Guido's Pizza

Last night Matt, Mac, and I cashed in on a groupon (the fastest growing company EVER) that we got a few weeks ago. It was to a pizza place not far from us called Guido's. We gave it a whirl in our never ending search for the perfect pizza...

The menu is diverse enough with a wide variety of pizzas, some sandwiches, and a few pastas. The part of the kitchen where they make the pizzas is open to the dining area which it is fun to watch them carefully peer into the pizza oven to check for doneness on the crust. One portion of the dining room has a little kid area where your kid could play on an indoor playground (which can be nice and can be annoying depending on why you are going out).

We got a Greek salad and a Guido's Special pizza. Matt was excited there was Peroni available so he indulged. The salad was more than enough for us to share and had a really tart balsamic dressing on it. The salad ingredients were all fresh and crisp so I would rate this salad highly. The pizza was good, it had real ingredients and a lot of italian seasoning mixed in with either the cheese or sauce. I liked the crust, it had that slightly sweet flavor that east coast pizzas are well known for. The middle of the pizza was a little soggy, but the last two thirds was crisp and perfectly chewy at the same time. All of that being said, I think it could have used more cheese and a stronger, bolder sauce. To me a pizza has to have a good foundation of crust (which it had for the most part), but also needs a stand out sauce and generous amounts of good quality cheese.

All in all, the pizza was good, we would gladly go with others if they suggested it, we would go if we needed a place to eat where the kids could also play, but there are other pizza places around that we like a lot more. So good, but we have other suggestions if you need it!

Additionally, we weren't sure if they were going for authenticity, but the bathrooms (not the whole restaurant) smelled really NYC/New Jersey authentic. They stank bad... not sure if it was a grease trap issue or a plumbing issue, but both of us noticed at our respective trips to use the facilities...

Goulash

This recipe is not what I thought of when I think of Goulash, but it is yummy and delicious. I would say it is a cross between Goulash and Chili Mac. The base recipe is a recipe from Paula Deen, Bobby's Goulash...

2 pounds lean ground beef
1 pound ground turkey
2 large onions, chopped
3 cups water
1 (29-ounce) can tomato sauce
2 (15-ounce) cans diced tomatoes
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons Italian seasoning
3 bay leaves
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon House Seasoning, recipe follows
1 tablespoon seasoned salt
2 cups dried elbow macaroni
Directions
In a Dutch oven, saute the ground beef and ground turkey over medium-high heat, until no pink remains. Break up meat while sauteing; spoon off any grease. Add the onions to the pot and saute until they are tender about 5 minutes. Add 3 cups water, along with the tomato sauce, tomatoes, garlic, Italian seasoning, bay leaves, soy sauce, House Seasoning, and seasoned salt. Stir well. Place a lid on the pot and allow this to cook for 20 to 25 minutes.

Add the elbow macaroni, stir well, return the lid to the pot, and simmer for about 20 minutes. Turn off the heat, remove the bay leaves and allow the mixture to sit about 30 minutes more before serving.

House Seasoning:
1 cup salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder
Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

I change this up in a few ways. I add Worcestershire sauce when browning the meat, extra garlic powder, and sometimes a little Tabasco. I also brown the meat and saute the onions at the same time. You can obviously use a regular pot instead of a dutch oven and switch around your ground beef to whatever you have on hand (we usually use venison). This most recent time we made the recipe x1.5 and added one can each of dark kidney, light kidney, and pinto beans. Further advice is this...the recipe is huge! The 1.5 recipe basically would have fed 14 adults and this does not freeze well (the noodles get a little too mushy). Also I would highly recommend grating sharp white cheddar cheese on top, it adds a nice sharpness and cheesy flavor.

Enjoy this wonderful dish that is warm and filling!

Self Rising Flour and Big change to a recipe

For all of you out there getting ready to make my Snickerdoodle recipe that can be found here, I want you to stop immediately. Put down the mixer, put down the measuring spoon, put down the cinnamon sugar. Today I made a batch of the cookies (my friend Karlin is making me mushroom soup, I make her Snickerdoodles...we have a symbiotic relationship based on food) and was dismayed when mid cooking (and mid nap for Baby Girl) I discovered that I was out of AP flour. I had just used almost all of my AP flour in replacement of Bread flour which I was out of to make foccaccia (more on that later) for the same person. Lucky for me I was in possession of five other flours... The first was Tapioca flour, used more for thickening it was automatically out. The second was Pasta flour, with too grainy of a texture, it too was gone. The next three were Whole Wheat (possible, but would definitely alter the taste and probably would alter the texture), Cake flour (definite possibilities there, but would it be too light and airy), and Self-Rising flour (could work, but would it leaven the cookie dough too much). As I muddled over my conundrum, munching on a corner of the aforementioned foccaccia, I saw two stars next to the flour on the recipe. What is this I thought? I looked at the bottom of the recipe and to my delight there was a replacement for the AP Flour! I could use Self-Rising and merely omit the salt, baking powder, and cream of tartar. An approved replacement and less things to measure...Yippee!!! I mixed up my ingredients, baked my cookies, and marveled at their puffy shape as they came out of the oven 8-10 minutes later. I tried one hoping that it would taste as good as the standard gems I made even if they were a little rounder. I only have this to say...when Betty Crocker says you "could" change the recipe, what she meant was that you "should" change the recipe. I marveled at how light, fluffy, and perfectly sweet this cookie had become. The cinnamon sugar barely coated the outside of the cookie and it was like eating a puffy cloud of soft sweetness. I will make a note (along with the note that this makes about 45 cookies) in my cookbook for this to be a permanent change.

