Lemony-Tarragon Crab Dip with Salt & Vinegar Chips

this recipe was also used for my work pot-luck.

the ingredients:

1/4 c. (1 oz) cream cheese

3 tbsp. finely chopped red onion

2 tbsp.mayonaise

1 tbsp. plus 1 1/2 tsp. fresh lemon juice

2 tsp. chopped fresh Tarragon

2 tsp. chopped fresh Dill

1/2 tsp. lemon zest

8 oz. fresh crab meat

1/4 c. finely chopped cucumber

Salt and Vinegar chips for serving

I have a soft spot in my heart for crab dips.  in general, I feel like you can't go wrong mixing cream cheese with ANYTHING.  so you imagine my disappointment when I see only 1/4 c. being called for in this recipe...

I didn't like this dip one bit.  some thoughts from co-workers:

"it's not bad, but it's not like 'ohmigod this is SO GOOD."

"it would be better warm."

"what if you put it on a crustini and warmed it thru?"

"I don't know what it is, but it isn't bad."

"the artichoke dip is really good!"

they're right- it wasn't bad.  but it also wasn't full of cream cheesey goodness.

I have to give props to the authors of the recipe because they will also give conversions for dried herbs if fresh aren't available.  but...

I guess you can tell what I would have done to improve upon this recipe.
~pam

Artichoke & Green Onion Dip

I would like to start off this post by saying that I have never eaten an artichoke.  I have had samplings of artichoke dips in the past, but have never really sought out eating one.   seems like a lot of work with little reward, I guess.

I decided to make this recipe because we were having a pot luck at work and I was responsible for side dishes.  I also thought it was a good idea to make this recipe because I knew it wouldn't be wasteful (in case I didn't like it).

the ingredients:

2 cans (14 oz) water-packed Artichoke Hearts, drained & chopped

1 1/2 c. Mayonaise

1 1/2 c. finely grated Parmesan cheese

1/3 c. plus 2 tbsp. sliced Green Onions, green part only

2 tsp. minced garlic

1 1/2 tsp. fresh Thyme

1/4 tsp. kosher salt

1/4 tsp. fresh ground pepper

bagel chips, crackers or french bread slices for serving

(I also made another dip- that recipe will follow- but can I just say MAYONAISE?!  seriously, that is a lot of...  fat.)

so, combining all of these ingredients together I have to say the mixture smelled liked vomit and I was really nervous it was going to taste like crap and I wouldn't be able to serve it.  the recipe said you could make it 1 day ahead and bake it before serving the next day.  I woke up early enough to bake it in the morning and nuked it in the microwave for 2 minutes before serving.

my vote: it tasted good.  I personally think the garlic and cheese saved the day.  I was also really excited I couldn't taste all of the mayo in it.

co-workers consensus: it was really good!  (I also saw several people go back for a second helping, but that could also be because my dishes were 2 of the 3 actually provided.  don't get me started on this "pot luck.")

no pictures, sorry.  I'm not going to get all vain at work...
~pam

Green Chili Stew

So it's been a while since I last posted a recipe.  (It's been about that long since I last cooked anything at home!)  Finally last night I decided that enough was enough and set to work making something to make me forget about the dreary weather we've been having in Seattle.

Before I begin let me give you a little bit of background as to why I don't cook anything worthwhile all that often. 

My husband, Lucky, is a tattoo artist and typically doesn't get home until 10 or 11 at night.  That just leaves me and the kids from when I get home from work at about 5:45pm until they go to bed at 8:30.  And we all know how picky my kids can be refusing to eat anything remotely healthy if it doesn't include peanut butter, honey, and/or pasta.  So there isn't really anything besides bread, peanut butter, pasta, butter, and honey in my house at all times.  If I want something else I have to go to the store.  With two little kids.

Say it with me people: P.L.A.N.N.I.N.G.

Planning.  I'm not that great at planning.  I'm normally at the store before I decide what I want for dinner and that normally it's something quick and easy that I don't have to think about.  Or I just wait for Lucky to get home and we'll eat Thai takeout or pizza.  Yes, I know, VERY HEALTHY.

