February 28, 2007
Calzones
Basically calzones are just a rolled up version of pizza in a pocket or mini pies so to speak, but they are fun to make and delicious to eat! Throw in your favorite toppings, add a salad on the side and you've got yourself a meal!
What You'll Need For The Crust: (This is my basic pizza dough recipe.)
2 cups of unbleached all purpose flour
1 teaspoon of sea salt
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
1 cup of warm water
4 teaspoons of yeast
1 tablespoon of honey
Mix flour and salt in your food processor by giving it a few pulses. Add in olive oil.
In a separate container mix water, yeast and honey. Turn on food processor and pour yeast mixture into the flour mixture and process until dough ball forms.
Cut dough ball into 4 pieces and let rise for 1 hour or until doubled in size.
What You'll Need For Each Calzone:
1/4 pizza crust
1/4 a red onion, sliced into strips
1/4 a bell pepper, diced
1 large button mushroom, sliced
Green or black olives, optional
2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons of Mozzarella cheese
2 tablespoons of part skim Ricotta cheese
1/4 cup of pizza sauce
olive oil
1 pinch of sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 pinch of dried oregano
1 pinch of Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 425 F.
Cook red onion, bell pepper and mushroom until tender by sautéing or in the microwave. Set aside.
Take one ball of dough and roll flat:
In the middle of the rolled out dough add cooked vegetable mixture and olives:
Next add mozzarella cheese:
Then add Parmesan cheese:
And then add ricotta cheese:
Last add pizza sauce:
Fold dough over the filling:
Fold the excess dough back toward the calzone to crimp the edges and seal in the filling:
With a very sharp knife make 3 slits for venting:
Brush the top of the calzone with olive oil and sprinkle with sea salt, freshly ground black pepper, oregano and/or Parmesan cheese:
Bake for 15-20 minutes until golden brown.
Each calzone makes roughly 2 servings.
Notes: You can put pretty much anything you want to into the center for your fillings. Spinach? Sure! Goat cheese? Yum! Use salsa instead of pizza sauce and cheddar cheese to make a Mexican calzone. Or you could make a fruit calzone with some cooked apples, blueberries or cherries!
Be creative! Being in the kitchen isn't just about eating, it also about having fun!
Posted by Dianne at 12:58 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
What's For Dinner?
I'm going to make an adaptation of this Kale Soup and some yeast rolls.
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 12:23 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 27, 2007
What's For Dinner?
Tonight we're having lasagna, salad and garlic bread.
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 10:14 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Homemade Loaf Bread
I've been making a lot of bread lately and it's true...Once you start making your own, the stuff you buy at the store just doesn't seem that appealing! This is an old recipe that I've had for years. I remember making it when I lived in Knoxville and I left there in 1997, so it's been a while. I believe I copied the recipe from my Mom's recipe box, but I can't remember for sure and of course being me I've adapted it over the years. Regardless it's extremely good! Try it...You'll like it! There's just nothing like freshly made bread right out of the oven!
What You'll Need:
4 teaspoons of yeast
1 1/4 cup of warm water
2 tablespoons of melted butter
2 teaspoons of sea salt
2 tablespoons of honey
3 cups of unbleached all purpose flour
Mix yeast, water, butter, salt and honey and stir to mix. Add flour and stir until a sticky dough forms. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 1-2 minutes until elastic. Place in an oiled bowl in a warm spot and cover. Let sit for 45 minutes to 1 hour and let double in size.
Punch dough down and shape into a loaf. Place in a bread pan that has been sprayed with non-stick spray, cover and let rise again for 45 minutes to 1 hour and let the dough rise and fill the pan. (I have a larger bread pan and when I first put the dough in it doesn't "fit" the pan, but after it rises for a while it fills in nicely!)
Preheat oven to 375 F and bake for 30 minutes.
More bread to come. I'm trying to find one that Jamison adores, and anyone that knows him knows how picky he is! This one wasn't quite what he was looking for, though I liked it a lot! My goal is to not have to buy the nasty stuff at the store anymore! ;o)
Posted by Dianne at 8:45 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
February 26, 2007
Blueberry Pancakes
Nothing says comfort food like pancakes! Throw in a few blueberries and you've got heaven on a plate! ;o)
What You'll Need:
2 cups of unbleached all purpose flour
1/3 cup of organic cane sugar
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1 teaspoon of baking soda
1 teaspoon of baking powder
2 eggs
2 cups of buttermilk
Blueberries
In a large bowl mix together flour, sugar, sea salt, baking soda and baking powder. Stir in eggs and buttermilk and stir until smooth.
Preheat skillet over medium heat and spray with non-stick spray when hot. Pour batter into the pan in circles (about 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of batter depending on how large you want your pancakes).
Drop blueberries onto the pancake spaced evenly:
Turn when bubbly and cook the other side until done through. Serve plain or with maple syrup.
Minus the blueberries this is my basic pancake recipe. You can add any kind of fruit you want or just eat them plain.
What's not to like?
Posted by Dianne at 9:27 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
What's For Dinner?
We're going to do breakfast for dinner and have Buttermilk Waffles. I may even add some blueberries into my waffles.
What are you having?
Update: 4:51 PM: Make that pancakes instead! Alexis has her heart set on pancakes and not waffles. I tried to convince her that there's really not that much difference, but she wasn't convinced! I still may throw in a few blueberries into mine though! ;o)
Posted by Dianne at 1:42 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Dianne's Take On Semolina Bread
A few days ago I came across this recipe for Semolina Bread and I knew I would have to try it! The below recipe is my adaptation. Even Jamison liked it! ;o)
What You'll Need For The Starter:
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons of warm water
1 teaspoon dry yeast
2 1/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
Mix water and yeast in a bowl and let sit until yeast foams. Add flour and stir until dough is incorporated. Dough will be sticky. Transfer starter dough into a large oiled bowl and let rise, covered overnight. (I usually let bread rise in my oven with the light on. It gives off just enough heat to make a wonderful raising area.)
What You'll Need For The Semolina Bread:
1 cup of starter
3 cups warm water
3 teaspoons dry yeast
4 cups unbleached all purpose flour
4 cups semolina flour
2 teaspoons sea salt
1 egg, beaten
In a large bowl add 3 cups of warm water and add yeast. Let yeast sit until foamy. Add starter to yeast mixture (reserve left over starter in fridge to make bread again) and stir until it begins to dissolve. Sift together salt and flours. Add flour mixture to water mixture until a dough forms. Turn out onto a floured surface and knead for 2 to 3 minutes. Place dough in a large oiled bowl and let sit for 45 minutes until 1 hour until doubled in size.
Punch down dough and cut into 4 pieces. Roll out once section of dough until it's flat:
Then roll the flat dough into a tube:
Twist dough tube into a figure eight and place on a baking sheet lined with a Silpat or parchment paper:
Brush with a beaten egg:
Top with sea salt and/or sesame seeds and/or herbs or leave plain with just egg wash:
Repeat procedure with other 3 pieces of dough.
Let shaped dough rise for 30-45 minutes until it rises again.
Preheat oven to 450 F and bake loaves for 20 minutes or until golden brown.
Makes 4 small loaves, 2 medium loaves or 1 large loaf.
Posted by Dianne at 1:25 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 25, 2007
What's For Dinner?
I can't decide between Creamy Tomato Basil Soup or Vegetarian Matzo Ball soup. It's snowing and I'm making some semolina bread (more about that later...it's rising as I type this!) and I know I want soup, but I can't decide which one!
