We're Moving!

Guess what? We're moving.

As in packing boxes, signing papers, fixing faucets, renting U-hauls, MOVING.

Squee!

No more weekened trips to get rare* produce. (* Swiss Chard! Fingerling Potatoes!) No more lengthy intervals between me and Pei Wei Lettuce Wraps ( my new love.) Seriously, though, to everything (turn, turn, turn) there is a season and our time in Miami is just... no more. That's not to say we haven't met some great people, made lasting friendships, or that we won't miss it in any way. But, it is to say, we're moving on to a new place and energy in our lives... and working appliances.

I've been deprived of my oven for the past couple months ( our house's last ditch effort to suck us dry of funds and trap us here forever) so, not only do I get to relocate to the big city, I also get a sparkly new oven.

Maybe I'll finally get around to roasting some cornish game hens in the new one...

For now, I'm becoming quite the stove top gourmet while trying to use up odd ingredients in my pantry so I don't have to pack them. Also trying to clear out the freezer, which reminds me, if you've ever got five chicken thighs you need to use up, don't boil them. That's all I have to say about that.

Ginger Steak Salad

Don't let the word "salad" fool you... this Ginger Steak Salad is a main course, completely filling and packed with flavor. I want to relive it for a moment here...the marinated steak served hot over crisp spring greans with blanched snow peas and topped with a sweet and spicy asian- inspired dressing... Aubrey stopped speaking entirely. Not that he was chattering away or anything but when he did speak, it was to the point: "This could be the best thing I've ever had." Look out Thai Salmon.

This recipe was influenced by The Pioneer Woman's Ginger Steak Salad and is pretty much the same except I added Sriracha in place of jalepeno in the dressing and added sweet snow peas and crisp red onion for color and crunch. I think they gave a nice fresh balance to the rich steak.

Ginger Steak Salad (Serves 2-3 BIG salads)

For Steak Marinade:

2 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
1 Tbsp. Sherry
2 cloves Garlic, Minced
2 tsp. Brown Sugar
1 whole Rib-eye, Strip, Or Sirloin Steak ( I used sirloin and will probably try Rib-eye next time as it was a little tough.)
2 Tbsp. Extra Virgin Olive Oil

For Dressing:

2 Tbsp. Olive Oil
2 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
2 Tbsp. White Sugar
1 Tbsp. Lime Juice
2 cloves Garlic, Finely Diced
1 Tbsp. Fresh Ginger, Minced
1 Tbsp. SRIRACHA!

For Salad:

1/2 Red onion thin sliced lengthwise
5-8 oz ( 1 small package) of Organic Spring Greens

4 oz. fresh snow peas, blanched ( boil 2-3 minutes- let cool.)

1. Combine steak marinade ingredients in a Ziploc bag or shallow dish. Mix and insert steak. Marinate 30 min. - 2 hours.

2. Whisk together salad dressing ingredients. Set aside.

3.When steak is finished marinating, add 2 tablespoons olive oil to a hot skillet or grill pan. Cook steak about 1 1/2 minutes per side, or until medium rare. Remove from skillet and place on cutting board and allow to rest for 5- 8 minutes. Slice thin against the grain, working at an angle. TIP: prep board with a bit of olive oil and sprinkle with kosher salt to avoid losing any delicious flavor. Yeah, I learned that from The Naked Chef.

4. Mound salad greens on a platter or individual plates. Toss with peas and most of red onion. Top with sliced steak. Drizzle salad dressing over the top. Sprinkle with more red onion on top and you're all set.

I highly recommend serving with firecracker shrimp. Be sure to reserve some dressing for dipping.

Firecracker Shrimp

I made P-Dub's Ginger Steak Salad for dinner tonight and had some last minute inspiration to make Firecracker Shrimp in the style of Jaden at Steamy Kitchen. They practically have the same ingredients as the salad dressing so I thought, why the heck not?

