Week 49 - Nothing 2 Compare U 2

I discovered that the occasional trouble with making food I've never had before is that I have nothing to compare it to. Pasta Carbonara seems like a dish I should've eaten at some point in my life but somehow I never did. So even though this recipe tasted good, I feel like I something wasn't quite right but I can't put my finger on it.

I have double- and triple-checked my work on this and I know I followed the directions exactly right but the liquid in mine never thickened to what seemed like the right consistency. The pasta was at the perfect doneness when I took it off the heat but there was still quite a bit of liquid in it. So when I added the egg n' cream mixture it didn't seem to make any headway towards thickening. I guess I must've inadvertently just added too much water and broth but it's hard to say for sure.

In the end it still tasted really good and the extra liquid made it perfect for leftovers because it didn't dry out in the microwave. The combination of pasta and bacon is dy-no-mite but I almost wonder what it would be like to add a little basil or some other herb. Someone should try that and tell me how it goes.

SKILLET PASTA CARBONARA

Source: The Best 30-Minute Recipes

6 slices thick-cut bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces - 5 garlic cloves, minced - Salt and pepper - 3/4 C. dry white wine - 3 C. water - 3 C. low-sodium chicken broth - 12 oz. thin spaghetti, broken in half - 1/3 C. heavy cream - 2 large eggs - 2/3 C. grated Pecorino Romano cheese

1. Cook bacon in 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat until fat has rendered, about 4 minutes. Transfer bacon to small bowl with slotted spoon; set aside. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon bacon fat.

2. Add garlic and 1/2 teaspoon pepper to skillet and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Stir wine into skillet and simmer until almost dry, about 2 minutes.

3. Stir water, broth and spaghetti into skillet. Increase heat to high and cook, stirring often, until spaghetti is tender and liquid has thickened, 15 to 18 minutes. Meanwhile, whisk cream, eggs and cheese together in small bowl.

4. Off heat, pour egg mixture over pasta and toss to combine. Add bacon and season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

Week 48 - Easy Peasy

Even with a super simple recipe this week, I'm still a week (or two?) behind. I've got to get on the ball in the next couple weeks but, hey, I'm happy to be as close as I am.

This is a ridiculously simple recipe. I won't deny it. But it's also something I never made and never realized was so dang simple. It will make a great addition to any assortment of holiday treats.

The only trouble I had was that it calls for 2 lbs of white chocolate and I only found it in 6 oz. boxes (on sale for $4 each). So by my count you'd need at least 5 boxes to do a full recipe so I settled for 2 and just estimated the other 2 ingredients. In the end it came out delicious and lasted almost a whole 24 hours in our house. Yummy.

PEPPERMINT BARK

Source: pauladeen.com

Peppermint flavorings (optional - about 2 tsp or to taste) - 2 lb. white chocolate - Crushed candy canes, to yield 1 C.

Place candy canes in a plastic bag and hammer into 1/4-inch chunks or smaller. Melt the chocolate in a double boiler. Combine candy cane chunks with chocolate (add peppermint flavoring at this point if desired). Pour mixture onto a cookie sheet layered with parchment or waxed paper and place in the refrigerator for 45 minutes or until firm.

Week 47 - Perfect Timing

In the freezing cold temperatures we've been having, I just can't stop making soups. Warm soup, warm bread and awesome left overs: it's a winning combination.

This soup almost didn't make it. Thankfully Brian convinced me to start working on it WELL before we were hungry because, as it turned out, when I was 90% of the way done with it, our power completely cut out. The good news was that all of the potential food-poisoning ingredients were already cooked (I'm talking about you, chicken) and Brian already had the wood stove nice and hot so we actually set the pot right on the wood stove to keep enough heat flowing to finish it off.

In the end this soup turned out to be delicious. I left off the Parmesan but added and the heavy cream and I think it would be just as flavorful without either. The only real trouble I had with it was the step where it tells you to take out all of the chopped onion, I wasn't quite sure how to do that. You could probably skim it all out with a slotted spoon but much of the spice is floating on top of the stock along with the onion so I think a lot of your herbs would come out, as well. So we just left the onion in and I don't think it did any lasting damage.