What are you having?
Update: 7:30 PM: After spending time outside playing in the snow with Jamison and Alexis (a snowman and a snowball fight!) I decided to make the Creamy Tomato Basil Soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. The semolina bread turned out great and made a wonderful mid afternoon snack! I'll post the recipe later this evening or in the morning!
Posted by Dianne at 11:34 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Dianne's Tropical Lemonade
I was reading the current issue of Cooking Light and they had a frozen lemonade made with coconut rum. The only problem is that I don't keep frozen lemonade concentrate on hand (high fructose corn syrup anyone?) and usually make lemonade straight from lemons. I decided that it had to be easy to make my own little concoction and this is what I came up with. It's fruity, tropical and oh so good!
What You'll Need:
The juice of 2 lemons
2 cups of water
1 cup of club soda
1/2 cup of coconut rum
1/2 cup of organic cane sugar
2 cups of ice
Sliced lemon for garnish (optional)
Mix lemon juice, water, club soda, rum and sugar in the canister of your blender. Add ice and blend until smooth. Serve with sliced lemons to garnish if desired!
Who says you can't be tropical in February? ;o)
Posted by Dianne at 10:18 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 23, 2007
What's For Dinner?
Tonight I'm going to have a salad. My sister Katherine and I took Alexis and Nelson to lunch and to do some shopping. We had a BIG lunch and even though we walked some of it off, I think we'll make it a light dinner tonight.
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 2:39 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Baked Salmon Dip
I LOVE salmon! But I don't like it smoked and I don't like the stuff they put into a can. It's a waste of perfectly good salmon! Over the years most of the salmon dip recipes that I came across called for either smoked or canned salmon and that just wouldn't work. So I came up with this little recipe. I play with it from time to time, but it's delicious none the less!
What You'll Need:
1 - 8 ounce package of light cream cheese, softened
1/2 a red onion, chopped
4 scallions, chopped
1 teaspoon of dried dill (at least)
A pinch of sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 baked salmon filet, skin removed and flaked
In a bowl cream cream cheese until smooth and set aside.
Chop red onions and microwave for 1-2 minutes until tender, but the onions retain their color. (This helps take a little of the bite out of them.) Add chopped scallions to the bowl with red onions and microwave for 30 seconds to a minute. Stir cooked onions into the cream cheese mixture until mixed. Stir in seasonings and mix well. Last add flaked salmon and stir until just mixed so as not to completely tear apart the salmon pieces. Serve with crudités and/or bread and crackers.
Note: Baking salmon is easy. Just take a salmon steak, drizzle it with a little olive oil, sea salt, black pepper and dill (optional) and bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 F or until done.
Posted by Dianne at 9:15 AM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
February 22, 2007
What's For Dinner?
At this moment I'm leaning toward homemade pizza and a salad.
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 10:26 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Pineapple "Pudding" Cake
This cake was one my mom made often when my sister and I were children and we loved it! She took it to a lot of church pot lucks and things of that nature. I never really understood why it had pudding in the title since there is no actual pudding in the cake, thus the quotes. This is my take on yet another of my Mom's classics. It's moist, fruity and delicious!
What You'll Need For The Cake:
2 cups of unbleached all purpose flour
1 3/4 cup organic cane sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons of baking soda
1 teaspoon of sea salt
2 eggs, beaten
1 - 20 oz. can crushed pineapple packed in juice, undrained (If you don't have crushed pineapple or tidbits, you can take a 20 ounce can of chunk pineapple and process it in your food processor. Next time I make this cake I'm going to try making it with fresh pineapple.)
Preheat oven to 350 F.
In large bowl mix flour, sugar, baking soda and salt until incorporated. Dump in remaining ingredients and stir until just mixed. Pour into a 13 X 9 inch baking dish that has been sprayed with non-stick spray and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until golden brown on top.
What You'll Need For The "Icing":
1 cup organic cane sugar
1/2 cup of butter
1 cup of heavy cream
1 teaspoon of vanilla
While the cake is baking add sugar, butter and cream to a sauce pot. Melt butter and then bring to a boil. Boil for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent scorching. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Let sit until cake comes out of the oven.
When you remove the cake from the oven pour "icing" mixture over cake immediately.
You can serve this cake warm or cooled. It's delicious either way!
Posted by Dianne at 9:40 AM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
February 21, 2007
Avocado And Spinach Sandwich: A Semi-Recipe
This isn't really a recipe, but it's an awesome sandwich! This is the first of many of what I call "Semi-Recipes". No exact measurements, just an idea of ingredients to put together and some basic instructions! Make one...You'll love it!
What You'll Need Per Person:
1/2 of an avocado, cut into slices
Cheese of your choice (I used a nice Swiss from IKEA...No, you didn't read that wrong, IKEA!!)
Baby spinach leaves
Flat leaf parsley
Tomato, sliced
Light mayonaise
Bread of your choice (I used Garden Herb from the Breadery)
Spread mayo on bread. Layer avocado, spinach, parsley, tomato and cheese to one slice of bread and top with the other. Serve with side of your choice.
Posted by Dianne at 9:02 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
What's For Dinner?
Now that my assignment from hell is over tonight Alexis and I will have baked salmon with dill, roasted asparagus, baked potatoes and a spinach salad. Everything is ready to go from last night, so we're all set to start cooking!
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 8:57 AM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
February 20, 2007
What's For Dinner?
Alexis and I are having baked salmon with dill, roasted asparagus, baked potatoes and a spinach salad.
What are you having?
Update 4:39 PM: An assignment I have due today in one of my classes is proving harder than it appeared it would be, so we're going to order out for dinner.
Posted by Dianne at 10:00 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Garlic Shrimp Pasta With Homemade Spaghetti Noodles
A few years ago Jamison got me a pasta maker for Christmas. I got it out one day to use it and found out that the first batch can't be eaten because you have to use the dough to clean the oil out of the machine and I hadn't gotten back to it given life is just sometimes crazy. Yesterday I finally had time to get it back out and make some pasta! Alexis "helped" me so the noodles didn't turn out nice and long because they were just play dough to her, but they were delicious none the less! I HIGHLY recommend fresh pasta! It was easy, cooked up in no time and was delicious to boot!
What You'll Need For the Pasta:
I used the recipe off the back of the Bob's Red Mill Semolina Flour package, minus the salt, but I did things a little differently from the instructions.
1 1/2 cups of Semolina flour
2 eggs, beaten
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons of water
Process ingredients in a food processor until a ball forms. Remove and knead for 5 minutes. Roll into a ball and put into a bowl oiled with olive oil and let sit covered for 1 hour.
After at least and hour remove pasta ball from bowl and cut in half. Cut each half into half again. Press pasta flat and run through your pasta maker a few times to make a long flat noodle.
Once the noodle is flat run through the pasta cutter of your choice. My machine has spaghetti and fettuccini on the attachment I currently have. I chose the spaghetti setting.
Lay noodles flat as you cut them to prevent them from sticking together and cook in boiling water with a little salt for 2-4 minutes. Fresh noodles cook MUCH faster than the dried equivalent, so keep an eye on them!
Once cooked top with the pasta sauce of your choice.
