Saturday, November 26, 2011

Thanksgiving feast

     This is the blog post that I have both been dreading and looking forward to writing ever since we had our own lovely thanksgiving this past thursday.  Scott and I decided that we wanted our first thanksgiving as a married couple to be at our house.  It was also our two month wedding anniversary, although neither Scott nor I realized that until today (and I only realized that because an e-mail told me so!).  However, what better way can you celebrate your anniversary than hanging out with friends and family and cooking them lots of good food.  I got lots of great compliments on my food and we all had a lot of fun.  The great thing about hosting it at your house with friends is that you don't really have to worry about manners and all that good stuff.  Not to say we were rude, but if the place was messy (which it was), and we didn't have everything perfectly laid out, who cares?  It felt more like a casual dinner party with friends than a Thanksgiving.  And that was perfectly lovely!!  My Dad asked me at the end of the day if it was worth it; all this prep and cooking for maybe half an hour of eating.  And I answered him "Totally.  For me, I get pleasure in the preparing and cooking food.  I love feeding people."  It was a great day!     So, why in the world would I be dreading writing this blog, you might fairly ask?  Well, just like the prep that went into preparing the Thanksgiving feast, this blog is going to be monumental simply because of the vast amount of foods that I prepped and served.  Finding all those recipes and uploading all those pictures!  But still, how can I not document such a great and wonderful day? 
     I started really prepping for it the day before Thanksgiving.  Tuesday we did some shopping and decided on our menu.  Wednesday I bought the food and chopped up/defrosted as much as I could.  Thursday I woke up at 8 and basically cooked the whole day through.  There was some breaks to hang out with friends, eat, go for a walk, but with dessert being served later in the day (including an unexpected apple pie that I whipped up on request), it ended up taking me about all day to help with the feast.  Of course, I had many helpers (some volunteered and some recruited by me) to help me along the way.
     The players?  My wonderful Father, John Callahan, who came up on monday night and stayed with us until friday morning.  My friends Sara, Cole and Andrew who came from Manteca and San Francisco, respectively.  And, finally, my wonderful and amazing husband, Scott Gentile.  I couldn't do it without you, babe!
     The menu?  Take a deep breath:

All natural brined turkey (bought from Trader Joes and prepared by Scott)
Gravy (homemade, "canned" mushroom and "canned" brown)
Cranberry sauce (homemade, canned)
Mashed potatoes
Roasted root vegetables
Brown sugar glazed butternut squash
Fake meat/cheese rolls (brought by Sara and Cole)
Dinner rolls
Stuffing
Cous cous (brought by Sara and Cole)
Pumpkin pie
Apple pie
Homemade whipped cream
Vanilla ice cream (store bought)

     Everything was made from scratch except for the pie crusts (as I already happened to have pie crusts in my freezer [and asked Scott to buy some more just in case]), the bread in the stuffing (the stuffing itself was homemade), the chicken stock in the gravy (I had actually made some the previous day but ended up using all of it before I thought I might need it for Thanksgiving) and the canned and store-bought items mentioned above.  Next year, I want everything to be made from scratch.  Now, on to everybody's favorite parts: the recipes (please note I can only talk about the things I made).

Homemade cranberry sauce

Cranberry sauce
from Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book

Ingredients:

1 cup sugar
2 cups cranberries (8 oz)

Procedure:

1) In a saucepan, combine sugar and 1 cup water.  Bring to boiling, stirring to dissolve sugar.  Boil rapidly for 5 minutes.
2) Add cranberries.  Return to boiling; reduce heat.  Boil gently over medium-high heat for 3 to 4 minutes or till skins pop, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat.

     I wanted my cranberry sauce a little more thick, so I followed directions for molded cranberry sauce and cooked about 10 minutes instead.  I was amazed at how easy and fun it was to make cranberry sauce.  The skins really do pop; you see and hear them and  then everything starts turning red and gel like.  The sauce came out delicious and tasted just like the canned stuff (yes, yes, I know, it should taste better but I don't have anything else to compare it to).  The only reason I even served cranberry sauce that was canned was because I didn't think I made enough to feed six people.  However, considering that everyone took from my cranberry sauce and we still had some left over, I guess I was wrong.  Next year, it is going to be homemade all the way.  Oh, I should also mention I just bought a little container of it that was only 7.5 oz, but it all came out okay anyways.