"How many shrimp appetizer things do you think would be enough?" I yelled from the kitchen. Response: "Uhhhh.... " --- In Aubrey-speak, that means, "How long have you known me ? You call yourself my wife?" So, I made 14. He ate 10 of them. For perspective, these are JUMBO shrimpys. As in, not small. I can't blame him, though. They were super tasty and fairly easy to make. Probably even easier if I had read all of Jaden's tips beforehand.

Pioneer Woman has a recipe for firecracker shrimp which calls for SIRACHA sauce. Steamy Kitchen's version calls for sweet chili sauce of which I had none. So, I did a hybrid and replaced the sweet chili with the hot chili and it came out amazing.

Here's my adaptation though I highly recommend checking out the original recipe for some great tips that I missed ( which resulted in curly shrimp and less than uniform frying)....

Firecracker Shrimp (in the joint styles of Steamy Kitchen and Pioneer Woman)

14 large tail-on shrimp, deveined and nicked (basically cut three little nicks in the curve of the shrimp to make it lie flat- I read this tip halfway through.)

7 eggroll/springroll wrappers, cut in half diagonally (2 triangles)

oil for frying

Marinade ( this quantity is enough for 20-25 shrimp)

1 tsp. grated garlic
1/2 tsp. grated ginger
1/2 tsp. sesame oil
1 1/2 tsp. soy sauce
1 1/2 tsp. SIRACHA!
1 tsp cornstarch

Cornstarch Paste- mix well to combine

1 Tb cornstarch
1/4 cup water

1. Combine marinade ingredients in a bowl and marinate shrimp for 20 minutes.

2. Pat dry each shrimp with a paper towel. Wrap each shrimp in a wrapper half. Seal with cornstarch paste. You can see detailed pics of how all this is done and why here.

3. Fry in hot oil for 3 minutes, until golden brown and shrimp is cooked through. Transfer to papertowel lined plate to sop up oil.

Serve with SIRACHA! for dipping ( also, if you're making the Ginger Steak Salad, the dressing is a fab dip, too.)

The Worst Mexican Ever Series: White Chicken Chili

It's time to be real... It's time for you to see what I make when the camera isn't snapping away...

It's time for you to see that my cats get on my countertops.

This is White Chicken Chili- pure canned goodness. I'm sorry I've been hiding it from you.

I like to make myself believe I'm too cool for canned goods but, I'm not. I don't make my own stock and I've never refried a bean. Someday I'll get there...maybe. Taco Bell makes some mean canned refried beans...

I've been eyeballing this white chicken chili recipe at Simply Recipes for some time but can't bring myself away from my new standby. Authentic? Probably not. Amazing? Totally. Friends from work serve this at parties and potlucks and I finally got the recipe. I almost always have ingredients on hand and it makes up in ten minutes.

Since I'm going full disclosure here, you'd better look at this:

You try to resist giving them a little canned chicken juice. Now you know.

One more thing... I have trouble following recipes exactly. You see that can of diced tomatoes up there? That was supposed to be a can of Rotel. I didn't catch this until I already added it so I diced up some leftover pickled jalepenos I had from making this and added crushed red pepper. It came out awesome prompting Aubrey to proclaim my "homemade version" to be the best ever.

Truth is good.

White Chicken Chili

1 can of Great Northern Beans

1 can of Rotel ( hot, mild, whatever. Or, diced tomatoes and add your own peppers.)

1 can cooked chicken breast

1 can corn

1 package white chicken chili mix

Optional Garnish-

Sliced Scallions

Sour Cream

Grated Cheese ( I use jack or colby jack)

Special Equipment: Can opener

1. Add all ingredients to a big pot. Bring to a low boil and simmer 10 minutes.

Serve on tortilla chips and garnish as desired.

Indian Home Cooking

I have many excuses for not posting more frequently (boring flatwear, overuse of the same dishes, general lack of cooking adventure as of late.... you know, that sort of thing. ) So, it was high time to let someone else do the cooking and reignite the passion for trying new things.

