Spicy Ramen Noodles

For lunch today I made spicy Ramen noodles based on a modified version of The Chew recipe from Friday.

I combined chicken broth and half a can of coconut milk into a dutch oven over medium heat.  I added chopped button mushrooms, grated ginger, minced garlic, 2 quartered jalapeno peppers, 2 packs of Ramen noodles (not including the spice pouch) and a little salt.  I cooked for about 10 minutes.

In each individual serving bowl, I chopped 1 fresh mint leaf along with about 5 fresh basil leaves.  Also, I grated carrots and added them.  Finally, I added a few peanuts.

Then I poured the hot soup over the ingredients in the bowls.  Make sure to remove the jalapeno quarters if you do not like spicy food.

I loved it (I didn't eat the peppers, just used the peppers for flavor prior to serving), but Ryan ate the peppers and had an adverse reaction.

Egg Bacon Bread with Onion and Spinach

From Everyday Foods, I found this recipe.  It was a very unique way to have breakfast for dinner.

1st I hard boiled eggs and sliced them.  Then I cooked bacon in my dutch oven.  I toasted Italian sliced loaf bread and spread Dijon mustard and sprayed a little olive oil.  I added the sliced eggs and topped with crumbled bacon.

2nd I kept the bacon grease in the dutch oven and cut an onion in half and put the sliced side down in the dutch oven.  I cooked for 5 minutes.  Then I added some chicken broth, flipped the onions over and cooked at 450 in the oven for 15 minutes.

Once the onions were done, I removed them from the dutch oven and added fresh spinach and a little more chicken broth.  I cooked over medium heat until wilted.

This was a very good dinner.

Meatballs with roasted carrots and couscous

I found an old recipe from Everyday.  Since I needed something to entertain me prior to the Bachelorette Finale tonight, I decided to make something with a lot of ingredients.

Carrots:
I sprayed olive oil on 2 servings of baby carrots and sprinkled them with salt and pepper.  Then I roasted them at 450 for 20 minutes, tossing half way through.  

Meatballs:
I combined cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, egg, chopped cilantro, chopped green onion and mixed in 1 lb of 85% ground beef.  I formed about 16 meatballs.  Then I browned them in about 1 tablespoon of olive oil for 8 minutes in a skillet in medium high heat.  Then I added 1/4 cup of water, covered, reduced heat and cooked for 5 minutes on low.

Couscous:
In a sauce pan, I added about 1 tablespoon of olive oil and added the chopped white part of the green onion over medium high heat.  I cooked for about 3 minutes then I added 1 cup of water.  I covered and let it boil.  Then I added 1 cup of couscous.  I mixed, removed from heat and covered for five minutes.  Then I added sliced almonds.

Chili sauce is really good with the meatballs.  I had no idea roasted carrots were so good.  Couscous is only good with butter and zucchini in it (from my Le Cordon Bleu Paris cooking class).

Spaghetti with Rosemary Sea Salt Pizza Bread

My dad came over for dinner tonight so I made use spinach spaghetti with ground beef.  Also, I spread whole wheat pizza dough in an oiled 9 in cake pan.  Then I flipped the dough over so the oil would be on both sides.  I chopped fresh rosemary from my yard and spead it on top of the dough along with sea salt.  Then I baked it at 400 for 20 minutes.  The bread was delicious with the tomato sauce. 

Scones - Chocolate & Coconut

Nothing gets your husband out of bed faster on a weekend morning than the smell of coffee and baked breakfast food.  I used a general scone recipe and added semi-sweet chocolate mini-morsels and sweetened shredded coconut. 

Coconut Cake with Berries & Cream

For Father's Day weekend, my father-in-law, brother-in-law and his girlfiend came over for a game of corn hole and dinner.  We made a delecious steak dinner on the grill and for desert I made a delicious cake.  From Living magazine, page 135 July 2012, I made the Coconut Cake with Blueberries and Cream.  I used half the recipe ingridents because it called for a 9x13 in pan, but I just used a 9 in round cake pan.  The recipe said to have the cake refridgerate for 3-5 hours, but mine took an overnight stay in the refrideragtor to set completely. 

It was the first time I used coconut milk in a cake.  It was super sweet combined with the sweetened condenced milk and heavy cream.  I probably could have used about a quarter less heavy cream when I poured the liquid over the cooling cake.  For garnish, I whipped fresh cream and smeared it on top of the refridgerator set cake like frosting.  Then I laid fresh blueberries on top.

