Ok, it wasn’t much of a grudge match as it was a land slide. So far, this has been the biggest point spread in the contest. In the past contests, it has always been within a point… usually .5 or .6 of a point. This week… Well… See for yourself:

So as you can see, Roman Coin has taken this in a land slide.

Comments include:

“I was underwhelmed by Sam & Louie’s. The sauce was very thin and there was hardly any cheese or beef on it.”
“Roman Coin had awesome flavor and the crust was spot on!”
“Sam & Louie’s had good crust, but their sauce and toppings were sub-par!”

 Thanks for playing!

My Comments: I just started a low carb diet this week and I reserved myself to tasting the crust off a small piece and scraping the top off and eating it. (The top, not the crust) Well, I took a bite of the Roman Coin, I was well pleased. I have eaten their specialty pizza (Buffalo Chicken) before and have loved it. As a matter of fact, if you see my “Best of” page… you will see Roman Coin is my favorite pizza in Omaha. So then I wnt for the Sam & Louie’s… I took a bit of the crust and was immediately put off as it was under done. Then looking at it… the thin cheese and thin sauce make it look like the pizza was covered in slime, not cheese. I bit into it, picked at the sparse toppings and decided that the best place for it was the trash. I was actually wishing it was at least Sgt Peffers… It was hands down the lowest I have personally rated a pizza in this whole Super Bowl of Pizza thing.

I would have to say that Roman Coin is my “Hiro” of Omaha Pizza.

~TOC

Greetings Omaha Pizza Lovers….

I have some dismal news… It seems that our week 5 contestants in the Super Bowl of Pizza performed so poorly that we have decided to skip posting their names and results.

Ok, I declined posting the results to my co-workers… but you, my avid, pizza-ravenous readers… YOU CAN HANDLE THE TRUTH!

I will set it for “Read More” as to not to start a blog war…. So you’re going to have to click it to read it.

Our contestants in week 5 were…

Bene’s Pizza Vs. Sgt Peffers

I had heard good things about both places. I had even eaten AT Bene’s before and remember loving it. So I was a bit surprised that it… well… It sucked. They both sucked. The wild thing is this: Beef for Peffers was ok, but their pepperoni was bad, and then Benne’s pepperoni was ok, but their beef was terrible. The scores were very low and comments included “Wow, both of these suck.” And “The sauce is weak on both of them”. So in good conscious, we couldn’t advance either of these pizzas to the next round.

Neither one deserved to be moved forward. So what we did was add an additional round to this bracket and choose two competitors off the “cut list”.

Here are the final results:
With 1.93 points and a Yuk Factor of 3.6: Bene’s
With 1.92 points and a Yuk factor of 4: Sgt Peffers

By far, this has been the lowest scoring round. I HOPE next week’s is better.

~TOC

Our results for last week’s challenge are as follows:

We went to have Pudgy’s Pizza and they were not open for lunch. So at the last minute we had to scramble to find Pudgy’s stand in. Oscar’s was at the top of the cut list so we quickly grabbed it. As such we were surprised to have it knock off Big Fred’s.

Now for my personal feedback: The majority of us, being in Omaha for years, LOVE Big Fred’s. You go, you get the stuffed hamburger Pizza and you drink beer and you sit and B.S. with family and friends… We love it. And the Pizza that we got, was actually rated higher than some of the others that we have rated. It just didn’t rate high enough. If Fred’s was in any other bracket so far, I think it may have won out. No, I know it would have won. We love it. 

Oscar’s Pizza though… We were floored. Nobody, and I mean nobody…. expected it to be so damn good. It was the first time in this contest that I was surprised in a good way. I liked it so much, that I dragged my family, and my brother and my dad and his wife out to have it. I even ordered wings and I have to say.. Guinness and their Double Buffed Wings… I was in fat-boy heaven. (Look for an Oscar’s inspired Hot Wing Challenge soon.)

Dinner rolls are not high on my priority list when I am cooking dinner, truth be told they are more likely an after thought. For example, after I set the food on the table I think to myself, hmm some dinner rolls or fresh bread would really round out this meal. Unfortunately if you do not have any of those “heat to serve” dinner rolls sitting around there is no way to enjoy them with your dinner that night. Like most yeast breads dinner rolls need (I really had to resist typing KNEAD –I love a good pun!) to be a forethought since you have to knead, then let double in size, then shape, then let double in size again, and finally you are able to bake them, all which take plenty of time.

Luckily for me and for you since I am sharing it, I found a recipe which allows you to have piping hot dinner rolls on your dinner table in about one hour from start to finish. This recipe is awesome because I just start it a little bit before I would normally start prepping for dinner. For me it was not a huge change in my cooking routine.

I found this recipe months ago from Holly at Phe/MOM/enon (congratulations on the new babe). She adapted a recipe from My Kitchen Cafe and posted about it in November and I marked it as a recipe that I wanted to try. This is a daily habit of mine. I sit down and read my Google Reader and star all the recipes I want to try some day. Currently I have hundreds of “want to try” recipes marked. I have maybe tried a handful (a small handful) of these recipes. It is such a shame. To fix this problem I have decided that a couple times a month I am actually going to try some of these recipes and share them with you. After all, I would like it if people would try my recipes instead of saying “that sounds good, I will have to try that some day” and some day never comes.

That being said, a recipe from the famous Ree at The Pioneer Woman was also starred. She had made some delicious Buttered Rosemary Rolls using frozen bread dough. Well Ree recently posted about these Rosemary Rolls again which jogged my memory and I knew I had to make them soon. First I tried Holly’s recipe a couple weeks ago only I substituted half of the AP flour for whole wheat flour. My family loved the dinner rolls, and I was happy how quickly they came together. They were so light and fluffy. Fast forward to this week, when we were going to have spaghetti for dinner and didn’t have any frozen garlic bread around. The solution was to combine Holly’s recipe with Ree’s recipe and throw in my own touch. My family really enjoyed the soft, subtly garlic herb dinner rolls with our spaghetti. The garlic flavor didn’t come through as much as I hoped it would, next time I make these I will try doubling the garlic amount or adding roasted garlic instead of minced.

PERFECT DINNER ROLLS
I first saw it at Phe/MOM/enon
1 1/2 cups warm water (11o degrees F)
1 T instant yeast
2 T granulated sugar
2 T vegetable oil (I used Olive Oil)
1 tsp sea salt (I used Kosher salt)
4 c AP flour, lightly spooned into measuring cup & leveled off

HERE ARE HOLLY’S INSTRUCTIONS:

In your mixing bowl stir together water, yeast, and sugar. Let sit for 5 minutes until creamy.

Add oil, salt, and 2 cups of flour to the yeast mixture. Beat on low speed with the paddle attachment. While still on low speed add 1 additional cup of flour stir until incorporated. Switch to dough hook and add the final cup of flour. Mix until dough pulls away from the bowl, then turn speed up to medium and knead for 5 minutes –or until the dough is smooth and elastic. Place dough in a lightly oiled bowl, turn dough to coat. Cover with plastic wrap and set in warm place until dough doubles in size –about 20-30 minutes.

Dump dough out onto a lightly floured surface and gently deflate and press dough into a rectangle. Cut dough in half vertically, then vertically again into thirds so there are 6 equal strips of dough. Cut each strip into fourths so there are 24 equal pieces of dough. Pick up each piece and lightly cup it under your palm on a clean surface. Press lightly and rotate and roll the dough quickly so it forms a ball. If you’re really good you can do one with each hand, thus speeding up the process.

