Banana Piña Colada... not a drink!

As I mentioned yesterday, we baked two types of muffins for Jeff to bring for the Weekly Wednesday Treat Day we do for his co-workers. To go with those Lemon-Poppy Seed Muffins, I also made a batch of these tropical Banana Piña Colada Muffins!

These muffins need about 3 ripe bananas - we buy bananas each week and I try to overbuy what we will eat by one or two to let them go nice and dark. When they are ready, I either mash them in 1 cup servings or just toss the whole banana, skin and all, into the freezer so I always have them handy if I need them. Both ways work well - if you leave them in their skin, all you need to do it thaw them, just snip off the end and the insides will easily squish out and be pretty much mashed already.

Besides adding sweetness, those ripe bananas we used keep these muffins quite moist, yet does not make the crumb gummy. You do need some additional sugar for structure and a bit more sweetness - you can either use light or dark brown in these muffins. However, I recommend that you use dark if you have it - it is slightly more rich and the extra depth it has is favorable in these. With Piña Colada in the title, you might expect some sort of rum flavor, right? Instead of having to add a bunch of rum, which may make the batter a little too runny, the recipe pairs a bit of vanilla with a splash of rum extract to highlight that flavor. To keep that tropical theme going, a good handful of diced chewy dried pineapple is added to the batter and before these go into the oven to bake, the batter of each muffin is topped with shredded coconut (sweetened or unsweetened is fine, whatever your preference).

Since I already had to buy lemons for those poppy muffins, I picked up an extra one to use in tonight's dish of Fettuccine with Parmesan, Pine Nuts and Lemon we made for dinner. With flavors and ingredients close to a regular pesto, this recipe combines them in a different way to moisten the al dente pasta.

Minced fresh parsley, olive oil, lemon juice and lemon zest are combined and left to marinate together for about half an hour. About 10 minutes before the time was up on the dressing, we dropped the pasta - when it was done, but before we drained the water away, we saved about three-fourths cup worth of the pasta water. The pasta went back into the pot and was combined with the marinated parsley, pasta water and a generous amount of fresh grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. To serve, more fresh parsley and a few toasted pine nuts are scattered across the top. Clean, zesty and the sharp cheese provided a nice counterpoint to the buttery pine nuts.

Recipes
Banana Piña Colada Muffins
Fettuccine with Parmesan, Pine Nuts and Lemon

That last sugar pumpkin... and some bright poppy seed muffins!

Whenever we choose recipes for the Weekly Wednesday Treat Day, I try and make sure that there is a decent yield so everyone who wants a treat can have one. While we could just go ahead and double the recipe if it does not make much, I like to make a different flavor of whatever we are making so they have an option in case they prefer one kind over another (or sample each if they so desire!).

Today happened to be one of those days as Jeff asked for muffins this week, but didn't have any preference on what went in them. So I'll talk about these Lemon-Poppy Seed Muffins today and we will get to the other "tropical" (hint hint!) ones tomorrow. This recipe produces a kind of cake-like muffin that is tender, yet fairly light and fluffy. It is a little more work as it uses the same method as making a cake where you cream together the butter and sugar, unlike other recipes that don't need a mixer and just use melted butter or oil.

I did depart from the recipe in couple ways - first, I decided to use half whole wheat pastry flour instead of completely all-purpose. I really like this combination as the muffins gain some nutrition without compromising the texture. The next was in regards to the lemon zest - we used the method we learned from Dorie Greenspan's newest book to rub the sugar and lemon zest together. This releases the bright fragrant oils from the zest into the sugar and intensifies the lemon flavor in the final product. You also have a couple options to top the muffins - you could keep the glaze on the thicker side and drizzle it on top of the cooled muffins to get more of a frosting effect or thin out the mixture a little and brush it on the warm well-crowned muffins. We opted for the latter, so the muffins could absorb some of the glaze and give an extra sweet burst of tangy lemon on the inside while leaving a light sugar-y crust on top. We didn't use all of the glaze during the first coat, so when they cooled, we brushed another layer on top for a more iced effect.

So we've had this 3 pound sugar pumpkin we originally bought for decoration around Thanksgiving looking at me daily screaming to be used for something. Since we already had enough mashed pumpkin in the freezer, I needed something different - while I was menu planning this weekend, I came across this Maple Roasted Pumpkin Salad recipe that I intended to make last fall and never got to.

After I hacked away at the pumpkin to get it cubed and cleaned up, we tossed the pieces with olive oil, crushed red pepper and some whole garlic cloves. This mixture goes into a fairly hot oven to roast until the pumpkin can be easily pierced with a fork. At this point, the garlic is plenty soft and needs to be removed - the pumpkin left behind is then sweetened up by a drizzle of pure maple syrup. As the cubes finish off, the sweet mellow garlic is mashed and made into a dressing consisting of fresh lime juice, Dijon mustard, a touch of maple syrup and the leftover olive oil. When the cubed pumpkin was ready, the glaze formed by the syrup made them quite sweet, but combined with the savory dressing and greens, we both thought the sweetness was needed to stand up to the other bold flavors. For the greens, the recipe called for using arugula - while we both like that peppery bite, it can be a little strong for Jeff, so we used half arugula and half baby spinach to tone it down. For a bit of crunch and salty contrast, this main-dish salad is finished off with a sprinkling of toasted pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds) and crumbled feta cheese.

