mac 'n cheese

i have tried many homemade mac 'n cheese recipes over the years. one reason is because homemade mac 'n cheese is one of my favorite comfort foods. the other reason is that my kids are extremely picky eaters, and mac 'n cheese is one of the few things they'll eat. this is my favorite recipe and is a variation on a recipe for 'cheesy corkscrews with crunchy bacon topping' from my down home with the neelys cookbook. this recipe is for the noodles with cheese sauce only, but at the end i will talk a bit about toppings.

6 tbs butter
1 lb cavatappi noodles
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups whole milk, warmed
1 tsp dry mustard powder
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
pinch freshly grated nutmet
dash hot sauce
dash worcestershire sauce
10 oz. cracker barrel vermont sharp white cheddar grated
1 1/4 cups grated parmesan

1. preheat oven to 375°

2. boil water for cooking pasta...add some salt and olive oil.

3. prepare ingredients as follows: a) warm milk in microwave for 1 minute b) grate all cheese and place in a bowl c) measure out all spices and put in a little bowl d) measure out flour e) have hot sauce and worcestershire sauce out. place all these items in easy reach from where you will be cooking.

4. once you put the noodles in you can start cooking the sauce. the noodles will take about 6 minutes because you will want them to be al dente.

5. melt the butter in a big saucepan over medium heat. add the flower and cook whisking for one minute. add the warmed milk and keep whisking constantly while bringing it to a simmer. the sauce should start to thicken as the heat increases.

6. stir in the spice mixture, hot sauce and worcestershire sauce.

7. add in the cheddar and parmesan and mix until melted.

8. add the cooked pasta to the cheese sauce and toss to combine.

9. pour the pasta and sauce into a casserole dish. cover with toppings and bake for 35 minutes.

toppings: i don't use the topping recipe from the neely cookbook instead i take two to three pieces of wheat bread and put them through the food processor and then add about 2 tbs of melted butter. then i sprinkle that on top of the pasta, so it makes a nice crunchy topping. i also sometimes add the bacon and fresh parsley mentioned in the neely recipe, but i don't care for the potato chips because the texture seems strange to me. for the neely crunchy bacon topping mix 1 1/2 cups crushed potato chips, 1/2 cup grated percorino romano cheese, 5 slices cooked bacon, crumbled and 3 tbs chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley.

suki helping out with the magic spices!

don't know what to call it wonton appetizer

well, i created a new recipe! i'm very excited about this one because i thought of it when i was going through recipes last week looking for appetizers for thanksgiving day. for some reason none of them appealed to me, but as i was looking through recipes several ingredients kept catching my eye, so i thought why not come up with something using the few ingredients that really caught my attention. the main ingredient that i was really craving is guyere cheese...shocking right? then i had read a recipe for a salad that had carmelized onions as part of the dressing and i thought that sounded really good. and the third ingredient was a no brainer...bacon. then i wasn't sure how i should combine the three, and puff pastries came to mind, but i already use puff pastries in a ton of appetizers, so i wanted to try something new. i kept asking myself what makes food so good...and right as i was thinking that i was flipping through one of my everyday food magazines and came across a picture of fried mozzarella balls and the light went on...of course...it has to be fried! so...with that i knew i'd be making a wonton appetizer.

1 cup grated guyere
4-5 slices of bacon cooked and chopped
half a small yellow onion chopped
half a package of small square wonton wrappers

1. cook the bacon and chop it. reserve about 1 to 2 tablespoons of the bacon grease in the pan.

2. in the same pan with the reserved bacon grease carmelize the onions.

3. grate the cheese into a small mixing bowl and add the other two ingredients and toss to mix.

4. fill the wonton wrappers with a teaspoon or so of the mixture and wrap to your liking...i folded them in triangles then folded the top to one side and the two sides corners folded over the other side. i dabbed  a little water along the edges before folding them over into triangles, so they would stick together better.

