Beer Braised Swiss Chard with Bacon & Onions

Have you heard the urban legend that bacon makes everything taste better? You always thought it was just an exaggeration, didn't you? Well, it isn't.  It is now a confirmed fact; we received our confirmation tonight. People from craigslist were allegedly coming over tonight to pick up some of our unwanted furniture so we figured that it would be better not to be in the midst of cooking when they arrived. Turns out there was no need to worry; apparently craigslisters are unreliable was well as occasionally dangerous.

The Hubs had picked up a box of perrogies to eat for lunch last week and since they went uneaten he thought that they would be a good choice for dinner. I hadn't had perrogies since a college boyfriend's mother served me half-frozen ones when she discovered that vegetarians don't eat tuna noodle casserole. (In my defense, even non-vegetarians usually try to avoid eating tuna noodle casserole.) Given my traumatic perrogie history Mike took the lead on making tonight's perrogies.  Since perrogies have the cooking instructions on the box are straight forward to make, I'll skip over the perrogies and move on my bacon discovery.

While onions are technically a vegetable, I just couldn't bring myself to do just perrogies and onions for dinner.  So I decided to cook up the swiss chard from the farmer's market and (to make it more appealing to my man) I thought that bacon would make an excellent addition.  When cooking swiss chard a little liquid speeds up the cooking and softens the stems.  And what goes with bacon and onions? Yupper. Beer!

Beer Braised Swiss Chard with Bacon and Onions

3/4 pound swiss chard
1/2 medium onion
1/2 pound bacon
1/2 cup beer
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp all spice
1/4 tsp nutmeg
salt & pepper

Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium-high heat until the bacon is very crispy.  Pull the bacon from a pan and set on paper towels to drain and cool.  Pour off the bacon grease add the olive oil to the skillet and cook the onions over medium heat until they are softened.  While the onions are softening, cut the swiss chard stems into 1" pieces and the greens into large pieces.  When the onions have softened (it will take about 6 minutes) add the swiss chard and pour in the beer.  Cover the pan with a lid and cook for 3 minutes.  Take the lid off the pan, toss the swiss chard with the onions and continue to cook until the beer has cooked off.  Add the bacon, all spice, nutmeg, and season to taste with salt and pepper.  Serve aside whatever you are having for dinner that needs at least one vegetable.
Bon Appetit!


Serves 2

Roasted Potatoes with Pork Steak and Carrots

Tonight was meal #2 of my quest for Meals That Don't Require a Mandoline.  Just so that you aren't confused about me, the mandoline isn't really a tool that I use more than once a month every day.  For the next week or so I am just looking for meals that are simple and don't require tools that have already been packed.  It's a nice goal, although we didn't quite get there tonight; the Hubs was looking for the already packed no longer available splatter-screen for the pork.

I roasted potatoes and half an onion.  While the potatoes cooked, the Hubs dug into the freezer to see what we had from the meat CSA and he came up with two pork steaks.  I'm not sure that the pork steak is a cut of pork that's readily available, but substuting with pork chops would be an excellent alternative. To round out the meal, I made up some carrots from the farmer's market.  They were the absolutely first carrots of the season, tiny and sweet and just impossible to pass up.  I sauteed them in a little butter (yup. butter.) with marjoram and tarragon, it seems to keep the carrots from getting too sweet.

Roasted Potatoes with Pork Steak and Carrots

2 pork steaks (or pork chops pounded thin)
1 egg
1 cup panko bread crumbs
salt & pepper

10 small yukon gold potatoes
1/2 medium onion
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp finely chopped rosemary
1 tbsp finely chopped winter savory
salt & pepper



1/2 pound new carrots
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tbsp dried marjoram
1/2 tbsp dried tarragon
salt & pepper

For the pork: Put the beaten egg into a large flat bowl (or pie pan) and the panko bread crumbs into a second large flat bowl.  Season both the egg and the panko with salt and pepper.  If you are feel adventurous, season the egg with 1/2 tsp of Dijon mustard and the panko with 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes and 1/2 tsp curry powder.  Dredge each pork, chop or steak, in a beaten egg and then coat with panko bread crumbs.  Put about half a cup of canola oil in a large skillet and turn the skillet to medium-high.  When the oil is shimmering hot, add the pork chops.  Don't move the pork chop until it's been in a skillet for about 5 minutes.  It will release the pan when it's ready to turn.  Cook the other side for another 5 - 7 minutes.  The pork should have reached an internal temperature of 160 (according to the USDA).

