Foodie Friday: Easter Menu

In 2010, we - along with my parents - had dinner with Mike, Angie, Luke, and a tiny-little Dorothy. In 2011, we - just Brad and I - were traveling to Seattle. This year, it's just Brad and I for Easter.

I've been a bit of a slacker in the kitchen lately. So, I want to put together a real feast for Easter.

Here's what I'm thinking:
Roast Beef with Slow-Cooked Tomatoes and Garlic
Lemon Panko Parmesan Asparagus
Red, White, and Blue Mashed Potatoes
Carrot Cake (a family recipe)

The red cake plate seen above died a sad death in which the top cracked right off the base. 

I'm still a little sad about that.

Uncle Wally's Carrot Cake

Cake Ingredients:
2C flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
4 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
2 C grated carrots
3/4 C nuts
8 oz crushed pineapple, drained
2 C sugar
1 1/2 C oil
1/2 tsp salt

Frosting Ingredients:
6 oz cream cheese, softened
1/2 C melted butter
2 C powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 C nuts

Directions for cake:
Preheat oven to 350.

Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon. Set aside.

In another bowl, beat eggs. Add sugar, oil, salt, carrots, pineapple, and nuts. Stir mixture into flour.

Pour into greased 9 x 13 x 2 pan. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes.
I plan to ignore this part. I will bake in two round pans.

Remove from oven and cool on rack. Do not remove from pan. Frost - in pan - when cool.
Again, I will ignore this part. I want to make a layer cake.

Directions for frosting:
Combine cream cheese, butter, vanilla, and sugar. Beat until smooth. Use extra powdered sugar to sweeten.

And - you should be aware of this if you ever plan to eat at my house - I will eat some of the frosting (lick it from my fingers to be exact) before putting it on the cake. Don't worry, though. I never double dip.

Foodie Friday: Cheese Edition

It's been awhile since I've played along with Foodie Friday.
Today seemed like as good a day as any to jump back in.

It is a pleasure to share with you my latest poorly photographed but oh-so-tasty cheese plate.

Choice 1.
Under the dome (a gift from Em) is a personal favorite - Cremeaux.
Murray's describes it as having a "blooming" rind - what ever that means. I describe it has being total heaven. It's sort of like eating soft butter, but it tastes way more delicious.

I served it with a baguette and strawberry jam. I also really love it with a baguette and hot pepper jelly. Or just spread on some bread.

Choice 2.
In the middle is Cacio di Bosco - Pecorino with white truffles.
This is a hard cheese that smells faintly of truffles. It is salty and delicious and great for snack (except for a price tag of $30+ per pound). It's a splurge cheese for me.

I didn't serve this one with anything. I just sliced it up into little matchsticks.

Maybe some day I will buy this, grate it, and use it in Cacio di Pepe.

Choice 3.
And, on the right is Dunbarton Blue. 
It was the only WI cheese on the plate.

It's a raw milk, blued cheddar.

I attempted to serve it with bacon and honey. It was actually best eaten all by itself. The blue qualities weren't strong enough to need any accompaniment.

I would love this atop a big ol' cheeseburger.

All cheese was from our local cheese shop, Nala Fromagerie. After enough visits and enough tastes, I've really started to learn what I like.

One of my big foodie dreams is to arrange some sort of European tour of farms and cheese makers.  (I would guess such a trip would not be easy on the digestive system.) Italy and France, mostly, I would guess. Who's in?

Foodie Friday

Dinner Tuesday.

Sweet Potato Risotto
4 servings, I think


Combination of a recipe from Kalyn's Kitchen and Ezra Pound Cake.

1 lb sweet potatoes
2 tsp olive oil
2 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 C (about) vegetable (or chicken) broth

1 onion, chopped

1 Tbsp butter

1/2 C risotto

1 C white wine

1/2 C chopped walnuts

2/3 C mascarpone cheese

1/4 C chopped parsley

Salt and pepper, to taste

Peel sweet potatoes. Cut into 1" chunks.


Heat 1 tsp olive oil in large, heavy skillet. Saute sweet potatoes over medium heat, stirring occasionally. Cook for 8 - 10 minutes or until tender.


Adjust heat to low. Add 1 tsp olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Saute over low heat, stirring often, for 3-5 minutes more or until the sweet potatoes are all glazed with the vinegar. Set aside.


Meanwhile. . . 


Warm broth over low heat. The broth doesn't need to simmer or boil. Simply keep it warm. Adding warm broth to the risotto speeds the cooking process.


In a heavy pot, saute onions for about 5 minutes in 1 Tbsp butter. 


When tender, add risotto. Saute, stirring often for 2 - 3 minutes or until rice is slightly transparent.


Add wine. Cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until rice has absorbed most of the liquid.

Add about 1 C broth to risotto. Cook, stirring often, until risotto has absorbed most of broth. Continue adding broth 1/2 C at a time, stirring often, until risotto reaches desired consistency. Adjust heat, as needed, keeping mixture at a simmer.

As the risotto cooks, toast the walnuts over low heat. Stir frequently for about 10 minutes.

