Chili Pasta with Beans...

Apparently when I wasn't looking a few weeks ago, this slipped into our basket while we were at the market and I didn't notice it until we got home.

Sigh... I told you Jeff was obsessed with Mickey! Now I had to figure out how to work Mickey, Donald and Pluto into dinner.

Luckily, I didn't have to look too hard... I thought about a recipe I came across recently that used that funky wagon wheel pasta, so I swapped that shape for the Disney characters and made this Chili Pasta with Beans.

We began this one-pot dish by browning ground sirloin and a chopped onion in a skillet with a whisper of oil covering the bottom. To add some intensity to the sirloin, we used a combination of two chili powders - ancho and a hot chili blend... you could, of course, just use your house chili powder if you like. To back up those spices, we also stirred in cumin and oregano - when you add all those spices, be sure to stir them around the pan for a minute. Besides thoroughly coating the meat, the heat in the skillet will help their flavor bloom and flourish.

Now, because we are not pre-cooking the pasta, you'll need enough liquid in the pot to give it something to absorb and cook through. The original recipe called for using water, but we poured in beef broth since I had some handy - use water if you like, but why miss a chance to add more oomph if you can? Along with the pasta, we added red kidney beans, a bit of tomato sauce and fire-roasted diced tomatoes that were spiked with green chiles for that fiery thrill. Be sure to cover the skillet as it simmers - this will help trap the moisture inside, ensuring the pasta has plenty of liquid to absorb, while leaving enough leftover to keep the chili movin' and groovin'. Do keep in mind, since the skillet is packed pretty full, the pasta will take a little longer than you think to soften.

Topped with a few shreds of sharp white cheddar, this dish was hearty, completely comforting and very stomach-warming. Warming in more ways that one... it was pretty darn spicy! While not too spicy for us (though, it did get us sweating!), if you don't enjoy that heat, I'd either use a milder chili powder, just add a few dollops of sour cream, or tame the tomatoes by using regular fire-roasted instead. This also gets big points for being pretty quick to prepare and keeping the dishes down to a minimum... making for an inviting, healthy weeknight meal!

Recipes
Chili Pasta with Beans

Veggie Stuffed Shells...

We had some carrots and broccoli in the fridge that looked a bit sad and either needed to be used or tossed into the compost bucket. The recipe I had planned on making tonight didn't use either, so I swapped recipes around and prepared these Veggie Stuffed Shells to get those vegetables used up!

Getting the filling together kept my hands busy while we waited on the jumbo shells to finish cooking. I chopped up the broccoli, shredded the carrots, whacked away at a small onion and minced a couple cloves of garlic to throw into the skillet to begin the process. When they had started to become tender, we tossed in thawed and drained frozen spinach (using our handy potato ricer to press out the excess liquid!) with a little vegetable broth to help things along.

Once heated through, the cover was removed from the skillet to let most of the excess liquid inside evaporate so the filling isn't too wet. To refresh the mixture, we stirred fresh basil into the warm vegetables, followed by a scoop of ricotta cheese and a couple hefty pinches of Parmesan to bind the vegetables together. While all that was happening, I drained the shells when they were ready and set them onto a baking sheet to cool down a bit... you don't want to burn yourself trying to fill 'em up!

After slipping all of that healthy filling into the shells, we arranged them in a large baking dish with a generous pool of marinara sauce covering the bottom. I say arranged, but it was more like squished - I don't know if our pasta box had a few extra shells in it or what, but it was quite the tight fit! With a sprinkling of mozzarella cheese, the pan was covered and planted in the middle of our heated oven until the shells were warmed through and the sauce was bubbly.

I thought it was a little odd that the tops of the shells were not dribbled with sauce in the recipe, but since it was going to be covered, Jeff and I figured they would be okay. While the shells did not end up being dry or tough by any means, I did think they would have benefited by saving at least a half cup of the sauce that went onto the bottom and spooning it over the top instead for added moisture. We liked how these were stuffed with a variety of good-for-you vegetables, but it didn't come across as being in-your-face... the ricotta and Parmesan added enough distraction that I think even the kiddos in your house might be fooled and would enjoy this! You can leave out the crushed red pepper, but there isn't enough to make it very spicy - just a bit to soften the edge.

Recipes
Veggie Stuffed Shells

Rice Krispie Cake...

To lighten the mood and throw a little whimsy into this week's Wednesday Treat Day, we thought we would open a line to the kid in everyone's heart with this Rice Krispie Cake!

Who says you have to serve those beloved treats in bar form anyway? This is your basic Krispie treat recipe, though we fiddled with the amounts to get nice texture, along with adding some salt to cut the sweetness. Because we are sneaking a hidden surprise in the middle, we divided and pressed the cereal mixture between two cake pans, rather than into one pan and having to try and slice it in half.

While the cereal layers were resting, we quickly made a chocolate-y filling by melting together a couple pats of butter with a few scoops of marshmallows - when almost melted and combined, we threw in a scant cup of chopped bittersweet chocolate. I used bittersweet because that is what I keep on hand in the pantry, but semisweet would be acceptable. When it was still warm, but not right-off-the-stove warm, I topped one cereal layer with it and let it stand, uncovered, for a few minutes to start setting up. As the dark, sticky filling sits, it starts to set and the stickiness goes away, but it still stays pretty soft - it reminded me of a warm tootsie roll in fact! The other layer went on top and was pressed down into the filling to secure the two layers together. You may now have some filling exposed, but in the directions you'll notice we have you set aside some of the cereal mixture before pressing it into the cake pans. This mixture is used now to patch and hide any of that filling!

