Tofu Ramen Soup with Spinach

This past month's supper club theme was "Asian."  We've previously done Korean and Thai themed dinners.  But "Asian" is so broad!  I wasn't sure what I was making until I saw this recipe in the latest edition of Every Day with Rachael Ray.  I thought an appetizer soup would fit nicely.  Ramen is definitely asian and I love tofu.  This dish was soooo easy to put together.  And cost-wise, this dish was super cheap to make as well.  This was a tasty soup but you MUST make and add the chili oil to really get a great depth of flavor!  This is super-easy to make a vegetarian soup by replacing the chicken broth with vegetable broth.  We all enjoyed this soup and it was a great start to a really tasty meal!

 BTW, the awesome picture shown below was photographed by fellow supper club member Ashley (I forgot my camera!).  She also writes a food blog Big Flavors from a Tiny Kitchen.  She has been writing her blog for years and has tasty recipes and beautiful photographs!  Definitely take a minute and check it out! 

Tofu Ramen Soup with Spinach
recipe from Every Day with Rachael Ray

Ingredients:
1/2 cup vegetable oil
2 tablespoons crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons thinly sliced garlic
6 cups sodium-free chicken broth
1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, stems discarded and caps chopped into 1/4-inch pieces
1 bunch scallions, thinly sliced
1/4 cup soy sauce
1 1/2 tablespoons sugar
3/4 ounce unpeeled fresh ginger, cut into 2 or 3 large slices
4 ounces fresh spinach, chopped
1/2 pound firm silken tofu, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
3 3 ounce packages instant ramen (noodles only)
Salt

Directions:
1.In a small saucepan, heat the oil, crushed red pepper and garlic over medium-high heat until the garlic sizzles. Lower the heat to low and cook, stirring, until the garlic turns golden, about 3 minutes. Turn off the heat and let the mixture sit for at least 30 minutes. Strain the chile oil into a bowl, discarding the solids.

2.Meanwhile, bring a medium pot of water to a boil. In another medium pot, mix the chicken broth, mushrooms, scallions, soy sauce, sugar and ginger. Cover and simmer over high heat for 8 minutes. Lower the heat, cover and simmer until the mushrooms are soft, about 5 minutes. Turn off the heat; discard the ginger. Stir in the spinach, then the tofu. Cover to keep warm.

3.Add the ramen to the boiling water, breaking up the noodles. Cook until tender, 3 minutes. Drain, then stir the noodles into the soup. Season with salt.

4.Divide the soup among bowls. Drizzle each with some of the chili oil.

Mommy & Daddy Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

This post is being shared at:
Foodtastic Friday @ Not Your Ordinary Recipes
Tasty Thursdays @ The Mandatory Mooch
Showcase Your Talent Thursday @ What's Cooking Love?
Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage
Fabulous Fridays @ Real Housemoms
Saturday Show and Tell @ Cheerios and Lattes
Strut Your Stuff Saturday @ Six Sisters' Stuff

Marshmallow Crunch Brownie Bars

As I mentioned in yesterday's post our supper club theme this month was rice.  I picked dessert and yesterday posted this Rice Cheesecake with Praline Sauce.  Since I don't have much experience making cheesecake and wasn't sure how it was going to come out I wanted to have a back-up dessert.  Plus, our kids were at this dinner and even though my kids love cheesecake, not all children do.  So I wanted to also have a child-friendly dessert.  I saw these Marshmallow Crunch Brownie Bars and knew that if I didn't make them for supper club I was going to be making them at some point.  So I went for it.  Boy am I glad that I did! In Michelle's (Brown eyed Baker) blog post which you can find here she notes that the next time she made these she'd half the brownie recipe since the proportion of brownie to the other layers was too thick.  Since I hate doing math and trying to half recipes (especially when they're unequal amounts!) I decided to make the whole brownie recipe and split it up into two pans.  This meant extra brownies for us....yes!  This was definitely the right way to go and all the layers were evenly balanced out.  Just to note, the only slight change I made to this recipe was only using 1 1/2 cups of sugar in the brownie base.  Even that seemed a lot to me with all of the other sweetness going on with these bars.  1 cup of sugar could probably be enough.  These bars are so good!  Everyone at supper club loved them and I've been enjoying the leftovers for days.  My husband wanted to take them to work and I told him, "No way, I'm eating these!"  I do recommend chilling these bars.  I had left them out when we got to supper club and the chocolate top got pretty melty.  I've been eating the leftovers that have been chilled and refrigerating them helps the bar keep its shape and not become a gooey mess....and yes, they are just as tasty leftover! 

Marshmallow Crunch Brownie Bars
recipe VERY slightly adapted from Brown eyed Baker

Yield: 24 bars
Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 25-30 minutes
Ingredients:

For the Brownie Base:
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate
2/3 cup unsalted butter
1¼ cups semisweet chocolate chips, divided
1-1/3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
4 large eggs, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

For the Toppings:
1 bag (10½ ounces) miniature marshmallows
1½ cups milk chocolate chips
1 cup smooth peanut butter (don't use natural peanut butter)
1 Tablespoon unsalted butter
1½ cups Rice Krispies cereal

Directions:
1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9x13-inch pan.

2. For the brownies: In a medium saucepan, melt the unsweetened chocolate, butter and ¾ cup of the semisweet chocolate chips over medium heat. Stir occasionally while melting. Set aside and cool for 5 minutes.

