Easter Lunch

I hosted my first family holiday meal this Easter in our new and improved home. We wanted to switch up the menu and make it a little easier on ourselves, so we chose to forgo the ham, and stick with pork tenderloin instead.

 

 

Roasted sweet potatoes are always a favorite, as are deviled eggs and macaroni and cheese. Well, anything covered in cheese is a favorite in this house I guess. Not pictured are the yeast rolls and actual green veggies that accompanied this spread of meet and butter-laden dishes.

 

 

Can't forget dessert! Tried my first italian cream cake. Not too shabby, but I know what I will change next time that I make one.

Marinated Cucumbers

This is a Pinterest special. I have never, in my life, voluntarily eaten a cucumber. I saw this on Pinterest, and decided that this recipe was worth overcoming my lifelong hatred of this odd vegetable. They were pretty delicious, I have to admit. Got this from a great blog post, but I left out the onions because I didn't have any.

Ingredients:
1-1/2 lbs cucumber (about 3 medium), peeled, halved lengthwise & thinly sliced
2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 c rice vinegar, seasoned or regular
1/2 c water
3 Tbs sugar*
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 Tbs minced red onion


Instructions:

1. Place cucumber slices in a colander sitting over a bowl, sprinkle with salt and toss well. Let sit for 1 hour refrigerated. Toss the cukes a few times while they drain as well. While cucumber slices are draining, prepare marinade below.
2. Combine vinegar, water, sugar and red pepper in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cook until reduced to a 1/3 cup (about 10 minutes). If for some reason you boil for too long, just add a little water until you have 1/3 C. Remove reduction from heat and add onion. Let mixture cool to room temp.
3. When cucumbers are done resting, pat them dry with a few paper towels and then combine with the vinegar reduction. This can be served immediately, but for best results refrigerate until well chilled.

Chocolate Tart

On previously noted Short Rib night, I needed to come up with something for dessert after a red wine- laced meal. What better than chocolate, right? I had a spare puck of pie dough laying around so I cobbled together a chocolate filling and made this easy dessert. It is a great thing to make out of what you have laying around, I decided.

Inspiration found here.

How to make the chocolate filling:

Ingredients:

12 oz semi sweet chocolate chips
6 tablespoons butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Instructions:

1. Roll out fresh or store bought pastry dough to 1/8" thickness and line the tart pan, making sure you press it well into the pan. Prick the dough with a fork and fill it up with dried beans and bake in a preheated oven at 350 degrees for about 17-20 minutes until it looks slightly golden and firm. Let it cool.
2. For the filling: Melt the chocolate and butter in a saucepan over low heat, stirring until smooth, then remove from the heat and cool for 5 minutes. Whisk together the eggs, cream, sugar, and vanilla extract in a bowl. Whisk the chocolate mixture into the egg mixture until combined.
3. Pour the filling into the cooled crust. Bake until the filling 1 inch from edges is set and slightly puffed but center wobbles when pan is gently shaken, 20 to 25 minutes. (The center will continue to set as it cools.)
4. Dust with icing sugar when cool.
   

Red Wine Braised Short Ribs

Once in a while, I get the urge to make short ribs. It isn't something I've mastered yet, by any means, but I came across this recipe from Bon Appetit's website. They claimed that it was both delicious and impossible to screw up, and I proved them right. Original recipe link listed below.

I started out with short ribs that I was able to get at the local market, and seared them in a little bacon fat and olive oil. The smell was amazing - I wish I could bottle it.

After removing browned short ribs, I added onions, celery, and carrots to the pot, and scraped all the yummy "bits" off of the bottom of the pot.

 

After the veggies were brown, I combined with a bottle of Cab and beef stock, and let the mixture reduce. Then I added the contents of the pot and the browned short ribs to a roasting pan and set sail on a 4 hour journey to dinnertown. Voila! Falling off the bone. Still working on my presentation. 

 We paired the ribs with roasted veggies and mashed potatoes, and reduced the remaining cooking liquid to make a gravy that was most delicious. Overall, a great "special" meal to switch things up. 

