Archives
Recent Posts
Currently Reading
Here are the tastingspoons players. I’m in the middle (Carolyn). Daughter Sara on the right, and daughter-in-law Karen on the left. I started the blog in 2007, as a way to share recipes with my family. I’m still doing 99% of the blogging and holding out hope that these two lovely and excellent cooks will participate. They both lead very busy lives, so we’ll see.
– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –
BOOK READING (from Carolyn):
Music of Bees, Eileen Garvin. Absolutely charming book about a woman in midlife, lonely, who raises bees, also makes unlikely friends. Heart-warming and very interesting about beekeeping.
A Postcard from Paris, Alex Brown. Really cute story. Dual time line, 1940s and present day about renovating an old apartment in Paris, things discovered.
Time of the Child, Niall Williams. Oh such a good book. Very small village in Ireland, 1960s. A baby is left on the doorstep. The town all whispers and helps. I listened to an interview of the author, which made me like him and his books even more.
Sipsworth, Simon Van Booy. If you like animals you’ll swoon. An old woman who really wants to die finds a tiny mouse in her house and befriends it and finds a reason to live. Utterly charming book.
The Forger’s Spell, Edward Dolnick. True story. For seven years a no-account painter named Han van Meegeren managed to pass off his paintings as those of Johannes Vermeer.
If You Lived Here, You’d be Home by Now, Christopher Ingraham. Could hardly put it down – about a journalist who takes on a challenge to move to small town in Minnesota and write about it. He expects to hate it and the people and place, but he doesn’t. Absolutely wonderful true story.
The River We Remember, William Kent Kreuger. 1950s, Minnesota. A murder and the aftermath. Could hardly put it down. Kreuger has such a vivid imagination and writing style.
How the Lights Gets In, Joyce Maynard. An older woman returns to New Hampshire to help care for her brain-injured son. Siblings and family, lots of angst and resentments.
The Filling Station, Vanessa Miller. Every American should read this book. A novelized retelling of the Tulsa massacre in 1921. Absolutely riveting.
The Story She Left Behind, Patti Callahan Henry. Love this author. Based on a true story. A famous author simply vanishes, leaving her husband and daughter behind. She had invented a mystical language no one could translate. Present day, someone thinks he’s solved the riddle, contacts the family. Really interesting read.
The Girl from Berlin, Ronald Balson. Love anything about Tuscany. An elderly woman is being evicted from a villa there, with odd deed provenance. Two young folks go there to help unravel the mystery. Loved it.
The Island of the Colorblind, Oliver Sacks, M.D. Nonfiction. The dr is intrigued by a remote Pacific island where most of the inhabitants are colorblind. He also unravels a mystery on Guam of people born with a strange neurological problem. Medical mysteries unveiled. Very interesting.
The Bookbinder, Pip Williams. Post 1914 London. Two sisters work at a bookbindery. They’re told to not read the books. One does and one doesn’t. One has visions beyond her narrow world; the other does not. Eventually the one gets into Oxford. Lovely story.
The Paris Express, Emma Donoghue. 1895 on a train to Paris, a disaster happens. You’ll delve into the lives of many people who survived and died in the crash.
A Race to the Bottom of Crazy, Richard Grant. This is about Arizona. Author, wife and child move back to Arizona where they once lived. Part memoir, research, and reporting in a quest to understand what makes Arizona such a confounding and irresistible place.
The Scarlet Thread, Francine Rivers. A woman’s life turned upside down when she discovers the handcrafted quilt and journal of her ancestor Mary Kathryn McMurray, a young woman who was uprooted from her home only to endure harsh frontier conditions on the Oregon Trail.
A Place to Hide, Ronald Balson. 1939 Amsterdam, an ambassador has the ability to save the lives of many Jewish children. Heartwarming.
Homeseeking, Karissa Chen. Two young Chinese teens are deeply in love, but in China. Then their families are separated. Jump to current day and the two meet again in Los Angeles.
North River, Pete Hammill. He always writes such a good story. A doctor works diligently healing people from all walks of life. His wife and daughter left him years before. One day his 3-yr old grandson arrives on his doorstep.
A Very Typical Family, Sierra Godfrey. A very messed-up family. Three adult children are given a home in Santa Cruz, Calif, but only if the siblings meet up and live in the house together. A very untypical scenario but makes for lots of messes.
Three Days in June, Anne Tyler. The usual Anne Tyler grit. Family angst. This wasn’t one of my favorites, but it was entertaining and very short.
Saved, Benjamin Hall. Author is a veteran war reporter. Ukraine, 2022, he nearly loses his life to a Russian strike. Riveting story – he survives, barely.
Grey Wolf, Louise Penny. Another Inspector Gamache mystery in Quebec. She is such an incredible mystery writer.
All the Colors of the Dark, Chris Whitaker. A missing person mystery, a serial killer thriller, a love story, a unique twist on each. Could hardly put it down.
Orbital, Samantha Harvey. Winner of 2024 Booker Prize. I don’t usually like those, but I heard the author interviewed and she hooked me. This is not a normal book with a beginning, a story and an end. It’s several chapters of the day in the life of various astronauts at the ISS (Int’l Space Station). All fictional. She’s been praised by several real astronauts for “getting it” about space station everyday life.
The Blue Hour, Paula Hawkins. An island off Scotland. Inaccessible except when the tide is out. Weird goings on. An artist. A present day mystery too.
Iron Lake, William Kent Krueger. A judge is murdered and a boy is missing. Riveting mystery.
Tell the Wolves I’m Home, Carol Ricks Brunt. 1980s. A 14-yr old girl loses her beloved uncle. Yet a new friendship arises, someone she never knew about.
