Yearly Archives: 2009

Wetter Is Better Focaccia And Ciabatta {The Bread Baker’s Apprentice}

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As 2009 draws to a close, I find myself reflecting on all the successes and challenges I’ve had in the kitchen this year.  One of the greatest successes – this Focaccia.  One the biggest challenges – this Ciabatta.  But a challenge can sometimes teach you the greatest lesson of all.

Not ever being satisfied with just so-so, I decided to give the ciabatta another try.  Even though I thought my dough had been wet enough the first time, the bread lacked the large holes that earn ciabatta its self-respect.  So this time I made sure to keep the dough as wet as possible making sure it just came together but was still very sticky.  The result?  A dough that bubbled and rose, and baked into a glorious hole-y ciabatta (pictured below) that didn’t have to hide.

The lesson?  Wetter is better.

I applied this same lesson to my focaccia with equally grand results, and it garnered the most raves of any bread I have made so far.  It could most likely be applied to all yeast recipes to insure you a greater chance for success.

These two particular recipes can be found in The Bread Baker’s Apprentice by Peter Reinhart.  If you don’t have it, you can preview the book here.

 

Wetter Is Better Focaccia And Ciabatta

Posted in Breads by

As 2009 draws to a close, I find myself reflecting on all the successes and challenges I’ve had in the kitchen this year.  One of the greatest successes – this Focaccia.  One the biggest challenges – this Ciabatta.  But a challenge can sometimes teach you the greatest lesson of all.

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The Week Before Christmas Date Nut Balls {The Kitchen Reader Cookie Exchange}

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‘Twas the month before Christmas and all of the weeks are spent visiting family, trimming everything, sending out Christmas cards, baking, attending school plays and parties, shopping, trying to squeeze twenty hours of continuing education in before the end of the year (oh, that’s just me) . . .

The children are doing their best to be good, their Elves telling Santa if they’ve done what they should.

And mama’s getting frazzled, and papa’s freakin’ out, ’cause the smaller the present, the bigger the amount.

But a little Christmas treat from the kitchen can help, and we can all rest a bit and remember what this time’s all about.

This recipe is one my mother used to make every Christmas growing up – it most likely came from a church cookbook.  If you love dates, you’ll love these.  If you don’t, you’ll love these anyway.

Date Nut Balls

from Shortbread

makes about 2 1/2 dozen

Ingredients

  • 1 cup sugar
  • 1 stick butter or margarine
  • 1 egg, well beaten
  • 1 cup pitted dates, finely chopped
  • 1 cup nuts, finely chopped
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 2 cups Rice Krispies
  • sweetened flaked coconut and/or confectioner’s sugar

Directions

  1. Melt butter and sugar in a medium sauce pan over low heat.
  2. Add egg and stir until thoroughly incorporated.
  3. Add dates, nuts and vanilla and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer 10 minutes.
  4. Remove from heat and stir in Rice Krispies.
  5. When cool enough to handle, roll into bite-sized balls and roll in coconut or confectioner’s sugar.

Printer Friendly Recipe

Check out the Kitchen Readers and their favorite Holiday cookies here.

‘Happy Christmas to all, and to all a good-night!’

{Tuesdays With Dorie} No Pressure Sugar-Topped Molasses Spice Cookies

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Have you made your Christmas list yet?  Started your Christmas shopping?  Finished your Christmas shopping?  No pressure or anything.  It’s not like I’ve done any of those things yet.  I take that back, I bought my first Christmas present yesterday, so I guess I’ve officially jumped on the holiday bandwagon.

If you need a little nudge to get you started, here’s a recipe that will help get you in the holiday mood.  Sugar-Topped Molasses Spice Cookies chosen by Pamela of Cookies With Boys for this week’s Tuesdays with Dorie is just perfect for snacking on while making out your gift list.  A crispy cookie with a little bit of softness in the center from the molasses and brown sugar that is spiced with ginger, cinnamon, allspice and a little pinch of black pepper, and covered with a little sprinkling of sugar ‘snow’.  Sweet, spicy and delicious.

Sound good?  Visit Pamela for the recipe.  Now I must go make my list.

No Pressure Sugar-Topped Molasses Spice Cookies

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Have you made your Christmas list yet?  Started your Christmas shopping?  Finished your Christmas shopping?  No pressure or anything.  It’s not like I’ve done any of those things yet.  I take that back, I bought my first Christmas present yesterday, so I guess I’ve officially jumped on the holiday bandwagon.

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Happy National Bundt Day Hazelnut Espresso Coffeecake

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hazelnut bundt

With today being National Bundt Day, I have to share this wonderful Hazelnut-Espresso Coffeecake I baked from my newest cookbook, Whole Grain Baking from King Arthur Flour.  I was inspired to make this cake by Mary of The Food Librarian, who has been celebrating the Bundt for thirty days by baking a Bundt each day.  Yes, I said a Bundt each day.  Now that is some Bundt love.

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Whew! Creme Brulee {Barefoot Bloggers}

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What mistake do you make in the kitchen most often?  Omitting ingredients, forgetting to preheat the oven, or maybe not setting the timer?  I’ve made all of these more than once, but I find the thing I do more than these is trying to cut a recipe in half, and forgetting by the end of the ingredient list that I’m halving the recipe and adding the whole amount of the last two or three things.  Sometimes it ends in disaster.  Sometimes not.

I almost made the same mistake with this recipe, Creme Brulee from Ina Garten’s Barefoot in Paris.  I decided to divide it in half, since I only had a pint of cream.  So I mixed together one egg and two egg yolks with half the sugar, heated half the cream and mixed it into the eggs, and then proceeded to add a whole teaspoon of vanilla instead of a half.  Then I thought to myself, I don’t really think the family will be crazy about this if I add a whole tablespoon of Grand Marnier (the original measurement), so I’ll just add . . . a teaspoon, I guess.  Lucky me, that I didn’t go ahead a put the whole thing in, I mean, extra vanilla usually can only be better, but I have a feeling all that orange liqueur in just a half recipe would have resulted in some faces being made at the dinner table.

