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Butterscotch and Milky Way Tapioca Pudding | Amish Recipe

June 29, 2012 by 10 Comments

I’ve told you about my friends, Ada and Anna, in the Maple Sandwich Cookies post. What I haven’t told you about these ladies is that we are constitutionally incapable of having a conversation without it somehow turning to food and lots of it.  We talk about every kind of food we can think of, but our favourite topic is always dessert.

About three months ago, we were chatting about pudding (like you do) and Anna said, “Mom, you’ve told Rebecca about our butterscotch tapioca, right?” Whenever Anna says that, my ears perk up, and they did. “No…,” said I. “I don’t believe you have!”

What happened next is etched in my brain for all of eternity because I never had heard of such a glorious, decadent, unapologetically desserty dessert in all of my time.

Ada: Well, you start with cooking tapioca with brown sugar…

Anna: And then you add in white sugar, egg and milk.

Ada: Stir it so it doesn’t scorch!

Anna: Then you stir in butter and vanilla. Now you have to let it cool. Then you fold in whipped cream. Lots of whipped cream.

Ada: And chopped Milky Way bars.

Anna: And little tiny pieces of cream cheese. That’s it!

Ada: No, that’s not quite it. We sometimes serve it with caramel ice cream topping.

 

THUD. That was the sound my jaw made as it hit the floor. I was speechless. I was mesmerized. I was so befuddled that I walked out of their store with neither the recipe nor the requisite pearl tapioca.

I couldn’t really head back up the hill to see them again for about a week, and when I finally got there  no one was home. I left a beseeching and desperate note pinned to their front door, “Dreaming about your tapioca! Would you be so kind as to write it down for me? We can exchange it the next time we see each other!” I’m pretty sure I drew some smiley faces and hearts, too.

Two weeks after that, Ada and Anna pulled their buggy into my driveway to chat about helping me paint my fence and porch. Their horse was a bit lame that day, so they didn’t stay long, and it wasn’t until they were out of the drive and halfway up the road that I remembered the pudding.

Just three days ago I finally got my hands on the recipe that Anna had copied over for me by hand. They called it “Butterscotch Tapioca” but I had to add the Milky Ways to the title of the recipe because, well, MILKY WAYS ARE IN THE PUDDING. Holy cow. If you’re not clutching your keyboard in anticipation by now you never will be.

It was absolutely everything I was waiting for and more. Normally, I prefer my tapioca warm with fruit, but this stuff is served cold. Warm is not optional; it needs to be cold. You want the whipped cream and candy bars to hold their integrity and if you fold those into warm pudding it’ll just go phllllllbbbbbt. You want a bowl full of this in the refrigerator just so you can walk by with a spoon and turn back and get a big old mouthful.

Even my three tapioca-averse children hoovered this with wild abandon. The two who like tapioca under normal circumstances? Forget about it. They were so blissed out they couldn’t even speak. And my husband… He walked up and said, “Tapioca in the summer? I don’t know about that… It’s more of a winter…” as he lifted the spoon to his mouth. The next words out of his mouth were, “Oh my. I need another bite. Boys, can you get me a bowl?”

Behold the power of Ada and Anna and their magical Butterscotch (AND MILKY WAY) Tapioca Pudding.

 

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Butterscotch and Milky Way Tapioca Pudding | Amish Recipe

Butterscotch and Milky Way Tapioca Pudding | Amish Recipe

In this recipe from my Amish friends, Ada and Anna, tapioca pudding takes a turn for the spectacular when cooked with a brown sugar custard then loaded with folded-in whipped cream and oodles of chopped Milky Way candy bars and little tiny bits of cream cheese.

Ingredients

  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 1/2 cups small pearl tapioca
  • 6 cups water
  • 1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
  • 2 eggs, well beaten
  • 1/2 cup white sugar
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1 stick butter
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 1 1/2 cups whipping cream (or heavy cream) whipped to firm peaks (or 3 cups of Cool Whip)
  • 15 "fun size" Milky Way bars or 2 King Size Milky Way bars, roughly chopped
  • 4 ounces cream cheese, cut into small pieces

Instructions

Bring the tapioca, water and salt to a boil in a large, heavy-bottomed saucepan. Lower the heat and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent sticking.

Add the brown sugar and stir well. Continue simmering until the tapioca is cooked all the way through (clear or just a tiny white speck at the center of each tapioca pearl.), stirring quite frequently to prevent scorching. My small pearl tapioca purchased at Ada and Anna's store took close to 40 minutes to reach this point.

In a 4 cup measuring cup, whisk together the milk, sugar and beaten eggs. Ladle about a cup of the hot tapioca mixture into the egg mixture and whisk until smooth, then return that to the pan whisking constantly. Bring to a hard simmer and then turn off the heat. Add the butter and vanilla, stirring until the butter is melted and incorporated. Cover tightly and refrigerate until cool.

Stir the cooled tapioca well to loosen it up. Add 1 cup of the whipped cream and stir it in. Add the remaining whipped cream and fold it in gently. After the whipped cream is incorporated and the mixture is even, fold in the chopped Milky Way bars and small pieces of cream cheese. Serve immediately or refrigerate, with a sheet of plastic wrap directly on the surface of the pudding and also tightly covered for up to a week.

