Smart, sweet and salty

Happy Spring! It's been a busy few months.  We were so deeply saddened to say goodbye to this guy, who we had to let go after 15 wonderful years in the family.  

 Then doug and I got out of town and lived and worked in Boulder, CO for three weeks, leaving the day before that horrible tragedy occurred.  

But I've been dying to write about my Breville!!  As you know from my prior post, I got a new cast iron skillet for Christmas.  I am still in love with it.  But I got a few other toys that have been no less revolutionary.  First, a new set of measuring spoons. Why did it take me ten years to do this?  I had been getting by with like two janky melted mismatched tools.  These are great, they're magnetic so nestle together in the drawer, and the set includes the tiniest of sizes and the 3/4 tsp, which is key.

                                     

I also got a new Ninja mini chopper.  Similar to the mini Cuisinart, which I love, but this sucker has two blades and pulverizes in like two seconds.  It's a keeper. 

Next, for the Schitt's Creek fans out there, you know how epic this cutting board from Doug is!!

But this one? This is the motherlode. The Breville Smart Oven.  I got a mini, since it sits on the counter and our family is smaller now, but it is one of these tools that I instantly don't know how I survived without it.  

It is an oven and a toaster all in one, but so much more than the toaster oven of yore.  It's powerful, cooks evenly and remembers your settings for everything.  You can straight up cook in it:  it is incredibly versatile and cooks everything perfectly.  I've broiled salmon, baked brownies, toasted bread, heated tortillas, and roasted a chicken, just to name a few. Everything turns out perfectly.

Lastly, yesterday I made some extraordinarily delicious brownies:  salted pretzel brownies.   Melissa D'Arabian strikes gold again - it's a salty brownie on top of a graham cracker crust and it. is. gooooood.

Salted Pretzel Brownies

First you make and bake the graham cracker crust.  Use your Breville ha ha.

Then you make the brownies and dump them in the baked crust.

Top with a few pretzels and bake away.

                                            

INGREDIENTS

FOR THE CRUST:

• ½ cup/115 grams unsalted butter (1 stick), melted, plus more for greasing the pan
• 1 cup/120 grams graham cracker crumbs (from about 7 graham cracker sheets)
• ½ cup/30 grams finely crushed pretzels
• 1 egg white

FOR THE BROWNIES:

• ½ cup/115 grams unsalted butter (1 stick)
• 4 ounces/115 grams unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped or broken up
• 1 ¼ cups/250 grams granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, at room temperature
• ½ cup/65 grams all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons Dutch-processed cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• ¾ teaspoon fine sea salt
• ⅓ cup/60 grams mini or regular chocolate chips (optional)
•  Small whole pretzels, for topping the brownies

PREPARATION

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly butter an 8-inch square metal baking pan and line it with parchment paper, leaving about 2 inches of excess on each side to help you lift the cooked brownies out of the pan.
2. Make the crust: In a food processor, combine butter, graham cracker crumbs, crushed pretzels and egg white. Process until mixture is well blended. Transfer to prepared pan and press crumb mixture into an even layer on the bottom. Bake until deeply browned at the edges, about 14 to 17 minutes. Transfer pan to a wire rack to cool.
3. Make the brownies: Raise oven temperature to 400 degrees. Put butter and chocolate into a medium pot and place it over low heat. Melt the mixture, taking care not to let the chocolate burn and stirring constantly with a rubber spatula until smooth. Scrape chocolate mixture into a large bowl and mix in the sugar. Let mixture cool until it’s just warm to the touch, about 5 minutes.
4. Whisk eggs into cooled chocolate mixture. Whisk in flour, cocoa powder, vanilla and salt. Mix in chocolate chips, if using.
5. Scrape batter into an even layer on top of the crust. Top with pretzels and bake until the top is set and firm to touch, especially in the center, 20 to 25 minutes. Transfer the pan to a wire rack to cool completely before cutting into 16 squares.

Try them - they're fab.  Enjoy this time of year!

Iron

A Cast Iron Skillet.  It was a staple in my grammy's kitchen. She made her Irish Soda bread in it.  It sat there, solid and beautiful, on her white enamel range.  My parents, too, kept one sitting on the stove top. Julie has one. I have visited her dozens of times over the years, and love to use it when cooking at her house. Every time I do I think, why don't I have one of these?  Well, now I do.

