Fallen Souffle

I have become cautious of new “healthy” cooking shows that the Food Network puts out. The first one I remember was the one with Kathleen Daelman where she would renovate a person’s diet and give little tips on how to snack a little healthier. I don’t think her show has been on a few years, I liked it but she didn’t do anything spectacular that I hadn’t heard before. Then Atkins became popular and George Stella came on with “Lo Carb and Lovin It,” I couldn’t stand watching this guy. Even worse was when his wife was on, talk about being uncomfortable in front of a camera. I never did the lo-carb thing but found his recipes to be a bit far fetched. Lastly there was the Calorie Commando Juan Carlos who made it his personal challenge to re-create favorite recipes of viewers. I initially liked him but when he “transformed” stuffed shells from a cheesy delight to a broccoli and spinach dish…I was done.

So when Ellie Krieger’s show debuted a few weeks ago I was a bit skeptical. Another health nut trying to give us the same recipes and tips to get us to eat healthy. But I actually really liked her. She seems to be much more realistic about eating (though I was slightly disappointed with last week’s dinner parties episode- come on 2 crab cakes per person as an entree!) and I like her spin on traditional recipes.

Her first episode was dedicated to comfort food, something near and dear to my heart. I love some mac and cheese and crave it like a champ. Ok so she didn’t actually talk about mac and cheese but she would be my hero if she found a healthy way to make it. But she did make some yummy looking dishes included Pasta Puttanesca. Why I haven’t had this pasta before is beyond me because it includes some of my favorite things; pasta, olives and garlic! YUM! I whipped this up for lunch on Saturday, took a total of 15 minutes, and I had the leftovers today which was perfect since I started an 8 hr shift at 3:30am and decided to go to the gym afterwards- not smart. Starving does not even begin to describe it!

This would be a perfect meal for two or lunch for a couple of days. It relies on pantry staples (I just had to buy arugula but I bet you could use spinach too) which is always a plus in my book.

Pasta Puttanesca
from Ellie Krieger

8 ounces whole-wheat thin spaghetti, vermicelli or angel hair
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/4 cup pitted chopped Spanish or Greek olives
2 tablespoons capers
1 teaspoon anchovy paste
1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves or 1 teaspoon dried
1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes, preferably “no salt added”
3/4 cup chopped fresh arugula
1/4 cup grated Parmesan

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, add pasta and cook according to the directions on the package.

While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a large skillet over a medium flame. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the parsley, olives, capers, anchovy paste, oregano and crushed red pepper to the skillet, and saute for 2 minutes more. Add the tomatoes and simmer for about 5 minutes. Stir in the arugula and simmer for 1 minute more, until the greens wilt slightly.

When the pasta is done, drain it and add it to the skillet, tossing it with the sauce to combine. Top with grated cheese.

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Evan and I had the bright idea to invite his parents over for Easter dinner since they have never been to our house for dinner! Shocking I know! Well then we were given a weekend in a huge beach house in the Outer Banks for that same weekend…so naturally we asked to push back the dinner which his parents kindly understood.

So I had to make this dinner really great since (1) they have never eaten at our house and (2) I had to make up big time for postponing our dinner. So I turned to the queen of simple entertaining, Ina Garten, for a delicious and easy entree. I made her Chicken with Forty Cloves (yes it had forty cloves of garlic in it, I counted them!) which was fantastic! I saw it on her show a couple of weeks ago but I believe it is also in her Barefoot in Paris cookbook which I flipped through while at the beach and really liked the recipes,I may need to add this one to the collection. I also took some inspiration from one of her salads in the book and made a salad with pears, gorgonzola and a nice simple vinaigrette.

As a side I made my first orzo dish which had some carrots and peas in it. Nice and simple but really yummy. I really think homemade chicken stock makes a tremendous difference in dishes like this.

For dessert I tried out a recipe I made up for a cooking contest coming up in about a week. I am so excited because everyone had seconds! That’s always a good sign! I think with one minor change I will be on my way! I will have more on this recipes later.

unfortunately I did not have a chance to take pictures of anything but I assure you it was all quite beautiful and tasty!

