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Grilled Summer Salad

August 31, 2012 by 2 Comments

 

There are few things I like better on a hot day than a cold salad. If it happens to be one that I was able to whip up when the day was still cool or -better yet- the day before, I’m even happier. When that salad takes advantage of the best parts of summer produce I’m ecstatic.

I am grateful to have something to love about all four seasons. My affection for summer is entirely wrapped up in the fresh vegetables. Well, alright. It is kind of nice not to trip over snow boots in the mudroom for a couple of months. But the produce. Oh, the produce!

While the variety available to us in stores is nothing short of remarkable, there simply is nothing that compares to produce grown nearby and eaten in season. Everyone knows a frozen ear of sweet corn from a grocery store just can’t hold a candle to an ear that was picked from the field earlier that day.

I used to be a corn boiler. Everyone I knew was a corn boiler. It was just how we did things. Then -nearly a decade ago- I picked up the Nero Wolfe detective books by Rex Stout. I identified with Nero’s obsession with food and when -in one book- he  frantically pursues the perfect sweet corn while the police inspector wants him to pursue a killer. I totally got it. I mean really. If you gave me the options of tracking down the perfect sweet corn vs. a cold blooded killer? I’d go with the corn every day. I’m a scaredy cat.

At one point, though, Nero Wolfe said something that made me question my lifelong corn boiling habits:

“Boiled in water, sweet corn is.. edible, and nutritious.  But roasted in an oven, at the hottest possible temperature for 40 minutes. Shucked at the table. Buttered. Salted. Nothing else! Ambrosia.”

Well, shoot. Ambrosia? I had to give that a whirl. The first time I made Nero Wolfe’s corn, I did indeed use my oven. And it was absolutely ambrosia, but the smell of burning husks in the house was less than wonderful and it was bloomin’ hot out to be firing up the oven to the hottest possible temperature. I moved my endeavours outside to the grill, adjusted the heat (because hottest possible temperatures in grills and home ovens are vastly different), and in the process learned what the entire southwest has known for I-don’t-know-how-long: fire roasted corn is incomparably delicious.

 

From that day on, there was simply no other way to cook corn (with one sad foray into cooler corn.)  I almost always deliberately cook more corn than we can possibly eat in one setting. Believe me, that takes work… we can eat a lot of corn.

One of our favourite ways to use the extra grilled corn (with its extra boost of concentrated corn flavour) is in a Grilled Summer Salad. We change the salad up, depending on what is most readily available from our garden or the local farmers’ market, but the backbone of the salad is always grilled corn and zucchini. Everything else is negotiable.

Grilled zucchini is in the same category as grilled corn. It is just plain better. There’s something about the time on that hot grill that turns a vegetable that has a reputation for insipidity into a flavour explosion. I prefer the texture of grilled zucchini, too. There’s nothing complicated about it. Slice the zucchini into half-inch slabs, brush with olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper or Montreal Steak Seasoning (my preference) then pop on a hot grill. When they’re marked by the grill, they’re done enough. How simple is that?

I usually fill out the salad with roasted red pepper, garden tomatoes, garlic, parsley and a little squeeze of lemon juice… not too much… just a bit. If I’m feeling particularly peckish, I’ll crumble a little feta cheese in there. With the feta, it’s a stand-alone vegetarian meal in a bowl, but it does do a marvelous job of accompanying grilled meats or fishes. I almost always make as large a batch of this as my refrigerator can accommodate. I have been known to walk past the refrigerator with a fork just to dip into a bowl of this. I suppose that’s not a bad thing. I could be snacking on much, much worse things. (Ahem. Frito habit.)

Get out there and make this while the getting’s still good. Fresh veggies won’t be around that much longer!

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Grilled Summer Salad

Grilled Summer Salad

Summer vegetables take center stage in this seasonal salad that takes advantage of grilling sweet corn and zucchini to bring out the best of both. Serve this at your Labor Day festivities to guarantee praise!

A light lemon dressing and a little feta cheese (optional) round out this refreshing and healthy-habit forming dish that can be a stand-alone vegetarian meal or accompany grilled meats of fishes with equal aplomb.

Ingredients

  • 2 medium to large zucchinis
  • olive oil
  • Montreal Steak Seasoning or salt and pepper
  • 2 large beefsteak type tomatoes
  • 2 ears leftover grilled corn , cut from the cob.
  • 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced or pressed
  • 1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese
  • a fistful of fresh parsley, roughly chopped
  • 1 tablespoon lemon juice
  • salt and freshly ground pepper to taste

Instructions

Preheat a clean gas grill to HIGH (or build a hot bed of coals on a charcoal grill.)

Slice the zucchini into 1/2-inch thick slabs. Brush both sides of each slab with olive oil and sprinkle with Montreal Steak Seasoning or kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper. Place the zucchini directly on the grill. With the lid open on the grill, leave the zucchini slices in place until there are grill marks on the zucchini, carefully lifting the corner with tongs to check occasionally. This should not take more than 3 minutes. Flip the zucchini and cook until the other side has grill marks, about 2 minutes. Use tongs or a spatula to transfer the grilled zucchini to a rimmed pan.

Put the rimmed pan, uncovered, in the refrigerator until the zucchini is cool to the touch, about 30 minutes to an hour.