What will I do with all of this extra self rising flour you may ask? That one is easy. As Self-Rising flour has a somewhat legitimate expiration date (unlike the fake date of AP flour, salt, and other staples that could last indefinitely), you do need to use your flour within a year or so. Now the Snickerdoodles are easy and delicious, but something equally delicious and even easier to make is your very own beer bread. I got this recipe from an old college roomie who I did not get along with...one time she made this recipe and replaced the sugar with salt...that was gross, but this is not! Pre-heat your oven to 375. Mix 3 cups Self-Rising flour, 1/2 cup sugar, a sprinkle of salt, and your favorite bottle of beer (I recommend Shiner Boch, but Shiner is my recommendation for almost everything...Guinness is good too). Butter a loaf pan and put the very sticky batter in the pan. Bake for 55 minutes, buttering the top of the loaf for the last 10 minutes. Serve and enjoy.

Have fun with your Self-Rising flour!!!

Turkey

You may be thinking to yourself that this is way too late to be posting about Turkey...not so my friend. In fact, in my book, this is the perfect time to be posting about Turkey. I am the proud owner of 5 Fresh and Delicious Jennie-O Turkeys ranging in weight from 10 to 16 pounds and I didn't spend over $5.00 on each turkey.

See, I look at Black Friday differently than most girls. While they are busy trying to get into Macy's, Kohl's, or Target at an insane hour, I am trying to resist going into the grocery stores until they put the fresh turkeys on sale. The frozen turkeys they will let sit around until after Christmas (they are already frozen, why would they need to rush them out the door?), but the fresh turkeys (which the FDA or some other arbitrary regulation organization has mandated must stay above freezing temperatures) have a finite shelf life and thus need to be sold out the doors. So on Black Friday I went out and bought a lovely 16 pounder (her name was Shelly), brought her home, and got ready to roast.

I love turkey and I never seem to have enough leftovers to enjoy my extra sides and to make all of those wonderful turkey dishes that people talk about getting tired of. So I make an extra turkey for exactly that purpose.

I decided to cook Shelly on Sunday when Matt and Mac were resting...here is my method (which worked well for a neutral Turkey who was going to mainly be used in dishes). I think I have posted this before...but I am too tired to look!

Get out roasting pan, turn on over to 400 degrees. Take Shelly out of bag and rinse her off, removing gravy packet (I discarded) and leaving the neck in... While Shelly is draining from her bath, place a rough chopped onion, 4 or 5 whole carrots, and 4 or 5 whole stalks of celery in the bottom of the pan. Pat Shelly dry and place her on top of the veggies. Massage with oil and butter, sprinkle with seasonings of your choice (this time I used salt, pepper, and poultry seasoning). Throw in a beer or two. Roast in the oven for an hour, reduce heat to 325 and finish cooking until Shelly is about 160 degrees (just shy of 4 hours)...remember about carry over cooking. If Shelly was going to be used for eating alone I would have placed her breast down for that first hour, then flipped her over for the remaining part to help all the juices run into the white meat.



Shelly has since been turned into dinner with leftover sides, three turkey potpies (shredded meat, a bag of frozen mixed veggies, cream of chicken soup, and a pie crust) for the freezer, two two-person portions for the freezer, and boiled into a turkey base for soup also for the freezer.

Why the other turkeys you ask? I was at Kroger today and the turkeys kept looking at me like puppies asking me to take them home...so I took three home...then went back for something I forgot and picked up one more...

Three (Randolph, Lorenzo, and Ling-Ling) are in the deep freeze for later use.

Dmitri is in the fridge waiting to join a comrade in the smoker a friend is firing up this weekend...can anyone say smoked turkey quesadillas?!?!?

Best burgers in a loooong time

We had heard from a few friends to try Husky's for burgers. We had passed by the place several times as we have friends that live in the area. Last Tuesday when running errands we drove right by Husky's as we were trying to think of a place to stop and get lunch and decided to give it a whirl. Boy are we glad we did!

The place looks like a typical burger joint where you can grab a beer and watch the game...and it is totally that...plus some really incredible burgers! The customer service was good, the cashier didn't gab my head off, but was friendly, polite, and took care of our order. You have to take time to order too because the selection is impressive. At the top of the menu they have their standard burger choices- choose your bun (we got white sourdough which was a little sweeter than sourdough but still soft and freshly made), choose your meat (beef, Kobe beef, buffalo, veggie burger), choose your cheese, with a Fuddruckers style topping bar to the side of the window. At the bottom of the menu are their suggestions for add ons...we got the California burger...
You also choose your type of fries, you have to see the menu for all of the different combos.

