PEANUT BUTTER PUDDING

Last week I got a weird idea for peanut butter pudding; the process was a lot more complicated than I thought it was going to be. I tried several Internet recipes and none of them were exactly what I was looking for. Picky-picky husband was my Guinea pig taste tester and the first spoon full of each new recipe elicited those serious "brow furrows" that make all cooks cringe.

I didn't let that slow me down in my quest for a great "kid pudding". My next move was to start combining and tweaking recipes... the richness from this one ...the consistency from that one ... the sweet-factor from another one. The final result brought a "pudding face smile" to old Picky-picky AND the grand kids. This one IS a keeper!!!

I layered this recipe with sliced bananas and Hershey chocolate syrup, but next time I think I'll try layering it with crushed chocolate wafers ... Yummm!!!

This pudding is rich, creamy, peanut butter-y and oh so easy to make!!

2/3 cup dark brown sugar (light brown is OK, but dark brown is better)

2 level tablespoons of corn starch

1/8 teaspoon salt

1¾ cups whole milk (I've used 2% in a pinch)

1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

1/2 cup creamy peanut butter

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a saucepan that has a heavy bottom, whisk together the brown sugar, corn starch and salt. This step helps the cornstarch from clumping-lumping when you add the liquid.

After the sugar, cornstarch and salt are whisked together, slowly add the milk and cream. Stir to make sure everything is mixed well.

Bring to a boil, over medium high heat, stirring constantly. When this mixture gets nice and thick, add the peanut butter and whisk until it is totally melted and pudding just starts to boil again, (takes about 30 more seconds). Remove from heat and add vanilla extract, mix well.

Pour into a pretty serving dish (or individual dishes) and lay plastic wrap directly on top of the hot pudding (make sure the plastic is actually touching the pudding) so a "skin" doesn't form on the pudding as it cools.  Chill for 2-3 hours or overnight.

What a great recipe for ANY kids birthday party!!

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Not A Cookbook

Someone has to guard all those cookbooks!

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GREAT PIE CRUST

A We have all made (and eaten) pie crusts that are flavorless, flat tasting, sort of soggy and, little more than something "necessary" to hold the fruit filling, ha ha!! Well, that does NOT describe today's classic pie crust.

This pie crust is absolutely delicious. It makes three single crust pie shells and bakes up very flaky, very flavorful and very tender. Picky-picky husband RAVED about this pie crust (and he is NOT a rave kind of guy, if you know what I mean).

This dough is extremely easy to work with and because there is a little sugar in it, it bakes to a beautiful deep golden color. You will NOT be disappointed with this pie crust recipe!!

Click on this photo to get a better look at the pie crust.

4 cups all purpose flour
1¾ cups butter flavored Crisco
3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
½ cup cold water

Mix the flour, sugar and salt, then cut the butter flavored Crisco into it with a pastry cutter (or two forks) until the mixture is crumbly.

Whisk the egg into the cold water, then pour it into the dry mixture. Mix till everything is moistened but do not overwork it.  Let the dough sit for about 10 minutes before you roll it out.

The recipe calls for chilling the dough for 30 minutes, but I don't find that is necessary.  Roll out the dough and use it in your favorite pie recipe.

NOTE: I always brush my top crust with a mixture of 1 egg white whisked with a tablespoon of cold water. Whisk it thoroughly, then brush your top crust with just a little bit of it, then sprinkle with granulated sugar before you bake it.

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A Treasury of White House Cooking

We just love menus and American cooking and history, so it is no wonder that we love books based on menus from the White House.

Francois Rysavy was the chef for the Eisenhower's. He was a highly trained French chef -- they were not that impressed. Rysavy was forced to curtail some of his more glamorous dishes for the mid western palate of the President. He wrote about his three years as chef to the Eisenhower's in White House Chef. In the early 1970's he took an overall look at the cooking in the White House in A Treasury of White House Cooking.

The cookbook is divided into chapters, but not exactly chronological. There is no easy way to look at recipes from Lyndon Johnson and compare them to Andrew Johnson. There is, however, a detailed index so if you do want to compare the Johnson's dining habits, you can look them up. Again, there are quite a few menus included, but are not all lumped together. Not by menus or by Presidents.

