Cheese Please

Hey guys, I am currently working on making some home made ricotta cheese. Apparently it is quite easy to make, it just needs about a day to sit. So, as soon as I have my final product, I will post it as fast as my not- so- little fingers can type. Lets cross our fingers it comes out at least as tasty as a watery tub of Polly-O.  Wish me luck!

A Quick Lunch....Or Dinner

Just a few ingredients keep you and your stomach away from a tasty and healthy meal. This little number only takes about a minute longer than the time it takes your pasta to cook. When the fella is eating his favorite eggs and hash on a saturday afternoon, this is what I make. He won't eat it (so more for me) and I don't feel bad for eating 3 bowls of it. This is a recipe based on what you have on hand, but has two basic principles use some kind of vegetable and whole wheat pasta. Today I have arugula and rotini and used half a box of each of these. No good can come of it when I make a whole box of pasta. Ok, lets get this party started shall we? 

Here we have the stars of the luncheon show, arugula and pasta.  When your pasta is finished cooking let it sit in the colander for a minute while you add the arugula to the hot pot with some oil salt, pepper and red pepper flakes (if you can take the heat.) Let it wilt down just a bit. Throw your cooked pasta on top of the arugula and add just a bit more oil and give it a stir.  To beef up on the veggie count I added half a bag of steamed peas in with the arugula. 

TA DAAA! 10 minutes later you have something really good to eat, with little to no effort. Top off your bowl of goodness with some good parmesan cheese and start shoveling or politely savoring every bite. 

Milk, of the Nutty Variety

This stuff is delicious. I stumbled upon this tasty treat during a stroll through Target. I've seen the commercials and have even tried the original Silk Almond Milk, but this stuff....wow.  It is so thick, rich, chocolaty, and simply delightful. It has a hint of almond flavor, far less distinct than the non-choclate version. I am not a fan of milk, at all but this is absolutely wonderful. This tasty bev offers way more calcium than regular milk, which I am trying to consume more of these days. I know these freaky, new fangled food items might seem weird but this is soooo good. Try it and let me know what you think. It goes without saying that I am definitely not being paid to comment about Silk's Almond Milk, I wish! 

Mmmmm going, going....

GONE!

Caesar Dressing (A Healthy Version)

My best friend Sarah and I love Jamie Oliver. I remember lying on her bedroom floor in high school while we proclaimed how cute his accent was and how good his food looked, as he drove around on his little vespa from place to place making his recipes. I still love him today, especially this food revolution he is on. I totally support his crusade to teach Americans about good food, where this food comes from, and healthy, easy, delicious recipes. Americans eat horribly, we could use the simple wisdom this wonderful Brit has to offer.  I know the world is busy, but I think its time we take a cue from the Europeans and put down all of the gadgets we find so necessary to possess, sit down and enjoy a meal. Preferably with some people you love, and preferably at least once a day.  We can all start with a tasty and healthier version of the classic caesar salad. It takes about 15 minutes and makes enough to nicely coat 2 heads of romaine. Though the recipe calls for just one large head.
1/3 cup low-fat or nonfat Greek-style yogurt
2 anchovy fillets mashed
1 garlic clove mashed
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1/4 cup freshly grated parmigiano reggiano cheese
salt and freshly ground pepper
1 large head of romaine lettuce torn into bite sized pieces

Here are your ingredients. Unfortunately I live in the middle of nowhere, and this is the best parmesan cheese I can get my hands on. Oh how I long to live near a Whole Foods again. But, it did the trick.

Lemon juice, garlic, and anchovies. 

In a small bowl whisk the yogurt with the anchovies, garlic, lemon juice and worcestershire sauce. 

Whisk in the oil

And the parmesan cheese

Season with salt and pepper

In a large bowl, toss the romaine with half the dressing and the remaining cheese. Serve, passing the remaining dressing at the table.

Joy! In a Styrofoam box

Few things are more joyous to receive via the U.S. postal service than this glorious Styrofoam box I came across today, filled with boxes upon boxes of pure deliciousness. Ladies and gentleman we have Omaha Steaks! Thank God for grandmothers who love their grandsons. This special delivery came today as an early birthday present for the fella. It may as well have been my birthday, I'm thrilled. We are now the proud, soon to be consumers of filet mignon, bacon wrapped filets, hot dogs, burgers, pork chops, pot roast, steak tips, au gratin potatoes, and even apple tartlets. 

