That Pioneer Spirit

I have to admit that I've never jumped on the whole Pioneer Woman wagon train.  Sure, I have to hand it to the Pioneer Woman.  She's parlayed life on a cattle ranch into a multimillion enterprise.  But honestly, about the only way I would find life on a cattle ranch manageable is if I also parlayed it into a multimillion dollar enterprise.   That, and occasionally getting to head out to the big city on a book tour.  And even then, I'm not sure Oklahoma and I would get along.

Not only is P.W. a well known blogger, Food Network personality, cookbook writer, and photographer, she also home schools her kids.  Nothing like making the rest of us feel lazy.  As I said, I have to hand it to her.

The other day I happened upon the P.W. (aka Ree Drummond, but it's so much more fun to refer to her as P.W.), on the Food Network.  She was busy whipping up Penne a la Betsey for Ladd (her rancher hubby) and her passel of kids.  (Honestly, I have no idea of how many she has, but it seems like there are a lot of them judging from the massive amounts of food she's always whipping up in the lodge.)

But I digress.  This penne looked good.  The sauce looked rich, albeit there was a cup of cream contributing to it being rich and thick, and it had little pieces of shrimp disbursed throughout.  Hum, an interesting place to start.

Clearly, I didn't need a cup of cream in my sauce so I reduced it drastically and it was plenty.  I'm also not a fan of little cut up nuggets of shrimp, so I left them whole.  I didn't have any plain tomato sauce around, so I substituted in the same amount of marinara.  And I used olive oil instead of the olive oil and butter combo called for in the recipe.  As I said... A good place to start and, all in all, I think very positive improvements.

This is a pretty hearty dish -- perfect for life on the ranch.  For those of us city folk, this somewhat lighter version is also quite tasty as well.  Either way, we can thank the Pioneer Woman for dinner tonight.

Recipe:  Pioneer Woman "Penne a la Betsey"
(Adapted from The Pioneer Woman)

Ingredients:

¾ pounds penne pasta
1 pound shrimp
4 Tablespoons olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
½ cups white wine
1 cup marinara sauce
1/4 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
Kosher salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

Cook the penne pasta until tender-firm and set aside.

Peel, devein and rinse (under cool water) 1 pound of extra large shrimp. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet. Add the shrimp and cook for a couple minutes until just opaque. Do not overcook them. Remove from heat and let cool for a few minutes. Now, put the cooked shrimp on the cutting board and pull off the tails.

In a large skillet heat 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add the garlic and onion and sauté, stirring occasionally. After the garlic and onions have cooked a bit add your white wine. Let the wine evaporate for a few minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add the marinara and stir well to combine.  Add the heavy cream and continue stirring. Turn heat down to low and let simmer for 10 minutes so that flavors develop.

Return the shrimp to the sauce along with the chopped herbs.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Add the cooked penne and stir well to combine.  Serve hot.

Year End Gluttony

The holidays are good for no one I've ever met, and I'm certainly no exception.  What's the deal with all the candy and cookies  I don't even like cookies that much, yet during the holidays there's hardly a cookie that doesn't look appealing.  Even the broken ones that I would usually chuck into the trash because they're defective.

The end of the year represents two things for me: too much eating and too much time spent in stores.  Buying things.  And not just for other people.  Unfortunately,  I"m sort of a one for you, one for me holiday shopper. I don't think I'm all that unique.  In fact, I'm pretty sure that there are a lot of you out there in cyber-land who fit this description.  I'm just admitting it.  On the internet.

But here we are.  The dawn of a new year.  A chance to start anew.  An opportunity to throw all the broken cookies into the trash and not retrieve them.  A chance to use all the stuff I brought for myself when buying for others.  Yup.  It's my annual opportunity to be a better person.

I'm starting small.  This recipe looks a lot more fattening and decadent than it is because there's a secret ingredient.  Instead of a really heavy béchamel based cheese sauce, this mac and cheese is light on the cheese and heavy on the... cauliflower.

Yup.  Cauliflower.  Pretty revolutionary, if cauliflower can be considered revolutionary.

But more than all that, this mac and cheese is really quite tasty.  At least we all thought it was good.  And it was light, which is really welcome after all the gluttony of the holidays.  All in all, a win.

Don't you just feel the good health and virtue oozing off the page?

