Forks Knives & Spades

Stuffed Peppers

2011-11-03T17:00:00.000-04:00

I'm sorry. I apologize for this super-long hiatus in posting. Life has been, shall we say, really effing crazy lately. I've barely had time to piss, let alone cook, photograph, and blog about some amazing foods. I feel bad about the time that has passed since our last encounter. It's way too long in my book, really. Oh, FKS blog, how I've missed you.

As some of you know, I've started working again. This was totally unplanned and quite the surprise. I really love my job but working coupled with three kids, soccer practice and games, homecoming dances, band rehearsal and gigs, HOA duties, and just basically having a life is a difficult balance for me. I don't know how you people do it. I know there are bloggers out there who work full time, have 7 kids, a spouse, and a house full of animals and still manage to post 5 days a week. Good luck to them and their blood pressure.

So here we are with a fantastic recipe for stuffed peppers. I actually had never eaten them until I made this recipe. Therefore, I don't have a great control for what they're supposed to taste like. All I know is that these are damn good.

The peppers are creamy and silky. The stuffing is hearty and flavorful. The sauce tastes like it's been simmering on Grandma's stove for 15 hours. The best part is they cook in the slow-cooker for hours until perfection. Really delicious on a chilly autumn evening. It appears I've really been missing out all these years.

Stuffed Peppers
Serves 4

4 bell peppers - red, orange, and/or yellow
1-1/2 c. low-sodium chicken broth
3/4 c. arborio rice
8 oz. hot Italian sausage, casings removed
2 onions, chopped fine
6 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 t. dried oregano
1/8 t. crushed red pepper flakes
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
2-1/2 oz. grated Parmesan cheese (1-1/4 c.)
2 T. chopped fresh basil

Slice off the top half-inch of the peppers. Seed the inside of the pepper cups. Chop the pepper tops, excluding the stem. In a large microwavable bowl, microwave the broth and rice for 13-15 minutes, until tender.

Meanwhile, cook the sausage in a large non-stick skillet until browned. Drain, reserving fat in skillet. Put sausage in the large bowl with the cooked rice.

Add onion and chopped pepper to skillet and cook until browned, 8-10 minutes. Add garlic, oregano, pepper flakes, and season with salt and pepper. Cook 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, bring to a boil, and remove from heat.

Mix 1 cup of sauce and 1 cup cheese with the rice and sausage. Pour the rest of the sauce into the slow-cooker. Using a skewer, poke 4 holes in the bottom of each pepper cup. Fill each one with the sausage mixture. Place in slow-cooker. Top each pepper with the remaining cheese. Cover and cook on low for 4 to 4-1/2 hours until peppers are tender.

Once done, remove peppers to a plate. Stir in the fresh basil to the sauce in the slow-cooker and serve with peppers.

Recipe from Cook's Country August/September '11

Hard Candy

2011-09-27T08:35:00.000-04:00

I fondly remember my mom making lollipops in various flavors for us as kids. My favorite flavors were the cinnamon ones but I also loved the root beer flavor. I recently got into making hard candy, and the candies I made here are lemon flavor. I haven't made a career out of making hard candy, and honestly never could, but it's an easy and fun way to make some yummy candies at home.

I learned the hard way how bloody hot the syrup is. Molten sugar on your skin basically feels like you've just poured lava on yourself. It's not such a good feeling so please be super careful.

There are so many flavor options as well. I get my flavoring, which come in drams (single recipe servings), and candy molds from LorAnn. I get my lollipop sticks from a craft store.

They have a million different flavors such as blueberry, caramel, cinnamon, cherry, root beer, strawberry, peppermint, and blackberry. The coloring is just basic food coloring available at the supermarket.

The molds I use are for both lollipops and jewels. Lollipops are fun to make for the kiddos. You can also package them in a cellophane bag and tie with a pretty ribbon for a cute gift or party favor.

Hard Candy

2 c. sugar
2/3 c. light corn syrup
3/4 c. water
1 dram (1 t.) flavoring
couple drops food coloring
candy thermometer (if you have one)
powdered sugar (optional)

Lightly oil molds or a baking sheet (for randomly shaped pieces).

In a large saucepan, mix sugar, corn syrup, and water. Over medium heat, stir until sugar dissolves. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to a boil without stirring.

When syrup reaches 260*, add a few drops of food coloring.

Don't stir the mixture. The boiling will distribute the coloring.

It really won't take long for the color to work it's way through.

If you don't have a candy thermometer, you can test the doneness of the syrup by dropping a few drops of syrup into cold water.

If it forms hard, brittle threads in the cold water, it's ready.

If you have a candy thermometer, you're looking for 300*. When you reach this stage, remove pan from heat. When the boiling stops, add the flavoring and stir. Be careful because sometimes it will bubble up and the steam can be pretty potent, especially if you're using a strong flavor like cinnamon.

Pour syrup into molds or baking sheet. If you use a baking sheet, you can score shapes with a knife after it sets up a bit.

When cool, break apart pieces of candy. You can dust the pieces lightly with powdered sugar to prevent them sticking together as you store them. Keep in airtight container.

Enjoy your old fashioned hard candy!

Strawberry Shortcake with Buttery Pound Cake

2011-09-10T16:53:00.000-04:00

You know how every once in a while you have those amazing moments with your children that make all the bullshit worthwhile? I had one of those a few weeks ago with my 8-year old daughter. It's probably not what you think. She did not form a charity for autism. Nor did she save a baby from a burning building. However, what she did was remarkable all the same.

My daughter asked to make Strawberry Shortcake together - from scratch!! Yes, she specifically said, "Can we make strawberry shortcake but make it all from scratch? Like the cake and the whipped cream and macerate (although she pronounced it mask-er-ite) the strawberries?" This will go down in the history of our family as one of my proudest moments as a mom. I've officially succeeded in making my kids food snobs. Mama couldn't be prouder.

My other daughter, who is almost 7, loves to cook too so we three piled into my sexy mini-van and headed to the store. The girls sliced the strawberries, measured the ingredients, and added sugar to the cream as it whipped. It took for-bloody-ever, and as always it's a lesson in patience to cook with kids. But it was one of those shining times I'll always treasure.

Strawberry Shortcake with Buttery Pound Cake
Serves 6 (healthy sized portions)

2 lbs. strawberries, hulled, cored, sliced
2 T. sugar

2 sticks butter
6 eggs
2 t. vanilla
1-3/4 c. cake flour
1/2 t. table salt
1-1/4 c. sugar

1 c. heavy cream
1/4 c. sugar
1 t. vanilla

Mix sliced strawberries and sugar in a bowl. Set aside, covered.

Cut butter into chunks and place in bowl of electric mixer. You want to bring this to just below room temp. Beat lightly 3 whole eggs, 3 egg yolks, and vanilla in a liquid measuring cup. Set aside to come to room temp with the butter.

Heat oven to 325*. Butter and flour a 9x5 inch loaf pan.

Using the paddle attachment, beat butter and salt for 2-3 minutes, until shiny and smooth, scraping down sides. Very slowly pour 1-1/4 c. sugar into bowl while running on medium high speed. Let it run for 5-8 minutes, scraping down sides as necessary. You're looking for a very pale, fluffy butter mixture. Turn machine to medium and very slowly pour egg mixture into bowl, scraping down sides. Turn to med-high and let run for 3-4 minutes. It's ok if it looks slightly curdled.

In three additions, sift the cake flour over the bowl and fold into the butter mixture with a spatula. Don't over-mix or the cake will end up tough.

Pour into loaf pan and smooth top. Bake 70-80 minutes until golden brown and passes the toothpick test. Let cool in pan on wire rack for 15 minutes. Turn out and flip so it's right side up on wire rack and let cool 2 hours before slicing.

To assemble Strawberry Shortcakes:

Place cream in clean bowl of mixer. With whisk attachment, beat until it starts to increase in volume. Add the vanilla and slowly add the sugar until stiff peaks form.

Place one or two slices of pound cake on plate. Top with macerated strawberries and a dollop of whipped cream.

Recipe for pound cake adapted from Cook's Illustrated

Corn Chowder

2011-09-04T13:37:00.000-04:00

This summer my addiction to corn has reached new heights. I've eaten so much corn this season I'm pretty sure I'm single-handedly supporting the local farmers. I've had friends from the past and co-workers emailing me corn recipes (all of which look delicious). The old lady who sells corn at the end of her farm's driveway has become my new best friend.

When I lived in France, I craved corn something fierce. Maybe it was my Indiana roots calling me. Or perhaps it's because so many French people see corn as only a salad topping or feed for the pigs. I've since made up for losing those 3 years of daily corn.

Summer and hot soup don't really seem to go together. However, there is nothing better than farm-fresh sweet corn in a steaming bowl of Corn Chowder on a stormy night. We pair it with a crusty baguette (but then again we pair almost everything with bread). This chowder is thick and rich and very corny. So many chowders are overwhelmed by potato flavor, but not this one. The trick is (gasp!) pureeing canned corn and adding in fresh from-the-cob corn for the, well, fresh corn flavor. You'll also use the naked cobs to thicken the chowder.

Corn Chowder
Serves 6-8

6 ears corn
2 (15 oz.) cans whole kernel corn, drained (I like Libby's Organic)
5 c. low-sodium chicken broth
5 slices center-cut bacon (or 3 regular)
1 onion, chopped
1 lb. red potatoes, scrubbed and diced 1/2-inch
1 c. heavy cream
4 scallions, sliced thin

Cut kernels from cobs. An easy way to do this is to cut off one end, set the cob upright, and carefully slice kernels off. Keep both the kernels and cobs.

Puree the cans of corn in a blender with 2 cups of chicken broth until smooth.

Cook bacon in Dutch oven until crisp. Transfer bacon to paper towel-lined plate. Cook onion, corn kernels, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in the bacon grease until softened and golden.

Add potatoes, corn puree, remaining 3 cups broth, and cobs to Dutch oven and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Remove and throw away cobs. Stir in cream, scallions, and bacon. Season to taste.

Recipe adapted from Cook's Country June/July 09

Cherry Tomato Salads ~ Caprese and Tuscan

2011-08-26T08:18:00.000-04:00

I'm going to apologize now for yet another tomato recipe. I have so many from the garden it seems it's all we eat anymore and I'm always looking for new ways to prepare and showcase them. For some damn reason, I decided to plant 32 tomato plants, 16 of which are cherry tomato varieties. I mean, really. Who can eat that many cherry tomatoes? It seems we can. You know how babies who eat too much squash get orange skin? I'm pretty sure we five will turn red any day now.

I sent my almost-7 year old daughter out to pick some "little tomatoes" for me and she came back with a shitload. There went the old salad topping idea. Instead I was forced to make the tomatoes the base for the salad. And I'm so glad I did.

I made two different kinds on two different nights. That's why some of the photos look bad ~ the fact that we were eating it at 9:30 pm really blew for lighting. I've done my amateur best to make them look presentable but they still look terrible. Sorry.

I used what my daughter picked, which was a combination of Sungold (the orange ones), Sweet Million, and Sugary.

The two tomato salads I made were a Caprese and a Tuscan salad. Both delicious but the Tuscan one was particularly yummy with the addition of creamy cannellini beans. Once you get the basic idea, it's a breeze to come up with new flavors.

Caprese Cherry Tomato Salad
Serves 4 for side ~or~ 2 for a meal
40 minutes

2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 t. sugar
1 T. balsamic vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
2 T. olive oil
8 oz. fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1 c. torn fresh basil

Toss tomatoes, sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Let macerate for 30 minutes. Dump the tomatoes and any juice into a salad spinner and spin to dry tomatoes. Save that precious liquid though! Return tomatoes to bowl. Strain tomato liquid over a small saucepan to remove seeds.

Add vinegar and garlic to tomato liquid and simmer until reduced to 3 or 4 tablespoons. Cool to room temp. Whisk in oil.

Add cheese, basil, and vinegar/juice mixture to tomatoes in bowl. Toss and season.

Tuscan Cherry Tomato Salad
Serves 4 for side ~or~ 2 for a meal
40 minutes

2 pints cherry or grape tomatoes, halved

1/2 t. sugar

1 T. red wine vinegar

1 garlic clove, minced

2 T. olive oil

1/2 c. shaved Parmesan

1 T. minced fresh rosemary

1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed

Toss tomatoes, sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in a bowl. Let macerate for 30 minutes. Dump the tomatoes and any juice into a salad spinner and spin to dry tomatoes. Save that precious liquid! Return tomatoes to bowl. Strain tomato liquid over a small saucepan to remove seeds.

Add vinegar and garlic to tomato liquid and simmer until reduced to 3 or 4 tablespoons. Cool to room temp. Whisk in oil.

Add cheese, rosemary, beans, and vinegar/juice mixture to tomatoes in bowl. Toss and season.

Adapted from Cook's Country 2009

Cheese Crostini with Anchovy Herb Butter

2011-08-20T09:17:00.000-04:00

Let it be known that I hate fish. I despise the taste of fish, the look of fish with their beady eyes and hard mouths and scales and fins, the smell of fish which makes me gag, the fact that they swim and don't have arms and legs, the nasty water they live in, the tiny bones, and the open gaping mouths. Don't get me wrong - I think some of them are beautiful and I always feel sorry for them when they have a big hook crammed in their bleeding mouths.

So why the hell am I writing about a fish recipe? Because I'm an outside-the-box kinda gal. Oh, and I have been craving anchovies for years now but never had the balls to actually do anything about it.

I've been told that someone who hates anchovies has only had the slimy pizza topping ones. I was willing to try a new way of eating them as long as I could do it myself. I couldn't trust my first (as an adult) anchovy experience to be handled by anyone else. I had to make sure I knew each and every component that went into this food.

Can I say that I was blown away by this appetizer? I had my doubts but damn, it is good! The herbs impart a freshness and the cheese is bland enough not to overpower the strong herb and anchovy taste. Please try this dish, even if you hate fish with a passion like I do. You'll be pleasantly surprised.

Cheese Crostini with Anchovy Herb Butter
Serves 4 for an appetizer

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter
4 anchovy fillets, drained and chopped
4 T. Italian flat-leaf parsley
2 t. chopped fresh thyme
2-3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 t. grated lemon zest
1/4 t. red pepper flakes
1/2 baguette, sliced
1 c. grated Provolone

Pre-heat oven to 425*.

Melt the butter in small saucepan over medium heat. Add the anchovies and stir until they dissolve. That will take about 3 minutes. Add the herbs, garlic, lemon zest, and red pepper flakes.

Place baguette slices on a baking sheet. Spread/brush herb butter over each piece. Sprinkle with the cheese. Bake until the cheese is melted and bread edges are golden brown, about 10-12 minutes.

Recipe adapted from Giada De Laurentis's recipe

Tomato Pie

2011-08-14T15:35:00.000-04:00

Last night, I met a fantastic group of women. My friend A hosted a slumber party for 6 of her friends. There were no kids and no men. And lots of booze. There was a massage therapist there to work out the kinks and a pool to laze by. And piña coladas and martinis and margaritas. Each of us contributed to the meal - a baked potato bar with homemade garden salsa and other fixin's, fresh salad with home-grown tomatoes and hot peppers, luscious desserts, and plenty of alcohol. Have I mentioned that already??

I opted to bring a tomato pie as I have an abundance of the fruit staring me in the face. It was a hit. In fact, the slice in the photos was the last man standing. We women - all mothers, all wives, and all who have seen their fair share of tragedy, ate until we could burst. And then we drank some more.

A big-ass storm came through and interrupted our poolside chatting, but after it left the area, we were given a little gift in the form of a double rainbow. The lower rainbow got super bright so I had to photograph it.

