Red KitchenAid

Best hubby ever

2010-10-30T21:59:00.002-04:00

Tonight my hubby took to the kitchen! We picked up some cauliflower at the farmer's market this morning, and this evening hubby made the best cauliflower gratin in the world. We threw some shake-n-bake on chicken breasts to go with it, and hubby made apple crisp for dessert that just came out of the oven. What a great Saturday dinner. Seriously, you should make this cauliflower dish. And eat it all.

ffwd - apple cake

2010-10-29T18:14:00.002-04:00

Originally, I tried to post the photo from my phone, but it looks like that didn't work at all. Boo.

I made two Dorie apple cakes this week - her Double Apple Cake from BFMHTY and the French Fridays' recipe for the week - Marie-Helene's Apple Cake. It was a great excuse to use up some apples that a friend picked. I preferred the Double Apple Cake, and hubby preferred Marie-Helene's. Both of us enjoyed both thoroughly!

I was able to use an 8" springform for the first time on Marie-Helene's cake. I bought a set of three to get the 10" for a Martha Stewart cheesecake several years ago, and the 8" has been sadly neglected since then. My apples were smaller, and the receipe called for larger apples, so I added an extra apple, and it seemed to work out nicely. Look at that pretty browning!

I had to buy a bundt cake pan. A couple of years ago I had a fit and threw out any bundts I had because I couldn't convince a cake to come out cleanly. Given my prior fits, I'm pretty proud of how this one turned out! Maybe I can face bundts again.

ebelskivers

2010-10-23T12:53:00.001-04:00

I have ther greatest friends! We received an ebelskiver pan and then mix and turners for it as wedding presents. Today is hubby's birthday, and that seemed like the perfect excuse to try out ebelskivers.
I had never tried them before, so I tried out a ton of different fillings (things already lying around the house). I expected hubby to prefer the jams, but he was with me on the sweeter fillings. Our favorite was the kisses. The caramel, unfortunately, just kinda flavored the pancake instead of remaining a separate filling. The peanut butter and pie fillings were great runners-up. Next time we'll try out the chocolate mix and pick up some nutella to try as a filling... and maybe some small resses cups?

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ffwd- hachis permetier

2010-10-22T12:03:00.002-04:00

This week I was a dutiful blogger and made the delicious selection for frenchfridayswithdorie.com on time! I am so glad I did. This dish is essentially french shephards pie, and it was the perfect comfort food for the cooler fall weather we have had around here.

I broke up the preparation into two days and that worked out well. All of the preparation was worth it to me. I loved this dish, and with only two of us there was enough left to freeze for dinner again later. I'm already looking forward to it. The potatoes are perfect in this recipe - I love the texture of potatoes run through the ricer. They just seem perfectly airy. And I love all the flavor the meat gets from this preparation.

Next time, I think I'll add some veggies to add a little more flavor and so that I can feel a little less guilty. I was glad I stuck to the recipe the first time around though.

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French Fridays with Dorie

2010-10-14T23:04:00.001-04:00

I have been very disappointed in my own absence from the kitchen and greater absence from blogging. I thought that a new Dorie Greenspan challenge was just the thing to get me motivated again. I that each of her recipes will be a pleasant surprise, as every recipe I've tried of hers has been so far. Frankly, I worry that my husband is a bit jealous of my love for Dorie.

The challenge (French Fridays with Dorie) is in its third week, and I finally started. Although i also have the ingredients (except for the all-imporant eggs) ready to go for week 1's recipe (finally), tonight I made the recipe chosen for week 2 by Dorie herself: a mustard tart! I'm hoping that next week I can do some catching up and actually post my results on the apropriate week.

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Pot Roast

2010-01-10T17:43:00.001-05:00

This will definitely become the go-to roast recipe in our house. However, in the future, I think it will be relegated to a weekend dinner, thanks to the 3+ hours it takes. It was worth every second of it though!

Pot Roast
Source: adapted from Bon Appetit (via Skinny Food by Amy)

Ingredients:
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
2 teaspoons Hungarian sweet paprika
2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon (packed) golden brown sugar
1 3-pound boneless rump roast
6 ounces thick cut bacon, sliced into 1/2 inch pieces
2 cups dry red wine
1/2 cup low-salt chicken broth
2 large onions, thinly sliced (I used red. Yumm!)
12 small shallots, peeled (I used chives instead. Our local grocery doesn't keep shallots in stock, so I usually sub in chives, and it has worked so far.)
12 garlic cloves, peeled
3 bay leaves
4 large carrots (about 1 pound), peeled, cut into 1-inch pieces
3 medium potatoes, peeled, cut into 1-inch cubes

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F.
Mix first 6 ingredients in small bowl.
Rub spice blend all over beef.
Cut 6 slits in beef and insert a clove of garlic in each slit.
Cook bacon in a dutch oven over medium heat until browned and lightly crisp.
Using slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain.

Pour off all but 2 tablespoons drippings from pot. (I left them all in.)
Increase heat to medium-high.
Add beef and cook until browned on all sides, about 12 minutes total.
Transfer beef to plate.
Add red wine to pot; bring to boil, scraping up browned bits.
Boil until reduced to 1/2 cup, about 5 minutes.
Add broth and bacon.
Place beef atop bacon.
Scatter onions, shallots, remainder of garlic, and bay leaves around beef.

Cover pot, transfer to oven, and roast 1 hour.
Turn beef over; stir onions.
Cover and roast 1 hour longer, adding water by 1/4 cupfuls if dry.
Transfer beef to plate.
Add carrots and potatoes to pot; stir to coat. (Oops! I put the carrots in early... but it was all good.)
Place beef atop vegetables, cover, and roast until beef and vegetables are tender, about 45 minutes longer.
Transfer beef to platter.
Spoon off fat from surface of sauce and remove bay leaves.
Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper.
Pour sauce over beef and serve.

The absolute bestest, most amazing butternut squash soup ever

2010-01-06T19:34:00.003-05:00

Because it's freakishly cold here (and it seems, pretty much in this half of the country), and I like soup when I'm cold. This soup will rock your world. I promise. It's from Southern Living (Dec. 2003), which is always a good sign. And there's bacon.

Butternut Squash Soup

Ingredients:
6 bacon slices
1 large onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 celery ribs, chopped
1 Granny Smith apple, chopped (Yes, there is a theme; are you catching on?)
2 garlic cloves, chopped
4 (12 ounce) packages frozen butternut squash, thawed (or 3lbs fresh, peeled, seeded, and chopped)
1 (32 ounce) container low-sodium, fat-free chicken broth
2-3 Tbs fresh lime juice
1 1/2 Tbs honey
2 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/8 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/8 tsp red pepper (or more, if you like a little spice! yum!)
1/4 c whipping cream

Directions:
Cook bacon slices in oven a Dutch until crisp.
Remove bacon, and drain on paper towels, reserving 2 Tbs drippings.
Crumble bacon and set aside.

Saute onion and carrots in bacon drippings in Dutch oven over medium-high heat 5 minutes or until onion is tender.
Add celery and onion and saute 5 more minutes.
Add garlic and saute 30 seconds.
Add butternut and chicken broth.
Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes, or until carrots are tender.

Process squash mixture, in batches, in a blender or food processor until smooth (or just use an immersion blender - I had so much fun using mine for the first time!)
Return to Dutch oven (if you had to take it out).
Add lime juice and next 7 ingredients.
Simmer 10-15 minutes or until thickened.

Top with bacon and garnish (with red pepper, sour cream, etc.), if desired.

8 servings according to the recipe. I am addicted, so I'd call it closer to 6.

Rosemary Crusted Pork

2010-01-02T13:52:00.003-05:00

Another What We're Eating Recipe. This girl knows what she's doing!!! The veggies were amazing. I could have made ameal just of those. My pork loin was perfect on the end, but I ended up putting the center 1/2 in the oven for a bit to get it done enough for us. I thought the mustard sauce was wonderful (although I only had ground mustard, so used that in the place of the whole grain mustard), but Mr. L thought it was too hot/tangy for his taste. Also, she really means it when she says that you don't necessarily need to use all of the salt mixture for the pork - I used every drop, and I that was a little too much.

Bacon, Rosemary & Garlic Roasted Veggies
1 tbsp bacon fat (can substitute any oil to make it vegetarian)
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tsp fresh rosemary, minced
8 large brussels sprouts, trimmed and cut in half lenghtwise
1 small head cauliflower, cut into florets, stem discarded
2 cups butternut squash, peeled & cut in 1' cubes
1 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp freshly cracked black pepper

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Add bacon fat to a large pot over low heat until melted. Add garlic and rosemary; stir. Sweat over low heat for about 1 minute. Remove from heat. Add the brussels sprouts, cauliflower and butternut squash to the pot. Cover the pot with a lid then shake vigorously for about 30 seconds to evenly coat the veggies with the fat. Remove the lid then sprinkle with the kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Replace the lid then once again shake vigorously for about 30 seconds to evenly distribute the seasoning. Pour the seasoned veggies onto a baking sheet in a single layer. Place baking sheet into the preheated oven. Bake for approximately 45 minutes or until well caramelized and tender, tossing the veggies every 15 minutes. Serve immediately and enjoy!

Recipe by Amanda Simpson
http://www.whatwereeating.com/

From post: Rosemary Crusted Pork w/ Bacon & Rosemary Roasted Veggies
http://www.whatwereeating.com/recipes/rosemary-crusted-pork-w-bacon-rosemary-roasted-veggies/
Seared Rosemary Pork Tenderloin
2 tsp fresh rosemary, minced
2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
1 pork tenderloin, trimmed of silver skin
2 tbsp canola oil, or other high-smoking point oil

In a small bowl mix together the rosemary, salt and black pepper. Liberally season all sides of the pork tenderloin with the rosemary salt. You may not need all of the salt mixture.

Preheat a large saute pan with the canola oil over medium-high heat until the oil ripples from the heat but just before it starts smoking. Place the seasoned tenderloin into the pan. Sear the meat over medium-high heat for about 4 minutes until well caramelized then flip the meat a quarter turn. Sear that side for another 4 minutes. Repeat this process two more times until all areas of the pork have a nice sear and the meat is cooked to medium, about 145 degrees. The pork should cook for about a total of 16 minutes. The larger the roast the longer it will need to cook. Let rest for at least ten minutes before slicing, allowing time for the juices to be reabsorbed into the meat. Enjoy!

Recipe by Amanda Simpson
http://www.whatwereeating.com/

From post: Rosemary Crusted Pork w/ Bacon & Rosemary Roasted Veggies
http://www.whatwereeating.com/recipes/rosemary-crusted-pork-w-bacon-rosemary-roasted-veggies/
Tangy Mustard Cream Sauce
Tangy Whole Grain Mustard Sauce
2 tbsp whole grain mustard
2 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tbsp heavy cream
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp honey
2 tbsp water
1/4 tsp kosher salt, plus more if desired
1/4 tsp freshly cracked black pepper, plus more if desired

Add all ingredients to a mixing bowl. Whisk until all ingredients are completely incorporated. Taste. Adjust seasonings as desired with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper. Goes great with seared rosemary pork tenderloin. Can be made upto 3 days in advance and stored chilled. Enjoy!

Recipe by Amanda Simpson
http://www.whatwereeating.com/

From post: Rosemary Crusted Pork w/ Bacon & Rosemary Roasted Veggies
http://www.whatwereeating.com/recipes/rosemary-crusted-pork-w-bacon-rosemary-roasted-veggies/

Peanut Brittle

2010-01-02T13:49:00.005-05:00

Another ingredient I have too much of? Peanuts! I gave Virginia Peanuts as part of our oot bags for the wedding, and like everything for the wedding, I WAY over-bought! (I also bought too much dark chocolate for the chocolates that went on the cupcakes, so I was thrilled that this recipe calls for drizzling with chocolate.) So, peanut brittle, here we come.

Peanut Brittle (from food network)

Ingredients :
Brittle:
2 vanilla beans
3 1/4 cups or 500 grams unsalted toasted peanuts
1 scant cup or 200 grams granulated sugar
1/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon or 100 grams corn syrup
1 1/4 cup or 300 grams unsalted butter, cubed
1/4 cup or 80 grams honey
2 teaspoons or 6 grams salt
Optional chocolate decoration:
32 ounces bittersweet chocolate, tempered

Directions
Split vanilla beans lengthwise and scrape seeds into a large heavy-bottomed saucepan, along with scraped out pods. Place remaining ingredients in saucepan and place over high heat. Cook to a caramel color while continuously stirring with a wooden spoon. The mixture will become very thick. Pull out the vanilla beans and set aside. Lightly spray the work surface with vegetable cooking spray. If you would like to use metal rulers so the brittle will be rolled to an even thickness, set them into place now. Immediately pour the mixture onto the marble or granite slab (you can also use a parchment paper lined baking sheet). Place a piece of parchment paper over the hot brittle and use a rolling pin to roll the peanut brittle into a 3/8-inch thick flat layer. Use a sharp chef's knife to partially cut the brittle while it is still warm. Allow it to cool completely before coating it with chocolate. It is ready to eat now or you can add chocolate to the outside of the brittle.

To cover with chocolate: You can use a variety of methods to apply chocolate to the brittle. You could simply place some chocolate into a cornet and drizzle the chocolate over the cool brittle. You could also use a dipping fork to dip each piece of brittle in the chocolate. Whatever method you use, allow the chocolate to set and it is ready to serve

The first time I made this, it came out perfectly and wsa loved by all. When I tried it again (twice), I couldn't get it to firm up, so I don't know about the reliability factor. But when it works, it's perfection!

2010-01-02T13:47:00.004-05:00

I'm on a mission to use up some unusual ingredients that I have lying around - like 2 bags of whole wheat graham flour. Step one: dog treats

Cookie Cutter Treats (from Hodgson Mill)

2 1/2 c whole wheat graham flour
1/2 c nonfat dry milk
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 Tbsp. salt (optional)
6 Tbsp. butter
1 egg
1/2 c cold water

Mix all ingredients.
Knead three minutes or until dough forms into a ball.
Roll 1/2 inch thick.
Cut with cookie cutters.
Bake at 350 degrees F on lightly greased cookie sheet for 30 minutes.

Makes 1 batch.

Happy New Year!

2010-01-02T00:07:00.002-05:00

For New Year's eve this year, we went to a friend's house for an evening of fun and festivities. The evite said to bring a cocktail or hors d'oeuvres, so I consulted facebook and got a recipe from a law school friend with the following subject line (obviously, that meant I had to make this recipe):

Ho's be lovin my cheez dip!

Ingredients:
2 big logs of Velveeta
1 lb ground beef
2 chopped jalapeno peppers (she leaves out the seeds, out of kindness to those who can't handle it)
1-2 cans rotel tomatoes
1 bunch of cilantro, chopped
1 chopped onion

Directions:
Brown the hamburger and drain.
Melt the Velveeta (I did this in the microwave)
Combine everything.

Be warned, this is enough to feed a small army. But it's delicious, and so you should make it all anyway!

Jambalaya

2009-12-29T22:18:00.002-05:00

I have always been a huge fan of Zaarans, but Mr. L believes that jambalaya must be made from scratch. And Martha Stewart sent me an email with a link to a jambalaya recipe! And they call it "quick", which is key. Mr. L got a Le Cruset dutch oven for Christmas, and this was the perfect chance to they it out (and it's AMAZING!!!!).

Martha's Picture - mine was ugly

Quick Jambalaya

Ingredients
1/4 cup olive oil
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
3 celery stalks, finely chopped
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 green bell pepper, stemmed, seeded, and finely chopped
1 pound andouille sausage, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cups homemade or low-sodium store-bought chicken stock
3/4 teaspoon Old Bay seasoning
1 can (14 ounces) crushed tomatoes with juice
1 cup long-grain rice

Directions
Heat oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat.
Season chicken with salt and pepper.
Cook until golden brown, about 5 minutes per side.
Cut into 3/4-inch pieces; set aside.
Add vegetables to pot.
Cook, stirring, 5 minutes.
Add sausage; cook 3 minutes.
Add garlic; cook 1 minute.
Stir in stock, Old Bay, tomatoes, and 1/2 cup water; bring to a boil.
Add rice and chicken.
Reduce heat; simmer 5 minutes.
Cover; remove from heat.
Let stand until rice is tender and liquid is mostly absorbed, 30 to 35 minutes. (This took me longer - closer to 45 minutes.)
Season with salt and pepper.

Serves 4

Christmas Baking

2009-12-24T18:23:00.000-05:00

As usual, everyone on my Christmas list is getting baked goods. This year, I tried some new things and recycled an old favorite. I kept the gingersnaps in the mix, since they are a favorite, and added zucchini bread, apple butter, peppermint bark, and eggnog.

The peppermint bark was the most surprising - it was SO easy! The first batch I made according to the recipe (except without the extract, since I couldn't find any). For the second, I added a layer of dark chocolate, and that was much better. Finally, I made a batch with crushed oreos instead of candy canes - that was my favorite, but I don't really like mint. I bagged up a little of each as part of each gift.

The apple butter took up most of a Saturday, but I was very pleased with the end result. I was happy that I got to put my new food mill to work (and even happier about how much easier the mill made it!). It passed muster with my father-in-law, who is a true apple butter connoisseur.

The zucchini bread was a much sweeter bread than I expected, but I loved the sugar crust on it. It smelled awful while cooking, but turned out well, and got a ton of compliments. This will definitely be added to the regular Christmas rotation.

The eggnog was another new addition, and I went with Alton Brown's recipe, and just omitted the alcohol (since our families don't really drink). This was another hit - and easy in the stand mixer.

Pork tacos with pineapple salsa

2009-12-14T21:00:00.005-05:00

I found this recipe a while back in Cooking Light. After our last flop from Cooking Light, I was hesitant to try this one, but the pictures were so convincing! I'm glad we did try it. This definitely had more flavor than the stir-fry, and was actaully very filling. It earned a "VERY good for a light recipe" rating from Mr. L. It earned a "I'm too hunrgy, and this is too good to remember to take pictures" from me.