Place each dough ball into a greased 9×13 baking pan in rows of 4 (about 1/2 inch apart). Cover the rolls with a lightly greased piece of plastic wrap and let double in size while the oven is preheating to 400 degrees F –about 20 minutes. Brush rolls with melted butter before placing in the oven for a nice golden brown color. Bake for 15 minutes.

HERE IS WHAT I DID:
Since I do not have a dough hook for my mixer, I used my bread machine on the dough setting.

In addition to Holly’s ingredient list I added in 1 T minced garlic. Next time I would add more. The garlic flavor wasn’t as strong as I hoped.

Place all ingredients in your bread machine in the order your machine recommends. Turn the machine on the dough setting, but do not walk away. Allow the dough to knead for about 5 minutes after all the ingredients are incorporated. Once the dough is smooth place the dough ball in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a towel, and put in a warm area until the dough doubles in size –about 20-30 minutes.

Once the dough has doubled in size, dump it out onto a lightly floured surface and gently deflate while carefully pressing into a rectangle. I followed the instructions from Holly’s recipe for shaping the rolls. Cut dough in half vertically, then vertically again into thirds so there are 6 equal strips of dough. Cut each strip into fourths so there are 24 equal pieces of dough. Pick up each piece and lightly cup it under your palm on a clean surface. Press lightly and rotate and roll the dough quickly so it forms a ball. If you’re really good you can do one with each hand, thus speeding up the process.

Like the Pioneer Woman’s recipe I greased my cast iron skillet with melted butter and placed six rolls in the pan (the other rolls I baked on a regular baking sheet) cover them with a dish towel and let rise for about 20-30 more minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

While the rolls are rising gather:

2T butter, melted
1-2 tsp dried rosemary
1-2 tsp dried oregano
1-2 tsp dried basil
generous pinch of Kosher salt

Mix together the herbs and salt. Paint the melted butter on each roll. Sprinkle a generous pinch of the herb and salt mixture over every roll.

Bake rolls for about 15 minutes until nice and golden brown. Enjoy!

*Sorry for the funky coloring in my pictures. It was dark outside by the time I finished baking, and I don’t have any of that fancy photo editing software.

First off, I apologize for the blurry photo. I snapped this shot as quickly as humanly possible. It’s hard enough to get along in this world as a “food freak;” the last thing I need is to be spotted out and about taking pictures of trash cans!

Throwing away my trash used to be soooooo easy! Not anymore. And I’m the first to admit that I am no match for these new set ups. It literally took me 3 minutes to figure out what to do with my fork – and I’m pretty sure I still got it wrong!

Admittedly, I was already feeling intimidated and defeated upon approaching the “recycling center” at this local eating establishment. I was just sure that everyone else knew exactly what to do and that even the slightest hesitation on my part would reveal me as some sort of “un-green,” heartless, waste-producing consumer.

As I neared the bins, I was relieved to see that “hard plastics” clearly belong in the red bin. Awesome! My fork met both of those criteria!

As I reached to deposit my fork, I realized that the sign for this bin also instructed, “Clean materials only. No food.” Ahhhh…..my fork totally still had food on in it. Don’t worry though, I had the fork tightly in my grasp at this point (crisis averted).

But, what to do?? I consulted the guy next to me who informed me that I was not misinterpreting…this bin, indeed, only accepted “clean” plastics.

Alright. Here’s the embarrassing part – I panicked and threw it in the “landfill” bin. And, yes, these recycling set-ups sure do make a person feel guilty for throwing something away….but, hey, I truly wanted to recycle that darn fork…really!

Unfortunately, good intentions don’t count for much with the landfill bin, which went on to taunt me with its sign stating, “Recycling bins are available on the premises.” Yes, thank you; I realize that! But, evidently, I don’t have what it takes to successfully utilize said bins, so here’s my fork. Sorry.

Why not just lick the food off of the fork?!?!? Brilliant! But that didn’t occur to me until it was too late.

So, here’s my suggestion (for what it’s worth). These bins need to join the 21st century. Would it be too much to ask for them to be equipped with scanners that inspect your items and then counsel you on your depositing decision? Just sayin….

First, you pour the appropriate amount of water into the bottom tray. The Egg Genie comes with a measuring cup that tells you exactly how much water to use, based on the number of eggs you’re cooking and just how firmly you want them boiled.

Then you prick the pointy end of each egg. Trust me, this must be done! LOL!

Place eggs (pricked side up) in the Egg Genie.

Cover the eggs, and plug in the machine.

Don’t worry, Egg Genie will let you know when your eggs are done!

And the Egg Genie is super affordable, too! Get yours today on Amazon.com by clicking here: EggGenie Egg Genie Electric Egg Cooker

My brother-in-law (who works in a restaurant kitchen) probably loves food as much as I do. He made me this soup for lunch a couple weeks ago. It was wonderful. He boiled the potatoes in chicken stock, and once they were tender he added rest of his ingredients. Brilliant! I can’t believe I never thought about boiling cubed potatoes in chicken stock and using that starchy boiled stock in the soup. This is truly a one pot meal. You can make a lot or a little in a short amount of time. This soup is great for those “it is so cold to do anything” type of days, and this winter we have had plenty of those.

POTATO & HAM CHOWDER

4 c chicken stock
4 medium-large Russet potatoes, peeled & cubed
1 yellow onion, minced (could use leek)
2 cloves garlic, minced
bay leaf
1-2 c ham, cubed (could use bacon)
1 c whipping cream
1 can(fat free) evaporated milk
5 slices of American cheese
salt & pepper
garnish with sliced scallions

In a large pot add potatoes, onion, garlic, and bay leaf. Bring to boil and simmer until potatoes are fork tender. Add ham, cream, milk, and cheese. Stirring until cheese is melted. Season with salt and pepper. ENJOY!

Your tasters have indulged and have chosen a winner…

 Johnny Sortino’s holds off Mama’s

Mamma’s Pizza scored a grand total of 116 points while Johnny Sortino’s edged them out with 121. Yuk Factor for Johnny Sortino’s was a whopping 2.22 while Mama’s oozed further down in the overall score with a rating of 2.77…

 Long live the pie and on to week 4!!!

Random comments:

“Pepperoni was somewhat close, but in hamburger, Mama’s sucked.”

“Mama’s was burnt. (Next portion was edited because of content talking about the less than appealing appearance.) Too much hamburger. Pepperoni was pretty. Johnny’s – liked the flavor of the beef and crust.”

“Couldn’t finish the Mama’s beef slice. Flavorless sauce and bad tasting beef. Sortino’s tasted good but a bit low on the quantity of Pepperoni. Beef was good Quantity.”

Now none of those were my comments, just random comments taken from the sheets that came back from rating. 

This week, I was pleasantly surprised. I actually thought that they were both good and the best week so far for Pizza. There was plenty of flavor and toppings and pizza to go around. Everything was fresh and the sauce from both, in my opinion, had some zing. I was rooting for Johnny Sortino’s all the way… but I didn’t tell anyone this week for fear they would vote the other way for the third straight week. Normally at Johnny’s I get the Supreme (everything on it) with extra cheese. After a few slices you fall into a deep coma… Good stuff. I am excited, because today, even though it lost, I was able to try a new place. Mama’s, you lost by 5 points. I think that you have some awesome potential and a good Pizza. I think Sortino’s was just a hair better. I think that if you could have not burned the crust, you may have won.

~The Omaha Critic

On store shelves today you will find so many convenience foods. Jarred spaghetti sauce, canned refried beans, chicken stock in a box, and so on. Now I will admit, I do buy these convenience foods. They make cooking dinner, well, convenient. Convenience is nice but there is something special about making things from scratch. I have made my own spaghetti sauce before (if you follow the link you will see a goofy picture of me when I was about 13), I love making my own “unfried” beans, and in the past I have given half-hearted attempts at making chicken stock.