3. In a medium bowl sift the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. In a large bowl , whisk the eggs thoroughly. Add the sugar and vanilla and whisk until well blended. Stir the melted ingredients into the egg mixture, mixing well. Stir in the dry sifted ingredients and mix well. Fold in the remaining ½ cup semisweet chocolate chips.

4. Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing the surface with a spatula. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a cake tester inserted into the corner of of the pan comes out with moist crumbs.

5. Remove the brownies from the oven and immediately sprinkle the marshmallows over them. Return the pan to the oven for 3 more minutes.

6. Meanwhile, place the milk chocolate chips, peanut butter, and tablespoon of butter in a medium saucepan. Melt over low heat, stirring constantly, until completely melted. Remove from heat, add the Rice Krispies and mix well. Allow to cool for 3 minutes.

7. Spread the mixture evenly over the marshmallow layer. Refrigerate until chilled before cutting.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up!

Rice Cheesecake with Praline Sauce

Last Saturday was our supper club dinner.  This month's theme was rice.  Everyone had to make a dish using rice, in any form....rice, rice flour, etc.  I quickly claimed dessert and then jokingly said I'd make rice krispy treats.  I do love them but they're not quite supper club caliber material!  I didn't want to make rice pudding because I had made that for our Indian themed dinner a couple of months ago.  I found this recipe on the Riceland Foods website.  In the picture on their site it looked like the rice sunk to the bottom, almost like a crust, with the cheesecake on top.  In mine, the rice stayed mixed with the cheesecake which gave it a texture that I didn't like.  Everyone else seemed to enjoy the cheesecake and I did really like the praline sauce.  This was something different but I probably won't be making it again. 

Rice Cheesecake with Praline Sauce
recipe from Riceland.com

Yield:  16 servings

Ingredients:

FILLING:
3 pkgs. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
3 eggs
1 cup half-and-half
2 tsp. vanilla
2 cups cold cooked Riceland Plump & Tender Medium Grain Rice

PRALINE SAUCE
1/2 cup margarine or butter
1 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 Tbsp. light corn syrup
1/2 cup half-and-half
1 cup pecan halves

Directions:
Heat oven to 325F. Spray 10-inch springform pan with nonstick cooking spray. In large bowl, beat cream cheese until smooth. Gradually add sugar, beating until smooth. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating after each addition. Add 1 cup half-and-half and vanilla; beat until smooth. Stir in rice. Pour into prepared pan. Bake 50-60 minutes or until set. (To minimize cracking, place shallow pan half full of hot water on lower oven rack during baking.) Cool cheesecake to room temperature on wire rack. Remove sides of pan. Refrigerate 1-2 hours. To prepare sauce, melt margarine in medium saucepan. Stir in brown sugar and corn syrup. Bring to a boil; boil 1 minute stirring constantly. Gradually stir in 1/2 cup half-and-half; return to a boil. Remove from heat; cool. Stir in pecans. Serve with cheesecake. (From our "Riceland Collection" cookbook)

Family Rating: 1 thumb up.

CPK BBQ Chicken Pizza

This recipe post is a bit belated, as our Supper Club is meeting tonight and this was one of last month's dishes that we made!  But I'm very behind in my recipe posting!  Last month's Supper Club theme was Restaurant Copy-Cats.  My husband and I were hosting so we were in charge of the main dishes.  As we were trying to come up with dishes to make, we realized that we don't visit chain restaurants enough to have favorite dishes to re-create.  Which of course is a good thing!  We did agree that we love CPK (California Pizza Kitchen) and the rare times we go there we split a pizza and a salad.  Our favorite pizza is the Thai Chicken Pizza, but different versions of Thai Chicken Pizza have already been made in the Supper Club (including one by myself!).  Although we've never actually had the BBQ Chicken Pizza at CPK this is the pizza recipe that we went with.  Everyone enjoyed this pizza.  My husband made the dough and doubled the recipe so we were fortunate to have leftovers for a couple of days!  Unfortunately, I never got a picture of the Outback Chopped Salad that we made as our other dish and there was none left over after our dinner (which again, is a good thing!).

CPK BBQ Chicken Pizza
Recipe slightly adapted from cdkitchen.com

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon honey
1 cup warm water
2 teaspoons active dry yeast
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
10 ounces chicken breast, boned and skinned
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 tablespoons barbecue sauce plus 1/2 cup barbecue sauce (I used Sweet Baby Ray's)
1 cup Gouda cheese, shredded
1 cup Mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/4 small red onion, sliced into rings
2 tablespoons cilantro

Directions:
To make the dough: In a small bowl, dissolve the honey in the warm water. Sprinkle the yeast over the water and stir until it dissolves. Let the yeast mixture stand for 5 minutes, until a layer of foam forms on the surface. In a large bowl, combine the flour and the salt. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture and pour the olive oil and the yeast mixture. Stir the flour into the wet ingredients, until all the flour is incorporated. If its too dry, add more water. On a lightly floured surface, knead the dough for 15 minutes, until it is smooth and elastic. Shape the dough into a ball and put in in a well-oiled bowl. Cover with a moist towel and let rise in a warm place until double in bulk (about 1 1/2 hours).

One hour before baking the pizzas, start preheating the oven with pizza stones inside at 500 degrees F.