Dice the chilled, grilled zucchini and the tomatoes. Toss them together with the remaining ingredients in a large mixing bowl. Transfer to a container with an airtight lid and refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/08/31/grilled-summer-salad/

Filed Under: Breakfast Foods, Comfort Food, Happy Healthy and Wise, Healthy Foods, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Salads, Side Dishes, Stretching your dollars, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Cheddar Tailgating Bread

August 29, 2012 by 26 Comments

Last week I took my five boys to the playground to meet some friends and somehow or another ended up taking ten boys home with me. It’s funny how that happens sometimes.

I was happy I had the extras around, though, because I was working on a few recipes and needed some unvarnished opinions. One of the recipes I had on the docket was one I had made previously for my family but wanted to make again for the purposes of double-checking myself. I was brushing up on my finger food skills and had done my own version of the cheese breads that have circulated the great interwebs for some time.

Why work on snacks right now?

Not to make you panic or anything, but you have eight days until the NFL football season officially starts. That’s right, you have eight days to get yourself in gear for snack food season. If you have kids playing football, you’re already in the thick of it.

Even more importantly (to me), the season premiere of Doctor Who is on Sunday. Hello. This year is so very timey wimey. This clearly requires food, and lots of it.

Have you wrapped your brain around all the delicious possibilities yet?

This cheese bread is just about the perfect option. It doesn’t require any exotic ingredients, it’s easy as can be to put together, it can be cooked in your oven or on a grill at a tailgating party, and it’s a serious crowd pleaser. In fact, when I said, “Go ahead, guys… dig in…” This is what happened.

What you can’t see in this picture is my husband sitting off to the right growling because the boys’ hands got to the bread before his did. Behold the power of the cheesy bread.

Right after this picture was snapped, The Evil Genius performed a perfect swan dive directly into the center of that loaf. He proclaimed it to be dangerously good.

The boys (mine and the others) concurred.

Then there were requests. My boys asked to have it at their birthdays. Their friends asked that I serve these at the boys’ birthdays. Then one friend asked that at the next sleepover, I ONLY serve this bread, and lots of it.

I’d say that’s pretty successful wouldn’t you?

Those boys are no fools: they know good food when they taste it. It’s hard to go wrong when you start with soft-on-the-inside/crusty-on-the-outside Italian bread that is cut into grab-able squares, generously doused with melted butter mixed with minced green onion and garlic, toasted til hot and tender, then crammed full of Cheddar cheese and baked until bubbly with browned bits of cheese capping it. I suppose the shower of chopped parsley at the end is strictly optional, but it does look nice and it at least makes a valiant attempt to add some breath freshening to the party.

Like a fool, I told the boys about the cook’s tax (the crispy bits of cheese stuck to the foil after the bread is gone) and like the smart young men they are, they ate all of it.

If any of those guys are reading this, I have a message for them, “Unlimited Tailgating Bread is yours if you come clean my barn and help me plant garlic this fall.”

That oughta do it.

I’d better go grate some cheese.

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Cheddar Tailgating Bread

Cheddar Tailgating Bread

Soft-on-the-inside/crusty-on-the-outside Italian bread that is cut into grab-able squares, generously doused with melted butter mixed with minced green onion and garlic, toasted til hot and tender, then crammed full of Cheddar cheese and baked until bubbly with browned bits of cheese capping it. This is a true crowd-pleaser!

Ingredients

  • 1 loaf Italian bread (16 ounces, by weight)
  • 1 pound grated extra-sharp Cheddar cheese
  • 1 stick (4 ounces by weight) butter
  • 1 large clove of garlic, minced or pressed
  • 1 bunch of green onions (scallions) trimmed and thinly sliced
  • A fistful of fresh curly parsley, minced
  • Nonstick cooking spray and foil

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350°F (or preheat grill to medium heat). Lay out a double thickness of standard foil (or a single thickness of heavy-duty foil.) Spray lightly with nonstick cooking spray. Set aside

In a microwave safe bowl, or a heavy-bottomed skillet, heat the butter until melted and mix in the garlic and sliced green onions. Stir with a serving spoon.

Lay the loaf of bread on the cutting board and cut a ½” grid pattern into it stopping about ¼” above the base of the bread so that it stays connected. Gently pry apart the bread and spoon the butter mixture along the seams. Gently wrap the foil up around the top of the loaf and put on a rimmed baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes.

Remove the pan from the oven, open the foil and sprinkle the Cheddar cheese over the top, gently pushing some of the cheese down into the cut bread.

Leave the foil open and return the pan to the oven or grill and raise the heat to 425°F or HIGH for another 15 minutes or until the cheese is completely melted and bubbly and lightly browned on top.

Let set for 3 minutes before showering with freshly minced parsley and serving.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/08/29/cheddar-tailgating-bread/

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Bread, Camping Food, Comfort Food, Holiday Food, kid food, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Side Dishes, Vegetarian

Brownie Cake with Nutella Peanut Butter Frosting

August 21, 2012 by 18 Comments

Salty sweet. Salty sweet. Salty sweet. Salty sweet. Salty sweet.

Despite the prevalence of desserts here on Foodie With Family, I don’t have much of a sweet tooth. I think that is why I’m so picky about my desserts. When I DO want a sweet, I don’t want just any sweet. I want the best.

Oh, hi. I’m high maintenance on desserts. There are certain things that are almost guaranteed to make me happy: dark chocolate, Nutella, and peanut butter or any combination thereof.