Instead, this turned out to be the best Creme Brulee I’ve made yet.  It was so smooth and creamy, and the flavor was just perfect.  Everyone in the family finished theirs off.  I just wish I’d had enough ingredients to make the whole recipe.

Creme Brulee is actually a fairly simple dessert to make and can be done ahead of time and burlee’d right before serving.  If you don’t have a kitchen torch, just broil the desserts in the oven.  Here’s my suggestion for the best flavor:  Take them out of the refrigerator about an hour before serving so they will be cool, but not cold.  Much tastier that way.

Thanks to Suzie of Munch + Nibble for choosing this Barefoot Bloggers recipe, which you can print here.

 

Whew! Creme Brulee

Posted in Desserts by

bb creme brulee

What mistake do you make in the kitchen most often?  Omitting ingredients, forgetting to preheat the oven, or maybe not setting the timer?  I’ve made all of these more than once, but I find the thing I do more than these is trying to cut a recipe in half, and forgetting by the end of the ingredient list that I’m halving the recipe and adding the whole amount of the last two or three things.  Sometimes it ends in disaster.  Sometimes not.

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{Tuesdays With Dorie} Out Of The Mouths Of Babes Cran-Apple Crisps

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Oh, children and the things they will say.  Like “My mom says you can’t come over ’cause you’re a bad influence” to a friend’s daughter.  OH THE HORROR.

So after eating some crow, I barely had room for dessert.  But I had made these Cran-Apple Crisps for Tuesdays with Dorie and I had to make room, and I’m glad I did.

These lovely crisps are made with fresh apples and fresh and dried cranberries.  I used a mixture of Granny Smith and Honey Crisp (my new favorite) apples.  The only change I made was to use walnuts in the crisp mixture instead of coconut, which I thought made a great substitution.

The sweet apples and tart cranberries were very tasty together in these crisps, and a scoop of ice cream added just a little more sweetness.  I highly recommend it.

 

This Tuesdays with Dorie pick was brought to you by Em of The Repressed Pastry Chef and you can find the recipe there.

Don’t Go Down The Drain English Muffins {The Bread Baker’s Apprentice}

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Today’s question to ponder . . . Why is it always the good spoons that accidentally drop into the disposal?  Never the old hand-me-down silverware that you use for cooking, but the shiny new (-ish) stuff you got for wedding gifts.  Hmmm.

I can tell you that if you like to bake at home and you need one more reason to get The Bread Baker’s Apprentice, here it is.  These English Muffins are so over and above anything you have ever bought, and I don’t say that lightly.  These are so delicious they will even convert those who don’t usually care for English Muffins (i.e., the husband).

I really never even thought is was possible to make English Muffins at home until I got to this recipe in the book.  And still, I had a few reservations about getting that cornmeal crusted top and bottom and the ‘nooks and crannies’, but I was not disappointed.  The recipe consists of a yeast dough that has risen and is cooked in a skillet and finished in the oven.  Much easier than I had expected and with terrific results.

Later this week I’ll have a few recipes for things to do with these.  In the mean time, you can take a look at the book here.

 

An Easy Answer Napoletana Pizza Dough {The Bread Baker’s Apprentice}

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Today’s question to ponder . . . Why does the clicking sound your car makes never happen when you’re at the mechanic’s?  Hmmm.   If only I knew the answer.  But I can answer the question of how to make the BEST pizza dough ever.  Two words – Peter Reinhart.

I have made quite a few pizza dough recipes in the past and none ever hit the mark.  I wanted a thin crust that wouldn’t be too bread-y, and that would bake up with some crunch on the edges.  I had seen the recipe from The Bread Baker’s Apprentice for Napoletana Pizza Dough before, but since the dough required an overnight rest, I passed it over.  Finally, when I got my own copy of the cookbook and started slowly baking my way through, I realized how successful the recipes are.  So I gave in and mixed up a batch of the dough.

This dough was so soft and silky, and was a dream to stretch out.  It could be made a little thicker, like the Barbecue Chicken Pizza at the top, or extra thin and crispy like the White Pizza With Arugula below.  I was really amazed that I was able to make a dough like this at home, and so was everyone else in my family.

Like I said, it does have to be started the day before, but it is SO WORTH IT.  However, you can keep it in the fridge for 3 days, or in the freezer for 3 months.  I guarantee you it won’t last that long, though.

101 Cookbooks is where I first saw the recipe in a post coincidentally titled Best Pizza Dough Ever (it says the olive oil is optional, but I used it also).  If you’re interested in The Bread Baker’s Apprentice take a look here.

Dunk And Gift Chocolate Citrus Biscotti {Cookie Carnival}

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Here’s a good one to put on your baking list for the Holidays – Chocolate Citrus Biscotti.  Perfect to bake and dunk in your warm beverage of choice while you do the rest of your work in the kitchen, and lovely to package and give away as gifts.

The recipe is from Giada De Laurentiis and is the Cookie Carnival pick for October.  It differs from the traditional biscotti with the addition of cornmeal, which gives it even more crunch than usual.  Lemon and orange zest are added to the mix also, in just the right amounts.  Chocolate and cocoa make them even prettier and even tastier.

Fun, festive, addictively crunchy and just right for the Holidays, click here for the recipe so you can bake up a batch.

 

Celebrate Fall Cranberry-Walnut Celebration Bread {The Bread Baker’s Apprentice}

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It’s November, and now that Halloween is over, get ready to brace yourself for the full onslaught of the commercial holiday season.  Christmas items are already filling the shelves and Santa Claus is showing up on the television.  I really have to try not to get too carried away or fall and all its smells, sights, and sounds will pass by before I can enjoy them.

