Another dinner party!

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Late 2012

pork tenderloin dish
gougeres

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.

Barefoot Contessa - my first recipe

This was sooooo easy, and so good.  I'm now hooked on her show. 

• 3 tbsp olive oil
• 1 French Baguette, cut into cubes (I just used my fingers and pulled them apart)
• coarse salt and freshly cracked black pepper
• 4 roma tomatoes, diced (I used tomatoes on the vine)
• 2 garlic cloves, minced (I always use the pre-minced ones, in olive oil)
• large handful of fresh basil, roughly chopped (I bought an entire plant.  Which died in my fridge afterwards).
• 1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup fresh mozzarella cheese, grated (I forgot this)

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F and grease an oven dish. Heat oil in a large non-stick skillet, on medium high heat, and place in the cubed baguette pieces. Coat each cubed baguette with the oil and let it brown on all sides, season with salt and pepper.
2. Stir in the diced roma tomatoes and the minced garlic. Let the tomatoes cook down for a good 3 minutes or so. Quickly add in the handful of roughly chopped fresh basil and stir in the freshly grated Parmesan cheese. Take the tomato and bread mixture off the heat and pour it into the prepared baking dish. Sprinkle the fresh mozzarella cheese and bake it in the oven for a good 20 minutes or until golden brown.

I put the parm on just before it went into the oven, and no mozz.

It was great out of the oven, reheating it not so much.

This is more or less like lazy bruschetta.

French Onion Soup

I last made this well over a year ago.  Fall is coming in, and this is so hearty and so good.  You might need scissors to cut the cheese as you spoon it out, though!

In my blog-goal news:  I am so very far behind I'm worried I may not catch up.  Only three months left in the year and I have three vacations planned before the end of November (short ones, mind you, but even being away for a week takes a toll on meeting the goal).  Out of 52 meals I should have cooked this year, I may only be at about 20 or so.  32 totally new meals have to be cooked in the next three months.  For me, this is a dizzying pace.  Those of you who are chortling as you read this, have a heart please. 

The recipe:
6 large red onions, peeled and thinly sliced.
Olive oil
1/4 teaspoon of sugar
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 cups of beef stock or chicken stock
1/2 cup of dry white wine
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon of dry thyme
Salt and pepper
8 slices of toasted French bread
1 1/2 cups of grated Swiss Gruyere with a little grated Parmesan cheese

In a large saucepan, saut the onions in the olive oil on medium high heat until well browned, but not burned, about 30 minutes. Add the sugar about 10 minutes into the process to help with the carmelization.

Add garlic and saut for 1 minute. Add the stock, wine, bay leaf, and thyme. Cover partially and simmer until the flavors are well blended, about 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Discard the bay leaf.

To serve you can either use individual oven-proof soup bowls or one large casserole dish. Ladle the soup into the bowls or casserole dish. Cover with the toast and sprink with cheese. Put into the broiler for 10 minutes at 350 degrees F, or until the cheese bubbles and is slightly browned. Serve immediately.

Serves 4-6.

Would an Aubergine by any other name taste as sweet?

Eggplant...  aubergine...  melanzane...  I prefer aubergine.  It's a beautiful word and it rolls off the tongue.  Aubergine sounds sophisticated.  Colorful.  Stylish.  The word eggplant is a harsh thud - earthy and farm-fresh - and does not hint of vivid colors. 

This blog post has a dual purpose.  One:  I have conquered yet another recipe.  Two (and I hope will improve my posts from now on):  I have learned a little bit about food styling thanks to an old friend Kavey and a delightful new blog I found through Kavey's site called Culinary Travels, written by Georgina.  You can find Kavey and Georgina's links in my "food and wine porn" link list.


As luck would have it, Kavey's latest blog post was about a seminar she attended on food styling and photography.  Georgina had a similar recent post with detailed tips about food photography as well.  Armed with some ideas, I took some photos this evening with my Canon 30D and 35mm F1.4L lens.  A lens with a max aperture of F1.4 can have some really tight DOF shots which makes for some interesting effects.  You can also hand hold a shot with that size of aperture - no flash!