The book stats with an informal dinner the Nixon's gave for Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis in honor of the unveiling of the Kennedy's official portraits.

Jacqueline Kennedy by Aaron Shikler

The recipes follow the menu. Then we find a menu Kennedy served to the Truman's and one President Grant served to Rutherford Hayes but without the recipes. There are chapters with recipes on modern President like Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon and Eisenhower.

Don't get me wrong, I love looking at all these menus and the recipes, but the presentation is quite a bit disjointed. Still, it is great fun to look at the formal menus from President's gone by.

What did the Nixon's serve Madame Onassis?

Timbale of Seafood American
Fleurons
Filet of Beef Roti
Marchandde Vin
Artichokes St. Germain
Mushrooms Provencale
Heart of Palms Vinaigrette
Souffle au Grand Marnier
Sauce Sabayon

Want to give the souffle a try?

Grand Marnier Souffle

1/4 pound butter
1 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 pint milk, scalded
8 egg yolks
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 teaspoons Grand Mariner
12 egg whites

Melt butter, add flour,and mix well. Add half of the sugar to scalded milk; then add to butter and flour. Stir vigorously with plastic spatula over moderate fire. Add the egg yolks to the mixture one at a time, stirring constantly. Add vanilla and Grand Mariner. Whip the egg whites with the rest of the sugar until stiff; then fold egg whites into the mixture.

Fill into a souffle form, which has been coated with butter and dusted with sugar. Fill form four-fifths full. cook in 375 oven for 45 minutes.

I am not sure how the then ten year-old John Kennedy, Jr. reacted to this meal, but it was said that he was very excited about visiting the White House. Anthe portraits were lovely.

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SWEET LEMON CURD

There are a ton of lemon curd recipes out there and they are all basically made from fresh lemons, sugar, butter and eggs cooked together. The main difference between the recipes is the degree of sweetness.  We like our lemon curd a little on the sweeter side, so I use 1½ cups of sugar in my recipe.  I've seen other recipes that use only ½ cup of sugar for every three lemons...talk about tart!!

There are a million uses for this sweet lemon curd. You can use it between cake layers, or as a cupcake filling. You can use it on hot scones or even toast. You can fold it into sweetened whipped cream for a delicious mousse, anything your imagination can come up with. Slightly sweet, silky smooth and inexpensive to make, you will love this recipe.

1/2 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice (3 or 4 lemons)
1½ cups granulated sugar
¼ pound of unsalted butter (room temperature)
4 extra large eggs
1/8 teaspoon kosher salt

Don't waste your time, effort and money making lemon curd with anything but good fresh lemons. I use lemon juice in a bottle for some things, but not for this recipe. 

Wash, rinse and dry your lemons before you zest them. Be very careful that you only use the bright yellow part of the peeling. Stay away from the white layer underneath because it is BITTER.  Zest three lemons.

Put the granulated sugar and the zest of 3 lemons into a food processor fitted with a steel blade. Pulse until the zest is very finely minced into the sugar.

In a different bowl, cream the room temperature butter until smooth, then beat in the lemon sugar. Beat in the eggs, one at a time, and then the lemon juice and salt. Beat until smooth.

Pour the mixture into a saucepan that has a heavy bottom (this will keep the mixture from scorching easily). Cook over low heat until thickened (about 10 minutes) stirring constantly.

The lemon curd will thicken at about 170 degrees or just below a simmer.  Keep a careful eye on it and keep stirring.

Press the cooked curd through a strainer to filter out any cooked zest pieces and/or tiny lumps.

Straining it is not absolutely necessary, but it insures a silky smooth curd.

Lay some plastic wrap directly onto the surface of the hot curd, and chill in the fridge.

NOTE: Zest the lemons before you cut and squeeze them.



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Harrods Cookery Book

I recently picked up a copy of Harrods Cookery Book. As one might imagine, the recipes are comprehensive and quite detailed. Surely there is nothing that one cannot find at the Harrods food court, so why should the cookbook leave any ingredient untouched. There are recipes for everything g from kidney to quail eggs to okra.

