Brussel Sprout Gratin

I found this recipe on The Vicarious Foodie blog.

Her blog is on my Feed list that gets updated and when I saw it I went - AhHA! I have brussel sprouts and home and some half and half, I can make this with our steaks.

So, turns out I had less half and half than I thought so I had so sub in some 1$ milk. So to thicken it up I added some parmesan.

Needless to say mine turned out NOTHING like hers. Her's was beautiful and thick and delicious looking. Mine was so runny I had to drain some of the milk off.

I'm not giving up on this recipe though - it was surely tasty! Next time I have heavy cream in the house I'll make sure I have brussel sprouts as well to make this again. It certainly deserves a 2nd shot!

Easy Brussels Sprout GratinAdapted from Brussels Sprouts Braised in Cream

1 pound fresh small Brussels sprouts, rinsed, with stem ends and discolored leaves removed
1 cup heavy cream
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Ground black pepper
2 slices white bread, quartered
1 tablespoon butter, melted

Preheat broiler.

Bring sprouts, cream, and salt to boil in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Lower heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until a knife tip inserted into a sprout center meets no resistance, 10 to 12 minutes. Stir in nutmeg and pepper.

Distribute sprouts between two individual gratin or baking dishes. Pulse bread slices in food processor to form fine crumbs, then toss crumbs with melted butter. Top dishes evenly with breadcrumb mixture, then set under broiler until topping is crunchy and golden brown, about 5 minutes.

Remove from oven. Baking dishes will be very hot, so allow to cool before serving.

A Secret Baker Shout Out!

The girls on the RI Nest board recently did a Secret Baker Swap. I signed up and sent out one of my favorite recipes for Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies.

I in turn received these wonderful Molasses Sugar Cookies from Diana. It's so funny that Diana was my secret baker - we're always back and forth on email about things and she was just accepted to do the Art Show at my office with her wonderful photographs.

These are the cookies she sent - they were out of this world - I highly recommend them - and so do my neighbors and co-workers and husband!

Diana's Molasses Sugar Cookies

Ingredients:
3/4 Cup(s) shortening
1 Cup(s) sugar
1/4 Cup(s) molasses
1 egg
2 Teaspoon(s) baking soda
2 Cup(s) flour
1/2 Teaspoon(s) ground cloves
1 Teaspoon(s) ground cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon(s) ground ginger
1/2 Teaspoon(s) salt

Directions: Preheat oven to 375 Melt shortening and add molasses and egg. Mix well. Add sugar and mix. Sift together dry ingredients and gradually add to mix. Chill. Roll into balls and coat with additional sugar. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes. Remove from cookie sheet immediately.



Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies
(very moist cake like cookie)

Ingredients:
2 1/2 Cup(s) flour
2 Teaspoon(s) baking powder
1/2 Teaspoon(s) salt
1/4 Teaspoon(s) baking soda
1 Cup(s) sugar
2/3 Cup(s) softened butter
2 egg
1 Teaspoon(s) vanilla extract
1 Cup(s) mashed banana
2 Cup(s) semisweet chocolate chips
Optional Ingredients:1 chopped nuts

Directions: Preheat oven to 350. Grease cookie sheets. Sift flour, baking powder, salt and baking soda together, set aside. Cream butter and sugar until fluffy. Beat in eggs and vanilla. Mix in banana. Add flour by spoonfuls. Stir until just combined. Stir in chocolate chips (and nuts). Drop by spoonfuls onto cookie sheets. Bake for 12-15 minutes.

How do you loaf?

Are you a square loafer or a round loafer?

I mean meatloaf of course!

I've never, ever in my life had a round free formed meat loaf.

Growing up in my household, meatloaf was always made in a rectangle loaf pan. But in my husband's house it was always round, free formed in a pie plate or round baking dish.

A few weeks ago we made a comfort food dinner for saturday night, meatloaf and mac and cheese - well my comfort meal, not hubbys. He doesn't love mac and cheese.

Adam decided to be the musher for the meatloaf and because he offered to get his hands raw meet messy I told him to just do what he wanted with it.

So almost an hour later and 350 degrees we got this...

And you know what, I have to tell you, it was much jucier, had a nicer texture and was just all around better - less crumbly, more dense.

And the Mac & Cheese, in my book - fabulous as always - it's already on the blog here.

I guess I'm a round loafer convert now!