After all that, I could not decide which shot I preferred to highlight for this post.  I narrowed it down to two shots on different plates.  If you are so inclined, feel free to vote on which you like better.  Muchas Gracias!

PLEASE CLICK ON PHOTOS TO SEE THE WHOLE SHOT.

Here is the recipe I made tonight.  Incredibly easy, delicious, and yes, crispy.  I found it here:

http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1750,144190-254206,00.html

EASY CRISPY EGGPLANT


2 small eggplants  (I only used one)
1/2 c. fine dry bread crumbs
2 eggs
4 tablespoons freshly minced parsley  (omitted)
1/3 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp. dried Italian seasoning (I used a McCormick's spice blend of garlic, onion, and a few other herbs in place of all spices listed here)
1/4 tsp. ea. celery seed, paprika (optional)
1/4 tsp. ea. garlic and onion powder
salt and pepper
3 cloves garlic, whole  (I used the pre-chopped-and-steeping-in-olive-oil garlic in a glass bottle).
3 tablespoons olive oil (you need more than this!)

Wash and slice eggplant and sprinkle generously with salt. Allow to sit out for 30 minutes. Rinse and pat dry.
Set out 2 shallow dishes or trays.

Into the first tray, measure bread crumbs, parsley, celery seed, 1/2 of the cheese, paprika, garlic and onion powder.
In the second tray, beat the 2 eggs well with a fork. Add the chopped parsley and the other half of the cheese.
Heat a pan with 1/4 inch olive oil. Add the garlic in whole pieces; as the oil toasts the garlic, mash it into the oil with the tines of a fork to flavor the oil; remove before browning. Meanwhile, dip the eggplant into the egg mixture, turn to coat both sides; dip and coat both sides in the bread crumb mixtures. Fry in hot olive oil over medium-high heat for 5-10 minutes or until golden on both sides and eggplant is tender in center. If eggplant is later to be baked in a casserole, fry only until edges are browned as cooking will be finished in the oven.

Serve as is, seasoned to taste with salt and pepper, or bake in a casserole dish for 30 minutes at 375°F topped with grated Parmesan, mozzarella and pasta sauce.  (I left out the pasta sauce for this last step).

Here is the other photo:

(NUMBER NINETEEN in 2010)

I'm keen for Quinoa

Which must be like saying "I'm Cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs" but in a more mature way.

That is the theory, at least.  It's bubbling downstairs, I'll soon take a bite.  This is a slight break from Five Easy Pieces - to resume later this week.

Here is the recipe:

Baked Quinoa With Spinach and Cheese


By MARTHA ROSE SHULMAN for the NYTimes

1 6-ounce bag baby spinach
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 plump garlic cloves, minced
4 cups cooked quinoa, (1 cup uncooked)
2 large eggs
3 ounces Gruyère cheese, grated (3/4 cup)
1 1/2 teaspoons chopped fresh sage
1 ounce Parmesan, grated (1/4 cup)

1. Preheat the oven to 400ºF. Oil a 2-quart gratin or baking dish.
2. Heat a medium frying pan or a wide saucepan over medium-high heat. Wash the spinach and without spinning dry, add to the pan and wilt in the liquid left on the leaves after washing. You may have to do this in 2 batches. As soon as the spinach wilts, remove from the heat and rinse with cold water. Squeeze dry and chop. Set aside.
3. Wipe the pan dry and heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in it over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring often, until tender, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and stir with the onion until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the spinach and season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat.
4. Beat the eggs in a large bowl and add 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir in the quinoa, the onion and spinach mixture, the Gruyère, and the sage. Add freshly ground pepper and stir the mixture together. Scrape into the gratin dish. Sprinkle the Parmesan over the top and drizzle on the remaining tablespoon of olive oil. Place in the oven and bake until nicely browned on top, about 25 minutes. Remove from the heat, allow to sit for about 5 minutes, and serve.