Tonight I made some steak tips and caesar salad with homemade dressing, the recipe coming from the wonderful Jamie Oliver, I'll be sharing that go round with you all tomorrow. I'm not a huge fan of steak tips and would never order them at a restaurant, where more often than not you are presented with a pile of cow chopped in to bits, resembling and tasting like tire tread. No thank you. But, the Omaha steak tips are unbelievably tender and tasty. A tip, if you will, of beef heaven. All I can say is, thank you grammy!

Even Bo was excited about the delivery. Thats about as close as he is gonna get to tasting any of it! 

Valentine Brownies

Is it just me, or does martha stewart have a way of making you feel bad about yourself? She has these fabulous recipes, and fabulous photos of these recipes (and hundreds of millions of dollars, but thats beside the point) and mine never seem to measure up. This seems a bitter way to start a post about valentines day but, ugh does she get to me! I used her brownie recipe from the Baking Handbook and they came out fine. I will admit I am a much better cook than I am a baker but, I still love to do it. My finished product just never looks like hers. I digress.... these brownies are very tasty and came out looking pretty good. With a little help from a heart shaped cookie cutter, they will be a lovely sweet treat for your valentine. Hopefully you have more than one or you'll end up eating the whole batch like me!  And Here we have Martha Stewart's Fudgy Chocolate Brownies. Valentine style.
You need:

1 stick unsalted butter, plus more for pan

8 ounces bittersweet chocolate
11/2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Your Ingredients.

Melt the butter and chocolate in a bowl over simmering water. 

Prepare your pan with butter and flour.

After the chocolate, butter mixture cools (about 10-15 mins) add the sugar.

Stir it. 

Add eggs mixing well after each addition. 

Add the vanilla.

Fold in the flour and salt. Careful not to over mix.

Pour the brownie mixture into the prepared pan. 

Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes. Until a toothpick comes out just about clean. Don't over bake it will continue to cook for a bit out of the oven.  

Grab you heart shaped cookie/brownie cutter and start making some magic!

Voila! Heart shaped brownies for your valentine. 

Awesome Chocolate Chip Cookies

It has taken me a long time to perfect my chocolate chip cookie, or to my standards perfect. By this I mean crisp on the outside and soft and gooey on the inside. When I make cookies I tend to eat quite a lot of them so, for awhile I made them with Splenda to lower the calorie count and up my consumption. Awful! Splenda does something to the cookie that makes them somewhat cake like yuck, not what I am going for. I have used recipes from countless cookbooks including The Joy of Cooking, which produced a good cookie but offered up a small batch. After much failure I have found my perfection on the back of Toll House bag of semi-sweet morsels as I'm sure you all have discovered. I use this recipe but with a few changes and techniques. Instead of the two sticks of butter I use 1cup of canola oil or, 1/2 cup canola oil and 1/2 a stick of butter. If I am trying to be extra healthy or less remorseful for eating a dozen cookies I exchange all purpose flour for whole wheat flour. Its much better for you and tastes relatively the same except for and added nuttiness and more wholesome taste, for the lack of a better word. I also found adding about 1/4 cup of golden flax seed sprinkles with the flour is absolutely delightful! You won't notice much difference in the taste of the cookie but it does wonders for the texture that I'm going for, and of course its incredibly healthful offering its omega 3 goodness. Also, especially when using the canola oil be sure to refrigerate your cookie dough in a covered bowl for at least 30 minutes. Chilled dough is a must for a good cookie.

This 1 inch scoop is great for making uniform sized cookies, which also helps them cook evenly. 

Scoop em, and drop em. 

A Silpat is a silicone mat that lies inside your sheet pan. It helps crisp the cookie, I love it. They are a bit expensive, but worth every penny.

Mmmmmmm.

Time for a taste test. If your betting I ate more than one, you are correct! Try 12, I would like to say that I'm ashamed but they are soooo good. And hey, it was wheat flour and flax......right?

