From Laptop to Stovetop

The Full Box of Noodles

2011-01-27T16:31:00.000-05:00

Lasagne or Lasagna? Either way, it's just perfect when you have this during the cold winter months. It slow bakes and all the cheeses meld together and it's very yummy.

I often make lasagna with homemade pasta but this time the Barilla was on sale and I grabbed a box. I didn't realize that only a half box was needed for a recipe. That means 3 noodles wide, 3 layers tall so 9 noodles are all that is needed. I made the whole box. Can you believe I used all 18 noodles? And the result? This absolutely yummy 6 layer lasagna!

I was a bit short on ricotta and stretched it with some parmesan and some defrosted chopped spinach. The sauce was made with ground beef, italian sausage, yellow bell peppers, onions, garlic, mushroom slices, and homemade canned tomatoes.

Leek Bread Pudding

2010-09-19T12:29:00.004-04:00

I got this recipe from a friend on a recipe list. As I read it, I thought, this has to be very good. Mental note to get the right bread.

I had some leeks in the fridge and knew they would be perfect for this! It was. I served it with pork chops and one of these crocks I made of bread pudding/stuffing served two people.

I halved the recipe except stuck with the 2 cups of leeks. I'm glad I did because they cooked down quite a bit. I also used gruyere cheese instead of the Comte. I'm sure you could use half and half instead of both milk and heavy cream.

Leek Bread Pudding
Recipe By: Ad Hoc At HomePublished in: Best of the Best Cookbook Recipes

2 cups leeks -- 1/2 inch slices (white and very light green parts only)
kosher salt
4 tablespoons butter
black pepper
12 cup brioche or Pullman sandwich loaf in 1 inch cubes
1 tablespoon finely chopped chives
1 teaspoon thyme leaves
3 large eggs
3 cups milk -- whole
3 cups heavy cream
grated nutmeg
1 cup Comte or Emmentaler -- shredded

Preheat the oven to 350F

Clean the leek rounds well in a bowl of cool water.Set a medium saucepan over medium high heat, Lift the leeks from the water, drain, and add them to the pan. Season with salt and cook, stirring often, for about 5 minutes. As the leeks begin to soften lower the heat to medium low. The leeks will release liquid. Stir in the butter to emulsify, and season with pepper to taste. Cover the pan with parchment lid, and cook, stirring every 10 minutes, until the leeks are very soft, 30 to 35 minutes. If at any point the butter breaks or looks oily, stir in about a tablespoon of water to re-emulsify the sauce. Remove and discard the parchment lid.

Meanwhile spread the bread cubes on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for about 20 minutes, rotating the pan about halfway through, until dry and pale gold. Transfer to a large bowl. Leave the oven on.

Add the leeks to the bread and toss well, then add the chives and thyme. Lightly whisk the eggs in another large bowl. Whisk in the milk, cream, a generous pinch of salt, pepper to taste, and a pinch of nutmeg.

Sprinkle 1/4 cup of the cheese in the bottom of a 9 x 13 inch baking pan. Spread half the leeks and croutons in the pan and sprinkle with another 1/4 cup cheese. Scatter the remaining leeks and croutons over and top with another 1/4 cup cheese. Pour in enough of the custard mixture to cover the bread and press gently on the bread so it soaks in the milk. Let soak for about 15 minutes.

Add the remaining custard, allowing some of the soaked cubes of bread to protrude. Sprinkle the remaining 1/4 cup cheese on top and sprinkle with salt.

Bake for 1 1/2 hours, or until the pudding feels set and the top is brown and bubbling.

Recipe Notes
12 as a side dish, 6 to 8 as a main course

Penzeys Spices, The Spice House and a New Platter!

2010-09-14T17:43:00.005-04:00

Just wanted to share a quick note regarding Penzeys Spices and The Spice House. If you didn't know the daughter of the Penzey family has her own spice company which is The Spice House.

Recently it was time for another giant order of spices and I thought I would give The Spice House a try. They have very similar ingredients to Penzeys but a few nice changes. I do like their packaging if you buy in the bags. Their packages are much smaller and therefore easier to store. Their glass bottles are also nice. The lids don't have the grippy ridges but are more rounded edged and softer.

One thing I noticed about The Spice House is how they have different blends of seasonings as well. I did try the Chicago Steak Seasoning which has a smokey garlic and is very good. I have a nice collection of new spices now.

There shipping is reasonable although I think a bit more than Penzeys, but then I've always had the "slow shipping method" available through Penzeys.

Both are great companies, family friendly and reliable. They both offer detailed product information and quality products. I like both now, but will say The Spice House was a fun shopping experience!

Le Creuset Platter: In the photo above is my new Le Creuset platter which I LOVE. First, reasonable price from Sur la Table ($49.95 USD) which I think is a great price for a Le Creuset product. Second, it's of the same quality you would expect from Sur la Table. Dishwasher, oven, broiler, freezer, and microwave safe. The oven safe is to 500F which means you can cook and serve on one dish! I selected the Cherry color as I love red but there are 4 beautiful colors to choose from! I don't work for or get paid by Sur la Table but it sure is a happy place to shop!

Grilled Reuben Sandwiches from Cuisine at Home

2010-08-28T18:41:00.004-04:00

Just a "brief byte" to say I tried these Cuisine at Home sandwiches today for lunch. They were great. I thought these were tasty and fun to make. I think the slaw could be flexible to use other things like pork sandwiches.

