Italy Day

Ever since "Grandma stood next to the volcano", Caleb has been interested in Italy. And who can blame him? The country looks like a boot kicking a tree! Where else can boast that? So he's had lots of questions about Italy and finally I decided we'd do something about it and have "Italy Day".

Besides learning how Italians say Mommy and Daddy and dog and fish, we ate Italian food all day!

For breakfast we had Mini Frittatas, cinnamon toast, and cappuccinos. For the kids I watered down some cappuccino mix (easier and cheaper than going to Starbucks). I decided to make cinnamon toast because I found a recipe for some cinnamon biscotti that sounded too complicated to make! And the Mini Frittatas are a Giada DeLaurentiis recipe and were really good and easy to make. Here's how you do it:

Mini Frittatas

2 eggs, beaten
2 Tbsp milk
1/8 tsp freshly ground black pepper
pinch of salt
1 ounce diced ham, fully cooked
1 1/2 tbsp grated Parmesan
1 tsp dried parsley (she called for fresh, but my fresh parsley hasn't gotten to the eating stage yet)

Spray a mini muffin tin with cooking spray and preheat oven to 375. Mix all ingredients and spoon into mini muffin cups. I poured them in, which was the wrong idea. The ham sank to the bottom and some of the Frittatas were just scrambled egg muffins (which is actually how I described them to Caleb to sell him on the idea). Bake for 8-10 minutes, then using a rubber spatula turn them out and serve immediately. Really, I'm no omlette eater, but these were tasty.

I got 8 mini frittatas, just fill the cups up to the top and when you run out, fill the empty cups with water.

We were going to have Nutella on toast, but the Nutella was $10 a jar!

For our morning snack, we usually have crackers, but today we had biscotti. (On sale this week at Publix.)

Lunch was a thin crust cheese pizza. I'm sure real Italian pizza is much thinner, but we got the gist. I topped half of it with fresh basil from my garden. I have to say, even if you aren't interested in growing any other fresh herb, you should grow basil, it is so fast growing and so fragrant. I grew mine from seeds - I think it was a 75 cent packet and I have more basil than I can possibly use.

For dinner we had Beef Scaloppine and Maccheroni con la Ricotta. I forgot to take a picture.

For dessert, we had storebought Tiramisu. I read a few recipes, but decided they all called for too many expensive ingredients that I do not keep on hand. Caleb and Annalise LOOOOOOOOOVED it!

And Caleb learned a few things about Italy - including it is no where near Australia (even though both of them are far away from Miami), if there are sidewalks in Venice, they are not underwater sidewalks, and the happy birthday song in Italian has the same tune, but different words.

Tastes Like Chicken: Rotisserie Chicken Ragout

Every now and then I add a recipe onto my meal plan that I think - no way am I going to like this one! But I'm not sure why I add those meals on, usually I don't like them, but this is an exception.

Ragout is a French cooking term, which I'm not sure how to pronounce - but I think it's ragoo, basically it's a catchall term that means to make a sort of stew. Based on what I read on wikipedia, I think they usually include tomatoes, but this recipe does not.

Rotisserie Chicken Ragout*

1 cup chopped yellow summer squash
1 cup chopped zucchini
1/2 cup chopped onion
1-1/2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups cubed cooked rotisserie chicken
1 can (15 ounces) white kidney or cannellini beans, rinsed and drained
1 tablespoon heavy whipping cream
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

Saute the squash, zucchini, onion and garlic in oil until tender. Add chicken through pepper, cook until heated through, stir in the parm.

This was much (MUCH) more tasty than I expected it to be. I think the cream made a big difference. I added the garlic in the last minute of saute-ing because it has a tendancy to burn. And I didn't use a rotisserie chicken, instead I seasoned 3 legs and 2 thighs with salt, garlic powder, and cumin (no pepper - pepper burns) and broiled them then shredded the meat - more work, but much cheaper. Also I used dry thyme.

*Simple and Delicious Magazine

Caleb's New "Toy"

Along with all the toys and clothes my parents got for Caleb and Annalise for Christmas, they also gave each of them a J.C. Penney gift card. Besides new clothes, I have enough hand-me-downs for Caleb to keep him dressed until he starts kindergarten. So I didn't feel too guilty for asking him this loaded question:

"Caleb, do you want clothes or do you want an ice cream maker?"