Ingredients

• 5poundsbone-in beef short ribs, cut crosswise into 2" pieces
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 3tablespoonsvegetable oil
• 3medium onions, chopped
• 3medium carrots, peeled, chopped
• 2celery stalks, chopped
• 3tablespoonsall-purpose flour
• 1tablespoontomato paste
• 1750-ml bottle dry red wine (preferably Cabernet Sauvignon)
• 10sprigs flat-leaf parsley
• 8sprigs thyme
• 4sprigs oregano
• 2sprigs rosemary
• 2fresh or dried bay leaves
• 1head of garlic, halved crosswise
• 4cupslow-salt beef stock

Preparation

• Preheat oven to 350°. Season short ribs with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Working in 2 batches, brown short ribs on all sides, about 8 minutes per batch. Transfer short ribs to a plate. Pour off all but 3 Tbsp. drippings from pot.
• Add onions, carrots, and celery to pot and cook over medium-high heat, stirring often, until onions are browned, about 5 minutes. Add flour and tomato paste; cook, stirring constantly, until well combined and deep red, 2-3 minutes. Stir in wine, then add short ribs with any accumulated juices. Bring to a boil; lower heat to medium and simmer until wine is reduced by half, about 25 minutes. Add all herbs to pot along with garlic. Stir in stock. Bring to a boil, cover, and transfer to oven.
• Cook until short ribs are tender, 2–2 1/2 hours. Transfer short ribs to a platter. Strain sauce from pot into a measuring cup. Spoon fat from surface of sauce and discard; season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Serve in shallow bowls over mashed potatoes with sauce spooned over.
  Original Recipe Found Here. 

Baby Shower Nibbles

I got the opportunity to play caterer for a friend who was hosting a baby shower recently. I did not take photos of the goodies because they were not all assembled until they got to the party site. However, the gracious mom-to-be, Bethany, snapped these gorgeous photos of the final product. I am so pleased! Also I had a lot of help, so big props to Brian, Kiley, and Karl for digging in and being so great.

 

 

Cake pops - Kiley's masterpiece. They're blue because it's a boy. :)

 

Baked potato bites.

 

Berry salad with Champagne vinigrette.

 

Cucubmber cups with chicken salad.

 

Thanks to the hostess with the mostest for letting me help!

Rich Red Velvet

It's baking season, hooray! In anticipation of guests this weekend, I wanted to make a dessert that we could nibble on for a few days. Obviously, Red Velvet cake is always a winner. Plus, who doesn't love lots of food dye?

 

 

Verdict was mostly positive. I don't take "messy to cut" as too hard of a critique. :)

I used one of Sara Moulton's recipes, and added my own favorite cream cheese frosting.
 

Ingredients: 

 

Vegetable oil for the pans

2-1/2 cups all purpose flour

1-1/2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon fine salt

1 teaspoon cocoa powder

1-1/2 cups vegetable oil

1 cup buttermilk

2 tablespoons red food coloring (1 ounce)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

cream cheese frosting

crushed pecans, for garnish

 

Instructions:

 

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly oil and flour 3 (9 by 1 1/2-inch round) cake pans.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, sugar, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In another large bowl, whisk together the oil, buttermilk, eggs, food coloring, vinegar, and vanilla.

Using a standing mixer, mix the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients until just combined and a smooth batter is formed.

Divide the cake batter evenly among the prepared cake pans. Place the pans in the oven evenly spaced apart. Bake, rotating the pans halfway through the cooking, until the cake pulls away from the side of the pans, and a toothpick inserted in the center of the cakes comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

Remove the cakes from the oven and run a knife around the edges to loosen them from the sides of the pans. One at a time, invert the cakes onto a plate and then re-invert them onto a cooling rack, rounded-sides up. Let cool completely.

Frost the cake. Place 1 layer, rounded-side down, in the middle of a rotating cake stand. Using a palette knife or offset spatula spread some of the cream cheese frosting over the top of the cake. (Spread enough frosting to make a 1/4 to 1/2-inch layer.) Carefully set another layer on top, rounded-side down, and repeat. Top with the remaining layer and cover the entire cake with the remaining frosting. Sprinkle the top with the pecans.

 

Itty Bitty Apple Pies

I fell prey to a food fad today. I couldn't help it. I was wandering around with my husband in Crate & Barrel when his eyes lit up as he pointed to a display touting all things classified as "mini pie." So we bought one, rushed home, and made pie. Lots and lots of little pies, actually. It has been a long time since I have made a pie from scratch, but I think I'll be doing it more often now. They're. Too. Cute.

 

First in the "Itty Bitty Pie" series is apple. I anticipated figuring out bake time, etc would be easier with something that I already knew how to make. Plus we had some apples on hand and I was too lazy to go get anything else.

 

For the filling,I peeled and chopped the apples, and made sure I had my pan close by.

 

Please note that each of the "pie" sections in the pan has a removable bottom like a tart pan - essential for tiny pie removal.

Sautee apples with butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, and whiskey.

 

Cut rounds of pie dough for bottom crust. Note: my pan came with an appropriately sized round for sizing (a giant cookie cutter) but yours may not. Also, having done this once now, I think the size they suggest is too small, and you'll see later that my crusts separate - irritating. The 2nd batch I made was larger and much better.

After cooking the filling, I added it to the waiting dough. It is important not to overfill!

