Gingerbread Cake with Stout Buttercream

Twas the night before Christmas Eve....

I won’t try to rhyme, but my mother in law was arriving this night, and I had invited my Mom over for dinner also.  I knew I wanted something lighter than what we would be eating for the next few days, so I bought some fresh tilapia for supper.  I made a coating out of crushed pecans (very finely chopped in the food processor to look almost like flour), panko breadcrumbs and shredded Parmesan cheese.  I then dipped the fish in melted butter and then in the breadcrumb mixture.  It only took about 4-5 minutes under the broiler (watch very carefully – the pecans can and will burn)  If you are concerned, you may want to just bake them for about 10 minutes at 375 and then check for doneness.

We had this with rice, and roasted asparagus and it was delicious.  I think with any fresh white fish (snapper, catfish etc) this would be quick and easy.

For dessert, I had wanted to try this cake for some time and thought this would be a good night to do so.  It is from “The Best of Southern Living” magazine that I picked up in the grocery one day – it has so many pages turned down it looks like it is the only cookbook I have (ha!).  The cake was wonderful.  So moist and the stout beer flavors brought out the spiciness of the Gingerbread…I would absolutely do this again.  Using a gingerbread mix cuts your time down to almost nothing.   It is almost a week later, and it is still very moist and good.

Gingerbread cake with Stout Buttercream

Ingredients

•               2  (14.5-oz.) packages gingerbread cake mix

•               2 large eggs

•               2 3/4  cups  stout beer, at room temperature, divided

•               1/2  cup  butter, softened

•               1  (16-oz.) package powdered sugar

•               Garnishes: toasted pecans, rosemary sprigs

Preparation

1. Stir together gingerbread cake mix, eggs, and 2 1/2 cups stout beer in a large bowl until combined. Pour batter evenly into 2 lightly greased 8-inch square pans.

2. Bake at 350° for 35 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans on a wire rack 10 minutes. Remove from pans, and let cool on wire rack 1 hour or until completely cool.

3. Beat softened butter at medium speed with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar and remaining 1/4 cup stout beer, beating until blended after each addition. Beat 1 minute or until light and fluffy.

4. Spread stout buttercream between layers and on top of cake. Garnish, if desired.

Pot Roast and Rainy Days

December 28, 2009

 Whew!  Somewhere between Thanksgiving and this week, things started moving too fast!  We had a wonderful and Blessed Christmas surrounded by family and friends…exactly as you want it to be.  But if I am going to be completely honest, I’m just a touch glad to have all the busyness behind me.  This “week between” is always a great week,  - quiet and calm compared to the past month. We did a ton of eating and I apologize for the lack of blog posts….I’m going to try and catch up over the next couple of weeks, so please check back often.

The first catch up is a wonderful pot roast that I made on a very cold and rainy day.  Really one of those days where you hope you can do everything to avoid leaving the house.  In a moment of brilliance (those are few and far between), I remembered I had a pot roast in the freezer and a crock-pot that was probably lonely!

I don’t remember a lot of pot roast dinners growing up.  My Mom  probably knew the title “Yankee Pot Roast” and that was enough to deter her from making them.  I love a good pot roast, but I prefer to NOT have all of the vegetables you normally find in the pot roast cook with it.  I find that by the end of the cooking, the carrots, onions potatoes and whatever you put in tastes just like the roast and has lost all flavor and texture.  So I like this Southern Living recipe (from a wonderful cookbook called “Southern Living Homestyle Cookbook” which is actually titled, Beef with Red Wine Sauce.

Beef with Red Wine Sauce; Roasted Vegetables

3 lb boneless chuck roast, cut into one-inch pieces (I left it whole)

1 medium onion, sliced

1 lb fresh mushrooms, halved

1 package brown gravy mix (1.61 oz)

1 can beef broth (10.5 oz)

1 cup red wine

2 Tbsp tomato paste

1 bay leaf

Hot cooked noodles or rice

Place the first 3 ingredients into a slow cooker.  Whisk together the gravy mix and next 3 ingredients; pour evenly over beef and vegetables.  Add bay leaf.  Cover and cook on High for 6 hours; Discard bay leave and serve.

For the vegetables, I went back to my favorite method of roasting.  I took whatever I had on hand, chopped them into evenly sized pieces and drizzled a nice bit of olive oil, salt, pepper and in this case McCormick Steak Seasoning (I love this spice mix and it is absolutely great on many things besides steak).  The veggies then went into a hot oven (375-400) for about 20-25 minutes.    I just shake the pan around once in the middle to make sure all of the vegetables get nicely browned.  These have a wonderful crunch on the outside and keep their delicious flavor.  I then plate them along with the roast.

Philly Cheese Stuffed Garlic Bread

Hey Y’all,


First an apology for being so long in posting. We have been on an absolute whirlwind of activity since before Thanksgiving. Between family gatherings, wrestling tournaments all over the State, Business parties and receptions not to mention two kids in the middle of final exams I’m ready for a break!
We have managed to squeeze in a few family dinners in the midst of all the craziness and I will try to catch up soon on the posts.

Thanksgiving was wonderful – I am truly blessed to have such a wonderful family and not just are they nice folks, we really (really) enjoy being with each other. We had a fabulous meal (the turkey was perfect as always) and great fun and I did notice a few empty wine bottles in the recycling the next day! Our sons fiancé’s family joined us for dessert and made it even more special. I hope you all enjoyed the day and found time to take a breather when it was over.

In case anybody had a “boo-boo” in the cooking process, don’t worry - it happens to everybody. Remember that amazing upside down apple pie? Well I made it again, and it came out of the oven like a cover of a magazine. I let it cool the required 10 minutes, and then took my oven mitts (and luckily I was over a clean cookie sheet), flipped it. Well, you would have thought it was possessed by the devil, it jumped out of my mitts and landed in about 15 pieces on the cookie sheet….A few choice words uttered by me later we had “Apple Caramel Pecan crumble”…. UGH!

