Impromptu Pizza, sort of

While at Trader Joes one day, I picked up some of their fabulous herb pizza dough and pesto among other things. A few days later, I still didn't have a specific plan per say for the pizza, but my mother in-law was over, we were hungry, so I whipped something together.

I didn't have any tomato sauce and didn't want to use ALL pesto for the sauce since I already had the super flavorful herb dough. I did have some cherry tomatoes, probably left-over from the frittata in the post below, and red onions, so I sauteed those up with some olive oil, salt, pepper, dry basil, and garlic powder. When it was saucy and cooked, I stirred in some of the pesto and cooked it for another minute or so. I rolled out the dough, brushed olive oil on the crust, and spread my tomato, onion, and pesto mixture onto the rest. on top of this, I added whatever shredded cheese I had in the fridge. I think it was a mix of Mexican blend, mozzarella, and cheddar. On top of this I put some chopped green bell pepper and a bunch of fresh baby spinach (also, left over from the frittata. . . ). I baked it up and it was REALLY GOOD. I think sometimes the best meals are born when you're not prepared and need to use what you've got!! Mmmmmm.

A new twist on an old favorite

I was searching for our many many, many posts on brie bites - is it possible we don't have any?! How has this tragedy happened, because I know they are made often.

Last night I reverted back to the complete baked brie - and not the bites. I was attending a "Scotch Night", that has become an end of semester tradition for the Cognitive Psychology PhD students at UT, and brie seemed like the perfect accompaniment to scotch. It's actually very simple. One wheel of brie. A few sheets of thawed phyllo dough. Some kind of jam/jelly. A little melted butter. Done. I'm partial to putting apricot preserves on the brie, I'm not sure why. I think apricot is a nice flavor with the cheese, it adds a little sweet, but can also be very savory. Last night when I opened the fridge to pull out the cheese and preserves I spied a package of fresh rosemary, and the wheels began turning. I chopped up some of that fresh rosemary, and mixed it into the preserves. And, this was maybe the best choice I've made all week! Delicious!

Carrot cake is for lovers

I've discovered a new love: carrot cake! It wasn't a love at first, let me tell you. . .

I made this cake for my friend's husband's birthday. She gave me their "family" recipe that he loves because it's plain and simple. It was very easy to make, however getting it out of the pans was quite the task! So note to self: use parchment paper. I think carrot cake is usually sticky by nature, so Baker's Joy cannot be used by itself. The combination of Baker's Joy and parchment paper is key. I will remember this for next time.

The decoration was a combined idea (Jenni and myself) and I'm proud to say that I discovered that I'm not an idiot and can in fact created a simple shell border (see, on the bottom?) I was using the wrong tip in the past. . . haha. Good job. I'm excited to make another carrot cake so I can separate those carrots on top a little more. I got that idea from some web site. . . not sure where it was now that I think about it. But I just used a medium round tip for the carrot and the leaf tip for the tops. It was really easy! I like easy designs that look hard, don't you? So there you go.

I got to taste some of the cake (that stuck to the pan) and it was good, but I made another carrot cake with a different recipe a few days later that had ALL of the fixings. I put it in the freezer and will frost and decorate it later this week for Michelle. Perhaps I'll post a picture of that one too. But this recipe is DELICIOUS! I didn't use the buttermilk glaze, but I imagine it's fantastic. I also used a different recipe for cream cheese frosting (left over from the cake above). So for this new recipe, I just added raisins to it, a little less than a cup, but I would probably add a whole cup next time. And believe me, there will be a next time, and a time after that, and a time after that, and oh my gosh I love it so much.

More orzo, please!

So speaking of orzo, I have to share a deliciously easy meal with you. It's my version of "risotto."

