English Sausage Dinner

Guy got inspired to make sausage rolls after a big platter of them appeared at the pub in the plotline of one of his TV shows from the seventies about life in the English countryside.

They turned out great! We used frozen puff pastry from the supermarket so it was easy to prepare. To go with it, I made brussels sprouts in garlic butter (I was trying to think of something English) and Dee's Corn & Tomato Salad from The Joy of Cooking.

For dessert, we had Spotted Dick boiled in a can! It's a moist steamed cake, sort of like a coffee cake.

"'Hey, you're from Yonkers? Do you know Stu Burns?"

"It does if you leave it on the stove long enough."

That's a joke from the "What's a Henway?" era of my childhood.

Anyway, last night I made the best stew ever and I wanted to share it. It's modified from a recipe I found online. I added more bay leaves, switched out some of the potatoes for sweet potatoes, added a shallot and peas, and roasted the vegetables instead of frying them. And I replaced the butter with olive oil. The basic ingredients are:

1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 and 1/4 pounds stew beef (cut in small pieces)
6 garlic cloves, minced
8 cups beef stock
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
8 bay leaves
2 large sweet potatoes
1 regular potato
Olive oil (for brushing the vegetables)
1 large onion
1 shallot
2 cups peeled and chopped carrots
1 cup frozen peas

The first thing I did was heat the oven to 450 and peel and slice all the vegetables--except the garlic and peas. (I took the peas out of the freezer to let them thaw.) I loaded up 2 tin baking trays with the vegetables and (very) lightly coated them with olive oil.

I tried out my food processor's slicing feature for the first time. It worked really well but sliced very thin, so I only did about half the carrots, a sweet potato and part of the onion this way. The rest I sliced more thickly.

On the first tray, I put 6 bay leaves and a light sprinkling of kosher salt on top. The other one I left plain (except for the olive oil). After a while, the bay leaves started smoking, so I took them off eventually...but they made the kitchen smell really good.

While those roasted, Guy cooked the stew beef. He heated the vegetable oil in a cast iron pan on medium-high heat before adding the meat, then cooked until brown, about 5 minutes.

I then transferred the meat to our large Le Crueset pot and pushed it to the sides so that I could saute the garlic in the middle of the pot for about one minute. I added the beef stock, tomato paste, sugar, thyme, Worcestershire sauce and 2 bay leaves, and stirred. The original recipe said "bring to a boil" but I've noticed that it takes a really long time for anything to boil in the Le Crueset so I just waited until it seemed hot and then reduced the heat to medium-low, covered it and simmered for an hour, stirring occasionally.

At some point, I turned off the oven and let the vegetables sit in the oven until it was time to add them to the stew. After the beef had cooked for an hour, I added the roasted vegetables and peas and simmered the stew uncovered for 40 minutes until it thickened.

Success!

PEEPS

Easter is coming! And we all know what that means--Peeps! Doesn't it seem like Peeps have grown in popularity over the years? Peeps contests are all the rage.

Fishstick's Book

The problem with reading someone's blog (or book or anything similar) is that it has the insidious effect of making you gradually sympathize with them, even if you hate them.

I have experienced this phenomenon with Gwyneth Paltrow. As someone who deeply hated her, I subscribed to her newsletter Goop out of the same impulse with which you would pick at a scab.

Sadly for me, what started out as a nice clean hate gradually morphed into a more complex feeling: still hate but now combined with a certain amount of affection and even empathy. What can I say? She alienates me with her off-hand recommendation that the Ritz is a fun place to stay while in Paris (thanks for the tip, Gwynnie!) and yet...she seems like a well-meaning person albeit extremely over-privileged. She's probably nice to her friends. She now hates Madonna, which I can't argue with. And her recipes are good!

So I know I'll end up eventually owning this book even though the cover repulses me. There she is again, with her self-congratulatory insipid smile, harping on and on about how wonderful her family is, and how she's a daddy's girl--and there's the foreward from Mario Batali, the most celebrity butt-kissing chef in the world. But I bet the recipes are good! Stop me before I buy this book!!

Big Mama Is Delicious

While we're on the topic of chickens, I wanted to share this yummy recipe that I found. I made it last night for some friends, and it's a good recipe for entertaining if you don't have much time because it's delicious but you can also throw it together quickly.