Tomato Pie is a great way to use up extra tomatoes from the garden or the ones you buy from the old lady at the end of her driveway selling them for $1 a pound. Either way, because tomato is the star ingredient here, don't buy some shitty supermarket tomatoes that are spotty pink on the outside and mealy and flavorless on the inside. Heirlooms are the best, however I realize they are hard to find.

You could take a spin on the recipe below and change it up a bit to suit your tastes. Instead of cheddar, use Monterey Jack and add some minced jalapeños for a southwestern kick. Or use shredded mozzarella and fresh basil for an Italian style pie.

The women I laughed and cried with last night (J, A, K, L, T, and of course A) are truly remarkable ladies and I'm happy to have shared time with them.

Tomato Pie
Serves 8
1 hr plus cooling time

2 pie dough rounds (I used 1 package Pillsbury)
2 lbs. tomatoes, cored and sliced 1/4" thick
1/2 t. salt
1/4 c. mayonnaise
4 t. cornstarch
1-1/2 c. shredded sharp cheddar
4 scallions, sliced thin

Roll dough into 12-inch circles. I rolled the Pillsbury ones out slightly as well. Place one in a 9-inch pie dish and cover with plastic wrap. Place the second dough round on plastic wrap and cover with plastic on top. Refrigerate both for 30 minutes.

Meanwhile, place sliced tomatoes on a paper towel lined baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and let drain for 30 minutes. Blot with paper towels until they look pretty dry.

With oven rack on lowest position, place a baking sheet in the oven and heat to 450*. The hot baking sheet will help seal and brown the bottom crust.

Mix mayo, cornstarch, and 1 cup of cheese. Sprinkle remaining 1/2-cup cheese on bottom of dough in the pie plate. Layer 1/3 of the tomatoes on top of the cheese. Spread half the mayo cheese mixture on top of the tomatoes and top with half the scallions. Add another 1/3 of tomatoes and top with the mayo cheese mixture, then the rest of the scallions. Place the remaining tomatoes on top.

Place the other dough round on top of the pie, trim edges, fold, and crimp. Cut 4 ovals in the top of the pie to allow the steam to vent. Place pie on hot baking sheet. Bake 10 minutes. Lower oven temperature to 325* and bake until crust is golden brown, 30 minutes for store-bought dough and 40 minutes for homemade. Cool for 3 hours on wire rack. Serve at room temp.

Recipe adapted from Cooks' Country 2009

Fried Green Tomatoes with Chipotle Buttermilk Dip

2011-08-10T06:26:00.000-04:00

As many of you know, I have a garden full of damn tomatoes. Like totally full. I planted 32 tomato plants and found many rogue ones sprouting up as well. It's a jungle in there. Since I got a late start planting, as many of us did due to heavy rains and cool weather, I didn't have any freshly ripened red tomatoes by mid-July as I normally do. Seeing these huge tomato tentacles with a million unripe tomatoes on them, screaming na-na-na-na-boo-boo, pissed me off. What did I do? I fought back.

I marched my ass out into their territory and, with fists on hips, (silently) said a little, "Screw you. I'm going to eat you now. Even though you're not ready, I am." I plucked a few of those big, hard, green orbs in a huff and turned on my heel and stormed back inside. And with the acquired enemy material, I set off to make some Fried Green Tomatoes with Chipotle Buttermilk Dip.

My husband had never eaten fried green tomatoes until that night. The poor soul grew up in California so had never experienced this southern delight. Truth be told, we northerners didn't partake either, but I had at least eaten them before. Each time I had consumed these gems, I liked them but knew they could be better.

The tartness of the unripe tomato comes out warm and silky after frying. The contrast in textures is unreal - the creamy tomatoes paired with the crunch of the coating is to die for. Add a spicy chipotle buttermilk dip and you're set for an evening of pure southern deliciousness.

So for those of you who still have green tomatoes mocking you from your garden, or are salivating so greatly at the thought that you're planning on donning a ghillie suit and raiding your neighbor's garden, try this out. You won't be disappointed.

Fried Green Tomatoes with Chipotle Buttermilk Dip
Serves 2 for a meal ~or~ 4 for a side

1-1/2 lbs. green tomatoes (4-5 large)
2/3 c. cornmeal
1/3 c. flour
1-1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
1/4 t. cayenne pepper
2/3 c. buttermilk
1 egg
2 c. vegetable or peanut oil
3 large chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced
1 t. buttermilk
1/2 c. sour cream
pinch Kosher salt

Slice tomatoes 1/4" thick. Place flat on a paper towel-lined baking sheet. Cover with another layer of paper towels and let sit 20 minutes. Pat dry.

Meanwhile, zip 1/3 cup cornmeal in a food processor until ground finely. Mix ground cornmeal, cornmeal, flour, salt, pepper, and cayenne in a shallow dish. In another shallow dish, whisk 2/3 cup buttermilk and egg.

One at a time, dip a tomato slice in the buttermilk mixture, then in the cornmeal mixture, pressing to adhere. Place on clean baking sheet as you continue with the rest.

Heat oil in large skillet to 350*. Fry the tomato slices in the oil, being careful not to crowd the pan. They will fry about 2-3 minutes per side until golden brown. Place on a rack set inside baking sheet. Feel free to place in a warm 200* oven while you fry the rest.

Mix the chipotles, buttermilk, sour cream, and pinch of salt in a small bowl. Thin with additional buttermilk if you'd like.

FGT Recipe adapted from Cook's Country

Tropical Oatmeal Brulee with Ginger-Orange Cream

2011-08-04T16:40:00.000-04:00

I have been craving oatmeal lately and wanted a "summery" way to eat it. I usually gorge on the good stuff during fall and winter so I thought making a tropical fruit oatmeal would make it seem more appropriate for the season. Well, it is delicious but it's also heavy and rich.

As my friend and taste-tester H.G. pointed out, this would also be fabulous as a dessert topped with vanilla bean ice cream or whipped cream.

In my version, I use dried mango, papaya, raisins, pineapple, and coconut. And I use fresh mango for the surprise bottom layer. However, you can sub in whatever fruits you'd like to. Any sort of fresh berries would be great with dried apricots, cherries, or cranberries. Go crazy, friends!

Tropical Oatmeal Brulee with Ginger-Orange Cream
Makes 4 servings
Time: 30-40 min.

Ginger-Orange Cream:
1/2 c. heavy cream
1" knob of fresh ginger, peeled and sliced into 4 pieces
1 cinnamon stick
1 T. orange zest
3 T. pure maple syrup
1/4 t. ground nutmeg

Oatmeal:
4 c. water
2 c. old-fashioned oats (not instant)
1/2 c. dried fruit, chopped (I use pineapple, mango, papaya, raisins, and coconut)
1/2 t. salt
3 T. brown sugar, packed
1 c. fresh or frozen fruit, thawed (I use mango)
1/4 c. sugar
butter for ramekins

Bring the cream, ginger, cinnamon, and zest to a boil in a saucepan. Reduce heat and cover, simmering for 10 minutes. Strain infused cream and discard solids. Stir in the maple syrup and nutmeg.

Bring the water to a boil in a large saucepan. Turn heat to medium, and add the oats, dried fruit, and salt, stirring for 5 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in brown sugar and 1/4 c. of the ginger-orange cream. Cover and let stand 5 minutes.

Grease four 10-oz. ramekins with butter and add the fresh mango to the bottom.

Pre-heat broiler and place ramekins on baking sheet lined with foil for easy clean up. Fill ramekins with oatmeal. Sprinkle tops with sugar. Broil until sugar is caramelized. Serve with ginger-orange cream (or ice cream or whipped cream).

If you have any fresh ginger left over, go ahead and make a simple syrup infused with ginger for a delicious Ginger Vodka Tonic.

Pecorino Romano Caprese Pasta

2011-07-31T10:13:00.001-04:00

Another of my addictions, in addition to corn, is cheese. The stinkier, moldier, smellier, the better. One of my favorites is Pecorino Romano. When it's real - that is to say imported from Italy with the stamping on the rind to prove it - it's outrageously pungent and flavorful. It smells a bit like a boy's locker room filled with sweaty feet. Which means it's damn good.

Even though it is so bloody hot outside my corn is actually turning into popcorn right there on the stalks, I'm a bit tired of grilling. Well, not grilling per se; I'm just over eating a ton of meat, which we tend to do during the summer.

I wanted to add a bit of my garden to the pasta so I decided to saute some cherry tomatoes with garlic. I cut up some basil to add some bright freshness to the somewhat heavy pasta. You will need the Pecorino Romano grated finely, which you can do on the small holes on a box grater or (as I did) cut it into chunks and zip it in the food processor.

The rich, creamy sauce gets it's heft from the pasta water itself. Normally, we cook pasta in tons of water to give it room to dance and twirl around in the pot. This recipe uses very little water to concentrate the starches released by the pasta. It goes against what we've always been taught but it works to our advantage here.

Pecorino Romano Caprese Pasta
Serves 4-6

4 oz. Pecorino Romano cheese, finely grated (about 2 c.)
1 lb. thin spaghetti
1-1/2 t. table salt
2 T. heavy cream
2 t. olive oil
1/4 t. pepper
1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
2 t. olive oil
4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
8-10 large basil leaves

After grating the cheese, place it in a medium bowl. Put a colander in a large bowl to collect the pasta water.

Bring 2 quarts water (measure it!) to boil in large stock pot or dutch oven. Add 1-1/2 teaspoons salt and pasta. Stir frequently so it doesn't stick, until cooked. Drain pasta into colander, keeping the cooking water. Measure out 1-1/2 cups pasta water and throw out the rest. Put the pasta in the large bowl that is now empty.

Meanwhile, heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in saucepan. Add cherry tomatoes and cook over medium heat until starting to burst. Add garlic and saute another few minutes until garlic begins to brown.

Slowly whisk 1 cup of the pasta water into the cheese until smooth. Whisk in cream, 2 teaspoons oil, and pepper. Add cheese sauce to pasta and toss to coat. Let sit another minute to absorb sauce. Add remaining 1/2 cup reserved pasta water if needed, mixing as you go.

Stack basil leaves , roll up, and slice into thin strips.

Serve pasta topped with tomatoes and fresh basil.

Recipe somewhat adapted America's Test Kitchen

Grilled Beef Kebabs

2011-07-24T11:20:00.001-04:00

Last night we took the girls and a friend to dinner at a pub. This place is a total hole in the wall. It's old and the furniture looks like it was purchased in 1968. There are neon beer signs everywhere, as well as shuffleboard games and pool tables. The clientele usually go there to drink but they really do have killer chicken tenders (brined, hand-battered and deep fried to order).

We arrive and our 6-year old daughter says to the waitress, "My seat is dirty." Well, cupcake, that's because the bench has probably been sticky for about 17 years now.

A man, complete with tattoos, piercings, and a shaved head walks by and she says very loudly (due to her hearing issues), "That man is creepy!" Luckily he didn't turn around and cold-cock my daughter (or husband) and simply chuckled to himself. Good thing it was only 6:30 and he hadn't had time to get too much of his drink on.

We all know what kebabs are, right? So we also all know how they usually end up - overcooked meat with undercooked vegetables. Or charred veggies and flavorless meat. Not these, my friends! Before I begin with the recipe, we're going to have a little kebab cutting lesson, if you don't mind.

Peppers

Cut off the top.

Cut off the bottom.

Slice down one side, cut out seeds and ribs.
Lay flat like a book and cut into chunks.

Pineapple

Cut the top off.

Slice down the sides to remove the skin.

Cut in half, then cut planks around fiber core.

Fruit and Vege Marinade

Beef

Cut into 1-1/2 " cubes, then cut through
the middle almost all the way through.

Grilled Beef Kebabs

Serves 4-6

Marinade

1/4 c. olive oil

5 cloves garlic, minced

3/4 t. table salt

1/2 t. pepper

2 lbs. chuck blade roast (about 2" thick), cut into 1-1/2" to 2" cubes, then cut thru again (see above)

Veggies and Fruit

1 pineapple, peeled, cut into chunks (see above) *You will only use half the pineapple for this recipe.

1 red pepper, cut into chunks (see above)

1 orange or yellow pepper, cut into chunks (see above)

2 T. olive oil

1 red onion, ends trimmed, peeled, halved, cut into chunks

Combine oil, garlic, salt and pepper in a Ziploc bag. Add meat and marinade for 1-24 hours in refrigerator.

Toss pineapple and peppers with 1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil in medium bowl. Season to taste with salt and pepper. With onions, brush with remaining oil. Season as well.

Take the meat out of the fridge and allow to come to room temperature. If you are using wooden skewers, soak them in water for half an hour while the meat comes to room temp.

Pre-heat the grill on high heat. Meanwhile, assemble the kebabs by threading a piece of pineapple, onion, meat (skewering it as if it was not cut almost in half), each kind of pepper, and repeat. Brush any remaining oil over skewers.

Grill kebabs covered over high heat until meat is well browned and marked, anywhere from 8-10 minutes total, turning kebabs to get all sides.

Recipe adapted from Cook's Illustrated May 2000

Huli Huli Chicken

2011-07-20T21:17:00.000-04:00

I've never been to Hawaii. So I'd never experienced the delicious Huli Huli Chicken of the tropical state. Typically they roast the split chickens on huge rotisseries and are continuously turned over hot coals and smoking special Hawaiian wood called kiawe. While on a recent family trip to Gatlinburg, my cousin Chad (who is fondly known as Choo Choo) made an easier version of Huli Huli Chicken for dinner one night.

I've talked about my family a bit before in other posts, so for those loyal followers out there, you know how much I love them. We are spread all over the country, and even the world, and we try hard to get as many of us together as often as we can. We decided over Christmas that we'd plan a summertime family trip to Gatlinburg, Tennessee.

It was amazing. We rented a chalet (Gatlinburg talk for a pimped-out log cabin) and decided we would have to check all electronics at the door. This rule in place because the men-folk, and a few of us women, tend to spend our quality family time in front of a lighted screen. There were 9 adults (including our teenage son) so we divided up the cooking for each night. Chad's night was a masterpiece called Huli Huli Chicken.

This chicken is sticky and smoky and flavorful. The marinade keeps the chicken moist and flavored throughout. The glaze is sweet and spicy and tangy. Try it paired with Hawaiian Pasta Salad for a tropical treat.

Keep in mind the photos in this post are of a large amount of Huli Huli Chicken and it's ingredients. He was feeding a crowd, after all. He suggests doubling the sauce and adding more garlic, but I've put the original recipe below. Also, he used chicken parts rather than whole chickens split in half.

Huli Huli Chicken
Serves 4 to 6

Chicken
2 qts. water
2 c. soy sauce
1 T. vegetable oil
6 garlic cloves, minced
1 T. grated fresh ginger
8 lbs. chicken, bone-in parts

Glaze
3 (6-oz.) cans pineapple juice
1/4 c. packed light brown sugar
1/4 c. soy sauce
1/4 c. ketchup
1/4 c. rice vinegar
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 T. grated fresh ginger
2 t. Asian chili-garlic sauce
2 c. Mesquite wood chips

Combine water and soy sauce in large bowl. Heat oil in large saucepan over med-high heat until oil is shimmering. Cook garlic and ginger 30 seconds. Remove from heat and stir into soy sauce mixture. Add the chicken and marinate in the refrigerator, covered, for 1-8 hours.

Mix together all glaze ingredients (except the wood chips, of course) in an large empty saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium and simmer until thick and syrupy, which takes about 25 minutes, unless you double the sauce like Chad. In that case, it'll take a lot longer.