Early in the day I knew that I was going to the store after work so I decided that I wanted to cook something for dinner.  Looking out my office windows it was dark and dreary outside so I figured something hearty and comforting would do the trick.  My go-to food style is Mexican (I'm from San Diego) and it took me about 30 seconds to decide on the Green Chile Stew with Pork recipe from AllRecipes.com would be just what the doctor ordered.  I changed up the recipe a little bit and used chicken instead of pork but other than that I used all the other ingredients.

I also was so focused on making my stew (while making a separate dinner for Kate and Oliver) that I forgot to take pics of the process.  It was pretty easy.  Just sauteeing the chicken and throwing the rest of the ingredients into the pot.  We can all imagine those pictures in our head right? ;)

Green Chile Stew with Pork

Adapted from AllRecipes.com

3 pounds boneless pork loin, cubed (I only used 2 pounds of chicken instead of pork, sliced into strips)

3 tablespoons peanut oil

3 stalks celery, chopped (I only used 2 stalks)

2 tomatoes, chopped (I only used 1 tomato)

7 green chile peppers, chopped (I only used 5 peppers)

4 cloves crushed garlic (Heck yeah I used all 4 cloves!)

4 cups chicken broth (I used roughly about 3 cups)

1 (10 ounce) jar prepared green chile salsa  (Maybe only a cup)

salt to taste

 

1.In a large pot over medium high heat, brown the chicken in oil, for 4-5 minutes. (Until the chicken is almost completely cooked.) 

 

2.Add celery, tomatoes, chilies, and garlic.

3.Add green chile salsa and just enough chicken broth to barely cover the ingredients and bring to boil. Cover and simmer until stew is thick and meat very tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Add salt to taste before serving. If stew is not hot enough, add a bit of jalapenos salsa.
 

 
The recipe turned out great.  The last time I made it I used pork and had put everything into a slow cooker to cook for 8 hours.  Both times the stew turned out amazing.  This is definitely a keeper; all I get are rave reviews on the recipe and if there's not enough to go around, I get faces like this:
 

Oh yes, that is a real face from Oliver when my stew was gone...

Beef Paprika

so Jake is finally home from two months at sea.  one thing he definitely looks forward to is homemade meals.  one thing I look forward to is cooking for him.  yes, I love the gesture of making dinner for my man.  and tonite- I decided on making one of my childhood favorites, Beef Paprika!  we found these amazing egg noodles at a German Delicatessen by our house today and it sparked my desire to make this recipe (since it's the only one I know of that calls for egg noodles.)  this recipe is also not from one of my cookbooks, its from a recipe card that mom gave me.  it's so very...  vintage.

how adorable is this recipe card?!

the ingredients:

1/4 c. shortening*

2 lbs. beef chuck or round, cut into cubes

1 c. sliced onions

1 clove garlic, minced

3/4 c. Ketchup

2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 tbsp. brown sugar

2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. paprika

1/2 tsp. dry mustard

dash cayenne red pepper**

1 1/2 c. water***

2 tbsp. flour plus 1/4 c. water****

3 c. hot cooked noodles

*I used olive oil- I told you this recipe was old.

**not an ingredient I have in my house, I used a pinch of red pepper flake.

***I use 1/2 stock, 1/2 water combination.

****I skip this step.  I dust the meat in flour before browning, I find that this method thickens the sauce nicely and also lets you off the hook from making a thickener.  if you want to do this method, I would use corn starch instead.  (it gives a nice glossy look to the sauce and you don't run the risk of it tasting like flour.)

browning the meat, onions & garlic.

making the sauce.  be sure to scrape the good bits off the bottom of the pan!

I can not put into words how delicious this sauce is!  I just think you all need to make it and tell me what you think.  you can't go wrong.  oh, AND it's all made in the same pot so that's nice.  well, except for the noodles- but you get what I'm saying.

we also found these amazing Pretzel Bread Rolls @ the German Delicatessen.  OMG

for dessert I'm making Jake Erin's recipe for Salted Brown Butter Rice Crispy Treats.  if you guys haven't tested that recipe yet, make that one first,  then come back to this one!

