Keeping It Fresh Friday: Early Orchard Harvest

I love the flavors of early fall and can't wait for it to come.  While its still early to go apple picking at the many local orchards in our area, late summer pears are hitting there peak now.  So here's another Italian classic and family favorite.  If you've never paired pears with blue cheese, you don't know what you're missing!

By the way, the recipe does really deserve the best quality blue cheese possible.  It originally calls for Gorgonzola, but if you can't find it or don't want to pay the extra cash, you can sub for still good quality but slightly cheaper Danish Blue or even for regular American blue cheese.

How to Make Linguine with Pears and Blue Cheese:
 Serves: 4

 1/4 c. butter
4 firm pears (about 2 pounds), peeled, cored, and cutinto 1/2" slices
1 T. chopped fresh rosemary
1 c. low-salt chicken broth
4 oz. (1 c.) Gorgonzola or blue cheese, crumbled
3/4 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1/2 c. heavy whipping cream
12 oz. linguine
1/3 c. chopped pecans

1. Melt butter in heavy large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add pears; saute until tender and beginning to brown but not soft, about 8 minutes.  Using a slotted spoon, carefully transfer pears to bowl.

2. Add rosemary to skillet and stir until fragrant, about 1 min.  Add broth, Gorgonzola, 1/2 c. Parmesan, and cream.  Simmer until sauce thickens enough to coat a spoon, whisking occasionally, about 6 min.  (Run your finger down the back of the spoon.  If it leaves a clear streak, the sauce is done.  I usually find it takes me longer than the 6 min, more like 8 min.)

3.  Meanwhile, cook linguine in a large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to the bite, stirring occasionally.  Drain; return pasta to pot.  Add sauce and pecans to pasta; toss over medium-low heat until sauce coats pasta, about 3 min.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Transfer to large low.  Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 c. Parmesan.


Recipe curtsey Bon Appetit Fast, Easy Fresh Cookbook, 2008.

Keeping It Fresh Friday: A New Mexico Fair Classic

The Hampshire County Fair is this week.  We took the boys to the parade last night.  We will take in the tractor pulls, chain saw competitions, live stock, petting zoo and fair food tomorrow.  This is the first of the late summer/fall harvest festivals for us and now I have fair food on my mind.

The good news: not all fair food has to be fried!  New Mexico fairs showcase a great variety of relatively healthy options.  Well, you know, so long as they are eaten in moderation, which I think is the real trick.  Common to all New Mexico fairs, sporting events, and Five and Dimes is the humble but tasty Frito Pie.  Its something I can easily make at home, nowhere near New Mexico!  Since I needed a cheap and easy meal for a weeknight, it was a perfect choice.  Not a thirty minute meal but so low maintenance, its perfect for school nights.  If you're really busy, follow the slow cooker instructions. 


If you want to go really Fiesta traditional, buy the lunch-sized bags of Fritos.  Pour the beans, cheese, chile, meat and onions inside and eat it right out of the bag.  Just be careful.  It is an aluminum bag and can get hot.

Oh, and soaking the beans.  I don't do it.  Why?  First and most importantly, my grandma didn't.  But if that doesn't work for you, here's the argument and counter-argument.  The claim is that soaking beans makes them softer and helps remove some of the enzyme that makes humans gassy after eating beans.  However, while removing the gas, soaking also removes a lot of the other minerals and nutrients that make beans so healthy in the first place.  The boil-before-you-cook method makes them softer and just use gas-relief products to take care of the rest.

How to Make Frito Pies:
Serves: 4-6

For the beans:
1 1/2 c. Pinto beans
1 T. lard, optional
1 t. garlic salt, optional

1.  Sort the beans.  Rinse and pick out any pebbles, dirt clumps, and beans that are broken, malformed, or just kind of ugly looking.

2.  Place in a pan and add water, covering just 1" above beans.  Boil for 10 minutes, adding more boiling water if necessary.

3.  Add lard and garlic salt, if you using.  Reduce heat to low and simmer for about 5 hours or until beans are almost tender.  Add more water as they cook, but not more than 1" above the beans, as necessary.  Mash some of the beans with the back of a spoon and continue cooking for 30 minutes longer or until completely tender.  (This will make the bean juice creamier.)

4.  Alternatively, place boiled beans in a slow cooker and simmer on low for 7 1/2 hours.  Mash slightly and cook remaining 30 minutes.  

