Week 4- Baking/Dessert: French Baguette

I got a bread maker for Christmas in 2002. I thought it was the best thing ever... such a treat to have fresh bread with dinner. The bread maker didn't make the trip to Brazil, so I started making bread with my standing mixer's dough attachment and baking it in the oven. I haven't gone back to the bread maker since we returned! Usually I just make white or wheat bread in a loaf pan, but for some reason since we moved to Iowa I feel like I cannot find a good place to buy baguettes. I figured it was time to take matters into my own hands. I'm interested to try the recipes in Cook's Illustrated and The Bread Baker's Apprentice, but both require you to start the day before you're going to bake. That hasn't happened yet, so I have used Tyler Florence's recipe here a couple times now. First of all, the directions in the recipe are off. I used my kitchen scale to make sure the ingredients were in the right proportions, but the dough seemed sticky to me. I did not change the amounts the second time around, but I did change the way I prepared the loaves. First of all, I didn't let them rise on the baking sheet-- I put them on a sheet of parchment sprayed with cooking spray. (Letting them rise on the sheet seemed to ensure that they would be impossible to remove after they are baked.) Secondly, I cut the slits before the rise (I know bakers consider scoring a baguette to be an art, but for me it just flattened them out). Then I skipped the milk. Finally and MOST IMPORTANTLY I baked them for about 22 minutes. With those modifications, I thought these were good. Better than what i can buy here. Not terribly complex, but great for sopping up beef stew or lasagna. I would definitely make them again when I figure out on the "day of" that I want to bake baguettes.

Week 5- Dinner: Chicken and Root Vegetable Pot Pie

I wouldn't call this recipe a "fail" per se, but I won't be making it again any time soon. I'm not a huge fan of traditional chicken pot pie, so I thought maybe the addition of different veggies would mix it up and make it more interesting. To me, it just had a weird flavor that I couldn't put my finger on. My husband didn't love it either. It was worth a shot though... very flavorful and comforting, if only we had liked the flavors. And for the record, I don't think the problem was the fact that this was a "light" recipe. I wasn't missing fat- the sauce had good texture and the stew part of the potpie was hearty.

Chicken and Root Vegetable Potpie
(from Cooking Light Chicken Tonight page 41)

3 cups fat free, low sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed
1 cup (1/2 inch dice) cubed peeled baking potato
1 cup (1/2 inch dice) cubed peeled sweet potato
1 cup (1/2 inch dice) cubed peeled celery root
1 cup (1/2 inch thick) slices parsnip
1 10 ounce package frozen pearl onions
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite sized pieces
3 ounces (about 2/3 cup) all purpose flour, divided
1 1/2 cups fat free milk
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 T chopped fresh thyme
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
Cooking spray
1 sheet puff frozen pastry dough, thawed

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Bring broth to a boil in a large Dutch oven. Add peas and next five ingredients to pan; cover, reduce heat and simmer 6 minutes. Add chicken and cook 5 minutes or until chicken in done. Remove chicken & vegetables from broth with a slotted spoon. Place in a large bowl.
Increase heat to medium. Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup and level with a knife. Place all but 1 T of flour in a medium bowl. Gradually add milk to bowl, stirring with a whisk until well blended. Add milk mixture to broth; cook 5 minutes or until thickened. Stir in chicken mixture, parsley, thyme, salt and pepper. Spoon mixture into an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.
Sprinkle remaining flour on a work surface and roll dough into a 13 x 9 inch rectangle. Place dough over chicken mixture, pressing to seal at edges. Cut small slits into dough to allow steam to escape. Coat the dough with cooking spray. Bake at 400 degrees for 16 minutes or until pastry is browned and filling is bubbly.

Week 4- Dinner: Chicken, Black Bean & Tortilla Casserole

I've been cooking, I swear. I just haven't been recording it. Time for catch up!
This casserole was awesome. I will definitely make it again, though I do think it needs a bit of a kick. I used hot salsa unintentionally and I think the casserole would have been bland if I hadn't. Next time I intend to add some hot sauce or chili powder or pickled jalapenos, or maybe Pepper Jack cheese. I would also cut down on the amount of cheese on top. I love cheese, but this seemed excessive and made it pretty unhealthy. Huge plus for this meal is that it was even better as a leftover (I guess that's really the mark of a good casserole, isn't it?)

Chicken, Black Bean and Tortilla Casserole
(from The Big Book of Casseroles by Maryana Vollstedt, page 102)

1 T vegetable oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
1/2 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped (I used a yellow pepper)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 14 oz can tomatoes, including juices, lightly pureed in the food processor
1/2 cup salsa
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp salt
Freshly ground pepper to taste
2 15 oz cans black beans, rinsed and drained
3 cups cubed cooked chicken
8 corn tortillas
4 cups grated Monterrey Jack cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a large skillet over medium heat, warm the oil. Add onion, pepper and garlic and saute until vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Add tomatoes, salsa, cumin, oregano, salt & pepper and mix well. Stir in beans and chicken.
In a 4-quart casserole dish (I used a 2-1/2 quart bc it was the biggest one I had, and it turned out fine) lightly coated with cooking spray, spread one-third of the bean and chicken mixture over the bottom. Top with 4 tortillas and sprinkle with one cup of cheese. Add another third of the bean mixture, 4 more tortillas and another cup of cheese. Finish with remaining bean mixture. Cover and bake 40 minutes. Remove lid, add remaining cheese (this is where I think you could get away with 1/2 or 1 cup of cheese instead of 2 whole cups) and bake until bubbly, about 10 minutes longer.
Let stand 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

