Saturday, January 20, 2007

Black Forest Brownies

Trust me. It tastes better than it looks.

I’m a pretty crappy baker.  Mostly because I tend to treat recipes as a jumping off point for improvization.  Unfortunately, baking takes no truck with people who wing it.  The sheer number of failed cakes, resolutely reclining souffles and other atrocities prove that I have no business creating any baked goods. I’ve had some good luck with brownies lately judging by the lack of complaints and Emergency Room visits from my food testing lab rats co-workers.

Oh… kinda funny story here. As I was buying sour cream for the topping (the stuff I had on hand had passed it’s expiration a good 2 1/2 years ago), a little kid looked at me with total disgust and said “Yuk! Why do you want to buy cream if it’s already sour?” Also if anyone has recipes for drinks made using kirschwasser that don’t taste worse than an unwashed urinal mint*, would you mind sharing them? I have an entire bottle of it that I don’t have any idea what to do with.

1 Cup All-purpose Flour
1/2 tsp Salt
3/4 Cup Butter
1/2 Cup Unsweetened cocoa
2 Tbs Kirsch (optional)
1 3/4 Cups Sugar, divided
3 tsp Vanilla extract, divided
4 large Eggs, beaten
3/4 Cup Dried cherries
1 Tub Sour cream (16 oz)

Preheat oven to 350; grease a 13” x 9” baking pan. Whisk flour and salt together in a small bowl.

Melt butter over low heat in a large saucepan, then remove from heat. Whisk in cocoa until smooth. Add kirsch, 1 1/2 cups sugar, and 2 teaspoons of the vanilla. Continue whisking until all liquid is mixed in, then add the beaten eggs. Keep whisking until combined.  Add flour and stir with a spatula until well blended. Toss in teh dried cherries and mix them in as well.

Pour batter into pan and spread evenly.  Bake about 20-25 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out fairly clean.

While the brownie is baking, combine the sour cream, the remaining 1/4 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla.  Spread topping onto the brownie and put back into the oven for a bout 5 more minutes, or until the topping is set.

Cool on a wire rack and garnish with chopped semi-sweet chocolate if desired. 

* The only drink recipe on the bottle’s label called for 1 oz kirsch and 1 oz gin over ice and topping it off with grapefruit juice.

Vile.

Absolutely vile.

Tuesday, January 16, 2007

Southern Iced Tea

Everybody loves a good glass of iced tea on a hot day. Here's a great recipe I got from a friend of mine who lives in Kentucky. You're going to love it!

Sweet Tea:

Bring 3-4 cups of water to a boil.
Add a pinch of baking soda to the water and add 6 tea bags.
Remove from heat and cover.
Allow to sit for at least 10-15 minutes.
Pour into gallon pitcher and add sugar to taste. Then fill with cold water. Refrigerate. (There's no quantity for sugar listed since everybody has a different taste for sweetness.)

*the soda takes out the bitterness and darkens the tea....this small amount doesnt change the taste.

Several years ago I discussed a special promotion from Adagio Teas. At the time, being an up and coming company, they were giving away their fabulous IngenuiTea teapot with a sampler set of six teas for a link. I added a link on this site at the time and it remains here still because this company is fabulous. That teapot is so cool! You have to try it to believe it. I love mine and their English Breakfast tea is to die for.

Right now if you visit CouponChief you can get free shipping on all orders over $75. You really want to take advantage of this.

If you love tea as much as I do, you really ought to take a look at the IngenuiTea pot. It's just awesome. So go to Coupon Chief and check out the Adagio's Teas free shipping coupon!

This is in part, a sponsored post.

Thursday, January 11, 2007

Bean and chili bake

2 pounds dried small lima beans
1/4 pound bacon, cut into strips
2 Tablespoons Olive oil
2 pounds italian sausage (I like hot italian)
3 medium onions, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
3 Tablespoons chili powder
1 Tablespoon ground cumin
1/2 Tablespoon powdered mustard
2 cans crushed tomatoes (14.5 oz can)
1/3 cup Red wine vinegar
2 Tablespoons Worchestershire sauce
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf

It's chili-licious!

