Lobster Carrot Birthday Cake

Since the theme for Popie's 80th Birthday Party was Seafood, and my mom had lots of lobster elements, we decided a lobster cake would be perfect. I thought it would be hard to make a cake shaped like a lobster, and it would be smaller, so I decided to make a sheet cake, and then top it with a lobster. I made the lobster out of rice krispie treats and covered it in fondant. I used random things to help mold the parts, like bowls and wine glasses. I thought it would look cute if I made the lobster a party hat and then had his claws holding the 80 candles.


Grandma told me his favorite cake is carrot with cream cheese icing - which is also JJ's favorite, so I used my favorite carrot cake recipe. We tried out 4 different ones last year before out wedding and decided that we don't like vanilla and any other spice besides cinnamon. We also like a higher carrot ratio, and a bit of sour cream for tenderness!


The party was SO fun, we had a blast. The only thing is - I don't like seafood, so I was the designated bartender and waitress!

Carrot Cake

2 c. granulated sugar

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons baking soda

4 eggs

3/4 c. vegetable oil

1/4 c. sour cream

2 c. all purpose flour

4 cups freshly shredded carrots

1 c. chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350°F.

In a stand mixer, beat sugar, oil and sour cream. Add in eggs one a a time. When combined, add flour, baking soda, and cinnamon. Fold in carrots and nuts. Pour into a greased and parchment lined pan.

Bake for 1 hour.

Popie and Mom cooking the Mussels and Clams

The tables set for dinner

Popie with his lobster head....he can't open his eyes in photos... seriously!

It took him 2 tries to blow out 2 candles!

Lobster Lemon Sugar Cookie Place Cards

For Popie's 80th Birthday, we had a seafood themed party. He was a shellfish business owner in NYC, so when my mom asked me to do place cards, I knew they had to be place cookies. We found an adorable lobster cookie cutter at Sur La Table, so I made my Famous Sugar Cookies like always, but flavored them with more lemon zest and extract to match the seafood theme. I used royal icing so they would travel well, and silver drages as the eyes. Thanks to Dan and JJ for modeling them :)

My Famous Sugar Cookies!

1 1/2 cups butter1

1/2 cups granulated sugar

1/2 cup powdered sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp. pure lemon extract

1/2 tsp. almond extract

1 tbsp. lemon zest

5 cups flour

2 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

Powdered sugar, for rolling

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Cream butter and sugars in a mixer for 5 minutes.

Add in eggs one at a time, mixing thoroughly.

Add in lemon, almond, and lemon zest.

Sift in flour, baking powder, and salt a little at a time.

Do not over mix, this process should take about one minute.

Chill dough for up to a week in the fridge, or roll out and cut right away.

Happy Birthday Allison! (German Chocolate Cake)

Last Saturday was my friend Allison's birthday. She was out of town, so I asked her to come over for dinner this weekend, secretly scheming to have a little birthday party! The best part of having only 1 friend is you get to be a really good one! I texted her husband and asked him what her favorite kind of cake is, and he said German Chocolate - perfect! It's my favorite too! So I found this step by step recipe for the cake and icing. For dinner, he said anything with artichokes, so I made Greek Pizza (see next post).


The cake was delicious and we had a fun night! Happy Birthday, Allison :)

(Pumpkin's always got to be in the pictures...lol)

Yes, I'm still alive...

But I'm obsessed..... with Twilight. I know, I know, I hopped on the bandwagon, and I've been 'bitten' by the amazingly written and super romantic story. It's honestly why I haven't been blogging. I've gone through 2 books in the past 4 days. I just can't stop! It's so bad, we went out to dinner 2 nights in a row because I was too busy to cook. Tonight I saw the movie, it was wonderful. It stayed true to the novel, and was over before it even started!


However, I will be posting a few things from the weekend as soon as I can take a break from reading!

Spice Cupcakes with Pumpkin Buttercream

For the bakesale, I decided to go with varaiants of chocolate, vanilla, and a seasonal cupcake, so I chose to do a spice cake with my signature pumpkin buttercream. They are so easy to make, but look so adorable and seasonal!

Spice Cupcakes with Pumpkin Buttercream

Spice cupcakes, from Gourmet:

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
Pinch salt
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1/2 cup unsulfured molasses stirred together with 1/2 cup boiling water
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In a bowl, whisk together the flour, the baking soda, the spices, and a pinch of salt.
In another bowl, with an electric mixer cream together the shortening and the granulated sugar, beat in the egg, and beat in the flour mixture alternately with the molasses mixture, beating well after each addition.
Divide the batter among 12 paper-lined 1/2-cup muffin tins and bake the cupcakes in the middle of an oven for 15 to 20 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Turn the cupcakes out onto a rack and let them cool completely.

Pumpkin Buttercream:

2 sticks of unsalted butter at room temp.

1/2 c. pumpkin puree

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ginger

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. vanilla extract

2 lbs. confectioner's sugar (more or less)

Cream butter, pumpkin and spices. Slowly add sugar until the buttercream is no longer seperated by the pumpkin. Use or keep chilled for up to 2 weeks.

Cubanitos & Tostones (and a Championship!)

Tonight is the final NASCAR race of the 2008 season at Homestead Miami Speedway! I've been a Jimmie Johnson fan for years, ever since I saw him win the pole at his first Daytona 500... To celebrate a 3RD CHAMPIONSHIP, I had to make cubans and fried plantains for dinner!


