Earlier this week I mentioned a pasta sauce recipe that I deemed my version of crack. It's easy, with few ingredients, and always tastes delicious. There aren't any photos because it disappeared so quickly.
When my husband's aunt recited the recipe to me, I was doubtful. No garlic? Or onion? How is that possible? She reassured me that despite the lack of garlic, it was fantastic.
The recipe she gave me was from Scarpetta, and there are several versions of the recipe online. Here's my adaptation (well, Aunt MA's adaptation). Try it! It's fantastic!
2 large cans peeled and whole San Marzano tomatoes*
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
kosher salt
red pepper flakes
1 T butter
grated parmigiano reggiano
fresh basil
Bring tomatoes and olive oil to a simmer on medium to medium-high heat (our stove is finicky). Generously salt the tomatoes and shake in red pepper flakes to your liking. Let the tomatoes simmer for about 20 minutes, until they start breaking down. Meanwhile, cook your spaghetti to pre-al dente - and this is important. The pasta must be pre-al dente, because you're going to throw the pasta into the sauce later to finish cooking it.
Once your sauce has been simmering for about 20 minutes, give it a taste (because who doesn't dip a spoon or a piece of fresh baguette in to see how it's coming along?). If you think it's about ready, shred a few basil leaves and add them, along with the butter, to your sauce. Stir them in and add your pre-al dente spaghetti. Stir the pasta in, making sure to coat the spaghetti with the sauce, and allow it to cook for a couple minutes. Serve pasta with a sprinkling (or coating, if you're like my husband) of parmigiano reggiano.
* One quick note - MA said to use San Marzano tomatoes. I can't stomach spending that much every single time I want to make the recipe, so I just use the Whole Foods brand. Works like a charm. If you want to splash out for the San Marzanos, though, I say go for it!
TRY THIS PASTA. It has become a staple in our kitchen, and it's a go-to recipe for us when we need a quick meal.
On another, less successful note, I tried making king ranch casserole tonight. It was an epic fail. FAIL. Steve was very nice and said it tasted just fine, but it was a total disaster. Instead of just asking my mother for her tried-and-true recipe, I googled. (There's my first mistake.) Then Whole Foods didn't have any corn tortillas...and neither did the other couple markets near our house. So I used flour tortillas, which just soaked up the liquid and got soggy. Then I, against my better judgment, followed the recipe and blended the different liquids used in the casserole. Just added to the soggy nature of the whole dish.
Lesson learned. Always ask Mom for her recipe. Don't use flour tortillas. Go with your instinct.
Now it's time to use the horribly brown bananas in our fruit bowl. Fingers crossed the banana bread turns out better!
Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label recipes. Show all posts
Sunday, April 15, 2012
Monday, April 9, 2012
I'm back!
I dusted off my Twitter account today and figured I'd do the same for this little ol' blog. I took a hiatus from pretty much all social media (well, except Facebook) for awhile, but now I'm back and ready to get cooking, photographing, and writing right away.
First post this week? The most delicious pasta sauce you'll ever make in 30 minutes. Seriously. It's like crack. I think I made it every week for about 6 weeks in a row (and consequently spent a lot more time at the gym).
This weekend I'm also continuing my quest for the perfect chocolate mousse...more on that to come!
Happy Monday everyone!
First post this week? The most delicious pasta sauce you'll ever make in 30 minutes. Seriously. It's like crack. I think I made it every week for about 6 weeks in a row (and consequently spent a lot more time at the gym).
This weekend I'm also continuing my quest for the perfect chocolate mousse...more on that to come!
Happy Monday everyone!
Thursday, August 4, 2011
I think I'm in heaven.
This popped up on my Google Reader feed thanks to Never Turn Down A Cupcake and I'm definitely in love.
HEAVEN IN A JAR.
(I'll wait while you squeal with delight and plot your own attempt at the recipe.)
Peanut butter and Oreos??? My siblings and I would dip Oreos in peanut butter whenever my mom actually permitted Oreos in the house (which was not often).
Side note: My mom once tried to convince me that fruit leather was the same as a fruit roll-up. I was not fooled and have hated fruit leather ever since.
So this is the exact OPPOSITE of the fruit leather. Oreo-y, peanut buttery, rich deliciousness.
I can't wait to try it out!!!
HEAVEN IN A JAR.
(I'll wait while you squeal with delight and plot your own attempt at the recipe.)
Peanut butter and Oreos??? My siblings and I would dip Oreos in peanut butter whenever my mom actually permitted Oreos in the house (which was not often).
Side note: My mom once tried to convince me that fruit leather was the same as a fruit roll-up. I was not fooled and have hated fruit leather ever since.
So this is the exact OPPOSITE of the fruit leather. Oreo-y, peanut buttery, rich deliciousness.
I can't wait to try it out!!!
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Slovenian Potica: FAIL
My husband Steve is part Slovenian, and his grandmother used to make potica (pronounced puh-teetz-ah) when he was younger. He and his sister still rave about how good it was, so I decided to give it a shot this weekend.
The recipe seemed deceptively simple. So I followed the instructions exactly, not wanting to mess this childhood favorite up, and thought I was doing just fine.
Then the dough wouldn't rise.
I moved the dough from the warm laundry closet to the open oven door (with the oven on at 200) and that didn't even work.
Plan C (since Plan B was the oven door option) was to add newly flowered active dry yeast and incorporate it into the dough.
Thankfully Plan C worked. The dough doubled and I rolled it out into two loaves, filled with butter, honey, walnuts and cinnamon.
They had to rise again for an hour, so I went back to watching a movie. When I returned, they had practically filled a cookie sheet. One looked was shaped like a loaf and one looked like a big blob of goo (guess which one I rolled first - hah). After some finagling, I managed to wrangle the blob into a more appropriate shape. I was a little afraid it would keep growing and eat the other one, so I moved the nice loaf to another cookie sheet.
The left one is the somewhat-wrangled blob. I'm hoping for the next attempt the rolls will be a bit tighter. Either that or I need to get a bread pan and just shove the rolls in there.
The first one came out of the oven very, um, bronzed and had grown AGAIN. We sliced it and tried it...
Verdict? Definitely not Grandma's potica. It tasted okay, but the key seemed to be that the roll needed to be tighter so you get that true cinnamon swirl.
Oh well. Now I just have to figure out what to do with almost two whole loaves of potica.
The recipe seemed deceptively simple. So I followed the instructions exactly, not wanting to mess this childhood favorite up, and thought I was doing just fine.
Then the dough wouldn't rise.
I moved the dough from the warm laundry closet to the open oven door (with the oven on at 200) and that didn't even work.
Plan C (since Plan B was the oven door option) was to add newly flowered active dry yeast and incorporate it into the dough.
Thankfully Plan C worked. The dough doubled and I rolled it out into two loaves, filled with butter, honey, walnuts and cinnamon.
They had to rise again for an hour, so I went back to watching a movie. When I returned, they had practically filled a cookie sheet. One looked was shaped like a loaf and one looked like a big blob of goo (guess which one I rolled first - hah). After some finagling, I managed to wrangle the blob into a more appropriate shape. I was a little afraid it would keep growing and eat the other one, so I moved the nice loaf to another cookie sheet.
The left one is the somewhat-wrangled blob. I'm hoping for the next attempt the rolls will be a bit tighter. Either that or I need to get a bread pan and just shove the rolls in there.
The first one came out of the oven very, um, bronzed and had grown AGAIN. We sliced it and tried it...
Verdict? Definitely not Grandma's potica. It tasted okay, but the key seemed to be that the roll needed to be tighter so you get that true cinnamon swirl.
Oh well. Now I just have to figure out what to do with almost two whole loaves of potica.
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
My current obsession
Ratatouille. Made from Thomas Keller's recipe found here.
Love love love love love, especially paired with a bit of mozzarella and a baguette.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Frying chicken at home
I've never really been one for fried food. It's greasy, heavily breaded, and usually leaves me feeling like I've contributed to a future clogged artery.
When Steve said he wanted to make French fries at home for BaconFest 2011, I was fine with it - figuring they would turn out greasy and heavy. I figured I'd just let him eat them. So when I tried one of the golden, crispy, hot fries that he made, I was hooked.
Since then, we've made another batch of French fries and, as of last night, fried chicken.
We paired the chicken with a raspberry chipotle sauce that my mom sends me from Texas. I still haven't been able to find it in the DC area. (That sauce is like crack - we could eat it with just about anything. Seriously.)
We used Bobby Flay's recipe for the batter and it turned out amazing. I'll probably add more hot sauce to the brine and cayenne to the flour mixture next time - give it more of a kick.
Crispy on the outside, juicy and tender on the inside...I'm hooked. Steve took it one step further and made a fried chicken sandwich using a potato bun, cream cheese, chicken and the raspberry chipotle sauce. And since every meal should have some kind of vegetable, we braised Swiss chard while the chicken was frying.
We're definitely making it again.
