Zucchini Frittata
Classes just started last week and Whit and I are already knee-deep in projects, presentations and readings. We wanted a quick dinner tonight so I made a zucchini frittata.
If you have eggs and any vegetables in your refrigerator, you too could have a frittata for dinner!
I started by grating a zucchini and half of a yellow onion on a box grater and sautéing them over medium heat for 3-4 minutes. I added 2 minced garlic cloves and cooked it all for a minute more. Then I added 5 beaten eggs (to which I had already added a tablespoon of half-and-half) to the pan and let it cook for 4-5 minutes.
Once the eggs looked like they were almost cooked, I scattered pieces of fresh mozzarella and crushed Zapp’s chips over the top. Then I stuck it in a 400 degree oven for 5 minutes.
Once I pulled it out I inverted it onto a plate and folded one half over. I love how the bottom got crispy and the inside was still soft!
And the crunchy chips added awesome flavor and texture. I love this flavor of Zapps!
Anyway, scan your fridge and see what you could throw in a frittata. Almost any combination of veggies would be great – especially if topped with a little cheese!
thanksgiving leftovers: smoked turkey and sausage gumbo
Whatcha doin’ later this week? If you’ve got a big turkey in your plans, then I have the perfect recipe for your leftovers. This recipe calls for smoked turkey, but you can use whatever kind you have this Thursday.
There are two main types of gumbo — seafood and game. There are actually a bazillion-million-cajillion gumbo recipes out there. In fact, just about everyone has a unique recipe and I would encourage you to use this one as a jumping off point and make your own additions and changes. But the point I am making here is that most gumbo recipes pretty much all play off of the two variations mentioned above.
When I was a kid and Momma made seafood gumbo, usually shrimp and lump crabmeat, it was always a special occasion. A pound of lump crabmeat is basically like gold, so we were taught to slowly fold it in after the gumbo was cooked so the lumps didn’t break up.
Anyway, the other kind of gumbo – game – was really elevated in our house once we discovered Greenberg Turkeys. I think a business associate gave one to my dad as a Christmas gift one year when I was in high school. In my opinion, these honestly aren’t the best turkeys for carving and eating. For that, I prefer a really moist roasted or fried turkey. But damn, the smoked turkeys from Greenberg cannot be beat for making gumbo.
Here is what you’ll need to make smoked turkey and sausage gumbo. Top pic — seasonings. Bottom pic — everything else. Wait, where’s the turkey? Momma had already cut the meat off and boiled the carcass before I got to Baton Rouge so it was in the fridge and I forgot to take a picture.
Okay, before we start, here is a lesson on roux.
First, color. You may hear people say light rouxs are flavorless or a black roux is burned (not necessarily). Blond rouxs (like the one on the top left below) are actually ideal for etoufees and are very thick. The longer roux is cooked – and the darker it becomes – the less “thickening power” it has. For gumbo, you want a brick roux, like the one on the top right in the picture below. It should be the color of a dirty penny.
Okay, what do you do if you accidentally burn the roux? Throw it out. I’m serious. You can’t save it. Just cut your losses and start over.
How should you keep it from burning? Do not stop stirring. At all. Your arms will be tired and you’ll think one second away won’t matter. But that is when the black flecks start appearing.
Why do you cook the roux for such a long time? Because you are actually slowly caramelizing the flour and giving it more flavor. The darker it is, the more caramelized it becomes.
Proportions of fat to flour? You’ll often hear one-to-one. While this is true, it is not one-to-one in mass (measuring cups); the correct measurement is one-to-one in weight.
And finally, the kind of oil you use matters. Refined, or pure, canola oil has a smoke point in the 400s and is the best to use for making roux.
Here’s what our roux looked like over the course of an hour. You’ll be about two Abitas in before you see a noticeable change in color, then it starts to darken more quickly.
See the different utensils I am using? When you first add the flour to the oil, you want to whisk all of the lumps out. Since you’ll be stirring for such a long time, use a wooden spoon so it doesn’t heat up in your hand. But keep a metal spoon with a flat edge on hand for scraping the bottom of the pan every few minutes or so.
