Halloween in Gotham

Heading to NYC in the morning for a crazy weekend in Gotham for Halloween and the NYC marathon. I WON'T BE RUNNING....in case you were wondering....but I promise to take a LOT of pictures!

Pray there will be a ton of freaks!!

I'm sure looking forward to it.

TWD - Cherry Fudge Brownie Torte

My photography teacher would have a cow about that crumb I failed to remove from the plate

Finally, right? So I made this on Tuesday, but like I mentioned, I failed to pre-read the directions about this sitting in the fridge for four hours, so we didn't get to have any of this until yesterday.

Well, yesterday turned out to be busy.....workout, then nails, then my faker dog had to visit the vet to waste $40 (another story for another time), then Jenny wanted me to go shopping with her, then she demanded we stop for a beer (or seven....JK).....all very important things. Needless to say, Mr. B finally got a piece of this last night about 7pm!

Completely worth the wait. I opted to leave out the Cherry portion of this recipe. I just don't like fruit in my chocolate and I don't really see how this could have been any better....cherries or no cherries. The brownie portion was more the density of a flourless cake and the creamy mousse on top was a perfect way to tone down the intensity of the chocolate.

Thanks to April of Short and Rose for a great pick. As always, visit her site for the recipe.

No TWD.....YET......

So I'm a horrible planner! It would help if I had read the recipe before deciding to wait until the last minute to actually make it. My intention was to post this tonight, but since the torte needs to be refrigerated for at least four hours, you won't be seeing the finished product until tomorrow.

Which works out great, because I can now post pictures of this handsome guy!

He likes to say I get my looks from him.

That's a good thing, right??

Today is my dad's 69th birthday.

Happy birthday, Pop! Hope you had a great day.

Spicy Calamari with Bacon and Scallions

Mr. B and I spent the day trying to buy a house for Barry and Carly to share. I thought it was going to be easy. All you hear is that it's a "buyer's market". And while that may be generally true, it seems that every house we were interested in, the sellers were not negotiating. At all. Really?

And these were all houses that needed work. We're talking knocking out walls, ripping up 1960's kelly green carpet, replacing avacado appliances, etc., etc., etc..

So we're back at it tomorrow.

When we got home tonight, I wanted something easy. And then there's the whole commitment I made in yesterday's post. Whatever "easy" I wanted needed to come from the pages of all those magazines.

This Spicy Calamari with Bacon and Scallions was perfect. Mr. B looooves both calamari and spicy. And I looooove bacon. We were both happy!

Try this one:

Spicy Calamari with Bacon and Scallions

Serves 4 (Main Course)

Gourmet, November 1997

Sauteing the squid in the bacon fat adds tons of flavor to the seafood itself. Fried calamari with marinara sauce will be but a distant memory once you try this.

1 1/2 lb cleaned medium squid

1/4 lb bacon (about 5 slices) cut crosswise into 1-inch pieces

1 cup chopped scallions

1/2 tsp dried hot red-pepper flakes

Rinse squid under cold water, then pat dry between paper towels. Halve large tentacles lengthwise and cut bodies (including flaps, if attached) crosswise into 1/2-inch-wide rings.

Cook bacon in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally until golden and crisp, then transfer with a slotted spoon to paper towels to drain.

Toss squid with 1/4 tsp salt.

Heat fat remaining in skillet over hight heat until very hot, then saite squid with scallions and red-pepper flakes until just cooked through, about 3 minutes.

Serve squid immediately, sprinkled with bacon.

As you can tell, I've started the November recipes in October. Here's why.....during the month of November I will be in New York City, Whistler, B.C., Naples, Florida and then back to The Villages, FL for Thanksgiving. Ummm, yeah.

It appears I've been hoarding magazines. It's not that I wasn't aware of this fact.....it's just that I wasn't sure what I was going to do about it. Actually, I hadn't really considered that I needed to do something about it.

Until this happened.

I'm blaming it on this issue of Gourmet magazine. It's the last one. Forevah. I know, right? I couldn't believe it either. But, it's true. November, 2009 is the LAST issue of my beloved Gourmet magazine.

According to some, Gourmet is too "highbrow" for our dumbed down food culture these days. Seems we've become a Hamburger Helper society and the writings and recipes of Gourmet are no longer relevant. Huh? Not in my kitchen.

I've been "collecting" (hoarding) cooking magazines for years. According to the stacks I assembled today, about 15 years. Which means I've moved said "collection" about five times through several states and a few continents. Scary.

