White Lasagna

I adore lasagna.  Could eat it every day if I had to.  What's not to love?  Pasta, sauce, and cheese and cheese, and more cheese!  Growing up, my mom made the best lasagna and I of course carry on that same recipe, but seriously, no one ever makes it as good as mom does.  But I like to think I hold a small flame to her, she did teach me after all.  I don't get red-sauce dishes very much in my house.  Neither my oldest child or my husband likes tomato sauce.  Though, husband has been known to enjoy the family lasagna recipe.  I was so craving this a few weeks back however that I had to adapt the recipe.  I figured, if my daughter doesn't eat red sauce, then I'll make it with white sauce.

I have to say, it turned out pretty darn good!  Only change is that next time I will use MORE sauce, and perhaps if time allows, I will make my own white sauce.  But when you're a full time working mom of two, with a busy household, making your own Alfredo sauce is a luxury you can't always have time to afford.  So, this recipe is truly "semi-homemade" and so simple!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb Ground beef (or turkey)
• 1 pkg mushrooms, sliced
• 2 jars Alfredo sauce (or homemade)
• 1 box lasagna noodles
• 1 pkg chopped spinach (defrosted and drained)
• Salt/Pepper
• 16oz Ricotta cheese
• Parmesan cheese
• 2 pkgs shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Boil your lasagna noodles according to directions on the box, to al dente
2. In a large skillet, cook up the ground beef and sliced mushrooms.  
3. Drain off any excess fat.
4. Pour in the Alfredo sauce and bring to light simmer.  Set aside.

 

1. In a large 13x9 lasagna pan, spread some of the sauce on the bottom, this prevents the noodles from sticking.
2. Then lay your noodles over the bottom of the pan, in one layer, covering the entire bottom of the pan, one layer of noodles only..
3. On top of the noodles, spread ricotta.  Honestly, just use your fingers to press it in and around, makes it much easier.  Just enough to cover the noodles, as shown.
4. On top of the ricotta, sprinkle on the chopped spinach.  Just a bit, maybe 1/3 of what you have in the package.
5. On top of the spinach, sprinkle on your mozzarella cheese, then on top of that, shake on the Parmesan cheese.
6. At this layer, you will now pour on more sauce/meat, get it wet, but dont' use it all, you need to have enough for at least one more layer.

Repeat steps 2 through 5 until you've reached the top of the pan.

The final layer should end with Mozzarella cheese and just a smattering of spinach for color.

Place dish into a 350 degree oven for 40-50 minutes until the tops are golden brown and sauce is bubbling.

Cut into squares, serve and enjoy!

Jenn's Beef Brisket a la N.E Boiled Dinner

New England Boiled Dinner.  Take an extra salty, briny piece of meat, toss it in a pot of water, boil the life out of it, toss in potatoes, root veggies and cabbage.  Serve.  With mustard and/or vinegar.  A meal that was foreign to me until I met my husband's family some odd years ago now.  The first time this was served to me, I naturally proceeded with caution.  It all looked like the same gray matter sitting on a plate in front of me.  But those around me couldn't shovel it into their mouths quickly enough, so I proceeded.  And yeah, well, the rest is history.  It wasn't long until I was making my own boiled dinner at home.  But this isn't an entry about New England Boiled dinner.... well, not quite.

Last year, I was in the mood for boiled dinner, but it was the wrong time of year to find corned beef brisket at the store.  At least, MB and S&S weren't carrying it and I wasn't going to S's.  So, I asked the butcher if he had brisket.  Stupid question Jenn.  I wasn't paying attention to what I was asking.  I had simply said "brisket" and not "corned beef brisket."  The butcher replied kindly and disappeared into the back room, returning with this enormous 5lb hunk of beef, which I HAD to take home, he had special cut it for me.  Thankfully, beef at the time wasn't outrageously priced so I didn't go bankrupt at checkout.  Went home with my potato, cabbage, parsnips, carrots and set to work boiling the water.  Only to realize that "the package" of spices was missing.  It was then that it finally dawned on me... this was not corned beef brisket... this was just simply beef brisket.  What the HECK do I do with this!?

A quick search on the internet produced several brines and methods to make your own pickling spice to produced the "corned" part of beef brisket... but that took 2-3 days to complete properly.  I wanted boiled dinner now, not three days from now.  Further searches produced results about others who had run into a similar scenario, no not where someone mistakenly got just beef and forgot the corned... but where the spice packet had been left out of their package of corned beef.  Reading several question and answer sites I finally came up with the spices I wanted to use.  Tossed them all into the pot, boiled this plain old beef brisket up for about 3 hours, tossed in the veggies and served.  It was "OK."  It was certainly edible.  Both Rob and Kass at it, and since the butcher had given me enough to feed a family of 8, I had plenty of leftovers and lived off this for more than a week for lunch.

Fast forward to last night.  I've improved my recipe and it was AMAZING.  So, why not share it with you? 

First thing we need to do here though is finally establish my measuring techniques, because you will surely need it this time.  I palm measure.  Here's what I mean.

Hold your hand out in front of you.  Cup it.
You'll notice that you've now created a small divot in the palm of your hand.  The lowest point, the orange circle in the picture is #1, typically about a teaspoon.  The next higher point, pour to the red line, and that can be a teaspoon to one tablespoon, depending on how cupped your hand is.  The next higher point over that is the green circle, easily 2 tablespoons, but again, depends on how cupped your hand is.  Imagine an orange just sitting in there nicely with your hand cupped around it.  That's about right.

Now that you know the approximate measurements, here are the ingredients to Jenn's Beef Brisket.

• 1 Beef Brisket, not too fatty, but not without fat
• Bay Leaves
• Coriander
• Whole cloves
• Whole all spice
• Mustard Powder
• 3 cloves garlic
• Onion powder
• Salt
• Whole Pepper
• Water
• Root Vegetables (Russet Potatoes, Carrots, Turnip, Parsnip - all or some, depends on how many people you're feeding)
• Head of Cabbage

Grab a pot big enough to hold the brisket and all your vegetables.  This is a one pot dish, everything is eventually going in, so make sure you have plenty of room!  Put the brisket in the bottom and fill with water to 2 inches from the top of the pot.  Get the pot on the stove and set to High to get it boiling. 

Add your spices. 
In the "Green Measurement" add the following: 

• Coriander
• Whole cloves
• Mustard Powder
• Salt
• Whole Pepper

In the "Red Measurement" add the following:

• Whole All spice
• Onion powder

Drop in 2 Bay leaves
Drop in 3 cloves of garlic, peeled and chopped in half

1. Bring everything to a boil, turn back heat to Medium and let simmer/boil for 1.5 hours.
• Now... this is for a beef brisket that shreds but does not fall apart on its own.  If you want the brisket to fall apart on it's own, boil for 2.5 hours.  Otherwise, this makes a nice beef that's tender but may still want a knife to cut the shreds.  It WILL still shred, just not fall apart on its own.  Adjust to your taste.
2. Meanwhile, cut your root vegetables into big chunks.  Carrots should just be cut in half, potatoes quartered, parsnip sliced and quartered.
3. After 1.5 hours, you'll want to start progressively adding the vegetables for the last 30 minutes, the denser veggies first.  
• Add another "Red Measurement" of salt at this point
• Carrots, Parsnips, Turnips, Potatoes, Cabbage last.  Let the one veggie boil up for 5-10 minutes before adding the next.

Your house is going to smell AMAZING while this is happening.  :-)

After the 2 hours have completed, your meal is done.  Grab some serving trays to display it all in, or just serve right from the pot.  Minus the beef of course, you'll need to shred/cut that.

You will also be left with a super flavorful beef broth.  Make soup, or freeze for later.

Enjoy!!

Copious Cookies and Kahlua too!

