thursday night smackdown » It made me gain five pounds, but it w I have writers’ block, probably because I’m sick, haven’t been able to talk for two days and haven’t been out of the house. You’d think I could just channel all the restlessness into a post, but you would be wrong. I’m more blocked up than the dog that time he ate a block of cheddar cheese. But you know what quasi-semi-professional wannabe writers do when faced with writers’ block. They POWER THROUGH. We held a game night for some friends last night; usually we dork out completely with Dungeons and Dragons, but last night we only dorked out about 95% and played Magic: The Gathering because the Dungeonmaster hadn’t prepared a storyline. So: whenever we have game night I try to make something sweet. I had some leftover egg yolks from Thursday night’s macaroons and a bunch more dark chocolate from the BlogHer Food conference swag bags, so there was really only one option: pots de creme. Actually, I didn’t think that at all. I’m sorry I had to tell you all that. Pre-heat your oven to 300.
Fettucine Carbonara with Roasted Tomatoes — Our Life In The Kitc I’ve been craving Carbonara for a while now but was having a hard time justifying the calories. The willpower was gone when I thought about throwing in some of the surplus cherry tomatoes from the garden. I also planned to make fresh homemade fettucine but I was too lazy busy to get around to it. Enter Plan B. Go to the store for fresh-ish Buitoni. Fettucine, a pound of dry or a couple of boxes of fresh or your own homemade.Pancetta, 3/4 poundYellow or White Onion, 1 mediumGarlic, 5 or 6 clovesEggs, 3Cream, 1 1/2 cupsFreshly Grated Parmesan, 1 cupCoarse Ground Black PepperCherry Tomatoes, 2 dozen or so Put the water for the fettucine up to boil. Dice the pancetta. Rinse the tomatoes and spread them on a baking pan. Fry up the pancetta in a large saute pan. While the pancetta is cooking and the tomatoes are broiling, slice the onion and chop the garlic. Whisk together the eggs, cream and cheese. By now the pancetta should be getting crispy. Add the pancetta… ..and the tomatoes.
Soft Wrap Bread I blindly made this bread for a dinner that I had been looking forward to for a long time. To be honest, I made this wrap-style bread myself (instead of buying it) because there isn’t a good bakery close to me and I didn’t want to eat cardboardy, stale pitas for dinner. My hopes weren’t very high for this bread – it was more like a means to an end. But all of that changed. Amazing. *Update (6/10): I’ve made this bread too many times to count since originally posting it and wanted to share that I now almost always make it with whole wheat flour (usually white wheat flour because that is what I have on hand to grind). This recipe works best with instant yeast because it dissolves during the kneading process, so you don’t have to knead liquid into the dough. Also, I often use half to 3/4 finely ground white whole wheat flour with good results - and sometimes I get crazy and use 100% whole wheat flour (always finely ground white wheat). Ingredients Directions
Strawberry And Rhubarb Tart First of all, I would like to thank Hani for taking your time to write to me. I appreciated your kind words and I'm more than happy to share this lovely Strawberry and Rhubarb Tart recipe with you. Well, you can fill the tart with a bigger pastry shell and you can find the pastry shell recipe over here. Strawberry And Rhubarb Tart Ingredients 1 (9 1/2 inches) bake blind3 1/2 cups Fresh or Frozen Rhubarb, cut into smaller chunks120 g Sugar1 1/2 Tbsp Corn FlourA pinch of Sea Salt Glazing 100 g of your preferred Jelly/Jam (I used Grape Jam) Method Combine the rhubarb, sugar, salt and corn flour and cook in a moderate heat for about 10 minutes. In a small saucepan, bring the jam to a boil, then lower the heat and keep stirring until melted and leave it to cool. Scrape all the rhubarb mixture into the cooked and cooled pastry shell with a spatula.
