Happy New Year! Pass the take-out...

See, what did I say? The very next blog...take out! Tonight's blog is sponsored by Papa Murphy's' and Cristiano's Pizza.


Papa Murphy's. What can I say? If you haven't had the pleasure it is just about the most inexpensive and healthy way to get pizza. Sounds a bit like an oxy moron, but no. I love how you call in, pick up, go home and bake. The crust is chewy and good and the sauce has this spice to it that makes it enjoyable.

My son has a friend over and they are getting ready to see a movie. I, on the other hand, have been driving all over creation this afternoon doing the grocery shopping because Costco is closed tomorrow and I have a concert to go to on Sunday. Friday Costco trip it is! Forget that it's New Year's Eve and everywhere is a Z-O-O... The original plan for tonight was to get pizza for the boys and I was going to try this new Mahi Mahi recipe. Well, that didn't work out so I decided to blog about what I am actually eating for dinner :) See, I don't usually do that. I plan on cooking, something happens like life...or something and I end up eating left overs or take out and NOT blogging about it. Enough of that. I am pulling the curtain back and now you get the real scoop.

Usually, our order at Papa Murphy's is a family (the largest you can get) pepperoni and a family Canadian bacon, mushroom and black olive. Obviously..pepperoni for the kids, the other for Chris and I eat fish or something. Tonight I am dining on 1 slice of the latter pizza and leftover Cranberry Mimosa Salad from Cristiano's'. The salad consists of mixed greens, tomato wedges, a bread stick (not pictured), mimosa dressing, pistachios, crasins and Gorgonzola cheese. Mmmmm.


Our friends Paul and Vickie own Cristiano's' and Paul is the chef. What's good?, you may be asking ...well, frankly everything! He makes the pizza crust and bread stick dough fresh every day. Soup of the day is made from scratch fresh each day (Wednesday is Tomato Basil which, is my personal favorite). And the salads are yummy yummy. The portions are enormous. Literally, if you order a salad..even just a house salad it is heaping on the plate practically over flowing. I am not even doing it justice. There is always at least a 20 minute wait, but people know that and just go with it. They are in Marysville, open 6 days a week for lunch and dinner (closed from 3:00 to 4:00 each day). Closed on Sundays. I usually get take out and if you do that, make sure to call it in ahead of time. The staff is friendly and the food is a heaping plate of comfort. Try the chicken fettuchini, pesto chicken calzone or soup and salad combo (all our favorites).

2011, the year of take-out!
Happy New Year!!

Long time no blog?

No excuses this time. I just have been in a cooking funk. Just a general funk I guess. But look at me? Here it is almost 2011 and I was cooking today :) Making lefse which I have blogged about before..but still. I think one of my new years resolutions will be to A. cook more and B. keep up on this stinking blog. It's harder than you would think. You may not remember..but a couple of blogs ago I joked that I should blog about take-out. I have come to think that is a fabulous idea! So you never know..in 2011 I may do a series of take-out blogs. Especially since there is a new Indian restaurant that opened right by where I work and I am absolutely addicted to it. I will surprise you.

Until then, I give you the redux of Potato Lefse!

5 large potatoes, approx, 6 cups of riced potatoes.
1/2 cup whipped cream
Flour, 1/2 cup per cup of mashed potatoes, approx. 3 cups
3 T butter
1 tsp. salt

Boil and rice the potatoes--add cream, butter and salt;
combine, then cool (put in fridge till very cool)
Add the flour, take out dough about the size of a golf ball and roll out super thin
Bake (cook) on large griddle to light tan.
Moderate heat...do not scorch!

Ok, what is written up there is a modified version of my mother in laws lefse recipe. I rice the potatoes with a potato ricer. I use a lefse grill which gets up to 500 degrees but you definitely don't have to. I use a rolling pin which has a waffle pattern on it but again...you don't have to. Carol doesn't so you don't have to. I am the freak who wants the authentic tools for the job kind of thing. Not necessary by any means but it makes me feel secure. She has made lefse for ever just mashing potatoes, rolling them out with a regular old rolling pin and frying them in a dry skillet. And you can too. Lefse doesn't require special tools. I just like the tools.

I typically will boil and rice the potatoes a day ahead then add the flour and actually make the lefse the next day. Just me. I think the key here is to mash the potatoes very well (or rice them) and roll the dough out very thin. The thinner it is the quicker it will cook.

It's a Christmas tradition in Chris' family and I try to make it twice a year. It's cheeeeeeap, and yummy. Did I say cheap? Plus, this recipe makes a ton of it! We like to put butter and cinnamon sugar on it..roll it up and enjoy. Maybe nuke it for a few seconds to warm it up. So yummy. Uff da!

Lasagna

Who doesn't have a favorite lasagna recipe? Here is mine. Now, I should tell you up front that I have an extremely particular way I make it (hello? OCD!!!) and for me, it just doesn't taste the same otherwise. Some of my recipes are loosey goosey in parts but this is not one of those. Over the years, it has really turned into a collaborative recipe so I need to give some credit to two ladies who contributed two separate parts of the recipe. First, my mother in law Carol who gave me a simpler sauce base with which to build on and Second, Marilyn Raefield. While dating her son in high school I tasted her spaghetti one night and heard angels sing! Thanks to her for contributing this sauces signature flavor which, I add to just about all my red sauces. Muwaaah!

My lasagna begins at least 1 day ahead by making the sauce. It must sit at least overnight, but not more than about 4 days in the frig or else it just won't work (ocd...). It must sit overnight because the flavors need to marry together for it to have the richness. There is just something magical which happens in the pot during the night...beats me. Don't argue, just do it.

Sauce:

• 2- 28oz cans of whole tomatoes
• 1/2 of an onion
• 1 tsp garlic
• 1 lb meat of your choice. I use ground turkey.
• pinch of sugar
• Some olive oil for frying the meat
• 3-4 tbl of Italian seasoning ish....in my opinion you can't have too much. I use Durkee Spicy Pasta Seasoning (purchased on the Internet from the Durkee website). Key ingredient.
• A 3 count pour of Burgundy wine. I buy the super cheap stuff and only use it for sauce. If you drink Burgundy wine...use that. Burgandy..not just any wine. Key ingredient.

Brown meat in a stockpot. While that is browning, put the tomatoes and onion in batches in a blender and blend until the tomatoes are broken up to your liking and the onion in sufficiently munched up. Chris HATES onion. I blend mine until the onion disappears. I ask you, how can you make sauce without onion? You can't. When the meat is browned add the garlic and tomato mixture. Add Italian seasoning and simmer partially covered for about an hour. Add wine and simmer for about 10 - 15 minutes more uncovered. Add sugar, cool and put in the refrigerator overnight.

The next day......you will need:

1 package of lasagna noodles (the regular boil em up kind). I don't trust the no boil kind.
Deep baking dish. Needs to have deep sides so the lasagna won't dry out while cooking.

1-2 cup package of Shredded mozzarella cheese.

Grated (not shredded!!) Parmesan cheese. About a cup or so. You want grated because it helps to soak up some of the liquid of the sauce. Nobody wants a sauce that runs all over the plate.

