Skillet Tamale Pie

As a present last year, Ryan bought me a three year subscription to Cook's Illustrated quarterly magazine.  Since receiving it I have tried to make at least one recipe from each issue and each time, with the exception of Chicken Adobo from from the March 2012 issue, the dishes come out wonderfully!  I've recently started going to the library again to try different cookbooks and about two months ago I took out one of the America's Test Kitchen books as I've been so enthralled with their mags.  I wanted something relatively quick that I could easily whip up on a week night and this one piqued my interest.  The first time I made it, Ryan loved it.  It came out so well that I actually gave the recipe to my co-worker for her bridal shower recipe collecting activity.

I finally came around to making it again last night.  It's more like a chili topped with cornbread than anything remotely close to a tamale.  This can easily be made vegetarian without the ground meat and maybe an extra can of beans. 

Skillet Tamale Pie

Adapted from The Complete America's Test Kitchen TV Show Cookbook by America's Test Kitchen

Serves 5-6

Ingredients:

Tamale Filling

2 tablespoons Vegetable oil

1 Medium onion , minced

2 tablespoons Chili powder

Salt

2 Medium cloves garlic , minced

1 pound Ground beef (lean) (Ground turkey is fine, too)

1 (15.5-ounce) can Black beans, drained and rinsed (Kidney beans work as well)

1 can (14 1/2 ounces) diced tomatoes , drained (I like Muir Glen Fire Roasted)

3 oz Cheddar cheese, shredded (1 cup)

Ground black pepper

Cornbread Topping

3/4 cup Unbleached all-purpose flour (3 3/4 ounces)

3/4 cup Yellow cornmeal (3 3/4 ounces)

3 tablespoons Sugar

3/4 teaspoon Baking powder

3/4 teaspoon Baking soda

3/4 teaspoon Salt

3/4 cup Buttermilk (or ¾ cup regular milk + 1 tbs white vinegar, combined)

1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn (optional)

1 large egg

3 tablespoons Unsalted butter, melted and cooled

1. Adjust an oven rack to the middle position and heat the oven to 450 degrees.

2. For the tamale filling: Heat the oil in a 12-inch oven proof skillet over medium heat until shimmering. Add the onion, chili powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook until the onion is softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds.

3. Stir in the ground sirloin, beans, and tomatoes, and bring to a simmer, breaking up the meat with a wooden spoon, about 5 minutes. Stir the cheddar and cilantro into the filling and season with salt and pepper to taste.

4. Cornbread topping: Meanwhile, whisk the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt together in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk the buttermilk and egg together. Stir the buttermilk mixture into the flour mixture until uniform. Add in the corn here, if using. Stir in the butter until just combined.

5. Dollop the cornbread batter evenly over the filling and spread into an even layer. Bake until the cornbread is cooked through in the center, 10 to 15 minutes. Serve.

** My own notes are in italics.

Creamy Tomato Soup and Workplace "Grilled" Cheese

Most who know me know about my lifetime ambivalence towards cheese.  It all started when I was four years old and I went into the fridge to reach for a slice of Kraft singles.  I took a bite and bit into a hard piece in the cheese which ultimately disgusted me.  Since that point I have been extremely, extremely picky about which cheeses I will eat.  Ricotta, mozzarella, and parmesan are all fine as these were pretty commonplace in the Italian foods I grew up on in New Jersey.  Swiss, cheddar, muenster, no…and do not get me started on brie, blue cheese, gorgonzola  or even cream cheese – the creamier the further I want[ed] it from me.  It really was not until 2009 to 2010 while I lived in Vermont and lived down the street from Grafton Cheese Company that I started to open myself to the possibility of cheese.  I tried so many samples of various sorts of cheddars and gruyeré... Oh gruyeré, my now absolute favorite!   

This brings me to grilled cheese.  A common food among most children and I refused to eat it.  That is until 2011 when Ryan forced me to take a bite of his sandwich.  I resisted at first and finally gave in.  Since then I have made many a-grilled cheeses for myself. 

