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Confections of a Foodie Bride (13 unread)

Here’s to another delicious year!

Posted: Dec 31st, 2008, 11:22am MST by foodiebride

It was certainly a delicious year around Casa Foodie! We wanted to share (again) our favorite recipes of the year. We hope you all have a safe, happy, and delicious 2009!

January
Blackberry-Pinot Noir Glazed Meatballs
Mollie’s Perfect Pasta Dough

February
Peanut Butter Dulce de Leche Brownies
Wedge Salad with Chianti Vinaigrette

March
Orange Layer Charlotte with Buttercream Frosting and Fresh Berries
Snickery Squares

April
Savory Bleu Cheese and Bacon Cake
Margarita-Glazed Madeleines

May
Chocolate Overdose Cake
Carnitas

June
Kerbey-style Queso
Carrot Ginger Layer Cake with Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

July
Slow Chocolate Chip Cookies
Three-day Weekend Berry Trifle

August
Roasted Jalapeno Hummus
Pink Lemonade-Glazed Madeleines

September
Raspberry Muffins
Foodie Groom’s Buttermilk Pancakes

October
Butternut Squash Soup with Ravioli and Sage-Roasted Walnuts
Prosciutto-wrapped Grissini with Homemade Pesto Aioli

November
Pumpkin Tart
Cranberry-Walnut Muffins

December
5-Layer Lasagna
Swirly White and Bittersweet Chocolate Peppermint Bark

Originally uploaded by Confections of a Foodie Bride.
A new favorite

Posted: Dec 30th, 2008, 5:45pm MST by foodiebride

They say you’re not supposed to try new recipes out at the holidays because it’s stressful and you don’t want to be faced with a houseful of disappointed guests. Because cooking a familiar meal for 13 isn’t stressful enough already? Whatev. “They” are crazy - the holidays are the perfect time to try out new things because you have a houseful of guinea pigs!

My dad usually hosts and handles most holiday dinners and for those dinners that he doesn’t handle, he still always makes the dressing and baked beans (we’re dressing people, not stuffing people). I ran across this gem of a recipe by Tyler Florence by accident - I mistakenly DVRed a rerun of the Dear Food Network Thanksgiving special rather than what was supposed to be a really good Jess/Tess/Bess episode of One Life to Live. Multiple personalities… it wouldn’t be the holidays without ‘em

Everyone seemed to really like the dressing - I know I sure did! The ruling on the chestnuts was somewhere around 60-70% in favor of omitting the nuts next time. They have a strange texture that I wasn’t thrilled about - I think chestnuts were new to most of us around the table but my sister Angie really liked them in. Maybe I’ll do half of the baking dish without them next year.

I also used a hardier crust-on bread than the original recipe called for so I think there would be enough texture without the chestnuts. Either way, this dressing has secured its place at our future holiday tables… or at least those future holidays that I can guilt my dad into letting me host.

Roasted Chestnut and Sausage Dressing
1 lb Italian chestnuts
1 medium carrot, peeled and rough chopped
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
2 stalks celery, roughly chopped
1/2 bunch fresh sage
1 1/2 pounds loose sweet Italian sausage (just remove the casings if you can’t buy it loose)
Extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1lb loaf of ciabatta, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 1/2 cup low-sodium chicken stock
3/4 cup heavy cream
2 large eggs

Preheat oven to 400. Score an X onto the bottom of each chestnut with a paring knife (the knife must go all the way through the shell) and roast 20-25 minutes on a baking sheet. Shell nuts after cooling and rough chop.

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and butter a 9 by 11-inch baking dish.

In a food processor puree the carrot, onion, celery and sage until you have a fine pulp. Set a large skillet over medium-high heat and brown the sausage in a little olive oil. Once you have a nice brown color and the fat has rendered - about 5 minutes, use a slotted spoon to remove the sausage and place in a large mixing bowl. Add the vegetable pulp to the pan and saute until most of the moisture has evaporated. Season with salt and pepper. Add to the mixing bowl with the sausage and also add the bread crumbs and chopped chestnuts. Toss to mix well.

