tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-38406335797991914282024-02-20T11:19:05.146-05:00my sunday dinnersa blog about the food that is sunday dinner (and quite possibly monday leftovers)Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926629346324477706noreply@blogger.comBlogger197125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840633579799191428.post-7873361319043471132013-11-24T17:05:00.000-05:002013-11-24T17:05:13.808-05:00More soup...I know it's rather predictable but in my defence it was the perfect day for making soup today. We were basically snowed in all day thanks to a band of snow squalls moving through the area. So while I hunkered down in the kitchen with some sweet potatoes and carrots my kids hunkered down in the family room with a DVD from the Library on <a href="http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/entertainment/dvd/mythbusters-big-blasts-collection/014381514827-item.html?ikwid=myth+busters+big+blasts&ikwsec=Home&gcs_requestid=0CNicrdG0_roCFU--5wodjlwAAA" target="_blank">things that explode</a>. Win-win.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>This week I tried a <a href="http://www.onceuponachef.com/2012/10/autumn-carrot-and-sweet-potato-soup.html" target="_blank">Carrot and Sweet Potato soup</a> made with curry powder that I found a perfect antidote to a cold Winter (or is it still technically Fall?) day. I did modify this soup slightly. I couldn't be bothered peeling an apple and was running low on chicken stock so added apple juice instead. I also didn't add the honey since I felt the soup was sweet enough after I had pureed everything. I've decided that for me, a deal-breaker with a soup is its consistency. This one was perfect. I don't love a thick soup.<br />
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<a href="http://www.onceuponachef.com/2012/10/autumn-carrot-and-sweet-potato-soup.html" target="_blank">Carrot and Sweet Potato Soup</a> from Once Upon a Chef<br />
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<li class="ingredient" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; line-height: 16px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="amount" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">4 tablespoons</span> <span class="name" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">unsalted butter</span></span></li>
<li class="ingredient" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; line-height: 16px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="amount" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">2</span> <span class="name" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">medium yellow onions, chopped</span></span></li>
<li class="ingredient" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; line-height: 16px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="amount" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">1 tablespoon</span> <span class="name" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">curry powder, plus a bit more for serving</span></span></li>
<li class="ingredient" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; line-height: 16px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="amount" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">1 pound</span> <span class="name" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">carrots, peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces</span></span></li>
<li class="ingredient" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; line-height: 16px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="amount" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">1-1/2 pounds</span> <span class="name" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">sweet potatoes (about 2 small), peeled and chopped into 1-inch pieces</span></span></li>
<li class="ingredient" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; line-height: 16px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="amount" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">8 cups</span> <span class="name" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">chicken broth, best quality such as Swanson</span></span></li>
<li class="ingredient" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; line-height: 16px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="amount" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">1-3/4 teaspoons</span> <span class="name" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">salt</span></span></li>
<li class="ingredient" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; line-height: 16px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="amount" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">1 </span><span class="name" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">tart yet sweet apple (such as Honeycrisp or Fuji), peeled and chopped</span></span></li>
<li class="ingredient" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; line-height: 16px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span class="amount" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">2 tablespoons</span> <span class="name" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">honey</span></span></li>
<li class="ingredient" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; line-height: 16px; list-style: none; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span class="name" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Freshly ground black pepper</span></span></li>
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<li class="instruction" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring frequently, until soft and translucent, about 10 minutes. Do not brown. Add the curry powder and cook a minute more.</span></li>
<li class="instruction" style="background-color: transparent; border: 0px; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Add the carrots, sweet potatoes, chicken broth and salt and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over low heat until vegetables are very tender, about 25 minutes. Stir in the apples and honey. Using a stick blender, puree the soup until smooth and creamy. (Alternatively, cool the soup slightly, then puree in a blender in batches. Be sure to leave the hole in the lid open to allow the steam to escape.) Season to taste with salt, pepper and more honey if necessary. Ladle soup into bowls and sprinkle with more curry powder if desired. (Note: As the soup sits, it will thicken up so you may need to add a bit of water to thin it out.)</span></li>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="color: #454545;"><span style="line-height: 22px;">Two weeks ago I made a fantastic soup - and I can't find the recipe! It wasn't complicated and while I think I can remember all of the ingredients I really wish I could remember where I got this recipe from…it's basically a roasted vegetable soup. Start by roasting some butternut squash with a cut up carrot, celery and an onion. Then add all of the roasted vegetables to a pot with a can of diced tomatoes. Bring to a boil and simmer for maybe 15 minutes. Then puree everything. This was such a good soup! I'm afraid to try it again from memory but I might have to do just that. Too good not to recreate. And perfect with a grilled cheese on days like this….</span></span></span><br />
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Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926629346324477706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840633579799191428.post-41168991029114770632013-11-03T18:03:00.001-05:002013-11-03T18:05:32.640-05:00Soup's onIt's that time of year again. The time of year when Sundays are spent in the kitchen making everything from cookies to cabbage rolls. In other words, the best time of the year. I've missed being in the kitchen! Not that Summer wasn't wonderful. We had lots of new adventures in our household over the past four months. Some welcome (like flying to Banff and putting in a pool) some not (like breaking my foot). So with all of the 'new' going on around here, it's nice to know that my Sundays in the kitchen endure. They are the best way to wind down a weekend and start up a new week. Especially when I have soup on the menu.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>I've had two fantastic soup experiences since Fall officially arrived. The first, <a href="http://www.kayotic.nl/blog/ghanaian-peanut-soup" target="_blank">Ghanaian Peanut Soup</a>, is courtesy of a new food blog find, Kayotic Kitchen. This is one of those dishes I shouldn't have even tried, since I've had some hit and miss experiences with peanut in the past. I think what tipped me in the direction of trying this out was that I happened to have all of the necessary ingredients on hand, and I was curious to taste how the ginger and chili powder would impact the peanut butter. Turns out, ginger and chili are just what peanut butter needs in a soup! There were many skeptics in my kitchen the Sunday I tried this recipe out, but by the time they had all had a taste of the finished product they had to admit this soup is a keeper.<br />
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Ghanaian Peanut Soup - adapted slightly from <a href="http://www.kayotic.nl/blog/ghanaian-peanut-soup" target="_blank">Kayotic Kitchen</a><br />
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Ingredients:<br />
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1 medium onion, diced<br />
1 garlic clove<br />
1/2 tsp grated fresh ginger<br />
1/2 cup peanut butter<br />
1 tbsp tomato paste<br />
1 tbsp molasses<br />
1 cup mashed potatoes<br />
2 1/2 cups chicken broth<br />
2 tbsp sugar<br />
1/2 tsp chili powder<br />
1 chicken breast, cut in small pieces<br />
1/4 tsp chili powder<br />
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<i>I was pretty sure I had a bowl of left-over mashed potatoes in the fridge (bonus!) but when I went to retrieve them I found that someone had already declared them beyond and tossed them. So I made a fresh batch just for this soup. Sweet potatoes are another option (one I'd like to try). I'm not sure where the molasses came from. I could have sworn it was part of the original recipe, but when I went back to double-check it clearly was absent from the ingredients and instructions. So if you want to stay true to the original you might want to check the link above!</i><br />
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Directions: Heat about a tablespoon of olive oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and sauté for five minutes. Once slightly transparent, add garlic and cook another 2-3 minutes, then add ginger and cook another minute or two.<br />
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Stir in the peanut butter to melt, add the tomato paste, molasses and mashed potatoes and stir until you end up with a smooth paste. Slowly stir in chicken broth. Add the sugar and chili powder, then add the chicken. Bring everything to a boil and simmer over low heat for 15 minutes until the chicken is cooked.<br />
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My next soup is also slightly adapted from an original. It's for Black Bean and Pumpkin soup via <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2007/11/black-bean-pumkin-soup/" target="_blank">Smitten Kitchen</a>, interpreted by <a href="http://blueberriesandbasil.wordpress.com/2013/10/17/more-pumpkin-pumpkin-black-bean-soup-and-pumpkin-bread-pudding/" target="_blank">Blueberries & Basil</a>. I would have made the original SK version but didn't have any ham around so decided to try a vegetarian version. I knew David wouldn't touch this soup due to his aversion to beans. No one in my household likes beans, which I can't understand. Baked beans is one of my favourite dishes, and I make an awesome vegetarian chili that features beans. And now I also have a great go-to black bean soup that does a very nice job of using up pumpkin left over from making <a href="http://mysundaydinners.blogspot.ca/2011/11/spiced-pumpkin-oatmeal.html" target="_blank">pumpkin oatmeal</a> and pumpkin cookies...(it was a very large can of pumpkin!).<br />
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Black Bean and Pumpkin Soup - from <a href="http://blueberriesandbasil.wordpress.com/2013/10/17/more-pumpkin-pumpkin-black-bean-soup-and-pumpkin-bread-pudding/" target="_blank">Blueberries & Basil</a>, and <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2007/11/black-bean-pumkin-soup/" target="_blank">Smitten Kitchen</a><br />
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Pumpkin Black Bean Soup,</strong> modified from <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2007/11/black-bean-pumkin-soup/" sl-processed="1" style="border: 0px; color: #1982d1; font-family: inherit; font-style: inherit; margin: 0px; outline: 0px; padding: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank" title="Smitten Kitchen">Smitten Kitchen</a></div>
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3 15 1/2 ounce cans black beans, rinsed and drained<br />
1 can drained canned tomatoes<br />
1 1/4 cups chopped onions<br />
1/2 cup minced shallot<br />
4 garlic cloves, minced<br />
1 tablespoon cumin seed, optional<br />
1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons ground cumin<br />
1 teaspoon salt<br />
1/2 teaspoon pepper<br />
1/4 cup olive oil or butter<br />
4 1/2 cups chicken or vegetable stock<br />
1 15 1/2 ounce can pumpkin (or about 1 1/2 cups from a larger can)</div>
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Heat olive oil or butter in a dutch oven or soup pot over medium high heat. Add onion, garlic, shallot, salt, pepper, cumin, and cumin seed if using, and sauté until the onions are translucent and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. While the onion mixture is sautéing, pulse black beans, tomatoes, and pumpkin in the food processor until coarsely puréed (this will look really gross, but don't let that put you off.). Add bean mixture to the pot and add the stock; stir until well combined. Simmer 25 minutes, or until thick. Serve garnished with pumpkin seeds, sour cream or Greek yogurt.</div>
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I lack a photograph of either soup, but hate a kitchen journal with no photos! So I offer up this picture of <a href="http://mysundaydinners.blogspot.ca/2011/03/canadian-cheddar-cheese-soup.html" target="_blank">Canadian Cheddar Cheese soup</a>, my contribution to a family Thanksgiving this year. Clearly, I'm in a soup kind of place lately....<br />
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Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926629346324477706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840633579799191428.post-57866723971927924352013-10-06T13:37:00.003-04:002013-11-03T18:05:44.284-05:00DonutsThis Summer when we went to Banff, we were so excited to get from Calgary to our ultimate destination that we bolted from the airport to our rental car and down the Trans Canada highway with nary a thought for lunch. It wasn't until we were near Canmore that we realized we were all hungry. At that point it had started to rain, there was traffic and few options for sustenance; as much as we wanted food we also just wanted to get to Banff. So we pulled into a Tim Hortons and grabbed some donuts. They did the trick. We got to Banff in good time in fairly good humour, hunger pangs temporarily sated, the sun came out and we spent the next four days having a great time exploring Western Canada.<br />
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The morning we were due to depart we decided to splurge and have brunch in the Bow Valley Grill. It was a fantastic spread, and included an assortment of fresh, home-made donuts which the kids devoured, noting that while Tim's donuts were good these donuts were a-mazing. I filed away their enthusiastic response, hoping that they might be interested in trying to make donuts at home. When I suggested we try it one Sunday morning they were game, since they could still taste the cinnamon sugar and remember happy, sticky fingers from our Bow Valley brunch.<br />
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Donuts are not difficult to make. They require some patience but only basic ingredients to create something fabulous. I think the part my kids liked best about making donuts was frying them. From what I can gather, they were pretending to deep-fry enemies of the Republic, or whatever side they are on in the whole Star Wars Clone Wars saga that I can't follow. Slipping them into the boiling oil, they would implore the risen donut round to 'Tell me what you know! Or be fried!'. You know how it ends. None of our doughy captives yielded. We fried them all, rolled them in sugar and ate them all through the day. Yum!<br />