For the potatoes: Turn the oven to 425 degrees.  Cut the potatoes into evenly sized pieces, about 2" and slice half an onion into half-moon slices.  Toss the potatoes and onions with the balsamic vinegar, olive oil the rosemary and winter savory. Spread the potatoes and onions over a large cookie sheet and roast for 35 - 40 minutes (until the potatoes are easily pierced with a fork). 

For the carrots:  Cut the tops and bottoms from the carrots and cut them into even pieces, about 2"pieces.  Melt a tbsp of butter and a tbsp of olive oil in a medium sized skillet over medium heat.  Saute the carrots for about 7 - 10 minutes, until they pierce easily with a fork.  Make sure that the carrots don't get over-cooked and mushy.  If they are browning rather than softening, put a lid over the carrots (even if it almost rests on the carrots) to catch the water and help steam the carrots. 

Serve the pork with the potatoes and the carrots.  Garnish the dish with some chopped fresh tarragon.  Bon Appetit!


Serves 2

White Bean and Tuna Pasta Salad

The Hubs and I have spent the entire day packing and we're exhausted, but we made good progress.  Nearly every horizontal space in our apartment is cleared.  Maybe we should leave them this way; it would certainly make dusting a simpler chore.  About two hours into the packing the Hubs came upstairs and said, "don't you just want to throw everything away?"  Apparently that brilliant idea is contagious.

Needless to say, in the midst of all of this chaos there hasn't been much cooking going on in my kitchen.  We're been eating out or inviting ourselves over to friends' houses for dinner on very flimsy pretexts.  Last night we did dinner with R. and P. (of the shower fame) and brought over dessert.  It was a great dessert, I roasted strawberries (slice the strawberries, toss with 2 tbsp balsamic and 2 tbsp honey, roast in a 425 degree over for 12 - 15 minutes) and the Hubs made his biscuits. (I'd share that recipe, but I don't know it and I don't intend to learn it.)  We whipped some cream (self-explainatory) and garnished with mint.  I completely intended to take a photo of the strawberries and biscuits but they simply didn't last long enough for a photo (and I may or may not have forgotten my camera).

Instead I am going to share with you a recipe that Bob and I worked up earlier this week.  Bob had to take some food to an end of the year faculty picnic and didn't want to take the same 'ole maccaroni salad.  So we invented a French-inspired macaroni salad.  This one has tuna and white beans, olives and roasted red peppers.  Bob made the salad and kindly sent a photo of it along with the rave reviews from the teachers at the picnic.

White Bean and Tuna Pasta Salad

1 16 ounce box pasta
2 cans tuna in olive oil
1 can white beans
1 12 ounce jar roasted red peppers
1 cup nicoise olives
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
3 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp white wine vinegar
2 tbsp lemon zest
salt and pepper

Cook the pasta.  Slice the red peppers and olives into thin strips.  Drain and rinse the white beans.  Drain off the oil on the tuna.  When the pasta is cooked, drain it, and put it in a large bowl.  Add the red peppers, tuna, olives, beans, parsley and lemon zest.  Whisk together the lemon juice, white wine vinegar and olive oil.  Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to cover completely.  Season to taste with the salt and pepper.  Serve garnished with a few whole parsley leaves.  Bon Appetit!


Makes Picnic-Sized Portion

Salmon Burgers on Polenta with Zucchini and Mozzarella Slices

I really hate to winge...ok...revise that...I hate to engage in excessive whingeing.  But sometimes, just the right amount of whingeing is exacty that's needed.  And right now, I need to whinge about the status of my life in general.  In 14 days movers are showing up at our house to move us to a new apartment and that's very exciting!  It's getting through the next 14 days that requires the whinge.

The house is a wreck with half-packed things strewn across every available surface and an enormous pile of boxes blocking all of the natural light in the kitchen/dining room.  (Having a separate kitchen and dining room is one of the things I'm excited about for of the new apartment.)  I keep suggesting that we just hire a dumpster and rid ourselves of all most of this stuff, but the Hubs isn't taking that suggestion nearly as seriously as I wish he would.  In fact, he keeps reminding me of things that I would miss, if I were to throw them out.  He might be right have a marginally valid point.

