Apple Picking and Pie!

It all started about two weeks ago when my co-workers decided we should go apple picking. We picked a day and a time and I was all set to go meet them when Brian said, "My roommates are going to a corn maze."



As you can imagine, I was torn. Both were Fall activities I had been lusting for. Then Brian told me the farm with the corn maze also had apple picking, and I was sold. A corn maze AND apple picking? My fall dreams had been answered.



Arriving home with a peck of apples and a bunch of stress about the upcoming semester to relieve through bake therapy, I set about to do the first thing and stressed person with apples would: Make an apple pie.



Recipe to come!

Quick Update

I have been baking a lot lately. It's probably the stress of new things manifesting as deliciousness, but I'll get to that later this weekend. For now, a quick stash of PhotoBooth cooking pictures I have been hoarding...


Classy Campfire Food:
Potatoes, ground beef, onions, and butter toasted in a puff pastry.
A hearty, steamy treat.



Barbara Sawyer's Stuffed Peppers (as made by Brian Sawyer):
Green peppers filled with beef, rice, and seasonings, sprinkled with breadcrumbs and roasted in marinara sauce.


Barbara Sawyer's Goulash (as made by Brian Sawyer):
Macaroni, ground beef, tomato, spices, and lots of chili powder.


Sideways Chicken Pot Pie:
Cream of chicken soup, frozen mixed veggies, and shredded chicken, baked in a pre-made crust.

Because Brian and I are both working full-time (and then some) we have learned to appreciate the joys of simple cooking. We use a lot of quick cooking meats like ground beef.
He likes to stick to his mom's recipes, while I like to improvise. It's been fun having a standard routine because it makes it easier to fall into a pattern where cooking is commonplace.

This weekend I will post some real recipes with pictures from my real camera!

turkey meatballs

i stole this recipe from molly over at orangette (love her!) in fact, if anyone is looking to buy me a gift (my half birthday is in a few weeks - i know, who buys someone a gift for their half birthday?? whatever, it's the only occasion i could think of) you can preorder her book for me :) normally when i steal someone's recipe i tweak it a few times until i think it's just right, but this one is perfect as is.



turkey meatballs with all kinds of tasty surprises in them - toasted pine nuts, golden raisins, cilantro, etc. she recommends a lemon and cumin yogurt sauce to dip them in, but i think they have such great flavor already that i wouldn't want to take away from it. here's the recipe. and some more photos of my meatball making process!

Potato Leek Soup: A 30-Minute Meal with Shaina Shay

A lame picture (taken by my MacBook), but a delicious and shockingly simple soup for 2.

Directions:
Have your boyfriend peel and cube 4-5 fingerling potatoes.
Boil potatoes in one can (14.5oz) chicken broth for 15-20 minutes, covered.
Turn heat to low and mash with a potato masher or puree with a nifty SmartStick, like Brian got me. (You can leave some potato cubes intact.)
Saute one large sliced leek in butter. (Try not to forget about it and let it burn... Ahem.)
Add sauteed leek and 1 c. cream or half & half (I used cream and it was cream-ay!) to the potatoes and liquid.
Stir.
Add salt and pepper and french fried onions if you wish, and enjoy!!

The whole thing took about half an hour and it was very filling and yummy!

oatmeal pancakes!

I know I'm usually so health conscious that it's annoying to my less conscious friends (thanks for passing that on, mom!), but then there are those times when you catch me finishing off a bag of kettle chips all by myself or occasionally even heading to the drive-thru for a double-double and fries from In-N-Out. I'm a hypocrite, I know. I admit it! My excuse is always the same: I didn't have time for breakfast this morning, so I didn't eat anything. Now it's mid-afternoon and I'm so famished that I'm just going to eat the quickest, easiest thing I can find because I absolutely can't wait another minute. Usually I'm so hungry at this point that I eat way more food than necessary, at a much faster rate than I normally would. Which almost always results in a stomach ache.

You would think by now I would have already figured out the whole correlation of cause and effect here, since it's pretty obvious. The truth is I've always been totally aware of my bad habit of skipping breakfast, but up until recently I've never done anything to correct it.

