Hearty dinner for the hubby

My husband likes "hearty" food.  Think casseroles and meat.  Lots of meat.  Too bad he married a vegetarian!  I will say that we do have meat in our house and, sometimes, I make it for him.  Last night was a perfect example, T and I went out for lunch and she had a sandwich she was raving over.   So I figured I would recreate it for Markers at home.  Homemade pretzel "bun," caramelized onion, turkey, pepperoni toasted and then topped with shredded lettuce, tomato and mustard.  I added the onion and pepperoni to my version because I'm crazy like that.

Here's the recipe for the homemade pretzels*:

INGREDIENTS

1 packages active dry yeast

2 cups warm water (110 degrees to 115 degrees)

1/4 cup sugar

1t salt

2T butter or margarine, softened

1 egg

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 egg yolk

2 t water

coarse salt or, in my case Lawry's seasoned salt

DIRECTIONS

1. In a large bowl, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let sit according to package directions.

2.  Add sugar, salt, butter and egg. Stir in 1 1/2 cups of flour; mix well.

3. Continue adding enough additional flour to make a stiff dough. Knead dough 8-10 minutes on lightly floured surface--flour your hands too!--until smooth (I actually just ran my bomb diggity Kitchenaid mixer for an extra 5 minutes.  I mean, it has a bread hook). 

4.  Shape into a 12-inch log then cut in half length wise and then width wise.  Cut each section into thirds.  Now you have 12 equal-ish  pieces.

5. Roll each piece into a 15-in. rope.   Coil the rope around itself into a round shape for use as a bun.  Twist a few into the traditional pretzel shape, or witch fingers** and place on a well-greased baking sheet.

6. Set aside and let dough rise for 30 minutes.  

7.  In a small bowl, combine egg yolk and water; brush over the pretzels. Sprinkle with coarse salt if desired (I used Lawry's seasoned salt and garlic salt on mine).

8. Bake at 400 degrees F for 15-20 minutes, until golden brown.

*Funny story:  the pretzel recipe is from my middle school home economics class--I still have the handout and a handwritten copy that I must have made as well.  I enjoyed this class and spent much time after class there.  Or was that because we purposely flooded the sink and another time I watched other kids wad up dough (or in one instance raw meatballs) and stick it to the ceiling?

SANDWICH BUILD

INGREDIENTS

2 T sliced onion

3 deli slices, turkey

4 pepperoni discs

1-2T shredded cheese (I used the "pizza" blend we already had opened)

DIRECTIONS
1. sautee up the onion

2. Remove pretzel bun from oven (see recipe above) and then top with sliced turkey, pepperoni, onions, shredded cheese

3. toast over medium heat for about one minute per side

4. remove from heat and top with fresh shredded  lettuce, tomato slices and yellow mustard

**witches' fingers:

paint sliced almonds with red food coloring and press them really hard onto 3 to 4-inch pretzel ropes, score in "knuckles" with a knife and then bake!  Thanks to Martha Stewart for the idea :)

 

Put a cork in it

We have amassed an excessive number of wine corks since moving into our new place this past June.   Our little collecter bottle was overflowing into a nearby drawer.  Awhile back I attended a bridal shower for a dear friend at her new friend's home.  And in that home I saw painted corks tossed into a large vase--apparently I packed that away in my memory because I took that idea as my own:

I chose two purple spray paint variations to match the new throw pillows I got and used some of the dozens of vases I have from our wedding still.  I think it turned out cute and adds some new color to the living room.  Too bad I accidentally sprayed some of the balcony (despite every effort to cover it with garbage bags).  As an FYI corks are kind of a PIA to spray paint but the mantle is high enough up that only tall people will look closely to see how they turned out. 

SPICY ASIAN....rice

Clever title, I know.   I'm a huge blogger slacker...so I will now post many in an attempt to cover my slacker ways.

For this dish I used Basmati rice and medium firm tofu and white wine vinegar (so fancy). But I just went with my generic soy sauce and I skipped toasted seasame oil b/c who has that?! And, to toot my own horn, while reading the NY Times I found out cooking oil is basically a gigantic rip off.  Oh yes, I also couldn't find scallions at the market...ahem, Kroger...so I substituted fresh chives. I think next time I will use softer tofu and add some crushed peanuts for a little crunch and overall pizazz but it was quite tasty!


Adapted from The Co-Op Cookbook, by Rosemary Fifield (Chelsea Green, 2000).

INGREDIENTS

1 cup aromatic white rice (jasmine, Texmati, or basmati)
1/4 cup silken tofu
1/3 cup smooth peanut butter
2 tablespoons vinegar (unseasoned) or white wine vinegar
1 tablespoon tamari or good-quality soy sauce
2 teaspoons lime juice
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 clove garlic
1/4 teaspoon hot red pepper flakes
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
4 scallions, thinly sliced


DIRECTIONS

1. In a medium saucepan, combine the white rice and 2 cups of water; bring to a boil. Reduce the heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes or until all the liquid is absorbed.


2. Remove from heat and let sit for 10 minutes, then fluff with fork. Keep the pan covered until ready to serve.


3. In a blender or food processor, combine the tofu, peanut butter, vinegar, tamari, lime juice, sesame oil, garlic, and red pepper flakes. Puree until smooth. Stir in the cilantro and scallions. Add rice, mix well, and serve.


Serves 6.

