The Gingered Whisk

Sourdough Cranberry White Chocolate Blondies

2013-05-20T06:00:00.000-04:00

It's that time again! Time for another month of Sourdough Surprises! This month we are featuring brownies and blondies made with your sourdough starter! The possibilities are pretty much endless here - you can throw practically any ingredients together and make a yummy, cakey, delicious treat! These turned out so well, I loved how soft and cakey they were. The cranberries and the yummy cream cheese frosting... Seriously, these are almost cake and not blondie!

While I was making these delightful treats I was contemplating the difference between bars and blondies, trying to figure out which category these would fall into. And I decided that blondies typically are a one layer cakey softness (like brownies but without chocolate) and bars typically have a bit more density to them and often have more than one layer.

Sourdough Cranberry White Chocolate Blondies (The Gingered Whisk)

1/3 cup butter, melted and cooled
3/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup sourdough starter
1 egg
2 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Preheat the oven to 350F.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.
In a large bowl, whisk together the melted butter and brown sugar.
Whisk in the sourdough starter until you don't see any of the starter.
Whisk in the egg and vanilla.
Fold in the dry ingredients.
Fold in the cranberries.
Bake for 25-30 minutes.
Cool completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting:
1 package cream cheese, room temperature
1 cup powdered sugar
1 TBSP orange zest
6 ounces white chocolate chips (or almond bark)
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Whip together the cream cheese, zest, powdered sugar and milk until well blended.
Pour over the cool bars and smooth.
Sprinkle the dried cranberries on top.
Melt the white chocolate chips (or almond bark) and drizzle on top.
Cut the bars while the white chocolate is still soft and enjoy!!

The Daring Cooks go En Croute!

2013-05-14T06:00:00.000-04:00

Our lovely Monkey Queen of Don’t Make Me Call My Flying Monkeys, was our May Daring Cooks’ hostess and she challenged us to dive into the world of en Croute! We were encouraged to make Beef Wellington, Stuffed Mushroom en Croute and to bring our kids into the challenge by encouraging them to create their own en Croute recipes!

So this is what happens when I realize it's 3:30pm on the 13th and not only have I not completed this month's Daring Cook's assignment, but I don't even know what it is! Welcome to the world of Jenni's brain - pregnant edition! As luck would have it, I just happened to have a package of puff pastry in my freezer (phew!!), and I decided to totally wing this one. I even borrowed some potatoes and spinach from my neighbor's to add to my meal (they asked me to let their dogs out for them, the items were on the counter, and I asked. Haha Yes, I am not above raiding my neighbor's pantry. Thanks Grace and Allison!)

I don't have a recipe to share because I literally just threw stuff together - but I can explain to you what I did! While my puff pastry (both sheets) was thawing out, I gently poached some chicken breasts in a 50/50 blend of white wine and chicken broth. When they were done I removed them and roughly chopped them. In a large skillet pan I sautéed about 1/2 a yellow onion and maybe a cup or so or chopped button mushrooms in some butter. I also threw in a bit of pepper and thyme and a splash of white wine. I also added some frozen peas and a big handful of fresh spinach. When the spinach was wilted I removed it from the heat. When the puff pastry was thawed I divided it into four equal pieces and split the chicken and spinach mixture evenly. Some swiss cheese slices went on top and then all the corners and edges were tucked in. I turned the puff pastry pockets over to place on the baking sheet (so all the corners were tucked under) and brushed the tops with an egg white wash. Baked at 400 F for about 15 minutes, until the tops were golden brown and then I served them alongside mashed potatoes and a simple salad. Viola!

I actually really liked how this turned out! It was simple yet almost elegant, and Joel and I spent the whole meal talking about what else would go great wrapped in puff pastry (my favorite suggestion was eggs, cheese and bacon!). Also someday, definitely doing brie cheese (which is my ultimate favorite cheese ever!)

Turkey Quinoa Stuffed Peppers

2013-05-09T15:11:00.000-04:00

A while ago my husband came home from work talking about stuffed peppers. I didn't know he even liked them, but apparently that day at work the cafeteria was serving them and they smelled fantastic. Joel went to grab one, but up close they were greasy and shriveled and pretty nasty looking. So of course, being the amazingly awesome wife I am (right, honey?) I set about to find a recipe that was not only appetizing but healthy, too. And these did not disappoint us! The filling is utterly delicious, and the peppers were cooked perfectly. Even Ladybug liked these, although she liked hers "deconstructed".

Turkey Quinoa Stuffed Peppers (A Food Centric Life)

3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
4 large bell peppers, red or orange
1 TBSP olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 large garlic cloves, minced
12 ounces lean ground turkey
2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp freshly grated ginger
a few pinches of kosher salt
1 small pinch of pepper
14 ounces petite diced tomatoes (not drained)
2 TBSP dried currants (or dried cranberries)
4 ounces feta cheese, crumbled
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley

Preheat oven the 350.
In a medium saucepan, combine 1 1/2 cups of water and the quinoa and bring to boil.
Cover, turn the heat down to low, and cook about 18 minutes.
Remove from heat, keeping lid on, and allow to "steam" for 5-10 minutes.
While the quinoa is cooking, prepare your peppers by cutting off the top to open up the pepper.
With a sharp paring knife, trim out the ribs and seeds until the pepper is clean inside.
In a medium skillet, heat the oil over medium heat.
Add the onion and cook, stirring, until soft.
Turn the heat down to low and add the garlic, stirring for 1 minute.
Add the turkey, cumin, ginger, salt, and pepper.
Cook, stirring to break up the turkey, until cooked through.
Stir in the tomatoes and their juice, the currants (or cranberries), feta, and quinoa.
Fill the peppers firmly with the mixture, mounding it a little on top.
Place the peppers in a shallow casserole dish, cover with foil, and bake 35-40 minutes.
Serve and Enjoy!

Creamy Spring Pasta

2013-05-01T15:38:00.003-04:00

Guys, I have a problem. Its a combination of Etsy, Pinterest, and trying to combine a toddler bedroom into a toddler/infant shared nursery without actually buying much of anything. Add to the fact that I'm still drop-dead tired and barely making it from breakfast to nap and from nap to bedtime, and I'm doing a loooooot of online window shopping. And making a big "to-do" list for someone to do! And having a lot of fun doing it! :)

This pasta is perfect for this time of year. It's quick to bring together, has all the great things about spring (meaning asparagus) and it is so creamy and delicious, no one will ever believe it came from Cooking Light! My husband actually asked me five times during dinner, and then I even had to show him. I loved the garlicy breadcrumbs on top, and the veggies! Yum! Ok, I loved everything about this dish. Just the whole thing. And I ate my fair share (and then some). I'm pregnant, I can do that. :)

Creamy Spring Pasta (Cooking Light, April 2012)

2 ounces French Baguette, torn into pieces (or other thick crusty bread)

1 TBSP butter

3 garlic cloves, minced (divided)

1 1/2 cups diagonally cut asparagus

1 cup frozen green peas (I only had a bag of mixed peas, corn and carrots, so I used that)

6 ounces fettuccine

2 tsp olive oil

1/3 cup finely chopped sweet onion

1 TBSP flour

1/4 cup chicken broth

1 cup milk

3 ounces 1/3-less-fat- cream cheese

1 ounce Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, grated (about 1/4 cup packed)

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/4 tsp pepper

In a large saucepan bring 3 quarts of water to boil.

Place the bread pieces in a food processor and process until coarse crumbs form.

In a large skillet over medium heat melt the butter.

Add 1 garlic clove to the pan and saute for 1 minute.

Add the breadcrumbs and saute for 3 minutes, or until golden brown and toasted.

Remove the breadcrumbs from the skillet and set aside - wipe out the skillet with a paper towel.

When the water is boiling, add the asparagus and peas and cook for 3 minutes, or until crisp-tender.

Remove the veggies from the water with a slotted spoon (keep the water in the pan!) and rise under cold water. Drain and set aside.

Add the pasta to the boiling water (yes, the same water as before) and cook 10 minutes, or until al dente.

Drain and keep warm.

In the same skillet as you cooked the breadcrumbs, heat the olive oil over medium heat.

Add the onion and remaining 2 cloves of garlic - cook 3 minutes or until tender, stirring frequently.

In a mug or small bowl, add the flour and gradually whisk in the chicken broth.

Add the broth mixture to the pan, and then the milk, and whisk constantly until it comes together.

Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and cook 1 minute, or until thickened, whisking constantly.

Remove from heat, add the cheeses, salt, and pepper, and stir until the cheese melts.

Add the pasta, asparagus, and peas, and toss well to coat.

Portion out the pasta onto the plates and sprinkle the tops with the breadcrumbs.

Enjoy!

Chipotle-Mango BBQ Chicken Salad

2013-04-29T06:00:00.000-04:00

So, this is a first for me... I'm posting a salad recipe on my blog. Now please don't get the wrong idea that I'm a salad hater, here. I actually really like salads. I just don't like making them. See, I like the complicated, $12 restaurant quality salads. To get the kind of salads that I like at home, you have to spend $25 in ingredients and then eat the stupid thing for a week straight. Its so not worth it for me. But Joel has been asking for more dinner salads lately, and like any good wife, you've got to give you man what he wants - especially if its a salad! (No, Joel, you may still not buy a brand new Jeep or that ridiculous generator you want).

This salad was actually really easy to put together. I made the BBQ sauce ahead of time (and the recipes makes plenty, which is good because its really good and we have been using it on everything lately!). I grilled the chicken and corn the night before (because we had the fire going already, and why not?) so I only had a tiny bit of mixing and chopping to do to get dinner on the table. And it was SO delicious! We will definitely be making (and devouring) this one again!

Chipotle Mango BBQ Chicken Salad (from Iowa Girl Eats)

BBQ Sauce:

1 mango, peeled and chopped

1 chipotle pepper in adobo sauce, plus 2 tsp sauce

1/2 cup ketchup

1/2 cup apple juice (I used applesauce, because that's what I had!)

1/4 onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, peeled and roughly chopped

juice from 1/2 lemon

2 TBSP rice vinegar

2 TBSP brown sugar

1 TBSP canola oil

2 tsp paprika

2 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Combine all the ingredients in a medium saucepan and let simmer for 15 minutes, stirring often.

Let cool.

Transfer to a food processor and blend until smooth.

Dressing:

2 TBSP of the chipotle-mango bbq sauce

2 TBSP plain greek yogurt

1-2 tsp lime juice (more or less depending on how you like it)

salt and pepper to taste

In a small bowl, mix together the ingredients, seasoning to taste.

Salad:

2 chicken breasts

2 ears sweet corn

1 tomato, diced

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

1 bag of salad mix

Marinate the chicken in the BBQ sauce for at least 15 minutes (and up to 3 hours).

Grill over medium-high heat for 5-6 minutes per side. Rest 5 minutes before slicing.

Grill the corn alongside the chicken, rotating every few minutes, until nice and charred. Let cool a few minutes and then slice the kernels off.

Divide the lettuce between the plates, top with the corn, tomatoes, cilantro, and chicken. Drizzle with the dressing and Enjoy!

Alphabet Soup

2013-04-26T06:00:00.000-04:00

It's probably getting a little late into spring to post a hearty soup recipe, but I wanted to get this to you before I totally forgot about it. A few weeks (or maybe months...) I found alphabet pasta in the grocery store and I got so excited about it I immediately bought it! I wanted to make something a bit more healthy and hearty than the canned variety, and so I made this amazing and delicious soup - perfect for kids and adults alike!

Alphabet Soup for Everyone! (The Gingered Whisk)

2 TBSP olive oil

1 small yellow onion, diced

1-2 cloves of garlic, minced

2 stalks celery, diced small

2 carrots, peeled and diced small

2 medium parsnips, peeled and diced small

5 cups chicken stock

1 bay leaf

1 tsp dried basil

1 heaping spoonful of tomato paste

15 ounces diced tomatoes

1/2 cup alphabet pasta

Fresh parsley and parmesan cheese for topping

In a large pot, heat the oil and sauté the onion until soft.

Add the celery, carrot, and sauté for 3 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the stock, bay leaf, dried basil, diced tomatoes and let simmer for 10 minutes, until the vegetables are tender but still have a firm bite.

Add the pasta and simmer for another 5-8 minutes, until done.

Remove the bay leaf, add the tomato paste and season with salt and pepper to desired taste.

Let simmer until thickened, and then serve.

Top with fresh parsley and parmesan cheese and enjoy!

Turkey Sausage and Spinach Lasagna

2013-04-24T14:06:00.002-04:00

Guys. It's finally Spring!! The flowers and trees are blooming, dandelions and violets are taking over my backyard (and seriously, do we need to mow already?). We've been spending a ton of time outside lately - pretty much all day everyday, if it isn't raining. The pollen count has been ridiculously high, so we are paying the price, but not caring at all. An excess of snot is totally worth all the walks, chalk, and "planting of seeds" that we have been doing lately.