Recipes
Lemon-Poppy Seed Muffins
Maple Roasted Pumpkin Salad

From salad to pizza... just hold the lettuce!

I can't remember the last time we actually bought prepared pizza dough since we began making our favorite Whole Wheat Pizza Dough recipe. While you can make it by hand, and I sometimes do, I love how quick it comes together using a food processor! It makes just about a pound of dough, creates little mess and it literally comes together in a couple minutes.

I prepared that effortless dough again tonight so we could turn this classic combination of ingredients for a salad into a Pear and Blue Cheese Flatbread for dinner. If you have a pizza stone, be sure to pull it out for this recipe - now, you don't need one to make this, but it sure helps getting that crisp golden crust! I shaped this into a round as that's what our stone looks like, but if you use a baking sheet, just roll out the dough to fit inside. As the dough was resting, we began by creating the base flavor - a layer of soft golden onions. I like to add a couple pinches of salt to the onions when they cook, even though the original recipe didn't call for it, as we find it helps the onions release their moisture and moves the process along.

When the onions are done, they are drizzled with tangy balsamic vinegar and chopped fresh sage to freshen them up. Once they are spread over the par-baked crust, firm slices of crisp pears are arranged on top, followed by crunchy toasted walnuts and a sprinkling of blue cheese. After being assembled, it goes back into the oven to finish off the crust and melt the cheese. Between the juicy pears, pungent blue cheese and sweet onions, this bold golden flatbread had a multitude of textures with an alluring bite that made it hard to stop eating and much more pleasurable that a salad!

Recipes
Pear and Blue Cheese Flatbread

Hearty baked pasta with spicy sausage...

We prepared about 8 new recipes this week - our favorites were the Chili Dog Chili, Raspberry Almond Shortbread Thumbprints and the Balsamic and Asiago Roasted Cauliflower.

It has just been in the past few years that I have grown to love pasta (can you believe that I wouldn't go anywhere near it growing up?!?) and especially enjoy it in baked dishes. Just going through the ingredient list for tonight's dinner, Baked Pasta with Sausage, Tomatoes, and Cheese, had my appetite in a tail spin and I almost burnt the inside of my mouth trying to sneak a taste when it came out of the oven.

While the pasta was cooking away, we browned up a few links of hot Italian turkey sausage with a good cup of chopped onions. A couple cloves of garlic are minced and tossed in when the sausage has browned, followed by a dollop of thick tomato paste. As we've mentioned before when using the paste, be sure to let it cook for a minute, before continuing to add the rest of the ingredients, as this intensifies the flavor. A couple cans of fire-roasted diced tomatoes with a pinch of crushed red pepper are stirred in and the mixture is left to simmer to let the flavors mingle.

The pasta and meaty sauce are combined and then layered with chopped fresh basil, shredded mozzarella, and Parmesan cheese in a large dish. The assembled dish bakes just long enough so the sauce warms back up and the cheese has a chance to melt. Saucy enough to keep the pasta moist, yet not dripping, this was hearty, warming and just spicy enough for us. If you don't groove on spicy foods, you could tone down the heat by omitting the crushed red pepper and using a sweet sausage if desired. If I had remembered to save some of the fresh basil, a sprinkling on top before serving would help make the dish pop!

Recipes
Baked Pasta with Sausage, Tomatoes, and Cheese

That darn leftover eggnog...

I wonder if anyone else has this problem... Jeff and I always end up buying a carton of eggnog sometime around Christmas thinking we love the stuff so much that we can finish it no problem. However, after having our first cup, we both say "so... yeah, that was good and all, but I don't want anymore!". We then get stuck with more than half of it leftover and usually end up freezing it until we figure out how to get it used up.

I actually made these Eggnog Cheesecake Bars during our baking spree a couple week ago, before we froze the rest of the leftover nog, and I completely forgot to post about it! The base for these bars is made from sugar, butter and flour - to bring some spice, a hint of fresh grated nutmeg is also added to the shortbread-like crust. While you wait for the crust to set in the oven, the filling is made from soft cream cheese, sugar, a touch of flour, eggnog and some eggs. Making sure that these ingredients are at room at room temperature will ensure the filling will be velvety smooth.

Now, what would eggnog be without some rum? The recipe didn't originally call for any, but we added a couple tablespoons of rum when we were mixing up the filling. Rather than stirring the nutmeg into the filling, we sprinkled it on top of the uncooked bars so the top would have some visual interest. You want to bake these long enough so the edges are set, but not so long that the center is firm - it should still jiggle a little if you gently shake the pan. Be sure to let these cool to room temperature and allow at least a couple hours for them to chill in the refrigerator before cutting - you will get the cleanest cuts this way. We both agreed that the bars don't scream eggnog when you take a bite, but you can definitely pick out the subtle flavor, especially with the touch of rum. They baked quite evenly and had a shiny smooth top - the filling was creamy, which was set off by the firm, yet tender nutmeg-spiced crust.