When Steve said he wanted to make French fries at home for BaconFest 2011, I was fine with it - figuring they would turn out greasy and heavy. I figured I'd just let him eat them. So when I tried one of the golden, crispy, hot fries that he made, I was hooked.
Since then, we've made another batch of French fries and, as of last night, fried chicken.
We paired the chicken with a raspberry chipotle sauce that my mom sends me from Texas. I still haven't been able to find it in the DC area. (That sauce is like crack - we could eat it with just about anything. Seriously.)
We used Bobby Flay's recipe for the batter and it turned out amazing. I'll probably add more hot sauce to the brine and cayenne to the flour mixture next time - give it more of a kick.
Crispy on the outside, juicy and tender on the inside...I'm hooked. Steve took it one step further and made a fried chicken sandwich using a potato bun, cream cheese, chicken and the raspberry chipotle sauce. And since every meal should have some kind of vegetable, we braised Swiss chard while the chicken was frying.
We're definitely making it again.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Charcutepalooza: February Challenge
The February challenge for Charcutepalooza was bacon or pancetta. (Pancetta for the more adventurous, bacon for the apprentice level.)
I did actually complete the challenge by the Feb. 15 deadline, but my computer didn't make the journey with me - it died. So I wasn't able to post until now. I realize it's almost March and I should be brining something for the March challenge. Oh well.
I didn't want to go too crazy for February since it was my first Charcutepalooza challenge, so I went with the apprentice challenge: Bacon.
I stalked my Whole Foods meat counter to make sure they would have enough pork belly - in one piece - when I wanted to purchase it. Since that weekend was Super Bowl weekend, I was just crossing my fingers that no one was going to go gourmet with their parties and buy out the stock of pork belly.
Thankfully, they didn't. I came home with this lovely below - all four pounds of her.
I gave it a quick rub down with the mixture I had whipped up thanks to Michael Ruhlman's book. I hadn't been able to locate pink salt at the last minute (yes, I procrastinated), so I just used regular salt. And tried not to think about the botulism spores that could grow in the garlic throughout the week the pork belly would sit in the fridge.
By Tuesday I was still thinking about the botulism spores (read: having a panic attack about eating the bacon/giving the bacon away/killing someone).
I know Ruhlman had said it was unlikely to happen and that countless sources online said that cooking the bacon at a certain temperature would kill any botulism spores in it, but I couldn't help it.
I gave in to my neuroses. I plucked each and every piece of garlic off the pork belly before putting it back in the fridge.
So a few days after that, I pulled the pork belly out of the fridge and roasted it. (The apartment smelled SO GOOD.) I let it cool for awhile and then tried slicing it.
My friends, if you are doing this, do not immediately slice your bacon. It needs to be cold to get those traditional slices of bacon. (Believe me - I hacked up a couple inches of the pork belly before I got frustrated and stuck the whole thing in the freezer. It worked!) I left my pork belly in the freezer for about 45 minutes - it was nowhere close to freezing - and it made slicing so much easier.
That evening, Steve and I had BaconFest 2011.
My favorite part of the night was the first course: Braised Belgian endive with goat cheese, chopped bacon and topped with a lobster tail.
Second course was a BLT on toasted challah with a fried egg on top paired with homemade French fries. WOW. A classic - and it was phenomenal.
The third course was sweet and spicy bacon slathered in nutella courtesy of bell' alimento. SO good but I made the catastrophic mistake of putting the bacon on paper towels. It got stuck and I ended up picking bits of paper towel off the bacon as it cooled.
Here's the Belgian endive recipe (makes 2 servings):
2 Belgian endive, sliced lengthwise
2 strips bacon, chopped
crumbled goat cheese (amount depends on how much you love goat cheese!)
2 lobster tails, 3-4 ounces each
1 cup white wine
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Preheat your oven to broil.
Fry the chopped bacon and set aside. Discard most of the fat left in the pan (or you can get rid of all of it, but where's the fun in that?).
In the same pan, add the white wine and deglaze the pan. Bring the wine to a simmer and add the Belgian endive, flat side down. Allow the endive to brown a bit and then add the white wine vinegar and sugar. Let the mixture simmer for about 15 or 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, gently crack the lobster tails on the underside and add a bit of butter. Place shell side down on a roasting pan and broil for about 7 or 8 minutes.
Sprinkle the chopped bacon and goat cheese on the plate. When the Belgian endive is done, place on top of the bacon and goat cheese and drizzle the braising liquid over it. Remove the lobster tails from the shells and curl over the endive.
I did actually complete the challenge by the Feb. 15 deadline, but my computer didn't make the journey with me - it died. So I wasn't able to post until now. I realize it's almost March and I should be brining something for the March challenge. Oh well.
I didn't want to go too crazy for February since it was my first Charcutepalooza challenge, so I went with the apprentice challenge: Bacon.
I stalked my Whole Foods meat counter to make sure they would have enough pork belly - in one piece - when I wanted to purchase it. Since that weekend was Super Bowl weekend, I was just crossing my fingers that no one was going to go gourmet with their parties and buy out the stock of pork belly.
Thankfully, they didn't. I came home with this lovely below - all four pounds of her.
I gave it a quick rub down with the mixture I had whipped up thanks to Michael Ruhlman's book. I hadn't been able to locate pink salt at the last minute (yes, I procrastinated), so I just used regular salt. And tried not to think about the botulism spores that could grow in the garlic throughout the week the pork belly would sit in the fridge.
By Tuesday I was still thinking about the botulism spores (read: having a panic attack about eating the bacon/giving the bacon away/killing someone).
I know Ruhlman had said it was unlikely to happen and that countless sources online said that cooking the bacon at a certain temperature would kill any botulism spores in it, but I couldn't help it.
I gave in to my neuroses. I plucked each and every piece of garlic off the pork belly before putting it back in the fridge.
So a few days after that, I pulled the pork belly out of the fridge and roasted it. (The apartment smelled SO GOOD.) I let it cool for awhile and then tried slicing it.
My friends, if you are doing this, do not immediately slice your bacon. It needs to be cold to get those traditional slices of bacon. (Believe me - I hacked up a couple inches of the pork belly before I got frustrated and stuck the whole thing in the freezer. It worked!) I left my pork belly in the freezer for about 45 minutes - it was nowhere close to freezing - and it made slicing so much easier.
That evening, Steve and I had BaconFest 2011.
My favorite part of the night was the first course: Braised Belgian endive with goat cheese, chopped bacon and topped with a lobster tail.
Second course was a BLT on toasted challah with a fried egg on top paired with homemade French fries. WOW. A classic - and it was phenomenal.
The third course was sweet and spicy bacon slathered in nutella courtesy of bell' alimento. SO good but I made the catastrophic mistake of putting the bacon on paper towels. It got stuck and I ended up picking bits of paper towel off the bacon as it cooled.
Here's the Belgian endive recipe (makes 2 servings):
2 Belgian endive, sliced lengthwise
2 strips bacon, chopped
crumbled goat cheese (amount depends on how much you love goat cheese!)
2 lobster tails, 3-4 ounces each
1 cup white wine
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sugar
Preheat your oven to broil.
Fry the chopped bacon and set aside. Discard most of the fat left in the pan (or you can get rid of all of it, but where's the fun in that?).
In the same pan, add the white wine and deglaze the pan. Bring the wine to a simmer and add the Belgian endive, flat side down. Allow the endive to brown a bit and then add the white wine vinegar and sugar. Let the mixture simmer for about 15 or 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, gently crack the lobster tails on the underside and add a bit of butter. Place shell side down on a roasting pan and broil for about 7 or 8 minutes.
Sprinkle the chopped bacon and goat cheese on the plate. When the Belgian endive is done, place on top of the bacon and goat cheese and drizzle the braising liquid over it. Remove the lobster tails from the shells and curl over the endive.
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Braised chicken, veggies and polenta
Have I mentioned that I'm in love with my Le Creuset dutch oven?
I love it. I really do. It was my favorite wedding present.
We hadn't braised anything in awhile, so we picked up some chicken thighs for a nice, cold winter night meal. (I will say that braising is the ONLY time I am a fan of chicken on the bone...bones gross me out. Can't help it.)
This was a joint effort - Steve took care of the braising and I made the polenta (really difficult, I know). I used America's Test Kitchen's recipe for basic parmesan polenta and added chopped bacon.
braised chicken and veggies
4 strips thick-cut bacon
4 chicken thighs
red wine (preferably dry, like a montepulciano)
1 shallot, sliced
3 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 cup of baby bella mushrooms, chopped
1 cup of red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup of white onion, chopped
1 cup of baby carrots
1 bag of spinach
olive oil
braising liquid
1 cup of beef broth
1/2 cup of red wine
1 heaping teaspoon of tomato paste
soy sauce to taste
red wine vinegar to taste
touch of worcestershire
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
We started by frying 4 strips of bacon in the dutch oven on the stovetop over medium-high heat. Adds a bit of fat to the pan (reserve the actual bacon strips for the polenta).