The book features a fair number of traditional English fare: Simnel cake, hot cross buns, beef and Yorkshire pudding, steak and kidney pie and treacle tarts. They are only a fraction of the recipes included. One can find chicken enchiladas, rabbit with tarragon, pork and beans, and lasagna.

The book has rather lavish if a bit dated photographs. The most stunning are actually the vintage photos of Harrods. We posted a collection of vintage Harrods photos over at Lucindaville.

The book boldly boasts that now, "American cooks will learn to make real scones."

Well let us give it a try....

Scones

2 cups unbleached flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
3 tablespoons butter at room temperature
2 tablespoons superfine sugar
1/2 cup golden raisins
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup milk,plus a little extra for glazing

Preheat the oven to 425. Lightly butter a cookie sheet.

Sift the flour, baking powder, and salt together.

Cut int the butter until the mixture resembles bread crumbs, then stir in the sugar and golden raisins. Add the egg and 4 tablespoons of the milk. Lightly mix into a soft dough. Roll out on a lightly floured surface to 3/4inch thick. Using a 2 1/2 inch plain or fluted biscuit cutter, cut out 10 circles.

Place the scones on the cookie sheet and brush the tops with milk. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes or until golden.

The Harrods Cookery Book may just be the next best thing to a trip to Harrods food court. Who are we kidding...that is such a lie, but we will not be heading across the pond anytime soon, so Harrods Scones it is.

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CAKE MIX FIX

I am not a big fan of cake mixes, but I DO enjoy a good cake mix based recipe. I recently tried this versatile, ultra moist and flavorful recipe; it was a huge hit with my family.

The beauty of this recipe is that you can change the flavor combination to just about anything you can imagine, since the main ingredients are just a commercial cake mix, similar flavor  pudding mix and similar flavor baking chips.

Today, I made a butterscotch version of this recipe, using a yellow cake mix, butterscotch pudding mix and butterscotch baking chips....yum!!!  (see flavor combo suggestions below).

The original recipe was for a chocolate version; here is the basic recipe:

(1) 18¼ ounce devils food cake mix (ignore the directions on the box)
(1) 5.9 ounce instant chocolate pudding mix (ignore the directions on the box)
2 cups semi-sweet MINI chocolate chips (see note)
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1/2 cup warm water

IMPORTANT FIRST STEP: Put the DRY cake mix, DRY pudding mix and mini chocolate chips in a large mixing bowl and stir to coat the chocolate chips (this will keep the chips from sinking in the batter when you bake the cake).

Add the rest of the ingredients and mix until very smooth. The directions say to bake at 350 in a well greased 12 cup bundt pan, for 50 to 55 minutes, but I opted for cupcakes and I baked them with paper cupcake liners at 350 for 25 minutes. Test with toothpick for doneness.

If you are using the bundt pan, the recipe says to cool the cake in the pan for at least 1½ hours before removing. Since I made cupcakes, I let them cool in the pan for about 5 minutes.

NOTE: This recipe calls for MINI chocolate chips because they do not sink like the full size chocolate chips tend to. However, today I used butterscotch chips (which do not come in the mini size) so I put them in the food processor and chopped them up and it worked well.

NOTE: Flavor combinations are endless. Next time, I'm trying a Cherry Chip cake mix + vanilla pudding + cherry mini baking chips (chips sold by King Arthur)...what a great idea for kids!!!  Other combos that sound good are chocolate cake + chocolate pudding + chocolate mint chips or even peanut butter chips....Just remember to run the chips through the food processor if they are full size chips.

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SWEET CHERRY COFFEE CAKE

This coffee cake is sweet, moist and perfect for Sunday morning. I made it with frozen dark sweet cherries, but it works just as well with fresh raspberries.

It is excellent warm with a scoop
of vanilla ice cream.

