Lemon-y Goodness

Another weekend of trying something new, I still have lemons leftover from the poppy seed cake, and we've using them in cocktails too-yes, there are still lemons leftover.  There was a good bit of cooking, but only one new recipe was tried.  Martha Stewart's Strawberry Jam Tea Cakes from her Cupcakes cookbook-the title to me is misleading as these are cupcakes and I'm an absolute fool when it comes to these things.  When I read tea cakes, I think of the really thin cookies my dad talked about receiving in care packages when he was in the Navy not cake-cakes.  I did over fill the cups because the recipe said it made 16 which was an odd number since my muffin tin is for 12, and I didn't want to do a partial pan-note to self-Martha Stewart is smarter than you, so follow her directions.  These cakes have a lemon glaze instead of frosting.  What's really awesome about them is you can use whatever citrus, or combo of citrus flavors you want cause you're using fresh juice and zest.  They were super moist, and I loved the bit of sweetness from the jam that is cooked inside, that balanced with the tartness from the lemon.  I will definitely make these again (and I won't overfill the tins) and I think they'd be great for Sunday brunch or a wedding/baby shower.

What'cha been cooking?

in the kitchen.

Having some extra time off from work this week allowed me a chance to try some new recipes, so here's what's been cooking.

Lemon-Almond Bars-February 2014 Southern Living.  I made these for quilt club on Friday, and they were very good.  Were they worth the many steps required to make them, I'm not so sure.  I think if I make these again, I'll try store bought lemon curd to see if it makes a difference in the the overall taste.  Also, I will toast the topping a little longer, and maybe use a bit more butter to insure that it browns.  The topping sorta fell off the bars and made them a little crumbly.

Saturday night's dinner was Mushroom Bourguignon from Deb Perelman's The Smitten Kitchen Cookbook.  This was AMA-zing.  I loved the meatiness of the portobello mushrooms.  Next time I make this recipe I'll use fewer pearl onions (I had actually meant to do this to start with), and I'll cut them in half.  I did not have the tomato paste that the recipe called for, but it didn't seem to matter.  I'll make sure I use it next time so I'll know for sure.  I also used a Chianti for the wine, so not sure if that makes any difference in this type of recipe or not.

 On Sunday's I like to have a do ahead dish for after church.  The February 2014 Southern Living had a lot of one-pot dishes that sounded good.  I fixed the Chicken-and-Collards Pilau, this also was really good.  The modifications I made was to use just chicken breast (cause that's what I had already), and Aidell's Cajun Chicken Andouille sausage.  I think this recipe would also be good with shrimp, and maybe add a can of tomatoes.  The recipe called for basmati rice, but I had to use jasmine instead-cause that's what I already had on hand, and it seemed to be fine.

I'm looking forward to trying more recipes and will share the results here.

when the weather outside in frightful.

homemade soup is in order.  while we're not dealing with the really bad effects of super storm sandy, it is very chilly and WINDY (15-20 mph winds). last night for supper i tried a new recipe-spinach and tomato soup with orzo, and it's perfect for today's lunch. i think i found this perusing pinterest, and  i made a couple changes-i sauteed ground turkey with onions and garlic to add a bit of protein, and i used elbow macaroni instead of orzo. i will definitely be making this again, and will substitute the turkey for cannelloni beans.  another great thing about soup is that there are always leftovers, so i have 2 servings in the freezer.  tonight's dinner will be another new recipe-garlic shrimp and white bean which i hope taste as good as it looks in the magazine. sending prayers to those in the states that are really getting slammed by this storm-this is one for the records books for sure.

meatless mondays and beans.

since steve has joined a monday night bowling league and andrew has a class that evening, i'm using mondays as a day to either go meatless or try out some egg dishes.  this week i tried this recipe.  i made a couple modifications-i roasted the tomatoes and garlic the day before, and on monday i heated up the beans (undrained) along with the tomatoes and garlic and let it reduce a bit so that the pasta had a little sauce.  also, i used rigatoni instead of penne.  i love beans, and this was a great way to incorporate a high fiber, low fat protein into a meal.  i'm definitely going to make this again, and it could be accompanied with italian sausage, or roasted chicken if you're trying to satisfy the meat eaters in your family.

