Cook. Craft. Enjoy.

A Little Different

How many cooking magazines do you subscribe to?  I think my list is down to about 4 but still one of my favorites is Eating Well.  It's not the biggest cooking magazine out there, and unfortunately it's not published monthly, but usually the recipes are pretty down to earth and look delicious.

A few weeks ago I felt like something a little different and chose their Middle Eastern Chickpea Platter. 

A salad made of eggplant, garlic and chickpeas in a tahini based dressing, add some Kalamata olives, feta cheese, tomatoes and pita bread and you've got a light, healthy delicious meal for summer.

The big question is how did everyone like it ... Travis, my brother and I really liked it.  Don I don't think was crazy about it and Adrienne and Liam didn't even give it a shot (good thing they like pasta with parmesan cheese!).  I'm not sure I'd make it again anytime soon (mainly because I hate having to make multiple meals) but it's something to keep in mind when you're looking for something light, fresh and tangy.

Lisa commented about yesterday's post and asked what I served the dip with -- they're Plantain chips from Trader Joe's (what was recommended).  And by the way, I tried the leftovers yesterday and they just weren't good straight from the refrigerator.  I think the tang of the cotija mixed with the slightly metallic taste of cilantro clashed.  So if you are going to make that dip, I don't think I'd save the leftovers.

Spread or Dip?

My mom went home last night and it was sad to see her go -- we had a wonderful time while she was here (even if we didn't do much) and G-d willing she'll be back again in November to spend another couple of weeks with us.

For her "going away" dinner, we invited my brother over as well and started with an interesting appetizer I found on Rachael Ray's Everyday Food website - Chipotle Artichoke DIp.

It was an interesting combination of cilantro, garlic, chipotle, artichokes and cheese -- I couldn't decide if I really liked it or it was just so-so.  My mom thought it could use some creamy base -- like maybe sour cream and my brother suggested a fresh jalapeno (or habanero) or two.  Me?  I think it would taste good on some toast points broiled to melt the cheese.

In any case, I don't think I'll be making it again -- or maybe switching it up and making this a warm dip instead of a cold one.  All I know is it's good to be back to blogging again.  :-)

Chicken with Peppers

I know there are many out there that don't care for Rachael Ray and her persona, but I really think she comes up with some great recipes at times (and other times, not so much).  My only issue with her 30-minute meal concept is that a great majority of her recipes take much longer than the 30 minutes she states.  And while I don't mind spending upwards of an hour cooking dinner at times, don't advertise it'll be ready in 30 when it won't.

This recipe for grilled chicken and mashed potatoes is one of those recipes.  This time I opted for chicken breasts instead of thighs (I am not a fan of chicken thighs), small mushrooms instead of portobellos, and making the mashed potatoes "plain" by only adding some milk and butter and it was ready in about 50 minutes.

No matter, it was still a delicious meal and one that I'll repeat again.  You wouldn't think a quick sit in balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire and some spices would produce much more than a mess of flavors but they actually work.  And best yet you don't have to add much more than a salad for this meal to be complete.

Two More Picnic Recipes

Yesterday I shared with you the Bean & Tomato salad (yum!) and today I'll let you know what else we had for our dinner (and dessert too.. but I think I'll save that for tomorrow ...)

The protein of the dinner was Maple-Mustard Baked Chicken which I thought was just "okay" (everyone ate it though so it wasn't bad).  I'm not going to post the recipe, but if you're interested, click on the link above.

Basically it's chicken that you marinate in a Dijon mustard/maple syrup/thyme marinade, coat with fresh bread crumbs and then bake.  I used skinless, boneless chicken breasts whereas the recipe calls for bone-in chicken but I can't imagine that would make that big of a difference.  Oh, and that cup of orange next to the chicken?  Liam got a cookbook for his birthday that uses silicone cupcake cups to make different things -- one of the recipes was to make baked risotto and he decided we had to have that too.  Came out pretty good for baked rice.

The other recipe that I tried was for Country Potato Salad and it was a winner.  I was very leary of using buttermilk to coat the potatoes as the dressing but honestly it worked out great.  (In fact I made my brother taste it before I poured the buttermilk over the potatoes -- he declared it edible so we were safe.)  He took some of the leftovers home and said it tasted even better the next day (whereas he thought the bean and tomato salad really didn't).

Perfect Picnic Salad

Last week my August issue of Eating Well magazine came in the mail and like usual I set it aside to look at later.  Most of the time I don't find recipes to make out of magazines because either (1) what I would like, I know no one else in the house would eat or (2) the recipes are too time consuming and ingredient laden for the perceived results.  This month's issues, however, caught my eye on several recipes.  Saturday, when my brother came over, I made 3 of them and I think this one was my (and my brother's) favorite (I'll share the other 2 recipes with you tomorrow).

The article the recipe came from is all about eating locally and celebrating the bounty of the harvest.  Unfortunately living in the desert we have little bounty but for a little while we could pretend to be elsewhere where we might see something else grow besides cactus.  (In all fairness a few things grow here -- mainly apples -- but I'd really love to live close enough to enjoy local produce.)

The title of the recipe is Bean and Tomato Salad with Honey Vinaigrette.  I think next time I would add more green beans but otherwise it was great.  My brother said he thought that without the fresh basil it would just be "okay" but with it it pushes it over the edge to "great".  Leftovers the next day I added some tuna and it made a wonderful light lunch.