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

Adjust oven rack to middle position; preheat to 400 degrees. Heat 1 tablespoon oil in large saucepan over medium heat. Finely chop one onion and cook until softened. (The recipe calls for "about 5 minutes" but I always find it takes longer to soften an onion.) Add 3 tablespoons chili powder and 2 teaspoons cumin and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir in 2 (8 oz.) cans tomato sauce, 3/4 cup chicken broth, and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Simmer until slightly thickened, about 5 minutes.

The chicken used in this recipe is a rotisserie chicken. It's tasty and also cuts down on cooking time. You just throw away the skin and shred the meat into bite-sized chunks.

Now toss the chicken with 1/4 cup of the sauce, plus one cup shredded Mexican cheese and 2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro in a big bowl. (I added more cilantro because I really like cilantro.) Spread 1/2 cup of the sauce in the bottom of an 8-inch square baking dish. Layer 4 corn tortillas in the bottom of the dish and cover with half of the chicken mixture. Top with 3 more corn tortillas (I ripped one in half to make it fit better) and 1/2 of the remaining sauce. Cover with remaining chicken mixture, 3 more corn tortillas (again, with one ripped in half) and 1/2 cup shredded Mexican cheese.

Wrap with foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove foil and bake an additional five minutes. Serve with sour cream.

Candied Nuts

Candied pecans and walnuts make a nice holiday gift and, if you happen to have pecans or walnuts lying around, it's an inexpensive gift too. My Southern relatives are always mailing us pecans which is convenient.

Since we blew so much money going to Hawaii, I don't have much money left over for Christmas presents this year, so for gifts at the office, I'm making everybody a (small) jar of these candied pecans. People are always really impressed with these ("You made these??") but the funny thing is, the recipe is so quick and simple. Here's the one I use:

2 cups raw walnuts or pecans
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
salt

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Butter a large baking pan, or better yet, use parchment paper (easier for clean up). Combine nuts, sugar, and water in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Cook about 15 minutes, until mixture thickens. Spread nuts on baking pan and sprinkle with salt. Bake 15 minutes, then turn nuts using an oiled spatula and cook 15 minutes more. Let cool, then put into pretty glass jars.

Almas

I spent last Sunday as well as this Sunday making pretzels. They're fun! I used a recipe from Joy of Cooking and it's really simple, you just need a lot of time for rising and it helps to have a Kitchen-Aid mixer with a dough hook. I love my dough hook; it means I don't have to do any kneading by hand.

The first time I made them (last week), I made the mistake of putting too much salt on them. This time, I'll lightly salt only half the batch, and leave the rest unsalted. Guy and I had them for dinner with (store bought) Queso sauce and salad.

I like this paragraph from Joy of Cooking in their chapter on yeast:

"Yeasts are tiny single-celled living organisms with approximately 3,200 billion cells to the pound--and not one is exactly like another. They feed on sugars and produce alcohols and carbon dioxide--the "riser" in batters and doughs. But you may prefer, as we do, to accept a Mexican attitude towards yeast doughs. They call them almas, or souls, because they seem so spirited."

Caramel Coconut Shortbread

I found this recipe on Rachael Ray's website. It's supposed to taste like Samoa (Girl Scout) cookies. Those are my favorite so it made me want to try this recipe. If it turns out well, I might bake a batch to give out at Christmas:

• 1 1/2 sticks (6 ounces) unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 3/4 cups flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 14 ounces soft caramel candies
• 5 tablespoons heavy cream
• 2 cups shredded coconut, toasted
• 1 cup chocolate chips, melted

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Using a mixer, beat the butter and sugar on high speed until fluffy, about 3 minutes. Mix in the vanilla.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour and 1/4 teaspoon salt, then add to the butter mixture. Mix on low speed just until the dough comes together. Press evenly into a 9-by-13-inch baking dish. Using a fork, prick the dough at 1-inch intervals. Bake until golden, 20 to 22 minutes.

3. In a medium saucepan, melt the caramels with the cream and remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt over medium heat. Stir in the coconut, then spread over the shortbread.

4. Using a spoon, drizzle the chocolate on top. Let cool completely before slicing.

Donuts & Apples

Last week at work, someone brought in two boxes of Krispy Kreme donuts. A week or so later, someone else brought us a bowl of apples.