This might be my new favorite lasagna. It's not nearly as heavy as a traditional tomato based lasagna, but that just makes it perfect for spring. I am totally in love with the bechamel sauce and spinach in there, which pairs just perfectly with mild and sweet italian sausage. I have made this twice now, and each time there hasn't been a single leftover. Its that good!

Turkey Sausage and Spinach Lasagna (Cooking Light, March 2013)

1/4 cup flour

1 cup milk

1 cup unsalted chicken stock

1 TBSP canola oil

1 bay leaf

1/4 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp pepper

cooking spray

2 TBSP water

12 ounces fresh spinach

4 ounces turkey sausage (mild or hot, depending on your preference)

1/2 cup chopped shallots

2 garlic cloves, minced

6 no-boil lasagna noodles

1 1/2 cups ricotta cheese

1 ounce shredded mozzarella cheese

1 ounce fresh parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 375F.

Coat a 11x7 inch glass or ceramic baking dish with cooking spray.

In a medium saucepan, whisk together the flour, milk, chicken stock and canola oil. Throw in the bay leaf.

Cook over medium heat, whisking frequently, for 8 minutes, or until thick and bubbly.

Remove from heat and stir in salt and pepper.
Spread 1 cup on the bottom of the baking dish and set aside.
Heat a large skillet over medium heat.
Add 2 TBSP of water and the spinach to the pan, cook 2 minutes or until the spinach wilts.
Drain the spinach, pressing until barely moist.
Increase the heat on the pan to medium-high.
Remove the sauasge from the casings and cook 4 minutes, or until browned, while stirring to crumble.
Add the shallots and garlic, cook 2 minutes.
Stir in the remaining milk mixture, and the spinach. Remove pan from heat.
Arrange 2 noodles over the milk mixture in the pan (don't do this step before now or the noodles will start to curl).
Top with 1/2 cup ricotta and 1/3 of the spinach mixture.
Repeat layers twice.
Sprinkle the top with mozzarella and parmesan cheese.
Cover with foil (spray the underside of the foil with cooking spray first so the cheese doesn't stick) and bake for 40 minutes.
Remove foil and preheat the broiler to high.
Broil for 4 minutes or until the cheese is golden brown.
Let stand 10 minutes before serving, and Enjoy!

Sourdough Spinach Ravioli with Tomato Sauce

2013-04-20T06:00:00.000-04:00

This month we celebrate one whole amazing year of Sourdough Surprises! Shelley and I could not be happier that things are going so well, and that we have found a great group of people who love to play with their sourdough starters as much as we do!

When I first made sourdough pasta I just stuck with plain pasta (although I did play with shapes and toppings a bit) but this time around I really wanted to add a little something extra to the pasta itself. I just so happened to have a huge amount of fresh spinach on hand (it was on super sale at the grocery store this week, I couldn't help myself), so it seemed the perfect fit!

I love how this turned out! The spinach pasta was perfect - nice and thin, beautifully green, and super simple with just the ricotta inside. The sauce was the perfect compliment, too - simple as well yet perfectly delicious. And the sausage was a great addition, too! Yeah, we will definitely be making this again!

Look at all the other amazing Sourdough Pastas from this month, and link up your own!

Sourdough Spinach Ravioli with Tomato Sauce (slightly adapted from Food Network Magazine)

Pasta dough:
6 ounces fresh spinach
1/2 cup sourdough starter
1 1/2 cups flour
2 eggs

Ravioli:
1 cup ricotta cheese
1 egg white + 1 tsp water, mixed

Sauce:
2 TBSP olive oil
4 links chicken sausage
3 garlic cloves, minced
28ounce can of plum tomatoes, juices reserved, and tomatoes diced
5 or 6 basil leaves, sliced, plus more for garnish
pinch of sugar
salt and pepper
1-2 TBSP heavy cream (if desired)
parmesan cheese for garnish

Pasta dough:
To a large saute pan add 2 TBSP of water and the spinach.
Cook, stirring frequently, until all the spinach is wilted.
Squeeze as much liquid as you can from the spinach, using a clean kitchen towel.
Finely chop the spinach (or use a food processor to puree).
In a large bowl, mix together the eggs and spinach.
Stir in the sourdough starter.
Add the flour and mix until it forms a ball.
Place the dough into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Allow to sit on the counter a few hours up to overnight (it won't really rise).

Ravioli:
Flour the counter well and roll out the pasta as thin as you can (working in small batches helps).
Make sure to keep lifting up the dough and adding more flour under neath so the pasta does not stick to the counter.
Cut out squares or circles from the pasta (you can layer the pasta pieces on floured plastic wrap until it is all cut out).
In a small bowl whisk together the egg white and the water. Use a pastry brush to brush a bit of egg white on the edges of the ravioli.
Place a small amount of ricotta cheese in the center of each ravioli piece.
Fold the pasta over in half and use your fingers to press the edges together.
Using a fork, make indentation marks along the seam (this will help to seal it).

Sauce:
Bring a large pot of water to boil (when boiling, add the ravioli and cook, stirring occasionally, until the pasta is floating to the top and done, about 5-10 minutes) Drain and set aside.
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet and brown the chicken links.
When the links are brown, remove and slice.
Add the garlic to the pan and sauté for 1 minute, stirring frequently, until fragrant.
Add the tomatoes (but not the juice yet) and sauté, stirring frequently, about 5 minutes.
Add the reserved juice, the sugar, basil, and salt and pepper to taste and the cream, if desired.
Increase the heat to high and cook until the sauce thickens, about 5 minutes.
Add the chicken sausage slices to the sauce.
Divide the pasta among plates and top with the sauce, a sprinkle of parmesan cheese and some sliced basil leaves.

Roasted Asparagus with Brown Butter and Hazelnuts

2013-04-16T06:00:00.000-04:00

Pretty much the only way I have ever enjoyed asparagus is roasted. I usually just do it plain - a little olive oil, a little salt and pepper, and its perfect. I was in charge of bringing a vegetable dish to our Easter lunch and I knew immediately that I wanted to bring asparagus. But the more I thought about it, the more I wanted to make something a little snazzier than my usual. This seemed like the perfect dish - its still simple, but the element of brown butter and toasted hazelnuts really bring a little something special. This is probably my new favorite way to eat asparagus! We've had it 4 times since Easter! :)

Roasted Asparagus with Brown Butter and Hazelnuts ( Food and Wine)

1/3 cup hazelnuts
2 pounds asparagus
2 TBSP olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 cup butter
1/2 tsp lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 350F.
Put the hazelnuts on a large baking sheet and toast in the oven until the skins crack and loosen and the nuts are golden brown (10-15 minutes) WATCH THEM! You don't want them to burn!
Wrap the hot hazelnuts in a kitchen towel and firmly rub them together the remove the skins.
Let the nuts cool then chop.

Raise the oven temp to 450F.
Snap off the ends of the asparagus and discard them.
Toss the asparagus with the olive oil, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp pepper.
Spread the asparagus on a baking sheet and roast until tender - 5-7 minutes for thin spears, 8-10 minutes for medium, and 10-12 for thick spears.

In a small frying pan, melt the butter over low heat.
Add the hazelnuts and the remaining 1/4 tsp salt.
Cook, stirring frequently, until the butter is golden brown, about 5 minutes.
Remove from heat, add the lemon juice, and 1/8 tsp pepper.
Pour the sauce over the asparagus and serve.
Enjoy!

** You can use toasted pecans instead of hazelnuts. Toast them in the oven at 350 for 8 minutes or in a skillet, stirring frequently, about 6 minutes over medium heat. Allow to cool then chop.

The Daring Cooks Make Chicken Ballotine

2013-04-14T08:36:00.000-04:00

For the April Daring Cooks Challenge, Lisa from Parsley, Sage and Sweet has challenged us to debone a whole chicken, using this video by Jacques Pepin as our guide; then stuff it, tie it and roast it, to create a Chicken Ballotine.

Oh my gosh. Thank you, Lisa, for serving up one heck of a challenge! I haven't done a challenge this technically...challenging in so long! I knew this was going to be a good challenge when I read it, and it pretty much kicked my butt while I was working on it. Jacques Pepin would not be proud of how much I mangled my chicken. Haha, actually, all I could think of was Gordon Ramsey screaming at me about how much meat I was leaving on the bones like on Hell's Kitchen.

Amazingly enough, though, there was enough meat left on to actually eat this for dinner. The stuffing, wrapping (although I kind of made a mess of that as well) and roasting portion was fairly straightforward, and afterward - WOW. I was kind of hoping this would be an ultimate flop so I would never have to do it again. But that is not the case here at all. This is delicious. Amazingly delicious. Very moist, and sooo delicious! I'm definitely going to be mangling more chickens!

How to debone a chicken: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kAekQ5fzfGM (I suggest wrapping your laptop in plastic wrap and setting it on the counter while you work. This will let you stop/rewind and play as much as you need to while you work (and not totally infecting your computer, either).

Spinach, Cheese, and Bread Stuffing

1 tablespoon (15 ml) olive oil
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (3 gm) finely chopped garlic
5 ounces (140 gm) baby spinach leaves
1/4 teaspoon (1¼ ml) (1½ gm) salt
1/4 teaspoon (1¼ ml) (½ gm) freshly ground black pepper
1 cup (240 ml) grated Gruyère or mozzarella cheese (about 4 ounces/115 gm)
1 1/2 cups cubed (1/2-inch) (1¼ cm) bread

Directions:

1 Heat the oil in a large saucepan or skillet. Add the garlic, spinach, salt, and pepper and cook for 1 minute to soften the garlic and wilt the spinach.
2 Transfer to a bowl and let cool to room temperature. (The mozzarella and bread come into play when you are stuffing the chicken, so just prepare them and set aside for now.

Ballotine of Chicken
Servings: 4 -6

Ingredients
1 chicken (about 3-3/4 pounds) (1-3/4 kg), boned
1/4 teaspoon (1.25 ml) (1¼ gm) salt
1/4 teaspoon (1.25 ml) (½ gm) freshly ground black pepper
Spinach, Cheese, and Bread Stuffing (see recipe below)

Sauce

Ingredients
1/3 cup (80 ml) water
1/2 cup (120 ml) dry red wine (you can substitute chicken or vegetable stock or fruit juice, such as grape)
1 celery stalk (2 oz) (60 gm), peeled and cut into 1/4-inch (1¼ cm) dice (1/2 cup) (120 ml)
1 small onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
1 carrot (2 oz) (60 gm), peeled and cut into 1/4-inch (1¼ cm) dice (1/3 cup) (80 ml)
1/2 teaspoon (2½ ml) potato starch OR cornstarch (4 gm), dissolved in 1 tablespoon (15 ml) water
1 tablespoon (15 ml) dark soy sauce
1 tablespoon (15 ml) (4 gm) chopped fresh parsley

Directions(after you have boned it out):

1 Preheat the oven to moderately hot 400°F/200°C/gas mark 6.
2 Lay the chicken skin side down on the work surface and sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Spread the cool rice or spinach mixture evenly over the chicken - stuffing the legs too. Sprinkle the cheese and bread cubes on top of the spinach. Roll the chicken up, tie it with kitchen string, and place it in a roasting pan.
3 Roast the ballotine for about 1 hour or until the temperature is 160-165 degrees F in the center of the ballotine. I took mine out after 50 minutes and let it sit until it reached 165. Lift it from the pan and place it on a platter.

For the sauce:
4 Skim off and discard most of the fat from the drippings in the pan. Add the water and wine to the drippings to deglaze the pan, and heat over medium heat, stirring to loosen and melt the solidified juices.
5 Strain the juices into a saucepan. Add the celery, onion, and carrot and bring to a boil over high heat. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and boil gently for 5 minutes. Stir in the dissolved potato starch and soy sauce and bring the mixture back to a boil, stirring, to thicken it. Remove from the heat.
6 Transfer the ballotine to a cutting board and remove the string. Cut half of it into 4 or 5 slices, each about 1 inch thick. Return the uncut half of the ballotine to the serving platter and arrange the cut slices in front of it. Pour the sauce over and around the ballotine, garnish with the parsley, and serve. Cut additional slices of ballotine as needed at the table.

Sourdough Buttermilk Biscuits

2013-04-10T12:40:00.000-04:00

Hi. Remember me? My name is Jenni, and I run this blog. It's been a while, huh? I know things have been a little slow over here for the last few months. But I've had a good excuse, I've been busy baking! Not in the kitchen, though - this baking involves lots of naps on the couch, quick meals and...well, not much else. Yes, that's right, we are expecting Baby #2, due in mid September!

It is so interesting how different this pregnancy is from when I was pregnant with Ladybug. The first time around, I was soooooo siiiiick. Terribly, horribly, sick. In fact, I lost 35 pounds my first trimester. This time around, though, I haven't had a single bout of morning sickness. But I also feel completely and utterly exhausted. Not that I'm complaining too much, I would totally trade hanging out on the couch for hanging out by the toilet any day. But just surviving the day with an active almost-3 year old takes every ounce of strength I have - let alone making dinner. And forget photography, editing, and writing...