Steve took over from there and browned the chicken thighs in the bacon fat.
Be still my beating heart...even typing that made me hungry.
After browning the chicken, remove the chicken thighs and get rid of the excess bacon fat (unless you feel like keeping it for something else - I won't judge). Add enough red wine to cover the bottom of the dutch oven and deglaze the pan.
Since there will be wine left over, pour yourself a glass.
Add garlic and shallot and simmer. Allow wine to reduce by half. Add the vegetables and a dab of olive oil. Allow vegetables to sweat a bit.
Spread vegetables evenly around dutch oven and add chicken (veggies moved around enough so chicken can be touching the bottom). Pour in braising liquid and let simmer uncovered for five minutes or so. Put in the oven for 40-45 minutes.
Serve over polenta and try not to go back for seconds. I dare you.
I love it. I really do. It was my favorite wedding present.
We hadn't braised anything in awhile, so we picked up some chicken thighs for a nice, cold winter night meal. (I will say that braising is the ONLY time I am a fan of chicken on the bone...bones gross me out. Can't help it.)
This was a joint effort - Steve took care of the braising and I made the polenta (really difficult, I know). I used America's Test Kitchen's recipe for basic parmesan polenta and added chopped bacon.
braised chicken and veggies
4 strips thick-cut bacon
4 chicken thighs
red wine (preferably dry, like a montepulciano)
1 shallot, sliced
3 cloves of garlic, sliced
1 cup of baby bella mushrooms, chopped
1 cup of red bell pepper, chopped
1 cup of white onion, chopped
1 cup of baby carrots
1 bag of spinach
olive oil
braising liquid
1 cup of beef broth
1/2 cup of red wine
1 heaping teaspoon of tomato paste
soy sauce to taste
red wine vinegar to taste
touch of worcestershire
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
We started by frying 4 strips of bacon in the dutch oven on the stovetop over medium-high heat. Adds a bit of fat to the pan (reserve the actual bacon strips for the polenta).
Steve took over from there and browned the chicken thighs in the bacon fat.
Be still my beating heart...even typing that made me hungry.
After browning the chicken, remove the chicken thighs and get rid of the excess bacon fat (unless you feel like keeping it for something else - I won't judge). Add enough red wine to cover the bottom of the dutch oven and deglaze the pan.
Since there will be wine left over, pour yourself a glass.
Add garlic and shallot and simmer. Allow wine to reduce by half. Add the vegetables and a dab of olive oil. Allow vegetables to sweat a bit.
Spread vegetables evenly around dutch oven and add chicken (veggies moved around enough so chicken can be touching the bottom). Pour in braising liquid and let simmer uncovered for five minutes or so. Put in the oven for 40-45 minutes.
Serve over polenta and try not to go back for seconds. I dare you.
Sunday, January 2, 2011
Chicken cheese enchiladas
To counteract the gluttony of New Year's Eve, Steve and I decided to make chicken enchiladas on Saturday night.
Now, these enchiladas definitely did not help me get to the "eat healthy" part of my 2011 goals. But I figured it was the weekend, and every goal starts on Monday. Right?
Right.
So chicken enchiladas. I was feeling lazy and decided not to make the enchilada sauce (my grandmother would probably scold me if she knew - I'm not telling), so I bought a can at the store. Sorry Grandma. I didn't want to go on a tomatillo hunt all over Arlington.
I will say that these are not supposed to be as good as my grandmother's enchiladas. No enchiladas are! But, in a pinch (aka when you're craving Mexican food), they're pretty good! I will also say that there are no pictures because, well, BlackBerry just can't make ooey gooey cheesey enchiladas look delicious.
Here's what you need for the enchiladas:
2 chicken breasts
1/3 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded cheese (the kind is up to you)
1 jalapeno, deseeded and chopped
chicken stock
6-8 tortillas (I used flour this time - corn is better! Flour tortillas make HUGE enchiladas.)
1 large can enchilada sauce
Heat a large pan on the stove at medium heat. Season chicken breast with salt and pepper, then drop them in the pan. Let them cook until they are almost done, then turn the heat down to low and add chicken stock. Steve used about a cup and a half or so...you just need enough to almost cover the chicken breasts. Cover and let it simmer for 20 minutes or so. Remove the chicken from the pan and shred. Steve added the leftover stock from the pan to the shredded chicken for extra juiciness.
Combine shredded chicken, 1 cup of cheese (add more if you like), sour cream and the chopped jalapeno in a mixing bowl.
If you're using flour tortillas, you probably don't need to warm them. Corn tortillas break easily, so warm them in the microwave for a few seconds before you roll the enchiladas. Spoon about 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup of the mixture into the tortilla and roll. Place in a 13x9 pan (seam down). Once you've filled your 13x9 (I only squeezed 7 enchiladas in mine), pour the enchilada sauce over the enchiladas and sprinkle with the leftover cheese.
Bake for 20 minutes.
Enjoy!
Now, these enchiladas definitely did not help me get to the "eat healthy" part of my 2011 goals. But I figured it was the weekend, and every goal starts on Monday. Right?
Right.
So chicken enchiladas. I was feeling lazy and decided not to make the enchilada sauce (my grandmother would probably scold me if she knew - I'm not telling), so I bought a can at the store. Sorry Grandma. I didn't want to go on a tomatillo hunt all over Arlington.
I will say that these are not supposed to be as good as my grandmother's enchiladas. No enchiladas are! But, in a pinch (aka when you're craving Mexican food), they're pretty good! I will also say that there are no pictures because, well, BlackBerry just can't make ooey gooey cheesey enchiladas look delicious.
Here's what you need for the enchiladas:
2 chicken breasts
1/3 cup sour cream
2 cups shredded cheese (the kind is up to you)
1 jalapeno, deseeded and chopped
chicken stock
6-8 tortillas (I used flour this time - corn is better! Flour tortillas make HUGE enchiladas.)
1 large can enchilada sauce
Heat a large pan on the stove at medium heat. Season chicken breast with salt and pepper, then drop them in the pan. Let them cook until they are almost done, then turn the heat down to low and add chicken stock. Steve used about a cup and a half or so...you just need enough to almost cover the chicken breasts. Cover and let it simmer for 20 minutes or so. Remove the chicken from the pan and shred. Steve added the leftover stock from the pan to the shredded chicken for extra juiciness.
Combine shredded chicken, 1 cup of cheese (add more if you like), sour cream and the chopped jalapeno in a mixing bowl.
If you're using flour tortillas, you probably don't need to warm them. Corn tortillas break easily, so warm them in the microwave for a few seconds before you roll the enchiladas. Spoon about 1/4 to 1/3 of a cup of the mixture into the tortilla and roll. Place in a 13x9 pan (seam down). Once you've filled your 13x9 (I only squeezed 7 enchiladas in mine), pour the enchilada sauce over the enchiladas and sprinkle with the leftover cheese.
Bake for 20 minutes.
Enjoy!
Thursday, October 7, 2010
These cookies will change your life.
Okay, these are seriously the best cookies I've ever had.
Peanut butter and chocolate are great together, but these cookies take it to the next level.
Lindsay over at Love and Olive Oil posted this recipe a few days ago and I instantly knew it was jumping to the top of my list of things to make.
It combines this delicious mixture...
...with this...
...to become this (aka the best cookie dough ever).
That coookie dough could only get better with the addition of these...
If you haven't had a dark chocolate Reese's peanut butter cup yet, do yourself a favor and go get one. They are a.ma.zing. You will be addicted, but you won't be unhappy about it.
So all that becomes an even BETTER cookie dough - especially when you add bittersweet chocolate chips...
And then after a few minutes in the oven, you get this! Delicious, lovely, soft, incredibly addictive cookies.
I recommend making these cookies immediately. They definitely haven't helped my waistline but they really are the most perfect cookies ever.
Head over to Love and Olive Oil for the recipe.
Peanut butter and chocolate are great together, but these cookies take it to the next level.
Lindsay over at Love and Olive Oil posted this recipe a few days ago and I instantly knew it was jumping to the top of my list of things to make.
It combines this delicious mixture...
...with this...
...to become this (aka the best cookie dough ever).
That coookie dough could only get better with the addition of these...
If you haven't had a dark chocolate Reese's peanut butter cup yet, do yourself a favor and go get one. They are a.ma.zing. You will be addicted, but you won't be unhappy about it.
So all that becomes an even BETTER cookie dough - especially when you add bittersweet chocolate chips...
And then after a few minutes in the oven, you get this! Delicious, lovely, soft, incredibly addictive cookies.
I recommend making these cookies immediately. They definitely haven't helped my waistline but they really are the most perfect cookies ever.
Head over to Love and Olive Oil for the recipe.
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
My obsession with squash continues...
Yup. I'm Carrie and I'm obsessed with fall squashes.
We had butternut AND acorn squash last week. And we had it again Monday night.
