"Smothered Chicken with Ham and Almonds" and "Carrots with Raspberry-Chambord Sauce"

More delicious successes from the Cookwise book.

Smothered Chicken with Ham and Almonds

This was so good! The sauce ended up really salty, probably because of our substitutions, but I quite liked it regardless.

Ingredients:
-1 ounce salt pork [we substituted bacon, and that might have been too salty, though we did double the amount, and that might have been too much :) ]
-1 pound smoked ham
-1 large red onion, quartered
-2 T. and 3 T. olive oil (1/3 cup total)
-8 to 10 large chicken thighs, each cut in half across the bone by the butcher [we just used chicken breasts]
-1/2 cup and 2 T. flour (2/3 cup total)
-1/4 tsp. white pepper
-2 cups homemade Chicken Stock or canned chicken broth
-1/4 pound whole almonds
-1 tsp. fennel seeds, crushed
-Salt if needed

Directions:
1. Coarsely chop the salt pork, ham, and onion by hand or in a food processor. (If using the processor, process in two batches using half the onion and half the meat in each batch.)
2. Saute the salt pork, ham, and onion in 2 T. olive oil in a large, heavy frying pan or a large metal casserole over medium heat until the onion is soft and lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Remove the mixture to a bowl. Coat the chicken pieces in 1/2 cup flour and the white pepper. Shake to remove excess. Add 3 T. olive oil to the frying pan and the chicken and saute over medium heat until the chicken is deeply browned on both sides, about 8 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, bring the chicken stock and almonds to a boil in a medium saucepan, then turn down to low.
4. When the chicken is browned, spoon off any excess fat, sprinkle 2 T. flour into the drippings or on the chicken, and stir in the crushed fennel seeds. Cook several minutes, until the flour is well browned. Add the ham and onion mixture back to the skillet. Cook a minute, then add the hot stock and almonds. Stir well. Stir occasionally and simmer over low heat for 10 minutes, until the chicken is very tender and the sauce is a deep brown. If the sauce is still thin, remove the chicken to a bowl. Boil the sauce gently, stirring, until it reaches the desired thickness, then add the chicken. Taste and add salt if necessary. Serve hot. Can be prepared ahead (leave the sauce thin) and reheated over medium-low heat.

Carrots with Raspberry-Chambord Sauce

I made this one because we had tons of carrots from the garden and it sounded interesting. And it definitely turned out pretty. Lookie here:


But if I made it again, I would either significantly decrease, or leave out altogether, the raspberry garnish. The ingredients in the savory carrots were so interesting and delicious when I smelled them all together, but they were too overpowered by the sweet sauce.

Ingredients:
-2 pounds carrots, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch slices
-1 T. and 1/4 cup packed brown sugar (5 T. total)
-1 T. and 1 tsp. salt (4 tsp. total)
-2 packages (10 ounces each) frozen raspberries, thawed [doesn't that seem like a lot?]
-2 T. cornstarch
-2 T. Chambord, Grand Marnier, or other raspberry or orange liqueur [I left this out]
4 T. (1/2 stick) lightly salted butter
1/4 tsp. white pepper
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon

Directions:
1. Boil the carrots in water to cover with 1 T. brown sugar and 1 T. salt in a large pot until fork-tender, about 10 minutes. Drain well.
2. To prepare the sauce, drain the juice from the thawed raspberries into a medium saucepan. Stir in cornstarch and heat over medium heat, stirring constantly, until the juice thickens. Stir in the Chambord and gently fold in the raspberries.
3. When ready to serve, reheat the carrots by sauteing in butter in a large skillet over medium high heat for about 2 minutes. Sprinkle with 1/4 cup brown sugar, 1 tsp. salt, white pepper, and lemon zest [That's what smelled so awesome: sugar, salt, pepper, and lemon--combined!]. Mound the carrots attractively on a platter, leaving a border around the edge. Spoon the bright red raspberry sauce into the border around the carrot mound and serve hot.

THE Cinnabon Recipe

I don't have a picture of these because they disappeared so quickly when we had them as part of Fast Sunday dinner that I didn't have a chance. But they really do taste as good as Cinnabons. We had this with some friends in California. They'd found the recipe online. So I've copied the recipe down as I found it [with my additions in brackets].

