Welcome to Planet Tess

Potluck surprise: Orzo and veggies with ricotta cheese

2009-09-13T14:10:00.011-05:00

Is there any better venue for Sunday lunch than an awesome church potluck? We had some 500 people show up today for a party to help christen our beautiful new facilities at St. James Church in Wichita. And everyone brought excellent food.

I was among parishioners alphabetically assigned to bring a vegetable dish. I got up early this morning and made up this recipe; wasn't sure how it would turn out, but it was good, and I'm happy to report there wasn't much left by the end of the party:

Zucchini , spinach and tomatoes with orzo, ricotta and basil

15 ounce container of ricotta cheese
2 eggs
1 cup orzo
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
4 small zucchini , sliced
2 small yellow squash, sliced
7 medium tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons freshly grated Romano cheese
1/2 pound fresh spinach leaves
Olive oil

Cook orzo according to package instructions. In a medium bowl, while pasta cooks, combine ricotta cheese, 1/2 cup Romano cheese, eggs, basil and garlic. Mix well. Rinse cooked pasta and drain. Add to ricotta mixture.

Brush a 9-by-13-inch casserole dish with olive oil. Place a layer of zucchini in the bottom of the casserole dish. Top with 1/2 of the ricotta/orzo mixture. Top with half the spinach, a layer of zucchini and tomatoes, then add remaining ricotta/orzo mixture. Top with yellow squash and the remaining zucchini, spinach and tomatoes. Top with 3 tablespoons grated Romano cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove from oven. Brush top lightly with olive oil. Bake for another 10 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

Leftover steak is lovely in spinach salad with Romano

2009-09-13T07:37:00.009-05:00

Dinner last night was fresh spinach leaves topped with tomatoes, slices of carrot and green pepper, just a few walnut pieces and diagonally sliced strips of rare flatiron steak Dave had grilled the night before. Here's my balsamic dressing: 1/2 cup olive oil, mixed with 1/4 cup balsamic vinegar and about an 1/8 teaspoon sugar. (That bit of sugar is essential.) Mix well and dribble over your salad, then top with shaved Romano cheese.

Top healthy pasta with shrimp, roasted veggies

2009-09-06T19:57:00.009-05:00

It's harvest time; a great time to cook up an abundance of healthy food. Tonight, I grilled green, red and yellow pepper pieces on skewers along with big sweet onion chunks, all brushed with olive oil. (The key to grilling veggies on skewers just right is to keep the gas grill temp at around 350-400 degrees and let the veggies cook on an upper rack until they're soft and juicy, but not charred.) Then I mixed those veggies with shrimp and fresh-from-the-vine tomatoes to make this pasta dish:

Pasta with shrimp, tomatoes and roasted peppers

3 cups uncooked whole wheat rotini
7-10 medium fresh tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup chopped basil leaves
2 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup red wine
Juice from 1/2 lemon
1/2 cup water
1 pound cooked medium-sized shrimp, shelled, with tails removed
2 cups green, red and yellow pepper chunks
1 large sweet onion, cut into large pieces
3/4 cup feta cheese
1/4 cup pine nuts
2 tablespoons cup fresh parsley, chopped
Fresh grated romano cheese

Grill pepper and onion pieces on skewers as described above. Set aside. Cook pasta according to package directions. While pasta cooks, heat olive oil over medium high heat. Add chopped tomatoes, basil and garlic. Stir well. Add vinegar, red wine, lemon juice, water. Cover and simmer for about 6 minutes. Add peppers, onions and shrimp. Simmer 'til shrimp is heated through. Stir in feta cheese. Drain pasta; spoon sauce over rotini. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Top with parsley, pine nuts and fresh romano cheese.

Shrimp, peppers and lemon sauce over rice, so nice

2009-08-29T19:55:00.004-05:00

Tonight I was determined to cook something beautiful for dinner. I'd picked up a loaf of ciabbata this morning that was so appealing, it inspired me to come up with a dish that would go well with -- and look good with -- the bread.

While rice was cooking in the microwave, I heated 3 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat, then added a diced sweet onion and two cloves garlic, chopped. I cooked 'til onion was soft, about 8 minutes. Then I added a diced red pepper and half a diced green pepper and cooked about five minutes. I added 1 cup fresh mushroom slices, then added juice from one lemon and 3/4 cup Sauvignon Blanc, along with 1 tablespoon red pepper flakes. I threw in a pound of cooked cocktail shrimp, and heated just for a couple of minutes. Tasting the broth, I realized it was pretty sour, so I added 2 teaspoons sugar and let the dish simmer. I added three tablespoons chopped fresh parsley from my garden, just before dishing the shrimp and sauce over a platter of rice. I served this dish with fresh steamed farmers' market green beans. Very pretty. And tasty too.

Easy, easy chicken in peanut sauce

2009-08-23T20:45:00.003-05:00

Summer meals at our house have been all about the grill, but this weekend it cooled down a little so I decided to wok it on out. Thanks to a couple shortcuts in the way of Asian sauces, I managed to put together a beautiful and very tasty dinner in about 20 minutes.

While cooking a batch of rice in the microwave, I heated about 2 tablespoons canola oil with a couple shakes of peanut oil at medium high heat in my electric wok. I added one pound of chicken tenders, chopped into bite-sized pieces. After four minutes, I stirred the chicken to brown the other side for a few more minutes. Then I set aside the chicken on a plate.

To the oil in the wok, I added a handful of chopped carrots and a half of a Vidalia onion, diced. I stir-fried those 'til carrots were lightly browned, about 7 minutes. Then I reduced heat to medium, added a cup of fresh green beans, and covered the wok for five minutes. Then I added chopped red and green pepper and two tablespoons of Kikkoman Classic Stir-Fry sauce. I heated that 'til the peppers started to turn soft. Then I added a shake of red pepper flakes and some sesame seeds. I emptied that into a small bowl and covered to keep warm.

Then, I put the chicken back into the wok with about a cup of House of Tsang Bankok Padang Peanut Sauce. I heated that for five minutes. Then I added two tablespoons chopped fresh parsley from my garden. I served the veggies and chicken with rice with Man Vintners Chenin Blanc, a wine we've come to particularly like this summer. Mmm.

Make the most of summer tomatoes and basil

2009-07-12T09:14:00.007-05:00

So far only one tomato from our crop has ripened and omigod it was so delicious. Now we have six tomato plants in the garden heavy with green tomatoes, so we're looking forward to more garden goodness in the coming weeks.

'Til those ripen, the farmers' market is a great place to pick up tomatoes. We've been eating a lot of Caprese Salad, one of my favorite summer side dishes; tomato slices with fresh mozzarella, fresh basil and a dribble of balsamic vinegar. Sometimes I vary the formula a little by adding Greek olives, pine nuts and avocado slices.

For brunch on the Fourth of July, I served Caprese Pesto Bruschetta-- a very easy appetizer that everyone seemed to enjoy. To make, spread pesto on baguette slices (I used storebought pesto for ease, as I don't have enough garden basil to make pesto). Top slices with one ripe tomato slice, then fresh mozzarella, and a fresh basil leaf. Add a couple pine nuts. Place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until the cheese is melted and golden. Serve right away.

Summer's almost here; time to savor fresh flavors

2009-05-24T09:03:00.009-05:00

What's to love about this time of year? Tomatoes from the farmers' market, topped with fresh mozzarella, basil from my garden and a splash of balsamic vinegar. Yellow and red bell peppers with sweet onions, brushed with just a bit of olive oil and grilled to perfection. Simple green salad of fresh-picked romaine topped with a light vinaigrette, a few dried cranberries, pecans and shaved parmesan. Fresh cut chives to garnish grilled new potatoes. A sprig of garden parsley on every plate. Dinner on the deck.

Roast pork with fresh rosemary, oregano and lemon

2009-04-26T20:21:00.007-05:00

I love springtime, when we can make use of our first cuttings of fresh herbs from the garden. Tonight for dinner, I roasted two pork tenderloins. I like to buy the unseasoned variety so I can jazz it up myself. In a foil-lined pan, I brushed the tenderloins with olive oil, then rubbed fresh rosemary (does anything have a nicer scent?) and chopped oregano leaves to coat, sprinkled on juice from half a lemon and cut some slots to insert slices from two cloves of garlic into the meat. Roasted at 425 degrees for about an hour. Halfway through the cooking time, I added boiled potatoes to the roasting pan, brushing those with olive oil also. Mmm. Fresh herbs sure beat dried, every time.

What do you know? We love Merlot

2009-03-29T08:58:00.012-05:00

Good friends who know how to throw a party hosted a Merlot tasting at their home last night. Great event. We blind-tasted and rated a variety of inexpensive Merlots, all under $20, except the one we brought that cost more but didn't win more raves. (Good perspective in these economic times.) Dinner was elegant deep-dish pizza with salad. Top rated wine among guests was a Ravenswood 2006 Merlot, $9.99 a bottle. I'm off to my favorite outlet, Jacob's Liquors, to pick some up today.

A brilliant Wall Street Journal column inspired our hosts to put the party together and guided them in wine selection. Each guest was asked ahead of time to write a poem about Merlot, and we recited these between sips at the party. Allow me to share:

Merlot - A Tribute
by Nancy

It's for Merlot I write this verse
'Tis both a blessing and a curse,
that the wine gets such bad reputation
when in fact it's cause for celebration.
It's the wine to drink with lamb I'm told,
soft and smooth, not brash and bold.
It's one of few with aroma of grapes
and a hint of floral that escapes...
Blackberries, blue, eucalyptus and dill,
this wine's got nose that demands refill.
Merlot's oft mentioned as jammy and plummy,
and with low tannin content, it tickles the tummy.
Grapes are suited to regions warm and bucolic,
but don't buy from France, wine's less alcohlic.
So to all who will hear me, I'll lay on the line...
"Hail thee, Merlot, you're an excellent wine."
________________________________

Merlot
by Angela

I think that I shall never know
A grape as lovely as merlot.

In the "Sideways" movie, you were defamed.
Paul Giamatti should be ashamed.

You're not as rich as Cabernet
But you give Bordeaux its bouquet.
You're not as fruity as zinfandel
But paired with chocolate, you excel.

Some people call you overripe.
I say don't believe the hype.
Your hints of berry make me merry.
At the taste of plum, I start to hum.

So my merlot, do not go, gentle into that good night.
But stay and play and guide me with your ultraviolet light.

_________________________________________

To a Modest Merlot
by Dave Knadler

I think that I shall never know
A wine so useful as merlot,
A modest grape that won't offend
When crowds of people must attend.

Though other wines may have more fame,
Its alcohol is much the same.
It's not too heady, nor too light,
And usually the price is right.

Although we gather just to taste,
To spit it out would be a waste
And though it's just a tiny pour,
It's never wrong to have some more.

But so that you will not seem dumb,
Pretend to note "a hint of plum"
And give your lips a thoughtful purse
Allowing that you've tasted worse.
________________________

And here's what I wrote:

Tasting notes

Friends,
let us vow to be
for one another
what we know we can expect
from a bottle of good Merlot,
to be uncorked and spirited,
straightforward,
true.
Unpredictable,
not jarring,
serious, not dour,
engagingly dry
and not too sweet.
Never sour.
Never cold.
At the ready
for an elegant supper,
a joyful toast,
or quiet conversation
any time.
Generous.
Inviting.
Unpretentious.
Memorable.
Good for the heart.

___________________

Our host e-mailed us these words of wisdom this morning:

A Belated Poem about Merlot
By David K.

If you want to make your friendships grow
invite your friends to taste Merlot
For some, it's the lowliest grape
But its wonder is hard to escape
Tobacco and currant are mixed with smiles
Nancy's stories, Dana's wiles
Tannin, plum, laughter, cheer
The goodness of friends is all in here.
So raise your glass and give a toast
to our friends - the ones who matter most.

For a party, dress up mini-pizzas & pigs in a blanket

2009-02-28T10:30:00.002-06:00

We had friends over a few nights ago to watch the Oscars with us. Thinking hot dogs and pizza were a good match for my going-to-the-movies theme, I made pigs in a blanket (Dave described them more as "pigs in a comforter") and mini-pizzas. I used my favorite recipe for bread dough to wrap my hot dogs. In a frying pan, I cooked sliced red pepper and sweet onions in olive oil with Hebrew National All-Beef Hot Dogs (cut in half crosswise.) I rolled my bread dough thin, cut it into triangles and in each cresent I rolled a half dog, sauteed pepper, a little onion and some grated cheddar. Brushed the bread with beaten egg white mixed with water and baked on a parchment-covered cookie sheet for 15 minutes at 350 just before serving. They were excellent.

For the pizzas, I used my food-processor dough recipe. I coated standard-size muffin pans with olive oil and some cornmeal, and cut the dough into 2 inch rounds that fit perfectly into the muffin pans. I topped some with store-bought pesto sauce, Greek olives, grated mozzarella and pine nuts. The rest I topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni bits and parmesan. Baked these at 375 for 20 minutes. Dandy, single-serving party fare.

Caryn's 'crab' salad is good potluck option

2009-01-25T16:18:00.005-06:00

Caryn and I had two church potlucks on the schedule this weekend, so she volunteered yesterday to make a double batch of this super-easy salad to take to both events. It is SO nice having this girl around. I'm a fan of imitation crab meat-- it's non-fat and not high in calories. There's no mayo in this either, so in spite of the yummy cheddar cheese, this dish is relatively healthy.

Easy 'crab' salad with green peas

4 8-ounce packages imitation crab meat
2 cups frozen peas
4 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese
2 6-ounce cans black olives
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar

Break crab meat into bite-size chunks. Let peas soak in cold water until thawed, about 10 minutes. Slice olives. Combine all ingredients. Chill 'til ready to serve.

Tuna casserole offers comfort on a January night

2009-01-12T20:07:00.005-06:00

Daughter Caryn made supper tonight, a tuna noodle casserole that's earned her a degree of fame in our family. This is delicious and creamy, with bites of crunchy celery, green peas and cheddar cheese. On this windy, cold January evening, what comfort it was to have dinner on the table, cooked by our darling girl.

Best-ever tuna-noodle casserole

3 cups uncooked wide egg noodles
1 cup diced celery
1/2 cup light mayonnaise
1 can cream of celery soup
1/2 cup of onion
1 can tuna in water, drained
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup milk
1 cup grated cheddar cheese

Cook noodles according to package directions. In a separate saucepan, mix cream of celery soup with milk. Heat through, add cheese. Heat 'til cheese melts. Drain noodles, add to a casserole dish with tuna, celery, mayonnaise, onions and noodles. Mix well. Pour cheese sauce over. Stir 'til well blended. Top with sliced almonds if you'd like. Bake at 425 for 20 minutes.