on tuesday, i did a little change up with the tomato soup that we had.  once i'd cooked the soup, i added a can of cannelini beans, and pureed the whole thing in a blender, the beans added some protein and gave it a creamy texture without adding dairy.  as chance would have it, i had a rind of parmesan cheese handy and threw that in as well, ina would be so proud!

before holiday madness descends.

i was glad to have a few stress-free days to just focus on the moment.  on friday, sara and i had dinner plans. i had quite a bit of time on my hands before dinner, so i checked out a boutique near my office- en paris-a very cute place, and bought a file tote, which also makes a great knitting tote! i'm sure it'll appear in future blog posts. then i headed to starbucks for a coffee and knitting time. i was at the communal table until a spot in a comfy chair was available. loved the view, knitting on my cardigan (which is now finished!), watching the cars and people go by. the dinner and company were very good.

on saturday, brunch was on the menu-it's bowling night for steve and andrew, so a hearty mid-day meal beckoned. andrew wanted to make eggs benedict-with homemade hollandaise sauce (of course)-i was in charge of the potatoes and i made orange cranberry scones.  it was wonderful.

AND we had a couple extra guests-pj was spending a few days with christopher so they joined us, and we had a good time catching up with the college boys.

since dinner was just mom and i-i re-heated leftover pork loin chops, made some asparagus, and mushroom risotto-i think i could live on risotto-such a versatile dish.

on sunday, we had baked penne and i wanted a special dessert to celebrate pj being home-he loves coconut, so we had toasted poundcake (i love homemade poundcake), coconut ice cream and pineapple salsa. not only was it delicious, but watching pj's face light up and his high praise on a delicious meal made the calories so worthwhile. we had a lot of laughs-especially talking with "siri" on my i-phone.
the weekend wrapped up with a lovely call-if not spotty- from mary recapping a surprise b.day party, what's on and off our knitting needles and our upcoming family get togethers. now i think i'm ready for the holidays (at least thanksgiving) cooking timelines and menus planned, grocery lists made. hopefully there will be many blog posts to capture the moments.

les macarons

bon appetit declared that the macaroon and the whoopie pie were over taking the allure of the cupcake. while i love cupcakes dearly-i do enjoy a good whoopie pie.  since bon appetit provided a macaroon recipe to substantiate this claim i decided to put whisk to bowl and give them a try.  they are interesting to say the least.  while these are not hard to make, they do require extra equipment and time.  i'm looking forward to trying the real thing so i'll have something to compare these too. i love how the cream filling is firm and the blackberry filling compliments the almond flavor of the cookie. i do plan to try the whoopie pie recipe which is a chocolate "pie" with mint filling (i LOVE this combination!) expect a full report on those!

homemade.

since i had the ingredients, time and an empty cookie jar i decided we needed homemade cookies-thursday i made a batch of chocolate chip and macadamia nut cookies using the recipe from the ghiradelli chocolate chip bag and they were (are) yummy-crispy edges and soft center. the family was VERY happy with these.

another home made item-i finally finished sewing down the hems for the trina-i LOVE the yarn, malabrigo twist very warm and gives me the jacket-y feel i was wanting, however; the pattern is just "okay"-easy to knit, but not spectacular. am a bit disappointed with how the decreases on the back looked "pulled" even though the knitting has an even look, it's a good fit and i made the body just a bit longer than the pattern stated.  i plan to forgo the buttons which are more for decoration as the designer uses snaps to close the jacket. i like how the shawl pen looks for keeping it closed, and if i can also wear the collar open and folded down.

what's cooking?

as usual i spend about 3 hours in the kitchen cooking on saturdays-i do this so that dinners during the week are a bit easier. this weekend i put together stuffed bell peppers, veggie lasagna for sunday dinner (leftover ratatouille makes great veggie lasagna), and italian sausage to go with the lasagna so that the boys would be willing to eat it. saturday dinner included sauteed loin chops (enought leftovers for another meal-yea) with a mushroom sauce, spaghetti squash, and asparagus. cooking the squash was a first for me. i added a tad of butter, fresh basil and parmesan cheese. i'd like to try this at a restaurant to get an idea of what it's supposed to taste like.
for dessert we had crepes-these really are super easy-step 1 included throwing all the ingredients in a blender-giving it a whirl and refrigerating for 2 hours. i use the recipe in the art of french cooking. now julia child doesn't write that you throw everything in and give it a whirl-but i bet she said it a few times on her show! anyway, i have a ladle that provides the perfect amount of batter (2 ladles)- so the key is to make sure you have a non-stick pan, add melted butter, and let it get real hot, then add the batter (not too much)-swirl it around the pan
once the edges start to get a bit brown and "crispy" looking, remove from heat, flip the crepe, i use an off set spatula and my fingers.
let it cook a bit longer, then onto a plate. these are great cause you can make them ahead and stuff them with whatever you want.
i fill mine with marscarpone cheese, and i made 2 toppings-reduced blackberries with just a bit of honey, and simmered apples with a bit of honey, cinnamon, cloves, and allspice. roll up and enjoy