THE LADY'S CHICKEN NOODLE SOUP

Source: pauladeen.com

Stock: 4 bay leaves - 3 chicken bouillon cubes - 1 onion, peeled and diced - 1 tsp. lemon pepper seasoning - 3 cloves garlic, minced - 2 1/2-3 lb. fryer chicken, cut up - 1/2 - 2 tsp. Italian seasoning - 3 1/2 quart water - salt and pepper to taste

For Step 2: 2 C. sliced carrots - 2 C. sliced celery, with leafy green tops - 2 1/2 C. uncooked egg noodles - 3 T. chopped fresh parsley - 1 C. grated Parmesan cheese (optional) - 3/4 C. heavy cream (optional) - 1/3 C. cooking sherry - 1 C. sliced mushrooms - Fresh parsley - 2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary - salt and pepper to taste - crusty french bread, for serving

For the stock: Add all ingredients to a soup pot. Cook until chicken is tender, about 35-45 minutes. Remove chicken from pot and set aside to cool. Remove and discard bay leaves and onion. You should have approximately 3 quarts of stock. When chicken is cool enough to touch, pick bones clean, discarding bones, skin and cartilage. Set chicken aside.

For the soup: Bring stock back to a boil, add carrots, and cook for 3 minutes. Add celery and continue to cook for 5 to 10 minutes. Add egg noodles and cook according to directions on package. When noodles are done, add chicken, mushrooms, parsley, sherry and rosemary. Add Parmesan and cream, if using. Cook for another 2 minutes. Adjust seasoning, if needed, by adding salt and pepper. Enjoy along with a nice hot crusty loaf of French bread.

Week 46 - Holiday Veggies: 1/2 as Healthy as Regular Veggies

I got to enjoy 2 fabulous Thanksgiving dinners this year and only made a dish for one of them. I of course had to do sweet potatoes cause they are by far the best potato, and was surprised to find a lack of healthy sweet potato holiday recipes. I agree that sweet potatoes are only made more delicious by adding things like brown sugar and marshmallows, but I truly hoped to find something that had less sugar than an average Thanksgiving dessert.

This recipe is as close to healthy as I got. It leaves the potatoes themselves relatively intact (honey instead of sugar and a little orange zest to bring a citrus tang) and the ratio of potato mixture to topping leans toward potatoes.

Other than making WAY too much, I was really happy with the turnout on this one. I might add just a teensy bit less orange zest next time, but in the end I was proud of it and would definitely make it again next year.

SWEET POTATO CASSEROLE

Source: foodnetwork.com

Potato Mixture: 2 1/2 lbs sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch chunks - 2 large eggs - 1 T. canola oil - 1 T. honey - 1/2 C. 1% milk - 2 tsp. freshly grated orange zest - 1 tsp. vanilla extract - 1/2 tsp. salt, or to taste

Topping: 1/2 C. whole-wheat flour - 1/3 C. packed brown sugar - 4 tsp. frozen orange juice concentrate - 1 T. canola oil - 1 T. butter, melted - 1/2 C. chopped pecans

Place sweet potatoes in a large saucepan; cover with lightly salted water and bring to a boil. Cover and cook over medium heat until tender, 10-15 minutes. Drain well and return to the pan. Mash with a potato masher. Measure out 3 cups (reserve any extra for another use).

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Coat an 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray. Whisk eggs, oil and honey in a medium bowl. Add mashed sweet potato and mix well. Stir in milk, orange zest, vanilla and salt. Spread the mixture in the prepared baking dish.

To prepare topping: Mix flour, brown sugar, orange juice concentrate, oil and butter in a small bowl. Blend with a fork or your fingertips until crumbly. Stir in pecans. Sprinkle over the sweet potato mixture.

Bake the casserole until heated through and the top is lightly browned, 35 to 45 minutes.

Week 45 - Too Soon to be Senile

I'm standing in the grocery store seeing the list in my hand that says, "12-oz jar raspberry jam." I investigate the brands, the prices, the sizes and then almost grab a 16-oz jar of strawberry. Whoopsy daisy. Then I specifically remember grabbing a 14-oz jar of red raspberry (I had to double check the berry because a few jars were out of place) and dropping in my basket. But somehow between the jam aisle and my kitchen it had reverted to the big jar of strawberry. It's magic. Or I really am losing my mind already.

This was my second "good but not great" recipe for this week (still getting caught up). It would be a good potluck dish but not an especially memorable one. Maybe it's because I cheaped out and bought a generic chocolate chip instead of Hershey's or maybe it's because I used strawberry instead of red raspberry jam but either way I was not overwhelmed. I was also annoyed that cutting 2 sticks of butter into dry ingredients takes for-stinkin-ever and I was ready to be done in the kitchen.

Whatever the reason, my final verdict on this one is, "meh, it was OK." And I think the fact that a dessert is still sitting uneaten on our counter after 5 days speaks for itself.

