Crazy Carrot 'Taters

Comfort food with a twist...

On the plane to France I had a special purée of potatoes and carrots. I liked it. So, tonight when I was faced with some potatoes at the end of the line and a plethora of carrots, I decided to mash them all.

• six potatoes, sliced and cooked (skins still on)
• 1 pound carrots, cleaned and cooked
• About 1/2 to 3/4 cup heavy cream (decadent I know, but I ran out of milk)
• 1 teaspoon organic four color peppercorn
• 2 containers of Papa John's garlic sauce

The cream and garlic sauce probably contradicts the healthfulness... but they were yummy.

Veg BLT

My in-laws left at 11:45 which left me 22 minutes to whip up lunch, when we're low on groceries and I strained my back.

I had my daughter help me whip up a batch of skillet biscuits, all with unbleached white flour as I'm out of my specialty flours of wheat and rye.

When my husband got home, he sliced a tomato from the garden for me and got the spring mix ready. My daughter got the mayo. I put a drop of olive oil in the small frying pan and dropped our last four slices of Morningstar Vegetarian bacon in the pan and covered them with a pinch of organic four color pepper.

We assembled the little sandwiches and they were yummy. For dessert we had warm biscuits with blackberry jam, and my daughter-- so enamored with these fluffy biscuits-- requested a THIRD, this one with peanut butter and jelly.

Farm Fresh Cream Sauce

I didn't go to the grocery store yet, in part because the tire on the car exploded and in other part because we have so many random items in this house that I like the challenge of using what we've got.

This morning I was thinking vegetables rolled in cold cuts. But then I decided on pasta for dinner. We have some tri-color rotini, and some lunchmeat ham my mother-in-law brought last week. I thought I could combine those. We also have some raw milk that's a week old and we always have plenty of butter.

Ingredients:
- Tri-color rotini
- Leftover cold cut ham
- About 4 tablespoons butter
- About 1 teaspoon organic four color pepper
- 1 cup raw milk
- 2 tablespoons unbleached white flour
- dash nutmeg
- 3/4 teaspoon fresh dill
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
- 2 cups peas

So I made the rotini.

In my Le Creuset skillet, I started with with a pat of butter and some four color peppercorn. I tossed all the ham into the skillet, heated over medium and fried both sides. I removed the ham from the skillet and put it on a cutting board. I added two tablespoons of butter to the skillet, reducing heat to low. Stirring constantly, I added the butter.

The base of this recipe came from the Betty Crocker 25th Anniversary Cookbook.

This is probably the first time my flour-butter base for the cream sauce actually came out as liquid and not as a lump. I think it's because of the even heating in the cast iron skillet. After stirring it until bubbly, I removed the skillet from the heat and added the milk. Stirred until everything melted and mixed together.

I returned the skillet to the heat, added the rest of the herbs (dill, garlic salt, remaining pepper, nutmeg) and stirred constantly as it thickened. When it got almost bubbly and a nice consistency, I added the peas and the ham and stirred until everything was warm.

Then I added the rotini, and stirred together.

My stirring technique for this involved a wide plastic turner where I scraped back and forth across the skillet.

It was my best cream sauce ever.

Bruschetta pizza

While anemia and a heat wave do not make prime conditions for cooking, herbs and tomatoes ripening in the garden demand attention. And good food.

My garden has yielded five more tomatoes since I made bruschetta last week and my mother decided I needed the first two tomatoes from her garden.

So today my daughter and I made homemade pizza dough. We started with a cup of warm water, two tablespoons of yeast, a dollop of honey and a dollop of blackstrap molasses. We added 1.5 cups unbleached white flour, 3/4 cup wheat flour, and 1/4 cup rye flour. I stirred and kneaded as she went to the garden for a heap of basil. I shredded about six leaves of basil, probably about three tablespoons and we kneaded that into the dough.

While that rose (about an hour), I made about three cups of bruschetta. This required close to 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil, six small tomatoes chopped, about 1/3 cup chopped basil leaves, 2/3 teaspoon four color peppercorns, 1 teaspoon garlic powder, 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt and about 1/4 cup grated romano cheese.

When the dough was done, I sprinkled a long jelly roll pan with cornmeal. I rolled out the dough on my dishwasher and coated the bottom lightly with cornmeal. Then I dampened my hands with olive oil and patted the bottom of the dough before I put it in the pan and finished spreading it out.

