on-the-table

Nachos!

Thu, 03 Sep 2009 23:33:44 +0100

1 lb ground beef

1 Can beans (I like 'em Black)

1 can sliced olives

LOTS of Cheese (Tillamook Med Cheddar It even comes in a pre-shredded variety for week night quick meals)

1 Tub Tillamook Sour Cream (Their Light tastes AWESOME but the Regular is AWESOMER!*)

Salsa

Chopped Cilantro

Optional: Guacamole

Tortilla Chips

1 packet of your favorite Taco Seasoning mix. (I like McCormick's you can get a year's supply at COSTCO)

Brown Ground Beef Add Packet mix plus ¾ cups water, (If you're using a different brand of Taco Seasoning, follow packet instructions). Add drained beans. Let simmer until barely wet.

Line a Cookie sheet with aluminum foil spread a layer of tortilla chips on the covered pan, then evenly distribute Taco Meat Mixture. Sprinkle liberally with shredded cheese. Broil for 2-3 minutes until cheese is melted and chips are toasted and warm.

Plate a serving and then sprinkle cilantro, add salsa, guacamole, sour cream and garnish with olives and then, eat up!

My husband says he loves everything I make, but he always says "THAT WAS AWESOME" when he's done devouring the plate, and he jealously hoards the leftovers. J

Home Made Pizza Dough

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 20:49:17 +0100

Home Made Pizza Dough

2/3 cup water (warm from the tap is fine)

1tsp sugar

2 ¼ tsps. Active Dry Yeast or one packet Active Dry Yeast. (I prefer Red Star)

2 2/3 Cups All purpose Flour

2-3tsps kosher salt

1-3 tsps Olive Oil

Combine warm tap water and sugar in measuring cup. Sprinkle yeast over water and allow yeast to activate for 20 minutes prior to use. If no "Action" is observed after two minutes try again with warmer water and fresh yeast.

Pulse flour and salt together in the working bowl of a food processor. Add yeast mixture and pulse until dough comes together. Drizzle olive oil into the bowl and pulse 3-4 times. Remove from bowl and allow to rise in a warm draft free place and allow to double in size prior to rolling out or tossing by hand to create a tasty pizza dough. Top as desired and bake at 450 -500 degrees F for 8- 10 minutes. For thin crust divide dough in half to make 2 crusts.

Butternut Squash Soup

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 20:47:10 +0100

I modified a recipe from the food network. "Sara's Secrets" adding 1/2 cup of white wine to the onions and garlic prior to adding squash and liquid ingredients. Instead of croutons, (because I forgot to buy them) I toasted some sour dough bread I had hanging out in the freezer. 2 tablespoons olive oil 2 small onions, sliced 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced 3 cups chopped peeled butternut squash 3 cups water 2 cups apple cider Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper Your favorite store-bought croutons, such as Parmesan and black pepper Heat the oil in a soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and cook, stirring, until soft, about 6 minutes. Add the squash, water, and cider and season with salt and pepper. Bring the soup to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, until the squash is tender, about 30 minutes. Using an immersion blender, puree the soup until smooth. Divide the soup among bowls and garnish with the croutons. Serve immediately.

Chicken Corn Soup

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 20:45:42 +0100

This is a recipe I made for our church Mission's Conference Luncheon. It's tasty!

Recipe from: FBC-Kirkland Deaconess Board

Chicken Corn Soup

1 Whole Chicken- in pieces

4 cups water

4 whole cloves garlic

1 small onion sliced

2 T olive oil or vegetable oil

3-4 chicken bouillon cubes

1tsp Kosher Salt

1tsp black pepper

1 can of whole kernel corn drained and barely pulsed in the food processor 1-2 pulses or "hit"(start at the top and turn on the blender and push down to the bottom of the can.) it once in the can with the immersion blender. (that's how I did it)

1 T Tamari Soy sauce or regular soy sauce (I prefer Tamari in soup because of the strong flavor.

1T Hot Chili Sauce (the orange kind with the rooster on the bottle)

3-6 T Masa Harina flour (corn flour)

2 eggs

Begin broth by heating oil in the bottom of the soup pot. When hot sauté onions and whole cloves of garlic until fragrant. (Aprox. 2 minutes) Add water, bring to boil add chicken pieces. Add bouillon cubes, salt and pepper and cover loosely and reduce heat to medium. Cook until chicken is tender. Aprox 30-45 minutes.
Remove Chicken and shred. Original recipe calls for straining the broth, but why waste all that onion/garlicy goodness? Instead use the immersion blender to liquefy ingredients which will help thicken the broth!
Measure out broth and add water to equal 9 cups.
Add Corn and shredded Chicken and bring to a boil. Add Tamari, and Chili Sauce
In ½ cup cold water add 3 T corn flour and combine, whisk into soup and allow to boil. Repeat 1T flour to 1/8^th cup water until desired thickness is achieved. Remember to boil between additions for several minutes to evaluate thickness!
Lightly beat the eggs and pour into pot stirring in one direction. (this creates that beautiful egg ribbon effect that resembles "Egg flower soup"

A few tasty variations might be: Cilantro, Thai Basil, or sliced Jalapeño Pepper.