I could not find Portuguese rolls in the store, so I went with wheat Hawaiian rolls, since they're a little sweet like the Portuguese rolls. Since they were mini's, I made Cubanitos. We don't have a panini press, so I made these in my big skillet and pressed them with a cookie sheet with the tea kettle on top. Not the most attractive cooking method, but very effective!
As a side, I made fried plantains, a traditional side with Cubans, and a favorite in Miami. I love plantains, they're sort of like a sweet potato, but a bit more grainy in texture. They are a little sweet, but not as sweet as you'd think because they look like a banana!
I sprinkled mine with Cayenne and salt with no sauce so we could really taste the plantains. I read that a good way to drain them is on paper grocery bags, which did work very well! I used EVOO for health reasons, which did give them an added flavor, but peanut or canola oil can be substituted.

Cubanitos and Tostones

Cubanitos:

12 King's Hawaiian Bread Honey Wheat rolls

Whole grain mustard

1/2 lb. honey ham, shaved (folded to fit bread)

1/4 lb. swiss cheese, sliced (cut into squares to fit bread)

24 dill pickle chips

Tostones:

2 green plantains

Cayenne Pepper

Salt

EVOO (or a light colored oil)

Preheat a panini press or skillet to medium.

Bring 1/2" of oil to medium high heat.

Slice rolls, spread mustard over tops and bottoms.

Place a piece of swiss on the bottom, then a piece of ham, another piece of swiss, 2 pickle chips, then top with the bun.

Construct all sandwiches.

Peel plantains, cut in 1" pieces on a bias. Gently place in the oil.

Place cubanitos on the skillet, place a sheet pan on top, then the tea kettle or another heavy object.

Flip plantains, cook for 2-3 minutes on the other side, place on paper grocery bags to drain.

Let the plantains sit for 5 minutes, then use a plate and press them to 1/4"

Place back in the oil.

Flip cubanitos.

Flip plantains. When golden brown on both sides, remove and drain again, dust with cayenne and salt.

Plate cubanitos and tostones, serve immediately.

Christmas Craft Fair Bakesale!

This past weekend, my mom organized a craft fair at my church featuring Fair Trade products, as well as local vendors and their crafts. I went with the intention of promoting and selling my mail order packages (which are available for pick-up in Cincinnati on Dec 20-21 as well). I decided last minute to bring along some baked goods so customers would be able to try before they place an order. I sold out of the cupcakes, biscotti, pumpkin chocolate chip loaf cakes, and ginger cookies! I will have all of the recipes available in the coming days, but here is a viewing of the table and baked goods!

Thanks to my mom for buying me the apron I fell in love with at Sur La Table! Everyone at the fair loved it, and asked if I was selling them! I wish, I'm awful at sewing!

And PS - the key to a sucessful bake sale - SAMPLES!!! I was cutting up cookies all day and people LOVED them! I also handed out my business card for a few potential wedding and birthday cakes, and got lots of orders!

Pumpkin Butter Pecan Thumbprints

I love thumbprint cookies, and when I found pumpkin butter, I knew it would be great with a pecan based thumbprint cookie. These were a big hit!

Pumpkin Butter Pecan Thumbprints

2 c. flour
1 c. pecan pieces
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon salt
1 c. butter
1/2 c. light brown sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

1/3 c. pumpkin butter

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl.
Beat butter in a large bowl until smooth.
Gradually beat in brown sugar and beat until light and fluffy.
Beat in vanilla until blended.
Beat in flour mixture until just blended.
Form dough into 1 inch balls.
(At this point, I dip the top of the cookies into the chopped pecans because it is hard to get them to stick when you just sprinkle them on.).
Flatten slightly and place on ungreased cookie sheets.
Press down with thumb in center of each ball to form a indentation.
Pinch together any cracks in dough.
Fill each indentation with generous 1/4 tsp of jam. Sprinkle filled cookies with remaining 1/2 cup of pecans.
Bake 14 minutes or until just set.
Let cookies stand on sheets for 5 minutes and transfer to wire racks to cool completely.
Cookies are best the day after baking.

Adapted from this recipe!

Almond Sour Cream Cupcakes with Buttercream

I used this recipe for a shower cake I made back in August (which I'm still hoping to get a photo of, it was beatiful), and it was great. The sour cream makes it so tender and I love almond flavor. I adapted this a bit from Paula Deen's recipe, adding baking powder to make the cupcakes rise more, and omitting the orange and upping the almond. I iced these with basic buttercream and sprinkles to make turkeys!

Almond Sour Cream Cupcakes

adapted from Paula Deen

2 sticks butter
3 c. sugar
1 cup sour cream
3 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 tsp. baking powder
6 eggs
1 teaspoon almond extract

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
In the bowl of a mixer, cream butter and sugar together and then add sour cream.

Sift flour, baking powder and baking soda together. Add to creamed mixture, alternately with eggs, 1 at a time, beating after each addition. Add extract and stir to combine.

Pour into cupcake pan and bake for 30 minutes.

Cool cupcakes in pan for about 10 minutes and then unmold and cool completely on a wire rack. Frost cupcakes when completely cooled.

Mariachi Chicken Pizza

One of my favorite pizza places is Donatos because I love the Vegy pizza. One time my sister told me to try the Mariachi Chicken Pizza, which I did, and it was fantastic! There's no Donato's here though, so I had to remake it at home. It's really easy to make, few ingredients, and great with a simple salad. I like to put the chicken in the crock and shred it, but you can also grill it and slice it, which is what Donato's does. I love how it's served with sour cream for topping, as sour cream is one of my favorites!