5. i fried the wontons in peanut oil over medium high heat...they took maybe 30 seconds to a minute per side.

take the bacon out when it is just to the point of turning crispy...

use a little bit of the bacon grease to carmelize the onions in...

don't crank the heat too high or the onions will burn instead of carmelizing...

the wonton filling! you don't need much...

my little wrapping station...

almost two dozen with these amounts...don't over stuff!

into the oil...

the finished product...totally delicious!

tips: i highly recommend only a teaspoon or teaspoon and a half of filling per wonton. the gruyere and onion are extremely flavorful and with a smaller amount of filling it leaves you wanting just a little bit more, which is where i think good food should leave you. that way you can eat a dozen of these without making yourself completely sick.

sausage-cheddar-parmesan quiche

this year we're kicking off our thanksgiving with a hearty sausage quiche! this is just another variation on suzanne's quiche recipe, which you can find by going to the 'breakfast' link on the right sidebar under 'recipe index'. i made a few changes, so my two little picky eaters would join us for breakfast. although this was given to me as a vegetarian recipe you can get very creative with it as a vegetarian or a carnivore. today though, veggies were out with my two little ones, so i swapped out the two cups of veggie filling with some basic breakfast sausage that i cooked up slowly. and instead of sauteing garlic and onion, which would also be a no go...i used garlic powder and onion powder for seasoning on the sausage. i used one package of jimmy dean's regular flavor sausage in a tube. our favorite is maple flavor, but i thought regular would work better in the quiche.

 mixed and ready for the oven...

 nice and crisp on top...

 this shows how the bisquick makes the nice crust layer at the bottom...

warm, fluffy and gooey...sausage, egg and cheese...heaven!

cranberry chutney

just getting the cranberries going over the heat...

this is a new recipe i'm trying this year. i usually make a ginger cranberry sauce, but i've never been really impressed by it, so i'm going to experiment over the next couple of years to find one that i really love. this one gets about a seven on a scale of one to ten. it's very easy and much tastier than my other more traditional cranberry sauce. this year it was a toss up between this recipe and one from women's health that involved pears...i'll definitely be trying that one next year. i found this cranberry chutney recipe in the everyday food november 2005 issue.

1 tbs olive oil
1/4 cup finely minced shallot
1 tbs peeled and finely grated fresh ginger
1 bag (12 ounces) fresh cranberries, rinsed and picked over
1 cup sugar
2 tbs red-wine vinegar
coarse salt and ground pepper

1. in a large saucepan, heat oil over medium-low. add shallots and ginger; cook, stirring occasionally, until shallots are softened, about 5 minutes.

2. add cranberries, sugar, vinegar, and 1 cup water; bring to a boil. reduce heat and simmer, stirring often, until most of the berries have burst and mixture has thickened, 10 to 15 minutes.

3. season with salt and pepper. let cool completely. serve at room temperature or chilled.

tips: i would recommend decreasing the amount of water to 3/4 cups...and add little by little if you need more. also, i added about 2 tbs of honey and i might even add a little bit more. next time i think i will decrease the sugar and increase the honey. this cranberry sauce has several layers of flavor that hit you separately, so it is definitely going to be one that i work on perfecting. i minced the shallots and next time i'll just finely chop them and sautee them before i add any other ingredients because by mincing them the flavor came out a bit too strong without any added texture to the consistency of the sauce.

cooled down to room temp and ready to be packed away for tomorrow :)

stuffing for my boys

i made the mistake of making this spicy stuffing one year...thanksgiving 2001. personally, i prefer a milder mushroom type stuffing, but i also like to try new things, so knowing that my houseful of boys love spicy i thought 'why not?' well, they haven't allowed me to make any other stuffing since, so there's the 'why not' the next time you decide to make something to please others :) i suppose i could make a different stuffing every once in awhile, but as soon as we get to the week before thanksgiving, no matter how many other recipes i've contemplated making...i end up making this one...because one by one the boys start asking me if i'll be making my spicy stuffing this year. so, here you go...'spicy cornbread stuffing' from cooking with bryant gumbel featured in martha stewart living november 2001.

 max helps with the cilantro...i love when the kids help me cook!

day one: jalapeno cornbread
2 tbs unsalted butter, melted, plus more for pan
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup yellow cornmeal
1 tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp coarse salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper
1 cup nonfat buttermilk
2 medium jalapenos, diced with seeds
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup sugar

1. preheat oven to 425°. lightly butter an 8-inch square pan; set aside.

2. in a medium bowl, combine flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and pepper. in another bowl, whisk together buttermilk, jalapenos, egg, sugar and melted butter. add to dry ingredients and stir until just combined.

