watching for good things with which to create good eats.

The best way to prepare a fresh pimento is to cap and seed it and drop large chunks into the food processor for a few minutes of pulsing. Now is when you add a little hot pepper if you want it, maybe a piece of jalapeno or Hatch green peppers in season. You can add the mayo directly to this or move it all to a large bowl with the grated cheese. Start with about 1/3 cup of mayo for the amount of cheese pictured above and adjust to your own taste from there. I like mine easily spreadable but not overwhelmed with so much mayo that it interferes with the other tastes.

One more flavor element: very finely grated Vidalia or other sweet (although admittedly inferior) onion. I just cut one in half and run it over the rasp for maybe a teaspoon or so of pulp and juice. I don't really want onion pieces, just the flavor. Also give it a good hard shake of pepper. I prefer a good brand of find ground pepper rather than fresh ground for this because I don't want to encounter a piece of pepper in a bite. Again, only the slight flavor of pepper throughout.

Now, try it on a fine piece of bread worthy of such a spread. This one was a slightly sweet herbed bread just baked that morning and long gone by evening, slathered in pimento cheese goodness, shared with friends who went home with their own little jars of yum.

Roasted Vegetable Black Bean Soup

2012-02-21T11:33:00.021-05:00

Printable Recipe

Roasting the vegetables for this soup adds a depth of flavor that elevates this Black Bean soup well above the many others I've tried. The carrots and onion and garlic all sweeten in flavor and tomatoes lose their acidic edge in the roasting oven. And if you happen to be cooking something else one night, it's easy to slip in this pan of vegetables along with your roast or casserole or whatever and the next day you'll have them ready for your soup.

Start with this. Peel and chop the carrots into thirds. Halve the tomatoes. Take the onion and sweet red pepper down to rough chunks about 1-2 inches square. They don't have to be pretty - we're just roasting now. And peel but leave the garlic clove whole.

Now spread everything out on an oiled pan and drizzle a bit more olive oil on top. You'll need a total of about 2 Tbs of oil. Sprinkle with about 1 Tbs of dried oregano, unless you're lucky enough to have fresh. Salt and pepper the whole lot and slide it into the 350 oven. It will need about 30-45 minutes to soften up and brown a little here and there. When the carrots are cooked through everything else should be ready. About half way through cooking give everything a turn with the spatula, too.

Before and after pics. You can see that there's only a bit of browning but everything has softened up.

For the soup, add most of 2 cans of black beans to a quart of chicken stock in a large pot. I saw "most" because I like to hold back about 1/2 a can since this whole mix is going to be pureed.

If you've just cooked the vegetables (rather than the day before) you'll need to let them cool a bit so you can handle them enough to chop them up.

I take out the carrots and chop into a fine dice rather than adding to the puree. But everything else goes into a heap on my cutting board and gets a rough chop before dropping it into the soup.

Now that I've gone on and on about the puree here's the highly complicated way to make it happen: Stick a handblender in there are give it a whirl. Done.

Take it down to whatever level of creamy blended soup you want. I like a little something to bite on so I don't blend it into oblivion.

Finally, add the carrots and remaining beans and let it simmer along for 20 minutes or so for the flavors to meld. Taste and correct seasonings if needed - a little more salt or pepper or even a pinch of sugar. Sometime I add a tablespoon of chicken soup base to enrich. Now ladle it up and give it a dollop of sour cream or sprinkle of cheese and enjoy!

THE SHOPPING LIST:

1 Large Onion
1 Clove Garlic
2-3 Carrots
1 Sweet Red Pepper
4 Roma Tomatoes
2 cans Black Beans
1 qt Chicken Stock
1 Tbs Oregano
2 Tbs Olive Oil

Cheaters Chicken and Dumplings

2012-02-14T12:11:00.000-05:00

Printable Recipe

Chicken and Dumplin' comfort food on the table in 30 minutes? Yep, here's just the cheat to do it. I know, I know, Grandma can do it better, but this is a mighty good quick version that will lure you back for seconds every time. Here's the secret:

Get that cream o' chicken soup and a quart of stock bubbling along in a pot and I'll show you how to fake up some dumplins. I'm leaving out the "g" because, who says dumplinG anyway?? Oh, and here's the soup seasoning: about 1 Tbs dry sage and a heaping Tbs chicken soup base for a flavor boost. I mix the base with a little hot water and whisk together before adding to the pot so it will disperse more evenly.

