Lora's recipes

Pea Avocado Dip not totally unlike Guacamole

2010-02-14T00:27:00.005-06:00

My sister posted these cute cranberry heart shaped cookies today. I couldn't let her one up me, so I decided to actually get this post done. What's that you say? Heart shaped cookies beat veggie guacamole any day. Well this is true. Next time...

This is an Everyday Foods recipe. I'm not sure what the original title was, but I'm sure it had guacamole in it. My Texas brother in law says it is good, but you shouldn't call it guacamole. It is good. But it is not guacamole. If you expect it to be guacamole, you won't like it. I agree. The taste is reminiscent of guacamole mixed with a fresh taste that comes from the peas. This recipe is good if you are trying to get a few extra veggies into your diet. It is also good if it is the time of year that avocados are quite expensive. I'm not one of those cooks that routinely hides veggies in food. I don't put spinach in my brownies and tell you it tastes the same. I've never tried it, but I"m pretty sure spinach brownies do not taste "just like regular brownies". This recipe is good in it's own right.

I suggest reading the recipe correctly. I chopped 2 jalapenos before I realized that the recipe called for 2 teaspoons. I hadn't mixed yet and could still pick out the excess. Good thing, because it would have been spi-cay.

PEA AVOCADO DIP NOT TOTALLY UNLIKE GUACAMOLE

yield 2 c

INGREDIENTS

1 package (10oz) frozen peas, thawed

1 ripe avocado

1/3 c cilantro

1/4 c minced red onion

2 T lime juice

2 tsp minced jalapeno chili

coarse salt

1. In a food processor, puree peas until smooth. In a medium bowl, coarsely mash avocado. Stir in cilantro, onion, lime juice, jalapeno, salt and purred peas. To store, place a piece of plastic directly on the guacamole, refrigerate overnight.

Cheese Ball Variations

2010-02-07T14:26:00.005-06:00

Here are a few variations on cheese balls. The one one the top is a cheese ball snowman. I made a cheese ball from my recipe. then I shaped two balls and held them together with a toothpick to secure. I frosted the snowman with whipped cream cheese. He has a pretzel and chex mix top hat, olive eyes, a carrot nose, pretzel smile, celery arms and raisin buttons. I was inspired by this post.
The one on the right is a football cheese ball for the super bowl. It is has whipped cream cheese stripes and stitching and is covered with walnuts.

Where have I been?

2010-02-07T14:05:00.003-06:00

Well, I kind of lost my mojo. It's a three pronged problem. First, I have a chronic illness that has left me exhausted lately and unable to do much cooking. Second, I had been taking a medication that left me sick to my stomach much of last year. This seems to be getting better. Third, the medication seems to have effected my interest in food. For the first time in my life I don't spend much of the day obsessed with food. It's totally weird. Hopefully all three of these things will turn around soon. Once they do, I'll start cooking and posting on a regular basis.

Halloween Spider Egg

2009-11-05T17:22:00.003-06:00

My sister asked if I wanted eggs for breakfast on Halloween. "Sure" I said. She made me this cute spider egg with a cheese mouth and peppercorn eyes. My four year old niece had the same breakfast with cheese eyes. My sister can flips eggs by just holding onto the handle of the skillet and flipping them in the air. She's talented.

Fine Living Review Article

2009-10-15T08:41:00.006-05:00

I finally picked up a copy of the Fine Living Review. I waited an entire day before I made a special trip to Bismarck to pick up a copy. Here I am, being a big ole dork and reading the article about my blog in the Fine Living Review in the parking lot of Dan's Supermarket. Actually it's dorkier then that. I'm taking a picture of myself reading an article about my blog for my blog in the parking lot. I confused people walking past my car. If you would like to read the article, you can pick up a free copy on your way out of Dan's Supermarket or at other local businesses.
I'd like to thank Tiffany who brought my blog to the attention of the Fine Living Review and Tiffany Bailey (different Tiffany) who wrote such a nice article about my blog in the magazine.

Here are a few links mentioned in the article you might be interested in:
The hot sauce popcorn in the article is a recipe I got from my neighbor Sue. Here is a link to my post about the cooking competition she was in. The Tomato Soup from Canned Tomatoes is my most popular post.
Date-Spice Chiffon Cake
Pisole (The spelling might be wrong, I don't speak Spanish)
Bulgur and Mushroom Pilaf
Hungarian Potato Salad
Popcorn recipes
The Bacon Fun Series (unusual bacon recipes)
My hat from a sweater on my other blog, I Know Other Stuff.
The Gorgonzola Steak pictured in the article was not as rare as it looked in my picture. I'm not sure why my picture made it look so rare.

If you are interested in other North Dakota food blogs, check out:
Rhubarb and Venison (Bismarck)
Busy Nothings (Fargo)
Busy Nothings hasn't posted too many recipes since they had their adorable baby last year. You can click on Recipe index on the navigation bar to view the recipes.

I'd like to thank all my regular blog readers and welcome any new ones. I started this blog as an easy way to share my recipes with friends and family. I didn't think anyone would really read it. Now I have followers from all over the world. It's surreal.

On an entirely separate note, I've borrowed my Dad's power cord for my computer. I ordered a cord and it should be here any day. Power is good.

Welcome Fine Living Review Readers

2009-10-09T22:30:00.002-05:00

My blog, Lora's Recipes, was featured in the recent Fine Living Review. It's a local publication for the Bismarck, North Dakota area. It should be released Saturday and is available at Dan's Supermarket in the newsstand section and at other area businesses. I plan on writing a more complete post after I pick up a copy. If I don't post again soon, I've died of electrocution. My power cord for my computer, currently held together with electrical tape and toothpicks, is no longer charging my computer. I'll probably be offline until I get the problem fixed. Thanks for coming to check out my blog. Now, I have to use the power left in my computer to search for new power cords. Hopefully I'll update soon. :)

Grilled Pizza with Roquefort and Grilled Peaches

2009-09-20T12:56:00.004-05:00

I made this a while ago, and have been slow in posting it. Sorry, I didn't write down amounts. I think you can get the idea. Peaches and bleu cheese on pizza? Where ever did I get that idea? Well, I was inspired by this post on A Good Appetite. I love the bleu cheese flavor of the Roquefort playing against the sweetness of the peaches. I wasn't sure if I wanted sage or not. I did a test section on the pizza. I think I liked it, but my sage test section wasn't large enough to really tell for sure. Follow the basic directions for pizza on the grill, then use these toppings

Grilled Pizza with Roquefort and Grilled peaches
INGREDIENTS
Sauce:
pizza sauce

Toppings:
1 peach
onion
green pepper
mushrooms
meat from one grilled chicken thigh

Cheese:
Swiss cheese
Parmesan cheese
Mozzarella cheese
Roquefort

Herbs:
thyme
parsley
chives
sage

Bacon Fun part Nine

2009-09-19T23:20:00.004-05:00

Can you believe I'm on #9? I can't. I've never done a search for bacon recipes. I just find these.
Bacon Candy. A twist on the classic baked bacon and brown sugar recipe. This one adds chili powder. This is one I should make.
If you've made brown sugar bacon, try adding some to your waffles for Brown Sugar Bacon Waffles. Do you prefer pancakes? No problem.
Bacon Pancakes. Bacon pancakes still not enough? I've got that covered too.
Remember Elvis's fools gold sandwich discussed at the tail end of Bacon fun part Seven? Well, here is is in a pancake stack version.
Peanut Butter and Bacon Sandwiches. 'Cause jelly is for losers.
A Bacon Potato. Peal a potato and slice it almost through every 1/4 inch. Put a piece of bacon between every slice and bake. How can something seem so right and so wrong at the same time?
Onion, Apple and Bacon Tart. Uncredited players include Parmesan, Gruyere, and smoked paprika.
Want something sweet? How about a Buttermilk Bacon Praline?
And lastly, I know you're not supposed to be inspired by This Is Why You're Fat, but I kind of want a Bacon Onion Ring.

Orange Julius

2009-09-05T19:59:00.002-05:00

There is nothing special about my recipe. I'm just posting it so I can find the recipe easily. Love me a Julius on a hot day.

Orange Julius
Yield 2 drinks on one giant one.

INGREDIENTS
3 0z OJ concentrate
1/2 c water
1/2 c milk
1/4 c powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
6-7 ice cubes

Add all ingredients in the blender. Blend. Add ice cubes one at a time with the motor running. Blend until smooth.

Is Deep Fried the new Bacon?

2009-09-04T17:22:00.004-05:00

Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy

My sister just sent me this link from the today show. O.K. I know I should be appalled, but I'm intrigued. Deep fried butter, deep fried coke, deep fried latte, deep fried cookie dough, deep fried peanut cups, deep fried peaches & cream with butter cream dip, and spiral cut sweet potatoes deep fried with butter & cinnamon sugar. There is even more listed in the link. These are all entries in the Texas State fair deep fried food competition. Now that the bacon craze is dying down, is a deep frying craze about to start?
Dang that zucchini bread in the oven is smelling good. I hope it tastes as good as it smells. The recipe says it has to cool for an hour and 10 minutes after it comes out of the oven. I hope I can make it.

grocery STORe WARS

2009-08-25T00:06:00.003-05:00

Featuring Cuke Skywalker, Tofu D2, and Darth Tater.

Check out this and other Star Wars foods at Geek Tyrant. Via Cake Wreck's Twitter.

August 5th was National S'mores Day!!

2009-08-06T02:01:00.005-05:00

To celebrate national s'mores day we tried a new s'mores recipe. We added peanut butter. It's a good way to change things up a bit. If you are interested, check out my other s'mores variations. Hope your s'mores day celebration was great.

Breakfast Pizza on the Grill

2009-07-27T19:44:00.003-05:00

Follow the instructions in my post for pizza on the grill. I only used two eggs, but I think there should be more. The original recipe formed a well in the other topping and cracked two eggs on top and cooked them until over easy. I'm scared of uncooked egg whites and I think scrambles sounds better anyway. I had a grill brunch party last year where I served breakfast pizza. I also brought my waffle iron outside and served waffles with grilled fruit. Next time I'll have a friend bring a waffle iron. Two waffle irons would have worked better.

Breakfast Pizza on the Grill

1 dough ball for crust (see pizza on the grill instructions)
pizza sauce
3-4 eggs, scrambled and cooked until 3/4 done
spinach, either fresh or frozen with the water squeezed out
tomatoes, chopped
chopped Canadian bacon or fried bacon, chopped
shredded sharp cheddar cheese, grated or in slices and laid like tiles

cilantro chutney

2009-07-23T21:57:00.004-05:00

You know how you go to an Indian restaurant and they bring you bread (usually naan) with three dips. You eat all of them, but you mostly eat the green dip. Well, this is my sister Kristy's recipe for cilantro chutney (the green one). Since it is all pureed anyway, you can feel free to use the cilantro stems. It saves time. I also made naan on the grill. It was one part horrible, one part awesome, one part burned. If I decide to perfect the recipe for grilled naan and actually do manage to get it perfected, I'll post it.

Cilantro Chutney

1 cup fresh cilantro sprigs

1 to 2 jalapeño chilies, seeded and coarsely chopped

2 tablespoons water

2 teaspoons packed brown sugar

2 teaspoons fresh lime juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons well-stirred plain yogurt (preferably whole-milk, but 1% fat yogurt is still fine)

Purée the cilantro in a blender with jalapeño(s), water, brown sugar, lime juice, and salt. Transfer to a bowl and stir in yogurt. The chutney may be made 1 day ahead and chilled, covered. Bring
to room temperature before serving.

Hungarian Potato Salad

2009-07-20T14:42:00.007-05:00

About 20 years ago I made a Hungarian meal made from a library cookbook. An amazing Hungarian meal. That summer we sat on my patio and indulged in Hungarian potato salad and several stews swimming in paprika (and potatoes). It was the kind of meal where you know you are full, but everything tastes so good. Maybe just a little more of this. Maybe just a touch more of that. In Hungary I feel certain that they don't serve that many potato dishes at once and certainly not when it is humid and above 90 degrees and they don't have air conditioning. I can also vividly remember laying on the floor with my sisters in a bedroom watching the ceiling fan go around and trying to ignore the queasy feeling. We lay there for hours without moving. We discussed the amazingness of the meal and how we weren't sure that we would ever want to eat it again.

I wasn't ready to eat that Hungarian food for several years. When I was ready, it was after the great recipe loss of '92 (see my profile). I went to the library to find the cookbook, only to discover it wasn't there. I've tried a few times to make chicken paprikash or goulash. I haven't made anything I would crave yet. If anyone knows of good paprika based recipes, please point me towards them.

I searched the web about a week ago for my Hungarian Potato Salad. There was nothing like it posted anywhere. I did find a sour cream dill sauce that sounded like what was in the original the potato salad. I cobbled this recipe together from my remnants of the old one. I think it's pretty close, if not almost exactly it. In the end, it is really good, but it's probably not worthy of a 20 year quest.

I forgot the parsley, so I estimated the amount. I used 2 T butter and 2 T flour for the roux. It made a sauce that was too thick. I'm guessing 1 T flour should work. Then you should be able to decrease the butter to I tablespoon, unless you need more to fry the onions. Adding a clove or two of garlic might be good as well.

HUNGARIAN POTATO SALAD

INGREDIENTS

2 lbs potatoes

1-2 T butter

1/2 onion, finely chopped (or more)

1 T flour

1/2 c beef stock

1/4 c chopped fresh dill, or maybe even more if you dare

2 T chopped fresh parsley

1/2 c pickles

1/2 c sour cream

FOR THE SALAD:

1. Cover the whole, unpeeled potatoes with 1 inch of water in a stockpot or dutch oven. Bring to a simmer over medium high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and simmer, stirring once or twice to ensure even cooking, until the potatoes are tender (a thin-bladed paring knife or metal cake tester can be slipped into and out of the center of the potatoes with no resistance), 25-30 minutes for medium potatoes, 15-20 minutes for small potatoes.

2. Drain and cool the potatoes, slightly and peel if you like. Cut the potatoes into 3/4-inch cubes (or smaller) Use a serrated knife if they have skins. Cut the potatoes while still warm and rinse the knife as needed.

3. Mix the potatoes, pickles, and sauce together. This salad is meant to be served hot. I prefer it cold the next day. This salad may need extra salt.

FOR THE SAUCE

1. Saute the onions in the butter. It is best to do this very slowly to caramelize them. However a quick saute works too. Whisk in the flour with a silicone coated whisk. Cook somewhat to make a roux. Begin slowly whisking in the beef broth. Add a little broth whisk until smooth, repeat. Do this until you've added all the broth. Whisk in the sour cream. Heat through, but do not boil. Stir in the parsley and dill. Now it is ready for the potato salad.

The not quite Ultimate Butterbeer

2009-07-16T15:13:00.004-05:00

If you are a fan of Harry Potter, you know what butterbeer is. I had this plan to have a recipe posted for the ultimate butterbeer before the new movie came out. (which was yesterday) Why? I love Harry Potter and I love butterscotch. I didn't come up with the ultimate butterbeer. It would take lots of tinkering to get this recipe just right. I honestly don't have the patience for that. Also, I'm getting a bit sick of this recipe. What have I learned so far? It takes way more butterscotch then you think it should. Once I started adding more, the recipe got better. It might be even better with even more butterscotch. Frankly, at this point I'm sick of this recipe. I bored with butterscotch. I have thus far failed to produce the butterscotch soda float of my dreams. It's good like this, but that's about all I can say for it.

