Macaroni Salad and Pasta Salad

Yep..we have a two-fer..You see, I did not get a picture of the macaroni salad..because it really goes fast at our house...and then today I have been busy getting Marc's birthday cake done (3 layer tropical carrot cake, made with candied ginger, macadamia nuts and coconut in addition to the pineapple..with a coconut cream cheese buttercream...recipe will probably be on my bakingdelights blog tomorrow but I will let you know) and all of a sudden realized, these people want to eat....AGAIN! I can't believe how often they require food.
ANyway...So I found myself totally unprepared and an hour past dinner time...and grabbed the first couple of things that I saw in the pantry..whole wheat rotini and green olives. YEAH! Pasta salad...I had just happened to be blessed this afternoon in a quick run to Kroger..they were putting out the marked down vegetables..and I got a bag full of ORGANIC tomatoes (ripe ripe ripe) for 50 cents. Things like this prove to me, yet again, that I am God's very favorite.
Anyway again...I decided to put the two together..you can try both and see what you like best. And apparently I need to beg for comments...so..please??? Both are better if they set over night but the pasta one can be eaten immediately with out too much problem flavorwise. The macaroni salad needs to sit for sure.
Also..the pasta salad is very flexible..I have used black olives, chicken breast, red onion, pepper, pepperoni, etc etc in it and it is just always good.
Summer time is the perfect time for salad suppers. They are quick, easy and cool on those really hot days. Pasta salad, macaroni salad..comfort food!

Macaroni Salad
serves 6

1 12 oz package of elbow macaroni- cook the stuffin out of it..you want it to be slightly overcooked without falling apart
1 onion chopped
1 green pepper chopped
1 carrot grated
1 jar green salad olives with pimento sliced

1 1/2 c helmans mayo
1/2 c sugar
1 tsp pepper
salt to taste
a little cream to thin if necessary

Mix together and let sit over night. Check seasonings and to make sure you don't need to add more dressing before serving. I can't tell you how many servings this is because it would easily serve one at our house.


Pasta salad

Pasta-rotini, rigatoni, bowties etc cooked
1 onion chopped (red is best if you have it)
1 c sliced olives, any sort
1/2 c italian seasoning
1/2 c cider vinegar
1/2 c sugar (or more to taste)
salt to taste
pepper to taste

Optional:
tomatoes
pepperoni
peppers
mozzerella cheese chunks or shreds
fresh basil
chicken breast
shrimp
feta cheese
croutons
sugar snap peas (in the picture)
limitless...

Wisk vinegar and sugar together, pour over salad ingredients. Sprinkle herbs and seasonings over all. Mix gently but thoroughly and chill.
Serves 6-8

Apronpalooza

O.k..Nan over at Life is Like a Lunchbox is having an apron give away..and it is really cool stuff. She is calling it Apronpalooza.
She has an awesome blog, if you don't regularly indulge then you need to go take a look..but this is over the top as far as I am concerned...I mean APRONS.. I love aprons...I will admit that I don't wear them but maybe if I had some really cute ones I would...
The vintage ones are my favorite..I don't know..too many Donna Reed shows? Maybe..I just know that I always imagine myself in the kitchen deftly putting hte finishing touches to a chocolate fudge layer cake (perfectly level, no weird angles and one layer never slides off the other)wearing my cute little red and white apron, my dress and my high heeled pumps..the reality is probably closer to Ma Kettle...and she wore an apron too.
Anyway..check out the blog..and the aprons that are going to be part of the Apronpalooza! at Nan's blog. She has a cute button that I am having trouble posting but I will prevail over blogger...eventually.


I DID PREVAIL!

the menu

we had a wonderful time. We did not cook out due to a ton of rain on and off all day, but we did spend the day with good friends (who brought 4 of their 6 boys)and had a very relaxing time. Recipes later...We have had all kinds of computer problems of late and Marc has reinstalled the *stuff* about 5 times in the last few weeks...So I am getting a late start.
The menu was:
Dynamites- Marc grew up with these...they are sorta kinda like a sloppy joe with enough crushed red pepper to make your nostrils smoke.
Macaroni salad -and yeah, I cooked the stuffin' out of it
Baked Beans
Chips
Key Lime Pie

so...yum. it was awesome. The tonight I made pork chops with pecan-chipotle stuffing. I'll be posting the recipe for those soon as well. I followed it up with a layered dessert I made with an angel cake that I made and didnt like the look of, almond custard, praline sauce and almonds. It was awesome.

Happy Memorial Day!

I love memorial day picnics..Today is going ot be a low key one because it is raining and that means 2 acres of mud around our 4300 sq ft of potential. Marc will probably brave the elements to grill burgers, I am about to make hamburger buns even as I write, the traditional macaroni salad is in the fridge. I am nto sure what is for dessert..I didnt make ice cream yesterday. Anyway, I was curious, if you are reading this leave a comment and let me know..what is traditional Memorial Day to you? Do you have a special menu or memory?
My dad used to cook burgers every year. We had a pool so our house was where everyone came and dad would stand in front of the grill, in his bathing trunks,with a beer and grill burgers. It was SO Wonder Years. He used to use a honey glaze for the burgers, I have no idea HOW he did it but it was incredible and I so wish I had found out his secret before he died.
My mom made incredible macaroni salad. The last few months of her life she lived with me and we spent her last Memorial Day cooking together in my kitchen. It was one of the few good days she had that summer and I treasure it now..I could never make as good macaroni salad as she did and so I asked her to talk me through it..SHe watched me start to take the al dente macaroni off the stove and said, "That's your problem, you have to cook the stuffin out of it!". So I learned, just in time, that the best macaroni salad starts with over cooked macaroni..now you will know it too!
Anyway..Happy Memorial Day, and thank you to the families of military personel (we have a son in the air force who has served in Iraq), Vets and families of vets (Marc and I are both vets and both of our dads served)..Our prayers and appreciation are with you every day, but especially today.

Biscuits

I had a really hard time learning how to make really good, fluffy, light biscuits. In fact, I am embarrassed to say that it took me nearly 20 years of marriage. But now I know how to do it and in a minute you will too, saving yourself 20 yeas of research. How nice am I?

Biscuits

2 c flour
4 tsp baking powder
1 tbs sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c cold unsalted butter
3/4 c milk
Set oven to 500 degrees. YES 500.
mix dry ingredients. Mix in butter with cold fingers, keep a bowl of ice nearby to dip hands in..this is important. Rubt he butter into the flour mixture with your finger tips and don't let the butter get warm enough to start melting into the flour. You want microscopic bits of butter encapsulated in flour. Work the butter in until the mixture looks like coarse crumbs. Add milk all at once stirring until a soft dough is formed.
Knead dough lightly on a floured board about 5-10 strokes...GENTLE strokes.

Pat out 3/4 inch thick and cut straight down with a smooth sided biscuit cutter or mason jar. Do not twist as you are cutting.
Place just touching on a silpat covered baking sheet. Brush with milk and sprinkle with sugar if desired.
Place in oven until golden. This will only take about6-8 minutes, watch carefully. Serve hot.
2 dozen

I wrote a blog entry this morning on filled doughnuts at my other cooking blog, Baking Delights check it out.

salt water taffy

I love having my kids enjoy cooking..Shiloh (11) was finishing up a study on sugar ane and made salt water taffy...The recipe and photojournal can be found here:

Roots and Wings

By the look on Kyrie's face I would say the recipe was a big hit...Go have a look..the photos are precious if I do say so myself.

Empanadas Mole with Orange Pecan Salsa

I made these last night and they were awesome. It was quicker than I expected and even Kyrie at several.

Prepare a double recipe for your favorite pie crust. Set aside.


3 c refried black beans
1 c raisins minced
1/4 c cilantro chopped
1 tsp dried chopped chipotle or 1 TBS chopped chipotle or more to taste
1 oz unsweetened chocolate chopped
1 tsp cumin
1/2 c colby cheese, grated (optional)

Mix ingredients well, taste and adjust seasonings and spice. Roll out dough and cut with large round cutter or wide mouth jar lid. Moisten edges of dough circle and place a tbs of filling in te center. Fold over and pinch to seal. Deep fry, a few at a time in 370 degree oil until golden, drain.

Meanwhile mix :

1/2 c seville orange marmelade-warmed in microwave until liquid
1 Tbs chipotle
2 Tbs fresh chopped cilantro
1/4 c choppped pecans
2 tbs honey (or to taste)


serve hot with hot orange salsa...Total servings depends on how big your cutter was, I got over 3 dozen.

Cooking with Kyrie

It is always fun to cook with the kids. Well..o.k..not always. Sometimes. Kyrie really likes to pull a stool over to the counter to help.
Today I was making a glazed bread and Kyrie wanted to help.


She stirred really well for awhile and then her curiosity got the better of her...

The glaze came out great..she washed up well..and the memories she will have for ever are worth every sticky minute.

Key Lime Curd

I made scones to take to a ladies meeting at church last night. Actually, I was doing the teaching and I figured if I brought something good they would have to like me. It WORKED!
This is a fabulous go with to nearly anything... you can find the recipe for the ginger scones here

Baking Delights

If you can't get the key lime juice, then use lime juice and a little less sugar. The instructions are to microwave but you can do it the traditional way as well. The end result is not significantly different.