This time I wanted to do it right. I wanted to make a beautiful golden colored chicken stock. Doing it right to me meant that I would roast a whole chicken, clean the chicken off the bone, and toss the bones in a large pot with all the aromatics and let it do its magic. I am happy to say that I succeeded.

Somewhere a long time ago, possibly on an old episode of The Splendid Table Lynn said the secret to a golden colored chicken stock was tossing in the onions with their peels still on. I am not sure where I heard it for certain but I am glad I did because my stock turned out a beautiful golden color.

CHICKEN STOCK
makes about 2 quarts
1 roasted chicken carcass
1 onion, quartered –peels still attached
4 celery stalks
3 carrots, unpeeled *I used handful of baby carrots
2 garlic cloves sliced
1 bay leaf
a pinch or two of dried rosemary and thyme
3 quarts water

Toss all ingredients into a large pot and bring to boil. Once boiling place lid tightly on the pot and turn burner down so the pot is simmering for 1 1/2 hours. Check the liquid level a couple times during the duration to make sure there is plenty of water in the pot. If you think the liquid level is getting low you can add some more water. After 1 1/2 hours remove the lid, turn the heat back up and boil for 20-30 minutes. Some of the liquid will boil off, which allows the flavors in the stock to concentrate. Add salt & pepper if needed.

Using a fine mesh strainer pour the finished stock into jars. Refrigerate until cooled. A band of fat will form on the top of the stock. You can remove this before using if you’d like. Since this is fresh stock I would use with in a couple days. Or you can freeze it. I recommend pouring stock into ice cube trays, once frozen place stock cubes in a freezer bag. Pull out as many as you need to add flavor to your favorite dishes. Enjoy!

In an effort at full disclosure, I present to you…MY STOVE! (And, this is not – - I repeat NOT an exception to the rule…my stove is pretty consistently slopped all over! In my defense, though, I do use the heck out of it!)

Doesn’t look dirty to you? Click on the photo to enlarge…but consider yourself warned – it aint pretty!

Lucky for me (or so I thought), my cousin Mandy was hangin’ at my house when I took this picture. And, since she had been very much involved in the culinary devastation that took place in my kitchen on this particular today, I guilted her into believing that SHE should “take one for the team,” and clean the stove. Actually, I think the scene technically played out more like this: She was scoffing at me and saying that she doesn’t understand why I don’t just “wipe it down real quick because baking soda and a little elbow grease would take care of it lickety split!” So I invited her to demonstrate

Look at her go, folks! Just look at her go!

Unfortunately, she ended up “having to go home” before the job was done. (Big surprise there!) And since there was baking soda all over my stove, I was kinda forced to finish the job.

So, clean the stove I did. But it’ll be a while before THAT happens again!!

My point is that, unlike many folks, “fat-free” is NOT a goal of mine. In fact, I am much more concerned with free fat – like the nearly 10 pounds of free beef fat that I scored during my last visit to the Bag ‘N’ Save store on 108th & Maple.

Oh, don’t worry….it’s not for me! It’s for our dog, Jackson! We supplement his diet with this free stuff. Unfortunately, it’s often difficult to find because most butchers sell it off to rendering plants….yes, to be added to commercial animal feed.

But this particular Bag ‘N’ Save location ROCKS! They save the fat scraps in their back freezer because they have customers who come in and request it. And, it’s perfectly priced at $0.00/lb.

Want some for your po0ch? Just ring the magical doorbell in the meat department, and a butcher will appear Tell them you’d like some fat scraps for your “best friend,” and they’ll hook you up if they have some on hand!

 With an average score of 3.002525253….. and a YUK Score of 2.25 DON CARMELO’S PIZZA!!!!

 With an average score of 2.604651163….. and a YUK score of 3.25 FRANK’S PIZZA!!!!

 My co-workers have chosen Don Carmelo’s Pizza in a head to head challenge in week 2.

 Comments from 3 random comments:

“The size of Franks was better, but without a doubt Don Carmelo’s out scored in all categories but ‘YUK’.”

“They Both Taste Pretty Bad, but Don Carmelo’s is much better. The Spice on Franks made it really bad.”

“Don’s pizza is much smaller than Frank’s. I also didn’t have any Sauce on Don’’s”

Now… I have to weigh in on the subject. I am a HUGE Fran’s fan. I personally feel that it has been the best pizza in town… but lately… something has happened to the sauce… It’s gotten a little weak. It used to be strong and well spiced… now it’s too bright and doesnt have any zing. I’m sorry guys… you are still my favorite and my go-to pizza place… but I need more out of you.

~The Omaha Critic

The first time I tried this recipe was last year for Valentine’s Day, and it was my first attempt at making anything gluten free before. We invited friends over (who also have young children) for a Valentine’s dinner party. Being Valentine’s day and all I knew I wanted to make a dessert. I found the recipe on Gluten Free Cooking School’s website.

This year instead of making a whole cake I made little heart shaped cupcakes for my husband to bring to work. I am assuming everyone liked them, because the cake pan came back empty.

You could make this in two round cake pans, and have yourself a beautiful red velvet layer cake. I however, chose to make mine into heart shaped cupcakes. My mom bought me some silicone heart shaped cupcake molds and I was excited to use them for the first time. Needless to say, some of the cupcakes got stuck in the mold. Looks like I am not the only one that has had an unfortunate experience with silicone cupcake molds. There is a whole discussion at The Kitchn about baking with silicone molds –they actually made red velvet cake in theirs too. Maybe it is the cake and not the mold?

GLUTEN FREE RED VELVET (CUP)CAKES
from Gluten Free Cooking School

1 3/4 c. canola oil
1 1/2 c. sugar
2 eggs, beaten (room temp)
1 c. brown rice flour
3/4 c. sorghum flour
3/4 c. tapioca starch
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. xanthan gum
1/4 tsp. salt
1 c. buttermilk (or 1 Tbsp cider vinegar and 1 c. milk substitute)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 oz. red food coloring (this is one of the McCormick’s bottles) *I used just enough to give the batter a reddish color. Less than 1/4 of the bottle.
1 Tbsp. cocoa powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream together oil and sugar. Add one egg making sure it is completely mixed in before adding the other egg.

Sift together all the dry ingredients (leaving out the cocoa powder) in a separate bowl. Add the flour mixture to the oil, sugar, and egg mixture in FOUR parts. Alternating the flour and buttermilk. Make sure the last one added is the flour mixture.

Make a paste out of the vanilla, red food coloring, and cocoa powder, and stir into the batter.

Pour batter into two greased and floured (GLUTEN FREE) round cake pans OR fill cupcake molds 2/3 the way full. Bake for 25 minutes for the cake pans OR about 18 minutes (turning pans about half way through) for the cupcakes. Test the cakes and/or cupcakes with a toothpick for doneness.

Allow cakes to cool completely before frosting.

CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 stick butter, room temperature
2-3 c powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 c chopped nuts

In mixing bowl beat together cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until smooth. Add the sugar while mixing on low speed until incorporated. Increase the speed to high and beat until light and fluffy.

You can stir in the chopped nuts or sprinkle the nuts on top of the frosted cupcakes. ENJOY!

OTHER RED VELVET (not gluten free) CREATIONS:
Red Velvet Cupcakes from Rue le Sel
Red Velvet Macaroons from delectable deliciousness
Red Velvet Bundt from Recipe Girl

How did I end up eating fried eggs and leftover spicy asian slaw for breakfast today?