I just can't say no.
There was a tiny mishap with a butternut squash recipe back in college and since then I've been hesitant to do much with the fall vegetable. (It involved soup that should have used butternut squash as the base...but I couldn't find any so I used pumpkin. Such. A. Bad. Idea. One of my college roommates was wonderful and choked back a couple spoonfuls before she threw in the towel. Tasted like baby food.)
But that's neither here nor there.
For this round, we (and by we I mean Steve) chopped a white onion into wedges. I peeled the squash and cubed it, and then Steve tossed the veggies with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper and herbs d' provence.
It was a team effort.
Side note: Butternut squashes are HUGE. Enormous. I tried to talk Steve into saving half for another dinner later this week, but he wouldn't hear it.
Yummy. All ready to go in the oven. We used red onion last time, and after trying both, I definitely prefer the red. Not quite so strong.
We roasted chicken quarters with it and they came out PERFECTLY. Steve has to handle that stuff though...I can't deal with bones. It grosses me out.
I don't care if that makes me a bad foodie. Just can't do it!
This is known as the "Good Lord I know I've said this a dozen times but I REALLY need to get a new camera" photo. Can't keep using the Bold for food pictures anymore.
Anyone have a good squash recipe I should try before I OD on them?
We had butternut AND acorn squash last week. And we had it again Monday night.
I just can't say no.
There was a tiny mishap with a butternut squash recipe back in college and since then I've been hesitant to do much with the fall vegetable. (It involved soup that should have used butternut squash as the base...but I couldn't find any so I used pumpkin. Such. A. Bad. Idea. One of my college roommates was wonderful and choked back a couple spoonfuls before she threw in the towel. Tasted like baby food.)
But that's neither here nor there.
For this round, we (and by we I mean Steve) chopped a white onion into wedges. I peeled the squash and cubed it, and then Steve tossed the veggies with a bit of olive oil, salt and pepper and herbs d' provence.
It was a team effort.
Side note: Butternut squashes are HUGE. Enormous. I tried to talk Steve into saving half for another dinner later this week, but he wouldn't hear it.
Yummy. All ready to go in the oven. We used red onion last time, and after trying both, I definitely prefer the red. Not quite so strong.
We roasted chicken quarters with it and they came out PERFECTLY. Steve has to handle that stuff though...I can't deal with bones. It grosses me out.
I don't care if that makes me a bad foodie. Just can't do it!
This is known as the "Good Lord I know I've said this a dozen times but I REALLY need to get a new camera" photo. Can't keep using the Bold for food pictures anymore.
Anyone have a good squash recipe I should try before I OD on them?
Sunday, October 3, 2010
A taste of fall
Fall is finally here!
Time for scarves and boots and curling up with tea and books and lighting a fire...and of course time for delicious food!
Last weekend Steve and I went to visit his family in Cleveland, and his parents' neighborhood has the cutest farmers market. And it is stuffed to the gills with all sorts of delicious fresh produce...corn, squash, lettuce, onions, apples, etc. We were on our way back to DC but couldn't resist picking up a gigantic butternut squash, an acorn squash and almost 2 dozen ears of corn (some for friends though...).
We tossed the butternut squash with a little bit of olive oil and salt and pepper and then roasted it at 350 degrees with red onion wedges and a few sprigs of rosemary. It only took about 35 minutes in our oven and was SO DELICIOUS. As evidenced by the fact that there are no pictures. It disappeared. Fast.
A tip - peel the butternut squash. I didn't figure that out until halfway through. I'm a dummy.
Acorn squash was next, paired with a mustard-marinated pork loin.
It's just 2 tablespoons of mustard and 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar mixed and then poured over the pork loin. Sprinkle a bit of rosemary on top and you're good to go.
The acorn squash recipe I used was not exactly healthy but was really delicious. Warning: It's practically a dessert.
Told you it wasn't healthy. That's 2 tablespoons of butter in each half with 1 tablespoon of brown sugar.
It really should fall under the dessert category. Next time I'd probably cut the amount of butter in half and add blackberries (my mom used to include blackberries - adds great flavor!).
Hope you're enjoying the cooler weather and changing leaves!
Time for scarves and boots and curling up with tea and books and lighting a fire...and of course time for delicious food!
Last weekend Steve and I went to visit his family in Cleveland, and his parents' neighborhood has the cutest farmers market. And it is stuffed to the gills with all sorts of delicious fresh produce...corn, squash, lettuce, onions, apples, etc. We were on our way back to DC but couldn't resist picking up a gigantic butternut squash, an acorn squash and almost 2 dozen ears of corn (some for friends though...).
We tossed the butternut squash with a little bit of olive oil and salt and pepper and then roasted it at 350 degrees with red onion wedges and a few sprigs of rosemary. It only took about 35 minutes in our oven and was SO DELICIOUS. As evidenced by the fact that there are no pictures. It disappeared. Fast.
A tip - peel the butternut squash. I didn't figure that out until halfway through. I'm a dummy.
Acorn squash was next, paired with a mustard-marinated pork loin.
It's just 2 tablespoons of mustard and 2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar mixed and then poured over the pork loin. Sprinkle a bit of rosemary on top and you're good to go.
The acorn squash recipe I used was not exactly healthy but was really delicious. Warning: It's practically a dessert.
Told you it wasn't healthy. That's 2 tablespoons of butter in each half with 1 tablespoon of brown sugar.
It really should fall under the dessert category. Next time I'd probably cut the amount of butter in half and add blackberries (my mom used to include blackberries - adds great flavor!).
Hope you're enjoying the cooler weather and changing leaves!
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
My To Make List
My "I really need to make this!" list is so long that I couldn't even begin to list it here. You would get very, very bored.
And then you'd leave and miss out on these delectable recipes!
So here's my "to make" list for the immediate future.
- Olga at Mango And Tomato's mediterranean vegetables and poached egg breakfast. Steve saw the picture as I was scrolling through Google Reader and made me stop so he could drool over the photo. I think this is in my REALLY immediate future if he has anything to do with it. What's not to love about potatoes with veggies and a poached egg?
In my opinion, poached eggs make everything better.
- My Baking Addiction's cheesecake. I can NOT wait to try this. I've never tried making a cheesecake in a water bath, so this should be an interesting endeavour. Hopefully it doesn't end with water all over the kitchen floor. But now I'm really craving cheesecake. Right this second.
- These cupcakes. An older recipe (from a 2008 post from Meet Me in the Kitchen) Really - cupcakes of any kind. I've been muttering and tweeting about how much I want cupcakes for the last week now, so it's time to do something about it. I listed that recipe, but I'm open to suggestions.
But those nutella ones need to be made immediately.
And then I will eat them all.
Except not. This whole "being healthy" and "avoiding sugar" kinda sucks.
- Last thing on the list is this:
Yep. Coq au Vin. I found a recipe in a Williams-Sonoma cookbook we got for the wedding and that's the next thing to come out of the dutch oven. Yummm....rooster (or chicken, whichever is easier to find).
We won't actually cook the rooster that ran around the resort grounds while we were on our honeymoon, even though Steve threatened to do it on more than one occasion.
What's on your to make list?
And then you'd leave and miss out on these delectable recipes!
So here's my "to make" list for the immediate future.
- Olga at Mango And Tomato's mediterranean vegetables and poached egg breakfast. Steve saw the picture as I was scrolling through Google Reader and made me stop so he could drool over the photo. I think this is in my REALLY immediate future if he has anything to do with it. What's not to love about potatoes with veggies and a poached egg?
(Lovely photo by Olga on Mango and Tomato)
In my opinion, poached eggs make everything better.
- My Baking Addiction's cheesecake. I can NOT wait to try this. I've never tried making a cheesecake in a water bath, so this should be an interesting endeavour. Hopefully it doesn't end with water all over the kitchen floor. But now I'm really craving cheesecake. Right this second.
- These cupcakes. An older recipe (from a 2008 post from Meet Me in the Kitchen) Really - cupcakes of any kind. I've been muttering and tweeting about how much I want cupcakes for the last week now, so it's time to do something about it. I listed that recipe, but I'm open to suggestions.
But those nutella ones need to be made immediately.
And then I will eat them all.
Except not. This whole "being healthy" and "avoiding sugar" kinda sucks.
- Last thing on the list is this:
Yep. Coq au Vin. I found a recipe in a Williams-Sonoma cookbook we got for the wedding and that's the next thing to come out of the dutch oven. Yummm....rooster (or chicken, whichever is easier to find).
We won't actually cook the rooster that ran around the resort grounds while we were on our honeymoon, even though Steve threatened to do it on more than one occasion.
What's on your to make list?
Monday, June 7, 2010
My love for Donna Hay continues...
It's no secret how much I adore Donna Hay. Just about everything she touches or creates turns to gold. Her magazine? Gorgeous. The styling is clean and simple and just beautiful.
