Something Seasonal

Pasta with Goat Cheese, Lemon and Asparagus

One of many great articles in Bon Appetit's June issue is titled, "15 Dishes in 15 Minutes." The other night I made the "Pasta with Goat Cheese, Lemon and Asparagus" and was very pleased. I would definitely make this dish again. The fresh tarragon garnish is a "must" and the lemon zest is a subtle hint of summer dishes to come.

Best of all, it was just as the article portrayed: super delicious, and so easy to make. It was great warmed up for lunch the next day and would even be good served room temperature. I have been craving asparagus ever since I started reading "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle," (a gift from Jared) and this dish definitely "did the trick."

I served the pasta along side a salad of mixed greens, gorgonzola, red onion, pecans, and cranberries, and drizzled it with Moosewood's "Versatile Vinagrette."  I never thought I'd be much for making my own salad dressing, but Jared made this vinagrette for me years ago and I'm a changed woman.  It's so simple and really yummy.

 

The Wente "Morning Fog" Chardonnay was a great pairing but I can't take any credit.  I know very little about wine (I'm working on it) but I knew I wanted a California Chardonnay.  I buy Wente wines whenever I can find them because they make me think about my hometown, Livermore CA. 

I definitely look forward to trying a few more dishes from the article. 1.) Because they look delicious and 2.) because I'm trying to show Jared that I can keep up with him.  :)

A Practice Ham Makes Perfect

Jared and I hosted my family for Easter this year.  The "big" holidays have become an excuse for Jared to engage in what could be described as "cooking benders."  He spends days (and nights) in the kitchen carefully planning and testing recipes.  I was elated when he started talking about the ham(s) he planned on making for the festive occasion.  Oh, and have I mentioned that I totally luuu-uve ham?  And come on, what's better than ham on Easter? 

After researching some recipes, Jared visited a local restaurant supply store for two Cambro containers: one 8 qt. and one 12 qt.  One of the recipes he chose directed him to place the ham in a 12 qt. container and fill it with three 2-liters of Coca-Cola Classic, some fresh garlic, a few bay leaves, salt and pepper.  The ham brined in the refrigerator overnight.  Ham bathed in Coke.  Ahhhhhhhh.  Next, Jared rubbed the ham with a mixture of fresh herbs and garlic.

Then he roasted the ham in a 350 degree oven, stopping every 45 minutes to generously glaze with a maple-orange marmalade.  I know, right?!?!??!

This first ham I'm describing was only one of three hams that Jared labored over that holiday weekend.  He prepared a "practice ham" to ensure he wouldn't let our guests down.  Needless to say, the ham(s) were RE-dic-ulous.  His own worst critic, Jared wasn't entirely pleased with the way they turned out.  I on the other hand, along with everyone else that had the distinct pleasure of savoring the moist, flavorful, food-coma inducing hams, thought they were some of the best I've ever eaten.  I realize I'm a bit biased, but really, how could a ham that was brined in Coca-Cola turn out bad?

Two hams, two glazes: Maple Orange Marmalade & Apple Cider Brown Sugar

Of course he couldn't stop with ham.  Much to my delight, he also made homemade dinner rolls.  They were SO good.

Jared's ham and dinner rolls may have taken "center stage,"  but there were a lot of other dishes that certainly deserve an "honorable mention."

My Auntie's "Heavenly Hash"
(a special request from her favorite niece)

Back left: Berg's Baked Beans; Front left: Mom's Deviled Eggs (with accidental red food coloring);
Front right: My Uncle's Sweet Potato Casserole - YUM!!

 

I made a family recipe - Macaroni Salad (simple but addicting!)

We had a great Easter!  The weather was perfect and the food was fabulous.  What more could you ask for?

Breakfast of Champions

Pecan Rum French Toast (Cooks Illustrated)

Last weekend when his friend came for a visit, Jared prepared a totally delicious breakfast.  I looooooove breakfast... but c'mon, who doesn't?

Glier's Goetta - YUM!

One of the coolest things about the breakfast?  Jared remembered the Goetta.  He picked some up at the store completely unprompted.  He's really becoming a Northern KY guy. 

 

The French Toast is made with Cinnamon Swirl bread!