The other day I made this creamy tomato soup from Deborah Madison’s Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone. What’s a tomato soup without its partner in crime…the grilled cheese?  These are easy to put together while at home, but I wanted to take the soup and the grilled cheese with me to work. 

My workplace kitchen offers the two appliances: a toaster and a microwave.  I was going to figure out how to make both work for me to make a close enough “grilled cheese”.  Recipe follows the soup.

Creamy  Tomato Soup

Adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison

Serves 4 -6

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 small onion, chopped

1 rib celery, chopped

1 1/2 teaspoon dried basil

Pinch of ground cloves

2 tablespoons flour

One 15-ounce can diced tomatoes in puree**

Pinch of baking soda

2 cups chicken or vegetable stock, or water

1 cup milk, plus up to 1/2 cup more as needed

Tomato paste, as needed

Salt and freshly ground pepper

Melt the butter in a soup pot and add the chopped onions and celery. Cook for about five minutes, or until the vegetables are soft and wilted. Add the basil and cloves and cook another minute or two until fragrant, then add the flour. Continue cooking for another two minutes, stirring, and then add the tomatoes, followed by the baking soda and the stock.

Lower the heat and simmer for ten minutes or so. Remove the pot from the heat and carefully puree the soup in batches in a blender, or using a stick blender in the pot, off the heat. Return the soup to the heat and add the milk, stirring to blend. Add more milk or stock if the soup seems too thick. Add a little tomato paste if it needs more tomato flavor. Add some freshly ground black pepper and salt, to taste. 

** If you can not find the diced tomatoes in puree as I was not able to, you can add the tomato paste later on in the recipe. 

Workplace “Grilled” Cheese

Two slices of bread of choice

Two slices of cheese of choice

1 tsp butter

Butter one side of one slice of bread morning before heading out the door to the office. 

Stick slices of cheese in a baggy along with the slices of bread.

Put both slices together in one of the toaster slots (butter facing inside).

Place slices of cheese between the two slices of newly toasted bread and microwave for 30 seconds.

Presto! Crispy, buttery, cheesy “grilled” cheese to go along with your tomato soup!

Peanut Butter and Banana Muffins

I have recently purchased Bob's Red Mill 10 Grain Hot Cereal because I wanted something more than just oatmeal or cold cereal for breakfast.  After reading the recipe on the side of the cereal's bag for muffins I felt inspired.  While I did not use Bob's Red Mill's recipe for muffins, I found one that seemed easy enough to use it in. 

Peanut Butter and Banana Muffins 

Adapted from A Full Measure of Happiness blog

Makes 12 muffins

2 ripe bananas

1/3 cup molasses (or honey)

1/3 cup peanut butter (chunky or creamy)

2/3 cup fat-free plain yogurt (Greek yogurt would work here)

1 tsp vanilla

1 tsp baking soda

1 t baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

¼- ½  cup sugar (depending on how sweet you like your muffins)

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup Bob’s Red Mill 10 Grain Cereal or whole-wheat flour

cinnamon sugar for topping (optional)

½ cup milk (for high altitude bakers)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  Line muffin tins with baking cups and lightly spray with canola oil.

Mix the wet ingredients together–mashed banana, molasses, peanut butter, yogurt, and vanilla.  In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients (flours, salt, baking powder, baking soda, sugar, and cinnamon). Tip: Before measuring out the molasses (or honey) oil up your measuring cup and the molasses will come out very easily.

Add the wet and dry together and stir until just combined.

Spoon the batter into the muffin tin until the cups are 3/4 full, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, and bake on the middle rack in the oven for 15 minutes.

Winter Vegetable Pot Pie

I received Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison this past Christmas.  I could not wait to dive into it! While I am not a vegetarian, I do prefer to cook vegetarian meals over those with meat as I am not a big fan of handling it. With over 750 pages of recipes, it was certainly difficult to choose which one to begin with.

I decided to challenge myself with the Winter Vegetable Pot Pie.  While the sound of it does not seem intimidating, the recipe definitely was.  This was by far the most involved recipe I have ever prepared, but I was up for the challenge.  Besides, I had plenty of time before the season three premiere of Downton Abbey!

