The Pioneer Woman Cooks!

Lazy Chiles Rellenos

Ree Drummond — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:39:59 +0000

This dish ain’t fancy.

This dish ain’t difficult to make. (Huh. Understatement of the modern era.)

This dish…ain’t not delicious.

Okay, I’ll stop now. I’m sorry. But I’m fluent in both Hillbilly and Double Negative. They just speak to me sometimes.

My mom used to make a dish like this, which is really nothing at all like the original Chiles Rellenos, but I’m keeping the name intact all the same. It’s a versatile, flavorful, and comforting combination of roasted green chiles, cheese, and a creamy egg mixture. And its applications are endless!

Serve it…with a fruit salad and tiny grandma rolls for a nice ladylike lunch.
Serve it…for breakfast with warm corn tortillas. (My personal favorite.)
Serve it…with grilled chicken for a nice weekend dinner.

Just serve it.

Then eat it.

You’ll love it!

I don’t live in Santa Fe. I don’t have a freezerful of roasted green chiles with the black skin still on.

I don’t even have cans of Hatch.

But life isn’t about being unhappy where you’re not. It’s about being happy where you are. And I are on a cattle ranch in Oklahoma in November. So I use these here chiles.

And the girl was happy…

Grate some cheese, glorious cheese.

Now combine some eggs with some milk. Whole milk is really best—anything with less fat and the baked eggs will turn out a tad on the watery side. If you splash in some half & half along with the milk…even better.

Whisk it together and add some salt…

And some freshly ground pepper. I have multicolored peppercorns in my peppermill, so you’ll see some red flecks in there.

I like color, even in my black pepper. What can I say?

Now add a little paprika…and a little cayenne pepper!

If you’ve got the guts, that is.

If you can HANDLE the cayenne.

Whisk it all together. Yum, yum, yum.

Lay the chiles on a cutting board…

Cut the chiles in half lengthwise, then seed them. (If you lived in Santa Fe, your chiles would have little black flecks all over.

And yes, I could roast my own. But first I’d have to buy some Poblano or Anaheim chiles.

And I don’t want to go to the store.

Lay the chiles on the bottom of a baking dish.

Generously sprinkle grated cheese all over the chiles.

Then place another layer of chiles on top of the cheese…

And add another layer of cheese.

Now pour the egg mixture all over the top.

And that’s it, baby! You can sprinkle a little more cheese over the top if it gives you a sense of peace…but it’s not necessary.

Mmmm…mmmm….mmmm.

Now place the pan into a larger baking pan, or on a rimmed cooking sheet. Pour a little water in the bottom of the second pan.

Bake at 325 for about 30 minutes, or until completely set.

It’ll be slightly golden brown on top…and shouldn’t be jiggly at all.

Cut into squares and serve immediately.

With warm corn tortillas, it’s sublime.

I love everything about this—the taste, the texture, the versatility.

And you’ll love it, too!

Here’s the printable:

Lazy Chiles Rellenos

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Prep Time: 5 Minutes

Cook Time: 45 Minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 9

Ingredients

8 whole Roasted, Peeled, And Seeded Green Chiles
1-½ cup Monterey Jack Cheese, Grated
5 whole Large Eggs
2 cups Whole Milk
Salt And Black Pepper To Taste
½ teaspoons Paprika
¼ teaspoons Cayenne Pepper

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Mix together eggs, milk, salt, pepper, paprika and cayenne.
Cut chilies in half and add a single layer of chilies on the bottom of a 9 x 13-inch baking dish.
Top chilies with half the grated cheese.
Repeat with another layer of chilies and another layer of cheese.
Pour egg mixture all over the top.
Place into a larger baking dish or rimmed baking sheet. Pour in 1/2 inch of water and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until completely set.
Cut into squares and serve with warm corn tortillas!

Good Ol’ Basic Mexican Rice

Ree Drummond — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:20:33 +0000

I serve this rice with my White Chicken Enchiladas and they really are the perfect complement. It’s a very basic Mexican rice recipe, and you can customize it with whatever ingredients or spices make you happy—diced jalapenos, chopped black olives, Cotija cheese, turmeric…anything goes!

Let’s make it, baby!

And I mean that in the most respectable way.

Start with half a large onion (or a whole medium onion…but you probably didn’t need me to walk you through that piece of logic.) Dice it up.

Peel a few cloves of garlic. I used four.

And mince it up!

Heat a large skillet over medium heat, then drizzle in a little canola (or olive) oil.

Throw in the onions…

Then cook ‘em for a couple of minutes.

Measure 2 cups of long grain white rice.

Rice is such a mystery to me.

I realize that’s a very obscure thing to say. But I’m fascinated. Rice paddies. I think about them all the time. Their shape. Their origin. Their purpose.

Escalators, too. Sometimes I obsess over them like there’s no tomorrow.

Mother? Is that you? Red Dog 1 to Red Dog 4! Need cover immediately! Mrs. Barnes, can I go to the restroom?

Sorry.

Reduce the heat to low, then pour the rice into the skillet.

Add the garlic.

Now stir the mixture around and allow the rice to turn slightly golden brown. Stir constantly—and be careful not to burn it!

Next, crack open a can of Rotel. If you don’t know what Rotel is, you’ve never been to Oklahoma or Texas, and you pretty much haven’t lived.

(Rotel is canned diced tomatoes and green chilies, and has never not inhabited my pantry.)

(Sorry about the double negative.)

I drain the Rotel for this dish, because the liquid in a Rotel can is a little on the spicy side, and my punks sometimes get a little sweaty when I include the Rotel liquid in certain dishes.