The contrast in everyone's reactions was truly striking. The donuts triggered a very intense reaction--interestingly, mostly negative. The most common response was, "Oh no! Donuts!", followed by much discussion, longing, craving, giving-in or not giving-in, and just a big brouhaha in general. Despite the proclaimed negative response, those donuts disappeared fast.

It reminded me of when Deebo sees a squirrel or bird outside the window. He reacts with a mixture of horror and aversion, and intense attraction.

On the other end of the spectrum, the poor bowl of apples elicited exactly no reaction whatsoever. They were the Ralph Ellison of the food world. A few people apathetically gazed at them, said something like, "Oh. Apples..." and then walked right past. A few people did eat them, but not with anywhere near the same fanfare generated by the donuts.

Interestingly, a couple of people actively disliked Krispy Kremes, deeming them "too sweet" and expressing a preference for other kinds of donuts. And I found out that two of my co-workers are allergic to uncooked fruit, which is an allergy I had never even heard of before.

In conclusion, apples: respectable but somewhat dull, like Jackie Kennedy. Donuts: exciting but dangerous, like Marilyn Monroe.

Entertaining

I had some guests over yesterday--my book club. The book we read was Nickle and Dimed. I really liked the book, but not everyone did.

Tonight I'm having more people over. Last night I made macaroni and cheese. Tonight, it's butternut squash soup. Guy holds a personal grudge against butternut squash soup, for some reason. He calls it "soup for ladies."

Candwich

Ewwwwwwwwwwww!:

Money in the Bank? No, Sandwich in a Can

DENVER — Is putting a sandwich in a can and calling it a “Candwich” the next can’t-miss billion-dollar idea?

Even if it is, investors in Utah who put $145 million in the hands of a money manager named Travis L. Wright will still have thinner wallets. A lawsuit by the federal Securities and Exchange Commission says that Mr. Wright promised returns of up to 24 percent on real estate investments, but that he put the money instead into Candwich development and other equally untried ideas.

Along with sales of canned sandwiches — Pepperoni Pizza Pocket and French Toast in a can were planned — Mr. Wright’s companies, under the banner of Waterford Funding, also invested in a company selling rose petals printed with greeting card sentiments and another selling watches over the Internet.

Utah has long endured a reputation as a place where many people are naïve or trusting to the point of losing their shirts. And the erosion of retirement savings in the recession has only compounded the problem, said Michael E. Hines, the director of enforcement at the Utah Division of Securities.

“A lot of 401(k)s have become 201(k)s,” Mr. Hines said.

Some scammers do not even need expensive-looking offices as stage sets. About five years ago, for example, a scheme promising a $50 million payout for a $5,000 investment raked in about $144 million nationally. In Utah, the group successfully sought investors by putting fliers on car windshields. Much of the money ended up in Latvia, Mr. Hines said.

Mr. Wright, who is 47 and lives in Draper, Utah, according to the suit, did not return telephone calls. Several listings for Waterford Funding were disconnected or not in service.

Meanwhile, the Candwich concept perseveres. The president of Mark One Foods, Mark Kirkland, who said he patented the idea of putting solid food in a beverage container with the slogan, “Quick & Tasty, Ready to Eat,” said Mr. Wright promised full financial backing for Candwich production that never really materialized even as investors did. He said he believed that canned sandwiches would ultimately sell, and hoped to go into production later this year.

The shelf life of a Candwich is excellent, Mr. Kirkland said.

Spaghetti Dogs

"Not that we have anything against a meal that looks like it was made in the Play-Doh Fun Factory press—we’re just not sure if we would eat it. That said, the creation of this meal is actually not very labor intensive: Simply puncture slices of raw hot dog with uncooked spaghetti noodles and boil."

Find more crazy hot dogs at:

http://www.womansday.com/Articles/Food/10-Off-the-Wall-Hot-Dogs.html

Hotter, Mintier, Fruitier!

Americans are demanding extreme flavor sensations! Here is an interesting article about this new trend:

The Increased Craving for Intense Flavors Suggests That the American Palate is Changing

The buttery taste found in packaged foods isn't just butter flavor anymore. Increasingly, it is browned-butter flavor, formulated to taste deeper and more savory than plain butter, says International Flavors and Fragrances, one of the leading laboratories for developing flavors used by food companies.

