My First Guest Post

I want to give a big thank you to the very sweet Velva of Tomatoes on the Vine for asking me to guest post on her blog today.  Please head over to Velva's site, by clicking on the link above, to see the recipe for these very yummy and really fun Pot Roast Potato Skins.

Thanks again Velva!

Indian-Inspired Shrimp with Coconut, Chiles and Tomatoes

I've been wanting to make this recipe for Indian-inspired shrimp for an entire year, ever since I received my copy of Emeril 20-40-60.  The recipe looks beautiful in the book, lots of glorious shrimp sitting in a spicy red sauce served over rice.  I knew it would be something different and unique, but I also knew that I was probably going to be the only one in my household who would want to eat it (my family is full of picky eaters).  I filed this recipe away in my stack of recipes to share with my Mom, who adores shrimp in any and every style she can get her hands on.  Finally the time came where Mom and I could sit and enjoy this terrific meal.  Thank God for my Mom who is always more than willing to share in my kitchen experiments.  Each and every one of them.

Indian-Inspired Shrimp with Coconut, Chiles, and Tomatoes

Adapted from Emeril 20-40-60 Fresh Food Fast

Makes 4-6 servings

2 tablespoons butter

2 teaspoons mustard seeds

2 teaspoons cumin seeds

1 cup finely chopped red onion

4 green serrano or jalapeno chiles, seeded and finely chopped

2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger

1 tablespoon minced garlic

One 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes with juices

One 13.5-ounce can unsweetened coconut milk

1-1/2 pounds medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro

2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives 

Steamed basmati rice, for serving

Melt the butter in a 14-inch saute pan over medium-high heat.  Add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds and toast until fragrant, about 1 minute.  Add the onion, chiles, ginger, and garlic and saute, stirring occasionally, until the onion is translucent, about 3 minutes.  Add the diced tomatoes and their juices, and cook until the liquid is reduced by half, 3-4 minutes.  Raise the heat to high and add the coconut milk. (Do not walk away and scald the mixture).  Simmer until the milk is reduced by half, 3-4 minutes.

Season the shrimp with 1-1/2 teaspoons of the salt.  Add the shrimp to the pan and cook, stirring as needed, until they are curled, pink, and just cooked through, about 3 minutes.

Remove the pan from the heat.  Season with the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt, and garnish with the cilantro and chives, if desired.  Serve immediately over steamed basmati rice.

Notes/Results:  This is a beautifully spiced meal that is full of heat, both from the spices and the jalapenos.  The shrimp cook at a slow simmer in the sauce and become extremely tender.  This is a different take on the typical shrimp recipe and we really enjoyed it.

I've Gone Bananas....

Sometimes we can't have enough bananas laying around the house and yet other times I buy them and no one eats them.  Does this happen to you? I was feeling rather confident in the banana love when I bought 3 pounds of bananas from Sam's Club.  I figured they would be gone in record time, but I was wrong.  No one ate them.  Not one single banana. 

While I contemplated what I wanted to do with my bounty of bananas, I fixed myself one of my favorite childhood snacks.  Sliced bananas topped with a mixture of peanut butter and Cool Whip.  There really isn't a recipe for this.  I just slice my bananas on the thick side and then mix about 3-4 tablespoons of Cool Whip with about 1 tablespoon of peanut butter.  Then I pile the Cool Whip/peanut butter mixture on top of each banana slice. 

This is one of my all-time favorite snacks as I love the combo of bananas and peanut butter.  Sorry for all you Cool Whip haters.  I've tried this same treat using whipped cream and it just isn't the same. 

I love banana bread, so when I saw this Jacked-Up Banana Bread over on A La Graham, who got the recipe from Smitten Kitchen, I had to make it.  This banana bread is awesome for so many reasons.  First and foremost, you don't need a mixer, just a bowl and a spoon.  Easy peasy and no mess, gotta love that.  Secondly, this recipe uses 4 bananas - now that is some banana love!  Third, this banana bread is jacked-up with Bourbon, and I happen to live in Kentucky, the land of Bourbon. 

Lots of wonderful texture with all those bananas

Jacked-up Banana Bread
Adapted from A La Graham via Smitten Kitchen
one 4x8 inch loaf

3 to 4 ripe bananas, smashed (I used 4)
1/3 cup melted salted butter
3/4 to 1 cup light brown sugar (depending on the level of sweetness you prefer)*I used 1 cup*
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon bourbon (optional)
1 teaspoon baking soda
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Pinch of ground cloves
1 1/2 cup of flour

Preheat the oven to 350°F. With a wooden spoon, mix butter into the mashed bananas in a large mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar, egg, vanilla and bourbon, then the spices. Sprinkle the baking soda and salt over the mixture and mix in. Add the flour last, mix. Pour mixture into a buttered 4×8 inch loaf pan.

Bake for 50 minutes to one hour, or until a tester comes out clean. Cool on a rack. Remove from pan and slice to serve.

I loved the caramelized banana bits!

I left the banana pieces on the larger side when I made this bread and I'm glad that I did.  We enjoyed the texture of the bananas and loved how the bananas caramelized on the bottom of the bread.  At first I worried that the small amount of Bourbon (1 tablespoon) would be unrecognizable, but you could definitely taste that the bread was jacked-up.  Delicious!

After my banana snack and the banana bread, I still had quite a bit of bananas left over AND I had another problem.....GIRL SCOUT COOKIES.  Since my daughter is selling Girl Scout cookies we have boxes and boxes of them everywhere.  

I decided to take my favorite recipe for Banana Pudding, Paula Deen's Not Yo' Mama's Banana Pudding, and replace the regular Pepperidge Farm Chessman cookies called for in Paula's recipe with Shout Out Girl Scout Cookies.  Banana Pudding is probably my all-time favorite dessert and this amped up version with the Girl Scout cookies was fantastic.  So, if you happen to have some Shout Out Girl Scout cookies or Shortbread Girl Scout cookies then this would be a great recipe for you! 

I've posted about this banana pudding recipe before, but you can find the recipe HERE on Food Network.

What do you like to do with your leftover bananas?

Moosewood Mondays: Beans for Breakfast?

Do the words Bean Porridge sound appetizing to you?  No, not so much?  How about Bean Risotto?  Still no?  Try as I might to come up with a better, more appetizing name, I just couldn't.  I can tell you that this dish, which Mollie Katzen refers to as Bean Porridge, is a thick, creamy, garlicky, wonderful bowl of cooked and mashed beans which I topped with a fried egg for breakfast.  It is also wildly delicious.  As in double the recipe wildly delicious.  

Better yet, it's good for you and you probably have all the ingredients in your pantry/refrigerator. Winner, winner, winner.

Bean Porridge

Serves 2 (take my advice and double the recipe)

Prep Time: 45 minutes (5 minutes of work)

1-1/2 to 2 cups cooked white beans (or a 15oz. can)

1/2 cup water (possibly more)

1 medium clove garlic, peeled

1/4 teaspoon dried sage or thyme (I used a sprinkle of Italian seasoning)

Coarse salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Extra virgin olive oil

Balsamic vinegar

Chopped flat-leaf parsley

*1 fried egg for each serving (or any other topping of your choice)

Without rinsing or draining them first, transfer the beans directly from the can or cooking liquid to a small to medium saucepan.  Add 1/2 cup water, bring to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer and partially cover.  Cook for 30 minutes.

Add the garlic and the sage or thyme, partially cover again, and let it simmer another 10 minutes.  (Check the water level during this time.  It should be fine- slightly soupy-but if for some reason the beans are running dry, add more water, a tablespoon or two at a time.)

Remove the pot from the heat, and use a potato masher to mash the beans until they turn thick and creamy but still retain some texture.  You can be the judge of how far to take this.

Season to taste with coarse salt and a generous amount of freshly ground pepper.  Serve hot or very warm, in bowl, topped with a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil, a small splash of balsamic vinegar, and a sprinkling of minced parsley.  Additionally, top with a fried egg or any other topping.

HOW WOULD YOU TOP YOUR BEAN PORRIDGE?

Notes/Results:  I love beans, so this was a total winner for me.  In fact, I can see it as my new breakfast obsession with all sorts of different toppings.  This bean porridge is ultimately satisfying and oh so creamy and delicious.   I really wish I would have made a double batch and would advise you to do the same should you decide to make this.

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Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes

I found a copy of Martha Stewart's Cupcake cookbook on sale for $6.99 and I just couldn't pass it up.  It won me over with it's beautiful photography and cute little cupcakes and I couldn't wait to get it home and look it over.  When my daughter saw it sitting on the couch she became interested and asked if she could pick the first recipe, hence these little Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes.  The girl loves Oreos.

The little cheesecakes look so cute in Martha's book and naturally I had high hopes that mine would look as pretty as Martha's.  Let's just say that didn't happen.  The picture at the top of my post is a copy of what they looked like in the book. Naturally Martha and her crew make them look perfect, right?  Well, here's what mine looked like.  Mine are not so cute.  Strike #1.

At any rate, this recipe should be really simple.  One whole Oreo cookie is placed at the bottom of each lined cup in your muffin tin.  A cheesecake filling is made with a mixture of cream cheese, sour cream, and more chopped Oreos, then poured over the cookie.  Easy enough, right?  It was easy until I discovered that I only had (2) 6-cup muffin tins and could only make 12 at a time.  Strike #2 (totally my fault). Since the recipe makes 30 cheesecakes that bake for 20 minutes, then need to cool for even longer, the entire process took forever.  I learned a valuable lesson that day, which was that I need to buy more muffin tins and also start paying attention to my kitchen equipment, as well as the ingredients, when choosing a recipe.

The recipe indicates that it makes 30 cheesecakes, but I had a lot of leftover filling which meant more batches of cheesecakes, more cooling, and another hour of standing in the kitchen.  Strike #3.  You're out!

In the end I do have to tell you that the recipe made about 42 cheesecakes.  Most of them went to my daughter's Girl Scout Troop, who really enjoyed them.  Some stayed here in the house and the rest went with my Mom to work.  Everyone enjoyed them, but I don't think they were anything to write home about.

Cookies and Cream Cheesecakes

Adapted from Martha Stewart's Cupcakes

Makes over 40 cupcakes

42 cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies, such as Oreos, 30 left whole and 12 coarsely chopped (This  is the equivalent of one pacakage of Oreos) NOTE: I would buy 2 packages though because you will have extra filling

2 pounds cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

4 large eggs, room temperature, lightly beaten

1 cup sour cream

Pinch of salt

Preheat oven to 275F.  Line standard muffin tins with paper liners.  Place 1 whole cookie in the bottom of each lined cup.

With an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat cream cheese until smooth, scraping cheese until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed.  Gradually add sugar, and beat until combined.  Beat in vanilla.

Drizzle in eggs, a bit at a time, beating to combine and scraping down sides of bowl as needed.  Beat in sour cream and salt.  Stir in chopped cookie by hand.

Divide batter evenly among cookie-filled cups, filling each almost to the top.  Bake, rotating tins halfway through, until filling is set, about 22 minutes.  Transfer tins to wire racks to cool completely.  Refrigerate (in tins) at least 4 hours (or up to overnight).  Remove from tins just before serving.

Notes/Results:  I learned several things while making these cheesecakes.  Probably the biggest lesson was to give more thought to my kitchen equipment, not only the ingredients, when making a new recipe.  The second thing I learned is that I really don't like it when the food doesn't turn out as pretty as it does in the books.  The difference between the way Martha's look and the way mine look is pretty stark.  Because these cupcakes took so much time and care, tending to the muffin pans and such, it really upset me the way they came out. 

I definitely want to say that I still love Martha's cupcake book and plan on making several more of the recipes in the future.  Overall this is a good recipe, just not the best.  I don't know that I would necessarily recommend it. On the other hand, Martha's book does mention that these are a staff favorite so maybe I just did something wrong.  I'll never know because I'm most definitely NOT making them again. 

Have you had any similar kitchen adventures lately? 

Pastina with Peas and Carrots

This week at I Heart Cooking Clubs we have Spring Fever.  Except...I have a confession to make.  I'm not ready for spring.  To me, spring means less time in the kitchen and more time outside.  I'm not really an outside person.  I am a kitchen person.  You see the dilemma.  It may sound crazy, but I love winter because it's quiet and peaceful and I don't have to feel guilty about spending hours in the kitchen. But when spring rolls around....LOOK OUT!  The action is nonstop and I always find myself short on time.  So I know it sounds kinda crazy, but spring is a little bittersweet for me.  I look forward to the warmer weather, the fresh produce, and trips to the farmers market, BUT (and it's a big but) I really miss the solitude of my kitchen that only winter can bring.  I wouldn't dare tell this to anyone else for fear that it sounds somewhat strange, but it's true.  Plus, I think you guys will understand where I'm coming from.

Now that I've shared that, I should tell you that this recipe is one that I can see myself making over and over and over.  It initially caught my eye because I thought the pasta, with it's peas and carrots, would be perfect for our Spring Fever theme.  I knew the family would enjoy it, but I was surprised by how much we loved it!  It's a very pleasing and mild dish, but yet it has quite a bit of flavor to it.  This pasta is a combination of all sorts of yummy ingredients: baby farfalle pasta, onion, peas, carrots, and both mascarpone and cream cheese. This recipe is very much like a macaroni and cheese and is a successful way to get kids to eat their veggies.  What's not to like about that?

Pastina with Peas and Carrots

Recipe sourced online from Food Network

Serves 6

• 1/2 pound (8 ounces) pastina or other small-shaped pasta, such as farfallini
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small onion, finely diced
• 2 medium carrots, peeled and diced into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 cup low-sodium chicken stock
• 1 cup frozen petite peas, thawed
• 1/2 cup (4 ounces) cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/2 cup (4 ounces) mascarpone cheese, at room temperature
• Kosher salt
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook until tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes. Drain, reserving about 1 cup of the pasta water.

In a large nonstick skillet, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally until soft, about 7 minutes. Add the carrots and stock and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes. Add the peas to the pan and cook for 2 minutes until the peas are warmed through and the carrots are tender. Stir in the cooked pasta. Remove the pan from the heat and add the cheeses. Stir until the mixture is incorporated and forms a sauce. Season with salt, to taste. Transfer to a large serving bowl and garnish with chopped basil.

Notes/Results:  I can see myself making this recipe numerous times in the future.  It's one of those good standby recipes that the whole family enjoys.  It's not that it's mind-blowing or anything like that, it's just something that is surprisingly delicious, easy, and a very good alternative to serve the family.  For all of these reasons, I think it's probably one of my favorite Giada recipes in the past six months.  Definitely a winner!

Head on over to vote for the next male chef.  Pick from Rick Bayless, Bobby Flay, or Jamie Oliver!

French Fridays with Dorie February Roundup

 There were four recipes for FFwD this month: Basque Potato Tortilla, Pancetta Green Beans, Orange-Almond Tart, and Short Ribs in Red Wine and Port.  I ended up making three out of four.  I just couldn't bring myself to make the short ribs.  I've braised way too much meat this winter and I just didn't have it in me.

My hands down favorite of the bunch was Dorie's Orange-Almond Tart.  I have to say that I was really skeptical about this recipe.  It just seemed strange to bake oranges and serve them in a tart. I'm not sure why I felt this way, but I did.  I shouldn't have worried though because this tart was insanely delicious.  We devoured it.  The crust is very much like a shortbread cookie and the almond cream filling ....wow is that stuff good.  When the almond cream bakes in the oven it forms a thick crackly surface but remains rather gooey underneath.  The thick cookie-like crust along with the delicious almond cream and the sweet pop of the oranges make this an incredibly pleasant dessert.  I'd love to try several variations on this recipe from using cherries, to figs, or even pears.  I don't really think you could go wrong.  

 Taking second place in the roundup are these Pancetta Green Beans.  I ended up using bacon in place of pancetta, but we still loved these green beans that were tossed in bacon fat, butter, and slices of bacon.  A delicious side dish that was requested again.

This Basque Potato Tortilla was simple and classic.  A Spanish version of a frittata with eggs, diced potatoes and a sprinkling of Pimenton.  We enjoyed it, but I wouldn't necessarily make it again.