Jazz up dinner with cheesy scalloped potatoes

2009-01-11T20:02:00.006-06:00

Tonight I baked some boneless, skinless chicken breasts for dinner, and steamed some broccoli, all healthy stuff. But boring. What made dinner special tonight was a casserole of scalloped potatoes, with a bit of sweet onion, cream sauce, a little white wine and dry, sharp white cheddar. Cooked to perfection.

The secret to elegant scalloped potatoes is slicing the potatoes nearly paper-thin , and cooking at least 90 minutes. Here's my recipe:

Scalloped potatoes with white wine and cheddar

8-10 medium new potatoes
1-1/2 cups milk
1 cup grated sharp white cheddar cheese
1 medium sweet onion, chopped
3/4 cup white wine (I used Wishing Tree Unoaked Chardonnay, left over from the holidays)
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour

Slice potatoes in a food processor. In a skillet, cook onions in butter until
translucent. Add flour, stir with wire whisk. Add milk all at once. Cook over medium-high heat until thickened and bubbly. Add 3/4 cup cheese and wine. Continue stirring until cheese melts. Place half the potatoes in a buttered casserole dish. Pour half the cheese sauce over. Spread the rest of the potatoes evenly in the dish. Top with remaining cream sauce. Sprinkle with remaining cheese. Bake covered at 350 degrees for 35 minutes. Uncover and bake another 50-60 minutes, until potatoes are cooked through.

Easy apple tarts warm a winter night

2009-01-06T06:49:00.007-06:00

My daughter has just moved to Wichita from the Bay Area. She arrived this weekend with a friend and will be staying with us for two weeks 'til the apartment she's rented is remodeled. I relish the idea of sharing family dinners now that she's here! Last night we had easy bean soup and green salad. After this light supper, I decided we needed a slightly decadent dessert, so I pulled some puff pastry from the freezer and made apple tarts. I topped each warm-from-the-oven tart with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and a drizzle of Hershey's caramel sauce.

Quick apple tarts

Thaw one sheet of Pepperidge Farm puff pastry until it's easy to unfold (30 to 40 minutes.) Cut into six rectangles and place on a parchment-covered cookie sheet. Peel and slice two large apples (thin slices!) in a small bowl. Add two tablespoons sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon to the apples. Melt 3/4 cup apricot jam and brush to coat pastry crusts, leaving edges uncoated. Arrange apple slices on top and brush again with apricot jam. Bake 30 minutes at 375 degrees, until apples are soft and shells are golden brown. Serve warm.

Great Thanksgiving appetizer: Smoked salmon

2008-11-23T08:39:00.004-06:00

We're headed to the Bay Area to enjoy Thanksgiving in a vacation rental with my mom and daughter Caryn. No cooking planned while on this vacation-- we're having Andronico's gourmet grocery cater our holiday supper. Quite a departure, but I'm feeling lazy so am very much looking forward to it.

Thought I'd offer up one holiday tip before we go, for others who may not be cooking but want to take along something easy and pretty to share with your hosts at Thanksgiving dinner. Went to a party last night and took a tray of smoked salmon (only $9.99 at Sam's Club for a 16-ounce package of "Premium Nova" variety.) I spread salmon slices on a bed of parsley, sprinkled on some fresh dill, capers, lemon juice, then served with crackers and cream cheese. Elegant and economical.

Blog tag, I'm it

2008-11-13T15:12:00.003-06:00

At the invitation of my friend, Lori, I'll play along with a blog tag game making the rounds. There is actually mention of something related to cooking in the random facts about myself here.

Here are the rules of the game:
Link to the person who tagged you.
Post the rules on your blog.
Write 6 random things about yourself.
Tag 6-ish people at the end of your post.
Let each person know he/she has been tagged.
Let the tagger know when your entry is up.

Here are six random facts about me:

1) I feel like everyone I know already knows everything about me.

2) I love every kind of food except beets and cream of mushroom soup. I will never use cream of mushroom soup in any recipe.

3) My brain is not wired to fathom the rules to pinochle. And when we visit any of my husband's relatives, they all want to sit down to pinochle as soon as we get our coats off.

4) My most commonly recurring dream is that it is the end of the semester and I have to take a math exam in a class I forgot to ever attend.

5) When I was a teenager, I drove a 1963 Triumph Spitfire. My father had bought it when he was a young father of four, to ensure that my mother with the station wagon would have to shoulder all family transportation responsibilities. My brother totaled the Triumph before we got out of high school.

6) At a party in D.C. some years back, Art Buchwald intimated to me that he couldn't stand Sally Quinn. I had found a kindred spirit.

I tag:

Dave
Maria
Lori B.
Richard
Katie

Art A La Carte: Food and drink for a good cause

2008-10-25T17:17:00.005-05:00

Indulge me. I'd like to put in a plug for a party I'm throwing (with a bunch of my friends) for a good cause. Art A La Carte, Nov. 15, is a fundraiser for the St. James After School Program, a 501(c)3 not-for-profit that provides arts and music enrichment to fourth- and fifth-graders from low-income households at no cost to their families. It's a great little program, and I happen to be prez of the board. We work with Arts Partners, Roots&Shoots, Communities in Schools and USD 259 to give these children avenues to be creative and have fun in a nurturing environment.

My good friend David Kamerer is helping immeasurably with this. His WSU communcations students are working hard to promote the event. Other friends, including Joe Stumpe and Carrie Rengers, are donating valuable stuff for our auction (in Joe and Carrie's case, an elegant dinner party to be cooked in your own home!) David's gypsy jazz band, the Nouveau Quintet is providing music. Also Lisa Hittle of Friends University will be performing with her jazz trio. We'll have wine, excellent food (provided by the folks who run Uptown Bistro, Sabor and Oeno Wine Bar) and an art auction too, in the newly renovated Guild Hall at St. James church. Do not miss this party. Tickets are $50 ($35 of which is tax-deductible) available by sending a check to St. James ASP, 3750 E. Douglas, Wichita, KS 67208. If you're reading this blog post from so far away that you can't attend the party, consider sending a tax-deductible donation to this excellent little program. I'd be so grateful, and the kids will be grateful too.

Cook up righteous pizza with whole-wheat crust

2008-10-18T08:11:00.008-05:00

I love making pizza. I should do it more often. One night last week, we had pepperoni, artichoke hearts and a few Kalamata olives left over from Dave's Greek pasta salad fixings. So after work, I made quick pizza crust using my food processor. I followed the recipe but used one cup of whole wheat flour, 2/3 cup of white flour. For topping, I sauteed 1/2 cup chopped sweet onion with half a chopped red bell pepper in some olive oil. I brushed my crust with some canned tomato sauce, added the onion and pepper with a few spinach leaves, a handful of grated mozzarella, the Greek salad stuff, then sprinkled some dried oregano and parmesan on top before baking. This recipe doesn't take any time to make. Try it next time you're thinking of calling for Papa John's.

Greek pasta salad is excellent picnic fare

2008-10-11T08:55:00.004-05:00

I have not been cooking much this fall, and what little cooking I have done has all been repeat fare. After more than a year of blogging, I may have about hit my limit in terms of what I know how to cook. Or I could be just going through a slow phase. Fortunately, Dave has been picking up the slack so we've been eating pretty well. The other night we went to a potluck picnic and concert at Botanica. Robin Macy provided entertainment, and we met a group of friends who brought fried chicken, potatoes, Parkerhouse rolls, hummus, apple crisp, baklava and other good food. The ever elegant Bonnie Bing contributed a case of wine glasses so we didn't have to sip our Cabernet from plastic cups. It was a perfect fall evening and best of all, I didn't have to prepare anything myself. Dave made this excellent Greek pasta salad as our contribution:

Greek pasta salad

1/2 cup olive oil
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3 teaspoons garlic powder
3 teaspoons dried basil
3 teaspoons dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 and 1/2 teaspoon sugar
5 cups cooked rotini pasta
1 cups fresh sliced mushrooms
30 grape tomatoes, halved
1 chopped red bell pepper
2 8-ounce containers crumbled feta cheese
1 cup chopped green onions
1 and 1/2 cups sliced kalamata olives
3/4 cup sliced pepperoni sausage, cut into strips

In a large bowl, whisk together olive oil, vinegars, garlic powder, basil, oregano, black pepper, and sugar. Add remaining ingredients. Toss until pasta is evenly coated. Cover and chill until ready to serve.

Fruit crisp: Peaches on one end, rhubarb on the other

2008-09-13T13:59:00.009-05:00

It's the perfect time to buy peaches. Stock up. That ain't the case for much of the year, but right now, Colorado peaches at the grocery store are juicy and perfectly ripe. I made a dessert today using a variation on my favorite easy recipe for fruit crisp. To prepare four cups of peeled, sliced peaches for this dessert, I added three tablespoons sugar and two tablespoons of flour. I used an 11-by-15-inch baking dish, and spread the peach mixture on one half. At the other end of the baking dish, I spread 4 cups of rhubarb mixed with a cup of sugar and 2 tablespoons of flour. I topped all this fruit with a double recipe of sugar-cookie crumb crust. Here's how to make the topping: With a pastry cutter, combine 4 tablespoons butter, 2 cups flour, 2 cups sugar. Add two teaspoons baking powder and 2 eggs. Stir 'til mixture is nice, crumbly texture. Sprinkle evenly to cover fruit. Bake 45 minutes at 350 degrees.

Dinner in a flash: Tuna with lemon caper sauce

2008-09-07T22:15:00.007-05:00

Picked up some beautiful tuna steaks at the store today, and wasn't quite sure how to cook them. I found a recipe on epicurious.com that featured a lemon-caper sauce that was really simple and delicious. The steaks were pretty thick, so we grilled them (after brushing with olive oil) about 4 minutes per side. We also grilled orange and green bell pepper pieces on skewers (also brushed with olive oil) and fresh asparagus. While Dave minded the grill, I whisked up the sauce: a little lemon juice, a little Dijon mustard and olive oil, stirred with capers and some fresh parsley. All told, it took about 15 minutes to get everything on the table.

We have two grilled tuna steaks left. I think we'll have that on a nice salad for tomorrow's dinner with avocado, tomato and more fresh peppers.

Sweet potato slices offer guilt-free carbs

2008-09-05T21:03:00.009-05:00

In my book, a near-perfect side dish is a grilled sweet potato topped with a quick sprinkle of parmesan cheese. Dave noted tonight we've pretty much sworn off bread, we rarely have rice or potatoes or pasta with dinner. We're eating lean meats, lots of veggies and no desserts unless we're hanging with friends. But one source of carbs I enjoy without remorse is a sweet potato.

Tonight I sliced a couple of sweet potatoes into thin rounds, brushed with a little olive oil, and wrapped them in foil. I split the slices between two separate pieces of foil, and then sealed those up tight. Dave grilled them over medium heat with boneless pork chops and skewered red peppers. They were perfect in about 20 minutes.

Help wanted: What do I do with these peppers?

2008-09-01T12:34:00.005-05:00

Does anyone know what to do with these beautiful little peppers I picked up at the Farmers' Market? I am daunted by any pepper that doesn't have bell in the name...

We do buy cheap wine, but aim for quality

2008-08-24T20:02:00.009-05:00

After a year of blogging about food, I find that it's becoming harder for me to cook something I haven't cooked before. Hence less blog-worthy material. Tonight we ate baked breaded catfish for dinner. Yum. But I've already blogged about that. Yesterday I took fresh baked French rolls to a dinner party. Would have snapped a shot and blogged about those, but that recipe is already on the blog too. Maybe I'll shift gears temporarily. Blog about wine for awhile. Cheap wine.

I love going to a big wine store (Jacobs Liquor Exchange or Grove Liquor are my favorites in Wichita) and strolling the aisles to find interesting, inexpensive selections. Fortunately, there are lots of nice, cheap wines on the market these days. Tonight for dinner we had a bottle of 2006 Yard Dog, an Australian blend of Petit Verdot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot within my preferred $10-or-so range. I'm not a slave to wine ratings (I was amused but not surprised by news this week calling into question Wine Spectator's standards. Check this out.) but this has garnered passable reviews. I'm gravitating toward relatively rich blended reds lately, and this one fit the bill. Dave tends to prefer something drier, lighter, but he gave this a thumbs up. This wine would go perfectly with a rich beef stew, but what do I know? It tasted dandy with catfish, IMHO. And I dig the label.

Corn, spinach and fat-free feta-- all legal on my diet

2008-08-10T07:00:00.006-05:00

Having lost the few pounds I wanted to lose this summer, I've switched from Weightwatchers Flex Plan (where you count every "point" and feel hungry ALL the time) to Weightwatchers Core Plan (where you can eat all the fruit, vegetables, non-fat cheese and lean meat you want without adding up the points). I miss bread, I miss sweets, but I don't miss feeling like I ought to throw away my favorite jeans because I can't squeeze into them. So I'll keep this up awhile longer.

Being on the Core Plan means I could really enjoy dinner last night, of delicious stew and a salad chock full of different flavors. We had an ear of grilled corn left over from a couple nights ago. (Always grill extra to have on hand for salad.) I threw that into a bowl of spinach, tomatoes, avocado, carrots, green grapes (cut in half) and crumbled fat-free feta. I asked Dave what he thought of the fat-free cheese, and he thought it tasted perfectly acceptable. I mixed a little olive oil and balsamic vinegar for dressing. All legal on my diet.

I also thawed out a batch of my homemade blonde brownies to serve for dessert. But (sigh) I didn't have one.

Montana beef stew -- It's what's for dinner

2008-08-09T17:42:00.002-05:00

Dave just got back from a road trip to Montana, and he brought back a cooler full of Montana beef from his folks' ranch near Yellowstone Park. So, when I got up this morning and saw that it was a rainy, cloudy, stay-at-home day, I decided to cook up some of that delicious meat in a slow-cooker stew.

Dave's nephew is traveling through Wichita today on his way home to Montana after working the summer in Texas. Supper with us may give him a taste of home before he actually hits the Montana border.

Montana Beef Stew

2 pounds lean stew meat
2 15-ounce cans diced tomatoes
1 cup dry white wine
2 large sweet onions, diced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 cup chopped carrots
2 celery stalks, chopped
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
4 red potatoes, diced
1/4 green pepper, diced
1 tablespoon canola oil

Brown stew meat in canola oil over medium high heat. Put into a slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients. Add enough water to cover meat. Cook on high for 6 hours. Enjoy with a nice salad and crusty bread.