I use one can of any brand of quick biscuits. Roll each one out very thin, like less than 1/4" because you won't believe how much these things puff up when they hit the bubbling liquid. I use a pizza cutter to make rough little squares, again not very big because, you know, the puffing.

Now, your soupy base should be simmering by now, don't let it boil hard or too much will evaporate and you'll have a very salty result. If you can use no sodium broth it improves this recipe since canned soup is awfully high in salt. And don't get crazy and shake any extra salt into the pot without tasting! You won't need it, trust me. Drop in the soon-to-be-dumplins a few at a time to help them not stick together in an unattractive clump. I want my dumplins attractive, y'all.

And finally, give it the shredded chicken, around 2 cups. You're going to be eating in about 15-20 minutes! A note on the chicken: I use a very good brand of canned white chicken from Costco if I don't have left overs or haven't the time to pick up a rotisserie chicken from the grocery to pull off the bone. But you can poach some chicken breasts to tear up for this if you really want the extra hassle.

And that's it, you're done. And you don't have to tell anybody how easy it was, but thanks cousin Gina for not keeping your secret when everybody at the fam reunion loved this dish.

THE SHOPPING LIST

2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup

1 Quart Chicken Broth

1 Tbs dry or rubbed Sage

1 Tbs Chicken Soup Base

1 can Biscuits

2 cups shredded Chicken

Ultimate Tortilla Soup

2012-01-17T14:39:00.001-05:00


Printable Recipe

Ultimate tortilla soup is rich and flavorful and works just as well without the chicken for a wonderful vegetarian alternative. This recipe has become my favorite of the many I've tried. I think it probably has a few more ingredients than others but takes no longer to prepare. And there are a few easy techniques I'll show you that enhance the flavor also. Here's the line up:

1 qt Chicken Broth (or Veg)
2-3 Tbs Butter
1 clove Garlic
1 Onion, chopped
1 Can Black Beans or Red Beans
1 can Diced Tomatoes
1 small can Chopped Green Chilis
2 cups Corn, frozen, fresh or canned
2-3 Tbs Sugar
2 Tbs Cumin
1 Tbs Oregano
2 Tbs Chicken Soup Base
1-2 Cups Cooked Chicken
1-2 cups water

Start the pot with a quick saute of onions in butter over medium heat to sweeten them up. Within about 5 minutes they'll soften and you can add the pressed or chopped garlic.

Immediately follow the garlic with the sugar, cumin, and oregano and stir steadily for just a minute or two. This will intensify the flavor of the herbs and give the garlic a moment to sweeten. Don't let it go longer though because that garlic can move from sweet to bitter in a flash.

Now add all the rest of the ingredients: broth, beans, corn, tomatoes, and green chilis and 1 cup or so of water. Before you add the soup base, whisk it with a little hot water and it will disperse more easily into the soup. As I've mentioned before in other soupy posts, a good soup base concentrate is loaded with flavor and will improve an already great soup; it's the secret of many restaurants for soup and sauce making. And let me define "good" soup base a little further. It will not look like artificially colored yellow lard. It should smell good and be creamy and have an appetizing list of ingredients, as if a good soup had been reduced to a very thick condensed form. I like the brand, "Better than Bouillion" which can be found near the bouillion and soups in most any grocery. Higher end groceries and gourmet/specialty food shops have my all time favorite brand called Minors. It can be kept frozen and is well worth stockpiling if you ever see it.

OK, raise the heat until you get a nice study bubble and add the chicken; let it go about 30 minutes and your soup is ready to eat.You can use pulled chicken from leftovers or a rotisserie ready-cooked type or a really good brand of canned white meat chicken. Costco's Kirkland brand is so good I keep it on hand all the time, especially since this is a quick soup I make if we have unexpected company or get the whim for a quick hot lunch at home...

Which is what I did today. Tortilla soup with a sprinkle of Mex cheese blend and a dollop of sour cream (plus smoked paprika for fanciness). One cheesy quesedilla: slap some cheese of your choice between two tortillas and toast it up in a buttered skillet like a cheese sandwich - a few minutes on each side until browned and the cheese is melty. I made this one with a grainy corn tortilla and good old Longhorn Colby.