Besides the morning sickness, my first pregnancy was a relatively easy one. Not so with trouble maker #2. This time has been full of unscheduled doctors visits, couch rest (that's almost like bed rest but not so strict), one emergency trip to a high risk OB two hours away, and lots of prayers. I think this is just going to be one of those pregnancies. Luckily, though, we haven't had any real big issues, and baby is doing great, despite constantly freaking out mommy and daddy (we are pretty sure this little daredevil is a boy - I mean, what girl would cause this much trouble? haha)

Now that I am 17 weeks along, and slowly starting to get some energy back, I've got a whole slew of new recipes coming up for you! Thanks for being patient with me while I slept on the couch, and please continue to be so as I get all these recipes ready for you (and clean my house, because BOY howdy, does it need it!!)

Instead of buns in the oven, I'm bringing you some biscuit today! These are a great biscuit to utilize some discard sourdough starter. I thought the sourdough and the buttermilk together would be kind of ridiculous, but it turned out amazingly. We've been making these biscuits a lot lately, and pretty much devour them immediately. All of them.

Sourdough Buttermilk Biscuits (Food.com)
makes 12-16 biscuits, depending on size

2 cups flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup butter, cubed and cold
1 cup sourdough starter, room temperature
1/2 cup buttermilk, room temperature
butter, melted (for brushing on top)

In a medium bowl, mix together the buttermilk and starter and let sit on the counter.
In a large bowl whisk together the flour, salt, baking soda, and baking powder.
Cut the cold butter into the dry ingredients until it looks like cornmeal or sand.
Combine the buttermilk/starter into the dry ingredients and mix until a soft dough forms and it comes away from the side of the bowl.
Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and knead gently for 30 seconds (don't overwork it!)
With a floured rolling pin, roll the dough out to about 1/2" thick.
Cut biscuits and place on a lightly greased baking sheet.
Cover with a towel and let rest for 30 minutes (I have also successfully skipped this step several times and they turn out just fine - not as high as the rested ones, but they still have good layers and flavor).
Brush the tops of the biscuits with melted butter.
Preheat the oven to 425F.
Bake for 10-15 minutes or until the tops of the biscuits are golden brown.

The Daring Bakers Sneak in some Veggies

2013-03-27T06:00:00.000-04:00

So, Yeah, I know. Two chocolate recipes in a row. BUT, there is a redeeming quality to these brownies. Well, two actually. And neither of them you would think belong in brownies, but they totally make these brownies amazing.

Black Beans and Spinach. Yup. It sounds utterly crazy, I know. But trust me, it works. And its sooo fudgy and delicious (especially when topped with a dollup of whipped cream). I have been wanting to make these brownies for a while, but just never seemed to get around to it (that and the fact that my husband would kill me if he learned that I made brownies with black beans in them. And I would eat the whole pan myself.) But thanks to this month's Daring Bakers, I finally got the excuse I have been waiting for! And they were so fudge and chocolatey and delicious, I cannot believe I have waited this long to make them! And I am totally excited that I have the whole pan to myself! Wheee!

Ruth from Makey-Cakey was our March 2013 Daring Bakers’ challenge host. She encouraged us all to get experimental in the kitchen and sneak some hidden veggies into our baking, with surprising and delicious results!

Black Bean Brownies from Heaven (Hello from the Natos)

1 can black beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 cup fresh spinach (or a bit more, whatever you feel)

1/2 cup oil

1/4 cup cocoa powder

1 TBSP vanilla extract

1 cup sugar

1 tsp ground coffee

1 tsp salt

3 eggs

1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350F and grease an 8x8 baking dish.

Using a blender or food processor, pulse the beans to break them up a bit.

Add the oil and spinach and blend until smooth (you will need to pulse, scrape, pulse...it takes a while).

Add in the cocoa powder, vanilla, sugar, coffee and salt and pulse until smooth.

Add in the eggs and blend until combined.

Pour the batter (it will be super runny) into the prepared pan and sprinkle the chocolate chips on top.

Bake for 45 minutes

Cool completely before serving (Really. These aren't really that great when warm, but are delicious when cool and awesome when served straight from the fridge!)

Chocolate Sourdough Cake

2013-03-20T06:00:00.000-04:00

For this month's Sourdough Surprises we focused on CAKE! And guys, this cake! Wow. I have made my fair share of sourdough cakes in the past - a chocolate mocha, a jam cake, a historical election cake... but none even comes close to being as awesome as this cake.

This dark chocolate cake is lightly topped with creamy cheese frosting. And it is everything a cake should be - rich, moist, so decadent. Cut this cake thin, guys. And don't even bother serving ice cream with it - you seriously don't need it. Or will be able to eat it. No one I served this cake to was able to finish their piece, but not because they didn't want to. It's so delicious you want to force yourself to eat it all, but you just can't. This cake totally calls for a stand mixer, though - don't even think about attempting it by hand, or killing your hand mixer with it. You need to slowly mix it with a stand mixer until you don't see any white specs of your starter.

You might notice that my cake is leaning a little... I ended up being about 1/2 a cup of powdered sugar short, so my frosting was a little loose. I was going to put it in the fridge to set up a bit, but as it turns out a 3 layer cake on my tallest cake stand does not actually fit in my refrigerator... The only option was to place it in my pantry and hope it didn't fall (or that a mouse wouldn't happen to make its way into my pantry at that moment...what can I say, I live in a 100 year old house, I wouldn't be surprised!) Luckily, the cake didn't topple over, there were no unwanted visitors to the pantry, and the cake was completely gone in less than 24 hours.

Do you have a sourdough starter and love to use it? Are you always looking for fun new things to make with it? Why don't you hop on over to www.sourdoughsurprises.blogspot.com and join us!

Chocolate Sourdough Cake (slightly adapted from King Arthur Flour)

1 cup "fed" sourdough starter

1 cup milk

2 cups flour

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 cup butter, melted and cooled

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

3/4 cup unsweetened dark cocoa powder

1 tsp espresso powder, optional

2 large eggs

In a large bowl mix together the starter, milk and flour.

Cover and allow to sit for 2-3 hours (it won't bubble but will expand a tiny bit).

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Trace 3 cake pan circles onto parchment paper.

Grease 3- 9" round cake pans with butter, lay a parchment circle in the bottom, grease that and then tap a layer of flour in.

In a medium bowl, beat together sugar, butter, vanilla, salt, baking soda, cocoa and espresso powder (the mixture will be grainy).

Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.

Gently combine the chocolate mixture with the starter-flour mixture, stirring until smooth (this will be really goopy at first, but as you continue to beat it, the batter will smooth out).

Equally distribute the batter among the three cake pans.

Bake 20 minutes, rotating halfway through.

Remove from the oven and cool in the pans on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

Turn the cakes out onto the wire rack to cool completely.

Cream Cheese Frosting (slightly adapted from Gimme Some Oven)

3 (8oz) bricks cream cheese, room temperature

2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature

1 TBSP vanilla extract

1/2 tsp salt

6 cups powdered sugar

Cream together the butter and cream cheese until smooth.

Add in the vanilla and salt and mix until combined.

Slowly begin adding in the powdered sugar, mixing until all the sugar is added and combined..

(If the frosting is too thin, add more sugar - if too thick, add a tsp or two of water).

Paleo Apple BBQ Turkey Meatloaf and Smashed Fauxtatoes

2013-03-12T13:33:00.001-04:00

You know how sometimes you just need to cook a warm meal packed with comfort food, but you really don't want to pack all the calories into it that you normally do? Enter this fun paleo dish I found. Like I have said before, I'm not really big on following diets (although I like the "whole food" approach that the paleo diet uses), but this was a great meal! No crazy ingredients, easy to put together (although it does take some time), and a fun twist on our usual meatloaf.

The homemade BBQ sauce was super easy and delicious. But a word of warning. Do not, under any circumstances, walk away from the stove to see why your toddler is giggling hysterically, leaving the sauce to bubble all over your stovetop. Even if that means your toddler and dog are sharing a rawhide together. Just pretend it didn't happen, ok?

This was a fun meatloaf to have, even if it takes a bit of extra prep-work. It is perfect for a cold night and was super moist and delicious! I have never made a meatloaf without a pan before, so it was fun to shape it on a baking sheet and see what happened. I think it turned out very pretty, haha. We also loved the pretend mashed potatoes. They had a lot of good flavor and were very creamy! This meal was definitely a hit!!

Apple Butter BBQ Sauce: (Stuff I Make My Husband)
1 garlic clove, minced
Fat of choice for sautéing (bacon grease, butter, olive oil, whichever you prefer)
1 cup canned tomato puree
1/3 cup unsweetened apple butter
2 TBSP balsamic vinegar
2 TBSP worcestershire or soy sauce
1 TBSP yellow mustard
1 tsp hot sauce
1/4 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp chipotle powder
1/8 tsp allspice
pinch ground ginger

In a saucepan over medium high heat, heat the oil/fat of choice.

Sauté the garlic until fragrant (about 30 seconds).

Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil.

Reduce heat to low and simmer 25-30 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally.

Set aside to cool.

Meatloaf (Stuff I Make My Husband)
1 lb ground turkey
1/2 red onion, minced
1/2 red bell pepper, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 TBSP Dijon Mustard
1 TBSP Worcestershire sauce (or soy sauce)
2 eggs, beaten

0.5 ounces of dried mushrooms, powdered in a spice grinder (you could also use regular mushrooms and just mince really really small)

1 tsp butter

1 TBSP BBQ seasoning of choice

Preheat oven to 350F.

Make the BBQ sauce and let it simmer.

When it is done, start preparing the meatloaf.

In a large skillet heat the butter until melted.

Add the onion and sauté until translucent but not brown.

Add the pepper and garlic and sauté until the pepper is soft. Let cool.

In a large bowl mix together the eggs, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and spices.

Add the ground turkey and sautéed veggies, dried mushrooms, and combine thoroughly.

Place a sheet of parchment paper on a baking pan.

Shape the meat into a loaf.

Pour some of the BBQ sauce into a small bowl (to avoid cross contamination) and brush a thick coat on the top of the loaf.

Bake for 35 minutes.

Brush with another coat of BBQ sauce.

Bake 20 minutes.

Remove from oven, brush with a third coat of BBQ sauce and allow to sit for 5 minutes.

Slice, serve, and Enjoy!

Rosemary Smashed Fauxtatoes (Stuff I Make My Husband)

1 head of cauliflower, cut into small pieces
1/2 lb of turnips, peeled and cut into 1" chunks
1 TBSP fresh rosemary, minced
1 TBSP butter (or olive oil or ghee)
1 TBSP coconut milk (can substitute regular milk)
1/2 tsp tobasco sauce
pepper and salt, to taste

In a large saucepan, bring 1" of water and a pinch of salt to boil.

Place the turnips in a single layer on the bottom of the pot.

Place the cauliflower pieces on top.

Cover and cook until very tender and just slightly overcooked.

Drain.

Place the veggies in a food processor with the remaining ingredients and process until smooth.

Taste for seasoning and Enjoy!

Poached Eggs in Marinara

2013-03-04T06:00:00.000-05:00

I'm pretty sure its bad news for a food blogger to not be remotely interested in spending time in the kitchen. We've been eating a lot of tacos, pancakes, spaghetti, and scrambled eggs lately, as well as other simple things that don't require a lot of cook time or clean-up time. It's not like I am not interested in food, because I totally am. I want food, and I want goood, zagat rated 5 star restaurant food. I just want someone else to cook it for me. The problem is, I'm just tired. And Ladybug is going through this "Don't leave me alone for more than 5 seconds" thing right now. You know the kind where every five minutes she sweetly says to me "Mama, It's time for a new activity!" Um...ok... That's fine, especially since I just spent 15 minutes gathering materials for the activity that you just spent 5 minutes on. Let's just say that by the time dinner comes around, I'm pretty much just worn out.

This was a fun new way to have eggs for dinner that didn't seem like breakfast food. I love poached eggs, but they can be tricky to make. Poaching them in pasta sauce with veggies takes all the guess work out of it and the eggs turn out beautifully. I love the Italian flair to this dish and that it combines eggs with pasta! We all really loved this dish, and I especially loved that it took less than 30 minutes to make and I only had to pans to clean up afterwards. One of which was a cast iron skillet that I totally left to clean up for the next day. Yup, I know, it was tomato sauce and I left it. I am that person. And I'm ok with it. This recipe is a win in my book!