Four Treasures of the Sky, Jenny Zhang. 1880s, a young girl is kidnapped in China and brought to the United States. She survives with many hurdles in the path.
The Boy Who Fell out of the Sky, Ken Dornstein. Memoir, 1988. The author’s brother died in the PanAm flight that went down in Lockerbie, Scotland. A decade later he tries to solve “the riddle of his older brother’s life.”
Worse Care Scenario, T.J. Newman. Oh my. Interesting analysis of what could/might happen if a jet crashed into a nuclear plant. Un-put-downable.
Song of the Lark, Willa Cather. Complicated weave of a story about a young woman in about 1900, who has a gifted voice (singing) and about her journey to success, not without its ups and downs.
Crow Talk, Eileen Garvin. Charming story which takes place at a remote lake in Washington State, about a few people who inhabit it, the friendships made, but also revolving around the rescue of a baby crow.
The Story Collector, Evie Woods. Sweet story about some dark secrets from an area in Ireland, a bit magical, faerie life, but solving a mystery too.
A Sea of Unspoken Things, Adrienne Young. A woman investigates her twin brother’s mysterious death. She goes to a small town in California to figure it out, to figure HIM out.
The King’s Messenger, Susanna Kearsley. 1600s England, King James. About one of his trusted “messengers,” and his relationship with a young woman also of “the court.” Lots of intrigue.
In the Shadow of the Greenbrier, Emily Matchar. Interesting mystery in/around the area of the famous resort in White Sulphur Springs, West Virginia.
Isola, Allegra Goodman. Hard to describe, survival story on an island in the 1600s.
Save the Date, Allison Raskin. Rom-com, witty, LOL funny. Clever.
The Sirens, Emilia Hart. Numerous time-lines, Australia. Mysteries abound, nightmares, abandoned baby, weird allergies.
Red Clay, Charles Fancher. LOVED this book. Mostly post-Civil War story about the lives of slaves in Alabama during Reconstruction.
Stars in an Italian Sky, Jill Santopolo. Dual time line, 1946 and recent time. Love stories and a mystery.
Battle Mountain, C.J. Box. Another one of Box’s riveting mysteries. Love his descriptions of the land.
Something Beautiful Happened, Yvette Corporon. A memoir of sorts in Greece, tiny island of Erikousa, where the locals hid Jews during WWII. All elusive stories told by the author’s grandmother.
The Jackal’s Mistress, Chris Bohjalian. 1860s Virginia, about a woman who saves the life of a Union soldier. Really good story.
Song of the Magpie, Louise Mayberry. Really interesting story about Australia back in the days when it was mostly a penal colony. Gritty strength of a woman trying to thrive with her farm.
The Boomerang, Robert Bailey. A thriller that will have you gripping the book. About a lot of secrets surrounding the president (fictional novel, remember) and his chief of staff and about cancer. A cure. Such a good story.
Care and Feeding, Laurie Woolever. Really interesting memoir of a woman driven to succeed in the restaurant business. She worked for Mario Batali and then Anthony Bourdain. Gritty stories.
Everything is Tuberculosis, John Green. Maybe not a book for everyone. A real deep dive into the deadly tuberculosis infection, its history. I heard the author interviewed and found the book very interesting.
The Book Lovers Library, Madeline Martin. Fascinating read about Boots’ drug stores’ lending library. And the people who worked in them.
The Arrivals, Meg Mitchell Moore. LOL funny, about a middle-aged couple whose children (and their various family members) return to the family home and the chaos that ensues.
My Life as a Silent Movie, Jesse Lee Kercheval. About grief. A big move to Paris, finding herself a new life with a new set of real blood family.
Escape, Carolyn Jessop. Another memoir about a woman really in bondage in Utah, Mormon plural marriage.
Tasting Spoons
My blog's namesake - small, old and some very dented engraved silver plated tea spoons that belonged to my mother-in-law, and I use them to taste my food as I'm cooking.
Scroll down to the bottom to view my Blogroll
Posted in Uncategorized, on December 20th, 2012.
Here’s another of those – TRUST ME – recipes. When I tell you these are worth making, please just do it, right? Do you like vivid orange flavors? And chocolate? This positively is a match made in heaven. And they’re super easy too.
Muffin Tips:
(1) don’t over-mix the batter; and (2) bake to 205° internal temp (use a thermometer for that part)
A group of women was coming to my home to attend a cooking class, and each time we meet, the hostess (me this time) provides beverages (hot and cold) and some breakfast sorts of things (croissants maybe, fresh fruit, occasionally champagne) and a bread – perhaps banana bread or muffins. Even cookies. I had nothing particular in mind, but turned to one of my favorite little tiny cookbooks. What I’ve learned over the years is that every recipe in this book, Muffins: Sixty Sweet and Savory Recipes… From Old Favorites to New
Our daughter Sara, and her 15 & 7/8 year old daughter Sabrina
it’s out of print, but you can still find it in a used book store. And if you click on the link there, you’ll find some used copies for a penny (plus shipping, of course). I bought it for myself in 2003, when it was new (along with the companion book about Scones – Biscuits and Scones: 62 Recipes from Breakfast Biscuits to Homey Desserts
Looking online to see what other people thought, I found several versions of this recipe, all with a few little changes. Never did find the exact recipe, so I stuck with Alston’s original, using yogurt as the dairy (you can use buttermilk too).
You might be skeptical at the amount of orange zest in the recipe – 12 muffins require the zest from 2 oranges. My oranges were very large, so I probably had more than usual – about nearly 3 tablespoons that I got using the microplane. And it uses 3 ounces of bittersweet chocolate. I rarely use anything but the best chocolate (SharffenBerger in this case), and the bittersweet is worth seeking out. I did NOT use chocolate chips, and I’m glad I didn’t because they’re too sweet and too uniform – it’s nice to have dots of larger pieces of chocolate. You know you’re eating a really good chocolate that way.