Recipes
Eggnog Cheesecake Bars

Playin' around with chili...

I didn't have anything lined up to bake today, so I took advantage of some extra time I had to make a couple batches of our favorite Chicken Breakfast Sausage. I've made these countless times now since we first put them together back in August of '06! I usually make 2 or 3 batches at once because they freeze so well and Jeff loves to have these for a quick breakfast - they re-heat very well in the microwave!

Remember the other day when we made that Chile-Cheese Corn Bread? At the time we decided to bake the full recipe as we hoped it would freeze well - we wanted to be able to take out the leftover pieces and use them as a side dish when needed. We heated a few up tonight (and they held up well!) in the toaster oven to have along side our bowls of Chili Dog Chili we made for dinner tonight!

"Huh..." is what Jeff said when he saw me cutting up hot dogs and asked what I was making for dinner. That tells me he was quite skeptical and already had doubts that this was going to taste good! This happens often when he sneaks in to see what's actually going on in the kitchen - I'm used to it though and snicker a little (mushrooms anyone?) when I prove him wrong!

I tinkered a bit with the recipe as it originally called for a pound of hot dogs and a couple pounds of ground beef - this seemed a bit excessive for us, so I pared it down to 12 ounces of hot dogs, 12 ounces of ground sirloin and 8 ounces of ground turkey. The chopped hot dogs are browned first, then removed to allow enough room to evenly brown the ground meat mixture. Diced onions, garlic, a couple jalapeños, chili powder and cumin are then tossed into the meat mixture and allowed to cook until the onions begin to soften.

You can also play around with the amount of liquid - if you like your chili on the thicker side, go with the lower amount of broth called for - if you like it thinner and more soup-y, add up to three cups. When you add the broth, fire-roasted crushed tomatoes, red kidney beans and the browned hot dogs are added back into the pot. The recipe only called for 10 minutes of simmering, but I covered it and let it bubble away for about half an hour or so to give the flavors a chance to develop - we did taste it at the 10 minute mark and thought it definitely could use the extra time. We ended up using about 2 1/4 cups of broth and thought it was just about right for us - perfect for dipping that corn bread in! Chunky, meat-y and quite smoky from the double dose of chili powder and cumin - Jeff quickly decided he was wrong (surprise!) and conceded to the notion that he just might like this. I even caught him red handed dipping into the leftovers! If you like your chili with a spicy punch, add a few shakes of hot sauce (we always use Frank's Red Hot) when you uncover the pot for the last 10 minutes of simmering - I would suggest adding a good dollop of sour cream if you end up doing this though.

Recipes
Chili Dog Chili

Trying to fill him up with chicken, potatoes and roasted cauliflower...

Jeff and I have only come to love cauliflower in the last couple of years and I think our favorite way to prepare it is roasting the chunky florets in a hot oven. While it is very good with a toss in olive oil, salt and pepper, tonight's side, Balsamic and Asiago Roasted Cauliflower, added a few savory ingredients to really punch up the flavor.

Rather than breaking up the florets, try to slice them so there is a good flat surface on at least one side - this gives the cauliflower more surface area on the hot baking sheet, allowing it to caramelize and deepen its flavor. As we've talked about with some other baked dishes (like fries or breaded chicken), I like to preheat the baking sheet first so as soon as the food hits the pan, you can hear it sizzle and begin to cook. The cauliflower is tossed with oil and then seasoned with salt, fresh ground black pepper and marjoram. Marjoram is more mild and slightly sweeter than oregano - it has flavors that are mildly minty and an almost citrus-y flavor. I don't usually have it on hand in the pantry, but our local natural foods co-op has a great bulk spice area where you can buy as much or as little as you need - a great way to test out spices you've not used before! Once the cauliflower has begun to soften and gain a golden hue, the florets are tossed with rich and tangy Balsamic vinegar and then given a light coating of sharp Asiago cheese (though, you could use Parmesan if you don't have Asiago already). The cauliflower goes back into the oven to crisp up the cheese and to concentrate the balsamic flavor. As I said, we quite enjoy plain roasted cauliflower, but we may never go back after trying this!

If I would have really looked closely when I was menu planning for this week, I would have noticed that both recipes tonight used the oven at fairly different temperatures. It is nights like this that I wish we had double ovens! Oh well, I just prepared the protein portion of our meal tonight, Cocoa-Chili-Rubbed Chicken, first and figured it would be just as tasty at room temperature.

A mixture of chili powder, cocoa powder, thyme, oregano, sugar and salt are combined to form a spice rub. The chicken is then brushed with olive oil and given a good massage to generously coat them with the rub. To give the chicken a head start and a good sear, it is briefly cooked in a skillet and then slid into the oven so they can evenly cook through. While they certainly don't taste like chicken coated in chocolate, the cocoa brings a pleasant depth to the chili flavor and adds a slightly bitter edge.