Artichoke Rice Salad

Here's an old post from my Facebook "Notes" page that I thought I should also include here because the dish is so tasty :)  I no longer have a photo so here's one I found on Google Images:

June 15, 2010
We celebrated Grace's birthday at our house last night (Mark's mommy)...I tried out a new recipe to compliment Mark's amazing grilled, cedar plank salmon. The cold rice salad was very fresh and summery or as Mark said: "it's a burst of fresh flavors with every bite"

RECIPE (found this on CDKitchen.com):

2 cups cooked rice (I used minute rice)
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
4 medium green onions, chopped
1 small red bell pepper, chopped (I accidentally purchased yellow and it was still delish)
1 can (14 oz size) artichoke hearts, drained, cut into fourths

***Lemon Vinaigrette***
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tablespoon grated lemon peel
3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 clove garlic, finely chopped

Directions:

Cook rice in water as directed on package.

In medium bowl, mix rice and remaining salad ingredients.

In small bowl, mix all vinaigrette ingredients with wire whisk until blended. Add to salad; toss to mix. Cover and refrigerate at least 3 hours until chilled.

 

Dinner in 15 minutes?! Vegetarian Taco Salad!

OK, so if I go to the gym after work I don't get home until late and by that point I am ready to eat ANYTHING.  But if I did that the whole hour at the gym would be wasted.  Now that I'm cooking I tend to have some random ingredients around from various recipes and I am starting to learn what goes together.  Today I knew I needed to get some protein and veggies in my system so I created this vegetarian taco salad:

Me Gusta Ensalada de Taco

INGREDIENTS
1 can black beans
1 tablespoon of cajun spices*
1/2 tablespoon red pepper flakes
A few good shakes of hot sauce
2 stalks/stems (whatever they are) green onions, chopped
1 sliced roasted red pepper
Romaine lettuce
If desired:
Ranch dressing
Shredded cheese (cheddar, colby, jack...)
5 or so tortilla chips

DIRECTIONS
Put the beans in a saucepan, juice and all--crank the stove to a 6 (medium to medium-high heat).  Add green onions and cajun spices, cover.  Take the Romaine lettuce heart/stalk/whatever it is, wash and chop then set aside.  Add the roasted red pepper slices, red pepper flakes and hot sauce to the beans then re-cover.  Eventually the bean mixture should begin to simmer (that doesn't sound very professional but it's true and hey, I'm not a professional).  Let this simmer a minute or so and with a slotted spoon dish out the goodness on top of the lettuce leaving the liquid behind.  Add a drizzle of Ranch dressing or a good grab of shredded cheese, crushed tortilla chips.

*Cajun Seasoning with Green Onions by Cajun Land is something I picked up in New Orleans when I was there for work last year. You can order using the link above but here's what is listed in the ingredients list; I have to think you could mimic at home:
-salt
-spices
-onion
-garlic
-red pepper
-green onion

Comforting food

T spent the weekend with us and since she likes both cooking and macaroni-n-cheese I thought this would be a perfect dish....then I remembered that most kids like Kraft or Velveeta Mac-n-Cheese so this might not be as big a hit as I first thought.  I was right but it was still fun to make!  This is slightly adapted from Patti LaBelle's recipe she made on Oprah forever ago, "Over-the-Rainbow Macaroni and Cheese." The result is a creamy, filling dish and the cheese combinations work well together without being overly fancy.

Sara's "Sitting-on-top-of-the-Rainbow-with-Patti-LaBelle" Macaroni and Cheese

INGREDIENTS:

1lb Elbow Macaroni or similar (I used Rotini this time but will likely stick to the ‘bows)
8 Tbsp (1 stick) Butter
1/2 Cup (2 ounces) Shredded Muenster Cheese
1/2 Cup (2 ounces) Shredded Mild Cheddar Cheese
1/2 Cup (2 ounces) Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
1/2 Cup (2 ounces) Shredded Monterey Jack
2 Cups Half-And-Half (this is the same as one pint)
1 Cup (8 ounces) Velveeta, cut into small cubes
2 Large Eggs, lightly beaten
Salt & Pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS:
 1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly butter (or Pam spray) a deep 2 1/2-quart casserole dish.

 2. Bring a large pot of water to a boil over high heat. Add pasta and cook until it is just tender, about 7 minutes. Do not overcook. Drain well.

3. In the now empty cooking pot, melt eight tablespoons of the butter. Return pasta to the cooking pot and stir thoroughly. In a large bowl, mix the  shredded cheeses (Muenster, mild and sharp Cheddar, and Monterey Jack). To the macaroni, add the half-and-half, 1 1/2 cups of the shredded cheese, the cubed Velveeta and the eggs. Season with salt and pepper. Transfer to the buttered casserole dish. Sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of shredded cheese.

3.5. If you desire a “crunchy top” as my husband calls it mix about 1/2 cup of bread crumbs with one-ish tablespoon of melted butter, then top the dish with this crust. I inadvertantly left the butter out of my creation (pictured below) so the crust was kind of lame.  I've also read about using corn flakes or potato chips as a crunchy top...will have to try that and let you know!

4. Bake until it's bubbling around the edges, about 35 minutes. Serve hot.

Here is a quick image...we definitely ate a helping or two before we stopped to take a picture:

Easy Vegetarian

Ha, that title made me laugh.

Since the wedding is done and there's no more planning I spend my free time using my sweet new pots and pans.  I've been doing some Google searches for a blog by a vegetarian. Half the ones I found had recipes with Chicken or Venison.  The other half featured 147 ingredients and an equal number of photos of actually making the dish OR ramblings about the "vegetarian lifestyle."  Obviously kind of boring.

So this blog will now morph to house my recipes, I have had lots of "friends" on Facebook try out the simple vegetarian recipes I make--most are variations of recipes I find in magazines or newspapers or online.  Maybe some other folks will too!

Updates and recipes are a-coming!