Vegetable Ham and Bean Soup

2012-01-02T23:52:00.003-05:00

Printable Recipe

This recipe combines vegetables and cannellini beans for a hearty, more interesting soup than ordinary Ham and Bean. Leftover hambone from the spiralcut Honeybaked? Bring it on. Best way ever to flavor this soup and not let a perfectly good hambone go to waste, especially the sweet amazing flavor of holiday Honeybaked! I'm not doing a commercial. Really. Just a fan, that's all.

Let's start the pot with that famous trio onion, celery, carrot - about a cup of each. These need to saute over medium heat in 2-3 Tbs butter just 5-6 minutes to sweeten a little and start to soften. While that's going on, let's check out the hambone and get the other ingredients together.
First, hambone: I'm assuming most of the ham has been cut away, but if there's still some hanging on that won't really slice into manageable pieces, just leave it. As it simmers in the soup it will get so tender you can use a fork at the end to scrape and coax loose some pieces for the soup. When the vegetables have sauteed a bit, add 1 quart of chicken broth and a drained can of cannellini beans. You can use white beans if you like, but I prefer cannellinis for their firmer texture and slightly larger size.

Bring this to a simmer while you prepare some potato to add. I used small red fingerlings, about a cupful that I washed and left unpeeled then sliced into 1/4" rounds. Any potato is fine, just keep the pieces fairly small so they'll cook promptly with the other vegetables. We're going for a soup that is ready in about 30 mintues here which means No Big Potato Chunks.

This soup doesn't need much seasoning beyond the hambone. I gave mine 5 or 6 good hard shakes of black pepper and a pinch of dry mustard. Added one bayleaf, too. I ground some fenugreek seed, maybe a tbs or so, because I like the flavor that is milder than cumin, but somewhat similar, and a little sweet. It's used as one of flavoring agents in fake maple syrup, so maybe that's the element that makes it seem like a good fit for hammy soup. Try fenugreek seed and grind it yourself in a small coffee grinder (well washed!). The flavor is always better if you can grind fresh.

That's it. Don't worry if that hambone is not completely immersed in the soup. Let it simmer for half an hour, maybe flip the bone over halfway through, and give it a taste. If the vegetables are cooked and the flavor is good, serve this up with some cornbread and eat up!

THE SHOPPING LIST:
1 can of Cannellinis (or White Beans)
1 Qt Chicken Broth
3 Tbs Butter
1 cup Onion, chopped
1 cup Carrots, chopped
1 cup Celery, chopped
1 large potato or 6-7 fingerlings, sliced/diced
1 bay leaf
1 Tbs Fenugreek
1/2 tsp dry mustard
Hambone

Fast Fettucini with Ham and Jarlsburg

2011-12-31T00:07:00.004-05:00

Printable Recipe

What to do with that left over spiral cut ham? Turn it into this quick and creamy luscious treat and you'll be wishing for left over ham more often. After the holidays, finding myself with the end bits of the ham that will no longer give up a decent slice for sandwiching, I thought about this dish we had in Florence, Italy a few years ago and how quickly the chef made it up in his small open kitchen where everyone in the place could watch. This is my replica. Not many ingredients here so it's essential that each one is of best quality.

And here ya go: you'll need 1 Tbs each of butter and flour and about 1/2 tsp of red pepper flakes. The cheeses are Jarlsburg and Parmigiano Reggiano, a cup of the first and just a spoonful or so of the second.
Ham, of course. For the photo I had to throw some Boar's head ham slices from the butcher on here because, why? I forgot to photograph the ingredients when I actually made the dish and that won't do for my faithful readers. Sigh, that meant recreating the ingredient plate after the fact. This is going to be a photo-intensive post because I want you to see exactly what the sauce needs to look like every minute along the way so it will turn out perfect for you.

And start some fettuccini or spaghetti cooking with a good tablespoon or more of salt. For four servings you'll need less than half a pound of dry noodles. Whatever time the box lists, set your timer for 2 minutes less so you can test it and be sure to get out of the bath while it's truly al dente and not soft and mushy.