My husband wants me to make Corn Bread as an accompaniment for next time, tortilla chips also go well with this dish. Curried Naan would be another interesting idea.

Pumpkin Mascarpone Pie

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 20:42:36 +0100

Bon Appétit Magazine November 2007 pg 175

Crust: Adaptation from the B.A. Recipe: Cook's Illustrated: ½ Recipe of "Fool Proof Pie Dough"

Filling:

1 Cup Fresh Pumpkin (Bake 1 Sugar Pie Pumpkin for 40 minutes at 350 and scoop out the squash and puree until smooth.)

1 Cup packed Golden Brown Sugar

2 Lg. Eggs 1 tsp. Fresh Lemon Juice 1 tsp. ground cinnamon 1 tsp. ground ginger ½ tsp. ground ginger ½ tsp. vanilla extract ¼ tsp ground cloves ¼ tsp salt 1 8oz tub mascarpone cheese (Itallian Cream Cheese)

Method: Pre heat oven to 350 degrees F

Using electric mixer beat pumpkin and sugar until well blended. Add eggs, spices, lemon juice and vanilla; beat until blended. Add Mascarpone cheese and beat just until mixture is smooth. Transfer to prepared pie crust and bake until custard is set. Aprox. 55 min.

Fool Proof Pie Dough Cook's Illustrated

2 ½ Cups All Purpose Flour 1t. Salt 12 T COLD unsalted butter cut into ¼" pieces (or freeze then grate with box grater and refreeze) ½ cup cold shortening cut into 4 pieces ¼ C. Cold Water ¼ C. Cold Vodka (Top Shelf is a MUST)

Process 1 ½ c. flour, salt, and sugar in food processor until combined. (about 2 1second pulses) Add butter and shortening. Process until homogenous dough just starts to collect in clumps. (aprox 15 seconds.) Scrape bowl and redistribute evenly around the blade. Add remaining cup of flour and pulse until mixture is evenly distributed around the bowl and mass of dough has been broken up (4-6 quick pulses) Empty into med bowl. Sprinkle water and vodka over mixture with rubber spatula use folding motion to mix. Pressing down dough until dough is slightly tacky and sticks together well. Divide dough into two balls and flatten into 4" disks wrap in plastic; chill for at least 45 minutes or up to two days. My friend Christine discovered this dough and we decided to give it a try after several foiled attempts at traditional pie dough. The Vodka allows you to make totally hydrated dough that isn't tough from the extra liquid. It's the easiest pie dough to roll out and handle and is tender and flaky to the bite. It is like a pie miracle. Even a first timer can get this dough right and look like a genius. Happy Pie Making and Happy Thanksgiving!

Gingersnaps

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 20:38:12 +0100

Sue Albright, my friend Shanna's mom, made the most awesome gingersnaps in the whole world. Whenever I went over to their house, I'd check the cupboard for the Gingersnap Tupperware. Sue would make them at random times throughout the year, but they Always showed up around Christmas, so in my mind they are "Christmas Cookies". After I got married, I lost touch with my friends from Medford, OR. So much had happened, and I was trying to get used to married life and then we moved even farther away to Seattle, and it seemed like I'd never get back in touch. Anyway, I did eventually call her and as irony works, my friend said, "I just made Gingersnaps and I was thinking about you!" Well, I'd been thinking of her and those cookies for five years! A few months later Shanna and Sue came up this way on their way to Alaska to visit Shanna's brother Wade, and on the way up they called me with a shopping list of things to buy. When they got to the ginger and the cinnamon I squealed, "Are we making cookies???" They laughed and told me to get to work, the dough had to chill for at least four hours before baking, and the baking is the hard part.

Sue and Shanna Albright's Gingersnaps:

¾ Cup Butter Flavored Crisco

2-2 ½ Cups All Purpose Flour (if mixing by hand 2 cups, if using a mixer add up to ½ cup more flour)

½ Cup Sugar ½ Cup Brown Sugar

½ tsp. Salt

¼ Cup Full Flavor Molasses (Dark Molasses)

1lg. egg

2 tsp. baking soda

¼ tsp. Ground Cloves

1 tsp each Ground Cinnamon and Ground Ginger

½ cup sugar and 1 T cinnamon to cover dough balls in before baking. Mix together, combine flour and baking soda, then I usually cream the sugars into the butter and then add the egg and spices, and add the flour gradually, but in theory you could just dump and run, and then add a little flour at the end if it's too sticky.

Refrigerate at least 4 hours, Roll dough into balls and then roll in a cinnamon and sugar mixture, then bake at 350, using a test cookie to determine average baking time. In my oven it was 11 minutes and 30 seconds per batch. For me it's easier to fuss with the time than the temperature, but you could go up or down 10 degrees if you know your oven bakes hot or cooler.

Cookies can be the test of one's mettle in the kitchen. Chocolate chip and Oatmeal are easy, but if you have a temperamental oven, even those can be a bit of a challenge. Then you find cookies like these that are so good, but a little testy in the baking area. Too much flour and they're too stiff, too little and they don't crack, and then if you bake them a minute too long, they're hard.

