Skillet Brunch

 Frittata Friday!  Had a very late start to the morning, and breakfast was quickly turning into lunch. What's better than quiche for brunch?  Crust-less skillet bake of course!

 Notice how I've managed to say frittata, quiche and skillet bake all in this opening dialogue...so what exactly did I make?  According to Kevin: "The BEST breakfast you've ever made!".

 I was hungry. I had a lot of breakfast meats in my fridge and a carton of eggs, so I did what I do best Experiment.  Really how could I go wrong with this list of ingredients.

Ingredients:
1/2 tube of sausage
Several Strips of bacon
1/2 tube of chorizo
3 small sweet peppers
1 shallot
1 small yellow onion
3 small potatoes or 1 HUGE one
3 cloves garlic
1 cup cherry tomatos halved
6 eggs
Barely Buzzed by Beehive cheese

Directions: Pre-heat oven 450

I used this deep skillet

Brown sausage then drain, and in the same skillet chop and brown bacon then drain, or maybe you brown then chop...what ever works.

Dice peppers, shallot, onion and potato (make sure it's a small even dice on the potato so they cook quickly and uniformly. I make my peppers and onion a little bigger so they don't burn since I'm doing them all together with the potato) cook in the skillet with the bacon fat until the potatoes or soft (not mushy) then drain.

At this point I just had a pile of deliciousness on a plate with napkin for draining.  Next brown the chorizo.  I use very little spices since the chorizo is packed with flavor.  I did add a sprinkling of salt pepper and paprika to the eggs.  Once the chorizo is ready, dump all the meat, veggies and potatoes back in the pan.  Add the tomatoes, and in a separate bowl whisk your 6 eggs and add whatever additional spices you use.

Poor egg mix over skillet ingredients and give it a little shake so it settles evenly over the top.  Pop it in a 425-450 degree over for about 20-25 minutes.  You are just cooking the egg through since all other ingredients are precooked.

Remove from the oven and shred your cheese on top.  I love the Barely Buzzed by Beehive cheese.  It has a Turkish grind of Colorado Legacy Coffee Company's "Beehive Blend" coffee beans encrusted on the outer part of cheese.  It has a mild nutty flavor.

I plated with the cherry tomatoes, Cilantro micro-greens and my house made basil vinaigrette.  It would have been awesome with avocado, but I live in Montana so a good aguacate is hard to find at the Columbus IGA.

Monday's Munchies

Today's post is dedicated to Brenda Medina and Jessi K. Heimdal.  Brenda makes this fabulous pumpkin cake (and I'm not suppose to tell Cass it has mayonnaise in it).  Like cranberries and sage-y dressing this is a seasonal favorite of mine.  Jessie and I share a love for Cinnamon Sugar Toast.  I've taken both of those recipes and turned out one amazing plate of  Monday morning munchies.

This morning's weather forecast was calling for snow showers and a high of 36 for Columbus today.  I'm not really a fan of donuts, but I needed something warm and fuzzy to go with my hot mug of coffee.  I did some internet surfing in my bathrobe to discover that almost all donut recipes I found called for the stuff to be fried, and I didn't have any oil for that.  Plus, I'm in the middle of a small kitchen renovation and am missing my venta-hood for the moment.

I did find a recipe for pumpkin donut holes (from twopeasandtheirpod.com), and that reminded me of Brenda's pumpkin cake which led to this:  Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Bites.

Now there are two ways to go about this recipe.  I tweaked the recipe from the donut holes, but you could follow the super simple Medina recipe.

Cinnamon Sugar Pumpkin Bites
1 3/4 cup of flour
1/2 teaspoon of salt
2 teaspoons pumpkin spice (or you could make your own using 1/2 teaspoons of cinnamon, all spice, nutmeg and ginger)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 can pumpkin puree
1/3 cup oil or melted butter, etc..
1/2 cup milk
1 large egg and
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup brown sugar

Super Simple Medina Recipe (SSMR)
1 box spice cake mix
1 can pumpkin puree
1/4 cup mayonnaise

Preheat oven 350. Mix the dry and wet ingredients separately and then combine (unless you are going for the SSMR then just chuck it all into one bowl and mix.  I used a mini-square (bite size) pan with approximately 1 tablespoon of batter into each square. Bake for 20 minutes (you may need to do less time as my altitude calls for longer baking times)  Makes about 48 bites.