Whisk together chicken stock, cream, and eggs. Pour over the dressing mix and toss to mix and coat well. Pour into the prepared dish and bake for 30 to 35 minutes until golden brown on the top (if it gets too brown before the 30 minutes is up, tent with foil).

Adapted from Food Network
As Seen on TV

Posted: Dec 29th, 2008, 10:36pm MST by foodiebride

If something looks good on a blog, in a magazine, or on TV, I’ll drop everything (and I mean everything) to make a grocery store run for any missing ingredients and then rearrange the week’s menu to squeeze it in. Sometimes things work out, sometimes they don’t.

I found these crostini in an old DVR’ed episode of Everyday Italian. They. Are. Fantastic. I’ll admit to being a goat cheese addict, but throw in sun-dried tomatoes and fresh thyme? I’m in - and adjusting my NYE menu to make room for a gigantic plate of these crostini.

If you have any leftover sun-dried tomato jam, get creative - this stuff tastes great on everything: burgers, turkey sandwiches, crackers, and omelets. I’m thinking of only making a half batch of Blackberry-Pinot Noir Meatballs for New Year’s so I can make a half batch of meatballs with the Sun-Dried Tomato Jam. Just typing that made me hungry!

Crostini with Sun-Dried Tomato Jam
Sun-Dried Tomato Jam
8oz jar sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and chopped, oil reserved (I used a package of ’sun-ripened tomatoes’ - they aren’t totally dried)
1 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 onion, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, minced
2 Tbsp sugar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup water
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Crostini:
1 baguette, cut into 3/4-inch slices (I used ciabatta)
1/4 cup olive oil
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
5 ounces goat cheese, room temperature
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves

For the Sun-dried Tomato Jam: Place a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the chopped sun-dried tomatoes, 1 tablespoon of the reserved sun-dried tomato oil (I just used additional olive oil), olive oil, onion, and garlic. Stir and cook until the onions are soft and beginning to brown at the edges, about 5 to 7 minutes.

Add the sugar, vinegar, water, chicken broth, thyme, salt, and pepper. Bring the liquid to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Remove the cover and continue simmering until most of the liquid is reduced and the mixture is the consistency of jam, about 5 to 10 more minutes I cranked up the heat because this was taking far longer than just 5-10 minutes). Remove from the heat and set aside.

For the Crostini: Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place the baguette slices on the baking sheet. Drizzle the bread slices with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake until lightly toasted, about 12 minutes. Place the soft goat cheese in a small bowl. Stir in the thyme.

To assemble: Spread the crostini with Sun-Dried Tomato Jam and top with the goat cheese mixture. Transfer to a serving plate and serve.

Source: Everyday Italian
Yields: ~ 24 servings
A bite of this and that. And that.

Posted: Dec 28th, 2008, 6:19pm MST by foodiebride

And that.

My husband and I married well. He likes to eat. I like to cook. Neither of us like to do the dishes but who could blame us?

We’re appetizer people. When people come over for dinner, the appetizer menu is just as long (if not longer) than the dinner menu. And for the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day, we live on bite-sized food.

I like the variety: a single mini quiche, a dollup of dip on a cracker, a chunk of cheese, a sliver of baked brie, a slice of prosciutto, a crostini topped with something ooey and gooey… It’s a little bit of everything and I barely have room for dessert!

Spanakopita, from Elly Says Opa!
a little olive oil
1/2 cup sliced leeks or about 1/4 cup diced onion
fresh dill, to taste
fresh parsley, to taste
1/2 lb. fresh spinach (right around 1 bunch)
4 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
2 eggs, divided
salt and pepper
1 box (2 sheets) puff pastry dough, thawed (I used phyllo, folding instructions here)

Preheat oven to 375.

In a large skillet, heat a little bit of olive oil until shimmering. Add the leeks or onions and saute until tender. Stir in the spinach and then turn off the heat. The spinach will start to wilt down, but not much.