3. pour batter into prepared pan; bake until golden brown, about 20 minutes. remove from oven; let cool for 10 minutes. invert onto a wire rack to cool completely.

day two: spicy cornbread stuffing
this stuffing is for a 16 to 18 pound turkey...i just put it in a casserole dish and bake it at 350° for 30 to 40 minutes...just so it's nice and hot and a little crisp on top.

3/4 cup pine nuts
1 jalapeno cornbread...day old
1 lb cured chorizo sausage, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 tbs olive oil
2 small onion, coarsely chopped
6 ribs celery, coarsely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup homemade or low-sodium canned chicken or turkey stock
coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
4 tbs unsalted butter, melted
1 bunch cilantro leaves, washed well, dried, and roughly chopped

1. preheat oven to 350°. spread nuts in one layer on a baking sheet. bake until golden brown and fragrant, 2 to 4 minutes. cut cornbread into 1-inch cubes; spread evenly on a baking sheet. bake, shaking pan periodically, until golden brown on edges, about 20 minutes. transfer to large bowl; set aside.

2. in a food processor fitted with the metal blade, pulse sausage until coarsely chopped; do not overprocess. set aside.

3. heat oil in large skillet over medium high heat. add onions; cook until translucent, about 4 minutes. add celery and garlic; cook until celery is soft, about 5 minutes more. add sausage and pine nuts; cook 1 minute more. add stock, and cook until absorbed, about 2 mintues. season with salt and pepper.

4. add sausage mixture to cornbread; mix. add butter and cilantro; mix to combine. let cook completely before stuffing turkey.

countdown to thanksgiving 2010!

i'm getting very excited for tomorrow! i started researching recipes and getting a game plan going over the weekend, and i think i have all my bases covered. there will be some things that are the same as every year and a couple new recipes thrown in as well. usually i change up the appetizers and the next day sandwiches, whereas the stuffing, mashed potatoes and turkey stay the same year after year.

i know most people will consider this a complete crime, but i never cook a turkey anymore. i used to, but then a couple years ago i discovered a wonderful company called the honeybaked ham company. so, each year i'll order one of their meat combos...this year i ordered the 1/4 ham, prime rib and half turkey breast trio. i started doing this a couple years back when we had a small thanksgiving and i didn't feel like cooking a huge turkey that would go to waste. also, the only organic turkeys around here are preordered through whole foods and i just was lazy to go through the whole ordeal. after that first thanksgiving we were completely sold on honeybaked because it always tastes good and it is much more economical. more importantly though, ordering this portion of our meal allows me to focus on what i love the most which is cooking up appetizers all day and having no less than five side dishes that are piping hot because the oven isn't cranking all day with a huge turkey in it.

the other portion of the meal that i have been purchasing are the pies. eventually i want to bake my own pies...hopefully i can start next year :) but for now we've been ordering our thanksgiving pies through bakers square, but they recently closed down all their california locations, so for the first time ever we ordered our pies from a little place called shari's restaurant.pies. they offer buy two get a third free, so we ended up with a pumpkin, a pecan and a northern berry.

i wont be able to post a review on these pies until tomorrow, but i will say the place was packed and they were turning people down who hadn't ordered in advance!

hello learning exchange...

will someone please teach me how to make delicious light sauces??? please!!! i love food like this and i have no idea where to start or what recipes are good when i'm reading ingredients...sauces are definitely something i need to work on. i love watching iron chef because the sauces always look amazing and i'm sure they're unbelievably delicious...how do i apply to be a judge on that show by the way?

so, one of the last times my father-in-law came out for a visit from new york we took him to spend a day in san francisco. we ended up at the golden gate bridge, which he had never been to in his entire life! how exciting is that? and we lucked out and hit it on the right day...the skies were clear and the view was absolutely unbelievable...we were all very awestruck. afterward we ended up at ghirardelli square and had lunch at mccormick and kuleto's seafood restaurant. of course it's pricey, but the atmosphere is wonderful and the view is spectacular, and the food is excellent, so it is well worth the price. anyway, here is the dish i want to learn how to make...i didn't think to remember the name of the item from the menu, but i couldn't resist taking a picture!


all i know is that it is prawns grilled to perfection over sauteed spinach and polenta with some absolutely delicious sauce that i have no idea how to replicate. great...now i'm drooling!

