I Thought This Was A Typo....!!??

I saw the first sentence of this article and thought it was a typo. The Bush administration said Tuesday it will fight to keep meat packers from testing their animals for mad cow disease. Why doesn't George Bush and his cronies just line us up and offer us each a little glass of Kool-Aid and end this madness here and now! You can read the article here. Between George Bush and China, we can't seem to get a break.
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/05/29/america/NA-GEN-US-Mad-Cow.php

Purple Potatoes

Here is a picture of the purple potatoes before I cooked them. I peeled them for the recipe and used my mandolin to get even slices. They are really beautiful to me, I love the unique color of them. They actually maintain their color when they are cooked, I feared they would turn black or muddy looking. The package compared the taste to russets. I felt they were a little creamier than that and they looked awesome on the pizza.

Potato Sage and Rosemary Pizza

I know that it seems strange to put potatoes on a pizza, I mean why not throw a little pasta on just to really starch it up, but it was really good. I have always wanted to make a pizza with potatoes after watching Martha Stewart make one years ago. How can you go wrong with pizza, potatoes, rosemary and olive oil? I found this recipe in the March '07 issue of Bon Appetit and thought I would go for it. I will post the recipe as they printed it. I used my own crust for the recipe, I had some frozen from last month when I made the Semolina Pizza Crust. You could also use a prepared crust like Boboli for this recipe. When I went to the store for my Yukon Gold potatoes, I got very frustrated because they did not have any. But then I saw the purple ones and did a little dance in the aisle. I had heard of purple potatoes, but never thought I would see them in Kansas City. I thought they would be as elusive as broccoli rabe, either you grow your own or dream of the day that it finally appears in the produce section of your local market. I also used thin slices of mozzarella from the deli at Green Acres as opposed to the packaged shredded kind. This pizza was excellent for dinner with a salad on the side. It would be perfect to serve at a party along with a variety of other appetizers.

Potato, Sage & Rosemary Pizza

3 Tbsp. extra-virgin olive oil
12 oz. unpeeled small Yukon Gold potatoes, sliced very thin
1 13.8 oz. tube refrigerated pizza dough
2 tsp. chopped fresh rosemary
2 tsp. chopped fresh sage
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 tsp. dried crushed red pepper
1 cup grated mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup finely grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Heat oil in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat. Add potatoes slices in single layer, saute until tender, about 5 minutes. Cool briefly.
Unroll dough on rimmed baking sheet. Scatter potato slices over dough, leaving 3/4" plain border. Sprinkle with rosemary, sage, garlic and crushed red pepper. Sprinkle with cheeses to cover.
Bake pizza until crust is crisp and cheeses melt, about 20 minutes. Slice and serve.

A Breakdown in Communication

On Saturday, I had a phone call from a friend who wanted to try my blueberry cobbler recipe. She wanted to know if she could double the recipe, but bake it in a 9 by 13 pan. I told her that I did not think it would be big enough because the 8 by 8 pan was pretty full and a 9 x 13 was not that much bigger. I told her she could up it by a third and probably would be okay.

I heard from Dan that my friend, who shall remain nameless, was not happy with me because she doubled the recipe and made a mess of her oven. She told him I said she could double the recipe. Not that I want to imply anything, but she is blond, so that may be part of the breakdown. Actually, I salute her for attempting the recipe, because I've heard that she is not a cook and she impressed her family on Sunday with her tasty and overflowing cobbler. Good job , "T".

