Cranberry Bread

The new Everyday Food arrived this week and thankfully there were lots of things in there to try. The first recipe that caught my eye was for Cranberry Bread, so I whipped some up this afternoon. It was really easy and it tastes great. The cranberries are really tart and it's delicious, with just enough sweetness from the cake part to counteract it.

4 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pan
2 cups flour
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon slat
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3/4 cup milk
1 bag (12oz) cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 F. Butter and flour a 9x 5 inch loaf pan, 8 cup capacity, and set aside. In a large bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt; set aside in a medium bowl, combine butter egg and milk. Add wet mixture to dry mixture and whisk to combine. Fold in cranberries.

Pour better into prepared pan. Bake until a toothpick inserted in centre of loaf comes out clean, about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack; let bread cool 30 mins. Invert onto rack, then immediately turn right side up and let cool completely.

I also picked up a copy of Ina Garten's new book Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics: Fabulous Flavor from Simple Ingredients, which Costco has for $18.89. Amazon has it for $21.00, so if you are near a Costco, it's a bargain!! I just had a quick look through and there are some lovely things in there.

Tomorrow of course is Halloween, so hopefully my kids will get lots of Milky Way's and I'll be able to help eat them!!

Flounder with Vegetable Cous Cous

We had this for dinner tonight. It's from Everyday Food. Here is the recipe. I have to be honest, I didn't like it at all. I guess steamed fish isn't that great. However, I think it looks good in the photo! And it was super easy to put together. So if you want a quick, tasteless dinner, give this a try. The best part was the mustard viniagrette.

Rosemary Fried Chicken

Ever since I moved here to the US I've always wanted to be able to make a really good fried chicken, but it's sort of difficult, especially to know when the chicken is cooked and also not that good for you, but I came across a recipe for half fried and then finished off in the oven,(from Everyday Food)and I thought that was the perfect solution. Also it was very easy! I used the side burner on the grill so I wouldn't get oil spat all over the kitchen, and except for the rain, that was a good idea.

I served it with a pasta,celery and red onion salad. (recipe below)

Ingredients

8 chicken legs and 8 chicken thighs (about 3 1/2 pounds total)
2 cups low-fat buttermilk
Coarse salt and ground pepper
3 cups all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons sweet paprika
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary leaves, plus 4 sprigs
2 cups vegetable oil, such as safflower

Directions
Preheat oven to 450 degrees, with racks in upper and lower thirds. Line one large rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil; place a wire rack over a second rimmed baking sheet. In a large bowl, combine chicken, buttermilk, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper; set aside (or refrigerate up to 2 days).



In another large bowl, whisk together flour, paprika, chopped rosemary, 1 tablespoon salt, and 2 teaspoons pepper. Lift chicken from buttermilk, a few pieces at a time (allowing excess to drip off), and dredge in flour mixture (shaking off excess); transfer to foil-lined sheet. Dredge chicken in flour mixture a second time; return to sheet.



In a 12-inch cast-iron skillet (or a 5-quart Dutch oven), heat oil and rosemary sprigs over medium-high. When rosemary sizzles rapidly, remove and discard. In three batches, fry chicken until golden brown, 4 to 5 minutes per side; transfer to prepared rack. (If chicken browns too quickly, reduce heat.)



Remove foil; set a rack on that baking sheet. Transfer half the chicken to this empty rack. Bake chicken on both racks until an instant-read thermometer inserted in thickest part of a thigh registers 165, 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes before serving. (To store, let cool, then layer between paper towels; refrigerate up to 1 day. If desired, bring to room temperature before serving.)




Pasta Salad

1 pound medium pasta shells (I used bowties!)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 cup light mayonnaise
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
6 celery stalks, halved lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise, plus 1 cup celery leaves
1/2 medium red onion, finely chopped

Directions

Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente; drain and rinse under cold water to stop cooking. Set aside.
In a large bowl, whisk together mayonnaise and lemon juice. Add celery stalks and leaves, onion, and cooled pasta; season with salt and pepper. Toss to combine.