Ingredients:

Rolls:
One 3/4 oz. pkg. yeast
1 c. warm milk
1/2 c. sugar
1/3 c. melted butter
1 t. salt
2 eggs
4 c. all-purpose flour

Filling:
1 c. packed brown sugar
2 1/2 T. cinnamon
1/3 c. butter

Icing:
7 T. butter, softened
1 1/2 c. confectioners (powdered) sugar
1/4 c. (2 oz) cream cheese
1/2 t. vanilla extract (or almond extract, which I prefer)

Directions:

Rolls:
1. Dissolve yeast in milk.
2. Mix sugar, butter, salt, eggs, flour. Mix well. [I mixed in just the sugar at first, and let the yeast start growing for a bit before mixing in the rest]
3. Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface. Knead into a large ball. [I kneaded at least 10 minutes, adding flour when the dough got sticky, until the dough was a nice elastic consistency] Cover, let rise 1 hour. [I learned this awesome trick on a friend's blog for raising dough: start an empty dishwasher running (no soap!) and then stop it a few minutes into the cycle. It will be nice and warm and moist in there. Just stick your bowl of dough, covered with a cloth, into the bottom of the washer and close the door (but don't re-start the wash cycle!)]
4. Roll dough into a 21"x16" wide rectangle. With the butter softened, I just use my fingers to spread it generously over the dough. Load 'er up with the filling (see below).
5. Roll from long-side to short side [hot-dog style]. Pinch the ends.
6. Using a very sharp knife (I prefer a serated one) cut into 1-inch wide rolls, amking sixteen. If you want, fewer, bigger rolls, cut them wider. [I actually prefer the unflavored floss approach to cutting--slide a string of floss under the roll of dough and pull the ends of the string across each other at the top until you cut all the way through the dough.]
7. Grease (butter) your preferred baking pan (I like mine to be all squished up next to the other). I generally use an 11"x15" pan. Then place the rolls in pan and into oven. Let the rolls rise for 30 minutes. [For me, this is when I started preheating the oven (to 400 degrees) and I let the rolls rise 30 minutes outside the oven - in the dishwasher again.]
8. Bake until the rolls are slightly browned and not doughy. This will vary according to your oven Just don't overbake. [For me, it wasn't too much longer than 10 minutes.]
9. When done, take 'em out and cover them in the delicious icing.
10. Do I have to admonish you to "enjoy?" Surely not. Then go eat!

Filling:
While the dough is rising, prepare the filling and the icing. Clean-up a little and then go read a chapter or two in your book.
1. Soften butter, so that it is spreadable.
2. After dough has been rolled out to the gigantic rectangle, spread the softened butter all over.
3. Sprinkle brown sugar over entire buttered rectangle. Use more if you like more.
4. Now sprinkle the cinnamon over the now sugary, buttery, doughy rectangle.

Icing:
Cream it all together with an electric mixer (or by hand if you just want to exhaust yourself for some reason). Spread on hot rolls.

Caramel Apple Tart

This is one of our very favorites from the Ivy Bake Shoppe book. As such, you know it's going to have tons o' sugar. But it's oh-so-good. And it has cayenne pepper and parmesan cheese in the crust. Nifty, eh?

Ingredients:

Crust:
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 T. sugar
1/3 c. grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 t. cayenne pepper
1 stick cold butter
3 T. ice water
3 T. breadcrumbs

Filling:
5 Granny Smith (ONLY those--no others!) apples, peeled and sliced
1 cup sugar
3 T. flour
2 t. cinnamon

Topping:
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup flour
1/4 cup cold butter
1 t. vanilla extract

Directions:

For the crust, mix the flour, sugar, cheese, cayenne pepper, and salt together in an electric mixer. Cut in butter until mixture is coarse crumbs and then add cold water. Do not overmix. Mixture will hold together when pressed between your fingers.

Pour into a well-greased 9-inch springform pan [that's best - I used to do a pie dish and it wasn't deep enough and would spill over into the oven]. Press mixture into bottom and up the sides of the pan. Sprinkle breadcrumbs over the crust.

For the filling, gently combine all the ingredients together and then pour into crust.