a good texas skillet variation

last summer i discovered a great variation to one of my favorite recipes...texas skillet stuffed peppers! we grew green bell peppers and i didn't really have a way to use them up fast enough, so one night when i had texas skillet on the menu...which one of the ingredients is a single bell peppers...a light went on upstairs and i thought i can use a lot more peppers if i stuff them instead of using them as an ingredient in the meat mixture. so, just follow my 'texas skillet' recipe omitting the bell pepper from the meat mixture and then stuff the peppers with the meat and bake it in the oven for about 20 - 30 minutes...just make sure you put some water on the bottom of the dish.

you really can't beat homegrown...the color...the flavor...unbeatable!

stuffed and ready to be baked in the oven...

all ready to be eaten...

maybe next time i wills sprinkle the top with some panko or some italian break crumbs!

my collection!

here it is...how i learned to cook...my collection of everyday food magazines...january 2005 to present...sorted by month...front and center on my countertop :) one of my favorite things to do at the beginning of each month is to look through all the issues for that month. the best thing about this magazine is that they have a ton of recipes that use seasonal ingredients and also instructions on various cooking related things...like how long you can store certain foods, how to quarter a chicken...and stuff like that. i wish the magazine was sold like tupperware because i'd definitely sign up as a salesperson!

tyler florence's fried chicken

i'll catch a cooking show from time to time, but i'm not really partial to anyone in particular and i rarely ever try the recipes i see on t.v. i'll get ideas for food, but that's about it. i think i just really enjoy watching people cook and the whole process of a meal coming together perfectly...which usually isn't the case in my kitchen. anyway, sometime this past august though i caught an episode of tyler florence on the food network and it was for fried chicken, corn and tomatoes...all the stars must have been aligned because i had maybe 98% of all the ingredients on hand. i think i might have had to run to the store for buttermilk, but other than that i had everything and further more i really needed to use the chicken and tomatoes before they went bad. so for the first time that i can ever remember i actually made a meal exactly like the one on a cooking show! the great thing about food network is you can look up the episodes and download the entire shows recipes and print them off. the thing i liked about this meal as a whole is that it was easy to time everything well, so the meal was piping hot and everything tasted great together. the chicken stays hot for at least 15 minutes if not more after it's taken out of the oil, so you can get a couple batches on the table without anything going cold on you.

here is the menu with links to the recipes and my own tips and reviews...

Fried Chicken
click here for recipe
i love this fried chicken because it is very traditional and basic, so it would appeal to almost anyone's taste. i made it twice and the second time i did change two things...the first thing is i added a bit more spice because the guys in my family like it hot! the second thing i did different was the breading. the recipe calls for you to: dip the chicken in the buttermilk, coat it with flour, dip it a second time in buttermilk, and coat it a second time in flour. when i did this the first time the breading was a little too thick for my taste, so i revised the process to the following: dip in buttermilk, coat in flour, set aside. i did that to all the drumsticks then i went back to the beginning and coated the drumsticks in flour a second time. i eliminated dipping them in buttermilk a second time. this made the crispy breading even better in my opinion. tips: i would get to know your stove and practice with frying foods because if you follow exactly what recipes say temperature wise sometimes it doesn't come out. like when i followed this recipe the drumsticks were overcooked on the outside by the time the chicken was fully cooked. so, i ended up lowering the heat a little and cooking them longer...they ended up golden brown on the outside and super moist and juicy on the inside.

Roasted Corn with Chili Lime Butter
click here for recipe
i will never go back to making corn any other way! this is the best corn i've ever had in my life and we've made it this way several times since the first try. the chili lime butter is also amazing if you like a nice southwestern flavor. i softened the butter mixed the spices and then put it in a small ramekin to store in the fridge. we ended up using the butter for other things as well. tips: i have one major warning on this one...make sure you line the bottom of your oven with foil or cookie sheets to catch any juices that might leak from the corn. this isn't mentioned in the recipe or on the show and the first time i made it there was goop on the bottom of my oven.