Ciao Italia

I've recently discovered Ciao Italia on PBS and have been enjoying watching the shows on the DVR.

I've discovered in the past month or so I really enjoy the PBS cooking shows much more than the food network shows. I feel more educated when I watch them and not just entertained.

A few episodes ago Mary Ann had her sister on with her making sauces to put with Gnocchi or other pastas.

This one really caught my eye.

I made it last Monday for dinner for Adam, Mom and I and it was simple and delicious.

Nancy Verde Barr's Grated Zucchini Sauce

Sugo di Zucchini Grattato

INGREDIENTS
4 tablespoons unsalted butter

2 tablespoons Colavita Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 large cloves garlic, minced

1 large onion, finely chopped

1 celery stalk, finely chopped

1 medium carrot, finely chopped

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 pound zucchini, washed, ends trimmed and grated

1/4 cup dry white wine or 2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1/2 cup whole small basil leaves

Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

DIRECTIONS
Heat the butter and oil in a 12-to-14-inch sauté pan and stir in the garlic, onion, celery and carrot. Season with salt and pepper and cook gently until the vegetables are softened but not browned. Stir in the zucchini, season with salt and pepper and cook over high heat until tender and wilted, 7 to 8 minutes. Pour in the wine or lemon juice and reduce by half.Toss the basil leaves into the pan with hot, drained pasta and serve with grated cheese.Note: This sauce is excellent with cavatelli.

I made this with the lemon juice and it was wonderful with the lemon flavor. Highly recommend this meal for your kitchen!

Eggs - I love you so!

So, back to funny food finds...
check out this video from Japan - Cracks my shit up - really - honestly - teary-eyed laughter will ensue!

Bread I can eat!

Ever since we found out I have a severe allergy to yeast, it's been difficult finding things to substitute breads with - I'm down with the wraps and pitas and tortillas for lunches. I do miss a good hunk of sourdough or french bread - desperately miss! I don't miss basic sliced bagged sandwhich bread at all. Ok that's a lie - sometimes I miss white bread toasted with nice melty butter.

Since that is what I was missing - and I always used to eat toast with breakfast - I decided I needed to find some bread alternatives.

I found this recipe on Serious Eats - I love that site!

Very easy to make and REALLY delicious.

Do use butter and flour instead of spray - it helps the loaf stay even and keeps the sides from falling down the pan. I added nuts in to the dough recipe as well.

This is great toasted with a little butter - very tasty.

It's a dense yet light fluffy bread.

Oatmeal Breakfast Bread
Doesn't require kneading, but provides lots of opportunities for kids to mix ingredients by hand and stir the batter.
- serves 12 - Adapted from Baking: From My Home to Yours, by Dorie Greenspan.

Ingredients
For the topping:
1/4 cup (packed) light brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped walnuts or pecans
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

For the bread:
2 large eggs
1 1/4 cups unsweetened applesauce
1/3 cup flavorless oil, such as canola or safflower
1/4 cup buttermilk or whole milk (I used 1%)
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves
1/2 cup diced dried figs, apples, or apricots or moist, plump raisins (dark or golden) (I used dried cherries, cranberries and blueberries and diced pecans)
1 cup old-fashioned oats

Procedure

1. Center a rack in oven; preheat to 350°F. Butter 9-by-5-inch loaf pan, dust with flour, and tap out excess. Put pan on a baking sheet.

2. Make the topping: In a small bowl, use your fingers to toss together the sugar, nuts, and cinnamon until evenly mix. Set aside.

3. Make the bread: Whisk together the eggs, applesauce, oil, and buttermilk until well blended.

4. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cloves. Remove 1/2 teaspoon of mix; toss it with the fruit to coat. Set aside. Stir the oats into the bowl. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry, and, using a large rubber spatula, stir just until everything is evenly moistened. Don't overdo the mixing. Scatter the dried fruit over batter and stir it to blend. Scrape batter into pan; sprinkle over topping, tamping it down lightly with fingers so it sticks.

5. Bake 55 to 65 minutes, or until the bread is browned and a thin knife inserted into center comes out clean. Transfer bread to a cooling rack for about 5 minutes. Run a knife around the sides of pan and unmold. Invert and cool to room temperature right side up.

Out of This World Chicken

Roasting chicken so it is done is a skill I just recently acquired. It's been nice not to have to cook the chicken the rest of the way in the microwave.

