I am in the process of toilet-training our 3 cats.
Yes, you read that correctly. Toilet-training. Cats. Three of them.
I'm using these instructions that I found online and, though I'm a bit afraid to jinx it, it's actually going well so far.
I would be SO very happy to never have to clean a litter box again. I'll keep you all posted, but in the meantime, please don't ask me how it's going. Oh, and maybe say a little prayer for me.
In case any of you happens to have an extra $5500 lying around and wants to make me REALLY REALLY happy this Christmas:
I am DREAMING of this Balenciaga scarf. If I had one, I would wear it every day and snuggle with it every night. I would read it bedtime stories and blissfully ignore all of the controversy.
There have been other trends that I've lusted after before, but this one is keeping me awake at night.
Boy, enjoying a warm samosa.
When I saw this recipe in the new special edition Fine Cooking "Appetizers" magazine, I knew that I would have to try it. We LOVE Indian food, and especially samosas. We are attending a party soon where we are expected to bring an appetizer and this may very well be what we bring. These were WAY labor-intensive: I prepared the garam masala one day, cooked the potatoes the next and then prepared the dough and make the samosas the next. Whew! But.....they were REALLY good. My worst fear is that I didn't seal the samosas well enough and that they would fall apart and the filling would come out when I fried them, but they didn't! Yay!
I learned a few things making them, though:
Garam Masala, toasting in a skillet.
The peppercorns that I use are a mixture of different colors of pepper, so that's what the red things are.
I didn't use the garam masala recipe that was in the recipe, but used this one, instead. They were similar enough that I don't think it changed the flavor of the final product.
Browning the parboiled potatoes.
I used Yukon Gold potatoes, because that's what we like and that's what we had on hand.
I also couldn't bring myself to use shortening: it's just not something that I keep in the house, so I used butter, both to brown the potatoes and to make the dough.
Completed filling.
The first thing that I learned:
I think this recipe called for just a BIT too much coriander. There's already quite a lot of coriander in the garam masala, so I don't think I'll add the extra seeds to the filling next time.
Rolling out the dough.
Forming the dough into a "cone".
Stuffing filling into a dough "cone".
The second thing that I learned -
I was afraid to stuff the samosas too full, for fear that the dough would rip, but they are really better when they are stuffed full of the potato-pea filling, and don't have any empty "air space" in them. It turns out that the dough is much less fragile than I feared, so stuffing them pretty full is OK.
Formed and filled samosas - can you tell which ones I did last, after some practice?
Samosas, frying. 350 degrees for 5 minutes was PERFECT.
The third thing that I learned:
It was hard to turn the samosas over; they had a tendency to want to stay the way that you first put them in and would flip back over when I tried to turn them.
The finished plate of samosas (minus the two that Hubby and I ate before we took the photo).
The last thing that I learned -
I had a lot of filling left over. I haven't decided if I'll make a second batch of dough tomorrow and use it up or if I'll use the filling in some sort of sandwich or fritatta, instead (maybe with some leftover turkey - ha, ha!)
I would HIGHLY recommend this recipe for anyone that loves samosas but hasn't tried making them before. I would also highly recommend buying the "Appetizers" magazine - it has a lot more great recipes in it to get ready for upcoming holiday gatherings.
NB: I adapted this recipe from one that was published in Southern Living magazine many years ago. I didn't notice, originally, that this recipe requires 8 hours of refrigeration before baking and had planned to serve this for last night's dinner. Luckily, I had the ingredients on hand for the "comes together quickly" Hot Brown sandwiches and we had those instead. So, don't make the same mistake that I did: be sure that you start preparing this at least 9 hours before you want to eat it! Also, the original recipe called for thawed frozen broccoli florets, instead, so feel free to substitute - thawed frozen spinach might be good, too (squeeze out all of the excess water first). A small sprinkle of your favorite herb would also be a nice addition.