Enter the oatmeal pancake.

My friend Danielle gave me this recipe (if you want to call it a recipe) awhile ago - I was complaining to her about how I was so sick of regular old oatmeal, so she told me that her mom makes a really tasty oatmeal pancake that I might like to try. Her mom also makes really yummy dairy-free ice cream and a matzah brie dish that's to die for, but more on those later...

After a little bit of experimentation, I created my own version of the oatmeal pancake. I've passed the recipe on to a lot of friends, all of whom make their pancakes a little bit differently than me. There's one thing we all agree on, though: it's the perfect quick breakfast for any day of the week. Here's my version.

I start with 1/3 cup quick oats, and add an egg white. I then dump in some cinnamon and flax seed (probably about 1/4 t. of cinnamon and 1/2 t. of flax seed, but I never measure) as well as a splash of soy milk. Sometimes, if I feel like experimenting, I'll add a little ginger, or cloves, or whatever else I grab from the spice cabinet. Then I mix it all up with a fork and dump it all in a pan. It's usually a little thick so I use a spatula to kind of guide it into round, thin, pancake-like shape. I let one side brown and then flip it and do the same for the other side. It only takes a few minutes to cook. After that, I top it with whatever I'm in the mood for - usually yogurt (soy yogurt in my case) and lots of fresh berries (I prefer strawberries and blackberries).

It's the perfect breakfast because it only takes a few minutes to make, it's yummy, and it's totally a well-rounded meal. The oats and flax seed give you fiber, the egg white adds some protein, yogurt gives you a serving of dairy, fresh fruit helps you reach that five a day, and cinnamon is an extra added bonus - there are studies saying that it lowers cholesterol, aids digestion, and even reduces your appetite. Sounds pretty perfect to me!

wild mushroom pasta

tiffany and i tried out a new recipe awhile ago, i kept forgetting to post pictures until now though. it's a pasta with all kinds of mushrooms- white button, portobello, and an assortment of wild. white wine, chicken broth, garlic, shallots, and lots of fresh herbs made the sauce complete. it was kind of a lot of work - lots of slicing, chopping, mincing, etc. but it was really yummy. tiff even liked it, and she's not a fan of mushrooms at all!

here's the mushroom sauce simmering on the stove...


add pasta, and chicken...


...final product!

4th of July Feast (No Picture)

Sorry! I didn't think to take a picture of this one...

Living in the dorms, I always thought of my lack of grill as a huge impediment. Steaks and kebabs could never be as good when prepared stovetop. However, on the suggestion of a co-worker I looked into broiling.

Following this link to a tee, I produced some of the best steak I've ever had in my own home. Really!! I bought two rather pricey Boneless Rib Eye steaks from Whole Foods and put a very basic steak rub on them. They were flavorful, tender, and more than enough for the 3 of us.

I also made mashed potatoes: 2 very large potatoes, a stick of butter, a dash of pepper, and an excess of garlic salt, and a House Salad. Brian took care of the garlic bread.

All that and a nice red wine and we were in business for a fabulous Fourth of July feast. If only the fireworks had been as nice as my cooking!

the best cookies ever!!!

i love peanut butter. in my mind, pretty much anything that combines peanut butter and chocolate can't be wrong. these cookies are pretty much the epitome of pb chocolate goodness because they have peanut butter, reese's pieces, chocolate chips, AND reese's pb cups. i was tempted to also add some peanut butter chips but i thought that might be overkill. :) seriously though, these are my favorite cookies of all time... whenever i make them i can't keep them in the house because i have no self control - i'll eat the for breakfast, or if i've already had breakfast i'll have them as a breakfast dessert. bad, i know.

i've baked these bad boys quite a few times and kept tweaking the recipe and i think it's finally just right. i made them recently when emily and ramos came down for the day and i think they devoured about a dozen of them... in a very short period of time too. and then after em left she called me to get the recipe and made them at home that night! i think that's a pretty good testament to how delicious they are.