Cherry Tomatoes with Buttermilk Blue Cheese Dressing
click here for recipe
this recipe is super easy, so keep it in mind during the summer when you have one or two things you're trying to time right...you might want to go with this as a side dish because it takes no time and you can't go wrong with it. tips: i did think the dressing was a little bit runny, so i think i'd cut back a tiny bit on the buttermilk or add a little extra blue cheese.

i love ramen

here's a little video of my new favorite ramen shop in shizuoka!

women's health magazine

women's health is one of my favorite magazines. i'm not sure how scientifically accurate the information is, but the articles are diverse...everything from cosmetics to nutritional information. i think the broad spectrum of topics is what i enjoy the most about the magazine because it gets me thinking about things i wouldn't normally have considered. it's a great starting point and my interest has been sparked more than once by a topic, which i then went on further to do my own research and learn more about.

specific to this blog though...i'd have to say the recipes are always healthy and i find more that i try and like than i do from other recipe and cooking publications...excluding everyday food of course :) anyway, look forward to some of the recipes and nutritional information i get from this magazine!

pastries in japan

we love eating pastries in japan. i don't know if it's a french influence they have or what, but everything is so fresh and so amazingly delicious. we walk from our hotel via the underground railways to matsuzakaya department store every night to pick up fresh pastries. the lower level of department stores in japan are dedicated to food counters and we can never pass up the bread shop.

just one of the many counters in the lower level

this pic was taken mid morning...
if the pic was taken around 6pm you would see nothing but people

erica vs. man

my 'epicurious in theory' middle child, who is obsessed with food network (but eats nothing but pizza, chicken nuggets and eggo waffles) and i somehow got hooked on watching man vs. food recently. now, this guy is completely annoying to me...there's something very reminiscent about high school in his demeanor, but none the less we can't seem to change the channel whenever we come across his show.

we definitely have always enjoyed competitive eating programs...we get hooked on them when we visit japan. our latest obsession is with gyaru sone an absolutely adorable japanese girl who can seriously eat. so being inspired by sone san's eating abilities i decided i would love to attempt all the food challenges that 'man' failed in man vs. food and see if i could beat even one of them. if there's any chance at all it'll be in the egg category i think. i'm not sure when all this is going to happen, but i'll keep you posted if i attempt any of the challenges...and expect video.

spring rolls any-which-way

over the past year i've slowly started trying to make my own creations based on recipes i've followed and others i've read about that sounded good. i'm definitely outside my comfort zone when it comes to creating my own recipes. i love measuring and being exact, so it has been a challenge for me to test the ideas i have rattling around in my head. that being said, i wanted to share one of my more recent successes.

about a year ago one of my best friends and crafting-cooking-drinking buddy and i took a 'roll making' class at our local learning exchanged. we learned how to make four different types of rolls and the two we liked the best were the fried southwest rolls and the asian spring rolls. the asian spring rolls were the type with the clear wraps and noodles with veggies and shrimp in them...i'll post the recipe for those in a separate post. for now here is the recipe for the version i created.

1/2 lb. ground pork
1/2 lb. ground beef
1 carrot grated
1 leek thinly sliced (wash in a bowl of water...the dirt will fall to the bottom and you can just scoop the sliced pieces out and pat dry them)
1 bunch of green onions thinly sliced
1 bunch of basil leaves thinly sliced
firm tofu
1 tbs. olive oil
soy sauce to taste
1 tbs. sugar
spices to taste: salt, pepper, garlic powder, ground cumin, ground ginger
1 pkg. skinny vermicelli noodles
1 pkg. clear rice wraps

1. prep all the ingredients...i always do all the slicing and chopping before i heat the pan. you will also want to cook the vermicelli noodles and run a knife through them a couple times. and the tofu is cut into tiny cubes.

2. heat oil over medium to medium high heat...i used my wok, but a regular frying pan would work just as well.

3. sautee the leeks and carrots for 1 minutes.

4. cook ground pork and ground beef until browned...add the spices during this step.

5. add the tofu, noodles, basil and green onions and sprinkle mixture with the sugar and soy sauce.

6. once the tofu and noodles look like they've absorbed some of the flavoring then it's time to roll!

7. keep the filling mixture on low, so it stays warm as you roll.

8. in order to get this done quickly you'll want to wet at least 3 - 4 wraps at a time. you'll need a separate shallow pan for each wrap filled with warm water. as you take one out to use it then replace the pan with a new wrap...this will keep things moving.