Poached Eggs in Marinara (Cooking Whims)

Yields: 4 servings

1 TBSP olive oil

1 red bell pepper, sliced into strips

1 green bell pepper, sliced into strips

1 medium onion, cut in half and then sliced into strips

1 (24oz) jar of your favorite pasta sauce

1/2 tsp oregano

4 large eggs

1 box of orzo

parmesan cheese (for serving)

fresh chopped parsley (for serving)

In a large oven safe skillet over medium heat, warm the oil/

Add the onions and bell peppers and cook until the onions are soft and the peppers are crisp-tender, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, cook the pasta according to package directions.

Pour the pasta sauce over the onions and peppers, sprinkle on the oregano, and stir.

Let cook for 3 minutes.

Make 4 little wells in the pasta sauce and crack an egg into each well.

Cover the pan and let the eggs cook for 6-8 minutes, or until they have set to your desired consistency.

Serve the egg and pasta over the orzo, sprinkle with pepper, parmesan cheese and parsley.

Enjoy!

Breakfast Cookies

2013-02-25T12:00:00.000-05:00

This month is kind of bittersweet for me. I have decided that this is going to be my last Secret Recipe Club post. My life has just seemed so busy and hectic lately (which I don't even fully understand myself), next year is turning out to be even crazier (more on that later) and I'm trying to find ways to simplify. I have been a part of Secret Recipe Club for 16 months now, and I have truly enjoyed all the great new recipes I have tried and friends I have made. But the last few months I've have found the SRC to be on my back-burner, and each month I complete the challenge closer and closer to the deadline. And honestly, I made these cookies at 8:30 this morning. I have been debating it for a few months now, but I think the time has come to say Good-bye.

This month I was assigned to the wonderful blog Loving Life, written by Kristin, a stay at home-homeschooling mom of two daughters. Kristin's blog is a great "life" blog - she posts about every aspect of her life, from lots of delicious recipes to stories, pictures, and everything they do. Head on over and check out everything she has to offer!

It was rather hard to choose what I wanted to make this month, there are so many good choices on Kristin's blog! Eventually I landed on breakfast cookies. Joel has been asking me to make him some for months - he gets up at 3:30 every morning to go to work, doesn't want to get up even earlier to take the time to make and eat breakfast. The cafeteria at the hospital does serve breakfast, but there isn't a lot to choose from at 4 in the morning, and most of what they have anyway are things like biscuits and gravy and eggs with bacon. Delicious, yes, but not exactly what you should eat for breakfast every morning. I've been trying to find a good breakfast that he can grab and eat in the car on his way to work, and we both thought that breakfast cookies would be the way to go!

The hard part about breakfast cookies is that so many people throw some peanut butter and oats into a cookie and call it "breakfast". We wanted something that was mostly healthy and packed full of protein! I've been looking at recipes for a while now, but just haven't been too thrilled with what I have found. This recipe looked to be a good place to start, though, so we decided to dive right in. They were super simple to throw together, and packed with delicious things like dried fruit, oats, peanut butter, and pumpkin seeds. They turned out to be pretty tasty, too! I really liked the pumpkin seeds in them, and they pretty much tasted like a peanut butter cookie with lots of fun extras thrown in! Joel said they were good, and easy to eat on his way to work, but didn't last too long before he was hungry again. Cookies just don't make a good meal. :) Ladybug, however, thought cookies for breakfast was the best thing ever.

Breakfast Cookies (Loving Life)

1/4 cup oil
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
5 TBSP ground flax seeds
6 TBSP water
1 1/4 cup flour or multi-grain cereal mix
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2-3 cups oats
1/2 cup unsalted pumpkin seeds
1/2 cup golden raisins
1/2 cup dried cranberries

* Note: I only had salted pumpkin seeds, so I used those and omitted the additional salt in the recipe. I also used a dried fruit mix, because that is what I had in my cabinets. You may use whatever combination of dried fruit you have/like.

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a small bowl, mix together the flax seed and water and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the oil, brown sugar, peanut butter, and vanilla until light and fluffy.
In the big mixing bowl (with the wet ingredients) add the flax seed mixture, the cinnamon, salt, baking soda, and flour. Mix until just combined.
Stir in the oats, dried fruit, and seeds.
Line a baking sheet with a silpat mat or parchment paper and drop the dough onto the cookie sheet in either 2 Tablespoonfuls (for small cookies) or in 1/3 cup scoops (for large cookies).
Bake for 10 minutes (small cookies) or 17 minutes (large cookies).
Let stand for 3 minutes on the cookie sheet before removing.
Enjoy!

See all the other delicious goodies made for this month's Secret Recipe Club!

Sourdough Naan

2013-02-20T06:00:00.000-05:00

This month for Sourdough Surprises we did Sourdough Flatbreads! Flatbreads are super delicious, and great for snacks, appetizers or go with a meal. And except for a little rolling pin action, they are also really easy to make! Mix, Roll, and throw on a skillet! Since I have already made tortillas once before, I wanted to try something new this time. And since we have been on a big hummus kick lately, naan seemed like the perfect thing to try!

This recipe turned out to be super easy to make (as long as you remember to give yourself enough time to let it rest) and was sooo delicious! In fact, I don't want to sound ridiculous, but I think this was better than some I've had at restaurants! Even Ladybug couldn't get enough of it!

Please stop by and check out all the other amazing Sourdough Flatbreads that were made this month! And if you have a sourdough starter that needs some extra loving, why don't you join us?

Sourdough Naan (My Kitchen Addition)

1 cup sourdough starter
1/2 cup warm milk
1/4 cup non-fat Greek yogurt
1 tsp baking powder
2 cups white whole wheat flour (I used 50% AP flour)
pinch of kosher salt
5 TBSP melted butter

In a large bowl mix together the sourdough starter, milk and yogurt until smooth.
Add the baking powder and the flour and stir to combine to a shaggy, somewhat sticky dough.
Cover with a damp cloth and let the dough rise in a warm place for 2-3 hours.
Dump out on a lightly floured counter and knead for a minute or two, until smooth. You shouldn't need to add much extra flour, if any to make it not stick to your hands.
Preheat a heavy cast iron skillet over medium-high heat.
Divide the dough into 8 pieces and roll each piece into about 1/4" thickness.
Brush one side with melted butter and place butter-side down on the skillet.
Cook for about a minute, or until the dough starts to bubble and release from the skillet.
Brush the other side with melted butter and flip.
Cook for an additional minute.
Transfer to a plate and cover with a cloth to keep warm.
Repeat with remaining pieces of dough and Enjoy!

Chipotle Roasted Sweet Potatoes

2013-02-18T13:24:00.000-05:00

Today is a super special day! Wanna know why? Well, not only am I featuring one of my favorite foods (sweet potatoes) but I have an awesome guest post for you today - from my DAD! :) My dad has been a major influence in my love of food and cooking. When I was younger, he took over making dinner from my mom (who had a new job and didn't have the time to do it) and we all realized that he was good at it! My dad is the sort of cook that glances at a recipe, maybe, then pulls out a bunch of ingredients from the pantry, adds a pinch of this, a tad of that, and makes something wonderful that can never, ever be reproduced. He is the one who taught me to smell and taste as I was cooking, to not be so stuck on the numbers given, and that it is ok to go with the flow and be creative while you cook. So I am very excited to present to you My Dad! :) *(Also, you all need to give him super props, because he photographed and wrote this entire post using his iPhone. Yeah, my Dad is cool.)

Sometimes we simply prepare food, and sometimes simple things become so much more. Let me tell you the story of this recipe and how it came to be and why I, Jenni's father, am today's guest blogger.

It was to be a simple potluck of friends, 6 couples and a few kids on Saturday night. And then the idea of having a taco bar appeared in an e-mail and almost simultaneously it was followed by 5 reply-to-alls staking out all the normal contributions one could make to a taco dinner. Suddenly realizing I was the odd man out with nothing unique to bring, I almost started to panic, then realized that there was a secret weapon available for times like these--my daughter Jenni! She lives and breathes food! She can save me!

Within moments of sending off a text message my inbox started to ping with incoming recipes to save the day! While I was happily choosing between some great food ideas my phone pinged with a text message from Jenni, although it might as well have been from the Godfather: "Now you owe me a favor", is what my sweet, loving daughter said! I couldn't believe it, paybacks! So that is why I am posting today's blog.

The first recipe I chose was a fruit salsa. Great idea, several people were happy to see it on the table. Maybe that can be another blog someday. The better adventure came with Chipotle Sweet Potatoes.

Because the recipe was simple enough I, of course, put off going to the store until the last minute. Our closest store has been redone into a "destination market", which is newspeak for humungous and you can't ever find what you are looking for. But they have a produce section that is twice the size of the entire grocery store that I used to shop at when I was a kid. In spite of all the selections, the sweet potato bin was full of old wrinkly stuff that had to have been left over from the holidays. Tearing through the bin and dropping several on the floor I managed to salvage 3 small potatoes. Not nearly enough because my plan had been to make extra for potluck at church on Sunday. Looking around in that desperate state of "what now?" I spied a little thing called a White Sweet Potato, and next to that was a big Purple Sweet Potato. Have you ever seen them? I had not. Could they be substituted? I didn't know, so I went against all my male instincts and did what my wife has always advised: go ask someone! I did, and after consulting with the produce manager, the assistant produce manger and someone from the bakery, and with no results, I asked google and found that they are even sweeter than a regular sweet potato. Who knew? Now we all know.

The dish turned out great with good balanced flavor with just a bit of after-burn from the chipotle ( I did use less than the recipe called for for my tastes ). And the color mix was festive, however, I was so disappointed to learn that the Purple Japanese Sweet Potato is only purple on the outside!

The next morning I made another batch for church potluck but in my haste forgot to use the chipotles. This too was great, the balsamic vinaigrette ( I used a prepared salad dressing with added herbs ) and honey made a nice flavorful balance. We will certainly have both of these again in the future.

Chipotle Roasted Sweet Potatoes (Taste of Home)

3 large sweet potatoes

1 cup balsamic vinaigrette, divided (this will probably be found with the salad dressings)

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/3 cup fresh cilantro

3 TBSP honey

2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Peel the sweet potatoes and cut into 1/2" cubes.

Place the cubes on two greased baking pans, drizzle with 1/2 cup of the vinaigrette and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Toss to coat.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until tender, stirring once.

Cool slightly on the pan, then transfer to a large bowl.

In a small bowl, whisk together the remaining vinaigrette, cilantro, honey, and peppers.

Pour over the potatoes and gently stir to coat.

Enjoy!

Three Recipes for your Chinese New Year!

2013-02-16T06:00:00.000-05:00

When Lis from the Daring Kitchen contacted me about doing a product review for Thai Kitchen/Simply Asia I was both excited and nervous. They wanted a feature on "party" foods for the Chinese New Year, which is a fun feature, but I'm not exactly a pro at Asian foods, and the more I thought about it the more nervous I got. I wasn't sure what kind of products they were going to send me, and how I was going to "create" a recipe based on what they sent me!

I should have known to be more trusting, though! The great people at Thai Kitchen/Simply Asia sent me a wonderful package of products (all that I was familiar with) and even sent me a packet of recipes to work from, too! Can't be easier than that!

The products themselves were great - all high quality, and for the most part they were made with ingredients I could pronounce, spell, and even recognize, and they all tasted great. I finally chose two of the recipes that they sent me, and just happened to be able to use all of the products, too. I decided to make General Tsao's Meatballs, Chicken Satay with Peanut Dipping Sauce, and then I also used some leftover coconut milk to make Coconut Rice!

The General Tsao's Meatballs were probably my favorite of all the recipes. They were super easy and quick to put together and tasted SOOOO good! We took them to our Superbowl party and they were gone so fast!

The Chicken Satay we made for dinner one night, along with the Coconut Rice. They were good, too. They were very flavorful, and the dipping sauce was great, too - nice flavor with just a hint of heat. The coconut rice was also a fun and easy addition!

**This review was not paid for. The opinions stated here are all me, and I was not compensated for them, except for the receiving of the free products stated. Thank you! This sponsorship is brought to you by Foodie Blogroll who we have partnered with for this promotion.

General Tsao's Meatballs (Simply Asia)

1/4 cup breadcrumbs

1 egg beaten

2 TBSP milk

1 tsp garlic powder

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1 pound ground beef or turkey

1 pouch of Simply Asia General Tsao's Stir-Fry Sauce

1/4 cup orange juice (the kind you drink)

Preheat oven to 350F.

In a large bowl, mix together the breadcrumbs, egg, milk, garlic, ginger and beef (or turkey) until well combined.

Shape into 1" meatballs and place on a foil lined baking pan.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until cooked through.

In a large skillet, bring the stir-fry sauce and orange juice to simmer.

Add the meatballs and toss to coat.

Enjoy!

Chicken Satay with Peanut Dipping Sauce (Thai Kitchen)

1/2 cup coconut milk

2 TBSP fish sauce

2 TBSP red curry paste

1 pound chicken breast, cut into 3/4" strips

Thai Kitchen Peanut Satay Sauce or Thai Kitchen Sweet Red Chili Sauce, for dipping

Bamboo skewers

In a small bowl, mix together the coconut milk, fish sauce, and red curry paste until well blended.