One of the biggest annoyances of this whole Moving Our Apartment thing is my attempts to be efficient.  I keep packing up things in the kitchen (like the cookbooks and the mandoline) that I am sure I won't need in the next 14 days, only to discover that I was wrong, I can't in fact live without those things.  But I also can't bring myself to move backwards and unpack them again.  So I'm stuck. The only solution presenting itself is to order out every night make simple food for dinner that doesn't involve a cook book or a mandoline.  Tonight's dinner fell squarely into the category of Simple Food That Doesn't Require a Mandoline. 

I picked up two salmon burgers form Whole Foods yesterday and served them with thinly sliced zucchini layered with fresh mozzarella.  Instead of using a traditional roll for the salmon burgers I placed them on grilled polenta.  Because I really don't like salmon (there, I've admitted it) I made up a simple sauce.  Since there isn't much of a recipe here to share I will give you the details for making polenta and the simple "salmon-hiding" sauce.  One of the bonuses of this meal is that I cooked nearly everything on my two-burner griddle, which meant I only needed to wash the polenta pot and the griddle.


For the polenta: the ratio is 3:1 water to coarsely ground corn meal.  The Hubs joked that I wasn't making polenta, I was making grits, a funny reference to an episode of Good Eats episode in which Alton Brown makes nearly the same joke.  The key to polenta, much like the candied pecans, is to keep stirring (although with polenta constant stirring isn't quite as crucial).  Bring the water to a boil and pour the polenta into it in a slow stream while stirring constantly (that part is important or you'll get lumps).  Bring the polenta back up to a boil and stir for 20 - 30 minutes.  The polenta will need a good amount of salt for flavor and I like to finish it with about a teaspoon of butter.  I also mixed black pepper and fresh thyme into this batch of polenta.  If you want to grill your polenta, let it cool in a separate pan; I usually pour it into a bread loaf pan.  When it was cool I cut it in half and grilled it (just to get the outside a little crispy and to give it the grill marks).  For 2 servings I used 1/2 cup of the dry corn meal.

For the zucchini: slice a small zucchini lengthwise into 4 slices (this is where an unpacked mandoline would come in very handy) and grill it on the griddle (which had been brushed with olive oil) until the zucchini has softened, about 8 - 10 minutes.  Be sure to sprinkle both sides of the zucchini with salt.  When the zucchini is cooked, layer it with slices of the fresh mozzarella and garnish with ribbons of basil.

For the sauce: Mix 2 large tablespoons of light mayonnaise with 1/2 teaspoon of Dijon mustard, 1 tsp of freshly chopped tarragon, 1/2 tsp of freshly chopped dill, 1/2 tsp lemon juice and a small pinch of salt.

And of course, cook the salmon burger on the griddle, once you've pulled the cooked zucchini and flipped the polenta.  That works out to near perfect timing because you can arrange the zucchini and mozzarella while the polenta and salmon grill. Serve the salmon burger on top of the polenta slice with the zucchini and mozzarella slices on the side.  Bon Appetit!


Serves 2- 4

Figs with Goat Cheese and Balsamic Reduction

Here in New England we only get 24 hours during which black mission figs are (a) available and (2) not overly ripe.  Last year, I foolishly thought that we would have something like 36 or 48 hours in which to eat the figs before they went bad.  The thick growth of mold that developed in one night quickly disabused me of that notion.

Today after work the Hubs and I had to go to the grocery store (being unable to make ourselves do anything productive yesterday in our post-shower-success-glow) and I'd planned to make roasted beet barley risotto (having not used last week's farmer's market beet purchase yet).  The grocery run was really intended to allow us to feed ourselves for the rest of the week.  But then I came across a pint of black mission figs that had about 6 perfect-looking figs in it and I knew, I had to act and I had to act fast!

So, instead of the roasted beets and barley risotto,which should turn up here tomorrow, but one never really knows that mood will strike me come dinner time, we had figs. I bought a hunk of manchego cheese and a loaf of crusty bread to go with the figs.  Then I broiled the figs (taking care not to also broil my fingers) with goat cheese and made a quick balsamic reduction.  A little garnish of mint and we had dinner.

