Terri's Table

How to Cut a Head of Cauliflower into Florets

noreply@blogger.com (Terri) — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 17:42:00 +0000

We are all creatures of habit, don't you think?

Tom and I lived on a ten acre farm from 1996 to 2006. During that time, we raised ducks, chickens, sheep and cats. Each had their own little habits.

The ducks would start wandering away from the pond about 10:00am each morning, traveling up the right side of the lane to our circular driveway and make their way around the circle from right to left, never left to right. By late afternoon, they'd continue to meander down the right side of the lane back to the pond for the night.

We'd open the door to the chicken coop every morning and out they'd come, one by one, heading for the berry bushes, pecking at the insects in the grass. They'd scratch and peck at the ground around the berries from one end of each row to another all day long, occasionally making their way through the grass along side the driveway. But as soon as one of us made a move to head for the coop, they were off and running behind us, knowing it was time for the scratch we'd throw on the ground. Even on those days when we weren't home in time for the nightly ritual, we'd arrive to find them in coop waiting for their nightly scratch.

The sheep were equally rooted in their habitual behaviors. They were enclosed in a four acre pasture by a wood and wire fence. Every day they would graze all over the pasture, making their way randomly from one end to the other, always staying close to each other. Rarely did one stray from the flock to the opposite side of the pasture. By days end, they'd always be grazing at the end of the pasture furthest from their shelter and as the sun began to set, they would make their way back to the shelter one at a time, led by one of the rams, on a path they'd worn through the middle of the pasture. They always marched, single file, on that path.

We humans do things over and over almost exactly the same way, never thinking there might be an easier, more convenient or less time consuming method. Or at least I do.

Take cauliflower, for example. I would always cut off the leaves and stem, then, one by one, cut off each floret. A time consuming job at best. Then, a while back, I saw a chef break down a whole head of cauliflower into florets in about 2 minutes. Huh?? Why didn't I know this before?

So, here, just for you, I have a tutorial on the fastest and easiest way cut a head of cauliflower into florets.

You're welcome...

There you have it. In less than five minutes, you can break down a whole head of cauliflower into beautiful florets. There is absolutely no reason whatsoever to buy frozen cauliflower florets ever again.

I cut mine into smaller pieces to make this Cauliflower Salad and steamed them for 7 minutes, no longer. For the larger florets, you would steam them about 9 minutes. That's even faster than your microwave!

Break a habit. Give this method a whirl.

Food Blogger Bake Sale

noreply@blogger.com (Terri) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 14:28:00 +0000

I've been back from my Nevada visit for a week, but I've been overwhelmed with catching up.

The accounting for Tom's business is now current. Our income taxes were submitted on time and paid. My Earthboxes are planted, as is my herb garden, and it's just a matter of time before the basil is tall enough to use in Lemon Basil Martinis.

Now it's time to plan and bake for the Arkansas Food Blogger Bake Sale which benefits No Kid Hungry.

Arkansas Hunger Relief Alliance is the lead partner for all No Kid Hungry programming in Arkansas. Arkansas Women Bloggers (of which I'm a member) and the Arkansas Food Blogger Network are joining bloggers across the country on Saturday, May 4th to participate in the national Food Blogger Bake Sale benefiting the No Kid Hungry program of Share Our Strength, an organization committed to ending childhood hunger in America.

Our local event is 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. at 7th and Main Streets in North Little Rock, adjacent to the Argenta Certified Arkansas Farmers’ Market. All proceeds from the sale will go to No Kid Hungry.

The Arkansas event is chaired by Christie Ison of FancyPantsFoodie.com

Food bloggers will be joined by professional cooks and bakers such as Dempsey Bakery, Sweet Love and Gigi’s Cupcakes to provide yummy items for you to purchase. Items like cakes, cupcakes, cookies, breads, caramels and cake pops. You can see the full list HERE.

So please mark your calendars now and join us.

Arkansas Food Blogger Bake Sale and national Food Blogger Bake Sale, benefiting No Kid Hungry

Saturday, May 4, 2013, 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.

7th and Main Streets, North Little Rock, adjacent to Argenta Certified Arkansas Farmers’ Market

If you are unable to attend, please consider donating directly to Share Our Strength, Arkansas Food Blogger Bake Sale.

Roasted Buffalo Chicken Quarters

noreply@blogger.com (Terri) — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 20:27:00 +0000

I am obsessed with all things Buffalo Chicken. I have a confession, though. I have come to this obsession late and over a very long period of time.

When I was growing up, we didn't have restaurants devoted to the lowly chicken wing. The buffalo wings weren't even invented until some time in the 1960's and a mass market buffalo wing sauce wasn't developed until the 1980's and by that time I was on a mission to engage in as many "gourmet" experiences as possible. Chicken wings? Are you serious? I was pretty uppity.

A few years later, I started to come back to reality and open up my food horizons to foods I'd rejected out of hand previously. I felt kinda stupid after all those years of telling my kids, "You don't have to eat that, but you have to at least taste it."

I don't remember how I even came to want to taste a buffalo chicken wing. I guess it was that I wanted to experience what everyone else loved! So, several years ago, I bought a bottle of buffalo wing sauce. I don't even remember the brand. I brought the bottle of sauce home and, after I put away the rest of the groceries, I opened the bottle and took a whiff. Ugh. It smelled awful! The combination of heat and vinegar hurt my nose and the thought of eating it with blue cheese was disgusting. I closed the bottle, put it in the refrigerator and threw it out several weeks later without even tasting it.

It wasn't until my oldest son served "hot wings" that I even considered eating a spicy chicken wing ever again. Mike's wings are delicious, but they aren't made with a Buffalo Wing Sauce. It's a recipe Mike adapted that doesn't contain any vinegar, only spices, butter and a little Tabasco. I've used his recipe for several years.

But, in 2009, I decided it was time to challenge my palate once again and prepare a hot buffalo chicken dip I found on another blog that used a bottled Buffalo Wing Sauce. I thought, "How bad can a simple dip be?" When I took it out of the oven, it looked delicious. Cheesy, bubbly goodness. I took one bite and threw the rest in the garbage. I thought it was awful. I felt doomed to never appreciate what my family and friends salivated over. When I look back on that recipe today, I know I would never make it. It wasn't the wing sauce that made it unpalatable, it was the 1-½ cups of blue cheese salad dressing that ruined it for me.

These past few years since the dip fiasco, I've started slowly inching my way to appreciate the ordinary Buffalo Wing Sauce. First by ordering Buffalo Wings from local restaurants, then bravely creating my own dishes like the Buffalo Chicken Nachos I made last month and these Roasted Buffalo Chicken Quarters.

Since the chicken quarters are quite a bit thicker and more dense than a chicken wing, I decided to marinate the chicken quarters overnight in a spicy concoction of vinegar and a few spices. About an hour before dinner, I remove the chicken quarters from the marinade and place them in a roasting pan...

Slather them with Buffalo Wing Sauce....

And roast them. It's that easy.

I served small dishes of good quality blue cheese dressing on the side for dipping.

Roasted Buffalo Chicken Quarters

2 to 4 chicken leg quarters (I use 2, but there's plenty of marinade for 4)

For The Marinade

1 cup apple cider vinegar
¼ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1½ teaspoons salt
1½ teaspoons pepper
1 tablespoon Tabasco or Louisiana Hot Sauce

Bottled Buffalo Wing Sauce (I use Frank's or Louisiana Brand)

The night before, make the marinade by combining the vinegar, oil, Worcestershire sauce, chili powder, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper and Louisiana Hot Sauce. Mix well and set aside. Place the chicken quarters in a gallon sized zip lock bag and pour the marinade into the bag. Seal the bag, removing as much air as possible, and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, turn the bag over and return to the refrigerator.

When you are ready to prepare dinner, preheat oven to 350° and prepare a baking pan by spraying with cooking spray. If you are preparing 2 chicken quarters, you can use an 8x8-inch baking pan; if preparing 4 quarters, use a 9x13-inch baking pan. Remove the chicken quarters from the marinade and place in prepared baking pan. Drizzle the chicken quarters generously with the bottled Buffalo Wing Sauce.

Bake for 1 hour until internal temperature reaches 165°. Remove from oven and let rest 5 minutes before serving.

Potato Chip Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Terri) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 11:30:00 +0000

Several weeks ago, during a conversation with friends, someone mentioned how much she like Potato Chip Cookies. I think I've been under a rock for a while because I'd never heard of them. Intrigued by the flavor combination, I asked my friend for the recipe and when she gave it to me early last week I was anxious to make a batch. I posted my planned baking experiment on Facebook and my daughter-in-law responded that she made some Potato Chip Cookies the week before and they were delicious. I was encouraged.

However, the ratio and the ingredients in the recipe I was given seemed a little odd; equal parts sugar and flour and a cup of oil. I don't think I'd ever made a cookie with oil. Butter or margarine, yes, but not oil and I thought it might make the dough a little greasy. But I persevered.