For the Chicken: In a large frying pan, heat the olive oil on medium high heat. Add chicken pieces. Saute until cooked (6 minutes). Chill. Coat chicken with 2 tablespoons barbecue sauce. Set aside in the refrigerator.

For the Pizza: Punch the dough down, and divide into equal serving portions. Roll out each portion into an 6-8 inch flat circle. Spread 1/4 cup barbecue sauce over the surface of the dough. Distribute 1/2 of the cheese over the sauce. Distribute 1/2 of the chicken over the cheese. Place half of the onion rings over the chicken pieces. Place the pizza in the oven (on top of pizza stones). Bake until crust is crispy and cheese is bubbling (8-10 minutes). Remove pizzas from the oven and sprinkle each with 1/2 of the cilantro.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up.

Glazed Toffee Bonbons

This past weekend we had our annual Supper Club December dinner out and cookie exchange.  We tried a Southern/Carribean restaurant in New Rochelle, NY called Alvin and Sons that was REALLY good!  On the way home, even though we were stuffed from dinner, my husband and I did a mini cookie tasting.  These were the cookies that I ended up making for the exchange. I really like heath bars and thought they looked and sounded good.  They were pretty easy to put together.  I had them completed from start to finish in about an hour.  I wasn't sure that two dozen would be enough (you have to account for mess-ups, taste tests, and I had to leave some for the kids!) so I doubled the recipe.  Of course it made enough that my husband was able to bring some to work the next day.  Unfortunately, I wasn't "wowed" by these cookies like I was hoping.  They aren't bad....and according to my daughter, they're the best cookies that I've ever made!  I just found them a bit too sweet.....which is why I was suprised that my daughter loved them so much since she really doesn't like very sweet things. Luckily, I got a bunch of really tasty cookies from the other supper club members!

Glazed Toffee Bonbons
recipe from Taste and Tell

Prep Time: 30 minutes
Cook Time: 14 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour, 30 minutes

Yield: 2 dozen cookies

Toffee filled cookies are topped with caramel icing, white and milk chocolate, and more toffee pieces!

Ingredients:

Cookies
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 egg
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 bars (1.4 oz. each) chocolate covered English toffee candy, finely chopped

Glaze
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
2-3 tablespoons milk
1 1/3 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup milk chocolate chips
1/3 cup white chocolate chips

Directions:
Heat the oven to 325F. In a large bowl, beat 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar, the vanilla and the egg with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. On low speed, beat in the flour, baking soda and salt. Reserve 1/3 of the toffee pieces for garnish. Stir remaining chopped candy into the dough. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. On ungreased cookie sheets, place balls 1 inch apart.

Bake 11 to 14 minutes or until edges start to brown and tops of cookies feel set when tapped. Place cooling racks on waxed paper. Immediately remove cookies from cookie sheets to cooling racks.

Meanwhile, in a 1-quart saucepan, heat 1/4 cup butter, 1/2 cup brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of the milk over medium-low heat , stirring frequently, until mixture just comes to a boil and sugar is dissolved. Stir in powdered sugar; beat with a wire whisk if necessary to remove lumps. Immediately dip tops of cookies into glaze or spread on top of cookies. (Cookies don’t need to be completely cooled, just firm and set.) Place on rack; let stand about 10 minutes until glaze is set. If glaze starts to set in saucepan, reheat over medium-low heat and beat with a wire whisk.

Place chocolate chips and vanilla chips in separate small microwaveable bowls. Microwave each on high for 1 1/2 to 2 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds until melted and smooth. Using the tip of a spoon, drizzle each flavor generously over cookies. Alternately, place the chips in a zip top bag, microwave until melted, and then cut off the corner and drizzle over cookies. Sprinkle with remaining candy. Refrigerate 20 minutes to set quickly.

Family Rating:1 thumb up.

This recipe is shared at:
Creative Thursday @ Michelle's Tasty Creations
Full Plate Thursday @ Miz Helen's Country Cottage
Showcase Your Talent Thursday @ What's Cooking, Love?

The Weekend Chef: Indian Rice Pudding

For our Indian themed supper club my husband decided to make Indian Rice Pudding.  When he did a search for Indian desserts this was by far the most popular.  We've eaten this plenty of times at the local Indian Buffet.  But I have to say that this isn't my most favorite dessert.  If I'm going to eat rice pudding, I have to admit that I like it plain, without the spice and in this case, pistachios.  This did get me to visit the local Middle Eastern store to buy some rose water.  While the recipe is easy enough, like my recipe for Saag Paneer, the cooking time does not account for the constant stirring of the milk to bring it to a boil which took forever!  Everyone at supper club seemed to enjoy this....so I think it's my own biased opinion (and blog!) that's giving this 1 1/2 thumbs up versus the 2 that my husband would like to give it!

Indian Rice Pudding
recipe from foodnetwork.com, courtesy of Aarti Sequeira

Ingredients:
1/2 cup basmati rice
6 cups whole milk
1 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon rosewater, or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 tablespoons minced unsalted pistachios or almonds, plus extra for garnish

Directions:
In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, bring the rice, milk, and cardamom to a boil over medium-high heat, stirring constantly with a heat-safe spoonula to help keep the milk from burning.

Reduce the heat so that the milk is gently simmering and cook for 45 to 50 minutes, stirring often. The rice should be tender and the milk will have reduced by half, giving a porridge-like consistency.

