Global Warming In My Belly

Sledding at Piedmont Park.
Photo courtesy of The Veg

At the present moment Atlanta is encased in a shell of ice. I thought I left this ice and snow behind in Ohio, but apparently it has followed me here. And because there are about 5 snow plows, the city has essentially shut down. I went to sleep Sunday night with beautiful big fluffy snow flakes falling from the sky and I awoke Monday morning to the sound of sleet pelting my window. This is not a good sign.

Mornings aren't necessarily my favorite, but cold mornings are even worse. This morning I played a little game I like to call "how-can-I-turn-off-my-alarm-clock-without-getting-out-from-underneath-my-covers-because-it-feels-like-it's-12 degrees-in-my-bedroom". This was trickier than you think because my alarm clock is located on the other side of the room.

When I get married I think I'll institute the following rule on cold mornings: I will make you dinner and do the laundry if you make the coffee in the morning, turn the shower on for me so the water gets hot before I get there and put my towel in the dryer so it's warm when I get out of the shower. I think that's more than fair.

On this cold winter morning I thought of the last time that it was uncomfortably hot outside to remind myself that the grass is not always greener. Vietnam and the trip I took there in September immediately came to mind. It was extremely hot and humid there, but, memories of the country's food really started warming my spirits. It can be compared to Thai and Chinese cuisines without the fattening coconut milk of Thai or the heavy oil in Chinese food. Vietnamese food also has a significant French influence, particularly in Ho Chi Minh City (aka Saigon). In a nutshell, it's light and flavorful... worth the flight over there.

With Vietnam as my inspiration I decided to make Chicken Soup with Rice this Monday. The flavors are akin to Pho, which is probably Vietnam's most well known dish to Americans. The soy sauce and fish sauce combine with red chili, cilantro, green onions and lime to give the soup a nice savory, spicy, sour flavor. The heat from the chilis warmed me up and the chicken and rice filled me up. It was a perfect recipe for a cold week. Next time I'll try the soup with rice noodles.

Here's the recipe...

Vietnamese Chicken Soup

Combine the following ingredients in the insert of a slow cooker:

8 cups chicken broth
2-4 frozen chicken breasts
1 cup dry rice (I used basmati)
1 TB soy sauce
1 TB fish sauce
1-2 TB chili garlic sauce (Huy Fong is the brand I used)

Cook on low for 6 hours.

Shred the chicken.
Add the following ingredients:
A bag of sliced cabbage and carrots (I used a bag of slaw to add veggies to the soup)
Optional: 1 sliced red chili pepper (for more spice and it looks pretty when serving)

Cook on low for an additional 2 hours.

Serve with cilantro, chopped green onions and fresh lime juice.

New Year's Resolutions Are For Tomorrow

As we enter 2011, I like to look back at 2010 and thank God for various things in my life. There are many things I am thankful for... a loving family, steady employment, Liz Lemon, half bottle-sized wine, but one of the things I'm most grateful for is my lack of food allergies. I can eat pretty much anything, within reason, and not develop an itchy rash, have my throat swell shut or double over in gastrointestinal pain. I think this has something to do with my mom's unwillingness to throw food away and her love of creating new and exciting leftover dishes. Has your block of cheddar cheese turned a ghastly shade of green? No worries. Just cut the edges off and it's as good as new. Don't know what to do with the leftover pasta salad that has been in the fridge for over a week? Throw it in a pot with chicken broth and some seasoning and call it vegetable soup. Thank you, mom, for my digestive fortitude!

On the other hand, my dear friend, Valerie, has wheat allergies, is slightly lactose intolerant, and can't digest red meat. Any one of these conditions would cause me to seriously question why I was put on this Earth. If she eats too much ice cream she spends the night curled up in the fetal position on the bathroom floor. A big cheeseburger would knock her out of commission for a week, easily. Poor girl.

I mention this because for the first Crockpot Monday of 2011, I made a dish that probably should've sent her to the ER. I made Rigatoni Lasgna with Vodka Cream Sauce (a recipe I found in The Best Cookbook Ever and changed a bit) and Smoked Cheddar and Scallion Scones (from one of my favorite blogs, Farmgirl Fare). And it was amazing!