PPN: Crunchy Noodle Salad

What's been happening around here this week?  Well, Liam sprained his ankle on Memorial Day (running around in circles on the trampoline he tripped and fell -- we originally thought it was broken but thankfully just sprained) and Adrienne's been sick the last 2 days (stomach bug).  I also had too many swap spots that had to be done by the end of the month (which I packaged up so quickly I'll have to scan them when they make their way back to me).  Oh, and don't forget about stamp camp that I haven't posted the cards for yet (hopefully tomorrow).  I did want to get a post sent to Ruth (over at her wonderful blog Once Upon a Feast) for Friday's Presto Pasta night so it's lucky I have had this photo on my computer for a couple of weeks waiting for a post.

At this point I'm not even sure what I served with it, but it's Ina Garten's recipe for an oriental noodle salad.  I loved the flavor but it was way too oily.  (I even had cut the oil back to 1/2 cup.)  The flavor was spot on, however, and I think with a little playing around I can get it to where I want it.  (One of the things I'll do next time is use soba noodles instead of spaghetti -- I think they work out better.)  All in all I'd say give it a try -- you'll enjoy it too I'm sure!

PPN: Pasta Puttanesca

So what's been happening in your neck of the woods this week?  We've had strange weather (it was 113 when I picked up Travis on Monday from school and today the high is supposed to be 83 - tomorrow 71), Liam's been struggling with his cough again (back on breathing treatments), and my schedule seems to be busier than normal.

My brother came for dinner Saturday and Sunday this past week and we had some great meals -- Sunday was his favorite, Black Pepper Chicken Tacos (one of the few things I actually make again) and Saturday was this dish, a Penne Puttanesca from Mario Batali.

This is definitely not your average run of the mill Puttanesca -- most of the Puttanesca I've had has been a thick tomato sauce (served hot) but this one was a nice change.  It reminded me of a tossed pasta salad -- served room temperature it was full of garlic and basil flavor and the addition of the zucchini was wonderful.  Just for this recipe I'm going to search out some salt packed capers -- I used the brine ones the grocery store sells (and honestly they were fine) but would love to see what the real deal is.

This also marks my submission to this week's Presto Pasta Night over at Ruth's wonderful blog, Once Upon a Feast.  Getting into warmer (hot!) weather here in the US, I'm hoping they'll be plenty of warm weather pasta dishes to choose from.  Head over there on Friday to check out the round up.

Turkey Burgers and Salad

While I really used to look forward to making my weekly menu, lately nothing (and I mean NOTHING) sounds good and it's becoming increasingly harder and harder to figure out what I'm going to make for dinner.  Yesterday I spent about an hour searching online through recipes and still only ended up with dinners through Sunday night (sigh).  I hope my menu making skills will come back to me soon -- I'm tired of scrambling for what we're going to eat!

For last night I decided on turkey burgers and a salad.  Relatively easy and when I make grilled chicken for Liam along side of it, something everyone will eat.  I opted for this recipe from Food Network for an Asian style turkey burger though had to make some substitutions (basically didn't use their glaze and had to leave out the cilantro since my grocery store didn't have any).  I'll let you go over to get the recipe if you'd like -- it was good, but not a "oh goodness, let's have this again" type meal. 

The salad, however, was surprisingly good.  It also come from Food Network but this time from Rachael Ray.   I was worried that the salad dressing would just be, well, yuck, but I have to say I'd have it again.  Just the right amount of sweet/savory (with the addition of lots of pepper) and it worked really well with the burgers.  If you get a chance, give it a try!

Chicken and Mushrooms (Together but Separate)

My passion for cooking shows dates back to the (very) early 90s and PBS television.  I loved watching on Saturday afternoons show after show of cooking.  Some hosts were more amusing than others but they all tried their best to teach you the basics of their cuisine.

In comes Food Network in the late 90s and I thought it was the greatest thing.  A network dedicated to just cooking.  Don't worry this won't turn into a rant post, but I have to say I am disappointed that really the only cooking that goes on there now is in the afternoon.  Where I would keep Food Network on all night (even as "background"), I very rarely turn it on anymore.  Once in a great while I'll turn the tv on during the day (usually in 10 minute spurts while I'm waiting to go do something) and catch a recipe or two.

Where is this going?  Earlier this week I happened to catch the end of a Rachael Ray 30 MInute Meals episode and she created a warm mushroom and tomato "salad".  It looked so good I knew I had to make.

I served it with grilled chicken and mashed potatoes -- yum!   I really loved the flavor of the mushrooms but don't think the tomatoes added that much to the dish.  My brother was here as well and agreed that maybe with 1/4 of the tomatoes it would have been better.  My other change was the garlic "chips" she made -- I didn't have any fresh garlic (and Trader Joe's didn't have any either yesterday) so I just used some jarred garlic at the beginning of the cooking ... worked out fine.  Definitely something to make again!

Beef Stew

Before it gets too terribly hot here I decided to go with one last "cold weather" dish:  Beef Stew.  It's not something I make often (honestly I'm not a big fan of soups and stews almost fit into that category), but it just sounded right for last night.  This is a recipe that came through on one of my mailing lists over a year ago and I've made it several times.  I always forget that you should add more beef than the recipe calls for -- or cut down on the other ingredients.  Served with a salad and some crusty bread, though, it's a great, easy family meal.