Mariachi Chicken Pizza

3 chicken breasts

1 c. Lawry's Baja Chipotle Lime marinade

1/4 c. picante or taco sauce

1 pizza crust

3 roma tomatoes

2 c. cheese (we used colby jack)

1/4 c. sliced picked jalapenos

1/4 c. light sour cream

Place chicken and marinade in a crock pot on high for 4 hours. Turn off crock, shred.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place pizza crust on a sheet pan, bake for 10 minutes.

Take out, top with taco sauce, shredded chicken, tomatoes, cheese, and jalapenos.

Place back in the oven for 5 minutes, until crisp and melted.

Top with sour cream and serve.

The Ugly Horseshoe Breakfast for Dinner

One of the only shows on Food Network I can get my husband to watch is Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. He's a big sucker for diner food and it's indulgent qualities. He rarely ever says he wants something for dinner, so when he does, I try to make it. On one episode, Guy went to a diner that served 'The Horseshoe,' which had many variants, but the breakfast one was basically biscuits, sausage gravy, bacon, hash browns or tater tots, eggs, and more gravy. I cringed at the thought of that being a meal - it had to be easily over 1500 calories, my daily intake!


However, I love him and he's been so wonderful, eating my healthy and random meals for the past year, so I decided to take on the horseshoe and make it healthy (well, healthier).


So here it is, not the healthiest or most photogenic meal, but boy was it good! I served it with pineapple, and I even snuck in some veggies!

The Horeshoe, My Way

Low-Fat Sour Cream Biscuits:

1 1/4 c. flour

1 tsp. baking powder

2 tbsp. frozen butter, grated

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tbsp. light sour cream

About 1/2 c. skim milk

Hash browns:

2 russet potatoes, scrubbed and diced

1/2 red onion, diced

Salt and fresh black pepper

Sprinkle of cayenne

Sausage Gravy:

1/4 lb. bulk turkey sausage

1 tbsp. flour

1 c. 2% milk

Fresh ground black pepper

Salt

Eggs:

3 eggs

Splash of milk

Salt and pepper

Hot sauce

1 c. bell pepper strips

To make biscuits:

Place flour, baking powder and salt in a mixing bowl, whisk together. Grate in butter and add sour cream. Mix with a fork and stream in enough milk to just bring mixture together.

Pat out to 1" thick, cut with a biscuit cutter and place on a sheet pan.

Brush milk over top biscuits with a pastry brush.

Bake at 425 for 10 minutes, or until golden brown.

Place potatoes in a steamer basket over boiling water, steam for 5 minutes.

In a large skillet over medium high, add onions and steamed potatoes. Season with salt, pepper and cayenne. Brown for a few minutes on each side and flip and press until browned all over.

In a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat, brown sausage. When almost cooked, drain and sprinkle with flour. Toss for a minute to cook out flour, whisk in milk and turn to medium-low. Bring to a bubble and let thicken.

In one last skillet over medium low, sautee bell peppers for 5 minutes. Whisk together eggs, milk, salt and pepper, add to peppers. Stir and cook gently for 5 minutes or until cooked.

To assemble:

Split biscuits, top with gravy, potatoes, eggs, and more gravy.

Yum!

Mediteranean Orzo Pasta Salad

I have made this orzo pasta salad before for the blog, but it did exactly photograph well (because back then I didn't know about the close-up setting on the camera). I was in the mood for it again, and thought I'd change it up a bit, as well as get a good photo! I had 2 links of 2 kinds of chicken sausage, so we did a mixed grill - sun dried tomato from Trader Joes, and Asiago Spinach from Sam's Club. It was a delicious meal, great hot or cold (ours was room temp.)

Mediteranean Orzo Pasta Salad

½ lb. orzo
4 cups baby spinach leaves, packed
1 can quartered artichoke hearts in water
5 sundried tomatoes in olive oil
10 olives, sliced (mixed green Spanish and Kalamata)
10 small piquio red peppers, diced (or roasted red bell)
¼ cup toasted pine nuts
1/4 red onion, diced
1/2 c. fat free feta, crumbled

1 tbsp. EVOO

1/4 c. balsamic vinegar

1/2 tsp. oregano

Salt and pepper

Bring a pot of water to a boil, salt and add the orzo.

While orzo cooks, prep the veggies, chop the spinach and place in a colander.

When orzo is cooked, pour over the spinach to wilt it a bit. Let the orzo cool for 4-5 minutes.

Place all veggies and pasta in a bowl, top with the EVOO, balsamic, salt, pepper, and oregano. Toss. Serve or refrigerate until serving.

Chicken Tikka Masala

I found this recipe for Chicken Tikka Masala with a brief history of how it became an English National dish!

Chicken Tikka Masala originated in UK. The dish has two parts, Tikka or a Kebab, and Masala used as a dip.
It was developed by Indian restaurant owners about 50 years ago for the British palate. During 1980s, the 'English' demanded their Chicken Tikka Masala at five star restaurants in Delhi, restaurants obliged. Thereafter, it spread to Bombay. Indian restaurants in United States finally started to offer the dish in mid 1990s. In April 2001, Robin Cook, the foreign secretary, proclaimed 'Britain is not a single Anglo-Saxon race, but a gathering of different races. Chicken Tikka Masala, is now Britain's true national dish'. The ingredients and cooking technique varies from restaurant to restaurant. However, two elements remain common; spicy roasted/baked chicken, and creamy colorful aromatic sauce served on-side. The Chicken is called Chicken Kebab, and the sauce is called Tikka Masala. British are so proud of their national dish and rightfully so, that almost a scandal broke out when some restaurants started to use artificial food color. Here, I will give my own version of Chicken Tikka Masala. The color will be from natural spices, I wouldn't want to offend our 'English', after all it is their major contribution after the Raaj.