Her cookbooks are the same way. I own four of them and want to buy more (even though people say to diversify your cookbook collection). Donna's recipes are simple and only moderately difficult to translate into US measurements (since she's Australian). Well, it's only moderately difficult if you're like me and you're not a math whiz.
But one of her recipes that I keep going back to and wanting to make more of is her fresh chilli sauce.
Her cookbooks are the same way. I own four of them and want to buy more (even though people say to diversify your cookbook collection). Donna's recipes are simple and only moderately difficult to translate into US measurements (since she's Australian). Well, it's only moderately difficult if you're like me and you're not a math whiz.
But one of her recipes that I keep going back to and wanting to make more of is her fresh chilli sauce.
(Photo by Chris Court for Donna Hay magazine)
The sauce is really easy to make and Donna uses it in several recipes on her website.
Steve and I made it the first time a few months ago and loved it. We originally tried it with chicken quarters but that failed (and caused me to have an aversion to chicken quarters until just recently). But then we used the leftover sauce with steak and - bam! - perfect combination.
So this past weekend, we tried it again! But we adapted it from Donna's recipe...
Here's the adapted version:
4 long red chillies (peppers), chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled
1 cup of cilantro leaves
1/3 cup fish sauce
1 cup lime juice
I deseeded the peppers to keep the sauce from being mouthonfire hot. Other than that - combine in a food processor and blend for a couple minutes or until everything is all mixed together. This is what you get:
Since we didn't use ginger or palm sugar (simply because we didn't have them), the sauce was a little on the limey (read: tangy) side. But it has a good amount of heat and packs a TON of flavor.
We marinated flank steak in the sauce for about half an hour and then just cooked it on the stovetop.
Forgive the flash and shiny metal bowl. Best spot for a photo? No.
But we love love love this sauce. So much so that we saved some of it and some of the flank steak and made it again tonight, with some shrimp, sauteed chard and brown rice.
So make the sauce! You won't be sorry!
Friday, June 4, 2010
Honeymoon Gluttony: The Sunset Catamaran Cruise and The Chef's Table
Since Steve and I booked our honeymoon with the "gourmet" package at CuisinArt, our trip came with a really yummy continental breakfast (delivered to the room every morning!), a reservation at the chef's table, a reservation for the chef's tasting menu at one of the resort's restaurants, a cooking lesson with the head chef and a sunset catamaran cruise.
Well, the catamaran cruise and the chef's table were only scheduled one day a week and they happened to be on the same day. So we readied ourselves for the busiest day of the trip so far (because it required us to actually go somewhere besides the beach and look presentable).
The wind had really picked up on our side of the island late Tuesday, so the waves in the bay were looking a little more, um, menacing than usual on Wednesday. We found out later that the resort had actually cancelled the cruise but then decided to give it a go anyway (bad decision, concierge!). I don't want to go into too much detail, but needless to say - 42-foot catamaran + 12-foot waves = feeling like I was going to die. We likened it to waves from The Perfect Storm. You could see them coming but there wasn't anything you could do to avoid them.
Ok, so it wasn't really that bad. But it was still really choppy, and I was shaking by the end of it and I'm pretty sure I was on the verge of breaking Steve's hand. Thankfully once we turned back toward the resort it was smooth...which led to 3 of the 6 of us feeling seasick and wanting to hurry along home. No one ate the appetizers or drank the champagne, wine or beer that the resort had put on board for us. Sad.
So Steve and I were worried at that point about whether we'd be ready to eat and drink at the chef's table 30 minutes after getting off the boat ride from hell. Since we had gotten drenched on the boat, we had to race back to the hotel room and shower (for that whole looking presentable thing). Felt much better after that.
Good thing. Because what was supposed to just be a six-course meal turned into an eight-course meal. Usually when you have multi-course meals, the courses tend to be smaller. Not on Anguilla, apparently. Three of the courses the chef served were normal entree size. And the wine pairings? Not smaller pours. Full glasses of wine.
Course 1 was a Spiced Ginger Rum and Blood Orange Martini. Not my favorite - they lined the rim of the glass with cinnamon and sugar and it evoked memories of pumpkin pie. And I wasn't crazy either - another girl said that too. Steve liked his though.
Course 2 was a small serving (thank goodness) of creamy potato puree topped with caviar and fresh microgreens. Really really yummy. Steve thought the puree should have been creamier and not quite as lumpy, but I thought it was delicious. The puree was a perfect bed for the very slight salty flavor of the caviar.
Course 3 was a roasted sea scallop salad with vegetables and tomato sauce and ohmygosh was this amazing. This was the first of the entree-sized portions and I would have been so happy if that had been it. The scallops were beautifully golden and plump and the vegetables (being from the hydroponic farm) were so fresh and delicious. The sommelier paired this course with a sauvignon blanc - one that Steve and I had already had on several occasions at the hotel bar. Nice and crisp and perfect for serving with seafood.
Course 4 was a palate cleanser - ice and armagnac. I thought it was waaaaay too heavy on the armagnac, but most of the other people loved it. Steve ate all of his. Mine melted in its little bowl. At this point, although, I was already starting to feel slightly full.
Course 5 was by far the best. It was Anguillian-style roasted whole snapper on a bed of risotto with cherry tomatoes. This one was the most universal crowd pleaser and multiple people kept wanting to ask for the recipe (I was lucky enough to get it at our cooking lesson two days later). The snapper was so tender and delicious. It was basted in its own juices and fish stock and roasted with vegetables. Home freaking run. And the risotto was made with the leftover juices and stock. Amazing. This course was paired with a white rioja - a little on the heavier side, perfect for the heavier dish.
Side note: Everyone was pretty much stuffed and getting slightly tipsy at this point. Did that stop anyone? Of course not.
Course 6 was a duck breast pot au feu served with szechuan pepper and vegetable tempura. The duck was my least favorite thing of the evening - there just wasn't anything special about it. The broth, however, was like nectar from the gods. It had little szechuan flowers that many people, including Steve, ate and then regretted later - lots of stinging lips at the table. This one came with a gigondas red wine - really delicious. The broth and the wine battled it out for my favorite part of the course.
Course 7 was a dark chocolate coconut bar served with a mango puree and chopped pistachios. At this point, I was beyond stuffed. So I only tried the chocolate coconut bar. The coconut-chocolate pairing was a good balance, but it had some ice cream in it and that was the killer for me. Too heavy. Steve devoured his though, and he's not even a big coconut person.
Course 8 was the dessert that was actually listed on the menu. Because no, the coconut bar was NOT on the menu. It was one of the extra courses. But course 8 was a strawberry tiramisu and it was ENORMOUS. It was served with an espuma of red berries, which was almost like a berry foam around the tiramisu. The dessert was good and tasted REALLY fresh, but at that point most people were really slowing down. On top of that, the wine paired with this course was a sauternes - dessert wine (obviously). I'm not a dessert wine person, so I handed mine over to Steve. Plus at that point I was fairly tipsy from all the other wine.
As we were finishing dessert, Chef Daniel sat down at the table with us and chatted, which was fun. Got to ask him all sorts of questions about cooking and his past and all that. I was at the other end of the table, so I didn't get to hear everything that went on. Plus I was in a food coma.
Overall, an awesome experience. Food was delicious and I can't wait to try making the snapper and risotto. More on that recipe later!
Well, the catamaran cruise and the chef's table were only scheduled one day a week and they happened to be on the same day. So we readied ourselves for the busiest day of the trip so far (because it required us to actually go somewhere besides the beach and look presentable).
The wind had really picked up on our side of the island late Tuesday, so the waves in the bay were looking a little more, um, menacing than usual on Wednesday. We found out later that the resort had actually cancelled the cruise but then decided to give it a go anyway (bad decision, concierge!). I don't want to go into too much detail, but needless to say - 42-foot catamaran + 12-foot waves = feeling like I was going to die. We likened it to waves from The Perfect Storm. You could see them coming but there wasn't anything you could do to avoid them.
(Image from The Perfect Storm)
Ok, so it wasn't really that bad. But it was still really choppy, and I was shaking by the end of it and I'm pretty sure I was on the verge of breaking Steve's hand. Thankfully once we turned back toward the resort it was smooth...which led to 3 of the 6 of us feeling seasick and wanting to hurry along home. No one ate the appetizers or drank the champagne, wine or beer that the resort had put on board for us. Sad.
So Steve and I were worried at that point about whether we'd be ready to eat and drink at the chef's table 30 minutes after getting off the boat ride from hell. Since we had gotten drenched on the boat, we had to race back to the hotel room and shower (for that whole looking presentable thing). Felt much better after that.
Good thing. Because what was supposed to just be a six-course meal turned into an eight-course meal. Usually when you have multi-course meals, the courses tend to be smaller. Not on Anguilla, apparently. Three of the courses the chef served were normal entree size. And the wine pairings? Not smaller pours. Full glasses of wine.
