Your Nachos Will Never Be the Same!

What could be better during football and hockey season that a big plate of nachos, amiright? Well, I do have something better, and you will be making it again and again, I promise!

It actually started with some leftover brisket from Monk's BBQ in Purcellville, VA. The best BBQ in the area, in my opinion. Actually, if you ever get out there, just get whatever is on their specials menu, otherwise you will have regret, because you won't be able to go back and get the thing again. Trust me, I know from experience.

Anyway, back to the leftovers. So I had a little of this, a little of that (including Monk's homemade pickles), so I thought, "Maybe I should make totchos with all of this stuff," you know, trying to stretch out what I could so that the whole family could have some. What are totchos, you ask? They are nachos, but made with tater tots. Yes, you read that right: Tater. Tots. I'll give you a moment to let that sink in...

So, I lined up my varied (some might say motley) items to turn into my bbq totchos:

I threw the tater tots in the oven to bake as directed on the package (I made the whole bag, natch). Once they had baked for half the time, I turned the tots, then scattered the chopped up brisket on top. while that finished, I chopped up the scallions, pickles and tomatoes (any kind will do - I just happened to have grape tomatoes to use up).

I also went fancy and made a cheese sauce:

1 Tbsp butter
1 Tbsp flour
1 cup of milk (approx.)
1 cup grated cheddar cheese (I used what I had on hand, so it ended up being a mix of white and sharp cheddar)
Salt and pepper to taste

Melt butter in a medium saucepan, then add flour and whisk until no lumps are in the flour and the mixture forms a smooth paste. Cook for a couple of minutes (set the timer for 2 minutes if you need to be precise, but it's just to cook the "flour-y" taste out), then slowly add the milk, whisking constantly. Keep whisking and cooking the white sauce until it is smooth and starts to bubble. Once it's thickened, whisk in the cheese and continue whisking until smooth. If the sauce is too thick, you can add a little bit more milk. If too thin, add more cheese. The sauce should be pourable, but not too runny (a little thicker than buttermilk pancake batter). Season with salt and pepper to taste.

OR, you can skip this step and just scatter shredded cheese on top of the brisket then put the sheet pan back in the oven. I made these both ways (cheese sauce vs. shredded cheese) and the boys liked both versions. I'm giving you the option. :-)

Once the tater tots are done, pull the sheet pan out of the oven, then pour cheese sauce over the top (if you didn't go the shredded cheese route), topped by the scallions, tomatoes and pickles. Those are the toppings I used, but feel free to be creative and share your favorite "totcho" toppings in the comments!

Serve and enjoy!  You might end up fighting over the last of the tots. Don't say I didn't warn you!

One final note: If you don't happen to have leftover BBQ, feel free to make your own in the slow cooker: Put a pork shoulder (pork butt) in the slow cooker (probably about 6 lbs, but it could be less, that's just what fits in my cooker), then top with your favorite bottle of BBQ sauce (16 oz). cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours, until it is pull-apart tender. Once you have this made, you can freeze leftovers (there will be a lot), or just make sure you have a plan for the week to use up the rest -- grain bowls, sandwiches, tacos, what have you.

Who Needs Birthday Cake?

My oldest son is now a teenager. Wow! I'm not sure what I was expecting, some sort of sudden onset of moodiness and emotions, but he's still pretty normal, so I'm counting my blessings for now.  I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that he's going to be in high school soon, doing all the high-school-y things that kids do. I'm not really ready for that...

The thing about Max is that he's never been much of a cake guy. He likes cake, kind of, but doesn't really like frosting (I know, sacrilege!). He gets my creative juices flowing, though, to figure out something fun to celebrate his birthday, but with something that's not cake.

In the past, I've made a cookie cake (cookies stacked in layers with whipped cream, sort of like an ice box cake), ice cream cake (this one I made for Elliot, but I made one for Max with chocolate cake, peanut butter ice cream, and Reese's peanut butter cups chopped and scattered on top), and had root beer floats. This year, we had three different celebrations (family, then a sleepover with friends, then a larger neighborhood families party), so my challenge was particularly difficult. Luckily, Max had an idea of what he wanted, so I just had to figure out the execution.