Butterbeer
1/4 c butterscotch sauce (0r possibly a bit more)
1/2 c milk (or maybe a bit less)
dash of nutmeg
dash of cinnamon
1- 2 scoops burnt sugar ice cream
Club soda

Warm up the butterscotch until it is very runny in the microwave. Measure 1/4 c butterscotch sauce into a glass. Pour an equal amount of milk into the glass with the butterscotch and stir vigorously. If the butterscotch does not dissolve, you may need to heat the milk/butterscotch mixture slightly in the microwave. Pour in enough milk to reach halfway (or less) up the side of your glass. Stir in the nutmeg and cinnamon. Add your scoops of ice cream. With a spoon that reaches to the bottom of the glass, stir vigorously while adding the club soda. Do this for the first part of the club soda. Then pour in the remaining club soda. Stirring insures that the club soda gets incorporated. If you do not do this, the top of the drinks tastes only like oddly flavored club soda.
This can also be served warm. Heat the butterscotch and milk together until warm. Then continue with the rest of the recipe the same as with cold butterbeer.

I haven't tried it, but you could add butterscotch schnapps for the adults.

Burnt Sugar Ice Cream

2009-07-16T15:08:00.002-05:00

This is almost caramel ice cream, but not quite. I'm not in the mood to write an intro right now. I might com back and write one later.

Burnt Sugar Ice Cream

INGREDIENTS
3/4 c sugar (more sugar)
2 T water
2 c milk
4 egg yolks
1 c cream
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 tsp vanilla

or 3 yolks and 1 1/2 c cream and 1 1/2 c milk

1. In a medium sauce pan, add the sugar and water. Stir with a silicone spatula over medium heat until sugar is dissolved. Continue cooking over medium heat until the mixture becomes dark brown. The darker the better without burning it. When it is ready, off heat, SLOWLY pour in the milk drop by drop (at first). It will bubble furiously. After you've added all the milk, return to the heat until all the sugar is dissolved.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk the egg yolks until a pale yellow and slightly increased in volume. Pour some (maybe 1/2) of the burnt sugar-milk mixture into the bowl while whisking. When combined, return the egg mixture to the saucepan and stir to combine. Continue to cook, stirring with a silicone spatula, until it is thickened slightly and coats the back of a spoon. This happens at 170 degrees on a candy thermometer. Off heat, stir in the cream and the salt. Cool in the refrigerator several hours or overnight.
3. When the mixture is cold, stir in the vanilla. Freeze as directed in your ice cream maker

Watermelon Slushy (with a little vodka)

2009-07-13T19:06:00.011-05:00

Rain came at dinner time and my grilling plans changed to enchiladas. If you make mexican food, you "need" a fruity drink. I was inspired by this post about a blender killing frozen watermelon experiment at Rhubarb and Venison. I loved the idea of freezing watermelon. If you have a normal sized family you can make it through a whole watermelon pretty easily. This is epically true if you, like my sister, have a year old baby who is currently in love with watermelon. No watermelon eatin' baby? No problem. Just dice up your watermelon. Place in a single layer on a cookie sheet and stash in the freezer. Once it's frozen, move to a Ziploc bag in your freezer. Here is my first experiment with frozen watermelon. In a blender combine:

Frozen watermelon (I didn't measure)
Shot of Vodka
tablespoon-ish of lime juice
1 tsp sugar (or to taste)
a fair amount of water. I added maybe as much as 1/2 c.

You'll need lots of water to get the blender moving. You can use tequila or rum or no alcohol if you prefer. Beth at R & V also recommends freezing any fruit you have that is about to go bad. You can turn it into a smoothie later. I need to start doing this. I can be a grown up and admit my fruit will go bad next day and that I'm actually not going to get it eaten in that time.

Crunch Salad (Carrot, Radish, Lime and Cilantro)

2009-07-12T15:59:00.004-05:00

When I found this recipe from Kristen at the Kitchen Sink, I knew I'd have to try it. It sounded so wonderfully crunchy. In fact, I've dubbed it Crunch Salad. I made a few changes from the original. I replaced the scallions with less thinly sliced onion. I had onions in the house and not scallions. I also increased the proportion of radishes. Much to my surprise, the first time I made this (pictured) I wanted more radishes. Note: My cilantro is overgrown, that is why it looks like dill.
Crunch Salad
INGREDIENTS
2 1/2 c carrots, sliced thin
1 1/2 c radish, sliced thin
1/2 c scallions, or less thinly sliced onions
1/4 c cilantro, chopped
Juice of one lime
1 T olive oil
salt

Combine carrots, radish, onion, cilantro, and lime zest in a large bowl. Whisk together the lime juice, salt, and olive oil. Toss with the rest of the ingredients. Allow to sit for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Coffee Toffee Twisted Frosty

2009-07-09T18:58:00.004-05:00

Here's my short review:
Coffee- Great coffee flavor.
Toffee -Great, probably a heath bar.
Frosty-O.K. Here's where it gets complicated. If you like basic soft serve flavor, you'll think it's awesome. I don't like soft serve flavor anymore. I haven't had soft serve for a while, because it makes me sick. However, the frosty style soft serve does not make me sick for some reason. Maybe my taste has changed, or it might just be my brains association with upset stomach. I don't know. Regular soft serve and cold stone creamery give my stomach the "icks". I wonder what the magic "ick" ingredient is? But I digress...
It only comes with a spoon, so it's bad for driving. It only comes in one size, which should serve two nicely. I'm only one and don't need a challenge. It has a name that's really fun to say and great commercials. To sum up, I wanted to like this. It seemed like something fun to get on hot afternoons. But in the end, it's just not for me.

My new blog

2009-07-08T21:06:00.004-05:00

I started a new blog. Why? Cause I want one. And really, who does it hurt. I'm not really sure what I'm going to do with my blog yet. It's gunna just be whatever I feel like. I'll probably have reviews for make-up, hair styling tips, stuff I made (mostly from other stuff), and my general musings. I just don't know yet. Ask me in a few months, I'll know more. By the way, I'm not an expert on hair and make-up (not even close). I figure there are people in the world stupider then me. I had to learn things from somewhere. My first post is the story of the Sit and Spin I got for my birthday.
Check me out at I Know Other Stuff.

CampingPacking List

2009-06-30T13:45:00.012-05:00

This post has been moved to my new blog.

French Potato Salad

2009-06-27T15:08:00.002-05:00

If you are like my sister and hate potato (and pasta) salads with mayo, this could be the potato salad for you. It still may not be for you because tarragon has a strong flavor that's not for everyone. After a several year absence, I am growing tarragon again. In about a month, when it gets a little bigger, I'm looking forward to the "Why are you letting that weed grow?" question. Tarragon isn't a pretty plant. This recipe also calls for chervil. Chervil grows easily from seed. In the past, I never knew what to do with it, so I stopped growing it. If you grow chervil, go ahead and use the first herb mix. If you don't grow it, it's hard to find in supermarkets. Then use the second herb mixture. I never have shallots on hand. Shallots would be a better choice in this salad, but I used finely chopped yellow onion instead. I added the onion to the vinaigrette, thinking the hot potato water would soften its bite. It worked just fine. I sliced my potatoes with my mandolin (v-slicer). So for me, this is a pretty quick recipe. This is yet another recipe from Cook's Illustrated The Best Recipe.

French Potato Salad

INGREDIENTS
2 lbs red potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1/4 inch slices
2 T salt
1 med garlic clove, peeled and threaded on a skewer
1 1/2 T champagne vinegar or white wine vinegar (I actually used cider vinegar)
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1/4 c olive oil
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 small shallot, minced (about 2 T or onion. See intro)

1 T chervil
1 T parsley
1 T chives
1 T tarragon

OR

1 1/2 T parsley
1 T chives
1 1/2 T tarragon

1. place the potatoes, 6 cups cold water, and the 2 T salt in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce the heat to medium. Lower the skewered garlic into the simmering water and partially blanch, about 45 seconds. Immediately run the garlic under cold tap water to stop the cooking; remove the garlic from the skewer and set aside. Simmer the potatoes, uncovered, until tender but still firm (a thin-bladed paring knife can be slipped into and out of the center of a potato slice with no resistance), about 5 minutes. Drain the potatoes, reserving 1/4 c cooking water. Arrange the hot potatoes close together in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet.
2. Press the garlic through a garlic press or mince by hand. Whisk the garlic, reserved potato cooking water, vinegar, mustard, oil, and pepper together in a small bowl until combined. Drizzle the dressing evenly over the warm potato slices; let stand 10 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, toss the shallot and herbs gently together in a small bowl. transfer the potatoes to a large serving bowl. Add the shallot-herb mixture and mix lightly with a rubber spatula to combine. Serve immediately if serving hot or chilled for a few hours and brought to room temperature.

Grilled Citrus and Cilantro Spiced Chicken

2009-06-19T11:46:00.002-05:00

It seems like I only cook recipes from America's Test Kitchen. I tend to get obsessed with cookbooks (and SciFi) and stick with it for a while.

Early 80's Betty Crocker Cook Book for Kids and Star Wars
Late 80' Frugal Gourmet (I own three of his cookbooks) and Star Trek the Next Generation (I was way too interested in Klingon Politics).
Early 90's Gourmet and Food and Wine Magazines and Twin Peaks (Not SciFi exactly)
Late 90's Laurel's Kitchen and the Moosewood Cookbook and the X Files
Early Millennium Food Network Website, especially Alton Brown and Harry Potter (Technically Fantasy) and Firefly.
Recently Food Blogs and America's Test Kitchen and Lost, Battlestar Galactia, and Heroes

Anyway, here's yet another recipe from America's Test Kitchen. This one comes from The New Best Recipe. Brining chicken or pork keeps it moist (especially important with pork) and flavorful. All about brining. If you have the time, you should brine chicken (and pork) for every recipe (use a salt free rub so it's not too salty). If you don't have the time to brine the chicken for this recipe, simply salt your chicken before you add the spice paste.

Chicken Thighs on a Gas Grill

INGREDIENTS
8 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs
6 T table salt
1 quart water
1 recipe spice paste

1. Trim any overhanging fat and skin from chicken thighs. Dissolve the salt in 1 quart of cold water in a gallon zip to bag. Add the chicken; press out as much air as possible and seal. Refrigerate 1 1/2 hours.
2. Turn all your grill burners to high and close lid to heat for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, clean grill with grill brush and rub grates with oil using tongs and a paper towel. Leave one burner on high and turn the others to medium-low. Meanwhile, rinse chicken and dry with paper towels. Rub with spice paste. Rub the paste under the skin, especially if you plan to discard the skin after cooking. Cook the chicken over burner on high until seared, 1-2 minutes on each side. Then cook chicken, skin side up on cooler part of the grill for 16-20 minutes until temperature reaches 170 degrees.

CITRUS AND CILANTRO SPICE PASTE FOR CHICKEN
Makes enough 1/2 c, enough for 8 thighs or 4 breasts
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp coriander
2 T orange juice
1 T lime juice
1 T olive oil
1 garlic clove, pressed
2 T fresh cilantro, minced

Combine all ingredients. You can also skip the pressing and mincing and puree ingredients in a food processor. Rub paste over brined and dried chicken pieces before grilling. If you skip the brine, salt chicken before adding the paste.

Rhubarb Compote with Yogurt, Oatmeal, or Lemon Curd.

2009-06-17T19:39:00.007-05:00

Looking for something a little different to do with your rhubarb? Well I cooked a pot full. You can call it stewed rhubarb or rhubarb compote depending on how fancy you prefer your food names. I added some to my homemade yogurt. If I had some homemade granola around (without the dried fruit), I would have added some.
I also made overnight steel cut oatmeal (without the dried fruit). I added some of the rhubarb compote and had the perfect spring breakfast for the recent rainy weather. And finally, I love the combination of lemon and rhubarb. So I made some lemon tart filling and topped it with some stewed rhubarb. A crumbled gram cracker in between the layers would have completed the dish perfectly. But sadly, there is not a gram cracker crumb in my house.
See also, my Grandma's Rhubarb Pie recipe.

Stewed Rhubarb (Rhubarb Compote)

INGREDIENTS
1 lb 5 oz chopped rhubarb (the amount my Aunt gave me from her garden)
3/8 c sugar
3/8 c water
pinch salt

Bring to a boil in a large saucepan. Cover and simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. I've seen recipes that add vanilla or cinnamon. Feel free to add either if you like.

The Coke Challange, Fargo Food, and Links

2009-06-08T21:16:00.008-05:00

I went to Fargo this weekend to visit my friend and my sister. If you were on I94 this Sunday you probably noticed the Umpa-Lumpa's rolling me down the road on my way home. My brother-in-law got a new grill recently. He's been busy breaking it in. First he made me a fabulous chicken roulade on Friday. Chicken breast rolled with pancetta, provolone, and basil and then grilled. We both thought it was the basil that made it. Yum. Plus there was asparagus and garlic bread. The next day he asked if I wanted a burger for lunch. Sure. But, I wasn't expecting one quite that size. The burger was really good, but it was huge. My sister jokingly asked if I got a T-shirt if I finished it. I couldn't quite do it. Not T-shirt for me. I Shouldn't have eaten for a few days. But, I had already agreed to go to my friends house for supper. First my friends brought out these fabulous stuffed mushrooms. Stuffed with Swiss cheese, Parmesan, bacon, and bread crumbs, these were amazing. We all secretly wanted to dive into the platter face first and inhale them like the hose of a vacuum. We some how managed to be grown ups and share. They also made a great lavash pizza(top right). They had the cracker like Armenian lavash bread as the base, no sauce, and mozzarella and veggies. (There was also a meat version, but no picture). I'm gradually deflating.
While I was there, my brother-in-law decided we should do a coke challenge. A blind taste test between Mexican coke and American coke. They sell Mexican coke in the grocery store in Fargo. Mexican Coke is made with sugar, American Coke with corn syrup. He lined up the unmarked glasses. There was a clear difference. It was obvious which was which. I was delighted. Mexican Coke is the Coke of my childhood. Much less sweet. It's the coke that I keep expecting when I occasionally buy one, and am then disappointed. We found it to have less bite and less carbonation the the American version. I did miss the extra carbonation. My sister found the Mexican coke to taste a bit watered down, like fountain pop with ice melted into it. She really likes the bite and extra sweetness of the American version. My brother-in-law, my friend, and I all prefer the nostalgic taste of the Mexican Coke. My sister preferred the American version. It was 3-1, but I think Julie's opinion would be the prevailing one the the general population. If you always wish your coke was less sweet, try the Mexican version.

Two Links.
One mom's funny story about a cake baking contest.
Why you hate bitter foods. This lists almost all of the short list of foods I don't like.