Meanwhile, soak the wood chips in water for 15 minutes and drain. Place in foil packet or aluminum loaf pan, sealed with foil, and poked with holes.

On your grill, make sure to open the bottom vents to allow for good smoke circulation. Light coals in chimney and spread over the bottom of the grill when covered with grey ash. Arrange the wood chips packets directly on the coals. Put grill plate back in place, cover with vent halfway open, until hot. After about 5 minutes, the wood chips will begin to smoke.

If you're using a gas grill, put your packet directly on primary burner. Heat all burners on high, with cover on, until the smoke pours out (about 15 minutes). Then turn all burners to med-low.

Don't forget to scrape and oil your grill grates!

Remove chicken from the brine and pat dry. Put chicken on the grill, not directly over the wood chip packets, skin side up.

Grill covered (ignore the foil-wrapped corn cobs above) until chicken is browned on bottom, about 20 to 30 minutes. Flip chicken over and cover grill again. The skin will crisp up and brown. You want the thigh meat to register 170*-175*.

Transfer chicken to a platter and brush on half the glaze. Let sit 5 minutes. Serve with remaining glaze.

The brine and glaze can be made ahead of time (up to 3 days).

Recipe adapted from Cook's Country June/July 2009

Cornmeal Biscuits

2011-07-17T10:12:00.000-04:00

I am under treatment for a self-diagnosed (have you heard about my ability to diagnose despite the fact that I do not have a degree??) addiction. This little habit of mine involves eating pretty much anything made from corn. It's really an obsession. I love corn on the cob, frozen corn, corn chowder, caramel corn, canned corn, cream corn, corn with bacon, corn fritters, pop corn, hush puppies, cornbread (both northern and southern), polenta, Johnny Cakes, fried corn, corny jokes, Mexican grilled corn, corn casserole, spicy corn, corn in salads, cornbread crumbled into milk, corn dogs, corn muffins, and hominy.

Which brings to mind a funny story. No one in my family had ever eaten hominy before. One evening, I opened a can (of whoop ass, then the hominy), heated it up, and had everyone try it. The smell reminds me of a barn. Like the feed corn used on a farm plus the odor of manure. Seriously. Open a can and you'll see.

So each of my kids dutifully ate one piece of hominy, and my husband bravely took a spoonful. All at once I hear groans and moans of disgust. The girls were asking if they could spit it out because it was so gross. My husband was trying to choke it down but he was literally gagging on his hominy. He and my son are the two that faithfully eat any and everything without fail, and love it most of the time. This was different. All four of them looked like someone had just dropped a deuce in the middle of the floor. Of course, being the sadistic loon that I am, was doubled over in laughter, tears streaming down my face as I watched my family suffer. See, told you I was sick.

Back to corn. Although I could (and sometimes do) eat corn for every meal, sometimes I'm craving a good biscuit too. The recipe for Cornmeal Biscuits is the best of both worlds. You get the buttery flakiness of a biscuit and the corn flavor of cornbread. The trick is to soak the cornmeal in the buttermilk which softens it enough to eliminate any graininess. If you don't have buttermilk, you can stir 1 tablespoon lemon juice into 1-1/4 cup milk and let sit 10 minutes. Cornmeal Biscuits are easy enough to whip up to accompany a meal and you won't have your family gagging in disgust.

Cornmeal Biscuits
Makes 12

1 c. cornmeal
1-1/4 c. buttermilk
1 T. honey
2 c. flour
1 T. baking powder
1/2 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
12 T. butter, cold, cut into pieces

Pre-heat oven to 450*. Line baking sheet with parchment.

Whisk cornmeal, buttermilk, and honey in a large bowl. Set aside for 10 minutes.

Pulse flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and butter in food processor until mixture looks like coarse meal.

Add flour mixture to the bowl with the buttermilk and stir to form dough.

Knead dough on a lightly floured surface 8-10 times until smooth. Pat dough into 9-inch circle, about 3/4-inch thick.

Use a 2-1/2 inch biscuit cutter dipped in flour to cut out biscuits and transfer to baking sheet. Pat out remaining dough and continue cutting until it's gone.

Bake 5 minutes, then turn down oven to 400*. Bake 8-12 minutes until golden brown. Let cool 5 minutes on sheet, then on wire rack. Serve warm or room temp.

Recipe from Cook's Country

Garden ~ What's growing now

2011-07-12T09:41:00.000-04:00

Petunia Easy Wave Red

For those of you who have followed my successes and failures this season in the garden, you'll be happy to hear (or perhaps not - it depends on how you feel about me) that the garden is a raging success as of now.

Petunia Easy Wave in May

Check out these Petunias! Remember them a bit ago?? This was in May. A bit more than a month later and they look like the above photo. I'm telling you, it takes a while to grow from seed, but I ended up with 16 Petunia Easy Wave plants for $5. It's a deal.

Cucumber baby

Everything is growing beautifully, with the exception of a few that have died along the way.

Cucumber White Wonder

For example, I lost 4 of my 8 cuke plants so I'm planning on direct sowing in their spots to have another round of harvest.

Cantaloupe Amy

I've got two varieties of cantaloupe going but one isn't looking so good. I've got Amy and Ambrosia but the Ambrosia is struggling. The weeds have been so horrible this year, especially in the top bed because it's all vines in there. I decided to use the last bit of garden fabric leftover from around the deck to at least eliminate one strip of weeding.

Watermelon Gold Crown blossom

I've never grown watermelon before so it's a new experience. I hope I get some dammit.

Pumpkin Knucklehead

I must say I'm surprised at my pumpkin plant. I grew pumpkin last year, Big Max and Conneticuit Field, but only got one pumpkin in... July. Really?! However the vines grew everywhere on those plants. The one above, Knucklehead, is this really cool unusual one that has knobby warts all over it.

Pumpkin Knucklehead blossom

And these blossoms are huge! Lovely!

Corn Kandy Korn

I've never grown corn before, but some of you may know about my addiction to corn, so it's no surprise. It'd actually be nice to have an IV of corn really. Kandy Korn is supposed to be super sweet and juicy.

Rogue plant amongst tomatoes

And I've got several rogue plants among the tomatoes, including tomatoes. The one above is a product of dumping the compost bin into that area, I think. What do you think it is? Cantaloupe? Cucumber? The mystery continues...

Tomatoes - many varieties

I'm so bloody excited about tomatoes I almost can't stand it. We don't have any yet, but those red (and yellow and purple and green) babies will be making their appearance very soon.

Holy deliciousness growing

I'm chomping at the bit to get to these red beauties. And the ones below are yellow.

Tomato Sungold

I have 32 tomato plants, 10 varieties:
* Burpee Burger
* Fourth of July
* Brandy Boy
* Cherry Sweet Million
* Cherry Sungold
* Cherry Sugary
* Cherokee Purple (heirloom)
* Big Rainbow
* Early Girl
* Lemon Boy

Basil Genovese

My basil plants get huge ~ like a 3-4 ft. bush. This year I decided to try something new and stake them with ordinary tomato stakes. Maybe it will help control the long branches.

Cute little bug atop a pepper plant

How cute is this little guy? Looks like he's poised to pounce!

Hot Pepper Anaheim

If you look closely you can see the little bugger again on the Anaheim pepper plant.

Squash Sweet Zuke

And finally, one of my zucchini plants. I have neighbors getting zucchinis already but I've yet to see one. Grrrrrrr.

Petunia Easy Wave

What are you growing? What have you had the most successes with?

Greek Salad

2011-07-09T14:14:00.000-04:00

The other day I ran into a gas station to purchase a drink. First I peed, where I saw an employee who had to be at least 87 years old, scrubbing the toilets. I hate to see the elderly working their asses off when in all reality, they've earned the right to do a whole lotta nothing during their senior years.

There was one cashier and several people in line. The man in front of me was purchasing lottery tickets with coins. Seriously? If you have to pick thru your car and sofa to get change to buy a lottery ticket, chances are you should be spending that money on, oh I don't know, food for your kids. 297 minutes later, it was my turn.

During the time I watched Dirty Dan count out his dirty money, I was forced to listen to a lady behind me talking to her friend about how she got this great new job cleaning trailers in the park. Her son was running around like Richard Simmons on speed, grabbing candy and chocolate by the armload.

Meanwhile, the elderly employee came out of the restrooms with cleaning buckets and wearing rubber gloves. The candy kid yelled, "Granny!" and the bathroom cleaning lady came over and gave her grandson a big hug, completely encircling his body with those nasty rubber gloves.

So, who wants some Greek Salad?

This salad is light and refreshing. It's a great way to use a lot of your summer garden veggies. Buy the feta cheese in a block and crumble it yourself; the pre-crumbled stuff is super dry and flavorless. If you want to cut a bit of the sharpness of the red onion, soak the slices in ice water for 10 minutes, drain and add to salad. Don't let the ingredient list scare you away ~ most of this stuff you probably have on hand. It also goes together very quickly.

Greek Salad
Serves: 4 for a meal
Time to table: 15-20 min.

Croutons:
1/2 loaf Italian bread, cut into 1" cubes
olive oil
kosher or sea salt
herbes de Provence or dried oregano and basil

Salad:
1 red pepper, chopped
1 cucumber, peeled and chopped
4 Roma tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/2 red onion, halved again and sliced thin
1 c. (about 5 oz.) whole pitted Kalamata olives
8 oz. feta cheese, crumbled
1 head Romaine lettuce, rinsed and drained

Dressing:
1/2 c. olive oil
1/4 c. red wine vinegar
2 t. dried oregano
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 t. salt
1 T. lemon juice from fresh lemon

Pre-heat oven to 450*. Directly on a baking sheet, toss the bread cubes with some olive oil, salt, and herbes de Provence. I drizzle oil, salt, and herb it once, stir, and repeat until all pieces of bread are coated. You're not looking to saturate the bread, just make them moist enough to hold the seasonings. Bake for 5-10 minutes until golden brown. Set aside.

Tear the lettuce into bite-sized pieces into a large bowl. Top with the red pepper, cucumber, tomato, onion, olives, and feta.

Whisk all dressing ingredients. I mix it all in a 2-cup measuring cup. Pour over salad and toss to coat. Serve with croutons.

Note: Dress the salad right before serving or it will wilt and the vegetables will release their juices.

Cheesy Corn Casserole

2011-07-02T17:18:00.001-04:00

So this Cheesy Corn Casserole looks like slop. So what? It's amazingly delicious. As some of you may know, I do happen to have a healthy (naturally...) obsession with corn in all forms. In fact, I've never met a corn I didn't like. When I saw this recipe, I had to try it. Plus, it has bacon in it. I think corn and bacon have this secret love affair going. The lights dim, Marvin Gaye pipes through the speakers, Mrs. Corn peels back her husks... Sorry, that got a little creepy.

Normally I have an aversion to anything with Velveeta (see FAQ's about my feelings on fake "foods"). However in this case I made an exception because: A. The main ingredient is CORN. B. It contains bacon. C. The recipe only calls for a small amount.

Cheesy Corn Casserole bakes up cheesy and gooey. It looks like vomit but it's hella good.

Cheesy Corn Casserole
Serves 12

4 slices bacon, chopped
6 T. butter, cubed
4 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 c. flour
3 c. milk
4 oz. cream cheese, cubed
2 oz. Velveeta, cubed
2 c. grated extra-sharp cheddar
1 t. paprika
3 lb. fresh or frozen corn
salt and pepper

Pre-heat oven to 375* Cook bacon in dutch oven until browned. Without draining, add butter and garlic and cook 1 minute. Add flour and cook, stirring, another minute. Whisk in milk and bring to a boil. Cook, continuously stirring, until thickened. Add cream cheese, Velveeta, cheddar, and paprika. Cook and stir until smooth. Remove from heat and stir in corn. Season with salt & pepper. Transfer to a 9 x 13 dish and bake until the top is golden brown and bubbling, about 45 minutes. Let cool a bit before scooping.

Recipe from Saveur magazine June/July 11

Grilled Pork Tenderloin and Garlicky Potato Salad

2011-07-02T14:41:00.000-04:00

I have been struggling lately. Not with lifting some heavy object or being forced to speak in public (which I did at our HOA meeting in March about just about blew chunks from nerves). You see, I've gone back to work and I am struggling to find that balance among kids, husband, house, errands, work, and my favorite thing ever: cooking, gardening, and blogging.

I'm finding myself in a bad mood because I don't have the same amount of time to devote to the planning, purchasing, prepping, cooking, photographing, eating, and blogging of these meals.

I guess I'm selfish that way.

The work is part-time and temporary so I know at some point it will come to an end and I'll be back in my wonderful fantasy world of nothing but time on my hands. Until then, I'll struggle.

I have been scouring for good, delicious weeknight meals that I can make after work that will actually be ready before 10 pm. This recipe for Grilled Pork Tenderloin and Garlicky Potato Salad made it to the table by 7:30 (due to a long cocktail hour my husband and I shared before firing up the grill).

The pork is tender and moist. The potato salad is garlicky and super flavorful. The pork has an amazing crust and juicy interior. And the salad is loaded with roasted red peppers and capers. It's truly an easy weeknight meal that I was proud to serve to my family.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin and Garlicky Potato Salad
Serves 4
Time to table: about 30 minutes

2 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed and sliced into 3/4 inch disks
1/2 c. olive oil
3 T. white wine vinegar
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 t. brown sugar
salt & pepper
1/2 c. drained jarred roasted red peppers, chopped
3 T. drained capers
3 T. chopped fresh parsley
2 pork tenderloins (1-1/2 - 2 lb. total)

In a large bowl, toss potatoes and 2 tablespoons of oil. Cover tightly with plastic wrap and nuke about 4-7 minutes, or until edges are translucent, shaking bowl halfway through cooking time.

While the taters are cooking, mix vinegar, garlic, 1 teaspoon brown sugar, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl. Slowly whisk in remaining oil until emulsified and lighter in color. Stir in roasted peppers, capers, and parsley. Set aside.

Pat pork dry with paper towels and season with salt, pepper, and remaining brown sugar. Grill over high heat until browned on all sides and meat registers 145*, roughly 12 minutes. Meanwhile, grill potatoes about 5 minutes per side, until there are char marks and they are tender. Transfer pork to cutting board and tent with foil. Toss potatoes with the dressing. Season with salt & pepper. Serve and enjoy!

Recipe from Cook's Country

Spicy Grilled Wings with Blue Cheese Dip

2011-06-25T15:55:00.000-04:00

As you may know, I don't eat a lot of meat. I'm usually not a fan of eating anything with a face. However there are a few exceptions to my disgust at eating animal flesh. Bacon, for one. I mean, bacon isn't really considered meat anyway, right? Another of my carnivorous weaknesses is hot dogs. And aren't they kind of the worst animal bi-product one could ever eat? Hooves and snouts ground up and piped into a casing? Nasty! But a dog grilled until charred nestled in a steamed bun is fabulous. And let's not forget chicken wings. Crispy, saucy deep-fried wings are amazing. But heating 87 gallons of hot oil sucks ass.

I prefer to grill my wings. You still get the crunchy skin and a bit of smokiness. Not to mention that much of the fat drips off the little suckers so I'm certain they're totally healthy. At least that's how I justify eating my weight in grilled wings. I love this recipe for Spicy Grilled Wings. It is indeed spicy, so back off some of the ingredients if you're not into it. Pair it with a creamy and tangy blue cheese dip and you've got fire and ice nirvana.

The blue cheese dip can be made a couple of days ahead of time if you want. And for any leftovers, it makes a killer salad dressing. By the way, the other night we ate those spicy wings like cavemen and totally spaced the blue cheese dressing. That's how good they are.

