Sorbet in January?

Ah yes, we do strange things in our quest to cook our way through an entire cookbook. The idea of sorbet in January did indeed seem strange until we remembered that oranges are awesome this time of year. So, here you go:

Fresh Oranges with Lime Sorbet - 3 1/2 stars

Now, it's obvious from the picture that we didn't use lime sorbet. Lime sorbet cannot be found in central Missouri. We were lucky to find orange sherbet. So, when we say this recipe is 3 1/2 stars, please be aware that the recipe wasn't followed to a "T." That being said, this was very easy dessert, with only two ingredients, and it wasn't bad. Full recipe is on page 97.

See you next time!

Christmas Break

Hi everyone! You'll be relieved to hear that the cooking has continued despite our busy lives and despite our lack of posting to the blog! Here are a few things we whipped together over Christmas break.

Emmanuel's Baked Artichoke Hearts - 4 stars

Interesting little side dish. I personally love artichokes in any shape or form, so I liked this dish. The rest of the family thought it was mostly good. We didn't use the anchovies the recipe called for, and we thought there were far too many bread crumbs. We would also recommend adding the parsley after baking; they shriveled up into little black specks. Unappetizing. Still, a 4-star dish. Check out p. 93 for the full recipe.


Orzo with Spinach and Tomato - 3 1/2 stars

Well, this certainly looked good, and we wanted to like it. But in all honesty, this was nothing to write home about. We all ate it, but the leftovers just sat in the fridge uneaten. The lemon in it was a little out of place, and there was something else odd about it that we just couldn't put a finger on. 3 1/2 stars. Page 227 in the book.


Chicken Piccata Toss - 4 1/2 stars

Well, this was very tasty! Every time I go to Monetti's, I order their Chicken Piccata. I just love the lemony yumminess, combined with the capers! So good! This wasn't quite as good as the Monetti's variety, but still very tasty. We think it needs a little more lemon flavor, maybe by adding zest? And be generous with the capers. Here's the recipe:
Chicken Piccata Toss
1 lb. penne rigate pasta, cooked al dente to package directions
2 T extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/4 lb. chicken tenders, cut into 1-inch pieces
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 T. butter
4 cloves garlic, chopped
2 medium shallots, chopped
2 T flour
1/2 c white wine (or white grape juice, in our case)
juice of 1 lemon
1 c. chicken broth or stock
3 T capers, drained
1/2 c chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
chopped or snipped chives, for garnish
Heat a deep nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add 1 T olive oil and the chicken to the pan. Season with salt and pepper, and brown until lightly golden all over, about 5-6 minutes. Remove chicken from pan and set it in your serving dish while you complete the sauce. Return the skillet to the heat, reduced to medium. To the skillet, add another tablespoon olive oil, 1 T butter, the garlic and the shallots and saute, 3 minutes. Stir in 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 sauce comes to a bubble, add remaining tablespoon butter to give it a little shine. Put chicken back in the pan an heat through a minute or two. Toss hot pasta with chicken and sauce. Adjust salt and pepper to taste. Top with fresh snipped chives and serve. Makes 4 servings.

Boeuf Bourguignon

Well, this recipe single-handedly made me realize that this Rachael Ray project needs to be put on hold. Natalie's busy, I'm busy, and this dinner took an hour and a half to make! Pullleeeze! Yes, it was good, and I'll include the recipe. But 30 minutes? Rachael Ray's smoking crack. Just sayin'.
We liked the beef. We think it was a little heavy on the beef and could use more of the "soup" portion. And it needed some salt. But we give it 4 stars anyway.

Boeuf Bourguignon with Butter and Parsley Egg Noodles - Rachael Ray
3 slices bacon, chopped
3 T. butter, divided
16 medium-sized white mushrooms, cleaned gently with damp cloth, thinly sliced
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 cup frozen pearly onions, defrosted and drained
2 lb lean sirloin, 1-inch thick, trimmed and cubed
3 T. flour
1 cup Burgundy wine (or grape juice)
1 1/2 cup beef stock
1 bay leaf
bouquet of 3-4 sprigs each of fresh sage and thyme, tied with kitchen string
12 oz wide egg noodles, cooked to package directions
2 T butter, cut into small pieces
1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley
12 blades of fresh chives, snipped or finely chopped
Heat a large deep skillet with a heavy bottom and a lid over medium-high heat. Add bacon to the pan and brown. When crisp, remove with slotted spoon. Add 1 1/2 T. butter to the pan and melt into bacon drippings. Add mushrooms and turn to coat evenly with butter and bacon drippings. Season with salt and pepper and saute mushrooms, 2 to 3 minutes. Add onions to the pan, and continue cooking, 2-3 minutes longer, then transfer to a plate and return pan to the heat. Add remaining butter to the pan and when it's sizzling add meat and brown evenly on all sides, keeping the meat moving. When the meat is all browned, add flour and cook about 2 minutes. Stir wine slowly into pan and when it comes up to a bubble and you have scraped up the pan drippings, add the stock along with bay leaf and bouquet of fresh sage and thyme. Cover the pan. When the liquids boil, reduce heat to medium, and cook, covered, 5 minutes. Remove lid and add mushrooms, onions and bacon back to the pan. Simmer with the cover off until sauce thickens a bit. Adjust seasoning and remove bay and herb bouquet. Todd hot egg noodles with butter, parsley and chives. Place a bed of noodles in a shallow bowl and pour beef and burgundy over noodles and serve. Makes 4 servings.