Meanwhile, roll the puff pastry dough into a square, making it slightly thinner and then cut each sheet into 9 equal squares by making 2 horizontal cuts and 2 vertical cuts.

To the spinach mixture (you can move it to a bowl if you like), add the feta, parsley, dill and salt and pepper to taste. Beat one egg and add that into the mixture.

Spoon about 1-2 Tbsp. of the spinach mixture in each puff pastry square. Brush the sides of the square with a little water and then being 2 opposite sides together to form a triangle. Press with your fingers to seal. Place on a baking sheet. Beat the second egg and then brush the tops of the triangles with the egg. Bake for about 20-25 minutes or until golden.
They can’t all be winners

Posted: Dec 27th, 2008, 10:11pm MST by foodiebride

OOooookay, but there’s no way this is gonna taste good.

Have you ever proceeded full-steam through a recipe, knowing that something just wasn’t quite right? I did and wasted a perfectly good red velvet cake.

I inherited an issue of Cook’s Country last year that had a picture of a pretty, sparkly pink Christmas cake on the back cover. I ripped the page out and stuck it in my favorite cookbook so I wouldn’t forget about it. White chocolate frosting, covered in peppermint dust - there was no question what Christmas dessert would be this year.

I baked my favorite red velvet cake and then I retrieved the picture and frosting recipe from my “archives.” 1 pound of butter, 1 cup of confectioner’s sugar…

Gawd, that’s going to taste like nothing but butter. Who wrote this, Paula Deen? There’s no way that’s right. Honey?! Come look at this. This has to be a typo. Yes, I see that it clearly says “Recipes That Work.”

OOooookay, but there’s no way this is gonna taste good.

At that point, I could have stopped. I should have stopped. If I had bought in to the fact that I’d be sacrificing my favorite red velvet cake, I probably would have stopped. But I kept going anyway, becoming more and more put off by the blob of butter in my stand mixer bowl as each second passed.

After adding another 2 cups of confectioner’s sugar in an attempt to de-butter the frosting and some milk to adjust the consistency… it wasn’t that bad but it wasn’t any where near good enough to adorn red velvet royalty.

Oh well, they can’t all be winners. Of course, try telling that to my nephew. He plowed through an adult-sized piece, yelling “Cake!” after each bite because his mom couldn’t reload his fork fast enough.

On the bright side, the delicate, sparkly peppermint powder presented gorgeously for about 20 minutes. You gotta love Texas at Christmas - the 75 degree high and wicked humidity turned the powdery crust to a sticky, half-molten encasing.

Candy Cane Cake frosting, adapted from Cook’s Country
1 lb unsalted butter (4 sticks), softened
1 cup confectioners’ sugar (I increased this to at least 3 cups)
1/8 tsp salt
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 Tbsp heavy cream (I also added milk to fix the consistency after increasing the sugar above)
8 oz white chocolate, melted and cooled
1 3/4 cups finely ground peppermint candy

With electric mixer, beat butter at medium-high speed until smooth, about 30 seconds. Add confectioners’ sugar and salt; beat at medium-low speed, scraping bowl once, until smooth, about 1 minute. Add vanilla and cream and beat at medium speed until incorporated, about 10 seconds. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down bowl once or twice. Transfer half of frosting to clean bowl and stir in white chocolate. Add 3/4 cup ground peppermint candies to remaining frosting.