 

2 cups frozen dark sweet cherries (thawed and drained well)

1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
½ cup butter room temperature
½ cup sliced almonds
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoon vanilla
½ teaspoon almond extract
1 cup sour cream

Thaw and drain the frozen dark sweet cherries completely (I put them in a colander overnight in the fridge). The next morning, drain completely, cut the cherries in half and mix with the brown sugar and almond extract. Set aside.

Beat butter till creamy, add sugar and beat until fluffy. Add eggs, one at a time, add extracts and sour cream, mix well. Add dry ingredients and beat until smooth.

Spread 2/3 of the batter into greased 9" spring form pan. Top with fruit and then spoon dollops of the remaining 1/3 of the batter, over the fruit, like this:

Sprinkle the sliced almond over the top of everything and sprinkle it with a little cinnamon sugar.

 

Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Let the coffee cake cool in the pan for about 15 minute before removing it. Drizzle the cake with a simple vanilla glaze.

GLAZE
1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 teaspoons milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract

IMPORTANT NOTE: When you thaw the frozen dark sweet cherries, you will get a considerable amount of "juice". DO NOT USE that juice in this recipe (save it for a different recipe). However, after they are drained and you mix the cherries with the brown sugar and almond extract (after it sits a few minutes) you will get even MORE "juice"...make sure you use this extra juice in the recipe.

IMPORTANT NOTE:  This recipe calls for a 9" spring form pan, but you can make it in a regular 9" round cake pan. The spring form pan just makes for a prettier presentation. IF YOU USE A SPRING FORM PAN, make sure you wrap the bottom of the pan in foil, in case your pan does not have a super tight seal (I also set the whole thing on a baking sheet).

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CHEESE PUFFS (Gougeres)

Your guests will think you are a whiz in the kitchen when you serve these cheese puffs, but they are quick and easy to make and oh so good!!

Made from a basic cream puff dough and grated cheese, these bite size treats are FULL of air pockets and have a crispy-cheesy outer crust.  You can eat them right out of the oven, or get imaginative and fill them with anything savory.

1 cup milk

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

¼ teaspoon salt

pinch of cayenne pepper (or more if you like)

1 cup all purpose flour

3 large eggs at room temperature

½ teaspoon paprika (not the spicy kind)

½ cup grated Parmesan cheese (not the powdered kind)

1½ cups grated Gruyere cheese (see note)

coarse salt to sprinkle on top (see note)

Combine the milk, butter, ¼ teaspoon salt and cayenne in a saucepan and bring it to a boil. Once it starts to boil, remove it from the heat and add the flour all at once (mixing like crazy with a sturdy spatula) until the mixture comes together like this:

Return the pan to the heat and cook over medium heat for about a minute to dry out any excess moisture (stirring).

Remove from heat and put into a food processor and let it cool for five minutes. After the five minutes, process the dough for about 5 seconds. Add the paprika and eggs (one egg at a time) mixing well after each egg.

Remove from food processor and let dough cool for about 10 minutes. Mix in grated cheese and stir just enough to mix well.

Using a measuring tablespoon, scoop out a LEVEL TABLESPOON of the dough and push it off of the spoon (with your finger) onto a parchment paper lined baking sheet (try and keep the puffs as round as possible (but it isn’t critical).

Place them about 2” apart. Top each puff with a pinch of Parmesan and just a mini-pinch of coarse salt (see note below). Bake at 375° for 30 minutes (watch them the last 2 or 3 minutes so they don’t get too dark).

Serve warm or at room temperature. Just as soon as they come out of the oven, pierce the side of the puff with the tip of a small knife (to let any steam escape), this will keep them crispy longer.

Click on this photo to get a better look at the interior of the puffs

 NOTE: Make sure you have everything ready to go before you start making these puffs (cheese grated, flour measured, etc.) so that the liquid volume doesn’t boil away while you are grating your cheese, etc.

NOTE: Let the batter cool a little before you add the eggs so they don’t cook when they hit the hot dough.

NOTE: Lets talk about cheese. You can use any cheese you want but your results will vary significantly, depending on what kind you use.  The dough will puff up best when you use a hard, dry cheese.  If you use a wet cheese, like cheddar, your puffs MIGHT try to deflate when you take them out of the oven. They will still taste good, but they might not be crispy.

