My Little Protégée!!!

I was at the bank recently opening a new checking account (new year, new bank, new stuff.....) and as one of the security measures the bank takes you must pick a "keysite" for the access to your online account.  It's just a picture and they are large variety to choose from.  I pick a photo of a bunch of tomatoes! I told the woman at the bank that I picked this because I like to cook.  She then asked me if I was "a good cook".  My response was that "I've been told that I am."  To which she said "then you are a good cook."  I do know this I enjoy cooking and especially cooking for others.  I gives me such great satisfaction to prepare meals for others and watch them as the devour it and hopefully are satisfied by it. 

That being said let me introduce you to someone who proudly professes to be a "good cook!"  This is Julia and she reminds me of what a great cook she is every time we are in the kitchen creating some sort of fantastic dish.  Even yesterday when we were working together to create a wonderful tuna salad for grampa for his sandwiches she reminded me as she sprinkled in the thyme "I'm a good cook." 

More on WHAT we are creating here later!!

I will say this for her - she is not afraid to get her hands dirty.  She is willing to get right in there and work at making a wonderful meal.  Now if I could just get her to try eating them!!

Do you have someone who watches and mimics you?  One of the best ways to keep ourselves in check is to remind ourselves that little eyes are watching!! And this one has eagle eyes when it comes to watching me!!

Candied Jalapenos!!!

Sorry about the delay in posting anything - I was away on vaca in AZ!!!  Arizona is so beautiful this time of year especially since at home on the east coast they had snow while I was enjoying 80 and 90 degree weather!!  Every time I go to AZ now I always bring home fresh tortillas - we pick them up while they are still warm from the store.  They are fantastic and make for a great meal each time.  This time I not only brought home fresh tortillas but also jalapenos - 3 lbs. that is!!!  I had read on The Pioneer Woman's blog about Candied Jalapenos (Cowboy Candy) and knew I had to try it. You start with 3 lbs. of fresh jalapenos.  I should have taken a pic of the peppers before I sliced them.  They were bright green, firm and large - nothing like what we get around here!  I sliced them all and put them in a bowl to begin the canning.

Yup - seeds and all!!

Next you cook them with sugar, vinegar, turmeric, garlic, celery seed and cayenne pepper.  Only 4 minutes!!!

The smell was incredible

Next they go into the lovely little canning jars.  I must admit that I did sneak a lick off the spoon when it was all said and done.  The syrup is sweet and hot - very weird but deliciousness!!!

 After they are in the jars you boil the syrup a little longer then pour the syrup in the jars and process the jars in boiling water for about 10 minutes.  I ended up with 14 jars of peppers and 1 jar of syrup.  The syrup I'll use on some mexican chicken or maybe add to a mexican tortilla soup!!!

A pyramid of sweet and hot!!

I think next time I will probably cram a few more peppers into each jar but all in all there are plenty of peppers in each jar.  Some of you can look forward to getting these little babies in your Christmas baskets this year!! Here's the recipe just in case you would like to give them a shot yourself.  http://tastykitchen.com/recipes/canning/candied-jalapenos-cowboy-candy/

Pasta with ?? Sauce

I've been reading a few blogs over the past few days looking for something different to have for dinner.  If you know me I rarely make the same thing twice - much to my husband's chagrin!!  This week at Shaw's they had some blocks pecorino romano cheese on sale and a coupon attached discounted it by an additional $2.  I bought two and figured I would find something to do with them.  Tonight I gave it shot.  This was the result!!  Excuse the photo I just have a little digital camera for now - hopefully I'll graduate to the real thing some day!!

See all the cheese in there!!!

This is the recipe I created:

13 oz whole wheat spaghetti
6 tbsp butter (I know - not necessarily healthy but it tastes delicious)
1/2 red onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 sherry or white wine of your choice
1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced in half
1/2 lb pecorino romano cheese, grated
Olive oil
Salt & pepper

Cook the pasta according to package directions - make sure its a little al dente!! If the pasta is done before the sauce, after you drain the pasta sprinkle a little olive oil on it and toss to keep it from sticking together.  In a large pan melt the butter, add the onion and cook until the onions start to caramelize (turn brown).  Add the garlic, salt and pepper and continue to cook for a minute or 2.  Pour in the sherry/white wine and simmer for another minute or 2.  Add the tomatoes - simmer for a minute.  Remove from the heat and toss in the pasta.  If the pasta seems dry add a bit more olive oil and toss.  Sprinkle in the cheese and toss so the cheese is evenly distributed throughout the dish.  Reserve a little bit of cheese to put on the top of each bowl.  Taste and add salt and pepper if needed.