Scary to some, but somehow really important to me. I have gone through spurts throughout the years when I've thrown issues away. I had probably watched one of those Oprah episodes about those really insane hoarder people that can't actually live in their houses anymore from all the junk and was afraid that's who I'd become with my cooking magazines. So I guess I decided to throw out some issues because I have very few entire years of any one magazine.

Although, I have every one of these. They just started publishing, so I'm committed to owning all of them.

I have no plans of entering a 12-step program.

Luckily I collected some of these. According to my scale I should consult them much more often.

And personally, I think "Fine Cooking" sounds much more highbrow than "Gourmet". I'm just sayin.

I love the thought of this magazine, mainly because I l.o.v.e. Italy and all things Italian, but I don't ever think I've cooked one recipe from La Cucina Italiana. I should definitely change that.

For some reason, I was most diligent about keeping copies of Food and Wine and Bon Apetit than all of the others. I have no explanation for that.

I consider Gourmet, Food and Wine, and Bon Appetit the "Big Three".

But to me, they're more like BMW, Mercedes, and Lexus than Ford, GM and Chrysler. Again.....just sayin.

Like I said, the oldest edition I have is a Food and Wine from 1995. The price, even back then, was $3.95. I'm sure I shouldn't have been spending that in 1995.

But take a gander at Mr. Fine Cooking and his $6.95 price tag. I guess since I have subscriptions, I haven't been paying attention. I am now. That's steeeeeeep.

So, I sorted all of these into months. Twelve stacks. Twelve large stacks.

Here's some of what I have for the month of November.

I have 29.....yes, twenty nine.....magazines for the month of November. If I was the least bit dedicated or committed that would be a recipe per day. (minus one....I get it) But, rest assured, I'm not near that ambitious.

But I have to do something with these suckers, so other than my previous commitments to Barefoot Bloggers and TWD, anything I make will come for the pages of one of these magazines

Every month for the next twelve months.

We're not even getting into this stack.

Or the cookbooks.

Nope, not talkin about those.

CEiMB - Easy Chicken-Mushroom Quesadillas

Even though I'm not officially a CEiMB member anymore, I still check the website on a regular basis and try to cook along when something sounds too good to pass up. This was one of those times.

I love, love, love quesadillas and this is one that I will absolutely make again and again.

Saute onion, garlic, mushrooms and spinach in some canola oil. Toss in some cooked chicken (I used some leftover store-bought rotisserie chicken.) Cook until the spinach has wilted down.

Slap the filling between a couple of tortillas (I used whole wheat) along with some cheese. Saute in a non-stick pan sprayed with some Pam. I like to weight mine down so it all comes together nicely and is easier to flip.

Serve some some salsa, chopped cilantro and sour cream and you've got yourself a delicious and easy meal! Nice, huh?

Here's Ellie's recipe:

Easy Chicken-Mushroom Quesadillas

Eating Healthy in 2009. Copyright 2007 Ellie Krieger, All rights reserved.

Show: Healthy Appetite with Ellie Krieger Episode: Time Troubles

Ingredients

1 tablespoon canola oil
1 large onion, chopped (about 2 cups)
8 ounces white button mushrooms, (about 3 cups)
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups cooked chopped skinless, boneless chicken breast (1 breast half)
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
2 cups baby spinach leaves, sliced into ribbons
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
4 (10-inch) whole-grain flour tortillas
1 cup shredded Mexican cheese mix or Cheddar
1/2 cup salsa
1/4 cup reduced-fat sour cream

Directions

Heat the oil in a large skillet over a medium heat. Add the onions and mushrooms and cook until the mushroom water is evaporated and they begin to brown, 5 to 7 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add chicken, cumin, chili powder and oregano and stir until all spices are incorporated. Add spinach, salt and pepper and cook until spinach is wilted, about 2 minutes.

Lay 1 tortilla on a flat work surface and sprinkle with 1/4 cup shredded cheese. Spoon 1/2 chicken and vegetable mixture on top of cheese, then top with an additional 1/4 cup cheese. Top with another flour tortilla. Heat a large nonstick skillet with cooking spray over medium heat. Carefully place 1 quesadilla in pan and cook 3 minutes. Using a large spatula, gently flip quesadilla and cook an additional 3 minutes until lightly browned and cheese is melted. Repeat with second quesadilla. Slice each quesadilla into quarters. Place 2 quarters on a plate with 1 tablespoon sour cream and 2 tablespoons salsa.

TWD - Sweet Potato Biscuits

This week's TWD was chosen by Erin of Prudence Pennywise and what I thought was going to be a dud actually turned out to be a hit! Surprise, surprise.