Week 3- Baking/Dessert: Buttermilk Biscuits

My husband is from South Carolina. Biscuits are of the utmost importance. He actually doesn't mind refrigerated biscuit dough, but I feel that, on principle, I should be able to make some from scratch. Unfortunately, we have different taste in biscuits. I like mine dense. I think Cracker Barrel makes the best biscuits, hands down. These are much fluffier. Hubby liked them. They were easy, so I will probably do them again, though I would make them bigger next time, since he likes to load them up with bacon and scrambled eggs and eat everything n breakfast sandwich form.

Buttermilk Biscuits
** from Baking Illustrated, page 55

1 cup unbleached AP flour
1 cup plain cake flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
8 T (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
3/4 cup buttermilk

1. Adjust an oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 450 degrees.
2. Place flours, baking powder, baking soda, sugar & salt in the workbowl of a food processor fit with a metal blade. Process with 5 1-second pulses.
3. Remove cover and distribute butter evenly over dry ingredients. Cover & process with 12 1-second pulses.
4. Remove cover and pour buttermilk evenly over mixture. Process until the dough gathers into moist clumps, around 8 1-second pulses.
5. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface & quickly form into a rough ball. Do not overmix. Using a sharp knife or a dough cutter, divide the dough into quarters and then then cut each quarter into thirds. Quickly & gently shape each piece into a rough ball and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
6. Bake until biscuit tops are light brown, 10 to 12 minutes. Serve immediately.

Week 2- Baking/Dessert: Pizza Crust

I'm a pizza snob. It's not my fault. I grew up outside of Philadelphia and lived in New York City. When I go home or visit NYC, I always go for the pizza and bagels immediately (and of course for cheesesteaks and soft pretzels in Philly). Living in NC and Brazil, I just had to figure out how to make pizza that I could eat regularly. I had a recipe that went with my breadmaker that I used to make in NC that was pretty good. I did not take the breadmaker to Brazil, so I had to start making my dough with the standing mixer, and that actually worked really well, though without a pizza stone there, making the pizza was tough. I decided to try out the recipe from Baking Illustrated this week, and I got my pizza stone back out for the occasion.  I didn't make any changes to the recipe, though I think it was a little short on salt. This is probably because I used kosher salt rather than regular old iodized salt.  I'll definitely use this recipe again, though I think the real advantage to this recipe (over others I have tried) is the technique for cooking it rather than the ingredients.

Pizza Dough
** from Baking Illustrated pages 153-155

1/2 cup water (about 110 degrees)
1 envelope instant yeast (about 2 1/4 tsp)
1 1/4 cup room temperature water
2 T extra-virgin olive oil
4 cups (22 oz) bread flour, plus more for dusting work surface)
1 1/2 tsp salt
Olive oil or nonstick cooking spray for oiling the bowl

Measure the warm water into a 2-cup liquid measuring cup. Sprinkle the yeast and let stand until the yeast dissolves and swells, about 5 minutes. Add the room temperature water and oil and stir to combine.
Place the flour and salt in the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Briefly combine the dry ingredients at low speed. Slowly add the liquid ingredients and continue to mix on low speed until a cohesive mass forms. Stop the mixer and replace the paddle with the dough hook attachment. Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Form the dough into a ball, put it in a deep oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to rise for  1 1/2 to 2 hours, until doubled in size.
Preheat the oven to 500 degrees and place a pizza stone on a rack in the lower third of the oven.  Allow to heat for at least 30 minutes. Divide the dough in thirds, forming each third into a smooth round ball. Cover the balls with a damp cloth and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
Baking Illustrated recommends using your hands to "stretch" the dough into shape rather than using a rolling pin. Once the dough is formed into a round crust, transfer it to a pizza peel lightly dusted with cornmeal and then top. (The cookbook recommends ~ 1 cup of sauce and ~ 1 cup of cheese for each pizza, but I thought that amount of sauce was a little much so I cut back on the second & third pizzas.) Transfer to the pizza stone in the oven and cook for 8-12 minutes.

It's not Ray's but it's better than a delivery chain for sure!

Week 3- Dinner: Spinach & Rice Casserole

Spinach is a go-to veggie for us. Not only do my husband and I both enjoy it, but it actually has a decent amount of calcium in it for the kids, which is a plus. I'm always looking for dishes I can assemble during naptime and just throw in the oven after the little ones are awake. So... casseroles are a great option for us, and this one seemed like it might be right up our alley. It ended up being pretty good. I won't say we'll eat it weekly, but probably monthly. It made a huge casserole as a side dish-- way more than we could eat with our chicken in one night, but it did reheat well. The only change I made to the recipe was to use 2 eggs instead of 3. I am not an egg eater and I always hesitate to add too many eggs to anything, lest it get that "eggy" consistency. For example, I stand by the one-egg lasagna because I think the two eggs most recipes call for make it a bit rubbery... just not my cup of tea.