For the topping, combine all the ingredients together and then sprinkle over the apple filling. Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes. Drizzle with warm butterscotch caramel sauce (we use Mrs. Richardson's). Makes 8 to 10 servings.

Yum!

Great Baked Pumpkin with Herbed Barley and Chickpeas

Once again, I love "Cookwise." All the recipes from it are so delicious! And they often have such interesting combinations of flavors. This recipe is no exception--as you'll see below, it has sesame oil and soy sauce, but also Italian spices, and then some orange marmalade. It's awesome! And it's the first time I've ever cooked my own pumpkin. Hooray! A very Fall dish.

Ingredients:
-1 fresh pumpkin, about 10 inches in diameter
-2 large onions, chopped
-1/4 cup sesame oil
-2 cloves garlic, minced
-3 cups quick-cooking barley [I couldn't find barley anywhere! So I used some leftover brown rice that I'd already cooked. Since it was already cooked, I should have decreased the amount of liquid in the recipe, but I just drained some off afterwards and it was fine.]
-3 cups homemade Chicken Stock or canned chicken broth
-3 cups water
-2 cans (16 oz. each) chickpeas, drained
-2 cans (16 oz. each) navy beans, drained [oddly, I couldn't find those either, and used pinto]
-1 T. dried oregano
-2 t. dried basil
-1 t. dried rosemary
-1/2 cup orange marmalade
-2 T. light brown sugar
-1/2 cup chopped parsley
-1/4 cup soy sauce
-1 t. salt
-1/2 t. white pepper
-1 to 2 T. Chinese hot chili oil [I didn't have any and left it out, but it was delicious without]
-Large green leaves, for garnish [also left out]

1. Cut the top from the pumpkin slightly lower than for a jack-o'-lantern. Scoop out and discard the seeds. Set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Cook onions in sesame oil in a large skillet over low to medium heat (to avoid damaging the sesame oil) until the onions are just clear, not brown. Stir in the garlic and cook briefly. Cook the barley in the stock and water for 10 minutes at a low simmer in a large covered saucepan.
3. Stir together the onion mixture and the rest of the ingredients except garnish in a large mixing bowl. Spoon the mixture into the pumpkin and fit the lid back in place. Place on a small pizza pan in the lower center of the oven and bake for 1 hour. The pumpkin should be lightly browned.
4. Serve the pumpkin surrounded by large green leaves [or not]. Remove the lid and lean it against the side of the pumpkin. Serve a piece of pumpkin with the filling.

Hint: This was extra delicious with some cinnamon sprinkled on top after serving. If you eat the pumpkin separately, it needs a little salt. But it's great if you mix it in with your rice/barley mixture.

Shallot Mashed Potatoes with Garlic

I'm still going through the bushels of potatoes we got from our summer CSA fling. (That's Community Supported Agriculture, if you haven't been as indoctrinated with local food movement thingies as I've been of late.) It's over now, but it was really fun.

This is a delicious recipe from Cookwise (all the recipes I've tried from that book have been). I couldn't find shallots at the store, so I used a combo of small onions and green onions. Was ever so yummy. I also only mashed the potatoes by putting them through a ricer--didn't stir with a hand mixer or anything--so they had a neat texture.

Ingredients:
-4 to 5 medium Burbank Russet (Idaho) or Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and sliced 1/3 inch thick
-3 medium shallots, crushed
-2 cloves garlic, crushed
-2 tsp. and 2 tsp. salt (4 tsp. total)
-1/2 tsp. cider vinegar
-5 shallots, finely minced [8 total!]
-2 cloves garlic, finely minced [4 total!]
-3 tablespoons butter
-1/4 tsp. white pepper
-1 cup heavy or whipping cream
-1/2 to 1 cup half-and-half or milk