This is a meal that the "responsible-good intentioned-new years resolution making" you would never order at a restaurant. Instead you would stare longingly at the plate of lasagna sitting in front of the guy at the neighboring table while you forlornly cut your grilled chicken and steamed vegetables.

The following are a few of the ingredients used to make the dish:

1 stick butter
1 cup heavy cream
olive oil
1 can crushed tomatoes, 8 ounces mushrooms, 1 jar of roasted red peppers
1 pound ground beef (or turkey)
onion, garlic, fresh parsley and basil
4 links of Italian sausage
1 pound pasta
1 pound mozarella cheese
and plenty of Pecorino Romano cheese to melt on top

This meal is not for the faint of heart - it is quite involved and I used nearly every pot and pan in my kitchen. But, I had the day off from work, so I was willing to give it a try. You can make the meatballs a day in advance, but everything else must be prepared the day of cooking.

Interestingly enough, Valerie fought through her digestive deformities and ate the meaty, cheesy pasta and seemed to enjoy it. (Happy Birthday Val!) But, if you too have food allergies, I would forgo this meal and make yourself a salad.... but go easy on the toppings.

I probably should've jogged around the block a few times after this meal, but all I could do was lay on the couch and watch reruns of the Biggest Loser. I'll start my New Year's Resolutions tomorrow.


Here's the recipe....

Rigatoni Lasgna with Vodka Cream Sauce

Coat the insert of a 5- to 7-quart slow cooker with nonstick cooking spray or line it with a slow-cooker liner. I have Reynolds brand liners. This was the first time I used them and they are magical. Cleanup was so easy.

Combine in a large bowl:
    Vodka cream sauce (recipe follows)
    1 pound pasta (rigatoni or penne), cooked just short of al dente

Spread one-third of the pasta on the bottom of the insert. Top the pasta with a layer of:
    4-5 cooked meatballs, halved or quartered (recipe follows)
    a jar of roasted red peppers, sliced
Top with half of the remaining pasta, followed by a layer of:
    4 links cooked Italian sweet sausage (recipe follows)
    8 oz sauteed button mushrooms (recipe follows)
    1/2 lb cubed fresh mozzarella
Top with the remaining pasta. Top with grated Pecorino Romano cheese.

Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours, until lasagna is bubbling. Remove cover and cook for additional 30 minutes.

Vodka Cream Sauce

Soak 1 tsp red pepper flakes in 1 cup vodka for 1 hour.
Strain vodka through a fine-mesh sieve into a medium saucepan, discarding pepper flakes. Over high heat, bring the vodka to a boil and reduce to 1/4 cup. (I tried this step and accidentally let the vodka burn up, so I just used plain vodka and added red pepper flakes to the sauce.)
Add and stir to combine:
   1 stick butter
   One 28- to 32- ounce can crushed tomatoes
   1 cup heavy cream (I'd use a lighter cream)
   1/4 cup each of finely chopped fresh Italian parsley and fresh basil.
   Optional: 1 tsp red pepper flakes

Meatballs
makes 6-8 meatballs

Combine the following in a large bowl:
   1 lb. ground turkey
   1/2 c finely chopped onion
   1 clove garlic, finely sliced
   Grated zest of 1 lemon
   1 tsp salt
   1 tsp pepper
   2 TB chopped fresh parsley
   1/2 c soft bread crumbs
   1 large egg, beaten

Form the mixture into small balls and set on a plate or baking sheet. At this point, you can cover and refrigerate the meatballs for up to 2 days.

Heat 1/4 inch olive oil in a large skillet. Add meatballs and brown on all sides. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees until cooked through.

Cooked meatballs may be cooled and refrigerated for up to 2 days, or frozen for up to 2 months.

Sausage
Place sausages in a skillet, add 1/2 cup water, prick the sausages with the tip of a sharp knife, cover and bring to a boil. Simmer the sausages for 10 minutes, remove cover, and saute until the liquid has evaporated and the sausages have browned.

Mushrooms
Heat 1-2 TB olive oil in skillet, and saute sliced mushrooms until the begin to color, seasoning with salt and pepper.