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: TeeFranklinMdRegular, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Classic Cinnamon Sugar Donuts - <a href="http://www.chatelaine.com/recipes/classic-cinnamon-sugar-donuts/" target="_blank">from Chatelaine</a></strong></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: TeeFranklinMdRegular, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Recipe: Classic cinnamon-sugar donuts</strong></div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: TeeFranklinMdRegular, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Prep:</strong> 30 min <strong style="border: 0px; font-family: TeeFranklinMdRegular, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Rising:</strong> 11/2 hours <strong style="border: 0px; font-family: TeeFranklinMdRegular, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Baking:</strong> 1 hour</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: TeeFranklinMdRegular, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">Makes:</strong> 19 donuts</div>
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1 8 g pkg active dry yeast<br />
1/4 cup granulated sugar<br />
3/4 cup warm milk<br />
3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour<br />
2 tsp salt<br />
2 eggs<br />
2 egg yolks<br />
1/3 cup unsalted butter<br />
vegetable oil<br />
1/4 sugar<br />
2 tbsp cinnamon</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: TeeFranklinMdRegular, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">STIR</strong> yeast with sugar and warm milk in the bowl of an electric stand mixer. Let sit for 10 min or until slightly frothy. Combine flour with salt in a large bowl.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: TeeFranklinMdRegular, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">MIX</strong> yeast mixture with paddle attachment at low speed for 1 min. Gradually add flour mixture while stirring, until combined, about 2 min. Replace paddle with dough hook attachment. Mix in eggs, yolks and butter until combined, scraping down when needed. Increase speed to medium and mix 4 more min (stand mixer may move around the counter) or until dough has come away from the sides of the bowl and is smooth. Remove hook. Cover mixing bowl with a damp kitchen towel (not terry cloth) and let rise at room temperature until doubled in size, about 1 hour.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: TeeFranklinMdRegular, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">TURN</strong> out dough onto a lightly-floured surface and punch down. Roll until 1/4 in” thickness. Cut our 3″ circles and transfer to a lightly floured surface. Use a 1″ cutter to cut out the centres of the donuts if desired. Reserve these centres to cook separately. Cover rounds with plastic wrap and let rise for 30 more min.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: TeeFranklinMdRegular, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">HEAT</strong> enough vegetable oil to reach 3″ depth in a heavy bottomed pot over high heat to 350F. Drop in like-sized donuts, a few at a time being sure not to crown the pot. Cook, flipping often to brown both sides until golden, about 2 min. Remove donuts to a paper towel-lined plate and repeat with remaining donuts. Let cool until warm enough to handle.</div>
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<strong style="border: 0px; font-family: TeeFranklinMdRegular, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font: inherit; line-height: inherit; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">STIR</strong> sugar with cinnamon and pour onto a shallow plate. Roll warm donuts in cinnamon sugar until they are well coated. Cool or enjoy immediately.</div>
<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926629346324477706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840633579799191428.post-121167413990568092013-05-25T21:14:00.002-04:002013-05-25T21:14:59.594-04:00Creamy Stovetop Mac and CheeseOn our recent Spring vacation on the Disney Dream, Daniel ate a whole lot of macaroni and cheese. It was classic Disney mac and cheese. (A familiar mac and cheese given the amount of time we've vacationed at Disney through the years.) It's advertised as creamy and boy, is it ever. So creamy that at times it's like eating cheese soup with a bit of macaroni thrown in as an afterthought.<br />
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Both of the boys have made it clear over the years that they don't really like my home-made macaroni and cheese. (I don't know why, because it's delicious. But apparently it's not <i>creamy</i> enough.) I'm always on the look-out for a new macaroni and cheese recipe that might wean them off KD, which is the only mac and cheese they'll eat at home. So a mac and cheese recipe advertised as creamy definitely catches my attention since apparently that's what my current recipe lacks - creaminess. I was craving mac and cheese earlier this week when the weather turned a bit chilly, and <a href="http://www.thekitchn.com/weeknight-recipe-easy-homemade-82588" target="_blank">this</a> was the first recipe I came across that included the word 'creamy' and whose required ingredients I had on hand. I was so hopeful for this recipe. It required zero effort to make and it certainly looked the part (i.e. very, very creamy). And yet, sadly, it was rejected. Only by the boys. I ate it quite happily and had the leftovers for lunch the next day. It's my new go-to stovetop mac and cheese. Despite being dismissed (not for lack of creaminess. This time we claimed an after-taste. I dispute this finding.) I will make this recipe again. I have a feeling that with time, this could be a winner.<br />
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Creamy No-Roux Stove Top Macaroni and Cheese</h3>
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What You Need</h3>
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<b>Ingredients</b></div>
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1 pound pasta, any shape<br />
1 1/2 cups whole or 2% milk<br />
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour<br />
2-3 cups shredded cheese, like cheddar, monterey jack, or colby<br />
1/2 teaspoon salt<br />
1/4 teaspoon powdered mustard<br />
Optional extras (cook before adding): Ham, bacon, onions, peas, mushrooms, peppers, broccoli, cauliflower</div>
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<b>Equipment</b></div>
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Pasta pot<br />
Sauce pan<br />
Whisk<br />
Spatula</div>
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Instructions</h3>
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<b>1. Boil the Pasta:</b> Bring about 4 quarts of water to a boil over high heat in the pasta pot. Add the pasta and a tablespoon of salt. Cook until the pasta is <a href="http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/word-of-mouth/word-of-mouth-al-dente-064357" style="color: #bf8221; text-decoration: none;">al dente</a>, about 8 minutes. Drain and set aside.</div>
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<b>2. Warm the Milk:</b> When the pasta has finished cooking, prepare the cheese sauce. Begin warming 1 cup of the milk in the saucepan over medium heat. Whisk together the remaining 1/2 cup of milk and the flour until there are no lumps. When you just start to see tendrils of steam rising from the warming milk, whisk in the milk-and-flour mixture. Continue whisking gently until the milk thickens slightly to the consistency of heavy cream, 3-4 minutes.</div>
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<b>3. Make the Cheese Sauce:</b> Turn the heat to low and begin mixing handfuls of cheese into the milk. Stir in the salt and mustard. Stir until all the cheese has melted and the sauce is creamy. Taste and adjust the seasonings as desired. Remove the sauce from heat.</div>
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<b>4. Combine the Pasta and Cheese Sauce:</b> In a large serving bowl, combine the pasta and 1/2 of the cheese sauce. Stir to coat the pasta evenly. Add the second half of the sauce and any extra add-ins.</div>
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<b>5. Serving and Storing Leftovers:</b> Serve the mac and cheese immediately while still warm. Leftovers will keep for up to a week and can be reheated in the microwave. If the sauce is a little dry after re-heating, mix in a splash of milk to make it creamy again.</div>
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<a href="http://www.thekitchn.com/weeknight-recipe-easy-homemade-82588" target="_blank">From Kitchn</a></div>
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Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926629346324477706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840633579799191428.post-61405745617444208232013-05-12T19:50:00.000-04:002013-05-12T19:50:28.074-04:00Muffins - Banana Chocolate Chip, Honey Oat, Mini Chocolate Chip....For a few weeks now I've been making muffins on Sunday. It all started with a <a href="http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/chocolate-chip-and-banana-muffins" target="_blank">banana chocolate chip muffin</a> recipe I pinned from <a href="http://www.foodandwine.com/slideshows/breakfast-muffins/1" target="_blank">Food and Wine magazine</a>. These made everyone happy at our house. (Of course, anything with 1 1/2 sticks of melted butter is likely to be enjoyed around here.) This weekend I made <a href="http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/white-house-honey-oat-muffins" target="_blank">Honey-Oat muffins</a> which were excellent hot out of the oven. Today being Mother's Day I was told to stay out of the kitchen during dinner, but I managed to sneak in a mini-muffin making session, whipping up a batch of <a href="http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/chocolate-chip-muffins-recipe/" target="_blank">chocolate chip muffins</a> for dessert. I made them in my mini-muffin pan which turned out to be an excellent decision, because I could justify eating a handful. The banana chocolate chip and regular chocolate chip are definitely recipes worth remembering!<br />
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Chocolate Chip Muffins - from <a href="http://www.mybakingaddiction.com/chocolate-chip-muffins-recipe/" target="_blank">My Baking Addiction</a><br />
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<i>I made this recipe in a mini-muffin pan, yielding 30 mini muffins. I baked them for about 15 minutes.</i><br />
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<span style="color: #e5cd67; font-size: 18px; text-transform: uppercase;">INGREDIENTS:</span></h1>
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2 cups all-purpose flour<br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />1/3 cup light brown sugar, packed<br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />1/3 cup sugar<br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />2 teaspoons baking powder<br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />1/2 teaspoon salt<br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled<br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />2 eggs, lightly beaten<br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />2/3 cup whole milk<br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract<br style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;" />1 1/2 cups milk chocolate chips</div>
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DIRECTIONS:</h2>
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1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners or spray the wells of the pan with non-stick cooking spray.</div>
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2. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugars, baking powder, and salt. Set aside.</div>
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3. In medium bowl, whisk together melted butter, eggs, milk, and vanilla, mixing until well combined.</div>
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4. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour the liquid ingredients into the well. Stir until ingredients are just combined - do not over mix the batter. Fold in the chocolate chips.</div>
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5. Evenly divide the batter into the prepared muffin pan wells. Bake for 17-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean.</div>
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6. Remove muffins to a wire rack and cool for at least 5 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.</div>
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Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins - from <a href="http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/chocolate-chip-and-banana-muffins" target="_blank">Food and Wine Magazine</a><br />
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<li style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px; padding-bottom: 20px;"><span itemprop="ingredients">1 1/2 cups sugar</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px; padding-bottom: 20px;"><span itemprop="ingredients">1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px; padding-bottom: 20px;"><span itemprop="ingredients">2 cups mashed overripe bananas (about 6)</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px; padding-bottom: 20px;"><span itemprop="ingredients">3 large eggs</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px; padding-bottom: 20px;"><span itemprop="ingredients">2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px; padding-bottom: 20px;"><span itemprop="ingredients">2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px; padding-bottom: 20px;"><span itemprop="ingredients">1 teaspoon salt</span></li>
<li style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px; padding-bottom: 20px;"><span itemprop="ingredients">1 cup mini chocolate chips (6 ounces)</span></li>
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<li style="padding-bottom: 21px;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Preheat the oven to 350° and line two 12-cup muffin tins with paper or foil liners. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, melted butter, bananas and eggs; mix thoroughly. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk until the batter is evenly moistened. Stir in the chocolate chips.</span></li>
<li style="padding-bottom: 21px;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake for about 28 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffins comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Let the muffins cool for 10 minutes before turning them out onto a rack to cool completely.</span></li>
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<div id="endnotes" style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 21px;">
<span class="inline-subhed" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 1px; text-transform: uppercase;">MAKE AHEAD</span> The banana muffins can be wrapped in plastic and frozen for up to 1 month. Let thaw and toast in a 350° oven.</div>
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Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926629346324477706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840633579799191428.post-58392231223220101772013-05-11T10:55:00.002-04:002013-05-11T10:56:07.841-04:00Banana PuddingSo I did that thing again, where I obsess for weeks over making home made (fill in the blank) for no good reason at all other than I just want to, even though I could buy a mix or a cup or a jar of (fill in the blank) for less. This time it was banana pudding. I blame the cookbook I borrowed from the library back in the darkest, coldest days of Winter. It was full of things that sounded delicious, and banana pudding stood out for some reason. Now that the sun is shining and warm breezes are blowing through the kitchen on the weekend, it felt like a good time to finally conquer banana pudding.<br />
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The last few weeks have been hectic so I haven't cooked or baked all that much. As usual I didn't realize how much I missed being in the kitchen until I was working on this pudding. Not everyone in our household is a pudding fan. David, Patrick and I quite liked this as our Sunday dessert but Daniel just isn't convinced by pudding. No matter what the flavour. I quite liked the addition of the crushed cookie topping; I might have kept adding it until my pudding cup was scraped clean.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipcnkLuZLtrCd5XdfyUmAIfYs9qoJ_qmWn-rKZqiohtR6Z-EjqERlN9a8uC6EYP4QP8FKmUcztgLKXAs6Tc1XMtbG_WqVRDqQzdaNP619J6399TCyioDQku_htqL1ipB4xleC2SNgEnmJM/s1600/pudding.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipcnkLuZLtrCd5XdfyUmAIfYs9qoJ_qmWn-rKZqiohtR6Z-EjqERlN9a8uC6EYP4QP8FKmUcztgLKXAs6Tc1XMtbG_WqVRDqQzdaNP619J6399TCyioDQku_htqL1ipB4xleC2SNgEnmJM/s320/pudding.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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Banana Pudding (from <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Banana-Pudding-356830" target="_blank">Epicurious</a>)<br />
<strong style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left;"><br /></strong>
<strong style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left;">For the pudding:</strong><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left;"></span><br />
<ul class="ingredientsList" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;">