Ina’s Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic
from Ina Garten
This recipe looks daunting but is really worth all of the browning and transferring of chicken, once everything is browned up you just throw everything in the pot and let the cookware do the work- I think this is a great recipe for entertaining. ~Jen

3 whole heads garlic, about 40 cloves
2 (3 1/2-pound) chickens, cut into eighths
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons good olive oil
3 tablespoons Cognac, divided (I used brandy)
1 1/2 cups dry white wine
1 tablespoon fresh thyme leaves
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons heavy cream (I left this out)

Separate the cloves of garlic and drop them into a pot of boiling water for 60 seconds. Drain the garlic and peel. Set aside. (Peeling the garlic is a great task for the husband, wife or kids!)

Dry the chicken with paper towels. Season liberally with salt and pepper on both sides. Heat the butter and oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. In batches, saute the chicken in the fat, skin side down first, until nicely browned, about 3 to 5 minutes on each side. Turn with tongs or a spatula; you don’t want to pierce the skin with a fork. If the fat is burning, turn the heat down to medium. When a batch is done, transfer it to a plate and continue to saute all the chicken in batches. Remove the last chicken to the plate and add all of the garlic to the pot. Lower the heat and saute for 5 to 10 minutes, turning often, until evenly browned. Add 2 tablespoons of the Cognac and the wine, return to a boil, and scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the pan. Return the chicken to the pot with the juices and sprinkle with the thyme leaves. Cover and simmer over the lowest heat for about 30 minutes, until all the chicken is done.

Remove the chicken to a platter and cover with aluminum foil to keep warm. In a small bowl, whisk together 1/2 cup of the sauce and the flour and then whisk it back into the sauce in the pot. Raise the heat, add the remaining tablespoon of Cognac and the cream, and boil for 3 minutes. Add salt and pepper, to taste; it should be very flavorful because chicken tends to be bland. Pour the sauce and the garlic over the chicken and serve hot.

Jen’s Confetti Orzo

1 T. olive oil
1/2 medium onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 chopped carrots
3 cups chicken stock (homemade is best in this recipe if you have it!)
1 cup orzo
1/2 cup frozen peas
salt and pepper
2 T. milk or cream

1. Heat the olive oil over medium heat, add onions, garlic and carrots and cook until soft.

2. Add chicken stock, raise heat to high. Once boiling, add orzo, stir and cover. Cook for about 10 minutes until liquid is absorbed and pasta is al dente, stirring occasionally.

3. Add frozen peas and cook for one more minutes, stirring constantly. Turn off heat and season with salt and pepper. Finish with the milk or cream to smooth it out and make it nice and creamy.

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Ok so since I have been a bit dormant since returning from the becah I thought I would atleast post a cute picture of our dogs for Sweetnicks Weekend Dog Blogging.

This is our renegade Sasha after a jaunt in our muddy backyard…lovely. Our sweet lab Bella is on the right checking out the mischief. We have had some wicked storms this weekend and Bella is deathly afraid of thunder so she has been a wreck all weekend.

I shall resume normal blogging this week, the in-laws are coming over for a belated Easter dinner tonight and I am trying out all new recipes…yikes!

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We leave tomorrow for the beach, but not before one more early morning at the bakery (I have to get up at midnight to go into work-yikes!) So I wanted to make something extra special for our Easter dessert so ofcourse I opted for a chocolate cupcake. Unfortunately I cannot comment on the taste of them yet because we have one more day of Lent but I will be sure to let you know how they are. I used Nic’s recipe for chocolate espresso cupcakes and chocolate frosting. I also used the Reynold’s baking tins that have been popular among other bloggers.

I used up some marshmallow fondant that I made for the cancelled cupcake order and I think they turned out pretty cute. I will post the recipe for that next week as I seem to have misplaced it.

I hope you all have a wonderful Easter! See you next week!

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1. I was supposed to do a cupcake job the weekend after Easter and I was so excited and spent a couple hours this weekend testing recipes (even made fondant!) but she called today to cancel because she decided she wanted a cake instead I am kinda bummed but I will put the new recipes to good use and make individual egg shaped cakes for Easter…so it will all work out. But I am still disappointed.