But if you can HANDLE the heat, just leave the liquid in there.

Next, crack open a can of whole tomatoes. You can use diced tomatoes if you prefer, but I happen to like the large chunks here and there.

Stir in the drained Rotel…

Then pour in the whole tomatoes…

Then pour in 2 cups of low sodium chicken broth.

Now stir this mixture together…

And add some kosher salt and a good teaspoon of cumin—more if you love cumin flavor!

You can also add cayenne pepper, chili powder, tumeric, oregano…any spices that make you happy!

Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low.

Cover the pan tightly, and cook on a simmer for 10 to 15 minutes, or until rice is tender. If the dish dries out too much, add more broth as necessary. The rice shouldn’t be overly sticky.

Here we go! Good ol’ basic Mexican rice—just begging to be served with refried beans and white chicken enchiladas. Note: a sprinkle of turmeric stirred in will give the rice a lovely golden color. Try it!

Now, be sure to taste the rice—make sure the seasonings are right. Add salt and/or more cumin, if necessary.

To finish it off, chop up a bunch of cilantro.

And throw it over the top!

It’s very difficult for me to use too much cilantro.

Simple as that.

Enjoy! And make it all yours–add whatever makes you happy.

That’s what cooking is all about, after all.

Here’s the printable:

Basic Mexican Rice

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Prep Time: 10 Minutes

Cook Time: 15 Minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 8

Ingredients

2 Tablespoons Canola Oil
½ whole Large Onion, Chopped
3 cloves Garlic, Minced
2 cups Long Grain Rice
1 can Rotel (10 Ounce)
1 can Whole Tomatoes (14.5 Ounce)
2 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth (more If Needed)
1 teaspoon Cumin (more To Taste)
1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
Fresh Cilantro, Chopped

Preparation Instructions

Heat oil in a large skillet. Add onions and garlic, then cook for 3 to 4 minutes. Reduce heat to low and add rice and garlic. Stir constantly, making sure the rice doesn’t burn. Cook over low heat for 3 minutes. Add Ro-tel and tomatoes. Stir to combine and let cook for 2 minutes. Finally, add broth and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 10 to 15 additional minutes or until rice is done. Add more liquid as needed; rice shouldn’t be sticky.

Just before serving, sprinkle lots of freshly chopped cilantro over the top. Serve immediately.

Pots & Pans – WINNERS!

Ree Drummond — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 17:00:05 +0000

Here are the winners of the Cuisinart cookware sets. Thank you to everyone who entered their favorite food blogs, TV chefs, and cookbook authors; Statistician Don will have the results of your answers shortly.

Winner 1: #40 Annie. “BOBBIE FLAY. He is the only person on planet earth who I would even consider leaving my husband for, and I think my husband would encourage me to go.”

Winner 2: #3264 Danja. “My favorite food blogger of the moment is Clotilde Dusoulier of Chocolate & Zuchini.”

Winner 3: #16845 Jeff C. “Guy Fieri!”

Congratulations, Winners! Hope you love your pots and pans. Contact prizes@thepioneerwoman.com to claim your loot.

Thanks again, everyone. Check back later for a list of favorites—can’t wait to see!

Pots & Pans!

Ree Drummond — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 21:29:04 +0000

Now that I’m home for the rest of the week, I’m getting ready to launch into some heavy duty cooking. As soon as the sun peeks over the eastern hills tomorrow morning, I shall chop, mince, sear, boil, saute, sling, fling, and freak out…and make a royal mess in my kitchen. I mean it—the kind of mess you’ve never even seen before. The kind of mess that inhabits your nightmares.

Then I’ll do one of two things:

a) Sell our house
b) Burn it to the ground

Anything but clean it up. It isn’t going to be pretty.

A couple of things:

First, I’m happy to let you know that my Complete Visual Recipe Index has been updated, so if you missed some recipes any time over the past three years or are searching for that Chicken Scallopine recipe you’re positive you saw ’round these parts, it’s all in one place for you.

And, uh, speaking of Chicken Scallopine:

Try it soon. It’ll make your skirt fly up. Like, totally.

And that’s figurative, by the way. If you don’t own a skirt, you will still enjoy this Chicken Scallopine.

Unless you don’t like chicken. And even then you’ll probably come around.

I’ll stop talking now.

Except for this: The second thing I want to tell you is that at long, long last, all recipes here on The Pioneer Woman Cooks are…I might cry…I can’t say it…printable. Now, rather than grease up (and I do mean grease) your laptops, you can just select the size you want to print, and…print!

This was a tricky little tool, and I couldn’t have gotten it done—and all the archived recipes updated and formatted for printing—without the wonderful help from HP. So thank you, HP—you’ve saved laptops all over the land! Butter and motherboards don’t get along very well.

And now.

If you’re going to cook any of the stuff in my recipe index, you’re going to need pots and pans.

That’s where these come in:

Hello, beautiful darlings.

Today I’m giving away three (3) Cuisinart 14-piece stainless cookware sets. These are beautiful, shiny 18/10 stainless steel pans that’ll bring you so much fun in the kitchen. You’ll love them!

Here’s what’s included in the set:

• 8″ fry pan
• 10″ fry pan
• 2-, 3- and 4-quart sauce pans with lids
• 3 1/2-quart saute pan with lid
• 8-quart stockpot with lid
• steamer insert with lid

Delicious!

TO ENTER

To enter the contest, just answer the following question in the Comments section of this post:

Who’s is your favorite food blogger, TV chef, or cookbook author?