I believe in buying my Christmas tree the weekend after Thanksgiving, and waiting until December to start the Christmas holiday baking, which includes Fruitcake.  Yes, that’s what I said.  I am a fruitcake fan, but not the prepackaged kind that’s shaped like a brick, but real homemade more-fruit-and-nuts-than-cake fruitcake.  And I will share my favorite fruitcake recipe for my fellow fruitcake fans in December.

Even though I will sneak a few Christmas songs onto my iPod this month and definitely start my shopping, I plan to bake a lot of pumpkin-y, cinnamon-y, nutty things that remind me that it is still fall.  And if I start to feel a little wistful for some of that fruitcake, this Cranberry-Walnut Celebration Bread will surely tide me over until December.

This loaf from Peter Reinhart’s The Bread Baker’s Apprentice combines the flavors of cranberry and walnut with a touch of citrus flavor that reminds me a little of my favorite fruitcake, but can still be very fitting for the fall.  So, celebrate by baking some great bread filled with delicious fall ingredients and enjoy the season.

Interested?  Preview and purchase the book here.

Celebrate Fall Cranberry-Walnut Celebration Bread

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bba cranberry-walnut bread

It’s November, and now that Halloween is over, get ready to brace yourself for the full onslaught of the commercial holiday season.  Christmas items are already filling the shelves and Santa Claus is showing up on the television.  I really have to try not to get too carried away or fall and all its smells, sights, and sounds will pass by before I can enjoy them.

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Doubting Thomas Corn Bread

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bba cornbread

Being of the Southern persuasion, I grew up eating cornbread as a side for all types of Southern food.  And also because of said Southern persuasion, I grew up eating cornbread made without sugar.  But I did grow up in the generation of Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix (notice they call it corn ‘muffin’, not corn ‘bread’ – I don’t think that was unintentional).  So it’s not like I was never exposed to the sweet style of cornbread more popular in the North, I just prefer the Southern-style.

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Julie And Julia Oeufs En Cocotte

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KR Oeufs en Cocotte

Last night we had a traditional Southern “vegetable plate” for dinner – collard greens, field peas, fried squash and eggplant, and pepper relish.  After informing my husband of the menu, he promptly gave me the “Where’s the beef?” look, which reminded me of this month’s Kitchen Reader‘s book selection, Julie & Julia.  In the book Julie Powell recounts her year spent cooking through Julia Child’s classic cookbook Mastering the Art of French Cooking and blogging about it at the same time.  In the early pages of the book Julie recalls one of the first recipes she made from the book, a potato and leek soup, and how her husband Eric told her it was “Really good.  And there wasn’t even any meat in it.”  And that because he is Texan by birth “the idea of a dinner without animal flesh gets him a little panicky”.  But apparently there is no lack of meat dishes in Julia’s cookbook, with recipes ranging from Boeuf Bourguignon to Rognons deVeau (veal kidneys) so he didn’t have to worry about that part of things.

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Bread Baking Blitz Ciabatta, Cinnamon Buns And Cinnamon Raisin Walnut Bread

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BBA cinnamon bun 2

Okay, so after browsing through my food photos I realized that I had a serious back-log of The Bread Baker’s Apprentice recipe pictures.  And since the back-to-school chaos has slowed my blogging pace down to a SLOW CRAWL leaving me like six months behind the other “Slow-and-Steady” bakers who post every two weeks, I decided to just throw them all out here in one fun bread baking blitz.

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Parlez Vous Anglais? Oven-Roasted Figs

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oven-roasted figs

In David Lebovitz’s book, The Sweet Life in Paris: Delicious Adventures in the World’s Most Glorious – and Perplexing – City, Lebovitz treats us to his gift of sarcastic wit while exploring the city’s ironic and perplexing customs.  Along the way, he shares some of his favorite recipes created and enjoyed there.  This month a few fellow food bloggers and I, as a part of  The Kitchen Reader, read The Sweet Life in Paris so we could share our opinion of the book with our readers and each other.  Here are my thoughts.

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Don’t Let The Dogs Eat The Bagels

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bagels

One of our dogs loves to ‘counter-cruise’.  When no one is looking, she puts her paws up on the kitchen counter and grabs whatever has been carelessly left too close to the edge.  Once we opened a Krispy Kreme doughnut box and found it empty.  Somehow she had lifted up the top and eaten the doughnuts without even knocking it off, and carefully closed the box when she was finished.  Sneaky.

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Strawberry-Shortcake Cookie Fusion – Cookie Carnival

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cc strawberry shortcake cookies

Craving some strawberry shortcake, but not in the mood to spend too much time in the kitchen?  Well, here’s your answer – the ultimate fusion of strawberries, cream, and biscuits – Martha Stewart’s Strawberry-Shortcake Cookies.  Like a scone in cookie form, these are sweet and tender with a crunchy sugared top.

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Barefoot Bloggers Curried Couscous

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bb curried couscous

If I had a million dollars, I would first hire a cleaning lady, then I would hire a personal chef to prepare healthy, flavorful meals for us every day.  I would still cook and bake at leisure, but the rest of the time I could choose recipes with my chef that he/she could prepare, like this Curried Couscous from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook.

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Tuesdays With Dorie Parisian Apple Tartlets

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twd apple tart

Have you ever been to Paris?  If so, what is the one thing that made the biggest impression on you?  Whenever I think about my trip to Paris, the thing that sticks out the most in my mind is that the women walked around the city in heels.  Even the tour guides that took us on trips to gardens and museums wore some kind of shoe with a heel. Granted most wore very worn-in looking heels, but it was impressive nonetheless.

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Tuesdays With Dorie Cinnamon (And Chocolate) Squares

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twd cinnamon square

My husband’s sweet great-grandmother is 91 years old. Until very recently she would still cook and bake her favorite recipes. One of the things she’s famous for is her chocolate pie, made with homemade pie crust and a fudgy filling.  Everyone loves them, especially my sister-in-law.  Last Christmas she sent over a couple of pies for everyone to enjoy, and when my sister-in-law took her first bite she made a funny face and said, “What’s wrong with this pie?”  My mother-in-law tried a bite and said, “It tastes like cinnamon.”  It soon became obvious that great-grandmother had mistaken the cinnamon for the cocoa powder.
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Ina’s Pork Loin And Barefoot Bloggers OUTRAGEOUS Brownies

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BB Picnik collage

Once while in college, my boyfriend and I and another couple had gotten together to grill some steaks for dinner.  After my friend and I chatted and had a drink or two, the guys brought the finished steaks inside.  As I was cutting into mine, I spotted something green on the steak.  “What is this…grass?”, I asked.  After a lot of man-laughing, they told me they had dropped one of the steaks on the ground.  “Why’d you give it to me?”, I said.  Of course, the gentlemanly thing would have been for one of them to eat it.  But what did they do?  They just wiped it off and put it back on the grill and let whoever get that one.  I took my boyfriend’s steak and gave him the grassy one.

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Tuesdays With Dorie Chipster-Topped Brownies For Friends

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bb chipster brownie

I miss my Friends.  That is one of the funniest shows ever, in my opinion.  I still catch a re-run every once in a while and just literally laugh out loud.  It’s been a while since I’ve seen a truly funny comedy that doesn’t make fun of people or just make you feel dirty.  Especially since I was around the same age as the ‘friends’ when they were on, I could really identify with their characters.  They were just plain funny.

Making this week’s Tuesdays with Dorie selection from Beth of Supplicious (click for recipe), Chipster-Topped Brownies, made me think of this:

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Do Believe The Hype Bread

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anadama bread 3 BBA

Peter Reinhart’s book The Bread Baker’s Apprentice has been around for a while and has certainly made the rounds in the food blogging world.  After seeing a few of the recipes on various blogs my interest was piqued, but being a little bit of a skeptic, I told myself this book couldn’t be all that.  I had other baking books that I was sure were just as good, and do I really want to spend two, three, or more days working on a single bread recipe? Continue reading →

Barefoot Bloggers Tuna Salad Ina Style

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BB Tuna Salad

HELP!!  I’m drowning in parent-of-school-age-children-end-of-the-year–hectic-ness!  Field trips, dance recitals, baseball games, school carnivals….STOP!  I need to come up for air!

I’m always so glad to see the end of the school year, not just because I’ll no longer have to get up at the crack of dawn to rouse children that are dead to the world, but also because after the stressful month of May I just need to decompress.

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Tuesdays With Dorie Tiramisu Cake(wreck)

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twd-tiramisu-cake-2

Today’s Tuesdays with Dorie selection, Tiramisu Cake, chosen by Megan of My Baking Adventures (click for recipe), turned out to be a little bit of a ‘cake wreck’.

I made half of the cake recipe and baked it in a springform pan, to make it easy to remove and hopefully easier for us to finish!  The cake baked up nicely and came out of the pan with no problems.  When I started to cut it in half, though, it broke up into a bunch of pieces.  Waah!

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Ham-burg-er Bun-s

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homemade-burger-buns

I really like knowing exactly what’s in my food.  I’m like one of those kids in the Breyer’s ice cream commercial where they’re reading the ingredients on the carton of the ‘other brand’ saying “polyphenolari-wha?”.  Whenever I can make something myself that is just as good or better than store-bought, I’m all for it.

Lately I’ve been put off by the long list of ingredients in hamburger and hot dog buns.  Even those in the bakery section of the grocery store include things I’ve never heard of.  So, I started searching for a recipe for buns that I could make at home and keep in the freezer.

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Tuesdays With Dorie Chocolate Cream Tart(lets)

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twd-choc-cream-tart
Yesterday was one of those days, you know the kind, where everything you do takes 5 hours longer than it should.  I had set some lofty goals for myself around the house and in the kitchen, including hanging bathroom hardware, washing and folding the 50 loads of laundry that had mysteriously piled up over the weekend, spending 30 minutes on the treadmill, baking the Chocolate Cream Tart for Tuesdays with Dorie, carving and cooking a country ham, and making homemade pizza for dinner.  In my mind this seemed quite achievable.

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Barefoot Bloggers Croque Monsieur

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bb-croque-monsieur1
Not the most photogenic sandwich in the world, but soooo rich and cheesy.

The Barefoot Bloggers pick this week comes from Kathy of All Food Considered.  This French sandwich recipe appears in Ina Garten’s Barefoot in Paris cookbook.  It’s basically a seriously over-the-top grilled cheese.  Dijon, ham, Gruyere, and a white sauce with more cheese makes ONE SERIOUS SANDWICH.  Not necessarily something you would just throw together everyday, but after you make it once, you know it won’t be the last.

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Tuesdays With Dorie Four Star Chocolate Bread Pudding

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twd-chocolate-bread-pudding

Okay, tell me you know what I’m talking about.  That look when the cashier who’s checking your groceries picks up some unusual item you’re buying and reads the label – MEXICAN DRINKING CHOCOLATE – raises their eyebrows, and gives a little shrug.  Sometimes they might even say, “What is this?”.  “A citrus reamer”, you answer sheepishly.  Yes, I’m thinking, I know it’s beyond your comprehension why someone might need two popover pans, but I do!

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Don’t Get Them Started Brioche French Toast

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brioche-french-toast1

At the grocery store the other day I was in dire need of some windshield washer fluid, and the only kind they had said it was ‘scented’.  I wasn’t really sure how much you would be able to smell something that’s sprayed on the outside of the car, but I figured it couldn’t hurt.  Much to my amazement, I could actually smell the scent of the fluid after I used it the first time.  It was sort of nice.