I saw the recipe above in the Rachael Ray magazine a couple of months ago, and I have to say, I only give it a “C”. However I am including it because with a couple of small changes I think it could be an “A”. We had a friend of my daughters over the night I made it and we really didn’t have enough food for 5, even with a salad on the side. (We are all pretty good eaters though).. I think when I do this again I would increase the amounts just a bit, and rather than serve it in one round bread loaf, I would find some decent size hard rolls (may be even small sub rolls) and fill them as individual servings. The meat filling was very tasty, just not easy to cut into servings and plate.  I am publishing it here as it was written.  If you are cooking for 2-4 people it would be fine - if more than that, I'd just bump up the ingredients a bit (or perhaps add some sauteed mushrooms) and try it in smaller indiviudal rolls.



Philly Cheese Steak Stuffed Garlic Bread:

•1 1-pound loaf peasant bread


•1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), divided

•2 cloves garlic, finely chopped

•1 tablespoon chopped fresh rosemary

•1 pound onions, thinly sliced

•1 pound sirloin steak or sirloin tips, very thinly sliced

•Salt and pepper

•1/4 cup dry red wine

•8 slices provolone cheese

PreparationPre-heat the oven to 375°F.

Slice off the top half-inch of the bread and reserve. Scoop out the insides of the loaf so that the shell is about a half-inch thick. Cut the scooped bread into cubes.

In a large skillet, heat 6 tablespoons EVOO over medium heat. Add the garlic and rosemary and cook for 2 minutes. Place the bread shell on a baking sheet and brush the inside with some of the seasoned oil.
Add 3 cups of bread cubes to the skillet with the remaining seasoned EVOO and toss to coat. Transfer the cubes to the baking sheet, scattering them around the bread shell. Place the reserved bread top on the baking sheet, cut side up. Bake until everything's brown and toasted, 10-15 minutes.

Meanwhile, in the same skillet, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons EVOO over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring until golden, about 10 minutes. Transfer to a bowl and reserve. Add the steak to the skillet and cook for 4 minutes; season with salt and pepper. Add the wine and cook for 2 minutes. Stir in the reserved onions.
Spoon half of the steak-onion mixture into the toasted bread bowl. Top with half of the cheese, then half of the croutons. Layer with the remaining steak-onion mixture, croutons and cheese.
Bake until the cheese has melted, 3-5 minutes. Top with the bread lid. Slice into wedges and serve.

Thanksgiving...BBQ Turkey

I love all holiday's, but Thanksgiving is really at the top.  The entire day revolves around food, and family….how awesome is that? We usually host Thanksgiving with my Mom taking Christmas Eve and my Sister does Christmas day. That way, we spread the responsibility (read that as housecleaning) and no one family has to drive too much. Since both my Mom and Sister are great cooks, we also spread the assignments. We each bring a couple of side dishes and an appetizer. It really makes things easier and must less stressful so we can all enjoy the day more. The menu usually changes year to year with a couple of old family favorites and a few new dishes that we want to try. The one thing that does not change is the turkey preparation. Years ago (I mean like 40 years ago), my Mom found a recipe for bar-b-que sauce that was really different…no ketchup, not much vinegar, but a great spice mix. It is a somewhat thin sauce. Well it worked well on chicken and so one year my Dad decided to try it on the turkey. The next thing you know, he found an old hypodermic needle – now this was so long ago, that the needle he found we think was from a veterinary supply and was glass! So he would suck up the BBQ sauce into the needle and inject the turkey, all while basting the turkey also and cooking it on the grill on low heat. This was his show….and he enjoyed it. I have the greatest memories of him proudly lifting the cover on the grill to display this gorgeous bird as everybody arrived. About 10 years ago, Dad turned the turkey duty over to Greg…who clearly had the grill part down pat. We found stainless steel injection needles and then realized that we could do the BBQ sauce in the microwave and cut down on the time significantly. Then, about 6 years ago I read a long article about how to brine food. In it was a recipe for brined Turkey that soaks for 3 days in Bourbon, Maple Syrup, Water and pickling spice. That was it – the only thing that could add to our turkey…the brined, bbq’d injected bird was and is the best…there is no improving on this. I think we would have family mutiny if we tried…so here is the recipe and if you feel so inclined give it a shot.  I'll post a picture after Thursday!

I hope you all have a blessed Thanksgiving…remember, it’s not all about the china matching, or the centerpiece being Martha Stewart worthy…it’s about being together and being thankful…..

Brined Turkey

Three days before Thanksgiving, put the thawed, cleaned turkey (without gizzards etc) into a clean large kitchen trash bag (no perfumes or odors).

In a large bowl, mix 2 cups pure maple syrup
2 cups bourbon
2 Tbsp pickling spice

Stir these together until the syrup has incorporated into the liquid. Pour over the turkey and then add cold water to cover the turkey. Place the first bag inside another one (in case of leakage), Place the turkey in a large cooler and fill with ice. Check on the turkey a couple of times a day, turning it over in the bag. You will need to replace the ice every day also.


On Thanksgiving morning, remove the turkey and discard the liquid. Let it come to room temperature. Clean any remaining pickling spice off and pat dry the turkey. Cover with a dry rub if wanted, and inject all over with the Collins Family BBQ sauce. Do not baste with the sauce yet as it will burn. Place on a BBQ grill over low, indirect heat for 2-5 hours based upon the size of the bird. In the last 60-90 minutes, baste with additional BBQ sauce. We make a separate batch of the sauce to serve alongside the bird.