Well, the eggs just sounded good – they are warm, I was cold – seemed perfect!

And the slaw, well….we seem to have a lot of random “left overs” to use up these days due to my “experimenting” for my cookbook project…and someone’s got to eat ‘em!

Do I recommend this meal to others! NOPE! (especially when the slaw juices run over into the egg…not the most pleasant combo – LOL!)

For the first 13 years of my relationship with Chad, I soooooooooo looked forward to the nights we would go out to eat. Toss in a movie with popcorn, pop and Milk Duds after that, and it was a date made in heaven as far as I was concerned!!

Needless to say, our idea of “fun” changed quite a bit once we started to learn about what exactly we were putting into our bodies on date nights like these!

Nowadays, we just prefer to make our own meals at home because:

A) Then we know for sure what we are eating.

B) I am extremely sensitive to glutamate, and it’s not worth the risk to eat out at most restaurants.

C) Now that we know how to cook for ourselves, we are generally disappointed with most restaurant fare – - and we’d prefer to cook our own meals, rather than pay twice the price for something we like half as much!

However, on occasion we do end up at an eating establishment for fellowship purposes (e.g., meeting up with friends) or because we are on vacation, etc. Today was one such occasion.

Shortly after sitting down to my lunch at Jason’s Deli this afternoon, I began to realize that my version of dining at the “all you can eat” salad bar was attracting a wee bit of attention from passers by. So I did what any dedicated blogger would do… I snapped a quick picture of my plate. Hmm….ya… now that I think about it, I suppose this wouldn’t strike most folks as a lunch worth eating. LOL! But it was actually VERY tasty…and filling!

Oh, and I even managed to find some dessert that seemed pretty “safe” for me to eat. At the waaaaaaaaaaaaay end of the salad bar there was some organic granola — it was very tasty…almost suspiciously tasty. LOL! I was pretty darn full from my plate o’ veggies, but I still managed to pack in some granola for good measure! Ya know, for “research purposes.”

P.S. – Jason’s Deli even offers quite a few organic options, both on their salad bar and as choices in their other menu selections.

P.P.S. – Don’t let my plate scare you away from Jason’s Deli. There were countless other super tasty-looking items on that salad bar, including salad and a variety of dressings (which just happen to be “off limits” to me). So don’t feel like you’d be relegated to my kind of “feast” should you decide to dine there

This week we pitted La Casa against Zios in a 3 pie battle. 

The rules are as follows: 3 Pizzas will be ordered from each location. A hamburger, a pepperoni, and a cheese. Each pizza will be rated on crust, sauce, toppings, cheese, “eww” factor, and general overall like or dislike.

La Casa —————————-Zios
Total 2.878787879 Total 2.878787879
Yuk 2.875 Yuk 2.2857142
Total points: 95 Total Points: 95
Net Points: 92.125 Net Points: 92.714

As you can tell Zios squeaked by La Casa.

Comments include: “I didn’t like either, but Zios was better all around. Zios looked like a pizza. La Casa more closely resembled an oil drip pan.”

“La Casa: Too Garlicy Zios: Good, but so-so crust”

“Zios: Crust Limp, Greasy, Cheese is weak”

For the record, my preference is La Casa between the two. Who knew that Zios would win… I will keep you posted.

~TOC

We really can’t review Hiro again. We really can’t. It’s just awesome. Eat there. Maybe even camp outside their new restaurant, which isn’t open yet, but I’m sure will be equally yummy, since we know their reputation for excellence in sushi.

So where should we go? We want to try something new, something hot, something AWESOME, since this is the one night out we’ve had since…um…well it’s been awhile.

Any idears? (Yes, IDEArS!)

Unfortunately for me this morning, he decided to leave the shell behind. Well, after crunching it into bits on the rug first, of course.

He only gets eggs occasionally. However, this was his second egg today because he got one with his breakfast and then I only needed half of an egg for a recipe, so he got the rest as scraps.

Whenever he’s offered a second egg in one day, he almost never eats the second shell. Guess he knows what’s best

Goldilocks & Red Riding Hood

It has been awhile since I have shared a sewing post. For Christmas this year I sewed some storybook friends for two of my nieces. I used the pattern for the Black Apple Doll from Martha Stewert’s site. You can download a template here.

The arms using the enlarged template seemed to be too skinny which made them difficult to turn. The dolls I made ended up being bigger than the template. I also wanted my dolls to have the appearance of longer hair, so I cut out two smaller pieces of hair from the felt. I didn’t have any fabric paint, so instead I cut the eye out of felt and hand sewed them on and hand stitched the mouths.

I gave these dolls to my nieces along with the appropriate book featuring the doll (Goldilocks and The Three Bears & Red Riding Hood). These dolls are truly easy to make. The most difficult part for me was trying to sandwich the stuffed legs and arms in between the body front and body back and sewing it on my machine. If you have some sewing experience you probably can sew one doll from start to finish in a little over an hour.

Have fun sewing!

The temperature here in Omaha has been several degrees below zero for what seems like the past month, with last week finally giving us a must needed reprieve with temperatures near the freezing mark. With all this cold weather I figured no time like the present to try to make this dish. After shoveling snow (and giving myself a fat lip with the shovel handle) I knew that homemade noodles with chicken would be the perfect meal to warm me up.

I am warning you that this isn’t an impulse dish. After the noodles are rolled and cut, they need to dry for two hours, so plan accordingly. I have made homemade egg noodles in the past, using my Great Grandma Dorothy’s recipe. When making the noodles this time I had forgot all about her recipe and used one from an old cookbook (which I will post about later since after googling it I learned it is worth more than the $4 I paid for it at the antique store).

My mother-in-law makes her homemade noodles with chicken using chicken broth to add moisture. I used boneless/skinless chicken breasts, which I thought were slightly dry. I thought the noodles and chicken needed something a little more substantial than broth to bring it together; so I mixed up a little chicken gravy and added it to the dish. It brought it together nicely. This dish was very warm and comforting on cold Nebraska night.

HOMEMADE NOODLES WITH CHICKEN
noodle recipe from Mary Margaret McBride’s Encyclopedia of Cooking

2 c sifted enriched flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 eggs
2 or 3 teaspoons cold water (I had to add a little more water)

Sift flour with salt into mixing bowl or onto a board (I mixed it together on my counter top). Make a “well” in the center.

Drop in eggs and combine with a fork, adding spoonfuls of water as necessary to form a ball of dough that is compact but not hard.

Knead dough until as smooth and elastic as possible, about 5 minutes.

Roll out on a lightly floured board (I just floured my counter top). Use the rolling pin from the outer edges toward the center, turning the board as necessary for easier rolling.

When the dough is rolled evenly thin, let stand 20 minutes in order to dry so that it will not stick together when rolled up.

Roll up lightly and use a very sharp knife to slice 1/8 inch thick, or 1/4 inch thick for broader noodles.

Toss the noddles lightly to separate them and spread on lightly floured surface. Let dry thoroughly at room temperature, about 2 hours, then store in covered jars. (I used my noodles immediately)

TO COOK THE NOODLES:
Drop by handfuls into boiling soup or boiling, salted water (I used chicken stock) for 10 minutes. Strain, reserving 2 c chicken stock.

FOR THE CHICKEN:
I used three boneless/skinless chicken breasts which I poached* for about 10 minutes. Using two forks I shredded the chicken.

* Put chicken into pot, add enough water to cover chicken. Bring chicken up to boil. Once boiling put lid on pot, take off heat. Let sit 7-10 minutes before removing the chicken.