Spinach Grapes and Almonds

I dutifully made Thursday nights recipe last night.Steak with a side of Spinach, grapes and almonds.I did not like it at all. And it didn't look that good so I didn't take a picture. That combination of spinach, grapes and balsamic didn't really sit well with me. So that's too bad!!

Here is the recipe from Everyday Food

So, forging ahead with the recipes, tonight, especially for the 4th July, is Rosemary Fried Chicken. The chicken is already soaking in the buttermilk!

Chicken Thighs, Zucchini and CousCous

Tonights dinner from the weeks menu was Chicken Thighs with Zucchini and CousCous.It was nice. Not spectacular but nice. I did like the red-wine vinegar in the couscous, and next time I would definitely put more vinegar in it.

Here is the recipe.

Asparagus, Sun Dried Tomato and Ricotta Pizza

So here is Monday's dinner. Pizza with Asparagus, Sun Dried Tomato and Ricotta. It was delicious. I grilled the scallions and the asparagus,and tossing them in some sun dried tomato oil was just brilliant, and then cooked the pizza in the regular oven. The recipe calls for grilling the pizza dough as well, but I didn't want to try it tonight, because if it failed, there was nothing else for dinner. I also made the kids a cheese pizza.

And for the pizza dough - I make my own with one of Ina's recipes, but store bought (Trader Joe's is a good one) would do just as well.

Here's the recipe.

A Weeks Menu

I mentioned last week that I was going to challenge myself and do a whole weeks menu from one of the Everyday Food magazines.

I chose the menu this morning, it's from the June 2008 Everyday Food. "Weeknight Wonders" starting on page 81. I have made one subsitution only. Monday in the Everyday Food Menu was "Tuna Steaks with Lemony Tomatoes and Onion" and I'm subsituting the Rosemary Fried Chicken from the same magazine.

So here is the weeks menu. I will be posting each dish so you can see how it turns out.

Tonight:

Grilled Pizzas with Asparagus and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Tuesday:

Roasted Chicken Thighs with Zucchini and Couscous

Wednesday:

Spaghetti with Pancetta, Green beans and Basil


Thursday:

Steak with spinach, grapes and almonds

Friday:

Rosemary Fried Chicken

I am going to be making a couple of incidental subsitutions, and I'll write those up when I make each dish.

Eat My Words

Well, I'm already having to eat my words regarding the July/August Everyday Food. I had the magazine sitting on my desk and I just thumbed through it again and came across a recipe for Bay Scallop Stir Fry. I was desperate for a dinner idea, I knew I had some scallops in the freezer, so I decided to give it a try. I didn't really like the sauce, it wasn't quite right, but it was OK, we ate it. And I also didn't have most of the other ingredients, so I substituted!

Serve this dish over rice!

Coarse salt and ground pepper
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 1/2 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon vegetable oil.
1 red bell pepper (ribs, seeds removed, thinly sliced) I used green beans instead
2 bunches of scallions, white and green parts separated (left it out because I didn't have any!)
2 carrots, halved lengthwise or quartered if large and cut into 1 1/2 inch lengths (I actually had carrots!!)
2 teaspoons minced peeled fresh ginger
1 pound bay scallops, patted dry (I just used the small ones in the bag from Costco).

Prepare rice whichever way you like.

Whisk together vinegar, soy sauce, sesame oil, and cornstarch in a small bowl. Set sauce aside.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat vegetable oil over medium-high. Add bell pepper , scallion whites, carrots and ginger; cook, stirring occasionally, until carrots are crisp-tender, 4 to 5 mins. Add scallops and scallion greens, cook, stirring occasionally, until scallops are cooked through, 2 to 3 minutes.

Whisk sauce briefly, and add to skillet; cook until thickened, about 1 minute. Serve scallop stir-fry over rice.

I also found a Strawberry Cream Cake recipe which I'm going to try. I have one from Ina which is fantastic, but this one only has 1 stick of butter in it, and Ina usually has a lot more than that!

New Challenges

And having just said this about Martha and Everyday Food, my new challenge to myself for next weeks dinners is, choose one of the Everyday Magazines that I have and make every dinner for a week that they suggest in one of their "week of dinners" sections. I haven't chosen it yet, but I'll post the whole menu when I do.