Grilled Rachel Panini with Tangy Horseradish Slaw

Makes: 4 sandwich halves

FOR THE COLESLAW—
1 1⁄2 cups shredded coleslaw mix
1 1⁄2 cups shredded red cabbage
1⁄4 cup sour cream
2 Tbsp. white wine vinegar
2 Tbsp. ketchup
1 Tbsp. prepared horseradish
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tsp sugar
FOR THE SANDWICH—
4 pieces thinly sliced Swiss cheese (2 oz.)
4 slices rye bread
8 oz. thinly sliced turkey pastrami
1 Tbsp. olive oil

See the instructions here on Cuisine at Home.

Peachy Peaches!

2010-08-17T17:23:00.002-04:00

When I think of upside-down cake, I always think pineapple. I received the following recipe which sounded pretty good and I thought I had better buy some fresh peaches since it's the season in Michigan.

My favorite farm market has the most beautiful peaches right now. I bought a large bag of them and came home to search my peach recipes.

I selected this one called Peach Upside-Down Cake. I am taking this to work tomorrow.

Peach Upside-Down Cake
3 cups thinly sliced peeled peaches -- (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1 teaspoon lemon juice
Cooking spray
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup butter -- softened
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
2 1/4 cups vanilla fat-free frozen yogurt
6 tablespoons fat-free caramel sundae syrup -- warmed

Preheat oven to 350°.

Combine the first 4 ingredients in a bowl. Spoon into a 9-inch round cake pan coated with cooking spray.

Place 2/3 cup sugar and next 4 ingredients (2/3 cup sugar through egg) in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (for about 5 minutes). Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, stirring well with a whisk. Add the flour mixture to sugar mixture alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with flour mixture; mix after each addition.

Spoon batter over peach mixture in pan. Bake at 350° for 45 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool for 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack. Place a plate upside down on top of cake, and invert onto plate. Serve warm with frozen yogurt and the caramel syrup.

Note: I received the following recipe through an online group. The source noted was provided to me and I am not able to verify accuracy. Author: Cooking Light , AUGUST 2001.

My changes:
I did not serve with the ice cream or the caramel sauce.

Tip: peeling peaches is much easier if you blanch in boiling water for about 30 seconds. The skins will slip right off.

UNDER CONSTRUCTION

2010-08-17T16:35:00.002-04:00

Please bear with me as I work on my blog. I'd like to do a bit more with my blog and so some appearances may be changing. Background photo is a test at this point.

Thanks for being patient!

Happy Birthday to Susan Branch!

2010-04-12T16:30:00.000-04:00

December 1993. I had announced I was moving to North Carolina. Leaving home for the first time, leaving my friends, family, and my job. I was packing it all up and heading to North Carolina. For love.

That Christmas my mother gave me a cookbook. I flipped through the pages and put it aside. I was 20, leaving home for the first time, what did I need a cookbook for? Cookbooks were not on my list of needs. My list contained items like, tell mover's to take the mom and dad's couch, steal some of dad's tools for hanging pictures and Mom won't miss that cabinet. The cookbook was tossed into the box of books with other random treasures. Little did I know that cookbook would become one of my treasures - one that I would still cherish 16 years later.

I finally arrived in North Carolina and found out that to survive you needed more than Taco Bell. I was copying some recipes my mom and dad made and they were okay. I had another cookbook that had very simple recipes in it and those were okay too, but none of the meals I was making were great or were something I wanted again.

One day I picked up my two tiny kittens, grabbed the cookbook my mom gave me, and laid on the couch.

As I read the first few pages I was very excited about great recipes it contained. I really enjoyed all the stories associated with them. I was eager to start cooking but each page had more and more stories, ideas and a real personal touch. I didn't want to stop reading. That day became a major pivot point in my life. A new turn that I didn't even realize would continue, but it has...everyday.

This cookbook was hand-written, hand-illustrated and created all by Susan Branch. I loved every page and still do.

Thank you Susan for showing me how to cook, how to serve family, how to laugh over foods, how to get through my first turkey and its NECK, how to enjoy life, make the best of leftovers in a refrigerator and most of all how to love while doing it all. I really appreciate everything you've taught me.

I could go on and on about how much you have influenced my life, how I enjoy tweeting with you, but my post was really a thank you and that I wish you a very Happy Birthday.

Happy Birthday Susan!

For those of you who don't know Susan Branch, you can learn all about her, her books and products on her website. Beyond designing cookbooks, Susan Branch has taken her art into scrapbook papers, stationary, stickers, quilting material, crafts, dishes, calendars, and more. It has been a real treasure to collect all her products because each piece has her art. I hope you find as much enjoyment as I do.

Sur la Table 2010

2010-04-11T09:31:00.003-04:00

I love Las Vegas. I love Sur la Table. I have been trying to make it an annual event to go to Las Vegas and when I'm there I like to go to Sur la Table, in the Miracle Mile Shops, and buy all sorts of neat foodie items.

Welcome to my Sur la Table adventure for 2010. (Sur la Table 2009 is posted here.)

I took a long list this time. I read so many foodie magazines, my list of new tools is always growing. I also saw a well organized pantry in Real Simple magazine and that's why I bought a few of the OXO Good Grips storage containers. Those are going to be great!

Through the year, as I'm using my cooking items, I find what I love, what works well, improved handles, etc. For instance, the Sur la Table Organic Kitchen Towels probably make me sound snooty, but those towels are my favorite. They don't smear glasses, don't get crunchy after drying your hands, wash up well and always seem to be the towels I reach for. Downside, color choice is limited.

Le Creuset changed their heat-proof spatula handles about 2 years ago to a rounded handle versus a flat one. I bought some rounded handled versions last year and I definitely want all rounded handles now! Problem is, my Le Creuset spatulas are so durable that none of mine are dying. Darn spatulas. I only bought one rounded handle this trip. My spatula crock is um...a bit full :>).

