Chocolate pudding

Mmmmm, pudding.

3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
2 tablespoons cornstarch
2 2/3 cups milk
4 beaten egg yolks
1 tablespoon butter
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

In a heavy saucepan combine sugar, cocoa, and cornstarch. Add milk. Cook and stir over medium heat til mixture is thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat. Gradually stir about 1 cup of the hot mixture into the beaten eggs. Return all of the egg mixture to the pan and bring to a gentle boil. Reduce heat. Cook and stir for 2 minutes more. Remove from heat. Stir in butter and vanilla. Pour pudding into a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. Do not stir! Chill.

Chicken parm

Now THIS is kid-friendly. Everyone gobbled it up and asked for more.

From Pioneer Woman:

4 whole (up To 6) chicken breasts (I used 2 packages of chicken tenders)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons butter
1 whole onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cups wine (white or red)
3 cans (14.5 oz.) crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons sugar
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
1 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
1 pound linguine or spaghetti

Mix flour, salt, and pepper together on a large plate. Dredge flattened chicken breasts in flour mixture. Set aside. At this time, you can start a pot of water for your pasta. Cook linguine until al dente.

Heat olive oil and butter together in a large skillet over medium heat. When butter is melted and oil/butter mixture is hot, fry chicken breasts until nice and golden brown on each side, about 2 to 3 minutes per side. Remove chicken breasts from the skillet and keep warm.

Without cleaning skillet, add onions and garlic and gently stir for 2 minutes. Pour in wine and scrape the bottom of the pan, getting all the flavorful bits off the bottom. Allow wine to cook down until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Pour in crushed tomatoes and stir to combine. Add sugar and more salt and pepper to taste. Allow to cook for 30 minutes. Toward the end of cooking time, add chopped parsley and give sauce a final stir.

Carefully lay chicken breasts on top of the sauce and completely cover them in grated Parmesan. Place lid on skillet and reduce heat to low. Allow to simmer until cheese is melted and chicken is thoroughly heated. Add more cheese to taste. Place cooked noodles on a plate and cover with sauce. Place chicken breast on top and sprinkle with more parsley. Serve immediately.

Teenage boy, part 1

It's that time of year again--when my stepson comes to stay with us.

I've laid in a supply of kid-friendly foods I don't normally buy: sandwich bread, lunch meat, mild cheddar cheese, yellow mustard, ranch dressing. To keep such costs to a minimum, I didn't buy cereal, juice, chips, or grape jelly.

I made batches of vanilla ice cream, chocolate chip cookies, and tomato sauce. We've got a week of Seattle-area sightseeing planned, including (I hope) trips to Olympic National Park and Snoqualmie Falls. Let's hope having a teenage boy around the house doesn't drive the both of us to distraction.

Grilled cheese sandwich

The simplest thing, right? It IS possible to make a bad grilled cheese sandwich. I made a delicious one last night, with fresh-baked bread.

Start with two big slices of bread, and toast them. Meanwhile, grate some high-quality Gruyere cheese. When the bread is toasted, butter it well, on both sides, and layer the grated cheese in the middle.

Get a skillet really hot, and drop a pat of butter in. Grill the sandwich on both sides, until golden brown, and the cheese is melty.

Serve hot, with a little salad on the side, and a nice glass of wine.

Pepperoni and cheese scrambled eggs

What better way to use up pepperoni, right?

1 teaspoon grapeseed oil
1/2 pound pepperoni
2 tablespoons butter
6 eggs
3/4 cup milk
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup grated white or yellow cheese
2 tablespoons scallions, white and tender green parts only, sliced on the bias

Heat grapeseed oil over medium-high heat in a large skillet. Fry pepperoni, transfer to paper towels to drain, pour off fat and wipe out pan. Melt butter in pan over medium heat. Whisk together eggs and milk, add to pan, and season with salt and pepper. Loosen edges to prevent eggs from sticking. When eggs begin to set, sprinkle with cheese and top with pepperoni and scallions. Remove from heat. Cover and let carryover cook until firm.

Chicken pot pie

What better way to use up a bunch of summer vegetables and leftover chicken?

This is not so much a recipe as it is a guideline. Feel free to use different vegetables. Peas, tomatoes, potatoes, green beans, and other kinds of squash are easy substitutions. If you like more sauce, use fewer vegetables. (I like my chicken pot pie not very saucy.) This made two big 8x13 casserole dishes of chicken pot pie, so scale back if you need to.