Our food came out in a reasonable amount of time for a fresh burger and it is a huge amount. We gladly shared the 1/2 pound burger and fries. As I said the bun was soft and fresh and had the correct amount of "fall apart-ability" that I think is a great component of a good burger. The hamburger patty (we had buffalo) was tender, flavorful, and juicy, with only a little seasoning which was perfect for the type of burger we had. The toppings (avocado, mushrooms, mont jack cheese) were all copious in amount and the cheese melted perfectly over the burger to adhere all of the toppings to the top part of the burger. I will say that the avocado tasted "packaged", but that is my only complaint with the entire meal. Our fries were well seasoned and perfectly crisp. All in all this is a great place to just go and get a burger.

Scanning other people's plates, the salads and sandwiches offered also looked good and they had some delicious sounding desserts on their menu board. The restaurant was clean and while the price for a burger (about 9 bucks) might seem high, keep in mind that these were seemingly fresh ingredients and the meal included fries and a drink.

Would I suggest you go here? Yes. Will we be there again? Most enthusiastically yes. Am I on my way out the door? Sadly no...but that is only because we are trying to eat well and watch our dining out budget!

I know, I know...another website...

...but some of these are so I can come back to them too!

This website was too good to pass up, from twice baked potatoes to chicken fried steak, it lightens up a lot of "no-no" diet foods!

More recipes online!

I know I have been heavy on the websites lately, but we are cleaning out the freezer in preparation for chilis, turkey, soups, and other wonderful fall foods. I watched The Biggest Loser this morning while folding laundry and what not and was really impressed with the Vegan recipes Bob served some of the contestants. With a little online searching I found the recipes on his blog! I hope to try some of them soon. While I don't normally eat vegan, I like having more veggie filled sides to try. Many of these look a lot like the foods I ate at JFR and in Israel. While I will never adapt even a partially Kosher diet, I still contend that the healthiest I ever feel is when I attend some of the conferences and I am forced to eat Kosher or Partial Kosher diets. Maybe Matt and I can look at eating partial Kosher for a certain number of meals a week! Give the recipes a try, but only if you love delicious and healthy veggies!

Great website

One day when looking for an Irish Soda Bread recipe to make for Matt's mom I stumbled across this website. The recipe for soda bread looked simple and it was. The bread turned out great (perfectly moist and cakey and should be easy to modify in the future (with extra golden raisins, dried apricot pieces, and maybe some tart dried cherries). I was looking through the website using the side bar and realized it had a plethora of great recipes waiting to be enjoyed. Most of the recipes have a picture and the site loads fast enough that you can quickly scan through it. I was drooling over the soups (I am really into soup right now) and was distracted by the sandwich tab as well (soup and sammie night anyone?). I wanted to make sure to share it with anyone that was looking for some inspiration.

Enjoy!

Snickerdoodles!

With Fall peering in between the heat I figure it was time for a good cinnamon recipe. I love cinnamon, it is one of my favorite spices. If you have a baked good of mine and you aren't sure what that subtle flavor is in the background...guess cinnamon, it is usually the right answer. Because I don't want to overload the blog with fall recipes (and I have many that need to be prepared and pictured), I thought I would start with a nice and simple Snickerdoodle cookie recipe. Snickerdoodles are fairly new to my life. I can guarantee that I had never tasted a snickerdoodle cookie until I had graduated from college (the first time). I don't know why, I think it has to do with the fact that few people in my family bake cookies on a regular basis and that I was always more tempted by the double fudge or sugar cookie at Great American Cookie Co (yes that was two facts, but nobody ever says "it has to do with the facts").

When I tried a snickerdoodle for the first time (and it was I that made them on the request of a friend) I was floored. These are amazing I thought...no...they are the perfect non-chocolate, non-oatmeal cookie. A simple and light slightly sugary, slightly buttery cookie that is crisp on the outside and soft and tender on the inside! Magnificent! Then you coat it in cinnamon (sigh) and sugar! Wow! I love the way the cookies "crackle" a bit when done if you have made them right.

I use a recipe out of my Betty Crocker cookbook. It is simple (making the dough literally takes 10 minutes in my stand mixer) and I usually have the ingredients on hand. Make sure you do not over bake...nobody likes a super crispy snickerdoodle.

1 1/2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup shortening
2 eggs
2 3/4 cups all-purpose or unbleached flour
2 teaspoons cream of tartar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
(P.S. I usually make more cin sugar mixture than this, but it is a good starting point, we usually have tons on hand because we like it on fruit and in our oatmeal)

1) Heat oven to 400ºF.
2) Mix 1 1/2 cups sugar, the butter, shortening and eggs in large bowl. Stir in flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt.
3) Shape dough into 1 1/4-inch balls.
4) Mix 1/4 cup sugar and the cinnamon. Roll balls in cinnamon-sugar mixture.
5) Place 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet.
6) Bake 8 to 10 minutes or until set. Remove from cookie sheet to wire rack



Enjoy!