We're getting everything ready before starting the sauce which will go really fast and has to be stirred continuously, no leaving the stove to grate cheese after the fact. You'll need about a cup of the Jarlsburg (or Gruyere would be really good here too, also nutty and richly flavored) and the ham should be chopped up to equal about a cupful also.

Put the 1 cup of cream into the microwave for 1 minute only to warm it. And yes I have written a message on the turntable of my microwave. A demand (or plea) for my lovely twins girls to PLEASE COVER IT! so I will not have crusty stallagtites on the ceiling of my oven from exploded dinnersnacks.

And now we are ready to commence saucing! Melt the butter over medium low heat until it just begins to foam. Sprinkle in the spoon of flour and immediately stir it in with a whisk. It will really foam up at first; keep it moving quickly to blend and lean in for the fragance to tell you when to add the hot cream, usually within just a minute or so, when the scent changes from a raw floury smell to slightly nutty but it has not browned at all (toss it and start again on lower heat if it browns).

Add the liquid in a steady stream, whisking all the while. The butter/flour mixture will still look thin before the liquid comes in but will quickly thicken as you keep whisking.

As it bubbles along add the red pepper flakes and cheese and finally the ham.

The pasta should be ready now. Before you drain it dip out about a cup of the pasta water to add to the sauce. This will not thin the sauce as much you'd think, just enough to make it coat the noodles better. This also adds some seasoning and starch to the sauce to make it better.

Add this in gradually, still whisking of course. The heat should be high enough for the sauce to bubble steadily and easily incorporate the pasta water completely. If it seems too thin, bubble it just another minute or two to rethicken. All in all, this sauce is ready in less than 10 minutes from start to finish. And it's ready for the pasta.

I start by adding 2 cups and folding it in with a rubber spatula to see if more is needed. 3 cups at most is all you'll need. (You can serve the left over pasta tomorrow with a little browned butter and a sprinkle of toasted almonds or pine nuts.)

Powerful shake or two or three of black pepper.

Finally, the last touch is that perfect parmigianno. Mmmmm. This one is hardly more than a rind which I saved to add some marvelous flavor to a soup. But that's another blog for another day when I make use of that spiral cut hambone. Don't throw it out! Freeze it if you have to. Stay tuned and we'll make soup in a few days!

Back to our Fettucini - gild it with a hearty spoonful of finely grated parm and serve it up! Give it a taste first to be sure you're willing to share.

THE SHOPPING LIST
1/2 lb Spaghetti
8 oz heavy cream
8 oz jarlsburg cheese
8 oz honeybaked ham or similar good ham
1 oz Parmigiano-Reggiano
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1 Tbs butter
1 Tbs flour

Yummy Little Sandwiches

2011-12-21T23:09:00.003-05:00

Printable Recipe

Spicy Italian Roast Beef layered with creamy, nutty cheese on a just-sweet-enough mini bun. You'll make these to take for a party, a pitch-in, a luncheon (do people have luncheon anymore?). And you'll keep making them for yourself...midnight snack, Saturday lunch, Sunday brunch, oh, anything at all. They're a bit hard to resist. And quick and easy. You've practically got the recipe already, but here's a visual:

Open the 12 pack of Hawaiian rolls and do not separate into individual pieces. Steady them with your palm in the middle of the whole thing and use a long serrated knife to cut them horizontally into a top and bottom. Open them up like a big bread clamshell. On the underside of the top half slather on a goodly layer of Miracle Whip. As much as I love mayonnaise, the real thing, I believe this sandwich needs the tangy goodness of MW to make it just right.

Now, for the other half o' the bread layer on all of this: 8 oz cream cheese, 2-4 oz blue cheese, handful of smoked almonds.

Rough chop those almonds with a big sturdy knife. I mean just lay a handful on a chopping block and chop through a few times to at least halve them. Chunkier is better here. NOTE: Everything will mix together better and spread nicely if you give the cream cheese just 10-20 seconds in the microwave till barely warm and very soft.