What You'll Need For the Garlic Shrimp Per Person:
Extra virgin olive oil
2 gloves of garlic
2 scallions
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
6-8 shrimp
1 1/2 cups of cooked pasta
2 tablespoons of Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup of chopped parsley
Sauté garlic and scallions in a little olive oil until just tender. Add a pinch of sea salt, ground pepper and the shrimp and cook until shrimp are just pink. Add noodles, cheese and parsley and cook until cheese is melted. Serve immediately.
Posted by Dianne at 9:40 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 19, 2007
What's For Dinner?
Homemade pasta with shrimp and garlic.
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 3:35 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 18, 2007
Blueberry Eggrolls
When Jamison and I first got married we lived in Huntsville, Alabama and there was a Chinese restaurant that we frequented often. They had dessert egg rolls that were filled with pineapple and cream cheese. I made them a few years ago and thought of them again today when I was making the Vegetable Egg Rolls. I thought about making some since I had some left over egg roll wrappers, but I realized I didn't have any pineapple on hand since I rarely keep canned fruit and I haven't gotten a pineapple lately. I saw some blueberries in the fridge and my mind kicked into gear and these lovely little goodies were the result!
What You'll Need For The Blueberry Filling:
2 cups of blueberries
1 cup of organic cane sugar
1/4 cup of water
The zest of one lemon
What You'll Need For The Cream Cheese Filling:
1 - 8 ounce package of cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup of organic cane sugar
1 teaspoon of vanilla
What You'll Need For the Blueberry Eggrolls:
Blueberry filling
Cream cheese filling
Egg roll wrappers
Oil for frying
More organic cane sugar for dusting
To Prepare Blueberries:
In a saucepan over medium heat cook blueberries, sugar, zest and water until they turn jelly like, stirring occasionally to make sure they aren't sticking. Cool to room temperature. The blueberries will become thicker as they sit.
To Prepare Cream Cheese Filling:
Cream together cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth.
To Make The Blueberry Egg Rolls:
Preheat oil to 350 F. (Again I like safflower oil for frying.)
Place approximately 1 tablespoon of blueberry filling and 1 tablespoon of cream cheese filling in the center of an egg roll wrapper. Fold using the same directions as the Veggie Egg Roll recipe.
Drop rolls into oil two at a time and fry for 1-2 minutes. Remove from oil and drain on paper towel. Sprinkle with organic cane sugar and serve hot.
Posted by Dianne at 6:56 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Honey Balsamic Vinaigrette
As I have mentioned before I'm all about fresh salad dressing. This little number is tart, a little sweet and oh so delicious!
What You'll Need:
1/2 cup of white balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup of extra virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons of honey
Combine ingredients and mix thoroughly. (I like to mix it in a mason jar. Throw the lid on and shake! It's the perfect way to mix it all up!) Serve immediately. Store any leftovers at room temperature.
Note: I like the flavor of vinegar so I go heavier on the vinegar and lighter on the oil, but you can always reverse the proportions if you like and add 1/2 cup of oil and 1/4 cup of vinegar.
Posted by Dianne at 4:36 PM | Comments (4) | TrackBack
What's For Dinner?
Tonight Alexis and I are having vegetable eggs rolls and a strawberry spinach salad. Jamison is going to order Chinese food in his own little Chinese New Year celebration!
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 1:56 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
In Honor Of The Chinese New Year: Vegetable Egg Rolls
In honor of the Chinese New Year I thought it would be fun to make some egg rolls! I had never made them before, but I figured it wouldn't be too hard and I was right! They're fast, easy and delicious!
What You'll Need:
1 carrot, cut into matchstick pieces
1/8 of a head of cabagge, cut into strips
1 leek, cut into strips
A pinch of sea salt
A pinch of black pepper
2 teaspoons of rice wine vinegar
Egg roll wrappers
Oil for frying
Step One:
Heat oil to 350 F. (I used and usually use safflower oil when frying.)
Step Two:
While oil is heating, in a medium sized skillet saute veggies with salt, pepper and vinegar until just tender and remove from heat. The filing is now ready to fill the egg roll wrappers.
Step Three:
Lay an egg roll wrapper flat and place some filling in the middle.
Step Four:
Fold bottom corner to the middle and tuck under the filling.
Step Five:
Fold and tuck corners. It will resemble an envelope at this point.
Step Six:
Close and seal your "envelope" by rolling the egg rolls over. Dip your fingers in some water and run along the seam and gently press closed to seal.
Step Seven:
Fry egg rolls for 45 secnds to 1 minute until brown. Once removed from oil the egg rolls will continue to brown. Don't over do them!
Step Eight:
Remove from oil and drain on a paper towel. Serve immediately or you can reheat them later by placing them in a warm oven for 5 to 10 minutes.
Makes 6 egg rolls.
Posted by Dianne at 1:32 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Pass Phrase
I've added a pass phrase question for comments to help prevent spam. It's a simple question that will change from time to time. Just answer in lowercase and your comment will go right through! :o)
Posted by Dianne at 8:32 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 17, 2007
Dianne's Fresh Salsa
I like to make this little "salsa" from time to time when I'm in the mood for something fresh. It's basically a kicked up pico de gallo, but it always gets raves!
What You'll Need:
4-6 Roma tomatoes, seeded (4 if they are large, 6 if they are smaller)
1/2 of a green bell pepper, chopped
1/2 of a red or orange bell pepper, chopped
1 bunch of scallions, chopped (There are usually 8 or 9 scallions in a bunch)
The juice of one lime
A pinch of black pepper
A pinch of cayenne pepper
A pinch of sea salt
First Step:
Seed your tomatoes. (I always freeze the pulp for soup or chili later.)
Cut seeded tomatoes into strips.
Dice tomato strips and place in a medium sized bowl.
Second Step:
Cut Bell Pepper Into Strips.
Dice pepper and add to the bowl with the tomatoes.
Step Three:
Chop scallions and add to tomato/pepper mixture.
Step Four:
Add lime juice and seasonings. Stir to mix. Chill at least 1 before serving hour.
Notes: This "salsa" breaks down quickly due to the citrus juice. Make it the day you plan on eating it and if you have any left overs you can freeze them and use it in chili or tortilla soup later.
Posted by Dianne at 1:08 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Mexican Rice
I used to take the RiceARoni Mexican rice mix and then add tomatoes, peppers and onion, but that mix is full of sodium! One servings has over a thousand milligrams of sodium! Yikes! So today I decided it would be easy to make my own, and you know what it was! Fresh is always better than boxed anyway. ;o)
What You'll Need:
1 cup of long grain rice
1 - 14.5 ounce can of diced tomatoes (Or you can use 2 cups of fresh tomatoes, chopped)
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 bunch of scallions, chopped (Most bunches have 8 or 9 scallions in them. You can also use 1 small onion, chopped.)
1 tablespoon of chili powder
1 teaspoon of garlic salt
1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon of black pepper
1 cup of water
Dump all the ingredients in a covered dish and microwave for 20 minutes. When finished stir and let sit for 5 minutes before serving.
Notes: You could vary this by adding 1 cup of frozen corn or a can of black or red beans.
Posted by Dianne at 12:55 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Cheesy Salsa Dip
Back in the day we used to make dips with Velveeta, but that stuff is really nasty when you look at what it's made of! So I adapted the recipe and found some ingredients that were less offensive! This dip is tasty and it has none of the stuff you can't pronounce in the ingredients!