Once mixed together, the dough was something between a cookie dough and a cake batter. I let the dough sit as instructed in the recipe, but it didn't help. In addition, the dough WAS greasy and it started to spread a little even as I dropped the cookies on the baking sheet and when they were done and I took them out of the oven, they had spread out so much that it was almost one solid mass. I had to cut most of them apart from each other with the spatula as I lifted them from the baking sheet to a wire rack covered with paper towels. And when I lifted them off the rack to a plate after they had cooled, the paper towel was soaked with oil. Ick. This is what they looked like when they were done...

The cookies tasted greasy, too, and they had an off flavor, sort of like sweet, salty, oily flour. Epic fail.

I hit the web looking for photos of Potato Chip Cookies and none of them looked like mine. None of the photos looked like the cookies I just pulled from the oven, and none of the recipes called for oil instead of butter or margarine. Besides, my daughter-in-law has a really good palate and she wouldn't like a cookie that tasted as bad as mine. So, I pulled about a half a dozen recipes off the web and combined the best parts of them and finally produced a delicious cookie. And they even received rave reviews from the girls next door, ages 8 to 15. This is what they raved about...

Sweet, salty, nutty, buttery, tender, delicious. Exactly what I initially thought they'd taste like.

I used two sticks of butter and only 1/2 cup of sugar and beat them together until they were light and fluffy, then mixed in some vanilla, just a touch of salt, some chopped pecans, potato chips and flour and mixed everything together until it was combined. I used a small ice cream scoop that holds about a tablespoon of cookie dough, rolled each scoop into a ball and rolled each ball into more crushed potato chips before I put them on my baking sheet (I use a SilPat, but you can use a baking sheet lightly prepared with cooking spray) about 1½-inches apart. I used a flat metal spatula to slightly flatten the balls of cookie dough, then sprinkled them lightly with sugar (but next time I will use turbinado sugar instead plain granulated sugar because the granules are bigger and hold up really well during baking) and they were ready to go into a 350° oven.

Most recipes called for baking times of 15 to 18 minutes. My cookies took 17 minutes. They were perfect, just a little golden around the edges.

I have shredded the nasty, oily recipe and will use this one from now on.

Potato Chip Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) butter at room temperature (if you use salted butter, omit the 1/4 teaspoon of kosher salt)
½ cup, plus 2 tablespoons sugar (the 2 tablespoons is for sprinkling on the cookies before baking)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon kosher salt
½ cup chopped pecans
2 cups finely crushed potato chips (1½ cups for the cookie dough and ½ cup for rolling)
2 cups all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350°. Prepare two baking sheets by lining with a SilPat, parchment paper or spraying lightly with cooking spray.

Crush the potato chips in a plastic bag using a rolling pin until they are fairly fine crumbs to measure 2 cups. Reserve ½ cup on a small plate and set aside.

In a large bowl, beat the butter and ½ cup sugar until it's light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla and kosher salt (if using unsalted butter). Mix in the pecans, 1½ cups crushed potato chips and flour until just combined.

Put the 2 tablespoons of sugar in a small dish and set aside with the reserved crushed potato chips.

Using a tablespoon or small 1½-inch ice cream scoop to measure out the dough, roll each spoonful into a ball then roll in the crushed potato chips. Place onto your prepared baking sheet about 1½-inches apart and flatten slightly with a flat metal spatula. Using your fingers, sprinkle the tops of the cookies lightly with sugar.

Bake about 15 to 18 minutes until the edges are lightly golden brown. When done, transfer to a wire rack to cool. Makes 26 to 30 cookies, depending on size.

Asian Chicken Wings

noreply@blogger.com (Terri) — Sat, 23 Mar 2013 19:00:00 +0000

I made these on a lazy Saturday evening. It was one of those days when I forgot to take meat out of the freezer to thaw in time to make dinner. Dang! Plus I didn't really feel like cooking. But all the suggestions Tom made for take-out or delivery met with a blank, unenthusiastic stare and a barely audible "meh." Pizza? Meh. Chinese? Meh. Burgers? Meh.

I went out to the extra freezer we have in the garage to look for something quick and easy. We keep it stocked with a few frozen snacks for just these occasions. Taquitos? Meh. Egg Rolls? Meh. Tequila Lime Wings? Meh. I was sort of feeling like something Asian. Egg Rolls, maybe, but what else? Should I whip up some noodles and veggies, too? What to do, what to do. So, I just went back in to the kitchen, poured myself a glass of wine, took a sip and thought for a minute. Hmmmm.

Those frozen Tequila Lime Wings are pretty nondescript.

They're preseasoned, precooked, then frozen and ready to just pop in the oven for about 20 or 30 minutes. The flavor is a little on the peppery side with barely a hint of lime and without any discernible tequila flavor. They really require a flavorful dipping sauce to finish them off. But faux Mexican didn't sound appetizing. So I decided to transform them into Asian Chicken Wings.

I put together an Asian inspired glaze with hoisin, soy and Thai sweet chili sauces, ketchup, sugar, ginger, garlic and sherry. I doused the frozen chicken wings in the mixture and baked them for about 10 minutes longer than instructed. It worked! The glaze was sticky and on the sweet side. We couldn't tell the wings started out as Tequila Lime anything.

I didn't use all the glaze. I put a cup of it in a small pan and kept it warm while the wings baked. The first time we made these, I took the wings out of the oven and tossed them in a large bowl with the remaining sauce before serving. When we made them last night, I served the remaining sauce on the side for dipping. Either way, they are pretty darn good and incredibly easy. No marinating. No frying. Just douse, mix and bake. With an egg roll on the side, which baked in the oven with the wings on a separate baking sheet, it was plenty for a meal or awesome as an appetizer.

Asian Chicken Wings

25 to 30 Frozen, precooked Tyson Tequila Lime Wings (we buy the 64-ounce bag and use about half of it, but Tyson makes a 28-ounce bag, too)
1/2 cup hoisin sauce
1/2 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/4 cup ketchup
1/2 cup Thai sweet chili sauce
1/4 cup dry sherry
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 rounded tablespoon fresh grated ginger
1 clove garlic, finely minced
Sesame seeds and 2 or 3 green onions thinly sliced for garnish

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Line a large rimmed baking sheet with heavy duty aluminum foil and spray very generously with non-stick cooking spray.

In a medium sized bowl, combine the hoisin sauce, soy sauce, ketchup, Thai sweet chili sauce, sherry, brown sugar, ginger and garlic and mix well. Remove about a cup of the sauce and set aside.

Place the frozen wings in a large bowl, pour the remaining sauce over the wings and mix well until all of the wings are evenly coated. Spread the wings on the baking sheet in a single layer. Place the wings in the preheated oven and bake 25 to 30 minutes until they appear to be nicely glazed.

While the wings are baking, transfer the reserved sauce to a small saucepan and keep warm over low heat until the wings are done.

Transfer the cooked wings to a serving platter and sprinkle lightly with sesame seeds and green onions and serve the remaining sauce on the side.

Tater Tot Nachos ~ For Real

noreply@blogger.com (Terri) — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 20:34:00 +0000

Back in January, I was perusing BuzzFeed.com and came across this video of Chef Dale Talde preparing his Fully Load Tater Tots.

Of course, Chef Dale makes his own nacho cheese sauce, chili, pulled pork and pickled Jalapeños, but when we made these for Super Bowl Sunday in February, we opted for an easier way.

First of all, we didn't fry our tater tots. We probably should have. They would have held up better to the chili and cheese sauce, but they tasted just fine. And since we didn't fry our tater tots, we didn't use the bacon either.

I made my own nacho cheese sauce, a cheesy queso sauce my son, Chris, developed when he worked at a Mexican restaurant in Colorado. It's made with homemade salsa and it's delicious. I'll post the recipe for that at another time.

We didn't make our own chili. We used Hormel chili without beans, only because that's our preference. You can make your own chili or used canned, with or without beans.

We opted out of the pulled pork altogether.

We added a simple guacamole, some chopped cilantro and I also used my own candied Jalapeños.

We topped it off with sour cream flavored lightly with lime juice.

This is how we put it together.

First get your nacho cheese sauce ready. You can use the velveeta and Rotel type or make your own. Keep it warm.

Chop up some tomato, onion and cilantro and set them aside. Drain the Jalapeños and set them aside in a small bowl.

Put the canned chili in a pot, get it hot and keep it warm.

If you're going to use guacamole or chopped avocado, make that and set aside.

Pull out a bag of grated cheddar cheese or grate your own.

Finally, whisk together about 1/2 cup of sour cream (or Greek yogurt is good, too) with the juice of a half of a lime and set aside.

Now you'll be ready when your tater tots come out of the oven.