Advance preparation: The cooked quinoa will keep for 3 or 4 days in the refrigerator. The recipe can be made through Step 3 several hours or even a day ahead. The gratin can be assembled several hours ahead.

The verdict?  On paper, it looks like it should be amazing.  It's not bad, but something is missing.  It's a little bland.  Maybe the spinach makes it taste too healthy (or the quinoa). 

The recipe called for salt and I didn't use it (I figured I could do that afterwards if I wanted it) and perhaps cooking with salt (instead of sprinkling it on after) is important... also, I forgot until the last second that I needed to rinse the quinoa and I don't think I managed to strain it adequately afterwards and as a result I think there was too much water - I may have overcooked it a little. I ended up straining the result! I know you are supposed to cook it until it's fluffy like rice. Next time I am buying a sieve - colanders have big holes.

It wasn't bad, it just wasn't what I expected. I already doled out my portion for lunch so we'll see if settling overnight helped to set the flavors in.  Also, I work with a number of Peruvians, I'll inquire with the experts.

Next day:  leftovers were much, much better.


(NUMBER FIFTEEN in 2010)

Five Easy Pieces I

A few weeks ago I realized I was 5 recipes behind.  I thought "The title sure fits; I'll find 5 easy meals and I'll be caught up."

That was a few weeks ago.

Regardless, I will make five really easy new things in succession to get myself back on track with a few weeks ago, at least.  I'm shameless.

Here is today's first recipe taken from the NY Times "The Minimalist" recipes.  The author had 101 salad recipes.  Can you see where this is heading...?  As a bonus, I've included some before and after photos.

13. A red salad: Combine tomato wedges with halved strawberries, basil leaves, shaved Parmesan and balsamic vinegar.

That's so easy, even I can do that!

I added a handful of walnuts and used very aged balsamic vinegar (brought home from Italy a few years ago). 

It was really, really fresh and the aged BV had a nice bite to it.  I forgot how much I like basil. 

I am starting to enjoy this process and even more so when I make easy things like the above and realize I have yet another go-to meal.  Less aimless wandering around Wegmans - now I know I can toss strawberries and tomatoes - who knew.  Today's Wegmans visit had a purpose, I had at least 4 different recipes for which to purchase and it was very gratifying to see how full my cart was of simple, fresh ingredients, most of which were from the produce section.  No potato chips.  No junk food (I do not consider Triscuits to be junk food because there is no HFCS in them!).  No chocolate, although when I reached the spice counter I was fascinated by a "new spice" jarred and labeled "cocoa with chile powder".  Ok, ok, I'll pick that up, you never know what I could use it for... 

Yum.

(NUMBER ELEVEN in 2010)

Southern Comfort Food

I'm falling behind in my quest!  I was on an (almost) once a week pace until the weather got nicer.  This recipe was made on Saturday and I am only now blogging it Monday.  I made Chicken and Macaroni Bake.  Very rich and filling.

Ingredients:

•8 ounces elbow macaroni or small shells (I used egg noodles)
•salt
•3 tablespoons butter (I used 4)
•3 tablespoons flour
•1 cup chicken broth (I used almost a whole can, oops)
•1/2 cup heavy cream
•3 to 4 ounces smoked gouda cheese, shredded or cut in small pieces
•pepper, to taste
•1 teaspoon fresh parsley, optional (didn't use)
•1 1/2 to 2 cups cubed cooked chicken
•1 1/2 cups frozen peas and carrots, thawed (I used sliced fresh mushrooms instead)
•1/2 cup soft bread crumbs
•1 to 2 teaspoons butter, melted

Preparation:

Cook macaroni in boiling salted water as package directs. Drain and set aside.

In a saucepan over medium low heat, melt butter; add flour. Cook, stirring, until flour mixture is well blended and bubbly. Gradually stir in chicken broth and cream. Stir in cheese until melted and smooth. Add pepper, to taste, along with parsley, if using. Cook, stirring, until thickened. Add the chicken and vegetables; cook for about 1 minute longer.

