October 2006 Archives

DELICIOUS!!! The gnocchi turned out SO well and Boy and Girl DID enjoy helping. They were VERY precise about their rolling of the dough, the cutting, the rolling on the fork tines. I couldn't be happier! A couple of things:
---the dumplings require a little more boiling time than the recipe specifies to make them "al dente" enough
---the salt in the cooking water is probably not necessary - we found them to be a tad too salty (just a TAD)
---we didn't need quite as much flour in the dough as the recipe specified and didn't need any flour on our work surface at all
---when you're making this with kids, they will be tempted to make other designs out of the dough. Girl made an Easter Island-type design that she called her "guy". It's hard to see in the photo, but this "guy" actually has a nose, mouth, eyes, etc.

She insisted that I boil him, alone, so that he could be identified and consumed, later, individually. This will make probably the most unusual school lunch contribution that I have ever seen (this coming from a woman that actually owns Japanese hard-boiled egg molds in the shape of a fish, a truck, a bear and a rabbit).
---the brown butter gets done much faster than specified, but MAN, is it ever yummy.

These will DEFINITELY be considered for Thanksgiving. I think they would travel fairly well and could probably be microwaved, if you watched them very carefully.

The pork chops were quite good, too. A little pedestrian, nothing too spectacular, but reliable and would be widely accepted. I cooked the onions (intentionally) for quite a long time, until they were almost caramelized. Definitely easy, a good candidate for "busy week-night" rotation, but not one for entertaining or any kind of special event. The gnocchi, however, would be a stellar candidate for that kind of thing.......

I'm making this for dinner tonight - be sure to check back for results. I've made the dough and shaped half of the dumplings - I'm saving the other half until Boy and Girl get home from school, because I think (hope?) that they'll enjoy helping. It's a little like working with playdough - kinda fun. Hubby is going to buy a camera this afternoon, so I (hopefully!) will actually be able to include a photo! We are invited to a multi-generational big family meal for Thanksgiving (in-laws, out-laws, step-s, ex-es, etc.) and I have high hopes that this will be the dish that I will bring to contribute (and a big VAT of those salad green with pumpkin vinaigrette).

More later.......

Grilled Brined Pork Loin Chops

I adapted this recipe from a pre-packaged brine mix that I bought on vacation once. After I came home and used the mix, I couldn't find a place to buy it anymore, so I had to "wing it". Brining really does make a huge difference, especially with pork, and makes your meat very flavorful and juicy.

8 thinly-sliced pork loin chops
3 Tbsp. kosher salt
8 whole peppercorns
1 tsp. brown sugar
1 prune, coarsely chopped
1 or 2 coarsely chopped "baby" carrots
1 minced garlic clove
2 Tbsp. coarsely chopped celery
2 Tbsp. coarsely chopped onion
2 dried apple slices, coarsely chopped

Mix all ingredients, except pork chops, with 6 cups cool water. Stir well until salt is dissolved. Soak porkchops in salt solution, refrigerated, for 24 hours (I use a Ziploc bag). Remove from brine, discarding brine. Rinse chops and pat dry. Grill (or broil, if you prefer). Yummy.

Unfortunately, my camera has suffered a fatal accident and so I will not have photos for a couple of days. Hubby tried to take a photo of our dinner tonight with his phone, but it turned out AWFUL and completely devoid of color:

I was downloading photos from Girl's volleyball tournament this weekend (her team won first place!!!) and it (the camera) fell off the counter where I was working. Now the lens won't go in and out anymore. I've attached a GREAT volleyball photo of Girl for you as a consolation prize - luckily I got those photos all downloaded before it was too late!

Girl, in the middle of the front row, with glasses.

I was DESPERATELY in need of a new camera, anyway (the power button had been repaired with a thumbtack - I am VERY tough on electonic equipment), so Hubby has promised that he will buy me a new one ASAP. Being a "techie", though, he feels the need to research and comparison-shop before buying any new electronics, so it may be a week or so before I have one. I did want to mention this meal, however, since I tried a couple of Epicurious recipes.

The first was the Basil and Bacon-Wrapped Chicken Breasts from Gourmet magazine (July 1996). This recipe was really good. I added a little parmesan cheese to the basil stuffing, as a couple of the reviewers on Epicurious suggested (I didn't have feta on hand today). I always work better when I have a photo, and this recipe didn't have one, so I'm not sure that I assembled the chicken breasts precisely as they were "supposed" to be (and, alas, I'm not providing a photo for you, either), but they were still tasty and fairly attractive. I did have to use some toothpicks to hold the bacon on the chicken in the oven, and almost burned myself trying to put them in, but it did hold together, eventually. The bacon imparted a different flavor to the chicken that I wasn't super-crazy about, but Hubby and kids LOVED it, so I think it was just my own bias. I'm used to having bacon-wrapped filets, but had never had it with chicken before, so I think it was just "different" for me. The chicken was, however, VERY moist and juicy.

