Let me start by saying that I have absolutely no idea who "Grandma Edna" is. I had a brief subscription to Taste of Home magazine before I decided that the number of recipes that I was clipping wasn't high enough for me to be a subscriber. This one made it to the file, though, and has been there for quite a while as a potential dish for us. I had a pork tenderloin in the freezer and decided to thaw it out for dinner this week. This recipe seemed really tasty and I like the crock pot feature. The original idea was to make it Sunday night for dinner on Monday but it was still a solid rock! Note to self: 2lb pork loin takes 2 days to thaw.... On Monday night we made due with sandwiches and I put together the recipe for dinner the next night. It was fairly simple. I started by sauteeing chopped celery, peppers, and onion until soft and then added the spices and a touch of hot sauce. At this point I forgot to add salt & pepper- more on that later. I sliced the tenderloin in 1 inch slits that went almost to the bottom of the roast, but not quite. Stuffed the vegetable mixture into the slits and put the rest on top. It looked quite beautiful, actually, and I wish that I had taken a photo at that point. One of the 1700 things that I love about my crockpot is that it has a removable crock. This way, I can put the dish in the fridge with the lid and then transfer it to the base in the morning before I head to work.
Most crockpot recipes call for 6-8 hours, but you can cook things longer without issue. Its in the crock at such a low temp that there's little danger of overcooking. I usually end up with my dinner cooking for about 12 hours because of my work schedule. The roast was moist and fork tender, but just on the verge of being overdone. There was an icky layer of fat around the bottom of the crock, but it came off quite easily. I threw it away and figured it made my dish just that more healthy! I followed the recipe for the suggested side dish and sliced 2 white potatoes and 1 sweet potato lengthwise into wedges, tossed with with oil, salt & pepper, and then baked them for 20 minutes at 450. I flipped them and coated them with a mixture of chopped garlic and parmesan cheese, and baked them for another 20 minutes.
Just before it was ready, I poured the juices from the roast into a sauce pan and added a slurry. A slurry is a mixture of equal parts of corn starch and cold water that is combined and added to juices to thicken them up into a sauce. Cornstarch adds a smoother quality to gravy that you would find with flour- similar to the texture of chinese food sauces. You boil it, then quickly bring the temp to low while whisking the sauce. The gravy thickened up pretty quick, too quick, so I added a little chicken broth the thin it out.
Once it was all finished, I sliced up the pork, topped with the gravy, and paired it with the potatoes. It was not a pretty meal. Very messy and brown. The tastes were good, but not great. My earlier missed step of omitting the salt and pepper really showed later on. I did add it to the final product, and the gravy, but I could tell that it affected the overall flavor of the meat. I'm not even a big salt person, but it was needed. The potatoes were just okay; they were cooked, but some were burned and others were mushy. I think a different temp would be better as would thinner potatoes. In my defense, Shawn enjoyed the meal more than I did. I also have a cold, still, so it could have affected my mood and tastes. Its always tough to be honest on the blog when things aren't really that great but this just wasn't all that great to me.
HOWEVER, 2 days later I chopped up the leftover pork (that still was stuffed with the veggies) and used it with some chopped veggies and low sodium Zatarain's Jambalaya mix. I swear by this stuff- its the best way to get rid of leftover meat and veggies. Its easy, flavorful, and always delicious. Plus, it costs less than $2. The pork really rocked in the jambalaya and when I paired it with the frozen biscuits (which thawed beautifully) it was a fantastic meal.
Grandma Edna's Cajun Roast Pork- Taste of Home; Decmber/ January 2011
http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/Grandma-Edna-s-Cajun-Pork
Two Tone Potato Wedges- Taste of Home; December/ January 2011
http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/Two-Tone-Potato-Wedges
Friday, February 17, 2012
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Invite Me Back Muffins- 100 Recipes Every Woman Should Know
One of my favorite places to get cookbooks is at Amazon.com. The bookstore is always the best place, because I can browse through and see how many recipes I may actually make, but Amazon suggests new ones for me and I can check out reviews to see how other people liked them. This cookbook came across my radar in a magazine article. The full title of the book is "100 Recipes Every Woman Should Know; Engagement Chicken and 99 Other Fabulous Dishes to Get You Everything You Want in Life". It was put together through Glamour magazine based on a roast chicken recipe that was rumored to entice a man's proposal. Ridiculous? Yes, completely, but the book has a whole chapter about it with stories from readers over the years whom this worked for. For the record, I haven't made the recipe yet but it does look pretty tasty. What I love about the book is the fun titles of each recipe; like "Who Calls a Meeting at 5pm Stir Fry" and "Bikini Season Baked Salmon". I had some blueberries on hand, so I chose the bawdy "Invite Me Back Muffins" as my muffin recipe of choice. It had items that I already had on hand and it also featured a crumble topping, which I love on my muffins!!
I ran the idea by John yesterday and he wanted to make muffins with me for breakfast. He can be a tough nut to cook with sometimes. He's only 3 1/2 so he gets distracted and wants to eat right away. Sometimes he can be adorable; sometimes I can't believe I thought cooking together would be a fun idea. I decided to make it easy on both of us and prepped as much as possible the night before. Originally I was going to make a half recipe, but messed up on my recipe conversions early on and had to go back and just make the full one instead of starting over. I combined 2 cups of flour with baking soda and salt. Covered it, and set aside for the next morning. Then I combined a 1/3 cup of flour with 1/2 cup of sugar and some cinnamon. Covered and set aside. The next morning, John was excited to make muffins! The first thing we did was melt a 1/4 cup of butter and slowly combined it with the flour/sugar/cinnamon combo. Once it was all combined, I put it in the freezer. We measured out some sugar and mixed with a stick of unsalted butter that I had left out overnight to soften. I took out the hand mixer, which he thought was the coolest thing ever. He held it with me and helped turn the bowl as we creamed the butter and sugar together. He then poured in the flour mixutre and milk in alternating batches while I kept on mixing. He turned to me at one point while we were doing this, kissed my cheek, and said "I like making muffins with you, Mommy". Sigh.....this was definitely one of those adorable times that I was happy to have him there! When it was finished, we folded in the rinsed blueberries and got ready to bake!