That's right - I forgot to take a picture of mine, so I'm tempting you with the picture that drew me in.

Chipotle Pork Soft Tacos with Pineapple Salsa (Cooking Light, May 2007)

Salsa Ingredients:
2 C minced pineapple
1 C minced apple
1/4 C minced shallots (I used 1 chopped chive instead, because that's what I had)
2 Tbs chopped cilantro
1 Tbs fresh lime juice (I just used all the juice from 1 lime, because who measures lime juice?!)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp salt

Taco Ingredients
1Tbs canola oil
1 C thinly sliced onion (It called for yellow; I used red)
2 garlic gloves, minced
1 1/2 lbs pork tenderloin, cut lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
1/2 C fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
1 Tbs apple cider vinegar
1 tsp dried oregano
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
12 cherry tomatoes, quartered
2 chipotle chilis, canned in adobo sauce, chopped
12 (6-inch) corn tortillas, warmed (I used flour, because I don't love corn)

Directions
Combine all salsa ingredients in a bowl and stir.
Cover and chill.

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat.
Add onion to pan and saute 2 min., or until tender.
Add garlic and cook 30 seconds.
Add pork to pan and cook 4 min., or until it loses its pink color, stirring occassionally.
Add all remaining ingredients.
Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes.
Remove cover, and simmer 10 minutes or until liquid is nearly evaporated.
Warm tortillas according to package directions.

Serve.

6 Cooking Light servings; 3 servings in my house

Thanksgiving wrap-up

2009-12-01T21:03:00.009-05:00

This thanksgiving I finally got to do most of the cooking. We got a condo with Mr. L's parents. They brought the ham and turkey (and cake and sweet potato casserole), and I made everything else. It was wonderful! The only thing that turned out a little off were the pumpkin pie (the bottom crust didn't seem fully cooked). Here's the rundown:

Corn Pudding (from the Dollywood cookbook - Tennessee Mountain Cooking)

Ingredients:
1 c corn
2 eggs, beaten
1 Tbs melted butter
1/4 c chopped onion
1/4 c pimento
1/4 c green pepper

Directions:
Mix together all ingredients.
Pour into a baking dish.
Bake at 350 until set (about 25 minutes).

Green bean Casserole (LOVED this) (from Paula)

Ingredients:
1/3 stick butter
1/2 c diced onions
1/2 c sliced fresh mushrooms
2 c sliced green beans
3 c chicken broth
1 (10 3/4 ounce) can of cream of mushroom soup
1 (2.8 ounce) can french-fried onion rings
pinch house seasoning (4 parts salt, 1 part black pepper, 1 part garlic powder)
1 c grated cheddar

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.
Melt the butter in a large skillet.
saute the onions and mushrooms in the butter.
Boil green beans in chicken broth for 10 minutes and drain.
Add the green beans, mushroom soup, onion rings, and house seasoning, to taste, to the onion mixture.
Stir well.
Pour into a greased 1 1/2 quart baking dish.
bake for 20 minutes, then top casserole with the cheddar and bake for 10 minutes longer, or until the casserole is hot and the cheese is melted.

Parker House Rolls (from the Gourmet Cookbook)

Ingredients:
3 Tbs warm water
3 Tbs sugar
1 (1/4 ounce) package (2 1/2 tsp) active dry yeast
1 stick unsalted butter
1 c whole milk
2 c bread flour (not whole wheat)
1 1/2 tsp salt
3/4 - 1 1/2 c all-purpose flour

Directions:
Stir together warm water, 1 tablespoon sugar, and yeast in a small bowl and let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes.
Melt 3/4 stick butter in a small saucepan.
Add milk and heat to lukewarm.
Stir together yeast mixture, remaining 2 tablespoons sugar, butter mixture, bread flour, and salt in a bowl with a wooden spoon until combined well, then stir in enough all-purpose flour to make a slightly sticky dough that forms a ball.

Butter a large bowl.
Knead dough on a lightly floured surface, kneading in more all-purpose flour if dough is too sticky, 10 minutes, or until smooth and elastic but still slightly sticky.
Form into a ball and put in buttered bowl.
Turn to coat with butter, then let rise in bowl, covered with plastic wrap, in a warm place 1 hour, or until doubled in bulk.

Butter a 13- by 9-inch baking pan.
Divide dough into 20 equal pieces and roll into balls.
Arrange evenly in 4 rows of 5 in pan and let rise, covered loosely, in a warm place 45 minutes, or until almost doubled in bulk.
Make a deep crease down center of each row of rolls using length of a floured chopstick or side of a ruler.
Let rolls rise, covered loosely, 15 minutes.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter and cool slightly.
Brush tops of rolls with butter and bake in middle of oven until golden, 20 to 25 minutes.
Let rolls cool in pan on a rack 5 minutes.
Turn out onto rack and cool to warm.

Cooks' note:
You can make rolls 1 day ahead and keep, wrapped well in foil, at room temperature. Reheat in foil in a preheated 375°F oven 15 to 20 minutes. (This is what I did, and it worked perfectly!)

Macaroni and Cheese (slightly modified from Alton Brown's)

Ingredients:
1/2 lb elbow macaroni
3 Tbs butter
3 Tbs flour
1 Tbs powdered mustard
3 c milk
1/2 c yellow onion, finely diced
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp paprika
1 large egg
6 ounces sharp cheddar, shredded
6 ounces cubed Velveeta
1 tsp kosher salt
fresh black pepper
Topping:
3 Tbs butter
1 c panko bread crumbs

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.
In a large pot of salted boiling water, cook the pasta to al dente
While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt the butter.
Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about five minutes.
Make sure it's free of lumps.
Stir in the milk, onion, bay leaf, and paprika.
Simmer for ten minutes, and remove the bay leaf.
Temper in the egg.
Stir in all of the Velveeta, and 1/2 of the cheddar.
Season with salt and pepper.
Fold in the macaroni and pour into a 2 quart casserole dish.
Top with remaining cheese.
Melt the butter in a saute pan and toss the bread crumbs to coat.
Top the macaroni with the bread crumbs.
Bake for 30 minutes.
Remove from the oven and rest for five minutes before serving.

Fresh Cranberry Relish (also from Tennessee Mountain Home Cooking)

Ingredients:
16oz fresh cranberries
1 orange
1 c sugar
1/2 c nuts (I used walnuts)

Directions:
In food processor or blender, chop cranberries into big pieces. (I used a blender, because our food processor is buried somewhere right now - I wished I had it. The blender was a bit of a hassle, because it only wanted to chop what was at the bottom, and didn't really move the berries around.)
Add nuts and chop.
Add orange and sugar and chop until desired consistency.
Refrigerate.

Note: Better if made a few hours before serving.

Cornbread and Sausage Dressing (from a local cookbook - Cooking on Hazel Creek: The Best of Southern Cooking)

Ingredients:
1/2 lb bulk pork sausage
1/2 chopped onion
4 c coarsely crumbled cornbread (less than 1 box of Jiffy)
1 c coarsely crumbled day old bread
2 eggs
2 c turkey or chicken broth (or 1 small can)
1/4 c chopped parsley (thank goodness for my little herb garden!)
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning
1/4 tsp salt

Directions:
Combine sausage and onion and cook until browned, stirring to crumble meat.
Drain off pan drippings.
Combine with remaining ingredients, and spoon the mixture into a greased 12x8 baking dish.
Cover and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
Remove cover and bake at 15 minutes longer.

Creamed Spinach (from Smitten Kitchen)

Ingredients:

2 pounds baby spinach or 2 1/2 pounds fresh spinach, tough stems discarded
1 3/4 cups heavy cream or whole milk, or a mix thereof
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 small clove garlic, minced (optional)
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg

Directions:
Wash your spinach well but no need to spin or pat it dry.
Place spinach in a large pot over high heat.
Cook, covered, with just the water clinging to leaves, stirring occasionally, until wilted, about 2 to 4 minutes for baby spinach and 4 to 6 minutes for regular spinach.
Press or squeeze out the excess liquid any number of ways, either by wringing it out in cheesecloth, putting it in a mesh strainer and pressing the moisture out with a spatula or large spoon or letting it cool long enough to grab small handfuls and squeezing them to remove as much water as possible.
Coarsely chop the wrung-out spinach.
Wipe out large pot so you can use it again.

Heat milk or cream in a small saucepan over moderate heat, stirring, until warm.
Keep warm.
Meanwhile, cook onion and garlic, if using, in butter in your wiped-out large pot over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, about six minutes.
Whisk in flour and cook roux, whisking, about three minutes.
Add warm milk or cream in a slow stream, whisking constantly to prevent lumps, and simmer, whisking, until thickened, three to four minutes.
Stir in nutmeg, spinach, and salt and pepper to taste and cook, stirring, until heated through.

Do ahead: Creamed spinach can be made one day ahead and chilled, covered then reheated over moderately low heat until hot. However, it really tastes best eaten immediately. (I made it ahead, and wished I'd made it the day of. It's just not the same!)

I did make most of it ahead, and merely cooked it the day of. I did all of the prep work at home, and then wrapped it and labeled it all with the coking times and temperatures, ready to pop in the oven on thanksgiving day. It made it easier, having already figured out what could cook at the same time (same temperatures) and what needed to go in early or late because it had a higher or lower cooking temperature.

I also made Pumpkin Pie and Mashed Potatoes, but can't remember which recipes I used for those - more than likely, they were from someone on the Food Network. ;)

Stir Fry and Fried Rice

2009-12-01T20:36:00.004-05:00

Last night we had stir fry from a Cooking Light recipe (and yes, their recipes always do taste light to us), and tonight I chopped it all (along with some leftover ham from thanksgiving), and made fried rice. The fried rice was pretty good, but even though it's healthier, I just don't see myself making fried rice out of basmati rice again. But, I loved the chopped up stir fry in it - carrots make me happy!

Stir Fry

Ingredients

Basmati Rice (we just threw it in the rice cooker)

1 lb sirloin, cut into thin strips

1 c broccoli, chopped into florets

3 carrots, chopped diagonally

1 c snow peas

2 tbs canola oil

5 spice powder (I had 4 of the spices, so just used them)

Directions
I'm not even going to include this - it's that un-delicious.

Fried Rice

Ingredients

3-4 c day-old rice

1 c chopped up leftovers (sirloin, ham, broccoli, carrots, and peas)

1 chopped green onion (probably could have added more)

2 eggs, scrambled

4 tbs canola oil

liberal low sodium soy sauce to taste

Directions

Cook eggs until just done in a wok (or large frying pan), then set aside and clean out wok. with 2 tbs oil.

Heat remaining oil in wok, and add in rice. Break up with a wooden spoon.

Add everything else and keep adding soy until it looks/tastes right.

Cook until warmed through.

Serve with teryaki sauce (this is key).

1 chicken - three meals - no pictures

2009-11-24T13:28:00.005-05:00

I decided that I really wanted to roast a chicken. The Saturday before thanksgiving. I think it was all the recipe searching getting to me. So... I roasted a chicken with a bunch of veggies (first shout-out to Ina of this post). For TWO. This left us with a ton of chicken and roasted veggies left over, but I was determined not to waste any of it! The chicken got chopped up and turned into chicken salad (Mr. L did the chopping - hooray!). The veggies got thrown in the food processor with chicken broth and turned into soup (thanks Ina, for that great idea!)

I have made a variation of this chicken salad before, but with much larger pieces. This time, we (Mr. L) chopped everything up much smaller, and I think that the result had a much more universal appeal. I still love it both ways, of course; but I think I'll stick with the smaller chunks when I'm sharing it.

There are no pictures today, because the roast and the chicken salad were devoured before we had a chance to take pictures (we were hungry). The may be pictures of the soup after thanksgiving; I blended it all today, and I'll heat it later this week to serve with Thanksgiving dinner.

Perfect Roast Chicken (modified from Ina Garten)

Ingredients

1 (5-6lb) roasting chicken
salt
pepper
bunch (plus 20 sprigs) thyme
1 lemon, halved
1 head of garlic, halved
2 tbs melted butter
3-4 stalks of celery, chopped into large pieces
3 white sweet potatoes, chopped
4-5 carrots, chopped
(onions would have been great, but I forgot to added one)
1 orange pepper
1 red pepper
3 zucchini, sliced

Directions

Preheat oven to 425.
Remove chicken giblets. (I saved them for my pup)
Wash chicken inside and out.
Remove any extra fat or pinfeathers.
Pat outside of chicken dry.
Liberally salt and pepper inside of chicken.
Stuff cavity with bunch of thyme, lemon and garlic.
Brush outside of chicken with butter, and sprinkle with salt and pepper.
Tie legs together with string (I couldn't find any, so I skewered them together, and tuck wings under chicken.
Place veggies in roasting pan, toss with remaining thyme, salt, pepper, and olive oil.
Spread veggies around the bottom of the roasting pan, and place chicken on top.
Roast for 1.5 hours.
Remove from oven, and cover. Let sit for 20 minutes before carving.

Chicken Salad

Ingredients (these measurements are approximate)

2 c chopped chicken
1 tbs relish
1 tbs Dijon mustard
1 c mayonnaise
1/2 c chopped apple (I think we used red Delicious, and left the skin on)
1/2 c chopped walnuts (or pecans)

Directions

Dump everything in a bowl and stir until combined.
Serve with ritz or on a sandwich.

Roasted Veggie Soup

Ingredients

4 c Chicken Stock
2 c Water
4 c Leftover Roasted Veggies
1 Bay Leaf

Directions

Combine half of stock, water and veggies in blender.
Combine other half in blender.
Put both mixtures and bay leaf in a pot.
Bring to gentle simmer for 20 minutes.
Remove bay leaf, and season to taste.

Loaded Baked Potato Soup

2009-11-23T17:46:00.002-05:00

I had the whole post typed up and ready to go with tonight's dinner - Loaded Baked Potato Soup (from Kraft). But I deleted it. Intentionally. It wasn't worth taking a picture of, and it wasn't worth sharing the recipe. The only good part was the toppings... which were predicable and could be used on a much better potato soup recipe. This one was flavorless, and way too thin for my taste. Bleh.

Butternut and Acorn Squash Soup with Herb and Gruyere Scones

2009-11-23T12:19:00.000-05:00

Butternut And Acorn Squash Soup (from tartelette)

Serves 4 hungry people

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small butternut squash, peeled and diced into 1-inch cubes (seeds scooped out & saved)
1 small acorn squash, peeled and diced into 1-inch cubes
3 cloves or garlic, peeled and smashed (don't worry about mincing)
4 cups chicken stock
1 to 2 teaspoons fresh thyme (or less if desired. You can also use some sage)
water
salt and pepper

Optional accompaniments:
chopped Tai chilies
creme fraiche (or sour cream)
sauteed thick cut bacon or salted and cured pork, sliced thin
seeds from one of the squashes (saute in the bacon fat for maximum flavor, and drained on paper towels)

Directions

In a large stock pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the cubed squashes and saute for 2-3 minutes or until they start to get some caramelizing color. Add the garlic and saute one minute, stirring often to prevent it from burning (or it will become bitter). Add the chicken stock and thyme and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and cook, covered for about 30 minutes or until the squash is tender. With an immersion blender, puree the soup in the pot until smooth. If using a food processor or blender, let the soup cool a bit before processing. Adjust the consistency to your liking with extra water. Salt and pepper to taste.
Garnish as desired.

Herb and Gruyere Scones (from DesignSponge)

Ingredients

3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
½ teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ teaspoons baking powder
1 pinch cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons finely ground yellow cornmeal
½ cup plus 1 tablespoon cold unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
½ pound Gruyere cheese, grated
½ cup chopped herbs (I like thyme and chives)
½ cup heavy cream
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg, beaten

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375°F and line a baking sheet with a baking mat or parchment paper. Sprinkle lightly with cornmeal.
Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, cayenne pepper, and salt together into the bowl of a stand mixer.
Add cornmeal and whisk together.
Add the butter to the dry ingredients, and, using the paddle attachment, beat on low speed until butter is the size of small peas.
Add the Gruyere and herbs and mix just until the ingredients are evenly distributed.
Put the buttermilk and cream together in one bowl or liquid measuring cup, and then slowly add to the mixture on low speed until it is just combined and there is a little flour left on the bottom of the bowl. You may not need all of the liquid (I only used about 2/3 of it)!
Empty the contents of the bowl onto a floured surface.
Pat the dough together and work in any pieces of dry dough.
Sprinkle some flour on the top of the dough, and, either using a rolling pin or just your hands, press the dough until it is about 1 ½ inches thick.
Using a circular cookie cutter, dipped in a little flour each time, cut out the scones.
Feel free to roll any scraps together and cut those, too.
(Alternatively, you can shape the mound of dough into a rectangle about 9 by 6 inches, divide the dough in half lengthwise, and then cut each piece into 6 even triangles.)
Place scones onto prepared baking sheet about 2 inches apart.
Brush the beaten egg onto the tops of the scones and bake for about 30 minutes, rotating the pan about halfway through, or until light brown on top.

Yields about 12 smaller scones or 6 big scones.

Cheesy Rotisserie Chicken & Bowties

2009-11-16T20:24:00.000-05:00

Cheesy Rotisserie Chicken & Bowties (from She's Becoming DoughMessTic)
makes 6 to 8 servings

Store bought rotisserie chicken, chopped or pulled into pieces
One standard box Bow Tie Pasta (or, in my case, half a bag of veggie spirals)
1 bag shredded cheese (I used taco flavor, but any strong cheese will do)
1/2 Sweet onion, diced
1 Pepper, any color (I used orange this time)
1 can chicken broth
1 can Cream of Mushroom (regular size)
1 can Cream of Chicken (regular size)
4 Tbsp. Melted Butter
1 tsp dried cilantro (I didn't have any in the house, so I used poultry seasoning instead. I realize that it's a completely different spice, but it worked.)
Salt & Pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 325.
Cook pasta in water and can of chicken broth until nearly done.
You will be baking this pasta, so take care not to over cook it now.
Reserve a cup of the broth from the pasta to add in to the mixture.
In large bowl, combine the broth, chicken, cheese, peppers, onions, melted butter, both creams, salt, pepper & cilantro.
Stir it well and pour it in a large baking dish.
Bake covered
at 325 for 45 minutes.