Now, wait—before you answer! On the off, remote, highly unlikely chance that you would possibly remotely toy with possibly considering including me in your answer—don’t! In other words: don’t answer “Ree Drummond” or “Pioneer Woman”—not that you would. But just in case you’re either my grandmother or mother, I wanted to let you know that for the purposes of this contest, I don’t count.

So name your very favorite food blogger!

Or, if you don’t read food blogs…name your favorite TV chef!

Or, if you don’t own a TV…name your favorite cookbook author!

Basically, I wanna hear your favorite food-related personality—just one! (And mom? Ga-Ga? Don’t list my name or you’ll be severely punished.)

THE RULES

One entry per person, please.

Please list only one food personality/food blog/cookbook author in your answer.

Contest will run through the night and winners announced at 12:00 noon Wednesday.

Can’t wait to see your answers!

Love,
Pioneer Woman

___________________________________

Special thanks to CHEFS Catalog for providing the awesome prizes for this contest. We love you, CHEFS!

White Chicken Enchiladas

Ree Drummond — Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:43:54 +0000

I’m happy to share my method for making creamy, dreamy, delicious, nutritious, yummy, nummy white chicken enchiladas.

They’ll keep you off the streets, I promise you that much. And don’t be intimidated by the multiple steps. They’re numerous, but they ain’t difficult.

The first thing we’re going to do is cook some chicken. Please do not be afraid, my darlings. There’s nothing inherently scary about raw chicken. I hate to be gross, but…you and I are raw, too, if you really hunker down and think about it.

Gosh, am I ever sorry I just typed that.

Anyway, back to business: I buy a whole cut up fryer—basically a whole chicken that’s been cut up by the butcher. It’s best if he does the dirty work.

Rinse the chicken (Sorry, but I can’t not rinse chicken. I’m old school.) and throw it into a big pot.

Cover the chicken with water.

Bring it to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 30 minutes or so.

While the chicken is cooking, grab some canola oil.

Pour a half inch or so in a small skillet. Heat the oil over medium heat, and make sure if you have little punks running around, you either do this on the backburner or keep the handle turned so that they can’t grab it.

That’s just one thing that crawled in my consciousness when my first punk was a baby. When you cook with oil as much as I do, you tend to have these thoughts.

Grab some white corn tortillas. You can certainly use flour tortillas like a lot of white chicken enchilada recipes do, but I prefer the texture and flavor of corn.

I don’t know…they just seem less pasty. But that’s my issue, not yours, so please just use what makes you happy. (Note: if you use flour tortillas, skip this frying step and just warm them instead.)

One by one, when the oil is heated, grab a tortilla…

And briefly fry it in oil on both sides. You don’t want the tortillas to get the least bit crisp, so expect to turn them after about 5 to 10 seconds or so. Maximum fry time per tortilla: 15 to 20 seconds.

After you fry them, place each tortilla on a kitchen towel (or stack of paper towels) to drain the oil.

Cover with a second dish towel and set aside.

And guess what? You don’t have to fry the tortillas if you don’t want to. You can just nuke ‘em for about 30 seconds or so to soften them.

Just giving you options here.

Next, dice up a good amount of onion…

I won’t show you how to do it today. I will let your eyes, your psyche, and your sanity rest.

But I can’t promise I won’t show you tomorrow.

It’s basically inches away from becoming an involuntary thing at this point.

Now we need some roasted green chilies. If you have some fresh ones, great. If you have bags of the good frozen ones, fabulous. If you have Hatch in the can…congrats!

If you don’t…then just use what you can get your mitts on. These are fine!

You can buy them diced…or you can fool yourself into thinking you’re working hard and just dice ‘em yourself.

I choose the latter.

Cut ‘em into strips…

Then dice away!

You can stop there, but I had this jalapeno in my fridge.

And when I have a jalapeno in my fridge, I can’t help myself. I have to seed it, cut it into strips…

And dice it.

My parents tried to get me help when I was a teenager, but nothing worked.

Finally, grate a whole bunch of cheese. Monterey Jack, Pepper Jack…or a mix of white cheeses. You pick.

Hey…guess what? The chicken’s done!

Reserve about 2 cups of the broth. You can keep the rest, then throw in the bones after we get the meat off the chicken and make a large quantity of stock.

But we won’t worry about that today.

Today…is for enchiladas.

With two forks, start pulling the chicken off the bones. You can do it by hand if the chicken has been allowed to cool for awhile…but if you’re an impatient freakazoid like me, go ahead and use forks.

As you pull the meat off the bone, shred the chicken and place it into a bowl.

Keep going until you have about 2 to 2 1/2 cups of shredded chicken.

(Go ahead and freeze the rest for another use.)

Heat some canola oil (about a tablespoon) in a large skillet over medium-high heat.

Throw in the onions and jalapenos, if you’re using them. Toss them around a couple of times. We don’t want to cook the heck out of them—just awaken them and take away that raw onion edge.

After about a minute, throw in the chicken and the chilies.

Pour in about 1/2 cup of the reserved broth, just to moisten it up.

Then, both for color and a little flavor, sprinkle on some paprika. (And a little cayenne, if you need a little extra kick.)

And then—and I deeply apologize to all mankind for this—drizzle in about 1/2 cup of cream.

Because you’re worth it.

Stir it around, add salt and pepper, and make sure it’s thoroughly heated.

And that’s the yummy, flavorful chicken mixture. You can customize it however you’d like: chopped black olives, diced red pepper, even mushrooms.

Now we need to make the white sauce. In a separate skillet (sorry), heat a couple of tablespoons of butter…

And sprinkle on an equal amount of flour.

Whisk constantly for about a minute, allowing the roux to cook just a bit.