Ok..so here goes (from memory):

Take the sauce out of the refrigerator and heat it up slowly on the stove. You want the sauce to be hot when you assemble the lasagna.Boil the noodles in salted water for about 7-8 minutes. Key thing here...you want to cook them just undercooked. Why? Because when you add the sauce and bake it the noodles naturally absorb some of the sauce and if you cook them all the way they will be overcooked and mushy. Yuck!When the noodles are done, dump them in a strainer and run cold water over them to stop the cooking. Then, (and this may sound nuts..but it is how I do it so there you go) lay each noodle on paper towel or dish towels or something so they can dry. I am a freak about moisture in the lasagna...in case you didn't pick up on it earlier.

To assemble the lasagna:

Put enough sauce in the bottom of the pan to just coat it (you don't want the noodles to stick to the pan). Put a layer of noodles on top, more sauce, sprinkle Parmesan cheese then sprinkle mozzarella. Then another layer of noodles and do it all over until you are left with a layer of sauce and the cheeses on top. This all depends on how deep your dish is (the amount of layers).

Bake covered for 30-35 minutes in a 350 oven then uncover and bake about 10 minutes longer or until it is bubbly and the cheese is melted and starting to brown.

Now. Here is another Jannell OCD step. You must do 1 of two things now:

1. Let it rest for at least 20 minutes. Sometimes that isn't even long enough.

2. Let it cool and then refrigerate for the next day.

Reason?

Because of the whole runny lasagna thing. It's saucy and juicy. By letting it rest the theory is that the noodles will continue to absorb sauce and it will set. Reality - I have YET to have that happen to my satisfaction. I, personally, make it ahead and heat it up as leftovers another day. It is nice and set and you don't get a runny mess all over the place.

You may need to play around with the amount of sauce to cheese etc ratio because I have noticed that depending on how the sauce turns out..I either need to add more or less so it isn't dry the next day. You just have to play with it. I hate doing it too..but it's never the same twice for me. Feel free to add more cheese or less. To me, that really doesn't matter as much as the drying of the noodles and the sauce sitting overnight. It's just a good, no frills lasagna recipe but it is very frilly on comfort :)

Now, go make lasagna!

Cross your fingers and hope for the best (a baking post)

So my son, Antonio, learned how to make chocolate chip cookies in home ec class back in 6th grade. Chris proclaimed that they were his favorite chocolate chip cookies. Thus, every time we make cookies (which, trust me, isn't that often) it has to be Antonio's recipe.

You know how in cooking....you can tweak, add, subtract and change recipies to suit your tastes? In baking I am under the impression that you can't do that as easy because of the whole science of it. I guess I was wrong. Chris wanted me to make Antonio's chocolate chip cookies only with cocoa powder and peanut butter chips. Science...math? Are you kidding? While I was audibly hemming and hawing in the kitchen he just simply gave me the ratios of dry ingredients to change. And so, Antonio's chocolate peanut butter chip cookies were born. I used my new cookie sheets and cookie scoop to ease the stress of it all and they turned out pretty good. Whew.

Recipe:

1 cup butter softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 package peanut butter chips

Preheat oven to 375
Cream together sugar, butter and vanilla in a mixer. Add eggs and mix. In another bowl mix together dry ingredients and slowly add to the wet mixing just until everything is incorporated. Drop (or scoop) onto baking sheet and bake for 8-10 minutes. I baked them for 10. Cool and eat.

Spicy Pork Chili

Thank you to Jessica Peterson who was kind enough to give me her recipe. I didn't change a thing.

This chili has so much flavor complexity that the taste is totally worth the whole day it takes to make. It's a stove top recipe that you can't just totally leave and let it go. There are stages to it. BUT! You will be rewarded in the end and if you are serving this to guests? They will think you are some kind of chili genius! Really the only thing you need to make sure you have is a large stock pot. This recipe makes a pretty good amount, enough for a crowd.

Spicy Pork Chili
•8 tablespoons vegetable oil
•About 3 pounds boneless pork loin, cut into large chunks(I used 1 of the Costco vacuum sealed ones)
•Kosher salt to taste
•Black pepper to taste
•1 Yellow onion, diced
•2 cloves garlic, minced
•2 red bell peppers, seeded and diced
•2 jalapeno peppers, seeded and minced
•2 tablespoons brown sugar
•2 tablespoons chili powder (add more to taste)
•2 tablespoons ground cumin (add more to taste)
•1 teaspoons cayenne pepper
•3 tablespoons cilantro, chopped
•3 (15-ounce) cans diced tomatoes, with juice
•1 tablespoon honey
•3/4 cup prepared black coffee
•¾ to 1 can beer (doesn’t matter which kind…I used Rainier)
•2 (15-ounce) cans kidney beans, drained
•1 (15-ounce) can black beans, drained
•1 (15-ounce) can great northern white beans, drained
•1 (15-ounce) can chili beans, drained
•1 cup sour cream for serving
•2 cups shredded cheddar, for serving (I used cheddar jack from Costco)


Directions
Pour 4 tablespoons of the oil into a large, heavy bottomed stockpot and place over high heat for 2 to 3 minutes. Season the pork with a dash of salt and pepper and brown it in batches, 3 to 5 minutes per batch. Set aside the browned pork. Below, is the pork prior to browning. Leave your pieces fairly large so they don't cook too fast and they are easier to pull out and shred later.

Pour the remaining oil into the pot and add the onion, garlic, bell pepper and jalapenos. Season the veggies with the brown sugar, chili powder, cumin, cayenne, salt, pepper and cilantro.

Sweat the vegetable mixture over medium heat for 10 minutes, until the onion is soft.

Add the pork back to the pot along with the tomatoes, honey, coffee and beer. Simmer on medium/low for 2 hours, until the pork falls apart. Transfer chunks of pork to a plate, shred with fork and return to pot—repeat until all pork is shredded. Add beans and let simmer another 2 to 3 hours.

Serve directly from the stove top with side bowls of sour cream, chopped green onion, and shredded cheddar.

It's as easy as pie

Don't ask me why... but for some reason I don't consider making a pie, baking. Pies are an easy and inexpensive way to bring something to a gathering that has the appearance that you have really done something special. But really, it's as easy as pie. Get it?

My friend MJ's mom will just on the spur of the moment bust out her food processor and start baking a pie. It always amazed me because I thought pie was like all other baking. 1. A big mess 2. Time consuming 3. Like canning somehow where it took the better part of the day. Not true! She made it look so easy and doable that right then and there (whenever that was) I incorporated pies into my cooking club. Therefore, they are not baking. That is what I tell myself anyway.

I have since adapted both her berry pie and apple pie over the years and today I bring you the apple. Come Thanksgiving...I will bake the berry.

Seems to me that the key to a good apple pie is apples which aren't cut too big or too small. To big and it's just uncooked hunks of apple in crust. Too small and you have an applesauce pie. Both gross. I cut my peeled and cored granny smith apples into quarters and then each quarter in 1/2. Then each of those into 4 pieces. For me, that seems to be a good size for as long as I bake my pies. I prefer using granny smith apples because of the tartness and they hold up really well during baking without mushing out. Blah.