Collins Family BBQ Sauce

In a microwave safe bowl add:

½ cup butter
¼ cup sugar
2 Tbsp flour
½ tsp salt
1 tsp chili powder
¼ t dry mustard
¼ t pepper
1/3 c apple cider vinegar
2 T Worcestershire
Dash Tabasco
3 Tbs hot water



Put in microwave and heat for 1 minute, stir, heat for additional 1 minute stir and continue heating and stirring every minute for 5-6 minutes or until thick.

This sauce is exceptional on chicken or turkey. If you do not use fresh ground pepper, you can use a turkey injector and put it throughout the inside the bird as well as basting. Fresh ground pepper is too thick to go through the injector. For a large turkey, you will need to double or triple the amount above.

Gnocchi with Roasted Cauliflower

For many years, I avoided Cauliflower, Broccoli and Brussels sprouts – now I grew up having to eat broccoli and cauliflower which was frozen then boiled. If we went exotic it had cheese whiz on top (sorry Mom…) Frankly if I never encounter another boiled stalk I’ll be fine. My mother never served Brussels Sprouts – I think we assumed they were a “Yankee” vegetable and therefore had no place on our Southern table. After we had kids, I figured they would not eat these veggies either and I was right….at least I was right until I discovered roasting vegetables about 3-4 years ago. Honestly there is no simpler thing to do with ANY vegetable but I think roasting works especially well with these three. My kids are good eaters but they feel the same as every other kid about vegetables…however when roasted I hear “awesome…cauliflower or Brussels sprouts”…yea, I just about fell out the first time I heard it too!

This recipe from the Food Network magazine teams roasted cauliflower with another favorite – gnocchi. If you are not familiar with gnocchi, it is a wonderful tiny little dumpling usually made from potato …kind of a cross between pasta and potatoes and frankly what could be better? On their own, they don’t have a lot of flavor, but this recipe uses the roasted cauliflower and sage along with lots of parmesan (I probably went heavy on it) to create a wonderful side dish. I had some leftover flank steak that I served with this, but if you added some prosciutto or good bacon I think this could easily be a nice main dish.



Gnocchi with Roasted Cauliflower

1 small head cauliflower, cut into small florets

12 fresh sage leaves

3 Tablespoons olive oil

Kosher Salt & black pepper

1 pound gnocchi (fresh or frozen)

¼ cup grated Parmesan



Heat oven to 400. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the cauliflower, sage, oil ½ tsp salt and ¼ tsp pepper. Roast, tossing once until the cauliflower is golden brown and tender, 25 to 30 minutes.

Fifteen minutes before the cauliflower is finished, bring water to boil for the gnocchi. Cook according to package directions (usually about 4-5 minutes), drain. Combine the gnocchi with the cauliflower and Parmesan.

Long Delay….Great Pie!

I do apologize for the lack of posts over the past two weeks. I had one fun week in St. Augustine FL gettingready for the Georgia/Florida game, and then suffered through the next week at a Sales Meeting in Las Vegas. I have been playing “catch up” since I got back, but we have had a few family dinners and look to be back on track soon.

In preparation for Thanksgiving, I wanted to test out a recipe last weekend. I usually just wing it, and don’t test recipes before we eat them, but Thanksgiving is different. I really love this holiday – no pressure except for family, friends and food…and of course being Thankful which I hope I am all the time. This year, instead of planning desserts (we of course planned the meal), my sister, Mom and I decided to bring whatever dessert you wanted. I had seen a recipe in Southern Living for an upside down caramel apple pie and thought that sounded good….Good didn’t even get started here - this one was exceptional and very easy! Even if you are not planning a big Thanksgiving dinner, this is a very impressive dessert for anytime.  The picture on the left is what it looked like out of the oven.  The picture on the right is after it was flipped over.
Ingredients
• 1 cup chopped pecans
• 1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
• 1/3 cup butter, melted
• 1 (15-oz.) package refrigerated piecrusts, divided
• 4 medium-size Granny Smith apples, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks (about 1 3/4 lb.)
• 2 large Jonagold apples, peeled and cut into 1-inch chunks (about 1 1/4 lb.)
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Stir together first 3 ingredients, and spread onto bottom of a 9-inch pie plate. Fit 1 piecrust over pecan mixture in pie plate, allowing excess crust to hang over sides.

2. Stir together Granny Smith apples and next 5 ingredients. Spoon mixture into crust, packing tightly and mounding in center. Place remaining piecrust over filling; press both crusts together, fold edges under, and crimp. Place pie on an aluminum foil-lined jelly-roll pan. Cut 4 to 5 slits in top of pie for steam to escape.

3. Bake at 375° on lower oven rack 1 hour to 1 hour and 5 minutes or until juices are thick and bubbly, crust is golden brown, and apples are tender when pierced with a long wooden pick through slits in crust. Shield pie with aluminum foil after 50 minutes, if necessary, to prevent excessive browning. Cool on wire rack 10 minutes. Place a serving plate over top of pie; invert pie onto serving plate. Remove pie plate, and replace any remaining pecans in pie plate on top of pie. Let cool completely (about 1 hour).



If you are a diehard baker (and I am absolutely NOT), you can certainly make your own pie crusts…but I think once you have all of that good caramel and pecans on top, it might be a wasted effort… This was delicious 3 days later (yes, it did last that long…we were getting little tiny slices )

Bad week for family dinner

Just a quick note - I was out of town for most of last week, and am in Las Vegas for a meeting this week....sorry for the lack of posts.  My family is eating very poorly - except for tonight when my sweet Mom is cooking for them!  More next week when our schedule is back to normal!

Charlie's Chicken

First, I have no clue who Charlie is…before we were married I received a great cookbook at a shower.  The cookbook was published by The Lovett School here in Atlanta and is called “Cook and Love It” (get it?).  Well very early in our marriage, I was trying to drum up a dinner out of the pantry and fridge and saw Charlie’s Chicken…looked simple enough.  I have probably made this once every month or two since then.  It is great!  Usually we have rice or noodles but last night I needed to use some potatoes so it was mashed spuds.  It really doesn’t matter as long as you have something to put the extra sauce on….you do NOT want to let that go to waste.