Fast forward to about a month later, with the family in the car on the way home from dinner.  After hearing many large insects splatting on my windshield (you know it’s spring in the South), and having just had my car washed that day, I suggested to the husband that he spray some cleaner on it.  This is the conversation that followed:

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Tuesdays With Dorie 15 Minute Magic Chocolate Amaretti Torte

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twd-amaretti-torte

Last night my husband was watching a show on the Golf channel called The Haney Project where Charles Barkley was trying to learn to become a better golfer.  Charles says at one point something like “I just know I’m going to be the one who goes through all this and still sucks.”  I can relate.  I started taking tennis lessons with some girlfriends recently, and I can just see myself being the one who still sucks after it’s all over.  I always wanted to play tennis, but it never came naturally, and no one wants to play with you if you can’t hit the ball back.  I even took tennis as a course in college, but it soon become apparent that everyone else already knew how to play, and were just doing it for the A.  Well, that’s not what I got.

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Barefoot Bloggers Chinese Chicken Salad

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bb-chinese-chicken-salad

Today I received an email from my best friend/college roommate saying she joined Facebook and that I should “get my butt on there, girl!”  Apparently, she has recently joined and reunited with all our sorority sisters, her high school graduating class, her first boyfriend in kindergarten – well, maybe not him (yet).

I have other friends who are on it, too, but I just can’t bring myself to put it all out there like that.  I know, I know, you can choose who can see your page, and refuse to be “friends”, but this is a Southern girl you’re talking to and we don’t like to hurt anyone’s feelings, you know?

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The Great Biscuit Debate #3 The Whole Hog

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biscuits-3

The biscuits are back.  This time they are made with White Lily flour and half butter, half shortening.  I’ve actually made these a few times, but was just too lazy/busy/forgetful to take a picture.  We’ve been having country ham a lot with the biscuits, my personal favorite biscuit accompaniment.  I’m thinking I must do some research on buying whole country hams, so we can have it more often, but I digress.

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Tuesdays With Dorie Banana Cream Pie

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twd-banana-cream-pie

Ever since my daughter could express herself, she has been an animal lover.  She used to stop people walking by our house with their dogs and ask if she could pet them.  Her book choices at the library always include at least one animal book.  Horses, whales, hedgehogs, naked mole rats – you name it, she wants it as a pet.

But she can’t stand monkeys.  I don’t even know when her dislike for monkeys started, but the first time we went to the zoo she told me in no uncertain terms that she did not want to see the monkeys.  “You know I hate monkeys, Mommy,” she said.  I do??  Monkeys have been very popular on kid’s clothes lately, and she was completely freaked out by this.  At her school one of the third grade teachers had decorated her room with all kinds of fun monkey stuff.  It would have been very traumatic if she had turned out to be my daughter’s teacher.

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Not So Guilty Pleasure Black Bean Nachos

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black-bean-nachos

Most of the time I try to cook and eat wholesome, homemade food.  I try to avoid a lot of processed foods, additives and preservatives.  But when it comes to stadium food, my will power goes out the door.  I’m a sucker for hot dogs, peanuts, nachos, popcorn and pretzels.  These things just don’t taste the same at home, good thing.

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Cookies Revisited And A Thank You

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cookie-collage

To wrap up Cookie Week here at Shortbread, I’d like to revisit a few of the cookies I’ve waxed poetic about in the past.  If you’re new here, or if you’ve been visiting a while, I’d just like to re-introduce the melt-in your mouth Brown Sugar Pecan Shortbread Cookies, the over-the-top Peanut Butter Sandwich Cookies, and the blog-tastic World Peace Cookies.  A little something for everyone.

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Don’t Wake The Dogs Cherry Chocolate Chunk Cookies

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kitchen-sink-cookies

It amazes me how a dog can be sleeping so soundly, snoring and chasing squirrels and catching birds, and as soon as a single chocolate chip drops to the floor, he’s awake and in the kitchen scooping it up.  The way their supersonic ears can pick up the sound of a bag of chips being opened from the other side of the house just blows my mind.

Really, I can’t even walk into the kitchen without our dogs being in there under my feet waiting for something to hit the floor.  And the fact that I can be a little clumsy works to their advantage.  But sometimes I would like them to just STAY ASLEEP so I don’t have to worry about them while I’m trying to concentrate on a recipe.

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Always Trendy Thick And Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

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tc-choc-chip-cookies

You know you’re getting old(er) when trends start to reappear from your childhood.  Like skinny jeans, legwarmers, and (gasp) shoulder pads.  Some say you should only follow a trend once in your lifetime.  Sometimes, however, a trend returns with such popularity that eventually you just have to embrace it.  Like wide-leg jeans, leggings, and big sunglasses.  I remember thinking I would be glad when the capri trend passed – that’s what my mother wore when she was young – and now they are a fixture in fashion.

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Tuesdays With Dorie Coconut Butter Thins

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twd-coconut-butter-thins-2

I am a procrastinator baker.  If there is dusting to be done, I bake cookies.  Pictures to be hung?  I make bread.  Toilets to cleaned?  I must find a use for those browning bananas.

So this weekend when the floors desperately needed to be swept and mopped, I found myself in the kitchen once again baking up this week’s Tuesday’s with Dorie selection, Coconut Butter Thins.

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Cookie Carnival Inside-Out Carrot Cake Cookies

Posted in Cookies by

carrot-cake-cookies

No, these aren’t oatmeal creme pies!  But they look like them, don’t they?

Kate at the clean plate club has a baking group called The Cookie Carnival.  She will be posting around the end of every month a round-up of all the bloggers that make a chosen cookie recipe.