Be sure to brine the chicken. It's easy to overcook and dry out the small wings on the grill so brining insures they are moist and flavorful even if you are enjoying sipping your beer and forget about the wings.

Spicy Grilled Wings with Blue Cheese Dip
Makes about 3 dozen wings and 1-1/2 c. dip

Spicy Grilled Wings:

4 lb. chicken wings (wing tip section removed)
1/2 c. sugar
1/2 c. salt
4 quarts water
1 c. Louisiana hot sauce
12 oz. cola
1 T. soy sauce
1/4-1/2 t. cayenne pepper

To brine the chicken, use either a very large bowl or (as I did) 2 gallon Ziploc bags. In each bag, carefully pour 2 quarts of cold water. Add 1/4 cup of sugar and 1/4 cup salt to each bag and stir to dissolve. Add chicken, seal well, and set aside for 30-60 minutes. Now would be a good time to make the blue cheese dip if you haven't already.

Meanwhile, mix hot sauce, cola, soy sauce, cayenne, and pepper. Divide in half or so. You'll use one part to baste chicken and another to sauce after grilling, if desired.

Heat grill until hot. Scrape down grates.

After 30-60 minutes of brining, drain, rinse and pat dry wings.

Using tongs, dip a paper towel in vegetable oil and oil grates. Grill wings over medium heat, turning and basting frequently with reserved sauce. The wings will take 10-20 minutes to grill, depending on how big and meaty they are. Drizzle reserved sauce over wings, if desired.

Blue Cheese Dip:

4 oz. Roquefort or other good blue cheese

1/2 c. mayonnaise

1/2 c. heavy cream

1 tablespoon tarragon vinegar

1/2 t. kosher salt

pepper, to taste

Divide cheese in half. No need to be perfect here - it all ends up in the same place. Put mayo, cream, vinegar, salt, pepper, and half the cheese in a mini-food processor. Pulse until smooth.

Crumble remaining cheese into dip and mix well.

Hawaiian Pasta Salad

2011-06-21T15:02:00.000-04:00

I am very picky about my pasta salad. And my cole slaw, now that I'm thinking about it. I don't like the typical from-a-box pasta salad that rears it's ugly head at many a summer cook-out. It's not enough to boil some pasta to death, throw in some chopped peppers and olives, and drench it in bottled Italian dressing. I prefer a macaroni salad that is flavorful and creamy with some thought put into it. I realize I'm a pasta salad snob.

I'm kind of a food snob in general, I suppose. And a grammar snob. (So if you ever see any grammatical errors in these posts, please let me know. I want my grammar to be bad-ass.)

Now that you know that I turn my nose up at boring old pasta salad, I'm sure you are wondering why I'm writing about one. Well, I actually found this recipe very interesting. It has some intriguing ingredients and quantities that appealed to me. I just had to try it. That was last year. And I've been making it regularly since because it's my new favorite macaroni salad.

This recipe for Hawaiian Pasta Salad has a large amount of vinegar, which I love. I guess it's because I'm not so much made up of sugar and spice but piss and vinegar. I also love the fact that you boil the hell out of the pasta, which seemed very wrong to me, but learned it is oh-so right in this application. It's creamy and tangy and soft and crunchy all at once.

What is your favorite pasta salad to make for a cook-out?

Hawaiian Pasta Salad
Serves 8-10

2 c. whole milk (use whole or the dressing will be too thin)
2 c. mayonnaise (use regular or the dressing will be too thin)
1 T. brown sugar
1 lb. elbow macaroni
1/2 c. cider vinegar, plus more for serving, if you want
4 green onions
1 large carrot, peeled and grated
1 celery rib, chopped fine
salt and pepper

Whisk 1-1/2 cup milk, 1 cup mayo, brown sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 2 teaspoons of pepper in a bowl.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of water to a boil. Add salt to the water and add pasta. Boil it until it's light in color and very soft (no room for al dente here). Drain the macaroni and return it to the empty pot. Add the vinegar to the pasta and stir. Toss pasta and vinegar until the vinegar is absorbed. Transfer to a large bowl and let cool about 10 minutes.

Pour milk / mayo mixture over pasta and toss to coat well. Cool completely.

Add green onions, carrots, remaining milk and remaining mayonnaise to the pasta and stir to coat completely. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Refrigerate for at least an hour.

Sprinkle with additional cider vinegar on each serving, if desired.

Adapted from Cook's Country recipe for Hawaiian Macaroni Salad

Baja Burgers

2011-06-17T08:48:00.000-04:00

There's this dude named Noah that I've secretly fallen in love with. He's one of those bad-boy hot guys that have a rough exterior but a teddy bear heart. My husband has no idea that I have been dreaming of Noah but I don't think he'll mind. See, Noah isn't real. No, I'm not schizophrenic. He's a character in Katie McGarry's soon-to-be-published book Pushing the Limits.

Not only is Katie one of my best friends, but she's an amazing author. She graciously allowed me to be a beta reader for her (which means I get to read it before anyone else does. Na na na na boo boo!) I give her honest feedback on her writing in exchange for an early view of this amazing book. Pushing the Limits is about two teens, brought together by their court ordered therapist, working together to learn the secrets of their case files, but neither foresaw the shattering consequences of the learning the truth regarding their families or of falling in love. Pushing the Limits is due out in Spring 2012 and I can't bloody wait.

Back to Noah. He is a total hottie who can make a mean burger. And Katie and I are fairly certain he would love this burger.

Baja Burgers are loaded with Tex-Mex-y flavor. By the way, I posted the guacamole recipe in a previous post if you'd like to see it by itself. These burgers are juicy, creamy, hot, cool, spicy, mild, and crunchy all at once. I'm aware that it sounds kind of strange. Some may say "gross" or "ewwww." Don't worry, my feelings are not hurt. My friends had the same reaction, but thankfully they're adventurous and trusting and gave it a shot. Now, I am uninvited if these Baja Burgers don't take center stage.

Baja Burgers
Serves 4, with guacamole leftover for chips
The guacamole recipe can be found here.

1-1/3 lb. 85% lean ground beef
cumin
chili powder
salt and pepper
4 avocados
2 limes
1/3 c. diced red onion
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 large jalapenos, stemmed, seeded, ribs removed and minced
1 t. cumin
1 t. salt
cilantro, chopped, to taste (optional)
salsa, homemade or jarred
sour cream
tortilla chips
4 hamburger buns

Form ground beef into 4 patties, making a slight indentation in the center of each patty to allow for the puff-up as they always do. Season with salt and pepper. Generously season with cumin and chili powder. Set aside at room temperature.

Halve avocados and remove pit. An easy way to do this is to hold the avocado in your palm, and carefully take a knife and chop/stab the seed with the edge of the knife. Scoop out the flesh from the skin with a spoon into a large bowl. Squeeze limes over avocados adding the juice. Using a potato masher, smash the avocados until the desired consistency. Add onion, tomato, garlic, jalapeno, cumin, salt, and cilantro, if using, and mix well. To store leftovers (good luck with that!), place a piece of plastic wrap directly on surface of guac and refrigerate.

Grill burgers, flipping once without smashing them down, until desired doneness. Meanwhile, grill buns until golden and toasty.

Top burgers with guacamole, sour cream, salsa, and tortilla chips. Get a few napkins handy because you're gonna need them.

To find out more about Katie McGarry and her upcoming books being published, check out these links.

Guacamole

2011-06-14T08:25:00.000-04:00

Each year, the men in my family all get together and go on a vacation together, called the Mancation. I'm not sure exactly what they do, and I'm not sure I want to. I imagine there's a lot of cigar-smoking, beer drinking, and chest-thumping peppered with bathroom humor and colorful language. My husband loves these annual trips because it's like a big frat party with the coolest men on the planet.

The group was comprised of 3 generations of menfolk - from my brother, the youngest, to my grandpa, the oldest. Our son is 14 and will be invited into their secret penis club in 4 years. My grandpa, the most amazing, intelligent, wise man I've ever met, loved these mancations and looked forward them so much. He loved laughing at the perpetual fun-poking and competitive golfing amongst his sons and their offspring. Paw-paw passed away in August 2009 at age 89. He is so incredibly missed by us all and the mancations will never be the same.

I must say that little piece of my life I've just shared has little to do with guacamole, except this: for the last mancation before my grandpa died, I made a huge bucket of guac for the guys and they ate it all the first night.

Guacamole is one of those super-easy dips that we eat all summer long. Not only is it much cheaper to make it yourself, it's easy to tweak and make it milder or spicier to your personal tastes. And for those of you with the special gene that makes cilantro taste like soap, you can omit it.

Guacamole
Makes 2-3 cups (guessing here...)

4 avocados
2 limes
1/3 c. diced red onion
2 Roma tomatoes, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1-2 large jalapenos, stemmed, seeded, ribs removed and minced
1 t. cumin
1 t. salt
cilantro, chopped, to taste (optional)

Halve avocados and remove pit. An easy way to do this is to hold the avocado in your palm, and carefully take a knife and chop/stab the seed with the edge of the knife.

Scoop out the flesh from the skin with a spoon into a large bowl. Squeeze limes over avocados adding the juice. Using a potato masher, smash the avocados until the desired consistency. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Serve with tortilla chips. To store any leftovers, place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of guacamole and refrigerate.

Honey Ice Cream

2011-06-10T14:51:00.002-04:00

My husband has apiphobia. Well, he's not exactly been diagnosed, but since I did take 3 years of psych classes in college, I'm obviously qualified. Apiphobia is the fear of bees. It's actually quite humorous to watch, and even after all these years together, I never tire of his amusing reaction to a little black and yellow buzzing insect.

Let me begin by painting a picture of The Hubs. He's 6'3", has almost black hair, a beard, and two very sexy tattoos. He does very manly things like building our deck and installing a water-powered back-up sump pump. He also does very gentle things like braid our daughters' hair and pull out splinters. Did I mention that he's also a former Marine and a damn good musician?

Now on to his apiphobia. I'm going to try and write this without any typos or misspellings as the tears of laughter flood my eyes and run down my face.

When confronted with a bee or wasp, he jumps up like his ass is on fire. He runs around in a zig-zag pattern while swatting at the now-long-gone insect all the while yelling, "Ahhhhhhhh!", with a voice 6 octaves higher than his normally very deep voice. He will plow through women, children, and animals without hesitation to get as far away from this evil bug. He'll toss over chairs, hurdle mini-vans, and dive through thorn bushes in order to make a hasty escape from these bees, which he's sure only have eyes for him. To his credit, he is allergic to bees and wasps, so I'm guessing there was a traumatic bee sting somewhere in his childhood that caused him to fear them with such passion.

It's actually bloody hilarious to watch him react so quickly and loudly to a tiny little bee buzzing around, minding his own business, just looking for a sweet flower.

When searching for a Honey Ice Cream recipe, I came across a few but none fitting with what I was looking for. I found some with as little as 3 tablespoons of honey. I didn't bother trying them out, but I'm guessing there's not a lot of honey flavor there. There were a few promising ones with plenty of honey but they had no egg yolks and I really wanted a custard-y ice cream. Thus I made my own recipe.

The flavor of Honey Ice Cream is buttery (my son actually asked me how much butter I put in the recipe. None), and caramel-y with deep honey flavors. You have to really like honey to dig this ice cream. There is no refined sugar at all - the honey sweetens this rich ice cream plenty.

And can you imagine how awesome this would be with a sore throat? The honey acts as a natural antimicrobial killing bacteria and viruses and the cool ice cream would soothe the throat. Hmmmm.... I think I'm onto something here!

Honey Ice Cream

4 egg yolks
12 oz. honey (good quality, preferably local)
1 c. whole milk
2 c. heavy cream
1 t. vanilla
pinch salt

Whisk yolks until light and fluffy. Add honey and whisk until combined.

In a saucepan, barely boil the milk and salt. Temper it with the eggs by slowly adding a bit of the hot milk to the eggs while whisking. Whisk the milk and egg mixture together until combined. Return to the saucepan and turn heat to medium-low. Cook, whisking, until the temperature reaches 180* and coats the back of a spoon. Strain mixture into bowl. Add cream and vanilla, stirring to combine. Chill in refrigerator until cold.

Follow directions on your ice cream maker to finish the ice cream. I have a Kitchenaid attachment and it took 25-30 minutes to get to soft serve consistency. After an overnight stay in the freezer, the ice cream is still of a soft serve consistency.

Grilled Pizza - Margherita Style

2011-06-08T10:56:00.000-04:00

Summer is here in full force. I don't know about you but it's roasty-toasty where I live. And we all know what happens in summer - we start grilling. However, I get tired of the hunk-o-meat thrown on the grill. Don't get me wrong - I'm the first in line for some barbequed ribs or chicken. But sometimes I want something non-meaty but still on the grill. We grill pizza quite frequently in my household, especially in the summer. The glorious thing about it is you can alter the toppings any way you like. For the cavemen, load that pie up with bacon, prosciutto, pepperoni, sausage, or ground beef. For me, my favorite is Grilled Pizza - Margherita Style.

We don't have a wood-fired pizza oven in our backyard, and probably never will. The next best thing is the grill. I must admit, with a bit of shame, that we own a gas grill. (Now's when the grilling geeks out there groan...). I'm too damn lazy to spend 45 minutes building a chimney starter and waiting for the coals to ash over. I like turning a few knobs, waiting 15 minutes for the monster to heat up, and then grilling some animal flesh or fruits of the earth in rapid time.

Back to the pizza. It's much easier than you might think. If you want to go totally Sandra Lee, you can buy jarred pizza sauce instead of making your own, although this recipe is easy-peasy lemon squeezy and it tastes a helluva lot better.

The key is to have your grill at the right temperature and to prevent the dough from sticking to whatever you put it on for transport to the grill. I roll the pizza dough out and place on lightly floured parchment paper atop an overturned baking sheet. Just don't let it get warm - the moisture in the dough will seep out into the paper and it will stick.

Grilled Pizza - Margherita Style
Serves 2-4

1 lb. pizza dough - homemade, store-bought, or purchased from pizzeria
2 T. olive oil
1 small red onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
28 oz. crushed tomatoes
1 T. fresh basil, rolled and sliced
1 t. fresh rosemary, minced
1 t. dried oregano
1 t. sugar
salt and pepper
olive oil, for brushing
1 ball fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced
handful fresh basil

In a large skillet, heat olive oil over med-high heat. Add onions and cook until translucent. Add garlic and cook 30 seconds more or until fragrant. Add the undrained tomatoes and herbs. Add sugar and salt and pepper to taste. Bring to a simmer and cook for 30 minutes or until slightly thickened.

Meanwhile, heat grill to high. Allow to heat for 15 minutes then scrape grill grates clean.

Divide dough ball in half. On a lightly floured surface, roll each portion into a circle as thin as you can without tearing. Don't worry if it ends up in the shape of an amoeba - it will add to the rustic charm. Place a piece of parchment paper on an overturned baking sheet. Sprinkle and rub lightly with flour. Carefully move dough to baking sheet.

Once grill is ready, bring all ingredients and toppings outside to the grill with you, because now it's going to go quickly. With the grill on high heat, brush one side of dough generously with olive oil. Toss the dough on grill, oiled side down, and peel off paper. Repeat with other dough half. Close lid and turn heat down to medium-high. After about 5 minutes, start checking the underside of the pizza for a golden brown crust. When ready, oil the top side and flip dough.

Immediately spoon on sauce and top with sliced fresh mozzarella. Close the lid and turn down the heat to low. Once the cheese is melted and the bottom is browned, remove from the grill. Tear the remaining fresh basil and sprinkle on pizza.