What You'll Need:
1 - 8 ounce block of cream cheese
1 cup of Monterrey Jack cheese, shredded
1 cup of Cheddar cheese, shredded
1 - 16 ounce jar of salsa
Dump ingredients into a large glass Pyrex bowl and microwave for 2-5 minutes until completely melted.
Serve with tortilla chips or crudités.
Isn't that easy??
Note: I do not use preshredded cheese. They put weird stabilizers in them and they don't melt properly.
Posted by Dianne at 12:46 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
"Refried" Beans
"Refried" Beans are very easy to make and much better for you if you do! Try them! You'll love them!
What You'll Need:
1 small package of dry pinto beans, rinsed and soaked overnight
1 1/2 red onions, chopped
A pinch of sea salt
A pinch of cayenne pepper
A pinch of black pepper
Cover beans with water until just covered and bring to a boil Reduce heat to a simmer and stir occasionally. Half way through cooking time stir in chopped onions. Cook for several hours (4-6 hours) until beans start falling apart.
Remove from heat and mash beans with a potato masher until pasty. Stir in seasonings and serve.
Posted by Dianne at 12:36 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
What's For Dinner?
We're having some friends over for dinner tonight and decided to do Mexican! We're having fajitas (chicken, beef and portabella mushroom, so that there's a mix for everyone) with peppers and onions. (I'll take pictures and post this recipe the next time I make it...I have a feeling we'll be having too much fun for me to remember to take pictures of the fajitas this evening!) Refried beans (recipe to come), Mexican rice (recipe to come), guacamole, salsa cheese dip (recipe to come), fresh salsa (i.e. a kicked up pico de gallo...recipe to come) and they are bringing homemade apple pie for dessert. I made some vanilla ice cream this morning to go along with that. We'll have a few margaritas and/or some sangria and it should be a most lovely evening!
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 11:39 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
February 16, 2007
What's For Dinner?
That is the question of the day! I know what we're having tomorrow (we have some friends coming over for dinner), but as for today I haven't figured it out yet!
What are you having?
Update: 2: 50 PM: We have to run some errands so we'll eat dinner out. I'm not sure where, but at least we now have a general idea. :o) I'm leaning toward somewhere I can get some soup or a salad. We'll see where we end up later.
Update: 3:57 PM: Back to the drawing board. Errands will be run in the morning so I don't know what we are going to do for dinner again.
Update: 6:36 PM: I ended up having an avocado sandwich with cheddar and pea sprouts, pita chips and salsa. Not thrilling, but good none the less.
Posted by Dianne at 12:49 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
February 15, 2007
Omelets Stuffed With Veggies And Swiss Cheese
Sometimes I like to have breakfast for dinner and nothing is better for that than omelets! Stuff them with veggies and a little cheese and they are hearty and oh so good!
What You'll Need Per Person:
Extra virgin olive oil
2 asparagus spears
2 button mushrooms
1/4 of an onion, cut into strips
2 eggs
Freshly ground black pepper
1 slice of the cheese of your choice
Cut veggies and roast in the oven or sauté until tender with a little freshly ground black pepper and extra virgin olive oil. Once tender set aside.
Heat skillet over medium heat and spray with non-stick spray. Beat eggs with a little freshly ground black pepper and pour into skillet. Cook until egg is set.
Add veggies and cheese to half of the egg circle and fold the other half of the egg over the "stuffing". Let heat through until cheese melts. Serve with whole grain toast.
Posted by Dianne at 8:10 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
The Way To My Heart
Jamison knows me so well! Sure chocolates are nice (truffles especially), and jewelry is sparkly (and he did get me a pair of earrings I've been wanting), but the way to my heart is through kitchen goodies!
For a while now we've know we needed to replace our pots and pans. 1) I've worn out the set we got when we got married ten years ago and 2) There is some concern of toxicity (and by some I mean a lot) in terms of cooking with what I had. A year ago I picked out what I wanted and Jamison surprised me for Valentine's Day by getting it for me!
The whole shebang!:
The set includes a sauce pan with a lid, an 8 inch skillet and an 8 quart stockpot with a lid:
A 10 inch skillet, steamer with cover and a couple of sauce pans with lids:
He also got two add on pieces, a double boiler with a lid and a 12 inch skillet:
Oh how I love my husband! 15 pieces of cooking goodness! He knows me so well! :o)
Posted by Dianne at 3:40 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
What's For Dinner
Tonight I'm having an omelet with veggies and whole wheat toast.
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 2:36 PM | Comments (5) | TrackBack
February 14, 2007
What's For Dinner?
I have no clue. I know what Jamison is having (we often eat different things), but as for Alexis and I I'm completely drawing a blank.....
What are you having?
Update: 4:30 PM: I decided I wanted sushi so Alexis and I are going to make some. Everything is sliced and ready to go, we just have to let the sushi rice cool and we'll be ready to roll! ;o)
Posted by Dianne at 4:00 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 13, 2007
Chili Dianne Style
When the weather outside gets frightful I immediately start thinking of chili and cornbread! So today with the snow and ice I decided to cook up a pot. The thing about chili (or at least in my opinion) it needs to cook and simmer for a long time to let the flavors meld so you need to do a little planning ahead, but it's oh so worth it!
What You'll Need For The Chili:
Extra virgin olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 bell pepper, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
1 pound of grape tomatoes
1 small bag of pinto beans, soaked overnight
3-4 tablespoons of chili powder
1 tablespoon of paprika
1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon of black pepper
1 pinch of sea salt
1 pinch of cinnamon (optional)
1 quart of stewed tomatoes (I used some I canned this morning)
1 quart of water
1 small can of tomato paste
1 cup of textured vegetable protein
Toppings: (Optional)
Cheese
Sour cream
Scallions
In a large stock pot sauté onion, bell pepper and garlic in extra virgin olive oil until tender. Add cherry tomatoes and beans and stir in seasonings. Add stewed tomatoes, water and tomato paste and bring to a boil. Lower temperature and let chili simmer stirring occasionally for 6-8 hours. 20 minutes before serving add textured vegetable protein an stir to mix.
Serve plain or with cheese, sour cream and scallions.
What You'll Need For The Cornbread:
2 cups of yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup of all purpose flour
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1 teaspoon of baking soda
2 teaspoons of baking powder
2 eggs
1 1/2 cups of buttermilk
Preheat oven to 425 F.
Mix all ingredients and put into a baking dish that has been sprayed with nonstick spray. Bake for 25-30 minutes until golden brown.
Posted by Dianne at 7:23 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
What's For Dinner?
On a snowy day like today I always think of chili and cornbread so that's what Alexis and I are having!
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 3:08 PM | Comments (3) | TrackBack
February 12, 2007
Chocolate Valentines
Jamison loves chocolate peanut butter cups, so I decided to make him some heart shaped chocolate peanut butter "cups" for Valentine's Day. Only one problem since it's supposed to snow tonight and then be followed by ice for the next two days, meaning Jamison will most likely be working from home, I knew I would need to make them today. Add to that that Alexis helped and wouldn't know how to keep a secret given she's 3 1/2, and actually tried to tell him twice on his way home when she was talking to him on the phone, we ended up having to give them to him tonight since Alexis was determined to keep trying to tell them about his chocolates. They turned out great!
What You'll Need:
7 bars of Ghiradhelli milk chocolate
3 tablespoons of butter
1 cup of peanut butter
1/2 cup of powdered sugar
Melt and temper your chocolate. Once chocolate is melted stir in 3 tablespoons of butter until melted. Coat chocolate molds with a layer of chocolate and let harden.