Key Lime Curd

1 1/2 c sugar
4 egg yolks
1 c key lime juice
2 TBS key lime zest, opt.
3/4 c unsalted butter

In a microwave safe bowl whisk egg yolks, sugar, juice, and zest if using it, until smooth. Microwave in one minute intervals until mixture is thick and coats back of metal spoon. Remove from microwave and add butter, a little at a time, wisking smooth after each addition. Let cool completely. Store for up to 3 weeks.

chipotle dark chocolate brownies

This is for the brownie babe of the month challenge from once upon a tart, check it out at

Once Upon A Tart

O.k...this picture is not the best I have ever taken. ..I had some serious trouble getting these to look the way I wanted, partly because I was in a hurry and they were warm when I did the pics.
I am still working on the texture, to be honest with you..Marc liked htem alot..I liked the flavor but the texture was too cakey for what I wanted..so I am going to try cooking htem less time next time. These are better the next day...They are an incredible combination of deep, dark chocolate and smokey chipotle..You take a bite..and you are like..."ahhhh, chocolate.." and then"oooo, some heat..." and then
" OMIGOSH! "

I made them in a round pan because I wanted wedges for presentation purposes. Next time I think I will go with a raspberry coulis to plate it with...just for color.

Intense Chipotle Chocolate Brownies
serves 12..maybe

2 oz unsweetened chocolate chopped
1 stick butter plus 2 TBS
melt together and stir until smooth....

1 1/4 c dark brown sugar
1 Tbs cinnamon
3 eggs
1 tsp mexican vanilla
6 tbs hersheys dark cocoa
3/4 c flour
1 c chocolate chips
1 Tbs Archer Farms chipotle peppers (I dont know who else does these..they are in the herb and spices section and are small pieces, not a powder)

Mix wet ingredients into dry ingredients and pour into a greased 8" round cake pan. Cook at 325 for 30 minutes or until moist crumb comes out with tester.
Let cool

1/4 c heavy cream
1 c chocolate chopped

Bring cream to just under a boil and add chocolate. Remove from heat. Stir until smooth. Spread ganache over cooled brownies.

Here they are!

I promised. Here is the recipe for the lemon cookies I made the other night, complete with pictures thanks to my stolen batteries....
The recipe makes 4 dozen...if you get less than that it is becauseyou have been eating the dough.

Lemon Pistachio Cookies
4 dozen

1 stick butter (or half butter/ half crisco)
1 1/4 c sugar
1 egg
1 c chopped pistachios or macadamias
1 c white chocolate chunks or chips
2 c flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
grated rind of one lemon
1/4 c lemon juice

cream butter, sugar, and egg until smooth..add lemon juice and mix well.
stir dry ingredients together with lemon rind and add thoroughly to butter mixture. FOld in white chocolate and pistachios. Chill for 15-20 minutes.
Drop heaping teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart on a silpat or parchment covered baking sheet. bake at 350 for 8-10 minutes or until just done and just turning color. Cool before storing.
These will fall apart whent hey are warm..They firm on setting.

melt 1/4 c butter, and add 2 TBS lemon juice. Add enough confectioners sugar to make a thick frosting and spread on warm cookies.

These taste like lemonaide on the veranda. No, not like it was spilled...I mean you could close your eyes and pretend to be a genteel southern belle relaxing on the verabda on a hot summer day..even in November. They disappeared within hours. I think the kids got one or two..and maybe Marc did...but you know, sometimes it's every man for himself...

Later..

I have a doctor's appointment today. Yuck. Nothing wrong..just that I have not had a checkup since the late 1980's (yes I DID type that correctly) and since I seem to be done producing children (Kyrie turns 4 this summer) I thought it was time to get the internal wiring inspected for shorts... Plus..I am ex military so I have VA benefits that I just have not been using. Eh. But I really dislike going to the doctor.
Therefore there will be no blogging today..I expect to be shell shocked when I get home, needed a strong latte and perhaps sitting and mumbling intelligible gibberish as I stare off into space.
However, tomorrow I am going to post a recipe for soem awesome cookies I think I perfected last night... Lemon white chocolate chip pistachio...with buttery lemon glaze.
They were incredible...Light...lemony...delicate..chewy...AND I swiped batteried from one of the kids' leap pads so I actually got pictures.
See ya tomorrow!

Cookbooks

I have a few favorite cookbooks. Most of them are out of print, vintage things that I find in various conditions at the local thrift shop or garage sale. My favorites are the ones that have notes in the margins, faded with time, in spidery handwriting...things like "George likes this", or, "use less sugar"...whatever. The cookbooks give me a peek into someone else's life..someone like me who had a family and cooked and changed recipes around to suit her own personality and taste.
I also like them because, if you haven't noticed, modern cookbooks are NOT family friendly. Serves 4. BAH! In my family those meager portions serve 2 at best and I have 8 altogether..I hate doing that much math. Let's face it..I have a husband that is a well built (and I mean WELL built...*sigh*) 6'6" 205 lbs. He has to eat about 9,000 calories a day just to be able to breathe....add to that two teenage sons with the same type of metabolism (life is SO unfair..God and I are going to really have a talk about this someday), an 11 year old daughter with that same metabolism..and 3 younger children that believe food in unlimited supply is guaranteed in the Bill of Rights...You are talking about ALOT of food. Thank God the oldest two have moved out and are fending for themselves grocery wise!
When I open a cookbook and it says in the ingredients...1 lb of ground beef and ends with *serves 4-6* I know that the author is a single mom and has all girls.
Nope, I love the old farm cookbooks, really anything published before 1960 is perfect. I scanned the cover of one of my books to make the background for the Apron Strings banner at the top.
I was going to post pictures but I have no batteries today! So I will come back and post pictures of them later...or not.