Eggplant tower makes a wonderful summer supper

2008-07-27T09:17:00.010-05:00

I had such a light, lovely dinner last night at David and Deanna's house. They grilled farmers' market corn and made these delightfully simple eggplant tomato towers with fresh basil and balsamic vinegar (essentially an appetizing Caprese salad with grilled eggplant.) We had this with wonderful herb bread they'd also picked up at yesterday's farmers' market, and good wine: crisp, light Simonsig Chenin Blanc from South Africa.

I watched as my friends made the eggplant towers, though I didn't lift a finger to help:

Slice eggplant into 3/4-inch thick rounds. Brush or toss eggplant rounds in a bowl with a few teaspoons olive oil. Grill eggplant slices over medium high heat for about five minutes per side, 'til browned and cooked through. Slice fresh mozzarella in 1/2-inch thick rounds. Slice fresh tomatoes. On a salad plate, stack eggplant, tomato slices, fresh basil leaves and the mozzarella. Top with fresh basil leaves. Drizzle with balsamic vinegar.

Origin unknown: Recipe for chewy blonde brownies

2008-07-26T14:13:00.011-05:00

I'm having dinner with friends tonight and naturally, since I haven't been eating a lot of sweets lately, I offered to bring dessert. Not wanting to do anything too ambitious, I got to thumbing through my ancient index-card file of recipes and found this one for blonde brownies. The card is stained a little; I copied the recipe by hand probably more than 20 years ago, and I have no idea when or where I got it. These dessert bars are delicious, and very easy to make. Sorry I can't acknowledge my source.

Blonde brownies

2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
2/3 cup butter
2 cups firmly packed brown sugar
2 eggs, slightly beaten
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup grated coconut

Mix flour, baking power and soda in a small bowl. Melt butter. In a mixing bowl, combine melted butter and sugar. Blend in eggs and vanilla. Add flour mixture gradually, mixing well after each addition. Grease and flour a 9-by-13-inch baking pan. Spread batter evenly in pan. Sprinkle with chips, nuts and coconut. Bake 30 to 40 minutes at 350 degrees, until a knife inserted comes out clean. Cool in pan. Cut into 48 bars.

Make healthy coleslaw with fresh berries and pecans

2008-07-19T17:19:00.009-05:00

The New York Times recently included cabbage on a list of "The 11 Best Foods You Aren't Eating." Cabbage, the story said, is "loaded with nutrients like sulforaphane, a chemical said to boost cancer-fighting enzymes." I don't know what sulforaphane is, but I'm all for boosting any enzymes that might come in handy. On a related note, I've been trying to think of interesting things to do with berries. So I created this recipe, which calls for cabbage, fresh fruit and fat-free vinaigrette. It's yummy.

I'm marinating chicken in the same raspberry dressing to grill and serve with this salad for supper tonight. Should make for a pretty healthy dinner.

Fruit Coleslaw with Raspberry Dressing

1 10-ounce bag angel hair shredded cabbage
1 cup strawberries
1 cup blueberries
1/2 cup raspberries
1 cup grapes
1 cup fat-free raspberry vinaigrette (I used Ken's Steak House Fat-Free Raspberry-Pecan dressing)
1/2 cup chopped pecans.

Combine all ingredients. Chill for an hour or until ready to serve.

Toss a nice salad with brown rice, beans, peppers

2008-07-13T12:47:00.005-05:00

Yesterday I made a piquant bean and rice salad, loosely adapted from "WeightWatchers New Complete Cookbook." I say loosely because I made more than the recipe called for, and forgot to buy cilantro, and didn't use black beans because when I opened the store-brand can of black beans I had on hand-- guess what?-- inside were kidney beans. So buy the cookbook if you want the exact recipe. (It's a good resource, full of inspiring low-calorie recipes.) That said, here's how I made this salad and I have to say, it was wonderful:

Rice, bean and corn salad

2 cups cooked brown rice
1-1/2 cups cooked corn
1 green bell pepper, seeded and finely diced
2 celery stalks
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 sweet onion, finely chopped
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded and finely chopped. (The cookbook recommends wearing gloves to avoid irritation. I didn't do this, but I was real careful to wash my hands thoroughly when I was done handling the pepper. Above all, do not rub your eyes when you're working with jalapeños.)
1/4 cup red-wine vinegar
1/4 cup lime juice
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

In a large bowl, combine rice, corn, bell pepper, beans, onion and jalapeno. In a small bowl, mix the vinegar, lime juice and olive oil. Pour dressing over the rice mixture and toss well. Cover. Refrigerate at least two hours.

Baked breaded catfish is a healthy way to go

2008-07-13T08:21:00.008-05:00

We love catfish. Here's a healthy way to cook it, and you won't wind up with a big greasy frying pan to wash.

We had this last night with a nice salad and a bottle of cheap, quite agreeable Big House Red. I'll post a good (and healthy) recipe for a piquant rice and bean salad a little later today.

Baked catfish fillets

4 catfish fillets
3/4 cup skim milk
1 egg
1 cup cornmeal
2 tablespoons dried or fresh chopped parsley

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray a cookie sheet with non-stick spray. In a shallow dish, beat egg. Add milk. On a piece of waxed paper, combine cornmeal and parsley. Dip fillets into the milk mixture, then dip to coat them in cornmeal. Place onto the cookie sheet. Spray tops of fillets lightly with cooking spray. Bake 20-25 minutes until cooked through. Serve with lemon wedges.

Dieting makes my life and my blog kinda boring

2008-07-12T07:57:00.011-05:00

So far, I've lost 7.5 pounds on the diet I started a few weeks ago. Considering that I spent last weekend in Philadelphia eating gnocchi, soft pretzels and dessert from this aptly named bakery in Chestnut Hill, I figure I'm doing pretty good.

A typical day starts with Weightwatchers yogurt stirred with a couple spoonfuls of cardboard-flavored Kelloggs' All-Bran with extra fiber. Lunch is a big spinach salad with no-fat Italian dressing topped with a little tuna fish or chicken. Dinner is usually grilled pork or chicken or a turkey burger and veggies. It's very boring. But it's working. I reward myself with treats only if I make time to hit the gym. When I go to restaurants I only eat half of whatever I order, and I just say no to bread, though this makes me unhappy.

I will keep this up for about another month, I figure and then try to get back to eating good food I love -- in moderation. Expect my outlook and my blog posts to improve at that point. In the meantime, I am planning to bake some catfish to have with a nice brown rice, corn and black bean salad for dinner tonight. That'll give me something healthy to blog about.

The perfect Philadelphia breakfast

2008-07-08T21:10:00.013-05:00

Just got back from a visit to the City of Brotherly Love, where I spent six years of my life before moving to Wichita. Philly may be famous for its 1,000-calorie cheesesteaks, but as far as I'm concerned, the quintessential Philadelphia delicacy is a soft pretzel. Covered in yellow mustard. For breakfast. Mmm.

Broccoli is my best friend these days

2008-07-01T21:17:00.003-05:00

I'm still subsisting on pretty much just grilled chicken, broccoli and peppers. And for dessert, Weight Watchers yogurt. Once I lose just a few more pounds, I'll start cooking again, I promise.

Sauté zucchini with tomatoes, onion and fresh basil

2008-06-22T19:56:00.008-05:00

Yesterday I made my first farmers' market run of 2008. It's early in the summer-- pickings were a little slim. But I bought zucchini, hothouse tomatoes, onions and a fresh basil plant to put in a pot on the patio.

Still trying to eat as right as I can, tonight I used those ingredients to cook up a veggie dish that I figure has three Weightwatcher points per serving. We had this with a nice spinach salad for dinner:

Zucchini, tomatoes and onion sauté

2 cups chopped zucchini
1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes
1 cup diced onions
1 clove crushed garlic
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan cheese
2 thin slices Italian dry salami

Heat olive oil over medium high heat in a sauté pan. Cook onion with crushed garlic clove until onion pieces are translucent, about 7 minutes. Add zucchini and tomatoes. Cut salami slices into small pieces, add to pan. Heat 7 minutes longer. Toss with fresh grated Parmesan cheese. Serves 3.

Summer diet calls for abundance of strawberries

2008-06-17T07:00:00.006-05:00

Sorry I've been remiss about my food blog. I've been watching what I eat for about three weeks, just trying to lose a bit of weight, and it's working, though I miss bread, brie, potatoes and Tootsie Rolls.

Fortunately, I can eat all the strawberries I want. Last night for dinner I had a spinach salad with green onions, carrots, cucumber slices, a spritz of fat-free dressing, a handful of imitation crabmeat and a generous pile of strawberries. All of two Watchwatchers points. Summer's a good time to diet. Grilled vegetables with chicken, turkey burgers, salads, salads, salads, all easy to do this time of year.

A few other things I've come to enjoy -- Sargentos 50-calorie low-fat string cheese, 4-ounce containers of Dannon's fat-free yogurt, Propel flavored water, Special K 90-calorie breakfast bars. And strawberries.

You can join Weight Watchers these days without signing on for meetings. The Web site provides recipes, and allows me to keep track of daily menus and exercise. The system provides good motivation to exercise-- going to the gym or taking Bella for a long, long walk is the only way I can rack up extra food points. http://www.weightwatchers.com/.

Quick quesadillas provide meat-free protein

2008-06-07T11:24:00.004-05:00

Dave's been cooking a lot lately, and making really delicious, healthy dinners. I'm so grateful; I'm trying to hit the gym before I come home from work, and it is so nice to arrive home after some treadmill time to find something righteous for dinner. One night this week he made pork chops with apricot glaze, and couscous with spinach. Another night he made these excellent quesadillas, which are only about 420 calories per serving. Corn and beans provide plenty of protein and a few minutes under the broiler make these nice and crunchy.

Quesadillas with black beans and corn

1 tablespoon olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups chopped fresh tomatoes
1/2 cup cilantro (I love cilantro.)
1 15-ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained
4 8-inch flour tortillas
3/4 cup shredded Mexican blend cheese
1 cup frozen corn
Commercial picante sauce

Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic, stir and cook for 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, cilantro, beans and corn. Cook five minutes. Place tortillas on a cookie sheet coated with cooking spray. Top each tortilla with 1/4 of the bean mixture and 3 tablespoons cheese. Fold in half. Spray tops of tortillas with cooking spray. Broil 3 minutes, until tortillas begin to brown. Let cool about 3 minutes before cutting each tortillas into three wedges.

Top with a dollop of salsa. Mmm.

Cheese strata with spinach is easy brunch fare

2008-06-01T14:41:00.005-05:00

Sunday brunch is an easy party to have. You have Saturday to shop, Sunday morning to get everything ready. I invited friends from church for brunch today and made blueberry lemon muffins in mini-muffin tins (perfectly bite-sized!) along with this cheese and egg casserole. Very tasty.

Cheese strata with spinach and red pepper

6-8 slices high-fiber whole-grain bread
1 pound bulk sweet Italian sausage
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 cup low-fat shredded cheese (a combination of Colby and Monterrey Jack works well)
6 eggs, slightly beaten
1-1/4 cup milk
3/4 cup half-and-half
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 cup uncooked spinach leaves
1/2 cup chopped sweet onion
1/2 cup finely diced red bell pepper pieces
Salt and pepper to taste

Trim crust from bread; place bread in a buttered 11-by-13-inch casserole to cover the bottom of the dish. Brown sausage; drain fat. Add onion and red pepper to skillet with sausage; cook an additional 5 minutes, 'til vegetables are soft. Stir in mustard. Spoon evenly over bread. Top with spinach leaves. Sprinkle with cheese. Combine remaining ingredients; mix well. Pour over cheese. Bake at 350 for 35 to 40 minutes or until set. Serves 8.

Ginger adds a little zing to healthy chicken dish

2008-05-31T19:40:00.008-05:00

Tonight I cooked up a Weight Watchers recipe for dinner. It was so good, and very easy. Took all of 13 minutes. My sister has been raving about the success she's had dropping a few pounds lately on Weight Watchers, and the online program looks great, if for no other reason than to try some of the healthy recipes on the Web site. I used the wok for this, and adapted a little to add more onion and garlic than the recipe suggested. Pineapple and fresh ginger add delicate flavor, and brown rice provides a bit of whole grain texture:

Chicken with pineapple in black bean sauce

1 pound skinless chicken breast tenders, cut into 1-inch pieces
5 green onions, chopped (use white and green portions)
3 garlic cloves, finely minced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, finely chopped
1/4 cup black bean with garlic sauce
1 20-ounce can pineapple tidbits in 100 percent juice
Canola oil cooking spray

Heat electric non-stick wok to medium high. Coat with one spritz of cooking spray. Cook onions, garlic and ginger in the wok, stirring with a wooden spoon, for three minutes. Add chicken. Cook five minutes, stirring frequently. Add black bean sauce and pineapple with juice. Simmer five more minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Serve over cooked brown rice.

Bake marinated pork chops when grill won't light

2008-05-26T21:53:00.007-05:00

It is pouring rain. Happy Memorial Day. We had planned to grill today, so I marinated extra thick pork chops. And then -- after a couple of storms' worth of hail and rain, the grill wouldn't light. So we had to regroup and figure out a different way to cook the chops. I browned and baked them, and they were actually quite delicious.

I didn't bother looking up a recipe for the marinade; I just sloshed various ingredients in a gallon-size freezer bag and threw the chops in. Here's basically what I did:

Baked marinated pork chops

Combine in a gallon-size freezer bag:

1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1/4 cup red wine
1/4 cup finely diced sweet onion
1 crushed garlic clove
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
1 tablespoon chopped fresh sweet basil

Seal bag, shake well to combine ingredients. Add three or four thick pork chops. Shake well. Let marinate at least two hours.

In a large skillet, heat 1/4 cup olive oil over medium high heat. Brown chops (with a good share of your marinated onion and garlic bits) in olive oil, three minutes to a side until well browned. Line a casserole dish with aluminum foil. Place browned chops in the foil, topping with extra pan juices and onion bits from skillet. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 minutes.

Break from tradition with mayo-free potato salad

2008-05-25T18:43:00.004-05:00

Today after getting home from a quick road trip, I didn't have a lot of energy for cooking. But it's Memorial Day weekend, so -- after finding that the fresh dill growing in my garden is thriving--I had a hankering for homemade potato salad. I threw some ingredients together-- potatoes, pickles, onions, red pepper pieces, olives and artichoke hearts, before I realized that the only mayonnaise in my fridge had an expiration date of June '07. So I pitched that jar of mayo and created a healthier-than-traditional potato salad. We'll grill flatiron steak and some corn on the cob to go with.

