Spinach Lasagna( CI)........

Yummy!! This lasagna rocks. Here we have another winner from Cook's Illustrated. I've made this a few other times, but couldnt remember if I'd blogged about it. Its a bechamel based sauce with 1 cottage cheese layer. I've never been a fan of CC in my lasagna, I much prefer ricotta, but you puree the cheese in a food processor and it really works well. This lasagna is pretty much so you only need a small slice. Thats a good thing because I made a German Chocolate Cake for dessert that was amazing!!

Big super nutty peanut butter cookies(CI)......

We all know by now that Robin is a peanut butter freak, a title she wears happily. My friend J is also a lover of all things peanut butter. I'm off to Ann Arbor to visit J and her partner for a few days so I thought I'd whip these up. The recipe came to me in the America's Test Kitchen newsletter and as per usual, Cook's Illustrated didnt dissapoint. These were very peanutty, thanks to a dose of chopped nuts. I actually halved the recipe but while mixing I realized I added the full amount of peanut butter. I didnt have another full stick of butter softened, but I did have 2 tbls so I used that and proceeded with the recipe( but I did use only half the amount of chopped nuts). They're still really good, next time I make them I'll use the correct amount of butter. I used the ridged side of my meat pounder to make the marks( spray it with pam first).



Big, Super-Nutty Peanut Butter Cookies Add to Favorites Shopping List
Bringing the butter, peanut butter, and eggs to room temperature makes it easier to blend the ingredients. Be sure to grind the peanuts, since whole, and even chopped peanuts tend to slip out of the dough. If using unsalted butter, increase salt to 1 teaspoon. Keep finished cookies refrigerated in airtight container. To restore just-baked chewiness, wrap a cookie in a sheet of paper towel and microwave for approximately 25 seconds. Cool before serving.
Makes approximately 3 dozen cookies
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/2 pound butter (2 sticks), salted
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1 cup granulated sugar
1 cup extra-crunchy peanut butter , preferably Jif
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup roasted salted peanuts , ground in food processor to resemble bread crumbs, about 14 pulses (about 1 cup, packed)




1. Adjust oven rack to low center position; heat oven to 350 degrees. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl.

2. In bowl of electric mixer or by hand, beat butter until creamy. Add sugars; beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes with electric mixer, stopping to scrape down bowl as necessary. Beat in peanut butter until fully incorporated, then eggs, one at a time, then vanilla. Gently stir dry ingredients into peanut butter mixture. Add ground peanuts; stir gently until just incorporated.

3. Working with 2 tablespoons dough at a time (see illustration 1 below), roll into large balls, placing them 2 inches apart on a parchment-covered cookie sheet. Following illustration 2, press each dough ball with back of dinner fork dipped in cold water to make crisscross design. Bake until cookies are puffed and slightly brown along edges, but not top, 10 to 12 minutes (they will not look fully baked). Cool cookies on cookie sheet until set, about 4 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely. Cookies will keep, refrigerated in an airtight container, up to 7 days.

Grilled pizza's( Cook's Illustrated) and a puppy....

Robin and I have a favorite pizza place. We love it so much that we could eat it for breakfast( we havent), lunch or dinner. Unfortunately, the pizza place is in S. Florida. We're both a big fan of thin crust pizza though so we really enjoy this Cook's Illustrated recipe for grilled pizza. We hosted a small cooking get-together a couple weeks ago and I demonstrated the pizza dough, sauce and grilling method. One of the couple's brought their new dachshund puppy over and Oliver and Harley fell in love!! I've wanted another dachshund for awhile now and was hoping that the cute puppy would sway Robin( We're not having 3 dogs!!) but alas he didnt.

Nevertheless, we had great grilled pizza and a fabulous chopped salad. Some of the varieties I made were.
Pesto w/ grilled veg and goat cheese
marinara w/ pepperoni and fresh mozzarella
marinara w/ sun dried tomato chicken sausage, fresh mozzarella and romano.
bbq sauce, chicken, red onion, cilantro and mozz.

Skillet Chicken Pot Pie( CI)......