Figs With Goat Cheese and Balsamic Reduction

6 - 8 black mission figs
2 ounces of goat cheese
2 tbsp finely chopped walnuts
2 tbsp fresh mint
4 tbsp balsamic vinegar
salt

Turn on your boiler.  Put the vinegar in a small pot over medium-high heat and bring it to a boil.  Let the vinegar boil rapidly, stirring it infrequently, until it volume is reduced in half and it has begun to thicken.  While the vinegar is reducing, cut the stems and ends off the figs, cutting them in half the long way.  Lay the figs, cut side up, sprinkle a little salt over each fig, and place a medium-thin slice of goat cheese over the figs.  Toast them under the boiler until the cheese is softened and beginning to turn golden.  While the figs are toasting, slice the mint into thin ribbon.  When the figs are toasted, remove them from the broiler and sprinkle the nuts over the top.  Serve on a plate with the balsamic dressing drizzled over the top of the figs and garnish with the mint.  Bon Appetit!


Serves 2

Baby Shower Success

The baby shower for R. is officially over and I am tired. Everyone (especially Mike) was a huge help and the shower was a roaring success. In fact, everyone loved the food, particularly the pea and prosciutto spring rolls, and I even had people offer to hire me to cater their events (should I happen to be interested). That was a lovely thought on their part but, for now, I think I'm going to stick with the law; its much easier than catering. The best part was that R., and her husband P., had a great time. They were surrounded by friends and family that love and support them and they were showered (literally) in gifts for the baby. That is going to be one well loved (and dressed) baby. Since I am too tired to tell you much more about the shower I am going to let these photos speak for me. (I did the flowers and Mike took the pictures.)

In the front corner you can see the chocolate-dipped pretzels we made.

We ordered the cake, my baking skills are definitely not up to snuff.

Asparagus Frittata

Today is the Day Before The Day Before the Baby Shower (during which I will cater food for 60-odd people). As a result dinner tonight was a relaxed affair. Yes, I realize that there is no real connection between today being the Day Before the Day Before and my need/desire not to make a fussy dinner, but I'll hang onto that tenuous thread for as long as I can. (And don't you try to stop me!) So, being motivated to make a quick and easy dinner (and to use up the last asparagus of the season before it goes bad) I made a frittata.

The frittata is a great recipe to have in your repertoire. It's an egg-based dish into which you can throw anything that happens to be sitting around in your fridge, including fresh herbs that need to be used up. (Much like risotto in that way.) When I am making a frittata and trying to pass it off as dinner, I usually throw cooked pasta into the bottom of the pan under the eggs. That gives the dish a feel of substantially and makes it "dinner worthy." Tonight's frittata had asparagus, spaghetti, mushrooms, and goat cheese. It was lovely.

Asparagus & Mushroom Frittata

2 cups asparagus
2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 small onion
8 ounces spaghetti
2 ounces goat cheese
2 tbsp fresh tarragon
1 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

Start a large pot of water to boil. When the water is boiling, add salt, and cook the pasta. Dice the onions and saute over medium heat, in a large oven-proof skillet, for 3 minutes, then add the mushrooms. While the onions and mushrooms are cooking, slice the asparagus into 2 inch pieces. Beat the eggs, adding the tarragon, goat cheese and salt and pepper to the eggs. When vegetables are softened, remove the vegetables to a bowl and set aside. By this point the pasta should be cooked. Drain it and add the pasta to the bottom of the skillet. Put the vegetables on top of the pasta and pour the eggs over everything in the pan. Cook the frittata over medium-high heat until its starting to set around the edges. When the frittata is starting to set put the skillet under the broiler to cook the top. After 3- 5 minutes under the broiler the eggs should be cooked through. Cut the frittata into wedges and garnish with chopped tarragon.
Bon Appetit!

Serves 4

Miso Noodles With Bok Choy and Tofu

I must provide a Public Service Announcement/Note to Self: even though the tofu does not seem to be getting hot under the broiler, the pan holding the tofu is getting hot. Very hot. So don't reach for the pan thinking that you can handle it without using a pot holder. If you do grab a hold of the pan you are likely to burn the crap out of three of the five fingers on your left hand. And if you are left-handed that will make everything else you want to do during the evening (including post on your blog) rather difficult.

Not to worry though, the tofu that was broiling merrily away under the broiler turned out great, as did the rest of the dish, although eating it was a little tricky. We have sort of fallen off the tofu bandwagon (not that Mike minds) but I had quite a few veggies from Friday's visit to the farmer's market and they seemed to call for tofu (especially the bok choy and shitake mushrooms). Also, we bought two different kinds of miso recently so I've been experimenting with it. Tonight, I used the darker red miso because it has a stronger flavor. The interesting thing about this type of cooking is that the sauce ingredients, when smelled or tasted separately, seem too strong, but when they are mixed together they all meld together and mellow making for a great dish.

