Little wise red-haired gent

It is hard to be a four year old, especially when you were so recently three. My nephew turned this special age of reason this weekend and Ben and I were lucky enough to make the invite list to his birthday party. Ben enjoyed the 12 foot tall Little Tikes inflatable slide as much as the toddlers, who were running around with their life jackets on in the 6 inches of water that accumulates at the bottom (safety first). My favorite moment was gift-opening time when Abram so wisely announced “you can get a lot of toys so that you can share them with everyone.” I think four must be the age of reason because before the birthday party (when I will label him technically three years old), he was beside himself at the thought of party favors (how absurd that people should take presents away from you on your very own birthday). The party ended well: tops licked off all the cupcakes, Abram sharing politely with miniature cousins and miniature friends, and all the stress a four year old could muster let out on a piñata.

The day following the party was my turn to cook dinner, and although it was less joyfully chaotic, I do think my in-laws enjoyed the momentary peace.

Prosciutto wrapped Rosemary Chicken

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 heaping tablespoons fresh rosemary, chopped

8 slices prosciutto

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon pepper

olive oil

Preheat oven to 375° F.

In a large bowl, combine rosemary, salt and pepper. Brush chicken with olive oil then toss with the seasonings in the bowl until evenly coated. Wrap each piece of chicken with 2 slices of prosciutto and lay on an oiled cookie sheet. Roast for 20-25 minutes or until done (use a meat thermometer- chicken is done at around 165° F. If you do not have a thermometer, just cut open one of the chicken pieces at its thickest width and make sure it is evenly white and cooked through).

Panzanella

4 tablespoons olive oil

1 teaspoon minced garlic

1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons champagne vinegar

Juice of 1 lemon

½ teaspoon Kosher salt

1/2 freshly ground black pepper

1/2 hothouse cucumber, unpeeled, seeded and sliced 1/2-inch thick

1 large ripe tomato, cut into 1-inch cubes

10 large basil leaves

3 tablespoons capers, drained

1 red onion, sliced into 1/2 inch rounds

1 red bell pepper, seeded and cut into 2 large pieces

1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and cut into 2 large pieces

1/2 small whole grain crusty bread, cut into 1-inch thick slices

any other veggies from the garden! Zucchini and squash are great additions

Prepare your grill to medium-high heat.

In a small bowl, whisk together the garlic, mustard, vinegar, lemon juice, olive oil, teaspoon salt and teaspoon pepper.

Place the cucumber, tomato, basil and capers in a large bowl, sprinkle with salt and pepper and toss together. Set aside.

When the grill is ready, brush remaining vegetables and bread with olive oil. Grill vegetables first, about 4 minutes on each side. Grill bread next, also about 4 minutes on each side (you want grill marks on both the vegetables and the bread). Slice the vegetables and bread into 1-inch thick pieces (this is a very rough chop- you want big bite size pieces).

Add your grilled vegetables and bread to the tomato and cucumber mix and toss in the basil. Pour vinaigrette over salad and toss gently to coat. I had to stop at this moment to appreciate the soft steam and fabulous smell rising out of my bowl. Wow. Finally, taste and adjust with more lemon, salt, or pepper. Serve warm.

Peanut Butter Cup Ice Cream

2 large eggs

3/4 cup sugar

2 ½ cups half and half

½ cup milk

1/2 cup smooth natural peanut butter

1 bag mini Reeces (the tiny, already unwrapped kind)

1 teaspoon vanilla

dash of salt

Whisk the eggs until light and frothy. Add the sugar slowly, whisking constantly to incorporate. Add the whipping cream, milk, vanilla, and dash of salt and whisk until smooth. Pour 1 cup of the mixture into a separate bowl and add the peanut butter to that bowl. Mix well and pour peanut butter mixture back into the cream mixture. Whisk in until fully incorporated.

Freeze mixture in your ice cream maker as per the manufacturer's instructions. Two minutes before the ice cream is due to be done add the peanut butter cup pieces.

Eat it soft or pour into a tupperware and freeze until hard (it should take about 4ish hours).

tweet tweet, cheap cheap

Here’s to embarrassingly simple, nearly boxed-mac-and-cheese-level comfort food! This little number was concocted during Girl’s Night recently, while one girlfriend read aloud hilarious tweets off Twitter and another girlfriend popped open the vino. So raise your glasses (preferably of white wine) to this deliciously cheap dinner. Cheers!

