New Years' Eve Menu

MTH and I are thinking of making our own fancy dinner.  I cheated and looked at epicurious menus instead of trying to figure out a menu on my own.  I want to make items like we would order at a nice restaurant.

Proposed Menu:
Salmon Rilletes on Toast
Three French Cheeses with Apple, Fennel and Walnut Salad (will substitute pecans for the walnuts)
Main Meat Dish - here's where you come in - please give ideas!!  MTH vetoed the veal rib chops with caramelized fennel and figs
Potatoes Simmered in Saffron
Veggie Side Dish - if you have any ideas for a tasty veggie side dish, I would love to hear them!

Drinks:
Sparkling Wine
Cakebread Sauvignon Blanc (present from a dear friend!)
Other wines I find at the store

We'll let you know how the meal goes!

Snickerdoodles

Snickerdoodles are a great cookie to make with a 2 year old. Logan "helped"measure the ingredients as well as mix them in the mixer. I did have to teach him that no hands could go past the bowl when the mixer is on. But the part he enjoyed most (besides sampling them) was rolling them in the cinnamon sugar. Next stop with all of these cookies: the firehouse!!

Recipe from the 2005 Martha Stewart Holiday Cookie magazine (printed version)

Ingredients:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper; set aside.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt; set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine butter and 1 1/2 cups sugar. Beat on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Scrape down sides of bowl. Add eggs, and beat to combine. Add dry ingredients, and beat to combine.
In a small bowl, combine remaining sugar and the ground cinnamon. Use a small (1 1/4-ounce) ice-cream scoop to form balls of the dough, and roll in cinnamon sugar. Place about 2 inches apart on the prepared baking sheets. Bake until the cookies are set in center and begin to crack (they will not brown), about 12-15 minutes, rotating the baking sheets after 5 minutes. Transfer the sheets to a wire rack to cool about 5 minutes before transferring the cookies to the rack. Store in an airtight container up to 1 week.

Easy Green Beans (Faux Loubieh Bi Zeit)

I previously posted that my son likes the Lebanese green beans loubieh bi zeit. Well, I figured out a quick shortcut to making them. Just mix the canned green beans with bottled spaghetti sauce. Although I try to make everything homemade for him, it's impossible to do so.

How to Cook Everything

I used this cookbook to make 4 different things last weekend!

1. Beef stroganoff - a very easy recipe that took less than 30 minutes. LTH (my son) loved the noodles. He doesn't seem to like the texture of beef yet but he must like the flavor.
2. Olive oil salt bread - a simple quick bread that I think will become a go to recipe. The basic recipe does not have much flavor. But, you just add spices or other mix ins that will match the rest of the meal and voila, you have a great side dish.
3. Cinnamon rolls - this recipe is a yeast bread. They turned out ok. I was not crazy about the glaze he recommended. Next time, I'll use my Mom's.
4. Chicken pot pie - I started with a whole chicken and made my own broth. There was so much chicken that I made chicken stir fry later in the week and there's still enough chicken and broth in the freezer to make 2 more pies!

What Else Does My Son Eat?

I thought I'd add to the list of foods. As an update on Peanut, he'll be 16 months on 1/7. He had his 15 month well baby visit last Tuesday. He weighed in at almost 22 pounds and is almost 31 inches long. He's a long skinny boy!

Roasted Sweet Potatoes (sweet potato fries was on the last list but I've decided that just roasting the sweet potatoes is almost as easy if I plan and are definitely better for him)
Stuffing (I may just break down and buy Stove Top to make for him :)
Ancho Pork and Hominy Stew (previous post) (he actually just liked the hominy stew part and not the pork. I'll post a modified recipe soon)
French fries (we've found that he actually likes these now. I'm not going to make them at home since they'll be a nice treat when we're eating out)
Broccoli sauteed in garlic
Benedictine spread (cream cheese and cucumbers) from Garnett's Cafe

And we've found a cheese that he does NOT like





Stilton Cheese

Ancho Pork and Hominy Stew

We had this stew for dinner last night with some warmed corn tortillas and steamed broccoli sauteed with garlic and red pepper.

Adapted from Cooking Light. Original recipe here.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoons ancho chile powder
• 1 teaspoons dried oregano
• 3/4 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 pound boneless pork chops, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces
• 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
• 1/2 onion, chopped
  
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
  
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic
• 1 can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1 (20-ounce) can hominy, drained
• 1 (14.5-ounce) can fire-roasted diced tomatoes, undrained

Preparation

1. Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl; set 3/4 teaspoon spice mixture aside. Add pork to remaining spice mixture in bowl, tossing well to coat.