Now, layer your very thinly sliced pound of Italian roast beef over all and close that breadclam right up. It's easiest to cut through everything with the long serrated knife just before you arrange on the platter. These will fit nicely back into the "tray" and bag they came in to transport for your event. And they hold quite well for 2-3 days in the fridge! Incidentally, I find Italian roast beef in the bigger groceries or from my butcher who carries Boar's Head which is my favorite brand. Any Italian roast beef greatly trumps plain old roast beef; so much more flavorful. If you're really tired, go ahead and make this with whatever you've got. It will definitely still be irresistible.

THE SHOPPING LIST

12 Hawaiian Rolls

1 lb Italian Roast Beef

8 oz Cream Cheese

2-4 oz Blue Cheese

1/2 cup Smoked Almonds

Miracle Whip

Festive Green Salad with Red Poms

2011-12-18T19:39:00.003-05:00

Printable Recipe

A perfect salad anytime but especially pretty for the Christmas table. Pomegranate arils dot the bright green romaine lettuce like lovely little holly berries. So pretty without the deadly poison of the holly. Truly, don't get those two mixed up. And drizzled over all, a pink poppyseed salad dressing that's just a bit sweet, just a bit tangy. So, let's whip up a healthy, completely poison free salad!

The assemblage: a pomegranate, dried cherries, romaine heart, and toasty sliced almonds. For each salad you'll need 1 cup of chopped lettuce and 1 tablespoon each of almonds and dried cherries and 2 tsp pomegranate arils. Top with 2 Tablespoons dressing which we'll make in a minute. First things first though: how to get the goods out of that pomegranate and a quick way to take the romaine down to easy bite size pieces. My mom used to say that a piece of salad lettuce should always be small enough to bite without cutting up at the table. I do the lettuce cutting ahead of time with that in mind. One Note: Dried Cranberries work just as well in this salad and are just as pretty and red.

A quick way to cut the romaine hearts (which I came up with after doing romaine salads for 80 one day) is like this: Cut a wedge out to remove the core, as pictured here, then slice the whole thing from end to end, flip it over a half turn, and make a second cut the long way. Now you can slice across in narrow strips and get nice bite size pieces quickly.

How to Seed a Pomegranate

Well, you can bash it smartly with a wooden spoon which I've seen Nigella Lawson do on her cooking show with great success. I find that some seeds fly out while lots of splatters ruin everything within two feet of the bowl.

The better solution is to submerge the pom half in a bowl and sort of flip it inside out. Work the little arils out underwater so that any released juice stays in the water and the waxy membranes float away.

Now the waxy insides can be skimmed off the top and the little red jewels retrieved with a mesh strainer. There will be more than enough for 6-8 salads, maybe more.

Pink Poppyseed Dressing

Mix together in a jar with lid and shake furiously or whisk until all is emulsified:

1 Cup Canola Oil
Less than 1/4 Cup Red Wine Vinegar
(about 2-1/2 Tbs)
2 Tbs Honey
1/2 teaspoon honey mustard
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
pinch of salt

THE SHOPPING LIST: (for 6-8 salads)
2 Hearts of Romaine
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/2 cup Dried Cherries or Craisins
1 Pomegranate
1 cup Canola Oil
1/4 C Red Wine Vinegar
Honey
Honey Mustard
Poppy Seeds

Cherry Topped Cream-Drop Cookies

2011-12-14T13:00:00.033-05:00

Printable Recipe

Creamy rich and dense with a soft cake-like texture, these cookies are the same cherry drops my Aunt Essie was making in the 40's and which my mom made in later years for us. I've never tasted another one like these.As a matter of fact it's hard to put them in a category - they're not shortbread, much too soft for that; they're not sugar cookies, too rich in flavor. And they're too sticky to be cut with a cookie cutter, even when refrigerated. But I'm not inclined to go to the trouble of cutting out a cookie most days, anyway. Just give me a dough that tastes fabulous and is intended to be baked as a little blob and my needs are met.

So start this little blob with a stick of butter and a cup of sugar and paddle that till it starts looking creamy.

Here's the rest of the line-up to assemble:
1 egg
2 Tbs Cream
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp lemon extract
1/2 tsp salt
2-1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
Maraschino Cherry halves, drained and patted dry

So, now that the butter-sugar mixture has been creamed, add the egg and 2 Tbs. Cream and 1 tsp vanilla and 1/2 tsp lemon extract and blend it in on low untill smooth. Careful with that lemon extract - it's a powerful force and a little goes a loooong way.