To prepare the tater tots, preheat your oven according to package directions. This where we deviate from the instructions on the package. First put the frozen tater tots in large bowl and drizzle them with about 1/4 cup of oil. This will help make them crispier than normal, although not quite as crispy as frying. Mix the tater tots and oil up with your hands or a large spoon and make sure they are all covered. Now spread them out in a single layer on a baking sheet bake according to package directions, however, add about 10 minutes extra to the baking time to make sure they were good and crispy.

When you take the tater tots out of the oven, you can leave them on the baking sheet as we did, or transfer them to a large platter. While the tater tots are hot, put the nachos together.

Sprinkle the tater tots with a generous amount of grated cheddar cheese.

Spoon hot nacho cheese sauce evenly over the cheese and tots.

Now, spoon the chili evenly over the cheese sauce.

Sprinkle the tomatoes, onions, cilantro and jalapeños over the chili.

Drop spoons of guacamole over all.

Now drizzle on the lime flavored sour cream.

Voilà!! You have March Madness Munchies!

Pinterest Envy

noreply@blogger.com (Terri) — Wed, 06 Mar 2013 21:27:00 +0000

I don't spend a lot of time on Pinterest. I try to limit myself to about an hour or two a week. It's hard to do.

As you can imagine, most of my pins are food related, but not all. I have yet to attempt all the recipes or completed all the projects or purchased all of the products I've pinned.

Here are just a few things that caught my eye this week.

It's not food related, but I love this idea.

Source: Domesticated Nomad

I have a pergola in my backyard that is covered with wisteria vines. This would be beautiful underneath the pergola and as border around my garden. And, it's almost spring and I have cabin fever so I've been dreaming of gardening {sigh}.

Speaking of food, doesn't this look yummy?

Source: Oh She Glows
It's called a Roasted Buddha Bowl. Roasted cauliflower, broccoli and chickpeas with a cashew tahini dressing. I'm definitely trying this recipe soon.

My new favorite gadget-of-sorts is the Recipe Rock. I bought two of them. One green and one red.

Source: Cooking.com
I used to print all of my recipes and store them in binders. I stopped after I filled two 3-inch binders. So now I keep all of my recipes stored on my computer. I just print the recipe I want and slip it onto the Recipe Rock. It holds the recipe upright, which makes it so much easier to read. When I'm done with the recipe, I put the printed page in the recycle bin.

Tom and I are big fish and seafood lovers, from sushi to Cedar Plank Smoked Salmon, so this dish made me salivate.

Source: Jam Hands
The lattice puff pastry top is baked separately and placed on top of the baked seafood casserole. Doesn't it look delicious??!!

What have you been pinning this week?

Buffalo Chicken Nachos

noreply@blogger.com (Terri) — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 21:08:00 +0000

First of all, let me apologize in advance for the not-so-great photo. I didn't plan on posting this so I took the photo with my phone, and this is the best of the three photos I took.

Like I said, I didn't plan on posting this, but these turned out so darn tasty that I had to share.

These morsels really don't require a recipe. We sort of slapped them together by the seat of our pants, using the flavors we love with Buffalo anything.

Buffalo Chicken Nachos

1 roasted deli chicken, picked from the bones and shredded
1/2 to 1 cup Buffalo wing sauce (we used Frank's)
2 - 4 tablespoons of butter
about 1/2 of a bag of tortilla chips
1 bag of grated cheese (we used Kraft Mexican 4-cheese)
1 tomato, seeded and diced
1/2 onion, diced
shredded lettuce (we used finely sliced romaine)
chunky blue cheese salad dressing (you could use ranch dressing, if that's your preference)

Preheat oven to 425°

Be sure to have all your ingredients ready to go. This goes fast.

In a saucepan large enough to hold all the chicken, add the wing sauce and butter and heat until it's boiling and the butter is melted. Add the chicken and keep warm.

On a large baking sheet sprayed with cooking spray, lay the tortilla chips in a single layer. Sprinkle the chips with 2 or 3 handfuls of cheese. Place in the preheated oven and bake for 3 minutes until the cheese is just barely melted. Remove from oven.

Drop the chicken as evenly as possible over the chips and cheese. Be sure to use all of the chicken. Top with another 2 or 3 handfuls of cheese and return it to the oven and bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven.

Sprinkle the tomato, onions and shredded lettuce over the cheesy chicken, drizzle with salad dressing (as much or as little as you like) and serve.

That's it. The most time consuming part of this is breaking down and shredding the chicken, which can be done a few hours or even the day before and refrigerated until ready to use.

Fettuccini and Shrimp Rosé

noreply@blogger.com (Terri) — Fri, 25 Jan 2013 21:24:00 +0000

I think I was Italian in another life. I just wish I could remember living in Italy. It was probably pretty awesome, but the memories escape me.

But seriously, even though I'm part Norwegian, part Russian Jew, part German and a smattering of American Indian, I'm partial to Italian food, particularly pasta.

Tom is generally the pasta chef in our house. Sometime in the early 1980's he acquired this cookbook, which he's nearly worn out...

It's chock-full of wonderful, authentic Italian pasta recipes from classic red sauce to carbonara to puttanesca. There are really 99 recipes in the book, but even though Tom has used the cookbook for over 30 years, we have yet to try every single one.

This particular recipe isn't in the book, probably because combining Parmesan cheese and shrimp (or any kind of fish, for that matter) is supposed to be taboo in authentic Italian cooking. However, I've been known to break tradition now and then.

If you are craving a hearty dish that's quick and easy, here it is. The whole dish takes about 30 minutes from stove top to table. Warm a loaf of French bread in the oven and you've got a meal for a family of four to six people, depending on appetites.

I use smallish frozen shrimp, 31-40 count. They're bite sized, yet big in flavor.

Feel free to use any other kind of pasta ~ spaghetti, linguini, angel hair ~ whatever you have on hand.

Fettucini and Shrimp Rosé

4 tablespoons butter (divided)
1 tablespoon olive oil
20 to 25 medium-sized raw shrimp (31-40 count), peeled and deveined
1 - 1 pound package fettuccine, linguine or spaghetti
1 small onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon crushed red chili flakes
1 - 14.5 ounce can fire-roasted diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1 cup dry white wine
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup fresh or frozen sweet peas
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese, plus more for serving

Over medium high heat, melt two tablespoons of butter with the olive oil in a large skillet (it should be large enough to hold all the pasta and sauce at the end). Add the onions and sauté until slightly browned (about 6 or 7 minutes). Add the garlic and cook another minute.

Add the tomatoes, chili flakes, salt, pepper and brown sugar and bring the mixture to a boil.

Add the white wine and peas to the pan and bring to a full boil. Add the cream and Parmesan cheese and again bring the mixture to a full boil, stirring constantly. Reduce the heat so that the mixture is barely simmering and prepare the pasta according to package directions.

While pasta is cooking, quickly sauté the shrimp in the remaining 2 tablespoons butter and set aside.

To serve, drain the pasta and add it and the cooked shrimp to the simmering sauce.

Enjoy!

Jalapeño Popper Crescents

noreply@blogger.com (Terri) — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 13:00:00 +0000

Super Bowl is coming February 3rd. It's time to start thinking about what yummy nibbles I can whip up quickly and pop into my mouth in between plays.

Okay, you caught me in a lie. I probably won't watch the Super Bowl. I'm just not a football fan. I know. I'm a bit of an outlier.

But that doesn't mean I can't help you figure out what to make. These little morsels could easily fit the bill. A buttery crescent roll slathered with creaminess from the cheeses, some heat from the jalapeño and a dash of sugar to balance it all out. Yes, I said sugar. Just a little though, and you won't be sorry.

There are tons of recipes for these out on the internet, but this is my version.

Jalapeño Popper Crescents

1 tube crescent rolls
1 - 4 ounce can of diced jalapeños
1 - 8 ounce package cream cheese, room temperature (I use "lite" but full fat works fine, too)
1 teaspoon sugar
1 cup finely grated cheddar cheese, sharp or mild

Preheat your oven to 375˚F.

In a medium sized bowl, mix together the cream cheese and sugar. Add the cheddar cheese and stir to completely combine. To add the jalapeños, start with half of the can. Stir to combine and taste for heat. If you like more heat, add more jalapeños. Set aside.

Open the tube of crescent rolls and gently unroll the contents into 4 rectangles. Place two rectangles end to end and gently pinch the perforated seams together. It should look like this...

With a rubber or silicone spatula, spread half of the cheese mixture evenly over the crescent roll rectangle, like this...

Starting with the long side, begin to gently roll the rectangle into a fairly tight log...

...until it looks like this...

Cut the log into 16 equal pieces, beginning by cutting the log in half, then cutting the two halves in half and so on. Place the pieces, cut side down, on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and sprayed with cooking spray or a Silpat.

Bake for 11 to 13 minutes, or until golden brown.

While the first roll is baking, make the second roll. (Note: My baking sheets are industrial size, so they hold the pieces for more than one roll.)

When each batch is done, remove them immediately from the baking sheet and serve.