Jeff was feeling especially ravenous tonight, so I also just threw together some basic spicy potato wedges (also with a scattering of Asiago!) that we roasted along side of the cauliflower. While we had the moist chicken breasts with potatoes and cauliflower, I can really see us going in a fantastic different direction by serving it on top of a soft creamy bed of polenta spiked with Parmigiano-Reggiano - next time!

Recipes
Balsamic and Asiago Roasted Cauliflower
Cocoa-Chili-Rubbed Chicken

First treat day of the year...

Jeff has been on vacation now for a little over two weeks and guess what today is? Yup, time for him to go back to work (oh it was a grouchy morning!). Being a Wednesday, we couldn't let him go in empty handed on the first Weekly Wednesday Treat Day of 2008!

We decided on these small Raspberry Almond Shortbread Thumbprint cookies so the co-workers could choose if they wanted a few or just one in case they have started watching what they eat as a new resolution. The dough for the little guys is simply butter, sugar, flour, salt and a little almond extract. The dough is not sticky at all, but to give it a chance to relax and help control spreading while being baked, it needs to be chilled before continuing.

Once the dough is nice and chilly, it is portioned out and rolled into 1" balls. You need a divot in the center of the dough to hold the jam, so you have a couple options to do this. As the name implies, you could just use your thumb to push the dough down and make the indent, but I like using the tapered end of our ice cream scoop (you could also use the end of a wooden spoon) as my thumb is a bit too big and ended up cracking the dough. We filled the indents with raspberry jam, but you could change up the flavor if you like. I found this to go much faster when I scooped the jam into a zip-loc bag and pipped it into the dough rather than measuring it out with a quarter teaspoon. Once they are baked and cooled, the cookies are drizzled with a sweet almond glaze made from confectioners' sugar, almond extract and just enough water to thin it out. The cookies are quite buttery, but not at all greasy... they are just sweet enough with the jam adding a striking and flavorful contrast to the pale two-bite gems.

Recipes
Raspberry Almond Shortbread Thumbprints

Will these black-eyed peas become a new tradition?

We thought we would take a look back and see just how many "new" recipes we made this year - after checking our records, we came up with 461! I think our highest amount was made during October for some reason as we made 53 in that month alone. It is actually slightly less than we made last year, but only because a large amount of time this year was spent selling the house back in MD, buying the house here in MN and all the traveling back and forth! I wonder what our number will be for 2008?!

Jeff and I have never really thought about making a special meal for New Years Day, but this year we thought we would try something different! Neither of us are from the south, but we thought we would try taking a couple ideas from a southern tradition - having black-eyed peas and greens! Apparently having them will bring good luck and "financial enrichment"... we're a little skeptical, but we are willing to give it at try at least! As Jeff grew up in PA, I'm sure his mom would rather us be making their traditional pork and sauerkraut, but Jeff wouldn't touch it then and has no plans to start (it doesn't sound all that inviting to me either... sorry!).

Anyway, we decided to make a recipe for Hoppin' John with Mustard Greens. First we needed to get a bunch of chopped onions softened in a bit of olive oil to get us started on this dish. We then added basmati rice (any long-grain white rice would do), finely diced ham and a few cloves of minced garlic to the onions - this gives the rice and garlic a chance to slightly toast to bring out their flavor. The original recipe called for water as the cooking liquid, but rather than miss a chance to add extra flavor, we added vegetable broth instead. Along with that broth went in grainy mustard and thyme. When the rice was almost completely cooked through, a few cups of cooked black-eyed peas (these are so much better if you can prepare them yourself rather than using a tinned variety!) and trimmed mustard greens are placed into the pot. The greens added a nice bitter contrast with the ham bringing a bit of smokiness to this hearty bowl of peas and rice. I think we found another combination of ingredients that we both quite enjoyed and we may have just started a new tradition for us each new year!

Corn bread is supposedly a traditional accompaniment, so we kept the theme going and made some Chile-Cheese Corn Bread. We thought about making half of this recipe as it makes a big batch, but doing so would leave us with a couple half empty cans of ingredients. It should freeze well, so we just made the whole thing.

This golden corn bread was moist, yet dense and had a mild spicy kick from green chiles. With only a couple tablespoons of sugar for a big recipe, the corn bread is not very sweet. We thought this was a good thing though as the extrasharp cheese and chiles made it decidedly savory. The cream-style corn called for did add a little more sweetness, but it mostly brought flavor and moisture. Buttermilk helped to keep the corn bread tender and added a little twang. We liked that this had a slightly higher proportion of yellow cornmeal to flour - this added a slight crunch and nutty flavor.

Recipes
Hoppin' John with Mustard Greens
Chile-Cheese Corn Bread

Another year coming to an end...

Wow... I can't believe we are already at the last day of 2007! Between selling a house, buying a house and moving back to Minnesota from the east coast, this year seemed to pass in the blink of an eye! We're both excited to see what 2008 brings into our lives!