I preheated the oven to 450 and got out the muffin tin. Being that I just about never make muffins, I only have one tin that cooks 6 so we had 2 batches in our future. We put liners in the tins (I had elmo ones on hand from forever ago) and spooned in the batter. We took the crumble topping out of the freezer and sprinked it onto the batter. This was John's favorite part; he kept sneaking bites of the topping while we sprinkled it on the muffins. We put them in the oven for 5 minutes and then turned the oven down to 375. The recipe called to cook the muffins for about 20 minutes or until they were springy to the touch. It took about 22 minutes and they were ready! I put the tin on a baking rack for 10 minutes, then took the muffins out and put together the next batch myself. John had completely lost interest at this point. Once they were ready, he perked up and did a little dance which was pretty hilarious. His "muffin dance"! They were fantastic! Another baking success. The blueberries weren't too tart, the batter wasn't too sweet or too springy (my personal complaints about many muffins) and the crumble topping was so delicious. I yielded 11 muffins; we each ate one and I plan on bringing leftovers to work to take away the temptation of more muffins. Next time I'll try a healthier muffin variety, but I love that my baking skills are slowly improving.
Invite Me Back Muffins
Crumble Topping (optional)
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, melted
Muffins
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter (1/2 cup), softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2/3 cup milk
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (if using frozen, do not defrost them first, but toss them in a few tsps of flour before stirring them into the mix in step 3)
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Spray a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray or line the cups with paper or foil liners; you can also use eight 5-oz ramekins, spritzed with cook spray, instead.
Make the crumble topping: In a medium bowl, using your fingers, mix all of the crumble ingredients until small clumps form. Put the mixture in the freezer to chill and firm up while you work on the batter.
Make the muffins: In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, with a mixer on high speed, beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat on medium speed between additions until smooth. Add the flour mixture in 2 batch, alternating with the milk, beating on low speed between additions until just combined. Fold in the blueberries.
Spoon the batter into the prepared cups, filling all the way to the top. Sprinkle with the crumble topping (if using). Bake for 5 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 and bake for about 20 minutes longer (or more if in ramekins), until the muffins spring back when lightly touched with a finger. Set the pan on a rack and let cool for 15 minutes. Carefully remove the muffins from the pan, running the flat side of a knife gently around their sides to loosen them, if necessary.
Recipe from 100 Recipes Every Woman Should Know by Cindi Leive and the Editors of Glamour
I ran the idea by John yesterday and he wanted to make muffins with me for breakfast. He can be a tough nut to cook with sometimes. He's only 3 1/2 so he gets distracted and wants to eat right away. Sometimes he can be adorable; sometimes I can't believe I thought cooking together would be a fun idea. I decided to make it easy on both of us and prepped as much as possible the night before. Originally I was going to make a half recipe, but messed up on my recipe conversions early on and had to go back and just make the full one instead of starting over. I combined 2 cups of flour with baking soda and salt. Covered it, and set aside for the next morning. Then I combined a 1/3 cup of flour with 1/2 cup of sugar and some cinnamon. Covered and set aside. The next morning, John was excited to make muffins! The first thing we did was melt a 1/4 cup of butter and slowly combined it with the flour/sugar/cinnamon combo. Once it was all combined, I put it in the freezer. We measured out some sugar and mixed with a stick of unsalted butter that I had left out overnight to soften. I took out the hand mixer, which he thought was the coolest thing ever. He held it with me and helped turn the bowl as we creamed the butter and sugar together. He then poured in the flour mixutre and milk in alternating batches while I kept on mixing. He turned to me at one point while we were doing this, kissed my cheek, and said "I like making muffins with you, Mommy". Sigh.....this was definitely one of those adorable times that I was happy to have him there! When it was finished, we folded in the rinsed blueberries and got ready to bake!
I preheated the oven to 450 and got out the muffin tin. Being that I just about never make muffins, I only have one tin that cooks 6 so we had 2 batches in our future. We put liners in the tins (I had elmo ones on hand from forever ago) and spooned in the batter. We took the crumble topping out of the freezer and sprinked it onto the batter. This was John's favorite part; he kept sneaking bites of the topping while we sprinkled it on the muffins. We put them in the oven for 5 minutes and then turned the oven down to 375. The recipe called to cook the muffins for about 20 minutes or until they were springy to the touch. It took about 22 minutes and they were ready! I put the tin on a baking rack for 10 minutes, then took the muffins out and put together the next batch myself. John had completely lost interest at this point. Once they were ready, he perked up and did a little dance which was pretty hilarious. His "muffin dance"! They were fantastic! Another baking success. The blueberries weren't too tart, the batter wasn't too sweet or too springy (my personal complaints about many muffins) and the crumble topping was so delicious. I yielded 11 muffins; we each ate one and I plan on bringing leftovers to work to take away the temptation of more muffins. Next time I'll try a healthier muffin variety, but I love that my baking skills are slowly improving.