I cooked for the Seniors yesterday morning( got home at 2pm) so I wanted to make something easy for dinner. Robin loves chicken pot pie, but I'm not crazy about making pie dough. I saw this a few weeks ago on America's Test Kitchen and filed it away in my memory. The recipe came together pretty quickly. I made the biscuits first and to make it even faster, I just cut them into wedges rather than use a biscuit cutter. I've never made cream biscuits before, we were impressed. I did use White Lily flour and they rose nice and high.

The only changes I made to the recipe were to use fresh cooked( microwave) carrots instead of a frozen carrot/pea blend. I usually always have frozen peas on hand but not frozen carrots and peas. I also use a fine herb blend( penzey's) because I didnt have any thyme. I added some leftover red potatoes too.

You can find the recipe Here.

I have been cooking.....

I havent really been making anything too exciting. Our granite is being installed at the moment and all we'll need to complete the kitchen is a pendant light( next week) and backsplash. The kitchen is still a bit unorganized and a mess so I've been keeping my cooking to simple things. I did make this oreo cheesecake for a fundraiser Robin attended. I also made 3 of these for the Senior Meal last night. It went over really well. Its a simple recipe on the back of the philly package( here in Canada). I ended up using Lactania cream cheese because it went on sale on the weekend for .99 a bar. That price sounds normal for the US, but here in Ontario cream cheese is over 3.00 a bar. Each cheesecake has 4 bars, 4 eggs, 1 cup of sugar and 1 cup of sour cream. You add some chopped oreos too. The crust is simply oreo's and butter.


The other day I found some fresh pasta clams on sale at Sobey's for 3.99lb. I've never seen fresh clams around these parts so I dug out a recipe from Cook's Illustrated. It was pretty simple and it came out great!!.



Last but not least, I made some homeade hummus for the event Robin attended. It ridiculous how expensive hummus is when you buy it ready made. I made this from scratch( using dried beans) and it cost about 2.00 for a full quart. I even bought a big jar of Tahini. I basically winged it using garlic, Evoo, salt, pepper, lemon juice, tahini and a big spoonful of peanut butter. I sprinkled some chopped parsely on top. I served it with cut up greek style wheat pita.

I cooked( and I baked).....

Yay!! and I didnt even wait until the label came off the oven. I made a simple dinner tonight, Pork Tenderloin with apples and sage( Cook's Illustrated), baked sweet potato and brocoli. It was so nice to be able to cook again. Robin brought me home a wonderful cookbook called The Great Canadian Cookie Cookbook.
. She got it for $9.00, so it was a great deal too. I did notice the Great American Cookie Cookbook has the same cover, its most probably the same book. Anyway, I digress. I baked some simple peanutbutter toffee cookies from the book( can you guess who requested them?) and they were well received. The best part? I can bake the entire recipe at once. No more waiting for 1 rack of cookies to finish before making another. I used the convection feature and the cookies came out perfect.

What shall I bake next?

Chicken Tika Masala( CI).....

Here we have another winner from Cook's Illustrated. This was in the latest issue. Like most CI recipes, there were a few steps, but none too difficult. The only problem I had with this, was that my sauce started to separate. I think its my fault though because I didnt have crushed tomatoes( I used whole Italian tomatoes that I pureed myself). I also had no tomato paste and I didnt want to buy a can( they dont sell the tubes in my town). I'm really try to use what I have in preparation for the kitchen renovation. As it is, I had to buy a pint of heavy cream and a container of whole milk yogurt. The recipe also calls for 1/4 of chopped cilantro, but I didnt want to buy that either as we're leaving on Tuesday for San Fran. I also threw some frozen peas in with the brown basmati rice because I'm trying to clean out the freezer too.

In other news, I've decided on the granite( Labrador Antique), the kitchen pain( Benjamin Moore, Soft Chinchilla) and the flooring. I think we're going to buy the appliances tomorrow.

I also ordered the faucet on ebay( Delta Leland in Stainless Steel) and I found a pendant light for above the sink that I'm going to order.

Today our sunroom was torn down and they're digging the foundation for our new bedroom. Very exciting!!

Apple-Maple glazed chicken breasts(CI)....