Ada and Anna suggest serving this with caramel ice cream topping if you want!

Notes: Do not use large pearl tapioca in this pudding as it will take far too long to cook through. Ada and Anna suggest that if you're short on time, you can substitute granulated tapioca, but I have not tested this option. Additionally, when you have chilled the tapioca in preparation for adding the final ingredients, it's going to look like a big, brown lump. Don't fear! Just stir it well to loosen it up. It will lighten significantly in colour and texture as the whipped cream is folded in.
http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/06/29/butterscotch-and-milky-way-tapioca-pudding-amish-recipe/

Filed Under: Accessible Ethnic, Breakfast Foods, candy, Comfort Food, Desserts, Holiday Food, kid food, Party Food, Pudding, Rebecca, Recipes, Vegetarian

One-Pot Bacon Pizza Pasta

June 28, 2012 by 7 Comments

The other night, a few of my teenager’s buddies came for a Minecraft party/eating festival. What that means, for those of you who aren’t don’t have teenagers or a gamer in the house, is that there were a fistful of teenage boys with laptops at my dining room table doing something on their computers that looked a whole lot like building Lego worlds full of zombies and pigs on their laptops.

The catch is that I didn’t know whether the plans were going to work until about a half an hour before they were set to arrive: right at dinner time. If that doesn’t strike fear deep into your heart, maybe this will; it was nearly 100°F out and these teenage boys that were arriving were coming straight from fencing lessons.

Let that sink in a bit.

A handful of hungry teenage boys straight from intense physical activity at my table.

The only possible answer was pasta and lots of it. Quickly.

I revamped my Bacon Cheeseburger Pasta for lack of hamburger and turned it into Bacon Pizza Pasta.  I was just stirring the last handful of cheese, pepperoni and crispy bacon into the pot when the doors opened and a bunch of young men with computers loped through. * We had a massive stockpot full of pasta that tasted for all the world like a pepperoni and bacon pizza had fallen into it; tender pasta in herby tomato sauce full of melted mozzarella cheese, pepperoni and crispy bacon.

*Can we just talk about this for a minute? First of all, I don’t even feel like an adult yet, let alone one with a teenager and CERTAINLY NOT one whose teenager and all of his friends are taller than her. I might need someone to hold my hand for a minute.

The pasta was as big a hit as I hoped it would be. The boys ate a lot. There were happy faces. And I only had one pot to clean even after feeding eight people for dinner. I washed my one pot, the boys brought their dishes for the dishwasher and I got to put my feet up. I’d call that an all around win, wouldn’t you?

The recipe as printed below yields a large pot of pasta. Not large enough to feed the crew I fed, but large nonetheless. It scales up beautifully -I made a triple batch for the wild men over here- and leftovers, should you have them, store and reheat nicely for up to four days.

 

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Bacon Pizza Pasta

Bacon Pizza Pasta

This one pot wonder dinner is a crowd pleaser with tender pasta covered in a pizza flavoured, herb-laden tomato sauce full of melted mozzarella cheese, crispy bacon, and pepperoni slices.

Ingredients

  • 1/2 pound sliced bacon
  • 1 onion, peeled and very finely chopped
  • 1 garlic clove, peeled and pressed or finely minced
  • 1 can (6 ounces) tomato paste
  • 1 cup pizza sauce
  • 4 cups beef broth
  • 1 cup water
  • 2 teaspoons Italian seasonings
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon onion powder (preferably granulated onion)
  • 3/4 teaspoon garlic powder (preferably granulated garlic)
  • 1/8 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (or more, to taste depending on heat tolerance and preference.)
  • 1 pound dry small shell, rotini, or elbow pasta
  • 2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
  • 15 slices of pepperoni, cut into quarters

Instructions

Stack the bacon strips and cut down through the stack at 1/4-inch intervals. When done, you should have a pile of thin bacon strips. Put these into a large stockpot over medium-low heat, stirring frequently. Add the onion and minced or pressed garlic when the bacon is about halfway cooked. Continue frying the bacon, onions and garlic until the bacon is crispy. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the crispy bacon with the onions and garlic to a paper towel lined plate to drain. Pour the remaining bacon grease out of the pan (and hopefully into a jar to use in tasty things later.)

In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the garlic, tomato paste, pizza sauce, beef broth, water, Italian seasonings, oregano, salt, and onion and garlic powders. Pour this into the pan from which you drained the bacon grease. Stir well, raise the heat to high and bring the mixture to a boil. When it is boiling, gently stir in the dry pasta, add a lid to the pan and drop the heat to low. Cook for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring every couple of minutes to prevent the pasta from sticking. When the pasta is tender, turn off the heat, add all of the grated cheese, the crispy bacon, and the chopped pepperoni and stir gently until the cheese is melted in completely and everything is evenly distributed. Serve hot with additional grated cheese if desired.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/06/28/one-pot-bacon-pizza-pasta/

 

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

Root Beer Syrup | Make Ahead Mondays

June 25, 2012 by 16 Comments

I am a fizzy drinks gal. My usual preference is for plain or flavoured (but not sweetened seltzer) but I have a deep and abiding love for two kinds of soda: ginger ale and root beer. I love the warm, spicy flavours of both of those. What I don’t adore, however, is the insane amount of sugar in most commercially available sodas.