I like to bake.  You know this.  Although, I'm not a fan of baking cakes (just decorating them).  But I am a fan of baking pastries, pies, and cookies.  Oh do I love to make cookies.  So anyone who knows me knows that come December, my kitchen is overflowing with copious counts of cookie dough.  You walk into the kitchen during one of my all day cooking marathons and you'll find me covered in flour, standing in sugar and licking a beater or spoon full of dough.

Now, I don't bake just one kind of cookie en masse.  No.  I do it up right.  I bake a minimum of 6 different kinds of cookies, 2 batches each.  A typical batch is 2 to 4 dozen.  You do the math.  Yes, cookies cover the counters, and my kitchen table, and my dining room table.  My husband loves it.

I have a book that I received from my husband several years ago for Christmas and it's 400+ pages or nothing but cookies.  So this cookie cookoff with myself is really his fault.  The first year I had it, I went through page by page and tagged several to try.  Starting off that year I baked 8 different kinds of cookies.  It was a 12 hour day in the kitchen, with one oven and 2 cookie sheets.  Took them all to work in Christmas tins and tupperware.  Huge hit, of course.  Did the same the following year, and again the next, now with more cookie sheets.  Had to take a year off due to pregnancy but came back the following years just as strong.  And here I was again this year with 2 ovens, 8 cookie sheets, 2 Kitchen Aids and one hand mixer.  It was "just" an 8 hour session this year, thanks to two kids at my legs... but followed with two more nights later that week to get to my 8 kinds of cookie.

I vary what I make from year to year.  I have my constants like chocolate chip, white chocolate chip and a peanut butter.  But I still like to try a new one every year.  This recipe is this year"s new one.  It's one I had marked a few years ago and added a post it on with notes.  The original recipe is a butterscotch base with a pecan on top.  I decided to change it up and play.  I have modified the recipe so that the cookie mimics a chocolate trifle.

Now in all fairness I had no idea what chocolate trifle was until I met my husband's family,  This was a dessert they had after holiday meals.  Chocolate cake, chocolate pudding, crushed heath bar, whipped cream...and... Kahlua, ever so lightly drizzled over the cake. A-mazing.  I have of course played with this recipe several times as well, one of my favorite versions include Oreos.  So when I read this cookie recipe that was a butterscotch pudding base, I noted that switch to chocolate and Kahlua drizzle.  This year was the year to do it, and they are stupidly easy!  They are my new go to dough for last minute cookies.

Chocolate Trifle Kahlua Pudding Cookies

Ingredients

• 3/4 c sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/4 margarine, melted
• 1 package of instant chocolate pudding
• 1 bag crushed heath bar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a bowl, mix at high speed sguar and eggs until thick and yellow pale.  Beat in the margarine until smooth.  Stir in the flour and pudding until blended.  Stir in 3/4 the bag of heath bar.  Drop the batter by 2-3 Tablespoons each on to a greased AND floured cookie sheet.  Bake for 10-12 minutes.  Undercook slightly for more chewy cookie.  Remove from sheets and cool completely on wire rack with wax paper underneath the rack.

Drizzle/Dip on Top

• 1 cup confectioner sugar
• 2-3T of Kahlua

Keep in mind here, that this drizzle on top is really to taste. You want a thicker "frosting" use less Kahlua, more sugar.  You want a gooey feel to it, use more Kahlua.  I'm guessing at the measurement for the Kahula since I literally put 1 cup of sugar in and then poured the Kahlua in and turned on the mixer and adjusted until it was the consistency I wanted.

When your cookies are cool enough, use the drizzle by dipping in a spoon and zig-zagging across the cookie, or just dip the cookie in and put back on the wire racks to set.  While the drizzle is still is still wet, sprinkle just a touch of heath bar on top.

Serve this cookie with the following cocktail:
1 part vodka
1 part Kahlua
1 part Bailey's
2 parts milk or cream
ice into a shaker, shake well, pour into martini glass

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And in case you thought I was kidding about the massive amounts of cookies:

Leftover Lobster Risotto

Anyone who knows me, knows that I love lobster.  Offer it to me at boat price and I'm gonna eat three 2.5-pounders in one sitting.  I've once eaten a 4-pounder and a 1-pounder in one night.  I have also been seen to consume six 1.5-pounders over the course of a long afternoon.  I didn't grow up in New England.  I had never really had lobster until I was 12.  So of course, I'm not tired of it.  And how CAN you tire of it?  It's just SO naturally good.  The only seafood better than lobster just might be scallops.  It's a close call.  So, when I buy lobster, I buy it in mass quantities.  The last time I purchased lobster was to host a lobster meal for an out of town work guest, who was visiting from Boulder, CO for the week.  I served up lobster, fried potato slices, corn, an of course a pile of steamers.  I over buy.  You never know when said guest could want more than just one... and we know I do.  But alas, he did not, and neither did my boss who joined us for the evening.. so I had 2 lobster leftover and I had already had my 2, plus 1/2 of Kassidy's.  So, I shelled them and stuffed them into a freezer bag.  And I shelled them right down to nothing.  Not like my grand-mother-in-law (aka. Grammy) does... but I got pretty close!  Did you know there is meat in the antennae?  How about in the very bottom of the tail fins?  Yep, it's everywhere.  Think about that next time you order lobster.  It's not all about just the claw and tails. Go for the knuckles, legs and dig in.


So, I had this bag of lobster that's been calling my name from the freezer for quite some time.  And today I was home early since Karsyn had a fever.  This left me the ability to get on the internet and search for a variety of recipes for Lobster Risotto.  However, as usual, not finding a single recipe I liked in its entirety, I pulled down my reliable Joy of Cooking.  I can ALWAYS find a recipe in here, or at least something to get me started.  So, what do I come across?  A basic risotto recipe.  One I have used before.  (future blog on Italian Sausage Risotto, a recipe modified from sister-in-law)  Risotto is risky.  Not to make, since it's really a very easy recipe. But risky business when feeding the family.  You all read Busted Applesauce Pork, right?  This could go either way....

Well, the kids were asleep and I was done with work... so, really what's the risk, they get to make their own dinner or starve.  So, off I played.

Ingredients

• 2 lobsters, cooked and shelled (come on, get in there and get it ALL or you won't have enough if you use just claw and tail) - rough chop, nice big chunks
• 2c Aborio Rice
• 2T dried chives
• 3T olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, mashed and diced
• 1/4 cup white wine OR marsala wine OR sweet vermouth
• 8 cups stock
• Since my lobster was frozen, I poured 4 cups of water over it and boiled it to defrost, using that water as 1/2 my stock.  The rest of 4 cups was chicken stock.
• Peas (optional, feeding a family it's nice to have a veggie and make this a 1 pot meal)

Ok, Assemble!

1. 3T of oil into a nice solid pan (do not use non-stick) 
2. 2T chives into pan
3. garlic clove into pan
4. Saute on low-med heat until happy (which really means until you can start to smell them and the aromas in your kitchen are going crazy)
5. Don't let them sit, keep stirring
6. Add the rice to this and KEEP STIRRING, you're now sauteing the rice until it "pops" into a white color
7. Add the wine/marsala/vermouth to the pan slowly and keep stirring.  The rice will instantly absorb it.
8. Add 1 cup of stock and allow to light simmer, but never boil
9. Keep stirring.  Water will start to absorb into the rice.  When it's just about gone, add another 1 cup of stock.
10. Repeat step 9 until you have 1cup of stock left.
• This is the time consuming part.  Not hard...just boring.  1 cup, sit, stir, wait for absorb, repeat.... should take about 30-40 minutes if you do it right.
11. Toss in your lobster meat (and optional peas)
12. Keep stirring, turn heat to low.
13. Cook until all water is absorbed, which really shouldn't be much longer than 5-10 minutes.
14. Plate and Eat.

You're going to get enough here to feed 6 adults nice heavy portions.  I had enough for Me, Rob, the girls, and 2 bowls of leftovers for lunch this week.  I hope it reheats well.  I'll post back the results.