A final thought … why do chicken breasts never look good in pictures?  When I am a famous blogger I am going to hire a photographer since it is clearly not my forte!  Enjoy the recipe even if the photo is lacking!

Charlie’s Chicken:

4-6 Chicken Breast (can be boneless, or not)

1 pkg Good Seasons Italian Dressing (dry)

1 block cream cheese

1 cup white wine

2 Tbsp butter

Chopped parsley (optional)

Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the chicken and sprinkle with the salad dressing.  Cook over medium heat until the chicken is browned, being careful not to burn.  In a medium saucepan, add the cream cheese and white wine and whisk over low heat until melted (can add fresh parsley if desired).  When the chicken is brown, remove to a 9 x 13 dish.  Add the pan drippings to the cream cheese mixture, and any leftover salad dressing mix and stir well.  Pour the cream cheese over the chicken and bake at 350 for 30-45 minutes until chicken is cooked to desired consistency. 

Serve the remaining sauce over rice or noodles.

Oven Chicken & Okra Gumbo "I got work to do Gumbo"

2 pounds okra, sliced into ¼ in rounds

1 medium onion, chopped

1 celery stalk, chopped

1 red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 (14.5oz) can peeled whole tomatoes

1 (6 oz) can tomato paste

3 cups diced cooked chicken

6 oz. tasso or smoked ham, diced (I used smoked sausage)

1 quart chicken stock

Salt & Pepper to taste

4 cups cooked white rice

Preheat the oven to 250.  Combine the okra, onion, celery, bell pepper, garlic, tomatoes and tomato paste in a large roasting pan.  Cover with foil and bake for one hour or until tender.

Remove the foil and add the chicken, tasso, and broth.  Return to the oven uncovered and bake for 1-1/2 to 2 hours or until desired thickness.  Season with Salt & Pepper (I also added hot sauce).

Ladle the gumbo into bowls and spoon a little rice into the center of each bowl.

This recipe comes from a great cookbook, “Screen Doors and Sweet Tea” by Martha Hall Foose.  If you love southern cooking, this should be on your shelves.  I have done several recipes and they all worked well.  Last night we had a family friend coming to dinner, but (as usual) I had little time.  The subtitle from the cookbook caught my eye!  If you have made Gumbo, you know that the first 30 – 45 minutes are spent standing over the pot working the roux to be just the right color.  Yesterday I certainly didn’t have that time.  So, during my lunch hour (I work from home, so the commute back to the kitchen wasn’t bad), I cut up everything needed for the recipe and then about 4:00 ran down and put the pot in the oven.  About 5:00 I added the other ingredients and then took my sweet time to make the rice, set the table etc.  I thought this gumbo was very good – the downside is that it never develops that nice dark color and depth of flavor.  I’d call this more of a chicken stew…but very flavorful.  I assume the large amount of okra is to help thicken (which it did)…but if you are not wild about okra, you may want to use less and less chicken broth.  Or you could keep the same amount of broth, and add gravy flour and finish it on the stovetop.  Regardless, it was good, made plenty for dinner tonight also and I think was enjoyed by all (OK, so my kids didn’t eat the Okra…I confessed) .  You might notice I again forgot to take the picture before we dug in...thanks to J for being the Gumbo model :)  Remember this blog is about the food, not the poor quality pictures....

Chicken in Wine Sauce

Quick, Easy and Good

We needed something easy last night (read that as I needed something easy), and something that I could re-heat when my daughter got home late from her activities….I had printed this recipe off a while back from the Food Network web site.  It is a Paula Deen recipe.  I have had mixed results with her recipes…but have eaten in her restaurant, The Lady and Sons, several times in Savannah and it is always good…so my rule of thumb is it is comes from her restaurant then I am more likely to try it.  I have one of her early cookbooks (before she became nationally known) and it is very good  also– as a matter of fact, it reminds me I need to do her Bacon Cheeseburger meatloaf again…it was a big hit. 

I had some chicken breast in the freezer and just about everything else in the pantry so I thought we would try Lady and Son’s Chicken in Wine Sauce.  This one turned out well – not an “entertain the in-laws” kind of meal, but a good easy weekday meal for your family.   It was probably 5 minutes to put together and 45 to bake (time to make the sides and have a glass of wine!).  Everybody really enjoyed it…my husband deemed it “blog worthy”.  I did make one addition – I had a piece of thinly sliced country ham left over from the weekend.  I diced it and put it on top of the cheese…I think it added nice flavor, more like a Chicken Cordon Bleu taste.  This is purely optional.    One note on the chicken; I find that sometimes the chicken breasts vary significantly in size.  If I am going to cook the chicken with a marinade or sauce the fresh, larger breasts are best…but if it is going into a casserole like this, the packages of frozen chicken breast are more uniform in size so they cook evenly.  When either one goes on sale, I grab a couple of packages  and fill the freezer, because when they are NOT on sale the boneless, skinless breast can be pretty pricy.  Just make sure all of the breasts you use are pretty much the same size so they are all done at the same time.

Lady & Son’s Chicken in Wine Sauce

·         4 large skinless boneless chicken breasts

·         4 tablespoons butter, melted, plus more for casserole

·         Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

·         6 ounces (about 8 slices) Swiss cheese

·         1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed cream of chicken soup

·         1/4 cup white wine

·         1 cup herb-flavored stuffing mix, crushed

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Add the chicken to a shallow buttered casserole and season with salt and pepper, to taste. Layer the cheese slices on top.