My dad taught me to make my own ginger ale a few years back and that took care of the need for ginger ale, but until the last couple of weeks, I didn’t have a way to satisfy my root beer cravings without getting a sugar bomb in the process. With the exception of a few boutique brands of root beer (that are very tasty indeed but also pretty pricey), the sugar bomb in those sodas came in the form of high fructose corn syrup. I’m not going to wade into a debate here. Intelligent people disagree (vociferously) on the subject, but in our family we avoid consuming HFCS as much as possible.

I’ve tried making my own root beers from extract kits, but I was always a little disappointed because I like making things from the ground up. Buying a little bottle of some liquid and adding water and sugar just kind of felt like cheating. Yes, I realize I’m a little nuts. But I discovered something. I’m clearly not alone in thinking this way. I discovered Hank Shaw a.k.a. Hunter Angler Gardener Cook. Hank Shaw is, in a nutshell, awesome. I’ve always had a DIY bent, but Hank Shaw? I’m in an analogy frame of mind,  since I just finished up standardized testing with my kids, and I’m thinking that might be the best way to describe him. I am to Hank Shaw as Sandra Lee is to Martha Stewart. Sure, Sandra Lee decorates a table and whips up a cocktail, but Martha felled the tree, built the table, hand-wove the cloth for the decorations, smelted the metal for the silverware, designed and threw her own pottery, raised the animals and vegetables, slaughtered and prepared everything herself AND was a supermodel in the process.  In short, I have MAD respect for Hank Shaw. I have no idea whether his hair is perfectly coifed, but I rather suspect it is.

The point is this; Hank Shaw posted a recipe for homemade root beer syrup that looked like what I’d been seeking for ages. I had some dried burdock root (it grows EVERYWHERE around here, so I’m not sure this gets me my foraging badge), I ordered dried sassafras (because that DOESN’T grow around here), and raided my spice cabinet for the other bits and pieces*, and set to infusing.

*That spell of detective work just might get me the foraging badge after all!

The key to the recipe is a slow infusion (decoction, tisane, what-have-you) of water with the roots and spices. After it simmers a bit, some molasses is added (for both colour and flavour) then you simmer again. Then comes the WHAT?!? portion of the programme: wintergreen. I’m not kidding you. Go pop open a bottle of root beer and sniff. What are you getting? You’re getting the smell of sassafras and wintergreen (although of the two, wintergreen is probably the only one that is actually in commercial root beers any more.) Don’t skip this! And please, you might be tempted, but don’t sub in peppermint. The wintergreen is truly important. If you can’t lay your hands on fresh wintergreen leaves, you can always use wintergreen flavour or extract.*

*This is an affiliate link to Amazon.com.

As soon as the roots and spices started simmering my brain was panting, “Root beer. Root beer. Root beer.” It smells so good while it simmers. It smelled so good, in fact, that I dunked a spoon in to lick it. Um, it was not a great at that point. ‘Twas bitter but I carried on and continued the project. I started it late at night, so I let the cool down/infusion process go overnight. In the morning, I strained, measured, added to the pot with sugar and then simmered again. I dipped my spoon in again, cautiously licked it and holy man. It was good. It was great!

While I like to pour it over ice and top with my beloved plain seltzer for a spicy, rootsy-tootsy root beer beverage, you can also use the syrup to drizzle over your vanilla ice cream for a root beer sundae. On the other hand, you can sweeten your iced tea for a deliciously different sweet tea. Root beer sweet tea. Can I get a heck-yeah from the sweet tea lovers out there?

I’m going to tell you, this is NOT the root beer you get at the store. It just isn’t. It’s real. It has oomph. It has character. It’s not cloyingly sweet (although, if sweet is your thing you can always up the sugar content in the syrup.) When you smell it and taste it there is no doubt in your mind that this is root beer, but this is root beer as it’s meant to be. I’d take a tall glass of this root beer any day over the stuff on the shelves. My husband, who despises soda in general but likes seltzer, loved this root beer. Three of my five kids think this the best root beer they’ve ever had. (One of the remaining two just doesn’t like root beer, so he’s consistent. The other decided to be contrary.)

 

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Root Beer Syrup | Make Ahead Mondays

Root Beer Syrup | Make Ahead Mondays

For the rootin-est, tootin-est root beer you'll ever drink, whip up a batch of this all-natural root beer syrup. It makes grocery store root beers pale in comparison.

This recipe was very gently adapted and used with permission from and grateful thanks to Hank Shaw

Ingredients

  • 6 cups water
  • 3 ounces dried sassafras roots
  • 1/2 ounce dried burdock root
  • 1 teaspoon dried whole coriander seeds
  • 1 whole star anise
  • 1 whole clove
  • 1/4 cup dark molasses (not blackstrap)
  • 3-4 wintergreen leaves or 2 drops (or 1/8 of a teaspoon) wintergreen flavouring or extract
  • up to 6 cups of sugar (preferably raw, but granulated white sugar can be used.)

Instructions

Put the sassafras and burdock roots, coriander seeds, star anise and clove in a heavy-bottomed 2 quart saucepan that has a tight fitting lid. Pour the water over the top of the roots and spices and bring to a boil over high heat. Drop the heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. If it keeps bubbling up and out, vent the lid just a bit.