For our family night, we had molten lava cakes with strawberry filling. Basically, I made a generic molten lava cake but added a teaspoon of strawberry sundae topping to the middle of the cake (1/4 cup of batter in the ramekin, then teaspoon of topping, then another 1/4-1/3 cup of batter on top). I love lava cakes, because you can prepare them ahead of time (like, hours) and put the ramekins in the fridge until you are ready to bake. And people love individual dessert. :-) Served it with vanilla bean ice cream, whipped cream and more strawberry sauce on top. Although I prefer the traditional molten lava cake, Max seemed to really like it, so I'll call it a win!

The next night, we went a little bit over the top. I made a skillet brownie (the linked recipe is the one I used, cutting the chocolate chips in half and adding 1/2 cup peanut butter chips),  then topped it off with vanilla ice cream, homemade chocolate and peanut butter sauces, whipped cream (natch!), chopped peanuts and chopped dark chocolate. Oh my word! That was GOOD!

Finally, for the larger party (about 10 kids and 11 adults), we did a sundae bar with different ice creams, fresh fruit (strawberries, blueberries), cookies, chocolate chips, nuts, sprinkles, whipped cream and lots of different sauces. It was a lot of fun, and the kids really enjoyed it! Unfortunately, I apparently didn't take a picture of the sundae spread, although I swear I did. The sundae bar was pretty easy, since it kind of built from the previous festivities. For Max's sleepover, we did a pancake bar, where I made pancakes and we had different syrups and fruits to put on top. We had stuff left over, so pretty much everything was already prepped for the ice cream sundaes (I did cheat and used canned whipped topping, because it's easy and fun - the kids could put their own on). :-)

What are your alternatives to birthday cake? I would love to hear about your ideas!

Christmukkah 2013: Tips for Entertaining

Sorry for being lame and going so long between posts, but I know you'll understand, because everyone's so busy! This late Thanksgiving thing really puts the squeeze on holiday entertaining!

It's been crazy around here, and we actually had Christmukkah earlier this year than usual, since Hanukkah was so early.  I have to admit that I didn't do anything very original this year in terms of food, but I'll post links below to everything I made.  This post is going to be more about tips for entertaining than actual cooking, because, honestly, what's better than having family and friends over, talking and laughing over good food?

So here are my tips for entertaining:

1) Don't worry so much about your house -- how clean it is, how "undecorated" it is, or anything else. Why? Because your friends won't care.  And if the people you invite over are going to judge the type of furniture you have or the size of your house, are they really worth keeping as friends?  Personally, I don't spend a whole lot of time actually cleaning before people come over, because everything's just going to get dirty again anyway. Which leads me to my next tip:

2) Don't waste your time washing the floor and cleaning under the refrigerator (people actually do that).  Just do a once-over with with a dust cloth and the vacuum, and wipe down the bathrooms with Chlorox (or other cleaner) wipes. I do, however, put away as much clutter as I can, so people have places to set their drinks or plates as they walk around. Save the really big cleaning for after everyone leaves.  :-)

3) Do make sure bathrooms have extra toilet paper and clean towels/guest cloths, for obvious reasons.

4) Do make more food than you think you'll need.  Every year I end up with food that I don't even put out on the table because people bring food with them.  However, I know that the one year I under-provide will be the year that everyone brings wine and beer instead of food (would not be a horrible party in any case, but still).

4a) make sure the extra food is shelf-stable (crackers, smoked fish, pickles) or freezable.  That way, if you end up not using it, you can keep it until your next get-together.

5) Consider your guest list and match it to the size of your space and the "feel" you want.  Christmukkah has turned into a nearly neighborhood-wide event, which is why we turned it into an open house at this point.  The first couple of years we kept it small and actually had real food and sat down to eat, but as our guest list grew, we've had to switch the format to accommodate more people.  I'm a "more the merrier" type of person, so more people showing up makes me happier than fewer.  BUT, that type of entertaining isn't for everyone, so think about what you want to get out of it, as well as your guests.

6) Match the types of food you'll serve to the amount of people invited. What I mean by this is, the more people you have coming, the simpler the food prep should be, with dishes that can be made ahead of time being REALLY important.  There is no shame in having a nice cheese platter or vegetable tray, especially if you have some interesting cheeses/crackers or dips to go with it.  Not everything needs to be individually served and elaborately hors d'oeuvres-y.

