Long Time

No See. The combination of the holidays, a broken laptop, and a new job have meant quite alot of sandwiches and soup for dinner, and no photos, no writing, no nothing. Even my ambitions for holiday baing have fallen by the wayside. But I really miss the blog, and the readers, and the community I found here on the internet. Im working my way back, and Ill see you soon. More...

12 Cookies of Christmas

In my house, we celebrate Christmas.

This is not because its what the man and I decided that together or because the man has ever had a Christmas tree - or a menorah - in his home. I have lived and breathed for Christmas since I was a child. Its my mother's fault, really. She loved Christmas (even though she worked in retail!) and she would put on holiday records and wrap everything - even the stocking gifts until well after midnight every Christmas Eve, while the sounds of The Carpenters Sing Christmas lulled me to sleep from down the hall.

Somehow, even in the darkest, scariest of financial situations my parents managed to fill the house with food, music, love, and an awfully large load of presents under the tree. I still don't know how they pulled it off, (but I imagine they must have impeccable credit). Growing up in this environment (I have a friend who loves to remind me that I was blessed with the white whale of childhoods, and while it wasn't all rosy, it was damn fine) I carry a militant amount of Christmas cheer with me. At this time of year people are more pleasant, snow is beautiful (rather than 'godforsaken white $#@%, which is what I will call it after January fifth), and food - I swear - tastes better.

Christmas has undergone a makeover since the 'Great Recession' hit.  At least in my corner of the world, it has gone to a more traditional place, where the material (and, ahem, expensive) has given up center stage and turned it back over to the holiday heavy hitters: family, homemade treats and gifts, and perhaps most special - the gift of time. This year friends and I are planning days after Christmas to spend together, rather than exchanging gifts, because the most valuable thing that I think you can give someone, is your time, your attention, and (geez its getting corny - stick with me here, I'm about to come around to my point) your love. Cooking is one of my loves, and cookies are just about everyone's love, at one time or another. (whew! I knew I'd get there)

So this year, for my neighbors, my coworkers, my extended family, and for our friends, I will be making cookies. and in (yet another) Christmas tradition I have decided on not one, but twelve different varieties. You might think I'm crazy, and I think I already admitted to that in the first paragraph,  but with the modern convenience that is your freezer, you too could pull this off without too much sweat. Plus its always nice to bring over a tin of this and that, I think. So that the people that you care for can have a cookie suited to their mood, their taste, or you know...what they happen to be drinking.

Cookies making the roster this year are not the most traditional, but hey, even if I am cracked out on Christmas from the day after Thanksgiving until New Years Eve, I still hate those tasteless, rock hard sugar cookies with the too sweet icing. I'm not handing those foul things to the people I love.

The Twelve Cookies of Christmas (in no particular order)
1. Sesame Ginger Shortbread
2. Lime Melt-aways
3. Coconut Macaroons
4. Oatmeal with Chocolate Covered Raisins
5. Chocolate Coffee Crinkles
6. Cassis Crisps
7. Spicy Molasses Cookies with Orange Sugar
8. Rum Balls (not really a cookie, but a holiday staple!)
9. Nutella Thumbprints
10. Italian Anise Drops
11. Cherry Cornmeal Cookies
12. Pistachio Cardamom Drops

I'll be pre - mixing the dough and freezing up until a week before Christmas, so I'll post the recipes here as I make them and then devote a post to the finished product. Here's hoping I don't weigh in at 900 pounds by the time this is over....

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Sweet Potato Gnocchi

Recently here in the kitchen we experienced what I'm (still) calling the Sweet Potato Glut. No we didn't grow our own, but yes, I may have gone a little wild at the market. I had every intention of making these oven fries, to accompany some slow cooker 'pulled pork' sandwiches but never found the gumption, once my guests had arrived. So there I stood facing five rather large sweet potatoes, totally unwilling to let them go to waste. I roasted two of them last weekend, and made muffins with one (I actually made another batch of these this past weekend) and I found a way to stretch the other into dinner. Gnocchi had been something I had been interested in for a long time, and with the help of the man (its alot of work for only one set of hands!) we made a really pleasant dinner, that was both filling and reasonably healthy, (whole wheat flour and sweet potatoes keep me thinking that a bowl of potatoes, dressed in butter and a little thyme make a fairly healthy dinner...as opposed to a bowl of traditional gnocchi anyway) Gnocchi itself isn't very hard, really and if you maintain an organized level of chaos, its not too bad on ones kitchen either.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi
Adapted from Double Delicious, by Jessica Seinfeld