For the Frito Pies:
1 lb. ground beef
2-3 T. New Mexico red chile powder
1-2 t. flour
1 1/2 c. water
1 bag of Fritos, or small lunch bags for individual servings
1 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 onion, diced

1.  Brown the beef over medium-high heat until fully cooked.  Drain off the fat. I set aside a little meat for the kids in case the chile is too hot.  Mix chile, flour and water together in a bowl, or place in a jar, cover and shake well.  Add chile mixture to meat and bring to a simmer.  Cook until thickened into a gravy-like consistency.

2.  Serve: spoon beans into a bowl.  Top with chile, cheese, onion and crushed Fritos. 

Cinnamon Rolls, or How I Met My Husband

They say that smell has a direct link to memory.  I know that this has scientific bearing but more importantly, I know this through experience. 

Case in point, cinnamon rolls.   I've used this recipe twice now and they make the moistest cinnamon rolls ever.  And they bring me right back to 2006.  I used to work in a mall book store right out of college.  (What else does one do with an English degree?)  The coffee shop across from the store sold spicy Mexican mochas and gooey cinnamon rolls.  They were baked in-house and the aroma was intoxicating.  Great days were the ones in which the owner of this coffee shop would bring us gifts of the last rolls of the day, which either had to be eaten or tossed.  They might have been hours old at that point, but the recipe was so good that they were still soft and moist.

I didn't always love working at this bookstore but I can love cinnamon rolls and the memories they evoke for one reason.  It was there at this bookstore that I met a man.  A man with expressive hazel eyes, who would buy any book I put in his hands just so he could talk to me.  The man I now sit across from, drinking coffee while we watch our sons rub sugary glaze through their hair.  Yeast and cinnamon and brown sugar are what I connect with the beginning of our lives together.  Not the cologne he wore, not the smell of new print, but the smell of cinnamon rolls.

I've decided that these rolls are going to become a special smell for our whole family.  Breakfast treats for birthdays, first days of school, Easter and Christmas mornings, "Proud of You" celebrations.  My boys might not grow up thinking of cinnamon rolls as "Mom met Dad" smells but I want them to connect something special with them, like I do. 

By the way, the secret to incredibly moist and gooey cinnamon rolls is Yukon Gold potatoes.  That's right.  Potatoes. 

How to Make Yukon Gold Cinnamon Rolls:
Makes 12 large rolls or 24 medium (seen here)

 Ingredients:
Dough:
1 lb. Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, cut into 2" pieces
1 T. coarse kosher salt
1/2 c. unsalted butter
3 large eggs
4 1/2 c. (or more) unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 c. warm water
3 1/4-oz. envelopes dry active yeast
2 T. sugar


Filling:
1 1/3 c. (packed) golden brown sugar
2 1/2 T. ground cinnamon
3 T. unbleached all purpose flour
9 T. unsalted butter, room temp.


Glaze:
2 c. powdered sugar
1/4 c. unsalted butter, melted
2 T. (or more) whole milk
1 t. vanilla extract
1/8 t. coarse kosher salt

1.  Combine potatoes, 2 cups water, and 1 tablespoon coarse salt in large saucepan. Boil until potatoes are very tender, 15 to 18 minutes. Mash potatoes with water in pan (do not drain water). Add butter and mash until butter is melted. Whisk in eggs, then 1 cup flour; mash until very smooth. Let potatoes stand until barely lukewarm, about 10 minutes. 

2.  Meanwhile, pour 1/2 cup warm water into large bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment; stir in yeast and sugar. Let stand until foamy, about 10 minutes. Add potato mixture to yeast mixture; mix on low speed until well blended, 2 minutes. Mix in 3 cups flour, 1 cup at a time, beating well. Beat until sticky dough forms. 

3.  Spread 1/2 cup flour on work surface. Scrape dough out onto floured work surface. Knead until dough is smooth and elastic, adding more flour by tablespoonfuls if dough is very sticky, about 8 minutes.   May take a LOT more flour.  (I add about 1-2 cups extra.)

