It was a happy coincidence that the weekend before school starts up Giada featured easy weeknight meals on her show. I was captivated by an easy soup featuring farmers market ingredients, so I decided to try it tonight. It was creamy, delicious, quick and easy. Definitely a keeper!
Ingredients
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 medium carrots, peeled and diced into 1/2-inch pieces
1 medium onion, chopped
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme
3 cloves garlic, peeled and smashed or chopped
3 plum tomatoes, diced into 1/2-inch pieces
2 medium zucchini, diced into 1/2-inch pieces
4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1/3 cup instant polenta
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
Directions
In a large heavy saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Add the carrots, onions, 1 tablespoon salt and 1 teaspoon pepper. Cook, stirring frequently, until the onion begins to brown, about 6 minutes.
Add the parsley, thyme, garlic, tomatoes and zucchini, and cook for 3 minutes. Add the chicken broth and bring to a boil. Slowly stir in the polenta and cook until the soup thickens and the vegetables are tender, about 8 minutes.
Stir in the butter and season with salt and pepper.
Ladle into soup bowls and serve
Thursday, August 25, 2011
Monday, August 15, 2011
"More Zucchini Muffins!"
When I asked Jack what he wanted for breakfast this morning, I was surprised to hear him ask for a zucchini muffin. Especially since he had just eaten the last one for breakfast the morning before. So, after some tears, we decided to make some more. While I would like to have made my grandma's recipe, my mom and I have not been able to find it. (She's still working on this.) So Paula Deen's recipe has sufficed, especially popular in our house since she uses chocolate chips instead of raisins.
Here's the recipe:
Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 eggs
2 cups white sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
OPTIONAL:
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 cup chopped pecans
Or replace the chocolate chips with 1 cup raisins
Directions
Preheat oven at 350 degrees F. Grease (2) 9 by 5-inch loaf pans OR fill 24 muffin cups with muffin papers.
Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, spices and baking soda.
In a large bowl, beat eggs until light and fluffy. Add sugar, and continue beating until well blended. Stir in oil, vanilla, zucchini, pecans, chocolate chips, and orange zest. Stir in sifted ingredients. Pour into prepared loaf pans.
Bake for 50 minutes for bread or 20 minutes for muffins, or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from pans and cool. Cool before slicing.
Here's the recipe:
Ingredients
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 eggs
2 cups white sugar
1 cup vegetable oil
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups grated zucchini
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips
OPTIONAL:
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 cup chopped pecans
Or replace the chocolate chips with 1 cup raisins
Directions
Preheat oven at 350 degrees F. Grease (2) 9 by 5-inch loaf pans OR fill 24 muffin cups with muffin papers.
Sift together flour, baking powder, salt, spices and baking soda.
In a large bowl, beat eggs until light and fluffy. Add sugar, and continue beating until well blended. Stir in oil, vanilla, zucchini, pecans, chocolate chips, and orange zest. Stir in sifted ingredients. Pour into prepared loaf pans.
Bake for 50 minutes for bread or 20 minutes for muffins, or until a skewer inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from pans and cool. Cool before slicing.
Friday, August 12, 2011
Sinfully Yummy Corn
I picked up some sweet corn at the farmers market on Wednesday, so I decided to try this recipe, suggested by an email from Cooking LIght. However, it's not actually from Cooking Light, but from their sister magazine: Southern LIving. Cooking Light would be appalled by the contents of this recipe. Leave it to the region that spawned Paula Deen to come up with a recipe this naughty. And this delicious.
Creamy Fried Confetti Corn
Ingredients
8 bacon slices, chopped (I used Trader Joe's nitrate-free bacon)
4 cups fresh sweet corn kernels (about 8 ears)
1 medium-size white onion, chopped
1/3 cup chopped red bell pepper (I just had green, so I doubled the green pepper)
1/3 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, cubed
1/2 cup half-and-half
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
Preparation
Microwave corn, wrapped in saran wrap, for 5 minutes. Let cool, then shuck from cob.
Cook chopped bacon in a large skillet until crisp; remove bacon, and drain on paper towels, reserving 2 tablespoons drippings in skillet. Set bacon aside.
Sauté corn, onion, and bell peppers in hot drippings in skillet over medium-high heat 6 minutes or until tender. Add cream cheese and half-and-half, stirring until cream cheese melts. Stir in sugar, salt, and pepper. Top with bacon.
Creamy Fried Confetti Corn
Ingredients
8 bacon slices, chopped (I used Trader Joe's nitrate-free bacon)
4 cups fresh sweet corn kernels (about 8 ears)
1 medium-size white onion, chopped
1/3 cup chopped red bell pepper (I just had green, so I doubled the green pepper)
1/3 cup chopped green bell pepper
1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, cubed
1/2 cup half-and-half
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
Preparation
Microwave corn, wrapped in saran wrap, for 5 minutes. Let cool, then shuck from cob.
Cook chopped bacon in a large skillet until crisp; remove bacon, and drain on paper towels, reserving 2 tablespoons drippings in skillet. Set bacon aside.
