I'm ba-aaack...

Well, as the title of this post suggests, I am back.

Not that I was ever gone.

Ahem.

Anyway, I still love love love cooking and learning about new household tips and the like, so I'm going to try to start blogging again. This time, it's not for a grade, so please notice the emphasis on TRY. It's a nice thought, right? So we'll see.

That being said, I made baked brie AND pineapple upside-down cake on Friday. Okay, the dough on the bottom of the brie was still raw after I doubled the baking time from the package directions (in all fairness, that's probably because I was too lazy to actually roll the pastry dough to the thickness I was supposed to) and the cake was from a recipe on the side of a cake mix box, but they were delicious (aside from the raw dough... which was gross both visually and texturally). For the brie, a put the pastry dough flat, spooned some hot pepper jelly in the middle and slapped a wedge of brie on top. I tucked in all the edges and made a little pouch, then brushed the top with an egg yolk wash. Popped it in the oven (in a greased pie plate) at 400 F for about 25 minutes until the top was a nice golden color and served it with water crackers. Yum!

Alright, kids. Maybe I'll see you later.

A quick look at my latest TV obsession...

And there is only one moer episode!

For all you fans of Project Runway, I want to suggest that you check out The Next Food Network Star. Or something. Whatever it's called, it's great and The Jordan and I both watch it.

I've been rooting for Lisa Garza since the beginning and hope to own an apron from her signature collection (from www.couturecaviar.com) soon! She seems uppity, but her whole premise is "Beautiful Basics." She takes aspects of fine dining and makes them more accessible. Love it!

Peace, love, and Lisa Garza winning out over those two goobers,
Kim

Well...

I guess this is the last post I am required to do, but I know I'd like to continue with this. I think I kind of have to - my mom sent the link to all my aunts and uncles. So if you want to keep getting my little tips, suggestions, and recipes, bookmark this page. I've got a lot more to say!

Peace, love, and another project checked off the list,
Kim

Just really quick...

It's ca-razy late, but I had to post super fast that my Jordan is an incredible boy. Not only did he come over here to feed my cats; he also brought me dinner (granted, his mom cooked it, but who cares? It's the thought that counts!).

And? He even took out the garbage. I know I complain about him a lot but I'm lucky to have him.

Peace, love, and a picture of us dressed up to go into a Parmesan cheese plant (in Parma),
Kim

And also?

The Jordan and I are hoping to have some really nice people over (we have couple friends... how old are we?) and since Jen, of KeithandJen, cooks for the whole crew of us all the time, we are hoping to return the favor. So look for me to blog about homemade mushroom pesto later in the week!

Peace, love, and trying new recipes with my Jordan,
Kim

Yummmmm...

Alright, as we know, the parents are out of town. I have class 3 nights a week, and I usually work Friday and Saturday nights, so it's not like I'm home to cook a lot or eat at home. But, I'm poor and don't feel like eating out every day, so today I made a big ole pot of Knocks'n'Brauts Stew - another Rachel Ray creation. It's super good, with lots of cabbage and dill, even a bottle of beer! Yum! If anyone wants the recipe, let me know. It's a little long, but still really easy. And plus I now have food for the week!

Peace, love, and mustard-y goodness,
Kim

Kegger at my house!

'Cause my parents are going on vacation!

Har har, I'm so kidding. I mean, La and Buddy really are going to Myrtle Beach, but I'm not having a kegger. Nor really doing much of anything, actually. Except cooking, of course!

So it should come as no surprise that I buy cooking magazines with frequency; I recently bought Paula Deen's magazine. La was looking through it and found this AMAZING sounding recipe that's actually super simple. SO. Here's what we had for dinner tonight (as a special dinner since the parents are leaving in the morning. Er. In about four hours.

Anyway, baked potatoes. Broccoli. Caramelized onions (FOUR sweet onions, sliced thin and cooked in only 2 tablespoons of butter). Steaks, with Gorgonzola butter. Sweet Hilton Head wine. Juicy pluots (plum + apricot).

Oh, man.

Buddy, picky as he is, was actually a huge fan of the Gorgonzola butter. And the pluots, even though he allegedly hates apricots. He really liked the butter, though; even though it sounds like a bad idea - I mean, ruin a steak by putting butter on it? But no.

The sweetness of the onions combines with the creamy, saltiness of the cheese; they both offset the simply seasoned steak (just a little Montreal Steak Seasoning) and pull out all this great, simple, smoky flavor from it. So good. And? The Jordan helped a lot. Again! He is just a wonderful boy, you know?