A Frankfurter in Frankfurt and a Frozen Veggie Review

I don't have much to proclaim today. No earth shattering dish or life changing recipe. The fella and I spent the day shoveling more than a foot of snow that got dumped on us overnight. Ok, he shoveled way more than I did but, I helped. I do have a broken ankle let us not forget! So tonight he gets a tasty dinner he loves to eat, I'm in the middle of making garlic mashed potatoes, barbecue broiled chicken, and sweet corn. Yes I know corn is not in season but I must say those lovely steam bags are a wonderful thing. We can all enjoy the the tastes of summer in the dead of winter. I don't mind buying frozen veggies. Some are really quite tasty when what you want is out of season. Though some can be down right waterlogged, mushy, and totally unpleasant. Through trial and error I've picked the right brand and the right frozen vegetables. But, I will share a meal I had in Frankfurt Germany with my wonderful aunt. We were in the midst of a layover on our way back to Italy from Norway and I wanted nothing more than to have a hot dog from where they originated. Hence, a frankfurter in Frankfurt!

A Lovely Night Out in LA LA Land

A couple of years ago the fella and I were lucky enough to take a trip to Los Angeles before he had to go to Iraq. On this particular night I convinced him to go to one of the best sushi restaurants ever. I had heard this news from my best friend Gwyneth Paltrow in an email she sent me. Ok, I don't really know Gwyneth and the email was just her most recent newsletter from her website GOOP. But, for those of you who know me, know that I wish Gwyneth was my bff and that in my mind we are on a first name basis, and I will absolutely eat anywhere she suggests. Even if I have to travel across the country to go to said restaurant.  Below is the documentation of some of the best sushi I have ever had thank you Gwyneth for suggesting the place. Love you BFF! (just kidding, not really.) 

The fella and me during the 60 minute wait to get inside Katsu-Ya. Little did we know a few minutes later Dax Shepard would show up! Even the famous people have to wait ( sitting next to me!) We got a seat at the sushi bar right next to Dax, the fella chatted him up all through dinner! Oh the magic of L.A.  p.s. not my best photograph. 

You would never think that sushi heaven would be located in the corner of a strip mall.  But, this heaven does exist  and those delectable sushi bites are waiting. 

Mmmmm, edamame and the perfect sushi accompaniment Kirin Ichiban beer. 

And here it is, the dish Gwyneth says is worth traveling to L.A. for , spicy tuna on crispy rice! She was right! Don't think my opinion is biased because I love her. This was one of the most spectacular things I have ever eaten. At a time like this  I was glad the fella won't eat sushi because I got to eat every delicious morsel. 

The magic makers in action!

Here you have the spicy tuna roll its something I always order.  No,  I didn't get enough of it on top of the crispy rice. It was awesome. And that little gem on the left I ordered for the fella, it was cooked shrimp and rice wrapped in egg skin (I didn't tell him that part, even though he loves eggs.) It was his first taste of sushi I'm glad it was at such an unbelievable place because he might never try it again. I think it was the thrill of being on vacation because, in fact, he has never tried sushi again. But, I love him for trying. I'm hoping to break the resistance! 

Some people might disagree with its beginner status and boring simplicity but, I always order it as my sort of palate cleanser, like ginger. Yes, it isn't adventurous but the california roll is the bite I take in between my spicy tuna roll and whatever new roll I decide to try. Call it boring or plain. Or call me lame, the california roll, for me, always gets a lead scribble mark on the sushi order worksheet.

Happy February, and a Sweet for Your Sweet

I found this Martha Stewart recipe for a cookie exchange around Christmas that my lovely friend Hilary got me invited to. I am proud to say that I won first place at that cookie exchange. Any person I came across after that party was offered a cookie and the pleasure of knowing that I was a first place cookie maker, (I'm sure they were all thrilled.) Why not make that special someone ( or any one you like enough to give a cookie to) a tasty treat and celebrate valentines day a bit early. 

My first batch didn't come out so great. All of the powdered sugar had melted off. So make sure to really get a good coating of sugar on your little cookie balls, the more you use the better they will look when you pull them out of the oven. 