Adventures with Goat Cheese

Tonight we had a delicious salad/bread combo that I had to recommend. We are very fond of dinner salads and tonight was no exception. We tossed fresh spinach, tomatoes, cucumber, shaved red onion, and avocado together. No big deal right...just another everyday salad...oh no my friends...that wasn't the end of it. The first batch of pomegranates showed up at our local grocery store last week so we added pomegranate seeds. I am not really a fan of pomegranate juice, but I really love how fresh pomegranate seeds burst in your mouth with a sweet, yet tart, almost grapefruit taste. We then added marinated and grilled (thank you George Foreman) skirt steak that was thinly cut against the grain of the meat (please ladies and gentlemen...cut your skirt steak against the natural grain of the steak). We then topped it off with goat cheese crumbles. It was delicious. Sweet, savory, tart from the cheese and pomegranate seeds, creamy avocado contrasted with crunchy cucumber...oh yum! We dressed it with a modified version of Matt's mom's balsamic dressing (balsamic vinegar, sugar, olive oil, a touch of mustard, and an ice cube shaken together). It was a perfectly sweet and tart addition to the salad.

We also served it with one of my favorite little treats. We rather enjoy Panera's baguette bread. It is perfectly crunchy on the outside and soft and chewy on the inside and the cell distribution of the bread is amazing. It is a perfect mixture of large and small air pockets which is important to the baking and tasting process. We cut the bread, slather it with goat cheese (the spreadable kind like Chaverie works best for this), and top it with shaved red onion. Put it in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes, top with cracked black pepper and if you desire, a drizzle of olive oil and consume. So delicious, so simple, I am so going back into the kitchen for more.

Enjoy!

Yuck, but ok...

I am so not into Chili's Restaurants. I usually get terrible service and an overpriced stomachache for all of my troubles when I go there. I go there because when you are trying to get 6 or 7 people to decide on a place to eat, it is better to be the path of least resistance. I am going to Chili's later this week with some friends from my old job to have a beverage. We usually order chips and salsa and maybe a snack. I found a link to get free chips and queso by signing up for their email list. I will indulge them for an email or two if it means more enjoyment for the people I am going with. If you, too are interested in free chips and queso the website it... chilisemailclub.com . Enjoy?!?

Chocolate Oreo Goodness

So I do not think I posted this recipe before...if I did, I apologize, blame it on baby brain...

This recipe is perfect for the upcoming holiday parties where you volunteer to bring a dessert or cookie to share with the group. This is way easier than baking cookies from scratch and it is almost as easy as the already made cookie dough. These Oreo Balls (there is no other word to use for them, they are balls) are soft, moist, and delicious in the middle and surrounded by a firm chocolate coating on the outside. They don't taste like oreos so you will have everyone guessing as to what your ingredients are...

Ingredients:
One package of oreo type cookies (I have used the store brand and reduced fat before and they have been great)
One package of cream cheese (again, store brand, reduced fat is great)
One package of Chocolate Bark (it is in the baking aisle by the cocoa powder and chocolate chips)

Steps:
In large food processor (I do this in two batches) process the oreos and cream cheese together. Make sure it is well blended. Put in fridge for at least one hour. After mixture is chilled take out and begin forming into little balls (I use my cookie scoop, a melon baller would work well too). Heat a few squares of chocolate bark at a time in the microwave (20 sec, stir, repeat until melted). Drop the oreo balls into the chocolate bark and make sure it is covered. Use forks or fingers to remove and place on wax paper. When chocolate coating is set, consume with pleasure!

If you would like to top with crushed candy canes, a bit of cocoa powder, or cinnamon, do so when the coating is not set (immediately after taking out of the coating). This way the bits will stay attached into the coating....





If you want a candle in one for a birthday, just press in before the coating is set.

I have thought about trying this with mint oreos around Christmas but haven't...yet. My sister-in-law has a similar recipe that involves making a red velvet box cake and breaking that up with a container of cream cheese frosting, then repeat the same method with the chocolate bark. The red velvet cake is pretty at Christmas.

Enjoy!

Traditional Bread Pudding

Because fall is approaching and I was perusing food pictures that are waiting to be blogged, I decided to post the Luby's Bread Pudding recipe. I know what you are thinking...Luby's...yuck! I happen to love Luby's and treasure my eating there with my family dearly. There are definitely some items I wouldn't touch with a ten foot pole, but most of their items are quite good. I also like that I can go and eat the veggie plate (with either 3 or 4 veggies and a roll) and Matt can still get his carnivorous intake (by ordering the Luann with a meat, two veggies, and a roll).

The bread pudding recipe is good. I cannot vouch for the bread pudding in the actual restaurant. In fact, restaurant bread puddings in general should be avoided (except for Madden's blackberry pudding...which I might have the recipe for...I'm not at liberty to say). The recipe for this bread pudding is traditional and comes out slightly crunchy on top with perfect bread pudding softness under the top layer. The egg mixture, bread, raisins, and pecans mix well together. My Grandaddy loved this bread pudding so much that he would specifically go to restaurants, order it, taste it, then proceed to tell the waiter and manager that mine was better!




Here is their actual recipe, I will add my modifications at the bottom...

