Heath Bar Brownies

I think I need to break out a new label for this entry -- things to make when the husband is mad.  I picked up the Heath Bar chips one day in the bakery aisle and had a few extra minutes the other night, thinking of the book club crew I threw these together, then spent the next 3 days defending them from family invaders.  Book club came and went, and fortunately, there are still some brownies left for the boss to enjoy.

All American Heath Brownies
1/3 c. butter
3 sections unsweetened chocolate
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla extract
1 c. all purpose flour
1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
1 1/3 c. (8oz pkg) Heath Toffee Bits

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees, grease the bottom of an 8-inch baking pan
2. Melt butter and chocolate in medium saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally. Stir in sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each addition. Stir in vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt; add to chocolate mixture, stirring until well blended. Spread batter in prepared pan.
3. Bake 20 minutes or until brownie begins to pull away from sides of pan. Remove from oven; sprinkle with toffee bits. Cover tightly with foil. Cool completely in pan on wire rack.  Remove foil, cut into squares.

Finally! Fried Chicken

I love fried chicken.  My kids love fried chicken.  Even my husband eats fried chicken.  Ever since I've been in the mommy business, I've tried to recreate my Aunt Tommy's fried chicken without success.  I could go into details (including a particularly horrifying kids' birthday party where I served raw-ish chicken) but I won't.  Perhaps it was the memory of that fiasco so long ago that made my mother give me this recipe.  She volunteers at the local library and found it in an old Cooks Illustrated.  I made it within 48 hours -- and it was delicious.  I want to shout from the rooftops, I CAN make fried chicken.  It was so good that my husband ate leftovers for lunch.  Leftovers!  He ate leftovers!  Okay, so here's the recipe, this is obviously a make again.

Easier Fried Chicken
Cooks Illustrated Sept/Oct 2010

1 1/4 c. buttermilk
Table salt
Dash hot sauce
3 t. ground black pepper
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. paprika
1/4 t. cayenne pepper
Chicken
2 c. unbleached all-purpose flour
2 t. baking powder
1 3/4 c. vegetable oil

1. Whisk 1 c. buttermilk, t T. salt, hot sauce, 1 t. black pepper, 1/4 t. garlic powder, 1/4 t. paprika, and a pinch of cayenne together in large bowl. Add chicken and turn to coat. Refrigerate, covered, at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
2. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 400 degrees. Whisk flour, baking powder, 1 t. salt, and remaining 2 t. black pepper, 3/4 t. garlic powder, 3/4 t. paprika, and remaining cayenne together in large bowl.  Add remaining 1/4 c. buttermilk to flour mixture and mix with fingers until combined and small clumps form. Working with 1 piece at a time, dredge chicken pieces in flour mixture, pressing mix onto pices to form thick coating.  Place dredged chicken on a large plate, skin side up.
3. Heat oil in 11-inch straight sided saute pan over medium heat to 375 degrees. Carefully place chicken pieces in pan, skin side down, and cook until golden brown (3 to 5 minutes). Carefully flip and continue to cook until golden brown on second side, 4 minutes longer. Transfer chicken to wire rack set in rimmed baking sheet (NOTE: Next time I'm going to line the pan with foil).  Bake chicken for 15 to 20 minutes, until 160 degrees.  Let chicken rest at least 5 minutes before serving.
2.

I Vow to Use the Crock Pot

UGH! Back to school craziness -- everyone running every which way.  As the kids get older, everyone sitting down together to dinner seems to be getting rare.  And, as tuition approaches, I'm working more and more to make sure we aren't living in a cardboard box in 2015.  All that said, Mondays are the craziest day, so I've taken a solemn oath to use my crock pot on Monday.

First Monday was Pulled Pork Sandwiches -- which yielded enough to freeze and eat the following Monday.  Second crock pot attempt was Shrimp Creole.  You guessed it -- the pork was way more popular (served with cole slaw and pickles, what's not to like?).  The shrimp dish was expensive, healthier, and less adored, but hey, they ate it.  I grilled chicken for the non-shrimp eaters.... I'm getting soft in my old age.