I found this to be quite spicy, as I actually measured the spices tonight, I didn't just go with what I like. JJ thought the cumin was pretty over-powering, but I love cumin! I served it with extra lime wedges, cashews, basmati rice, and some snap peas.

Chicken Kebab Marinate

1. Skinless boneless chicken breast cut into 1" pieces: 2 Pounds

2. Whole-milk Yogurt: 1 Cup

3. Cumin powder: ½ Tablespoon

4. Ground Cinnamon: 1 teaspoon

5. Cayenne powder: ½ Tablespoon

6. Ground Black Pepper: ½ Tablespoon

7. Salt: 1 Tablespoon

8. Degi Mirch or Paprika: ½ Tablespoon

9. Turmeric Powder: ½ teaspoon

10. Lime Juice: 1 Tablespoon

11. Fresh Ginger finely chopped: 1 Inch

12. Bamboo Skewers: 4 Large

Tikka Masala

1. Ghee (Clarified Butter): 2 Tablespoon

2. Onions finely chopped (almost pureed): ½ Cup

3. Garlic minced: 4 Cloves

4. Ginger finely chopped (almost pureed): 1 Inch

5. Cumin Powder: ½ Table spoon

6. Cinnamon powder: ¼ teaspoon

7. Cayenne Pepper: 1 teaspoon

8. Salt: 1½ teaspoon

9. Turmeric powder: ¼ teaspoon

10. Tomato puree: 1 Cup

11. Degi Mirch: 2 teaspoon

12. Heavy whipping cream: ½ cup (fat free 1/2 and 1/2)

13. Cashews finely chopped: ¼ cup

Method
Step 1: Chicken Kebab: Mix all ingredients except chicken. Add chicken and put it in a refrigerator for at least 12 hours. Remove chicken from marinate. Thread Chicken on Skewers.

Step 2: Line a baking pan with Aluminum foil shiny side up. Put chicken in the pan. Baste the chicken generously with the marinate. Pre-heat oven to 450º F. Bake chicken for about 10 minutes. Turn over the chicken. Baste Chicken again with the marinate. Bake another 10 minutes or till done.

Step 3: Tikka Masala . Heat Ghee in a heavy bottom pan. Sautee onions till clear. Add Garlic and ginger. Continue sautéing. Add cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, salt and turmeric powder. Sautee another two minutes. Add tomato puree. Bring to a boil. Simmer about 10 minutes. Stir in Degi Mirch, cream and cashews. Simmer on medium heat till you have a nice consistency of a thick gravy.

Sunday Beef Roast

As I read through English cookbooks and learned about the culture, the one meal I found popping up everywhere was Sunday Beef Pot Roast with Veggies, Gravy, and Yorkshire Pudding. I found so many recipes that were just like the Cottage Pie recipes, "how my mom made it." So I was able to take elements from each recipe, and make a pretty basic pot roast. Since I was pretty much in and out of the house all day, I was able to babysit it a bit, but made it in a crock pot since I wasn't always home. You could put all of the steps together and make it at once and let it sit in a crock, or you can make it in a dutch oven and let it sit in the oven (which takes a little less time to cook). This roast was perfect as today has been so cold, the high was 37, and I went on a semi-long run today, so I could afford a little more calories.

Sunday Beef Roast

2 lb. beef (I used a lean bottom round)

Salt and pepper

EVOO

2-3 c. beef stock

1/2 tsp. thyme

1 tbsp. Worchestershire sauce

2 large russet potatoes, chunked

1 yellow onion, chunked

3 crushed garlic cloves

1/2 lb. baby carrots

1/2 lb. green beans, trimmed

2 tbsp. butter

2 tbsp. flour

Turn crock pot on high, fill with 2-3 c. of stock.

Heat a dutch oven (if cooking in it) or a heavy bottomed skillet over medium high. Liberally salt and pepper the beef roast. Add EVOO to coat the pot, gently place beef in. Brown first side for 2-3 minutes, or until it's got a crisp brown coating. Turn over, and brown beef on all sides (as you turn it, the pan will lose heat and it will take longer on each side, be patient and make sure you get a good, brown crust). After beef is browned well, drop it in the crock pot. Add thyme, Worchestershire, and more pepper. Stock should go about 1/2 way up the roast, add more if necessary, up to 3 c.
Cover and cook for 2 hours.

Remove lid, flip roast, add potatoes, carrots, onion and garlic all around roast.

Cover and cook for 3 hours.

Remove lid, add trimmed beans.

Cover and cook for another hour. Turn off crock pot.

Melt butter over low in a small pot, sprinkle in flour and whisk. Cook for a minute, then add ladels full of cooking liquid to the mixture (tip the crock put or remove the meat and veggies to get liquid out). Whisk and bring gravy to a simmer. Add more pepper and salt as needed.

Remove meat from the crock, slice and place veggies around it on a platter. Drizzle with gravy and serve with extra gravy on the side.