Place one cake layer on serving platter (I torted 2 8-inch rounds). Spread 1/3 of peppermint frosting over cake. Repeat with second and third cake layers and remaining peppermint frosting. Top with final cake layer and frost top and sides with white chocolate frosting, reserving 3/4 cup for final garnish. Press remaining ground peppermint candies into sides of cake and sprinkle evenly over top of cake. Use remaining white chocolate frosting to pipe ring of dots around base of cake.
Comfort in a cellophane bag

Posted: Dec 22nd, 2008, 6:12am MST by foodiebride

Comfort comes to the Casa Foodie in many forms:
- A 35-0 lead at halftime of an AFC wildcard game
- The sound that the door of a Dodge Ram makes when it closes in the driveway outside in the evening
- Slip-sliding on the wood floors downstairs to Christmas music, wearing outrageous knee-high Christmas argyle socks, trimmed in fur
- Snuggled on the couch with a bottle of wine
- A steamy mug of hot chocolate

We were mostly children of Nestle Quick growing up but my mom would make homemade hot chocolate occasionally. It was so good that my sister and I tried to make it ourselves once. But only once. We grabbed the cocoa just like we’d seen mom do, then we grabbed two glasses, and the milk. Two big spoonfuls of cocoa and a tall glass of milk later… well, you can see what went wrong here.

When it gets chilly here, we go through a lot of hot chocolate. It’s what’s for dessert on most cold nights.

Hot Chocolate
16 oz milk
1/4 cup Hot Chocolate Mix (recipe follows)
Bailey’s Mint Chocolate (optional)
Whipped cream (optional)
Marshmallows (optional)

Heat milk in small saucepan over medium heat until scalded. Whisk in mix until smooth. Serve with whipped cream, a shot of Baileys (we like the Mint Chocolate), and/or homemade marshmallows.

Yields: 2 servings

Hot Chocolate Mix
2 vanilla beans
4 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 pounds high-quality semisweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
9 oz dark chocolate, coarsely chopped
2 cups Dutch process cocoa

Split and scrape vanilla beans and place in a large bowl or jar with the sugar. Work seeds into the sugar with your fingers. Bury the pods under the sugar. Cover tightly and let stand overnight (or up to months–vanilla sugar keeps forever) at room temperature.

In a food processor fitted with metal blade, process semisweet chocolate and dark chocolate until finely ground, using 4-second pulses. Process in batches, if necessary (I started out with large bars so I first processed the chocolate using the grater attachment and then switched to the blade.)

Remove pod from sugar. Add ground chocolate and cocoa powder to sugar and whisk to blend, making sure to combine well. Store mix airtight at room temperature for up to six months.

Yields: 76 2-Tbsp servings, or 12 3/4-cup servings (pictured)
Adapted from: Gourmet, 2005
Chewy Christmas Caramels

Posted: Dec 21st, 2008, 1:06pm MST by foodiebride

Armed with lessons learned from last Christmas, I made two batches of Fleur de Sel Caramels this year, stopping a few degrees short of what the original recipe stated because last year’s candies set up harder than I would have liked. One batch is destined to be dipped in dark chocolate and the other destined to be gobbled up before Christmas even gets here.

Sweet, salty, chewy and dotted with tiny vanilla bean flecks… These guys don’t stand a chance of making it ’til Christmas.

Fleur de Sel Caramels with Tahitian Vanilla Bean
1 cup heavy cream
5 tablespoons European style unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1/2 tsp Tahitian vanilla
1 Tahitian vanilla bean pod, split and scraped
1 1/4 teaspoon Fleur de sel, plus more for sprinkling (flaky salt is prettier than granular, if you ask me)
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 cup Lyle’s Golden Syrup (can substitute corn syrup)
1/4 cup water

Line bottom and sides of an 8-inch square baking pan with parchment paper, then lightly butter parchment.

Bring cream, butter, vanilla, vanilla beans, pods, and fleur de sel to a boil in a small saucepan, then remove from heat and set aside.

Boil sugar, corn syrup, and water in a 3- to 4-quart heavy saucepan, stirring until sugar is dissolved. Boil, without stirring but gently swirling pan, until mixture is a light golden caramel.

Remove pods and carefully stir cream mixture into the caramel (mixture will bubble up) and simmer, stirring frequently, until caramel registers 242°F on thermometer. Pour into baking pan and cool 30 minutes. Sprinkle another pinch or two of fleur de sel over the top of the caramel for a nice salty crunch and let until completely cooled. Cut into 1-inch pieces (I buttered a pizza cutter), and then wrap each piece in a 4-inch square of wax paper, twisting 2 ends to close.

