Still Cooking, just not Posting

Ok, we really have been eating these last couple of months. Not a lot terribly new or exciting but still cooking.

However, I finally did try out a fun new recipe last night and it was considered a huge hit across the board (the kids and my husband). Here's what we had:

Grilled Teriyaki Chicken Meatball Kebabs
(from www.heathersdish.com)

1 pound ground chicken
1/2 cup panko bread crumbs or regular plain breadcrumbs
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce plus more for dipping
1 carrot, shredded
1/2 red onion, shredded
1 clove garlic, minced
1 egg
salt and pepper to taste
1 pineapple, cored and cut into 1-inch cubes
1 red onion, cut into 1-inch cubes
other optional veggies: peppers, zucchini, squash (we used yellow and red peppers)

Mix together the ground chicken, bread crumbs, teriyaki sauce, carrot, onion, garlic, egg, and salt and pepper. Make mini meatballs by forming 1 Tbsp scoops into balls and place on a baking sheet. Refrigerate while you turn on the grill to medium heat and assemble the remaining items for the skewers. As a side note, you don't have to make skewers, but it is definitely more festive. Thread each skewer with a chunk of pineapple, a chunk of red onion, other option veggies and one meatball, then repeat. Spray the grill carefully with nonstick spray or brush with olive oil. Gently place each skewer on the grill. Grill for about 5 minutes on each side until the center of the meatballs are done and the grill marks are beautifully charred. Remove from heat and serve with rice and extra dipping sauce.

Along with the kebabs, I made the following Coconut-Ginger Rice which was super tasty:

Coconut-Ginger Rice
(from www.recipegirl.com)
Yields 8 servings

1/4 cup butter
2 T sushi grade ginger, drained and chopped (we didn't have this so I just added a little powdered ginger)
2 T garlic, minced
1/2 cup sweet onions, finely diced
2 cups white Jasmine rice (I used brown rice which worked great, just needed a lot more cooking time, more like 45 minutes)
1/2 cup coconut milk
4 cups water
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper (didn't add)
1 T pesto (didn't add)

Directions
1. Melt butter in medium-sized pot over medium heat.
2. Add ginger, garlic and onions, stir frequently until onions are transparent. Add rice, turning frequently until well coated. Add coconut milk, water, salt and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for approximately 20 minutes (until liquid is absorbed).
3. Remove from heat and let stand 5-6 minutes. Turn rice into serving bowl, add basil pesto and toss with fork to fluff and distribute flavor.

I added some fresh steamed snap peas and we had a complete meal.

After our feast, the boys asked for a treat and decided on ice cream. I saw we had some bananas on the counter so I suggested banana-split sundaes. That was their first banana split sundae and after their reaction it definitely won't be their last!!

I'll definitely make this meal again.

Christmas

Yes, I'm doing catch up posts here! Christmas lunch was also successful. Our total was a slightly smaller 9 people (including our immediate family of 4). I decided to rack of lamb and roasted potatoes.

Our official menu was rack of lamb, Honey baked ham, roasted potatoes, green beans, carrot souffle and apple/cranberry crumble pies (from a local bakery - Big Sugar).

For the Rack of Lamb, I didn't find one recipe that really worked for me so I took bits and pieces from a bunch and sort of created my own. I made a homemade breadcrumb mixture in the Cuisinart by processing some wheat bread, some fresh garlic, some fresh rosemary, some salt and then added some olive oil to give it a good texture for staying on the lamb chops.

I put the racks of lamb on a large roasting pan, sprinkled them with salt and pepper, smeared on a small layer of Dijon mustard and then put a good thick coating of the bread crumb mixture. Preheated the over to 450. Roasted for a good 10 minutes and then reduced the heat to 400. The lamb chops took much longer than I expected, probably close to a good 30 minutes. They turned out pretty good (and my nephew who is rather picky ate at least 8-10 lamb chops himself!)