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">5 large egg yolks</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1/2 cup sugar</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1/4 cup cornstarch</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1/4 teaspoon salt</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">2 cups whole milk</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">3 tablespoons banana liqueur (or 1 teaspoon banana flavoring)</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">2 teaspoons vanilla extract</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">2 tablespoons unsalted butter</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">2 ripe bananas</li>
</ul>
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<strong style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left;">For the crumble:</strong><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left;"></span><br />
<ul class="ingredientsList" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;">
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1 cup vanilla wafers (about 15 cookies)</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">2 teaspoons sugar</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Pinch salt</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted</li>
</ul>
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<div class="instruction" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;">
<strong>To make the pudding:</strong><br />
Whisk the egg yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and salt together in a medium bowl and set aside. Bring the milk to a boil in a medium saucepan. Remove from the heat and whisk a little at a time into the egg mixture. Once the bottom of the bowl is warm, slowly whisk in the remaining hot milk. Pour the mixture back into a clean medium saucepan (cleaning the saucepan prevents the pudding from scorching), add the banana liqueur, and whisk over medium-low heat until it thickens, about 2 minutes. Cook while constantly whisking until the pudding is glossy and quite thick, 1 1/2 to 2 minutes longer. Transfer the pudding to a clean bowl.</div>
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Add the vanilla and butter and gently whisk until the butter is completely melted and incorporated. Press a piece of plastic wrap onto the surface of the pudding to prevent a skin from forming. Refrigerate for 4 hours.</div>
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<div class="instruction" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;">
<strong>To make the crumble:</strong><br />
While the pudding sets, heat the oven to 325°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside. Place the wafers in a resealable plastic bag and seal (make sure there is no air in the bag prior to sealing). Using a rolling pin or a flat-bottomed saucepan or pot, crush the vanilla wafers until they're coarsely ground. Transfer them to a small bowl and stir in the sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Use a spoon to evenly stir in the melted butter, transfer to the prepared baking sheet, and toast in the oven until brown and fragrant, 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool. (The crumbs can be stored in an airtight container for up to 5 days at room temperature or frozen for up to 2 months; re-crisp in a 325°F oven for 6 to 7 minutes if necessary.)</div>
<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left;"><br /></span>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926629346324477706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840633579799191428.post-80512015114104238032013-05-05T20:41:00.002-04:002013-05-05T20:41:53.626-04:00Chicken and Cashew Stir-Fry with Ginger-Scented RiceFor some reason, I always have trouble with jasmine rice. It isn't as forgiving as my old-reliable Uncle Ben's. I can't turn my back on it for a minute or it sticks and burns to the bottom of the pot. So I guess it's a good thing we've started eating early on Sundays because I had time to make a second pot of rice after scorching the first batch. Burned rice has an unpleasant smell. My family was kind enough to point this out to me as I chipped rice off the bottom of my pot in hopes of scrubbing it clean enough to try again. Because you can't have stir-fry without rice. (Although you could have it with noodles. Next time I'll try noodles.) Actually, once I managed to cook the rice properly it was really good. The first batch used up most of my fresh ginger so it wasn't quite as ginger-scented as it might have been, but it worked well with the chicken and cashew stir-fry. And the hardest part of that dish was cutting up the chicken, which I delegated.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmNHW8kJo7ElxmadTJYkJCUcqPy0WKh1p2Ve-Y3O8TGRKBZqwGee_5Z2Q7zozdQ-8GrZIBU1vXiZ0KP5c_P1P30fPGwG-nl36Nm3x-Qek7hqh2oBSHy-jm5NiwRPEGnoMRGtLyjLC4FKRv/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgmNHW8kJo7ElxmadTJYkJCUcqPy0WKh1p2Ve-Y3O8TGRKBZqwGee_5Z2Q7zozdQ-8GrZIBU1vXiZ0KP5c_P1P30fPGwG-nl36Nm3x-Qek7hqh2oBSHy-jm5NiwRPEGnoMRGtLyjLC4FKRv/s320/photo.JPG" width="239" /></a></div>
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<a name='more'></a>Ginger-Scented Rice - from <i><a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Ginger-Scented-Rice-352049" target="_blank">Epicurious</a></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left;">Ingredients</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left;">1 3-inch-long 1-inch-thick piece fresh ginger, peeled, cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick pieces</span></div>
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<ul class="ingredientsList" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;">
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1 1/2 cups water</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1 cup jasmine rice, rinsed</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1 tablespoon butter</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1 teaspoon coarse kosher salt</li>
</ul>
<div class="instruction" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;">
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Preparation</div>
<div class="instruction" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;">
Using garlic press, squeeze enough fresh ginger into small bowl to measure 1 1/2 tablespoons juice with pulp. Transfer ginger to small saucepan. (<i>Having no garlic press, I grated my ginger using a super-fine grater.</i>)</div>
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<div class="instruction" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;">
Add 1 1/2 cups water, rice, butter, and salt to same pan. Cover; bring to boil over high heat. (<i>As already noted, I had to watch the rice carefully and stir it while it was coming to a boil. Otherwise it stuck and burned to the bottom of the pot.</i>)</div>
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<div class="instruction" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;">
Reduce heat to low and cook, covered, until rice is tender, about 15 minutes. Remove pan from heat; let rice sit 10 minutes. Uncover; fluff rice with fork.</div>
<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left;"><br /></span>Chicken and Cashew Stir-fry - from <i><a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Chicken-and-Cashew-Stir-Fry-238402" target="_blank">Epicurious</a></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left;"></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left;">Ingredients</span></span></div>
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<ul class="ingredientsList" style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1 bunch scallions</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1 pound skinless boneless chicken thighs</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1/2 teaspoon salt</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1/4 teaspoon black pepper</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">3 tablespoons vegetable oil</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1 red bell pepper, chopped</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">4 garlic cloves, finely chopped</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1 1/2 tablespoons finely chopped peeled fresh ginger</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1/4 teaspoon dried hot red-pepper flakes</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">3/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1 teaspoon sugar</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1/2 cup salted roasted whole cashews</li>
</ul>
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Preparation</div>
<div>
Chop scallions, separating white and green parts. Pat chicken dry, then cut into 3/4-inch pieces and toss with salt and pepper. Heat a wok or 12-inch heavy skillet (not nonstick) over moderately high heat until a drop of water evaporates immediately. Add oil, swirling to coat, then stir-fry chicken until golden in places and just cooked through, 4 to 5 minutes. Transfer to a plate with a slotted spoon. Add bell pepper, garlic, ginger, red-pepper flakes, and scallion whites to wok and stir-fry until peppers are just tender, 5 to 6 minutes.</div>
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Stir together broth, soy sauce, cornstarch, and sugar, then stir into vegetables in wok. Reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in cashews, scallion greens, and chicken along with any juices accumulated on plate.</div>
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Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926629346324477706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840633579799191428.post-38665868581138166382013-03-24T14:49:00.000-04:002013-03-24T14:49:34.092-04:00Chocolate Chip and Banana MuffinsEaster is sneaking up on us very early this year. One can't even be fooled by the weather into thinking Easter is near, given that Spring still appears undecided about exactly when it will make an appearance. I know it's going to be Easter soon, though, since Easter treats are everywhere I look. Mostly the tiny packaged chocolate kind (Easter - it's the new Halloween!).<br />
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Given that Easter is next week it's clearly time once again for hot cross buns. It's difficult when the majority of your household loves hot cross buns but one lone (but still very important) individual does not. He doesn't get the least bit excited when the the kitchen takes on a yeasty, cinnamon-scented perfume. The drizzle of icing that frosts the buns with neat little crosses also ceases to excite him in the way it does the rest of us. Knowing that he wouldn't be interested in the ritual of the first hot cross buns of Spring I decided to make Patrick his own special treat to enjoy - <a href="http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/chocolate-chip-and-banana-muffins" target="_blank">Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins</a>.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>These are really good muffins. Really, really good muffins. They are a recipe from Food and Wine, more specifically from a chef named <a href="http://www.foodandwine.com/chefs/grace-parisi" target="_blank">Grace Parisi</a>. You know that you spend too much time looking for recipes when you recognize the chef's name. Grace Parisi is also to be thanked for <a href="http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/maple-soy-snack-mix" target="_blank">Maple-Soy Snack Mix</a>, which we enjoy by the bucketful during the Christmas season. But try not to get distracted because Grace Parisi definitely knows her way around a Chocolate Chip Banana Muffin. These muffins are tender and moist. The banana to chocolate ratio is perfect. They are definitely best warmed up, but I also had one at room temperature and enjoyed it every bit as much. Patrick happily munched away on one while the rest of us tucked in to hot cross buns this morning at breakfast. So no one felt left out this morning.<br />
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Chocolate Chip Banana Muffins<br />
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<div class="two-columns" id="ingredients" style="color: #7d7d7d; float: left; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-right: 20px; width: 200px;">
<ol style="list-style: none; margin: 0px 0px 10px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px; padding-bottom: 20px;"><span itemprop="ingredients">1 1/2 cups sugar</span></li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px; padding-bottom: 20px;"><span itemprop="ingredients">1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, melted</span></li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px; padding-bottom: 20px;"><span itemprop="ingredients">2 cups mashed overripe bananas (about 6)</span></li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px; padding-bottom: 20px;"><span itemprop="ingredients">3 large eggs</span></li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px; padding-bottom: 20px;"><span itemprop="ingredients">2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour</span></li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px; padding-bottom: 20px;"><span itemprop="ingredients">2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda</span></li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px; padding-bottom: 20px;"><span itemprop="ingredients">1 teaspoon salt</span></li>
<li style="color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 15px; padding-bottom: 20px;"><span itemprop="ingredients">1 cup mini chocolate chips (6 ounces)</span></li>
</ol>
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<div class="four-columns" id="directions" style="color: #7d7d7d; float: left; font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px; margin-right: 0px; width: 420px;">
<ol itemprop="recipeInstructions" style="color: black; font-weight: bold; line-height: 21px; list-style-position: inside; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">
<li style="padding-bottom: 21px;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Preheat the oven to 350° and line two 12-cup muffin tins with paper or foil liners. In a large bowl, combine the sugar, melted butter, bananas and eggs; mix thoroughly. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour with the baking soda and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and whisk until the batter is evenly moistened. Stir in the chocolate chips.</span></li>
<li style="padding-bottom: 21px;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin cups. Bake for about 28 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the center of the muffins comes out with a few moist crumbs attached. Let the muffins cool for 10 minutes before turning them out onto a rack to cool completely.</span></li>
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<div id="endnotes" style="color: black; line-height: 21px;">
<span class="inline-subhed" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; font-weight: bold; letter-spacing: 1px; text-transform: uppercase;">MAKE AHEAD</span> The banana muffins can be wrapped in plastic and frozen for up to 1 month. Let thaw and toast in a 350° oven.</div>
<div class="recipe-footer" style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 9px; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 15px; margin-top: 30px; text-align: right; text-transform: uppercase;">
<ul style="list-style: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px 0px 8px;">
<li style="padding-bottom: 0px;">FROM <a href="http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/kissed-by-chocolate" style="color: #3a89ac; text-decoration: none;" title="Kissed by Chocolate">KISSED BY CHOCOLATE</a>, <a href="http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/the-best-banana-bread-recipes" style="color: #3a89ac; text-decoration: none;" title="The Best Banana Bread Recipes">THE BEST BANANA BREAD RECIPES</a>, <a href="http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/the-best-banana-bread-recipes" style="color: #3a89ac; text-decoration: none;" title="The Best Banana Bread Recipes">THE BEST BANANA BREAD RECIPES</a></li>
<li style="padding-bottom: 0px;">PUBLISHED <a href="http://www.foodandwine.com/monthly/May-2010" style="color: #3a89ac; text-decoration: none;" title="Food & Wine's May 2010 Issue">MAY 2010</a></li>
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Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926629346324477706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840633579799191428.post-42558816451209783032013-03-17T16:09:00.002-04:002013-03-17T16:10:12.815-04:00Peanut Butter GingersnapsI really expected that these would go over big at my house. We love our gingersnaps and we're pretty sweet on peanut butter anything. So I was surprised when they were met with...indifference. The boys liked these cookies, but they didn't necessarily love them. I think they are quite brilliant. Neither flavour dominates, and they are chewy but firm. I think they'll make a return appearance to the cookie jar.