I placed on the top crust (which, as I mentioned earlier was too small to effectively seal the edges, but whatever) and 30 minutes later, these adorable little pies popped out. I used a shot glass to raise the little bottoms out of the molds, and cooled until we couldn't stand it any longer.

 

Next time, I will make sure the crust is thinner, and cut a little larger. However, the portability (and adorability!) of these little guys makes them worth the work.

Here are the recipes I used:

Dough: I found this recipe to be simple and easy. Made enough for 4 double crust pies and 4 single crust pies. (12 rounds total, and there was a little extra.)

Filling:

3 apples, peeled and chopped into 3/8" bits. I used Granny Smith because they seem to be resilient.
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
2 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp whiskey (We happened to have a bottle of Jack laying around.)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 egg + 1 Tbsp water (egg wash)

How:

1. Melt the butter in a pan on medium high heat. Add all ingredients and stir to coat. Cook for 5 minutes or so, stirring consistently.
2. Remove from heat until pie shells are ready. Makes enough for 4 mini pies (4").
3. Fill pie shells, apply and crimp on top shell, and paint with egg wash.
4. Bake at 375 for 30 min and let cool. Enjoy!

These are almost like eating cookies, except the crust is much more flaky.

Roasted Root Veggies

 

After a pre-game feast of sausage balls and fruit tray, I wanted to feed our football game guests something on the wholesome side. We settled for crock pot pulled pork, roasted root veggies and brussel sprouts, and pumpkin pie. Turned out to be tasty and colorful, and a great jump into fall cooking.

 

Crock pot pulled pork is one of my favorites to feed a crew. You can find out how here.

 

Ingredients for roasted veggies:

2 Cups chopped carrots
2 Cups chopped parsnips
2 Cups chopped potatoes (I used purple, red, and mini yukon golds)
2 Cups brussel sprouts, trimmed and cut into halves
2-3Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp dried dill
1 Tbsp white balsamic vinegar
salt and pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Prepare all veggies - for the carrots, parsnips, and potatoes, I cut everything into 3/4" cubes. For the brussel sprouts, I cut them in half. (They will be cooked separately.)
2. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In large bowl, add all carrots, parsnips, and potatoes. Add 2 Tbsp olive oil and toss to coat. Add salt, pepper, and dill. Add to heavy roasting pan and cook, shaking/stirring occasionally, for 30-35 minutes.
3. To prepare brussel sprouts, put halved sprouts in a bowl and toss to coat with 1 Tbsp olive oil. Add salt, pepper, and balsamic vinegar, and toss. On a cookie sheet (or separate heavy roasting pan) put all brussel sprouts cut side down. Cook in the oven aside the other veggies for 26-28 minutes, turning over all sprouts halfway through the cooking time.
4. Serve and enjoy! Goes well with seasonal pumpkin ales.

The Best Yeast Rolls

 

I wanted to play house tonight and use all of my wedding gifts to cook dinner for friends tonight, so I decided on a menu of black pepper crusted pork tenderloin, asparagus risotto, and roasted veggies. To step it up just a little, I decided that I wanted to try yeast rolls for the first time as well. They turned out to be delicious, and they all disappeared immediately. :)

 

 

How to make delicious yeast rolls:

 

Ingredients:
1 cup milk (I used 2% because it's what I had)
1/2 cup butter (one stick)
1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs (large)
1 teaspoon salt
4 cup all purpose flour
1 pkg active dry yeast

Instructions:

1. Warm the milk to between 90 and 110 degrees F. Mix all of the ingredients together minus the optional water. (If you have a mixer with a bread hook you can use that or just mix by hand)
Once all the ingredients are added if the dough seems very dry add 1 tablespoon of water.

2. Once all of the ingredients are fully incorporated, knead the dough on a lightly floured surface.
Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic. Place the dough in a very lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp towel and place in a warm area. Allow the dough to rise until it is about double in size.

3. Butter a 9x13 glass dish, and then form dough into 24 dough balls. Place side by side in pan and let proof/rise for another 20-30 minutes.

4. Bake at 375 degrees F for 14 to 17 minutes or until the rolls are slightly golden brown.

 

*Adapted from instructables.com.

 

 

Potato Leek Soup with Chicken Meatballs

I've been in the mood this week for some soup, and since it has cooled down a little recently, I took the opportunity to try an experiment tonight. While I think this is lacking a little (could use some more greens, etc) it was very flavorful and filling. I added the chicken meatballs because they were quick and easy and I really wanted some protein.  

The meatballs only took a minute to combine and portion into 1 oz sizes.

 

After browning quickly, these sit until it is almost time to eat, and they add a lot to the soup.

