Premptive Poundcake

I'm not really a baker. I don't have the patience or the attention to detail required to make really good baked goods. However, my mother-in-law is coming into town on Wednesday and she is a fabulous baker. We recently got a new gas oven and, while I've already tried out all the cool features of the stove (Power Boil rocks my world!), I hadn't yet baked anything. Well, I baked the coconut curry chicken but that, in my mind, is cooking not baking. So yesterday, I got ambitious and baked a chocolate swirl poundcake. Actually, it's my mother-in-law's recipe but I've made it several times before and it usually turns out quite well. Gas is so cool - the oven glows! The poundcake came out great - I had a slice for breakfast (back to the bad eating habits - oh well). At least now, when my mother-in-law pulls out all this great stuff out of the oven, I'll know I tried it first.

Two meals of mac and cheese

It never fails. If I don't have something planned and Zeb's gone, I eat absolute crap. Yesterday for lunch I had Kraft Mac and Cheese. For dinner, I boiled up some macaroni and melted cheese on it in the microwave. It's lunchtime now and I'm thinking about doing it again.

A new kitchen

One of the hard things about moving has been that I haven't yet gotten the hang of the new kitchen. There's more storage but there doesn't seem to be as good counterspace as we had in the last house. I'm finding it difficult to carve out a functional prep area. The space in the center of the kitchen is quite large so I think we're going to look into getting an island to expand the prep area. I'm going to check out Target and Crate and Barrel. Any other suggestions?

Balsamic and Blue Cheese overload!!!

Zeb's been out of town so I had some friends over on Friday to keep me company. I made Balsamic Blue Cheese Portobello Burgers (Southern Living). The recipe called for big portobello mushrooms but the ones at the store were absolutely pitiful so I went with the baby portobellos instead. After scraping out the gills, I marinated the mushrooms for about an hour in a mixture of balsamic vinegar, olive oil, minced garlic, salt and pepper. The recipe called for the mushrooms to be grilled but, since we haven't set up the grill yet, I cooked them on the griddle insert on my new gas stove. After about two minutes on each side, I topped the mushrooms with blue cheese and let the leftover heat melt the cheese. I put the mushrooms on toasted buns with mayo and a tomato slice. For sides, I threw together a salad with balsamic vinegarette and toasted walnuts and balsamic and blue cheese polenta. Much better pairings than my coconut curry chicken and garlic orzo of last week. I'm slowing getting the hang of this side dish thing.

The burgers were great. I paired them with a 2003 Montevina Barbera which was quite good.

Hamburger Soup

Yesterday, we got the crockpot working for the first time since the move. I've been dying to try out all of these recipes out of Mabel Hoffman's Crockery Cooking since I got it and I think I've only tried 3. Last night we had Hamburger Soup (pg. 31). I don't know if it the cooking style or the recipes but crockpot meals always feel a bit one-note. The soup was a good one-note however. The ground beef crumbled nicely and Zeb put it enough black pepper for it to reall have a zip to it. The macaroni made it quite filling. I added a little cornstarch because it was too soupy for my tastes; I tend to like these things a bit heartier. I wish I had picked up some sourdough or french bread - this was a good sopping soup.

Finished off the Husch 2001 Chardonnay. I'm not a big Chardonnay fan - I don't like the oak notes but this one was tasty. I actually liked it better the second night than the first. Go figure!

Stunning summer salad

I should have known. The Grand Prize winner of the Southern Living Cook-Off is going to be spectacular. My go-to cookie recipe is a former winner - fudgy bon-bons. Tonight's dinner was no exception. The 2004 winner was Grilled Shrimp, Orange and Watermelon Salad w/ Peppered Peanuts in a Zesty Citrus Dressing. And as long as that title is, it still doesn't cover all of the flavors. The salad includes edamame, ginger, garlic, basil and hoisin sauce. It looks gorgeous too - so many colors. I should have saved this one for company! Zeb and I opened up a Chardonnay and enjoyed a good chat on our newly refinished kitchen table.

P.S. Don't you think the winner looks like Mary Alice from Desparate Housewives?

Best wishes!!

Dan's taking the Bar Exam this week and I want to send out my heartfelt best wishes and good luck. He's top-notch and I know he'll do well but I don't want to bother him with well wishes if he's stressed. Hopefully he'll see this but, if not, this is a shout-out across cyberspace.

GOOD LUCK, DAN!!!!

Coconut Curry Chicken...with a side of garlic!

After the hassle and disruption of the move, last night was the fist night where I got to really cook. Deseret came over for dinner and to check out the new house. I whipped up coconut curry chicken (Sunset) which turned out so easy. I melted half a stick of butter in a 9x13 pan, dipped 4 chicken breasts in the butter and then coated them with a mixture of 1 cup coconut and 2 T curry powder. Then, I baked it in a 350-degree oven for 30 minutes. It was so delicious!