Emile Henry dishes are good quality, I like the sizes and color options. I have found that buying portion sized plates are nice and make for easy clean-up. It's easier to prepare the dinner, place the dishes in the oven and finish baking. While the dinner is baking, the rest of the mess is easily cleaned-up and after dinner, just the two dishes remain. I bought two individual gratins - I say baked cheesy pasta coming soon.

Some of the coolest tools I find at Sur la Table are smaller items. Their Multi-Grater looks to be one great gadget. 5 pieces of varying lids with different grates, all grate down into a measuring bowl. One of the lids can be snapped to the bottom to prevent the bowl from scooting during the grating. There is also an airtight storage lid. Fine grating, shredding, parmesan, etc. I'm really excited about using this item.

It's probably hard to see in the picture but some of the items are smaller like the silver recipe holder on the right, cheesecloth, bottle pourers (I'm using for dishsoap), ladle, and heat proof tongs - a must for non-stick skillets.

The pot lid holder is great! I tried it on a pot at the store and it was perfect! Basically it clips to your pot and then you set the lid into the holder. Keeps you from having to lay your lid around your counter/stove and getting water drips everywhere. Can't wait to give that a try.

Various towels for lining cupboards...boring. Wine bottle foil cutter...ho-hum.

I'm excited about the little Cuisinart chopper. It's a 3 cup. Since I cook for two it can be hard to always use my big Cuisinart to make things like remoulades. I needed something smaller. This one looks perfect and came in "Pomegranate", which is actually red. Exclusive colors to Sur la Table. Many Cusinart items in these colors.

The cutting board just looked so cool to me. I seem to reach for my lighter weight cuttingboards over my Boos block. I love my Epicurean cutting board which I got in Vegas a few years back. This time I got a new one that is actually created from recycled plastics, made in the USA, and is the right size. Each board uses 60+ plastic containers to manufacture! Bonus: when done with the product, call for a pre-paid shipping label to recycle it again. I'm starting to sound like a green earth person with my organics and my cutting board. Ha.

Anyway, my Sur la Table adventure was a huge hit for me again. They make it so easy and ship everything for free to my home. I can't imagine trying to get on the plane with all my "souveneirs". Excuse me Sir, didn't mean to boink you on the head with my Cuisinart box.

I'm off to unpack, wash, and put all my new toys away.

Cooking Italy: Spinach and Ricotta Gnocchi

2010-03-23T16:42:00.002-04:00

Spinach and Ricotta Gnocchi are very good. I've only eaten potato gnocchi before. So this recipe was not only a new experience in cooking the gnocchi, but also in eating them.

These ricotta gnocchi are very light, soft, almost melty tasting. The recipe states the gnocchi will remind you of a pasta filling without the pasta around it. I agree and I like how the sauce (once mixed over too) surrounds the gnocchi and provides a great flavor.

Spinach and Ricotta Gnocchi, Adapted from Marcella Hazan

10 oz package frozen spinach, thawed
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon onion, chopped very fine
2 tablespoons proscuitto, chopped
Salt
3/4 cup ricotta
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2 egg yolks
1 cup parmigiano-reggiano cheese, freshly grated
Whole nutmeg

Melt butter in a skillet and add the onion. Cook until the onion is pale gold, stirring occassionally. Add in the proscuitto and cook just to coat the meat with the onion and butter.

Add in the spinach and sprinkle with salt. Cook for about 5 minutes until heated through. Remove from pan and let cool.

Once cool, add ricotta and flour and mix with a spoon. Be sure all the ingredients are well mixed. Add the egg, parmesan and a very small grating of the nutmeg. Taste and add salt if needed.

Take a small amount of the mixture and roll them into small logs. Gnocchi sized. Reminded me of the size of a chocolate egg at Easter time. Flour your hands if they are too sticky when rolling.

Only cook the amount you need for your dinner. The rest can be laid on a parchment lined cookie sheet and placed in the freezer. Once firm, drop into a ziploc bag, remove the air and freeze. Frozen gnocchi can be cooked directly from the freezer.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Large enough to accomodate the amount of gnocchi you are preparing. Drop the gnocchi into the water and when the water returns to a boil, cook for 3-4 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon.

Serve with the tomato sauce below and freshly grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese.

Spinach ricotta gnocchi can be served in a variety of ways. It could be with a tomato sauce, as a soup dumpling or even gratineed. All of the methods sounded wonderful to me. I chose the Tomato Sauce with Heavy Cream.

Tomato Sauce with Heavy Cream, Adapted from Marcella Hazan

1/3 cup butter
3 tablespoons of onion, carrot and celery, chopped very fine
2 1/2 cups canned imported Italian tomatoes, with their juice*
Salt
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

Add all of the ingredients except the cream into your saucepan. Cook, uncovered at a very low simmer for about 45 minutes. Stir occassionally.

Bring the heat up and add the cream. Stir well for about 1 minute and it's ready to serve.

*I used 3 cups of my own canned tomatoes and let it simmer about 1 hour.

This is a very rich and buttery sauce. I will use this on other dishes. I am always a fan of the tomato sauces that are "pinked up". Meaning have a cream/dairy added which lightens their color and richens the taste.

Want to cook this and other dishes with a group of friends? Join Cooking Italy where we are cooking our way through Marcella Hazan's book, Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking.

