Toaster Pastries

Growing up Pop-tarts were a staple in the house. My personal favorites being strawberry or brown sugar & cinnamon (prefered with icing). Well this weekend I was watching the Food Network and saw Alton Brown's Good Eats. The episode was titled "A Pie in Every Pocket" and fittingly Alton was making "pocket pies". Towards the end of the episode he showed how to make toaster pastry, where the pastry was partially baked in the oven then finished in the toaster when you want to eat it. I can't wait to try it!

Pocket Pies

My First Panko

I thought I would finally join the millions of people who use panko breadcrumbs. Check out this recipe for meatballs from Martha Stewart. They were quite yummy.

New Cookbooks

This week I checked out The Best of Cooking Light and the Cooking Light Slow Cooker cookbooks from the library. I really liked the recipes I saw in both cookbooks and have already purchased the The Best of Cooking Light from Amazon.

Yesterday's dinner included recipes from both cookbooks. All of the dishes were very good. My husband requested that I keep them on my list of recipes to make again.

Knife and Fork Barbecued Brisket Sandwiches
Garlic Fries
Brussel Sprouts with Crisp Proscuitto

Crepes

Growing up my mother had a crepe cookbook. I never saw her use it, but one day I decided to try making crepes myself. For a while after I was addicted to making them and filling with a variety of items I found in the pantry/refrigerator. My favorite being mandarin oranges and whipped cream! Recently I decided to look for some crepe recipes to try some new filling ideas.

I also did a little "research" on wikipedia:

A crêpe (pronounced kreyp or krĕp) is a type of very thin cooked pancake usually made from wheat flour. The word, like the pancake itself, is of French origin, deriving from the Latin crispa, meaning "curled".

Common fillings for meal crêpes include: cheese, asparagus, ham, spinach, eggs, ratatouille, mushrooms, or various meat products.
When they are sweet, they can be a dessert. They can be filled with various other sweet items: jam, melted chocolate, dairy, ice cream, Nutella , bananas, berries, nuts, poppyseeds, cinnamon etc. Popular sweet toppings include sugar (granulated or powdered), maple syrup, lemon juice, whipped cream, fruit spreads, sliced soft fruits, etc.

A more elaborate French and Belgian crêpe is the Crêpe Suzette, a crêpe with lightly grated orange peel and liqueur (usually Grand Marnier) which is subsequently lit.

Savory crepe recipe

Sweet crepe recipe

Other crepe recipes/fillings

Memorial Day Weekend in Review:

3 Words - Yum, Yum and Yum. All the recipes turned out great.

Applebee's Chicken Fajita Roll-up (from Top Secret Recipes)
Tasted very similar to Applebee's and was a big hit. It took a long time to measure and cut up everything, so next time I would probably buy pico de gallo instead of making it. Definitely will make the mexi-ranch on it own to serve with other items. It really tasted great with the fresh cilantro.

Buffalo Chicken Strips with Blue Cheese Salad
I did not make the blue cheese dressing/salad, but the chicken fingers were awesome. The chicken strips turned out nice and crispy. I did make some changes to the buffalo sauce though as it was not spicy enough for my taste. A little tabasco sauce solved the problem in no time.

Fettuccine Alfredo
This is my third attempt (and recipe) at making Fettuccine Alfredo for my husband. The third time is the charm! By far the best recipe I have tried so far. The sauce was cheesy, but not over powering and the perfect consistency. I can always count on the folks at Cooks Illustrated to come up with the perfect recipe. The only thing I noticed was that in order to reduce the cream sauce I had to cook it over med-low heat rather than low.

Buffalo Chicken Strips With Blue Cheese Salad

Serves 4 Prep time: 45 minutes Total time: 45 minutes

Although deep-frying requires cooking in a lot of oil, very little is absorbed by the chicken. The hot oil sears the exterior, sealing in juices and keeping out most of the fat.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons ketchup
1 to 2 tablespoons hot sauce
1 ½ cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled)
2 large eggs
1 ½ pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 16 equal-size strips
4 cups vegetable oil
3 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream
2 teaspoons light mayonnaise
2 teaspoons each water and fresh lemon juice
3 dashes hot sauce
course salt
¼ cup crumbled blue cheese
1 head romaine lettuce cored and chopped
4 medium carrots, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 medium celery stalks, quartered lengthwise and cut into 1-inch pieces.

Buffalo Chicken Strips

In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in ketchup and hot sauce. Remove from heat; cover and reserve sauce.
In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, 1 ½ teaspoons salt, and ¾ teaspoon pepper. Sprinkle ½ cup flour mixture evenly on a rimmed baking sheet; set aside. In a shallow bowl, whisk together eggs and 2 teaspoons water.

In small batches, dredge chicken in flour mixture, shaking off excess. Dip chicken in egg mixture to coat, shaking off excess. Dredge chicken in flour again. Place on floured sheet.
In a large (5-quart) saucepan, heat oil to 350° on a deep-fry thermometer (a pinch of flour should si le when dropped in the oil).

Add half the chicken; cook until golden brown, 3 to 6 minutes. Transfer to a paper-towel-lined plate. Return oil to 350°. Repeat with remaining chicken.