You could serve this as is, but it may look a little pale... so to brighten it up, we cracked open some of Jeff's favorite cereals and decorated away! We used chocolate and vanilla cereal balls around the bottom and top edge, then used brightly colored, fruity rounds everywhere else! Since we didn't wait too long to do this, the "cake" was still a little tacky and the cereal stuck right on without needing any additional help. Be sure to give the assembled piece at least 30 minutes to an hour or so before cutting into it... this gives it a chance to become stable and make slicing easier. If keeping it longer, like we needed to, just cover it well in plastic wrap so the cereals don't dry out. Yes, it may be a little silly and it is still pretty sweet, but I think we all need that rush from time to time, don't we?

We didn't prepare anything new or exceptionally exciting as sides for tonight's dinner, but we still have a pleasing protein dish to share!

The great thing about these Hoisin-Marinated Pork Chops is the fact that they need to chill out in the refrigerator for at least 8 hours, giving them time to absorb the marinate - you could certainly do them the night before as well, which is what we did. Perfect deal for when you know you'll be busy the next day and can't fuss with a messy dinner preparation!

Besides having just a few, but potent, ingredients in the marinade, it also got bonus points for not having to dirty up a bowl and whisk to prepare it! Just throw the soy sauce, hoisin, honey, crushed red pepper and a couple cloves of minced garlic into a zip-loc bag, squish it around and toss the chops right in.

If you have a grill, by all means fire it up if you like, but we just plugged in our ever-handy Griddler as we just had four chops to cook... besides, it is still quite chilly outside! We like to take our pork off around 140 to 145 degrees and let them rest - this provides pork that is still plenty moist and tender... however, I won't be in your kitchen watching you, so take them as far as you need to feel comfortable.

The potent marinade hit lots of points - salty, sweet, tangy and spicy with a touch of savory from those minced garlic cloves. Serve whole as we did, or how about slicing it up to toss in a fried rice dish or rice noodle salad?

Recipes
Rice Krispie Cake
Hoisin-Marinated Pork Chops

Parmesan-Herb Focaccia...

Last night, Jeff wandered into the kitchen and was wondering what in the world all the ruckus was about so late. I was busy with a bowl and my sturdy wooden spoon making the dough for this Parmesan-Herb Focaccia we were going to have with dinner tonight!

I needed to do this then because once it was stirred together, it had to sit around for almost 18 hours before we could work with it. The dough was a basic mixture of bread flour, white whole wheat flour, yeast, cheese, salt and icy cold water. Cold water you say? Don't most yeast breads require warm water? Well, since this recipe is basically a no-knead bread, using cold water will slow the yeast way down, allowing for a well-developed flavor and texture, without having to pay much attention or putting a lot of muscle into it. The only real work last night was grating a bit of fresh Parmesan to mix in!

After breakfast this morning, I did give the risen dough a quick stir, but if it isn't convenient, you don't have to. Once the time was up and I had time to work with the dough, we gently deflated the moist and bubbly dough. Before we scooped it into the baking pan, we sprinkled the dough with a heavy tablespoon of chopped fresh rosemary - don't be tempted to mix in though, just add it to the top and dump the dough into the pan. While I've never had any issues, the recipe did state that sometimes certain herbs can inhibit the yeast if they are incorporated into the dough, so why risk it?

Drizzling your best extra-virgin olive oil over the dough is next, followed by smooshing it out to cover the bottom of the pan. If the dough starts to pull back and shrink into itself, walk away for 10 minutes to give the gluten a chance to rest and then continue. With a sprinkle of extra Parmesan and more fragrant rosemary, the dough is covered and set aside to rise again. After giving the dough a sprinkle of water, I gently pushed my fingertips all over the top of the dough to form small divots and deeper indents - this relieves some of the bubbling that will happen as it bakes. Giving a sprinkling of coarse sea salt right before going into the oven, this bread bakes long enough until the very light top transforms into a gorgeous golden brown color.

With the mesmerizing smell of freshly baked bread lingering through the house, it was sure giving our patience a run for its money, trying to let the bread cool before tearing into it. Biting through the crispier outside and into the chewy inside, I loved how the vibrance of the fresh rosemary stood out, but still let the core of the bread be the dominating flavor. The zing of the coarse salt on top was a novel touch as well. To vary the herb, or if rosemary doesn't get you excited, swap it out for fresh oregano and even some chopped chives. I have a feeling we are going to finish this entire focaccia in record time, but I know it will be made again for the simple fact that we both can't wait to try it halved and used for the bread in a sandwich and panini!

Recipes
Parmesan-Herb Focaccia

Valentine's Day Heart Cookies...

Happy Valentine's Day!

As we promised, it was time for more treats to send off to Jeff's niece who in busily chipping away at her first year of college! A little recap if you haven't been following - first we sent a batch of those Outrageous Oreo Brownies back in September... in October, those Chocolate Malted M&M Cookies went out to her... November's treat brought her that Smaller Batch Penuche Fudge... December was that addicting Gingerbread Popcorn... and I'm sure you'll remember those Butterfinger Crunch Blondies went sent in January.

We tried to tie in Valentine's Day with the new treats we sent, so we made a batch of Rolled Sugar Cookie Dough, cut it into a heart shape and then topped it with a special addition! And just because they have been having a very busy week at Jeff's office, I did make another entire batch for Jeff to bring in and share with his co-workers yesterday.