Combine the sauce with cooked and drained macaroni; pour into a 2-quart casserole. Toss bread crumbs with melted butter and sprinkle over the casserole. Bake at 350° for about 25 minutes, until bubbly and browned.

Serves 4 to 6.


http://southernfood.about.com/od/chickencasseroles/r/bl60414a.htm

(NUMBER TEN in 2010)

Goldilocks tries to cook Pasta con Burro e Salvia

Tonight is my second attempt.  Do you know what it's like to crave a certain meal, only to try your hand at it not once but twice and then forget what it should actually taste like?  It's quite frustrating.  I might have to seek out a real Italian restaurant soon to regain the taste of it before trying again. 

First time:  the pasta was overpowering.  Too much soft-mouth-feel, not enough sage.  This was despite the fact that I used ALL the sage I bought.  All of it.  More than 30 leaves I bet.  It wasn't quite fresh pasta, but it was "special pasta" - gourmet fettucine which really was just too overpowering for the dish.  Beware the pasta which can cook in just three minutes.  Clearly fresh is better, so perhaps I didn't use enough sage or brown it enough.  This was late last week. 

Second time (tonight):  Wegmans was out of fresh sage (the idea!) so I bought powdered sage.  The pasta (regular ziti) was fine but the sage flavor itself left much to be desired.  Not to mention I probably did not brown the butter quite enough. 

Will the third time be Just Right?  There has to be a third time you know.

Here is the recipe below.  I took cues from two websites.  One was the NYTimes which I followed more closely.

http://bitten.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/13/recipe-of-the-day-pasta-with-butter-sage-and-parmesan/

http://www.aproposofnothing.net/food/archives/000111.php

Ingredients


Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 pound cut pasta, like ziti
2 tablespoons butter
30 fresh sage leaves
1 cup or more freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano

Method

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil; salt it. Cook pasta until it is tender, but not quite done.

2. Meanwhile, place butter in a skillet or saucepan large enough to hold the cooked pasta; turn heat to medium, and add sage. Cook until butter turns nut-brown and sage shrivels, then turn heat to a minimum.

3. When the pasta is just about done, scoop out a cup of the cooking water. Drain the pasta. Immediately add it to the butter-sage mixture, and raise heat to medium. Add 3/4 cup of the water, and stir; the mixture will be loose and a little soupy. Cook for about 30 seconds, or until some of the water is absorbed and the pasta is perfectly done.

4. Stir in cheese; the sauce will become creamy. Thin it with a little more water if necessary. Season liberally with pepper and salt to taste, and serve immediately, passing more cheese at the table if you like.

(NUMBER NINE in 2010)

Rustic Apple Tart

Two new recipes in one week. Will I hit 52 new meals this year?  It will only be my third attempt, after all.

Last night I bought the ingredients for the below.  The Waldorf Salad (that I did not know I was making until later) was such a hit I decided to look for more apple and walnut recipes.  I found this one (link and recipe from the site, below).

Tonight, I made it.  I didn't root around looking for thyme, that may have made a little difference.  I also cheated and used refrigerated pie crust. 

Ingredients

1 Pâte Brisée (tart dough) for a 10-inch tart (see all butter crust recipe) or 1 packaged, flat pie crust
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/4 cup crumbled gorgonzola cheese (or blue cheese)
1 tablespoon fresh thyme, chopped, or 1/2 teaspoon dried
2 Tbsp maple syrup
2 large granny smith apples (or other good cooking apples such as jonagold or fuji), peeled, cored, chopped
1 teaspoon of lemon juice (optional)

Method

Toss the walnuts, gorgonzola, thyme, chopped apples, and maple syrup together in a medium size bowl. As you are working with the apples (chopping them, mixing them in with the other ingredients), if you want, you can squeeze a little lemon juice on them to help keep them from discoloring. Cover the mixture with plastic wrap while you prepare the crust.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Roll out pastry dough to 13-inches, at an 1/8 of an inch thickness. Place pastry dough on a rimmed baking sheet. (Rimmed because the pastry will leak butter during the cooking process.) Mound the filling in the middle of the rolled out dough, and spread out evenly to 1 1/2 inches to 2 inches from the edge of the dough. Pleat the edges of the dough over the filling.

Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until crust is nicely browned. If at any time it looks like the walnuts are getting a little burnt, you can lightly tent a piece of aluminum foil over the center.

http://simplyrecipes.com/recipes/apple_walnut_gorgonzola_rustic_tart/

(NUMBER SEVEN in 2010)

Chili for a chilly day

Yesterday was the SECOND Storm of the Century this winter.  How much more can metro DC take?  We actually have yet another snow forecast for early next week although currently that doesn't look like a blizzard, just a few inches.

I haven't had chili in ages and this recipe below looked interesting.  I thought I'd give it a try.  As usual, what is at the top is taken directly from the recipe, and below is where I describe my deviations. 

Ingredients

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 pounds ground beef
1/4 cup chili powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1 bay leaf
1/2 (1 ounce) square unsweetened chocolate
2 (10.5 ounce) cans beef broth
1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
1/4 cup shredded Cheddar cheese

Directions
Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until tender, about 6 minutes.

Add beef, in batches if necessary, and cook, breaking up with a wooden spoon, until browned.

Add chili powder, cinnamon, cumin, allspice, cloves, bay leaf, chocolate, beef broth, tomato sauce, cider vinegar, and red pepper. Stir to mix well. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; cover and simmer 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.

It is the best if you now refrigerate overnight.

Remove the bay leaf. Reheat gently over medium heat. Serve over hot, drained spaghetti. Top with shredded cheddar cheese.

What I actually did:

First, I used the entire onion and it wasn't a small one.  You can't have enough onion, right?
Second, I realized too late that I only had one pound of hamburger.  Ooops.
I used EVOO.
Because I didn't have enough burger, I went a little easy on the chili powder but more or less used the full amount of the other spices.  Perhaps I should have gone for broke.
No cloves
No bay leaf
No beef broth.  I was going to pour in a cup of white wine but the bottle I grabbed was corked and the other bottles were good wine and I didn't want to waste it on chili.
I used about 3 small squares of chocolate.  It was more than an ounce but I wouldn't say it was three ounces.
The overnight refrigeration occurred with the leftovers.

Consensus?  It seemed more like I was making spaghetti sauce than chili, really.  The taste is unique and perhaps a bit rich.  I'm going to see how the overnight settling changed things.  I'm betting the beef broth and a full 2 pounds of meat would have really helped.  A very concentrated flavor and believe it or not I would not say the onions ruled even though there was an entire onion and not just half a cup chopped.

(NUMBER FIVE 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:

Grilled Brie and Cherry Jam Sandwich

So maybe this isn't my most inventive meal. It tasted great though! I made it up myself, too.

Just make a grilled cheese sandwich except use brie cheese, and, liberally spread cherry jam on the bread (inside).

Yum-yum!

Oktoberfest foods and beer

Beer!
Originally uploaded by Skyhawk Flyer

This meal was an example of "winging it" with a theme.

I had bought Spaetzle this month already as Wegmans is highlighting Oktoberfest. I already had really good German beer in the house - I stocked up at Wegmans. It was what Mom and I drank in Munich - Paulaner.

The night they arrived (October 7) I went shopping and saw that Wegmans had a section on German foods for O'fest. I bought some pickled cabbage. I also had flank steak in the fridge and leftover gorgonzola sauce. (for all that I wanted to know what to do with all of it after I made it - I've almost eaten the whole container since the day I made it, urp).

So we had a fairly German meal. For the flank steak, I just added salt and pepper and threw it in the oven for 20 mins - it was a little dry, oops. The gorgonzola sauce helped moisten it a little but my Dad thought I had served jerky. The spaetzle was sprinkled with good parmesan cheese and I merely heated up the pickled cabbage.
I also set out some bread with my good olive oil. Glasses of German beer all around, and we were all set.

