FoodB

We had a christmas potluck today for my department and our theme was Italian food. Once I heard that I knew it was on and I had to get Jenn to cook something up. My favorite of hers is her beef and cheese manicotti which I didn't hesitate to sign her up for. And with her leaving her job I realized that I actually might be able to get her to deliver.

The potluck was better than most are, with about half of the people actually preparing something rather than ordering it. The manicotti was definately the star of the show though. I actually saw people's eyes roll back in their heads when they were eating it. They were all very impressed and understood just why I haven't been able to lose weight.

A quick note about the manicotti recipe, the quality of the cheese will make or break you. Previously we had just been using ricotta and mozerrella that we find at the super market, but recently we went to our local Italian deli and got some higher end cheeses. the difference in taste is well worth the extra dollar or two we had to shell out and gives the whole dish a much richer flavor. So lesson learned for us, don't go cheap or mass produced when it comes to your key ingrediants.

Site note: My next post will be my 50th post and I plan on saving it for a Christmas related posting. So you're going to have to wait until at least Tuesday for my Christmas extravaganza. Ooo the suspense.

Posted by Gordon at 03:53 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

On to the main dish. Jenn really wanted to make a goose. I've never had goose so I was all for it. Here is the recipe she went with:

Roast Goose with Forcemeat and Spiced Cranberry and Apple Stuffing

1 12 lbs. Goose
2 Tbsp. Cranberry Jelly

Forcemeat Stuffing
2 oz. fresh Breadcrumbs
2 1/2 Tbsp. chopped fresh Parsley
2 tsp. chopped fresh Rosemary
6 oz. Onions, finely chopped
1 Dessert Apple, skin on, cored, finely chopped
8 oz. Ground Pork
Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper

Spiced Cranberry and Apple Stuffing
9 oz. Cranberries
1 1/2 lbs. Dessert Apples, skin on, cored, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
2 oz. Caster Sugar
2 oz. fresh Breadcrumbs
1 large Onion, peeled and chopped
1 pinch ground Cloves
1/4 tsp. ground Mace
2 Tbsp. Cranberry Juice
Salt and freshly ground Black Pepper

1. Forcemeat Stuffing: Place the breadcrumbs and herbs in a food processor, pulse, add the onion and apple and pulse until finely chopped.
2. Add the ground pork and some salt and pepper.
3. Cranberry and Apple Stuffing: Mix all ingredients together in a large bowl.
4. The Goose: Preheat your oven to 375 degrees.
5. Place the forcemeat stuffing in the neck cavity, pressing it in as far as you can. Tuck the flap around it, and push it into a nice smooth, rounded shape with your hands. Secure the flap with a couple of toothpicks.
6. Place the cranberry and apple stuffing in the goose's cavity.
7. Season the goose with salt and pepper and place on a rack in a roasting tin.
8. Place the goose in the centre of your oven and cook for 30 minutes.
9. Reduce the heat to 350 degrees and cook the goose for approximately 3 hours for a 12lb goose and 3 1/2 for a 14lb goose.
10. Remove excess fat from the tray every 30 minutes or so.
11. When your goose is cooked, heat the cranberry jelly, and brush it all over the gooses skin, return the goose to the oven for a further 15 minutes.
12. Allow the goose to rest for 20-30 minutes.
13. Serve the goose with its two stuffing's.

Carving the goose was pretty interesting. I used an electric knife and I found out that geese are some bony birds. I believe that since geese can actually fly that their breast meat is considerably less than chickens or turkeys. Also I didn't notice there being that much white meat. But what do I know about Goose anatomy.

Jenn said that her's was a little dry. I had one of the drumsticks and thought it was really good. Reminded me a lot of chicken and turkey so I don't think we'll be doing goose again since it is a pretty expensive piece of meat and I figure we paid for about 6-7 pounds of bones alone. If I wasn't having fun socializing I would have saved the bones and tried to make stock, but alas it wasn't meant to be.

Click the link for what we did for desserts.