Place the chicken in a large resealable plastic bag along with the marinade.

Toss to coat well and refrigerate at least an hour.

Soak the bamboo skewers for at least 30 minutes in cool water.

Remove the chicken from the marinade (and discard any remaining).

Thread the chicken onto the bamboo skewers.

Broil on high (or grill) 3 minutes per side, or until the chicken is cooked through.

Serve with dipping sauce of choice.

Enjoy!

Coconut-Cilantro Jasmine Rice (Cooking with Michelle)

1 cup Jasmine Rice

11/3 cup water

2/3 cup lite coconut milk

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

In a medium saucepan, combine the rice, water, and coconut milk.

Cover and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat and summer until the water is just barely absorbed, about 20 minutes.

Remove from heat and allow to sit for 3 minutes.

Fluff with a fork, toss in the cilantro, and serve.

Enjoy!

The Daring Cooks Make Sausage and Salumi!!

2013-02-14T08:01:00.001-05:00

For the January-February 2013 Daring Cooks’ Challenge, Carol, one of our talented non-blogging members and Jenni, one of our talented bloggers who writes The Gingered Whisk, have challenged us to make homemade sausage and/or cured, dried meats in celebration of the release of the book Salumi: The Craft of Italian Dry Curing by Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn! We were given two months for this challenge and the opportunity to make delicious Salumi in our own kitchens!

Yup, that's right kids, I was so excited and blessed to host this month's (well, the last two month's) challenge. It was so fun and definitely a big challenge! In fact I am pretty sure we scared (and scarred) quite a few Daring Cooks this month. But I think it was definitely worth it! The foodie world is turning whole heartedly towards fresh, naturally produced foods, with extra points given to the DIY'ers - people who make fresh churned butter and raise their own chickens are now the appitomy of cool. And in a world used to opening up a frozen box of something for dinner, I honestly think there is no better skill to know than how to prepare and cure your own meats. So, grab a cup of coffee and a sit down - this post is a long read, but I hope you like it, and that you give this a shot yourself one day! You might even find yourself loving it!

This challenge evolved rather organically. Carol was doing a book review on “Salumi”, and Jenni sent Lisa an email saying that “someone” should do a challenge on making your own sausage. The timing was just too perfect, and so we decided to combine the book review and the sausage making into one awesome challenge! We are both really excited to bring this challenge to you - we feel this is a great technique to know how to do, and not only is it fairly easy, but is very rewarding.

Sausages evolved as a way to preserve meat in order to make it last longer - smoking, curing in salt, and drying it in. Early sausages were simply roasted intestines stuffed into stomachs. It is difficult to pinpoint exactly when sausages and cured meats were invented, but it is known that the early Grecians made and ate sausages (there are references to them in The Oddessy - In book 18 a type of blood sausage is mentioned: “there are some goats’ paunches down at the fire, which we have filled with blood and fat, and set aside for supper; he who is victorious and proves himself to be the better man shall have his pick of the lot.”) Most food cultures offer some form of sausage making, and the climate in each area had an effect on how a culture prepared its sausage - to eat it fresh, hang to dry or smoke it. Typically when you think of sausage you think of European countries - Kielbasa from Poland, Bangers from England (which get their name from their tight casing which often breaks during cooking, Haggis from Scotland (simmered stomach filled with chopped organs, suet, and spices) etc., but other countries have forms of sausages, too. Korea has Sundae, which is a traditional form of blood sausage made my steaming or boiling stuffed pig or cow intestines. Isan sausages from Thailand are fermented and then grilled. There are literally hundreds of different varieties of sausages (see this website to see listings from various other countries)

Sausages can be made from just about anything and they do not necessarily have to be stuffed either. Sausages can be combinations of vegetables, rice, meat, eggs or even blood. They can be patties, or stuffed into casings, natural or synthetic, or wrapped in leaves, wrappers or dough. Indeed, you can cure whole muscles and slice as you would sausage. Sausage making is incredibly satisfying as you often take inexpensive cuts of meat and add some fat, seasonings and create satisfying soul food.

There are three basic types of sausage - dry (which have been hung to dry and cure), semi-dry (which have been cured via smoking) and fresh (which are cooked and then eaten immediately). For the purposes of this challenge, we looked at 3 variations of sausages making – whole muscle curing, cured sausages and fresh sausages. For the novice, perhaps the easiest venture into the work of Salume is to cure whole muscle. It is the most forgiving and does not require special equipment or a wide range of ingredients. It relies on time to cure the meat and make it edible. Generally, you are looking for the muscle to be cured for a period of time, and then hung to dry until it loses 30% of its weight.

Fresh sausage is ground meat or vegetables that have been combined with seasonings and are meant to be cooked. Generally speaking, you need to fry, sauté, grill, poach or bake this sausage until it reaches an internal temperature of about 155°F/68°C for pork and 165°F/73°C for chicken or turkey. Sausages also benefit from a rest period like meat, so remove your sausage when the internal temperature is about 5 degrees lower than you want it to be. There is a tendency to overcook sausage, i.e. over 200°F/93°C until the interior is grainy and dry – but what you are looking for is a moist, tender interior.

Finally, cured sausage is the most challenging for chefs and home chefs alike, as the technique relies on several variables that are difficult to control at best – ambient air and humidity. The key ingredient to curing sausage is salt. It also allows us to take raw meat and render it edible without the benefit of direct heat. To make this sausage is perhaps the most satisfying as it is truly magical to take raw meat, ferment it, dry it, slice it thin and eat it. There is a part of your genetic memory that kicks in and revels in the glory of eating the tangy cured, uncooked meat.

Recipe Sources:

● Home Sausage Making: How-to Techniques for Making and Enjoying 100 Sausages at Home: 3rd Edition. Susan Mahnke Peery and Charles G. Reavis. Published by Storey Books in 2003.
● Charcuterie, Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn, W.W. Norton 2005
● The Complete Book of Butchering, Smoking, Curing and Sausage Making: How to Harvest Your Own Livestock and Wild Game. Phillip Hasheider, 2010.
● Ratio: The Simple Codes Behind the Craft of Everyday Cooking. Michael Ruhlman, 2009
● Salumi: The Craft of Italian Dry Curing, Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polycn, W.W. Norton 2012.

Notes:
There is so much good information on sausage making out on the internet and available in cookbooks, we thought it best to give you an abbreviated version in the form of general notes.

***Notes on Safety: Think Clean, Cold, and Covered. We really, really, really don’t want anyone to get sick!!
● Take extra care to make sure that your ingredients do not cross contaminate each other, or other food.
● ALL containers, utensils and surfaces need to be scrubbed with hot water and detergent before coming into contact with the raw meat. Wooden cutting boards need to be disinfected with 1 tablespoon bleach in 1 gallon (4 litres) of water. Rinse everything thoroughly and allow to air dry and cool down before staring (residual heat from warm utensils could encourage the growth of bacteria). Also be sure you pick a cool day (or turn on your AC) to under 70°F/21° when you are making your sausages.
● Remove all of your rings, and wash your hands very carefully and thoroughly. (including under your fingernails!). Really, scrub the crap out of them. If you step away for a second, you must wash your hands again before you start. Also wear a clean apron to make sure that 1). nothing comes off of your clothes and contaminates the meat or 2). the meat doesn’t contaminate or stain your clothes.
● Having your mis en place is really important here, because you want to work quickly so the meat doesn’t have a chance to warm up. All the utensils should be out and on the counter, all the ingredients measured and ready to go. This will also help to keep your cabinets, utensils, and the rest of your kitchen clean because everything you need is already on the counter and ready to use.

Notes on Salumi:
● Meat
○ Try to source your meat locally - i.e from farmers as opposed to factory hogs from the local grocery store. This will ensure that your meat is fresher.
● Curing Environment:
○ To create conditions to successfully dry meat and cure salami, the ambient humidity should be between 60 and 70 percent
○ The temperature should remain between 55 and 65 °F/12 and 18°C.
○ The air needs to be able to circulate
○ Successful curing environments include wine coolers, mini refrigerators, home-built curing boxes...garages...and my basement.

Notes on Sausages:
● Equipment:
○ Grinders: Can use hand-grinders (old fashioned cast iron hand crank types which are honestly the best), electric grinders, mixer attachment, or food processors (be careful not to over process it by just making a paste - use short pulses)
○ Stuffers: handheld funnels (called sausage funnels), push stuffer, crank stuffer, mixer attachment or hand stuffing.
● Ingredients:
○ Meat and fat: you can use a single source or a blending of meats. It is important to get the correct ratio of meat to fat and salt. You have to have fat and salt to get a good tasting sausage. Generally speaking, the rule is “3 parts meat, 1 part fat.”. This means that about 30% of sausage should be fat. However, you might need to adjust your fat if you are using a lean meat like venison or chicken. The best fat to use is pork back fat.
○ Herbs: using the freshest herbs possible is best. Do NOT use the dried herbs that have been sitting on the shelf for years.
○ Salt: kosher (rock crystal) or sea salt is best because the additives in table salt can leave funny flavors (never use iodized).
○ Binders: things like bread-crumbs, dry milk powder, soy protein, wine, cider, etc are used to sometimes increase the moisture content or to give a particular texture.
○ Fruits and veggies can add good flavor and moisture content
● Casings:
○ Natural casings need to be soaked and rinsed to remove the salt it is packed in.
■ Sheep casings (smallest diameter) are best for hot dogs and breakfast links.
■ Hog casings are good for bratwurst, and Italian sausage - they are all purpose.
■ Beef: Tend to be tough, usually peeled and discarded before eating. Good for bologna and salami.
■ Collagen casings are made from an edible protein derived from connective tissue and mechanically formed into casings. They do not stretch, so you must be careful. Do not rinse these, they are easier to work with when dry.
○ Artificial casings are uniform in size and easy to use. They are not edible, and they must be peeled away before eating.
■ Cellulose and plastic are great for vegans and for sausages cooked in water and steam (like frankfurters)
■ Muslin casings are used for larger salamis and summer sausages. Need to be sewn up.

Prepare your casings. (The following instructions are for natural casings packaged in salt. If you are using alternative casings, please follow the directions included with them).

○ Snip off about 4 feet (1-1/3 metre) of casing and rinse under cool running water to remove any salt. Place the casings in a bowl of cool water and allow to soak for 30 minutes.
○ Rinse the casing again under cool running water. Hold one end of the casing open under the faucet nozzle to allow water to run inside the casing to wash out any salt inside, and to find any rips or holes in the casing (If you find a hole/tear, simply cut out that section).

○ Soak the casing again in clean, cool water with 1 tablespoon of white vinegar for each cup of water in the bowl. This will help to soften the casings and make them more transparent (and give a prettier finished product).
○ Leave the casing in the water until you are ready to stuff it, then rinse and drain one final time.

Preparing the Sausage:

● Cut the meat and fat into uniform 1” (2-1/2 cm) cubes.
● Place the meat and fat in freezer for 30 minutes before grinding to firm up the texture (this helps the meat not to smear as you grind it).

● Grind the meat, using either your hand crank, mixer attachment, or food processor.
● Toss the seasonings in with the meat, using your hands to mix it completely.
● Freeze again for 30 minutes to firm up the meat
● Grind again

● Test the spices by frying a small portion up
● adjust the seasoning if needed

Stuffing the Casing:
● If you are using a sausage funnel or hand grinder funnel you will need to coat the funnel with water or grease it, then draw the end of the casing over the funnel so it is firmly in place.

● Push the ground meat through the funnel or feed spout with the end of a wooden spoon until it reaches the lip of the funnel opening.
● Pull about 2 inches (5 cm) of casing off the end of the funnel and tie a knot.
● Continue feeding small amounts of the mixture through the funnel, until the whole casing is filled. Pack the casings firmly but to not the bursting point. Tie another not at the end and slide the casing off the funnel.

● Inspect the length of the filled sausages, looking for any air bubbles or pockets. Using a small pin, prick any air bubbles you see. Air pockets can fill with fat during cooking, or allow mold to grow in dried sausages.

● Twist the sausages. Beginning at the tied end of the stuffed casing, grasp about 3inches (7-1/2 cm) of sausage and gently give it two or three twists in one direction to form a link. Continue twisting links, alternating the twist direction, until the whole casing is done.

● Do not cut the links apart at this time, you must first parboil, smoke, or dry them.