Yields 64 1-inch candies
Adapted from here and Gourmet, 2004
Carpe Chocolate!

Posted: Dec 17th, 2008, 4:24pm MST by foodiebride

I fear working with white chocolate the way others might fear working with yeast.

Chocolate?! I’ve never had a problem with chocolate. Every chocolate [fill in the blank] I’ve ever made has always turned out.

Lucky you

After losing more white chocolate to seizing than I care to admit, I almost completely stopped using it. And I’m not talking almond bark here… I’m talking pricey, that’s-what-I-get-for-spending-that-much-on-a-glorified-candy-bar white chocolate. It’s a depressing thought, really.

My favorite Christmas cookies use lots and lost of white chocolate so to prepare for the big baking marathon that is the week before Christmas, I ordered a 10lb bar of white chocolate. My brother works for a bakery supply company so I take every opportunity to seize on the “big sister” at-cost discount.

There would be no seizing on my sous chef’s watch. Not this time! I read everything I could find online about tempering chocolate and followed the instructions that came with the chocolate. I ended up with a very pretty chocolate bark - no cloudiness, no weird splotchies, no wasted white chocolate solidifying in the trash can while I drowned my sorrows in a bottle of Cab. Just darn good chocolate bark… that’s disappearing very quickly, one shard at a time.

Swirly White and Semisweet Peppermint Bark
What I used:
1.5 lbs white chocolate
1.5 lbs of semi-sweet chocolate
24 peppermint candies

What I did:
Unwrapped 24 Starlight peppermints and placed them in a 1-qt ziploc baggie. I handed the rolling pin to my sous chef and let him crush the candy ’cause he’s good at breaking stuff

My sous chef chopped (and chopped and chopped) each kind of chocolate into fairly uniform-sized pieces (1/4-1/2 inch pieces). A serrated knife worked better than anything else. We transferred one pile of chocolate to the double boiler - a simmering pot of water with a glass bowl suspended over top, candy thermometer clipped to the bowl.

I let the chocolate melt mostly on it’s own, giving it a nudge every once in a while with a rubber spatula. when about half of it melted, I started whisking until the temperature reached 91 degrees (per the instructions with the chocolate) and removed it from the heat, being SUPER careful to make sure no steam or water got into the chocolate. I whisked until completely smooth and then spooned it in random blobs on a wax paper-lined 11×17.

Since I only had one double-boiler set up but two chocolates, I set the oven to Bread Proof and popped the baking sheet into the oven - talk about convenient, the Bread Proof setting on my oven is 91 degrees.

Then we repeated for the white chocolate, spooning it onto the baking sheet to fill in the gaps between the semisweet chocolate. Using the end of a small frosting spatula, swirl the chocolate until you’re happy with the presentation and then scatter the peppermint pieces over the top. Let sit at room temperature until completely hardened. Break the bark into pieces and enjoy! Store at room temperature in a covered container.
My favorite part of Christmas?

Posted: Dec 12th, 2008, 8:44am MST by foodiebride

The cookies. More specifically, these cookies. I’ve been thinking about them for months. They’re perfect for Christmas and very festive, speckled with red and green. I made several batches last year to include in Christmas baskets and this year I’m prepared to make even more.

Did I mention how great they are if you dip them in a steamy mug of hot chocolate?

Cranberry, Pistachio, White Chocolate Biscotti
3 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp almond extract
1 cup shelled raw unsalted pistachios
1 cup dried cranberries
3/4 cup high-quality white chocolate, chopped (for biscotti)
8 oz high-quality white chocolate, chopped (for dipping)

Preheat oven to 350°F. Line large baking sheet with parchment paper. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl to blend. Using electric mixer, beat sugar, eggs, oil, and almond extract in large bowl until well blended. Add flour mixture and beat until smooth. Stir in pistachios, dried cranberries, and 3/4 cup chopped white chocolate. Drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls in two 12-inch-long strips on prepared baking sheet, spacing strips 3 inches apart. Using wet fingertips, shape each strip into 3-inch-wide log, pressing for even width and thickness (logs may look slightly lumpy).