Garden - Worm Castings

2011-06-04T08:18:00.000-04:00

This photo is not of soil or compost. What you're looking at is worm poop. Yes, people actually make a living harvesting and selling worm crap. I've never used it before but I was so curious I just had to try it out. I bought a bag from my local organic supply center. I paid around $13 for my sack of crap.

Worm castings, or vermicast, are high in nutrients for the soil. In fact, this healthy poop contains up to eleven times the amounts of potassium, phosphorus, and nitrogen found in regular old soil. It helps aerate the soil as well. Rumor has it, the plants will benefit greatly from the addition of worm castings, and I am willing to try.

I scooped out one cup of the worm castings and spread it around the base of each plant, working it in the top inch or so. Next year, I will be sure to add it at the time of planting and work it into the soil as deep as three or four inches.

Pepper plant

I'm also planning on using my leftover vermicast to make worm crap tea. Doesn't that just sound delicious? I'll take some pantyhose (which I'll need to purchase since I haven't had those horrible things on my legs since the early 90's) and pour some worm castings into it, tie it off, making a tea bag essentially. I will leave it in water overnight or for a couple of days and then spray the lovely turd tea over my darling plants. They will thank me for it, no doubt. I mean, who wouldn't want a shower of homemade worm diarrhea?

Tomato plant

P.S. The worm castings don't smell one bit.

Roasted Tomato and Goat Cheese Crostini

2011-06-01T11:17:00.002-04:00

I'm going to start by saying how much I love our neighbors. Somehow we built a house on a cul-de-sac surrounded by the most amazing people. We absolutely love to get together to eat and drink and be merry. There are a few honorary members of our "frat", whom are included in get-togethers. We have been known to get rowdy from time to time and one of our favorite things is to ask moral and ethical questions and get into friendly debates on a subject.

We got together for Memorial Day and this is an appetizer I came up with. It got rave reviews so I'm going to share the recipe for this easy Roasted Tomato and Goat Cheese Crostini with you, my friends. This recipe is easily doubled for a large crowd.

Roasted Tomato and Goat Cheese Crostini
Serves 8-10

2 lb. (about 2-1/2 pints) cherry tomatoes
handful thyme sprigs
3 T. olive oil
salt and pepper
8 oz. goat cheese
8 oz. ricotta
1-1/2 T. heavy cream or milk
1 baguette
olive oil
balsamic vinegar

Pre-heat oven to 300*. On a rimmed baking sheet, toss the tomatoes and thyme sprigs with 3 tablespoons olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.

Roast the tomatoes in oven for 1 hour, or until skins burst. Remove and allow to cool. Tomatoes can be made ahead and refrigerated for up to 3 days.

In a medium bowl, mix together the goat cheese, ricotta, and heavy cream until well combined. Add additional cream if necessary to get a smooth, spreadable consistency.

Pre-heat broiler. Slice baguette crosswise into 1/4" pieces. Place on rimmed baking sheet and drizzle with olive oil. Broil until bread is toasted and golden brown.

Spread cheese mixture on crostini and top with roasted tomatoes, being careful to exclude thyme sprigs. Drizzle with olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Garden Update - Something is eating my plants!

2011-05-29T08:42:00.001-04:00

Petunias

I am leading this post with a photo of my petunias because it is the least disturbing picture of those I'm including. They love the heat and sunshine and are really taking off. Now onto the garden where destruction has begun. As if my seedling problems weren't enough to ruin my gardening skills ego, within a week of planting them outside in the garden, some critter(s) decided that my babies I'd worked so hard to cultivate would make a good lunch.

Ground Cherry

It looks to me that my ground cherry, eggplants, and tomatoes have been munched on by a combination of flea beetles and caterpillars. Flea beetles attacked my eggplants last year as well.

Tomato

Yesterday I sprayed with an organic insecticide that I used last year on my eggplants. And let me tell you, I made damn sure to spray the tops and undersides of the leaves on all my plants. I'm not giving up on my babies!

I use a sprayer with water and the concentrated organic insecticide.

Marigold

As you can see, the marigolds and pepper plants are doing just fine. The tomato plants have more than doubled in size since planting.

Serrano Pepper

In between taking these photos, I laid down some straw in hopes of combating weeds, retaining moisture, and warming the soil even more. Let's hope it's not another failure waiting to happen.

Watermelon

Cucumber

Caramel Corn Ice Pops

2011-05-25T10:26:00.000-04:00

Recently I was at a store, which shall go unnamed, browsing through the plants. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw something drop from the greenhouse roof and heard it go SPLAT. I thought to myself, "That was one big bird crap." I totally ignored the pterodactyl turd and continued on my merry way. I rounded the corner and my very thin-soled shoe grazed-slash-smeared something soft on the ground. I looked down to see a baby bird, which had apparently fallen from a nest only moments before.

I walked over to two strapping young lads working the forklift. I proceeded to tell them about the baby bird that had fallen from it's nest, which was now partially smooched right in the walkway in between the pansies and junipers. They both stared at me like I was speaking in tongues and waving snakes around.

Did I mention these workers were in their mid-twenties wearing hard hats and running the forklift? Is that image clear in your mind? Ready?

The one guy sitting in the driver's seat of said forklift mumbled something about not feeling well and proceeded to projectile vomit all over the side of the forklift, narrowly missing his buddy standing next to him.

I smiled oh-so sweetly and said, "Well, now you have two messes to clean up so I'll leave you to it."

What the hell does that story have to do with Caramel Corn Ice Pops? Absolutely nothing whatsoever. I just wanted to share.

These Caramel Corn Ice Pops sound a bit unusual, I confess. The strangest part is the fact that this recipe calls for.....corn. Real corn. I know, I know. Just do me a favor and try it.

The pop part tastes strongly of corn, but a sweet candy-like corn flavor. Paired with the caramel, it's delicious. It's refreshing and sweet and unlike anything you've ever tried.

Caramel Corn Ice Pops
Makes ten 3-oz. pops -or- six 5-oz. pops

1-1/2 c. fresh or frozen corn kernels
3/4 c. heavy cream
3/4 c. milk
1/2 c. sugar
1 pinch salt
12 - 20 pieces soft caramel (depending on how many you make)
Chipotle chilie powder, optional

Bring the corn, cream, milk, sugar, and salt to a boil in a saucepan. Remove from heat and let steep for 30 minutes.

Carefully pour half of mixture into a blender. Puree until smooth. Pour into a fine-mesh strainer set over a bowl. Repeat with other half of mixture. Press mixture until all liquid is out; discard solids. Refrigerate until cold. Pour into pop molds. Freeze for 1-1/2 hours.

Meanwhile, working with two caramels at a time, microwave until just softened, 8-10 seconds (9 sec. was perfect for me). On a piece of wax paper, press caramels together into a rectangle using the palm of your hand.

Roll caramel rectangle around two-thirds of stick, leaving a bare handle. I found it easy to pinch the sides together then roll in the palms of my hand like your making a play-doh snake.

Repeat until you have enough caramel sticks for all your molds.

Place caramel sticks on wax paper and stick in the freezer for 45 minutes. Insert caramel sticks into molds and freeze until solid, about 8 hours. Run warm water over the molds to remove pops. Dust with chile powder, if using.

Adapted from Everyday with Rachael Ray

Parmesan Crusted Potatoes and Zucchini

2011-05-17T14:25:00.000-04:00

Sadly, I put my French teenage visitor Justine on the plane back to Paris a few weeks ago. She and I had a wonderful time talking, shopping, and cooking while she was here. I was so unhappy to say goodbye to my partner in crime. However we made some great memories (and food! - like this French Onion Soup) that we will always remember. And we will get to see her again next year!

Photo by Justine

As always, she took some amazing photos of the Parmesan Crusted Potatoes and Zucchini we made for lunch one day.

This time, we did not wait impatiently for the meal to be ready - it's actually very quick to make. Justine and I enjoyed photographing the food together and brainstorming good angles and lighting shots. She even created her own photography blog called Jbhly Photographie. She's amazing and I'm so proud of her.

Photo by Justine

The Parmesan Crusted Potatoes and Zucchini Ju and I made was incredibly delicious. The process was simple and easy. The potatoes and zucchini are crispy on the outside and the interior is creamy.

Photo by Justine

The cheese doesn't overwhelm the vegetable's flavors. The herbs and garlic fill the kitchen with enticing warm smells. As always, please use fresh ingredients - the thyme and rosemary must be fresh and please don't use the "Parmesan" in the green jars. Get the real stuff - you don't need much.

Parmesan Crusted Potatoes and Zucchini
Serves 4 for a side -or- 2 for a meal

4 small new potatoes, about 1-1/2 inches in diameter
2 T. butter
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 t. chopped fresh thyme leaves
1 t. chopped fresh rosemary leaves
2 small zucchini, halved lengthwise and cut into 1-inch chunks
1/4 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper

Over high heat, bring a medium pot of water to a boil. Add the potatoes and cook until tender 10-15 minutes. Drain the potatoes and let cool. Cut potatoes in half.

In a medium sauté pan over medium heat, add the butter, garlic, thyme, and rosemary. Heat until the butter melts.

Meanwhile, sprinkle salt and pepper over the cut sides of the zucchini and potatoes.

Carefully place vegetables cut side down in the pan with the melted butter. Cook until golden brown, 12-15 minutes.

Pre-heat the broiler. Line a sheet pan with foil. Place the vegetables cut side up on the baking sheet. Sprinkle with Parmesan. Broil until cheese is melted and golden, about 4 minutes.

Adapted from Giada de Laruentiis's Giada's Kitchen

Photo by Justine

Garden & Seedlings - Update

2011-05-11T12:10:00.003-04:00

Hydrangea

It's been pretty much forever since I've posted about my garden and seedlings. Truthfully, it's because I'm embarrassed. I've had success growing from seed every single year since I first started a million years ago. Yet this year, the year I start a food and gardening blog, I suck.

Gerber Daisy

Don't be misled by the pretty flowers in these photos. I purchased the plants at a nursery and stuck them in the ground or in pots. I've just been successful in keeping them alive.

Hydrangea

Back to how much I suck... I had my seedlings in a south-facing window with much success. Then I borrowed a light set and put them in the basement so we could have our dining room table back. A week later in the cold basement, and my seedlings were looking sad as you can see here. I ran out and purchased some seedling heating mats and put my poor babies on top, hoping to warm the soil enough for them to quit being mad at me.

Little white flowers called something that starts with an A

Well, they stayed alive. But they decided not to grow very much more and turn funny colors (purple leaves and stems, yellowing leaves). And then my adorable little French visitor Justine came and we were so busy having fun I forgot to water for a day or two too long. I lost some there. So my seedlings don't look great. Some look healthy and happy, just not big and strong. Alas, I planted the little buggers anyway, hoping that getting their asses into the warm soil outside would jump-start their actual growing process. Here's our garden that my husband lovingly and cussingly designed and built (with a little help from friends).

It is three tiers of varying sizes, due to the sloping of the ground. Note the compost bin amongst the trees (yeah, we're green like that), which by the way are laden with ticks. I pulled the 6th one this season from my youngest daughter's head this morning. Why do they like her so much? I think it's because she smells like a dog when she sweats. But she's damn cute.

Hydrangea

On to the planting of the vegetable and fruit garden. Here is a photo of a pathetic looking tomato seedling.

Tomato

And here are a few more examples of my incompetence...

Cucumber

Ground Cherry

Serrano Pepper

Watermelon

Tiger Eye Marigold

Remember those Petunias I have commented on in the past? They are actually looking a-ok. I've never gotten them very big before transplanting but once they get in some new soil, they take off. I promise, I'll post photos of their transformation, good or bad.

Easy Wave Petunias

Here's another success I actually had nothing to do with but I'll take the credit for because I'm feeling low about my gardening skills. My chives survived from last year. They are big and full and really delicious.

Chives

One last thing and I'll let y'all get on with your day. We have some wild berry bushes in our tree line and I'm not sure what they are. I could use some help here. The berries are dark black and look like big raspberries. I'll post pics of them once they fruit. Could be a blackberry (duh!) or is it a mulberry? All I know is they are delicious. Do you know what these bushes are??

What am I?

Soon to be berry-filled bushes

Salted Nut Bars

2011-05-09T21:03:00.000-04:00

Craving something sweet and salty? How about sweet, salty, creamy, gooey, and peanut buttery? Salted Nut Bars are super easy to make and taste a bit like a Pay Day candy bar. Or perhaps a Fluffer Nutter. Either way, it's delicious.

Salted Nut Bars
Makes 28 bars

1 lb. Nutter Butter cookies
1 stick butter, melted
2 c. peanut butter chips
2/3 c. light corn syrup
4 T. butter
1 t. vanilla
2 c. mini marshmallows
2 c. dry roasted peanuts
2 c. Rice Krispies

Pre-heat oven to 350*. Spray coat a 9 x 13 dish.

Crumble cookies in work bowl of food processor. Pulse until fine crumbs form. Add melted butter and pulse until evenly moistened and clumps together. Press crumbs into dish. Bake 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Melt chips, syrup, butter, and vanilla over medium-low heat, stirring until smooth, about 5 minutes. Spread 1/2 c. of the mixture over the crumb base.

Sprinkle the marshmallows over the peanut butter mixture and return to the oven and bake until the marshmallows puff up, about 2 minutes. Don't brown the marshmallows or they'll end up hard and crunchy.

Mix the peanuts and Rice Krispies with remaining peanut butter mixture. Drop spoonfuls over the marshmallows, then spread with a spatula.

Cool bars before cutting and serving.

Adapted from Cuisine at Home

Mint Julep

2011-05-04T07:08:00.008-04:00

They say the Kentucky Derby is the "most exciting 2 minutes in sports." I've news for you, friends. The Mint Julep is the most exciting reward for 2 minutes worth of work.

I had my first Mint Julep 6 years ago at Churchill Downs. The cool, refreshing drink had instantly become my new favorite adult beverage. The smokey, vanilla, oak-y flavor of the bourbon mixed with the fresh, crisp mint was mind-blowing. And you don't have to like bourbon to enjoy this drink. There are several methods for mixing this cocktail out there, some of which are good, some of which are garbage. I have been making Mint Juleps for years now and this is the most authentic and delicious I have come up with.

In honor of the Kentucky Derby coming up (this year) on May 7, I start mixing up Mint Juleps as soon as the fresh mint hits the markets. Mint Julep is the drink associated with the Kentucky Oaks (racing of 3-year old fillies) and the Kentucky Derby (racing of 3-year old Thoroughbred horses) that takes place each May. In fact, over 120,000 Mint Juleps are sold on those two days alone at Churchill Downs.

Because there are so few ingredients in the Mint Julep, please use high-quality stuff. You absolutely must use fresh mint leaves, preferably Kentucky Colonel Mint. And under no circumstances can you use cheap bourbon. Some examples of great bourbon are: Woodford Reserve, Early Times, Old Forrester, Evan Williams, Maker's Mark, and Knob Creek. I could go on and on but I'll save my bourbon rant for another post.

Mint Julep
Makes 2 cocktails

1/4 c. water
1/4 c. sugar
12 fresh mint leaves, plus more for garnish
6 oz. bourbon
ice

Mix water and sugar in a small saucepan set over medium heat. Stir occasionally until sugar is dissolved. Set simple syrup aside to cool.

Place 6 mint leaves in each highball glass. Using a muddler, bruise and mash the mint leaves very well. If you don't have a muddler, you can sprinkle a small amount of granulated sugar on the mint leaves and use the handle of a wooden spoon to mash the leaves.

Pour 1-3 tablespoons of the simple syrup into each glass. I prefer 2 tablespoons myself. Pour 3 ounces bourbon into each glass and stir to combine. Fill glass with ice and garnish with mint leaves.