4.  Coat large bowl with butter. Transfer dough to bowl and turn to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

5.  Meanwhile, make filling: mix brown sugar, cinnamon, and flour in medium bowl. Using fork, mix in butter. 

6.  Line large rimmed baking sheet with parchment. Turn dough out onto well-floured work surface. Roll out dough to 24x16-inch rectangle. Or to make medium rolls, divide dough in quarters.  Roll each piece into 12x6 inch rectangle.  Sprinkle filling evenly over dough. Starting at 1 long side, roll up dough jelly-roll style, enclosing filling. Using large knife dipped in flour, cut roll crosswise into 12 pieces, or 6 pieces for medium rolls.  Transfer rolls to baking sheet, spacing rolls about 3/4 inch apart. Cover baking sheet loosely with plastic wrap. Let rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled in volume, about 20 minutes (rolls will be very puffy).  Or if making the night before, cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 2-24 hours.  

7.  Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Bake cinnamon rolls until golden, about 20 minutes. Cool rolls 10 minutes on baking sheet.

8.  Meanwhile, make glaze: whisk powdered sugar, melted butter, 2 tablespoons milk, vanilla, and coarse salt in small bowl. If glaze is too thick to spread, add more milk by 1/2 teaspoonfuls as needed. Spread glaze over warm rolls.

 
Recipe from Bon Appetit Magazine, March 2009.

Toddler Time: Kool Blue Playdough

This old classic recipe was first taught to me by my mom.  She used to make this all the time for her kindergarten class.  Its cheaper than constantly replacing Play-doh and she liked to change the colors to go with the seasons.  We have plenty of store-bought dough but I need something to pass the afternoon with my boys.  This gave us something to make and something to play with.  A double bonus!  Plus, I love working recipes with 3-year-old N. right now.  He's learning to recognize his numbers and recipes help us out a lot.  Now if only I can get 1-year-old P. to stop eating the yummy smelling play dough... .  (It is non-toxic, by the way.)

Some tips.  The grape smell becomes a little strong.  Citrus ones, like orange and lime, smell good and make for pretty colors.  Because its saltier than Play-doh, make sure to wipe everything down when done.   Beware dough dropped on the floor and clothing as it can be hard to remove if rubbed into fabric. 

How to Make Kool-Aid Play Dough:
Ingredients:
2 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. salt
2 pkgs. unsweetened Kool-Aid powdered drink mix
2 c. boiling water
1 T. oil

1.  Mix flour, salt and Kool-Aid

2.  Add oil and water.  Mix well with a spoon.  Cool until ready to touch.  (For faster cooling, chill in freezer.)

3.  Knead until color is uniform and dough is smooth.

4.  Store in air tight bag or container.  Keeps for about a month. 

Keeping It Fresh Friday: Shrimp and Vegetable Orzo

Oh my goodness, is it already Friday afternoon? Good thing I had this one in my back pocket from earlier this week!

The original recipe called for grilling everything.  However, the day I went to make it, we ran out of propane.  I discovered its actually easier to multitask this great, filling summer pasta salad when its broiled.  You can boil the pasta while the veggies and shrimp cook.  Plus, you wouldn't be distracted by little ones pressing their faces against the screen door while you try to grill before Daddy gets home. Another instance of a recipe we've been meaning to make for years really paying off!

How to Make Orzo with Shrimp, Summer Vegetables and Pesto Vinagrette:
Serves: 6

Ingredients:
8 oz. orzo (about 1 1/3 c.)
6 1/2 T. olive oil, divided
4 T. red wine vinegar, divided
1 medium zucchini, cut in half lengthwise
1 medium yellow squash, cut in half lengthwise
1 red, yellow or orange pepper, cut in half lengthwise
3 T. prepared pesto (either purchased or homemade)
2 T. lime juice
1 lb. uncooked large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 heirloom or hothouse tomato, cut into 1/2" cubes
1/2 c. thinly sliced fresh basil (I used our purple basil for color)
1 8 oz. ball fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 1/2" cubes


1.  Cook orzo in large pot of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally.  Drain.  Rinse with cold water; drain well.  Transfer to large bowl and toss with 1 T. oil.


2.  Meanwhile, preheat broiler (or grill to medium-high heat).  Whisk 2. T. oil and 2 T. red wine vinegar in small bowl.  Brush both sides of zucchini, squash and pepper with vinegar mixture.

3.  Whisk pesto, lime juice, 3 1/2 T. oil, and 2 T. vinegar in small bowl for pesto vinaigrette.  Place shrimp in medium bowl.  Add 2 T. pesto vinaigrette; toss to coat.