2. Heat 2 teaspoons oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add pork mixture to pan; cook 5 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally. Remove pork from pan; set aside. Add remaining 1 teaspoon oil to pan. Add onion and bell pepper; sauté 3 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Add garlic and continue to saute for 2 more minutes or until you smell the garlic. Return pork to pan. Add reserved 1 1/2 teaspoons spice mixture, broth, hominy, and tomatoes; bring to a boil. Partially cover, reduce heat, and simmer 25 minutes.

Whole Grain Waffles

I like to add as much healthy as I can to breakfast. When DS decided he didn't want to eat oatmeal for breakfast anymore, we started doing waffles instead. These have whole wheat flour, wheat germ and milled flax seed. They may not be as light as regular waffles but I think they're pretty good and Logan has consistently eaten them for breakfast for about 3 months now! Adapted from The Good Housekeeping Illustrated Cookbook (1980 edition)

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 tablespoons milled flax seed
2 tablespoons wheat germ
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup yogurt ( in a 2 cup or bigger Pyrex)
enough milk to make 2 cups in the Pyrex mention above (your making buttermilk so you could also used buttermilk)
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
4 tablespoons vegetable oil

Directions:
Whisk together dry ingredients. Whisk together wet ingredients. Whisk wet ingredients into dry ingredients. Follow your waffle iron's instructions.

Loubieh Bi Zeit (Lebanese Green Beans)

MTH and I had take out from The Phoenician a few weeks ago. There were some leftover Loubieh Bi Zeit. I thought that DS may like them. He LOVED them! Given that he previously was not as enamoured of green beans, I decided I needed to figure out how to make them. Here's a recipe that I adapted from http://homemade-recipes.blogspot.com. Here is the link to the original recipe.

Ingredients:

olive oil
onions, chopped
garlic, chopped
1 can of green beans (I used half sodium)
1/2 can of tomato sauce
1/2 half lemon, juiced
2 cups of chicken broth or you can use chicken bouillon
Pepper

Directions:

1. Heat the oil in a saucepan.
   
2. Add onions and saute until translucent.
3. Add garlic and cook until fragrant (no more than 2 minutes).
   
4. Add green beans, tomato sauce, lemon juice, chicken broth and pepper.
5. Cover and cook on low heat for 45 minutes. You can probably cook less and it will be fine.
   

My Son's Top 9 Favorite Foods

My son will officially be 15 months old on 12/7. It's hard to believe that he was only 3 months old almost a year ago. So far, he has proven to be a good eater.

1. Cheese, cheese and more cheese - definitely his favorite food. The sharper the cheddar, the better. He also loves goat cheese and sheeps milk cheese. He likes to eat it as is or in grilled cheese.
2. Sweet potato fries
3. Bread
4. Waffles - he has these every morning for breakfast almost without fail. We've tried to introduce other things but he doesn't care to branch out. I make these over the weekend and then freeze them for his eating pleasure throughout the week.
5. Baked beans
6. Lebanese green beans (loubieh bi zeit)
7. Roasted carrots
8. Roasted chicken and mustard sandwich - yep, he loves mustard.
9. Fried bananas

Things he currently doesn't like
chicken nuggets
French fries
birthday cake (he liked feeding it to his Mom)

Apple Upside Down Cake

Found on kitchenmusings.com - Adapted from Rose Levy Berenbaum's recipe in Rose's Heavenly Cakes
http://kitchenmusings.com/2009/10/bring-on-the-apples.html

Apple and Walnut Filling
3 1/4 c sliced apples (about 2 large)
1 t lemon juice, freshly squeezed
1/3 c light brown sugar, firmly packed, divided
4 T unsalted butter, divided
2/3 c pecan halves

One 9×2-inch round cake pan bottom coated with shortening, topped with a parchment round
baking stone optional

Preheat the oven, twenty minutes or more before baking, set an oven rack in the lower third of the oven, set a baking stone, if using, on the rack and preheat the oven to 350F.

Make the apple topping:
In a medium bowl, toss together the apples, lemon juice, and 2 tablespoons of the brown sugar. Allow the mixture to sit for at least 30 minutes or up to 1 1/2 hours. Drain the apples, reserving their liquid.

In a small heavy saucepan, preferably nonstick, melt the butter. Use about 1 tablespoon to coat the parchment-lined bottom and the sides of the cake pan.

Add the remaining brown sugar and the reserved liquid that has drained from the apples to the butter remaining in the saucepan. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly with a light-colored silicone spatula, then stop stirring, but leave the spatula in place to judge the color, and simmer for about 3 minutes, until bubbling thickly and deep amber in color.