I also like to macerate my apples in a sugar, cinnamon and corn starch mixture for about 20-30 minutes. The apples lose some juice and it makes a yummy sauce that bakes up and thickens with the pie. Nobody wants a dry pie.

Pie crust is scary isn't it? It's a whole dough thing for me. I am just afraid of dough because I don't have "the touch" that bakers say you need to feel the humidity of dough. That is why the pre-prepared dough industry is booming. People, pie dough is soooooooo easy. If I tell you it's easy, it is. Stop buying refrigerated pie dough for pete's sakes!!!

Dust off your food processor. Find all the pieces and listen up! If you have a food processor that you don't use and were thinking of donating it - Don't!! I use mine for pie crust and hummus and now it earns it's keep. Food processors are like air conditioning in houses located in Washington state.....when you need it, you need it. Am I right? The great thing about the food processor is that it will incorporate the fat into your flour quickly and therefore, you get a flakier pie crust. It's the chunks of fat in the crust that make it yummy.

Thank you Mrs. Johnson.

Apple Pie

Filling
1 cup sugar
cinnamon to taste
2 tbl cornstarch
5-6 granny smith apples cut in chunks (peeled and cored)

Crust
2 cups all purpose flour
dash of sugar
dash of salt
2/3 cup shortening
7 tablespoons ice water

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Combine filling mixture and set aside stiring occasionally. As the apples release juice, a sauce will form. In a food processor combine all but water and pulse until it looks like oatmeal. Add water and run until a ball forms. Divide dough in two parts. Wrap in plastic wrap and chill for about 15 minutes. Roll out and assemble pie. Cut slits in top of pie for steam to escape. Brush top of pie with milk or egg wash and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar.

Bake at 400 for 20 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 and bake for 40-50 minutes longer or until crust is golden brown and you hear the juice inside bubbling. Cool on a wire rack.

Cream of Broccoli Soup

So, in the super cool produce co-op haul I got a bunch of broccoli. The only thing I know how to do with it is steam it. Zzzzzzzzzzz. Oh wait, it's 55 degrees outside - I shall make soup!

Again a hybrid soup recipe. It was surprisingly easy. I found that some people puree theirs in a blender or mash with a potato masher. I did the blender thing and just pulsed it a couple of times so there was still texture but not big hunks of broccoli in the soup. I decided to add just a bit of cheese to the flour/milk mixture (I did it just like I do my mac and cheese) just because it seemed like it needed a little something. I was right. And I was pleased with myself that I added just enough cheese for a back note of flavor but not enough to turn it into a caloric cluster. I had a picture..but I can't find it now. This gives you a good opportunity to use your imagination. Imagine a picture of Cream of Broccoli Soup :)

Cream of Broccoli Soup
Ingredients:
1 Tb Butter
1/2 Onion - chopped
1 Stalk of celery - chopped
4 1/2 Cups of chopped up broccoli pieces
Salt and pepper to taste

Milk mixture
1 1/2 Tbl butter
1 1/2 Tbl flour
1 Cup milk
1/4 Cup shredded cheese


Melt 1Tb butter in a stock pot and saute onion and celery until tender. Add broccoli and broth, cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until broccoli is fork tender.

Put soup in a blender (in batches if you need to) and blend to the desired consistency. Pour back into the pot.

In a separate sauce pan, melt 1 1/2 Tb butter, stir in flour and add milk. Stir until thickened. Stir in cheese until melted. Add to soup. Season and serve.
YUM!

Chicken Corn Chowder

Only in Seattle, can it be 80 degrees one day... and then 59 the next! This Labor Day weekend has been a bit gray so in honor of the weather (and my super cool produce co-op haul) I am making soup.

Chicken corn chowder is my interpretation of several recipes that I have adapted over a few years and so now I have this no-measurement version. I know, I know! But I will still give a recipe (even though the measurement may be "ish" instead of tbl)

This is great left over and really good with any kind of rolls. It's a stick-to-your-ribs kind of meal.Chicken Corn Chowder

Ingredients
2 russet potatoes, peeled and chopped into ½ in cubes
5 ears of corn – with kernels removed
1 smallish onion chopped
½ package of bacon (I like center cut..there is less fat)
2 chicken breast from your fave. Grocery store’s deli – chopped into bit size cubes
1 package sliced mushrooms
1 package (Costco) or 1 cup or so of instant mashed potatoes
4-5 cups of chicken broth
1-2 cups of milk
My seasoning “to taste” or just salt and pepper to taste

Directions:
In a large stockpot, fry bacon on med to med high heat until desired crispiness but slowly enough to render out as much fat as possible.
Meanwhile, take the corn off the cobs and set aside.
Remove bacon but leave all the fat in the pot – I know! Chop up the bacon into small pieces and set aside.
Add onions and saute until beginning to brown.
Add corn kernels to onion and saute for about 5 minutes or so. Until desired doneness. I still like mine a tad crunchy. Add some seasoning.
Dump the corn mixture into a bowl and set aside.
Add mushrooms and seasoning to the pot and saute until they are slightly browned but have lost their water.
Dump everything back into the pot including chicken, potatoes and bacon. Warm the chicken through.
Add chicken broth and simmer until potatoes are cooked 5-10 minutes.
Add milk and bring to simmer.
Slowly add instant potatoes until desired thickness. It will really depend on how much liquid you have.

Produce Co-Op Bounty

My friend Sascha, just turned me on to the coolest program ever! It's a produce co-op called "Bountiful Baskets"!! It is so cool I can't stand it. Like some of you, I have checked out the farmers markets locally in the summer and I even went so far as to check out the local CSA programs for fresh produce. Let me say that I am all done with that...the Bountiful Baskets program is economical and convenient. You don't have to commit to the whole season either! You pay week to week. The first time there is a fee of 3.00 which pays for the basket that the volunteers use to sort your haul of food but then after that it's $15.00 per week and look at all the goodies I got for my money:
2 Heads of romaine lettuce
1 Head of cauliflower
1 Bunch of broccoli
1 Head of cabbage
1 Honeydew melon
9 Bananas
14 Plums
7 Ears of corn
4 Beefsteak tomatoes
12 Nectarines
9 Oranges

WOW!!!

What to make with all of this? Well, for starters I will be making Chicken Corn Chowder and Cream of Broccoli Soup. Yes, it is already soup weather here is Seattle. A big salad with the greens and maybe just steam the cauliflower. The fruit? I am sure the kids will take care of that for me :)

Another cool thing is that the fruit isn't quite ripe yet so it's not like we have to rush to eat it. Every thing is uber fresh and you can't beat the price. Thank you Bountiful Baskets - you will see me again next week!

Girl's Night In

What's better than going out with your girlfriend for dinner? Staying in and cooking dinner together!

I had a quite house this last weekend so I invited my friend (Amy...the one who bakes - which will now be her Dances with Wolves name) over to cook, chat and eat. Our job was to come up with two dishes each that we could cook and both eat. I was armed with movies to have playing while we cooked and I made us mojitos - yummy. I was careful not to start drinking the mojito too soon in the cooking process and have the meal come dangerously close to looking like the "Lemon Drop" Thanksgiving where the stock accidentally went down the drain.

Helpful tip...always, always put a bowl under your colander when straining stock or you have no gravy. You would think that this is a "duh" statement. I am living proof that it is not.