~pam

1-2-3 Mexican Dip

 first off lets start this post with my insane craving I had last nite.  I was really in the mood for biscuits from Popeye's.  you know the ones I'm talking about...  I thought I could manage to make some and found a recipe on www.foodnetwork.com.  one thing I realized about myself last nite: I am NOT a midnight baker.  other things that are really important: it's critical to measure out ingredients when baking.  it's also probably critical to not forget certain ingredients (as I later found out there's a "science" to baking, you need the right acidity to make a balanced biscuit, so when I forget an ingredient like say, LEMON JUICE, they're probably going to taste like shit.)  the biscuits rose just fine, and browned on the top like they were supposed to.  however, they were hard as hockey pucks and only a morsel of each one was edible.

some cravings need to be satisfied by the original creator.

for tonight's recipe I decided that I would go to one of my survival foods.  yes folks, I'm pretty sure I could survive on chips and salsa.  this recipe seemed easy enough (boy was that a joke, there's a lot of steps and measuring out the ingredients you already had measured out- what's that about?!).  anyway, lets get on with it.

the ingredients:

1 can Refried Beans

1 1/2 c. medium Salsa

1 tsp. Chili Powder

 1 tsp. Ground Cumin

3/4 tsp. dried Oregano

1/2 c. Mayonaise

1/4 c. finely chopped Red Onion

1/3 c. chopped fresh Cilantro

1 tsp. Onion Powder

1 small Red Bell Pepper, chopped

1 c. grated Extra-Sharp Cheddar Cheese

1 fresh Japapeno chile

Tortilla chips for serving

1-2-3 layers, no?

this recipe was a chore to make.  there is a lot of "divide this" and mix that".  in the end I used 3 different spoons, one spatula and 3 bowls (not including the one it was served in) just to make this dish.  I liked it.  I mean, I ate half the bowl for dinner...  so it wasn't a total loss.  or total mess for that matter.  I'm just not sure it's any better than any 7-layer dip you could find in the grocery store.

the recipe didn't call for black olives, but I couldn't resist.

as a treat to myself, I decided to try Erin's Salted Brown Butter Rice Crispy Treats!  OMG.

the best Rice Crispy Treat EVER.

~pam

Marinated Olives and Feta Cheese

the ingredients:

1/2 c. Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

2 tsp. grated Lemon Zest

2 tsp. fresh Lemon Juice

5 medium cloves Garlic, sliced

1/4 c. chopped fresh Flat Leaf Parsley

1 tbsp. Herbes de Provence

3/4 tsp. Dried Chili Flakes

1 c. Kalamata or Black Olives

1 c. Green Olives

10 oz. Feta Cheese

French Bread slices

UNIMPRESSED.

well ladies & gents, I think we have finally hit a recipe low.   it was...  oily, dare I say?  I don't even know how to improve upon it, since so many things seem to go wrong with it.  maybe if it wasn't marinated and you just mixed everything together on the spot it would taste better.  at least the consistency would be better and the olives would seem less slimy.

I'm pretty irritated since this recipe has tons of my favorite things to eat: olives, feta, lemon, garlic & bread.

I have no more words.  the only thing that can cure this is an episode of Tori & Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood and ice cream.  (and maybe watching Julie & Julia again for some inspiration.)

here's hoping to a better recipe tomorrow,

~pam

Salted Brown Butter Rice Crispie Treats

So, after being told MANY TIMES from my colleague, Violet, I finally decided to give these "most delicious Rice Crispie treats in the world" a try.  I wasn't skeptical - Violet's an expert when it comes to amazing food - but I never make dessert so I never put ingredients on my store list.  I was in one of my "baking moods" but didn't want to spend a large amount of time in the kitchen so I turned to a jazzed up version of an oldie but goodie.

I turned to the ever-wonderful Smitten Kitchen blog and searched out the Salted Brown Butter Crispy Treats recipe.  Looking at the recipe, there wasn't much difference between a regular rice crispy treat recipe and this marvelous version except for the addition of a little salt and cooking the butter a little bit longer.  But man, those little tweaks made all the difference in the world.