What's For Dinner??

noreply@blogger.com (Terri) — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 17:52:00 +0000

I have some energy today. I mean that I have more energy and enthusiasm for blogging than I have for a very long time. And I'm glad to be back.

I've never been one to write a weekly menu. I can't ever stick to it. No matter what I plan and commit to paper for any one day, my palate often rejects because it just doesn't sound appetizing at the time or, on rare occasions, I simply don't feel like cooking.

But to mitigate the stress of the times when I don't even want to think about what to make for dinner, while my mind is clear, I write down a list of dishes to choose from. It's more flexible and that's what I like about it. I hang the list of meals with the heading "What's for Dinner??" on the side of the refrigerator, along with the printed recipes. I can change it up or modify it if I desire to do so.

So this is what we are tentatively having for dinner this week:

Fish Tacos with Mexican Rice and Refried Beans

Beef Bourguignon with Mashed Potatoes and Roasted Beets & Greens

Taco Tater Tot Bake with a Salad and Avocado Dressing

Chicken Saltimbocca with Angel Hair Pasta and Sautéed Zucchini & Onions

Cuban Chorizo Sweet Potato Stew with Crusty Bread

Pork Banh Mi Burgers with Vietnamese Slaw

Garlic Chicken with Mashed Potatoes and Honey Glazed Carrots

I may, at some point during the week, opt to make some changes, but this is a good start, don't you think?

So, do you make menus? What are you having this week?

Happy New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (Terri) — Mon, 31 Dec 2012 18:53:00 +0000

It's New Years Eve. Tomorrow we begin 2013. It has whizzed by.

I've been mentally going through this past year and smiling as I recall our visits to Florida, California and Nevada, as well as family house guests from Nevada and South Carolina. It was a busy ~ and wonderful ~ year.

But, although I spent countless hours in the kitchen, my blog ended up with a measly 29 posts for the entire year. I struggled with direction and blogger burnout and my blog suffered for it.

Thank you all for sticking with me.

I am hoping that this coming year I am able to shake this fog and share more of the wonderful food and fun from my kitchen.

Anyway, the last couple of weeks I've been on a wonderful Christmas vacation, first to South Carolina where I visited my niece and nephew and their families, then to Florida for Christmas with my son Chris and his family.

Christmas Eve day, we did a little last minute shopping and stopped for lunch at our favorite place, Star Fish Company, a fish market and restaurant just off Anna Maria Island, where we were staying.

This was our table...

And this was our entertainment...

...as we dined on Shrimp Po' Boy with Spicy Remoulade Sauce...

and Fried Calamari...

That evening, after dinner, we enjoyed a Christmas Eve walk taking in this view:

And after our walk on the beach, as we settled in for the evening, our neighbor emailed us this photo of what was transpiring at home:

The first EVER blizzard warning in central Arkansas! The next day, he sent us two more photos:

We're home now. There's still a little snow on the ground, but it's melting slowly but surely.

We won't be going out for dinner. I'm making this Roast Lemon Chicken and we'll have a nice salad with it. I can guarantee I'll be in bed before midnight and ready to begin 2013 first thing in the morning.

I simply want to wish everyone a very happy and safe New Year's Eve and a wonderful, prosperous, healthy New Year.

Fresh Apple Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Terri) — Wed, 28 Nov 2012 13:00:00 +0000

As I've said many times before, I'm not really a dessert person. Given a choice of types of food, my preference is always savory. I do, however, like making desserts.

I love the ooooh's and awwww's and Oh My Gawd's when I present a luscious looking dessert like the stunning Oreo Cookie Cake or the decadent Chocolate Chip Cookie Pie or the inviting Strawberry Cake. I know. I admit it's a little egotistical.

This cake is not like that. It's not fancy. It's not decadent. In fact, it's plain, simple and while satisfying to a palate yearning for something sweet, it is less so than other desserts I've made. That's why I loved it.

You could definitely sweeten it up some with a sugary glaze or salted caramel drizzle if you so desire. I didn't. I covered it with a light dusting of powdered sugar and thought it was perfect.

I found this cake at Food52.com, one of my favorite food sites. I followed the recipe exactly, except for one minor detail. I left out the raisins. Why, you ask? I live with a Raisin Squirrel, who is also a Nut Squirrel, a Chip Squirrel, a Pretzel Squirrel...are you getting the picture? It's my husband, Tom. He's the consummate nosher, nibbler, snacker and raisins are one of his favorite little morsels. When he walks through the pantry to the garage, or from the garage through the pantry to the den, he grabs a handful of whatever morsels are stored there, pops them into his cheek and nibbles away at them, one by one. He also is not immune to grabbing a bowl and creating a custom morsel mix for himself to nosh on while he watches a movie.

So, yes, I adapted this recipe slightly. It would probably be a little sweeter with the addition of the raisins, but I didn't miss them. It was still moist and tender and quite luscious.

Fresh Apple Cake
Adapted slightly from Food52.com

Butter for greasing pan (I use my own Easy Release Pan Coating)
3 cups flour, plus more for dusting pan (see above)
1 1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
3 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups peeled, cored, and thickly sliced tart apples like Honeycrisp or Granny Smith (I used a large dice)
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup raisins (I omitted)
Vanilla ice cream or whipped cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Butter and flour a 9-inch tube pan (or use a pastry brush to apply the Easy Pan Release.

Beat the oil and sugar together for 5 minutes in a stand mixer (fitted with a paddle attachment). While the mixer is working, assemble the remaining ingredients. After about 5 minutes, add the eggs and beat until the mixture is creamy.

Sift together 3 cups of flour, the salt, cinnamon and baking soda. Stir into the batter. Add the vanilla, apples, walnuts and raisins and stir until combined. The batter will be very thick.

The batter will be thick, so you'll need to drop it into the prepared pan by the spoonful. Bake for 1 hour and 15 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven to a rack and cool in the pan before lifting out.

Serve at room temperature with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, if desired.

The Morning After The Morning After....

noreply@blogger.com (Terri) — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 17:43:00 +0000

Yesterday was our Thanksgiving. Sort of.

Thanksgiving day we joined my father-in-law for a turkey-and-all-the-trimmings brunch in the dining room at the retirement community where he lives.

The brunch was served buffet style on long tables lined with commercial chafing dishes. Sliced turkey; sliced ham pieces (floating in some sort of liquid); stuffing (cornbread type, I think, though it was hard to discern); instant mashed potatoes; gravy (also from a can); green beans with limp, soggy bacon (swimming in the brine in which they were canned); mashed sweet potato casserole; cranberry sauce (again, from a can) and rolls. This kind of meal is what we have come to expect from the head 'chef' (I use that term quite loosely).

But, we love turkey dinner leftovers, so we decided to roast our own turkey on Saturday.

We prepared our dinner for just the two of because we wanted to make just a few items that we love and experiment with a new, highly seasoned stuffing that wouldn't necessarily appeal to our usual dinner guests.

I found the stuffing recipe, Ciabatta Stuffing with Chorizo, Sweet Potatoes and Mushrooms, at Food52.com and I'm glad I did. It was amazing. Instead of using cured chorizo, Tom used a half of a 10-ounce tube of Mexican chorizo. The result was a little spicier than what the cured chorizo would have been, but it perfectly complimented the sweetness of the potatoes and the earthiness of the mushrooms (combination of shitaki and crimini).

Rather than bake the stuffing in a pan, Tom stuffed the bird with it and then with what stuffing wouldn't fit in the cavity of the bird he cooked a small bowlful in a frying pan and ate it for breakfast topped with a fried egg over easy.

Tom made the mashed potatoes. I made the gravy from the stock that I had simmering on the stove all day.

One of our favorite holiday side dishes is Marie's Parmesan Roasted Onions. Onions roasted in a wine and cream sauce until they're just barely soft and oh so sweet.

Then, of course, we needed cranberry sauce.

Several years ago, I saw filmmaker, David Hahn, on a cooking show (I can't remember which one) talking about a new product he developed called Cranberry Fool. A cranberry sauce of sorts: whole fresh cranberries enhanced with dried cherries, currants and raisins with a splash of vanilla. I decided to make my own Cranberry Fool Sauce. It's much better than canned cranberry sauce and what's so awesome is that you can add some chopped candied jalapeños to the sauce and spoon it over cream cheese or bake it with brie for a special appetizer.

The last side dish, which didn't turn out so well, was the Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Bacon, Onions and Balsamic. I just roasted them too long. We ate them anyway.

It was a fairly simple Thanksgiving dinner...

We have lots of leftovers, most of which are vacuum sealed and stored in the freezer. I kept out some turkey to make soup this afternoon.

I hope your Thanksgiving was filled with the warmth of family and friends.

Next stop.... Christmas.

Chili Verde

noreply@blogger.com (Terri) — Mon, 12 Nov 2012 20:12:00 +0000

Where've I been? Fighting blogger burnout. I've had brain drain.