Well if you read my entry from the Friday before the party, I had a long list of things I was going to bake. Well that list was written by Super Gordon because when I got home it was a different story. It took me about an hour and a half to get home that night and I walk into our house with a headache and a bad temper. I kept the temper (mostly) to myself because I didn't want to stress Jenn out the day before the party. She knew from the look in my face and, God bless her, was very patient with me and helped me out.

We started with the cookies. We made up the Gingerbread dough first because it needed to be refrigerated overnight. I thought that gingerbread would be a lot more complex than it was. Thank God for food processors. Then we made Sugar cookie dough. We just went for basic sugar cookies and Jenn made some frosting for all of them. here are the recipes:

Thick and Chewy Sugar Cookies

2 cups unbleached all-purpose Flour (10 ounces)
1/2 tsp. Powder
1/4 teaspoon table Salt
16 Tbsp. unsalted Butter (2 sticks), softened
1 cup granulated Sugar (7 ounces)
1/2 cup granulated Sugar (3 1/2 ounces), for rolling dough
1 Tbsp. light Brown Sugar
1 large Egg
1 1/2 tsp. Vanilla Extract

1. Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions; heat oven to 375 degrees. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl; set aside.
2. In standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment or with hand mixer, beat butter, 1 cup granulated sugar, and brown sugar at medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes, scraping down sides of bowl with rubber spatula as needed. Add egg and vanilla; beat at medium speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Add dry ingredients and beat at low speed until just combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down bowl as needed.
3. Place sugar for rolling in shallow bowl. Fill medium bowl halfway with cold tap water. Dip hands in water and shake off excess (this will prevent dough from sticking to your hands and ensure that sugar sticks to dough). Roll heaping tablespoon dough into 1 1/2-inch ball between moistened palms; roll ball in sugar, then place on prepared baking sheet. Repeat with remaining dough, moistening hands after forming each ball and spacing balls about 2 inches apart on baking sheet (you should be able to fit 12 cookies on each sheet). Using butter wrapper, butter bottom of drinking glass; dip bottom of glass in remaining sugar and flatten dough balls with bottom of glass until dough is about 3/4 inch thick.
4. Bake until cookies are golden brown around edges and just set and very lightly colored in center, 15 to 18 minutes, reversing position of cookie sheets from front to back and top to bottom halfway through baking time. Cool cookies on baking sheet about 3 minutes; using wide metal spatula, transfer cookies to wire rack and cool to room temperature.

Thick and Chewy Gingerbread Cookies

3 cups unbleached all-purpose Flour
3/4 cup packed dark Brown Sugar
1 Tbsp. ground Cinnamon
1 Tbsp. ground Ginger
1/2 tsp. ground Cloves
1/2 tsp. table Salt
3/4 tsp. Baking Soda
12 Tbsp. unsalted Butter (1 1/2 sticks), cut into 12 pieces
3/4 cup unsulphured Molasses
2 Tbsp. Milk

1. In food processor work bowl fitted with steel blade, process flour, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt, and baking soda until combined, about 10 seconds. Scatter butter pieces over flour mixture and process until mixture is sandy and resembles very fine meal, about 15 seconds. With machine running, gradually add molasses and milk; process until dough is evenly moistened and forms soft mass, about 10 seconds. Alternatively, in bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, stir together flour, sugar, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, salt, and baking soda at low speed until combined, about 30 seconds. Stop mixer and add butter pieces; mix at medium-low speed until mixture is sandy and resembles fine meal, about 1 1/2 minutes. Reduce speed to low and, with mixer running, gradually add molasses and milk; mix until dough is evenly moistened, about 20 seconds. Increase speed to medium and mix until thoroughly combined, about 10 seconds.
2. Scrape dough onto work surface; divide in half. Working with one portion of dough at a time, roll 1/4-inch thick between two large sheets of parchment paper. Leaving dough sandwiched between parchment layers, stack on cookie sheet and freeze until firm, 15 to 20 minutes. (Alternatively, refrigerate dough 2 hours or overnight.)
3. Adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cookie sheets with parchment paper.
4. Remove one dough sheet from freezer; place on work surface. Peel off top parchment sheet and gently lay it back in place. Flip dough over; peel off and discard second parchment layer. Cut dough into 5-inch gingerbread people or 3-inch gingerbread cookies, transferring shapes to parchment-lined cookie sheets with wide metal spatula, spacing them 3/4 inch apart; set scraps aside. Repeat with remaining dough until cookie sheets are full. Bake cookies until set in centers and dough barely retains imprint when touched very gently with fingertip, 8 to 11 minutes, rotating cookie sheets front to back and switching positions top to bottom halfway through baking time. Do not over bake. Cool cookies on sheets 2 minutes, then remove with wide metal spatula to wire rack; cool to room temperature.
5. Gather scraps; repeat rolling, cutting, and baking in steps 2 and 4. Repeat with remaining dough until all dough is used.