During a rare attack of my sweet tooth last week, I turned to one of the fastest ways to satisfy; I made brownies. They weren’t just any brownies, though, oh no. They were THE brownies. The fail-safe, fool-proof, can’t-mess-’em-up brownies I’ve been making for years. I’ll tell you know, they’re cakey. I kind of think of them as brownie cake rather than br-ow-nies. Brownies are, to me, just this side of fudge. And I don’t know what possessed me, but this brownie cake that I’ve made so many times and left plain? I had to go and frost it. Simply had to do it. I was compelled.

Into the stand mixer went butter, Nutella and peanut butter. Because, well, I don’t know. Because I could? Whatever the reason was, I’m awfully glad I did it because I ended up with the fluffiest, Nutella-y-est, peanut buttery-est frosting ever to get licked from the bowl. I grabbed ye olde offset spatula and put an entire batch of the frosting on the big brownie.

Then thought to myself, “EGADS. That is going to be sweet. SALT! I’m going to put salt on it.” A little shower of Maldon sea salt flakes later, I sat down in front of the cutting board and cut off a corner of the now frosted and salted brownie cake to take a bite.

Have you ever had salt with your chocolate? Do you know what it does to you? There is a scientific reason behind why it is do dadburned good. Salt makes your taste buds wake up and take notice of what it rides in on. When you put salt on chocolate, the chocolate tastes more chocolatey. You know that’s a good thing.

I do have one little bit of warning, though. Don’t make this when you’re going to be home alone. Just don’t. Not that I ate too much of this by myself… But hey, if you’re in the neighborhood, maybe you could roll me out to my pilates mat?

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Brownie Cake with Nutella Peanut Butter Frosting

Brownie Cake with Nutella Peanut Butter Frosting

This fool-proof, fail-safe, crowd-pleasing, deep-chocolate brownie cake is topped with fluffy Nutella and peanut butter frosting and then sprinkled with Maldon Sea Salt flakes.

Ingredients

    For the Brownie Cake:
  • 4 ounces (4, 1oz squares) unsweetened baker's chocolate, chopped
  • 2 sticks (8 ounces or 16 tablespoons) butter
  • 2 cups raw sugar (can substitute granulated white sugar if necessary)
  • 4 large eggs
  • 1 cup (4 1/4 ounces by weight) all-purpose flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
    • For the Nutella Peanut Butter Frosting:
  • 1 stick (4 ounces or 8 tablespoons) butter, softened to room temperature
  • 1/3 cup Nutella
  • 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter
  • 1 pound (4 cups) powdered sugar
  • 2-4 tablespoons whole milk or heavy cream
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
    • For Serving:
  • Maldon Sea Salt Flakes

Instructions

To Make the Brownie Cake:

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a 9"x13" baking pan with foil and spray lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

Unwrap and add the 2 sticks of butter and the chopped chocolate to a small, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Place the pan over very low heat and stir until the butter is melted and the chocolate is almost completely melted. Remove from the heat and stir until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth. Pour into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a batter blade (or a mixing bowl in which you can use an electric hand mixer.) Add the sugar and mix on medium until combined.

Add the eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition.

In a separate bowl, quickly whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Add it to the mixer all at once and mix on low just until combined and there are no more dry pockets. Pour the brownie batter into the prepared pan and tap the pan on the counter two or three times to even it out.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or just until the center is set. Do not overbake! Remove the pan from the oven and let the brownies cool completely in the pan.

Use the foil to help you transfer the brownie cake from the pan to a cutting board. Carefully pull the foil from under the brownie cake.

To Make the Nutella Peanut Butter Frosting:

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, blend the softened butter, Nutella, and peanut butter on high until fluffy. Add the powdered sugar and start and stop the blender a couple of times to prevent a POOF of powdered sugar from flying into the air. Once you're sure you're in the clear, turn the mixer to high and blend until it is even. Pour 2 of the tablespoons of milk or cream and the vanilla extract while the mixer is running. Stop the mixer, scrape down the sides of the bowl. Mix on high again until smooth and fluffy, adding some of the additional milk if necessary.

Frost the cooled brownie cake. Cut into squares and sprinkle with Maldon Sea Salt Flakes -grinding them between your fingers over the frosting- just before serving.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/08/21/brownie-cake-with-nutella-peanut-butter-frosting/

 

 

 

 

Filed Under: Breakfast Foods, Cakes, Chocolate, Comfort Food, Desserts, kid food, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Chipotle Cilantro Lime Butter and Mexican Grilled Corn | Make Ahead Mondays

August 20, 2012 by 19 Comments

Last week, I had the opportunity to travel to Oregon to join a fabulous group of fellow bloggers in a tour of the Medford, Oregon area sponsored by Harry and David. It was an incredible trip filled with great food and great wine, respect and wonder for what Harry and David does as a company and how they do it (more on this and the trip in a subsequent post), and fantastic friends.

Just look at these gorgeous ladies and Matt who is not a lady but a talented and enthusiastic horticulturalist. Hi, Matt!

Photo by Sandy Coughlin: The Reluctant Entertainer

I’m telling you, I tried valiantly to figure out how to take all of them home with me. Lori, Jessica, Jenna, Rachel, Maria, Amy, Matt, Sandy- who helped pull this stupendous weekend together (see her posts about it here and here), Bridget, Kristen, me, and Heidi had a wonderful time reconnecting (in some cases) and finally meeting in real life (in other cases.) I’m taking away an obsession with Harry and David peaches and pears, Rogue creamery cheese, the entire state of Oregon (again, this is another cup of coffee. It’s coming on another post.) and the company of all those fabulous bloggers with whom I was privileged to spend time. Talk about an inspiring and motivational group of people!