FOR THE GRAVY:
2 T butter
2 T flour
2 c chicken stock

Melt butter in pan over medium-high heat. Stir in flour and cook for a couple minutes. Slowly whisk in the chicken stock. Simmer until gravy thickens.

Combine shredded chicken and noodles. Pour a little gravy over and toss to combine. You want just enough gravy to coat the noodles and chicken. Serve as is or with boiled potatoes. (I used boiled purple potatoes) Season with salt & pepper.

“Would you like an extra biscuit with that?” (Man…I’ve still got it!)

P.S. – Although Colonel is pronounced, “kernel,” we’d always get people ordering the “colonial chicken sandwich,” instead of the “Colonel’s chicken sandwich.” Always gave us a good chuckle (so, yes, just so you know – the kids behind the speaker at the drive-thru ARE most definitely making fun of just about anything you say. But you DESERVE it if you’re gonna eat fast food!).

America's Test Kitchen Banana Bread

It’s been a while since Kent or I posted to the blog. What began as a fun project became a chore. So we took a break. But recently, I’ve started baking again for the fun of it and thought I’d try a small post about my recent experience testing a recipe for America’s Test Kitchen.

Kent had signed up to be a recipe tester for America’s Test Kitchen. Once a month he gets an email about a new recipe to try. In December, a recipe for banana bread came up. Kent really enjoys banana bread so he forwarded the email to me to try. The email contains a link to the recipe (sorry I can’t share the recipe – you’ll have to watch America’s Test Kitchen) and then a link to a survey to complete once you’ve tried the recipe.

Turns out America’s Test Kitchen knows what they’re doing. The banana bread was excellent. Kent says it was the best he’s ever eaten. And it was a pretty simple recipe. While I can’t share the recipe, I think I can share one tip. They had me wrap four layers of aluminum foil around the bread pan to keep the outer edges from getting too crispy.

Many of you may have plans to attend or host a New Year’s Eve party or a New Year’s Day brunch. Here are some recipes from my archives that may inspire you. I hope you all have a happy and healthy 2010. Thank you for reading, I enjoy your comments and feedback so keep it coming.

See you in twenty-ten!

Jamie

NEW YEAR’S EVE IDEAS:

Boneless Chicken Wings

Olive Penguins

Date and Cheddar Cheeseball

Homemade Irish Cream

NEW YEAR’S DAY BRUNCH IDEAS:

The Best Cinnamon Rolls Ever

Gluten Free Sticky Rolls

Marbled Chocolate Banana Cake

Breakfast Cups

Egg Bake or Breakfast Casserole

My fellow Americans,

Very few things make me actually hostile… Bad service, I can deal with, bad food I can deal with, daily traffic jams due to morons that can’t figure out how to merge, I can deal with. I have been almost run off the road, I have had my things stolen from my house… Money stolen from accounts… I have even been sued (and lost), yet I remained in relative control of myself.

Senator Ben Nelson, brushing aside what the majority of his constituents wanted, being the DECIDING VOTE, voted to slam duck this health care reform bill before the end of the year. He was the deciding vote to SHOVE this bill down our throats. For that Ben Nelson: you should be ashamed of yourself.

Let me clarify something before some of you go ape on me: I am FOR healthcare reform. I am shelling out a ton of cash per month for the worst insurance I have ever had. It needs to happen. What I am upset about is HOW it happened. It is a single party’s agenda and they steamrolled it through before they possibly lose control of the house and the senate. They were put there to do the will of the people and the vast majority of the people don’t want this as it is now. Oh yes, the people want reform, they desperately crave reform, they DESERVE reform, but not at the expense of sanity and rational, logical change. This, bill should honestly be written by members of ALL parties and be pushed as not a bi-partisan bill, but a bill by all parties, for everyone, BY everyone… Remember “for the people, by the people”?

It is rushed, it is ugly, and my fellow Americans, I feel that we are all screwed somehow.
May blessings be upon you and your families over this holiday season.

Sincerely,

~The Omaha Critic

Have faith dear reader, you can make these yourself. You need to be patient and keep a watchful eye on the candy thermometer. Some people (more experienced than I) can do this without the trusty thermometer. If that is you congratulations. The sugar mixture will turn a lovely caramely brown when it is done. Or if you are like me and prone to burning sugar when you try to do it by “eyeing it” it is done when the thermometer reaches 300 degrees F.

These toffee bars should be added to your holiday treat platter. Make them for your family, make them for your friends, make them for your neighbors, and snitch some for yourself. Wrap them up in pretty paper and give them as gifts.

CHOCOLATE COVERED TOFFEE “HEATH BARS”
1 c butter
1 c sugar
1/3 c brown sugar
2 T water
1/2 c chopped pecans
2 c chocolate chips

Line a jelly roll pan with foil. Lightly grease the foil, and set aside. Melt butter, sugars, and water in a heavy sauce pan over a medium high heat. Using your candy thermometer monitor the sugar temperature. Stir constantly until it becomes a carmely brown color and the temperature reaches 300 degrees F, turn off burner and remove pan, stir in pecans (I forgot this step so I sprinkled them on top once they were covered in chocolate). Pour sugar mixture onto jelly roll pan and spread out. Wait a couple minutes as the sugar cools and the toffee begins to set.

Using a pizza cutter slice toffee into desired size. Let cool completely. (As you can see in the top left corner my daughters and I had to sample the plain toffee. It was amazing )

Once toffee is completely cooled and hard, gently break apart into individual pieces. Put chocolate into a double broiler and melt gently. Drop one piece of toffee in at a time, cover completley with chocolate, shaking excess off, and place onto parchment paper to cool completely and have the chocolate set.

If you want to sprinkle with chopped nuts do so before the chocolate cools. ENJOY!

Becoming a food blogger has caused my children to want to pose with the food. They are some silly girls!

HOWEVER…

Have you ever tried the chocolate cake/chocolate bomb (I have no idea what it’s called on the menu) thing at HIRO? I mean…SERIOUSLY?

I’ll write more later…I have to go slap my momma it was so good!

(P.S….did you know they’re opening a NEW restaurant downtown? SERIOUSLY! I’m going to HAVE to go back to work just to support the gas money to drive out there every week!)

HOMEMADE “BAILEY’S” IRISH CREAM

I made this for the first time in the spring. It was deliciously creamy and would make a wonderful addition to your holiday party.

LOW FAT PUMPKIN BARS

If you aren’t all pumpkind out from Thanksgiving, give these delicious pumpkin bars a try. The cream cheese is swirled into the bar instead of smeered on top. They clock in at just under 70 calories per bar. Not too shabby, concidering all the high sugar and fat filled treats that are tempting us on every holiday table. *I am pretty sure these bars would taste wonderful with the Irish Cream.

APPLE PIE TWO WAYS:

APPLE PIE WITH STRUDLE TOPPING

The studle is made of oats, flour, and sugar. I personally love oats and apples together.

APPLE BRIE PIE

This pie is the first time I made a double crust pie from scratch. I hadn’t realized how easy it was before. The combination of brie and the spiced apples is one of my newest favorite flavor combos. Don’t be afraid, give it a try!

OATMEAL CRANBERRY COOKIES

For me cranberries are a favorite this time of year. These cookies are also lower in calories than your typical Christmas cookie. If you aren’t concerned about calories (lucky you!) you could toss in some white chocolate chips to take them to another level.

EGG BAKE/BREAKFAST CASSEROLE

I love brunch! I think it is a perfect meal/menu for family get togethers or an office party. Eggs are so forgiving, if meat isn’t your thing you can toss in roasted vegetables and this dish is still delectable. This strata/casserole is wonderful hot out of the oven but if you need something to bring to your office potluck it is still delicious served at room temperature.

