Fallen Souffle

Where has the time gone! I can’t believe it is time for Lent once again, time to ponder what it is I am going to give up for 40 days and to think about this solemn time of year. Most people know today as Fat Tuesday and Mardi Gras, which has deservingly so, receive alot of attention this year. But this traditional goes back quite a while.

A short history; the day before the beginning of Lent is known as Shrove Tuesday. To shrive someone, in old-fashioned English (he shrives, he shrove, he has shriven or he shrives, he shrived, he has shrived), is to hear his acknowledgement of his sins, to assure him of God’s forgiveness, and to give him appropriate spiritual advice.

Shrove Tuesday is also called Fat Tuesday (in French, Mardi=Tuesday; gras=fat, as in “pate de foie gras”, which is liver paste and very fatty), because on that day a thrifty housewife uses up the fats that she has kept around (the can of bacon drippings, or whatever) for cooking, but that she will not be using during Lent. Since pancakes are a standard way of using up fat, the day is also called Pancake Tuesday. Also of note, IHOP has named this day Pancake Day and often hand out free short stacks from 7am-2pm.

When I was in high school, our church youth group would always host the Shrove Tuesday Pancake Supper for all of the families of the church. It was a great fundraiser and always great fun to put on, and we were always sick to death of the smell of syrup. I haven’t been to one of these suppers in years but decided that this year we were going to have pancakes! I also haven’t felt much like cooking, or eating much in fact, so pancakes would be easy to throw together and filling for both of us. Evan exclaimed that these were (insert expletive adjective here) great pancakes! I can’t remember the last time I got such a reaction form him, so this recipe is definately a keeper!

Buttermilk Pancakes
1 cup all purpose flour
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons melted butter
1 large egg

1. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients. Add wet ingredients until just moistened. Add an additions if desired, I threw in some frozen blueberries into my serving.

2. Heat griddle until a drop of water sizzles, brush or spray lightly with oil. Drop pancakes by desired size and cook until tops are bubbly and edges look dry. With wide spatula, flip and cook until underside is golden brown. Repeat with remaining batter.

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Dear Georgie,
I woke up with morning with a broken heart because I knew that you were no longer with us here on earth. Our family has lost a member, an unlikely member when we first picked you up 12 years ago. You were young and somewhat scared, but you quickly fit into family tree. Your love for the tennis balls and any kind of cheese was never ending, and we will always remember the “I feel good runs” you did in the backyard when you were excited.

But then time took it’s toll and old age set in, you couldn’t quite keep up with the younger dogs, but you certainly tried. They learned so much from you. But we knew you weren’t happy, you weren’t our Georgie anymore, we could see you pain and the hardest thing for us was to let you move on. No one was prepared to make this hard decision but we could see in your eyes that you were ready to go.

I miss you so much already, your sweet face and quiet disposition will always be remembered. And I don’t think I will ever sneeze without thinking about your constant concern for us. I know we will all meet again one day, but until then we must learn to live with your loss and take it day by day, knowing you are now happy.

You were such a good dog to us and I hope you know we will always love you.

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Nothing goes better with pizza than beer. In fact this is usually our Friday night menu. Whether it’s going out or making it ourselves, Evan and I love our pizza. So when I found this recipe on MarthaStewart.com (of all places!) I knew we had to try it. I whipped this up on a Friday afternoon, it took just an hour or so to rise and was easy to put together in the Kitchen Aid. I did forget to add the salt, which I quickly detected…oops! But we still inhaled it and didn’t miss a beat. I would suggest using a good quality beer because you can tatse it in the crust.

I topped my pie with pesto, fresh tomatoes, olives and mozzerella while Evan stuck to his traditional red sauce, cheese and pepperoni. We baked them on baking sheets with a little cornmeal underneath the crust. Bake these in a 400 degree oven until brown and bubbly, about 15 minutes or so depending on the crust thickness.

Beer Drinker’s Pizza Dough

MAKES ENOUGH FOR FOUR 12-INCH PIZZAS

1 cup warm beer (110° to 120°, I microwaved my beer for one minute)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons coarse salt
1 1/2 ounces fresh yeast (I used one package of dry yeast)
2 3/4 to 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, whisk to combine beer, 2 tablespoons olive oil, sugar, salt, and yeast. Fit bowl on electric mixer fitted with a dough hook, mix until incorporated, 1 to 2 minutes. Slowly add flour, and mix until dough is fairly stiff, about 10 minutes.

2. On a lightly floured work surface, knead dough until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Brush the inside of a large bowl with remaining tablespoon olive oil; transfer dough to bowl, turning once to grease top. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, and leave in a warm place until dough has doubled in size, about 1 1/2 hours.

3. Punch down dough, and transfer to a clean surface. Using a bench scraper or sharp knife, divide dough into quarters; keep covered with plastic wrap.

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When I was in college I worked as a leasing consultant for an upscale apartment community. I loved working there, sure there were days where the residents were less than nice and I had to show apartments in the rain but all in all, I couldn’t ask for e better place to work. They were super flexible with my schedule even letting me off 3 weeks (twice!)while I went to Europe.