I found this recipe on the Simply Recipes blog - one of my favorites. And I have to tell you, her chicken recipe did not disappoint. Holy cow - or chicken - this is out of this world. This is certainly our new chicken recipe. http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/007229lemon_chicken.php

Changes I made - I did not cut up the chicken, I marinated it whole. I used the zest of two lemons and the juice of two lemons as well as some additonal bottled lemon juice. 3 cloves of garlic instead of two and I used all dried herbs. I roasted on 425 for 2 hours on a rack. I did not keep any of the liquid for sauce, we're not saucy chicken folks!

Lemon Chicken Recipe

Ingredients
3-4 pounds chicken parts (thighs and legs recommended), skin-on, bone-in, trimmed of excess fat
2 Tbsp lemon zest
1/3 cup lemon juice
2 cloves garlic, crushed
2 Tbsp fresh chopped thyme (or 2 teaspoons dried)
1 Tbsp fresh chopped rosemary (or 1 teaspoon dried)
1 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
2-3 Tbsp melted butter (do this, it makes a world of difference for the skin and all around flavor!)
Lemon slices for garnish

Method

1 Place lemon juice, lemon peel, garlic, thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper in a small bowl, whisk to combine. With the tip of a sharp knife, cut into each chicken piece one or two times by about 1/2 an inch. (This will help the marinade penetrate.) Place the chicken pieces and the marinade in a gallon-sized freezer bag. Rotate the bag so that all chicken pieces are coated with the marinade. Seal the bag and place in a bowl in the refrigerator (in case of leakage). Let marinate for 2 hours. (I let marinate for about four hours)

2 Preheat oven to 425°F. Remove chicken from marinade and place in a single layer in a large baking dish, skin side up. Reserve the marinade. Use a pastry brush to brush a little melted butter on to each piece of chicken.

3 Bake for a total of 50 to 55 minutes, until the skins are crispy brown, and the chicken is cooked through, juices running clear (breasts have an internal temperature of 165°F and thighs 175°F). Half-way through the baking, at about the 25 minute mark, baste the chicken pieces generously with reserved marinade.

Depending on the size of the breasts, they may be ready before the thighs, so if you are cooking a mix of chicken parts, keep that in mind, you may have to take them out of the oven before the thighs.

Let rest, covered in foil, for 10 minutes before serving.

4 Pour the juices from the pan into a serving bowl. Use a tablespoon to skim the fat off the top (save the fat for cooking with later, or discard, but do not discard down the drain or it will solidify and clog your drain). Serve the chicken with the juices on the side or a little poured over the top of the chicken.

Serves 4. Serve alone or with steamed rice.

Ooo La La part deux!

For breakfast this morning I use some strawberries that were in need of being eaten and the remaining 4 crepe wrappers I had left from dinner last week. What a fabulous and easy breakfast!

Stephany's Strawberry Crepes

Clean and thinly slice 1 container of strawberries.

In a skillet melt 1 T of butter on medium heat. Add the berries, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon and 2 T of Maple Syrup. Simmner until the berries are just tender and warm and a thin sauce starts to form.

Place one quarter of the berries in each crepe wrapper. Top with any remaining sauce or berries. Top with whipped cream.

Hey Mambo..

Mambo Italiano...

We have had some packages of gnocchi in the house for a while and Adam has had a hankering for the spinach ones.

I kind of made dinner up as I went along but it was so tasty and filling. Certainly one I need to add to the recipe mix on a regular basis.

This dinner is certainly one that shows how you can take real items from your kitchen and local stores and make an awesome dinner!

I think I'll call this Spinach Gnocchi with Sausage Meatballs

Ingredients

1 package (dry or frozen - we find the dried cook up fluffier) Gnocchi

1 Jar sauce

1 package ground Italian Sausage, without casings

Pour jar in to pot and season with pepper, garlic powder, and Italian Pasta Sprinkle

In a skillet, on medium high heat, brown the mini meatballs until just firm. Transfer to the sauce and reduce to simmer and cook until done.

Add gnocchi to boiling water and cook until they are floating and light and fluffy.

Top with grated parmesan cheese.

Delicious Images

I decided - since I've always loved quirky signs - I would start posting some of the funny things I find out in the big world and on the web that relate to food. Today - I think this gets a good first picture post!





Welcome to Delicious Images!

Found on thekitchn.com ( my new favorite site by the way)