Yorkshire Pudding

I was so excited to make Yorkshire pudding because they look so cool, and the science of food is so fun. How egg, flour and milk can make little puffy omelette/muffin like rolls is amazing! I found a very basic recipe that I'll be able to remember for the rest of my life, 1:1:1 milk to flour to egg. Now I had no idea how many eggs make 1 c., so I decided to use 3 eggs, and use the same amount of flour and milk. These are so cute, as soon as you take them out of the oven they're super puffy, but as they sit they lose a bit of the puff. They were perfect for sopping up lots of gravy!

Yorkshire Pudding

3 eggs (a little over 3/4 c.)

3/4 c. milk

3/4 c. flour

Dash of salt

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place muffin tin in the oven while it preheats with meat grease drippings or EVOO grease in the cups.

Whisk together eggs and milk. Add the flour and salt, whisk until just combined. Refrigerate mixture while pan heats up.

When oven is hot, add mixture 1/2 of the way up each muffin tin (do not take pan out of the oven, open the door and lean into it to fill the cups).

Close the oven door and cook for 20 minutes, do not open the door during cooking!

Serve immediately.

Traditional English Cottage Pie

As I was reading about traditional English dishes, I saw one for Cottage Pie, and one for Shephard's Pie. All along I thought Shephard's Pie was made with beef, but it turns out it's traditionally made with Lamb, with Cottage Pie being it's beef counterpart.

I looked through a few Cottage Pie recipes, and all of them said 'This is how my mom makes it,' because it's typically a 'scraps' dish. I decided to take a few elements from each recipe and create something that my future kids can say 'That's the way my (not English) mom made it!'

(Some variants were tomato paste v. tomato puree, with or w/o peas, mushrooms and carrots, herbs, ground beef v. tiny cubed beef, red wine v. beef stock, Cheddar Cheese on top or none at all)

I decided to go for ground beef, peas and carrots (no mushrooms), red wine, tomato puree, and cheese in the potatoes, as well a pinch of cinnamon, one reader's secret ingredient!

Traditional English Cottage Pie

12 oz. lean ground beef

1 yellow onion, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 carrots, peeled and sliced

salt and black pepper

1/2 c. red wine

1/2 c. tomato puree

Splash of beef or chicken stock

1/2 tsp. thyme

pinch of Cinnamon

1 c. frozen peas

2 lbs. russet potatoes, peeled and chunked

1 c. milk

2 tbsp. butter

1 c. shredded cheddar cheese

salt and pepper

Place potatoes in a large pot, salt, cover and bring to a boil.

Place ground beef in a skillet over medium high, brown and crumble. Add onions, garlic, carrots, salt and pepper. Sautee until veggies are soft. Add in wine, tomato, thyme and cinnamon. Turn to low and simmer while you prepare potatoes.

Preheat broiler to high.

Drain potatoes, dump back into the pot. Add milk, butter and cheese. Mash until very creamy. Season with salt and pepper. Add more milk as needed.

Add peas to the beef mixture, mix well and pour into a casserole dish. Top evenly with the potatoes. Use a fork to create a design, or pipe potatoes with a piping bag.

Place under broiler for 3-5 minutes, until lightly browned. Serve.

A Lesson for the Confused (as I once was)...

I like to think that I'm pretty intelligent when it comes to Geography. It would amaze my when I'd tell my friends in NC that I was from Ohio, and they had no idea where it was located and which states I drove thru to get home.

So I was quite surprised at myself when I began writing about England, and found that I had no idea what the differences between England, The UK, and Great Britain were! So here is a little lesson to everyone who might be as clueless as I was!

In this photo, Great Britain is the actual Island that contains England, Wales, and Scotland. Great Britian is used simply as a way to describe the geography.

The British Isles are the Island of Great Britain, as well as Ireland (outlined in white) and a few smaller islands.

The United Kingdom is a soverign state, occupying the island of Great Britain, as well as the Northern part of Ireland, and many small islands off the coast of Great Britain.

The Republic of Ireland consists of the island minus the northern part of Ireland, While Ireland is considered the whole island.

Country Challenge: England!

The history of England is so engaging and rich in information, it's hard for me to just list a few key points. I highly recommend looking into it further after reading this small piece.

One of the landmarks England is most famous for is Stonehenge, which is believed to have been erected around 2500-2000BC. Stonehenge is in southern Engald, where people were believed to have first lived as the climate was more hospitable during the end of the ice age. From the years of 2500 to 50 BC, the English lived a life of farming.

Julius Caesar invaded southern Britain in the year 54 BC. After Caesar left, control fell in the hands of the Britons until 43 AD when the Roman empire spread and gained control of England. After the Roman empire fell apart, the German group called the Anglo-Saxons gained control of England. After the Roman period ended, Smallpox and the plague broke out in England and the population saw a dramatic decrease.

The history of England from the middle ages until now is packed with so many notable wars, Kings, Queens, and documents.

-In the 1000's, Norman England produced the Domesday Book, which surveyed the land and population for tax purposes. It was also during this time that modern English was created.

-In the 1100's, King Henry II led crusades to take over parts of Scotland and Wales

-In 1215, King John (Richard, the Lion Hearted's sucessor) was forced to sign the Magna Carta, which limited the King's powers

John's son, Henry III became King at age 9, which led to many rebellions

-In 1349, the bubonic plague or "Black Death" killed around 1/3 of the English population.

-The Hundred Years' War was lost in August, 1453, and King Henry went into a mental breakdown. He was unable to control nobles, and civil war began - the War of the Roses.

-In the 1520's, Henry XIII wanted his marriage with Catherine of Aragon annuled, which led to a split with the Catholic church and the English reformation.