When it was done and over with, I realized that she called for far too many vegetables than could fit in a 2 qt gratin dish…and I did not even use all that was in the recipe.  In the end, I had to move the whole lot to a 3 qt casserole dish. The béchamel was delicious as were the mix of vegetables. I’m always a fan when celery root or parsnips are involved.

Ms. Madison called for frozen puff pastry, but instead I used the cobbler topping recipe she included at the beginning of the vegetable stews and stir-fries chapter. I think if I were to make this again I would use the frozen puff pastry. 

Winter Vegetable Pot Pie

Adapted from Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison

Serves 4-6

1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed	2 cups Herb Béchamel, (see recipe below)
1 ½ lbs butternut squash, peeled and diced into 1-inch cubes	Flour for dredging
2 Tbs. olive oil	2 Tbs. butter
16 shallots or boiling onions, peeled and left whole	1 small celery root
Juice of 1 lemon	3 parsnips, peeled and diced
2 kohlrabi or turnips, peeled and cut into wedges	5 medium carrots, cut into 2-inch lengths
Salt and freshly milled pepper	4 thyme sprigs
½ cup cream or milk	1 egg, beaten

Choose a 2 qt. soufflé or gratin dish or four individual 2-cup casseroles.  Roll out the pastry between 1/8 and ¼ inch thick and cut it to fit the dish.  Cut out leaves or other decorative shapes from the scraps.  Refrigerate the pastry until needed.  Have the béchamel cooking in a double boiler while you prepare the vegetables.

Toss squash in flour, letting the excess fall away.  Heat the oil and butter in a large skillet and add the squash and shallots.  Sauté over medium heat until browned and tender, 20 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally so that they color evenly.  Transfer to the baking dish.

Peel the celery root, dice it into 1-inch cubes, and put them in the bowl with the juice plus water to cover.  Parboil the remaining vegetables in salted water until tender but still a little firm.  Drain then parboil the celery root for 1 minute.  Combine all of the vegetables, season with salt and pepper, and transfer the stew to the dish.  Tuck in thyme sprigs.  (My note: I just mixed ½ tsp of thyme leaves with the vegetables at this point as I did not have thyme sprigs).

Mix the béchamel and cream and pour it over the vegetables, allowing the sauce to fall between the cracks.  Refrigerate if baking later, and then bring to room temperature before baking.

When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 425° F. Remove the pastry from the refrigerator and lay it on top of the vegetables.  Brush the top side with egg, add any decorations and glaze them, too.  Bake for 12 minutes, then lower the heat to 350°F and continue baking until the crust is golden and puffed and the sauce is bubbling, 15 to 20 minutes more.  Let settle for a few minutes, and then serve.

Herb Béchamel Sauce

2 cups milk	¼ cup finely diced onion
Aromatics: 1 bay leaf, 2 parsley sprigs, 2 thyme sprigs	3 ½ TBS. butter
3 ½ TBS. flour	Salt and freshly milled pepper
Grated Nutmeg	1/3 – ½ cup chopped herbs (parsley, thyme, chervil, or tarragon)

Heat the milk with the onion and aromatics in a heavy saucepan over medium heat.  Turn it off just before it boils and set aside for 15 minutes to steep.

In another saucepan, make the roux by melting the butter, adding the flour, and stirring constantly over medium heat for 2 minutes.  

Quickly pour the milk through a strainer into the roux and whisk until thickened.  Stir until the sauce comes to a boil. Set the pan over very low heat or transfer to a double boiler.  Cook for 25 to 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Season with salt, pepper, and nutmeg to taste.  Add chopped herbs and mix.  If you’re not ready to use the sauce right away, lay a piece of plastic wrap directly on the surface to prevent a skin from forming. 

Spiced Apple Butter

It all started when Ryan bought twice the amount of apples than he needed to make an apple pie for Thanksgiving.  He had peeled, cored, and chopped all 10+ pounds of apples.  Instead of snacking on them or turning them into another pie I decided to take what he couldn't fit into a pie plate, freeze them, and save the apples for future apple butter.  I wasn't quite sure how well apples would freeze, but I was willing to take a chance.