 

Scrambled eggs with Scallions and Cream Cheese (Jared's signature recipe)

Cinnamon Rolls

For some reason, when everyone around me starts getting sick, I'm never better. But apparently my immune system likes to take a little vacation every time there's a change of season. A few days ago, Spring arrived, and predictably, I'm down for the count. Usually, a hot shower gives me just enough of a charge to propel me to my desk at work. Not today. When I woke at 5 am wide-eyed and hungover from knock-out cold medicine, I knew it wasn't going to happen for me.

I feel no shame in the fact that the next thought to cross my mind, as I was laying in bed staring at the ceiling, was how I was going to use the day to make cinnamon rolls. Maybe not the typical thought process of a young male planning his day away from the corporate world, but for this guy, assuming I could shake the medicine induced hangover, the opportunity was ripe for the picking. This has been a priority of mine for months, but it was never high enough on the list that I was willing to allocate an entire Saturday or Sunday; Too much to get done on those days. And it's not an overly challenging recipe, it's just one of those yeast bread recipes where you need 1-2 hours between steps. In the end, your always glad you did it, but since you have to plan your schedule around it it can be a pain in the ass. Normally, like most folks, I don't have the luxury to do that, but this was something that I needed to try, and now was the perfect time to do it. Everyone loves a good cinnamon roll, so if this went well, I would definitely be revisiting. I need a showstopper breakfast/brunch recipe that I can turn to if we're hosting people. People we want to come back that is. There are a bunch of quick breads, muffins, and other stuff like that I knew would could whip up in half the time. I needed to determine if the effort was justified by the final product.

It was.

Not that I expected less, but if the last step of the recipe - "Serve immediately" - was removed from the text and all you were allowed to do was sit there, look at, and smell them, I would still revisit this recipe - over an over again. If you're invited over for a long weekend and we like you, this is what you'll be waking up to.

Banana Cupcakes with Cinnamon Honey Frosting: Oh-my-friggin'-god Delicious

Having been a fan of the Wannabefoodies blog for a while now, I wanted to make sure my inaugural post was worthy. This recipe, fellow foodies, fit the bill. I found it while browsing through another favorite blog of mine; Honey and Jam.

But first, let me get this off my chest...

I have not always been a fan of Martha Stewart. Many of her recipes, that she touts as "good things" are anything but. They're overly complicated or elaborate, easy to screw up, and involved ingredients not easily found at your local grocery.

Maybe Martha saw the light, because this one is a winner.

Martha Stewart's recipe for Banana Cupcakes with Honey Cinnamon Frosting opened up my eyes to a whole new world of cupcakes. I will not, and cannot, return to the world of Betty Crocker or Duncan Hines.

To call the result a "cupcake" seems wrong however. The spongey, dense texture reminds me more of a slightly fluffy banana bread than of a cupcake. However, the presence of the honey cinnamon frosting decidedly takes this out of the "muffin" category and puts it in a whole new dimension. It's just something you have to try... too sweet to be a muffin, but too fulfilling to be a cupcake.

The frosting is.... Amazing. Stupendous. Incredible. I would recommend getting creative with this frosting and using it with other recipes. I personally decided to go with sourwood honey I picked up from the farmers market while visiting Raleigh-Durham North Carolina. The intricate flavor in the sourwood honey marries perfectly with the cinnamon.

A quick note: This recipe might by convertible to an incredible muffin if you add a bit of cinnamon to the cupcake batter, increase the flour content a bit and skip the frosting. I think these would taste marvelous with melted butter and honey drizzled on top... but I digress.

Banana Cupcakes with Cinnamon Honey Frosting

(makes 12)

dry ingredients:

• 1 1/2 cups All Purpose Flour (spooned and leveled)
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp salt

wet ingredients (mix together in a separate bowl):

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (melted)
• 1 1/2 cups mashed ripe bananas (approx 4)
• 2 large eggs (room temperature preferred)
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners.
2. Whisk all dry ingredients together in a large bowl. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients.
3. Mix wet ingredients together in a separate small bowl Once mixed, pour wet ingredients into the well you made in your dry ingredients.
4. Stir to incorporate the ingredients together. Do not over mix!
5. Spoon mixture evenly into the 12 muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean. Approx 25-30 minutes. Remove cupcakes from pan and let cool on a wire rack. Frost once cooled. If desired, garnish cupcakes with a small slice of banana before serving.

Honey Cinnamon Frosting

1 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 Tbsp honey (I prefer sourwood)

1/8 tsp cinnamon

Directions:

In a medium bowl, beat all ingredients with an electric mixer until smooth and airy. Approx 4-5 minutes.

Burger + Bun = Logical Progression

I have two specific wannabefoodie goals that I've been working on since last summer. One, as you may have guessed from the disproportionate number of posts on the subject, is bread. Sierra and I have been learning about and perfecting the process of making our own so as to free ourselves permanently from the commercial supply chain (with the exception of some local, artisanal bakers). The other goal, which I'm just now beginning to explore: hamburgers. Now that we have some space to put it, we've got a charcoal grill on our shortlist and we're expecting big things. I've been secretly plotting the All-American Meal of Meals behind Sierra's back.

Picture this: The end of a hot July Saturday, relaxing on the deck. The light just beginning to soften as the sun sets. A pitcher of fresh-squeezed lemonade. The lingering smell of hamburger buns, baked fresh that morning, at first blending with and then overcome by the familiar scent of charcoal. The sizzle of beef as it is gently placed on the fiery grill. A layout of farm-fresh vegetables - lettuce, onions - and sliced, homegrown tomatoes. Crumbles of aged cheddar gently melted on top, lightly toasted rolls lathered with homemade, herb infused, mayonnaise. Assembly. The first bite.

Give me a break, right?

Project Bread is going well for us. I'm confident the hamburger buns I speak of will soon become a reality. But the hamburgers themselves will have to wait. We're at that stage again where the weather is nice enough, long enough, to get you comfortable with the idea of no more winter. But I'm from New England, and Cincinnati isn't much different, so I've got the sense not to get lulled into thinking that 70 degrees is here to stay; Not yet. If I didn't, that grill would be ours right now, and I'd be staring out the window like a kid with his baseball glove, wondering if the rain would break so I could go to my little league game. It's better, for a number of reasons, that we haven't bought that grill yet. Sierra and I tend to loose ourselves a bit with the promise of a good meal: on a day like today (rainy/cold), given the right set of conditions, I wouldn't put it past us to talk ourselves into hauling that grill indoors. Obvious ramifications.

With a little restraint, the testing phase will have to wait. However, the reconnaissance need not. Which explains our visit to Terry's Turf Club (Yelp|Urban Spoon) in Cincinnati. Huge, fresh, reasonably priced. Damn good burger. Thick-sliced, crisp bacon. Awesome french fries. Instantly on my top 5 burger-joint list. We will go back again and we will stand in line if need be (and probably). Insert this burger into my summertime fantasy above, and I would be happy man. Although I still think I can do better. Should have a good time during our "testing".

Here's my motivation:

Terry's Turf Club

3 ingredients = a classic combination and a delicious treat

On Saturday night Jared made us a terrific snack with a mere three ingredients.  This is great for single people or couples because it's relatively inexpensive (with the exception of the 4-year-old cheddar which I suggest not "scrimping on" due to its intense flavor.  It really sets the whole thing off, although any good quality cheddar will do.)  I suppose I have become somewhat of a "cheese snob."

A classic combo of apples and cheese is the perfect topping for a crusty, chewy baguette.  

1. Slice a french baguette in half lengthwise.  
2. Core and slice an apple (about 1/2 inch slices) of your favorite variety (I like Honey Crisp or Pink Ladies best).  
3. Grate or use your knife to take a few hunks out of some good quality white cheddar.
4. Spread the apple slices over the bread evenly, top the apples with the cheese (be as liberal as you'd like.  Part of the joy of cooking -  you decide how much cheese!!).
5. Toast in the oven under the broiler until the cheese melts and turns slightly brown on the corners.  
6. Take a bite while it's warm and melty from the oven.  :)
   

If you don't enjoy this, you're nuts.  Really, you've gotta try this combination, it's easy and totally delicious.