I cook up some orzo in vegetable broth. When it's almost done, I run some frozen peas (because you know I have lots of those hanging around!) under hot water to just thaw them a bit. Back to the orzo, I reserve about a ladle of the broth, and strain the rest. I put the orzo back in the pot I cooked it in, with the reserved broth, peas, and a little butter, and heat it up a bit. I then add salt, pepper, parmesan cheese, and a little milk. Sometimes I'll even add some freshly grated nutmeg. I keep it on medium-low heat while stirring to see if I need more milk. And that's it! I know it's more of a side dish than a "meal," but sometimes that's just what you need.

B is for Burrito

Are you sitting down?  I cooked something tonight!  Granted it was just a simple burrito (or two....or three....) but damn if it wasn't good.  And as I cooked it I thought, you know who should hear about this??  M and M!

My burritos are pretty simple, but I swear there are two secrets that make them all the better.  First I cook some rice, usually brown boil-in-bag rice.  When that's done I put it in a pot with a can of black beans, mix it up and leave it on a low burner.  In a skillet I grill up some veggies, tonight I used a red and green pepper, yellow squash and eggplant.  Here is secret number 1, I cut the veggies rather large to grill them.  Tonight I used some avocado oil instead of evoo (because I had it) and then I sprinkle on some store bought Burrito seasoning.  Once the veggies are grilled, I scoop some out onto a cutting board and then I chop them up small.  I find that grilling them bigger keeps in some more flavors, and then chopping them small helps make them fit in the burrito.  

I take my tortilla and put on some sliced cheese, tonight it was colby jack.  Then a scoop of rice-bean mix, and some chopped veggies on top.  Here the key is to pile things up right along the center of the tortilla.  Now to roll it, followed by secret number 2.  First I fold in two ends, say the right and left sides, only a little.  Now I start to roll from bottom to top - be forceful, get all that filling inside, and keep watching the ends making sure they are tucked inside.  Secret number 2 is to immediately wrap it in aluminum foil and pop that sucker into a pre-heated 300 degree oven.  This allows the cheese to melt, everything to get warm and toasty, and the burrito is less likely to come unrolled when you go to eat it.  Totally simple, totally delish!  

Let's go Red Sox!

The Tofu Chronicles, Part 1

I'm calling this Part 1, not because there are currently more parts to the story, but because I'm hoping that the future will hold more exciting tofu chronicles for me to share with you. . . so stay tuned.

Once in a while, I get inspired to experiment with tofu. I did so recently, for Jenni! :) My usual attempts don't often pan out very well, typically asking myself why I didn't order takeout instead, letting the professionals cook it for me. This attempt however was pretty good, so here you go.

I've tried marinating, baking, and stir frying tofu. No matter what, it still tastes like tofu. . . which isn't really a GOOD taste, but when mixed with other vegetables, seems to suffice and definitely make me happy because I'm getting a little protein -- so I suck it up and eat. This time, I decided to pretend the tofu was a vegetable.

I bought extra firm tofu, pressed it with a bunch of paper towels to get some of the water out, then cut it up in the thin-ish pieces you see in the picture. I then heated up a medium frying pan with a little bit of EVOO (the more flavor the better when it comes to tofu, right?) and then added the tofu, which I sprinkled rather generously with salt and pepper. I let this sit in the bubbling oil (almost enough to cover the pan completely, but lightly) for a while. . . not sure how long. When it got this nice golden color, I flipped each one (that was fun -- I ended up using tongs after getting frustrated with my spatula) and then added more salt and pepper, letting the other side golden up as well. Once done, I took them out and let them sit on paper towels to drain a bit. It was an interesting texture. . . somewhat crisp on the outside yet not the gushy ickiness tofu typically has on the inside. It was. . . cooked? It tasted okay on its own too. But it was MUCH BETTER tossed in a simple garden salad of mixed greens, grape tomatoes, cucumbers, and avocado. I drizzled my favorite dressing on top (365 Balsamic Vinaigrette, the one sold in the refrigerated section -- there are two actually). It was a good dinner!