Snack chips are spicier. Chewing gum is mintier. Energy drinks are fruitier. In short, American cuisine is adrenaline cuisine.

Some food companies are hitting their labs to try to torque up flavorings to appeal to the country's expanding palates, and, of course, boost sales of snacks, drinks and even main courses. Arugula and ancho-chile sauce now appear at restaurants like Chili's where there was once only iceberg lettuce and mayonnaise. PepsiCo Inc.'s Frito-Lay brand recently introduced Doritos chip flavors labeled First-, Second- and Third-Degree Burn. Gum-maker Wm. Wrigley Jr. Co. is using new technologies like textured crystals it calls Micro-Bursts to deliver a more intense flavor as well as new sweeteners to make flavors last longer. At home, seasoning company McCormick & Co. Inc. says Americans now keep an average of 40 different spices, a figure that has grown roughly twice as fast in the past two decades as it did in the previous 30 years...

Food and flavor companies are secretive about the technology used to enhance flavors that they consider proprietary information. They now have the ability to create the full spectrum of any flavor in a lab. A simple strawberry flavor can range from tart, just-picked strawberry to almost candy-like sweetness. When Dr Pepper Snapple developed its new Dr Pepper Cherry soda, for example, it tested 30 different cherry profiles with consumers...

The current flavor boom is a big change for a nation known for its mashed potatoes, chicken sticks, macaroni and cheese and other unadventurous fare. It's a reversal that has been in the making since the advent of processed food first began to drown out regional cuisines during World War II, food historians say.

"Bold is replacing boring," says Kevan Vetter, McCormick's executive chef who is part of a team that has met for the past 10 years to develop McCormick's annual "flavor forecast" report. The report includes the top 10 flavor pairings that the spice-maker thinks will be popular in the coming year. Among the flavor couplets in its 2010 forecast are roasted cumin and chick peas, caraway and bitter greens, roasted rhubarb and ginger, and almond and ale...

New flavors used to originate in fine dining kitchens and work their way down, but now they come just as often from the Food Network or from ethnic or international sources. "The timeline that trends take to evolve down to the mass consumer has really shortened," Mr. Vetter says.
McCormick now counts sea-salt, smoked paprika, roasted garlic and dried lemongrass among the flavors in its typical grocery-store offerings. Asian and Caribbean spices, blends and marinades have been the focus of recent roll-outs, and the company is predicting strong Indian spices will be big within the next five years.

At Frito-Lay Inc.'s Plano, Texas, headquarters, executives describe their new flavors of Doritos chips to match what they see as the brand's image. Doritos, the company says, are targeted at a younger audience. The Doritos consumer likes action-packed video games and late-night partying and wants that extreme experience to translate to the chips as well.

So, its new First-, Second- and Third-Degree Burn chip varieties are made with jalapeno, buffalo and habanero flavors, respectively. They launched this year, as part of the company's efforts to frequently roll out new flavors to keep customers interested.

"Consumers expect more from a flavor. It's kind of like moving from regular TV to high-def TV," says Stephen Kalil, corporate executive research chef at Frito-Lay's Culinary Innovation Center. Mr. Kalil helps brainstorm new flavors and creates a natural version of a flavor in the kitchen that can be replicated in a lab.

"A lot of that flavor goes back to Asian and Szechuan cooking," says Kelly Sepcic, vice president of innovation at Frito-Lay. Sweet and spicy Doritos is another Asian-inspired product with soy, garlic and ginger flavors.

Cuisines like those from China and Thailand include extreme flavors, but, unlike the new burst of flavor in the U.S., they also assign great importance to achieving a balance between spicy and sweet, salty and refreshing, says Dr. Davis of the James Beard Foundation...

At Wrigley , the pace of gum flavor creation has accelerated dramatically in recent years. Wrigley introduced Juicy Fruit and Wrigley's Spearmint in 1893 and then waited for 20 years before introducing its next flavor, Doublemint. It wasn't until 1975 and 1976, respectively, that it introduced the next flavors Freedent and Big Red. Today, Wrigley releases about a dozen new flavors a year in the U.S. This fall it will offer Extra gum in fruity dessert flavors, including strawberry shortcake and Key lime pie.

"We're Grillin', Steamin', and Fryin'."