Pour this mixture (do not scrape) into the prepared cake pan, tilting to coat the entire bottom. Don’t worry if the mixture hardens; it will melt during baking. Place the apple slices, overlapping slightly, on the bottom and around the sides of the pan. Set aside.

Toast the pecans:
Spread the pecans evenly on a baking sheet and bake for about 7 minutes to enhance their flavor. Stir once or twice to ensure even toasting and avoid over-browning. Cool completely. Chop coarsely and set aside.

Batter
3 large egg yolks, at room temperature
1/2 c Greek yogurt, divided
1 1/4 t pure vanilla extract
1 1/3 c all purpose flour, sifted into the cup and leveled off
3/4 c superfine sugar
3/4 t baking powder
1/4 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
9 T unsalted butter

Mix the liquid ingredients. In a medium bowl, whisk the yolks, 2 tbs. of the yogurt, and the vanilla just until combined.

Make the batter:
In a bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the flat beater, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt on low speed for 30 seconds. Add the butter and the remaining yogurt. Mix on low speed until the dry ingredients are moistened. Raise the speed to medium and beat for 1 1/2 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.

Starting on medium-low speed, gradually add the egg mixture to the batter in two parts, beating on medium speed for 30 seconds after each addition to incorporate the ingredients and strengthen the structure. Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Using a silicone spatula, drop the batter in big blobs on top of the apples. then smooth the surface evenly with a small offset spatula while keeping the apples in an attractive pattern.

Bake the cake:
Place the pan in the oven on the stone, if using it. Bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until golden brown, a wire cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, and the cake springs back when pressed lightly in the center.

Unmold and cool the cake:
Run a small metal spatula between the sides of the pan and the cake, pressing firmly against the pan, and invert the cake at once onto a serving plate. Leave the pan in place for 1 to 2 minutes before lifting it off. If any apple slices have stuck to the pan, use a small metal spatula to place them back on the cake. Scatter the toasted pecans on top. Serve warm or room temperature.

Apple Crisp

Recipe adapted from My Recipes website (http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=226369)
This dessert was a hit at work!

Ingredients
1/2 cup whole-wheat flour
3/4 cup quick-cooking oats
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 cup chilled butter, cut into small pieces
3 cups chopped peeled Granny Smith apple (about 2 1/2 pounds)
Cooking spray

Preparation
Preheat oven to 375°.

Lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine flour, oats and 1/2 cup sugar in a medium bowl; cut in butter with a pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal.

Combine 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon and apples in a 9 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Sprinkle with oat mixture. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes or until apples are tender.

Sauteed Apples (No sugar added)

I have a jar of coconut oil from making a carrot cake from the 101
Cookbooks website. I've started using it to saute several of my son's
fruit dishes. For this one, I just sauteed the apples in the oil until
soft. Then at the end I added cinnamon and nutmeg. No sugar added! You
can do this with bananas, sweet potatoes, plantains, the list goes on.

The Apple Chronicles Begin

Corn Pancakes

I had some corn cakes (or so they called them) at Cafe Gutenberg. When I googled corncakes, I got recipes that didn't match what I had eaten. So, I googled corn pancakes instead. Then, it seemed to match more closely to what I thought I had eaten. The first time I made them, I just used a recipe I found online. But, they weren't corny enough. The next time, I modified my normal pancake recipe by substituting 3/4 cup of flour with 3/4 cup of corn meal (and didn't add the milled flax seed or wheat germ). These still weren't corny enough. I had been told that I should probably try adding pureed corn. I really didn't want to go to that trouble. So, for my third try, I used masa. It worked! They're very corny. Here's the recipe. It's very similar to my normal pancake recipe but since I expect to make this one again, I want to write it down fully.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup plain flour
3/4 cup masa
2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 3/4 cup milk
1 egg
3 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon vanilla

Instructions:
Stir dry ingredients together. Stir wet ingredients together. Add liquid to dry ingredients. Cook and enjoy with maple syrup or as a savory side dish at dinner.

Banana Nut Whole Wheat Pancakes

I love banana nut bread so I decided to make banana nut pancakes. Really, it's just my normal pancake recipe with additions. I've also added blueberries.

1/2 cup plain flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
2 T wheat germ (optional)
2 t baking powder
3/4 t salt
1 1/4 cup milk (you may want to use more to make a thinner batter)
1 egg
2 t vanilla
2 T oil
mashed banana
chopped pecans

Mix the dry ingredients. Mix the wet ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix well but do not overstir. When making the pancakes, add the mashed banana and chopped pecans. Then, when you turn the pancake, you'll have nice caramelization of the banana and toasting of the pecans.

Veggie Tofu Stir Fry

This recipe is very similar to the previous one but it has different flavorings. The great thing is that you could create more dishes than these two!