Cheesy Garlic Potatoes The weather has been beautiful for the past two days here in New York! We went to the park yesterday and did some shopping, and all I had to wear was a sweater. Who would have thought? Not that I’m quite ready for it to get really warm yet, but I’ll stick with the high 50s for now. This is a recipe that I tweaked a bit from Gourmet magazine. Your ingredients. Boil your potatoes until tender, about 15 minutes. Place the garlic in a small pot and add the olive oil. Remove the garlic from the oil and mash with a fork until as smooth as possible. Grate your cheese in a medium bowl. Combine the cheese with the garlic, mayonnaise, and basil. Hollow out the potato with a teaspoon, just enough to fill with the cheese mixture. Fill the potatoes with 2-3 teaspoons of the filling and sprinkle with paprika. Cheesy Garlic Potatoes Cook time: Total time: Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover them with water.
Chicken Parmingana This is one of the go-to dishes I make for my family of six. Rich, flavorful, and totally satisfying, we all love it, including my big, strapping cowboy of a husband. And that’s a very, very good thing. Break out the good Parmesan for this one, my friends. It’s the right thing to do. Begin with four to six boneless, skinless, trimmed chicken breasts. I’m actually beginning to believe fear of raw chicken is a diagnosable phobia. Place the chicken breasts inside of a Ziploc bag—either one at a time or, if the bag is gigantic like this one, all at once. I put them inside Ziplocs so that when I pound the heck out of them here in a second, microscopic particles of raw chicken will not end up across the room on my computer’s keyboard. Now THAT would gross me out the door. Pound the chicken with the smooth side of a mallet. You want them to be very thin–about 1/8 to 1/4″ thick. Add the flour to a large plate. And pepper. Then season the other side. The raw chicken is almost over. And butter. Mmmm.
Chocolate Tart I almost forgot to post about the chocolate tart that I made during the New Years Eve. Anyway, this recipe was adapted from one of the Jamie Oliver cookbooks. I did not use the recipe for the tart shells. I have used the tart shell recipes from the Lemon Tartlets. Chocolate Tart Ingredients 1 tart shell, bake blind 1 cup plus 6 Tbsp Heavy Cream 2 Level Tbsp Sugar A pinch of Salt 1/2 cup Butter, softened 1 lb Bittersweet Chocolate, broken up Scant 1/2 cup Cold Milk Unsweetened Cocoa Powder for dusting Method Place the cream, sugar and pinch of salt in a pan and bring to a boil. Scrape all the mixture into the cooked and cooled pastry shell with a spatula. Dust with the cocoa powder.
TGI Fry-Day: 'Thrice Cooked Chips' at The Breslin | Serious Eats Who doesn't love french fries? We've long been looking for New York's best, and decided that the city's fries deserved more than a post—they needed a column of their own. Here's TGI Fry-Day, your weekly dose of deliciousness. [Photo: Robyn Lee] Our inaugural fries might just be our favorite in New York right now: "Thrice Cooked Chips" at The Breslin. A tiny bit of oil-free potato remains in the middle, a creamy surprise in the center. The chips accompany the lamb burger, or can be ordered as a side for $7. The Breslin
Mozzarella Sticks When I told my friends I was planning on making homemade mozzarella sticks for a guy’s weekend out of town the idea was met with a profound lack of enthusiasm. Everybody knows that I like to experiment in the kitchen, but somehow the idea of making a bar food staple like mozzarella sticks from scratch seemed like a complete waste of time to the group. After being lectured about the innumerable brands available in the freezer section at the grocery store and a heated debate about whether marinara or ranch is the better dipping accompaniment, I decided to risk further heckling and see if I couldn’t one-up T.G.I. It might have been the alcohol, but the first batch was gone within a matter of seconds. With the right breadcrumbs, fragrant Italian spices and an organized assembly line for the essential double-dredging technique, perfect, scratch-made mozzarella sticks can be made at home in no time and with little effort. For the Mozzarella Sticks: For the Buttermilk Dip: Serves 4
Make Your Own Homemade Snickers Bars - Food - Lifehacker @Jason: The experience of it! It's like asking a chef why they cook, they do it for the fun of it. Sure, you could buy the candies for 17 dollars, but that's no fun. Now making them, that's something you can tell your friends about. That, and making candy can help boost your standing in the workplace, if your boss is that kind of person. @Shmooki: Amen. Not *that* much cheaper than a jar of Smuckers, but the experience can't be matched. In a few weeks, I'll be doing some blackberry jam, as well. @Shmooki & @TreyWaters: And for the record, I love to cook, so this makes sense. I guess the idea of making something that's *only* ever factory produced didn't really strike me as the same, but I can understand how others might feel that way. @TreyWaters: You raise a good point. sugar and such.