We typically stay in on New Year's Eve, so I asked Jeff a few days ago what he would like to do for dinner. After thinking about it, he told me he didn't want anything special and said "let's just have a plate of snack-y type stuff". That could mean anything... so I asked for something more a little more specific - he rattled off some stuff and we got everything bought at the market yesterday.

What we ended up with was a plate to share of thinly sliced prosciutto, sliced ham, rounds of pepperoni, slices of sharp white cheddar, shaved Asiago, cubes of Jarlsberg, juicy green and red grapes, Granny Smith apples, cheddar crackers and of course, he had to have some good ol' saltines! We should be all set and ready to watch the ball drop with very fully bellies! That is, if we even make it to midnight - I think it has been a few years since since we actually stayed awake long enough to see it happen!

We've been asked quite a few times if we would post a round-up of our favorite recipes of the year. Jeff and I both thought about it and decided to make separate lists, then mash them together and see what we came up with. We picked a total of 12 sweet and 12 savory (just because there are 12 months in a year... at least that is our excuse!) - however, this was very difficult as we both had recipes on our lists that didn't match the other. Oh well - I could have probably picked at least 20 or 30, but we will stick with 12 and go with that. Just keep in mind that we had many other favorites - here's our list in alphabetical order.

Savory
Cheesy Bacon Sticks
Creamy Gruyère and Shrimp Pasta
Fresh Corn Risotto
Honey-Chipotle Barbecue Chicken Sandwiches
Hungarian Meatball Stew
Maple-Chili Glazed Pork Medallions
Rolled Chicken Breasts Stuffed with Prosciutto and Barley
Sesame Noodles with Napa Cabbage
Thai Beef Tacos with Lime-Cilantro Slaw
Thai Chicken Pizza
Tomato and Sausage Risotto
Top and Bottom Crust Pizza

Sweet
Anise-Scented Fig and Date Swirls
Black and White Angel Food Cake
Butterscotch Drop Scones
Chocolate-Peppermint Cheesecake Candy Cane Bars
Crunchy Milk Chocolate–Peanut Butter Layer Cake
Espresso Caramels
Essence of Chocolate Squares
Giant Chocolate Chip Cookie Cake
Key Lime Sugar Cookies
Lavender-Scented Lemon Pistachio Biscotti
Lemon Meringue Pie Cupcakes
Swedish Gingersnaps

If you will be out and about tonight, have a great time and please be safe!

Winding down the weekend with a stir-fry...

Only 7 new recipes for us this past busy week - our favorites were the Apricot Poppy Chicken with Dill Potatoes, Pepperoni Bread and the Chocolate Crunch granola recipe. 2008 is right around the corner - can you believe it? It seems like this year has just flown by! I'm excited to see what the new year brings!

Between getting groceries today, starting to take down the holiday decorations and just general clean up, I did not feel like doing a lot of prep to get dinner on the table. I had another recipe in mind for dinner tonight, but decided to make this Flank Steak and Vegetable Stir-Fry I had set aside for later in the week. While there was some slicing that needed to be done, it really took very little effort.

We used flank steak for the protein portion of this dish, but you could just as easily use sirloin if you wanted. To make slicing the steak into thin strips a little easier, stick it in the freezer for about 15 or 20 minutes. This won't make it rock solid, but it will firm the meat up just enough to get thin slices easily. Besides your regulation salt and fresh ground pepper, the steak is taken a slightly different route, flavor-wise, with a sprinkling of five-spice powder. Thinly sliced carrots are first to hit the hot skillet, followed by the sliced steak and broccoli florets. The sauce, a combination of beef broth, soy sauce, crushed red pepper, a dash of sugar and cornstarch to thicken, is added next, followed by crisp snow peas. Within 5 or 6 minutes after the carrots hit the pan, dinner was finished - we served ours over a bed of nutty brown basmati rice. Tender beef, vibrant vegetables and a tasty sauce all wrapped up in no time - what more could you ask for?

Recipes
Flank Steak and Vegetable Stir-Fry

Chocolate granola...

We've been quite fond of that Peanut Butter Granola we first made a few months ago - I can't even remember how many times we have made it now. We still haven't gotten tired of it, but we thought we should at least try out a few other recipes we've been collecting along the way.

Since it used pantry staples, I was able to get this recipe for Chocolate Crunch in the oven pretty quickly this morning. In additional to the normal rolled oats you would find in most granola recipes, this one also includes Cheerios (well, that it what I used anyway, it originally called for Rice Krispies), brown sugar, slivered almonds, salt and a bit of cinnamon.

Adding sweetness and moisture to the dry ingredients is honey, a little canola oil, vanilla and a couple ounces of melted bittersweet chocolate. The chocolate is really what drew me to this recipe as we've never tried one that included it. These ingredients get fairly thick when mixed together, so you'll need to roll up your sleeves, get down and dirty and use your hands to get everything thoroughly combined. For a little contrast in texture, a few chewy dried cranberries are tossed into the fully baked granola. This won't produce a "clumpy" granola as there is not much fat in it, but nonetheless it was quite good and the chocolate really brought a tasty different dimension. Try it in a parfait of fresh berries and yogurt, over a couple scoops of ice cream or just snack on it right out of the container as we ended up doing this afternoon after we tested it out over some vanilla yogurt!