A Merry Crockpot Christmas!

Are you in need of cookware or kitchen equipment? If so, I have the perfect 2-step plan for you.

1.) About 3 months before a major holiday (i.e. Christmas or your birthday) start a blog about cooking.
2.) Sit back and wait for the cooking-related gifts to come pouring in.

This year I had a culinary Christmas. Not surprising though, considering all of my conversations with my family and friends these past 3 months have been about my crockpot, the meals I've cooked in my crockpot, or the meals I plan to cook in my crockpot. They probably thought that either they can ignore my incessant food-related ramblings in the hopes that I will grow out of my foodie phase or foster my behavior in an attempt to get a free meal out of me some day. Fortunately for me, most of my loved ones opted for the latter.

On Christmas morning I received 3 cookbooks, a set of ramekins, a new set of pots and pans, an immersion blender, an array of dips and sauces, a gift certificate to Whole Foods, a t-shirt that reads "Smell What the Crock is Cookin" and 3 aprons. My adorable nieces willingly modeled the aprons...




My wonderful sister-in-law made the monogrammed apron on the left. The t-shirt on the right says, "Smell What the Crock is Cookin". I plan to wear it to work underneath my suit in a Superman/Clark Kent turned Superwoman/Julia Child fashion.





The apron on the left comes with a string of pearls around the neck - talk about class and sophistication in the kitchen. My sister gave me the apron on the right. It says "I Want to Go to There". She's fully supportive of my Liz Lemon obsession.

Gratuitous cute nephew pic!

In the midst of celebrating the birth of Jesus, I still managed to cook a crockpot meal. I made a Crockpot ham. Well, I bought a fully cooked 5-pound ham and cooked it in a cider mustard sauce. No, it was not a cop-out, it was a delicious enhancement of an otherwise boring ham. And, it was super easy.

Here's the recipe adapted from the Best Cookbook Ever...

Glazed Ham

Add the following ingredients to the insert of a 5-7 quart slow cooker:
1 1/2 c apple cider
4-6 oz whole grain mustard
1/2 c light brown sugar
2-3 cinnamon sticks
3-4 whole cloves
4 whole allspice berries
(the recipe calls for 1/2 c Ruby Port but I didn't have this)
2 14-oz cans whole berry cranberry sauce
Grated zest of 2 oranges
Juice of 2 oranges (or 1/2 cup orange juice)

Stir to combine ingredients. Then add One 5-pound smoked ham.

Cook on low for 8-9 hours or on high for 3.5-4 hours (this is what I did). Once done, remove ham from slow cooker insert and slice after allowing to rest for 15 minutes. After skimming the fat, if any, of the top of the sauce, strain sauce through a seive (save for later use as a chutney) into a saucepan and boil, stirring frequently, until reduced and thickened. Pour this thickened sauce over sliced ham.

I served the ham with croissants and a fresh salad with pecans and mandarin oranges. Perfecto!

Pardon My Product Placement

What would Christmas be without a healthy dose of commercialism? Sadly this is too often the case, but I think Baby Jesus would approve of my recent purchases.

Just like peanut butter and jelly, milk and cookies, and tea and biscuits are obvious pairings, I think I've come up with a winning combination...

Coffee flavored with Peppermint Mocha creamer and Milano cookies.

One tablespoon of creamer in a cup of coffee and 2 cookies is just 165 calories - It's the perfect snack for when you're watching Elf for the 3rd time this season!

 Source for photos: coffee-mate.com and pepperidgefarm.com

A Life Lost But Lessons Learned

Today's blog has a slightly different tone than usual. On Sunday, my dear grandma, my mom's mom, passed away. While it didn't come as a huge surprise, the death of a loved one can be like seeing the first snow of the season. It stops you dead in your tracks, makes you nostalgic for the good ol' days, and by the time you realize that you have to start moving again you feel blessed just for having those memories.