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<a name='more'></a><div class="EditorialText RecipeIngredients" style="background-color: white; color: #666666; display: inline; float: left; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px !important; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 1em; position: relative; width: 460px;">
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<span style="font-size: small;">Peanut Butter Gingersnaps (from <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipes/recipe.html?dishid=9079" target="_blank">Eat, Shrink and Be Merry</a>)</span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Ingredients</span></h3>
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<span class="value" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">3/4 </span><span class="type" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">cup</span><span class="name" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> all-purpose flour</span></h3>
<h3 class="SectionHeading-SM" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0.01px; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px 0px 0.35em; text-align: left;">
<span class="value" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1/3 </span><span class="type" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">cup</span><span class="name" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> whole wheat flour</span></h3>
<h3 class="SectionHeading-SM" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0.01px; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px 0px 0.35em; text-align: left;">
<span class="value" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1 </span><span class="type" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">teaspoon</span><span class="name" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> baking soda</span></h3>
<h3 class="SectionHeading-SM" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0.01px; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px 0px 0.35em; text-align: left;">
<span class="value" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">2 </span><span class="type" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">teaspoons</span><span class="name" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> ground cinnamon, divided</span></h3>
<h3 class="SectionHeading-SM" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0.01px; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px 0px 0.35em; text-align: left;">
<span class="value" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1/2 </span><span class="type" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">teaspoon</span><span class="name" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> ground ginger</span></h3>
<h3 class="SectionHeading-SM" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0.01px; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px 0px 0.35em; text-align: left;">
<span class="value" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1/4 </span><span class="type" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">teaspoon</span><span class="name" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> ground allspice and salt</span></h3>
<h3 class="SectionHeading-SM" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0.01px; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px 0px 0.35em; text-align: left;">
<span class="value" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">2 </span><span class="type" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">tablespoons</span><span class="name" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> granulated sugar</span></h3>
<h3 class="SectionHeading-SM" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0.01px; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px 0px 0.35em; text-align: left;">
<span class="value" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1 </span><span class="type" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">cup</span><span class="name" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> brown sugar (not packed)</span></h3>
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<span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.5em;">1/3 cup light peanut butter</span></h3>
<h3 class="SectionHeading-SM" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0.01px; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px 0px 0.35em; text-align: left;">
<span class="value" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">3 </span><span class="type" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">tablespoons</span><span class="name" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> butter, softened</span></h3>
<h3 class="SectionHeading-SM" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0.01px; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px 0px 0.35em; text-align: left;">
<span class="value" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">2 </span><span class="type" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">tablespoons</span><span class="name" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> molasses</span></h3>
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<span class="multiplier" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1</span><span style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.5em;"> </span><span class="value" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1 </span><span class="type" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span id="ctl00_ctl00_MainContent_cphCenterColumn_RecipeTabsDetail_ListIngredients_ctrl0_lstIngredientsInner_ctrl11_measure" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"></span></span><span class="name" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">egg</span></h3>
<h3 class="SectionHeading-SM" style="color: black; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: 0.01px; margin: 0px 0px 0.5em; padding: 0px 0px 0.35em; text-align: left;">
<span class="value" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1 </span><span class="type" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">teaspoon</span><span class="name" style="color: #666666; font-family: Verdana, Geneva, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 1.5em; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"> vanilla</span></h3>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Directions</span></h3>
<ol class="RecipeDirectionsList instructions" style="list-style-position: outside; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 60px; margin-top: 0px; padding: 0px 20px 1em 0px;">
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.3em;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray a large cookie sheet with cooking spray and set aside.</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.3em;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">In a medium bowl, stir together both flours, baking soda, 1 tsp cinnamon, ginger, allspice and salt. Set aside. Combine granulated sugar and remaining 1 tsp cinnamon in a small bowl. Set aside.</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.3em;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">In another medium bowl, beat together brown sugar, peanut butter and butter on medium speed of electric mixer for about 1 minute. Add molasses, egg and vanilla. Beat again until smooth.</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.3em;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Using a wooden spoon, stir flour mixture into peanut butter mixture. You will be making a stiff dough. Using your hands, shape dough into 1 1/2-inch balls. Roll balls in reserved cinnamon-sugar mixture. Place on cookie sheet at least 2 inches apart (they spread a lot when baking). Flatten cookies slightly using a fork.</span></li>
<li style="margin-bottom: 0.3em;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Bake cookies for 7 minutes. They may appear undercooked, but that’s okay. Remove cookies from oven and immediately transfer from pan to a wire rack to cool.</span></li>
</ol>
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Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926629346324477706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840633579799191428.post-12589508400227860052013-03-11T19:47:00.002-04:002013-03-11T20:27:17.896-04:00GnocchiMarch Break has arrived in all its wet, wet glory. I should be happy to see grass and sunshine and hear birds singing while I walk to work, but my palate hasn't adjusted. This weekend our Sunday dinner came down to one of two choices: <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipes/rockwell-bake-(bread-pudding)/recipe.html?dishId=11007" target="_blank">Rockwell Bake</a> (basically turkey strata) or <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2013/01/gnocchi-in-tomato-broth-more-book-tour/" target="_blank">gnocchi</a>. Yup, my body is still craving cold weather meals, despite this (likely brief) respite from Winter weather. I decided to go with making gnocchi, since I've had my eye on Smitten Kitchen's recipe since receiving the <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Smitten-Kitchen-Cookbook-Deb-Perelman/dp/0449015793/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1363044456&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Smitten Kitchen cookbook</a> for my birthday. I was once intimidated by gnocchi (well, all home-made pasta, actually) but there is something about SK that gives me confidence to accept new culinary challenges. So Sunday I discovered just how easy it is to make gnocchi.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>Gnocchi is one of those dishes that you will love because it takes a few simple ingredients and turns them in to gold. You start by baking some (russet) potatoes. I baked three, for an hour in a 450 degree oven. After they came out of the oven I let the potatoes sit for a bit, then I pierced the skins with a sharp knife and they practically slid off. After letting them cool I grated the potatoes on the large side of a box grater, then let them cool again. To the (cooled) grated potato you add a bit of salt, a beaten egg and then slowly begin to incorporate flour. I ended up using the full amount of flour suggested by SK, along with a bit extra sprinkled on the counter when I was shaping the dough. My gnocchi were not pretty, but after going into a pot of salted boiling water for 3 minutes, then being drizzled with a very light tomato broth and some Parmesan cheese, I didn't much care how they looked. Because they tasted amazing. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguNfV0I8POLXIKnef9zSFS-nBoU1t3XBOzIgKLSgPr8K7_uJmoSpSPs0dsAiLUD3LheofuunJpOD6qubvy6n1XM4Va5virk7N3faGyqtYOMJhmcDUdNKuhNm1DUOI2FKPz7cwD30fP0yWN/s1600/DSCN9061.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguNfV0I8POLXIKnef9zSFS-nBoU1t3XBOzIgKLSgPr8K7_uJmoSpSPs0dsAiLUD3LheofuunJpOD6qubvy6n1XM4Va5virk7N3faGyqtYOMJhmcDUdNKuhNm1DUOI2FKPz7cwD30fP0yWN/s320/DSCN9061.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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And as a bonus, dinner felt like an accomplishment, somehow. Even though it was quite easy to make gnocchi, I feel like I've joined some kind of special club. After feeding the four of us (Okay - maybe two of us. Half of us weren't all that excited about gnocchi.) I ended up with a large freezer bag full of gnocchi to save for another day. Which is great, because chances are we'll have another blast or two of Winter weather before the end of March (or even April!). And when that happens, I'll be ready. Because gnocchi isn't really a light, welcome Spring kind of meal. But as a comfort food, a 'hunker down because yes it's still cold and everyone else is on vacation but soon, soon it will be your turn for a break and some sunshine' meal, it's kind of perfect. </div>
Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926629346324477706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840633579799191428.post-979549829157106942013-03-10T09:46:00.001-04:002013-03-10T09:46:33.962-04:00Mahogany Beef Stew with Red Wine and Hoisin SauceStew is one of those dishes that I struggle with, because it never tastes quite as good as I think it should. But David loves a good stew, particularly in the heart of Canadian Winter, so it is always on the menu a few times in the early months of the year. I've decided the secret is cutting up an actual roast for stew meat rather than buying the pre-cut cubes that are labelled as 'stewing beef' in the meat section. Or at least, that's what we tried with this particular recipe and it was one of the best stews I've had in a long time. As with other stews I've known and loved, this one is even better the next day if you can manage leftovers.<br />
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We're moving in to Spring soon; I actually made this dish weeks ago at the height of the worst of our Winter, which in truth hasn't been all that bad this year. We had a few weekends in a row of conditions that were pretty perfect for tubing / tobogganing and we made the most of it. Then we came inside and had stew.<br />
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Mahogany Beef Stew with Red Wine and Hoisin Sauce (from <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Mahogany-Beef-Stew-with-Red-Wine-and-Hoisin-Sauce-106212" target="_blank">Epicurious</a>)<br />
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<ul class="ingredientsList" style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;">
<li class="ingredient" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><br /></li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">4 tablespoons olive oil</span></li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">3 1/2 pounds boneless beef chuck roast, trimmed, cut into 2 1/2-inch pieces</span></li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">3 1/2 cups chopped onions</span></li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">2 cups Cabernet Sauvignon</span></li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes with Italian herbs, undrained</span></li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">1/2 cup hoisin sauce*</span></li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">2 bay leaves</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br style="text-align: left;" /></span><ul class="ingredientsList" style="list-style-type: none; margin: 0px; padding: 0px; text-align: left;">
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">1 pound slender carrots, peeled, cut diagonally into 1-inch lengths</span></li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1 tablespoon water</span></li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley</span></li>
</ul>
<span style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span></span><div class="instruction" style="padding: 0px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Heat 2 tablespoons oil in heavy large pot over high heat. Sprinkle meat with salt and pepper. Add meat to pot; sauté until brown on all sides, about 10 minutes. Push meat to sides of pot. Reduce heat to medium; add 2 tablespoons oil to pot. Add onions; sauté until golden brown, about 15 minutes. Mix meat into onions. Add 1 cup wine, tomatoes with juices, hoisin sauce, and bay leaves. Bring to boil.</span></div>