Crumble Topping (optional)
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, melted
Muffins
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick unsalted butter (1/2 cup), softened
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2/3 cup milk
2 cups fresh or frozen blueberries (if using frozen, do not defrost them first, but toss them in a few tsps of flour before stirring them into the mix in step 3)
Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Spray a 12 cup muffin tin with cooking spray or line the cups with paper or foil liners; you can also use eight 5-oz ramekins, spritzed with cook spray, instead.
Make the crumble topping: In a medium bowl, using your fingers, mix all of the crumble ingredients until small clumps form. Put the mixture in the freezer to chill and firm up while you work on the batter.
Make the muffins: In a medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. In a large bowl, with a mixer on high speed, beat the butter and sugar until creamy. Add the eggs one at a time and beat on medium speed between additions until smooth. Add the flour mixture in 2 batch, alternating with the milk, beating on low speed between additions until just combined. Fold in the blueberries.
Spoon the batter into the prepared cups, filling all the way to the top. Sprinkle with the crumble topping (if using). Bake for 5 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 375 and bake for about 20 minutes longer (or more if in ramekins), until the muffins spring back when lightly touched with a finger. Set the pan on a rack and let cool for 15 minutes. Carefully remove the muffins from the pan, running the flat side of a knife gently around their sides to loosen them, if necessary.
Recipe from 100 Recipes Every Woman Should Know by Cindi Leive and the Editors of Glamour
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Buttermilk Biscuits- How to Cook Everything
This cold really knocked us all down for about 2 weeks now. We're home with few plans this weekend for the second "snowstorm" of the year (Saturday afternoon and its already melted) and I have a mental list going of what I am going to cook for the next day or so. I definitely wanted to get a recipe in and was trying to figure out what I could create by using a recipe, things that I have in house, and something that was on the agenda for the weekend menu. This part of the recipe planning can actually be tough sometimes. I selected the biscuits mainly because they'd go with anything and also because I had some buttermilk in the fridge that I could use. I was anxious, given my many failures at baking, but you can't improve if you don't try, right?!
I measured out 2 cups of flour into the food processor and added baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Pulsed them for a few seconds and then added cut up pieces of unsalted butter. The recipe called for 2-5 tablespoons. I knew that we weren't adding butter after baking, so I erred on the higher side. Oh, and butter is really damn tasty. That's another reason. I blended the butter in by pulsing a few more times. So quick!! I can't believe I went so long without one of these wonderful machines.
I started adding the buttermilk and quickly realized that the blades were going to make the next part of the recipe a logistical nightmare. I made the excellent decision to take the mix out of the processor, put it into a bowl, and then stirred in a cup of buttermilk slowly with a large spoon until it was in a ball. Once the dough was ready, I had 2 options. You can press it out and cut circles out for a more formed biscuit or you can spoon it onto the sheet for the "drop biscuit" method. I chose the drop method for many reasons. One, its quicker. Two, I have limited counter space and rolling things out is a total pain. Three, I actually prefer the texture of drop biscuits and the crunchiness that comes from the uneven surface.
I was able to gain about 14 biscuits by spooning out pieces onto a greased cookie sheet. The recipe called for it to bake at 450 for 7-9 minutes. I checked at 8 and they were ready at 10. Perfectly golden on the bottom and a tough of golden on top. I couldn't wait and had to sample one out of the oven..... it was good!! Great, even!! The salt, butter, and dough had a nice balance and the texture was spot on. Oh my gosh, I actually baked something from scratch that tasted good!
I served it with a quick chicken stew type of thing. Sort of like chicken pot pie filling but I serve it with biscuits (tastefully simple ones, usually). We like it and its cheap, simple, and can be made with most anything fresh, frozen, or canned that you have on hand. I sauteed some chopped celery, carrot, and onion until soft; added a handful each of frozen corn and peas, and a cup of cooked shredded chicken breast that I had in the freezer. Mixed in a can of cream of celery soup, a little milk, and a little chicken broth and finished it with some seasoning for flavor. Put on low and let it go while I cooked the biscuits, stirring it up every once in a while.
We ate it all together and it was a perfect lunch for a snowy day! I had half of the the biscuits left and put them in the freezer to toast up another day. I really can't believe how quick and easy this was! The whole recipe took about 10 minutes to prep and another 10 to cook. I have a keeper!
Buttermilk Biscuits- How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman
2 cups all purpose or cake flour
1 scant teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2-5 tablespoons cold butter (more is better)
1 cup buttermilk (can substitue plain yogurt)
1. Preheat the oven to 450
2. Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl or food processor. Cut the butter into bits and either pulse it in the processor (the easiest) or pick up a bit of the dry ingredients, rub them with the butter between your fingers, and drop them again. All the butter should be thoroughly blended before proceeding.
3. Use a large spoon to stir in the buttermillk or yogurt, just until the mixture forms a ball. Drop tablespoons of dough onto a greased baking sheet.
4. Bake 7-9 minutes or until the biscuits are a beautiful golden brown. Serve within 15 minutes for them to be at their best.
I measured out 2 cups of flour into the food processor and added baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Pulsed them for a few seconds and then added cut up pieces of unsalted butter. The recipe called for 2-5 tablespoons. I knew that we weren't adding butter after baking, so I erred on the higher side. Oh, and butter is really damn tasty. That's another reason. I blended the butter in by pulsing a few more times. So quick!! I can't believe I went so long without one of these wonderful machines.
I started adding the buttermilk and quickly realized that the blades were going to make the next part of the recipe a logistical nightmare. I made the excellent decision to take the mix out of the processor, put it into a bowl, and then stirred in a cup of buttermilk slowly with a large spoon until it was in a ball. Once the dough was ready, I had 2 options. You can press it out and cut circles out for a more formed biscuit or you can spoon it onto the sheet for the "drop biscuit" method. I chose the drop method for many reasons. One, its quicker. Two, I have limited counter space and rolling things out is a total pain. Three, I actually prefer the texture of drop biscuits and the crunchiness that comes from the uneven surface.