Tips for success: When using a stand mixer add the 2 cups of flour and then add 1/8^th (no more than ½ a cup) of a cup at a time until the dough has a barely tacky consistency. Chill at least 4 hours before you bake them, overnight is best. Use a cookie dough scoop to get uniform cookie sizes; it's easier to bake them evenly if they're all the same size. Bake a test cookie before you commit to a whole batch, you may need to add more flour and re-chill.

Then, clean up the kitchen, pour yourself a cup of tea and a couple of cookies, and enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Spaghetti With Browned Butter and Mizythra Cheese

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 20:36:24 +0100

I have to say, this is one of those "I can throw this together in 10-12 minutes" recipes. Cuz there are three ingredients. And you can do everything in the time it takes to boil the Pasta.

Put Pot of water on stove, Boil.

While water is coming to boil, obliterate the Mizithra Cheese (A creamy, salty delicious sheep's milk cheese) in a food processor until it's fine. (ready grated is available, but I've only seen it a few places.)

Throw 1 pound of Spaghetti noodles or Spagettini(thin spaghetti which I like better than spaghetti) into the pot and cook 10-12 minutes or by the package instructions. *Barilla really is better than the store brand, but the imported macaroni from places like Trader Joe's are less expensive and produce equally good results, (perfectly aldente and separate noodles; no noodle clumps.)

Put 1/2 stick of butter in a small sauce pan or frying pan and heat over med heat until butter solids are golden brown. (I use Tillamook Salted, it has a nice mildly nutty flavor when browned, and when I use other butter*, my husband notices, I'm convinced the solid concentration has something to do with it)

When Pasta is done, drain it and return it to the pot, toss with the browned butter and serve in portions on plates, top with the Mizithra Cheese and a little bit of dried basil for color and "Presto!" A quick dinner that tastes as good as it smells. Add a tossed green salad and you've got a real winner!

* other butters: Kirkland brand non-organic butter from Costco, and generic QFC Butter.
**Margarine doesn't brown and should not be substituted for Butter in this recipe, splurge with the real deal!

Pork Tenderloin

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 20:33:08 +0100

Preheat oven to 425

Glaze:

¼ cup apricot preserves (I used Trader Joe's brand which is organic and has less sugar than most) 2 T. Dijon mustard (I used the generic non version and it was just fine) 1 t. Dried thyme Stir together in a small bowl and spread liberally over 1lb pork tenderloin

Roast on a prepared sheet pan for 20-30 minutes or until an internal temperature of 160 degrees is reached. There may be some pink in the middle, but this is the FDA approved temperature for pork muscle meat.

Apricot Apple Sauce: 4-6 tart apples (I'd purchased some Lady Alice at the store and was unimpressed by their mouth feel when raw, but they worked out just fine for the sauce)Peel and cut into ½ inch pieces. ½ cup Apricot preserves 1/8^th cup sugar 2 tsp cinnamon

Asiago Cheese (crumbled coarsely, Trader Joes has sliced Asiago, which breaks up nicely and is YUMMY on sandwiches!)

Pile the apples into a medium sized sauce pan dump in the preserves, sugar and cinnamon and cook at medium with the lid on the pan for about 20 minutes stirring occasionally. Then cook uncovered for 20 minutes on low to reduce. When the Pork is done, slice thinly and top with sauce, sprinkle with crumbled cheese. I paired it up with a very non- gourmet frozen veggie medley, but it would be awesome with asparagus or broccoli. Zucchini in the summer would be good too!

Lentil Soup

Tue, 18 Aug 2009 20:29:29 +0100

I modified this recipe from this one I found on the web. I haven't explored this site very much, so I'm not sure exactly how reputable they are, I usually snoop around and compare recipe's that I know with the ones they have posted, but in this case, I just looked at a couple of different sites' recipe's and decided this one was easy enough to put my own spin on. I've been visiting a Mediterranean place for lunch with the girls from work and the Lentil Soup is fabulous, this one sounded like a similar flavor, so I dove in!

1-2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, chopped into a medium dice
1/2 red pepper, chopped into a small dice
2 and 1/2 cups green/brown lentils
6 cups water (I used 4 cups chicken broth plus 2 cups water.)
1/8 teaspoon allspice (I used twice as much all spice, because I love the flavor)
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspooon cinnamon
1 and 1/2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
6 cloves garlic, pressed and mixed with 1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
1/4 cup lemon juice

Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven, then stir in the onion and sauté until it begins to brown. Stir in the red pepper and sauté two more minutes. Stir in the lentils, coating with the oil, then pour in the water. Bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook for 40 minutes. Stir in the allspice, cumin, cinnamon, salt, and black pepper, re-cover, and cook for 20 more minutes.
In the meantime, prepare the garlic blend. If you don't want to press the garlic, you can always puree it with the oil and water in a blender. When you are ready to serve, and after at least 20 minutes have passed, stir in the chopped cilantro. Turn off the heat, stir in the garlic blend, and cover, letting the flavors steep for a minute or two. Stir in the lemon juice, check the seasoning, and get ready to serve. Top with grated mizithra cheese.