<div class="instruction" style="padding: 0px; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Reduce heat to low, cover pot and simmer 45 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add carrots and 1 cup wine. Cover; simmer 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Uncover, increase heat to high; boil until sauce is slightly thickened, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes longer. Reduce heat to medium, add cornstarch mixture and simmer until sauce thickens, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes. Discard bay leaves. Season stew with salt and pepper. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Cool slightly. Chill uncovered until cold, then cover and keep refrigerated. Bring to simmer before serving, stirring occasionally.) Transfer stew to large bowl. Sprinkle with parsley; serve.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Times, Times New Roman, serif;">Note: I really wanted to use a wine called Melville Pinot Noir (2010) to make this roast. We were gifted some at Christmas and it is one of the few red wines I have ever tried that I actually enjoyed. I know Pinot Noir is different from Cabernet Sauvignon. I don't know how, and I'm sure they shouldn't be so recklessly substituted, but I'm like that sometimes. Reckless in the kitchen. </span><br /><br /></span>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926629346324477706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840633579799191428.post-33932519125759913962013-02-10T18:02:00.000-05:002013-02-10T18:02:16.566-05:00Chocolate FrostingThis little cake was the result of one of those Sunday afternoons where cake seems like it will fix things. Now, I know cake won't finish my performance review (due at work this week), clean the crusted toothpaste off the taps in the bathroom, fold the laundry or teach my kids cursive. But the hour I spent making this cake (particularly the icing) made things feel a bit more manageable. Everything seems more manageable when the house smells like warm vanilla goodness and there are beaters waiting to be licked clean of chocolate frosting.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW8TO5-UCG_wWtHExhuD_adplui6YkCycRgeu0A3vYc3pBLOhwHOIguJxpmbO_nRRJvKjO5WFMtbIVuEYwr0eddHEY6A3zaYIHyyoPcOfs1h7XhXCEdjTJNDkhiEt2tAt-qoM6eep7m7hZ/s1600/DSCN8897.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhW8TO5-UCG_wWtHExhuD_adplui6YkCycRgeu0A3vYc3pBLOhwHOIguJxpmbO_nRRJvKjO5WFMtbIVuEYwr0eddHEY6A3zaYIHyyoPcOfs1h7XhXCEdjTJNDkhiEt2tAt-qoM6eep7m7hZ/s320/DSCN8897.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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<h3>
Chocolate Icing, from <i><a href="http://www.laurenslatest.com/the-best-and-easiest-chocolate-frosting-birthday-cake/" target="_blank">Lauren's Latest</a></i></h3>
<span style="color: #b5000b; font-family: ProximaNovaLtBold, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 26px; line-height: 26px;">The Best & Easiest Chocolate Frosting</span><br />
<span style="color: #b5000b; font-family: ProximaNovaLtBold, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 26px; line-height: 26px;"><br /></span>
<span style="background-color: #def1f4; color: #5a5655; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 22px;"></span><br />
<div class="time" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(209, 236, 241); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-top-color: rgb(209, 236, 241); border-top-style: solid; border-top-width: 1px; color: #5a5655; font-family: ProximaNovaLtBold, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: 10.5px; line-height: 16px; margin: 0px 0px 15px; padding: 4px 0px; text-transform: uppercase;">
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<em style="color: #9c9a99; font-family: Georgia, Times, 'Times New Roman', serif; letter-spacing: 0px; text-transform: lowercase;">yield:</em> <span class="yield" style="margin-right: 15px;">WILL FROST 1-9 INCH ROUND LAYER CAKE OR 24 CUPCAKES</span></div>
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INGREDIENTS:</h3>
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<div style="margin-bottom: 12px; margin-top: 5px; padding: 0px;">
1 cup softened butter<br />
1/2 cup cocoa powder, sifted<br />
5 cups powdered sugar<br />
1 teaspoon vanilla<br />
3-4 tablespoons milk</div>
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DIRECTIONS:</h3>
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Whip butter and cocoa together until smooth in large bowl. Stir in vanilla and powdered sugar. Slowly stream in milk until frosting reaches desired consistency. Scrape sides and whip again until light, fluffy and smooth, 1-2 minutes. Frosts 1-9 or 8 inch round layered cake or 24 cupcakes.</div>
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Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926629346324477706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840633579799191428.post-47317979159591459862013-02-06T21:34:00.000-05:002013-02-06T21:34:28.382-05:00Curried Parsnip SoupWell, you can hardly be surprised that another dish featuring curry should appear after my entry on Curried Cauliflower and Apple soup. I've got a whole bottle of curry powder to use up. And this time, parsnips in the crisper. I love parsnips. I know they don't look like much, but cooked properly they are delicious. I really enjoyed them in this soup, which I adapted into 'cream of' curried parsnip soup.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>It's been a really up and down Winter, with the weather bringing us record highs one day and record lows the next. I don't mind Winter, but I do mind being subjected to four seasons in one day, which seems to be the norm any more. I actually quite like Winter, real Winter, with snow and cold and ice and gusty winds. Because when it's really Winter it feels good to come home (carefully, carefully, on slippery, slushy roads) and have a hot bowl of soup and a nice grilled cheese for dinner. It feels good to slip into a really hot bath with a really great book (so many of my favourite authors releasing new books over the next few weeks). There's even something great about going outside to play in fresh snow. Maybe the fact that you can come inside with red, rosy cheeks and get warmed up with soup!<br />
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This recipe is from the Bon Appetit cookbook. Usually I can find recipes from this collection on the Epicurious website but that not this one.<br />
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Curried Parsnip Soup<br />
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3 tbsp butter<br />
1 pound parsnips, peeled, sliced<br />
1 cup chopped onion<br />
1 garlic clove, chopped<br />
1 tbsp flour<br />
2 tsp curry powder<br />
4 cups beef broth<br />
1/2 cup whipping cream<br />
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Melt butter in heavy large saucepan over low heat. Add parsnips, onion and garlic. Cover and cook until vegetables begin to soften but not color, stirring occasionally about 10 minutes. Mix in flour and curry powder, stir 2 minutes. Gradually mix in beef broth. Increase heat to medium, cover and simmer until parsnips are tender, about 15 minutes. Cool slightly.<br />
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This is the part where I poured the contents of my pot into my Ninja and blended away. I know I should blend in small batches, but my Ninja is a monster so I did it all in one shot. And then I strained the mixture through a fine mesh sieve, and added the 1/2 cup of whipping cream. Heat, serve, deliciousness.<br />
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Lately I've had a thing for creamed soups. I like parsnips and all, but the texture of the soup after it was blended just wasn't working for me. Much too thick. Straining it was entirely the right call. I should also note that I am so glad that the boys bought me the Ninja with the small food processor bowl attachment. D. wasn't sure I would use this particular accessory but I love it. I've used it for chopping onions, blending tomatoes and whipping cream cheese. I can't wait to discover new uses for it.<br />
<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926629346324477706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840633579799191428.post-23756382453833536962013-01-29T19:49:00.001-05:002013-02-06T19:42:08.627-05:00Curried Cream of Cauliflower and Apple SoupIt's national soup month! It's really cold outside! I have half a cauliflower in my crisper calling out for attention! The perfect storm.<br />
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I wasn't sure I was going to like <a href="http://oneperfectbite.blogspot.ca/2010/06/curried-cream-of-cauliflower-and-apple.html" target="_blank">Curried Cream of Cauliflower and Apple Soup</a>, since it involves curry. Curry is hit or miss for me; more frequently a miss. I think what swayed me to try this recipe was the inclusion of apple and the fact that the soup was the consistency of a thin cream rather than a thick porridge. I don't mind a thick soup but was in the mood for something lighter.<br />
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<a name='more'></a>I found this recipe on One Perfect Bite. I did not attempt the garnish suggested as part of the recipe although it sounds lovely. I had David pick up a new jar of mild McCormick curry powder (since I never have curry powder on hand) which is what gives the soup its yellow colour. My kids thought the colour of this soup was revolting. Never mind them. They don't know good soup, even thought they both ate soup quite happily when they were babies. I hope someday they discover what a satisfying meal can be had from a nice, simple soup.<br />
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My new Ninja made very brief (and smooth) work of pureeing the cauliflower and apples and onions that are blended together for this soup...which might have been another reason I was in the mood for soup. Since receiving the Ninja for my birthday I've noticed I keep finding excuses to pull it out. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I liked this soup. And pleased that I squeaked this in to my recipe journal in January, National Soup Month.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Curried Cream of Cauliflower and Apple Soup</span><a href="http://oneperfectbite.blogspot.com/" style="background-color: white; color: #888888; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto; text-decoration: none;"><span style="color: #cc0000; font-size: 10px; font-style: italic;">...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite, inspired by Daniel Boulud</span></a></div>
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Ingredients:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Soup</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">4 cups chicken stock</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">1-1/2 tablespoons sweet butter</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">1 cup chopped onions</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">2 teaspoons curry powder</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Optional: 1/2 teaspoon saffron threads or 2 pinches saffron powder</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">1 cup tart apples, such as Granny Smiths or Golden Delicious, peeled, split, cored and sliced</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">4 cups cauliflower (about 1 medium head), greens and stem discarded, head broken up</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">into small florets</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">1 cup heavy cream</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">1 tablespoon chives, minced</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #cc0000; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Curried Apple Garnish</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">1 cup Golden Delicious apple, peeled, split, cored, cut in 1/4 inch dice</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">1 teaspoon curry powder</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Optional: 1/4 teaspoon saffron threads or 1 pinch saffron powder</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste</span><br />
<br style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;" />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; font-style: italic; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">Directions:</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">1) For soup: Warm chicken stock over medium heat. Melt butter in a heavy bottomed pot over medium-low heat. Add onions, curry powder, and saffron and cook for 2 minutes, stirring often. Add sliced apple and cook for another 5 minutes, stirring often. Add cauliflower and warm chicken stock and bring to a boil. Boil until cauliflower is tender when pierced with a knife, approximately 20 minutes. Add cream and cook for 3 more minutes. Salt and pepper to taste. Transfer soup in batches to a blender or food processor and purée at high speed until very smooth. Strain through a fine sieve. Keep warm until ready to serve or refrigerate when cool and reheat just before serving.</span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">2) For garnish: Place diced apples with 1 tablespoon of water in a pan over medium heat. Add the curry powder, saffron, and salt and pepper to taste. Mix well, cover with a lid, and cook for 3 minutes over medium heat. Strain and keep warm. </span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: -webkit-auto;">3) To serve: Ladle soup into warm soup bowls or cups. Sprinkle garnish over top. Yield: 4 to 6 servings.</span><br />
<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926629346324477706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840633579799191428.post-66701518052005367772013-01-22T18:30:00.000-05:002013-01-22T18:30:17.507-05:00Thin Bread and Wheat ThinsEvery January I tell myself I'm going to dial back on the carbohydrates. After a December filled with cookies and toffee and caramel corn one doesn't need potatoes and bread and crackers. And then the cold weather comes and my body cries out for carbs. Demands, them really. Macaroni and cheese, scalloped potatoes...bread. And crackers. What's a girl to do? This girl gives in and heads to the kitchen.<br />
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Thin bread is a treat that David has enjoyed with his family for years. We've never tried to make it ourselves before, since his mom is such a reliable supplier. Despite not having the recommended <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Knobbed-Rolling-Pin-10-Inch/dp/B002URENAO/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358895131&sr=8-1&keywords=knobbed+rolling+pin" target="_blank">knobbed rolling pin</a> we decided to give it a go. Well, I decided. David joined in once it became clear I was serious in my quest to crack the thin bread code. It's pretty hard to mess up thin bread; it's a very simple recipe:<br />
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<i>Thin Bread </i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<i>4 cups flour</i><br />
<i>1/2 tsp. salt</i><br />
<i>1/4 cup sugar</i><br />
<i>3 tsp. baking powder</i><br />
<i>1/2 cup shortening</i><br />
<i>1 1/2 cups milk</i><br />
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<i>Mix like pie crust. Roll very thin. Bake in electric frying pan. </i><br />
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The above are the basic ingredients/directions we found tucked into our family recipe binder. To elaborate: we combined the flour through baking powder, then cut-in the shortening with a pastry knife. The resulting mixture will be the texture of sand; next we added the milk (stirring with a wooden spoon) and the dough came together into a smooth but slightly sticky ball.<br />
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Next step is to roll out your dough on a lightly floured surface. It needs to be fairly thin - say a half inch thick. I pulled small pieces off the larger dough ball and rolled the dough into a rough rectangle. Normally thin bread is rolled with a knobbed rolling pin. Not having one on hand, after rolling out the dough with a regular ol' rolling pin, I pricked the dough all over with a fork.<br />
