Pumpkin Praline Muffins

I've discovered the secret to a happy marriage! I'm going to write an article for Cosmo... it's not what you are thinking. Drumroll, please. The secret to a happy marriage is baking. As long as we have pies and cookies and muffins at the ready, my husband is a happy man. So, as the butter softens on the counter downstairs, I thought I'd share the latest confection I created in the name of marital bliss...

Pumpkin Praline Muffins

Praline Topping
3 T. butter, cut into pieces
1/3 c. flour
3 T. light brown sugar
1/3 c. finely chopped pecans

Muffin Batter

1 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. all purpose flour
1/3 c. sugar
2 t. baking powder
1 t. baking soda
1 t. pumpkin pie spice
1/4 t. salt
2/3 c. canned pumpkin
1/3 c. unsulfured molasses
1/3 c. canola oil
2 eggs
1/4 c. milk
1 t. vanilla extract

1. Combine all the topping ingredients in a small bowl and use your fingers to rub them into a crumbly topping. Set it aside. Heat the oven to 400 degrees and grease the bottoms of 12 muffin cups.

2. In a large bowl, whisk together both flours and the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, pumpkin pie spice, and salt. In a medium bowl, mix together pumpkin, molasses, oil, eggs, milk and vanilla extract. Stir the pumpkin mixture into the dry ingredients just until the batter is blended.

3. Divide the batter among the muffin cups and sprinkle on the praline topping. Then bake the muffins for 15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center of one comes out clean. Let the muffins cool in the pan on a wire rack for 5 to 10 minutes before removing them.

Chicken Piccata

I love piccata -- veal, chicken, whatever. My youngest recently complained that I was making the same thing over and over, and I took a few moments to scour my resources for something new -- Chicken Piccata came up. It's easy, it's yummy, it's chicken, what's not to like? I love the saltiness of the capers.

But when I served it, Zach, looking at the tiny green balls all over his plate asked, "Is that poop?"

I told him I rarely serve poop. They gobbled it up. Definately going on the kids meal list.

I got this recipe from Simply Recipes


Chicken Piccata Recipe
Ingredients

* 2-4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (1 1/2 pound total)
* 2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
* 1/3 cup flour
* Salt and pepper
* 4 Tbsp olive oil
* 4 Tbsp butter
* 1/2 cup chicken stock or dry white wine
* 3 Tbsp lemon juice
* 1/4 cup brined capers
* 1/4 cup fresh chopped parsley

1 Cut the chicken breast halves horizontally, butterflying them open. If the breast pieces you are working with are large, you may want to cut them each into two pieces. If the pieces are still thick after butterflying, put them between two pieces of plastic wrap and pound them with a meat hammer to 1/4-inch thickness.

2 Mix together the flour, salt, pepper, and grated Parmesan. Rinse the chicken pieces in water. Dredge them thoroughly in the flour mixture, until well coated.

3 Heat olive oil and 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large skillet on medium high heat. Add half of the chicken pieces, do not crowd the pan. Brown well on each side, about 3 minutes per side. Remove the chicken from the pan and reserve to a plate. Cook the other breasts in the same manner, remove from pan. Cover with aluminum foil and keep warm in the oven while you prepare the sauce.

4 Add the chicken stock (or white wine), lemon juice, and capers to the pan. Use a spatula to scrape up the browned bits. Reduce the sauce by half. Whisk in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter. Plate the chicken and serve with the sauce poured over the chicken. Sprinkle with parsley.

Serves 4.

I'm Going On Strike

Here's what I said to my family last night at dinner. "I give up. Why don't you try to make dinner for a week, and see how it goes?" I was calm. I wasn't emotional, but I was sort of fed up.

The culprit? My crockpot and TexMex Chicken Stew. I didn't even tell anyone that the "S" word was part of the title. When they asked what was for dinner, I just kept saying, "Tex Mex Chicken." But in the end, everyone knew it was stew, and no one was really happy about it.

This is the second time I've tried to make something that contained all the ingredients my family likes -- or at least, mostly ingredients my family likes. However, as soon as the crockpot appears on the counter, my husband starts asking the probing kinds of questions like... where did this recipe come from? why did you decide to make this?

Since we had a bad chipolte chili in adobo experience last week, I opted against using them in this recipe. I replaced them with those green chopped chiles in a can. I think it turned out a bit bland, and I might try the chipoltes next time (and mark my words, there will be a next time -- but not this week, remember, I'm on strike.