The dough we made for these worked fantastic for a cut-out cookie. To condition the dough and make the cookies a little more tender, a few tablespoons of potato starch is added to the dry ingredients - if you don't happen to have that, cornstarch would be a good substitute. To scent the dough with the sweet essence of vanilla, I broke into our jar of vanilla sugar I've had stashed away in the pantry. All you need to do to make your own vanilla sugar is to stick a couple used vanilla beans into a jar with sugar and let it gently perfume the coarse grains. You can certainly buy it already made, but it will be more expensive... you don't have to use it either, but its subtle flavor that adds such a charming sweetness will grow on you! I did work in some brown sugar to add a little oomph to the cookies, but you could use completely granulated if you choose.

The vanilla flavor also pulses through these another way in the form of vanilla extract - with sugar cookies, we've also come to like adding just a small amount of almond extract to give extra dimension. I don't think they made them taste like almond extract by any means, but the subtleness it adds makes you think "hmm... what makes these just a little different and so good?!". While you do want to chill this dough, I do have a tip for the rolling out process to go a little easier just like we used with those Graham Crackers the other day.

Right after mixing the dough together, I divided it in half and placed each portion between two sheets of parchment paper (you could even use two silpats or wax paper) - while the dough is still supple and soft, it rolls out like a dream without much pressure or force at all. However, because it is soft and full of butter, you need to refrigerate it before you cut out the cookies. And since it is already thin and flat, it won't take nearly as long to chill down as a full disc of dough would!

Jeff and I thought about what we wanted to do for decorating the tops of the baked cookies. We thought about slathering them in buttercream, but since we were going to ship the cookies, we thought it might end up be a little messy when they got to his neice. We then thought about using royal icing, which would have worked fine, but we wanted them to be more special. What did we end up doing? I made a batch of marshmallow fondant instead! I think it tastes better and is not quite as assaultingly sweet as regular fondant can be. It was not as daunting as I thought it would be to make, but it does give you quite a workout... here's a link to the directions that we followed. I did add a couple teaspoons worth of vanilla as part of the liquid needed when you melt the marshmallows to echo the flavor in the cookies. I'm already going long in this post, so I'll try not to babble on about this, but if you do have any questions about preparing it, don't hesitate to ask!

Rather than doing a single color, Jeff asked if there was any way we could add some flare to the fondant. I took half of the very white marshmallow fondant and added a few drops of red gel coloring. After kneading the color in well (and oops, subsequently staining my hands pink!), I rolled both portions (the white and now-pink) into long ropes, squished them together and then twisted them like you would ring out a rag. I coiled the rope up, formed it into a ball, repeated the twisting process and then rolled it out to form the striking marbled appearance! What fun - kind of like edible play dough! So as to avoid additional sweetness to the fondant, I did use potato starch, instead of confectioners' sugar, to ensure it wasn't sticking as I rolled it out. Thinner is better here - we kept it just shy of 1/8" thick so it wasn't overpowering.

The same cutters that we used on the sugar cookie dough, I also used to cut out the fondant so the two would match well. To stick the fondant on, we simply painted on a light layer of decorating gel onto the cookies and slid the fondant right on top - instead of the gel, you could also use a very thin layer of buttercream. What a fun process from start to finish - just different enough and boy, what a way to present simple sugar cookies!

Recipes
Rolled Sugar Cookie Dough

Scrambled Egg and Sausage Pizza...

We brought an inkling of breakfast into our Friday Night Pizza this evening and came up with this Scrambled Egg and Sausage Pizza!

I'm sure it is no surprise to you by now that we indeed used our favorite whole-wheat pizza dough for the base of our pizza. However, because of the toppings used, we did do a couple things different than we normally do - the first was to make a rim by crimping the edge. We then docked the stretched out dough all over the top and slid the naked crust onto the stone to bake. Since the toppings will be pretty much completely cooked already, we wanted to bake the crust by itself until it was golden all over.

To top this pizza, we took three-quarters of a pound worth of hot Italian turkey sausages, removed their casings and browned the meat in a skillet. Once it was crumbled and cooked, I scooped the pieces out onto a paper-towel lined plate to drain, while I melted a tablespoon of butter in the same skillet. When it was sizzling, I poured in a combination of whole eggs and egg whites that I whisked with a heavy splash of milk. You could use entirely whole eggs (you'd need eight), but I often like to swap out a few eggs with whites to make it a little lighter. After gently cooking the loose eggs until they had just barely formed curds, were still glossy and quite moist, I added the sausage back in. We scooted them out of the pan right away, just shy of being undercooked (for our tastes at least), because they will get another quick blast of heat in the oven.

Before arranging the eggs over, we scattered the top of the golden crust with a handful of shredded mozzarella. The eggs went on top, followed by an additional dose of cheese - we then slid the pizza right back onto the hot stone and let it cook long enough to turn the cheese gooey. While the sausage already had some heat to it, we did add a sprinkle of crushed red pepper just for that alluring tingle.

The contrast in texture between the thin, crispy crust and the soft, still-moist eggs, was just what we were looking for. While not overly meaty, we thought those little nuggets of leaner turkey sausage strewn throughout added just the right amount of weight without making it feel too indulgent or heavy. You could certainly add veggies if you like - bell peppers, onions or mushrooms come to mind, but Jeff vetoed that idea for ours! We did make sure to show a little restraint, even though we wanted to go back for an extra slice, because we both were looking forward to having a couple slices for breakfast in the morning!