Strawberry Layer Cake

Post Easter dinner, my mom made a beautiful strawberry layer cake. She layered meringue with pecans, cream cheese mixed with whipped cream and strawberries 4 times. Beautiful cake, but really hard to cut. We agreed individual little cakes would be best so that you don't have to slice it. Southern Living April cover cake!!!!

Easter Breakfast Bread

My mom has a tradition making Easter breakfast bread every Easter. It is a raisin like bread with powdered sugar icing and sprinkles.

Mascarpone Cheese Cake

Saturday night, I made a modified version of my Le Cordon Bleu for my first audience, my parents - sister - brother. I heated up the house so much that the windows were steamy, but buy it was good. For dessert, I created a cake without hydrogenated oil. The only cake box without it was a chocolate gluten free cake. I layered it with tiramisu mascarpone and raspberries. I topped it with white chocolate shavings.

Fruit Tartare with Peppermint, Campari Sorbet

Dice mangos, pineapple, bananas, passion fruit, bunch peppermint - nothing perfectly cut

Campari sorbet (orange juice, lime juice, orangel peel, Campari, water, sugar, glucose - honey can be substituted)

Pike Perch with a Crisp Skin, Couscous with Currants

Pike Perch (any white fish would do. Use parchment paper, oil skillet, added paper and flip to coat both sides. Then cook fish skin side down using med-high until the outline of the fish is cooked except for the inside. Then flip the fish flesh down on hot pan removed from heat to finish cooking.)

Couscous with currants (currants, couscous, butter, light fish stock - garnish with zucchini, diced, butter)

Red butter sauce (shallots, red wine vinegar, red wine, fish stock, butter)

Garnish/decorate everything with fresh dill.

Warm foie gras, split pea puree, lightly smoked sauce

Food presentation is half the battle to make French food look magical.
First, spoon lightly smoked sauce (shallots, butter, cultivated mushrooms, white wine, clear veal stock, smoked slab bacon).
Second, spoon un-food processed split pea (split peas, carrot, onion, celery stalk, bouquet garni, chicken stock, cream, butter).
Third, spoon split pea puree.
Forth, place 1 slice foie gras, pan fried in haxelnut oil. Interesting trivia - the duck liver was huge. They force feed the duck cornmeal so that the liver expands to about the size of the main body of the duck and then they kill it.
Fifth, place salad to garnish (lamb's lettuce, lemon juice, hazelnut oil)

Le Cordon Bleu, Demonstration

At 8:30 AM, I arrived by taxi to Le Cordon Bleu. Chef Patrick Caals led a group of Americans and Canadians in the classroom style setting. He prepared a 3 course meal in the front of the classroom while the "students" watched in old wooden riser style chairs. He cooked through noon and served all courses in small portions. He only spoke French, but there was a British English translator that repeated everything the chef said. The chef was very funny and wanted us to keep saying "we chef" whenever he gave an instruction!

1st Course: warm foie gras, split pea puree, lightly smoked sauce

2nd Course: pike perch with a scrisp skin, couscous with currants

3rd Course: fruit tartare with peppermint, Campari sorbet

Le Cordon Bleu, Paris EuroStar Journey

After my business trip to London, I took the EuroStar from London to Paris for a weekend of French food! I pre-booked a "cooking for friends" class at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris. The morning consisted of demonstration and the afternoon was discovery. I am separating my posts by dishes.

St Patrick's Day

Instead of going to an Irish pub and paying an arm and a leg for an Irish meal on St Patrick's Day, I decided to make our own meal at home.

I added a bag of baby carrots, 1 small sweet onion cut into 1 inch wedges, halved white potatoes and fresh springs of thyme from my garden to the bottom of the crock pot. Then I added the corned beef brisket, fat side up. I sprinked the meat seasoning pack on top. Then I added 1 can of beef broth and added water until it touched the bottom of the beef. I cooked on low for about 6 hours. Then I added 1.5 inch cabbage wedges of cabbage on top of the beef and continued to cook for about 1.5 hours more.

After dinner, I brewed Irish Breakfast Hot Tea with milk and sugar along with a homemade tea cake. I attempted to create a shamrock cut out with paper and sifted powdered sugar on the top of the cake.

This was the first corned beef I actually liked. I hosted my friend, Amy. It was nice sharing some Irish food, from an Irish household!