Turkey-Cheddar Strata with Peas
1 Tbsp. softened, unsalted butter
6 oz, by weight, cubed French bread pieces (about 3 to 4 cups)
2 cups chopped leftover (cooked) turkey
1 package (10 oz) frozen green peas, thawed
1/2 cup diced celery
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
6 lightly beaten large eggs
2 cups milk
3 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. black pepper
cooking spray
Spray 9 X 13-inch baking pan with cooking spray. Saute celery in the butter in a small saucepan. Layer half each of bread cubes, turkey, peas, celery and cheddar cheese in pan; repeat layers, ending with cheese.
Whisk together eggs and remaining ingredients in a large bowl; pour evenly over cheese, pressing down lightly to absorb liquid. Cover and chill 8 hours.
Remove from fridge and uncover. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until golden. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting into serving-sized pieces.
Another option:
Layer the ingredients, as directed, into custard cups (7 of them, 10 ounces each) instead of the baking pan, to make individual serving cups. Bake for just 30 minutes.
I had not ever had these before and have really only heard them mentioned in conjunction with burgoo and juleps, as a Kentucky Derby food, but when I saw both Cooking Light and Epicurious plugging them as a good use for leftover turkey, I had to give them a try. I combined the parts of both recipes that appealed to me to make this version, which was a big hit with all 4 of us. We bought our smoked turkey from a wonderful local BBQ place called The Salt Lick.
Kentucky Hot Browns sandwiches
Makes 4 sandwiches.
3 Tbsp. VERY finely chopped red onion
2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
2 Tbsp. flour
1 1/2 cups milk
pinch of cayenne
1 Tbsp. dry sherry (optional)
3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese (sharp preferred)
3 Tbsp. chopped roasted red pepper (I had some leftover from the salad that I made for Thanksgiving, but you could substitute pimientos)
1 Tbsp. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
4 slices Texas Toast bread, lightly toasted
about 2 1/2 cups leftover turkey meat, shredded into strips
8 to 12 thin slices of tomato
4 slices cooked bacon, crumbled
Preheat oven broiler.
In a small saucepan, cook the onion in the butter over moderate heat, stirring, until it is softened. Whisk in the flour and cook, whisking, for 3 minutes. Slowly pour in the milk, whisking to combine, until the mixture is thick and smooth. Add the cayenne, sherry, salt and pepper to taste and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 10 to 15 minutes or until sauce is thickened. Stir in the cheddar cheese, stirring until the mixture is smooth and thick.
Place the toasts on a baking pan or cookie sheet. Top toasts with turkey, then tomato slices, then some of the cheese sauce. Sprinkle with the bacon and Parmesan cheese and broil for a couple of minutes, until warmed through and bubbly (watch carefully so that the bacon doesn't burn). Remove from pan with a large spatula and serve.
Don't read this part if you're a purist from Kentucky:
These would probably be good with ham, too, instead of the turkey.
Here is a version of Hot Browns from Southern Living magazine, too (apparently, they agree with me about the ham):
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=257506
We had a great Turkey day meal yesterday. We went to Hubby's mom and stepdad's house. Everyone in Hubby's family loves to cook and is really good at it, so everyone brings a potluck dish to share and we rotate from house to house each year. I had signed on to bring a salad, but ended up bringing a baked brie appetizer (scroll down for the recipe), a butternut squash spread appetizer and some pumpkin eclairs, too (like I said, we all like to cook). This food-a-philia has also apparently been passed on to the next generation. The kids (well, the girl cousins, anyway) set up a hot beverage stand with homemade Mexican hot cocoa (semi-secret ingredient: REAL Mexican vanilla and a touch of cinnamon) and made-to-order coffees (we brought our Capresso machine). The drinks were customized with marshmallows, sprinkles of cinnamon and/or chocolate, squirts of whipped cream, etc. One gourmand grandfather suggested that the girls should also be offering Kahlua, Bailey's, etc, but we were unprepared. Maybe next year.
We wanted to continue the festive holiday food atmosphere this morning, so I decided to make this recipe. I served them with melted strawberry preserves (thinned with a bit of apple juice) and a squirt of whipping cream leftover from the girls' hot beverage stand.