It’s been about a month and a half since we put those apples in the freezer and this weekend I was finally feeling motivated enough to make Liana Krissoff’s Spiced Apple Butter from Canning for a New Generation.  I never canned before receiving this book for Christmas in 2011 and Liana makes it seem easy peasy even for a very beginner by simplifying each step. Since my initiation into canning with her Strawberry Preserves this past summer, I have made several other canning recipes from her book:  Tomato and Basil Jam with Sherry Vinegar (awesome on grilled cheese), and Cardamom Plum Jam (excellent in yogurt).  She has yet to disappoint.

Turns out, using frozen apples works quite well with this recipe.  I would imagine that if Ryan wanted to make another pie these would work as well. 

Note:  Since I only had 2.5 pounds of chopped and peeled apples, I cut the following recipe in half.

Spiced Apple Butter

Adapted from Liana Krissoff’s Canning for a New Generation

Makes about 6 half-pint jars or 3 pint jars.

6 pounds apples, cored and peeled only if necessary

(see Note), cut into 1-inch chunks

2 cups apple cider or water

About 1 ½  cups sugar

1 ½  teaspoons ground cinnamon

½  teaspoon ground cloves

½  teaspoon ground allspice

½  teaspoon ground aniseed (optional)

Put the apples in a 6- to 8-quart preserving pan. Add the cider and 4 cups water and bring to a boil over high heat. Boil, stirring occasionally, until the apples are completely broken down and the peels have separated from the pulp, 30 to 40 minutes.

Pass the mixture through a Squeezo strainer or food mill to remove the peels and cores. (Or, if you cored and peeled the apples-bless your heart, as they'd say here in Georgia-puree it in batches in a food processor or blender.) Measure the puree.

If using the stovetop: Rinse out the preserving pan and return the puree to the pan. Add 2 tablespoons sugar per cup of puree, and add the spices. (Puree with an immersion blender, if you want an extrasmooth apple butter.) Bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer, stirring carefully every 10 minutes or so with a long-handled spoon or spatula, for several hours, until the puree is dark and thick enough that it mounds up in a teaspoon, and you can dollop a bit of it onto a plate and no liquid seeps out around the edges of the dollop. (My note:  This baby will spit at you as it’s simmering, so watch out.)

If using the oven: Pour the puree into a large, deep baking dish, stir in the sugar and spices, and bake in a 300°F oven, stirring occasionally, for several hours, until thick and dark. (Transfer to a large pot or bowl and puree with an immersion blender if desired.)

If using a slow cooker: Pour the puree into a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker and stir in the sugar and spices. (Puree with an immersion blender if desired.) Cook on the low setting, with the lid propped up on chopsticks or set askew to allow the liquid to evaporate but still keep the splatters in the pot, for 9 to 12 hours, stirring occasionally when you can, keeping in mind that different models of slow cookers cook at different temperatures, until thick and dark.

Prepare for water-bath canning: Wash the jars and keep them hot in the canning pot, and put the flat lids in a heatproof bowl. Bring the apple butter to a boil (transfer to a pan on

the stovetop if it's not fully boiling in the oven or slow cooker; usually if you turn the slow cooker up to high for 10 or 15 minutes it'll come to a boil).

Ladle boiling water from the canning pot into the bowl with the lids. Using a jar lifter, remove the hot jars from the canning pot, carefully pouring the water from each one back into the pot, and place them upright on a folded towel. Drain the water off the jar lids.

Ladle the hot apple butter into the jars, leaving ½  inch headspace at the top. Use a damp paper towel to wipe the rims of the jars, then put a flat lid and ring on each jar, adjusting the ring so that it's just finger-tight. Return the jars to the water in the canning pot, making sure the water covers the jars by at least 1 inch. Bring to a boil, and boil half-pints or pints for 10 minutes to process. Remove the jars to a folded towel and do not disturb for 12 hours. After 1 hour, check that the lids have sealed by pressing down on the center of each; if it can be pushed down, it hasn't sealed, and the jar should be refrigerated immediately. Label the sealed jars and store.