9. place about 2 heaping tablespoons on a wrap...just to one side of the midline. roll it twice up and away from you then fold the sides inward. roll once more away from you and you're done. keep rolling as fast as you can, so they stay nice and warm. (i might have to make a video the next time i make these)

10. i served ours over rice and had a dipping sauce station, where each person could create their own sauce to the spiciness of their liking.

the meat filling...my family loved the filling and asked if i would make it to have over rice someday...without rolling it...the easier the better i guess :)

i always like the diagonal cut for rolls...presentation counts!

tips: once you get the hang of how the wraps get to the right texture you can create almost anything...

steamed bread

my host mom, zola, made this bread one evening. it was one of the best things i ate while in south africa. my host mom is only like 3 or 4 years older than me, so we were more like sisters. i have no idea how she made this bread other than it was in a pot that was in another pot with water and it was steamed on the stove. i sooooooo wish i had been there when she made it, but it was just finished when i got home one day. so, we ate slices of it nice and warm and fresh.

ceviche monterrico

ceviche!

after a looooooooong drive from tikal...back to guatemala city for a night...then to monterrico...we found a quaint little place to spend the night right on the beach with a 'restaurant' that served amazing ceviche. these bowls were huge! i think i maybe finished half...all the seafood was so fresh it could have only been caught that day. it just goes to show that sometimes the best food you'll ever eat can't be found in posh little restaurants in the city. you have to stay in a place with no locks on the door and mosquito nets, where most people pass out on hammocks 50 yards from the waves.

navel oranges

my favorite fruit is the navel orange. i'm not a huge fan of fruit...i do like mixed berries and berry shakes and such, but fruit by itself has never been something i really crave. i definitely go through periods of being an orange addict though. i don't like peeling them and eating them by the wedge...instead i prefer to slice them up and refrigerate them for a bit, so they are nice and cold. this is a simple and elegant addition to the spread at breakfast or as a refreshing summer dessert.

trivia: i ate on average 3 navel oranges a day when i was pregnant with suki.

superbowl 2010

so...what do the zizak's eat on superbowl sunday? do you need to ask? mexican food of course! we do live in california people (says johnny). anyway, it's easy to make and economical and you can make a ton and have it turn out as delicious as if you make it for a party of one. that doesn't mean we have a ton of people over, of course. my superbowl philosophy...love it...love football...could care less about the parties...i'll cook all day and drink all day and pig out all day and enjoy the game, but i will not go hang out at other people's houses with a bunch of people i do not know and have no desire to hang out with...but anyone who knows me knows they are always welcome to stop by here and if you want to invite us and only us or us and people we know over...we'd love to spend time with you :)

back to the food...i think that's what this blog is supposed to be about. being a sunday we don't eat breakfast until after church, which ends up being brunch or lunch. today we opted for brunch and it consisted of pillsbury cinnamon rolls and milk...five satisfied customers, which is great for the short order cook (usually me, sometimes johnny). mid afternoon snack involved another instant and easy pleaser...blue corn chips with melted cheese...a.k.a. nachos...only 1 minute in the microwave. and for dinner...drum rolls please...homemade tamales, homemade guatemalan black beans and an attempt at spanish rice. i'm full from brunch and snack, but i'm definitely drooling thinking about supper...will the colts hurry up and win, so we can get to the pigging out?

i will say that i had a blast cooking today, while watching the game. this was my second time making homemade tamales and i had some feedback from the first time and some tweaking of my own that i wanted to implement. the two things that i really wanted to focus on were the masa consistency/spreadability and the amount of meat in each tamale. last time i had trouble spreading the masa, so i thought i should try and make it a little bit more moist. also, there was feedback that there should be more meat in each tamale for the amount of masa...which i agree with because although i love masa...it shouldn't be the bulk of the tamale...the meat should be.

all the key elements prepared and ready to be assembled

with those two things in mind i went to work. i increased the moisture of the masa, but found that i was having the same problem spreading it onto the corn husk thin enough to create a wide enough disk to increase the amount of meat. then by some random occurrence i started spreading the masa with the heel of my hand versus my fingers and wouldn't you know it the masa spread beautifully! i love discovering new techniques...of course this is probably what all the native tamale makers do, but i'm learning off the internet, so i don't have anyone showing me the best way to make these things. with that discovery increasing the amount of meat per tamale was easy. so, now i'm wondering if i really needed to make the masa more moist or if it was just my spreading technique. i really liked the consistency of the masa in my first batch, so i'll have to make a judgment after i eat some from this batch. anyway, without a doubt a fabulous cooking experience.

