Archive for June, 2010

Ready to Pop

Monday, June 28th, 2010

When was the last time you played kickball? For me it was last year. But for my friends it was last Thursday night. They are in a league and are obsessed with the third grade scrap sport. I used to be on the team until I grew a belly, so this year I have been a fan. My contributions have been pretty weak, but I want to make it up to the team.

The team name has changed every year, this year it is Kick Springfield (a tribute to Rick Springfield, and his one hit wonder, Jessie’s Girl). His picture is even on the t-shirts. It’s embarrassingly awesome. Since the whole fad is somewhat of an ode to life in the 80’s, I figured my best way to contribute to the team as a soon-to-be mom is with food. But I needed to turn it up the volume from the usual orange slices and Capri Suns. Homemade popsicles?

I have actually been pondering this idea the whole season and could not decide on a recipe. But the other day I ate at a great little empanada shop in town and ordered a lemonade, which turned out to be limeade, which was even better because I love limes. I noticed there was something else in there besides lime juice, water, and sugar—so I asked. It was a splash of sweetened condensed milk. It gave the drink a hit of creaminess–making it almost taste like key lime pie. My eyes lit up as I slurped down the beverage, because I just discovered my popsicle recipe.

Limeade Popsicles
makes one 8-cup pitcher; size of popsicle tool will dictate yield

6 TBS sugar
7 cups water (scant)
1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk
2 limes – zested
7 limes – juiced

Combine sugar and water in a medium saucepan, heat over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Let cool. In an 8-cup size pitcher, combine the water/sugar mixture, sweetened condensed milk, lime zest and lime juice. Stir thoroughly. Add the mixture to a popsicle mold. Freeze overnight.

If you are serving the limeade as a drink make in a larger pitcher, add a generous amount of ice and two more limes. Combine all ingredients (as stated above) and pulse in a blender. This would also be good spiked with rum.

Posted in Limeade Popsicles | 6 Comments »

I’ll crumble for you

Friday, June 18th, 2010

Warning: this is the most pathetic blog post, ever.

It was Thursday, it was hot, and I had great aspirations of making ‘chicken under a brick’ for dinner. I was going to blog about it and I was going to take beautiful pictures. But, I had a busy morning, came home, and puttered around the house to discover that I needed a nap. So, I took that nap; I woke up and hoped to punch out a few projects before dinner. But I kept puttering. I took my dog, Frankie, on a walk around the block and came back winded and rosy cheeked (okay I was sweating). The thought of going to the store, coming home, starting the grill, walking up and down our steps to the back patio seemed just too daunting.

So I just sat down with a fan on me and my large belly and started typing this. I figure I should provide all of you with a recipe for the week. I have one, but here’s the sad part: I have never made this dish and I have no photo. My friend, Gretchen, brought over a strawberry/rhubarb crumble a few weeks back—it was so good. So last weekend when my sister-in-law, Katie, was over, I put her to work with the same project. In my defense, I have eaten a lot of this crumble and know that it’s really delicious.

The crumble is tart, sweet, buttery, and crunchy. When served warm with ice cream, it’s plate-lickin’-good. Or I also found that it is quite tasty cold from the fridge after breakfast. This recipe is the real deal, you just have a very pregnant blog writer who could not get her act together this week. At least you were warned.

Strawberry Rhubarb Crumble
adapted from Bon Appetit
Serves 8

Ingredients:
3/4 cup flour
2/3 cup plus 1/2 cup sugar
Large pinch of salt
6 TBS (3/4 stick) chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats
1/2 cup walnuts – chopped
1 tsp vanilla paste
1 pound strawberries, hulled, halved (about 4 cups)
12 ounces rhubarb, ends trimmed, stalks cut crosswise into 1/2-inch-thick pieces

Preheat oven to 375 F. Butter 11 x 7 x 2- inch glass baking dish. Combine flour, sugar and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Add the butter, oats, and nuts. Mix with hands to create a crumble mixture. Set aside.

In a large mixing bowl combine sugar and vanilla. Add prepared strawberries and rhubarb. Add to prepared baking dish. Top with crumble. Bake for ~45 minutes. Let sit for 15 minutes. Serve with ice cream.

Posted in Crumble, Rhubarb, Strawberry | 5 Comments »

Life is like a box of vegetables

Friday, June 11th, 2010

Brian and I joined a CSA… community supported agriculture. So that means every Thursday we pick up a large box of various fruits and vegetables that were grown in St. Anne, Illinois. We even get email1317s from ‘our’ farmer each week; Vicki lets us know how life is on the farm. It’s nice and it’s simple.

But, it’s a little unnerving not knowing what’s going to show up in your crate each week. Last week we were given: rhubarb, strawberries, spinach, romaine, asparagus, and kale. I don’t decide what to cook anymore, the vegetables tell me what to cook. Alright, maybe not unnerving, but there’s a loss of some control.