Bake logs until lightly browned, about 30 minutes. Cool logs on sheet 30 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 325°F.

Carefully transfer logs to cutting board. Line same baking sheet with parchment paper (I used the same sheet). Cut each log crosswise into generous 1/2-inch-thick slices. Stand biscotti upright, spacing about 1/4 inch apart, in 3 rows on prepared baking sheet. Bake until pale golden (biscotti may be soft but will firm as they cool), about 20 minutes. Cool completely on baking sheet.

Line another large baking sheet with parchment paper. Melt white chocolate in a glass bowl set over a pot of simmering water. Stir until smooth.

Dip 1 end or 1 side of each biscotti in chocolate; place on baking sheet. Chill until chocolate is set, about 30 minutes. (Can be made ahead. Arrange in single layer in airtight container and store up to 5 days or freeze up to 2 weeks.)

Yields: ~3 dozen cookies
Adapted from Bon Appetit, November 2005
If you’re gonna have a chocolate bar…

Posted: Dec 11th, 2008, 1:37pm MST by foodiebride

Have. A. Chocolate. Bar.

What do you do with 30 lbs of chocolate? You bake, bake, and bake. And then after the dishes are all cleaned and put away, you start all over again!

If you’re on my Christmas list this year, perhaps you should start watching your carbs now ’cause I’m gonna make it difficult for you to do it later Stay tuned for a Chocolatey Christmas!
Two-fer Risotto

Posted: Dec 10th, 2008, 1:30am MST by foodiebride

Over my lunch break, I sat my bike on the trainer (the equipment, not the person) and started pedaling. My husband loves to go cycling and I love him enough to get out of bed and ride for 20 miles in 38-degree weather. Now that’s love. And maybe a little bit of crazy mixed in there, too.

The baker in the house gets all kinds of cooking magazines in the mail so it only caught me slightly off-guard to see Bicycling Magazine show up one day. Flipping through it and trying not to fall off my bike, I ran across a recipe for Prosciutto Arancini. I was scanning the recipe when I realized what a cool idea these were - breaded, fried balls of risotto. Not the kind of recipe I expected to see in that kind of magazine.

We always have leftover risotto. It’s a filling one-bowl meal and no matter how little of it I try to make, we always have extra. Day-after risotto is… not really risotto anymore. It can actually get a little gross. The stuff on the bottom corners of the leftover container congeals into a solid, gummy mass. What does manage to stay recognizable as risotto just doesn’t reheat well. One quad-killing lunch break on a bike and my leftover risotto problems were forever solved. And one of the appetizers for Christmas dinner was selected.

Arancini Caprese
Canola oil (enough to fill a small sauce pan 2-2.5 inches)
Fresh mozzarella
Leftover Risotto Caprese (recipe follows)
Bread crumbs (I used 1.5 slices of whole grain bread, processed to fine crumb)
Pinch of salt
Marinara

Heat oil in a small sauce pan to 375. Cube the mozzarella into 1/2-inch cubes. Scoop the leftover (cold) risotto into a ball. I used a #20 scoop (approx 2 Tbsp). While still in the scoop, press one cube of mozzarella into the risotto and re-scoop to seal the cheese inside the ball.

Place breadcrumbs and salt in a shallow bowl. Roll risotto balls in breadcrumbs and drop carefully into the hot oil. Fry each batch for 1.5-2 minutes, until golden brown. Serve with marinara.

Inspired by: Bicycling Magazine

Risotto Caprese
2 shallots, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp butter
1 cup Arborio rice
1/2 cup dry white wine (I used our Riesling)
4 cups chicken broth
2 Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup shredded fresh mozzarella
3/4 cup shredded Parmiggiano-Reggiano mixture
2 Tbsp fresh basil, chopped
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

Melt the butter in a large pan. Saute the shallots and garlic until the shallots are tender and translucent. Add the rice, wine, 3/4 cup chicken broth and stir.