Recipes
Scrambled Egg and Sausage Pizza

Homemade Graham Crackers...

One of our favorite snacks is a plateful of graham crackers, a spoonful of fluff and a scoop of peanut butter. I was going to pick up some more grahams this weekend while we were at the market, but when I remembered that we had been saving a recipe for a homemade batch, I waited and decided to set some time aside today to make them instead!

We had almost everything already on hand to make these Graham Crackers, but I was missing one ingredient - graham flour! While basically whole wheat flour, what makes this flour different is that the parts of the wheat kernel, the bran, germ, and endosperm, are actually ground separately, rather than in one fell swoop for a more coarse texture. You might be able to find this in your regular grocery store, probably near the natural/organic section, but you'll definitely be able to find it at a local co-op or health food store.

Conveniently done in the food processor, the dough for these sweet crackers came together in a snap - you'll notice that we used dark brown sugar and while you could use light, the molasses-rich dark sugar makes these a bit more special. When the dry ingredients were whirled around the food processor with chunks of cold butter, resulting in a cornmeal-like texture, the ingredients were moistened with molasses, sticky golden syrup, milk and vanilla. We used the golden syrup (Lyle's) to bring in a slight burnt sugar/caramel note into these crackers, but using all molasses would be appropriate for a more robust background. If you don't happen to have a food processor by the way, whisk up the dry ingredients, find that trusty pastry blender and cut the butter in that way.

The dough isn't too sticky, but to roll the dough thin enough without having to cover it in additional flour, we used sheets of parchment paper under the dough as well as on top. You'll want to cut the crackers to whatever size you desire using a pizza cutter to speed the process along... however, don't try and separate them apart - just leave them all on the parchment paper and slide the whole shebang right onto the baking sheet. To keep these crackers smooth and flat, don't forget to take a fork and prick the top of the dough all over to give the air someplace to escape as these bake.

Because the dough is fairly dark already, doneness can be tough to spot - they are ready to come out when the edges have started to darken and the crackers are set. Since you already cut them to size, once baked and cooled, you will be able to effortlessly snap them apart. Crisp, just sweet enough and you exactly what ingredients went into them, I think it may be tough to go back to store bought crackers after this. Want a more substantial graham cracker? Just roll them a bit thicker and bake them a few minutes longer. While not as easy as running to the store, Jeff and I both thought that it was definitely worth the minimal effort it took to prepare these.

I know rolling out dough can be problematic sometimes, especially trying to get it to the right thickness, but Jeff got me these rolling pin bands a few years ago and it takes the guesswork right out of it. They do somewhat limit how wide you can let the dough get, but in the rare times that has come up, I'd just divide the dough in half and work with it in two parts. Peanut butter and fluff will make an appearance with these, but you can bet they will be sandwiched with a couple hunks of dark chocolate and a marshmallow for a decadent s'more?!

Recipes

Graham Crackers

Pumpkin polenta, sausage and fennel...

When Jeff came home this evening and saw a bowl of coarse cornmeal sitting on the kitchen island, this silly grin came across his face and he said "I hope you are going to tell me we're having polenta for dinner!". We were, in fact, but I knew what would make him even more happy was the fact we'd be working in some sausage too!

The original recipe did call for using instant polenta, which you certainly can, but as I've mentioned before, we enjoy the longer process and resulting flavor that is allowed to develop when you use a coarser cornmeal that takes awhile to prepare. So, the first thing we needed to do for this Pumpkin Polenta With Italian Sausage and Fennel was to get busy with that!

Instead of using water, the recipe uses a combination of chicken stock and mashed pumpkin to cook the cornmeal - once you have gradually whisked in the cornmeal, don't forget to hit it with a couple pinches of salt. Polenta craves salt like crazy and even though you are using stock, you'll want to add a little in the beginning to ensure it will be well seasoned. Since the cornmeal we use is more coarse, it will need a good 40 to 50 minutes to cook - when it is ready, it should be fairly thick and the graininess should be gone. If you seem to go through the liquid a bit fast and it seems to dry, you can definitely add water to loosen it back up - if you add too much, don't fret, just cook it a bit longer until it is thick again. Once done, the mixture is spiked with nutmeg and fresh thyme, then given a shower of fresh grated Pecorino Romano cheese.

Before the polenta was ready, I started browning and crumbling a pound of sweet Italian turkey sausage. After scooping the meat out, a thinly sliced onion and a big ol' bulb of licorice-y fennel were thrown in and allowed to cook until they were very tender, but had not taken on any color. A glug of wine was added for acidity, followed by the cooked sausage to warm back up, and once the liquid had evaporated, we were good to go!

With a creamy pool of the polenta on the plates, we topped each with a heaping mound of the tender vegetable and meat duo to serve. I didn't know if I was going to like the nutmeg in the polenta, but it made for a good transition to reinforce the mild pumpkin flavor. I mentioned a little earlier, but check for seasonings with the polenta as you go - if not seasoned enough, it may seem a little lackluster and a bit flat. While excited for the polenta and sausage, Jeff was quietly concerned with the volume of fennel, but in the end, he was pleased by the light and clean element it brought to the dish.

Recipes
Pumpkin Polenta With Italian Sausage and Fennel

Crazy layered shortbread...

Being that we've come to another Tuesday already, you can be sure I got the baking done for the Weekly Wednesday Treat Day! Jeff asked for a nuttier dish and once I checked out what kinds we had in the freezer, I decided on this Chocolate Caramel Hazelnut Shortbread to make.