My new friend Bhavna is from the south of India and can whip up a mean meal. First, she offerred to cook me dinner which turned into dinner for me and Aubrey... which somehow turned into dinner for seven. The prospect of home cooked Indian food can really draw a crowd.

With the promise of a guided trip to the grocery store to learn how to make all this stuff, Bhavna set out on making us a many coursed meal of Aloo Paratha, Eggplant Curry, Masoor Ke Daal, and basmati rice. Aloo Paratha is a potato stuffed bread similar to naan except stuffed with a potato mixture and served with sweetened yogurt and a type of mint flavored yogurt of which I do not know the name. The Masoor ke Daal was a form of lentil soup which I had never had. I mean, it never actually dawned on me that the only Indian food I'd ever eaten was probably the equivalent of Indian fastfood... imagine if the only American food anyone ever experienced was McDonalds. Bhavna showed us the light.

Even Aubrey got involved rolling out the parathas.

We all sat down to the awesomeness and my friend's son proclaimed the meal to be the best Indian food he'd ever had. He was right. It was amazing. I can't wait to learn the recipes and share them here. Particularly the Aloo Parathas... hello, love. This new friendship is very fortuitous, indeed! Don't worry I have stuff to offer, too. Bhavna has never had a biscuit.

Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes A Day - Review and Master Recipe

Wait! Before I delve into a long love story about the bread above, I just want to say that I couldn't muster up the energy to make another batch of blueberry muffins. I tried. I bought the blueberries and everything....they went moldy. Let's just say, we were blueberry muffined out and nothing, not even the allure of content for this here blog, could make me bake more. Besides, Round 2 totally won and I declare them the undefeated champion until I feel like making blueberry muffins again. Or, blueberry anything. Don't worry...it'll happen soon.


Now, what you've come here to hear about... The bread. The wonderous, crackly bounty of your fantasies. My fantasies include a river of nutella and a visit from Legends of the Fall era Brad Pitt. Who's with me? Oh, yes. The bread...


In the time it took me to ramble on and the time it took you to seriously consider going to do the dishes, you could have been well on your way to artisan bread thanks to the science and craft of Jeff Hertzberg, M.D. and Zoe Francois and their book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. I swear, I've been carrying around this thing like a bible.






I've craved the crackle ever since our first trip across the pond and haven't been able to satisfy my urges to slather butter and aged cheese on a worthy recipient. France has us whooped in the baking department and I just can't handle grocery store bread anymore. Except, I've been forced to do so...either that or shell out 6-8 bucks for a good quality boule which also requires a drive to the city. NO MORE, I SAY.

I made two loaves in two days and it's all because this one genuis idea... you can store high moisture dough in the fridge for over a week. Yes, you can.

I read the master recipe on Ivory Hut and gave it a go only to realize I needed to financially support the wonderment and buy the whole book. The end product is not much different in taste than my previous bread making attempt but it's all about the texture and aging. I find this method to give me crisper crust, chewier crumb, and more depth in flavor as the week progresses. I will now share the master recipe with you in the hopes that you can discover a life filled with baked goodness ( and, go get some nutella, too...oh, and buy the book. You'll love it.)

The Master Recipe ( Makes four 1 lb. loaves--- we did halfsies)

3 cups lukewarm water
1.5 Tbsp. granulated yeast ( or two packets of instant yeast)
1. 5 Tbsp. kosher salt
6.5 cups unsifted, unbleaches all purpose white flour measured by scooping with minimal pressure and sweeping off level ( I don't know why this is specified in every recipe in this book but I went with it and it worked fine- normally I spoon in and then sweep.)

Cornmeal for dusting

Special equipment: Pizza stone or other baking stone ( not totally necessary but important for the crackle.) Large 5 qt. lidded container.

1. Warm water slightly to about body temperature and add yeast and salt. You can add make this in a large mixing bowl or a lidded 5 quart container ( that way, you only dirty one thing because you're gonna store this stuff in the container. Or, you can start all this off in a 14 cup food processor or stand mixer.