Miso Noodles with Tofu and Bok Choy

1 block firm tofu
10 ounces fresh Chinese noodles
3 carrots
5 baby bok choy
5 shitake mushrooms
3 green onions
1 tbsp sesame oil
1 tbsp canola oil
2 tbsp dark miso
2 tbsp mirin
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
3 tbsp teriyaki sauce

Peel and slice the carrots. Clean and slice the mushrooms. Add the carrots, mushrooms and canola oil to a large skillet over medium-high heat. Start a large pot of water boiling for the pasta. Slice the green onions into small disks and add them to the mushrooms and the carrots. While the vegetables are cooking, slice the tofu into 1 1/2 inch pieces, toss the tofu with the teriyaki sauce and spread it evenly on a cookie sheet. Put the tofu under the broiler, being careful to make sure it doesn't burn, and making sure to use a pot holder when turning the cookie sheet. Once the tofu is in the oven, mix the miso with the rice wine vinegar and the mirin, stirring the miso into the liquid until it is blended. When the vegetables have cooked for about 6 minutes add the bok choy to the vegetables and put the noodles in to cook (being sure to salt the pasta water first). When the tofu has browned and the noodles are soft, mix everything together with the vegetables and the miso sauce. Bon Appetit!


Makes 4 servings

Garden Progress Recorded

Bob just sent these photos of the garden we all worked so diligently over Memorial Day to get planted. If you remember from the original photos of the garden there was no fence. This was very tempting to the local bunnies, especially as tasty things like beans started to sprout. Bob was thinking that she might be forced to set up camp outside the garden to Ward Off The Bunnies. Luckily the farmer from down the road (the very same farmer who initially tilled the garden) came over with his post-hole digger (who knew they had such things?) which saved my dad from having to dig all of those holes by hand.

The fence, with even more progress.

Even though these photos don't show it, life is progressing in the garden. The beans and peas are up, as are the carrots, swiss chard and the beets. There is also something up in the potato section, which is either potatoes or a very consistent weed. Hopefully the next time I post photo updates green things will actually be visible in the photo.

This is one of the urns we planted that same weekend, it's just too pretty not to include.

Pea & Prosciutto Spring Rolls

You won't believe it, but, the Culinary Gods did straighten up and fly right. They even brought their pigs. You can imagine the sight of those pigs made flying around my kitchen while I was trying to make baby shower food. Technically, I suppose that I didn't manage to finish two new types of appetizers for the shower, but I got the candied nuts done (I added pumpkin pie spice to the pecans and figured that I'd call them "fall spiced") which makes for three separate batches of candied pecans. And, this is the great part, I also managed (with the Hubs's invaluable help) to get the pea and prosciutto spring rolls completed. All 8 million of them. (Did I mention that R. has at least 55 people attending the shower?)

The finished "test" spring rolls not as pretty as later rolls, but just as tasty

The rolling technique for the wanton wrappers took a little sorting out and the ones in the photo are some of the first "experiments" the Hubs and I tried. We decided to cook them up to make sure they tasted good (and to reward the kitchen staff). When bake them off for the shower I am going to brush the spring rolls with an egg wash. I don't want to fry them (both for time and health considerations) but I wanted them to look more golden than they would otherwise, so the egg wash is the perfect solution. The thing that makes these spring rolls so good, and so surprising, is the addition of mint and basil. Basil and prosciutto is a standard flavor combination and, as Jamie Oliver always says, "peas and mint are great friends." The fresh herbs really do enhance the flavor of these spring rolls.

Pea and Prosciutto Spring Rolls

1 bag frozen peas
5 ounces prosciutto
1 medium onion
2 tbsp fresh mint
2 tbsp fresh basil
1 tbsp dried tarragon
1 tbsp garam masala
3 ounces aged gouda
2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper
1 package wanton wrappers
1 egg

Cook the peas in the microwave and mash them slightly (mash them until about half of the peas are mashed). Dice the onion and saute it in a large skillet over medium-low heat with the olive oil and a large pinch of salt. While the onions cook, tear the prosciutto into small pieces. When the onions are softened and starting to caramelize (about 7 minutes) add the prosciutto and cook until the onions are caramalized and the prosciutto is crispy. As the onions and prosciutto cook grate the gouda. Add the onions and prosciutto to the peas, followed by the cheese and the spices. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Beat an egg in a small bowl to serve as the "paste" sealing the spring rolls. When the filling is made, use it to fill the wanton wrappers (adding 1 heaping tablespoon to the wrapper), roll the wrapper around the filling, being sure to tuck the edges in and brush the beaten egg around the edges of the wanton wrapper to seal the edges.

