Creme Brulee'

Our good friends Marie and John came up north with us in January.  My parents were out of town, so we had their house to ourselves.  We cooked up a storm.  Breakfast both mornings.  I brought chicken chili for lunch on Saturday.  John made spaghetti sauce, meatballs, he brought fresh pasta.  We feasted!

I also decided to break out the creme brulee' torch.  I was scared to make it for some reason.  I don't know why, because it is one of my most favorite desserts.  It's so easy.  The longest part is the hour it takes in the oven.  I used this recipe from the queen of creme brulee.  We all loved it!

A few weeks ago, we were invited over to Randy and Jodi's for an impromptu dinner party.  I told Jodi I would make something sweet.  Again, it was a hit.

Yesterday was my Mom's birthday, she requested Creme Brulee'...  She was one happy lady! 

Chicken Lemon Rice Soup (Avgolemono)

I think a good way to tell that a recipe is a keeper is if you make at twice in 3 days.  My mom was on a greek food kick.  She wanted to make Spinach Pie and was hunting for a Chicken Lemon Rice Soup recipe.  I found this one from Tasty Kitchen.  I have a new obsession with Tasty Kitchen.  While she and the hubs made spinach pie, I took over the soup.  The spinach pie was ok.  The soup was outstanding!  It's time consuming and a little nit-picky, but I made it for the family on Saturday night and again on Monday night, so it was worth it!  I ate it almost all week and didn't want to share.  It's really good!

I didn't make any changes to the recipe, but I think I added more rice and chicken.

8 cups chicken broth
1/2 cups freshly squeezed lemon juice
4 Tbsp. chicken base granules
1/2 tsp. ground white pepper
1/2 cups butter, seperated
1/2 cups finely chopped yellow onion
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
6 whole egg yolks
1/2 cups whole milk or heavy cream
1 1/2 cups cooked white rice
1 cup finely diced chicken meat
6 lemon slices

1. In a large pot, combine the chicken broth, lemon juice, soup base and pepper.  Bring to a boil on high, then simmer for 20 minutes.

2.  In a seperate frying pan, melt 1/4 of the butter and saute the onions until translucent.  Empty into the stockpot.  Then add the rest of the butter to the hot frying pan that you just cooked the onions in.  Stir in flour to make a roux, keeping over medium heat and stirring frequently for 10-15 minutes.  Gradually add the roux to the soup mixture in the stock pot.  Simmer 10 minutes more.

3.  Meanwhile, beat the egg yolks until light in color.  Then beat the cream/milk.  Gradually add some of the hot soup to the egg yolks, stirring constantly (about a cup or so).  Return the egg/milk mixture to the soup pot and heat through.  Lastly, add the cooked rice and chicken and simmer for another 10 minutes.  Garnish with lemon, salt and pepper to taste.  

More Lentil Soup

It's winter.  It's COLD!  All I want is soup.  I have been staring into the pantry trying to put recipes together in my head.  While moving cans and bags and boxes around I looked into my hand and saw half a bag of lentils.  Not even checking the blog (my blog) for a lentil soup recipe, I started looking through Everyday Food's.  Notice a pattern here?  This recipe is from Issue #20, March 2005.  Yes, I have most of them.  And the ones I don't have are on my Amazaon wish list, k....  I like this recipe better than the first one I made.  It's quick and easy.  Here is the link.

I will try to get a pic next time I make it..  The only change I made was to use a little olive oil instead of bacon.  I also let it simmer for a couple of hours.  The hubs was late getting home and it just stayed on the stove.
Enjoy!

Healthy Morning Muffins

These are great!  I have LOTS of really ripe bananas on my counter.  Later today, the rest of them will become Banana Chip Cookies.  But this week I came across a recipe for Healthy Morning Muffins while perusing old Everyday Food Issues.  I can't believe I didn't notice these when the magazine came last year.  It is from Issue # 69, January/February 2010.

I will share the changes I made with you here, but the link to the original is above.

Healthy Morning Muffins (these instructions are for a single batch:  about 12 muffins)
Double batch made 32 muffins for me.

