You may be wondering why there has been a dirth of entries of late. Well, Mimi, was on Spring Break and taking in the sights in Colorado and I was trying to get finished so I could take Spring Break this week! YEAH. ALSO – check out this sky and these flowers. Would YOU want to miss this while slaving over a hot stove? Me either. There was also a big Rugby tournament in town which was fun even though I don’t understand it, I went to a wedding at a beautiful outside location on Moon River (I think). I am heading to Atlanta and the aquarium this weekend so don’t look to me to do any cooking until I return, perhaps Mimi can take up the mantle since she’s finally home.
Cheers!
Archive for March, 2008
Perfect Sky and Dogwood in bloom
Posted in Thoughts on March 17, 2008 | Leave a Comment »
Snicker Brownies
Posted in Desserts, Snacks on March 12, 2008 | 3 Comments »
I haven’t blogged in a while so I feel a bit guilty blogging not on my own recipe, but someone elses, but these are delicious and easy so you should totally try them:
1 1/2 sticks (12 tablespoons) butter, melted, plus a little more for greasing the pan
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
10 mini chocolate-peanut candy bars, crumbled (about 1 1/2 cups), refrigerator cold (recommended: Snickers “fun size”)
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Grease a 9 by 13-inch cake pan (aluminum is fine) with butter. Beat the 1 1/2 sticks butter and the sugar together in a large bowl until blended. Beat in the eggs 1 at a time, then stir in water and vanilla. Sprinkle the salt and baking powder over the mixture, then mix in. Do the same with the cocoa. Finally, stir in the flour until just blended.
Put the candy bars in a food processor or blender and pulse on low speed until all the bars have been reduced to a coarse crumble. Fold the crumble into the batter thoroughly. Scrape the batter into the prepared pan. Bake for about 30 minutes, until the center is set, the edges look a bit crusty, and the top of the brownies start to crack a little. Cool completely before cutting into squares.
Creamy Polenta and Mushroom Ragout
Posted in Poultry, Vegetables, tagged Chicken Cutlets, Creamy Polenta with Mushroom Ragout on March 6, 2008 | 2 Comments »
I really need to buy some plates that aren’t white. Everything I make looks all washed out when I try to get a good shot for the blog.
In all honesty, I think whoever blogged this recipe originally must have photoshopped the hell out of the pic I saw of this. There is no way a sauce made with red wine and cream can be anything other than purple.
And I wish I knew to whom to credit this recipe. When I first started my recipe database, I neglected to record where I got the recipe. I have since diligently recorded which blogs I pillage. Anyhoo, if anyone knows who’s recipe this is, please let me know so I can give credit where credit is due. And believe me, this is sooooooo yummie.
I started by defrosting 2 chicken breasts and beating them senseless with my meat mallet until they were cutlet thin. I then dredged them in a beaten egg (mixed with some hot sauce) and breaded them with panko (mixed with my dad’s version of Emeril Lagasse’s Essence- kinda spicy). I put them on a baking sheet and baked them at 375 degrees for about 15 minutes. To finish them, I put them under the broiler to brown them a bit. Under a foil tent they went to stay toasty while I made the polenta and mushroom ragout. The chicken part was not in the original recipe, but I needed a meat to round out the dinner.
To make the polenta I boiled 4 cups of water and added some salt, then whisked in 1 cup of corn meal. I think most people use yellow corn meal to make polenta, but I didn’t have any, so I used white. After I whisked in the polenta, I switched to a wooden spoon and added 4 tablespoons of butter (yes, that’s half a stick). I put the heat on low and let it hang out about 15 minutes. I cubed up 4 ounces of cream cheese (no one said this was healthy) and mixed it in. Oh- and I chopped up a couple of teaspoons of fresh sage. I peppered it and put the lid on to keep it warm til I needed it.
On to the ragout. I put the other 4 tablespoons of butter (for those counting- we are up to 1 whole stick of butter in this meal) in a large skillet and put it on medium high heat. When the butter was melted I added 4 cups of sliced cremini mushrooms (that was about a package and a half). I added a teaspoon of salt to help draw out the moisture, and about 1 teaspoon of dried oregano. After the mushrooms released their liquid and got all soft, I added 1/4 cup of red wine (I used cheap merlot) and 1/4 cup heavy cream- and a pinch of salt. I stirred and backed the heat off to medium. I let it reduce about 10 minutes. Because I thought it was still a little thin, I put about a teaspoon of corn starch and the same amount of water in a little dish and mixed it well. I added it to the bubbling mushroom sauce and it almost instantly tightened up and became super glossy.
To serve all this, I put a bed of polenta on the plate, topped it with a ladleful of mushroom ragout, then put the chicken cutlet on the top. I garnished with a few leave of fresh sage.
So, not very photogenic, but killler good.
Gouda Mac and Cheese!
Posted in Cheese, Pasta, tagged gouda cheese, macaroni and cheese on March 4, 2008 | 4 Comments »
Dev loves gouda cheese.
We had a hunk of it in our fridge.
So…I decided to make mac and cheese out of it.
Unfortunately, I wasn’t going by a recipe, so I can’t tell you exactly how I did it. I can give you a blow by blow, but that’s about it.
I started by sauteeing an onion in olive oil and butter (if I had to guess at amounts, I’d say maybe a couple of tablespoons of butter and one tablespoon of olive oil). Oh- and I started boiling the elbow pasta. I boiled about half a pound of pasta for 8 minutes, then drained it.
Back at the cheese sauce…
After the onions had softened (about maybe 5 minutes), I added flour. How much? I have no idea- maybe a quarter cup? I let it cook like a roux for about 5 minutes. I added a little salt and a few drops of hot sauce at this point. I had managed to eek 2 cups of dairy liquid out of my fridge- I had about 1/2 cup of 2% milk, about 1 cup of half and half and maybe 1/2 cup of white wine. I whisked the liquid into the bubbling roux and stirred until it began thickening. While it was thickening, I added a few grates of fresh nutmeg.
When it got nice and thick, I took it off the heat and added about 2 cups of grated cheese. I used about a half a cup of gouda, a cup of cheddar and half a cup of parmesan. I whisked until the sauce was smooth.
I poured the sauce over the pasta and stirred it together. Into a greased casserole dish it went, then I made a topping of breadcrumbs and olive oil and sprinkled that on top.
It hung out in a 375 degree oven for about 20 minutes, until the top was brown and the cheese was all happy and talkative.
I served this with some fish steaks I had in the freezer. The steaks were seasoned with blackening spices and then baked with the casserole for the last 15 minutes.
The fish was not at all photogenic, but the mac and cheese was appropriately gooey looking!
Cheese Making
Posted in Cheese, Pasta, tagged Cheesemaking, lasagne, mozzarella cheese, ricotta cheese on March 2, 2008 | 1 Comment »
This is a pic of the lasagne I’m making for tonight’s dinner.
Dev was hard at work all day, making mozzarella and ricotta to make this dinner possible.
I have noticed a few differences between home made moz. and store bought moz. On the positive side, home made moz. has more flavor, and is much less rubbery. On the negative side, it doesn’t melt the same way store bought does. It doesn’t really melt and spread. I think this may mean we need to knead it more during the processing, or perhaps there is something else we could do. If anyone out there is familiar with making moz. and would like to offer some suggestions, I’m all ears.