I was able to gain about 14 biscuits by spooning out pieces onto a greased cookie sheet. The recipe called for it to bake at 450 for 7-9 minutes. I checked at 8 and they were ready at 10. Perfectly golden on the bottom and a tough of golden on top. I couldn't wait and had to sample one out of the oven..... it was good!! Great, even!! The salt, butter, and dough had a nice balance and the texture was spot on. Oh my gosh, I actually baked something from scratch that tasted good!
I served it with a quick chicken stew type of thing. Sort of like chicken pot pie filling but I serve it with biscuits (tastefully simple ones, usually). We like it and its cheap, simple, and can be made with most anything fresh, frozen, or canned that you have on hand. I sauteed some chopped celery, carrot, and onion until soft; added a handful each of frozen corn and peas, and a cup of cooked shredded chicken breast that I had in the freezer. Mixed in a can of cream of celery soup, a little milk, and a little chicken broth and finished it with some seasoning for flavor. Put on low and let it go while I cooked the biscuits, stirring it up every once in a while.
We ate it all together and it was a perfect lunch for a snowy day! I had half of the the biscuits left and put them in the freezer to toast up another day. I really can't believe how quick and easy this was! The whole recipe took about 10 minutes to prep and another 10 to cook. I have a keeper!
Buttermilk Biscuits- How to Cook Everything by Mark Bittman
2 cups all purpose or cake flour
1 scant teaspoon salt
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2-5 tablespoons cold butter (more is better)
1 cup buttermilk (can substitue plain yogurt)
1. Preheat the oven to 450
2. Mix the dry ingredients together in a bowl or food processor. Cut the butter into bits and either pulse it in the processor (the easiest) or pick up a bit of the dry ingredients, rub them with the butter between your fingers, and drop them again. All the butter should be thoroughly blended before proceeding.
3. Use a large spoon to stir in the buttermillk or yogurt, just until the mixture forms a ball. Drop tablespoons of dough onto a greased baking sheet.
4. Bake 7-9 minutes or until the biscuits are a beautiful golden brown. Serve within 15 minutes for them to be at their best.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Hot Toddy
This has been quite a week for the Bittmann family. A virus has come through this house, hitting all three of us for about a week now and still going. Its an odd one, too changing symptoms and victims daily. My cooking has been downgraded to heating up frozens pizzas and leftover Boston Market for the most part. The weekend came and I gave in; staying on the couch trying to knock this thing out before work starts up again on Monday. This saddens me today, of all days, because its Superbowl Sunday. Not only is it Superbowl Sunday, but a Giants/ Patriots Superbowl and Shawn is a diehard, radical, ritualistic Giants fan. Normally, on a day like today, I'd be cooking up a storm. Creating some sort of ridiculous sandwich, followed up by our requisite 2nd quarter guacamole, and accompanied by some other fun appetizer foods. Not this weekend, unfortunately..... this weekend I was thankful to have the guac ingredients on hand and couldn't even bring myself to go to the store. Poor Shawn. We made due, and pieced together some fun football foods to enjoy with the game.
One of Shawn's playoff rituals is enjoying his Makers Mark throughout the game. My man loves his bourbon, and this is his brand. I decided to join him in a drink by making myself a Hot Toddy. I've never had one before, but always hear about it as an old fashioned cold remedy. I looked up a recipe and then realized that this could be featured right here, for you fun folks! Drink recipes count, right? I found the perfect one on Epicurious, featuring exactly what I was looking for. Hot water, lemon, honey, and bourbon. I'm already a sucker for honey and lemon when I'm sick. Why have I never thought to make this before?
I started by putting some water on in the teapot. I decided to double the recipe simply because I love big mugs and the recipe wouldn't have filled it even halfway. I feel like I should mention that I used one of my favorite mugs- a large one with a picture of Cinderella that says "A Princess Shouldn't Have to Work This Hard". Its awesome. I squeezed some lemon juice into a measuring cup, scooped out the seeds, smarted as the juice his a few cuts on my fingers, and poured out 2 teaspoons of lemon juice. I then used the same cup to measure out a 1/2 cup of hot water and added 2 tablespoons of honey and 2 ounces (4 tablespoons) of bourbon. I was convinced that the honey would be too much for my taste, so I tried it after one tablespoon to see if it needed more. It definitely does, to counter the lemon and bourbon. They both have such strong flavors that they really need the honey to bring them together.
I settled on the couch with my mug and a blanket to watch the rest of the game. Oh, this was gooooood. So soothing and warming and delicious. It was really, really good. You could taste the bourbon, for sure, but it was subtle and highlighted by the lemon and honey. The warmth made it really comforting. Again, why have I never thought to make this before?
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/drink/views/Hot-Toddy-233821
One of Shawn's playoff rituals is enjoying his Makers Mark throughout the game. My man loves his bourbon, and this is his brand. I decided to join him in a drink by making myself a Hot Toddy. I've never had one before, but always hear about it as an old fashioned cold remedy. I looked up a recipe and then realized that this could be featured right here, for you fun folks! Drink recipes count, right? I found the perfect one on Epicurious, featuring exactly what I was looking for. Hot water, lemon, honey, and bourbon. I'm already a sucker for honey and lemon when I'm sick. Why have I never thought to make this before?
