Cooking

“Chopped” at Home

Posted on by Amy

My very favorite TV show is “Chopped” on The Food Network. If you haven’t seen it, it’s a show with 4 chefs as “contestants.” They have to cook three courses for the judges: appetizer, entree, and dessert, and they have to use each of the 4 ingredients provided in the “mystery basket” for each course. They mystery ingredients are usually pretty kooky and they don’t know what they’ll be until they open the basket, right before they have a limited time to cook their dish (20 minutes for an appetizer and 30 minutes each for the entree and dessert rounds). Fruit Loops in an entree. Miso paste in a dessert. Gummi bears, rice cakes, powdered strawberry milk, and on and on. It’s not uncommon for there to be ingredients I’ve never heard of in the baskets. After the chefs cook their dishes, they are tasted by the judges and the chef with the worst dish gets “chopped.” You get the picture. If you’ve never watched it, I highly recommend it for great entertainment without all the trash that is so often found in prime time TV shows (it’s on Tuesday nights at 10 EST).

Anyway, my husband and I love the show. It’s so fun to see what the chefs will come up with at the spur of the moment using the most insane ingredients. So, we decided to do our own little Chopped adventure at home. Except it isn’t a competition. I’m the only contestant. And no one gets chopped. I hope.
We are currently working on a list of ingredients. Mostly I’m leaving this task up to my husband, and he’s having some fun with it. Fortunately for me (and for him I guess since he has to eat what I cook), our Chopped Challenge is a lot easier. I have only one “mystery ingredient” each week. And it’s not really a “mystery” in that I get to know about it in advance and plan what I want to do with it. This is obvious since I do all the grocery shopping. The tricky part of it is that I am not allowed to look up someone else’s recipe that uses the ingredient. I have to come up with the recipe for whatever I make on my own. I do lots of cooking and have made some delicious dishes, but I have done very little recipe creation to this point in my culinary maturation. So I’m a little nervous, but also very excited.
Last week, my husband gave me my first assigned ingredient. We have already had some confusion in this process, as he told me “grits” but I heard “Ritz” (as in crackers), so I was planning a recipe using the latter and when I started talking to him about it he looked at me like I was nuts. We managed to figure out the disconnect, and decided that I could use Ritz this week and next week will be grits. Yikes. I don’t even like grits. But I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it I suppose. For today it was Ritz crackers.
I started out thinking I would use the Ritz with some ground venison to make meatballs, and then just went from there. I scrounged in the pantry and refrigerator and used what I had on hand for this entire recipe. I was pleased with the outcome, though there are some things I would do differently next time. I will give you the recipe as I prepared it, and then tell you what I didn’t like about it and what I would do differently at the bottom. So without further ado, here’s my new recipe for the dish I made today.
Not So Swedish Meatballs
1 lb ground venison or beef (probably could use pork or turkey too)
1/4 cup finely chopped shallot
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 egg
1/4 cup soy sauce
25-30 Ritz crackers, crushed (Miss had a blast crushing these for me in a Ziploc bag)
8 oz Egg noodles
Canola oil (or olive oil, or vegetable oil)
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves minced or pressed through garlic press
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup white wine
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 cup low sodium chicken broth
Prepare egg noodles as indicated on package.
Combine first 7 ingredients (through Ritz crackers) thoroughly. Roll into about 1.5-inch meatballs. Heat a saute pan over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add about a teaspoon of the canola oil. Once the oil is hot, put 5-6 meatballs into the oil. Sear the meatballs, but don’t worry about getting them cooked all the way through (about a minute or two on each side). Remove to a plate, add another tsp of oil, and repeat with 5-6 more meatballs. Repeat these steps until all your meatballs are nicely seared. Add about another teaspoon to the pan and add the onion and half-teaspoon salt. Stir until the onion softens and starts to brown. Add garlic and stir until fragrant (30-60 seconds). Pour in the wine and scrape up all the browned bits from the bottom of the pan. Reduce the wine by about half, then add in the soy and chicken broth. Bring to a boil and then add the meatballs back into the pan. You may need to add a bit more chicken broth, as you want the liquid to cover the meatballs at least halfway. Cover the pan to let the meatballs finish cooking, 7-8 minutes. Put some egg noodles on a plate and top with some meatballs and sauce. Serves about 4.
The outcome of this recipe was very good. It had a very rich and full flavor. Browning the meatballs and onions and then deglazing the pan to make the sauce and putting the meatballs back into the sauce to finish really gave a nice flavor to both the sauce and the meatballs. But, it was just a bit too salty and a little bit heavy for me. I was a little afraid of this, since the crackers have salt on them, and obviously soy sauce is super salty. And the trick with meatballs is that you can’t taste them before cooking them, so I just had to hope I didn’t have too much soy. Unfortunately I think it did have just a bit too much. My husband raved over it, but he tends to like things more salty than me. Also the sauce was too thin. I knew this when I served it, but it had taken me so long to make the dish, I just said, “screw it” and served it as it was instead of thickening the sauce. Otherwise, I think the dish was great.
What I would do differently:
Less soy sauce in the meatballs. I would reduce the amount of soy sauce to about 1/8 cup and increase the lemon juice to 2 Tbsp. That would really brighten the flavors and decrease the saltiness a bit, while keeping the richness of flavor. I might also add more thyme. Honestly the reason there was so little was that I just got sick of picking the leaves off and was trying to hurry.
I would add some sort of thickening agent (a rue, cornstarch slurry, or even just a little butter or cream added off the heat) to the sauce, and also probably add more of the low sodium chicken broth to make just a bit more sauce than what I ended up with.
Next week (deep breath) grits!! I actually already have a plan forming in my head, so here’s hoping it will come together!!