We served it with biscuits. I considered adding a ritz topping, but wanted to try the recipe as it was (basically) first. Next time, I'll definitely add a topping for a little extra oomph.

Irish Chicken & Dumplings

2009-11-15T14:27:00.000-05:00

I was very pleased with the results on this one. The house smelled irresistible by the time it was nearly ready, and the taste lived up. It was great Sunday evening comfort food. Of course, anything with a stick of butter is pretty much guaranteed to satisfy in our household. We added a little shredded cheese on top too. It wasn't necessary, but it was delicious.

Irish Chicken & Dumplings (from She's Becoming DoughMessTic)

1 large can Cream of Chicken or Mushroom Soup
4 Boneless Chicken Breasts, cut up
1 bag frozen peas & carrot mix
1/2 large sweet onion, chopped
6 medium potatoes, peeled and chopped
2 cans crescent roll dough, butter flavor
1 stick butter
salt & pepper to taste
other seasonings, to taste

Boil chicken and onion until tender, about 30 minutes.
Don't drain. Add cream of chicken and butter, seasonings and potatoes.
Reduce heat to low-medium and cook for 20-30 minutes
Add peas & carrots, continue to cook for 10 minutes, then add crescent rolls, torn into medium to large pieces and cook until dough is cooked through (this takes a while -maybe half an hour).

Prosciutto Wrapped Chicken & Whipped Sweet Potatoes

2009-11-01T23:38:00.000-05:00

Creme Fraiche (from Joy of Baking)

Ingredients

1 cup (240 ml) heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon buttermilk
Note: If possible, use pasteurized heavy whipping cream, as ultra pasteurized will take longer to thicken. (Mine must hve been ultra-pasturized, because it definitely took it's time!)

Directions

In a medium saucepan over low heat, warm the cream to 105 degrees F (40 degrees C).

Remove from heat and stir in the buttermilk.

Transfer the cream to a large bowl and allow this mixture to stand in a warm place, loosely covered with plastic wrap, until thickened but still of pouring consistency.

Stir and taste every 6 - 8 hours.

This process takes anywhere from 24 to 36 hours, depending on your room temperature.

The creme fraiche is ready when it is thick with a slightly nutty sour taste.

Chill cream, in the refrigerator, for several hours before using.

Creme fraiche may be made and stored in the refrigerator for up to 10 days.

Roasted Garlic and Herb Creme Fraiche (from What We're Eating, as are the following recipes)

Ingredients

4 large cloves roasted garlic

1/4 cup creme fraiche

1 tsp fresh tarragon (optional)

1 fresh sage leaf

1/2 cup fresh chives

juice from 1 small lemon

kosher salt

fresh finely ground white pepper (optional)

Directions
Add all ingredients except kosher salt into the bowl of a blender. Blend at a high speed until sauce is completely pulverized to for a silky smooth puree.
Strain herbed creme fraiche through a fine mesh sieve to remove any leftover larger chunks.
Adjust the seasoning of the sauce to taste with kosher salt and, if desired, freshly ground white pepper. Enjoy!

Whipped Sweet Potatoes

Ingredients
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled & chopped in 1" cubes

3 tbsp butter

1/3 cup whole milk, plus extra if necessary (amount will vary as size of the potatoes vary) (I used cream instead... because I had that or skim milk)

kosher salt

freshly cracked black pepper

juice from 1/2 a lemon (I thought this was what made this dish perfect)

Directions

Bring a large pot of heavily salted water to a boil over high heat.

Once the water has reached a boil, add the sweet potato cubes.

Boil potatoes until tender, about 10 minutes.

To test the done-ness, stab a potato with a butter knife - if the potato is easily pierced and slides right off, the potatoes are done.
While the potatoes are boiling, add the milk and butter to a bowl of a stand mixer or to a large mixing bowl.
Drain the potatoes than add them to the bowl with the milk and butter. If using a stand mixer or hand-beater, whip the potatoes at a medium-low speed until smooth and fluffy, adding more milk if necessary to achieve a smooth but moist texture. If using a potato masher, mash until smooth, adding more milk as necessary.
Add lemon juice and a small pinch of salt and pepper to the potatoes.

Stir to combine.

Taste the potatoes. Adjust the seasoning as desired with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

Serve immediately.

Prosciutto Wrapped Chicken Breasts

Ingredients

1/3 lb thinly sliced proscuitto ham

4 small chicken breasts

3 tbsp canola oil (or other flavorless oil)

kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees with a rack placed in the middle of the oven.
Liberally season all areas of the chicken breasts with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.

Wrap thin slices of proscuitto around the seasoned breasts, covering nearly all surface area with the ham.
Heat a large oven-safe saute pan over medium high heat.

Add canola oil to the pan.

Let the oil heat for about 2 minutes or until there are small ripples in the oil but before it begins to smoke.
Place the chicken breasts into the pan with the proscuitto seam-side-up.

Allow the chicken to cook, undisturbed, for approximately 3-4 minutes or until the proscuitto has released itself from the pan and is evenly browned.

Flip the chicken and place the pan onto the rack positioned in the middle of the oven.
Bake the breasts for approximately 15 minutes or until breast are just cooked through.

Remove from oven and allow breasts to rest for at least 7 minutes before serving. Enjoy!

I added fried okra (I just bought the frozen stuff, already breaded and ready to go) and biscuits (again, I went with the canned stuff, because there were some great coupons last week). Then there were madelines from The Gourmet Cookbook for dessert. As I'm headed out of town for a few days and leaving Mr. L to fend for himself, I thought I should end on a good note. ;)

Stuffed Meatloaf

2009-10-29T22:41:00.000-04:00

OMG, I am so psyched about this meatloaf. I've been drooling over it since the first time I saw it. Seriously... everything about this shouts that it MUST be amazing. I have to admit, it more than lived up to my expectations. This was amazing (and used up a huge portion of my overgrown window herb garden)! Mr. L didn't not only didn't complain about having leftovers of this meal, he was excited enough about it to offer to come home for lunch so he could have some then!

Roasted Garlic and Ricotta Stuffed Meatloaf (from What We're Eating)

Ingredients:

For the Loaf:

1 tbsp canola oil
1 onion, small dice
1 carrot, small dice
1/2 red bell pepper, small dice (I used green instead, since they were on sale)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/4 lbs ground beef
3/4 lb hot italian sausage, not in casings
1/8 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
1 tbsp sambal oelek
2 1/2 tbsp worcestershire saucekosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

For the filling:
2 bulbs garlic
drizzle olive oil
8 oz ricotta
3 oz goat cheese, softened
1/8 cup flat leaf parsley
1 tbsp fresh sage, minced
1/8 cup fresh basil ribbons (chiffonade)
1 eggkosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Prepare the garlic bulbs to be roasted: cut the ends off of each bulb and drizzle with olive oil.
Sprinkle with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
Wrap in alluminum foil and roast at 350 degrees for about 1 hour or until just starting to caramelize and completely softened.
Set aside until cool enough to handle.

While the garlic is roasting, saute the veggies for the meatloaf.
Add canola oil to a saute pan over medium heat.
Once the pan and oil are hot, add the diced onions, carrots, and red bell pepper.
Sweat the veggies over medium heat for about 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are translucent.
Add the minced garlic to the pan.
Stir and continue to cook for 1 more minute.
Remove from heat and set aside to cool.

Once the

garlic has been removed from the oven, begin preparing the rest of the meatloaf.
To a large mixing bowl add the sauteed veggies, ground beef, italian sausage, parsley, bread crumbs, 1 egg, sambal oelek, worcestershire sauce, and a liberal pinch of kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
Using your hands, mix the ingredients together working the meat as little as possible, the more it gets rough around the tougher it will be.
Stop mixing once all the ingredients are just barely combined.

Make the filling-
In a mixing bowl cream together the softened goat cheese and ricotta.
Squeeze the roasted garlic cloves out of the bulbs and into the bowl with the cheese.
Also add the parsley, sage, and mint.
Mix until the garlic has broken up and the ingredients are thoroughly combined.
Taste the mixture and adjust seasoning as necessary with kosher salt and freshly cracked black pepper.
After adjusting seasoning, add one egg into the bowl, mix until the egg has been completely incorporated.

Form the meat loaf.
Place a piece of parchment paper onto a sheet pan.
Using about 2/3 of the ground meat mixture form a rectangular "boat" on the parchment paper.
There should be about 1 1/2 inches of meat on all sides and on the bottom with a large valley that will be filled with the cheese.
Next, spoon the ricotta mixture into the bowl of the meatloaf "boat" ;-) .
Not all of the cheese mixture may be necessary.
Carefully take the other 1/3 of the ground meat mixture and press it out into a similar rectangle that will fit over top of the filled meatloaf "boat".
Work the edges of the top piece of meatloaf into the sides of the bottom piece to for a sealed meatloaf.
No filling should be visable.
Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with freshly cracked black pepper and kosher salt.

Place the stuffed meatloaf into a preheated 350 degree oven.
Bake the meatloaf at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
Some of the cheese may ooze out during the cooking process but that's okay.
Remove the meatloaf from the oven and allow it to rest for at least 10 minutes before slicing and serving.
Enjoy!
PS: The leftovers go great cut up and tossed with pasta!

I also roasted a couple carrots and a parsnips with olive oil and honey so there'd be a little something on the side.

baked shrimp

2009-10-27T18:56:00.003-04:00

...with pasta and veggies!

I bought a bag of frozen, cooked, shell-on shrimp on a whim a few weeks ago, and only afterward found out that Mr. L doesn't like shrimp cold - only hot (which I think is strange). So, I went on a search for a recipe that used already cooked shrimp. I came across one for baked shrimp on Food Lion's site. I figured I'd throw it on top of some pasta, and add in some veggies to make it a little more healthy (and a little more meal-like). We had a bag steamfresh mixed veggies to use up, and a bag of Wacky Mac corkscrew pasta, so that was that. I tossed some italian dressing

Basically, the shrimp were covered in a mixture of italian dressing, melted butter, lemon juice and salt and pepper and baked. However, the recipe called for doing it at 400 for 20-30 min. I felt that after 20 min, they were already overcooked. Also, the dressing mixture was delicious, so I thought it was wasted on the shrimp shells. Next time, I'd probably shell the shrimp and just saute them long enough to warm up over low heat with the same dressing mixture. (Although I don't know much about cooking shrimp, so that' be an experiment too.)

Amazing Shrimp Glaze

Ingredients

10 1/2 oz Cooked large shrimp

2 1/2 tsp Black pepper, ground

4 1/4 Tbs Classic Italian vinaigrette salad dressing

Juice from 1/2 lemon

4 1/2 Tbs Butter, salted

Directions

Melt butter and then combine all ingredients.

Grilled Chicken And Sweet Potatoes With Orange Glaze

2009-10-26T18:34:00.000-04:00

Mr. L has been sick (he thinks it's just a cold, I think it's flu), so I almost made chicken soup with this chicken, but he was feeling well enough to sit down to dinner tonight, so my planned menu was saved! This was pretty quick and easy, but I think I'd stick to the grill for it in the future. Cooking it under the broiler made the house quite smoky (even after I moved it down away from the broiler a touch. I liked the glaze, but I got a couple of bites of the sweet potatoes with overpowering glaze. Still, I think that variations of this will become a regular occurrence in our home.

Grilled Chicken And Sweet Potatoes With Orange Glaze (from Food Lion)

Ingredients
4 chicken leg quarters (I just used thighs... that's what was on sale)
3/4 cup orange juice concentrate
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 Tbs fresh rosemary, chopped
2 sweet potatoes, scrubbed and sliced into 1" thick rounds
1 tsp salt, divided
1 tsp pepper, divided

Directions
Preheat broiler.

In a small bowl, mix orange juice concentrate, maple syrup, rosemary, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

Place chicken and potatoes on the grill or on a sheetpan under broiler.

Sprinkle with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper.

Grill or broil chicken and potatoes for 25 minutes, turning all pieces at least once.

Brush chicken and potatoes with one half of orange juice mixture, let cook 30 seconds and turn.

Brush second side, cook one minute and turn all pieces again.

Cook for one more minute.

Remove from heat and serve.

Saturday Breakfast

2009-10-26T18:32:00.003-04:00

Mr. L's birthday was Friday, so Saturday we took our time and had a big breakfast. We cooked the two left-over pork chops from Thursday night, cantaloupe (why is it over a dollar cheaper than honeydew?!), eggs scrambled with a little cheddar, and blueberry muffins (totally from a cheap mix... but with about a cup of frozen blueberries added in because I never think mixes taste right without extra frozen fruit added in). I even made OJ (and by "made", I mean from a frozen concentrate, but with a couple of super-juicy tangerines actually squeezed and added in).

After writing this, I feel like this was the semi-homemade version of breakfast. As I photographed it, I couldn't help but think of the old cereal commercial tag-line, "part of a complete breakfast."

Granola Bars

2009-10-22T16:54:00.005-04:00

OK, I have the strangest things lying around in my pantry waiting to be used up. This recipe works on the endless supply of flax seed and oatmeal... and cranberries and raisins and apricots and sliced almonds.

I modified this (ever so slightly) from a smitten kitchen recipe

Granola Bars

Makes 12 to 16 granola bars

Ingredients

2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal

1 cup sliced almonds

1 cup shredded coconut, loosely packed

1/2 cup toasted wheat germ (or flax seed)

2/3 cup honey

1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1 1/2 cup dried fruit, or a mix of dried fruit (I used chopped prunes, cranberries and raisins)

1/2 cup chocolate chip

Directions

Preheat your oven to 350°F.

Butter an 8×12-inch baking dish and line it with parchment paper
Toss the oatmeal, almonds, and coconut together on a sheet pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned.

Transfer the mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the wheat germ.

Reduce the oven temperature to 300°F.
While the mixture is still warm, stir in the honey, vanilla and salt until the mixture is well coated, then the dried fruit and chocolate chips.

Pour the mixture into your prepared baking dish and press, press, press it in (wet fingers and/or a silicon spatula work great for this) until the mixture is packed as tightly as possible.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until light golden brown.
Cool for 2 to 3 hours before cutting into squares — your best serrated knife is great for this.

Balsamic Pork Chops with Southern Green Beans and Stuffing

2009-10-22T13:30:00.005-04:00

Balsamic Pork Chops

Ingredients

4 pork chops (bone-in)

6oz balsamic vinaigrette (recipe below)

Directions

Marinate pork chops in balsamic vinaigrette for 2-24 hours.

Grill for 8-10 min (turning once) or cook under broiler.

Simple Balsamic Vinaigrette (from food network)

Ingredients
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 teaspoons dark brown sugar, optional*
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup olive oil

Directions

Place all ingredients in a sealable jar and shake until combined.

Southern Green Beans (adapted from from AllRecipes.com)

Ingredients

6 slices bacon, chopped
1 tablespoon butter
1 red onion, chopped
2 pounds fresh green beans, trimmed and snapped
3 russet potatoes, diced
1 large clove garlic, minced
1/4 cup chicken broth
1 1/2 teaspoons white balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Directions
Place the chopped bacon in a skillet, and cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until evenly browned, 8 to 10 minutes.
Drain the bacon pieces on a paper towel-lined plate.
Melt the butter in the skillet wit the bacon grease over medium-low heat, and cook and stir the onion until translucent, about 5 minutes.
Stir in the cooked bacon, green beans, potatoes, garlic, and chicken broth.
Bring to a boil, cover, and simmer over low heat until the green beans are tender, about 10 minutes.
Sprinkle with vinegar, salt, and pepper, and serve.

I also made some stuffing from a box to go along with it. I don't know why, but I have an addiction to the box. I think it has something to do with childhood memories. It was one of the first things I learned to make for myself, and all too often, while I was in college, it worked as a meal all by itself. Yum. This time, I did use chicken broth (I had plenty extra left from the beans) instead of water.

Apple Pie

2009-10-15T10:24:00.004-04:00

We went apple picking last weekend, so I had a bunch of fresh apples to use up. I promised Mr. L a pie in exchange of going with us, so yesterday I made apple pie from a food network receipe. I poured the sugary juice from mixing the apples in the pie over the apples, and it came out a little juicy, so next time I might leave the juice out.

Ingredients
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup shortening (recommended: Crisco)
Ice water
Filling, recipe follows
Serving suggestion: warm with vanilla ice-cream

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a medium-mixing bowl cut the shortening and salt into the flour by hand or with a pastry blender hands until it's the texture of cornmeal.
Sprinkle 1 tablespoon of ice water over the mixture and mix just until the dough is moistened.
Repeat by adding 6 to 8 tablespoons water (one at a time) until all the dough is just moist.
Take care not to over mix.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
Divide the dough in half and roll into a ball.
Roll 1 ball into a circle to fit a 9 to 10-inch pie plate.
To transfer the pastry to the pie plate, wrap it around a rolling pin and ease it into the pie plate.
Be careful not to stretch the pastry.
Trim it even with the edges of the pie plate.
Add the apple filling into the pastry lined pie plate. Make sure they are laying flat.
Cut butter into small pieces and put on top of the filling.
Roll the remaining pastry into a 12-inch circle.
Place on top of the filling.
Trim off 1-inch beyond the edge of the pie plate.
Crimp the edges as desired.
Cut slits to allow steam to escape when baking.
Sprinkle a little sugar and cinnamon over the pie.
Cover the edges with foil to prevent over browning.
Bake for 25 minutes.
Remove the foil and bake for another 20 to 25 minutes, or until it is golden brown.
Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.