Add the sugar, rosewater or vanilla, and pistachios. Stir and turn off the heat. Serve either warm or chilled, garnished with extra pistachios. Goes well with fresh fruit too.

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

Saag Paneer

This month's supper club theme was Indian.  I LOVE Indian but rarely cook it.  The ingredient list for most recipes is usually a mile long and I just don't have the time or patience.  But oh how I love to eat it!  About once a month or so I suggest to my husband that we go to the local Indian restaurant for their buffet lunch.  I love being able to try a whole bunch of different and new things, rather than stick to what I know and like (which I'd do if I was only able to order one thing).  So after much deliberation and searching for a recipe that didn't have a gazillion ingredients I decided to make Saag Paneer.  This wasn't a new dish for me since I've eaten and have enjoyed it many times before.  This was my first recipe from Aarti Sequeira though.  I watched her win The Next Food Network Star but never tried anything of hers until now. I'm so glad that I did.  I found the recipe to be very easy to follow....although the cheese took a VERY long time to make.  With the stirring of the milk and the draining, and pressing I think it took over an hour plus.  Then I had to make the actual saag.  Luckily, I had most of the day free to spend doing this.  And I'm glad that I got the chance to make homemade paneer.  However, if I ever find paneer in a specialty market (though I've never seen it before) I would definitely pick it up for a dish like this!  I think the paneer could have pressed for even more than the 20 minutes but I didn't have the time.  It ended up crumbling once it got put in the spinach mixture.  Overall though this was tasty and everyone at supper club enjoyed it. 

Saag Paneer
recipe from foodnetwork.com, courtesy of Aarti Sequeira

Ingredients:
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cayenne
Kosher salt
3 tablespoons plus 1 1/2 tablespoons vegetable oil
12 ounces paneer, (Indian cheese, either store-bought or made from my recipe, recipe follows), cut into 1-inch cubes, see Cook's Note*
1 (16-ounce package) frozen chopped spinach
1 medium white onion, finely chopped
1 (1-inch thumb) ginger, peeled and minced (about 1 tablespoon)
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 large green serrano chile, finely chopped (seeds removed if you don't like it spicy!)
1/2 teaspoon store-bought or homemade garam masala, recipe follows
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 cup plain yogurt, stirred until smooth

Directions:
In a large bowl, whisk together the turmeric, cayenne, 1 teaspoon salt and 3 tablespoons oil. Gently, drop in the cubes of paneer and gently toss, taking care not to break the cubes if you're using the homemade kind. Let the cubes marinate while you get the rest of your ingredients together and prepped.

Thaw the spinach in the microwave in a microwave-safe dish, 5 minutes on high, then puree in a food processor until smooth. Alternatively, you can chop it up very finely with your knife.

Place a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, and add the paneer as the pan warms. In a couple of minutes give the pan a toss; each piece of paneer should be browned on one side. Fry another minute or so, and then remove the paneer from the pan onto a plate.

Add the remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons oil to the pan. Add the onions, ginger, garlic and chile. Now here's the important part: saute the mixture until it's evenly toffee-coloured, which should take about 15 minutes. Don't skip this step - this is the foundation of the dish! If you feel like the mixture is drying out and burning, add a couple of tablespoons of water.

Add the garam masala, coriander and cumin. If you haven't already, sprinkle a little water to keep the spices from burning. Cook, stirring often, until the raw scent of the spices cook out, and it all smells a bit more melodious, 3 to 5 minutes.

Add the spinach and stir well, incorporating the spiced onion mixture into the spinach. Add a little salt and 1/2 cup of water, stir, and cook about 5 minutes with the lid off.

Turn the heat off. Add the yogurt, a little at a time to keep it from curdling. Once the yogurt is well mixed into the spinach, add the paneer. Turn the heat back on, cover and cook until everything is warmed through, about 5 minutes. Serve.

*Cook's Note: Paneer is very easy to make at home, and my recipe is quick, easy, and delicious. I also think homemade has a better texture than anything store-bought. If you'd like to buy it, this cheese is available in better supermarkets as well as specialty Asian markets.

Paneer: Homemade Indian Cheese:
Cheesecloth
8 cups whole milk
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice, plus more as needed, see Cook's Note*

Directions:Line a large colander with a large double layer of cheesecloth, and set it in your sink.

In a large wide pot, bring the milk to a gentle boil over medium heat, stirring frequently to avoid burning the bottom (a nonstick pot works really well for this purpose). This will take a little while so be patient!

Add the lemon juice and turn the heat down to low. Stirring gently, you should almost immediately see the curds (white milk solids) and whey (the greenish liquid) separate. Don't fret, this is perfect!

*Cook's Note: If the milk doesn't separate juice some more lemons and add another tablespoon or two. Boost the heat again and the milk should separate. Stir in a motion that gathers the curds together rather than breaks them up.

Remove the pot from the heat and carefully pour the contents into the cheesecloth-lined colander. Gently rinse with cool water to get rid of the lemon flavor. At this point, you could squeeze out some of the liquid, and serve with some honey and some nuts, almost like a fresh ricotta!

Grab the ends of the cheesecloth and twist the ball of cheese to squeeze out the excess whey. Tie the cheesecloth to your kitchen faucet and allow the cheese to drain for about 5 minutes.