The Best Cookbook Ever.

Posted on by Amy
I am having serious technical difficulties. I still can’t get my iPhoto to work properly. In fact, right now I can’t even access any of my photos in iPhoto. I was going to do a post with lots of pics from our visit to my parent’s house, but now I can’t even pull photos from iPhoto to upload them here. So, Plan B.
I have been meaning to write about this cookbook. I know I have written about it’s larger predecessor, “The New Best Recipe” from the editors of Cook’s Illustrated. I’ll call that the Mother Book. It really is the Mother of all cookbooks. I still love the Mother Book. However, though the recipes in it are some of the most delicious I have ever tasted, they take forever to cook. You can read about my adventure in making Coq au Vin (and find the reference for the Mother Book) in my post “The Next Iron Chef?” (I guess I thought I was hot stuff after that particular cooking feat!). It was awesome, but recall it took me about 3 hours. I made it when Miss was barely mobile, and it was doable then, but now that she is all over the place and Lass is on the verge of motating (is that a word? My spell check tells me it is not, but I like it and am going to use it anyway. . . Okay, I had to check. It is in the Urban Dictionary – “To move from one location to another with slickness and style.” I’m going with it). Where was I? Oh yes, I no longer have time to take 3-hours to make dinner, no matter how delicious it is. Enter “The Best 30-Minute Recipe” by the same authors.
Oh, how I love this book. It is the first, and often the only, cookbook I reach for when I’m planning meals for the week. The recipes are fast, and most of them can be made in only one skillet. And they are tasty. Seriously, just as good as the longer recipes I’ve made from the Mother Book. The authors don’t use what they call “second-rate convenience products” (and I call over-processed crap) in the recipes to make them quicker either. They use high quality, whole-food ingredients, sometimes in very clever ways that make them work fast. The book includes tips to make the recipes come together more quickly as well as some options for some additional things to make the recipes even more flavorful if you have a little more time (I’ve never tried these and the recipes are amazingly flavorful without them). I will say that, though the book swears they timed every recipe and included prep time in their 30 minutes, many of the recipes are just not doable for me in 30 minutes with the prep time. Perhaps if I were a professional chef who could wield a chef’s knife with super speed, I could do it in 30 minutes. But alas, I am merely a housewife. And though my knife skills are improving, they aren’t really all that great yet. So, some of the recipes, especially the ones with lots of fresh veggies needing to be chopped or otherwise prepped, take longer than 30 minutes, but still never more than 45 or so.
Some of the things I have made from this cookbook include Curry in a Hurry, Skillet Paella (yes, paella in about 30 minutes!!), Pan-Roasted Chicken Breasts with Artichokes and Cherry Tomatoes, Skillet Vermicelli with Chorizo Sausage and Black Beans, and Stir-Fried Shrimp and Snow Peas with Coconut-Curry Sauce. All of these dishes are fabulous. On the menu for this week are Pan-Roasted Chicken Parts with Lemon-Thyme Jus, Un-Stuffed Chicken Breasts with Prosciutto, Sage, and Porcini, and Pan-Seared Shrimp with Parsley-Lemon Butter. Yum. The book has recipes for calzones, meatloaf (I know!!), baked ziti, and on and on. Some that I am particularly intrigued by include Saltimbocca, Lamb Patties with Yogurt Sauce, Risotto with Seared Scallops and Tomatoes (they use orzo), and lots of Asian-style dishes like Lo Mein and Pad Thai.
Here is one of our favorites. Miss loves Mac and Cheese. Okay. My husband and I love Mac and Cheese. This is the most delish Mac and Cheese ever. No need for draining pasta. Real cheese. Super flavor. All done in one skillet. And this one has almost no prep work, so it really does cook in 30 minutes. Give it a try.
Skillet Macaroni and Cheese (From The Best 30-Minute Cookbook*)
3 1/2 cups water (plus more as needed)
1 12-ounce can evaporated milk
12 ounces elbow macaroni (3 cups)
Salt and ground black pepper
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard (this is the key ingredient, I think!)
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1. Simmer macaroni: Bring 3 1/2 cups water, 1 cup of evaporated milk, macaroni, and 1/2 teaspoon salt to simmer in 12-inch nonstick skillet over high heat, stirring often, until macaroni is tender, 8 to 10 minutes.
2. Thicken and flavor sauce: Whisk remaining 1/2 cup evaporated milk, cornstarch, mustard, and Tabasco together, then stir into skillet. Continue to simmer until slightly thickened, about 1 minute.
3. Add cheese: Off heat, stir in cheeses, one handful at a time, adding additional water as needed to adjust sauce consistency. Stir in butter and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serves 4.
I love cooking. It brings me great satisfaction to put something healthy and home cooked on my table for my family. And it’s even better when that something tastes awesome. The end.
*Editors of Cooks Illustrated. (2006). The best 30-minute recipe. America’s Test Kitchen, Brookline, MA.
And now, since I did manage to upload a few photos for the post I originally planned to do, here are some pics of the girls having fun with their Grandma and Grandpa. Hopefully there will be more to come when I can get my photo situation figured out.