Blue Koi

Saturday night, we went with a group of friends to Blue Koi. Blue Koi is a nice little place on Kansas City's famous 39th Street, a street that features a great mix of food places and even greater mix of people. Blue Koi is one of my favorite places to eat in Kansas City and we just don't get there often enough. It is owned by the same family that own Genghis Khan Mongolian Barbecue, another great place to eat in Kansas City.
There were six of us in our group and they easily accommodated us. We had great service, great food and even better company. We drank wine, had four appetizers and each had our own entree and the bill total was $141.00 with tax. That's not bad when you consider the amount of food we each had.
We started with an order each of chicken dumplings and vegetarian dumplings. We opted for the fried version and each plate had 8 dumplings. They were very tasty and served with a nice dipping sauce. Those were followed by basil chicken lettuce wraps and vegetarian lettuce wraps. Again both were very good and I would be hard pressed to come up with a favorite.
For dinner I ordered the chicken pot roast soup. This is one of my favorite all time things to order and they also have this on their Genghis Khan menu. The soup has lots of large flavorful pieces of pot roast in a perfectly spiced beef broth with lots of big fat noodles. It doesn't get much better than this dish. Unless you order the almond chicken asparagus dish that is their special feature for the summer. Dan and Traci ordered this and it was incredible. It had lots of chicken, grilled asparagus, sun dried tomatoes and almond rice. Lisa and Stacy ordered the ants on a tree, which is another one of my favorite dishes. Kristen ordered the firebird tofu. I tasted some of the shitakes from this dish and really enjoyed it.
This is a great location to enjoy the company of others, while treated to great, well-priced food, good service and some of the best people watching in Kansas City. They are located at 1803 W. 39th St. KCMO 64111 phone 816-561-5003 www.bluekoikc.com.

Beef From Parker Farms Natural Meats

This weekend, we bought some natural grass fed beef from Green Acres Market. The beef came from Parker Farms out of Richmond, MO. I just went and looked them up on-line and was impressed with their mission statement and the way they do business. I grilled burgers with the beef and they turned out really well. The beef had an excellent flavor and I could not detect that "grass fed" taste you sometimes get with this type of product. I will definitely buy more and check out their other cuts of meat. In today's growing uncertainty of our food quality, I am relying more on this type of food. I truly believe that we have to be a little more vigilant on what we are putting into our bodies. You can check them out at this link.

http://www.mda.mo.gov/cgi-bin/agrimomembers.cgi?id=55

Fettuccine Limoncello

I love limoncello and while searching the Caravella website for drink recipes, I came across this fettuccine recipe. I changed it up a bit, it had some strange European directions, but the end pasta turned out really good. If you wanted you could add sliced mushrooms, peas or a nice spicy Italian sausage. The sauce turns out a little sweet, so the addition of Italian sausage would be a good counter taste. We started with a salad that we got from Green Acres Market. We have become addicted to their salad bar which is stocked with great fresh organic products. We topped our mesclun mix with peas, egg, white beans, carrot, green onion, candied walnuts, dried cranberries and roasted red pepper.

Fettuccine Limoncello

1/2 lb. fettuccine
salt to taste
3 oz. pancetta, diced
1 Tbsp. butter
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh parsley, divided
1/2 c. heavy whipping cream
1/2 c. limoncello
4 Tbsp. freshly grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes

Melt butter over medium heat, add pancetta and half the chopped parsley, cook until pancetta browned, about 5 minutes. Turn down heat and carefully add cream and limoncello. Bring to a boil and add, Parmesan, salt and pepper to taste and crushed red pepper flakes. In the meantime cook fettuccine until al dente. Add cooked pasta to the pan along with rest of parsley. Toss to mix . If sauce is too tight add some of the pasta water to loosen.

Blueberry Cobbler

I have never been a big blueberry fan, don't ask why, I don't really have an answer. I think I have never really tried them before and I came across 2 cobbler recipes at the same time and thought why not try them. I kind of combined the 2 and this is the resulting recipe. It's fairly easy to make, I do need to invest in a pastry blender though. Giada always uses a food processor to make her doughs, that might have worked with this recipe. Maybe I'll try that next time. I would also like to try this using fresh berries when they come into season as opposed to the frozen ones, but they did taste good.