1 3/4 cups ricotta cheese
1/2 cup sweet potato puree
1 large egg, and 1 egg white
1/4 cup grated Romano cheese
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup of all purpose flour

In a mixing bowl combine ricotta cheese, potato puree, eggs,cheese, baking powder, and salt. In a smaller mixing bowl, combine both flours, and mix into wet mix all at the same time. Mix until the flour is incorporated and the color of the dough is uniform (no streaky orange)
Separate the dough into eight sections. Flour your work surface (I used more whole wheat flour) and roll the dough into foot long, inch high logs. Cut the dough with a fork into 1 inch by 1 inch morsels, lightly rolling the fork over one side of the pieces, creating a grooved side. Continue until you have no more dough.

At this point I seperated half of the gnocchi, froze them on a parchment lined baking sheet and later, transfered them to a freezer bag.


Fill a large pot with water, salt it generously and bring it up to a boil. Add the gnocchi, stirring very gently and cook until it just floats sim them off the top with a small mesh strainer, continuing to stir gingerly until all the gnocchi have come up to the surface and been skimmed out. We served these dressed in a little butter and sprinkled with thyme. Perfect comfort food. More...

Mark Bittman's Egg Noodles in Soy Broth

Some nights, you walk home in the unseasonable sixty degree weather, completely in the dark at 6:15. After you get home and pet the cat, you hang up your (unneccessary) wool coat and stand in front of the refrigerator....until you realize you can't stand to make yourself dinner. This is a recipe for those nights. When you are home alone and not feeling particularly inspired, (despite the impending holiday and the two pies to be made,) simple fast meals that scratch a particular culinary itch call to you over the internet

Salty, with a kick of heat and just the right balance of toasty sesame oil and sweet ketchup (yeah, you read that right), this recipe was just what I yearned for. Is it authentic Asian? No. Truth be told, its not even that pretty...But if its good enough for Mark Bittman and one of my favorite food bloggers, I don't feel the least bit strange sharing it with you here. My variation calls for you to use rice noodles, because those are my favorite, then stir in mung bean sprouts, and sprinkle it liberally with the cilantro that will most assuredly wilt in the next few days if you don't use it up. I paired down the servings to serve 2 (because I never can seem to cook just for just one serving...) I suggest you give it a try, I think you'll be pleasantly surprised.

Rice Noodles with Soy Broth
Serves 2
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoons soy sauce, more to taste
2 tablespoons + 2 teaspoon ketchup
1 1/2 teaspoon sherry vinegar
A drizzle of toasted sesame oil
1 teaspoon sriracha, more to taste
1/3 of a pack of Maifun Rice Noodles
1/2 cup mung bean sprouts
3 tablespoons of cilantro, chopped

boil approx 2 1/2 cups water in the kettle, when its boiled, cover the rice noodles in boiling water and cover for 30 minutes. In a small saucepan add the soy sauce, ketchup, vinegar, sesame oil, and sriracha, stir to combine and simmer until little bubbles form at the edges, but do not boil. Check your noodles after 15 minutes, if they feel firm, but not undercooked, add them to your broth and simmer for another 5-ish minutes (if not let them sit for up to another 15 minutes, then pour the broth over the noodles ) Quickly stir in the bean sprouts. Divide into two bowls (ahem, or leave the remaining noodles in the pan) and top with the cilantro. Eat them on the couch with a big book in front of you, because no one is home to miss your dinner conversation. More...

Weekend Food 11/19-11/21

lots of cookin here this weekend. Chorizo and potato tacos made way for nachos, topped with a sweet and spicy corn salsa. On Sunday I started my holiday baking, ate some cheese, and stuffed a pumpkin full of chorizo and kale. It was delicious. What did you do this weekend? More...