Fresh Sausages: (cook before eating)
● Allow the flavors to meld by arranging the links in a single layer on a platter, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least a few hours if not overnight.
○ Storage: These will last in the fridge for 2 days. You can also wrap the links individually in plastic wrap, place them in a freezer plastic bag and keep them for 2-3 months in the freezer.
○ Cooking: Should be cooked slowly and thoroughly on moderate heat, until it reaches temperature. (Beef, lamb, pork, fish and wild game: 160°F or 71°C) and poultry (165°F or 74°C). A rule of thumb is to cook it 20 minutes for 1 inch (2-1/2 cm) diameter.
■ Should be browned evenly on all sides. Poultry and seafood cook faster, about 10-15 minutes. Wild game tends to be a bit dryer, so don’t overcook.
■ Don’t overcook them or cook them too hot. If the casing splits, it will release the great juices and flavorings.
Preserving Sausages: Use only hardwoods like hickory, oak, apple, maple, or chestnut, for smoking (other things like corn cobs or damp sawdust can be used, but never ever softwoods like pine, spruce, fir and cypress. They create oily, sooty smoke that will turn the sausages dark and bitter).

● Dried Sausages: Need to be hung up to dry, never cooked. Best is 40°F/4°C with 75-80% humidity. Some people find using their attic in the winter to be ideal, others use a spare refrigerator (with all but the top shelf removed)
● Semi Dry Sausages need to be smoked. You can do this either by cold or hot smoking.
○ Cold Smoke is basically a flavoring process, it is still essentially raw. These have usually been cured by another means (sodium nitrate, salt, or hanging them up to dry).
○ Hot Smoked to 175°F/80°C. This cooks the meat while imparting a smoky flavor, fixes the color and makes the protein move to the surface of the sausage so it will hold its shape when the casings are removed. These are as perishable as any roasted meat.
■ Smoking in a covered charcoal grill: Make sure you have an oven thermometer to monitor the temperature. Placing a pan of water amongst the hot briquettes helps to generate steam. Don’t use gasoline or accelerators to start the fire, they will contaminate the sausage.

Vegetarian/Vegan Sausages:
Sausages do NOT have to be meat based! Cooked beans, legumes, rice, grains, tofu, or soy products all work well as the “base” for sausages, and you can add a variety of fruits and vegetables. Generally you will have to add some sort of moistener or binder, and these can include eggs, egg whites, butter, oil, wine, cider, etc. Thickeners can be breadcrumbs, flour, oats, wheat germ, etc. For casings, you can either use a synthetic plastic, cabbage leaves, chard leaves, corn husks, outer layer of leeks, Phyllo dough, tortillas, parchment paper, foil, plastic wrap, etc. Really, you are only limited by your imagination! These tend to cook quickly, and are very delicate, so try not to manhandle them.

One Final Note:
Sausage making is not for the faint hearted - its takes time and patience - so judge yourself accordingly and you will truly enjoy this challenge!

Mandatory Items: You must choose to either cure a whole muscle or to make a sausage (or both!). You must start with a whole protein source (ie, don’t buy pre-ground meat to make a sausage).

Variations allowed: You may use any meat, meat combination, or protein source that you choose. Because of diets and other factors, you may also use any casing type you choose.

Preparation time:
Time is dependent on the type of muscle you cure or sausage you make. Please see individual recipes below for their prep times.

Equipment required:
A variety of equipment is required depending on the type of sausage you make. Please see individual recipes below for a list of what equipment is needed.

Fresh Sausage
Recipe source: Charcuterie
Prep Time: 24 hours to chill, 1 hour to make, give or take.
Equipment needed: Bowls, Cookie Sheet, Digital Scale, Meat Grinder, Spatula, and Frying Pan to test sample

The Master Recipe

Ingredients
5 lb/2¼ kg boneless fatty pork shoulder butt, diced
3 tablespoons (45 ml) (45 gm) (1½ oz) kosher (rock crystal) salt
1 tablespoon (15 ml) (10 gm) (1/3 oz) ground black pepper
3 tablespoons (55 gm) (2 oz) minced garlic
1 cup (240 ml) good red wine, chilled
10 feet/3 meters hog casings, soaked in tepid water for a least 30 minutes and rinse

Directions:
1 Toss meat, salt, pepper and garlic together in a large bowl until evenly mixed. Cover and refrigerate until mixture is thoroughly chilled up to 24 hours.
2 Grind mixture through the small die of your meat grinder in a bowl set in ice.
3 Using paddle attachment, or a wooden spoon, mix on low speed for a about a minute. Add wine, increase speed to medium and mix or stir for another minute or until the liquid is incorporated and the meat looks sticky.
4 Fry a bite size portion of the sausage and taste it – refrigerate your meat mixture while you do this – and adjust seasonings as necessary
5 Stuff sausage into the hog casings and twist into 6-inch/15 centimeter links.
6 Cook sausage to an internal temperature of 150° F/65°C.
7 Refrigerate sausages up to 2 weeks or freeze until ready to use..

Mexican Chorizo

Recipe Source: Charcuterie
Preparation Time: about 2 hours, give or take
Equipment Needed: Large Bowl, Measuring Spoons and Cups, Meat Grinder or Food Processor, Wooden Spoon, Frying Pan, and Sausage Stuffer

Ingredients
5 lbs (2¼ kg) boneless fatty pork shoulder butt, diced
3 tablespoons (45 ml) (45 gm) (1½ oz) kosher (rock crystal) salt
2 tablespoons (30ml) (15 gm) (½ oz) ancho chile powder
1 tablespoon (8 gm) hot paprika
1 tablespoon (8 gm) chipotle chile powder or cayenne powder
1 teaspoon (5ml) (3 gm) freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon (6 gm) chopped fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon (½ gm)dried oregano
½ teasponn (1½ gm) ground cumin
3 tablespoons (45 ml) tequila, chilled
3 tablespoons (45 ml) red wine vinegar, chilled
10 feet/3 meters hog casings, soaked in tepid water for a least 30 minutes and rinse

Directions:
1 Combine all the ingredients except the tequila and the vinegar and toss to distribute the seasoning. Chill.
2 Grind mixture through the small die of your meat grinder in a bowl set in ice.
3 Add tequila and vinegar to eh meat mixture and mix with the paddle attachment or a sturdy spoon until liquid is incorporated and meat mixture looks sticky.
4 Fry a bite size portion of the sausage and taste it – refrigerate your meat mixture while you do this – and adjust seasonings as necessary
5 Stuff sausage into the hog casings and twist into 6-inch/15 centimeter links.
6 Cook sausage to an internal temperature of 150°F/65°C.
7 Refrigerate sausages up to 2 weeks or freeze until ready to use.

Baked Cod with Fresh Chorizo Vinaigrette

Andouille Sausage – Hot Smoked
Recipe Source: Charcuterie
Preparation Time: an hour and a half to make, 2 hours to hang, several hours to smoke (depending on temperature and amount of sausage you are smoking), 1 hour to chill in ice bath
Equipment Needed: Large Bowls, Measuring Cups and Spoons, Meat Grinder or Food Processor, Wooden Spoon, Frying Pan, Sausage Stuffer, Smoke Stick (or a clean metal or wooden dowel), a grill to smoke

Ingredients
5 lbs (2¼ kg) boneless fatty pork shoulder butt, diced
3 tablespoons (45 ml) (45 gm) (1½ oz) kosher (rock crystal) salt
2 teaspoons (10 ml) (6 gm) cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon (6 gm) pink salt
1 teaspoon.(1 gm) dried thyme
½ teaspoon (2 gm) ground mace
½ teaspoon (2 gm) ground cloves
½ teaspoon (2 gm) ground allspice
¾ teaspoon (3 gm) Coleman’s dry mustard
1 cup (240 ml) (140 gm) (5 oz) diced onion
1 tablespoon (15 gm) (½ oz) minced garlic
10 feet/3 meters hog casings, soaked in tepid water for a least 30 minutes and rinse

Directions:
1 Combine all the ingredients and toss to mix thoroughly. Chill until ready to grind
2 Grind mixture through the small die of your meat grinder in a bowl set in ice.
3 Mix with paddle attachment or spoon for about a minute until meat has sticky appearance.
4 Fry a bite size portion of the sausage and taste it – refrigerate your meat mixture while you do this – and adjust seasonings as necessary
5 Stuff sausage into the hog casings and twist into 6-inch/15-centimeter links.
6 Hang sausages on a smoke stick and let dry for 1 to 2 hours a to room temperature or in the refrigerator to develop the pellicle.
7 Hot smoke sausages at a temperature of 180°F/82 °C to an internal temperature of 150°F/65°C. Transfer to ice bath to chill thoroughly, then refrigerate.
8 Refrigerate sausages up to 2 weeks or freeze until ready to use.

Shrimp and Cheesy Grits with Hot Smoked Andouille Sausage

Andouille Sausage – Cold Smoked
Recipe Source: Charcuterie
Preparation Time: 1-2 hours to make, chill overnight, 2-4 hours to cold smoke, 2-3 days to hang.
Equipment Needed: Large Bowls, Measuring Cups and Spoons, Meat Grinder or Food Processor, Wooden Spoon, Frying Pan, Sausage Stuffer, a way to cold smoke (like a grill), a place/apparatus to hang.

Ingredients
5 lbs (2¼ kg) boneless fatty pork shoulder butt, diced
3 cups (720 ml) (450 gm) (1 lb) yellow or white onion diced
2 tablespoons (30 ml) (6 gm) minced garlic
3 tablespoons (45 ml) (45 gm) (1½ oz) kosher (rock crystal) salt
1 teaspoon (6 gm) pink salt
½ teaspoon (2 gm) dried thyme
¾ teaspoon (2 gm) ground mace
1/8 teaspoon (½ gm) ground cloves
¾ teaspoon (2 gm) ground allspice
¾ teaspoon (2 gm) ground marjoram
½ cup (120 ml) (70 gm) nonfat milk powder
20 feet/6 meter sheep casings, soaked in tepid water for at least 30 minutes and rinsed

Directions:
1 Combine all the ingredients and toss to mix thoroughly. Chill until ready to grind
2 Grind mixture through the small die of your meat grinder in a bowl set in ice.
3 Mix with paddle attachment or spoon for about a minute until meat has sticky appearance.
4 Fry a bite size portion of the sausage and taste it – refrigerate your meat mixture while you do this – and adjust seasonings as necessary
5 Stuff sausage into the sheep casings and twist into 10-inch/25 centimeter links. Refrigerate uncovered overnight to develop pellicle.
6 Cold smoke sausages at a temperature of below 100°F/ 37°C. for 2 to 4 hours or until golden brown.
7 Hang sausages in a cool, dry space (60°F/15°C with 65 percent humidity is ideal) for 2 to 3 days.
8 Refrigerate sausages up to 2 weeks or freeze until ready to use.

Frankfurters:

Servings: Makes 2 pounds
Recipe source: Home Sausage Making
Prep Time: 2 hours to make, 20 minutes to parboil, 1-4 hours to chill, plus cooking time
Equipment needed: 2 Large Bowls, Small Bowl to measure seasonings, Measuring spoons, Food processor or spice grinder, Meat grinder, meat grinder attachment, or food processor, Sharp Knife, Large pot

Ingredients
1 tablespoon (15 ml) white vinegar, for soaking the casings only
3 feet (1 metre) sheep or small hog casing
1 pound (450 gm) lean pork
¾ pound (350 gm) lean beef
¼ pound (110 gm) pork fat
1 teaspoon (5ml) (4 gm) ground coriander
1 teaspoon (4 gm) sweet paprika
½ teaspoon (2 gm) ground mustard seed
¼ teaspoon (1 gm) ground mace
¼ teaspoon (1 gm) ground marjoram
¼ cup (60ml) (40 gm) (1½ oz) finely minced onion
1 small garlic clove, minced
1½ teaspoons (7 gm) sugar
1 tablespoon (15 ml) (15 gm) (½ oz) kosher or course ground salt
1 teaspoon (4 gm) ground white pepper
1 egg white
¼ cup (60 ml) milk

Directions:
1. Prepare your casings. (See note above)
2. Cut the pork, beef and fat into 1inch (2½ cm) cubes and place in the freezer for 30 minutes to firm them.
3. In a food processor of spice grinder, combine the coriander, paprika, mustard seed, mace, marjoram, onion and garlic and puree until smooth. Add the sugar, salt, pepper egg white and milk. Mix thoroughly.
4. Grind the pork, beef, and fat separately through the fine dish of the meat grinder. Mix together and then freeze for 30 minutes.
5. Grind the meat again.
6. In a large bowl, mix the seasonings into the meat by hand (mixing by hand gives a better finished texture to the sausage). You want your mixture to be firm but not dry. Wet your hands with cold water if the meat mixture becomes too sticky, but be careful not to soak your hands - you don’t want the mixture to get too wet. (At this time I recommend taking a small portion of the sausage and quickly fry it up, to taste how strong the seasonings are. If you feel you need to make an adjustment, make it now.
7. Freeze the meat a third time, again for 30 minutes.
8. Prepare the sausage stuffer. Wet the end of the funnel and draw the casing over the funnel so that the entire length is gathered onto the funnel and the end of the casing is even with the funnel opening.
9. Push the ground meat mixture through the funnel or feed spout with the end of a wooden spoon until it reaches the end of the funnel opening. Pull about 2 inches (5 cm) of casing off the end of the funnel and tie it into a knot.
10. Feed small amounts of the meat mixture through the funnel at a time, continuing to stuff the entire casing. Pack the casing firmly but not to the bursting point, maintaining an even thickness throughout the length of the casing. When all the meat has been used up, slide any extra casing off the funnel. Do not twist off links yet!
11. Look for any air pockets in the sausage and prick with a sharp knife.
12. Starting at the end of the casing, start making 6-inch (15 cm) links and twisting 2 or 3 times in one direction to form a link. Move down the sausage another 6 inches (15 cm) and twist 2 or 3 times in the opposite direction as you twisted the first link. Continue until the entire length has been twisted into links. Do not cut the links apart.
13. Bring a large pot of water to gently simmer. Add the links and parboil in gently simmering water for 20 minutes.
14. Drain the franks, then dunk them into ice water to chill thoroughly.
15. Remove the franks from the water, pat them dry with paper towels. Using a sharp knife, you may separate the links from each other by quickly cutting through each twisted section.
16. Refrigerate until ready to eat, then warm through (on the grill, in the skillet, however you want). The flavors will be best if you allow to sit in the refrigerator at least up to 4 hours, and even better overnight.