Roasted root vegetables
Close up of roasted root vegetables.  See the purple
potatoes and chiogga (aka candy cane) beets?

Roasted root vegetables

from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything (and seen on my blog on 4/30/11)

Ingredients:

olive oil
1 1/2- 2 lbs mixed root vegetables, such as carrots, potatoes, sweet potatoes, parsnips, turnips, shallots (leave whole), and onions, peeled and cut into 1 1/2 to 2 in chunks (I used onions, white turnips, shallots, carrots, chiogga beets and purple potatoes)

1 head garlic, broken into cloves (no need to peel)
Italian seasoning

Procedure:

1) Preheat the oven to 425. Put the chopped up vegetables in a baking pan and coat them with olive oil and seasonings. Place the pan in the oven.
2) Cook for about an hour, shaking every 10 minutes or so. Raise the temperature up to 450 if they don't start to brown after 30 minutes.


     This time around I didn't use any salt or pepper.  My Dad is on a low sodium diet, so I was trying to restrict the salt I use (and I just plain forgot the pepper).  However, all came out delicious.  The chiogga beets retained their candy cane stripe pattern and the purple potatoes were just awesome!  They were purple on the inside, too.  I wonder if everyone would be grossed out if I made purple mashed potatoes from them next year?


Brown sugar glazed butternut squash
Mmmm... deliciousness

Brown glazed butternut squash
from Cook's Illustrated and my blog on 3/15/11

Notes:
A sweet glaze underlines the best qualities of roasted butternut squash, but only if the squash cooks evenly and the flavors are in balance. Here’s what we discovered:

•For the sweet element of the glaze, tasters preferred the complexity and depth of dark brown sugar to plain white sugar.

•Salt and pepper perked up the squash without overwhelming it, and a little melted butter added nutty richness and tied the glaze together.

•How the squash is cut affects how it caramelizes in the oven. We settled on 1-inch cubes, which had enough surface area to brown well yet were small enough to cook to full tenderness in a reasonable amount of time.

•A splash of cider vinegar after the squash came out of the oven countered the sweetness of the glaze and gave the dish some zing.

We like the deeper flavor of dark brown sugar in this recipe, but light brown sugar can be substituted.

Ingredients:

1 butternut squash (about 2 1/2 pounds), peeled, halved lengthwise, seeded, and cut into 1-inch chunks
1/4 cup packed dark brown sugar (see note)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter , melted
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon cider vinegar

Procedure:

1. PREPARE PAN Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 425 degrees. Line rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil and coat lightly with cooking spray.

2. ROAST Toss squash, sugar, butter, salt, and pepper in large bowl until well coated. Transfer squash to prepared baking sheet. Roast, stirring every 15 minutes, until squash is well browned and completely tender, about 45 minutes. Transfer pan to wire rack, sprinkle squash with vinegar, and stir to coat. Serve.

     Delicious. I prepped this squash the day before, only to find out after I cooked it that it didn't quite make enough for everyone.  Fortunately, I had bought another squash and so threw that one in there.  Mmmm... I really do love this recipe!

Dinner rolls cooling
The dough for the dolls.  This also shows off my new rolling pin!

Dinner rolls
from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything

Ingredients:

3.5 cups AP flour, plus more as needed
1 tbsp salt
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp instant yeast
3 tbsp cold butter, plus a little soft butter for greasing the bowl
1 egg, plus second egg for brushing on rolls if desired
1 cup milk, plus more as needed

Procedure:

1) Combine the flour, salt, sugar, and yeast in the container of a food processor fitted with the steel blade and process for 5 seconds.  Add the cold butter and 1 egg and process for 10 seconds.  With the machine running, pour (don't drizzle) the milk through the feed tube.  Process about 30 seconds, then remove the cover.  The dough should be in a well-defined, barely sticky, easy to handle ball.  If it is too dry, add milk 1 tablespoon at a time and process for 5 or 10 seconds after each addition.  If it it too wet, which is unlikely, add another tablespoon or two of flour and process briefly.  Knead for 1 minute or so by hand.  It should be smooth, silky, and very elastic, and not too stiff.
2) Grease a large bowl, shape the dough into a rough ball, place it in the bowl, and cover with plastic wrap or a damp paper towel.  Let rise for 1 to 1.5 hours, until nearly doubled in bulk.  Deflate the ball and shape i once again into a ball; let rest on a slightly floured surface for about 15 minutes, covered.
3) Roll the dough out until it is about 1/2 inch thick, using no more flour than necessary to keep the dough from sticking to the work surface or rolling pin.  Use a 2 inch cookie cutter or other utensil to cut out circles.
4) Preheat the oven to 375 F.  If you want the rolls to have a glossy top, brush them lightly with an egg beaten with a little milk.  Bake about 20 minutes, or until the rolls are lightly browned and their bottoms sound hollow when tapped.  Cool on a rack, or serve straight from the oven.

     When I had these rolls straight out of the oven, I wanted to cheat on my husband for these rolls.  They were that amazing.  They tasted delicious and buttery.  The flavor kept going on and on.  I slashed them on the top and used a glass to cut them into circles.  The flavor was still good when they cooled down, but not as orgasmically good.  Isn't that always the way?
     I tried using my dough hook on my kitchen aid stand mixer for the first time.  This is a bit heretical to say; but I actually prefer using my food processor for mixing the dough.  Now, mind you, this was my first time and the recipe is set up for the food processor, so I know I have to give the stand mixer another chance.  However, it seemed to come together a lot easier in the processor.  We'll just keep experimenting.

Mashed potatoes being kept warm in the slow cooker
Mashed potatoes
from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything

Ingredients:

2 lbs baking potatoes, such as Idaho or Russet, cut into quarters
3 tbsp butter
3/4 cup milk, gently warmed
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste (I skipped this step because of Dad's diet)

Procedure:

1) Boil the potatoes in a pot with salted water to cover, until soft; this will take about 30 minutes.  Do not overcook or poke them too often to check doneness, or they will absorb too much water.
2) When the potatoes are done, drain them, then mash them well or put them through a food mill.  Return them to the pot over very low heat and stir in the butter and-gradually- the milk, beating with a wooden spoon until smooth and creamy.

     This was probably my recipe that came out the worst, although I didn't realize it until yesterday.  I remember when i made mashed potatoes two years ago, that they were amazing.  However, this time around, I didn't bother to mash them enough.  There were whole chunks of potatoes left in the "mashed" potatoes.  Oops!  However, no one really commented.  The original recipe also calls for your to peel the potatoes, but I hate peeling and the peels are healthy for you, so I left them in.  I put the finished mashed potatoes in a slow cooker left on low to keep warm until it was time to serve them (works like a charm!).

Delicious stuffing
"My Favorite Bread Stuffing"
from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything

Ingredients

1/2 pound (2 sticks) butter
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup pine nuts or chopped walnuts
6 to 8 cups fresh bread crumbs
1 tablespoon minced fresh tarragon or sage leaves or 1 teaspoon dried crumbled tarragon or sage
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped scallion
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves

Procedure:
  1. Put the butter in a large, deep skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. When melted, add the onion and cook, stirring, until it softens, about 5 minutes. Add the nuts and cook, stirring almost constantly, until they begin to brown, about 3 minutes.
  2. Add the breadcrumbs and the herb and toss to mix. Turn the heat down to low. Add the salt, pepper, and scallion. Toss again; taste and adjust the seasoning. Add the parsley and stir. Turn off the heat. (At this point, you may refrigerate the stuffing, well wrapped or in a covered container, for up to a day before proceeding.)
  3. Pack into chicken or turkey if you like before roasting or just bake in an ovenproof glass or enameled baking dish for about 45 minutes at 350-400°F. (Or you can cook it up to 3 days in advance and just warm it up right before dinner.)
     This really is good stuffing.  It has that classic stuffing taste, but isn't too moist and soggy.  It is just right.  For bread, I used a combo of an old loaf of bread I got from my work (Camp Monte Toyon), and a stuffing mix from the grocery store.  For the old loaf of bread, I just toasted every piece in the toaster and then broke it apart by hand.  I didn't add in the parsley as I couldn't find it in the grocery store.  Besides which, parsley is mostly just filler. 