Add the molasses, stir, replace the lid, and return to a simmer for 5 minutes. Remove the pan from the heat, add the wintergreen flavouring or extract, replace the lid and let the mixture cool to room temperature. (I let mine cool on a cold burner on the stove overnight because I prepared my sassafras infusion late at night.)

Line a fine mesh strainer with cheesecloth, place over a large measuring cup with a pouring spout or a pitcher, and pour the cooled infusion into it to strain. Do not press on the contents, but let the roots rest in the strainer for about 30 minutes before proceeding. While that strains, rinse the pot in which you infused it to get any lingering bits of root or spice out of it.

Measure your sassafras infusion, return it to the rinsed pot and add an equal amount of sugar -by volume- to the pot. For instance, if you have 4 1/2 cups of infusion, add 4 1/2 cups of sugar. Bring the mixture to a boil, drop the heat to low and let simmer for 5 minutes. Pour the syrup into canning jars, fix clean, new, two-piece lids on top and store in the refrigerator up to a year.

To Make a Root Beer Drink from the Syrup:

Use 1 tablespoon of syrup over ice to 1 cup of plain seltzer water. Stir gently. Enjoy!

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/06/25/root-beer-syrup-make-ahead-mondays/

If you want to make a batch or twelve of this but don’t know where to find the ingredients, Amazon.com, as always, can hook you up:

Filed Under: Beverages, Comfort Food, Component Foods, Condiments, Food Preservation, Happy Healthy and Wise, Healthy Foods, kid food, Make Ahead Mondays, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Vegetarian

Chocolate Covered Banana Pops and Homemade Magic Shell | Make Ahead Mondays

June 18, 2012 by 6 Comments

 

Well, hello Summer Vacation.

That snuck up on us quickly, didn’t it? (My kids would argue that it’s taken forever to get here. Ah, youth.) The boys have already thrown themselves headlong into the summer rhythm of fishing, biking, climbing trees, catching snakes, dabbling toes in brooks and lakes, snacking, and swinging in hammocks.

We spend our Saturdays at the Angelica Farmers’ Market where I am part of the management team and the boys operate their summer business of charming people into buying their hand-made garden and yard sculptures.*

*The salesmen are adorable, tis true, but so are their garden sculptures.

When we get home Saturday afternoon, we are invariably tired to the last man (or wo-man, as the case may be. That’s Woah-Man!) and hungry. We haul in the goodies we purchased from fellow vendors, stash the veggies in appropriate storage containers and collectively collapse on chairs. And then the, “I’m hungry!” chorus starts in earnest. If I haven’t thought ahead this is the moment that makes me regret that acutely.

The very best solution is having something in the freezer to take the edge off of the heat. These frozen treats -Chocolate Covered Banana Pops- or CCBPs, as the kids call them, are a steadfast favourite around here. The frozen bananas taste for all the world like vanilla ice cream pops coated in chocolate! My mom used to make them for me and my siblings when we were little (even though she hated bananas personally) and I’m carrying on the tradition. I keep it up in part because it’s a fabulously healthy snack that feels indulgent but also because I still love eating them myself.

…There is one more reason, though, and it’s a doozy. The chocolate dip for the frozen bananas makes a killer Magic Shell topping for other frozen treats. Didya freeze some strawberries? Throw a few in a bowl and drizzle a little reheated Homemade Magic Shell over the top. Bowls of ice cream cry out for a little tap-tap-tap-break chocolate shell on top. Ice cream cones never looked so good as when they’re dunked into melted chocolate and uprighted to form that little curlicue at the top.

So freeze a few bananas today. Make a double batch of the Magic Shell. Boldly dunk frozen things (or drizzle the melted Magic Shell over the aforementioned chilled goodies.) and remember what it’s like to be a kid in the summer time. This is truly a kid-tested, mother-approved recipe. If you wake up some sweltering morning, you could eat something far worse for breakfast than a CCBP. Not that I’ve done that. Today.

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Chocolate Covered Banana Pops and Homemade Magic Shell | Make Ahead Mondays

Chocolate Covered Banana Pops and Homemade Magic Shell | Make Ahead Mondays

There just isn't anything more reminiscent of childhood summers for me than frozen Chocolate Dipped Banana Pops. The frozen bananas taste just like ice cream pops! Kids of all ages love these.

Make a double batch of the dip to use as a healthy (and divine) Homemade Magic Shell.

Ingredients

    Homemade Magic Shell:
  • 2 cups finely chopped dark chocolate chunks
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin coconut oil
    • Chocolate Covered Banana Pops (CCBP's):
  • 6 ripe bananas, peeled
  • 12 wooden popsicle sticks
  • Homemade Magic Shell, reheated 'til thin
  • Optional for rolling onto the chocolate coated bananas:
  • graham cracker crumbs
  • mini M&Ms
  • sprinkles
  • jimmies
  • chopped roasted nuts (peanuts, hazelnuts, almonds, etc...)
  • crushed salty pretzels

Instructions

To Make the Homemade Magic Shell:

Put the chocolate chunks into a microwave safe jar. A wide-mouthed pint jar works perfectly for this project. Microwave on high for 1 minute. Remove the jar from the microwave, add the coconut oil and stir until smooth. Use immediately or add a tight fitting lid and let cool to room temperature before refrigerating for up to 1 month.