Course 1 was a Spiced Ginger Rum and Blood Orange Martini. Not my favorite - they lined the rim of the glass with cinnamon and sugar and it evoked memories of pumpkin pie. And I wasn't crazy either - another girl said that too. Steve liked his though.
Course 2 was a small serving (thank goodness) of creamy potato puree topped with caviar and fresh microgreens. Really really yummy. Steve thought the puree should have been creamier and not quite as lumpy, but I thought it was delicious. The puree was a perfect bed for the very slight salty flavor of the caviar.
Course 3 was a roasted sea scallop salad with vegetables and tomato sauce and ohmygosh was this amazing. This was the first of the entree-sized portions and I would have been so happy if that had been it. The scallops were beautifully golden and plump and the vegetables (being from the hydroponic farm) were so fresh and delicious. The sommelier paired this course with a sauvignon blanc - one that Steve and I had already had on several occasions at the hotel bar. Nice and crisp and perfect for serving with seafood.
Course 4 was a palate cleanser - ice and armagnac. I thought it was waaaaay too heavy on the armagnac, but most of the other people loved it. Steve ate all of his. Mine melted in its little bowl. At this point, although, I was already starting to feel slightly full.
Course 5 was by far the best. It was Anguillian-style roasted whole snapper on a bed of risotto with cherry tomatoes. This one was the most universal crowd pleaser and multiple people kept wanting to ask for the recipe (I was lucky enough to get it at our cooking lesson two days later). The snapper was so tender and delicious. It was basted in its own juices and fish stock and roasted with vegetables. Home freaking run. And the risotto was made with the leftover juices and stock. Amazing. This course was paired with a white rioja - a little on the heavier side, perfect for the heavier dish.
Side note: Everyone was pretty much stuffed and getting slightly tipsy at this point. Did that stop anyone? Of course not.
Course 6 was a duck breast pot au feu served with szechuan pepper and vegetable tempura. The duck was my least favorite thing of the evening - there just wasn't anything special about it. The broth, however, was like nectar from the gods. It had little szechuan flowers that many people, including Steve, ate and then regretted later - lots of stinging lips at the table. This one came with a gigondas red wine - really delicious. The broth and the wine battled it out for my favorite part of the course.
Course 7 was a dark chocolate coconut bar served with a mango puree and chopped pistachios. At this point, I was beyond stuffed. So I only tried the chocolate coconut bar. The coconut-chocolate pairing was a good balance, but it had some ice cream in it and that was the killer for me. Too heavy. Steve devoured his though, and he's not even a big coconut person.
Course 8 was the dessert that was actually listed on the menu. Because no, the coconut bar was NOT on the menu. It was one of the extra courses. But course 8 was a strawberry tiramisu and it was ENORMOUS. It was served with an espuma of red berries, which was almost like a berry foam around the tiramisu. The dessert was good and tasted REALLY fresh, but at that point most people were really slowing down. On top of that, the wine paired with this course was a sauternes - dessert wine (obviously). I'm not a dessert wine person, so I handed mine over to Steve. Plus at that point I was fairly tipsy from all the other wine.
As we were finishing dessert, Chef Daniel sat down at the table with us and chatted, which was fun. Got to ask him all sorts of questions about cooking and his past and all that. I was at the other end of the table, so I didn't get to hear everything that went on. Plus I was in a food coma.
Overall, an awesome experience. Food was delicious and I can't wait to try making the snapper and risotto. More on that recipe later!
Sunday, May 23, 2010
I'm Julia Child...sort of.
Since this is an easier post to write up (I'm having serious issues trying to edit my honeymoon posts. Cannot. Stop. Writing.), I'm doing this instead of the 6 bazillion posts I've drafted on the honeymoon food. Preview: YUM. Food was awesome.
But back to Julia Child. I'll admit it - I'm a movie nerd, and after watching Julie and Julia on the flight to Europe last fall, I was determined to make boeuf bourguignon.
(Columbia Pictures)
Not because I thought it would be an amazing meal or the best thing I've ever had - just because it would be a kitchen triumph. And my parents will tell you that only a few short years ago, I could barely boil water for pasta. (The reality is that I could do more than that, but they don't acknowledge it. Ugh.)
So when we got our Le Creuset French oven from Steve's relatives as a wedding gift, I was ecstatic. It's a beautiful rosy red color and it makes me want to cook and cook and cook. (Photo from Le Creuset's Web site because my camera is still on the fritz.)
I digress.
Again.
Our friends had given us rides both to and from the airport - 45 minutes each way - for our honeymoon flights, so we wanted to cook them dinner as a thank you. We figured boeuf bourguignon would be a great way to thank them AND break in our French oven.
We found Julia's recipe online, along with side recipes for sauteed mushrooms and brown-braised onions. I love that her recipes all have little suggestions like, "This should be paired with a wine like a Chianti" or "This recipe is traditionally served with potatoes but you can use" x or y or whatever. So the boeuf bourguignon recipe suggested the onions and mushrooms and we happily went along with it.
The recipe seems to have this stigma of being difficult to make, but it really wasn't. It's just very specific and has lots of steps. Four minutes of simmering. Four minutes in the oven, uncovered. Flour, toss, salt and pepper, toss. And on and on and on. But it was SO worth it.
I would DEFINITELY have all of your ingredients prepped and ready to go. And give yourself (depending on how your oven cooks) a few hours. It can always be reheated. I had planned to reheat leftovers on Sunday, but there weren't any. That's a good sign, right?
So we took care of all the little steps and then put it in the oven to do the simmering for a couple hours. We just had one tiny glitch - I forgot to add the beef stock and went to take a shower. Steve knocked and said, "Um, did you want to use this beef stock?" and I shrieked and yelled at him to get out and hurry up and add it before it cooked much longer. I guess my sister gave me a metal case with this print on it for a reason.)
(Marigold's)
The onions, braised in beef stock and butter (of course - it's Julia Child), were freaking awesome. Perfectly tender and just oozing deliciousness. They were golden brown and I'm pretty sure we all could have eaten about 40 little pearl onions. The mushrooms were the same way - sauteed in butter and so rich and velvety and flavorful. How could they not be? They were cooked in butter.
Right before dinner, I whipped up one of my favorite go-to dessert recipes and threw it in the oven. I made Donna Hay's individual flourless chocolate cakes. They only have six ingredients - eggs, butter, dark chocolate, cocoa powder, almond meal and sugar - and are SO easy to make. And always taste amazing. We had leftovers and were pleasantly surprised that they stored well overnight. Not that they'll last much longer.
But dinner overall was a total success. No leftovers and we devoured a whole baguette sopping up the broth from the French oven. I'll definitely be making this recipe again. And maybe I'll branch out and make some more of Julia's stuff!
Take that, parents! Next time you come in town, I'm going to cook you under the table!
But back to Julia Child. I'll admit it - I'm a movie nerd, and after watching Julie and Julia on the flight to Europe last fall, I was determined to make boeuf bourguignon.
(Columbia Pictures)Not because I thought it would be an amazing meal or the best thing I've ever had - just because it would be a kitchen triumph. And my parents will tell you that only a few short years ago, I could barely boil water for pasta. (The reality is that I could do more than that, but they don't acknowledge it. Ugh.)
So when we got our Le Creuset French oven from Steve's relatives as a wedding gift, I was ecstatic. It's a beautiful rosy red color and it makes me want to cook and cook and cook. (Photo from Le Creuset's Web site because my camera is still on the fritz.)
I digress.Again.
Our friends had given us rides both to and from the airport - 45 minutes each way - for our honeymoon flights, so we wanted to cook them dinner as a thank you. We figured boeuf bourguignon would be a great way to thank them AND break in our French oven.
We found Julia's recipe online, along with side recipes for sauteed mushrooms and brown-braised onions. I love that her recipes all have little suggestions like, "This should be paired with a wine like a Chianti" or "This recipe is traditionally served with potatoes but you can use" x or y or whatever. So the boeuf bourguignon recipe suggested the onions and mushrooms and we happily went along with it.
The recipe seems to have this stigma of being difficult to make, but it really wasn't. It's just very specific and has lots of steps. Four minutes of simmering. Four minutes in the oven, uncovered. Flour, toss, salt and pepper, toss. And on and on and on. But it was SO worth it.
I would DEFINITELY have all of your ingredients prepped and ready to go. And give yourself (depending on how your oven cooks) a few hours. It can always be reheated. I had planned to reheat leftovers on Sunday, but there weren't any. That's a good sign, right?
So we took care of all the little steps and then put it in the oven to do the simmering for a couple hours. We just had one tiny glitch - I forgot to add the beef stock and went to take a shower. Steve knocked and said, "Um, did you want to use this beef stock?" and I shrieked and yelled at him to get out and hurry up and add it before it cooked much longer. I guess my sister gave me a metal case with this print on it for a reason.)
(Marigold's)The onions, braised in beef stock and butter (of course - it's Julia Child), were freaking awesome. Perfectly tender and just oozing deliciousness. They were golden brown and I'm pretty sure we all could have eaten about 40 little pearl onions. The mushrooms were the same way - sauteed in butter and so rich and velvety and flavorful. How could they not be? They were cooked in butter.