I think one of the best resources of TWD is the P&Q section on the website. I've learned to read all of the posts there before I ever start to bake. Those people save my ass every time!

This week's recipe was biscuits, which for me usually equals hockey pucks....suriously! But after reading the P&Q, I knew the most important things about this relatively simple recipe were #1...make sure the dough was moist. It may actually take more mashed sweet potatoes than called for. And #2....DON'T OVERWORK THE DOUGH! I think everyone mentioned this. So, I barely mixed it!!

And I guess it worked. While these didn't exactly puff up like I was expecting, they were anything but tough. I served them with tonights dinner to Charlotte and Mr. B along with some butter and honey. They loved them!

Another successful TWD!!

Make sure you visit Erin's site for the recipe.....or better yet....BUY THE BOOK.

Tis (almost) that season....

It's time for me to start thinking about Christmas gifts. Our family is tough to buy for. If we find something we want, we all tend to just go get it for ourselves. No disappointments or returns warranted that way!

But I've started to see a few intriguing items in the past couple of weeks and felt compelled to share.....and just in case you were thinking of adding me to your Christmas list. Hint, hint!!

So, I came across this little gadget the other day in the new Martha Stewart Living magazine. It's called the Demy and here's the description...

Home cooks will relish the Demy, which stores up to 2,500 recipes. Here's how it works: Create a free account at keyingredient.com. Then assemble a collection of recipes, which you can load from that website, copy from other sites, or type in yourself. Plug the Demy into your PC or Mac to synchronize with your account Then set it on your counter for easy access. "I have recipes all over the place. For organization purposes, this is so convenient," says Living's food editorial director, Jennifer Aaronson. It even has a cooking timer and a conversion tool.

You also have the ability to adjust the font size, which for my blind-ass self is crucial. (If only my iPhone could do the same.)

So, I'm think of ordering this for some of my fellow cooking fanatics. Anyone out there have one? Pros and cons??

Check out all the specs at www.mydemy.com

TWD - Allspice Crumb Muffins

The past couple of weeks have been craaaaaazy around here. Most of you know that Mr. B has been working in Michigan for the past couple of years....Michigan during the week and fly home every Friday for weekends home in Bama. Well, he finished that little chapter a few weeks ago and is now home full time. Yea??

So we needed to fly to Michigan last week to put that house on the market, arrange for the movers to come in and pack everything up and ship it down south, and drive the car back home.

Which all worked out great since we needed to stop in Ohio on the way to see the newest addition to the family!

That's Emma and her big brother, Reece. He's still trying to decide if he's going to keep her! She's not all that much fun yet.

But the rest of us think she's pretty stinkin sweet!

Like her mama....

And her daddy. She already has him right where she wants him!

That first bath was a little traumatic!

Which didn't help convince him that she needs to stay!!

So all of that is to explain why my Allspice Crumb Muffin post is so late. I finally made these last night to have for breakfast this morning. They were easy and tasty. Perfect for a crazy week.

Thanks to Kayte of Grandma's Kitchen Table for this really great pick. Make sure you visit Kayte's site for the recipe.

Fig, Hazelnut and Pecorino Crostada

I'm not sure where I read about it, but I came across a fabulous recipe resource this week in the form of food52. food52 is a collaboration between Amanda Hesser, a long-time food writer for the New York Times and Merrill Stubbs (I think that's her last name??), also a food writer and chef. After several months of working together on a cookbook for the Times, the came to realize that the best recipes come from US....the home cook!

So they have put together food52 where every week (currently in week 17) they offer up a couple of themes and invite home cooks around the internet to submit their best recipes involving that theme or ingredient. If you're a member of the site (it's free) you get to vote. At the end of 52 weeks (get it....food52??) they will have a complete cookbook that will be published by HarperStudio. Genius, right?

So that's where I found this recipe for last night's dinner party appetizer....Fig, Hazelnut and Pecorino Crostada. This week's theme was "your best recipe using figs". I love figs, so that immediately caught my eye, but when I read that the crust had rosemary in it, I knew I'd be making this.

The dough came together easily in the food processor and with the addition of the rosemary it smelled delish. I made mine the day before and refrigerated it overnight, but it can also me made the same day as long as you chill it for at least an hour.

The fig jam is made by stewing dried figs in a rosemary-infused simple syrup for 10 minutes and then adding it to the hazelnuts in the food processor and grinding into a jam-like consistency. That can also be made ahead if needed.

Slice a granny smith apple on top.

