Two Happy Bellies

National "insert food" Day

I love popcorn. Tracy, on the other hand, not so much. I got really excited when I found out that there is a National Popcorn Day. I was sad to see that I missed it last week. Supposedly it is January 19th but sources vary. I have it marked on my calendar for next year and will not miss it.

Other National "insert food" Days -

National BBQ Day - July 4th

National Hamburger Day - May 28th

National Pancake Day - Feb 28th

National Cupcake Day - Dec 15th

National Almond Day - Feb 16th

National Pretzel Day - April 26th

National Vanilla Pudding Day - May 22

The list goes on and on...... But what is January 26th? National Peanut Brittle Day!  

Sunday Food Fun with Friends

After many months of planning, several delays, the holiday season, a wedding, a play, and whatever other conflict that could come along eight gourmands finally got together for food, fun and fellowship. Yeah! The seed of this dining event started to grow at least some time last summer. Tracy and I were still pretty new to the church when David and his wife Kristin heard that Tracy and I were foodies. David asked if we would be interested in as a group of four couples for an evening of cooking dinner together and enjoying some good food. Tracy and I were onboard with that idea quickly. So like I said, after many delays Tracy & I, David & Kristin, John & Kyle, and Mark & Terrie were finally able to pull off this shindig.

In the planning we decided to give each couple free reign to add to the menu whatever specialty dish they loved to make or if they wanted to try something new. This menu got crazy quick. David wanted to do a pork dish. I was willing to do creme brulee and teach the torching technique. Terrie had never made risotto. Tracy and I had 4 cornish game hens in the freezer and several people had not had them before. Some people just wanted to chop veggies or watch the event. Finally we decided that the menu would be appetizers of bruschetta and shrimp cocktail, Mushroom Wellington Cups, a roasted veggie medley, risotto, a pork loin roll, roasted cornish hens with cherry port glaze and creme brulee for dessert.

The Cast of Characters- The Girls from left to right - Terrie, Kristin, Tracy and Kyle.The Guys from left to right - David, Mark, John & Aaron.

So with eight people in one kitchen it was should have been chaos but it actually went so smoothly. I got to work on deboning and preparing the hens for the roaster while Terrie worked on her bruschetta. She topped toasted slices of Trader Joe's bread with a pesto spread and a tomato bruschetta sauce. Over on the other side of the kitchen David got to work on something I am going to call "the Masterpiece".  He took a pork tenderloin, butterflied it and then pounded the meat into a thin slab.  He topped the pork loin with prosciutto, garlic, spinach and parmesan cheese.David then rolled it together, wrapped the outside in more prosciutto and fresh sage from Kyle's garden.Here we have David tying up the meat with a little help from Tracy and Kyle.David did a 4 Star Chef quality job on this dish. It was phenomenal. The finished Masterpiece was also sponsered by Kosher Salt.Once it baked in the oven it came out beautifully.As the pork roll baked Kyle roasted up a medley of eggplant, squash, zucchini, red onions and garlic.I knew oven space would be at a premium so I brought over our electric roasting oven. Kyle set me up a place in the garage for the roaster and here is how the hens turned out.While the pork, the veggies and the hens all roasted away Terrie got busy working on her risotto. I am not sure that I have ever had risotto and Tracy said that she knew she had not so this was a new experience for many of us. She added asparagus to the risotto and it turned out wonderful. Yeah, we need to get this recipe.David and Kristin got to play with phyllo dough and make Mushroom Wellington Cups. This was a dish I had not ever had before either.Once these cups were done there was some left over phyllo dough. Since we did not want it to go to waste Tracy and David decided to make another dessert. They took the dough, some cinnamon sugar and shaved chocolate and made a quick pastry.Now that everything was cooked it was time to fix plates and sit at the dinner table. Kyle had such a beautiful setting.

I will cover the creme brulee dessert in another post in a few days.  Also, I have asked the other cooks to send me the recipes and comments on their dishes.  As we receive them they will be published too.

So in all this turned out to be a 5 hour afternoon event that was just the best time with lots of left overs. I do not think anyone was dissatisfied with any part of the meal. Yup, Eight Happy Bellies.

Martha Ministry January 2012

Our church has a group that gets together once in a while to make food and freeze it for times of need. Today was the first one they had since we joined and we (of course) volunteered to help out. The group would be making several dishes and packaging them for families of four, both main and desserts. If a family larger than four needs a meal, we just give them two.

Promptly at 9 AM we got to the building to receive our assignments. We started off with a penne pasta with spinach and sun-dried tomatoes, while chicken was baking to make chicken enchiladas verde. A beef and bean chile was also on the rotation while Tollhouse cookies, mock ice cream sandwiches, and frozen strawberry salad (dessert) were being created as well. With so many people showing up to help, we ended up also making baked spaghetti and three hours later the kitchen was clean with six pastas, six chiles, four enchiladas, and four baked spaghettis in the freezer. I did not see how many packages of desserts ended up finished but I sure did scoop a lot of muffin cups of strawberry salad so I'm sure there were quite a few of them as well.

All in all, it was a fun morning!