I started by putting some water on in the teapot. I decided to double the recipe simply because I love big mugs and the recipe wouldn't have filled it even halfway. I feel like I should mention that I used one of my favorite mugs- a large one with a picture of Cinderella that says "A Princess Shouldn't Have to Work This Hard". Its awesome. I squeezed some lemon juice into a measuring cup, scooped out the seeds, smarted as the juice his a few cuts on my fingers, and poured out 2 teaspoons of lemon juice. I then used the same cup to measure out a 1/2 cup of hot water and added 2 tablespoons of honey and 2 ounces (4 tablespoons) of bourbon. I was convinced that the honey would be too much for my taste, so I tried it after one tablespoon to see if it needed more. It definitely does, to counter the lemon and bourbon. They both have such strong flavors that they really need the honey to bring them together.
I settled on the couch with my mug and a blanket to watch the rest of the game. Oh, this was gooooood. So soothing and warming and delicious. It was really, really good. You could taste the bourbon, for sure, but it was subtle and highlighted by the lemon and honey. The warmth made it really comforting. Again, why have I never thought to make this before?
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/drink/views/Hot-Toddy-233821
Monday, January 30, 2012
Venison Chili and Cracklin Cornbread
We had an influx of free food at the end of December, making me thrilled to have our big freezer!! My hotel gives us each a free turkey for Thanksgiving, Shawn received a box of steaks, chicken and burgers as a gift, and my wonderful coworker gave me ground venison and a venison tenderloin. I've learned that venison is one of those meats that you don't really buy in the store. You need to be in the loop with hunters, butchers, or friends who know those hunters and butchers to get it. You can probably find it in a store, but its going to be more money than its worth. That's what I'm told, anyway. So when I mentioned to said coworker that I had only had deer once or twice and wasn't 100% sold but open to trying it, she was kind enough to share some of her recent gain with us!
Now, I'm finding this venison to be a little intimidating. I keep hearing about gaminess and remember the last time that I tried deer (at a country club where I worked and had recently witnessed the actual deer becoming that evening's special) and I wasn't a huge fan. I've been really interested in trying it again and decided that chili would be a good way to ease us into the flavor. I make chili all the time and have heard its a great venue to start with. Chili and cornbread go hand in hand in this region but my baking skills (or lack thereof) have kept me from making cornbread in the past. I decided to go for it!!
Suprisingly, none of my cookbooks had recipes for venison. I went online and found a chili variation on MyRecipes.com that sounded basic but tasty. I usually wing it with my chili, but wanted to be sure that my spices were to par. I also found a recipe for cornbread in Shawn's "Smoke & Spice" cookbook that sounded really good. I definitely wanted to use my cast iron skillet and like the idea of using bacon grease as the fat addition in the recipe.
We started early in the morning when I made pancakes and bacon for my boys. I needed bacon grease and they were kind enough to take one for the team! I saved the grease and went on with my day. Later in the morning, I busted out my brand new food processor. Would you believe that with as much as I cook, I've never owned one until this Christmas? We don't have a dishwasher and I've always thought it would be a pain to clean. I do, however, spend a ridiculous amount of time on food prep and decided that this would be a good day to test it out. Since I was using it, I ended up chopping up extra onions and garlic and put them in containers to use later in the week. Love it! So much quicker and much easier on the eyes. Not a total pain to wash and as long as I'm getting myself prepped for the week it saves a ton of time in the long run.
I opted to steer away from the trusty crockpot and took out my large stockpot to keep the chili on the stove throughout the day. I sauteed up the deer and removed it, covering the dish to keep it warm. A cup each of chopped peppers and onions went in next with 4 cloves of chopped garlic. I sauteed it on medium high for about 10 minutes and then added the spices. Followed with the venison, a can of diced tomatoes, a can of chicken broth, and a touch of tomato paste. I added the can of rinsed kidney beans before noting that it should have been added toward the end of cooking. I didn't really notice anything off, so I wouldn't say that it was a necessary step. I did, however, add a 1/4 cup of frozen corn at the end. It wasn't in the recipe, but Shawn really loves corn in his chili. I left it all on the stove, on low, stirring every 20 minutes or so, for 4-5 hours.
About an hour before dinner, I mixed together the dry ingredients for the cornbread and then mixed together the wet separately and combined them with a little frozen corn and some melted butter. Then I warmed the skillet on the stove and added a tablespoon of bacon grease, swirling to coat the pan. When the oven was ready (400) I poured the batter in the pan, creating a fun sizzle sound, and transferred it to the oven. The recipe called for it to cook 20 minutes and I left it in a few minutes longer (I know my oven) and tested with a toothpick. All was ready!
The chili was fantastic!! I could only taste a hint of gaminess, but the texture was a little different from beef or ground turkey. It was a slightly finer consistancy, which went really well in a chili form. I've heard that venison meatballs are good and I could see why. The spices and tomato consistancy were perfect! I omitted jalepenos from the recipe, out of preference, but found that the cayenne, chili powder, and cumin gave a nice subtle heat.
The cornbread was simply gorgeous. Golden brown and crisp. I was disappointed to see that the center was underdone, despite the toothpick test. I cut the bread from around the edges and popped the skillet back in for another 20 minutes, since it had already cooled. The center cooked up wonderfully. It did need something, which we had a hard time putting our finger on. A little touch of sweetness, perhaps? Maybe even a touch more salt? Shawn suggested creamed corn instead of frozen.... I'll try another recipe to get it down eventually. Love the cast iron skillet method, though!!
My favorite way to eat this was created by a suggestion from my deer benefactor. I put the cornbread in my bowl and topped it with the chili. Then put a little sour cream and a little cheese on the side to add as desired. I've always eaten the bread on the side and thought this would be weird, but I trust her and gave it a shot. Wow. Simply, wow. The textures and flavors of this all together was simply brilliant!! Yum.