 

Recipe:

 

Ingredients:

 

meatballs-

1 lb ground chicken

2/3 C. bread crumbs

1/2 tsp crushed red pepper

1 tsp dried parsley

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 tsp granulated garlic

2 Tbsp olive oil

 

soup-
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 leeks, chopped thin
1/2 onion, chopped thin
3/4 C. white wine
6 C. chicken broth
3 medium yukon gold potatoes, sliced thin
1/2 tsp thyme
2 bay leaves
1 tsp granulated garlic
1 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp salt

Instructions:
1. Combine all ingredients (except olive oil) for meatballs in a bowl, and combine until evenly distributed. Separate into 1 oz. portions.
2. In large pot, heat 2 Tbsp olive oil to medium heat. Sautee meatballs in a single layer until browned. Remove and drain.
3. In same pot, add additional 2 Tbsp oil, leeks, and onion. Sautee until translucent. Add wine, and bring to a boil. Add broth, thyme, bay leaves, granulated garlic, red pepper, black pepper, and salt. Simmer covered for 30 minutes.
4. Remove bay leaves, and puree mixture with immersion blender until smooth. Add thinly sliced potatoes and meatballs. Simmer covered for 20 minutes, or until potatoes are tender. Enjoy!

Vanilla Blueberry Poundcake

Tried making this as a gift for one of Brian's coworkers. Ended up making a 2nd loaf for us. Delicious! Highly recommend! 

Ingredients:

1 cup butter 1-1/3 cups sugar 3 eggs 3 cups all-purpose flour 1-1/2 tsps baking soda 1/2 tsp salt 2 cups blueberries 1 cup yogurt 3/4 cup orange juice              icing sugar Instructions: 1. Preheat oven to 350°F. In large bowl, cream butter until fluffy. Beat in sugar until mixture is light and fluffy, 5 to 8 minutes. Beat in eggs one at a time. 2. Stir or sift together flour, baking soda and salt; mix in berries. In separate bowl, stir together yogurt, orange juice and rind. 3. Mix 1/3 of the dry ingredients into batter; add half of the yogurt mixture. Stir in another third of the dry ingredients, then remaining yogurt mixture and dry ingredients. Pour into well-greased and floured deep 9 or 10 inch tube or bundt pan; smooth top and tap pan lightly on work surface to remove air bubbles. 4. Bake for 60 to 70 minutes or until tester inserted in centre comes out clean and cake is well-risen. Let cool for 15 minutes. Dust with icing sugar.

Banana Oat Muffins

This morning's challenge: use overly ripe bananas to make something that does not break the calorie bank. Behold! Banana oatmeal muffins. Nothing too special, but 200 calories per muffin so not terrible. Easy to construct, and less than 20 minutes in the oven - delicious.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 cup rolled oats
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup mashed bananas
• 1/2 tsp Nutmeg
• 1 tsp cinnamon

Instructions

1. Combine flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, soda, and salt.
2. In a large bowl, beat the egg lightly. Stir in the milk, oil, and vanilla. Add the mashed banana, nutmeg, cinnamon and combine thoroughly. Stir the flour mixture into the banana mixture until just combined. Line a 12-cup muffin tin with paper bake cups and fill with batter.
3. Bake at 400 degrees for 18 to 20 minutes.

You should probably let them cool completely before removing them from the wrapper.

Smoked Turkey Sausage with Thyme Cream Sauce

I have been on a fresh pasta "kick" lately, and I was itching to use what I brought home from the Farmer's Market so this is what the internet helped me come up with. Oh, and smoked sausage goes on everything, because it might be my favorite food. This is certainly not equivalent to eating celery, but as cream sauces go, it could be a whole lot worse.

I typically cook the sausage separately from anything else so it gets the crispy little brown bits on it. 

Fresh pasta is on a roll in my house, and I love that I can buy it at the market if I don't feel like destroying my kitchen to make my own.

Here it go:

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cups sliced smoked turkey sausage

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

salt

pepper

2 teaspoons dried thyme

1 teaspoon dill

1/4 cup white wine

1 cup milk - I used 2% because it's what I had around

1/2 cup parmesean cheese

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup starchy pasta water - reserved

Instructions:
1. Using 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, brown the smoked sausage on both sides on medium heat. Remove from pan.
2. Add remaining olive oil, onions, salt, and pepper and cook until translucent. Add garlic, and cook for additional 3-4 minutes.
3. At this point, I start the salted water boiling for the pasta. Add the tried herbs to the onion/garlic mixture, along with the white wine. After a minute or two, add the milk and bring to simmer. Once pasta has finished, add the pasta water. Reduce by about 1/3 and then remove from heat.
4. Add cheese and ensure "sauce" is at desired thickness. Toss with drained pasta and top with browned sausage.

Gourmet? No. Delicious and easy? Yes.