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Halloween Costume Ideas for Foodies: bonappetit.com

Halloween Costume Ideas for Foodies: bonappetit.com

How to Be a Good Potluck Attendee — A Great Big Meal | The FN Dish – Food Network Blog

How to Be a Good Potluck Attendee — A Great Big Meal The FN Dish – Food Network Blog

Oops

So it's been over two months since my last post and I am so sorry! I got caught up in fishing up the semester, my thesis, looking for a job, and now I'm working on moving. I do have a lot of pictures and recipes to upload from the past few weeks so just hang on..... New posts are coming...

---Dare to Cook---

Morehead Mind Sauce

Yup, thanks to my brother my salsa has a name!!

So now, let's make some Morehead Mind Sauce!

First you will need the following ingredients:

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Kosher Salt or Sea Salt

1 can diced tomatoes (no salt added when you can)

1 can petite diced tomatoes (no salt added when you can)

Shallot

Garlic

Lime

Cilantro

Jalapeño 

It seems like every time I make my salsa I blend the ingredients a different way and with the tiny food processor I have I usually have to do the two cans of tomatoes separate. Here is one variation of how to combine everything.

Roughly chop garlic, shallot, cilantro, and jalapeño. Drain diced tomatoes and puree in food processor with a pinch of Kosher salt. Then puree in the garlic, shallot, jalapeño (remove the seeds and ribs) with tomatoes one at a time. Add limejuice and a little bit of olive oil. Put in cilantro and puree again. Drain can of petite diced tomatoes. Pulse in food processor just enough to combine.

**TIP** Wear disposable rubber gloves when working with Jalapeños!!

Food can be decoration.

Mise en Place

If you like chunkier salsa do NOT full puree the can of petite diced tomatoes 

---Dare to Cook---

There is a chicken in my pie!

So over spring break I had these purple passion potatoes that I needed to cook before they went bad. They were just little things to so I the great idea to try my hand at making chicken pot pie. The only problem was there was no recipe, that I found, that included potatoes! So what's a girl to do? That's right, make it up as she goes. And that is exactly what I did.
Now before you go following this recipe I must warn you that it is a work in progress because while this chicken pot pie was tasty (my boyfriend even went for seconds!) it was by no means perfect. There were two things that I would like to improve for next time. First, add more chicken! Ideally you would get some chicken, cut it up, and cook it yourself, but I was pressed for time and used packaged precooked chicken. I only used on packet and I should have used two. My pie ended up being more of a veggie pot pie with some chicken. Second, while tasty the inside of the pie was VERY soupy. Next time I will add something as a thickener. Now, on to the recipe and pictures. These pictures are not my usual quality because I took them with my phone and not my camera.

For THIS recipe you will need:
frozen puff pastry
frozen mixed veggies
purple passion potatoes
chicken stock (low sodium)
1 can cream of chicken soup
precook packaged chicken
salt and pepper to taste
1 egg yolk + just a little water

Oh and a pie pan would be helpful.

BEFORE YOU START take a piece of puff pastry out of the freezer, wrap in a paper towel and just leave it on the counter.
First cut the potatoes into bite size pieces and boil in salted water until fork tender. Drain and place back in pot.
In a sauce pot mix together and heat up the can of cream of chicken soup with the chicken stock (to measure out the stock I just filled up the soup can with stock and poured it in.)
In the soup and stock mixture place the chicken, veggies, potato pieces, and salt and pepper.
Once everything is warmed through pour into pie pan and place the puff pastry on top.
Crimp puff pastry to edges of pan and put three slits down the center, too keep it from exploding in the oven.
Right before you put it in a 350 degree oven for half an hour beat the egg yolk with about a table spoon of water and spread over the top of the pie.

One other tip, place the pie plate on top of a cookie sheet, just incase there is spill over.

And this is what you get!
(Stay tuned for recipe improvements.)

Looks yummy!

Tasty, but soupy.

---Dare to Cook---

Upcoming

Just so you guys know I made some chicken pot pie for the first time over spring break... I just have not had time to get it all posted. I hope to have it up this weekend.

AND!!!! Next Saturday is my Pampered Chef Party and I will try my best to share the experience with you.

---Dare to Cook---

Brief thought on tomatoes...

“'Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit; wisdom is knowing not to put it in a fruit salad.”


---Dare to Cook---

Purple Stuff

Alton Brown once started an episode of Good Eats by saying:
    "Behold, the great American Mega-Mart. At no time in human history have so many edibles been available to the general population. But did you know that the average American shopper has a list of fewer than a hundred items from which he or she rarely deviates. To put that into perspective, consider the fact that this store has that many different kinds of canned soup.
    Why is this? Well, I think we’ve lost our sense of curiosity, of wonder. We’re so busy focusing on our shopping list, that we don’t allow ourselves to discover new ingredients. And that is a crying culinary shame. Because as you run your usual circuit from cereal to sour cream, you may be walking right past something that could change your culinary life.
    The cure? Just stop. Stop. Step away from the cart. Look around. Look for something that you’ve never seen before, that you’ve never tasted or used before."


Alton Brown was speaking of course of wonton skins, as this is the beginning to his episode titled "Wonton Ways." In this case of AB's wonton skins they in fact ended up being Good Eats... I, however, ended up with purple stuff. In general I do try to keep my eye out for something new and different but sadly it is hit or miss and I believe that is why most people just stick to their "list." The good news is my guinea pigs seem to love this "purple lettuce" so that it is not going to waste. I don't think the lettuce was bad, per-say, however I just didn't like it. By all means if you want to buy some purple stuff and try it, don't let me stop you...


---Dare to Cook---

At least it was pretty.