About 20 minutes into the baking, I decided to make a side. Usually, I'm pretty good about matching sides, but, for some reason, I got it in my head to make parmesan orzo - an absolutely tasty side dish but not really a good match with curry. Plus, I put in a tad too much garlic. Overall, though, the meal turned out great and the coconut curry chicken is a definite repeat, once I figure out a better side.

At a crossroads...

So I checked out a few other cooking blogs and most post recipes and such. That would probably be more interesting than reading about my trials and tribulations in the kitchen. How can you really know if something is good if you can't try it yourself. In the general sense, I like the idea but there are two problems as I see it. First, it would be a pain in the ass to type out all of the recipes we use and I barely have time to put in the brief notes that I've been doing. Second, a vast majority of the recipes we use come from cookbooks and I don't know if posting those recipes would be some sort of copyright infringement. Seeing as how my two readers have just finished law school, I thought I pose the problem. What do you think?

Easy as pie!

Except it wasn't pie at all. Tonight, we made a recipe I received from my friend, Megan - Pesto Sausage Pasta. So simple and yet quite filling. I boiled up some tri-colored rotini pasta and browned some medium spicy Italian sausage. Once the sausage was browned and crumbled, I mixed in a tub of pesto and alot of parmesan. Stirred in the pasta and, voila!, dinner is served. It took longer to defrost the sausage than it did to make dinner! I should have drained the sausage though after I browned it. Mine was greasier than Megan's usually is. Draining the sausage should take care of that.

I could get used to this...

Yesterday, Zeb made the best ribs I have ever tasted - Apple City Ribs (Smoke & Spice, pg. 72). They weren't spicy at all. Instead, they were flavored sweet with brown sugar, cinnamon, carmelized onions and apple juice. The ribs were meatier than usual. I got them from the grocery store instead of Costco so that may have had something to do with it. I can't stand grizzle which usually turns me off of ribs so this was a treat. I made the side dish - Sherried Sweet Potatoes and Apples, one of my mother-in-law's recipes. The recipe called for boiling the sweet potatoes but that takes too long so I just microwaved them. I sauteed the granny smith apples in butter until they were softened and then added lemon juice, sherry, brown sugar and cinnamon. Brought everything to a boil and added the peeled and cut-up sweet potatoes. It was the perfect compliment for the ribs. It's not very often when I come up with the side that goes well all by myself!

If I were ever stranded on a deserted island with a fully stocked kitchen...

and I could only bring one cookbook, without hesitation, I would choose Joy of Cooking. In addition to being a fantastic instruction manual for just about every type of food (with helpful illustrations), there are an enormous number of recipes and they're all excellent. With all my other (heavy rotation) cookbooks, I've come across recipes that I wasn't too fond of; but with Joy, each one is a homerun. Heck, each of our all-time favorite recipes come from Joy (Shepard's Pie for me, Chicken and Dumplings for Zeb). On Thursday, I made Brunswick Stew (pg. 596). Although the recipe didn't call for it, I shredded the chicken. It was so good - spicy and flavorful - healthy too with a ton of vegetables and such. Zeb almost ate himself sick! (which I take as high praise indeed) Another great thing about this recipe is that all the ingredients were ones that I usually have on hand so this could easily be a filler meal for those times when I haven't been to the store to get the next week's menus. Somehow I don't think Zeb would mind...

Salmon is best raw

How can a fish taste so good but smell so bad afterwards? Tonight, I made Salmon Cakes with a Dill Tartar Sauce on Watercress (Cooking In Cast Iron, pg. 84). Easy to make, tasted great, but now I'm gagging in my own house. It reeks!! I think I'm going to avoid salmon recipes from now on that aren't on the outside grill and then eaten outside. I think I'm going to be sick...

Can soup soothe the soul?

I'm stressed. I'm not feeling well. Zeb's at class. So I made soup. Black Bean Pumpkin Soup. Excellent flavors of beans, tomatoes, pumpkin, sherry and ham. Wasn't that difficult to make. I would reccomend it in a heartbeat and, while the recipe made alot, I think it will probably freeze beautifully. Unfortunately, I'm still stressed, I still don't feel well and Zeb's still at class.

Corn!

On Friday, I made Easy Skillet Tacos (Southern Living) for a main dish. It was fine - nothing special - just a routine sort of dish. However, for a side, I made Grilled Corn in the Style of Oaxaca (Southern Living, June 2004, pg. 148). Oh. My. God. It was so good! I sprayed sweet corn with cooking spray and sprinkled salt and pepper all over. Zeb grilled the corn for about ten minutes until the ears were browned all over (okay, slightly singed in places). Once off the grill, I slathered the corn with an equal mixture of sour cream and mayonnaise. Then I sprinkled chili powder and grated parmesan cheese. Finally, I squeezed lime juice all over the corn. It sounds bizarre but it was fabulous! The sweet corn, the hot chili powder, the cooling sour cream/mayo mixture, the salty parmesan, and the tart lime juice; it's like every flavor type in one bite!

