October 25, 2015

We met at Tonya's house on a rainy, cool, Sunday amid Hurricane Patricia.  

Appetizer: Mary, Sweet Potato Corn Cakes 

Salad:  Angie, Honey Crisp Apple Salad 

Main:  Peach and Mustard Glazed Pork Chops

Dessert:  Angelica, Apple Crisp

Dinner with guest, Vivian.

Mary pan-fried these crispy, sweet potato corn cakes at Tonya's to ensure that they were hot and crispy.  To the dipping sauce recipe, Mary added Srirachi sauce.  Very yummy and a beautiful presentation.  The sweet potatoes are a subtle flavor and the corn adds some crunchy texture.  The cayenne pepper adds a kick!

For the salad, I picked one with apples, which are a fall staple.  The recipe calls for frisee however my Sprouts store  did not have any.  The produce worker scoffed when I asked for it "hardly anyone carries frisee".  HA!  I should have substituted endive but instead I used spinach.  I had not realized until later that frisee is in the endive family.  You learn something new every day!  I added some Gorgonzola cheese, pear (thanks, Mary!) and dried cranberries.  The dressing is not overly sweet with some spice from the cumin and curry.

For the main dish, Tonya picked beautiful pork chops.  Even Cookie the cat could hardly resist!  

The pork chops were rubbed with spices, seared and then finished in the oven with the peach glaze.  The glaze was not overly sweet due to the Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce and dash or two of Srirachi sauce.  This pork chops were tender and juicy, thanks to the bone in and watchful eye of Tonya and her trusty thermometer.  This is definitely a "company worthy" dish.  The pork chops were served with simple white rice, with some of the glaze spooned on top.

I was so excited about Angelica's apple crisp that I forgot to take a photograph.  It was a typical crisp with apples covered in a crispy oatmeal and pecan topping.

Fall dessert

My dad requested Caramel Apple Streusel Squares for dessert this weekend.  I asked how he picked the recipe, thinking he would mention fall and apples, but no, he said he did a search for "recipes with sweetened condensed milk".  Oh.  Well, I thought it was the perfect fall dessert... not that it feels like fall right now, BUT IT IS.    

I had all the ingredients on hand except for the apples.  I used my new Pampered Chef mandolin to slice the apples in thin, uniform slices.  I used the 2nd setting though next time I will use the 3rd setting to have thicker slices.  I have also decided that I will always use the guard because I do not want to cut off any of my fingertips.   Mandolins are scary!  

This dessert is all about the crust and topping.  It is sweet with brown sugar and spicy with the cinnamon and nutmeg.  The apples are nestled between the layers and the caramel mixture ties it all together.  I put some extra caramel sauce on top because the top seemed a little dry.  This addition just made the bars even more delicious.  

Dinner and dessert

Unstuffed cabbage casserole should really be called unstuffed cabbage ROLL casserole.  It has all the components of a cabbage roll but deconstructed and mixed into a casserole.  I hate when chefs on cooking shows make things deconstructed, like chicken pot pie.  NO!  What makes chicken pot pie delicious is it is prepared and served exactly as it has been for 100 years!  

In this case, deconstructed just makes it an easier recipe to fix and with less steps.  Skip the step of blanching the cabbage.  I cut it in thin strips and it cooked through in the oven.  I also used canned, diced tomatoes, skipped the dried mint and added Italian seasoning.  It turned out very good, with lots of flavor and reheats beautifully for left overs.  When I make it next time I am going to add some hot Italian sausage because I think the fennel in the sausage will be really nice with the other Italian spices.

For dessert (i.e., one for me, the rest for the office), I made these peanut butter blondies.  The recipe seemed too simple for these to be good but in fact, they were AMAZING.  I have been on a quest for the best recipe for peanut butter cookies and these bars are it. Bars, cookies, same difference, right?  I used chunky peanut butter and the nuts added a nice texture and not noticeable as a coworker told me "chunky peanut butter would be good in these".  Did that!  Chocolate chips in these would be sinful.