So the step by step goes like this. Heat your oil in the microwave in a glass measuring cup in 30-second increments until it is hot but not bubbling. Add it to your cast iron dutch oven that has been sitting on the stove over medium heat. Once it starts bubbling, which will be shortly, add the flour. This will pop, so keep your hands away for a second. Then, whisk, whisk, whisk until it is well-combined. Grab a wooden spoon and start stirring. Every 5-7 minutes, trade out the wooden spoon for something that can really scape the bottom of the pan. You want to keep incorporating this into the roux so it doesn’t stick to the bottom and burn. From start to finish, the roux will take about 45 minutes – 1 hour of stirring. I’d recommend doing this with a friend, sister, mom, husband, etc. — someone who can relieve you every few minutes while you run outside to grab another beer.
Did I mention chopping the veggies? Do this before you start making the roux. You will need to add these the second the roux reaches the right color so you need them to be ready to go.
Once the roux has turned the color of a dirty penny, add the chopped onion, bell pepper and celery (the Holy Trinity of Southern cooking). Turn the heat down to medium-low and stir until the roux coats each vegetable, then cover and let steam until wilted, about 5-8 minutes.
Add the garlic and cut okra. Sweat until the okra is softened. Bring about 7 quarts of stock to a boil in a large stock pot and then begin to add roux/vegetable mix to the stock stirring to dissolve as it is added. Turn the heat down to simmer and cover the pot.
Meanwhile, slice the sausage into 1/4″ thick rounds and brown it in a skillet. This will give it extra flavor but also gets rid of some of the fat and grease that comes out while cooking sausage. Once it has browned, set it aside.
Back to the gumbo. While simmering, add the seasonings. Continue to simmer for about 30-45 minutes.
The jalapeno powder below will lose its flavor before the jar is even halfway empty. That is because you barely need a teeny tiny little pinch to give the whole pot a great flavor. This stuff is made from ground jalapenos and seeds, and it is fiery! Jalapeno powder isn’t really sold in grocery stores, but you can find it at spice markets. The stuff below is from Flores Spices & Herbs in Houston on Airline Drive near all of the farmers’ markets.
Bottom line: if you can’t get your hands on any, just use cayenne. It will still be delicious!
After the gumbo has simmered for 30-45 minutes with the seasonings, add the cubed turkey and continue to simmer for about 30 minutes longer, and then add the sausage and turkey which came off of the bones when making the stock. Simmer for 30 more minutes and adjust seasoning to taste.
Serve over white rice or jambalaya rice.
Turkey and Sausage Gumbo freezes really well. If you don’t think you can make it through all two gallons in the next few days, portion it out into smaller containers and freeze. You know what else freezes well? Cooked rice. And that makes for a super easy dinner in a few weeks.
Smoked Turkey and Sausage Gumbo
Makes about 2 gallons
Turkey and Stock:
Half of a smoked turkey, 6-7 pounds
1 onion, quartered
2 stalks celery, quartered
1 carrot, quartered
4 stems fresh parsley
4 stems fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon peppercorns
2 teaspoons minced garlic
Remove and discard all skin from the turkey. Remove the breast from the carcass and cut most of the thigh and leg meat from the bones. Cut the meat into bite size cubes/pieces and reserve to add later. Break the carcass at the joints and put in large stock pot; add enough water so it’s covered by an inch or so of water. Bring it to a simmer. Skim off anything that rises to the top that you wouldn’t want to eat if you saw it floating in a bowl of soup. As soon as it comes to a simmer, put it in the oven at 180 degrees. Leave it in the oven for 4-5 hours. As long as it’s not bubbling you’re good. It should not be bubbling, but it should be too hot for you to hold your hand against for more than an instant.
About an hour before you want to take it out of the oven, add the vegetables, herbs and peppercorns.
Continue cooking for another hour Remove the bones and meat and after cooling, separate the meat from the bones and reserve for later use. Strain the stock through a colander, then cheesecloth. Now it’s ready to use or chill it and take the fat that congeals off the top.