Famous Spinach & Rice Casserole
** from The Big Book of Casseroles by Maryana Vollstedt

3 large eggs (I used 2)
2/3 cup milk (I used skim)
2 T butter, melted
1/2 cup finely chopped yellow onion
2 T chopped fresh parsley
1 tsp dried thyme
Dash of ground nutmeg
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp Worcestershire sauce
3 cups grated cheddar cheese (I used a sharp Cracker barrel white cheddar)
3 cups cooked long grain white or brown rice (I used white but would definitely use brown in the future)
2 10 oz packages of frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

Preheat over to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, whisk eggs until blended. Add milk, butter, onion, parsley, thyme, salt & Worcestershire and mix well. Fold in rice, 2 cups of cheese and spinach. Turn the mixture into a 4 qt casserole dish lightly coated with cooking spray.
Bake, uncovered, until bubbly- about 45 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining 1 cup of cheese and bake, uncovered, until cheese melts- about 5 minutes longer.

Week 2- Dinner: Mediterranean Pizza Skillet

Around here, we are trying to cut down on our red meat consumption. After more than a year and a half in Brazil, where we ate filet twice a week because it was so cheap and so delicious (I love grass fed beef), it has been a process. It also doesn't help that I don't love chicken and my husband doesn't love fish... But, we are doing our best. I've been experimenting with switching ground turkey in for ground beef and have had great success so far. I am also trying to embrace chicken. This is my first new chicken recipe this year. I am not sure why it's called a "pizza skillet" since it not really like pizza at all (we can't just refer to anything that includes some form of tomatoes, a bit of cheese and a bread product "pizza" can we?) but it was still pretty good. My husband, who claims not to like tomatoes or artichokes, ate it up. The changes to the recipe that I made were: no olives (I think I might add some capers next time to give some of that salty flavor, but we don't do olives in this house) and I cooked the food covered for more than 10 minutes. I probably let it go for between 15 and 20 minutes while I was waiting for hubby to come home. I think the extra cook time helped the tomatoes & artichokes break down, which  made it better for my non-vegetable-loving better half. I toasted up some Italian bread and we spooned the chicken/veggies/feta right over the bread and ate it all like an open faced sandwich.  Unfortunately it doesn't make great leftovers because of the lettuce, but it was a good dinner-- one that we will probably revisit again soon.

Week 1- Baking/Dessert: Vanilla Ice Cream

Do you have an ice cream maker? You should have one. I got the KitchenAid standing mixer ice cream attachment for Christmas. (Thank goodness I have a husband who indulges my culinary whims.) It is amazing! I made chocolate ice cream during the last week of December and it was AWESOME! In celebration of my birthday last week, I decided to take on my favorite flavor-- vanilla. I figure if I am going to be an ice cream maker, I need to be able to do vanilla as a starting point. I used this recipe.  I did not vary even slightly... I wouldn't know how. I will say that the tutorial here, which I used for the chocolate ice cream in December, helped a lot. I am not an expert custard maker and got out my instant read candy thermometer in both cases. It was worth it! Both ice creams were delish! I actually used some birthday money from my dad to go out and buy The Perfect Scoop by David Lebovitz, from which both of these recipes are adapted. This is saying something since I live in Iowa and the temperature has not gone above freezing in weeks. Not exactly ice cream weather, but all four of us have been enjoying it (both on its own and on my birthday apple pie!)

Week 1- Dinner: Pasta con Aglia e Olio

I love garlic. There's no point in trying to deny it. Unfortunately the rest of my family doesn't feel that way... So, while hubby was on his way to KC for work, I decided to treat myself to some pasta con aglio e olio for dinner.  My friend Alyce has a great cooking blog with one of her neighbors. She posted this couple weeks ago and I knew I would do a version when opportunity presented itself! Here's the link to the recipe itself: Aglio e Olio I pretty much followed the instructions as indicated, except that I had to use more than one head of garlic to match the photograph, and I used fettucini. I also had to adjust the heat on my stove when initially cooking the garlic. It was delicious. It will definitely become a go-to meal for me when Chris is out of town. I was surprised how much my 14-month old seemed to enjoy it. She is a HUGE pasta fan but usually balks at anything that I would consider especially flavorful. I think the cooking over relatively low heat (I had to put my stove at medium low-- no gas stove in this house) really mellowed out the garlic and made it sweet enough for my sort-of-baby. I also probably added more cheese than appropriate (I did a blend of asiago & parm) but what can I say? A great first new meal for me in 2011, even if it's not going to become a "family favorite."

2011- The Year of New Food

I am not big on new year's resolutions, but this year I decided to try to cook one new dinner food and bake one new dessert or bread every week. I figure if I blog, I might actually hold myself to it, and will hopefully find some new favorites in the process!