Recipes
Chocolate Crunch

Vegetables aplenty this evening...

I needed to get some carrots used that had been lounging around in the refrigerator - so we made these Maple-Tangerine Carrot Coins to have along side of tonight's dinner. You don't have to make a trip to the store if you have everything on hand except for the fresh tangerines - oranges would work just as well, but the tangerines do add a special note if you pick some up.

The carrots are sliced thinly enough so they don't take too long to cook, but thick enough so they still have a slight bite to them. They are cooked in a mixture of the fresh tangy juice, broth, sweet pure maple syrup, a dash of cinnamon and a touch of butter for flavor. After a couple minutes of cooking them covered, the lid is then removed so the liquids have a chance to reduce and create a thin glaze to coat the carrots. Sweet and tender, yet not mushy, these gleaming coins made for an excellent and quick side.

One of the vegetables in tonight's recipe for Teriyaki Pork and Vegetables with Whole Wheat Noodles was suppose to be mushrooms, however, since they would have been quite visible in this dish, I decided I might as well replace them with broccoli as Jeff would have thumbed his nose at it. Now, you know he has eaten mushrooms more than a few times now, but it was only because he couldn't see them! It is not that big of a deal though - I'm just happy that we have both really expanded our list of foods we now eat since starting this site... we've come a long way from chicken tenders and pizza!

While you wait for some whole wheat spaghetti to cook, nutty toasted sesame oil is first heated in a large skillet. Chopped red bell peppers, along with the white part of a few green onions, thinly sliced pork and broccoli florets are added to the hot oil - this will quickly cook the sliced pork and allow the vegetables to become crisp-tender. Salty teriyaki sauce, a little of the pasta cooking water and chili garlic sauce are tossed in, along with the cooked pasta, into the skillet. With a robust flavor from the sesame oil, the dish is complimented well by the slightly sweet, yet savory teriyaki. The chili garlic sauce added a nice kick without being too spicy - if you wanted to use the mushrooms as originally called for, you'll need about 3 1/2 ounces worth of sliced shiitake mushrooms.

Recipes
Maple-Tangerine Carrot Coins
Teriyaki Pork and Vegetables with Whole Wheat Noodles

May have promise, but won't be a repeat...

I'm not sure what to say about tonight's dinner. It's not that the Thai Chicken Chowder we made was awful or anything... however, it was just ok. The flavor combination either seemed off to us or it was missing something that would bring it together.

I pretty much made the recipe as written, except I left out the celery (it called for a chopped cup) as it just didn't seem to go with the rest of the ingredients. This could have certainly been a wrong move, but I don't really think it would have helped much. I also did not care for how well done the snow peas ended up - a little to soft for both of our tastes. That being said, I do think that this chowder had a couple things going for it. We liked the chunky cubes of sweet potatoes - they added a hearty element, along with chopped cooked chicken, to make this lighter dish a bit more filling. We also enjoyed the flavors from the fresh lemon grass, ginger and lime juice. The heat from the teaspoon of chili garlic sauce was pleasant as it was slightly toned down by the cool coconut milk. While it has promise, I'm not sure what I would do differently so that we would have liked it better - so, unfortunately I doubt I would make this again for us.

Recipes
Thai Chicken Chowder

The treats we brought down to the farm...

I mentioned on Monday that we were busy making a couple treats to take down to the farm on Christmas Day. The drive down was nice - however, the drive back last night did not go as planned! We first hit freezing rain and then came heavy snow along with very slow traffic - the usual hour or so drive took almost 2 1/2 hours! The weather report told us to expect a few flurries, but we were quite surprised when we woke up this morning to find about 7 or 8 inches of new snow on the ground!

We thought we would start off with a couple snaps from the farm!

Of course, there has to be a few farm cats... but this was the only one that stood still long enough to capture her dozing off on her stool.

One of mom's chickens giving us a fierce stare...

We couldn't forget to take a picture of Max's daddy! Like father like son eh? Just as fluffy and little (ok, a lot) more rambunctious!

Anyway... back to the food! One of the treats we took down was a batch of Dark Chocolate Truffles!

These are just a simple combination of hot cream and bittersweet chocolate that is cooled down until you can roll the mixture into balls. Rather than dip the truffles in chocolate, we decided to take the easy route and roll the rich balls in a variety of coatings.

We ended up using cocoa powder, confectioners' sugar, toasted coconut, chopped toasted pistachios and a few sparkly sugars. Smooth, creamy and oh so decadent - this was definitely one of Jeff's favorites!

We also made a couple loaves of Pepperoni Bread! I haven't made this for a few years (I think the last time I did make it was before I really was interested in cooking). Jeff said his mom used to make this for him all the time growing up, but we took the recipe and decided to update it a bit. Rather than using frozen bread dough, which most recipes out there call for, we decided to make a very soft, tender and fluffy basic white bread. You know, the kind that would make for a killer PB&J sandwich!