Pulled Pork Sandwiches
2-3 lb. boneless pork roast, cubed
2 onions chopped
12 oz. bottle of barbecue sauce
1/4 c. honey

Throw it all in the crock pot, turn it on low for 6-8 hours. Use two forks to shred the meat, serve on rolls.

Shrimp Creole
1/2 c. butter
1/3 c. flour
1 onion sliced
1 green pepper diced
2 stalks celery diced
1 1/2 large carrots diced
2 3/4 lb. can tomatoes
3/4 c. water
1/2 t. dried thyme
1 garlic clove
1 T. sugar
3 bay leaves
1 t. salt
1/8 t. dried oregano
1 lb. shrimp

Melt butter in skillet, add flour and brown.  Add onions, peppers, celery, and carrots.  Cook for 5-10 minutes, add to slow cooker.
Add remaining ingredients (except shrimp), and stir well
Cover and cook 6-8 hours on low

To serve, make rice, cook shrimp (peel and de-vein) -- mix shrimp into finished creole; serve over rice.

Three Summer (ish) Dishes

Bored with the same old same old, and feeling like a bad mom because we really haven't been eating at home, I pulled out the cookbooks and tried three new recipes.  One I liked a lot (read: kids did not like); one was okay (if I had invested in real fresh shrimp I think it would have been better) and tonight's is a definite make again.

First: Pasta Primivera (from Giada)
I liked it, husband asked "Where did you get this recipe?" (read: I don't like this very much) and it was way too many vegetables for the kids.

• 3 carrots, peeled and cut into thin strips
• 2 medium zucchini or 1 large zucchini, cut into thin strips
• 2 yellow squash, cut into thin strips
• 1 onion, thinly sliced
• 1 yellow bell pepper, cut into thin strips
• 1 red bell pepper, cut into thin strips
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1 tablespoon dried Italian herbs or herbes de Provence
• 1 pound farfalle (bowtie pasta)
• 15 cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Directions

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F.
On a large heavy baking sheet, toss all of the vegetables with the oil, salt, pepper, and dried herbs to coat. Transfer half of the vegetable mixture to another heavy large baking sheet and arrange evenly over the baking sheets. Bake until the carrots are tender and the vegetables begin to brown, stirring after the first 10 minutes, about 20 minutes total.
Meanwhile, cook the pasta in a large pot of boiling salted water until al dente, tender but still firm to the bite, about 8 minutes. Drain, reserving 1 cup of the cooking liquid.
Toss the pasta with the vegetable mixtures in a large bowl to combine. Toss with the cherry tomatoes and enough reserved cooking liquid to moisten. Season the pasta with salt and pepper, to taste. Sprinkle with the Parmesan and serve immediately.


Second: Roasted Shrimp and Orzo salad
One of the kids actually said he liked it.  He may have been trying to suck up though.  Husband has been eating leftovers of it (but it may be time to toss the whole thing)

Ingredients

nocoupons

• Kosher salt
• Good olive oil
• 3/4 pound orzo pasta (rice-shaped pasta)
• 1/2 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (3 lemons)
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 2 pounds (16 to 18 count) shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 cup minced scallions, white and green parts
• 1 cup chopped fresh dill
• 1 cup chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded, and medium-diced
• 1/2 cup small-diced red onion
• 3/4 pound good feta cheese, large diced

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Fill a large pot with water, add 1 tablespoon of salt and a splash of oil, and bring the water to a boil. Add the orzo and simmer for 9 to 11 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it's cooked al dente. Drain and pour into a large bowl. Whisk together the lemon juice, 1/2 cup olive oil, 2 teaspoons salt and 1 teaspoon of pepper. Pour over the hot pasta and stir well.
Meanwhile, place the shrimp on a sheet pan, drizzle with olive oil, and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Toss to combine and spread out in a single layer. Roast for 5 to 6 minutes, until the shrimp are cooked through. Don't overcook!
Add the shrimp to the orzo and then add the scallions, dill, parsley, cucumber, onion, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper. Toss well. Add the feta and stir carefully. Set aside at room temperature for 1 hour to allow the flavors to blend, or refrigerate overnight. If refrigerated, taste again for seasonings and bring back to room temperature before serving.


Third: Chicken Piccata (from Ina Garten) -- easy fast.  Only daughter, 12 and I ate it, but what is not to like, breaded chicken, lemon and butter (and wine) sauce... perfect. 