here's the recipe:

INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup butter, softened
- 3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
- 3/4 cup white sugar
- 3/4 cup packed brown sugar (i use half light and half dark)
- 2 eggs
- 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
- 2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
- 1 cup reese's pieces
- about 20 mini reese's peanut butter cups, cut in half

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Unwrap the reese's peanut butter cups, cut them in half, place them on a plate
and put it in the freezer while you make the dough.
3. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, peanut butter, white
sugar, and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time, then
stir in the vanilla.
4. Combine the flour and baking soda in a separate bowl; stir slowly into the peanut
butter mixture. Mix in the chocolate chips and reese's pieces.
5. Drop by tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet and roll into dough balls.
Remove the frozen peanut butter cup halves from the freezer and press a piece onto
the top of each dough ball.
6. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. Let cool for 1 or 2
minutes on sheet before removing, or they will fall apart.

It's ok if they seem a little but under-cooked when you take them out - the peanut butter in the dough definitely affects the texture to make it seem that way. Besides, if you take them out when they're still a little mushy, after 2 minutes sitting on the hot tray they'll be perfect. That way, when you go to eat them the next day they'll still be soft and chewy, not crunchy. There's nothing worse than a crunchy cookie.

Passover Extras!

I figure Black & Whites are a pretty popular cookie at most delis (they're my Dad's favorite) so why not make Black & White Matzoh?  I melted semisweet and white chocolate with a little milk and brushed them onto the broken-up matzoh with a spoon then left them in the fridge to harden.

Matzoh ball soup leftovers in the fridge: I used my Grandma's (on my Dad's side) recipe for the matzoh balls, but they delated a bit and the soup was my own creation which I cooked all day long.

This is my Grandma's (on my Mom's side) House Dressing.  It is amazing and one of our few family secrets.  So basically, you can't have it.

Matzoh Brie.  Obviously my breakfast the next morning.  1 broken up matzoh + 2 scrambled eggs in a frying pan.  A little bit of jelly.  Just like Dad used to make.

Braised Beef Brisket

I used the recipe from my page-a-day How to Cook Everything calendar.  As you can see, on the left is the "Braised and ready to go in the oven"  stage, and below is the "I'm all eaten" stage.  I forgot a good in between picture.  I sliced the brisket and cooked it for an extra 5 or 6 hour beyond what the recipe suggested which made it much more tender.

A Jewish guest at my Passover seder claimed it was the best brisket she ever had!  Nice!  The only drawback is that the braising stage involves butter which makes this dish not Kosher, but you could easily substitute oil or margarine.

Black-Bottom Cupcakes

I used the cookbook that Brian got me for Valentine's Day (I think) or possibly our anniversary called "Sticky, Chewy, Messy, Gooey."  (I would type in the recipe but it's all packed up and ready to move home, unfortunately.)  I subbed Ricotta for Mascarpone for the filling because it was what I had.  They were still good and fairly moist.  The only problem was that the proportions seemed a bit off.  I must not have used enough filling because I had quite a bit extra (about the amount of two full cupcakes) and the chocolate glaze was way too much!  I poured it into a container and refrigerated it to make a nice buttery fudge.  : )

I've also made the Spanish Hot Chocolate and Churros from this book which were both delicious.  The hot chocolate was super rich!  I need to try a few more of these recipes.  The chocolate cake looks especially good.  Perhaps for a birthday party..?

Rosemary Chicken, Ravioli with Herb Cream Sauce, Salad with Homemade Croutons

The main event of this meal was the cream sauce.  I made a rue (flour and butter) and slowly added cream and herbs to my liking.  Which herbs?  Well, I really don't know.  I just smelled them and threw them in...  There was definitely Thyme and Basil and probably some Marjoram too.  But no Rosemary.  I put that on the chicken.

I dusted the chicken with flour before cooking it so it got nice and brown.  I took the skimpy piece of chicken (as you can see) because midway through cooking I decided to feed three instead of two, but it was still good!

Roomie Food

My roommates did some intense cooking.  Just thought I'd show it off.