Mix peanut butter and powder sugar and add a dollop of peanut butter to the center of each hardened chocolate mold. Spread out and top with another layer of chocolate. Let harden and pop out of chocolate molds. Store in a dark, cool place.
Simple, easy and delicious!
Posted by Dianne at 8:00 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Onion And Portabella Soup With Swiss Cheese And Croutons
I must admit I've never actually eaten French Onion soup, but the idea intrigued me. Usually the base of French Onion soup is beef broth from what I've been reading and that wasn't going to work. I knew that vegetable broth was not exactly the right taste for this soup, so I kept thinking of other alternatives, but wasn't having much luck. Then it hit me...Mushroom broth! When I came up with the mushroom broth idea I then started thinking about how good portabella mushrooms would be in soup as well and this is what I came up with! It was exactly what I had in mind. That's always a good thing!
What You'll Need For The Soup:
Extra virgin olive oil
2 red onions, sliced into strips
4 portabella mushrooms, cut into thin strips
2 garlic cloves, minced
Sea salt
Black Pepper
1 container of mushroom broth
Swiss cheese
Croutons
In a stockpot over medium heat sauté onion and mushrooms until onions are slightly brown and mushrooms are tender with garlic, sea salt and black pepper. Stir in mushroom broth and bring to a quick boil and cook for 5 minutes. Spoon soup into a bowl and top with Swiss cheese and croutons.
What You'll Need For The Croutons:
6 slices of bread
Extra virgin olive oil
Sea salt
Black pepper
Preheat oven to 500 F.
Cut bread into cubes and drizzle bread with olive oil. Sprinkle with sea salt and black pepper. Bake until golden brown.
Posted by Dianne at 7:41 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 11, 2007
Chocolate Cheesecake
I LOVE cheesecake! I have a basic cheesecake recipe that I tweak depending on what type of cheesecake I'm in the mood for. I make pumpkin cheesecakes (one of my favorites), turtle cheesecake (probably my most favorite), peppermint cheesecake, key lime cheesecake, peanut butter cheesecake, chocolate cheesecake, strawberry cheesecake, cookie dough cheesecake, and so many more!
Last night I made a chocolate cheesecake since we are having some friends over for dinner. It's rich, creamy and oh so good! Cheesecake AND chocolate...What's not to like!??!?!?
What You'll Need For The Crust:
1 sleeve of chocolate graham crackers, crushed
3/4 a stick of butter, melted
1/4 cup of sugar (optional)
In a food processor process graham crackers until crushed. Add butter and sugar (optional) and pulse until combined. Press into a spring form pan that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Sit aside.
What You'll Need For the Cheesecake Batter:
4 -8 ounce packages of cream cheese, softened
1 cup of ricotta cheese, room temperature
1 cup of sugar
4 eggs
1/2 cup of cocoa (I'll say this every time I use chocolate. I recommend Ghirardelli or Green and Black's! I've also heard Dagoba is excellent, but I haven't tried it because it's a bit pricey, but I'll let you know if I ever do!)
1/2 cup of unbleached all purpose flour
Preheat oven to 325 F. IMPORTANT!! DO NOT SKIP THIS STEP!
Cream together cream cheese, ricotta, sugar and eggs until smooth. Scrape down the sides of the bowls to ensure everything incorporates properly. Add cocoa and mix until completely incorporated. Add flour and mix until just incorporated. Pour batter into pan with crust and spread out evenly. Tap a few times on the counter top to ensure you remove any air bubbles.
Wrap the bottom and sides of the the springform pan with aluminum foil making sure you have an airtight seal. Place pan into a baking dish. Add enough warm water to come up to 1/2 way up the springform pan. You want it to come up at least 1/4 of the way minimum. This helps keep the cheesecake from cracking.
Place baking dish in the oven and bake for 1 hour. Turn oven off and leave cheesecake in the oven with the oven door in the broil position for 1 more hour. Remove cake from the oven and refrigerate. Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving.
Posted by Dianne at 4:41 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Salad Dressings
A year or so ago I stopped buying bottled salad dressing for the most part. I'm not a huge fan of Ranch dressing, though my family and Jamison's are and I kept having to throw it out, I couldn't find a Blue Cheese dressing that tasted the way I thought it should and I also couldn't find a thousand island dressing I cared for, so I started making my own! Much less waste, more natural, less preservatives and it tastes better to boot!
Today I made Ranch dressing and Thousand Island dressing for our guests this evening. The Ranch dressing is just my take on the recipe on the back of the box. I always tweak everything. That's just what I do! ;o) The Thousand Island dressing I came up with all on my own. Both are simple, delicious and MUCH better than anything you will ever buy in a bottle!
To Make The Ranch Dressing:
1 cup of light sour cream
1 cup of fat free buttermilk
1 cup of Hellmann's light mayonnaise
1 package of Ranch dressing mix
Freshly ground black pepper
Mix thoroughly and chill for at least 1 hour prior to serving.
To Make the Thousand Island Dressing:
1/2 cup of Hellmann's light mayonnaise
1/2 cup of organic ketchup (organic ketchup does not have high fructose corn syrup, while the ones that aren't organic normally do)
1/2 cup of sweet pickle relish
A pinch of sea salt
Add ingredients and stir to mix.
Like I said simple! Coming soon Honey Lime Vinaigrette and Blue Cheese Dressing!
Posted by Dianne at 4:32 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
What's For Dinner?
We're having some friends over for dinner tonight and are having Lasagna (1 veggie and 1 with meat), a salad with a choice of either homemade Ranch dressing or homemade Thousand Island dressing (recipe to come), garlic bread and chocolate cheesecake with fresh whipped cream, blueberries and strawberries for dessert! (Recipe for the cheesecake to come soon as well!)
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 11:25 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Mushroom Lobster Risotto
While surfing the food blogs the other day I came across this Lobster Risotto recipe and I was immediately intrigued! My brain immediately started working and I came up with my own little twist of the recipe! It's warm, satisfying and oh so good!
What You'll Need:
2 large lobster tails
Extra virgin olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
4 large button mushrooms, chopped
6 cloves of garlic, minced
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 - 16 ounce package of risotto rice (Usually labeled Arborio if it doesn't say risotto on the package)
1 1/2 cups of warm water, plus more as you cook the risotto (we'll discuss this in the recipe itself)
1 1/2 cups of frozen peas
5 ounces of Parmesan cheese
Flat leaf parsley, chopped
Steam lobster tails until done and cool. Remove shells and chop meat into bite sized pieces.
In a large pot over medium heat sauté onion, mushroom and garlic with sea salt and black pepper in olive oil until tender. Stir in risotto and let cook for 5 minutes or so to toast the grains. Pour in 1 1/2 cups of warm water and cook stirring occasionally until water evaporates. Add another cup of water and repeat. Keep doing this until the rice is almost tender (about 35-40 minutes).
Stir in peas and lobster and cook for 5 minutes or until rice is completely tender. Stir in Parmesan cheese and parsley and let sit for about 3 minutes. Serve immediately.
Notes: The original recipe called for beer, but I didn't have any on hand and forgot to pick some up while I was out. You could also do this with the broth of your choice for the 1 1/2 cups of initial liquid and add water there after. You could also add in shrimp or any other seafood along with the lobster or in place of the lobster.
Posted by Dianne at 11:11 AM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 10, 2007
What's For Dinner?