Toss chicken strips with reserved sauce (reheated if necessary) to coat. Serve with Blue Cheese Salad.

Note: A deep-fry thermometer is the best way to monitor the temperature of the oil. Adjust burner heat during cooking to maintain a steady temperature.

Blue Cheese Salad

In a large bowl, whisk together sour cream, mayonnaise, water, lemon juice, hot sauce, and ¼ teaspoon salt. Fold in blue cheese.

Add romaine lettuce, carrots, and celery; toss to combine. Serve immediately.

Source: Everyday Foods/PBS

The Secret of the Warm Bowl...

Fettuccine Alfredo

Serves 4 to 6 as a first course

Fresh pasta is the best choice for this dish; supermarkets sell 9-ounce containers of fresh pasta in the refrigerator section (see related article for tasting results). When boiling the pasta, undercook it slightly (even shy of al dente) because the pasta cooks an additional minute or two in the sauce. Note that Fettuccine Alfredo must be served immediately; it does not hold or reheat well. A warm bowl yields alfredo that is still creamy after five minutes.

1 1/2 Cups heavy cream
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
Table salt
1/2 teaspooon ground black pepper
9 ounces fresh fettuccine
1 1/2 ounces parmesan cheese, grated (about 3/4 cup)
1/8 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg

1. Bring 4 1/2 quarts water to rolling boil, covered, in large stockpot or Dutch oven. Using ladle or heatproof measuring cup, fill each individual serving bowl with about 1/2 cup boiling water; set bowls aside to warm.

2. While water comes to boil, bring 1 cup heavy cream and butter to simmer in 3- to 4-quart saucepan over medium heat; reduce heat to low and simmer gently until mixture reduces to 2/3 cup, 12 to 15 minutes. Off heat, stir in remaining 1/2 cup cream, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and pepper.

3. Add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta to boiling water; cook pasta until just shy of al dente. Reserve 1/4 cup pasta cooking water, then drain pasta. Meanwhile, return cream mixture to simmer over medium-high heat; reduce heat to low and add pasta, Parmesan, and nutmeg to cream mixture. Cook over low heat, tossing pasta with tongs to combine, until sauce coats pasta and pasta is just al dente and cheese is melted, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir in reserved pasta cooking water; sauce may look rather thin but will gradually thicken as pasta is served and eaten. Working quickly, empty serving bowls of water; divide pasta among bowls, tossing pasta to coat well with sauce. Serve immediately.

Source: Cooks Illustrated

Parmesan Risotto

I have made this dish twice now when I have guests over, and it was a hit both times. Since a lot of the flavor comes from the wine and parmesan cheese, I definitely recommend using good quality ingredients (i.e. Parmigiano Reggiano).

Serves 4

6 to 8 cups low-sodium chicken broth
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped shallots, (about 2)
1 cup Arborio or Carnaroli rice
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 to 6 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese, plus extra for grating or shaving
1/4 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat stock in saucepan over medium heat; keep at a low simmer. Heat olive oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium heat. Add shallots to oil, and cook, stirring, until translucent. Add rice, and cook, stirring, until rice begins to make a clicking sound like glass beads, 3 to 4 minutes.

Add wine to rice mixture. Cook, stirring, until wine is absorbed by rice.

Using a ladle, add 3/4 cup hot stock to rice. Using a wooden spoon, stir rice constantly, at a moderate speed. When rice mixture is just thick enough to leave a clear wake behind the spoon, add another 3/4 cup stock.

Continue adding stock 3/4 cup at a time and stirring constantly until rice is mostly translucent but still opaque in the center. Rice should be al dente but not crunchy. As rice nears doneness, watch carefully and add smaller amounts of liquid to make sure it does not overcook. The final mixture should be thick enough that grains of rice are suspended in liquid the consistency of heavy cream. It will thicken slightly when removed from heat.

Remove from heat. Stir in butter, Parmesan cheese, and parsley; season with salt and pepper. Divide the mixture among four shallow bowls, mounding risotto in the center, and grate or shave additional Parmesan over risotto. Serve immediately.

Source: Martha Stewart

Roasted Sausage, Potatoes and Onions

Threw this together last night and it turned out great. Minimal hands on time makes it a good weekday dinner at my house!

Hot or Sweet Italian Sausage (or a combination of both)
Small potatoes (quartered)
Onions (quartered)
Fresh Rosemary
Olive Oil
Course salt and freshly ground pepper (to taste)

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Put sausage, potatoes and onions on a rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle rosemary, salt and pepper to taste. Toss to coat. Roast, tossing occasionally, until sausage is browned and potatoes are tender, about 30 minutes.

Cookie Time!

After weeks of traveling and minimal cooking, my kitchen is seeing some action again this week. (Then on the road again next week.)

My husband's office has "cookie time" on Friday afternoons. Everyone takes turns signing up for his/her Friday to bring in a treat for the group. This is Matt's week, so tonight I will be busy in the kitchen making the following:

Chocolate-Peanut Butter Rice Krispie Treats

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

I can't wait to try both of them! YUM!