Ingredients

Makes about 4 dozen

• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate, melted and cooled
• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup Dutch cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 1 1/3 cups light-brown sugar, firmly packed
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 cup confectioners' sugar, plus more for rolling

Directions

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Chop bittersweet chocolate into small bits, and melt over medium heat in a heat-proof bowl or the top of a double boiler set over a pan of simmering water. Set aside to cool. Sift together flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.
2. In the bowl of a heavy-duty electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and light-brown sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs and vanilla, and beat until well combined. Add melted chocolate. With mixer on low speed, alternate adding dry ingredients and milk until just combined. Divide the dough into quarters, wrap with plastic wrap, and chill in the refrigerator until firm, about 2 hours.
3. On a clean countertop, roll each portion of dough into a log approximately 16 inches long and 1 inch in diameter, using confectioners’ sugar to prevent sticking. Wrap logs in plastic wrap, and transfer to a baking sheet. Chill for 30 minutes. Cut each log into 1-inch pieces, and toss in confectioners’ sugar, a few at a time. Using your hands, roll the pieces into a ball shape. If any of the cocoa-colored dough is visible, roll dough in confectioners’ sugar again to coat completely. Place the cookies 2 inches apart on a Silpat-lined baking sheet. Bake until cookies have flattened and the sugar splits, 12 to15 minutes.
4. Transfer from oven to a wire rack to let cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Read more at Marthastewart.com: Chocolate Crackle Cookies - Martha Stewart Recipes 

Mmmmmmm! Cookie heaven.  

Roasted Chicken

I'm sure we all have seen the ridiculous Perdue commercial regarding "roaster phobia." Where the house wife is just too terrified to cook her family a whole chicken. Oh my! Whatever will she do?! Certainly not buy a Perdue roaster in that weird plastic bag you are supposed to cook it in no, no, no.  People may have their theories on organic chicken, and say what you will, but I don't think anyone in their right mind could deny the difference in taste. The happier, well treated bird is tender, sweet, and not pumped so full of hormones that it looks like the Arnold Schwarzenegger of the poultry world. And yes I know, pay checks are tight, but I fully believe the few extra dollars are worth it.  For everyones sake (ours and the chicken's).  A whole chicken is a blank canvas just waiting for you to paint it with your favorite flavors. My go-to favorite is garlic, rosemary, and lemon.  You could use any combo of spices or herbs that suit your fancy.  In this recipe I just went with what I had on hand, garlic and lemon. This dinner is gonna taste like your grannie was slaving away all day to give you a tasty home cooked meal. Really it will only take about 2 1/2 hours. 2 hours and 15 minutes of that unattended. Lets make some magic!

There she is. I removed the pop up timer because I find they tend to be useless and unreliable.

Slide your fingers up under the skin, being very careful not to tear it. Get all of your seasonings under there salt, pepper, olive oil, garlic. Its important to flavor the actual breasts themselves not just the skin on top. Here I put thin lemon slices under the skin also. It adds great flavor and makes the bird look great when you pull it out of the oven.  Sage leaves work wonderfully for this also. 

Next you'll want to get the legs tucked in so they don't dry out. You could tie them with kitchen string or just cut holes in the big chunk of extra fat by the cavity and push the leg from the opposite side through.  

See? It works very well. Tuck the wings under the breasts so they don't burn. 

Ok, she's all tucked in and ready to go. Next just slather it with extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.   Add a bit more salt than you would think to. It helps make the skin crispy and delicious.  Pour a cup of water into the pan, it pushes the pan juices along into a tasty gravy. Pop her in a 350 oven, and go enjoy a beverage (or three) and maybe your favorite tv show. 

And there you have it, 2 1/2 hours later you have dinner (depending on the size of the bird, this one was 6 1/2 lbs.) Make sure you let the bird rest for at least 15 minutes so all of the juices stay in the meat, and not all over your cutting board. Resist the urge to cut at all costs and you will be handsomely rewarded with a tender, juicy chicken. 

After the torture of waiting or preparing your side dishes, grab a knife ( a sharp one) find the back bone with  your finger and cut along side of it to remove the breast. 

Cut the skin between the leg and breast, cutting downwards to remove the leg.  The thigh is right below the leg and you might have to flip the bird over to cut out that section. 

Bada bing, bada boom roasted chicken.