To Reheat Homemade Magic Shell:

Remove lid from the jar and reheat on medium power in 30 second increments, stirring well after each burst, until smooth and thin. Pour and/or dunk as needed!

To Make Chocolate Covered Banana Pops (CCBP's):

Line a baking sheet with parchment or waxed paper. Cut the bananas in half and insert a wooden popsicle stick about 2-3 inches into the cut end of each banana half, leaving enough stick outside of the banana to grip easily. Arrange the bananas so they are not touching on the baking sheet and put it, uncovered, into the freezer. Freeze until the bananas are solid all the way through.

If you want to have additional toppings to roll onto the chocolate with the bananas, pour them into pie plates or small dessert plates.

Heat your Homemade Magic Shell coating until thin. Remove the tray from the freezer and quickly dunk each banana -1 at a time- into the Homemade Magic Shell, let the excess drip from the banana and quickly roll it into any additional toppings you're using. Return the dipped banana to the spot on the tray where it was before, and repeat with the remaining bananas. When they are all dipped, you can eat them right away or transfer them to a rigid container with waxed paper or parchment between layers. Cover the container with a tight fitting lid and keep frozen up to 1 month.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/06/18/chocolate-covered-banana-pops-and-homemade-magic-shell-make-ahead-mondays/

Filed Under: Breakfast Foods, Chocolate, Comfort Food, Desserts, Freezer Pleaser, Happy Healthy and Wise, Healthy Foods, Ice Cream, kid food, Rebecca, Recipes, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , , ,

Pissaladière (French Pizza)

June 15, 2012 by 4 Comments

I spent my senior year of high school as an exchange student in the Alsasce region of France.  How my parents managed to pull that off in the middle of a divorce on a church salary and as a full time student I have no idea, but I am eternally grateful. I took full advantage of the opportunity they gave me and studied (the boys. Sorry, Dad.) at a French high school, traveled through France, Germany, Switzerland and even a wee bit of Italy, drank up the culture, admired the architecture, consumed my weight in pastry, read their literature, attended sporting events, hiked the countryside, walked the city streets (only the safe ones, ish. Sorry, Mom.), made lifelong friends, and -in retrospect- did everything I could have wanted to do.

Except for one thing.

You see, the year I spent in France was smack dab down the middle of my seven year stint as a vegetarian. Sigh. That’s right. I spent a school year in the sausage capital of the world. As in the region of France that is best known for its charcuterie and specialty hams and oh man. (That sound is me smacking my head on the desk repeatedly.) I want a do-over on the meat portion of the trip.

To be fair, I must assert I did not do without good food, lack of ham notwithstanding.  France is a food mecca no matter how you eat. I had cheese and pastry and vegetable tartines and more cheese and more cheese and yet more cheese. I put a great deal of French cheese under my belt. Given that I was not partaking in the local meats (weep, gnash, moan), the hospitable folks of the area pushed many cheeses my way. And if you think I ran out of cheeses to try whilst in La Belle France, you’re sorely mistaken.

With all the multitudinous fromages I munched, you might think think it’s a cinch that cheese was my favourite food in France. That distinction, however, belongs to a food that will always reign supreme in my heart as the ultimate in French food. It’s not a high-falutin’, fancy-pants, five-days-prep food either. It’s that good, solid, favourite-of-the-citizens selection: Pissaladière.

Pissaladière is not technically an Alsatian dish (Whimper, see lack of ham tirade above.) but it is at its heart a seminal French dish. It is, in a nutshell, French pizza. The crust is a little breadier than Italian pizza, it’s covered with a thick layer of caramelized onions, and topped with salty, oil cured olives and anchovy fillets. This is a dish that encapsulates why -among other reasons- I love France so much. They don’t shy away from stinky food when it tastes great.

Some day, I’ll get back to France. I’ll tour the places where I spent some of the most defining time of my youth. I’ll once again eat my weight in cheese and pastry, tour the countryside and admire the architecture. But this time, I’ll take my own cute guy with me, and I’ll try that ham and sausage, dangit.

…and I will most certainly have a pissaladière. Or three.

This post was sponsored by Frigidaire. When you share your own do-over moment at Facebook.com/Frigidaire, Frigidaire will donate $1 to Save the Children’s U.S. programs. Plus, Frigidaire will help cover the costs for one lucky visitor to win the ultimate do-over.

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Pissaladière (French Pizza)

Pissaladière (French Pizza)

Pissaladière is the ultimate in French street food; crispy crust, caramelized onions, anchovies and salty, oil-cured olives. Because it is wonderful served both warm and at room temperature, it makes perfect picnic fare. La bonne vie is sitting on a blanket with a slice of Pissaladière and a glass of chilled, crisp white wine.

Ingredients

  • 1 pound pizza dough preferably this
  • 3 medium onions, peeled, halved and cut into thin half-moon shapes then roughly chopped
  • 3-4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme or 1/2 teaspoon fresh thyme
  • 1/2 a bay leaf
  • 3 garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
  • 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
  • black pepper to taste
  • 8-10 oil packed flat anchovy fillets, patted dry
  • 16 oil cured olives, pitted and halved (You don't need to be fancy about it. Pop the pit out with your fingers and tear the olives in half.)