Sweet Potato Pecan Muffins

Muffins to make the (rainy, Fall) morning bright.

Last weekend I bought 5 sweet potatoes. I bought them with every intention of serving them as oven fries when I made pulled pork in my slow cooker for a group of friends that came over to visit. Since we ended up eating the sandwiches while we played cards, I never got the chance to make the fries. and so I am left in a sweet potato debacle. What do 2 people do with almost a half dozen sweet potatoes??

Well before I went out to visit a friend for a couple of hours on Sunday, I wrapped three in little foil jackets and popped them in the oven. The man turned off the oven when the timer dinged, and when I got home I had 2 cups worth of soft roasted sweet potato to work with. If we are home over the weekend, (an increasingly rare occurrence lately) I love to take the time to bake something that we can eat for breakfast through the week. It guarantees I will eat breakfast, and helps me turn a deaf ear to the siren song that is the coffee shop (and their gingerbread donuts) two doors down from my office. and so sweet potato muffins were born.

These muffins are great for Sunday baking and then munching all week long. While not a close cousin to the gingerbread donuts, they do pack a lovely amount of -natural- sweetness and spice. They are made hearty with oats and whole wheat flour while pecans give some nice crunch. The sweet potato puree helps to keep them moist through the week...I daresay that they would keep well longer, but I wouldn't be able to tell you. They don't last that long in my house.

Sweet Potato Pecan Muffins
 Adapted from The Louisiana Sweet Potato Comission
1 c. old fashioned rolled oats
1 c. whole wheat flour
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground nutmeg
1 c. roasted and mashed sweet potato
3/4 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. canola oil
1/4 c. skim milk (I used soy milk)
1 large egg
1 t. pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 400°. Line muffin tins with paper liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk oatmeal, flour, baking powder and soda, cinnamon, and nutmeg. In another small bowl, combine the sweet potato, brown sugar, oil, egg, milk and vanilla, whisking to blend well. Pour over dry ingredients and stir to combine. Mix until just moistened. Scoop into muffin tins and bake for 15-20 minutes. Check at the 15 minute mark- the batter is fairly dense and will bake quickly. More...

Weekend Food 11/12-11/14

Back in the kitchen and it feels so good.  

This weekend we were home, which is always when the best kitchen activity happens. Breakfast in many forms, crackers and cheese made into a meal, with jalapeno laced Vermont cheese and an ice cold Gewurztraminer. A homemade pizza with arugula pesto and caramelized onions, and a mess of sweet potatoes - transformed into sweet potato based goodies - made their way in a long parade through the oven and over the stove top. Looking ahead this week I'll be sharing some hearty sweet potato pecan muffins, and a sweet potato gnocchi. The gnocchi, for all the hype about its supposed difficulty, was incredibly easy. Made up of part skim ricotta, roasted sweet potato puree and whole wheat flour, then kissed with nutmeg and sage, they were delicious served in just a little local butter and some thyme from our window herb garden. The past few weeks have been crazy as I prepare to leave my long time and well loved job for a new position, and a new start. Its been stressful and to say it was emotionally taxing is an understatement, but after a weekend in our kitchen, stirring and baking and rolling gnocchi with the man, I feel more grounded, and ready to meet new challenges and stresses head on. More...

Family Favorite

When you’re working toward any goal, it’s always easiest to start where you know things. It breeds confidence you’ll need later to make giant leaps when you can’t see a net to help you.

Since I’m trying to break through a depressing kitchen rut, I decided to start with what can only be called a ‘family favorite’ in our house: Melissa Clark’s Shrimp & Broccoli. I’ve made it countless times. I’ve mentioned it here before because its popularity and ease make it an all around winner. I have 13-year-old cousins that love this dish, and it’s this year’s birthday dinner request from the man. It’s so easy, you feel like you’re cheating...and it feels so good.