Tonight I'm going to do my own little twist on this Lobster Risotto recipe that looks heavenly!
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 2:18 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Vegetarian "Sausage" Balls
For the past few years when I've eaten meat (but not fish for some reason) it always has increasingly made me sick to my stomach. So in January I decided to do a little experiment and see if I could go an entire month meat (including fish) free. My experiment worked quite well and I haven't looked back! I have readded fish in the month of February, but the other stuff is gone for good!
When I made this change I was a bit hesitant. I will readily admit I LOVE bacon and sausage, though I didn't eat it very often. But the thought of never having it again was a bit, well, daunting. I've found mock "chicken" and "mock" meat that I like, but up to this point I had not found a "sausage" and still have not found a "bacon" that worked. Today I tried out a sausage substitute and adapted the old sausage ball recipe I used to use and it worked out PERFECTLY! Trust me, you'll never know the meat sausage is not there!
What You'll Need:
1 - 8 ounce bar of cheddar or Colby cheese, shredded
2 cups of baking mix (I used Bob's Red Mill Buttermilk Biscuit Mix)
1 package of Gimme Lean Sausage Style
2 tablespoons of butter
1 tablespoon of olive oil
Preheat oven to 350 F.
In the bowl of your mixer dump all the ingredients and mix until crumbly. It looks crumbly, but it will readily stick together when mashed. Form into small balls using roughly 1 tablespoon of crumbles and bake for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.
Makes about 3 dozen.
Note: The vegetarian sausage does have the fat content that meat sausage does so you have to add a little fat into them to get them to bind together.
Posted by Dianne at 1:56 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 9, 2007
Apple Blue Cheese Salad With Walnuts
This really isn't a recipe it's just a salad I threw together for dinner for Alexis and I and it turned out quite well!
What You'll Need:
Baby spinach
Cucumbers
Carrots
Super salad shoots
Sweet Pea Shoots
Red onion
Apple
Walnuts
Blue cheese
Sea salt
Black Pepper
Extra virgin olive oil
Mix veggies. Top with blue cheese, walnuts, a pinch of sea salt, a little black pepper and a drizzle of olive oil. Enjoy!
Posted by Dianne at 6:57 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
What's For Dinner?
Another very busy day and so far I still am not sure what we're going to have for dinner! Usually I plan ahead, but it's just been one of those non-stop sort of days.
What are you having?
Update: 7:00 pm: I ended up throwing together an Apple Blue Cheese Salad With Walnuts.
Posted by Dianne at 4:44 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
February 8, 2007
Alphabet Soup
As a kid most of us ate alphabet soup, but these days who wants to eat soup with all those preservatives and such a high salt content? Not me! And I certainly wouldn't feed it to Alexis! So here's my take on the classic. It's warm and oh so comforting! It will remind you of your childhood.
What You'll Need:
Extra virgin olive oil
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup of red onion, chopped
1 carrot, chopped into small pieces
1 rib of celery, chopped
2 large button mushrooms, chopped
1 cup of chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup of chopped scallions
1 cup of frozen peas
1 cup of frozen corn
1 1/2 cups of vegetable broth
1 - 15 ounce can of tomato sauce
1 pinch of sea salt
1 pinch of black pepper
1 pinch of dried oregano
1 pinch of dried basil
ABC noodles
In a medium sized stock pot over medium heat sauté garlic through scallions until tender. (Note: Carrots will not be tender. They will continue cooking while the soup cooks.) Add the rest of the ingredients except for ABC noodles and cook for 30 minutes to an hour. Add noodles and cook for 8-10 minutes and serve immediately.
Note: You can put in as few or as many noodles as you like. I like more so I added between 1 cup and 1 1/2 cups.
Posted by Dianne at 7:08 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
What's For Dinner?
That is indeed the question of the hour! I'm not sure!
What are you having?
Update: 6:20 pm: Make that Alphabet Soup!
Posted by Dianne at 4:42 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Chocolate Chip Cookies
There is something oddly comforting about your basic chocolate chip cookie. There's no need to tweak the recipe, the basic works just fine! It's simple and delicious and sometimes that's just what you need!
Posted by Dianne at 12:33 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 7, 2007
What's For Dinner?
I'm having Meatless Swedish "Meatballs" with brown rice, a side salad and yeast rolls.
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 2:26 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
Butternut Squash Soup And Cheese Muffins
We woke up this morning with snow on the ground and on days like today I want to bake things and I want to make soup! I decided I wanted to make an old stand by of mine Butternut Squash Soup and then my mind flew to Cheese Muffins and I wondered how the two would go together. It turns out they compliment each other quite well!
What You'll Need For the Soup:
1 large butternut squash, peeled and chopped
1 red onion, chopped
1 large sweet potato, cut into cubes
1 large carrot, cut into chunks
1 large parsnip, peeled and cut into chunks
1 large apple, cored and chopped
1 large stalk of celery, chopped
Coarse ground pepper
Pinch of sea salt
1 container of vegetable broth
Place veggies and apple in a large stock pot and pour in broth. Add water until the veggies and apple are just covered. Add salt and pepper. Bring ingredients to a boil over medium heat and cook until tender. Remove vegetables from broth, reserving the liquid. In a food processor or blender process veggies until smooth adding broth as needed to smooth out the mixture. (Normally no more than 1 cup of broth total).
Serve immediately.
Note: Leave the peels on the potatoes and apples for added vitamins. You can also add 3 or 4 garlic cloves if you like. It's a healthy, easy soup to play with and it's delicious!! I usually reserve the left over broth to make lentil soup or something later.
For The Cheese Muffins:
1/2 cup of butter, melted
2 cups of unbleached all purpose flour
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1 teaspoon of baking powder
1 teaspoon of baking soda
2 cups of buttermilk
2 1/2 cups of shredded cheese (Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Colby, etc.), divided
Preheat oven to 425 F.
Mix melted butter, flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda and milk until a very sticky dough forms. Stir in 2 cups of shredded cheese and stir until incorporated. Spoon into a muffin pan that has been sprayed with non-stick spray and put a little cheese on the top of each muffin. Bake for 8-12 minutes or until golden brown.
Makes about 20 muffins.
Note: You can add in garlic salt with parsley or garlic powder and they taste very similar to the garlic cheese biscuits they serve at Red Lobster.
Posted by Dianne at 12:16 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 6, 2007
What's For Dinner?
Tonight we're having homemade pizza and Alexis and I will have a spinach salad to go with our pizza.
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 3:54 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Bread Machine Brown Bread
I love brown bread! The darker the better in fact! I was recently very surprised to learn that the flour is not what makes the bread brown, but in fact the addition of unsweetened cocoa (no you didn't read that wrong...COCOA!) and/or coffee are what do the trick! I even asked a local baker what they used and their reply was "You won't believe me, but cocoa!" So I knew the recipes I was finding must not be off, though at first I was convinced that there were a lot of typos out there! ;o)
My pumpernickel flour has not arrived yet, but I decided to try a dark rye bread instead. This recipe is an adaptation from page 94 of the book "The Cook's Encyclopedia Of Bread Machine Baking" by Jennie Shapter
The bread is very hearty and soft. It's perfect! And I'm really beginning to believe the old adage if you make you own bread you won't want the stuff that comes from the store. It just tastes better!