Shrimp Tacos - Quick and Flavorful Dinner

2010-03-19T18:33:00.002-04:00

I loved these! I had pulled into Taco Bell recently for a quick lunch and saw the signs advertising their shrimp tacos. I thought...hmm...shrimp tacos from a fast food restaurant? Would they be any good? I gave one a try. It was actually surprising good.

I decided that I could definitely make these at home. It would be such a quick and simple dinner.
I buy raw, frozen shrimp on a regular basis because it's so easy to make dishes with shrimp. It's very low cost and I love shrimp. Really...shrimp when on sale are very economical. Especially when purchased frozen. They can be defrosted very quickly and used in a variety of dishes.

I pan sauteed shrimp with olive oil, fresh minced garlic, salt, pepper and cayenne.

Mix your avocado sauce. Drizzle over the shrimp, add lettuce, roll and devour! Great tacos.

Shrimp Tacos - Serves 2
16 shrimp*, peeled, deveined and defrosted if needed
4 cloves garlic, minced
1T olive oil
salt
freshly ground black pepper
sprinkle of cayenne
2 flour tortillas, burrito sized
1/4 cup mexican or cheddar cheese, shredded
1 cup lettuce, chopped
Avocado Sauce:
1/4 cup premade zesty guacamole
1/4 cup milk, half and half or cream

Preheat oven to 275. Wrap tortillas in a foil package and stick in the oven for about 15-20 minutes.

Mix guacamole and milk to desired consistency. I have seen several recipes for an avocado dressing, but the premade guacamole just made the seasoning quite easy.

Meanwhile, heat olive oil over medium heat, add garlic and stir it for about 5 minutes. Add shrimp and toss well. Season with salt, pepper and cayenne. Cook until shrimp just turn pink. About 4-5 minutes.

Remove shells from oven. Lay 8 shrimp on each warm tortilla. Drizzle with avocado sauce, top with lettuce and cheese.

Serve.

Shrimp: I normally get the 31-40 size shrimp. The average serving size is 7 per person according to the bag. I pay about $9.99 per 2 pound bag. That's 80 shrimp for $9.99. If you are serving 8 shrimp per person that's less than a $1. As I said, very economical and also lower in fat. Good food choice.

Defrosting shrimp: I pull out the bag from the freezer, drop the shrimp into a strainer (in this case only 16), rinse with cold water and let sit for about 30 minutes. During the defrosting, I prepare other parts of the meal, do laundry, go through mail, etc. The shrimp I buy is normally cleaned, I just need to remove the tail. I love the raw frozen shrimp because then I can cook them as needed with the flavors.

Blue Cheese - Bleu Cheese - Great Dressing!

2010-03-18T11:46:00.003-04:00

I was watching the Food Network on Sunday morning and saw Ina Garten make this fabulous looking Blue Cheese dressing. I missed her comments on it but it looked really good. I read the recipe on the Food Network website and headed into the kitchen to whip it up.

It's fabulous! Rarely do I look forward to packing or eating work lunches. This one actually has me excited about my work lunch salads.

This dressing has an actual blue cheese flavor versus just a creamy background with blue cheese bits. I would even use less cream/milk and leave it thicker for a dip.

I've found that many blue cheese dressing recipes contain several ingredients and I often am short one item for the recipe I'm interested in. This is a version where I would always have the ingredients on hand.

It tasted great right out of the food processor and I would use it right away. Sometimes recipes have you make the dressing in advance and then refrigerate for the flavors to meld. This is quick and ready the moment you open the food processor lid.

Blue Cheese Dressing, Adapted from Ina Garten

5 oz Danish blue cheese

1 cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup heavy cream

1/3 cup milk

2 tablespoons of white wine vinegar

salt

freshly ground black pepper

Mix all ingredients in the food processor. Add in more cream or milk if necessary to bring to the desired consistency.

For a copy of Ina's original recipe, visit here. She did not have the milk added and I felt it definitely needed it. Without the milk, it was thick enough to be sour cream. Her version included tarragon wine vinegar but I'm not a huge fan of tarragon and I had white wine vinegar handy. Ina also used Roquefort cheese but I used Danish Blue.

One thing about making your own dressing is that the ingredients are items you know and trust. The jar of store bought blue cheese dressing in my fridge has ingredients listed that I'd have to Google to understand. Xanthan Gum. Does that sound yummy to you? "Oh honey, I just tasted the best Xanthan Gum". Not appealing. Making your own food has less processing and less unknown ingredients and will be more healthy and pleasing to you.

Potato Galette or Pommes Chef Anne

2010-03-16T15:52:00.001-04:00

A great brunch! Sliced potatoes, layered with cheese, olive oil, salt and freshly ground black pepper, baked till the potatoes are tender but the outside crispy. Oh yum.

I recently saw an old episode of "Secret of a Restaurant Chef" with Anne Burrell and she made these potatoes. Her recipe name is Pommes Chef Anne. Sort of an off take of the Pommes Anna potatoes and are layered galette style.

I have always wanted to try a Potato Galette and this recipe gave me a good base with some very important instructions.

Pommes Chef Anne, Adapted from Anne Burrell

3 russet potatoes, scrubbed clean

Extra-virgin olive oil

3/4 cup grated Parmigiano

Kosher salt

Special Equipment: Mandoline, 8-inch nonstick saute pan

I used about 6 potatoes, although smaller ones and they were Idaho potatoes. I also used a 10" nonstick skillet because I thought the 8" looked awfully small.

Preheat the oven to 425F.

Drizzle olive oil into your pan and begin layering your potato slices. Brush the slices with olive oil, sprinkle cheese, salt and pepper.