Right before dinner, I whipped up one of my favorite go-to dessert recipes and threw it in the oven. I made Donna Hay's individual flourless chocolate cakes. They only have six ingredients - eggs, butter, dark chocolate, cocoa powder, almond meal and sugar - and are SO easy to make. And always taste amazing. We had leftovers and were pleasantly surprised that they stored well overnight. Not that they'll last much longer.
But dinner overall was a total success. No leftovers and we devoured a whole baguette sopping up the broth from the French oven. I'll definitely be making this recipe again. And maybe I'll branch out and make some more of Julia's stuff!
Take that, parents! Next time you come in town, I'm going to cook you under the table!
Sunday, April 25, 2010
Cooking with Calphalon
Again, this is not an advertisement for Calphalon. But seriously - their Unison pots and pans are amazing. Simply AMAZING. I'm spoiled forever.
Since we decided this weekend would be our "stay in and get the apartment in order and relax before the wedding" weekend, we did a bit of cooking.
Friday night (which was the box unpacking, laundry and Calphalon night), we made breakfast for dinner. Except we ended up drinking Pimm's, beers, rose and a great pinot noir...so dinner was at 10 pm and a little buzzed. Just a little.
Future Husband made an egg scramble and I had a go at making a fancy version of egg in a frame.
Does anyone remember egg in a frame? My dad used to make it for me when I was a little kid and it sounded really good on Friday night. Especially because we had some parmesan and cheddar cheese left from other meals. So I thought I'd make egg in a frame the normal way - in the pan - and then sprinkle some shredded parm and cheddar on it and toss it under the broiler for a little bit.
Epic fail. The whole point of egg in a frame is to combine the bread/toast with a sunny side up egg. Apparently I cooked it too long in the pan and the time under the broiler cooked the yolk completely through. I even called my dad (and had my little sister wake him up) to make sure I was cooking it in the pan correctly. Sorry, Dad. Next time, can you just come cook this for me? Great. Thanks.
So Friday night was kind of a bust. Saturday held a lot of promise though! We had fajitas for lunch (so super easy to make and we already had the fajita fixin's) and Future Husband had beef marinating in the fridge.
Our goal for the night was to make steak frites. The steak wasn't an issue - Future Husband is a pro at cooking beef. The frites, however, were a challenge. We don't have a deep fryer and didn't know if we could get a true, crispy fry from pan-frying. We could not. But they still tasted really really good. Fried potatoes always do!
Future Husband had made garlic butter on Friday night for his eggs, so we used the rest of it for the frites. Plus more garlic to fry with them.
I got tasked with handling the fries, so Future Husband told me to slice them like McDonald's fries. Done.
He chopped the additional garlic and insisted that I take an "artsy" photo of the garlic with his knife. This also goes to show why I need Photoshop...and a dSLR. But the other photos without flash were just too dark. I think Future Husband just wanted to show off his fancy shun kaji knife, which I'm pretty sure he loves more than me.
So in the end they turned out like this...
Not crispy, but browned and delicious. Yum yum yum.
End result of the evening was this delectable meal...which Future Husband plated.
And now I'm going to the gym. For the next 3 days.
Happy Sunday!
Carrie
Since we decided this weekend would be our "stay in and get the apartment in order and relax before the wedding" weekend, we did a bit of cooking.
Friday night (which was the box unpacking, laundry and Calphalon night), we made breakfast for dinner. Except we ended up drinking Pimm's, beers, rose and a great pinot noir...so dinner was at 10 pm and a little buzzed. Just a little.
Future Husband made an egg scramble and I had a go at making a fancy version of egg in a frame.
Does anyone remember egg in a frame? My dad used to make it for me when I was a little kid and it sounded really good on Friday night. Especially because we had some parmesan and cheddar cheese left from other meals. So I thought I'd make egg in a frame the normal way - in the pan - and then sprinkle some shredded parm and cheddar on it and toss it under the broiler for a little bit.
Epic fail. The whole point of egg in a frame is to combine the bread/toast with a sunny side up egg. Apparently I cooked it too long in the pan and the time under the broiler cooked the yolk completely through. I even called my dad (and had my little sister wake him up) to make sure I was cooking it in the pan correctly. Sorry, Dad. Next time, can you just come cook this for me? Great. Thanks.
So Friday night was kind of a bust. Saturday held a lot of promise though! We had fajitas for lunch (so super easy to make and we already had the fajita fixin's) and Future Husband had beef marinating in the fridge.
Our goal for the night was to make steak frites. The steak wasn't an issue - Future Husband is a pro at cooking beef. The frites, however, were a challenge. We don't have a deep fryer and didn't know if we could get a true, crispy fry from pan-frying. We could not. But they still tasted really really good. Fried potatoes always do!
Future Husband had made garlic butter on Friday night for his eggs, so we used the rest of it for the frites. Plus more garlic to fry with them.
I got tasked with handling the fries, so Future Husband told me to slice them like McDonald's fries. Done.
He chopped the additional garlic and insisted that I take an "artsy" photo of the garlic with his knife. This also goes to show why I need Photoshop...and a dSLR. But the other photos without flash were just too dark. I think Future Husband just wanted to show off his fancy shun kaji knife, which I'm pretty sure he loves more than me.
So in the end they turned out like this...
Not crispy, but browned and delicious. Yum yum yum.
End result of the evening was this delectable meal...which Future Husband plated.
And now I'm going to the gym. For the next 3 days.
Happy Sunday!
Carrie
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This weekend was a big weekend. We didn't go out or host a party or anything like that, but it was big nonetheless.
We sorted out the wedding gifts that had been piling up in the corners of the living room and unpacked all of the boxes of dinnerware, glassware and pots and pans.
Ohhh the pots and pans. Calphalon, I love you.
With that set came a colander (which apparently, according to the pamphlet, can double as a fruit bowl. Thanks for the heads-up, Calphalon.) and a dutch oven. They were bonus items. With the dutch oven came a Calphalon spoon and a lovely kitchen towel. I'm sold on the kitchen towels...our Williams-Sonoma ones are not as absorbent.
Future Husband (who I guess will just be Husband after Saturday? hmmm) got to unpack all the boxes. So this:
became this:
You can also see how lovely our kitchen is. I like to think of it as retro chic. Hah.
We eventually got everything put away and piled up our old pots and pans (at the bottom right of the photo) to take to Goodwill (a harrowing experience at best - don't people know how to drive?).
We also cleaned, did laundry, started packing and hung art/photos up. Which was good, because I was starting to believe that the photos would be leaning against the walls in their selected locations forever.
Two red canvases for the guest bathroom...
Two framed photographs by Steven L. Miller Photography. He's a local photographer who travels all over and has a stand at the Courthouse antiques market every Saturday. I would happily fill all of my frames with his work.
I also found out that my dream of adding French style to our apartment (which is, for the most part, pretty classic and a little modern - clean lines, lots of natural colors and white, dark wood, etc.) may come true! We got a Restoration Hardware advert in the mail on Saturday and Future Husband (gasp) actually found things in it that he liked! I was surprised, as he had always seemed a little hesitant when I talked of decorating in a French/Provence style.
He even liked the linen pillow covers with patterns from French burlap sacks, which I have been lusting after since seeing them appear countless times in the design blogs I follow. So we decided we'll get one of these...
So it was a productive weekend...and I figured I'd post about apartment endeavours first and then our cooking endeavours...which were also fun this weekend!
xo,
Carrie
We sorted out the wedding gifts that had been piling up in the corners of the living room and unpacked all of the boxes of dinnerware, glassware and pots and pans.
Ohhh the pots and pans. Calphalon, I love you.
With that set came a colander (which apparently, according to the pamphlet, can double as a fruit bowl. Thanks for the heads-up, Calphalon.) and a dutch oven. They were bonus items. With the dutch oven came a Calphalon spoon and a lovely kitchen towel. I'm sold on the kitchen towels...our Williams-Sonoma ones are not as absorbent.
Future Husband (who I guess will just be Husband after Saturday? hmmm) got to unpack all the boxes. So this:
became this:
You can also see how lovely our kitchen is. I like to think of it as retro chic. Hah.
We eventually got everything put away and piled up our old pots and pans (at the bottom right of the photo) to take to Goodwill (a harrowing experience at best - don't people know how to drive?).
We also cleaned, did laundry, started packing and hung art/photos up. Which was good, because I was starting to believe that the photos would be leaning against the walls in their selected locations forever.
Two red canvases for the guest bathroom...
Two framed photographs by Steven L. Miller Photography. He's a local photographer who travels all over and has a stand at the Courthouse antiques market every Saturday. I would happily fill all of my frames with his work.