Ready!

Now pour in the rest of the chicken broth.

Whisk it together, and allow it to bubble up for a minute or so.

Then throw in more diced chilies and stir them in.

Then add the sour cream and stir IT in.

Then comes more paprika!

I don’t know why I love paprika in creamy saucy things. I like the slight pinkish (but not rosy pink; more of a red-pink) it gives the dish.

Then dump in a good amount of the Monterey Jack.

And what the heck—add some black pepper, just because you can.

Now, at long, long, long—like, 50 photos long—last, it’s time to bring all this craziness together!

One by one, grab a warm tortilla…

Then spoon on a good portion of the chicken mixture.

Next comes a yummy portion of cheese. Don’t skimp!

Then roll it up and place the seam side down.

Repeat this until the pan is filled with rolled up tortillas bulging with chicken and cheese…

Then, yes—you guessed it—pour the creamy cheesy chili-y sauce all over the top.

I can tell you that the quality of roasted green chilies you use really determines how over-the-top delicious this is. It’s delicious with the plain canned stuff, but if you really went for it and roasted your own…well, you’d pretty much die from bliss right there on the spot.

So maybe it’s not a good idea after all.

Now just pop it in the oven for 30 minutes or so.

You can sprinkle even more cheese on the top at this point…but believe me, it’s cheesy enough.

This needs about ten more minutes.

Ahhh…bingo.

Golden. Bubbly. Crisp edges. Soft tortillas.

Now, for the essential finish: fresh chopped cilantro!

Sprinkle it on generously.

You know what? I’ve never been happier in my life than I am right now.

Okay, maybe you didn’t hear me. I am one happy woman.

And just to let you know, if you need a little tang…

Just spoon some picante sauce over the top.

And now…your life is complete.

Oh. I almost forgot.

That is, it will be when you make this to go with it.

But we’ll worry about that later.

Enjoy! And here’s a great holiday tip: you can make these enchiladas with leftover Thanksgiving turkey. Absolutely divine.

Try it this year!

Here’s the printable recipe. A special, enthusiastic (read: ecstatic) thanks to HP for helping me implement this slick recipe print function. It’s been a long time coming!

White Chicken Enchiladas

3"x5" Cards | 4"x6" Cards | Full Page | Print

Prep Time: 45 Minutes

Cook Time: 30 Minutes

Difficulty: Intermediate

Servings: 6

Ingredients

2-½ cups Cooked, Shredded Chicken
2 cups Reserved Broth From Chicken
3 Tablespoons Canola Oil
12 whole Corn Tortillas
1 whole Large Onion, Diced
3 whole 4 Oz Cans Whole Green Chilies, Diced
1 whole Jalapeno, Seeded And Finely Diced
1 teaspoon Paprika
½ cups Heavy Cream
2 Tablespoons Butter
2 Tablespoons Flour
1 cup Sour Cream
2-½ cups Monterey Jack Cheese, Grated
Salt And Pepper (to Taste)
Picante Sauce (optional)
Cilantro, Chopped

Preparation Instructions

Heat 2 tablespoons canola oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Fry tortillas for no longer than 20 seconds, just to soften (do not allow to become crisp.) Place tortillas on a large towel or stack of paper towels to drain.

Heat 1 tablespoon canola oil in separate skillet over medium heat. Add onions and jalapenos and saute for 1 minute, just to start the cooking process. Add chicken, half of the green chilies, and 1/2 teaspoon paprika. Stir together. Add 1/2 cup chicken broth and stir. Add cream and stir, allowing mixture to bubble and get hot. Turn off heat and set aside.

In a separate large skillet, melt butter and sprinkle in flour. Whisk together and cook over medium heat for one minute. Pour in 1 1/2 cups chicken broth. Whisk together and cook for another minute or two. Stir in the other half of the chilies. Reduce heat, then stir in sour cream. Add 1 1/2 cups grated cheese and stir to melt. Add 1/2 teaspoon paprika. Check seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed.

To assemble, spoon chicken mixture on top of tortillas, one by one. Top with plenty of cheese and roll up. Place seam side down in a 9 x 13 casserole dish.

Pour cheese mixture all over the top of the tortillas. Top with extra cheese if you’d like, then bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. Sprinkle generously with chopped cilantro.

Serve with picante sauce, if desired.

Faint. Repeat as needed.

(I’m tweaking the final stages of the print function today, so if the recipe doesn’t print in its entirety, check back in a bit!)

Carrot and Squash Curry Soup

Ree Drummond — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 18:56:07 +0000

This is a delicious, satisfying soup that’ll improve your vision, win friends and influence people, and make you love curry…if you don’t already. It’s easy to make, freezes well, and will make you a happier, more well rounded citizen of this planet.

How can you resist that?

(Fun tip: check out the new Print tool at the end. It’s all for you, baby!)

Chop up a bunch of garlic.

Then grab an onion or two. I almost always choose yellow onions over white; they seem more mild and rustic.

I realize that’s totally in my imagination, but I have to be me.

Please forgive me, but I’m going to show you how to chop an onion.

Again.

It’s just that once I finally figured it out, it was like a thousand light bulbs finally went on.

And I just can’t in good conscience hide that light under a bushel.

No. I’m gonna let it shine.

Grab about three carrots. Don’t peel them, unless not peeling them grosses you out.

Then you can peel them if you want.

Wash them really well, then slice ‘em up thinly.

Now grab three or four yellow squash….

And slice them up, too!

I love squash!

Go, squash!

Rah!

Sorry.

Now, just heat some olive oil in a heavy pot.

