Friday, October 31, 2008
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Ghosts in the Graveyard

If I recall correctly, we even added some gummy worms into the dirt for a bit more creep factor. Easy to do when your Mom has a store with a candy counter!!!
There are many great spooky desert ideas out there for Halloween - the cupcake variations alone are amazing!!!
If you are looking to put together your own Halloween feast, Family Fun has a great list of creepy spooky recipe ideas to cover every course of the meal. Most are family friendly to make and serve, but also are a great starting point for creating your own creepy goodness. Better Homes and Gardens is another ghoulish resource.
Happy Haunting!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
The Head of Medusa

Boy do I wish I had a picture of this dish.
This dish all started when my sister Terri and I found a package of Squid Ink Pasta. Now I don't remember where we bought it - but I do remember thinking it would make a great Halloween Dish - just with red sauce.
Terri thought it looked kind of like Medusa's snake hair.
So she got ambitious.
She made some bread dough. Then she inverted a pyrex mixing bowl onto a baking sheet. She covered the bowl with foil (and I think sprayed it with cooking spray), and then proceeded to mold a bread bowl of Medusa's face and a few snakes out of bread. The whole thing went into the oven to bake.
After it was baked, she flipped it over, cooked the pasta, tossed it with red sauce and filled the "head" with the black pasta.
It was deliciously creepy.
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Dem Dry Bones

And they have bacon - everything's good with bacon!!!
Ingredients
* 1 box sesame seed breadsticks
* 1 lb. bacon
* grated Parmesan cheese - probably about 1/2 cup.
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Wrap breadsticks in uncooked bacon. (frugal note - you can stretch the bacon further by cutting it in half lengthwise down each strip. You will be able to wrap more breadsticks but they won't be as tightly covered in the bacon. Up to you.)
Place on a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan and bake for 30 minutes. (I like to cover mine with aluminum foil for this -makes clean up easier)
Put the Parmesan cheese in a shallow dish. Roll each stick through the cheese while still hot.
Allow to cool and crisp, then serve.
...there are a lot of variations of this recipe out there in cyber land. Different kinds of breadsticks, some with garlic (keeps those vampires away), and some with different baking temperatures.
But they've all got bacon -so they all must be good, right?
Ingredients
* 1 box sesame seed breadsticks
* 1 lb. bacon
* grated Parmesan cheese - probably about 1/2 cup.
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Wrap breadsticks in uncooked bacon. (frugal note - you can stretch the bacon further by cutting it in half lengthwise down each strip. You will be able to wrap more breadsticks but they won't be as tightly covered in the bacon. Up to you.)
Place on a cookie sheet or jelly roll pan and bake for 30 minutes. (I like to cover mine with aluminum foil for this -makes clean up easier)
Put the Parmesan cheese in a shallow dish. Roll each stick through the cheese while still hot.
Allow to cool and crisp, then serve.
...there are a lot of variations of this recipe out there in cyber land. Different kinds of breadsticks, some with garlic (keeps those vampires away), and some with different baking temperatures.
But they've all got bacon -so they all must be good, right?
Monday, October 27, 2008
"I Want To Drink Your Blood"

This recipe will make both + (spiked) and - (un-spiked) versions, so be sure to label your bottles accordingly.
Regina's Quick and Easy Red Punch
1 bottle cranberry juice
1 bottle club soda
(spike with your choice of alcohol - or you can swap things out and use red wine in place of the cranberry to make a wine punch)

Enjoy.
Sunday, October 26, 2008
What's In Your Cauldron?

It was loads of fun.
Unfortunately it was loads of fun pre-digital camera, and I have no idea where the prints and/or negatives are from that event. I hung on to the tags for a long long time, but think I finally let them go.
At any rate - in the spirit of Halloween we thought we'd share some "spooky" recipes with you all this week. Some are things we have made again, some are memories from that party.
Our first one is "Great Green Gobs of Greasy Grimy Gopher Guts" - better known in non-Halloween (or non-elementary school) circles as Sausage Stew.
This dish was provided by one of our guests - and was DEELICIOUS!
Unfortunately he never shared the recipe - so I went hunting online for one instead.
And I found this one.
It even has pumpkin in it - for those of you looking for ways to recycle Jack's innards.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
On the Shelf - "The Joy of Cooking"

When I first started learning to cook, recipes came in one of three places - handwritten recipe cards in a number of well worn magnetic photo albums (where most of mom's best cookie recipes still are), the back of the product package (Rice Krispies and Nestle Toll House Morsels were the two biggies here), or a cookbook.
Today the proliferation of cookbooks, online recipe collection websites, and just great "word of blog" recipes is almost overwhelming. Nevermind almost - it IS overwhelming. It's also a treasure trove of yummy goodness.
And yet I am still attracted to the cookbook - the book you can hold on your lap curled up in a chair with a cuppa and browse through - the book you can prop open on the counter as you figure out the next step in making something new - the book you can use as a booster seat when little people need to sit at the table.
Our cookbook collection is not huge - at least not by Matt's mother's standards - and some books are referenced more than others - but as the infrequent-cooking member of this blogging trio, I thought I would bring you the occasional book review, proven recipe - or even some of the droolicious recipes we've read about but not yet tried.
So grab your cuppa - here we go with our first one.
"The Joy of Cooking"
WOW - this book has been around for 75 years now!!! And to be honest - some of the recipes in it read "old fashioned" - but they have been doing an awesome job of keeping it up to date and relevant.
I will admit that I have not made many full "recipes" from this book - but it is an awesome reference on "how to use" a lot of ingredients. Had a sudden windfall of brussel sprouts? This book will tell you how to prep them for cooking. Need to boil an egg? You'll get a clear explanation of soft and hard boiling, as well as poaching and all sorts of other things to do with eggs.