French Toast

In celebration of my upcoming trip to France, I decided to make French Toast with carmelized bananas on top in my new all-clad French skillet after church on Sunday. I am very excited to announce that I am attending a cooking class at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris in 2 weekends. Also, I will be touring the school in the event I ever win the lottery, become a chef, and open a French pastry bakery in a large city in the US (dream!).

Mexican Chicken and Saffron Rice

I wanted to clear out my pantry, which seems to be a reoccuring them lately. I used my blender and combined a can of green chilies, a can of tomatoes, 1/2 can of black beans, 2 garlic cloves, cumin, corriander, salt, pepper, and red pepper flakes. I made a sauce and set it aside.

I olive oiled a casserole dish and added 3 large chicken breasts. I topped them with about 3/4 of the sauce. Then I baked it at 400 for 50 minutes.

While baking, I made saffron rice. Also, I used the remainder can of black beans with the 1/4 sauce and heated on the stove until warm.

This made 4 servings. I approve!

Chicken with artichokes and sun dried tomatoes

My parents, brother, and sister are visiting for the weekend and I wanted to make a large dinner that wasn't too stressful so I invented my own recipe. I bought a large pack of chicken thighs and cooked with the an entire jar of artichoke hearts, a bag of sun dried tomatoes, dried basil, dried thyme, and olive oil. I also cubed russet potatoes and roasted them with fresh rosemary (from my garden), sea salt, and olive oil. On the side I served a head of romaine lettuce. I garnished the placed with pickled peppers.

The chicken was extremely juicy and delicious! My picky brother ate it so I know it was good.

Pumpkin Belgium Waffles

Saturday morning isn't complete with a tall mug of coffee and a home cooked breakfast at home. I have 2 cans of pumpkin left over from Thanksgiving in my pantry so I decided to use it.

I used my Belgium waffle maker and combined waffle mix with half a can of pumpkin. Yumm it was delicious. I topped the waffle with sliced banana.

I also made scrambled eggs with spinach and cheddar cheese.

White Lightning Chicken Chili

Southern Living January 2012 page 112 has an excellent recipe for white lightning chicken chili, but your have to make the avocado-mango salsa to top the chili. The chili is too plain without it.

I signed up for a Sunday School food tiding and made a huge batch. I made 3 dinner portions to share and save. I had no idea fresh mango was so good with cilantro leaves and red onion/pepper jack cheese.

As my mother would say, I make a mess in the kitchen (photo of me preparing the salsa). I use about every cooking utensil I own. This is great fun, but it makes clean up a bear.

John's Red Bean's and Rice

Southern Living Jan 2012 page 98

Since I cooked a pork shoulder yesterday, I had a left over pork bone (I forgot to save the fat part). I decided to make John's Red Beans and Rice and substitute a ham hock with a pork shoulder bone. Also, instead of using a dutch oven for the last 2 hours of simmering, I used the crock pot so I wouldn't have to use so much gas on my stove. Also I didn't think my dutch oven was big enough for the 96 oz of chicken broth along with the other ingredients. This makes 12 servings so I will be freezing some for future weeknight meals.

Cooking this smelled so good. It filled the house with the best aroma. Like John Harris of Lilette Restaurant in New Orleans, LA quoted in the magazine, "I really like to invest the time to let the flavors develop. That's comfort." I couldn't have said it any better myself.

All this southern cooking is making me want to take a trip. Southern Living Jan 2012 page 30 lists a Mississippi Literary Trail trip. It outlines places from Jackson to Clarksdale to Oxford. I have a Page Aunt living down on the gulf coast in Mississippi and I promised her I would visit her sometime in 2012. Might be my spring break trip :-) The old houses, gardens, and food are what I want to experience on my Mississippi adventure.

Caramelized Banana Pudding

I followed the recipe on page 106 of the Feb 2012 Southern Living. You only have to use half of the recommended ingredients to make 6 servings. It wasn't as good cold as it was warm so make sure to serve while it is still warm. I served in 6 small ramekins.

Note that you probably want to use an extra banana and eat it immediately after cooking with the butter, brown sugar, and cinnamon because it tastes like candy.

Pimiento Cheese Rolls

Yesterday, I finished the book, The Wedding Gift by Marlen Suyapa Bodden. It is about southern life in Alabama during slavery. Anyway, I was also reading the January and February issues of Southern Living, which features the deep south and several comfort food recipes. Since my brother-in-law was bringing a new girl over to dinner at my husband and my home last night, I decided to make some southern comfort food.