Fold the pastry over the edges and brush with an egg wash. I made mine a few hours early and stored in the fridge until I was ready to bake it.

Bake it for 50 minutes, sprinkle on the cheese and finish baking until the cheese is melted. I confess that I didn't have Pecorino and substituted grated Parmesan instead, but it was still amazing.

This is a perfect mix of sweet and savory and could easily be served as an appetizer, with a cup of coffee for breakfast or afternoon break, or with a little ice cream for dessert. Amazingly versatile.

I highly recommend trying this one out and also bookmarking food52 and making it one of your weekly websites!

Here's the recipe:


Pie Crust:

1 1/4 cup All Purpose Flour + more for rolling
1 teaspoon Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Salt
1 teaspoon Rosemary (chopped)
1/2 cup Butter (Unsalted) - Very cold and cut into pieces
2 to 4 tablespoons Ice Water
1 egg mixed with 1 teaspoon water (egg wash)

Filling:

3/4 cups Water
3/8 cups Sugar
1 sprig Rosemary
16 Dried Figs, Halved
3 tablespoons Brandy
1 Lemon
3/8 cups toasted hazelnuts
1 Granny Smith Apple, cored and sliced
Approx. 2 ounces grated Pecorino Romano

Make the Dough: In a food processor, pulse flour, sugar, salt, and rosemary to combine. Add butter and pulse until mixture resembles coarse cornmeal with a few pea-sized pieces of butter remaining. Sprinkle with 2 TB ice water; pulse until crumbly but holds together when squeezed (it won't look like it will hold together until you squeeze it). If necessary, gradually add up to 2 TB more water). Don't over mix. Flatten into disk and wrap tightly in plastic. Refrigerate until firm, at least one hour and up to 3 days.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, add the water, sugar, and sprig of rosemary. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer until sugar dissolved.

Add the figs and brandy to the simple syrup. Bring to boil and simmer for 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and let sit for 10 minutes.

Remove the rosemary sprig and discard. Remove 2TB of the syrup from the pot into a small bowl and add the juice from 1/2 of the lemon. Set aside.

Pour the remaining syrup/fig mixture into the food processor. Add the hazelnuts and the juice from the remaining half of the lemon. Blend, pulsing a few times, until a coarse puree. Set aside.

Roll dough into a round (or whatever shape it ends up in - this is rustic dish). Place on baking sheet (or silpat on baking sheet).

Spread the fig/hazelnut mixture on the crust leaving a 1.5-2 inch border. You may have some jam left depending on how big your dough round ended up. Feel free to eat directly from the bowl or save for your morning toast. It holds up well.

Toss the sliced apples with the reserved simple syrup/lemon juice mixture. Layer the apples over the fig/hazelnut mixture.

Fold the dough border over the edge of the filling, pleating if you are so inclined. Brush the crust with the egg wash.

Bake in a 350 degree over for about 50 minutes. Remove from the oven, sprinkle the pecorino evenly over the apples (again the amount of cheese may vary depending on how big the dough round ended up). Return to the oven for about 10 minutes until the crust is golden and the cheese is melted.

Cut and enjoy.

Meet Emma (Elizabeth...NOT) Mills Markley

My new great-niece arrived this morning. Meet Emma. 8lb, 14 oz and 20 inches long! I can't wait to meet her and chew on her cheeks next week!!

Congrats, Zach and Ashley and big brother Reece.

CORRECTION. Her name is Emma Mills Markley!! Throughout the whole pregnancy she was going to be Emma Elizabeth, but they changed their minds!! The great aunt is always the last to know.

Barefoot Bloggers - Cheddar Corn Chowder

This week's Barefoot Blogger selection is Cheddar Corn Chowder and was chosen by....wait for it.....drumroll, please.......yes, ME, ME, ME!!! Thank you, thank you.

Can you tell that I need more to do around here?

So I chose Ina's Corn Chowder recipe. I think it's a perfect Fall soup and I've made it several times. I love the combination of the corn, potatoes, white cheddar and BACON!!! And it's one of those soups that just get better every day. Plus it freezes well. This is one of the things I used to make for Mr. B to keep in the freezer in Michigan.

This recipe makes a TON of soup, so if you're not interested in feeding an army or freezing it, I'd recommend halving it.