Filling:
1/2 cup to 1 cup all-purpose flour
6 to 7 cups apples cut into thin slices (recommended: Green Golden and Jonathans; I used mostly Braeburns... I think)
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons butter
In a medium bowl combine the apples, with the brown and white sugar. Add flour, cinnamon and continue mixing until they are well coated.
Yield: 4 to 6 servings

Slow Cooker Beef with Veggies

2009-10-13T22:32:00.004-04:00

Ingredients

1 onion, chopped
3 potatoes, cut down to 1-2" pieces

2 sweet potatoes, cut down to 1-2" pieces
3 carrots, peeled and chopped
basically, any other veggies you want to throw in

1 (3-pound) chuck roast
Salt and ground black pepper
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 (15-ounce) can tomato sauce
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon mustard powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions
Arrange onion, potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, and any other veggies in bottom of slow cooker. Season beef all over with salt and black pepper. Rub flour all over beef. Place roast on top of vegetables in slow cooker.
Whisk together tomato sauce, brown sugar, chili powder, cumin, mustard powder, and garlic powder. Pour mixture over beef. Cover and cook on LOW for 12 hours or on HIGH for 8 hours.
Serve 1/3 of beef and all of the vegetables with this meal. Shred and refrigerate remaining beef until ready to use.

Leftovers:

Mr. L is getting a sandwhich with the meat for lunch tomorrow, and the rest will be frozen in two containers - one for him to eat this weekend, while I'm out of town, and the other for us to eat later, on a day I don't feel like cooking. I'll leave out enough for dinner tomorrow. (I also threw in a couple of frozen biscuits to serve with it.)

Life

2009-10-13T22:22:00.003-04:00

The wedding was wonderful, and our honeymoon was spectacular! I absolutely loved Napa Valley. It's the perfect place to have a relaxing, romantic get-away. It was beautiful, and all-around perfect. And there was enough amazing wine to make a wine snob out of even me. Seriously... perfect.

After the honeymoon, it was back to the real world. I moved everything up here to H-burg, and Mr. L went back to work. Now, I've basically unpacked everything we need (although there are two walls still covered in boxes with things like china and books and cookbooks), and I've moved on to trying to get his old place (now, our place) to a level of cleanliness that I can live with.

I'm still looking for a job up here. It's slow going in this economy, but I'm thankful that we're able to make ends meet for a while as I look. I'm just hoping that something comes through soon. I like having the time to get the apartment set up (although we'll have to move again shortly into more permanent housing) and do some cooking, but I'm ready to have a job again. I need the excuse to meet people and keep me busy!

I have been using the extra time to cook most of our meals. And I love cooking for two! I cook real meals with multiple dishes most days. On my own, I mostly cooked quick prepared dinners and usually only ate one dish (sometimes, that was just corn or rice - that's healthy, right?). Now, meals are real meals. I LOVE it.

Tonight it was taco night - soft tacos with beef, salsa, onions, sour cream (low-fat), and freshly grated cheese. And brownies and ice cream for dessert. Tomorrow, it's slow-cooker beef with veggies. And biscuits. I swear I'll start taking pictures and posting recipes again!

Spinache Quiche

2009-08-07T14:50:00.004-04:00

I bought frozen spinach a while ago with the intention of making quiche, but never got around to it. Last night, I was determined to make some (as part of my mission to eat up the food in my kitchen before the wedding (and the move that will follow the honeymoon). I went with fat free cottage cheese over ricotta, to try to lower the calories a bit.

Cottage Cheese and Spinach Quiche

Ingredients

1c fat free cottage cheese
1 premade, uncooked crust (I was feeling lazy)
1 package (10 oz) frozen spinach
grated parmesian cheese (I dunno how much - about 1/3 of a wedge... maybe 3/4c?)
3 eggs
2-4 tbs nonfat milk

Directions

Preheat oven to 350.
Cook spinach according to package directions, then drain.
Mix eggs, milk, cottage cheese, and most of the parmesian cheese.
Add spinach.
Pour into crust.
Bake 30-50 min. - until center is set and crust edges are golden.

Oatmeal Banana cups with chocolate chips

2009-06-25T16:00:00.004-04:00

I found this recipe over at Green Lite Bites, and had to try it out.

Ingredients
3 mashed bananas
1 cup vanilla Almond milk (I used skim because that's what I had)
2 eggs
1 tbsp Baking powder
3 cups (240g) Old Fashion or Rolled Oats
1 tsp vanilla extract (I bumped this up to 1.5 since I was using boring milk)
3 tbsp (42g) mini chocolate chips (I used regular, because that's what I had in the apt.)

(I also added about a tbs of splenda, again, because of the boring milk. Next time, I'd use brown sugar instead, and maybe a touch of cinnamon too.)

Directions
Preheat oven to 375 degrees
Mix all ingredients except the chocolate chips together, and let sit while you prepare the muffin pans.
Spray a muffin pan and/or liners with with non-stick spray.
Stir the chocolate chips into the oatmeal batter. (Instead, I didn't mix them in, and sprinkled them on top after I filled the cups with the chocolate-less batter.)
Divide batter into 15 muffin cups. They should be just about filled.
Bake 20-30 minutes, you’ll see the edges just starting to brown and they will be firm to the touch.

The Verdict

These guys are very filling, but they seemed a little flavorless and overly banana-y to me. Next time, I'd probably throw in the brown sugar and cinnamon, and use smaller bananas (mine were kinda huge). I might even try it with some sort of dried fruit mixed in to up the sweet factor - maybe raisins or cherries or apricots. But, all in all, it's a super-hearty breakfast, and I feel a little better because there is fruit involved and because there are so few ingredients (and none that required going to the store).

Hungry Girl 200 under 200 Blueberry Muffins

2009-06-08T21:28:00.004-04:00

I've been meaning to try this recipe out for a while now. I finally tried it, and I'm glad I did. It was easy to make, and the muffins were great. I loved everything about it except for blueberries. I now think that all muffin recipes should include syrup. Amazing. I think I managed to end up with sour berries. Blergh. Now I'm kinda sad that I started with a double batch and spoiled it all. :(

Edited: I tried this again, with frozen blueberries this time it was much better. But it still had a bit of an unexpected, hard-to-place after taste. It faded after the first day or two, or maybe I got used to it. Also, I think that a normal batch of six is perfect for eating for up without having to freeze any. Which is pretty much perfect in so many ways.

I did notice that in order to get the recommended number of muffins, I had to fill each muffin tin to just over full. Thankfully, wheat flour doesn't rise much, so they didn't overflow, but instead look like pretty, substantial muffins.

Hungry Girl Blueberry Muffins

Ingredients:

1 cup whole-wheat flour
1 cup blueberries
1/2 cup light vanilla soymilk
1/4 cup sugar-free pancake syrup
1/4 cup fat-free liquid egg substitute (like Original Egg Beaters)
1/4 cup Splenda No Calorie Sweetener (granulated)
3 tbsp. brown sugar (not packed)
2 tbsp. light whipped butter or light buttery spread, room temperature
2 tbsp. no-sugar-added applesauce (get Mott's Blueberry Delight if you can find it!)
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. salt

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
In a mixing bowl, combine flour, Splenda, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt.
Mix well.
In a separate, large mixing bowl, combine soymilk, syrup, egg substitute, butter, applesauce, and vanilla extract.
Using an electric mixer or a whisk, mix until thoroughly blended. (Don't worry if butter bits do not break up completely.)
Add dry ingredients from the first mixing bowl to the mixture in the large one.
Mix until completely blended.
Then fold in the blueberries.
Line a 6-cup muffin pan (or half a 12-cup pan) with baking liners and/or spray with nonstick spray.
Evenly distribute batter among the 6 cups.
Place in the oven and bake for about 22 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.
Enjoy!

MAKES 6 SERVINGS

Serving Size: 1 muffin

Calories: 137
Fat: 2.25g
Sodium: 269mg
Carbs: 26.5g
Fiber: 3g
Sugars: 7.5g
Protein: 4g

POINTS® value 2*

Wedding cupcake test 1

2009-06-08T20:27:00.004-04:00

I'm planning to make three kinds of cupcakes for the wedding: perfect party cake, red velvet, and classic yellow with chocolate frosting. I've made perfect party cake before, and even made it as cupcakes for another friend's wedding, so I'm not worried about that one. I'm not sure of the other two recipes though, so I'm trying some out.

First, I tried this yellow cake recipe from bakerella. She said it was super-moist, so I'm not sure what I did wrong. Mine came out really dry. I wonder if it has something to do with the altitude up here? Or maybe it's just the trouble or translating to cupcakes?

I tried this one with a malted chocolate butter cream. Of course, now I can't remember where I got the recipe for the icing. Probably from Dorie or from BH&G. It was interesting, but I think I'll stick to a more traditional recipe for the wedding.

I am really happy with the way that the chocolates turned out though. It was super-easy to make them using Wilton melts, and they were surprisingly tasty too!

Oatmeal Cookies

2009-05-08T22:52:00.000-04:00

Mmm. New oatmeal cookie recipe. I love my Bush Cookies, but a co-worker requested plain oatmeal raisin (I can't believe she doesn't want chocolate in them!!!), so I went hunting for a new recipe. I think I have a new favorite. These are wonderful (I think the whole tsp of salt has something to do with it).

The girls at work have come to recognize this as the goodie basket.

Soft Oatmeal Cookies

INGREDIENTS
1 cup butter, softened
1 cup white sugar
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
3 cups quick cooking oats
raisins or nuts (optional) (I used about 1.5 cups of raisins)

DIRECTIONS
1. In a medium bowl, cream together white sugar, butter, and brown sugar. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla.
2. Combine flour, cinnamon, baking soda,and salt. Stir into the creamed mixture. Mix in oats. If you are using nuts or raisins, mix into dough, combining well. Cover, and chill dough for at least one hour.
3. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets. Roll the dough into balls, and place 2 inches apart on cookie sheets.
4. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in preheated oven. Allow cookies to cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.Makes approx. 36-60 cookies, depending on how large or small you make them.

Yummy light pasta

2009-05-06T20:45:00.004-04:00

I saw this recipe posted by Beantown Baker and had to give it a try myself. So Good!

Spinach Pasta with chicken sausage, mushrooms, goat cheese and tomato

I modified it a bit to take out the tomatoes (yuck!) and used the pasta and sausage I could find at the local store.

Ingredients

1 pkg veggie pasta

1 pkg turkey kielbasa

1 pkg presliced baby bellas

olive oil

1/2 package goat cheese

Directions

Chop up kielbasa and brown meat in a skillet. Set aside.

Saute the mushrooms in the same skillet. Add a small amount of olive oil to the pan if needed (I didn't).

At the same time, cook the noodles according the the package instructions.

Toss noodles, chicken and mushrooms together in a bowl.

Finally, stir in goat cheese and serve.

Nutritional Info:
Servings Per Recipe: 6
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 376.1
Total Fat: 10.1 g
Cholesterol: 43.7 mg
Sodium: 615.6 mg
Total Carbs: 48.1 g
Dietary Fiber: 2.3 g
Protein: 19.5 g

Virginia Apple Walnut Cake

2009-04-09T18:11:00.008-04:00

This is proof that I really need to learn to take better pictures of my food. This was beautiful. I promise. Don't let my awful pictures lead you astray. Beautiful.

For our Junior League meeting this week, I agreed to bake a dessert. It seemed like a good excuse to try a recipe from the league cookbook, so after a bit of perusal, I chose this coffee cake recipe. I know it's a pretty fall-ish recipe, but it just sounded yummy to me. I think my taste buds like to defy the season every now and then. That would also explain my recent obsession with sweet potatoes.

Virginia Apple Walnut Cake (from Oh! My Stars)

Ingredients:
4 large (about 2.5 lbs) Granny Smith apples
1/3 c honey
1 tbs ground cinnamon
3 c flour (I used all-purpose)
1 tbs baking powder
2 c sugar
1 tsp salt
1 c vegetable oil (I used canola)
4 eggs
1/3 c orange juice
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 c chopped walnuts
1/2 c walnuts halves (I used all chopped)

Directions:
Line a 10-inch tube pan with baking parchment or coat with shortening or nonstick cooking spray (I forgot this step until it was too late - bad idea).
Peel apples and slice 1/4 inch thick.
Toss apples, honey, and cinnamon in a bowl.
Mix the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt in a mixing bowl.
Add oil eggs, orange juice and vanilla.
Beat at medium-high for 2 minutes, or until smooth.
Spread 1/3 of batter in the prepared tube pan.
Drain apples and reserve any juice.
Arrange 1/3 of the apple slices in a spoke design over the batter and sprinkle with chopped walnuts.
Repeat the process until you've used remaining ingredients.
Pour the reserved juices over the top and arrange the walnut halves around the outer edge (this was too much work for me - I just sprinkled more chopped walnuts on the top).
Place on a baking sheet with a rim.
Bake at 350 degrees on the center oven rack for 1 hour and twenty minutes to one and a half hours, or until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean (this was closer to 1:30 for me). (Cover loosely with foil if necessary to prevent over-browning).
Cool in the pan for 10 minutes.
Loosen the cake from the side of the pan with a knife and remove to wire rack to cool completely.
Loosen the cake from the tube and bottom of the pan with a knife and remove to a serving plate with a spatula.

Tres Leche

2009-04-01T11:17:00.005-04:00

One of my co-workers recently celebrated a birthday, and his cake request was for tres leche cake. I'd never made one before, so I wanted to go with a source I trusted. I found an Alton Brown recipe, and figured it was the way to go. It definitely was.

Alton Brown's Tres Leche Cake

Ingredients

For the cake:
Vegetable oil
6 3/4 ounces cake flour, plus extra for pan
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
4 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature
8 ounces sugar
5 whole eggs
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the glaze:
1 (12-ounce) can evaporated milk
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup half-and-half
For the topping:
2 cups heavy cream
8 ounces sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the topping:
2 cups heavy cream
8 ounces sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions
For the cake:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Lightly oil and flour a 13 by 9-inch metal pan and set aside.
Whisk together the cake flour, baking powder and salt in a medium mixing bowl and set aside.
Place the butter into the bowl of a stand mixer. Using the paddle attachment, beat on medium speed until fluffy, approximately 1 minute.

Decrease the speed to low and with the mixer still running, gradually add the sugar over 1 minute. Stop to scrape down the sides of the bowl, if necessary.

Add the eggs, 1 at a time, and mix to thoroughly combine.

Add the vanilla extract and mix to combine.

Add the flour mixture to the batter in 3 batches and mix just until combined.

Transfer the batter to the prepared pan and spread evenly. This will appear to be a very small amount of batter.

Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 20 to 25 minutes or until the cake is lightly golden and reaches an internal temperature of 200 degrees F.
Remove the cake pan to a cooling rack and allow to cool for 30 minutes.

Poke the top of the cake all over with a skewer or fork. Allow the cake to cool completely and then prepare the glaze.

For the glaze:
Whisk together the evaporated milk, sweetened condensed milk and the half-and-half in a 1-quart measuring cup.

Once combined, pour the glaze over the cake.

Refrigerate the cake overnight.

Topping:
Place the heavy cream, sugar and vanilla into the bowl of a stand mixer.

Using the whisk attachment, whisk together on low until stiff peaks are formed.

Change to medium speed and whisk until thick. Spread the topping over the cake and allow to chill in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

I really liked it, but found that the milk glaze pooled in the bottom of the pan once a slice had been cut out. I'm not sure if this is normal, but it did deter some of my co-workers who were unfamiliar with tres leche. In general, it just wasn't a very pretty cake, so I'll spare you pictures. The topping was to die for though. I could have eaten in straight!

Libraries Rock

2009-03-26T12:54:00.002-04:00

When I was young and car-less, I knew the greatness of the public library. I methodically worked through the entire Nancy Drew series, and many other books by making my way down the library shelf. I looked forward to my weekly-ish trips to the library, and I always left with a new stack of books to devour. Somewhere along the way, I forgot how awesome libraries are. So sad.

I instead became sucked in to Barnes and Noble culture, buying books I thought I might someday want to read because they had cool covers or were on sale. And they languished on my bookshelf. I also bought a ton of books that I did actually read, and ended up selling these on half.com or amazon.com. I read too much to keep all the books lying around. And I'm not really a re-reader. There are so many great things to read; I feel like I must move onward instead of rehashing books I've already covered. After moving to Lex (where there is no large bookstore), I switched my addiction to online book ordering. As soon as I saw a review for a book I wanted, I'd order it (and probably several other amazon suggestions), and then I'd get a happy surprise about a week later in the mail!

And then, it hit me. I work in the courthouse, and there is a public law library downstairs. I finally got around to asking if they did inter-library loans... and they do! All I have to do is go online and search the card catalogue and press a little button, and they deliver the book to the library in my building as soon as it's available. It's like amazon, but FREEEEEE!

So, thank you Roanoke Valley Libraries. Thank you very much.

Spinach and Ricotta Stuffed Shells

2009-03-16T09:06:00.003-04:00

Another great recipe! I found this one in Cooking Light. Apparently, I tore it out to save and try later in October 2007. I'm so sad that I waited so long to try it (but I am glad that I finally rifled through saved recipes to find something for dinner). While I've found Cooking Light's recipes to be hit or miss, this is definitely a hit. It's very light, but doesn't taste like it at all. And it has just the right amount of spinach - it's not overpowering. I'll enjoy these left-over lunches.

Cooking Light's Photo, not mine. Because I'm lazy today.