For the roasted potatoes, I just took small fingerling-type potatoes, cut then into small slices, added some olive oil, fresh chopped rosemary, and salt. Put in a large casserole dish and roasted at 375 for a good 2 hours (stirring now and then and also checking to make sure not overly cooked earlier).

For the carrot souffle, I found this on-line and always wanted to try it. I'm really glad I did - I just need to plan better next time. I decided to make this only after I was only about an hour or so out from needing to serve everything. I had to go with the individual ramekins so they'd have the shorter cooking time.

Here's the link and recipe for the carrot souffle:

http://www.stephmodo.com/2007/12/carrot-souffle.html

Carrot Souffle

1 3/4 lbs. carrots, peeled and chopped
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla
2 tB. all purpose flour
3 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup butter
confectioners sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). In a large pot of boiling water, cook the carrots until very tender. Drain, and transfer to a large mixing bowl. While the carrots are warm, use an electric mixer to beat with sugar, baking powder and vanilla extract until smooth (I think my steamed carrots were not quick soft enough when I started mixing everything so I transferred the mixture to my Cuisinart and pureed with that - made things super smooth and definitely easy). Mix in the flour, eggs, and butter. Transfer to a 2 quart baking dish. Bake one hour in the preheated oven, or until top is golden brown. Dust lightly with confectioners' sugar before serving.

Note: If you want to use individual ramekins instead of one dish, adjust the cooking time to about 30-35 minutes depending on your oven. Keep an eye on them to avoid over-cooking them. I read online that one person liked to puree the carrots with the butter, sugar and vanilla and then add in the baking powder with the eggs and flour. Apparently the souffle rises better. I think I'll try that next time.

Thanksgiving

Almost hard to remember back as far as Thanksgiving since I've taken so long to post. We had a wonderful lunch for 14 people. We were worried about the prospects of rain so we even set up for indoor seating for everyone. Tables looked great!

Our menu consisted of

• A dry-brined natural (non-frozen) organic turkey (dry brine was lemon zest, salt and rosemary)
• Honey-baked ham (MIL brought)
• Great cheese platter with various cheeses and fruits and nuts and crackers
• Stuffing with ciabata bread, dried apricots and sausage
• Green beans
• Cranberry sauce (recipe to follow as this is my go-to recipe for cranberry sauce and I can't imagine any other turning out this tasty)
• Mashed potatoes
• My mom's yam casserole
• My mom's famous gravy
• Homemade pumpkin dinner rolls
• Julienne apple pies
• Costco pumpkin pie

Here's the cranberry sauce recipe from recipegirl.com (http://www.recipegirl.com/2007/11/12/maple-tangerine-cranberry-sauce/)

MAPLE- TANGERINE CRANBERRY SAUCE
www.RecipeGirl.com

Servings: 12

2 cups strained fresh tangerine juice (from about 12 tangerines)
3 cups fresh or frozen cranberries (12 ounce bag)
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup pure maple syrup, preferably Grade B
1 whole cinnamon stick
1 tsp finely grated tangerine zest
pinch of kosher salt

1. In a 10-inch skillet, combine all of the ingredients. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat and then reduce to maintain a gentle simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the liquid has thickened somewhat and looks slightly syrupy, about 30 minutes.

2. Remove the cinnamon stick and let the cranberry sauce cool in the pan- it will thicken a bit more as it cools. Serve slightly chilled or at room temperature.

Cooking Tips
*12 tangerines is an estimate (depends on the size of your tangerines and how juicy they are). You can also buy fresh squeezed tangerine juice and strain out the pulp. I used half tangerine juice and half orange juice and it turned out wonderful. You do need the zest from a tangerine, so be sure to use at least one fresh one.
*Be sure to remove the cinnamon stick when the sauce is done simmering. The cinnamon flavor will be plenty noticeable, but you don’t want it to overpower.
*This sauce may be made up to a week ahead. Cover and chill.

Fall Has Hit - Pumkin Scrumptiousness!