Ingredients

nocoupons

• 2 split (1 whole) boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 extra-large egg
• 1/2 tablespoon water
• 3/4 cup seasoned dry bread crumbs
• Good olive oil
• 3 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature, divided
• 1/3 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice (2 lemons), lemon halves reserved
• 1/2 cup dry white wine
• Sliced lemon, for serving
• Chopped fresh parsley leaves, for serving

Directions

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Line a sheet pan with parchment paper.
Place each chicken breast between 2 sheets of parchment paper or plastic wrap and pound out to 1/4-inch thick. Sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper.
Mix the flour, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon of pepper in a shallow plate. In a second plate, beat the egg and 1/2 tablespoon of water together. Place the bread crumbs on a third plate. Dip each chicken breast first in the flour, shake off the excess, and then dip in the egg and bread crumb mixtures.
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large saute pan over medium to medium-low heat. Add the chicken breasts and cook for 2 minutes on each side, until browned. Place them on the sheet pan and allow them to bake for 5 to 10 minutes while you make the sauce.
For the sauce, wipe out the saute pan with a dry paper towel. Over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter and then add the lemon juice, wine, the reserved lemon halves, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Boil over high heat until reduced in half, about 2 minutes. Off the heat, add the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter and swirl to combine. Discard the lemon halves and serve 1 chicken breast on each plate. Spoon on the sauce and serve with a slice of lemon and a sprinkling of fresh parsley

Barbecue Ribs

A recent trip to Kansas City involved A LOT of meat. We were at Arthur Bryant's within hours of renting our car. We ate steak, potatoes, hot dogs, beer -- ugh. It's still hard to talk about. But we brought home lots of barbecue sauce. So when ribs were floated as an idea for the 4th of July, I jumped at the chance to make them.

I used Alton Brown's Backyard Rib recipe with a few changes. I made the rub (but didn't measure the ingredients, really). Since I think I'll try to make this in Hilton Head, I thought I'd jot down the basic drill:

2 days before serving:
Put the rub on the ribs and put in a heavy duty foil pack, refrigerate overnight.

1 day before serving:
Pour 1/4c. orange juice and 1/4 c. margarita mix in the bag, place ribs on a sheet pan and cook in 250 degree oven for 2 hours. After cooking, pour out the liquid, reseal the packet, return to the fridge.

Day of:
Heat grill to medium, cut rib racks in half and grill 3 minutes per side (flipping three times, so each side gets 3 minutes twice).

After grilling, cut into 2 bone segments and toss in bowl with favorite sauce.

Tender and delicious!

Marinated Chicken Breasts

I made this marinade yesterday, and threw it in a baggie with chicken breasts around 3. I was worried that wasn't enough time for the marinade to work on the chicken -- but it turned out perfectly.

This was one of the first marinades I ever made (besides a college obsession with flank steak and a bottle of soy sauce) -- and I have such fond memories of making it for parties years ago when the kids were small. Anyway, it smells good, it tastes good, and I will return to it again and again...

Dijon Marinade
1/2 c. dry white wine
1/3 c. olive oil
Juice from one lemon
2 or 3 cloves of garlic, minced
3 T. prepared Dijon mustard
Freshly ground pepper

Kim's Vegetable Medley

We went to dinner at our friends' home the other night and they grilled hamburgers, hot dogs, sausages, you know the drill.  It was fabulous, don't get me wrong.  She served berries and salad and all sorts of good stuff, but THE BEST thing on the table was this mix of roasted vegetables.  I couldn't eat enough -- and I've made it twice since.  As a matter of fact, I just polished off the leftovers (and there were leftovers, believe me, because there is NO WAY my kids are going to eat this).  Kim said it came into being because she had all this produce and didn't know what to do with it... here's what I used:

Kim's Vegetable Medley

1 sweet potato cubed
1 onion coarsely chopped
1 zucchini 1/2" slices
1 green pepper cubed
1 red pepper cubed

Toss veggies in 1 tablespoon of olive oil until well coated.  Add 1/2 t. salt, 1/2 t. oregano, 1/2 t. parsley (or whatever herb you want to use). Pop in an 400 degree oven for about 30 minutes.