Now to add a little Heimdal flair to this recipe.
Melt some butter. I did a stick of butter since I had so many bites to do.
Mix superfine sugar and cinnamon together.  I didn't measure I just did it by looks, but the inspiration recipe calls for 2/3 cups sugar to 2 tablespoons cinnamon.  Mine was heavier on the cinnamon.

Once you have removed the bites from the oven and they are cool enough to remove from the pan without falling apart or burning your fingers, dunk them in the melted butter to coat all sides. Then roll in the cinnamon sugar.

I show a fork in the photo but that is not really how you eat these.  Shovel in with your grubby paws (well maybe wash your hands first) and then lick your fingers. Dunking into the coffee is not only allowed but encouraged.  The fork is to stab people who try and sneak a bite from your plate.

Cranberry Duff with Orange Butter Sauce

I love winter for all its frozen brutal beauty, but what's more I love winter for the delictable food associated with the season.  It will come as no suprise to anyone who knows me that I often envoke those flavors in the summer in the name of June Thanksgiving.  I just can't get enough of sage and cranberry.

We have had our second major snowfall this season, and to celebrate I thought a nice steamy plate of Cranberry Duff would be just the thing.  It was inspiringly tastely.  I've not blogged in a while and thought this would be a good come back recipe.

I've also realized my food pictures do not usually do justice to the recipe.  Looking back on the last few posts the food looked kind of gross.  YUCK!  With that said, please know that this dish IS a complete flavor explosion AND you WILL want to make it this holiday season for your friends and family.

I know you are all jealous of my sauce drizzling skills

Cranberry Duff

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1/2 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
2 cups whole raw cranberries (I had taken mine directly from the freezer without thawing)
1 cup milk ( I had to use about 1.5 cups due to the altitude)
1/4 cup melted butter (1/2 stick)
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°. Sift together the dry ingredients. Add the cranberries, milk, melted butter and vanilla. Mix well. Pour into an 8-inch square buttered baking dish or muffin tin ( I used a deep round pie dish). Bake at 350° for 40 minutes. I actually had to bake for 55 minutes either my oven is not getting up to the right temp, my pan was too small, or just the altitude made the timing off.

When the Duff has about 15 minutes left you will want to start the Orange Butter Sauce.  The origional recipe I found was just for butter sauce, but I wanted that extra acidity and tang of orange zest and juice.

Orange Butter Sauce
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup heavy cream
1tsp. vanilla extract
1/2tsp. cinnamon
juice of one half orange
1 teaspoon finely chopped orange zest

To make the butter sauce combine the butter, sugar and cream in a saucepan. Bring to a boil and then lower the heat. Stir in the vanilla, cinnamon, orange juice and zest. Simmer for 10 minutes. Serve the duff warm drizzled with sauce.  Don't be shy with the sauce. Puddle it on there!

Extreme close-up: Chock-a-block full o' cranberries

P.S this was the second round of photos, as I didn't like the first.  You would be incorrect in assuming it was my first or second piece of duff.  NOPE, it was my third. Now, I'm all jacked up on sugar and coffee.  I think I'll shovel the drive way and down into town. 

Bagels and Lox Inspired Stuffed Pepperoncinis

I love all the flavors involved in a good bagel and smoked salmon sandwich: delectible smoked salmon, the crunchy-heat from the red onion, pickled sourness of the capers, and the creamy-silken feel of the cream cheese.  MMMMM. 

Last night I made these terrific little appetizers that are all those things sans the bagel.  If your favorite part is the bagel you won't be satisfied with these pepperoncinis, but all the other flavors are present and accounted for.  I even added a little extra something to make them special.

First, I mixed a package of chèvre with cream cheese, finely diced capers and red onion.  Then, I cut the tops off the peppers, deseeded, and drained on a paper towel. 

 To stuff, I placed the mix in a baker's decorating bag, cut the end and squeezed into the pepper.  That step made the process so much easier and less mess.  I wrapped the salmon around the outside of the pepper, but thought after that you could chop and add in the stuffing if you were inclined.  To top the creation, I drizzeld (not shown in photo) homemade honey mustard on the top. The mix made about 16-20 stuffed pepperoncinis amount will depend on the size of peppers used.  They were perfect.  I had the left overs for brunch today.

French Onion Soup

I've always hated French Onion soup.  It is always over salted and makes me feel gross after eating, but I always think it should be good.  With such simple basic ingredients, how can so many people mess it up.