As I drove home from the airport on Saturday, I was so glad to see sweet corn signs had popped up all over the local roadsides. I pulled into my favourite stand (Hi, Mrs. Morton!), grabbed three dozen ears (WHAT?!? You don’t go a little nuts over the first sweet corn of the year?), and drove hell for leather to get home and squash the tar out of my menfolk (who apparently didn’t miss me all that much since my darlink little sister was way more fun that mommy. Folks, she helped the boys catch CRAYFISH to COOK and put in their macaroni and SMOKED cheese. ) and fire up the grill.

Yes. I said fire up the grill.

I know cooler corn is all the rage now, and if anyone could justify pouring buckets of boiling water into a cooler and cooking massive amounts of corn it’d be me. Truth is, though, I tried it (the cooler corn, that is) and wasn’t in love with the process. It took too long, the idea of pouring boiling water into plastic didn’t really ding my chimes, and I just plain love the flavour of roasted corn. Stick with what you love, right? Especially when we’re talking corn. Oh corn.

I do love you.

Madly.

Grilling it somehow magnifies the, how to say, corniness of corn. You know, the sweetness, the freshness, the pure summer of the experience; it’s all made bigger by the application of fire rather than water. It is so good.

While eating it with obscene amounts of plain butter and salt is my usual method, I do so love dressing it up Mexican style with one of my favourite things: Chipotle Cilantro Lime Butter. This is the bees-knees, friends; smokey and spicy butter with the freshness of lime, studded with little emerald bits of cilantro to wake everything up. Here’s the beautiful thing- you whip up a batch of the butter, shape it into a log, roll it up in plastic wrap and store it in the freezer where you can store it for three months, lobbing off little pats of this butter to put on grilled chicken, fish, pork, corn or whatever floats your culinary boat.

Imagine this dripping down a freshly grilled ear of corn and onto your fingers. You know you’d better lick that off. It’s a sin to waste.

And gild the lily while you’re at it with a fistful of crumbled Queso blanco and a shower of freshly chopped cilantro. Mmmm.

I hate the heat, but I love summer for the corn. Now, if you’ll pardon me, I’m off to the farm stand for another three dozen. Summer only lasts so long here. I must take advantage of it!

 

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Chipotle Cilantro Lime Butter and Mexican Grilled Corn | Make Ahead Mondays

Chipotle Cilantro Lime Butter and Mexican Grilled Corn | Make Ahead Mondays

Spicy, smoky, lime laced chipotle butter is studded with bright green flecks of cilantro to wake everything up. Store in the freezer for up to three months. Serve on grilled fish, chicken, pork or on grilled or roasted sweet corn.

Ingredients

    For the Chipotle Cilantro Lime Butter:
  • 2 sticks (1/2 of a pound) salted butter, softened to room temperature
  • the juice and zest of one lime
  • 1 tablespoon dried ground chipotle chiles
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 3-4 grinds of fresh black pepper
  • 1/4-1/2 cup minced fresh cilantro (depending on how strong you like the flavour)
    • For the Mexican Grilled Corn:
  • Unshucked sweet corn (as many ears as you'd like)
  • 1 tablespoon crumbled Queso Blanco or Chihuahua Cheese per ear
  • minced fresh cilantro, to taste

Instructions

To Make the Chipotle Cilantro Lime Butter:

Add the unwrapped, softened butter, juice and zest of lime, ground chipotle, salt and black pepper to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or a large mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer). Whip on high for 1-2 minutes, stopping to scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally. When it is thoroughly and evenly mixed, add in the minced cilantro and mix again for about 30 seconds or until the cilantro is evenly distributed.

Lay a 12-inch long piece of plastic wrap on the counter.

Use a silicone spatula to scrape the whisk attachment clean. Scrape the butter onto the plastic wrap in a rough log shape. Fold one long edge over the butter and use it to help you shape into a cohesive, even log. Roll the butter log along the countertop, wrapping tightly in plastic wrap and evening up the shape as you go. Pat the ends even and twist the plastic wrap on the ends. Put the tightly wrapped butter log on a plate in the freezer until firm through, then transfer the wrapped butter log into a zipper top plastic bag. Cut off pats as needed and return what remains to the zipper top bag in the freezer, storing the remainder in the freezer for up to 3 months.

For the Mexican Grilled Corn:

Preheat a gas grill on low heat. (Or start a small bed of coals in a charcoal grill. When the coals are completely covered in ash, pile over to one side, leaving most of the grill under indirect heat.

Carefully peel the husks back from the corn (keeping intact). Remove the silk and fold the husks back up over the ears. Lay the ears of corn evenly over the grill (if using charcoal, be sure to leave the area immediately above the coals free of ears of corn.) Grill with the lid closed for about 30 minutes- 45 minutes, turning and changing the ears' positions about every 5-7 minutes

When the corn is finished, transfer to a rimmed baking sheet.

To Serve:

Shuck each ear of corn and top with pats of Chipotle Cilantro Lime Butter, about 1 tablespoon of crumbled Queso Blanco or Chihuahua cheese and a shower of minced cilantro. Let the butter melt and dribble down the corn and serve immediately. Make sure you wash your hands before eating so you can lick your fingers to get every last bit of that wonderful butter.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/08/20/chipotle-cilantro-lime-butter-and-grilled-sweet-corn-make-ahead-mondays/

 

Filed Under: Accessible Ethnic, Comfort Food, Component Foods, Condiments, Freezer Pleaser, Make Ahead Mondays, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , , ,

Refrigerator Pickled Salad (Bread and Butter Style) | Make Ahead Mondays

August 13, 2012 by 13 Comments

 

I have this friend, Meseidy, who has a fabulous blog; The Noshery. Meseidy can do it all. She is a chef, a decorator, a great conversationalist and an extremely talented folder of sheets.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iP66IMO_fJ0[/youtube]

I am not kidding you when I tell you that I never successfully folded a fitted sheet before Meseidy taught me to do it. It’s not my mom’s or dad’s fault… They can fold like a pro. I seem to have some double recessive incompetent-at-housekeeping-tasks gene. Ah well, better late than never, eh?

I did mention she’s a chef, right? She’s not just a chef. Girl can COOK, people. I’ve had the privilege of having her cook for me a few times and every single time I’m wowed by the food. She made these almond crisps with boozy cherries and vanilla ice cream when we were all out at The Pioneer Woman’s. Oh heavens, I could eat my weight in that.

But that is NOT what I’m talking about today. I may be dreaming about it, but I’m not talking about it. Today, I want to tell you about her Refrigerated Pickled Salad. The second she posted it, I knew it would be made. And soon.

It is best described as a bread and butter pickle salad. Crazy sounding? Maybe, but think about it. You have oodles of thinly sliced cucumbers, multi-coloured bell peppers, red onion, and garlic marinating in a sweet and sour brine of vinegar, sugar, water, and -in my case- crushed red pepper flakes. How inviting does this look?

Let me tell you, this is not to be missed.

I messed with the recipe just a wee bit (on accident, but more on that in a moment and liked the results so much that I did it again. On purpose. The first time I prepared the pickles, I doubled it. What can I say, I was confident that she wouldn’t steer me wrong. When I doubled the recipe, I doubled everything BUT the ice. Whoopsie. I stuck my finger in the brine to see if it was too punchy with the extra vinegar and loved it so much, I left it that way.

Per instructions, we let the pickles happily soak in that delicious brine for THREE. WHOLE. DAYS. When I say we, I mean my sister, her husband, my dad and stepmom, my uncle and aunt, The Evil Genius, the kids and me. After three days, all bets were off. We had the pickles on carnitas tacos, grilled white hots, cottage cheese, and with cream cheese in tortilla wraps. We stuck our fingers in the jars and snacked on them all by themselves. This was the jar when we started.

Within five days, that gallon jar was empty. Oy. We are clearly a pickle dependent family. They were so good, though! Sweet and sour like a classic bread and butter pickle, but with lovely thin strips of pickled vegetables and a little kick of spice, they were simply wonderful. Being the waste-not-want-not sort of gal that I am, I re-used the flavourful brine from the first batch for my second batch. I sliced my veggies and tossed them in the mixing bowl like before, but then poured the leftover brine in and stirred to distribute the mustard seeds. I then used tongs to transfer the veggies to the jar and poured the brine back in over everything. Hubba hubba.

Batch two is well on its way to disappearing as quickly as the first did. Thank you mille fois, Meseidy… or should I say gracias?

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Refrigerator Pickled Salad (Bread and Butter Style)

Refrigerator Pickled Salad (Bread and Butter Style)

Sweet and sour like a classic bread and butter pickle, but with lovely thin strips of pickled vegetables and a little kick of spice, these are simply wonderful. Bonus: no canning required and they're ready to eat in 3 days!

Serve this simple pickled salad with grilled meats, on sandwiches, on tacos, with cream cheese in tortilla wraps, over cottage cheese for an afternoon pick-me-up, or just on their own.

Recipe very gently adapted from and used with the permission of the wonderful Meseidy of The Noshery.

Ingredients

  • 2 seedless English cucumbers (also known as English Cucumbers)
  • 1 large red onion
  • 2 pounds baby multi-colour sweet bell peppers (or the equivalent poundage of red, yellow and orange bell peppers.)
  • 8 large (or 10 medium) cloves of garlic
  • 3 cups cider vinegar
  • 1 1/3 cups raw or granulated sugar
  • 2 tablespoons salt
  • 2 cups water
  • 1 cup ice cubes
  • 2 ounces (1/3 cup by volume) whole yellow mustard seeds

Instructions

Combine the vinegar, sugar, salt and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil over high heat. Stir until the sugar and salt are fully dissolved, remove the pan from the burner and set aside to cool while you prepare your vegetables.

Cut the English cucumbers into three pieces each, then cut each piece in half. Thinly slice each of those halves. Transfer the sliced cucumbers to a large mixing bowl.

Cut the blossom and stem end off of the red onion, peel it and cut in half. Slice each of those halves paper thin. Add the onions to the cucumbers in the mixing bowl.

Remove the stem and seeds from the bell peppers and thinly slice them lengthwise and transfer to the mixing bowl.

Peel and slice the garlic cloves as thinly as possible. Add those into the mixing bowl along with the mustard seeds and toss to distribute everything evenly. Pack into a glass gallon jar (or into 3-4 glass quart jars.)

Add the ice cubes to the partially cooled brine, stir until the ice is melted, then pour the brine over the vegetables in the jar(s). Tightly lid the jars and store in the refrigerator for at least 3 days before eating. Lasts for at least a month when refrigerated.

*Notes:

You can reuse the brine for a second batch of pickled salad by pouring the leftover brine over a freshly sliced batch of veggies in the mixing bowl, toss to distribute the mustard seeds, then use tongs to transfer the veggies to clean jars and pour the remaining brine over them. Again, refrigerate for 3 days before eating.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/08/13/refrigerator-pickled-salad-bread-and-butter-style/

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Comfort Food, Component Foods, Condiments, Gluten Free, Happy Healthy and Wise, Healthy Foods, Make Ahead Mondays, Recipes, Snacks, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , , , ,

Earl Grey Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream

August 10, 2012 by 26 Comments

 

Last week was a beautiful, fantastic whirlwind.

My house was filled with out-of-town family members who had converged to celebrate the wedding of my baby brother, Luke, to the woman of our, er, his dreams, Elvi.

Luke is a poet and I do not mean that esoterically. He’s an actual poet. He’s finishing up his master’s degree in poetry this year and I am not referring to limericks.

Elvi is an artist and I don’t mean that figuratively, either. She’s a working multi-media artist who does incredible things. Everything she does looks like art, even passing communion…

If you’re thinking that the wedding of a poet and an artist would be a feast for the senses you’d be one-hundred percent right, but of all the magical things there were on that day the most wonderful of them all was the love radiating from Luke and Elvi.

Gosh, I love these two so much.

Their car did not cooperate with the wedding plans. It you-know-what-ed the bed in a big way just a couple days before the ceremony. Did they let that get ‘em down? No way! My little sister and her boyfriend led a contingent of little kiddles in decorating the happy couple’s  bikes so they could ride away in matrimonial style. Off they went into the Buffalo sunset for a celebratory wedding coffee, seltzer cans rattling and streamers snapping behind them…

I think Luke summed up all our feelings with one victorious little hand gesture.

You know it, little brother. Welcome to the family, Elvi, we like you more than ice cream. I know you know that’s big…

~~~~~

So why the cupcakes? Yours truly was in charge of baking, decorating and bringing the wedding cake.

The wedding cake presented some -how to say it, ah yes- big challenges. Namely, it didn’t behave well but that’s a story for another day. Also, my children -shockingly- were not willing to give up eating for three days for me to perfect the cake. So selfish, those children.

In short, the cake was made, but the Earl Grey Cupcakes that were planned as “dessert insurance” (in case the cake went too quickly) were tossed onto the “good idea but not do-able in time” pile. Instead, I drank all but one batch’s worth of the tea-infused milk and just got around to making the cupcakes yesterday. What? Noooo. I didn’t do that on purpose so that I could eat a whole batch of cupcakes by myself. I’m not that kind of girl. On Thursdays.

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Earl Grey Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream

Earl Grey Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream

These lightly Earl Grey flavoured, super-moist cupcakes are topped with a fluffy lemony buttercream. Serve these for afternoon tea or as an elegant dessert.

If you want to amp up the Earl Grey presence a little more, you can use some of the chilled, infused milk in the buttercream in place of the heavy cream.

Ingredients

    Ingredients for Earl Grey Cupcakes:
  • 2 cups whole milk
  • 5 Earl Grey tea bags
  • 1 cup butter, at room temperature
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 4 eggs
  • 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 3 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
    • Ingredients for Lemon Buttercream:
  • 1 stick (8 tablespoons or 4 ounces by weight) butter, softened to room temperature
  • 4 cups (1 pound, by weight) powdered sugar
  • 6 tablespoons heavy cream or chilled infused Earl Grey whole milk
  • 2 teaspoons lemon extract

Instructions

To Make the Cupcakes:

Pour the milk into a heavy-bottomed saucepan with a tight fitting lid. Scald the milk (heat until it is steaming and many tiny bubbles have formed in the milk around the edge of the pan. Add the tea bags, remove the pan from the heat and put the lid in place. Let the milk cool to room temperature like this. When the milk is cool, squeeze the excess liquid from the tea bags and discard them. Measure one cup plus 2 tablespoons of the cooled infused milk and reserve the rest.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

In a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or a mixing bowl with an electric hand-held mixer) beat together the butter and sugar until lighter in colour and fluffy.

Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping down the bowl. Add the vanilla extract and beat well.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt.

Add about 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter/egg/sugar. Beat on low just until combined. Add about 1/3 of the infused milk that you measured. Again, beat just until combined, scrape down the sides of the mixing bowl and repeat -flour, milk, flour, milk- until both flour and milk are completely incorporated.

Line 24 muffin/cupcake wells with cupcake liners and spray lightly with non-stick cooking spray. Fill the liners about 2/3 full of cupcake batter.

Bake for 18-22 minutes, or until they spring back when pressed lightly or a toothpick inserted into the center of a cupcake comes out clean.

Let the cupcakes cool in the pan for 5 minutes before turning out onto a cooling rack to finish cooling completely.

To Make the Lemon Buttercream:

In a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment (or a mixing bowl with a handheld electric mixer) beat the butter on high until it is light and fluffy. Gradually add in the powdered sugar until incorporated. Then, with the mixer on high, whisk in the cream or infused milk and the lemon extract until the buttercream is light and fluffy. Use an offset spatula to smear the buttercream on the cupcakes or load it into a pastry bag with a big tip to pipe on the frosting.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/08/10/earl-grey-cupcakes-with-lemon-buttercream/

 

Filed Under: Cakes, Comfort Food, Desserts, Holiday Food, kid food, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Vegetarian Tagged With:

Waffle Iron Hash Browns and Chorizo Hash

August 2, 2012 by 11 Comments

I absolutely, unequivocally, unabashedly, whole-heartedly, borderline-medicably love potatoes in just about every form they can possibly be served; Mashed, fried, baked, smashed, roasted, grilled, and most especially in grated hash brown form. Oh hash browns, you are so magical. The crunch to soft ratio is so perfect on you. Every bite is a beautiful thing.

I’m going to say something everyone knows is true, but it’s unpopular to point it out. Potatoes need fat. Oh, yes they do. I don’t do skinny potatoes. (Unless we’re talking about fingerlings doused in melted butter.) Potatoes cry out for fat. It’s practically the law. And hash browns are no exception to that rule. In fact, they require a little more fat than the average tater.

Given my love for the ever wondrous hash brown, it should come as no surprise that when I saw this pinned on Pinterest, I about broke my neck getting to my waffle iron. Waffles are already in the “How do I love thee, let me count the ways” category of foods for me because of the crispy little pockets of syrup-catchery. The idea of putting hash browns in the waffle iron to better catch sour cream, bacon jam, hot sauce, etc… made instant sense to me. I grabbed a bag of frozen hash browns (keep frozen hash browns in case of potato emergencies), generously buttered my waffle iron plopped a massive pile of shredded frozen potatoes in place, added a dollop of bacon fat (don’t look at me like that) and closed the waffle iron. Then I stood there and watched while tapping my foot. Then I clenched my fists. Then I bit the counter. If you can behave better than that while potatoes are cooking then you’re a stronger person than I am…

The wait was so worth it. It was like the offspring of a potato chip and a hash brown. Terminally crisp, fluffy in the center. Oh my word. That day, I topped it with bacon jam and it was a very good thing. I knew, however, that the potato-tential of the waffle ironed hash browns far exceeded that simple treatment (that was, I repeat, a very good thing.) I thought chili, but I didn’t have all the fixings. Then I thought chorizo.

Chorizo is the magic meat. Chorizo makes everything just that much tastier. One of the beautiful things about using chorizo in a meal is that it is a self-contained flavour explosion so you really don’t have to add much more in the way of garlic or onion. So into the skillet went a pound of chorizo until browned and crisped in spots, then came black beans, tomatoes with green chiles, and a handful of corn at the end. I simmered just until the corn was hot through then spooned it over my wickedly delicious waffle iron hash browns. Another hash brown went on top, then a dollop of sour cream, a little salsa and a couple slices of candied jalapenos.

Holy swoon.

I about fell off of my chair I was so happy. I didn’t think there was any way it could possibly get better.

My brother commented “Add a poached or sunny-side up egg.” Well, duh. Of course. Next time, friends. Next time.

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Waffle Iron Hash Browns and Chorizo Hash

Waffle Iron Hash Browns and Chorizo Hash

Hash browns cooked in a waffle iron with plenty of butter or bacon fat topped with a spicy, flavourful chorizo, black bean and corn hash. Elevate it to the next level by topping with a sunny-side up egg or sour cream, salsa and a candied jalapeno slice or two.

Since chorizo is so full of spices and herbs, the simple hash comes together in mere moments without extra ingredients.

Ingredients

    For the Waffle Iron Hash Browns:
  • Frozen Hash Browns (or freshly shredded potatoes)
  • Butter (or a combination of butter and bacon fat)
    • For the Chorizo Hash:
  • 1 pound bulk Mexican style Chorizo
  • 2 cups cooked black beans (or 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed)
  • 1 standard sized can diced tomatoes with green chiles
  • 2 cups frozen or freshly cut sweet corn
    • Optional for serving:
  • Sour Cream
  • Salsa
  • Candied or Jarred Jalapeno Slices

Instructions

