How I go about writing and tweaking a recipe

It's always a challenge to come up with a new and different recipe. Sometimes I come away from the experience with a new understanding of my family's limits of being my test subjects (yes, I'm laughing).

Today the poor test subject is my daughter. I'm trying a Zucchini dish that incorporates the use of 3 different cheeses. I openly admit that my first stab at this recipe left little to be desired.

 Not only do I need to adjust the cooking time and temperature, I also need to adjust the size of the cut zucchini as well as my liquid content.  About my cheese choices; the ones I chose to use were because of their creaminess when melted. There are a wide variety of cheeses that one could use, most can be found in the dairy section of the grocery store and others can be found in the specialty cheese section in the deli department.  Now for the liquid choices; whole milk, heavy cream or half and half.  Some cooks like to use whole milk and add in butter for the extra oomph. Me, I like to go with half and half since it's in-between whole milk and heavy cream and I don't feel the need to add in butter.

Lets get crazy an talk about bread crumbs- oh the varieties! Which type to use?  Regular or Panko? Or do you go the extra effort and make your own? I like to top off my cheesy dishes with bread crumbs and my choice is Panko style. Or I could go the extra step and make my own chunky style bread crumbs, hmmm. I think that my next attempt at this recipe I'll step it up a notch and go with home made bread crumbs.

Now for me to sit down and write this all up on my note pad.

Le Creuset

Here is it, my latest kitchen toy- my Le Creuet Braiser. My darling husband bought it for me yesterday. Hands down, I am one lucky woman! So I've decided to take you on a walk through my small but growing collection of Le Creuset cookware. I have the following pieces...

 3½ quart Braiser in Flame
 5    quart Oval French Oven in Cherry
 6¾ quart  Wide Round French Oven in Kiwi
 3½ quart Oval French Oven in Caribbean
 7½ quart Round French Oven in Kiwi

 I use these various pieces for all sorts of things. The oval ones are perfect for using in the oven to bake things like whole stuffed chickens and fancy pork and beef roasts. I love the round ones for stove top items such making soups, stews, chili and deep frying. My winter favorite is this rustic stew (it's an Ina Garten recipe) that goes from the stove top to the oven to finish it off. There's no limit to the things one can make in these wonderful French Ovens.

Places to check for great bargains on Le Creuset has to be their outlet stores. Other places such as Marshall's, TJ Maxx and Home Goods. These are the kind of cookware pieces that are handed down through the generations. I know that my daughter will enjoy pieces  such as these when she starts collecting quality cookware for her own home one day.

Now you may wonder at the various colors. I have a  same thing going on with my Kitchen Aid appliances. The matter of the fact is that I love variety and the rainbow. There's that and the fact that I happen to buy whatever color strikes my fancy and whatever "good deal" comes my way. Hence the 2 larger French ovens in Kiwi. I came across the wide one on clearance at a TJ Maxx store for such an impossibly good deal that I simply could not pass it up!

Reduce your stress at Thanksgiving...

Years ago I started making about ½ to ¾ of our Thanksgiving meal a day or two ahead of time. Having veggies and or even the entire dish its self prepped and ready to go is the key!

We were living in a house that had a small kitchen and cooking a big meal in there could be quite stressful. Having small children and a husband at home chanting "is it turkey time yet" did not help the matter. Not only did cooking ahead save me on time on the big day but I also found that I wasn't stressed out and better yet... my kitchen wasn't the ominous towering inferno of dirty dishes. I had time to enjoy my friends and family and pulled off a huge dinner and made it all look near effortless -how? Simply because I was organized.

Ways to be organized for Thanksgiving Dinner

♥ Start making your plan at least 2 weeks ahead of time. Plan everything from beverages, to dinner napkins, table linens and of course the food being served.

♥ I find that grocery shopping at least 3 days ahead of time to be the key.

♥ Be sure to have plenty of those inexpensive plastic food storage containers on hand (Glad and Ziploc are the best). They work great for storing prepped veggies, storing leftovers and sending leftover desserts home with guests.

♥ You can bake desserts up to 3 days ahead of time. Depending upon the items being made is how you will have to store them.

♥ Prep that green garden salad a day ahead. Ziploc plastic bags are great for this! All those great veggies can be cut and ready to go at a moments notice. Heck you can do this while watching TV.

♥ You can prep veggies up to 2 days in advance- store in plastic containers in fridge.