2 zucchini, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2 green peppers, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
3 stalks celery, chopped
1 package mushrooms, sliced
Cooked leftover barley or rice (you could substitute potatoes too)
Cooked leftover chicken

For sauce:
6 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons flour
3/4 cup heavy cream
1 1/4 cups milk
2 cups chicken broth
Tabasco

2 pie crusts
1 egg, beaten

Saute the veggies in olive oil until they begin to soften. Add leftover barley or rice to heat through. Stir in the chicken to heat through. Season with salt and pepper, and whatever fresh herbs you may have. (I used parsley, basil, and a little oregano.)

For the sauce, combine the flour and melted butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Whisk together. Slowly add the chicken broth, and then the cream and milk. Continue whisking over medium heat until it boils. At this point it will be visibly thicker, like a cream sauce. Remove from the heat, stir in a few drops of Tabasco, and combine with the chicken and veggie mixture.

Pour into two casserole dishes. Place a rolled-out pie crust on top of each. Slice into the pie crust to create vents, and brush each with the beaten egg.

Bake at 400 for 25-30 minutes, or until the crusts are nicely browned.

Summer veggie burgers

1/4 cup olive oil
1 small red onion, halved
2 cloves garlic
1 minced jalapeno
1 medium zucchini, grated
2 cups fresh corn kernels
3/4 cup cornmeal
Flour

Puree the onion, garlic, and jalapeno until almost smooth. Add to a hot pan with the olive oil and salt and pepper. Add the grated zucchini with 1/2 cup corn. Puree the remaining corn and let the machine run until it becomes a thick paste. Cook the zucchini mixture until the vegetables release their water and it starts to evaporate, 5 minutes. Add the corn paste and cornmeal. Remove from the heat, cover, and let rest 10 minutes.

If the mixture is wet, add a little flour. Form 4-6 patties and let rest for a few minutes. Cook in the same pan with olive oil, 5 minutes on each side, until nicely browned.

You can also add 1/2 cup grated cheddar, mozzarella, or parmesan with the cornmeal for a richer burger.

Beer battered chicken

Oh yeah.

2 cups flour
1 teaspoon each salt and paprika
2 eggs
4 tablespoons oil
2 cups flat beer
2 extra egg whites
4-6 lbs chicken parts

Sift the dry ingredients together. Beat the whole eggs, oil and beer together. Blend the two together until smooth, and chill 2 hours.

Stir again, beat the egg whites until stiff and fold into the batter. Flavor with curry powder (optional), roll the chicken in, and fry.

Go here for tips on frying chicken.

No-mayo potato salad

This is Mark Bittman's potato salad recipe; it's just potatoes with a mustard vinaigrette. It takes no time at all to throw together, it's made with easy pantry ingredients (I threw in a few finely diced dill pickles and some fresh dill, since I didn't have any parsley, and used shallots instead of onions).

Reprinted below:


11/2 pounds waxy potatoes, like red new potatoes or fingerling; or all-purpose, like Yukon Gold (or even starchy baking potatoes are fine)
Salt
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley leaves
1/4 cup chopped scallions or red or yellow onion
1/2 cup Mustard Vinaigrette (see recipe below), plus more to taste
Freshly ground black pepper

1. Peel the potatoes if you like (or wash and scrub them well), then cut them into bite-sized pieces. Put them in a pot with enough water to cover them and add a large pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, then lower the heat so the water bubbles gently. Cook the potatoes until tender but still firm and not all mushy, 15 minutes or so, depending on the potato. Drain, rinse in cold water for a minute, then drain again.

2. Toss the still-warm potatoes with the parsley and scallion. Add the vinaigrette until the mixture is as dressed as you like. Taste and adjust the seasoning, adding black pepper. Serve as is or refrigerate for an hour or so to chill the salad. (At this point, you may refrigerate the salad, covered, for up to a day.)
Mustard or Honey Mustard Vinaigrette

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
3 tablespoons or more good wine vinegar
1 heaping teaspoon any good mustard or 1/2 teaspoon or so dry mustard
1 to 2 tablespoons honey (optional)

1. Combine all the ingredients in a blender and turn the machine on; a creamy emulsion will form within 30 seconds. Taste and add vinegar a teaspoon or two at a time until the balance tastes right to you.

2. Taste, adjust the seasoning, and serve. (This is best made fresh but will keep, refrigerated, for a few days; bring it back to room temperature and whisk briefly before using.)

Blackberry cobbler

With fresh blackberries from my mom's backyard, right off the vine.