-Queen Elizabeth gained the throne in 1558, where she put to rest the problems with Henry XIII by creating the Church of England. Elizabeth died in 1603 with no heirs.

-In 1607, England constructed Jamestown in America.

-Civil War broke out in 1642, a reslut of tension between Charles I and Parliament. In 1660, monarchy was restored when King Charles II returned to England.

-In 1666, the capital was struck by The Great Fire, which lasted 5 days and destroyed 15,000 buildings.

-In 1800, the United Kingdom was formed.

-During the 18th and 19th centuries, the Industrial Revolution spread throughout England.

About the cuisine:

English food was popular during the middles ages, but later was found to be unsophisticated by neighboring countries - often using plain ingredients, beef, chicken, lamb, root vegetables, and dairy products. Due to a large influx of Indian and Chinese during the 1950's, English food has adopted many of their culinary influences.

I have chosen this week to make a few traditional English dishes, as well as one Indian influenced meal.

Pumpkin and Coconut Soup

I chose to make this Pumpkin soup from Martinique because I had some pumpkin puree and coconut milk on hand, as well as most of the spices and seasonings in the soup. The flavors in this soup were so complimentary, spicy, sweet, acidic, and earthy...

Pumpkin and Coconut Soup

1/4 c. butter

1 c. peeled, chopped onion

1 lb. pumpkin, seeded, peeled and diced

1 tbsp. ginger

2 tbsp. curry powder

1 28 oz. can coconut milk

1/4 c. sour cream

1/3 c. fresh lime juice

2 tbsp. salt

2 tbsp. pepper

1/4 c. grated coconut

2 tbsp. grated lime peel

In a large saucepan, melt the butter over low heat. Add the onion, cook for 10 minutes. Add the pumpkin and simmer for 5 minutes. Season with ginger and curry powder.

Cover with 1 c. of water, simmer for 30 minutes. Stir in the coconut milk and simmer for another 20 minutes.

Blend the soup until smooth and creamy, stir in the sour cream and lime juice, season with salt and pepper.

Turn into a soup bowl, sprinkle with coconut and lime peel.

Stuffed Eggplant

When I saw this recipe from my Martinique cookbook, I fell in love. Not only was it eggplant, but it had gruyere cheese, spicy peppers, and lots of herbs. I also knew JJ would love it because of the bacon!
My dad had given me a few baby eggplants that were in his final harvest of the year, and I thought they would be perfect for this recipe. Overall it was a bit salty for me, but still very delicious!

Lolo's Stuffed Eggplant

3 eggplants, cleaned and halved lengthwise

6 tbsp. salt

2 slices bread

1/2 c. milk

2 tbsp. oil

4 tbsp. chopped chives

1/2 c. thinly sliced bacon

1 clove garlic, smashed

3 tbsp. chopped parsley

1 tbsp. pepper

1/2 tsp. chopped red Scotch Bonnet pepper

6 tbsp. breadcrumbs

6 tbsp. grated Gruyere

3 tbsp. butter

With a sharp knife, notch the eggplant's flesh. Salt the eggplants in a colander for 30 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Soak the bread in milk.

In a large frying pan, heat the oil over medium and add the eggplant face down. Cook for 15 minutes until the flesh becomes tender.

With a spoon, carefully remove the eggplant's flesh without damaging the skin. In a large bowl, mix the flesh with the chives, bacon, garlic, parsley, pepper, scotch bonnet pepper, and drained bread.

Fill each eggplant skin with the stuffing and top with 1 tbsp. bread crumbs, 1 tbsp. grated cheese, and 1/2 tsp. butter. Bake for 20 minutes.

Country Challenge: Martinique

MARTINIQUE!

This week I am cooking a dinner from Martinique, an overseas region of France.

I chose this country for two reasons. One is because in keeping with clean out the fridge week, I found 2 great recipes using things I already had on hand, and another is because I didn't have time to stop by the library, but had copied these recipes a while back for future use!

Now, a little about Martinique...

The official language of Martinique is French, but inhabitants mostly speak a form of Creole. The currency used is the euro. Around 400,000 people live on the island of Martinique, it is very small and in the Caribbean Ocean just north of St. Lucia.

The island is made from 5 non-active volcanoes, that are now covered in lush, tropical rain forest. The most famous volcano, Mount Pelee, has created beautiful beaches with ashy black sand. The south contains most of the population and tourism, as it has roads and establishments.

Martinique's culture is a blend of French and Caribbean. Most of the population is decendant from slaves brought from Africa to work the sugarcane plantations.

You might also recognize mention of the country in the Beach Boy's song, "Kokomo"..."To Martinique, that Montserrat mystique."

I have to say, after reading their main tourism ad, I'd sure love to go there....

"The Caribbean Island with French Flair, The Isle of Flowers, The Rum Capital of the World – by any one of its many names Martinique remains one of the most alluring and enchanting destinations in the world; as unforgettable as a summer romance or a first kiss. Martinique is an overseas region of France, and in keeping with its traditions, this vibrant island stirs the passions with awe-inspiring natural beauty, a rich cultural history, distinctive culinary delights, warm smiles and so much more. Napoleon’s bride, Empress Josephine, was born and raised here. The Pompeii of the Caribbean, St. Pierre, is found here. The finest French products, from Chanel fashions to Limoges porcelain, are readily available here. La Route des Rhums, a tour of the world’s finest rum distilleries based on France’s famed Route des Vins, is offered here.
A special place, to be sure, with so much to offer Martinique c’est magnifique!"