My grandma was the one who first taught me to play the piano. She was a professional musician who played in the nightclubs of Cleveland, OH. As she strolled through the dining tables with an accordian between her hands taking requests, she would belt out popular tunes, new and old. While she was a fantastic musician, she was too nice to be a good piano teacher. Piano teachers need to know discipline and rigor, neither of which my grandma possessed. But, this wasn't a fault of hers. It's merely a condition that affects the seriously gifted. She had perfect pitch and could sing and play a song flawlessly after hearing it only once on the radio. I, on the other hand, was born with a sluggish left hand and an immeasurable desire to spend my after-school hours outside instead of at the piano keys.

My grandma also taught me the importance of a good sense of humor. One of my favorite memories is when my older cousin Bill came to visit us for Thanksgiving while he was on break in college. Bill accidentally sprayed canned whipped cream onto the front of grandma's shirt. While, for some, whipped ice cream topping and a woman's breasts might evoke images from the movie Varsity Blues, this had quite the opposite effect. I will never forget the look of terror that spread across his face when he realized what he just did. In response to this, Grandma simply said, "Oh! My foo foos!", and wiped it from her shirt into her mouth. Foo foos, you see, was my grandma's term for boobs. At once, everyone burst into laughter. She had the ability to make an uncomfortable situation hilarious with a silly made-up word.

Grandma also proved to me that the term "soulmate" isn't just something that the Disney and Hallmark corporations have contrived over the years. When I was 11 years old I wound up in the hospital for a week with an appendicitis. It was awful being trapped in a hospital with my predominant company being the troop of med students who came into my room for morning rounds and the nurses who came in hourly to inquire about my stool. (I quickly picked up on the fact that, in a hospital, 'stool' does not mean 'bench' or 'chair' after I had a somewhat lengthy and extremely confusing conversation with the nurse about a stool my grandpa made for my mom to use in the kitchen). But one night my grandma and grandpa paid me a visit and entertained me for hours with stories about how they first met, their courtship and the early years of their marriage, holding hands the entire time, like one of the couples in When Harry Met Sally. Grandma caught Grandpa's attention with her gentle spirit, sharp sense of humor and sultry singing voice. And Grandpa caught Grandma's attention with..... well, he had a convertible.

Instead of mourning her death I find great pleasure in celebrating her life and the wonderful lessons she taught me.

So, in honor of my grandma I made Dubliner Stew to celebrate her (and my) Irish heritage, which she held dear. I served the bowls of stew with thick slices of Sweetwater 420 Ale Bread I found at Whole Foods. I figured bread made with beer would befit an Irish supper. And it was delish! The stew is a hearty mixture of lamb, potatoes, carrots and peas, flavored with thyme. It was quite good, as long as you like lamb. And for dessert, I made Apple Cranberry Cobbler, also in a crockpot. This dish smells and tastes like Christmas, but it's not your typical cobbler. Rather, the dough tastes more like sugar cookie dough cooked over top the apples and cranberries. This was also delicious and a hit with my dinner pals, Bindi, Amish and Valerie.

Recipes are from The Best Cookbook Ever...

Dubliner Stew
Place the following in the insert of a slow cooker:
 12-14 baby carrots (I used 30 baby carrots)

 14-16 new potatoes
Heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.
Sprinkle 3 pounds lamb shoulder, cubed (I used 2lb) with salt and pepper. Brown on each side in batches and transfer to insert.
Add 2 cups pearl onions, peeled to the same skillet and cook until they begin to color (about 4 min). Add 1 1/2 cups chicken broth to the skillet, scraping up brown bits from pan. Transfer skillet contents to slow cooker insert.
Stir in 1 c beef broth and 1 tsp dried thyme.
Cover and cook on high for 3.5-4 hours or 7-8 hours on low.

Skim off any fat from top of stew. Stir in 2 cups frozen peas.
Mix 2 TB room temperature butter and 2 TB flour until smooth and stir a bit at a time into the stew.
Cover and cook for another 30 minutes on high until sauce thickens. (I didn't really notice much of a difference in the thickness of the sauce when I did this and would probably omit this step next time).

Note: If you are preparing the night before. Cut lamb into 1-inch chunks and refrigerate and place the carrots and potatoes in slow cooker insert the night before. You will have to brown the meat the day of the meal.