The muffins are standard as far as mixing – cream the butter and sugar, add eggs and beat until light and fluffy. Add the yogurt, orange juice and zest, then the dry ingredients are gently stirred in with the chocolate at the last. There are two secrets to making muffins: (1) don’t over mix the batter – just stir until you don’t see any errant streaks of flour; and (2) bake them to EXACTLY 205°. In my oven that took 18 minutes. I used my fantastic Thermapen thermometer to test them and they were 204.9° exactly. Perfection. I cooled them in the muffin tin for about 10 minutes, then carefully used a plastic knife to release them and let them cool to room temp. And I’m absolutely guilty as heck – I ate one while they were still barely warm. Oh – my – gosh. Was it ever good. Ideally bake them within an hour of serving, when the chocolate is still almost molten, but not quite. As it was, I made them the day before and kept them in a ziploc bag overnight. Reheat them if you’re going to make them ahead – but not for long as they would dry out, I’m sure.
What’s good: oh, the orange flavor and the chocolate. As they say, those are two flavors that are marriage material. Loved the intense orange flavor – much more orange-y than usual in a baked good – but it wasn’t over the top (as in bitter). And the irregular pieces of chocolate were such a sweet surprise as you eat it. Definitely a make-again muffin.
What’s not: absolutely nothing at all.
printer-friendly (Cute PDFWriter) PDF
MasterCook 5+ import file – right click to save file, run MC, then File|Import
* Exported from MasterCook *
Chocolate Orange Muffins
Recipe By: From “Muffins” by Elizabeth Alston (2003)
Serving Size: 12
NOTES: If you use a mini-muffin tin, you’ll get 36.
1 cup sugar — (I used about 7/8 cup)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter — softened
2 large eggs
1/2 cup buttermilk — or plain, unsweetened yogurt
1/4 cup orange juice — freshly squeezed
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon orange zest — (I used about 2+ T because the oranges were large)
3 ounces semisweet chocolate — chopped in irregular small pieces
1. Preheat oven to 400° (200° C). Lightly grease a 12 cup muffin pan, or line with paper liners. May also use mini-muffin tin (if so, use shorter baking time)
2. In a medium bowl, mix flour, baking powder, and baking soda.
3. In a separate mixing bowl, with an electric mixer, cream together butter and sugar until smooth. Beat in the eggs one at a time and continue mixing until the mixture is light and ribbony. Add orange zest, orange juice, and buttermilk (or yogurt). Use a spoon to add the flour mixture and stir it in just until mixed and there are no streaks of flour. Add the chocolate pieces and stir just until combined. Divide batter into muffin cups.
4. Bake for 15 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven (to an internal temperature of 205°) or until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean. Let muffins cool in the pan on a wire rack for at least 10 minutes before removing from the pan. (My batch of these took 18 minutes. Do NOT over bake them or they’ll be dry. If making ahead, reheat them gently and for a short time.)
Per Serving: 244 Calories; 9g Fat (32.3% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 38g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 51mg Cholesterol; 118mg Sodium.
Posted in Uncategorized, on December 19th, 2012.
A couple of weeks ago we visited a wonderful exhibit at a Mormon church near us. Every year for a few days they have crèches on display from all over the world (and some lively choirs and vocal ensembles singing in the adjoining auditorium). There must have been 100+ of the crèches. They’re displayed well, on stands, on Christmas themed tables, etc. They take all forms. This one was from Africa, as I recall, and it’s a ceramic teapot (made for the purpose, obviously) with the nativity scene inside. In the next week, each day I’m going to post a photo of one. I took jillions of photos, but the lighting wasn’t the best for iPhone photos. These you’ll see are the better ones.
Posted in Miscellaneous, on December 18th, 2012.
Do you ever wish when you served a simple dinner (like a piece of grilled fish, or a chicken breast) that you had something to put on it, or next to it. Something that would fancy it up a little bit and give the protein some other texture and flavor? Something that you already had on hand – not something you had to make – but could just grab from the refrigerator? This is it. It will keep for at least 6 months in the refrigerator.
Are you like me – on some nights when I make dinner, I just don’t have the energy to create some kind of sauce or relish. I don’t want to make rich, calorie and fat laden sauces all the time. I love-love the Mississippi Comeback Sauce a lot. But it’s composed of mayo – at least half of it is mayo. Not all that healthy. I also love-love the Bell Pepper Relish for Meat too. That one’s not particularly fat-driven, but it’s sweet. Not always the right thing, depending on what kind of meat you serve it with. Oh, and the Siciliana Sauce is also a good one. It’s a tomato-based sauce, also somewhat sweet. And Romesco Sauce too. That one is served with Shrimp in the recipe I have here on my blog, but I always have leftovers and I use it on a bunch of different things. It is mostly composed of bread, peppers and almonds. I think the first time I had that it was with pork. But it would be equally good with chicken too.
What I was doing was catching up on my blog-reading – I probably subscribe via RSS to about 100 blogs. Probably too many, but fortunately they don’t all post every day. If I go a week without looking at them it can take me a couple of hours or more to go through them all. Anyway, I was reading Food52 and the story about this recipe caught my interest. Torrisi’s is a venerable restaurant in New York City. They have a sister restaurant called Parm, too. Anyway, this is a sauce adapted some from Torrisi’s owner and written up in New York Magazine. So this is their authentic sauce. In the story about it that caught my eye – they said somebody had cradled the sauce on the train for an hour or so to bring it in to the Food52 team. That got my attention.