Storage:
Frankfurters are best stored in a single layer on a platter, covered with plastic wrap and refrigerated. Because they are pre-cooked, frankfurters may be refrigerated up to 1 week, or they may be frozen for up to 2 months. Reheat until warmed through.

Apple Tofu Sausage:

Servings: 10-12 sausages
Recipe source: Home Sausage Making
Prep Time: 30 minutes to assemble, 1 hour to refrigerate, 15 minutes to bake
Equipment needed: Medium sized skillet, sharp knife, Box grater, Wooden Spoon, Large Plate, Oven, Baking Sheet

Ingredients
2 teaspoons (10ml) vegetable oil
½ cup (60 ml) (75 gm) (2½ oz) chopped onions
2 tart apples peeled, grated and tossed with 1 teaspoon (5 ml) Lemon Juice
1 pound (450 gm) Extra Firm Tofu, drained
1 cup (240ml) (60 gm) (2 oz) fresh breadcrumbs
1½ teaspoons (6 gm) dried sage
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (3 gm) kosher or coarse salt
½ teaspoon (2 gm) ground allspice
½ teaspoon (2 gm) freshly grated nutmeg
½ teaspoon (2 gm) black pepper
¼ teaspoon (1 gm) ground ginger
2 large egg whites

Directions:
1. Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the apples and onion and saute until softened, about 3 minutes.
2. Add the grated apples and saute for 3 minutes longer. Transfer the mixture to a large bowl to cool.
3. Crumble or grate the tofu into the bowl and toss to combine with the onion/apple mixture.
4. Add the breadcrumbs, sage, salt, allspice, nutmeg, pepper, ginger and egg whites. Mix together well.
5. With wet hands, form ½ cup of the mixture into ½-inch (1 cm) thick patties or 3-inch (7½ cm) long sausage shapes and arrange on a large plate. Refrigerate 1 hour, or until firm.

6. To cook, preheat the oven to hot 450°F/230°C/gas mark 8. Grease a baking sheet, and arrange the sausages on the sheet. Bake 10-15 minutes, until the outsides are golden brown and the insides are cooked through and firm.
Salumi

Basic Salami
Recipe source: Salumi
Prep Time: 40 minutes
Equipment needed: Bowls, Stand Mixer, Meat Grinder, Sausage Stuffer, Digital Scale, Butcher’s Twine

This technique can be used for any dry-cured sausage. It uses salt in the amount of 2.75% of the weight of the meat and fat, and it uses sodium nitrate (DQ Curing Salt#2) in the amount of 0.25% of the weight of the meat and fat. If you want to scale the recipe up or down, use the same percentages. Additional fat is added to the shoulder butt in the amount of 15% to 25% of the weight of the shoulder butt.

The mixture can be stuffed into any size casing; the smaller the casing the easier it will be to dry successfully. For most cured sausage, beef middle, which are 2 inches/5 centimeters in diameter, cut into 18-inch/45 centimeter lengths are the norm. All are tied in a bubble knot, which prevents slippage out of the string while hanging.

Ingredients
4 lbs/1800 grams fatty pork shoulder butt, cut into a large dice, sinews and glands removed, and chilled to very cold
1 lb/450 grams pork back fat, cut into a large dice
4 tablespoons (60 ml) (60 gm) (2 oz) kosher or sea salt
1 teaspoon (5 ml) (7 gm) DQ Curing Salt#2
2 teaspoons (4 gm) black peppercorns, toasted and finely ground
¼ cup (60 ml) chilled dry red wine
1 teablespoon (15 ml) (12 gm) Bactoferm (live starter culture)
2 tablespoons (30 ml) distilled water
2 18-inch/45-centimeter length beef middle* (hog casings are ok too), soaked in tepid water for at least 20 minutes and rinsed

Directions:
1. Partially freeze meat and fat.
2. Combine the meat, salt, curing salt and black pepper and grind through a large die (3/8-inch/9-millimeter) into a large bowl. Grind Fat into bowl.
3. Using paddle attachment mix ground meat and fat, adding wine. Refrigerate the mixture in the bowl for 30 minutes.
4. Dissolve the Bactoferm in distilled water and using the paddle attachment on the stand mixer, blend with the meat and fat until well distributed.
5. Tie one end of the casing using a bubble knot. Stuff the sausage into the casing and tie each off using another bubble knot.

*Note: Beef middle is the term for beef casings.

6. Using a clean needle, or sausage pricker, poke holes all over the sausage, especially where there may be air pockets.
7. Weigh sausage and record results
8. Allow sausages to incubate for 12 hours in a warm place – ideally 80°F/ 27°C. and 80% humidity,
9. Hang sausages in a dry, cool place.
10. The salami are ready when they have lost 30 percent of their raw weight
11. Slice into the salami. It should be firm all the way through with an appealing deep red color and white dots of fat. If there a ring of dark meat, surrounding a mushy interior, you have a case-hardening issue. Smell it. It should smell like salami. If it looks good, if it smells good, taste it – it should be delicious. Enjoy!

Antipasto with Salami

Whole Muscle Curing

Pancetta Arrotolota

Servings: 7lb. Tenderloin
Recipe source: Salumi
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Equipment needed: Bowls, Digital Scale, Non-reactive containers, Zip Lock Bags, Cookie Sheet, 8 lb. weight Cheesecloth, Butcher’s Twine

For rolled Pancetta, the drying time is not critical. You can slice and cook pancetta immediately after it is cured. The hanging time (5-7days), though, will deepen and enhance the flavor. If you want to be able to slice your pancetta very thin and serve it as is, then you should dry it as you would any muscle, until its lost 30 percent of its weight.

Ingredients

The Cure
5 ounces (140 gm) kosher salt or seal salt – or 3% of the weight of the meat
2 teaspoons (12 gm) pink salt
3 tablespoons (45 ml) (18 gm) (2/3 oz) black peppercorns, toasted and roughly cracked in a mortar and pestle
¼ cup (50 gm) (1¾ oz) packed brown sugar
¼ cup (20 gm) juniper berries, crushed
8 garlic cloves, minced
8 bay leaves
10 thyme sprigs
10 lb (4½ kg) fresh pork belly, skin on
¼ cup (60 ml) (50 gm) (1¾ oz) finely ground pepper

Directions:
1. Combine the cure ingredients in a nonreactive container large enough to hold the pork belly flat – a zip lock bag works well.

2. Add belly and rub cure all over.

3. Refrigerate for 5 days, flipping the meat and re-rubbing it to redistribute the cure at least once, midway through the cure

4. Remove belly from cure and rinse off the ingredients under cold water
5. You can use it immediately for cooking.
6. Or if using weight to determine doneness, weigh the meat – record the results. Dust the belly with black pepper, roll belly as tightly as possible and tie using the continuous tie method – see here.
7. Hang belly in a cool, dark place 55-60°F/13-18°C for 2 to 3 weeks.

Fresh Pasta with tossed with Tomato and Pancetta

Pepper-cured Lonza
Recipe source: Salumi
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Equipment needed: Bowls, Digital Scale, Non reactive containers, Zip Lock Bags, Cookie Sheet, 8 lb. weight Cheesecloth, Butcher’s Twine

Ingredients
Boneless pork loin, heavy sinew removed (with some back fat left on if you wish)

The Cure
Coarse kosher salt or sea salt
Black Peppercorn, toasted and roughly cracked in a mortar with a pestle
Black Peppercorn, toasted and finely ground

Directions:
1. Combine the cure ingredients in a pan large enough to hold the loin and roll the loin in the cure to coat uniformly.

2. Put loin in a zip lock bag and squeeze as much air out of the bag.
3. Put loin on a baking sheet and put another pan on top and weigh it down with 8 pounds/3600 grams of weighs. Refrigerate for 1 day per 2 pounds/1000 grams.

4. Midway through the curing time, flip loin, to redistribute the cure and weigh it down again
5. Remove the loin from the bag, rinse with cold water, pat dry.
6. Weigh loin and record results.
7. Tie the loin as you would a roast – hang to dry for 3 to 4 weeks or until it has lost 30 percent of its weight.

Duck Prosciutto
Recipe source: Salumi
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Equipment needed: Bowls, Digital Scale, Non-reactive containers, Zip Lock Bags, Cookie Sheet, 8 lb. weight Cheesecloth, Butcher’s Twine

Ingredients

The Cure
½ teaspoon (3 gm) pink salt
½ teaspoon (1 gm) finely ground dried bay leave
½ teaspoon (1 gm) finely ground dried thyme
4 juniper berries, crushed
5 black peppercorns, crushed
1 garlic clove, sliced paper thin
Coarse Sea Salt or Kosher Salt
1 whole duck breast, split, silver skin removed

Directions:
1 Combine the pink salt, bay leaves, thyme, juniper berries and pepper in a small bowl and whisk together.
2 Rub breast with garlic and then dust with seasoning mixture

3 Put breasts in a nonreactive pan, just large enough to hold them and add enough salt to completely encase them, refrigerate for 24 hours
4 Remove breasts from cure and rinse under cold water – pat dry.
5 Wrap breasts in cheesecloth and hang to dry in a cool, dark place for 1 to 3 weeks or until they feel firm not hard.

6 Refrigerate overnight before slicing thinly to serve.

Grilled Pizza with Duck Prosciutto

Additional Information:
Sources for Pink Salt, Bactoferm and Casings in the US (and they will ship to Canada):
www.thesausagemaker.com or www.butcherpacker.com – also check with your local kitchen supply/cooking store.
Video on making sausage - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uM5KaY5eKjI
Video on making sausage - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RPQP4TC3E1w
This is a good video on cold smoking in a gas grill - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9lxYTRVXuuE
An interesting read on the history of sausages:http://www.sausageobsession.com/history_of_sausage/

Roasted Chicken with Jezebel Sauce

2013-02-12T06:00:00.000-05:00

Somedays I think I should have really grown up in the South.

"What?" You say "I thought you were a Midwest girl, through and through!"

And yes, I am. But every once in a while, my Uncle brings my Dad a big stack of magazines. And when my Dad is done reading them, by Brother reads them. And when they are all done with them, the magazines get placed in a stack on the floor until my parents drive out to see me. And then my Dad gives me a giant stack of magazines to read, the majority of which are Garden and Gun.

And it takes me forever to get through them, not only because of the quantity of magazines I receive at one time, but also because I sit there and stare at the pictures and daydream. I look at pictures of gorgeous women wearing boots and perfectly tailored vests, leading beautiful horses through a sun lit field with a shotgun slung over their shoulder and I think to myself "Yes! Yes! yeeeessssss! That is soooo meeee!"

And I gaze at photos of huge farmhouses surrounded by giant verandas, where rocking chairs and lazy dogs are the main feature, surrounded by unkept yet perfectly tamed cottage gardens and I think "I want that house to be miiiiiiine!!!"

And I stare at photos of women in tailored cotton gingham dresses holding artisan crafted cocktails in mason jars while they listen to a band of fiddlers and banjoers play their souls into a Appalachian Waltz and I think "I could be that girl, I really could!"

And then eventually I stop daydreaming and read the articles tear out the pages with recipes in them. This is one of those recipes,

Roasted Chicken with Jezebel Sauce (taken from Garden and Gun Magazine, Oct 2012, by Tandy Wilson)

Jezebel Sauce:
1 lemon
2 medium red onions
2 TBSP whole grain mustard
2 TBSP fresh horseradish, grated
2 TBSP lemon marmalade
1 TBSP sorghum (or molasses)

Cut the top and exposed root off of the onions, peel the papers off and quarter from top to bottom.
Brush the onion quarters with oil and season with salt.
Roast (or grill) the onions, cut side down, in a 400 F degree oven until well browned on the bottom.
Let the onions cool and then finely mince.
Zest and juice a lemon (reserve the zest for tomorrow).
Mix together the mustard, horseradish, marmalade, sorghum, and lemon juice.
Fold in the onions.
Season with salt and pepper and refrigerate overnight.
This is best if you let it sit for 2 days in the fridge before using it, although it is still good after only 1 overnight in the fridge. You can keep it, well sealed, up to 2 weeks.

