The Graduate

Saturday May 19, 2012 marked the beginning of a new era in my household.  I'm now married to a doctor! 

 (Insert happy dance here.)  

We had a wonderful weekend full of ceremonies, family, good conversation, and excellent food.  One of the things S and I were most excited to share with our family is basil lemonade.  We haven't been able to get enough of it these last few weeks.


Basil Lemonade 
Adapted from Williams-Sonoma


8 oz. simple syrup, cooled
6 oz. freshly squeezed lemon juice
6 basil leaves
12 oz. water or sparkling water

In a blender add syrup, juice, and basil.  Blend 30 seconds  on high.

Let sit in refrigerator until chilled, about 1 hour.

Add some ice to a pitcher.  Pour mixture through a mesh sieve to remove basil leaves.  Add water.

Notes:
You can drink immediately, but you may want to keep the leaves in order to have a stronger basil flavor.
Simple syrup is equal parts water and sugar brought to a boil.  About 6 oz. each to make 8 oz.
Sorry there aren't any pictures, it doesn't stay around for long!

What to Get Rid of

I was so excited about these muffins when I saw them on Food Gawker.  Not only did they look delicious, they helped me finish off some crystallized ginger, chocolate, and frozen bananas. They were excellent.  Sorry I don't have a picture of the finished product, we ate them too fast!

Chocolate Ginger Banana Muffins

Adapted from Some the Wiser

1 C. all purpose flour
1 C. oat flour
2/3 C. sugar
1/2 t. salt
1 T. baking powder
3 T. canola oil
1 egg
1/4 C. plain yogurt
1 C. mashed bananas
1/3 C. crystallized ginger
3.5 oz. bar dark chocolate, chopped- I used a mixture of dark and milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Grease 12 muffin cups and set aside.

In medium bowl, whisk together all dry ingredients.  In separate bowl mix the oil, egg, yogurt, and bananas.

Pour wet ingredients in dry ingredients.  Mix just until combined.  Fold in ginger and chocolate.

Fill muffin cups 2/3 full.  Bake until lightly golden and center is done, about 20 minutes.

Cheese Take Two

First of all, let me say Happy Mother's Day to all mothers, with or without children of their own.  I know I felt every blessed to be a mother today.

So, back on Friday mine and S's cheese adventure ended in a curdled mess.  I pushed back pizza a day on our menu and figured we would buy some mozzarella.  S, in proving that he is in fact the greatest husband in the world tells me to buy more milk, not cheese.  So, now mozzarella is in my refrigerator not in my fears.  Besides feeling like a way awesome person who is resourceful and handy in the kitchen, making cheese was a great date for us.  Do something different.  That's our motto!

Here are some pictures from the adventure.  Sorry, they're just some snapshots.

S checking the temp of the milk

S and C checking out the curdled milk.  She was so excited that we were making cheese!

Curds waiting to be stretched.  

Stretching the cheese

Logs of mozzarella with oregano, basil, and crushed red peppers

Pizza!  There is no better way to eat mozzarella!

Cheese

Today I attempted to make cheese.  Approximately 10 minutes ago I realized that I had probably failed.  The difference one word makes.  Dip the curds, not place the curds.  We're having pizza for dinner.  Should I go to the store or make S...

A Little Bit of Nostalgia

First off let me get on a soap box for one minute.  I am the kind of person who eats, for the most part, full fat dairy products.  The exclusion is milk: 2% milk. But, I make whole milk yogurt; I eat full fat sour cream, cream cheese, and cheese.  Low fat versions taste funny.  Go low fat somewhere else.  Let's keep the dairy pure.  I remember working with a lady who was talking about how she only uses low fat cheese and that her husband probably doesn't even know what real cheese tastes like.  I sat in disbelieving shock.  How sad that life must be.

So imagine my disappointment when a fat free cream cheese ended up in my shopping bag.  I shook my head.  I knew the color wasn't right when I picked it up, but instead of thinking that I had made a mistake I thought they must have changed their coloring system.  Really...

The problem is what to do with it.  I didn't buy it for a specific purpose; I was just in the mood. But, I didn't want to just throw it away.  I tried it one some toast with strawberries.  The grainy almost chemically taste was still too strong.

Enter casserole.  I grew up on a wide range of casseroles.  S doesn't like them, mostly as a rule.  But, this is one of my favorites.  I make him eat it about one a year when I'm in the mood.  He even said he liked it this time.  Maybe he forgot.  Bonus: there isn't any cream of anything and it uses cream cheese.

Pearl's Casserole

1/2 lb. Ground beef
2 t. Garlic powder
8 oz. Tomato sauce
1 t. Sugar
1 t. Salt
6 oz. Egg Noodles
4 oz. Sour Cream- full fat!
1 1/2 oz. Cream Cheese- get rid of your fat free!
1/2 C. Grated cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

There are three parts of the casserole

1. Brown the ground beef with the garlic.  Drain fat.  Add tomato sauce, sugar, and salt.  Simmer until thick.

2. Boil noodles according to package directions.

3. Mix the sour cream and cream cheese in small bowl.

Take a 9 in. Pyrex dish and spray lightly with spray oil.  Layer like this: noodles, cream cheese stuff, beef mixture and then again.  Top with the grated cheese.  Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes.

What to Get Rid of

Apricot jam, that's what.  One more thing out of my fridge.  The problem with being so proactive about emptying our food stores is that I just finished our mayo.  Do I get a new one with only 5 weeks til the move?  Will I want mayo?  If I don't buy it will I be forced to use something else, or will I just be frustrated?  Who know, but it it exciting knowing that the food won't be wasted.  Also that all of my condiments now fit on my refrigerator door.

This week I made seared chicken with a lemony sauce, finished with apricot jam.  It's topped with sliced almonds and makes for a really nice dish.  This is a recipe I found when S and I were first married.  I worked at a really slow desk job and spent a good majority of my time browsing allrecipes.com.  I actually looked through their entire database of quick and easy recipes.  Yep.

This recipe isn't necessarily quick quick and easy, but it's not bad.  I usually have the ingredients on hand so it's nice when I haven't planned anything but have a little time.

Apricot Lemon Chicken


For 6 Servings

5 T. Lemon juice
3 T. Dijon mustard
2 Cloves garlic, minced
1/4 t. black pepper
5 T. olive oil- not extra virgin
6 Boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 C. Sliced almonds
2 C. Chicken broth
1 t. Cornstarch- dissolved into 1 T. water
2 T. Apricot jam- you could sub peach or orange
2 T. Butter
1 T. Dried parsley
1/4 t. Crushed red pepper flakes

Combine lemon juice, mustard, garlic, pepper, and oil.  Place chicken in shallow container and pour marinade on top.  Cover and refrigerate at least one hour.

Toast sliced almonds in skillet.  Remove and set aside.

 Remove chicken from marinade.  Pat dry and reserve liquid.  To prepare pan to sear chicken, heat on moderate heat.  Pour a little vegetable oil on a paper towel and grease hot pan. Add chicken and cook, turning once, about 7-10 minutes per side, depending on thickness.  Remove chicken to plate and cover with foil.

Strain marinade into skillet.  Boil one minute.  Add chicken broth and cornstarch mixture.  Cook over high until sauce has reduced by half, about 5 minutes.  Add jam and cook until it dissolves.  Stir in butter and them parsley and red pepper flakes.  You can return chicken to pan and top with almonds or pour sauce over chicken on plate and top with almonds.

Notes
* You want to make sure you remove as much of the marinade as possible from the chicken.  The marinade burns easily.
* You don't want to burn the chicken, so you can finish the chicken in the oven if the sear is getting too dark.