I thought so.

Recipe:  Baked Penne with Cauliflower and Cheese
(Adapted from Fine Cooking: Cook Fresh, Winter, 2014)

Ingredients:

4 cups 1-1/2-inch cauliflower florets (about 1 lb.; from 1/2 head)
1 medium onion, sliced
2 cloves garlic, peeled
Fine sea salt or table salt
12 oz. whole wheat dried penne
2 cups 1% milk
1 tsp. dry mustard
Freshly ground black pepper
2 tsp. chopped fresh thyme
2 oz. coarsely grated sharp white Cheddar (about 1/2 cup)
1-1/2 oz. finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano (1-1/2 cups using a rasp grater)

Directions:

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 375°F.

Put the cauliflower, onion, and garlic in a steamer basket set over 1 inch of boiling water in a 6- to 8-quart pot. Cover and steam until the cauliflower is tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Transfer the cauliflower, onion, and garlic to a blender.

Fill the pot three-quarters full of salted water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add the pasta and cook for 3 minutes less than the package timing. Drain and return the pasta to the pot.

While the pasta cooks, add 1 cup of the milk, the dry mustard, 1 tsp. salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper to the vegetables in the blender and purée until smooth. Transfer to a 3-quart saucepan and stir in the remaining 1 cup of milk and the thyme. Heat over medium-low heat until hot but not boiling, about 3 minutes.

In a small bowl, mix the Cheddar and Parmigiano. Add all but 1/2 cup of the cheese to the sauce and stir until the cheese is melted. Add the sauce to the pasta and stir to combine. Transfer the pasta and sauce to an 8-inch square baking dish and sprinkle with the remaining cheese. Bake until heated through and the cheese is beginning to brown, 20 to 30 minutes.

Citrus Blast

This is another one of those too simple to believe recipes.  In addition to being easy, easy, easy, it also really takes advantage of one of the best things about winter: citrus.  That's right.  Citrus.

We all know that the summer fruits are the sexy fruits.  The juicy peaches, nectarines, and plums.  The divine berries.  Those are the money shot fruits.  They beacon you with their deep colors and juicy come hither looks.

But citrus... Well, citrus fruits are the workhorses.  They make the juice and keep colds at bay.  They're not sexy, but they certainly are cheerful.   The combination of citrus and avocado in this salad  provide a much needed little ray of sunshine on a cold winter day.

This salad capitalizes not only only on citrus, but also features a nice dose of one of those good for you grains: millet.  I really didn't know much about millet before making this salad.  In fact, the only other time I've ever cooked with millet was back when I made millet muffins How Do You Feel About Millet?).  This salad was the first thing I've ever made where you could actually taste the millet,

If you're not as excited by millet as I've turned out to be, not to worry.  This salad would be equally as delicious as any of the other good for you grains.  Either way, you'll get a double dose of winter sunshine.

Go for it.

Recipe:  Millet Salad with Avocado and Citrus
(Fine Cooking Magasine, 2013)

Ingredients:

1-3/4 cups millet
Kosher salt
1/2 cup plus 1 Tbs. extra-virgin olive oil, more as needed
3 Tbs. grapefruit juice
3 Tbs. white wine vinegar
2 tsp. honey
Freshly ground black pepper
3/4 cup diced avocado (1/2-inch dice)
3/4 cup oranges segments, cut into pieces if large
3/4 cup grapefruit segments, cut into pieces if large
3/4 cup diced red onion (1/4-inch dice)
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint

Directions:

Rinse the millet under cold water and drain. Bring 7 cups of water to a boil in a 4-quart pot over high heat. Add 3/4 tsp. salt. Add the millet, reduce the heat to a simmer, and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally and adding more boiling water as necessary to keep the millet covered, until tender, about 15 to 20 minutes. Drain and rinse the millet with cold water to stop the cooking.

Transfer the millet to a foil-lined rimmed baking sheet, drizzle with 1 Tbs. of the oil, and toss lightly to coat. Spread the millet on the baking sheet and cool completely at room temperature or in the refrigerator.

Put the vinegar and grapefruit juice in a small bowl and gradually whisk in the remaining 1/2 cup of oil. Whisk in the honey. Taste and season with salt, pepper, and additional vinegar, juice, or oil as needed.

Put the cooked and cooled millet in a large serving bowl and toss to break up any clumps. Add the avocado, orange segments, grapefruit segment, red onion, mint, and 1/2 cup vinaigrette and toss. Taste and season as needed with more vinaigrette, salt, pepper, and serve.

Tough Questions With Easy Answers

I recently heard an interesting question, one that really made me think as we embark on 2014.

If this was your last year, how would you want to live it?

Okay, I'll admit it.  This question might be just a little heavy for New Year's Day, after what I am sure was a night of too much of at least one thing.  In fact, usually this question would be a little heavy for me at any time of the year.  But last year was, shall we say, defining for me.

Quite honestly, I'm happy to close the book on 2013, even though some really great things happened. Ted and I had our 25th anniversary.  Charlie and Kate both graduated.  All good... no, I mean great, things.  But 2013 was also the year I had (said in a whisper because that's how you have to say it) cancer.  Yup, for all the good things, there was that.  And that was not a great thing.

I wish I was one of those people who came through a situation like this and felt as though it had made me a better person.  Or that I was one of those people who felt that and it brought them closer to their spouse.  Or their kids.  Or their friends.  Maybe I'm just a really lucky person (I probably am), but Ted and the kids, and my friends did exactly what I would have expected.  They circled the wagons and were there for me -- just as they always have been.  There was no drama, just quiet support, a good sense of humor, and a lot of really tasteless jokes.  Just as there always are.  And just the way I like it.

So you'll have to excuse me if I'm a little anxious to move onto a year that doesn't include a lot of visits to the doctor and a close relationship with my radiologist who, by the way, is a lovely person.  If I never see another pink ribbon close up, I'm cool with that.

Having said all that, I am still pondering that question.  If this was my last year, how would I want to live it?

There's no easy answer.  Sure, I'd want to spend it with Ted and my kids.  But Charlie and Kate are away now and so I don't think that's happening.  And I'd want to spend it with my friends, most of whom are across the country in one direction or another.  Hum...  How would I want to spend it?

I think I'd like to spend the year as I always have.  Promising to be a better wife, mother, and friend (although honestly, no one is complaining so I much be doing okay).  Promising to exercise more.  Promising to try and find the deliciousness in whole grains.  Promising to bake bread and make homemade pasta because you know it just has to taste better.  Promising to spend less money and to be more organized.  Promising to make a giant index of all my cookbooks so that my family can easily figure out what I already have before they buy me a new one.  Promising to stop and smell the roses.

Maybe my answer to this question is simple.  If this was my last year, I don't think I'd change a thing.  Oh, you can be sure that  I'd keep making all those promises because you just never know.  2014 could finally be the year that I finally get around to cleaning out the closets and making a cookbook index.

Show Off

For some bizarre reason I'm all about bark this holiday season.  It's not like I'm even a bark lover.  I mean, I like bark, but I don't dream about it at night.  Bark is good, but does it deserve two blog posts in a row?  Is bark so special?

All burning questions.

The truth is, I have no idea.

Yes, bark is delicious.  And I suppose it's special too.  But I think what I like best about bark is that I look like a real pro when I can trot out some lovely looking confection that most people pay small fortunes for.  It's a show off thing for me.

There, I said it.  I'm a show off.  So sue me.

I like that candy barks all rely on really top notch ingredients.  The best chocolate.  The best dried fruits and nuts.  And yes, even the best peppermints.  Bark is kind of... naked.  It's all right out there for you to see.  (Note:  If you eat too much bark you will not want to be naked anywhere.  Not even in the shower.  In the dark.  Alone.  In the house.)

So while I'm clearly a show off, I am also an ingredient snob.  I take it seriously when a recipe calls for really good olive oil,  or the freshest _____ you can find.  In the case of cooking, what you end up with is a clear result of what you started with.  If your ingredients aren't the best, well then whatever you cooked isn't going to taste the best either.

Having now established that I'm a show off who uses the best ingredients, this recipe for peppermint bark will be (unsurprisingly) both delicious and a show stopper.  It's easy (because I'm lazy sometimes), but packs a big punch as a gift or a little something to put in a gorgeous silver candy dish for after dinner nibbles either with guests or in front of Scandal (season finale tonight at 10)!!!

Just make sure to use the best chocolate you can find, and don't skimp on the peppermint either.  I used Peppermint Crunch, which is so delicious you might actually consider eating it by the spoonful. Since this recipe used only half the jar, there'll be plenty left over should you find that appealing.

Recipe:  You Little Tarte's Peppermint Bark

Note:  It's definitely worth splurging on your chocolate here.  Go for the best you can find.  You can actually make as much or as little of this bark (or any bark, for that matter).  Just make sure to use equal amounts of dark and white chocolate.

Ingredients:

12 ounces dark (bittersweet) chocolate
12 ounces white chocolate
Peppermint Crunch or crushed peppermint candies

Directions:

Line a 9x13 jellyroll pan with kitchen paper.

Melt the dark chocolate in a double boiler.  Once it is all melted, pour the chocolate into the prepared pan and spread into an even layer using an offset spatula.  Let the chocolate layer harden for about 2 hours.

Once the dark layer is hard, melt the white chocolate in a double boiler.  Pour the melted chocolate over the dark chocolate layer and smooth out into an even layer covering the dark chocolate.  Immediately sprinkle the Peppermint Crunch over the white chocolate, lightly pressing it into the candy so that it sticks.

Let the whole assembly harden for a couple of hours and that break apart into jagged pieces of different sizes.

Deck the Halls, etc.

It's the holiday season, which means that if you're the slightest bit social, you're probably either going to someone's house or having people over to yours.  This also means that you'll either need a hostess gift to take when you go to the aforementioned holiday soiree, or you'll need something suitably festive and chic to put out at yours.

Or maybe you're not doing anything special, but you still want to nibble on something festive and yummy because, after all, it is the holiday season.

This recipe is so easy is should be criminal.  In fact, it's so easy it barely requires a recipe.  In short, anyone can make this, even non-cooks and people who only enter the kitchen to open bottles of champagne.  Or people like Carrie Bradshaw, who used her oven for sweater storage.

Cheers!

Recipe:  French Chocolate Bark
( Ina Garten)

Ingredients:

8 ounces very good semisweet chocolate, finely chopped
8 ounces very good bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1 cup whole roasted, salted cashews
1 cup chopped dried apricots
1/2 cup dried cranberries

Directions:

Melt the 2 chocolates in a heatproof bowl set over a pan of simmering water.

Meanwhile, line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Using a ruler and a pencil, draw a 9 by 10-inch rectangle on the paper. Turn the paper facedown on the baking sheet.

Pour the melted chocolate over the paper and spread to form a rectangle, using the outline. Sprinkle the cashews, apricots and cranberries over the chocolate. Set aside for 2 hours until firm. Cut the bark in 1 by 3-inch pieces and serve at room temperature.

A Punch of Protein

Kate is all about healthy these days.  I think it's because she's eating all of her meals in the college dining hall.  Let's face it, no matter how hard the colleges try, it's just not like eating at home.  Where I cook everything.  With attention to detail.  And all the best ingredients.

Don't get me wrong.  Kate has always been all about the healthy.  She's the one who eats seaweed for a snack.  No offense to those of you who love seaweed, but... ick.

The point of all this is, that despite the best efforts of dining services, there aren't an overabundance of high protein, low calorie healthy options that taste good. 

This is where I come in.  Together with my close personal friend Google, I came up with these really tasty high protein (5 grams), low calorie (71 calories) pumpkin muffins.  They taste like fall and pack a real of punch of all there things that are good for you and none of the things that aren't. 

Recipe:  Moist Pumpkin Protein Muffins
(Adapted from dashingdish.com)

Note:  For fun, add 1/4 cup of chopped walnuts, almonds, or pecans.   You can even go wild and add the same amount of raisins or dried cranberries instead.  

Ingredients:

1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup nonfat greek yogurt
3 egg whites
1 3/4 cup oats
1/4 cup protein powder
1/2 cup baking Truvia
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie or apple pie spice

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners, or spray with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

In a blender, (or food processor), grind the oats until they are ground.  Add the remaining ingredients to the oats in the blender and blend until the mixture is smooth and well combined.

Divide mixture among the muffin cups, and place into pre-heated oven. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until tops are lightly golden brown.*Note this batter is very moist, and a toothpick may not come out clean…Don’t worry it is baked through if the tops are golden brown!

Cool muffins in the pan.