I've had crepes on my mind recently, because there's a little crepe place not far from us that is getting some great reviews lately, but I wasn't sure if it would be open this morning and also, it's in a little Airstream trailer, with adjacent outdoor seating, and I thought that it would be too COLD this morning!
These were a great stand-in, though, and were very easy (my mom used to make crepes when I was little, so I'd seen it done before, but it had been YEARS). I didn't have any plain brandy in the house, so I used apple brandy. Hubby and I really liked them and Boy liked them okay, though he wasn't wild about them. I think this may be due to the fact that he's not a fan of strawberry preserves. Girl really liked them and cleaned her plate, but said "Mom, something in these tastes the way that nail polish remover smells". Umm, I'm guessing that would be the brandy. Of course, the alcohol was all cooked out, but I will still probably look for a non-alcoholic version the next time that I make crepes. I'm going to experiment soon with some savory crepe fillings, too (maybe leftover turkey?).
Crepe, cooking, in the pan.
Cinnamon Spice Blend
6 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp. ground allspice
1 Tbsp. dried orange peel
2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
Mix all ingredients together until blended. Store spice in a tightly lidded glass jar or small airtight plastic container.
We use this mixture in just about anything that calls for cinnamon. It's great when mixed with sugar to use for cinnamon toast. Sprinkle it in your coffee (or on top of the foam if you have a "fancy" machine) or over hot cereal and oatmeal. We love it in pancakes, beignets, or any other baked good recipe.
This recipe is adapted from an old Pillsbury recipe booklet (the kind that you see at the supermarket checkout). They turned out pretty yummy, even though I didn't bake them quite long enough. I also made them too long the first time, so if you follow the recipe exactly, yours will look half as long as the ones in the photo. I'm probably going to bake another batch for Thanksgiving, so I'll have another shot to get them PERFECT.
Iced Cinnamon Shortbread Sticks
3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 tsp. Mexican vanilla
1 egg
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 tsp cinnamon spice blend, divided (see recipe below)
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 - 4 Tbsp. unfiltered apple juice
In a stand mixer, combine the brown sugar, butter, vanilla and egg; beat until light and fluffy. Add flour and 3/4 tsp of the cinnamon spice blend; mix well until dough forms a ball. Flatten the ball of dough slightly, until it forms a disk, wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about an hour.
Heat oven to 350 degrees. On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a square about 12 X 12 inches. Cut dough into 1 X 3 inch strips with a pastry wheel or sharp knife, using a clean ruler as a guide. Place sticks 1/2 apart on parchment-lined cookie sheets.
Bake at 350 degrees for 12 - 15 minutes or until edges are browning slightly. Immediately remove from cookie sheets. Set aside to cool completely.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl, blend powdered sugar and remaining 1/2 tsp of spice blend, starting out with 2 Tbsp. apple juice, until smooth, adding more apple juice, if needed, for desired glaze consistency. Spread glaze on tops of cookies. Let stand until glaze is set before storing.
Makes 4 dozen cookies.
Cinnamon Spice Blend
6 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp. ground allspice
1 Tbsp. dried orange peel
2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
Mix all ingredients together until blended. Store leftover spice in a tightly lidded glass jar or small airtight plastic container. We use this mixture in just about anything that calls for cinnamon. It's great when mixed with sugar to use for cinnamon toast.
(Another great recipe that uses the Cinnamon Spice Blend can be found here.)
A batch of my burgeoningly famous Basil-Lime martinis, packed and ready for a friend's recent party. I usually bring the glasses, too, because these are so potent that it's best to keep the serving size small (refills don't count, right?). Lately, I get asked to bring these to potluck functions, instead of food. Should I be offended?
This recipe, from Cooking Light magazine, is really easy and is actually pretty tasty. Gourmet, it's not, and it's not terribly picturesque on the plate, but it is quick, kid-friendly and pretty healthy. Let me say however, that this recipe makes an OBSCENE amount, so, unless you're having a party or have 8 kids, you should cut the batch in half (which would be easy to do). Learn from my mistake - we're going to be eating this stuff for days.