This Green Bean recipe (from September 1999 Gourmet magazine) was really good and VERY easy, although I did adapt it a little. I didn't have almonds on hand, so I substituted pine nuts, which were quite good. The butter did foam alarmingly while I was saute-ing the garlic and nuts, but it turned out fine in the end. I cooked the green beans in chicken stock for a little extra flavor. Sometime, I'll post my recipe for making homemade chicken stock. It's time-consuming, but WELL worth the effort, if you haven't ever done it, and is a rewarding thing to do on a rainy day.

I know that Fried Okra doesn't "go" with this, but the kids love it and had been asking for it. I made some a month or so ago and had it frozen, so I pulled it out to make them happy tonight. It freezes much better than I would have expected (this was the first time that I had tried it), although nothing compares to having it right out of the hot oil. When I froze it, I placed it in a single layer on a cookie sheet lined with waxed paper and then put it in the freezer until the individual pieces froze, then put it in a Ziploc bag. To reheat, I put it (straight out of the freezer, not thawed) on a cookie sheet (lined with foil and sprayed with Pam) and baked it at 400 degrees for 15 minutes - that was the time and temperature that tonight's chicken had to bake, so I just put it in there with the chicken.

We had some Pizza Bread, from Great Harvest, also to go with this. Yummy.

A quick, easy lunch (we were still full from frittatas until about 2:00!). This looks kind of weird in the photo, but they were actually pretty good!

Open-faced Reuben Sandwich Melts

2 slices rye bread (I like the kind with caraway seeds)
1/2 cup sauerkraut
4 or 5 slices corned beef
2 slices baby Swiss cheese
3 Tbsp. ketchup
3 Tbsp. mayonnaise
prepared horseradish to taste (1 or 2 Tbsp.)
3 Tbsp. sweet pickle relish

Mix together ketchup, mayo, horseradish and relish (this is just basically Thousand Island with a little kick). Spread a generous amount on one side of each slice of bread. Next, top each slice of bread with corned beef, then sauerkraut, then Swiss cheese. Bake at 300 degrees, watching closely (I use my toaster oven), until meat is warmed through, bread is toasted and cheese is melted, about 3 to 5 minutes. Serves 2.

Hubby works from home, so we are lucky enough, some days, to be able to have a nice breakfast together after we get the kids off to school. One of our favorite things to have is a frittata. They usually require only one pan, are easier to make than omelets (no spilled filling, no falling apart when you take them out of them pan and they require less cheese), and are a great way to use up leftover veggies and meats. I happened to have some nice leftovers (roasted red peppers, white asparagus and shaved Gruyere) and put this one together this morning.

Frittata with Roasted White Asparagus, Yukon Gold Potatoes, Gruyere, Roasted Red Peppers and Applewood-Smoked Bacon

7 eggs, beaten
5 slices Applewood-Smoked bacon (I like Pederson's)
2 small (or 1 large) Yukon Gold potatoes, cut into half-inch dice
1/2 of roasted red bell pepper, sliced or chopped
1 cup cooked asparagus, in bite-sized pieces (I used leftover Roasted White Asparagus, but green asparagus would be fine or broccoli or even spinach - e.coli free, of course!)
3 Tbsp. shaved Gruyere cheese (or any cheese you like)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Start bacon cooking. As bacon cooks and fat renders, spoon the bacon fat off and place it into a 10" non-stick, oven-proof skillet. When you get enough bacon fat to coat the bottom of the skillet, cook the potatoes in the bacon fat until golden and tender on the inside and slightly crisp on the outside, stirring occasionally so that all sides are browned. When bacon is cooked, drain it well and set it aside to cool. When potatoes are done, turn the heat off and add the asparagus, peppers and the bacon (crumbled) to the pan. Pour the eggs over the ingredients, then sprinkle the cheese over the top. Quickly place the skillet into the oven and cook until the frittata is firm and the cheese on top is slightly browned (15 - 20 minutes). I turned the broiler on for the last 1-2 minutes to get a nice, golden top, but that is optional. Cut the frittata into wedges and serve. Makes 4 servings.

This was SO good. One addition to this recipe that would have improved it would be some onion or shallots. I would add a few Tbsp. of chopped shallot or red onion (maybe even chopped green onion?) to the potatoes during their last minute or two of cooking time and then proceed with the recipe.

Hubby and I went to a wine-tasting class at Whole Foods last night. I highly recommend their programs, if you are lucky enough to live close to a store with a Culinary Center. We went to a Family Cooking Night on Saturday and the kids made pasta and a sun-dried tomato and ricotta sauce. It was really yummy and lots of fun. So, the class last night covered lots of different wines, but our favorites were:

Nozzole Chianti Classico (Italy) - This was medium-bodied, with spicy hints of cherry and rosemary. I was wishing for a big plate of Spaghetti Bolognese to go with it.

Conde de Valdemar Gran Reserva Rioja (Spain) - Beautiful color and subtle oak flavors. I thought I tasted a bit of caraway/celery flavor, too.

Ben Marco Malbec (Argentina) - VERY dark, smooth, full-bodied. Plum flavors.

Buehler Cabernet Sauvignon (California) - Mmmm.....full, rich, chocolate-y flavor.