Potato salad with red pepper, hold the mayo

8-10 medium-sized red-skinned potatoes, boiled just 'til soft (about 15 minutes. Do NOT rinse potatoes after cooking)
1 jar artichoke hearts, chopped, and accompanying marinade
1/2 cup sliced black olives
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 large dill pickle, chopped
4 hard-cooked eggs, sliced
3 green onions, chopped
1/2 cup diced sweet onion
1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
1/2 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 to 3/4 cup olive oil
3/4 teaspoon paprika
1/3 cup Dijon-style mustard
Sprigs of fresh parsley

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Chill at least two hours before serving.

Grilled asparagus kicks off farmers' market season

2008-05-19T07:05:00.007-05:00

We hit the farmers' market for the first time this season on Saturday. Bought beautiful asparagus, which the vendor recommended we grill. We hadn't done this before. He suggested putting the stalks into a plastic bag with a little olive and salt and pepper, shaking that up and then laying the stalks onto the grill and turning often 'til they're just a little blackened.

Last night we had a crowd of out-of-town family here for dinner and weatherwise, it was the best spring evening we have had all year. Dave grilled up German sausage (from YB Meats-- what a great store!), asparagus, some green and yellow bell peppers. I wrapped potato rolls in foil and heated those for just a few minutes on the grill too to go with our sausage. Added some store-bought potato salad and tabouli to the mix. An easy backyard picnic. The asparagus was especially elegant.

Shrimp spinach salad is ultimate convenience food

2008-05-06T06:24:00.005-05:00

I don't shop for dinner in the frozen-food aisle, because it's so easy to make a healthy, fresh meal quickly from scratch. The other night I threw supper on two plates in less than a minute. I started with a layer of bagged baby spinach, added some dried cranberries, a few mini-carrots, some baby tomatoes, and a few crumbles of feta cheese. I added sliced almonds, a morsel of artichoke heart and a generous layer of pre-cooked cocktail shrimp I'd bought at the fish counter at my grocery store. I spritzed on some no-fat dressing and we were set. Genuine lean cuisine, no microwave needed.

Savor easy-to-make bite-size quiche, pesto tarts

2008-04-27T14:35:00.008-05:00

Yesterday I made mini quiches and pesto tarts to take to a dinner party. These are really easy and fun to make. To make the dough, beat an 8-ounce package of cream cheese with two sticks softened butter until well blended. Add two cups flour. Mix until dough forms. Shape into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate one hour, or overnight.

Shape the dough into golf-ball size rounds and place into a non-stick mini-muffin tin. I press the tarts into shape with a little wooden mini-tart shaper I bought from Pampered Chef. The dough is easy to work with and this little pestle is just the coolest kitchen tool. With a toothpick, poke holes in the flattened crusts and bake at 425 (400 convection) for about 10-15 minutes, until crust is golden. Let the tart shells cool a little in the pan.

To assemble quiche, mix two eggs with 1/4 cup milk. Put a little Swiss cheese in the bottom of the baked tart shells, add a little shredded spinach, finely chopped onion, bits of ham, whatever you like. Drizzle egg mixture into each filled shell with a teaspoon to fill. Season with salt and pepper.

To make pesto tarts, put a little shredded mozzarrella or Swiss cheese into the bottom of each baked shell, top with a dollop of pre-packaged pesto sauce, top with more cheese and about three pine nuts.

You can also fill the tarts with just cheddar cheese and a little pepperoni or ham, bits of bell pepper and feta, bits of chopped olive, anything that sounds good.

Bake tarts at 425 (400 in a convection oven) for about 10-15 more minutes, until cheese is melted and the eggs in your quiches are cooked. Serve immediately. Makes 3 dozen lovely mini-tarts.

Pass the Dijon: Turkey feta burgers, grilled peppers

2008-04-21T21:06:00.014-05:00

Another gorgeous evening, and we're still on this (probably temporary) health kick, so we grilled turkey burgers for dinner, adding a few sprinkles of feta before we pulled 'em off the heat. I chopped a red bell pepper into big chunks, skewered the pieces and brushed my pepper kabobs generously with olive oil. While the meat patties cooked, Dave grilled the pepper pieces, making sure they got just a little blackened and nice and soft. They were perfect. I made a spinach, tomato and walnut salad, which I topped with a shake of low-fat balsamic vinagrette. Easy supper in about 10 minutes.

Instead of standard hamburger buns, we used nice slices of whole grain bread for our burgers. Didn't slop on any mayo, just spread with a baby bit of Dijon and some red-leaf lettuce. Delectable.

Heat up the grill on a beautiful sunny weekend

2008-04-19T22:03:00.011-05:00

Today was warm and wind-free, so we spent all day outside with the pup and then had dinner on the patio. We grilled chicken with sweet potatoes, peppers, onions and broccoli.

With a nice cold bottle of Fat Tire, I felt like summer has arrived. I came up with a quick way to grill sweet potatoes. I cut two potatoes into home-fry-size sticks, brushed those with olive oil and then laid them flat on a sheet of aluminum foil. I folded the edges of the foil up, covered the bottom sheet with a second sheet and sealed those up. The sweet potatoes were cooked through on medium heat in about 20 minutes. Sweet potatoes provide good, healthy carbs, and I just love them. These would also be good with a few shakes of fresh-grated parmesan cheese.

Nice and healthy: Stir-fry vegetables with shrimp

2008-04-13T20:40:00.007-05:00

I'm on a health jag. I'm determined that we are going to start eating right, every meal, every day. This resolution will not last two more weeks, I know, but for now, we've had a lovely weekend with lots of vegetables, low-calorie meals, all the right moves.

Tonight for dinner I cooked up a wok full of veggies with shrimp to serve over rice. It was easy and so good. In the 30 minutes it took to cook rice in the microwave, I chopped a red bell pepper, a sweet onion, two large chunks of broccoli, about 10 stalks asparagus, three stalks of celery. I heated some canola oil in my wok with a few sprinkles of sesame oil, then threw in all the vegetables, and cooked those on high heat for about 6 minutes. I added about 1/2 cup white wine, and three generous shakes of red pepper flakes. Then I added one pound medium-sized, peeled, pre-cooked shrimp, which I'd bought today at the grocery store fish counter. And I added a 1/2 cup bottled Kikkoman-brand stir-fry sauce.

Yum. And healthy, too.

Lebanese inspiration: Pizza on pita bread crust

2008-04-10T21:22:00.008-05:00

Carrie Rengers forwarded me her terrific pita pizza recipe. Her husband, food writer Joe Stumpe, got this idea from someone in the local Lebanese community. What an inspiration to make quick pizza on a pita bread crust. She recommends buying pitas at N&J Bakery in Wichita. You can freeze the pita bread and thaw briefly in the microwave for 15-20 seconds, or just top pita and cook frozen.

Spread sun-dried tomato paste on several pita rounds in a thin layer. (Carrie recommends the squeezable tubes of tomato paste, available in the veggie aisle at Dillons.) Then top with whatever fresh ingredients you like: fresh veggies, diced bell peppers, olives, shredded chicken, sausage, fresh herbs, a few raisins. Add some cheese, maybe some crumbled feta or blue cheese. You can also add a few pine nuts or chopped pecans. Drizzle a bit of olive oil over the pizzas and bake on a cookie sheet at 375 to 400 degrees for 5 to 7 minutes, depending on your desired level of crunchiness. "Joe likes them a little less crunchy," Carrie says. "I like them a bit more crunchy. Seriously, these are a great way to use leftovers -- the pitas don't take many toppings. And they make a fine meal (perhaps served with a salad) or appetizer. It's fun to experiment with different toppings."

Start and end the day with Irish soda bread

2008-04-08T06:54:00.005-05:00

This month's book group selection is "Life with Mae," by Neal Shine. Great, funny book about Shine's Irish mother and their family's life in Detroit. We're getting together tonight to discuss, so I got up early this morning to make Irish soda bread for the occasion. When Dave and I were in Ireland a couple of years ago with our mothers, this was served at every meal. It's remarkably easy to make. Here's the recipe I used:

Irish soda bread

4 cups all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons granulated sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup raisins

In a large bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and 1/2 cup butter. Stir in 1 cup buttermilk and egg. Add raisins. Turn dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead slightly. Form dough into a round and place on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. In a small bowl, mix melted butter with 1/4 cup buttermilk. Brush loaf with this mixture. With a sharp knife, cut an X into the top of the loaf. Bake in 375 degree oven (350 if using convection) for 40 to 50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Brush the loaf again with buttermilk mixture after first 20 minutes of baking.

March Madness in April: Quick couscous salad

2008-04-06T14:21:00.009-05:00

Yesterday we went to an open-air concert in the afternoon with friends and then invited them to our house to watch KU play North Carolina in the Final Four. I didn't have a lot of time to spend in the kitchen during the day, so I bought nice German sausage at YB Meats (great store-- I gotta shop there more often!) to grill once we got back to the house, and before we left for the concert, I made a very quick couscous salad. Our friends contributed an elegant spinach salad and pita-bread pizza appetizers. (I'll post that recipe once I get it from Carrie.) Excellent food, and (as it turned out) an excellent game.

Making couscous salad takes all of five minutes from start to finish. Pour two boxes of quick-cook couscous into boiling water according to package directions, remove from heat, cover and let sit for five minutes. During that five minutes, chop 1/2 cup green onions, a red bell pepper, a peeled, seeded cucumber, three or four large tomatoes, a handful of fresh basil. Mix in a large bowl with 1/3 cup fresh lemon juice, 3 tablespoons olive oil and 1 cup halved pitted Kalamata olives. Add couscous. Stir well. Chill for several hours before serving. Then add 1 cup crumbled feta cheese.

The recipe made plenty, so we have leftovers to enjoy during KU's championship game tomorrow night.

Celebrate Easter with macaroon pie

2008-03-21T05:04:00.008-05:00

Gotta blog quickly. It's 5 a.m. and I have a plane to catch-- I'm off to join my kids, brothers, sister, mom for Easter. Before I go, here's a very nice dessert to make for Easter dinner. This delectable recipe comes from my Aunt Katie. I took it to a dinner party last week and it was a hit.

Macaroon pie

1-1/2 cups crushed soda cracker crumbs (more commonly known, I guess, as saltines)
3/4 cup pitted, chopped dates
3/4 cup chopped nuts
1 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
4 egg whites
1 teaspoon almond extract

Beat egg whites until very stiff. Slowly add sugar. Fold in all other ingredients. Pour into well-buttered pie pan and bake 30 minutes at 300 degrees. For serving, top wedges with sweetened, almond flavored whipping cream, or (my preference) add 1/4 cup sugar and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract to a cup of sour cream and spread over the top of the pie. Sprinkle with sliced almonds.

Add a cup of cranberries to oatmeal cookies

2008-03-19T06:55:00.007-05:00

I love making oatmeal cookies. I add handfuls of extras to pack them with goodness: chocolate chips, coconut, raisins and nuts. I've just made a big batch and added dried cranberries for a little variety. They're yummy. Here's the basic recipe for about four dozen cookies:

1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
3/4 cup no-transfat Crisco
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 cups uncooked oatmeal (quick or old-fashioned)
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Heat oven to 350 degrees (325 if using convection oven). In large bowl or standing mixer, mix brown sugar, shortening and granulated sugar until creamy. Add egg, water and vanilla. Beat well. Add oats, flour, baking soda; mix well. Add handfuls of anything else that sounds good-- chocolate chips, peanut butter chips, dried fruit, nuts, coconut.

Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls onto sheets. Bake 11-13 minutes or until edges are golden brown. Remove to wire rack. Cool completely. Store tightly covered or freeze in plastic freezer bags.

Happy birthday: Bell pepper chicken with orzo

2008-03-15T06:54:00.006-05:00

For my birthday last week, Dave gave me a cookbook, "Cooking Light Weeknight," along with a promise that he would cook recipes from this book on a regular basis. This was an excellent gift, as my schedule is so packed lately that weeknight cooking has become something of a challenge. Dave made good on his promise Thursday night. It was lovely to come home to find him sautéing chicken with peppers and cooking orzo with feta to go with. In the time it took him to cook this fine, healthy meal, I was able to slip into my jeans, take the dog on a nice walk, and then enjoy dinner feeling pampered and relaxed.

Feta orzo is a cinch. Two ingredients-- cooked orzo (start with 4 ounces uncooked), mixed with three ounces crumbled feta. A nice pasta variation.

Here's the chicken recipe:

Bell pepper chicken with lemon juice

4 teaspoons olive oil
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts (Dave used a package of chicken tenders)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/8 teaspoon ground red pepper
1 cup red bell pepper strips
1 cup green bell pepper strips
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 garlic cloves, minced
1-1/2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Heat two teaspoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Sprinkle chicken with salt, pepper and red pepper. Cook chicken in oil 4 minutes to each side. Remove chicken from pan and place in warming oven.

Add remaining oil and bell peppers to pan. Sauté 2 minutes. Add oregano and garlic. Sauté 1 minute. Remove from heat. Stir in lemon juice. Serve with feta orzo.

Look mom, no iodine: Cranberry orzo salad

2008-03-09T17:22:00.005-05:00

We have a friend, Mike, who is being treated for thyroid cancer. For the next few days he needs to be on a low-iodine diet. My impulse when someone is sick is to take them something to eat, so I was grateful when Chris, one of the women at book group, shared some of her own experience with this illness (check out her blog entry on the topic)-- and a good link for recipes at http://www.thyca.org/. She recommended an orzo salad that I made today. It turned out so nicely that I think I will make this again and again. I didn't add any salt, although the Web site version says it's OK to used the non-iodized variety. I left a container of this, along with a card and the recipe, on Mike's porch this afternoon.

Orzo salad with cranberries

1 16-ounce box orzo pasta
1 cup dried cranberries
1 large diced red onion
1 red pepper, diced
1/2 cup pine nuts
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil

Cook orzo according to package directions. Drain, mix with remaining ingredients. Serve warm or at room temperature.

"United States of Arugula" alive at the olive bar

2008-03-06T20:40:00.008-06:00

I've joined a book group -- a terrific circle of smart, funny women. This month's reading selection was "The United States of Arugula: The Sun Dried, Cold Pressed, Dark Roasted, Extra Virgin Story of the American Food Revolution ," by David Kamp. What a great read. Kamp examines how the American food scene has evolved, thanks in large measure to foodie pioneers such as James Beard, Julia Child, Alice Waters and Craig Claiborne. I loved the book-- it's a lively examination of how what we eat has changed for the better over the last 50 years.