The taste wasn't bad but I don't know what to call it.  Any suggestions?  I also think the next time I will add some greenery - needs some spinach, broccoli rabe, capers!!! Maybe even some pine nuts for a bit of a crunch.  The possibilities are endless.

Bacon! Bacon! Bacon!

Oops sorry - focus Theresa!!  What are you creating in your kitchen? Let me know.

Chicken Marsala Two Ways

When Bryan and I were living alone I would adapt my menus to fit what we both like and don't like.  I like mushrooms - he doesn't.  He likes squash - I do not!!  This meant that we did not have things like these veggies in our diet.  Fast forward to today and now my son, his wife and kids live with us!!  Score for me!!  Andrew likes mushrooms.  Amber likes squash.  A match made in heaven right?  Works for me and frankly that's all that counts since I'm the chef!!

For dinner tonight was Chicken Marsala.  I love marsala - like wanna rub it all over my hands and lick them clean!! I very rarely make it because Bryan doesn't like mushrooms!! Tonight was different though - Andrew was there.  I made two - that's right TWO pans of Chicken Marsala - one with mushrooms and one without mushrooms.  I also made the sauces two different ways - one with a rue to start and one where I used cornstarch and liquid to thicken the sauce in the end.

You may be wondering why there are only 3 pieces of chicken when there are 4 adults for dinner.  Amber doesn't like sauces - don't ask me explain it's just a thing she has.  Her chicken was on the counter with no sauce when I took the pic.

As you can also see from the pic I am a very messy chef.  Sauce is splattered everywhere.  But I've heard this is a sign of a genius at work!! Don't know. What you can't see in the photo is the prosciutto!! Yes ma'am there is Italian bacon in there!!! Everything is good with a little bacon - for that matter everything is good with a little Italian!!

What'd you make for dinner last night?  Do you have to adapt your menus to fit what likes and don't likes are in your house?  Let me know. 

Weekend Wrap-Up

Louise and I headed to the Cape around 11:30 a.m. on Saturday.  I wasn't so sure it was going to be a comfortable weekend because of the mugginess but once you drove over the bridge the weather seemed to change.  Don't get me wrong it was muggy but not nearly as bad as at home.  What a difference it makes just going over the bridge!!  We took a nice leisurely drive to Dennisport and, in true girl fashion, we chatted the whole ride.  Once we got to the house in Dennisport we went inside the house and opened up all the windows and doors.  It's like being in another world there - so quite, so calming, no hussle and bussle.  I soooo needed this.  We then quickly got started on prep work which took all of about 45 minutes - Louise had already decorated the place with fall colors and scented candles.  Next, more chatting with Louise - hope I didn't tire her out but I really enjoyed our time alone!!

The girls arrived and we got started right away on dinner! I happened upon a couple of recipes which included bourbon - not that I'm a bourbon person or drinker but I thought we could give it shot - huh no pun intend!!!  First up with the spinach salad with Bourbon Brown Sugar Dressing.

Here's the recipe:

Bourbon Brown Sugar Salad Dressing (for Spinach Salad)

Recipe By :Bima Restaurant, Portland, Oregon
Serving Size : 0 Preparation Time :0:00
Categories : Restaurant Salads and Salad
Dressings

Amount Measure Ingredient -- Preparation Method
-------- ------------ --------------------------------
5 tablespoons firmly packed brown sugar -- plus
1 teaspoon firmly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons molasses -- plus
2 teaspoons molasses
1 tablespoon bourbon
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1 cup olive oil
salt

In a small bowl or the bowl of a food processor or blender, mix together
the brown sugar, molasses, bourbon and balsamic vinegar. Slow whisk in
the olive oil.

(If using a food processor or blender, slowly pour the olive oil into the
vinegar mixture with the machine running.) The dressing should be dark
brown and thick. Taste and add salt as needed, Chill and serve over a
salad of spinach leaves, mushrooms, red onion and blue cheese.