Years ago I stopped trying it, and I  have to admit I've never ordered it from a five star restaurant (who orders soup at a fabulous place???). 

Yesterday, I challenged myself to make it and Kevin was glad I did.  It turned out perfect.

Ingredients:
4 yellow onions
4 cloves of garlic minced
2 cans 14.5 oz Swanson chicken broth
1 26 oz can of Swanson beef broth
1 stick of Tillamook butter
A generous pour of Cabernet
A bit of gruyère cheese for topping

Process:
Melt butter and sautee onions (in a dutch oven or other pot that can go from stove top to oven) covered for 20 minutes.  Then place in a 400° oven for an hour stirring once about half way through to avoid sticking and burning.

Once out of the oven deglaze on medium heat using the red wine.  Scrape up all the tasty brown bits and reduce liquid to half.  Then add garlic and broths. Simmer for 40 minutes.  Place in bowls and add cheese.  You can place it under the broiler if you want to melt the cheese.

Some of you may be wondering where the crusty bread is.  I didn't use any but you can add it to the top of the soup before adding the cheese if you like.

I served the soup with Bell peppers stuffed with elk, onion and topped with swiss.

Cowboy Coffee Rub

For dinner last night, I made an excellent steak rub of coffee and spices (see the following recipe).  I've had mediocre coffee rubbed steak at the Grand in Big Timber, but I knew I could take the basis of that recipe, and turn it into some thing spectacular.

My canvas, a poor cut of angus petit loin, was greatly improved by the rub.  It turned an undesirable slice of meat into a tasty morsel.

Kevin at first was dubious, and announced with a look of disdain and an air of I-don't-eat-weird-shit-on-steak  that he would have his without. It only took a mere whiff of the concoction to change his mind. He later apologized (many times) and excused his snobbishness on the basis of not understanding: "I thought you were just going to rub coffee grounds into it."  As if I would do something so simple, and unrefined! Harumph!

As I said before, the steak, an offering from the local Albertson's, was not the best, but when it is your only option what can you do.  Kevin on the heels of each apology said, "This is excellent it would be out of this world on a nice cut of beef."   Basically, he would have eaten dog food with this rub he had previously snubbed.  I told him that was the purpose of the rub hence the name: Cowboy Coffee Rub.  

Working cowboys were not privy to luxury and the best of the table; they often ate the poorer cuts of beef and flavored them with what ever they had in their chuck wagon or saddle bag.  A stroke of brilliance really when they used ground coffee.  Many of today's best loved foods come from the less sophisticated culinary world.  Fajitas, for instance, were made from the undesirable parts of beef that were given to the vaqueros and the resulting dish has turned into a Tex-Mex staple.  Simple.  Good.

As the Mexican vaquero introduced the world to fajitas, I am introducing Kevin to the world of weird shit on steak.  The coffee rubbed steak will be a staple at our Crazy Tooth home, and when you come for a visit don't expect less; however, there is no need to wait.  Run out right now, buy some beef, fix this rub, fire up the grill (infrared for you Bry) and within minutes you will have a tasty dinner.

Buen provecha, Eet smakelijk, bon appetit,

Cowboy Coffee Rubbed Steak

Ingredients:

1 1/2 teaspoon chili powder

2 teaspoon finely fresh coffee ( I used french roast where some use espresso)

1/4 teaspoon dry mustard

1/4 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

*some people add 1/4 teaspoon of brown sugar, but I had omitted it due to low calorie restrictions.

This makes enough for two 8-10oz portions.  I did a slight olive oil rub into the meat before coating the top bottom and sides in the coffee mixture,and grilled about 6-7 minutes a side until the desired temperature was reached.

Recipe for Friends

For Rachel and Aaron,

Remember the shrimp tacos we use to make with the soy, ginger, lime, and cilantro? I turned that into a fancy ramen noodle dish that I make when Kevin is away. I made it today using your favorite chicken death sauce. Et schmakalik!

Boil 3 cups chicken stock and 1 cup water
Add 2 packs of noodles boil 3 minutes then add about a quarter cup soy, juice of 2 limes and grate a finger length of ginger. (I have added the chicken flavor packs but I've done it without too.) Then, put a table spoon, or more, of chicken death sauce.
In your bowls put chopped green onions, thin sliced mushrooms and diced silken tofu with chopped cilantro.
Ladle noodles and broth in bowl.

I miss cooking with you guys!