I dumped the bruschetta on, added bites of broccoli, covered with 8 ounces of mozzerella and added some more basil on top for pretty.

It's baking and I'm STARVED.

Chicken, shrimp and broccoli

Today, forgetting I still have half a broccoli cheese pot pie in the fridge, I embarked on chicken and broccoli for lunch.

So, I preheated the oven to 350 and set the Le Creuset skillet on the front burner on low with 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil, 1 teaspoon butter, and 1 teaspoon four color peppercorn.

I took two slightly thawed chicken breasts and about two cups shrimp and dropped them in the skillet. I sprinkled garlic powder and paprika (lightly) on everything. Ten minutes each side, but about halfway I did turn the heat up to almost medium.

I added as much broccoli as I could get in the skillet (fresh) and then added one cup chicken broth. and one more teaspoon butter distributed in chunks. I also got out two cups of wegmans thai vegetable stock. I thawed both of these broths in the microwave must still had an icy chunk for each so I set one on top of each chicken breast thinking it could baste as it melts.

Into the oven it goes. Husband home for lunch in 45 minutes.

*This is the last of our shrimp.*

Vegan stirfry

I didn't get a photo of today's lunch, a simple and plain affair for which a friend joined us.

I heated the Le Creuset skillet with about a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil, cold-pressed, and a teaspoon of sesame oil, swirled around the pan with my hand. I fried the last serving of homemade seitan. Added a bag of the steam-in-bag spring vegetables with citrus sauce from Aldi.

Had rice cooking (1 cup) in the steamer. Combined it in the skillet (only about half the rice). Heated and stirred. Added about a 1/2 teaspoon four color organic pepper and a teaspoon of garlic salt.

Midnight corn snack

I was in the mood for something salty. So, at 9 p.m., having not cooked a real meal since Friday, I whipped up the following in the Le Creuset skillet:


- 1/2 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil, just enough to grease the pan
- about two teaspoons it's a dilly
- 1/2 teaspoon butter (omit if vegan)
- one Morningstar vegetarian sausage pattie, crumbled
- one can corn, rinsed
- one can sliced white potatoes, rinsed
- 1/2 teaspoon four color pepper
- another 1/2 teaspoon butter

Ginger Pork

Today's experiment is Ginger Pork. I'm expecting company at an unknown time, so I wanted to make something I could keep warm in the oven (with a loaf of homemade bread, of course.)

So in the Le Creuset skillet, I put three large pork chops, about 1" thick each. I put:
- 1 tablespoon of olive oil
- about 3/4 teaspoon four color pepper
- about 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground garlic salt
- about 3/4 teaspoon dried basil
- about 1 tablespoon grated candied ginger
- one tablespoon white grape juice.

I cooked over medium about five minutes each side. When I flipped them, I drizzled
- 1 tablespoon sesame oil

Then I made a sauce of
- one tablespoon white sugar
- one cup white grape juice
- one tablespoon low sodium soy sauce

I poured that into the skillet and put the whole thing in an oven preheated to 300 degrees.

The recipe is inspired by Venir Dîner, C'est Prêt, a French cookbook. I plan to serve with a Dole Spring Fling Salad and my bread. I'm debating whether or not to add cooked baby carrots. I'm thinking yes.

Chicken with cornflake sludge

This is one of those meals that did not do what I intended.

Ah, well. Win some, lose some.

I started with a hint of butter and an equal amount of fresh-squeezed lemon juice, and a teaspoon of fresh rosemary snipped into tiny pieces.

I took some chicken, sliced into tenders, and had my daughter grind some four-color peppercorns and some McCormick garlic salt (packed in France, go figure). Added the chicken and some chicken broth. I cooked the chicken about four minutes on each side, then I coated with eggs, and "breaded" with crushed cornflakes, made more 50/50 lemon butter sauce and added some olive oil for a "frying" effect and returned everything to the Le Creuset skillet.

The cornflakes fell off.

I added a whole bunch of steamed baby carrots from the freezer, thawed in the microwave, added a few dollops of butter and some more chicken broth and placed the entire skillet in the oven.

Meanwhile, my husband is making cheapo mac and cheese from a box for a second side.

keep your fingers crossed. I'm going to need it.