Loaded Baked Potato Soup | bitchin' camero It’s officially Sports Food season. Baseball playoffs are coming soon (go Red Sox!), college football is in full swing (go Eagles!) I happen to love Sporty foods. You can set your soup station up like you would a taco or baked potato station: a big pot of soup, bowls and toppings. Loaded Baked Potato Soup 1.5 tbsp. olive oil 1 small yellow onion, finely chopped 2 cloves garlic, minced 3 medium-sized Idaho (or creamer) potatoes (roughly 2.5 lbs.), diced 3 cups chicken stock 1/2 cup plain yogurt (Greek-style Yogurt is perfect here) Toppings: 1 cup chopped spinach 6 slices bacon, cooked til crisp 6 oz. shredded cheddar cheese 1 – 2 jalapeno or serrano peppers, thinly sliced 1/2 cup sour cream or plain yogurt More topping ideas: Green onions Chives Diced tomato Fresh salsa Sauteed or steamed Broccoli Sauteed mushrooms Anything you like to put on your baked potato goes! Set a large, heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Serve immediately and top with your favorite toppings. Makes 6 servings.
Pan-Roasted Shrimp with Wisconsin Aged Parmesan with Chef Michael Symon Servings: 4-6 Ingredients: 2 shallots, minced (about 2 tablespoons)1 clove garlic, mincedKosher salt and ground black pepperJuice of 2 lemons1/2 cup (4 ounces) extra virgin olive oil plus 1 tablespoon for shrimp1/2 cup grape tomatoes, halved1 cup freshly cooked or canned white beans, such as cannellini1 cup (about 4 ounces) Wisconsin Parmesan Cheese, cut in small dice1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined Cooking Directions: Place shallots and garlic in mixing bowl. Pan-roast shrimp: Heat remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil in sauté pan. Add warm shrimp to prepared mixture and toss. How To Make Creamy Ice Cream with Just One Ingredient! | Apartme Yes, that's right; you heard us. Creamy, soft-serve style ice cream with just one ingredient — and no ice cream maker needed! What is this one magic ingredient that can be whipped into perfectly rich and silky ice cream, with no additional dairy, sweeteners, or ingredients needed whatsoever? If you guessed BANANA, congratulations! You're right! What? "That's the sort of thing you discover," she sighed, "when all your friends are vegan, gluten-free, dairy-allergic, and you're on a sugar-free diet." It turns out that frozen bananas are good for more than just dipping in chocolate. Some bananas, depending on their ripeness, have a bit of that green aftertaste. Have you ever tried frozen-banana ice cream? Want more detailed instructions and step-by-step photos? → Step-by-Step Instructions for One-Ingredient Ice Cream Now try more flavors... → Magic One-Ingredient Ice Cream 5 Ways: Peanut Butter, Nutella, and More (Images: Faith Durand)
Crockpot BBQ Beer Chicken What is up with beer and me lately? I can’t get enough of the stuff. If I’m telling the truth, I really enjoy cooking with beer much more than I like drinking it. I do like to drink it on occasion, but it’s not always my beverage of choice. Best flavor ever. Basically, I love replacing water with alcohol. And now… a peek into what a mess my kitchen appliances really are. You don’t even want to see my stand mixer. Look at that bun. I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that this is the best chicken I have ever made in the crockpot. People… I live with a man who seriously eats chicken at least five days a week for lunch and dinner. So, I’m convinced it’s a combination of the perfect marriage between beer, spices (I freakishly love onion powder and smoked paprika together… give it a whirl) and sauce (Bone Suckin‘ is the best) that makes this so amazing. Or is that just me? Crockpot BBQ Beer Chicken serves about 8-10 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 6 large) 1 tablespoon onion powder