Our good friends, Jen and Jason, joined the same CSA. They email1317ed me asking what they should make with the kale. I started to laugh because I suppose kale is sorta a country-bumpkin-type-of vegetable. As my French Chef in culinary school would say, “it needs a lotta love.”

So what did I suggest? What will provide a lotta love? Bacon.

But really, kale is so good, and good for you. You should be buying it, braising it, sautéing it, or putting it in soups to freeze for the winter. Or just stick to pairing it with bacon like I did this week.

I think we all know that the unnerving (and I use that term in the most excited and thrilled kind of way) feeling is that Baby Shields is almost here. It could be any day. So if I go quiet for a few weeks you know why.

Orzo, Kale Carbonara
Serves 6

1 # package of orzo
1 bundle of kale –rough chop, stems and center ribs discarded
1 shallot – small dice
s and p
sugar
olive oil
6 strips of bacon
1 egg
½ cup grated parmesan cheese ++
2 roma tomatoes – small dice
chives – chopped to taste

Preheat oven to 400 F. In a large pot of boiling water add the orzo. Cook for 5 minutes or until al dente. Strain. Meanwhile, prepare the kale and shallot. Season with salt, pepper, and sugar. Add to a large hot skillet with olive oil. Cook for 5 minutes. Meanwhile place a cooling rack in a cookie sheet. Place the bacon strips on the cookie sheet. Cook in the oven until crispy, approx. 10 – 15 minutes. Remove and roughly chop.

Add the orzo to the kale, shallot mixture. While hot, crack an egg on top. Stir until incorporated and cooked through. Add parmesan cheese, bacon, and more olive oil if needed. Finally add the roma tomatoes and chives.

Posted in Carbonara, Kale, Orzo | 1 Comment »

I like my chicken fried.

Friday, June 4th, 2010

I came across Bon Appetit’s list of the top 10 places for fried chicken. I immediately started salivating and scoped out Chicago’s spot. But as I read through the list, something jumped out at me: Bar Symon in Avon Lake, Ohio. Avon Lake? I could hardly believe what I was reading. No way! How could Avon Lake have a restaurant that ranked as one of the top 10 fried chicken spots?

So why am I an Avon Lake expert? My grandparents, Glen and Olga, lived there for 40 years. And I visited many, many times during my childhood. My family made the eastbound roadtrip at least three times a year, never missing Christmas or a summer visit.

Every visit involved a table of pecan tassies waiting for us upon arrival, walks to the beach, exploring the woods behind their house, and watching cable (we just had the basic stations back at home). There was no ‘town’ in Avon Lake, only a few shopping centers. We never went to restaurants because who wanted to pass up Grandma’s chicken paprikash?

But as I got older, I started to realize there was not a whole lot to do in that town. One trip in particular comes to mind. We were there for Christmas and I had plans to be home on a certain day. Okay, truth be told, I needed to get home to see a boy… a boy who was leaving the country for an extended period of time. It was the day after Christmas and the minivan broke down before we could leave my grandparents’ driveway. There was a lot of yelling.

I was done with family time. We ended up staying four more days. And that was four days too many for this self-absorbed college kid. We were stuck. I ate my weight in pecan tassies and Chex mix. My brothers and I actually went and saw the same movie twice. My only escape each day was a trip to the local library to check my email1317. I had no cell phone, so I was completely cut off from the world. I was starting to really get mad at the town of Avon Lake.

We made it home to a slew of messages on our answering machine from a certain somebody. It was a missed connection. And I blamed that Ohio town. Turns out the missed connection was just as well in the end. So I guess I have Avon Lake to thank. Thinking about it now, I would love to be back at the little spot by the lake, visiting Michael Symon’s new bar for some fried chicken and going back to Glen and Olga’s for a pecan tassie.

Fried Chicken
Inspired by Michael Symon
serves 2

2 cups buttermilk
1 TBS Old Bay seasoning
splash of Tabasco sauce
2 chicken breasts with skin and ribs
2 cups of flour
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
s and p
canola oil

pure honey
Sriracha

In a medium sized glass mixing bowl, combine the buttermilk, Old Bay seasoning, and Tabasco sauce; whisk. Add the chicken breasts, cover, and chill for 4 – 12 hours. Meanwhile, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, and pepper. Remove chicken from the buttermilk brine and let excess juices drip off. Dredge the chicken in the flour; make sure that each breast is lightly dusted. Set aside for 10 minutes. Preheat oven to 350 F and heat a large stainless steel skillet over high heat; add canola oil (one inch high, and only halfway up the pan). Heat oil to 350 F. Add the chicken to the hot oil. Turn when golden. Once golden on both sides, remove from oil and place on a baking sheet. Cook in oven for 20 minutes or until there is no sign of pink (when cut through). (Do the same method for drumsticks and thighs, but only cook for 10 minutes in the oven).

Mix together honey and sriracha to taste. Use as a dipping sauce.

Posted in Fried Chicken | 3 Comments »