We tried to use cookie cutters on both of the dough's and ended up scratching that and made just round cookies instead. After all of this I was wiped out for the night. I intended to make a couple of pies as well but asked Jenn if I could make the Squash Soup that she was asking for instead. She was cool with that and I got out of making pies again.

Jenn was still going that night and made up a batch of Savannah Bow Ties that she saw Paula Dean make on her show. Jenn has becoming a fan of Paula's lately and wanted to give this recipe a try.

Savannah Bow Ties

1/2 a (17 1/4-ounce) package frozen puff pastry (1 sheet)
1/2 cup almond paste
1 egg yolk, white reserved
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons milk
1 egg white
Sugar, for sprinkling
Chocolate Dipping Sauce, recipe follows

1. Let pastry stand at room temperature for 20 minutes or until easy to roll. Unfold pastry on a lightly floured surface. Roll into a 14-inch square. Cut square in half with a fluted pastry wheel.
2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
3. For filling: crumble almond paste in a small mixing bowl. Add egg yolk, brown sugar, and milk. Beat with an electric mixer on medium speed until well mixed. Spread filling over 1 pastry half *. Place remaining pastry half on top of filling. Using the fluted pastry wheel, cut dough crosswise into fourteen 1-inch-wide strips. Then cut each strip in half crosswise to make 28 pieces. Twist each piece twice. Place twists about 2 inches apart on cookie sheets lined with foil or parchment paper. Brush twists with slightly beaten egg white. Sprinkle with sugar (coarse sugar if available).
4. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden. Transfer to wire racks to cool. Serve with Chocolate Dipping Sauce.

*Almond filling will be very stiff. To make spreading easier, drop a dollop of filling uniformly over pastry. Spray a piece of waxed paper with non-stick cooking spray. Press almond paste evenly over entire dough. Spray waxed paper as often as necessary to prevent filling from sticking.

Chocolate Dipping Sauce

3/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 (1.5-ounce) milk chocolate bars
2 cups whipping cream
1 egg yolk, beaten
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

• In a saucepan stir together sugar, cornstarch and salt. Crumble candy bars in 1 at a time. Gradually stir in cream. Cook and stir over medium heat until chocolate is melted. Temper egg yolk with 1/2 cup of hot sauce. Add back to pot and cook and stir until mixture comes to a boil. Remove from heat. Stir in vanilla and pour into a serving bowl. Any remaining sauce can be poured into custard cups, refrigerated and served as pudding.

I couldn't eat these cookies because they had almond paste in them and I am allergic to nuts. There was only one left over after the party so I imagine they were good. I tried the dipping sauce on a piece of pastry without filling on it and really liked it.

So all in all we really enjoyed ourselves. I think everyone had a good time and it was good to catch up. After doing about 5-6 loads of dishes the day of the party I have kinda been on strike since and we have piles of dirty dishes all over our house which until last night was fine with me!

Posted by Gordon at 11:23 AM | Permalink

We decided to throw a holiday party this year. It seems like every year in December we rarely get to see our friends. With the shopping and family events we are pretty worn out and we know it's the same thing for everyone else as well. Since we have been experimenting with new recipes we thought it would be perfect to try new ideas as well as see some friends at the same time.

