Thursday, December 31, 2015

Hannahford Swedish Apple Pie


5 apples, peeled, cored, halved, and cut into 1/2"-thick wedges
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon plus 1 cup sugar
12 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 large egg
1/4 teaspoon salt

into the 350 oven for 45 minutes to an hour.

Sunday, December 27, 2015

Chocolate Stout Birthday Cake

Once again, I made:
Chocolate Stout Cake
from this excellent recipe Epicurious has.

I substituted a porter this year.  That was a good.
I substituted brown sugar and didn't pack it.  I would have preferred the cake to be a little sweeter.

For fun, instead of the ganache frosting that comes with the recipe, I did an alternative of bittersweet chocolate with sour cream.  Mistake for us.  Not just too tangy, but actually sour in the context.  Next year, back to the given chocolate and whipping cream that epicurious specs out.

Thank you, that is all.

Friday, December 25, 2015

Christmas Morning Plan

Skillet Frittatas
Cinnamon Rolls

Frittatas were:
spinach
3 roasted red pepper, chopped
8 ounces mushrooms
Herbes de Provence
Remember Salt!
12 eggs
mozzarella cheese
4 ounces goat cheese

saute spinach with red pepper, move to bowl
saute mushroom with herbs and salt
preheat single-serving cast iron skillets
slice goat cheese
put spinach/pepper back in pan with mushrooms
mix shredded mozzerella with eggs.

into each pan:
spoonful of vegetables (1/6 of pan)
egg cheese mixture
   (Teenage son put the above in the pans--it felt so good to share the work!  Do that again!)
top with goat cheese
into 350 degree oven for 30 minutes
Eggs stay tasty for hours after finished cooking.  So don't worry.

   (one kid missed having potatoes in it.  But those two kids didn't eat much anyway)

Then put the cinnamon rolls in, unless you cooked them earlier.

Cinnamon Rolls--Alton Brown
Next year: mix up cinnamon rolls and shape on Christmas Eve.
     Teenage son was awesome rolling rolls, slicing, making filling.  Help felt good!  Do that again!
Reminder: rolls need 3 hours for first rise.  Can fridge up to 16 hours.

Thursday, December 24, 2015

Christmas Eve Dinner Plan


Easy Mint Chutney for Samosas
Spicy Dried Red Pepper Chutney for Samosas
Beginner Samosas Recipe
Spicy Chickpeas Snack/Appetizer

My Favorite Palak Paneer Recipe and Picture Directions
Makhani Sauce
Pulao Rice
Roast Chicken
Green salad with vinagreite.


what actually happened:
--Store ran out of mint Christmas Eve, and I was shopping at last minute.  Scratch Mint Chutney.
--Got behind schedule as dinner hour approached.  Scratch Samosas after dough and filling made.
--Scratched green salad.
--Snacked on chickpeas made earlier in the afternoon--which saved us as dinner was an hour late.
--Roasted an eggplant on whim and put it in the mahkani sauce.  Baingan Makhani?

Dinner:
Spicy Chickpeas Snack
Roast Chicken
Palak Paneer
Makhani with Roasted Eggplant
Christmas Cookies (sugar cookies frosted with buttercream and sprinkles) for dessert.
 and 'twas perfect.
 Next year:
-----make the makhani sauce hotter.
-----buy fresh mint a couple days beforehand.  Recipe requires one cup chopped.
-----The chickpeas were great both as a snack to tide to late dinner, and as added protein to vegetarian dishes.
-----If you do samosas, make them months before Christmas for practice, and make them the December 23rd for Christmas Eve appetizer.

==========
Edited to add:
Made the samosas a couple days later.  They came out delicious.  Also referred to the Jaimie Oliver recipe and Veg recipes of India.  Next time, I'd like to roll larger wrappers larger than the five inch circles the recipe gives, and make samosas that are more like handful size than wonton size.
   Also, I sprayed the samosas with oil several times during the baking process.  I think next time I won't do that, or only do it with half.  I think the extra oil makes the dough dense and heavy, instead of flaky and bubbly.

Monday, December 14, 2015

Vegetable Pot Pies

Here's the recipe for the pot pie filling. Makes 8.5 cups.
1/2 pound lentils dry
2 medium potato
one vidalia onion
one fennel bulb
one leek
one red pepper
one pound mushrooms
two ribs celery

gravy recipe
pie crust recipe

Cook 1/2 pound of lentils (I boil them for ~30 minutes and drain).
Dice and cook two medium potatoes (I boil them ~12 minutes). 

Chop (I use a food processor) and SAUTE in butter or olive oil: one vidalia onion, one fennel bulb, one leek, one red bell pepper, pound of mushrooms, two ribs of celery.
The sauce is has a roux base: 2TB of butter (or olive oil) melted over heat, then 2TB of flour whisked in. I cook the paste less than a minute. Before or when it starts browning, I start gradually whisking in my mix of 4 cups of hot vegetable broth (better than boullion is great for this) with 1/4 cup of nutritional yeast.
—the nutritional yeast is NOT bread yeast or yucky brewer’s yeast, and it is the secret ingredient!—
Once all the broth/yeast is incorporated into the sauce, into whatever pot or pan will hold it all, I combine the cooked potatoes, cooked lentils, sautéed vegetables and sauce. I like to simmer it together ten minutes or more. If you want to add cream, this is when you do it. Then put the filling into whatever casserole dish, pie pans or ramekins (when I use cast Iron I like to heat it up first.) Top with pie crust. Bake at 400F for 25 minutes to brown the crust.