I always vary the spice blend, depending on what’s on hand, what’s being served with it, and what I feel like eating. We’ve eaten it dressed out in ginger and lemon grass with some rice noodles, or roasted in herbs and lemon zest over polenta. Last night we used smoked paprika, lemon zest and a pinch of herbs de provence. We served it with some parsley-flecked, almond – studded brown rice. 2 pans, dinner on the table, and I’m calling it a victory.  I’m back. More...

Difficulty

Having Some Technical Difficulty. Not the kind that can be blamed on Computers, either.

Its been hard to find the time to sit down and write about all the things that have been going on here. Cooking has been intermittent, and mostly includes plopping things into a slow cooker on Saturdays and eating it for the next few days, in some incarnation or another. Two separate frozen pizzas have been eaten this week alone. This is not something that usually happens in Kitchen 75. As the holidays approach, I am working on seeking out the personal time needed to decompress, to gather my thoughts, and to put them to (digital) paper here. Writing here is important to me, its not just a place for recipes, or a catalog of meals shared. With every entry, a piece of my own personal history is recorded, (for what its worth) and for everyone that reads along, thank you. I'm hoping to get on the horse, as they say (or in front of the stove, in actuality) and share with you the things that have been swirling around in my head. Coming soon are the recipes for freezer-friendly holiday cookies, an attempt at bread baked with yeast (I have to try it sometime!) and more of the usual, tasty, interesting fare. More...

On Vegetables.

I feel like I should put a section on this blog and call it 'confession time' because...I have some confessions, huh? While I try to make my way toward an eco friendly (Im not using the word green) lifestyle, where I support the local farmers and the local milk company, and all the rest...well, sometimes I sleep in on Saturday...and Sunday.

I don't make it to the farmers market, and then we eat vegetables from Hannaford. The man never notices the difference in the taste (or at least never says anything about it,) making it all the more easy to sleep in all weekend, and hit the grocery produce bins at 4pm on Sunday. (WITH EVERYONE ELSE AND THEIR BROTHER)but this my friends is going to change. At least until it snows.
There is a Winter Market opening up in Pawtucket! We live about 25 minutes from Rhody so Pawtucket is not far from where we live. I'm hoping that the novel idea (here in New England) of a winter market is enough to get me out of bed. We've been seriously tightening the apron strings as Christmas and Channukah close in, (and we made that super large purchase) so I'm also hoping I dont get so excited by squash and beets and shellfish that I blow a thousand million dollars at this market. I'll keep you posted. More...

Kitchen Cure: Week 2

a week late (!) and here it is folks, my mess:

Basically my cabinets had stuff shoved anywhere from when we first moved in and I went through a bout of I.just.need.to.put.things.away. - at midnight. They pretty much stayed where they were,  because I have a pretty consistent flight pattern around the kitchen that I'd like to keep, but things that barely ever get used moved to top shelves or basement storage (God help me if they ever do Basement Cure)

In the space of about and hour, I had straightened, wiped down, pitched and edited to make my life a little easier:

next up is stock the pantry, and 'special projects' Im seriously contemplating painting the canbinets, before it snows and I cant have the windows open again until spring....but Im torn between dark cabinets and light ones...(light ones being much more work)...what are your thoughts? More...

Weekend Food: Halloween Edition...

Our best trick or treater, by far, was the little boy dressed as Santa. Hilarious. This weekend I 'roasted' a chicken in my crockpot, atop some carrots and small potatoes. It fed us pretty much all weekend, reinventing itself into a chicken and pasta tossed with walnut parsley pesto, and then a chicken stew topped with parsley studded biscuits. The stew didn't turn out as beautiful as I had hopped but it was delicious, and while the man and I took turns handing out candy to Boba Fett(s) and princesses we sat around the kitchen eating (multiple) bowls of the stuff and watching what could be called the most ridiculously bland vampire movie ever... Tonight I'll be turning our pumpkin seeds into a roasted snack, (I was told they need a day to dry out) and eating another solo dinner, (hopefully not just candy!) since the man is out of the house...any suggestions? More...