BEK Country Cook Off in Wilton

2009-05-29T12:06:00.008-05:00

The big day arrived and my crew and I headed down to the site. First we ate the grilled food at the charity feed. The food was a hot dog or brat, chips and pop. The charity was the Wilton fire department. Let me say a few words about the Wilton fire department. The Wilton fire department consists entirely of volunteer fire fighters. These brave people volunteer to risk their life and health and donate their time to keep me and the surrounding rural area safe and we all appreciate it. I appreciate it so much more after the scary wildfire on the plains a few years ago. There was a combination of high winds and dry grass land after a summer with high temperatures and little rain. A wood fire that had been extinguished one full month earlier reignited due to the strong winds. The fire covered an area one mile by six miles. While the Wilton fire department was fighting the fire, the winds suddenly changed and the fire was now headed right for the fire fighters. Three were injured, one quite severely. Knowing this, people still volunteer for the job. I want to thank them.
It was now time for the big event. "Ooooh! This is so exciting." Said my Mom's friend Karen. I was thinking the same thing. I glanced over at my Aunt Gayle. She's originally from Wilton, but has lived most of her life in California. I could see that exciting wasn't necessarily the adjective she would choose, but she was still into the spirit of things. The people at BEK told us to watch the camera man to know when to clap during comical breaks, and to clap loud. The people at my table clapped our hearts out for all the commercial breaks. We also too turns Wooooo!-ing. I woooo-ed more in that hour then I have for years. When I came home and rewatched the event on T.V. I was dismayed to find that not one of our Wooo!s was audible. I could have saved my energy and just clapped. Oh well.
I was there to root on my neighbor Sue Lofthus who was competing with a recipe that was inspired by my gr illed pork loin recipe. She added and changed so many things from my recipe that her pork loin makes mine pale in comparison. They began interviewing people about what they were cooking. My initial over confidence in Sue's recipe faded. The competition was clearly strong. Chicken with mango salsa, steak and cedar plank fish, steak Oscar with walleye replacing the crab, and Sue's stuffed pork loin. It would be a tough competition. All the contestants did a great job throughout the evening speaking on camera. That's not easy for an amateur cook to grill with a time limit and give entertaining interviews. Sue, who is one of the nicest people you could ever meet, looked radiant on camera. She was also gracious enough to mention me by name on camera. Thanks Sue. Cameron, who was a year behind me in High School, described his former job as sue chef at The Old Broadway in Fargo. He said it was jungle cooking for 400 people per night. Michelle was cooking with her step son even though the both like to be in charge on the grill. And Tom kept the ingredients of his secret marinade a secret.
The host went into the audience to interview people. As he approached Don W. I thought "watch out". Don's entertaining, but he's trouble. Then they interviewed the judges. One was Deb Strand, who's kids I
used to babysit. All the judges talked about how nice it was to see so
many colorful fruits and vegetables. Now it's time for a commercial break. Here's a commercial that ran during the show that cracks me up.

Attention Hunters! Are you tired of stores where every gun is locked
away and you have to wait for a clerk to find a key? Stop in and
check out our great selection of rifles, scopes, shot guns, hand guns,
binoculars, and hunting knives. Located one block east of the court
house.

As the time clicked down, I got very nervous. "Hurry up Sue and get the food on the plate. You're not gunna make it." She knew what she was was doing and got the food plated in time. The pictures below are after the jugdes were done with them.

Michelle Pich's Entry
Steak. Grilled cedar plank walleye with watermelon and black bean
salsa. Grilled vegetable kebabs. Grilled garlic bread with roasted
garlic. Grilled corn. And Grilled cream cheese stuffed jalapeno
poppers.

Sue Lofthus's Entry
Grilled stuffed pork loin. Grilled fresh pineapple with lime zest and
honey. A home made bread stick that was then grilled. And grilled mixed
vegetables consisting of three colors of peppers, asparagus,mushrooms,
potatoes, and onions.

Cameron Boechler's Entry
Steak Oscar (steak with Bearnaise sauce) with local walleye replacing the traditional crab. Candied pineapple. And grilled peppers, onions, and asparagus.

Tom Gigante's Entry
Chicken marinated in a secret balsamic marinade with mango salsa
(mango, jalapenos, tomatoes, onions, and garden garlic chives) and
asparagus bundles.

And the judging...Cameron's Steak Oscar wins. My friend Sue tied for second place.
This next comment means no disrespect to Cameron. He is clearly and excellent cook and achieved a well deserved win. The judges are just like the rest of us. They spoke repeatedly about he health and nutrition of the fruits and veggies on the grill. But when push came to shove, they (like us) pick the red meat topped with a butter and egg yolk sauce. It's truly a hard to beat combination.

BEK community cook off

2009-05-27T23:18:00.005-05:00

If you subscribe to BEK cable, tune in to BEK channel 8 today (Thursday) at 7 p.m. They are having a live grilling competition from Wilton. You will be rooting for my neighbor Sue. She's the one grilling pork loin. She used my grilled pork loin recipe as a jumping off point. I don't know what anyone else is grilling, but I think she's gunna win. She described her recipe to me and it sounds yummy. If she doesn't win, I'd love to see the recipe that actually beats hers. If your in Wilton, BEK invites you to come early for a free will donaton charity brat and then to watch the live competition. You might also be interested in Sue's tobasco popcorn recipe.

Shockingly Quick Macaroons

2009-05-18T10:43:00.003-05:00

Without the chocolate, these are shockingly quick and easy (20ish minutes including prep). They are still easy with the chocolate, but just not as quick. You have to wait for the chocolate to set. I would NEVER make these without the chocolate however. They are nowhere near as good without the chocolate. The original recipe called for semi sweet chocolate. I highly recommend very dark chocolate. It is the prefect pairing with the sweet chewy cookie. The cookie is like a mounds bar, but the coconut is toasted (bonus). The recipe also called for a half dipped cookie. I hate wasting leftover dipping chocolate. (It wouldn't actually got to waste. I'd sit down and eat it all with a spoon) So, in order to use chocolate more efficiently, I only dipped the bottoms. When I was nearly out of chocolate, I spread the remaining melted chocolate on the final cookies with a knife. This recipe is from Cooks Illustrated The Quick Recipe.

Shockingly Quick Macaroons
yield 10 cookies
Can be doubled

INGREDIENTS
1 large egg white
1/3 c sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1 1/4 c coconut
2 T cornstarch
4 oz semi sweet chocolate chips or most of a Hershey's 60% dark chocolate bar.

1. Adjust oven rack to the middle position and preheat oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly spray the parchment with a nonstick cooking spray.
2. Whisk together the egg white, sugar, and salt in a small bowl. Toss the coconut with the cornstarch in a medium bowl. Be sure to coat the coconut thoroughly. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix with a rubber spatula until evenly moistened.
3. Drop heaping tablespoons of batter onto the parchment-lined baking sheet, spacing about 1 inch apart.
4. Bake until light golden brown, 12-14 minutes, rotating the baking sheet from front to back halfway through the cooking time. Cool the macaroons on the baking sheet 2 minutes. Us a spatula to transfer the macaroons onto a cooling rack. Cool 10 minutes. You can stop here if you wish.
5. The original recipe says to melt 3/4 semi sweet chocolate in a microwave on half power. Start at 1 1/2 minutes, stir, and add 30 seconds at a time as needed. Add the remaining chocolate and stir until smooth. Dip the macaroons halfway into the chocolate mixture. Place on a parchment lined cookie sheet. Place the cookie sheet in the refrigerator until the chocolate is set.
I melted the dark chocolate in the microwave in a ramekin barely bigger then the cookies. I dipped and twisted only the bottoms of the cookies. Then I placed them on a parchment lined cookie sheet and put them in the fridge.

Cranberry Cornmeal Cookies (scones)

2009-05-10T21:09:00.003-05:00

Well, I wouldn't call these cookies exactly. They are more like a cornmeal scone or something of that nature. America's Test Kitchen suggests, and I agree, that these should be served with a cup of chamomile tea or coffee. These are the kind of thing I would serve at high tea if I had any idea what high tea was or ever actually had a high tea. I do really like these, but I don't think they are the something I will crave. They are not exactly my thing, but they would definitely be someones. This recipe comes from Cook's Illustrated The Quick Recipe. The only change I made is the original recipe called for light brown sugar. I only use dark brown sugar. I like the flavor better. Hey, bonus: you don't need a mixer.

Cranberry Cornmeal Cookies
Yield 12 cookies
INGREDIENTS
1 c flour
1/2 c cornmeal
1/2 c sugar, plus 1/3 c for rolling
1/4 c dark brown sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly grated orange zest
3/4 c dried cranberries
2 eggs
1/4 c vegetable oil

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 375. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and lightly spray the parchment with nonstick cooking spray.
2. Whisk together the flour, cornmeal, 1/2 c sugar, brown sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl. Add the orange zest and whisk to combine. Add the cranberries and using a rubber spatula, toss to combine. In a separate bowl, whisk together the eggs and oil. Stir in the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients until evenly moistened.
3. Fill a small bowl with cold water and place 1/3 c sugar in a 8 or 9 inch cake pan. Dip your hands into the water and roll about 2 T of cookie dough into a rough ball. Drop the ball into the cake pan with the sugar and toss to coat. Place the formed, sugar-coated cookie on the prepared pan, leaving 1 1/2 inches between balls. If your hands become sticky, dip them into the water and shake away the excess. I didn't find the water necessary. This should give you 12 cookies.
4. Bake until the cookies are light golden brown, 18-20 minutes, rotating the pan from front to back halfway through the baking time. Cool the cookies on the baking sheet until slightly set, about 2 minutes. Using a spatula, transfer the cookies to a wire cooling rack. Cool 15 minutes.

Taco Shells from Corn Tortillas

2009-05-05T09:56:00.003-05:00

Happy Cinco de Mayo. I'm actually timely. I totally planned that and it is not a weird coincidence. I've found a few ways to make taco shells. The first way is to deep fry a corn tortilla in oil. (not pictured) Make sure to fold it into shape while it's still frying. Delicious? Yes. Likely to make me fit into shorts? Not so much.
The second way to to make tacos it to heat a nonstick pan (I'm guessing other pans would work) over medium high heat. Add a small amount of oil (I'd guess 1-1 1/2 tsp). Add the corn tortilla to the pan. Spin the tortilla in the pan to distribute the oil on the tortilla. Immediately flip and then spin the tortilla again to get the oil on the other side. Fry on one side. Flip and fry on the other side. Fold immediately when you take the tortilla out of the pan to make taco shell. If it cools at all it won't fold, it will just break. By the way, that's yogurt in the picture and not sour cream. That would be a lot of sour cream for just one taco.
The last way of making taco shells is to toast a corn tortilla directly on a gas burner. Be sure to keep the gas flame smaller then the circumference of the tortilla. When it begins to get some color, flip and toast the other side. (I actually flip the tortilla a few times.) When you are done toasting and flipping, take the tortilla off the heat and fold.

Bacon Fun Part Eight

2009-04-02T11:56:00.003-05:00

Bacon Lube. What the world was missing? I hope this isn't real.

Brownie Cake

2009-03-31T17:14:00.006-05:00

My sister (not the cake making one) made this cake for her daughter's first birthday. It is quite impressive for a person that doesn't decorate cakes or even bake much. It's not really a cake. It's actually brownies. My sister is not a huge fan of cake, but LOVES brownies. I agree. She found this recipe for a brownie cake from Taste Of Home. The cake is three layers of brownies with a chocolate ganache frosting. To decorate the cake, she colored and rolled out fondant. Then she cut the fondant with flower shaped cookie cutters and placed it on the cake. It's a good way to decorate a cake if you're a novice too.
The pros: It's a brownie cake with chocolate ganache frosting.
The cons: It's rich, so you want to cut small pieces and it's difficult to cut small pieces since it's a hard brownie with squishy chocolate ganache.
It's already on my sister's menu for next year.

Flood!

2009-03-25T23:38:00.010-05:00

O.K. This is way off the subject of food. There is no way I can ignore this however. Cities and town all over my state are flooding. Let me start at the beginning. The above picture is of me standing on the roof of my house this January. In the area where I was standing there was over 3 feet of snow on the roof. Most of the roof had about 18" of snow. Here is the problem. I don't live on or near a mountain. North Dakota is flat plains.
The picture on the top right is of ice that came off of my roof. This piece was by far the biggest. 6 inches thick, 3 feet wide, and 3 1/2 feet tall. The ice is sitting on what was then a 3 foot snow bank of very compacted snow. In the background you see a pile of snow as high as the roof. That too was very compacted. I stopped using the ladder on the left side of the picture and just jumped directly from the snowbank to the roof. Snow in the area of my yard by the ice is currently at 5 feet deep after the Tuesday blizzard.
The picture on the bottom right shows my house from street level. If you look to the right of the electrical pole you can see me sitting on my bum on my roof shoveling snow. Battling snow has taken up much of my time this winter. I've done way less cooking then I would like. The snow battle still continues.
Last week the thing North Dakotans usually wait all winter for happened. It warmed up. This year we were dreading it, because we knew what it meant. Floods. Near record snowfall (we're not done yet) caused record and near record flooding. Early this week North Dakota towns Hazen, Beulah, Mott, and Linton flooded. Linton was just returning from winning the Boys Class B Basketball Tournament the day before.

Bismarck :
The Missouri River does not routinely flood. When it does flood it floods houses near the river. On Sunday, huge pieces of Ice flowed into the Missouri from the Heart River and Knife river (tributaries). By huge, I mean three feet thick. Some pieces were described as the size of a Volkswagen. This ice, along with ice from the Missouri itself, formed an ice dam. The ice dam is causing water from the river to back up into the city of Bismarck. All residents south of Main street have been told to evacuate. You don't have to be familiar with a particular city to know that's allot of houses in danger. Major thoroughfares are flooded. The ice jams to the south extend 100 miles to the South Dakota Border. The Army Corp of Engineers is using explosives in an attempt to get the ice moving. They are also using Blackhawk Helicopters to dump salt on the ice to melt it. Buckets usually carrying water to put out forest fires are now filled with salt instead. The Corps efforts that began at 4pm Wednesday appear to be going well. The river level has been dropping since Tuesday night. Bismarck cannot be sure the worst is over. Ice dams are extremely unpredictable. They are not sure what will happen with the ice jams to the south of Bismarck. Also, just to the north of Bismarck is another ice dam that is currently keeping water out of Bismarck. However if that ice dam should let loose, the water would flow into Bismarck.

Fargo:
Fargo has two unusual problems for flooding. One is that the city is flat, flat, flat, flat. I can't find the information online, but I'd estimate that the elevation of the city only varies by 10 feet. So that means if the dike goes, the city goes. In 1997 in a similar flood scenario, the entire city of Grand Forks (north of Fargo) was under water. (Then it caught on fire, but I digress) The second problem is that the Red River flows south to north. This means that upstream snow, that is further south, has melted before the snow at Fargo (further north) has melted. The snow has to melt before you can begin sandbagging. You can't sandbag on top of a snowbank. Fargo had one week to prepare for the flood this year and they had three weeks in the 1997 flood (they just made it in that flood). This flood should crest at 41 feet. (flood stage is 18 feet) Fargo has less then 48 hours (the river will crest Saturday) to build the dikes one more foot higher. Dikes are as wide on the bottom as they are high. This means that the current dike surrounding the whole city must be built up one foot wider and one foot taller. They are filling sandbags around the clock. Schools and businesses are shut down to help with the effort. The Red River is rising 2 inches per hour.
The '97 flood and the '09 flood should be floods at levels that only occur every 100 years. But, we've had two in 12 years.
If you are interested in the flooding in North Dakota, you can follow my twitter. I add links to pictures, news stories, and have general flood updates several times a day. This helps to keep out of state relatives up to date on flood developments. My twitter is also on the left hand side of my blog.
I have to apologize if anything in this post does not make sense. I'm not sleeping much lately because I have the flu. I promise to get back to cooking and posting about food some day.

Twitter

2009-03-17T12:48:00.003-05:00

So I'm on Twitter. Why?

I find myself more interesting then I am.
I think I'm funny. (Despite evidence to the contrary.)
I find lots of interesting links.

My sister suggested that I could put the links I find on twitter rather then e-mailing them to people I know who might be interested. She gets the lions share of my e-mails and I think she might just want me to stop cluttering up her in box. I plan on having mostly links. (Crafts, food, refashioned clothes, etc.) I'm sure I'll also have my share of (attempted) witty and snarky comments. I can't help myself. Anyway, if you are interested, feel free to follow me on twitter.

Go Trojans!

2009-03-11T20:58:00.004-05:00

If Turtle Lake wins one more game they will be going to the North Dakota Boys Class B Boys Basketball Tournament. Go Trojans! They play tomorrow. (Thursday)
Also, North Dakota State University will be in the March madness college basketball tournament. Go Bison!
Update: Turtle Lake won 61 to 57. Good Luck at state.

