Versatile Potatoes

Tonight while waiting on dough to rise, for what is destine to turn out as the best cinnamon swirl bread i have ever had, I got a little creative with the potatoes that didnt get used for last weeks potage parmentier (potato leek soup). I am starting a window sill herb garden and my little terracotta pots needed some character so they were painted white and stamped with carved potato stamps. I'm not sure where I have ever heard of potatoes being used to to make stamps but it really worked out quite well. Now all I have to do is wait for my little sprouts to show their shining faces and usher in a long awaited spring. Besides a small amount of window sill herbs, this spring I plan on having a small patio garden too. Since I moved into my apartment in the dead of winter, the patio has yet to be utilized but I think it will be perfect for a few potted tomato plants and maybe a sprawling vine of squash. I want to make a dwarf lemon tree a permanent resident of the home, spending the warm weather days on the patio and the not so nice days inside by one of the huge windows that are scattered about the place. We will see what happens though, my green thumb has yet to prove itself. So far in my little exploits into the world of do-it-yourselfdom have turned out mildly successful but wildly self satisfactory and both of my thumbs will work hard to keep up with my high expectations. 

From Italy to France All in One Night

I am completely in love with my nook color (that was so lovingly given to me by, none other than, my favorite person in the universe, Brian) It allows me to carry around my entire e-library in my purse which includes mountains of books and also stacks of magazines. I have subscriptions to several magazines that are immediately downloaded onto my nook as soon as the newest issue is available, its like a dream come true. No matter where I am I can get Martha's newest advice on how to make good things, better things or Food Networks advice on which wine to serve with which cheese, as soon as the information is available.
This month Food Networks magazine was devoted to Italian cooking and I was only mildly interested. Brian's eye, however, was caught, as he was reading over my shoulder, which irritates me to no end, by a short, simple recipe that I knew I would have to make that same day, for Brian's sake. The recipe was for a tart, a nutella tart.
Brian has always forbade me from keeping nutella in my cupboard for the sole reason that, as soon as my back was turned, he knew that his will power would be lost and i would find him in the in kitchen, unconscious, in a hazelnut and chocolate induced coma. We stopped by the grocery store on our way to my apartment and picked 26oz of the stuff, almost 3 times the amount i knew that i would need to complete the recipe but i was sure that we would both find a use for the excess.
I cheated a little on the recipe, for time's sake. I skipped making my own crust which really was a shame after reading through the recipe which included ground hazelnuts I knew that I should have taken the time but there is always next time. Needless to say, even though I cheated, the finished product was heaven. I'm not one who really yearns for pie or desserts in any way, shape or form and i usually will usually pass if offered a slice of even the best, homemade, secret recipe, passed down from generation to generation pie or cake or cookie or tart, for that matter. As it turns out, even I cant resist nutella in dessert form.

its current resting place is the bottom shelf of the fridge...
its so droopy because we couldn't wait for it to set
we dug in halfway through the chilling time 

I, later, sat contemplating other uses for this little jar of divinity. My inspiration for my second, uncharacteristic of me, treat of the night came from the simple picture on the front of the jar, a slice of bread liberally slathered in hazelnutty goodness. I needed to make bread, sweet bread, fried bread, beignets. My newest hobby is bread making so i grabbed "the everything bread cookbook" and  found a simple beignet recipe

3/4cup warm milk
2tbsp honey
1 package (1 3/4 tsp) active dry yeast
2tbsp melted butter
2-3cups bread flour
1tsp kosher salt
oil for frying, powered sugar for dusting and nutella for smearing on every inch of the warm pastry.

Brain had left, as it was late and passed his bedtime, with a gentle reminder to be careful, since he wouldn't be there to save me from another house fire. I was left alone with a small pile of puffy, french doughnuts and more nutella than I could handle and now it is me who will soon be passing out, over indulged and a little sticky with visions of hazelnuts dancing in my head. I don't think I regret any of tonights gluttony but i might later if this becomes a habit, which seems entirely probable considering the reputation of this Italian siren called nutella.
    

Good Food is Worth a Few Small Kitchen Fires

Its been a ridiculously long week... well, really its been a really long month, there has been a lot going on and not a lot going on all at the same time. I was recently moved into a new department at work (which definitely came with a pay raise) which meant new training, a new schedule and consequently working 10 days straight without a day off and when you work a job like i do, that can be quite taxing on ones mental health. After work, on the other hand, has been slow and dull. Brian has been out of town for a month now on a job and that has been extended by a week or so. He comes home on the weekends and this particular weekend we decided to stay in and enjoy each others company rather then inflict our presence on the general public. Thanks to Martha and Food Network we cooked up a pretty tasty little dinner. 

For an appetizer we had steamed leeks with a creamy dijon sauce.  Dinner was a surf and turf kind combination that consisted of crab and ricotta stuffed ravioli with a butter and lemon sauce and parmesan crusted steak.