Homemade gravy... my first!

Best way Gravy for Brined Turkey
adapted from Santa Cruz sentinel's 11/16/11 food and wine section

Ingredients:

4 tbsp unsalted butter
1/2 cup AP flour
pan drippings to taste
4 cups low-salt canned chicken broth

Procedure:

1) Make the roux ahead of time.  Melt the butter in a skillet over medium heat.  Add the flour all at once, whisking until incorporated on medium heat.  Cook on medium, whisking occasionally, for 3 to 4 minutes, until it begins to look grainy.  Transfer to a bowl and set aside
2) When the turkey is done, pour the pan drippings into a bowl.
3) Put the roux in a skillet.  Bring the broth to a simmer in a covered saucepan, then slowly add 3 cups of broth to the cold or room temperature roux, whisking constantly.  Add the reserved drippings slowly, starting with a few tablespoons; taste, then whisk in more, a little at a time, until the gravy tastes right to you.  Season with pepper and additional salt if needed (this stepped was skipped).  To adjust the consistency, add more broth or simmer for a few minutes.  Keep warm until ready to serve.

     I should also mention that we used this same article to figure out how to cook the brined bird that we bought.  Scott took care of that, so I don't really know the process.  However, I will tell you that the bird came out moist and delicious; even the white meat. 
     Gravy has been something that I have loved ever since I was a little girl.  I have always wanted to make gravy, but somehow had the idea that it was hard or difficult.  Looking at the recipes, I could never quite figure out what to do.  However, I looked at this recipe and thought that I would try it.  Even the original recipe is a bit confusing, they say you should have 4 cups of broth, but only use 3 cups.  Then they do this whole thing about deglazing the pan with wine to get all the browned bits but never mention what in the world to do with all the deglazed bits.  I just skipped that step, as we were using a cheap aluminum pan that wouldn't have lasted over a burner anyways.  I bought "canned" gravy (it wasn't in a can) just in case my gravy would turn out horrible.  However, I was really pleased and surprised at just how good my gravy did come out.  It came out white, delicious, and tasting of gravy.  Surprise surprise.  It was super easy to make, too.  Next year, no canned gravy for me!  Homemade all the way, baby!
Apple pie.  I added a bit too much cinnamon on the top.


Apple pie
from my Aunt Helen's recipe.  Also seen on my blog 10/30/10

Ingredients:

2 frozen pie crusts, thawed to room temperature
4-6 Pippin apples, peeled and cored
1/2 cup sugar
nutmeg to taste
cinnamon to taste
yogurt or milk

Procedure:

1) Pre-heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Lay the pie crust on the bottom of a pyrex pie pan. Put the apples in an even layer on the bottom. I layered them twice. Cover with the sugar, cinnamon and nutmeg. Lay the other crust on top of the pie and crimp the edges together. Cover the top with a little bit of yogurt or milk and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar. Cut a few slices on the top of the crust to let out the steam. Put it in the oven for 40-45 min. Remove when it appears brown on both the top and bottom. Remove, let cool, and enjoy!

     This was a recipe that was literally decided on the day of thanksgiving.  I was mentioning to people that I still had to make the pie (I was planning on making pumpkin pie) when Andrew asked if there would be apple pie.  I said that I hadn't planned on making it, but asked if he would like some.  Eventually, it was decided by the group that they would.  Well, I had Scott go out and buy me some more pie crusts the other day and I knew I had apples left from the AEOE conference that I had gone to earlier this month.  So, with Andrew's and Cole's help, we had apple pie.  The apples may not have looked like much (they seemed like the home picked variety and were very spotty), but they sure came out delicious!  Isn't it nice to be able to make a pie on a whim?

Scott holds my pumpkin pie
Leftover pumpkin pie filling.  Why not cook it?