Spinach and Ricotta-Stuffed Shells

2 cups Basic Marinara, divided (I just used a jar of pre-made sauce. Next time, I might thin the sauce with some water first)
Cooking spray
2 1/2 cups part-skim ricotta cheese
1/2 cup (2 ounces) grated fresh Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed, drained, and squeezed dry
1 large egg yolk
1 garlic clove, minced
24 cooked jumbo pasta shells

Preheat oven to 350°.
Spread 1/2 cup Basic Marinara over bottom of a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
Combine ricotta and next 8 ingredients (through garlic) in a large bowl, stirring well. Spoon about 1 1/2 tablespoons filling into each pasta shell.
Arrange stuffed shells in prepared dish; spread with remaining 1 1/2 cups Basic Marinara.
Cover and bake at 350° for 30 minutes.
Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 4 stuffed shells and about 1/3 cup sauce)

CALORIES 329 (27% from fat); FAT 9.8g (sat 4.8g,mono 3g,poly 1g); IRON 2.8mg; CHOLESTEROL 67mg; CALCIUM 377mg; CARBOHYDRATE 39.4g; SODIUM 552mg; PROTEIN 19.6g; FIBER 4.2g

Spicy Braised Beef with Sweet Potatoes

2009-03-10T22:12:00.002-04:00

I found this recipe in Real Simple this month and gave it a shot - we loved it! Is is a surprisingly great combination of flavors, and super easy. I like easy. It is 500 calories a serving, but it's uber-filling, so I figure that is probably in line with the real calories of other lower cal recipes, once I eat enough of them to be this full.

(Real Simple's photo - because mine wasn't this pretty)

Spiced Braised Beef with Sweet Potatoes

Makes 6 servings
Hands-on Time: 0hr 15m
Total Time: 4hr 30m

Ingredients
1 1/2 pounds beef chuck, cut into chunks
2 sweet potatoes (about 1 pound), cut into 1/2-inch-thick half-moons
1 28-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes
1 large red onion, cut into wedges
1/2 cup dried apricots
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
kosher salt
1 10-ounce box couscous (1 1/2 cups)
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, rinsed
2 cups baby spinach (1 1/2 ounces)
1/4 cup roasted almonds, chopped

Directions
1. In a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker, combine the beef, potatoes, tomatoes (and their juices), onion, apricots, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, cayenne, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 cup water.
2. Cook, covered, until the meat is tender, on high for 4 to 5 hours, or on low for 7 to 8 hours.
3. Ten minutes before serving, prepare the couscous according to the package directions.
4. Add the chickpeas to the slow cooker and cook until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Stir in the spinach. Serve with the couscous and sprinkle with the almonds.
5. To freeze: Omit the couscous and spinach. Cool the beef to room temperature and divide among freezer containers or bags. Freeze for up to 3 months.

Delicious Pork Chops - easy too!

2009-02-26T19:55:00.004-05:00

I found this recipe recently and wanted to try it out. I finally made it tonight, and it is definitely a keeper! It has just a hint of sweetness and apply-ness. Yumm! And even though you do use kind of a lot of syrup, it mostly runs off, so you aren't really eating all that. (I would have taken pictures, but I was busy eating it all, all by myself, immediately!)

Maple Pork Chops

Preheat oven to 350F/175C.

6 thick pork chops
1/2 cup/125 mL chopped onion
1/2 cup/125 mL maple syrup
2 Tbsp/30 mL cider vinegar
2 Tbsp/30 mL Worchestershire sauce
1 tsp/5 mL chili powder
1/2 tsp/2 mL salt
1/4 tsp/1 mL pepper

Place the pork chops in a baking pan or baking dish.Combine the remaining ingredients. Pour over pork chops.Bake for about an hour, until no longer pink inside. (I used not-so-thick cuts, and only needed to cook it about 30 min.)

Sliders

2009-02-10T13:38:00.004-05:00

Sorry, no pictures this time! Next time, I'll try to remember to take pictures instead of ravenously devouring these as they come out of the frying pan. Seriously.

Mr. L and I wanted to do dinner at home Sunday, and couldn't come up with recipes for which we were sure of all of the ingredients while we were at the store, so we settled on burgers. Unfortunately, they didn't have any of his preferred type of bun in bun form. :( Not OK! Not to let that deter us, we found the same kind in dinner rolls, and made a plan for sliders.

Yes, we were convinced that it would have been even better with the Big City Slider Station, but we persevered.

Sliders

Ingredients
1/2 onion, chopped (this was heavy on the onion, so feel free to adjust)
1 tsp butter (optional, esp. if you use a nonstick pan)
1lb hamburger (or ground turkey, chicken, etc.)
2-3 tbs catsup
2-3 tbs balsamic vinegar
3-4 tbs Lowery's Seasoning
cheese (we used Munster, and cut each slice into 1/4s, and they were close to the right size)
1 tomato, sliced
potato rolls (cut in half to work as a bun)

Directions
Melt butter over medium heat in a frying pan.
Add onions and saute until clear.
In bowl, combine onion, hamburger, catsup, vinegar and Lawry's.
Make small patties (I was able to get 9 total), and return to frying pan.
Cover with tin foil tent and cook roughly 5 min on each side, or until almost done.
Remove foil and add cheese to tops of sliders, if desired. Finish cooking, 2-3 minutes.
Remove sliders from pan and place on/in rolls. Add a tomato slice to each. Top as desired.

I loved these! They were strong on onion flavor, but were a little different from traditional sliders with onions on top (which I'm not as big a fan of). And Mr. L was right - these rolls were amazing. I had the rest of these for the following dinner and lunch, and now I'm just a little sad that they are gone. :(

The perfect muffin quest continues

2009-02-09T11:40:00.005-05:00

OK, the last batch of muffins was really good, but we thought that a little citrus (orange) flavor and maybe a little more exotic of a dried fruit - like cranberry (ok, so not that exotic) would really make them killer. Rather than start experimenting with something I know nothing about (and really, keeping that perfect balance of liquids is elusive to me), I thought I'd try out a couple of recipes that were already supposed to be orangy. Maybe I'd find the perfect muffin recipe, or at the least, I thought I could find a recipe that could be merged with the almost-prefect muffin. Ha!

I tried searching sparkrecipes, since that's where I found the first recipe, and I knew that it would be more likely to produce recipes that were healthy (because, after all, that is really the goal here). Here are the two I tried out. They are the only two recipes that come up when you search sparkrecipes for orange muffin.

First, I tried out the orange cranberry muffin. Just what we ordered, right? Well, first, I must disclaim that I couldn't find fresh or frozen cranberries (no dried, for this recipe!), so I substituted cherries. Mmmm... cherries. I think that they were a good choice. However, this one fails in the orange flavor, and at 164 calories and no bran falls a touch short on ideal nutrition.

Cranberry Orange Muffins

Ingredients
2 cups flour

2/3 cup sugar

1 Tablespoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup milk

1 egg, slightly beaten

3 Tablespoons melted butter

2 teaspoons finely grated orange peel (approx from one orange)

1 cup chopped fresh or frozen cranberries

Directions
Combine dry ingredients.

Make a well in center.

Combine milk, egg and oil, add to dry ingredients.

Mix just til all blended together, don't over mix.

Add orange peel and cranberries.

Mix lightly.

Spoon into muffin pans lined with paper liners or well greased.

Bake at 450 for 18-20 minutes.

Number of Servings: 12

The second was the Orange Bran Flax Muffin. Once again, I had to make a supply-based substitution. I didn't have/couldn't find any wheat bran (and couldn't find my wheat germ until 2 days later), so I just used more oat barn instead. I don't know if this limited the range of flavor in these muffins, but I think it might be worth trying again to find out. To me, these at least look healthier. And they are definitely a more dense muffin (although the above muffins were surprisingly dense/filling too). The raisins were definitely necessary in these to give them a little kick, since (in spite of having two full oranges in them), the orange flavor was hard to find in these guys too. These guys came in at 180 calories, but were pretty much pure fiber, so I can deal with that.

Orange Bran Flax Muffins

Ingredients
1.5 cup oat bran

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup ground flax seed

1 cup wheat bran

1 TBS baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 oranges,cut into 1/8's

1 cup brown sugar

1 cup buttermilk

1/2 cup canola oil

2 eggs

1 tsp baking soda

1.5 cup golden raisins

Directions
Preheat oven to 350.

Line 2 12-cup muffin tins with paper liners.

In a large bowl,combine oa tbran,flour,flax seed,wheat bran,baking powder and salt.

Set aside.

COMBINE oranges,brown sugar,buttermilk,oil,eggs and baking soda in a food processor.

Mix well.

POUR orange mixture into dry ingredients.

Mix until well blended.

Stir in raisins.

DIVIDE batter evenly among muffin cups.

Bake 18-20 min. or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool in pans for 5 min. before moving to a cooling rack.

makes 24 muffins

Both were pretty easy to make, although the cherry/cranberry muffins required significantly less clean up. I'm still searching for the perfect combination, but I think that the original Breakfast Muffin Bonanza is far in the lead right now.

Bad baker

2009-02-04T15:08:00.001-05:00

I have been a very bad baker. But there was a reason! I have been busy coordinating the Junior League Bargain Bazaar Bake Sale (wow, that's a long title)!

Corn and Potato Chowder

2009-01-15T10:15:00.003-05:00

I've been trying to cook more meals at home. The goal has been to make something that I can eat for dinner and take to work for lunch (because I can eat Lean Cuisine every day, but my cooking is definitely better!).

This recipe says it's six servings. I tend to think that it's closer to 3. It's still only 318 calories for a double-serving, so I don't feel guilty.

Corn and Potato Chowder

Ingredients
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 russet potatoes, diced
1 tbsp butter or margarine
2 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
1 cup skim evaporated milk
1 cup corn (if canned, drained)
pinch salt
pinch pepper(optional - 1 tbsp red pepper flakes)

Directions
Melt butter over med-hi heat in a large pot,
Saute onions for 6-9 min, until clear/cooked through
Add potatoes and broth, bring to boil
Reduce heat to low and simmer partially covered for 15-20 min.
Add evaporated milk, corn, salt pepper (and red pepper), and keep over low for another 5 min. to heat through.

Now, there are no pictures this time, because I wasn't paying attention. First, I burned the sauteing onions. Then I burned the potatoes and broth (by keeping it way too high and boiling off all the broth). But I wasn't ready to admit failure, so I just added more broth and scraped the bottom of the pot. I probably shouldn't have scraped the bottom. My entire apartment smells like that smokey bar-b-cue flavor, and my soup has it too. And the soup looks... ashy. It's got a few giant flecks of charred remains, and the whole thing has a grey tint. but honestly, it still tastes pretty good (once you pick out the giant black charred remains of potatoes).

Gingersnaps

2009-01-04T20:53:00.003-05:00

I just realized that I never posted pictures of the completed Christmas gingersnaps! I ended up with 30-some boxes of a dozen cookies each. I found these perfect boxes in the last week before Christmas - they were super cheap, and the perfect measurements (4x4x5).. Yay! So, I wrapped the cookies individually in wax paper, sealed each with a sicker from etsy, and stacked them nicely in their boxes. I was more proud than I ought to have been. :)

Best New Year's Eve EVA!

2009-01-04T20:46:00.003-05:00

I got engaged!!! So, it looks like most of my blogging energy will be over on StepfordWedding for at least the next 8 months. I've already been slacking off, but I think it's time to officially withdraw from all the great baking contests and challenges in which I was participating.

Of course, I'll be spending a lot of time on wedding planning, but I'm also trying to pay off my (other than student loan) debt and lose some weight before the wedding. And it'll be easier to accomplish both of these goals if I do a little less baking.

Christmas wrap-up

2008-12-29T11:34:00.004-05:00

We made the extended rounds - mom, BFF's family, grandpa (and that part of the family), grandma, dad (and that part of the family), and Mr. L's family. Just over 12 hours in the car over 5 days. Honestly, not too bad.

Unfortunately, I took absolutely NO pictures! I've become such a slacker.

There were many perfect presents, but the best of all had to be from the BFF, who gave me authentic pages of newspapers - one with J. Adams' and T. Jefferson's obituaries, and one with a letter to and response from Pres. Adams (Sr.)! She is officially the ebay queen! They are amazing. Now I just have to figure out how to preserve and display them.

Christmas

2008-12-23T09:52:00.003-05:00

I'm about half done with my baking. Last night, I made a super-batch of cookies, and wrapped most of them. And (miraculously), I still went to the gym!

But my naughty, naughty dog ate about a dozen of the cookies that were cooling while I was at the gym! Deja vu! I think I'm going to have to get a kennel for him again and lock him up while there are tempting cookies... or really, all the time I'm gone, because lately, when he's not eating cookies off the table, he's sleeping on furniture that he's not allowed on. I can't believe I'm having to retrain my dog when he's 7. I think things will be better when it warms up and he can go running with me. (And I'll be glad to get off the treadmill and onto the road again. I'm tired of staring at the cornice over the windows in the mini-gym, and I am terrified of how much harder it'll be to move off the treadmill after months.)

AND, last night while I was waiting (not-so-patiently) for my battery and tail light to be replaced in my car, I found boxes that are the perfect size for packing up my enveloped cookies! I had completely given up, and then there they were, already Christmas-decorated, and the perfect dimensions (and I didn't even have to resort to the internet). I bought one to try out and make sure it was the right size - and it was! So now I can pick them up on my way home (when I also buy more butter. Goodness, I've been through a lot of butter!).

By his time tomorrow, I should be 100% ready for Christmas. How's that for procrastination?

Comments

2008-12-22T12:27:00.001-05:00

I messed around with the settings, and I think they are working now. Hopefully.

I swear I've been in the kitchen!

2008-12-19T09:42:00.006-05:00

Here's what I've been up to:

There was pesto, made with basil that I actually kept alive all by myself! I tossed it in with veggie spiral pasta, grilled chicken, and peas. Yumm!

Then there was meatloaf. I can't remember where I found this recipe, but google seems to think that it's modified from Bobby Flay's recipe. This is definitely making it into the recipe rotation. So much flavor! And I still felt like it had the texture of a full-meat meatloaf. The true test will be what Mr. L thinks of it, but I think he'll go for it. Delish. Here it is, cut into portions (the recipe said it was 10 servings, so I cut it into 10 servings - less temptation, and easier to reheat) and ready to freeze. Aren't all the diced peppers nice and festive?!

Roasted Vegetable Meatloaf

3 tablespoons olive oil
1 large zucchini, finely diced
1 red bell pepper, finely diced
1 yellow pepper, finely diced
5 cloves garlic
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, divided
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves, plus more for garnish
1 pound ground turkey
1 pound ground beef
1 cup breadcrumbs
1/2 cup freshly grated Romano or Parmesan
1 cup ketchup, divided
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Heat the oil in a large saute pan over high heat.
Add the zucchini, peppers, garlic, 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, and salt and pepper, to taste, and cook until almost soft, 5 minutes.
Set aside to cool.

Whisk together the eggs and herbs in a large bowl.
Add the meat, bread crumbs, cheese, 1/2 cup of the ketchup, 2 tablespoons of the balsamic vinegar, and the cooled vegetables and mix until just combined.
Mold the meatloaf on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
Whisk together the remaining ketchup, balsamic vinegar, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl. Brush the mixture over the entire loaf.
Bake the meatloaf for 1 to 1 1/4 hours.
Remove from the oven and let rest for 10 minutes before slicing.
*I split it into 2 loaves, in loaf pans, and it took about 50 min to cook.

And that same night, I made spinach and sun dried tomato frittatas from FitAfterThirty, one of my new favorite sites. (seriously, check it out!) It is wonderful. I made mine in giant cupcake tins, lined with parchment, since I'd be taking them to punch for work - I just pulled them right out and stuck them in ziplocks. They were easy to reheat, and I didn't have to remember to bring dishes home. And the parchment liner worked perfectly as a built-in plate. I also cut the amount of sun dried tomatoes in half, worried that they would overpower it (it looked like so much before I added them); this was a mistake. Next time, I'll put the full amount in the recipe.

Finally, it was cookies for coworkers - Robert E. Lee Gingersnaps, to be precise. This is a recipe given to me by one of my law professors, and I think it may be the best thing I learned in law school. They are perfect - they are soft gingersnaps!!! I totally used Martha's idea of cookie envelopes, and made each cookie an envelope from wax paper, sealed with a sticker from etsy's LadyBugLabels. I stacked them by the dozen and tied them up with ribbon.

Robert E. Lee Gingersnaps

3 sticks butter, melted
1/2 c. dark molasses
2 c. sugar
2 eggs
4 c. flour
4 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
1 tsp. ground cloves

Preheat oven to 350º.
In a large bowl, add molasses, sugar and eggs to melted margarine.
Combine flour, soda, cinnamon, ginger and cloves.
Add to margarine mixture.
Refrigerate 3 hours or overnight.
Make into small balls, roll in sugar.
Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.
Makes 12 dozen. (Dough will keep for weeks in the refrigerator.)

Oh! And there were pound cakes - 4 of them, for groups of people at work... but I totally forgot to take pictures of them. Just imagine a plain pound cake. Times 4. That's it. I went with Martha's recipe, which I haven't actually tried. But they smelled good and looked OK, and people said nice things. So I assume that it's good.

Weekend baking

2008-12-10T10:12:00.004-05:00

I had a wonderful weekend, spent around town. Mr. L came down to me, so it was delightfully unstressful (at least for me!). A friend invited us over for dinner, and I promised dessert. We first thought of making banana pudding (yumm), but I couldn't get my stuff together until that afternoon, and was already in the midst of boiling the pudding when it clicked that I needed time for the pudding to set (and I didn't have it). Ooops. So, the banana pudding went to work with me on Monday. (I just followed the directions on the vanilla wafer box, but used banana creme flavored pudding instead of vanilla. I am not afraid of overdoing a flavor).

But cookies are easy. And I can always whip a batch up. So, I followed the recipe on the bag of off brand chocolate chips I had. It was a basic chocolate chip cookie, but with just a few walnuts, and just about 1/2 a cup of oatmeal. I liked the addition of the oatmeal, since it contributed a little extra heartiness to the cookie. Most of these went to the dinner, and the last batch (that came out of the oven as we walked out the door) came to work (and were immediately devoured).

More baby shower preview

2008-12-05T18:15:00.004-05:00

What do you guys think? My plan was to use branches to do something like this, but I realized that I already had these guys lying around.

Thanksgiving, the North Carolina Experience

2008-12-02T09:21:00.008-05:00

I went to visit my mom for Thanksgiving weekend, and Mr. L came with me. We had a great time (at least, I did), and got a little relaxing in.