the only thing i would change about today is that i worked alone, as everyone else had things they had to get done. i am looking forward to suki growing up and helping me with tamales and teaching her my ever so particular way of doing things.

only 58 tamales this time!

pizza rolls

this is a favorite for potlucks. they're easy to make and they're kid friendly. max loves them, so i like to make a batch and put the extras in the fridge...they last a couple days and then i can just pop them in the microwave for 20 seconds whenever max wants a couple.

1 to 1.25 lb. ball of dough (most grocery stores sell this...if not on the shelf ask the bakery)
1/4 lb. sliced pepperoni
shredded cheese of your choice

1. let dough rise in a bowl (cover with towel) for about an hour.

2. roll dough out to 1/8" thickness and shaped like a rectangle.

3. sprinkle lightly with shredded cheese...a nice layer, but don't over do it!

4. line up pepperoni...i don't overlap them.

5. start rolling into a log from one of the longer sides, so the roll is long not short.

6. slice at about 3/4" to 1" thicknesses and place on a nonstick baking sheet...or pizza stone.

7. bake at 375°F for about 20 minutes or until tops are golden brown.

8. remove and cool on cooling rack. serve with ranch dressing and marinara sauce for dipping. one ball of dough makes about 24 pizza rolls.

i haven't tried to make them with different ingredients like veggies, but i'm looking forward to creating variations. i think with vegetables i'll have to calculate in the moisture factor...so more to come on this one!

tamales

mexican food slash central american food has always been one of my favorites! i can't seem to get enough of it. so, now that i've been actively trying to learn how to cook for about two years i thought it a good time to finally learn how to make tamales...something i've wanted to learn for going on two decades. my experience with tamales has been quite mixed. i should say that i absolutely love tamales because i've had the luck of tasting a few really good ones. the problem is that most restaurants i've been to don't make very good tamales and it isn't very often that i come across a situation where i get to enjoy some really authentic homemade ones. well, my quest is finally over because i have officially learned how to make delicious ones of my own at home. i searched through at least 20 recipes and finally settled on one that i found on the internet...grandma salazar's tamales. i highly recommend that you visit this link because there is a wonderful story about grandma salazar, as well as some beautiful pictures of the tamale making process (my pictures are always rather amateur). i've copied and pasted the instructions from the deliciousdays.com website for your convenience.

Ingredients
(using 6 pounds of meat makes about 10 dozen tamales and will take over a large American freezer, so feel free to cut this recipe in half or more, but don’t decrease onions or garlic)

3 pounds pork roast
3 pounds beef roast
2 large onions
4 cloves garlic
1/3 to ½ cup chili powder or more (depends on heat of chili powder and spice tolerance of tamale eaters)
salt
pepper
cumin
8 cups masa harina
2 cups shortening or lard
Corn husks (2-3 packages for full recipe)

Day 1 - getting the meat prepared

1. Cook meat (pork or beef, or both in separate pots) in a large pot of water (or in a slow-cooker filled with water) with an onion, 2 garlic cloves, 1 teaspoon of chili powder, salt and pepper. Cook for the day, 4 hours minimum. The more broth you can generate from the meat, the better!

2. After the meat is cooked (so that it falls apart and shreds easily), remove from pot, set aside to cool, and puree the onion and garlic with the broth. Season broth mixture to taste with chili powder and salt.

3. Shred meat finely with two forks (you can even chop it after shredding), and store covered in refrigerator separately from broth.

4. Soak corn husks in water overnight.

Day 2 - assembling the tamales

1. Rinse and clean corn husks thoroughly. Drain well and pat dry.

2. Season shredded meat with chili powder, salt, and cumin (optional) to taste. As you season the meat, add a small amount of broth to moisten meat, but it should not be runny.

3. For every 2 cups of masa harina (meal), add ½ cup of shortening or lard, 1tsp. of salt, and enough chili powder to make a pink dough. Add broth mixture a little at a time to masa and mix with your hands to get a smooth, spreadable consistency. If you run out of broth, you can use hot water, but you will wish you had plenty of broth. (If you use about 6 pounds of meat, you will likely use about 8 cups of masa harina in total).