Venison Chili- MyRecipes.com
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/venison-chili-10000000780398/?k=1
Cracklin Cornbread- Smoke & Spice
*ask if you want the recipe
Now, I'm finding this venison to be a little intimidating. I keep hearing about gaminess and remember the last time that I tried deer (at a country club where I worked and had recently witnessed the actual deer becoming that evening's special) and I wasn't a huge fan. I've been really interested in trying it again and decided that chili would be a good way to ease us into the flavor. I make chili all the time and have heard its a great venue to start with. Chili and cornbread go hand in hand in this region but my baking skills (or lack thereof) have kept me from making cornbread in the past. I decided to go for it!!
Suprisingly, none of my cookbooks had recipes for venison. I went online and found a chili variation on MyRecipes.com that sounded basic but tasty. I usually wing it with my chili, but wanted to be sure that my spices were to par. I also found a recipe for cornbread in Shawn's "Smoke & Spice" cookbook that sounded really good. I definitely wanted to use my cast iron skillet and like the idea of using bacon grease as the fat addition in the recipe.
We started early in the morning when I made pancakes and bacon for my boys. I needed bacon grease and they were kind enough to take one for the team! I saved the grease and went on with my day. Later in the morning, I busted out my brand new food processor. Would you believe that with as much as I cook, I've never owned one until this Christmas? We don't have a dishwasher and I've always thought it would be a pain to clean. I do, however, spend a ridiculous amount of time on food prep and decided that this would be a good day to test it out. Since I was using it, I ended up chopping up extra onions and garlic and put them in containers to use later in the week. Love it! So much quicker and much easier on the eyes. Not a total pain to wash and as long as I'm getting myself prepped for the week it saves a ton of time in the long run.
I opted to steer away from the trusty crockpot and took out my large stockpot to keep the chili on the stove throughout the day. I sauteed up the deer and removed it, covering the dish to keep it warm. A cup each of chopped peppers and onions went in next with 4 cloves of chopped garlic. I sauteed it on medium high for about 10 minutes and then added the spices. Followed with the venison, a can of diced tomatoes, a can of chicken broth, and a touch of tomato paste. I added the can of rinsed kidney beans before noting that it should have been added toward the end of cooking. I didn't really notice anything off, so I wouldn't say that it was a necessary step. I did, however, add a 1/4 cup of frozen corn at the end. It wasn't in the recipe, but Shawn really loves corn in his chili. I left it all on the stove, on low, stirring every 20 minutes or so, for 4-5 hours.
About an hour before dinner, I mixed together the dry ingredients for the cornbread and then mixed together the wet separately and combined them with a little frozen corn and some melted butter. Then I warmed the skillet on the stove and added a tablespoon of bacon grease, swirling to coat the pan. When the oven was ready (400) I poured the batter in the pan, creating a fun sizzle sound, and transferred it to the oven. The recipe called for it to cook 20 minutes and I left it in a few minutes longer (I know my oven) and tested with a toothpick. All was ready!
The chili was fantastic!! I could only taste a hint of gaminess, but the texture was a little different from beef or ground turkey. It was a slightly finer consistancy, which went really well in a chili form. I've heard that venison meatballs are good and I could see why. The spices and tomato consistancy were perfect! I omitted jalepenos from the recipe, out of preference, but found that the cayenne, chili powder, and cumin gave a nice subtle heat.
The cornbread was simply gorgeous. Golden brown and crisp. I was disappointed to see that the center was underdone, despite the toothpick test. I cut the bread from around the edges and popped the skillet back in for another 20 minutes, since it had already cooled. The center cooked up wonderfully. It did need something, which we had a hard time putting our finger on. A little touch of sweetness, perhaps? Maybe even a touch more salt? Shawn suggested creamed corn instead of frozen.... I'll try another recipe to get it down eventually. Love the cast iron skillet method, though!!
My favorite way to eat this was created by a suggestion from my deer benefactor. I put the cornbread in my bowl and topped it with the chili. Then put a little sour cream and a little cheese on the side to add as desired. I've always eaten the bread on the side and thought this would be weird, but I trust her and gave it a shot. Wow. Simply, wow. The textures and flavors of this all together was simply brilliant!! Yum.
Venison Chili- MyRecipes.com
http://www.myrecipes.com/recipe/venison-chili-10000000780398/?k=1
Cracklin Cornbread- Smoke & Spice
*ask if you want the recipe
Sunday, January 29, 2012
Slow Cooker Ribollita- Food Network Magazine
The picture in this recipe looks soooo good and I love the fact that it uses my slow cooker. Seriously, click on the link below to see the picture and you'll be making this, too. My time with my crock pot is almost over.... 15 years and kicking for this amazing, $30 piece of equipment. There's a crack in the crock (lol) that'll pop one of these days, causing me a huge mess and anguish but I just can't bear to replace it yet. I've cooked hundreds and hundreds of meals in this thing and am now pretty convinced that its indestructible. My next one will totally be another Rival.
So, this is a somewhat embarrassing meal for me to blog about, but I'm going to go for it! I've been making soups more often than normal these past few weeks. Soups are one of those things that get easier and easier the more you make them. I remember once, in my early twenties, having a really strong craving for homemade chicken noodle soup. Maybe I was sick, nostalgic, who remembers.... but I decided to make some soup from scratch. I roasted a chicken, pulled it apart, made the stock, made the soup.... 8 hours later I had a just-ok bowl of homemade soup to work with. A decade later and I've learned to manage my time a little better and, thankfully, the taste as well. What's funny about these soups is that I'm pretty much the only one who likes soup in the house. John will try a little bit and Shawn will eat a bowl because he feels obligated. I just take the rest for lunch or freeze for when one of us gets sick. There is NOTHING like homemade soup when you're sick.
