So, I am a Downton Abbey fan, and last night was was the airing of the final episode of season 2. And, as it was Sunday, I needed to do something a little more special for dinner. My wild hare notion was to make pizza, and because this is a lengthy process, especially if left up to one person to do, I knew I needed to allow at least 2.3-3 hours before my show started.
I always make 4 pizzas, because we eat more than 2, and the 1.5 or so left over makes a good lunch, or breakfast, depending on who you talk to.
Two pizzas were assembled on cookie sheets (then after 10 minutes of baking, transferred to the stone that lives permanently in my oven, for the last 5 minutes). I have only two of said sheets, and little time for baking. Note: my show was starting in 30 minutes.
So, I recruited my son to assemble the other two. Two of the four pizzas were baked in clay pie plates, which makes for a more deep dish pizza. This seems to work just fine, even though the dough recipe I use is for thin crust.
6:40: two pizzas out, two going in.
6:59: pizzas out, Downton Abbey starting in one minute. Phew!
Photos up next~
While Visions of Sugar Plums Danced. . .
Monday, February 20, 2012
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Simple Peanut Chicken
In the same grain - using some left-overs to spark a new dish - I made a simple Peanut Chicken to go with the Fried Wild Rice & Quinoa.
I started with chicken breast, which I chopped into large chunks and heated in a pan. I used no oil, just made sure the pan was hot first, and left the small amounts of fat on the chicken to create the grease I needed to brown the chicken. Next, I scouted around in my pantry for some curry sauce, which I didn't. However, I found peanut sauce, and as I poured a little of it over my chicken, I remembered I had a tub of unsalted chunky peanut butter in the back of the fridge. So, I got that out, put a couple of generous spoonfuls into the pan, added water, and let the peanut butter soften and coat the chicken pieces.
After about 30-45 minutes the chicken was soft and infused with the make-shift peanut sauce. And, it was quite good with the Fried Wild Rice and Quinoa I was making at the same time.
I started with chicken breast, which I chopped into large chunks and heated in a pan. I used no oil, just made sure the pan was hot first, and left the small amounts of fat on the chicken to create the grease I needed to brown the chicken. Next, I scouted around in my pantry for some curry sauce, which I didn't. However, I found peanut sauce, and as I poured a little of it over my chicken, I remembered I had a tub of unsalted chunky peanut butter in the back of the fridge. So, I got that out, put a couple of generous spoonfuls into the pan, added water, and let the peanut butter soften and coat the chicken pieces.
After about 30-45 minutes the chicken was soft and infused with the make-shift peanut sauce. And, it was quite good with the Fried Wild Rice and Quinoa I was making at the same time.
 | |
| Again, not the greatest photo, but I'm left wishing I had some more! |
Fried Rice - Wild, and with Quinoa
Sometimes, we love going to Costco.
Well, let me rephrase that: sometimes we got to Costco because we are out of a great many things, and sometimes, while perusing the many aisles, we find some treasures. One of my recent faves is quinoa. My husband, on a recent hunter/gathering trip, found a wild rice/quinoa blend that I was looking forward to trying out.
For Christmas my mom got me a rice cooker, and I've used it a lot, both for rice, and for quinoa. (Right now I'm steaming some broccoli over Japanese rice while typing.) So, I thought I'd fire up the rice cooker with the wild rice/quinoa blend with the plan to make a batch of fried rice. I had a little left-over ground beef that was cooked with onions, carrots and celery, and I thought I'd add that to the rice mix. I cut up another onion, a few small cloves of garlic, three more carrots, and two stalks of celery, and quickly sauteed that in canola oil, and then added the rice, some sesame oil, ginger, pepper and soy, and cooked it a little longer. The result was a tasty and healthful dish.
My photo lacks, as I took it after the rice had sat awhile, but maybe it'll still look tasty.
Well, let me rephrase that: sometimes we got to Costco because we are out of a great many things, and sometimes, while perusing the many aisles, we find some treasures. One of my recent faves is quinoa. My husband, on a recent hunter/gathering trip, found a wild rice/quinoa blend that I was looking forward to trying out.