Book group is a potluck event, and for this week's get-together I really wanted to cook something excellent to match our subject matter. But I had no time, so I decided to just stop at the store after work to pick up munchies. Cop-out, yeah. But what first caught my attention when I walked into the new Dillon's store on Douglas Avenue was the olive bar, filled with all kinds of beautiful olives, stuffed grape leaves, marinated cheese, mushrooms and cherry tomatoes. It was beautiful, and illustrated perfectly what Kamp describes in his book-- the wonderful supply of delectable ingredients available everywhere we shop, a different food universe than the landscape Julia or James or Craig inhabited when they started out in the middle of the last century. So I bought several plastic containers of goodies from the olive bar, picked up some water crackers and some goat cheese brie. Also a little jar of yummy oily sundried tomatoes. Used to be you only found this kind of stuff at Dean & DeLuca's (the founders of which were also significant characters, by the way, in Kamp's book.) Now good food surrounds us everywhere. I felt very happy.

I went home, arranged my cheese, olives and everything else in a white serving dish I'd picked up at DeHillerins in Paris. I packed this off to book group with a bottle of wine. Life is good. And food has gotten really good.

This mac and cheese suits grown-up tastes

2008-03-02T18:52:00.004-06:00

Tonight I made mac and cheese that suited our adult tastes just a bit more than the blue-box variety I used to serve my kids. I just threw in some ingredients we happened to have on hand-- a bit of ham, some fresh spinach, three different kinds of cheese, a shot of Chardonnay. It was really quite good-- a bit lighter on the butter than a traditional recipe.

Macaroni and cheese for grown-ups

1 pound of pasta (rotini, penne, whatever you like)
2 cups grated cheese (I used a mixture of jack cheese, sharp cheddar and colby)
1/2 large onion, chopped
1 cup ham, cut into small chunks
1 fresh tomato, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
1-1/2 cups fresh spinach leaves
3/4 cup white wine
1 teaspoon marjoram
1 cup milk
1/2 cup panko crumbs

Cook pasta in a large pot according to package instructions. While pasta cooks, melt butter in a deep skillet. Cook onion pieces over medium high heat until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in ham, spinach and tomato pieces. Stir for about two minutes. Add milk, reduce heat and stir with a whisk for about three minutes until milk is heated through. Add wine and all by 1/4 cup of the cheese. Continue stirring until cheese melts and sauce is smooth. Add marjoram. Drain pasta, and pour back into the pasta pot. Stir in cheese sauce. Butter an 11-by-13-by-2 inch casserole dish and spoon in pasta with sauce. Top with panko crumbs. Top with 1/4 cup cheese. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 minutes.

Couscous is worth the price of herbs, olives

2008-02-20T21:39:00.007-06:00

Here's the recipe I used Sunday for couscous with Greek olives. It is delicious. This recipe makes enough to serve eight or so. We had the last of the leftovers at supper tonight. I know this is not the best time of year to use fresh herbs-- they're not growing in the garden, and are plenty pricey in the produce aisle. But I splurged and bought what I needed for this. I also indulged in a nice jar of pitted, halved Kalamata olives.

Couscous with olives and fresh herbs

1 stick butter
3 large onions, chopped
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
2-1/4 cups chicken broth
1 cup pitted halved Kalamata olives
1/2 cup fresh basil
1/3 cup chopped fresh mint
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
2 cups couscous

Melt butter in deep saucepan over medium-low heat. Add onions, stir and cook, covered, stirring occasionally for about 30 minutes. Add ginger and turmeric. Add broth, olives, basil, mint and lemon juice. Bring to a boil. Add couscous. Cover pan, turn off heat. Let stand until liquid is absorbed and couscous is tender, about 10 minutes.

Inspired by cafeteria fare: Greek chicken

2008-02-17T22:30:00.014-06:00

I'm blessed to work for a company that provides first-rate fare in the employee cafeteria-- a good selection of healthy, nicely prepared dishes. One day last week the menu featured delicious Moroccan chicken with couscous, which inspired me to try something similar at home. I found a good recipe in "The Bon Appetit Cookbook" for chicken wth artichoke hearts (Greek, not Morrocan) and also a recipe for couscous with Kalamata olives and fresh herbs. With a simple spinach salad, this made for a nice dinner tonight just for the two of us.

Here's how I cooked the chicken. I'll blog about the couscous in my next post.

Greek chicken and artichokes

2 tablespoon olive oil
2 chicken breasts and 4 thighs, with skin and bones
2 6-ounce jars marinated artichoke hearts
1 15-ounce can chicken broth
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
3 tablespoons chopped fresh oregano

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute chicken until browned, about 5 minutes per side. Drain artichokes, saving marinade in a small bowl. Add to the chicken: 2 tablespoons marinade, broth, lemon juice, lemon peel and crushed red pepper. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer about 10 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Stir in artichokes and 2 tablespoons of the oregano. Simmer about 5 minutes longer. Stir in remaining oregano. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Up for some variety? Try barley casserole

2008-02-11T22:09:00.000-06:00

Craig Claiborne's "New York Times Cookbook" is an excellent resource. For years I kept a copy at my mom's vacation place in Florida, and when I was there with her last week, she insisted I take it home, since we don't use it as much as I'd thought we might when we're at the beach. It's got no glossy photos, just really lovely recipes, many of them pretty simple. So I packed it into my suitcase and brought it home where I can put it to good use.

Yesterday we invited friends over for Sunday dinner, and then circumstances dictated I had to work most of the day. So I didn't have much time to prepare anything. Dave agreed to grill pork chops, one set of guests agreed to bring a salad and our other guests agreed to bring a dessert. So my only responsibility was a side dish. Potatoes? Rice? Pasta? No, I wanted to do something more interesting. I thumbed through Claiborne's cookbook and found a recipe for barley mushroom casserole that was delightful. I love barley. It deserves better than its status as just something to throw into soup. And this was very easy to put together in the short time I had between work and my party. I used twice the barley and broth that Claiborne recommended , so we'd have enough for our party of six. Here's my adaptation of his recipe:

Barley mushroom casserole

2 cups pearl barley
1 large onion, chopped
5 tablespoons butter
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced

Melt butter in a deep skillet. Cook onion and mushrooms until onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add barley and cook until slightly browned. Add two cups broth. Bring to a boil. Pour into a buttered casserole dish. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes. Remove from oven, add remaining broth. Cook, covered, another 20 minutes or until liquid is absorbed and barley is tender.

The world is my oyster, nicely breaded

2008-02-06T21:51:00.000-06:00

I love oysters. Our church, St. James Episcopal in Wichita, celebrates Mardi Gras with an amazing all-you-can-eat oyster and beer fest. It's a tradition we wouldn't miss. Last night, after Dave and I had our fill of all manner of oysters (cooked, raw and swimming in steaming cream with fresh leeks and tabasco) we helped with post-party clean-up. And before the night was over, we scored a bucket of fresh oysters to cook at home for our Ash Wednesday supper.

Tonight I dipped my stash of oysters in ice water and then coated each in cornmeal. I heated about a cup of vegetable oil in the wok on high heat, threw in oysters about a half dozen at a time, and fried for just a couple minutes, 'til they were nicely browned. After moving the oysters to a plate, and soaking up the excess oil with a paper towel, I served them with lemon and tartar sauce. Dave made a nice salad to go with. Nice way to kick off the Lenten season, I'd say.

Almost no effort: Slow cooker ribs

2008-01-28T06:37:00.001-06:00

Yesterday while I was drinking my morning coffee before going to church, I put together a supper of ribs in about 15 minutes. I took a short cut, using bottled barbecue sauce, so this was one of the simplest dishes I've cooked in a long time. Here's the recipe:

Over medium high heat, brown 1 pound of country-style boneless pork ribs in 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (brown for about 4 minutes, turn and brown 4 minutes more.) Chop a large sweet onion into about 8 chunks. Place ribs and onion pieces in the slow cooker. Pour one bottle of commercial barbecue sauce over the ribs. Cook on low for 8-10 hours, stirring occasionally to make sure ribs are coated with sauce.

Winter treat: Salmon & grilled potatoes

2008-01-27T08:52:00.000-06:00

It's been so frozen cold the past few weeks in Wichita. So when it hit the high 50s yesterday, it felt like summer. After a day spent playing outside with the pup, we grilled salmon, potatoes and veggies for dinner, as if it were August.

I've blogged before about grilling tiny potatoes on skewers. Yesterday I cut red potatoes into medium-size chunks, skewered those and brushed with a generous dose of olive oil. Dave grilled these for about 40 minutes. They were great-- crispy on the outside, cooked to perfection inside. We grilled our salmon fillets in foil, after I rubbed them with excellent seafood rub that was a Christmas present from my sister (dubbed "Rub With Love," it's marketed by Seattle restaurateur Tom Douglas of Dahlia Lounge fame. Molly sent me a whole set, including rubs for steak, pork, chicken and crab cake mix. Very good stuff, available at Tom Douglas' Web site.)

I know I haven't been blogging much lately. My evenings have been too booked to do much cooking. Last weekend, however, I did make chili in the Crockpot with a pound of browned hot sausage, dry red beans that had been soaked overnight, a small can of green chilis, a big sweet onion, 2 cloves garlic and 3 tablespoons chili powder and three 15-ounce cans diced tomatoes. I cooked this on high for about 6 hours, then threw in a cup of frozen corn and heated 'til the corn was cooked. This is the time of year when I love throwing basic soup, stew or chili ingredients into the slow cooker. Makes for several days of nice suppers.

Chicken pot pie: Comfort food for company

2008-01-13T08:58:00.000-06:00

Every time I make chicken pot pie, I wonder-- why don't I do this more often? It is so mouth-watering good. We had friends over for dinner last night and this is one of those dishes that keeps warm perfectly in the oven all through appetizers and a salad course. Here's my recipe, adapted from "The Best Recipe" from Cook's Illustrated. The crust turns out perfectly light and flaky. The filling has a subtle sweet flavor of cream sherry and thyme.

Chicken pot pie

Filling:

1-1/2 to 2 pounds chicken breast tenders
1 15-ounce can chicken broth plus water added to make two cups
3 medium carrots, diced into 1/2 inch pieces
1 large sweet onion, diced
3 celery stalks, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup flour
4 tablespoons butter
1-1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup frozen peas
1/3 cup cream sherry
1 teaspoon dry thyme
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Slice chicken tenders into 1-inch pieces. Put into a large heavy pan with the chicken broth. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cover and simmer 10 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. With a slotted spoon, spoon chicken into a large mixing bowl. Pour broth into a measuring cup. In the same heavy pan, heat vegetable oil. Add carrots, onion and celery. Saute for about 6 minutes over medium heat. Put vegetables into bowl with chicken. In the same heavy pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and stir for 1 minute. Whisk in milk, chicken broth and thyme, bring to simmer and stir until fully thickened, about 1 minute. Add sherry and parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir into bowl with chicken and vegetables. Stir in peas. You can cover this and refrigerate overnight if you like until ready to use. Reheat on the stove top before constructing your pie.

Pour filling into a 9-by-13-inch casserole dish. Top with pastry crust. In a small bowl, beat an egg white with 1 tablespoon water and brush over the top of the crust. Make five 1-inch cuts in the crust to vent. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. You can leave this in the oven once you've turned it off so you can enjoy appetizers with your guests before serving dinner.

Savory pastry crust:

1-1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick of unsalted butter, chilled
4 tablespoons vegetable shortening, chilled
3 tablespoons ice water

In a food processor, mix flour and salt. Cut butter into 10 or so slices, sprinkle into the flour, tossing a little to coat. Pulsate for 1 second, five times. Add shortening. Pulsate again for 1 second, five times. Turn into a mixing bowl. Sprinkle water into dough. With a rubber spatula, mix water into flour mixture with a folding motion. Add a fourth tablespoon ice water if needed. Shape into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for 30 minutes or overnight.

On a floured sheet of waxed paper, roll dough into an 11-by-15-inch rectangle. Fold in half gently and then unfold to cover the chicken filling in your casserole dish. Tuck in overhanging dough to make a nice edge. Bake as directed above

Corn chowder is perfect January supper

2008-01-05T17:05:00.001-06:00

The other day I ordered corn chowder for lunch, and got to thinking I gotta cook up some of this. So today that's what I did. I didn't crack open a cookbook; I just kind of threw this together. It's yummy. It'll make a perfect wintertime supper with the fresh wheat rolls I made this morning and a green salad.

Corn chowder

1 pound bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 pound frozen corn
2 15-ounce cans creamed corn
5 unpeeled white or red potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 large sweet onion, chopped
1 large red pepper, chopped
1 4-ounce can diced green chile peppers
2 15-ounce cans chicken broth
2 cups half-and-half
6 jalapeno slices (from a jar)

In a heavy soup pot, cook bacon until cooked but not crisp. Spoon off excess fat from the pot. Add onion pieces. Cook over medium heat until onions are soft, about 10 minutes. Add chicken broth and potatoes. Bring to boil and cook for 15 minutes. Add creamed corn, red pepper, green chiles, jalapeno slices and frozen corn. Cook 20-25 minutes. Stir in half-and-half, simmer on low until ready to serve.

Greet the New Year with Hoppin' John

2008-01-01T13:17:00.000-06:00

For the last several years, I've adopted the tradition of making a big pot of Hoppin' John on New Year's Day. This is something I learned from friends in Philadelphia who'd spent time in the South. We love this dish, which is supposed to bring good luck in the new year. Today I used the slow cooker-- in years past I've cooked this in a big soup pot on the stovetop, which too often results in a burnt layer at the bottom of the pan. No such misfortune with my Crockpot. Here's my recipe:

Hoppin' John

1 pound dry black-eyed peas
4 15-ounce cans diced tomatoes
7 mild Italian sausages, cut into 1-inch slices
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 15-ounce cans chicken broth
2 cups uncooked white rice
1/3 cup chopped jalapeno peppers
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 slices ham, cut into chunks

Soak black-eyed peas overnight according to package directions. In the morning, drain and put peas into the slow cooker. Add ham, tomates, broth, onions, jalapenos, garlic. In a large skillet, brown sausage in olive oil. Remove with a slotted spoon and add to slow cooker. Stir things up well. Cook on high for 3 hours. Then add rice. Continuing cooking until rice is cooked and liquid is absorbed, about 3 more hours.

You can use all ham or pre-cooked kielbasa instead of Italian sausage. This makes a lot of Hoppin' John; I suggest freezing a batch to enjoy later in the winter.

Celebrate a good year with elegant pasta

2007-12-30T10:29:00.000-06:00

I loved 2007. What a great year. I turned 50, we had a dream trip to France, and at the end of the year I started a wonderful new job. This was the year daughter Jessie married Jake in Virginia-- what a picture perfect event. Our other children in all corners of the country are doing well. We adopted a puppy girl who is fun every minute. And in 2007, I started this blog.