Chicken:
Season the chicken thighs with salt, pepper, and the lemon zest.
Cover and refrigerate overnight.
When you are ready to cool, remove the chicken and the sauce from the fridge to take the chill off.
Place a 12" cast iron skillet in the oven and preheat to 425F.
Remove the hot pan from the oven and place 2 TBSP oil in the pan, swirling to coat.
Place the chicken, skin side down in the pan and return to the oven.
Roast for 20 minutes, or until the chicken is just cooked through.
To serve, place a dab of jezebel sauce on the plate, top with chicken and garnish with an additional dollop of jezebel sauce on top.
Enjoy!

Bread Baking Day #56 Roundup!

2013-02-05T06:00:00.000-05:00

Today is the day I get to reveal all the gorgeous breads baked for this month's Bread Baking Day! I was so excited to host this challenge, and hope everyone enjoyed it! If you missed the announcement, I challenge my fellow bread bakers to try to purposefully create a design on the crust of their bread using any material they wanted - nuts, seeds, flour, additional dough, even food coloring "paint". I chose this challenge for a reason - normally we are so overly concerned with getting the gluten development right, having the correct proofing temperature and getting a good oven spring and crust developed, that often times our crust appearance gets left in the dust - sprinkled with flour and slashed or maybe an egg white wash. I've been wanting to try my hand at some crust decoration myself, and thought this would be a fantastic time to involve others, too! And I could not be happier with the results!

Take a look at all these amazing and beautiful loaves (and rolls)!

Anna, who blogs over at Heavenly Sweets (thank you Google Translate!) in Austria made these delicious Sweet Grassini (or Knabbergebäck), using hot honey to adhere the sesame seeds.

Sarah, who lives in Ontario, Canada and blogs at What Smells So Good? made a Lassy Beer Boule and slashed a "Winter Tree" design into the crust.

Breadsong, also lives in Canada and has a blog over at The Fresh Loaf - Breadsong's Blog . She made an Un-kneaded Six Fold French Bread and used a piece of fabric lace as a stencil to create a lovely lacy pattern on her bread. For extra points she made a second loaf of bread, a sourdough flower bread that was inspired by a felt hat! She used a special decorative dough for the flowers, mixing together flour with cornmeal, pea flour, a cocoa to produce the colors.

Korena, who blogs over at Korena in the Kitchen out of British Columbia, Canada, made this gorgeous decorated honey white challah and used extra bits of dough to create these beautiful swirls on top.

Ninive, who blogs at ninivepises from Germany made these delicious looking donuts with a maple glaze and chocolate sprinkles, that she split open and filled with fresh apple sauce.

Stefanie, also from Germany, blogs at Hefe und mehr, made these gorgeous Wheat-Rye loaves and used both scoring and dough ornamentation to make these lovely loaves!

Katha blogs at Katha-Kocht in Germany, and she made this lovely "Party-Brotkranz" buns which she decorated with white and black sesame seeds and dried rosemary into little hearts on the top of each one using a cookie cutter! Cute!

Sandra who blogs at From Snuggs Kitchen (and also lives in Germany) baked this loaf of Milk Grain Bread, and decorated the crust with oats.

Barafra from Germany blogs over at Barafas Kochloeffel. She made a Party Tree Bread, which is a gorgeously decorative loaf in itself. She then took it over the top by incorporating lots of different seeds and oatmeal onto the bread.

Sabina from Italy blogs at Sabina kocht und backt . She made this lovely Pumpkin Seed Wholemeal Flour Bread and added extra pumpkin seeds on the crust of her bread to create her design.

Cinzia from Italy blogs over at CindyStar Blog. She made a lovely rosemary bread and decorated it with coarse salt "diamonds" and a lovely star scoring pattern.

Anna from the blog Llepadits lives in Spain, and she made this lovely brioche cremantaise and studded it with rum soaked raisins.

Zorra from 1x umrühren bitte aka kochtopf (and the lovely creator of Bread Baking Day) lives in Spain. She created this lovely seeded bread with a braid on top!

City Bread in Light Spelt from My Italian Smorgasbord. Barbara, who blogs in Sweden, decided to use some fancy scoring with a razor blade to create this gorgeous pattern on her bread.

Connie lives in Thailand and blogs over at My Discovery Of Bread. She made this lovely Sourdough Roasted Garlic Bread and decorated the crust of her bread with cilantro leaves. (psst! Turns out we made the same thing! How funny!)

Cathy from Georgia, USA blogs over at Bread Experience. She made this lovely Braided Poppy Seed Loaf - and like the name implies, this bread features a beautiful braid and is dotted with poppy seeds (and hidden inside the bread are black sesame seeds) and a big red bow!

Judy, who blogs at Judy Gross Eats and lives in California, USA made this fashionable egg bread and used a very cool technique of slashing, rolling, and coiling the dough to form a beautiful loaf of bread!

Lisa, who blogs at Parsley, Sage and Sweet and lives in New Jersey, USA made these lovely Six Seed Garlic Onion Poolish Rolls and decorated them with six different types of seeds on the crust.

Lynn who blogs over at Turnips 2 Tangerines is from Wisconsin, USA. She made a lovely bread known as "The Easiest Loaf of Bread You Will Ever Bake!" and decorated the crust by scoring the bread and stuffing it with green onions and dried cherries.

Shelley from C Mom Cook lives in Pennsylvania, USA. She made a French Baguette and she and her daughter painted swirls and designs onto the crust using a "paint" made of dark cocoa flour.

Ruth, also from Pennsylvania, USA blogs over at The Crafts of Mommyhood. She made French Bread and painted a lovely spring scene with egg yolk/food coloring paint.

Last but not least, here is my bread! If you've never been here before, my name is Jenni, and I live on the border between Ohio and West Virginia in USA. I made a Roasted Garlic Sourdough bread and decorated the crust with cilantro sprigs (and way too much flour!).

Thank you ALL for participating with me this month! I hope you had as much fun as I have had and that you now have lots of ideas flowing around for additional ways to "decorate" your breads! :) And don't forget to check out to see what next month will hold!

Limelight Blueberry Muffins

2013-02-02T06:00:00.000-05:00

I took my first big shopping trip to Sam's Club the other day - one of those big box/bulk stores, and loved it! The deals! The deals! Everywhere I looked were amazing prices! Haha One of the best purchases I made was a giant tub of blueberries for $6! Considering that the tiny little pints are currently $5 at the grocery store, this was a steal! Which meant we had more blueberries than we knew what to do with. Towards the end of the week, there was only about a cup left, and they were starting to look a little...straggly... Time to make muffins! These muffins could not be more perfect. The muffin itself is light and fluffy, and the juicy pop of blueberries and tang of the lime is just divine. They are the perfect treat for the middle of the winter. Or the middle of the summer. Or just whenever you feel like a good muffin.

Limelight Blueberry Muffins (by The Gingered Whisk)

1 3/4 cup flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup greek yogurt
1/3 cup applesauce
1 lime, zested and juiced
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 eggs
1 cup fresh blueberries
cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350F.
In a small bowl, roll the blueberries in 3/4 cup of flour, so that they are all evenly coated in the flour (this helps them so they don't all sink to the bottom of the muffin).
In a large bowl, whisk together the remaining flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Stir in the yogurt, applesauce, eggs, lime zest and juice, vanilla and eggs until just incorporated.
Gently fold in the blueberries (and any flour remaining in the bowl with them) into the batter.
Spoon into 12 greased muffin cups.
Bake for 25 minutes, or until slightly golden on top and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.
Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan, and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely
Enjoy!

Toddler January Activities

2013-01-30T06:00:00.000-05:00

I didn't get around to making an "Activities" post for December, basically because the month was super busy and we generally just wrapped presents and baked cookies. Haha. But I wanted to be sure to post one for all the things we did in January. For the most part our activities were centered around snow, even though we didn't really have any snow in January. And we took a lot of walks without our coats on.

Our sensory bin this month was a fun "snow" themed one. I filled it with a mixture of rice and that fake glittery snow stuff that actually gets everywhere. I also added in a few cotton balls, big glittery blue snowflakes, blue and silver pompoms in various sizes, blue aquarium rocks, some erasers in the shapes of polar bears and snowflakes, and also some fake pearl garland. Ladybug loved using an ice cube tray and tweezers to sort the items in the box, as well as pouring the rice, and just playing with all the pieces.

We also did a fun snowflake painting using a 50/50 combination of white glue and white shaving cream. We then used marshmallows to paint snowflakes. The snowflakes ended up drying puffy and 3D! Cool!

I found some cool plastic snowflakes at the local craft store for super cheap, and Ladybug loved practicing using some tweezers to transfer them from one bowl to another.

We did another fun painting experiment using the core of an apple to paint snow-flakes. Peanut also really enjoyed this activity. If you can't tell, painting is a big deal in our house.

We also made some snow playdough - using just a regular DIY homemade playdough recipe, we added a few drops of peppermint oil and some white glitter. The glitter didn't really show up in the photos, but it is pretty in real life! :)

So, there you have it - those are some of the fun January/Snow themed activities we did this past month. What did you guys do?

Crispy Sweet Potato Fries with Spicy Lime Dipping Sauce

2013-01-28T12:00:00.000-05:00

This post should really be titled "How I Ate Two Large Sweet Potatoes All By Myself in Less Than 24 Hours." I planned to make these potatoes for dinner one night, but at the last minute I decided to hold one back and make it the following afternoon. Which was a great idea since I probably would have eaten them all anyway. I am sure, like every other food blogger on the planet, I could whine endlessly about the lack of natural lighting during dinner time in winter, the utterly aweful lighting in my kitchen (yellow walls, yellow light fixture... ugh...) and the super expense of buying actual fancy lights to use. Plus, I'm lazy. I probably wouldn't use them anyway. And because really, fries are never ever good the second day.

And so, as it happened, I ate an entire super huge sweet potato all by myself for dinner. And then another one for lunch the next day. And they are amazing. I couldn't stop eating them! In fact, I want another one right now. They are super easy to make. The recipe states that the potato wedges should soak in cold water for about 8 hours before you bake them, but knowing me, and the fact that I never ever read a recipe before I start cooking it, that didn't happen. The second time I did soak them for 8 hours, and I must say that they were only sliiightly more crunchy than the first time. So I would say you could be ok with skipping it all together if you want! I used mayo for the dipping sauce the first time, as per the original recipe. But the second time I decided to try it with some plain greek yogurt instead (I'm just not a big fan of mayo), and I liked it even better. And I bet you could use sour cream if you like it, too.

This month for Secret Recipe Club I was assigned the blog Fran's Favs, which is a great blog packed with all kinds of recipes! I also love Fran's super nerdy Simpson's type cartoon drawing of herself for her profile picture. LOVE it! Fran is an Italian Foodie, for sure, and was steeped in cooking growing up with a family who loved to cook. And if you didn't know that there was a "She Who Dies With The Most Cookbooks Wins" game going on, don't even bother, because Fran is pretty sure she has us all beat (she has an unbelievable collection of 300 books + magazines, newspaper clippings and online recipes. I think she might need to start out a lending library! :) Please go check out her blog, she has lots of fantastic recipes to share!

Crispy Sweet Potato Fries with Sriracha-Lime Dipping Sauce (Fran's Favs)

2-3 large sweet potatoes
1/4 cup corn starch
3-4 TBSP olive oil
1/4 cup mayo, plain greek yogurt or sour cream
1-2 tsp sriracha sauce (depending on how spicy you like things)
1 tsp lime juice
lime zest

Peel the potatoes and cut them into medium sized wedges.
Place the potatoes in a container and fill with water; allow to soak for 10 minutes-8 hours.
Preheat your oven to 425F.
Line a large cooking sheet with foil or spray with cooking spray.
Remove the potato wedges from the container and shake off any additional water.
Place a small handful of the potato wedges in a plastic baggie along with a spoonful of cornstarch (If you try to do too many potatoes/cornstarch at one time, everything becomes a goopy mess).
Shake the baggie to coat the wedges in the cornstarch.
Place the potato wedges on the cookie sheet and repeat with remaining wedges.
Drizzle a bit of the olive oil on the wedges and toss to coat.
Spread the wedges out in a single layer (don't crowd them) and bake for 15 minutes.
Turn the wedges over and bake an additional 5 minutes.
Remove and enjoy!

To make the dipping sauce combine the mayo/sour cream/yogurt, the sriracha, and the lime juice and zest in a bowl. Refrigerate until ready.