2. Mix in flour until uniformly moist. Either do this by hand, with spoon, or in a 14 cup food processor or stand mixer, both fitted with a dough hook.


3. That's it. Once uniformly mixed, let it rest at room temperature for 2 hours. After 2 hours, you can make it or refrigerate the dough.

4. Once you're ready to bake, liberally sprinkle cornmeal on a pizza peel ( not the stone) or cutting board or counter top. This is where you're going to set your loaf to rise and you don't want it to stick.

5. Sprinkle the surface of your dough with flour and pull off a grapefruit size hunk ( that's about 1 lb.) Quickly form it into a ball by the "gluten cloak" method-- this means, stretch the surface of the dough around to the bottom, rotating the ball a quarter turn until all sides are tucked under. Resist the urge to knead- this whole process should take 30-60 seconds. Set the seam side down on the corn meal and let it rest for 40 minutes.

6. 20 minutes into the rest period, preheat your oven to 450 degrees F and make sure you have an empty broiler tray in there and the stone on the middle rack.

7. When the dough has rested for 40 minutes, dust it with flour ( dusted a bit too much) and score with a serrated knife into a pattern (tic tac toe, stripes, x marks the stop, etc.) and then carefully place your ball on the stone and return to the oven. Quickly dump about 1 cup of tap water into the broiling tray and shut the door real fast to trap the steam. THIS IS THE KEY TO THE MAGIC.

8. Bake for 30 minutes. Try to let it cool completely before you break in. Oh, when it first comes out, listen to it sing. Oh, the merriment. Confused about the 5 minutes part? Well, the whole process takes about 5 minutes of actual interaction with the stuff...maybe 15 minutes tops once you've cleaned everything up. I say, that's pretty good since I could be doing plenty of other stuff in between and still have hot bread in record time per day. And, it's yum.

Blueberry Muffins: Round 2

There was no melty blueberry goodness in round 1. There was no inviting perspiration in round 1. This muffin brought it.

Aptly titled, the "To Die For Blueberry Muffins" are a serious front runner in my quest to find the best blueberry muffin recipe, ever. I think I may have to limit myself to three challengers ( and, I might pick a wimp for the third try so this one can win.) These were so moist, dense, and delicious... no residue but I'm starting to think that might be a good thing.

Something of note: the batter was like glue, keeping the berries from sinking to the bottom which I didn't even know I cared about until I realized I fully appreciated the even distribution. So, I checked back to round 1 muffins... there's no comparison.

(Oh, sorry about round 1, Trisha Yearwood. For what it's worth, I really liked your baked beans recipe and I sang "She's in love with the boy" for about three years straight....)

I found this recipe thanks to the fine community of Allrecipes.com I really like that there's a strong following at allrecipes.com providing invaluable information on how the recipes turn out, along with modification suggestions. I followed some advice and cut down the quantity of the crumb topping and did a 1/2 c. brown sugar + 1/4 c. white sugar mix ( instead of the 3/4 c. white sugar called for...this is because I ran out of white sugar.)


Crumb topping? Yes, that's right... and all was right with the world.











I'm not kidding. These are scary good. Seriously, look at this face I found in my evenly distributed berries...

Scary Good Blueberry Muffins

Source: Adapted from "To Die For Blueberry Muffins" by Colleen on Allrecipes.com
Yield- 7 big muffins

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• one large egg, beaten
• approximately 1/3 cup milk ( you'll see why the approximation)
• 1 cup fresh blueberries

For the topping:

• 1/8 cup white sugar
• 1/8 cup unsalted butter, cubed ( 1/4 stick)
• 1/8 cup flour
• 1 tsp. ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line muffin tin with muffin liners.

2. Combine flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder in a bowl.

3. Add 1/3 cup vegetable oil and egg in a 1 cup measuring cup. Add milk until the total volume of all wet ingredients is 1 cup. Add wet ingredients to flour/sugar mix, gently stirring until dry ingredients are just blended.