 

Safe to say... tonight, was a hit!  I already knew that Kassidy liked lobster, but this was a new medium in which to eat it.  Karsyn just digs right into anything.  But Kass took a little bit of coaxing.  Once we got her going though she ate just about her whole plate.  Even Rob didn't "hate it."







Change it Up!?

• Instead of lobster, at one point I thought this might go really well with sauteed mushrooms and shredded chicken.  A nice substitute to the lobster and peas.
• Also, I did find the recipe tonight a tad bland.  You may want to add salt, some cracked pepper.  Many recipes out there call for saffron, a VERY expensive and yummy addition and not something I stock.

Busted Applesauce Pork

Well, tonight I made a meal for the family that absolutely no one (other than me) liked.  It made the oldest daughter cry, the youngest daughter say "no no no" and my husband grimace at every bite.  But don't take that as meaning the meal was terrible because in fact it was really very very good.  The family just has bland, steak and potato, chicken nuggets, slather everything in ketchup, teriyaki and BBQ sauce taste buds.  And, usually I will cater my meals towards this bland culture.  But every once in a while, I just have to make a meal for ME.  And tonight I did.  And I'd be lying if I didn't admit that I was at least hopeful, someone other than myself would enjoy it.  Boy was I wrong.

It was about 3:00 today when I decided on what I was going to make.  I had fresh parsnips from our own garden, and I just happened to come across a recipe today in Parents magazine for roasted carrots and parsnips.  Now it was just a matter of what should go with it.  Well, if I'm roasting veggies, why not roast the meat.  So into the freezer I went and lo and behold I had two of the biggest boneless pork cutlets cuts you'd ever see.  Just perfect for a 45 minute roast.  So into the cabinets I went for spices.  A little of this, and a little of that, using inspiration from my Aunt in California from earlier this year based off a roast pork cutlets she did, with of course my own twists.  And.. since I was already playing with veggies and the pork, I just grabbed a box of Rice A Roni wild rice to whip up on the side.

Looks good, doesn't it?  You wouldn't have known by the sounds and looks on the faces at the dinner table tonight.  But hey, I come from a different background than hubby, he's not used to out of the ordinary spices from another part of the country, and the girls, well, what did I expect from an almost 5 year old and an 18 month old?  Regardless, the almost 5 did eat the rice, and the 18 month devoured the pork, so that was a bonus. You can't please everyone all the time, and although I was insanely hurt by reactions around the table, I take away with the pride of actually making a good meal, last minute, whether THEY liked it or not.  Oh yeah, and this pairs very well with a hearty red wine.  So, here's how I played.

Cider-Roasted Carrots and Parsnips
(from Parents Magazine, November 2012, page 178)
2/3 c apple cider
2T olive oil
2T apple-cider vinegar
2T grainy dijon mustard
2T honey
2tsp fresh thyme (I used dry)
Salt to taste
1lb carrots, peeled, cut into sticks or sliced (I sliced)
1lb parsnips, peeled, cut into sticks or sliced (I sliced)

Preheat oven to 400degrees.  Cooking spray a roasting pan.  In a large bowl big enough to hold the veggies, whisk together all the ingredients except the salt. (my version)  Add the veggies and toss around to coat.  Spread the veggies into the roasting pan, with all liquid.  Sprinkle on salt.  Roast uncovered for 35 minutes or until veggies are tender, stir once half way through.  Liquid will evaporate.

Rice A Roni
Wild & Long Grain Rice
Follow directions on the box.

Apple Sauce Pork
Carraway
Coriander
Garlic Salt
Fresh Chives
Apple Sauce (Cinnamon is what I used)
Salt
Pork (I used fat sliced cutlets, you can use loins or a roast, adjust your cooking time, watch the internal temp)

In a glass roasting pan, place your pork cutlets.  Remember I don't measure, so taste and smell these flavors prior to putting them onto your pork so you can add more of one than the other if you feel you like them.  So, on I put the caraway, coriander, garlic salt and salt.  All sides, just sprinkle it on.  I use more caraway than coriander.  Rub it in.  I only used a handful of chives, not enough to overpower, but enough to give some flavor and aroma to the dish.  Chop them up, sprinkle them on.  Then pour the applesauce over it all.  I used whatever I had left, but I would estimate it was about 1 and 1/2 cups.  Put that into a 350 degree oven for about 45 minutes.  Use a meat thermometer and cook until just under 170 degree internal temp.  Let sit before slicing.

Place everything on the plates and serve.  Just don't expect everyone to love it.

I, on the other hand, thoroughly enjoyed it!

Whatsa Matta... Chicken Piccata!?

Tonight, this is not a recipe that I played with, but more about how insanely proud I am about how it came out.  Having just recently finished the book Julie & Julia, I have been, of course, inspired.  Now, I'm not about to run out and buy Mastering the Art of French Cooking but I am inspired to try new things, more often.

My biggest obstacle in this however are the other residents in my home.  The 15 month old is typically a human garbage disposal and willing to eat anything I put on her plate.  Well, at least try it anyhow.  My 4 year old, she'll eat sushi, but she won't try a new BBQ sauce and grimaces if I ask her to try a slice of chocolate pie she's never before seen.  And my husband.... steak and rice, every day of his life with Teriyaki sauce and he'd be content to never have to consume "spices" ever again.  So finding just the right recipe to try out on the critics in my home can be a challenge.

But every once in a while, I throw caution to the wind and pull out my standby bible of recipes The Joy of Cooking.  What?  You don't have a copy in your kitchen??  My binding is worn.  I'm surprised pages aren't falling out yet!  When I got married, I registered for this cook book and that cook book.  And several years back a chef at a hotel I worked for emptied her shelves for me and I added 20 books to my collection.  But do you think I ever open them?  Never.  My standby, the book that never, ever fails me is my Joy of Cooking.  It's not fancy.  It's back to the basics.  It's usually ingredients I can find in my cabinet.  (Usually.)  Even if I'm not going to rock a recipe directly, I continue to pull it out just for inspiration.

And this is how I came to Chicken Piccata.

Monday I was in the mood for chicken so I pulled out the book.  Flipped to the chapter "All About Chicken" and started perusing the recipes, and ingredients.  And wouldn't you know, none to be found.  Wait... I didn't even HAVE chicken in the freezer.  Did someone say hot dogs and macaroni and cheese?  So tonight, we stopped at the grocery store first and chicken breasts were procured.  Along with, a lovely jar of capers.  Which, I have had, but honestly they have never been stocked in my pantry, nor have I ever cooked with them.  Wow.  I hope I even LIKE capers...  When I got home I opened the jar and popped one in my mouth.  You can't cook with something you've never tasted.  Voila, ok, it's like an olive, only saltier.  I don't like olives.  At all.  But professional chefs SWEAR by cooking with capers.  I have to make this work.  They're small, I can stomach it.  Who knows, maybe the taste will change when I'm done.  And I've had chicken piccata before, I like it...I think.

Book out.  Scramble for ingredients.  Holy crap, that's a lot of butter!!  Dinner ultimately served 4 people, and I used 7 Tablespoons of butter for the whole meal, includes side dishes.  So, I guess Weight Watchers is out the door tonight.  Hello Butter, hello butt, oh I'll hate the scale Thursday, but it's gonna be worth it tonight!

Here's the Recipe:

Ingredients:
For the chicken:

• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves - and I sliced them into chicken finger size knowing that I was serving a toddler and a pre-schooler who would appreciate the size.
• Salt & black pepper to taste
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter - make sure it's unsalted.  I used salted and could taste the difference.
• 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil

For the sauce:

• 2-3 tablespoons minced shallots or scallions - I used dried scallions from my spice rack
• 1 cup chicken stock - BOULLION worked just as well!!
• 3-4 tablespoons strained fresh lemon juice - totally used the concentrated stuff
• 2 tablespoons nonpareil capers, drained
• 2-3 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened - unsalted, a must.