His answer ;), "AN ICE CREAM MAKER!!!"

So here it is, Caleb's Ice Cream Maker:



And if it's still working when he goes to college, he can take it with him!

Well, today we made some AMAZING strawberry ice cream with fresh Florida strawberries.

The ingredients:
1 pint of strawberries
1 cup sugar - divided
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 cup whole milk
2 cups heavy cream
1 tsp vanilla

First slice the strawberries and stir in the lemon juice and 1/3 cup of sugar, allow to mascerate for 2 hours.

Next drain the juice off the strawberries, combine juice, 2/3 cup sugar, and milk and stir until the sugar is disolved. Add cream and vanilla, follow ice cream maker instructions.

This is the cream mixture at the beginning of the churn. (Note: We added a tiny bit of red food coloring.)

In LESS THAN 30 MINUTES, it became soft serve ice cream!

We added the berry slices with 5 minutes to go in the machine.

After spending the rest of the day firming up in the freezer...isn't this the prettiest scoop of strawberry ice cream!

Caleb takes the inaugural bite!

Caleb says, "Ice cream...
"...GOOD!"

Meatballs with a Twist

You can thank Rachel Ray for these interesting and tasty meatballs:

Thai Shrimp & Pork Balls

4 scallions, trimmed
1 tsp ground ginger
2 garlic cloves
3 tbsp tamari (soy sauce*)
1 tsp basil
zest & juice of 1 lime
1 lb medium shrimp - shelled and deveined (raw)
1 lb ground pork

Combine scallions, ginger, garlic, tamari, basil, and lime zest in a food processor. Pulse for 30 seconds, scrape down the bowl thne process for 1 minute. Add shrimp and pork and process until the shrimp is in really tiny pieces, but not totally mush. Roll into balls and cook as you would any other meatball. I'm not saying these are good with marinara sauce (RR suggests a curry sauce that includes coconut milk), but then again, maybe they would be good with regular spaghetti...I just know they are tasty meatballs!

*Tamari IS soy sauce, but it's not the same as what's labeled "Soy Sauce" when you see it on the grocery shelf. It's a little more expensive, but it is really really good.

Make Your Own Take Out vol. 2

How do you stretch 1/2 pound of ground pork to feed 6 people? Easy! Make Potstickers!

I'm not sure whether to say that potstickers are convenience foods or that they are labor intensive. In a way, they are both. They are a food that if you invest time in preparing, you will have a convenient Asian meal another time. Here's what you need:

1/2 lb ground pork
1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
2 tbsp finely chopped red bell pepper
1 egg, beaten
2 tsp ketchup
1 tsp yellow mustard
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
35-50 small wonton wrappers (1 package will be a little more than you need)
a little cup with water in it

and later on when you cook them:
3-4 tbsp vegetable oil
1/3 cup chicken stock for every 6 or 7 potstickers you plan to cook

You could season the pork any way you want. I'm not crazy about worchetershire sauce, so I usually substitue with soy sauce.

Assembling the potstickers is the labor intensive part. If you grew up shelling peas, you might find this relaxing! I can wrap up 1/2 lb worth in about 45 minutes.

Mix up the ingredients (pork thru cayenne pepper) in a bowl, then set up a work area including these elements:
1 plate with wonton wrappers on it, cover with a damp paper towel
1 empty plate (the assembly platform)
bowl with pork mix in it
little cup with water
teaspoon sized measuring spoon
2 cookie sheets - lined with parchment

Take one wonton wrapper and put it on the assembly plate so that it looks like a diamond, scoop up a modest teaspoonful of the filling and place it directly in the middle. Dip your finger in the water and dampen just the edges of the bottom half of the diamond. Fold the wrapper over and work the air out (important!!!) of the potsticker sealing it where you put the water.

You could leave it like that, but that leaves two big "ears" that have no filling in them, I fold them a 2nd time like this (left picture is front view, right is back):



Place each potsticker on the cookie sheet. When the sheet is full, put the whole thing in the freezer. Repeat, repeat, repeat.