Soak dried beans overnight, then drain.

Put beans and bacon into a large pot and fill with water to cover. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for 1-1/2 to 2 hours, or until beans are tender. Drain beans and reserve cooking water.

In another large pot (or the one you've just emptied and washed) heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add sausage and saute until evenly browned, breaking into coarse chunks as you go. Add onions and garlic. Saute several minutes more, or until onions are translucent.

Add Chili powder, cumin, and dried mustard. saute for another minute or so before adding tomaties, vinegar, Worchestershire sauce salt, pepper 1 1/2 cups of reserved bean liquid and bay leaf. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for another 30 minutes.

preheat oven to 375. Stir beans and chili together in a shallow baking dish (note: I had to use two pans). Add more bean water if more moisture is needed to keep beans covered. Bake for an hour, adding more bean water occasionally if the beans look like they're drying out.

Serves 12-16

Substitutions:

1. Any kind of beans would work, but keep with the dried beans. The remaining starch in the water acts as a thickening agent when it's used later in the chili and during baking to keep things from getting too soupy.

2. Instead of dried mustard, I used 2 or 3 spoonfuls of prepared dijon instead. It gave a bit of a sweeter taste with less bite than the dried mustard did.

3. not really a substitution, but when slicing the bacon, I removed large amounts of the fat streaks that otherwise would have been soaked into the beans. The remaining fat on the bacon still gave a nice smokey flavor to the beans.

Monday, January 08, 2007

Deviled Chicken Thighs

Serves four

I modified this recipe from the Ship to Shore charter yacht cookbook to feed fewer people and to suit the ingredients I had on hand.

It's a great recipe that uses few ingredients, can be prepared in a quite small kitchen, looks great and tastes delicious.

The ship to Shore cookbooks are a wonderful resource for anyone with limited space who still wants to create tasty meals with just a few ingredients.
(Disclaimer: I do not make any money from the sale of the above-mentioned cookbook. I just really like its overall simplicity and the recipes.)



Ingredients:
1 package chicken thighs, bone-in
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 Tbs lemon or lime juice (I like key limes for their tartness)
1 clove garlic, minced
Hot sauce (Marie Sharp's Fiery Red Hot Habanero Pepper Sauce is my brand of choice after a sojurn in Belize), salt and pepper to taste

1 cup panko bread crumbs (1 cup crushed saltines were used in the original, but panko makes the coating much lighter and crunchier)
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp dry mustard, plus a dab more
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
3/4 stick butter, melted

In a large bowl, combine sour cream, juice, garlic, pepper sauce, salt and pepper.

Skin thighs and add to marinade, coating them. marinade for one hour or overnight in the fridge (recommended)

Combine Panko (or saltines), thyme, mustard, paprika and cayenne and mix well.

Dredge each thigh in the coating mixture and place in a buttered, shallow baking pan and drizzle with melted butter.

Cook at 375 for for 35 minutes or until browned and tender.

Tuesday, January 02, 2007

Derby-ish Pie

An adaptation of the traditional Derby Pie served at Derby Parties. Best served with coffee rather than a mint julep, but that's up to you.

For Crust:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 Tbsp sugar
1/2 Tbsp salt
6 Tbsp cold butter, cut into small pieces
2 Tbsp cold shortening, cut into small pieces

For filling
1 Cup sugar
6 Tbsp flour
8 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp bourbon or vanilla extract
1 cup pecans or walnuts, coarsely chopped
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips.

For the crust:
Sift flour, sugar and salt together into a mixing bowl. Work butter and shortening into flour with a pastry cutter or two knives until it takes on a coarse, mealy texture. Sprinkle in up to 4 Tbsp ice water, stirring with a fork until it just starts to hold together. Press dough inot a ball, then transfer to a floured surface. Knead dough several times, roll it into a ball, then flatten into a disk. dust with flour, wrap in plastic and toss in the fridge for an hour.