How to make them play nicely:

• Rinse and pat the chicken breasts dry. Trim any fat etc.
• Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper to tast
• Spread the flour on a plate and coat the chicken on both sides.  Shake off the excess flour.  You really don't want a lot of flower on it, you're not making "fried chicken"
• Heat the butter  in a heavy 10-12″ skillet over medium-high heat until fragrant and nut-brown, then add the olive oil.  DON'T BURN IT!  If you burn the butter, just toss it, wash the pan and start over.  No, I didn't burn it this time, but I have done so before and burned butter, is just bad.
• Swirl the butter and oil together, then add the chicken and cook @ 4 minutes each side.  Keep the pan as hot as possible without burning. - Chicken is done when it's firm to touch.
• Put it on a plate/platter and keep warm.  I used the microwave.

The sauce:

• Remove all but 1 tablespoon of fat from the chicken skillet. 
• Heat the scallions or shallots over medium heat and cook, stirring, until wilted about 1 minute. 
• Increase the heat to high and add the chicken stock.
• Bring to a boil, scraping the bottom of the skillet with a wooden spoon to dissolve the brown bits. (those lovely brown bits we call "fond" - remember?)
• Add the lemon juice, and capers and boil until the mixture is reduced to @ 1/3 cup, @ 3-4 minutes. 
• Add the accumulated chicken juices and reduce again.  Remove from the heat and swirl in the butter. - I didn't have any because I put my chicken on a paper towel to sop up excess oil. I am on Weight Watchers after all.
• Pour sauce over the chicken and serve immediately.

Now, I didn't pour my sauce over all the chicken that I cooked.  Remember my picky eater audience?  Yeah, both the 15 month and 4 year old recieved sauceless chicken.  And I knew that if husband really didn't like it, he could eat plain chicken.

End result?  I gobbled it up like it was going out of style.  It was by far the best Chicken Piccata I have EVER had.  Maybe because I made it, or maybe just because Joy of Cooking is that good, that simple, that yummy.  Or maybe it was all that butter....  Even my 4 year old asked if she could try capers when I told her they tasted like little olives.  She LOVES olives, the freak.

Can't wait to make this recipe again!

The Radiator

The radiator in your car is designed to cool down your engine. If you have ever changed the coolant fluid, it's eclectic green. Today's recipe is to keep you cool during this heat wave.

I've been playing with the recipe for a while now and tonight's final tweak that turned it green made it just perfect!

So I present to you my drink of the summer: The Radiator

1 oz Barbados Rum
1 oz Captain Silver Spiced Rum
1 splash blue curaçao
Pour this right into the glass over 3 pieces of ice
Pour over to rim, pineapple juice
Stick in a straw
Enjoy!!

Now, my husband will argue that it's the "wrong color green.". But is that really the point? It's green, it's fun, it's rum... It's a strong drink. Does it really matter?

Burritos, Enchilada Style

We seem to do Mexican at least once a week.  Usually it's a last minute, "well I have ground hamburger and happen to have seasoning, oh yeah and tortillas, lets have tacos."  But every once in a while I like to take my time and plan Mexican night.  And by plan, I really mean take chicken out of the freezer ahead of time and say "huh, ok this might work" and then realize that I don't have tortillas, pre-packaged seasoning or sour cream.  So I pick up the phone and ask the husband to get tortillas and sour cream on the way home, it's Mexican night. 

Daughter wants black beans, I like rice and husband just wants meat and cheese.  So I decide to just toss them all into a tortilla, call it a burrito.  Oh, and I have salsa in the fridge, oh and CHEESE, so I'll bake them enchilada style!  But that still leaves me without taco seasonings.... why pay for pre-packaged when you can make your own!?  Oh yeah, let's play.

Ingredients

• Chicken Breast, Thighs
• I used 1 large breast and 2 thighs - adjust for how many you're going to cook for.  This made enough for 5 people
• Pre-packaged yellow rice
• 1 can black beans, drain and rinse
• A mirage of seasonings - what, your cabinets aren't well stocked?  Then, go stock them.
• Chili Powder
• Garlic Salt
• Onion Powder
• Salt
• Pepper
• Oregano
• Paprika
• Red Pepper Flakes (yay!)
• Chicken bouillon (3 cubes or 2T from jar)
• 8 inch flour tortillas
• Mexican shredded cheese, Cheddar shredded cheese
• Your favorite salsa

Rice & Beans

• Make the rice according to the package directions
• When just about all the water is gone, add the black beans, cover back and up and finish cooking.
• Remove from heat when done.

 Chicken

• Saute Pan - I use stainless, but non-stick would work, put in your chicken (frozen or thawed, doesn't matter) and fill with water to just the top of the chicken
• Salt, Pepper and Chili powder both sides of chicken
• Bring to a boil and add the chicken bouillon
• Why bouillon?  Well, it just seemed right to me.  Season every step of the way, add layers to your dishes.
• Let boil until chicken is cooked (turn them over from time to time for even boiling)
•  
• When chicken is done, remove from heat and set pan aside.  Put chicken on cutting board.
• Take 2 forks and start pulling the chicken apart and shred it.
• Discard of 1/2 the water left over after boiling (you should probably have just about 1/4 cup left in the pan) - add the chicken back to the pan.

Taco Spices

• I found myself without taco seasoning one time during Mexican night after I had ground the beef.  So to the internet I went searching for how to make my own.  From this recipe and from that recipe I took here and there, and then modified the ratios to my own taste.  I encourage you to do the same.  My level of spice in this recipe is set for my family.  They like a zip on the tongue but not fire hot.  I'd love to spice it up some time.
• In a small bowl combine the following spices.  Now remember, I'm not going to tell you Tablespoons or teaspoons.  This will all depend on your personal flavor preferences.  I will however this time give you how many parts of each. 

• 3 parts chili powder
• 1/4 part garlic salt
• 1/4 part onion powder
• 1/4 part oregano
• 1/2 part paprika
• 1.5 part cumin
• 1/2 part salt
• 1/2 part pepper 
• Stir/shake to mix

 Chicken Re-Do

• Return the chicken and 1/4 c of the boiling juices back to the stove on med-high and add your taco seasonings.
• Cook down until liquid is gone. Don't let it burn.  Take off heat when done.

Assuming that your rice and beans were cooking at the same time you were doing your chicken, you should now have 2 separate hot dishes.  Let's combine them.

Let's Get Rolling

1. Zap the flour tortillas in the microwave to warm them up.
2. Lay it out on the counter (you cleaned it right?) and add your rice and beans, then your chicken.
3. Roll, tightly.
4. Place in a baking dish.
5. Repeat 1-4 until you've made 4-6 rolls.
6. Pour salsa over and use back of spoon to make sure all tortilla is covered, otherwise it dries out and gets hard.
7. Cover them with gobs and gobs of cheese.  1/2 cheddar, 1/2 Mexican blend.
8. Place under a broiler until cheese is melted and has a slight crispy top.  DON'T BURN IT!

And.... serve it on a plate with fork an knife with a dollop of sour cream.

Oh My Marinade - Chicken Thighs

Having had a kitchen torn apart since... January (?) most of my cabinet stock foods have been in brown boxes sitting in my dining room.  And because I have decided that when it comes time to put them back in, I will be weeding out the old and expired and using up what I can without buying new, I've tried to do as much "home made" as I can.  One of our biggest money wasting purchases is keeping a well stocked cabinet.  While this is great from one angle because I can then say I always have this or that on hand, it's also bad, as I lose track of what I really have.  I have found duplicate spices, having purcahsed Ginger recently because I didn't think I had it, so now I have two bottles of ground ginger.  Same with Curry.  At least it's two good spices though.  However I have about 4 bottles of cinnamon... why do I have so much cinnamon?  So before I put all my food items back into what will hopefully be a super organized, labeled and categorized set of cabinets, I'm trying to use and create and make what I can from scratch.  Which means, a lot of playing.