Meet my favorite Christmas present, my new kitchen toy, my 12" cast iron, forged by Smithey.

She is a beaut and I love her.  

I feel so stupid I didn't have one earlier - cast iron skillets are amazingly versatile.

Being me, I researched different models and read a bunch of reviews and settled on Smithey.

Isn't that nice?  Thank you, Isaac!

So what's the deal with cast iron cookware, you ask?

According to Southern Kitchen, 

The oldest cast iron artifacts date from early 5th century B.C China, in the Jiangsu province, and such tools were widely used in the region by the 3rd century B.C. Cast iron slowly made its way to Western Europe, likely via the Silk Road, and wasn’t an important material until the 14th centuryA.D.

In Europe, it was mainly used for artillery until the 1700s, when it started to be used for bridges and building construction, as well as for cooking pots. Englishman Abraham Darby is credited with revolutionizing cast iron cookware; in 1707, he patented a method for casting iron into relatively thin pots and kettles, a process that made them cheaper to produce. With three feet on the base and a heavy, handled lid, these early pots were used for cooking over live fire and were most akin to the types of Dutch ovens used today for outdoor cooking.

As indoor kitchen stoves became more and more widespread throughout the late 18th and mid-19th centuries, cookware began to evolve as well, and flat-bottomed cast iron skillets became essential pieces of cookware in both Europe and America. Industrialized manufacturing also helped the spread of cast iron cookware, as these skillets and pots became cheaper and cheaper to produce. Towards the end of the 19th century, three iconic American cast iron cookware brands were founded, cementing the pan’s popularity across the country.

In other words, I am long overdue.  

What I love about this tool is it looks amazing, you can cook just about anything in it, you can bake in it, it is easy to clean and never needs to be put away.  Boom.

I made a rockin Shepherd's Pie, which you can cook up right in the darn thing

And one of our family favorites:  
Chicken Piccata Pasta Toss (full recipe below)

(or as Dylan used to call it as a little kid, "slimy chicken pasta"

season chicken with salt & pepper and brown in olive oil for 5-6 minutes

 

Remove chicken from pan

Heat butter &  olive oil and cook garlic and shallots for 3 minutes

Stir in flour and cook two minutes

Whisk in wine and reduce liquid, 1 minute.  Whisk lemon juice and broth into sauce

Stir in capers & parsley.  

When it comes to a boil, add a little more butter and add chicken back in.

Heat it all up, add to hot pasta and enjoy

Last but not least, I would like to introduce you to my new favorite cocktail, the Corpse Reviver No. 2.  

Thank you, Rebecca Fenneman

Corpse Reviver No. 2

• Absinthe, to rinse
• 3/4 ounce London dry gin
• 3/4 ounce Lillet blanc
• 3/4 ounce orange liqueur
• 3/4 ounce lemon juice, freshly squeezed

• Rinse the inside of a chilled coupe or cocktail glass with absinthe, discard the excess and set the glass aside.

• Add the gin, Lillet blanc, orange liqueur and lemon juice into a shaker with ice and shake until well-chilled.

• Strain into the prepared glass.

Chicken Piccata Pasta Toss

2 TBS olive oil

1-1/3 lb chicken breast tenders, cut into 1 inch pieces

salt & pepper

1-1/2 Tbsp butter

4 cloves chopped garlic

2 chopped shallot

2 Tbsp all purpose flour

1/2 cup wine

1 lemon, juice

1 cup chicken broth

3 Tbsp capers, drained

1/2 cup flat leaf parsley, chopped

1 lb penne pasta, cooked al dente

1. Heat a deep nonstick skillet over medium high heat. Add a tablespoon of extra-virgin olive oil and the chicken to the pan. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Brown chicken until lightly golden all over, about 5 to 6 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and return the skillet to the heat. Reduce heat to medium. Add another tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil and 1 tablespoon butter, the garlic and shallots to the skillet. Saute garlic and shallots 3 minutes. Add flour and cook 2 minutes. Whisk in wine and reduce liquid 1 minute. Whisk lemon juice and broth into sauce. Stir in capers and parsley. When the liquid comes to a bubble, add remaining 1/2 tablespoon butter to the sauce to give it a little shine. Add chicken back to the pan and heat through, 1 to 2 minutes. Toss hot pasta with chicken and sauce and serve. Adjust salt and pepper, to your taste. Top with fresh snipped chives.