Hubby and I have a decided preference for red wines, but this one was good, too:

Reinhold Haart Piesporter Spatlese Riesling (Germany). Normally, Rieslings are way too sweet for me, but this one was very good and spicy, even though "Spatlese", we learned, means that the wine was made from the last grape harvest of the season, so the grapes are usually a little more mature and sweet. I actually bought a bottle of this and will serve it the next time we have something really spicy (Thai?) for dinner.

I first encountered Kataifi (I've also seen it spelled "katafi". I'm not sure which is right, but on my box of dough, it said "kataifi".) at one of my favorite restaurants, Artie's, in Fairfax City, Virginia. They have blue crab fritters that are breaded with kataifi (finely shredded phyllo dough) and served with roasted corn salsa and ginger lobster butter. They are SO delicious and you should definitely stop and have some, if you are in the Northern Virginia/Washington D.C. area.

I thought that it would be fun to try something else with shredded phyllo, and Emeril's website was obliging enough to have this recipe: Katafi Wrapped Chicken Strips with 2 Dipping Sauces

I used Emeril's "Baby Bam" spice, which is a "bammed-down" version of his "Essence" spice. The recipe for this great seasoning is in his "There's a Chef in My Soup" book, but it contains paprika, salt, parsley, onion and garlic powder, black pepper, oregano, basil, thyme and celery salt. I use "Baby Bam" on almost everything and even keep a glass jar of it out on my counter, near the stove, with the salt, pepper and olive oil. The chicken strips were good, and the chicken itself had good flavor, but the phyllo was fairly bland. I don't know if I over-breaded and there was just too much, but I think, if I made these again, I might sprinkle a little Baby Bam over the top of the strips before they're baked. The good news is that the sauces were pretty flavorful. Hubby decided to use them (well, mostly the raspberry) for "dousing" sauces, instead of dipping sauces, and I think that's probably the best way to go. The strips, with all of the crumbly, dangling kataifi, are a little unwieldy to be "finger food", so they pretty much require a fork, anyway, so having them covered in sauce is not an inconvenience. Both Boy and Girl liked these.

The two dipping sauces were:
Apricot Dipping Sauce and
Spicy Raspberry Dipping Sauce
They were both good, but the Raspberry sauce really wasn't that spicy. I didn't have seedless raspberry preserves, so I just used what I had, which did have seeds, but it was fine. Girl preferred the apricot sauce. Boy liked the chicken plain, with no sauce. This dish actually might have been really good with a roasted corn salsa (with chopped tomato, black beans, a little onion and cilantro).

I still had some leftover mixed salad greens from Hubby's party, so I went to Epicurious and did a quick search for a "4-fork" rated salad and came across the Mixed Greens with Roasted Asparagus and Apple. A bonus was that I still had some Gruyere on hand from our recent fondue experiment, so all I had to buy at the store was apples and asparagus. My store happened to be out of regular old green asparagus, and only had the white (it IS out of season right now - I should have known better), but it looked good, so I thought I'd give it a shot. The salad was good and Girl liked it, but Boy has decided that he's not a great big vinaigrette fan, so I may have to lay off it for a while, or add just a tad bit more sugar to his portion of the dressing. The salad tasted fine, but since I used the white asparagus, almost everything had the same color (white-ish apple, white-ish cheese, white-ish asparagus), except for the salad greens. I did add a bit of roasted red pepper, because I still had some on hand, but it was a little difficult to see if you were eating a chunk of apple or a chunk of cheese, since it all looked similar. Having the green asparagus would've helped, I think, but it was pretty good, anyway.

Here's how it all looked on the (my) plate:

We had a family dinner party last night to celebrate Hubby's 40th birthday. Hubby requested Mangia's Pizza (the Jeff's Special is TO DIE FOR) and salad for the meal. I had some leftover Jerked Pumpkin Seeds from the Butternut Squash soup that I made recently and decided to come up with a salad that would work with them. This salad was a MAJOR hit - the guests loved it and there was absolutely not one bite left - a few guests even went back for seconds! This will make a HUGE batch (about 16 servings), so feel free to adjust quantities as necessary to suit your needs. Girl is a big onion fan, so she liked this salad better than Boy. The salad is is still pretty kid-friendly (apples, carrots, sweet peppers), though. If your kids aren't fans of slightly spicy things, you might leave the pumpkin seeds out of the kid portions.

Fall Greens with Pumpkin Vinaigrette and Jerked Pumpkin Seeds

For Salad:
1 pound of your favorite greens or lettuce mixture (the mix that I used had romaine, oak leaf, lolla rosa, tango, chard, mizuna, arugula, frisee and radicchio)
1 roasted red bell pepper, peeled, seeded and cut into slivers
1 large (or 2 small) Granny Smith apples, thinly sliced into bite-sized pieces
1 grated carrot (or about 8 baby carrots, grated)
1/2 small red onion, very thinly sliced into strips
3/4 cup shaved (use a veggie peeler) Parmesan
3/4 cup Jerked pumpkin seeds (see below)
1 batch Pumpkin Vinaigrette (see below)

Gently toss together all ingredients EXCEPT pumpkin seeds, Parmesan and vinaigrette. Pour vinaigrette over salad (you'll probably need all of it) and gently toss again to coat. Sprinkle a little Parmesan and a few pumpkin seeds over each salad serving as it is plated. Pass remaining pumpkins seeds for anyone that likes their salad "extra crunchy" and would like more.