Directions:
1. Precook the potatoes by heating enough water (about 6 cups) to cover them in a large pot over high heat until hot but well below a simmer. Turn heat down to low and add the potato slices, crushed shallots and garlic, 2 tsp. salt, and vinegar. The potatoes will cool the water down to about 160 degrees F. Cook at about this temperature, well below a simmer, for about 20 minutes. Drain and run cold water over the potato slices to cool them. Let them stand in water in the pot until you're ready to finish cooking, or drain, cover, and refrigerate.
2. When ready to mash, saute the minced shallots and garlic in butter over medium heat until just soft in a heavy, medium saucepan. Stir in 2 tsp. salt and the white pepper. Add the cream and half-and-half and heat gently. Set aside.
3. To finish cooking, add water to the cool potatoes if necessary, bring to a boil, and simmer until fork-tender, about 5 minutes at a simmer. Drain, remove the crushed shallots and garlic, put the potatoes back in the pot, and heat for about a minute to dry them out. To mash, put the potatoes once through a ricer or large-holed strainer into a medium mixing bowl. Bring the shallot and cream mixture to a boil and stir into the hot mashed potatoes. Taste and add more salt or pepper as needed. Serve immediately. (Makes 4-6 servings)

Yum!

Roasted Squash and Bacon Pasta

Hooray for Fall! I'm so happy when squash and sweet potatoes start featuring in our meals again. In my produce bag last week, I had a big acorn squash, and I used it to make this meal from my Williams-Sonoma cookbook. So delicious. I've stolen the photo and recipe from their website since I forgot to take a picture at the time. My squash was a lot squashier, and ended up smeared all over the noodles instead of in nice little cubes, but I thought that made it yummier. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 2 lb. butternut or other winter squash, peeled, seeded and cut into small cubes
• 1 large yellow onion, halved and thinly sliced
• 4 thick-cut bacon slices, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 2 Tbs. olive oil
• 1 Tbs. finely chopped fresh sage
• 2 Tbs. salt, plus more, to taste
• Freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1 lb. rigatoni or other large pasta shape
• 1/2 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, plus more for serving

Directions:

Roast the squash and onions
Preheat an oven to 425ºF.

On a large nonstick baking sheet, toss the squash, onion and bacon with the olive oil. Sprinkle with the sage and season with salt and pepper. Spread in a single layer. Roast until the squash is caramelized and tender and the bacon is crispy, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from the oven.

Cook the pasta
Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add the 2 Tbs. salt and the pasta to the boiling water. Cook, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, until al dente (tender but firm to the bite), according to the package instructions. Drain, reserving about 1/2 cup of the cooking water.

Return the pasta to the pot. Add the squash mixture and toss for 1 minute over high heat, adding as much of the cooking water as needed to loosen the sauce. Add the 1/2 cup cheese and toss, then serve immediately. Pass additional cheese at the table. Serves 4. (More like 6, for us.)

Ok, fine. Here's the photo I took of my leftovers.

Not quite as artsy. But it's oh-so nummy and gooey.

Green Hot Chili Peppers

A couple of weeks ago, my farm produce bag brought me a whole bunch of hot peppers--green chili peppers and jalapeños. "What do I do with these?" I thought. And the subsequent search led me to a couple of really yummy recipes, both from the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook.

Primero: Baked Chicken Chiles Rellenos

It's kind of like Chiles Rellenos inside out.

Ingredients:
6 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
1/3 cup flour
3 tablespoons cornmeal
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1 egg
1 tablespoon water
1 4-ounce can whole green chile peppers, rinsed, seeded, and cut in half lengthwise. (I just used fresh ones, since that's what I had.)
2 ounces Monterey Jack cheese, cut into six 2-x1/2-inch sticks.
2 tablespoons snipped fresh cilantro or fresh parsley
1/4 tsp. black pepper
2 tablespoons butter or margarine, melted
1 8-ounce jar green or red salsa

Directions:
1. Place each chicken breast half between two pieces of plastic wrap. Using the flat side of a meat mallet, pound chicken lightly into rectangles about 1/8-inch thick. Remove plastic wrap.
2. In a shallow dish combine the flour, cornmeal, and cayenne pepper. Place egg in a second shallow dish; add water and beat lightly to combine.
3. Place a chile pepper half on each chicken piece near an edge. Place a stick of cheese on each chile pepper half. Sprinkle with snipped [parsley] and black pepper. Fold in side edges; roll up from the edge with cheese and chile pepper. Secure with wooden toothpick.
4. Dip chicken rolls in egg mixture; coat with cornmeal mixture. Place rolls, seam sides down, in a shallow baking pan. Drizzle with butter.
5. Bake, uncovered, in a 375 degree oven for 25 - 30 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink. Remove toothpicks. Meanwhile, heat salsa; serve over chicken.