From Martha Stewart.... Tex Mex Chicken Stew

1 cup dried pinto beans, rinsed
1 jar (11 ounces) mild or medium salsa (1 1/2 cups)
2 tablespoons chopped canned chipotle chiles in adobo sauce
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 8)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
1 medium red onion, chopped
1 red bell pepper (ribs and seeds removed), chopped
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream, for serving
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, for serving
Directions
1.In a 5- to 6-quart slow cooker, stir together beans, salsa, chiles, flour, and 1 cup water. Season chicken with salt and pepper; arrange on top of bean mixture. Scatter onion and bell pepper on top of chicken.
2.Cover and cook on low heat for 8 hours. (Do not open lid or stir.)
3.Remove chicken from stew; shred into large pieces and return to stew. Serve topped with sour cream and cilantro.

I heart panini

I have this personality flaw... I get sort of obsessed with a food item/appliance and I cannot sleep soundly until I explore/own the object of my obsession. I've done it with soup, beef bourgonion, and my electric skillet. A few months ago a new obsession bloomed, and fortunately for me, my birthday was coming up. Add to this pot the fact that my mother is an appliance/cookware lover like myself (she is the reason I have a food processor, kitchenaid mixer, and fancy all clad pans) -- and TA DA! I own a panini maker.

Honestly, I was a bit nervous about owning one, because I didn't have the slightest idea of how to create a great grilled sandwich, or even where to find the bread. Although, I had started that investigation weeks earlier, casually mentioning my need for ciabatta at book club and church and the like. As it turns out, I was not too worry, because, the other day not only did I return home from work to find a panini maker in my garage BUT ALSO a cookbook! Praise Heaven, I was in business.

On Friday night I piled the kids in the van and made them go from market to market searching for bread, brie, arugula and proscuitto -- and that night I created a sandwich that I, personally, found to be heaven on Earth. (My husband, who I believe I've mentioned can be a bit picky, and is the fourth picky kid in my opinion, said, "I don't like the cheese...") But that was okay, because that meant I could return to the store and buy another load of ingredients (this time tomatoes, fresh mozarella, basil and MORE fancy bread).

So, $60 worth of imported Italian ingredients and a weekend's worth of panini -- I am one happy camper, waiting for the next food obession to hit. My kids, I believe, would prefer a grilled cheese. My husband, seems like he'll go along with it as long as I don't use brie.

Lot's of Cooking Going On!

Well the kitchen has been a busy place the last few days -- lots to "take with" and a new addition to the family menu (for me and my husband at least, not sure the kids were too into it).

Quiche
First was the quiche -- the PTA at the kids' school always has a welcome back brunch for teachers right before the first day of school. Last year I volunteered to bring 2 quiches, but forgot (typical). Miraculously, I remembered this year. I made two quiches, using store bought crust. They took forever to bake -- but they were finally finished and I ran them over to the breakfast (better later than never). Have no idea how they tasted, as I had to drop them off... may make them for dinner sometime (not with spinach and mushrooms of course)

Quiche Lorraine (with bacon)
Quiche with spinach and mushrooms.

One pie crust per quiche
Gruyere or Swiss cheese
Eggs
Heavy Cream
Onions
Bacon

Cook filler. I wilted spinach and sauteed mushrooms for one quiche, I fried the bacon and cooked the onions for the other. Put the filler on the bottom of the crust, beat 3 eggs and 1/2 c. cream, added the cheese (about 1 cup) -- pour over the filling, bake at 350 for 45 minutes (until knife comes out clean). Let cool slightly.

Turkey Meatballs in Marinara

1/4 c. plain dried bread crumbs
1/4 c. chopped flat leaf parsley
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 T. whole milk
3/4 c. grated Romano cheese
3/4 t. salt
3/4 t. ground black pepper
1 lb. ground turkey
1/4 c. extra virgin olive oil
5 c. Marinara sauce

In a large bowl, stir together the bread crumbs, parsley, eggs, milk, 1/2 c. cheese, and the salt and pepper. Add the turkey and gently stir to combine, being careful not to overwork the meat. Shape the meat mixture into bite-sized balls.

In a large skillet, heat the oil over a medium-high flame. Working in batches, add the meatballs and cook wthout moving or turning the meatballs unitl brown on the bottom, about 3 minutes. Turn the meatballs over and brown the other side, about 3 minutes longer. Continue to cook until all the sides are golden brown. Add the marinara sauce and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until the flavors blend, about 5 minutes.