Pumpkin pie

Ingredients:

1 Flaky Pie crust
3 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp ground ginger
pinch ground cloves
pinch salt
2 cups canned or fresh pumpkin puree or cooked
2 cups half and half, light cream, or whole milk

Procedure:

1) Prebake the crust and start the filling while the crust is in the oven.  To prebake the crust, preheat the oven to 425.  tear off a piece of foil large enough to fit over the entire crust when folded in half; fold it.  Smear butter on one side of the foil, then press it into the crust.  weight the foil with a pile of dried beans or rice, pie weights, or a tight fitting skillet or saucepan; anything that will sit flat on the surface.  Bake 12 minutes.  Remove from the oven, reduce the heat to 350 F and carefully remove the weight and foil. Bake another 10 to 15 minutes, or until the crust is a beautiful shade of brown.  When the crust is done, turn the oven to 375 F.
2) Beat the eggs with the sugar, then add the spices and salt.  Stir in the pumpkin puree and then the milk.  While the crust is baking, warm this mixture in a medium saucepan over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until it is hot to the touch; do not boil.
3) Place the pie plate on a baking sheet.  Pour this mixture into the still-hot crust and bake 30 to 40 minutes, until the mixture shakes like Jell-O but is still quite moist.  Cool on a rack and serve warm or at room temperature.

     The pumpkin pie turned out quite good.  It had been a while since I had made pie, so I forgot to prick the bottom of the crust with a fork (and they never tell you to in the recipe although I believe they do in the preface of dealing with crusts).  The result of this being that the crust bubbled up once I removed the weight (I used rice).  However, I still put the filling in there (mixed together with my hand mixer; love that thing!) and it came out fine.  I had some leftover pumpkin mixture so I just baked it in a separate pan.  Delish!

My beautiful mixer making whipped cream!

Whipped cream
adapted from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything and Kitchen Aid Stand Mixer instructions

note: Chill bowl, mixer and cream ahead of time.

Ingredients:

1 cup whipping cream
1 tbsp sugar

Procedure:

1) Put the whipping cream in a cold bowl.  Whip using your mixer until it is about half way done.  Add sugar.  Whip until it holds stiff peaks.  Be careful not to overwhip. Taste and enjoy!
     I will admit it.  This was just another excuse to use my new stand mixer.  Finally, something that it could do that I actually understood!  I hate mixing by hand and so was so looking forward to the day when I had some way to mix things electronically.  Fortunately, I received both a hand mixer and a stand mixer as a wedding present (as mentioned previously).  So easy!  And fun!

     All in all, it was a great Thanksgiving.  I was truly blessed to be surrounded by so many people whom I can call my friends, who loved me, and who enjoyed my cooking.  And, in the end, isn't that what the holiday is all about?  Thanks giving and the chance to be with loved ones!

Our turkey.  Delicious and moist, thanks to my husband!
The delicious cous cous that Cole made for our Thanksgiving feast!

Our Thanksgiving.  From left to right: Scott, Andrew, Sara, Cole and my father.


A nice picture of me and the candle.

Our thanksgiving guests are back in the kitchen getting dessert!



Monday, November 21, 2011

Hawaiian Wedding cake (aka my 30th birthday party)

     There are so many ways to start this blog that I don't even know where to begin.  Do I start with- *the fact that I turned 30 (that's right, the big 3 0) on Tuesday
*the fact that I had a Hawaiian themed birthday party on Saturday
*the fact that I just recently got a Kitchen aid stand mixer thanks to the generosity of my cousin Pete's wife Rhonda (and my cousin, of course!)
*the fact that I vowed that if I got my stand mixer I would make a cake for my birthday party

     Well, I guess you already know the beginning.  Pick your favorite and go from there.  I chose a Hawaiian themed party so that I could get Scott to wear his Hawaiian shirt again (having just gone on a cruise to Hawaii for our honeymoon).  The kitchenaid mixer is a long standing offer from Rhonda of getting me one when I got married (she was shocked to find that I, a kitchen connoisseur, didn't have one).  The birthday happened all on it's own (if only I could control it!).  The party was to celebrate.  I wish I had done a better job advertising it, as not as many people could make it as I would have liked, but I sure was glad of the people who did!  It was a really fun party!  And it seemed like everyone liked my cake.  Okay, enough with the blabbing and on to the cake itself.
     So, in researching foods that I could make for the party (it being a potluck but me still wanting to provide some food), I came across this website http://www.paradisefoundonline.com/luau-recipes.html.  On it, there was a recipe for a Hawaiian wedding cake.  It sounded pretty delicious so, as stated above, I vowed that if I received the kitchen aid mixer (which I knew was coming in the mail), I would make the cake.  I received the mixer on Wednesday, so I knew I was going to make it.