Taco Town

2009-03-09T12:50:00.004-05:00

This clip from Saturday Night Live is hilarious (1:29). I give you Taco Town. For real life versions of stuff stuffed in stuff and deep fried, check out thisiswhyyourefat.com

Do my ingredients match?

2009-03-01T19:24:00.007-06:00

As I read food blogs, I've come across recipes that perplex me. They are like the questions Zen Buddhists use to meditate (I learned all about Zen Buddhism from Lisa on "The Simpsons") What is the sound of one hand clapping? If a tree falls in the woods and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound? Why did someone decide to put these ingredients together? What would that recipe taste like? It makes my brain spin in tight concentric circles.
I don't want the ingredients in most of these recipes even touching each other on a plate, let alone in the same recipe. But, someone made these recipes and liked them enough to write them down and share them with others. These recipes may be fantastic. Sometimes ingredients that sound mismatched aren't. The Ruben sandwich and a peanut butter and pickle sandwich (my Dad's recipe) have ingredients that sound like they don't belong together, but are perfectly suited. I am a regular reader of some of these blogs and know their authors to have many fabulous recipes.

Do my ingredients match?

Sweet corn ice cream at technicolor kitchen made with canned corn and sweetened condensed milk (and others).
Sweet Corn Ice Cream is also at Closet Cooking. I guess I came across this recipe twice.
Dave Lieberman's Vanilla Bean and Cannellini Bean Ice Cream. The full list of ingredients is cannellini beans, vanilla bean, sugar, and nutmeg.
Sage Ice Cream at :Pastry Studio.

Eggs on Sunday has Beet Bubbly. A drink made from beets, maple syrup, cayenne, and champagne (and more). Eggs on Sunday also had a Spiced Parsnip Pecan Cupcake. It's like carrot cake with parsnips instead of carrots. It's not that unusual, but it still keeps my brain swimming.

Chocolate Sauerkraut Cake at Kitchen M.
Baked Bean and Tomato Cupcakes with Tomato Cream Cheese Frosting at Cupcake Project. Black Bean Fudge Brownies at Cookthink.
Vegan Flourless Chocolate Cake at Novel Eats made with tofu and black eyed peas.

Drinking and Cancer in Women

2009-02-25T10:07:00.005-06:00

*%#@%&*!!!! In case you hadn't heard, a new study shows that drinking in women , even moderate drinking, causes cancer. The highlights of the study are as follows. It was a big study (1.3 million women over 7 years), so the results are probably accurate. One drawback to the study is that it didn't distinguish between women who drank one drink a day for seven day, and women who drank seven drinks in a row once a week. Researchers estimate that 5% of all cancers diagnosed in women is due to low to moderate alcohol consumption. Drinking accounts for 11% of the breast cancer. Two drinks per day increases your risk for breast cancer by 32%. Three of more drinks per day increases your risk by 51%. Also, if you drink and smoke, your risk of oral,throat, and esophageal cancer is increased more then in wome who just smoke.
Michael S. Lauer, MD and Paul Sorlie, PhD who conducted an accompanying study state:

"Even if there are modest beneficial cardiovascular effects, we still don't have a clear picture of the overall risks and benefits of low-to-moderate alcohol consumption," he says. And because heart disease kills mostly elderly women, and because more middle-aged women die from cancer, the findings seem to suggest that the risks of drinking outweigh the benefits in this age group, he says.

"It might be reasonable to suspect that many women in the lay public who are asking physicians about any possible safe effects of alcohol are middle-aged: for this large group, the only reasonable recommendation we can make is that there is no clear evidence that alcohol has medical benefits," Lauer and Sorlie wrote.

Found in previous studies, women have less of the enzyme that breaks down alcohol. This means drink for drink, women suffer more liver damage and get drunk faster.

On the flip side, the 120,000 strong nurses study (the theory is that nurses report accurately in health studies) showed that women who drink one drink a day live longer. One drink a day (no, you can't save them up for the weekend) is thought to protect you from heart disease, which kills more women (although usually older women) then cancer. Alcohol probably raises HDL (good cholesterol) levels, and reduces inflammation and blood clots. The nurses study showed that moderate drinking cuts your risk of heart disease in half.
It also protects against strokes and osteoporosis.

See the article on Web Md, US News and SF Gate.

Jambalaya

2009-02-24T19:28:00.004-06:00

It's Mardi Gras! Laissez les bon temps rouler. Back in the 80's, when Cajun food was all the rage, my mom clipped some of Chef Paul Prudhomme's recipes from a magazine. This recipe is adapted from that one. It was made originally from white rice. I always use brown rice. There are better jambalayas in the world, but this is mine.

CHICKEN JAMBALAYA

INGREDIENTS

2 Tbsp butter

1/2 LB smoked ham, diced

3/4 LB boneless, skinless chicken breast, diced

3 1/2 tsp Paul Prudohmme's Cajun poultry magic
OR
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp thyme
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp white pepper
1/4 tsp sage
pinch of cayenne pepper

1 cup chopped onions

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped green pepper

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1 1/2 cup long-grained white or brown rice

2 1/2 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1 cup tomatoes (I use one drained can)

1/2 cup tomato sauce (one small can)

If using brown rice, preheat the oven to 350. Melt butter (I add some of the butter and continue to add the rest as needed) in a Dutch oven over high heat. Add ham and cook until browned, about 3 minutes. Add chicken and 3 tsp seasoning mix; brown 5 minutes, stirring. Stir in onions, celery, pepper, and garlic; cook until vegetables are tender, about 7 minutes. Stir in rice, then chicken broth, tomatoes and sauce and remaining 1/2 tsp seasoning mix. Bring to boil.

For white rice: reduce the heat, cover and simmer about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

For brown rice: after bringing the mixture to a boil, place the covered dutch oven in the oven for 50-60 minutes or until the rice is done.

Iron Chef

2009-02-19T23:09:00.002-06:00

I was watching the Chairman on Iron Chef today. I was thinking to myself, I wonder how many takes it takes to film the scenes with the Chairman. If I were a chef on the show (which would require a horrible casting snafu followed by massive firings), I would not be able to keep a strait face. Turns out, neither can the chairman. Check out this video on youtube. (16 seconds)

Sodium Suprise

2009-02-18T20:17:00.003-06:00

Healthy adults should get no more then 2300 mg of sodium per day (about 1 tsp). You probably know to avoid soy sauce (1160 mg per T), chicken bullion (1,100 mg per cube), frozen dinners (Stoffers Lasagna with meat sauce has 930 mg, some have more), and cured meats.

You might know that these foods are high in salt, but might not know how high.
Ramen Noodle Soup Chicken flavor 770 mg 1/2 package or 1540 mg for the whole package
1 cup Clamato Juice 880 mg
Pickles 1 Vlasic kosher pickle spear (1/4 pickle) 280 mg sodium
4 green olives 330 mg
Schlotzky's Large Original sandwich 4,590mg (about 2 days worth)

But I bet the sodium in these foods would surprise you:
Prego Heart Smart Traditional Italian Sauce has 430 mg per 1/2 c serving.
Aunt Jemima Original Pancake and Waffle Mix has 200mg per pancake.
Chocolate Jello Instant Pudding has 420mg per serving.
Progresso 50% less sodium Chicken Noodle Soup is 470 mg per serving, but more then 1000 mg if you eat the whole can.
1/2 c 1% Cottage Cheese 360 mg
1 c Heart Healthy V8 juice 448 mg
1 Pepperidge Farm Whole Grain White Bagel 440 mg
Tall Starbucks Java Chip Frappuccino 220mg
McDonald's Premium Ceasar Salad with grilled chicken has 890 mg of sodium without dressing.
McDonald's Premium Ceasar Salad with grilled chicken has 890 mg of sodium without dressing. (in case you missed it)

Popcorn, Lesson, and a Tips

2009-02-17T18:52:00.006-06:00

First, I've decided to list my popcorn recipes separately. The single post was getting too long. The Honey butter post is new. The rest are old and just reposted.
I learned a cooking lesson yesterday. If you take a pan out of a really hot oven, make sure you have a good pot holder. I thought I did, but it only looked heavy duty. When you're cooking over 400 degrees, it's a good idea to uses a oven mitt designed for a barbecue. I was making these pork chops with red onion jam stuffing with port and dried cherries and dates and smothered with bleu cheese. They sound amazing don't they. They look pretty amazing too. Too bad they were a ton of work and just pretty good. I won't be making them again.
Here's my tip. When you do inevitably burn yourself while cooking, ice the heck out of your injury. I prefer to use frozen juice cans to ice my cooking burn. The plastic on the outside protects you a bit from the ice being too cold. Also, you can refreeze the juice cans. I keep switching them out as they warm up. Keep icing your finger for hours until it doesn't hurt when you remove the ice. I wrapped a blue ice block in a t-shirt and took it to bed with me. The several hours of icing payed off. My finger is almost back to normal today. No blister at all and just a little tender.

Honey Butter Popcorn

2009-02-17T10:09:00.006-06:00

This recipe is based on this post on slash food. The original recipe uses more butter and honey and the stove. I cut down the butter and use the microwave to make things easier and cut a few calories.

Honey Butter Popcorn
INGREDIENTS
1 Batch of Popcorn (I like white popcorn)
1 T butter
1-1 1/2 tsp honey (I eyeballed about 1/3 to 1/2 the volume of the butter)
salt

Heat butter and honey in the microwave until bubbling. This took less then 30 seconds in my slow microwave. Pour over the popcorn and salt.

Chocolate Almond Popcorn

2009-02-17T10:03:00.008-06:00

I make this popcorn in a whirly pop brand popcorn popper. It’s a popcorn popper that you put directly on the stove and turn a manual crank that stirs the popcorn in the popper This recipe is adaped from one in the book that came with the whirly pop.

CHOCOLATE ALMOND POPCORN

INGREDIENTS
1 c sliced almonds
1 c chocolate (white, dark, or milk)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 c popcorn (I like white popcorn)
1/4 c oil
1/4 c sugar

I add 1 cup total of additions. I'm still experimenting, but I'm thinking of things like nuts, raisins, dried cranberries and pretzils)

Place chocolate chips in the food processor. Pulse a few times until the chips are chopped into smaller pieces. (you can skip this step if you use mini chips. Add chocolate and almonds (and dried fruit or pretzels if using) to a large bowl. Add salt, sugar, oil, and popcorn to the Whirly Pop and pop as directed. Pour immediately into the bowl with the chocolate and nuts. Immediately stir to coat. Once the popcorn is coated, let it sit to cool. (If you can) After the popcorn has cooled it will more easily break into pieces. It tastes much better after it cools and is less messy. Don't forget to lick the bowl. :)

Tobasco Popcorn

2009-02-17T10:01:00.002-06:00

TABASCO POPCORN

I stole this recipe from my neighbor Sue. Just make your regular popcorn with butter and salt. But, before you add the melted butter, mix an equal amount of Tabasco with it. Then add the Tabasco/butter mixture to the popcorn and salt. For the calorie conscious, you can skip the butter altogether and just add drops of Tabasco to the popcorn.

Red/Green Popcorn (or any other color)

2009-02-17T09:52:00.010-06:00

You can make this popcorn in red and green for Christmas. The popcorn in the second picture is red, "white", and blue for the fourth of July. You can also make it in a mix of pastels for Easter or in your favorite team colors. I make this popcorn in a whirly pop brand popcorn popper. It’s a popcorn popper that you put directly on the stove and turn a manual crank that stirs the popcorn in the popper.
For Christmas gifts see also my red hot popcorn recipe and my cinnamon crunch popcorn recipe. This recipe came from the cookbook that came with the whirly pop popper.

Red Green Popcorn

INGREDIENTS
1/3 c unpopped popcorn
1/4 c sugar
1/4 c oil
1/4 tsp salt, optional

a few drops of food coloring, optional (use more for blue or purple)

Put all ingredients in popcorn popper (whirly pop). Pop until the popping almost stops and pour into a bowl. Pop only one color at a time and wash the popper before you make another color.

Cinnamon Crunch Popcorn

2009-02-17T09:48:00.007-06:00

I make this popcorn in a whirly pop brand popcorn popper. It’s a popcorn popper that you put directly on the stove and turn a manual crank that stirs the popcorn in the popper. This popcorn recipe is my personal favorite. This recipe came from the book that cake with the whirly pop.
Cinnamon Crunch Popcorn

INGREDIENTS
2 tsp cinnamon
1 T sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 c popcorn (I like white popcorn)
1/4 c oil
1/4 c sugar
1/4 tsp salt (optional)

Mix the cinnamon, sugar, and salt and set aside. Put oil and sugar and popcorn in the popcorn popper (whirly-pop). Pop the popcorn until the popping almost stops. Pour into a large bowl and immediately coat with cinnamon sugar mixture. Cool and store in an airtight container.

Red Hot Popcorn

2009-02-17T09:42:00.008-06:00

I make this popcorn in a whirly pop brand popcorn popper. It’s a popcorn popper that you put directly on the stove and turn a manual crank that stirs the popcorn in the popper. Red hot coated popcorn. What more could you want. One tip. The spiciness of red hots permeates the air and can get into your eyes. Turn on the fan above to stove as you pop the popcorn. As soon as you are done, run hot water in your whirly pop popper. This recipe came from the book that came with the whirly pop.

Red Hot Popcorn

INGREDIENTS
1/3 c popcorn (I like whites)
1/3 c red hot candies
2 T oil

Place all the ingredients in a whirley-pop popcorn popper. Pop as directed. The red hots will melt and coat the popcorn as it pops.

Ginger Ale

2009-02-12T13:07:00.003-06:00

A few days ago I saw the Good Eats show on Ginger. I was totally fascinated. Ginger Ale and candied ginger. I made the ginger ale. It's pretty good, but not great. An easier way to make your own ginger ale would be to add the ginger syrup to club soda. I think making ginger ale is fun however and will make it again. When I make it again I will
1) Be sure to follow the directions and cover the syrup while it steeps. Woops. I think that's why my ginger ale doesn't have enough ginger flavor.
2) I will open the ginger ale with extreme caution. I sprayed about one cup around my kitchen in a huge fountain. It looked like someone dropped an Altoids into a bottle of pop.
In the spring, I'm going to try replacing the ginger with rhubarb and to make rhubarb ale.

Ginger Ale
INGREDIENTS
1 1/2 oz finely grated ginger (I used a micro-plane zester)
6 oz sugar
7 1/2 c filtered water (I used tap water)
1/8 tsp yeast
2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice (I used bottled)

Place ginger, sugar and 1/2 c water in a 2 quart saucepan over medium high heat. Stir until sugar has dissolved. Remove from the heat, cover and allow to steep for one hour.
Pour the ginger syrup through a fine mesh strainer set over a bowl, pressing down to get all the juice out of the ginger. Chill quickly but putting the bowl in another bowl with ice in it or by setting it uncovered in the refrigerator until it reaches room temperature.
Using a funnel, pour syrup into a clean 2 litter pop bottle. Add the yeast, lemon juice and 7 cups of water. Cover and shake gently. Leave at room temperature for 48 hours. After 48 hours open the bottle with EXTREME CAUTION to check for carbonation. If it is as carbonated as you would like, place it in the refrigerator. If you would like more carbonation, let it sit at room temperature later. Store for up to two weeks. Open the bottle at least once a day (very cautiously) to let out excess carbonation.

This is Why You're Fat

2009-02-10T22:16:00.004-06:00

Prepare to be grossed out at This is why you're fat. Tacos with bacon for a shell. Turbaconucken (it's completely wrapped in bacon). Bacon cheese burger with Jamaican beef patties as the bun. That's just the first two pages. I'm perplexed. On the flip side, the sweets make total sense to me. Deep fried candy bars. A brownie wrapped in peanut butter, wrapped in cookie dough and deep fried. I could eat me one of those.
Ahhhhh! A cheese stuffed, deep fried ground bacon burger.
Is it wrong that I think the Snack Stadium is awesome? I want one complete with blimp. How many more months until football starts?