Side note: I was having issues with the lighting and picture quality so trust me when I say that the food tasted better than a few of the pictures gives it credit.

Course 1:
Watermelon and feta salad.
When Amy told me the ingredients for this salad, I was all "whaaaaat"? I am now a believer. It has simple ingredients but the taste that you get is so complex. The Tabasco (I know right?) gives a little kick and balances out the sweetness of the watermelon and the tangyness of the feta out nicely. We both agreed that we could have just kept on eating it ....but we needed to save room for the other yummies.

Course 2:
Fresh Italian Tarts
All my favorite food groups: bread, tomatoes, cheese and basil. Fine, they aren't all actual food groups..but they tasted as good as they sound.

Course 3:
Stuffed Zucchini
Pick smallish zucchinis for this one. You want them firm but not too seedy. Pre bake (to soften) and fill with a mixture of potatoes, cheese, tomatoes, garlic and basil. What's not to like?

Course 4:
Fish Tacos
I love fish tacos. I have wanted to make them for at least a year or so and now seemed as good a time as any. I combined a few recipes for this one and did something I don't usually do....I winged it. *gasp* I know. I know! But it paid off this time. I think the secret to this was the Chipotle Tabasco used for the fish. It added a smokey flavor without being overpowering somehow. All I know is Amy doesn't like very many fish dishes and she ate this one - so something worked! The pictures are kind of tone-on-tone (white plate, white sauce, white cabbage) but you get the point.


Recipes:
Watermelon and Feta Salad
Ingredients:
1 Small watermelon
1 Small sweet onion julienned
Crumbled Feta

Dressing:
Juice of 1 fresh lime
1 tsp Tabasco
Black pepper to taste

Cut up the watermelon and onion. Add feta to desired amount. Mix the dressing and toss together. Dish up, eat, repeat!

Fresh Italian Tarts
Ingredients:
1 Chunk of frozen bread dough
Fresh basil
Fresh tomato
Gorgonzola or Blue cheese (we used Gorgonzola)

Thaw dough. Cut into circles with a biscuit cutter and place on an oiled cookie sheet. Cover dough with cheese, basil and 1 slice of tomato cut in half. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes or until dough is golden and cheese is melty. When you take them out of the oven, brush the edges of the dough with olive oil and enjoy.

Stuffed Zucchini
Ingredients: (this recipe makes 4 but I cut it down for two)
4 medium zucchini
olive oil
3 medium red potatoes or whatever you have
1 small/medium onion chopped fine
5 garlic cloves minced
3 medium tomatoes
1/3 cup julienned basil leaves
1 1/2 cups shredded Monterrey Jack cheese. I could only find white cheddar/jack so I used that.

Put one oven rack on the upper middle and one low in the oven. Put a baking sheet on each rack and heat oven to 400.
Halve each zucchini lengthwise. Scoop out seeds and most of the flesh so that the walls of the zucchini are about 1/4 inch thick. Season cut sides of zucchini with salt and pepper and brush with oil. Toss potatoes with about 1 tbl oil, salt and pepper in a bowl and spread in a single layer on the baking sheet on the upper rack and roast for about 12 minutes. Roast zucchini until slightly softened and skins are wrinkled, about 10-20 minutes depending on your zucchini. Flip zucchini over and set aside.
Heat 1 tbl oil in skillet and saute onion until soft and beginning to brown. Stir in garlic until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Add tomatoes and cooked potatoes; cook, stirring occasionally until heated through (about 3 minutes). Off heat, stir in basil, 1/2 cup of cheese and salt/pepper to taste.
Divide filling evenly among zucchini halves and sprinkle with remaining cheese. Return to oven (upper rack) and bake about 5 more minutes until cheese is spotty brown.

Fish Tacos
Ingredients:
White flaky fish (I used fresh Tilapia from Costco)
Olive oil for sauteing
Salt and Pepper to taste
Chipotle Tabasco Sauce
1-2 limes
Small tortillas
Cabbage sliced thin

Sauce:
1/2 cup plain yogurt (I used Greek)
1/2 cup mayo
Juice of 1 lime (I just bought a bag of limes from Costco)
1 jalapeno pepper minced
1 tsp capers drained and minced
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp dill weed
1/4 - 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Mix all the sauce ingredients and set aside for the flavors to marry. Heat olive oil in a saute pan and saute fish turning occasionally until done. Sascha, I can't give you exact times on this step....but I think it took my fish about 15 or so minutes. I tend to over cook fish rather than under :) Salt and pepper to taste while cooking and when almost done..squeeze lime juice over fish and shake about 5 or 6 shakes of Chipotle Tabasco (or until it looks Tabascoey enough). Warm tortillas, place fish..white sauce and cabbage on and enjoy.

Mojito (for 1 drink):
1 1/2 Rum
Club soda
12 mint leaves
1/2 lime
2 Tbl simple syrup (1/2 cup sugar and 1/2 cup water. Heat until sugar is dissolved and then cool). Basically, equal parts. I use super fine sugar (left over from my Martha Stewart obsessing days)

Muddle mint in a glass. Add lime juice and the lime if you want. Add 2 tbl simple syrup. Add ice. Add rum and top with club soda. Stir.


A lip smackin good time was had by all......

Our everyday spice recipe

This spice gets it's own blog because I can never find it to give out the recipe.

Everyday spice:

1 Part Granulated Onion
1 Part Granulated Garlic
1 Part Med ground black pepper
1 ½ Parts Table Salt

I don't feel like cooking in the Summer

I know, I KNOW!!!

1. Where have you been?
2. It's been a long time since you have updated your blog.
3. Don't you cook anymore?
4. When are you going to post something new.

Here's the deal. I just don't feel like cooking in the Summer. That's all. Not very exciting is it? I could make up a grand story I suppose...but that is too much work. The truth is always easiest.

So yesterday even though the calendar says Summer, looking outside I can't be sure. Since it wasn't raining (at that moment) I thought it would be a good night to barbecue. Well, have Chris barbecue.

On the menu tonight:
Barbecued boneless chicken breasts
Barbecued artichokes
Fruit salad
Caprese salad
Boxed rice loaded with preservatives (for Chris). I know.

I am absolutely ADDICTED to the farmers market that runs from June or whenever to September at the Everett waterfront. Fresh veggies, seasonal fruits, the best clam chowder and local people selling their home made yummies. I have found two things this particular Summer that I can't live without and those are 1. This dill cucumber dip (http://www.artisandips.com/) that you mix with sour cream and I am hard pressed to find something it DOESN'T taste good on. Good with fish and chicken. It's also good as a dip with veggies. Yum! 2. These two gals with a company called Walden Lane Gourmet. They blend their own spices. I am hooked! I bought 4 to start with (Skagit Fisherman's Blend, Curry Rub, Rosemary Garlic and Mustard Rub, and my personal fav. - Walden Lane House Seasoning) http://www.waldenlanegourmet.com/ . That being said I will get back to the meal.

Boneless chicken breasts are good and bad. Bad, because you have to figure out what to do with them to make them taste like something. Good, because they are so versatile. See what I mean. I decided to marinate them with a bit of olive oil, fresh squeezed lemon juice (1/2 a lemon) and a sprinkle of the Walden Lane House Seasoning.