I first made this marinade a few weeks ago and applied it to chicken wings.  I really, really wish I had taken a picture then for you.  The wings came out FANTASTIC.  I mean, they could not have been more perfect.  They were crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside with just enough sauce to give you sticky fingers.  Oh they were divine!  But alas, I did not have my camera near by and so I did not get the opportunity to share this marinade with you then.  Last night however, I applied my new sauce to chicken thighs and behold, the same succulence came forth from my grill.


Now I present to you the ingredient list:

• Soy Sauce (I prefer low sodium)
• Sesame Oil
• Fresh or Dried Chives
• Ground Ginger
• Garlic Salt
• Red Pepper flakes (didn't I tell you I've been crazy about them lately, they go into everything!)
• Toasted sesame seeds
• Sugar

And you ask me, as always, but HOW MUCH Jenn?  And my answer to you this time... depends on how much chicken!  I served 8 chicken thighs with this.  And my combined amount of liquid could not have been more than just 1 cup.  I cook by taste.  Grab a bowl.  Pour in  some soy sauce and sesame oil.  Equal parts, that I know for sure.  Add to that sugar and the rest of your spices.  How sweet do you want it, adjust accordingly.  Note that your pepper flakes will give more flavor the longer they sit in the sauce and once they get heat up, so it may take you once or twice of making the sauce to get your heat adjusted correctly.  First time I made it, it had a nice zing on the tongue and last night it was just a soft undertone.

Now, I'm sure by now you've also noticed that I've said "sauce" and I also say "marinade" - well, you could use it either way!  This would be so yummy having let the chicken sit in it for an hour or more and I have a variation that includes White Wine Vinegar where I do just that.  But the last two times I've made this sauce, I have used it as just that, a sauce.

Let's get cooking.
Prep your chicken, trim what needs to be trimmed.  I used boneless, skinless thighs last night.  I have also used wings and drumsticks.  This is best with skin on, as you can get things nice and crispy.  Salt and pepper both sides of the chicken parts you have decided to use.

Get your grill nice and hot.  Get the chicken on.  What, Jenn, no sauce?  Oh nooooo... why get my grill all dirty?  Get the chicken on the grill naked (aka. no sauce).  Use your grill skills and make those lovely grill marks.  Turn the heat back a bit and flip them when it is time.  Cook your chicken to its desired doneness (you know, not pink).  If it's chicken parts with skin, keep an eye on them as you don't want flare up or burns.

When the chicken is just about done, that's when you bring out your sauce.  Douse those babies and make 'em happy.  They've been roasting under that hot fire and they are asking for some cool sauce.  Turn the heat to low and just let them sit for a few minutes under a closed lid, let the sauce start to caramelize a bit on top.  Flip, sauce the other side.  Let them sit.  Repeat this until you have sauced the chicken at least 2 times per side.  And as a side note, this is a good time to let yourself get sauced.  Any of my drinks from this blog go very nicely with grilling.  Stay cool while your meat heats.  LOL



Ok, when they're done, you should be out of sauce for the most part, and your chicken should be a beautiful amber brown and glistening. 

Serve with pasta or rice, and of course a vegetable.  Enjoy!

What's Better than Bacon?

Cooking Bacon at 9:30pm on a Wednesday night.

Vegetable Soupy Stew

So, I've got this event tomorrow night that requires several people to bring a dish.  It's not exactly pot-luck since we all know basically who's bringing what.  And since I wasn't sure if I'd have an oven or not, my pot had to be stove top or crock pot.  I decided to make soup.  What kind of soup, well, I'd determine that later once the date got closer.  Now it's tomorrow and I'm not sure what to do.  I have a few "fancy" soups like I like to make like Leek and Potato, or Cream of Wild Mushroom (usually has at least 5 different mushrooms), a recent addition is a Spicy Pumpkin Soup, and of course the classic Chicken Noodle, which I tend to make more like a chowder.  (I'll put that one up some day.)  But then I found out that one of the people attending is a vegetarian.  I've cooked all veggie before and have not found it to be an issue, so I took this on as saying my dish would be the one true veggie dish they can have.  Heck, I think it's even Vegan.

Now, I tend to cook meals so that they have sustenance to them.  When you leave my table, you won't go away hungry.  So when I play, I play hard.  My meals are not usually for the meek.  I like big bites.  I like big flavors.  And I always incorporate something I learned from the last time, into the next big meal.

So tonight, we play with Vegetable Soup, and I say if it can't have meat in it, go big or go home. (Am I allowed to use that?  Didn't someone copyright it?)  So, here's my hearty Vegetable Soup with bites big enough for Stew.  Let's play.  Get everything ready and prepped ahead of time, I move fast.



Ingredients

• 1 Sweet Vidallia onion (1/4 finely chopped set aside, 3/4 sliced)
• 2 short stalks celery (1/2 of one finely chopped, the rest bite size)
• 8 carrots (2 finely chopped, the rest bite size)
• 1 small cabbage (1/2 sliced to 4 by .5 inch strips)
• 1 package baby portabella mushrooms (quartered)
• 2 yellow summer squash (drawn and quartered)
• 2 zucchini  (drawn and quartered)
• 3 cloves garlic (smashed and finely diced)
• Olive Oil
• Sweet Vermouth
• 4oz tomato puree
• 2 boxes vegetable stock

Spices (I don't measure, just pour 'till it looks "right")

• 2 bay leaves
• oregano
• basil
• salt
• pepper
• red pepper flakes (5 gentle taps on the back of plastic bottle)
• thyme

And Here we Go

1. Cover bottom of LARGE pot with olive oil
2. Toss in your finely diced onion, carrots and celery (this is the standard mirapoix), generously salt and pepper here.
3. Saute this on Med-Low, keep it moving.  Sweat it out and get it brown and good.  If food starts to stick to the bottom keep it moving, but don't scrape it off.
4. When things looks dark and melted away and beyond soft (but NOT burned), pour in about 3 splashes of sweet vermouth.  And stir it up and scrape off the brown on the bottom.  This is called "fond." which I have talked about in strangely enough another Vegetarian post (Veggie Chili) - We're de-glazing the pan.
5. Alright, everything happy in the pan?  Let those veggies soak up that vermouth for a few minutes (keep them moving)
6. Toss in your bite size carrots, your bit size celery and your sliced onion.
7. Bring your pan to High and get them hot and keep them moving.
8. While these are starting to sweat start dumping in your spices.
• In go 2 bay leaves
• shake, shake, shake that oregano
• boogy woogy your basil
• more salt
• more peppa
• 5 taps on the bottom of your red pepper jar
• and "probably" about 1T of thyme
9. Med-High heat and keep moving.  You're now getting the flavors of those spices into the veggies
10. When they start to glisten (yes, they actually somewhat shine when they start to get tender), add your summer squash and zucchini
11. Add your garlic
12. Stir and keep things moving
13. Is the squash starting to shine?  Do they look like they're starting to get tender?  Alright, then add your mushrooms!
14. Hit the heat to high, keep things moving and wait for stuff to sizzle.  Get the flavors of all that spice into those veggies.  They want it.
15. When the mushrooms look like they're about to start shrinking, add your stock.  Add your can of tomato sauce.  Add enough water to all this to get the veggies floating.
16. Cover it.  Keep it on High.
17. Bring it to a boil.
18. Let it simmer on Low-Med for about 10 minutes.
19. Add your cabbage after 10 minutes.  Turn off your heat.
20. Let it sit another 10 minutes.

It should be approximately 1 hour later than when you started.  Yes?  Less?  That's OK.  More?   That's OK too.