Next, the dry ingredients need to be blended well before adding to the dough. I'm of the scoop-and-scrape school of flour measurement because I'm not worried about compacting the flour by scooping it (a very real fear amongst professional flour scoopers) because I scoop it gently and I don't pack it down like it's brown sugar, y'all. Just a gentle scoop and scrape the excess off into a nice big orange bowl. And yes, I have a restaurant server's table crumber that is my favorite scraping device because I'm just that geeky. And because I love to shop in restaurant supply houses because you never know what on earth you'll find in there that you just can't live without .

Where on earth was I? Oh, yeah, the dry ingredients: 2-1/4 cups of flour in a bowl with 1/2 tsp baking powder and 1/2 tsp salt. Whisk slowly to blend well and prevent the danger of an evil tasting bit of baking powder in any of the cookies your favorite, sweet mother-in-law might bite into later. Now add to the dough and mix on low, gradually speeding up to medium as the flour incorporates. Maybe throw a kitchen towel over the whole shebang until that powdery mess blends in so you don't flour the walls on the mixer side of the kitchen. Just sayin'.

This is how the dough will look when ready. No need to beat it beyond the point when the flour is completely mixed in. It will be creamy but fairly stiff.

I like to use a small mechanical scoop like a mini ice cream scoop. This one dispenses about a tablespoon of dough. I have them in 2 or 3 sizes because they are the quickest, easiest way to make cookies. So much better than spoons and fingers and rolling dough balls in your buttered hands. Although that butter is really good for dry hands if you just rub in the left overs and then wash up at the sink. You may think I'm joking...

Press 1/2 Cherry into each of these, slightly flattening the balls as you go. Give them about 8-10 minutes in a 350 oven. Really keep an eye on the first batch to determine time for your particular oven. To keep them tender and moist, they should be baked until just done and not brown at all. They will still have just a little "give" when you poke one with a finger. I often take one out and break it open to see that the dough is cooked through and consistently colored all the way through. If so, and it holds together without crumbling, they're ready!

THE SHOPPING LIST:

1 Stick of Butter

1 Cup of Sugar

1 egg
2 Tbs Cream
1 tsp Vanilla
1/2 tsp Lemon Extract
1/2 tsp Salt
2-1/4 Cups Flour
1/2 tsp Baking Powder
Maraschino Cherry halves

We're celebrating the holidays with the Food Network by bringing our cookies to a Virtual Cookie Swap. Just look at these delicious recipes for all the holiday sweets that will be there!

What's Gaby Cooking: Peppermint Bark Chocolate Cookies
CIA Dropout: Walnut Wimpy Balls
And Love It Too: Snowball Cookies (Grain-Free, Dairy-Free and Vegan)
Taste With The Eyes: Olive Oil Oatmeal Cookies

Jones Is Hungry: A Cookie for Chocolate Lovers
From My Corner of Saratoga: Gooey Butter Cookies
The Sensitive Epicure: Speculaas Dutch Windmill Cookies
Napa Farmhouse 1885: Salted Chocolate & Dulce de Leche Fudge
Virtually Homemade: Chocolate Mint Snowballs
Sweet Life Bake: Polvorones de Chocolate
FN Dish: Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip-Bacon Cookies

Thursday Night Dinner: Peppermint Bark Cookies

Dishin and Dishes: Pecan Sandie Thumbprints With Cherry Frosting

Mooshu Jenne: Biscotti
Cooking With Elise: Sweet and Salty White Chocolate Cranberry Oat Cookies

Carrot Cake Hawaiian Style

2011-11-23T12:00:00.005-05:00

Printable Recipe

Carrot Cake from Hawaii? Nah, not really. I just dubbed it that because it is loaded with pineapple and coconut which is just the way I imagine Carrot Cake on Kauai might be. Lots of people who love this cake and think they don't like coconut don't even realize there's coconut in it since its texture mimics the shredded carrot. The pineapple sweetens this cake without making it sugary and makes it extremely moist. Best of all, it comes together almost as fast as a cake mix except it doesn't taste like Play-doh. Yes, that's the flavor I always think of when I taste carrot cakes not-made-from-scratch. And, no, I haven't eaten Play-doh (that I remember), I'm just guessing at flavor based on scent.