2. I have a new crush. Evan loves Giada, I have Johnny. Johnny Damon that is…the new centerfielder for the Yankees. I always thought he looked like a homeless guy when he played for the Red Sux, but now that he has cleaned up for the pinstripes he is a HOTTIE! I DVR-ed Letterman last night because he was on and woah! His arms are amazing…I love men’s muscular arms…Evan has great arms

3. We had the in-law-dogs for the weekend while the in-laws were in Florida, they were really good even though it was crazy having 4 dogs in the house ranging from 13 years to 2 years! Yikes! Well they went home today but we have taken in another pooch, Darcy, an adorable 10 week old black lab. Our friend just got her but has developed an awful allergy to her so we are being foster parents until she can find a new home.

4. We are going to the Outer Banks this weekend for Easter (and some business for Evan), we get to stay in an awesome house and enjoy some time off. Much needed after some long mornings/day that are coming up at the bakery. I can’t wait!

5. We discovered tonight that we do not like corned beef brisket. I made one for dinner for tonight, and it tasted like chewy ham…very salty and not appetizing. It was pretty cheap so I didn’t mind too much but we ended up going out to grab a bite for dinner.

6. Tommorrow night we are going to see Michael Buble in concert. Evan got great tickets for our anniversary (even though we were NOT exchanging gifts!) We danced to one of his songs for our first dance. I couldn’t tell you the last concert I saw! I am very excited!

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When you see Starburst Jellybeans in the stores!

I am not usually a fan of jelly beans but boy do I love the Starburst ones…they are the only kind I will eat. I first remember these coming out when my sister and I were in high school. My Mom would buy them and we both quickly discovered that the purple ones (grape flavored) were the best so we would pick those out first then move on through to our other favorites leaving the least favorite (the dark red ones) for Dad to eat. needless to say if my Mom found us pick through them she was none too happy.

Well I bought a bag Sunday at the store and filled up my cute bunny candy dish. I cannot keep my hands out of the dish! I am addicted!

And I still find myself picking out the purple ones….

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Oh Darling! Stephanie has been gracious enough to host another Blog Party but this time the theme is Desserts!
So I decided to bring something crisp and refreshing instead of a rich, decadent, sinful pleasure. I am on a citrus kick and I also had to experiment with cupcake recipes for an upcoming job so I put the two together to create these yummy little mouthfuls. To compliment these sweet delights is a refreshing limoncello spritzer, made with my homemade limoncello.

Enjoy!

Magnolia Bakery Vanilla Cupcakes
makes 24 mini cupcakes

3/4 cup self rising flour
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
1/2 cup softened butter
1 cup white sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Liberally grease mini muffin pan. These little guys got kinda stuck in my pan so make sure you use a liner or butter them well.

2. Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, incorporating them between egg. Add vanilla to mixture. In a small bowl, sift together the two flours.

3. Beginning and ending with the flour, alternate with the flour and milk mixing it into the butter mixture until just combined. Don’t overmix, finish my hand if you are concerned.

4. Scoop mixture into muffin tin to the top. Baking 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick comes clean. Cool a few minutes in the pan then turn out onto a wire rack.

Lemon Icing

1/2 cup butter
2 tablespoons lemon juice (or more for more pucker!)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 cups confectioners’ sugar

Combine the butter, lemon juice, vanilla, and confectioners sugar and beat until light and fluffy. Add more confectioners sugar, or lemon juice to adjust the consistency as needed.

Limoncello Spritzer

Pour equal parts limoncello and lemon-lime flavored club soda in a glass. Add a splash of cranberry juice.

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I am taking over this blog for a minute to let all of Jen’s Interweb friends know that I love her very much. For those of you who do not know her beyond this blog, I will tell you she does more then cook amazing treats to keep me stuffed and you entertained.

I probably should tell her more often how much I appreciate everything she does and everything she is. She is the most caring and loving person I know and everyday I feel more lucky to be married to her (1 year 29 days).

I joke around a lot and give her a hard time, but it’s only because she is my best friend and I love her very much. I don’t think anyone could put up with someone as childish as me, let alone love me for it.

She means the world to me and I wanted other people who are part of her life, online and off to know.

I love you Jen!

*now back to your regularly scheduled programing*

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Oh how I love brunch. This special meal means sleeping in and eating enough food to cover two meals…and you can do it in your comfy PJ’s! What could be better! But for Easter we like to dress things up a bit and make things extra special, like taking the time to make a classic food from scratch. So for this month’s Weekend Cookbook Challenge #4
I have decided to show my baker’s muscles by whipping up some homemade bagels. And when I mean muscle I am not kidding. These heavenly treats are not hard at all to put together if you are familiar with bread making. The recipe calls for a simple sponge and dough technique but this dough is much stiffer than you are used to. I really had to put my weight behind it and even broke a bit of a sweat! Yes, I did everything by hand because I wasn’t sure if it would all fit in my mixer (this recipe makes 12 good sized bagels).

The beauty of this recipe is that you start it the night before and let it rise in the fridge so the next morning you just wake up, boil some water, preheat your oven and in 30 minutes you have fresh bagels unlike anything you have ever had before. This sure beats those overpriced bagel shops! (Because bagels are SO cheap to make!)

Ok, so I didn’t actually get this recipe from a cookbook, I got it from Floyd over at The Fresh Loaf , but he got it from a cookbook does that count? Floyd has great step by step instructions and I followed his method to a T and they worked out great. The only change is that I did not buy malt powder I just used honey. I topped mine with an array of toppings including dried onion, garlic, poppy seeds and kosher salt.

Well to be fair, here is a yummy recipe for flavored cream cheese, to round out the “Bagel Shop in Your Kitchen” feel.

Vegetable Cream Cheese
from Barefoot Contessa Family Style

16 ounces of softened cream cheese
2 T. minced scallions, white and green part
2 T. finely chopped carrot
2 T. finely chopped celery
2 T. finely chopped radishes (2 radishes)
2-3 pinches kosher salt
1 pinch fine black pepper

. Place all ingredients in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix on low speed until well blended.

* I think this would be great with some chopped red pepper in it too- yummy!

Happy Easter!

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Monday night is usually the night I make a typically “Sunday meal.” Something like a roast, or elaborate pasta dish or chicken. This Monday I wanted a roast chicken because it just felt like a roasted chicken kinda day. We woke up at 5:30am with a trembling black lab on our bed. Bella is deathly afraid of any loud type of noise like fireworks or thunder. She shakes uncontrollable and there is really nothing we can do for her but pet her and try to comfort her. She always wants to be close to us in times like these, so we always let her up on the bed or couch.

So anyways, we were plagued with nasty storms all day so I wanted something comforting and warm. Roasting chickens are quite easy to perfect when you have a digital thermometer. Mine was from Target and cost about $16 and it is totally worth it. This particular one includes an alarm which goes off when the temperature of your dish is ready. It’s amazing! It is perfect for chickens, pork chops or anything that you would normally have to hack into to check for doneness.

For this chicken I rubbed roasted garlic under the skin and shoved the remaining garlic bulb in the cavity. I them smeared a tablespoon of softened butter over the skin to make it crispy and yummy. Bake it at 425 degrees for about an hour and 15 minutes or until done (180 degrees internal temperature)

To compliment this juicy chicken I decided to try my hand at risotto. I have been a little intimidated by this just because you have to babysit this thing for 30 minutes while getting your arm workout for the day. It’s not something that sounded fun to me. But I did get the real rice from the Italian market and decided to give it a try. Though because I was catching up on a weeks worth of DVR-ed shows I was not interested in the constant stirring. So I broke a cardinal Italian rule by microwaving it- but it was SO MUCH EASIER! The microwave literally does all the work. I stirred it about 4 times total and the result was really yummy. I added a load of Parmesan cheese to this but you could add anything- peas, prosciutto mushrooms…yum! Evan even enjoyed it even though he doesn’t really like rice…but even he couldn’t turn down this cheesy delight.

Microwave Risotto
3 tablespoons butter
1 clove garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
1 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 cup uncooked Arborio rice
3/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. In a 3 quart, microwave safe casserole dish combine butter, garlic and onion. Place dish in microwave and cook on high for 3 minutes.

2. Place vegetable broth in a microwave safe dish. Heat on microwave until the broth is hot but not boiling (approximately 2 minutes).

3. Stir the rice and broth into the casserole dish with the onion, butter and garlic mixture. Cover the dish tightly and cook on high for 6 minutes.

4. Stir wine into the rice. Cook on high for 10 minutes more. Most of the liquid should boil off. Stir the cheese into the rice and serve.

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