Feb 14 2011

Valentine’s Day

I just happen to have today off for Lincoln’s birthday (it’s weird, I know). Not complaining at all, it was so nice to sleep in, especially since it’s windy and rainy out today –  the perfect weather to stay home and cook for my Valentine.

Despite the dreary weather, my orange tuilips sure brighten up the house. Probably hands down, one of my favorite flowers.

Frosted heart cookies are even better!

They also act as mini schnauzer magnets. 

Pretty cards are fun too!

I’ve been buried in cookbooks all morning. I still can’t decide what to make for our special dinner “in” tonight. Dan and I have always stayed home on Valentine’s Day – tonight we will carry on the tradition. I definitely know that I will be attempting to make cupcakes today, but beyond that, nothing has been decided. I’m hoping that a quick trip to Trader Joe’s will inspire me.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

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Feb 09 2011

Quinoa – Take II

Several readers mentioned that they preferred white quinoa over red. I decided to pick some up during my last grocery shopping trip.

I went with a package of Eden Organic Quinoa. I wasn’t sure what I was going to make with it until I stumbled upon an article in my February/March 2011 Fine Cooking magazine. “Go for the grain” – the article talked about all kinds of grains. Teff, Farro, Millet, Quinoa and Amaranth. I’ve only tried two from the bunch. I will definitely be adding to my pantry staples – I look forward to trying each one in different ways.

The article also had a recipe to go with each grain. The quinoa salad recipe “Quinoa Salad with Apples, Walnuts, Dried Cranberries, and Gouda” used red quinoa, but I decided to use my organic white. It also called for diced fennel and I am not a fan, so I omitted that. I made a few other substitutions based on availability at the store and what I had on hand. I will note those.

The Ingredients:
(Serves 6 as a main course – 10 as a side dish)

1.5 Cups Quinoa
5 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil – more if needed
1 Large Red Onion – quartered lengthwise and thinly sliced crosswise
2 Tablespoons Balsamic Vinegar
4 oz. (approximately 3 cups) Arugula – the recipe said trimmed and thinly sliced – I just used baby arugula in it’s full form
4 oz. Aged Gouda – finely diced (about 1 Cup) – I used smoked Gouda because I love it!
3 Medium Celery Stalks – thinly sliced – my slices weren’t super thin – see photo
1 Large, Crisp Apple, such as Fuji or Pink Lady – I used Fuji and cut it into a 1/2 inch dice
1 Cup Walnuts – coarsely chopped – I had regular walnuts, but they had gone bad. I used candied walnuts – so I just used 3 tablespoons
1 Cup Finely Diced Fennel – I omitted this ingredient, due to personal preference
3/4 Cup Dried Cranberries
3 Tablespoons Sherry Vinegar
1 Tablespoon Honey – I added this ingredient – it wasn’t included in the original recipe
Sea Salt
Ground Pepper

Prepare the quinoa  by rinsing and transferring to a pot of boiling water. I used 2.5 cups water with a little sea salt. I added my 1.5 cup of rinsed quinoa to the rapid boiling water, then I reduced the heat and let it simmer for 15 minutes on low. I did not need to drain any water after the 15 minutes, I just fluffed the quinoa with a fork.

I chopped my onion while the quinoa cooked. I had a giant red onion, so I only used 1/2. I heated 2 tablespoons of the olive oil in a non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. I added the onion and a pinch of salt and cooked for about 6-8 minutes.

Once the onions turned tender and brown around the edges, I added the 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar until it cooked away – about 2-3 minutes. I then removed the onions from the heat and let them cool to room temperature.

I then prepped the rest of my items.

In a large bowl, mix the cooled quinoa, onions, arugula, cheese, celery, apple, walnuts, and cranberries. In a small bowl, whisk the remaining 3 tablespoons olive oil with the 3 tablespoons of sherry vinegar and 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt and ground pepper. I ended up adding a good heaping tablespoon of honey to the dressing. Before that, it was super tart and I wanted to tame it a bit.

Get everything mixed together and add more olive oil if you feel like it needs it. Mine was perfect with the 3 tablespoons.

This is a warning to anyone that knows me in real life. I will be bringing this salad to any BBQ or event I’m invited to. I will also be serving it at every pool party over the Summer. OMG!, I have not been this excited about something since the Scalloped Tomato recipe featured back in August. I was so crazy about this salad, I filled a container and brought it to work for my friend Kristen. I stood at her cubicle and practically begged her to taste it – after she had already had lunch. LOL.