♥ You can make things like mashed potatoes and home made rolls a day ahead of time. Heat them up either in the microwave or in the oven for a few minutes. How many of us have burnt the rolls because we were busy attending to "other items" ? Seriously, bake them in advance when you aren't stressing about your guests being comfortable and the food all making it to the finish line (the dinner table) at the same time.

♥ While the turkey is in the oven, give the floor the last quick sweep or mop (depending upon how messy of a cook you are you may have to do both) before the guests arrive.

Easy Clean Up after the meal

♥ Those same plastic containers work great for soaking flatware and serving utensils. No stuck on food particles for you this year! Put a few drops of dish washing liquid and fill with hot water and there you are!

♥ Rinse the dinner dishes and stack them on a cookie/baking sheet. Keeping them in stacks makes for easy loading of the dishwasher or hand washing.

♥ Do this same thing for the used glassware. Use a paper towel to wipe off lipstick marks.

♥ Those plastic containers are great for storing those leftovers. Be sure to get them tucked into those containers as soon as dinner is over to prevent salmonella.

♥ Soak as many dishes as possible. You may find that you will need to run the dishwasher 2 or even 3 times to get through everything. That's okay, that's why you rinsed and stacked the dishes- having them organized like that makes them quick and easy to load in the dishwasher.

♥ Now grab yourself a glass of wine and get in there with your family and friends and enjoy the evening!

How to carve a whole Turkey

HOW TO CARVE A WHOLE TURKEY:

* Let it Sit
Once the bird is removed from the oven, it should stand for 20
to 35 minutes, depending on its size. This gives the juices a
chance to soak into the flesh, allowing for succulent cuts of
meat. Before you begin carving, have a warm serving platter
ready and waiting for all the juicy white and dark meat you'll
soon be slicing and digging into.

* Remove the Legs
Arrange the turkey, breast side up, on a cutting board. Steady
the turkey with a carving fork. Using a sharp knife, slice
through the meat between the breast and the leg. Next, using
a large knife as an aid, press the thigh outward to find the
hip joint. Slice down through the joint and remove the leg.
Cut between the thigh bone and drumstick bone to divide the
leg into one thigh piece and one drumstick.

To carve the drumstick, steady it with a carving fork and cut
a thick slice of meat from one side, along the bone. Next, turn
the drumstick over so that the cut side faces down. Cut off
another thick slice of meat. Repeat, turning the drumstick onto
a flat side and cutting off meat, carving a total of four thick
slices.

To slice the thigh, place it flat side down on a cutting board.
Steady the thigh with a carving fork. With a knife, cut parallel
to the bone and slice off the meat. Be sure to place all the
cuts on the warmed serving platter as you work.

* Remove the Wings
Before you carve the breast, the wings must be removed. Slice
diagonally down through the edge of the breast toward the wing.
Using a knife as an aid, press the wing out to find the shoulder
joint; cut through the joint and remove the wing. Place the wing
on the serving platter as is.

* Carve the Breast
To carve the breast meat, hold the back of the carving fork
against the breastbone. Starting parallel to the breastbone,
slice diagonally through the meat. Lift off each slice, holding
it between the knife and fork, and place on the warm serving
platter. Continue until you have carved all the meat on one side
of the breast. Repeat, carving the other side of breast.

Now just enjoy your feast!
from ezine@gophercentral.com

Autumn cooking

To me, Autumn means progressively shorter days, the fall foliage turning brilliant shade of crimson red, flame orange and deep gold and of course it's also sweater weather! Autumn also means time for cooking comfort foods such as homemade macaroni and cheese, chili, chicken pie, and of course there's hearty beef stew (my favorite recipe is Parker's beef stew- it's one of Ina Garten's recipes) and cottage pie. Lets not forget dessert! Apple pie has to be one of my most favorite things to eat in the Autumn, the scent of apples and cinnamon swirling around in the air just sings happiness! Pumpkin pie and Pecan Pie (my dear friend René makes the BEST Pecan pie). Lets also think about the cakes...Gingerbread cake, Spice cake, coffee cake and of course carrot cake! Where do we begin to pick out our favorites? One of my childhood favorites was Acorn squash stuffed with...what else, stuffing! Yes, the stuff you would put into a turkey. You put the stuffing in when it was about ½ to ¾ of the way done, stuffing doesn't take as long to cook as the squash does. I remember thinking that this was the end all be all of enjoying Autumn veggies. You could also fill it with a meat filling made in the same manner as you would meat loaf or a Florentine meat filling for manicotti (I use ground chicken or turkey). Heck, you can do this same thing with zucchini, mushrooms, bell peppers...the list is endless!