This chair was my Dad’s when he was little.



Guacamole Recipe

Posted on by Amy
Day two of avocado went better than day one (these photos are still from day 1 though)

No shuddering.
No grimacing.
Lass seemed to enjoy the green stuff, and she’s getting the hang of this eating thing.

When I bought an avocado for Lass at the grocery store yesterday, I picked up a few extra to make guacamole. I never used to like guacamole until I started making it myself with fresh ingredients. Here’s the recipe I’ve adjusted over the past few years.
Guacamole
3 avocados, mashed with a fork
2-3 scallions, minced
2 garlic cloves, pressed through garlic press
2 Tbsp fresh lime juice
2 Tbsp minced fresh cilantro
1 tsp Kosher salt
Mix all ingredients. Enjoy. All the ingredient amounts are adjustable to your taste. I like lots of lime and cilantro in my guacamole, but you could use a bit less, for example. If you have any left over that you’re storing in the fridge, put it in a container with an airtight lid, but put on some plastic wrap pressed down right onto the guac before sealing the lid to help minimize the avocado turning brown.
We don’t eat chips much in our house, but this is great added to tacos or burritos or as a dip for fresh veggies. Tonight we had it with enchiladas suizas (sauce made with tomatillos, poblano peppers, and a bit of sour cream rather than lots of cheese and cream). Yum.

Oh, the Cuteness

Posted on by Amy
When Miss and I made apple pie a couple of weeks ago, she wore one of my aprons made for me by my aunt. She looked adorable of course. But the other day we got a package from my aunt containing this:

The most adorable Miss-sized apron!! She loved it. The above picture doesn’t show the fit quite right because I didn’t realize at first that the neck strap, and thus the length, is adjustable because it runs through under the pits and can be pulled shorter by just pulling on the waist tie. So I got it fitting right here:
Miss wore it to help me make dinner last night. Here she’s helping wash potatoes. I think she’s making sure they smell okay.

Here’s the link again to my aunt’s Etsy shop where she sells her adorable aprons. Thanks Aunt Mag!!
And in further cuteness, Lass is such a sweet little Snuggle Bear.

She’ll just stare and smile and coo for the longest time. And she loves to snuggle up to her momma.

I went to a local shop with lots of handmade items last week. I found this barrette for Miss that has the same fabric on it as the pants I made her! I was so excited to find it. Unfortunately she’s already almost grown out of the pants.


Check out the amazement on Lass’s face when she watches her Daddy play the guitar.