Preehat oven to 325. Remove dough from fridge and allow to come to room temperature before rolling out into an 11 inch round. Lay dough into bottom of a 9 inch pie pan, crimping the edges. Prick the bottom lightly all over.

For filling:
Combine sugar and flour in a medium bowl and mix together. stir in butter and eggs; mixing till it reaches a creamy consistancy. Stir in whiskey, then add chopped nuts and chocolate chips and mix well. Pour filling into pie crust and bake till crust is golden and filling is set, about 50 to 60 minutes. The filling will create a light crust over the top of the pie.

Allow to cool a bit before serving. May be served cold, but if served while slightly warm, you'll get the full benefit of the gooey filling and melted chocolate.

Saturday, December 30, 2006

Kinda quick Coq au vin

Ingredients:
4 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 3-3 1/2 pound chicken (or whatever parts you like)
5 thick slices of bacon
20 pearl onions, peeled
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup red wine (wine that you would actually drink, not cheap swill)
2 Tbsp brandy (optional)
2 Tbsp tomato paste
2 tsp dried thyme
1/2 pound smallish mushrooms, sliced if you want
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour

Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet or dutch oven over medium heat. Add the chicken in one layer and fry until about 7-10 minutes, or until browned. Move the chicken to a platter. Remove all but two Tablespoons of the from the pan. Return it to the stove.

Add the bacon and onions to the skillet and saute until the onions begin to brown. Add the minced garlic and saute for another minute. Stir in the chicken broth, wine, thyme and tomato paste. Plae chicken back in the skillet and bring to boil. Cover, reduce heat to a simmer and cook for about half an hour, or until chicken is tender to the fork.

Remove the chicken to the platter again. Add mushrooms to the skillet and simmer another 10 minutes. While that's simmering, blend the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and the flour until you have paste. Add the paste to the broth and stir until it thickens (about 1-2 minutes). Before returning the chicken to the skillet, I usually remove the fat from the broth and any remaining fat and skin the chicken at this point.

Put the chicken back into the skillet and simmer another 5 minutes or so

Serve directly from the skillet, or place chicken, onions and mushrooms on a platter and pour the gravy/sauce on top.

Serves four

Suggested cooking music: Dig out your Edith Piaf compilation and a pack of Gauloises

Tuesday, December 26, 2006

Roasted chicken with tomatoes and garlic

This is really easy to make, but it looks and tastes impressive enough to serve to company.

4 chicken leg quarters or 4 each thighs and legs
Kosher salt
pepper
1 bunch basil, chopped
1 pint grape tomatoes
3 roma tomatoes, quartered
1 head garlic, broken down into cloves and peeled
1 Serrano chili, chopped fine
5 or 6 new potatoes, sliced
Olive oil

preheat oven to 350. Season chicken with pepper and kosher salt, then place into baking pan or dutch oven.

Scatter tomatoes on top of chicken, followed by the garlic, basil, chili pepper and potatoes. Drizzle olive oil over top and mix ingredients up, making sure to get at least some of the tomatoes and garlic under the chicken.

Bake uncovered for 1 1/2 hours. The chicken skin should be crispy and meat cooked through.

serve as is, reserving some of the garlic cloves to spread on bread if desired.

Variations: Omit potatoes. Serve chicken with noodles on the side, using cooking broth as a sauce.

Saturday, December 16, 2006

Chicken Carbonara

1 lb. linguini
4 oz. bacon, diced
1 med. onion, diced
1 1/2 c. heavy cream
2 chicken breasts, cut in strips
2 tbsp. butter
1/2 c. grated roman cheese
Salt and pepper, to taste
4 egg yolks
Some chopped parsley

Cook linguini in boiling water until al dente. Meanwhile, in large saucepan saute the bacon bits until golden. Drain off some drippings; add butter, chicken strips and onion, and cook until chicken is tender.

Drain linguini and place into pan with chicken. Add cream, salt and pepper, stir well over heat until just boiling. Add the cheese and egg yolks. Turn off heat, stir well. Place on dish, top with chopped parsley; serve immediately.