So go out there and cook up something fantastic tonight using the bounty of veggies from the Autumn harvest!

Le Creuset versus Tramontina Cookware

I've had more people write to me about this topic than any other. I have to say that in the end I did donate my Tramontina cook-pot to the local women's shelter. It was a heavy pot! It weighed a lot more than the Le Creuset pot of a similar size. When I would have it filled and put into the over to finish cooking the oven rack would have a very noticeable "sway" in the middle. That always made me very nervous.

One of the comments made on the original post (same topic headline as this one) there was a person who said that they had bought a Le Creuset pot at an outlet mall for a seriously discounted price. I too have bought a deeply discounted Le Creuset pot at TJ Maxx, paid about 1/3 of the cost if it had been first quality. You do need to be aware that at outlet malls and discount stores like TJ Maxx the Le Creuset pots and pans being sold there are seconds (they are discretely marked) and the warranty does not apply to them.

Bamboo Cutting Boards

I've been using Bamboo cutting boards for over 4 years, and I just love them! They are long wearing and don't dull your knife the way some other types cutting boards can. I also own and use antimicrobial cutting boards, those I use just for raw meat. I use the bamboo cutting boards exclusively for breads, cheeses and of course fruits and veggies and cooked meats. I own two different brands of bamboo cutting boards TruBamboo and Totally Bamboo I love them both! They are easy to care for and long lasting!

And right now Totally Bamboo is having a sale- go check it out!

Hoppin John with a twist!

It's a southern tradition to make and serve Hoppin John on New Years Eve. I was looking for a recipe for Hoppin John but was wanting something a little different and I found it over at Epicurious, it's Hoppin' John Risotto. Now I did change a few things from that original recipe...

This recipe serves 8 to 10 meal sized portions and the recipe can be cut in half to serve 4 or 6 people.

Bacon- fry more bacon! First off you will want more bacon for the topping trust me you will! The extra bacon fat is needed to add flavor to the onions while they are caramelizing. I personally felt that there was not enough bacon fat or butter in this recipe to properly caramelize the onions.

Pancetta and Garlic- if you make the full recipe use 4 ounces of pancetta and fry it with the red onions, celery and garlic as this will add more flavor, by drawing out the fat from the bacon and crisping it up. I do this when making pasta e fagioli and it adds a wonderful flavor! Garlic- the full recipe needs almost twice as much garlic then it calls for.

Parsley- I say forget the parsley, as it adds a grass like flavor that your kids will hate! And you want them to eat this as it takes a long time to prepare and make this dish!

I added freshly grated Parmesano Reggiano -that's Parmesan cheese that's from Parma Italy it is so seriously yummy and worth every penny! I buy mine at Sam's Club and save 50% on the cost per pound than it I were to buy it at the grocery store or even the commissary.

Do all of the prep work before you even think about starting this meal. At one point you will have 3 pots going at the same time on the stove- do not be frightened by this! I think that this is when I am most in my element. :-)

Freshly ground pepper- it calls for ¾ of a teaspoon, if you make the full sized recipe you will need more, a lot more!

Good luck and Happy Cooking!

Have you been to All Recipes? Check this out...the Perfect Pantry, I love it! It's this list of items to have on hand, to keep stocked in your pantry. Does your pantry measure up?

Yummy finds when catching up on my girlfriends blogs

So here I am trying to catch up on the lives of my girlfriends and I'm ready Brandy's Blog (My Chaotic Life) and she's talking about a recipe for zucchini cakes that's over on The Pioneer woman. Hannah was in the room and I told her about the recipe (with pictures no less) and she grabbed my hand and said "Lets make this!". I knew that we had some yummy little zucchini's in the refrigerator I went into the kitchen to immediately make these. Talk about a little slice of yummy heaven! The only thing I changed was to add 2 eggs right from the start, 1/3 cup of bread crumbs, 1 teaspoon of minced garlic (yes I'm out of fresh so mine was from a jar too) and I used 2 small to medium sized zucchini. I added cracked black pepper (I didn't measure the pepper, I just twisted the pepper mill to my hearts content) added a dash of kosher salt and at least a half cup (or more) fresh grated Parmigiano Reggiano. Hannah and I gobbled it right up!

Cold Weather Comfort Foods

I don't know about you but when it's cold outside I look forward to making "comfort foods" such as vegetarian chili and all kinds of hearty soups.