I don't really know what to say about this recipe. Usually, I love all things from Cook's Illustrated but I'm sort of on the fence about this one. The chicken was tender and perfectly cooked. I think the sauce is what bugged me. It was somewhat sweet and I dont really like sweet sauces. Another thing I dont like is that corn syrup is one of the ingredients in the sauce. Its supposed to help the glaze to cling better. I just dont feel good about injesting corn syrup. The recipe comes from the latest issue of Cook's Illustrated. The main recipe was for an orange/honey glaze and this version was one of the options. I did add some fresh chopped sage as well even though the recipe didnt call for that. I felt it needed some "green".

I also made another loaf of bread from the KA whole grain baking book. I didnt take a picture because it basically looks the same as the other loaf. I just placed an order for the new Peter Reinhart whole grain baking book. I should have it in 2 weeks. I can't wait to bake from that book.

In other news, I got a big catering job for Sept 22nd. Its appetizers and sweets for a wedding for 250ppl. Sounds good right? We're also invited guests to the wedding so I need to work out the logisitics. The good thing is that I asked my friend Tom from Ohio if he wanted to help me( because I was going to hire someone) and he said YES. He's going to bake all the breads for the canapes which will be a huge help. Since the mother of the bride is a friend of the family, I told her I was just going to double my food costs but Robin and I were discussing whether or not to give my labor to the Bride as her wedding gift. I still need to pay Tom though for gas and ingredients since he so generously said I didnt have to pay him an hourly rate. Did I mention we're having a huge 24 x24 room added to our house and we're having the kitchen totally redone? The addition will be in full-swing when Tom is here, but I'll have to hold off on any kitchen work until after the wedding. I'm sure that wont be a problem as the cabinets are coming from Quebec.

Oh and we're also going to San Fran on Sept 11th( yeah, it was cheaper to fly that day)- 18th so at least I can pick up ingredients in MI before we drive back to Ontario.

German Chocolate Cake( Cook's Illustrated).....

My poor sick requested a German Chocolate Cake on Saturday after watching America's Test Kitchen make one. Oh, the power of suggestion!! Anyway, I got right on it and a couple hours later we had a beautiful, flavorful, wonderful cake.

I was a tad confused because the recipe on the Cook's website is different from the one in Baking Illustrated. I used the Cook's recipe because it was published after Baking. The frosting was fantastic and I like the idea of adding the pecans after the coconut mixture cools down and before you frost the cake.

German Chocolate Cake

When you assemble the cake, the filling should be cool or cold (or room temperature, at the very warmest). To be time-efficient, first make the filling, then use the refrigeration time to prepare, bake, and cool the cakes. The toasted pecans are stirred into the filling just before assembly to keep them from becoming soft and soggy.
INGREDIENTS


Filling

4 egg yolks
1 can evaporated milk (12 ounces)
1 cup granulated sugar (7 ounces)
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar (1 3/4 ounces)
6 tablespoons unsalted butter (3/4 stick), cut into 6 pieces
1/8 teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/3 cups sweetened shredded coconut (7 ounces)
1 1/2 cups finely chopped pecans (6 1/2 ounces), toasted on baking sheet in 350-degree oven until fragrant and browned, about 8 minutes

Cake

4 ounces semisweet or bittersweet chocolate , chopped fine
1/4 cup Dutch-processed cocoa , sifted
1/2 cup boiling water
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (10 ounces), plus additional for dusting cake pans
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
12 tablespoons unsalted butter (1 1/2 sticks), softened
1 cup granulated sugar (7 ounces)
2/3 cup packed light brown sugar (about 4 3/4 ounces)
3/4 teaspoon table salt
4 large eggs , room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup sour cream , room temperature