Tyler Makes Pancakes

As part of my job, I get to see advance copies of many books. Some of them I love and anxiously await their publication date so I can buy and give them away (or keep for myself) while others are quickly forgotten. Having said that, I want to tell you about one I will probably purchase: Tyler Florence’s new title. He’s doing a picture book with the (very fun) illustrator Craig Frazier. Tyler Makes Pancakes (9780062047526) has our young hero Tyler waking up one morning from a pancakes in outer space dream. He informs his dog, Tofu, and they head off to the grocery store to get the ingredients necessary to create breakfast for Mom and Dad. Mr. Jones at the market not only helps Tyler find each ingredient, Tyler (and us) receive a short history about each of the items on the list. Back home pancakes are made and everyone enjoys a tasty breakfast. There is a recipe and additional Did You Know facts at the end. While there is nothing spectacular about the story, the fun illustrations nudge this one above many other celebrity titles. Now to decide, when shall I make Tyler’s Blueberry Buttermilk Pancakes?

Standard disclaimer: I get to see advance copies of books through my job, however this review was unsolicited and unpaid for . . . opinions are completely my own.

Could I be a hunter?

I just finished reading this book the other night and it was great reading material. Tracy and I try to be locavores in that we garden a good bit of tomatoes, peppers, basil, oregano, etc and we participate in one of our Nashville area CSA programs. I am interested in taking that next step as a locavore with hunting fowl such as pheasants or hunting a deer. This book has helped to push me another step in that desire to fill the freezer with some tasty meat.

I really like many of the things the author had to say in the Introduction of the book as well as The Politics of Hunting on p.88-89. His statement "Using a rifle to hunt for food does not have to mean that you identify yourself as pro-gun or antigun. It is a tool that we use to do a job,..." is brilliant. I wish more people would understand this logic.

I must admit that I have in fact killed one deer already but not with a rifle but using a Nissan truck. I hit this deer late one night when it jumped out in front of my truck and I had little choice but to hit him/her. I never gave much thought about hunters, hunting or animal rights up until this accident. For me, I came to realize that I am okay with hunters going out and hunting these animals to help control the population because it could have easily been someone else to hit this deer. Although I was not harmed (my truck got fixed) other people who have hit deer have not been so lucky.

Anyone who has read books like "Animal, Vegetable, Miracle" by Barbara Kingsolver with the hope of having a backyard garden and enjoying the fruits of their own labor or who understands the concept of "food miles" that in most instances local is better SHOULD understand the logic of hunting locally, hunting to put food on the table (vs trophy hunting) and hunting legally. I do recommend anyone who has the ability to and desire to take the locavore mentality one step further to please check this book out.

Lebanese Garlic Sauce

One of our trips up to KY a friend of the family took over the kitchen and made a fabulous garlic sauce. So when we decided to do Greek for New Year's Day, Aaron knew he wanted to add garlic sauce to the menu. Only problem was he decided this rather last minute and we couldn't get in touch with the friend of the family. So after hunting around on the internet, he mixed and matched a few recipes with our memories and came up with the below.

• 4 bulbs garlic, cloves separated and peeled
• 1 C. lemon juice
• 1 t. salt
• 1 C. olive oil
• 1 C. canola oil

In the container of a blender, combine the garlic, lemon juice, and salt. Blend at medium speed until smooth. Continue blending while pouring the oils into the blender in a thin stream. Mixture will become thick and white. Store refrigerated in a glass container.

Next time, we will cut the lemon juice down to 3/4 C. Other than that, this was just about perfect (and was even better the next day). 

Warm Black-Eyed Bean Salad with Rocket

Also from the cookbook Greek Cooking by Rena Salaman and Jan Cutler is this tasty black-eyed pea salad(ingredient list made "American" . . .).

• 1 1/2 C. black-eyed peas
• 5 scallions, sliced into rounds
• large handful of arugula leaves, chopped if necessary
• 4 T. chopped fresh dill
• 2/3 C. EVOO
• juice of 1 lemon
• 10-12 black olives
• salt and fresh ground black pepper
• small romaine lettuce leaves for serving

1. Thoroughly rinse beans and drain them well. Tip them into a pan and pour in cold water to just cover them. Slowly bring to a boil over low heat. As soon as water boils, remove pan from heat and drain water off immediately.
2. Put beans back into pan with fresh cold water to cover and a pinch of salt (this makes the skins harder and stops them from disintegrating when they are cooked).
3. Bring beans to boil over medium heat, then lower and cook until soft, but not mushy. This will only take 20-30 minutes so keep an eye on them.
4. Drain the beans, reserving 5-6 T. of the cooking liquid. Tip beans into a large salad bowl. Immediately add the remaining ingredients, including the reserved liquid, and mix well. Serve immediately, piled on the lettuce leaves, or leave to cool slightly and serve later.

The only pictures we have were on the inital plate post here.

Homemade Pita Bread

So back to that big New Year's meal that we had last week.  Here is the recipe for the Pitta Bread from Greek Cooking by Rena Salaman and Jan Cutler.  This recipe makes twelve pitas so be sure to have lots of goodies to eat with the pita.