Instructions

Preheat your oven and a pizza stone to 500°F (or up to 550°F if your oven can go higher.)

While the oven preheats, gently heat the olive oil in a heavy-bottomed skillet. Add the onions, thyme, bay leaf, garlic, salt and pepper, stirring to evenly coat with oil, and cook gently over medium low to low heat (lowering if necessary to prevent over-browning) for about 20 minutes, until the onions are softened and just lightly browning around the edges. Do not caramelize the onions completely or they will scorch in the oven giving a burned taste to the final product. Remove the bay leaf from the caramelized onions.

Dust your work surface with flour and gently stretch your pizza dough into a circle. Use a floured rolling pin to stretch the dough out until it is about 1/8-inch thick. Generously cover a pizza peel with semolina or cornmeal.

Spread the onion mixture (including the oil) to within 1/4-inch of the edges of the crust. Arrange the anchovies and olive halves over the top of the onions. Give the peel a gentle shake to be sure the dough isn't sticking. If it is, carefully lift that area and sprinkle more semolina or cornmeal underneath to fix it.

Slide the dressed dough onto the hot stone and bake for between 8 and 15 minutes, depending on the heat of your oven, or until it is evenly browned and crisp underneath. Use the peel to transfer the Pissaladière to a cutting board.

Cool for five minutes, cut into wedges and serve warm or at room temperature.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/06/15/pissaladiere-french-pizza/

Filed Under: Accessible Ethnic, Appetizers & Snacks, Bread, Comfort Food, Party Food, Pizza, Rebecca, Recipes

One Ingredient Mango (or Banana) Ice Cream

June 8, 2012 by 18 Comments

Around a decade ago, my stepmom, Val,  and my dad gave us a seriously burly juicer as a gift. For those of you well-versed in juicers, I’ll name drop for a second here; it’s a Champion. That thing is jet-engine powerful. And I used that jet engine to make juice. Lots of juice. Juice is good for kids, right?* But there’s only so much juice a gal and her crew can consume.

*Well, as long as it’s real juice and not a sugar bomb. I know…

Then one day, while we were hovering around Val’s kitchen looking hungry (because if you’re smart, that is the way you’ll arrange your face in her kitchen so you can taste her food), she offered to whip up a treat for us. She fished some frozen mango strips and bananas from the freezer. She assembled her own juicer and stuffed the frozen fruit into it. The motor whirred and out of the end of the juicer came… what?… seriously???… It was ice cream. Or at least it looked it.

And oh-my-sweet-heavens it tasted like it. It tasted like the most glorious, indulgent ice cream I had ever eaten. I didn’t even wait until it made it to my own personal bowl. My spoon kept going back to the bowl sitting under the juicer. The Evil Genius’s spoon was even faster than mine. Superlatives were used folks.

That was a day that will live in our memories forever, because it was the day we discovered (I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but my kids are standing over me insisting I tell you what they call it) Fruit Poop. If I wasn’t so desensitized by being the mother of five boys, I might have died just now putting that in print for all you to read, but that’s what the kids (including the big, adult one to whom I’m married) like to call it. This name came about while watching the juicer extrude the fruit. Okay, boys. I told them. Can I go back to calling it ice cream now?

All summer long, this is our go-to dessert. And for years, I’ve kept my mango strips, bananas, and whatever other frozen fruit I wanted to use in plastic containers in the freezer. The only problem was that the lids on those dad-burned containers always shattered on me when I tried to pry them off. I tried switching to freezer bags, but those would slip down in and among rock-hard venison loins, bags of peas and corn, and white paper packages containing that half-a-pig we ordered. It drove me batty.

I recently discovered the joy that is Glad Freezerware. It’s made to go into the freezer! (Duh, right?) It’s tough stuff. It’s made to go from freezer to microwave to whatever and is dishwasher safe. SCORE. I’m still trying to figure out a way to make my kids dishwasher safe. That would so simply my life. Glad… can you get on that? Please?

Here’s how I use it for the One-Ingredient Ice Cream. Cut a large amount of ripe mangoes and bananas into strips or one-inch thick chunks. Believe me. You’re going to want this often. Lay them out -not touching- on a parchment lined baking sheet and stash them in the freezer until frozen solid all the way through. The point in freezing them like this is so you don’t have one giant lump of frozen fruit. No matter HOW burly your juicer or food processor, you cannot make something good out of lump-o-fruit.

Do your level best not to snitch them at this point. Yes, I know they’re tasty, but they’re MAGICAL when they’re frozen and turned into fruit poop, er, one-ingredient ice cream.

For best results, transfer the frozen fruit into Glad Freezerware containers, then store in the freezer until ready to use.  You’re going to be grateful those lids don’t shatter when you take them off, because you’ll be taking the lids off all. the. time. to make this ice cream.

The lid, the lid, the lid didn’t shatter!

Again, no snitching! I had to smack a hand away from these containers. Alright. I smacked my own hand away, but the point is that you want what’s coming next!

I am not engaging in hyperbole when I tell you this is some of the best tasting stuff I have ever eaten. And look at the banana “ice cream”.

I do so love this plain. I adore it. But if I was to accidentally trip and drizzle a little chocolate syrup on top, I would love it that way, too. Ahem.

We also love blends. Mango/Banana? Two thumbs up. Blueberry/Banana? Big yes! Have fun with it. You have to taste this to believe it. It tastes like soft-serve frozen custard, but it’s good for you. Holy cow. It’s really good for you. It’s FRUIT!

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One Ingredient Mango (or Banana) Ice Cream

One Ingredient Mango (or Banana) Ice Cream

You'll have to taste it to believe it, but this super-creamy, luscious ice cream is made from just one ingredient! Whether you choose mango or banana or another fruit entirely, you'll be blown away by how decadent frozen fruit can taste when blitzed in a food processor or a juicer with a blank plate. Summer heat doesn't stand a chance when you have this recipe under your belt!

Ingredients

    For Mango 'Ice Cream':
  • Strips or small chunks of frozen mango
  • (The equivalent of 1 to 1 1/2 mangos yields one very generous or two medium servings.)
    • For Banana 'Ice Cream' (Taste like vanilla ice cream):
  • Strips or small chunks of frozen banana
  • (1 1/2 bananas are about equal to one very generous or two smaller servings)

Instructions

For Either Flavour of 'Ice Cream' Using a Juicer:

Put the blank plate on your juicer (the one that allows you to make 'whole juice' vs. strained juice.) Add the chunks of frozen fruit to the hopper and press down gently until all the fruit has been extruded.

Either eat immediately for soft-serve texture, or pack gently into a freezerware container, cover and put in the freezer until solid. This is best served the day it is made, but can be stored longer and softened slightly at room temperature before serving later.

For Either Flavour of 'Ice Cream' Using a Food Processor:

Put the chunks of frozen fruit into a food processor work bowl that has been fitted with a metal blade. Put the lid in place and process until it is a soft-serve consistency. You may find you need to stop the food processor to scrape down the sides occasionally.

Serve immediately like soft-serve, or pack into freezerware containers, cover and put into the freezer until solid. This is best served the day it is made, but can be stored longer and softened slightly at room temperature before serving later.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/06/08/one-ingredient-mango-or-banana-ice-cream/

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received Glad Freezerware but the opinions contained in the post are entirely my own. I really do love these containers. For more information on the new Glad Freezerware containers, visit their Facebook page.

Filed Under: Comfort Food, Desserts, Freezer Pleaser, Happy Healthy and Wise, Healthy Foods, Holiday Food, Ice Cream, kid food, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Stretching your dollars, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , , ,

Creamy Lemon Lime Popsicles (Three Ingredients) | Make Ahead Mondays

June 4, 2012 by 10 Comments

Is school officially out for the summer where you are? We’re on the cusp here. So very close! We just have a couple standardized tests to finish up and it’s FREEDOM for a couple of hazy, lazy (I wish!) months. My kids want that break so badly they can taste it.

The weather is hot and it’s just too hard to sit at the school table without some sort of encouragement. To that end, I’ve been dangling popsicles like carrots to signify the end of the school day. There is nothing quite like a bit of quiescently frozen whatnot to take your mind off of columns of bubbles that have to be filled in ever so completely without going outside the lines. Popsicles take the sting out of the end of the school year.

Did you ever wonder if the person who invented standardized testing forms is the same one who invented ballots in Florida? But I digress. Politically and otherwise.

The popsicles I’m sharing here today hold the number one spot (not to be dislodged by number two pencils) in our home. Lemony and limey, they’re so creamy they almost eat like an ice cream rather than an ice pop. The creaminess comes courtesy of… are you sitting down?… COCONUT MILK and Lemon Lime Curd. That’s right. There’s no cream or milk anywhere near this.  You all know I’m a mega fan of cream, but there is simply no substitute here. There’s something magical about what coconut milk does when its frozen. It doesn’t taste overly coconut-y, in fact, you’re hard pressed to get the coconut flavour at all. It’s very faint. But what it lends is an unctuousness that is unparalleled. The Lemon Lime Curd is obviously the main source for the citrus punch, but gets a little helping hand from an extra splash of lemon juice.

If you’d like to make these vegan (it isn’t already because of the eggs and butter in the Lemon Lime Curd) there is an easy quick fix. Simply use vegan lemon curd (or vegan lemon lime curd) in place of the traditional curd.

In case you’re on the fence about making these thinking, “How could something so easy to make possibly be as good as she says it is?” allow me to share an example. My husband likes food but he believes in the less-is-more approach to food compliments. He does not use superlatives unless a food has earned it. He took a bite of one of these popsicles and his eyes rolled back into his head. He said, “Did you make these up?” When I replied that I had, he said, “These are incredible! Seriously. You have to blog these. Now. Go blog them. People need to make these.”

He has suggested I put things up here on Foodie With Family before, but never with this much enthusiasm. Well, there is one exception, but it’s coming next week. That’s right. I hit it out of the park with The Evil Genius twice in one month. Stay tuned. And in the meantime, whip up a batch of these Creamy Lemon Lime Popsicles. It’ll take no time at all and you’ll look like a superhero.

One batch of the popsicle mix makes quite a few popsicles, but feel free to double or triple the recipe so that you have them on hand all the time. You’re only limited by the amount of moulds and freezer space you have and the number you can eat in a month. Believe me when I tell you you’ll be able to eat more than you think! If you wanted to make these in serious quantities for a kids’ party or similar event, use little disposable paper cups and short, fat wooden popsicle sticks.