The result: FABULOUS!!!

Italian Style Veggie and Rice skillet

One more day and my husband gets paid. The cupboards are getting bare, but yet are older stocked with items like eggs, flour and butter.

I took a bag of steam in bag Italian vegetables, with some sort of mildly seasoned sauce, and the last Boca burger. I threw the veggies in the microwave and fried the veggie burger in olive oil and butter and a dash of soy sauce. I chopped it up, added the veggies, a pinch of four-color pepper, and the leftover two cups of cooked white rice. Added some garlic powder and a little over a tablespoon of butter to keep the rice from sticking to the skillet and...

Voilà.

Far from fabulous. But a fairly healthy lunch.

More Super Salads! (Croutons)

We're having more salad tonight (It's a spring thing for me. I *want* it.) I bought fresh spinach to add to last night's salads and we're transforming my last homemade baguette into homemade seasoned croutons.

We heated the oven to three hundred.

We sliced the bread, put it in a bowl, drizzled some extra virgin olive oil on it, and sprayed it down with cooking spray. My daughter mixed them all up and we poured generous amounts of the following in there:

• garlic powder
• pizza and pasta seasoning
  
• parmesan cheese
• parsley
• four color organic peppercorn
• garlic pepper

And bake as long as it takes, turning every 15 minutes of so. They smell scrumptious.

Asparagus

I steamed a pound of asparagus tonight. I forgot to store it in a small glass with an inch of water like they always recommend, but it was prime asparagus so it was salvageable. Heloise-- the syndicated columnist with the helpful household tips-- recommends rinsing the asparagus in cold water, then snapping the wooden ends off, by bending and letting the stalks naturally break wherever they break.

My husband will eat the woody pieces, so it's a waste for me.

I placed the pound of asparagus in the steamer for 15 minutes. Then, I heated a tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil in my Le Creuset skillet.

Then I placed the steamed asparagus in the skillet, sprinkled liberally with garlic powder, ground about 3/4 teaspoon four-color pepper and added less than 2 teaspoons butter. And sauteed for five minutes.

Great stuff! (Even the little one loved it!)

Papa John's Emmental Pasta

What the heck is that?

Our daughter went with Mimi... So, for lunch I'm blending:

• leftover cooked rotini, plain
• one container Papa John's Garlic sauce
• two teaspoons basil
• one teaspoon four color pepper
• about three tablespoons shredded asiago from Aldi
• about 1/4 cup French emmental cheese, leftover from crôque monsieur night
  

Another batch of chili

So... It's raining. I'm making a batch of chili.

I started with one idea and due to my mistakes ended up with quite another.

I started with a partial teaspoon of olive oil, some garlic powder and some diced tomatoes. I added four color pepper, Italian seasoning, a pinch of cumin, a teaspoon of chili powder, and I meant to add a pinch of Indian chili seasoning but I ended up with closer to a teaspoon. Oops!

So I added almost two teaspoons of cocoa powder and another can of diced tomatoes, this one Italian style, and more garlic. Then I added a 20 ounce can of crushed pineapple. I boiled it for about 15 minutes, then simmered it for an hour and added two cans of no salt added dark red kidney beans, one can light kidney beans, and one can black beans.

I made the cornbread dumplings to go with the chili, and I didn't have enough milk, so I reduced the amount of milk, added some water (do-it-yourself skim milk) and a little extra canola oil.

VERDICT: The chili wasn't spicy and because I cooked the pineapple and tomatoes together for a couple hours, everything more or less melted into one flavor. And the flavor was very rich and despite the lack of spice still had taste.

Now the dumplings took over the pot, but they were yummy, even if it was hard to find the chili underneath.

Perhaps my best batch of chili ever.

Said to my husband, I probably won't be able to replicate it, but then he said I probably wouldn't try...

This is the link to only the three recipes I usually blend to make my chili:
http://angelfoodcooking.blogspot.com/2008/12/five-alarm-chili.html

All my chili-related recipes:
http://angelfoodcooking.blogspot.com/search/label/chili

Hot Spinach Dip

I took a multi-grain baguette out of the freezer and starting working on a new batch of my hot spinach dip in the crockpot. This will be dinner.