In a medium bowl, add the soup and the wine, season with salt and pepper and pour over the cheese. Sprinkle stuffing mix on top and drizzle with melted butter.* Bake for 45 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve.

Chili Rick

Chili Rick    

          

I am not sure who Rick is, but I’m a fan!  I am sure we have all made chili before…no great chef skills required…but somehow it usually tastes the same.  Last weekend I wanted Chili (it is just starting to feel like fall here and that just brings on a need for soups, stews and chili), but I wanted something different.  I did some internet searching over my favorite web sites, and found this recipe on AllRecipes.com.  This is really a great site; it includes  reader generated recipes with lots of comments from other cooks who have tried them.  I never try something without comments…and I read many of the comments for ideas on substitutions, side dishes etc.  If you are not familiar with AllRecipes, give it a try.  Anyway, this Chili had just outstanding reviews.  I think 4 or 5 comments said they had won Chili Cook-off’s with this….well that seemed good enough for me!

It turned out great.  Very different…and don’t be scared of the ingredient list…yes it includes bacon, barbeque sauce and chocolate.  But once all the flavors meld together I loved it.  This one goes to the top of the Chili pile and will be repeated many times.  Please note….I used half of the called for barbeque sauce and would scale it back even more (probably about 10 oz)…but do NOT leave it out completely….it really works with the other spices.  This was even better the next day, and makes a ton.  I froze half for later this winter.  Enjoy and let me know what you think.

Chili Rick's

2 (29 ounce) cans tomato sauce

2 (28 ounce) cans peeled and diced tomatoes

2 cups diced onion

1 tablespoon Italian seasoning

1 pound bacon, diced

2 pounds spicy sausage

3 pounds lean ground beef

1 (32 ounce) bottle hickory smoke barbeque sauce (I suggest much less….about 10-12 oz)

1/2 cup chili powder

4 (15.25 ounce) cans kidney beans, undrained

2 (1 ounce) squares unsweetened chocolate, chopped

DIRECTIONS

1.     In a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat, combine tomato sauce, tomatoes, onion and Italian seasoning.

2.     In a large skillet over medium heat, cook bacon until slightly crisp. Drain and stir into the pot.

3.     In the same skillet over medium heat, cook sausage until brown. Drain and stir into the pot.

4.     In the same skillet over medium heat, cook the beef until brown. Drain and stir into the pot.

5.     Stir the barbeque sauce and chili powder into the pot; taste and adjust seasonings. Stir in the kidney beans and chocolate and simmer until flavors are well blended. Serve.

This dinner is a HOME RUN!

Saltimbocca  Brown Butter Ravioli with Butternut Squash

Last night I went back to my friend Rachael Ray for dinner.  While I have made some of her recipes and didn’t really think they were that good, I must be on a roll… The past 4 or 5 things of I have made were very good and this was no exception.  I saw her make this on a taped show last week and it seemed very “fall” friendly.  Frankly, I don’t think I had ever cooked a butternut squash before.  Mom never made them growing up, and I just never saw a recipe that caused me to try it.  Since I KNOW I don’t like Pumpkin (yea, I know, it’s weird…won’t even eat a Pumpkin Pie), then squash was my option here.  I cut it in half and then peeled it with a vegetable peeler.  Cleaning out the seeds was very quick, and then I cut it up in a small dice.  It roasted quickly and gave me time to get the water boiling for pasta, and fry up the Pancetta…It really came together quickly (30-40 minutes with time for sipping a glass of wine), and everybody loved it.  By the way, I didn’t make the Balsamic Drizzle (which I think is Balsamic Vinegar and Brown sugar reduced down), but did drizzle it with a little Balsamic Vinegar and it was a nice kick.  I would very easily serve this to company and it was pretty inexpensive and except for the butter, pretty healthy.  It got both of my kids to say that the Butternut Squash “was pretty good…” High praise!

PS – Sorry no pictures…camera upstairs, dinner downstairs…hungry…you get the picture (Ha Ha)

1 2-pound sugar pumpkin or butternut squash, cut into 1-inch dice

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (eyeball it), plus additional for drizzling

Salt and pepper

Freshly grated nutmeg

1/3 pound pancetta, cut into fine dice

1 1/2-2 pounds good quality, fresh large cheese or wild mushroom and cheese ravioli

6 tablespoons butter

20 leaves fresh sage

Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, for shaving over ravioli

Balsamic Drizzle

PREPARATION

Pre-heat the oven to 400˚F.

Coat the pumpkin or squash with a few tablespoons of EVOO, then season it with salt, pepper and nutmeg and roast for 15 minutes. Turn it over and roast for 15 minutes more.

When the pumpkin or squash is a few minutes away from being done, bring a large pot of water to a boil for the ravioli.

Heat a drizzle of EVOO in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the pancetta and crisp, 4-5 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and wipe the fat drippings out of the pan.

Drop the ravioli in the boiling water and cook for 3-4 minutes.

While the ravioli cook, melt the butter in the skillet, then add the sage leaves and crisp them up, about 2 minutes. Carefully remove the sage leaves, reserving them on a plate. Reduce the heat under the skillet a bit and allow the solids in the butter to brown.

Drain the ravioli and add them to the skillet. Toss to coat.

Arrange the brown butter ravioli on a serving platter with the pumpkin, and give everything a gentle toss. Top with the shaved Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, crumbled sage and Rachael's Balsamic Drizzle.

The easiest meal you will ever make…

Sorry for the lack of posts over the past couple of days.  Being new to the blogging world, I must admit my mistakes…I keep forgetting to take pictures of what I have made.  Usually, I am so ready to sit down and taste that we serve plates and dig in…about halfway thru the meal, one of my kids will say, this is pretty good, did you take a picture?  Uhhh, no…. think anybody wants to see a plate of half eaten pot roast?  Yea, me either!