Hawaiian Wedding Cake

Ingredients:

2 C. sugar
2 C. flour

2 eggs

2 tsp. baking soda

1 can crushed pineapple

2 tsp. vanilla

1 T. rum

1 C. chopped nuts
1 C. shredded coconut


Procedure:1) Combine sugar and flour. Make a hole in flour mixture and pour in can of pineapple and dissolve baking soda in pineapple. Add eggs and beat this mixture well and then stir in with flour mixture. Add vanilla, rum, nuts and coconut. Bake in greased pan for about 35 minutes ant 350. Use toothpick to test for doneness.



Cream Cheese Icing

Ingredients:


1 Stick Butter

1 8 oz. pkg. cream cheese

1 1/2 C. powdered sugar

1 tsp. vanilla

2 tsp. rum

Procedure:


1) Bring butter and cream cheese to room temp. Beat until well blended and no cream cheese lumps. Add sugar, vanilla, rum and beat just until combined and smooth

     Well, let me just say that the kitchen aid mixer was a dream to use (and super fun, to boot).  I mixed a little too fast when I made the first batch of icing and so got powdered sugar everywhere but learned my lesson when I made the next batch.  Actually, I learned double the lesson as the reason why I had to make a second batch was that the first one was made with rotten cream cheese.  I guess it really is important to pay attention to the expiration date!  The cake came out delicious.  I would definitely recommend making it, although the instructions weren't the clearest in the world.  I used the large can of crushed pineapple (believe it was 32 oz, but don't quote me on that).  I basically added the flour and the sugar together, mixed it, and then added the rest of the ingredients.  The batter came out really liquidy but puffed up when I cooked it.  It was a super moist but not too sweet cake.  The macadamia nuts were heavenly.  The cream cheese frosting was much less confusing to make and also super delicious.  Of course, it is also my favorite type of frosting.  I ended up eating a lot of leftover frosting.  Mmmmmm....


Hawaiian wedding cake (aka my birthday cake)

The cake spread with lovely flowers.  A big thanks to our friends
Lynnelle and Derek for not only getting me those wonderful flowers
but also letting us throw the party at their house
Party in full swing

Our matching outfits

Lighting the birthday cake

Make a wish!
An official Kitchen aid mixer photo that comes the closest
to looking like my new mixer.  Same type, but mine is not
quite as shiny


Monday, November 7, 2011

Baked eggs, bean dip and chocolate chip cookies

     So I've got a bit of a confession to make... I don't really know how to cook.  Okay, that's a big overstatement.  I should refine that to I don't really know how to cook certain basic, every day items that would be in a normal cook's repertoire.  To give you a perfect example, I have never cooked a steak.  This blog (the exception to my usual one recipe per blog rule) outlines the wide variation in my cooking abilities.  Well, maybe not exactly so (since all of these recipes are pretty basic), but you get the point.

Baked (Shirred) Eggs (from Mark Bittman's How to cook everything)

Ingredients:

butter
cream (optional)
2 eggs
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
bread crumbs
parmesan cheese

Procedure:

1) Preheat the oven to 375 F.  Butter two custard cups or small ramekins.  If you like, place a couple of teaspoons of cream in the bottom of each (a nice touch).  Break 1 egg into each of the cups, top with bread crumbs and parmesan and then place the cups on a baking sheet.
2) Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, or until the eggs are just set and the whites solidified.  Because of the heat retained by the cups, these will continue to cook after you remove them from the oven, so it's best to under cook them slightly.  Season to taste and serve.

     I'll start with the baked egg recipe.  I have been wanting to try this recipe for years, ever since I read about it in How to cook everything.  I happened to have extra cream laying about (from the ice cream making), so I thought that it would make a luxurious treat.  It was super easy to make.  I took them out right when the whites appeared solid, let them cool for a little and enjoyed.  It was quite good.  Like a fried egg without all the grease.  I didn't really taste the parmesan or bread crumbs other than as a slightly crunchy aspect in my eggs.  My only complaint is that the yolks didn't cook all the way through.  Now, for most people perhaps this wouldn't be a problem.  But for me, I like my yolks cooked all the way through.  Runny yolks sometimes make me nauseous.  When I ate the two eggs, I did walk away full and nauseous, so I think I will poke a hole in the yolk for next time.  Other than that, they were quite good.  I'd like to cook them for Scott sometime.