Mint Juleps

Country Pumpkin Bread

2011-05-03T13:59:00.001-04:00

I know it's not autumn, although Mother Nature has us fooled here in the upper south. It's chilly and raining (per usual it seems). I've got a fire roaring in the fireplace and three loaves of Country Pumpkin Bread filling my kitchen with warm scents. It feels like fall today, but you certainly don't need a cold, wet day to justify making this delicious quick bread.

Country Pumpkin Bread is a moist, tender loaf. The pumpkin flavor is not masked by too many spices. It is dairy-free as well. It's so easy - just two bowls and a whisk is all you need to whip up this delicious bread. This recipe makes 3 mini-loaves and they freeze beautifully if you want to stash a loaf or two for another day.

Oh, and did I mention that it makes a great gift, too? Just perfect for Mother's Day! I give Country Pumpkin Bread loaves wrapped in parchment paper and tied with a pretty ribbon with some cinnamon sticks stuck in for Christmas gifts.

While I'm on the subject of Mother's Day, I'd like to give a huge cyber-hug to SA, one of the most incredible, generous, intelligent, thoughtful, caring women I know. You are my second mom and I love you dearly. Happy Mother's Day!

Country Pumpkin Bread

1 - 15 oz. can pumpkin puree

4 eggs

1 c. vegetable oil

2/3 c. water

3 c. sugar

3-1/2 c. flour

2 t. baking soda

1-1/2 t. salt

1 t. cinnamon

1 t. nutmeg

1/2 t. cloves

1/4 t. ginger

Pre-heat oven to 350*. Grease and flour three 8 x 3-7/8-inch pans. Or you may use three 7 x 3-inch pans; adjust your baking time as necessary.

In a large bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, eggs, oil, water, and sugar until well blended.

In a separate bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, salt, and spices. Stir dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture until just blended.

Pour into prepared pans. Bake 50-60 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into center of loaf comes out with a few crumbs attached.

Adapted from Laurie Bennett's recipe on allrecipes.

Gorditas de Heuvos - Masa Cakes With Eggs

2011-05-02T14:16:00.002-04:00

In honor of Cinco de Mayo this week, I decided to make something very Mexican. I don't know about you, but I get so sick of the Tex-Mex stuff people try to pass off as Mexican food. Gorditas de Huevos is a delicious way to celebrate the 5th of May.

These masa cakes are super easy to make, and the scrambled eggs are flavored with chiles and garlic. They make a great breakfast or snack.

Because I prefer my foods blow-your-head-off spicy, I added my favorite hot sauce, Tapatio to mine. After I shot the photos, I added more.

Gorditas de Huevos - Masa Cakes With Eggs
Makes 6

2 c. masa harina (available in Latino markets)
1 t. kosher salt
2 dried new Mexico chilies, stemmed and seeded
2 cloves garlic
6 eggs, lightly beaten

In a medium bowl, stir masa harina, salt, and 1-1/4 c. water until dough forms. Set aside for 5 minutes. Divide the dough into six - 3 oz. balls. Flatten them into 1/4" thick disks with your hands. If you find the edges are too crumbly as you make the disks, toss the dough back in the bowl and add a few tablespoons of water until you get a moister consistancy.

In a 10" non-stick skillet, heat the chilies over high heat, turning, until lightly charred and roasted. Throw them in a blender with the garlic and 1/2 cup water. Zip that mixture until it is reddish in color and the chilies are throughout the sauce. Pour the sauce in the non-stick skillet and add the eggs. Cook over medium heat until cooked through.

Meanwhile, heat a 12" cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Add the masa disks in batches, season with salt to taste, and cook, turning once until golden brown on both sides, about 4 minutes.

Pile gorditas high with the scrambled egg mixture and douse with hot sauce, if you'd like.

Adapted from Saveur magazine May '11

Beef Jerky - Three-Way(s)

2011-04-28T10:05:00.003-04:00

Teriyaki Beef Jerky

I must admit, I do not like beef jerky. It's too....well....beefy. I'm not a big meat-eater anyway but to eat something that is pure 100% meat turns me off. However, my husband and son absolutely love beef jerky. Not to mention their friends, our neighbors, our family...

I decided to learn how to make the men in my life their special (gag) treat. And I must admit, it was the most tolerable beef jerky I'd ever had. I realize this isn't a very good way to promote my recipes for Beef Jerky, but I need to be honest about my own tastes.

These three recipes are for spicy, teriyaki, and peppered beef jerky. If you make lovey-dovey eyes at your butcher, s/he might just slice the beef for you so you don't have to bother.

If you haven't run for the hills yet, I present to you the three best recipes for beef jerky you will ever eat.

Peppered Beef Jerky

3-1/2 T. worcestershire sauce

3-1/2 T. soy sauce

1 t. brown sugar

1/2 t. (rounded) onion powder

1/2 t. (rounded) garlic powder

1/2 t. cayenne

1/2 T. freshly ground pepper

water

One 1-lb. beef top sirloin steak, trimmed, very thinly sliced with the grain

1/2 to 1 T. freshly ground pepper

Mix first 7 ingredients in a gallon zip-top bag. Add beef to marinade. Add enough water to cover the beef and mix around to coat steak pieces. Marinate in refrigerator 18-24 hours.

Pre-heat oven to 225*. Set rack inside large rimmed baking sheet. Spray rack with cooking spray. Place steak in single layer on rack. Sprinkle remaining 1/2 - 1 tablespoon of ground pepper on both sides of beef. Bake until dried but still pliable, 2-1/2 - 3-1/2 hours. Cool.

-------------------------------------------------

Spicy Beef Jerky

Spicy Beef Jerky

One 1-lb. beef top sirloin steak, trimmed, thinly sliced with the grain
2-1/2 T. minced canned chipotle chilies in adobo
2 t. sea salt
1 t. onion powder
1 t. garlic powder

Mix together all ingredients except beef. Add beef and stir to coat. Cover and chill at least 18 hours, or up to 24, stirring occasionally.

Pre-heat oven to 225*. Set rack inside large rimmed baking sheet. Spray rack with cooking spray. Place steak in single layer on rack. Bake until dried but still pliable, 2-1/2 - 3-1/2 hours. Cool.

Spicy Beef Jerky adapted from Bon Appetit magazine

-------------------------------------------------

Teriyaki Beef Jerky

(photo at top of page)

1 T. brown sugar

1-1/2 t. kosher salt

1 t. onion powder

1/2 t. garlic powder

1/4 t. freshly ground pepper

2/3 c. bottled teriyaki

1/2 c. orange juice

1/4 c. water

1 T. honey

1 t. soy sauce

1 t. liquid smoke

One 1-lb. beef top sirloin steak, trimmed, thinly sliced with the grain

Mix together all ingredients except beef in gallon zip-top bag. Add beef and mix to coat. Chill at least 18 hours, or up to 24, stirring occasionally.

Pre-heat oven to 225*. Set rack inside large rimmed baking sheet. Spray rack with cooking spray. Place steak in single layer on rack. Bake until dried but still pliable, 2-1/2 - 3-1/2 hours. Cool.

-------------------------------------------------

Banana Bread

2011-04-25T14:15:00.000-04:00

What to do with all those brown-speckled bananas sitting on the counter top? Why, make Banana Bread of course. Now, before you start groaning, hear me out. How many of us have made banana bread that comes out heavy, dense, with very little banana flavor? I know I'm guilty of it. I usually slather the dry bread with butter to mask the blandness of it.

This banana bread is so moist and tender, there's no need for butter. The banana flavor is throughout the bread and it has a sugary, crisp crust that is incredibly delicious. And it makes a gorgeous loaf as well. The secret to great banana flavor all over this bread? Two things - using the banana juice as a flavor syrup instead of watering the loaf down, and placing banana slices on top of the loaf, which caramelize and intensify in taste after a stint in the oven.

So throw out your old recipe for Banana Brick and try this one. You won't be disappointed.

Banana Bread

1-3/4 c. (8-3/4 oz.) flour
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. table salt
6 large ripe bananas (even black ones)
1 stick butter, melted
2 eggs
3/4 c. (5-1/4 oz.) packed light brown sugar
1 t. vanilla
1/2 c. walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped (optional)
2 t. sugar

Adjust oven rack to middle position. Pre-heat oven to 350*. Spray 8-1/2 x 4-1/2-inch loaf pan. You may also use a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan.

Place 5 peeled whole bananas in a large microwave-safe bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and poke several steam vents with a knife. Microwave until bananas are soft and have released some juice, about 5 minutes. Place bananas in a strainer set over a bowl and let drain, about 15 minutes, stirring every so often.

Meanwhile, whisk flour, baking soda, and salt together.

Pour banana juice into a medium saucepan and cook over medium-high heat until reduced to 1/4 cup, about 5 minutes. In a large bowl, mash together the bananas and reduced liquid with a potato masher. Whisk in butter, eggs, brown sugar, and vanilla.

Add flour mixture to banana mixture and stir until just combined. Fold in walnuts, if using. Scrape batter into loaf pan.

Slice remaining banana diagonally into 1/4-inch slices. Shingle slices on either side of the loaf, making sure to leave the center open. Sprinkle granulated sugar over loaf evenly.

Bake 55-75 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. If using a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan, start checking for doneness after 45-50 minutes.

Cool in loaf pan on wire rack 15 minutes.

Remove loaf from pan and cool on wire rack.

Adapted from Cook's Illustrated recipe for Ultimate Banana Bread.

Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs

2011-04-23T10:42:00.001-04:00

It should be easy to successfully hard cook eggs, but so many of us find it difficult. Sometimes the yolks are overcooked and chalky, noted by the sulfurous green tinge on the outside. Other times the yolk is undercooked and oozes. On a good day, we can peel the shell without gouging and maiming the cooked white. Here is a fail-safe method to perfect hard boiled eggs, just in time for Easter.

Perfect Hard Boiled Eggs

Place eggs in the bottom of a saucepan. Cover eggs with one inch of cold water. Place saucepan on burner set to high, uncovered. Bring to a boil, being careful to watch so the eggs don't jostle and crack. Immediately remove from heat, cover pan with lid and allow to sit for 10-12 minutes. I cook mine for 12 minutes because I prefer my yolks fully cooked through. If you cook them for 10 minutes, the yolks will be more orange-y and softer.

After the time is up, immediately plunge the drained eggs into an ice water bath and allow to chill for 5-10 minutes.

After chilling in the ice water, either crack and peel or refrigerate.

Soupe à l'Oignon - French Onion Soup

2011-04-18T15:28:00.001-04:00

We have a teenager from Paris visiting us for twelve days. We met their family many years ago and have remained friends since. Their daughter, Justine, is 13-years old and amazingly beautiful and intelligent. She and our son, who is also 13, get along famously.

Justine's equally gorgeous and brilliant mom sent along some incredible gifts for me, including a French cookbook and these adorable cocottes made by le Creuset. Justine and I wanted to make a recipe from the cookbook and use these cute ramekins. We decided upon Soupe à l'Onion, or French Onion Soup.

Photo by Justine

Justine loves to cook but usually doesn't have time to do it at home. She also has an interest in photography so several of these photographs are hers (as noted).

Photo by Justine

The best part (besides eating it) was the fact that we were so starved that I'm pretty sure our stomachs had begun to eat themselves. And to make a proper French Onion Soup, one must cook the onions a long time. A very long time. As in 2 + hours. Meanwhile, we smelled the intoxicating aroma eminating from the kitchen as we sat on the deck in the sunshine, reading our books and tapping our feet impatiently.

I know, I know. Every American bistro's menu has French Onion soup on it. And chances are it's loaded with rubbery, gag-inducing cheese, soggy sandwich bread, and a handful of still-crunchy onions swimming in a sea of beef water. Ewwww.

Photo by Justine

I can assure you, this will be the best French Onion Soup you've ever had. The soup is flavorful and deeply onion-y. The nutty, cheesy melted Gruyère lends a salty tone. The crusty bread will soak up all that rich broth. And the onion topper on the crostini adds a nice crunch and another onion flavor source.

Photo by Justine

This version goes lighter on the cheese, cooks the onions forever until well caramelized, and under no circumstances can the chef use anything but the best bread you can buy.

I adapted this recipe slightly from the one in the cookbook. Instead of using water and the overly salty and oftentimes bitter bullion cubes we have available to us in the states, I used low-sodium beef broth. We also cooked the onions much longer than stated in the original recipe.

Photo by Justine

Soupe à l'Onion - French Onion Soup
4 servings

5 very large yellow onions
2 small yellow onions
6 T. butter, divided
4 c. low-sodium beef broth
Several sprigs of fresh thyme
2-3 bay leaves
2 t. salt
1 baguette (best you can find)
3-1/2 oz. Gruyère cheese, shredded fine
Salt (preferably fleur de sel) for garnish

Peel and thinly slice the large onions. Melt 4 T. butter in a Dutch oven over medium-low heat. Add the sliced onions and stir to coat. Don't be worried if the onions fill the entire Dutch oven. Place lid on top and cook, tossing occasionally, until softened. This process may take an hour or more.

Once you see that the onions are well softened, remove the lid and continue to cook, tossing occasionally. If you see there is too much liquid in the bottom of the pot, carefully spoon it out and reserve. Continue to cook until onions are deep golden brown in color, a total of 2 hours or more.

Pre-heat oven to 400*.

Add any reserved onion juices, the beef stock, thyme (entire sprigs), bay leaves, and 2 t. salt and bring to a boil. Simmer for 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel the smaller onions. Slice the ends off. Slice 1/2" thick slices, keeping rings all together. Melt remaining 2 T. butter in skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion slabs and cook until starting to caramelize, flipping carefully with a spatula.

Ladle soup into ramekins or individual bowls, avoiding the bay leaves and thyme stalks.

Slice baguette on bias (diagonally crosswise). Float baguette slices on top of soup. Sprinkle with grated cheese. Bake until the cheese is melted and bread is toasted. Serve with onion tops perched on toasts.

Bon appétit!

Photo by Justine

Justine - isn't she très belle!

Shredded Slow-Cooked Pork Tacos

2011-04-11T14:30:00.000-04:00

So you've made Puerco Pibil and have lots of leftover shredded pork goodness. What to do with all that meat? I make tacos and they're damn good, if I do say so. They're so good, in fact, that I can't decide if I prefer the traditional way of eating it with white rice, diced tomatoes, and fresh cilantro or piled in toasted corn tortillas topped with other bold flavors. I've got an idea! Why don't you, friends, try both methods of consumption and let me know which you prefer?

There's not much of a need for a "recipe" I suppose. You can use anything you want to stuff your tortilla. We usually crumble Queso Fresco on top. Notice there's no lettuce in these tacos - but some crunchy shredded cabbage would be delicious.

Shredded Slow-Cooked Pork Tacos
Serves 4

12 corn tortillas
2-3 c. shredded pork (from Puerco Pibil)
2 avacados, peeled & diced
2 roma tomatoes, diced
8 oz. aged sharp cheddar cheese, shredded (or Queso Fresco)
handful fresh cilantro leaves
lime wedges for serving
hot sauce, for serving

Pre-heat broiler. Heat the pork in a saucepan over medium-low heat, covered. Meanwhile, place the tortillas in a single layer on a sheet pan. Broil tortillas, flipping each one as the top side toasts to a speckled light brown. Alternatively, you can toast your corn tortillas over a gas burner, flipping with tongs. When the tortillas are done toasting, immediately bend them into a taco shape. Depending on how "toasty" you like your tortillas, they set up and harden fairly quickly.