Now, one optional component to this I MIGHT add tomorrow when I put it in the crock pot would be pasta, that small round hole pasta, looks like it's made for kids, often found in minestrone.  I haven't decided.  ALSO, I considered adding beans.  I would choose Cannelloni beans if I did.  Both may be a bit much, not sure yet.  I plan on having this at lunch tomorrow to test out and see what's missing.  I will then alter or add to it once it makes it into my crock pot tomorrow night.

Chew on This - 5 Minutes of Fame

Anyone who knows me, knows that I would give up my current daily job in a heartbeat to stand around and cook all day.  I aspire to run my own restaurant, crazy as it may seem.  I have a head filled of hopes and dreams that some day I could quit this computer life and just cook.  Now, this dream tends to change from season to season and the restaurant concept comes and goes like a butterfly on a sunny day hoping from flower to flower.  If you asked me today, I would tell you I want a high end place with a top chef.  If you asked me tomorrow, I'd tell you I want to be the best greasy spoon in town and serve just breakfast with blue plate specials.  Other days, it's a coffee shop with fine pastries, and of course beautifully decorated cakes.  But what it comes down to is that as soon as I win the lottery I'm outta this technology joint and into some cooking as fast as my feet will take me.  Knowing my odds at the lottery, this could take a while, so in the meantime, I cook what I can for my family and get hazy eyed with dreams.

That being said, I watch a lot of the Food Network, Travel Channel, History Channel and just about any other channel where you can find something about food.  Yes, it consumes my Tivo.  Guilty.

Here's where I tell you that you will not be getting a recipe from me in today's entry.  Nope.  Today, you're getting a story that I will be able to regale for the rest of my life.  A "once in a lifetime" opportunity, that had I passed it up (and I almost did) would have been stupid.

It started last week.  On Facebook.  A friend posts that a friend of hers, working at ABC Daytime as a Post Production Assistant, is looking "...specifically for a mother who likes to cook for her family and is available to skype for a segment airing live" on a show called "THE CHEW."  This is a daytime talk show, consisting of 5 hosts; Carla Hall, Clinton Kelly, Mario Batali, Michael Symon and Daphne Oz.  Yeah, 5 very popular, very famous people.  Wait back up the food truck... Mario Batali and Michael Symon!!???  Oh yes.  Very cool.  So, that's nice.  I read the post and think not much of it.  A quick "heh yeah, that'd be cool" and I move on with my morning.  Well, then I get an e-mail from my sister in law with exclamation points telling me I should get on Facebook and look at this girls post and it's something I should do!  Ok, now my brain goes into overdrive and reads the post again.  I head back to the website and check out what this show is really all about.  I vaguely remember seeing the commercials for it when it originally started to air last year.  I was going to Tivo this, that's right.  Huh... OK, I'll check it out.  Seconds go by and the Post Production Assistant (PPA) actually replies and says this would be a live recorded webcast where you Skype and talk directly with the hosts.  Wha-aaat?  A chance to talk with Mario Batali and Michael Symon??  Me?  Oh, GOD YES, I'm in.

So, I send Facebook friend a message that I'm interested and here my e-mail address and cell phone number.  And I move on with my morning.

NOT AN HOUR LATER, my cell phone rings and it's the PPA, who wants to know more about me.  Do I cook often?  What do I cook?  What are my favorite things to cook?  What do my kids enjoy best?  What does my husband enjoy most that I cook?  How long have I lived in New England?  Do I have a web camera?  A web camera, yes.... oh shoot... wait... no... the laptop camera is broken, but I can do this from home if I had to.  I'll call her back in an hour.

Big time scramble now to get the laptop camera working.  The taping time of this is during my lunch hour on Monday.  "Today" is Friday.  Got it working and called back the PPA and I'm in!  Wahoo!  Cloud Nine, floating high.  Going to get a chance to talk with Mario Batali, Michael Symon, Clinton Kelly.... Oh so cool.

Monday morning approaches and I have all my ducks in a row.  I have a conference room booked, my camera still works, the internet is stable, there's an 11:30 test call scheduled.  100% cannot concentrate on anything work related.  Oh what fun.  11:30 rolls around and the test call goes pretty well.  The video feed from their end of my picture isn't great, we're not sure why, but it's well enough.  And oh yeah, can I find someone else to sit with me?  What?  Really?  You did hear that I said I work in the computer industry, which is 90% men, right?  So I scramble to find someone, anyone that might have an interest in food and could drop their lunch hour to sit with me and webcast with these famous chefs.  At 12:15, I finally hooked someone and we're scheduled for our call at 12:30.  By 12:45 we're TALKING WITH THE HOSTS.

Now, I have to point out... that while this is a very cool experience, much of it was staged.  After they talked with me and learned what I like/do not like to cook, a few topics were chosen for me and I was asked to start with a particular question.  We can't catch those celebrity chefs off guard with a hard question now, can we?  So, they were my own thoughts and topics, but I was asked to talk about X, Y and Z in particular.  And also, due to the technology of how they overlayed our Skype image intot he studio, we were not able to SEE the chefs while we were talking to them, nor could they see us.  The control room could see us, and then we were green screened in after the fact.  Either way, I did get to really and truly TALK and laugh and joke with the hosts and that was really very cool.

So, without much further ado, I give you, the clip of my 5 minutes of fame; a live taped webcast Q&A with the hosts of THE CHEW.

Titled:  "One if by land, two if by Seafood"

And here's the best part.... if I play my cards right, I could get to visit and be an audience member, AND get to sit at the tasting table.  Finger crossed, I'm planning a trip in July!

Royal Whisky Sunrise

So, I tend to collect a lot of different types of alcohol, mixes and liqueur in my cabinet.  So much so, that it gets stuffed in, and you have to be careful to open the doors when opening.  Or, I just end up having to start putting it elsewhere.  Why do I collect so much alcohol?  Well, two reasons really.  The first being that I love to experiment with new recipes and that always seems to require buying yet another bottle of something or another.  And, if you looked at my current selection, right now, it's kind of sad as I'm not even stocking blue curacao or grenadine, or even a nice chocolate liqueur.  But my liquor cabinet is busting at the seams regardless, and that's when reason number two comes in.  I throw a lot of parties. People tend to bring alcohol.  People leave opened bottles behind, I put them in my cabinet. 

I have 2.5 bottles of Tequila.  I have 5 kinds of rum.  I have 3 kinds of whiskey.  I have at least 4 bottles of vodka.  And add to that a few miscellaneous like triple sec, sweet vermouth, etc and voila, the cabinet is stuffed.  Not to mention there is a bottle of Crown Royal (a big one) with what appears to be just a single shot left rolling around in the bottom.  Why not just throw it out?  'Cause it's Crown Royal!  That would be alcohol abuse.

In the mood for a cocktail last night, I decided to take on the challenge to use that last shot of Crown Royal.  But it couldn't just be straight into a glass with ice.  That's no fun.  I had to play.  And after reviewing my selection of grains to go with it, here's what resulted:  The Whiskey Sunrise.  I should mention that this is not for the faint of heart.  You must enjoy the taste of whiskey.  There's no masking it here.

Royal Whiskey Sunrise
(amidst my dust of kitchen renovations)

Royal Whiskey Sunrise

1 part Crown Royal
1 part Light Rum
1 part Triple Sec
2 parts Pineapple juice

Pour into shaker over 3 cubes of ice
Shake well.

Pour into martini glass
Drizzle in about 1T of maraschino cherry juice

     - This is your sunrise, you'll notice how the cherry juice stays on the bottom.  Your drink will change as you consume it, the flavors mixing differently from pineapple, orange and cherry.  I found it to be a very nice adventure.