What You'll Need:
Almost 1 2/3 cups of water
2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil
2 1/2 tablespoons of honey
1 1/4 cups of rye flour
3/4 cup of whole wheat flour
2 1/4 cups of unbleached all purpose flour
3 tablespoons of wheat bran
3/4 cup of bread crumbs
1 1/2 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoons of sea salt
1 1/2 teaspoons of yeast
Place in your bread maker's pan and set to the whole wheat cycle. (I used the 2 pound whole wheat rapid cycle). Sit back, let it do it's thing and in a few hours you'll have a scrumptious loaf of brown bread!
Posted by Dianne at 2:14 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Veggie Tacos, Guacamole and Dianne's Kicked Up Mashed Red Beans
I don't know many people who don't like tacos and done properly they don't have to be bad for you! They have grains (the shell), veggies (the fillings) and dairy (cheese and/or sour cream). What's not to like?
What You'll Need For The Beans:
1 can of red beans
1/2 a red onion chopped
1 pinch of cayenne pepper
Over medium heat cook beans mashing as your stir. (I usually let them cook 20-30 minutes to become really soft.) Stir in chopped onion and simmer for about 20 minutes until onions are slightly tender, but still have a bit a bite to them.
What You'll Need For The Tacos:
Extra virgin olive oil
1/2 a bell pepper, chopped fine
1/2 a red onion, chopped fine
1 cup of Textured Vegetable Protein, rehydrated according to package directions
1 cup of water
1 tablespoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon of cumin
1 tablespoon of paprika
1 pinch of black pepper
1 pinch of sea salt
1 pinch of cayenne pepper
Sauté onion and pepper until tender. Stir in rehydrated TVP, water and spices. Cook for 5-10 minutes until flavors meld. You could also do this ground beef, ground chicken or ground turkey, but I prefer the meatless alternatives.
Taco Fixings:
Tomato
Cheese
Scallions
Lettuce or spinach
Taco shells
The toppings are really up to you. I used a grape tomatoes, scallions, spinach and a Monterrey Jack/Cheddar blend.
What You'll Need For the Guacamole:
2 ripe avocadoes
1 cup of tomato, chopped
1/2 cup of red onion, chopped fine
The juice of a lime or a lemon
1 pinch of sea salt
1 pinch of black pepper
1 pinch of cayenne pepper
Mash avocadoes in a bowl. Stir in remaining ingredients. Serve immediately.
Note: If your avocadoes are ripe, but a little firm you can stir in a little sour cream to smooth things out. This will not however work if the avocadoes are hard (i.e. not ripe).
Posted by Dianne at 9:41 AM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
February 4, 2007
Comments
If you comment and a message comes up and says you need to be approved or something of the like please e-mail me at diannesdishes at gmail dot com and let me know. The spam filter is way too sensitive and I'm trying to work out some bugs. Several legitimate comments got booted for no reason other than the system was being wonky. So if this happens to you please let me know!
Thanks!
I now return you to your regularly scheduled Dianne's Dishes.
Posted by Dianne at 6:36 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
What's For Dinner?
Tonight I'm going to make some veggie tacos with blue corn taco shells, Kicked Up Mashed Red Beans (my take on refried beans) with tacos fixings.
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 2:27 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Dianne's Kicked Up Clam Chowder
I love New England clam chowder. I mean I LOVE it! I have loved New England clam chowder since I was a child and for years I have ordered it at restaurants whenever I had the chance. A few years ago I set out to make some myself. I'll admit at first I was a bit intimidated, because it's yet another one of those recipes that have a "hard" mystique about it, though it's a mystique that is unfounded as I've found with many recipes over the years that have that aura about them . So I developed a basic clam chowder that was creamy and good!
A year or so ago I happened to try the clam chowder at Outback Steakhouse and it had a zing to it. It took me about two seconds to realize their "zing" was Old Bay Seasoning or something like it and I decided to take my basic clam chowder recipe and add a little Old Bay and see what happened. The results were delicious!
What You'll Need:
Extra virgin olive oil
1 red onion, chopped
2 large celery ribs or 4 small ribs, chopped
1 potato, unpeeled and cut into small cubes
1 pinch of sea salt
1 pinch of freshly ground black pepper
2 teaspoons to 1 tablespoon of Old Bay Seasoning (Add the amount of Old Bay in preference to your own tastes. If you want it a bit zingier go for the tablespoon, less so go for the teaspoons instead.)
1/4 cup of unbleached all purpose flour
2 - 8 ounce bottles of clam juice
1/2 a quart of half and half
3 bay leaves
1 -15 ounce cans of steamer or baby clams, drained and rinsed(If you're in the mood for bigger clams go for the steamers. If you've in the mood for small bits of clams then go for the baby clams. Last night I chose the steamer clams.)
In a large stock pot over medium heat sauté onion, celery and potato with salt, pepper and Old Bay seasoning until tender, but celery and onion still retain some of their color. Add flour and cook for 1-2 minutes. Then add clam juice, half and half and bay leaves and bring to a quick boil. Lower heat to simmer and cook covered stirring occasionally for 30-40 minutes. Add clams and cook for an additional 10-15 minutes and serve immediately.
Notes: I drain and rinse my clams because sometimes there is some residual sand and it's always better to wash that away.
You add the clams at the last minure because you just want them to heat through since they are already cooked. You don't want them to get too tough.
You can also serve this with chopped parsley if you like.
If you leave out the Old Bay seasoning you have just basic New England clam chowder.
One day I'm going to make it starting with fresh clams, but I haven't gotten that brave yet.
Posted by Dianne at 1:29 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
February 3, 2007
What's For Dinner?
Tonight I'm making some clam chowder. It's a very cold day and soup will hit the spot!
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 3:50 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
Hot Fudge Cake
Most people will agree that an ooey, gooey chocolate dessert is exactly where the money is! Growing up my mom was somewhat famous amongst friends and family for her Hot Fudge Cake, which is an ooey, gooey, warm chocolate sensation. Several of my friends would specially request that she make her Hot Fudge Cake whenever they came over! My mom, being the wonderful person that she is, usually obliged.
My mom always used a chocolate cake mix, though sometimes the ice cream was homemade and sometimes it wasn't. The hot fudge sauce was always made from scratch to bubbling perfection! But regardless of the make up it was delicious!
The olive oil, yogurt and chocolate make this chocolate cake moist, spongy and oh so chocolatey, while the hot fudge sauce gives it an even bigger chocolate punch. These two chocolate elements, paired with the vanilla ice cream, meld together to make the perfect chocolate delight and any chocolate lovers dream!
As I've gotten older I've moved away from box mixes, but that doesn't mean you have to stop making something all together. This is my take on my Mom's classic. It's oh so good and oh so sinful! After all isn't that exactly what you're looking for in a dessert? ;o)
What You'll Need For The Ice Cream:
1/2 a quart of half and half
1 small carton of light cream
1 can of sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup of sugar
2-4 teaspoons of vanilla (Note: More if you like it really vanilla, less if you don't)
Note: This recipe is designed to fill this ice cream maker
Mix together and pour into ice cream freezer and freeze according to your model's directions. For harder ice cream after making it put in an air tight container and store in the freezer until completely firm.
What You'll Need For The Chocolate Cake:
3 cups of unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup of unsweetened cocoa (Note: I recommend Ghirardelli or Green and Black's)
1 teaspoon of sea salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons of baking powder
1 cup of sugar
1 1/2 cups of plain yogurt
2 eggs
1/2 cup of light olive oil
Preheat oven to 350 F.