Lentil Soup-

2 russet (baking) potatoes
2 medium carrots, cut into 1/4-inch dice (peel first)
2 celery ribs, cut into 1/4-inch dice
3 garlic cloves, chopped fine1 medium onion, chopped fine
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 pound lentils, picked over and rinsed (about 2 cups)
8 cups low-salt chicken broth

Peel potatoes and cut into 1/4-inch dice. In a 5- to 6-quart heavy kettle cook potatoes, carrots, celery, garlic, and onion in butter over moderate heat, stirring frequently, until onion is softened, about 4 minutes. Add lentils, broth, and salt and pepper to taste and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, 45 minutes, or until vegetables are tender and soup is thickened.

I like to add some grated Parmesan cheese on top with a slice of french bread on the side...m'm m'm I'm hungry just typing this!

Sandie's Super Bowl Snacks

I personally only watch the game for the commercials- they're always a crack up! But since my husband and daughter and football nuts I'm catering to them today. This is a family that loves chips, be it potato chip or corn chip they love to nibble on them! So I have to have first rate dips to go along with those chips.

First off, the 7 layer dip this link will take you someplace YUMMY!!! And the other alternative to buying premade french onion dip- make it yourself and you're never going back to store bought again!

And nothing goes better with a football game than honey bbq chicken wings. This recipe will delight everyone!

Then a dessert I like to make Black Forest Brownies...here's MY recipe

I use a boxed mix from Ghiradelli, I can't make brownies any yummier!
Then here's my chocolate ganache recipe...

INGREDIENTS:
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
2/3 cup heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon vanilla

DIRECTIONS:

In a saucepan, melt chocolate chips with cream over low heat stirring confusingly. Remove from the heat, let cool to room temperature or cover with plastic wrap and place in refrigerator for 20 minutes.

Pour over brownies while they are still in the baking pan. Spread ganache with a spatula if necessary to evenly coat, working quickly before it thickens. Chill until set.
For spreadable ganache, chill until mixture reaches a spreadable consistency. Spread over brownies or cake. Chill until set.

Now for some fruit...you can used canned pie filling for this either cherry or strawberry, which ever you prefer, use cool whip or better yet indulge and use real whipped cream. Everyone will RAVE about your Black Forest Brownies

Le Creuset vs Tramontina Cookware

I've been wanting a Le Creuset Dutch Oven for ages. I've always told myself that they were too expensive. I went along with the recommendation from Cooks Illustrated on purchasing a 6½ quart round Dutch oven by Tramontina (see the red one...I bought it back in November) and have used it several times and have been VERY happy with it's performance. The Tramontina Dutch oven was a huge savings over the Le Creuset Dutch oven. I paid $60 for the 6½ quart Tramontina Dutch oven versus the hefty price tag of $270.00 for the 5½ quart and $315.00 for the 7¼ quart Dutch Oven. I love this shade of blue (it's called Caribbean) and Le Creuset is running a special on their smaller soup pots. With our upcoming vacation to the Caribbean, I thought that this color was just what I needed to add something bright and cheerful to my kitchen. So I spent my Christmas money on a soup pot...that's okay, I like soup :-) The other thing to keep in mind is that Tramontina is made in China and Le Creuset is made in France. I know that many of us (yes even myself) are trying to avoid buying items that are made in China but sometimes that just can not be helped. When the savings is so dramatic, you really can't help but to buy the less expensive brand...especially when it comes so highly recommended by such a highly respected magazine such as Cooks Illustrated

How much cookware do you own?

Lets face it, there are those of us that love to bake and cook and those that don't. With my passion for cooking comes this need for the right tools for the job. I have amassed a collection of bakeware and cookware that has spread past my kitchen being able to contain it all. One thing that my kitchen is no longer able to store is my collection of decorative cake pans and spring form pans. I own a wide variety of spring form pans of various sizes and they have all come in very handy! I have cake pans in all sorts of shapes and even many different types of bundt cake pans. And lets not even start with the muffin tins, popover tins and mini tart tins (insert eye roll here). I can say in my defense that I have used them all at one time or another. I've even used my cupcake trees :-)



Roasting pans...how many of these do I really need? I have 3 of those enamel coasted metal roasters in various sizes, and 4 clay roasters of various sizes. I have no plans of getting rid of the clay roasters (I really enjoy cooking in them) but I am going to take all of my enamel roasters in to the Thrift Shop and sell them off. How many food items can I roast at one time anyway? Besides I have 2 of those open type roasting pans (they are a medium and large size) and I've been pretty happy with them. So the enameled metal roasters are out of here! I need to call my Mom and see if she would like a small one (I bet she would).