Now, since I had just 1 shot left of the Crown Royal, and I was in the mood for a 2nd drink, I did attempt to make a second with Johnny Walker Black Label whiskey.  While the drink had the flavor remnants of the first... JW is a much stronger whiskey in flavor.  It was "OK" but going forward should I ever decide to make this again or serve it at a bar or to friend, Crown Royal is the only way to go, there really is no other substitute.

Spring into Spring Rolls

A while back we hosted a party at our house.  I know, right, me, throw a party... could you imagine. <yes I'm being sarcastic)  And I said "a while back" meaning it was more than just this past month.  Most people will tell you that I entertain a lot.  Well, I do.  I like it.  No, I love it.  I entertain, a LOT.  If something isn't going on at my house that month, I go stir crazy.  Heck, it's a reason just to keep my house clean!  I thrive on having a house full of guests, laughing, drinking, having a good time, and eating.  I like the feeling of slaving over a hot stove all day creating a well deserved master piece, whether it's a recipe I've done before or something new.  And then presenting it to them to enjoy, all the while soaking in the ooooos and aaahhhs and oh yummmms.  So when I entertain, I always whip up something I know I can do well and has been done in the past, but I also like to toss in something new, never tried.  Sometimes they go well, sometimes they flop.



So, this party.  It was a pot luck.  And although the pot luck means everyone should be bringing one dish, I of course still worry that there won't be enough food.  So I cook more than I should.  Also, it's just so hard to choose only one recipe.  I had recently been craving spring rolls.  I didn't want to go for the pre-frozen, and I didn't want to order them from the local Chinese restaurant.  It's obvious, it was going to be a homemade attempt.  I don't have a deep fryer.  Shock, I know.  So, this could go well, or it could go poorly since I can't fry them, they will have to be baked.  But whatever, it's about playing.  After compiling a subset of several different recipes and things to try, I gathered my ingredients, or what I thought should go inside spring rolls and started to wing it.  Here are those results.





Ingredients:
 - Spring rolls are loaded with veggies.  Crunchy ones and soft ones.  Here's what I chose.

Shredded Carrots	Sprouts!  (who doesn't love sprouts?)
Mushrooms	Broccoli Slaw

- (but not just ANY mushrooms, I found the most awesomist mushrooms ever "Enoki Mushrooms!") 
- You're going to want to rinse off and trim your mushrooms


       - Spring Rolls rice paper wrappers, not to be confused with Won-ton wrappers.  The Spring roll rice papers can be found int eh international aisle of your grocery store.  I found them with the special Chinese noodles.
       - Salt, Pepper
       - Soy Sauce
       - Sesame Oil

Let's Play!

 - Use a wok if you have one.  If not, just use your stainless steel and get it as hot as you can.
 - Drizzle sesame oil to taste and add all your shredded veggies
 - Salt and Pepper and soy sauce to taste
     - Don't over do the soy sauce, as it will make stuffing your wrappers very messy
 - Cook until the veggies are at the tenderness you like
     - I do mine al dente so they still have crunch, but are not raw
     - Make it a habit to take a piece out and taste it, test it.  Not just for tenderness, but flavor.  More salt?  More pepper?  More sesame oil?  More soy?



Get Rolling!

 - Let your veggies cool down a bit, since you'll be handling them with your fingers.
 - Locate your baking dish or cookie sheet and spray generously with cooking spray.  If not, they WILL stick.
 - Get a saute/frying/pot big enough to fit your rice paper flat.  Fill with just about 1 inch of water and get it hot, but not boiling.  You're putting your fingers into it.  If found hot water from my sink was good enough, no need to turn on a boiler.
 - Place one rice paper into the hot water and let it soak for 2-3 seconds until it softens.  Don't let it dissolve.
 - Put the now soft wrapper on your work area.  Grab a small amount of veggies and place in the center of the wrapper.
 - Fold the sides in over the veggies.  Fold the bottom up over the veggies.  Roll.
 - Repeat and repeat and repeat.
 - If you see rips and tears int he wrapper, try to start with those so that they wrap on the inside.
 - Line your rolls up on your dish/sheet
 - Oven at 375, into to bake, until they "look good"
 - Pull them out and serve

I served mine with a pre-made, store bought sauce and of course doctored it up with scallions and ginger.


You can also attempt to deep fry these, but I'm not sure how well that would go over, as they could fall apart.  My brother in law and I attempted to deep fry them the next day (yes, they SAVE) and they fell apart.  So he battered them, and then deep fried them, and Holy they were yummy.  So that's an option too!

Just a Simple Dish, Really

So, there I was sitting at lunch yesterday, chatting with coworkers and enjoying my meal.  We're talking food.  Of course.  The conversation, while I don't remember how it started, happened to fall upon salting one's food and how it is perceived by others around you; showing your personality.  It is said that if you salt your food prior to tasting it, then you are one to make certain assumptions prior to testing, and tend to jump to conclusions.  And if you're one to taste your food first, and then salt after if necessary, you are a more cautious person, not one to jump to assumptions.  This method has been used by employers taking potential job candidates out to lunch.  Now, I find this interesting, because for me, I taste and salt later, which would "tell" you that I don't make assumptions.  But if you know me, I'm the first one to jump into a situation with "well I think this and that" and am far too over opinionated for my own good.  But enough about me, back to salt.

Pre-salting your food can also seen as a great insult to the chef.  You're, again, making an assumption that the food is not good enough and requires salt before you even taste it.  But, you can look at the other way too and one who tastes and salts afterwards can be viewed the same way.  I did experience this once with a family member; only it wasn't salt, it was hot sauce.  Before I knew that he hot sauced everything, I was quite insulted to watch him "ruin" several of my meals with hot sauce over, and over, and over again.  Until I learned, he just liked things hot.  So, it is the same with salt.  One who salts, simply, just likes salt.  Regardless, I do tend to under-salt most of my food, for that very reason.  I let my diner salt it up to their desire, and I will add other spices to compliment.  So, word to the novice chef, salt is good but too much salt is bad.  Use your discretion and cater to the crowd you're serving.

Anyhow, back to lunch.  I was asked what it is that I'm eating, because apparently, it looks good.  When I told them it was just a simple throw together meal, they insisted I provide the ingredients and was asked if it was on my blog.  Of course it was not, it's not "gourmet."  I just tossed some stuff together!  Pretty sure I saw a similar recipe on Worst Cooks in America.  So I'm embarrassed to admit how stupidly simple this recipe is, but if executed correctly can feed a family of 4, with leftovers and can pass as dinner no problem and is disguised as gourmet.  I was so taken by the compliment however, that sure, I'll toss it up on the blog for others to enjoy.  After all, I was only playing with new variations of an old recipe.  Anyone remember Chicken Tonight?   Yeah, it's like that, only now mine is "semi-homemade" and yes, that theme song resonates through my brain the whole time I make this dish.

Ingredients:
Rice, just plain white
Chicken, I use both breast and thigh (boneless)
Green beans, frozen
Mushrooms, canned or fresh (I used canned as I was in a rush and no fresh in the fridge)
Cream of Mushroom Soup (any brand, but really, Cambell's is best)
Salt & Pepper to taste

 - But Jenn, how much of everything?  Well, now that depends on how many people you want to serve.  You know how much chicken you, personally, can eat.  How much can your toddler/child eat?  How much can your husband eat?  Decide if you need 2 breasts and 1 Thigh, etc.  (yes, that's what I used)  And since I can't stand leftover rice, I just did 1/2c uncooked rice to 1c water.  1 small can of mushrooms, and I pour the green beans in until it "just looks right."  And the soup is a regular 8oz can.