Turn the burner on medium heat and cook until the potatoes are brown. This will be your top, so be sure they are brown and crispy. This took me about 20 minutes. Do not check until at least 10 minutes because the potatoes are soft at first and will tear when you do the initial peak.

Take a pan lid, cover your skillet, and drain the olive oil from the pan. THIS IS VERY IMPORTANT. YOU MUST DRAIN BEFORE FLIPPING. After draining, use the pan lid to help you flip the galette. Flip the potato onto the lid and then slide the galette back into the pan with the browned side now on top.

Bake at 425F for about 20 minutes. Remove from oven, slide out onto your serving plate and be ready to eat.

Serving condiments such as sour cream and chives are perfect.

Thank You Chefs Catalog!

2010-03-14T12:08:00.008-04:00

I follow Chefs Catalog on Twitter. (@CHEFSCatalog) They have all sorts of fun questions, posts, and contests. Recently, they had a contest for "name this kitchen tool". If you guessed correctly and were randomly chosen from correct responses, you won the item. I won a Salad Spinner. I was pretty excited. Really? From Chefs Catalog? I love their catalog.

Last Saturday, the door bell rang and I thought...who is that? I opened the door to a nice FedEx man holding a Chefs box. Ooooo I thought, my salad spinner! I quickly signed and dashed back inside to open my box.

Aren't food gifts the BEST?

Ooo the lastest catalog too. :)

I just had to take it for a spin. Ha...no pun intended. I'm sorry to say I only had bagged salad on hand.

Rinse your lettuce in the colander like insert.

Place the lid on top. Pump the black knob on top a few times and voila! Washed lettuce.
Look at the extra water left behind!

Using the salad spinner helps to extract the extra water from your lettuce which makes a fresher, cleaner, crisper salad. It's great! Thank you so much Chefs Catalog!

Cooking Italy: Sausage and Cream

2010-03-03T18:27:00.006-05:00

Just a quick post to share the Sausage and Cream dish I made last night for Cooking Italy.

What an interesting dish! I thought I wouldn't like it...just sausage, onion, butter/oil, and cream?? Then the first taste came. What a unique flavor and texture! The cream/butter sauce was velvety whereas the crumbled, yet tender, sausage gave a bit of a mouth feel and then savoring the mix and tasting the flavors really made the dish one to enjoy.

If you like Italian cooking, feel free to join us! We are cooking our way through Marcella Hazan's book, "Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking". It's been a real learning experience and the tastes have been beyond just pastas and sauces.

Pulled Pork for the Crockpot

2010-03-02T17:01:00.005-05:00

While reading the Detroit Free Press newspaper the other day, I found an interesting recipe for Pulled Pork in a crockpot. Sure there are zillions of pulled pork recipes for a crockpot, but what I found in this one was the marinating overnight. From past experience, I've found the "Freep" to offer many good recipes and knew this one would have similar results.

Pulled Pork, Adapted from the Detroit Free Press

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar

1/2 cup soy sauce

2 cups ketchup

1 teaspoon garlick powder or garlic salt

1 large onion, coarsley chopped

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

5 pound boneless pork shoulder roast, fat trimmed

Barbecue sauce for serving

Line your crockpot with a "Slow Cooker Plastic Liner". Mix the first 8 ingredients and pour into your lined crockpot. Set the roast inside and marinate in your refrigerator overnight. Rotate the roast/marinate a couple of times.

In the morning, remove the roast from the refrigerator and turn the crockpot on low for 10 hours. You want the pork roast to be fork-tender.

Remove the roast from the crockpot and let rest. Skim fat from the sauce.

Shred the meat using two forks and put aside.

Recipe posted in Detroit Free Press with source listed as http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/ and "Slow Cooker: The Best Cookbook Ever: by Diane Phillips. Tested by the Contra Costa Times.

My Changes:

When I got to the grocery store, they only had bone-in pork roasts. I chose one. However, the sizes were um...enormous! I heaved an 8 pound pork roast into the cart. Would it fit in my crockpot? My crockpot looks like this and holds about 5 quarts.

I made the marinade ingredients at about 1 1/2 times the amounts. Boy, it sure did look "ketchupy". When I sampled it, I wasn't too pleased but you never know how pork can change a dish till you try. I lined my crockpot, filled it with the marinade and then the roast and stuck it into the garage. Gotta love Michigan...in the winter your garage becomes a mega sized fridge!

The next morning, I brought it in and turned on the crock pot at about 7:30am. Pulled the pork roast out at about 5pm. It was perfect. The meat came apart so easily and the bone just fell out. Loved it! Maybe I snuck a sample piece at that point. Just maybe. Let's just say...hypothetically...I did taste a piece. It would have been wonderful.

Not sure what a "Slow Cooker Plastic Liner" is? Check out this link to Reynolds.

How did I finish the dish? Well I defatted the sauce by spooning off what I could remove. There was a quite a bit of sauce. I kept the sauce seperate from the meat for ease of reheating/serving, etc.

One dish became a pulled pork sandwich. My dish was strictly just the pork. (I lived in North Carolina for a few years. Just a pile of pulled pork, a requirement to learn to eat just the meat.)

I shredded the meat and reserved the leftovers. I only heated what I would serve. I used some of the sauce as the moisture during the reheat and had the mess cleaned up before I even prepared the plates. Easy peasy! Add more sauce if you like it or serve with BBQ sauce as the recipe suggests.

I also ate leftovers last night which heated up perfectly and I did toss some of the pork into my mexican salad for a work lunch today. FANTASTIC. Only wish I could find pork roasts about 200 pounds, see that would really be nice. Rival..get your crockpot design a little larger!

Sliders - Great Burgers!