I was in charge of baking biscuits and chocolate pie. I got Mr. L's mom's recipe for chocolate chess pie (he worships her cooking, and I'm just trying to come close!), and it did turn out beautifully. Rave reviews all around.

Unfortunately, I totally forgot to take pictures of the biscuits. It occurred to me to get a snapshot of the pie as people were digging in, but those pics aren't on my camera. I think I must be doing something wrong, because lately it seems that this happens to me more and more.

The recipe for the buttermilk biscuits was from a local cookbook. And I learned that biscuit batter is really sticky stuff! Another great recipe (although the directions left out adding in the shortening, so I just cut it in after mixing everything else together, and that seemed to work out fine). I will definitely be making this one again.

After dinner, we went to see Four Christmases, which was a perfect lazy afternoon family (without kids) movie. But seriously - movies are up to $10!? Crazy.

More importantly, the Charlotte (Lowe's) Motor Speedway allows people to drive their own cars around the track (3 laps) on Black Friday if you give a $25 donation to their Children's Charities (or spend $50 in the gift store). I was so in! My step dad drove his car, with my mom as passenger and photographer, and I drove mine with Mr. L as passenger/photographer. Awesome! This was seriously cool. I wanna be a race car driver.

My crazy mom, hanging out of their sunroof to get a photo (photo by Mr. L).

Then, it was down to the southern end of town for coffee with a great friend (and 2L), and then to see my grandma and her husband. If you haven't tried Starbucks' salted caramel hot chocolate, DO SO NOW! It is crack. Seriously. I want to add salted caramel to everything now. It makes great gelato too. And truffles. So good.

Saturday, we all trekked up to Raleigh to watch the NC State football game. It was cold, and there was a little rain, but our seats were fantastic and the game was exciting too. It almost makes me wish that I had gone to a school with a real football program (although UNCC is finally getting a team in a few years!). Even though it was a holiday weekend, and freezing and rainy, the stands were filled with people in red parkas and ponchos. And there are so many support groups - dance teams and cheerleaders, and bands and boosters... I know that this is normal for most people, but this was my first (non-tv) college football game (I'm soooo not counting the W&L game I went to)! The excitement is infectious (especially when it's somewhat close and your team is winning)!

The view from our seats.

On the way back (OK, so it was a bit of a detour), we stopped in Lexington (NC, not VA), and had dinner at Lexington Barbecue. Yumm. That was the perfect ending for a Very North Carolinian Thanksgiving!

*You may notice that I did not mention the 2 games of boys v. girls Trivial Pursuit that took place over the weekend. They need never be mentioned. Our boys are really smart.

About Lauren

2008-11-24T14:51:00.001-05:00

in the words of What Posessed Me:

Because nothing really important actually happens until you discuss, analyze and evaluate it on the phone with the friend you love.

Lazy Saturday = cookies

2008-11-23T22:34:00.000-05:00

I actually had a Saturday free to catch up on things! So, of course, I accomplished very little that actually needed to be done. Although I do have baking planned for Thanksgiving, I just wasn't feeling it today. Instead, I was craving chocolate chip cookies!

I stuck to the basic recipe from the bag of Nestle semisweet chips. However, I realized after most of the batter had come together that the bag of chips I thought I had was actually Ghirardelli bittersweet morsels. So, in went the better part of a bag of bittersweet, and about 1/8 cup of semisweet chips. I was a little worried that I wouldn't like the darker chocolate in my traditional comfort food, but I love it! And it has the fantastic side effect of satisfying me after just one (or two) cookie(s)! I've noticed that with dark chocolate bars - I just need a bite, and it satisfies my chocolate craving.

Chocolate Chess Pie help

2008-11-18T10:19:00.008-05:00

One of the secretaries in my office mentioned yesterday that she was craving pie. And then I talked to my mom about Thanksgiving plans. She's actually taking over hostess duties this year (for the first time), and we were talking about the menu and how I could help. I was delegated bread duty and some sort of chocolate pie duty. Perfect!

I haven't ever made a chocolate chess pie, but I wanted to try it out. Clearly, the answer was to do a dry run of the pie last night and bring it into work, and then, once I proved that it was the most amazing pie ever, use the recipe again for Thanksgiving dinner. Perfect, right?

Only, the pie is not perfect. The crust is (it's Dorie's perfect crust). But the filling ... some thing's not right. It doesn't seem done. Here's the recipe I used from about.com (which I should have known better than to trust), chosen largely because I had all of these ingredients already:

Ingredients:
1/4 cup butter
1 1/2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 tablespoon flour
pinch of salt
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 unbaked 9" pastry shell

Preparation:

Melt butter with chocolate.

In a mixing bowl, combine chocolate and butter mixture with sugar, flour, salt, milk, eggs, and vanilla; beat with electric mixer for 5 to 6 minutes.

Pour filling into prepared pastry shell; bake at 350° for 35 to 45 minutes, until set.

And that's what I did! I checked it at 35 minutes, and it didn't look done, so I left it for the last 10 minutes. I assumed that it must be done - I don't do a lot of pie, so I wasn't sure how to tell if it was set. The top is solid, and even cracked, but the inside just isn't quite set, especially at the center of the pie.

Do you have a no-fail chocolate chess pie recipe? Did I do something wrong with this one?

An open letter

2008-11-17T16:57:00.002-05:00

To bloggers who only publish truncated feeds:

Please stop. Really. At least publish one feed with everything. I love bloglines because I don't have to hop between blogs to read everything. It makes me sad when I see that you've posted, but I have to burden my poor, tired from too much blog-stalking fingers and click over for each of your posts. I'm lazy. Please take that into consideration. Thanks!

Hugs and Kisses,
me.

Mr. Lover's cake

2008-11-17T11:23:00.002-05:00

Mr. L celebrated his birthday last month, and of course, I was quick to offer to make a cake for him. He's usually pretty good about not keeping sweets around the house, and he's a bit of a foodie, so I thought he'd jump at the chance to have a made-to-order, made from scratch cake for his birthday. Not so much. I underestimated the power of nostalgia. The order I got was for one boxed mix yellow cake with canned chocolate frosting. He didn't even want any fun decorations like sprinkles! So, he got one ugly sheet cake. But yeah, there is something incredibly comforting and Delicious about a classic box cake. I liked it too.

Oatmeal Cookies

2008-11-13T15:11:00.003-05:00

I know that this is looked down on in the legal profession (and most other professions as well), but I am not above giving a bribe. There. I said it. My future as a member of the judiciary just went down in flames on blogger.

In exchange for the purchase of some tickets to a Junior League event that I'm supposed to sell, I gave a co-worker cookies. I did. She asked for oatmeal cookies, and I delivered - just a little quid pro quo.

I found the perfect recipe in the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook - perfect because it didn't require any ingredients that I didn't have in my pantry.* And it called for plenty of nutmeg (or maybe I just put in more than it called for since I don't really measure spices), and it was good.

*As it turns out, I was actually about a cup short on oatmeal, and ended up running to the store anyway to get some more. Of course, this would have happened with any recipe, since the standard seems to be 3 cups of oatmeal (in spite of the fact that the standard container of oatmeal has 5 cups!). And I still forgot to add the second cup, and had to guess at how much to add to the remaining batter after I put the first batch in (which is about when I realized that the reason the batter seemed too runny was that it was missing 1/3 of the oatmeal). Still, a pretty good recipe.

co-worker's birthday

2008-11-13T13:16:00.000-05:00

One of the secretaries that I work with is celebrating her birthday, and I was honored that the other secretaries thought of me when planning cupcakes for her! After some subtle interrogation by another co-worker, we established that she needed pumpkin spice cupcakes with cream cheese frosting. I found a promising recipe (or three) in a cookbook that was a recent gift from a good friend (Ok, really, a GREAT friend) - the Texas State Fair cookbook. I trust a Texan cookbook.

I used elements from a couple of different recipes. I did half all according to the one recipe - a pumpkin spice cake with a crumble topping (although I didn't half the topping). For the other half, I used that same cake recipe, and stole a marscapone spice frosting recipe from another spice cake recipe in the same cookbook. (The recipe called for baking one cake, in a spring form pan, so I adjusted the cooking time down to adjust for the size difference. Also, the recipe made one thick batter, so I had to kind of smoosh the batter down into the cups as best I could.) The frosting is to die for - Next time, I might do both the topping and the icing on every cupcake. They are both delish, and I don't think they'd really compete the way I was afraid that they would.

Finally, I used a few of the left-over chocolate wafers and some leftover royal icing from the monogram cookies, and spelled out her name and set them on top of the cupcakes. *
Here they are, boxed and ready for the trip to work!

* For some reason, people are always suprised at what I have "just lying around" my place. Yes, I do typically have the makings of at least one kind of cookie in my pantry, and yes, right now I have homemade marshmallow fondant and royal icing in my fridge. What's so odd about that?! I'm sure most bakers have something ready to go at most times! (No, I didn't have extra pumpkin puree lying around... but now I do!)

Monogram Cookies

2008-11-13T10:07:00.003-05:00

I got an order for a dozen monogram cookies for a wedding coming up this weekend. I love that she was using them for her OOT bags! How cute! She wanted me to try to put the date on them too, but it was just too much to fit on the cookie, unfortunately. Nonetheless, I think they look adorable with just their initials! (And I'm proud of her for following the traditional rules on not using the married monogram until after the actual wedding.) These are definitely some of my favorite cookies to make!

I tried new packaging on this one, and I think I like it a lot. It's very earth-friendly, and custom-fit to the size of the cookies! I lined the cookies up in two stacks, and then rolled the stacks into brown packaging paper (aha - brown paper packages!). I added a sticker to hold it together, and then put the two rolls in the box, side by side. The scrunched ends held the cookies in place in the shipping box, so I didn't need to add any extra packing material. And the cookies against each other hold them tight while they ship. The only things that could hurt these guys would be an incredibly heavy package thrown on top of them (please, USPS, don't do that!).

I've been busy, I swear

2008-11-13T10:05:00.002-05:00

Finally, a long overdue update on what I've been up to! Because, yes, I finally uploaded pictures!

I have been baking (though not as much, lately), and I have tons to report - monogram cookies for OOT bags, oatmeal cookie bribes, and cupcakes! Stay tuned.

Gatlinburg! (way delayed, but now, with pictures!)

2008-10-28T12:06:00.006-04:00

I met an old friend for a weekend of fun in Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge! We made the most of the 1.5 days I was really there. It was anything but our first time, so we maximized by going straight to all the things we wanted (including trying some new things). We hit Dolly Wood (both mornings), Adventure Quest (new to both of us), the Jurassic Jungle Boat Ride (she'd done it once before, but it was new to me), Dixie Stampede, Blaine's (our fav Gatlinburg restaurant), and even a little of the Smokey Mountain Nat'l Park.

One of the many gorgeous fall trees in the Nat'l forest

My friend and I have decided that it's much easier to explain Gatlinburg to people from NC/SC/VA. It's Myrtle Beach in the mountains. And that pretty much gets the idea across. It's a strip of road with wall-to-wall tourist kitsch shops, go-cart and fair-type rides, putt-putt, and cheap family-friendly restaurants. Just add tons of chapels and Bible bookstores. For all the peeps from other parts of the country, there doesn't seem to be a point of reference (or, because we're not from those parts, we have no idea what it would be!).

It's basically what you'd get if you started planning an arcade and suddenly found out that you had an entire small town to fill instead of a small corner room. So... it has things that I can't imagine finding anywhere else (except maybe a fair, and I just can't imagine a fair where everything is so over-the-top, well-done, and permanent). This explains three of our stops - Adventure Quest, Jurassic Jungle Boat Ride, and Wonder Works.

See! Upside down!

We had been to Wonder Works before, but wanted to go back because we had so much fun the first time. It is definitely designed for kids (at least, not for 28 year olds!), but we had a blast. It's all interactive learning activities, like Discovery Place in Charlotte (I know, another regional point of reference!). There was a climbing wall, an earth-quake simulator, a pulley experiment where you haul yourself up (easier on the seat with 3 pulleys than the one with only one), a sound room that demonstrates how the brain gives a 3-d sensation to sound, with only 2 ears. Basically, a ton of interactive, fun stuff for your inner child! Oh! and the entire thing was built to look like a mansion had fallen, upside-down, onto another house. I love that they even had a little upside-down UPS drop box.

What could be more fun than making giant bubbles?!

Adventure Quest only opened four months ago, and it caught our eye because the facade was that of a castle, and it had a mirror maze! They only sold passes for everything, so we got one - it included the mirror maze, an Entrapment/ANTM*-style laser security system to try to sneak through, and pirate-themed mini-golf. Rock! Honestly, if they had been separate tickets, we probably would have only done the mirror maze, but we had fun in all of them. The maze was worth it on its own though. Seriously fun. I could spend hours going through it. We went through once, and then turned around and did it backwards. By we, I really mean my friend did all of the finding, and I followed. I couldn't tell where the mirrors were until I just about hit my nose on them. It was very disorienting (in a good way). They also had great music playing, so I had my own personal dance party as we walked through. I like to think that some one's day was improved by that bit of hilarity.

That's right, a castle!

Black light Pirate Mini golf - need I say more?!

The Jurassic Adventure was pure kooky. It was very fake. But we had so much fun! I think it was the good company. We completely psyched ourselves up over it, and started screaming like little girls every time we sat still in the dark in it. We were even talking about the animatronics that were coming toward us as if they might really catch us. I categorize it as something we made fun, more than something that is inherently fun or scary.

Yeah, these were the animatronics. Scary!

Dixie Stampede is one of our must-do's each Gatlinburg trip. It's fun, the food is good, and it's easy. By now, we know all of the songs, and pretty much sing along, and we cheer for every event as if they will ever let the score come out to other than a near-tie. And we talk to our neighbors as if we've known each other all our lives, and give them tips about how to cheat in the final flag relay race. My friend loves the horses, and i love the fact that the dancers seriously look like Barbies when their dresses light up.

And of course, there's Dolly Wood! It's the thing to do in Pigeon Forge! It's country at it's best! People are nice, music is wholesome, and there are a ton of roller coasters! AND there's a birds of prey refuge/rehabilitation center. Basically, perfect family fun. So what if we don't have a family (well, we're not orphans, but we haven't started our won families yet)?!

*I am appalled that the blogger spell-check doesn't recognize the abbreviation ANTM! Best guilty pleasure ever! And yes, we were tempted to pose our way through it.

October

2008-10-23T10:39:00.003-04:00

This month is crazy!!! I have been/will be gone every weekend! Since weekends are prime bonding time with the kitchen aid, it's been standing alone a lot lately. But it's totally worth it! I've spent the last two weekends in DC.

Last weekend I visited friends, dropped by a housewarming, celebrated passing the bar by going out in Adam's Morgan and being ridiculous, and touring the WEST WING and the White House gardens!!! (It soooo pays to know someone who is working in the White House!) It was kind of a mini-undergrad reunion (only conspicuously missing one of our CR foursome). There was even a Supermarket Sweep-style dash through Ann Taylor Loft as soon as they opened because I'd left my White House-appropriate attire at home (packed, in the garment bag that just didn't quite make it to the car). I was lame though, and my camera batteries died after the first picture I took! So, no more pics for me until I steal them from one of the girls I went with.

The weekend before, I went up with Mr. Lover and we did the Spy Museum (WAY COOL, and I hadn't been before), and the Holocaust Museum (he'd never been before). I thought they were both really well done, and it was nice to get away and spend some time with him. And we stayed in Old Town at this super- shishi boutique hotel that was pet friendly (so Hersh got to come too!).

This weekend, it's off to see my BFF in Gatlinburg for some wholesome craziness! Seriously, I LOVE Dolly Wood - don't knock it until you try it! (But first, tonight, to see Mr. Lover because it's his birthday!!!).

I've been crafty!

2008-10-16T09:35:00.006-04:00

I was so inspired by this before and after, that I decided to tackle my own file cabinet. Finding some sort of replacement for this black scar in my otherwise serene office has been floating around the end of my to-do list since I moved in, and this was just the inspiration I was looking for. I would decoupage wrapping paper onto it!

I couldn't find any thick paper in town (and I now that I knew what I wanted to do, I couldn't wait to get started!), so I went ahead and tried it with a thinner wrapping paper from Target, in spite of the alarm bells going off in my own head and the advice of those who had come before me. So... it's not perfect. But I'm OK with that. I know it's hard to see in the picture, but the paper is a pale blue with tiny white print on it. It's actually a wedding print, but I really don't think that's noticeable unless you are really examining it. It's subtle like that (and no, it doesn't have any words on it).

My first attempt, I didn't pre-cut the pieces of paper, thinking that I could cover 3 sides with one sheet, and that I could just trim it afterward. That was less than successful. I ended up sliding it all over the place and tearing it. Boo! So... I had to remove that layer. I peeled most if it off, and then removed the rest by rubbing with a wet cloth until I got it all off. Yay!

Scraping/washing wasn't fun, so I decided to be more careful. I pre-cut pieces for each side this time, and it went much more smoothly! I also let the modge podge dry a little before applying the wrapping paper. This made it almost impossible to reposition once I started applying the paper, but it also kept the paper from soaking through and getting thin and wrinkly (a decidedly good thing). I probably should have gone back and redone the drawer with the lock, cutting out a place for the lock before gluing (because trying to precisely cut wet paper does not end well), but I wanted to be done... so I just covered it with a label. Maybe one day I'll go back and fix it (but that's unlikely).

Finally, I replaced the old drawer pulls with ribbon. This was another move born of laziness. I couldn't very well put black handles on my pretty blue cabinet. Painting the handles just sounded like too much effort. I tired buying cabinetry handles, but the holes didn't line up. So, ribbon!

Before:

After:

(I promise, it really doesn't say "impotent stuff" - that's just the low quality of the picture!)

Oh dear.

2008-10-15T15:32:00.002-04:00

I just started a post, only to delete it. When I went to delete it, I realized that it was the third post in a row that I'd begun, only to end up deleting. And I'm the worst TWD'er in history. But I just thought I should actually finish a post, even sans pictures, if only to update that there is no update yet. Sorry about that!