Blueberry Cobbler

2 12-ounce bags frozen blueberries, thawed
1/3 cup plus 5 tablespoons sugar
1 tsp. lemon juice
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2/3 cup milk
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter an 8x8x2 baking dish.
Mix blueberries with 1/3 cup sugar, lemon juice and 2 tablespoons of flour. Spoon into baking dish.
In large bowl, whisk together 1 1/2 cups flour,3 Tbsp. sugar, baking powder and salt. Cut the butter into mixture using a pastry blender. until it resembles coarse meal. Add milk and vanilla and stir with a fork to form a sticky dough. Drop rounded spoonfuls of dough over blueberries to cover them. Sprinkle remaining 1 Tbsp. of sugar over cobbler and place into oven. Bake 40 to 45 minutes until bubbly and golden brown. Let cool for 20 minutes before serving.

Ham and Cheese Cannelloni

This recipe came from a copy of Rachel Ray's magazine that I got from my sister. I have to admit that I am not one of her biggest fans (Rachel, not my sister. I am one of my sisters biggest fans). Anyway, Rachel is too loud and annoying for me. My friend Betty says she can only take Rachel in small doses and that is how I feel. She can be entertaining, but give me Giada, Tyler, Dave and Ina any day. I have tried too many recipes from Rachel that either did not work out or were actually very bland. I like to season my food , but she seems to leave those things out of her recipes. In fact the recipe I am posting today only calls for 1/2 teaspoon of salt, no other seasonings. I, of coarse, added some pepper and some garlic powder and it actually turned out pretty "Yummo"!! Very easy to make and takes no time at all.


Ham and Cheese Cannelloni

4 Tbsp. unsalted butter
4 Tbsp. all-purpose salt
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
fresh ground black pepper
1 cup whole-milk ricotta cheese
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 large egg
8 egg-roll wrappers
8 slices deli ham
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a small saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth. Slowly whisk in the heavy cream and cook, stirring continuously, until thickened, about 5 minutes. Set the cream sauce aside, stir in salt, garlic powder and black pepper to taste.
In a medium bowl, combine the ricotta, mozzarella and egg.
Spread a thin layer of cream sauce (about 1 1/2 cups) in the bottom of a 9 x 9 baking dish. Arrange an egg-roll wrapper on a work surface, spread 3 Tbsp. of ricotta mixture over wrapper, cover with slice of ham, then roll up jelly roll style. Repeat with remaining wrappers and place , seam side down, in single layer in the baking dish.
Spoon remaining cream sauce over cannelloni, top with Parmigiano- Reggiano and bake 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown and bubbly.

Avocado Soup with Ancho Cream

If you like avocados, you will love this soup. It was simple to make and the taste is incredible. I prepared this and a cannelloni dish last night after getting home from work, walking the dog twice and working out. I let it chill for an hour, but think it would have been better if it chilled a little longer. I think that the recipe I based this on came from Bon Appetit, but I am not 100% positive on this. Anyway, this serves as great summertime first coarse when a salad just doesn't sound good.

Avocado Soup with Ancho Cream

Soup:

1 (14 oz) can vegetable broth

2 large ripe avocados (1 to 1 1/2 lbs), halved, pitted & peeled

2 Tbsp. fresh lime juice

1/8 tsp. chipotle chile pepper

1/4 cup whipping cream

Ancho Cream:

1 large dried ancho chile

1/4 cup whipping cream

For Soup: Combine 1 cup vegetable broth, avocado, lime juice and chile powder in processor: blend until smooth. Add remaining broth and blend. transfer to a large bowl; cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour and up to 1 day. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

For Ancho Cream: Stem chile, halve and remove seeds. Heat small skillet over medium heat. Add chile and toast pieces on each side until pliable and aromatic, turning occasionally, about 2 minutes. Transfer to a small bowl and add boiling water to cover. Soak 30 minutes. Drain water; transfer chile to small food processor and puree (you may want to keep a small amount of water to help puree). Stain ancho puree into small bowl, pressing on solids. Place whipping cream in another small bowl and whisk in 1 tablespoon ancho puree liquid. Chill until ready to use. Can be made 1 day ahead.