Pumpkin Vinaigrette

2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
2 tsp. maple syrup
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground pepper
4 Tbsp. pumpkin puree
4 Tbsp. apple cider vinegar
8 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil

Combine all ingredients except the olive oil into a small bowl. Whisk well. Add olive oil and whisk until incorporated. Makes about 1 cup.

Jerked Pumpkin Seeds

3/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds
about 1/4 cup Jerk seasoning (see below)
1 and 1/2 Tbsp. melted butter

Pour the melted butter over pumpkin seeds, add the Jerk seasoning and stir. Bake at 250 degrees for about an hour, turning and stirring about every 15 minutes.

Jamaican Jerk Seasoning
This is Chef Jeff Blank's recipe from his WONDERFUL book Cooking Fearlessly, I've just cut the quantities down some:

1/2 cup granulated sugar
6 Tbsp. garlic powder
2 Tbsp. salt
1 1/2 tsp. white pepper
1/2 tsp. allspice
1 1/2 tsp. dry mustard
6 Tbsp. onion powder
2 Tbsp. dried thyme
1 1/2 tsp. black pepper
1 1/2 tsp. cayenne
4 tsp. curry powder
1/4 tsp. ground clove

This seasoning can also be used as a rub on meats before smoking or grilling.
I also used it to make Jerked Cashews and Pecans recently for a great cocktail snack (follow the same instructions for making the Jerked Pumpkin Seeds).

Wasabi-Miso Marinated Flank Steak from Cooking Light, my absolute most favorite food-related magazine of all time. Their new cookbook (The All-New Complete Cooking Light Cookbook) is an update of the one that they put out a few years back and it is absolutely awesome! I even gave it to two friends for their birthdays recently.

Potato Gratin with Gruyere and Creme Fraiche is from Bon Appetit a few years ago. This is one of my all-time favorite recipes, great with lots of things - fancy enough for an adult dinner party, but very kid-friendly. I didn't put the parsley on top of it tonight, because I didn't have any - but it was still great! Rice probably would have been a more appropriate choice with this meal, but I just felt like steak 'n' taters!

To go with this, I steamed some edamame, in the shell. I like the organic (frozen) edamame from Costco - it comes with multiple single-dinner-size packets in one big bag. It tastes lots better if you add plenty of salt to the cooking water. My kids think it's really fun to use their teeth to scrape the beans out of the pod - kinda like eating artichoke leaves.

Overall, this was a good dinner, but I'm not sure that I would make this flank steak recipe again. The mirin in the marinade made the finished product VERY sweet and the specified amount of wasabi didn't add enough spice to counterbalance it - even the kids said that it was too sweet! Using real sake, instead of sweetened mirin, might have helped, but it just wasn't a standout. A friend of mine made the Flank Steak with Cilantro-Almond Pesto, however, which is the recipe on the same page as the Wasabi-Miso Marinated Flank Steak in the cookbook, and she said that it was outstanding, so I'll be trying that one next.

Gonna go have some leftover Key Lime pie for dessert.......mmmmmm........

I made another of the Key Lime pies. The kids were offended that they didn't get to try it on Saturday, and I did have some of the coulis left, so, here it is. Yes, yes, I did, indeed write the Boy and Girl's initials in Passion Fruit coulis. Sue me.

The Girl LOVED this. The Boy felt cheated (he didn't care for the blueberries) and wanted a Hershey bar (we've already bought our Halloween give-out candy). Oh, well....

You can't have a family-friendly cooking website without a cream-of-something soup recipe, right?

I truly can't believe that I made this dish tonight. I'll try to explain:
A million years ago (well, OK, 15 1/2 years), when we were first married, some friends introduced us to this dish. Hubby liked it and I did, too, I'm embarassed to say. We actually ate this once a month or so back then, but our tastes have matured and I haven't made it in at least 8 years. Our children, ages 9 and 11, had never had this dish, indeed, I could probably count the number of times that either of them has had Doritos on one hand. Anyway, Hubby's birthday was yesterday and his joking response when I asked him what he'd like for his birthday dinner was "Dorito Chicken". He assured me, later, that he really WAS joking, but I decided to call his bluff and make it, anyway. I thought it would be an interesting experiment to see what we thought of it now - and to see what the kids thought of it. Our friend, Staci, actually was brave (misguided?) enough to serve this the first time that she invited Robert (her future husband) over for dinner. This dish, when executed according to the recipe, actually looks like vomit. In spite of this, Robert and Staci are still married (about 15 years later?) and have 2 beautiful, sweet, smart children. I actually still have the original recipe, written in my friend Staci's handwriting, with her warning that if I try to add sour cream, salsa or cilantro (or anything else not offically sanctioned by the original recipe), the recipe would have to be forgotten and returned.