I’ll tell you, I’m all for celebrating the cookie!  I probably make cookies more than any other dessert, just because they are fun, family friendly, and freezer friendly.  So this week I’m going to have my own Cookie Carnival and post cookie recipes all week.

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Barefoot Bloggers Tomato And Goat Cheese Tarts

Posted in Appetizers, Vegetables, Vegetarian by

bb-tomato-goat-cheese-tart

Let’s just get something out of the way right now, before going any further.  I have a serious love for food, and I don’t discriminate.  If you read through all these posts, you would definitely notice the words I LOVE in probably every one.

My kids have been into this game lately where they say, “If you had to choose between chocolate and cake, which would you choose?”, “How about cake or ice cream?”, or “If you had to choose one food to eat for the rest of your life, what would it be?”.  They can’t seem to understand when I say I don’t know, that for Mommy, this is the hardest question in the world.  I just can’t choose favorites when it comes to food. It would be like choosing between my children.

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Inaugural Tuesdays with Dorie Blueberry Crumb Cake

Posted in Breakfast, Desserts by

blueberry crumb cake

There’s a boy in my son’s second grade class who is constantly making up stories.  And my son, bless his heart, believes every word he says.  Most recently, my son reported, this boy made up a new crayon color, sent it to Crayola, and they are going to start putting in their box of 64.

I had to explain to him that sometimes other people don’t always tell the truth.  “You mean he LIED??”, he asked, horrified.  “Well, this is more like a tall tale”, I told him.  So now he’s never sure he wants to tell me the latest from the tall tale teller, ’cause he knows I probably won’t believe him.  Bless his heart.

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No Cereal Bar Charleston Shrimp

Posted in Salads, Seafood by

shrimp salad

My husband’s favorite food is cereal.  He could eat it for every meal and snack, with a little chocolate thrown in for good measure, and never get tired of it.  Doesn’t allow me much room for creativity, does it?

Thankfully, he is willing to change it up at dinnertime and eat what I cook.  Lucky for him, he can now get his vitamins from something other than the powdered ones sprayed on his Cinnamon Toast Crunch.

His second favorite food is shrimp, which was his only request for our wedding reception (after being told we couldn’t have a cereal bar).  He loves them in any form (except jumbo) and any flavor, but loves them the most with a big helping of creamy grits.

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The Great Biscuit Debate #2 No Laziness Allowed

Posted in Breads by

biscuits 2

Okay, are y’all ready for some more biscuits?

This is the second batch I made in my ongoing quest for the perfect buttermilk biscuit.  You can find Batch Number One, made with unbleached all-purpose flour and shortening here.  Batch Number Two was made with bleached, enriched flour and shortening, and actually turned into sub-batch a & b (how disturbingly obsessive is this?).

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Barefoot Bloggers Bonus Recipe Brownie Pudding

Posted in Desserts by

brownie pudding

It really just blows my mind when I think about the number of books in the world.  I feel like I’m in a race to read as many as I can before I die.  There’s just not enough time.

That’s how I feel about recipes, too.  I have tons of cookbooks (and keep buying them!), piles of recipes I have clipped or printed out, a computer file of saved recipes, and a list of my own recipe ideas.  JUST NOT ENOUGH TIME!  I think I need some kind of a plan of action to help me tackle some of these recipes and gain a little sense of control in my kitchen.

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Monday Red Beans And Rice

Posted in Meats by

red beans and rice

Last summer I came across a reference online to a cookbook called Screen Doors and Sweet Tea by Martha Hall Foose, and well, the title had me at ‘screen doors’.  I promptly went to Amazon and ordered it, and it turned out to be even better than I imagined.

This book is full of traditional and contemporary Southern recipes from the author’s native Mississippi and I am slowly making my way through each one.  Since I love to read and to cook, I really enjoy cookbooks like this one that have stories and history along with the recipes. Continue reading →

Dear John Buttermilk Pound Cake

Posted in Desserts by

brown sugar pound cake

Dear Williams-Sonoma,

You are one of my favorite places to shop.  I love to look at your great selection of gourmet kitchen accessories and food products.  The recipes from your catalog and website are always exciting and delicious.  I have really enjoyed building a relationship with you.

It hurts me to say, however, that there is one thing that bothers me about your store that I just can’t get over.

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Back Porch Southern Sweet Tea Cocktail

Posted in Beverages by

Firefly cocktail

Finally, a light at the end of the long, cold, winter tunnel.  I do believe I suffer from SAD (Seasonal Affective Disorder), and would never make it anywhere farther north without a blue light.

After enduring a weekend of cold rain and two children with the flu, I think a celebration is in order.  With temperatures in the 70’s this weekend, I have cracked open my bottle of Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka, bought a few weeks ago with dreams of enjoying it on my back porch.

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I Miss You Fish Man Pecan-Crusted Tilapia

Posted in Seafood by

pecan crusted tilapia

In the town where we lived previously, I used to get my fish from a man who would travel on Thursday from Greensboro to Topsail Island and pick up loads of fish and shrimp and bring them back to sell on Friday and Saturday.  I discovered him one day set up across from the Farmer’s Market and bought some shrimp that turned out to be the best shrimp I had ever eaten.  After that I was hooked (pun intended).

I started getting all my seafood from “the fish man”, as my children called him, and would pick it up on Fridays after school (which caused no small amount of moaning and groaning in the back seat).  It was all fresh, never frozen, and top quality.  I found out that I could cook fish at home that tasted better than even what I ate at most restaurants.  Spoiled is what I would call it.

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The Great Biscuit Debate (and the search for the perfect buttermilk biscuit)

Posted in Breads by

biscuits-1

I don’t know what food embodies the South more than the Buttermilk Biscuit.  And just like most other foods of the South, the biscuit recipe is one that is handed down through generations and every family has their own way of making them.  A marriage in the South often leads to a little (or a lot) of argument discussion over what makes a good biscuit.