7) Focus on one "wow" offering (if that's your thing). This year, mine was going to be the Zucchini Cakes with Smoked Trout, but I never got to serve it...Going back to tip 4a, the zucchini cakes are freezable and the smoked trout came in tins, so I'm saving it to serve on New Year's Eve.  See how that works?  That being said, everyone was happy, and eating and drinking, so I didn't sweat it that I didn't get to put out my "fancy" hors d'oeuvres.  :-)

8) This is supposed to be fun, and no one will be happy if the host is not having fun.  So be sure to enjoy yourself, and if that means serving lasagna and salad because you can make it all ahead of time, then so be it.  If you thrive on wow-ing your guests with something elaborate, go for it.  But you shouldn't stress out about having people over, since, like I said, it's supposed to be fun and enjoyable.

So, my advice to you is to just start having people over more.  It's fun. It's less expensive than going out for a meal, plus you get to pick your own music.  :-)

I forgot to take pictures during the party (are you really that surprised?), but I did get a snapshot off of the food tables before people got here. Plus I took a couple of pictures of some foods I made, after the fact.  Sorry, but I was having too much fun talking to my guests.  LOL

Cranberry Cheesecake                                                 Cardamom Thumbprint Cookies



Christmukkah 2013 Menu:

Swedish meatballs with lingonberry sauce (I used the recipe from "Savoring the Seasons of the Northern Heartland". The lingonberry sauce was store-bought, 'cause nobody got time for makin' lingonberry sauce from scratch…especially when you don't have access to lingonberries)



Lemon-garlic Chick Pea Dip http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/rachael-ray/lemon-garlic-chick-pea-dip-with-veggies-and-chips-recipe/index.html



Zucchini Cakes with Smoked Trout http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Zucchini-Cakes-with-Smoked-Trout-359333



Stuffed Dates http://www.beyondthepeel.net/2012/12/goat-cheese-stuffed-dates-recipe.html - I did change this up a little and used orange peel, rosemary and thyme in the goat cheese. Since dates are so sweet, I wanted to cut through that a little bit. Also, instead of nuts, I did do the pomegranate seed variation.



Cranberry Cheesecake http://www.tasteofhome.com/recipes/cranberry-cheesecake



Almond Cardamom Thumbprint Cookies http://www.outside-oslo.com/2013/11/29/cardamom-thumbprint-cookies-with-a-scandinavian-touch/

All of these were delicious (the photos are copied from the linked websites -- they're too nice to be my work!) and I would make any of them again.

The Fresh Market Opens at One Loudoun in Ashburn

Open for business!



Gorgeous produce!



I seriously wanted to try a little of everything in that case!

(above photos copied from The Fresh Market's Facebook page)


Some of my friends have been buzzing about The Fresh Market ever since they announced earlier this year that they would be opening a new location at One Loudoun in Ashburn.  I was lucky enough to get there on opening day and it was a lot of fun!  Lots of specialty items that I haven't been able to find in other stores (high quality tuna in oil or different varieties of capers, for example) and just a beautifully laid-out market.  Because the store is on the smaller side, by necessity the items they carry are well-edited, even if some are on the pricey side.  I've signed up for their weekly specials newsletter, because the specials they were running were really good (BOGO on quick bread loaves -- I bought the banana chocolate chip and the pumpkin), but generally the prices do run a little higher on a lot of things, but seems comparable on others.  Go take a look and see what you think!

Check out all the fun things I bought!

It will be really fun to go back when I need to put together any foodie gift baskets for friends or other winter events coming up!  I could also see popping in there to pick up fun items for a picnic lunch (go out and enjoy this beautiful fall weather) or when you need some quick appetizer ideas.  I stocked up on some Stonewall Kitchen jellies and jams (also a BOGO special) to have on hand.  Their red pepper jelly spread over a block of cream cheese makes a delicious and easy appetizer if you need one at the last minute.