Luby’s Bread Pudding with Lemon Sauce
“A Most Requested Recipe”

CINNAMON SUGAR
6 T granulated sugar
2 T ground cinnamon

PUDDING
3 c milk
7 extra-large eggs
3/4 c granulated sugar
1/2 t vanilla

6 oz. (6 to 8 slices) white bread,
torn into 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 c raisins

LEMON SAUCE
3/4 c granulated sugar
1/2 c fresh lemon juice
2 T cornstarch
1 T plus 1 1/2 t water
4 drops yellow food color

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. For cinnamon sugar, in small bowl, mix together sugar and cinnamon.
3. For pudding, in large bowl, whisk together milk, eggs, sugar, and vanilla until well blended.
4. Place bread in 2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle raisins. Pour milk mixture over bread and raisins. Sprinkle with cinnamon sugar. 5. Cover with foil.
6. Bake 45 minutes.
7. Remove foil and continue baking 10 minutes.
8. For sauce, in small saucepan, combine sugar and lemon juice. Mix well. Bring to a boil over medium heat.
9. In custard cup or small bowl, mix cornstarch, water, and food color until cornstarch is completely dissolved. Add to saucepan,
stirring constantly until mixture thickens. Serve over pudding.

Serves 8.

We usually add more raisins (sprinkle them in until "it looks right") and add pecans (same amount as raisins). We also make extra cinnamon sugar and sprinkle a bit throughout the bread mixture. Lastly, we have never made the lemon sauce, instead we serve it warm with a healthy dose of heavy whipping cream poured on top. So enjoy this decidedly fall/winter dessert. It always makes an appearance at my Dad's for Christmas dinner with Prime Rib and other traditional Charles Dickens like fare...

In case you are traveling

Here is an article about 10 of the must eat foods in different parts of the USA...I have always talked about making a foodie trek to do some of these things...

http://travel.yahoo.com/p-interests-35710989

Blackberry Cobbler

A quick little thumbs up for a store bought item...

Today we took a Blackberry cobbler over to a friends house to share with ice cream. We bought the HEB brand because it was considerably less and we had read that many stores offer a satisfaction guarantee on their items (so we wouldn't lose anything monetarily...just immediate enjoyment of cobbler). We popped in the oven according to the directions and let it sit after an hour of cooking until we were ready to partake. The cobbler was great! The crust was flavorful and crusty (how ironic, I know) with nice butter flavor, but without imitation butter feel. Their was also a top and bottom crust which for me is a definite deal breaker! The filling set up nicely and didn't get watery juice everywhere. There was a nice fruit to syrupy goodness ratio and the blackberries tasted fresh. So give it a try if you are looking for an easy dessert. It was only 2.96 and paired nicely with a 1.50 pint of Blue bell vanilla ice cream. You would be hard pressed to make a homemade cobbler for less than 3 bucks...

Good looking food on Yahoo

This recipe on yahoo looked simply delicious...I had to share...

http://shine.yahoo.com/channel/food/4-easy-dinners-packed-with-summer-vegetables-2224993/;_ylt=AlvyqkjkvpbLJmwfVibHfpLkgKU5

Italian Cream Cake

As requested by a dear friend and my sister-in-law, here is my recipe for Italian Cream Cake. It is borrowed from Emeril Legasse, but there are small changes that I believe make all the difference!

Ingredients

For the cake:

• 1/2 cup shortening, room temperature
• 1 stick butter, room temperature
• 2 cups sugar
• 5 eggs, separated and at room temperature
• 2 cups cake flour
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup buttermilk, at room temperature
• 2 cups shredded coconut
• 1 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the frosting: (I would either double or one and a half this recipe to frost the whole cake)

• 1 (8-ounce) package cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/4 cup butter, softened at room temperature
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• powdered sugar, to taste (some people like cream cheese icing to taste cheesy, others like it sweet)
• 3/4 cup finely chopped pecans or walnuts

Directions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and grease and flour 3 (9-inch) cake pans.

In the bowl of an electric mixer cream the shortening, butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the egg yolks 1 at a time, beating well after each addition and scraping the bowl. Sift the flour, baking soda and salt together onto a sheet of waxed or parchment paper twice. With the mixer on low speed, add the sifted ingredients in batches alternately with the buttermilk, beginning and ending with the dry ingredients. I do this in three batches.

In a separate bowl, beat the egg whites until stiff, and gently fold into the prepared batter. Add the coconut, pecans and vanilla and fold into the batter. Divide the batter among the 3 prepared cake pans and bake for about 25 minutes, or until golden brown and a tester comes out clean when inserted into the middle of each cake. Allow the cakes to cool in the pans for about 10 minutes before turning them out onto a wire rack to finish cooling. When the cakes are completely cool, stack the layers with the frosting and frost the sides and top.

While the cake is baking, prepare the frosting. In a large bowl combine the cream cheese, butter and vanilla and, using an electric mixer, beat until smooth and creamy. Add the sifted powdered sugar and mix until thoroughly combined. Add the nuts and fold together. Keep refrigerated until you are ready to frost the cake.

Mixing...