We needed a vegetable. I had 2 fresh artichokes left over from my Costco trip so I steamed them, cut them in 1/2 and removed the choke. Marinated with a bit of olive oil, the other 1/2 of lemon juiced and the "Chris" seasoning that we use at our house. When they were done, we dipped them in the dill cucumber dip mmmmm

Caprese salad was for me instead of the yummy boxed rice. I wanted the rice but was good and made the caprese salad instead. For those who are like, a whaaa? It's basically, fresh mozzarella basil and sliced tomato drizzled in a light vinaigrette of sorts. I had all three on hand so that is what decided that.

Fruit salad Honestly, it just sounded good.. And rice, well Chris needed some sort of starch and I had it in the pantry. I could have made a rice pilaf from scratch but please refer to the title of this blog for the reason why I didn't.

Dinner was yummy. I still am not very motivated to cook. Maybe I should blog about take-out next time? Or, not.

Drink your dinner, the confession

Confession time.

When I wrote the blog about how the limoncello turned out, I said it was yummy. And it was.

It also was, waaaaaaay too sweet for me. So sweet, in fact, that I put it where all my ruined recipes go.

Note to self and to everyone - make the simple syrup with 1/2 the amount of sugar. Please, I beg of you.

:)

Itsy bitsy burgers

How does that Jack in the Box commercial go again? Oh ya, "yippe-ki-o, mi-ni sirloin burgerrrrrs"

I need to begin by confessing that I don't have any pictures to post with this blog (yet..) you will just have to regress back to childhood and use your imagination. I don't have any pictures because as soon as I made em...they were gone, which is a good thing. But not a good thing for blogging.

Raise your hand if you have been to Costco and seen the itsy bitsy hamburger buns? They are just the cutest things ever, just begging to be purchased! Isn't everything at Costco begging to be purchased though?

I will tell you that the first time I made these (yes, I have made them twice without taking pictures) I didn't used any special tools, grilling baskets or measuring scoops. I made them in a regular old frying pan and guessed at the size. The key to these little darlins is not to over cook them. I decided to time them on each side and undercooked them by just a teence. Another key is to add some kind of fat to them to help ensure they don't dry out even if you are lucky enough not to over cook them. My chosen fat was shredded cheddar jack from Costco. Any finely shredded fatty cheese would do the trick I imagine, use what you have. I had shredded cheddar jack. The second time I made them, I purchased a medium cookie scoop, scooper thing to keep them the same size and I also got a cool slider griller basket thing from Williams Sonoma. I liked this one the best because you can put it on the grill - remove the handle and shut the grill. Not that I have used it yet, but...that is what the directions said you do.

I made two kinds, turkey and beef (beef for the kids). There won't be a recipe at the end of this either (quit yer cryin) but, what I will do is explain the main concept of what I did. Even I didn't use a recipe.

No recipe. I know, right?

Ok, for the turkey ones I started with a package of ground turkey. I added a 3 count squirt of ketchup, what may have amounted to 1/2 cup of shredded cheese and about 1tbl or so of the everyday seasoning that we use at my house. You want flavor but you don't want too much seasoning. You can always add more right? I made the patties fairly thin because they will shrink up during the cooking and you want patties not meatballs. Plus, it will reduce the cooking time and theoretically...produce a juicer burger. I am not a scientist, but it makes sense doesn't it? I, personally, fried them in a bit of vegetable oil on a medium highish heat for 2 minutes per side in batches. Drain on a paper towel and build your burgers how you would.

For the beef ones, I did the exact same thing..minus the ketchup.

As you can imagine, they turned out super cute. They made good snacks the next day for the kids too! Next time, I may even take some pictures....


Everyday spice:

1 Part Granulated Onion
1 Part Granulated Garlic
1 Part Med ground black pepper
1 ½ Parts Table Salt

Drink your dinner...the conclusion

It's been more than a week but I am back to tell you the conclusion of how the Limoncello turned out! I've been busy, ok?

Can I tell you how yummy this liquor is? Yummy. Not, yum-o as Rachael Ray will say. I don't believe that you should invent a new language when we have a perfectly good one which will express the same thing!

The only problem with this recipe is you don't get instant gratification AND you need cutsie glasses to drink it in. It is for sipping and you really don't want to make a huge cocktail out of it. Well, I guess you caaaaaan...but it's too sweet for me to do that.

Does this look good or what? I know right? I even went out and purchased some cutsie glasses. I am sure it's 5:00 somewhere!

Bulgar and Lentil Salad

Looking for a filling and healthy salad/snack? Stop right here because I have just the thing - Bulgar and Lentil salad. You don't even have to hug trees or wear socks with your sandals to like it.

The only thing is that you should make it a day prior to when you want to eat it because it needs to sit in the dressing and absorb the flavors but I like to make it on a Sunday for the week as a quick lunch or something to "hold me over" till dinner without reaching for chips, candy, brownies, Easter candy....well, you get it.

Bulgar and lentil salad – make at least 1 day ahead.

1 ½ cups boiling water – or veg/chicken stock
1 ½ cups bulgar
1 ½ cups dry lentils rinsed
½ cup diced green onion
½ cup minced fresh flat leaf parsley
Crumbled feta
Chopped tomatoes


Dressing: (I double it)
1/3 cup cider vinegar
1/3 olive oil
1 tbl dried basil
1 tbl dill seed
¼ tsp pepper
½ tsp salt

In a large bowl, pour boiling water over bulgur. Let stand until the liquid is absorbed about 45 minutes or so. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add lentils. Reduce heat and cover simmering until tender about 10-15 minutes. Drain. In another large bowl combine bulgur and lentils cool completely.

Add onions and parsley. In a jar with a tight fitting lid, combine the vinegar, oil and other spices. Shake to combine. Pour over salad, toss. Refrigerate at least 4 hours or best overnight. Before serving add feta to taste and chopped tomatoes.

Drink your dinner

A couple of summers ago, when I wasn't working and could cook waaaaaaay more often a friend turned me on to Limoncello. It's a sipping liquor and you can either buy it or make it. My friend made hers, so I am making mine. The only problem with making your own is the lack of instant gratification as it takes about a week or so. So set your timers for a week and I will update you on how it turned out!

So easy (and hopefully, so tasty). You take vodka, either plain or vanilla (I chose plain because flavored alcohol makes me gag) and you measure out 4 cups which turns out is roughly a fifth of the stuff. Into a glass bowl or in my case, a Pyrex measuring thingie add the rind (no white stuff) of about 5 large lemons. Let that sit for a week at room temperature lightly covered (so nothing falls in). Then, supposedly in a week, you make a simple sugar mixture and voila! Limoncello.

How to drink it......in a little glass you pour ice cold (not sure yet if you can keep it in the freezer) Limoncello. Add a lawn chair, sunglasses and a Summer day and there you have it. You won't care what's for dinner.