I've been trying to attend a session on Blogger Burnout on Google+ but every time it's scheduled, I already have something in the time slot. Grrrr. But, this morning I found the video of the session I wanted to attend and got some real good pointers. I have little self-examination to do, but I might just have started my creative engine again.

I'm not sure I'm in full go mode, but I'm trying. We'll see how it goes.

So, on to the Chili Verde. Has the weather turned cold where you are? Yeah, here, too.

Cold is not my favorite time of year. The older I get, the more I get like Joe, our mostly-Maltese. When the weather turns cool, you are more than likely to find him curled up under a quilt. Me, too.

Autumn is the time of year for soups, stews, chowders and chili. I love a bowl of something hot and scrumptious with a crusty baguette, cornbread muffin, biscuit or warm tortilla. I like all kinds of anything served up piping hot in a bowl, but rich and hearty is my first choice, whether it's fish, beef, pork, lamb, thick, creamy or brothy. I like them all and luckily I have created quite a collection. I just recently add this one to my repertoire.

This recipe is for the day when you have a few hours to let it cook on the stove top in a big pot and enjoy the wonderful aroma from the kitchen while you clean the house, return emails, or write your own blog post.

Verde translated means "green". The sauce consists of green ingredients: tomatillos, chilies and cilantro. And I like that this recipe uses mostly fresh ingredients, except for one small can of diced green chilies. No cans of beans. No enchilada sauce. No canned tomatoes. And the flavor sings because of it.

Chili Verde

2 pounds tomatillos, husks removed, rinsed well and cut in half
2 onions, quartered
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 Poblano peppers, roasted, peeled, seeded and diced
1 bunch cilantro, leaves picked and roughly chopped
4 lbs (approximately) pork shoulder (pork butt), excess fat trimmed and cut into 2-inch cubes
1-1/2 cups frozen (thawed) or fresh corn
1 - 4-ounce can diced green chilies
4 cups chicken stock
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon ancho chili powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
salt and pepper
olive oil

Preheat oven to 425˚

Put the halved tomatillos and quartered onions into a large bowl. Drizzle with a little olive oil, sprinkle generously with salt and pepper and stir to coat evenly.

Spread the mixture on a large baking sheet and roast in the oven until the tomatillos and onions are slightly browned, about 1 hour.

Remove the tomatillos and onions from the oven and set aside to cool slightly. Do not pour off the liquid. You will add that to the pot later.

While the tomatillos are cooling, season the pork cubes with salt and pepper. Heat a little olive oil in a large pot on medium high heat and working in batches of a few at a time brown the pork cubes on all sides. Remove each batch from the pot and continue until all the pork cubes are browned.

Add the garlic to the pot and cook on medium heat until it is fragrant. Do not allow it to brown or it will turn bitter. Remove the pan from the heat.

In a food processor, again working in batches, add a few of the roasted tomatillos and onions, some of the cilantro and the roasted Poblanos and pulse until pureed. Pour the mixture into the pot with the garlic. Continue until all of the tomatillos, onions, cilantro and Poblano peppers are pureed and added to the pot.

Add the browned pork cubes back into the pot with the tomatillo sauce. Now, add the reserved liquid from the roasted tomatillos, the chicken stock, the can of diced green chilies, oregano, cumin, ancho chili powder, cinnamon and cloves and mix well. Season very lightly with salt and pepper. You can correct the seasoning later.

Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and gently simmer the chili for about 2 hours, stirring occasionally, then add the corn. Return the chili to a simmer and continue cooking until the pork is fork tender, approximately one more hour, for a total of 3 hours. Correct the seasoning if necessary, adding a little salt and pepper.

Serve hot with cornbread or warm tortillas.

Pumpkin Walnut Baklava and a Guest Post

noreply@blogger.com (Terri) — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 13:06:00 +0000

This is what the finished product looks like...

Every October, Gina of Desperately Seeing {Gina} puts together a Month of Pumpkin. This year she invited other food and craft bloggers to be guest posters and I was honored to be invited to post a recipe. If you'd like to see how it's made and get the recipe, hop on over to Desperately Seeking {Gina} for a look at Pumpkin Walnut Baklava ...

Fajita Seasoning Mix & Grilled Fish Soft Tacos

noreply@blogger.com (Terri) — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 19:14:00 +0000

I don't always cook complicated meals. Just like you, I like to get dinner on the table in a hurry and be done with it.

One way I accomplish a quick meal is to keep things on hand that help me do that. But I don't particularly like packaged prepared foods, sauces or seasonings, with a few exceptions. I try whenever possible to make my own. I like being able to control the salt content and eliminate MSG and preservatives.

I mix all the herbs and spices for each type of seasoning in a bowl and store them in jars. I put labels on the jars as well as necessary measurement instructions using my handy dandy label maker. Easy peasy.

I used the Fajita Seasoning for the 'Grilled' Fish Tacos.

For a quick meal, I also like to keep items in my freezer that thaw quickly, like this bag of individually packaged tilapia fillets.

Granted, these packaged fillets are small and thin. They're not the most ideal size for frying, baking or grilling as an entree in and of themselves. Honestly, the only thing they are really good for is for fish tacos, chowders, stuffings or ceviche. But that's fine by me because I make those types of dishes quite often.

I like these bags of fillets because I can take out as many individual packs as I need, toss the packs of fillets in a large bowl of lukewarm water and in 5 or 10 minutes, they are thawed and ready to cook. And that is exactly what I did for the fish tacos.

Once I had the packs of fillets in the bowl of water, I wrapped corn tortillas in some foil and put them in a 300 degree oven to warm up. I didn't want to take the time to make a taco sauce, so I poured some ranch dressing that I'd made a few days earlier into a small bowl and added a heaping teaspoon of Tone's Southwest Chipotle Seasoning and mixed it well. Then I chopped up some onion, tomato and cilantro and set them aside in separate bowls. By the time I finished that, the fillets were thawed. I removed each of them from the bags and seasoned them with a good sprinkling of the Fajita Seasoning on both sides and set them aside on a plate.

With just about everything else ready to go, I heated my frying pan and added about 1/2 tablespoon of oil and cooked the fish a couple of minutes on each side. Done!

All that was left to do was add some shredded lettuce or cabbage and some shredded cheese, maybe even some avocado if you have it. If you prefer, you could instead make a grilled fish salad, adding some canned pinto or black beans.

Dinner is on the table in 15 or 20 minutes, from start to finish. And delicious!

Fajita Seasoning

2 tablespoons onion powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon oregano
1 tablespoon white pepper
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon Tone’s Southwest Chipotle seasoning
1 teaspoon salt

Mix spices together and use for seasoning chicken, shrimp and beef fajitas, as well as seasoning onions and bell peppers before grilling or sauteing.

Spicy Mexican Chocolate Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Terri) — Wed, 12 Sep 2012 20:29:00 +0000

Over a year ago, Tom and I went out to dinner with a few members of his family. As most folks sat eating their desserts, my nephew's wife pulled a chocolate bar out of her purse, opened it up and asked if anyone wanted a piece.

"What kind is it?" I asked.

"Chocolate Chili," she said.

It was the first time I'd tasted sweet chocolate and heat together. I loved it.

Fast forward. I decided to try the combination in a chocolate cookie, attempting to emulate the flavors in Mexican hot chocolate, but with a little kick. I took my best chocolate cookie recipe, added cinnamon, vanilla extract, Ancho chili powder and cayenne. The result was a cookie that is chewy, sweet and chocolatey at first bite, but once it begins to melt in your mouth, the flavor of the Ancho chili emerges and you feel the heat of the cayenne. They were, in a word: delicious. They were so good, in fact, that I didn't really want to share them, but I had to or we would have eaten every single one of them.

Who would have thought a cookie would be unpopular? Not me.

Color me shocked when I took a bag of these cookies into the Clothes Closet where I volunteer and came home with a bag still full of cookies minus maybe half a dozen tops. The feedback was too spicy, except for the volunteer in his 80's who smacked his lips, held up his second cookie and said with a twinkle in his eye, "these are good!"

Well, Tom and I thought so too. We happily ate the remaining cookies!

I had toyed with the idea of using a chocolate cookie recipe and adding bacon, but I sort of already did that with the Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Bacon Cookies. And I wasn't all that sure about adding bacon to something with such a delicate balance of spices, so this time I left out the bacon.

I know. I know. Some of you will chastise me for the omission. But trust me, you won't miss it.

If you must have bacon, fry up 3 or 4 pieces, drain them well, chop them up and add them at the same time you add the chocolate chips. I won't be offended.

Spicy Mexican Chocolate Cookies

1 cup, plus 2 tablespoons butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup light brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tablespoon vanilla
2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon Kosher salt
1 teaspoon Ancho chili powder
1 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 tablespoons instant espresso powder
1 - 12-ounce package semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

With a hand or stand mixer, cream the butter and sugars until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Add the vanilla and mix well.

In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, chili powder, cayenne and espresso powder. Make sure all ingredients are mixed well.

Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture a cup at a time, mixing gently on low speed after each addition until all the ingredients are just combined. Do not over mix. Use a silicone spatula to stir in the chocolate chips (and chopped bacon, if you are adding it).

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat. Drop nice rounded teaspoonfuls of dough on to the cookie sheet about 2-inches apart. I have a small 1-1/2-inch inexpensive ice cream scoop I use strictly for scooping cookie dough. It measures the dough perfectly and the cookies come out uniform.

Bake for 12 to 14-minutes. Cool on a wire rack covered with paper towels.

I dare you to eat just one.

Lions and Tigers and Bears! Oh My!

noreply@blogger.com (Terri) — Mon, 27 Aug 2012 16:12:00 +0000

Or, I'm back from vacation...

Emptying suitcases. Mounds of laundry. Grocery shopping to fill up the empty refrigerator AND trying to decide what to make for dinner. Picking up Joe from the {wink, wink} Doggie Spa, where he also received a much needed bath and haircut.

Tom has meetings with clients and contractors all day up through 6:00 tonight. They obviously missed him.

Back to life as we know it. More to come.

AWOL

noreply@blogger.com (Terri) — Sat, 28 Jul 2012 17:10:00 +0000

It's been awhile. But I have a good excuse. I've had a houseful of guests for the last couple of weeks.

First, my favorite niece and her three adorable kiddos stayed with us for a week. What fun!

Then we were fortunate to have our oldest son, Mike, his wife, Kathy, and my two granddaughters, Lily (age 9) and Zoey (age 8) visit for a week. Great times! Sadly, toward the end of their visit a came down with a summer chest cold, which I have not been able to shake since they left last Tuesday.

But we've still been cooking. Hey, we gotta eat!

I'll be back soon. Stay tuned....

Ricotta Gnudi with Wild Mushroom and Truffle Sauce

noreply@blogger.com (Terri) — Sun, 08 Jul 2012 19:50:00 +0000

I started subscribing to Bon Appetit magazine about 3 years. Up until then I would buy the magazine only occasionally when I was attracted to something yummy looking on the cover. By the time I started buying it nearly every month, I thought it would be best - and cheaper - if I caved in and subscribed.

The subscription card I used advertised a free-gift-with-subscription, a "Tastes of Italy" cookbook. The cookbook turned out to be a small, pocket-sized 42-page booklet of recipes from Appetizers to Desserts, but as demure as it is in stature, it consists of many recipes that are big on flavor. Tom and I have prepared what have become many favorites from its pages. This recipe is one.

So what is Gnudi (correctly pronounced nyoo-dee, but in our house it's simply noo-dee)? It's a little like Gnocchi, but more tender because it uses cheese instead of potatoes and contains less flour. The texture is more like a light and tender old fashioned dumpling.

Granted this dish takes a little time, even if you don't make your own Ricotta cheese like I do. But I swear to you, if you love Italian food, if you love pasta, this dish is worth every bit of effort. The contrast of the rich, tender dumplings with the earthy meatiness of the mushrooms in the herby broth and the hint of black truffle oil is truly Yuuummmmm inspiring. The tender dumplings almost melt in your mouth. I especially love that extra little crunch of the crisped prosciutto and fried fresh sage leaves.

We did have to make a slight adjustment to the recipe for the sauce. The original recipe calls for "wild" mushrooms. I have difficulty finding any specialty produce locally. Shitaki is about the wildest mushroom we get in these parts. To avoid driving all the way to Little Rock for oyster, trumpet or enoki mushrooms, I used a mixture of shitaki, crimini (also called baby bellas) and white button mushrooms. When you slice the shitaki mushrooms, discard the stems or toss them in your compost pile. The stems are woody and will become stringy and inedible during cooking.

Although I purchase my black truffle oil online, I've seen it for sale locally in the kitchen department at T.J. Maxx.

So now that we have all the necessary ingredients, let's get started. You will just have to take this dish a step at a time and you'll start by making the Gnudi. Gather just a few simple ingredients: fresh ricotta, an egg, grated Pecorino Romano cheese, salt, white pepper and flour.

If you've purchased your ricotta, you'll need to drain it in a colander using paper towels or cheese cloth. While the ricotta is draining, mix the egg, Romano cheese, salt and pepper together until well blended, mix in the ricotta, then sprinkle with 1/4 of a cup of the flour and stir in gently to blend.

Voila! You've prepared the Gnudi dough. Easy peasy. Now just cover it and chill the dough for an hour. You can even make the dough a day ahead and chill it overnight.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper and put some flour in a bowl.

For each Gnudi, gently roll one heaping teaspoonful of dough into a ball, place it in the bowl of flour, toss to lightly coat, then shape the ball into a short log and place the log onto the baking sheet.

I know you're wondering about those ridges on the dough. Tom loves this gadget...

It's a Gnocchi board. It's about 8-inches long, including the handle. Tom likes the way it makes the Gnudi and Gnocchi look professionally made. Though very traditional in Italian cooking, it is not really necessary, but it's cheap (under $10) and easy to use. You just roll each piece of dough gently over the surface of the paddle.

Anyway, when you've used all the dough to shape your Gnudi, cover it and keep it refrigerated while you prepare the sauce.

First crisp up the prosciutto in a frying pan and drain on a paper towel. Then fry up some fresh sage leaves until their crispy and drain. Set those aside.

Now add the aromatics to the pan: shallots, thyme and chopped fresh sage leaves.

Sauté gently and once the shallots are translucent, add the mushrooms and sauté until the mushrooms are brown and the mushroom liquid has evaporated.

Remove the mushroom mixture from the pan to a bowl. Add chicken broth to the pan, bring it to a boil and simmer until slightly reduced. Turn off the heat under the pan and add a teaspoon of truffle oil (or more, if you want a stronger truffle flavor) to the liquid and stir, then add the mushroom mixture back into the pan. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Keep warm while you prepare the Gnudi.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add a couple of teaspoons of salt. Cook the Gnudi in the boiling water until very tender, about 8 minutes.

While the Gnudi is cooking, rewarm the sauce over medium heat and add a 1/2 a stick of butter cut into small cubes and mix with the sauce until butter is melted and well blended.

When the Gnudi is done, remove it from the boiling water to a strainer, then transfer it to the pot with the sauce. Toss with the sauce until the Gnudi is well coated. Dump it all into a large shallow pasta bowl and top with crumbled prosciutto and crispy sage leaves and serve with additional grated Pecorino Romano cheese and hot crusty bread.

Ricotta Gnudi with Wild Mushroom and Truffle Sauce
Adapted from Bon Appetit

For the Gnudi:

1 pound fresh ricotta cheese
1 large egg
1/3 cup finely grated Pecorino Romano cheese, plus additional for serving
1/2 teaspoon salt
large pinch of ground white pepper
3/4 cup all-purpose flour, plus additional for coating

For the Sauce and Garnishes:

5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
6 thin slices prosciutto
12 whole fresh sage leaves, stems removed
2 pounds fresh wild mushrooms, sliced (stemmed shitaki, oyster, enoki, trumpet) I used a combination of shitaki, crimini and white button mushrooms
2 large shallots, chopped
6 springs fresh thyme
2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
2 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon black truffle oil (or more according to your taste preference)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, diced

For the Gnudi:

If you did not make your own ricotta, line a colander with cheesecloth or several layers of paper towels. Spoon the container of ricotta cheese into the colander and allow to drain at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour.

When the ricotta is almost drained, beat the egg, 1/3 cup Pecorino Romano cheese, salt, and white pepper in large bowl to blend. Mix in the ricotta. Sprinkle 3/4 cup flour over and stir gently to blend. Cover and chill dough 1 hour. This can be made 1 day ahead, but keep chilled.

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or plastic wrap. Place some flour in bowl. For each gnudi, gently roll 1 heaping teaspoonful of dough into ball. Add to flour; toss to coat lightly, shaping into short log. Place on baking sheet. Cover and chill (up to 4 hours) while making the sauce.

For the Sauce and Garnishes:

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large pot or extra-large skillet over medium-high heat. Add 3 prosciutto slices. Cook until beginning to brown, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer to paper towels. Repeat with remaining prosciutto. Add whole sage leaves to the pan; sauté until crisp, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to paper towels.

Heat remaining 4 tablespoons oil in same pan over medium-high heat. Add the shallots, thyme, and chopped sage sauté until the shallots are translucent. Add all of the mushrooms and sauté until brown and their liquids evaporate, about 12 minutes. Transfer the mushroom mixture to bowl. Add the chicken broth to same pan and boil until the broth is slightly reduced, scraping up browned bits, about 7 minutes. Remove from heat. Add 1 teaspoon truffle oil and mushroom mixture back to the pan. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Turn off the heat and set aside.

Bring a large pot of water and 2 teaspoons of salt to a boil. Add the Gnudi and cook in the boiling salted water until very tender, about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, turn the heat back on under the sauce to rewarm. Add butter; toss until blended.