What do you mean he don't eat no meat

I just made my first batch of tahini paste which I used for my first ever hummus undertaking. Kevin was never a fan of this lovely Mediterranean dish, but now he loves it.

It's been a world tour of foods today we had sushi and udon for lunch, and right now I have a fat boneless leg-o-lamb in the oven that I plan to serve with a nice Greek salad, lots of feta and of course pita and hummus.

Et shmackalik, buen provecha

New Noodles

I've not only been lazy about blogging I've been lazy bones in the kitchen too.  Sometimes it seems as if we eat the same thing over and over.  We've been in a rut here lately with weekly servings of spaghetti, roasted chicken and potatoes, red meat with garlic salad, pizza and more chicken.  Granted all of that is homemade, with the exception of the pizza. Kevin has been great about cooking while I was working late and on weekends, but now that my summer hiatus has officially begun I've decided it's time to get back to what I do best...experimenting in the kitchen.

I wanted to make Asian food last night, but I don't have a large repertoire of Asian recipes floating around in my head.  I grabbed an issue of Fine Cooking hoping for a great new recipe.  I found an article entitled Use Your Noodle which listed recipes using a range of Asian style noodles.  I have limited knowledge of cooking with Asian noodles, Top Ramen being my only real experience; however, I decided to try something new because the recipe for rice noodles with shrimp and cilantro was exactly what I had in mind for dinner.

Kevin loves spicy and this dish called for red bell pepper and jalapeno.  I knew he could fire it up with some chicken death sauce, and I could be content with the limey, fresh cilantro summer sun flavor of the sauce.

I kept a close eye on my sauce whenever Kevin was near for fear he would sabotage it with Tabasco.  It turned out great the peppers gave it a nice flavor without being HOT and Kevin enjoyed the additional hellfire he placed in his own bowl. 

I had a little trouble with the noodles.  I cooked them according to the directions below, but some of the noodles were still hard.   The package read that you should soak them in hot water for 45 minutes, but mentioned nothing of the boiling that was called for in the recipe.  Since the recipe didn't turn out the results I wanted, I soaked the parboiled noodles in hot water while I finished the rest of the dish.  This was sufficient to finish the noodles and keep them from getting cold.

Here is the recipe from Fine Cooking.  I didn't do anything different other than use 11/2 limes instead of just 1 in the sauce and I used ponzu instead of regular soy.I like to boost the citrus flavor paired with the fish sauce, and I used a pound of the smaller shrimp.  Ete Schmakalik!

Ingredients for 3-4 servings, but Kevin and I ate it all :)

6oz pad thai noodles
2 medium limes, i juiced and 1sliced in wedges for serving
11/2 tbs. packed brown sugar
2 tsp. soy sauce
1 tsp. fish sauce
3/4 lb. peeled and deveined large shrimp
3 tbs. canola or peanut oil - i used vegetable
1/2 tsp. ground coriander
1/2 medium bell pepper, cored, seeded and finely diced - I used the entire pepper.
1 medium jalapeno, seeded and finely diced
1 large shallot, finely diced - I used 2 medium
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro - I used a handful

For the noodles- Bring a medium pot of well-salted water to a boil.  Add the noodles, lower the heat to gentle simmer and cook, stirring occasionally, (HUH, maybe that's why it didn't work so well for me I don't think I actually read ALL the directions. I definitely didn't stir or reduce to simmer.) until the noodles are just tender, 5 - 7 minutes.  Transfer to a colander and run under cold water to cool slightly. Drain well.

For the sauce- combine the lime juice, sugar, soy sauce and fish sauce, set aside.

For the shrimp- toss with 1tbs. oil, coriander and 1/2 tsp ground black pepper, and 1/4 tsp salt.

Took Cook- heat 2 tbs. oil in a 12-inch nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering hot.  Add the red pepper, jalapeno, and shallot, sprinkle with 1/4 tsp salt, and cook stirring, for 1 minute.  Add the shrimp and cook, stirring, until it turns pink and is almost cooked through, about 2 minutes.  Add the lime juice mixture and cook, stirring, until the shrimp is cooked through, about 1 minute more.  Add the noodles and half of the cilantro: toss until the noodles heat through and pick up the sauce, 1 to 2 minutes.

To Serve- sprinkle with remaining cilantro and the lime wedges.

Boo-Fallow

I've mentioned before that my friends and I adapted our own terminology after many years of being together.  Some of the words were completely made up, some came from out-of-context usage, others from misspellings, and others still from our differing dialects and pronunciations.  The etemology of several vocabulary words come from the Dutch accented pronunciation of regular things.  For example: Blister - Blista. 