Ladle soup into 6 bowls. Drizzle with ancho cram and serve.

Peanut Chicken Soba Salad

This is a quick and easy dish I got out of Cooking Light some time ago. I changed the recipe somewhat, I felt that it was not seasoned enough. I doubled the amount of rice vinegar, soy sauce, honey and chili garlic sauce. I also used cilantro where their recipe called for basil because that is what I had. You can cut your cooking time down by using leftover grilled chicken or rotisserie chicken. The recipe below is the one I use, not the one they printed.

Peanut Chicken Soba Salad

2 cups water
2 (6-oz) skinless, boneless chicken breasts
4 black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
2 Tbsp. rice vinegar
4 Tbsp. roasted peanut oil
1 Tbsp. low-sodium soy sauce
2 tsp. honey
2 tsp. chili garlic sauce
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups cooked soba noodles (about 4 ounces uncooked)
1 large carrot, grated
3 thinly sliced green onions
1/4 cup red onion, minced
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, chopped
4 tsp. unsalted dry-roasted peanuts, chopped
lime wedges (optional)

Combine first 4 ingredients in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Cover, remove from heat and let stand 15 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove chicken from pan and discard peppercorns, bay leaf and liquid. Shred chicken, place in large bowl.
Combine vinegar and next 5 ingredients (vinegar thru salt), stirring with a whisk. Pour over chicken; let stand 5 minutes. Add noodles, carrot, green onion, red onion and cilantro to chicken mixture: toss well. Sprinkle with peanuts and garnish with lime wedges.

Grilled Chicken with Basil Dressing

This is by far the best chicken recipe I have ever used. Giada DeLaurentis prepared it a few years ago on her show and I have used it ever since. The lemon juice, basil and garlic really brighten this dish!

Grilled Chicken w/Basil Dressing

2/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp. plus 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp. fennel seeds, coarsely crushed
1 1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup lightly packed fresh basil leaves
1 large clove garlic
1 tsp. grated lemon zest

Whisk 1/3 cup of oil, 3 tablespoons of lemon juice, fennel seeds, 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a heavy-duty re-sealable plastic bag. Add the chicken and seal the bag. Massage the marinade into the chicken. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes and up to 1 day, turning the chicken occasionally.
Meanwhile, blend the basil, garlic, lemon zest, remaining 1/4 cup lemon juice, 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a blender until smooth. Gradually blend in the remaining 1/3 cup of oil. Season the basil sauce, to taste, with more salt and pepper if desired.
Prepare the grill for medium high heat. Grill the chicken until just cooked through. Transfer to a plate, drizzle with basil sauce and serve.

Easy Fruit Cobbler

You have probably seem this recipe before, it's so easy to make and turns out really nice. This is a great recipe to use when you have unexpected guests and you have the ingredients in your pantry.

Easy Fruit Cobbler

1 can (20 oz) fruit pie filling
1 cup Bisquick ( I always use the lower fat version)
1/2 cup skim milk
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp butter, softened

Spread pie filling into ungreased 1 1/2 quart casserole. Place into cold oven, heat to 400 degrees. Let it heat for 10 minutes then remove it. While it is heating, stir remaining ingredients together until a soft dough forms. Drop dough by six spoonfuls onto pie filling, sprinkle with sugar. Bake 18 to 20 minutes.

Dave's Baked Beans

This is the time of year for baked beans. This is a recipe of Dave Lieberman's that I altered just slightly by adding the cinnamon and mustard. They turned out nicely, just not as good as my Mom's. I will publish that recipe at a later date.