You Want Pie With That - II

2008-10-08T00:56:00.001-04:00

I call this "I'm the biggest dork ever pie". Or, "1776: Compromise Pie".

I feel the need to give history lesson to introduce this pie. A long time ago (summer of 1776), in a place far, far away (Philadelphia, PA), a group of rebellious men (our Founding Fathers) gathered. The complained a lot and some disagreed on almost everything, but in the end, they all had the good of their chosen land at heart, and they reached a compromise. They agreed on several things.

First, that the windows of their meeting place should remain closed. This was an issue because it was an extra hot summer (and there was no A/C in those days), there was a plague of flies about, and their business was not the sort of thing that you wanted eavesdroppers to hear (in fact, there were no written records of their floor debates because, as their fearless leader so aptly put, "We must hang together, or we must asuredly all hang seperately", because, as their vocal South Carolinian noted, their plot was nothing short of treason). So... they abided the heat, and kept the windows closed.

Second, that the triangle trade shipping routes united them all, in spite of their varied geography (13 different colonies!). Important parts of that triangle trade were molasses and rum (I'd say they are still very important parts of our foreign trade, at least in my house).

Third (and perhaps most importantly - at least for a couple of members), that the stores of rum should remain open to all of their members!

Oh yeah, and they wrote and passed the Declaration of Independence.

Fast forward about 200 years. First, Peter Stone wrote a book about these events. Then, Sherman Edwards turned that book into a Broadway musical (in 1969). THEN, this musical was adapted for film (in 1972). Basically, it was the best film ever to hit screens (that statement may be what makes me a dork).

So... this great film obviously deserved a pie! The pie is something in between a shoofly pie and an apple pie, topped with a rum glaze. Shoofly because they really did endure awful flies, and apple because... well, what could be more American!? The rum for several reasons - There is a song with Rum in the title (that's a big one), that discusses the importance of rum in the triangle trade (the slave trade), AND Ben Franklin and Stephen Hopkins adore rum (and the other Adams uses this as a bit of a reward/celebration for Hopkins at one point) (and I suspect that rum is the culprit in the drunken militiamen that are mentioned later in the movie). Finally (I swear), the molasses is another reference to the triangle trade. To top off the pie, I gave it a rim of 13 stars - one for each colony (even NY, in spite of their courteous abstentions).

The Recipe:

1 c flour
3/4 c brown sugar
1 tbs solid shortening
1 c corn syrup
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup boiling water
1 beaten egg
3 baking apples, peeled, cored, and chopped, then coated in 1 tbs cinnamon
2 crusts (uncooked)

Preheat oven to 375.
Mix flour, brown sugar and shortening into crumbs.
Split the crumb mixture in half.
Set the one half aside for crumbs.
Pour the corn syrup in the other half of the crumb mixture.
Mix the baking soda in the boiling water.
When this fizzes, pour on top of the corn syrup/crumb mixture.
Add egg an mix with fork.
Pour in unbaked pie shell.
Cut stars from 2d crust.
Top pie with crumbs and then with stars around the edge.
Bake 10 minutes.
Turn oven down to 350 and bake an additional 30-40 minutes.

Rum Sauce

1 c sugar
3/4 c water
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbs cornstarch
1/4 c cold water
1/4 c rum

In medium saucepan, combine sugar, water, and cinnamon.
Bring to boil over medium-high heat.
Boil 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove from heat.
In small bowl, blend cornstarch and cold water.
Gradually stir into hot sugar mixture.
Return to heat and cook, stirring constantly, until mixture bubbles and thickens.
Stir in rum; cook 1 minute.
Pour over slices of pie and serve warm.

You Want Pie with That - III

2008-10-08T00:55:00.000-04:00

While searching for the Holy Grail, the Knights of the Round Table came across a Killer Rabbit, with sharp, pointy teeth (you remember that part, right?)! Thankfully, they had the Holy Hand Grenade of Antioch. Thank goodness! Afer a count of three (no more, no less, and five is right out!), the holy hand granade was hefted toward the killer rabbit.

And so I present:

Whatever Happened to the Killer Rabbit? pie

This is a traditional rabbit pie (flavored with tons of apples), topped with a baked apple/holy hand granade, and an exploded crust. I don't think it needs any more explaination. ;)

I was shocked at the taste of this. I was really worred about the actual taste of this pie, but I think that it wins as my favorite of all the things I've ever baked - seriously! This is getting added to the regular rotation of comfort food in my house.

The recipe:

For the filling:

1 rabbit, approximately 3 lb (1.35 kg), cut into joints (or 1 - 1.5 lb chicken thighs)
2 medium onions, chopped fairly small
8 oz (225 g) unsmoked streaky bacon, in one piece
1 medium cooking apple, peeled and sliced
1/2 cup dry cider
3/4 cups chicken stock
½ tsp nutmeg
1 bay leaf
1 tsp plain flour
1 tbp butter
salt and freshly milled black pepper to taste
top and bottom crusts

For the apple filling:

2 tbs pecans
2 tbs raisins
4 tbs brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp butter

Pre-heat the oven to 425°F.
put bottom crust in pie plate.
Wash the rabbit joints, and place them in a large saucepan.
Add onion and apple to saucepan.
Chop bacon into roughly 1" sections and add to the saucepan along with the bayleaf, a little salt and some freshly milled pepper.
Pour in the cider and the stock, bring to simmering point, then put a lid on and leave to simmer gently for about an hour or until tender.

While that's simmering, cut out the core and seeds of an apple (making sure to leave the bottom intact).
Combine brown sugar, raisins, pecans and cinnamon.
Fill apple with the misture, and top with a pat of butter.

When rabbit miture's cooked, remove the rabbit pieces, bacon, apple and onion (with a draining spoon) and transfer them to the pie dish.
Add flour and butter to the stock in the saucepan
Stir them over a medium heat to melt and thicken the sauce. Sprinkle in the nutmeg and simmer.
When it's reduced by about half, pour it over the rabbit.
Cover with remaining pie crust
Dampen edges and squish together.
Cut an explosion hole, and peel back in the center of the top crust.
Use scarps from edges of pie crust to decorate the apple.
Drop apple into hole in top of pie.
Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

You Want Pie with That - I

2008-10-08T00:30:00.000-04:00

What a great idea! It's a pie contest! This month's theme is "your favorite movie". This was one of those totally random jumping-off points that immediately trigger a landslide of ideas for me (some better than others). In order to conserve my time and money (and keep everyone from realizing just how crazy I rally am), I decided to stick to 2 pies - one based on 1776, and one based on Monty Python's Search for the Holy Grail (because I was told a few too many times that no one has seen 1776 - although they SHOULD).

So, posts follow, one for each. And make sure to check out the other entries (and maybe join yourself) at http://www.pieswiththat.blogspot.com/.

PSA:

2008-10-06T11:13:00.002-04:00

Voter registration deadlines are starting to hit!

If you live in Virginia, TODAY is your last chance to register to vote for this November. Do it!

A Sneak Peak (or, What I Did Friday Night)

2008-10-03T23:52:00.002-04:00

There are times when I feel like all motivation completely leaves me. The begining of this week was like that, and it seems like I spent the rest of the week trying to catch up. Yuck!

However, I'm back on track, and starting to plan for a bird-themed shower! I don't want to reveal too much before the shower, but here's what I did with my Friday night. Yeah, I'm super lame.

Fruit Roses Tutorial (finally)

2008-10-02T15:28:00.007-04:00

This is a super-simple way to add a little fun to a fruit pie or tart. I recommend only using fairly soft fruits (ie. not apples), and cutting the slices as thinly as possible. It takes a little longer and a little more concentration, but it shortens cooking time, and ensures that the slices will bend more easily.

1) Core or pit fruit and cut it in half.

2) Slice each half thinly (don't worry if you can't get all the way to the ends).

3) Curl the first slice into a cone, with the skin side up.

4) Add the rest of the slices, one at a time, around the cone, overlapping each slightlyand keeping the peel facing up. It's OK that the slices aren't all exactly the same size - that's part of what makes these look more like real roses.

5) Transfer to the dish that you're planning to bake in. I like to use a knife to do this, because the fruit can be really slippery, and it's no fun to have it fall apart after all your hard work!

6) Repeat as neccessary, until you have filled the dish. Depending on the nature of the baked good (and the size of your roses), you may want to use fewer or more roses. Less tightly packed means that the roses will naturally open up more, and fewer means that they will stay closer to the shape that you placed them in. In a tart that mostly fruit, I tend to keep them more tightly packed, and in a pie or cake with more filling, I tend to leave the fruit looser - go with your instincts.

With the TWD cake, I left the roses more loosely packed, and pushed them down a little into the filling to make sure that the thicker cake got in between the rose petals.

TWD - coming soon

2008-09-30T09:21:00.003-04:00

If you're looking for this week's TWD, stay tuned. I haven't started it yet (but don't tell anyone!).The plan is to make it and post it tonight. Umm, Tia, you guys want to come over for dessert? I'm going to have way too much creme brulee for one person.

Cupcake Hero Anniversary! (and Happy Birthday to ME!)

2008-09-30T00:54:00.006-04:00

Happy Blog-o-versary to Cupcake Hero!!! In celebration, the theme this month is a combination of past flavors.

My entry combines lime, green, liquor, cranberry, and marshmallow. AND, it feature Barbie pink frosting - perfect for my Birthday!

Cosmo Cupcakes!

Marshmallow Fondant Limes

1- 16oz bag of mini marshmallows

2-6 tbsp water

2lbs confectioners sugar

1/2 tsp lime juice

Cake:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

2/3 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs (room temperature)

3/4 cup unsalted butter

2 tablespoons of triple sec

1/4 cup milk

1/4 cup orange juice

1/2 cup dried cranberries

Frosting:

3 cups confectioners’ sugar

Pinch of salt

stick of room temperature butter

2 tablespoons of sweetened lime juice (such as roses)

1 tablespoon of milk

A few drops of red food coloring

To make Cake:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sift flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl.

Place eggs and sugar in mixer and beat on medium with paddle attachment until light and foamy (about 2 minutes)

Melt butter (about 1min in microwave) and pour over eggs and sugar whilst beating.

Add triple sec to eggs, sugar and butter mixture then turn mixer to low.

Add half the dry ingredients to the mixer.

Add milk and orange juice

Add remaining dry ingredients

Continue mixing until remaining dry ingredients are just combined

Immediately divide batter equally among the 12 cupcake liners. They will be more than 2/3 full, but that's ok, because these don't rise too much.

Sprinkle a little pinch of cranberries on top of each filled liner and put in hot oven immediately.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick stuck into the middle of the cupcakes comes out clean, with no crumbs.

Place on a baking sheet to cool.

To Make Frosting:

Place 1 cup of confectioners’ sugar, salt and butter in a bowl and cream together using a stand or electric mixer on high until light and fluffy.

Turn the mixer to low, add half of the remaining confectioners’ sugar, the lime juice and milk, then the remaining half of the sugar.

Turn mixer to high and beat until fluffy and of piping consistency.

Add food coloring until the color of the frosting looks similar to Barbie pink

To Make limes

melt 2 tbsp water and marshmallows in a double boiler

in a mixer fitted with dough hook (all greased with shortening), mix melted marshmallows and 2/3 powdered sugar until combined.

Add remaining powdered sugar, and the lime juice.

keep mixing on low until combined.

grease the ball of fondant and wrap in plastic wrap.

store in fridge over night before using.

knead in green food coloring until lime-colored

roll out, cut with a circle cutter, then cut each circle in half with a sharp knife.
let dry out and then use to garnish cupcakes.

Cupcake Hero entry coming soon...

2008-09-26T16:33:00.002-04:00

Since this is the blog-o-versary of CH, the theme ingredient is any combination of past ingredients! So here's a hint about what I have in store: My ingredients are lime, cranberry, liquor, and (hopefully) marshmallow!

...Stay Tuned.

SHF: Cupcakes

2008-09-25T11:02:00.006-04:00

The challenge for Sugar High Fridays this time was 'cupcakes'. Normally, I'd welcome an excuse to play with cupcakes, especially after the cookie crusade I've been on lately. But I just wasn't feeling it. I have an idea (that I'm excited about) for this month's cupcake hero, but I feel like it has sapped my cupcake creativity. And I didn't want to cheat and enter it into both. The way I look at it, the point of participating in these sorts of things is to push myself to try new things; if I'm doubling up, there's no point in participating in more! So... last night, I sat down with my collection of cookbooks, and started with the ones I hadn't baked from yet. I went through a couple in search of a recipe that didn't require a grocery store run, and finally settled on the Martha Washington Chocolate Mousse Cake from:

The challenge was to do something a little different from a typical cupcake, and on this I may have strayed. It is essentially a chocolate/chocolate cupcake. It's just a bit more grown-up. There's ganache instead of butter cream, and more importantly, there's chocolate mousse filling! The end result was far from Duncan Hines cupcakes with a clown on top served at a 6 year old's birthday party. These had a decadence to them. (But I couldn't resist adding a spot of color to the otherwise brown-on-brown color scheme that tastes wonderful, but doesn't inspire me in terms of presentation.)

Here's the recipe, modified from "City Tavern: Baking and Dessert Book":

Cake

1/2 lb butter (2 sticks)

4 eggs

1 c sugar

5 c cake flour

1/2 c cocoa powder

2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 c whole milk (Mine had expired - oops!, so I used 1/2 half and half, and 1/2 skim, and it seemed to work)

Preheat oven to 350F

Beat butter and sugar on med speed until light and fluffy

add eggs, one at a time, beating each until blended

sift together dry ingredients

add dry ingredients and milk, alternately, on low speed until just combined

fill lined cupcake tins a little past 3/4 - these guys are thick, and don't rise as much as other cupcakes

(This is the best batter I've ever had in my life ... seriously! I think I probably ate at least 3 cupcakes worth of batter before it even made it in the oven. It's amazing!)

bake 20-25 minutes

Mousse

2 oz semisweet chocolate

1/4 c heavy cream

2 egg, separated

(subject to revision - I am putting in amounts from memory at the moment)

Melt chocolate in a double boiler

whisk in egg yolks

set aside for 1 min to cool

whip heavy cream in a chilled mixer bowl, with a chilled whisk, until soft peaks form - cover in plastic wrap and put in fridge to chill

in a clean, dry, mixing bowl, beat egg whites until soft peaks form

fold chocolate and whipped cream together, gently

gently fold in egg whites

cover and chill for at least 1 hour

ganache

6 oz semisweet chocolate (I used ghiradelli)

1/2 c heavy cream

bring cream just to a boil, then pour over chocolate

let sit for 1 min, allowing cream to start melting the chocolate

whisk together, then cover and refrigerate until cooled to desired consistency (I'm impatient, so I didn't let it cool for long, and just dipped the tops of the cupcakes in for a ganache-glaze)

to assemble

place mousse in pastry bag, fitted with a metal tip (I use a medium-sized tip. Usually, I use a round tip, but I couldn't find the one I wanted, and used a star tip this time - basically, it doesn't really matter)

insert tip in top of cupcakes and squeeze filling into inside of cupcake

dip top of cupcake in ganache to coat

add a sprinkle ;)

TWD: rosey plum cake

2008-09-23T12:12:00.003-04:00

The recipe for this week was a dimply plum cake. As soon as I saw it, I thought of the Martha Stewart nectarine tart, and thought I had to make pretty plums too! I was a little worried about the effect that slicing the plums would have, but a quick check of the Q&A assured me that they were quite alright when sliced.

So, onward I went! I must have had fairly large plums, because I only needed 9 halves/5 plums (although I suppose that I could have squeezed more in if I had been determined to). It came together very easily, and the cake baked up nicely around the plum rosettes (although I still think they looked prettier before baking). I did include the cardamom (because it was already in my cabinet - I probably wouldn't have gone to the store just for this, and it was nice to use up some of a spice that I rarely use... perhaps because I have little idea of how to use it). I thought the resulting cake was yummy, if a little rich.

Unfortunately, I bought the plums (at perfect ripeness when I purchased them) a few days before I was able to get around to actually making the cake. So, the plums were a bit past ripe, and didn't taste as wonderful as I'm sure this should. Still, it was fun, and the cake was worth eating out from around the plums. ;)

hahahahaha

2008-09-19T14:46:00.003-04:00

It makes me snicker every time I look at it (in the catalogue - No, I did not get myself one).

More cookies

2008-09-19T13:32:00.001-04:00

The Man's mom had surgery yesterday, and I'm headed down to join them/keep them company for the weekend. In response to my offer to make some real food (maybe a casserole) for the family, the Man suggested cookies instead. More specifically, he suggested that I try peanut butter cookies again (and see if I couldn't produce a chewier version), or maybe chocolate chip. So... I made peanut butter chocolate cookies!

I started with a recipe for peanut butter cookies with chocolate chips, but used dark chocolate peanut butter instead of regular, and mini chocolate chips instead of standard-sized. The result was a dense (perhaps too much so), lightly flavored (definitely not too sweet, at least in my book) cookie. The mini chips are so small as to not be noticeable on their own; instead, they add a little sweetness and little more chocolate flavor (but still not a ton). I think it's definitely a more grown-up cookie, while still being pretty simple and content with itself. And it's chewy.