To the outsider, these are silly sayings that don't mean much, but for me and mine each word conjures up a potent memory.  A time none of us will forget.

Let me try to explain.  The last apartment that Brendee and I shared together was only a few miles from our previous location.  No need for a moving truck we just enlisted the help of my Dad's truck, Jessica, Rachel, Aaron and Archie also took the time to load a few beds and boxes.  In the middle of this moving, We recieved a visit from Kevo's dad.  We felt obliged to be hospitable to our friend's parents who took the trip across the Big Pond.  During on a dinner break to meet and greet papa Vandrunen, it was decided that a trip to Shreveport, La. was necessary.

We abandoned our packing and hauling and loaded up for our road trip.  On this trip, The Texas country side was in full Autumn splendor, the foliage and wildlife on display for our foreign visitor's gratification.  It was at a pit-stop that Kevin's dad added the word Boo-Fallow to our vernacular.  "Look a Buffalo!"  We giggled at his Dutch pronunciation of the American Bison.  To this day, Buffalo in any form is Boo-Fallow to me and that weekend in Shreveport is brought to mind.

In honor of that memory, I've termed my delicious dinner from last night The Great Amberican  Boo-Fallow Chicken.

It is breathtaking isn't it?  Look at the golden crust that looks crispy and juicy at the same time.  This was achieved by roasting the chicken in the over at 400 degress perched atop a can of beer (placed in a roasting pan to catch the drippings) for moisture, and slathered in a Buffalo wing sauce (recipe to follow).  I basted the chicken every 20 minutes or so and the result was devine.

The chicken was paired with a salad of greens, radishes, carrots and cucumber with blue cheese crumbles and Lighthouse blue cheese vinaigrette, and a double fermented Oregon Indian Pale Ale. 

To make the Boo-Fallow sauce assemble the following ingredients:

1 stick butter

4 Tbs brown sugar

5 Tbs tomato sauce

1/4 tsp each of the following: garlic powder, onion powder, pepper, chili powder and salt

1 tsp oregano

1 dash of beer

red pepper flakes to taste

1/2 cup of hot sauce ( I used Frank's, and it wasn't too spicy. Add more or less to your liking)

Melt the butter and sugar in a sauce pan and then combine the rest of the ingredients, adjusting the spices to your taste.  Simmer to combine flavors and then brush on chicken before placing in over.  Baste the chicken with sauce throughout the cooking process.

Use a meat thermomenter so you know when the chicken is fully cooked, around 180.  I think I cooked it at 400 for 45-50 minutes.  Let chicken rest before carving.  The skin will be crisp and tasty, with a slight sweet coat from the brown sugar and pleasant pepper kick and a boquet of spices and vinegar.

Mexican Melt Down

For dinner the other night, Kevin and I made an amazing soup and sandwich combo.  After watching an episode of Triple D, we both wanted to try jalapeno pesto.

In order to feel a certain ownership of recipes, I'm not one for following an origional recipe too closely.  Well that, and sometimes I'm not paying attention.  For this pepper pesto we used 1 bunch of cilantro, 2 jalapenos, 1 serrano, 2 cloves garlic and an unmeasured amount of pecorino romano (if I were pressed to say, I would guess some where around 1/3 of a cup) the juice of 1/2 a lime, and a good drizzling of olive oil.  We stopped adding the oil when the consistency looked right to us.

To accompany our new relish, Kevin marinated and grilled flank steak.  Let me just add that it was about 17 degrees out when we were making dinner, and Kevin braved the winter temps to cook on the open fire.  That's my man.

We assembled the pesto and meat with some pepper jack cheese, avocado mayo, sweet grilled onions and a bell pepper medly.

The sandwiched was partnered with a spicey roasted red bell pepper and tomato soup.  We roasted then sweated and peeled the red bell pepper, threw it in a pot of simmering chicken stock, then added cherry tomatoes that had been drizzled with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and dried oregano and oven roasted for 12 minutes at 400.  I had also oven roasted a few cloves of garlic that were mixed in to the soup.  A stick blender was used to liquify the chunks and give the soup a wonderful creamy texture.