Bulgur and Mushroom Pilaf

2009-02-10T21:23:00.004-06:00

If you like to cook a meat, a vegetable, and a starch, this recipe could help shake things up a bit in the starch section of your plate. It's a pretty quick recipe. When I made this I just skipped the porcini mushrooms. I'm sure they would be good. I didn't have them, so I didn't bother. I just skipped ahead to step 2 and added 1 c water where it called for soaking liquid. Bonus. Bulgur is a whole grain. Make sure you get bulgur wheat and not cracked wheat. They look the same, but aren't. This recipe is from the cookbook "The Quick Recipe from the Editor's of Cook's Illustrated Magazine".

BULGUR AND MUSHROOM PILAF

Serves 4 to 6

INGREDIENTS

½ oz Dried porcini mushrooms

3 T unsalted butter

1 medium onion, chopped fine

1/4 tsp salt

8 oz cremini (preferably) or white button mushrooms, stem ends trimmed, quartered (or cut into 6 pieces if large)

2 medium cloves garlic, minced or pressed through a garlic press (about 2 tsp)

1 ½ c bulgur, preferably medium-grain

1 3/4 c canned low-sodium chicken broth

1 ½ tsp soy sauce

1/4 c chopped fresh parsley

ground black pepper

1. Mix the dried porcini mushrooms with ½ cup hot tap water in a small microwave-safe bowl. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap, cut several steam vents with a paring knife, and microwave on high power for 30 seconds. Let stand until the mushrooms soften, about 5 minutes. Lift the mushrooms from the liquid with a fork and mince. Pour the liquid through a small strainer lined with a single layer of paper towel and placed over a measuring cup. Add enough water to the soaking liquid to total 1 cup and set aside.

2. Meanwhile, melt the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat. When the foaming subsides, add the onion and 1/4 teaspoon salt and cook, stirring occasionally until the onion has softened, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the fresh mushrooms and cook until reduced in volume and beginning to brown, 3 to 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in bulgur, broth, soy sauce, and reserved mushroom soaking liquid and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to low, and simmer until the bulgur is tender, about 15 minutes. Using a fork, stir in the parsley and fluff the bulgur. Adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Antiboitics in Honey and Mercury in High Fructose Corn Syrup

2009-01-30T11:57:00.004-06:00

I found this article on mercury contaminated corn syrup via Tiny Morsels. Mercury is found in nearly 50% of corn syrup samples. It appears the caustic soda used to separate the corn starch from the corn kernel is the likely source of the contamination. Another reason not to feed your kids high fructose syrup corn syrup.
My sister sent me this article on honey contaminated with antibiotics that are illegal in the US. 2/3 of US honey is imported. Half of that (no mater what the label says about country of origin) is from China and could be contaminated with antibiotics that are illegal in the US. No one is really testing for antibiotic contamination. Just another reason to buy local honey. Bees make local honey from flowers (most likely). Honey from major companies is often made from bees fed sugar syrup.
See also my previous post on why to buy local honey.

Date-Spice Chiffon Cake

2009-01-28T17:01:00.006-06:00

Happy Birthday Auntie Ruth. Ruth is allergic to dairy, so I knew the restaurant we went to would not have a birthday cake for her. I decided to make her a birthday cake. In the gold standard cookbook "Cooks Illustrated's The New Best Recipe" I found several chiffon cake recipes, all dairy free. I went with the date-spice version, but the orange-cranberry chiffon cake was a close runner up. Despite the admonishments to beat the whites until they are very stiff, I still don't think mine were stiff enough. All my date sank to the bottom and therefore ended up on top of the cake. My aunt said they were like frosting. They kind of were. The cake was pretty ugly, but was very moist and had good flavor. IMHO this cake is much better then an angel food cake. However, the texture is still too close to an angel food cake (which I hate) for my taste. But if chiffon cake is your thing, this is a good one, even when made by a cake making novice like me.
When my mom was 2 years old and my Aunt Ruth was 4 they snuck into the car by themselves. Ruth kept pushing the starter button (I don't know what that is either), which sent the car lurching forward six inches each time she pushed it. My mom was jumping up and down in the passenger seat yelling repeatedly "Go Ruthie!!". I agree.
Go Ruthie!!
They made it a whole block.

Date-Spice Chiffon Cake
Do not under beat the egg whites. If the egg whites are not very stiff, the cake will not rise properly, and the bottom will be heavy, dense, wet, and custard-like. Better to overbeat then underbeat. If you overbeat the egg whites and they end up dry and "blocky" you can smudge and smear the recalcitrant (whatever that means) clumps with the flat side of the spatula to break them up.

INGREDIENTS

CAKE
1 1/2 c packed (10 1/2 oz) dark brown sugar
3/4 c chopped dates
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1 1/3 c (5 1/3 oz) plain cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
7 large eggs, 2 whole, 5 separated, at room temperature
3/4 c water
1/2 c vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp cream of tartar

GLAZE
4 T butter, melted (or dairy free margarine)
4-5 T coffee
2 C (8 oz) sifted confectioners' sugar

1. FOR THE CAKE: Adjust the oven rack to the lower-middle position and heat the oven to 325 degrees. Process dates in a food processor until dates are reduced to 1/8-inch bits. Process all dry ingredients (up to salt on the ingredient list) until any lumps of brown sugar are pulverized. Transfer dry ingredients to a bowl and whisk in egg yolks, water, oil, and vanilla until batter is just smooth.

2. Pour the reserved egg whites into the bowl of a standing mixer; beat at low speed until foamy, about 1 minute. Add the cream of tartar, gradually increase the speed to medium-high, and beat the whites until very thick and stiff, just short of dry (as little as 7 minutes in a standing mixer and as long as 10 minutes with a handheld mixer.). With a large rubber spatula, fold the whites into the batter, smearing in any blobs of white that resists blending with the flat side of the spatula.

3. Pour the batter into an ungreased large tube (angel food) pan (9-inch diameter, 16-cup capacity). Rap the pan against the counter top 5 times to rupture any large air pockets. If using a pan with a removable bottom grasp both sides with your hands while firmly pressing down on the tube with your thumbs to keep the batter from seeping from the pan during the rapping process. Wipe off any batter that may have dripped of splashed onto the inside walls of the pan with a paper towel.

4. Bake the cake until a toothpick or thin skewer inserted in the center comes out clean, 55-65 minutes. Immediately turn the cake upside down to cool. If the pan does not have prongs around the rim for elevating the cake, invert the pan on the the neck of a bottle or funnel. Let the cake cool completely 2 to 3 hours.

5. To unmold, turn the pan upright. Run a thin knife around the pan's circumference between the cake and the pan wall, always pressing against the pan. Use a skewer to loosen the cake from the tube. For a one piece pan, bang it on the counter top several times, then invert it over a serving plate. For a two piece pan, grasp the tube and lift the cake out of the pan. If glazing the cake, use a fork or a pairing knife to gently scrape all the crust off the cake. Loosen the cake from the pan bottom with a spatula or knife, then invert onto a serving plate. (The cake can be wrapped in plastic and stored at room temperature for up to 2 days or refrigerated for up to 4 days.)

6. FOR THE GLAZE: Beat the melted butter, 4 T (1/4 c) coffee,, and the confectioners' sugar in a medium bowl until smooth. Let the glaze stand 1 minute, then try spreading a little on the cake. If the cake starts to tear, thin the glaze with up to 1 T coffee. A little at a time, spread the glaze over the cake top, letting any excess dribble down the sides. Let the cake stand until the glaze dries, about 30 minutes. If you like, spread the dribbles (before they have a chance to harden) to make a thin smooth coat. Serve.

Pisole

2009-01-21T19:31:00.004-06:00

This vegetarian soup is quick, easy, good, and healthy. What more could you want? It does have a bit of spicy heat, so it's not ideal for most kids. The ingredient list makes this soup look daunting, but there is only a small amount of chopping, a quick saute, lots of opening cans, and dumping. The original recipe included pork. If you want pork, coat some pork pieces in flour and saute then in oil before you add them to the soup. This was my recipe originally, but my sister Julie has probably made pisole 50 times more then I have. So, maybe it's Julie's recipe now? This soup freezes well. Hominy is sold in the Mexican food section of the supermarket. There is yellow and white hominy. I've never noticed a difference in taste. I usually get one can of each to make the soup more fancier. I serve this with whole grain cornbread muffins. I don't speak Spanish, and this may or may not be misspelled.

PISOLE

INGREDIENTS

¼ c vegetable oil

1 medium onion, chopped (about 1/2 c)

1/4 c carrots, chopped

1/4 c celery, chopped

1 clove garlic, pressed through a garlic press

1 T chili powder

2 cups cooked pinto beans (or just use one can)

2 15 oz cans hominy, drained

¼ c chopped greed chilies or green pepper (or just use one can)
1 15 oz can chopped tomatoes

4 c vegetable (or chicken) broth

1 tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

1 ½ tsp dried oregano leaves

1 small onion chopped (about 1/4 c)

¼ c snipped cilantro

Saute 1/2 c onion, 1/4 c carrot, and 1/4 c celery until tender. About a minute before the onion/carrot/celery mixture is done, add the garlic and chili powder. Saute one minute. Add all the remaining ingredients except onion and cilantro. Heat to a boil, reducing heat . Cover and simmer 30 to 40 minutes. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 c chopped onion and cilantro.

Bacon Fun, Part Seven

2009-01-21T17:49:00.006-06:00

It all started when I found some fun bacon cups and curls on notmartha.org. Then I started adding links to unusual bacon recipes as I came across them while surfing the net. Innocent fun... Bacon fun. (search bacon fun on my blog for more entries) Well, the bacon fun has come home to roost. The above picture is my Christmas present from my sister and brother-in-law. They both have a great sense of humor. The verdict? Bacon salt is kind of good, kind of weird. It's pretty good on eggs. I don't recommend it, but its not terrible. Oh, and they also got me this...

Who wouldn't need six kinds of bacon salt?Oh, and they also got me this...

Baconaise. Again, kind of good, kind of weird. It doesn't taste like bacon exactly. It's reminiscent of bacon flavor, but not bacon flavor. I've had this flavor before, but I can't place it for sure. If I were to guess, I'd guess it was a dip for a bloomin' onion somewhere. I'll eat it until it's gone, but I probably won't get more. My mom likes baconaise and barbecue sauce on her burgers. Oh, and they also got me this...
Bacon flavored chapstick. Just what I needed. Teaching my dog not to lick my face has just become a bit more difficult. What does it taste like? Liquid smoke chapstick.

Want more bacon fun? How about a chocolate bacon eclair? Or maybe a bacon chocolate cupcake with carmel frosting? Who could resist Elvis's Bacon Peanut Butter and Jelly Sandwich (Fool's Gold Loaf) from the Coachman Hotel at the annual Parks Elvis Festival ?

Geek Cakes for a Geek Family

2009-01-12T11:24:00.003-06:00

I found this post today. I'm a total geek. I admit it. I'd love the #2 and #18 Star Wars cakes. I'm a sci-fi girl (among other geek traits). My whole family is full of geeks. How can you tell? Post # 7 has a reference to my sister Kristy of Craftastica's Wii caketastrophy. Years prior she would have stayed up all night and made a new Wii cake. But since she had a baby, she decided to be a grown-up and go to bed. This was the first post from her blog to receive a lot of attention. Post # 10 is Tux the Linux penguin. Tux is the Linux Logo that was designed by my brother in law. In our family Tux is affectionately known as Pengie. My other brother in law would love the amazing #14 Mario cart cake. Yup, Geeks.

Snow Cake

2009-01-12T08:40:00.003-06:00

This is the cake my sister Kristy made for my Mom's birthday. Click here for her post about it.

Potato Pancakes

2009-01-08T10:15:00.002-06:00

These weren't as good as I remembered. Then I remembered that they never were that spectacular. But they are easy and different. You don't have to shred potatoes, you just blend and cook. Serve these pancakes with applesauce or ketchup. I like my sweet potato pancake version of this recipe better.

POTATO PANCAKES

INGREDIENTS

2 eggs

1 small onion, peeled and cut into large pieces

1 tsp salt

2 T flour

1/4 tsp baking powder

3 raw potatoes, peeled and cubed

Put all the ingredients in a blender or food processor and blend until smooth. Pour in 4 to 6 inch size pancakes on an oiled pan. Cook like pancakes. Make sure the pancakes are cooked through.

Fancy Pants

2009-01-03T20:13:00.002-06:00

My sister, who's pants are never fancy, must have been wearing fancy pants when she made this seven layer dip for my Mom's birthday.

Kristy's Hot Chocolate (Cocoa)

2008-12-31T09:54:00.003-06:00

In October, when my sister was visiting, she perfected this recipe. It's great when you have a crowd for cocoa. In fact, we had one yesterday when all the kids were playing in the snow. This is decadent and delicious despite a relatively small amount of sugar. Dutch cocoa would work best for this, but regular old Hershey's cocoa works well. As a side note I've been saying on my blog that Hershey's Special Dark Cocoa is dutch cocoa. Turns out it's a blend of natural and dutch cocoas. I recently tried it and it's flavor is weird. It's not terrible, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Kristy's Hot Chocolate

INGREDIENTS
3/8 c (6T) sugar
3 T natural (regular) cocoa
heaping T dutch cocoa
1/3 c water
good pinch of salt

4 c milk (I use 1%, but whole milk would be even better.)

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Combine the first four ingredients in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil and cook until dissolved.
2. Add milk and heat to temperature. I'd suggest just below a boil.
3. Stir in vanilla just before serving.

Oyster Crackers with Dill and Ranch

2008-12-30T11:51:00.003-06:00

This is a more recent family tradition. We've been making these off and on since the late 80's. I think next year I may look for a different kind of cracker to make this with, something whole wheat. The oyster crackers are a bit blah as a cracker base. I do love this spice combo. This recipe is from my Dad's Aunt Mavis. I reduced the amount of oil.

OYSTER CRACKERS

INGREDIENTS

1/8 (2 T)cup oil

1/2 tsp garlic salt

1/2 tsp dill weed

1 pkg. Hidden Valley Ranch dressing

1 pkg. Oyster crackers

Warm the oil. Drizzle some of the oil over the crackers. Stir. Drizzle, stir, drizzle, stir until most of the crackers are coated. Add the spices and stir.

Doughnuts and Rosettes

2008-12-21T09:12:00.006-06:00

Last week I went to "Santa Claus Day" down at the town hall. The local Lions club serves a pancakes and sausage breakfast. The Lutheran choir (of about 10 people) sang carols. Later that day Santa came. Each child told Santa what they wanted for Christmas and then received a paper bag full of candy and peanuts in the shell. I actually went home before that. I got a ride downtown to the hall from someone who lives out of town and there was a big blizzard. In fact this is the third weekend in a row where there was a blizzard and 40 below wind chill. Lovely. I assume Santa Claus Day continued the same way as usual. It's been the same for 30 years. . I bought these doughnuts and rosettes from the Lutheran bake sale. The doughnuts were a blast from the past from my childhood. They are the yeast doughnuts you used to be able to get at a small town cafe. Small town cafe's still make doughnuts, but they tend to be too greasy now and just not as good. Not these doughnuts though. They were amazing. Perfect texture and flavor. One day I'll learn to make them. The rosettes I remember from my childhood too. A rosette shaped iron is dipped into batter and then deep fried and sprinkled with powdered sugar. My grandma used to make them. I think they are either Swedish or Norwegian.
*I deleted a few sentences from this blog since I'm not sure they were true. What can I say. It's a few days before Christmas and I'm tired.