Note: If you're using a Squeezo or similar strainer with a very fine screen, there's no need to core or peel the apples (yay!). If you're using a food mill, don't bother peeling them, but do core them; even the fine-holed disk will tend to let bits of core through (boo!). If you're pureeing the apples in a food processor or blender rather than passing them through a mill, core and peel them (sorry).

Lentil Roasted Garlic Soup

I’ve decided to start this food blog because I am planning a wedding  for August 2013 and for any of you who have done so and were restricted to a pretty limited budget know that you must make some cuts in order to save. I want to get my butt in gear, cook more, and resist the urge to go out to eat and spend the money I should be saving. 

I love going out to eat.  I absolutely love.it. I love going out and trying a dish I have never had before and having someone else make it for me.  But like I said, I need to save some cash if I am going to have the wedding I want.  While I do enjoy eating out, I also like to cook.  I’ve become quite good in the past few years as my fiance is in law school and I have taken on most of the cooking.  Although I will say that he isn’t half bad himself.

I do not like making prepared foods from boxes or cans, so I’ve had to acquire some techniques to make the freshest food I possibly can. 

As I have already become an avid cook I have many spices and cookware to cook almost anything. I also have a whole slew of cookbooks that have been sitting on my shelf that I would like to dive into.  For that reason, I am going to focus on cooking from cookbooks with the occasional blog recipe thrown in.  This blog is a way for me to adhere to the promise I am making to myself to cook more and eat out less.

And so we begin…

When I was eighteen years old I did AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps.  I was on a team with twelve other corps members and each night one or two people from the team had to cook for the rest of us.  One of my team mates made lentil soup.  It was one of the most delicious soups I had ever tasted.  The soup was so good that it was the start of my obsession with lentils. It was the first time I had ever had lentils in fact!

This Lentil Roasted Garlic soup hails from The Daily Soup Cookbook. If you are on the fence about garlic then perhaps this isn’t the soup for you, although you can probably make it without adding any garlic at all and it would still be delicious!

I decided on this soup because I was looking around my kitchen wondering what I might be able to make for dinner without having to go food shopping.  I thought of this recipe because I had a big bag of lentils waiting to be cooked sitting on my shelf. Luckily, I had everything else that was needed!  That’s what is nice about this recipe: you probably have everything in your kitchen already to make it! What’s also nice is it is vegan, low fat, and gluten-free.  

Some of the ingredients

Cooking up the carrots, onions and celery

Adding in the rosemary, bay leaves, pepper, and salt

After adding the lentils, stock, tomatoes and tomato paste

Peeling the roasted garlic cloves

Pureed roasted garlic and fresh minced garlic

Served with some toasted pita

Lentil Roasted Garlic Soup

Adapted from The Daily Soup Cookbook

Makes 12 cups

1 whole head garlic 2 tbs olive oil 1 large Spanish onion, chopped 2 celery stalks, chopped 2 carrots, peeled and chopped 2 tsp dried rosemary 2 bay leaves 1 tsp kosher salt ½ tsp black pepper

1 pound French lentils (green or brown), rinsed and picked over to remove debris 8 cups Basic Vegetable Stock (I used Better than Bouillon) 1 (28-oz) can whole tomatoes, drained and diced 3 tbs tomato paste 1 tbs balsamic vinegar 1 tsp minced fresh garlic ¼ cup chopped fresh Italian Parsley

1. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees.
2. Wrap the whole head of garlic in foil and roast in the oven for 15 minutes, until tender.  When cool enough to handle, remove the clove from the sin and puree in a food processor or blender, set aside until ready to use.
3. Heat the oil in a large stockpot over medium heat.  Add onion, celery, and carrots and sweat for 4 minutes until tender.
4. Add the rosemary, bay leaves, salt, and pepper and stir to coat the vegetables.
5. Add the lentils stock, tomatoes, and tomato paste.  Bring to a boil, reduce heat, partially cover, and simmer for 1 hour, until lentils are tender.
6. Stir in the pureed roasted garlic, vinegar, and fresh garlic.  Simmer for 2 minutes to heat through.
7. To serve, remove the bay leaves, ladle the soup into bowls, and top with chopped parsley.

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