On line shopping...

One of the gifts that I received for Christmas is a gift card to Williams-Sonoma. There are 1001 things that I could spend my gift card on, but alas I can only pick a handful, besides-I'd have a pretty tough time storing 1001 items :-D (that smiley is me giggling and the very thought of going on a shopping spree at Williams-Sonoma.
There are obscure items such the Olive/Cherry pitting tool which in its self is pretty unique tool and I just might have a use for it. There's the Scone pan...do I really need it? No not really. I've been making scones for years, rolling them out and cutting them into pie shaped wedges (by hand) and baking them on a baking stone. I don't know why I even considered buying a scone pan, maybe because it's rather novel idea scones that bake in a shaped pan- I've taken it out of my shopping cart but the pitting tool stays :-). I'm in no hurry to buy anything and my gift card doesn't expire nor does it diminish in value over time. So for now, I'll wait...

Tomatoes and oregano make it Italian; wine and tarragon make it French. Sour cream makes it Russian; lemon and cinnamon make it Greek. Soy sauce makes it Chinese; garlic makes it good.
~Alice May Brock

I saw this quote about food and HAD to share it!

Aprons

There are different kinds of cookware for various kinds of cooking and that they come in all shapes and sizes, I've know this from a young age. I've been teaching my children about these sort of things and how important it is to wear an apron while cooking.
I had ran into an acquaintance yesterday, the woman was ranting about all kinds of things and during her angry diatribe she went on about how she gets grease splatters all over her clothes when she cooks hamburger and how her husband is getting angry with her at her constant complaining at how cooking ruins her clothes. That he's angry with her demanding to have a new outfit every week. Apparently she took great offence at him offering her the idea of wearing an apron while in the kitchen preparing food. She had asked me what I would do in such a situation ( keep in mind that this person is an acquaintance and does not know me other than being a volunteer in the military community) I told her that I actually wear an apron because I like to protect my clothing from such things as splattering sauces and oils. That I'm a messy cook and that I need to wear an apron, LOL! Apparently that was NOT the reply she thought that she would get from me. So much so that she started in with some nasty remarks about the store that I recommended she look at for buying herself a nice quality apron. Lets face it, some of us wear aprons and some don't. It's right in tune with the same concept as having babies and toddlers wearing bibs while they eat- to keep their clothes from getting soiled from food. I don't think that anything that I said was going to make that woman happy- all she wanted was for me to agree with her that cooking sucked and that she has every right to buy a complete new outfit every week. I'm sorry but I can't agree to that, not when a $20 apron would suffice at protecting her clothes. The one you see here is from when I made the chocolate volcano cakes....needless to say, I was quite the sweet chocolaty mess :-)

Not just for the Kitchen...

Spice racks are not just for the kitchen...This spice rack is from the McCormick Gourmet Collection. I first bought one last year, I had "plans" for it and no it wasn't for my kitchen. You generally see these spice racks at you local grocery store or commissary during the holidays. I just looked them up on line and they retail for $75.00 (plus shipping if you buy them on line from McCormick). Now is the time to see if they've been marked down - our commissary had them at a great savings over the retail price at $45.80 before Christmas. Now after Christmas, the spice racks were marked down and they were a down right steal at $22.40! That's like $1 per bottle of herbs/spices and the rack is FREE! The spices alone are worth so much more than $22.40! So here's a picture of what I use the spice rack for in my scrapbook nook...it holds my making memories paints!

Gifts made with Love

For me there's nothing more fun that seeing someones face light up when you give them an unexpected Christmas gift- especially when it's something that is home made. For me the holiday gift of choice is a small 4 inch cheesecake. Wrapped up pretty with bright cellophane and a curly ribbon, there's nothing that gets bigger smiles!

Cooking and Food Blogs

Besides being passionate about scrapbooking and needlework I'm also passionate about cooking. So of course I like to read cooking and food blogs. If you've not been to it please take a peek at http://www.passionateeater.blogspot.com
http://www.cupcakeblog.com

Both are wonderful food blogs! I look at the pictures at the Passionate Eater blog and I want to recreate all of those wonderful yummy meals! Now over at the cup cake blog- desserts are the topic! I get an ear to ear smile from every post!

So here I have my own little food blog. I need to jot down more recipes and post them here (that's one new years resolution for ya). I'm not happy with giving my family chicken strips and boxed macaroni and cheese - but I do give it to them from time to time. Does it make me a bad Mom? NO, it just makes me a busy Mom. So starting in the new year I'm going to post a recipe every week.