Ingredients:
soba noodles, cooked
extra firm tofu, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
squash, cut into 1/4 inch cubes
frozen stir fry vegetables
soy sauce or tamari
Chinese spicy mustard
Thai chili sauce
white wine vinegar (rice wine vinegar would probably be good too)

Directions:
Mix together the soy sauce, mustard, chili sauce and vinegar to taste. Add the tofu cubes and marinate for a few minutes. Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add the tofu and brown for 5-10 minutes. Add the squash and frozen vegetables. Cook until done. Serve with vegetables and tofu mixture on top of the soba noodels.

Italian Veggie Tofu Pasta Salad

We've decided to eat more tofu. For one thing, we actually like it but also it's good for us and it's cheap compared to meat.

Ingredients:
whole wheat penne pasta, cooked
olive oil
extra firm tofu, cut into 1/4 inch squares
zucchini, cut into 1/4 inch squares
bell pepper, coarsely diced
blue cheese
Italian vinaigrette
fresh ground black pepper
red pepper
salt

Instructions:
Marinade the tofu in the vinaigrette for a few minutes. Heat some olive oil in a saute pan. Add the tofu and zucchini. Cook for a few minutes and then add the bell pepper. Add the black and red pepper and the salt. Cook until browned to your liking. Mix the cooked vegetables with the pasta, blue cheese and vinaigrette to your taste.

Grilled Potato Salad

If you've discussed grilling with me, then you know I've made grilled potato salad in the past. Well, I've found a better way. Slice the potatoes instead of chunks.

Ingredients:
Potatoes
Mustard
Olive oil
Fresh ground black pepper
Red pepper flakes
White wine vinegar

Directions:
Peel or wash the potatoes well. Slice as consistently as possible (about 1/4 inch). Parboil for about 5 minutes. Dry the potatoes thoroughly. In a bowl big enough to hold the potatoes, mix the last 5 ingredients to make a sauce (use the amounts that will coat the number of potatoes you have). On a preheated grill, grill the potatoes until they are browned on both sides. Return them to the bowl with the sauce and mix with the remains. Enjoy!

Grilled Chicken Cheesesteak

I have lots of peppers and onions in the fridge due to the weekly produce allotment that i receive. So, I offered to make grilled sausage and peppers for MTH last night. He wasn't in the mood for sausage but asked what else could we have with peppers and onions. Chicken cheesesteaks somehow came to mind. Here's what we did:

Ingredients:
3 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
garlic salt
oregano
red pepper flakes
fresh ground black pepper
1 green pepper
1/2 Vidalia onion (ok so this was actually from my parents)
1/4 yellow tomato (whatever your have on hadn will do)
mozzarella cheese (not the kind in water)
parmesan cheese
2 hoagie rolls

Directions:
Preheat the grill. PLace the whole pepper and pieces of onion on the grill. The onion will only take about 5 minutes. The pepper about 10 minutes (until it's somewhat blackened). Use the garlic salt, oregano, red pepper flakes and black pepper as seasonig to your liking. Grill the chicken. Toast the rolls on the grill. Construct your sandwich as you please - I put the cheeses, green pepper, onion, tomato and mustard on mine. You could add a pickle too.

Half Whole Wheat Applesauce Spice Muffins (45 minutes)

I made banana pecan muffins a few weeks back. I froze the extras and really enjoyed having this daily snack to take with me to work. I decided to make a different flavor this time. I sachet on the internet for a recipe. All of the ones I found seemed to have a lot of butter. If you look at this recipe, you'll see that it originally did as well. In the comments, people had tried it with less butter so I decided to test my luck on my first try. It seems to have paid off. These are delicious muffins. Plus, they're better for me than the previous ones since I've added whole wheat flour.

Adapted from recipe in Gourmet, November 2003
Active time: 20 min
Servings: Makes 12 muffins.
Ingredients:

3/4 cup all-purpose flour (original called for only all-purpose flour)
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar (original called for a full cup)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted (original called for 5 tablespoons)
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

Special equipment: a muffin pan with 12 (1/2-cup) muffin cups
Preparation:

Put oven rack in middle position and preheat oven to 400°F. Grease muffin pan.

Stir together flours, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt in a bowl. Whisk together eggs and brown sugar in a large bowl until combined well, then add butter, a little at a time, whisking until mixture is creamy. Stir in applesauce, then fold in flour mixture until flour is just moistened. Stir in nuts and divide batter among muffin cups.

Bake until toothpick comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Cool in pan on a rack 5 minutes, then remove muffins from pan and cool slightly.


These muffins are supposed to have a topping that I forgot to add:
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

The topping is added before baking.