Dorito Chicken

1 large bag Nacho Cheese flavored Doritos chips (you won't use all of them!)
4 chicken breasts
1 can Cream of Mushroom soup
1 can Cream of Chicken soup
2 or 3 (you decide) small (4.5 oz) cans chopped green chiles
3/4 cup shredded sharp cheddar cheese
Cooked rice or pasta

Simmer chicken breasts in water in large stockpot until cooked through. (I couldn't resist the temptation and added all of the necessary ingredients to make chicken stock: carrot, onion, celery, parsley, peppercorn, thyme, bay leaf, a little white wine. I might as well get SOMETHING gourmet out of this meal!) Remove chicken from pot, reserving broth. Allow chicken to cool and then dice it into small pieces. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Slightly crumble enough Doritos to make about 3 cups of Dorito "pieces". Spread these on the bottom of a baking pan (9 X 13 or so). Mix together diced chicken, soups and chiles and 1 cup of reserved chicken broth. Pour mixture over Doritos and bake, covered with foil, at 350 degrees for 30 - 45 minutes (until cheese is completely melted and mixture is heated through). Remove from oven, stir completely and serve over cooked rice.

Dorito Chicken after being baked (I used natural white cheddar, so you can't see the bright orange cheese like you could when I made this as a newlywed.)

Dorito Chicken after being stirred

The verdict, after (re-)tasting? It's actually not bad, for a comfort-foody-type casserole. It would be a great meal to prepare for an evening when you're going out and want to leave something home-made for your kids and the babysitter. It's also not bad for a super-busy weeknight, when you need something that can be pulled out of the oven after soccer practice, a volleyball game, piano lessons, etc. For grown-ups, you'd want to add a pretty salad or nice fresh veggie, but it's actually quite palatable and VERY easy. It could, obviously, be prepared ahead and baked later. Hubby, who has a cast-iron stomach, doused the dish in Huy Fong Sriracha, as he does EVERYTHING, but he did seem, in spite of his protestations that he was joking, pleased that I had made this for him.

Hubby and I went to our first dinner meeting of our neighborhood's "Gourmet Club" last night. The menu was:

Peppers Provencal served on Baguette Crisps.
I think that this recipe is from the Silver Palate cookbook, but I'm not absolutely positive. It was really good! Our hostess served it with a yummy 2004 Jewel Viognier from California.

Toasted Pinon-Coriander Crusted Goat Cheese atop Garden Greens in a Poblano-Almond Lime Vinaigrette

This salad dressing was really good, but the cook/gourmet club member that prepared it said that it was pretty labor intensive. She also said that most of the prep. work could be done ahead of time, however, so that's a plus. The coriander flavor on the goat cheese was very strong and lemony. I happened to really like it, because I REALLY like coriander, but if you're not a HUGE coriander fan, I would cut back the coriander quantity just a TINY bit. The wine served with this one was 2005 Oyster Bay Sauvignon Blanc from Australia.

Whole Roasted Game Hens with Grits and Wild Mushroom Sauce
This was delicious. It was from the current "restaurant" issue of Bon Appetit. The combination of seasonings was perfect and the creamy grits were the perfect foil for the brined hens. This was served this with El Miracle 2003 Tempranillo-Shiraz from Spain.

Key Lime Pie with Passion Fruit Coulis and Huckleberry Compote

This was the part of the meal that I was responsible for, so it would be immodest for me to be TOO effusive about it, especially since I've never met a Key Lime pie that I didn't like, but it really was yummy. The actual pie part of the recipe is just your basic lime pie recipe (Eagle Brand, egg yolks and lemon juice in a graham cracker crust), so it was really easy to make. If I were doing it again, I might add a little lime zest. The two sauces were not difficult to make, but the ingredients were VERY difficult to find. I ended up substituting blueberries when I couldn't find huckleberries and had to special-order the passion fruit puree to be shipped overnight on dry ice from Perfect Purees. Frankly, I'm not sure it was worth it. The passion fruit coulis was VERY tart and tangy and any more of it than just a garnish would be WAY too potent. I'm not sure that $22 for the puree with $30 worth of shipping is worth it for pie garnish. It was a beautiful, colorful presentation, though, and looked lovely on the plate with the creamy pie, dark rich berries, fluffy Chantilly cream and the bright golden coulis. This was served with Martin Weyrich Moscato Allegro dessert wine. I'm not a huge dessert wine fan, but it was good for its type. I'd rather have a nice vintage Port, myself.

Overall, the food was all fabulous and the company and conversation were even better. We weren't sure what the Gourmet Club was going to be all about and didn't know, for sure, if we would enjoy it, but if last night's guests and menu were any indication, it's going to be GREAT!

Sorry I don't have original photos for you, but I didn't want to take my camera to dinner at someone else's house! I may make some of these recipes again and will take photos if I do!