Salted Brown Butter Crispy Treats
Makes 16 2-inch squares or 32 1- x 2-inch small bars

4 ounces (1/4 pound or 1 stick) unsalted butter, plus extra for the pan
1 10-ounce bag marshmallows
Heaping 1/4 teaspoon coarse sea salt
6 cups Rice Krispies cereal (about half a 12-ounce box)
Butter (or coat with non-stick spray) an 8-inch square cake pan with 2-inch sides.

In a large pot, melt butter over medium-low heat. It will melt, then foam, then turn clear golden and finally start to turn brown and smell nutty. Stir frequently, scraping up any bits from the bottom as you do. Don’t take your eyes off the pot as while you may be impatient for it to start browning, the period between the time the butter begins to take on color and the point where it burns is often less than a minute.

As soon as the butter takes on a nutty color, turn the heat off and stir in the marshmallows. The residual heat from the melted butter should be enough to melt them, but if it is not, turn it back on low until the marshmallows are smooth.

Remove the pot from the stove and stir in the salt and cereal together. Quickly spread into prepared pan. I liked to use a piece of waxed or parchment paper that I’ve sprayed with oil to press it firmly and evenly into the edges and corners, though a silicon spatula works almost as well.

Let cool, cut into squares and get ready to make new friends.


First I had to enlist one of my favorite helpers to test out a key ingredient.

Turns out, the little munchkin was testing out both the marshmallows AND rice crispies behind my back.  Every time I would look at her she would cover her mouth like she was fooling me....

We followed the directions exactly as mentioned and were done in a matter of minutes.  The longest step was making sure the butter was cooked long enough.

The butter turned a brown color as mentioned above and I was worried that it would make the treats turn out an unappetizing brown but I could hardly notice a different when it was all mixed together.

How did they taste?  Let's just say that if Lucky and I weren't already married I would have garnered a marriage proposal right then and there.

Magnifique!

Simmering Tomato Sauce with Butter

I was perusing my cookbooks on Saturday trying to figure out what to make the kids for dinner.  Normally I wouldn't have a problem deciding on one recipe however nothing was sounding good with my current list of recipe requirements.  Mind you, I have a 15-month-old son that will eat anything and everything under the sun - except lately because he's teething and his mouth is sore when he chews.  I also have a 4-year-ol daughter that doesn't like anything she hasn't tried before and apparently doesn't trust dear old Mom and Dad to assure her that whatever we give her will be really good.  We promise.  Isn't she supposed to stop trusting us when she's 16 and finally realizes we've been telling her lies all these years just to see her reactions?

So, mushy food and something relatively similar to meals we've had in the past.  And it must be quick.

Awesome.  That makes for an exciting dinner from one of my cookbook recipes.

So I decided to skip dinner for the time being and focus on dessert.  We normally don't have dessert but I was in "a mood" and wanted to cook or bake something sweet.  That reminded me of an amazing recipe at Smitten Kitchen that was recommended to me from Violet, and if my memory served me correctly the recipe was both easy and quick. Perfect!

Now that the dessert is out of the way, back to the main course.  I decided to scroll through some of the other recipes at Smitten Kitchen and I came to a rediculously fast, easy recipe that catered to all of my meal requirements.  Four ingredients with one of them being pasta?  Heck yeah!

Tomato Sauce with Butter and Onions

Serves 4 as a main course; makes enough sauce to lightly coat most of a pound of spaghetti

28 ounces (800 grams) whole peeled tomatoes from a can (San Marzano, if you can find them)
5 tablespoons (70 grams) unsalted butter
1 medium-sized yellow onion, peeled and halved
Salt to taste

Put the tomatoes, onion and butter in a heavy saucepan (it fit just right in a 3-quart) over medium heat. Bring the sauce to a simmer then lower the heat to keep the sauce at a slow, steady simmer for about 45 minutes, or until droplets of fat float free of the tomatoes. Stir occasionally, crushing the tomatoes against the side of the pot with a wooden spoon. Remove from heat, discard the onion, add salt to taste (you might find, as I did, that your tomatoes came salted and that you didn’t need to add more) and keep warm while you prepare your pasta.

