Peanut Butter Noodles

This came from allrecipes.com. 

Ingredients

8 ounces spaghetti (next time I will use udon noodles)

1 bunch green onions, sliced (white parts only)

2 tablespoons sesame oil

1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root (I used ginger paste)

1/3 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup hot water

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

1 teaspoon white sugar

1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

 

Directions

1.Cook pasta in a large pot of boiling water until done. Drain.

2. Combine oil and onions in a small skillet. Saute over low heat until tender. Add ginger; cook and stir for 1 to 2 minutes. Mix in peanut butter, soy sauce, water, vinegar, sugar, and red pepper flakes.

3.Toss noodles with sauce.

 

I threw some lightly salted peanuts on top of the pasta.

Another recipe I found used chicken broth, chile paste, honey and garlic in the sauce mixture.  I will add those the next time, they seem like a good addition.

International Potluck Day - more Mac and Cheese (baked)

When was the last time you made mac and cheese from scratch twice in one week?  This is a first for me.  I rarely make it, ever.  The crockpot mac and cheese was fantastic and I would have made it again for the potluck lunch but my crockpot still had mac and cheese in it. 

In reference to the title, at work, we have an annual International Potluck Day in which each person makes something from their country and shares it.  Everyone looks forward to this day each year.  The food is amazing.  Inevitably one wag brings in a platter of McDonald's hamburgers.  I opted to make the mac and cheese this year. 

Here is the recipe which I cobbled together from two recipes:

Mac and cheese:

·         16 oz (one box) uncooked elbow macaroni

·         4 tablespoons butter

·         About 12-14 oz grated sharp cheddar cheese

·         2 eggs, beaten

·         1/2 cup sour cream

·         1 (10 3/4 ounce) can condensed cheddar cheese soup

·         1 cup whole milk

·         One tablespoon dry mustard

·         1/2 teaspoon black pepper

·         1/2 teaspoon salt

 

Topping:

·         3 tablespoons butter

·         1 cup bread crumbs

 

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

 

Directions:

·         Boil the macaroni until al dente, drain.

·         In a medium saucepan, melt the butter and mix in the grated cheese. Stir until the cheese melts. 

·         Add the eggs, sour cream, soup, salt, milk, mustard and pepper and stir well.

·         Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a large casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese.  I forgot to set aside some grated cheddar cheese to put on the mixture but I had leftover grated gruyere cheese. 

·         Melt the butter in a saute pan and toss the bread crumbs to coat. Top the macaroni with the bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven.

Crock Pot Mac and Cheese

Warning - this is not low fat.  It is however sinfully good.

Ingredients:
 

2 cups uncooked macaroni

4 tablespoonsbutter, cut into pieces

2 1/2 cups grated sharp cheese (I used gruyere, which probably isn't all that sharp)

3 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup sour cream

1 (10 3/4 ounce) can condensed cheddar cheese soup

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup whole milk

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard  (what's with all the mac and cheese recipes that use dried mustard?)

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

 Directions:

Boil the macaroni in a 2 quart saucepan until tender. Drain and set aside.

In a medium saucepan, mix butter and cheese. Stir until the cheese melts.  Gruyere will be very goopy. 

In a crock pot, combine the cheese/butter mixture and add the eggs, sour cream, soup, salt, milk, mustard and pepper and stir well.

After all the above is combined, add drained macaroni and stir again.

Cook for 3 hours, stirring occasionally.  I cooked it on low - second to highest setting.

 Soooo good but soooo bad for you.

Blueberry muffins made with blood orange olive oil

Trying to play catch up on this blog.  It's futile, but I try.

I made blueberry muffins this morning and used blood orange olive oil (instead of regular) and also almond extract.  This recipe was fantastic.  The crumb topping mix could almost be halved, though.

http://allrecipes.com/recipe/to-die-for-blueberry-muffins/

Muffins:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 cup fresh blueberries

 

Crumb topping:
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

I used Blood Orange Olive Oil, and, added almost a teaspoon of almond extract.

Directions

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).     Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners. 

2.  Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder.   Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup.   Mix this with flour mixture.   Fold in blueberries.   Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture. 

3.  To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon.   Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking. 

4.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done. 

Vanilla. Roasted. Pears.

This recipe came from Smitten Kitchen!  I only used one pear and I didn't have any vanilla beans handy so I used bottled vanilla.  I eyeballed her recipe and cut down the amounts, but not very precisely.  Even if you don't like pears, this is sure to please. Drizzle the sauce over whipped cream.