Our original plan was to do a Thanksgiving/Christmas theme with both holidays represented with food. After finishing the menu and actually preparing everything, it seemed to be leaning heavily in the Christmas camp so we had to ditch the theme. Jennifer made a goose (something she has wanted to do for sometime but the only crowds we have cooked for have been family and our families are more traditional when it comes to parties). I'll get more into the goose in the next post. We made 9 different recipes so I thought it would be easier to break it up into two posts. Here is a list of what we made for appetizers and side dishes:

Shepherds Bread Spinach Dip
Green Beans with Fennel and Onion
Roasted Asparagus with Lemon
Mashed Red Potatoes with Green Onions
Caprice Salad

Click the link below for the recipes and what I thought of everything.

Shepherds Bread Spinach Dip

1 package (10 oz.) frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 container (16 oz.) sour cream
1 cup of Mayonnaise
1 package Knorr Vegetable recipe mix
1/2 can (8 oz.) of drained and chopped chestnuts (optional)
3 green onions chopped (optional)
1-2 loafs of shepherds bread

1. Combine all ingredients and chill about 2 hours.
2. Take a loaf of shepherd's bread and hollow out the middle. Serve the dip inside using the loaf as a bowl. Use the bread that was taken out for dipping.

Green Beans with Fennel and Onion

1/2 - 1 lbs. of fresh Green Beans
1 Onion
2 Fennel bulbs
Kosher salt for seasoning

1. Take the green beans and snap off the ends and snap in half for small bite sizes, rinse under cool water. Place in pot with water and bring to a boil on the stove. Boil for 10-15 minutes or until desired consistency (I like them soft)
2. While the beans are cooking, chop the fennel bulbs and onion up finely. Heat olive oil in a pan. Sauté the fennel and onions sprinkling them with kosher salt. When onions and fennel are translucent and starting to brown they are ready, take them off the heat and set them aside.
3. Then take the boiled and drained beans put them in a serving dish and toss the fennel and onion with them. Sprinkle with kosher salt if desired.

Roasted Asparagus with Lemon

2-3 bundles of green Asparagus
Kosher Salt for Seasoning
Extra Virgin Olive Oil for Seasoning
1/2 Lemon

1. Rinse the asparagus and snap the ends off. You hold them across and then start to bend them, wherever the end snaps off you know that's where the freshness of the asparagus is. Put them on a roasting pan and sprinkle with olive oil and toss to coat. Then sprinkle with kosher salt.
2. Put in a 350 degree oven for 10-15 minutes or when they have desired doneness. Take them out and transfer them to serving dish. Take half of lemon and squeeze juice over them.

Mashed Red Potatoes with Green Onions

2 1/2 lbs. of red potatoes
Heavy cream
1/2 stick of softened butter
1/4 cup of green onions (Optional)
Kosher salt for seasoning

1. Wash the potatoes. You can either remove the skin or leave it on, I leave some... meaning that I will peal away all the blemishes only. Cut the potatoes in half so they will cook quicker. Place the cut potatoes in a pot of water and bring to a boil. Season the water with kosher salt and boil the potatoes at least for 15 minutes.
2. Drain the potatoes into a strainer and give them a few good shakes then transfer them back into the hot pot so the moisture can evaporate.
3. Add butter and start to mash them with a masher.
4. Use a hand mixer to mix the potatoes slowly adding the cream until you get the consistency you want. Add the green onions and sprinkle with salt and pepper to season. Use mixer one last time for only a couple of seconds until well blended. Serve in a serving dish.

Caprice Salad

3-4 large tomatoes
1 block of mozzarella cheese
1 bushel of fresh basil
Kosher salt for seasoning
Extra Virgin olive oil for seasoning

1. Cut the tomatoes into round slices.
2. Using a wire cheese cutter, cut the mozzarella cheese into slices.
3. On a large round plate first sprinkle with olive oil and then place a slice of cheese, then overlap with a slice of tomato and then a leaf of basil. Repeat until you have gone all around the plate making a colorful wreath. If there is room in the middle do the same overlapping series there or you can place something else there such as a dressing.
4. Sprinkle with some more olive oil and some kosher salt to season.