I hope you enjoy some of my favorite seasonal recipes. Happy eating!

Here are the results from last year.

Happy Eating!

Many months ago I found these adorable penguins when I was gawking at foodgawker. It was love at first sight. I couldn’t wait until my next party so I could make them. Luckily for me my penguin loving daughter was having a birthday party. These appetizers were a hit, and they sent the cute factor through the roof.

All you need is two different sized pitted olives (I used jumbo and small), soften cream cheese, whole carrots, and toothpicks. With a little time and effort you too can have an appetizer that will be a real ice breaker at your next party. Sorry for the cheesy pun, I couldn’t resist.

OLIVE PENGUIN APPETIZERS
as seen at Once Upon a Plate
Jumbo pitted olives
small pitted olives
soften cream cheese
whole carrots
toothpicks

Drain the juice from your olives. Peel the carrots and slice into coins. Take the jumbo olive and cut out a small wedge. Fill with cream cheese. Cut a small triangle out of the carrot coin. The triangle now becomes the penguin’s beak. Insert the large end of the triangle into the opening of the small olive. Place the small olive on top of the jumbo olive, secure with a toothpick. Place carrot coin on the bottom of the jumbo olive, pushing the toothpick far enough in so it pierces the carrot. Line up the penguins on a platter for an adorable penguin army. Enjoy!

December 2007 I started this web log, and I really had no idea what I was doing. I love cooking and experimenting in the kitchen, and it seemed to me that recording my recipes in my virtual recipe box would be a great way to document my cooking process and save my recipes. This whole process has been a “learn as I go” adventure.

A few areas where I want to improve are the quality of my writing, the quality of my photographs, the frequency of posts, and to create more of a relationship with my readers. Getting feedback from readers helps me to hone my skills. Have you tried any of my recipes before? Did it work? Did you adapt it in any way? Do you make something similar? Let me know! I would love to hear from you. Please share.

Here are the top 5 posts:

Gluten Free Cinnamon Rolls/Sticky Buns
The Best Cinnamon Rolls
Sourdough Bread Bowls and Broccoli Cheese Soup
Baby Bok Choy
Chicken and White Bean Soup

Here are the top 10 countries that visit:
United States
Canada
United Kingdom
Australia
Singapore
New Zealand
Malaysia
Philippines
Ireland

Top States where visitors are located:
California
Nebraska (were I live)
New York
Iowa
Texas

Traffic Sources:
62% Search Engines
31% Referring Sites
8% Direct Traffic

Another interesting tidbit. Most of my spam is written in Russian or comes from a .ru address.

If you want to stay up to date with my postings you can subscribe to the RSS feed by clicking the Entires RSS in the far right column under the Meta headline.

Happy Eating!

Jamie

Paul here from SDT. Yeah I had to shut the doors. Jan and Feb were freaking BAD! Got a new gig in Dundee, “The 1020″ might want to check it out sometime. American Italian fare.

Before you get excited about this Danish breakfast treat, I must let you know that you have to have a special Æbleskiver pan. Æbleskiver pans have several half-circles which you pour in your batter and fry that side first. Then using a skewer or knitting needle you flip them over to fry up the other side. For years I have been wanting a pan, and within 10 months I have been gifted two (thanks Mom & Grandma!). Below are pictures of what my two pans look like.

With Fall in the air and Thanksgiving right around the corner, I have been seeing lots of recipes featuring pumpkin pop up. Nicole from Pinch My Salt made pumpkin cake doughnuts that I could not get out of my mind. I have made yeast doughnuts before, and have always wanted to try my hand at making cake doughnuts. Unfortunately, one needs to plan ahead if one wants cake doughnuts for breakfast. This is where the idea for pumpkin Æbleskivers was born. Æbleskivers don’t require all the time that is required for doughnut making, but taste just as wonderful. Instead of dusting them with powdered sugar, I rolled them in a sugar, cinnamon, cloves, and nutmeg mixture. I served the pumpkin Æbleskivers with a dollop up whipped cream. I hope my Danish ancestors would be proud of my adaptation.

PUMPKIN ÆBLESKIVER
2 1/4 c AP flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 T sugar
2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c pumpkin puree
2 egg yolks
2 egg whites
4 T butter, melted
2 c buttermilk
vegetable oil for frying

Whisk together dry ingredients. Stir together egg yolks, pumpkin puree, melted butter, and butter milk. Slowly add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Stir until combined. Beat egg whites together until stiff peaks form. Gently fold egg whites in to the batter.

Over medium-medium high heat preheat your Æbleskiver pan. Pour a little oil into each cup. Add about 1-2 T of the pumpkin batter to each cup. Cook for about 2 minutes, then using a skewer or knitting needle turn each Æbleskiver over. Cook for another 2 minutes, until both sides are golden brown. Remove to paper towel lined plate. Toss with sugar mixture. Serve with a dollop of whipped cream. ENJOY!

SUGAR MIXTURE
1/2 c sugar
1 T cinnamon
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Mix all together.

WHAT OTHERS ARE COOKING UP:
The Mennonite Girls made Frosted Pumpkin Doughnuts
Food for Thought made traditional Æbleskivers
and of course the inspiration Pinch My Salt’s Pumpkin Doughnuts

I found my recipe on a delicious site called Baking Bites. Head over there to check out what other tasty treats Nichole is baking up.

MARBLED CHOCOLATE BANANA CAKE
from Baking Bites
1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 ripe, medium bananas, mashed (about 1 cup)
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup sour cream (*I used light mayo)
1/4 cup cocoa powder, sifted

Preheat oven to 350F and lightly grease a 12-cup bundt pan (12-inch diameter).
In a large bowl, cream together butter and sugar until light. Beat in the eggs one by one, waiting until each has been incorporated to add the next. Beat in vanilla extract and mashed bananas.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add half of the flour mixture to the butter mix and stir to combine. Add in the sour cream (or mayo), followed by the remaining flour mixture.
Remove 1 1/2 cups of batter into a small bowl and stir in cocoa powder.
Pour 2/3 of the plain batter into the prepared bundt pan, top with cocoa batter and spoon the rest of the plain batter on top. Run a knife through the batter gently to swirl.
Bake for 45-55 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean and the top springs back when lightly pressed.
Turn cake out onto a wire rack to cool completely before slicing.
Serve plain, or dusted with powdered sugar.

*Mayo provides a slight tanginess, and can be found in other chocolate cake recipes.

Five Generations: my Mom & Sasha, me & Penelope, Great Grandma Dorothy, and Grandma Bonnie

I recently received a ton of apples that grew on my Great Grandma Dorothy’s tree. Over the years I am sure she has made thousands of pies, crisps, crumbles, and gallons of applesauce and apple butter. As I was peeling and coring apples yesterday I thought about my 89 year old great grandma standing in her kitchen. I began to wonder if she was doing the same thing. Maybe she was, I know she has a lot of apples to use up.

This apple pie was a complete experiment. It was inspired by a baked brie I made for our housewarming party. I sauteed apples, butter, brown sugar, cinnamon, and walnut together until the apples were soft. I then poured them over a wheel of brie and baked it until the brie was soft and gooey. It was wonderful, and a perfect appetizer for fall. I thought to myself “hey people put cheddar cheese in or on their apple pie, maybe brie would be a good substitute.” It was. I am happy I tried it.

This pie triggers a lot of memories. I think about my adorable Great Grandma Dorothy, about my successful baked brie I served at our housewarming party, and it warms my heart in that cozy kind of way that signals the changing of the seasons.