These are NOT in order.

Jan Karon's Mitford Cookbook- I love her books. Cooking from this cookbook is alot like getting recipes from old friends. She has recipes interspersed with anecdotes and quotes. This is a summer afternoon with a glass of sweet tea and cookies sprawled on the couch kind of book.
Ida Baily ALlen's Money Saving Cook Book, Eating For Victory yes! It is AWESOME. A world War 2 cookbook that has everything you could want to know about living on less. Seriously there are 3 seperate recipes for scrapple!

Farm Journal Homemade Bread I like any of the Farm Journal cookbooks but I especially like this one. Nice and basic and very chatty. I also own the Candy cookbook from this same publisher. Awesome thrift shop find.

Cooking For American Homemakers Tis is HUGE, a dictionary type cookbook that has everythign you could ever want to cook in the way of everyday family food.

America Cooks This is by the General Federation of WOmen's clubs and contains a collection of recipes from women all over the country. Lots of regional stuff in here and I love the diversity! This contains a leftover recipe from, I am sure, a 1930's style *Pink Party* a party where all of the food was pink..
Here it is in it's glory...make at your own risk.

Pink Arctic Salad
serves 6-8

2 3oz packages of cream cheese
2 TBS sugar
Dash salt
2 TBS mayonnaise
1 lb canned cranberries, undrained (I would think you would need fresh cranberries and cranberry juice? I have never seen canned canberries that werent sauce)
9 oz can crushed pineapple drained.
1/2 c chopped pecans
2 c heavy cream, whipped.

Beat cheese, sugar, salt and mayo until smooth
stir in berries, pineapple and pecans.
fold in whipped cream. Pour into refrigerator tray (or mold???) and freeze, stirring occasionally.
That recipe comes from a Mrs. Mass in Ackerman, Miss. One of these days I am going to try it..maybe.

So..what are your favorites? What cookbooks do you go to over and over? Share!

The Perfect Taco Salad

Yay! Summer is here!
Actually, here in Texas summer never left..it only took a short nap...but taco salad is saved for the hottest days, those days when using an oven is impossible due to the concern that the added heat from the oven would pop the top on the ozone and global warming would turn this area into an ez bake oven....You might htink I am exagerating but try baking on a 112 degree day when you arent using your air conditioning becuase your 4300 sq ft of potential costs as much to air condition as the entire Island of Manhatten. ...yeah.
O.k..Taco salad. Great stuff. As usual the measurements are not exact because for an infelxible, O/C person I am really random. Feel free to adjust to your own taste ..but make more than you think you will need. It does not store well, so mix it shortly before serving.

Lettuce....mixed salad greens are great but for this salad to be truly Texas style you need the bland iceburg style. I know...but trust me.
Fresh Cilantro, stemmed and coarsely chopped
onion chopped
1 bag of frozen corn thawed
diced tomatoes -do not use cherry tomatoes you want the juice to ooze over everything else.
ground beef browned and seasoned with chili powder, garlic, salt, pepper, cumin and crushed red pepper if you want it spicy
colby cheese, shredded
Monterey jack cheese shredded
sour cream
salsa
strips of corn tortilla, fried crispy or not as you like..sometimes I do it one way and other times the other..last night I did not fry them.
ranch dressing

other ingredients to include that weren't in last night's salad:
pinto beans
black beans
kidney beans
cucumber
avocado
jalapeno
green onion

I make my own tortillas because they taste fresher. When I am making them for this salad I dont worry too much about shape and I allow them to char a bit more than I normally would..Just be sure to roll thinly between 2 pieces of parchment or wax paper (parchment works way better) and keep dough moist.


After you mix the warm water into the masa dough roll into balls.....



roll out between 2 sheets of parchment and then peel the paper off carefully and put into a HOT pan..Seriously for this recipe I like them a little on the charred side...You may want to keep them lighter..


Do NOT leave out the cilantro..it is what makes the difference in this salad and brings it up a level tastewise.



And, VOILA!
This is really a quick meal...at it's best with a tall glass of southern sweet tea and fresh melon for dessert.

Awww....Honey ..honey...

O.k..well if you are my age you recognizet he title as a line from a song by the Archies. If you are not my age..then just assume that old people are weird and go on to read the fabulous ramblings I have for you today.

I grew up, or at least spent my elementary years, in Bucks County, Pa. Fabulously historic and beautiful...and there had to be one million different kinds of honey available.
I think that when I was growing up we ate more things that were produced locally. There was less of a mixing together of cultures and regions than now. I know that when I visited relatives in Michigan we had wonderful Alfalfa honey, pickled bologna, salt rising bread, bean soup...yummy... And in Pa there were things like apple fritters adn funnel cakes and Drake Yodels. Then we moved to Texas and a gastric wasteland..but that is for another blog...I will say I did however finally come to terms with Tex-mex and now I love it.
Anyway, Florida introduced me to orange blossom honey, and I ended up trying every honey from every region I have ever driven through. Eucalyptus honey, blueberry honey, wildflower honey, buckwheat honey, clover honey...and on and on.
God is incredibly creative, as creativity goes, and the idea that there can be such a variation in something as simple and good as honey is mind boggling. It is like wine tasting ..sort of.
For an unusual snack or brunch have a honey tasting. With the ability to order things on the internet we have a huge variety of things available that just weren't available years ago.
I still think biscuits are the number one best carriers for honey. Warm, with butter melting and oozing down the side and a glob of amber colored sweetness in the center, there really is nothing better..or use a slice of homemade bread cut into fourths and buttered. Be sure and use unsalted butter so you get the pure taste of the honey. I would serve a simple black tea with this, rather than coffee..maybe an Earl Grey or Earl Grey Vanilla, or an English Afternoon..Irish Breakfast might be nice if you like it a little stronger. Do go with raw honey for the best flavor, but do not feed it to children under the age of 2.

Buckwheat is strong and dark. It has a sweet and cloying flavor. It will really overpower white bread and I think it is at it's best on a whole wheat or oatmeal black walnut loaf.
Tupelo is so delicate it will not crystalize. It has been described as buttery, with melon and pear flavors
Sourwood-nothing like what it sounds! Spicy with maple notes..
Black Sage I admit to not havign tried this one yet. It is said to be reminiscent of european style honeys, with fruity notes and vanilla.
French Lavendar another one on my wish list. :)
Orange Blossom lightly citrus with almond notes
Wildflower Wildflower honey is different from region to region and from year to year. It is normally sweet and light, with a (no duh) flowery perfume.

There are so many more but in any tasting you would want to focus on variety and I think this would be the most you would want..In fact choosing five would be a better plan.
Here are some links I found to some of the honey I mentioned. You may be able to find some of it locally.

Kitchen Renovation Fantasies

Dinner last night was:

Greek Lemon Chicken with buckwheat honey/lemon glaze
Herbed Brown Rice
Broccoli with Lemon Butter
Triple Layer Chocolate Raspberry Fudge Cake
and a Peter Brum Liebfraumilch white wine with the main course and the rest of the asti from a few weeks ago with the dessert...pretty good. The bad thing was that the frosting would not set up and even in the fridge it was slippery and the two top layers slipped off the cake and left a HUGE mess..Good..but not a recipe I will make again.

I have been considering my kitchen. If you go to my profile you will see a list of a million blogs. On this list is one called frozen music..One would think it was about an Icelandic Jazz Quartet but no..it is the blog about renovating my house..which I do in my spare time when I am not homeschooling, being creative or cooking...or gazing at my extremely hot husband. If you go to the frozen music website you will see a c0lleciton of pictures of my renovations..but none of the kitchen. This is because I have not yet done the kitchen. I am saving it. Well, that and the fact that it is gonna be expensive.
I am leaning toward beadboard ceiling, rock maple counters, and a warming drawer..I have, at this moment in time, 4 ovens (yes 4), 2 dishwashers, 4 burners and one griddle. I think I can do well with just 2 ovens...but I would like a warming drawer, and I would like to convert the stove to gas. We do have gas hot water heater and heat so i dont think running hte line would be much of a problem.You gotta love old houses..My kitchen has so much storage I have cabinets and drawers that are empty. Yes it is true.
Anyway..Our house is sort of a bridge between Victorian and Arts and Crafts..and I lean toward the arts and crafts style, especially for kitchens...This is one of my favorite books..


I plan on having a farmhouse style sink, no upper cabinets (remember have have a ton of storage)and a mocha/red/and maybe green color combo...not sure...I am looking forward to getting started.
Whatever I do I will never have another stainless steel topped stove. It looks HORRIBLE.
This is the dining area...it is part of the kitchen, seperated by a long pennisula counter..

and this is looking into the kitchen area..You dont want a close up...it looks better from a distance.

chocolate...chocolate...chocolate.......

Chocolate is, as you may have figured out, one of the things that I consider essential to life. Jesus, my husband, chocolate...usually in that order but sometimes, I will admit that I would take a Godiva hazelnut truffle over either the Lord OR my husband when I feel especially pms-y. OMG I had a Godiva choclate mocha latte from the store the other day....try it..it is incredible.

Any way...I wanted to send some cookies up to my oldest daughter and her family in Pa. One...because I am awesome nice but..two..because I know they miss my cookign and I figure I can maybe lure them back with the right bait...So I looked to see what I had and came up with these. They are fabulous with coffee OR milk...and I am thinking that two of them pressed together with a glob of chocolate ice cream in the middle would be heavenly.


Double chocolate toffee cookies

1/2 c unslated butter
1/2 c butter flavored crisco (I dont like using the crisco and sometimes I will use all butter but all butter will make the cookies flatter)
3/4 c white sugar
3/4 c brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tbs mexican vanilla
2 c flour
1/2 c hershey's dark cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 c white chocolate chips
1/2 c pecans or walnuts
1 c heath bar chopped up or toffee pieces

Cream butter, crisco, sugars, eggs and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add dry ingredients. Fold in chips, nuts, and toffee. Chill for 30 minutes.
Drop by tsp on silpat or lightly greased cookie sheets. Bake for 8-10 minutes until just barely done. Cool. ABout 4 doz depending how much of the dough you eat.

The Recipes For Yesterday's Menu

Not a very imaginative title is it?


Texas Chicken Fried Steak

3-4 oz tenderized chuck steak per person
salt and pepper to taste

Breading:
1 tsp roasted garlic powder
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 c flour

1 c or more of buttermilk
1 egg
beat together until a little frothy and well mixed


Before making hte steaks everything else should be done or nearly done.
Dip the meat into the milk/egg and then into the flour. Shake off excess and dredge through the flour again. put in the hot oil as quickly as possible.

Heat 1 inch or so of vegetable oil in a heavy skillet. When the oil crinkles on the surface it is hot enough. Fry on one side until juices begin to bubble up on the top of the breading and then turn it over. Approximately 4-5 minutes per side. The oil should be somewhere between 300-325 degrees for best results. The oil should not totally cover the steaks but come up halfway on the sides. If you have to cook in batches, as I did, keep warm in the oven, set at about 250. Don't hold for too long.


Cream Gravy
Pour off all but about 2 Tbs oil and add flour (2 tbs) to make a light roux. Add 2 cups of cream, or milk, or a combination, and stir until there are no lumps and gravy thickens. Add salt and pepper and a little garlic to taste. Go heavy on the pepper...trust me.


Smashed potatoes
I always figure one potato per person..and one for the pot..you do it however you want.

Potatoes
4 cloves garlic
1 onion
1/2 c buttermilk
1/4 c butter
salt/pepper to taste
1/4 c chopped fresh cilantro

Wash the potatoes (red skin work well here, but anything is good..Semper Gumby)really well and chop,with skin on, into 1 inch pieces. Toss in a pot with 1 chopped onion and 4 cloves of garlic. Barely cover with water, salt, and bring to a boil. Simmer until tender and drain.
Add 1/2 cup buttermilk per 6 potatoes and 1/4 c butter. Smash with a potato masher until coursley smashed rather than whipped. You want this to be rustic and homey. Mix in cilantro, taste for seasoning and adjust as needed.

Angel Biscuits

These are a yeast risen combination between rolls and biscuits. Biscuits are traditional with Chicken fried steak but I think the next time I will use traditional soda biscuits- they soak up the gravy better. ANyway, angel biscuits recipes are all over the internet ..try

My friend, Juanita, makes incredible salads. I always ask her to provide them..Yesterdays was a masterful combination of lettuce, avocado, sunflower seeds, green onion,peppers, mushrooms, tomatoes, and greek dressing.

Gingerbread Ice cream

5 c cream, raw goat milk (it is creamy enough to make good ice cream), or a combo of cream and half and half.
1 1/2 c sugar
1/4 cup Monin Gingerbread syrup
pinch salt
1/4 c crystalized ginger
1 egg

Mix well and add to ice cream freezer according to manufacturer's instructions.

Crispy Peach Cobbler

o.k..I LOVE peach crisps. I love that streusel on top...But Southern peach cobbler with the doughy bits in the center is TDF, too. I decided to combine the two to see what happened. It was magic. Try it. Feed it to your sister that looks like a fashion model...and always makes you feel like an elephant in a tutu when you are together. She will develop hips over night..I promise.


1 recipe pastry for a single crust pie, chilled.

12c peaches, peeled and sliced
1 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 c sugar
1/4 c flour
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp freshly ground nutmeg (please, please buy whole nutmeg and grate it as needed..big difference.)
1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbs lemon juice
1/2 c unsalted butter, melted

Stir together and let set for 30 minutes for flavors to meld

grease a 13x9 inch pan. preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Roll pastry dough out into a 1/8 inch thick rectangle and brush with a little butter, then sprinkle with white sugar. Cut into 1"x1" squares. Pour half the peach mixture into the pan and top with the dough squares. Bake for 20 minutes...