2010-02-23T17:21:00.001-05:00

Sliders. They are so good. I'd rather not think about how they got their nickname. I should be more formal and call them by their true name - mini burgers. Yes, mini burgers.

I stumbled across this recipe for "White Castle Like Sliders". I was really intrigued because I have found many copy cat recipes but this one actually BAKED their meat patties.

I have reduced the meat to one pound of ground chuck because two people really can't eat more than one pound of "mini burgers".

I have tested these several times and they have come out perfectly each time. Also, I have tested plastic wrapping the burgers, even with their condiments, and refrigerating. The next day or even two does not effect the taste. I always seem to need leftover tips.

Using an 11x7" glass dish, I spray with non-stick spray and sprinkle in dried minced onions.
Top with 1 pound of ground chuck. Yes, you need ground chuck for this because you want the fat to "cook" the onions.
Season with salt and pepper.
Bake at 375F for about 20 minutes.
Remove from oven, blot off grease and top with cheese.
Return to oven. Add buns to oven to warm/slightly toast.
Remove buns and the burger dish from the oven, let cool for about 5 minutes.
Cut into 6 burgers.
Top with your favorite condiments and serve.

The Visual Version:
Start here: 11x7 glass dish, sprayed with non-stick spray and sprinkled with dried minced onions.

Top with 1 pound ground chuck. Spread evenly. This 11x7" dish just fits one pound of ground beef.

Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake in a 375F oven for about 20 minutes. The meat will shrink away from the sides of the dish significantly.

Remove from oven and blot the grease away with a paper towel. Top with cheese of your choice. Shredded, sliced, etc. On Saturday, I used mexican style shredded cheese. I have used cheese slices and cheddar cheese too. All have worked out well.

Return to the oven. Add the hamburger buns of choice. I have used Pepperridge Farm Dinner Rolls which work out very well. On Saturday I used Pepperridge Farm Mini Burger Rolls. They worked out well too.

Pretend this is a clean oven that I'm cooking in. Thank you.

Remove from the oven and let cool just a few minutes to make the slicing of the burgers and cheese easier.

Ahh...perfect burgers.

Place the perfect burgers onto your toasted buns, top with condiments and serve.

These turn out very well. I've made them about 4 or 5 times now. They are very easy and tasty and do not leave a large mess to clean up. I'd also consider making them in an electric skillet. That could also be handy for a party.

Fantastic Pan Rolls

2010-02-15T17:24:00.006-05:00

I saw a similar pan of rolls on Pioneer Woman's website. They looked just perfect! The only problem was that her recipe called for frozen bread dough. I kept thinking that of all the ingredients I had, I must be able to just make a simple dough and do the same thing. Sure, I can hand knead, but what about the bread machine? This recipe was supposed to be simple.

I thought about the bread recipes I have and then it hit me! We love a "hamburger bun" recipe that I received on one of my favorite food groups. I gave it a read-over (translation, "where is that recipe, that one that uses an egg....oh durrr...I know have it printed in this stack of papers...somewhere...oh right...here it is, half glance...yep that's it).

It is titled Moomies Hamburger Buns from Renita.

Moomies Hamburger Rolls
Makes 8 rolls

1 cup water
2 tablespoons butter
1 egg
3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon instant yeast

Place all ingredients in your bread machine. Use the dough cycle.

Remove finished dough and divide into 8 pieces on a lightly floured work surface. Shape into buns. Place on a greased baking pan, cover and let rise 30-40 minutes.

Bake in a 375F oven for 12-15 minutes. Cool.

This hamburger bun recipe has come through with good reviews. I've made them several times as well. I do not know where the name comes from...sure wish I did. I don't even know how to pronounce it. What are Moomies? Is it Mommies with a typo??

Now here are my changes for this pan roll recipe:
I use regular active dry yeast and I beat my egg.
Make the dough in your bread machine, shape into fat rolls and place into your oiled 8" cast iron skillet. Let rise for the 30-40 minutes. Brush with melted butter, sprinkle coarse kosher salt and an herby seasoning (I used Penzey's Pasta Sprinkle), pop into the oven and bake. Bake till very golden brown to ensure the bottom is full done, about 20 minutes. Remove from the oven, brush with melted butter again, let rest about 10 minutes and serve. Rolls will be very hot!

These present a great opportunity for variation! Feel free to sprinkle with parmesan cheese or change the dry herbs. Even a sesame or poppy seasoning would be great.

Side note: Since we cannot eat all these rolls at one sitting. I cut the rolls apart, wrapped each in two layers of plastic wrap and stuck them in the freezer. I did defrost two since freezing and warm in the oven. Just as perfect as the first day!

Best Griddler Potatoes!

2010-02-07T12:51:00.004-05:00

Last weekend we watched an episode of Rachel Ray. I know - eyeroll. But she was the "middle show". One of those shows you watch just because there is nothing else on and you want to watch the next show.

Rachel made these Roasted Thick Potato Chips. I thought it seemed a bit brutal to sprinkle sliced potatoes with fresh herbs and then roast at 500F. I knew I wanted to try some version of those, just wasn't sure what to do.

Today I decided we should make some potatoes to go with our veal chops for dinner. It popped into my mind that the Cuisinart Griddler might really work well with these sliced potatoes. I decided that before ruining a dinner with funky, odd cooked potatoes that I would give a test run this afternoon.

I had remembered seeing a recipe for an herb olive oil and knew this would be the perfect addition to these potatoes. It's not a requirement but it definitely is tasty.

Herb Oil - Adapted from The Bread Baker's Apprentice, pg 163

Herb Oil
2 cups olive oil
1 cup chopped fresh herbs or 1/3 cup dried herbs

Warm olive oil and steep the herbs.