Apple Cranberry Cobbler

Coat the insert of a slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray.
Add the following ingredients to the insert and stir to combine:
   6 large apples, peeled, cored and chopped

   One 12-oz bag of fresh cranberries
   1 c sugar
   1 TB cornstarch
   1 TB cinnamon
   1 tsp cloves (next time I would use ground cloves instead)
   1/8 tsp ground ginger
Stir together the following in a mixing bowl:
   3 sticks (1 1/2 c) butter, melted
   2 c flour
   1 1/2 c sugar
   1/4 c maple syrup
   2 large eggs, beaten
Spread batter over the apple mixture.
Cover and cook on high for 2 1/2 hours on high until a skewer inserted into the center comes out clean
Uncover and cool for 30 minutes.
Serve warm cobbler with vanilla ice cream.

It's That Time of Year...

It's Christmas time!

Now that Thanksgiving is over, we can officially start celebrating the Christmas season. When I cruise through department stores and hear Johnny Mathis singing "It's Beginning to Look a Lot Like Christmas" and am overpowered by the smell of cinnamon, I no longer feel the same irritation I did in October when the Christmas decorations were popping up.

Nothing gives me greater pleasure than walking through the aisles of a store stressing out about what to get my mom only to turn the corner and see a large, bald and fiercely tatooed man whistling along to "I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" playing over the loud speakers.

But this season also makes me nostalgic for the good ole days, particularly the high school days when my best friends, Loriana, Krista, Kelly, and I would drive around town singing Christmas songs in my parents Suburban looking at Christmas lights. Krista, the self-professed Christmas Dork, would man the radio and we would inevitably find ourselves in front of one of our classmates' houses that was above and beyond the best decorated. If it were to receive a high school superlative, it would be, "most likely to cause a car accident in the name of Christmas cheer".

This wasn't just any house decorated with a few strands of lights and pine wreaths. This house had a lawn ornament, and not just any lawn ornament - a 20 foot tall fiberglass Santa Claus that appeared out of nowhere as soon as you turned off the main road.

There is something special about watching snow fall on top of 20 feet of fiberglass festiveness while listening to NSYNC's Christmas album (which, by the way, is in my list of greatest Christmas albums, along with those by Mariah Carey, Amy Grant, Michael Buble, Bing Crosby, Manheim Steamroller and the Muppets). I will invite you to dinner if you can come up with a better list than that. However, if your list includes John Tesh, Gloria Estefan or Miley Cyrus, you will owe me a dinner for having terrible taste in music.

Well, one cure for nostalgia is good food and great company. So this Monday, I invted Bindi, the Veg, Alan, Valerie and Bina over for White Bean and Rosemary Soup from the Best Cookbook Ever with pesto grilled cheese sandwiches.

Alan, The Veg, Bindi, Bina, me, and Valerie

Not to brag, but this was meal fantastic. I'd definitely make it again. I won't have to for a while though since I have enough left over to last me through 2011. I made two versions of the soup: one with ham (from the cookbook) and a vegetarian one. The ham soup had a smokier, richer flavor and cooked faster than the vegetarian soup which had the lighter taste of tomatoes and required extra time in the crockpot to cook the beans thoroughly.

White Bean and Ham Soup

The meal was complemented by some, I'll call it, "colorful" conversation, and finished off with decadent chocolate cake/brownies that Valerie made.

Monday is quickly moving from the most dreaded day of the week to the most highly anticipated day of the week for me!

Here's the recipe...

White Bean and Rosemary Soup (I think White Bean and Ham Soup is a more fitting name)

Rinse and sift through 2 cups dried beans (I used Great Northern Beans). Soak in 8 cups water overnight. Or you can use 2 14-ounce cans small white beans, drained and rinsed in the recipe.

Heat 3 TB extra-virgin olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat.
Add 4 ounces of ham cut into 1/2 inch cubes (the recipe calls for spicy Italian ham or Capicola but this was $15/pound so I used regular ham)
Cook ham until it begins to get crisp, about 3 minutes.
Add the following ingredients and saute until the vegetables begin to soften:
   1 medium onion, chopped
   2 cloves garlic, minced (I used 3 cloves)
   3 stalks celery, chopped (I used 5 stalks)
   3 medium carrots, chopped (I used 6 carrots)
   2 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
Add one 14-ounce can crushed plum tomatoes

Transfer the contents of the skillet to the slow cooker insert. Stir in the beans and 6 cups chicken broth.