Here is her recipe:

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 vanilla bean
1 1/2 pounds slightly-under-ripe, fragrant, medium pears, peeled if desired, halved though the stem and cored
2 tablespoons lemon juice
2 tablespoons water
2 tablespoon unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 375°F. Place the sugar in a small bowl. With a thin, sharp knife, split the vanilla bean lengthwise in half and scrape out the seeds. Stir the seeds into the sugar.

Arrange the pears in a large baking dish, cut-side up. Drizzle the lemon juice evenly over the fruit, then sprinkle with the sugar. Nestle the vanilla pod among the fruit. Pour the water into the dish. Dot each pear with some butter.

Roast the pears 30 minutes brushing them occasionally with the pan juices. Turn the pears over and continue roasting, basting once or twice, until tender and caramelized, 25 to 30 minutes longer (if the pears are small, test for doneness after 35 or 40 minutes of cooking; a paring knife poked into the thickest part of one should meet with no resistance).




http://smittenkitchen.com/2009/12/vanilla-roasted-pears/

Peachy Keen

I recently made a blueberry/peach cobbler that is posted on Smitten Kitchen. 

Peach Blueberry Cornmeal Cobbler


For the fruit
1 1/2 (about 4 cups) pounds peaches, pitted and cut into slices*
1 pint (about 2 cups) blueberries, rinsed and dried
2/3 cup packed dark-brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt


For the biscuit topping
3/4 cup (3 1/4 ounces) all-purpose flour
1/4 cup fine stone-ground cornmeal (yellow or white)
3 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 425°F (218°C).Toss peaches with blueberries, sugar, flour, lemon juice, cinnamon and salt in the bottom of a 2-quart ovenproof dish.

Make the biscuit dough: Stir together the flour, cornmeal, brown sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut the butter into the dry mixture with your fingertips, a fork or a pastry blender. Stir in buttermilk with a rubber spatula until a wet, tacky dough comes together.

Plop spoonfuls of the biscuit dough over the filling; don’t worry about covering entire surface. Bake until the cobbler’s syrup is bubbly and the biscuit tops are browned, about 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool slightly and scoop it into bowls. Top with whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, of if you’re having an accidental run-in with this cobbler before noon, plain yogurt.


http://smittenkitchen.com/2010/07/cornmeal-drop-biscuit-peach-blueberry-cobbler/


(NUMBER TWENTY-ONE in 2010)

Plum Crazy

AKA let's make a tart. 

I found a really interesting recipe in the Washington Post food section last week.  Tomatoes.  Peaches.  Plums.  A farmer's market bounty.  All in a deep dish pie dish.  Off we go!

http://projects.washingtonpost.com/recipes/2010/08/11/tomato-peach-plum-crisp/  From Betsy Garside of Washington.

Ingredients:

1 pound (about 3 medium) ripe tomatoes, cored and cut into thin wedges (about 3 cups)
1 1/2 pounds (2 of each) mixed peaches and red plums, peaches peeled and both fruits thinly sliced (about 3 cups
1/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
7 tablespoons flour
1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 cup pecan halves
5 tablespoons chilled salted butter, cut into half-inch pieces

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Have a deep-dish pie plate at hand.

Combine the tomatoes and stone fruit in a large bowl. Add the sugar and cornstarch; toss to coat evenly. Pour the mixture into the pie plate.

Combine the flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and pecans in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse 3 or 4 times, until the nuts are finely chopped. Add the chilled butter, and pulse about 5 times, just until the butter is chopped. (If you start to see clumps, stop. You're headed for cookie dough.)

Spread the topping evenly over the fruit. Transfer the pie plate to a baking sheet wide enough to catch drips.

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until the topping is lightly browned and the fruit is bubbling.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

(NUMBER TWENTY in 2010)

Easy Peasy Carrot Fennel Soup

I did a little bit of searching before I settled on this recipe.  The primary reason for my selection was because once I bought the fennel, I already had all of the other ingredients.  I was inspired to try this interesting combo by an old Books for Cooks recipe (book bought in London, in a little book shop in Notting Hill across the street from the travel book shop in The Movie) and then did some searching on the internet.  During that search I did in fact find another really interesting food blog, "My Man's Belly", which is now in my hall of fame to the right, too.  I plan to try Pamela's soup as well.  As always, if I vary the recipe, I write that far below. 
Ingredients


2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 medium fennel bulb, trimmed and thinly sliced; fronds reserved
1 1/2 pounds carrots, peeled and thickly sliced
1 large garlic clove, thinly sliced
1 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/3 cup fresh orange juice
1/4 cup sour cream
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Preparation

1.  In a 3-quart heavy saucepan, over medium heat, melt the butter until foamy. Add the fennel slices and cook, stirring, until softened. Add the carrots and garlic and cook another minute. Pour in 6 cups of water and season with salt. Simmer, covered, until the carrots are very tender, about 20 minutes.