When the Gnudi is done, remove it from the boiling water to a strainer, then transfer it to the pan with the sauce. Toss with the sauce until the Gnudi is well coated. Dump it all into a large shallow pasta bowl and top with crumbled prosciutto and crispy sage leaves and serve with additional grated Pecorino Romano cheese and hot crusty bread.

Maple Bacon Baklava

noreply@blogger.com (Terri) — Mon, 25 Jun 2012 19:25:00 +0000

I know what you're thinking. I can see it in your eyes. You don't think you can make baklava. In fact, you're sure you don't even want to try. It's too complicated. The phyllo dough is too delicate. You'd rather bake a cake or a pie.

Don't be discouraged. I'll help you. Step by step. It's really easy. And I have a confession. This was my first time making baklava. You read that correctly. This was my first time. My baklava inauguration.

Now, I made sure to scour the internet for lots of input and instruction and I found this awesome video that showed me what to do and how to do it.

The video gives instructions on how to make a more traditional baklava with nuts, honey, butter and lemon, but I wanted to add bacon to mine and add some maple flavor to the syrup to compliment the bacon, so I adjusted the recipe accordingly and not only did it exceed my expectations, it turned out addictively wonderful.

First the phyllo dough. It's in the freezer section in the grocery store and comes in one pound packages, two half-pound rolls. Take out one roll, which is about 20 sheets of phyllo dough and allow it to thaw at room temperature.

While the dough is thawing, cook a pound of bacon until it's really crisp, but be careful not to burn it. Remove it from the pan to a paper towel to drain and cool. Then chop it up, put it in a bowl and set it aside.

Put one 8-ounce package of walnut pieces into a food processor and pulse a few times until the walnuts are finely ground. Don't run the processor too long each time. Just a few quick pulses, otherwise you'll get walnut butter and that's not what you're going for.

Now, mix the ground walnuts and chopped bacon in a bowl with about 1/3 of a cup of brown sugar. You can use dark or light.

Put two sticks of butter in a small saucepan and melt it over medium heat, being careful not to scorch or burn it. Just let it melt slowly. Once the butter is melted, turn off the heat and let it sit. Get a clean kitchen towel, run it under the faucet until it's wet all the way through, then ring it out until it's just damp.

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Are you ready? Open the roll of phyllo dough and discard the paper. Gently unroll the phyllo dough until it lays flat on the counter. You can use a cookie sheet if you feel uncomfortable letting it rest on the counter. Cover the dough with the damp towel. Meanwhile, pull a 9- X 13-inch baking pan out of the cabinet and set it aside. There's no need to grease the pan or use a cooking spray. The butter will keep it from sticking to the pan.

I know there are baklava recipes that caution you to butter each layer of phyllo dough. We're not going to do that. It's really not necessary and you'll see why in a little bit.

Uncover the phyllo dough and put one layer of phyllo dough in the bottom of the pan. If it comes up the sides a little, that's okay. Now put down five more layers, for a total of six layers of dough. Sprinkle about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of the bacon/walnut mixture over the first layer, so it looks like this...

Top the bacon/walnut mixture with two layers of phyllo dough. If the dough tears or cracks, just gently move it in place and continue with layering the phyllo dough and bacon/nut mixture until you have five layers ending with the bacon/nut mixture. You should have used all of the bacon/nut mixture and have about six sheets of phyllo dough left. Place the six sheets of phyllo dough one at a time over the last layer of bacon/nut mixture.

Now, you're going to cut it. It's okay. You'll do fine. Take a deep breath. Grab a sharp serrated knife and get started. I made my first cut lengthwise down the middle. I would recommend that you do the same. Gently cut all the way through to the bottom of the pan, holding the phyllo dough in place with the fingers of your free hand on either side of the knife. I made bite-sized pieces (like a 2-bite brownie).

You're not going to cut it in the opposite direction just yet. Now it's time for the butter. Turn the heat back on under the butter to warm it back up again. Once it is hot, use a spoon to pour the butter over the baklava, making sure that it drizzles down into the cuts. Use all of the butter. If it settles on top of the baklava, pick up the baking dish and rock it back and forth so that any remaining pools of butter soaks into the cuts and down the sides.

Now that the phyllo dough is soaked with the butter, it will make it easier to cut in the opposite direction into individual pieces. Using the same method you used for cutting lengthwise, turn the pan and cut the baklava into individual pieces, holding the phyllo dough in place with the fingers of your free hand.

Okay, the nerve wracking part is over. The rest is smooth sailing. Put the baklava in the preheated oven and bake for about 30 minutes or until it is a golden brown.

While the baklava is in the oven, prepare the syrup. In a small pan, heat together 3/4 cup pure maple syrup and 1/4 cup of water. Bring the syrup to a boil and simmer for a few minutes. Keep it hot, but do not boil down.

As soon as you remove the baklava from the oven, use a spoon to drizzle the hot syrup evenly over the baklava. Use all of the syrup.

There. You're done. You've made baklava.

Of course, two little pieces are missing, but that's okay. You had to taste it to make sure it met your expectations.

Maple Bacon Baklava

1/2 pound frozen phyllo dough, thawed (about 20 sheets)
1- pound bacon, cooked until very crispy and chopped
1 - 8-ounce package walnut pieces, ground
1/3 cup brown sugar
2 sticks (1/2 pound) butter
3/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine bacon, walnuts and brown sugar in a bowl. Set aside.

Gently unroll the phyllo dough and cover with a damp towel to keep it from drying out.

In a 9- X 13-inch baking pan, lay out six layers of phyllo dough one at a time on top of each other. Sprinkle about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of the bacon/walnut mixture over the first layers of dough. Lay two sheets of phyllo dough on top of bacon/walnut mixture. Sprinkle again with 1/3 to 1/2 cup of the bacon/walnut mixture. Continue layering bacon/walnut mixture and two layers of phyllo dough until you have five layers of the bacon/nut mixture. You should have used all of the bacon/nut mixture. Top last layer of bacon/nut mixture with six remaining phyllo dough sheets, one at a time.

Using a sharp serrated knife, make your first cut lengthwise down the middle. Gently cut all the way through to the bottom of the pan, holding the phyllo dough in place with the fingers of your free hand on either side of the knife. For individual bite-sized servings, cut six equal lengths. Do not cut in the opposite direction yet.

Melt the butter in a small pan over medium heat, being careful not to scorch or burn. Once it has melted, use a spoon to pour the butter over the baklava, making sure that it drizzles down into the cuts and along the sides. Use all of the butter. If it settles on top of the baklava, pick up the baking dish and rock it back and forth so that any remaining pools of butter soaks into the cuts and down the sides.

Now that the phyllo dough is soaked with the butter, it will make it easier to cut in the opposite direction into individual pieces. Using the same method you used for cutting lengthwise, turn the pan and cut the baklava into individual pieces, holding the phyllo dough in place with the fingers of your free hand.

Bake in preheated oven for 30 minutes or until lightly golden brown.

While the baklava is in the oven, combine the syrup and water in a small pan and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat, but keep warm.

When the baklava is done, remove it from the oven and drizzle immediately with the hot syrup. Allow to cool completely before serving.

Peanut Butter - Bacon - Chocolate Chip Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Terri) — Sat, 16 Jun 2012 21:44:00 +0000

Have I mentioned I have a freezer full of bacon I bought on sale? Nine pounds of it. Yeah, I think I have a time or two.

It's not that I want to use all of that bacon up quickly. It's merely that I'm now obsessed with everything bacon. Appetizers, like this recipe I found for Bacon Double Cheeseburger Dip that I've been wanting to try. The Bacon Vodka I made a while back.

The Roasted Potato Salad with Bacon and Blue Cheese that I made last summer.

Or that addicting Bacon Jam

But more than that, I've been completely fascinated with preparing pastries and other sweets containing bacon, which is how I came to make the Chocolate Cupcakes with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting & Bacon Streusel

So last week I made Peanut Butter~Bacon~Chocolate Chip Cookies. I mean, really. You cannot go wrong with peanut butter, bacon and chocolate chips.

When I took the bulk of the batch into Wesley Church where I volunteer in the Clothes Closet, I heard a lot of Mmmmmmm's as folks passed by our door. One of our oldest volunteers, an 80-year old gentleman, peeked his head in the door of our room and said, with a big smile on his face, "Terri, these are good!"

Yes, they were good. They are so good that I had to get rid of them. I am ashamed to admit that I didn't share with my fellow volunteers because I'm a sweet, giving person. I had to get those cookies out of my house before Tom and I ate all of them!

You are going to start by cooking some bacon until it's crisp and reserving a little of the rendered bacon fat.

Then you'll mix the dry ingredients together and set aside while you beat up some softened butter, peanut butter, the reserved bacon grease, sugar, egg and vanilla extract. Then you'll add the flour, chopped up bacon and some mini-chocolate chips and that's it.