Throw in the onions and garlic…

And the carrots…

Then stir them around and let them cook over medium heat for about three minutes, or until the carrots begin to soften.

Sprinkle in a little salt…

Then throw in the squash.

Go, squash!

Yay, squ…

Never mind.

Stir it around, sprinkle in a little more salt, then let them cook for several minutes.

And now. And now. The top secret ingredient: curry powder!

(Do you guys use Watkins spices? Then you haven’t lived. Here’s where I get mine.)

Measure about a tablespoon; if you’re unsure of whether you’ll like the flavor, start with less and work your way up. Or you can leave it out altogether if you’re not a curry fan.

I happen to think it completely defines this soup, but differences make the world go ’round.

Sprinkle the curry right over the top…

And stir it all together to combine.

Your kitchen smells so good right now!

Next comes a little wine.

You can leave this out, too, but if you like to cook with booze, this creates such a nice flavor.

Then comes good ol’ chicken broth. I didn’t have any in the freezer at the Lodge, so I just poured it right from a Swanson’s carton. A big one. 48 ounces.

Mmmm. The color. That’s what curry does to things.

Now we’re going to cover the pot and simmer the soup for a good hour or so, just to get everything nice and combined and melded and merged and in love.

Oh, yeah. There it is.

Now we’re going to puree the heck out the soup, because I love pureed soups, and what I say goes.

At least it does between the hours of 11 pm and 5 am. When I’m dreaming.

An immersion blender is so much easier, but I don’t have an immersion blender at the Lodge.

If you do use a blender, you’ll probably have to puree the soup in two batches. When you do, just try to get an equal quantity of veggies and liquid in each batch.

Return the pureed soup to the pot and bring it to a healthy simmer before serving.

Or, if you’re planning ahead, let the soup cool and freeze in large Ziplocs.

Freezes beautifully!

Mmmm. This is so, so delicious.

Feel free to serve it as is, or…

Or…

You can grab a squirt bottle and pour a little…ahem…cream into it.

And just drizzle a little bit on top of the soup.

If the soup is really hot, the cream won’t cool it much, but if you’re concerned about that, you can simmer the cream on the stove first.

Either way, you really can’t lose.

Enjoy this, my dears! It’s filling, satisfying, flavorful, and so good for you!

Except for the cream part. But we’ll think about that tomorrow.

Carrot and Squash Curry Soup

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Prep Time: 20 Minutes

Cook Time: 1 Hour

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 8

Ingredients

3 Tablespoons Olive Oil
5 cloves Garlic, Minced
1 whole Large Onion, Diced
3 whole Carrots, Washed And Sliced Thin
4 whole Yellow Squash (sliced)
Salt To Taste
1 Tablespoon Curry Powder (more To Taste!)
½ cups Dry White Wine (optional)
48 ounces, fluid Chicken Broth
Heavy Cream (optional)

Preparation Instructions

Heat olive oil in a heavy pot over medium heat. Add garlic and onions and stir to coat. Add carrots and cook for 3 minutes, or until they start to get soft. Sprinkle in a little salt.

Add squash. Stir and cook for a few minutes, until squash is soft and tender. After a few minutes, add salt to taste and the curry powder.

Pour in wine if using. Let evaporate for about 30 seconds, then pour in chicken broth. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover pot, and cook for 1 hour.

After 1 hour, taste and adjust seasonings. Turn off heat.

Puree soup using an immersion blender, or in batches in a regular blender. Return to soup pot and bring to a simmer. Serve hot. If you’re feeling naughty, drizzle heavy cream over the top.

Jaden’s Beef with Broccoli

Ree Drummond — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:29:21 +0000

I have a friend.

Her name is Jaden. She’s a food writer, a food blogger, and a sweet, lovely person.

I love her more’n my luggage.

Jaden has a cookbook! It was released about the same time as mine. We are sisters in cookbook.

Never mind that our cookbooks are nothing alike.

Our cooking isn’t all that similar, either…except for one thing: we both like recipes that are simple. Everyday. Real.

It’s just that Jaden’s recipes are, like, Asian. Mine aren’t.

But other than that, they’re identical.

Except for the fact that Jaden actually knows what she’s doing in the kitchen and I’m a complete nutjob.

But other than that, we’re twins!

I love Jaden’s cookbook, and the first dish I wanted to make was Chinese Beef Broccoli. I knew my girls would like it.

The recipe calls for either sirloin or flank steak. I can never turn down a good flank steak, so that’s what I grabbed.

BEE-YOOtiful.

See that grain? That’s flank steak, baby.

Slice it very, very thin. This’ll ensure the bites are tender.

Strips of flank steak makes me happy.

Next, cut some broccoli into bite-size florets.

Finally (and finely), chop some garlic.

For the meat marinade, grab some corn starch…

Throw it into a bowl with some soy sauce.

Add a little cooking oil and stir it together…

And pour it over the meat, tossing to combine.

Here’s something I noticed about this recipe, and it’s another big difference between Jaden’s cooking and my own: Jaden is very frugal with her measurements. Where I would casually flop and throw and pour, she very carefully measures and uses not one drop more than she thinks the dish needs.

And that’s a very nice quality. Much better than my pouring and throwing and glugging and freaking out.

Now for the stir fry sauce. Grab some oyster sauce. It’s sold in the Asian aisle of my little smalltown grocery store, which means you can get it anywhere.

The recipe calls for Chinese Black Vinegar, which is most certainly NOT found at my smalltown grocery store. So I just used balsamic. Jaden said it was okay!

Combine those two ingredients in a bowl with some rice wine.