When the risotto is ready, it will look plump. It will taste soft but not mushy. It will sit in a beautiful, thick, gravy-like sauce.

Stir mascarpone into risotto. Add parsley. Stir. Add walnuts and sweet potatoes. Stir carefully; if you stir too aggressively, the sweet potatoes will get mashed.

Foodie Friday

I worked at the movies. It's where I met Brad. You learn a thing or two about making (mass producing, actually) popcorn when you spend every Friday and Saturday night for three years working at the movies.

My popcorn tastes have been greatly refined in the 10 years since my illustrious career in the film industry.

This week I made a personal favorite - popcorn with truffle oil and cheese.

Cook time: less than 5 minutes
Serves: just me

4 Tbsp popcorn
3 tsp vegetable oil
2 tsp truffle oil
1/4 C finely grated cheese (I went with BellaVitano Gold)

Head the oil. Pop the corn. Slowly pour the truffle oil over the popcorn while stirring. Immediately toss with the cheese.

Easy as that.

I enjoyed this particular batch on the couch with some red wine while chatting it up with Katrina and watching Grey's Anatomy.

Savory Saturday

Savory Saturday:
What you call your Foodie Friday post when the following things interfered with writing said post on Friday night.

• There was wine to be drunk (Acorn Sangiovese to be exact).
• There was a pre-dinner meltdown that may or may not have involved me standing in front of the refrigerator shouting about mushrooms and standing in front of the pantry shouting about dried cranberries. This pre-dinner meltdown may also have resulted in husband going immediately to the grocery store to get missing mushrooms and cranberries along with some flowers.
• There was a mediocre but better than the rest of the season episode of Grey's Anatomy to be watched.
• There was conversation to be had with Katrina.
• There was a need to go to bed early and fall asleep watching Dawson's Creek.

So, I present - on Saturday morning - what I ate for dinner on Friday night.

Entree: Chicken and Artichokes in White Wine Sauce

Side dish 1: Steamed Carrots

Side dish 2: Brussels Sprouts with Balsamic and Cranberries

Side dish 3: Brown rice

Notice the mess on my kitchen table. I was much more interested in eating than cleaning it up.

Thoughts on the meal:

Annie's Eats and I have a complicated relationship. In my experience, her recipes are either right on, completely bland, or impossible to make (that applied to a margarita cupcake I attempted). This recipe was good, though. Cutting the chicken in half (as the recipe suggested) would have saved me a lot of cooking time.

The carrots were a back-up. We are not fans of the Brussels sprout around here. Yet, I made them. I want to like Brussels sprouts. This recipe, my friends, changed how I feel about this particular sprout. I guess if you coat anything with syrupy Balsamic and throw in some cranberries it might taste wonderful.

My original plan did call for making an incredibly complicated wild rice recipe from Cook's Illustrated. I ditched that plan after previously mentioned lack-of-ingredient pre-dinner melt down.

Monday Meal (Foodie Friday 4)

Monday Meal is what you call the post that should have been Foodie Friday.
You decide not to call it Munchie Monday; that sounds a little suspicious.

Tonight we had what I like to fondly refer to as a "Classed-Up Lunch Lady Dinner." We probably should have served it on a cafeteria tray, wore hair nets, drank milk out of cartons, and used a spork.

The Menu:
Green Salad with Simple Vinaigrette Dressing
Tuna Noodle Casserole
Sweet Potato Tator Tots

I have an unabashed love of tuna casserole. There was one legendary Christmas in which my brother, sister, and I spent lots of time at my grandparents' house. My grandma made tuna casserole. My sister hated it so much she actually ran from the table and threw it up. She's always had a flair for the dramatic; I have no idea where she got that from, no idea who would have been a role model for that behavior.

Granny's tuna casserole was filled with canned mushrooms and cream of mushroom soup and topped with shoestring potatoes. My tuna casserole involves cheddar cheese soup and peas and carrots. It's more of a mac and cheese with tuna (one of my favorite lunches) than a tuna casserole.

Comfort on a plate.

For what it's worth, I did make my "Classed-up Lunch Lady Dinner" an adult dinner by washing it down with a nice glass of wine. Turns out red wine is a nice accompaniment to tuna casserole and tator tots.

Foodie Friday 3

 Before:

After:

The Menu:
Spaghetti with Pecorino Romano (Cacio e Pepe)
(modified) Nuevo TX Waldorf Salad

The Situation:
Dinner alone reading blogs. (See computer screen - was enjoying a post from Hooked on Houses)

Spaghetti with Pecorino Romano
Makes 2 generous servings


4 oz. finely grated (about 2 cups) Pecorino Romano cheese
2 oz. coarsely grated (about 1 cup) Pecorino Romano cheese
1 lb. spaghetti
Table salt
2 Tbsp heavy cream
2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 tsp. finely ground black pepper

Bring 2 quarts water to boil in large Dutch oven. Add pasta and 1 1/2 tsp salt; cook, stirring frequently until al dente. Reserve about 1 1/2 C cooking water.

Set pasta aside.