This is how your beaters should look when the egg whites are stiff enough. They should slide out of the bowl in one large, foamy clump...

Fold gently...

Make sure not to overbake this cake, frost, and enjoy...

I sometimes top this cake with orange zest or mint leaves for decoration.

Make sure the shortening you use is clean. I once made this cake for Matt's family for Christmas, not realizing that Matt's dad uses the shortening to rub on the outside of potatoes before baking. Potato skin flavoring is very pungent and makes for a cake that does not taste light, fluffy, and delicious, but more like dirty dishwater or pencil shavings.

Pulled pork

So I failed at putting up other recipes...o well, that might be an ongoing project. In the mean time...

Pork butt (tee-hee) was on sale for .97 cents at Kroger this week. I grabbed the smallest one I could (10 pounds), an onion, a jar of pickles, and some bbq sauce. Once home I grabbed my handy dandy crockpot, rough sliced the onions and threw them in the pot. Matt cut the pork into smaller chunks to help expedite the cooking and breaking down process (pork butt is a wonderful piece of meat, but has a lot of connective tissue that needs to slowly cook away to become wonderful flavor). We topped off the onions and pork with some of the sauce, 1/2 cup or so of pickle juice, 1/2 cup of water, house seasoning (garlic powder, salt, pepper, red pepper) and it is now cooking away on the high, 4 hour setting. This started at 1:30 and the flavor is great, but it needs more time to become tender and delicious. Give it a shot! We are serving it on yeast rolls, with the pickles, and sliced onions at small group tonight. I think we are also having potato salad and a green salad so it should be a great time to be had by all!

PIzza place, but that review will have to wait

Last night I was able to leave the land of freezer food and headed out with a friend since both of our hubbies were working late. We decided on Russo's New York Pizzeria for dinner. I have dined there several times, but the pizza will be a later post, I have to get a good picture. Last night I indulged in pasta. I ordered the Baked Ziti over the Pasta Puttanesca at the waiter's recommendation. Bad Waiter...Bad, Bad Waiter. It was a little bland and not nearly as cheesy as a good Baked Ziti should be. Their tomato sauce was nice and light, but it left me wanting something heavier for a classic baked dish like ziti. The menu says the pasta is homemade, but I doubt the penne in the ziti dish was anything but boxed. I found myself looking longingly at the gnocchi with bolognese across the table and the pizzas ordered at the table next to us. On a plus note, their salad's are delicious. I got the greek with the balsamic dressing at it was exactly as it should be, crisp lettuce, ripe tomatoes, crisp cucumbers, tart olives, a smattering of feta, and a drizzle of light and tart balsamic dressing. So the pizza will soon be included in my pizza quest, but I will avoid the pasta for awhile.

A bit of a rut...

Two asides that will come together...

Aside #1-

I used to subscribe to several culinary magazines that I would get really excited about. I also used to use my printing allotment at Texas A & M for the purpose of printing off recipes from the internet. This has resulted in a 3 inch, 3 ring binder stuffed full of recipes I am sure I will never get all the way through.

Aside #2-

Matt and I have decided to clean out our freezers. Both the inside freezer attached to the fridge and the deep freezer have several meals that need to be consumed. This means no new recipes with pictures for the next couple of weeks.

Bringing the two asides together-

I do not want to leave anyone out in the dark, thus I will pick a few random recipes as often as I can and post them here. If you wish to try them out...great. If not...fine. If you do try them out please comment about them after the fact. So...

Carne Asada

8 poblano chiles

2 bunches green onions (about 12), dark green tops trimmed

2 pounds skirt steak, cut crosswise into 6 inch wide pieces

4 garlic cloves, minced

Coarse kosher salt

Corn or flour tortillas

2 avocados, peeled, pitted, sliced

lime wedges

salsa of your choice

Prepare grill on high heat. Grill chiles and onions until charred all over, about 3 minutes for the onions and 5 for the chiles. Transfer onions to a plate and cover with tin foil to keep warm. Transfer chiles to a large bowl, cover with plastic and let stand 15 minutes. Peel and seed, cut into 1 inch wide strips. Transfer to onion plate and keep warm. Rub steak with garlic, sprinkle with coarse salt and pepper. Grill until cooked to desired doneness, about 3 minutes on each side for medium. Transfer to cutting board and let stand for 5 minutes. Grill tortillas until warm and slightly charred, about 10 seconds per side. Cut steak crosswise into strips, transfer to onion and chile plate. Serve beef, chiles, onion, avocado, and salsa wrapped in tortillas with lime wedge (and a Corona) on the side.

And just for the heck of it here is something completely different:

Italian Chicken and Vegetable Soup (by Paula Deen)

2 tablespoons of olive oil

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces

1 small onion chopped

1 cup sliced carrots (about 3 small)

2 1/2 cups sliced zucchini (about 2 medium)

2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano

2 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth

Grated parmesan for topping

In a large pot, heat olive oil over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook for ten minutes stirring frequently. Add onion and carrot, and cook for 5 minutes. Stir in zucchini, tomatoes, and chicken broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes. Top with parmesan and serve with crusty bread if desired.