Okay, based on my lack of posts, it looks like I haven't cooked in 2 months. I have but not much. I think I have a couple good finds to eventually get up here but on the most part it was very simple fare around our house for two reason - 1) crazy busy at work so getting home too late to spend any time on dinner, and 2) I fractured my hand so I had a cast - ever tried to prep, cook, clean, etc with a cast? Doesn't work so well. Finally got my cast off late last week.

Anyway, last night we had a hectic evening of gym class but I was determined to make this recipe and ultimately it worked out great with our schedule. I made the rice in the microwave (since I used brown rice it was going to take a long time on the stove - next time I'll try to make the rice a day in advance to make this even easier), cooked the bacon, chopped the cheese and the fresh herbs and smashed the garlic. While the rice was cooking, I opened up the pumpkin and cleaned it out. Stuffed everything in and popped it into the preheated oven... off we went to gym class while it cooked (it needed to cook a good 1 1/2 to 2 hours) and voila, we had an awesome smelling house when we got home and a great dinner too.

Here's the recipe... http://weekofmenus.blogspot.com/2010/10/pumpkin-stuffed-with-deliciousness-and.html

Pumpkin Stuffed with Deliciousness and More
adapted from Dorie Greenspan's Around My French Table
Serves 2 as a main course; serves 4 as a side dish

1 3lb sugar pumpkin
Salt and freshly ground pepper
1 1/2 cups cooked rice
4 slices of bacon, cooked and crumbled OR 1 sausage chopped (pre cooked kind), OR ham or any other cooked meat
3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped or pressed (add more if you like)
1/4 lb of cheese - choose cheddar, gruyere, gouda, jack, Emmenthal - cut into cubes (rough chop is fine)
1/4 cup chives or scallions (I used rosemary and sage)
1/2 cup heavy cream (or less depending on how much rice actually fits into the pumpkin)

Preheat oven to 350. Using a sharp knife, cut the top of the pumpkin off. (Inserting your knife at 45 degree angle and slowly cutting around works best.) Carefully remove the top.Scoop out all the seeds and all string. Using a spoon to scrape the inside and then scooping out with your hands is the best method. (Daughters did this.) Season inside liberally with salt and pepper.

In a bowl, get all bacon or sausage, cheese, garlic, chives and rice all mixed together. If you want a short cut, use a pair of scissors to cut up all the ingredients. Season if necessary. (Cheese and bacon will season, but just in case.) Place pumpkin into casserole dish. Take rice filling and begin stuffing the cavity of the pumpkin with the rice mixture. Pack it almost to the top. Carefully pour 1/2 cup of cream over the mixture. You want it well moistened but not swimming in cream. Seal the pumpkin back with the lid.

Bake for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, until the side of the pumpkin can be easily pierced with a knife. Check oven at 1 1/2 hours to make sure it is not over cooked. (Although it is pretty hard to mess up.)When the pumpkin is tender enough, remove lid.

Begin pulling cooked pumpkin from the side into the center of the rice and mixture and being swirling it together. Scoop out fragrant, steaming spoonfuls into bowls. Enjoy! (I served at the table in the pumpkin and let everyone scooped out their own.)

Verdict: Definitely a keeper. Will be making this again. Presents nicely too. Will probably need to make a double recipe next time. Also, might be able to add some mushrooms and/or a little bit of chopped fresh spinach.

Zucchini, Carrot and Cranberry Muffins

From the following blog: http://tendercrumb.blogspot.com/2010/08/zucchini-carrot-and-cranberry-muffins.html

Zucchini, Carrot, and Cranberry Muffins
barely adapted from The SoNo Baking Company Cookbook by John Barricelli
makes 12 muffins

2 C AP flour (used white whole wheat flour)
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp kosher salt
3/4 tsp ground cinnamon
pinch ground nutmeg
1 C sugar (used about 3/4 cup instead)
1 C canola oil
2 large eggs, room temp
3/4 C finely grated carrots (approx 1 medium)
3/4 C finely grated zucchini (approx 1 medium)
1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 C whole fresh or frozen (unthawed) cranberries

Preheat oven to 375F degrees. Grease a standard 12 cup muffin pan and set aside.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.