Ingredients:

The peels from 2 pounds of lemons (just the yellow)

4 cups of vodka (or reg or vanilla vodka…)

leave sit for one week (I cover loosely with plastic wrap to keep things from falling in it)

Then Combine:

4 cups of sugar with 4 cups of water in a sauce pan and stir over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. ****revision**** Use 1/2 the amount of sugar with the same amount of water. Jimminy Crickets, this drink turned out like drinking melted lemon drop candies. If that is what you are in to....grrrrreat. If you are like me, just use 1/2 the amount of sugar.

cool

strain the lemon mixture and combine with the sugar solution

store in airtight containers in the refrigerator for up to a month.

Pizza Sticks

Who doesn't like pizza? It has to be one of the most versatile foods ever invented....you have a crispy crust topped with whatever you can think up! The only issue with me is trying to make it at home and not have a meltdown over it. If you follow this blog, you know what I mean.

So I am at Williams Sonoma (cue singing angels) and I see this nifty pan called a "pizza stick pan". Number one, I want an easy way to cook pizza at home and number two...I can always use another gadget. Bam, sold!

I hope you can tell from the picture, but the pan has 5 shallow wells in it and it is coated in this gold coating that I have been seeing more and more of. It's non stick but looks different. The pan also comes with a handy dandy cutter so the dough fits perfectly in the wells.

Top it with sauce and whatever, bake them at 450 (I think) and you are in business. I have made them two times..one time it worked (pictures attached) the second time I did something wrong because it so didn't work. Note to self: When rising the pizza dough in the oven with the oven off...don't try to get ahead of yourself and pre-heat the oven for the actual pizza sticks. It wrecks the dough. I'm just sayin.

I think these are a cool invention and everyone gets their own pizza to top.





Pizza Sauce

1 6oz can tomato paste
6 oz warm water 110 degrees…but hot tap will be fine
3 tbl grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp of honey
¾ tsp onion powder
¼ tsp dried oregano
¼ tsp dried marjoram
¼ tsp dried basil
¼ tsp ground black pepper
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
Salt to taste

In a small bowl, combine everything (water last) and let sit for 30 minutes or longer to let flavors blend. Spread over pizza dough, top and bake – yum


Pizza Dough

3cups flour
1 package active dry yeast
2 tbl vegetable oil
1 tsp salt
1 tbl granulated sugar
1 cup warm tap water – 110 degrees at least.

Combine flour, salt, sugar and yeast in a large bowl. Mix in oil and warm water. When a ball forms spray ball in the bowl with cooking spray or rub lightly with oil. Cover with plastic wrap and a towel and let rise in warm place for 30 minutes or so. (You don’t have to let the dough rise…it is perfectly good as is, but it just is a bit denser. If you can let it rise its just a bit chewier) I turn on the oven to about 280 degrees and put the oven safe bowl covered in there and turn off the oven. Rises fine.

After the rising, or after the mixing (if you aren’t rising) you can do 1 of 2 things:
1. Spread out on a large cookie sheet or pan. Top as desired. Bake at 375 for 25 minutes or so.
2. If you have a pizza stone (how I do it with a pampered chef cookie sheet stone) preheat the stone in a 500 degree oven for 30 minutes. Spread the dough out onto parchment paper, top with toppings. Slide pizza onto either an inverted sheet pan or cookie sheet and slide from that onto the preheated stone for 15 or so minutes. To do a second pizza you only need to heat the stone for 5 minutes.
3. For pizza sticks, roll out the dough and use the cutter and continue with the pizza stick pan directions.
Yummy!

Supposed to be "poached" not overcooked salmon in sour cream dill sauce.

So I am at Costco (moment of silence...) last weekend and I am compelled to buy the new Bon Appetit magazine which features a yummy looking fillet of salmon on the cover. Doesn't that look yummy? I thought so too.


It looked so yummy that it inspired me to cook, or overcook..rather, salmon for last nights dinner. Did I set out to overcook dinner? I don't enjoy my food tantrums that bad. No, I just wanted a good piece of fish for dinner which doesn't seem too much to ask. You would think that I would just open my new magazine for a recipe but no, I head to the Internet. I guess $4.99 just bought me "inspiration" as opposed to actual recipes I want to use. I swear, only I would buy a gourmet food magazine only to search the Internet for a recipe where the main ingredient is FEATURED on the cover of the magazine. Maybe that should have been a red flag?

I decide to adapt a Cooks Illustrated recipe called "Poached salmon with dill and sour cream sauce". Mmmmmmmm. Doesn't that sound good? I know right? I make a list and run off to the store to get the ingredients (the salmon, I actually had). Oh, I was also excited that I got to use my Christmas saute pan for this recipe. I still haven't quite figured out how to cook normal food in it without needing a chisel to get the food out afterward. Woo hoo! Let's get this party started!

There is a bit of prep to do ahead where you slice lemons and mince shallots and put them in the pan with wine and water and dill stems. Lay your salmon fillets on top of the lemons, bring to a boil....reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 11-16 minutes until the internal temperature (make a note of this step) is 125 degrees. You take the temperature of the fish with an instant read thermometer. I am always excited to use my thermometer. So the timer gets set for 11 minutes and I am mincing dill and measuring out the other ingredients...making rice pilaf yada, yada. Timer goes off, I take the temperature and its barely 100. That's strange. The fish is looking done? Remembering back to the big cookie, and how that too, "looked" done. I set the timer for 4 more minutes and go back to finishing the rest of dinner. The timer goes off again, and as I remove the lid from the pan I instantly know something is amiss. The fish has shrunk and looks dry instead of moist (I can't describe it ....you would have to be there) and almost at the same time as I am reaching for my thermometer I see that it isn't set to Fahrenheit. It's set to Celsius. Celsius! At this point, I don't even NEED to take the internal temperature of the stupid fish to know it's overcooked. I add insult to injury and take the temperature and let's just say, it was way more that 125 degrees Fahrenheit. I announce the "fish is overcooked" and get the response "I'm sure it will be fine". There is a sauce with this recipe so now my thought is to smother the fish in the sauce and it should help. That probably would have been true except this sauce is made with lemon juice, Dijon mustard and shallots. Not the kind of sauce that you want to "smother" anything in really.

So anyways...I did smother the fish with the sauce. The fish was horribly overcooked. I have two more dinners worth of overcooked fish to eat which I guess serves me right.



Here's the recipe. Make sure your thermometer is set to Fahrenheit. Far-en-height!

Ingredients
2 lemons
2 tablespoons minced fresh dill fronds , plus 8-12 dill stems
2 small shallots , minced (about 4 tablespoons)
½ cup dry white wine
½ cup water
1 skinless salmon fillet (1 3/4 to 2 pounds), about 1 1/2 inches at thickest part, white membrane removed, fillet cut crosswise into 4 equal pieces (see note)
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons sour cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter

Instructions
1. Cut top and bottom off 1 lemon; cut into 8 to ten 1/4-inch-thick slices. Cut remaining lemon into 8 wedges and set aside. Arrange lemon slices in single layer across bottom of 12-inch skillet. Scatter dill stems and 2 tablespoons minced shallots evenly over lemon slices. Add wine and water.

2. Place salmon fillets in skillet, skinned-side down, on top of lemon slices. Set pan over high heat and bring liquid to simmer. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook until sides are opaque but center of thickest part is still translucent (or until instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part registers 125 degrees), 11 to 16 minutes. Remove pan from heat and, using spatula, carefully transfer salmon and lemon slices to paper towel-lined plate and tent loosely with foil.