4. Fold in blueberries then spoon into muffin tin.

5. To make crumb topping, cut the sugar, flour, butter, and cinnamon together in a small bowl with a fork until a coarse meal forms.

6. Top muffins with crumb mixture and bake at 400 degrees for 5 minutes then lower temperature to 350 and bake an additional 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. ( The temperature change makes the outside crumb crust a bit crispy while preventing burning...I'm getting the hang of this.)

Blueberry Muffins- Round 1

I dig a good blueberry muffin... the ones that are super moist, chewy, and leave a little residue in your mouth for hours after you eat them. The tops are sometimes sticky, too. Yeah, those ones.


As I sit here on this bitter cold Sunday (the first day I've had to actually sit and chill since the year started) I found myself craving the above. With a pint of blueberries in the fridge, WHY THE HECK NOT? Exactly. I mean, nevermind the fact that I gained 10 pounds over the last month eating every cookie and confection in sight. Oh, and nevermind that every gadget I have is on the fritz and not configured properly. You know how they say never make three major life changes in one year? Well, I think that should include technological devices...trust me, switching a computer, a cell phone, and cable service in the same week is bad news for post-holiday destress.

Anyway, about the muffins.

These Blueberry muffins were made with Trisha Yearwood's recipe in "Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen." They're good but not what I was after... remember the residue of which I spoke? Not happening here. However, you might find these up your alley if your style of muffin is light, moist, and more breadlike. I consider these a success either way since I didn't burn them.

Nevertheless, the quest for my dream blueberry muffin is now on.

Blueberry Muffins

Source: Georgia Cooking in an Oklahoma Kitchen by Trisha Yearwood

Yeild: 16-18 muffins

Ingredients

• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 Tbsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup ( 1 stick) melted butter
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 large eggs, beaten
• 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups fresh blueberries

1. Preheat oven to 350 and place liners in your muffin tin.

2. Sift dry ingredients together in a medium size mixing bowl . Make a well in the center and add butter, milk , eggs, and vanilla, stirring just enough to moisten the flour. Gently fold in blueberries.

3. Spoon batter into the lined muffin tin. Bake 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in a muffin comes out clean.

OH, hey! If you have a blueberry muffin recipe you think I'll like, hook me up! Thanks.

How to Make Butter

I knew I'd abandoned the Spork but I didn't realize how bad it was until I saw my last post was back in October. OCTOBER! Have I not cooked nearly every night since then? Have no recipes been new? Do I have no travel adventures to share? The answer is "No" ( at least I think it is...I get confused with all those double negatives.) What I'm trying to say is, sorry, dudes. I've missed you. Can we still be friends?

You'll be happy to know that I've been baking more since we last met... not that I've been successful or anything ( pssst...if you're making bread this holiday season be sure to remember the baking powder. Especially if said bread is intended as a hostess gift...) Oh, and I've gained five pounds...that might actually coincide with the wee bit of knowledge I shall impart to you today.

Ready for it?

Okay. Prepare yourself to be hailed as chef extraordinaire when you bust out this culinary skill.

Yes, friends, I'm talking about making the butter. Just imagine yourself at your next holiday potluck...

Relative: "Mmmm, I just love Grandma's mashed potatoes. Oh, what did you make this year?"

You: "Me??? Why, I made a little something called THE BUTTER!"

Just don't tell anyone how easy it was and you'll totally be in the clear from helping with the dishes. Here's what you do:

Photo Credit: GwenElliott on Flickr ( Can you believe I didn't snap my own pic?) Thanks, GwenElliott-- beautiful shot.

Butter

Yields a 1/2 cupish

1 cup Heavy Whipping Cream ( the fresher and colder, the better)

1/2 to 1 tsp of kosher salt ( it all depends on how salty you like your butter.)

Special equipment: Food Processor and Fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth

1. Add cream and salt to food processor fitted with blade.

2. Constantly pulse the heck out of it. Seriously, first it will look like whipped cream followed by supremely thick whipped cream. It will trick you for a little while and you might give up on it, but don't. Keep it going. All the sudden, the thick cream will slosh and clumps of curds will separate from the liquid. I'm told the liquid is buttermilk but I really don't know. I'm concerned about butter here, people.