I had the ingredients for this at hand, with some light variations, and decided to try it out. On Friday night (yes, I stay home and prep veggies some Friday nights) I cut up 3 carrots and 3 stalks of celery.
Then I sauteed up a few pieces of diced bacon, removed most of the grease, and sauteed the veggies a touch. You don't have to sautee vegetables before putting them in the crockpot, but it really does improve the flavor a bit. While everything sauteed, I rinsed some small dried white beans and picked out the broken and off color ones. I combined the beans, the veggies, the bacon, some bagged cabbage, and a 1/4 cup of tomato paste; topped with water and turned it on. Then I went to bed.
Note- my sense of smell is terrible. My unprofessional diagnosis is that its part allergies and frequent sinus infections and partly because I smoked for so many years.
I woke up on Saturday morning and asked Shawn if it smelled good. He didn't smell anything. Uh-oh.... I checked the crockpot and it was on low. Then I realized..... I didn't plug it in. Total rookie mistake!! I was so annoyed with myself!! I debated for a while on what to do next. Part of me thought I should throw it away, part of me thought it would be ok to proceed. So, I put it out to my friends at Chowhound.com. Common consensus- Bacon is a smoked product that wouldn't spoil and I used water and not chicken stock. Proceed. I turned on the pot, rethought our lunch plans, and went on with my day.
7 hours later, my beans were cooked and the dish was ready for the next step. The recipe calls for stale bread, but I had half of a really good roll that had hardened over night. I put that in the cooker and let it sit a while. It took 2-3 times longer because of the crust and I needed to break it up after a while. The bread disintegrated into the soup, thickening it up nicely. Then I stirred in a 1/4 cup of parmesa cheese and some parsley. I skipped the toasted bread step, and sauteed sliced garlic in oil, adding it to the soup before serving.
The soup looked really, really good. Thankfully, it tasted really really good, too!! I liked the addition of the tomato paste. It gave it a nice note of flavor and color without the acidity of actual tomatoes. The cheese gets a little melty on your spoon as you eat it, which I enjoy. I can imagine that if I had spooned the soup over toasted bread, as suggested, that the cheese would stick to the bread a bit. I just am not a fan of wet bread.
There's a bunch leftover, so I look forward to enjoying some soup throughout the week. I'll give this a go, again. Oh, and I'll always check the plug before going to bed (hangs head in culinary shame).
Slow Cooker Ribollita- Food Network Magazine
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/slow-cooker-ribollita-recipe/index.html
So, this is a somewhat embarrassing meal for me to blog about, but I'm going to go for it! I've been making soups more often than normal these past few weeks. Soups are one of those things that get easier and easier the more you make them. I remember once, in my early twenties, having a really strong craving for homemade chicken noodle soup. Maybe I was sick, nostalgic, who remembers.... but I decided to make some soup from scratch. I roasted a chicken, pulled it apart, made the stock, made the soup.... 8 hours later I had a just-ok bowl of homemade soup to work with. A decade later and I've learned to manage my time a little better and, thankfully, the taste as well. What's funny about these soups is that I'm pretty much the only one who likes soup in the house. John will try a little bit and Shawn will eat a bowl because he feels obligated. I just take the rest for lunch or freeze for when one of us gets sick. There is NOTHING like homemade soup when you're sick.
I had the ingredients for this at hand, with some light variations, and decided to try it out. On Friday night (yes, I stay home and prep veggies some Friday nights) I cut up 3 carrots and 3 stalks of celery.
Then I sauteed up a few pieces of diced bacon, removed most of the grease, and sauteed the veggies a touch. You don't have to sautee vegetables before putting them in the crockpot, but it really does improve the flavor a bit. While everything sauteed, I rinsed some small dried white beans and picked out the broken and off color ones. I combined the beans, the veggies, the bacon, some bagged cabbage, and a 1/4 cup of tomato paste; topped with water and turned it on. Then I went to bed.
Note- my sense of smell is terrible. My unprofessional diagnosis is that its part allergies and frequent sinus infections and partly because I smoked for so many years.
I woke up on Saturday morning and asked Shawn if it smelled good. He didn't smell anything. Uh-oh.... I checked the crockpot and it was on low. Then I realized..... I didn't plug it in. Total rookie mistake!! I was so annoyed with myself!! I debated for a while on what to do next. Part of me thought I should throw it away, part of me thought it would be ok to proceed. So, I put it out to my friends at Chowhound.com. Common consensus- Bacon is a smoked product that wouldn't spoil and I used water and not chicken stock. Proceed. I turned on the pot, rethought our lunch plans, and went on with my day.
7 hours later, my beans were cooked and the dish was ready for the next step. The recipe calls for stale bread, but I had half of a really good roll that had hardened over night. I put that in the cooker and let it sit a while. It took 2-3 times longer because of the crust and I needed to break it up after a while. The bread disintegrated into the soup, thickening it up nicely. Then I stirred in a 1/4 cup of parmesa cheese and some parsley. I skipped the toasted bread step, and sauteed sliced garlic in oil, adding it to the soup before serving.
The soup looked really, really good. Thankfully, it tasted really really good, too!! I liked the addition of the tomato paste. It gave it a nice note of flavor and color without the acidity of actual tomatoes. The cheese gets a little melty on your spoon as you eat it, which I enjoy. I can imagine that if I had spooned the soup over toasted bread, as suggested, that the cheese would stick to the bread a bit. I just am not a fan of wet bread.