Peach and Prosciutto Pizza, oh my

You heard it right. Peach and Prosciutto. On a Pizza.

This is yet another recipe from Sandi's estimable Whistle Stop Cafe cooking blog. And I can vouch for this - it's delectable. To me, the rosemary and prosciutto were the star of the show, with the bufala mozzarella and olive oil a close second. The peaches, to be honest, weren't noteworthy here, but, on the other hand, as it is October I had to use thawed (frozen) slices.

Here is her link:

Peach and Prosciutto on a Pizza

And here is her recipe in its entirety:

Peach & Prosciutto Pizza

1 pizza dough
6-8 slices prosciutto
2 peaches sliced
1/2 cup mozzarella
fresh rosemary
Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Make your pizza crust, spreading the dough very thin. Brush the dough with oil, sprinkle generously with rosemary, salt and pepper. Top with slices of peaches and prosciutto cut into thin slices. Cover the top with a good mozzarella. Bake in a preheated oven at 350° 10-20 minutes- depending on the thickness of your crust.

And here is what I did with it:

First of all, I used frozen peach slices. I thawed them in the microwave (quelle horreur!)
Pizza crust, ready made.
I slopped on the EVOO.
I used a whole sprig of rosemary - all the leaves.
I liberally covered the pizza with cut up mozz cheese.

15-17 minutes on 350 and then I shut off the oven and left it in there another 5 minutes.

It was delicious and I have two lunches for this week, now.

Creamy Gorgonzola Fettuccine

Cows near Heiligenblut
Originally uploaded by Skyhawk Flyer

Friday afternoon, half an hour before I leave work: what do I want to eat tonight? For some reason the first thing that came to mind was pasta in a creamy gorgonzola/walnut sauce. I googled the words and the below recipe came up. This recipe was in Cooking Light in 2000. Below is the recipe and far below is what I actually did. Why do I have a photo of cows, you ask? Well, Gorgonzola is a cheese from cows.

Creamy Gorgonzola Fettuccine
8 ounces uncooked fettuccine
3 cups (1-inch) diagonally sliced asparagus (about 10 ounces)
2 teaspoons butter or stick margarine
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/4 cups fat-free milk
1/4 cup (2 ounces)
1/3-less-fat cream cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup (2 ounces) Gorgonzola or other blue cheese, crumbled
2 tablespoons chopped walnuts, toasted
Freshly ground black pepper (optional)

Cook pasta in boiling water 6 minutes, omitting salt and fat. Add asparagus, and cook 2 minutes or until tender.

While pasta is cooking, melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Add garlic, and cook for 3 minutes. Add flour; cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Gradually add milk, stirring well with a whisk. Stir in cream cheese and salt; cook 3 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly.

Drain pasta and asparagus; place in a large bowl. Add sauce; tossing to coat. Serve with Gorgonzola and walnuts, and sprinkle with pepper, if desired.

What I did:

For starters, I bought asparagus (Spargel! white asparagus) and maybe the first clue should have been that buying it in October isn't likely to yield high quality. The first thing I did was to start to prep it, and after cutting roughly 1/4 of the bunch I tasted a few slices and literally spit them out. Too bitter! I wasn't about to gamble on all this food and cook them anyway in the hopes that they would taste better after cooking. In the garbage they went. It is a shame...

Because the fettucine was 12 oz and not 8 I decided to enlarge the sauce ingredients slightly. 3T of butter, for instance. 2T of flour, maybe even a little more. 1.5 cups of milk - 2%. 3 oz of cream cheese (the only thing that was light in this entire recipe!). 3/4 of a cup of gorgonzola cheese. I also stirred the cheese directly into the milk/butter/cream cheese combo which was cooking. I didn't think merely crumbling it on top would be the same effect - I wanted sauce! I didn't toast the walnuts. That may be a good idea.

I now have an entire 2 cup container of gorgonzola sauce in the fridge, even after having my meal last night. It was very good, and scratched my itch. (Now what am I going to do with all that sauce??)