Spending time in the kitchen together often brings out the major moron in both me and brian and therefore reminds us how there couldn't possibly be two people who fit together better than he and I. He is always coming to my rescue when things go wrong and thank God he was there tonight or else, well, the hillside apartments may have ceased to exist, like, it would by now have been nothing but a smoldering pile of ashes

Tonight i made the mistake of noticing to late that i had placed an empty pan on a blazing hot burner and then i nonchalantly poured a few tablespoons of oil into it. As it turns out it does not take much to set oil ablaze! I pulled the pan off the burner and franticly looked at Brian and shrieked "What do i do!? What do i do!?" my gaze kept flickering over toward the sink but previous experience with hot oil and water taught me not even to consider taking that pan near the sink... by this time smoke was filling the kitchen and my hands were starting to burn but i didn't know what to do with the flaming pan, Brian's immediate response to the crisis was calm and collected. He said "Hang on, lemme Google it..." What more would you expect from a someone with job title like "network engineer with a specialization in datacenter technology"? However, when i screeched at him "We don't really have time to Google this Brian!" he sprang into action grabbed, baking soda and Poof! it was over just like that, besides of course, for the apartment full of smoke and hot pan full of bubbling tar. I asked him how he knew that would work and he smartly answered "TV... 'Gone in 60 Seconds' actually..." With that being said don't ever let anyone tell you that TV rots your brain, I think it and a boy who cant remember the color of my eyes but can quote every movie he has ever seen saved my life tonight.

Midnight Snack

The Best Dip for Granny Smith Apples in the World 

Ingredients

8oz Cream Cheese 

7oz Marshmallow Creme

Directions:

mash it all together and dip away

Friday Night's New Recipe

Dear Martha thanks so much for the recipe! Apparently Brian has got a little weary of the 15 or so old standbys in the recipe box and now that i have a kitchen to cook in, i guess its time to get to it! I don't cook a lot with pork... its just not my favorite thing in the world... wait, unless its drowned in bbq sauce, smoked, made into sausage or hotdogs... do pork rinds count? ok so well i do like pork but chops are hard for me... what do you do with those? mine are always tough and bland :( dearest Martha spiced these chops right up! and Brian gave them 2 thumbs up and with his mouth full gave me permission to cook them anytime i want ;) i was a little overwhelmed by the coriander, myself... i was surprised to find that cilantro and coriander come from the same plant, i don't like cilantro either- ha! coriander is too sweet maybe? or floral? its edible but just not my cup of tea (unless its in masala chai and then i definitely don't mind the coriander)

Pork Chops with Herb Stuffing

     

Prep: 15 minutes
Total: 40 minutes

INGREDIENTS

Serves 4

• 1 cup cubed (3/8 inch) rustic bread, without crusts
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, and 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup finely chopped onion, and 3/4 cup chopped celery
• 1/4 cup plus one tablespoon mixed chopped parsley and thyme
• 2 1/4 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons chicken stock
• Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
• 4 bone-in pork chops (9 ounces each), cut horizontally to the bone
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup dry sherry

          Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toast bread cubes on a baking sheet until golden, about 7 minutes. Heat butter and 1 tablespoon oil in a 12-inch ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Cook onion, stirring, until soft, about 3 minutes. Add celery; cook 1 minute. Transfer to a bowl. Reserve skillet. Toss bread, herbs, 1/4 teaspoon coriander, and 3 tablespoons stock with onion mixture. Season with salt and pepper.
2. Stuff chops. Using a fork, mix and mash garlic, 2 teaspoons coriander, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1 tablespoon oil; rub onto pork. Heat 2 tablespoons oil in skillet over medium-high heat. Cook pork until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes; flip, and transfer skillet to oven. Cook until pork registers 155 degrees, about 15 minutes. Transfer to a plate; cover.
3. Add sherry and 1/2 cup stock to skillet. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until reduced by half. Serve with pork

First Real Meal Cooked in my New KItchen

Brian has been begging me for quite awhile to cook him stuffed bell peppers for dinner and I've had to put it off for over year because i just haven't had a place to cook. Now i am in my new apartment with a lovely kitchen that practically begs to be used. So tonight we made stuffed bell peppers and lemme tell you it turned out to be quite an undertaking, I used almost every pot and every pan i own not to mention the fact that I over looked the part about the 1.5cups of rice being cooked rice and not dry rice... I ended up with 4 cups of rice I didn't need! oh well, left over rice is great for fried rice, looks like I will have to find a chinese recipe for tomorrow!

• 6 green bell peppers
• 1 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1/2 cup chopped celery
• 1 can (14.5 ounces) diced tomatoes
• 1 can (8 ounces) tomato sauce
• 1 clove garlic, crushed
• 1 teaspoon dried leaf oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried leaf basil
• 2 teaspoons salt, divided
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper, divided
• 1 egg, lightly beaten
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
• 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef or chuck
• 1 1/2 cups cooked long-grain rice
• shredded mild Cheddar cheese, about 1/2 to 3/4 cup, optional

Preparation:

Cut tops off peppers; remove seeds and membranes. Chop edible part of tops and set aside. Rinse peppers under cold water. Place peppers in a large pot; cover with salted water. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 5 minutes. Drain peppers and set aside.

Heat olive oil and butter in a large skillet over medium heat until hot. Sauté chopped green pepper (from tops), chopped onion, and chopped celery for about 5 minutes, or until vegetables are tender. Add tomatoes, tomato sauce, crushed garlic, oregano, basil, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper. Simmer for about 10 minutes.

In a large mixing bowl, combine egg with remaining 1 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper, and Worcestershire sauce. Gently stir to blend; add ground beef, cooked rice, and 1 cup of the tomato mixture. Mix well. Stuff peppers with meat mixture and place in a 3-quart baking dish. Pour remaining tomato mixture over the stuffed peppers. Bake at 350° for 55 to 65 minutes. If desired, top stuffed peppers with a little shredded Cheddar cheese just before peppers are done; bake until cheese is melted.

Recipe for stuffed peppers serves 6.

next time i may look for a recipe with sausage instead of ground chuck, i think i prefer something with a little more kick!