I thought if I baked the cookies just as they came out of the scoop, they'd flatten while baking. That didn't happen. When I started like this...

They came out like this....

Round little morsels. But I wanted more of a "cookie" form, so with the second tray I decided to smoosh them down a little before I baked them...

And you can see the difference...

But you can make which ever way you think you would prefer.

Peanut Butter, Bacon, Chocolate Chip Cookies
Adapted from The Endless Meal

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon salt

6 strips bacon, preferably thick cut

2 tablespoons rendered bacon fat, reserved from cooking bacon

4 tablespoons butter or margarine, room temperature

1/2 cup peanut butter, creamy or crunchy

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup packed dark or light brown sugar

1 egg

1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1/3 cup semi-sweet mini chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cook the bacon in a frying pan over medium to medium high heat until all of the bacon is crisp, turning frequently. Remove from the pan to a paper towel. Measure 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat into a small pinch bowl and set aside to cool.

In a small bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon and salt. Using a whisk, mix the ingredients together until completely combined. Set aside.

Roughly chop the bacon pieces and set aside.

In a medium sized bowl, beat the butter or margarine with the reserved bacon fat until the mixture is smooth, about a minute. Add the peanut butter and beat until smooth, about another minute. Beat in both sugars until light and creamy, about 4 minutes. Add the egg and vanilla extract and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 more minutes.

Add half of the flour mixture and beat until combined. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add the remaining flour mixture and mix until just combined.

Using a spoon or rubber spatula, mix in the bacon and chocolate chips.

Form the dough into 1-inch balls (I use a 1-inch ice cream scoop for this) and place on an ungreased baking sheet about 2-inches apart. If you prefer a flatter cookie, press down gently on the dough with your fingers to slightly flatten the cookie ball.

Bake in the preheated oven for 8 minutes for chewy cookies, or 10 - 12 minutes for crispier cookies.

Let the cookies cool about 2 minutes before removing from baking sheets. Transfer to a rack to cool completely.

Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

So what's up next? I'm thinking Maple Bacon Baklava. Stay tuned....

Spicy Cajun Shrimp on Sauteed Kale and Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Chorizo Cream Sauce

noreply@blogger.com (Terri) — Sat, 02 Jun 2012 18:50:00 +0000

Cajun spices and Mexican chorizo? Yep. They go together. They even compliment each other.

The contrasts in this dish are remarkable. I love the spiciness and succulence of the shrimp mingled with the sweetness of the potatoes and the earthiness of the kale and when it's finished with a healthy drizzle of the chorizo sausage cream sauce, the flavor is knocked out of the park. Make no mistake, this is a spicy dish, but worth the heat.

Although there are several components, the dish comes together nicely since the kale and cream sauce can be made while potatoes are baking. The shrimp is done at the last minute.

Although the recipe uses kale, which I used, I think you could use any kind of greens you like, such as spinach, turnip or beet greens.

I started with the recipe Kevin posted at his blog, Closet Cooking, but I changed it up a bit and substituted Mexican chorizo for the Andouille sausage Kevin used.

Cajun Shrimp on Kale and Mashed Sweet Potatoes with Chorizo Cream Sauce

For the mashed sweet potatoes:

2 large sweet potatoes
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

For the shrimp:

1 pound shrimp, shelled and deveined
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning

For the Chorizo Cream Sauce:

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/3 to 1/2 of a 10-ounce tube of chorizo (not smoked) - depends on how much spice you like
1/4 cup onion, finely diced
1/4 cup celery, finely diced
1 clove garlic, finely minced
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 cup white wine or low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon butter

For the kale:

1 bunch kale, stems removed and coarsely chopped
2 tablespoons butter
salt and pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 400⁰F

Wash and dry the sweet potatoes and bake until tender, about one hour.

While the potatoes are baking, heat a small saucepan over medium heat. Add the chorizo and break up with a fork as it cooks. Saute the chorizo until cooked all the way through, about 4 or 5 minutes. Increase the heat to medium-high, add the onion and celery and saute until translucent, another 4 or 5 minutes. Add the garlic and thyme and saute another minute. Add the wine or broth, scraping all the bits from the sides and bottom of the pan. Cook until the liquid is reduced by about half. Add the cream and simmer until it is reduced again by about half. Whisk in the butter, then remove the pan from the heat, set aside and keep warm.

Remove the sweet potatoes from the oven, cut them in half and scoop out into a bowl. Mash well with a fork, then mix in the butter and cinnamon. Cover to keep warm and set aside.

In a medium frying pan, melt the 2 tablespoons of butter for the kale. Add the kale and saute until tender, about 4 to 5 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set aside.

In a bowl, toss the shrimp, olive oil and Cajun seasoning together until the shrimp is evenly coated.

Melt the butter in another frying pan over medium-high heat. Add the shrimp to the pan and cook about 1-1/2 to 2 minutes on each side. Remove the pan from the heat.

To serve, divide the mashed sweet potatoes between four plates, top with a portion of kale, a portion of shrimp and drizzle with the chorizo cream sauce.

Layla's Gyros and Pizzeria - A Review

noreply@blogger.com (Terri) — Wed, 30 May 2012 18:22:00 +0000

Last Saturday, Tom and I did some running around. First thing in the morning we made a trip to Sam's Club in Little Rock for bulk items, then to the grocery store for general shopping.

After unloading all the groceries and before we headed out to Conway Commons, we decided to go to lunch. But when we arrived at our destination to partake in the gyro I was craving, the parking lot was empty, the lights were off and the doors were locked tight. What? Memorial Day weekend? Arrgghh!

You're probably not as self-centered as I am, so when you encounter a disappointment such as this, you just move on, pick another restaurant and enjoy your lunch. Not me.

You know, if you've been reading my blog for any length of time, we don't go out to eat very often. I don't like fast food. I stay away from chain restaurants. Buffets, in my admittedly very narrow view, are just fast food in bulk.

When we go out to eat, we're (I'm) insufferably picky. Mike's Place. Fuji. Sometimes Michaelangelo's. And our go-to gyro place, which will remain nameless.

So what did I do when I discovered our go-to gyro place was closed? I did what I usually do....I used profanity, then pouted. "Let's just skip lunch and get our shopping out of the way," I said. {More pouting.}

However, as we drove toward Conway Commons, Tom noticed Layla's Gyros and Pizzeria.

"I don't want pizza," I said, still pouting

"It says 'Layla's Gyros'," Tom impatiently emphasized.

"Okay," and I turned down the next street and doubled back to Layla's parking lot, knowing I was going to be excruciatingly disappointed.

Layla's chef/owner, Mahmoud Jlilati, owns three locations: two in Little Rock and one in Conway. I wouldn't really call that your typical chain, but maybe I'm merely trying to justify really liking it.

Instead of a gyro, I ordered the Falafel Platter, which was four nice sized, traditionally shaped chick-pea croquettes, a generous serving of hummus, cool tzatziki sauce and pieces of warm pita bread.

Please forgive the photo. I took it with my phone. It does not do the food justice.

The falafels were amazing; crunchy on the outside, tender on the inside and sprinkled with an earthy ground spice I later learned was samak (another spelling for sumac). The chick-peas were flavorful, but Mediterranean spices present in each bite without over-powering. I topped a triangle of warm pita bread with a nice piece of falafel and dipped it into the tzatziki sauce. I'm hungry all over again.

The hummus was the creamiest, most flavorful I've ever tasted. This hummus was not from a plastic tub. I could taste everything in each bite; fresh made chick-peas (not canned) mixed with sesame tahini, lemon, olive oil and garlic; then drizzled with the slightly spicy reddish colored olive oil. Oh my. I thought the chef had sprinkled the hummus with hot paprika, but later learned he uses just a smidge of cayenne pepper to add a little heat to the olive oil.

The tzatziki sauce was just as good. It was smooth, not chunky like some I've tasted (like mine, for instance), but the flavor of the cucumber very prevalent and cooling.

Tom ordered the Greek Pizza and chose gyro as the meat topping.

The chef spreads pita or naan-type bread with a generous amount of mozzarella and feta cheeses, adds samak marinated onions and gyro meat and when the hot pizza comes out of the oven, he sprinkles it with fresh chopped tomatoes. Tom loved it and particularly liked the contrast of the hot pizza with the cool fresh tomatoes.

We both could only eat about half of what we ordered, so we boxed up the rest for dinner that evening, plus we ordered an extra serving of that delectable hummus.

Needless to say, we were overjoyed with our unexpected food find and we'll be heading back soon. I'll definitely try a Gyro and some Baba Ghannouj (baked eggplant puree with sesame tahini, parsley, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil). But what really intrigues me is the Goat Plate.

Layla's is now open 7 days: Monday through Thursday 11am to 9pm, Friday & Saturday 11am to 10pm and Sunday 11am to 5pm. You can review their menu at www.laylasgyro.com