It may sound fancy and does involve a candy thermometer, but don't let that scare you away - you'll want to make this! On the bottom of this treat is a thick base of a basic shortbread cookie - all this entails is mixing flour, softened butter and enough flour to bind the dough together. Pressed into a square baking pan, you'll want to bake the shortbread until it has cooked through, but is just barely golden for the best texture.

While the crust was cooling, we got down and dirty with the caramel filling. Don't worry if you have had trouble making caramel before as this recipe simplifies the process - all you need to do is bring sweetened condensed milk, brown sugar, butter and a couple tablespoons of golden syrup to a boil and let it bubble until it reaches the "soft ball stage" (around 237 degrees). Golden syrup is not always the easiest to find I realize, so if this isn't an ingredient you keep in the pantry (try and get yourself some though... it is outrageous over pancakes or toast!), dark corn syrup would also be fine. This viscous mixture is poured all over the crust, then topped with a couple cups worth of toasted hazelnuts.

Since we're using whole hazelnuts and it is a rarity to find them already skinned, we needed to remove that slightly bitter coating before adding them. This is done simply by toasting the nuts as you normally would, tossing the hot nuts into a sturdy towel and letting them sit, covered, for about 5 minutes. You can then vigorously rub them together inside the towel and most of the skins should come off. You most likely won't get all of it off though, so don't drive yourself crazy - a little skin left behind will not hurt the dish.

Almost done! The next layer is generous pool of melted bittersweet chocolate that is poured all over that nut-covered filling. For a little flare and contrast, melted white chocolate is then drizzled all over the top as a finishing touch. Cut into tidy portions, the caramel layer is just firm enough so it doesn't ooze out all over the place, but is still soft enough with a melt-in-your-mouth quality. Using the base of that tender and buttery shortbread crust was a fantastic way to offset the sweetness on top - I loved how sliding my teeth through the smooth layers and hitting that crunch of the rich hazelnuts revealed such an explosive combination for my taste buds. I'm sure you could use other nuts, but using those one-of-a-kind hazelnuts and bittersweet chocolate would make any Nutella fan weak in the knees!

Phew! I guess we should get going onto our meal tonight! Since I had to buy more broccoli than I needed for last night's dinner, I made sure to pick out a recipe that would use up the rest and this Pasta Salad with Broccoli and Peanuts did just that!

You won't be wasting much of the broccoli in trimmings for this dish - instead of tossing the stalks from the heads of the vegetable, they are peeled to remove the tougher green skin, leaving you with the more tender insides. The key to ensuring the stalks will be tender enough is to slice it fairly thin into discs. After heating a skillet with a touch of oil, crushed red pepper flakes, water and the sliced broccoli stems, along with the bite-sized floret pieces, are tossed in and covered to cook until they begin to become tender. The cover is removed to allow the water to evaporate, leaving the oil behind to finish off the broccoli.

To coat this salad, olive oil and mild rice vinegar are whisked together with salty soy sauce and creamy peanut butter. We tossed twisted pasta that we had cooked and cooled down, the crisp-tender broccoli, scallions and a scoop of chopped peanuts into the dressing and gave it a good mix to thoroughly coat. The peanut butter made for an alluring kick, but I felt it could have used another small scoop or so as the vinegar seemed to stand out a little more than I would have preferred. I also thought maybe a little fresh ginger might have been a nice bit to add into the oil to warm up before the broccoli was added. Nevertheless, Jeff and I both agreed it was still good and I'm sure we'll try it again with a couple tweaks as a cool salad to enjoy on one of those upcoming warm summer nights (which could not come soon enough!).

Recipes

Chocolate Caramel Hazelnut Shortbread
Pasta Salad with Broccoli and Peanuts

Mashed potato bowls...

Tonight's dinner, Chicken and Vegetable Mashed Potato Bowls, takes the filling of a pot pie, makes it a bit lighter and twists it around to be served inside of a bowl of mashed potatoes!

Since the potatoes take a bit of time to cook, we got the Yukon golds chunked up and into the pot of cool water before we started on the filling. Because we wanted the potatoes to be scented with garlic, but not overpowered, we added of couple smashed cloves into the pot as well - doing this now will make them soft and tender enough to melt into the potatoes when you mash them, but also takes that harshness of the raw cloves.

Once those were workin', we cooked up a couple chicken breasts simply seasoned with salt and fresh ground black pepper - once done and given a chance to slightly cool, we shredded them into bite-sized pieces. If you want a richer flavor, by all means use thighs instead. In the same skillet we cooked the chicken, we tossed a handful of finely chopped onion, carrots and a sprinkling of dried thyme - after letting the onion soften, broth is added to pull up any of the tasty bits left behind in the bottom of the pan. Here's where the rest of the vegetables come in - peas and florets of broccoli are stirred into the mix and bubble in the seasoned broth for just a minute or two. It is quite liquid-y at this point, so to tighten up the broth to form a sauce, cornstarch is whisked with a little extra broth and added to the skillet full of vegetables. You'll notice the broth will begin to tighten up in a snap - when it had thickened enough, we tossed the chicken back in, along with a spoonful of mustard to bring a little tang into the mix.

As I said, the filling is pretty light and not as creamy as you might expect to find - if you wanted to add some depth, swap out some of the broth for milk instead. By now, the potatoes were tender - once drained, we added some of the starchy water they cooked in, along with a couple pats of butter, to smash them with our trusty potato masher. Again, the potatoes are not as decadent since we used the cooking liquid, but you could certainly use warmed milk if you like - you could also swap out the butter for olive oil too. After divvying the potatoes onto the plates, we pushed the center of them out to form a ring of smashed potatoes and scooped the veggie and chicken filling in.