APPLE BRIE PIE
for the crust:
makes enough dough for a double crust pie plus scraps
2 1/2 c AP flour
2 tsp salt
1 c butter, cold and cubed
1/2 c ICE cold water

In a large enough bowl, stir together flour and salt. Cut in butter with forks or pastry blender until the flour looks coarse and crumbly. Stir in ICE water one tablespoon at a time, until combined and flour clumps together. You may or may not use all the water depending on the humidity level. Dump dough onto plastic wrap and wrap tightly. Refrigerate overnight, or at least an hour.

for the filling:
6 medium size apples
lemon juice
1/3 c white sugar
1/3 c brown sugar
3 T corn starch
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
7-8 oz Brie

Peel and corn all the apples. Cut apples into thin slices and toss with a little lemon juice. Stir in sugars, corn starch, and cinnamon. Remove the rind from the brie, and cut into slices. Toss with apple mixture. Set aside while you roll out your dough.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Remove the dough from the refridgerator. Let it rest for about 5 minutes (it makes it easier to roll out). Divide dough in half and roll out each section so it is pretty thin. Transfer one sheet to into your pie dish. Poke holes into the dough with a fork. I did not pre-grease my dish before putting the dough in. I had no problems with the dough sticking to the pan.

Drain off majority of the apple juices. Dump the apple mixture into your pie dish.

Place the second sheet of dough on top of your pie. Crimp the edges to seal.

I used this neat-o pie crust crimper thingy that I got a couple years ago for 10 cents at a thrift store. It is a pretty useful tool.

Slice vents into your crust. I used a leaf shaped cookie cutter and cut out a vent. Beat one egg. With a pastry brush, brush the egg over the entire crust. This makes your crust golden and beautiful.

Bake for 40-45 minutes until the crust is a lovely golden brown color. After the first 15-20 minutes of cooking cover the edges of your pie with a pie crust shield. Or you can use foil like I did. Avoid all temptations to cut into your pie as soon as you remove it from the oven. Try to wait at least an hour before digging in. Enjoy!

P.S. Just in case you were curious this pie pairs well with coffee, I tried it out this morning (for research purposes) and it was very good.

Two years ago Penelope was a newborn. She is 24 hours old in that photo. In the last two years she has grown and changed so much. She is a very sweet, loving, funny, opinionated, wonderful toddler. She loves penguins. For Sasha’s birthday we had a fiesta theme, and I thought it would be fun to go with a penguin theme for Penelope. Little did I know that it would be impossible to find penguin party supplies. Who would have thought? I called several large party supply stores in the area, and none of them had any penguin stuff. Happy Feet wasn’t released that long ago, and The Penguins of Madagascar is a popular cartoon so I thought I was going to have to settle for having one of those penguins featured at our party. How wrong I was. So we didn’t have any penguin plates, napkins, or balloons. Instead I made cute little penguin appetizers and a giant penguin cake. Penelope loved them both.

I took the easy way out when it came to Penelope’s cake. I used two cake mixes (devil’s food and funfetti) to make the penguin’s body and wings.

The penguin’s head was baked in a 6 inch round cake pan, and the wings were baked in a 8 inch round cake pan then cut in half. I used the funfetti cake mix to bake a 8 inch round cake for the body, two regular sized cupcakes and 12 mini cupcakes which were used for the feet and beak. I actually used 3 mini cupcake per foot and I turned one mini cupcake upside down to make the beak.

I frosted the cake using vanilla buttercream and chocolate buttercream.

When assembling the penguin’s feet, I found it to be easier to secure the cupcakes together using toothpicks, then frost each foot as one unit.

My penguin loving Penelope had a great second birthday. Thank you to all who helped us celebrate.

One thing that I love about this house is that it is double the space of our previous apartment. Which means we actually have space to entertain, and I love entertaining. A couple weeks ago we had our first of hopefully many cocktail parties. Alex mixed up drinks popular in the 1960s and I made a bunch (too many) appetizers for our guests to enjoy.

One of the appetizers I made was Swedish Meatballs. These particular kind of meatballs are typically served in a creamy brown sauce. You could eat Swedish meatballs as a main course served with mashed potatoes, but they make the perfect appetizer served on a toothpick.

SWEDISH MEATBALLS
from Alton Brown, Good Eats with my own method
2 slices fresh white bread
1/4 cup milk
3 tablespoons clarified butter, divided
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
A pinch plus 1 teaspoon kosher salt
3/4 pound ground chuck (I used 1 pound)
3/4 pound ground pork (I used 1 pound)
2 large egg yolks
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
3 cups beef broth
1/4 cup heavy cream

My method: Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Alton’s method (which I followed here): Tear the bread into pieces and place in a small mixing bowl along with the milk. Set aside.

In a 12-inch straight sided saute pan over medium heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and sweat until the onions are soft. Remove from the heat and set aside.

In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the bread and milk mixture, ground chuck, pork, egg yolks, 1 teaspoon of kosher salt, black pepper, allspice, nutmeg, and onions. Beat on medium speed for 1 to 2 minutes.

My method: Scoop up about 2T of the meat mixture. Roll into a ball (should be about the size of a ping-pong ball). Place the meatballs into a 9×13 baking pan. Bake for 10 minutes, turn meatballs, bake another 10 minutes. In order to make the gravy I added some of the drippings from the baking dish into my preheated (medium heat) cast iron skillet. I followed the rest of Alton’s directions for making the gravy.

Alton’s method: Using a scale, weigh meatballs into 1-ounce portions and place on a sheet pan. Using your hands, shape the meatballs into rounds.

Heat the remaining butter in the saute pan over medium-low heat, or in an electric skillet set to 250 degrees F. Add the meatballs and saute until golden brown on all sides, about 7 to 10 minutes.

Remove the meatballs to an ovenproof dish using a slotted spoon and place in the warmed oven.

Once all of the meatballs are cooked, decrease the heat to low and add the flour to the pan or skillet. Whisk until lightly browned, approximately 1 to 2 minutes. Gradually add the beef stock and whisk until sauce begins to thicken. Add the cream and continue to cook until the gravy reaches the desired consistency. Remove the meatballs from the oven, cover with the gravy and serve.

Enjoy as a tasty dinner with mashed potatoes or rice, or as a fun appetizer!

I love entertaining. Cooking for my family and cooking for others make me happy. I can’t sing, I can’t draw, but I sure can whip up a mean dinner. I like cooking because it is one “creative” thing that I do well. When Alex suggest we throw a little party I was incredibly excited, and the menu planning began immediately. Even though a handful of our guests were unable to attend, I still made too much food. Which meant that I haven’t had to cook much this week (I made vegetable cheese soup with the leftover relish tray and cheese platter). We ate the leftover appetizers for both lunch and dinner on Sunday.

For some reason I did not take any photos of the table full of food or any during the party. Instead I spent my time hovering, making sure we weren’t going to run out of crackers or carrots. Which was silly because we had plenty of both. I do have a few photos of some of the food I made and over the next few days I will share those recipes with you.

Our house was built in 1962 and the 1960s became our inspiration for some of the food and drinks we served. Alex poured Tom Collins, vodka gimlets, and White Russians and I made a cheeseball, Swedish meatballs, and fondue (just to name a few). I wasn’t around in the 1960s so I did a little googling and found out that a cheeseball was a common appetizer served during that era.

CHEESEBALL
8 oz cream cheese, softened (I used fat free cream cheese)
8 oz block sharp cheddar cheese, room temperature
1 c dates, pitted and chopped up
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 c chopped walnuts

It is VERY important your cheeses are soft in order for them to combine. Throw everything besides the walnuts into the food processor. Turn it on, and let it spin until the cheeses and dates have combined.