Y Segundo: Salsa!

I've never made homemade salsa before. And this recipe makes that great, fresh-chopped kind that's so cool and refreshing and just makes you feel healthy.

Ingredients:
1 cup seeded and finely chopped tomato (3 small)
1/3 cup finely chopped red onion (1 small)
2-4 fresh serrano, habañero, or jalapeño chile peppers, seeded and finely chopped (I recommend you wear rubber gloves, especially if using the spicier peppers)
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons snipped fresh cilantro [OF COURSE, I left this out. And it made it ever-so-much more delicious for me and most of my cilantro-hating family.]
1/4 tsp. salt
4 cloves garlic, minced

Directions: Basically, chop it all up and stir it all together in a bowl, then chill it for 2-48 hours. Yum! (The chopping got a bit tedious, as you may be able to tell from some of the big chunks in the picture below. If I could have one real chef skill, it would be speedy chopping.)

Thanksgiving Leftovers Pizza

I just realized, to my shock, that I'd never posted this recipe on the cooking blog. It was such a fun Christmas experiment, and it turned out to be so remarkably delicious, that I'm surprised I forgot to post it.

This all resulted from the great pizza-for-Christmas-dinner scandal of 2010. Wonderful Grandma Hale was trying to make Christmas dinner easier for everyone (and more acceptable for those younger grandchildren with limited palates) by proposing that we all just make or buy pizza and have a pizza potluck for our Christmas Eve dinner.

And though my sister Annie is usually loathe to state her opinion strongly, she ventured out of her shell to say, "What!!!! Pizza! Must all of our Christmas traditions be so profaned? As an american teenager I am so thoroughly sick of pizza that chain logos make me nauseous. And as a college student I am so generally deprived of wholesome holiday food the Christmas commercials make me weep. If we must have pizza can I suggest one topped with mashed potatoes and gravy? Maybe some turkey too? Beef Jerky? And how about we remove the crust from beneath the potatoes and instead serve it in circular roll-like bits? Just a suggestion."

And though my brother Jon responded by saying, "This girls does not speak for american teenagers or college students, or she would not say what she does. Hurrah for pizza!" I thought Annie's suggestion was brilliant.

So on Christmas Eve, my family assembled a couple of pizzas based loosely off the suggestions of online recipes for Thanksgiving Leftovers Pizza. (Like this one or this one.) Basically you take either pizza dough, a store-made prebaked pizza crust (we used Boboli--yum!), or biscuit dough, then use gravy for the sauce, mashed potatoes for the "cheese," and whatever thanksgiving leftover-type toppings you please for the toppings: turkey of course, stuffing, cranberry sauce, sweet potatoes, whatever! It was mostly as a joke, but it turned out so delicious that I fully plan on making one next day-after-Thanksgiving.

Cherry Apricot Pie with Almond Streusel Topping

I confess, California got to me. While there, for a book club, I read Barbara Kingsolver's "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" and, while not becoming fanatic, developed a desire to eat more locally and organically. So after we moved back to Utah, I looked up local organic farms. I ended up signing up for a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) weekly drop-off of a bag of organic produce from Borski Farms, a family-run farm in Kaysville.

It's been quite the fun adventure getting a bag of random produce every week and figuring out what to do with it. It has revealed my lack of veggie knowledge, though. I recognized rhubarb the first week I got it. I wanted to be efficient and use all parts of the vegetables they gave me, so I took a couple of the rhubarb leaves and plopped them onto a sandwich for lunch. Later that day, Mom told me that rhubarb leaves are poisonous. Whoops... (I did a bit of research, and you'd have to eat a good 11 pounds of the stuff for it to be really lethal, but best to be safe).

Then, later, when I was given some cherries and what I thought was rhubarb again, I wanted to make a cherry rhubarb pie. I was very disappointed when Mom and Dad broke the news that my rhubarb was actually Swiss Chard. Learning curve...

Anyway, one week I got both cherries and apricots in my bag, and I looked online recipes for cherry apricot pie. (That's one of my favorite things to do--to have random extra ingredients and search for a recipe to use them in.)