To Prepare Waffle Iron Hash Browns:

If you have a waffle iron that has different sections, put a 1/4-inch pat of butter in each section. If it is one big section, put about 3 pats of butter around the section. Pile about 2 to 3 inches of shredded potatoes on the base of the waffle iron, dot over each section as you did beneath the hash browns either with more butter or a dollop of bacon fat. Close the lid of the waffle iron and let it go to desired crispness. I like mine at about 8 minutes. Use tongs to remove to a pan and repeat until you have enough servings.

To Prepare the Hash:

In a heavy-bottomed skillet, break up the pound of chorizo. Cook, stirring frequently and breaking up chunks, until the chorizo is fully cooked and browned in places. If necessary, drain the chorizo after cooking then return it to the pan. If the chorizo is relatively lean, leave it in the pan.

Add the black beans and tomatoes with green chiles and stir. Bring to a simmer, add the corn and cook just until heated through.

To Serve:

Lay a piece of hash brown on a plate, top with a scoop of the chorizo hash, and another hash brown. If desired, top with a dollop of sour cream, a spoonful of salsa and a candied or jarred jalapeno slice.

...Or as my brother suggested, a poached or sunny-side up egg.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/08/02/waffle-iron-hash-browns-and-chorizo-hash/

 

Filed Under: Breakfast Foods, Comfort Food, kid food, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Stretching your dollars Tagged With: , , , , ,

Seasoned Snack Crackers (Amish Recipe) and a Giveaway | Make Ahead Mondays

July 30, 2012 by 123 Comments

When we moved into Amish country a few years ago, one of the things that surprised me the most was how, well, normal the Amish folks were that I met. I’m not sure what exactly I expected, but I think I fancied there’d be a little olde English* thrown around here and there; maybe thees and thous? I certainly didn’t expect to go to the farmer’s market and see a middle-aged Amish woman laughing raucously at her bake stand while holding a slice of pizza in one hand and a 20 ounce Pepsi in the other.

*Just in case any of you out there think the same thing I did, I assure you they don’t speak with thees and thous and thys and whatnot. In fact, it’s kind of ironic that I thought that since they refer to anyone who is not Amish as English.

Another big surprise for me -because apparently I build up images of various groups of people in my head- was the fact that they used store bought ingredients or items in cooking. I had visions of everything being from scratch. Granted, they do make more from scratch than your average “English” person, but they’re not opposed to taking something from the store and transforming it into something wonderful.

My friends, Ada and Anna, have been telling me for months about the seasoned snack crackers they make all the time. They promised that they were good for snacking, yes, but they also loved to break them up over salads and serve with soups or chilis. Every time they told me about it, though, they had just finished eating a batch and didn’t even have crumbs left in a bowl for me to sample. (They whip up those dishes quickly, people.) Each time they’d tell me about the crackers, I’d slink home sans sample. It finally occurred to all of us that they could just jot down the recipe. It only took a moment for them to write it down and as they handed me the card they assured me it was a simple process with four ingredients.

I had everything in the pantry that was needed -saltines, cheddar cheese powder (hence, the bright orange colour), sour cream and onion powder, and canola or vegetable oil- so I set straight to work. Twenty minutes later, I pulled two half-sheet pans from the oven full of appealing snack crackers.  The crackers were crispy and fragrant and it took little to no time before the kids smelled something that pulled them into the kitchen.  My kids have nearly perfected the art of the quick grab from a hot pan and little hands were grabbing hot crackers and tossing them to and fro in an attempt to cool them more quickly.

There was chattering, there was giggling, there were the first tentative nibbles and then? Then there was only the sound of crunching.  When there was a part in the wave of children attacking the pans, my husband and I dove in for a try. Those crackers were like giant Goldfish crackers or Cheese-Its/Cheese Nips. They were GOOD. My kids soon branched into putting paper thin slices of ham on the crackers. In very short order, they were el gone-o and many little voices were asking for more.

Since that day, we’ve made these on average of once a week, leaving a small bowl out for snacking and tucking the rest away for using the way Ada and Anna recommended; as croutons, snacks or accompaniments to soup or chili. There’s nothing quite like these for dunking in tomato soup or five-alarm chili.

Now, let’s get to the giveaway, shall we? I know that the cheddar cheese powder and sour cream powder may be hard for folks to find locally, so I’m giving away a generously sized bag of each (from my friend Ada’s store) to two different readers. Two winners! YAY! Unfortunately, this can only be open to my readers in the continental United States due to issues regarding shipping food across borders and such. What do you do to qualify for the giveaway? Here are the different ways to enter. Be sure to leave a comment for each one you do!

  • Leave a comment about your favourite quick snack food or a way you’ve been surprised by someone (or a group of someones) before. (1 entry)
  • Like Foodie With Family on facebook. (1 entry)
  • Follow Foodie With Family on Twitter (1 entry)
  • Kiss someone you love and tell me about it here. What can I say? I’m feeling romantic. My baby brother is getting married Sunday. (1 entry)

I’ll tally all of the entries and have one of my visiting family members pick a number at random to choose the winner by this Friday, August 3rd. Winners will be announced here! Good luck folks! The cheddar powder and the sour cream and onion powder are both spec-tac-u-lar on popcorn, just in case you needed another reason to want it.

One final thing before we get to the recipe. If you, like me, are not the patient type and you want to make these right away, I have two links below so you can purchase the powders through my BFF, Amazon.com. (These are affiliate links, and should you choose to purchase after clicking them, I do receive a small commission from Amazon. I just thought you should know.)
Sour Cream & Onion, 1 lb. package

Cheddar Cheese Powder, 1 lb.

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Seasoned Snack Crackers (Amish Recipe) and a Simple Giveaway | Make Ahead Mondays

Seasoned Snack Crackers (Amish Recipe) and a Simple Giveaway | Make Ahead Mondays

Simple saltines get a 10 minute makeover turning them into giant cheese crackers reminiscent of Goldfish, Cheese Nips and Cheez-Its turning the boring soda cracker into the perfect snack or accompaniment to chili and soup. Use as a salad topper, too!

Ingredients

  • 1 pound box of saltines (I recommend using low- or no-salt ones as the powders are generally salty enough.)
  • 1 cup vegetable or canola oil
  • 1/4 cup sour cream and onion powder
  • 2 tablespoons cheddar cheese powder

Instructions

Preheat oven to 250°F. Lay out two rimmed half-sheet pans.

Open all of the sleeves of saltines and put them into a large mixing bowl. In a measuring cup, whisk together the oil, sour cream and onion powder, and cheddar cheese powder until smooth. Drizzle over the crackers and toss with your hands to coat evenly.

Divide the crackers between the two sheet pans and use your hands to gently spread them out into as thin a layer as possible. Put the two pans in the oven and bake, stirring two or three times, for 20 minutes, or until the crackers feel mostly dry to the touch.

Remove the trays from the oven and let the crackers cool completely before transferring to an airtight container. These are good for about two weeks after being made when stored correctly. If they start to lose their crunch, return them to a 250°F oven for about 5 minutes.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/07/30/seasoned-snack-crackers-amish-recipe-and-a-giveaway-make-ahead-mondays/

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Comfort Food, Component Foods, kid food, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Snacks Tagged With: , , , , , , ,
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