There's a bunch leftover, so I look forward to enjoying some soup throughout the week. I'll give this a go, again. Oh, and I'll always check the plug before going to bed (hangs head in culinary shame).
Slow Cooker Ribollita- Food Network Magazine
http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/slow-cooker-ribollita-recipe/index.html
Tuesday, January 17, 2012
Mexican Mac & Cheese- Better Homes & Gardens
This month, I've been cooking and experimenting more often. I'm aiming to work with the food in my freezer and pantry as often as possible to cut back on spending a bit. I went through my handy dandy clipped recipe binder and pulled out those that I could make with whatever I have on hand, give or take an ingredient or two. Then I gave those recipes to Shawn to weed out the ones that he wasn't interested in trying. Its interesting to see what I think he'll like versus what he'll actually try. It surprises me sometimes! This one looked delicious and he seemed pretty interested in it, so I gave it a shot.
Some background on the recipe: Better Homes and Gardens magazine has a section where they give you a topic each month and people can contribute recipes for prizes. I aim to win this one day! In the meantime, I clip other people's recipes to try new things. This recipe won the $500 prize for "new ways with sausage" back in March 2011. I submitted my breakfast potatoes and didn't hear back. Their loss!
Recipe planning can be a little hard when you're working out of the freezer because you have to get your timing just right. You have to get the meat defrosted in time to cook but you can't always guarantee what you'll want to eat the next night. So, I had the sausage all ready to go for the evening and Shawn wasn't feeling pasta. I wasn't feeling sandwiches, so I made the pasta for John and I and cut aside some sausage to make him sausage & pepper sandwiches.
I used bulk sausage and sauteed up about 2/3 of the package with a chopped small onion in a sautee pan. I drained the fat, then added the meat back to the pan with a jar of salsa. I had about 3/4 of a jar from a local farmers market with a little heat to it. While this was going on, I cooked up approximately 12 oz of rigatoni. I've learned with time and practice to always undercook pasta when you're going to be baking it. It'll finish cooking in the oven! I got a hodge podge of cheese together- some colby jack, reduced fat cheddar, and a little sharp cheddar to finish it off. The recipe called for a pound, but I used around 2/3 of a pound to match the rest of the scaled down recipe.
I took a baking dish, coated with spray, and added a layer of pasta, a layer of meat, and a layer of cheese. Repeated the layers- snuck a bite to make sure it tasted good (it did) and put in the oven for 35 minutes. I topped it with some chopped tomatoes and cilantro.
Ooooohhhhh, I love baked pasta. Any kind, really. Its just one of those dishes that I can eat way more than I should. This was like a cross between mac and cheese and baked ziti, but with a Mexican flair. Aka- it was absolutely and ridiculously amazing! The cheese and meat sauce stayed separate, but kind of melted together at the same time. The edges were crispy and the salsa made it all pretty spicy but the chopped tomatoes helped tone it down.
One of my proudest moments was when John took a few bites and said it was spicy. Then he asked for a drink and kept on eating it. My little foodie in training!!! Leftovers were not as plentiful as they should be (I really love baked pasta) but heated up really well the next day. I'll definitely do this again with some turkey sausage and light cheese to lighten it up a bit. I bet some chopped peppers would be good, too.
http://www.bhg.com/recipe/pasta/mexican-mac-and-cheese/
Some background on the recipe: Better Homes and Gardens magazine has a section where they give you a topic each month and people can contribute recipes for prizes. I aim to win this one day! In the meantime, I clip other people's recipes to try new things. This recipe won the $500 prize for "new ways with sausage" back in March 2011. I submitted my breakfast potatoes and didn't hear back. Their loss!
Recipe planning can be a little hard when you're working out of the freezer because you have to get your timing just right. You have to get the meat defrosted in time to cook but you can't always guarantee what you'll want to eat the next night. So, I had the sausage all ready to go for the evening and Shawn wasn't feeling pasta. I wasn't feeling sandwiches, so I made the pasta for John and I and cut aside some sausage to make him sausage & pepper sandwiches.
I used bulk sausage and sauteed up about 2/3 of the package with a chopped small onion in a sautee pan. I drained the fat, then added the meat back to the pan with a jar of salsa. I had about 3/4 of a jar from a local farmers market with a little heat to it. While this was going on, I cooked up approximately 12 oz of rigatoni. I've learned with time and practice to always undercook pasta when you're going to be baking it. It'll finish cooking in the oven! I got a hodge podge of cheese together- some colby jack, reduced fat cheddar, and a little sharp cheddar to finish it off. The recipe called for a pound, but I used around 2/3 of a pound to match the rest of the scaled down recipe.
I took a baking dish, coated with spray, and added a layer of pasta, a layer of meat, and a layer of cheese. Repeated the layers- snuck a bite to make sure it tasted good (it did) and put in the oven for 35 minutes. I topped it with some chopped tomatoes and cilantro.
Ooooohhhhh, I love baked pasta. Any kind, really. Its just one of those dishes that I can eat way more than I should. This was like a cross between mac and cheese and baked ziti, but with a Mexican flair. Aka- it was absolutely and ridiculously amazing! The cheese and meat sauce stayed separate, but kind of melted together at the same time. The edges were crispy and the salsa made it all pretty spicy but the chopped tomatoes helped tone it down.
One of my proudest moments was when John took a few bites and said it was spicy. Then he asked for a drink and kept on eating it. My little foodie in training!!! Leftovers were not as plentiful as they should be (I really love baked pasta) but heated up really well the next day. I'll definitely do this again with some turkey sausage and light cheese to lighten it up a bit. I bet some chopped peppers would be good, too.
http://www.bhg.com/recipe/pasta/mexican-mac-and-cheese/
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