Before baking the spring rolls, brush the top of the roll with the beaten egg. Bake the wantons a 400 degrees for 6 - 7 minutes (depending on your oven) until they have turned golden. If you aren't planning to serve the wantons immediately, freeze them and bake them off still frozen.
Bon Appetit!


Makes 21

A New Take on French Toast

This Saturday morning has dawned not quite as warm and lovely as I would have preferred. I suppose that in the Grand Scheme it's kinder that the weather isn't so inviting, because I have lots of cooking to do this weekend for the baby shower. If the Cullinary Gods straighten up and fly right I will hopefully have a new appetizer invention to share with you later in the day. And if those Cullinary Gods arrive on flying pigs I will have two of the shower dishes finished today.

To prepare my sous chef (the amazing and patient Hubs) and I to launch into the whirlwind of shower cooking we needed a good, hearty breakfast to sustain us (and to keep us from picking at what we're making...we'll never feed 60 if we snack on the product). At yesterday's farmer's market I picked up some local pecan raisin bread.

This is the bread, in it's original, lumpy, glory

Generally, any raisin bread and its ilk are relegated to toast and jam patrol, but not at our house. First, the bread was destined to star as french toast. I find it interesting (and thrifty) that almost every culture has their own way of making pain perdu (lost bread), thereby turning stale bread into something wonderful. The raisins gave the french toast a slight tartness and the pecans provided an unexpected crunch. For lunch the raisin bread will be turned into BLTs (the Hubs' sole request from the farmer's market was bacon). This raisin bread fits well into my central culinary tenent: the Sweet-Savory rule (i.e. all good recipes include a little of the sweet and the savory as balances). Finally, when the bread is almost gone and has started getting stale, I will turn it into croutons for salad (just cut the bread up into cubes, brush it with olive oil and a sprinkle of salt and toast it under the broiler). Here is the fench toast recipe, just in case you don't already have it.

French Toast

2 eggs
1 1/4 cup milk
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
1 tsp vanilla
6 slices bread


Beat the eggs and milk together in a shallow, wide bowl, adding in the spices. Place a piece of bread in the bowl, allowing it to absorb some of the egg mixture. Then flip over the bread, exposing the other side to the egg mixture. Set this piece of bread aside to let the bread really become saturated with the egg mixture. Repeat this process for all of the slices of bread. When the bread seems very wet, set a large grill or skillet over medium heat. Cook the bread in batches, being careful not to crowd the pan until both sides are golden. If you want to serve everyone at once, keep the prepared bread warm in a 200 degree oven. Serve the french toast with maple syrup, dusted with powdered sugar, or with your favorite jam. Bon Appetit!

Serves 2

Candied Nuts

My very good friend, R., is expecting her first baby in a few months. The grandmas-to-be and I are lucky enough to be able to host the shower for R and her husband in ten short days (what? counting? me?). Being me, I have decided to do the food myself rather than hiring professionals (this is, after all, a blog about food). In an effort to avoid shades of Thanksgiving Day, I decided to make the food in stages and freeze it so that on the day of the shower all I need to do is bake and/or re-heat. (Thanksgiving Day, you know, the Day In Which You Cook For Ten Hours Straight And By The End You Can't Even Bring Yourself To Eat Any Turkey.)

Today I started the food prep with candied nuts. My Bob makes the candied nuts for her salads (they really do make for a fabulous salad) and served them to us for dinner when Mike and I were visiting to plant a garden over Memorial Day weekend. I got the idea for using them as a shower food when I noticed that Mike was absent mindedly munching on them sans-salad. So I swiped Bob's recipe, modified it, and am now sharing it with you (having first been given the author's permission). Since the recipe is based on using 2 cups of nuts and I am feeding 60 people I made several batches before running out of nuts (more will follow once I replenish my supply). The recipe is a basic one, but I modified each batch by adding spices to it. The photo above is of the smokey-spicy candied pecans.