NOTE: If you are going to use the traditional Gruyere cheese…note that there are several different kinds of Gruyere. You want the dry hard one, not the semi-soft one.

NOTE ABOUT SALT: The recipe calls for a pinch of coarse salt on the top of each puff, but we don’t care for that…the Parmesan and Gruyere are pretty salty already.

This sounds like a lot of hassle, but once you make these, you will see that they are a snap and I have only one warning…they are addictive!!

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MINI BLUEBERRY CRUMB TARTS

I found this recipe, a while back, on The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch and decided to give it a try. I have used the pastry shell many times in other recipes like Pecan Tassies, but I never thought of using it with a fruit filling until Shelby's post....what a great idea!!

CRUST

3 ounces cream cheese (Shelby uses fat free)
1/2 cup butter at room temperature
1 cup all purpose flour

Mix until smooth, wrap in plastic and chill for an hour.  This dough is lovely and very easy to work with. While the dough is chilling, make the blueberry filling.

BLUEBERRY FILLING

4 cups of blueberries (if frozen - thaw and drain well)
Juice of one lemon
3/4 cup sugar (Shelby uses Splenda)
1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1/8 cup cold water

Mix the blueberries, lemon juice and sugar in a heavy bottomed saucepan. Bring to a slow boil and then whisk in the cornstarch slurry (cornstarch and water mixed together). Keep stiring so that lumps do not form. Continue to cook and stir for 1-2 minutes or until very thick.  Remove from heat and let cool.

CRUMB TOPPING

1 cup all purpose flour
3 tablespoons brown sugar (Shelby uses Splenda brown sugar)
3 tablespoons butter at room temperature

Work these ingredients together, with your fingers, until you get a soft crumbly texture.

NOTE: This makes a TON of crumb topping. I cut the ingredients in half and I STILL had too much topping, so I put the rest in the freezer for my next baking project.

ASSEMBLY

Roll the chilled dough into 1" balls (this recipe makes about 20-24 tarts). Place each ball of dough into ungreased mini-cupcake pan.

Use a tart tamper (or anything in your kitchen that has a large rounded end that you can use) to tamp down the dough, making sure the dough comes up on the sides of each tart. You can also use your fingers to make a depression in the dough ball and work the pastry crust up the sides of the tart well.

Fill each tart with the cooled blueberry filling and a generous teaspoon of the crumb topping.

Bake in a pre-heated 375 oven for 15-20 minutes (my oven took 25 minutes) or until the crust gets a nice golden color. Let the tarts COOL IN THE PAN for 10-15 minutes before lifting them out.

NOTE: I love versatile recipes like this one. I think ANY fruit filling would work well here; I'm trying apple next!!

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Quick Gourmet Dinners

We love Margo Rieman. We know she wrote a food column for Cosmopolitan Magazine. We feature her cookbook, Twelve Company Dinners and since then, we have received numerous e-mails asking about Margo Rieman. I do hope that one day someone, ANYONE, who knew her will drop us a line about her. She looks like she would be more fun to sit in a kitchen with and talk about food, or anything else for that matter.

Her book Quick Gourmet Dinners is a very gook book for anyone, but is especially handy for a beginner. At first glance, this might seem like a light weight vanity piece, but the recipes are solid and quite good. And above everything else, Rieman is funny and helpful.

She recounts the time a friend found no lemon juice to make a vinaigrette, so he used gin. Rieman not only perfected the recipe but offers up the suggestion to try it dry vermouth.

Gin Salad

4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons gin
Dash Tabasco
1 clove garlic, mashed
Pinch dry mustard
Salt and coarsely ground black pepper to taste

Mix all the ingredients thoroughly and let sit, stirring occasionally, until serving time. Then, pour over greens and toss.

note: a little more gin can be added, but not so much that you identify its flavor as such.

Who doesn't love a good gin salad, however Rieman and I differ. I think a "ginny" taste would be fine!

Here is what she tells us about using this book.