The soup and sandwich pairing was excellent.  The soup had a robust redbell pepper flavor and slight vinegar finish.  The tomatoes were the unseen hero.  The sandwich was like a flavor maze.  One bite was meaty cheesy wonderfulness, the next a sweet and tangy trio of white onion, red and yellow bell pepper, lurking in the shadows of the suprising not so spicy jalapeno pesto was the creamy avocado goddess.

Breakfast Lunch and Dinner

I watch food network often, and lately they have been showcasing some amazing burgers.  Because of the parade of meaty, cheesey, goodness that I've been watching, I've had severe cravings for a big juicy burger.  I've tried to cure my hunger with fast food burgers but they just didn't cut the mustard, if you know what I mean.  They are too thin, flavorless and not homemade.

So last night I had the time and the ingredients to make The Best Burger Ever on Toast.  It was ground beef with salt, pepper, ground mustard, a bit of red pepper flake, cheese, pickles, tomatoes and topped with a fried egg.  It was so good that I could have eaten for.... you know it...Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner.  I almost did too, but last nights cheese slice was the last in the fridge and I slept too late to have breakfast or lunch before going to work.  I'm making a taco pasta right now, due to the lack of cheese in the house, but I'm mentally savoring the flavor of last nights meaty masterpiece.  Check it out, here's a bird's eye view of the tower of power.

Is that a perfect fried egg or what?  You can see the cheddar slice playing peak-a-boo under umpty dumpty there.  And LOOK at those pickels on top of the mayo slather. MMMMM. 

Whoops!  I smashed the toast down too hard and broke the yolk, but look at that golden river of flavor.  You see how the runny goodness cascades down the sandwich like a cholesterol waterfall?

Oh, no Pickles overboard.  It's okay I saved them....for last.  So stop wishing you had made this and go do it.  You'll thank me later after you return from your vacation to flavor town.

My Mom's Birthday Cake

In honor of my mom's birthday today, I made a pumpkin spice cake (Brenda Medina's Recipe) layered with Banana and topped with a caramel cream cheese frosting. I just finished icing it about 10 minutes ago while Kevin was watching tv in his favorite chair. I brought him a sampling into the living room only to find him sleeping in his chair. I startled him awake with the yummy goodness, and he liked it. I just check and his still awake. He doesn't like to admit that he falls asleep in his chair :)


I called to wish my mom happy birthday earlier this morning when the snow was just starting to fall. It has been falling all day and getting thicker and falling faster as the day progressed. I had to get out of the house to pick up the dry cleaning after 4 and it was a white out.

I made it back home safe and sound. I only had one little out of control moment but luckily I was going about 10 miles an hour and I steered into the skid without hitting the brakes. Good thing because it was two lane traffic with lots of cars coming the opposite direction. I probably tend to drive a bit overcautious here, but I know no matter what I do the people behind me will always think I can't drive. I need to get those Texas plates changed soon!

Once home from my winter storm outing, I started preparing the chicken cordon bleu we had for dinner tonight. I pounded the chicken thin layered ham and Swiss cheese and rolled the chicken up into a roulade. Which I then floured, dipped in egg wash and coated with bread crumbs. I placed the chicken on a greased baking sheet and baked in the over at 350 for about 25 minutes. It was delicious and I paired it with sweet peas, and red potatoes (which I boiled in chicken stock and garlic instead of water to add more flavor) tossed with butter and parsley.

The success of my dinner helped demolish the lingering guilt I've had about not being home every night to prepare dinner for Kevin.

Dinner Confession

I feel bad when I come home and Kevin has dinner cooking for me.  It's nice and I love that he wants to do it, but I feel like he pulls so much of the weight already that I should come home from my meager part time job and cook for him.

Tonight he is making ceasar salad and stuffed cornish game hens.  He also cooks breakfast most mornings.  Oddly enough, I don't have breakfast guilt. Probably because I've never been a breakfast maker.  My idea of breakfast is redbull or coffee, or if I actually have a meal I make things that you don't cook: bagel and lox, cereal, icecream, etc...

It's nice that we both have jobs that allow us to eat together most mornings.  This is new for us.  Before, when I worked we were never up at the same time.  Since we started working out early in the mornings, we've had the extra time to spend eating breakfast at the table, and lately that's the only meal we've been eating at the table. 