Dave's Baked Beans

8 slices bacon,chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
3/4 cup ketchup
3/4 cup tomato puree
1/2 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cider vinegar
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
Salt ans pepper to taste
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp. ground mustard seed
pinch of ground cinnamon
2 (28 oz) cans red beans, drained and rinsed

Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
Put a heavy-bottomed pot with lid over medium-high heat. Add the bacon and cook stirring often, until the fat renders and bacon begins to crisp, about 6-8 minutes. Add the onion and cook until soft, about 5 minutes more. Add everything but the beans and mix well. Bring to a simmer and cook 5 minutes. Stir in beans until well coated, cover and bake in oven for 1 hour. Remove lid and continue baking until the sauce thickens and beans begin to brown, about 15 minutes more. Remove from oven and let cool for 15 minutes.

Carrots Marsala

I am always on that never ending quest of finding a vegetable to serve with dinner. I came across this recipe and thought it sounded good and it was. It is very simple to make and makes a nice presentation on your plate. This is a good "company" side dish.


Carrots Marsala

3 Tbsp. butter
1 lb. carrots, cut into 1/8 inch slices
3/4 cups dry Marsala wine
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
2 tbsp. flat leaf Italian parsley, chopped

Heat butter in large skillet. Saute carrots for 3 minutes, stirring to coat with butter. Add Marsala, salt and pepper; cook on medium low heat until carrots are tender and liquid is reduced about 10 to 12 minutes. Sprinkle with parsley before serving.

Chocolate-Cream Cheese Satin Pie

This is a very easy chocolaty pie to make. I got it from my April/May 07 edition of Cooking Pleasures magazine. If you wanted to go the Sandra Lee way, you could use a pre-made crust and some Cool Whip. The taste would not be as good but it would work. The only change I made was that I used 1/3 less fat cream cheese as opposed to the regular kind. Personally I do not think it affected the flavor and have heard that it is a good substitution for regular, but that fat-free will affect the flavor.

Chocolate-Cream Cheese Satin Pie

Crust:
1 1/2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs
5 tbsp. unsalted butter, melted
Filling:
10 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped
1 (8 oz) pkg. cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup powdered sugar , divided
2 cups heavy whipping cream
2 tsp. vanilla extract
Garnish:
2 tbsp. grated semisweet chocolate (about 1 oz)

Heat oven to 325. Combine crust ingredients in medium bowl. Press into bottom and up sides of 9-inch pie pan. Bake 8 minutes; cool on wire rack.
Melt 10 oz. chocolate in medium heatproof bowl over saucepan filled with 1 inch barely simmering water (bowl should not touch water). Stir frequently until chocolate is melted and smooth.
Beat cream cheese and 1/4 cup powdered sugar in large bowl at medium speed until smooth. Beat in melted chocolate at low speed until blended.
Beat cream, remaining 1/4 cup powdered sugar and vanilla in large bowl at medium-high speed until firm but not stiff peaks form. Fold half of the whipped cream into chocolate mixture until blended; spread into crust. Spread with remaining whipped cream; sprinkle with grated chocolate. Refrigerate 4 hours before serving.

My Favorite Cole Slaw

I love cole slaw, especially the vinegary type. When I was young, this was the type my Granny made and I always referred to it as the wet slaw. I typically chop the cabbage by hand, but decided to try the 1 pound pre-cut bag out to save time. It actually worked out well.

Cole Slaw

1 (1 lb.) medium head cabbage, shredded
1 cup white onion, chopped
1 green pepper, finely chopped
1 tablespoon salt
2 cups boiling water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. celery seed
1/2 tsp. mustard seed
1 (2 oz) jar chopped pimientos
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper

Combine cabbage, onion and green pepper in a large bowl. Sprinkle with salt and pour boiling water over all. Cover and let stand for 1 hour. Drain into a colander.
Combine sugar, vinegar, oil, celery and mustard seed and whisk. Add to cabbage mixture. Stir in pimientos, cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

USDA May Open US Market to Chinese Chicken

In an article from the Boston Globe, you can read all the scary details. This is totally ridiculous and we need to let the USDA know that we do not want chicken from China. We have all seen what happened with wheat gluten from China. Can we really trust our government to do the correct oversight on this issue??!! I think we all know the answer to that question. If it does end up over here, you can be assured that Walmart will be stocking it on their shelves.