Here it is:

Cheddar Corn Chowder

Copyright, 1999, The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, All rights reserved

Ingredients:

8 ounces bacon, chopped
1/4 cup good olive oil
6 cups chopped yellow onions (4 large onions)
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
12 cups chicken stock
6 cups medium-diced white boiling potatoes, unpeeled (2 pounds)
10 cups corn kernels, fresh (10 ears) or frozen (3 pounds)
2 cups half-and-half
8 ounces sharp white cheddar cheese, grated

Directions:

In a large stockpot over medium-high heat, cook the bacon and olive oil until the bacon is crisp, about 5 minutes. Remove the bacon with a slotted spoon and reserve. Reduce the heat to medium, add the onions and butter to the fat, and cook for 10 minutes, until the onions are translucent.

Stir in the flour, salt, pepper, and turmeric and cook for 3 minutes. Add the chicken stock and potatoes, bring to a boil, and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender. If using fresh corn, cut the kernels off the cob and blanch them for 3 minutes in boiling salted water. Drain. (If using frozen corn you can skip this step.) Add the corn to the soup, then add the half-and-half and cheddar. Cook for 5 more minutes, until the cheese is melted. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Serve hot with a garnish of bacon.

Thanks to all of the Bloggers that cooked along with me this week. I hope you enjoyed the Chowder!!

TWD - Split Level Pudding

This week's TWD was chosen by Garrett of Flavor of Vanilla. Garrett chose Dorie's Split Level Pudding, which is a layer of Ganache topped with Vanilla Pudding.

Now, you would think that since I've been doing this food blogging thing for a while, that I would be a little better about the pre-planning.....considering the composition of the picture. Because, let's face it, in food blogging, it's all about the picture. Could be why I'm not making any money at this little venture!

Anyhooty....this would have been a much more successful post if I would have put the pudding into a glass bowl. One where you could actually see the split levels. But I only thought about that when it came time to take the picture. Oh well.

So, forget about the picture and just believe me when I say this was really delicious. I opted for the "playing around" feature and made the vanilla pudding portion into espresso pudding because I l.o.v.e. the combination of coffee and chocolate.

Make sure you visit Garrett's site for the recipe (and a good picture....).

My "Go-To" Football Party Recipe

I think I've mentioned before that college football season is my favorite of all the seasons. Even though I'm an avid Big Ten fan and live in the heart of truly obnoxious SEC country. Seriously. Obnoxious. Hollier-than-thou. In-your-face. Arrogant.

{slapping myself in the face} Sorry. I get worked up about these people.

But they're my friends and most of the time, I love them. Mainly because they have great football parties. Even if I do have to watch an SEC team (hopefully lose). Did I say that out loud?

Anyhoo....everyone is usually asked to bring something and I'm usually asked to bring my Stromboli/Calzone/Pizza thingy. No one every knows what to call it. They just know they like it and it's always the first thing gone.

If they only knew how easy it is. Well, I guess now they will.

It all starts with frozen bread dough. Bridgeford brand is my favorite. Use whatever you can find, but I highly recommend using frozen bread dough and not pizza dough. I've used both and it's really much better with the bread dough. I don't know why and I'm sure someone is going to tell me that there is absolutely no difference between the two and that I'm a complete doofus. All of that may be true, but use the bread dough anyway. I'm just sayin.

Put the dough in a well oiled bowl and make sure to coat the dough thoroughly with the oil. Put it in a fairly warm place with a towel over it and let it rise. I usually take mine out of the freezer first thing in the morning so it's ready in time for dinner....at least six hours.

Once it's nice and large, take it out of the bowl and spread it out. I put mine on a cookie sheet and spread it out to the edges of the sheet.

Then line it with pepperoni (preferably the deli-style pepperoni)

I always have to buy extra because I end up eating every other piece. Looooove pepperoni!

Next comes slices of provolone cheese.

Yes that's it. Now start rolling it up, making sure to tuck in the ends as you roll. You don't want anything sneaking out while it's baking!

Keep rolling.

I line the top piece of a double broiler pan with foil and spray it liberally with non-stick spray. I like easy clean-up.

Brush the tops with egg whites and let them sit for about 15 minutes. Then pop them into a 400 degree oven until they're browned up to your liking. Mine usually take about 20-25 minutes.

If I'm taking them to a party I don't slice them until I get there. They're great on their own, or served with a side of your favorite marinara sauce for dipping.

I've experimented over the years with the fillings....I've tried subbing sausage, changine the provolone to mozzarella, sauteed veggies, etc.....but I always come back to simple pepperoni and provolone. Feel free to put your own spin on it.

This recipe and my love of all things Buckeye was passed to me from my mama, who also has to endure SEC fans. Sucks, doesn't it, Mom?? If it weren't for the great weather down here, I'd probably head back North! Or not.