What gives this bread such a great texture is the additions of dry milk and potato flakes to the dough - a few tablespoons of butter didn't hurt either! Once kneaded and risen, the dough is punched down and set aside to rest for a few minutes - this will make it very easy to stretch into a large rectangle. Jeff's said his mom would only put pepperoni in her version (which is perfectly acceptable!) - however, we added a couple more layers of flavor. We started out by first sprinkling Italian seasonings over the dough. Next, we tossed on a few handfuls of mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses on top, followed by rows and rows of sliced pepperoni.

When you roll the dough up into a log, be sure to seal the seam and ends well - also try to tuck the ends under the large roll so it stays closed. Very good cold, this bread is especially delicious while still a little warm and the cheese is gooey - enjoy it plain or have some marinara sauce on the side for dunking. Be sure to give it a good 15 to 20 minute rest before you cut into it though as the insides will be very hot! If you don't feel like pepperoni bread, at least do yourself a favor and try the basic bread - so good! The dough recipe makes about a 1 pound loaf and would be best baked in a 8 1/2" by 4 1/2" loaf pan if that strikes your fancy.

Recipes
Dark Chocolate Truffles
Pepperoni Bread

From us and the pups...

Merry Christmas!

We hope that you have a very safe and Happy Holiday however you choose to celebrate! Jeff and I will be driving down to the farm tomorrow - I think the last time we went to Mom's house for Christmas was back in 2002! Between moving out to Phoenix and then off to Maryland, we've been too far away to make that quick drive. Since we couldn't go empty handed, we did make a few treats to bring with us - we'll talk about those when we get back. So here is our non-food related post of the year...

Spike and Max wanted to send their wishes as well - since Spike has seniority (he's 18!), he thought it was only fair to let him go first. Doesn't he look thrilled to get his picture taken?

Woof!

Spike wanted to just take it easy today and lounge around as you can see, but Max was being fussy and didn't want his picture taken until he had his Christmas bath. Hee hee!

He is so tiny when he gets wet, but his hair poofs out back to normal after a few minutes with a hair dryer!

Jeff insists that we open our gifts on Christmas Eve, so we're off to go drive around the neighborhood to gander at the lights and then come home to do that! We'll be back on track with our daily updates on Wednesday.

Braving the crowds to pick up some potatoes and dill...

It's hard to remember just how much stuff we ended up doing this past week or so - it all seems to blur together when I try to think back after getting all the treats baked and sent out. I still can't believe just how much stuff we ended up making! Though, Jeff is a little sad as yesterday we ran out of anything we had leftover! I reminded him that just means it clears the way to make new goodies again!

I don't know what we were thinking, but we still did our weekly trip to the market this morning - what a zoo! Thankfully we were out early enough that we missed most of the rush. I just know that there is no way I am going to go out on Monday if we needed anything, so it's just as well we did it today. While we were out, we picked up some fresh dill and potatoes so we could make tonight's Apricot Poppy Chicken with Dill Potatoes dish for dinner.

While some halved small potatoes are boiling away in salted water, chunks of chicken are added to a heated skillet to brown all over. Shallots are added and when softened, a dose of apple cider vinegar is tossed in. Chicken broth, sweet apricot preserves, honey and poppy seeds are stirred in and the mixture bubbles away until the chicken has cooked through and the potatoes are ready. Right before serving, the generous sauce is given a glossy shine by adding a knob of butter. The potatoes, which are tender, yet still hold their shape well, are drained and tossed with a couple pats of butter for richness and seasoned with salt and fresh ground black pepper. Since dill loses a good amount of flavor when it is heated, the fresh herb is one of the last ingredients to be added to the potatoes.

The chicken, dotted with those crunchy purple seeds, was pretty sweet from the preserves and honey, but the vinegar and other savory ingredients made sure it didn't feel like you were eating candy. We liked that this was pretty much a complete meal as is, but if you don't feel like potatoes if you make this, there was plenty of sauce to go around where you could probably serve this over some fragrant brown basmati or jasmine rice instead.

Recipes
Apricot Poppy Chicken with Dill Potatoes

Creamy Chocolate-Peppermint Pudding...

Last year we talked about those new peppermint baking chips that we had picked up at one of the markets back in Maryland - the first thing we tried them in were those thin and crispy chocolate cookies. We came across them again out here in Minneapolis, so we had to pick up a couple more bags to experiment with!

Since we already used them in some cookies, we went a different route and turned a basic chocolate pudding into a Chocolate-Peppermint Pudding for a snack today! This cooked pudding starts out by combining sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder and salt. For a smoother flavor, I prefer to use Dutch-processed cocoa powder, but if you like the edge that the natural has, feel free to use it. A combination of milk and evaporated milk (using this duo gives the pudding a great mouth-feel without the need to use heavy cream) are whisked in and the mixture is brought to a boil. To prevent the bottom from scorching, be sure to be whisking constantly while you wait for it to bubble. Once you see the mixture thicken, the original recipe calls for a couple ounces of chopped bittersweet chocolate to be stirred in off heat - this is where we swapped in those peppermint chips.