Now, it would take a lot to tear me away from Wegmans as my main grocery store, but here is what I will go back for regularly at The Fresh Market:  Nueske bacon (if you've never had it, you are so missing out), their peanut butter power chews (bulk food bins), chili lemon rounds (rice crackers - also found in the bulk food section), their cucumber salad (at the olive bar) and their coconut shrimp with mango dipping sauce.  Nom, nom, nom.

Because I am a baker, and have lived in France, I do have a quibble with what they call "napoleons." The Fresh Market version looks like cake layers with cream and fruit layered between.  A true napoleon (or mille-feuille in French), in my opinion, has to have the puff pastry layers.  I am a traditionalist like that, and I want to make sure we Americans know the real thing.  :-) They do, however, have lovely baked goods that would be a hit at any dinner party, or just a sweet treat (they have many single-serve options)!  I tried their apple pie (very tasty, although I like mine with lots of cinnamon), banana chocolate chip bread (yum!) and pumpkin nut bread (good, but needs more nuts) and two types of cupcakes -- a chocolate and vanilla (with swirled frosting) and their cannoli cupcake.  Both were really good!  They had a lot more varieties that I will want to try...

I also wasn't a big fan of their sushi. I got their spicy tuna roll, but thought the rice on their version was too soft and "glue-y" and the tuna wasn't all that flavorful.  My husband and son, on the other hand, liked the tuna, even though they agreed with me on the rice issue. Just a matter of opinion, of course.

I bought some of their name brand items to see how they compared to what I would make, and we really enjoyed their cornbread stuffing mix and their "Anything Goes" spice rub.  I used the spice rub on their chicken breasts (a good deal at $2.99/lb) and baked them in a 350 degree oven for 45 minutes (until the thermometer registered 170 degrees).  Supper tasty and moist. I think the spice rub would taste even better on pork, so that's up next.  I highly recommend getting a tin of it, and this is coming from a Penzey's girl.  :-)





















Below is my take on their cornbread stuffing:


The Fresh Market Cornbread Stuffing, Marna's Way

Adapted from The Fresh Market Basic Stuffing Recipe

3 slices of Nueske bacon
One medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)
3 stalks celery, chopped (about 1 cup)
2 2/3 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 Box of The Fresh Market Cornbread Stuffing Mix
Pepper to taste

Cut bacon cross ways (across the short side) into 1/4 inch strips.  Heat a large skillet and sauté bacon until the fat starts to render, but before it is crispy.  Add celery and onion and cook together until the bacon is crispy and the onions are soft and translucent.  Add butter and chicken stock and cook until butter is melted.  Take off heat and set aside. Open stuffing mix box and pour onto a large, heat-proof bowl.  Add the onion/celery mixture to the dry stuffing mix and stir until all the stuffing has been moistened (you might have to let it sit a few minutes to soak up all the broth). Put the stuffing in a buttered baking dish (the one I used was 10x12 inches) and bake, covered with foil, for 40 minutes at 350 degrees. If you like your stuffing with a little crispity crunchiness on top, remove the aluminum foil for the last ten minutes of baking. 

You Say Tabbouleh, I Say Tabouli

As I was making tabbouleh, I remembered why I never make it.  Lots of chopping.  Lots and lots of chopping.  But I wanted to make something with some cracked wheat that's been sitting in the cupboard for a while, and we were getting together with friends for a Father's Day barbeque.  Tabbouleh is a nice side dish for the summer, because you can serve it cold or have it sit out to room temperature and it's still going to taste good.  Also, if your culinary skills aren't where you want them to be, this is an easy recipe to make, and people will think you know what you're doing.  The only "cooking" you do is boiling water, which you then just pour over the cracked wheat (also known as bulgar -- it took me a while, plus asking someone at the grocery store, to find it).

Side note: I still don't know how it's supposed to be spelled.  When I was looking for recipes, I found it spelled at least 3 different ways.

To be perfectly honest, I'm not a big fan of tabbouleh.  I think the parsley taste is often too overwhelming for me, or maybe I've had one too many instances of the cracked wheat being too crunchy. I don't know, but I did find a recipe on Epicurious that had lots of mixed herbs that served to mellow out the parsley taste, so I thought I would share it with you.  It was really tasty -- especially on a hot day when you don't want to do a lot of cooking. As I was chopping the final bunch of parsley, I realized I could probably toss everything in the food processor and pulse it to the right consistency.  I will try that next time, for sure!