Once these little guys have been in the freezer half an hour or so, you can dump them into a zip top bag and keep them in your freezer. When you want to eat them, you can just take out however many you need - 6 is good for me, 10 leaves me feeling overstuffed. (Note: There is no need to defrost.)

To cook these you heat up (med-high) a pan that is NOT non-stick - sticking is part of the cooking process here. I use a back burner to heat up my chicken stock. Use a pastry brush to "paint" the pan with oil. When it's hot, put the potstickers in and wait 2 minutes. In 2 minutes they will be totally stuck to the pan. Reduce heat to low and pour in 1/3 cup chicken stock - it will hiss and steam a lot! Put on a tight lid and cook 2 more minutes. After 2 minutes, they should let go - remove to warm plate.

Before cooking the next batch, reheat the pan, add water and scrape off any "stuff" that gets left behind. Each batch takes about 6 minutes including cleaning.

Serve with whatever sauce you want (I like hoisin) and some egg rolls (Chung's is the best, IMHO). With homemade Asian cuisine this easy and cheap, you might never go our for Chinese food again!

According to the Joy of Cooking cookbook, this is also the most authentic stir frying method for vegetables. I've tried this and the result is crisper than just stiring it until it seems done.

Recipe by Alton Brown

The Other White Meat : Green Chili Burritos

These are good! (BTW - there's no reason you couldn't substitute the pork in this recipe with chicken.)

Green Chili Burritos

1 lb boneless pork, cut into bite sized cubes
1 tbsp oil
1 can (10 oz) diced tomatoes with green chilies (undrained)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup water
1 fresh tomato, diced
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp ground cumin
5 tsp cornstarch
2 tbsp cold water
1 (16 oz) can of refried beans
10 6-inch flour tortillas

Over medium heat, brown pork in oil; drain. Add next 10 ingredients; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour. Combine cornstarch and water, add to pork mixture - stir while it comes to a boil until thickened (about 2 minutes). Meanwhile, heat beans and spread evenly on tortillas. Spoon pork mixture into tortillas and fold in sides.

Reiman Media Group as posted on www.tasteofhome.com.

I put the filled tortillas in a baking dish, grated on some cheese and stuck it under the broiler for a couple of minutes. Alternately you could skip the assembly step and let people fill their own tortillas at the table. I also served it with sour cream. Yum yum yum!

That's Sweet! : Clean and Easy Beignets

I discovered this trick by accident yesterday. I was making Curry Chicken Pot Pie, which calls for puff pastry on top. I had left over puff pastry and didn't want to throw it away, so I cut it into little squares and put it on a greased piece of foil. I popped it in the oven for about 13 minutes. While they puffed and browned, inspiration struck. Why not dust those little puffy squares with powdered sugar? So when they came out of the oven, I did.

Without mixing dough or messing with boiling oil, I made little puffy sweet bites that taste remarkably like Beignets. Served warm with a cup of coffee, you might just think you're in New Orleans!

Comfort Foods : Thai Style Brisket

My first venture into brisket-ing was well rewarded. This recipe is very easy and very tasty. I cooked it in the slow cooker while I was babysitting - so it cooked nearly 11 hours (yes, I babysit 11 hours frequently - I don't know who it's a longer day for, me or the parents!)

Thai Style Brisket*

First you need a 3-4lb fresh beef brisket, cut it in half, and brown both sides in a hot skillet with about 2 tbsp olive oil. Stick the browned brisket in the crockpot.

Mix up:

1 cup chunky peanut butter
2/3 cup soy sauce
4 tsp sesame oil
1 tbsp minced fresh cilantro
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1 tsp pepper

and pour it over the brisket in the crockpot. Set it on low.

After it cooks for at least 8 1/2 hours, mix 1 tbsp cornstarch in 1 cup cold water and pour it in and crank the crockpot up to high.

MEANWHILE...stirfry 1 1/4 cups julienned carrots, 1 sliced medium sweet red pepper, 1 sliced medium green pepper, and 1/2 cup of green onion until tender-crisp. Top the brisket with the veggies and serve with rice! YUM!

