Monthly Archives: May 2009

Chipotle Guacamole and Bacon Sandwich

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guac_bacon_wichCurrently cooking from The Carefree Cook by Rick Rodgers.

The night I made these sandwiches for dinner, I was on a mission. I needed to find one more recipe from The Carefree Cook, I needed to use up some severely ripe avocados, and I needed to get dinner on the table quick.

At first, I was skeptical about a recipe for a sandwich. That seemed sort of, oh, elementary. Then I realized that the recipe is more about the guacamole, which, incidentally, is very yummy.

The guacamole starts with two ripe avocados that get mashed with salsa, mayonnaise and ground chipotle chiles or chili powder. Smear the guacamole on toast, add some bacon and lettuce, and you end up with one mighty tasty sandwich. Mission accomplished.

This is the last recipe from The Carefree Cook. I was less impressed with the desserts than I was with the soups and main dishes. Most of the recipes were winners. The lentil and sausage soup has become a favorite. I’ve already made the pork chops in a creamy mushroom sauce again, except I used chicken breasts instead of the pork (winner!), and I’m just waiting for an excuse to serve short ribs provencale to guests.

Next up is Great Coffee Cakes, Sticky Buns, Muffins & More by Carole Walter.

Lentil, Sausage and Macaroni Soup

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lentil_soupCurrently cooking from The Carefree Cook by Rick Rodgers.

This soup may not look like much, but it is one of the best recipes I’ve made out of The Carefree Cook.

The soup starts by browning some sausage and then adding onion, carrots, celery and garlic to the pot. Normally, I don’t like sausage very much, but here, the sausage plays a starring role. I used a pound of sweet (or mild) turkey Italian sausage and it was perfect. Once the veggies have softened, you add lentils, chicken broth, tomato paste and water and simmer until the lentils are almost done. At that time, you add about a cup of  small “soup”  pasta (I used ditalini) and cook until the pasta is tender. 

I purposefully added less liquid than the recipe called for, simply because I didn’t want a brothy soup. The first night we ate this with homemade buttermilk bread, but the leftovers were even better. The lentils and macaroni continued to absorb liquid, so the soup became thicker.

The only thing I would change about this recipe is to add more veggies. I think some sort of hearty green, such as kale, would be wonderful. Also, peas.

Short Ribs Provencale and Mashed Turnips with Garlic

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short_ribsCurrently cooking from The Carefree Cook by Rick Rodgers.

Out of these two recipes that made up dinner, the short ribs provencale was, by far, the best. It is one of those dishes that takes a bit of prep work, but then spends the rest of the time slowly stewing away in the oven while you do other things. As an added bonus, it made the house smell really, really good.

The dish starts by browning ribs on the stovetop, then adding onions, celery and canned tomatoes and popping the whole thing in the oven until the meat is tender and falling off the bone. Midway through baking, baby carrots are added.

Rodgers suggests serving the ribs and sauce over mashed potatoes. I was feeling adventurous and decided to try his recipe for mashed turnips. Honestly, they were pretty disappointing. They were watery and the strong turnip flavor almost overwhelmed the ribs.

We had lots of leftover ribs and sauce, so the next night, for dinner, I used the leftovers as a sauce for pasta. This dish was better than the original and worth making just for leftovers!

Ricotta Cookies Recipe

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ricotta_cookiesI came across this recipe while in culinary school. One day, my cooking buddy Jamie came into the kitchens declaring that we had to make these cookies. I think she found the recipe in a mailer from a ricotta cheese manufacturer. At that point, I had never baked with ricotta cheese, and I was skeptical. Besides, I was a ‘serious’ baker and these cookies had sprinkles, for heaven’s sake!

Well, about a thousand batches later, I am comfortable enough in my bakerhood to admit that these are one of my favorite cookies. They are tender and moist with a faintly sweet vanilla flavor. You don’t taste the ricotta cheese; it contributes more to the texture than anything else. These are so good that Bryan recently requested them for his birthday instead of a cake!

I prefer to glaze the cookies while they are still hot, as it makes the glaze more transparent. The glaze sets up pretty fast, so it is easier to have an extra set of hands manning the sprinkler.

Recipe is after the jump. Continue reading →

Strawberry with Raspberry Juice and Balsamic Vinegar

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strawberry_raspberryFrom Mes Confitures by Christine Ferber.

What does one do, when one buys waaayyyy too many strawberries at the local Costco? Well, after eating myself sick, I decided that now was as good a time as any to try one of the strawberry jams in Mes Confitures.

This was a two-day jam. On the first day, you let the strawberries macerate in the sugar. On the second day, you cook down the raspberries and strain them, cook the raspberry juice and the strawberry juice until concentrated, and then add in the strawberries and the vinegar and cook until set.