A Lemon Basil pasta from the Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, garlic bread, and prosciutto and melon appetizers.

Yum!

my old standby

i make this dish occasionally when i want to be somewhat impressive without actually doing too much work. :)

it's pasta with homemade pesto... it has lots of yummy stuff in it - chicken breast, chicken sausage, asparagus, mushrooms (sometimes), and zucchini. the chicken sausage that i like to use is this one from trader joe's that has spinach and fontina cheese in it. (i wouldn't recommend the sausage otherwise though - we tried bbqing it and it was nasty and the fontina cheese smelled awful!)

i slice the veggies and sausage, and cut the chicken into bite-size chunks and the sautee it all in a large pan. while it's cooking and the pasta is boiling i get the pesto going. pesto is pretty easy... i usually use a blender because it seems to make it more sauce-like than a food processor. i just dump in lots of basil with some olive oil and toasted pine nuts, and then i add some romano cheese. throw in a little salt and pepper and then add more of whichever ingredients are needed based on taste.

i like to throw all the pasta and pesto into the pan with the sauteed veggies and mix it all up with tongs and then serve it with a little of the romano shaved on top.

i kinda forgot to take pictures until it was already leftovers in a tupperware but here it is... looks yummy right??





i cooked this for a boy recently and i think he was impressed (or at least he pretended to be) :)

Caprese-esque

Working from home today, I decided to whip up a quick lunch what the ingredients that were on hand, and I ended up with this yummy salad.

Fresh mozzarella and cluster tomatoes on a bed of arugula, dash of dried basil, dressed with extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic, with butter garlic croutons to add some crunch. Light, tasty, and quick to prepare. Yum!

An eclectic concoction

Shaina and I met up to create a brilliant tex-mex concoction with corn bread, tortilla soup, and enchiladas. But by the time we finally got to the cooking, it was late, I didn't want to go shopping for missing ingredients, and we were both hungry. So we settled for something a bit simpler, and utilized the power of the George Foreman Grill (tm) to do it.
Starting from 12 0'clock, corn on the cob, awkwardly prepared with some spices and a buttered pan, pesto parmesan bread, breaded chicken tenders, grilled red peppers, and Grandma's famous mashed potatoes.

Alright, we didn't achieve any grand vision or theme, and we didn't push our limits, cooking wise, but we ended up with a decent late-night dinner and some leftovers for the next day. Next time, something more exotic.

Croutons

Easiest thing in the world.

Cube a baguette.  If it's a little stale, even better.  Lay it out on a baking sheet.  Drizzle with olive oil.  Season with salt, pepper, oregano, paprika, and garlic powder.  Toss lightly so spices are even  Pop in the oven for about 10 minutes.  I did it at 350, but mine always come out a little soft.  425 might crisp them up some.

Homemade Pasta

I've always been envious of people who make their own pasta.  At a friend's house on Saturday night, I helped them roll and cut pasta dough and finally just asked them how it's done.  This is the magical ratio I received:

1 cup of flour

1 egg

1 pinch of salt

a little water

(while you knead it, if you need it)

Pretty dang simple!  Crack the egg into the flour and cut in.  Knead for 10-15 minutes.  Refrigerate for later, or roll right away and cut as thinly as possible.  I boiled it up for about 4 minutes, strained it, and mixed in a little butter, parmesan, and basil.

I feel like a real chef now!

Next time, spinach and sundried tomato pasta...

Cookies and Cream Truffles

The only picture I took is of the truffles chilling out in the fridge.

I use this recipe to make delicious Cookies and Cream Truffles that always mysteriously disappear in a day or two.  The first time I made them, I sprung them on my boyfriend and his friends during an intense session of Rock Band.  One of his friends grabbed one quickly between sweet guitar licks and appeared to gag on the truffle.  When he swallowed, he moaned and said, "It's like an orgasm in my mouth."  So take that for what you will...