Anyway, I'll be making some pretty cool stuff this week, and I'll post the recipes if ya'll want them. I'm going to a picnic tomorrow and making Curried Nuts and Chicken Spread. And, because I'll be wanting lots of leftovers this week, Knocks'n'Brats Stoup, a RR concoction that is good, hearty, and cheap.

Peace, love, and Vidalia onions,
Kim

PS: The Gorgonzola butter? Take half a cup of softened butter (one stick) and stir in three (3) tablespoons of crumbled Gorgonzola cheese. Once it's all mixed in, stick it in the fridge. Take a dollop and put it on something - a steak, a potato, some bread, your finger. WHATEVER, it'll taste good!

Oh man...

After class last night, I was starving, which isn't surprising when you consider that the class wasn't over until 9 at night and I had eaten lunch (from the O!) at around noon. Anyway, I decided to go to Kazanski's, on Murray Ave.

For the longest time, I've really been hungry for corned beef and cabbage - I always get the extra-lean corned beef; all that fat just weirds me out. Anywy, that's what I ordered, along with a side of lima bean soup (which I may or may not have eaten on my way home... while driving).

Oh.

My.

Goodness.

It was, in a word, AMAZING.

My mom was watching Big Brother 37, or whatever season they're on now, but we were going to watch Wipeout after. So I brought my food downstairs, where my mom proceeded to try it and delcare it some of the best she's ever had, too. Apparently she used to have a really good recipe for corned beef and cabbage, but my picky dad doesn't eat it, so she tossed it. Which means that I will be posting again later today when I find a recipe. Yummmmmmm!

Is it weird that we LOVE boiled cabbage?

Peace, love, and corned beef,
Kim

I learned something tonight...

And I thought I should share it with you. I went to The Jordan's house after class, and, after eating, was asked, "Kim, is this wine any good?"

"Oh. Does wine go bad, really?"

The Jordan informs me, "It sure smells ripe..."

I purse my lips at him and take a sip from the bottle (hush, no one else was going to drink it and I didn't feel like dirtying another glass). I then purse my lips at the horrible, sour, gritty taste in my mouth.

"Wow. I thought you were kidding that there was gunk at the bottom of the bottle. "

As I walk over to the sink to dump the putrid grape juice, I realize, "Huh. Wine really can go bad." Just thought I'd share that little tidbit with you all. Lesson learned? Seal your opened bottles properly. Or just drink it all before it has a chance to go bad. Either way.

Also? Jordan texted me while I was in class tonight, starving to death, and tells me that I can either have ravioli or chicken ad rice for dinner when I get to the house. Actually smiling with glee, I text him back, "DO YOU MEAN CHICKEN AND RICE AS IN MY FAVORITE THING THAT YOUR MOM MAKES???!!?!?!?!"

Jordan: "What?"

Me: "The stewed chicken. Is it the stewed chicken with the rice, like I loooooove?"

*long pause while Jordan apparently has to find out what stewed chicken is*

Jordan: "Well, it's grilled chicken with kind of a Mexican rice."

*long pause while I inwardly weep until I realize...*

Me: "Ooh! It's like a summer version of my favorite!"


And Mrs. M did not disappoint. While the summer version is not as good as the hearty original one, it was still delicious. And please understand, Mrs. M is a wonderful cook and makes all sorts of crazy, cool, exciting things. She rolls her eyes every time my love of stewed chicken with rice is mentioned, in fact. Much like my mother, when I gush about how much I like chicken with cream sauce over toast. I guess I'm simple like that.

Anyway, lots to do!

Peace, love, and simple deliciousness,
Kim

And also...

My mom made some AMAZING fish the other night that is too easy and too delicious not to publish.

Those Penzey's spices I'm always talking about (seriously, they should so pay me for talking them up all the time) have found yet another use in my house. My mom used the Mural of Flavors blend (which is salt-free), and here's what she did to get it on the fish:

Take some fish - we like mild fish, so I'd suggest tilapia - and put it on a plate. Dump some EVOO over it and sprinkle on some of the seasoning. Give your fish a little EVOO-spice-massage; flip the pieces over and repeat on the other side. Grill until flaky - find your cooking times (and some great tips for marinades, sauces, and stuffings) here.

We had it with asparagus, broccoli (my dad is super picky), and parsley potatoes. Yum!

Peace, love, and another post,
Kim

This is going to sound ga-ross...

But the BEST way to eat my mom's homemade potato pancakes? With cinnamon applesauce and sour cream, mixed together on top while the pancake is still warm so they get all melty together.

In case you were wondering, I had potato pancakes for dinner tonight along with halushki. Also? (And here comes a recipe) Cucumbers with vinegar and sugar. Again, sounds totally gross, I know. But here's how it's done so it's DELICIOUS.