I used dried herbs and I used quite a variety. The book suggests "may include basil, parsley, oregano, tarragon, rosemary, thyme, cilantro, savory and sage, in any combination". It also suggests coarse salt, coarsely ground black pepper, granulated or fresh garlic, paprika, cayenne pepper, fennel seeds, onion powder or dried minced onions.

You can keep the oil in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.

This recipe has an enormous amount of flex to it. I love it!
I used:
Garlic Powder
*Coarse Kosher Salt (amount depends on how much you will be salting your finished item)
Cracked Black Pepper
Thyme
Crushed Red Pepper
Onion Powder
Pasta Sprinkle - Penzey's blend of "sweet basila, Turkish oregano, thyme and garlic"
Fennel Seeds

I heated 1 cup of olive oil, added about 1/4 cup of the herb blend and let it steep for 10 minutes. I'm glad I made this, not only was it good on the potatoes, but the herb oil will be great for so many dishes!

Best Griddler Potatoes

Preheat griddler to 350F, set on high and select grill/panini
Wash potatoes.
Slice potatoes lengthwise, about 1/4" slices
Brush griddler with the herb oil
Lay potato slices on the griddler
Brush the slices with the herb oil
Close the lid down on the sliced potatoes and grill about 20 minutes or until they are done to your idea of brown and crispy.
Rotate during cooking if desired.
Remove from the grill, sprinkle with salt*.
Serve with your favorite toppings, i.e., sour cream and chives, ketchup, horseradish, etc.

I only cooked one potato and will need more slices for dinner. I will grill and then leave in a 300F oven to stay warm while I finish the additional slices. Be sure to salt when removed from the Griddler.

Remember how I was just doing a test run? Well there are no leftovers. They were gobbled instantly. Barely had enough time to get a photo!

Cuisinart Griddler purchased from Costco with their coupon, making it $69.99. Definitely worth it.

Don't have a griddler? Perhaps follow Rachel's recipe or even sandwich the potatoes between two cookie sheets. They won't have grill marks, but they will still be flavorful and crispy.

White Clam Sauce by Melissa

2010-01-21T17:07:00.004-05:00

I am never boring in the kitchen. Nope. Here is another classic. White Clam Sauce. My version came out dark orange...almost RED. Haa! I think I added too much tomato doing one of those.."oh I need to really use that up" routines. A wee bit more tomato and okaaay...maybe some of the juice too and I no longer had a white sauce! I do have to admit that it was a wonderful dish. Well balanced garlic and clam as well as a great sauce for dipping crusty bread.

I made my own pasta for this dish using the cutter labeled "linguine". It was so narrow that it really came out like angel hair. We were really surprised. It was wonderful tasting although did leave us with more sauce. Just get out the crusty bread!

White Clam Sauce by Marcella Hazan. Follow us through Spinach Tiger as we cook through the "Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking" and if you like, even join us!

White Garlicky Pizza with Shrimp

2010-01-11T18:22:00.001-05:00

I didn't know what I wanted to make for dinner. I felt ho-hum about all my ideas even though my fridge is full of nearly every vegetable, meat and seafood available. I have been craving shrimp lately and invented this recipe.

Garlicky Shrimp Pizza

The idea was a pizza crust, topped with a white cheesy/alfredo like sauce and shrimp.

Roast a head of garlic in the oven at 375F for 1 hour.

Meanwhile start your pizza dough. This version I did in my bread machine.

Pizza Dough - Add ingredients according to your machine's instructions.

1 1/2 teaspoon yeast
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
3/4 cup water
1 tablespoon olive oil

Set it for dough, press Start.

Rich and Cheesy Sauce

2T butter
3T flour
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup shredded italian cheese mix
Salt & Pepper

Make the roux: melt butter over medium heat and whisk in flour. Slowly add the milk and whisk. Bring to a simmer and continue to whisk. When thickened, reduce heat and add the cheese. Season with salt and pepper.

For Pizza

Olive oil
Cracked black pepper
Roasted garlic head from above
Fresh parmesan cheese (optional)
Crushed red pepper
10 shrimp, cleaned and tails removed

Roll the pizza dough on a greased cookie sheet. I used a greased perforated pan. Drizzle with olive oil, cracked black pepper, your sauce, dot with the roasted garlic, a sprinkle of parmesan cheese, shake a bit of crushed red pepper and top with the shrimp.

Bake at 400F for about 20-25 minutes. I had mine in for closer to 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and let cool for about 5 minutes before slicing.

I tasted this and was like...POW! Good, rich flavor then the earthy garlic and a bit of a zing from the crushed red pepper. Definite keeper!

Pizza dough recipe is from Pizza, Focaccia, Flat and Filled Breads - From Your Bread Machine - by Lora Brody. I omitted the black pepper from her original recipe. It was a bit too "bready" of a pizza dough, but I have to admit that I do love many recipes in her book. ALL of them have cooked to perfection.

Debbie's Caesar Salad Dressing

2010-01-03T12:43:00.005-05:00

My friend Debbie, a Certified Personal Chef, posted to her Twitter that she served a Caesar Salad recently and that 18 people asked for THIRDS. I love Caesar salad and asked for her recipe. She kindly shared it with me.