Going bananas

My new office has baskets of bananas and apples throughout the suite.  At first I thought these were decorations, but nope, they are for eating.  I will never buy an apple or banana again.  I asked a coworker what happens with the bananas at the end of the week and she said "YOU take them home, make banana bread and bring it back on Monday.  70% of us like nuts."  Oh.  Well.  OK.  I have not yet been brave enough to stuff my purse full of brown bananas but I am almost there.

In the meantime, I purchased some bananas and made banana pudding.  I used this recipe for the pudding.  It's creamy and delicious.  Then I got all fancy and put it in a pie, using this recipe as the go-by, but again using the other recipe for the pudding.  One recipe of the pudding was enough for two pies.  I skipped the lemon juice and mixed the wafers and banana slices in the pudding.  Spoon it in the pie shell, scatter on more wafers, drizzle the caramel sauce and dot with whipped cream.  After setting up in the refrigerator it does actually slice nicely.  Or, just got at it with a spoon.  Either way.

September 13, 2015

We met at my house on Sunday, September 13, 2015.  (Note to self:  never make anything curried EVER AGAIN.  My house STILL smells like curry, 4 days later.  Chad thinks it smells like celery and has said as much about 10 times. It’s not celery, dear.)

Appetizer:  Angelica, Curried Cauliflower Soup

Cocktail:  Angie, Porch-side Paloma

Salad:  Mary, Indian Spiced Chickpea Salad

Main Dish:  Angie, Curried Chicken and Rice

Dessert:  Tonya, Chai Latte Cupcakes

The cocktail is similar to one I have made before.  This one has a fancy twist with the jalapeno honey syrup.  Jalapenos in drinks seem to be the fad right now.  The after-taste of heat is an interesting twist.

Porch-side Paloma

 

1 ½ part tequila

1 part grapefruit juice

1 part lime juice

½ part jalapeno honey syrup*

Combine all and shake with ice.  Or, I made it in a big pitcher.

*Add 1 cup honey, 3 jalapeno slices (or more if you want more heat, but 3 seems good) and ½ a cup of water.  Bring to a boil, stir and take off heat.  Cool then strain.

The soup Angelica prepared perfectly fit with the curry theme (and smell).  I’m KIDDING.  The soup is thick and rich and would be a great main dish with some hearty bread.   

 

Mary’s salad was most unique!  Like the soup, it is healthy and full of vegetables.  The yogurt makes for a creamy dressing and the spices make the taste complex.  I love chickpeas, and like the soup, this could easily be a main course with the addition of a protein like chicken or shrimp.  I even think canned tuna would pair well.  

The main dish is a play on one of my favorites:  chicken and rice.   This dish came together pretty easily and started on the stove but finished in the oven.  The rice was perfectly cooked and the chicken was juicy and spicy. 

The cupcakes that Tonya made were as beautiful as they were delicious!  I am envious of her piping skills.  The cake tastes similar to a spice cake and the icing is not-too sweet. Very very tasty.

Cheesecake!

For my last baked good delivery to the office, I brought this white chocolate mousse cheesecake.   This was a great choice as it is probably the tastiest thing that I have ever made!  I prepared it in a 9 x 13 pan so everyone could get a piece.  The only change I would suggest is I do not see why you need to wait to put the mousse on the cake.  I would just let the cake cool and then spread the mousse and it will be good to go.  I let it cool in the refrigerator overnight.  It was creamy and just sweet enough. It would go very well with berries, especially strawberries, on the top.

Apple Crisp

I very much enjoy apple crisp.  Baked apples have always been one of my favorite treats and add a crust... yum!!  This crisp is super easy.  I used granny smith apples, sliced thinly and did not even bother peeling.  I reduced the sugar on the apples to probably 1/3 cup, just sprinkled it all over the apples and called it a day.  One cup seems WAY TOO much. I did not make any changes to the crust.  I wondered if the shortening would be "boring" compared to using butter but nope, it was fantastic!  This crisp is great on its own, warmed up for breakfast or served with vanilla ice cream and/or whipped cream.