Take a cucumber and slice. You can peel it if you want, or make it stripy. Whatever. Stick it in a bowl and set it aside. Then get a container that you can shake stuff in. Put in about 1/2 cup of white vinegar and about 1/2 cup of sugar. Add water. Shake it and taste it. If it's too sharp, add a little more sugar and water. If it's just sweet water, kick in some more vinegar. When you get the blend right so it takes good, take it and pour it over those cucumbers. Stick the bowl in the fridge for a while. Enjoy!

Worry not, my babies. I WILL be blogging more!

Peace, love, and gross-sounding-yummies,
Kim

And one more thing...

I am going away to Hilton Head Island after the wedding this week, but I'm sure I'll have plenty of yumminess to blog about. Especially as I'm hoping The Jordan takes mercy on my poor, sun-sensitive skin and takes us to some wineries instead of the beach for a day. Hm.

And also, we'll probably be making some kind of dinner for the family while we're there. Wheeeeee!

Peace, love, and v-a-c-a-t-i-o-n,
Kim

Yesterday I made...

Thirty-six dozen cookies!

True. Story.

And my mom? Is AWESOME. Also a true story.

I made Real Cool Cookies, Sandwich Creams, Pudding Cookies, and Macaroons. I dyed the macaroons pink and the filling for the sandwich creams pink. These cookies are for a wedding. Any guess what Jenn's wedding color is?

Here's a recipe for macaroons (which, again, were dyed pink.)

Preheat oven to 350.

1 lb. shredded coconut
1 can sweetened condensed milk (DO NOT use low fat or fat free, I don't care WHAT kind of diet you are on)
2 t. vanilla

Mix. Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a heavily greased or parchment-covered cookie sheet. Top each with 1/4 of a Marrischino cherry or a piece of pineapple (optional). Bake until light brown on top (about 8 minutes).

Store them in an airtight container.

I doubled this recipe and made about 7 and 1/2 dozen. They are super pretty, even when not dyed, and really quick and easy to make.

Enjoy!

Peace, love, and pink macaroons,
Kim

Remember those Mini Meatloaves?

Well, here is the promised recipe. DELICIOUS.

1 4 oz. jar mushroom pieces
1 1/2 pound ground beef
3/4 cup bread crumbs
1 egg
1 t. salt
1 T. grated onion
1/4 t. pepper
3/4 c. BBQ sauce
1/2 c. water

Preheat oven to 375. Reserve 2 T of the mushrooms. Mix remaining mushrooms and liquid, gr. beef, bread crumbs, egg, salt, pepper, and 1/4 c. of the BBQ sauce. Shape mixture into six 3 1/2 inch loaves and place in a 12 x 8 baking dish. Mix reserved mushrooms, water, and remaining BBQ sauce. Spoon over meatloaves. Bake40-45 min., basting occasionally.

*I make double the sauce so I can serve it like a gravy on the side.

*Serve with fries and peas... Yum!

Eeeeeee!

I get to help cook tonight!

I was a dork before graduate school, but the fact that I have way less free time now means that I get way more excited about the dorky things I love than I used to. Which means that, where I used to be internally stoked to cook dinner, I now dance around the house carrying a wooden spoon and wearing an apron (true story).

Anyway, we're having Mini Meatloaves, a recipe my mum filched from Good Housekeeping before I was even born. To this day, it remains one of our favorites; I'll post it soon! One really cool thing I've done with the recipe (because I like to give my three readers good kitchen tips - stay loyal and all that) was to make a big batch, freeze them, and then take them down to Hilton Head in a cooler for a family dinner with the Mroziaks. Then, all we had to do was whip up some sauce, throw them in the oven, and make peas and some kind of potato. My mum? Total genius; I can't take credit for that one.

Peace, love, and yummy spicy loaves of mushroom-y BBQ-y goodness,
Kim

One of my easiest, most favorite recipes EVER...

And I'm only sharing it because so few people actually read this blog. This recipe is for Peach Shmutz. I got it from the mother of my Georgia friend, Lee, so you KNOW it's going to be good. Although, when Mrs. T. gave it to me, she called it Peach Cobbler. I guess that, because I serve it in bowls with a scoop of vanilla ice cream all melty and delicious on top, it's never really resembled a "cobbler." So, shmutz it is!

Preheat the oven to 350.

4 c. peaches, skinned and sliced (about 7 med. peaches)
1 c. self-rising flower
1 c. brown sugar
1 stick butter or margarine, just a little colder than room temperature

Put the peaches down in a greased baking dish (if you want your shmutz thicker, use a 9x9, a little thinner or to make it stretch, use a 9x13).