I am counting down the minutes until I can eat another serving. Yes, it’s that crazy good!

I definitely noticed a less woody taste in the white quinoa vs. the red, but I like them both, and look forward to trying the red in the recipe as well.

The combination of grain, apple, gouda, and celery crunch – teamed with the baby arugula – oh my, this recipe really ranks as being one of my favorites over the past year. The sweet and savory reminded me of a Waldorf salad without the heavy mayo.

Why in the world did I wait so long to cook quinoa?

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Feb 07 2011

Whatever with the football, bring on the food…

I spent the majority of Sunday morning and early afternoon in the kitchen making food to bring to a Super Bowl get together. I decided on two kinds of cookies and a macaroni and cheese recipe from Food & Wine magazine.

Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies
These cookies were more like raspberry “chapstick” cookies… I’ll explain. I had a package of Betty Crocker Sugar Cookie Dough – the just add butter and egg kind. There was a recipe on the back for thumbprint cookies – as a back-up, I went online to look at AllRecipes.com to see if I could find other ideas. The recipes I found were pretty similar to the Betty Crocker one, but in reading the comments, I learned the chapstick trick.

I got my sugar cookie mix in the bowl – then I added my softened butter, egg and 3 tablespoons of flour. I mixed it up and then created dough balls.

I then grabbed my raspberry preserves out of the fridge.

Instead of making “thumbprints” – people complained that the preserves leaked over the edges onto the sides and bottoms of the cookies… several AllRecipes.com readers suggested using the lid of a chapstick to make the indentations. I did end up making bigger indentations on my second and third batches.

I grabbed my Avon lip balm from my Christmas stocking goodies and I was good to go. It was the perfect solution.

I filled my  holes with the preserves. The recipe said to use seedless jelly – whatever, it was FINE with the preserves.

I melted vanilla chips in the microwave and then cut the end off a plastic bag and piped on the stripes. It was the perfect amount of sweetness, they were delicious! Super chewy, just the way I like my sugar cookies.

Next up was Chocolate Chip Cookies. I decided not to mess with a good thing.

I used the Nestle Toll House recipe on the bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips. I like to take them out just as the bottoms turn the slightest bit of brown in color. They came out perfect!

Next up were my Mini Macs…

I had seen a recipe in the latest Food & Wine magazine and then I failed to pick up cheddar cheese at the store. I did however have a bag of the Kraft Homestyle Deluxe Macaroni and Cheese. Perfect – any excuse to not go to the store on Super Bowl Sunday. I boiled water for the pasta, once cooked, I drained the water and set the macaroni in a bowl while I made the sauce. 2 tablespoons butter and the packet of seasonings – it was flour with some seasonings to make a rue. Once that got mixed together, I added the cheese packet – it wasn’t powder, but man was that stuff fluorescent orange. I also added 2 pieces of sliced American cheese. I then followed the Food & Wine Magazine recipe. I added an egg yolk and 1/4 teaspoon of Spanish smoked paprika.

I prepped my mini muffin tins with butter and Parmesan cheese. Grease each cup and then sprinkle with cheese before adding the mac-n-cheese to the tins.

I then grated fresh parm and placed it on the tops of each mini mac.

Place tins in the oven at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. I must say, I had better luck with my darker non-stick muffin pans. I had trouble getting them out of the lighter pans. I used a tea sized spoon to just pop them right out.

How awesome are these? Pop in your mouth mac-n-cheese? Now that’s brilliant!

We got the car packed with our goodies and off we went. The food spread was incredible…

Poppers, tequila and lime wings, quiche, nachos, spinach dip, veggies…

This was a Mary Alice’s (From Ace of Cakes) hoagie dip recipe – all kids of deli meats, cheeses, peppers, etc. and served with sliced up hoagie rolls. Super fun!

Carrots and celery cancel out the cookie calories right?

We had a really great time at the get together. We enjoyed the food, game, commercials, and hanging out with good friends.

Meet Allie – (Todd and Michelle’s dog). Yep, that pretty much summed up how we all felt after tackling the food table.

How about you? Did you do anything fun over the weekend or for the Super Bowl?

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