Candied Pecans

1/4 cup water
3/4 cup brown sugar
2 cups pecan halves
pinch salt

Are you ready? I am going to give you the key to this recipe...keep stirring. Never stop stirring. You will stir and stir and stir and stir. And when it feels as though your arm is about to fall off your body you must dig deep and stir some more. I have to put the fear of All Things Holy into you here when I tell you that if you stop stirring (say to allow the blood to return to your fingers) this will burn. You are turning the sugar into candy and it goes from lovely candy to stinky mess in a very short time. If you must stop stirring (such as an imminent loss of consciousness) pull the pot from the heat before you stop. Other than that, this recipe is really a breeze.

You will need a tall-sided pot. Put the pot over the heat, add the sugar, the nuts, the spices you've chosen and the salt to the pot. Pour the water into the pot, turn the heat on to high and (you guessed it) begin stirring. The constant stirring doesn't really have to begin until the liquid in the bottom of the pot comes to a boil. (It's only 1/4 of a cup, it boils quickly.) You will know that the nuts are done when there isn't any more liquid in the bottom and it is getting hard to stir the nuts around because they are sticking to each other. I timed it for the second batch, it took 6 - 7 minutes so keep stirring and think about the buff arm you will have. When all of the liquid is gone from the pot, remove the pot from the heat and scrape the nuts onto a large dinner plate. Spread them into an even layer to cool.

The first batch I made got 1 tsp of smoked paprika and 1 tsp of chili powder. The second batch got 1 1/2 tsp ground cardamom, 1/2 tsp of ground ginger and 1/2 tsp of nutmeg. I also think that I will do a plain batch and a really spicy cayenne pepper-curry batch. These will keep in an airtight container for 2 weeks (if they stick around that long) and you can always freeze them. Other nuts or a combination of nuts would be a good idea (I'm thinking of adding roasted peanuts to the spicy batch). Bon Appetit!

Cirtus Grilled Chicken Under A Brick

Yesterday I opted to cook up some ground pork rather than cook the chicken I had waiting in the fridge. Today though, there were no excuses. It's cooler out so heating up the kitchen to roast the chicken in the oven didn't seem like the worst idea in the world. The Hubs though, fresh from his triumph cooking chicken breasts on the grill, suggested that we cook the chicken on the grill.

The chicken, under its brick

I've been wanting to make chicken under a brick, so it seemed like the perfect treatment for the chicken. In order to grill a whole chicken you have to butterfly it. I was really trying to be a big girl and butterfly the chicken myself, but the Hubs put on his white armor and stepped up to do the butterflying for me. I kept trying to explain the process to him but he was having a hard time visualizing it, so a quick You Tube search revealed this great video. After a quick review of the video, the Hubs was ready to go.

While the Hubs made quick work of the chicken and got the coals hot, I prepared the side dishes. I cut the baby Yukon gold potatoes into quarters and put them into a foil pouch with balsamic vinegar, some orange juice, a few orange slices and a sprig of fresh rosemary. (The foil pouch cooked the potatoes well, but it didn't leave them crispy, so we finished them on the grill to crisp up one side.) Then I took the bunch of fresh turnips I'd gotten from the farmer's market and sliced them thinly to put into their own foil pouch. The turnips got a healthy dose of salt, a pat of butter and some olive oil. Making the entire dinner on the grill (in foil pouches) was a great idea and it made the clean up very simple. Overall, chicken under a brick was a great idea and the citrus flavors gave the chicken a great flavor. It was a great dinner.

Citrus Grilled Chicken Under a Brick

1 whole chicken
1 orange
1 lemon
2 cloves garlic
1 tbsp olive oil
4 sprigs fresh thyme
Salt and pepper

Start you grill heating and then butterfly the chicken. Take a brick and wrap it in several layers of tin foil. When the chicken is butterflied, salt and pepper it generously. Then work your fingers between the chicken skin and the chicken meat. When the chicken skin is loosened, slide an orange and lemon slice along with a sprig of thyme under the skin, working the fruit back so that it is secure under the skin. Then drizzle a little olive oil over the chicken rubbing around to cover the chicken. At this point the chicken is ready for the grill. Put it on the center of the grill, skin side up and place the brick on top of the chicken. Cook the chicken, flipping it occasionally, until the chicken has reached 165 degrees. Serve with the potatoes and turnips on the side. Bon Appetit!

Serves 4