Sausage:
2-3 pounds smoked sausage (preferably Andouille)
Slice the sausage in half lengthwise, then slice into ½-inch slices. Saute in a skilled until browned.
Roux:
2 cups oil
2 ½ cups flour
Heat the oil in a large Dutch oven and add the flour, stirring til smooth. Cook slowly, stirring constantly, till you have a very dark red/brown roux.
Vegetables:
4 cups chopped onions
4 cups chopped celery
4 cups chopped bell peppers
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 – 16 ounce bags of cut okra, thawed
Just as the roux turns the right color, add the onions, celery and bell peppers to the roux to stop it from cooking and cook the vegetables until wilted. Add the garlic and cut okra. Sweat until the okra is softened. Bring about 7 quarts of stock to a boil in a large stock pot and then begin to add roux/vegetable mix to the stock stirring to dissolve as it is added.
Seasonings:
1/3 cup Tony Chachere’s seasoning
1 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoons crushed dried thyme
½ teaspoon white pepper
¼ teaspoon jalapeno powder
While simmering, add the seasonings. Simmer for about 30-45 minutes. Add the cubed turkey and continue to simmer for about 30 minutes longer, and then add the sausage and turkey which came off of the bones when making the stock. Simmer for 30 minutes and adjust seasoning to taste.
for every success in the kitchen…
I have a disaster like this…
It keeps me humble.
smothered quail
I have conquered a cooking mountain! I wrote in my “about katie” page that I have been trying to make smothered chicken that was as good as Zadie’s for a long time. Zadie was our maid when I was growing up and of all of the wonderful things she cooked, my favorite was her smothered chicken.
She taught me how to make it when she was alive but I didn’t take notes and I am sure I didn’t pay as much attention as I should have, so I have never been able to replicate it. Or even get close. I really regret that.
Momma found a recipe for smothered quail from Dunleith Plantation in Natchez and after a few tweaks, I think we have a winner. You could use this same method for chicken or pork chops.
Here’s what you’ll need. Ignore the white pepper. It was on the counter so I threw it in the picture, but it was actually for something else.
Where can you find quail? Well, if you’re like most of my friends, your husband is a hunter and you can find it in your deep freeze. Not that lucky? Check Whole Foods or call a local butcher. In Houston, Pete’s Fine Meats usually has quail.
The ones we used for this recipe are from Manchester Farms. They have plain and marinated semi-boneless quail as well as bacon-wrapped quail breasts. It is a family business in South Carolina and they use no antibiotics or hormones. (Sound like I’m on Manchester Farms’ payroll? I’m not. They have no clue who I am, but I am happy to recommend their quail.)
On to the recipe. Season the quail with the Tony Chachere’s. This isn’t super clear in the picture below (thank you iPhone camera) but you don’t want to completely coat the quail. Just a little sprinkling on each side. Set aside.
Combine ¾ cup of the flour with the paprika, nutmeg, black pepper and thyme in a shallow dish. I like thyme so I went a little heavy on it here. Same with the black pepper. You can adjust these spices to you liking. But don’t leave out the nutmeg just because it sounds like a funny addition. It adds a nice warm undertone.
Dredge the quail in the flour mixture.
Heat the oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large cast dutch oven over medium heat. Why oil and butter? Butter has a better flavor but oil has a higher smoke point so it won’t burn as quickly.
Fry the quail in the dutch oven until they are golden brown, turning them to cook evenly, about 6-7 minutes per side. Remove the quail from the dutch oven and set aside.
Do not clean those delicious drippings from the pan!! Instead, add a stick of butter to the pan drippings in the dutch oven. Once it has melted, add the onion, celery and carrots and stir until they are soft, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle the remaining 6 tablespoons flour over the mixture and stir until the mixture has browned, about 15 minutes.
Gradually stir in the broth and continue stirring until the mixture is smooth. Add the wine and simmer, whisking, over low heat for 5 minutes.
Add the quail and cover the pot. Simmer over low heat until the birds are very tender, about 45 minutes – 1 hour.