Okay! First thing we’re gonna do is steam the broccoli. In a wok or large sauté pan, add 1 inch of water and bring it to a boil.

Throw in the broccoli…

And place the lid on the pan.

Steam for three minutes…

Set the broccoli aside.

Pour off the water and dry the pan, then heat it and pour in some high heat oil. I used peanut oil.

Swirl the pan to coat with oil…

Then throw in the garlic…

Stir it around for about 30 seconds,

Then add the meat in a single layer.

Let them cook for 30 seconds without disturbing them, then flip ‘em over to the other side.

I did the meat in two batches. I didn’t want to crowd it in there.

When the meat is all cooked, throw it into the skillet, then pour in the stir fry sauce.

Stir it around. Then faint.

Out-of-this-world delicious!

Throw in the broccoli.

Stir it together…oh, YUM!

It’s so simple…but so flavorful!

Throw some rice in a bowl.

Long grain rice. Tender-firm, plain, and awesome.

And throw the beef broccoli mixture right on top.

I loved it and so did my girls! So easy, so quick…soooo good.

Thank you, Jaden, for the beautiful recipe…and for your beautiful cookbook! I love it.

Jaden’s Chinese Beef Broccoli (from The Steamy Kitchen Cookbook)

SERVES 4 AS PART OF MULTICOURSE MEAL
1 lb (500 g) top sirloin or flank steak, thinly sliced into 1/8-in (3-mm)-thick strips
11/2 lbs (750 g) broccoli, cut into bite-size florets
1 tablespoon high-heat cooking oil
1 tablespoon minced garlic

BEEF MARINADE
1 1/2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon cooking oil
Freshly ground black pepper to season the beef

STIR-FRY SAUCE
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 teaspoons Chinese rice wine (or dry sherry)
2 teaspoons Chinese black vinegar (or balsamic vinegar)

1 In a bowl, combine the ingredients for the Beef Marinade. Add the beef and let mari- nate for 10 minutes at room temperature.

2 In a small bowl, mix together the ingre- dients for the Stir-fry Sauce.

3 In a wok or large sauté pan, add 1 inch (2.5 cm) of water and bring to a boil. Add the broccoli and cover to steam for 3 minutes. The broccoli should be bright green, crisp tender and you should be able to pierce the stem with a fork. Drain.

4 Discard the water in the pan and dry the pan well. Set the pan over high heat and when hot, add the high-heat cooking oil and swirl to coat. Add the garlic and fry for 15 to 30 seconds, until fragrant. Add the steak strips, keeping them in one layer and fry 30 seconds. Flip the strips and fry the other side.

5 Pour in the Stir-fry Sauce and stir to combine. Simmer until the sauce is thick enough to coat the back of a spoon, about 30 seconds. Add the cooked broccoli back into the pan and toss to coat well.

Mushrooms Stuffed with Brie

Ree Drummond — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 10:27:49 +0000

You want to make these.

Oh, do you want to make these.

I have a problem these days. I’m experiencing an unnatural obsession with stuffed mushrooms. I’m not kidding—I lie awake at night, not contemplating the meaning of life or the fate of the universe, but just how many different ways I can stuff a mushroom cap.

It’s taking over my life. Is that normal?

Please say yes.

You’ll love these stuffed mushrooms, my dears. They’re beautiful and decadent and divine, and are the perfect little bite to serve before a holiday dinner party. Guests will kiss you and demand to be invited back next year.

Whether or not you invite them back next year is entirely up to you and outside the scope of my involvement. I just wanted you to be forewarned.

Garlic. Everything begins with garlic.

Except maybe chocolate chip cookies.

Smash ‘em with the flat side of the knife to crack ‘em open. And while you’re at it, please encourage this crazy lady to rub some lotion on her dry hands the next time she feels the need to take a picture of her scales this up close and personal.

Thank you for your cooperation. This is a recording.

Bloop! Now just peel off the outer papery layer and chop the garlic really finely.

Then, if you want to be a really thorough food blogger like me, please be sure to forget to take a photo of the chopped garlic.

Again, your cooperation is greatly appreciated.

Chop a big handful of parsley.

Now slice up a few green onions.

Flavor, flavor, flavor!

Now grab a bunch of white button mushrooms—all sizes are fine. These were tired, getting ready to meet the same fate as that unforgotten-since-September zucchini in the back of my produce drawer (wasn’t pretty. wasn’t pretty one bit. was rank.) so I enlisted them for this job.

Wash ‘em, dry ‘em, then pull out the stems.

Stuffed mushrooms are a great way to rescue tired mushrooms.

Now. It’s time to get naughty. Melt some butter in a large saucepan.

Everybody’s doing it.

When the butter is melted, throw in the mushroom caps. Sprinkle lightly with kosher salt.

Toss ‘em around and cook them in butter for a minute or two. This will start the cooking process and get the mushrooms coated in butter.

And that’s a very, very good thing.

Remove the mushrooms after about a minute, and place them, stem side up, in an ovenproof dish.

This is an Emile Henry pie plate, for those of you who must know these kinds of details.

Crowd ‘em in as much as you can.

In the same skillet, throw in the garlic, green onions, and parsley. Sprinkle very lightly with salt.

Stir them around for a minute or so over low heat. Don’t fry the heck out of the mixture—just let it warm up for awhile. Then—and this is entirely optional—splash in a tiny bit of white wine. Let it evaporate for a few seconds, then turn off the heat.

Now grab a wedge of Brie.

Cut off the rind, being careful not to cut away any of the beautiful, unimaginably delicious creaminess below.

Cut the brie into pieces, and place each piece into a mushroom cap.