Key Lime Cake

1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 3/4 c. all purpose flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2/3 c. heavy cream
1 Key lime, with grated rind and juiced to make 1 tablespoon Key lime juice
Enough key limes to make 1/2 c. juice. (about 4.)
1 (6 cup) bundt pan or 8 inch square cake pan, 2 inches deep

For Glaze:

1/2 c. Key lime juice
1 c. confectioners' sugar

Grease bundt pan very well. Preheat oven to 350°.

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together.

Cream the butter until smooth. Gradually add the sugar, beating until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time, and continue to beat. Alternately add the flour and the cream into the egg mixture, starting and ending with the flour. Mix in the Key lime rind and 1 tablespoon juice.

Spoon the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 20 minutes. Cover the top loosely with a piece of the foil to prevent, burning and continue to bake for another 20 minutes. The cake is done when a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean, and the cake starts to pull away from the side. Remove from the oven and let stand 10 minutes. Turn out onto a cake rack to cool.

Meanwhile, prepare the glaze by mixing the 1/2 cup Key lime juice and the confectioners' sugar together until smooth. While the cake is still warm, slowly spoon the glaze over the top of the cake so that all of the liquid is absorbed. If you place a plate under the cake rack to catch the glaze that runs off, the drippings can be reapplied until all of the liquid has been absorbed. Before serving, sprinkle with additional confectioners' sugar.

Makes 8 servings.

Sunday, December 10, 2006

Italian style pork stew

Yummy!

1 lb boneless pork roast

1 tsp rosemary

1/2 tsp thyme

2 bay leaves

1 tsp oregano

4-6 potatoes, cut into thick slices

1 cup tomato sauce

3/4 lb italian sausage

1 onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, chopped

3-5 sun-dried tomatoes + some of the oil

1-2 cup mixed vegetables (optional)

salt to taste

1 glass of red wine

olive oil


Put some olive oil in a frying pan and get it good and hot. Toss the pork in. If it doesn't sizzle alot, the pan isn't hot enough. Brown the roast on each side, including the ends. This'll take 15-20 minutes but it's worth it, so get up a half hour earlier than you usually do for work. When the meat is nice and brown and with any luck has left little bits and peices stuck to the pan, take it out and put it on a plate. Add a little more oil if necessary and both the onions and garlic. Cook until the onions are soft, turning golden, and the smell of onions and garlic fill the kitchen. Turn up the heat and add the red wine to deglaze the pan, making sure to scrape up all the tasty bits stuck to the pan. Once youthink that you've got them all scraped up and you think that it's not going to be too hard to clean the pan out, turn off the heat while you fill the crockpot.

First, put the potatoes in the bottom of the crock. If they're really big slices, I recommend cutting the slices in half so they fit better in your spoon later withoug having to break them down in your bowl. Next pour in your onion/garlic/wine mixture, sprinkling with herbs and topping with the two bay leaves. Toss the pork in and top the whole mess off with a couple glasses of water. the amount will depend on how full it'll make your crockpot.

Put the lid on and set the crockpot on low heat for ten hours, or high if you've got a short workday and want it in about six hours.

Hie yourself off to work or wherever, remembering to lock the door behind you as you leave.

When you get home, stop for a minute inside the door and groove on the delicious smells coming from your kitchen. An hour before you're ready to eat, carefully take the roast from the pot and place in a bowl. Let cool for a moment, then seperate the meat into largish chunks while removing the nasty bits of gristle or chunks of fat. Chop up the tomatoes and add to the pot along with the reserved packing oil, pork and tomato sauce. At this point, you should also add the frozen mixed vegetables if you're using them. Fry up the italian sausage in a pan until most of the grease is in the pan instead of in the sausage. Drain and add to the pot as well.

Keep warm until you're ready to eat. Serve with a good crusty bread and grated parmesan cheese.


Note: this could easily be turned into a mexican, moroccan or, god help us, an English style dish by substituting the appropriate ingredients. Who says it's not fun to play with your food?