HOLIDAY RED RASPBERRY CHOCOLATE BARS

Source: Best-Loved Hershey's

2 1/2 C. all-purpose flour - 1 C. sugar - 3/4 C. finely chopped pecans - 1 egg, beaten - 1 C. (2 sticks) cold butter or margarine - 1 jar (12 oz.) seedless red raspberry jam - 1 2/3 C. chocolate chips

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 13x9x2-inch baking pan.

2. Stir together flour, sugar, pecans and egg in large bowl. Cut in butter with pastry blender or fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs; set aside 1 1/2 cups crumb mixture. Press remaining crumb mixture on bottom of prepared pan. Stir jam to soften; carefully spread over crumb mixture in pan. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. Crumble reserved crumb mixture evenly over top.

3. Bake 40 to 45 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool completely in pan on wire rack; cut into bars.

Week 44 - House of the Flying Noodles

This meal was my first experiment with rice noodles and, while they are inexpensive and easy to prepare, there will be pieces of rice noodle behind my stove for years to come. When the recipe says, "break noodles in half and pull apart slightly," I have images of spaghetti breaking cleanly and diving right into the water. What really happens, though, is that teeny tiny pieces of rice noodle fly six ways to Sunday and they don't want to "pull apart slightly." They take force (or finesse, which I don't have) and it's not pretty.

Having said that, they do cook quickly and they're nice and light which is why it was so surprising that this recipe is VERY filling. This would be a great summer picnic dish but we were caught off guard by making a cold dinner (if I had read the whole recipe ahead of time I might have been prepared for this). It was good but not dazzling and it would feed a lot of people. The leftovers, however, were terrible. That was the most disappointing thing about this dish but since the ingredients were cheap I guess it's not the end of the world.

RICE NOODLES WITH PEANUT SAUCE

Source: Betty Crocker's Pasta Cookbook

8 oz. uncooked rice stick noodles - 1/2 C. creamy peanut butter - 2 T. soy sauce - 1 tsp. grated gingerroot - 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper - 1/2 C. chicken broth or water - 4 oz. bean sprouts - 1 small red bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch strips - 2 green onions, sliced - 2 T. chopped fresh cilantro, if desired

Heat 2 quarts water to boiling. Break noodles in half and pull apart slightly; drop into boiling water. Cook uncovered 1 minute; drain. Rinse with cold water; drain.

Mix peanut butter, soy sauce, gingerroot and red pepper with wire whisk in small bowl until smooth. Gradually whisk in broth. Place noodles in large bowl. Add peanut butter mixture, bean sprouts, bell pepper and onions; toss. Sprinkle with cilantro.

Week 43 - Playing Catch-Up

I'm running a week behind on my recipes right now and I thought I could catch up last week but, alas, no luck. But at least I was able to squeeze one in so if I can manage 2 this week then I'm in good shape.

With the weather continuing to cool down I am having trouble getting out of soup mode. I was actually searching for portobello recipes when I came across this and I am so glad that I did. Easy ingredients, easy prep and easy cooking. That's my kinda recipe. I was nervous that the broth might be a little heavy and gravy-like but that was not the case at all. We ate it with some warm artisan bread from the grocery store bakery and it was perfect.

SIRLOIN AND PORTOBELLO STEW
Source: foodnetwork.com

1 lb sirloin steak, trimmed of fat, cut into 3/4-inch cubes - 1/3 C. all-purpose flour - 1 T. extra-virgin olive oil - 6 C. chopped portobello mushroom caps (about 6 medium), gills removed if desired - 2 C. frozen pearl onions, thawed and patted dry - 2 plum tomatoes, chopped - 2 C. frozen cut green beans, thawed - 1 14-oz. can reduced-sodium beef broth - 2/3 C. red wine - 2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme or 1/2 tsp. dried - 1/2 tsp. salt - 1/4 tsp. ground pepper

Place steak in amedium bowl and sprinkle with flour; turn to coat. Heat oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the steak (reserving excess flour) and cook, stirring once or twice, until browned on most sides and still pink in the center, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate and tent with foil to keep warm.

Add mushrooms, onions and tomatoes to the pan and cook, scraping up any browned bits, until teh vegetables have released their juices, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle the reserved flour over the vegetables; stir to coat. Add green beans, broth, wine, thyme, salt and pepper; increase the heat to high and bring to a boil, stirring often. Reduce heat to a simmer and cook, stirring often, until the broth has thickened, about 5 minutes. Add the steak and any accumulated juices and cook, stirring often, until heated through, about 2 minutes.