In a large bowl, whisk together the sugar, oil, eggs, and vanilla until combined. Mix in the grated zucchini and carrots.

Fold in the dry ingredients with a rubber spatula until combined. Fold in the cranberries.

Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups.

Bake for 20-25 minutes, until the muffins are golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the center of a muffin comes out clean. Rotate the pan mid way through the baking time.

Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool for 10 minutes. Turn out muffins on their side in the muffin cups, and let cool in the pan. Serve warm or at room temp.

Mmmm. Tasty. Made some without cranberries for the pickier kids. My boys LOVE cranberries so they preferred those.

Mini Shells and Cheese Ramekins

From the following blog: http://www.theknead4speed.com/2010/08/lets-go-somewhere-where-theres-cheese/

Mini Shells and Cheese Ramekins

Yield: two 6-ounce or one 10-ounce ramekin(s)

• 2.5 ounces mini shells pasta
• 1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
• 1/8 teaspoon all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup skim milk
• 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• dash of cayenne pepper
• ground black pepper, to taste
• 2 ounces (about 1/2 cup) shredded mild or sharp cheddar cheese
• 2 Tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese
• 1.5 Tablespoons shredded Parmesan cheese, divided (for topping)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and lightly grease two 6-ounce ramekins with butter or cooking spray.
2. Place a small pot of water over high heat. Bring water to a boil and then add shell pasta. Cook for 8 minutes and drain.
3. Melt butter in a separate saucepan over low heat. Add flour, stirring with whisk.
4. Once butter appears slightly foamy, add milk and cook until smooth. Turn off heat.
5. Add cheese and seasonings to hot butter mixture, stirring to combine. Add cooked shell pasta and stir well.
6. Divide shells and cheese between ramekins. Divide 1.5 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese and sprinkle onto pasta.
7. Bake for 11-13 minutes and serve.

Easy, tasty and love that they are made in little individual containers.

Rustic Roasted Chicken

Found this on a food blog... http://www.kayotic.nl/blog/rustic-roasted-chicken

Rustic Roasted Chicken

4 chicken legs (or a couple of bone-in breasts, thighs, etc.)

1 pound small potatoes

1 large carrot

4 big shallots (I've done with just a couple)

5 garlic cloves

1 bell pepper

4 oz bacon

1/2 cup white wine

1/2 cup water

1 chicken bouillon cube

3 tbsp oil

1 tsp Lawry's seasoned salt (I've just used regular Kosher salt)

1 tsp sweet paprika powder

1/4 tsp dried thyme

fresh sage

Combine the oil with the seasoned salt, paprika powder, and thyme. Place the chicken in a roasting tray and brush with the marinade. Peel the carrot and potatoes (I've not peeled the potatoes) and cut them, along with the bell pepper, in bite-sized pieces. Peek and cut the shallots in half (I've chopped up a bit smaller and prefer it that way). Place the vegetables around the chicken. Toss a few pieces of carrot underneath the chicken to elevate them a little. Cook the bacon until brown (drain fat) (I also under cooked bacon and put on top of chicken at that point) and pour in the white wine and water. Crumble in the chicken bouillon cube and simmer for 2 to 3 minutes. Pour the liquid and bacon over the potatoes and vegetables. Don't rinse the marinade off the chicken when pouring in the liquid. Randomly throw the unpeeled garlic (I peeled and chopped into 1/4th's) in the tray and add some sage. Roast at 400 F for 55 to 60 minutes. Drizzle cooking juices over the chicken and veggies half way through the cooking time. Remove the charred sage and then serve.

Mmmmm tasty. Can make everything but the bacon and then the white wine water mixture the night before.