on being a girl

this week has reinforced for me that it really is fun being a girl. it was great having the monday off while everyone was at work/school. i got lots done. then knit night and the "after party" so much laughter-very good for the soul. i'm expecting more fun and laughs with jillian tomorrow for dinner, my quilt club on friday, then SAFF with Mom on saturday. yesterday i was able to mark more things off my "to do" list-woohoo!. such as dusting and cleaning stuff in the cabinets in the dining room-ugh, not my favorite thing, but it had to be done, and it felt really good putting all the sparkling things back in place- i finished citron, cast on my kai-mei socks, did one 1/2 sleeves for coraline, and completed a quilt top, and finished a book-i love my hobbies :-). i spent a lot of time in the kitchen too-turkey stock for thanksgiving-the picture doesn't do the smell justice!
a very girly dinner-steve and andrew were out bowling so mom and i had a frittata with prosciutto, asparagus, spinach, portabellas, and sundried tomatoes and a cucumber tomato salad-yum. i also made ina's pumpkin roulade with ginger cream for sunday's dinner-here's the cooked pumpkin i got in this week's market basket that i used-this was totally crazy to cook, but provided the perfect amount for the roulade with only just a little left over-maybe pumpkin muffins?
i snapped this photo earlier this week-don't you agree- a wonderful use for your car's ashtray-stitch markers at the ready.
of course, there was laundry, clearing out the 162 emails i'd gotten since monday, and other domestic "stuff". i also watched juno-i'd seen it before with jillian, and i cried again towards the end-not sure if it was the heart-wrenching fact that she was 16, pregnant and putting her baby up for adoption, or the angst of vanessa on wanting a baby of her own and not being able to have one~it reminded me while it's not easy being a girl, surrounding yourself with incredible women sure can make it a wonderful thing.

inspired to.

cook. the february issue of bon appetit is full of wonderful recipes to try. here's my list
~easy chicken masala (i love indian food)
~celery root & apple salad with hazelnut vinaigrette
~ham artichoke & potato gratin
~cream tart with oranges, honey & toasted almond crust
~top tier devil's food cake with sour cream fudge frosting
~mushroom and leek soup with parsley dumplings
i've already made the cheddar, bacon and chive biscuits-amazing.


also inspired to knit. toys and baby hats. got these two books (thanks to excellent coupons), and now that i've done the very hard part of the winter mystery shawl 08 (yes clues 3-5 done this past week!) i'm looking forward to some small projects. alana recommended these books and did an interview with the author. i'm confident that if alana can knit these things quickly with a toddler running around i should be able to handle anything in these books.
journal. the art calendar polly and roy gave me for christmas has a quote on one side and a piece of art on the other. i really just noticed that the other day, but one quote that caught me was "if there were dreams to sell, what would you buy?" thomas lovell beddoes. maybe i'll be able to draw on these for inspirations. also mary's recommendation of sunday scribblings. i hope to get journaling soon.

gourmet yummies

the march gourmet was loaded with recipes to try, so here's what i've done so far. . .
garlicky black peper shrimp with blackeyed peas::beyond yummy-thought it would be good to add mussels or clams next time

roasted chicken with pan gravy (leftover gravy+chicken+rice=lunch for a week!)-delish will make this again for sure.

cheesy chicken and mushroom lasagna- can't seem to find a link for this on the website. I subsituted the 3 cups of whole milk (didn't have any) with 1 cup heavy cream and 2 cups of skim milk-and used swiss instead of gruyere--really like the results-this dish was awesome-would be great for a dinner party.

chicken stock-might as well do this since the kitchen was already a mess- and i'd have really fresh stock for soup in a couple weeks. should be good~~ loaded down with onions, garlic, carrots and celery.

coming up soon:

key lime mousse

key lime chicken curry