I got to meet many wonderful people, one of theme being a lady named Roberts, but we called her Bobbie. I rented her the apartment over the phone, she needed temporary housing while she was building a house. She needed the largest apartment we had because she had to cram all of her belongings (including a baby grand piano!) into it for the time being. Little did I realize that the apartment I rented her had teal green carpet…yuck! I felt awful when she arrived to discover this less than appealing carpet color she would have to live with for the next 6 months, but she never yelled our screamed or made any kind of fuss. It became a constant joke around the office, and don’t you know I personally checked every carpet color after that event!

Bobbie also went to the same church I went to, she sang in the choir and helped with the altar guild, while I spent alot of time watching kids in the nursery and taking part in the college program. She grew pretty close to us in the office, so much so that she invited us over to her new house once she had settled in. Her house was gorgeous! Much more house than one person needs, but she did have to accommodate grandchildren in the summer. When went over around Christmas time so she had a huge tree in the foyer that smelled amazing. We chatted over wine and cheese and then she pulled this casserole out for dinner. I was surprised to be served a casserole, until I tasted it. Talk about a comfort food! This dish is amazing! We all raved about it and begged for the recipe. She e-mailed it to us all about a week or so later. I have had this recipe for about 4 years now, I whenever I make it I think of her and her warm personality. We lost touch when I graduated but I know in my heart she is taken care of.

Bobbie’s Chicken and Broccoli Casserole
with slight modifications by Jen

florets from one head of broccoli steamed
2 cups of cooked, diced chicken
1 cup of rice cooked in 2 cups of water
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 cup of mayo
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup soft bread crumbs

1. Layer a casserole dish with broccoli, chicken, and rice, in that order. Mix the remaining ingredients except the bread crumbs and spread over casserole. Top with soft breads crumbs and additional cheese if desired.

2. Bake 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees until bubbly.

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WOW! That’s what I said when I came home from the bakery and saw the box waiting for me from my BBM4 partner Heather.

When I opened it, it was like Christmas morning, a dream for a foodie like me! Here is a list of goodies:
Cinnamon Glazed Pecans
Fresh Nutmeg
Sun-Dried Tomato Pasta
Tibetian Tiger tea leaves
Freeze dried strawberries
Ginger Chews
two tapenandes, olive and grilled vegetable
Dark Chocolate Covered pretzels, which I have to hide from Evan!
2 packages of dried cherries
Cooking herbs form Spain
Yummy spice cookies
Chicken treats for the mutts
a set of three melamine bowls!
a super cute doggie themed serving dish
a set of New Yorker note cards
cocktail napkins
some foot care stuff form Vicky Secret
vintage coasters
and the coolest book “The Agony of my Leaves” all about teas
oh and a mix CD full of some awesome songs!
(I think I got it all!)

WOW!

I don’t even think “Thank You” is enough to express how cool this package was and how much I appreciate all of the goodies. I will truly enjoy them all! Thanks so much Heather!

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So Evan’s request this week was that we have chicken tenders for dinner. The thought of reheating the frozen ones was not too appealing to me so I set out to the grocery store to find something that would do. Just my luck! Chicken tender strips were $1.99 a pound! I love a deal!

Instead of covering them in plain old bread crumbs I decided to use panko bread crumbs. These are a Japanese crumb used in tempura I believe. Nonetheless, they are the new chic ingredient on Food Network, and I bought some a while ago from Earth Fare to use in Chicken Parm.

I kept things simple; a 400 degree oven, a cooling rack placed on top of my baking sheet so that the hot air would create a crisp crust all around. A simple egg wash with 3 eggs, some salt and pepper. The coating was about 1 cup of panko crumbs, a tablespoon of dried parsley, and a teaspoon each of garlic powder and paprika. These only took about 20-30 minutes to cook, just look for the toasty crust. A healthy alternative to the fried ones, Evan said they taste just as good!

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I am so excited to be taking part in my first Blog Party hosted by the lovely Stephanie over at Dispensing Happiness.

So the theme is Red and Hot. Hmm…a drink and appetizer that is both red and hot. For the drink, I immediately thought Bloody Mary, but I decided to think out of the box. Therefore I came up with a mulled wine. See..it’s hot (literally) and it uses red wine. So it looks kind purple but it’s pretty close. This recipe is pretty sweet so if you aren’t keen on sweet wines omit the brown sugar or use something like cranberry juice instead of pineapple.

This is great for parties or make a whole batch and keep it in the fridge and reheat as you wish.

Mulled Wine

1 cup water
1 cup brown sugar
2 cups pineapple juice
1 cup orange juice
6 whole cloves
3 whole allspice berries
2 cinnamon stick
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups red wine
2 oranges
8 cinnamon sticks, garnish

1. In a large non-aluminum saucepan, combine water, brown sugar, pineapple juice, and orange juice. Season with cloves, allspice, 2 cinnamon sticks and salt. Cut the rind of 2 oranges into strips and stir into the mixture. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and let simmer for 15 minutes.