I spent some time on Sunday with a pot roast.  It was good, actually pretty good, but not great and I thought it had a lot of steps.  While I am not trying to make every recipe I post here “quick and easy”, I do want to make sure the end result is worth whatever amount of effort is put in.  I don’t mind fussing with a roast on a Sunday afternoon if it is amazing….this roast had many steps, lots of ingredients and was just OK…so I am not sharing it.  When I find a great, easy roast for working folks, I’ll post it.

So today, I want to tell you about the easiest dinner you will make.  I mentioned it a few days ago; it is a Chicken Tortilla Soup.  I have to give credit to both my sister MC and Trader Joe’s for this.  As she was in  Trader Joe’s one day last year, the end-cap of an aisle had on it the following items and a recipe for

Chicken Tortilla Soup

(1)    Can of  Chicken

(1)    Large Box Chicken Broth

(1)    Jar Roasted Garlic Salsa

       Tortilla Chips

 You basically dump a large box of broth, the large can of chicken and the jar of salsa in a pot and heat it up.  When it is hot, crunch the tortilla chips in a soup bowl and spoon the soup over it.  Now, this indeed sounds too simple to taste like much….right?  Wrong!  The first time I made it, we finished the pot immediately.   The next time I did add about 3 teaspoons of chopped cilantro at the end, just because I had it in the fridge, and topped it with sour cream, however I have made it without both of these and it is fine. I have made this also with several different salsa’s…the key is to get one that is chucky and flavorful.  Trader Joe’s stopped carrying the Roasted Garlic Salsa shortly after this became a staple at my house, but I recently noticed it was back (they do that with lots of items).    Last week I spent a good deal of time making a “home-made” version of the same soup, and everybody thought it was inferior.  I am not a big fan of canned chicken…it has its place (like canned tuna), but it can taste pretty much like cardboard.  However, I have used both the Trader Joe brand, and Swanson from my Publix and they both work.  If I have some leftover chicken from another dish (or about ½ of a Rotisserie chicken), that is even better.  This is THE recipe to always have in your pantry…it is seriously about 5 minutes to make and everybody gets a good meal…  You can dress it up (chopped fresh tomato on top, add peppers if you want etc), or leave it alone…I think everybody will enjoy it regardless, and you know on the nights you come home late, tired and hungry you are minutes from a nice meal.   Thanks to MC and Trader Joe’s.

Football Worthy Food

Well this was not last night’s dinner (even though there was a football game on).  Last night was a time consuming Chicken Tortilla soup that was not nearly as tasty as the one I have with 3 ingredients – I will post the easy one here soon.   Last night’s recipe card was tossed quickly (a quote note…if you take the time to make something and don’t like it, either make a note in the cookbook or throw away the card…I have wasted time and money cooking something I didn’t like once and a year later I make it again!)

 I made these pizzas last weekend on a very rainy Saturday when I knew we would be sitting around watching SEC football most of the day (Football is close to religion in my family).  There are certain foods that you need with football – chips, dips, finger foods, nothing fancy etc.  I think there is becoming (at least in the South) a whole new category of food classified as “Tailgate”.  Even though we were not going to the game, I wanted tailgate worthy munchies.  Well, after some searching I went back to my friend Rachael Ray.  If you study her recipes you will find that many of them are a standard dish with a new spin.  (For example the Sheppard’s Pie stuffed potatoes…same ingredients, new presentation).  Anyway, she had a recipe for Buffalo Chicken Flatbread Pizzas.  Wow…two for one on the snack foods, pizza and Buffalo chicken!  They were fun, easy and everybody gobbled them up.  When I do them again (and I will), I may try whole wheat English Muffin or something a little smaller would be easier to handle.  These tasted great, but we all ended up with forks and having some of the chicken fall off the flat bread.

Buffalo Chicken Flatbread Pizzas

2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

1 pound boneless skinless chicken thighs, chopped into bite size pieces

Salt and Pepper

2 Tbsp butter

½ cup Franks Red hot Sauce

4 flatbread rounds (or 8 English muffins, see above)

3 ribs of celery sliced thin on the bias

¾ cup shredded Monterey Jack Cheese

¼ cup blue cheese crumbles

Pre-heat oven to 450

Place a large skillet over medium-high heat with 2 turns of the pan on EVOO, about 2 Tablespoons.  Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper, then add them to the pre=heated skillet.  Sauté until cooked through and golden brown, 4-5 minutes.

Reduce the heat to medium and add the butter to the skillet to melt.  Add the hot sauce and cook stirring occasionally, until the sauce had thickened and coats the chicken (Be careful not to take a deep breath over the pan or the hot sauce fumes could burn your sinuses!)

When the chicken is ready, place the flatbread rounds on a baking sheet and divide the chicken equally between all four rounds.  Scatter the celery over the chicken and top each round with some shredded cheese and blue cheese crumbles.  Bake until the bread is crisped and the cheese has melted, about 5 minutes.

Floods and Comfort Foods...

As many of you may know, the Atlanta region has had a pretty horrible week of rain.  It started last Thursday and really just finished yesterday.  I have heard lots of different totals, but the area got around 2 feet of water and several counties received much more.  Monday was the worst with some parts of East Cobb County getting 15 inches in one day.  The devastation is horrific and most people who don’t have flood insurance have lost everything.  We were lucky, our house is pretty elevated and we had no issues, my Mom had a small amount of water in her bathroom that was manageable.  However, there are thousands who are really hurting now and a few extra prayers sent their way would be appreciated.