3 cups blackberries
1 cup sugar
1 cup flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, melted

Stir together the blackberries and sugar, and let sit for a few minutes. Meanwhile, stir together the flour, baking powder, salt and milk. Add the melted butter and combine. Pour into an ungreased 8 x 8 pan, and spoon the blackberry mixture over the batter. Bake at 375 for 45-55 minutes, or until the batter is puffy and golden.

Fudge popsicles

2 tablespoons semisweet chocolate chips
1/3 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 1/2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 cups whole milk
pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 tablespoon butter

In the bottom of a medium saucepan over very low heat, gently melt the chocolate chips, stirring constantly till smooth. Stir in sugar, cornstarch, cocoa powder, milk and salt, and raise heat to medium. Cook mixture, stirring frequently until it thickens (5-10 minutes). Remove from heat, add vanilla and butter, and stir till combined.

Set aside to cool slightly, then pour into popsicle molds and freeze.

Cheap desserts edition!

In preparation for a bunch of kids this weekend, I spent yesterday morning using up the last of my sugar.

I made chocolate chip cookies, fudge, pecan pralines, vanilla ice cream, and juice popsicles (orange-mango juice poured into popsicle molds).

Total cost: minimal, since I already had all the ingredients on hand.

If I want to get crazy, I can make ice cream sandwiches with the cookies and the ice cream, or milkshakes.

Kids

This weekend, my stepson and his cousins will be visiting. If it were just my in-laws, I would have gotten milk and eggs, maybe some fruit, and called it a day. We would all be perfectly happy to eat red beans and rice and drink wine.

But kids aren't typically hip to eating pesto, beans, and gussied-up restaurant leftovers, so I had to break down and buy some junk food. Sandwich bread, lunch meat, cereal, juice, tortilla chips, plus fixings for a barbecue (pork roast, hamburger buns, cabbage for cole slaw, canned baked beans, and some sausages), plus the regular stuff I already needed: milk, eggs, cream, potatoes, etc. $150 on food, and I haven't even bought the fresh fruits and vegetables yet. (And I didn't buy the usual compliment of junk food, like hot dogs.)

I guarantee you he'll eat nothing but spaghetti, turkey sandwiches, and cereal next week. It'll be like pulling teeth to get an apple or a carrot stick in him.

If people raised their kids to eat the same things the adults eat, everyone would spend a lot less on groceries.

So the rest of the week will be spent prepping food for everyone, since I'll be working all next week. A huge batch of tomato sauce, frozen pizza dough, vanilla ice cream, and veggie sticks with dip (plus probably praline, fudge, and some form of cookies), and bread for the adults.

For the two of us, I've turned this week's batch of restaurant leftovers into mushroom risotto with asparagus and sea trout. (Also procured: peas, chives, and parmesan cheese.)

Fresh cold homemade vanilla milkshake

Doesn't that sound like the most awesome thing ever?

I was making vanilla ice cream the other day, when a milkshake suddenly materialized in my brain. I don't know why that never occurred to me before.

Anyway, I let some of the vanilla ice cream sit out and get soft. Then I added whole milk, shook it really hard, and drank it.

So. Delicious.

Pasta with ricotta and capers

Another really quick pasta dish to throw together.

Reprinted from The Kitchn:

2/3 lb short pasta, whatever shape you like, i like cavatappi
1 large shallot, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon capers (jarred in vinegar)
1  tablespoon  vinegar from caper jar
1  tablespoon tomato paste
1/2 cup chicken broth (or veggie broth for a true vegetarian dish)
Olive oil
Salt and pepper to taste
1 large spoonful ricotta cheese for each serving

Cook pasta in large pot of salted water. While pasta is cooking, soften shallot and garlic in olive oil in a large pan. Add a bit of salt and pepper. not too much salt since the capers and caper vinegar will add some as well.
Once aromatics are softened, add capers and caper vinegar, broth, and tomato paste. Reduce until you notice that the oil has turned red in the pan. There should be only a little left as it is only meant to glaze the pasta.

Add pasta into pan and coat with the glaze. Put into bowls and top with a scoop of ricotta, with a drizzle of olive oil and pinch of pepper on top of the scoop.

Pasta with butternut squash, sage and pine nuts

Reprinted from thekitchn.com:

1 medium butternut squash
1 small sweet onion, peeled and diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
Olive oil
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup fresh sage leaves
1 pound farfalle pasta
3/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
4 ounces high quality Parmesan, shredded or shaved (about a cup total)

Heat the oven to 375°. Cut the butternut squash in half and scoop out the strings and seeds in the middle cavity. Flip the squash halves upside down and peel them. (Note: The raw squash rind can irritate your hands. If they start to itch or tingle, wear gloves.) Cut the squash into 1-inch cubes. Toss with the onion, garlic, a drizzle of olive oil and salt and pepper. Mince about half of the fresh sage leaves and also toss with the squash.