Tonight we are having the Garlic and Parmesan Turkey Burgers!

Disappointed

The July/August 2008 is the most disappointing edition of Everyday Food Magazine ever. I'm usually marking off every second page when I get my magazine, and and I always try at least two or three things out straight away. This time... nothing. Not one thing in here looks even remotely appealing to me, or it's a rehash or twist on a recipe that I've already tried. I'd love to hear if anyone else feels the same about this one, or it's just me.

10th Anniversary Cake

Today is our 10th Wedding Anniversary and I was surprised with a lovely pair of diamond earrings!! I couldn't have been more shocked. So I was really pleased that I promised to make Marc a Devils Food Cake for our anniversary.

I used a recipe from Martha Stewart Holiday Halloween 2007 and it turned out really well. Much better than the last time I did one of these cakes from Martha.

It's your typical Martha recipe, you have to use your mixer, two bowls and a saucepan, but it is worth it, because the cake is really moist and chocolaty and the icing is fantastic.

The recipe calls for two 8" cake pans, but you could even put it in three pans, there is so much batter it fill the pans right to the top.

Here is the recipe. I didn't alter it one bit for my first try, and it really doesn't need any tweaking. This cake will probably become the standard birthday cake that I make from now on. It's that good!

Mushroom and Leek Tart

We had a very light summer dinner tonight, to celebrate the fact that the temperature actually hit 70 here in Virginia. I still have my heat on here for the mornings, where it has been a crisp 51 degrees!

I made the Leek Tart from June's Everyday Food. They had lots of really good recipes this month and I'm making a few more this weekend which I will post.

I modified the recipe a bit by adding mushrooms to the leeks and then I served it with some roasted chicken.

Here's is the recipe. I diced up the mushrooms and added them about 5 minutes after the leeks had started to cook. For the pastry, I bought the Pepperidge Farm frozen puff pastry. I just can't make pastry like that, and this is supposed to be an easy dinner!

It was delicious!

Weekend Dinners

I haven't posted for a few days as nothing really remarkable has come out of the kitchen since Thursday night! I can't even remember what we had for dinner on Friday night - so it must not have been amazing. On Saturday we had Indian. I don't make it from scratch, I use the Kitchens of India Butter Chicken paste, and also their Palak Paneer. I tried making my own chapati as well, and it was a bit of a disaster. I don't think I had enough water in the dough. Anyway, they all burned a bit and tasted like paper, so that was a waste of time and flour.

Sunday I made Thai Chicken and Noodle Salad from the ever trusty May 2008 Everyday Food. I thought it turned out nicely and was really easy to put together.

I've had some very successful Asian dinners from the Everyday Food. I've done a Green Chicken Curry, Cashew Chicken, the Thai Chicken Salad and a light salad with cilantro dressing and chicken and cashews.

We are going to have the Turkey Burgers again tonight. I need a full stomach so I can deal with Andrew Lloyd Webber night on American Idol and then of course, Hell's Kitchen!!!! I wonder what Gordon with throw on the wall tonight?

Chicken Fajita Tostadas

We had the Chicken Fajita Tostadas again tonight. Delicious. The recipe is from April's Everyday Food and it's a really easy, healthy, quick dinner.

I made a few changes to the original recipe:

1 medium onions, thinly sliced
2 or 3 bell peppers (ribs and seeds removed), thinly sliced (I used 1/2 each of yellow, orange and red bell peppers)
1 box (10 ounces) frozen corn kernels ( I used the frozen Roasted Corn Kernels from Trader Joe's)
1 cup prepared fresh salsa
2 tablespoons olive oil
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 cups shredded cooked chicken breast
4 corn tortillas (6-inch)
1/2 cup shredded sharp cheddar

Directions

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminum foil. On foil, combine onions, bell peppers, corn, 1/4 cup salsa (I used a lot more than this. The first time I made it 1/4 cup was not enough), and 1 tablespoon oil; season with salt and pepper.

Roast, tossing occasionally, until vegetables are tender and lightly browned, 15 to 20 minutes. Add chicken, stir to combine, and continue to roast until warmed through, 5 minutes more. Transfer chicken and vegetable mixture to a serving bowl, discarding foil (reserve sheet).