My mom’s mother could throw together a batch of biscuits in a matter of minutes, cutting hers out with a can and baking the scraps into little pieces for us to snack on.  My dad’s mother would use what I’ve seen referred to as the pinch method – she would pinch off pieces of dough, roll them up and flatten them in the pan with her knuckles.  My mother, a terrific cook and baker, was surprisingly not much of a biscuit maker, preferring the yeast roll or sometimes (gasp) biscuits that came from a can. Continue reading →

Don’t Shoot The Messenger Breakfast Tart

Posted in Breakfast by

breakfast tart
This is the time of year I begin to despise weather reporters.  All I want to hear when I watch the forecast is “Sunny, with a high of 69”, or something along those lines.  But what I get instead is “Freezing rain and snow, high 38.”  That’s when I growl and turn off the TV.

I know it’s not their fault, and it’s nothing personal, but who else can I take my frustrations out on?  I’ve had enough of putting on coats and sweaters and socks – oh, the endless socks I have to wash and sort in the winter!

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Barefoot Bloggers Meringues Chantilly

Posted in Desserts by

meringues chatilly 3

I can’t remember my mother or grandmothers ever making any kind of meringue when I was growing up.  They didn’t put meringue on top of their banana pudding, or make divinity.  In my foggy memory I think I might have made some kind of meringue dessert since I have been married, but it doesn’t stand out in my mind.

That should have been a hint…

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Muscle Building Homemade Mayo And Cashew Curry Chicken Salad

Posted in Meats, Salads, Sauces, Spreads by

cashew chicken salad

I was inspired to make my own mayonnaise this weekend.  Let me tell you, it was TOUGH ON THE FOREARM.  You have to whisk, whisk, whisk, the whole time you are S-L-O-W-L-Y adding the oil.  A cup and a half of oil didn’t seem like a lot to whisk at first, but I think it multiplied while I was working!  The kitchen got a little shower of oil when I found out I’m not quite as coordinated with my left hand.  It makes me wonder whether you could make it work in the ol’ Kitchenaid.  I’m trying that next time.

We don’t really use much mayonnaise in my house, actually, I’m the only one who eats it and not that often.  The husband has sworn it off, along with Chinese fast food and pretty much lunch altogether (it’s a lot like this).  I don’t tell him it’s in the pimento cheese.

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Coffee Love Yogurt Cake

Posted in Breakfast, Desserts by

yogurt-cake

I first started drinking coffee in college to help me stay awake at night so I could study longer.  I discovered, however, that it only helped me to sleep on the couch with a book in my lap longer.  I do love it still, especially the smell of freshly ground beans – I probably could just snort it right out of the coffee grinder!  (Maybe that would have worked better in college.)

I have heard all the health benefits that come from tea drinking, and I like hot tea, but it just can’t replace a fresh, hot cup of coffee in the morning.  I figure I’ll just get my ‘tea vitamins’ from ice tea.

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Low Maintenance Oven Roasted Butternut Squash

Posted in Sides, Vegetables by

butternut squash

Say hello to my newest favorite fall/winter vegetable, the butternut squash.  No offense to the sweet potato, which still carries me through the fall and winter with its sunny and warm disposition.  But now I can add another just as sunny and warm vegetable to my weekly grocery list.  It has all the things you could want – it’s healthy, tasty enough the kids will eat it, and easy to prepare.  Trust me, I’m not a fan of high maintenance vegetables.  Roasting it in the oven (my newest favorite way to cook vegetables) really takes it over the top.  If you haven’t already discovered the beauty of the  butternut squash, don’t put it off any longer!

Here are some great tips for preparing this jewel:

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Super Saturday Light And Crispy Waffles

Posted in Breakfast by

stawberrry waffles

Some Saturdays you just want to sleep in, then get up and have a big cup of coffee and lounge around reading, watching the food channel, doing some online shopping – mainly just being lazy.  These waffles are not for those Saturdays.

These waffles are for the Saturdays when you’ve had a good night’s sleep, and you wake up rested and ready to treat yourself (and the rest of your household) to some light, crispy, ready for the butter and syrup waffles.

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Chicken Of The Sea Herb Butter Scottish Salmon

Posted in Seafood by

herb butter salmon

Until just recently, my children knew of only two types of animal protein:  “chicken” and “meat”.  The chicken category included not only chicken, but also fish, pork and turkey.  And the meat category included beef, venison, and sometimes ham.  They were told to “eat your chicken” or “eat your meat”, no matter what it was.  This was mainly to avoid the whole “eeewww, I don’t like fish/pork/turkey” reply for as long as possible.

Apparently, Jessica Simpson’s mother never got past this point with Jessica, but we have now started to call things by their real name, and the kids have become curious as to where all their food comes from, so we have to tell them that, too.  And since they have eaten these things before and like them, they can’t really argue about eating it just because it has a strange name.

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Valentine’s Day Don’t Be Late Pink Velvet Cupcakes

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pink velvet cupcakes

When you live in a small town, often that means one road from your house to where ever you’re going.  And that often means you’re most likely to end up driving behind someone going at least five miles under the speed limit when you are running late for something, be it work, school, doctors’ appointments, karate lessons, whatever.  So it doesn’t help to be someone who is always ten minutes late for everything.

Unfortunately, that is the situation I find myself in quite often, therefore resulting in a lot of cussing (silently, so the children can’t hear) at those who left in plenty of time to get to where they’re going.  I have dreams of becoming one of those people, and I haven’t given up.

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Barefoot Bloggers Real Meatballs And Spaghetti

Posted in Meats, Pasta, Sauces by

meatballs and spaghetti

When I was a new bride, I already had a few dishes in my cooking repertoire, but I wanted to learn to make some of my husband’s favorite dishes, too.  So I asked his mother to teach me to make these recipes, and one of them was spaghetti.