Fill your shells with the pork and remaining ingredients as desired. Eat tacos and you lick your fingers and sip your beer.

Seedlings - Lights, Camera, Problem!

2011-04-10T16:56:00.001-04:00

I inherited a light fixture for my seedlings and I am thrilled about it. My husband is equally thrilled because we now have our dining room table back. However, my seedlings were not so thrilled about their new environment.

We moved the seed trays to the basement last Saturday so the light fixture could hang from a joist easily, as the basement is unfinished.

By Monday morning, I noticed a change in the happiness level of some of my babies. They were feeling little blue (well, purple) from losing their old home. They were pouting (not growing), too. Most of the tomato plants and all of the marigolds now had purple coloring on their leaves. The underside leaves and stems of the 'maters were now a not-so lovely shade of violet.

As for the marigolds, the tops of the marigold leaves were now tinged purple.

I've never experienced this deep, dark, purple issue and I was worried. All this hard work down the drain?? No! After researching quite a bit online and at my local organic gardening and hydroponics store, I've come to the conclusion that my poor baby plants suffered from a phosphorus deficiency due to cold soil. As you know, I've been feeding them at every watering with Smart Tea so I doubted it was a lack of nutrients. I learned that if the soil temps fall (as my chilly 55* basement provides), the phosphorus is unavailable to the delicate root system.

I purchased two seedling heat mats (one that fits 4 trays and one that fits 2 trays) for about $130.

On Saturday, one week after moving them to the basement, we padded the floor with some foam puzzle pieces and hooked the seed mats up. The heating mats raise the soil temperature to 10-20* above the ambient temp. And they're waterproof so you can go ahead and quench your babies' thirst without fearing electrocution.

It's currently about 28 hours later and I think (or is it just my hopeful wishing?!) that the purple tint has lessened. I will continue to monitor this situation closely and report back.

Could it be something else? Sun-scorch? If you have experienced this problem, I'd love to hear from you.

Puerco Pibil - Johnny Depp Killed For This!

2011-04-07T13:18:00.002-04:00

Puerco Pibil, also known as Cochinita Pibil, is a slow-roasted pork dish from the Yucatan Peninsula. Typically the marinade is heavy on acid, flavored with achiote (ground annatto seeds), and the pork is slow-roasted in banana leaves. The Hubs and I have been making this for years, ever since we saw Once Upon a Time in Mexico. In the movie, Johnny Depp's character orders Puerco Pibil everywhere he goes and murders any cook who makes it too well "in order to maintain balance." The movie's director, Robert Rodriguez, gives a little how-to as a bonus feature.

I had a bit of an adventure in the making of this recipe for the blog. First of all, the market where I usually buy my achiote doesn't carry it anymore, as I found after two long trips to two of their locations. The second location, however, had annatto seeds. I figured I could just grind them up and have a better, fresher achiote, right?

I don't have a spice grinder so I plopped two bags of annatto seeds in my food processor with a smug grin on my face. I'm so smart - I can grind my own and have killer fresh achiote. Take that!

The food processor sounded like a dying moped and after several minutes of grinding, there was about 3 pinches of powder. Apparently, annatto seeds are harder than diamonds and you need an industrial sized mac-daddy grinder to do any damage. Oh, and did I mention how the small amount of powder I did get stained everything in sight? I had to soak, scrape, soak, scrape my food processor bowl all damn day long.

That takes us to the following day. I google mapped "international market", which turned out to be a teeny tiny store with grocery items from Uzbekistan and such places. (I purchased preserved walnuts...)

No achiote there...

I headed to my last resort market and lo and behold! They had achiote and lots of other yummy Hispanic foods and ingredients. I picked up a bag of Masa Harina and a chuck of sweet potato candy while I was at it.

The below recipe is one The Hubs and I adapted from Rodriguez's recipe. We don't use banana leaves anymore because I'm too lazy. The slow-cooker is the way to go.

Let me re-cap: If you make your Puerco Pibil well enough Johnny Depp might shoot you, don't eat preserved walnuts straight from the jar, and whatever you do, buy achiote, the ground version of annatto seeds.

Do NOT buy whole annatto seeds (as pictured). Buy achiote (scroll up for pic).

Puerco Pibil

6 jalapeños, or 2-3 habaneros, chopped (with or without seeds)
1 head garlic, peeled and chopped
3 T. Achiote (ground annatto seeds)
2 T. cumin
1 T. black pepper
1/2 t. allspice
1/2 t. cloves
1/2 c. orange juice
1/2 c. white vinegar
4 T. kosher salt, or 2 T. table salt
Juice of 5 limes
generous splash tequila
5 lb. pork butt, shoulder, or picnic roast (boneless or bone-in), trimmed of big fat cap/pockets

To serve:
Hot cooked white rice
Diced fresh tomatoes
Chopped fresh cilantro

In bowl of food processor, blend the jalapeño peppers with the garlic until minced. Add the remaining ingredients (except pork) and process until well combined.

Place meat in slow-cooker insert. Pour marinade over pork. You have two options now. You can refrigerate the meat in the insert overnight or start cooking right away.

Cook on low 9-11 hours until pork falls apart.

Serve over white rice, topped with diced tomatoes and fresh cilantro. Tapatio (hot sauce) recommended.

Recipe for a delicious way to eat the leftover Puerco Pibil coming soon...

Seedlings - Update and Supplement

2011-04-05T16:13:00.001-04:00

I realize it's been a while since I've posted about gardening. Honestly, there's not been much gardening going on lately, thanks to my good friend Mother Nature. I have also acquired a set of lights on loan for my babies (thank you kindly, C.!!). My darling husband doesn't know this yet, but he will be helping me assemble a device to hang said lights over the trays of seedlings. I will post photos of new lights and hanger once established.

Petunias
Seeds sown 2.13.11
Photo taken 3.30.11

These are slow-growing little buggers, but man-oh-man do they look gorgeous once out in the hot sunshine and allowed to grow to their full potential.

Eggplant
Purple Rain
Seeds sown 2.18.11
Photo taken 3.30.11

Pepper
Anaheim
Seeds sown 2.18.11
Photo taken 3.30.11

Tomato
Cherokee Purple Heirloom
Seeds sown 3.4.11
Photo taken 3.30.11

Marigold
Mix
Seeds sown 3.4.11
Photo taken 3.30.11

Smart Tea
This is the organic plant "fertilizer" I'm using. For the seedlings, I mix 4 teaspoons in 2 gallons of warm water. It is 100% organic, derived from natural bacteria and fungi, plants from earth and sea, and other wholesome things. I purchased this 1 quart bottle at my local hydroponics and organic garden center for $16.99.

What are you growing?

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

2011-04-01T14:11:00.001-04:00

I suppose I really am on a childhood favorites kick. My grandma used to bake me a carrot cake whenever I asked. I was not into the typical yellow sheet cake with chemical frosting for my birthday, either. I wanted carrot cake. I found my grandmother's recipe and it is actually quite similar to this recipe for Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. However, I wanted something a bit more simple and easy so this recipe is it.

I found this recipe in an old issue of Cook's Illustrated. While the cake bakes, it fills the house with all the warm smells - cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. And the cream cheese frosting is to die for. It's creamy and not too heavy atop the moist cake. If you have a food processor, it will make your life easier, especially while making this cake. I'll include both food processor and stand mixer methods below. Because I'm a warm spice freak-show, I always add more of the cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves. I also made 1-1/2 times the frosting, but found it to be too much, even for me. The original frosting recipe is below. I prefer my carrot cake sans nuts or raisins but the instructions are below if you're so inclined. Instead of baking the cake in two cake pans, you bake it in a 9 x 13 pan.

Oh, and did I mention how delicious the batter is? Yes, indeed. Spicy and buttery and sweet. I could have eaten the whole cake raw, but then what would I do with the frosting?

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

2-1/2 c. flour (12-1/2 oz.)

1-1/4 t. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

1-1/4 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. nutmeg (freshly ground, please!)

1/8 t. ground cloves

1/2 t. table salt

1 lb. carrots (6-7), peeled

1-1/2 c. sugar (10-1/2 oz.)

1/2 c. packed light brown sugar (3-1/2 oz.)

4 eggs

1-1/2 c. vegetable oil

1-1/2 c. toasted chopped nuts (optional)

1 c. raisins (optional)

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

5 T. butter, softened

1 T. sour cream

1/2 t. vanilla

1-1/4 c. powdered sugar (4-1/2 oz.)

Pre-heat oven to 350* and adjust oven rack to middle position. Spray 9 x 13 baking dish and line bottom with parchment paper, also sprayed.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt in large bowl.

Food Processor Method: In a food processor fitted with shredding disk, shred carrots and add to flour mixture in bowl. Wipe out food processor and fit with blade. Process both sugars and eggs until frothy and combined, 20 seconds. With machine running, add oil through feed feed tube in stream. Mix until light in color and well combined, 20 seconds longer. Scrape into bowl with carrots and flour. Now would be the time to add the nuts and/or raisins if you're using them. Fold all that goodness together until no streaks of flour remain.

Mixer Method: Shred carrots using large holes on a box grater. Add to flour mixture in bowl. Using the paddle attachment on a standing mixer, beat both sugars and eggs on medium-high until well mixed, 45 seconds. Reduce speed to medium. Add oil in stream, then increase speed to high and mix until light in color and well mixed, 45-60 seconds more. Scrape into bowl with carrots and flour mixture. If you're all about nuts and raisins, all those now. Fold all together until no flour streaks remain.

Pour into dish and bake until toothpick comes out clean, 35-40 minutes, or 45-55 minutes if you added both nuts and raisins. Cool in pan on wire rack until room temp, about 2 hours.

Food Processor Method: When cake is cool, process cream cheese, butter, sour cream, and vanilla until combined. Add powdered sugar and process until smooth, 10 seconds.

Mixer Method: When cake is cool, using whisk attachment, mix cream cheese, butter, sour cream, and vanilla at medium-high speed about 30 seconds. Add powdered sugar and process until smooth, 1 minute.

Now you have two choices. You can either run a knife around the edge of the pan and turn out onto serving platter, removing the bottom parchment in the process, then frost. OR, you can frost the cake right there in the dish. Either way, this carrot cake is simple and delicious.

Adapted from Cooks Illustrated recipe

Smoky Macaroni & Cheese

2011-03-25T13:44:00.003-04:00

I must be on a comfort food kick. I'm craving my childhood favorites, it seems (see post on Snickerdoodles). It must be said that most Americans, and many others, absolutely love macaroni and cheese. I mean, what's not to love? It's cheesy and warm and we grew up eating it. Smoky Macaroni & Cheese is a far cry from that powdered boxed nonsense. This is a grown-up version of the pasta and cheese we adore.

My mom's favorite food was macaroni and cheese. And when asked which was her favorite mac 'n cheese? "Shannon's, of course." My mom was a fabulous cook and to take a spot in her top 10 is huge. My kids (all three of them!) love it. In fact, my super-picky 8-year old will turn her cute little nose up at other macaroni and cheese creations and remark how it's just "not mom's homemade mac 'n cheese."

Friends, be warned: Smoky Macaroni & Cheese is not low-fat. Nor is it light and refreshing. It is a full-bodied, rich and hearty mac 'n cheese. It is creamy and cheesy with a crunchy topping. The not-so-secret ingredient that gives this dish it's unique flavor is the smoked Gouda, so don't substitute it out if you want the "smoky" part of the recipe. Pair it with a salad and you have a full meal. Or skip the salad and eat Smoky Macaroni & Cheese until you need to loosen your belt buckle.

Smoky Macaroni & Cheese

1 lb. elbow pasta (or whatever shape you like)
5-1/2 c. milk
8 T. (1 stick) butter, divided
1/4 c. flour
10 oz. (2-1/2 c.) smoked Gouda, shredded
8 oz. (2 c.) sharp Cheddar, shredded
6 oz. (1-1/2 c.) Swiss, shredded
4 oz. (1 c.) Parmesan, shredded fine, divided
1 c. Panko bread crumbs
1/4 - 1/2 t. ground cayenne pepper (to taste)
s & p

Preheat oven to 350*. Grease a 9 x 13 baking dish or individual crocks.

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook until just soft. Drain in colander and set colander aside.

Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add cayenne and cook 30 seconds, stirring. Add Panko and stir well. Toast bread crumbs until light golden brown, stirring constantly. Remove skillet from heat and set aside.

Using the now-empty (no need to clean) pasta pot, melt remaining 6 tablespoons butter over medium-high heat. Add flour and cook, whisking, for about 2 minutes as it bubbles and froths. Add 1 teaspoon Kosher salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and whisk. Pour some of the milk in, while whisking constantly. Continue whisking and adding the milk. Heat the milk to a near boil (around 200*), whisking often as to not burn the milk mixture. Off heat, add the cheeses in handfuls, stirring in a figure-8 pattern until all the cheese is incorporated. Don't worry if not every single bit of cheese has melted into the béchamel. Add the drained pasta and mix well. Pour into baking dish.

Stir remaining 1/2 c. Parmesan cheese into the cooled bread crumb mixture. Top pasta with mixture. Bake for 30-45 minutes, or until bubbly and golden brown on top.

Snickerdoodles

2011-03-24T10:38:00.001-04:00

Let's be honest - we all love the classic kid-favorite cookie known as the Snickerdoodle. And we've all had crummy ones (crunchy, flat, cloyingly sweet) and we've had good ones. This classic sweet treat, a butter cookie with a distinctive crackled cinnamon-sugar top, shouldn't be difficult to get right. Well, friends, it isn't. The most difficult part will be not eating all the Snickerdoodle dough before baking the cookies.

Let me just go ahead and address that statement. I am a cookie dough addict. I have been known to throw caution to the Salmonella wind and eat raw dough by the fist-full, and (gasp!) I do allow my kids to do the same. I know this goes against everything we've been taught for the last decade plus. In reality, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates only 1 in 30,000 eggs will be contaminated with Salmonella. I haven't had a problem yet, and until I do, I'll keep on enjoying my raw dough.

These Snickerdoodles have a crispy exterior with a light, but not cakey, interior. They are buttery and moist and melt in your mouth. My mom handed down this recipe and I've not changed it one bit - except I never seem to be able to get a full yield of cookies because I eat half the dough.

Snickerdoodles

1 c. butter
1-3/4 c. sugar, divided
2 eggs
2-3/4 c. flour
2 t. cream of tartar
1 t. baking soda
1/4 t. salt
1 T. cinnamon

In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream together the butter, 1-1/2 c. sugar, and eggs until light and fluffy. In a separate bowl, whisk flour, cream of tartar, baking soda, and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture and slowly mix until just combined. Chill dough in refrigerator for at least 2 hours.

Preheat oven to 400*. In a shallow dish, mix remaining 1/4 c. sugar and cinnamon. Form dough into 1" balls. Roll balls in cinnamon sugar.

Place 2" apart on ungreased baking sheet (I line mine with parchment paper).

Bake 7-10 minutes or until very light golden brown on top. Allow to sit on baking sheet for 2 minutes then remove to cool on wire rack.

Irish Soda Bread

2011-03-16T14:19:00.000-04:00

Despite the fact that my name is Shannon Marie, I am not Irish. At least, my family has not originated in Ireland for hundreds of years. Yet, in honor of St. Patrick's Day, I am inclined to make Irish Soda Bread.

This bread is typically made in Ireland to serve with the evening supper. There are a few theories as to why one cuts an X into the top. As cooks, we know it will aid in cooking more uniformly. It is said too, that cutting into the loaf before baking lets the faeries out. Or it could be a sign of the cross in a country with a heavy Catholic population.