On another note, I didn't realize I didn't have any mayonnaise so I made my own. I'd never done that before. I used the basic recipe in Joy of Cooking (best cooking instructional manual ever). Egg yolks, lemon juice, salt and pepper whisked together and then vegetable oil slowly whisked into the egg mixture. I used a regular whisk which meant my arm was freaking tired by the end. Zeb reminded me that we have a hand beater which would have made it so much easier. Oh well. It turned out really well. Very different though from the stuff I've purchased from the store.

Corn Chowder

I love chowders. They're warm, satisfying and fill a spot inside like nothing else. It takes something special so make a true chowder. Unfortunately, what I made in the crockpot was not that special. Crockpot recipe out of Mabel Hoffman's Crockery Cookery (pg. 74). Corn, potatoes, onions and broth cooked overnight and then I pureed the mix this morning (got to try out the imersion blender for the first time - very cool). Refrigerated it during the day and then added milk and butter and cooked it for another hour. Spooned it out and dusted it with ground mace. Didn't really care for it much. Since it was pureed, there wasn't anything to make one stop and savor. It was like really really soupy grits. In eating it, it didn't feel satsifying or filling. It felt like a good base just waiting for the chowder parts to be added. Zeb and I were thinking about shredded chicken and some additional vegetables, perhaps another can of corn. Oh, and I put too much ground mace on mine. FYI - ground mace should be used sparingly - it's a very strong flavor.

Spicy!

Last night, Zeb made Thai-Phoun Ribs and Jalapeno Poppers (Smoke & Spice, pp. 74, 386). The ribs were so tender but the star of the meal was the sauce. All sorts of Thai flavors reduced down into syrupy goodness. The poppers were way too spicy for me and even Zeb couldn't handle them for long. Too bad too because they were stuffed with cheddar and cream cheese and looked so yummy. Alas, it was not to be.

For dessert, I made strawberry empanadas (Intercourses). It's one of Zeb's favorite desserts and I've memorized the recipe. It works the best with fresh ripe strawberries so it's a seasonal dessert for us. I've put together more filling than the recipe calls for and add WAY more strawberries. It's so easy! Blend together half a block of cream cheese and 1/4 cup of brown sugar (I sometimes add more brown sugar but it's a sweetness preference). Mix in 1/4 cup chopped strawberries. Using refrigerated cresant roll dough, place 4 rectangles on a greased cookie sheet. Place about 1/4 cup of the filling on one half of each cresant roll square, fold over the other side and crimp the edges. Crumble additional brown sugar on top (brush with melted butter first if you like). Bake according to cresant roll instructions.

Strawberry Pasta

If you're looking for a romantic and (relatively) easy cookbook, I highly recommend Intercourses. Each section is devoted to a different aphrodisiac food. The pictures are sumptuous and the recipes are simple and easy to follow. Even if such foods create only a placebo effect, cooking out of a book devoted to them can still get the blood hot. Plus, the book has little stories and quote dispersed throughout. I've tried about 15 recipes out of the book (all good) and have about 5 more on my radar to try out soon. (Note: I had actually typed out a list of recipes but then the site screwed up when I tried to spellcheck. I'm not doing it again. Sorry!)

Last night, we had Strawberry Pasta (pg. 57). It's basically fettuicine alfredo with pureed strawberries. Very rich and very satisfying.

Country Captain in Cast Iron

Last night I made Country Captain (Cooking in Cast Iron, pg. 72). It was a mix of tomatoes, pepper, onions, garlic, curry and thyme with chicken tossed in for good measure. I served it over rice and topped it with toasted almonds and mango chutney. Sound good? Well, it was too spicy for me. And it didn't help that I didn't finish cooking it until about 10:45. I started to eat and realized that I just wasn't that hungry. Zeb liked it though.

On another note, we've figured out the trick to cast iron - you HAVE to clean it after dinner. There's no letting it sit overnight. If you clean it right away, it's a snap (or so Zeb tells me).

Fish soup

Last night, I made Lingcod Chowder from Dan's recipe. I didn't realize how much soup the recipe made and so I didn't get enough lingcod. It had more potatoes in it than fish. Quite good though - spicy milky broth with different chunks of vegetables in it. I had never worked with lingcod before. I wasn't expecting to find bones and couldn't get them out so I didn't even get to use all of the fillet I brought home. Oh well...