This week's version started with:

• 5 cloves roasted garlic
• 1 + cup water reserved from cooking the chopped spinach
• 1 teaspoon canola oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1/2 teaspoon parsley
• 3/4 teaspoon organic four color pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon pizza and pasta seasoning
• 3/4 teaspoon organic ranch mix

Once that cooks on high for a while, I'll add one package of chopped spinach (after smashing the garlic). Then, when that cooks for at least an hour on high, I'll reduce heat and add the last of the roasted garlic cream cheese spread (one tablespoon), some cheddar, some monterey jack, some velveeta, and maybe some parmesan and maybe a 1/4 cup of salsa.

Four Cheese Vegetarian Crôque Monsieur

Ah... finally!

Adapted from Ina Garten's Barefoot in Paris:
Angel's four cheese vegetarian crôque monsieur

• 12 slices homemade wheat bread (each about half the size of store-bought bread)
• six slices Morningstar vegetarian bacon
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 tablespoons unbleached white flour
• 2 cups hot heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground four color organic pepper
• pinch nutmeg
• 2 cups shredded swiss cheese (I got French Entremont)
• 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar
• less than 1/4 parmesan (I ran out)
• 1 cup shredded smoked gouda

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Melt the butter over low heat and add the flour all at once. Stir with a wooden spoon for two minutes (is it supposed to end up as a lump? Because mine does.) Slowly stir in all the milk (oops I did mine fast) and whisk until sauce thickens (mine did fine, even if I neglected the subtle nature of the instructions).

Remove from heat and add salt, pepper, nutmeg, parmesan, 1/4 cup cheddar, and 1/4 cup swiss.
Stir until melted and set aside.

Toast the bread about five minutes on each side in the oven.

On the bottom halves of the sandwiches, pile 1 tablespoon sauce, about a tablespoon shredded cheese (at this point I mix all remaining the cheeses together), one slice vegetarian bacon (folded), one more tablespoon cheese sauce, then the lid, one more tablespoon sauce, then a little pile of cheese.

Return sandwiches to the oven until bubbly and browned.

Prepare some frozen peas and cauliflower and top with leftover cheese sauce. The remaining cheese sauce can be refrigerated and used for a killer alfredo sauce, or more sandwiches, or a really decadent fondue.

Scrambled eggs for lunch

Because we're having vegetarian crôque monsieur for dinner, I opted for scrambled eggs and peaches for lunch.

I made three eggs for my daughter and I, which I scrambled and fried in a hot skillet that I had melted about one tablespoon butter and mixed 1/2 teaspoon organic four-color pepper and 1 teaspoon parsley.

Kitchen Alchemy: Beef Stew

I am making something that resembles beouf bourgogne... I chopped the stew meet and dusted with flour, four color organic peppercorns, and sea salt. I'm browning them with a touch of olive oil, a touch of the petit sirah (on sale for $5 at the liquor store) and a touch of French brandy.

The vegetable stock has been reduced by half, and lots of herbs added. In the absence of a true bouquet garni, I have added a variety of fresh herbs from the freezer and dried herbs. Dill, sage, rosemary, oregano, garlic pepper.

My husband has chopped a mound of potatoes and carrots, which one the beef had browned, I put in the beef juice in the skillet and moved the beef into the vegetable stock. I added some olive oil, some wine. I poured the rest of the wine bottle in with the beef, and then filled it half way with water and poured that over the vegetables in the skillet.

I let them cook for five or ten minutes in this mix before I incorporate them into the stew. Then I mix everything up, put it on medium and wait. My husband has chopped some fresh broccoli and cauliflower, which makes it more beef vegetable stew than beef burgundy, but it need to be used...

These vegetables will be added much later, closer to eating time.

Previous versions:
http://angelfoodcooking.blogspot.com/2009/07/beef-burgundy.html

http://angelfoodcooking.blogspot.com/2009/01/boeuf-bourgogne.html

Fancy dinner: Breaded Herb Pork

I have a small loaf of my homemade multigrain baquette in the oven thawing from the freezer... My daughter is arranging a platter of fresh veggies... I have French butter on the table and a nice place setting...

I have four thin boneless pork chops, that I breaded in a mix of breadcrumbs, parmesan cheese, seasonings from the spinach rigatoni from Aldi, four color peppercorn. I warmed some extra virgin olive oil in the skillet, with two shredded leaves of fresh sage and about two teaspoons of oregano. I cooked the prokchops over medium, for four minutes on each side. Then I put them in the oven with the bread to keep them warm.