When the risotto has absorbed nearly all the broth, add 3/4 cup chicken broth. Stir frequently and continue adding the chicken broth 3/4 cup at a time.

In a small sauce pan, reduce the balsamic vinegar over medium-low heat until thick and syrupy.

At the last addition of chicken broth, add the tomatoes. Do not let the last addition of chicken broth absorb completely - this is the key to keeping it creamy. Add the cheese and basil, stir well, and serve with a drizzle of the balsamic reduction.
Quest for chicken salad

Posted: Dec 7th, 2008, 9:22am MST by foodiebride

If chicken salad is on the menu, I’ll order it. I’ve had decent chicken salad, bad chicken salad, and really bad chicken salad. But what I rarely find at a restaurant is a really good chicken salad.

I ask for a lot. I want big chunks of juicy chicken, not chicken obliterated into a fibrous paste. As much as I love mayonnaise, I don’t want a drippy mess when I bite into my sandwich but I do need something to hold it all together. I like a binder complimentary to the other flavors: mayo for traditional chicken salad or an Italian version with a little pesto added, plain yogurt for a Greeky twist, raspberry yogurt for a ladies’ lunch or shower brunch appetizer, and sour cream for either a South-of-the-Rio version or just when I’m out of mayo and yogurt.

There should be crunch. There must be crunch! Tart apples, roasted pecans, or roasted walnuts are good in a sweeter chicken salad and spicy nuts, onions, red bell peppers, and jalapenos are good in a more savory chicken salad. Loads of fresh herbs are a must: cilantro, parsley, basil, chives, or rosemary.

In the Mood for Something Spicy Chicken Salad
2 cups leftover chicken, shredded
1/3 cup mayo, plus more as desired
2 Tbsp white onion, chopped
1 Roma tomato, seeded and diced
Small bunch of cilantro, chopped
1/2 jalapeno, seeded and diced
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1/4 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp cayenne
liberal pinch of salt
fresh ground black pepper

Toss all ingredients in a bowl. Add additional mayo if necessary. Taste for seasoning and adjust. Serve on toasted bread spread with cilantro-pecan pesto and Monterrey Jack cheese. Refrigerate the leftovers.

Makes enough for 4 sandwiches
Spoiled

Posted: Dec 4th, 2008, 12:33am MST by foodiebride

My husband is an amateur cyclist, I guess. He gets on his bike and rides, rides, rides. We’re talking 30+ miles. I’m going to assume that biking 30 miles takes a lot out of a person - believe me, I wouldn’t know from experience

On one of his earlier rides, he came home and told me a story: Our friends gave him an energy bar for a zap of energy to keep him going for the rest of the trip. He took a bite, made a face, and commented how his wife’s cooking must have him spoiled because those bars were… not good.

He really is spoiled but I have no one to blame but myself. Especially since I ran out that day to get the goodies to make him homemade energy bars.

These bars aren’t just for amateur cyclists. I crumble one up in a bowl and top with plain yogurt for breakfast. No contest - it definitely beats my usual bowl of oatmeal.

Homemade Energy Bars
1 cup pure maple syrup
3/4 cup smooth natural peanut butter
2 2/3 cups rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup soy protein powder or whey protein powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup wheat germ
1/2 cup roasted sun flower seeds
3/4 cup ’sun-ripened’ blueberries
3/4 cup ’sun-ripened’ cranberries
1/2 cup dark chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup chopped pistachios
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch baking pan.

Mix the syrup and peanut butter together in a large bowl. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until well combined. Press it into the prepared pan. It will be slightly sticky but should still spread easily into the pan if you grease your fingers.

Bake until golden brown, about 25 minutes. Cut into bars while still warm but allow to cool completely in the pan. Wrap each bar individually and store for up to 10 days, or freeze for up to 1 month.

Adapted from: Serious Eats