Chocolate-Chip Drop cookies (from Joy of Cooking, 1975 edition)

Makes: about forty-five 2-inch cookies

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 cup plus 2 tbsp AP flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp basking soda
1/2 cup chopped nutmeats
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Procedure:

1) Preheat the oven to 375 F
2) Cream the butter.  Add the sugar and beat until creamy.
3) Beat in the egg and vanilla.
4) Stir in the flour, salt and baking soda.
5) Stir in the nutmeats and chocolate chips.
6) Drop the batter from a teaspoon, well apart, on a greased cookie sheet.  Bake about 10 minutes.

     For some reason, I was feeling a crazy desire to cook chocolate chip cookies last night.  I think I've been feeling a little desire for a few days now, but it really struck at about 11:30 last night.  Cookies are one of those basic things that you would think I would be an expert at making.  However, the few (maybe three or four) times that I have made cookies, I have always been slightly disappointed with the results.  Cookies seem like one of those basic things that everyone should know how to make well.  Yesterday, I was determined that this day would be different.  So, I went to Joy of Cooking.  Now, if you haven't realized by now, Mark Bittman's How to cook everything is my all time favorite cookbook.  It is the one I keep going to time after time and I inevitably get results that are good and satisfying if not amazing.  I highly recommend going out there and getting a copy if you don't have one.  However, there are a few things that he falls flat on.  I made pancakes with his recipe and pancakes with the Joy of cooking recipe.  Guess which one I liked better?  That's right, Joy of Cooking.  Maybe there's something about the "old-timeyness" of it all.  Bittman's recipe called for baking powder and soda while Joy of Cooking calls for just plain old baking soda.  My guess is that baking powder wasn't even around that much back in 1975.  Knowing my experience with the pancakes, I decided to make the cookies.  Well, I was not wrong in my hunch!  These were the best chocolate chip cookies that I think I've ever had (and I've had some pretty good one).  Maybe they were even better because I knew that I had made them myself.  The hand mixer made them a breeze to whip together (I can hardly wait to get my stand mixer for the same thing).  I kept them in the oven for longer than it said (I really think my oven must run a little cooler because this seems to be a common occurrence with me) as they were still pretty soft after 10 minutes.  I probably ended up leaving them in there for 20 minutes or so.  They came out hot, crispy and brown.  Amazing with milk or just by itself.  I made them way larger than the recipe called for (so I only got like 24, not the 45).  As you can see from the picture, I also didn't space them out well enough on the cookie sheet as they all ran into each other.  I had a feeling this would happen, but I didn't particularly care.  This was also my first time using parchment paper.  It worked like a charm!  I will definitely use that again.  The cookies slid right off! 


Spicy corn bean dip (personal recipe)

Ingredients:

1 can black bean refried beans with jalapenos
1 can green chiles
1 can corn, drained
hot sauce to taste

Procedure:

1) Heat up the refried beans.  Add the corn, green chiles and hot sauce and cook until all is warm.  Serve with garlic chips.  Delicious!

     Finally, this recipe demonstrates the other range of my cooking ability; the ability to look around at the ingredients I have and just make things up.  This recipe came about a few days ago when I was really hungry but didn't feel like eating the pumpkin pasta leftovers.  I looked in my cabinet and pulled out the jalapeno black bean refried beans (I don't like refried beans as a rule, but I make an exception for black bean refried beans).  I started heating it up in the stove and decided it was too boring so I added in the corn.  Then I thought I would add a little kick and add in the green chiles.  It still wasn't spicy at all.  So I added in the hot sauce.  Surprisingly, it still wasn't spicy but I was so hungry by then that I didn't care.  The garlic chips (bought from Gilroy, the "garlic capital of the world") added in a delicious garlicky taste to it all.  Best of all, because I was eating the chips with the dip, I didn't get that garlic taste in my mouth when I eat the chips just on their own.  This recipe was delicious and filled me up in no time.  Scott loved it as well when he got to try it the next day.