4. Assemble the tamales: spread masa about 1/8 inch thick on corn husk with fingers, leaving about ½ inch border along the sides and 2 inch border along the top and bottom of husk. Use about 2 Tbsp. of shredded meat to fill the tamal (like a cigar). Fold sides until they just overlap, fold narrow end under, and place tamale folded side down. Grandma Salazar tears thin strips of the corn husks to tie a “little belt” around each tamal to keep it secure. Although this isn’t necessary, it does look the nicest and makes each tamal a little gift to be opened.

5. To cook, steam fresh tamales for 15 minutes or until masa is no longer sticky.

6. Store in freezer. Steam frozen tamales for 20 minutes. (This is a real treat a few days or a few weeks later. After you’ve recovered, it’s almost like someone else made them for you!).

the home stretch...
i had to recruit the kids to help assemble around tamale #75

wow! 90+ tamales in our inaugural batch.

steaming the tamales!

dutch baby

this is a picture of my best dutch baby yet...
in the pan that pam gave me.

the story behind my dutch baby...

many many years ago now, i used to live with my ex boyfriend and his mother. she is one of the kindest and most generous people i have ever met. she totally took care of me like i was her daughter. i must have lived there for about two years and during that time we would do crafts together and cook together often. two things i love to do! she's the one who taught me how to crochet and cross-stitch and i still have things that she made for me to this day...for example my Christmas stocking!

one of the dishes i would look forward to her making is the 'dutch baby'. i never had one or heard of one until she made it one morning for breakfast...and i was hooked. this was waaaaay back when i was just learning to cook, so i mostly did the watching and eating, not much of the cooking. so, long story short not only did i fall in love with eating dutch babies i came to covet the dish she used to make it in (this probably being where my addiction to kitchen gadgets and cookware started). so you can imagine how delighted i was when i moved out on my own that among some of the things she gave to me was the coveted dutch baby pan!

the strange thing is that i never used that pan or made a dutch baby in my life until about 2 weekends ago. i just woke up one morning craving one...a short 13 years later...jumped online to look up recipes...combined what i liked from various recipes...and got to work. the first one turned out very flat. the second one was much better...but not perfect, so i admit i became a little discouraged and was pretty much over the initial high of trying to make this part of our breakfast rotation.

3 year old daughter to the rescue! i open my eyes this morning to my little girl laying on the pillow facing me...eyes wide open and waiting for me to wake up. first thing out of her mouth, 'mommy i'm hungry, i want a ditch baby.' that's all the encouragement i needed. and today's dutch baby came out perfect!

6 eggs (room temp)
1 cup milk (room temp)
1 cup flour (sifted)
salt to taste
4 tbs. butter
dash of nutmeg
powdered sugar and syrup for serving

1. preheat oven to 470°F. put oven save 10 inch pan in the oven to heat.

2. blend eggs in blender for 10 seconds until liquid is a custard yellow color.

3. add half of the milk and blend for a couple more seconds. add rest of the milk and blend for a couple more seconds.

4. add half of the flour and blend for a couple seconds. add the rest of the flour blend for a couple seconds. (i usually add the salt here...with the flour)

5. take pan out of the oven and reduce oven temp to 400°F.

6. put butter in the hot pan. it will melt quickly. once melted sprinkle with nutmeg.

7. slowly and gently pour the batter into the pan. bake for 15 minutes.

8. sprinkle with powdered sugar. serve immediately with syrup.

Tips: the eggs and milk absolutely must be at room temperature or your dutch baby will come out flat. i let the eggs and milk sit out for 30 minutes then put the eggs in a bowl of hot water from the tap for another 5 minutes and microwave the milk for 25 seconds on high. sifting the flour is highly recommended because it also adds to the fluffiness and poofiness of the dutch baby. for the blending i have this mini blender that i use, the magic bullet (i know it sounds funny...haha), i'm pretty sure any blender will work fine, but if you choose to use a hand mixer or whisk you may have to work harder on getting the correct consistency. be ready to serve this immediately because it does start to flatten out a bit once it cools. it's just as good the next day reheated in the microwave (: