Sausage and Lentils

Lentils are making a resurgence not only in the blogsphere, but also in the Klis family kitchen. The very first time I ever cooked with lentils, I opened a can of them and dumped them right into some soup. Not very rustic-romantic-lentily. This time around, I gave it a better go. Lentils are healthy and filling, and relatively affordable, however the Mr. will be the first to tell you they are "bland". So when making lentils, don't be afraid of giving them pizazz. For something new, lentils are excellent when mixed with a bit rice, seasoned up with smoked paprika, and tossed with roasted sweet potatoes, but the old standby sausage and lentil combination never goes out of style. If you're a lentil first-timer, it might be a good place to start.

Sausage and Lentils

Ingredients:
1 lb lentils
1 small onion, peeled and halved
2 bay leaves
5 cloves of garlic, smashed
2 beef bullion cubes
1 package smoked kielbasa
1 zucchini
olive oil
1 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp garlic powder
salt
pepper

Method:

Rinse and sort through the lentils to remove any strange-looking ones. Cover the lentils with 1-2 inches of water. Drop in the onion halves, bay leaves, and bullion cubes. Bring to boil, and cook uncovered for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, cut the kielbasa into bite size, or whole-mouth size, pieces. Place them in a hot pan over medium-high heat, drop in a 1/3 C water, and let the water cook away and the skins crisp. Slice the zucchini in half lengthwise, then slice into pieces. Toss with olive oil, cumin, garlic powder, salt and pepper, and throw them in the pan with the sausages.

Drain the lentils, if necessary, and discard the bay leaves and onion. Season with salt and pepper. Serve with crisped sausages and zucchini.



May I also mention that using kielbasa in this makes me really appreciate my Polish friends and their wonderful heritage of food? Oh, and my heritage by marriage (I wanted to say "marritage" here, but no one would probably think it's as funny as I do...). Yes folks that's right. Klis is the easiest, shortest, Polish name you will ever see; somehow, people still mispronounce it. I'm still working on getting the Mr. to take my name. He's held off for a good year and a half now, but a girl can still hope :)

Roasted Garlic

We are garlic lovers. And thankfully the Mr. and I are also lovers so we have no fear of offending each other with garlic breath, it's just one of those things that goes along with moppy bed hair, sharing a bathroom, and exposing each other to other fragrant bodily smells. Ah, love.

Anyway, back to the garlic. Roasted garlic is delicious-it's a treat-it's almost like candy. Even if you don't adore garlic usually, roasted garlic is worth a try because roasting it softens the flavor and makes it more subtle.

You can spread roasted garlic over bread like butter, mix it on with your veg, or toss it into a pasta like the Roasted Garlic and Shrimp Pasta below. But first, in 50 words or less, here's how to roast those little bulbs.

Roasted Garlic

Ingredients:
Garlic bulb
Olive oil

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
cut off top

peel away the papery skins, leaving only a thin covering to keep all the bulbs together

drizzle with olive oil

cover with foil

Roast 30-35 min

And now, for what to make with the scrumptious garlic:



Roasted Garlic and Shrimp Pasta

Ingredients:
1 bulb of roasted garlic
1/2 C chicken stock
1 lb uncooked, peeled and deveined shrimp
1 fresh tomato, seeded and diced
1/2 can diced tomatoes, drained
1/2 lb thick spaghetti noodles
olive oil
sea salt
lots of pepper

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil, and cook spaghetti noodles according to package directions.

Toss shrimp with tomatoes and olive oil, season with sea salt and lots of pepper. Roast in the oven 10-15 minutes, until shrimp are pink and firm.

Meanwhile, mash the roasted garlic into a nice paste.

Drain noodles, reserving 2 Tbsp of the pasta water. In the same pot, put the pasta water, chicken stock, and mashed garlic into the pot and heat. Season with salt. Toss the sauce with noodles, shrimp, and tomatoes, and serve.

Eat it all gone. We did. But we don't care about garlic breath.

Stuffed Pork Chops

Our apartment was built in 1964 and I'm pretty sure not much has changed in it since that time. Our oven, and our sink, are avocado green. So.... not really chic and modern, and not quite antique cute. Consequently dinners and desserts times are always a variable-some things cook normally, some really slowly, and some things are not good to cook in our oven at all. So if you decide to roast you and some of your loved ones some stuffed pork chops, it might take you less time and less jabs at the meat with a thermometer than it did me, which is a good thing, because this dinner could be so quick and easy-and perhaps impressive?-just keep your eye on the oven.


Stuffed Pork Chops

Ingredients:
2 Pork Loin Chops

4 Tbsp cream cheese-room temp, divided

4 slices deli ham, divided

salt

pepper

garlic powder

olive oil
optional: 1/4 C creme freche or sour cream and 1/4 tsp chopped tarragon

toothpicks

Method:

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Also, prepare a heavy skillet, oven-proof if you have one, for searing by placing it over high heat.

Prepare the loin shops for stuffing by making a pocket in the chop. Starting at 1/4 in in from the side, begin cutting the pork chop in half along its side. Gradually work the knife in deeper and make the pocket larger, keeping 1/4 in between the pocket and the edges of the meat.

Once you've got your pocket, line it with two slices of deli ham, then stuff with the cream cheese. Make sure the cream cheese is evenly spread throughout the pocket. Seal the pocket by pressing 2-3 toothpicks at a slant along the opening of the pocket. Season with salt, pepper, and garlic powder. Repeat for other loin chop.

Coat the skillet with olive oil, then place the loin chops into it for about 3 minutes on each side, until crisp, golden brown.

If your skillet is oven-proof, put it right in the preheated oven. If not, or if the skillet isn't ovenproof to high temperatures, transfer the loin chops to a glass baking dish and put them in the oven. Roast for 20-30 minutes, depending on your oven. Check the internal temperature. It's tasty at about 145 degrees F, but if you're a food safety fanatic, you can cook it up to 160 degrees F. We like ours juicy, not dry and chewy, so we usually go for 145 degrees.

If you'd like, mix together the creme freche or the sour cream with chopped tarragon while the pork cooks. Warm it up , then top the pork loin chops with it before serving.

Scrumdiddily-umptious Cornbread

In following the down home theme we've had going on lately around our place, I made this cornbread as an accompaniment to chili, but since this soft, moist tasty delight is so good, I'm looking for other ways I can get more of it back to our table. I mean, corn bread tastes good with anything, right?



You can sop with it.
You can smother it in honey.
You can smother it in jam.
You can slap some ham, or eggs, or cheese, or all three on it.
You can serve it with chicken.
You can serve it with beef.
Everyone knows you can serve it with pork.

Basically, you can make cornbread anytime you want it. And all this chatter about cornbread makes me think it will show up on my table again soon.


Sweet Cornbread

recipe from Sabrina A.


Ingredients:

1/2 C melted butter
2/3 C sugar (you can reduce this to 1/2 C if all that sugar makes you squeamish)
2 eggs
1 C buttermilk (or 1 C milk plus 1 Tbsp lemon juice or vinegar, let it sit for 5 minutes before using)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 C cornmeal
1 C flour


Method:
Preheat oven for 375 degrees F. Mix all ingredients together until moistened. The batter will be slightly lumpy. Pour into a 9x9 glass dish. Bake for 30 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean.

{can you see how moist this is?! I'm salivating}

Butternut Squash and Rosemary Pizza

This pizza would be a great weekend dinner. It's simple and savory but something about just feels (and tastes!) really special. Roasting the squash takes a bit of time, but this can be done ahead of time and trust me, the time is worth it. The bit of time it takes to make this pizza is forgotten once you see how fast your hands will travel back and forth from the pan to your mouth, slice after slice.

Now venture out and get yourself some butternut squash! Winter's best pizza is coming to your house.

Butternut Squash and Rosemary Pizza

Ingredients:
1 small butternut squash, roasted and cubed
pizza dough 1 1/2 Tbsp fresh chopped rosemary
1 1/2 C. grated Parmesan
1/4 C. blue cheese
2 sweet onions, sliced
1 clove finely chopped garlic
2 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp olive oil
sea salt
pepper

Method:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Slice butternut squash crosswise above the bulb. Scoop out the innards, then slicing veritically and downward, cut off the outer shell (similar to cutting the rind off a watermelon) of each piece. Section butternut squash and cube so pieces are all relatively small and the same size. Toss the cubes with a bit of olive oil and sea salt. Roast for 25-35 minutes, or until soft. (This can be done a day or two in advance to save time.)

Now, preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Place a pizza stone or a pizza pan in the oven while it heats. Meanwhile, melt the butter on medium heat in a heavy bottomed skillet, add the onions and garlic and a bit of salt, and caramelize. This can take a while, so while the onions caramelize, grate the Parmesan, chop the rosemary, and roll out the pizza dough. Pull the hot pan out of the oven (be careful!!) place the rolled out dough on it, and brush with olive oil. Spread the caramelized onions all over it, the roasted squash, the blue cheese, the chopped rosemary, and finally the Parmesan cheese.

Pop it in the oven for 12-15 minutes.

Then, devour.

Lemon Ricotta Cake

I first made this cake for Christmas 2 years ago....and I loved it so much I sent pieces of it to our most beloved ones (our parents) for Christmas. Its so simple to make and the simplicity comes out in the flavor as well. But don't be fooled, this cake is sooo good!

It's thick and slightly crumb-y like a bundt should be, and it's not too sweet.

If you'd more depth of flavor, plunk some blueberries in this, serve berries on the side, or make a fresh berry syrup to top it off.



Lemon Ricotta Cake
from goodlifeeats.com

Ingredients:
3 C flour
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1 1/2 C sugar
3/4 C butter, softened
1/2 tsp vanilla
3 eggs
1 1/2 C ricotta cheese
juice of 3 lemons
zest of 3 lemons

Method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour bottom and sides of a bundt cake pan with unsalted butter or vegetable shortening. Be sure the flour is evenly distributed and not heavy or clumped.

In a small bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and lemon zest. In a larger bowl, beat sugar and butter until fluffy. Add vanilla and eggs, beat on medium for 2 minutes, scraping bowl periodically. Stir in the lemon juice. Beat 1/4 of the flour mixture and ricotta cheese alternately into sugar mixture until blended. Spoon into bundt pan, pushing more of the batter to the outside, so you make a sort of high-low gradient from the outside to the inside because the inside will rise more when baking.

Bake for 50-60 minutes, until toothpick comes out clean. Cool for 30 minutes-very important! don't try to dislodge a bundt cake before it's cooled for some time. Flip the pan over, let rest a few minutes, and check to see if cake has come out. If not, gently smack the top of the pan.




Enjoy this sucker, cuz it is soooo good!!

Baked Doughnuts

I love doghnuts. Love love love them. And I really enjoy making them so that their uber-fresh goodness can right right from the cooling rack to my hand to my open and anxiously awaiting mouth. The only downside to doughnuts is that, in most cases, you fry them. That makes my love nest smell gross. That's why these baked doughnuts are a no-smelliness, healthier alternative to the traditional fried dough.



And....these babies are absolute pillows to bite into. They are so, so soft.







Ingredients:

1 1/3 cups warm milk, 95 to 105 degrees (divided)

1 packet active dry yeast (2 1/4 teaspoons)

2 tablespoons butter

2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

5 cups all-purpose flour

a pinch or two of nutmeg

1 teaspoon salt



For the Cinnamon Sugar:
1/2 cup unsalted butter, melted

1 1/2 cups sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon


Method:

Place 1/3 cup of the warm milk in the bowl of an electric mixer. Stir in the yeast and set aside for five minutes or so. Be sure your milk isn't too hot or it will kill the yeast. Stir the butter and sugar into the remaining cup of warm milk and add it to the yeast mixture. With a fork, stir in the eggs, flour, nutmeg, and salt - just until the flour is incorporated. With the dough hook attachment of your mixer beat the dough for a few minutes at medium speed. This is where you are going to need to make adjustments - if your dough is overly sticky, add flour a few tablespoons at a time. Too dry? Add more milk a bit at a time. You want the dough to pull away from the sides of the mixing bowl and eventually become supple and smooth. Turn it out onto a floured counter-top, knead a few times (the dough should be barely sticky), and shape into a ball.
Transfer the dough to a buttered (or oiled) bowl, cover, put in a warm place (I turn on the oven at this point and set the bowl on top), and let rise for an hour or until the dough has roughly doubled in size.
Punch down the dough and roll it out 1/2-inch thick on your floured countertop. Most people (like myself) don't have a doughnut cutter, instead I use a 2-3 inch cookie cutter to stamp out circles. Transfer the circles to a parchment-lined baking sheet and stamp out the smaller inner circles using a smaller cutter. If you cut the inner holes out any earlier, they become distorted when you attempt to move them. Cover with a clean cloth and let rise for another 45 minutes.
Bake in a 375 degree oven until the bottoms are just golden, 8 to 10 minutes - start checking around 8. While the doughnuts are baking, place the butter in a medium bowl. Place the sugar and cinnamon in a separate bowl.
Remove the doughnuts from the oven and let cool for just a minute or two. Dip each one in the melted butter and a quick toss in the sugar bowl. Eat immediately if not sooner.
Makes 1 1/2 - 2 dozen medium doughnuts.

Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal

Pumpkin Spice Oatmeal:

1/2 C. quick oats (or old fashioned, I prefer quick oats myself)
1 C. water
3 Tbsp pumpkin puree
1/4 tsp apple pie spice
sugar (as much, or little, as you'd like)
hazelnut coffee creamer, optional

Method:

Basically all you're doing here is making oatmeal. Nothing fancy. Microwave your oatmeal and water for one mintue, take it out, stir in the pumpkin puree and spice, then finish microwaving (about one minute more).

Swirl in the sugar and coffee creamer, and even more spice if you'd like, then simply enjoy it's simplicity.

Winner Winner Chicken Dinner

This was my first time roasting chicken legs, but I knew they would roast better than chicken breasts and I was really in the mood to roast something (maybe just so I could scarf the accompanying vegetable, roasted carrots.....mmmm yummy!).

Roasted Tarragon and Garlic Chicken,
with carrots and mashed potatoes

For the roast chicken and carrots:
4 chicken legs
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 tsp olive oil
1/3 C chopped fresh tarragon
1/2 yellow onion, medium-sized
1 lb carrots, peeled and cut into equal-sized pieces
1 (14oz) can chicken stock, with 2-3 chicken boullin cubes dissolved into the stock
salt and pepper to taste

For the potatoes:
10 potatoes, washed,peeled, and quartered
4 Tbsp butter
milk
garlic salt, salt, and pepper to taste

For the gravy:
chicken drippings
3 Tbsp flour
salt and pepper, if needed, to taste

Method:

Heat oven to 350 degrees F
Trim excess fat. Rinse the chicken legs and pat them dry with a paper towel. Be sure they are dry! Wet skin=yucky wilty, not crispy skin. Run your fingers under the skin on each chicken leg to create a pocket, this is where you will stuff in the herbs.

Grate the 1/2 onion. Mix with tarragon. Heat the olive oil in a pan, saute the minced garlic until softened and fragrant, let it cool a bit, then add it to the onion and tarragon. Stuff the herb mixture into the pocket you made earlier on the chicken legs. Season the skin with salt and pepper and pat some of the herb mixture on top.

Place in a roasting pan with the prepared carrots. Roast 15 minutes, then pour in the chicken stock. Continue roasting 10-15 minutes more, until internal temperature is about 165 degrees F and the juices run clear.

Meanwhile, put the potatoes in large pot, cover with water, add some salt, then put on the stove and bring the water to a boil. When the potatoes are done, a fork will slide through them easily (about 10 minutes). Drain the water. I like to put the potatoes back in the pot, then mash them, then add the butter and milk till they are smooth and creamy. I season with salt, garlic salt, and a bit of pepper. Then I put a lid over them and keep them on the stove (heat off) to keep them warm. When it's time to serve, they may need more milk to make them creamy again.

Once the chicken is done, pull out the legs, put on a plate, cover with foil, and let them rest while you make the gravy. Remove the carrots from the pan, and cover those as well. If you are cool like me and roasted your chicken in a stainless steel roasting pan (or if you used a dutch oven roasting pot), you can make your gravy on the stove. Super cinch.

Just turn the burner on to medium, add the flour, one tablespoon at a time, whisking after each addition. Then watch your gravy thicken and oila!! Gravy is ready. (If you want to be finicky, you could strain the juices prior to adding the flour, but I LOVE the tarragon and garlic and in my gravy. So I don't.)

Plate up and enjoy!

Snookums Snickerdoodles

I think "snickerdoodles" is just one of the most fun words for my mouth. I have a bunch of words that I love to say, like snoochums, snickerdoodles, muffin, ma cherie (which might be more of an expression), sushi, supercalafredjulisticexpealadocious, and many more which might actually be better than these, but when I put myself on the spot, I just can't remember them all.

What I can remember is that these cookies are T-A-S-T-Y tasty. I love snickerdoodles. And I like my snickerdoodles fat and soft, pillowy even. I'm not one for those thin, crispy ones. If you're like me you're gonna want to try these little babies.

They're in need of some tweaking, next I'm going to try making them with butter instead of shortening and with a little less cream of tartar, but I thought I'd share the unmarred recipe and then you will be free to try them yourself, or wait and see if I can make them better. The choice is yours.

Ingredients
1 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups white sugar
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons white sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Method
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).

In a large bowl, mix together the shortening and 1 1/2 cups of white sugar until smooth. Stir in the eggs one at a time, blending well after each. Combine the flour, baking soda, cream of tartar and salt; stir into the batter until blended.
Roll the dough into balls the size of small walnuts. Roll in a mixture of 2 tablespoons sugar and 2 teaspoons cinnamon. Place 2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake in the preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes or until lightly browned, but still soft.

One side note: I was a bit startled by the dryness of the dough. When I try this recipe again, I think I might decrease the flour by a smidge, but not much. I figured that the dough was wet enough for the cinnamon sugar to stick to it, but not so wet that the sugar melted and burned during baking. That is a good thing. Trust me, no one really likes that burnt sugar flavor.

And another one: cook these 8 minutes...no more!! Possibly 7 minutes. I tried various times and anything over 8 minutes equals one hard cookie after it cools. Not cool. :)

**Amendment!!! 10/18/2010**
I tried this recipe again, but I only used 1/2 tsp cream of tartar instead of 2 tsp and 1 cup butter instead of 1 cup shortening.
Results: USE 1/2 tsp cream of tartar unless you like tart cookies!! 1/2 tsp = perfect. 2 tsp=WAYYYYY too much.
As for the butter, it made my cookies more flat, but still very soft. So they were tasty, just not pillows like I like 'em. So I think I'll stick the shortening 'cause goodness know I love me some pillowy cookies.

Mango Salsa

Mango Salsa

This is lovely on top of fish or with grilled shrimp, but also quite delicious with tortilla chips. Oh and we also ate it with pulled beef tacos and, well, that was scrumptious too. The jicama gives the salsa a satisfying crunch and adds texture, but you could use a seedless English cucumber instead.

Ingredients:

2 mangoes, peeled and seed removed

½ small pineapple, skin removed and cored

½ small jicama, peeled

2 roma tomatoes

2 green onions

1 large orange

1 small jalapeno

1 avocado

¼ tsp garlic salt

¼ cup chopped cilantro

½ lime

Dice the mangoes, pineapple, jicama, and finely dice the green onions and put in medium bowl.

Cut roma tomatoes in half, remove the seeds and juicy stuff, then finely dice those as well and add them to the bowl.

Remove the peel and pith of the orange by cutting it away with a knife (cut off the top and bottom of the orange, then, starting at the top and working towards the bottom, cut away slices of the peel making sure to remove all white stuff (the pith)). Section out the orange, cut each section in half and put in bowl. Squeeze the section-less orange for about 1-2 Tbsp of juice.

Next, seed the jalapeno, and if you’re a wimp like me, remove the membrane as well. Very finely dice the jalapeno and depending on how much heat you like, use one half to the whole thing (I only used half).

Add the cilantro the bowl.

In a small bowl, mash the avocado and season it with ¼ tsp garlic salt, then add to the salsa and mix all of the ingredients until well distributed.

Squeeze in ½ lime, give one final mix and….enjoy!

PS- I made this up all by myself :)

Basic Addition

What do you get when you combine giant, ripe strawberries

{strawberries, large ones}

with luscious dark chocolate?....

{super delicious dark chocolate chips}

A whole lot of yum!

{yumminess}

However, when you happen to accidentally drop yummy dark chocolate chips on very nasty gross carpet, nothing yummy happens. You just lose the chocolate chips in the splotchy sea of brown.

Simplest Sketti Sauce

Lately I've been into simple comfort foods for dinner. My appetite runs the gamut of homemade mac and cheese to Caesar salad, and I'm not sure why, other than the fact that comfort foods are really tasty and usually a cinch to make. This no-fuss tomato sauce is both really tasty and really easy to make, making it something that I am capable of cooking these days.

The original recipe idea is from smittenkitchen, but comfort-food obsession or not, I have an issue with buttering vegetables or even just mixing butter with vegetables. Frankly I don't like to do it. Jeff however, loves butter, so I compromised and made a reduced-fat version that was still simply delicious.







Ingredients:
1 large (28 oz) can whole peeled tomatoes (I used unsalted)
2-3 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 medium sweet onion, peeled and cut in half
salt to taste

Method:
In a large saucepan, melt the butter, pour in the tomatoes and place the onion halves right in with the tomatoes and their juice. Bring to a simmer, then reduce heat to medium-low so sauce sits at a low simmer for around 45 minutes. Occasionally stir and crush tomatoes up against the side of the saucepan. When done, remove onions and salt to taste. Serve with noodles...and enjoy!

Making Pies

Say these words to the tune of the Patti Griffin song, "Making Pies" :)

And then get pie making! I've got some pie baking to do for Thanksgiving, namely some apple, more apple, and possibly a cherry. AND I have some reserved peach pie filling that my sister and I whipped up back in August when peaches abounded. Every time I open up my freezer I see it and I just think, oh peach pie...I'll be using it in the deep winter when some summer is needed, but for now, feast on these and dream of the over-eating, pants-tightening, food fest coming up in less than a week:

{peach pie, ready to cool}

{peach and apple pie, more to come on apple...}