In China, some farmers try to maximize the output from their small plots by flooding produce with unapproved pesticides, pumping livestock with antibiotics banned in the United States, and using human feces as fertilizer to boost soil productivity. But the questionable practices don't end there: Chicken pens are frequently suspended over ponds where seafood is raised, recycling chicken waste as a food source for seafood, according to a leading food safety expert who served as a federal adviser to the Food and Drug Administration.
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2007/05/09/chicken_from_china/

Manicotti w/Creamy Tomato Ricotta Sauce & Beef

As I walked through Target searching for dinner items, I decided on manicotti. I also decided to use a jarred sauce so that I could work in the yard when I got home, instead of standing in front of the stove. Since I'm not the biggest fan of jarred pasta sauces, I decided on checking out some of the more expensive ones. They carry a line from Italy by Lucini and I decided to try their Creamy Tomato Ricotta Gourmet Sauce. I then purchased a lb. of ground beef that I would brown, season and top the pasta with before adding the sauce. The sauce was actually pretty good, nice and creamy and flavored very subtly. The jar was 19.6 ounces, so I placed 1/2 cup on the bottom of my baking dish, added the pasta, topped it with the leftover cheeses filling and beef, the rest of the sauce and 1 cup of mozzarella. I actually should have used 1/2 pound of beef since I halved the recipe, but it was still very good. I covered the baking dish with foil and baked it for 40 minutes, removed the foil and baked for another 10 minutes.

Seasoned Ground Beef

1 lb. ground beef
1 tbsp. Italian seasonings
1/2 tsp. dried minced garlic
1/2 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. crushed red pepper

Mix the seasonings with the beef and brown in a skillet. Drain the grease, before topping the pasta.

Manicotti Filling

I made manicotti for dinner the other night. Like most of my pasta dishes, I never seem to do the same thing twice. I do use this recipe as my base though, whenever making manicotti. I will do a later post with the sauce and beef mixture I used to top the pasta with. I sometimes add dried Italian seasonings, garlic or crushed red pepper to the filling, a combination of those or all of them. It really depends on the sauce I use. I don't want to over season the dish. When I made the recipe the other night, I halved the recipe. I only used 1/2 of the pasta, because I was cooking for 2. I did use all the mozzarella, but you can halve that also. I typically do not cook the pasta for as long as the box says. I cut the cooking time by a couple of minutes. This helps to keep the tubes from splitting while you fill them and they will cook in the oven.

Manicotti Filling

2 lbs. ricotta cheese
2 cups mozzarella cheese, grated
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
2 eggs
1 tsp. sea salt
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Mix the ingredients, using 1 cup of mozzarella. The second cup is used for the top. Pipe into cooked manicotti.

Beef Brownies

Okay, I am getting nauseous just thinking about this recipe. I came across it in one of those plastic bound cookbooks that you see from churches or PTA's and thought I had to share it with all of you. As a child, I remember my Great Grandmother, Nanny, bringing a mincemeat pie. I always thought they sounded disgusting. The fact that her mean husband George actually prepared them, made the thought of tasting them even more horrifying. Anyway, these brownies call for mincemeat, Yucko!!

Beef Brownies

1/2 cup margarine
1 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/2 cup mincemeat
1 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 squares chocolate, melted
1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 cup flour
1/4 tsp. salt

Cream together margarine and sugar. Add eggs one at a time, beating after each. Add the rest of the ingredients. Pour into a 9x12 greased baking dish. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

Lemon Cake w/Citrus Glaze

Lemon cake has always been my favorite of all the cakes. Well, maybe not my all time favorite, that would be an Italian cream cake. But lemon cake is the cake I always asked for on my birthday as a child. This recipe is simple and the glaze that goes on top is excellent! One of these days, I will get around to posting my recipe for an Italian Cream Cake.