Refreshing in the sense that it wasn't heavy or gut-busting, we did find it was plenty filling and still comforting without all the richness. The clearness of the sauce was a little odd if you think in terms of a pot pie, but I got over it quickly! While Jeff typically prefers his food separate and in their own little spots (bonus point if they don't touch...!), I was happy to see he gladly finished his plate and didn't mind the potato bowl!

Recipes
Chicken and Vegetable Mashed Potato Bowls

Chickpea "Gnocchi"...

While having a slightly crazy week, we still managed to come up with 6 new recipes... however, I did make a couple for dinner on Tuesday and Wednesday, but we just didn't get a chance to talk about them. I'll try and fit them in soon! Our favorites this week was that crazy Chocolate Ripple Coffee Cake, Braided Pepperoni Pizza Bread and the Fried Rice with Peas and Tofu dish.

While Gnocchi is typically prepared with some type of potato, we found an intriguing method for a "version" of them when I was flipping through one of our newer cookbooks the other night. Instead of using potatoes, these Chickpea "Gnocchi" use garbanzo beans, otherwise known as chickpeas, instead!

Whether you use beans you cooked yourself or if you prefer to use canned, be sure that they are well-dried before you begin this recipe. You'll need about 3 cups worth, which we tossed into our food processor and blitzed them until they were well-mashed. This may take a few minutes, but just keep scraping down the sides and get them as smooth as possible. If you happen to be lucky enough and have a food mill, this would be a perfect reason to haul it out and run them through that instead!

To add a luscious quality, ricotta cheese is used to moisten and hold the chickpeas together, along with a healthy pinch of fresh grated nutmeg to bring a little unexpected note. Flour is worked into the chickpea mixture a little at a time - you want to end up with a dough that is workable, but just barely - it shouldn't be sticky, but you don't want it dry either. Start out with a quarter cup or so, then add just enough extra to get to that point - the flour is there to let the gnocchi hold their shape when they hit the boiling water. When you think the dough is ready, pinch off a small amount and test it in the water - if it holds its shape, you've added enough flour, if it disintegrates, work a bit more in.

When you go to form the gnocchi, you'll want to quarter the dough first to make it easier to handle. Roll each hunk into a long log and then slice each log into one inch chunky pieces. Because these are slightly more delicate than potato gnocchi, be sure to use a gentle hand and handle them as little as possible. Traditionally one would roll each piece down the back of a fork or a fancy gnocchi paddle to form grooves, but you don't need to do that with these.

After they were boiled, we tossed them into a skillet with a combo of butter and olive oil - we let them toast in the pan long enough to get a golden crust to the outside, while still keeping their creamy, tender interiors. All that was needed for us was a dusting of fresh grated Asiago cheese on top and we happily cleaned our plates. While they are not as pillow-like as potato gnocchi, these were not too dense or tough either - they just had a more hearty nature to them. Good as we served them, you could certainly treat them like regular gnocchi and toss them with sauce, a mild pesto, bake them into a casserole-style dish or even toss them into a slim pool of warmed butter to keep it simple!

Recipes
Chickpea "Gnocchi"

Pumpkin-Raisin Muffins...

It's muffin time again! I was updating the inventory list for the freezer(s) we have and ran across the cupfuls of frozen mashed pumpkin we still have languishing in there. Remembering a recipe that I had been wanting to make, I threw together these Pumpkin-Raisin Muffins to snack on.

I played around with the dry ingredients, adding whole wheat pastry flour and a bit of fresh ground flaxseed into the mix for a nutritional boost. If you don't keep these ingredients handy, replace them measure for measure with regular all-purpose flour. For an aromatic jackpot in the spice department, we whisked a combination of cardamom, cinnamon (using our favorite Vietnamese cinnamon), cloves and pungent ginger into the flour mixture.

Along with the burnt-orange mashed pumpkin, a little buttermilk is used for tenderness and mild tang in the background. Because the pumpkin is already lending its moist properties, you won't need a ton of oil - we used just a bare two tablespoons to ensure these muffins have a nice texture without being rubbery. To advance these up another dimension, we tossed chopped golden raisins into the muffin batter just before portioning them out into the muffin tin. They do add sweetness, but if you wanted a slightly tarter bite, you could, of course, change those out for dried cranberries instead. Looking for a little crunch? Add some chopped nuts (almonds, walnuts or pecans would go well) on top once the muffin wells have been filled with the batter.

With muffins, we tend to not use liners in the muffin tin as we like them to have more of a crusty exterior, unless they have some sort of sticky ingredient that would make them impossible to pop out. If that isn't relevant to you, feel free to use liners for easier clean up - you may want to give them a light spritz with cooking spray so you don't pull away parts of the muffin when you remove them. As with most muffins or cupcakes, we use a couple methods to check for doneness - when pressed lightly in the center, the muffin top should spring back right away. You can also check by sliding a toothpick into the center - when pulled out, it should be fairly clean with a few moist crumbs attached.

With the warm spices used, these didn't necessarily scream pumpkin, but it was definitely whispering its sweet subtleness across my tongue. I tried these both warm a few minutes after being taken from oven and later on at room temperature - the spices had a chance to mature after sitting around a few hours, but right out of the oven they were still quite delicious. If you'd like to save these for another day, wrap them up well and stash in the freezer - they will thaw quickly and taste just as good. Yearning for that warm-from-the-oven feeling? Heat them in the microwave for just a few seconds to give the center of the thawed muffin a little fever.