Wow! It's a wonder we didn't explode before we even had a guest show up between cleaning and cooking. My hands are perma-prunded from doing dishes on Saturday.

I didn't try the dip because I am not a fan of sour cream and mayonnaise, but it is usually a hit at parties. We made the green beans last Christmas and I liked them then and I liked them now as well. The asparagus was great and I find it to be one of my favorite vegetables these days. I always feel like a giant eating trees when I get to eat them. The mashed potatoes were great as always. Mashed potatoes are something that we make often. I didn't try the Caprice salad either because even though I don't mind tomatoes, I tend to not eat them whole. Just one in the line of many of my odd foibles.

I'll get into the goose and the desserts in my next post (I'm shooting for tomorrow).

Posted by Gordon at 02:14 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Tonight I am in baking mode. I have to cook 2 pies and 2 different kinds of cookies. Should be exhausting and exciting at the same time. I have never made a pie but I doubt it could be harder than the first cheesecake I made (that was a 4 hour marathon). As for the cookies, I am usually really good with those. I am one of those annoying attention to details people so baking is right up my alley and cookies tend to be on the easy side of baking.

Of course all this boasting will probably end up blowing up in my face and I will end up at Albertsons and Marie Calendar's tonight.

Here's a list of the recipes I will be making tonight:

Thick and Chewy Gingerbread Cookies
Sugar Cookies with Lime Essence
The Best Pumpkin Pie
Perfect Pecan Pie

Posted by Gordon at 11:28 AM | Permalink

Taco Bell has a set of commercials on TV right now selling their new enchilada burrito's. I find them very funny because if you put all of the filling and sauce inside of a flour tortilla, I would just call it a burrito. They are trying to convince me that somehow it is an enchilada and a burrito because they put a tomato based sauce inside of a regular burrito. Nice try.

But all those ads did do one thing, it made me really crave the chicken enchiladas my wife makes. We got the recipe out of one of our Cook's Illustrated books and it actually makes me forget that I prefer beef enchiladas. While she was cooking them this time around I was shocked to find out that I had yet to put the recipe up here. So without further delay here it is.

Chicken Enchiladas with Red Chile Sauce

Sauce and Filling
1 1/2 Tbsp vegetable oil or corn oil
1 medium onion, chopped fine
3 medium cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp table salt
2 tsp granulated sugar
4 boneless, skinless chicken thighs, trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1/4-inch-wide strips
1 15 oz can of tomato sauce
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese, grated

Tortillas and Toppings
10 corn tortillas (six-inch)
Vegetable cooking spray
3 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese (3/4 cup)

1. Adjust oven racks to upper and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 300 degrees.
2. Spray the tortillas with cooking spray and arrange on a baking sheet. Cook in the oven for 4 minutes and remove to a plate to cool. Note: this step helps the tortillas to become flexible and easier to work with. Increase oven temperature to 400 degrees when the tortillas are done.
3. Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat until hot and shimmering but not smoking, about 2 minutes; add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes.
4. Add garlic, chili powder, coriander, cumin, salt, and sugar; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
5. Add chicken and cook, stirring constantly, until coated with spices, about 30 seconds.
6. Add tomato sauce and 1/4 cup water; stir to separate chicken pieces. Bring to simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low; simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through and flavors have melded, about 8 minutes.
7. Pour mixture through medium-mesh strainer into medium bowl, pressing on chicken and onions to extract as much sauce as possible; set sauce aside. Transfer chicken mixture to large plate; freeze for 10 minutes to cool, then combine with cilantro, jalapenos, and cheese in medium bowl and set aside.
8. Smear entire bottom of 13 by 9-inch baking dish with 3/4 cup chili sauce.
9. Place 1/3 cup filling down center of each tortilla.
10. Roll each tortilla tightly by hand and place in baking dish, side by side, seam-side down.
11. Pour remaining chili sauce over top of enchiladas. Use back of spoon to spread sauce so it coats top of each tortilla.
12. Sprinkle 1/4 cup grated cheese down center of enchiladas.
13. Cover baking dish with foil. Bake enchiladas on lower-middle rack until heated through and cheese is melted, 20 to 25 minutes. Uncover and serve immediately.