Tomato Soup from Canned Tomatoes

2008-12-19T20:41:00.003-06:00

I don't know if it's Campbell's tomato soup has changed or if my taste has changed. But,is seems as if the Campbell's tomato soup is a whole lot sweeter then it used to be. It also tastes a whole lot like corn syrup. I've mused over the idea of making soup from canned tomatoes for a few years. Then I came across this post with general instructions. I had to give it a try. This is the recipe I came up with.
See also my recipe for tomato soup from fresh tomatoes.

Tomato Soup from Canned Tomatoes

INGREDIENTS
oil to saute
1 onion
3 cloves garlic
3 14.5 oz cans tomatoes
1 15 oz can vegetable or chicken broth
1 tsp salt
1 tsp honey
2 c milk

In a dutch oven, saute onion and garlic in oil over medium high heat until soft. Add tomatoes, broth, salt and honey. Simmer 45 minutes. Puree with an immersion blender until smooth. Add milk. Heat until warm. Serve. You can freeze leftovers.

Chili and Vegetarian Chili

2008-12-14T15:27:00.004-06:00

A few years ago they had a chili cook off at the local bar during a football game. I wasn't aware this was happening before I got there or I would have brought a crock pot full. While I was sampling the chili I pondered this question "Which chili would the local, mostly farmer, crowd find least offensive? My chili with TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein), my sister's chili with Bulgar wheat, or my *no rules* sister's chili with green peas." I still sometimes ponder this years later. Now I make my vegetarian chili with Bulgar wheat in place of the hamburger. I ran out of TVP and didn't want to buy more just for chili. The vegetarian chili also omits the Worcestershire sauce. Worcestershire contains a small amount of anchovies. It's a stealthy non vegetarian ingredient.
I recommend using the Penzy's medium hot chili powder. I recently switched to Penzy's chili powder. It changed the chili I've been making for maybe 20 years from good to fantastic. If you order online, I suggest you get the spices in bags rather then the glass jars. It's a better value.
Try this with my cornmeal muffins and a sprinkling of cheddar cheese. This recipe is adapted from "The Frugal Gourmet Cooks American".

Chili (pictured)
INGREDIENTS
1 lb lean hamburger
2 T oil
1 large yellow onion, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
3 T chili powder or to taste (I prefer Penzy's medium hot chili powder)
1 T cumin
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 28 oz (or two 15 oz) cans of diced tomatoes
1 green pepper, chopped
2 15 oz cans kidney beans
salt to taste

Brown hamburger in the oil along with onion, garlic, and chili powder. Drain any excess fat. Add remaining ingredients and simmer, stirring 1 1/2 hours. The chili is much better the second day.

Vegetarian Chili
INGREDIENTS
2 T oil
1 large yellow onion, peeled and chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
3 T chili powder or to taste (I prefer penzy's medium chili powder)
1 T cumin
1 28 oz (or two 14.5 oz) cans of diced tomatoes
1 green pepper, chopped
2 15 oz cans kidney beans
1 15 oz can water
1/2 c Bulgar wheat
salt to taste

Saute the onion, garlic and chili powder in the oil. Add remaining ingredients and simmer, stirring 1 1/2 hours. The chili is much better the second day.

Apple Sauce and Cranberry Ginger Applesauce

2008-12-08T19:40:00.004-06:00

I had a ton of apples from my tree this year. So, I decided to try my hand at applesauce. First, I made the unsweetened apple sauce. This was quite good, but a bit flat for my taste. I made several batches for baby food for all the babies I know. I didn't add lemon or fruit fresh since I'm not up on the current baby feeding rules. The recipe is from this post.

In the second recipe I added a mere 1/4 c sugar and a cinnamon stick. This took the applesauce from very good to spectacular. I'm still not a huge fan of the texture of applesauce, but I really like this version. I plan to serve it with potato pancakes for breakfast over Christmas vacation.

The cinnamon ginger applesauce is good also. I cut the amount of sugar way down from the original recipe. My family is a huge fan of tart. I may cut the sugar down even more next time. 1 used 1 T ginger as called for in the original recipe. The ginger was a bit too pronounced for my personal taste, so I cut the amount in half in the recipe below. If you prefer sweeter applesauce with more ginger (as I suspect many people would) check out the original post on Pinch My Salt. If you want to get all Martha Stewart you could serve the cranberry applesauce with my sweet potato pancakes (without the spices).

***Instead of coring and cutting the apples into pieces, I used an apple/corer/slicer/peeler. The peeling part of my machine hasn't worked for years. That's not a problem since the food mill filters out the peels anyway. Once the apples are sliced, make one cut down the apples to make apple circles. If you own one of these machines, that will make sense to you. If you have an apple tree, the corer/slicer/peeler is a worthwhile investment.

Apple Sauce (unsweetened)
INGREDIENTS
10-12 lbs of apples or enough to fill a 12 quart stock pot, cored and chopped
1/2 c water
lemon juice or fruit fresh (optional to prevent browning)

Place ingredients in a stock pot. Bring to a boil. Simmer 30 minutes. Stir several times to move the top apples to the bottom. When the apples are soft, it's done. Run the contents through a food mill and discard the solids.

Cinnamon Apple Sauce
INGREDIENTS
10-12 lbs of apples or enough to fill a 10-quart stock pot
1/2 c water
1/4 c sugar
1 cinnamon stick
1 T lemon juice (or fruit fresh in an undetermined amount)

Place all ingredients in the stock pot with the cinnamon stick on the bottom. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer 30 minutes. Stir the apples several times to move the bottom apples to the top. As it cooks, the apples will release more water. When all the apples are soft, it is done. Remove cinnamon stick and run the contents of the pot through a food mill. Discard the solids left in the food mill.

Cranberry Ginger Apple Sauce
INGREDIENTS
4-5 lbs baking apples, quartered and cored (or use the apple/corer/peeler)
1/2 c water
1 T lemon juice
1 12 oz package of cranberries
1/2 c sugar
1/2 T grated ginger
pinch of salt

Place all ingredients in a dutch oven. Bring the water to a boil. Cover the pot and simmer 30 minutes. Stir the applesauce a few times, moving the top apples to the bottom. When the apples are mushy it is done. Run everything through the food mill. Discard the peels left in the food mill.

Bacon Fun, part six

2008-11-20T23:41:00.005-06:00

Oh, the fun you can have with bacon.

Here is a post discussing the techniques for adding bacon to rice crispy bars. The bacon brittle discussed at the beginning sounds promising.

Apartment therapy has a post about making your own bacon.

Bacon Tiara! at The Anticraft.

Contrasting iconic healthy food with iconic unhealthy food with bacon wrapped bean sprouts at Chop Chop A to Z.

Bacon Today presents the bacon cinnamon roll.

Eli Cooks brings us the bacon apple pie, complete with bacon lattice top.

Apartment therapy showcases the vegan and kosher baconnaise. The bacon salt has potential too.

German Apple Pancake (Pannakuken)

2008-11-19T13:48:00.011-06:00

If you are from the Fargo area, you probably remember the Pannakuken Restaurant. When they brought out a pannakuken, the waitresses would run from the kitchen shouting PANNAKUKEN!!! I never made it to the restaurant, but I've seen it imitated enough to feel as if I had been there. College was divided into two camps: People who would consider being a waitress and yelling PANNAKUKEN!!! and people who would NEVER consider working there. The debate was ongoing. I was part of the "would consider it" camp, and my roommate belongs to the "would never consider it" camp.

A few notes on the recipe:

The first time I made this recipe I liked it more then the second time I made it. I'd suggest making apple crisp instead. It's a better apple recipe. Pannakuken is very sweet. The recipe says it serves four, but I'd suggest serving 6-8 people. I'd also suggest serving it as the dessert part of your breakfast or as actual dessert. The pannakuken took longer to cook in my oven then the recipe states. That may just be my oven however. I didn't peel the apples. I have an apple tree and was over the idea of peeling by the time I made this recipe. Oops, my camera ran out of batteries before I took a picture with the powdered sugar sprinkled on the top. This recipe came from "Cooks Illustrated The New Best Recipe".

GERMAN APPLE PANCAKE (PANNAKUKEN)

A 10-inch ovenproof skillet is necessary for this recipe; we highly recommend using a nonstick skillet for the sake of easy cleanup, but a regular skillet will work as well. You can also use a cast-iron pan; if you do, set the oven temperature to 425 degrees in step 1, and when cooking the apples in step 3, cook them only until just barely golden, about 6 minutes. Cast iron retains heat better than stainless steel, making the higher oven temperature unnecessary. If you prefer tart apples, use Granny Smiths; if you prefer sweet ones, use Braeburns. For serving, dust the apple pancake with confectioners' sugar and pass warm maple syrup or caramel sauce separately, if desired.

INGREDIENTS

1/2 c flour

1 T sugar

1/2 tsp table salt

2 eggs

2/3 c half and half

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 T Butter

1 1/4 lb granny smith or baeburn apples (3 to 4 large apples), peeled, quartered, cored, and cut into 1/2 inch thick slices

1/4 c brown sugar

1/4 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp lemon juice

confectioners sugar for dusting

1. Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position; heat oven to 500 degrees.

2. Whisk to combine flour, granulated sugar, and salt in medium bowl. In second medium bowl, whisk eggs half-and-half, and vanilla until combined. Add liquid ingredients to dry and whisk until no lumps remains, about 20 seconds; set batter aside.

3. Heat butter in 10-inch ovenproof nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until sizzling. Add apples, brown sugar and cinnamon; cook, stirring frequently with a heatproof rubber spatula, until apples are golden brown, about 10 minutes. Off heat, stir in lemon juice.

4. Working quickly, pour batter around the outside edge of the pan

and then over the apples. Place skillet in oven and immediately reduce oven temperature to 425 degrees; bake until pancake edges are brown and puffy and have risen above edges of skillet, about 18 minutes. Mine took much longer, but I think my oven temperature is a bit off.

5. Shout Pannakuken at the top of your lungs while running through the house.

6. Using oven mitts to protect hands, remove hot skillet from oven and loosen pancake edges with a heatproof spatula; invert pancake onto serving platter. Dust with confectioners' sugar, cut into wedges and serve.

Cream Cheese Mints

2008-11-05T09:05:00.008-06:00

When I was growing up wedding menus were all the same. The church ladies (women who attended the church) made all the food. You could choose between a ham or a turkey sandwich on a white bun with cheese and mayo. At the end of the buffet line were these wonderful cream cheese mints. They were always green leaf shapes and pink and white flower shapes. At every wedding I would wait until all the people had gone through the food line. When it was polite (loosely speaking) I would gorge myself on whatever cream cheese mints were still sitting out.

I helped make the mints for a friend of the family's wedding about ten years ago. Man they were a lot of work. My sister (the cake maker) is visiting now and made the mints with her three year old daughter. Turns out they are only a lot of work if you make a thousand mints. A small batch is quick and easy. Sadly, if I was making these I'd just sit down with the batter and a big spoon. But if you're less of a piggy then me (snort), this is a good recipe to make with kids. The dough is play-doughish and fun for kids to make into shapes. The mints can be colored with food coloring if you like.

Cream Cheese Mints
INGREDIENTS
2 oz cream cheese
2 tsp butter
2 c powdered sugar
1/3 tsp peppermint extract
food coloring (optional)

Combine the ingredients. You can do it by hand with a recipe this size or you can use a mixer. Knead the "dough" a bit to make sure the ingredients are evenly distributed. Shape. We did this by hand in our house like you would with play dough. You can also use molds of leaves and flowers. Dry 2 hrs at room temperature. This is the hardest step for a preschooler. Refrigerate.

Ruben Dip

2008-10-19T16:19:00.003-05:00

This recipe was a hit. It's a Ruben, but in dip form. What's not to like. You can pretend that the yogurt dressing makes it into health food too. It doesn't really, but it does cut out some fat. If you like, you can make half a recipe. Cut the loaf of bread in half. Slice a bit off the bottom so it will set flat (pictured). Go Vikings! (Caution: The Vikings have lost both times I made this. This recipe might be a jinx.)

RUBEN DIP

INGREDIENTS

2 recipes yogurt thousand island dressing

1 8-oz container pastrami, chopped (about 1 1/2 c)

3/4 c grated Swiss cheese + and extra 1/4 c grated Swiss

1 c sauerkraut with the water squeezed out

A round loaf of pumpernickel bread

Preheat oven to 350. Combine the thousand island, pastrami, 3/4 c of the grated Swiss cheese, and sauerkraut. Cut the loaf of pumpernickel into a bread bowl. Cut the extra bread into cubes. Fill the bread bowl with the Ruben dip mixture. Bake 30 minutes. Top the Ruben dip with the extra 1/4 c Swiss cheese. Return bread bowl to the oven and place bread cubes in the oven. Bake an additional 10 minutes. Serve the bread cubes around the Ruben dip bread bowl.

Yogurt Thousand Island Dressing

2008-10-19T16:18:00.003-05:00

This recipe is based on a America's Test Kitchen recipe. I replace the mayo with yogurt cheese. I also omit the egg ( I don't like boiled eggs) and replace the sweet pickles (I don't like sweet pickles) with dill pickle relish. You can choose to thin this out with water or milk or just leave it thick.

YOGURT THOUSAND ISLAND DRESSING
INGREDIENTS
1 small garlic clove, minced to a paste with 1/4 tsp salt
1T green olives with pimentos, chopped (3-4 olives)
1/4 C minced sweet pickle (I used pickle relish)
1/2 hard boiled egg, peeled and minced (optional)
1 T minced fresh parsley
1 tsp lemon juice
pinch ground black pepper
1/2 c yogurt cheese
2 T chili sauce
1 T water or milk

Mix all ingredients. until combined.

Guacamole

2008-10-18T13:43:00.003-05:00

I use my fresh salsa (previous post) to make guacamole. You may want to omit the salt. I'm going heavy on the salt these days.

GUACAMOLE

INGREDIENTS

2 small avocados

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp lime juice

1/4 c salsa

Mash the avocados, salt and lime juice together with a fork. Stir in the salsa (I use my fresh salsa).

Salsa

2008-10-18T13:32:00.004-05:00

I've been making salsa for years. There used to be a green house in town that grew fresh tomatoes. It was so awesome. I had an endless supply of cheap, fresh, vine ripened tomatoes. I miss you green house. Recently I received a few tomatoes from my gardening aunt and uncle that I turned into salsa. I actually took the time to write down some amounts this time. Now people who want the recipe have actual amounts, instead of just a list of ingredients. You will still have to adjust for seasoning because each batch of salsa is different. I've found that if you think your salsa needs something, what it usually needs is salt. My second guess would be more cumin. The salsa will end up watery when made from fresh tomatoes. Your instinct is to drain off some of the "water". If you do that, it will just make more "water" within a half a day. I serve it with a slotted spoon and call it good. My salsa is not very hot. If you want it hotter, you can add the seeds and ribs of the hot pepper (jalapeno) or just add more. You could also add more Tabasco. Also, each jalapeno is unique. To get the same amount of heat sometimes it will take half a jalapeno, sometimes two jalapenos. You'll just have to use your best judgement.

SALSA

INGREDIENTS

3 tomatoes (3 cups), chopped

1 hot pepper, chopped 1 T + 1/2 tsp (mine was from the farmers market)

1 slice of onion, finely chopped onion 2 1/2 tsp

1 clove of garlic, pressed through a garlic press

1 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp salt

a shot or two of Tabasco

a few grinds black pepper

hot sauce

1 T + 1/2 tsp cilantro, chopped

1 tsp chopped fresh oregano
1 1/2 T chopped fresh parsley

Combine all the ingredients.

links list

2008-10-14T09:16:00.002-05:00

Canary girl has chicken meatball eyeballs atop tomato sauce for Halloween.

Evil Mad Scientist Laboratories has edible googly eyes for Halloween. They have lots of fun stuff there. I also like the Eyeball caprese salad for Halloween. Are you a female "Dungeons and Dragons" fan who likes to sew? The world must have at least three. Check out the 12 sided dice handbag.

Boston Zest had blue pumpkins.

Crazy-videoz has food as art. Little miniature construction workers and engineers working on food.

Once upon a plate had a recipe for homemade girl scout samoas for your year round dining pleasure.

I lose track of how I find my links. They come mostly via Apartment Therapy or Food Gawker.

links list

2008-10-07T12:50:00.002-05:00

Think inside the icebox.com had a recipe for spiced simple syrup to make a pumpkin latte. I plan to try to make some, but it might not rise to the top of my "to do" list.

Apartment Therapy has how to cut a butternut squash.

The Urban Housewife has a recipe for homemade candy corns (they're vegan too). Cute!

Sticky and Sweet has a funny packaged Jamaican mix called Cock Soup. Oh cultural differences and shades of meaning.

Bitter Sweet takes you inside a professional food shoot, shows you how to light food, and how to add shadows to food. Personally I don't have the patience to do much more then turn on the lights in the house and click away. But if you want better pictures...

Spaghetti Sauce

2008-10-03T23:00:00.004-05:00

I've made spaghetti sauce for an army. Well maybe not an army, but for the year. I thought I'd make a triple recipe in the stockpot. This is why they teach you math in High School. Had I actually used some math I would have realized that only a double recipe fits in the stock pot. I had to use the dutch oven as well for a triple recipe. Now I'm set for the winter. I didn't actually measure the oregano, rosemary, or thyme. I just threw in a sprig of each that I estimated would be a tablespoon (x3) each. I'm pretty happy with the results. I put a quart of the sauce in a gallon bag and froze the bag flat. Once frozen you can store them vertically or horizontally in your freezer. This is based extremely loosely on the Italian Tomato Sauce recipe in the "Frugal Gourmet Cooks Three Ancient Cuisines".
*2nd year- I don't know what happened, but the sauce has a weird taste. I think it is the red wine I used. Barefoot Merlot. I added an extra 28 oz can of tomatoes to a double batch and some extra sugar. I also pureed some of the sauce with a immersion blender. I hope I like it better when I take some out of the freezer. Blerg!

SPAGHETTI SAUCE

INGREDIENTS

1 28 oz can tomato puree

1 28 oz can chopped tomatoes

1 28 oz can whole tomatoes, drained (save juice) and chopped

2 c red wine

2 yellow onions, minced

1 carrot, chopped

2 ribs of celery, chopped

2 whole cloves (I used 1/8 tsp ground cloves)

2 bay leaves

6 cloves garlic, crushed

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp pepper

1 T salt

1 tsp balsamic vinegar

3 T fresh basil, chopped

1/2 c parsley, chopped

1 T fresh oregano. chopped

1 T fresh rosemary, chopped

1 T fresh thyme, chopped

Saute the garlic, onions, red pepper flakes, celery, and carrots. (Since I was making a huge batch I sauteed these in a frying pan separately and then added to the pot.) Add the remaining ingredients (except basil). Bring to a light boil and then simmer for 2 hours, partly covered. Near the end of the 2 hours, add the basil.

Links list

2008-09-29T09:58:00.002-05:00

1. Have too many pumpkins? Check out the pumpkin recipes at pinch my salt. They sound great. A few examples are whole wheat pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin ice cream, pumpkin enchiladas, and black bean pumpkin soup.
2. Apartment Therapy tell you when to use red, russet, and Yukon gold potatoes.
3. Not Martha had a taste test between Oreos, Hydrox, and Newman's O's.
4. Foodista has devil fruit. Fruit that looks like the devil or maybe a bat. Odd looking anyway.
5. Daily feed asks (but doesn't answer) Why is the bread a BBQ places so bad? Good question. Why to they take so much care to create the perfect barbecue and then just slap a piece of wonder bread on the plate?
6. The good people at This peanut looks like a duck are looking for pictures of things that look like a duck.

How to freeze bacon in individual strips

2008-09-26T11:33:00.008-05:00

Oh, if bacon was somehow deemed good for you, I'd eat it for every meal. It's not. If you are like me and have less then eight people in your family, you might not want to cook a whole package of bacon at once. Here is how to freeze it so you can pull as many (or few) pieces of bacon out of the freezer as you need, when you need them. Place a strip of bacon on the plastic wrap. Pull the plastic wrap over the top of that strip of bacon and stack another piece of bacon directly on top of that piece of bacon (with the plastic wrap between). Pull the plastic wrap to the other side of the stack so the plastic wrap is on top of that piece of bacon. Stack the bacon and weave the plastic wrap in between until you have stacked all your bacon. Wrap the stack with the excess plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag. Place the freezer bag on a cookie sheet and place in the freezer. The cookie sheet is to ensure that the bacon remains flat while it's freezing. After it's frozen, you can remove the cookie sheet.
Alternate method: Roll each slice of bacon into a pinwheel. Place each bacon pinwheel on a cookie sheet and freeze. When frozen, place in a freezer bag.

Baskin Robbins Shake of Death

2008-09-24T22:45:00.003-05:00

Congratulations Baskin Robbins. You've managed to pack your large Heath Shake with 2,300 calories, about a half pound of sugar, and 64 grams of saturated fat (plus some other fat). Way to go. I didn't think it was possible. But you did it. See this post.

More Hershey's that aren't chocolate.

2008-09-24T21:48:00.004-05:00

According to this post 5th Avenue bars, Reese Sticks, Nutrageous, Reese's Whips, and Reese's Crispy Crunch are not chocolate either. They also lie currently or were previously lying about their chocolate content on their website describing their bars as chocolate. This is even true for products that haven't been chocolate for years and some the were never chocolate. Also, they won't give you information about the contents of their bars on the phone. The author of the website in the link tried to call to find out what is in a Krackle. (ingredients on the miniatures bag are the ingredients for all of the miniature bars listed together) They wouldn't tell her what was in a Krackle. She guessed the ingredients. Sugar and vegetable oil (I'll get to that) flavored with some chocolate and crispy rice (plus a few others). Vegetable oil is not really made from vegetables. It's palm oil and shea and sunflower oil and safflower oil. I'm not sure that palm oil and shea oil should really count as food. They sure don't count as vegetables. Krackle bars might be better titled Kraple bars. It's also possible that none of this ingredients she guessed are correct, but Hershey's sure won't tell you.
On a personal note. When I've had Whoppers (which evidently haven't been chocolate for years) in the past few years, I've thought there was something really weird about the chocolate. It tasted oily (because it was made from "vegetable oil") and didn't melt at all in my mouth. My sister suggested that it probably wasn't chocolate. It said chocolate (probably chocolate candy or chocolaty) on the box (it has to say milk chocolate to be real milk chocolate. I didn't know that then.) so I just thought it was cruddy chocolate. Little did I know. My point is that replacing the cocoa butter with vegetable oil is not only deceptive and has nutritional implications, it also doesn't taste good.
See my other Hershey's posts here and here for lists of other Hershey's products that aren't made from chocolate. Happy Halloween.

Acorn Squash with Brown Sugar

2008-09-24T21:02:00.003-05:00

I made this recipe to see if I liked acorn squash. (Last year, before I had a blog.) I decided if I didn't like the squash in this recipe, I just don't like squash. I can't imagine that there would be a better acorn squash recipe. This recipe (acorn squash with brown sugar) was fantastic. Well...ya know...except for the squash in it. Needless to say, I didn't make the second squash recipe. See the entry for how to pick out and store an acorn squash (next post). See the hints at the bottom of this post on how to cut a squash safely. This recipe is from Cooks Illustrated magazine.

ACORN SQUASH WITH BROWN SUGAR
Squash smaller then 1 1/2 lbs will likely cook a little faster then the recipe indicates, so begin checking for doneness a few minutes early. Conversely, larger squash will take slightly longer to cook. However, keep in mind that the cooking time is largely dependent on the microwave. If microwaving the squash in Pyrex, the manufacturer recommends adding water to the dish (or bowl) prior to cooking. To avoid a steam burn when uncovering the cooked squash, peel back the plastic wrap very carefully, starting from the side that is farthest away from you.

INGREDIENTS

2 acorn squash (about 1 1/2 pounds each), halved pole to pole (through the root end) and seeded

salt

3 T butter

3 T dark brown sugar

1. Sprinkle squash halves with salt and place halves cut-sides down in a 13 by 9-inch microwave-safe baking dish or arrange halves in large (about 4 quart) microwave safe bowl, so that cut sides face out. If using Pyrex, add 1/2 cup water to dish or bowl. Cover tightly with plastic wrap, using multiple sheets, if necessary; with paring knife, poke about 4 steam vents in the plastic wrap. Microwave on high power until squash is very tender and offers no resistance when pierced with a paring knife, 15 to 25 minutes. Using potholders, remove baking dish or bowl from the microwave and set on a clean, dry surface (avoid damp or cold surfaces).

2. While squash is cooking, adjust oven rack to uppermost position (about 6 inches from heating element); heat broiler. Melt butter, brown sugar and 1/8 tps salt in a small saucepan over low heat, whisking occasionally, until combined.

3. When squash is cooked, carefully pull back plastic wrap from the side furthest from you. Using tongs, transfer cooked squash cut-side up to rimmed baking sheet. Spoon portion of butter/sugar mixture onto each squash half. Broil until brown and caramelized, 5 to 8 minutes, rotating baking sheet as necessary and removing squash halves as they are done. Set squash halves on individual plates and serve immediately.

ACORN SQUASH WITH ROSEMARY-DRIED FIG COMPOTE

1. Follow the recipe for Acorn Squash with Brown Sugar, omitting brown sugar/butter mixture. While squash is cooking, combine 1 cup orange juice; 4 dried black figs, chopped medium (scant 1/2 cup); 1/2 tsp minced fresh rosemary; 1 T dark brown sugar, 1/4 tsp ground black pepper; and 1/8 tps salt in a small saucepan. Simmer rapidly over medium high heat, stirring occasionally, until syrupy and liquid is reduced to about 3 tablespoons, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon butter.

2. Continue with the recipe to fill and broil squash halves, substituting fig compote for brown sugar/butter mix.

TWO WAYS TO CUT A SQUASH SAFELY

Knife and rubber mallet:

1. Set squash on a damp kitchen towel to hold it in place. Position knife on rind of squash.

2. Strike back of knife with rubber mallet to drive knife into squash. Continue to hit knife with mallet until knife cuts through squash.

Metal bench scraper and hammer:

1. Set squash on damp kitchen towel. Position bench scrapper on rind.

2. Strike handle of bench scraper with hammer until blade cuts through squash.

HOW TO BUY AND STORE ACORN SQUASH

2008-09-24T20:55:00.001-05:00

HOW TO BUY AND STORE ACORN SQUASH

According to Cooks Illustrated Magazine:

Season Acorn squash is domestically in season from July through November. When Purchased in the off-season, the squash, which during those months is usually imported from, Mexico, is likely to be more expensive. Squash that has spent weeks in transit cooked up dehydrated, fibrous, and pasty in the test kitchen. (and buying local produce is better for the earth)

Weight Squash should be hard and heavy for its size, and indication that it contains a lot of moisture and has not been sitting on the supermarket produce shelf for weeks.

Color The most popular variety of acorn squash is green, though gold and white varieties are spottily available. Gold or orange tinges on the rind of green squash are not indicators of ripeness, but rather a mark of where the fruit touched the ground during growing (and was therefore untouched by sunlight).

Storage Acorn Squash should be stored at cool room temperature, not in the refrigerator. When storing squash for a few weeks in the refrigerator, chill damage sets in, causing the flavor and texture to deteriorate.

Spaghetti with Cherry Tomatoes Olives, Capers, and Oregano

2008-09-21T13:15:00.002-05:00

I brought home some garden tomatoes from my sister's house. They had more then they could use and they were ripening fast. I decided to try this recipe from cooks illustrated. I made it almost as written. I just used plain ole black olives and omitted the pine nuts because I didn't have either in the house. Cooks Illustrated says you can substitute grape tomatoes, but you
should reduce or omit the sugar. I used grape tomatoes with all the sugar (because I didn't read directions) and I thought it was great. The tomato flavor was a cross between a roasted tomato and a sun dried tomato. My tomatoes were nearly overripe garden tomatoes. I'm not
sure if that's why I had the awesome sun-dried flavor or if it is the sugar, or if it just comes with roasting small tomatoes. I've never roasted small tomatoes before. I usually put them in salads or pop them strait in my mouth.

Spaghetti with Cherry Tomatoes Olives, Capers, and Oregano
serves 5-6 people
INGREDIENTS
3 pints (2 lbs) cherry tomatoes, each tomato halved pole to pole (lengthwise)
1/4 c olive oil
1/2 tsp table salt
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp ground black pepper
1 1/2 tsp sugar, or to taste
3 large garlic cloves, sliced thin
1/4 c drained capers
1 lb spaghetti
1 T salt
1/4 c chopped kalamata olives
3 T chopped fresh oregano leaves
1/4 c pine nuts, toasted (optional)
2 oz grated Pecorino Romano cheese (1 cup) (I used Parmesan)

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position: heat oven to 350 degrees. In medium bowl, gently toss tomatoes with oil, 1/2 tsp salt, red pepper flakes, black pepper, sugar, garlic, and capers. Spread in even layer on rimmed baking sheet (about 17 by 12) and roast until tomato skins are slightly shriveled (tomatoes should retain their shape), 35-40 minutes. (Do not stir tomatoes during roasting.) Remove tomatoes from oven and cool 5-10 minutes.
2. While tomatoes cook, bring four quarts of water to a boil in large stockpot. Just before removing tomatoes from the oven, stir 1 T salt and pasta into boiling water and cook until al dente. Drain the pasta and return to the pot. Using rubber spatula, scrape tomato mixture into pot on top of pasta. Add olives and oregano; toss to combine. Serve immediately, sprinkling pine nuts and cheese over individual bowls.

All Hershey's is not chocolate.

2008-09-19T18:58:00.005-05:00

Remember my post on how Hershey's Kissables are no longer legally considered milk chocolate? Well it's not just the Kissables folks. It's also Whatchamacallit (I guess the still make them), Mr. Goodbar, Milk Duds and Krackle are no longer chocolate either. They've replaced the cocoa butter with vegetable oil. Cocoa butter is what makes chocolate melt in your mouth. Mr. Goodbar and Krackle are both in the bags of Hershey's minis. What was once labeled "milk chocolate" is now labeled "chocolate candy", "chocolaty", or "made with chocolate". Watch out for those phrases if you want chocolate in your chocolate. "There's a smile in every Hershey's bar." But there isn't chocolate. "Hershey's: the Great American Chocolate (or vegetable oil) Bar." Read more about it.

Craftzine

2008-09-18T10:31:00.002-05:00

Holly Cow. I'm on Craftzine. Kristy sent in my pizza on the grill post and they totally posted it. I'm Famous! Must be my lucky day. I also got two numbers on my Powerball ticket. Only one more number and I could have won actual money.