Low-maintenance* Chicken Pot Pie

3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-size pieces

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped

1 package assorted frozen vegetables, thawed

1 can cream of mushroom soup

½ teaspoon garlic salt

swish** of white wine (1/4 cup’ish)

1 package puff pastry, thawed

1 egg + 1 tablespoon water for egg wash

Preheat oven to 400° F.

Heat up the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Toss in your chicken and stir occasionally ‘til cooked through. Toss in your garlic and veggies and stir occasionally til heated. Dump in your can of soup, garlic salt, and the white wine. Turn down heat a bit and reduce for 3-5 minutes (just ‘til sauce thickens up a bit).

Grease an 8x8 ovenproof container (I lightly coated a glass Pyrex) and fit one entire puff pastry sheet into the bottom. Pour in your chicken-vegetable filling then top with the second entire puff pastry sheet. Crimp the edges of the pastry sheets together. In a small bowl, whisk the egg and water together (you can use a fork). Brush egg wash over the top of your chicken pot pie (you will not need all of the egg wash). Bake in oven for 20-25 minutes or until the top is golden brown and flaky looking.

Notes:

*low-maintenance: a good quality in women…and sometimes food

**Swish: tilt and turn of the wrist? This is probably not a professional culinary term, so just wing it

Lamar with old friends

Paige is my oldest friend (although not chronologically speaking) in the truest sense of the title. She seems to understand me the way one might understand family, wherein the quality of the relationship suggests a lifelong knowledge of the other and an ability to almost hear the other’s thoughts (even those they may be unwilling to express). I can only hope that through the years I can continue to nurture our friendship in the way it deserves (although the best old relationships do not seem so eroded by time, they really do merit the most constant attention one can afford).

Last weekend, Ben and I planned a trip to Lamar with Paige and her boyfriend. I considered this an opportunity to honor her (via her taste buds) by attending to food details I thought would make her smile, right down to the mascarpone on her pancakes. I must admit, I truly enjoy loving on others through food.

• Flank steak with arugula salad, peaches and warm brie
• Personal Spiced Chocolate Cakes with warm gooey centers (recipe below)
• Grilled croissants with bacon and poached eggs
• Frenchman sandwiches (recipe below)
• Crab cakes and salad
• Banana walnut pancakes with whipped mascarpone

Recipes:

Personal Spiced Chocolate Cakes with warm gooey centers

Serves 2

2 oz Bittersweet chocolate


1/4 cup (1/2 stick) salted butter


2 teaspoons Cabernet Sauvignon (Steve brought some fabulous wine!)


1 teaspoon vanilla extract


1/2 cup powdered sugar


1 egg


1 egg yolk


3 tablespoons flour


1/8 teaspoon cinnamon


1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

dash of salt


powdered sugar, for serving

Preheat your oven to 425F. Butter 2 (6 ounce) ramekins and place them on a baking sheet.

Heat the chocolate and the butter in a double boiler until melted. Remove the mixture from the heat and whisk until the chocolate is completely melted. Stir in wine, vanilla, and sugar until blended. Whisk in the egg and the yolk. Add the flour, cinnamon, ginger, and salt and whisk until smooth. Spoon the batter evenly into the prepared dishes.

Bake the cakes for 13ish minutes or until the sides are firm but the centers are soft. Let the cakes stand for one minute and loosen the edges with a knife. Invert them onto serving plates and sprinkle with confectioners sugar if desired.

The Frenchman

(credit to Tiny Boxwoods, a fabulous restaurant off Alabama in Thompson and Hanson Nursery)

per sandwich:

2 slices sourdough

3 thinly sliced prosciutto

sliced tomatoes

goat cheese

basil pesto

Spread one slice of bread with pesto and the other slice with soft goat cheese. Layer prosciutto then top with tomatoes. Brush bread with olive oil and grill (on a grill pan or Panini maker of choice). Slice and serve warm!

And we got to share in the tradition of eating some of our wedding cake after it spent one year in the freezer...still surprisingly good looking and tasty!