I made a couple of adaptations:
- I added 1 cup of frozen corn, zapped in the microwave for a couple of minutes to thaw, and then drained.
- I used cappelletti pasta, because I had it on hand and the only radiatore that I could find was HUGE and not even close to being bite-sized.
- I used ground beef, instead of turkey (ditto - I had it on hand).
- I garnished with a bit of sliced avocado and a cilantro leaf.
- I left out the olives, because 3/4 of us don't like them (Boy loves them, so I planned to add some as a garnish on his portion).
- I used halved grape tomatoes instead of the chopped tomato.
This was a big hit with Hubby, who will eat anything that's even moderately "Tex-Mex-y". Girl loved it, too. Boy was at a birthday party, where he had already eaten a burger, so he ended up not eating with us tonight. I think he's also coming down with something, poor guy. If he makes it to school tomorrow, he'll be having some of the leftovers in his lunch.
This is a REALLY old (2002?) recipe from Southern Living magazine, but it is definitely a keeper. The sauce is slightly sweet, but the berry flavor is not overpowering at all.
Pork Medallions with Blackberry Sauce
2 (1 pound each) pork tenderloins
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper
1 tsp. coarsely ground whole allspice (I just used 1 tsp. ground allspice)
1/4 cup butter, divided
1/2 cup minced shallots (about 3 large ones)
2/3 cup dry white wine (I used a Chardonnay)
3 Tbsp seedless blackberry fruit spread
(the "seedless" part is important - I ended up having to strain mine and it was a HUGE pain)
Optional garnishes: fresh blackberries, fresh thyme sprigs.
(I didn't use the garnishes, because the brussels sprouts that I served with this already had fresh thyme in them and it's not blackberry season here.)
Sprinkle pork evenly with salt, black pepper, and allspice. Cover and chill for at least 30 minutes.
Grill pork over medium-high heat (350 to 400 degrees) for 20 minutes or until a meat thermometer inserted into the thickest portion registers 160 degrees, turning pork once (I had to turn it more than once). Remove from grill, and let stand 10 minutes.
Melt 2 Tbsp. butter in a small saucepan over medium-high heat while pork stands. Add shallots, and saute 5 minutes or until tender. Add wine; cook 13 minutes or until liquid is reduced by half. Reduce heat to low; whisk in fruit spread and remaining 2 Tbsp. butter. Cook 2 minutes or until slightly thickened.
Cut pork into 1/4 inch thick slices. Drizzle blackberry sauce over pork. Garnish, if desired.
I served this pork with these brussels sprouts (Boy's special request) and some mashed Yukon Gold potatoes (put some fresh garlic in the water while they boil, then add some butter and half and half when you mash them - Mmmmm). Big hit with both kids and especially Hubby.
Sorry for the odd posting pattern lately, folks. I've been having issues with my computer and finally got a replacement, so I've been catching up. I'm not completely convinced that this new computer is going to work out, so there's a possibility that there may be another short delay in any new posts in the new future. I have (and will continue to be) cooking and taking photos, however, so be sure to check back and look at the past few posts, because I've been backdating some, to reflect the dates that I actually prepared the food. Thanks for your patience. At least I'm not having to beg laptop time from the kids anymore....
Don't be put off by the multiple steps; these are actually surprisingly easy to make and are a unique and tasty alternative to pumpkin pie for this time of year. The only "special" equipment that you need: two pastry bags and two tips (#11 and #6).
For Eclair pastry:
3/4 cup water
6 Tbsp. butter
2 tsp. granulated sugar
3/4 all-purpose flour
3 eggs
1/8 tsp. salt
1/8 tsp. cinnamon spice blend (see recipe below)
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper, set aside. In a medium saucepan, combine water, butter, granulated sugar, cinnamon spice blend (1/8 tsp.) and salt. Bring to boiling over medium heat. Add flour all at once, stirring vigorously with a wooden spoon. Cook and stir until mixture forms a ball and pulls away from the side of the pan. Remove from heat. Cool for 10 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well with a wooden spoon after each addition.