Lora's Dark Chocolate Ice Cream

2008-09-17T10:43:00.005-05:00

I've been working on perfecting my chocolate ice cream recipe. I tried using real melted chocolate. The result? Chocolate frosting ice cream. Not what I was looking for. I tried dutch processed cocoa in place of the regular cocoa. The result? Chocolate cake batter ice cream. Again, not what I was after. I replaced the sugar with dark brown sugar and cut the amount of sugar. I like a deep dark chocolate flavor, which you get with less sugar. I also liked a mixture of the two cocoas. It adds a depth of flavor. Hershey's special dark cocoa is a dutch cocoa found in many supermarkets. (That's not the brand I have.) I liked the recipe at that point, but I thought I needed more chocolate flavor and a deeper chocolate flavor. Next I added a tsp of espresso powder for depth of flavor. This is enough to add low notes, but not enough to make it taste like mocha. I also added the dark chocolate candy bar. This made the ice cream chocolaty enough. The problem now is that when you refreeze the ice cream base, the melted chocolate turns into minuscule chocolate chips and that gives it a gritty texture. I'm not really sure how to fix that. I like the more chocolaty flavor more then I'm offended by the gritty texture. If I come up with a solution, I'll edit the post. (if you like the recipe as is, you should print it, because it might change). My ice cream maker only holds and irksome 3 cups of ice cream instead of a quart. The amounts in parentheses at the end are the amounts to make a quart (plus a bit more) of ice cream if you prefer to make a quartish.

LORA’S DARK CHOCOLATE ICE CREAM

INGREDIENTS

1 1/2 c milk (2c)

3 egg yolks(4 egg yolks)

3/4 of a 3.52 oz 60% chocolate, chopped. I used Hershey's special dark chocolate (the whole bar)

3/4 c dark brown sugar (1 c)

1/4 c+ 1 1/2 tsp natural cocoa (just regular cocoa)(1/4 c + 2T)

1 T +1 1/2 tsp Dutch processed cocoa( 2T)

pinch of salt (pinch is about 1/8 tsp)

3/4 tsp vanilla (1 tsp)
1 tsp espresso powder (1 1/3 tsp espresso powder)
1 1/2 c cream (2 c)

Place the chopped chocolate in a medium bowl and set aside. Whisk egg yolks until they are a pale yellow. Whisk in sugar. Gradually whisk in milk over a double boiler.(it goes faster if the milk is prewarmed) Continue to stir until slightly thickened and coats the back of a spoon. The eggs are safe at 160 degrees which is also the temperature when the mixture thickens. Pour the mixture over the chopped chocolate. Let set for 5 minutes and then stir. The chocolate should be completely melted. Cool several hours in the refrigerator or over night. Whisk remaining ingredients together, except the whipping cream. It takes a bit of work to whisk in the cocoa powder. Keep at it and it will eventually mix in. Then whisk in the cream. Process in ice cream maker according to the manufacturer's instructions. .

Peach Ice Cream

2008-09-16T18:52:00.001-05:00

My brother in law bought a box of fresh peaches from a church group. That was great. But the problem was, the peaches were all very ripe and read to be eaten immediately (they were also very juicy and very tasty). They gave me some of the excess peaches and I made peach ice cream. I really like the peach ice cream. It's peachy and creamy and delicious. However, unless I find myself in a situation where I have excess peaches again, I probably won't make this again. I think peaches are great eaten fresh and unadorned. Ice cream doesn't improve the taste of peaches. That being said, if my peaches are in danger of going bad, I'll turn them into ice cream again. I might try adding some fresh mint. I just made it this afternoon, so I can't say for sure. But I'm pretty sure it will freeze as hard as a rock. This recipe is from Dave Libovitz's cookbook "The Perfect Scoop" and this blog and this blog.

FRESH PEACH ICE CREAM
INGREDIENTS
3 large peaches
1/2 c water
3/4 c sugar
1/2 c sour cream
1 c heavy cream
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp lemon juice

Fill a 3 quart pot half way and bring to a boil. Make an X on the top of each peach. Add the peaches to the boiling water and boil 30 seconds to 1 minute on each side. Rinse immediately under cold running water to stop the cooking process. Peel and dice the peaches. Add the peaches and 1/2 c water to a covered saucepan. Heat over medium heat for 10 minutes, stir once or twice. Take the peaches off the heat and stir in the sugar. When the mixture has cooled somewhat, blend with an immersion blender. You can either blend everything smooth or leave some chunks. Cool in the refrigerator until cold. Whisk in the remaining ingredients and freeze according to your ice cream makers directions.

Links list

2008-09-16T18:14:00.005-05:00

Article from the New York Times about kids who are picky eaters. 6 Food Mistakes Parents Make

How to infuse spices or herbs (mint, basil, anise) into your ice cream.

Avocado ice cream and 19 others at Desert Candy

Slice citrus (lemons) lengthwise to get more juice.

To double or halve a recipe use the Recipe Ingredient Conversion Calculator. I haven't used this since I'm actually pretty good at math and know facts like there are three teaspoons in a tablespoon off the top of my head.

Why Potatoes turn green. Keep them in a cool dark place.

Places to buy organic vanilla beans, saffron, etc. at good prices on ebay.

Would you like to make your own mozzarella this weekend? Or you could try some homemade ricotta.
I plan to make both someday.

Check out this Chewy Turkish Ice Cream. It looks like taffy.

1,000 Blades of Grass Cake

2008-09-12T00:10:00.003-05:00

You should check out the post on my sister's blog about her newest cake. A dome of daises with butterflies and 1,000 individual blades of grass individually placed on the board surrounding the cake. It's pretty cool.

Honey Mustard Chicken

2008-09-05T20:16:00.004-05:00

O.K. Ready for the recipe?
1 part honey
1 part mustard
Pretty complicated. Mix equal parts of honey and mustard. You can use Dijon mustard if you want. I used Sandwich Pal brand horseradish mustard. I've used other flavors of sandwich pal mustard to make this too. Whatever you like. You can mix in some fresh dill if you like also. Then season and grill your chicken. Brush on the honey mustard toward the end of the grilling. If you put it on in the beginning the honey will burn. Easy, quick, and good. The honey mustard sauce is also a good dip for pretzels.

Roast Beef, Bleu Cheese, Horseradish and Veggies

2008-09-04T17:34:00.002-05:00

This is just a description and not a recipe. Toast whole wheat bread. Spread Mayo on one side and horseradish on the other. Saute sliced cabbage (mine was purple), sliced onions, and sliced green pepper. (you could also add grated carrots). When it gets close to done add bleu cheese (I also added quartered cherry tomatoes). When the cheese is melted, add the veggies and roast beef to the sandwich.

How to freeze chipotle chilies

2008-09-04T15:05:00.011-05:00

Almost all recipes that call for chipotle chilies call for one chili and 2 tsp of adobo sauce (the sauce in the can). But then you have a whole can of chilies left. Here is how you freeze them. Line a cookie sheet with waxed paper. Place the chilies on the waxed paper with plenty of space between them. I didn't leave enough space between the chilies in the picture. Divide the sauce between the chilies. Freeze. When the chilies are frozen, tear the waxed paper between each chili and wrap around the individual chilies. This may be enough if you have left enough waxed paper between the chilies. If you are like me and haven't, then wrap the individual chilies in saran wrap. Place all the chilies in a Ziploc freezer bag and store in the freezer. For recipes using chipotle chilies, search for chipotle in the search box in top left corner of my blog by the orange letter B. By the way, a chipotle chili is a smoked jalapeno pepper.

new look

2008-09-02T20:29:00.003-05:00

I chose a new blog template. When I get bored with this one I'll change it again.
If you are a daring baker you can join their food blogging group. I'd suggest above average baking skills or no sense of fear if you join that group. Chocolate Eclairs, Strawberry Mirror Cake, Danish Braids, and Cheesecake Pops are a few examples.
More Asian junk food. Black Tea flavored Kit Kats and a (different brand) Cheetos without the cheese powder but with a spread of chocolate. I'd sure give either a try.

Barefoot Thursdays

2008-08-28T22:07:00.005-05:00

Who knew. I just found food bloggers cooking recipes from the Food Network's Barefoot Contessa. It's an every other Thursday thing. If you are interested, click here.

Japanese Junk Food

2008-08-27T20:14:00.002-05:00

I found this post on Japanese junk food via food gawker. The Japanese junk food is kind of fun. Watermelon Kit Kats and flavored kelp as a chewing gum alternative with a bonus rags to riches story . Oh, and you can sign up to win your very own Japanese junk food. Good Luck.

What's up in the food blogging world?

2008-08-27T16:40:00.004-05:00

The Best Lick. Apartment Therapy has had an ice cream contest going on all month called "the Best Lick". I've been drooling all month. They had 26 recipes total. Some of my favorites are the mint chocolate chip with raspberries, and the cherry cheesecake ice cream. They also had creative flavors like basil, cinnamon, ginger ice cream. For ice cream lovers, it's worth a click and a drool. I plan on making some of the recipes some time in the future.

The New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookie. Food bloggers have also been talking about the chocolate chip cookie recipe published in the New York Times in this article. It's known in blogging circles as "the cookie". If you do a google search in blogs for "new york times" "chocolate chip cookie" there are 444 entries just in the blogs. (445 once I post this one) The recipe uses cake and bread flour. It calls for a very specific chocolate. It chills the dough for 36 hours to perfect the texture and give it a caramelly flavor. Also, the cookies are sprinkled with salt. I plan to make them someday without the specific chocolate that I'm sure that I would have to special order. I'll add my post to the 444 (well 445) that already exist when I do.

Tuesdays with Dorrie. A group of food bloggers is cooking their way through Dorrie Greenspan's cookbook "Baking: from my home to yours". On Tuesday, over 250 food bloggers all make the same recipe from the cookbook. They always look so tempting. I want to join the fun. But I also don't really have the time and prefer not to weigh 700 pounds. But, I'm totally in love with the idea. Here are a *few **random** *posts** from** previous* Tuesdays with Dorrie. If you are interested in joining, the website is here.

Taste descriptions

2008-08-27T09:23:00.003-05:00

Confused by iron chef judges? I found a quick explanation on apartment therapy about taste descriptors. It explains what high notes and low notes and rounded flavor mean as it relates to food.

Food Tattoos

2008-08-23T20:56:00.004-05:00

As a woman who can't stand to have the same hair style and color for three years in a row, I don't really get tattoos. It's a level of commitment I'll never achieve. I know I'd just want to change mine in a year if I got one. Anyway, I found this link via apartment therapy. It has 53 food tattoos. I like the #4 good vs. evil cupcake, #27 bacon arm band (I hope this man never becomes obese. It would be a bad combo.), #31 hot dog coffin, #34 Fonzie hot dog described by the man who has it as possibly the stupidest tattoo ever, #50 Campbell's Soup, and #53 Rachel Ray.

Barbecue Chicken (or Pork) Pizza on the Grill

2008-08-23T18:55:00.005-05:00

Follow the general instructions for pizza on the grill. I usually use half a leftover chicken breast per pizza. I had left over grilled pork loin so I used that. I used my homemade BBQ sauce too. The cilantro is from my herb garden (It's about to go to seed. That's why it looks like dill and not cilantro.)

Barbecue Chicken (or Pork) Pizza on the Grill
INGREDIENTS
BBQ Sauce (I used my homemade)
Cheese (about 4 oz)- you can use pizza cheese, mozzarella, provolone, jack, pepper jack, or Swiss. I used 1/2 grated Swiss and 1/2 grated pizza cheese. Sliced cheese works really well.
1/2 a grilled chicken breast, cut into pieces (I used grilled pork loin)
Onion, chopped
Green pepper, chopped (I was out)
Cilantro chopped
Chopped parsley and chives (optional)

Pizza on the Grill

2008-08-23T17:52:00.007-05:00

If you are the first person on your block to make pizza on the grill you will impress the heck out of your friends and neighbors. Everyone gathers around your grill to see your display of audacity and showmanship. How does this work? Are you sure this will work? Oh, the improbability of it all. Only you will know that it only looks like rocket science. It's actually not that hard. That being said, I have only made this on a Weber grill. The recipe was written for a Weber. The second recipe was written for a Weber charcoal grill. I think charcoal grills are more standardized. So, any charcoal grill should work. Many gas grills, however, have the burners much closer to the grates then Webers. So, I'm not sure exactly how well making a pizza on another gas grill would work, it might be too hot.

You must decide on three or four toppings. If you try to load grilled pizza with everything, it gets soggy and won't work. Sorry, you are going to have to choose.

GRILLED PIZZA DOUGH

Originally all white flour. I substituted some whole wheat flour for the white flour. It takes a little bit more water to make the dough now. I'll measure the water next time I make dough. The amount of water you need for whole wheat dough will vary with humidity and the attitude of particular wheat flour you are using.

INGREDIENTS

1 ½ cups lukewarm water

1 package active dry yeast

3 c unbleached all purpose flour, plus extra as needed

1 c whole wheat flour

¼ tsp salt

2 T olive oil, plus extra for oiling bowl

Place lukewarm water in a large mixing bowl, sprinkle yeast on top and let sit until foamy, about 5 minutes. Combine flours and salt. Add water, 1/2 cup at a time until well incorporated. If very sticky, add extra flour, 1 tablespoon at a time, until slightly sticky. Add two tablespoons of oil and mix well until dough feels elastic. Turn the dough onto a well floured surface. Knead, adding extra flour to your work surface as necessary to prevent the dough from sticking, for 10 minutes, or until smooth and easy to work with. Clean and oil the bowl and place the dough in it. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise until it more than doubles in volume, about 1 hour. Punch dough down and knead on a lightly floured surface for several minutes or until smooth.

Divide dough into four 4 inch balls and proceed with pizza-making instructions. Dough may be made ahead, frozen until needed. Just wrap the dough balls in plastic wrap and place in a freezer bag. Thaw at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

Roll the dough on a work surface sprinkled with flour or cornmeal. I always use cornmeal for a more rustic texture. I'm also not concerned with roundness. Amorphous blogs are good enough in my book. Looks more hand made that way.

Brush one side of the pizza dough with olive oil. I crush a few cloves of garlic through the garlic press. I add the garlic to the oil before brushing the dough.
Pick up the dough by two edges like a wet T-shirt and gently place on grill, oiled side down. The dough won’t fall through the grates. But it really does seems like it will. Brush the top of the pizza with oil.
Cook dough over Direct heat for 2-4 minutes, or until bottom side is well marked and as brown as a medium slice of toast. If dough bubbles, poke it with a tongs or whack with a spatula (my method) to release air and flatten crust. Make sure your grill is not too hot or it will burn immediately.
When bottom is brown, flip dough over.
Immediately cover cooked side with toppings and cheese, move to indirect heat, close lid and cook for 5-10 minutes, or until bottom is browned , cheese is melted and toppings are warmed through. Choosing fewer toppings is better. Lots of toppings will make your pizza soggy. I know you want some of everything. But, you must pick and choose.

Pizza on a charcoal grill

1. Ignite 6 quarts (one large chimney) hardwood charcoal or briquettes in the chimney starter and burn until fully ignited, 15 to 20 minutes. Empty coals into grill and spread into even layer over three-quarters of the grill, leaving one quadrant free of coals. Position cooking grate over coals and heat until grill is medium hot, about 5 minutes (you can hold your hand 5 inches above grill grate for 4 seconds); scrape grate clean with grill brush.

2. Pick up the dough by two edges like a wet T-shirt and gently place onto the hot side of the grill. Immediately repeat with another dough round. Cook until tops are covered with bubbles (pierce larger bubbles with paring knife) and bottoms are grill marked and charred in spots, 1 to 2 minutes; while dough rounds cook, check undersides and slide to cool area of grill if browning too quickly. Transfer crusts to cutting board browned sides up. Repeat with 2 remaining dough rounds.

3. Add pizza toppings. Return pizzas to the grill and cover grill with lid; cook until bottoms are well browned and cheese is melted, 2 to 4 minutes, checking bottoms frequently to prevent burning. Transfer pizzas to cutting board; repeat with remaining 2 crusts. Sprinkle pizzas with basil and coarse salt to taste; cut into wedges and serve immediately.

See also my post on Barbecued Chicken (or pork) pizza on the grill.