Source:
" Oregonian FoodDay, April 2, 1996 "
Yield:
" 1 1/2 cups "

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Per serving: 2375 Calories (kcal); 216g Total Fat; (81% calories from fat);
0g Protein; 113g Carbohydrate; 0mg Cholesterol; 50mg Sodium
Food Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 0 Lean Meat; 0 Vegetable; 1/2 Fruit; 43
Fat; 7 Other Carbohydrates



I have to tell you I really liked it.  Next time I think I'd thin the dressing a little with more olive oil but it was really good and the blue cheese provided a nice contract to the sweetness of the dressing.

For dinner was Bourbon Pecan Chicken! This was so delicious.  It was really easy and the sauce was excellent.  I highly recommend serving this dish to family or guests.  I served it with plain white rice and stemmed fresh broccoli.  I kept the sides simple so as to not take away from the main focus of the dish - The Chicken!!

The recipe for the chicken came from Allrecipes.com.  Here's the link:  http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Bourbon-Pecan-Chicken/Detail.aspx?prop24=etaf and you can recalculate the recipe for as little as two people!!

Dessert was made compliments of Louise.  It was a perfect accompaniment to the dinner (and we didn't even coordinate).  It had an Oreo cookie and butter base (everything taste good with butter - I'm just saying) and the middle was made with Cool Whip, sweetened condensed milk and strawberries.  The outside of it is "frosted" with Cool Whip too!! You'll have to get the recipe for this from Louise though.

The rest of evening was spent playing games (Apples to Apples and Taboo).  We laughed so hard at times. 

In the morning was a wonderful breakfast provided by Brenda.  They are called Dutch Pancakes and OMGoodness they are delicious.  If you have any sense of reason you WILL try these.  They seemed easy enough to make and the taste was just wonderful.

Anything with chocolate is wonderful

Chelsea covered her's with maple syrup and nuts!

So that covers the meals and some of the fun.  I have to start planning the next party - any suggestions?  I love your feedback.  Will keep you posted on my life as a Guinea Pig!!

And, of course a special thank you goes out to Louise for allowing us to stay at her place!  What a wonderful hostess!!

Thank you my dear!

Apple Cake

Ok so as you know I check out many blogs during the day and one of my favorites is www.thepioneerwoman.com. She has great stories, recipes, ideas and just an all around nice person to read. So the other day I was searching for some apple pie recipes cuz I have a whole bushel that is going to rot if I don't get my butt in gear and do something with them. Anyway I digress. So The Pioneer Woman had a recipe for Apple Cake (check out her blog for the recipe). I know, I know I was supposed to be looking for apple pie recipes but I'm easily distracted. Back to the Apple Cake - one thing you should know about this woman she is NOT afraid of butter! She loves it. The recipe sounded easy enough and I could cook it in my cast iron pan - no greasing and flouring the cake pans, no frosting, this is a recipe for me.

When I took this baby out of the oven she was bubbling and oozing. And when I say oozing it was all over my oven bottom. So after I opened all the windows, turned on the fans and shut off the smoke the detectors I took this pic of it. By the time I got back to the cake it wasn't bubbling anymore but you can trust me - it was wonderful to see all that butter and sugar mixing and bubbling to make a wonderful caramel all around the outside of the cake.

Next you have to flip the cake! Haha. It wasn't as difficult as I thought. I did manage to get the whole thing on the plate without slippage.

Now for the taste. I sliced the baby while it was still warm and put a scope of Starbucks Vanilla Ice Cream on the side. The taste was wonderful! So check out The Pioneer Woman and find this recipe - you must try it.

Tomorrow its back to making pies and freezing them for the winter. Half a bushel down - half to go!!!

Leftovers!!

One of the great things about growing up in the McDermott house is that you could watch Ellie create a terrific meal out of whatever was leftover in the fridge. Remember the garbage soup!!!! Anyway I had some leftover marinated mozzarella from the Swap Party and wondered what am I going to do with this. Now mind you I have been nibbling on them at night - but to eat all of it by myself. That's just too much. So when you think mozzarella you think italian - pasta. So I started there. I cooked up some whole wheat pasta and smothered it with leftover sauce. Then I added the leftover mozzarella, some white wine and parmasen cheese. Mix the whole thing together put it in a baking dish and topped it with more cheese. The more cheese the better it tastes.