3. Return pan to high heat and simmer cooking liquid until slightly thickened and reduced to 2 tablespoons, 4 to 5 minutes. Strain cooking liquid through fine-mesh strainer into medium bowl; discard solids. Return strained liquid to skillet; whisk in Dijon mustard and remaining 2 tablespoons shallot. Simmer over high heat until slightly thickened and reduced to 2 tablespoons. Whisk in sour cream and juice from 1reserved lemon wedge; simmer 1 minute. Remove from heat; whisk in 2 tablespoons unsalted butter and 2 tablespoons minced fresh dill fronds. Season with salt and pepper.

4. Season salmon lightly with salt and pepper. Using spatula, carefully lift and tilt salmon fillets to remove lemon slices. Place salmon on serving platter or individual plates and spoon sauce over top. Serve, passing reserved lemon wedges separately.

The last cheesecake recipe you will ever need.

Cheesecake is just one of those things, isn't it? You either like it or don't. Usually, the cheesecake you get in restaurants is so heavy that you can barely manage one or two bites without feeling overcome with richness. I am not much of a dessert person (it's all about the salt, baby) but when I do eat dessert, I want something light that won't push me over the "bad full" edge. Readers, you know what I am talking about. You go out to eat. You are full after dinner but want dessert because they flaunt the dessert tray right under your nose. You are overtaken by the Jedi mind tricks of the server and BAM! now you are "bad full". Not just full, but unbutton you pants, wish you hadn't been born full. And really, who wants that?

Holy waaaaay off track, Batman. So as I was saying...

I have in my possession, the bestest cheesecake recipe in the universe. I got it from a co-worker about 1 million years ago in a galaxy far, far away. No, but really I used to work in this office and we would have these quarterly pot lucks in the department. One time my co worker brought this cheesecake and I had an out of body experience. She was kind enough to share the recipe which she got from this B&B she and her husband went to once. It is everything that the typical cheesecake is not: It's Light, it's silky and not, and I repeat not heavy!

I bet you could even eat two pieces and still not be "bad full".

I usually serve it with raspberry sauce which gives it a slightly sweet note to the cheesecakes tartness and it's a really good balance. This time, I just put a bunch of fresh strawberries in the food processor and added a bit of sugar. But it's very good just plain. I have been making this recipe for, *ahem* over 14 years and I swear by it.


Buckle your seat belts, you won't use another cheesecake recipe ever again.

(Excuse the crumbs all over the cheesecake in this picture....there were issues getting it onto the plate.)

Crust

2 packages graham crackers

4 tbl unsalted butter

2 1/2 tbl sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Process the above in a food processor pulsing until the crackers are uniform crumbs. Press into the bottom and up the sides of a 10 inch spring form pan. Bake 10 minutes or until lightly browned. cool on a wire rack.

Filling

2-8oz packages cream cheese (softened)

1/2 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 375. Process all the filling ingredients in a food processor until the mixture is smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and process again to insure that the mixture is well blended. Pour into prepared crust and bake for 25 minutes. Cool 30 minutes.

Topping

2 cups sour cream

2 tbl sugar

1/2 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 425. Blend together all ingredients. Cover the cream cheese mixture with the topping. Spoon it on so that it doesn't sink into the cheesecake. Return to the oven and bake for 5 minutes. Remove from oven, cool and refrigerate at least 4 hours or overnight.

This isn't the quickest recipe on the planet and you should plan to make it in the morning for that nights dinner so it has time to chill. It is great leftover.

Raspberry sauce - because Sascha will ask.... love you Sasch, muwah!

1 package frozen raspberries, sweetened if you can find them. If not, just get regular and add a teence of sugar.

Let them thaw completely in the sink (still in the package).

Put them in a strainer and press with a spoon to get the juice out leaving the seeds in the strainer. Voila! Raspberry sauce for your cheesecake.

A hot mess

I asked Chris what he wanted for his birthday dinner this year and he said 1. Lasagna and 2. Carrot cake. Sounds simple enough.

Wanting to impress him I decided to make a layer carrot cake. Layered! Dummy. My neighbor, Amy (the friend who bakes) kindly loaned me her round cake pans since I don't own any (for obvious reasons) and I went to work. So I am going along and I have the parchment paper buttered and floured in the cake pans which are also buttered and floured, I go to put the batter in and I am not paying attention to how full these pans are getting (as you will see). In the oven they go. Now, it's President's Day and I am off work doing laundry...baking this cake..blah.blah..blah. After about oh, 15 minutes I start to notice a burned food smell coming from the kitchen. I am thinking that maybe something is burning on the bottom of the oven from before. I open the oven door, smoke POURS out and here is what I see:

Let me explain what you are looking at here - we have our 2 cake pans on the top rack which have (and are currently as I snap this picture) overflowing down both racks and ultimately pooling in a big burning mess on the bottom of the stove and the oven element.

Nice.

I don't have enough ingredients to make this cake again so I make the executive decision to put a sheet pan under the mess and keep em' baking. Figuring that I can clean the oven later and hopefully the cake that stays in the pan will bake up fine and can be frosted and salvaged into a birthday cake.

The cakes finished baking, I cleaned the oven (well, scraped all the burned cake out) and cooled them. I had to do a bit of creative carving to get the cakes to release from the pans because they were essentially baked around the edge of the pans but I got them out and cooled. Here is what a frosted hot mess looks like:

Not the prettiest cake in the land, but it was good. I am proud of myself that I pulled it off and didn't panic.

Mmmmmm, cake.

Hot Mess Carrot Cake (as adapted from Food and Wine as adapted from Maria)

1 cup pecans
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp salt
1 cup vegetable oil
½ cup buttermilk
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 lb carrots, peeled and coarsely grated
2 tbl fresh grated ginger

1. Preheat oven to 325. Butter two 9-in cake pans, line bottom with parchment. Butter the paper and flour the pans.
2. Make the cake: Spread the pecans on a baking sheet and toast for 8 minutes. Cool and finely chop. I used a food processor.
3. In a bowl, whisk the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. In a small bowl, whisk the oil, buttermilk vanilla and ginger.
4. In a mixer, beat the eggs and sugar at high speed until pale, 5 minutes. Beat in the liquid ingredients. Beat in the dry ingredients just until moistened. Stir in the carrots and pecans. Divide the batter between the pans (uh, but do not over fill) and bake the cakes for 55 to 1 hour until springy and golden. Let the cakes cool on a rack for 30 minutes, then unmold them and let them cool completely on the racks.

Frosting
2 Sticks unsalted butter softened
2 8oz packages of cream cheese
1 tbl vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar

In a mixer, beat the butter and cream cheese at high speed until light, about 5 minutes. Beat in the vanilla, then the powdered sugar. Beat at low speed until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and beat until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes.

Frost the cake.

The coolest thing ever

The kids like to take juice, lemonaide or whatever and make popsicles. Fine. The popsicle thing we used to have until it got "lost" *wink* was this plastic thing that would fall over in the freezer and sticky crap would go all over the place. Then, it was "lost". The kind of lost that annoying toys your relatives give your kids that won't turn off or shut up get. That's the kind of "lost" I mean.