In the midst of this amazing rain, I really felt the need for some comfort food.  I have seen lots of lists which name mashed potatoes, grilled cheese, ice cream, fried chicken and a host of other foods at the top of the “Comfort Food” chart.  I guess it is just further proof that my taste buds are a little off…my list topping comfort food is…. Beef Stroganoff.   And, not just any beef stroganoff but my Mom’s recipe which is a little strange to start with.  Further proof that the food you grow up with tends to be what you crave.  This recipe turns out pretty orange in color where most is dark brown.  It uses chicken stock rather than beef, and includes ketchup and brown sugar along with other spices….but it all works together and the house smells like pure love… Serve on top of some nice fluffy white rice and the world just seems like a better place.

It would be great if you could start this about 4:00 in the afternoon, but I am usually not hanging out in the kitchen then.  Please note it takes about 2 hours so either cook it one night for dinner the next day, or just tell your family to get a snack because it will be a late meal, but oh so worth it.  It may work well in the crock pot, but I have not tried it that way.

I would love to know your top 5 comfort foods to see how different everyone is and what make you feel like home…

2 lbs round steak cubed

2 Tbsp butter

2 small onions, chopped

1 clove garlic

2 Tbsp brown sugar

salt & pepper

1 tsp paprika

1/2 c ketchup

2 Tbsp Worchestershire

1 Tbsp Lemon Juice

2 big cans of mushrooms, drained

1 pint chicken boullion

Corn Starch

16 oz carton sour cream

Hot cooked Rice

Brown the beef in butter in a dutch oven and add the onion and garlic cooking until the onion is translucent.  Add all of the ingredients down to the chicken boullion.  Simmer for 1-1/2 hours.  Thicken with corn starch and let simmer for a few minutes.  Add the sour cream right before serving and serve over hot rice.

I don't bake, but these are great brownies!

I don’t bake…it’s just not something I really enjoy doing like I do cooking.  I think everybody is programmed to have some amount of creativity…may be it is artistic, or fashion or home decorating etc…none of which I am any good at…but I cook.  I like to think that is my creative outlet.  I may only wear a couple of colors that I know match,  and my house looks great after the decorator leaves…and it still looks that way years later since I don’t have the confidence  to change it.  But give me a pot, pan and knife and I can toss stuff together that will be edible and usually pretty good.  So what does this have to do with “I don’t bake”?  Baking is a science…it requires exact measurements, specific instructions and a determined order (dry ingredients first, then wet; no substitutions etc).  Baking is really a giant science experiment that you can enjoy afterwards…but get creative about it and you usually don’t get to eat it.  My daughter J is a great baker…she follows the instructions, she measures and it always turns out excellent…Oh, and she excels at Science too – see the connection?  Anyway, sometimes you have to try to push yourself outside the proverbial box…and I did this weekend by baking brownies!  I apologize for the picture...not one of my best...

I had seen this recipe in a Food Network magazine that I picked up at the store.  The brownies (yea, I know pretty elementary baking….but you have to start somewhere) had both cinnamon and cayenne pepper in them…which intrigued me.  They also called for Mexican Cocoa powder, but since we were in remote North Carolina at the lake house, the possibility of finding Mexican Cocoa powder was slim to none.  I did use Dark Chocolate Cocoa (Hershey’s) and the brownies were great – moist, very dark (almost black) and extremely flavorful.  I would encourage you to try these…with some good vanilla ice cream…UMMMMMM

2 sticks unsalted butter

2 cups sugar

4 large eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract

2/3 cup good-quality unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp ground Mexican cinnamon

1/4 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp kosher salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

Preheat the oven to 350.  Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish very well with butter or cooking spray.  Melt the 2 sticks of butter in a nonstick saucepan over medium low heat - do not boil.  Remove from the heat and let cool slightly.  Add the sugar, eggs and vanilla to the saucepan and stir with a wooden spoon until combined.

Add the cocoa, flour, cinnamon, cayenne, salt and baking powder and mix until smooth.  Spread the batter in the pan and bake until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out fudgy.  (20 - 25 minutes).  Cool in the pan on a rack and then slice and remove the brownies.

Bar Beans

Wow, I am so happy its Friday!  It has been a crazy week of school meetings, birthdays, out of town friends, oh yea, work... But we made it!  Last night G had a meeting and dinner out but I really felt like we had not had much family time this week and I wanted to have a nice dinner.  I knew I had some Yukon Gold potatoes from the CSA bag so I started there.  A quick run thru Trader Joe's found a great price on boneless pork chops (3 for $5) and some nice Marsala sauce.  Add to that what I found out was the number 1 seller at Trader Joes - the skinny green beans and we were set.

So the pork chops were just covered with salt, pepper and an equivalent of McCormicks steak seasoning (great stuff if you don't know about  it) and then browned.  After browning, I put them in a small casserole and covered with the TJoe's Marsala sauce. (If you don't have a Trader Joe's I am sure a regular pork gravy would have been fine)   The potato's were easy too...take a sharp knife and carefully slice them almost all the way thru, then carefully spread them apart.  Drizzle the inside with salt, pepper and olive oil and bake at 375 for about 30 minutes.  Test for doneness after 30 and then sprinkle some cheese (white cheddar last night, but I have done this with Parmesan also) on top and run them back in for another 5-10 minutes.

Now the beans....that's the title of the post.  Several years ago our oldest son "A" was travelling for work and met some folks in a local bar.  Instead of popcorn, peanuts or chex mix, the bar served green beans as a snack item. At first A thought this was crazy and then he popped a couple of beans in his mouth and loved it!  If you know our son, he can talk anybody into just about anything and before he left, he had the waitress tell him the recipe for the beans.  Basically, it is just skinny beans, low to medium heat and olive oil and garlic.  I do mine in a large skillet and keep the heat between low and medium and most of the time I used the pre-chopped garlic when I am in a hurry.  The trick is NOT to stir them around a lot and they get all brown and crispy.  Both of my (younger) kids will eat the beans this way, and are full of nothing but complaints most every other way I prepare them...give it a try - with a cold beer or a pork chop they are delicious.