Meanwhile...Mix 1/2 c flour. 1/2 c brown sugar, 1/2 c oatmeal, 1/2 c butter, a pinch of salt, 1/4 tsp cinnamon, and chopped pecans if you want them. Mix with fingers until ingredients are well mixed and crumbly.

Take first layer of cobbler from the oven and top with the remaining filling. COver with the streusal and put bake into the oven for 20-30 minutes, or until juices are thickened and streusel is crispy. Some of the juice may boil up and cover part of the streusel..that's o.k..it is fabulous.
Let cool as long as you can stand.

And the Verdict IS......

Wow. Really, really good.
It was a little different than I anticipated. For one, rather than the mere eight of us, we invited friends over after church to partake of the magic that I hoped was going to happen. Since large families have rather a herd instinct and are most comfortable with other large families we had a grand total of 14 people. Two men, two women, 1 11 year old girl, one 3 year old girl that is practicing to be anorexic, and 8 boys; 17,14,13,13,11,9,8,6.
That number would daunt the most hardened mess hall cook but I perservered with high hopes that even if it did not work well, the sheer number of adolescent males in the group would insure that there were no left overs.
We decided against the wine in deference to our friends' personal beliefs. I am kind of glad that we did because I think it would do much better with something else later in the week. I put together a peach cobbler, put the potatoes on to boil, mixed up the angel biscuits and made our custom blended blackberry, lemon, and rose iced tea as I waited for the to get here. The hardest thing was the fact that I could only fry 4 steaks at a time and that was not good. I think that probably you want to have several frying pans going if you are doing so many. I also decided to do a gingerbread icecream to go with the peach cobbler. Because of the heat and the humidity today it really took much longer to freeze but even at soft texture was really good. I will post the recipes tomorrow, I want to go back over them and make note of what I actually did.

The menu:

Texas Chicken Fried Steak
Garlic smashed potatoes
Salad (my friend brought it)
Angel biscuits
butter
buckwheat honey
blueberry blossom honey
Cream gravy
Peach cobbler
Gingerbread ice cream with crystalized ginger

We had a great time and the food was awesome. Try this menu... I think you will like it.

Cost: $$ The steak was on sale for 2.49 lb..I ended up with 16 pieces for about
$16.00. I used all goats' milk for the ice cream and gravy which means it
is very low cost. I calculated it at about 2.20 per person
Time: This was a little labor intensive. You want to have a full afternoon to
do this meal if you are doing it for alot of people but it does lend
itself well to cooking with someone and sharing the work while you chat.
On a scale of one to ten I would give it a 6 or 7. The ice cream is
especially nice with the cobbler.

Life got in the way

I really meant to do that dinner last night but life intervened and, between taking my daughter to a slumber party and my husband getting home earlier than expected the meal did not happen.
We went to plan b, which around here is banana splits. Yep, huge, homemade banana splits...For dinner.
Very irresponsible of us but the kids love it, and of course they are treated to the thinly veiled coveteousness of their friends when they reveal our family's deep, dark secret...once in awhile...just for kicks...we have dessert for dinner.

Good food is about the unexpected, the untried, the adventure of it all. And, it was fun.
Today I was on my back on the couch all day from a combinatation of middle aged ills, and so I had my chef in training (13 year old son) grab some pizza dough I had made and frozen last week out of the freezer and he made a coupel of incredible pizzas and some really excellent homemade catalina dressing to go on the salads.
Hopefully *the* dinner will be tomorrow...

white chocolate and lime

I can't get the combination out of my head. It just sounds so perfect. This weekend I am going to work on a recipe for it and I am having trouble decidng which way to go..
I think that a white chocolate cheese cake with a macadamia nut and lemon cookie crust and lime curd topping would be beautiful as well as delicious..refreshing for summer.
But....
I am also leanign toward a white chocolate cake with lime curd filling and a white chocolate frosting...
I will let you know what I decide..and I will post the recipe.

Tonight's dinner:

Homemade chicken fried steak
Mashed garlic potatoes
fried okra
angel biscuits
gravy
peach cobbler

ANd I have a bottle of Peter Brum 2005 Liebfraumilch that I am considering pairing with it...A am hesitant about it because of the old stigma of white wine and beef..but the breading and frying of the meat, combined with the peach cobbler dessert make me think I can pull it off.
I will let you know tomorrow how it went..and I will remember to take pictures.

I don't think it gets more southern that that, does it?

My BEST meal last week

And I did not get a picture. Who knew that I would begin another blog..
Anyway...
One of the biggest challenges I face, personally, is creating dishes that satisfy me on a creative level but that the kids, with their woefully unrefined palates, will eat. This worked really well...