The write-up suggested that you could throw this together from canned stuff on your pantry shelves. Well, maybe New Yorkers always stock cherry peppers. I don’t, so those had to be purchased (canned). The only problem was, the cherry peppers at our market aren’t hot – they’re peppers, in multi-colors, mostly red, but they’re called “Sweet Cherry Peppers,” although there isn’t any added sugar in it at all. Or heat. So I had to improvise a little bit. I’ll have to look at our local Italian deli and see if they have hot cherry peppers. Anyway, this contains the (hot) cherry peppers, roasted red peppers, a few fresh tomatoes, olive oil, red chili flakes, dried oregano, sugar and salt.
It’s very cinchy easy to make – throw everything in the food processor, whiz, and it’s done. Yea! Pour into a container and chill. Or not if you’re using it immediately. I think it would make a great (and easy) dip to put out with bread. Or sturdy crackers maybe. It’s more liquid-y than I had anticipated from the photo at Food52, but it doesn’t distract from the taste.
Because the cherry peppers were sweet, not hot, I added some Sriracha sauce (or you could add any kind of hot-sauce-heat, like Cholula, Tabasco or whatever). I added about 2 T. of Sriracha for the cup of Spicy Sauce. Add more if you like it hotter. Here are the possibilities for using this: on eggs (fried, scrambled, in a frittata), in sandwiches, with roast pork and potatoes, on stir-friend greens, on brisket, or stirred into soups, stews and pots of beans. I served it with some roast chicken. All of those sound good! It’s also pretty darned good straight out of the container on a spoon!
What’s good: how easy it was to make – pile everything in the food processor and whiz. Done. I’m sure this will keep for weeks – the only “fresh” thing in it was a few cherry tomatoes and those would be mostly “pickled” with all the other ingredients. It should be fine for a long time – the recipe indicates 6 months!
What’s not: it’s a thin sauce (not watery, as there isn’t any in it, but the cherry peppers are brined and did have a bit of liquid). There’s not much of any way to avoid that. Be careful not to over-process it – you don’t want it to be a puree – it needs some substance.
printer-friendly (Cute PDFWriter) PDF
MasterCook 5+ import file – right click to save file, run MC, then File|Import
* Exported from MasterCook *
Torrisi’s Spicy Sauce
Recipe By: A restaurant in NYC, but it was written up on Food52 Serving Size: 16 Description: A spicy sauce that goes with just about everything!
NOTES: This is the house hot sauce at Torrisi and its little sister Parm (New York City), where they mix it with sautéed broccoli rabe and spread it on roast turkey sandwiches. Other places to put it: on eggs, fried, scrambled, fritattaed. On roast pork and potatoes. On stir-fried greens. On banh mi or brisket sandwiches. In soups, stews, and pots of beans. And how about grilled fish and roast chicken?
4 ounces cherry peppers — stemmed, B&G hot, (or other pickled hot peppers)
2 ounces roasted red peppers — (canned, bottled)
2 ounces tomato — crushed
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon sugar
Salt to taste
Note: if the cherry peppers aren’t HOT, then add Tabasco, Cholula or Sriracha sauce. It needs to be very spicy.
1. Combine all ingredients in a food processor or blender, and mix until slightly smooth.
2. Don’t over-process as you want the mixture to have some texture. Store in refrigerator. Will keep for about 6 months.
Per Serving: 34 Calories; 3g Fat (88.3% calories from fat); trace Protein; 1g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 0mg Cholesterol; 106mg Sodium.
Posted in Cookies, on December 16th, 2012.
Cutting to the chase? Make these. They’re ever-so easy. And oh, are they good!
A week or so ago a choir friend brought these little puppies to church, which we got to nibble on in between services/singing. I almost passed them by, as I try to eat just ONE glazed doughnut hole, an every week offering on the snack table. But somebody was raving about these. And they were cut into little tiny bite-sized pieces. Okay, I said to self, just one. And indeed, I did just have one – they all disappeared within about a minute as the choir members swarmed like bears to a honeypot.
Quickly I found out who made them and joined the parade asking Donnell for the recipe, which she brought to choir practice the following week. Oh joy! I’d gone online and looked up many, many other recipes for these. None had a maple drizzle on top so I couldn’t be sure it was the same thing.
The very next morning I was in the kitchen making these. My best friend Cherrie (the one who has breast cancer and just had surgery) and I usually do a bake-a-thon of Christmas cookies during the first week of December. That’s not happening this year as she doesn’t have much arm power or stamina yet. So I’ve been sharing some cookies with her as I’ve made any. During the 10 days or so after her surgery many friends signed up to deliver dinner to them, and I’m sure a cookie was in order after some of those meals. I made Cranberry Noels a couple of weeks ago. I gave her almost all of them. This week I gave her all but about 10 pieces of this. I think I’ll have to make these again. Soon. My GF cousin Gary is coming down for Christmas – he arrives in a few days – maybe I’ll make the crust layer with almond meal, which would likely work well! I’ll let you know.
The only thing that’s unusual in these is MAPLE EXTRACT. Not every grocery store has it. Fortunately I had just enough to make this batch, and have already purchased another bottle of it. I’m going to find some pure extract, rather than the imitation, which is all that’s available in grocery stores. I went online and read lots of reviews of maple extract. I’d have ordered some from amazon (since I have a prime account, so no extra shipping), but they don’t offer any extract that qualifies for prime. I’ll check out Whole Foods. They might have it. Meanwhile, I’ll make do with the imitation!
So, back to the bars themselves. First you make a crumbly pastry base (I used my stand mixer). It is pressed into the bottom of a greased 9×12 dish/ or pan. I recommend using a quarter sheet pan if you have one – it’s a little bit smaller (8 1/2 x 12 interior measure, not 9×13 as most rectangular cake pans measure). I thought the base layer was a little bit sparse – I had trouble getting every smidge of the pan bottom covered because I was using a rectangular cake pan. If you use the quarter sheet pan you may be able to press a bit of the pastry up the edges (a good thing).