I don't make resolutions for new year.  I think that resolutions are something that should be made throughout the year. Why wait to change?  One thing I would like to change now, or revert to, would be eating dinner at the table as well as breakfast.  When I was a kid ,we always at dinner at the kitchen table.  Rarely were we allowed to eat in front of the television.  Those were good meals.  I remember having a lot of fun on those dinners.  I think dedicating that time to your loved ones is an important part of growing and maintaining bonds.  Kevin and I have good an awesome relationship that I think we both care deeply about, but we get lazy after work and sometimes veg infront of the idiot box.  I'm not saying that the tv dinner needs to go away, but I want to make sure that since I'm not always home to cook dinner for him anymore that I'm still showing that our time together is important. I not saying I'm just saying. 

Pork Pozole

MMMMM.  I love pozole.  Before going to San Miguel this summer, I had never had pozole.  I was forced to eat hominy, what we called indian corn, by my sitter once when I was a kid; therefore, I was traumatized and stayed away from it.  In SMA I met Javier and Thelma.  Javier was a big pozole fan.  I think he ate it almost everyday.  His enthusiasm for the Spanish soup won me over and I tried a steaming bowl of chicken pozole.  It was wonderful.  The broth was made of clear chicken stock, with tender chicken shreds, onion, hominy, and some spices.  In Mexico they bring out a tray of fixin's: Fresh chopped cilantro, onion, jalapeno, crushed cumino, fried pork skins, avocado and lime wedges.  I think adding the lime to the dish was what really woke me up to this soup. Oh that, and the crunchy crunch of the crispy pork skins ( I remember sharing those with my dad on road trips when we were little).  Who can resist fresh cilantro?  The smell will always and forever remind me of summer, Right B?

Any way,  I've tried a few times to make pozole since my Mexican hiatus.  Last night's batch I think was the best.  I used pork instead of chicken.  I also used canned hominy.  I'm not going to attempt the process of taking corn and turning it into hominy.  Too many steps, it seems intimidating.  Kevin loved it.  If your feeling froggy try it out.  Make it your own, leave off the hominy if you don't like it, add more spice, use turkey.  For my vegetarian friend leave out the meat, substitute vegetable stock and add lots of aguagate.

In a slow cooker place pork loin (2lbs) 1 large diced onion, 2 minced garlic cloves, 1 bay leaf, 1 serrano pepper, 1 tbs dried oregano,1 tsp cumino, 1 can rotel with green chili's, 1 large can hominy, 1/2tsp chili powder, 32oz each chicken and beef stock, cook on high for 4-5 hours or on low for 7.  Shred pork with fork once cooked.  Ladle into bowls and don't forget the fresh toppings.

I'm having this for lunch today and dinner again tonight.  Join me, and let me know how your's turns out.  Buen provecho, bon appetit, eten smakelijlik.

Beef Stew

When the weather turns cold I always crave hearty chunky steaming bowls of comfort food. Yesterday, to combat the falling snow, I made a delicious beef stew. Sorry, I forgot to take pictures. I don't think it would have photographed well anyway.  It was brown with chunks of other brown things (meat) and white things (potatoes) and orange things (carrot) and you get the point.  It made the entire house fill with mouthwatering aromas and I couldn't wait to dig in when it was done.

To prepare the stew, I used a pound of beef stew meat seasoned well with salt and pepper. I browned the meat in a large sauce pan for about 8 minutes. Then I removed the meat and added butter to the meaty juice in the pan and put in peeled pearl onions. After cooking the onions for several minutes I added minced garlic a bit more butter, then potatoes, celery, carrots and cherry tomatoes. I should have peeled the toms first because their little skins were floating in the stew at the end. I added a touch of salt, more black pepper plus red pepper flakes. Once the vegetables were seasoned and in the buttery meaty sauce I sprinkled flour over the top of everything, I had also added a bit more butter. I stirred the mixture to combine and check its thickness then I poured in beef stock and let the whole mess come to a boil. Once the concoction boiled, the burner was turned down so the stew could simmer for an hour or so until the veggies are soft.

When Kevin got home I toasted some sourdough jalapeno slices to serve with the soup. The stew was delicious and had enough spice. Kevin didn't need to doctor it up, but it wasn't too spicy for me. I'm having the left overs for lunch and I know it will taste even better today. Like so many other things I love, soups only get better with age.

Roll out of Bed

I slept in a bit this morning.  Kevin left for an event he is sponsoring in Kallispel last night so I had the place to myself.  I stayed up until 1 a.m. finishing my Vampyre book.  Probably not the smartest thing to do when home alone in a relatively new place, but I was able to sleep.  Kevin woke me around 9.  He is fond of finding reason to call, but I think he is really just making sure I'm out of bed.  Of course I tried to trick him with my fake super cheery no i'm not asleep hello, it might have worked this time.