And because every mushroom on earth is unique and special and no two mushrooms are alike, you’ll have to cut the brie to fit each mushroom individually.

Keep going until all the mushroom caps are filled.

Now top the mushrooms with the parsley/garlic mixture.

Goodness.

Gracious.

Sakes alive.

Now pop ‘em in the preheated oven for about 15 to 18 minutes, or until the brie is nice and soft and melted.

These are to die for.

The mushrooms are flavorful and tender. The brie is soft and melted and creamy. The herb/garlic topping gives it an unbelievable flavor.

You’ll love them!

Unless you don’t like mushrooms. Or parsley. Or Brie.

But I think even if you fall into that category, these might turn ya around.

Enjoy!

Mushrooms Stuffed with Brie

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Prep Time: 15 Minutes

Cook Time: 15 Minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 8

Ingredients

1 package White Button Mushrooms, Washed And Stems Removed
4 cloves Garlic, Minced
¼ cups Flat-leaf Parsley, Chopped
4 whole (to 5) Green Onions, Sliced (up To Middle Of Dark Green Part)
Splash Of White Wine (optional)
1 slice (wedge) Of Brie Cheese

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Melt butter in large saucepan. Add mushroom caps and toss to coat in butter. Sprinkle lightly with salt and cook for 1 minute. Remove mushrooms from pan and place upside down in a baking dish.

In the same saucepan (without cleaning it) throw in garlic, parsley, and green onions. Sprinkle very lightly with salt and splash in wine, if using. Stir around until wine evaporates, about 1 minute. Remove from heat.

Cut rind off of brie wedge, then cut pieces of brie to fit each mushroom cap. Place inside, lightly pressing to anchor each piece of brie.

Top mushrooms with parsley/garlic mixture.

Place into the oven for 15 minutes, or until brie is melted.

Note: mushrooms are best when they’ve been allowed to cool slightly. Delicious

Buttered Rosemary Rolls

Ree Drummond — Thu, 29 Oct 2009 12:35:30 +0000

I had some rolls like these in a restaurant once. Just after I placed an order for a ribeye steak and macaroni and cheese (excessive much?) the waiter brought a small iron skillet of bread to our table. They were warm, soft dinner rolls with the most delectable rosemary flavor and I couldn’t control myself. Within seconds, the rolls were gone and I was frantically scanning the restaurant for our waiter so I could request some more, which I eventually did.

Three iron skillets of bread later, I was wishing I could cancel the steak and noodles. I’d eaten so many rolls, I smelled like rosemary for days. People kept stopping me, asking which Aveda product I was wearing.

I duplicated these rolls the other day using—brace yourselves—basic frozen dinner rolls. The star of this show is really the rosemary (and another surprise ingredient; stay tuned) and I actually find the texture and flavor of rolls from frozen dough to be not bad at all! But if you’re a from scratch purist, you can substitute your own homemade dough or use the dough from my cinnamon rolls. Anything will do!

Let’s make ‘em, baby.

These are frozen dinner rolls, sold at the supermarket. I use the Rhode’s brand in the orange package, but you might have different brands available in your neck of the woods.

This is a rusty iron skillet, probably 7 to 8 inches in diameter. Rusty, because I never seasoned it properly, and rusty, because I probably let it soak for a long time once and didn’t dry it properly.

Basically, I can’t be trusted. But we’ll cover that in a separate post.

Generously coat the pan with some olive oil…or some good ol’ cooking spray.

Now place the frozen rolls in the pan, leaving plenty of rising room around each one.

I got about seven in this pan; I wouldn’t want it any more crowded than this since the rolls will probably double in size by the time they’re finished rising.

Now cover them with plastic wrap or a dish towel…

And put them in a non-drafty spot in your kitchen. Walk away for a good three hours (check the directions on the package) and allow them to rise. (Obviously, you’ll need to start these earlier in the day if you want to serve them for dinner.)

Wow—look at what happened!

Yeast is a powerful animal.

I’ll probably let them rise another 20 minutes or so, just to ensure that they’ll be light and fluffy. And as you can see, we wouldn’t have wanted to cram them any closer together; they’ll puff up even more once they bake!

Rosemary. Yum. I need it in my life.

Strip off the leaves and chop the rosemary.

Throw a little butter (regular, salted) into a microwave-safe bowl…

…And melt it in the microwave.

Now, grab the most pathetic, beaten up pastry brush that you can find in your kitchen (it’ll make me feel better about myself) and very lightly brush butter over the tops of the rolls. They’re light and fluffy and risen, remember, so you don’t want to smush.

Now, you could easily stop here and bake them as they are if you just want a nice pan of dinner rolls. In the iron skillet, they make a pretty presentation!

But I’m not stopping there.

I never stop there. Stopping there is my least favorite thing to do in life.

Sprinkle rosemary all over the top. It’s very, very flavorful, so you don’t have to do too much.

This looks about right!

Now, very gently brush a little more butter over the top, just to coat the rosemary and break a few rules.

Because you’re worth it.

But we’re still not finished. If you have any good, coarse sea salt, grab it. (My friend Alice gave this to me when we met last month; I used it to make the sea salt truffles a couple of weeks ago, and I absolutely cherish the stuff.)

That’s right. Just sprinkle a tiny bit of sea salt over the tops of the rolls.

You must trust me on this one.

It does make the first bite a little salty, but there’s enough plain bread underneath the crusty top to balance it…and it really brings out the flavor of the rosemary.

It’s just good.

Now just pop the skillet into the oven a bake. Follow the temperature directions on the dough package; I did 400 degrees for about 16 or 17 minutes, I think.