Sift together flour through baking powder in a large bowl. Add sugar, yogurt eggs and olive oil and stir until mixed and pour into a 13 X 9 inch baking pan that has been sprayed with non-stick spray. Bake for 30-35 minutes until cake sticks done.
What You'll Need For The Hot Fudge Sauce:
2 tablespoons of butter
2 squares of baker's chocolate (Note: Again I recommend Ghirardelli or Green and Black's)
2/3 cup of sugar
1/2 cup of half and half or heavy cream
1 teaspoon of vanilla
Over medium heat melt butter and chocolate with sugar and half and half. Bring to a boil and boil for 2 minutes stirring to keep from sticking. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Serve immediately or store in the fridge for up to 2 weeks.
To Assemble Hot Fudge Cake:
Cut cake into squares. For each person take a piece of cake and top with a scoop of ice cream. Top ice cream with a ladle of hot chocolate sauce and serve.
Note: If you're a chocolate lover than you could easily make this Hot Fudge Cake with chocolate ice cream for a triple chocolate punch! You could even use chocolate yogurt in place of the plain in the cake if you were just really feeling chocolatey! ;o) This cake doesn't really need it, but you could add whipped cream and some strawberries or cherries if you wanted. You could even go crazy and add a little chocolate whipped cream! ;o)
Posted by Dianne at 3:26 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
February 2, 2007
What's For Dinner?
Jamison is picking up Outback on the way home tonight. We got very little sleep last night due to him having meetings that ran late and then talking too late into the night and then Alexis getting up too early this morning. We're all tired so Jamison is swinging by to pick up some dinner.
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 4:12 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
February 1, 2007
Creamy Tomato Basil Soup
Earlier today when Alexis and I were at the grocery store there was a heavenly smelling tomato basil soup near the salad bar. It was one of those smells that just screamed out "Eat me! Eat me!" So when I got my salad for dinner (which I didn't end up eating and will eat for lunch tomorrow instead) I got some of the tomato soup for lunch since we were running behind schedule. We bustled home and I couldn't wait to try the heavenly smelling soup! Unfortunately it smelled much better than it tasted as is often the problem with store bought items.
The first bite of the soup was sickeningly sweet. I was shocked by the sugar content in this soup! Then after you got over the sugar shock you were hit by a secondary spicy heat sensation that was disturbing in that it didn't hit your tongue in the area that normally senses heat! It was just weird! I tried to eat a little bit of it to see if I could figure out what they had done to the soup, but I just couldn't get over the weird sweet/hot flavor combination that sort of made you feel as if you had vertigo!
So as always my brain kicked into gear and I started thinking about how easy it would be to make a simple Creamy Tomato Basil Soup and I decided to test my idea and what do you know...It worked! And it was perfect with the No Knead Bread I made yesterday! It's simple, fast and delicious! You can have Creamy Tomato Basil Soup on the table in under an hour!
What You'll Need:
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 red onion, chopped fine
2 large button mushrooms, chopped fine
2 baby portabella mushrooms, chopped fine
4 cloves of garlic, minced
2 teaspoons of dried basil
1 pinch of sea salt
1 pinch of freshly ground black pepper
2 - 15 ounce cans of tomato sauce
1 - 6 ounce can of tomato paste
1 cup of light cream
In a medium sized pot sauté onion, mushrooms and garlic with basil, sea salt and black pepper until tender in a little olive oil. Add tomato paste, tomato sauce and light cream and stir until mixed. Bring to a quick boil and then reduce heat to a simmer and cook for 30-minutes to an hour and serve.
Notes and Thoughts: Tomato sauce in and of itself is sort of sweet so I'm not sure why they thought they needed to put so much sugar into the soup. I'm all for letting nature do it's thing and there was absolutely no need to ruin the entire soup by sugaring it up.
Also I'm not a huge fan of hot peppery type spices in Italian type food. I know that traditional Italian food uses them, but I prefer to keep spicy heat on the Mexican side of the food fence, but if you wanted you could add some red pepper flakes for a kick if you like that sort of thing.
Posted by Dianne at 7:22 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
What's For Dinner?
Today when Alexis and I went to the grocery store I actually threw together a salad bar salad for this evening. It has spinach (I prefer spinach to lettuce), red onion, celery, chick peas, red beans, carrots, a little red cabbage, cucumber, tomatoes and bell pepper. I rarely do that, but everything is already cut and it makes it so nice! Jamison has a meeting tonight (unless it gets canceled due to snow) and he won't be eating dinner with us. I'm thinking about making a creamy tomato soup as well, but we'll see how the afternoon goes.
What are you having?
Posted by Dianne at 3:18 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
Everyone's Doing It: No Knead Bread
For a while now I've been reading with interest the buzz around the food blogs concerning a no knead bread recipe that was published in the New York Times. The recipe is adapted by Jim Lahey of the Sullivan Street Bakery and I decided that it sounded good and had to be tried. The results were excellent!
My next endeavor is going to be figuring out a whole wheat version, as well as a dark pumpernickel version, but for now I share with you the basic white no knead bread! It's super easy. What's not to like?
What You'll Need:
3 cups of unbleached all purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon of yeast
1 1/2 teaspoons of sea salt
1 1/2 cups of lukewarm water
Mix the ingredients together in a large dish and cover with a towel or saran wrap and sit in a warm place for 12-20 hours. (I've done two loaves and have let one sit 18 hours and one about 19.5.) I usually just put the dish in my oven with the oven light on. The light makes enough heat to make a nice rising place.
After it has risen it should look something like this:
This is a sitcky dough so don't let that make you think something is wrong. It isn't. It should be sticky.
Using a little bit of flour or corn meal turn the dough out onto a flat surface and fold over once. Let sit for 10-15 minutes.
At this point I deviated a bit from the recipe after the first go around. The recipe calls for taking a cotton towel (not terry cloth) and placing it in a bowl. Then you are supposed to cover the towel in flour and place the folded dough into the towel lined bowl. I did this the first time and the dough stuck to the towel . It wasn't pretty! It was a mess! So the next time I made it I lined my bowl with aluminum foil and sprayed it with a little non-stick spray. That worked MUCH better!
Let dough rise in the line bowl for about 3 hours. After 3 hours it should look something like this:
After the dough has risen for 3 hours you need to preheat your oven to 450 F WITH the bowl/pot you plan to bake the bread in in the oven. I used a Pyrex dish with a lid. I've seen it done in cast iron skillets or pots. It's up to you. I only heated the dish and not the lid.
Once the oven and dish/pot is preheated then remove the dish and dump the bread dough into the hot dish/pot carefully. Shake it around a couple of time with a pot holder to settle the dough. It may look lumpy, but don't worry it will all work out in baking. Put the lid on the dish/pot and bake for 30 minutes. Do NOT grease the pan. I know it sounds counter intuitive, but trust me it works!
At the end of 30 minutes take the lid off of your dish/pot and let the bread continue to cook for 15-20 more minutes or until browned.
You'll end up with a crusty, hearty white bead that is to die for!
At first when I saw this recipe, though everyone kept going on and on about how simple and good it was I hesitated due to the fact you have to let it sit so long the first rise. The best thing to do is mix it up in the afternoon and let it rise over night and then begin in the morning. It's really quite easy and it's really quite good! Try it...You'll love it!
Posted by Dianne at 2:33 PM | Comments (1) | TrackBack