*Taste of Home, August/September 2005, Reiman Publishing.

Make Your Own Take Out vol. 1

Hope no one is going hungry for lack of meal plans! I'll be posting a new one soon.

For Christmas, Rob's parents gave me Rachel Ray's new cookbook Express Lane Meals. I've already made 4 recipes from it. We ate this one last night:

Sweet Soy-Glazed Chicken with Carrot-Sesame Noodles

Whew, well all of her recipes have "Titles"! It is really good! Actually I've tried several Asian themed recipes in the last year that I plan to post, this is the first of the series.

Don't be too overwhelmed by the ingredient list - there are a lot!

Salt
1 lb long cut pasta - spaghetti, vermicelli, whatever
1/4 cup tamari, plus 1 tbsp
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 cup chicken stock, plus 1/4 cup
The Juice of one Lime
4 large garlic cloves - 1 crushed, 3 chopped
3 inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated or chopped
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 tbsp vegetable oil, plus some for drizzling
1 large onion, chopped
5 or 6 carrots, peeled and shredded
black pepper
3 big chicken breast or 6 cutlets
1/4 cup toasted sesame seeds
1/4 cup each fresh chopped cilantro, basil, and parsley

While cooking the pasta, preheat a grill (I used George Forman), and make the soy glaze by combining 1/4 c. of the tamari, the brown sugar, 1/4 cup of chicken stock, the lime juice, crushed garlic, 1/4 of the ginger, and the red pepper flakes. Simmer in a small pan over medium-high heat and cook for about 4 minutes. Set aside.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, add 2 tbsp of oil, then carrots, onion, chopped garlic, remaining ginger, and a little salt and pepper; cook 5 minutes, stirring frequently.

Meanwhile, season the chicken with pepper, drizzle it with oil and slap it on the grill. Cook it for a couple of minutes to get "grill marks" then brush it with the soy glaze several times throughout the cooking. When it's done move it to a plate, tent it with foil and let it rest.

Back with the carrots - add the rest of the chicken stock and tamari and bring it to a boil for 1 minute. Add the drained pasta, stir and let cook about 30 more seconds. Kill the heat, sprinkle with sesame seed and herbs. Stir it up well, slice the chicken on the bias, top the noodles with the chicken and voila!



Caleb says, "It's finger lickin' good!"

By the way, Tamari is a special kind of soy sauce. Regular soy sauce is cheaper, but tamari tastes better to me! It's not that expensive, so I'd rather use it.

On the Side : Creamy Orzo

This little side dish has become a quick favorite of mine. It's kind of like mac and cheese goes out on the town. Orzo is a tiny, rice shaped pasta. You can find it right near the ABC shaped noodles. It tastes great zapped in the microwave the next day (unlike mac and cheese) and Caleb likes it a lot!

You can substitute the shallot with a small onion, but I wouldn't recommend it. The shallot add a specific flavor that I think make the dish.

Creamy Orzo*

1/2 pound orzo
1 tbsp olive oil
1 medium shallot, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
half of a 14.5 oz. can of diced tomatoes (juiced drained)
3/4 c. whipping cream
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan
salt
pepper

Cook orzo to al dente, stirring often (about 8 minutes). Drain, reserve 1/2 cup of the liquid.

Meanwhile, heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Saute shallot and garlic, 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, cooke 8 minutes. Stir in cream and peas. Add drained orzo and toss to coat. Remove from heat, stir in Parmesan. Stir, if it's too thick add some pasta liquid. Season with salt and pepper. Enjoy!

*Giada De Laurentiis, Food Network (I halved the recipe, this version makes about 5 or 6 side servings.)

In the Cookie Jar : Chocolate Peppermint Pinwheel Cookies

I made these cookies twice during the holidays. They were so good; I think I’m going to celebrate Christmas in July, just to have an excuse to make them again! They’re kind of a cookie version of Peppermint Patties.

Making pinwheel cookies isn’t really hard, but it is a little trickier than drop cookies. The first batch I made weren’t very round (but they still looked nice). When I made the second batch, I slid the dough roll into a long glass container I have for storing pasta, then put the whole thing in the fridge. They were much more round and spiral-y.