Combine 1 C cooking water with finely grated Pecorino until smooth. Whisk in cream, oil, and black pepper.


Gradually pour cheese mixture over pasta, toosing to coat. Let pasta rest 1 to 2 minutes, tossing frequently, adjusting consistency with remaining 1/2 C reserved pasta water.


Let sit for a few minutes. Consistency will adjust. Cheese will stick - deliciously - to noodles.


Serve, passing coarsely grated Pecorino separately.

Notes on pasta: This is delicious. It's a favorite around my house. The quality of the ingredients really matters. Splurge for imported pasta and the best cheese you can find. Also, it really does taste better after sitting for a few minutes. And, it isn't particularly great re-heated. Best to just eat it all.

(modified) Nuevo TX Waldorf Salad
Makes 4 servings

Rosemary Vinaigrette:
1/3 C fresh rosemary leaves
2 cloves garlic
1/4 medium-size red onion
1 Tbsp Dijon mustard
1/4 C honey
1/2 C balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 tsp salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3/4 C extra-virgin olive oil

Salad:
1/2 C pecans
3 Granny Smith apples
4 C greens (romaine and spinach)
1/2 C crumbled blue cheese
1/2 C bacon crumbles
2 C cherry tomatoes, halved

For the Vinaigrette:
Blend the rosemary, garlic, red onion, mustard, honey, vinegar, salt and pepper for about 15 seconds in a food processor. Pour 3/4 cup olive oil through the feed tube in a slow stream, and blend until the mixture emulsifies. 

To Make the Salad:
Toast nuts in a pan over low heat until you can smell them. Cool and coarsely chop.

Core and slice the apples. Dip in lemon juice to keep from browning.

Add romaine, spinach, apples, pecans, blue cheese, bacon, and tomatoes to a large bowl. Toss gently.

Add some of the dressing. Toss to coat. Continue adding dressing until desired mixture is reached.

Serve immediately.

Notes on salad: I had some big issues with the dressing on this salad; there was too much rosemary. Next time, I would half the rosemary. Also, I used less than half the amount of dressing made by the recipe to dress the salad. I'd still make it again, though.

Foodie Friday 2

(Playing along with Katrina.)

Let me preface this re-cap of our Thanksgiving dinner by saying. . . I do not feel like eating anything today.

I just needed to get that out of the way before I launch into telling you all the delectable details of my favorite holiday.

Where: Angie's house
Who: Barb, Brad, Angie, Mike, Luke, and Dottie.
When: Dinner at 11 AM, Dessert at 3 PM

This year's tablescape featured art by Luke, a hand-crafted burlap table runner by Angie, fresh flowers in Mason jars, and candy turkeys.

The candy turkeys, lovingly assembled by Angie, were also prominently featured on the food buffet. (We served buffet style this year to eliminate any temptation for little hands.)

There were two kinds of relish - can-berries (provided by me) and relish (provided by Angie). Her fresh relish kicked my can-berries ass.

Here is the full spread. Yes. We had all of that food for four adults and two littles.

I supplied the stuffing. I went with Pioneer Woman's recipe again this year.

I also supplied the sweet potatoes. Again, Pioneer Woman's recipe.

Here are the annual pictures of the plates. Note: Mine is gravy- and dark meat-free. Brad's is not. Eww.

We needed a considerable break between dinner and dessert. The littles took a nap. Then, we (except for me - I napped) watched the "Gs" (Luke's name for the Packers) beat the "Blues" (Luke's name for the Lions).

The dessert spread wasn't nearly as elegant as the dinner. I made a pumpkin mascarpone pie (two, actually), pumpkin cheesecake, and mascarpone whipped cream.

Despite the fact that I have been making pumpkin cheesecake with the same recipe since high school I somehow managed to use the wrong recipe. I wasn't particularly happy with the final product.

There you have it. Thanksgiving 2011. It may not have been the most elegant of affairs, but it was filled with love, gratitude, and laughter.

Foodie Friday

Menu:
Sweet Potato Risotto from Ezra Pound Cake
Grilled Kale Salad

Notes on the Risotto:

• Called for a non-traditional risotto preparation; simply boiled the risotto in salted water until tender. I used chicken broth instead of water, and the finished product looked nothing like risotto. . . until I stirred in the magical mascarpone.
• Someday I would like to try this with Rondele.

Notes on / Directions for the Grilled Kale Salad:
I have Katrina to thank for this.
Ingredients:
Olive Oil, a liberal amount
Red Onion, sliced thinly
Kale, leaves torn from stem into bite-sized pieces
Tomato
Blue Cheese
Croutons (if you're into that sort of thing)
Salt & Pepper
Cook the onions for awhile in some olive oil. Add the kale and a bit more olive oil. Cook until wilted. Top with tomato and blue chesese. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Note -
Katrina has started a fun new game: Foodie Friday. Post on your blog about something you ate during a particular week. Include food photos and recipe / cookbook links. Share a link to your post on Katrina's blog.

P.S. This recipe contains sweet potatoes. Therefore, it fits in my current obsessive trend of posting about Thanksgiving.