Twisting the ball to compact the cheese into a block, place it on a plate with the twisted part of the cheesecloth on the side (this will ensure your block of cheese is nice and smooth!) and set another plate on top. Weigh the second plate down with cans of beans or a heavy pot. Move to the refrigerator and let it sit about 20 minutes.

Yield: Makes 12 ounces of cheese.

Mommy & Daddy Rating: 2 thumbs up!

The Weekend Chef: Pumpkin-Turkey Meatloaf Muffins

As I mentioned in a previous post, this month's supper club theme was "Halloween" food.  My husband and I both had some difficulty picking our recipes.  Eventually, my husband and I agreed that pumpkin was a fall/Halloween food and he decided to make these meatloaf muffins.  There was definitely some prep to this dish.  I feel like my husband was chopping for quite awhile and then the onion, garlic, and mushrooms had to be sauteed.  Once put together though I thought that these meatloaf muffins were really tasty!  Baking in a muffin tin means less cooking time.  The pumpkin flavor wasn't overwhelming and helped moisten them up.  And I loved the addition of the home-made cranberry sauce.  My daughter ate her muffin but my son wasn't a big fan (no surprise there!). Everyone at supper club seemed to enjoy these too. 

Pumpkin-Turkey Meatloaf Muffins
recipe slightly adapted from Cara's Cravings

Ingredients:
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 8oz package mushrooms, chopped finely
3 cloves of minced garlic
1 lb 93% lean ground turkey breast
1 cup pumpkin puree
1 egg white
1/3 cup plain bread crumbs
1 tsp each minced fresh thyme and rosemary
Freshly ground salt and pepper

1 cup fresh cranberries
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup water

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400F. Spray a standard 12-cup muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.

In a nonstick skillet over medium heat, cook the onions until softened, about 8 minutes. Add the mushrooms and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes more, until vegetables are tender. Add to a bowl with the turkey, pumpkin, egg white, oats, sage, salt & pepper. Toss gently to combine. Divide the mixture evenly among the muffin tin. Place in the oven, bake for 20 minutes.

Combine cranberries, sugar and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and then simmer for 10-15 minutes. Spoon onto the meatloaf muffins, and bake for another 15 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest for 5 minutes before serving.

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

This recipe was shared at:
Church Supper @ Everyday Mom's Meals
Weekend Potluck @ 4 Little Fergusons
Sundae Scoop @ I Heart Nap Time

Jack O'Lantern Couscous Stuffed Peppers with Basil Sauce

Happy Halloween!  Hopefully you have many more treats than tricks today!  I am sitting here in New York typing this post Sunday evening because I don't know if I will have any power as Hurricane Sandy, a.k.a. "Frankenstorm" approaches.  It's predicted to hit us sometime tomorrow morning and last until at least Tues. night.  Last year we had a snow storm this year a hurricane.  Luckily, we already went to a friend's Halloween party this past Sat. and tonight we had our "Halloween" themed supper club.  We brought the kids in costume and had Halloween food.  As I was searching for recipes, I found lots of cute food, like mummy hotdogs, which I plan to make for my kids for dinner Halloween night.  Unfortunately, I didn't see many recipes that involved a high caliber of cooking.  Then I came up with the idea of making jack-o-lanterns out of peppers and then went in search of a stuffed pepper recipe.  I finally found this couscous stuffed pepper recipe which was perfect because I wanted more of a side dish type stuffing versus a meat-filled pepper. This dish can be made vegetarian by replacing vegetable broth for the chicken broth and can totally be a main meal. I just knew that there were going to be other protein filled dishes tonight.  Of course I had to go with orange peppers!  I never make stuffed peppers because I don't really like cooked peppers all that much.  However, I found that orange peppers are much sweeter than green and I actually enjoyed them.  This recipe has an interesting Greek influenced filling.  Posted below are the ingredient amount changes that I made since I made 7 stuffed peppers.  Overall, I found this dish really tasty.  I really liked the basil sauce mixed with all of the other flavors.  The kids weren't big fans, mostly I think because of all of the "stuff" that's mixed in the stuffing.  Normally, they do eat couscous.  With the muffin meatloaves that The Weekend Chef made (recipe coming soon!) and the chicken and pasta that were the other mains, I was stuffed after eating! This wasn't complicated to make, it just takes an hour to cook, so not a good weeknight meal.  I will definitely try making stuffed peppers again and use the orange peppers.

Before cooking

After cooking

Coucous-Stuffed Peppers with Basil Sauce
recipe from foodnetwork.com, courtesy of Giada De Laurentis

Ingredients:

Filling:
2 cups low-sodium chicken broth
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 cups dried couscous
1 cup canned garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1/2 cup dried cranberries
2 packed cups chopped baby spinach leaves
1/2 cup (4 ounces) crumbled feta cheese
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
7 medium orange bell peppers
Hot water, as needed

Sauce:
1 packed cup fresh basil leaves
1/2 cup (about 4 ounces) creme fraiche (I couldn't find so I used sour cream)
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon water
1 garlic clove, coarsely chopped
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt, plus extra, as needed
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus extra, as needed

Directions:
Put an oven rack in the center of the oven. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.