Meanwhile, I have my daughter making some pepper ranch dip (for the veggies) Two teaspoons sour cream with an equal amount of ranch dressing, and some fresh ground four-pepper.

Now for the appetizer... I'm going to cook some veggie bacon and some dates in a bit of olive oil, then wrap them and put them in the oven. Debating whether or not to put some cream cheese in the dates first...

Okay... what I wrote before this point was written while cooking, so let's try to organize our thoughts better and present everything in a more manageable fashion.

First course: 'Bacon'-Wrapped Dates
Inspired by Gayle
Ingredients:

• Six dates, in this case sliced in half. I used pitted dates from Aldi's that weren't exactly fresh, but they weren't exactly dried either
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 6 slices Morningstar Vegetarian bacon
• About 3 teaspoons Neufchâtel or Cream cheese

Heat oil and dates in skillet. Add bacon and cook until thawed but not crispy. Flip dates and heat primarily to soften. Remove bacon and dates from hot skillet. Spread cheese on half the dates and top with other half. Wrap in bacon. Broil on high in oven until the bacon browns.

These turned out fantastic. (On the bottom shelf in the oven.)

Second course: Crudités with tangy ranch dip
Using up leftover vegetables my mother-in-law brought Wednesday
In this case some broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, red pepper and green pepper
Ingredients for dip (combine and serve):

• About two teaspoons sour cream
• About two teaspoons ranch dressing
• 1/2 teaspoon fresh ground four color peppercorns
• about 3/4 teaspoon It's a Dilly

Main course: Herb-Parmesan Breaded Pork with corn and greenbeans
Ingredients for the pork (photo on top):

• Four thin boneless pork chops
• About 1 cup breadcrumbs
• About 1 cup parmesan cheese
• 1 teaspoon fresh ground pepper from four-color peppercorns
  
• About 1/8 cup seasoning from the spinach rigatoni I buy at Aldi (it's cheese and Italian seasoning mostly)
  
• One tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• One tablespoon butter
• 2 leaves fresh sage, shredded
• About three teaspoons fresh oregano

Combine the breadcrumbs, cheese, pepper and seasoning in a bowl and bread pork chops with it. Under medium heat, heat the oil and the sage and oregano. Add porkchops. Cook about 4 minutes, flip, add butter, and cook four more minutes.

For the vegetables:
I cooked the pork first and kept in hot in the oven. Then I wiped the pan and prepared the appetizers. Without cleaning the pan again, I dropped half a can of corn in (leftover from last night's casserole) and the rest of a bag of frozen French cut greenbeans. Cooked in the pan until warm.

For the bread:
I think this was the batch... http://angelfoodcooking.blogspot.com/2010/01/multigrain-dill-bread.html

For dessert:
Blueberry bread pudding (from the freezer) with a dollop of vanilla bean ice cream.
http://angelfoodcooking.blogspot.com/2010/01/blueberry-crumb-bread-pudding.html

Pineapple Pork with Apples

So, tonight I decided to make pork with apples because I needed to make something in my Le Creuset skillet and this is a good winter dish.

Here are all my pork recipes:
http://angelfoodcooking.blogspot.com/search/label/pork

Here is my original post on pork with apples:
http://angelfoodcooking.blogspot.com/2008/12/pork-with-apples.html
(It doesn't look good because that was early in my food styling career)

Tonight I started with two one-inch boneless pork chops and had my husband slice them into stir-fry stips. I browned them in butter and added about 3/4 teaspoon rosemary from my freezer. I added about 1/2 cup sweetened pineapple sauce I had in the freezer after my last poire tartin. Then I added about 1/2 teaspoon organic four color pepper and one cup white grape juice and a handful of brown sugar and 1/2 cup mustard-- in my case about 1/3 cup plain yellow mustard and the rest brown horseradish mustard. Boil then return to a simmer. Finally, add one large green apple sliced. Simmer for 8 to 10 minutes until sauce thickens.

Tonight I'm serving over chow mein noodles.

When I tasted the sauce in the pan, I wasn't very keen on the lingering flavor of the juice. But with the meat, the apples and the chow mein noodles it was yummy. The chow mein noodles are definitely the perfect texture to serve with this meal.