Here's a picture of the noodles:

Baby Spinach Salad with Swiss Cheese Crisps

This recipe was simple, but wierd. Spinach with sliced apples and a vinaigrette -- then garnish it with fried cheese. Hmmm. The cheese thing was kind of cool, and I found it strangely yummy, but we weren't wild about the salad. EHH's comments were, "crap with crap filling."

Sorry, but it is my duty to give you the un-varnished truth. 2 stars. You can find it on page 103.

Kevin's Delicious Salmon

Speaking of EHH, he made dinner for us on one of my crazy clinic days, and he hit it out of the park! He baked up some salmon, sauteed up some mushrooms and onions, and put them both over spaghetti. Very unique, and so good! 5 stars, for sure. And the recipe gets 5 stars, too. ;)

Meatball and Macaroni Soup

Another 5-star recipe! Wow, this soup has such great flavor! We all loved it! We'll definitely make this again. Here's the recipe:

Meatball & Macaroni Soup - Rachael Ray
2 T. EVOO
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped
1 medium onion, chopped
2 bay leaves, fresh or dried
salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 lb ground beef, pork, and veal combined (we couldn't find veal)
1 egg, beaten
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 c. grated parmigiano reggiano (we used the parmesan in a green container)
1/2 c. plain bread crumbs
1/2 t. freshly grated or ground nutmeg
6 cups chicken stock or broth
2 c. water
1 1/2 c. dried pasta: rings, broken fettuccini or ditalini
1 lb triple-washed fresh spinach, coarsely chopped
In a deep pot over medium heat, add oil, chopped carrots, celery, onions, and bay leaves. Season with salt and pepper. Cover pot and cook veggies, 5 or 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. While the veggies cook, combine ground meats, egg, garlic, grated cheese, bread crumbs, salt, pepper, and nutmeg. Add broth and water to the pot of veggies. Increase heat to high and bring soup to a boil, then reduce heat a bit and start to roll meat mixture into small balls, dropping them straight into the pot. When you are done rolling the meat, add pasta to the soup and stir. Cover and simmer soup, 10 minutes. When pasta is tender, stir in chopped spinach in batches. When spinach has wilted, the soup is done and ready to serve. Adjust your seasonings, and serve with crusty bread or grilled 4 cheese sandwiches. Makes 4 big servings. 5 stars!!!



Grilled 4 Cheese Sandwiches. These were pretty good, but not worth the hassle of finding the cheeses. It calls for provolone, mozzarella, Parmigiano Reggiano, and Asiago cheese. Rachael says in the book, "All of these cheeses are available in specialty cheese case and dairy aisle already shredded." Yah....not so much. Not in REAL America. I did really enjoy the flavor given by brushing the bread with the melted olive oil/butter/garlic mixture. We'll give these 4 stars. It's on page 101 in the book.





Chocolate Dipped Bananas, from page 100. Guest chef Michelle makes another appearance today! Here, she's dipping skewered bananas in melted chocolate. This was a tasty little dessert, especially since Ghirardelli chocolate was used! Yum! We found it was hard to roll the coated bananas in the toppings; some of them were lumpy messes. Still, we enjoyed them. 4 stars.

No-Mystery Meat

Another winner from Rachael Ray! This recipe is made to be adapted. You can use beef, chicken, pork, or even portobello mushrooms. What made this dish so tasty was the pan gravy! Wow, we couldn't get enough. Here's the recipe:

No-Mystery: Marinated Beef, Chicken, Pork or Portobello Mushrooms
3 T. red wine vinegar
1/3 c. EVOO
2 cloves, garlic, chopped
1/4 to 1/2 t. crushed red pepper flakes
1 T chopped fresh thyme
1 T chopped fresh parsley
4 beef tournedos, strip steaks, boneless skinless chicken breasts, pork loin chpos or portobello mushroom caps (we used the steaks)
salt and freshly ground pepper
Pan Gravy
2 T. butter
2 T chopped shallots or onion
4 mushrooms, crimini or button, finely chopped
2 T. flour
1 cup beef, chicken or vegetable stock
Combine marinade ingredients in the bottom of a shallow dish. Season meat of choice with salt and pepper and set into marinade and turn to coat. Allow meat to hang out 10 minutes, turning occasionally.
Heat a nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add marinated meat and cook 5 or 6 minutes on each side. Remove to a warm platter. Add butter to the skillet, then chopped shallots or onion and mushroom bits, and saute 3 minutes over moderate heat. Add flour to the pan and cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Whisk in stock and reduce for another minute. Pour over meat and serve. Makes 4 servings.
Five Stars!!!

Broiled Tomatoes

Fine, but basic. Needed salt. 3 stars.


Mixed Baby Greens with Mandarin Orange and Cucumber in Sesame Dressing

Not a bad little salad. We've seen this before. We liked the addition of sesame oil. 4 stars.


Indian Spiced Fruit

The nutmeg, cinnamon and clove mixture was an unusual surprise and made us think of Christmas. Not too bad. Leftovers didn't get eaten, however. 3 1/2 stars.



Chocolate Mint Parfaits

We made the Shirley Temple version and skipped the creme de menthe liqueur, but you certainly can't go wrong with mint chocolate chip ice cream and Andes mints! Yum! 4 stars.