As a southern staple, pork is very delicious and easy to make. We bought a picnic pork shoulder and cooked it on low for 8 hours in the crock pot with strawberry preserves and hickory bbq sauce.

I wanted to make mac-n-cheese, but Ryan didn't like that idea so he sautes spinach and portobello mushrooms.

My favorite part of the meal was the pimiento cheese rolls. I followed the recipe from Southern Living Feb 2012 page 74. The only thing I would have done differently is use the less than recommended amount of pimiento cheese. But, these were so yummy. I had left over rolls for breakfast this morning.

My next post will detail the dessert, caramelized banana pudding.

Salami Pasta

This past week, while sitting in the dentist's chair, I was watching Rachel Ray. She mentioned a quick meal for career women, like myself, that like to cook weeknights even though time and energy is limited. I went over to Wal-mart and only spent $16 for the ingredients. I was able to make 2 dinners, 1 for 3 people and 1 for 2 people, plus 2 lunches with left overs. Good price!

When my dad was visiting, I decided to make the meal. I cooked generic whole wheat penne pasta. I microwaved frozen chopped broccoli. I chopped beef salami. I combined all 3 ingredients with ricotta cheese. Once combined, the dish was cold and not very good. On the side, I made mushrooms with tomatoes. I sliced roma tomatoes, drizzled them with olive oil, salt, pepper, and roasted in the oven. Then, I chopped portobello mushrooms and sauteed them in olive oil with minced garlic. Finally, I added the tomatoes from the oven and tossed.

The next night, I wanted to change the recipe to make the dish taste better. Instead of serving the mushrooms on the side, I tossed them into the pasta. Also, I substituted broccoli with fresh spinach. Further, I mixed all ingredients together after cooking in a skillet to warm everything up. This tasted MUCH better!

Kidney Beans with Corn Bread

I was craving corn bread so I made a simple, cheap meal for 1 using Indian Head Old Fashioned Stone Ground Yellow Corn Meal.

Kidney Bean Melody:

1/2 can dark red kidney beans

1/4 medium white onion (chopped)

1/4 red pepper (chopped)

cumin

salt

pepper

minced garlic

olive oil

In olive oil over medium high heat, I sauteed minced garlic 30 seconds then added the red pepper and onion for about 4 minutes. Then I added the kidney beans (drained). I mixed over medium heat for about 3 minutes, until the beans were heated. Then I added cumin, salt, and pepper.

For the corn bread, I followed the recipe for golden yellow corn bread on the back of the corn meal packaging. I used course sea salt, and I think that is what caused the bread to crack (also I think I added too much flour). But the course salt was a pleasant surprise in various bites because it remained in the salt's original size. I really like salt.

The meal was also good with the kidney bean melody mixed with cooked crumbled golden yellow corn bread.

I recommend this meal.

Milanese Breaded Chicken Cutlet

Living magazine has a recipe for a breaded cutlet, fried in olive oil until crisp and golden brown. They clam it is Milan's gastronomic gift to the world. With a caption like that, I had to try it.

I followed the instructions on page 62 of the 2012 Feb issue. Except I used store bought Italian bread crumbs since I had it in the pantry.

It would have been too plan if I hadn't added fresh lemon juice after frying, like recommended. But let me tell you, I have become a huge fan of fresh lemon and I think it should always go on poultry.

I boiled fresh cut carrots and 1 yellow onion in chicken broth and a little butter for the side.

This was an easy, yummy meal!

Cleanse Shake

Yesterday on ABC's The Chew, they presented a cleanse shake for the new year. So I tried it this AM.

Cleanse Shake:

1 grapefruit

1 carrot

ginger root

blend

Have you ever tasted throw-up that was going into you instead of out? Well this is it. I see why they called it the cleanse, you puke up everything you just binge ate. NASTY.

Green Shake

For the new year, I am trying shakes for breakfast. Last year I did a green machine with spinach, avocado, white grape juice, and ice. It was really good, but since I am on this all natural kick, I wanted to ax the store bought white grape juice.

2012 Green Shake:

1 handful of fresh spinach

5 green grapes

1/2 avocado (keep the seed in the other side, wrap in plastic wrap and it will store overnight in the refrigerator without getting brown)

1/2 cup Greek yogurt

1/2 cup ice

Liquidify in the blender