Be careful when removing the quail from the dutch oven, as it will be tender and want to fall apart.
Serve with stone-ground parmesan grits (made with heavy whipping cream, duh) or white rice. You just soaked your meat in butter and gravy for an hour. This is not the time to start watching your waistline, my friends.
Smothered Quail
12 semi-boneless quail
1 tablespoon Tony Chachere’s
¼ cup vegetable oil
1¼ sticks butter
¾ cup plus 6 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 ½ teaspoon sweet paprika
½ teaspoon grated nutmeg
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1 ½ – 2 teaspoons black pepper
½ cup finely diced onions
½ cup finely diced celery
½ cup finely diced carrots
3 ½ – 4 cups chicken or turkey broth
1/3 cup dry red wine
Season the quail with the Tony Chachere’s. Set aside.
Heat the oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large cast iron dutch oven over medium heat.
Combine ¾ cup of the flour with the paprika, nutmeg, black peper and thyme in a shallow dish and dredge the quail in the flour mixture. Fry the quail in the dutch oven until they are golden brown, turning them to cook evenly, about 12 minutes total. Remove the quail from the skillet and set aside.
Add the remaining 8 tablespoons butter (1 stick) to the pan drippings in the dutch oven. Add the onion, celery and carrots and cook, stirring, until they are soft, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle the remaining 6 tablespoons flour over the mixture and stir until the mixture has browned, about 15 minutes.
Gradually stir in the broth and continue stirring until the mixture is smooth. Add the wine and simmer, whisking, over low heat for 5 minutes. Add the quail and cover the dutch oven. Simmer over low heat until the birds are very tender, about 45 minutes – 1 hour.
santa fe, parte dos
Since all good things must come to an end, we headed back to Houston today. Whit and I had a great time in Santa Fe — it is really a foodie heaven!
Want to know what happened on day 1 of our trip? Check it out here.
Day two saw us having breakfast off the beaten path at Tecolote Cafe (hat tip to JJ for the recommendation). After seeing Carne Adovada on multiple menus since we arrived, I had to try it. It just so happens that the Carne Adovada at Tecolote Cafe is hands-down the spiciest in town. Whew. I think I can still feel the burn in the back of my throat. Whitney, no surprise, had pancakes again. The blue corn piñon blueberry pancakes were a hit — especially since I used the extra syrup that came with his plate as a throat salve. They also had french toast that changed daily based on the fresh baked breads they had — cinnamon raisin, 7 grain, mixed berry bread, orange poppy seed, blue corn honey, etc. And they served our meals with a house made bread basket that included green chile biscuits!
Thanks to my generous friend Kristin, we got to visit the Georgia O’Keeffe Museum after our late breakfast. I loved it!! Who else has always heard that her paintings are of vaginas? Turns out that was not her intention at all and she was upset that all of the critics thought that. So after seeing the video at the beginning of the museum about her life, it was interesting to look at all of the paintings in a new light (read: not private parts). Anyway, I absolutely fell in love with her painting Bleeding Heart.
We spent the rest of the afternoon walking up and down Canyon Road. This is a famous stretch of Santa Fe that has more than one hundred art galleries and studios exhibiting Native American art and antiquities, traditional and modern Hispanic art, regional contemporary art, international folk art and international contemporary art. We had so much fun laughing about all of the art we’d buy if we had the money. We were COLD by the time we reached the top of the hill so we stopped in at the Teahouse. Check out this wall of teas — they had more than 50 different varieties of loose leaf teas.
So I mentioned how cold it was, right? It never hit 50 while we were there, which was nice since we left Houston in the low 80s, but at night, when it was below 20, I was so glad for the fireplace in our room!!
Anyway, we had dinner Friday night at The Compound, which was lovely. They gave us a cute table for two by the fire. We split the caramelized pear salad. In addition to the caramelized pears, it was served with feta cheese on buttered toast points and apple cider vinaigrette and frisee. It was just a little sweet, but we really enjoyed it. Whit thought his meal was just so-so (he had the osso bucco), but I had half a roasted chicken with foie gras pan gravy and was practically licking my plate. On a typically light(er) dish, roasted chicken, the gravy was just the right rich touch.