4.  Broil (or grill) zucchini, squash and pepper until crisp-tender, about 3-5 min. per side.  Transfer to work surface.  Broil shrimp (or grill) shrimp until charred and cooked through, about 2-3 min. per side.  Add to bowl with orzo.  Chop vegetables; add to bowl with orzo.  Add remaining vinaigrette, tomatoes, basil, and mozzarella.  Toss to combine  Season with salt and pepper.

5.  Serve at room temp or chilled. 

Recipe curtsey Bon Appetit Magazine, June 2008.

Even a Diva Needs a Break

Today, August 11th, is DQ Miracle Treat Day.  $1 or more of every blizzard sold will go to the Children's Miracle Network.  So, for tonight, its hot dogs and ice cream for me and my men. 

This goes to the cause that is closest to our hearts, Children's Health.  We are so grateful for the excellent care we have received at all the children's hospitals we have been to, especially the amazing Children's Hospital of Colorado.  So I invite you to also take the evening off and treat yourself while making a difference in a child's life. 

DQ Miracle Treat Day

Toddler Time Activities: Nature Explorers

It's been incredibly hot lately but my boys still need outside time regularly.  For the past few weeks, this has meant we have this little window of time before 9:00 AM to get outside.  Its still hot and muggy when we leave the house, but at least its not yet over 90 degrees.  Then I have to hope that will last us the entire remaining 11 hours of the day.  You might have guessed this usually only burns enough energy to get us to 10:30. 

Its especially hard to be inside when we now live in a place that has so much wildlife.  In the past few weeks we've been watching a mama doe and her twin fawns hiding in the pines by our house.  We have regular bunnies, woodchucks and turtles in our yard.  P. insists on picking at least one wildflower every time we take a walk.  In that little window of morning outside time, we've become nature explorers.  Equipped with safari hats and toilet paper-tube binoculars, we now take morning walks with a mission.  (When back from our walks, the boys have time for outside play.  I know they need unstructured play, too.) 

I've made clip art checklists of things for us to be looking for on our walks.  We have three lists to choose from before we leave the house.  Some of the items are things I know we'll see, like trees and flowers.  Some are things we usually see, bees and spiders.  Some are things we might see, such as those baby deer and the woodchuck.  Of course, you can recreate this activity no matter where you live, just use things that you know to be in your own neighborhood.  We may even do a winter version of this for Nature Window-Gazing on snowy days in the winter.  Whatever it takes to pass the time while encouraging good observations of the woods that we know find ourselves surrounded by.

Keeping It Fresh Friday: Capellini a la Greco

Yeah, I'm posting this early, as we have Mark's family visiting us for an extended weekend.  So keep it fresh, Thursday!

Capellini Pomodoro was a staple in my family growing up.  However, we didn't call it that.  In my household, we had always called it "Fergie's Thing", after a cookbook accredited to Sarah Ferguson.  In fact, it wasn't until I was in college that I discovered that the dish was not invented by the Duchess.  I learned that this dish is in fact very traditionally Italian.  And that it went by Pomodoro, meaning "with tomatoes".   Its so incredibly simple and I've made it so many times that I don't follow a written recipe.  In fact, I had to look up measurements for writing down this version for you.  Exactly how much oil was I eyeballing?  What is a standard-size cheese tub?

But here you will find not the traditional tomato-basil dish I grew up with.  Like I said, I've made it many times and want to give it a little new life for my family.  So this is my own variation, a dish I am calling Capellini a la Greco.  Spinach, dill, feta and olives are added to the dish, but the star still remains fresh and fabulous tomatoes.  Is it really what an Italian would think of as Greek-style?  Probably not.  But after all, I'm Hispanic and German.  So here's my American interpretation of a Greek take on an Italian dish.  Buon Appetito, Buen Provecho, Kali Orexi.

Enjoy.

How to Make Capellini a la Greco:
Serves: 4
Time: 20 min.