Sauté corn, onion, and bell peppers in hot drippings in skillet over medium-high heat 6 minutes or until tender. Add cream cheese and half-and-half, stirring until cream cheese melts. Stir in sugar, salt, and pepper. Top with bacon.
Saturday, July 23, 2011
Life Just Got a Little Cheesier: Zingerman's Shared Their Mac & Cheese Recipe!
ROADHOUSE MACARONI AND CHEESE
Ingredients:
Coarse sea salt
1 pound macaroni
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup diced onion
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 pound grated raw milk cheddar cheese
2 Tsp Olive Oil
Method:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons salt and the pasta and stir well. Cook for about 13 minutes (if using Martelli) or until the pasta is done. Drain it and set it aside.
Meanwhile, melt the butter for the sauce in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat (be careful not to scorch the butter). Add the onion and bay leaf and sauté until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes.
Remove the bay leaf. Add the flour, and cook for a minute or so, stirring constantly.
Slowly add the milk, a little at a time, stirring constantly to avoid lumping. When the flour and milk have been completely combined, stir in the cream. Keep the mixture at a gentle simmer (not at a high boil) until it thickens, 2 to 3 minutes.
Reduce the heat to medium. Stir in the mustard, cheddar cheese and salt. Simmer for 5 minutes and set aside.
In a heavy bottom skillet over med-high heat get the pan very hot. Add olive oil and when it begins to smoke add the cheese sauce and the drained cooked noodles. Toss thoroughly and continue to cook, stirring occassionally until you have approximately 15 % of the mixture golden brown.
Taste and adjust the seasonings if necessary. Remove from heat.
Serve each bowl of macaroni. Dig in!
Ingredients:
Coarse sea salt
1 pound macaroni
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup diced onion
1 bay leaf
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 pound grated raw milk cheddar cheese
2 Tsp Olive Oil
Method:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add 1 to 2 tablespoons salt and the pasta and stir well. Cook for about 13 minutes (if using Martelli) or until the pasta is done. Drain it and set it aside.
Meanwhile, melt the butter for the sauce in a large heavy-bottomed pot over medium-high heat (be careful not to scorch the butter). Add the onion and bay leaf and sauté until the onion is soft, about 5 minutes.
Remove the bay leaf. Add the flour, and cook for a minute or so, stirring constantly.
Slowly add the milk, a little at a time, stirring constantly to avoid lumping. When the flour and milk have been completely combined, stir in the cream. Keep the mixture at a gentle simmer (not at a high boil) until it thickens, 2 to 3 minutes.
Reduce the heat to medium. Stir in the mustard, cheddar cheese and salt. Simmer for 5 minutes and set aside.
In a heavy bottom skillet over med-high heat get the pan very hot. Add olive oil and when it begins to smoke add the cheese sauce and the drained cooked noodles. Toss thoroughly and continue to cook, stirring occassionally until you have approximately 15 % of the mixture golden brown.
Taste and adjust the seasonings if necessary. Remove from heat.
Serve each bowl of macaroni. Dig in!
Monday, July 11, 2011
A Baking Mishap
Jack and I made a chocolate cake on Saturday. Jack added ingredients and turned the mixer on to blend everything together. This time, he turned the mixer on a little too high.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
C4 (Chocolate Coffee Cream Cheese) Frosting
Yesterday, Jack and I baked a chocolate cake to use up some of the buttermilk I bought for the chicken we made. But the sour cream was expired, so we couldn't make our usual chocolate sour cream frosting and I'm not crazy about the overly-sugary taste of buttercream, so I looked for a new recipe and found this: Chocolate Coffee Cream Cheese Frosting. Yum!
Ingredients
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, softened at room temperature
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted (I only had 3 ounces, so I supplemented by adding 1 ounce of bittersweet chocolate)
1/4 cup extra-strong coffee (I didn't cool the coffee, but stirred it into the chocolate to help it melt faster)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups confectioners' sugar (the recipe called for 3 c., but I liked the taste with just 2 c.)
Directions
Beat the butter and cream cheese together. Drizzle the melted chocolate (I microwaved it for 30 seconds, stirred, microwaved another 30 seconds, stirred, and then stirred the hot coffee in to it, a couple tablespoons at a time) and coffee over the butter and cream cheese. Add vanilla. Mix well. Mix in the powdered sugar one cup at a time. You can do up to 3 c., but taste it to see how sweet you want it.
Jack and I loved licking the beaters, and neither he nor Brian seemed to be bothered by the faint coffee taste, which I felt added an extra richness to the frosting. Delicious!
Ingredients
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, softened at room temperature
8 ounces cream cheese, softened at room temperature
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, melted (I only had 3 ounces, so I supplemented by adding 1 ounce of bittersweet chocolate)
1/4 cup extra-strong coffee (I didn't cool the coffee, but stirred it into the chocolate to help it melt faster)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 cups confectioners' sugar (the recipe called for 3 c., but I liked the taste with just 2 c.)