Direct from Debbie with her comments:

2-3 garlic cloves, pressed, finely minced (I use 3 or more because we like it with lots of garlic and a "bite")
4 anchovy filets in oil (I don't pat them dry)
1t pepper
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1-2t Worcestershire Sauce
1-2t Dijon mustard
1 large egg yolk
1/4-1/3c olive oil (depends on how large egg is and depends on if you're at the low or high end of each ingredient used)
1-2T fresh lemon juice (we like it more lemony so use 2T or more)
1-2 heads romaine lettuce, torn into 1" pieces (depending on how large the heads are)
1/2c parmesan cheese, shaved with vegetable peeler
sourdough croutons (freshly baked with olive oil, salt flakes and dried parsley)

Place garlic and anchovy on cutting board and keep chopping until it's a thick brownish paste with no pieces or chunks (doing it this way, people will get the anchovy taste without the bones and they'll never know it has anchovies in it).

Place garlic/anchovy paste in large bowl - add pepper, cayenne, Worcestershire Sauce, Dijon and egg yolk. Whisk well. Very slowly whisk in olive oil until you have a thick emulsion and it's the consistency and taste you like. Finally, whisk in lemon juice and adjust all seasonings to taste. Keep whisking while tasting and adding anything else. Add romaine into bowl and toss well.

Serve immediately with sourdough croutons and shaved parmesan. I don't add the lettuce until I'm ready to plate as if it sits, the lettuce tends to get soggy.

I've found that if you add the lemon last after the oil has been whisked in, the dressing doesn't separate for a long time.

You can visit Debbie's Yummy blog at:
http://www.yummyissimo.blogspot.com/

I made this dressing the other day and it was very good! Leftover dressing stayed in the fridge without any problems. No seperation. It still tasted fresh when I dunked a romaine leaf in for a snack.

I liked the part where the lemon juice was added at the end, gave it a fresher zip. The cayenne is a very good add.

I still had some fresh romaine so I made another salad for lunch today and took the picture above. Yummy! I actually think this would be great on roasted veggies.

December 1st - Supporting My Friend and Her Brother

2009-12-01T17:21:00.003-05:00

Hello?

I'm sorry to say I've had to let the blog lapse. I've been transitioning my job responsibilities and working quite a bit lately. My meals have not been all that spectacular and I haven't been contributing to my cooking groups as I would like. During this odd time, I'm sure you don't want to read my stories of using up the freezer contents, the burned pasta, or the accidental sugared shrimp, so I prevented you from having to read all those um...'events'. I'm saving you from nightmares :>)

Onto something more important than me. My friend Angela, who runs "Cooking Italy" has lost her brother to AIDS. December is AIDS Awareness Month. To support World AIDS Day we are cooking a "red dish". Below is a repeat of a previous post, but a good one. In fact, we're having it tonight.

http://fromlaptoptostovetop.blogspot.com/2009/05/melissas-wet-burritos.html

For those who can do a little more:

Every 12 seconds someone contracts HIV.
Every 16 seconds someone dies from AIDS.

It can be your friend, your neighbor, your family. It can effect straight, gay, lesbian, black, white, and YOU.

Please think of those who are suffering. Please consider donating this year.
Visit www.worldaidsday.org

Cooking Italy: Crespelles

2009-09-11T16:46:00.001-04:00

Cooking through Marcella Hazan's book, Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking has been a wonderful experience. It is through my friend and blogger Angela of Spinach Tiger. She set up a group where we all cook through the book together. Not at the same day/time, but during the same week. It has been a wealth of sharing, learning, tasting and I am shocked to say but we've never a bad dish! In fact, it has been quite the opposite, always a perfect combination of flavors that make your mouth light up! Well worth it!

Crespelles are Italian Crepes (savory, no sweetness) layered with proscuitto, fresh mozzerella, homemade tomato sauce and parmigiano-reggiano. I've never made a crepe before so this recipe was pretty exciting as I made my attempt. They aren't perfect circles, but the taste was out of this world.

Comment On Saucy Mama and YOU Could Win!!

2009-09-03T17:40:00.003-04:00

Hi Everyone,

I signed up for Saucy Mama's Extraordinary Condiment Contest. I'm sure you all remember my excited post here.

I came home from work tonight, refreshed my Twitter and found Saucy Mama had sent the following tweet:

SaucyMamaCafe Quick #contest! Comment at www.saucymamacafe.com re: today's recipe, and we'll pick 2 people at random to win treats! Please RT!

This is great news! I love being a promotional recipe! If you comment on the recipe you have the chance to win the Saucy Mama Cafe Buffalo Wing Sauce and maybe even an extra treat!

Go to Saucy Mama Cafe and post a comment! Good Luck!

Saucy Mama Chipotle Mustard Glazed Turkey Burger

2009-08-30T16:02:00.003-04:00

Take your favorite turkey burger recipe and grill. Just before the burger is done, brush well with Saucy Mama Chipotle Mustard on both sides.

Toast your hamburger bun, add toppings and serve.

For the onion bun pictured above, I made the brioche buns and topped them with carmelized onions and poppy seeds.

Saucy Mama Chipotle Glazed Turkey Burgers

1 pound ground turkey
1/4 cup chopped onion (or chopped green chilies)
2 cloves garlic, minced
Seasoning mix of 1/2 teaspoon each: onion powder, chili powder, salt and pepper
1/4 teaspoon cayenne, optional
1/4 cup Saucy Mama Chipotle Mustard
2 fat cheddar cheese slices
2 onion buns, toasted

Mix the turkey with the onions, garlic and seasonings, including cayenne if desired. The meat needs onions or chilies to help hold the moisture during grilling.

Divide the meat mixture into 2 large patties. Grill until about 155 degrees. Continue cooking and brush the chipotle mustard onto both sides of the burger. Cook until the burgers reach 165.

Serve on toasted onion buns and enjoy!