This one seemed the best. I made it on Saturday for a party with the Browns, and it was so delicious that I made it again today for my family to try. Enjoy!

Cherry Apricot Pie with Almond Streusel Topping

Ingredients

• FOR STREUSEL: 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
• 6 tablespoons (packed) golden brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch of salt
• 1/3 cup crumbled almond paste (about 2 3/4 ounces)
• 1/4 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/4 cup sliced almonds
• FOR FILLING: 1 cup sugar
• 4 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1 pound Bing cherries, stemmed, pitted, halved (about 2 1/4 cups)
• 1 pound ripe apricots (about 6 medium-large), halved, pitted, each half cut into 4 wedges (about 3 cups)
• 1/2 cup apricot preserves
• TENDER PIE CRUST: 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1/2 cup frozen vegetable shortening, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 5 tablespoons (or more) ice water
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Vanilla ice cream or sweetened whipped cream (optional)

Preparation

1. FOR STREUSEL: Whisk flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and salt to blend in medium bowl. Add almond paste and butter. Rub in with fingertips until mixture begins to clump together. Add almonds and work in with fingertips until well incorporated. Refrigerate until ready to use. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and keep refrigerated.)
2. FOR FILLING: Line baking sheet with foil; place in bottom of oven. Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375ºF. Whisk sugar, cornstarch and cinnamon in large bowl to blend well. Add cherries, apricots and apricot preserves and toss to blend well with sugar mixture. Let stand until juices form, about 20 minutes.
3. THE PERFECT TENDER PIE CRUST: Blend flour, sugar and salt in processor. Add butter and shortening and cut in using on/off turns until mixture resembles coarse meal. Mix 5 tablespoons ice water and vanilla in small bowl; add to processor and blend using on/off turns until mixture begins to form moist clumps, adding more ice water by teaspoonfuls if dough is dry.
4. Gather dough into 2 balls. Flatten each into disk; wrap each in plastic wrap and refrigerate at least 1 hour. (Can be prepared 2 days ahead. Keep refrigerated. Soften dough slightly at room temperature before rolling out.)
5. TO ASSEMBLE: Roll out 1 pie crust disk on generously floured surface to 12-inch round. Transfer to 9-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Fold crust edges under and crimp edges decoratively, forming high standing rim 1/2 to- 3/4-inch above sides of dish. Spoon filling into crust.
6. Bake pie 30 minutes. Cover edges with foil collar to prevent overbrowning. Bake pie until filling just begins to bubble at edges, about 15 minutes longer. Sprinkle streusel over top of pie. Continue to bake until crust and streusel are deep golden brown and filling bubbles thickly in center, about 45 minutes longer. Transfer to rack and cool at least 2 hours. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature with ice cream or sweetened whipped cream, if desired. (Can be prepared 8 hours ahead. Let stand at room temperature.)
7. FOR A PRE-BAKED PIE CRUST: Line the pie dish with crust; crimp edges and bake at 375ºF. until golden and baked through and piercing crust in a few places with fork if crust bubbles, about 30 minutes. Cool and then fill with your choice of already prepared fillings, such as mousses, cream fillings, or lemon curd.

Chile Relleno Breakfast Bake

This picture might not look like much, but its the warm gooey goodness beneath the biscuit topping that's the special part. We had this a few weeks ago for Fast Sunday breakfast-for-dinner with the Cresaps. I was craving it, so I made it again last night. And I then proceeded to eat several pieces, filling me so full of protein that I wasn't even interested in dessert (which is a big deal). It's so yummy!

Ingredients:

1/4-1/2 cup butter (1/2-1 stick)
2 7-oz. cans diced green chiles, drained (though I used half that much last time and it was fine)
1/2 lb. chorizo sausage, browned and drained (the recipe lists this as optional--we used kielbasa both times and it was so yummy)
1 8-oz. pkg. shredded cheddar cheese
1 8-oz. pkg. shredded Monterey Jack cheese
4 eggs
2 cups milk
1 cup biscuit mix* (see recipe below)
1 tsp. chili powder or southwest seasoning
1/2-1 tsp. freshly ground pepper

*Homemade biscuit mix:
3 cups flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup shortening
*Stir together the dry ingredients, and then blend in the shortening. Store in the fridge.