Blueberry muffins

This is my recipe for Blueberry muffins, it is modified slightly from The Betty Crocker Cookbook. A small aside about the blueberries. For pancakes we like to use fresh, but find that frozen work better in muffins. Something about the baking time that is involved in muffins causes the blueberries to get mushy if you use fresh. With frozen we have never had this problem and it allows the blueberries to stay whole enough that you get that pop of fruit that makes blueberries so delicious!

These muffins are great muffins, they are slightly crisp on the outside and soft and fluffy inside. The muffin itself is not too sweet and the blueberries give it just a bit of sweetness. So enough talk, here is the recipe!

3/4 cup of milk

1/4 cup canola oil

1 large egg

2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 to 1 teaspoon of cinnamon

1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries

Heat oven to 400 and grease a 12 cup muffin tin (I like off brand Pam myself). Beat milk, oil, and egg. I do this with a wire whisk until extra fluffy. Sift dry ingredients together in a separate bowl. Dump all but about two tablespoons of the flour mixture into the wet ingredients and mix until just combined (batter will be lumpy). Take the extra two tablespoons of flour mixture and toss the frozen blueberries. This will coat the blueberries and help them stay suspended in the batter (so all of your blueberries aren't at the bottom of your muffin). Fold into the batter. Evenly place into your muffin tin. I find that a cookie scoop makes this easier (usually two scoops or so per tin). Bake 20 to 25 minutes (until it's done and golden brown). Top with butter and enjoy!

I love the slightly blue color they get

Look at that distribution of perfectly, "burstable" blueberries!

Enjoy with venison sausage or on their own on your way to work! I have contemplated making them with half whole wheat flour, I think they would be pretty good!

A brief side note...

I rather love salad. I could eat a dinner sized salad many nights of the week. I enjoy preparing salads and eat a good portion of every salad I make. I think salads are wonderful because they are so versatile. I found this slide show while perusing the Internet today. Maybe you will get some enjoyment from one of these recipes.

One of the stops on the quest...

I am going to start off by saying this: this is not the best pizza I have found so far. This is not even near the top. There are many reasons for this not being the best pizza, but this place (and thus this post) does serve many purposes...

BJ's Brewhouse was actually introduced to us by some friends who were visiting from Philadelphia, they had visited a BJ's in Dallas and because they were down to visit suggested we give it a whirl. BJ's is great for a number reasons:

First, they brew their own beers and they brew many different kinds of beer. I like a wide variety of beer to go with my many different moods so having a wide selection is nice. The waitstaff is usually somewhat knowledgeable about the different varieties (Imperial style stout to Pilsners and Wheat beers) and will gladly bring you samples to try before you commit to just one. They also will mix beers (half and half/ black and tan style) which makes for an even better variety and they also periodically have hard ciders which is nice in the fall and winter. Below is a picture of one of their beer flights which is reasonably priced and gives you ample tastes of four of their most popular beers.

Second, their bruschetta is a delicious part of their menu and we have often purchased it, a salad, and a beer or two for dinner alone. The tomatoes are diced and tossed with olive oil, basil, salt, and a nice touch of fresh garlic (which gives it a wonderful bite). The tomatoes are served with a foccaccia style bread which is toasted making a perfect platform to soak in extra olive oil and tomato juice from the topping. I also like that they serve the bruschetta in a bowl with the bread fanned around it so that you can choose how much topping you want on your bread. (The picture below is from my I-phone which doesn't make the best quality display of such a wonderful treat)
Third, they have a wide variety of pizzas from thin crust to Chicago style deep dish with a large array of toppings. You can make your own or choose from some of their suggested mixes. Their toppings are generous in portion and of decent quality.

You would think with the praises already sung about BJ's that it would be higher ranked in my eyes, but despite all of the wonderful aspects of the place...something is missing. The pizza is simply fine for lack of a better word. The deep dish is greasy (which might be a defining characteristic of deep dish pizzas, which I don't normally choose to enjoy) and the thin crust is thin and chewy, not crispy. There is nothing special about their pizzas, I feel like I could get the same sort of pizza in a number of different places around the city. The things that make BJ's great is the beer and the atmosphere...not the pizza. Granted they do not advertise themselves as being an exclusive pizza place (they also have sandwiches and American style food), most go for the pizza. I would think of BJ's as being a football watching, beer drinking, and oh-yeah we can order a few pizzas kind of place. The pizza is a good addition, but not an immediate factor into choosing to go there. I really enjoy BJ's, but I don't think pizza and BJ's in the same breath...not like you do for Lombardi's...

Thus...the search continues...