Arrange tortillas on sheet. Dividing evenly, brush with remaining tablespoon oil; top with cheese. Bake until edges are golden and cheese is melted, 5 to 8 minutes.
Dividing evenly, top tortillas with chicken-vegetable mixture and remaining 3/4 cup salsa.

These have been a huge hit both times I've made them.

ps. Haven't watched Tuesday's Hell's Kitchen yet, so I don't know if Gordon disapproved of anyones risotto!!!

Just in time for Hell's Kitchen tonight...

I made a mushroom and pea risotto for dinner. First time I've ever made one. Gordon Ramsay, please come to my house for dinner and I'll make you a risotto that hopefully, you won't throw against the wall. Everyone ate it up no problem except my 7 yr old, but he did eat some of it, just picked out the mushrooms, onion and peas. Sigh.

The basic recipe for the risotto is is from April's Everyday Food. It's a bit time consuming and you have to prep everything before you start, but the dish turned out really well and was easy. If it's so easy, what's the problem? Every person Gordon Ramsay has ever met in either Kitchen Nightmares in England or the US or Hell's Kitchen has been unable to produce a risotto that has passed Gordon's taste test. Maybe mine wouldn't either!!

Here's the recipe:

2 cans (14.5oz each) reduced sodium chicken broth
4 tablespoons butter
1 medium onion, minced
coarse salt and ground pepper
1 cup Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup grated Parmesan.
1lb mushrooms, sliced and sauteed
1 cup frozen peas

In a small saucepan, combine broth with 1 cup water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and keep at a bare simmer.

In a large saucepan, heat 2 tablespoons butter over medium heat. Add onion and season with salt and pepper. Cook stirring occasionally until tender, about 5 minutes. Add rice; cook, stirring frequently, 1 to 2 minutes. Add wine; cook, stirring until absorbed, about 1 - 2 minutes.

Add 2 cups of broth. Simmer over medium-low stirring occasionally,until absorbed. Continue adding broth, 1 cup at a time, stirring until most of the liquid has been absorbed,** about 25 minutes total. The rice should be tender (but not mushy) and suspended in liquid with the consistency of heavy cream. (I didn't need all the broth - I added the first 2 cups and then 1 cup more and that was fine)

**Meanwhile, saute the mushrooms in some butter and then add them to the risotto after you have added the last cup of broth. Add the frozen peas at this time also. After stirring for about 1 minute, the risotto should be almost ready.

Remove pan from heat. Stir in Parmesan and butter, serve.

I thought it turned out well. Not mushy and not undercooked. I did not move away from the saucepan at any time during the process though. So don't wander off and start watching the Gilmore Girls or anything like that!!

Crab Cake Appetisers

I made some crab cake appetisers today for tonight's dinner. I really love this recipe from Everyday Food, and I've made it once before as a main dish. The recipe makes 8 good sized crab cakes, and I made 20 mini crab cakes with mixture left over, from half the recipe. I used a 1lb tub of Phillips lump crab meat that I got at Costco.

The full sized ingredients list is

1 pound small-sized fresh crab meat, such as special or claw

1 pound larger sized fresh crab meat, such as jumbo or backfin

1/2 cup light mayonnaise

1/2 cup fresh parsley chopped

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (plus wedges for serving)

1 large egg

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon Old Bay Seasoning

coarse salt and ground pepper

1 cup fine saltine crumbs (about 30 crackers)

4 tablespoons butter, melted

In a large bowl, stir together mayonnaise, parsley, lemon juice, eggs, mustard, Old Bay, 1/4 teaspoon pepper.

Add crumbs and small-sized crab meat to mayonnaise mixture; stir well to combine. Gently fold in larger sized crab meat just until combined. Dividing evenly, form mixture into 8 cakes.

(you can make these up to 1 day ahead and store them on parchment paper in the fridge).

Place cakes on a baking sheet lined with foil. Drizzle with the melted butter. Broil until golden brown and warmed throughout. 12 - 15 mins.