My goals for 2008? Make more time for exercise, do what I can to make my new bosses happy they hired me, be a better wife, daughter, mom and friend, read more books, train the pup well, and keep cooking so I'll have lots to blog about.

Happy New Year to everyone and thanks for your great feedback and kind comments about the blog. Let's end 2007 with a recipe that I like to make after the holidays, when I always seem to have leftover ham on hand and half a carton of heavy cream in the fridge.

Pasta with ham and peas in cream sauce

2 tablespoons butter
1 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup water
2 cloves garlic
1-1/2 cups cooked ham, chopped
1-3/4 cup half-and-half or heavy cream
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
16 ounces rotini pasta

Cook pasta according to package directions. While pasta is cooking, prepare sauce. Melt butter in a large skillet over moderate heat. Add onion and water; cover and cook until softened, about 7 minutes. Add garlic. Cook, uncovered, two minutes more. Add ham and cream. Cook until thickened, about 7 minutes. Stir in peas and spices; cook until peas are heated through. Drain pasta, add to sauce and stir well. Stir in the Parmesan. Serve immediately with crusty bread and a nice salad.

Peppers add holiday color to potato medley

2007-12-29T07:29:00.000-06:00

It's not often that a vegetable dish catches much attention at a holiday buffet. But at my company's Christmas party this season, I was struck by how pretty one potato side dish was. Red and green bell peppers provided a little Yuletide color. Sweet potatoes and new potatoes made for a nice combination. So, when I cooked our rib roast for Christmas dinner, I did my best to duplicate this dish. The results were yummy:

Holiday potatoes with red and green peppers

Wash three large sweet potatoes, and pierce several times. Bake these on a foil-lined cookie sheet at 375 degrees for about an hour. Let them cool completely, then peel and cut into 1-inch chunks. Boil five or six new potatoes for 15 minutes. Cool completely and cut into 1-inch chunks. Chop a large sweet onion, a red bell pepper and a green bell pepper. In a wok, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add peppers and onions and cook for about 4 minutes. Then add sweet and new potato pieces and stir-fry. Add salt, pepper to taste. If you like, top with a little fres-grated parmesan cheese. (Since Christmas doesn't officially end until the Feast of the Epiphany on Jan. 6, I see no need to wait 'til next year to try this again!)

White Christmas calls for spicy white chili

2007-12-25T11:49:00.000-06:00

We're having a white Christmas in Wichita this year, and this weather put me in the mood for a steaming spicy pot of white chili. I cooked this in the slow cooker day before yesterday and it made for a nice supper before we headed to church last night. I tell ya, slow cooking is the way to go when cooking dry beans. They just cook up perfectly on low in about 8 hours. I adapted this from a recipe Dave's had in his files for many years. It's best to make this a day before you're going to serve it. Cover and refrigerate 'til ready to reheat.

White chili

4 15-ounce cans chicken broth
16-ounce package of dry navy beans
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 to 1/2 cup canned jalapeno peppers, chopped
2 teaspoons oregano
1-1/2 teaspoons cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces (or leftover Christmas turkey)
2 tablespoons olive oil

Soak beans overnight according to package directions. In a heavy skillet, stir-fry chicken pieces in olive oil over medium high heat about 8 minutes, until evenly browned. (If using leftover chicken or turkey, you can skip this step.) Put meat into slow cooker with beans. Add remaining ingredients and stir things up. Make sure broth covers the beans completely. If it doesn't, add a bit of water or open another can of broth. Cook for 8-10 hours on low heat. Serve with grated Monterrey jack cheese and chopped cilantro. Add red pepper flakes if you prefer a little extra heat.

A happy accident: Pumpkin bread pudding

2007-12-24T09:19:00.000-06:00

Here's a recipe I came up with by accident, after I baked two loaves of pumpkin bread the other day that stuck to the pans. Trying to pry the loaves out, I broke them into pieces unsuitable for packaging up as the Christmas gifts I'd intended them to be. The bread was delicious though (Click here for the recipe from Epicurious.com) and I didn't want to throw it out. So I made pumpkin bread pudding. I took this to a dinner party last night; we heated it up and served with whipped cream. I have to say, this is a good way to use up any extra pumpkin bread you may receive from friends this holiday season.

Pumpkin bread pudding

Two small loaves pumpkin bread, broken into 1-inch chunks (about 4 cups)
8 large egg yolks
1-3/4 cups whole milk
1/3 cup maple syrup

Place pumpkin bread pieces into a buttered 8-by-8-inch baking dish. Toast at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, turning once. In medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks, milk and syrup. Pour mixture over the bread chunks, pressing on bread to completely coat. Cover with foil and refrigerate 30 minutes. Bake covered at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes, until pudding is set and firm to the touch. Serve immediately, or refrigerate and reheat when ready to serve.

Happy Holidays: Cinnamon apple roll-ups

2007-12-22T12:18:00.000-06:00

I love these days right before Christmas, when our packages are mailed off (most of 'em, at least...) and I can decorate the cookies I've already baked and we can enjoy the treats friends have given to us, and relax a little. My neighbor Lisa trudged through the snow drifts this morning to bring over a beautiful tray of cookies. I had bread dough rising and decided to use some of it to bake apple bread rolls to take over to her. They're just out of the oven, and I tried one; they're nice-- not too sweet. I ended up with enough to make a couple of gift plates of a half dozen or so.

To make the rolls, roll out yeast dough on a well-floured piece of waxed paper, then brush with melted butter. Peel and dice an apple and combine the pieces in a bowl with some finely chopped walnuts, a tablespoon of cinnamon and two tablespoons granulated sugar. Spread this evenly over the bread dough, and rolled it up tight. Use a sharp serrated knife to cut into 1-1/2 inch slices. Space these evenly on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons melted butter with about 1/4 cup brown sugar. Sprinkle this over the top of the rolls and bake at 350 degrees in a convection oven for 20 minutes. (In a conventional oven, adjust heat to 375 degrees.) Cool on wire rack until ready to package up and deliver to the neighbors.

Sort of from scratch: Eagle Brand cookie kit

2007-12-16T22:01:00.002-06:00

As I was shoppping for groceries this weekend to fill a basket for a holiday food drive, I found myself checking out some mixes in the baking aisle. I found a kit that wasn't so much a mix as a box of pre-measured ingredients to make "Magic Cookie Bars."

I remember as a kid making these treats with chocolate chips, coconut, nuts, a graham cracker crust and sweetened condensed milk. So I bought a couple of these kits, one for my food basket and one to try out myself. The kit included a packet of graham cracker crumbs to mix with butter to make a crust, and individually wrapped packets of chopped walnuts, sweet coconut, chocolate and butterscotch chips and foil-sealed packets of Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk. Obviously, these were pretty easy cookies to put together. And they turned out exactly like what I used to make as a kid.

The price seemed a little steep to me-- around $5 for enough ingredients to fill an 8-by-8-inch baking pan. But if you're in the market for quick holiday baking that doesn't involve measuring anything, you might want to try a box.

You'll feel like a kid again: Mac & cheese

2007-12-13T21:03:00.001-06:00

I started a new job this week, and I've been so busy I haven't done much cooking. We had takeout Chinese last night, and ordered pizza the night before. Finally tonight, I managed to cook dinner, even though we didn't have a lot of groceries on hand. What to fix? On hand, I found cheese, pasta and some milk and butter. So I made macaroni and cheese.

I'm kind of a purist about mac & cheese. I don't use processed cheese. I keep ingredients to a minimum. Noodles, cheese, milk, a few bread crumbs. That's about it.

This is a dish I don't cook often (especially since my kids left home) though I love it just about better than any other food available anywhere. Does mac & cheese have any redeeming social value? Not that I know of, but it's so go-o-o-ooo-oood.

Here's my basic recipe:

16 ounces macaroni or other pasta (such as penne or rotini)
2 to 3 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 stick butter
1 cup milk
Dried parsley flakes
1 cup saltine cracker crumbs or Panko crumbs
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes

Boil pasta according to package directions. Drain. Return to cooking pot, add butter and mix well. Add cheese. Stir. Then add milk. Butter a 9-by-11-inch casserole dish. Add pasta and cheese mixture to casserole dish. Top with crumbs and parsley. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. (And then just try to limit yourself to only one serving!)

Sweet holiday aroma: Gingerbread cookies

2007-12-09T16:54:00.000-06:00

Nothing says Christmas like the aroma of ginger. One of my favorite holiday traditions is baking cutout cookies, and today it was bitter cold outside, so I stayed inside and baked about 5 dozen gingerbread cutouts. These taste so good with coffee or hot cider or a steaming cup of cocoa.

I don't do anything fancy when it comes to icing cookies. I mix just a few drops of milk into a cup of powdered sugar and mix that with a fork. Then I spread this icing on my cooled cookies. I don't usually add food coloring, but I like to sprinkle iced cookies with colored green and red sugar.

This recipe, from "Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook" produces a pretty dry dough that can be a little crumbly when you try to roll it. Work the chilled dough with your hands a bit to make it easier to handle before rolling out. Double this recipe so you'll have plenty of cookies to decorate. These freeze well too. I froze most of what I made today to decorate later.

Gingerbread cutout cookies

1/2 cup shortening
1-1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Beat shortening on high speed with electric mixer 30 seconds. Add half the flour, and all remaining ingredients. Beat 'til thoroughly combined. Beat in the rest of the flour. Form into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill at least three hours.

Divide dough in half. On a flour piece of waxed paper, flatten dough with your hand. Then roll it out to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into desired cookie cutter shapes. Place 1 inch apart on a parchment-paper-lined cookie sheet. Bake in 350-degree convection oven for 5 or 6 minutes (375 degrees for conventional oven), 'til edges are slightly browned. Cool on cookie sheet for a minute, then cool on a wire rack. Wait to spread on icing 'til the cookies are completely cool. Makes 36-48, according to the cookbook.

Mmm... Chocolate-coated sugar cookies

2007-12-08T18:44:00.000-06:00

Today we got our Christmas tree up and decorated, and Dave braved ice and drizzle to string lights up outside. And I made this season's first batches of holiday cookies; cream cheese sugar cookies.

I usually go way overboard with cookies at Christmastime. For the next few weeks I will fill the freezer with cookies, some to mail out to the kids, some to decorate just before Christmas for friends in town. I freeze cookies by the dozen in gallon Ziploc bags, and don't decorate until I pull them from the freezer ready to use.

One tip for cookie baking-- always line cookie sheets with parchment paper for easy clean-up. Your cookies will never stick and you don't have to ponder whether to grease the pan.

One of my favorite ways to decorate sugar cookies is to melt chocolate chips in the microwave in a small bowl, and drizzle the melted chocolate over the cookies. Then I sprinkle with just a few walnut crumbs. To crush the walnuts, put a handful of nutmeats between two sheets of waxed paper and flatten with a rolling pin. Works great.

Here's the recipe I used today for cream cheese cutout sugar cookies, adapted from "Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook."

Cream cheese cutouts

1 cup butter
6 ounces cream cheese
4 cups flour
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat butter and cream cheese 'til smooth. Add half the flour and all the remaining ingredients. Beat 'til well blended. Beat in remaining flour. Form into two balls, wrap each in plastic wrap and chill at least an hour.

Divide each ball in half. On a sheet of floured waxed paper, roll out dough one half at a time to 1/8 inch thickness. Cut with cookie cutters into desired shapes. Set 1 inch apart on a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in 350-degree convection oven (375 degrees for a conventional oven) for about 7 minutes, until edges are lightly browned. Cool on a wire rack. Let cool completely before freezing.

According to the cookbook, this should yield 120 cookies. I'd say 60 to 80 is more likely.

Fried catfish tastes deliciously like summer

2007-12-07T07:30:00.000-06:00

Sorry I have been distracted and not blogging. I am starting a new job Monday, haven't started thinking about the holidays at all-- and we got a puppy! Her name is Bella and she's wonderful; a 12-week-old boxer/terrier mutt. She's the greatest.

With so much going on, I think I'm in denial about the holidays. I need to be baking cookies on a daily basis and freezing them. Haven't started. Last night I did cook us dinner, but nothing with a holiday feel-- we finally ate up the catfish we caught on our memorable excursion in northern Kansas last summer.

We never got around to having a fish fry with all the folks who went on that trip, and now that I'm leaving one job to start another, the co-worker who had custody of the frozen fish brought me my share this week. I coated it in excellent cornmeal coating mix that my (soon-to-be-former) boss gave me that is not available in Wichita. I'm almost out and I'm trying to figure out what exactly goes into this perfect fish breading. I dipped the fish fillets in ice water, then coated them with the breading, and fried in hot vegetable oil over medium high heat for about 5 minutes per side. It's important not to flip the fish before that five minutes is over. Mmm. I gotta say, eating this fish was a lot more fun than catching it.

Calf's liver: More delicious than you think

2007-12-02T20:20:00.000-06:00

Liver. Most people turn up their noses at the thought. I never prepare this dish, because Dave is one of those liver eschewers. But I like liver. One of my favorite dinners as a kid was calf's liver with bacon and onions; my mother chose calf's liver because she was not a fan of liver, but my dad liked it, and calf's liver is somewhat milder than other varieties.

I've been feeling a little weary this week, a little stressed, a little light-headed. So I started popping multivitamins, and thought a dose of iron-rich liver might help pep me up. Tonight that's what I cooked for dinner.

I found calf's liver in the frozen food section at my grocery store. Here's how I prepared it: I dredged the liver pieces in flour, dipped them into a beaten egg, and then coated with Panko bread crumbs. Then I fried in hot oil in a skillet over medium high heat for about four minutes a side. I topped with bacon and fried onions. And even Dave had some; he said it tasted better than he expected. (I considered that high praise!)

Dave's beef stew warms up a winter night

2007-12-02T09:44:00.000-06:00

I haven't cooked a thing since Thanksgiving. We enjoyed turkey leftovers for several days, then we had takeout a couple nights last week and yesterday, Dave cooked up really good beef stew for supper. It was lovely to have a homecooked meal, even if I wasn't in a mood to cook anything myself.

This recipe is one Dave's had for years, from an Internet recipe that credits "The Tasha Tudor Cookbook."

2 pounds beef stew meat
Unbleached flour season with salt and pepper
1 tbsp. shortening
1 quart boiling water
4 cloves garlic, peeled and finely sliced
1/2 cup yellow onion, chopped
1 small green pepper, diced
1 cup celery, sliced
2 cups potatoes, diced
2 cups carrots, peeled and diced
1/2 cup parsnips, peeled and diced
2 beef bouillon cubes
1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme and parsley, chopped
1 or 2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon unbleached flour

Dredge beef chunks in flour and sear them in melted shortening in a heavy pot. Pour 1 quart boiling water over the meat, then add the garlic. Cover and simmer for two hours, adding more water as needed. Add the vegetables, bouillon cubes and herbs and season to taste. Simmer another hour until the vegetables are tender, adding a little red wine if you like or more water if necessary. Thicken with more flour, by adding some of the gravy to the flour and then stirring the thickener into the pot. Simmer a few more minutes before serving. Great with homemade bread.