Watching football today and going to a party tonight. Our first night out since Lass arrived. She doesn’t really take a bottle yet, so she’ll be coming with us, but she’s easily portable. Happy weekend!

The Learning Tower

Posted on by Amy
So, there’s this thing called The Learning Tower. I had heard of it before, seen it in the kitchen of a few friends, thought it looked like a cool idea, and then just never did anything about it. That is, I never did anything about it until it started becoming almost impossible for me to make dinner because Miss was no longer content to sit and play with toys on the kitchen floor while I cooked. She had to be everywhere but the kitchen, especially places where I couldn’t see her or really didn’t want her to be, like climbing the stairs. So I figured she was probably big enough to give the Learning Tower a try. I thought it would be really fun to let her be involved in the things I do in the kitchen, without stressing me out that she would fall off a chair if I put her up on one so she could see. I took the leap and ordered the Tower.
The first day my hubby got it put together, this is what happened:






She loved it! It came with the blue scarf thing for playing, and she had a blast with it. I had also just gotten her a set of mini pots with a wooden fork and spoon, which she loved. You can see her holding the fork and spoon in some of the photos.
Unfortunately, there have also been times when I’ve tried to get her to hang out in the Tower while I cooked dinner and she would eventually get bored and want to get down. I’ve found it’s a little hard to let her be very involved at her age when a lot of my cooking prep involves sharp knives and/or hot surfaces. And though she’s started to get into the pretend play some, she just isn’t quite ready for pretending to cook along side me. I am really looking forward to that. And even more looking forward to when she is big enough that I can get her actually making some things with me. I don’t think that’s too far off and I can’t wait!
In the meantime, I’ve worked it out so that she spends some time in the Tower when I’m cooking, though not necessarily as long as I might want her to. She plays on the counter, watches what I’m doing, or plays in the sink some when I’m doing things she can’t be too close to.
She asks to get up in the Tower in the mornings to watch me mix her oatmeal, and there are some tasks that I have been able to let her help with, like harvesting, washing, and freezing some of my abundant herbs from our deck herb garden.




Although we aren’t able to use it as much as I would like to yet, I am really looking forward to sharing more and more with Miss in the kitchen. I so enjoy cooking and am very excited to be able to let her participate in the process of creating food for herself and our family. I want her to have wonderful memories of our times in the kitchen, and I think this Tower will help facilitate that. Definitely worth the money!

The Next Iron Chef?

Posted on by Amy

In our house, we really don’t watch much TV. In fact, when we moved a few months ago, we didn’t even get our TV hooked up to the satellite/cable. It wasn’t until just recently that we did give in and get Dish. We did this primarily to be able to watch college football and Duke basketball in a few months. And my hubby likes to watch hunting and fishing shows on Sunday mornings. We really don’t watch much TV.

Recently, however, I was flipping through some channels on a Tuesday night and caught just the end of “The Next Iron Chef” on the Food Network. It was very interesting to me, so I made a point to tune in the next time a new episode aired. That occurred this past Sunday night. Ben and I sat down to watch the show and were immediately hooked. The “challenge” this week was for the chefs to “reinterpret” some classic culinary creations from either French, Italian, or Greek cuisines. There were nine altogether, one for each remaining chef contestant, including bouillabaisse, pasta puttanesca, and spanakopita.
I love to cook. So Ben came up with the idea that maybe it would be fun to try to cook some of the classic dishes featured on the show. The only one of them I had ever made before was ratatouille. So, I decided to get out the Mother of all cookbooks (“The New Best Recipe”*) and see what I could come up with. One of the first ones I found was a recipe for Coq au Vin. Even though it features mushrooms, it sounded good, so I decided to try it. I went to the grocery store and got the items I would need, and last night I gave it a whirl. I got to use some kitchen implements I own but have never used before, like my meat cleaver, enormous stock pot, and mesh strainer. I also used a few techniques I had never done before, like making a bouquet garni (packet of seasonings wrapped in cheesecloth and tied with a string) and a beurre manie (mash of butter and flour for thickening sauce). The recipe took about two and a half to three hours to make (much of this time while watching an 8-month-old, mind you). It. Was. Fantastic. If I do say so myself. My husband said it was one of the best dishes he has ever eaten, even from a restaurant. Seriously! I think the plan is to try either moussaka or dolmas next. Maybe I could be the next Iron Chef!!
*Editors of Cooks Illustrated. (2004). The new best recipe All-new edition. Brookline, MA, America’s Test Kitchen.