See Illustrations Below: Assembling the German Chocolate Cake

1. FOR THE FILLING: Whisk yolks in medium saucepan; gradually whisk in evaporated milk. Add sugars, butter, and salt and cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until mixture is boiling, frothy, and slightly thickened, about 6 minutes. Transfer mixture to bowl, whisk in vanilla, then stir in coconut. Cool until just warm, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until cool or cold, at least 2 hours or up to 3 days. (Pecans are stirred in just before cake assembly.)
2. FOR THE CAKE: Adjust oven rack to lower-middle position; heat oven to 350 degrees. Combine chocolate and cocoa in small bowl; pour boiling water over and let stand to melt chocolate, about 2 minutes. Whisk until smooth; set aside until cooled to room temperature.
3. Meanwhile, spray two 9-inch-round by 2-inch-high straight-sided cake pans with nonstick cooking spray; line bottoms with parchment or waxed paper rounds. Spray paper rounds, dust pans with flour, and knock out excess. Sift flour and baking soda into medium bowl or onto sheet of parchment or waxed paper.
4. In bowl of standing mixer, beat butter, sugars, and salt at medium-low speed until sugar is moistened, about 30 seconds. Increase speed to medium-high and beat until mixture is light and fluffy, about 4 minutes, scraping down bowl with rubber spatula halfway through. With mixer running at medium speed, add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down bowl halfway through. Beat in vanilla; increase speed to medium-high and beat until light and fluffy, about 45 seconds. With mixer running at low speed, add chocolate, then increase speed to medium and beat until combined, about 30 seconds, scraping down bowl once (batter may appear broken). With mixer running at low speed, add dry ingredients in 3 additions, alternating with sour cream (in 2 additions), beginning and ending with dry ingredients, and beating in each addition until barely combined. After final flour addition, beat on low until just combined, then stir batter by hand with rubber spatula, scraping bottom and sides of bowl, to ensure that batter is homogenous (batter will be thick). Divide batter evenly between prepared cake pans; spread batter to edges of pans with rubber spatula and smooth surfaces.
5. Bake cakes until toothpick inserted into center of cakes comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Cool in pans 10 minutes, then invert cakes onto greased wire rack; peel off and discard paper rounds. Cool cakes to room temperature before filling, about 1 hour. (Cooled cakes can be wrapped in plastic wrap and stored at room temperature for up to 1 day.)
6. TO ASSEMBLE: Stir toasted pecans into chilled filling. Set one cake on serving platter or cardboard round cut slightly smaller than cake, and second cake on work surface (or leave on wire rack). With serrated knife held so that blade is parallel with work surface, use sawing motion to cut each cake into two even layers. Starting with first cake, carefully lift off top layer and set aside. Using icing spatula, distribute about 1 cup filling evenly on cake, spreading filling to very edge of cake and leveling surface. Carefully place upper cake layer on top of filling; repeat using remaining filling and cake layers. If necessary, dust crumbs off platter; serve or refrigerate cake, covered loosely with foil, up to 4 hours (if refrigerated longer than 2 hours, let cake stand at room temperature 15 to 20 minutes before serving).

Gingery stir fry( cook's) and Cobbler( KA whole grain baking)

We had a great time in Niagara. Chels really enjoyed herself and so did we. I think Robin might have enjoyed herself a bit too much. On Thursday she started having really bad neck pain. By Friday night, she was in so much pain, she was in tears(poor thing). We ended up in the ER where they diagnosed her with Tortocollis. Litterally, a twisted neck. She might have jerked it or done something funky going down all those water slides. Anyway, they gave her an injection and when that didnt work, they gave her a few different pills. We left the ER at 2:30am and when we came home, she still couldnt get to sleep. She couldnt even lay down. I gave her my memory foam travel pillow so at least she could try to get some sleep. Yesterday was no better. It's Canada Day today and all our plans went out the door!! So, what did I do all day yesterday? I stayed home with her and cooked off course. Its been ages since I've been able to do that. In addition to making breakfast, lunch and dinner, I also made 2 different batches of strawberry jam. One with pectin, one without.( posts about that later). For dinner I made a stir fry from Cook's Illustrated. I used the ginger sauce recipe and modified it using firm tofu and shrimp. For dessert, I got a great deal on blueberries(1.77 a pint). I made a peach blueberry cobbler from the KA flour whole grain baking book. The recipe called for rolling out the biscuits, but I just dropped them on because by this point, I was exhausted. I'm not used to doing all the dishes when I cook!! I've come to the conclusion, that If I had to do dishes on a dialy basis, I wouldnt cook!!

Jambalaya( cook's Illustrated).....

I've been a bad blogger( doesnt everyone say that when they've been MIA for awhile?). Work was absolutely crazy for a few weeks and then last week I blogged on Eg while trying to work 3 jobs.