Treat yourself

 hoooo boy I cannot wait to be on the other side of Tuesday.  I can't take the stress.  So I am stress eating and stress drinking and stress working out.  I think the latter more or less compensates for the first two, but that could be one of my many covid-delusions.  

It's a given that everyone is on edge these days, or just battling all-the-things-fatigue.

I am a firm believer that, when the world has got you down, you must buck yourself up with treats.  So here you go: two of my new favorite treats.  

You're welcome!

First, The Spaghett.

Our neighbor Neal brought these over for a patio dinner this summer.  Bon Apetit magazine dubbed The Spaghett "the drink of the summer".  Summer is over, yes, but why should you suffer?  Trust me, this is a yummy drink.  The three ingredients are Miller High Life (yes, I said that,)  fresh lemon juice and Aperol.  I am a huge Aperol fan.  If you haven't tried it, it's a bitter Italian aperitivo, supposedly in the orange family.  By itself it's disgusting and bitter, but combined with other ingredients it's delish.  If you are a fan of the Aperol Spritz, The Spaghett is a wonderful twist: it has all the benefits of the spritz but none of the sweetness.  It's so good! 

Here is the very fancy recipe:

Open a Miller High Life.

Take a very large swig.

Replace the volume you just drank with 2:1 aperol to lemon juice.  (Some prefer 1:1).  You can squeeze a lemon wedge right in the bottle then top up with Aperol, or add a pre-mixed situation.

That's it!! Try it: trust me, it's so good.

Yes, you can use a beer other than Miller High Life but with those gorgeous bubbles, it just wouldn't be the same.  But if you do, make sure it's a mild one.

If you are making a large batch, I get a Pyrex and pre-make the add-in:  I use about 1/3 fresh lemon to juice and 2/3 Aperol.  

Second,  100 calorie Chocolate Mug Cake

Last night Doug went for some outdoor beers with some buddies and I curled with with my book and scoured the house for sweets to no avail. (Why do I think if I keep opening the pantry door that homemade chocolate chip cookies will magically appear?)  I wanted something sweet but a) didn't want a huge dessert bomb and b) didn't want leftovers.  Voila - the five minute, 100(ish) calorie chocolate mug cake!  I might do this every night. Unless I'm drinking Spaghetts.

 

The 100 Calorie Chocolate Mug Cake 

    Note:  I used real sugar so the calorie count is, supposedly, 175 calories vs 100, but who's counting?

Whisk in a coffee mug :  

• 2 tbsp. flour
• 1 1/2 tbsp. no-calorie sweetener or sugar
  
• 2 tsp. cocoa powder
• 1/4 tsp. baking powder
• Pinch of salt

• Stir in, until no lumps remain:
• 2 tbsp milk (I used oat milk, I think any milk is fine)
• 1 tsp oil (I used canola, I think any oil would be fine)
  
• 1 drop of vanilla extract

Microwave for 35 seconds.  35 seconds!!!

Let it sit for 3 minutes - it will continue to cook.

 One could add ice cream, powdered sugar, whatevs. 

Then enjoy, making lots of yum sounds.

It HIT THE SPOT.

Hang in there y'all, and give yourself a treat.

empty nest

A few observations today:

I am utterly and thoroughly sick of Covid.

I am sick of working at my dining room table.  Too close to snacks and I see my computer all the time.

I miss traveling.

I miss eating out.

I miss dinner parties.

I miss my kids.  

But, I confess, I also love the empty nest.  It's so weird and yet so awesome.

We had one round of this empty nest gig previously.  Corey left for South Korea on February 16th, while Dylan was midway through his freshman year.  Dylan came home for spring break on March 6th and..... Covid.   So the nest was empty for approximately three weeks.  Don't get me wrong, it was great to have Dylan around again, but we were all so cognizant that home was not where he is meant to be at this stage in his life, and we were anxious that he be able to return to UIUC in August. Which he did. 