Hamburgers with pistachio pesto
Rustic potatoes, spinach, and fontina cheese
Salad of baby spring greens with oranges, strawberries and balsamic dressing
Dark chocolate pudding garnished with pistachios
2006 Dornfelder Wine


I will post the recipes in a minute...be patient.

The pistachio pesto was incredible...Smooth, a hint of spiciness but mellow because of the pistachio... a dollop of it atop a juicy burger on a crusty roll is amazing and simple..and I need more amazing and simple things in my life. The burgers were standard burgers sprinkled with some kosher salt and coarsely ground pepper..O.k., I more than sprinkled with the pepper..I kind of coated them.. but we like it that way.
The potato dish added a nice clean taste to the complexities of the pesto burgers and the salad was sharp and a nice complement to the other two dishes. Honestly I did not have strawberries but later I thought that they would have been a nice touch. The pudding reintroduced the pistachio flavor and was a nice finish. I think the next time I will add a little orange liquer to the pudding to pull in the orange flavor as well.
Oh my gosh, the wine was amazing. Not really an expensive wine, less that $10 a bottle, as I recall....Very fruity and full and it intensified the flavors of the pesto while also complementing the fontina. Really nice.
I love it when things come together like this.

Time: 1 - 1 1/2 hours
Cost: inexpensive the most expensive things, besides the wine, are the pistachios and fontina. This was about 2.50 a person without the wine.
Servings: every thing I do is based on 8 servings.


Recipes:

Pistachio Pesto

1 c raw, unsalted pistachios..toasted in a 400 degree oven
2 c fresh cilantro
1 Tbs lemon juice
1 Tbs orange juice
1 tsp orange peel
1 chopped garlic clove
3/4 tsp cardamom
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 c olive oil

process the ingredients except the olive oil until a coarse paste forms..gradually add olive oil with machine running. For best flavor make this a day ahead. Trust me, you will be putting it on toast in the morning. Good stuff

Rustic Potatoes

8 good size potatoes,red skinned or any kind you have
1 large onion chopped
1 16 oz package frozen chopped spinach or 1 lb chopped fresh spinach
8 oz fontina cheese-chilled and grated.
salt and pepper to taste
butter for sauteeing.

Scrub potatoes. Leaving skin on, cut into large chunks. Boil the potatoes until almost done, firm but not mealy.
Meanwhile in a nice size saute pan heat a little butter and add chopped onion. Sautee until onion is transparent and add spinach and drained potatoes. Heath through, test for seasoning. Just before serving stir in 3/4 of the grated cheese, and then top with the rest.

Balsamic dressing

I make mine with good balsamic vinegar, oil and honey or sugar to taste..then I add whatever will complement the other food..in this case I added orange juice, and a little lemon and adjusted the sweetener.


Dark Chocolate Pudding

This is extra creamyand quick to make..Do use a good cocoa. I like to use Hershey's special dark cocoa, which is hard to find here...Amazon has it..see links at the bottom of the page.

1 c sugar
2/3 c dark cocoa
1/2 c cornstarch
pinch salt
5 1/2 cups milk*
1/3 c unsalted butter
1 Tbs mexican vanilla
chopped pistachios for garnish

* Use whole milk rather than reduced fat for best results. Also I use fresh, raw goats milk...to get that same creaminess if you dont have that available try 4 c milk and 1 1/2 c half and half or heavy cream.

Mix dry ingredients and add milk slowly, stirring until smooth. Microwave for 6-9 minutes, stirring every minute, until mixture is thick and coats a spoon. Remove from microwave and add unsalted butter, a tablespoon a a time. Add vanilla. Cover with buttered plastic wrap to keep a skin from forming. Or, if your family is really weird, like a couple of my kids, chill it in a shallow dish uncovered so it forms a gigantic skin. (ewwww)
When cool sprinkle with the chopped pistachios.

I served the dornfelder at about 50 degrees. I know..that is a little chilly but I like it a little colder than normal.
So there it is. My best recipe from last week.

Quote for the Day:
"Good cooking does not depend on whether the dish is large or small, expensive or economical. If one has the art, then a piece of celery or salted cabbage can be made into a marvelous delicacy; whereas if one has not the art, not all the greatest delicacies and rarities of land, sea or sky are of any avail."
Yuan Mei

Another one?

Why not? I don't have a cooking blog. So, the purpose of this is to record my recipes, what I am cooking, what I like and what I don't..the cool gadgets I find and..of course....chocolate. I also plan to link to the ingredients and the cool gadgets I am talking about..HOW COOL IS THAT?
Yeah. In a few days I will have the design finished and the blog up and running...Until then..grab your best Betty Crocker apron and a cookbook and curl up on the couch with a few chocolate truffles or maybe some Lorna Doones..WOW! Think about it, Lorna Doone cookies and a cup of frothy, rich, hot chocolate. I'll be back.