Scrape cheese out on to some Saran wrap. Using the Saran wrap, press the cheese together to form a ball. Place Saran wrapped cheeseball into a bowl and refrigerate until hardened (I did my overnight).

Place chopped walnuts in a round cake pan or shallow dish. Take the cheeseball out of the fridge and remove the Saran wrap. Roll cheeseball in the walnuts until the outside is covered. Serve with crackers or thinly sliced baguette. ENJOY!

I feel sorry for the eggplant. It either is said to taste like dirt, or it is breaded and fried and served with a red sauce. I don’t think eggplant tastes like dirt –however I will say that it does have an earthy flavor to it, and to be honest I have never had eggplant parmigiana. Maybe I should use the cute little eggplant sitting on my counter and try eggplant parmigiana a for the first time. When I bought my first eggplant I wanted to use it in a way that wasn’t breaded and fried. Shaheen from The Purple Foodie came to the rescue. She had just posted a recipe for stuffed eggplant, after reading the recipe I knew that I had to try it. I have recommended this recipe to several people. Please try it just once, it will change your opinion of eggplant.

STUFFED EGGPLANT
from The Purple Foodie

1 lg eggplant
2 T olive oil, plus extra for drizzling
½ tsp ground coriander
salt & pepper
½ tsp ground cumin
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 15 oz can diced tomatoes (drain the juice)
1 bay leaf
1 c ricotta
1/3 c finely grated Parmesan
1 T fresh cilantro
2 sausages or 2 slices ham, finely diced, or omit this if you’re vegetarian (I have left the meat out every time)
1 egg, beaten
Extra fresh cilantro, chopped (for sprinkling)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cut eggplant in half, placing in baking dish with cut side up. Drizzle with olive oil and season with salt & pepper. Bake for 20-30 minutes. You want the eggplant to be tender (so you can scoop it out). Lower oven to 375 degrees F. Leave eggplant skins in baking dish. They will be filled later.

Scoop out the tender eggplant and mash with a fork. Set aside. In a skillet heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add coriander, cumin, and garlic. Cook for 2 minutes -stirring often. Don’t let the garlic burn. Add tomato, bay leaf, and extra salt & pepper if desired. Cook for another 3-4 minutes stirring often. Add the eggplant flesh and cook for 7 minutes. Remove the bay leaf. Remove from stove.

Stir in the cheeses, cilantro, and meat. Once the mixture had cooled slightly stir in the beaten egg. Divide mixture in half, filling each eggplant, drizzle stuffed eggplants with a little olive oil. Place baking dish in 375 degree F oven, and bake for 35 minutes. During last 10 minutes of baking sprinkle on additional Parmesan. ENJOY!

*I think it would be really good to subsitute the diced tomatoes for a can of Rotel (diced tomatoes with green chilies)

My parents planted buttercup squash in their garden this year, and they brought me a couple when they came to help move us. I wanted to use this squash in a way that was different from roasting it with butter and brown sugar. Although it is delicious that way, I felt the squash deserved something a little more savory.

Sometime I read a recipe somewhere using roasted pumpkin and turning into a creamy sauce to serve over pasta. Unfortunately I don’t recall where I read that but it stuck with me. I thought it was an interesting way to use pumpkin that wasn’t a pie, cheesecake, bars, or bread (all of which I love). Last night when I was looking at that squash and wondering how to use it for dinner I recalled the pumpkin pasta. I figured there is no harm in turning one squash into a sauce to serve with pasta. If it totally sucked I would throw out the sauce and just dump a jar of Prego on top of my pasta. Since my husband was still at work while I was cooking he would never have to know. Well, lucky for me the sauce turned out to be delicious. The girls actually asked for a second helping and thoroughly enjoyed the leftovers today for lunch. YAY! This is a real fall winner dinner.

CREAMY BUTTERCUP SQUASH PASTA
1 buttercup squash
EVOO
salt & pepper
2 T butter
2 c half & half (I used fat free)
1/2 tsp dried sage
scant 1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 c water
1/2 c grated Parmesan cheese

your favorite pasta cooked to al dente

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Cut squash in half, scooping out and disguarding seeds, cut each half in half. Drizzle EVOO over squash pieces and sprinkle with salt & pepper. Place flesh side down on jelly roll pan and roast for 40-50 minutes. When you start to smell it, check on it. The squash should be very tender. The squash skin should peel right off. Mash squash flesh and stir in water (don’t add it all) you want it to be wet but not soupy.

Over medium heat melt butter in a large skillet. Add half & half and squash puree. Stir until combined. Stir in sage and cinnamon. Heat until simmering, stirring frequently. Sprinkle in Parmesan cheese. Stir to combine. If sauce still seems thick stir in additional water or chicken stock.

Toss sauce with pasta and ENJOY!

*If you are going to reheat pasta in the microwave add a little water to it so the sauce becomes creamy again

WHAT OTHER PEOPLE ARE COOKING UP:
Recipe Girl has a delicious sounding Butternut Squash Risotto with Rosemary & Blue Cheese
The Noshery cooked up a tasty looking Roasted Butternut Squash, Pear and Onions with Blue Cheese

We bought a 1962 ranch house, where a lot of the 60s features still remain. For example I have a lovely pink bathroom –you know the kind, with the pink sink, pink toilet, pink tub/shower, and pink tile. I also have some pretty cool lights in my kitchen, and some not so cool asbestos tiles in the basement.

Speaking of the kitchen, I took some photos to give my dear readers a mini tour.

Here is the south wall of the kitchen. You can see the original Nutone exhaust fan. The cabinets are original and have that honey-orange color. The walls are painted a buttery yellow and are that color throughout the living room, dining room and hallways. I thought I always wanted a yellow kitchen but now I can’t wait to change the color. Our oven is a GE space saver. This is my least favorite part of the kitchen. I burned my hand pulling out my 9 x 13 casserole dish, because the oven is so tiny. I have always wanted to host the Thanksgiving day meal, but now I am concerned that I won’t be able to roast a turkey in my pint-sized oven. The stove has 3 small burners and only 1 large burner. This too is a bummer since when I cook I usually use two pans that require the larger burner. I am sure I will adapt. I also have to store my Kitchen-Aid mixer on the counter since it is too tall for any of the cupboard shelves, and too tall to put under the cupboards themselves.

Here is the east wall. The window looks out to our driveway and the street. It is a nice view to have while I am washing dishes. The tear drop shaped light fixture is original to the house. I love it. We found the original hardware for the cupboards in one of the cupboards. I hope to get it cleaned up and back where it belongs.

This is the west wall. On the other side of the wall is our dining room. Alex and I have talked about whether or not we are going to keep this wall. It was suggested that we do a sort of half wall/island with cupboards underneath. I really could use the additional cupboard space. The previous homeowner left us the black and white Formica table with a matching “hutch”.

This is a view of the west and north walls. Trust me the purple has to go! So does the terracotta orange. That same purple is in the master bedroom, along with purple carpet and yellow closet doors. The purple, terracotta, and yellow are repeated throughout the house. Ick! In this photo you really can see the table and matching hutch, and the cool hanging light. The doorway on the right of the photo is our entryway and stairs to the basement.

I hope you have enjoyed a peak into my new kitchen. I can’t wait to start cranking out some delicious family meals. I do have a confession to make, our first family meal was fish sticks. Ack! Hey when your house is full of boxes, your children are hungry, and it is past bedtime you get desperate. Please don’t judge.