Here’s what she puts in:  onion, ground beef, tomato sauce (sounds pretty ordinary so far, right?), ketchup, tomato soup, thyme, Worcestershire sauce, hot sauce, and 1/3 cup of sugar.  Not that it tastes bad or anything, I mean I had eaten it a few times before and it tasted fine, but not only is it way different than what I learned to make from my mother, but it’s almost like sacrilege to even call it spaghetti sauce, what with all the crazy things it contains.  My brain just can’t seem to accept it as spaghetti sauce.

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My Grandmother Was Green Peanut Noodle Salad

Posted in Pasta, Salads, Vegetarian by

peanut noodle salad

My Grandmother was green.

Not the Wicked Witch of the West, Elphaba Thropp kind of green, but the eco-friendly, earth-preserving kind of green.  She kept her thermostat turned way down in the winter and way up in the summer (if on at all).  She never let the water run while washing the dishes.  She hung her clothes on a clothes line.  She re-used plastic wrap and aluminum foil.  She had a garden that grew a lot of her food.  She used her coffee grounds and egg shells in her flower garden.  And she never threw away food.

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Snow Days Breakfast Casserole

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breakfast-casserole

When I was growing up, my family lived beside my grandparents.  I had an aunt and uncle that lived about two hours away in the country.  I remember that whenever there was a big snow, though, they were always at our Grandma’s.  I really didn’t think about it much at the time, my cousins and I were having too much fun playing and sledding and being out of school.  But when I got older I realized that they must have heard the forecast and started frantically packing everyone in the car to head to Grandma’s house so they wouldn’t be stuck out in the middle of nowhere with no power, no neighbors, and worse yet, no one to play with in the snow.

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World Tour Day Six Cranberry Pecan Scones

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cranberry scones

World Tour Day Six:  Great Britain.

The first time I had scones with real clotted cream and jam was in London at the hotel where we were staying.  I was very excited to sit for a proper afternoon tea and enjoy the formality of the tradition.  Even though I had eaten a nice lunch not long before, I was determined to have a pot of tea and scones while I was there, hungry or not!

I like a little tradition and I like a little formality now and then, too.  I have to say, I get a little frustrated with how casual and informal things have become.  I swear I was sitting beside a woman at the movies last night who was wearing her pajamas and bedroom slippers!  It just makes me a little uncomfortable.  I mean, if you want to watch a movie in your pj’s, get something from the movie store and stay home!  I’m really not interested in what you wear to bed.

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World Tour Day Five Almond Whiskey Sour Cocktail

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almond whiskey sour

World Tour Day Five:  Italy.

I am in search of a signature cocktail.  Something that I can order at any bar, or have someone make for me at their house, or that I can throw together at cocktail hour.  Something that is simple to make, includes a few fairly common ingredients, and that will please me when I’m not in the mood for a special drink.  And most of all, something that says “KAREN”.

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World Tour Day Four Salsa

Posted in Appetizers, Sauces by

salsa

World Tour Day Four:  Mexico.

When I was pregnant with my first child, this was what I craved.  A big bowl of salsa and some chips and I was good to go.  At the time, I was working three days a week and on those days I would suggest/coerce/force the girls in the office to go with me to the Mexican restaurant for lunch.  We would go to one of the many in the area, all named after some Jose – San Jose, Juan Jose, Don Jose – it didn’t matter which to me, as long as they kept the salsa bowl filled.  I know the girls were glad when my due date finally came.

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World Tour Day Two Hummus Dip

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hummus

Day Two of the World Tour:  The Middle East.  Or at least I think so.  It seems that hummus has been around so long, since pre-history even, that its origins aren’t exactly clear.  It is most widely credited to the Middle East, though, so that’s what I’m going with. If you’re interested in a brief history lesson on the subject, check out this site – The Straight Dope: Fighting Ignorance Since 1973 (its taken longer than we thought).

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World Tour Day One Tattie Scones

Posted in Breads, Breakfast by

tattie scones 2

I’ve been on a little bit of a cooking world tour lately.  Kind of like my rockin’ Rock Band 2 band, Crash Warning, with whom I’ve been traveling around the world on tour this weekend (I’m just a little bit addicted to this game, okay maybe a lot).  Probably it just has to do with the fact that I enjoy experimenting with different flavors from different cultures.  So this week I am going to write about some of the recipes from around the world that have made it onto my table recently.

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Parts Is Parts Venison Stew

Posted in Meats, Soups by

Venison Stew

My husband is a hunter.  It’s his hobby, pastime, passion.  He brings home the bacon in both senses.  And I like the idea of getting some of our meat from the wild instead of a grocery store.

I was raised, however, in the era of the cleaned and washed, plastic wrapped, part-labeled meat package.  Very neat and tidy with no confusion as to what piece of meat you have.  To my dismay, the person who does the packaging of the meat my husband brings him is not too concerned with which part is which, there are no labels at all.  Obviously, to him “parts is parts”.

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Barefoot Bloggers Cheese, Cheese And More Cheese

Posted in Appetizers by

cheese platter

The summer my husband and I got married, we went on a trip to Paris.  I was in food heaven.  Crusty bread with every meal, wine all the time, and cheese, cheese, and more cheese.  At restaurants the waiters would come around with the cheese tray so you could pick which cheeses you wanted and they would just slice some onto your plate to eat with your crusty bread.  It was cheese bliss.

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Rapper GP Turkey Olive Panini

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Olive Turkey Panini

We have what I call a small zoo at our house.  Two dogs, a bunny and a guinea pig that all eat, drink and make waste, to put it mildly.  The kids have to be reminded quite often who these animals belong to and whose responsibility they are.  We have threatened to give away said animals quite often, also.  But as I was looking through my photos this weekend, I discovered that the animals do find a way to get a little attention.  This was just too funny not to share. Continue reading →