3. Discard the liquid and strain the curds through the cheesecloth or mesh strainer, pushing or squeezing out all liquid. Place in a ramekin or small bowl.

At this point, you could fold in seasonings or herbs or whatever strikes your fancy. I like it plain in all it's creamy goodness. Served immediately if a whipped texture is desired or form and chill.

Pretty easy, huh? You won't even break a sweat and you'll reap all the benefits of hours spent churning away. It kinda makes you feel like you should exercise to make up the difference. But, then again, why do that when you can consume mass quantities of homemade butter? The world makes sense again.

Pumpkin Pie Balls

I decided to make cake balls again to take to our annual family hayride a couple weeks ago. Call me crazy because apparently I forgot how time consuming they can become. Call me awesome because I stumbled upon an even better recipe than my last attempt. I was looking for something thoroughly fall/hayride appropriate and Bridget at Bake at 350 totally came through for me. She calls these delicious autumn wonders "Pumpkin Spice Cake Balls" but I found that when adapted a tad, they can come out with the consistency of pumpkin pie. Okay, okay, "adapted" means I accidentally used a whole can of pumpkin instead of 1 cup and my cake fell because it was super thick and dense. Guess what? It turned out great. Since it was so moist, I added a 1/2 a can of cream cheese versus the standard full can and the sweetness and texture was spot on.

Here's my adapted recipe for Pumpkin Pie Balls
(Makes about 4-5 dozen balls)

1 box French Vanilla cake mix

1 full can of pumpkin ( not pumpkin pie blend- just straight up canned pumpkin)

2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/8 tsp allspice

1/8 tsp freshly grated nutmeg

3/4 cup water

1/3 cup canola oil

4 large eggs

***********************************

1/2 can cream cheese frosting

***********************************

chocolate candy melts or almond bark

***********************************

Nuts, sprinkles, grated coconut, or reserved almond bark for decorating ( optional)

1. Beat all top section ingredients until blended and bake according to package instructions in a 13x9 pan. Cake should rise and toothpick should come out clean from center. However, since the cake is extra dense, it will fall when removed from the oven.

2. Allow cake to cool enough to handle. Crumble and smoosh the cake together- it will be pretty mushy. Add 1/2 can of cream cheese frosting and blend well. NOTE: I don't know why but I really prefer Duncan Hines cream cheese to Pilsbury. The Pilsbury one tastes like plastic cotton candy. Is that just me?

3. Shape into bite size balls and place on a parchment lined baking sheet ( you'll probably need a few.) Chill in the fridge for at least an hour. You want these to be pretty cold.

4. Melt almond bark or chocolate melts however you like but not over a direct flame. 10-15 second intervals in the microwave works well. Or, you can put a mixing bowl in a a stock pot to steam water in order to melt them. I'm pretty sure there's an actual piece of equipment for this but why buy one more thing?

I bought lousy bark from the convenience store because I thought I had some but I didn't and I didn't want to drive all the way to the Wal-Mart and get suckered into buying forty more things. Lousy bark or overheated bark may require the addition of shortening to loosen things up a bit. Add in small spoonfuls if needed until it is a smooth consistency that will easily coat your pie balls.

5. Remove balls from the fridge and individually dunk into the almond bark using a fork to remove from the bowl and a spoon to toss chocolate over the top. The use of a toothpick is very handy for replacing the ball back on the parchment paper. You can see a great example of this technique in action courtesy of P-dub here.

6. If decorating with loose bits like nuts or sprinkles, top while the chocolate is still tacky. If decorating with piped almond bark, wait until the chocolate coating is fully set.

I prefer these chilled but I also hate warm pie so, there ya go. I'd use your pie preferences as a guide here because, they aren't cake-like in texture at all. One last piece of advice...if you want any of these for yourself, hide them. I only got one.