Load batter into a large pastry bag fitted with a #11 tip and pipe dough onto the parchment-lined baking sheet into "fingers" about 3/4-inch wide and 3 1/2 inches long - it should make about 2 dozen. They can be piped fairly close together, but a second baking sheet may be necessary. Smooth tops of dough, if necessary, with a clean finger dipped in water. Bake for about 35 to 40 minutes or until golden brown and thoroughly puffed up. Remove from oven and set aside to cool.
After eclair shells have completed cooled, use a knife to gently cut open the bottoms (on one side) of the eclairs to prepare them for stuffing. It's not necessary to cut all the way through or to cut them in half; you just want to make a "pocket" so that the filling can flow inside.
For Pumpkin Mousse (you can prepare this while the eclairs are baking) :
1 cup heavy whipping cream
3 Tbsp. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon spice blend
1 cup canned pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
Combine the cream, sugar and cinnamon spice blend in an electric stand mixer. Beat mixture on medium speed until soft peaks form. Gently fold in the pumpkin. Load cream mixture into a large pastry bag fitted with a #6 tip. When eclairs have completely cooled, carefully pipe the cream mixture into the bottom of each eclair (you may not need to use all of it). Eclairs may be refrigerated after they've been filled, while you prepare the glaze.
For Caramel Maple Glaze:
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/3 cup half-and-half
1/4 cup water
2 Tbsp. real maple syrup
1 Tbsp. butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla (preferably Mexican)
1/2 cup coarsely chopped pecans, lightly toasted
In a heavy, small saucepan, stir together the brown sugar and cornstarch. Stir in the cream, water, syrup and butter. Cook and stir over medium heat until slightly thickened and bubbly (mixture may appear curdled before it bubbles). Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat; stir in vanilla and pecans and set aside to cool for about 10 - 15 minutes and then gently spoon/spread glaze over cooled, filled eclairs.
For Cinnamon Spice Blend:
6 Tbsp. ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp. ground allspice
1 Tbsp. dried orange peel
2 tsp. ground nutmeg
1 tsp. ground cloves
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
Mix all ingredients together until blended. Store leftover spice in a tightly lidded glass jar or small airtight plastic container. We use this mixture in just about anything that calls for cinnamon. It's great when mixed with sugar to use for cinnamon toast.
I tore this recipe out of Family Fun magazine about 6 years ago, but I just tried it for the first time. I don't know what I was waiting for - it was REALLY yummy. I made this popover recipe go with it. They were also very yummy and were quite easy. The kids enjoyed watching them rise in the oven. The soup is very rich; it would probably make a better starter (serving very small portions) than a "meal" next time. This would also correct the problem (in my opinion, anyway) that there's not a green veggie in this meal, because you could just serve a salad afterwards, with whatever your entree is.
"Frothy" eggs. Full martini.
Batter resting. Slightly less full martini.
Popovers, right out of the oven, 30 minutes later. Martini? What martini?
As those who know me well have heard me say, I believe that avocado is proof that there is a God and that he wants us to be happy. How something so wonderful could be around in such abundance, without some sort of Divine Plan, is beyond my comprehension. My 2nd favorite use (after guacamole) for avocados is in a sandwich. This one had avocado, turkey and smoked fontina cheese on multigrain bread. Gluttonous? yes, of course. But, yummy? Oh, most definitely. I would have liked it even better with some lettuce and/or tomato, but I didn't have any at the time. Also good: turkey, bacon, lettuce, tomato and LOTS of avocado.