LEMON AND FRESH HERB TABBOULEH

(click on the title to go straight to the original recipe on Epicurious.com)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup medium- or fine-grain bulgur

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 cups finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley (about 3 bunches) - I used regular, curly parsley this time

3/4 cup diced red onion

2 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced

1/3 cup finely chopped fresh mint

1/4 cup finely chopped fresh basil

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro

1/3 cup fresh lemon juice

1. Bring a kettle of water to a boil. Stir together the bulgur and 1 tablespoon of the oil in a heatproof bowl. Add boiling water to cover. Cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and let stand for 15 minutes. Drain in a sieve, pressing on the bulgur to remove any excess liquid.

 2. Transfer the bulgur to a large bowl and toss with the remaining 1 tablespoon oil and the rest of the ingredients until everything is well mixed. Cover and refrigerate for at least 3 hours. Serve cold. Serves 8 (more if it's served as an appetizer)

It takes a few ingredients, but the only thing you have to cook is the cracked wheat (bulgar).  You can see it in the bowl on the left with the plastic wrap on top.

Easy As A Cream Puff

I know the phrase is "Easy as pie," but after making pâte à choux dough for the first time, I have to say it was pretty easy.  Easier than pie, frankly, because I'm not the best crust maker around.  I think it has to do with my impatience with getting the cold butter to the right size when combining with the flour, but I digress.

I'm actually kicking myself for not ever making it before this!  My inspiration to tackle pâte à choux was actually an earlier post of mine about breaking the rules and taking risks . I had never made this particular pastry, although I remember my mom making cream puffs on occasion when I was little.  I was having a Tupperware party and thought I would make gougère as an appetizer and cream puffs for dessert. That was my excuse to go down this particular culinary road, but again, being appallingly stupid bold by making something for company that I had never made before.  Here's a tip: always have some back up cheese and crackers to pull out if your Plan A appetizers don't work out.  Be bold, but don't be dumb.

Here is a picture of the finished gougère, along with the other appetizer, which was amazingly easy and tasty.  Just slice a cucumber in thin rounds (If you want, you can use mini cookie cutters to make them look extra fancy.  I used Pampered Chef's creative cutters set). Then slice radishes thinly (I used a mondoline), put one slice on top of each cucumber slice.  Then make the cheese topping.  For about 2 dozen cucumber slices, I used 2 ounces of goat cheese and 1 ounce of cream cheese mixed together, then added lemon zest (about 1/2 tsp) and fresh mint, cut up fine (about 2 big leaves).  Mix all of that together, then spoon little bits (about 1/4 of a teaspoon) on top of each cucumber/radish stack.  Easy peasy.

Okay, back to the puffs.  I was a little skeptical about the process, since the dough is a gooey, paste-y consistency, and I didn't think it would ever puff up crispy, airy and light. But I was wrong.  Clearly, I really need to finish the book, "What Einstein Told His Cook," which is all about food science, and I'm sure it will explain the science behind the magic of pate a choux.  :-) The dough was also really forgiving, because I made it earlier in the day, piped it out on parchment-lined cookie sheets, then put them in the freezer until I was ready to bake. I just added time on the the listed baking time, but they still turned out puffy and yummy.

I turned to Martha Stewart for help on a basic dough.  Here's a link to the recipe I used, but I used half of the recipe for the gougeres (adding 3/4 cup grated gruyere) and the other half for the cream puffs, which ended up more like mini-eclairs. I really should get a proper tip for my pastry bag.  I don't have a big, plain round tip, so I just put the coupling on without a decorator tip and made do with that.  It worked fine, but was a little challenging to control the dough coming out.

I was so excited to see the finished product that I forgot the suggestion to smooth out any pointy parts with a little water on your finger before putting in the oven, so my "eclairs" looked like little slugs, to be honest.  I didn't get a chance to take a picture of the finished eclairs, because people ate them up pretty quickly, but I just filled them with vanilla pudding and a chocolate glaze (you can find a gazillion recipes for both of these on line).  They turned out better than I had expected, and I will definitely be making more of them in the future!