This one gets a five spoon rating on my scale of must have books.
Friday, October 24, 2008
east buffalo chicken

So here's our improved version... lots of meat, lots of flavor (lots of spice!) and no bones. We call it "East Buffalo Chicken" because, well, we live East of Buffalo, and we live on East Buffalo Street. Cool, eh?

(serves two)
2 boneless chicken breasts, cut into wide strips*
pure olive oil
3 Tbsp hot sauce (use your favorite)
2 Tbsp unsalted butter
Louisiana Seasoning ver. 2.0 (find recipe here)
*okay, I'm cheating here. We like to keep a bag of frozen chicken breast tenderloins in the freezer for a variety of dishes. These bags o' chicken can be found at your local wholesale warehouse-style store, and sometimes at your local grocery store. You could also do what Bobby and Shelly do and pick up extra chicken when you see a good price, and pop it in the freezer.
I like the frozen tenderloins because I can drop them in pan frozen, and they STILL cook up quickly. What can I say, I'm all about the easy.
1. Heat about a tablespoon, or two, of pure olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. When the oil starts to ripple slightly, carefully place the chicken in the skillet to cook. While the chicken cooks, sprinkle a generous amount of the Louisiana seasoning over the chicken.






Thursday, October 23, 2008
herbed butter and crostini
Basically, just take half a stick of butter and place it into a bowl on the counter to soften.
Wednesday, October 22, 2008
easy sides: rosemary roasted potatoes with garlic

Here's my really simple-quick and dee-licious way to prepare them, even for a weeknight.
And if you were wondering, these are "Regina-approved"... so I got that going for me... which is nice.

Rosemary Roasted Potatoes with Garlic
small potatoes, about 3-4 per person
3-4 fresh rosemary sprigs, stripped and loosely chopped
1 Tbsp. minced garlic (fresh is best, but "jarlic" works great for this dish.)
pure olive oil
fresh ground black pepper
kosher salt
1. Preheat your oven to 400°F, and line a baking sheet with parchment paper (makes clean up that much easier... I said this was an "easy side."
2. Wash and coarse dice the potatoes. There's a whole lotta flavor in those skins, so leave 'em on. If you want to save time and dice the taters in advance, just be sure to store them in a bowl of cold water to prevent them from oxidizing, and be sure to drain them well before continuing.




I noticed that there just wasn't enough black pepper in it already, so I added just a bit more... and a bit more salt... and a bit of dried parsley.



We had enough taters for two meals, so a few nights later, I traded the rosemary for dill and parsley and it came out great. Explore your herbs and spices, come up with a few variations of your own... just don't forget to share.
-Matt
Tuesday, October 21, 2008
crockpot mac and cheese
crockpot mac and cheese
16 oz elbow macaroni
4 T butter
1 pint whipping cream
2 eggs, beaten
3 cups shredded extra sharp cheddar
1 cup shredded mozzarella
1 t ground mustard
1 t paprika
1 t dried thyme
fresh ground pepper
1. Boil the macaroni, drain, then place in crockpot.
4. Mix in the cheeses, reserving some (1/2 cup or so) for adding to the top later. Add the spices and mix well.
6. If your crockpot can put in the oven, heat the oven to 400F, sprinkle the remaining cheese across the top, and put in the oven until the cheese melts -- about 10 minutes.
I'm certainly not calling this the greatest mac and cheese ever, but it's pretty easy to put together. I'll try to make some improvements on it in the future. Any suggestions? Anyone?
Monday, October 20, 2008
homemade mustard take I
Ultimately I'll want to make mustard utilizing some of my homebrewed beer. But first, I thought I'd try one of the more basic recipes I could find. This one is based on a recipe published by Emeril Lagasse. As you'll see, I made a few substitutions for ingredients I didn't have on hand, or had recently run out of. (No McCormick, I'm not paying you $3.72 for 1 ounce of white pepper.)
Homemade Mustard, Take I
3 T yellow mustard seed
3 T brown mustard seed
1/3 c white wine
1/3 c white wine vinegar
1 T onion powder
1/4 t cinnamon
1/4 t black pepper
1. Mix everything together in a small glass bowl and put in the fridge overnight.
2. Good morning! Blend everything together in a blender or a small food processor until you achieve the desired consistency (pasty).
Notes:
• It took me about 3-4 minutes with the food processor before it started to come to a mustard consistency. As the seeds are ground up, they start mixing with the liquid to thicken it.
• The mustard was quite strong in flavor, but has calmed down a good bit with some aging. It still has a pungent kick to it -- nice if you like a spicy mustard.
• From reading I did after I made the first batch, I found that the darker mustard seeds are stronger in flavor. I think next time I will scale back the proportion of those a bit.
This would go great with some freshly baked soft pretzels. I wonder where I could find some of those?
Sunday, October 19, 2008
sunday morning scones
sunday morning scones
1 stick of unsalted butter, frozen
2 T butter, melted
1/2 cup milk (original recipe called for whole, but 1% turned out fine)
1/2 cup sour cream
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
for blueberry scones:
1 cup blueberries (helps to freeze them)
for cinnamon chocolate pecan scones:
1/2 cup crushed pecans
1/2 cup dark chocolate chips (or crushed chocolate bar)
cinnamon sugar
1. Preheat the oven to 425F.
2. Grate the frozen butter. You can use a box grater and it'll take 15 minutes, or you can use the grating attachment for a food processor, and it will take 30 seconds (and your hand won't ache.) Put the grated butter back into the freezer until ready.
5. Add the frozen butter to the dry mixture. Coat the butter by tossing it with your fingers.
7. Knead the dough just enough that it holds together fairly well. Be careful not to overknead. The dough is going to be a bit on the dry side.
These have been a hit every time I've made them. They reheat really well, if they make it longer than the first hour or so.
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Building Tastebud Memories