Basil-Lime Martini, adapted from Boston restaurant Via Matta's recipe published in Food & Wine Cocktails 2006 . This is a great light, refreshing Summer drink.

3 large basil leaves
1 small basil leaf or a very small "cluster" of basil leaves for garnish
2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lime juice
5 Tbsp of your favorite vodka (I recommend Tito's.)
3 Tbsp water
3 Tbsp sugar

Simmer sugar and water together in a small saucepan until slightly thickened and just barely syrupy. Cool. Tear large basil leaves (reserve the small ones) lightly and add to sugar mixture. Muddle (smash) together until leaves are well bruised. (This is much easier if you have a "real" muddler, but you can also use a wooden spoon or potato masher, etc.) Add lime juice and vodka. Chill (with ice) in a martini shaker and strain into a pre-chilled martini glass. Add small basil leaf garnish.

I like to keep big batches (I think I've made a 20-batch before!) of this in the freezer, and pull them out when we have friends over. It lasts a long time in the freezer (remove basil leaves before freezing) and won't freeze, so it can be poured straight from the freezer (shake first, because the lime juice and syrup will settle to the bottom).

I also like to keep a few petite martini glasses in the freezer, so they'll be nice and frosty. I looked for a long time to find some that I really liked. They needed to be sturdy enough to go in the dishwasher and small enough to go in the freezer easily. I finally found these at a restaurant supply house - perfect! I did have to buy a whole case (3 dozen) of them, but we'll be ready to go for our next big party!

I apologize for the self-indulgence; I know this isn't food-related, but I was just so envious, looking at my cats today, that I had to share this image:

Wouldn't you love to be able to lounge around aimlessly like that?

These cats are all siblings (we adopted the whole litter from some friends that found themselves with an expectant mama cat). Ace is the guy with the white feet on the left, Jack is the big guy on the right and Queenie is the fluffy girl on the bottom. They are 6 months old and provide us with endless hours of amusement.

Boy liked his birthday cupcakes - here's a photo!

I think they turned out pretty cute! To make the recipe into cupcakes, put about 1/4 cup of batter in each cup (one batch will make 20 cupcakes) and cook for 15 - 18 minutes (you know the drill - until the toothpick comes out clean). I LOVE the Reynolds aluminum foil baking cups and won't use anything else. Amazon has them if your local grocery store doesn't carry them. The garnish is raspberry gummy candies from the bulk bin at Central Market.

One of my family's favorite restaurants is The Melting Pot - a truly great fondue place. It is actually pretty family friendly, for a fairly nice place - assuming that your kids are well-behaved and open to dining experiences that don't involve ketchup packets. It is our restaurant of choice for ALL birthdays, but it is expensive and time-consuming for day-to-day dining (not to mention that the only location in my town is at the OPPOSITE end of the city), so I thought it would be wise to come up with some sort of at-home substitute. This is my first attempt at the cheese course; we just made a dinner out of cheese and veggies (and leftover banana cake!). The recipe that I started with said to take one garlic clove, rub it on the inside of the cooking pot and then discard it. Hah! I would never do that and frankly just don't understand why anyone would. If you want garlic in something, put it in.....but rub it on the pot and throw it away? That just seems silly. We LOVE garlic around here. I'd find a way to put it in dessert if I could (Candied Garlic Cheesecake with Sweet Balsamic Glaze?, Garlic Creme Brulee with Basil Coulis?, Roasted Garlic Mousse with Pinon Tuile?), so I just sauteed it and threw it in. If you're not a garlic lover, feel free to ignore my recipe and rub your garlic anywhere you want......

It still doesn't compare to the Melting Pot - their service is always excellent and my cheese was missing some little "zing" that I couldn't place, but this was still GREAT and surprisingly quick and easy to throw together for a busy weeknight (one volleyball game, one occupational therapy session, one Taekwondo class..........and a partridge in a pear tree).

I know this recipe has a considerable amount of alcohol in it for a "family" meal. My theory is that the cheese is hot enough that the alcohol boils out. If I'm wrong, the worst case scenario is that Boy and Girl will sleep REALLY well tonight! Feel free to simmer a little longer (the cheese can actually bubble a little once it's all "done", if you stir continuously and keep the heat really low), if you should have concerns about this and want to be sure that the alcohol is completely cooked off.

Hubby only likes red wine, not white, and refuses to drink out of a stemmed glass. Our Italian gourmand brother-in-law introduced hubby to the concept of drinking wine out of small tumblers and that's his method of choice now - hence the glass disparity.

Cheese Fondue

2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup dry white wine
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
2 cups shredded Swiss cheese
2 cups grated Gruyere cheese
1 Tbsp. lemon juice
3 Tbsp. kirschwasser (cherry brandy liqueur)
a dash of salt, white pepper and nutmeg

Your choice of "dippers": bread cubes, baby carrots, cauliflower and broccoli florets, halved baby Roma tomatoes, Granny Smith apple chunks, etc.