U of I has been exemplary in how it has handled Covid.  It is truly leading the nation in testing and protocol and communications at a large university.   I am so proud and impressed!  So Dylan's  in Champaign-Urbana and Corey is in Korea and Noah is in Asheville and here we are.  We are WAY WAY more together than usual - both working from home - so the transition was like empty nest on steroids, but it's been nice.

One thing I realize is that I suck at shopping for two.  Yes, there is a huge snack problem and with both of us here 24/7 there is a lot of food still being consumed.  But I have realized that I still love to cook, even if it's just for the two of us.  That's where we started I guess!  I cook, he cleans.  Plus the in-between twenty-four years of babies, high chairs, bottles, sippy cups, plastic plates, booster chairs, school lunches, family dinners planned around activities, first off to college, then second out the door then third, and then boom:  here we are. 

It's been a gorgeous fall so far.  Last week I made a couple of my favorites, on our first cool  nights.  Enjoy!

Kale and Sausage Soup

Heat up some olive oil (2Tbs or so)

chop one large onion and saute it with a couple cloves minced garlic until onion is tender, about 7 minutes.

Wash and very thinly slice 1 lb of potatoes. 

Add them to the sauteed onion/garlic mixture and saute an additional five minutes on med/high heat, until potatoes are slightly soft.

 

 Add six cups of broth or stock or water, a couple teaspoons of salt (if using water), 

cover and simmer 20 minutes.

 

Take an immersion blender and dunk and blend a bit.  Not too much - I like the potatoes a little chunky.

Meanwhile, wash a bunch of kale and trim out the center vein, then turn sideways and chop into strips

Then take a package of fully cooked sausage - can be kielbasa or chicken or vegan variety - and slice into thin rounds.

Add the kale and the sausage to the soup and cook until both are heated through and the kale is slightly wilted -about five minutes.  That's it!  So good.

Serve it with some crusty bread and you've got a delicious fall meal.

 Mexican Quinoa Stew  (Vegan)

I'm obsessed with this one, always have the ingredients on hand and it's super hearty and yummy.  

Heat up a couple Tbsp olive oil or coconut oil and saute:

1 lg chopped onion

3 chopped celery stalks

3-4 chopped carrots

a couple tsp minced garlic 

2 seeded and chopped jalapeno peppers (leave the seeds in if you like it hotter.)

 Add:

• 3 ½ cups water
• 1 large can (28 ounces) diced tomatoes
• 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 ½ teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons salt
• ½ cup quinoa (dry/uncooked)
• ¼ cup chopped fresh cilantro
• ⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper (for extra heat, optional)
• Freshly ground black pepper

Bring to a boil then lower heat and simmer for 15 minutes or so, until the quinoa is tender.

Serve with any extras you have around:  extra chopped cilantro, small wedges of lime, diced avocado, crumbled tortilla chips.

 

Last but not least, this morning I was bemoaning the fact that we have nothing sweet in the house.  Yes, it was 8:30am but I really wanted something with my coffee and I was SOL.  So I made something.  Weirdly awesome and kind of strange, but they pack a protein punch and satisfy the sweet tooth, all without oil or butter!

Healthy Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Bars

• 1 cup creamy peanut butter
• 1/3 cup honey or maple syrup
• 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder 
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 cup rolled oats 
• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 cup milk any kind you like
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips   
  

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line an 8x8-inch baking dish with parchment paper so that you have some overhanging the sides like "handles," then lightly coat with cooking spray. Set aside.

With an electric mixer in a large mixing bowl or in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, beat together the peanut butter, honey, applesauce, and vanilla extract until smooth and evenly combined, about 3 minutes. Beat in the salt.

 

Sprinkle the cinnamon, baking powder, and baking soda over the top. 

 

Then, sprinkle on the flour and oats. Beat until combined and the batter comes together With the mixer running on low speed, drizzle in the milk and continue beating until incorporated. The batter will be very thick. With a wooden spoon or spatula, fold in the chocolate chips.

Once dough is well combined, scrape it into the prepared baking dish, then press the top to make it even. Bake for 16-19 minutes, until the bars are lightly golden and just set. Do not over bake! Allow to cool completely, remove from the pan using the parchment paper overhang, then slice.