Lemon Cake w/Citrus Glaze

1 box lemon cake mix
2 (10 oz) boxes lemon instant pudding
3/4 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
1 cup water

Mix all the ingredients and beat for 3 minutes. Pour into greased and floured bundt pan and bake at 350 degrees for 40 to 45 minutes.

Citrus Glaze

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
3 tbsp. fresh orange juice

Mix together and pour over hot cake.

Mustard Glazed Pork Tenderloins

Saturday , our friend Jeff was in town and we decided to grill out pork tenderloins. I had just received my latest issue of Cook's Country and decided to use the mustard glaze sauce for my tenderloins. They actually use it on a pork roast, but I thought this would work just as nicely with a tenderloin. Cook's Country has become one of my favorite magazines, it comes from the people who bring us the ever useful Cook's Illustrated. Cook's Country has great pictures and almost every recipe is one that I want to prepare. The only other difference to my recipe was that I added an extra tablespoon of apple jelly to my glaze. I will give their rendition of the glaze here.

Mustard Glaze

1/2 cup grainy mustard
6 tablespoons apple jelly
2 tablespoons dark brown sugar
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoons pepper

Whisk ingredients together. Reserve 1/3 of mixture for serving. Grill your pork as usual, making sure you have grilled the meat on all sides before you start brushing on the glaze, to prevent it from burning.

Trezo Mare Revisited

Last night we decided to try out Trezo Mare again. They have started a first seating menu, Saturday through Thursday, from 4:00 to 6:00 PM. The cost is $65 per couple and it really is a great deal. We typically do not eat that early , but Dan was home early enough and we decided to take advantage of the deal. Each couple gets to share a starter, then each guest either gets a crisp greens salad or roasted tomato bisque, a choice of entree including grilled asparagus and whipped roasted garlic Yukons and share a dessert. Let me tell you, the food and service were both great and the portions were almost too big.
We started off with the buttermilk-battered langoustine which was cooked to perfection, covered with fresh grated Parmesan and served with a nice tomato confit. We both had a big bowl of the roasted tomato bisque, which has a nice smoky flavor and nice hint of Balsamic vinegar to it. Dan had the salmon with a nice chive hollandaise. He did have to send the fish back, because it was a little undercooked for him. I had the ahi tuna with an incredible pepernota sauce. I don't even like tuna, but this huge chunk of fish was very nice with the flavorful tomato, red pepper, basil laden pepernota. I would probably order one of the steak choices next time, but I did want to branch out a little. We ended the meal with a nice warm apple tart, served with ice cream in a delicious nut brittle bowl. over all the bill was $100, 30 of it was the alcohol and 10 was the tax. This is really a great way to try out a nice new Kansas City restaurant. If you can't make it on a weeknight, you should try it out on Sunday. The are located at Briarcliff Village 4105 N. Mulberry. They also have what looks like a great Sunday brunch from 11:00 am to 2:00 pm.

Sourdough Cookies

A couple of years ago I was at my cousin's house in Florida and she served these cookies. They are so freaking good, the kind that you can't eat just one of. Big and soft and such a sweet icing, just the perfect comforting cookie you need every once in a while. I saw the recipe in my file at home and thought that it would be a good one to share.

Sourdough Cookies

1 cup butter, softened
2 cups sugar
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs
1 tsp. baking soda
4 cups flour

Mix ingredients, drop by teaspoonfuls on ungreased baking sheets. Bake at 375 for 10 to 12 minutes.

Cookie Icing

1 box powdered sugar
1 stick butter, softened
3 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix together and add milk if too thick. Ice cookies. Add food coloring if desired.