Recipes taken from:

French Carribean Cuisine, Stephanie Ovide. Hippocrene Books: NY, 2002.

Leftovers Breakfast for Dinner - Apple Pancakes, Spinach and Goat Cheese Omelette, Bacon

For my last night of clean out the fridge, I had one more log of goat cheese (I tend to stock up at TJ’s, I can’t help it, it’s so cheap!), as well as frozen spinach, a dozen eggs, and some apples. I also had to get a pound of bacon for the country challenge recipe, but it only called for a few slices, so I knew I could use some up. After thinking for oh, two seconds, one meal came to mind: Breakfast! So here is what I came up with…

Spinach and Goat Cheese Omelettes, Cinnamon Apple Pancakes, and Bacon

From the fridge:
1 4 oz. log plain goat cheese
5 eggs
4 slices of bacon (all for JJ)
½ c. milk
Splash of fat free creamer
1 tbsp. butter

From the pantry:
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 apples, peeled and diced
1c. flour
1 tsp. baking powder
½ tsp. baking soda
¼ c. light brown sugar

From the freezer:
1 c. frozen chopped spinach, thawed

For Pancakes:

In a sautee' apples, cinnamon, half of brown sugar, and butter for 3-4 minutes, or until a bit soft. Set aside to cool.

Mix together 1 egg, milk, flour, baking powder and soda, salt, and half the brown sugar.

Ladle onto a greased skillet over medium heat, top with a few apple pieces.

Cook for 4-5 minutes, flip and cook for 3-4 minutes.

Makes 6 4" panckes.

For Omelette:

Whisk together eggs, cream, salt, pepper, and a dash of hot sauce.

Pour into a large, greased, nonstick skillet over medium-low heat. Cook until set in the middle, flip. Add spinach and cheese to the middle, fold one side over. Turn heat off, cover and let cheese melt and spinach warm through.

Hidden Veggies Chicken Chili

For my second night of clean out the fridge week, I opened the fresh produce drawer and raided it. I found 3 whole carrots, a few celery stalks, and 6 tiny bell peppers my dad gave me from his garden last weekend! I had to use them up as they were going a bit soft. I also had a tiny bit of sour cream, and 3 chipotles in adobo in a tupperware.
In the pantry I found some pasta, which is the Cincinnati way to eat chili, as well as some kidney beans. I also found a jar of Penzey's taco seasoning that was in a gift box that we got for our wedding, but hadn't used yet... and to me, chili and taco seasonings are pretty interchangable.
I also had one single chicken breast in the freezer, not enough for both of us, but just enough to add to the chili.

Hidden Veggies Chicken Chili

From the fridge:

3 carrots, shredded

2 celery stalks, shredded

6 tiny bell peppers (2 regular), diced

3 chipotles in adobo

2 tbsp. sour cream

1/4 c. shredded smoked fontina

From the freezer:

1 chicken breast, poached and shredded

From the pantry:

1 15 oz. can organic kidney beans

1 28 oz. can crushed tomatoes

1 yellow onion, minced

3 garlic cloves, minced

1/2 lb. spaghetti

3 tbsp. Penzey's taco seasoning

Heat a soup pot over medium low. Add onion, garlic, carrots, celery, and bell peppers. Season with salt and pepper. Sweat for 5-6 minutes.

Turn heat to low, add beans, chicken, tomatoes, taco seasoning, and chipotles.

Simmer for 2 hours. If dry, add stock, but you want this chili thick.

Drop pasta into boiling water, cook to al dente.

Drain, spoon into the bottom of a shallow bowl, top with chili, cheese and sour cream. Add a dash of hot sauce, if you like it REALLY spicy!

Don't have those veggies? Sub in anything! Any color bell peppers, parsnips for carrots, leave out the celery, red onion rather than white... No beans? Double the chicken... or add 2 cans of beans and drop the chicken. Use rice or polenta instead of pasta - it's your pantry that needs to be emptied!

Easy Peasy Goat Cheese and Sausage Penne

This week has been declared clean out the fridge and freezer week! I like to take 3-4 nights every few weeks and dig through the freezer and pantry and create some interesting meals. Usually I don't blog them b/c they aren't anything special, but I wanted to blog a few to show how simple it is to make a dinner when you think you have nothing to make!

Easy Peasy Goat Cheese and Sausage Penne

From the pantry:

1/2 lb. Penne Pasta

Chicken Stock

Yellow Onion

From the freezer:

1 c. Peas

4 links Asiago Mushroom Chicken Sausage

From the Fridge:

1 4 oz. log Herbed Goat Cheese

1/4 c. Fat Free Creamer

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt heavily, add pasta.

In a large skillet, add sliced sausage and onion. Cook over medium heat for 10 minutes, or until sausage is heated through and onions are softened.

Drain pasta.

Add peas, pasta, creamer, and stock to the sausage and onions. Crumble in goat cheese, stir to combine until everything is melty and heated through. Season with salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper flakes. Serve immediately.

Peas can be interchanged with broccoli, bell pepper strips, or artichokes!

Only have bulk sausage crumbles? Use those instead! Or even ground turkey spiced with sage, fennel seeds and sugar.