Cover the slow cooker and cook on low for 8-9 hours until beans are tender.

Note: For vegetarian soup, substitute vegetable broth for chicken broth and cook for an additional 2 hours on low or cook on high for a few hours then switch to low. Season with salt and pepper.

A Thanksgiving Yeast!

Two generations of bread baking

 For the past three years I have been in charge of bringing bread to my family's Thanksgiving dinners. This is because 1.) bread travels easily, and 2.) several years ago when I was home on a break from college I had my grandma teach me how to make her famous rolls. My brother and sister and I have such fond memories of my Grandma bringing bags of homemade rolls to every holiday get-together. Not only are these rolls delicious, with a slight yeasty taste, they are the perfect size for leftover Thanksgiving turkey sandwiches. My grandma learned this recipe from my great grandmother, who came to settle in Minnesota from a small town in Norway as a young bride and began the weekly ritual of baking bread. I love making these rolls because I feel like I'm keeping a tradition alive. And where would we be without our ancestors and their traditions? See recipe below.

In addition to my Grandma's rolls, I decided to venture out and try making challah bread. I know this isn't necessarily reminiscent of Thanksgiving, but I knew I was visiting my college roommate, Kristin, who just had a beautiful baby boy, on my way home on Sunday. And she always reminds me of challah bread, despite the fact that there's not a Jewish bone in her body. Let me explain...

As a college student, what's better than receiving a care package from your parents?
Answer: Mooching off of the far superior care package your friend got from her parents.

Well, Kristin and I have a friend, Niki, whose mother made the best challah bread and sent at least 3 loaves at a time because she knew that we would all come rushing to Niki's dorm room and devour the braided glory that is challah bread in a night. Freshman fifteen, you say?

You may be thinking that this recipe was passed down to Niki's mom from her long lineage of Jewish ancestors. Nope. Mrs. Lim is a Bible-believin Baptist from the Phillipines who lives in the same state as Forrest Gump. I have no idea where she learned to make a loaf of bread to be rivaled by the best Jewish bakeries. Needless to say, I wanted to give it a try. I found the recipe on allrecipes.com. It was tasty, but lacked the sweetness and texture I remember. If you have a good recipe, send it my way!

After a wonderful Thanksgiving with my family and a great visit with Kristin and Scott I got back on the road and ended up sitting in a dead stop on I-85 for 2 hours. Oh the joys of Thanksgiving traveling! At least I didn't have to risk getting groped by the TSA. Seeing that I got home with no time to select a recipe and go grocery shopping, I decided on the world's simplest crockpot meal. Here are the steps:

Place frozen chicken breasts in the insert of a slow cooker. Add a bottle of BBQ sauce. Cook on low until you get home from another Monday at the office. I ate this pulled BBQ chicken with sugar snap peas, baked beans and baked sweet potatoes. Yum!

Grandma Melby's Rolls

Combine the following in a sauce pan and heat just to boiling:

   1 1/2 c milk
   1/2 c butter
   1/2 c sugar
   1 1/2 tsp salt
Remove from heat and let cool to lukewarm.
Combine 4 packages active dry yeast and 1/2 c lukewarm water. Stir to activate the yeast. Small bubbles should form.
Once the milk and butter mixture is cooled, pour into a mixing bowl. Add the following:
   2 c flour
   2 eggs, stirring after each
   Hydrated yeast
Mix well. Add 3-5 more cups of flour until the dough no longer sticks to your hands.
Place a towl over the bowl and set in a warm place to rise until double in size.
Set oven to 350 degrees.
If you have time, punch the dough down and allow to rise again. If you don't have time, go to next step.
Pour dough onto floured surface and knead slightly. Divide dough into 4 pieces. Divide each quarter into 12 pieces and form into round balls, pulling dough from the top, around the side and pinching it to the bottom of the roll.
Place on a cookie sheet sprayed with Pam. Bake for 8-10 minutes, until golden brown.