2.  Remove the soup from the heat and stir in the orange juice, sour cream and reserved fennel fronds. Use the back of a spoon to mash some of the carrots and fennel, but leave the soup chunky. Season with salt and pepper.

http://events.nytimes.com/recipes/1772/2001/12/09/Carrot-and-Fennel-Soup/recipe.html

My changes:

Less water (4 cups) and in fact I was sorely tempted to use chicken stock but thought I'd give the actual recipe a shot first. 
Pre-cut thinly sliced carrots. 
Pre-minced garlic in a glass bottle (you know the kind).  In fact I also forgot to stir the darn stuff in the fennel/butter mixture which would have been better - I literally added it about 20 minutes into the last stage - the water reduction stage.
TIME:  I bet I had this simmering for an hour and a half.  I think the writer was nuts - 20 minutes would do nothing to those carrots, even the thin ones.  Let it simmer on down!
Probably closer to half a cup of sour cream.

I was skeptical, thinking it would be bland (water?) but it was actually very tasty.  This was even without settling overnight.  I am sure it will be even better tomorrow!

Let me know if you try it, I think you will like it.

(NUMBER SIXTEEN in 2010)

I'd like a wafer thin mint... another successful dinner party!

I invited my friends Colleen and Adam (AKA my Foodie Consultants) and Bethann and Dan.  We found out we all met because of friends of friends, and even though we rarely get to see the friends who introduced us we all remained friends with each other. 

Three bottles of wine, three apps, two main course components, dessert, and great conversation.  If there is a better way to spend an evening I don't want to know about it. 

The apps were:  pate with truffles; brie and cherry jam; and Colleen and Adam brought absolutely divine goat-cheese stuffed little red peppers - spicy and marinated in heavenly juice (I need to find out the name of the peppers).  Two baguettes, a bottle of prosecco, one of white Bordeaux (from the area of Entre deux Mers, in honor of Bethann's heritage) and we were well on our way to a food coma before the main course.  With the meal we had a Cab from California (via Wegmans). 

For the main course I made two standbys:  marinated tenderloin and mashed potatoes - Paula Deen's mashed potatoes, no less. 

The marinated tenderloins could not be easier.  I got the recipe from a book my friend Jody gave to me (and quite the cook she is, too).  Here it is:

Curry Glazed Beef Tenderloins

It makes 16-18 servings which clearly I did not need or want.  Adjust accordingly.  I bought 6 cuts of beef which were about half a pound each (worked out to about 3.5 lbs of beef) and with that I halved the below recipe.

1.25 cups of mushroom soy sauce or tamari sauce (I got the tamari sauce - it is basically a more intense soy sauce)
.33 cups honey
.25 cup curry powder
Two 4-lb tenderloin slabs (I got half pound slices)
olive oil

Whisk the tamari sauce, honey and curry powder.  Score the meat.  Put the meat in two gallon ziplocs and pour the marinade in each.  Mix well and then throw in the fridge overnight. 

To cook:  Heat oven to 500.  Tenderloins, with all marinade sauce, should go into a baking dish large enough to hold it all - I used a 13x9 cake pan.  Pour olive oil on top.  Roast the meat in the top third of the oven.  Every ten minutes, baste the juices on top of the meat.  30 minutes should be enough, I had them in there for almost 40 (last ten the gas was turned off) and they were moist and tender although not rare.  The last ten minutes probably weren't necessary.

Paula Deen's Mashed Potatoes

As it turned out, I used the 10 potatoes it called for but didn't pay attention to the MEDIUM in the book, and bought large ones. Oops.  I doubled up on the butter and sour cream because it was clear there were a lot of potatoes.  It turned out magnificently and in fact more butter wouldn't have hurt.

8-10 medium potatoes (it calls for red, I used regular ones)
1/2 cup hot milk (I used heavy cream)
1 stick of butter (I used two)
.5 cup of sour cream - I used a full one.

Slice potatoes about 1/4 inch thick.  Boil about 15 minutes.  Any old potato masher will work fine.  I threw in the two sticks of butter and put a lid on the potatoes (off heat) for about 10 minutes to get it nice and creamy.  Mash mash mash, then add the heavy cream and sour cream.  Mash mash mash. 

This stuff is SO EASY.  I really should do this more often. 

Bethann brought Rum Cake, which recipe will be put here later.  It was also quite good but we were all pretty full by then.  Oh yes, let's not forget the Twinings Tea I brought home from London. 

Time to take my tummy for a nap.  A run would be better, but, it's 35 degrees out and dark.  Maybe a nice walk tomorrow... 

I didn't take photos (of course, what is wrong with me??) so here is a photo taken in France earlier this year: