Tuesday, September 30, 2014

Lazy

Sometimes I just don't feel like cooking.  But I want something delicious and satisfying to eat without leaving my house to go and get something that someone else cooked or baked.  Lazy.  There are also other mouths to feed.  My kids get home from school asking for a snack.  While their mouths are still full, they question, "What's for dinner?"  Don't they know I'm tired and I have no idea what the heck I am going to put on the table?  Monsters.
Sometime around the end of June, I began to crave s'mores.  Not that s'mores are difficult to make but they don't keep or travel well.  What to do if there is no open flame available to toast the marshmallows at a moment's notice?  I researched s'mores bars on the internet.  Thanks to sites like Pinterest, Food Network, and good ol' google, I was able to come up with some starter recipes.  But they were all a bit too involved.  By involved, I mean there was measuring required.  I didn't want to measure at all.  I wanted something easier than that.  Oh, and I didn't want to dirty any bowls and barely any utensils.  Too lazy to wash dishes. I managed to come up with a version of my own that is a blend of Val's Magic Cookie Bars and a few of the s'mores recipes I found.  It's crazy easy and quite addictive.  Just let the bars sit overnight after taking them out of the oven so that they stay intact when cut.  Or, don't wait and eat the gooey fabulousness while they are hot.  But you may need a plate and a fork which defeats the purpose of not washing anything extra.



S'Mores Bars
(makes 16 bars)

 1 stick unsalted butter
1/3 package graham crackers (4-5 oz)
1/2 can sweetened condensed milk (7  oz)
1/2 bag semisweet chocolate chips (6 0z)
1/2 bag mini marshmallows (5-6 oz)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Place butter in an 8x8 baking dish and put baking dish in oven to melt butter.  Meanwhile, leave the graham crackers in their packaging and use a meat tenderizer or rolling pin to smash them into crumbs.  (Be careful not to break open packaging during this process as it will create a mess!).  Once butter has melted, remove baking dish from oven.  Using a fork,stir smashed graham crackers into butter. Press graham/butter mixture to create an even layer.  Open sweetened condensed milk and drizzle half of its contents in an even layer over the graham/butter mixture.  Evenly pour chocolate chips over condensed milk then top chocolate chips with an even layer of mini marshmallows.  Place baking dish back into oven and bake for 25 to 35 minutes until marshmallows are puffed up and lightly browned.  Remove bars from oven and allow to cool for at least 25 minutes but best to cool overnight before using a sharp knife to slice into 16 pieces.  These transport well to the beach and are delightful when kept chilled in a cooler!!



Saturday, September 27, 2014

"Life is what happens to you when you are busy making other plans."

Wednesday was Rob's birthday.  In spite of our family's crazy hectic schedule, I planned a dinner that is a little fancy and a little rustic at the same time but all of it needs to be gobbled up by 5:15pm since Declan and Rob are headed to soccer practice at 5:30pm.  On the menu:  Roasted chicken a la Mario Batali, Crispy Buffalo Potatoes, chunky blue cheese dressing with fresh cucumber spears, Parker House Rolls, and for dessert, Goo Goo Pie Parfaits.(Let's just say that I got a little inspired by the October 2014 issue of Food and Wine Magazine.)
 I created a timeline, I planned it all out.  I even had Rob open his gifts in the morning before heading off to work so that wouldn't hold up the meal.  I'm sure you know what's coming next:  It did not exactly work out as I planned.
While I was out purchasing some dry rubbed sage for the baked chicken, my cell phone rang.  Rob.  Hmm.
"Hello?"
"Hi. It's me.  You're not going to believe this.  I got half way to Boston and they called to tell me that the meeting is tomorrow.  Not today.  I'm planning on stopping at the office and coming home early."
My mental response: "AAAAAH!!!"
My actual response:  "Well, you will have to find something to do.  I have a very busy afternoon planned!"
Probably not the nicest thing to say on someone's birthday.  But dammit!  I was preparing a special meal for him!!!
Once I calmed down from that news and I arrived home from my sage purchasing, I started on the dough for the Parker House rolls and attended to other tasks.  I finally had a few minutes to relax and my cell phone rang again.  This time it was work.
"Hello?"
"Hi Andrea.  We have a little problem, well when don't we have a problem?  I have an issue with my sinus  it feels like my face is paralyzed.  I thought I could make it until Oct 9th when I have an appointment but I think I need to go to the emergency room.  Do you think you can close the store tonight?"
My mental response:  "F'ing Seriously?!!!"
My actual response: "Listen, it's Rob's birthday so if you can get someone else to come in, that would be great. Go to the emergency room NOW.  Let me know what they say.  If I have to, I'll close the store since the boys have soccer practice tonight, anyway."
My boss isn't a tyrant and she was doing all she could to be sure I didn't have to close but there wasn't anyone else to do it.  I crossed my crossed my fingers that #1 her face isn't paralyzed and #2 I don't have to close the store, after all.
How does this happen?
As all of the turmoil was happening, I realized that the caramel component I made for the dessert(while doing to many other things at the same time) looked a little dark. I tasted it.  Bitter.  I tasted it, again.  Maybe it's supposed to be bitter.  I left it.  Then the kids got home from school.
"Ooooh! it smells good in here?  What is that?  Can I try some?"
I gave each child a little caramel on the tip of a spoon. Declan's scrunched up face and and squinched eyes said it all. BITTER.  I had burned the caramel.  (insert sad face emoticon here, hash tag, frustrated.)

I scooted the children off to begin their homework and threw the ingredients for a new caramel sauce into a pan and got to work again.  I checked the chicken which was now in the oven.  Did I mention that roast chicken is one of the things I have been trying to master for a while?  It's just not in my comfort zone, so of course, I chose to add this recipe to my list for today.  What the hell is my problem?!!
The next hour was a blur as I focused on the meal coming together. Chicken roasting, potatoes crisping up, rolls nice and golden, cucumbers sliced, blue cheese dip mixed and in the fridge, serving bowls and utensils out and ready to go, chocolate custard chilling and the second batch of caramel cooling on the counter.  I managed to get it all on the table by 4:45pm (30 minutes before the boys had to take off for soccer practice) in spite of the chicken juices dripping all over the butcher block and running off the other side all over the floor (needless to say, the dog was very happy!).  In the middle of it all, I received a text from my boss.  She was fine and sent back to work with a heavy dose of antibiotics. Val came over to lend a hand and add to the festive, yet hectic occasion.  I finally sat down and ate too many rolls slathered with butter, glad I pulled it all off.
Then I realized, I never took a photo of the chicken before it became merely a carcass and the buffalo fries were completely devoured.  However I did manage to photograph Declan's dessert by yanking it out of his hands after he took a few bites.  As for the rest, you'll just have to take my word, for it.
While writing this, I remember one last thing and perhaps the most important detail that I forgot: I never put a candle in Rob's dessert and we failed to sing "Happy Birthday" to him.  So much for a spectacular celebratory dinner.  At least I heard that the team of 8 year old boys serenaded Rob on the field before pummeling him with soccer balls.

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

It's so very French

I love the cooking show, "French Food at Home".  Watching it makes me feel sophisticated, chic and oh so in a word: French.  I am seduced by the simple recipes and how everything seems to go well with a glass of wine or even champagne.   The host of the show, Laura Calder explains how to elegantly present basic meals, small bites and desserts in her funny French Canadian accent.  The set is a quaint little cottage.  The show's image is that of an effortless chic I can only dream about.
Because I still have lots of tomatoes to devour before the fruit flies get to them first, I made two recipes that would surely win a spot on my new favorite guilty pleasure list.  The first from Peter Rabbit's Natural Foods Cookbook.  Yes, the very one that Val gave to me when I was about 9 years old.  Duchess and Ribby's Tomato and Cheese Pie (the cat and dog from their starring roles in "The Pie and the Patty Pan" by Beatrix Potter)  is quintessentially English but I think would translate well to an afternoon picnic in Provence especially if served with a slightly chilled Beaujolais Nouveau .

The second from the cook book of my dreams: "Tartine" by Chad Robertson. This recipe for Tomatoes Provencal would go nicely at the picnic as well for obvious reasons.

Since I am on Cape Cod instead of in the south of France, I'm determined to make the best of it. A leisurely lunch on my deck overlooking my wild and woolly garden I have decided is better than being to far away from home, anyway.



Duchess and Ribby's Tomato Cheese Pie
(serves 6)


4 slices stale bread
2 medium tomatoes
one handful of fresh basil leaves
1 1/2 cups grated cheddar
2 eggs
1 cup milk
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon pepper
3 dashes hot sauce

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a pie plate or 8x8 baking pan.
Tear the bread into small pieces and place them in pan.  Slice the tomatoes into small pieces and arrange them over the bread.  Tear the basil into small pieces and arrange over the tomatoes.  Sprinkle the cheese over the basil.  Beat the egg and combine with the milk, salt, pepper and hot sauce.  Pour mixture evenly over the cheese.  Place pan on a rimmed baking sheet and put into the oven to bake for 35-40 minutes until browned and bubbly.  Remove from oven and cool.  Serve warm or at room temperature.





Tomatoes Provencal adapted from "Tartine" by Chad Robertson
(Serves 4 to 6)

4 medium-large ripe tomatoes, or use whatever size you have
olive oil
salt
for bread crumbs:
2 slices day old bread
1 tablespoon herbes de Provence
grated zest of 1 lemon
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat oven to 475 degrees.  Slice tomatoes crosswise and arrange on a baking sheet, cut side up.  Spoon olive oil ( I use a squeeze bottle) onto each tomato half and season with salt.  Bake until the tops start to slightly carmelize, about 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, make bread crumbs.  Place the  bread in a food processor and pulse to fine crumbs. Add the herbs, lemon zest, Parmesan and olive oil and pulse to combine.

Remove tomatoes from oven and spoon bread crumb mixture onto the tomato halves.  Bake until the crumbs are toasted and browned, about 15 minutes.  Serve warm.


Tuesday, September 9, 2014

Tomato Pie Revision or How to Eat a Bumper Crop

The tomatoes are ridiculously abundant in Val's garden this year.  I have been picking them like crazy and insisting that friends take them. (I'm not sure how much longer they will remain friends with me at this point as they are all likely sick of my pushing fresh tomatoes on them.) Believe it or not, I am getting a bit tired of "The Most Amazing Tomato Sandwich...EVER!"  I can only serve cherry tomatoes to the one child of mine who will actually eat them, so many nights at dinner.  I have begun to look through cook books to see what can be made with the delightful fruit.  I know I will mourn its passing once October rolls around.  Until then, I am on a quest to use it as many ways as possible to enjoy the @#$% out of what is here now.
There is a delicious looking recipe in Tartine by Chad Robertson for "Tomatoes Provencal".  I'm sure I will be trying that one out in some fashion to use up the multiple bags of cherry tomatoes I continue to harvest almost daily. But today I don't have any fresh breadcrumbs readily available and the toasting then the dirtying of the food processor has me in a snit. I'm looking for something just as satisfying with less demanding clean- up.
One of the entries in the September chapter of the VCCK cook book named "Summer Harvest" is "Tomato Pie with Herbed Whole Wheat Crust".  I really want to eat it for dinner tonight but I am also too tired to make the pie crust.  Here is a version with puffed pastry for those of you who are as lazy as I am. 


 Tomato and Cheddar Tarte
(serves 6 or more)

approx 3 tablespoons flour for rolling out dough
1 sheet puff pastry
1 egg and water for egg wash
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese
6 medium sized fresh tomatoes
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon dried parsley
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Dust work surface with flour and roll out puff pastry .  Transfer pastry to a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment.  Brush with egg wash.  Fold in all sides of the pastry about 1/2" and press down with tines of a fork.  Brush the folded edges with egg wash.  Prick entire surface of puff pastry with a fork to create air holes.  Bake pastry for approximately 10 minutes to par cook the dough.
Meanwhile, grate the cheese and slice the tomatoes. Combine nutmeg through pepper in a small dish.  Set aside.
Remove pastry from oven.  Cover inside edges of pastry with cheese and top with tomato slices.  Sprinkle with herb mixture.  Drizzle olive oil over the dried herbs to moisten.  Place tarte in oven and bake for 20-25 minutes until edges are golden brown and tomatoes and cheese are bubbling.  Remove from oven and let rest for 10 minutes.  Remove tarte from pan to cutting board.  Cut into squares and serve warm.


If you a lucky there will be leftovers to reheat in your toaster oven for a snack or for a delicious breakfast rounded out with scrambled eggs.  If you are like me, someone else in your house already had this idea before you got up the next morning. That someone ate the rest of the tomato tarte disregarding rule #1:  Leave all last servings of anything especially baked items for the cook/baker.  I'm about to write someone up for breaking the rules.

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Don't Have The Recipe: Asian Chicken Stir Fry

 The kids went back to school today.  Declan already has Tae Kwan Do at 6:00pm tonight so that throws a wrench into our dinner time.  I need to make something that is easy and fast.  Thankfully, I have time to prep it before the kids get out of school but this one can be done even if you don't have extra time.  It's based on one of Val's go to dishes: "Chinese" Chicken Stir Fry.  "Chinese" because in 1970's white America, everything Asian was dubbed "Chinese".  We didn't know anything about all of the Asian cuisines that we now consider normal fare in this country.  But this recipe is different.  Why?  Because I gave Val back her recipe file and I didn't put the "Chinese" Stir Fry in the cook book.  So, I don't know the exact ingredients.  I kind of remember most of them, though. The sauce is part from memory and a few of my own additions.  (We didn't have fish sauce readily available in our local supermarket back then, either.  Not to mention that Val hates the taste of cilantro.)  By the way, I am NOT making an Asian inspired dish to go with tonight's activity.



Chicken Stir Fry
(Serves 6)


1 1/2 cups rice
1 3/4 lb chicken breast (about 3)
3 cups chopped to 1" pieces (i.e. broccoli, green beans, peppers, onions, mushrooms)
1/2 cup soy sauce
1 tablespoons fish sauce
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon sugar
2 cloves garlic, grated
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes or 1/4 teaspoon hot sauce (i.e. Siracha)
zest and juice from 1 lime
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger or 1 teaspoon dried ginger
2 teaspoons corn starch
vegetable oil for cooking
1 handful fresh cilantro, optional

Prepare rice according to package directions.
While rice is cooking, cut the chicken into 1" cubes, season with salt and pepper and set aside.  Chop vegetables.  Mix sauce by combining soy sauce through ginger.  Stir in cornstarch to dissolve.  
Heat a wok or cast iron skillet on high.  Add cooking oil.  Once oil is hot, add chicken and cook until outsides are just done.  Remove chicken to a plate.  Add more oil if needed.  Add  vegetables until just cooked.  Add chicken back to pan.  Mix sauce to incorporate corn starch as it often settles to the bottom.  Immediately add to chicken and vegetables, stirring to keep from over cooking.  Cover for 1-2 minutes until sauce is thickened and chicken is cooked through.  Serve over rice.