While it baked I made the filling, which is not difficult. Fold the chopped walnuts in last, though. The filling is easily poured on top of the pastry crust and it’s baked for 20-30 minutes. Usually my ovens runs a bit hot, but at 20 minutes the filling wasn’t “set,” as the directions suggested. I put it back in for another 10 minutes. I think that was just a bit too long as the filling around the edges (where it came in contact with the metal pan) had turned to candy. So, with my oven anyway, probably 25 minutes is just about right. Be watchful of the batch as you bake it.
Once baked the pan needs to rest until it’s completely cool. Then you mix up a simple powdered sugar, maple extract and milk drizzle that gets dripped all over the mixture. Let that set and cut and serve. As I mentioned above, Donnell made her batch in a quarter sheet pan, which is what I will use next time. The filling resembles pecan pie filling, but with walnuts, not pecans. The recipe does indicate the cookies should be stored in the refrigerator.
What’s good: the delish maple flavor. We don’t eat much of anything that uses maple syrup, so it was a taste treat for me. It’s easy to make too.
What’s not: I can’t think of a single thing I didn’t like about these!
printer-friendly (Cute PDFWriter) PDF
MasterCook 5+ import file – right click to save file, run MC, then File|Import
* Exported from MasterCook *
Maple Walnut Bars
Recipe By: My choir friend Donnell’s daughter Susan’s recipe, 12/2012
Serving Size: 36
NOTES: Sometimes maple extract is a bit hard to find – it’s necessary in these in order to get the really maple-y taste.
CRUST:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter — room temp
FILLING:
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup maple syrup — (do not use imitation syrup)
1 teaspoon maple extract
3 large eggs
1 1/2 cups walnuts — chopped
GLAZE:
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
1/2 teaspoon maple extract
1 tablespoon milk — or up to 2 tablespoons
1. Preheat oven to 350°. Grease a quarter-sheet pan (usually measures an inerior 8 1/2 x 12) or 9×12 baking pan.
2. In a large bowl combine all of the crust ingredients. Beat at low speed until crumbly. Press mixture into greased pan, pressing so there are no gaps. Press it to a thin layer and a little bit up the sides if you have enough.
3. Bake for 12-14 minutes, or until golden brown.
4. FILLING: In a bowl combine all of the filling ingredients (except walnuts) and beat until smooth and well combined. Stir in walnuts.
5. Remove baking pan from oven and pour filling evenly over warm base, moving walnuts so they are evenly distributed.
6. Bake an additional 20 minutes or until the filling is about 98% set in the middle. Watch carefully as the filling may go from liquid to hard candy almost. It will continue to cook once removed from the oven. Remove and place on a rack to cool for at least an hour.
7. FROSTING: Combine all glaze ingredients and stir well until smooth, adding additional milk for desired drizzling consistency. Drizzle over bars. Cut in small squares.
8. Store bars in refrigerator.
Per Serving: 132 Calories; 6g Fat (39.8% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 18g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 25mg Cholesterol; 23mg Sodium.
Posted in Grilling, Veggies/sides, on December 14th, 2012.
Oh, my. Can I just tell you to make this? Do you trust me? Have you learned that when I say that, it’s something that’s sensational? Worth making? Fabulous. All those things? Yes, YES!
We have a local restaurant in Tustin, where I live, called the Tustin Roadhouse. It’s a kind of a dive, but not in a bad way. Cement floors, melamine topped tables and a few benches. They serve Que – mostly. The restaurant used to have a different name (Beach Pit BBQ) but awhile ago they branched out just a little bit, provided some optional menu items and sides. We went a month ago and ordered appetizers and a side dish – corn. We had delicious – absolutely wonderful fried calamari with a fab remoulade sauce. Then they brought the corn. Oh my gosh! It was SO good. When we went back there a couple of weeks ago, all I really cared about was ordering more of that corn. I quizzed the waitress about what was on the corn, and promptly came home and made it myself.
You’ll find some other recipes online if you search for Mexican Street Corn. Some recipes suggest Parmesan. Most called for the cotija cheese. Some don’t have the cheese at all. Some used cayenne in the mayo. I like the depth of flavor from chipotle, so I used that. 
I made up my own recipe for it. I know it’s not corn season right now, but I did find corn at our local Trader Joe’s. It wasn’t the best tasting, but hey, it’s December as I write this, so I took what I could 
get! Those of you readers who live in the Southern Hemisphere – buy some corn right now and make this.
First you grill the corn, then while it’s sizzling hot you brush on a mixture of mayo, chipotle chile in adobo added in, and a tad of lime juice squeezed into the mix also. Then you roll the corn into crumbled cotija cheese. You don’t need much – maybe 2 T. per ear is sufficient. If you love the cotija, then add more. Cotija is a salty, aged cow’s milk Mexican cheese. It has the texture of feta, but it’s not like feta in taste, just the crumbly aspect of it. If you use Parmesan, be sure to grate it – don’t shred it. You don’t want big threads of cheese – you want crumbles. That’s IT. See? I said easy.
What’s good: the cheese, the flavor, the texture. You don’t use much mayo (the amount above – about 3 tablespoons was enough for 4 small ears) mixed with the chipotle and lime juice. Yum is all I can say.
What’s not: absolutely nothing. Do use corn holders in the end to hold the corn while you’re brushing on the mayo mixture – they’re really hot right off the grill.
printer-friendly (Cute PDFWriter) PDF
MasterCook 5+ import file – right click to save file, run MC, then File|Import
* Exported from MasterCook *
Mexican Street Corn
Recipe By: My own concoction, but based on what I tasted at the Tustin Roadhouse
Serving Size: 4
NOTES: Add more chipotle chile if you like it hotter. Just be careful – it packs a punch if you use too much.
4 ears fresh corn — on the cob
1/4 cup mayonnaise — regular or light
1/2 teaspoon chipotle chile canned in adobo — mashed, chopped, minced to a paste
1 1/2 teaspoons fresh lime juice
1/2 cup Cotija cheese — crumbled in small pieces
1. Set out two flat plates or dipping pans. In one add the mayo, chipotle (to taste – add more if desired), and lime juice. Mix it well and taste. Add pepper if desired. Don’t add salt as the cheese is quite salty. In the other dish or pan crumble the cotija cheese.
2. Grill the corn just long enough to get grill marks on the ears.
3. Use a silicone brush and brush each ear with some of the mayo mixture. Use corn holders in the end, or hold the ear with paper towels. Cover each ear end to end with the mayo mixture, but not thick at all – just enough so the cheese will stick. Then gently roll each ear in the cotija cheese, rolling back to cover most of it with a erratic covering of cheese. It does not need to be solidly covered – that would be too much, and too salty. Serve immediately before the corn gets cold!
Per Serving: 178 Calories; 13g Fat (58.6% calories from fat); 3g Protein; 17g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; 5mg Cholesterol; 98mg Sodium.
Posted in Miscellaneous, on December 12th, 2012.
What do you do when you need something to go on top of fish, but you lack anything to make it with? Well, if you just happen to have an orange, a lemon and a lime on hand, you can whip up an easy salsa. Then what do you do when you don’t have any fresh jalapeno or serrano pepper on hand? You use some chipotle chile in adobo sauce to heat up the juices!
Going online, I saw a few recipes and the inspiration for this one came from Martha Stewart’s website. I didn’t stray too far from that online recipe, although I changed proportions and the type of heat used. I wasn’t about to make a trip to the grocery store, so I made do with what I had. The orange was almost over the hill. The lemons were fresh from our tree, and the limes were a gift from friends who have a tree. I had cilantro, fortunately. And a shallot – I almost always keep a shallot or two in a little bowl on my kitchen counter. They come in handy, and when you need them, well, you really need them.
Use all of the orange and lemon segments. First, though, zest part of the lemon and orange (using all of the zest would have been too much) and also zest a little bit of the lime, and use the juice from half of it. Add finely minced shallot, a little tiny bit of extra virgin olive oil, some salt and pepper, and a little tetch of the chipotle chile in adobo sauce. Use your own judgment about how much – it’s hot, so be careful. Add and taste, add and taste! The recipe calls for a little sugar – honey is nice, although I used a substitute so my DH wouldn’t have a problem with the carbs in it – honey or agave would be the ideal sweeteners for this. Or sugar. Finally, add cilantro, and you’re done. I let it sit for about 20-30 minutes while I finished up the salmon in the Sous Vide (20 minutes at 140°) and made some corn to go with. It was an easy dinner and very tasty. Very healthy.
Easily this could be a salsa for chicken too. I’d make more of it, that’s all. The chipotle chile adds heat, of course (you don’t have to use it, though), and it also tinted the liquid just a little bit on the brown side – you can see it in the top photo. Rice would be a good side for this as it would soak up some of those liquids that spread all over the plate. Nothing wrong with those juices, but we wasted them as they floated around on the full plate.
What’s good: it’s very easy; healthy; tasty; just a little bit spicy. Yes, I’d make it again.
What’s not: really nothing at all. I liked it.
printer-friendly (Cute PDFWriter) PDF
MasterCook 5+ import file – right click to save file, run MC, then File|Import
* Exported from MasterCook *
Spicy Orange Lemon Salsa
Recipe By: inspired by a recipe at Martha Stewart’s website
Serving Size: 2
NOTES: If you don’t have chipotle chile in adobo, you can substitute fresh minced chile peppers (jalapeno, serrano, or?).
1 whole lemon
1 whole orange
1 whole lime
1 1/2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon shallot — finely minced
1/4 teaspoon chipotle chile canned in adobo — or more if needed
1 tablespoon cilantro — minced
2 dashes salt
1/2 teaspoon sugar — or honey, or sugar substitute
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1. LEMON: Zest about half of the peel and add to a bowl. Cut off ends, cut away all peel and pith. Remove segments and cut each into 2-3 small pieces.
2. ORANGE: Zest about half of the peel and add to the bowl. Cut off ends, cut away all peel and pith. Remove segments and cut each into 2-3 small pieces.
3. LIME: Zest about 1/3 of the lime and add to the bowl. Squeeze a lime half and add juice into the bowl.
4. Add the oil, minced shallot, salt, sugar, pepper, cilantro and chipotle chile (to taste). Allow to rest for 15 minutes. Serve on fish or chicken.
Per Serving: 87 Calories; 4g Fat (30.9% calories from fat); 2g Protein; 17g Carbohydrate; 2g Dietary Fiber; trace Cholesterol; 273mg Sodium.
Posted in Sous Vide, on December 10th, 2012.
You really don’t need a SousVide Supreme Water Oven in order to make this salmon dish. It’s just poached salmon, served with an easy dill sour cream-mayo sauce on top.
Posted in Soups, on December 8th, 2012.
You don’t need to have a friend who’s ill in order to make this delicious soup. My friend Cherrie was recovering (and still is) from major breast cancer surgery and her first day home from the hospital I took this big batch of soup. It was a cool day (for California anyway), overcast, almost foggy. A perfect day for heart-warming soup.
Knowing I wanted to make chicken noodle soup. . . well, there are just a few (ha) recipes out there by that name. If you do a google search, it comes up with 6.2 million hits. Oh my. Originally I was going to use a Tyler Florence recipe, but then I saw this one from Anne Burrell (she has the Food Network show Secrets of a Restaurant Chef). Reading the comments from people gave me all I needed to know that I would try her recipe. What makes it different is the addition of a little bit of cinnamon and nutmeg. When I read that, I thought whoa! Gee, cinnamon and nutmeg? Really? And she makes use of more lemon (a whole one). It adds a brightness to the flavors. It also used orzo (she suggested it as one of the possible pastas to choose). I liked that option. And the comments from people who had made it contained lots of superlatives like fantastic, awesome, fabulous. Those words speak volumes to me when I’m researching for a recipe to try. It’s nice that some of the big food websites allow people to comment.
Pasta Tip:
Cook the pasta separately and spoon it into each bowl – that way you control exactly how much pasta each person gets – and there’s no chance of it getting over cooked!
One of the more unusual things about this recipe is cooking the pasta separately. I really like this little tidbit of advice. I didn’t do that step when I made it, but I will in the future – for just that reason – orzo is tiny and it gets lost in the soup. When I served myself there wasn’t any orzo left – I mean, it was still good, but I’d have liked a few little pieces at least! The other nice thing is that if you put the pasta IN the soup, it may get very over cooked.
As usual, I did make a few minor changes: (1) I used chicken breasts and thighs (no legs); (2) I added peas and carrots to the soup; (3) I added in about a quart of gelatinous turkey stock I had left over from our Thanksgiving turkey as well as a little plop of Penzey’s chicken soup base (and I would absolutely guarantee you that if you made this soup – one with the Penzey’s soup base and one without, well, you’d for sure know the one with it tastes better – if you don’t have any turkey stock, that’s fine – I had it and wanted to use it up, that’s all – it was super-flavorful); (4) no white beans were added – didn’t think it needed it; and (5) I halved the amount of orzo (or pasta) indicated. I wanted it to be more about the chicken, veggies and the broth, rather than the carbs.
The report I got back was that the soup was wonderful. Actually I scooped out just enough for us to have a dinner with it, and I concur – it was really delicious. You can’t TASTE the cinnamon or nutmeg – there isn’t enough of it in there – but I’m certain it adds something.
What’s good: the overall good-ness of it – great flavored broth – and all the simple vegetables in it. I also really loved the lemon in it – add more in at the end even – it truly does just brighten the flavors. It’s not hard to make, and it will definitely keep for a few days in the refrigerator. Or freeze it for a later date.
What’s not: really nothing at all. It was altogether delicious.
printer-friendly (Cute PDFWriter) PDF
MasterCook 5+ import file – right click to save file, run MC, then File|Import
* Exported from MasterCook *
Chicken Noodle Soup (Anne Burrell)
Recipe By: adapted from Anne Burrell (Food Network)
Serving Size: 7
NOTES: I used chicken thighs and chicken breasts. And I had some turkey stock left over from Thanksgiving dinner, so that was added in as well. I halved the amount of pasta in it – if you want more, by all means add more. And I didn’t add the beans, either, but that was just a personal choice as I wanted a lower carb meal.
Extra-virgin olive oil — as needed
1 large onion — coarsely chopped
4 ribs celery — cut in 2-inch chunks
3 carrots — cut in 2-3 large pieces
Kosher salt
2 cloves garlic — smashed
2 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes
1 bunch thyme — or 2 teaspoons dried
1 1/2 pounds chicken legs — bone-in, skin and excess fat removed (I used chicken breasts instead)
1 1/2 pounds chicken thighs — bone-in, skin and excess fat removed
Water — as needed
2 whole bay leaves
1 whole lemon — halved
1 teaspoon Penzey’s chicken soup base — or chicken granules
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup pasta — preferably small shells such as orecchiette, or orzo (add more if desired)
15 1/2 ounces canned white beans — drained, rinsed, or chickpeas (optional)
2 cups frozen peas
1 1/2 cups carrots — cut into coins
1 bunch cilantro — leaves coarsely chopped
1. Coat a large stock pot with olive oil and add the onions, celery and carrots. Season with salt, to taste, and bring the pot to medium-high heat. Cook the vegetables until they start to soften and are very aromatic, about 10 minutes.
2. Add in the garlic, crushed red pepper and thyme and cook for another 2 to 3 minutes.
3. Add the chicken and fill the pot with enough water to cover the chicken. Add the bay leaves, bring the ingredients to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cook for 30 minutes and skim off any particles that accumulate on the surface. Squeeze the juice of the 2 lemon halves into the soup and drop in the lemon halves. Add the cinnamon and nutmeg and taste for seasoning. Adjust the flavors with salt and pepper, if needed. Simmer the soup for an additional hour. During the last 15 minutes add the carrots coins.
4. While the soup is simmering, bring another pot of well-salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until “al dente,” firm but not crunchy. Drain the pasta and transfer to a medium bowl. Add 1 teaspoon of olive oil and toss. Reserve.
5. After the soup has finished, switch the heat off and remove the chicken to a cutting board. Discard the celery ribs, carrot chunks, lemon halves, thyme and bay leaves. (Leave in the onion.) Let the chicken cool, then remove the bones and discard. Pull the meat into bite-sized pieces and return them to the pot. Add the peas. Taste the soup for seasoning. If using, rinse the beans and add them to the pot. Add more lemon juice if desired – it really does brighten up the flavor of the soup.
6. Spoon some of the reserved pasta into the bottom of each serving bowl and ladle the hot soup over the pasta. Garnish with the chopped cilantro and serve.
Per Serving: 497 Calories; 21g Fat (38.3% calories from fat); 36g Protein; 41g Carbohydrate; 8g Dietary Fiber; 124mg Cholesterol; 207mg Sodium.
Posted in Soups, on December 6th, 2012.
See those little meatballs in that soup? Oh gosh were they good! Enhanced with poblano chiles, they gave the meatballs SO much flavor. I love poblano chiles (also known as pasilla), and these were broiled in the oven, then I removed the skins. The soup itself is just a background, although it’s good. But the stars of the show are the meatballs.
If you don’t live in a part of the world where Mexican food is an everyday staple, you might not have heard of albondigas (all-bon-dee-gahs). Usually albondigas is a broth, a few veggies (usually carrots and onions, maybe green pepper) and meatballs. This, however, is a much more high class version. I changed the recipe around just a little bit because I wanted more substance to the soup part. The original recipe came from Bon Appetit, back in 2010. I wanted a soup type dinner to serve to our families who were driving out to Palm Desert to stay with us for the Thanksgiving weekend. They were coming from different directions and at different times, so I thought I should have a soup that could be just heated up and served. I made it a couple of days before since I knew I’d be crazy-busy working on side dishes for Thanksgiving that day.
The original recipe used ground beef (all albondigas does), but I lightened it up by combining equal parts ground turkey and ground beef. The meatballs also contain some grated zucchini (which also gives the meatballs a lighter texture) and then the roasted poblano chiles. And some Mexican type seasoning. I baked them in the oven rather than cooking them in the soup (so I could drain off any fat and because I was transporting the soup and thought it would be easier that way).
The broth/soup part was fairly bland according to many commenters at epicurious, so that’s why I decided to make some changes to the soup. I added more beefy flavor by using penzey’s soup base. Because the soup contains Ancho Chili Powder
We ate nearly all of it at that one meal (I doubled the recipe) and left the remainder in the freezer at our desert house, so we’ll have more of it next time we visit. I’m looking forward to those meatballs – they have really great flavor.
What’s good: particularly the poblano-enhanced meatballs – they’re definitely the highlight. The soup part is good too – hearty and with lots of textures.
What’s not: there is a lot of sous-chef stuff to do (chopping, roasting, mincing) but it’s worth it. I’d definitely make it again, but if you’re making it ahead I recommend you keep the ancho chile out until just before serving – that way it won’t discolor all the veggies.
printer-friendly (Cute PDFWriter) PDF
MasterCook 5+ import file – right click to save file, run MC, then File|Import
* Exported from MasterCook *
Poblano Albondigas with Ancho Chile Soup
Recipe By: Adapted from Bon Appetit, Jan. 2010
Serving Size: 6
NOTES: This will serve 6 people if using moderate portions. If smaller cup-sized bowls are used you could easily serve 10-12 people.
MEATBALLS:
10 ounces poblano peppers — (about 2 or 3)
1/2 pound ground beef
1/2 pound ground turkey
1/2 cup zucchini — coarsely grated
1/4 cup onion — finely grated
1/4 cup panko
1 large egg — beaten to blend
2 whole garlic cloves — pressed
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried oregano — crumbled (preferably Mexican oregano)
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
SOUP:
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 small onion — coarsely grated
2 garlic cloves — minced
2 teaspoons ground cumin
9 cups low sodium beef broth
1 teaspoon chicken broth cubes — (Penzey’s soup base)
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano (preferably Mexican)
1 cup zucchini — coarsely grated (use more if desired)
1/4 cup long-grain white rice
1 cup carrots — cut into 1/4 inch coins
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice — (or more)
3 tablespoons pure ancho chile powder or pasilla chile powder*** (do not use blended chile powder)
3 cups frozen corn — (fire-roasted from Trader Joe’s, if available)
TOPPINGS:
3 tablespoons vegetable oil — (or more)
4 corn tortillas — cut into 1/4-inch-wide strips
4 whole green onions — sliced (including some of the dark green parts)
Chopped fresh cilantro
1. MEATBALLS: Line large rimmed baking sheet with Silpat or foil. Char chiles under the broiler until blackened on all sides. Enclose in paper bag and steam 10 minutes. Stem, seed, and peel chiles, then chop finely (should yield about 3/4 cup).
2. Place chiles in large bowl. Gently mix in turkey, beef and all remaining ingredients. Using moistened hands and scant tablespoonful for each, roll meat mixture into 1-inch meatballs. Arrange meatballs on sheet.
3. SOUP: Heat oil in large pot over medium heat. Add onion with any juices and garlic. Sauté until onion is tender, about 3 minutes. Add cumin; stir 1 minute. Add broth and Penzey’s soup base and oregano; bring to rolling boil. Reduce heat to very low, just below bare simmer, and cook 10 minutes.
4. Stir zucchini, carrots and rice into broth. Increase heat to medium and drop in meatballs, 1 at a time. Return soup to simmer. Cover and cook gently until meatballs and rice are cooked through, stirring occasionally and adjusting heat to avoid boiling, about 20 minutes. Add corn and continue cooking for 3-4 minutes. Then add cilantro, 1 tablespoon lime juice and ancho chile powder. Season soup with salt and add more lime juice by teaspoonfuls, if desired.
5. TOPPINGS: Heat 3 tablespoons oil in heavy medium skillet over medium heat 1 minute. Add half of tortilla strips. Cook until crisp, gently separating strips with tongs, 2 to 3 minutes. Transfer strips to paper towels to drain. Repeat with remaining tortilla strips, adding more oil if needed.
6. Ladle soup and meatballs into bowls. Top with tortilla strips, green onions and cilantro.
Per Serving: 540 Calories; 25g Fat (39.8% calories from fat); 37g Protein; 47g Carbohydrate; 6g Dietary Fiber; 97mg Cholesterol; 540mg Sodium.
Leave a Comment!