Pignoli Cookies

Back in March, I posted a recipe for my favorite cookies, Pignoli. They are those great little Italian cookies covered in pine nuts. At posted a recipe that I found on the net and thought it looked similar to the one my friend Alicia sent me. I just found my original recipe and it is the same. These are so good and easy to make. The hardest thing for me was finding the almond paste. Now it seems to be everywhere, even Target carries it. Here is the recipe again.

Pignoli Cookies

12 ounces almond paste
1/2 cup white sugar
1 cup confectioners' sugar
4 egg whites
1 1/2 cups pine nuts

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Line 2 cookie sheets with foil; lightly grease foil.
Mix almond paste and granulated sugar in food processor until smooth. Add confectioners' sugar and 2 egg whites; process until smooth. Whisk remaining 2 egg whites in small bowl. Place pine nuts on shallow plate. With lightly floured hands roll dough into 1 inch balls. Coat balls in egg whites, shaking off excess, then roll in pine nuts, pressing lightly to stick. Arrange balls on cookie sheets, and flatten slightly to form a 1 1/2 inch round. Bake 15 to 18 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned. Let stand on cookie sheet 1 minute. Transfer to wire rack to cool.

Quick Tomato Sauce

When I made the pizza last night, I used Julee Rosso's sauce recipe from Great Good Food. I changed it just a bit. I used 2 cloves of chopped garlic instead of 2 tablespoons. I used one 15-oz can of tomato sauce and one 14.5-oz Fire Roasted diced tomatoes instead of 1 28-oz. can of plum tomatoes. The I added a teaspoon of sugar, which is not in the recipe. I will post the recipe as it reads in the book though. I topped my pizza with thinly sliced prosciutto and slices of fresh mozzarella. It was like being in Italy! The flavor was so fresh.

Quick Tomato Sauce

1 tsp. olive oil
2 tbsp. slivered garlic
1 can (28 oz) plum tomatoes
3 tbsp. finely chopped fresh basil
salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a medium size skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add garlic and saute until lightly browned. Do not overcook or sauce will be bitter. Add the tomatoes, breaking them up with a wooden spoon. Add the basil. Reduce the heat and simmer gently for 20 to 30 minutes or until reduced to about 2 cups. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Semolina Pizza Crust

I have started going through one of my favorite old cookbooks and trying out some of the recipes again. Great Good Food by Julee Rosso, has wonderful lower fat recipes that taste great. Last night I decided to make the pizza crust and quick tomato sauce recipes. This turned out to be the best pizza crust I have ever made. The dough was light and soft and the sauce was perfectly seasoned. I had to add water to my dough , it was too dry. I did this by wetting my hands and then continued kneading until I had the desired consistency to my dough. I dived my dough into 2 pieces and made a thicker crust. I wrapped the remaining dough in plastic wrap and bagged it, then placed in the freezer. I will thaw it and make another pizza next week.

Semolina Pizza Crusts

1 package (1/4 oz) active dry yeast

1/2 tsp. sugar

1 cup semolina flour

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

olive oil

Place 1 cup warm (110 to 115 degrees) water in the bowl of stand mixer fitted with dough hook, sprinkle in yeast and sugar; stir to combine. After 5 minutes mixture should be foamy. Add flours and salt to yeast mixture, and mix until dough is relatively smooth. Lightly flour a smooth surface. Remove dough from bowl, place on surface, and knead by hand for 10 minutes. If the dough is too wet add small amounts of lour if to dry add drops of water. The dough should be smooth and elastic. Lightly wipe a large bowl with olive oil. Place dough in bowl, turning to coat with oil; cover with plastic wrap and set aside in warm place to rise for 45 minutes or until dough has doubled in bulk. Preheat oven to 450. Lightly spray or wipe individual pizza pans or large baking sheets. Punch down dough, transfer to a lightly floured surface and knead for 2 minutes. Let dough rest for 20 minutes. On a floured surface flatten into 4 10 inch discs using your fingertips. Place on pan and top with sauce and toppings. Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until crisp.