Prepare your Rice:  I've been getting creative lately with my rice, trying to give plain white rice some pizazz and flavoring up my food.  My absolute favorite rice is Jasmine rice.  But it's not cheap, so I really only make it with meals that I know it's going to compliment nicely.  And having had and love jasmine rice, plain old white rice is now just extremely boring.  So, here's how I prep my white rice.  In the water that you're boiling for the rice (according to the package directions), I add SALT.  Yep, that's right, I pre-salt my rice water.  It's a must in this case.  How much?  You decide.  1T for 1c uncooked rice usually does well.  But you know me, I don't measure, so it's just an estimate.  Along with the salt, I am now adding dry parsley.  Again, how much?  Just toss some in until it looks "right."  Why parsley?  Well, it adds some pretty color to the rice and flavors it just enough.  Parsley has a flavor, but not over powering.  So, boil your water, add your rice, cook according to directions.

Prepare the Chicken:  If your chicken is defrosted, cut it up into bite size cubes.  If it's not defrosted, get it to that state in your preferred method and then cut it into bite size cubes.  Get them into a frying pan with 2T olive oil, salt and pepper, and cook them on Med-High until golden brown on the outside.  Once brown, add your mushrooms and cook until also heated through.  Once the mushrooms are done, toss in your frozen green beans and the can of mushroom soup + 1/2 that same can of milk.  (Meaning, empty the soup from the can into the pan, then fill 1/2 that same can with milk and add that to the pan as well.)   Get everything stirred in nicely together and bring it to a soft boil and let simmer until the green beans are cooked through and the soup is hot.

Make Your Dish: I have a saucer bowl that I like to use for dishes like this, but you can also use a plate or an actual bowl.  On the plate/bowl lay down 1/2-3/4c of the rice.  Next to that, pour in 1-2c of the chicken mixture.  I like to let the chicken and rice overlap a bit, since by the end I've completely stirred everything together.  But it starts out visually appealing anyhow.

Enjoy:  Now, you can sit down and enjoy a meal that literally just took you 20 minutes to make.  And it only took that long because the rice had to cook.  If you have leftover rice, you can cut your cook time in half!  A 10 minute meal, yes please!!!  Oh yeah, and don't forget to place the salt on your table.  It's bound to happen, no matter what you cook, no matter how much you season, so just chalk it up to personal preference, don't look into it and know that you placed a fine meal on the table, salt or no salt.

(No picture of this meal since I hadn't planned on sharing it - perhaps next time I make it, I'll snap a few and edit for historical purposes)

Just a Splash of Irish

It's that time of year again where the boiled dinner smell wafts throughout the kitchens and everyone digs deep to prove they are at least 1/99th Irish so they have an excuse to drink. I don't make excuses, I just mix. And since this is the month of green, I got into my liquor cabinet to play.

Let me introduce you to my Peppermint Oreo Cookie Cocktail:

Into a shaker pour over ice:
2 parts mint Bailey's
1 part vodka of choice
1 part milk or cream
Shake vigorously.  Pour into a martini glass.
Makes 1

Variation on this drink:
2 parts chocolate liquor
1 part peppermint schnapps
1.5 parts cream
Shake vigorously.  Pour into a martini glass.
Makes 2

Garnish both drinks with a peppermint Oreo cookie.

- Now you ask me, what's a "part?" And, that, is up to you. How big is your shaker?

Drink It Simple - What's In YOUR Cabinet?

Well, it's been a while since I've posted, and I actually have 2 or 3 recipes that need I need to get going on, complete with pictures.  But I've been busy.  Work busy.  Children busy.  House busy.  Cake busy.  But mostly... children busy.  Having two, really takes it out of you. So, on a Friday night, when I need to relax, I open the doors to my liquor cabinet. 

I try to keep it stocked with one of everything.  Dark rum, Light Rum, Spiced rum, flavored rum, Vodka, Flavored vodka (this varies), Bailey's, Tequila, Whiskey, Vermouth, and of course, anything left over from the last party we had.  This means that at any given time, I have the good makings of just about any drink (traditional) that you could make.  Now, I don't stock the schnapps, the liquors and mixes for all these new fangled "in" drinks. But should I come across one I like, of course I stock up on the ingredients.  But regardless, when I need a cocktail, my liquor cabinet can serve me well.  Now, that's not to say that I stock my cabinet solely for drinking.  A well stocked liquor cabinet can also be good for cooking, which I often will toss in a splash of this, and a splash of that.  Think Rum, Whiskey, Vermouth, Marsala, and so on.

But tonight, I didn't cook.  No, tonight my husband was sent down to the local taco take out to pick up a few burritos.  I started to reach for the Tequila, yes, yes I did.  But what stopped me was knowing.. I have a really good purple juice in the fridge.  Blueberry and Pomegranate.  Now, my initial thought, was to pair this with rum, perhaps a coconut rum... hrm, but no that wouldn't do.  Vodka, yes vodka should serve my purpose.  But alas, I have BLUEBERRY vodka in the cabinet.  Oh swimmingly perfect.

So, I produced this.  Blueberry, Pomegranate cocktail.  So simple, so under the radar, but yet, it's perfect for tonight.  Let's play.

3 parts vodka
2 parts juice
into a shaker with ice
shake
pour
consume

Voila.

Don't like the whole "martini" aspect?  Too strong for your tastes?  No problem.  Pour this over ice in a rocks glass and add a splash of seltzer.  That's officially makes this a "spritzer."

Roasted Veggies a Go-Go

Apparently, I have a problem.  An addiction really.  Some might just call it an obsession.  A need to always be doing something.  A need to always be planning something.  A requirement to provide food, drink and good company to a crowd.  That's right, I LOVE to throw parties!  If something's not on the horizon, I feel empty.

At work, I am the lead planner for a Halloween party we have for the employee kids; it's called Trunk or Treat.  (ToT)  At the ToT event I provide pizza, salad, chicken nuggets, drinks and desserts for about 850 people, plus activities and trick or treating.  I am also on the holiday party planning committee for the employees that sit in my building, it's called Festivus.  This party serves up 350 people, we have it catered, it's potluck dessert, and oh yeah, there's a 40+ participant Yankee Swap and a 9 hole mini golf course setup by departments in the building.

At home, I have a Luau every year in my back yard.  Fully decked out and themed, I provide most of the food, people bring sides, we've had a live band a few years now; a guest list of 40-150 depending on the year.  I've been known to throw a "Last Holiday Party of the Year" party the end of January and open my house to 100 people.  Oh yeah, and one more, my husband has lots of 1st cousins, so we open our doors to a potluck that hosts 30 people in February.  And I love it.  I don't typically stress about it.  Key word there being "typically" because there's always something to stress about.  And not to mention the occasional family birthday or anniversary party I get to dig into from time to time.

 
But anyhow, I threw yet another party this past weekend.  Menu included pulled pork, baked macaroni & cheese.... and.... yep, you guessed it, roasted veggies.  Now, roasted veggies can come in all shapes, sizes and varieties.  Everyone has their own mantra on how they should be roasted, and what they should be roasted with.  I've roasted veggies on the grill, in the oven, on the stove-top.  Inside tin-foil, on the broiler pan, over a hot fire, on the grill.  And I always experiment with different flavors, oils and spices.  But this weekend, yeah, this weekend, I hit the mark.  These veggies were awesome!  And I loved my variety.  They were so colorful.  So let's play.
 


Select Your Veggies:


I went with the following:

• Carrots, shaved, rough chop into same sizes
• Turnip, shaved, rough chop into same sizes
• Baby Redskin Potatoes, diced to match the carrot sizes
• Baby Portabella Mushrooms, diced to match the carrot sized
• Broccoli, chopped to match the carot size, roughly
• 1 Red Onion, nice big pieces
• 8 gloves whole garlic, peeled

Place in baking dish.  Pre-heat your oven to 375 degrees

Now your flavorings:

• Olive Oil, very generous drizzle
• Basil, even sprinkle
• Oregano, even sprinkle
• Salt, generous
• Pepper, generous

Put on center rack in your oven, roast for 30 minutes.  Toss veggies around, return to oven for another 15 minutes.  Remove, cover with tin foil and let sit for another 10 minutes.

Voila!