Filling: In a medium saucepan, bring the chicken broth and cumin to a boil over medium-high heat. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the couscous. Cover the pan until the couscous is tender and all of the liquid has been absorbed, about 5 to 6 minutes. Put the couscous in a large bowl and add the beans, cranberries, spinach, feta and 1/4 cup olive oil. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. Stir until all the ingredients are combined.

Slice the tops off the peppers and remove all the ribs and seeds. If necessary, cut a very thin slice from the base to help the peppers stand up. Cut out jack-o-lantern faces, if desired!  Stuff the peppers with the filling and drizzle the tops with olive oil. Put the peppers in an rectangular baking dish. Fill the baking dish with 3/4-inch hot water and bake until the filling is golden and the peppers are cooked through, about 55 to 60 minutes.

Cooks Note: If the filling begins to brown too quickly, cover the pan with foil.)

Sauce: In a blender, combine the basil, creme fraiche, olive oil, water, garlic, lemon juice, sugar, salt, and pepper. Blend until smooth. Adjust the seasoning with salt and pepper, to taste.

Remove the peppers from the oven and arrange on serving plates. Spoon the sauce around the peppers and serve.

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

This recipe was shared at:
Tasty Thursdays
Full Plate Thursdays
Creative Thursday

The Weekend Chef: Paprika Shrimp

This was my husband's dish for our "spice grab bag" themed supper club last month.  He had picked Paprika.  At first he really wanted to make the classic Hungarian Goulash.  However, with me making chicken and rice we thought that it might be a tad bit on the heavy side.  Plus, one of our members doesn't eat pork or beef and we wanted to make a dish that everyone could eat.  So, he found this recipe, with the spice name right in the title.  This dish was super quick and easy to make.  There were some leftovers and we gave some to the kids the next day.  It wasn't too spicy and they ate the shrimp right up. 

Paprika Shrimp
recipe from The New York Times, Dining & Wine, December 29, 2004

Ingredients:
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon mild Spanish paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
Pinch cayenne
3 cloves garlic, sliced
3 pounds large shrimp, peeled and deveined
Juice of 2 lemons.

Directions:
1. Place oil in a small saucepan. Add paprika, cumin, salt, cayenne and garlic. Bring to a simmer, and cook just until garlic starts to brown. Remove from heat, and remove garlic.

2. Place shrimp in a bowl. Toss with oil and spice mixture. Arrange shrimp in a single layer in a baking dish.

3. Heat broiler. Place shrimp under broiler until lightly browned. Douse with lemon juice.

Family Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

Pilaf for a Curry Banquet

This is the rice dish that I served with the Mughlai Chicken for my supper club's "spice grab bag."  This dish complemented the chicken dish wonderfully and also had cardamom (my spice) in it.  The spices really flavored the rice.  I ate my chicken over the rice, with the sauce.  However, this dish is definitely flavorful enough as a stand-alone side.  It is definitely true to the 8 servings and we had a lot of rice left over.  These were the first Nigella Lawson recipes that I have made.  They turned out really tasty and I may need to try out some of her other stuff!

Pilaf for a Curry Banquet
recipe slightly adapted from foodnetwork.com, courtesy of Nigella Lawson, Nigella Feasts

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 cloves
3 cardamom pods, bruised
1 cinnamon stick, broken into 3
1/2 teaspoon cumin
2 1/2 cups basmati rice
4 cups chicken stock
1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted, for garnish
2 to 3 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves, for garnish

Directions:
Cook the onion in the oil, in a deep saucepan with the cloves, cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, and cumin, until the onion is slightly browned and soft. Keep the heat medium to low and stir frequently; this should take about 10 minutes.

Add the rice and move it about in the oily spiced onion until it is slicked and glossy, then pour in the stock and bring the pan to the boil. Cover the pan with a lid and cook over the lowest heat possible for 20 minutes.

Turn off the heat, take the lid off, cover with a tea towel and clamp the lid back on the saucepan. You can leave the rice to rest like this for at least 10 minutes, and up to about 1 hour. Fork the rice through when you are ready to serve it, scattering the toasted sliced almonds and cilantro on top.

Mommy & Daddy Rating: 2 thumbs up!

Mughlai Chicken

This past month's supper club theme was "Spice Grab Bag."  Each of us wrote down the name of a spice, put it in a bag, and pulled out a slip of paper.  We each had to make a dish using whatever spice we picked.  At of all the spices out there, we ended up with cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, and three paprikas!  What's even more surprising is how amazing the dinner turned out.  All of the dishes everyone made seemed to complement one another and were really tasty.  I picked cardamom and since we were hosting I decided to make a chicken dish.  I found this recipe on the foodnetwork site.  Nigella Lawson cooked this on her "Spiced Up" episode which I found very fitting.  Plus, it got a lot of really good reviews.  Looking at the recipe list I was a bit daunted....and only for supper club would I even think of cooking something with a ingredient list this long.  But thanks to one of my husband's friends from work, we had a bag of cardamom pods and pretty much everything else minus the almonds to make this.  This is really easy to make and cooks fairly quickly.  I don't cook with chicken thighs very often and didn't know if they'd taste very fatty, which I often find is the case. The results were sooo good!  This dish is really flavorful and the chicken was so tender, which I think is because I ended up cooking this in the Dutch Oven.  We had leftovers for lunch the next day and it tasted just as good.  The kids ate the chicken and rice, although they weren't huge fans.  Unforunately, the dish doesn't photograph that well, as seen below.  And it was just too crazy in the kitchen the day of cooking to get a pic of the dish cooking in the pot.  I served this with a rice dish (see tomorrow's post!). 

Mughlai Chicken
recipe from foodnetwork.com, courtesy of Nigella Lawson, Nigella Feasts

Yield: 8 servings


Ingredients:
1 (1-inch) piece ginger, peeled
4 cloves garlic, peeled
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/2 teaspoon dried chili flakes
4 tablespoons ground almonds
1/2 cup water
5 cardamom pods, bruised
1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
2 bay leaves
4 cloves
1/4 cup vegetable oil
3 pounds boned chicken thighs, each cut into 2
2 onions, finely chopped
1 cup Greek yogurt
1 cup chicken stock
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup sultanas (golden raisins)
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup flaked almonds, toasted, to garnish

Directions:
Put the ginger, garlic, cumin, coriander, and chili into a food processor, or into a mortar and pestle, and blend to a paste. Add the ground almonds and water and then blend again, set aside.

Heat the oil in a large pan and add the chicken pieces - in batches so they fry rather than stew - and cook them just long enough to seal on both sides, then remove to a dish.

Add the spices and turn them in the oil. Add the onions and cook them until softened and lightly browned, but keep the heat gentle and stir frequently, to avoid sticking. Pour in the blended paste, and cook everything until it begins to colour. Add the yogurt, half a cup at a time stirring it in to make a sauce, then stir in the stock, cream, and sultanas.

Put the browned chicken back into the pan, along with any juices that have collected under them, and sprinkle over the garam masala, sugar, and salt. Cover and cook on a gentle heat for 20 minutes, testing to make sure the meat is cooked through.

It's at this stage, that I like to take the pan off the heat and leave it to cool before reheating the next day.

So either now, or when you've reheated it, pour into a serving dish and scatter with the toasted flaked almonds.

Mommy & Daddy Rating:  2 thumbs up!

The Weekend Chef: Sausage and Sun-Dried Tomato Quiche

I know it's not the weekend but with my internet down for a couple of days I'm really behind on posts.  Plus, I wanted to share with you this delicious recipe that my husband, a.k.a. "The Weekend Chef" made for our California themed supper club dinner last month.  I think he was stretching it a bit with the sun-dried tomatoes from California bit, but I'm glad he made this because it was delicious!  The salty sausage with the sweet tomatoes....yum! Since refrigerated pie crusts come with two crusts, he ended up doubling the recipe and saving half of the filling mixture and we had this for dinner another night.  It was really that good!  And we discovered that our son likes sun-dried tomatoes! Unfortunately, this does take a bit of time to bake in the oven, but if you premade the filling the night before and just had to bake it this could possibly be a weeknight dinner.  

Sausage and Sun-Dried Tomato Quiche
Recipe from allrecipes.com by Stephanie

Yield: 8 servings

Ingredients:
1 (9 inch) frozen pie crust, thawed
1/2 pound bulk pork sausage
2 shallots, chopped
1 clove clove garlic, minced
1/2 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
4 eggs
1 cup whipping cream
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:
1.Preheat an oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C). Line pie pan with pie crust, and prick several places with a fork. Place a double layer of aluminum foil over the crust. Bake in the preheated oven for 8 minutes, and then remove foil. Continue baking until crust begins to set, about 5 minutes; remove from oven. Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).

2.In a large skillet, cook sausage until well browned, stirring frequently. Mix in shallots and garlic, and continue cooking for 1 minute. Stir in sun-dried tomatoes and 1 tablespoon parsley. Spread mixture into the bottom of the warm pie crust.

3.In a mixing bowl, beat eggs with cream. Stir in cheese. Pour mixture over sausage in pie crust. Sprinkle remaining parsley over the top.

4.Bake in preheated oven until crust browns and a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45 to 60 minutes.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up!

California Pasta with Artichokes and Almond-Citrus Pesto

This past month our supper club theme was "California" cooking.  The host couple, which wasn't us usually makes the protein. In my search for a recipe to make I found all kinds of good "main dish" recipes....fish tacos, cioppino, grilled pizza.  Unfortunately, I had a hard time finding a side dish.  After many internet searches I finally narrowed it down to a California Cobb Salad and then I found this recipe.  It has California right in the name and used lots of ingredients from California.  I should have stuck with the salad!  I just wasn't a fan of this dish.  I think a large part was due to the fact that this pesto was made from parsley and I'm not a parsley fan.  As my husband commented, "Well, if you don't like parsley why did you pick this recipe?"  I told him that I like pesto and I thought that the parsley flavor wouldn't be so strong mixed with the other ingredients.  I was wrong though.  The parsley flavor was pretty strong.  Note to self, do not make any more dishes, especially pesto, that calls for this much parsley!  If you're a fan of parsley though this may be right up your alley!  My husband ate all the leftovers and the kids surprisingly ate some....so you never know!

California Pasta with Artichokes and Almond-Citrus Pesto
recipe from The Rachael Ray Show, April 30, 2008

This recipe is dedicated to Maria Shriver. I wrote it in honor of her visit to our show. It highlights many ingredients that California is the proud producer of: artichokes, citrus, almonds, olive oil, garlic and of course, fine wine.