I found this recipe while searching for a kid-friendly recipe that would utilize the chicken tenders that I had in the freezer. I didn't have any "Cheez-it" crackers on hand, so I used Goldfish crackers. I didn't grind them as finely as the recipe called for, so I needed a bit more than the 3 oz that was called for. I added Baby Bam (of course) to the spinach. The tenders were pretty good, for an interesting novelty. I was afraid that the taste of the cheese crackers would be overpowering, but it really wasn't. The fact that they were baked, rather than fried, made them pleasingly crunchy and not greasy at all. If I make them again, I would probably use chicken breasts, cut into strips and pounded thin, rather than the tenders, because the tenders were very small and thin, so they dried out a bit during cooking. Girl enjoyed telling her teacher that the breading was made of Goldfish at lunch the next day (she had some leftovers in her lunch).
Mmm...this was the cover recipe from the October (2007) Bon Appetit magazine.
Hubby LOVED this. It would really be better once the weather's colder, but we live in Texas, so we could be waiting for a while for that to happen. I buy my short ribs at Costco and they don't have them all year - they arrive when the weather starts to get colder. When I first saw this recipe, they didn't have them yet, so I've had this recipe in my "want to try" pile for a while now.
I cut the recipe in half, because the Costco short ribs come in a smaller package than the recipe calls for. They are also boneless, but they substitute just fine. Since they didn't have bones, I sliced them to serve them, but they were so tender, they almost fell apart when I pulled them out of the baking dish. Everything else, I followed to the letter. I did use the "bake ahead" instructions, which was helpful, because after the ribs were refrigerated a while, the congealed fat could be picked right up off the surface. I know - ew- but it did make things easy - none of that skimming with a spoon and not catching it all. Don't be tempted to skip the gremolata; it really does add just the right fresh, bright note. I reduced my sauce a bit too much and it was a bit thicker than it should have been. Other than that, this was fantastic! I added some green beans, but a salad would have been nice, too.
I used a pretty good quality Cabernet - Souverain Alexander Valley ($30+ per bottle) - better than I would normally use just for cooking - but it was really yummy and I had it left over (I've been saving it for a meal that I deemed "worthy") from our Christmas Prime Rib dinner. I meant to get to the grocery store over the weekend and buy a "lesser" Cabernet to cook it in, and then I was going to serve it with the Souverain, but that didn't happen, so I went with what I had on hand.... Of course, that meant that I had to buy a second bottle of the Souverain today to drink with it - we couldn't cook the meat in something fabulous and then drink something inferior with it when we ate it! But this did mean that we had over $60 tied up in tonight's dinner, just for the wine (not to mention the beef, gorgonzola, fresh herbs, etc.)! The really sad thing is that Hubby (who has no idea what the wines cost that I normally buy - usually around $12 - $15) noticed the difference in the wine quality instantly: "Mmmm... this is really good wine." I guess you really do get what you pay for.
This is how we made the kid's plates (food separated - very important). Girl liked the sauce and the gremolata. Boy preferred his meat plain.
(awful, blurry photo - sorry!)
This recipe has always been a favorite of ours, but I've been unable to find the required Betty Crocker hash browns lately - I'm afraid they've been discontinued - so I knew that I would have to come up with a substitute. I tried this version this morning and it wasn't bad at all! Boy and Girl were very happy to see this recipe resurrected.
READ THIS RECIPE CAREFULLY - there is some advance (the day before) preparation required!
New! Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole
5 cups frozen shredded potato (not patties) hash browns (I used Ore-Ida Country Style), thawed in the refrigerator overnight
3 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
2 cups milk
10 eggs
2 cups chopped, smoked ham
1/2 cup finely chopped white onion, sauteed until softened and translucent in your choice of fat - oil, butter or margarine are all fine
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper
If you have pre-thawed the hash browns, all you have to do is toss all of these ingredients into a lightly greased (I use Pam) 13 X 9 inch baking dish and bake it at 350 degrees, uncovered, until it's cooked through and browned on top (around on hour, but start watching it after 50 minutes).
If you would prefer, you can mix all of the ingredients together (no need to thaw the hash browns beforehand) the night before and pour them into the baking dish, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, just pull it out (remove the plastic wrap) and bake it.