I had some shrimp in the freezer and some chicken/turkey andouille sausage in the fridge so this dish was just meant to be. My neice Chelsea helped me make it and she loved it so much that she didnt leave even 1 grain of rice on her plate. I liked it too, but I had a problem. Maybe because I used my oval Le Creuset, but I had a hard time trying to get the rice to absorb all the liquid. It seemed to take forever. We were so hungry, that I finally pulled it off the burner and the rice was still a bit crunchy. Not too much, just enough so I knew that it wasnt cooked all the way. Oh well, live and learn. I think I might try it again with the round Le Creuset.

Robin and I are taking Chelsea to Niagara Falls( Canadian side) on Sunday. I'm having a really hard time trying to find a decent restaurant there. Anyone know of one? My friend from California will be meeting us there as they just live over the border in Lewiston, NY. We'll be spending our time at Great Wolf Lodge( giant water park). Chelsea is beyond excited.

Blueberry Boy Bait(Cook's Country)....

This recipe comes from Cook's Country, the sister publication to my beloved Cook's Illustrated. I was perusing the message boards and found this under "America's Best Lost Recipes". Apparently, this was submitted in the 50's to Pillsbury's recipe contest. I guess its so good it can attract teenage boys!! Cook's Country updated the recipe( removed the shortening, etc) and I can vouch that its very good. It had a nice light texture and flavor. I would have prefered more blueberries though. My mother-in-law came over and we had this as a snack. Even my neice loved it.

Blueberry Boy Bait
Serves 12

If using frozen blueberries, do not let them thaw, as they will turn the batter a blue-green color.


Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour plus 1 teaspoon
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon table salt
16 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup whole milk
1/2 cup blueberries , fresh or frozen, (see note above)

Topping

1/2 cup blueberries , fresh or frozen (see note above)
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. For the cake: Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 13 by 9-inch baking pan.

2. Whisk 2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt together in medium bowl. With electric mixer, beat butter and sugars on medium-high speed until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until just incorporated. Reduce speed to medium and beat in one-third of flour mixture until incorporated; beat in half of milk. Beat in half of remaining flour mixture, then remaining milk, and finally remaining flour mixture. Toss blueberries with remaining 1 teaspoon flour. Using rubber spatula, gently fold in blueberries. Spread batter into prepared pan.

3. For the topping: Scatter blue-berries over top of batter. Stir sugar and cinnamon together in small bowl and sprinkle over batter. Bake until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out clean, 45 to 50 minutes. Cool in pan 20 minutes, then turn out and place on serving platter (topping side up). Serve warm or at room temperature. (Cake can be stored in airtight container at room temperature up to 3 days.)

Red chili chicken enchiladas( Cook's Illustrated).....

I was actually quite excited today. I didnt have to work and I could actually cook for myself and Robin. I also got a great surprise this morning. Robin actually made me breakfast. I forgot to take a picture of it though. She made me a toasted Western which is essentially an egg sandwich. I requested green onion in mine on lightly toasted bread. I also didnt want to see any brown on the egg. Let's just say two out of three aint bad!! Seriously though, it was a good breakfast and I was almost giddy that she made it. It's the little things people!!

Since I had nothing else to do today but cook, I made these enchilada's. Like all Cook's Illustrated recipes, it takes time. A simple enchilada sauce is made with plain tomatoe sauce and spices. Cook's uses chicken thigh, I used breast with no ill effects. I also made homeade black beans and spanish rice. I used brown rice for the extra health benefit( and because I was out of white and didnt want to go to the store).




Chicken Enchiladas with Red Chile Sauce
10 enchiladas, serving 4 or 5




If you prefer, Monterey Jack can be used instead of cheddar, or, for a mellower flavor and creamier texture, try substituting an equal amount of farmers' cheese.
INGREDIENTS


Sauce and Filling

1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil or corn oil
1 medium onion ,chopped fine (about 1 cup)
3 medium cloves garlic , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 1 tablespoon)
3 tablespoons chili powder
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons granulated sugar
12 ounces boneless, skinless chicken thighs (about 4 thighs), trimmed of excess fat and cut into 1/4-inch-wide strips
2 cans tomato sauce (8 ounces each)
1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 can (4 ounces) pickled jalapeños , drained and chopped (about 1/4 cup)
8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese , grated (2 cups)