For Christmas my mom got me a rice cooker, and I've used it a lot, both for rice, and for quinoa. (Right now I'm steaming some broccoli over Japanese rice while typing.) So, I thought I'd fire up the rice cooker with the wild rice/quinoa blend with the plan to make a batch of fried rice. I had a little left-over ground beef that was cooked with onions, carrots and celery, and I thought I'd add that to the rice mix. I cut up another onion, a few small cloves of garlic, three more carrots, and two stalks of celery, and quickly sauteed that in canola oil, and then added the rice, some sesame oil, ginger, pepper and soy, and cooked it a little longer. The result was a tasty and healthful dish.
My photo lacks, as I took it after the rice had sat awhile, but maybe it'll still look tasty.
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Fresh Bagels
This afternoon I realised we were out of bagels, and I was not in the mood to go to the store. It had been awhile since I'd made bagels, and I recalled my daughter's first project in her Culinary Arts class in 9th grade: bagels.
Inspired, I looked up a recipe that got good ratings, and got started. Two hours later, I have a nice batch of hot fresh bagels, and best of all, they are home-made.
 |
| Bagels risen after being dropped into the simmering water. |
 |
| About 4 minutes into simmering the bagels grow. |
 |
| And grow. |
 |
| Boiled bagels on buttered baking sheet, ready for the oven. |
 |
| Thirty minutes later~ |
Fresh-baked Challah
I think I'm making up for lost time. The holidays bring out the baker in some of us, and I'm drawn mostly to bread. Don't get me wrong - I love a good cookie - but there is something special about bread.
I have memories from working in a bakery years ago, not as a baker, but working behind the counter, peddling donuts, cookies, and fresh loaves of bread. Among those loaves were the weekly Challah.
At Easter, my grandmother would create a braided bread with three colored eggs nestled in the V of each plait. Very beautiful indeed. I wish I had a photo to share - it's been many years.
The Day's Baking
Here's another view of the filled breads. One loaf is filled with olive paste, and the other one is filled with a blend of goat cheese, dates, and pecans. So so good~
Two Breads
I do enjoy a good bread, and this one lends itself well to being filled. My filler notes are as follows:
Via Flickr:
One filled with olive paste, and the other filled with goat cheese, dates, and pecans~
Popovers, baked this morning
As you can see, I've made these a time or two.
Sunday afternoon I was listening to KUOW, our local public radio station, to the Splendid Table. One of the callers on the show asked about popover pans. I baked mine in muffin tins, which is not as good, of course, as baking them in a real popover pan. However, they did turn out well enough.
A good popover pan has deeper cups, and each cup is either attached with a wire grid, or has holes open between each cluster of 4 cups, for air circulation. Some pans are non-stick, while I've heard the best ones are cast iron, yielding a crisper crust. I have my eye on a Nordic Ware ...
Hot Popovers
What could be more wonderful than a batch of hot popovers on a Sunday morning? With a teenage guy in the house it is imperative to make a double batch. Oh - so - good~
Friday, October 28, 2011
Radiatori with Pumkin Sauce and Mackerel
Another gorgeous plate using pumpkin~
Via Flickr:
Sauce adapted from a standard pumpkin soup recipe. Fried pancetta, pine nuts and
parsley to finish. Maybe a bit out of season, but what the heck.
Pumpkin Soup
This looks fantastic. I love this time of year, and pumpkins are so versatile~
Photographer's note:
Via Flickr:
Pumpkin soup topped with a sweet pepper and olive oil garnish.
Basic recipe (more or less);
Cut and clean pumpkin, remove outer skin and cut into chunks or cubes.
Place pumpkin pieces in large pot. Cover with water or your favorite soup stock for a richer flavor (chicken or vegetable stocks works well). Bring to boil, reduce heat, cover and simmer until pumpkin is tender. As the pumpkin softens it will begin to break down and you’ll notice that your liquid is starting to thicken. Us an immersion blender to puree the pumpkin and stock mixture into a velvety smooth soup. Flavor as desired. You can add more liquid if you think your soup blend is too thick or continue simmering for reduction to thicken.
We’ve found that heirloom pumpkins offer much better flavor then the standard orange carving pumpkins so choose one that looks interesting to you and give it a shot. Also, don’t forget to save the seeds for making toasted pumpkin seeds.
Just like eating any other seasonal fruit or vegetable, eating pumpkin in the fall and winter offers many wonderful health benefits, plus it makes for a really great warm and satisfying meal on a cold day.
Sunday, July 31, 2011
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Foods to Love, Words to Savor
Custom Search