Thursday, November 30, 2006

Asparagus Risotto

2 1/2 C low sodium chicken or vegetable broth (vegetable broth makes this a vegan dish)
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
4 tbsp onions, finely chopped
1 tsp lemon zest, grated
3/4 C short-grain rice (risotto)
1 Lb asparagus spears, fresh, cleaned and cut into 1" lengths

Pour stock into saucepan. Bring to boil and let simmer over low heat.

In a heavy skillet, saute garlic and onions in water or small amount of stock over low heat until onions turn soft. Add lemon zest and rice. Stir with a fork until rice is well coated. Add one cup warm stock; cook over low heat until liquid is absorbed, stirring occasionally with a fork. Repeat with another cup of stock. Then add remaining 1/2 C stock. When absorbed, rice should be done.

Steam asparagus and add to risotto just before serving.

Thursday, November 23, 2006

Green beans with viniagrette dressing

Serves four

I got this from one of Jamie Oliver's cookbooks. It's damn good and simple to make.

4 handfuls of green beans, stem ends snapped off
2-3 tsp ground dry mustard
2 T white wine vinegar
7 T extra virgin olive oil
Salt and ground pepper
1 med shallot, diced finely

Optional:
1 T Capers, drained and rinsed
1/2 clove garlic, crushed

Bring water to boil and add beans. Cook for 405 minutes, or just past the "squeak on your teeth" stage.

While the beans are cooking, combine vinegar and mustard in a bowl, and while stirring, add the olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, add shallots and capers, and garlic.

Test beans. If it's still hold it's shape but is soft enough to not squeak, drain the rest and toss with the dressing.

Serve hot as a side dish or warm as a salad in a bowl.

Wednesday, November 15, 2006

Easy muffins

1 pint vanilla ice cream, softened
2 cups self-rising flour, sifted

Preheat oven to 350. Blend ice cream and flour until flour is moistened and a lumpy batter forms. Fill 10 greased muffin cups about 3/4 full. Bake for 20 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into muffin comes out dry.

Recipe works well with any creamy ice cream, ie, no ben & Jerry's Chubby Hubby or the like.

Tuesday, November 14, 2006

Pressed smoked turkey sandwich

Two hot skillets work kind of like a sandwich or panini press to make a perfectly toasted and pressed sandwich. No extra expense to buy and one less gadget to find space to store.

2 slices bread
1/4 pound sliced smoked turkey breast
1 or 2 slices Provolone cheese
Olive oil
Assorted vegetable to taste (tomatoes, onions, pickles, etc)

Heat two cast iron skillets over medium-high heat. When good and hot, remove both skillets from heat. Spray or brush one side of a slice of your bread with olive oil before placing oiled side down in skillet # one.

Layer sliced turkey onto bread and place your condiments or toppings onto turkey and top with slices of cheese. Oil the other slice of bread and place on top of sandwich.

Place skillet #two on top of sandwich and let stand for 4-5 minutes and you can hear the cheese sizzle as it melts.

Remove the top skillet (you may need a spatula if you didn't get oil onto all the bread) and place sandwich on plate.

Enjoy!

Friday, November 03, 2006

Easy Cheesy Puffs

Ingredients:
1 Cup water
2 T butter
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1 Cup all-purpose flour
4 Eggs
1 1/4 Cups shredded Swiss cheese
1 T Dijon mustard
1/4 Cup grated Parmesan
1/2 T Cayenne (if desired)

Bring water, butter, salt and 1/8 tsp cayenne to a boil in a large saucepan. While waiting for it to boil, mix the parmesan and remaining cayenne together. Add flour to boiling mixture in the saucepan all at once and stir until you get a large ball of dough. Move off of cooktop and transfer to a mixing bowl. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each. Continue beating until mixture is smooth and shiny. Stir in cheese and mustard; mix well.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a greased baking sheet, making sure they are about two inches apart. Sprinkle with parmesan/cayenne mix. Bake in 425 degree oven for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

Makes about four dozen.

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