Toss cheeses and cornstarch together (I used a Ziploc). Saute garlic in a very small amount of olive oil in a medium-sized saucepan until just barely softened. Add wine and bring to a VERY slow simmer over low heat (don't let wine boil). Stir in lemon juice. Add cheese/cornstarch mixture 1/2 cup at a time, stirring in a figure-8 pattern, rather than in circles (this keeps the cheese from sloshing out of the pan or clumping into a ball), until cheese is all melted. Stir in kirschwasser, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Put cheese in your fondue pot and dig (dip?) in!

The banana cake was a hit, so it looks like I'll be making cupcakes tomorrow. The girl, who is an avowed banana-hater, is looking over my shoulder and says that even SHE liked it!

An adaptation from Jeff Blank's (the chef at Hudson's on the Bend) wonderful cookbook, Cooking Fearlessly. Our neighborhood Gourmet Club brought this recipe to my attention at the perfect moment: when I had some leftover roasted butternut squash. I decided to use what I had on hand, add some sausage to make it a one-dish meal and then add Chef Jeff's creative garnishes. My version did turn out pretty thick, so if I attempted this again, I would probably add more liquid.

Butternut Squash and Apple Soup with Sausage and Jerked Pumpkin Seeds

I am hesitant to even write a "recipe" here, since I'm sure that Chef Blank would think I butchered his recipe, but here's the rundown, for anyone that wants to try it:

2 cups leftover roasted butternut squash (had been seasoned with a little cinnamon and curry)
2 peeled, cored, chopped Granny Smith apples
1 package sausage (I used Healthy Choice - it's not the most "gourmet", but it is arguably healthier)
about 3 cups chicken stock
about 1/4 cup half and half
1 more Granny Smith apple (peeled, cored and thinly julienned, for garnish)
3/4 cup raw pumpkin seeds
about 1/4 cup of your favorite "Jerk" seasoning
(Jeff Blank has a really tasty recipe in his book, with more curry and sugar than most have. I'm going to try his Jerk seasoning on some oven-toasted cashews sometime for a fun cocktail snack. Mmmmm.....)
1 and 1/2 Tbsp. melted butter

You will need to prepare the pumpkin seeds ahead of time:
Pour the melted butter over them, add the Jerk seasoning and stir. Bake at 250 degrees for about an hour, turning and stirring about every 15 minutes.

For the soup:
Heat the stock and squash together in a large saucepan. Add the apple and simmer until soft. Puree in small batches in the blender. Put the pureed soup back into the saucepan. Cut the sausage into bite-sized pieces and brown in a separate pan. Add the sausage to the soup. Add cream and gently heat, stirring to blend. Ladle into bowls, topping with a "clump" of the reserved, julienned apple and then a sprinkle of the pumpkin seeds.

In our area, Starbucks did a test of something called an "Acai Berry Juice Frappuccino". It was a iced, blended juice drink that had a vaguely mango-ish taste. Acai Berries (pronounced "ah-sigh-ee") are supposed to be very good for you, as well (at least that's what they say THIS week). Girl child grew very fond of these and was disappointed to find out that their "test" period was over. We are hoping that this test will reveal that it was WILDLY popular and they will bring this drink to Starbucks all over the country. In the meantime, I was very excited to find frozen Acai Berry juice at Central Market and came up with this drink as an approximation of the Frappuccino. Girl and Boy were very happy to see this in the car when I picked them up from school today (cute pineapple cups leftover from a "luau" at a friend's ranch house last year).

Acai Berry/Pineapple Smoothie

1 packet frozen Acai Berry Juice Smoothie
(the ones that I found are organic and made by Sambazon)
1 (6 oz) cup of vanilla yogurt
about 1/2 cup frozen pineapple
(I keep all sorts of cut-up fruit in the freezer; smoothies are a popular breakfast around here.)
about 1/2 cup milk

Put Acai Berry, yogurt and pineapple together in the blender and puree, adding milk as necessary to reach the desired consistency.

The boy's birthday was a couple of weeks ago, but he wanted a "surprise" party, so we've delayed the date a little to throw him off track. This cake is a "trial run". If he likes it, I'll make the recipe into cupcakes for his party (this Friday - shhhhh!). He LOVES bananas and is not a fan of really gooey buttercream, so I thought this not-too-sweet cake with tangy icing glaze would be perfect. This is my mother's recipe and was my favorite cake when I was a kid; I hope the boy likes it, too!

Banana Cake with Lemon Icing

for cake:
3/4 cup softened butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. McCormick's Vanilla Butter & Nut extract
1 cup mashed very ripe banana
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
2 cups flour

for icing:
1/4 cup softened butter
1 box (3 and 3/4 cups) powdered sugar
about 1/4 cup half and half (you can use milk, if you'd like, but I wanted the icing REALLY rich and white)
1 tsp. lemon extract
1 Tablespoon freshly grated lemon peel

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease Bundt pan.

Prepare cake batter:
Cream butter and sugar together (I used my mixer). Add eggs and beat gently. Mix in bananas, buttermilk, salt, baking powder, baking soda, extract and then flour. Pour into Bundt pan. Bake for 30 minutes.

Cool cake in pan for 10 minutes then remove (turn over) gently from pan.