Oh dear. Here they are.

Note: Definitely bake them for an adequate amount of time; let the top get really golden brown. You want the bottom of the rolls to be sure to be done. For this reason, it’s best to keep the skillet no higher than the middle rack of the oven.

Note #2: Don’t be alarmed if you look in the oven and the rolls have poufed way over the top of the pan. They’ll settle down slightly when you take them out.

Now, just give ‘em another tiny brush of butter.

You heard me.

I have one thing to say to these rosemary rolls:

Come to mama.

Wanna be loved? Park these on the dinner table next time you have guests over.

Just make sure you have a couple of extra skillets ready to bake. Because if you run out, you won’t so much be loved anymore.

And I wouldn’t wish that for you.

Pull-apart, herbalicious perfection.

Try them this weekend!

Buttered Rosemary Rolls

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Prep Time: 3 Hours

Cook Time: 20 Minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 7

Ingredients

Frozen, Unbaked Dinner Rolls
Melted Butter, Regular, Salted
Fresh Rosemary, Coarsely Chopped
Coarse Sea Salt

Preparation Instructions

Spray a small iron skillet with cooking spray (or coat with olive oil). Place frozen rolls in the skillet, leaving plenty of room for rising. Cover and allow to rise for several hours.

After rising, brush rolls with melted butter.

Sprinkle on chopped rosemary. Brush with additional butter.
Sprinkle with coarse sea salt.

Bake according to roll package directions (usually 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes), until rolls are a deep golden brown on top.

Serve skillet on the table.

Pear Crisp with Vanilla Ice Cream

Ree Drummond — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 15:27:48 +0000

This, my darling friends, Romans, and countrymen, is an absolute treat.

I had pears. I wanted to use them for a dessert. I originally intended to make some sort of cheesecake with some sort of caramel pear topping. But I’ve been making a lot of caramely things lately, things like Caramel Apple Pecan Rolls, Apple Cake in an Iron Skillet, etc. And I wanted to change things up.

In addition, I forgot that I’d already gone and eaten all the cream cheese in my house. I HATE it when that happens!

So cheesecake, at that point, would have been a little difficult.

Live and learn.

I wound up making this very simple (but very delicious) pear crisp. Served warm with vanilla bean ice cream, I had to sit on my hands and look at eighties photos of Linda Evangelista to keep myself from eating the entire pan. And it worked. For an hour, it actually worked.

After that, things started to really fall apart.
Start with 4 to 5 pears, the firmer the better since you don’t want them to fall apart when the crisp bakes.

Peel the pears using a veggie peeler.

Cut them in half lengthwise.

Use a spoon to scoop out the seeds and hard core.

Poifect!

Put the halves face down, then make several slices.

Cut them in the other direction to dice them.

Keep going until all the pears are diced.

Throw them into a bowl…

With a nice amount of sugar.

Though any amount of sugar is nice. Evil, mean…and nice.

Sprinkle in some salt, just to make up for all this sweetness.

Stir it all together, and try not to scarf this down. It’s extremely inviting.

And now for the topping, which is the oh, so goooood part. Combine flour, sugar, brown sugar…

And cinnamon.

Grab about 1/2 cup pecans.

And chop them up…

Then keep chopping…

Then chop some more. We don’t want any large chunks of pecans—just a really fine chop.

Chop, chop, chop.

Throw the pecans in with the flour mixture.

Stir it around to combine…

Then throw some butter into a bowl and melt it in the microwave.

Drizzle it over the flour mixture, stirring it with a fork as you go.

Keep stirring until you wind up with big, moist clumps.

Now pour the pears into a buttered baking dish.

Buttered, because you’re worth it.

Now sprinkle the topping over the fruit.

Ahhh. Lovely and delicious.

This is looking very promising.

Very, very promising.

And I know these things.

Now, pop it in the oven to bake for a good 30 minutes. After 30 minutes has passed, stick it on the top rack of the oven for an additional 10 minutes, just to get the top nice and golden brown and bubbly.

Oh, dear. Does this ever smell divine.

Uh…yeah.

That’s what I’m talking about.

Vanilla ice cream. Here’s a recipe if you’d like to make your own:

Vanilla Bean Ice Cream

Serve it up warm, baby…

Yes. I think this’ll do.

I think this’ll definitely do.

You won’t believe how delightful this is. Such a nice change of pace from the typical (albeit delicious) apple dessert. And you can add some minced fresh ginger to the pears if you want to step the flavors up a notch. In fact, I’m going to do that right now. I have no self control.

Enjoy this! It’s perfect for the holidays.

Pear-Cinnamon Crisp with Vanilla Ice Cream

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Prep Time: 15 Minutes

Cook Time: 40 Minutes

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 4

Ingredients

FILLING INGREDIENTS:
4 whole (to 5) Large Pears (Bosc Work Well)
⅔ cups Sugar
¼ teaspoons Salt
_____
Topping Ingredients
1-½ cup All-purpose Flour
⅓ cups Sugar
⅓ cups Firmly Packed Brown Sugar
½ teaspoons Cinnamon
½ cups Pecans, Very Finely Chopped
1 stick Butter, Melted

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Peel, core, and dice pears. Place into a bowl and stir together with 2/3 cup sugar and 1/4 teaspoon salt. Set aside.

In a separate bowl, combine flour, sugar, brown sugar, cinnamon, and pecans. Stir together. Drizzle melted butter gradually, stirring with a fork as you go until all combined.

Pour pears into a baking dish; top with crumb topping.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Place pan on top rack of oven for an additional 10 minutes, or until topping is golden brown.

Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.