The next morning we learned how to make a southwestern brunch at the Santa Fe School of Cooking!
Jeremiah, our instructor, showed us how to make blue corn pancakes with a mixed berry compote (are you noticing that we ate a lot of blue corn pancakes on this trip?), chorizo cottage fried potatoes, adobo goat cheese and spinach quiche, and huevos rancheros with beans and red chile. I am excited to recreate all of these dishes (if you are in my Sunday school class, you will see these soon) but I am most excited to have learned how to make homemade red chile sauce. I can’t wait to use it to make my own carne adovada!
After class, we wandered around the Plaza and checked out the miracle staircase at the Loretto Chapel. After reading about it years ago in a chain email, I have always wanted to see it in person. The story goes that the chapel was built without a staircase, which was apparently common at the time as choir lofts were accessed by ladders, but that didn’t work for the nuns. So they prayed to a saint (can’t remember which one) and a carpenter miraculously appeared in town and built a staircase that didn’t have nails or supports. Then he left town without payment and no one knew how to find him.
Here’s a picture of the beautiful staircase:
I am telling you, this staircase was built by God. It is so unbelievably pretty in person.
Since this is a blog about eating, I will get back to the main story. We ate at Terra again Saturday evening. This was the restaurant in our hotel in which we ate Thursday night. It was cold outside and we were being lazy. Whit had the short ribs again and I followed his lead. YUM! But let me tell you what I started with — tuna tartare served on blue corn blinis with chipotle infused caviar and grilled scallions. It was so unusual and I loved it.
Next up, brunch at Tesuque Market and, surprise, we had pancakes again. This time though, they were “sweet cakes and swine” — pancakes with bacon and chocolate chips in them. They were gluttonous and worth every bite.
Our last dinner was at La Boca, a tapas restaurant. I would so highly recommend this place. It was full of locals (good sign in a tourist town) and had unusual menu items. Most tapas menus are the same, which I generally love, but it was a fun surprise to find lots of new things. Like the flat iron steak with smoked sea salt caramel drizzled on it. That doesn’t really sound good, does it? I didn’t think so either but Whitney ordered it and it was super. Like, really super. We also liked the grilled artichokes with mint and goat cheese and fingerlings with lemon aioli. I ordered the scallops over artichoke puree with jamon serrano but they ran out right before me. No lie. I saw a server deliver the dish to a table near us not 30 seconds before our waitress came over to tell us they just served the last scallop in the joint. Bummer. So overall, I’m still sad about the scallops but the meal was great.
We couldn’t leave Santa Fe without stopping at the Trader Joe’s I saw as we entered town on Thursday. I was so excited to see a Trader Joe’s for the first time in years that I thought about it all weekend and begged Whitney to stop with me on the way to the airport.
Here’s the thing with Trader Joe’s — they have Greek marinated racks of lamb that are UNBELIEVABLY delicious. And TJ won’t ship them. And so far, I’ve not been able to replicate them. Anyway, I was secretly thinking I could get a million racks and quickly find a FedEx and overnight them to Houston, but alas, this Trader Joe’s DIDN’T HAVE THEM. The travesty!
Good news though: they had lots of other stuff we didn’t need but looked too delicious to pass up. Dark chocolate covered pomegranate seeds, piñon coffee, brown rice and chicken dog jerky (for Emmy Lou), ginger snaps, s’more bites, meyer lemon crisps, chocolate truffle bar, and a couple of seasoning grinders.
So all in all, we loved Santa Fe! We hope to go back again soon but in the meantime, I have some recipes from the cooking class to make for the blog!
first taste of santa fe
Day 1 in Santa Fe has been an eating success!
We arrived with hunger pains so we drove straight into town and ate on the back side of the Plaza at Cafe Pasquale. What a treat! The menu was full of “diner food” but it was all organic and local. I had a housemade chorizo and egg burrito with mole. I have never had such great mole in my life. It was rich and had heat but wasn’t overly spicy. Whit had brioche French toast that was covered in thinly sliced almonds before cooking — it tasted like wedding cake French toast!
We spent part of the afternoon wandering through town and ended up in a grocery/kitchen store with a huge (and tempting) selection of dried ground peppers and Southwestern mixes like Habanero chili powder, blue corn meal, sopapilla mix, Cascabel chili pods, Pasilla Negro powder, carne adovada sauce mix, mole mix, Chipotle powder, Mexican oregano, and green chile ranch mix. I might gave to head back before the weekend is over for some blue corn meal!
After a relaxing afternoon, we had dinner at the restaurant at our hotel, Terra. I am not sure we’ll be able to beat tonight’s meal on this trip!
The bread basket was a great indicator of things to come– with roasted scallion and tomato lavash as well as cheddar and scallion biscuits.
I ordered the wild mushroom ravioli with rabbit ragu and black truffles. I loved the ravioli and the rabbit, but the truffles (uncharacteristically) had no flavor and seemed like an unnecessary addition. Whit’s appetizer, pumpkin soup with chipotle crema and lime dusted pumpkin seeds, blew us away. I want to recreate it soon!
For dinner, Whitney had the Chipotle short ribs with Poblano mac and mushrooms. The short ribs just fell apart– he could barely keep them on his fork. They were his favorite part of the plate but I loved the Poblano Mac and mushrooms. It was a fun combination!
I had a Kobe beef hangar steak with caramelized Brussels sprouts. The meat was really tender– and the marbling of the cut made it really flavorful. But the star of my plate was the Brussels sprouts. Wow! I could have eaten just a plate full of these and been happy. They were nutty and slightly sweet.
We finished by splitting housemade churros with caramel dipping sauce. They didn’t taste heavy with oil– instead they were light and fluffy. Perfect ending.
I think we’re in for a lot of good eating over the next few days! Please leave a comment if you have any suggestions of what to do in Santa Fe!
pumpkin apple bread
Momma and I found this recipe circa 1994. We think I was in 4th grade. I had an assignment from school to bring a fall-themed dish to class and after making this recipe, we knew it was a keeper.
I’m talking to Mom about this right now and we are thinking it could have been third grade because I had Mrs. Suzy Smith for a reading teacher that year and she had us do all kinds of things like this. In fact, my most vivid memory of her class is when she made everyone eat sardines after reading a book in which the characters ate them. This is a really gross memory of mine.
Anyway, this bread marks the beginning of fall in our house. This year, I got the opportunity to make it with Momma, which we haven’t done in years because we have been in different states.
Now that it is getting cold (in Texas and Louisiana — I understand it has been cool in NorCal and the NE for months…don’t make me bitter) it is the perfect time to make a few loaves of pumpkin apple bread! Here is what you’ll need:
In a bowl, whisk the eggs, sugar, pumpkin and oil. When its well-combined, it should look like the picture on the top right below. Make sure to beat the lumps out of the mixture.
Then add the flour, baking soda, nutmeg, allspice, cloves and salt. You should probably mix these in another bowl first so they are well-combined but I was feeling adventurous (read: lazy) so I just threw them all in on top of the pumpkin mixture. Beat well.
Peel and dice the apples into 1/4″ inch pieces. Add to the batter and fold to combine.
Pour the batter into loaf pans — don’t fill them more than halfway or they will overflow.
In a small bowl, combine the flour, sugar, cinnamon and softened butter. Sprinkle evenly over the batter.
Bake at 350 degrees F for 55 minutes (40 minutes if you are using a smaller loaf pan). Remove from oven and let cool for 30 minutes before removing from the pan.
Cut a slice from the end of the loaf and spread with a thin layer of butter. Do this before anyone else comes into the kitchen looking for a slice — because everyone knows the ends are the best pieces.