ONE-YEAR ANNIVERSARY…and food fit to celebrate

Ben and I recently had the privilege to visit Seattle for our 1^st anniversary. Of course any and all activities I had planned for this vacation involved food: restaurants I absolutely had to try, bakeries I could practically smell from Texas, the famous Pike’s Market, and most importantly, the Herb Farm. We had to pace ourselves, which mostly meant we would explore the streets of Seattle by foot until we were hungry enough to eat again (Ben noted at the forefront of this food adventure that I had more “must-eats” planned than meals in each day). After a few days of stretching our stomachs, we were conditioned for the main event: our afternoonàeveningànight at the Herb Farm. I can confidently label our meal there as the pinnacle of my eating career: 10 courses lasting over a period of 5 hours with wine pairings that heightened the event to a near spiritual experience.

“What was Paradise?

But a garden,

And orchard of trees,

And herbs, full of pleasure,

And nothing there but delights.”

All in the details: 1^st: Marble onions with paddlefish caviar, onion granola, and chervil. Oil-cured smelt, smelt roe mayonnaise, fried bread and salad burnett. Cured asparagus with Oregon summer truffle, homemade mustard and 3-hour hen yolk. Steamed Alaskan snow crab with buttermilk vinaigrette, salicornia, wild goose-tongue greens, Mexican tarragon and seaweed chips. 2^nd: smoked sockeye cannoli and slow-roasted copper river king, breakfast radish, pickled shallots, horseradish soubise, and spruce tips. 3^rd: smoked Berkshire suckling piglet ham with spring pea agnolotti, manilla clams, carrots, lovage oil, and clam nage. 4^th: local spring chicken with celery root saukraut and pickled celery root in its own roasting jus. 5^th: crushed baby Yukon gold potatoes with warm sorrel sauce, roasted spring boletes, braised cascade morels, and wild watercress. 6^th: grilled glazed Ellensburg lamb strip loin and poached tender, with saffron chickpeas with braised lamb coppa, spicy herb salad, and Olympic peninsula saffron lamb jus. 7^th: housemade fresh goat cheese blintz with apple, beet and thyme flowers. 8^th: warm rhubarb consommé with sancho leaf infusion, glazed rhubarb, rhubarb sorbet, and rhubarb tuille. 9^th: Wenatchee Bing cherry-Oregon olive oil cake, lemon thyme-crème fraiche ice cream, whipped spring honey, and candied hazelnuts. 10^th: coffee, teas, and local chocolates.

During our week in Seattle, I had to run quite a bit as I was still training for a half marathon I was committed to run with Ben’s dads and sisters immediately following our return to Texas. During these hours running alone, with Puget Sound to my left and thick sky-high forest to my right, I had plenty of time to reflect on my previous year of marriage and what I might have learned…

• Men can vacuum. And should. It is our job as women to train men to live in and maintain a homestead well and not rob them of the pride afforded by a clean house.

• I love Ben more than any issue we may be discussing. I say ‘discussing’ because we really very rarely fight (I think this idea of prioritizing him helps mitigate the severity of any ‘discussion’ before it could escalate to ‘fight’ status).

• Since my husband most accurately knows my beliefs and witnesses my actions, he is responsible for holding me accountable. I, personally, want my thoughts and lifestyle to be congruent but sometimes (perhaps in the social sphere) have difficulty maintaining this harmony. It is fair (and necessary) of Ben to call me out; he can be an example of a more-verbal-Holy-Spirit when I let him. Thankfully, Ben is not a nagger…that is more often my role (working on it).

• Living with Ben does not equate to loving Ben. Since we are studying the majority of our waking moments, our house is most often in library mode. This time (although spent together) cannot suffice for quality ‘us’ time. We still have to do things where we actually focus more on each other than our books or the friends around us.

• I could never have fathomed being so blessed in marriage; I daily realize I got the better end of the deal.

• Moms know a lot when it comes to marriage—there is no substitute for experience I suppose.