To make serving easier, we portioned the pudding off into individual cups before refrigerating - I don't care much for the skin that can form as they chill, so I covered the surface of my pudding cups with plastic wrap. Jeff on the other hand loves that, so we left the plastic off of his portions. Texture-wise this pudding was very good - velvety smooth and thick. The flavor? If you love chocolate and peppermint as much as we do, then you won't be disappointed! The peppermint was not so strong that it muddled the deep chocolate flavor, yet it was not too mild either - just minty enough for us.

Recipes
Chocolate-Peppermint Pudding

Soup and rolls to cheer us up after a few dreary days...

The weather has been weirdly foggy and dreary these past couple of days - even though it has not snowed in a few days, the trees have had this glistening white coating as the temperature has been hovering right around 32 degrees and the dampness has been freezing on them.

When it is like this outside, we end up craving something that is warm and comforting... just like that baked macaroni dish we had last night. Tonight we opted to go a different route and we made some dinner rolls and a soup!

I thought about making our favorite Roasted Garlic and Fresh Rosemary Cloverleaf Rolls, but we decided to throw together a new recipe and bake some Sage Dinner Rolls instead. The dough for the rolls was easy to work with, not too sticky and it got bonus points for including some whole wheat flour. I used instant yeast, but you can use active dry if desired - just mix the warm water, honey and yeast together and let it sit for a few minutes. Then, add this mixture, along with the oil, to the dry ingredients and proceed as directed.

For a more savory aspect, the dough is given the addition of fresh minced sage - however, I imagine rosemary would work just as well if you prefer that flavor. To give these rolls some room to grow and add some visual interest, an X is cut into them with a pair of shears (or a sharp knife!) before the second rise. The dough puffs up well when baked and you are left with a substantial, yet tender and light golden roll. The whole wheat flour didn't weigh them down at all and added just a very light nutty flavor.

The Vegetable Noodle Soup we made to have with the rolls did have few things that needed to be prepped first, but the soup didn't take too long to cook and was not lacking at all in the flavor department.

In just a couple tablespoons of oil, diced onions, celery and a few sliced carrots are cooked until they just begin to soften. Minced garlic and chopped thyme are then added and cook just until you begin to smell their fragrant aromas. Broth, a little water and a bay leaf follow and the soup simmers away until the vegetables are tender. As is, the soup is pretty light and tasty - however, the recipe throws in a couple handfuls of alphabet pasta to bulk it up and of course, add some fun to the dish (and no, I was not the one who was too busy to enjoy the soup... someone was caught up in trying to spell his name with the noodles on a spoon!). When the pasta is done, the heat is turned off and some green peas and chives are tossed in to warm up. You could toss some shredded chicken in if you feel the need to have meat, but we did find it filling enough with the pasta.

Recipes
Sage Dinner Rolls
Vegetable Noodle Soup

A little (or a lot of!) macaroni and cheese please...

There are many ways that one can make good ol' macaroni and cheese - we've made quite a few ourselves, be it via a stove-top method or baked in the oven. Tonight's dish for dinner, Macaroni and Three Cheeses, is made using the latter and the good news is you can get all of the prep work done ahead of time!

I knew we were going to be busy out and about running errands today, so I prepared the dish before we left this morning and stashed it away, fully assembled, in the refrigerator. When we got home, all I needed to do was get the oven hot and bake it while we were putting stuff away and dealing with the pups!

The three cheeses in this recipe are sharp white cheddar, Havarti and Muenster - you could also use others if you can't find these or just don't like them. Try using mozzarella, Monterey Jack or even fontina for any of the above. As you wait for the shells for this dish to cook (be sure to under-cook the pasta slightly - about 2 minutes before al dente), the white sauce is made - to boost up the flavor, dry mustard, along with a pinch of fresh grated nutmeg, are added when you add the flour to melted butter. Nutmeg may seem like an unusual addition to some, but it just seems to bring out all the flavors in a white sauce - don't forget to add that pinch! Once milk has been whisked in and the sauce thickens, hearty handfuls of the cheeses are gradually added off heat until it is very creamy. For added depth, a couple dashes of Worcestershire sauce is also stirred in.

After the pasta and sauce are combined, they are poured into the baking dish and topped with a generous dose of panko breadcrumbs that were mixed with melted butter. The original recipe called for fresh breadcrumbs (which you could certainly do - you'll need about 4-6 slices worth), but we love the crunch that panko brings. At this point, you can either bake it right away, or you can cover it well and place it in the refrigerator for up to a day. If you do chill it, be sure to add about 15 more minutes or so to the total baking time. We loved the combination of all those cheeses - mixed together, they brought a rich (yet not coma inducing), sharp and buttery flavor. To get neat slices when you are serving, try to let it sit for about 10 minutes once it comes out of the oven. While it is not swimming in sauce like some recipes, it is still pretty moist and creamy, which was a nice textural contrast to the crunch of the golden panko on top.

Recipes
Macaroni and Three Cheeses