Ingredients:
12 oz. capellini pasta (any thin, long noodle can substitute) 
2 T. olive oil, divided
1 garlic clove, minced
4 vine ripened tomatoes or 6 Roma tomatoes, diced
1 T. red wine vinegar
8 oz. baby spinach leaves
1 T. fresh dill, roughly chopped
8 oz. crumbled feta
1/3 c. kalamata olives
1/2 lemon


1.  Cook pasta in boiling salted water, in large stock pot,  according to package directions.


2.  Meanwhile, heat 1 T. olive oil in large nonstick skillet.  Add garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Add tomatoes and red wine vinegar.  Saute for 6 min.  Or until the pasta is ready.  I don't usually time this step.

3.  Drain pasta and return to pot.  Add 1 T. olive oil and toss to coat.

4.  Add spinach and dill to tomatoes.  Toss until spinach wilts, about 2 min.

5.  Add sauce to pasta.  Add half of the cheese and the olives.  Squeeze lemon over pasta.  Toss to coat.

6.  Serve immediately, sprinkling remaining cheese on top of each serving. 






Want the more traditional version?   
To Make Capellini Pomodoro:
Omit the spinach.  Substitute 2-3 T. chopped basil for the dill.  Substitute Parmesan cheese for the feta.  And omit the olives and lemon.  Switch the red wine vinegar for balsamic.  If you're my mom, add a lot more balsamic vinegar (she's crazy about the stuff). 


Note: I acknowledge that there are no olives in the photo.  We realized the error after dinner was served and added it much later in the meal.
 

Pizza Conquered! (Sort of)

I'm not sure grilled pizza counts towards true pizza success.  It is more pizza-like flat bread.  But this has at least kept me from giving up on the en devour all together.  (If it had failed, you would be reading a post title "Wife Announces She's Retiring from Pizza.")  So I'll take that as a success.  And it was so so easy to grill.  The first time I felt the effort of making pizza dough actually paid off.  I don't recommend topping grilled pizza with large fresh tomatoes as we did here, however.  As it sat, the dough got soggy from the tomato seeds.  And next time I will be using a shredded cheese.  But a definite start to good eats to come!

I also love the side dish we made to complete this summer meal.  Just cut a cantaloupe in half and slice into wedges.  Wrap each wedge with prosciutto (about 1/2 a slice).  Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with mint.


How to Make Grilled Pizza:

Makes: 2 14-16" pizzas, serves 4

For dough:
2 T. sugar
1 T. kosher salt
1 T. olive oil
3/4 c. warm water
2 c. bread flour
1 t. instant yeast
2 t. olive oil
more oil and flour for dusting and brushing

1.  Place sugar, salt, olive oil, water, 1 c. flour, yeast, and remaining cup of flour in bowl of stand mixer, fitted with paddle attachment.  Starting on low, mix until the dough just comes together, forming a ball.  Lube the hook attachment with cooking spray.  Attach the hook and knead for 15 minutes on medium speed.

2.  Tear off a small piece of dough and flatten into a disc.  Stretch the dough thin.  Hold it up to the light and look to see if the baker's windowpane, or taut membrane, has formed.  If the dough tears before it forms, knead for an additional 5-10 minutes. 

3.  Roll the dough into a smooth ball on countertop.  Place in stainless steel or glass bowl.  Add 2 t. of olive oil to the bowl and toss to coat.  Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for 18-24 hours.

4.  Preheat grill to high and make sure the grill grates are clean and clear of all debris.

5.  Split the dough into 2 equal parts using a knife or dough scraper.  Flatten into a disk onto the countertop and then fold the dough into a ball. 

6.  Wet hands barely with water and rub them onto the countertop to dampen the surface.  Roll the dough on the surface until it tightens.  Cover dough with tea towel and rest for 30 minutes.

7.  Generously flour pizza peel and place dough onto peel.  Using your hands, form a lip around the edges of the pizza.  Stretch the dough into a round disc, rotating after each stretch.  Shake the peel to make sure it will slide off.  Set dough on plate or cutting board and repeat with second dough ball.

8.  Oil the grill grates and reduce heat  to medium.  Brush the dough with olive oil and flip onto hot grill.  Close the lid and cook for 1-2 minutes, or until bottom is golden brown.  Brush the top side with oil.  Then, slide the peel under the dough and flip dough over.  Top as desired, working as quickly as possible.  Close lid and cook until bottom of crust is golden brown, about 2-4 minutes.  Using peel, remove pizza to cooling board and rest for 3 minutes before slicing.

Recipe adapted from Alton Brown, "Pizza Pizza Pizza" and "Flat is Beautiful V" from Good Eats.