This is a pretty good lasagna, if you're looking for a recipe that is a step above just using jarred sauce and adding browned ground beef (and two steps above frozen). I'm experimenting with lasagna recipes at the moment and am looking for one that's "just right". I tend to like my lasagnas a little "saucier" than most people (and less "cheesy"), but if they're too saucy, they won't hold together when you cut them. If any of you have a recipe that's just "perfect", please let me know.
Pretty Good Lasagna
1 pound ground beef
2 minced garlic cloves
1/2 Tbsp. dried basil leaves
1/2 Tbsp. dried oregano leaves
1 1/2 tsp. Baby Bam seasoning, divided
1 Tbsp. whole fennel seeds
1 to 2 Tbsp. balsamic vinegar
2 cans tomato paste (6 ounces each)
2 to 3 cups chicken stock
1/3 cup finely chopped white onion
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh Italian parsley, divided
one package dried lasagna noodles (16 ounces)
1 pound mozzarella cheese, shredded
(I used fresh mozzarella, since I had a big chunk of it on hand)
3 cups ricotta cheese (low fat is fine, but I don't care for the fat-free)
1/2 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
2 beaten eggs
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cook meat and onion over medium-high heat until meat is browned and crumbly, but still very slightly pink and onion is softened and translucent. Add garlic and continue cooking until meat is thoroughly browned. Drain fat and lower heat. Add basil, oregano, Baby Bam, fennel seeds, vinegar and tomato paste to ingredients in pan and stir to throughly combine. Add about 1 cup of the stock and continue stirring and cooking, adding stock a little bit at a time as needed, as you continue cooking the sauce until ingredients are thoroughly blended and desired consistency is reached, about 30 minutes. Taste the sauce (with a clean spoon) and adjust seasonings, if necessary.
While sauce simmers, cook lasagna according to package directions and set aside on waxed paper, keeping the noodles separate.
In a medium-sized bowl, mix together the ricotta cheese, eggs, half of the parsley and 1/2 tsp. of the Baby Bam.
In a 9 X 13 inch baking pan, assemble the layers in the following order:
1/4 of the sauce
3 noodles
1/3 of the ricotta mixture
1/4 of the mozzarella
3 noodles
Repeat these layers twice, and then top with the remaining 1/4 of the sauce and 1/4 of the mozzarella.
Bake for 45 - 60 minutes, uncovered, until cooked through and browned on top. Lasagna will rise slightly out of the pan, but shouldn't spill over. Remove from oven and let stand for 10 minutes before cutting into serving portions.
Yesterday was a GREAT day.
First, we went to the Texas Book Festival and got to see Padma Lakshmi demonstrating recipes from her new cookbook. I was really happy to be able to go, especially since I missed Anthony Bourdain when he was in town recently and was DEVASTATED. The recipes that she made were Mexican Macaroni and Cheese, Clouds of Cardamom and Cashew Cookies and Sauteed Sweet Potato and Lima Beans. She had baked some of the cookies beforehand and we got to taste some:
She did a really great job, especially considering that she said that it was her first cooking demonstration. She was funny and a little self-deprecating. I bought the book and was able to chat with her long enough for her to sign it.
Next, we went here and bought a new laptop for me. Mine crashed a while back, so Hubby loaned me a replacement, which crashed shortly thereafter. I've been borrowing the kids' laptops, freely using them while they're at school, but then having to negotiate for laptop usage once they get home, particularly if they have homework that requires internet research or typing practice. It's been pretty pathetic, really. I feel like I should have a sign that says "Will do laundry for screen time."
While we were at Fry's, we saw this:
And then, when we got home, both Boy ad Girl had a buddy sleep over and we had this for dinner:
I'll post the recipe later - I'm pooped!
Right now, this very second, I am sitting in the Cooking Demonstration tent at the Texas Book Festival, waiting for Padma Lakshmi to come out to cook recipes from (and sign copies of) her new cookbook. I'm so excited, I just might pee my pants.....