Pumpkin Apple Bread
3 cups flour
¾ tsp. salt
2 tsp. soda
1 ½ tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. cloves
¼ tsp. allspice
1 16 oz. can solid pack pumpkin
¾ cup oil
2 ¼ cups sugar
4 large eggs, beaten lightly
2 cups peeled and chopped Granny Smith apples
Mix flour, salt, soda and spices. Whisk together pumpkin, oil, sugar, and eggs. Add flour mixture to pumpkin mixture. Fold in apples. Sprinkle with topping. Bake at 350º for about 50 minutes in two greased 9 x 5 x 3” loaf pans. Let cool in pans for about 30 minutes before removing and slicing.
Topping
1 tbls. flour
5 tbls. sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tbls. soft butter
Mix together until crumbly.
s’mores bars
People, my gosh, I cannot begin to describe how incredible these are. They are gooey and the kind of rich that should preclude you from eating more than one — but of course I put down a lot more than that. They aren’t beautiful, and they kind of fall apart. But when you put one in your mouth, you will. not. care.
I was a bad food blogger again and got too busy to take pictures, so I am just posting the recipe below. I can’t remember where I got it, so if you know, let me know and I will link up.
Make these soon.
S’mores Bars
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
2 king-sized milk chocolate bars (e.g. Hershey’s)
1 1/2 cups marshmallow creme/fluff (not melted marshmallows)
Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease an 8-inch square baking pan.
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in egg and vanilla. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder and salt. Add to butter mixture and mix at a low speed until combined.
Divide dough in half and press half of dough into an even layer on the bottom of the prepared pan. Place chocolate bars over dough. 2 king-sized Hershey’s bars should fit perfectly side by side, but break the chocolate (if necessary) to get it to fit in a single layer no more than 1/4 inch thick. Spread chocolate with marshmallow creme or fluff. Place remaining dough in a single layer on top of the fluff (most easily achieved by flattening the dough into small shingles and laying them together).
Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, until lightly browned. Cool completely before cutting into bars.
corn, shitake mushrooms and proscuitto pasta
This is a variation on a dinner Whitney and I have often. Pasta with fresh-whatever. It is usually birthed out of extra produce in our fridge and the desire for an easy dinner. The basic recipe is chop veggies, saute and add pasta. And cheese. I usually throw in a little mozzarella, goat cheese, or parmesan at the end for the gooey goodness factor.
Here are the ingredients I used to make this pasta, but it really lends itself to substituting ingredients. Use zucchini or eggplant pieces instead of the mushrooms. Fresh mint would be really good if you didn’t have basil. You could also use sausage or bacon in place of the proscuitto.
Tear the French rolls into pieces and put them in a 300 degree F oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and place the pieces in a food processor. Chop until they become crumbs.
Lay the crumbs on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake at 300 degrees F for 15 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking.
Prepare the ingredients for the pasta – chop the proscuitto and mushroom caps, cut the kernels from the cob, julienne the basil, cut the mozzarella into strips, dice the tomatoes.
Saute the proscuitto in olive oil until it starts to brown. Add the mushroom pieces and saute a few minutes longer until they are softened.
Remove the proscuitto and mushrooms from the pan and add a little more oil, the corn kernels and the dried red peppers. Add salt and pepper and saute for 5-6 minutes.
Discard the red peppers and add the proscuitto and mushrooms back to the pan. Also add the breadcrumbs, basil, tomatoes and mozzarella. Stir to combine then add the pasta to the pan. Add salt, pepper and olive oil and toss to coat.
Corn, Shitake Mushroom and Proscuitto Pasta
2 ears corn, kernels cut from cob
3 oz Shitake mushrooms (about 10 mushrooms), caps cut into pieces
4 dried red peppers
1/4 c grape tomatoes, diced
4 oz proscuitto, cut into small pieces
6 oz fresh mozzarella, cut into strips
6-8 fresh basil leaves, julienned
1-2 small French rolls
pasta
Bring a pot of water to boil. Add pasta and cook according to package directions. Strain and set aside.
Tear the French rolls into pieces and put them in a 300 degree F oven for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and place the pieces in a food processor. Chop until they become crumbs. Lay the crumbs on a cookie sheet and drizzle with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake at 300 degrees F for 15 minutes, stirring halfway through cooking.