Irish Soda Bread tastes a bit like sourdough bread - it leaves a slight tang on the tongue. The crust is crunchy and the insides are chewy. This bread is heavenly with butter and marmalade. It's equally yummy as-is to mop up the remains of your beef stew. For an unusual snack, try warming the bread and topping with some bittersweet chocolate.

Irish Soda Bread

1 lb. unbleached flour (about 4 c.)

1-1/2 t. salt

1-1/2 t. baking soda (make sure it's fresh!)

2 cups (1 pint) buttermilk

Preheat oven to 450*. Do not start mixing until the oven is at temp.

In a large bowl, whisk flour, salt, and baking soda. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture. Add about 1-1/2 c. buttermilk to flour. Using your hands, pull the flour into the buttermilk, lightly mixing as you go. Add more buttermilk or flour as necessary to form a soft dough.

Using care, gently form the dough into a disk (no kneading). Place on a parchment lined baking sheet. Pat the disk into a 2-3" tall round. Cut a deep X into the top of the dough.

Immediately place in oven. After 5 minutes, reduce oven temperature to 400*. Bake an additional 20 minutes or until golden brown and bread sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom.

Spotted Dick

2011-03-16T13:51:00.001-04:00

Spotted Dick. Spotted Dog. Railway Cake. Spotted Richard. This unusual bread is known by several different names, yet eats the same. I did a bit of research while coming up with this recipe and found a million variations. I also realize the recipe published here is not traditional (impostor!) and the purists just might faint at my use of dates and lack of suet. Whatever you chose to call it, this sweet loaf will make an afternoon snack you'll love.

The crust on the bread is crunchy and sweet. The raisins and dates lend a chewiness to the somewhat dense bread. Spotted Dick is delicious toasted with butter or jam, spread with cream cheese, or eaten right out of hand. It doesn't keep very well so plan on consuming within a day or so. Any stale leftovers are fantastic in bread pudding. Feel free to add cinnamon and/or nutmeg to "Americanize" it.

Spotted Dick

1 lb. unbleached flour (about 4 c.)

3 T. sugar, divided

1-1/2 t. baking soda (make sure it's fresh!)

1-1/2 t. salt

1/4 c. raisins

1/2 c. chopped dates

1 egg

1-1/2 - 2 c. (about 1 pint) buttermilk

Preheat oven to 450*. Do not start mixing until the oven is at temp.

In a large bowl, whisk flour, 2 T. sugar, baking soda, and salt. Add raisins and dates and mix well. In a 2-cup measuring cup, whisk egg and enough buttermilk to reach the 2-cup line.

Form a well in the center of the flour mixture. Pour in 1-1/2 c. buttermilk mixture. Using your hands, bring the flour into the center and mix with the wet ingredients. Quickly and lightly work into a dough, adding more buttermilk/egg mixture or flour as necessary to form a soft, moist dough.

Once the dough has formed, do not knead it or handle it much. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet and shape into a round disk 2-3" tall. Brush top with some remaining buttermilk/egg mixture and sprinkle with remaining 1 T. sugar. Cut a deep X into top of loaf.

Immediately place in oven. After 5 minutes, reduce oven temperature to 400*. Bake 25 additional minutes. Check to see if the bread is done by tapping on the bottom of the loaf. If it is done, it will sound hollow.

Candied Bacon

2011-03-10T11:41:00.001-05:00

I adore bacon. The scent of bacon popping in a skillet takes me back to being a wee one in the kitchen with my mom, stirring pancake batter for Sunday morning breakfast. All of a sudden I am back at my grandparent's home, watching my grandpa slicing potatoes for his famous fried potatoes (recipe to come!) and flipping bacon in his cast iron skillet. What do you think of when you dream of bacon? Salty, crispy, chewy, smoky? How about sweet and sticky? Candied Bacon is a twist on an old favorite.

I developed this recipe after one of my serious cravings for bacon, which happens quite often, I must admit. I was in the mood for sweet bacon. What pairs well with bacon (besides everything)? Maple syrup! I set to work and came up with this recipe for Candied Bacon and it is truly impossible to eat just one slice.

I use center-cut bacon because I've found it fits better in the baking dish and it's healthier. Whatever you do, use pure maple syrup, not the fake maple-flavored corn syrup stuff.

Candied Bacon

6-8 slices thick sliced, center-cut bacon
2/3 c. pure maple syrup

Pre-heat oven to 400*. Arrange bacon slices in a 9 x 13 baking dish.

Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and drain off fat. I also blot the bacon with paper towels to absorb as much grease as possible. Reduce oven temp to 350* and put bacon back in dish, then pour maple syrup over slices. Bake 30-40 minutes or until liquid and bacon are thick and golden, flipping bacon slices once during cooking. Remove bacon from dish and place on parchment paper to cool.

Allow to set up. Store in refrigerator between parchment paper. These goodies are sticky!

Marinated Goat Cheese

2011-03-04T11:31:00.001-05:00

My mom and my paternal grandfather were two of the most influential people in my life. They both passed away fairly recently and I miss them both so much it hurts. This recipe involves Mom and Paw-paw, directly and indirectly.

I used to spend a lot of time visiting my grandfather. He was the perfect grandpa - he'd take us to the amusement park, make us milkshakes, and record Saturday morning cartoons (back when life was tough and we only had cartoons once a week! Eeek!). As we became adults, he no longer taped cartoons for us, but continued to make Purple Cows and fascinate us with his incredible stories. I turned 16 and was able to visit my grandpa whenever I wanted. I'd drive the 2-1/2 hours to his house and stay with him all weekend or longer. We used to watch Bob Villa and PBS cooking shows, in particular, Caprial Pence. I bought her cookbook, Cooking with Caprial, and instantly fell in love.

I took my new cookbook with me to my mom's house and we decided to make the goat cheese recipe. It was my first experience with goat cheese and I was immediately an addict. It became, and still is, my favorite cheese. My mom was the one who ignited my love of cooking, and she and I had a blast experimenting in the kitchen together. It was one our favorite things to do together, besides laughing as the kids played in the pool and drinking margaritas on the deck. As my mom and I chatted away in the kitchen, chopping, sauteing, kneading, and decorating, we were centered. I knew I was exactly where I needed to be - in the kitchen with my best friend.

A funny thing happened while preparing for this post. I opened my mom's copy of the cookbook (purchased soon after making the goat cheese recipe so we'd both have a copy) and there was a yellowed, crumbly envelope stuck inside. Inside the small envelope was my mother's original birth announcement. I have no idea where it came from or who placed it there. I would be amiss if I failed to see the symbolism.

I have tweaked this recipe over the years to fit my personal tastes. I changed the olives to Kalamatas, and have adjusted the measurements. This recipe is totally adaptable to your liking. If you really love garlic, add more! If you have chives on hand, sub it out for the thyme.

Marinated Goat Cheese
Serves 10-12 as an appetizer or 3-4 as a main meal with a salad.
Adapted from Cooking with Caprial, Caprial Pence

11 oz. fresh soft goat cheese
3 garlic cloves, minced fine
2 T. chopped fresh thyme (must be fresh, not dried)
3 oz. (30-35) Kalamata olives, chopped
3/4 c. olive oil
1/3 c. balsamic vinegar
1/4 t. kosher salt
1/4 t. freshly ground black pepper
1 baguette
olive oil, for crostini

Crumble goat cheese onto shallow dish or platter. In medium bowl, add garlic, thyme, vinegar, salt, and pepper. Whisk in oil, pouring in a steady stream. Mix in olives. Pour mixture over goat cheese. Refrigerate at least 2 hours or up to a week.

When ready to serve, allow goat cheese to come to room temp for 30 min. The oil may separate and solidify a bit - it's ok! Pre-heat the broiler. Slice baguette into 1/4" - 1/2" rounds. Drizzle with olive oil. Place on a baking sheet and stick under broiler until golden.

Spoon goat cheese on warm crostini. Drizzle oil and vinegar over goat cheese as you like.

Growing From Seed, Step-by-Step

2011-03-02T11:18:00.001-05:00

Growing from seeds can be intimidating. I too was overwhelmed by the thought of expensive equipment and the fancy fifty-dollar words these professional gardeners threw around. But after spending way too much money in garden centers on plants, I took a leap of faith and decided to try to grow my own. I figured I would start my seeds in late winter, and if by planting time they were unhealthy or dead, I'd head to the garden center to buy ready-made plants. But lo and behold! They were a success! Furthermore, I am able to pick and choose what varieties I want in my garden. Tomatoes alone have hundreds of kinds available. You can have every color under the sun - red, yellow, orange, green, purple, brown, pink, striped, and multi. There are grape, cherry, roma, slicing, paste, and burgers. And let's not forget about the heirlooms with creative names such as Mortgage Lifter, Mr. Stripey, Cherokee Purple, and Grandfather Ashlock. I want to show how easy and inexpensive it can be to fill your garden with amazing and unusual fruits and veggies.

Growing From Seeds
Below is a photo of the basics you'll need to get started. These are the supplies I use but feel free to substitute as you see fit.

Peat pots
Trays with domes
Mister (I bought a spray bottle for $1)
Organic Seed Starting Mix
Tags with a permanent marker
Seeds (duh!)

1. Find out the last frost date for your location.

2. Look at your seed packets to determine how soon to start them indoors. For example, my frost-free date is May 2. The seed packet for my Fourth of July tomatoes say to start indoors 6-8 weeks before outdoor planting time. So I will start my seeds between March 7 - 26.

3. Fill your peat pots with seed starter mix, gently compressing as you go. You do not want your starter mix compacted like a brick, nor should it be loosey-goosey.

4. Mist the starter mix with warm water to moisten well.

You do not want to saturate the soil. Do not use hot or cold water. Tepid water will help warm up the interior of your new greenhouse.

5. Check the planting depth on the seed packet. For my Fourth of July tomatoes, I will sow the seeds 1/4" deep. Place seeds on top of starter mix. Cover with the amount of soil necessary and gently press down. Mist again lightly, being careful not to blow the starter mix off your seeds.

6. Put the dome on top and place in a sunny window, preferably south-facing. When the seedlings pop out, eschew the dome top. Once all of the seedlings have emerged from the starter mix, remove the top and watch them grow into gorgeous plants!

Be sure to check the moisture level daily with all of your seeds. You want them moist but not dripping wet. I mist the seedlings gently when they are young and tender, as well as pour warm water directly into the tray to water from the bottom. Be careful if you need to move your peat pots because as they get and stay wet, they will tear apart easily.

Chocolate Coffee Truffle Cake with Chocolate Ganache

2011-02-25T10:53:00.005-05:00

My husband and I don't go out for Valentine's Day. We don't exchange ooey-gooey cards, either. I hate crowds and lines and overpriced grub. Our tradition is to stay at home, put the kids to bed early, light some candles, and create a restaurant-worthy meal for cheap. The Hubs is not a big fan of desserts (unlike me) so I made something I wanted.

My first experience with a cake like this was in France. I was walking to my local butcher in Paris and glanced in the shiny window of a pâtisserie I had passed by a million times before. The sweets are on display like diamonds in a jewelry store. They are beautifully wrapped, ribboned, nestled, and drizzled. I saw a cake - a gorgeous ebony disc with glossy liquid chocolate atop. I had to have it. NOW. My first bite was heaven.

This is technically called a cake, but that gives one the impression of fluffy, airy... well... cake. Not the case here, friends. This cake is thick and very chocolatey with some powerful coffee undertones. However, if you're not a coffee fan, not to worry. This can be made without the coffee and it is just as delicious. Oh, and did I mention it's flourless? That's right! So you gluten-free fans can rejoice!

You'll notice the ganache is drippy. I prefer mine a bit runny but feel free to cut back on the amount of cream used to make a thicker glaze for your cake. The cake is has a bittersweet chocolate flavor so the ganache cuts the bitterness, but feel free to omit.

Chocolate Coffee Truffle Cake with Chocolate Ganache

1/2 c. brewed coffee or water
1/4 t. salt
3/4 c. sugar
18 oz. bittersweet chocolate
1 c. butter, cut into chunks
6 eggs
cocoa powder, for dusting
Ganache:
1 c. heavy cream
16 oz. milk chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 300*. Grease one 10-inch springform pan. Lightly dust with cocoa powder.   Wrap the springform pan exterior in a double layer of heavy duty wide aluminum foil.

In a small saucepan, combine the coffee, salt, and sugar over medium heat and stir until the sugar is dissolved.

Microwave the bittersweet chocolate at 15-second intervals, stirring in between, until melted. Pour into the bowl of an electric mixer. With the mixer running at medium-low speed, add the butter to the chocolate, one piece at a time. Once fully incorporated, add the coffee mixture and mix. Beat in the eggs, one at a time until completely mixed together.

Pour the chocolate mixture into the springform pan. Place in a roasting pan and fill roasting pan with boiling water to reach half-way up the sides of the springform pan.

Bake for 45 minutes. Allow to cool on a wire rack until room temperature then chill in the refrigerator.

When ready to serve, heat cream in small saucepan until tiny bubbles form around the edges. Pour hot cream over the milk chocolate chips in a bowl. Allow to sit for 2 minutes, then gently stir to melt the chocolate. Remove springform pan ring and place cake on a serving platter. Pour ganache over the top of the cake, allowing it to drip over the edges.

Petunias, Petunias

2011-02-24T11:20:00.005-05:00

If you're anything like me, you've gone to your local nursery or home-improvement store and been astonished at the prices of Wave Petunias. These beautiful, eye-catching plants full of colorful blooms look amazing in flower beds and containers. They are easy to grow (no pruning or deadheading necessary!) and pretty drought tolerant. However, the hefty price tag isn't so easy on the eyes. I'm not talking about the regular petunias; we are focusing on Wave Petunias.
There are five sorts to chose from:

Double (double blooms)

Spreading 6"- 8" x 18" x 24"

Shock

Mounded, Spreading 7" -10" x 30" x 36"

Tidal

Spreading, Upright 16" - 22" x 30" - 60"

Wave (groundcover)

Spreading 5" - 7" x 36" - 48"

Easy Wave

Mounded, Spreading 6" - 12" x 30" - 39"

So what to do about the lovely yet super-expensive Wave Petunias you want to pepper your flower beds and pots with? Grow your own! Yes, I'm serious. Don't worry - it's easier than you think.

I will be planting mine in pots on the deck so I chose Easy Wave for a little height and some girth. I ordered them from Jung Seed Co. for about $5 for 15 pelleted seeds, which is about the cost of one plant in the pretty pink pots at the garden center. See, friends? Saving money already!

For the faint of heart - these seeds are small. Like, really tiny. But they will produce a killer set of healthy Wave Petunia plants.

Petunias require a surface sow (basically it means don't bury your teeny tiny seed under soil - leave them exposed on the surface of your planting medium) because light, either sunlight or artificial light, is needed for germination.

Once you get over your inital shock at the size of the seeds (and really, the actual seeds are pelleted so the seed itself is even smaller!), we can move on to planting them. I use peat pots and organic seed starting mix. Some gardeners sow 2-3 seeds per pot and then thin them out to leave the strongest remaining. I prefer to sow one per pot, only becuase I want to be able to plant all 15 plants.

I realize you can barely see the Wave Petunia seed. It's there, I promise. It's the little yellow speck in the middle of the peat pot. Included in the seed packet were 16 seeds, which evened out nicely my pots.

After placing the seed on the top of the starter mix in each pot, I lightly misted them with warm water. You may see the pellet disintegrate as it gets wet. That's totally fine, just don't mist them so hard that they blow away or get covered with soil.

The packet says germination in 10-21 days but my little sprouts popped up after only 5 days. More updated Petunia photos to come as they grow.