Recipes
Pumpkin-Raisin Muffins

Braided Pepperoni Pizza Bread...

Since we still had some pepperoni left over from the calzones we made for last week's Friday Night Pizza, I wanted to finish the rest in tonight's pizza before we ended up snacking on it all. Instead of your basic flat pizza, we got a little crazy tonight and prepared this fun Braided Pepperoni Pizza Bread.

Rather than maneuvering our favorite whole-wheat pizza dough into a typical circle, for this recipe, you'll want to stretch the dough into a long rectangle. Once it is a big enough rectangle, picture the dough divided into thirds, the long way - pick out the center third and that will be your landing strip for the toppings. First up was a smear of a garlic and herb cheese spread - I opted to use those creamy swiss-based Laughing Cow cheese wedges since we already had some in the refrigerator, but you could use a flavored cream cheese spread or certainly a product like Boursin.

Pepperoni rounds were then layered on top, followed by shreds of mozzarella cheese and a light scattering of salty Parmesan. To form the unique appearance on top, slits are cut down the long unfilled sides of the dough about 1" apart and then stretched down at an angle over the filling to the other side, alternating side to side. For a glossy shine and an enriched golden color, an egg yolk is whisked together with a few drops of water, then is used to bathe the dough all over, taking care to brush all the nooks and crannies. We sprinkled the filled braid with black sesame seeds, but regular sesame seeds or even poppy seeds would be good additions.

If you have a big enough pizza stone, feel free to slide this onto it instead to bake - I was tempted to try with ours, but glad I decided against it as one end would have flopped over the edge... not good! Because the cheese inside will be quite hot and molten, give it a good 5 or 10 minute rest before you slide your knife through to cut the portions out. While it looks like it took a lot of effort, it was really a snap to assemble and a lively way to perk up pizza night. That thin layer of herb cheese was a snazzy way to impart extra flavor like a sauce would, but makes for a much cleaner presentation. Instead of trying to stuff the sauce inside, just fill up a dish on the side for dunking! I'm thinking a couple batches of this would be a good finger food to lay out and serve as an appetizer or on a buffet - everything is encased in its whole wheat pizza shell and at room temperature, the cheese won't ooze out everywhere!

Recipes
Braided Pepperoni Pizza Bread

Eggs, pesto and prosciutto...

I had planned on another dish for dinner, but after a fairly hectic day, I wasn't in the mood to do a lot of work to get it done. I have a separate pile of recipes that I keep handy when I need a dish that would be a snap to throw together and doesn't require many ingredients. I took advantage of that this evening and pulled out these Pesto and Prosciutto Egg Sandwiches to make instead.

The eggs for these sandwiches are poached - you can certainly feel free to choose whichever method you like to accomplish this, but we went a slightly simpler route this time. Instead of dropping the eggs right into barely simmering water (typically spiked with vinegar), we broke them into a ramekins and then lowered the ramekins down into the water to cook the eggs. This keeps the eggs neat, tidy and mimics the shape of the English muffins we used, making for a clean presentation.

Before we put the eggs on those lightly toasted muffins, we drizzled each with a prepared pesto (frozen from the batches we made this summer!) that we thinned with a touch of mild vegetable broth. Water would be acceptable here, but broth just adds more to the flavor base. For a salty component, we added a couple strips of thinly sliced prosciutto (don't skip this!) to the bottom of the sandwiches before gliding the eggs on top.

It was almost a shame to have to cover those beautiful just-set eggs with the muffin tops, but that alluring pesto concoction was reason enough. I do recommend not letting the English muffins get too crunchy when toasting - giving them just a light crispness, while still keeping them somewhat soft, will allow you not to worry about the eggs squishing out as you bite down. While pleasing enough for our dinner, I can easily see preparing these on a lazy Sunday morning for an outstanding way to start the day.

Recipes

Pesto and Prosciutto Egg Sandwiches

Chocolate Ripple Coffee Cake

Well now... if you've been looking for a smashing coffee cake to make for snacking on, for a work event or even a bake-sale, I think we've struck gold with this Chocolate Ripple Coffee Cake that we made for this week's Wednesday Treat Day!

There are quite a few steps that take this striking cake to a new level, so we better delve right in. Combining melted butter with flour, toasted pecans, a duo of sugars and cinnamon creates extravagant, moist clumps of a buttery streusel which we will add near the end of the assembly. Before we got started on the batter, we needed to work on preparing the chocolate-y filling. Using another dose of toasted pecans, the filling is made by pulsing those nuts with a generous scoop of chopped bittersweet chocolate, granulated sugar, brown sugar and just a few tablespoons of Dutch-process cocoa power in a food processor. While the bittersweet chocolate adds enough punch, the smoothness of the Dutch cocoa ends up adding another enhancing layer to make those of us who are chocolate fiends swoon.

To give a soft, tender crumb to this cake, the batter calls for using cake flour - while all-purpose flour can work as a substitute, I would suggest grabbing a box of cake flour for this recipe. If you are resistant and still want to make this, remove 2 tablespoons of all-purpose flour for every cup called for and add 2 tablespoons of cornstarch in its place. Cake flour is lower in protein, which yields the lovely light texture this has. For a subtle tang, while also working its magic on the tenderness of the cake, the batter is finished off by alternating the dry ingredients into the buttery batter with a couple cups worth of sour cream. This recipe calls for superfine sugar, also called "Baker's Sugar" or "castor sugar", which incorporates more easily and produces a finer texture - if you want to make your own, you can process the more coarse granulated sugar in a food processor until it is as fine as sand.