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Melt the butter in a 9x13 glass baking dish. Layer the chiles over the butter. Sprinkle with the browned chorizo, if using. Layer the shredded cheeses over the sausage. In a separate bowl, mix together the eggs, milk, biscuit mix, chili powder and pepper. Pour over the other ingredients in the pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until golden brown. Serves 10-12. (I halved it last time and it was plenty.)

Party Foods

I have always loved the Ivy Bake Shoppe cookbook for its desserts (most of which feature sweetened condensed milk...) and breakfast foods. It has some yummy dinners too. But I've never tried any of its appetizers or party foods.

A couple weeks ago, when it was my turn to provide snacks for our choir practice with the Bay Choral Guild, I tried these two recipes for the first time. Both were scrumptious! Enjoy.

Becky's Spinach Artichoke Phyllo

This was my first time baking with phyllo dough. I'd tried to make my own once. Wouldn't recommend it. Trying to roll my own paper-thin dough with a rolling pin just gave me really sore wrists. But it was super fun to work with pre-made dough I bought frozen at Safeway!



Ingredients:

3 oz. fresh spinach, pulsed in food processor 5 pulses
1 cup artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. onion salt
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. pepper
Melted butter (I think I needed a good 3/4 cup or more...)
1 pkg. phyllo, thawed in refrigerator

Directions:

Mix the first seven ingredients together to combine. Generously butter one sheet of phyllo, top with another sheet of phyllo and butter it also. Keep a damp cloth on top of remaining phyllo so it doesn't dry out. Cut the buttered phyllo into 8 strips. Place 1 teaspoon spinach mixture on each piece at the bottom and then fold as if folding a flag. Freeze until ready to use. To serve right from freezer, bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Makes about 4 dozen.


Adrian's Delight

I've never had a sweet chip dip before--this is yummy! Lemony, cranberry-y goodness.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 (8-oz) pkg cream cheese, room temperature
1 stick butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup sugar
1 pkg. unflavored gelatin
1/4 cup cold water
1/2 cup Craisins
1 cup toasted sliced almonds
Zest of 2 lemons

Directions:

Cream the first three ingredients together until combined and then add sugar. Soften gelatin in cold water by stirring over hot water. Add gelatin mixture to the cream cheese mixture. Add the remaining ingredients. Pour into a 4-cup mold or plastic container lined with plastic wrap. Refrigerate and turn out onto a serving platter; remove plastic wrap. Serve with saltine crackers (or other plain crackers). Freezes well. Makes 24 appetizers.

Cheddar-Crusted Chicken Breasts and Sherried Rice and Barley with Almonds

This was one of the most delicious--and fancy--meals I've made in a long time. Especially the rice/barley mixture--it was SOOO good!! These are both from Cookwise--already a good sign, as everything I've tried from that book is both delicious and oh-so-well explained. As Shirley Corriher describes it, "This awesome centerpiece dish will impress even haute-cuisine friends, but the flavors are hearty and reminiscent of wonderful Sunday dinners of your childhood."

The full name of the first dish is "Cheddar-Crusted Chicken Breasts with Grapes and Apples in Grand Marnier Sauce."

Ingredients:
1 medium onion, quartered
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1 1/2 cups homemade chicken stock or canned chicken broth
4 cups water
10 skinless and boneless chicken breast halves
2 cans (10.5 oz each) beef consomme
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
1/2 cup orange marmalade
1/4 cup cornstarch dissolved in 1/4 cup cold water
3 red apples (Rome or McIntosh), cored and cut into wedges
3 tablespoons lightly salted butter
Nonstick cooking spray
1/4 pound cheddar with good orange color, grated (about 1 cup)
1 small bunch of Red Flame grapes, about 30 grapes
3 tablespoons Grand Marnier [I left this out, since there was no chance for the alcohol to cook away, but you could substitute something else for it. Maybe OJ? It was just great without it, though.]