"...my kind of cooking does not require hours of precious time (which I seldom have), a Cordon Bleu background (which I lack), or an enormous collection of kitchen equipment... Basically, I cook with a couple of saucepans, a couple of frying pans, and a big pot..."

One really can't go wrong with any of Rieman's books. Again, if you by chance knew her...let us know.

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BEEF TOMATO-BARLEY SOUP

"It has finally stopped snowing", she said quietly as she knocked on wood. We actually saw the sun today and they are calling for more sun tomorrow; it has been quite a winter!! My poor old crock pot has hardly hit the shelf this winter; it seems like there is always some bean or soup recipe bubbling away in there.

Today's post is one of picky-picky husbands crockpot favorites. It is very rich, very beefy, very filling and it just keeps getting better and better the longer it cooks.

I was a young bride when I tried to make  home made beef soup the first time and it was terrible (I think it called for a ton of bay leaves). I remember cooking it all day and wanting it to taste as good as it looked, but we just couldn't eat it.

I didn't give up though, I tried all kinds of magazine recipes; some had a ton of herbs; some had onion soup mix; some had Italian salad dressing mix in it; I tried them all, with little success. I decided to go back to a no frill vegetable soup recipe.  I tweaked it for years until it evolved into the recipe I'm posting today. Picky-picky husband is crazy about this soup and loves to dip hot buttered bread rolls into it.

2 pounds beef chuck roast
1 cup onion chopped
1 cup celery chopped
2 cups carrot chopped
4 large potatoes cubed
2/3 cup pearl barley (don’t leave out)
(2) 32 ounce boxes beef broth
(1) 15 ounce can tomato sauce
½ teaspoon black pepper
(2) heaping teaspoons beef bullion granules

Cut the beef into 1” cubes, removing as much fat as possible. Brown beef in a minimal amount of vegetable oil until beef is nice and crusty brown (this is where the majority of your soup flavor will come from, so don't skip this step).
.
Remove beef from fry pan and drain off as much fat as you can; add onion, celery and carrots. Using the moisture from the veggies, de-glaze any crusty brown bits on the bottom of the pan. If the brown bits are stubborn, add a table spoon of water and use your spatula to scrape up the fond . Cook until onions are transparent.
.
Put the beef and sauteed vegetables in the crockpot and add the rest of the ingredients, stir well. Cook on low for 8 hours.
.
NOTE: Do not leave out barley. It not only gives a wonderful flavor to the soup, but it thickens the broth.

NOTE: Put any vegetables you like in the soup, just make sure they are vegetables that can stand up to long cooking times.

NOTE: Taste the soup for salt when it is almost done cooking.

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New American Table

Everyone knows Marcus Samuelsson's story by now. Born in Ethiopia, adopted and raised in Sweden, ventured to America to train, but stayed to find his fortune. With such a varied background, one can see how his take on the "American" table might be just a bit different than most.

Samuelsson is rather obsessed with the immigrant experience and that intense interest is displayed in The American Table. Samuelsson draws recipe inspiration from the vibrant ethnic cultures he sees in New York and beyond. In this book one can find green salsa, breakfast burritos, salmon flatbread, doro we't, tempura crab, soy-glazed dumplings, garlic feta dip, turkey meatloaf and the list goes on.

While it is a bold way to look at cuisine in America, it makes for a bit of a disjointed cookbook. If you are looking for international ideas, this is the place to go, even if the title is a bit misleading. If you are looking to plan an entire dinner, this might not be the best fit. From a personal standpoint, recipes with dozens of ingredients are often off-putting, and Samuelsson loves long lists of ingredients that might be easy to find in New York City, but in most places, putting together one recipe will require a bit of specialty shopping.

If you are undaunted, check out his veggie soup. I love orzo and feel it is one of those ingredients that needs to be used more.