Directions
Beat the butter and cream cheese together. Drizzle the melted chocolate (I microwaved it for 30 seconds, stirred, microwaved another 30 seconds, stirred, and then stirred the hot coffee in to it, a couple tablespoons at a time) and coffee over the butter and cream cheese. Add vanilla. Mix well. Mix in the powdered sugar one cup at a time. You can do up to 3 c., but taste it to see how sweet you want it.
Jack and I loved licking the beaters, and neither he nor Brian seemed to be bothered by the faint coffee taste, which I felt added an extra richness to the frosting. Delicious!
Wednesday, June 29, 2011
Buttermilk Baked Chicken: Healthy Southern Cookin', Y'all
I happened to catch an episode of Down Home with the Neelys on Food Network and saw them make a buttermilk baked chicken recipe and a roasted broccoli and feta salad, so I decided to make tonight Southern cooking night and try both recipes.
The broccoli salad was okay -- I prefer Melissa D'Arabian's parmesean roasted broccoli, myself -- but the chicken was delicious. I put it in the buttermilk marinade around 1:00 after Ben and I got home from the grocery store (where his cheeks were repeatedly pinched by gray-haired shoppers). When I baked it off at 6:00, it was tender and flavorful.
I modified the recipe a bit, so I'll include the original recipe with my modifications in parentheses.
Ingredients
2 cups buttermilk
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tablespoon hot sauce (I left this out, since I hate tabasco)
1/2 yellow onion, sliced
5 sprigs fresh thyme (I used lemon thyme from my planter on the porch)
3 cloves garlic, smashed
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (3 pound) chicken cut into 8 pieces, rinsed and patted dry (I used 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts instead, since I hate having to cut chicken off the bone for Jack)
2 cups crushed corn flakes
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Fit a sheet tray with a wire rack and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
Mix together buttermilk, lemon juice, hot sauce, onion, thyme, garlic, salt, and pepper to a large bowl. Add chicken and coat with mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 3 hours or up 12 hours.
Mix corn flakes, Parmesan cheese, and thyme together. Season with salt and pepper.
Remove chicken from the marinade, letting the excess drip off, and dredge through the corn flake-Parmesan mixture, pressing to help it adhere.
Place on the wire rack-fitted sheet tray and bake for 45 minutes until golden and crisp. (Since I was making boneless chicken breasts, I only cooked them for 35 minutes instead and they were perfect.)
*****
I was able to cook the roasted broccoli salad right on the same cookie sheet as the chicken, so I'll include that recipe too, since it was ridiculously easy and relatively tasty.
Ingredients
2 heads broccoli, cut into florets
2 cups cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 1/2 ounces baby arugula (about 3 large handfuls)
4 ounces crumbled feta cheese
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Add the broccoli florets and cherry tomatoes to a rimmed sheet tray. Drizzle with 1/4 cup olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat completely. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, until the broccoli is tender and lightly golden brown.
Toss with arugula and crumbled feta cheese. Drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and toss. Serve immediately.
The broccoli salad was okay -- I prefer Melissa D'Arabian's parmesean roasted broccoli, myself -- but the chicken was delicious. I put it in the buttermilk marinade around 1:00 after Ben and I got home from the grocery store (where his cheeks were repeatedly pinched by gray-haired shoppers). When I baked it off at 6:00, it was tender and flavorful.
I modified the recipe a bit, so I'll include the original recipe with my modifications in parentheses.
Ingredients
2 cups buttermilk
Juice of 1/2 lemon
1 tablespoon hot sauce (I left this out, since I hate tabasco)
1/2 yellow onion, sliced
5 sprigs fresh thyme (I used lemon thyme from my planter on the porch)
3 cloves garlic, smashed
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 (3 pound) chicken cut into 8 pieces, rinsed and patted dry (I used 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts instead, since I hate having to cut chicken off the bone for Jack)
2 cups crushed corn flakes
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Fit a sheet tray with a wire rack and spray with nonstick cooking spray.
Mix together buttermilk, lemon juice, hot sauce, onion, thyme, garlic, salt, and pepper to a large bowl. Add chicken and coat with mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for 3 hours or up 12 hours.
Mix corn flakes, Parmesan cheese, and thyme together. Season with salt and pepper.
Remove chicken from the marinade, letting the excess drip off, and dredge through the corn flake-Parmesan mixture, pressing to help it adhere.
Place on the wire rack-fitted sheet tray and bake for 45 minutes until golden and crisp. (Since I was making boneless chicken breasts, I only cooked them for 35 minutes instead and they were perfect.)
*****
I was able to cook the roasted broccoli salad right on the same cookie sheet as the chicken, so I'll include that recipe too, since it was ridiculously easy and relatively tasty.
Ingredients
2 heads broccoli, cut into florets
2 cups cherry tomatoes
1/4 cup, plus 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
2 1/2 ounces baby arugula (about 3 large handfuls)
4 ounces crumbled feta cheese
Directions
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Add the broccoli florets and cherry tomatoes to a rimmed sheet tray. Drizzle with 1/4 cup olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Toss to coat completely. Roast for 20 to 25 minutes, until the broccoli is tender and lightly golden brown.
Toss with arugula and crumbled feta cheese. Drizzle with remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil. Season with salt and pepper and toss. Serve immediately.
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