Chocolate Peppermint Pinwheel Cookies*

First make regular sugar cookie dough – recipe follows:

3 c. flour
¾ tsp baking powder
¼ tsp salt
1 c. unsalted butter (softened)
1 c. sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp milk

Sift dry ingredients, set aside. Cream butter and sugar, add egg and milk, beat to combine. With mixer on low, gradually add dry ingredients. Beat until dough pulls away from the side of the bowl.

Now instead of rolling this out and cutting it into Christmas trees…

Split the dough into two roughly equal balls in two separate bowls. In Bowl A – add 1 tsp vanilla extract and 3 ounces of melted unsweetened chocolate – squish with (clean) hands until all the dough is chocolate colored. In Bowl B – add 1tsp peppermint extract, 4 or 5 crushed candy canes (about ½ cup), and the yolk of 1 egg – again squish with (clean) hands until fully mixed.

Cover both dough balls and refrigerate for 5 minutes. Then, roll both dough balls out to ¼ inch thickness (roll on powdered sugar instead of flour). Place peppermint dough on top of chocolate dough and press around the edges. Roll dough into a log, wrap in wax paper and chill for 2 hours.

Preheat over to 375, cut dough into ½ inch slices and place cookies 1 inch apart on a greased baking sheet (*using parchment is a good idea, the melted candy cane bits really adhere to the baking sheet). Bake for 6 minutes, pull out the pan, turn it around and bake 7 more minutes. Let cool on sheet for 2 minutes, move to wire rack to cool completely.

Yields: not nearly enough

*Alton Brown, Food Network.

Hold the Food Coloring

Looking for a unique party game? Try, guess the secret icing igredient! What brings the green to the party in this turtle cake? Avocado!


Avocado has many applications beyond guacamole. And if you think you don't like the chunky green stuff, think of this - it has all the funky flavor of a butter bean, the taste is so mild that it can really only contribute texture and color. Need to ice a cake golf course green? Either buy two big bottles of food dye and start squirting or try this easy recipe:

Avocado Buttercream Icing *

2 small to medium avocados - diced
2 teaspoons freshly squeeze lemon juice
1 lb sifted powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon lemon extract

Combine avocado and lemon juice in a mixing bowl and mix on medium speed for about 3 minutes. Slowly add the sugar until completely combined. Add extract and mix well. Icing will be sticky. If it's too thick add a little milk until you get the consistency you need.

The taste is lemony and not too sweet. It's not suitable for decorating, just icing the cake. Be sure to not cut the avocados until right before you are ready to make the icing. The avocado will turn brown unless it is combined with lemon juice.

*Alton Brown, Good Eats, Food Network, as posted on www.foodtv.com

Tastes Like Chicken : Chicken Broccoli Casserole

This is my mom's recipe and it's the only chicken recipe that I've ever had that is rich and creamy enough to resemble dessert.

Chicken Broccoli Casserole

4 whole chicken breasts
2 tsps salt (divided)
16 oz cream cheese
2 cups milk
3/4 tsp garlic powder
1 1/2 cup parmesan cheese (divided)
20 oz frozen broccoli
1 small can of french fried onion rings

Cover chicken and 1 tsp salt with water and simmer until tender. Bone chicken and cut into bite sized pieces. Combine cream cheese, milk, 1 tsp salt, garlic powder, and 1 cup parmesan cheese in a saucepan and cook over medium heat to make a sauce. Cook broccoli as package directs and cut into bite sized pieces.

In a 9x13 glass dish, place all broccoli on the bottom, top with chicken and onion rings. Pour sauce over the top and sprinkle with remaining parmesan cheese. Bake uncovered at 350 for 30 minutes.

Want to save money on this meal? Compare the price between fresh and frozen broccoli. Depending on the time of the year, fresh may be more economical. Also you can use 2 whole chickens instead of the breasts, but cutting it up will be more labor intensive. Breasts really work better here, but buy them on the bone since boiling them will make the meat fall off on its own. This makes a big bunch of casserole, consider cutting the recipe in half if there will be 4 or less people at your dinner table.