Prepare icing:
Cream butter, adding sugar slowly. Add half and half, a little at a time, adjusting amount as necessary to reach desired consistency. Add lemon extract. Spread/pour over cake. Sprinkle with lemon peel.

Breakfast this morning - a hit with the kids, probably because of the novelty ("You put WHAT on the french toast, Mom?!"). Once I convinced the nut-hating girl child that "those brown things" on top were Rice Krispies and NOT nuts, she loved it. The "never met a nut he didn't love" boy child looked a little disappointed that they WEREN'T nuts, but still gobbled his up. Hmmm.....mental note: nut-crusted french toast would probably be pretty darned good, too! This dish is inspired by the Crunchy French Toast at Norma's restaurant in New York. I used the new Organic Rice Krispies (what will they think of next?). Cooking it in REAL butter is a MUST. Delectable flavor and fun, crunchy texture. The boy likes his with syrup; the girl likes powdered sugar on hers instead. At Norma's, they make it with brioche and serve it with warm caramel sauce. Mmmmmm........

Krispie Cinnamon Chip French Toast
(makes 1 serving for a hungry adult, 2 servings for kids or less-hungry adults)

2 slices Great Harvest Cinnamon Chip bread
about 1 cup Rice Krispies cereal
2 eggs
splash of milk (1/8 cup?)
1/4 tsp. McCormick Vanilla Butter & Nut extract
(I LOVE this extract and use it in all kinds of things. It's a little hard to find, but definitely worth the effort.)
1/4 cup butter

Whisk eggs, extract and milk together in a shallow bowl (must be large enough to fit bread slices inside it). Place cereal in another shallow bowl of the same size. Place one of the bread slices in the egg mixture. Allow to sit about 30 seconds, then turn over to soak other side. Remove from egg and place bread in cereal bowl, turning to coat both sides with cereal. Heat half the butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat until melted and starting to bubble, but not brown. Add the egg/cereal-coated bread to the skillet, adjusting heat as necessary. This French toast needs to be cooked at a slightly lower temperature than regular French toast, or the butter and cereal will get too brown while the bread is still soggy inside. Repeat breading procedure for second bread slice and add to pan. Turn to cook other sides of bread when cereal is golden brown. Add the other half of butter, as needed, during cooking. When both sides are golden brown, remove from skillet. Serve with syrup or powdered sugar, your choice!

This recipe is inspired by a pasta dish from a now-defunct Italian restaurant in my hometown. It's VERY flavorful and rich and very filling. The pencil-thin asparagus spears are frozen, organic ones from Costco. This is a great cold weather comfort food; macaroni and cheese for grownups. It's still quite warm here right now - maybe I was hoping that the cold weather food would bring on some actual cold weather! The kids loved this dish and the girl child even had seconds, which is rare for her, especially for a dish with meat in it. She is on the verge, I believe, of declaring herself a vegetarian.

Warning: Your kids will love this, but if they haven't been blue cheese fans before, do NOT get all excited about the fact that they like it and take THAT moment to educate them about the mold that is necessary to make the cheese taste so good, etc. I got so excited about the possibility of making this for my family that I completely grossed the kids out ("Ewwww......mold?")!

Whole Wheat Fusilli with Grilled Chicken & Asparagus in Gorgonzola/Parmesan Cream Sauce

1 pound whole wheat fusilli (or cavatappi, etc.)
2 1/4 cups half and half
1 cup crumbled Gorgonzola cheese (about 1 cup)
2/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/3 cup thinly sliced red onion
3/4 pound thinly sliced grilled (about 2 large or 3 small breasts) chicken
1 pound very thin, frozen asparagus spears
1 small shallot, finely chopped
1/4 cup white wine (I used Rex Goliath Pinot Grigio, because it's what I had on hand)
1/4 cup chicken stock
1/2 tsp fresh rosemary, coarsely chopped
salt to taste
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
1/4 cup butter (half a stick)
2 Tablespoons flour, optional, for thickening

Put a large pasta pot of water on to boil. Melt butter in a separate, large saucepan. Saute the onion and shallots in butter until onions are soft. Add wine and chicken stock. Simmer to reduce until liquid is almost gone. Add cream, rosemary, salt and pepper. Bring cream to a simmer; simmer 10 - 15 minutes over low-medium heat. While cream simmers, cook asparagus and pasta, according to package directions. When cool enough to handle, cut each asparagus spear into bite-sized pieces. Slowly, whisk in cheeses until sauce is slightly thickened. If sauce is not thick enough, add a little hot liquid to flour, stirring to blend. Immediately put back into sauce, stirring constantly until sauce thickens. Add chicken and asparagus. Drain pasta. Ladle sauce over pasta and serve immediately. Makes 4 - 6 servings.

Welcome to my blog! I will be posting descriptions and photos of meals that I serve to my family. I will post as often as time allows (it's unlikely to be daily). Check back frequently, though, because I will be adding some "About Me" info, interesting links, and advice for convincing your kids to eat healthy foods. I will be including some recipes, as well. Thanks for reading!