This time around, Jennifer used chiken breasts instead of thighs. The results are still good but I think the dark meat of the thighs adds a really distict flavor that you just can't get out of white meat. Just my opinion though.

From reading the recipe online, they also say that you can substitute monterey jack for the cheddar and it will make the flavor a little creamier. We'll have to try that. Also the sauce is really good. Enchiladas were a staple of my childhood diet and I always loved the sauce my parents used. In the last few years the company that makes it started tweaking with the flavor and I had been looking for a good enchilada sauce ever since.

Posted by Gordon at 11:10 AM | Permalink

Howdy campers. Been awhile. Got busy at work and have started working out again so the time it do disappear quickly.

Jenn made up some Greek food last week. We are both fans of Greek food and Jenn has been making Dolmades (stuffed grape leaves) for quite awhile now. She pretty much made up the following recipe up herself. She says that she was inspired by a cross between the traditional Greek stuffed grape leaves and stuffed cabbage rolls. Whatever the inspiration is it's good stuff.

Dolmades: Stuffed Grape Leaves

1 jar of Grape Leaves
2 tbsp. of olive oil
1 red onion finely chopped
Large pinch of All Spice
1 tsp. of Cumin
Large pinch of nutmeg
2 Bay Leaves
1 lbs. of ground lamb
1 cup of short grain white rice
4 cloves of minced garlic
2 tbsp. of finely chopped fresh mint (or 1 teaspoon of dried crush mint)
2 tbsp. of finely chopped fresh parsley (or 1 teaspoon of dried parsley)
2 tbsp. of dried currents
1 whole lemon

1. Drain the liquid out of the grape leave jar and unroll the leaves. Submerge the grape leaves in warm water and soak for at least 15 minutes.
2. While the leaves are soaking take the chopped red onion and sauté in 1 tablespoon of olive oil on medium heat until slightly brown. When the onion starts to brown add the allspice, cumin and nutmeg and toss to coat and cook until fragrant (about 2 minutes). Transfer the cooked onion to a bowl and set aside.
3. Add the ground lamb, rice, garlic mint, parsley and currents to the onions and mix. If the onions are cool enough you can use your hands.
4. Take the grape leaves that are soaking and cut off the stems that are poking out of the bottom of the leaf. Lay it flat and take two tablespoons of the meat mixture and put in the center of the leaf. To roll, first fold in the two sides and then roll the leaf up starting from the bottom and up. Place the rolled grape leave in a deep-large cooking pan with the end of the fold facing down. Repeat, placing them tightly in the pan.
5. Fill the pan with enough water that it is slightly an inch above the stuffed leaves. Add the other tablespoon of olive oil, two bay leaves and squeeze the lemon juice in the water. Then take the remaining grape leaves you have left and place them over the stuffed grave leaves. Cover the pan with a lid and bring to a boil. Once boiling, lower the heat and let simmer for 1 hour and 15 minutes.
6. After the time is up, carefully remove the extra grape leaves you have placed on top and discard. Remove carefully because they are very fragile a this point.

Note: I like to serve these with Black Beans (make sure to heat and stir these on the stove for at least 10-15 minutes so they are nice and mushy.) I also serve this is Tubouli salad which you can now find at Trader Joes and it is really good as well as their roasted garlic hummus. We used to use heated pitas to dip in the hummus but now we have gotten addicted to the Pita chips that you can find at Albertsons or just about any store. Another things we serve sometime is Falafel. We really haven’t found mix that we like yet so we may have to try making some by scratch.

Posted by Gordon at 04:53 PM | Permalink