Tip for perfect crust: Brush with egg white

2007-11-25T09:57:00.000-06:00

After a week of holiday cooking, I can think of only one tip to offer today. When making fruit pie, always brush top crust with beaten egg white and sprinkle with granulated sugar. Doesn't that look appetizing? And this recipe for crust can't be beat (double it for a double-crust fruit pie.)

Holiday calls for cranberry-walnut muffins

2007-11-20T21:12:00.000-06:00

We have kids arriving tomorrow from Virginia, California, and Pittsburgh for the holiday. I love that they'll be here all weekend, and I'm filling up the house with food before they get here.

I have ham and beans cooking in the slow cooker now, and I just baked up some cranberry-walnut muffins. The kitchen smells so good. For the muffins, I added grated orange peel to the batter, and then stirred in chopped cranberries and chopped walnuts. When the muffins were still warm, I brushed them with butter and dipped them into granulated sugar. I'll freeze them when they cool and pull them out to thaw Thanksgiving morning to serve for breakfast. I can also throw some of these into a basket with dinner rolls when it's time for turkey dinner.

For best results when making muffins, grease and flour your muffin pans, rather than using paper liners.

Cranberry-walnut muffins

2 cups white all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
10 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 and 1/2 cups plain low-fat yogurt
1 teaspoon grated orange peel
1-1/2 cup fresh or frozen cranberries, finely diced in the food processor
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
Shortening and flour for the muffin pans

Heat oven to 375 degrees (350 convection). Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda in medium bowl. Set aside. Cream butter and sugar in mixing bowl until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat in half of dry ingredients. Beat in one-third of the yogurt. Add orange peel. Beat in remaining dry ingredients in two batches, alternating with yogurt, until incorporated. Stir in cranberries and walnuts.

Grease muffin pans and dust with flour. Divide batter among cups. Bake until muffins are golden brown, 25 to 30 minutes (20 or so if using convection). Cool muffins in pan five minutes. Remove muffins from pan to cool on wire rack. Brush with melted butter and roll each muffin in granulated sugar to coat the top.

Before Thursday, is it OK to Shake 'n Bake?

2007-11-18T19:15:00.000-06:00

Thanksgiving, of course, is a big project for whoever is cooking. Wonderful, but a bit of work. So as we get ready for Thursday, isn't it OK to cut a few corners (or order take-out) once or twice as we prepare dinners in these throw-away days ahead of time?

Yesterday when Dave and I were at the grocery store, as I was cruising the baking aisle for whole wheat flour and packets of yeast, he was somehow drawn to pull a box of "Shake 'N Bake" from the shelf and throw it into our cart. Don't know when I last coated pork chops with Shake 'N Bake crumbs, but you know, it wasn't a bad way to go tonight, after I'd been baking all day. Panko crumbs would have been a better, more contemporary option, but I'd have had to take a few minutes to figure out what to do with those.

No need to share tonight's recipe here. You can find it on the box.

Cut time and apples with food processor

2007-11-17T17:58:00.000-06:00

A couple pre-Thanksgiving thoughts on pie: I never buy pre-made pie crusts, but I'm not averse to skipping the work of slicing pie apples. The food processor works perfectly for that.

I did go to the trouble once of making pumpkin pie with fresh pumpkin, and that was not worth the extra effort. Canned pumpkin is dandy stuff. And the pie recipe on any can of pumpkin is pretty much dandy as well, though I always use all brown sugar, no granulated, and I substitute half-and-half instead of using evaporated milk. The results are heavenly, if I do say so myself.

Thanksgiving prep work fills the weekend

2007-11-17T16:47:00.001-06:00

We have four children coming for Thanksgiving from three different states. I can't wait to see them. Today we've been cleaning house, checking the inventory of clean sheets and towels, doing a bit of prep work for Thanksgiving dinner. I've made dinner rolls which are now in the freezer; taken stock of what I have on hand (frozen cranberries, cans of pumpkin), and bought a few groceries: leeks and sausage to go into my favorite sweet potato casserole, apples for pie. (I highly recommend this savory sweet potato recipe from Bon Appetit, with thyme and parmesan cheese. You can make it a day ahead of time and then heat it up when your turkey's almost done. )

When it comes to cooking a turkey, I don't understand all the food page stories that come out this time of year, offering advice as if this is a daunting challenge. Roasting a turkey is so easy. First I pull the neck and giblets out and let those simmer in water to make a nice liquid for my gravy. Then I stuff the bird, put it into my big foil-lined roasting pan, rub with a little olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, cover very loosely with foil and roast at 325 degrees according to the package directions. I baste the bird once in awhile, and about 45 minutes before the end of the estimated cooking time, I remove the foil so the skin browns nicely. I like to buy a fresh turkey, so I won't shop for that until Tuesday or so, and I always get one with a pop-up timer. (Is there any other kind?) Those little timers are wonderfully accurate, in my experience.

Here's my simple recipe for pretty basic bread stuffing:

1 large onion, chopped fine
1 cup chopped celery
1 tablespoon dry sage
1/2 stick of butter
6-8 cups unseasoned dry bread crumbs
1 clove garlic, pressed
A cup of raisins or chopped apples, or a combination of both
Chicken broth to moisten (about 1/4 cup)

Melt butter and add onion and garlic. Cook about 5 minutes, until onion is soft. Combine all ingredients except broth in a large bowl. Stir well. Add enough chicken broth to just moisten the bread crumbs.

If you're game to cook some of the stuffing inside the turkey (I always am), set aside about half the stuffing for that purpose. Then butter a baking dish and put the stuffing into the dish. Pour a little extra broth over this. Cover with foil and set aside until the last 45 minutes your turkey is in the oven. Then just bake this with the turkey, on a lower rack. For the stuffing you're going to actually put into the bird, spoon that into the cavity loosely just before you put the bird into the oven. Truss up the cavity and roast as directed.

Shepherd's Pie helps ward off stress

2007-11-11T15:35:00.000-06:00

I have a lot going on lately; a mix of drama, busy work and up-in-the-air dynamics that has me feeling a little more stressed than usual. Yesterday I found relief two ways: running 3 and a half miles, and then cooking up a big comfort casserole of Shepherd's Pie for dinner.

Shepherd's Pie is a dish that requires no recipe. Throw just about any combination of meat, vegetables, tomatoes and spices into a pot, cook that up and spread it into an 11-by-13-inch baking dish, top with mashed potatoes and sprinkle with a little bit of sharp cheddar cheese (not too much-- it pays to show respectable restraint with the cheese.)

Here's what I did yesterday: I browned a pound of ground sausage with a chopped sweet onion, three cloves minced garlic, and a good shake of dried Italian seasoning. I then added two 15-ounce cans diced tomatoes, about a cup of chopped carrots, a chopped red bell pepper, two small sliced zucchinis, a bit of red wine. I also threw in about a cup of frozen corn. I let this simmer while I boiled about 10 medium size red potatoes for 10 minutes. Then I mashed the potatoes with about 3/4 cup milk and 4 tablespoons butter. (I used my KitchenAid mixer to mash the potatoes. It's such a useful toy!) At the last minute, I added just a couple tablespoons of flour to my meat and vegetables and stirred that with a wisk to thicken things up a little. I poured the meat mixture into a baking dish and topped with dollops of the potatoes, which I then spread evenly to cover the dish. I sprinkled the top with about 4 ounces of grated cheddar and a little bit of parsley. I baked the casserole for an hour at 350 degrees.

Keep this dish in mind in a couple weeks; it's a great way to use up leftover turkey and mashed potatoes.

Bake ziti with pesto, spinach and sausage

2007-11-08T22:14:00.001-06:00

Wichita boasts more than its share of good restaurants, but it's hard to find authentic Italian cuisine here, unless I cook it myself. I miss the great Italian food we enjoyed when we lived in Philly, but I have to say I do OK when I cook basic Italian at home. My mom gave me a copy of The Sopranos Family Cookbook some time back, and it's an entertaining resource that features some really good recipes. And one of my favorite Italian recipes comes from Epicurious.com; it's for baked ziti with pesto, spinach and sausage.

I've made this dish a couple of times for big parties and even more often for smaller get-togethers (most recently last Sunday). The only change I make to the Epicurious directions is using sweet Italian sausage instead of hot. This casserole is like mac and cheese with a whole lot of other excellent stuff thrown in. It's a nice company supper when served with a green salad and crusty bread. (Oh, and here's an important rule I live by: Only buy parmesan cheese by the chunk and grate a fresh supply whenever it's needed.)

Let them eat cake: Easy chocolate torte

2007-11-05T08:02:00.000-06:00

I swore off desserts a week ago (just 'til Thanksgiving!) but we invited friends for dinner last night, so I had to backslide a little on this. I made a fudge cake that is easy, and pretty and really delicious. To stay on track diet-wise, I had just one piece, and sent most of this cake home with our guests. This dessert is like a torte; it features a nice dose of finely chopped nuts but not much flour.

Chocolate torte

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour an 8-inch springform pan.

Cream together 1 cup sugar, 1/2 cup unsalted butter. Beat in two large egg yokes, 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted and slightly cooled. Beat in 1/3 cup all-purpose flour, 1 teaspoon vanilla. Stir in one cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts. (I suggest grinding these very fine in the food processor.) Whip until stiff but not dry: 2 large egg whites, 1/8 teaspoon salt. Fold gently into the batter. Pour into greased pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes.

Let cool. Carefully remove from springform pan. Top with a dusting of powdered sugar and berry syrup. (Adapted from "The Joy of Cooking.")

Good use of leftovers: Ham, beans and rice

2007-10-30T12:49:00.001-05:00

Spiral cut hams were on sale at the grocery store this weekend, so I brought one home. It's always tough to find a ham just the right size for two, so I picked out the smallest one I could find, baked it for supper, and then designated the leftovers for sandwiches and a big pot of red beans and rice.

Yesterday before work, I threw the hambone and generous portions of meat into my slow cooker with a pound of dry red beans (I'd soaked these overnight), a large diced yellow onion, four cloves minced garlic, three 15-ounce cans diced tomatoes and 2 cans chicken broth. I added about three tablespoons chili powder and a bay leaf. I set the heat to low. Six hours later, when I came home for lunch, I stirred everything up, added a large diced red pepper, a whole stalk of celery (which I discarded before serving) and about a cup of "Jasmati" rice. (Any rice would do-- it serves to thicken things up nicely.) By suppertime, this was wonderful. And it'll be wonderful for supper again tonight, and maybe tomorrow.

Gym or cheesecake? I'll take the cheesecake

2007-10-29T13:43:00.000-05:00

Lately when faced with a Sunday afternoon choice between hitting the gym and baking some decadent dessert, well, I seem to be opting for dessert more often than not. Yesterday I made a cheesecake topped with berry sauce. It was decadent, yes, but not quite so decadent as a recipe I found at lovemyphilly.blogspot.com (a blog brimming with recipes that call for Philadelphia Cream Cheese -- part of a not-so-stealth marketing campaign, I'm thinking) that called for four whole blocks of cream cheese. (By the way, that Web site features several recipes that call for pre-mixed Philly cheesecake filling, an ingredient I didn't know existed. Nothing is easier than mixing up cheesecake filling. Who's buying this stuff?)

When son Erik was in town some months back, he made a killer cheesecake that also called for four 8-ounce packages of cream cheese. It was tall, it was beautiful, it was enough for 20 people. Here's what I came up with as an alternative (which made plenty, of course, enough that I must hereby resolve to hit the gym, uh, you know, real soon.):

Cheesecake with berry sauce

1-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup plus four tablespoons sugar
2 8-ounce packages cream cheese
2 tsp. vanilla
1-1/2 cups sour cream
2 eggs

Heat convection oven to 300 degrees or conventional oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 10-inch springform pan. Mix crumbs, butter and 2 tablespoons of sugar in a bowl, press onto bottom of pan. Beat cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon vanilla in large bowl. Add 1/2 cup sour cream. Beat 'til smooth. Add eggs one at a time. Beat on low until well blended. Pour filling over crust. Bake 40 minutes or until center is almost set. Mix remaining sour cream, 2 tablespoons sugar and 1 tsp vanilla. Spread evenly over cheesecake. Bake an additional 10 minutes. Cool in pan, then cover and refrigerate at least four hours. Top slices with berry sauce before serving.

Berry sauce:

In a saucepan, mix 1 cup water with two cups sugar. Bring to boil. Add a 12-to-16-ounce package frozen mixed berries. Boil for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Strain into a bowl, and spoon some of the cooked berries into the syrup. Refrigerate 'til ready to use. Spoon two tablespoons or so over each slice of cheesecake.

Start the evening with a kir vin blanc

2007-10-28T18:06:00.000-05:00

Since we got back from France, we've indulged occasionally in a lovely French apéritif, a kir vin blanc. It's a nice way to start the evening. Invest in a bottle of crème de cassis (nothing fancy, really) and pour a splash into a champagne flute. Then fill with Sauvignon Blanc. This cocktail is sweet, but not too sweet, just perfect to enjoy with a little camembert and a few crackers while dinner is simmering.

For something a little fancier, use champagne instead of white wine. Voilà. Un kir royal.

A traditional favorite: Quiche Lorraine

2007-10-27T12:30:00.000-05:00

When I wrote about my new pie weights a few days ago, I didn't elaborate on how to make quiche. Quiche is not quite as in vogue as it was a few years back, but it is so worth the effort. It can be a main dish, or a wonderful side with a bowl of rich soup and a plate of salad. This dish is versatile-- you can add spinach, onions, chopped broccoli or peppers to make a veggie quiche; crab or shrimp for a seafood quiche; or stick to tradition to make Quiche Lorraine with bacon and Swiss cheese.

The traditional is my favorite. This recipe is loosely based on one I found in Julia Child's "The French Chef Cookbook," which features dishes from her first series of television shows broadcast in 1963:

Quiche Lorraine

1 baked 9-inch pie shell
6 to 8 pieces thick-sliced bacon, cooked to medium crispness
1 to 1-1/2 cups grated Swiss cheese
1-1/2 cups half-and-half
Pinch of nutmeg
4 large eggs

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Slice bacon into 1-inch slices. Spread evenly on bottom of pastry shell. Spread cheese evenly over bacon. Beat eggs, half-and-half and nutmeg in a bowl. Place pie shell on middle rack in oven, pull rack out so you can pour the egg mixture into the pie shell. Carefully slide rack back into place. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until knife inserted about an inch from the center comes out clean. Serve warm or at room temperature.