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Meanwhile, I heated up my <a href="http://calphaloncookware.net/?review=category&req=calphalon+double+burner+griddle" target="_blank">Calphalon griddle pan</a> on the stovetop. Getting the heat right was tricky. The recipe recommends cooking your thin bread in an electric frying pan at 450 degrees. By the second or third piece of dough we seemed to have achieved the right temperature. The dough cooked quickly and took about 5 minutes per side. Once off the heat I let the bread cool on a rack, then cut it up into pieces. Which were documented with a poor-quality iPhone shot:<br />
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In my opinion, thin bread is best consumed slathered in Cheese Whiz. (Cheez Whiz. Obviously another fine food choice to make after a Christmas of unbridled food excess.) The boys all love it with peanut butter. It freezes really well and keeps for quite a while too.<br />
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I made thin bread in the days after Christmas leading up to New Year's. Then last week I decided to keep the carbo-train moving through the station by making crackers. Luckily Smitten Kitchen had me covered with a recipe for <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2012/09/homemade-wheat-thins/" target="_blank">homemade wheat thins</a>, adapted from King Arthur Flour.<br />
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I've always thought crackers would be fussy to make. Turns out they are dead simple. Much easier than cookies, actually and nearly as satisfying. We eat a ton of crackers around our house. An obscene amount of crackers. Our pantry is always crowded with a half-dozen or so varieties. But home-made crackers are so much better than store-bought. A minimum of ingredients required. The biggest challenge you'll have is rolling them thin enough to get a satisfying crunch out of your crackers.<br />
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<div style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-size: 11px; letter-spacing: 1px; line-height: 14px; text-align: justify;">
<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Homemade Wheat Thin Crackers <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2012/09/homemade-wheat-thins/" target="_blank">from Smitten Kitchen</a></b><br />Adapted, just barely, from <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0881507199/ref=as_li_ss_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=0881507199&linkCode=as2&tag=smitten-20" style="color: #656a7b; text-decoration: none;">King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking</a></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Yield: About 3 dozen. I highly suggest doubling this recipe.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1 1/4 cups (155 grams) whole wheat flour<br />1 1/2 tablespoons (20 grams) sugar<br />1/2 teaspoon (3 grams) table salt, plus additional for topping<br />1/4 teaspoon paprika<br />4 tablespoons (55 grams) unsalted butter, cold is fine, cut into small bits</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In a food processor: Combine the flour, sugar, salt, paprika and butter in a food processor, pulsing the mixture until the butter is evenly disbursed in the crumbs. Drizzle in 1/4 cup (60 ml) cold water with the machine running; run it until the mixture begins to form a ball.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">By hand: Combine the flour, sugar, salt, paprika and butter in a medium bowl. Using a pastry blender or your fingertips, work the butter into the mixture until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. Add 1/4 cup (60 ml) cold water, stir with spoon until combined. Knead once or twice on counter.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Heat your oven to 400 degrees. Either lightly grease baking sheets or line them with parchment paper.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Roll your dough out, half at a time, to a large, very, <em>very</em> thin rectangle-ish shape on a well-floured counter. Did I mention you should roll them thin? Thinner than you even think necessary is best. Frequently check to make sure your dough isn’t sticking; if it is, gently scrape a spatula underneath to lift it, then flour the counter again. Using a knife or pastry wheel, cut dough into about 1 1/2-inch squares. Dock crackers all over with a toothpick or pointy end of a thermometer. (Technically speaking, I noted a 9-dot docking pattern, like the 9 sides of a pair of dice, on my store-bought Wheat Thins. I highly recommend you do not drive yourself bonkers trying to emulate this.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Transfer crackers to baking sheets, spacing them only a little as they really don’t spread. Sprinkle with additional table salt if you’d like to approximate the salty exteriors of the store-bought crackers. Bake crackers until crisp and bronzed, about 5 to 7 minutes but please keep a close watch on the first batch as thinner crackers (high-five!) will bake faster and thicker ones will take longer.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Cool in baking pans on racks. Crackers will keep in an airtight container officially for a week but ours are in fact two weeks old and still perfect. You can also freeze them in an airtight container between sheets of waxed paper for a couple months.</span></div>
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Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926629346324477706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840633579799191428.post-57656136425989374892012-12-27T21:17:00.000-05:002013-01-29T20:12:02.122-05:00Christmas Eats<br />
Just when it seems like your husband is impossible to buy for at Christmas, you come up with the perfect gift. The gift of beef. A couple of weeks ago I decided to order a beef tenderloin for our family of four Christmas dinner (the Sunday before December 25th). Saucy came through with a lovely cut from Metzger's. I dialled up a recipe on Epicurious: <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Herb-and-Spice-Roasted-Beef-Tenderloin-with-Red-Wine-Shallot-Sauce-2998" target="_blank">Herb and Spice-Roasted Beef Tenderloin with with Red-Wine Shallot Sauce</a>. The verdict? See above. Next year, all my husband wants for Christmas is beef tenderloin.<br />
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This particular beef tenderloin was rubbed with a combination of herbs and spices, (thyme, rosemary, nutmeg and cloves) orange peel, shallots and olive oil. The sauce contains the same ingredients with the addition of red wine and beef stock. We received a lovely bottle of red wine for Christmas that we put to good use here - the sauce was a brilliant accompaniment to a roast we cooked medium rare:</div>
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and served with mashed potatoes and corn, the most kid-friendly sides we know. We barely made a dent in this 4 pound piece of perfection, which was fine because it was also wonderful as leftovers. Cubed and added to pasta, sliced thin and added to grilled cheese on sourdough...or eaten straight out of the fridge in huge hunks. A definite success story. So next year, beef will definitely be on the menu for the holidays.</div>
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Herb and Spice Roasted Beef Tenderloin with Red-Wine Shallot Sauce (from <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Herb-and-Spice-Roasted-Beef-Tenderloin-with-Red-Wine-Shallot-Sauce-2998" target="_blank">Epicurious</a>)</div>
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<strong style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left;">Sauce</strong><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left;"></span><br />
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<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">2 tablespoons olive oil</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">2 1/2 cups sliced shallots (about 12 ounces)</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">2 tablespoons minced garlic</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1 teaspoon sugar</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1 tablespoon all purpose flour</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">2 teaspoons minced fresh rosemary</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1 bay leaf</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1 teaspoon grated orange peel</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Pinch of ground nutmeg</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Pinch of ground cloves</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">3 1/4 cups canned beef broth</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1 1/2 cups dry red wine</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1/4 cup brandy</li>
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<strong style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left;">Tenderloin</strong><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10px; text-align: left;"></span><br />
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<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">4 large garlic cloves, peeled</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">2 bay leaves</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1 large shallot, peeled, quartered</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1 tablespoon grated orange peel</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1 tablespoon coarse salt</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1 teaspoon ground black pepper</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">1/4 teaspoon ground cloves</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">2 tablespoons olive oil</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">2 2-pound (large end) beef tenderloin pieces, trimmed</li>
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<strong>For sauce:</strong><br />
Heat oil in large saucepan over medium-low heat. Add shallots and garlic; sauté until tender, about 10 minutes. Stir in sugar; sauté until shallots are golden, about 15 minutes longer. Add flour, herbs, orange peel, nutmeg and cloves; stir 1 minute. Pour in broth, wine and brandy. Boil until sauce is reduced to 1 3/4 cups, about 20 minutes. Discard bay leaf. (Can be made 2 days ahead. Chill.)</div>
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<strong>For tenderloin:</strong><br />
Grind first 10 ingredients in processor. With machine running, add oil and blend well. Spread mixture evenly over all sides of tenderloins. Place beef in large glass baking dish. Cover with foil; chill at least 6 hours. (Can be made 1 day ahead. Keep chilled.)</div>
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Preheat oven to 400°F. Place beef on rack in large roasting pan. Roast until meat thermometer inserted into center of beef registers 125°F for rare, about 35 minutes. Remove from oven and cover with foil; let stand 10 minutes.</div>
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Transfer beef to cutting board. Pour any accumulated juices from roasts into sauce. Bring sauce to boil. Remove from heat; whisk in butter. Season with salt and pepper. Slice beef. Serve with sauce.</div>
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Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926629346324477706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840633579799191428.post-73384588445786941402012-12-27T20:56:00.002-05:002012-12-27T20:56:42.382-05:00SmittenI was pleased to be gifted the <a href="http://www.chapters.indigo.ca/books/The-Smitten-Kitchen-Cookbook-Deb-Perelman/9780449015797-item.html?s_campaign=goo-BooksByTitle&gclid=CPa-xaO5u7QCFY9DMgodOgUAmQ" target="_blank">Smitten Kitchen cookbook</a> for my birthday this year. I've already dived in and cooked up three recipes from this cookbook since receiving it in early December. And every time I flip through I find myself mentally filing away the next recipe I want to try. Since we were all caked out by the time David's birthday rolled around, I tried out the <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2008/04/brownie-roll-out-cookies/" target="_blank">Brownie Roll Out Cookies</a> as a substitute. They were definitely worthy. Then came Christmas Eve day; a great day (and eve) at our house. Everyone on holiday, no where to go, nothing in particular that needed to be done. I was skimming through Smitten Kitchen and decided that it wasn't enough that we have gingerbread, sugar cookies, two kinds of snack mix, caramel corn and fudge in the house. We needed toffee! And happily I had all of the ingredients needed to make <a href="http://smittenkitchen.com/blog/2009/12/coffee-toffee/" target="_blank">Coffee Toffee</a>.<br />
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Every since I bought a Thermapen, recipes that require ingredients to reach a certain temperature during the cooking/baking process have been much less stressful. With Coffee Toffee, your toffee needs to reach 300 degrees before you pour it out to cool/harden. The chocolate chips were very spreadable after oozing in to the hot toffee layer for a few minutes. I used walnuts instead of hazelnuts since they were what I had on hand. I put the pan in the freezer for about 30 minutes to speed up the cooling process. The toffee came apart into lovely pieces quite easily and left no traces on my Silpat. The verdict from this household - coffee toffee tastes a lot like a Skor bar. But the texture is more pleasant, and the taste more bold. Another goodie to add to the Christmas treat list!<br />
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Today was also another nowhere to be, let's just relax kind of day. Lego is being built upstairs, downstairs and everywhere in between. Books and magazines are being read, crosswords filled in. iPads are charging. Christmas movies and music still linger. Around 11 a.m. I had a craving for pizza. Luckily, the SK cookbook has a 'I need it now can I make it fast?' pizza dough solution on page 104. I was a bit skeptical it would work. But it did - I made a fantastic pizza margherita (page 107) in about an hour. It was a revelation.<br />
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No picture of the finished product. It disappeared much too quickly. SK also promises that I can make a respectable gnocchi at home with little fuss. I'm thinking that might be my next SK experiment. Ever since we had bacon and egg gnocchi at The Only last year, David and I have both been craving gnocchi. But any recipe I've seen completely intimidates me. I'm thinking if I can knock out a pretty incredible pizza in an hour thanks to SK, I'll let her guide me through gnocchi as well.Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926629346324477706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840633579799191428.post-12380707554072751452012-11-10T10:24:00.001-05:002012-11-10T10:24:51.554-05:00Spaghetti TacosI can't quite remember when it happened, but sometime this year my kids discovered iCarly. First on Netflix, then on YTV. It's a pretty goofy show, and while I don't always love some of the messaging it isn't the worst show they've watched. Fairly early on in the series I remember hearing about spaghetti tacos. This is a meal served to the iCarly gang every once in a while....a dinner option that, much like the show, seems a bit goofy. Then last week both of my boys asked if we could have spaghetti tacos for dinner. And since I like to encourage them to try new foods I said "sure" and set out to find a suitable recipe.<br />
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Turns out, spaghetti tacos are pretty easy to make. A 'recipe' isn't so much required. The most basic version requires nothing more than for you to make spaghetti with your choice of sauce (we prefer a simple marinara) then stuff it into a taco shell. You might want to also top with traditional taco fixings such as seasoned ground beef, cheese, tomato and sour cream. My kids opted to simply use the taco shell as the delivery device for their spaghetti and marinara. Which looks something like this:<br />
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The verdict? Patrick loved them. Ate two tacos stuffed with pasta and grated cheese. I'm pretty sure Daniel tolerated his since he ended up letting his spaghetti fall out of the shell and ate it with a fork. But he is nothing if not loyal and would not diss his beloved iCarly so he declared the dish a winner. I'm usually the more adventurous eater in our household but I couldn't quite wrap my head around spaghetti tacos so I made mine the traditional way - seasoned ground beef, tomato, cheese, lettuce and greek yogurt subbing for sour cream. I really enjoyed the ground beef thanks to a homemade version of taco seasoning mix I found via <a href="http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2010/05/05/homemade-taco-seasoning-mix/" target="_blank">Brown Eyed Baker</a>. I'm also not crazy about packaged powdered foods that contain ingredients I can't pronounce. We've requested (and made) spaghetti tacos again since our first attempt so it would seem it's going to be part of the regular repertoire around here.<br />
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<b>Taco Seasoning Mix - <i>from <a href="http://www.browneyedbaker.com/2010/05/05/homemade-taco-seasoning-mix/" target="_blank">Brown Eyed Baker</a></i></b><br />
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4 tbsp chili powder<br />
3 tbsp + 1 tsp paprika<br />
3 tbsp cumin<br />
1 tbsp onion powder (I didn't have this on hand so omitted)<br />
1 tsp garlic powder (I substituted garlic salt)<br />
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper<br />
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Directions: Whisk together all of the ingredients in a small bowl. Over medium heat, brown 1 lb ground beef and drain of fat. Add 2 tbsp seasoning mix and 3/4 cup water to the ground beef. Simmer, stirring frequently until sauce thickens and coats the beef and there is not much liquid left. Store remaining seasoning mix in an airtight container at room temperature.<br />
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Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926629346324477706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840633579799191428.post-64169736005734906922012-10-01T21:05:00.001-04:002012-11-10T10:24:36.729-05:00Pumpkin GingersnapsWow. These cookies are such a good idea. I love traditional gingersnaps. I have a <a href="http://www.mysundaydinners.blogspot.ca/2010/12/christmas-cookie-10-ginger-cookies.html" target="_blank">go-to recipe</a> for gingersnaps that has never failed me. But today I also had a couple of cups of pumpkin left over from making pumpkin muffins and I wasn't in the mood for pumpkin bread or pumpkin scones or pumpkin soup. These are not things I can sell around my house. But cookies....cookies always sell. So. <a href="http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/pumpkin-gingersnap-cookies/" target="_blank">Pumpkin Gingersnap cookies</a>. So simple yet so effective!<br />
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<span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: large;">Pumpkin Gingersnap Cookies - </span><span style="font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;">from <a href="http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/pumpkin-gingersnap-cookies/" target="_blank">Two Peas & Their Pod</a></span></h2>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Yield:</strong> <span class="yield">3 dozen cookies</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><strong>Cook Time:</strong> <span class="cooktime">10-12 minutes</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: small;">ingredients:</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">½ cup of butter, at room temperature<br />1 cup granulated sugar, plus more for rolling the cookies<br />½ cup of pure pumpkin<br />¼ cup of molasses<br />1 large egg<br />1 teaspoon vanilla extract<br />2 ⅓ cups all-purpose flour<br />2 teaspoons baking soda<br />2 teaspoons cinnamon<br />1 1/2 teaspoons ground ginger<br />1 teaspoon ground cloves<br />1/2 teaspoon salt</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1. In the bowl of a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar together until creamy and smooth. Add the pumpkin, molasses, egg, and vanilla extract, mix until well combined.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">2. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, spices, and salt. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until combined. Refrigerate the cookie dough for at least 1 hour. The dough can be chilled for 2-3 days.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">3. When you are ready to bake, preheat oven to 350° F. Line a baking sheet with a Silpat or parchment paper. Place sugar in a small bowl. Roll tablespoon-sized balls of dough in sugar until well coated and place on prepared baking sheet, about 2 inches apart. Bake for 10–12 minutes, or until cookies look cracked and set at the edges. The cookies will still be soft. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet for a 2-3 minutes after removing them from the oven, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.</span></div>
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Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926629346324477706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840633579799191428.post-7940784306565217162012-09-30T18:13:00.000-04:002012-09-30T18:13:47.472-04:00Black Label Chicken ParmesanThis past Saturday I was gifted with a big bag of PC Black Label food products. Which came in very handy Sunday night when I was faced with deciding on dinner. I had my eye on the big box of <a href="http://www.pc.ca/blacklabel/pcBlackLabel_product_recipe.jsp?productId=prod1390001#discover" target="_blank">Fiorelli pasta</a> that was in my bag but wasn't sure what I was going to do with it, since I wasn't on grocery duty this weekend and wasn't sure what I had to work with. Then I spied a jar of <a href="http://www.pc.ca/blacklabel/pcBlackLabel_product_recipe.jsp?productId=prod1390293#discover" target="_blank">Black Label Marinara sauce</a> in the pantry that David happened to pick up, having been inspired by our gift bag bounty. Rustling through the fridge I found some chicken breasts while the freezer yielded up some grated mozzarella cheese. A quick Google search later and I decided on <a href="http://www.skinnytaste.com/2009/04/baked-chicken-parmesan.html" target="_blank">Baked Chicken Parmesan</a>, using my bottled marinara and Fiorelli pasta.<br />
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Everyone was really impressed with this dinner. The pasta and marinara were lovely. As soon as I opened the jar I had a good feeling about the sauce. It smelled sweet with hints of basil. It was definitely fresher than most jarred sauces I've used. It was also a good consistency. I find a lot of jarred pasta sauces to be watery - this one was just right. After preparing my chicken breasts (making breadcrumbs, mixing them with Parmesan cheese, brushing the chicken breasts with butter then breading and baking them in the oven) I heated it up the marinara and boiled the pasta. I spooned some of the marinara over the baked chicken and finished it with with the grated mozzarella, baking it a bit longer to brown the cheese. Then I spooned some pasta into a bowl, ladled in a bit of marinara and topped it all off with the chicken. Then, as usual, I took a fuzzy picture of it with my iPhone before diving in....<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_1qxMWcgSIofEgRBcmeCZ7H1HAh85xYdFxGxTJuOT1MkodYuScNEDW2w4JTUDPMwnEBwHEWMjJcZ0rAfGYOcisgG6IUpDHxhSWLcv7vGDpL7Z62VmpS07dOoeFYL0roIYZYI5wQUnk4Ik/s1600/pcpasta.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_1qxMWcgSIofEgRBcmeCZ7H1HAh85xYdFxGxTJuOT1MkodYuScNEDW2w4JTUDPMwnEBwHEWMjJcZ0rAfGYOcisgG6IUpDHxhSWLcv7vGDpL7Z62VmpS07dOoeFYL0roIYZYI5wQUnk4Ik/s320/pcpasta.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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...to a pretty delicious Sunday dinner. The pasta coated very well and was gobbled up by the two fussiest eaters in my family who declared it awesome. They also loved the chicken (on the side - I knew better than to mix it with the pasta, heaven forbid). The last couple of years we've been buying <a href="http://rustichella.it/English/home_eng.html" target="_blank">Rustichella d'Abruzzo pasta</a>, which I still love, but the PC black label was definitely in the same ballpark. I'm hoping it heats up well for lunch tomorrow because it made so much we have leftovers! Definitely a recipe I can whip up again for the whole family.<br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px;">Baked Chicken Parmesan <i><a href="http://www.skinnytaste.com/" target="_blank">from Skinnytaste</a></i></span><br />
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<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">4 (8 oz) chicken breast halves, sliced in half to make 8</li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">3/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs</li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese</li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">2 tbsp butter, melted</li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">3/4 cup reduced fat mozzarella cheese </li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">1 cup marinara (I used <a href="http://www.pc.ca/blacklabel/pcBlackLabel_product_recipe.jsp?productId=prod1390293#discover" target="_blank">PC Black Label</a>)</li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">cooking spray</li>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px;">Preheat</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"> oven to 450°. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px;">Spray</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"> a large baking sheet lightly with spray.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px;">Combine</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"> breadcrumbs and parmesan cheese in a bowl. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px;">Melt </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">the butter in another bowl. Lightly </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px;">brush</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"> the butter onto the chicken, then </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px;">dip</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"> into breadcrumb mixture. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px;">Place</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"> on baking sheet and </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px;">repeat </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">with the remaining chicken. </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">Lightly </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px;">spray </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">a little more oil on top and</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px;"> bake</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"> in the oven for 20 minutes. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px;">Turn</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;">chicken over, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px;">bake</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"> another 5 minutes. </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px;"> </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px;">Remove</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"> from oven, </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px;">spoon</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"> 1 tbsp sauce over each piece of chicken and </span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px;">top</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"> each with 1 1/2 tbsp of shredded mozzarella cheese.</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px;"> </span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; font-weight: bold; line-height: 19px;">Bake</span><span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"> 5 more minutes or until cheese is melted.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #333333; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; line-height: 19px;"><i>I served this chicken on top of Fiorelli pasta mixed with marinara sauce. </i></span><br />
<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926629346324477706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840633579799191428.post-48605182796580684882012-09-16T14:11:00.000-04:002012-09-16T14:11:27.518-04:00Two-Bite BrowniesTwo-bite brownies are still a pretty popular party offering despite their two-bite market dominance being tested by cake pops. The other day I saw that pie pops are also trying to become a thing. Ugh. Really? Mini pies or hand-held pies (turnovers?) I can get behind but pie on a stick just seems odd.<br />
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I love making homemade two-bite brownies even though when I bring them places I think people assume I bought them then arranged them on my own platter to pass off as homemade. So I overcompensate and find myself saying to anyone who will listen: "I made these. I know they look like store bought but honestly, I made these. Really." Once you taste them I think it's clear these are not a store-bought brownie. I whipped up a batch Friday night when Daniel was having a sleep over and they disappeared pronto, along with large glasses of frothy white milk.<br />
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Speaking of milk, we seem to buy an awful lot of milk these days. We buy our milk in bags and last week at one point we had nine bags of milk in our fridge. And I thought we were never going to need to buy milk again. Two days later - no milk. How is that possible? I shudder to think how much milk we're going to need to get through adolescence. Or how many of these two-bite beauties will be consumed.<br />
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I started making this recipe years ago after being gifted a wonderful cookbook called <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Grazing-Portable-Snacks-Anytime-Anywhere/dp/096875631X" target="_blank">Grazing</a> from our friends James and Lisa. I've made other treats out of this cookbook and never been disappointed.<br />
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<strong>Two Bite Brownies</strong></div>
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At only 2 grams fat per pop, these will satisfy your need for chewy brownies. Be careful not to overbake them – they should be slightly puffed but still soft to the touch. Freeze leftovers and serve them frozen or warmed in the microwave with vanilla ice cream and chocolate syrup. (If you don’t have mini muffin cups, the batter can be baked in an 8”x8” pan at 350°F for 25-30 minutes.)</div>
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1/4 cup butter, softened<br />
1 1/4 cups sugar<br />
2 large eggs<br />
1 tsp. vanilla<br />
1 tsp. instant espresso or coffee, dissolved in 1 tsp. water<br />
1 cup all-purpose flour<br />
1/2 cup cocoa<br />
1/4 tsp. baking powder<br />
1/4 tsp. salt</div>
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Preheat oven to 350°F.</div>
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In a large bowl, mix together butter and sugar until well combined. Add eggs, vanilla and coffee and stir until well blended and smooth.</div>
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In a medium bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Add to the egg mixture and stir by hand just until combined.</div>
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Spoon the batter mini muffin cups that have been sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake for 12-15 minutes, until puffed but still soft to the touch. Do not overbake! Cool in the pan on a wire rack.</div>
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Makes 24 brownies.</div>
Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926629346324477706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840633579799191428.post-1631070270495129682012-08-01T18:16:00.002-04:002012-08-01T18:17:33.079-04:00Tagliatelle with Prosciutto and OrangeThis is one of those great recipes that requires minimum effort but delivers maximum results. I made it because last week I made <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/easy-caramel-sauce-recipe/index.html" target="_blank">caramel sauce </a>which required some cream. What does one do when one only needs half a cup of cream but one has a whole litre? One figures out how to use it up. Which lead me to <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Tagliatelle-with-Prosciutto-and-Orange-365161" target="_blank">Tagliatelle with Prosciutto and Orange</a>. All I had to do was slice some prosciutto into strips and sauté it in butter for a few minutes. Then I added the juice of one orange, some cream and reserved pasta water. To which I added my cooked pasta and a half cup of grated Parmesan cheese. Are you kidding me? I could have eaten the whole batch but I'd already tipped off my family that I was making dinner. So I shared. This time.<br />
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: black; font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Tagliatelle with Prosciutto and Orange <i><a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Tagliatelle-with-Prosciutto-and-Orange-365161" target="_blank">from Epicurious</a></i></span></span></h1>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">12 ounces egg tagliatelle or fettuccine (preferably fresh)</span></span></div>
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<li class="ingredient" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">2 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, torn into 1" pieces</span></li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Zest and juice of 1 orange</span></li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">1/2 cup heavy whipping cream</span></li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Freshly ground black pepper</span></li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">1/4 cup finely grated Parmesan</span></li>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif;"><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season with salt; add pasta and cook, stirring occasionally, until 1 minute before al dente, about 2 minutes for fresh pasta, longer for dried. Drain, reserving 1/4 cup pasta water.</span></span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Meanwhile, melt butter in a large heavy nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add prosciutto; sauté until browned, about 3 minutes.</span></div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: x-small;">Add reserved pasta water, orange juice, half of zest, and cream; bring to a boil. Add pasta; cook, stirring, until sauce coats pasta and pasta is al dente, about 1 minute. Season with salt and pepper. Stir in cheese and divide among warm bowls.</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: 10px;"><br /></span></span></div>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926629346324477706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840633579799191428.post-83757165430470713402012-08-01T07:48:00.000-04:002012-08-01T18:00:14.584-04:00Blueberry PieTurns out, I'm obsessed with pie this Summer. It started with <a href="http://www.mysundaydinners.blogspot.ca/2012/06/tale-of-two-pies.html" target="_blank">pecan pie</a>, which was wonderful (but I should have made my own pastry). Then I moved on to <a href="http://www.mysundaydinners.blogspot.ca/2012/07/chocolate-cream-pie.html" target="_blank">chocolate cream pie</a>. Which again, was wonderful. Not better than the pecan pie, but a different kind of wonderful. This time I made my own (graham cracker) crust, the best I've ever made thanks to my new food processor. This past weekend I couldn't shake another pie craving. I wanted blueberry pie. Made with fresh blueberries. And homemade pastry, my food processor triumph with graham cracker crust suddenly giving me confidence to attempt the real deal. So I came, I saw and I think I conquered. Likely in large part due to these recipes from <a href="http://www.thebittenword.com/thebittenword/2008/06/blueberry-pie.html" target="_blank">Cook's Illustrated</a> which I found in my ever-reliable <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Best-Recipe-Editors-Cooks-Illustrated/dp/0936184744/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343820929&sr=8-1" target="_blank">New Best Recipe Cookbook</a>.<br />
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The online recipes linked above are slightly different from what I have in print. I didn't have any vodka to add to my pie crust, and it turned out just fine. Also, my blueberry pie didn't include the granny smith apple that is recommended in the linked recipe above. Regardless, the final product was a triumph. Even if no one in my house actually likes blueberry pie but me. More for me, right?<br />
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This pie definitely tasted like Summer. I couldn't wait the recommended 4 hours for the pie to cool so I cut in after 2 hours. Yes, the filling ran but who cares? It was worth the mess to taste hot out of the oven blueberry pie. Once the pie was fully cooled and chilled in the fridge, it served up beautifully. I should know, since (as above) I'm the only one eating it. It's great for breakfast. And apparently you can use up leftovers in a <a href="http://foodpluswords.com/2011/07/blueberry-crumb-pie-milkshake/" target="_blank">milkshake</a>. Brilliant!<br />
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<br />Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926629346324477706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840633579799191428.post-89533132657301512772012-07-28T20:58:00.000-04:002012-08-01T18:00:00.245-04:00Grilled Shrimp Salad with Corn and Avocado<div>
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I wasn't actually expecting much from this salad. So I was pleasantly surprised when it turned out to be amazing. Obviously I wouldn't have made it if I didn't think it would be good, but honestly, I tried it out of guilt. I've made quite a few good meals this Summer but not a lot have featured vegetables. So before I ran out to buy groceries Saturday morning I went on to Epicurious looking for a good Summer salad. <a href="http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Grilled-Shrimp-Salad-with-Corn-and-Avocado-235584" target="_blank">I found one</a>.<br />
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My version of this salad uses <a href="http://www.presidentschoice.ca/LCLOnline/products.jsp?breadcrumb=globalsearch&keywords=shrimp+skewer&type=details&productId=16880" target="_blank">frozen shrimp that were grill-ready</a> from the grocery store, so all I had to do was make the salad dressing (orange juice/zest, white wine vinegar, chives and olive oil) and cut up the avocado. And clean my greens. (I didn't bother with the onions.) David grilled the shrimp and corn (along with some ciabatta bread brushed with olive oil) while I did the rest. Once the shrimp, corn and bread came off the grill I tossed it all together and dinner was served. I got a fuzzy shot that couldn't be less staged or styled:</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVISvi1dPiGIp2tXNMHx4vyQBBHNwOxveYGBz4WxNsZqBVsea0Se3verhxusSrCTv9szvgA6z9BiR0QVbqDWGp28im8U_rneH-vgxWFhmd1iJKvy2XeeqQ7oNdxZSHr0yxKo6FscV9gIhA/s1600/shrimpavocadosalad" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVISvi1dPiGIp2tXNMHx4vyQBBHNwOxveYGBz4WxNsZqBVsea0Se3verhxusSrCTv9szvgA6z9BiR0QVbqDWGp28im8U_rneH-vgxWFhmd1iJKvy2XeeqQ7oNdxZSHr0yxKo6FscV9gIhA/s320/shrimpavocadosalad" width="239" /></a></div>
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You can't even tell there's avocado in there, but trust me, there is. This is one of those dishes that you might wonder about, thinking to yourself: I like corn and I like shrimp and I like avocado but how can it all possibly go together? Especially when it's drizzled in orange juice? Don't doubt it. This salad works and it works deliciously. </div>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: #333333; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', Times, serif; font-size: 10px;">
Grilled Shrimp Salad with Corn and Avocado <i><a href="http://Grilled Shrimp Salad with Corn and Avocado" target="_blank">from Epicurious</a></i></span></h2>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10px;"><strong>Dressing</strong></span><br />
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<li class="ingredient" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">6 tablespoons orange juice</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">3 1/2 tablespoons white wine vinegar</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated orange peel</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">1/4 cup olive oil</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">1/2 teaspoon truffle oil* (optional)</li>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10px;"><br /></span><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10px;"><strong>Salad</strong></span><br />
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<li class="ingredient" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Metal skewers</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">2 pounds uncooked large shrimp, peeled, deveined</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">3 large ears of corn, husked</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">1 ciabatta bread or pain rustique, cut crosswise into 1-inch-thick slices</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">Olive oil</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">2 teaspoons hot smoked paprika (Pimentn de la Vera)**</li>
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<li class="ingredient" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">12 cups mâche (about 7 ounces)</li>
<li class="ingredient" style="margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px;">2 avocados, halved, pitted, peeled, cut into 3/4-inch cubes</li>
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<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10px;"><strong>For dressing:</strong></span><br />
<span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: 'Lucida Grande', Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 10px;">Whisk first 4 ingredients in small bowl to blend. Whisk in olive oil, then truffle oil, if desired. Season with salt and pepper.</span></div>
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<strong>For salad:</strong><br />
Bring small saucepan of water to boil. Add pearl onions and boil 3 minutes. Drain; cool onions slightly. Peel onions, leaving root ends intact.</div>
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Do ahead: <i>Dressing and onions can be made 2 hours ahead. Cover separately and let stand at room temperature.</i></div>
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Prepare barbecue (medium heat). Thread onions on skewers; thread shrimp on separate skewers. Place onion skewers, shrimp skewers, corn, and bread slices on 2 large rimmed baking sheets. Brush onions, shrimp, corn, and bread with olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Sprinkle shrimp on both sides with smoked paprika. Grill onions and corn until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side; grill bread slices until browned; and grill shrimp until cooked through, about 2 1/2 minutes per side.</div>
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Transfer vegetables, shrimp, and bread to work surface. Cut corn kernels off cobs; place corn kernels in very large bowl. Remove shrimp and onions from skewers and add to bowl. Add mâche and avocados to bowl. Toss salad with enough dressing to coat. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Transfer salad to large rimmed platter and serve with bread.</div>
<br /></span></div>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926629346324477706noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-3840633579799191428.post-79186692849654463932012-07-22T20:47:00.000-04:002012-08-01T17:59:45.115-04:00Sunday Morning Breakfast HashThis weekend featured so many of my favourite things. First, unplanned time. Nowhere to be and nothing to do (besides the usual weekend running around) which was wonderful after a hectic week. Second, a pile of fresh new books waiting to be read. (I just started <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Beautiful-Ruins-Novel-Jess-Walter/dp/006220713X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1343002566&sr=8-1" target="_blank">Beautiful Ruins</a> and I have <a href="http://www.amazon.ca/Prisoner-Heaven-Carlos-R-Zafon/dp/1443413798/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1343002619&sr=1-1" target="_blank">The Prisoner of Heaven</a> waiting patiently on my bedside table.) Third, lots of time in the kitchen. Spent churning out pancakes with Daniel, making banana cake with caramel sauce for Patrick and discovering the wonders of breakfast hash courtesy of some amazing chorizo sausage.<br />
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The hash I have dubbed Sunday Morning Breakfast Hash has no recipe. It started because we had leftover chorizo sausage from our Saturday night Sausage and Pepper Pasta dinner. (That dish was so-so. Not blog-worthy.) The best part about it was the sausage so I was glad there was some left over even though I had no idea what I was going to do with it. I thought about making an omelet, or even a frittata, then I remembered how a couple of weeks ago I had used up some leftover steak by making a steak, red pepper and potato hash for dinner. I checked out the fridge and the pantry and happily I had more than enough ingredients to make a respectable hash. Here's how it came together. I diced up some yellow and orange peppers and an onion and threw them in my frying pan along with some butter. I sauteed these for about five minutes, until the mix was softened. While frying up the peppers and onions I parboiled some mini white potatoes that had been rolling around in my pantry potato drawer and diced them up as well. (I put a bit of olive oil and butter in the pan when the potatoes went in, since I find the butter gives flavour while the oil helps the potatoes brown nicely.) The potatoes also got about five minutes. When I was reaching for the potatoes I saw we had some corn on the cob handy, so I cut fresh kernels right off the cob and threw them in to the mix as well, along with the (now cubed) sausage that inspired the whole dish. Another five minutes to give the sausage time to heat through and voila. An amazing breakfast. Made even more amazing when you top your hash with a fried egg! And serve it with toast! (If only I had bought sourdough bread this week. If I had sourdough toast with my egg and hash I think I might have cried at the breakfast table. It was that good, honest.) </div>
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A plate of Sunday Morning Breakfast Hash and a Kona coffee latte is my idea of the perfect morning. I didn't even mind that I had to eat my hash sitting at our kitchen island, since our kitchen table has been taken over by thousands of Lego pieces that are slowly (ever so slowly) becoming the Millennium Falcon. </div>
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So that was Sunday morning. Now I have to find time to write about the amazing Shrimp and Avocado Salad I made for dinner Sunday night....and the banana cake! Served up with caramel sauce. Mmmm. It was a delicious weekend!</div>
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<br /></div>Jenniferhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03926629346324477706noreply@blogger.com0