Serve with spaghetti, with or without grated parmesan cheese to pass.

 
I followed the directions and it took literally 3 minutes to get everything into a saucepan and the temperature to medium-high.  And then I was done.  I stirred it every once in a while and broke up the tomatoes but that was it.  I actually made my dessert while dinner was cooking because I felt lost just standing there.

When I was done both Kate and Oliver decided that they wanted only buttered noodles instead of having sauce with it but I'm sure it was just because the noodles were so cool to look at.

Overall, I felt it was a good recipe to have when the summer days are long and there are too many tomatoes in the garden to know what to do with.  Although this recipe called for a can of whole tomatoes and the sauce ended up being a tomato-y sweet goodness, I have the idea that fresh tomatoes are going to make it taste even better.  Next time I'll also add italian seasoning and maybe some fresh garlic to cater more towards the family's tastes.  Nevertheless, this recipe was a great, fast, easy addition to my growing collection of "good 'uns."

ALWAYS check your recipe!

I found a great recipe for marinated olives and feta in my cookbook.  I thought I would remember the ingredients when I went to the store this afternoon, but I didn't.  I definitely forgot Herbs de Provence, Flat Leaf Parsley and Feta.  FETA!  how could I forget the Feta?!  it's in the TITLE!!!  ugh.  3 ingredients qualifies a trip to the grocery store.  but after I drove around to three different stores this afternoon looking for a space heater...  I'm not in the mood to go back out.

while I was out I stopped by our favorite used book store (I had 4 books to turn in) and found myself staring at the cookbooks.  WHAT IS WRONG WITH ME?!  I even grabbed 2 of them off of the shelf to peruse the pages!  I did notice that there was a plethora of Colorado cookbooks, not sure what that indicates.  don't worry, I didn't buy any of the books I took off the shelf.  I was looking for the Joy of Cooking or Mastering the Art of French Cooking- I've been told I must own these cookbooks if I am serious about cooking out of my cookbooks.  neither of them were there.  I know it's probably a long shot, as I figure no one would part with either of those cookbooks, but I've found stranger things on the shelves in these places before...

I ended up making English Muffin pizzas for dinner.  I couldn't find a recipe for them, so I just made it up as I went along.  I also took my turn at roasting garlic for the first time.  turns out this IS a recipe in my cookbook, so it qualifies!  can I just say that roasted garlic has got to be one of the most delicious scents I've ever had coming out of my kitchen?!  WOW!

(my) ingredients:

2 English Muffins

2 cloves garlic, halved

olive oil

tomato paste

red pepper flakes

fresh basil leaves, torn

shredded Parmesan

Provolone cheese, sliced

kosher salt, to taste

preheat the oven to 350

place the halved English Muffins on a baking sheet (I line mine with aluminum foil because the cheese can make a mess)

rub the insides of the muffins with the garlic halves

drizzle with olive oil

spread tomato paste on each muffin (to taste, I used about 1 tsp. each, it's really rich)

top with basil leaves

sprinkle with Parmesan

top each muffin with 1 slice of Provolone

bake for 5-10 minutes until cheese is bubbly and slightly brown.  DELISH.

roasting garlic has got to be the easiest thing ever- you cut off the top of a bulb, drizzle with olive oil, wrap in aluminum foil and bake it.  who knew?!

I'm ready for tomorrow morning's adventure in the cookbook!  I FINALLY found Challah bread- 4 grocery stores later. 

lesson learned tonite: Trader Joe's will always have what I can not find in a traditional grocery store, so I should just start there.

I'm also really in the mood for ice cream.