I think I wrote about these before. I made these at 9pm one Sunday night (with Mad Men on TV) for a baby shower for a friend at work. Giada was my girl... and hooked me up with the recipes.

Marinara Sauce
1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil
2 small onions finely chopped
2 garlic cloves finely chopped
2 celery stalks finely chopped
2 carrots peeled and finely chopped
1/2 t. sea salt, plus more to taste
1/2 t. ground pepper
2 (32 oz) cans crushed tomatoes
2 dried bay leaves

In a large pot, heat the oil over medium high heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute until the onions are translucent (about 10 minutes). Add the celery, carrots and 1/2 t. each of salt and pepper. Saute until all the vegetables are soft, about 10 more minutes. Add the tomatoes and bay leaves until simmer uncovered over low heat until the sauce thickens, about 1 hour. Remove and discard the bay leaves, season the sauce with more salt and pepper to taste.

Risotto
Speaking of Giada.... I made my first risotto last night. I've heard that it's hard and time consuming, but I've also been sort of obesessed with the idea of risotto for dinner. Again, I turned to Giada and found a reasonable recipe... not too much butter, and only 4 cups of chicken stock, which I had in my freezer.

4 c. chicken stock
3 T. butter
3/4 c. chopped onion
1 1/2 c. Arborio rice
1/2 c. dry white wine
1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. ground black pepper

In a medium saucepan, bring the broth to a simmer. Cover the pot and continue to heat over low flame.

In a large heavy saucepan, melt 2 T. of butter over medium heat. Add the onion and saute until tender but not brown, about 3 minutes. ADd the rice and stir to coat with the butter. Add the wine and simmer until the wine has almost completely evaoporated, about 3 minutes. Add 1/2 c. of simmering broth and stir until almost completely absorbed, about 2 minutes. Continue cooking the rice, adding the broth 1/2 c. at a time, stirring constatnly and allowing each addition of broth to absorb before adding the next, until the rice is tender but still firm to the bite and the mixture is creamy, about 20 minutes total. Remove from the heat. STir in the Parmesan cheese, the remaining tablespoon of butter, and the salt and pepper. Transfer the risotto to a serving bowl and serve immediately.

Oven Fried Onion Rings

This is a great recipe! We LOVE LOVE LOVE onion rings here -- and to be honest, those frozen Ore-Ida things just weren't doing it for me. I found this on another food blog (The Bitten Word)and made it within days. This is definately going on the weekly schedule now!

It's from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food, June 2009

Ingredients
* 1 1/2 cups cornflakes
* 1/2 cup plain dried breadcrumbs
* 1 large egg
* 1/2 cup low-fat buttermilk
* 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
* Coarse salt and ground pepper
* 1 medium sweet onion, such as Vidalia, quartered crosswise and broken into rings (discard small center rings)
* 2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. In a food processor, pulse cornflakes and breadcrumbs until fine crumbs form, then transfer to a medium bowl. In another medium bowl, whisk together egg, buttermilk, flour, and cayenne and season with salt and pepper.

2. Dip onion rings in egg mixture (letting excess drip off) and dredge in cornflake mixture; place on a large plate. Pour oil onto a rimmed baking sheet. Place in oven and heat 2 minutes. Remove sheet from oven and tilt to coat evenly with oil. Arrange onion rings on sheet. Bake, turning once, until onion rings are golden brown, about 16 minutes. Season with salt.

Cinco de Mayo Party

So we had a few friends over for Cinco de Mayo... or at least a few days before. The menu:

Chips and salsa and guacamole (avacado smashed up with lemon juice and salt)
Steak Fajitas (skirt steak marinated overnight)
Southwestern slaw (I'd give it a 5 out of 10)
Cheesy Black Beans (my favorite!)
Shrimp with Cilanto and Lime (Gourmet cookbook, also very good)
Sangria (I, personally, don't like fruit in my wine)
Margaritas (yummy)


And a fruit tart for dessert -- not Mexican, not even Spanish but very very very good. Cookie crust, homemade custard on top of that, fresh berries, the apricot jelly -- I made a second one the next day, but because it was so very good.

Everyone left at 10:30, which we thought was weird, because we are used to people staying until 2am. It was almost as if we didn't know what to do with ourselves after eveyone left -- the night was still so young. But that must be how adults do it, right?

I've been cleaning out that darn freezer this week (much to the dismay of my family). I think we're probably getting to the bottom of it now. The rest I should just throw away --

My next challenge: trimming a beef tenderloin the Alton Brown way -- and making all those delicious red meat dishes --

I found video on YouTube -- can't wait!