Tomorrow is a big day of football and I'm working on some fun munchies while we watch!  Have a great weekend and please let me know what you think about the blog so far.

Fun Birthday, Great Restaurant

So yesterday started my 50th year - with my 49th birthday.  All in all it was a fun day and I had a pre-planned dinner with some old friends that I worked with 20 years ago!!!  I am not sure we had all four been together in 20 years so it was a lot of fun getting caught up and remembering.  Therefore...the family was on its own for dinner (thank you Stouffer's for providing the meal in my absence).

I do want to give credit to a great restaurant chain, Season's 52.  I know there are a couple of locations in Atlanta and I think in Florida as well...it is based upon the fresh concept and their menu changes weekly.  It is also (in my mind) the absolutely correct portion size.   The meals arrive sized somewhere between dinner at a spa (too small for my taste) and one of those places where you eat on your meal for 4 days.  Also, if  I remember correctly (and don't quote me) all of the entrees  are under 500 calories.  The desserts are presented in a shot glass and you get about 3-4 bites of an amazing dessert without killing your waistline.  You can have a gourmet meal and leave the restaurant with your belt still in its rightful place.  It is really a great concept and while this is not intended to be a restaurant review blog....its worth your time and money to visit Seasons 52 if you have one close by.  Oh, and they have over 60 wines by the glass as well...just in case you are so inclined.

Tonight we have tickets to the Braves game...so our family meal will probably be hot dogs (MAJOR difference from last night)...but we will be eating together!  I think next week should be back to a more normal routine.

I feel rotten.....but they gotta eat!

Wow, I woke up this morning with a big case of the crud....so dizzy I could not walk down the hall without bumping into the walls...good thing it was 6:00am or my kids would think I was into the wine bottle pretty early! I was nearly human (but not quite) by lunch and realized that if I recovered I was supposed to go to a meeting at J's school...and we would need a quick dinner.  Not feeling real inspired I wandered aimlessly into the pantry and spotted..... The Crock Pot!!! Yea.  I quickly found the Taco Soup recipe we had enjoyed last winter and thankfully it is pretty much a "open can and dump in crock pot" kind of plan.   The picture really doesn't do justice to the taste....very good.  If you have young kids or don't like too much spice, make sure you get the "mild" version of the Rotel tomatoes...that is where a good deal of the heat comes from.  There are a ton of good vegetables hidden in the soup so you may just be able to sneak some corn, tomatoes, and beans into your eaters without their knowledge!

 You can add or delete any ingredient based upon family preference.  It is more like a stew consistancy than a soup.

Taco Soup
2 cans kidney or pinto beans or 1 of each
2 cans of corn or frozen corn equivalent to 2 cans
1 large can of diced tomatoes
1 can tomatoes and chilies (Rotel)
1 packet taco seasoning mix
1 packet ranch dressing mix
1 lb ground beef or turkey (or chicken)
1 can green chilies
1/2 tsp or more chili powder
a few shakes hot sauce
salt & pepper
Garnish:  shredded cheese, sour cream, crunched up chips

Brown the meat or turkey and drain the fat.  Add the meat to the crock pot wilth all other ingredients except garnish.  The beans should be drained and rinsed but the corn and tomatoes should have the juices.  Cook on high for 4-5 hours or low for 8-10.  Check seasonings about halfway through.

Serve with cheese, sour cream, chips or anything you would put on a taco.

What to do with CSA veggies?

A few months ago a friend mentioned that she missed the CSA she belonged to in Chicago. Of course, I didn’t know what a CSA was…and I’ll assume you don’t either. CSA stands for Community Supported Agriculture. It originated with folks like me buying a “portion” of a farm and then getting part of the produce it produced. It has become, thanks to technology, a great way to get local fruits and vegetables at their freshest. I started to investigate and found a CSA here in Alpharetta/Roswell (www.localfoodstop.com). Each Monday or Tuesday you get a list of what is available and place your online order for small or large bags; fruit, vegetable or mixed and tell them where you want to pick it up (several locations around the area). You are not obligated to buy every week and can make substitutions if you know your family won’t eat something included. It has been very fun for us, and made me try some fruits and veggies I might not normally have tried. This week’s bag included Acorn Squash. Now, I know Acorn Squash are not exactly exotic but for some reason we really never ate them. So, here sits this nice squash and what to do with it? Well, it was AWESOME. I found a base recipe for Squash stuffed with sweet/spicy sausage and swapped it around a bit. We also had some gala apples in the bag that I thought the apples would be nice cooked with the squash…and rather than go buy sausage I had some wonderful spicy Boudin in the freezer (Cajun sausage made with meats and rice…really nice spice). So…here is my interpretation. My only mistake was not taking a picture…but we were so hungry by the time we ate that we dug in before I remembered the camera.


Acorn Squash with Spicy Sausage

Ingredients:

2 Acorn Squash, halved and seeded
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 shallot finely chopped
1-1/2 pounds spicy sausage, casings removed
1 cup brown sugar (I used less)
2 apples, peeled, cored and chopped
2-3 Tablespoons dried cranberries
2-3 tablespoons red wine or port (optional)


Preheat oven to 350. Place the squash halves face down in a baking dish in 1 inch of water and bake until the flesh is tender, about 45 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat and cook the shallot for 1-2 minutes (can use mild onion), add the apples and sausage until starting to brown. Meanwhile, soak the dried cranberries in the wine (or water) and add to the sausage mixture after it is browned up some.

Once the squash is tender, discard the water. Cut a small part of the bottom if needed to sit up straight.  Sprinkle half of the brown sugar on the inside of the squash. Fill the squash with the sausage mixture and top with reserved brown sugar (I didn’t use it all). Return the squash to the oven until the sugar starts to melt, about 15 minutes.

Serve with a green salad and enjoy!