*Do the prep first.  Especially if you decide to make a double batch, shred the carrots first.

1 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. coarse salt
1 cup old fashioned rolled oats
1/2 cup raisins or dried cranberries
3 Tbsp. canola oil
1 large egg
1/3 cup skim milk
4 medium carrots, shredded
1 medium ripe banana, mashed

1.  Preheat oven to 400*.  Place papers in the muffin pan or spray with nonstick cooking spray.  In a large bowl, whisk together flour, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt until there are no lumps.  Stir in oats and raisins.  Add oil, egg, milk, carrots, and banana and stir until blended.

2.  Fill each muffin cup with 1/4 cup batter.  Bake unitl a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, about 20-23 minutes.  Serve warm or at room temperature.  (to store, keep in an airtight container, up to 3 days).

I will let you know how they freeze if they last that long!

Pizza Dough

My new favorite pizza dough.  

Fresh Pizza Dough

Tyler Florence/Food Network

• 2 packages active dry yeast
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 2 cups warm water (100 to 110 degrees F.)
• 2 tablespoons kosher salt (I would use more like 1/2 Tbsp. next time)
• 6 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
• 2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus extra for bowl

Directions

In a small bowl, combine the yeast, sugar and water and stir gently to dissolve. Let the mixture stand until the yeast comes alive and starts to foam, 5 to 10 minutes.

If you're using a stand mixer, combine the salt and flour to the bowl and pulse a few times to mix. Add the yeast mixture, at the lowest speed, until the flour incorporates. When the dough starts to come together, increase the speed to medium and mix until the dough gathers into a ball. This should take about 2 minutes. Add the olive oil and pulse a few more times. Stop the machine periodically to scrape the dough off the hook. Get a feel for the dough as you're making it by squeezing a small amount together between your thumb and fingers. If it's crumbly, add more water, if it's sticky, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and fold it over itself a few times, kneading until it's smooth and elastic.

If you're making the dough by hand, add the yeast mixture to a large bowl and stir in the salt and the 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Then begin stirring in the flour. When the mixture becomes too stiff to stir with a spoon, knead in the rest of the flour by hand, adding just enough so that the dough is soft but not too sticky. As you work, squeeze a small amount of dough together between your thumb and fingers. If it's crumbly, add more water; if it's sticky, add more flour, 1 tablespoon at a time. Knead until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes.

Form the dough into a round and put it into a lightly oiled bowl, turning it over to coat the dough entirely with the oil. Cover with plastic wrap or a damp towel and let it rise in a warm spot (i.e., over a gas pilot light) until it doubles in size, about 1 hour.

Spiced Pumpkin Cheesecake

I made this for Thanksgiving.  Mine didn't look quite this pretty, but it was tasty.  Brian is a big cheesecake fan and he loves pumpkin pie, so this was his request and he loved it.



Makes 16 servngs

38 Nabisco Ginger Snaps, finely crushed (couldn't find Nabisco, so I used the Meijer brand instead)
1/4 cup finely chopped Planters Pecans
1/4 cup butter, melted
4 pkg. (8 oz each) Philadelphia cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 can (15 oz) pumpkin
1 Tbsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp. vanilla
4 eggs

Heat oven to 325*.  Mix crumbs, nuts and butter, press into the bottom and up 1 inch of the sides of a 9" springform pan.

Beat cream cheese and sugar with mixer until blended.  Ass pumpkin, spice and vanilla. mix well.  Add eggs, 1 at a time, mixing after each addition just until blended.  Pour into crust.  Bake 1 hour 20 minutes to 1 hour 30 minutes or until center is almost set.

Loosen cake from rim of pan, cool before removing ring.  Refrigerate 4 hours.  Serve with a dollop of whip cream and a sprinkle of nutmeg.

Pumpkin Pound Cake with Buttermilk Glaze

I made this to take to a friends house a few weeks ago.  Mine was not this beautiful, but it was moist and tasty.  I think it would be good with like a gooey, nutty layer in it or on top, or both.

Anyhow, the Cooking Light recipe  is here.  I highly recommend it!