I took this placemat from a seafood restaurant in Alabama that Guy's parents brought us to. The shrimp was good, although by that point, I was having vegetable withdrawal, so I didn't enjoy the deep-fried food as much as I would, say, now. The restaurant is called Mikee's, and their sister store is called The Shrimp Basket:

"The Shrimp Basket is a family friendly restaurant that originated in Gulf Shores in 1993. The concept of the Shrimp Basket started in what once was a yogurt shop. That location is still going strong in Gulf Shores. Shortly thereafter the location in Perdido Key was opened. After that location was successfully opened 6 more locations followed including, Foley, Al; Davis Highway Pensacola, Fl; Navy Boulevard Pensacola, Fl; Milton, Fl; Bay Minette, Al and Orange Beach, Al.

"We are grillin’, steamin’, and fryin’ for you! Our menu has a great variety of seafood and local favorites. It ranges from shrimp, fish, crab claws and crawfish to po-boys, chicken and sandwiches. Don’t forget about our Roasted Red Pepper Bama Sauce over angel hair pasta!

"Check out the whole menu under the menu tab on the homepage. The goal at the Shrimp Basket is to provide enjoyable, affordable service to each and every one of our guests at whichever restaurant they choose to dine in. This is accomplished by our professional and well-trained staff working together to ensure that your memories are the best that they can be at the Shrimp Basket!"

Pimento Cheese

Having grown up in NYC, I had never even heard of pimento cheese until Guy's Southern stepmother thoughtfully whipped some up for our last visit, offhandedly telling us, "Help yourself to pimento cheese if you're hungry." I had no idea what that was, but I just went with it. Anything with the word "cheese" in it couldn't be bad, I reasoned. And it was delicious, of course!

As usual, Wikipedia sums it up nicely:

"Pimento cheese is a common food in the Southern United States. The recipe for most pimento cheese spreads has few ingredients: sharp cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, pimentos, salt and pepper. It is typically served either as a spread on crackers or celery, or as a sandwich. A pimento cheese sandwich may be a quick and inexpensive lunch for children, or it may be served as a cocktail finger food (with crusts trimmed, a bit of watercress, and cut into triangles). Pimento cheese sandwiches are a signature item at The Masters Tournament. It is also a common snack in the Philippines, where it is referred to as cheese-pimiento."

And here is a cute little piece that NPR's Wright Bryan did on the subject:

Two of my favorite words are "comfort" and "food." Put them together and it's magic, just like the simple blend of cheese, mayonnaise and sweet peppers known across the South as pimento cheese.

Like most Southerners, I grew up with pimento cheese spread — from the soulless, processed stuff sold in supermarkets to the wonderful, chunky and flavorful varieties made at home.

There is no need to go down the highly processed path to store-bought pimento cheese, which features an unnaturally fluorescent-orange coloring and slimy consistency.

The recipe for most pimento consists of mixing just six or so ingredients. Typically, it includes sharp cheddar cheese, mayonnaise, pimentos and some simple seasoning, such as salt and pepper. Common variations on the recipe include the addition of onions, cream cheese, garlic or Monterey jack cheese.

The manufactured variety can have 30 or more components, including things such as "American cheese imitation" and corn syrup. Yet for all their extra ingredients, the supermarket tubs of pimento spread are bland, with nothing of the sharp character found in homemade recipes.

Pimento cheese is so ingrained in the lives of many Southerners that we don't realize our passion for the stuff doesn't exist outside the region. Call me provincial, but I was shocked (shocked!) when I learned that everyday people from Boston to San Diego don't slap pimento cheese on bread for a quick lunch, or slather it across their burgers for a decadent treat.

While its origins are somewhat murky, it became widely accepted and available sometime in the early 1900s, after a period of development and incubation on Southern farms.

Perhaps the most "national" exposure pimento cheese receives is its yearly appearance as a popular sandwich choice at the Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Ga., where I lived as a very young boy.

The beloved pimento-cheese sandwich is typically served on cheap white bread. It's a quick fix for children busy with play on a summer's day. And it's a staple at after-church potlucks.

But there are many more ways to enjoy pimento cheese, such as spread on celery or crackers for a quick hors d'oeuvre or as a quick way to add life to grits and baked potatoes.

In Atlanta, where I grew up, it's famously used as a topping on hot dogs and hamburgers at The Varsity fast food restaurant. Eating chili cheese dogs at the local institution is a tradition passed down from one generation to the next. Atlanta's Vortex Bar and Grill offers a more modern take on the pimento cheeseburger: giant pub burgers washed down with beer.