Ingredients

• 5 cups white bread flour or half white and half whole wheat
• 2 ½ tsp easy-blend (rapid rise) dried yeast (use one whole packet)
• 1 tbsp salt
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup water

1. Combine the flour, yeast and salt.  Combine the olive oil and 1 cup water, then add the flour mixture, stirring in the same direction, and then working with your hands until the dough is stiff. Place the dough in a clean bowl, cover with a clean dish towel and leave in a warm place for at least 30 minutes and up to 2 hours.
2. Knead the dough for 10 minutes, or until smooth. Lightly oil the bowl, place the dough in it, cover again and leave to rise in a warm place for about 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
3. Divide the dough into 12 equal pieces.  With lightly floured hands, flatten each piece, then roll out into a round measuring about 8 inches and ¼- ½ inch thick.
4. Heat a heavy frying pan over medium-high heat. When hot, lay one piece of flattened dough in the pan and cook for 15-20 seconds. Turn it over and cook the second side for about 1 minute.
5. When large bubbles start to form on the bread, which should be after about 1-2 minutes or so, turn it over again.  It should puff up.  Using a clean dish towel, gently press on the bread where the bubbles have formed. Cook the bread for a total of 3 minutes, then remove the pita from the pan. Repeat with the remaining dough.
6. Wrap the pita bread in a clean dish towel, stacking them as each one is cooked. Serve the pitas hot while they are soft and moist, with a main meal, such as lamb kebabs, or as part of a meze table (kind of like Tapas or Dim Sum dining).  

I had several issues with this recipe.  First off, I followed the directions and used 1 cup of water and that was nowhere near enough.  I added more until the dough looked better and I think all told I used 2 ½ cups. Maybe using just 1 cup is a misprint in the recipe. I looked at other recipes online and found one that said use 1 ½ cups water with 3 cups flour and another recipe that called for 2 ½ cups water and close to 6 cups flour so maybe it is an error.

Second, I think this recipe should have had me divide and roll out the dough and then let them rise for a little while before cooking.  The other recipes I looked at online because of the water issue also suggested baking the pita a few at a time in the oven.

Third, I found in cooking them in the skillet that if I cooked them about a minute, flip, cook another minute, flip and repeat a few times that the pita would puff up and form a pocket.  I think this is one of those recipes where it takes practice and a few mess-ups before it can be mastered (kind of like decorating cookies – decorate 20 just to get 12 that are perfect).Here are some pictures of how they were made and turned out. Here we divided and balled them up.Then we rolled them out.And then we threw them in a pan.Does this make me the Baker's Man?

Everyone said that the hot pitas were wonderful and so I was pleased with the results. As stated earlier, several other recipes I found online had a higher water to flour proportion and they also suggested baking the pitas. I think I will try that next time. Another thing to do next time is use the Kitchen Aid and the dough hook instead of all this kneading by hand. This is one recipe that I will try again and want to get good at.

Linking up to Foodie Friday.

Buckeye Bars

Another favorite from many years ago would be these tasty little treats. The recipe actually came out of a children's cookbook which I thought was on the shelf, but I can't find it. I was once told by a friend that if I could ever find a way to make these in bulk, she'd take them over Reese's Peanut Butter Cups any day of the week. Not sure I would give up a peanut butter cup, however these sure are good (and easy!) I don't remember what they were originally called, I nicknamed them Buckeye Bars after I got tired of making actual Buckeye Candy.

• 1 C. butter
• 1 1/2 C. graham cracker crumbs
• 1 t. vanilla
• 1 C. peanut butter
• 2 1/2 C. powdered sugar
• 12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips

Melt butter. Stir in graham cracker crumbs. Add vanilla, peanut butter, and powdered sugar. Mix well. Spread into a 9 by 13 inch pan. Melt chocolate chips. Spread over peanut butter mixture. Put in refrigerator to chill. Cut into small squares.

These didn't last long when I took them in to work . . . I love happy co-workers.

New Year's Day 2012 - Greek

As you might recall, we have a food tradition for New Year's Day meals (3 years in a row does make a tradition, right?). This year we did end up going with the Greek meal.

On this tasty looking plate you see Gyro meat (bought from Sue's in Franklin) covered in Lebanese Garlic Sauce, Greek Ribs*, Tzatziki sauce, Roasted Veggies with Orzo Pasta, Warm Black-Eyed Bean (peas) Salad with Rocket (arugula)*, some sort of wonderful Cauliflower spread of which I need the recipe, Tabouli salad*, homemade Hummus, Rice (also from Sue's), and homemade Pitta (no that is not a typo) made by Aaron. Two of the recipes Aaron made, the Black-Eyed Peas dish and the Pitta breads, came from a cookbook we purchased from a wedding gift card: Greek Cooking <<9781435118041>>. They were both huge hits. Aaron found the Garlic Sauce recipe online and he has been making the Roasted Veggies with Orzo Pasta** since our very first date.

*Being in the South as we are, we had to have our pork, black-eyed peas, and greens for the new year.

**Our version is to double the vegetables, halve the dressing, and use a full pound of orzo pasta - we also usually eliminate the eggplant.

Of course we'll be posting these new favorite recipes over the next few weeks. Hope you have a happy and tasty new year!