Tortillas and Toppings

10 corn tortillas (six-inch)
Vegetable cooking spray
3 ounces grated sharp cheddar cheese (3/4 cup)
3/4 cup sour cream
1 avocado , diced medium
5 leaves romaine lettuce washed, dried, and shredded
2 limes , quartered



See Illustrations Below: Assembling Enchilidas

1. FOR THE SAUCE AND FILLING: Heat oil in medium saucepan over medium-high heat until hot and shimmering but not smoking, about 2 minutes; add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and beginning to brown, about 5 minutes. Add garlic, chili powder, coriander, cumin, salt, and sugar; cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add chicken and cook, stirring constantly, until coated with spices, about 30 seconds. Add tomato sauce and 1/4 cup water; stir to separate chicken pieces. Bring to simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low; simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally, until chicken is cooked through and flavors have melded, about 8 minutes. Pour mixture through medium-mesh strainer into medium bowl, pressing on chicken and onions to extract as much sauce as possible; set sauce aside. Transfer chicken mixture to large plate; freeze for 10 minutes to cool, then combine with cilantro, jalapenos, and cheese in medium bowl and set aside.
2. Adjust oven racks to upper and lower-middle positions and heat oven to 300 degrees.
3. TO ASSEMBLE: Follow illustrations below to heat tortillas and fill, roll, and sauce enchiladas. Cover baking dish with foil. Bake enchiladas on lower-middle rack until heated through and cheese is melted, 20 to 25 minutes. Uncover and serve immediately, passing sour cream, avocado, lettuce, and lime wedges separately.

Pork Tenderloin 2 ways.....

When I buy pork tenderloin, they often come 2 in a package. They are most often frozen too, so its hard for me to split them. Thus, when I'm ready to cook them, I have to cook two. Instead of cooking both one way, I decided to treat them each differently. The first tenderloin I decided to grill, since the weather was so nice on Tuesday( 76F). I seasoned it with some herbs de provence,salt and pepper. I made a quick basting sauce of maple syrup, sweet and smokey mustard, garlic and apple cider vinegar. I threw some red potatoes in the microwave and finished them up on the grill. I grilled some asparagus to round out the meal.(BTW, the picture above is everything off the grill, not just my dinner plate) Forget 30 minute meals, this took 20 and was easy as pie.

Since our beautiful weather only lasted for 2 days( Monday and Tuesday), I decided to oven roast this pork. I made a pan sauce with port, dried cherries and red currant jam( the original recipe is from Cook's Illustrated and calls for orange marmalade, I didnt have any). I made some sour cream and chive mashed potatoes and Cook's Illustrated's pan roasted broccoli. This meal took slightly longer, but its not that difficult. Cook's Illustrated has some really great recipes for different pan sauces for pork, and chicken.

I'll be doing a lot of cooking on Friday and Saturday. We're doing some recipe testing at work for a tasting on Saturday night. I'll be baking 4 different lemon layer cakes to see which one we like the best.

My mojo is back......

Last week I was telling a friend that I felt like I lost my cooking mojo. I was just NOT in the mood to cook. I also had two failures( that I didnt blog about) and was feeling kinda down( I'm sure this horrible weather didnt help either). Friday brought more horrible weather and so much freaking snow that the boys could barely walk down the front steps. But as I always say, the weather here changes on a dime and by the afternoon, it was bright and sunny. I made a batch of Cook's Illustrated Multigrain bread and brought a loaf over to my neighbor who plows our driveway everytime it snows. He does it for free so I make sure to keep him and his family supplied with goodies.

The really bright and sunny continued yesterday and I was in a fabulous mood. ( A little sunshine will do that to me). I also had my hair highlighted and cut and was feeling very sexy so I decided to cook for my really sexy wife. She's been working her sexy ass off and I've been really slacking in the cooking department. The night I made the bread, I scrambled her some eggs and threw some Canadian Bacon( the stuff we Americans call Canadian bacon) on her plate.

As I was reading my favorite foodblogs, I came across this shrimp and gruyere pasta dish on Joe's blog. I had all the ingredients handy so I whipped that up. I added some chicken instead of using all the shrimp, I also threw in some frozen artichokes I had from Trader Joe's. Instead of using orichette pasta, I used Dreamfields Low Carb Penne since Robin is STILL DOING SOUTH BEACH. This dish was creamy and very yummy.