It never ceases to amaze me how powerfully the senses of taste and smell are connected to our memories. I think that must be why we turn to favorite recipes from childhood - especially around the holidays - those little mouthfuls of memories that take us back to the magic of the season as it was when we were young.
Matt's pretzels from yesterday's post were more than just a tasty treat last holiday season, they were a special memory for me. It was not exactly a holiday memory - but these big puffy soft hot pretzels brought back memories of my own childhood attempt at pretzels, straight out of Cricket Magazine - of which I was an avid reader. I still have them all - from Volume I Issue I on up for about 5 years. I am saving them to share with the Munchkin when he is old enough - and I hope that he finds as much enjoyment in them as I did.
In the meantime, we are starting to share the kitchen with the Munchkin, giving him more and more of a role in "helping" as we cook, create, and consume, starting to build his own Tastebud Memories.
I wonder, when he grows, what taste or smell will bring him back to his childhood? I am sure it won't be the same as mine, or Matt's or Bobby's.
What is your tastebud memory?
Friday, October 17, 2008
golden brown & delicious

After a weekend of holiday prep, cooking and baking (and a few days of a nasty tension headache), I hung up the apron for an enjoyable Christmas Day with Regina and Boomper, the Boy Wonder.
But after making "Southern" Russian Teacakes, a crock pot full of three-bean chili, a pot of Greens 'n Beans soup, a pot of Chicken Soup with Orzo, Chocolate AND Chocolate-Peanut Butter Truffles, a huge gingerbread cookie boy, and two other doughs that I just ran out of time to bake (but will be a nice treat next month), the day off of cooking left me with a bit of cook's withdrawal.
As Boomper and I sat on the living room floor, playing with the Mr. Potato Heads that Santa left under the tree, I spied one of the many accessories Aunt Cathy brought back from Disneyworld: a small plastic Mickey-shaped soft pretzel. I had found my inspiration...
I soon set forth to track down the recipe I remembered from the "Pretzel Logic" episode of Alton Brown's Good Eats on Food Network. With printed page in hand, I presented my idea to Regina, and then headed to the kitchen to make sure I had everything I needed. We decided to have them with dinner, so I had some time to plan and prep.
A few hours before dinner, I started the dough. I gave up on 'active dry' yeast a long time ago in favor of instant yeast. I like the instant yeast because when I'm making pizza dough, or baking bread in the bread machine, it can be added to the dry ingredients. No proofing necessary.
This recipe called for for proofing the active dry yeast in lukewarm (who WAS Luke, and why was he always so-so warm?!?), salt and sugar, so I decided to proof the instant yeast. I swear I could hear the little yeasties burpin' and tootin' (well, that's what they do). Soon the yeast was nice and foamy, and ready for the flour and melted butter.
After a thorough mixing, kneading and a one-hour rise, the dough was ready to be portioned, rolled, and pretzeled.
Now comes the science. Prior to baking, each pretzel took a 30-second dip in pan of boiling water-baking soda solution. Dipping each pretzel in this slightly "basic" solution, helps the pretzel brown to a deeper mahoghany finish, helping the pretzel look more like a pretzel, and less like a funky-shaped dinner roll.
Each pretzel then got a quick brushing of eggwash, and a sprinkle of Kosher salt, and then into the oven. Yes, pretzel salt is ideal, but I wasn't planning on heading to the grocery store just for it. Maybe on my next trip.

If at all possible, keep an eye out in your TV listing for this episode of Good Eats, as it has a great explanation on the whole process, in a rather entertaining way. And follow the link below for the recipe and instructions: Good Eats Homemade Soft Pretzels
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