Mix sugar, flower, and margarine until mixture is coarse, adding more flower if needed. Sprinkle mix evenly over peaches. Bake 25-30 minutes, until crust is brown.

This dish has become my most-requested - by my family, by The Jordan's family. It's wonderful, and so easy!

This recipe is also great with APPLES. If you take this recipe, stir in a little cinnamon with the apples before you put them in the baking dish. When you make the crust mixture, add some cinnamon sugar. This is a fall favorite that even my dad likes!

Just in case...

You guys thought I was just dorky for crocheting, I also collect antique books. Because I haven't cooked anything super-cool or exciting lately, I thought I'd share a recipe from one of my old, old cookbooks. While I haven't had a chance to actually try making any recipes from this book, some of them actually sound good. This one, however, totally does not. From the chapter titled "The Sick Room," here is the recipe for Beef Tea.

Cut a pound of lean, fresh beef into small pieces; put the meat in a bottle and cork tightly; place in a kettle of water and allow to boil one hour or more; take out the bottle an strain the essence of the beef into a bowl; season slightly for a sick person.

So I'm not really sure what about this is good for a sick person. Unless it's like beef bullion? Or maybe the grossness of it was supposed to scare faking-it children out of bed.

If you are wondering how old this antique book is, here is the bibliographic information, although not formatted properly or anything (yep - I'm in library school, in case you missed it.):

The Practical Receipt Book by Experienced Housekeepers
Compiled and Revised by the Ladies of the Methodist Episcopal Church, of Titusville, PA
Third Edition, 1891

"Good cooking means economy and enjoyment;
Bad cooking means waste of money, time and temper."

Peace, love, and hella-old books,
Kim

Oh, snap!

For Christmas, my mum gave me Giada's cookbook, Everyday Italian. I've made quite a few recipes since I got it, but the one for risotto is one I have been putting off since I found it. Risotto is an Italian classic, but it is also, unlike many other Italian dishes, notoriously difficult to make.

I don't want to sound like I know a lot about the topic, but a simple explanation of risotto is that it is Arborrio rice that is cooked very slowly. One of the keys to making it is to add the liquid very slowly; something about this process does something to the shell of the rice grains. Whatever happens, risotto is supposed to be really creamy and soft, and once you've made the basic recipe there are bagillions of variations. The thing is, if you add the liquid too quickly, it turns pasty instead of creamy, too slowly and you didn't add it fast enough; it can end up chalky, chewy, rubbery. Any number of factors can cause all of these occurrences.

Whatever; I finally tried it. The Jordan was integral to its completion, I have to say; he stirred and stirred and stirred and stirred. And it was DELICIOUS! I'm going to try making some variations, which I'll post here if they are good. You can find any standard risotto recipe online, so I'm not going to copy Giada's unless someone asks for it. I'm super glad I tried it, and you should try it too!

If anyone has any risotto tips or advice, I'd love to hear them!

Peace, love, and creamy-ricey-sidedish goodness,
Kim

A recipe with hooch!

Hello! I went to a bridal shower over the weekend and made this dip. It's best with fruit, but also works with Nilla Wafers. Hell, I take a spoon and eat it all on its own when no one else is looking. And it's super easy!

1 small package vanilla instant pudding
1 cup Amaretto
12 oz. of Cool Whip, thawed

Whisk together the pudding and Amaretto in a bowl. When the pudding is dissolved, fold in the Cool Whip. Make sure you get all the liquid off the bottom of the bowl. Refrigerate for a little while so it firms up a bit. Serve with fruit.

Yum!

Peace, love, and more easy cooking,
Kim

Easy dip recipe!

Every year, my parents, my godmother, the Jordan, and I go to Ligonier Days. We buy cha-cha knick knacks, eat lots of food, and visit this gi-normous antique store. Something we buy every year are these little dip packets. It's powdered spices that you then mix into a mixture of sour cream and mayo. There is only one downside, and that is that you have to use the whole packet, which makes a considerable amount of dip. I have discovered an alternative.

Penzey's Spice Company (seriously, people; check them out) makes dip mixes that make smaller batches. Because I'm a spaz, I like to doctor mine. Here is my favorite:

Make one batch of Penzey's Horseradish Dip the way it says to on the bottle. Then add about 2 teaspoons of dried dill, a tablespoon of dried minced onion, and a splash of Worcestershire sauce. Let it sit in the fridge for an hour or so to let the onions soften. Delicious on veggies, crackers, pretzels, and chips alike!