     So, there you go.  Here is a sample of the range of my cooking ability.  I go from the top chef, make recipes up as I go (even if it was a simple recipe) to not knowing how to make a relatively simple thing like chocolate chipped cookies.  There are definitely some holes in my education, and I'll just have to try to fill them up as I cook more.  Perhaps I will work on a steak.  Especially since I have a cast iron skillet now (can hardly wait to try this baby out).  However, there is also the big day of thanksgiving coming up, so all future cooking plans might have to be put on hold for this major food meal.  I can hardly wait!


Shirred eggs with bread crumbs and parmesan


Chocolate chip cookies.  Yum!


Thursday, November 3, 2011

A different Macaroni and cheese attempt

     So, after all the crazy food-eating extravaganza on the cruise ship, I had been determined to lose some of the cruise ship fat and go on a post-cruise ship "diet."  When I got back home, however, somehow or another life was too busy for me to remember to eat right.  I was eating better than I had been on the ship, but still not the way I should.  So, after finally remembering my promise to myself, I decided to try a new recipe.  One healthier, but still definitely in the vein of this food blog and my so-called "diet."  What is it, you may ask?  Why, it is none other than...

Creamy Cauliflower Mac



Makes: 4 servings


Time: About 45 minutes


Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil, plus more for greasing the baking dish
Salt
2 1⁄2 cups vegetable or chicken stock or water
2 bay leaves
1 cauliflower, cored and separated into large pieces
8 ounces elbow, shell, ziti, or other cut pasta, preferably whole wheat
1 ⁄2 cup grated cheese (like sharp cheddar, Gruyère, or Emmental or a combination)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard, or to taste
1 ⁄8 teaspoon nutmeg, or to taste
Black pepper
1 ⁄4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 ⁄2 cup or more bread crumbs, optional

Procedure:


1. Heat the oven to 400°F. Grease a 9-inch square baking dish with a little oil. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and salt it. Put the stock with the bay leaves in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. When small bubbles appear along the sides, about 5 minutes later, turn off the heat and let stand.


2. Cook the cauliflower in the boiling water until very tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Scoop the cauliflower out of the water with a slotted spoon and transfer it to a blender or food processor. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until still somewhat chalky inside and not yet edible, about 5 minutes.


3. Remove the bay leaves from the stock. Carefully process the cauliflower with 2 cups of the stock, the 2 tablespoons oil, the cheese, mustard, nutmeg, and a sprinkling of salt and pepper. (You may have to work in batches.) If the sauce seems too thick, add the remaining 1⁄2 cup stock. Taste and adjust the seasoning. Pour the sauce over the pasta, toss, and spread the mixture evenly in the dish. (You can make the dish to this point, cover, and refrigerate for up to a day; return to room temperature before proceeding.)


4. Sprinkle the top with the Parmesan and bread crumbs if you’re using them. Bake until the pasta is bubbling and the crumbs turn brown, 15 to 20 minutes. Serve hot.


Variation:

Less Creamy Cauliflower Mac: Cut the cored head of cauliflower in half instead of into large pieces. In Step 2, cook only half of the cauliflower until it’s very tender, then transfer it to the blender or food processor as described. Chop the remaining half of the cauliflower into large pieces and add them to the boiling water along with the pasta. Proceed with the recipe.

     Sounds interesting, huh?  I'll have to admit I had my doubts but I was also very curious about the recipe.  Why not?  Well, I will have to say, it was actually really good.  Not macaroni and cheese super rich super delicious cheese coming out of every pore good, but quite satisfying.  There was just enough cheese to make it have that great mac and cheese taste but the cauliflower made me feel slightly less guilty about eating it.  I didn't have any vegetables with this dinner, because I figured they were already in the dinner!  I recommend trying it.  It's something different.  And cauliflower really does become nice and creamy when you cook it and then blend it.  My favorite part?  Watching the cheese melt upon the cauliflower when I threw it in the food processor.  My most favorite part?  Sneaking bites of the cheese here and there while I was cooking...



Cauliflower macaroni and cheese.  I couldn't quite get the bread
crumbs to brown, but it came out delicious none the less






.