I also found out that my dream of adding French style to our apartment (which is, for the most part, pretty classic and a little modern - clean lines, lots of natural colors and white, dark wood, etc.) may come true! We got a Restoration Hardware advert in the mail on Saturday and Future Husband (gasp) actually found things in it that he liked! I was surprised, as he had always seemed a little hesitant when I talked of decorating in a French/Provence style.
He even liked the linen pillow covers with patterns from French burlap sacks, which I have been lusting after since seeing them appear countless times in the design blogs I follow. So we decided we'll get one of these...
(Photo from Restoration Hardware)
He also liked these chairs, but we don't really have the space in our current apartment. So I guess we just need to buy a house in Provence and then I can decorate to my heart's content.
We should probably work on owning a house in Virginia first. Sigh.
(Photo from Restoration Hardware)
So it was a productive weekend...and I figured I'd post about apartment endeavours first and then our cooking endeavours...which were also fun this weekend!
xo,
Carrie
Friday, April 23, 2010
This whole "getting married" thing
It has taken over my life. Which isn't bad! It has just meant that I haven't really had the time (or energy or ability to keep my eyes open past 7:30 pm like a grandma) to post more frequently on the blog.
However! Things are slowing down and are pretty much confirmed with wedding stuff, so Future Husband and I are starting to have more free time. For about 3 days. And then we'll be off to Texas for the wedding (and more trying to keep our eyes open past 7:30 pm).
Last weekend I had the opportunity to break in my muffin pan. A family friend of Future Husband graciously gave it to us (read: me) as a wedding shower gift (along with her cookbook and a brownie pan - all commercial baking quality) and I'd been itching to try it out since then. I'd even solicited recipes from the foodies on Twitter and got some great recipes - applesauce muffins from former coworker and fellow Mizzou grad Addie Broyles (an awesome Austin food blogger!), cheesecake in muffin form and cherry tomato cornbread muffins from Mango & Tomato.....the list goes on. And Future Husband found a few recipes he wanted to try too.
And while those recipes are first on my list of stuff to make after the wedding, when I saw this recipe I had to try it immediately. And I knew my fellow snackers last weekend would love love love these...
Yum. Car bomb cupcakes. Need I say more? Guinness cupcake + Jameson ganache (trust me, it's good) + Bailey's frosting = very sweet but AMAZING. They disappeared. Quickly.
That may or may not have happened because everyone was slightly, um, inebriated. But still. They disappeared nonetheless. (Note: They are not for kids. Really. Some of the alcohol doesn't cook off.)
They're not too difficult to make - just have a lot of steps. Instructables (where I got the recipe) takes you step by step for each component. Each part of the recipe was easy and I ended up breaking it up throughout the evening...made the cupcakes before dinner, let them cool. Made the ganache and frosting while Future Husband was cleaning up after dinner. Actually put the cupcakes together the next day.
My next task in the kitchen is MUCH more daunting than just breaking in my muffin tin. We just got this:
However! Things are slowing down and are pretty much confirmed with wedding stuff, so Future Husband and I are starting to have more free time. For about 3 days. And then we'll be off to Texas for the wedding (and more trying to keep our eyes open past 7:30 pm).
Last weekend I had the opportunity to break in my muffin pan. A family friend of Future Husband graciously gave it to us (read: me) as a wedding shower gift (along with her cookbook and a brownie pan - all commercial baking quality) and I'd been itching to try it out since then. I'd even solicited recipes from the foodies on Twitter and got some great recipes - applesauce muffins from former coworker and fellow Mizzou grad Addie Broyles (an awesome Austin food blogger!), cheesecake in muffin form and cherry tomato cornbread muffins from Mango & Tomato.....the list goes on. And Future Husband found a few recipes he wanted to try too.
And while those recipes are first on my list of stuff to make after the wedding, when I saw this recipe I had to try it immediately. And I knew my fellow snackers last weekend would love love love these...
(Photo from Instructables)
Yum. Car bomb cupcakes. Need I say more? Guinness cupcake + Jameson ganache (trust me, it's good) + Bailey's frosting = very sweet but AMAZING. They disappeared. Quickly.
That may or may not have happened because everyone was slightly, um, inebriated. But still. They disappeared nonetheless. (Note: They are not for kids. Really. Some of the alcohol doesn't cook off.)
They're not too difficult to make - just have a lot of steps. Instructables (where I got the recipe) takes you step by step for each component. Each part of the recipe was easy and I ended up breaking it up throughout the evening...made the cupcakes before dinner, let them cool. Made the ganache and frosting while Future Husband was cleaning up after dinner. Actually put the cupcakes together the next day.
My next task in the kitchen is MUCH more daunting than just breaking in my muffin tin. We just got this:
(Photo: Le Creuset)
Be still my beating heart. Future Husband and I are so excited about this we can hardly sit still. We talked about what to make in it at 6:10 this morning. So. Amazing. Definitely displaying it prominently in the kitchen. It's so beautiful! How could you not?
But I think we've decided that the first recipe should be boeuf bourguignon. After watching Julie & Julia, I'm apprehensive (but don't really plan on falling asleep on the couch while it cooks, so I should be fine). But it seems like the perfect way to welcome Le Creuset to our home! Plus...yum.
So now I just need to find a good, tried-and-true recipe.
Thursday, March 18, 2010
Catching up on the last few weeks...
So I have been a horribly delinquent blogger. I haven't really felt like it recently - but until about a week ago, I didn't really feel like doing much of anything! Work has been dreary, it's been cold and winter has been taking its toll.
But thankfully, spring is here! And everything is right with the world. Well, work is still dreary. But at least it's sunny and warm outside!
Wedding plans are humming along. There are still a few things left to do - specifically, centerpieces and table decor. I've picked it all out and sent my flower preferences, but I haven't seen a mock-up yet. It's making my little type A brain go slightly crazy. Other than that, Future Husband and I have been trying to pick out our first dance song. Do we go classic with something like Sinatra, Bennett or Armstrong? Or do we go a little more recent and do something like James Taylor? OR do we go cheeky and funny like the Backstreet Boys? In reality...I know we won't do the Backstreet Boys. But part of me is really tempted to do that.
But thankfully, spring is here! And everything is right with the world. Well, work is still dreary. But at least it's sunny and warm outside!
Wedding plans are humming along. There are still a few things left to do - specifically, centerpieces and table decor. I've picked it all out and sent my flower preferences, but I haven't seen a mock-up yet. It's making my little type A brain go slightly crazy. Other than that, Future Husband and I have been trying to pick out our first dance song. Do we go classic with something like Sinatra, Bennett or Armstrong? Or do we go a little more recent and do something like James Taylor? OR do we go cheeky and funny like the Backstreet Boys? In reality...I know we won't do the Backstreet Boys. But part of me is really tempted to do that.
I got a great email from Andrea Drexelius, the woman behind French Basketeer. I've posted before about her amazing bags - they're handmade in Morocco or Madagascar and are GORGEOUS. I had originally ordered this beautiful mango Cap Ferrat bag (that will be perfect for the honeymoon), but turns out it's out of stock until June or so.
So Andrea graciously offered to swap it out for any of the other bags she carries. But I just had to have the same style bag, so I'm getting it in fuschia instead.
Love love love love it. It'll be perfect for summer! If anyone needs a summer bag, I highly recommend Andrea's bags!
In other news, our new pillows are here! Elizabeth (Lilybethgoodies) on Etsy had some beautiful green damask pillows for sale but I had wanted them in a lumbar shape instead of regular 18x18. She was wonderful and customized the pillows for us and got them to us really quick. And they are beautiful! Now if only Pottery Barn had the 12x24 pillows in stock in Clarendon... Here's Elizabeth's shop on Etsy.
(Photo by Elizabeth)
In kitchen news, we've been baking and cooking up a storm. Among the things that have come out of the kitchen:
1. Pot roast. YUM. Mix a little cream of mushroom soup and some red wine (the more the better) plus a couple other ingredients and you've got yourself a DELICIOUS roast. And great leftovers.
2. Red wine marinated flank steak. Red wine + steak = always a good combination.
3. Donna Hay's sticky black pepper pork (and sticky black pepper chicken - basically the same recipe on chicken). Super easy and all ingredients are easily found in your pantry.
4. Donna Hay's pork with horseradish cream sauce. Really delicious summery sauce that you could use for anything...Future Husband used leftover sauce on his roast beef sandwich with some Nancy's Camembert.
5. Muddy dark chocolate cake with dark chocolate glaze and raspberry coulis. Soooooo wonderful. I spread a layer of the coulis in between two layers of cake. But instead of making two full layers, I just took my trusty Chef Tony (thanks Dad!) bread knife and sliced the cake horizontally. Very proud of myself! That's the first time I'd done that. And I'm just getting started. With the help of Bakerella, Noshings, TastyKitchen and a few new kitchen tools (like muffin tins, cookie sheets, spatulas, and maybe a new bowl for the mixer), this is the summer of baking!
Hope everyone is doing well and enjoying spring!
xo,
Carrie
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