Busy

I have no idea what I'm doing... Its been so busy outside of my kitchen that I actually went out last night for a cheeseburger. If that is not the most ridiculous stress eating, I don't know what is, I dont usually even eat beef, and its a pretty rare day (see what I did there?) that I go out for a hamburger...I also drank two cold, cold, beers (totally needed) and seriously contemplated a brownie sundae.
I (thankfully...?) didn't have any room for it when I was done with my dinner. What can I say? When things get tough, and you stay in your office until seven thirty at night just.trying.to.make.sense.of.all.this...paper! sometimes you have to fold, and go out for a burger. Hopefully this weekend I'll be able to catch up on my Kitchen Cure tasks (you should see the utensil drawer...)and cook up some decent food. I have a broiler chicken that needs our crockpots attention (have you ever tried this?) and another batch of scones (recipe soon I swear!) to make. If I'm good, dinner will be at Jacky's Table on Saturday night. Maybe I'll sneak a few photos for you... More...

Mark Bittman's Molasses Wheat Bread

Truth Time: I dont bake bread. (banana bread doesn't count, its basically cake,) Want a cake? Want a tart? A pie?  sure thing, I'll be over with baked goods in an hour. Want a loaf of bread for morning toast? ....Well then go to the bakery. UNLESS youwant me to make this wheat and molasses flavored loaf. Its easy, and yeast free.

I've been enjoying this sucker toasted, smeared with currant preserves, and dunked in tea. If your inner old woman isnt as active as mine, I think that thick slices of this would work great as the foundation to turkey sandwiches,  because the molasses is just a little bit sweet. This bread is dense, so not too many toppings would be needed. You can make like my dearest friend Samantha and spread the bread with apple jelly and top it with leftover roasted onions, I think it would be delicious.

I would remove the bread from the pan as soon as your fingers can stand it to avoid getting that slimy skin on top (sort of like the banana bread) if you line your pan with parchment paper, leave the sides a bit long and then hoist it right out of the pan and onto a wire rack. then get out of your kitchen so you aren't tempted to pick at it. Or don't, and eat a slice still alarmingly warm with butter.

I won't post the recipe here, because I didnt adapt it, at all. Its the fear of baking thing...Gets me everytime. Next time I might top the loaf wiuth some oats, because Im fixated on starch. Other than that, its pretty delicious for the yeast-phobic, and it might delay my learning to bake a yeast based sandwich  or toasting bread just a little longer.

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Weekend Food 10/22 - 10/24

Just some snaps.

 

Running low on time so here's just a quick peek into the weekend in Kitchen75. Lemony drinks, a cranberry tart (look out for a post!) and pumpkin black bean enchiladas. Not pictured here was some delicious Indian take away, (tandoori chicken!) and some cranberry almond five spice scones, I'll post those ones up for you this week. More...

French Fridays: Hachis Parmentier

Real French peasant food. You may feel the need to toil in the feels before sitting down to this one.

Hachis Parmentier ( pronounced: ah she isss Pah ment eee ay) is the French version of shepards pie. Of course its classed up with the addition of sausages, beef brewed in bouillion, and a generous helping of whatever cheese you may have ripening (it would not be like the French to leave out the cheese!)
 I made this for Sunday dinner, (even though it was just the two of us, and yes, I did eat it all week long for lunches). After a chilly day with the windows open, cleaning house and tilling up all the weeds in the flower bed just outside my kitchen door (next years vegetable garden?) this was such a welcome end to the day.

Dorie calls for you to boil cube steak in water with vegetables, I went one step further and boiled in some beef stock and a cup of red wine I had leftover from cleaning out the pantry and freezer. Hot Italian sausage was added for a little zip, and I kept the carrots I boiled the beef with in the mix. I topped the potatoes off with cheddar, and while I wish I'd used a ricer, (per Dorie's suggestion) there is no room in my life (or my kitchen) for another appliance right now. Dorie's recipes are always a hit with the man, and this one certainly delivers.

While we aren't normally beef eaters, this is a hearty and inexpensive meal that lasts and lasts. By laying some spinach between the meat mixture and the potatoes, and keeping the carrots, you still get some vegetable goodness in there. We served our hachis parmentier with some steamed whole green beans, and a zinfandel. It was a lovely (if huge) Sunday (dinner for two).  

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