I gotta say it tasted pretty good. So thanks Mom for showing us what to do with all the leftovers in the fridge.

What's for Dinner?

So tonight I tried a new recipe (which I often do to my family) - Cajun Chicken Pasta. I got the recipe from a blog I read regularly - The Pioneer Woman - you should check it out sometime. Anyway back to my favorite subject - FOOD and COOKING!! Let's start from the beginning!

Cut up the chicken into cubes. Easy enough!!

Cut up the Roma tomatoes! Again still pretty simple.

Cut up the peppers and onions! And the garlic - think I have enough on the top!!!

I wish you could smell this!!! The Cajun spices are roaring on this chicken!

Once I put the veggies in the pan and that garlic started cooking - oooo mama!!

Now for the sauce - deglaze the pan and add cream!! Does it get much better than this - Oh yea it does - now the pasta!!!

Oh la la!!! As for me and hubby - we'd like more spice - a lot more spice but the overall flavor was delicious.

On a side note, this recipe is not for the faint of heart - as with most recipes from The Pioneer Woman - she uses butter and cream (yes even heavy cream). But if you feel like treating yourself to something a little decadent then you should definitely try this. What did you have for dinner? Drop me a comment and let me know.

Coffee & Chocolate!!

So yesterday there was supposed to be a huge a storm here but true to form with living in New England it just didn't happened as they said it would! What a surprise. Anyway because of the "storm" I left work early and came home to finish some of my Valentine's Day cookies. So I found this recipe on one of the blogs I read regularly, www.thecoupongoddess.blogspot.com (check her out she has great ideas on saving money). Anyway it is basically a sugar cookie but made with ground coffee and they you cover it with chocolate. I don't know what's better than coffee and chocolate. So I made a batch the other night and as they are cooking it smells like coffee!!! It was wonderful. So during the "storm" I came home and covered them with chocolate!!! Take a look!

I haven't tried one yet - trying to save them for Valentine's Day!!! Anyone who's here on Valentine's Day might get one if I don't eat them all myself!!! Have a great day everyone!!! Leave me a comment and let me know what things you're doing for Valentine's Day!!

Preparation!

So once again in true New England style I'm cooking out on the grill. The only difference this time is that its 8:00 AM! Yes you read that right 8:00 AM. And oh yes - it was 21 degrees!!!!! My neighbors I'm sure think I'm the crazy lady that lives on the block. But since our schedules are so messed up and I never know how early or late the hubby will be home I thought I should plan ahead. This way he won't have to cereal for dinner at 8:00 PM.

So last night I marinade some chicken breasts in a tomato basil dressing. And this morning I lit the grill and slowly grilled them. They look great and tonight I may cook up some pasta and alfredo sauce and toss in the chicken or I could make a large salad and throw some cut up chicken in it. Or I could even just cook up some potato and veggies and heat up the chicken. The possibilities are endless! Any way just thought I'd share what the crazy lady in Plymouth is doing this morning. Have a great day!

Any way just thought I'd share what the crazy lady in Plymouth is doing this morning. Have a great day!

COOKIES!!!

So I tried my hand for the first time at decorating cookies. The baking part is definitely easier! First the royal icing. Easy enough to make but when you don't have the right equipment - tough to work with. First you are supposed to start by outlining the cookie!!!

So far so good!! Next you need to thin the icing - just a few tablespoons of water to thin it!! Then you just need to file it in. Just like coloring in the lines!!! Only thing is either I didn't thin the icing enough or I didn't make enough icing. Oh well - live and learn.

Next comes the decorating part. Oh my! I think I need to take a class on this. My piping kept coming to a point on the end and when I got to the part of adding the dots!! Oh wait till you see.

Last I decided to add color to these beauties. So a little red seemed appropriate. But the red dots came out as small red chip like treats. I did at least have decorating tips for my zip lock bags but really think I need to try taking a class to learn fully how to do this. Have to check out when Michaels is having another class!!

So that is my day of baking. I wouldn't call it a complete success but the only way to have success is to attempt it in the first place. Next on the menu is Coffee Sugar Cookies decorated with chocolate!!! I think this will be easier!!!