The beginning of a quest

We were on the search for the original New York pizza. We were well aware of the arguments that other places were better (often more tense than the arguments of which Philly cheesesteak is better), but we wanted the first, the original, the pizza that every other pizza would be modeled after. We found Lombardi’s with relative ease after all, we had heard about the place on the Food Network and in our trusty guide book for our first trip to New York. We walked in and immediately smelled the huge vats of bubbling tomato sauce exuding their aroma from the kitchen. Arriving before their remodel, we were seated in the older section of the restaurant which means we were guided past the coal burning oven that makes their pizza so unique. We were sat at a table ordered a few drinks and picked out a few pizzas to try. You do have to wait for your pizza, but we didn’t mind as we looked around the walls taking in pictures of celebrities and wannabes that graced their restaurant over the years. We continued taking in the aroma of the previously mentioned sauce and used that as our appetizer for what was to come. When our pizzas arrived we knew it had been well worth the wait. The crust was a cross between thin and hand tossed and while their were a few charred spots on the edge, we took that as a sign of authenticity. My choice of pizza was sausage, red onion, and mushroom. The sausage was thinly sliced into ovals and had good flavor with a mild bit of heat. The red onion had a nice sharp bite and the mushrooms added texture and a woody flavor to the pizza. The cheese was not overpowering, but rather balanced out the rest of the flavors on the pizza as well as helping to keep the toppings in place. The sauce was wonderfully simple in that you could taste tomatoes and a bit of seasoning and nothing else. The crust was something all together difficult to describe. It had a wonderfully salty flavor combined with a warm, yeasty, bread-like texture. Because of the char of coal burning oven, the crust was slightly crisp and wonderfully chewy. There were spots that tasted more charred than others, but not in a bad way. I can only describe it as being perfectly burnt (in the way that sometimes a few pieces of extra done popcorn is a nice balance to the rest of the batch). Combine all of these wonderful ingredients: the toppings, the cheese, the sauce, and the crust (oh man...the crust) and you have, quite simply, the best pizza I have ever tasted. Add in a Peroni or two and you are set for one of the best meals of your life.

The second time we went to eat at Lombardi’s was two days later...it was just as delicious.

The third time we went to eat at Lombardi’s was a few years later...we got off our plane from Houston, got our baggage, found a taxi, rode to Lombardi’s (straight there), and asked for a table. I thought this time that there would be no way our memories of the pizza could be as wonderful as the pizza actually was...I was wrong...if anything it was better! We polished off a few pizzas between the two of us and were glad for the long walk (with our luggage in tow) to the hotel where we would be staying.

The fourth time I went I was without Matt. This past summer I was in New York at the JFR Lerner Fellowship. I stood up on Sunday at dinner and said "I am going to Lombardi's to get pizza tomorrow night...if anyone wants to eat at the original (and in my opinion best) pizza place then you are welcome to come with me. I am going regardless." Out of the 30 of us, 9 brave souls followed me to Little Italy and were not disappointed with the results.

We have recommended Lombardi’s to others and they are always polite about thanking us for our recommendation and smile saying “We will see if we can try it...there are so many places to eat”. Once they have tried it though, they see what we mean and thank us with enthusiasm for mentioning the place.

The one drawback is the location...obviously being in New York we cannot go every day which means...we have to find something equal...

My Top three Foodie websites

I wanted to share some of my favorite foodie websites...

The Pioneer Woman is a new favorite of mine. She is clever and spends a lot of time updating her blog on a regular basis. She has a wide variety of recipes and takes time to show pictures of the porocess of each recipe.

I am really getting into the idea of making my own baby food for the T-Rex. One site that has been helpful is about making Wholesome baby food. It has a lot of recipes and schedules for when to start different foods.

I also of course love the Food Network website. It is sometimes tedious to wade through all of their recipes, but have a lot of luck with their recipes. It helps if you know what you are looking for (if you saw an episode and wanted a specific recipe), but you can also search other ways (by ingredient, chef, meal time, ect).

Enjoy!

Oops!

I was going to post this here, but I accidently posted it on the family blog...o-well!

Turkey Tettrazini

This is a wonderful recipe from Matt's mom. We have made it using both chicken and turkey. With the little blast of cold weather we have had around here lately, a nice casserole always helps warm you up! This freezes really well and makes a good amount (so you can have it for leftovers or lunches).

Cook and drain a box of pasta (we prefer bow tie but you can use any kind)

-see note on cooking the pasta below

Have ready the equivalent of 4 chicken breast halves cooked and cut into bite size pieces

-remember you can use either turkey or chicken

-about the amount that you would want in a typical casserole pan

Saute these ingredients together:

butter or olive oil for sauteing

1 cup chopped celery

1 cup chopped bell pepper

1 cup chopped onion

minced garlic

Add:

1/2 cup chopped or sliced black olives (we usually add more)

small can of mushrooms (drained)- although fresh would probably be great

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 box of Velveeta cheese cut into cubes (we have also used the reduced fat and it turns out fine)

Stir and cook until melted.

At this point we usually add frozen peas or other veggies to add extra texture and nutrition.

Combine veggies/sauce, meat, and pasta. Mix well. Pour into a 9x13 casserole dish.

Top with 1 cup grated Parmesan.

Bake for 20-30 minutes in a 350 degree oven, until hot and bubbly.

Note: I usually do not cook pasta al dente. I like my pasta on the softer side. The one exception to that is when I am cooking the pasta further in a pasta bake or casserole. The pasta will get incredibly mushy and soft if you cook it too far. So...under cook the pasta just a bit!