I got up and decided I was going to make homemade cinnamon rolls, well semi-homemade, based on one of my favorite desserts: Sopapilla Cheesecake.  My friend Jodee Heimdal and her daughter Jessi introduced me to that dessert and I, in turn, have introduced to Missoulan society.  You can't really eat cake in the morning and feel good about it, so I decided to turn it into cinnamon rolls.  Everyone knows it's okay to eat those for breakfast at 10 in the morning. 

The ingredients:  1 package of Pillsbury recipe creations (you can use the cressant rolls but they are perforated and harder to work with), 1 pkg cream cheese, 1/3 cup sugar, melted butter, and cinnamon. ( I actually did this at 1/2 the recipe because I didn't want to make the entire roll and be tempted to eat it while at home alone.)

Preheat the oven to 375, put on the coffee, and then start the filling. Combine the sugar and cream cheese.  It's best if you let the cream cheese sit out for a while to soften.  Keep the dough in the fridge until last minute so it doesn't get too soft and sticky while you are trying to work with it.  Then roll it out onto a cookie sheet or piece of waxed paper.  Spread the filling mixture evenly from end to end and then roll back up.  Cut roll into 8-10 even sized pieces.  Next, brush with melted butter and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, to taste.  Repeat last step on the other side of roll.  Bake in oven for a period of minutes that falls between 12 and 15 or until they are the perfect shade of golden brownness for your particular palate.  Generally, if a recipe calls for 5-7 minutes I go for 6 it's in the middle, but if you have a two minute spread do you choose 13.5 minutes?  I don't know, so I cooked them for 16 the bottom was a bit more crispy than the top but not burned and not hard, just right.

The only thing these rolls were missing is that orange flavored gooey thing you put on top of the store-bought ones.  My mom use to make those for Michelle and me.  If only I knew how to make that goo. I would and then these would have been perfection.

Hey Rocky....

Watch me pull a rabbit outta my toaster. At least that is what I was thinking yesterday as I tried to make toast with the brand new toaster. I plugged it in put the dial to 5 and turned around a few minutes later and the bread was up untoasted not even warm. Funny, the little window where the number is located is no longer illuminated. So I move the toaster to another plug and the red numeral 5 flickers on and off in the window like Satan winking at me. I finally get it to stay on faulting the wall outlet, and I push the lever to make the toast go down and there is a loud POP and a small puff of white smoke, but the only thing I pulled out of it was the bread still untoasted. I smelled it, thinking: Gee I hope It's not polluted, and it seemed fine. I went on with my culinary magic turning the untoasted bread into a cold cut masterpiece showcasing turkey, white sharp cheddar, pickles, pickled jalapeno, mayonnaise (can't say that word without saying it like the drill Sargent in "Officer and a Gentlemen" Mayo-nnaise)tomatoes and avocado. Rocky has to have a Bullwinkle just like sandwiches have to have soup. So the accompaniment to Kevin's lunch was a pasta soup I made by using the previous nights chicken tortellini, tomato, artichoke supper and combining it with onions, garlic, herbs, chicken stock and stewed tomatoes and a dash of red pepper flakes. It was good. I took my handiwork down to Montana Peterbilt, but didn't tell the boss his sammie may have toaster fallout on it. He survived.

On the way home I stopped by Albertson's, I go there everyday, for the accoutrement to the evenings dinner. Once I was settled back in the pink tile kitchen, I marinated chicken in a citrus jalapeno mix that I whipped up in the handifoodprocessor (cup fresh squeezed orange, 2 jalapenos, 1 serano, 1/2 bunch cilantro, salt, course ground pepper,and garlic) I let it sit in the fridge for 4 hours or so then baked it at 350 for roughly an hour. After the chicken came out of the oven, I let it rest while I made the avocado lime salad. I chopped romaine, diced tomatoes and avocados and warmed up a can of black beans. For the dressing, I squeezed two limes, texted my friends Rachel and Aaron because this dressing reminds me of them, added 1/3 cup olive oil, sugar,salt and pepper and I whisked to combine. All the ingredients, including chicken went into the salad bowl and were topped with the dressing. Que Bueno!

Tonight we are having the same marinated chicken taco style with carrot-jalapeno salad. It's culinary magic folks, turning last night's good eats into a new tantalizing taste for tonight.