Happy Birthday....America!

While I was out yesterday afternoon watching the Red Sox Yankees game with some friends we devised our 4th of July fireworks viewing plan - to meet at a friend's house at 7:30pm and head over from there for the show starting at 8:30. By the time I got home from the game I had about 2 hours before I had to be ready to leave again, and I still had to go and walk the dog (as an aside, I've been dog-sitting for a week, and this dog likes to hike through the woods, where we see coyotes!!!) I left my house, headed for dogs house, and stopped at the grocery store on the way - I was not going to show up for pre-fireworks party empty handed. She likely doesn't know, but Melanie helped me devise this recipe while I was AT the grocery store. A few quick text messages back and forth and we'd decided on filling those little phyllo pastry cups with chocolate pudding and whipped cream. I decided to top them with strawberries and blueberries, for the full patriotic effect.

I must say, while this is like less homemade and more "semi" than what Sandra Lee would put on her show, they came out looking quite cute and being quite tasty. And, of course, the simple fact that I showed up with something in-hand made me quite pleased.

Happy and safe 4th to everyone!

true confessions of a late-twenties drama queen

About a year and a half ago I started making guacamole. Last summer it was my staple bring-this-to-cookout food. I made it a few times, and people liked it. Some people requested it. I then also began to make Mango Salsa with it. So, Guacamole and Mango Salsa went with me to every party, BBQ, what-have-you. Then I moved to Texas. Where we have cookouts and BBQs year round, where Guacamole and Mango Salsa fits in to every conceivable meal plan. And, I've become "famous" for my guacamole. I joke that my friend Ryan would stop being friends with me if I showed up without guacamole - and while I've showed up empty handed a few times, I do wonder if it's just the hope of more that keeps him around. Yesterday I showed up at a pool party, with Guac and Mango Salsa in tow, and was greeted with shouts of "Oh, give me some of that sweet, sweet guacamole" and "Quick, I'm going to tear that thing open and have my way with it" - all this from people who have eaten it once! When I was packing up ready to leave people were huddled around the left over mango salsa (the guac had disappeared hours ago) and I had to fight them for my bowl back - agreeing to stay a few extra minutes while they all but licked the bowl. And today, I've received two emails telling me how good it was.

All these compliments, I try to be modest and just smile and say thank you - all the while hiding my fraud-status. I do not lace this with intoxicating drugs, and these people have not been hypnotized, and I do not know what they think is so amazing about this stuff. But, for you, I'm going to FINALLY share my secret. Here is how I make Guacamole and Mango Salsa.

*about 5 or 6 avocados
*one large, or two small mangoes
*two containers of mild pico de gallo (fresh from the grocery store, usually in the produce section. I used to use this, but in TX I use a different brand)
*one container of medium pico de gallo
*one small lime
*fresh mint, if I feel like it.

In one bowl I combine all the containers of pico de gallo, this is to let it sit together and the flavors to have more time to marry. (ohh, good word!) Also, this is in case my company shows up before I'm done - and the first thing in the trash is any evidence of store bought ingredients! Then I slice the avocados in half and squeeze the guts into a bowl. Using a potato masher I smash them up. Now I add in about half of the pico de gallo, slowly, until it looks like about the right combination of green and red. Squeeze the juice from half a lime into it, cover it up, and put it in the fridge. Then I cube up the mangoes. I've not yet figured these out - there is no pit, but something hard is in the center. I end up just slicing weird shapes off the sides until I can't go anymore, and I often feel like I am wasting a lot of mango. Once it's all cubed, I throw that in the bowl with the rest of the pico de gallo. Squeeze in the juice of the other lime half, and chop up some fresh mint (if i feel like it) and throw it on top. This gets covered and put in the fridge too, right up until you're ready to go!

And there you have it, my "world" famous, to die for, there must be drugs in this, guacamole and mango salsa. Hey, if Sandra Lee can do it, so can I!