My Veggie Soup

1/2 cup orzo
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 red onion chopped
1 tablespoon mild chile powder
1 3-inch piece ginger peeled and minced
2 green Anaheim chiles seeds and ribs removed, chopped
4 garlic cloves minced
1 teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 tablespoon white miso
2 tablespoons mirin
1 tablespoon soy sauce
2 cups baby spinach
2 tomatoes coarsely chopped
2 , white and green parts chopped scallions
1 avocado halved, peeled, pitted, and cut into 1/4 inch cubes
Juice of 2 lemons
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons chopped Thai basil leaves

1. Bring 3 cups salted water to a boil in a medium pot. Add the orzo, and cook until al dente, about 7 minutes. Strain, and set aside.

2. Heat the olive oil in the same pot, over medium heat. Add the onion, chile powder, ginger, chiles, garlic, and mustard seeds, and saute until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Add 4 cups water, season with the salt and white pepper, and bring to a simmer. Stir in the miso, mirin, and soy sauce and simmer for 10 minutes. Add the spinach, tomatoes, scallions, avocado, lemon juice, cilantro, basil and orzo, and simmer until heated through.

I, of course, feel a ham hock would be a great addition to the ingredients list, but that's just carnivorous old me.

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EASY BAKED MINI-OMELETS

I see great possibilities with this little recipe. Not only is this the perfect way to use those bits and pieces of veggies, meat and cheese in your fridge, but each mini-omelet can be made to order. Another reason I like this recipe is that it can easily be doubled for a crowd and there is no standing over an omelet pan while your company is waiting for you!!

 

Picky-picky husband loves these little omelets with just diced ham and cheese in them, but I like them with chopped mushrooms,broccoli and bacon. Either way, two mini-omelets make a very filling breakfast. 

EASY BAKED MINI-OMELETS        (makes 12)

1 pound of breakfast meat cooked and drained (ham, bacon or sausage)
1 cup favorite veggies, sauteed (optional)
8 large eggs
1/4 cup milk (or cream if you're feeling self-indulgent)
1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt (depending on how salty your meat is)
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (I used swiss)

Preheat oven to 375 and spray cupcake pan with vegetable spray.

Whisk the eggs, milk or cream, oil, baking powder and salt and pepper together until smooth.

Divide meat and vegetables evenly between the 12 greased cupcake wells; top with a little cheese.  Pour enough egg mixture in each well to come to the top.

Bake in preheated 375 oven for 15-20 minutes (my oven took 22 minutes). During this time, they will REALLY dome up like a real cupcake, but they will flatten back down as they cool.

Remove from oven and garnish with a pinch of cheese (I topped them with cheddar). Let the mini-omelets rest in the pan for 5 minutes before you take them out (they will easily lift out after 5 minutes).

 

NOTE:  Use your imagination regarding what veggies you want to include in this recipe, just remember they have to be pre-cooked.

NOTE: These little muffins stay warm for quite a while, and they reheat VERY well in the microwave. They would be a fantastic addition to any brunch table because they are tasty at room temperature as well !!

NOTE:  When I make these for just the two of us, I cut the recipe in half, which gives us 2 mini-omelets each and a couple to snack on later.

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Not A Cookbook -- Congratulations

And the winner is...

The leading cooking competition in the world is the Bocuse d'Or. Famous up and coming chef from around the US compete to represent the USA in the competition. This years winner hails from New York? LA? Miami?

No! West Virginia. That's right --West Virginia. Granted he is the chef at the Greenbrier, but still it is wild and wonderful.

Congratulations to Chef Richard Rosendale.



His winning platter was inspired by Frank Lloyd Wright's house, Fallingwater.

He gave an interview to Eater about his plans for the competition.

It is quite and arduous process to get ready for this competition. One must train and keep one's day job. And it costs a mint. It's like the Olympics without live television coverage and Nike for a sponsor. So here is your chance to be a part of this culinary extravaganza. Chef Rosendale has a web site and you can make a contribution to help send him to Lyon (home of the competition). Frankly, Rosendale has been so busy winning that he hasn't even been able to update his web site. But you can still contribute here.

To find out what it is like to compete check out the Biography Channel's two-part documentary on competing in the Bocuse d'Or entitled The American Chef. I am sure they will air it again.

Again, congratulations Chef Rosendale.

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