Turkey Meatloaf Wellington

I have been wanting to try out making Beef Wellington for a while now because it's a traditional dish I'd like to know how to make, but I don't like steak or filet, unless it's in a stew and is fork tender. I was planning on making turkey meatloaf tonight, but as I was rummaging through my fridge to find some veggies to put in it, I found a pizza dough ball and mushrooms, and thought I could make a cross between beef wellington and turkey meatloaf.
The basis for a beef wellington is beef topped with a mushroom pate, then wrapped in puff pastry. I kept the same elements, but combined it with a Thanksgiving-ish turkey meatloaf, and made it a bit healthier!

Turkey Meatloaf Wellington

1 12 oz. package of buttom mushrooms, chopped

2 carrots, peeled and shredded

1 yellow onion, minced

2 garlic cloves, minced

Salt and Pepper

1/2 tsp. dried Italian herb mix

1 lb. 99% fat free ground turkey breast

1 tbsp. Worchestershire Sauce

1/4 c. dried cranberries

1 egg white

1 pizza dough ball, rolled into a triangle

Milk for basting

1/4 c. pepitas

In a small sautee pan over medium heat, sweat out onion, garlic, mushroom, and carrots for 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Turn heat off, add in herbs, cranberries, and Worchestershire sauce. Cool for 5 minutes.

In a large bowl, gently mix turkey, egg white, and veggies until just combined. Set aside.

Place pizza dough on a baking sheet, mound the turkey mixture in the middle and create a log. Wrap dough around, seal edges and trim excess. If desired, use a cookie cutter to create toppers (like my turkey).

Using a pastry brush, baste with milk, then sprinkle with pepitas.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes, or until golden brown and meatloaf is cooked through - this will depend on how thick your meatloaf is, times may be slightly different.

Serve right away, or bottom layer may get soggy as the meatloaf is very moist.

Maple Chili Acorn Squash

I wanted to make a vegetable side to go with my meatloaf. Since squash are still in season, and so delicious, I picked up an acorn squash. I love sweet and spicy, so I combined a few of my favorites to add a sweet punch to the squash.

Maple Chili Acorn Squash

1 acorn squash, halved, seeded

1 tbsp. butter

1 tbsp. brown sugar

1 tbsp. pure Maple Syrup

1/4 tsp. Mexican dark chili powder

Place squash cut side up in a baking dish. Fill with 1 cm. of water. Place half the butter in the bottom of each squash cup, drizzle in syrup, then sprinkle with brown sugar and chili powder.

Roast for 60 minutes at 350.

The Very Best of Fall Lasagna

For dinner tonight, I decided to make a completely different kind of lasagna after seeing a few variations of butternut squash lasagna on food network. They were made with butternut puree and a béchamel, rather than marinara. As I’ve said a million times, fall is my favorite season because I love the wonderful flavors. Rather than just use butternut, I decided to use many fall flavors.

Now I have to warn you, when I set out to make this, I didn’t think about how many different elements were in the dish, and the multi-tasking necessary. It seemed as I pulled more and more ingredients out, they had to be prepped and cooked before I could use them! Before I knew it, I had 7 pots/pans/bowls out! Now I know that sounds a little intimidating, but I think I have mild ADD so I was loving the million things doing on – but you can break it down and do 1 thing at a time, you don’t need to do everything at once.

Believe me, you want to make this. It is so delicious, and showcases 10 fall flavors/ingredients – apple, maple, acorn squash, butternut squash, pumpkin, caramelized onions, sausage, nutmeg, thyme, and wheat! (And quite possibly 11 when you count the smoked fontina, but that’s your call!)

The Very Best of Fall Lasagna

1 box whole wheat lasagna noodles
1 package apple maple chicken sausage (trader joe’s)
1 can of organic pumpkin puree
2 c. part skim ricotta cheese
¼ tsp. cinnamon
2 yellow onions, sliced
2 tbsp. balsamic vinegar
½ tsp. thyme
1 acorn squash
1 butternut squash
1 tbsp. butter
1 tbsp. flour
½ c. chicken stock
1 c. 2% milk
Fresh grated nutmeg, to taste
2 c. shredded smoked fontina cheese
Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil, salt heavily.
Combine pumpkin puree, ricotta, cinnamon, salt and pepper in a bowl. Set aside until ready to construct lasagna
Cook sausage according to package directions. Slice and set aside until ready to construct lasagna.
In a nonstick skillet over low heat, sauté onions for 15 minutes, or until tender. Add thyme, salt, pepper, and balsamic vinegar. Cook until vinegar is a glaze onions, turn heat off and set aside until ready to construct lasagna.
Place a steamer basket over boiling water. Peel, seed, and slice acorn and butternut squash. Place in steamer basket and steam for 3-4 minutes, do not overcook! They should be al dente. Set aside until ready to construct.
Drop the pasta noodles, and cook for 7 minutes.
Melt the butter in a saucepan, add in flour and cook out over medium heat. Add stock, milk and nutmeg. Bring to a simmer. Add ½ of the cheese. Whisk until combined, turn off heat.
Drain noodles when they’re very al dente.

To construct lasagna:
Ladle cheese sauce into the bottom of a lasagna dish. Place noodles in the bottom, top with ricotta mix, then slices of squash, then slices of sausage, some balsamic onions, and a ladle full of the cheese sauce.
Repeat beginning with noodles for 2 more layers, using up squash, sausage, and onions.
At the 4th layer, spread on ricotta mixture, remaining cheese sauce, and then top with the remaining 1 c. of fontina cheese.
Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbly.

(The inspirational fall ingredients)

(The 7 elements to construction!)

(Layer 1 minus the cheese sauce topping)

(The not pretty, but gooey, delicious shot)