~pam

Eggs Benedict

lets start with a little background on my distaste for Eggs Benedict: well, I guess that's just it, I don't enjoy Eggs Benedict.  more specifically, I don't enjoy Hollandaise sauce.  (or Canadian Bacon and this recipe called for it- I'm not sure if this is a traditional ingredient for Eggs Benedict.)  I have nothing against English Muffins or poached eggs.

that said, one of my favorite dishes I have ever had is at Alki Cafe in West Seattle, their Cafe Benedict: English Muffin, Crab Cakes, Poached Eggs and Swiss-Asiago cheese sauce.  OMG.  I MUST figure out how to make this sauce and master it by the time I get into my I Love Crab Cakes! cookbook.

the ingredients:

4 slices Canadian Bacon

2 tsp. Kosher Salt

2 tbsp. Distilled White Vinegar

2 Egg Yolk @ room temperature

2 tsp. Heavy Cream @ room temperature

1/4 tsp. Kosher Salt

1/2 c. plus 2 tbsp. Unsalted Butter

2 tsp. fresh Lemon juice @ room temperature

1 tsp. White Wine Vinegar

Sugar

2 English Muffins

4 Eggs

I started off making the Hollandaise.  apparently it requires A LOT of melted butter:

check me out, using a double-boiler!

the recipe said to use your blender to make the sauce, I was pretty thankful for that because I wasn't in the mood to whisk the darn stuff together.  that said, it sounds amazingly awesome written on paper- but this has got to be one of the messiest things I have accomplished in the kitchen!  they want you to use your appliance at full-speed-ahead, but I just couldn't do it without wearing the sauce, so I cut it back a few and it still seemed to work.

at this point, I wasn't enjoying the scent of vinegar from the sauce and already decided I wasn't going to like it.

here's the time that I say, "shut up Pam, and just try it."  as you can tell, I didn't cover mine in the sauce- I put it on the side.  (but I did try it.)

HOLY SMOKES!  WHAT A TASTE-SENSATION!!!  I made a face the entire time I had my first bite, clearly assuming I didn't like it.  BUT- I went back for more, and then some more and then finished the whole thing!  beside the sauce smelling obscenely like an open vinegar bottle, it didn't taste like it.  it was rich and creamy and smooth and had a great bite to it.

I'm pretty sure I gave myself a verbal "good job, Pam!" when it was all over.

lesson learned from this recipe: you probably do like it- so you should just try it.

~pam

p.s. I hope there's a recipe for English Muffin Pizzas...  

Penne with Butternut Squash and Goat Cheese

lets just start off by saying that day 2 was way more delicious than day 1!  I'm so glad I decided to stick with this project (ahem) and see it thru to this recipe!  I stole this recipe from Giada deLaurentis of Food Network fame, you can find it here.  I know, I know- it's not from my cookbook, but these are my rules and I can break them for delicious eats.

I have never eaten Butternut Squash before, nor worked with one.  it was surprisingly easy to prep, although I would prefer to find one already cut into cubes- and it was extremely tasty after being roasted with onions, olive oil, salt & pepper.  oh my!

the ingredients:

Vegetable oil cooking spray

1 (2 lb.) butternut or kombucha squash

1 onion

Olive oil

Kosher salt and fresh ground  pepper
1 lb. penne pasta
1 c. goat cheese
1 c. walnuts
1 c. fresh basil
1/3 c. finely grated Parmesan*





I had to toast nuts again...  I learned my lesson from last nights fiasco and didn't burn them!  I also remembered to time the cooking ingredients that required it.  yay!

*I used Parmigiano Reggiano
      

 butternut squash & onions ready to roast

relax, my knife looks like from the goat cheese.

recipe called for 1 c. reserved pasta water, this is the first time I've used this technique.  it made for a creamy sauce!

all together now!

this recipe was extremely easy to make.  prepping the butternut squash was my least favorite part, if you find one already cubed, I would purchase it!  the veggies also take about 40 min. to cook, overall time in the kitchen: 1 hour.  I really enjoyed the walnuts in this dish as well, their flavor isn't overwhelming, its almost like they are there strictly for crunch.  my favorite bites were every bite that had an onion in it...  having made these two recipes I realize how much I love onions and missed cooking with them.  they are so yummy roasted!

this recipe would have been too weird for Jake.  I think the goat cheese would have really thrown him off.  and lets not get into the squash, onions and nuts...  I can't wait for him to start picking some recipes! 

lesson learned this evening: a watch pot never boils.

~pam