Chop the proscuitto into small pieces and saute in olive oil until they start to brown. Add the mushroom pieces and saute a few minutes longer until they are softened. Remove the proscuitto and mushrooms from the pan and add a little more oil, the corn kernels and the dried red peppers. Add salt and pepper and saute for 5-6 minutes. Discard the red peppers and add the proscuitto and mushrooms back to the pan. Also add the breadcrumbs, basil, tomatoes and mozzarella. Stir to combine then add the pasta to the pan. Add salt, pepper and olive oil and toss to coat.
simple sunday: whole chicken in a crock-pot
Don’t y’all love those rotisserie chickens from the grocery store? The ones under the heat lamps that are so tender that they fall apart when you look at them?
I pick them up all the time to use when I am running short on time but need cooked chicken for a dish. In fact, our H-E-B just started selling rotisserie breasts! Which I love because I am not a dark meat person.
Anyway, my favorite thing about them is the way they fall apart and though I love a good oven-roasted chicken, I can’t get the meat quite as tender as the store-bought ones.
After telling a friend about my feelings on this topic, she suggested I make my roasted chicken in the crock pot. I had never thought of that but I got just the results I was looking for. The chicken was tender, flavorful and incredibly moist. The best part is that I also got 6 cups of homemade stock out of it.
Here’s what I did:
Cut an onion into large chunks and scatter them on the bottom of the crock pot. Salt and pepper the chicken and add any other spices you would like all over the outside of the chicken. I used salt, pepper, thyme, rosemary and red pepper flakes. You could do anything you want here — cumin and chili powder with limes for a Mexican chicken, herbs de provence and dried lavender for a country French taste, or make Greek chicken with a rub of yogurt, garlic, oregano and Cavender’s Greek seasoning.
Place the chicken on top of the onion pieces, breast side up. Quarter the lemons and squeeze some of the juice on the chicken and throw the lemon quarters around the chicken in the bottom of the crock pot.
Cook on low for 8-10 hours. The legs should pull off of the chicken easily when it is done. Remove the chicken and let rest for 10-15 minutes before carving.
After you have removed all of the meat from the chicken, put the carcass back into the crock pot with the lemons, onions and remaining juices. Add bay leaves, celery, carrots — whatever you have on hand. Fill the crock pot with water and set it to cook on low for another 8-10 hours.
Strain the carcass, lemons, onions and other vegetables out of the stock. Let the broth cool and then spoon it into gallon ziplock bags. Freeze until needed.
Whole Chicken in a Crock Pot
1 whole chicken (4 lbs.)
2-3 lemons
4-5 garlic cloves
1 yellow onion
spices (you can use whatever you want – some ideas are thyme, rosemary, red pepper flakes)
salt and pepper
Cut onion into large chunks and scatter them on the bottom of the crock pot. Salt and pepper the chicken and add any other spices you would like all over the outside of the chicken. Place the chicken on top of the onion pieces, breast side up. Quarter the lemons and squeeze some of the juice on the chicken and throw the lemon quarters around the chicken in the bottom of the crock pot.
Cook on low for 8-10 hours. The legs should pull off of the chicken easily when it is done. Remove the chicken and let rest for 10-15 minutes before carving.
After you have removed all of the meat from the chicken, put the carcass back into the crock pot with the lemons, onions and remaining juices. Add bay leaves, celery, carrots — whatever you have on hand. Fill the crock pot with water and set it to cook on low for another 8-10 hours.
Strain the carcass, lemons, onions and other vegetables out of the stock. Let the broth cool and then spoon it into gallon ziplock bags. Freeze until needed. This makes a great base for soups or can be used to cook rice or risotto for extra flavor.
Tip: when freezing broth, soup or other liquids, put it into a gallon ziplock and freeze it on its side. It can then be stored more easily (can be shoved into a small corner of the freezer) but it also has the benefit of defrosting more quickly than if it is frozen in a big block (like in a tupperware).