A good foundation: Squash & sausage soup

2007-10-25T08:44:00.001-05:00

If you've got beans, ham or sausage, a big onion and a couple cans of diced tomatoes, you have everything you need for easy slow-cooker soup. From that foundation, you can create any number of variations.

This week, I threw those basics into my slow cooker with about four cups of my leftover butternut squash, and some dried rosemary. The squash added such a nice, sweet autumn flavor to this dish, and we ended up with enough soup for several meals.

Butternut squash and sausage soup

2 pounds mild Italian sausage
1 tablespoon olive oil
3 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes
1 pound dry navy beans
1 large onion, diced
3 cloves minced garlic
4 cups butternut squash, seeded and peeled, cut into 1-inch chunks
Two tablespoons dried rosemary
Salt and pepper to taste

Clean beans and soak overnight. Drain the beans. In a heavy skillet, cook sausage in olive oil over medium heat until nicely browned. Place all ingredients into the slow cooker. Add enough water to just cover the beans. Cook on low for at least 8 hours. (Like most homemade soups, this is even better the second day than the first. Cover and chill 'til ready to reheat.)

Spice up squash with flavors of India

2007-10-21T16:00:00.001-05:00

October is high season for squash. Yesterday I made a chicken and butternut squash stew with curry, cumin and cinnamon. It was quite tasty. I've found it's best to follow the advice of my friend Felicia when using butternut squash-- bake the squash at 350 degrees for 40 minutes to soften it up. Most recipes don't suggest this, but it makes the squash much easier to peel and dice.

I found this recipe in my "Bon Appetit Cookbook." It also happens to be on the Epicurious website. And I overestimated how much squash I'd need, so I have plenty left over. I'm thinking I'll throw the extra into the slow cooker in the morning with browned Italian sausage, white beans, diced onions, garlic, canned tomatoes and spices yet to be determined. I'll report later how that turns out.

Shop-window dessert: Strawberry tart

2007-10-20T20:27:00.002-05:00

Yesterday I made a beautiful fresh strawberry tart. Here's all you need to know: Fill a baked pie crust with two pounds whole, cleaned strawberries (with the tops trimmed off). Melt 1/2 cup strawberry jam in a small saucepan, and brush the melted jam evenly over the strawberries. Refrigerate for an hour or so, et voila. Dessert.

If you'd like to bake a cookie-like brown-sugar-almond crust for this, buy "My French Kitchen" and look up the recipe for "Tarte aux Fraises." Sorry, but I don't feel right sharing yet another recipe from this great little cookbook on my blog. (Otherwise, I could fill my blog with all 120 recipes from this book within the next few months!) This crust is sweet and crisp, a perfect compliment to the strawberries. To make this, I bought an 11-inchWilton tart pan with a removable bottom; it's shallower than the pie pan I picked up in Paris. Both are fun to use, and I like the fluted, pastry-shop edges these create.

Crème brulée is easy, after a couple of tries

2007-10-20T05:51:00.000-05:00

I wrote last week about my failed attempt at crème brulée. Well, persistence paid off. I did finally manage to make a successful batch. It's not a complicated dessert, but you have to watch what you're doing and whisk like mad when you add hot cream to the eggs, or your eggs will get all lumpy. The first recipe I used called for using a double boiler, and I don't have one (those are hard to find in kitchen stores these days), so I made do by putting a heat-proof dish over the saucepan as I heated the cream. Kind of a clunky operation.

The recipe I liked better was from "Paris Bistro Cooking," a beautiful cookbook that my friend Marti bought for me before our trip to France. Author Linda Dannenberg profiles wonderful Paris bistros, and features recipes and gorgeous color photos in her book. When we were in Paris, we went to one of her featured restaurants, and showed staff there our copies of the book, and the staff signed them for us. They were great. (And so was the food.)

According to Dannenberg, this recipe comes from "Le Petit Marguéry," a restaurant on Boulevard Port-Royal. We didn't make it there on last month's trip, so we have something to look forward to next time.

Crème brulée
2 cups milk
2 cups heavy cream
2 split vanilla beans
7 eggs yolks
2 large eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup packed dark brown sugar (or super-fine sugar)

Combine milk and cream. Add the vanilla beans, scald over medium heat. Discard vanilla beans. In a separate bowl, beat egg yolks and eggs with the granulated sugar. Gradually beat in the milk (whisking constantly!) Strain into oven-proof custard cups or a 1-1/2 quart baking dish.

Place custards cups or baking dish in a large pan of very hot water. Bake until custard is firm (about 40 minutes) Let cool for several hours. Just before serving, preheat broiler and sprinkle custard with brown sugar. Run dishes under the broiler to carmelize the sugar, watching carefully to prevent burning. Or better yet, use a crème brulée torch. I don't have one, but my friend Marti brought hers over for us to use last weekend. She also brought over super-fine sugar from Williams Sonoma, and we ended up with a perfectly crisp sugar crust.

Invest in pie weights for perfect crust

2007-10-16T02:11:00.000-05:00

I love shopping for kitchen stuff. A few days ago, I bought something to help get me through the upcoming holiday baking season: a nice jar of pie weights from Williams-Sonoma, for about $11.

Yesterday I made quiche and these pretty little marbles came in so handy. I used a recipe for quiche and crust from "The Best Recipe," from the editors of Cooks Illustrated. It's one of my favorite, most stain-splattered cookbooks. Whatever recipe you use, here's a tip that helps make for a perfect pre-baked crust: Once you've got the pie crust in the pan, chill it for 40 minutes in the refrigerator and then put it into the freezer for 20 minutes before baking. This actually prevents shrinking as the crust bakes. It's quite amazing.

This Cooks Illustrated recipe for a single 9-inch crust is surprisingly easy to handle and is perfectly flaky and delicious:

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, chilled, cut into 1/4-inch pieces
3 tablespoons shortening
4-5 tablespoons ice water

Pulse flour, salt, sugar in food processor. Scatter butter pieces over flour, tossing to coat. Cut butter into flour with five 1-second pulses. Add shortening and cut in with about 4 more 1-second pulses, 'til it resembles coarse cornmeal. Turn mixture into medium bowl.

Sprinkle four tablespoons ice water over mixture. With rubber spatula, use folding motion to mix. Press down on mixture with broad side of spatula until dough sticks together, adding up to 1 tablespoon of water if needed. Shape dough into ball, squeezing two or three times with hands until cohesive. Flatten into 4-inch disk. Dust lightly with flour, wrap in plastic. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes, or up to 2 days before rolling.

Remove dough from refrigerator; let stand at room temperature to soften slightly. Roll dough on lightly floured surface to 12-inch disk, about 1/8 inch thick. Fold dough into quarters, then place dough point in center of pie pan. Unfold dough.

Press dough gently into pan. Trim edge and flute dough at edges. Refrigerate for 40 minutes, then freeze for 20 minutes before baking. Heat oven to 375 degrees. Press doubled 12-inch square of aluminum foil inside dough shell; distribute 1 cup of pie weights or dry beans over foil. Bake about 17 minutes. Carefully remove foil and weights by gathering sides of foil and pulling up and out. For partially baked crust, continue baking about 9 minutes more, until lightly browned. For fully baked crust, bake about 15 minutes more until deep golden brown. Transfer to wire rack to cool, then fill as directed in your favorite recipes.

Blueberry-apple sauce goes well with pork

2007-10-14T08:25:00.000-05:00

Even in our global economy, it remains difficult to find some ingredients in Wichita, Kansas. Yesterday I wanted to make black currant sauce from my new French cookbook. The recipe called for either fresh black currants (uh huh!) or a jar of black currants in syrup. I went to my newly expanded Dillons store, where it seems they sell everything imaginable, but had no luck. I went to a specialty market, but all I found there were the same cans of gourmet goods Dillons offers, for twice the price. I will continue this quest through the winter. As for dinner last night, I substituted blueberries and ended up with a nice berry-and-apple sauce to serve with pork tenderloin.

I did find Chambord black currant jam at Dillons, and I dolloped a bit of that in as my blueberries were cooking. Here's the recipe, adapted from "My French Kitchen," by Joanne Harris and Fran Warde.

Pork with blueberries and apples

1 can blueberries in light syrup
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 pork tenderloins
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
Salt and pepper to taste
2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced
Pinch of ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon black currant jam

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Cook the tenderloins over medium heat until golden all over. Season with salt and pepper. Cover and cook for 15 minutes. When internal temperature reaches 170 degrees, transfer to a platter. While meat is cooking, melt 1 tablespoon butter in a saucepan and cook apples for 10 minutes, until golden. Add cinnamon.

Strain the blueberries and reserve syrup. Put the syrup and jam into the skillet and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cut remaining butter into pieces and whisk to make a glossy sauce. Add the blueberries. Add the apples. Slice the pork and serve with the sauce. (Very nice with potatoes.)

Feathery sweet: Cocoa meringues

2007-10-13T17:38:00.000-05:00

Today I attempted crème brulée, with sad results. In fact, I had to toss the whole lot into the garbage disposal. Sigh. However, I did make good use of the big bowl of egg whites I had left over from that fiasco. I decided to try to make meringues like the cookies I'd seen in French pastry shops, and those turned out beautifully.

Son Erik helped me dissect what went wrong with the crème brulée, by the way. When I added hot vanilla-laced cream to my beaten egg yolks, I got distracted and didn't get to stirring things up soon enough. So my egg yolks started to cook and everything turned into a sugary scrambled egg mess. I will try again after dinner tonight; I want to serve crème brulée tomorrow night and apparently it's best to prepare it a day ahead of time.

Here's the recipe for my cocoa meringue cookies. If the crème brulée fails again, these will have to serve as dessert tomorrow.

Cocoa meringues

Let six egg whites reach room temperature. Preheat oven to 225 degrees. Beat egg whites 'til soft peaks form. Keep beating, and add 1 teaspoon vanilla. Slowly add 1-1/2 cups powdered sugar. Continue beating. Add 1/2 cup cocoa powder. Beat until very stiff. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Drop dollops onto the cookie sheets. Bake for two hours. Turn off oven, let cookies cool in oven, for several hours. Serve with whipped cream and berries if you like.

Slow cooker chicken cacciatore, I'll call it

2007-10-12T20:15:00.000-05:00

I love coming home on a Friday night to a nicely prepared dinner, especially one I prepared myself at lunch time.

Today, during my noon hour, I thawed four chicken thighs in the microwave and threw them into the slow cooker with an assortment of ingredients I had on hand: a15-ounce can of tomatoes, a 15-ounce can of tomato sauce, a chopped yellow pepper, a diced red onion, three minced garlic cloves, about a cup of red wine, and a few generous shakes of dried basil. I set the cooker on high, and about three hours later, while I was hard at work downtown, Dave turned the temperature to low. At the end of the day, we poured this nice chicken dish over some freshly cooked new potatoes to enjoy with steamed green peas. Perfectly lovely.

Vive la différence: Salmon in Pinot Noir

2007-10-09T08:04:00.002-05:00

Sometimes it pays to take chances in the kitchen. A couple of days ago, I was thumbing through the cookbook I'd just purchased ("My French Kitchen" by Joanne Harris) and decided to prepare her salmon in red wine. I don't usually serve salmon with red wine, much less cook it in an entire bottle of the stuff. But it was really good. And easy too. You start by melting 3 tablespoons of unsalted butter in a tablespoon of olive oil in a big skillet, then add a finely diced red onion, a chopped clove of garlic and 4 ounces of sliced mushrooms. Saute for 10 minutes.

Then sprinkle in 3 tablespoons flour and mix well (Julia Child says it's very important to cook the flour well before adding liquid to a sauce, so I did...) Then gradually add a 750-ml bottle of Pinot Noir or red Burgundy (I used Pinot Noir), mix 'til smooth and bring to a boil. Add 6 salmon fillets, with skin left on, spooning the wine over them evenly. Cover and simmer for 8 minutes. Lift out the salmon, keep it warm and bring the wine back to a boil. Spoon out the mushrooms and serve them with the salmon over rice. Very nice. Looks a little like beef burgundy when you serve it up, but tastes like beautifully poached fish. Perfect with a glass of red wine.

Apple compote tart has continental charm

2007-10-07T17:58:00.002-05:00

I used my new tart pan today to make an apple compote tart that is cooling now and looks just lovely. Yes, it's a little clunky by Paris patisserie standards, but I'm happy with it nonetheless. I adapted a recipe from Epicurious that calls for cooking an apple compote to use as the first layer of the filling, topped with big chunks of apples and brown sugar. I added a little cinnamon when I cooked the compote, and topped the tart with a few almond slices and brushed the top with a glaze of melted apricot preserves before baking. When I do this again, I will brush on the hot glaze just after the tart comes out of the oven, not before. It got just a little scorched the way I did it.

I realize after researching a few recipes that the little removable-bottom pan I bought at E.DeHillerin will not work for a classic "tarte tatin," which requires a heavy skillet to create an upside-down apple pie. I will try that soon. I priced a small tarte tatin pan today at Williams-Sonoma. It was $149. (Sigh. I know where I could get one cheaper.)

Also today, I bought an inspiring cookbook, My French Kitchen, by Joanne Harris (who wrote the novel "Chocolat") and Fran Warde. Here is a quote I love from the preface: "Food -- and its preparation -- should be a pleasure. Faced with such a bewildering selection of 'conveniently' processed foods and ready meals in the supermarkets, it is sometimes hard to remember this. There is nothing convenient about bad food. When in a hurry, it takes less time to make a fabulous salad or sandwich or pasta dish than it does to defrost an overpriced tray of mush." Oui, c'est vrai.

Picnic makes most of warm October day

2007-10-07T09:56:00.001-05:00

It might as well still be summer in Wichita, with temperatures hovering close to 90 degrees. I'm so eager for cooler weather, but for now, hey, there's nothing to do but pretend it's July and have a picnic.

Yesterday we did just that, attending a fabulous outdoor jazz concert with friends at the Bartlett Arboretum in Belle Plaine. We all contributed plenty of cheese, excellent bread, grapes and apples, a little sausage, crackers, veggies, nice wine, some chocolates, all of which we spread out on a couple of blankets on the grass to enjoy while listening to the music. Nothing fancy, nothing anyone prepared ahead of time, but fun and delicious. (Recently I've been buying nice French camembert at the grocery store-- I love it when it's mild, and so soft it's as easy to spread as butter.) We had a great time.

It's a little cooler today. Maybe I'll do some cooking.