Since this was a new experiment (I hadn't even tried the recipe as written before), I made sure to do some quality control. I packaged most of the cookies up for travel (and protection from a hungry pup), but put the last few in a take-out box to take into work with me so that everyone at work could give feedback (or so that I could munch on them all day).

thoughts on baking cookies

2008-09-18T11:45:00.001-04:00

scoops:
I bought a ice cream style cookie dough scoop ages ago because I thought it was cute, but didn't use it until this month because it seemed like it would probably be one of those 'tools' that actually just makes things harder and creates more dishes. I was wrong! I used it to make peanut butter cookies, because I wanted them to be fairly uniform... and I fell in love. This is the best idea ever! It does not stick the way I was afraid it would, it washes easily in the dishwasher, and it makes scooping drop cookies a million times faster than just using a spoon (or two)! I love this thing!

parchment paper:
I was really mad that the standard rolls of parchment paper are too wide to nicely cover my cookie sheets in one direction, and too narrow to cover it the other way. I hate either having to fold the extra under or cut it too short and waste precious cookie sheet space. It just seems wasteful to me. Then... through the magic of amazon, I just realized that they sell sheets of parchment paper that are perfect for cookie sheets! How did I go this long without knowing this?! What a month of fantastic discovery! Of course, after all of this headache, I'm really tempted to just cave and spend the money on a few silicone mats so that I don't have to keep resupplying (and because I feel bad throwing away so much parchment paper). I'm just so wary about buying things like that now, after a very bad experience with a silicone bundt pan. Hrm.

TWD: Chocolate Chunkers

2008-09-16T11:39:00.002-04:00

This week's selection - pg. 70 in Baking: from my home to yours

I love these cookies! It's a good chock-full-of-chunks cookie. I started to leave out the raisins and nuts altogether but talked myself out of it and told myself to trust Dorie. Instead, I out the raisins in as called for, but only put the (at most) 1/4 cup of chopped walnuts I had lying around waiting to be used up, and added another cup of semi-sweet chunks to keep it chunky. I wish I had taken the time to throw some peanuts in the food processor and made the recipe as written. The raisins are perfect in it, and it's just missing a peanutty crunch. Ooops. Now I know. Really, really, really, trust Dorie!

Housewarming cookies

2008-09-10T11:22:00.000-04:00

I swear, this is the last cookie post for at least a day! I made cookies for a housewarming, and went with the Martha Stewart chocolate sandwhich cookies, decorated with little houses. I made them in a bit of a hurry, so they aren't perfect, but they were fun, and were a hit with the kids and adults alike. I noticed that they were all gone before we left!

TWD (plus an attempt to catch up a little)

2008-09-09T21:51:00.005-04:00

This week's recipe was Chocolate Whopper Malted Drops on page 85, chosen by Rachel of Confessions of a Tangerine Tart.
- yum! This is a delish, rich cookie, and as another TWD'er has already mentioned, the dough is amazing (they were even smart enough to use it to make a cookie dough ice cream - yum!). I take this cookie as the sort of cookie that that I would make an entire batch of and eat myself in a bout of pms - but I can't really see serving it because it's so rich. Also as mentioned by another blogger, they shrink when they cool!

(As a photography note, I have been frustrated by my lack of natural light locations for photo-taking now that I'm in a little apartment without a balcony, and now that I'm at work during most of the daylight hours. But it finally clicked that the natural light lamp I have might be better for lighting pictures... and it is! The above pictures were taken with the lamp light, and they look much better than the flash-lighted pictures!)

Also, last week the recipe was chosen by Stefany of Proceed with Caution. She chose,
Chunky Peanut Butter and Oatmeal Chocolate Chipsters on page 73 - another great recipe! I made them last week, but didn't get post on them. They were another good oatmeal cookie, and I like the addition of the peanut butter. Still, I have to say the Bush cookies are my favorite oatmeal cookie - I love that they are so full of stuff!

borrowing internet

2008-09-08T21:56:00.003-04:00

I've been gone since I came back. I know that's bad. I've been borrowing Internet, and lately it hasn't been very cooperative. And I've been more exhausted by this whole working like a grown-up thing than I thought I'd be. It takes some serious getting used to!

But I have been baking. I am hoping that I'll be able to put in a great TWD post tomorrow night, and I've been baking other things too!

This weekend was a whirlwind! I had a meeting all Saturday morning, and then darted home and made a batch of peanut butter cookies per the man's request for a bar-b-que in his town that we were invited to that evening. Pretty much as soon as I made the cookies, I was off, beginning the 2 hour drive up to see him, cookie in tow. Sunday, it was back home, to make the 3 batches of bake-off cookies.

The peanut butter cookies were a real hit! They were another Dorie recipe. I cooked them toward the long end of the cooking time, and I think I might stop earlier in the future. They were a slightly crunchier cookie than I normally like. They were tricky because they didn't look done in the same way that other cookies do to me. Or maybe I'm losing my touch.

Presidential Bake-Off

2008-09-08T11:02:00.005-04:00

4 years ago, while spending a glorious summer in DC, I discovered the Family Circle Presidential Spouse Bake-Off. Each presidential election year, they solicit recipes from the nominees' wives for their favorite cookie recipe. They publish them, and the idea is that it will predict the winner of the election. As far as all the supposed indicia, this seems as likely as any other.

Laura Bush's submission from 2004 became a staple in my cooking, and is one of my favorite go-to recipes. I can't even count how many of them I made that summer, much less how many I've made since then.

So in the spirit of patriotic participation this election cycle, I baked all 3 recipes printed this year (Bill Clinton's recipe was include also, I suppose because Hillary was in the running so late in the cycle). I brought them in to work, and everyone I work with is sampling and voting (without knowledge of which cookie recipe belongs to whom).

Here are the contenders:

Bill Clinton's Oatmeal Cookies (with walnuts)

I was a little worried when I saw that I actually had to toast the walnuts and oatmeal, but this was actually a super-easy and low-prep recipe. The walnuts give it a nice touch of crunch and add even more flavor since they are toasted and they are a good cookies for all ages.

Cindy McCain's Butterscotch-Oatmeal Cookies

These were my favorite and the Family Circle favorite. They had just a bit of an interesting flavor, but still fulfilled my need for comfort food.

Michelle Obama's Shortbread Cookies

I had a real time with these. I don't know what I did wrong. After baking them as directed in the recipe, they were still gooey and not at all the right consistency for shortbread. I figured that the batch was a loss, so I might as well try baking it again. I put it through for at least another whole cycle (but I wasn't paying attention, so it was probably longer than that). However, they turned out great in the end. Bizarre, but I'll take it!

I also did half of it with the optional dried fruit and nuts, and half plain, so as to really try the whole recipe, with at least some variation. I went with dried strawberries and almond slivers (I thought it would go well with the almond flavoring in the bars). Finally, I used almond extract instead of amaretto - It was Sunday so there were no open ABC stores. :(

After a day of anonymous voting in my office, the result was surprising (at least to me). They were all perfectly tied! No clear winner in my office, but everyone agreed that they were all great recipes.

Dear Dorie:

2008-08-26T16:26:00.002-04:00

I was excited about being back at home and somewhat settled in and generally able to get back in the swing of TWD. My new kitchen fought back. I bought a great ice cream made by a local creamery on Sunday night and had everything all nice and planned out. My ice cream tort was going to be the best EVER!!!

My freezer is dying. By Monday afternoon, my ice cream was completely liquid. Ewww! I hate my new fridge. I've called the maintenance people... and I'm still waiting.

New Orleans (or, What I've been up to)

2008-08-25T21:48:00.004-04:00

I headed down to New Orleans for a week to visit my dearest friend. She moved down there this year, and I hadn't been to see her in her new place. I had a month to kill in between the bar exam (boo!) and starting work (yea!), so I seized the chance.

I tried all the traditional local fare - including an oyster po boy and jambala. Yumm!

And of course we found the closest cupcakerie, The Kupcake Factory in Kenner, LA. We got quite a sampling (which was easier because they thankfully had mini's). We tried hummingbird (which looked and tasted more like those , chocolate chocolate, wedding cake, oreo, reeses, coco-nut, and red velvet. I think my favorite was the wedding cake - it tasted like a cupcake version of a perfect sugar cookie (which may have partially been because of the colored sugar on top). A close runner-up was the coco-nut. The chocolate-chocolate had a complicated taste that was good, but didn't give me the fudgy-satisfaction that I'd really hoped for. Also, they were out of their signature fat elvis cupcakes when we were there. That made me sad.

Of course, they all had too much frosting, but I think that's almost necessary in order to get a pretty cupcake.

TWD will return next month - when travelling and moving are really done.

2008-08-10T20:52:00.006-04:00

Until then... an update on part of what has been keeping me busy.
One of my dear friends got married on Friday, and I made the cupcakes for her wedding! What an incredible honor!
It was a perfectly beautiful ceremony and reception overlooking the mountains. I can't imagine a more perfect setting, or a wedding more perfectly suited to the bride! She looked beautiful, and we all had a great time!

The cupcakes were 2 dozen lemon with raspberry filling (Dorie's Celebration Cake). Since I couldn't exactly layer them the way you would a cake, I injected the jam filling instead.;
2 dozen chocolate almond (modified Dorie Chocolate cake), with a dark chocolate buttercream icing (modified from Martha's dark chocolate buttercream); and
carrot cake with cream cheese icing (Dorie's Bill's Big Carrot Cake).

Those are little blue fondant birds to tie the cupcakes in with the small 2-tier real cake with which they were served. I ordered the custom fondant-cutter on etsy, and it was absolutely perfect!

The cupcakes turned out to be much easier than I was afraid they might be. It was actually kinda fun.

I've been a bad blogger.

2008-08-08T07:58:00.004-04:00

I was certain that I'd hop back into blogging well as soon as the bar exam was over. No such luck. Unpacking slowed down considerably once I got down to the things of which I am less certain of placement. Now my place just looks like I've lived here forever but haven't cleaned. Boo!

But I have been productive. I sent out my first big etsy order! It was 20 pounds of cookies in the end. Here's what it looked like in dough form, taking over my fridge.

It was 150 starfish cookies - half blue and half green. They absolutely took over my house! There were some on the folding table, some on the kitchen table, and even more on the kitchen counter.

I learned a lot of valuable lessons about selling! I priced them at the bare minimum I thought I needed to break even, because I wanted to get some sales and some feedback in my new little store. I'm glad I got the order, but I definitely lost money. Because of some mix-ups in communications/timing, I ended up shipping the order priority overnight, and spending the entire price of the cookies on shipping. Yuck!

Still, I mostly just really hope she likes them! They were for a wedding, and I hope that added something good to her special day.

100 posts!!!

2008-08-03T23:10:00.004-04:00

How cool! It's surprising - I still feel like I just started this blog. I'm certainly not the pro that so many of the bloggers I'm addicted to are.

And yes, I'm back. I'll be travelling a lot this month, since it's my last month of freedom before starting work (like a grown-up), and I'm still unpacking and getting settled in my new place. So, I may not be as diligent as I'd like, but the bar is over, and I should be able to stay at least mildly on top of things.

For sitting through my update, a contest!

Comment to enter. Winner gets 1 dozen chocolate sandwich cookies (you can choose to have them filled with vanilla, chocolate, or mint cream). Winner will be chosen at random and announced at the end of the month.

no TWD this week or next

2008-07-22T11:02:00.003-04:00

Sorry guys! I'm a slacker. I have excuses!

A: in exactly one week, I'm taking the bar exam. Life has stopped, and I'm no longer doing anything but study. Seriously. As for next week, I obviously won't be posting while I'm taking the bar.

B: Rhubarb? Where do you find that?! Not in Lex in July - that I know. I'm sure it's great, but a check of our 3 grocery stores yeilded no signs.

I promise to return in just over a week - with lots of delicious baked goodies!

Wednesday Night Dinner

2008-07-18T22:49:00.003-04:00

This week's dinner was fruity chicken salad as an appetizer, spicy spaghetti, and then brownies and chocolate peanut butter rice krispy treats for dessert. It was delightfully easy, and it was certainly satisfying.

I made a double batch of spaghetti, with half hot sausage and half beef (and a healthy dose of red pepper), over whole wheat pasta. Yum! I didn't want to use 2 dishes for the spaghetti, and I didn't have a pan quite big enough for everything, so I made it in a wok; please don't judge me.
Brownies were the ultimate cheat, Ghirardelli Triple Chocolate boxed brownies. Thanks to Dorie, I finally have a good from scratch recipe, but that'll have to wait for weeks when the Bar isn't sneaking up on me quite so quickly.
Rice Krispy treats are one of those easy desserts that really aren't that bad for you (as far as fat/calories, anyway). However, I almost doubled the marshmallows (marshmallow cream, to be more precise), added half a bag of milk chocolate chunks, and added 5-7 tablespoons of honey peanut butter. They barely resemble the light snack that the recipe on the side of the box would make. They were more like gooey Reese's bars with a hint of crunch from the rice krispies.

TWD: Chocolate pudding (pie)

2008-07-15T14:17:00.004-04:00

I am a huge fan of chocolate pudding. It's one of my favorite easy snacks. This recipe is super-easy and quick... and wonderful!

I wanted to give it a little more, so I put it in an oreo crust, covered it with cool whip, and stuck in a few oreos (chocolate stuffed!). More often than not, I make desserts with others' tastes in mind, but this was all for me. I was PMS-y and craving chocolaty goodness. This definitely fit the bill. My big mistake was using fat-free cool whip. I think it ruined everything! I ended up scraping it off the top after the first bit, because it didn't have the decadence that the pudding really deserved - next time, real whipped cream.

TWD: double crusted blueberry pie

2008-07-08T11:44:00.004-04:00

This week, Amy of South in Your Mouth selected….
Double Crusted Blueberry Pie on pages 361-363

I loved this recipe! I am not a huge fan of fruit pies, but I absolutely love this crust. I made this once following the recipe, and then again with a cherry filling. And I'm tickled by the way the top crust molded to the shape of the berries. I think it's so cute!

I accidentally left out the bread crumbs, but (perhaps partially because we ate most of it before it had really completely cooled) found that there was just enough soaking by the filling to make the thick crust even more delicious (I say we, but that was really just me). Maybe that's why I had so much trouble cutting it into pretty pieces though...

Having succeeded at the blueberry (and upon finding that the crust came together pretty easily in my food processor (even though it was right at the max capacity), I used the crust again with cherry filling.

I've never made a cherry pie, or had any reason to pit cherries, so this was a new experience. It wasn't as bad as I feared, and was easily done while watching tv, but it definitely changed the color of my hands!

I have a friend who prefers a birthday cherry pie to a birthday cake (I don't understand), so this pie was hers! I even cut her name into the top (although it's hard to see in the picture).Everyone deserves birthday baked goods! Especially when studying for the bar!

Cherry filling:

4 cups cherries, pitted
1 cup sugar (1 1/4 cups for sour cherries)
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Directions
Put sugar, flour and cinnamon in a large zip-loc bag. Add the cherries and toss to coat.

My dining room

2008-07-04T12:04:00.000-04:00

Perhaps it's better described as a Breakfast room. It's not particularly large, and it's right by the kitchen. Standing at the sink, I look right into it. My table is a several-generation hand-me-down, meant only for 2-4 people, and has definitely seen better days. There are eight mis-matched chairs around it (yes, including a computer desk chair). And I love it!

This is where people gather when they come over (even when it's more people than chairs). It's where I feel comfortable, and it lets me finish up things in the kitchen while people are here without being too rude. People often spill over into the kitchen (which is often where I serve food) and pretty much everyone feels comfortable helping themselves to the fridge and the liquor cabinet. I'm going to be sad to give up my house when I move.

busy, busy, busy

2008-07-02T12:00:00.001-04:00

I am so sorry for my continued, frequent absence. Here are a few of the reasons (beyond bar-scary-stress)

I went up to a friend's wedding this weekend! It was wonderful, and beautiful, and I have no pictures because I'm lame. At first it was too dark to get good pics with my camera, and then I was (really) too drunk to think about taking pictures. I'm pretty sure there's not even a single picture of me and my man (a groomsman in the wedding) from the whole weekend! How sad!

The wedding was great though, and the couple was awesome! It was the first time I met the bride, and I love her! She's adorable and sweet and open and I want to keep her. I told my man that we have to do stuff with them (after they get back from their honeymoon, and I recover from Bar-zilla mode).

I also shipped my first Etsy order Monday! It was an order of Goodnight Gorrilla cookies. It wasn't too big, but they were a little detailed and required cutting using a template instead of a cookiecutter, and I got in fairly late Sunday night (and did a little ar studying before I got started on cookies). I finished the cookies about 2 am Monday morning/Sunday night. I just hope they like them!

AND a good friend found out the gender of their newest little one Monday. They wanted to have a party to celebrate and share it with everyone. Rather than find out at the doctor's office, they had their nurse call me and tell me the gender, and I made a cake with filling to show the gender (it ended up being pink for a girl). At the party, the new big sis cut into the cake, and that's how everyone found out. Cute, right?

Unfortunately, this was another rushed thing, and I didn't get any pictures! It was an airplane pulling a banner that read "It's A...". I used Dorie's celebration cake recipe, and it went over well. Everyone RAVED about the buttercream. I left it beating (when it says 7-10 at the end) while I took a shower, so it got a good beating, and I think that was key to the super-fluffy nature of the icing. I loved the lemon flavor; I liked that you actually noticed it.

And in a fit of insanity, I decided that the (2 year old) big sister needed a tutu and a tiara that said big sis. I didn't get pictures of the tiara, but I did get a picture of the tutu (although, really, you can't get a good picture of a tutu without a model). I just cut and tied the tulle on a piece of ribbon so she can tie it on and it'll adjust as she gets older (and honestly, it's a little big right now).

This week - Birthday party for another good friend, Wednesday dinner, and the Fourth of July (and 2 full days of mock tests)!

prodigal TWDer : TWD apple cheddar scones

2008-07-01T23:39:00.006-04:00

I felt guilty. So I opted for a late(-ish) night, under-the-wire bit of baking and posting. This may have also been helped along by the fact that I've been craving something other than cereal for breakfast.

First, these were delicious! I opted for sharp cheddar after some serious soul-searching in the dairy section of the supermarket, as I tried to decide between what I'd most like and what I thought would be most popular - self-serving won.

Some thoughts on chopped dried apples... They look like scrambled eggs (like the ones you see on a buffet - way too dry)! And they were sticky! They also were very subtle in the scone. I almost forgot there were apples in it.

This also gave me an opportunity to use some of my super-awesome corn meal! I got it in a national park, where it was ground by an historic water-mill. I thought it was so cool at the time, but I've not had nearly enough chance to use it!