But you don't have to travel down South to enjoy authentic pimento cheese: Its basic ingredients are readily available everywhere, and it's a cinch to make. It can take as little as 15 minutes to go from inspiration to completed dish.

In the early 1970s, a friend in Augusta gave my mother the somewhat unconventional recipe that we've been using ever since. This recipe includes the common variations of garlic and Monterey jack cheese, as well as the less common use of dill pickles.

While it's the taste that keeps me coming back to pimento cheese, it was the process of making it that first hooked me.

Today, most people just throw the ingredients in a food processor. It's brutally efficient and makes a good cheese mixture.

But when I started making pimento cheese, we used a hand-crank meat grinder that clamped onto the side of a counter. Feeding the ingredients into that little mechanical beast was the kind of destructive thrill that all little boys enjoy. The cheeses mashed together into a unified paste, while the pickles and garlic crunched and snapped like sounds from a horror movie.

Although I've consigned the thrill of grinding up the ingredients by hand to the same mental department where memories of three-week summer trips to the beach are kept, I am still, after all these years, still enjoying the garlic-spiked taste of our pimento cheese.

Radishes + Salt & Butter

Yummm, here's another delicious-looking snack idea from the Kitchn. One of my favorite snacks is bread, olive oil, and kosher salt. This just goes a tiny step further.

Delicious Mac & Cheese

This is a great mac & cheese recipe that I've tasted three times now--once when Jason's co-worker made it, and twice when I made it (after I asked her for the recipe).

It's classic enough that it fulfills all your basic comfort food needs, but it's a little more gourmet and complex than the usual recipe. The secret is the garlic and shallots, which give the flavors more depth.

Susan's recipe insists that the cheese used must be "Tillamook Extra Sharp Vintage White Cheddar" but since that's made here in Washington, I don't know if it's available nationally or not. Anyway, I think the important parts are "extra sharp" and "white" so just look for a cheddar that fits that bill (if you can't find Tillamook).

I used 2 sizes of Cuisinart--a big one to grate the cheese, and a small one for the garlic. This isn't necessary, it just really cuts down on the work of chopping and grating. If you do have access to a food processor, be sure to put the cheddar in the freezer at least 20 minutes beforehand, as this helps it to run through the Cuisinart without sticking.

This is not a low-calorie recipe! But it's a great once-in-a-while treat.

For 4 large servings:

2 tablespoons butter
6-8 cloves garlic, chopped
1 whole shallot bulb (both halves), chopped
2 tablespoons flour
2 cups liquid (whole milk, half & half, or some combination of both)
4 ounces cream cheese (1/2 of one 8 ounce box)
2-3 cups shredded Tillamook Extra Sharp Vintage White cheddar
1/2 cup good blue or gorgonzola cheese, crumbled
2 cups macaroni

Preheat oven to 350. Butter a 7x11 baking dish.

Boil pasta until almost done, drain, and set aside. In a large saucepan, melt butter over medium heat and add garlic and shallot, salt and pepper. Saute until soft and translucent. Add flour, stir to form thick paste and cook for 1 minute. Whisk in liquid. When mixture begins to gently steam, add cream cheese and whisk until combined. Add all shredded cheese and simmer until mixture is totally combined and coats the back of a spoon. Mix and combine with pasta, add to baking dish. Sprinkle blue or gorgonzola cheese over the top and bake uncovered for about 30 minutes or until bubbling and lightly browned. Let sit for 15-20 minutes. C'est fini!

Art credit: "Cheese Party" from Canyon of Cheese.

Delcious Snack Idea

From Gourmet:

Fried Bittersweet Chocolate Bread
Serves 8

Start to finish:15 min

Buttery and crunchy, with a rich, oozy center, these little sandwiches (a cross between panini and chocolate croissants) provide a sweet ending that can be prepared in just minutes.

1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter, softened

16 (1/2-inch-thick) baguette slices, cut on a long diagonal

1 (3- to 4-oz) fine-quality bittersweet chocolate bar (no more than 70% cacao if marked), broken into 1/2-inch pieces

Generously butter 1 side of each baguette slice. Place 8 slices, buttered sides down, on a work surface and cover each slice with chocolate, leaving a 1/4-inch border around edge. Top with remaining 8 slices, buttered sides up, to make 8 sandwiches.