2. Pour in the wine. Heat to just boiling and remove from heat. Serve hot with a cinnamon stick for garnish.

For the appetizer, I looked to an old favorite…roasted red pepper hummus. It’s quick and easy to put together and most of the ingredients are probably in your pantry already. Hummus is great because you can put any extra flavors in it, my sister likes plain garlic while my Mom and I love the red peppers. I also add hot sauce to give it a little kick! This is so cheap to make, it’s a pity that people pay for it in the deli. Hummus is also very healthy, just add some toasted pita chips and you are set for a party of a quick snack. It also can be used as a sandwich spread.

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

1 can chick peas
3 tablespoons tahini
juice of a lemon
1 tablespoon minced garlic (or more)
2 whole roasted red peppers
1 teaspoon of salt
hot sauce, however much you like!

1. Drain chick peas but reserve juice. In a food processor, dump in the rest of the ingredients and pulse until smooth. Add liquid as necessary to smooth out the consistency.

2. Chill or serve at room temperature.

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I feel like we have been celebrating Valentine’s Day for a week but I could not let the day pass without making something sweet for my hubby on our first V-Day as man and wife. I spotted these cookies on Alicat’s site a while back and quickly filed them under the ever growing “Must Try” list. What better time than now to whip up a batch of cookies.

These cookies are truly heavenly. They are light not only in color but texture with no heavy aftertaste so you don’t have to run for a glass of milk. But they are also addicting, I have already had 3! Yikes! The trainer won’t like that tommorrow!

Instead of posting the recipe, check it out at Something So Clever. And thanks to the Domestic Diva for the original recipe!

And a quote for today….
NELSON MANDELA in his own words . . . ON LOVE

The world is truly round and seems to start and end with those we love. I am not nervous of love for love is very inspiring. To be in love is an experience that every man must go through. One should be so grateful at being involved in such an experience. I am in love with a remarkable lady. She has changed my life. Holding Graça’s hand is the one thing I love most in the world.

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Not to toot my own horn, but I am pretty proud of this. I love making baby gifts…I don’t know why. The owners of the bakery had a baby girl just after Christmas and I have just not had a chance to make anything for her. Well I got the day off Saturday so I thought I would whip up some food for the family (they now have 4 kids!) and a cute outfit for Baby Natalie. I was searching some crafty sites when I found a link to this project. It was pretty easy to make and I had everything in the house already…what are the chances! I found the socks and headbands at Target in the dollar section so I based the design around those. In total this gift cost about 4 dollars…can’t be that!

This dress is easy to assemble…the trickiest part is sewing zigzag over the elastic so it can stretch with the baby but I just made sure to sew a really wide stitch.

Here is a link to the instructions.

I also have seen this done for an older child using a regular t-shirt…not a bad idea for the summer months up ahead, and a great way to recycle shirts.

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I have recently come to the point where I am no longer excited to eat out. I don’t know if I feel guilty about spending the money on something I know I could prepare, or if I am just bored with the restaurants around here. Nonetheless, for our Valentine’s dinner this year it was my turn to be creative. Evan and I take turns coming up with plans for Valentine’s Day. We are not much into gift giving for V-Day, so we usually have a nice dinner and go see a movie or something. Last year we saw an IMAX movie about African lions (I know- not so romantic- but very “us”) and he took me to a great Italian restaurant downtown.

Evan is not a fussy person when it comes to food, he is quite content with a nice steak and baked potato so that’s exactly what I made. I went all out and got the best steaks, fresh crusty bread and some of his favorite beer. The one caveat was that he had to grill the steaks, I have never grilled a steak because Evan does them so well each time and I was not about to experiment on such a pricey cut of meat. I sauteed some fresh spinach for myself and poured a nice glass of red wine and we were set. A quite, romantic dinner for two.

To top off the night I made my first creme brulees. I received a small kitchen torch for Christmas and bought cute dishes at Target so I had to try it out. I could not find a recipe for white chocolate creme brulees so I kinda made it up. I also only wanted to make two of them so I also had to scale down the recipe. They were really delicious and so easy to make! I defiantly want to experiment more with this creamy, dreamy desserts.

Jen’s White Chocolate Creme Brulee for Two
1 cup whipping or heavy cream
1/2 cup chopped white chocolate
3 egg yolks
3 tablespoons sugar
extra sugar for dusting tops
hot water

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees.

2. In a medium size glass bowl, whisk egg yolks and 3 tablespoons of sugar together. In a small saucepan, heat cream over medium high heat until small bubbles form around edges. Add chocolate and stir until melted.

3. Slowly add hot cream mixture to eggs mixture, stirring constantly until well blended. Fill two ramekins with the mixture and set ramekins in a baking dish. Fill baking dish with hot water until water comes about halfway up the sides of the ramekins.

4. Bake 30-40 minutes until the edges are set but the centers are still wiggly. Remove ramekins form the water and allow to cool in the fridge for about 2 hours.

5. After chilling, remove from fridge and apply a thin and even layer of sugar to the top of the dishes. Heat with a torch or under the broiler until golden brown.

6. Serve immediately!

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