The layering process of this cake is what makes for such a dazzling appearance - you will end up with four layers of the fluffy batter and three layers of the double chocolate-pecan filling. For a little funky character, a knife is plunged into the batter and swirled around the pan just two times - don't be tempted to go all crazy and mix it up... just two times around will do fine. Those clumpy bits of cinnamon-laced streusel are strewn over the last layer of batter, followed by a little of the leftover filling so you have a hint of what's to come.

This cake gave us one of those moments when you roll your eyes into the back of your head when we took our first forkful. With a superior moist crumb on the inside, it was hard for both of us to stop at our "quality control" slices and not dive right back into the rich cake for one more piece. If we were not having to give this cake away, I would have probably picked at that obscene streusel on top all day! Was it quite laborious to prepare? Yes, however you will find that it is worth every ounce of effort that you put into this coffee cake!

Recipes
Chocolate Ripple Coffee Cake

Fried Rice with Peas and Tofu

Years ago, I can remember the first time I tried to introduce tofu into our diet. Jeff took one look at it and he pretty much vetoed the idea on the spot. However, he very quickly warmed up to it and we've been using it ever since. If you are afraid to try it yourself, maybe this Fried Rice with Peas and Tofu could be your starting off point?

To give the tofu a little stiffer texture, I like to cut it into the shape we need for the recipe and then weigh the pieces down inside a few paper towels to let some of the extra liquid inside squeeze out. I've also heard freezing the tofu first, then thawing, will give it a chewier texture, but I still have not bothered to try that yet as this works well enough for us. You can use white or brown rice for this, but I opted for brown basmati for a fragrant, nutty boost to this dish - I used the no-fuss method as it is such a snazzy way to get the rice cooked without having to deal with water measurements, timing or getting the heat just right. I did prepare the rice this morning and left it in the fridge to chill so it was one less thing to do tonight.

After we lightly browned the base vegetables, we scooped them into a bowl and added all the cubes of tofu - don't toss these around once they are in the pan. You'll want to let these go until the sides are well browned - if the pan ends up being too dry, don't be afraid to dribble in a little more oil to give the cubes a little fat to work with. The toasty cubes are added to the vegetables, peas are tossed in their place and given just a minute to groove around the pan until they have warmed through. Toasting fresh garlic and ginger were next, followed by the gradual addition of the rice to get the grains coated in oil. At this point, if you want bits of egg in your fried rice (we didn't this time), make a well in the center of the rice and then let them cook and scramble for a minute or two before incorporating them into the rice.

The tofu and veggies are added back in to the party, followed by a heavy shot of Shaoxing wine (Chinese rice wine). If you don't have this, switch it out with dry sherry, white wine or even vegetable stock for some moisture. Soy sauce for salt and color, along with toasted sesame oil for a rich depth, are stirred into the mix - to add a little complexity with Thai influence, we did drop in a spoonful of red curry paste. While we both agreed this was quite a worthwhile addition in this speedy dish, I wouldn't run out to market for just a heaping teaspoon if you already have everything else. With a scattering of cilantro on top (green onions would have been a nice touch too!), it didn't take us long to finish our plates of this tasty dish! Even though the tofu was not marinated, there were plenty of other lingering flavors in the pan for the cubes to soak up, so we didn't find them bland at all. If you would rather not go the tofu route, you could certainly chop up some chicken and cook them through at the same point you would have added the tofu.

Recipes
Fried Rice with Peas and Tofu

Wheat berry salad...

We ran through 6 new recipes this week and looking back, I think our favorites this time were that fun Goat Cheese Quiche with Hash-Brown Crust, the espresso-laced Cappuccino Squares and those Two-Cheese Pepperoni Calzones.

I think the dinner we prepared tonight, Wheat Berry Salad with Goat Cheese and Golden Raisins, will have to be made again this summer as it would be a good veggie meal to take on a picnic.

If you've never cooked with wheat berries before, do note that they will take about an hour to cook in simmering salted water. Full of nutrition, once these very affordable reddish-brown whole grain kernels are cooked, they will be chewy, yet tender, and have a dynamite nutty background.

To bulk up this salad, we added about three cups worth of chickpeas, a chopped bulb of fennel, plump golden raisins, green onions and a few coarsely chopped green olives. Up to this point, you could stash this mixture into the refrigerator for two to three days if you wanted to get some of the work done ahead of time. To moisten this salad with a sweet, yet tangy dressing, we combined a very simple mixture of balsamic vinegar and sticky honey.

To serve, we tossed a little of that dressing with tender leaves of baby spinach for a green base. The rest of the dressing is poured into the wheat berry mixture, tossed around and then mounded on top. For an inviting topping, we sprinkled over a handful of chopped toasted pistachios for a little crunch, then dropped soft, creamy crumbles of goat cheese for a bit of tang. Light and refreshing, if you wanted to add a peppery bite to this intriguing salad, swap out the baby spinach for arugula - if you would like to bring this along for a picnic, just toss the undressed spinach, nuts and cheese into the same container as the salad and keep the dressing separate in a container. Just before serving, toss it all together and dig in!

Recipes
Wheat Berry Salad with Goat Cheese and Golden Raisins