I wanted to bake something too, since its been ages since I've baked something at home. I pulled out the KA flour Whole Grain Baking Book and found some Cranberry Apricot Chocolate chews. I went with the variation at the bottom of the page using white chocolate, dried apricots and cherries and pistachios. The recipe using traditional whole wheat flour instead of AP flour. I was shocked to find I was out of WW flour so I used KA white whole wheat flour and it worked out really well. I used a combination of lindt and ghiradelli white chocolate for these. Robin cringed when I told her I was making a whole wheat cookie, but she seemed to enjoy them and really in the end, thats all that matters!!

Multigrain pancakes( Cook's Illustrated)....

I've been doing a lot of cooking lately but unfortunately most of it hasnt been at home. Today was our Sunday brunch at work. One of the things I really love about this job is that my boss gives me a lot of freedom with menu planning. So when I want to try something new, we usually put it on the brunch menu. I've had my eye on these multigrain pancakes for awhile now. Like all CI recipes, it was very well tested. This recipe uses museli that is ground into flour along with AP flour and whole wheat flour. You'll also sour your own milk with lemon juice instead of using buttermilk. I doubled the batch and after it was all mixed together, the batter was rather thin. My boss noticed too and said " Have you ever made these before" and I said " Nope, but I totally trust CI". I said " they've never let me down and I dont expect they ever will". Thankfully, I was right. They cooked up light and crisp. Robin came to the brunch today and said she thought they were the best item there, my boss's husband who is notoriously picky ate them without syrup and raved. So, I was very happy. Thank you CI!!

A Cook's Illustrated Dinner( almost).....

You know how sometimes there are just days where you shouldnt be cooking. Well, Thursday, Friday, Saturday and Sunday were those days for me. Unfortunatly, I had a catering job that I could not cancel so I had to suck it up and do it even though I was so sick. I even called the client and told them I had a bad cold/cough but they were ok with it so cook I did.

We got back from Florida late Wednesday night. On Thursday, I made miniature lemon tartlets, mini vanilla bean cheesecakes and chocolate pot de cremes( CI). However, I read the recipe wrong( and left out 1 cup of heavy cream) so the pot de cremes, turned into bittersweet chocolate truffle ramekins with frangelico whipped cream.

On Friday I made the thai grilled shrimp w/ chili lime mayo( app) at home. At the event I made a warm spinach bacon salad( CI), pan roasted chicken breasts with sage/vermouth sauce, smashed red potatoes with garlic and rosemary and green beans with toasted pine nuts and browned butter. The original recipe called for toasted hazelnuts, but I burnt those at home so I subbed out Pine nuts. I told you, I shouldnt have been cooking. I had no sense of taste either ( due to the cold)so I brought an assistant with me to help with plating, serving and tasting. I'm happy to say that there wasnt one speck of food left on anyone's plate. Of course then I worried that I didnt buy enough food. I usually always have leftovers when I cook, but the one thing I learned working for Barb is that caterer's dont provide seconds. Everything is quoted as so many items per person.

Last year I made a soup/salad for this same client. Next week I'll be doing an office party for them however this one is thru Barb( the caterer).

I worked on Saturday and Sunday for Barb too and I definately should NOT have been cooking on those days either. Today is a day of rest, that is for sure!!

Applesauce spice cake( CI).....

Moist, sweet, spicy and Cook's Illustrated. What more can I say?

Pineapple, Ginger, Coconut upside down cake( CI)...

Here is a cake that Mike and I made when I was in Florida. We've made this before and its definatly worth making again. Like all Cook's Illustrated recipes, it was tested and retested until it was perfect. The topping consists of fresh pinapple( 6 bucks in Florida,wow) grated ginger, brown sugar and butter. That mixture is cooked and placed in a cake pan. A moist and tender butter cake flavored with coconut milk and shredded coconut is placed on top and once the cake is cooled, its turned over and voila!! It was very good. Mike's bf picked up some fabulous vanilla ice cream from Kulwin's Chocolates( on Las Olas Blvd). That was some really good vanilla ice cream.