Garlic and Parmesan Turkey Burgers

Tonight for dinner, after the frenzy of the Banana Cake and the Whopper cookies I thought that burgers would be a good idea, seeing as I didn't actually have to go outside and cook them on the grill, I could get my husband to do that!

I adapted the burger recipe from an Everyday Food recipe for meatballs.

1 lb of ground lean turkey
1/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1 egg
2 cloves of garlic or 2 teaspoons of ready minced garlic
1/4 cup of grated Parmesan
Salt and pepper to taste

Mix it all together and then form into six good sized burgers. They take about 20 mins on the grill.

I threw them on some ciabatta rolls with shredded lettuce and some tomato. Delicious.

Lemon Custard Cakes

I love anything with lemon, and I've been eyeing this recipe in the Everyday Food since I got the book, and this morning I was in the mood to whip a few up!!

They are so easy to make, and yum (I just ate one for morning tea!)

Unsalted butter at room temperature for custard cups
3 large eggs, separated
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoon all purpose flour
2-3 tablespoons grated lemon zest
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 cup milk (I used skim)
1/4 teaspoon salt
Confectioners' sugar for dusting

Preheat the oven to 350F. Set a kettle of water to boil. Butter six 6-ounce custard cups, and place m in a roasting pan or baking dish lined with a kitchen towel (I sprayed the cups with Pam and I didn't use the towel and everything was fine - I took the risk of the cups sliding in the baking dish)

In a large bowl, whisk together the egg yolks and granulated sugar until the mixture is light; wish in the flour. Gradually whisk in the lemon zest and juice and whisk in the milk.

With an electric mixer, beat the egg whites and salt until soft peaks form. Add to the lemon mixture; gently fold in with a whisk (the batter will be thin)

Divide the batter among the prepared cups. Place the pan in the oven and fill with boiling water to reach halfway up the sides of the cups. Bake until the puddings are puffed and lightly browned. 20-25 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature, dusted with confectioners sugar.

Note: If you don't have individual custard cups, bake the batter in an 8-inch square baking dish(or other shallow 2-quart baking dish) for 30-35 minutes.

Vietnamese Steak Sandwiches

We had these for dinner last night. Delicious!! I marinated a flank steak and then we cooked it on the grill. I put it on some fresh Demi Baguettes which I got from Costco and some cilantro, carrot, garlic and scallions that were mixed together with an Asian dressing.

Flank Steak Marinade:

1/3 cup fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons soy sauce
2 scallions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

My flank steak was about 1.5lbs.

Combine everything in a ziploc bag and marinate. The recipe from Martha's Everyday Food, Great Food Fast says 30 mins. I did it overnight and it was just right.

We grilled the steak for about 15 mins and it was "medium". Let the steak rest for 10 mins before slicing thinly.

For the Sandwich:

1 large garlic clove, minced (I have a huge jar of minced garlic that I always use)
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 carrots, grated
2 scallions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup packed fresh clilantro leaves

Bread rolls.

Mix together the garlic, sugar, red pepper flakes, rice vinegar and 1 tablespoon of water. In another bowl toss together the carrots, scallions, and cilantro, then combine with the vinegar mixture and toss well until everything is coated.

Once the meat is sliced - assemble on the rolls and you'll have a delicious weekend dinner!!

Pasta for Dinner

I made the Angel Hair Pasta, Bacon and Peas from the March 2008 Everyday Food. We had it for dinner last night and it was only OK. The sauce was very thin as it was only Half and Half, no cheese mixed in, no egg. The kids even ate the peas and bacon, but picked out the onion, which was a very labour intensive task, so it took them forever to eat their dinner.

This week, Martha Stewart launched her new book "Cookies", and it has 175 cookie recipes. I have a feeling that it is going to contain 100 recipes that I already have from the Dec 2005 Holiday Cookie Magazine. I have only seen Martha show it off on her show the other day, but the whole layout looks excatly the same. I'd love to have the book, but I think I'm going to give it a miss unless I find out that it's 175 completely different and unique cookies from anything else she's published before.

I haven't watched Top Chef yet, but I've heard it's great. Hopefully I'll get to it tomorrow night.

I'm going to make a sponge cake tomorrow, my Nana's recipe, so I'll be posting that as soon as I can.