Spread the squash mixture in a thin layer on a large baking sheet and roast for about 40 minutes or until the squash is soft.

Heat salted pasta water to boiling and cook the farfalle until al dente. Drain and set aside. As the squash finishes roasting, heat about two tablespoons of olive oil in a large high-sided sauté pan. The oil is ready when it pops and sputters. (Don't let it start smoking.) Drop in the rest of the sage leaves and fry for about a minute, or until they begin to just shrivel up.

Remove with a slotted spoon and salt lightly. Crush with the back of a spoon.

Add half the pasta to the pan, along with half the roasted squash mixture. Crumble in half the sage. Cook, stirring frequently, for five minutes or until the pasta is heated through and getting crispy on some of the edges. Add the pine nuts and cook for another minute. Stir in half the cheese and serve.

(Repeat the last step with the rest of the ingredients. We split it into two because none of our pans are big enough to accommodate the entire recipe. It's very important that you not crowd the pan too much - you want the pasta to really pan-fry, not just steam up.)

Duck tenders

I got these in the most unprepossessing bar the other day. I'd stopped in with a coworker for a quick beer, in what was by all appearances a dive. But I don't mind a dive--especially when the dive has Guinness on tap, and it's cheap.

And they had duck tenders, which are just like chicken tenders, only with duck! Slathered with a Thai chili sauce. I was so intrigued I had to order them. They tasted like fried duck, as you might imagine. But fried duck is yummy, and I may have to try to recreate these at home.

Turnip tots

Turnip tots! Like tater tots, only, you know, spicier.

Reprinted here from Food52:


4 baby turnips
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 tablespoons Panko bread crumbs
2 teaspoons minced mint leaves
1/2 teaspoon grated lemon zest
salt & pepper to taste 

In a large saucepan of boiling water cook turnips 10 minutes and drain. When turnips are cool enough to handle, cut each into wedges.

In a large skillet cook turnips in butter over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until almost tender and golden on the edges, about 10 minutes.

Stir in Panko bread crumbs, mint, zest, salt and pepper to taste. Cook, stirring occasionally, until turnips are tender, about 5 minutes. Plate and enjoy!

Rutabaga fries

I have this rutabaga that is, quite literally, the size of my head.

So last night I took part of it to make rutabaga fries.

Root vegetables--parsnips, turnips, rutabagas--are just as good for making fries as their more well-known cousins, potatoes and sweet potatoes. In fact, you could slip any of those into a batch of potato fries and it would be hard to tell them apart. Parsnips, turnips and rutabagas taste like spicier, sweeter potatoes, so it's a good way to introduce them to kids.

Peel the rutabaga(s), cut into fry shapes, toss with a little olive oil, bake in a 375-degree oven until done all the way through. That's it. The same recipe holds true for turnips or parsnips or potatoes or whatever.

But try to avoid ketchup on these. I had them with a Sriracha aioli (Sriracha + mayo).

Fried okra

Now, a lot of you are looking at the word "okra" and thinking, "Ewwwwwwww! Slimy!"

This means you have never had okra done the right way.

It's true that okra does get slimy if it's boiled/overcooked. But who would ever want to boil okra? Okra is for two things: gumbo, and fried.

Fried okra is the only vegetable my notoriously picky brother would eat growing up. (I know the "fried" part kinds of kills off the "vegetable" part.) And hey, you can fry cardboard and it would taste good.

For my Northern neighbors who may not be familiar with okra, well, it's not widely available in the Boston area. It needs long, hot summers to grow, and a constant soil temperature of at least 70 degrees. It just doesn't get hot enough up here, which is why when you can find it, it's usually $4.99 a pound at Whole Foods. But down South, it grows like weeds, which is why my mother graciously brought me a bag of it when she visited.

Okra, sliced
Egg, mixed well with 1/2 cup milk or buttermilk
Mixture of cornmeal, flour, and spices (mostly cornmeal, maybe 1/8 - 1/4 flour, spices to taste like paprika)
Vegetable oil

Dredge the sliced okra in the egg wash, and cover in the cornmeal mixture--standard frying procedure for anything. Get the oil really hot, preferably in a cast-iron skillet, and fry the okra a handful or two at a time, until browned and crackly on all sides. Let drain on paper towels, sprinkle with salt, and serve hot.