I scaled back on the sugar from 4 1/4 cups to 3 cups. That just seemed too excessive, and my berries were pretty sweet. I ended up not missing the extra sugar at all. Unlike previous jam/jelly making attempts, I actually cooked this jam until it set properly, even though my berries were mush by that time.

In the finished product, you can’t taste the vinegar. Instead, you get all the strawberry and raspberry flavor with just a bit of tang to it. Bryan was eating the jam by the spoonful, so I figure this one was a success.

Banana-Blueberry Coffee Cake

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banana_coffee_cakeCurrently cooking from The Carefree Cook by Rick Rodgers.

This is banana bread on steriods! It was very moist and not too sweet, with pecans adding a nice crunch. What sets this banana bread apart from others is the cup of blueberries that is stirred into the batter, as well as a layer of streusel in the middle.

What? You can’t see the streusel in the photo? Don’t worry, you aren’t blind. The streusel layer disappeared into the cake instead of remaining a separate component.

The other unusual part of this cake, the blueberries, didn’t seem to add much to the finished product. I’ll probably leave them out next time.

Grilled Chicken Breasts with Orange Jerk Marinade

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chicken_jerkCurrently cooking from The Carefree Cook by Rick Rodgers.

I was looking forward to trying this dish, as we eat a lot of chicken and sometimes that can get boring. Unfortunately, Neither Bryan nor I liked this chicken at all. Lately, we seem to have hit a few of Rodgers’ recipes that just aren’t doing it for us.

In this recipe, the chicken is marinated in a mixture of garlic, scallions, hot pepper, the zest and juice of an orange, vinegar, soy sauce and herbs. The meat is then grilled or broiled. In the end, the chicken had a strange perfumey, yet medicinal taste. The orange overpowered everything else.

Apple and Nutmeg Custard Crostata

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apple_crostadaCurrently cooking from The Carefree Cook by Rick Rodgers.

I like apple pie. I like custard. I like nutmeg. But I hated this crostata. Don’t let its looks fool you (or the heavenly smell of it baking). Underneath that flaky crust, is curdled custard swimming in butter.

The premise of this crostata is that it delivers an apple pie in a much easier form. It starts out by making a standard pastry dough with butter. You roll the dough out in to a 12-inch circle, sprinkle some sugar on it and then arrange apple slices on it. A little more sugar is sprinkled over the apples and then the edges of the dough are folded up and over the apples. This gets baked for about 15 minutes to set the crust, and then you pour a simple egg/cream/nutmeg custard over the apples and bake until the apples are tender and the custard is set.

The first indication that all was not well with my crostata was seeing the custard start to bubble. Bubbling custard usually equals scrambled eggs. The crust didn’t bake up as brown as I would have liked; I think brushing it with egg whites or milk would have helped that. The other major problem I had was that a bunch of the butter leaked out of the crust and into the custard, making it somewhat greasy.

I liked the idea of this crostata. Next time, I’ll simply leave out the custard and server it with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Wide Noodles with Meat Sauce and Basil Ricotta

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noodle_lasagnaCurrently cooking from The Carefree Cook by Rick Rodgers.

This pasta dish was . . . okay. Nothing spectacular. It just needed something more. As in more flavor, more spice, more taste. If you are looking for the flavors of a lasagne without all the time and work, this is it, sorta.

Like most other recipes in The Carefree Cook, this came together quickly. The meat sauce is a mixture of onions, garlic, ground beef and tomatoes that cooks down into a thick, meaty sauce in about 25 minutes. Then you toss the sauce with some wide noodle pasta and top it off with ricotta cheese that has been mixed with fresh basil.

With a little doctoring, this meat sauce could be really good. It doesn’t have the body and flavor of a long-cooked tomato sauce, but it ain’t bad for 25 minutes. The ricotta-basil mixture, while making the dish more like a lasagne, didn’t add any flavor. I would actually leave this out next time.

Penne with Cauliflower and Sage

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cauliflower3Currently cooking from The Carefree Cook by Rick Rodgers.

The idea of using cauliflower in a pasta sauce is a new concept for me. When I think of cauliflower, I immediately think of roasting it, or eating it raw with plenty of Ranch Dressing.

Rodgers starts you off by browning some pancetta or bacon and then cooking the cut-up cauliflower in the fat until the florets are brown. Then you add garlic, tomatoes, the pancetta/bacon bits, sage and red pepper flakes to the cauliflower and simmer the mixture until the cauliflower is tender. This  chunky “sauce” is then served over pasta.

True to Rodgers’ form, this is a quick and easy dish. As an added bonus, it is also pretty healthy. I served the sauce with some whole wheat pasta, so it was very hearty and filling. Unfortunately, both Bryan and I found it to be kind of bland. A couple of notes: Make sure you cut the cauliflower into small florets so that they cook quickly. Also make sure you brown the cauliflower really well at the beginning.