Highlights: Umi Sushi, Serious Pie, Voodoo Donuts (Portland), Dahlia Lounge, Pike’s Market, Etta's

Pride and Discos

Confession: I am prideful in the kitchen. I will spend the money on good ingredients (even for something so simple as chocolate chip cookies) because I desire your awe that badly. This approval seeking behavior (I am calling myself out) has prompted me to ask for the same thing for Christmas for the past two years in a row: an 11-pound box of El Rey 70% cacao discos. We are talking chocolate... and dark chocolate to be specific. These discos compose one of my staple food groups: rarely a day goes by that I do not have a least a few discos in the afternoon, and right before a test, I always up the dosage (for a jolt of focus and drive perhaps? anyway, it has become somewhat of a ritualistic eating that I am sure does something positive to my brain). These discos go in most anything I bake and I guarantee they are (almost) solely responsible for any stellar outcomes of my baking ventures. Here is a recipe for my favorite chocolate chip cookie thus far (widely circulated amongst food blogs as the New York Times Chocolate Chip Cookie, with a few personal changes of course).

New York Times Cookie


2 cups minus 2 tablespoons
(8 ½ ounces) cake flour


1 2/3 cups (8 ½ ounces) bread flour


1 ¼ teaspoons baking soda


1 ½ teaspoons baking powder


2 teaspoons coarse salt


2 ½ sticks (1 ¼ cups) unsalted butter


1 ¼ cups (10 ounces) light brown sugar


1 cup plus 2 tablespoons (8 ounces) granulated sugar


2 large eggs


2 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract


1 ¼ pounds bittersweet disks (at least 60 percent cacao content)

Sift flours, baking soda, baking powder and salt into a bowl. Set aside.


Using a mixer fitted with paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars together until very light, about 5 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Stir in the vanilla. Reduce speed to low, add dry ingredients and mix until just combined, 5 to 10 seconds. Drop chocolate pieces in and incorporate them without breaking them. Press plastic wrap against dough and refrigerate for 24 to 36 hours. Dough may be used in batches, and can be refrigerated for up to 72 hours. Do not skip this refrigeration time- I promise they will taste better!

When ready to bake, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a nonstick baking mat. Set aside.

Scoop 6 3 1/2-ounce mounds of dough (the size of generous golf balls) onto baking sheet, making sure to turn horizontally any chocolate pieces that are poking up; it will make for a more attractive cookie. Sprinkle lightly with sea salt and bake until golden brown but still soft, 18 to 20 minutes. Transfer sheet to a wire rack for 10 minutes, then slip cookies onto another rack to cool a bit more. Repeat with remaining dough, or reserve dough, refrigerated, for baking remaining batches the next day.

The oh-so-memorable Pizookie also merits the use of fine chocolate (Callebaut chocolate chunks from Central Market this time). In case you have never heard of this dessert, let me explain. Traditionally, you unwrap a log of Tollhouse cookie dough and plop the whole log (yes, the whole log) onto a cookie sheet. You bake the log until just the outside is brown and crispy. As soon as it comes out of the oven, you drop large scoops of vanilla ice cream over it and hand everyone around you spoons. Out of respect for this slumber-party-perfect dessert, everyone attacks the tray at once (spreading happiness, not germs! better get over that germ thing real quick or you are certain to miss out). My best friend Paige introduced me to this gem while at Baylor and it has evolved over the years to something a little more grown up and decadent (owing its new glamour to the quality of the chocolate, of course). This upgraded Pizookie still works best when shared with good friends, all spoons attacking simultaneously.

Skillet Pizookie

1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter


½ cup granulated sugar


½ cups light brown sugar


1 ½ teaspoons pure vanilla extract


1 egg


1 ½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour

½ teaspoon baking soda


½ teaspoon kosher salt


1 ¼ cups (awesome quality) chocolate chunks (semi-sweet or dark)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Melt butter in an 8 inch cast iron skillet set over medium-low heat. Stir in sugars and vanilla and remove from heat. Let rest until pan is just warm, about 5 minutes.

Crack an egg onto the butter and sugar mixture, and use a fork to whisk it well into the mixture. Place flour, baking soda, and salt on top, and very carefully stir into the mixture until smooth. Fold in chocolate chunks. Place in the oven for 12-15 minutes, or until starting to turn golden on the top and around the edges, but soft in the center. Watch this part (especially the last few minutes) through your oven window- you do not want the whole Pizookie actually cooked through, just the outside crispy! Serve with vanilla ice cream plopped right in the center.

(adapted from sophistimom)