In honour of the end of the school year and an undisclosed high school reunion year ending with a zero (ACK!), I’ll close this by saying, “Stay cool! Never change! Love ya like a sister!”

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Creamy Lemon Lime Popsicles (Three Ingredients) | Make Ahead Mondays

Creamy Lemon Lime Popsicles (Three Ingredients) | Make Ahead Mondays

These lemony, limey, bright, 3-ingredient popsicles are so creamy they almost eat like ice cream rather than ice pops. These will take the edge off of the hottest days and are easily converted to being a vegan-friendly recipe by using vegan lemon curd in place of the traditional Lemon Lime Curd.

Ingredients

  • 1 can (13.5 ounces, approximately) full-fat, unsweetened Coconut Milk
  • 1 cup Lemon Lime Curd
  • 1 tablespoon lemon (or lime) juice

Instructions

Add all ingredients to a blender and blend on high until smooth, about 15 seconds. If you do not have a blender, add to a large mixing bowl and whisk vigorously until smooth. Pour into popsicle moulds, add sticks or handles and freeze 6 hours or until frozen solid. These are best eaten within a month of being made.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/06/04/creamy-lemon-lime-popsicles-three-ingredients-make-ahead-mondays/

 

Filed Under: Comfort Food, Desserts, Freezer Pleaser, Happy Healthy and Wise, Ice Cream, kid food, Make Ahead Mondays, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Vegetarian Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Salsa Beef and Bean Lettuce Cups

June 1, 2012 by 9 Comments

I went to bed the other night all prepared to make delicious little calzones for the family’s dinner the next evening. The next day, the temperature outside was roughly that of the surface of the sun. And humid.

Now I don’t know about you, but when it feels like a giant sauna outside, I am not much disposed to baking. (That was a giant euphemism for you couldn’t PAY me to heat up the oven.)

The moral of the story is don’t menu plan.

Actually, the moral of the story is to be flexible. I took the ‘guts’ of the doomed calzones and turned it around into something quick and not at all oven-y. I fried up some bacon, added it to some browned ground beef then stirred in a can of our favourite chili beans and a fistful of chopped cilantro. Thanks to great sale on produce at our local-ish grocery, we were well stocked on lettuce. The result was a smoky, saucy, beefy, bacony, beany concoction that somehow managed to be filling without being heavy. We served it in crispy lettuce cups, topped it with grated cheese, velvety ripe avocado cubes and some spicy salsa, sat on the porch and let what little breeze there was cool us all down. Three cheers for switching it up!

The no-vegetable contingent had the toppings (meat and cheese, thankyouverymuch) over brown rice while the rest of us happily munched our lettuce cups. We ended up liking the dish so much we made it two nights in a row.  Then two nights later, we made it again. Thank heavens for bursts of inspiration!

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Salsa Beef and Bean Lettuce Cups

Salsa Beef and Bean Lettuce Cups

Crisp, fresh lettuce cups with a smoky, saucy, beef, bean and bacon filling are topped with lime-kissed ripe avocado cubes, shredded Cheddar cheese and a generous dollop of your favourite salsa for the ultimate hot-weather dinner. Easy enough for busy evenings but pretty enough to serve to company, you'll be sure to add this to your regular meal rotation!

Ingredients

    For the Beef Filling:
  • 1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
  • 1/2 of a pound of sliced bacon
  • 1/2 an onion, peeled and finely diced
  • 1 clove garlic, peeled and minced or pressed
  • 1 can (15.5 ounces, approximately) chili beans in sauce
  • 1/4 cup chopped cilantro or parsley
    • To Serve:
  • Butter or Iceberg lettuce leaves
  • shredded extra sharp Cheddar cheese
  • cubes of ripe avocado with lime juice squeezed over them
  • salsa

Instructions

To Prepare the Filling:

Stack the bacon slices and cut cross-ways into 1/4- to 1/2-inch thick strips. Fry those over medium heat in a 12-inch, heavy-bottomed skillet or frying pan until crispy. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the bacon to drain on a plate lined with paper towels. Pour the remaining bacon fat from the pan and return the pan to medium heat.

Break up the ground beef into the hot pan and add the chopped onions and garlic. Use a wooden spoon to continue breaking the beef and working the onions and garlic into it as it cooks. When the beef is no longer pink in the center, drain off any fat (if there is any!) and return the pan to the heat. Add the can of beans with their sauce, stir well and bring up to a simmer. You can simmer it to thicken the sauce if necessary.

Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cilantro.

To Serve:

Stack the lettuce leaves 2 to 3 thick to provide a little structure for when you lift it to eat it. Scoop about 1/3 to 1/2 cup of the beef filling in the center of the lettuce cup. Top with the shredded cheese, cubes of avocado and a dollop of salsa.

http://www.foodiewithfamily.com/2012/06/01/salsa-beef-and-bean-lettuce-cups/

Filed Under: Appetizers & Snacks, Comfort Food, Happy Healthy and Wise, kid food, Main Dish, Meat, Party Food, Rebecca, Recipes, Stretching your dollars Tagged With: , , , , ,
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