The first time I made them, I used white (Uh-Oh?) Oreos, which gave the inside a nice cream color and enhanced the buttery flavor.  A lot.  I also made them in a Magic Bullet, which was tricky and small and took a long time, but actually left a nice grainy texture inside the truffles.  These days, I have my beautiful, gorgeous, incredible 11-Cup Cuisinart Food Processor (my Hanukkah present) which cut the prep time in half and left the truffles smooth and creamy inside, just like store-bought.

I coated the chilled truffles in a mixture of melted semi-sweet chocolate chips and some cream melted together over a double boiler (or a small bowl on top of a pot, if you're me).  Alton Brown says, if you want the chocolate coating to have a nice snap, don't raise the temperature of the chocolate over 94 degrees F.  Without a candy thermometer, I didn't manage to achieve this, but it's good to know for next time.  I love the homemade feel and the richness of this dessert.  It makes a great gift in a nice little box, or just something to snack on, if you don't mind the calories!

Brunch: Fake Eggs Benedict & Mini Caprese

I've never poached an egg before so I attempted it today.  It looked strange in the water but tasted pretty good.  I didn't use any fancy tricks, or even add vinegar to the water (I didn't have any), I just set it at a low boil and cracked an egg into it.  I only let the egg boil for a few minutes because I didn't want the yolk to cook through.  I then placed in on an english muffin toasted with spreadable cheese (Kaukauna or WisPride) and melted some cheddar over that.  Certainly not healthy, but probably healthier than a real benedict, certainly easier, and most importantly, delicious!!

I also made this "Mini Caprese" ("mini" because of the size of the cheese and tomatoes) to flesh out the brunch aspect of my meal and help me move just slightly away from my two favorite food groups (breads and cheeses).  I halved cherry tomatoes and small balls of ciligiene mozarella, add a tiny dollop of pesto, a couple tablespoons of balsamic, as well as some salt and pepper.

Angel Hair with Homemade Marinara and a Dollop of Mascarpone

Pretty self explanatory but...

...so delicious!!

Okey Dokey Artichokey!

I love artichokes hearts more than any other vegetable.  They have antioxidants, they're good for your liver, and they're even supposed to lower cholesterol!  I could probably eat them unendingly with various preparations forever.  Did you know they can even be made into liquor??  Usually I just cook them up on high in a saucepan with some olive oil, oregano, salt and pepper, but today I decided to kick it up a notch!

I mainly followed the recipe on the can.  I minced a clove of garlic and heated it in about a half a tablespoon of butter on low heat so it wouldn't burn.  (I usually burn it, but no longer!)

Then I drained and quartered my can of artichoke hearts and sauteed them in my butter with some salt, pepper, paprika, lemon juice, and a little bit of ground ginger.  Yummy!

To flesh out the meal, I assembled an English Muffin pizza with a bit of sauce, store-bought pepperoni, grated sharp cheddar, and a little oregano on top.  I baked it on 350 until the cheese was melty and the muffin was warmed through.  E voila!  Lunch!

Chocolate Chip Cookies

I have been questing to make the Best Chocolate Chip Cookies ever.  You know the ones- crispy on the outside, gooey in the inside, with the perfect cookie/chip ratio and golden brown color...  All of my teenage life I used a standard Mrs. Fields recipe which is darn good, but not The Absolute Best cookies in the World!

Tonight I tried out this recipe.  I mean, it won an award in Canada so I figured, they're probably pretty good, eh?  At first I used my handy baking spray with flour in it so they wouldn't stick to the pan, but this caused them to spread out too much and get crispy on the edges.  With a little help from the internets, I found out that I should roll them into balls before putting them on the cookie sheet and stick the dough in the freezer between batches.  This led me to the adorable little "silver dollar," sized cookies in the picture- thick enough to be chewy on the inside, but small enough to be two-bite sized.

I had to sub semi-sweet chocolate chips for milk this time, but next time I definitely won't because I think it will make a delicious difference!

**EDIT 3/14: The recipe ended up making 40 cookies and my roommates (with the help of a couple friends and a couple beers) devoured them all by morning.  I think that's a pretty good testament to their deliciousness.