Serve with Sherried Rice and Barley with Almonds

Directions:
1. Bring the onion, sage, stock, and water to a boil in a large saucepan. Add the boneless chicken breasts. Bring back to a simmer, simmer for 2 minutes, cover, and remove from heat. Let stand about 10 minutes. Remove the chicken breasts to a plate and cover to keep warm. (This double stock from cooking the chicken is excellent to cook the rice and barley in.)
2. Heat the consomme, brown sugar, orange marmalade, and cornstarch-water mixture in a large saucepan over medium-high heat until it reaches a slow boil, stirring constantly. Remove the sauce from the heat and set aside.
3. Saute the apples in butter in a heavy skillet over medium heat until just browned, 2 to 3 minutes on each side. Set aside.
4. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Dry the chicken breasts and place them on the baking sheet. Sprinkle each chicken breast with grated cheddar and slip under the broiler just to melt and brown the cheese.
5. Mound up the hot Sherried Rice and Barley with Almonds in the center of a large platter. Arrange the chicken breasts against the sides of the mound. Reheat the sauce and stir in the grapes, apple wedges, [and Grand Marnier--or leave out or substitute]. Spoon the grapes and apples and a little sauce over the top of the mound, letting the grapes and apples cascade down the side of the mound. Drizzle some sauce over each chicken breast and serve.

(Look how pretty that is...)

Sherried Rice and Barley with Almonds

Ingredients:
2 medium onions, chopped
1 tablespoon canola, corn, peanut, or blended vegetable oil
2 tablespoons sugar
1 cup brown rice*
1 cup barley*
8 dried apple slices, chopped
4 cups water, homemade chicken stock, or canned chicken broth [using the leftover broth from the chicken recipe is delicious!]
2 tablespoons and 1 tablespoon butter (3 tablespoons total)
2 teaspoons and 1/4 teaspoon salt (2 1/4 teaspoons total)
3 tablespoons dry sherry
1 cup roasted almond slivers

*Both brown rice and barley are now available in 10-minute-cooking brands, which makes this a quick dish. If you use those, you can cook the grain and apple mixture for only 10 minutes in Step 1.

Directions:

1. Saute the onions in oil in a heavy pot that has a lid over medium-high heat until soft. Sprinkle with the sugar and continue cooking for 1 minute. Add the rice, barley, apples, water, 2 tablespoons butter, 2 teaspoons salt, and sherry. Stir well and bring to a boil. Cover and cook at a low simmer for 40 minutes.
2. While the rice is cooking, preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spread the almonds on a baking sheet and roast until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Stir in 1 tablespoon butter and 1/4 teaspoon salt while the nuts are hot.
3. Heat the rice-barley mixture an additional minute with the lid off and toss gently with a fork. Stir in half of the roasted almond slivers. Sprinkle the remaining half of the almonds over the top to garnish. Serve immediately.

Chocolate Caramel Brownies

The first time I made these brownies was for our house-warming party back in August. Very good. Here's what the reviewers said:
"A piece of heaven." - Jon Felt
"Very gooey heaven." - Jeff Brown
"Like 'Knock-You Naked Brownies.'" - Cami Felt

I made them again recently when I was waiting for Jeff to come back from another interview. And since a friend wants the recipe, I thought I'd revive the cooking blog.

(The photo, as you can see, is courtesy of creativelydomestic.com, where there was a nearly identical recipe. I hadn't taken my own picture, so I borrowed it.)

This recipe is from the "Ivy Bake Shoppe" cookbook, my go-to book for super-rich desserts. The recipe is super easy, though you need to buy some ingredients ahead of time. You also need to play ahead a bit, because it does need several hours of cooling before the brownies solidify enough to cut and hold their shape.

Chocolate Caramel Brownies

Ingredients:
1 box German chocolate cake mix
1 1/2 sticks butter, softened
1/3 cup evaporated milk
1 cup chopped pecans

Caramel Layer:
1 (14-oz) bag caramels, unwrapped
1/4 cup evaporated milk
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Directions:
Mix cake mix, butter, evaporated milk, and pecans together. Spread two-thirds of the dough mixture in a greased 9x13-inch pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 7 minutes.
For the caramel layer, melt caramels with evaporated milk in microwave for 3 minutes. Stir and then microwave 1 minute more; stir until smooth. Pour mixture over baked batter and then sprinkle with chocolate chips. Dot with remaining dough. Bake at 350 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes; set on a rack to cool. Cover and cool 6 hours before serving. Makes 12 to 15 servings.