Leftovers...

Part of the problem with cooking for one is that I have to eat the same thing for a few days, which is why I don't cook everyday and thus will not have a post everyday... So tonight, like last night, and tomorrow night will be leftovers... At least they are tasty leftovers!!

---Dare to Cook---

Krispy's Tour of Italy

Alright, so it's not exactly a tour... Last year for Valentine's Day I tried to have a really amazing super for myself; I went Greek. It didn't turn out so well, not that the food didn't turn out, it was just a really bad time to realize I don't like cooked spinach. This year I'm going Italian.

Now that the day has come to an end and I have made a splendid lunch, dinner, and dessert, here is how it went down.

---Dare to Cook---

Lunch was a delicious Bruschetta Pizzaiola.

Before Baking

After Baking

And here is how you make it.

(From cookingchannel.com)

Ingredients

• 1 baguette, sliced
• 1 (8-ounce) ball fresh mozzarella
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 1 handful fresh basil, plus more for garnish
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for serving
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

On a high heat, toast the bread using a stovetop grill, then set aside on a cookie sheet pan.

In a bowl, mix together the mozzarella and tomatoes, season very lightly with olive oil and salt and pepper. Stir well and top the bread with the mixture and place on the sheet pan.

Cook in the oven for about 10 minutes, or until the cheese has melted and starts to crisp into a nice golden color, than place in a platter and allow to cool off for a few minutes before serving.

Dress with a couple leaves freshly picked basil, a drizzle of extra-virgin oil, salt, and pepper.

Dinner was a Italian Sausage Lasagna done in the crockpot, with garlic bread.

Ingredients

• 3/4lb bulk Italian pork sausage
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 2 cans (15 oz each) Italian-style tomato sauce
• 2 teaspoons Italian seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 container (15 oz) part-skim ricotta cheese
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 3 cups shredded mozzarella cheese (12 oz)
• 12 uncooked lasagna noodles

Directions

1. In 10-inch skillet, cook sausage and onion over medium heat 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until sausage is no longer pink; drain. Stir in tomato sauce, Italian seasoning and salt.
2. In medium bowl, mix ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese and 2 cups of the mozzarella cheese.
3. Spray 3 1/2 to 5-quart slow cooker with cooking spray. Into cooper, spoon 1/4 of the sausage mixture. Top with 4 noodles, broked into pieces to fit. Top with half of the cheese mixture and 1/4 of the sausage mixture. Top with 4 noodles, remaining cheese mixture and 1/4 of the sausage mixture. Top with remaining 4 noodles and remaining sausage mixture.
4. Cover; cook on Low heat setting 6 to 8 hours.
5. About 10 minutes before serving, sprinkle top of lasagna with remaining 1 cup mozzarella cheese. Cover; let stand about 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Cut lasagna into pieces.

For the garlic bread you will need a load of bread, a few cloves of garlic, butter, and olive oil.

Smash garlic cloves and place in small pot with butter and oil, heat on low to medium until the butter is melted. Allow the garlic flavor to infuse into the butter and oil mixture. Place cut pieces of bread on a cookie sheet, spread the butter, oil, and garlic mixture on top of the bread and place under the broiler until top is golden, brown, and delicious.

Here are some pictures to help you along the way.

And finally..................DESSERT!!

Pound cake with macerated strawberries and blueberries...

I must admit I cheated with the pound cake, it was a box mix... And the whipped cream was store bought this time...

However, to macerate the berries, quarter the strawberries and place the blueberries into a bowl with about a 1/3 cup of sugar, and if you want some additional flavor you can add some honey and a little liquor; Disaronno helped me stay with the Italian theme. Cover with plastic wrap and place in the refrigerator for at least an hour until a sauce forms.

And here is what you get!

And of course to top everything off you have to have a nice Italian made drink.

HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!

Curious Yet Tasty Avocado Experiment

As some of you may know I attempted Alton Brown's avocado ice cream from his episode "Curious Yet Tasty Avocado Experiment." Well, it was curious alright, I'm still not sold on the tasty part. I think it was actually better before it went through the ice cream churn.
This one I did take pictures of as I made it so allow me to share them with you. These were taken with my phone so the artistic quality is not up to par but it should give you a good idea of the steps. I've also decided that I will attach the recipes to my posts that others may indulge in anything they want to try as well!

---Dare to Cook---




Avocado Ice Cream
(from foodnetwork.com)

Ingredients

• 12 ounces avocado meat, approximately 3 small to medium
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1 cup heavy cream

Directions

Peel and pit the avocados. Add the avocados, lemon juice, milk, and sugar to a blender and puree. Transfer the mixture to a medium mixing bowl, add the heavy cream and whisk to combine. Place the mixture into the refrigerator and chill until it reaches 40 degrees F or below, approximately 4 to 6 hours.

Process the mixture in an ice cream maker according to manufacturer's directions. However, this mixture sets up very fast, so count on it taking only 5 to 10 minutes to process. For soft ice cream, serve immediately. If desired, place in freezer for 3 to 4 hours for firmer texture.

First Post

Well here is my first post on the first blog I've had in years. This first post isn't going to be much, I just want you to know what to expect.
I guess you could say this blog will be done a little "Julie and Julia" style, except I don't plan on going through Julia Child's cook book nor do I really cook everyday, however, when I do cook I like to make notes and share so this is where I plan to do that.
Not only do I enjoy cooking the food, I also enjoy making the food look nice, and in most cases I like taking pictures of food. So you should also expect there to be pictures of the food I cook whenever possible.
So there it is, the outline for this blog. I hope you enjoy.

Welcome to Krispy's Adventures in Cooking.
---Dare to Cook---