Heat a dry 12-inch heavy skillet (not nonstick) over moderate heat until hot but not smoking, then fry 4 sandwiches, turning over once, until golden, 3 to 4 minutes total. Transfer sandwiches to a plate and wipe skillet clean. Fry remaining sandwiches in same manner. Serve warm.

Cooks’ note: Sandwiches can be assembled 2 hours ahead and kept, covered with plastic wrap, at room temperature. Fry just before serving.

Happy Earth Day

The last time I celebrated Earth Day was in college. And I use the word "celebrated" loosely, since I don't recall it being much fun. As far as I can remember (and the details are vague), some friends with a car were going to an Earth Day event at some other campus...Bard, maybe? They drove us there, and there was a lot of standing around outside in the hot sun, with tons of hippies milling about, and probably some terrible music, like a loud band or a drum circle or something. Was food involved? Maybe, I can't remember.

Anyway. This was the beginning and end of my entire lifelong observation of this holiday. And I'm still not sure how it is meant to be celebrated. If I cared more, I'd find out.

But Earth Day is a useful excuse to make my blog green and post a recipe that I like. It's a Rachael Ray recipe that I've made a bunch of times. It always turns out tasty (albeit simple and plain) and it's very easy to make. Her recipes often don't work out well...but this one does.

Rach calls it "Leek-y Chicken." Leeks are a fun and interesting vegetable. They look like giant scallions (sort of like how brussel sprouts look like tiny cabbages). They are easy to cook; the only hard part is making sure you rinse all the dirt off beforehand. I like their texture...when you bite into cooked leeks, they are firm yet pliable, almost slippery.

The chicken broth, raisins, and parsley aren't even truly necessary in this recipe, but they are nice additions if you happen to have them on hand or feel like making the extra effort:

1-1/2 cups chicken broth
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup golden raisins (a couple of handfuls), chopped
1-1/2 cups plain couscous
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), 2 turns of the pan
1-1/2 pounds chicken tenders, cut into bite-size pieces
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 medium leeks or 1 large leek
1 cup dry white wine (eyeball it—about a third of a bottle)
Flat-leaf parsley, chopped (about a handful)

Directions:
Heat the chicken broth and 1 tablespoon of the butter in a medium saucepan. (Use a pan with a tight-fitting lid.) When the broth boils, add the raisins and the couscous. Take the saucepan off the heat. Stir the couscous and place the lid on the pan. Let stand.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add the EVOO, 2 turns of the pan. Add the chicken in a single layer, season with salt and pepper, and cook, turning occasionally, until browned all over, 3 to 4 minutes.

While the chicken cooks, trim the tough tops and root ends from the leeks. Cut the remaining white and tender green parts in half lengthwise, then cut the leeks into 1-inch half-moons. Place the leeks in a colander and run cold water over them. Separate the layers to release the dirt and grit. Rinse the leeks well, then drain.

Stir the leeks into the chicken and wilt for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the wine and let it cook down by half, 3 to 4 minutes. The leeks should be tender, with some bright green color, and the chicken should be cooked through. Turn off the heat and stir in the remaining tablespoon of butter.

Fluff the couscous with a fork and stir in the parsley. Spoon a bed of couscous onto dinner plates and top with the chicken and leeks.

Cracker Barrel

I finally got to go to a Cracker Barrel for the first time ever here in Alabama. The hostess was a cute petite girl named Angel. She asked if we'd been to Cracker Barrel many times before--I think she must have overheard me effusing about it--and I said, "This is my first time!" and she said, "Ever??" and I said, "Yes! I'm excited!" and she said, "I'm excited for you!"

I ordered the chicken fried chicken (that's not a typo; it's like chicken fried steak except instead of steak, it's chicken. But it's not fried chicken because that would be on the bone. This was a fillet) and it came with three "vegetables" of my choice.

The list of vegetables made my mouth water, but also made me laugh, because Alabama is one of those places where the definition of "vegetable" is "anything that's not meat." So I got to choose between things like fried okra, corn, and green beans, as well as the more loosely defined "vegetables" such as mac-n-cheese, baked beans, and dumplings.

I went with mac-n-cheese, beans, and potato casserole. It was gooo-oooo-oooood!