Before we start to make cake, get a stick of butter and a block of cream cheese out and set them aside for later. They need to come up to room temp. But, for the cake: Let's start with the dry ingredients and we're going to whisk them together by hand right in the mixer bowl. We'll move it over to the stand mixer to add the wet ingredients in a few minutes. Here's the list of dry:

2 teaspoons vanilla 2-1/4 cups flour, 2 cups sugar, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, 2 teaspoons baking soda, 1 teaspoon salt. Whisking everything together breaks up any lumps and incorporates the spices, soda, and salt smoothly into the flour so nobody gets a bitter bite of any of that in their cake later.

Now move the mixing bowl to the stand mixer and line up the wet ingredients to add in alternating bunches to the dry mix. Here's that list: 1-1/2 cups oil, 3 eggs, 1 Tbs Vanilla, 2 cups shredded carrot, 2 cups coconut, 8-ounce can crushed pineapple, drained. I know this picture just shows 2 carrots, but it will take probably 4 carrots at least to equal two cups finely shredded. I do them with the fine shredder of the food processor and they're ready in about 30 seconds. Drain pineapple well.

Drain pineapple well in a colander.

Start by adding the eggs and oil and vanilla to dry ingredients, then follow with pineapple, carrots, coconut, and lastly the nuts. Just mix those in briefly so they don't start getting ground up by the beater. And ready to pour into a Pam-sprayed 9x13 for the oven! Bake at 350 for around 30 minutes and check it. As soon as a pick comes out clean and it's no longer liquidy in the middle, remove from oven. This is a very moist cake if not over cooked and you can't judge by the color when done. Test with a toothpick and remove at first sign of a crumb even if the crumb is damp.

Ready for the oven.

Ok, before you clean up that wretched kitchen mess let's get the icing done while the cake bakes and. Um. Walk away and think about it later. If the 1 stick butter and 8 oz cream cheese is at all cold then give each just A FEW SECONDS in the microwave and check till you have nice soft, but not melted, ingredients. Beat them together in the mixer with 1 tsp vanilla and a pinch of salt until nice and smooth. Reduce to lowest speed and add the first cup of confectioners sugar until it blends in, then another cup, and finally a third cup, mixing slowly each time. When it has blended in enough for the powdery mess to die down, then kick the speed up and really let it go. It should be nice and smooth and thick, not runny. I think it really tastes best if you can avoid adding the 4th cup of sugar.

Here' a little hint - toss a kitchen towel over the mixer when something powdery is in there and you'll cut the risk of flour coating your kitchen like a frying chicken.

So, E ʻai kākou, ya'll! (That's Hawaiian for, Let's Eat! which is about as close as we can get to Bon Appetit! island style.)

THE SHOPPING LIST:

2-1/4 cups flour

2 teaspoons cinnamon
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 cups oil
3 eggs

1 Tbs Vanilla

2 cups shredded carrot
2 cups coconut
1 cup chopped walnuts
8-ounce can crushed pineapple, drained
FROSTING:
8 ounces cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick butter, room temperature
1 Tbs Vanilla Extract

Pinch salt

3-4 cups confectioners' sugar

FallFest is continuing at the Food Network website through December! Every week we'll be sharing great recipes for fall and early winter vegetables. For now, check out all kinds of other recipes for Carrots:

Thursday Night Dinner: Pickled Carrots
Virtually Homemade: Roasted Red Onions and Carrots With Pomegranate Gremolata
Haute Apple Pie: Carrot, Apple and Radicchio Slaw
What's Gaby Cooking: Thyme and Honey Roasted Carrots
Glory Foods: Honey-Carrot Bread
FN Dish: Quick Carrot Sides for Thanksgiving
Cooking With Elise: Spiced Carrot Marmalade
Dishin and Dishes: Roasted Honey Balsamic Glazed Carrots
Daydreamer Desserts: Carrot Cheesecake
Mooshu Jenne: Apple and Carrot Hearts Salad
The Sensitive Epicure: Maple Bourbon Glazed and Braised Carrots
Daydreamer Desserts: Carrot Martini