The kids have lost uncounted amounts of time looking for the lost popsicle mold thing. They want me to buy another one. Well, shut my mouth because I have found the coolest thing ever.

Enter, the ZOKU popsicle machine at Williams Sonoma. You put the base in the freezer and them when that is frozen, you insert the sticks...pour in juice or kool aid and the popsicles freeze right in front of you in about 10 minutes. Rad huh? I got it for them for Valentines Day and usually I don't buy gifts for them on that day..just candy. This was an exception. Ahhhhh. No more spilled coke in the freezer. And it's interactive.

Like, it's totally awesome.

Tortellini and Sausage Soup

Soup sounded good for dinner. What kind of soup? I was shocked and surprised when Chris actually suggested I make a new recipe. Woot, woot. Usually this is how it goes.
Me - "What sounds good for dinner?"
Chris - "I don't know honey, I am easy"
Me - "Something has to sound good"
Chris - "Everything you make is good"
Me -"No, but are you in the mood for something in particular?"
Chris - "How about macaroni and cheese?"
Me - "sigh......"

So I went on the search for a new recipe and this Tortellini and Sausage Soup is adapted from 3 recipes I found on the Internet.

Ingredients:
1 lb sweet Italian sausage (I used Insernos Italian chicken sausage)
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
5 cups beef broth (I used Swanson's beef stock, not broth)
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup red wine
4 large tomatoes - peeled, seeded and chopped
1 cup thinly sliced carrots
About 6 fresh basil leaves, finely chopped
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1 small can of tomato sauce
1-2 small zucchini cut into bite sized pieces
1/2 lb tortellini

Directions:
1. In a stock pot, brown sausage. Remove sausage and drain reserving 1 tbl of drippings.
2. Saute onions and garlic in drippings. Stir in broth, water, wine, tomatoes, carrots, basil, oregano, tomato sauce and sausage. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 20 minutes.
3. Stir in zucchini and simmer covered for 20 minutes. Add tortellini during the last 8 minutes.

Ok, first off here are some specifics on how I actually cooked this:
1. For the sausage, I browned it whole in the pot and let it rest and then cut it down the center and then in 1/2 circles. I used Italian chicken sausage because I don't like how fatty and gristly regular pork sausage is. I almost bought Adeles already cooked Italian chicken/turkey sausage but the sodium content made me run screaming away.
2. For the onions, Chris hates them. As someone who loves to cook, that is just crazy talk. How can you develop flavor without onions? The answer is you can't. So, I have developed a way to get the flavor without him biting into an onion. I cut the onion in quarters and put 4 of the layers into whatever. Then I can pull them out before I serve it and nobody is the wiser. So that is what I did.
3. For the tomatoes, I peeled them and seeded them but instead of chopping them (again, Chris hates chunks of tomato in soup - whatever) I put them in the food processor and gave them a few pulses until they were more than chopped but not liquefied. Some texture remained but not chunks.

It was tasty. Below is the soup after dinner and also after I put it in a Tupperware bowl as leftovers. It looks greasy but it's just the lighting, really.

New Year's Food

Happy New Year!

No matter how you spent the new year, I will bet that food was involved. Us too! I will admit that my picture taking has been poor this last year so I will attempt to do a better job in 2010. Not a resolution, but just something I want to do. I am not calling these things "resolutions" because really, who ever keeps them? Nobody, that's who.

Since it's all about the food, not the resolutions let's get to it.

Menu (my portion anyway)
Lumpia with dipping sauces
Turkey Meatballs
Roasted Shrimp Cocktail

Lumpia
If you aren't familiar with this one, it's a Filipino egg roll of sorts. The one thing I know for certain is you can't make it right without lumpia wrappers and you also can't just be-bop down to Safeway and get some. Ohhhhhhh no. You have to go to an actual Asian grocer. I don't live in the boonies, but each and every time I need to buy a specialty food item you would think that I do. I ended up going to "99 Ranch Market" in Edmonds which is just about the coolest Asian grocery store around my area. If you are cooking food from that region and they don't have it, you are doing something wrong. They carry all types of grocery items, live seafood and cookware/serveware. Seriously, they have it all. They also are the only place I could find that carries lumpia wrappers. They are in the frozen section and I learned a valuable lesson. Buy the ones that are separated by a sheet of parchment and then frozen. Don't get me started, just do it. I bought the ones that are NOT separated by paper and drama ensued when I tried to defrost them to make the lumpia. They are paper thin, and take absolutely for-ev-er to defrost. We ruined 1/2 of them just trying to rush the process. Oh ya, don't do that either. They need all day to defrost at room temperature and not a moment less.

Lumpia

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 pound ground pork
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup minced carrots
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup thinly sliced green cabbage
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon soy sauce

Lumpia wrappers
Oil for frying

Directions
1. Place a wok or large skillet over high heat, and pour in 1 tablespoon
vegetable oil. Cook pork, stirring frequently, until no pink is showing.
Remove pork from pan and set aside. Drain grease from pan, leaving a
thin coating. Cook garlic and onion in the same pan for 2 minutes. Stir in
the cooked pork, carrots, green onions, and cabbage. Season with
pepper, salt, garlic powder, and soy sauce. Remove from heat, and set
aside until cool enough to handle.

2. Place three heaping tablespoons of the filling diagonally near one corner
of each wrapper, leaving a 1 1/2 inch space at both ends. Fold the side
along the length of the filling over the filling, tuck in both ends, and roll
neatly. Keep the roll tight as you assemble. Moisten the other side of the
wrapper with water to seal the edge. Cover the rolls with plastic wrap to
retain moisture.

3. Heat a heavy skillet over medium heat, add oil to 1/2 inch depth, and
heat for 5 minutes. Slide 3 or 4 lumpia into the oil. Fry the rolls for 1 to 2
minutes, until all sides are golden brown. Drain on paper towels. Serve
immediately.

Dipping Sauce

1/4 cup soy sauce
2 tablespoons rice vinegar
2 tablespoons mirin
2 tablespoons water
1 teaspoon chili oil (optional)
1/2 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 medium scallion , white and green parts, minced

Combine and serve.

Lumpia filling cooling in the pan.

Rolled up and ready to fry

All cooked and ready to eat!


Turkey Meatballs
These are really cocktail meatballs made with the same recipe as my turkey meatloaf. Just made smaller. So you use the turkey meatloaf recipe and form them into the size of your choice. Brown them in a fry pan with some oil in the bottom and them bake them at 350 for about 30 minutes on a sheet pan. Transfer them to a crock pot to keep them warm. Yum!


Roasted Shrimp Cocktail


These are super easy!
Ok...buy a bag of shrimp at Costco that are raw, devained and with the tails on and defrost them. Toss them with enough olive oil to coat and a pinch of salt and pepper. Roast in a preheated oven set to 400 degrees for 8-10 minutes or until just pink and cooked through. Cool and dip in your favorite cocktail sauce. Here's mine:

Homemade cocktail sauce
1/2 cup chili sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
3 tablespoons prepared horseradish
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco

Combine, chill and serve with shrimp.