Ingredients:
2 leeks
2 tablespoons plus 1/4 cup EVOO – Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 10 ounce box frozen quartered artichoke hearts, defrosted or 1 14-ounce can quartered artichoke hearts, drained
Salt and pepper
1 pound fettuccine
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 tablespoon lemon zest
1 tablespoon lime zest
1 cup flat-leaf parsley tops
3 tablespoons (a small handful) slivered or blanched almonds, toasted
1 clove garlic, grated or finely chopped
1/3 cup (a rounded generous handful) grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1/2 cup dry white wine

Directions:
Place a large pot of water over high heat and bring to a boil for the pasta.


Trim off the root ends and top four inches of the leeks. Cut them in half lengthwise then into slices 1/4-inch thick. Wash them vigorously, separating the layers to free grit in either a colander under cold running water or in large bowl of cold water. Drain and pat dry.

Heat 2 tablespoons EVOO in a large skillet over medium heat. Add leeks and artichokes, sauté 5 minutes and season with salt and pepper.

Salt the boiling pasta water and drop in fettuccine.

Place zest, parsley, almonds, garlic and cheese in food processor and season with salt and pepper. Turn processor on and stream in 1/4 cup EVOO until it combines into a thick pesto sauce.

Add wine to the leeks and artichokes, and cook for a couple of minutes. Stir in the pesto sauce and a ladleful of starchy cooking water. Drain pasta and add to skillet. Toss pasta with sauce to coat evenly. Serve with Orange and Arugula Salad with Marmalade Dressing alongside and pass more cheese at the table for topping.

Family Rating: So-so.

Picnic Potato Salad with No Mayonnaise

For our supper club picnic theme I had a difficult time choosing between making a pasta salad or a potato salad.  I finally decided on a potato salad.  I chose this one because there was no mayo in it and I thought that we'd be out in the hot sun picnicking.  Like I mentioned in my previous post, the weather wasn't very cooperative, so we ended up having our picnic inside.  I've made a couple of different potato salads now and I have to say that this is one of my favorites.  The blue cheese and bacon definitely helped make this so tasty! 

Picnic Potato Salad with No Mayonnaise
recipe slightly adapted from allrecipes.com by Maridele

Ingredients:
2 pounds small new potatoes, quartered
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup chopped red onion
3/4 cup crumbled blue cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1/2 lb. bacon, cooked until crispy and crumbled

Directions:
1.Place potatoes into a large pot and cover with lightly salted water; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until tender, 10 to 15 minutes; drain.

2.Whisk vinegar, olive oil, mustard, basil, salt, and pepper together in a large bowl; add the potatoes and onion. Toss gently to coat. Let stand until cool, about 30 minutes.

3.Fold blue cheese and chives into potato salad until blended.  Sprinkle bacon crumbles on top.
    Mommy & Daddy Rating: 1 1/2 thumbs up.

Blueberry Corn Salad

This month's supper club theme was "picnic."  Last year we did this theme too and got together at a local park.  We enjoyed it alot but it was fall and a bit chilly. We thought it would be nice to do the theme again while the weather was warmer.  Unfortunately, last Saturday it poured right when we were supposed to be picnicking!  Luckily we had a back-up plan and went to one of the couple's house for our dinner.  My husband made this salad.  We were late picking what we were going to make and needed to fill in the menu with sides.  He really wanted to make some kind of corn salad and I had just seen this posted the other day.  It sounded a lot better than the salad that he picked out!  I'm glad that he made it because it was light and tasty with a hint of spice.  It was easy enough to make and I can see us making this salad again for a family get-together before the summer is over.

Blueberry Corn Salad
recipe from Two Peas & Their Pod

Ingredients:
6 ears fresh sweet corn, husked
1 cup fresh blueberries
1 cucumber, sliced
1/4 cup finely chopped red onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and finely chopped
2 tablespoons lime juice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper

Directions:
1. In a large pot, bring water to boiling. Add corn. Cook for 5 minutes, or until tender. When cool enough to handle, cut corn from the cobs. Discard cobs.

2. In a large serving bowl, combine corn, blueberries, cucumber, red onion, cilantro, and jalapeno. To make the dressing, whisk together lime juice, oil, honey, cumin, salt, and pepper. Pour dressing over salad and stir until combined. Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve.
  Mommy & Daddy Rating: 2 thumbs up.

The Weekend Chef: Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey & Chorizo Breakfast Hash

My husband, the Weekend Chef, originally found and made this dish for our supper club brunch.  He was purposefully looking for a dish that used leftover turkey, since we had so much leftover from my daughter's family birthday party, which was the day before our supper club.  When I think of hash, I think of the canned corned beef stuff that I can't stand.  So I have to admit I was a bit skeptical.  Can I tell you how amazing this dish was?!  Everyone at supper club loved it!  It had a nice, slight heat to it and I thought the brussels sprouts were a really interesting addition.  Well, I loved it so much and we had leftover ingredients (Brussels sprouts, chorizo, etc.)  that I did something so uncharacteristic of me.....I ended up making it again during the week with some scrambled eggs (I don't eat fried, runny yolk eggs!) as a breakfast for dinner dish....yes, I thought it was THAT GOOD!  I just scooped some out for the kids before I added the Sriracha. 

Leftover Thanksgiving Turkey & Chorizo Breakfast Hash
recipe slightly adapted from Cooking and Eating From Away in Maine

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
6 ounces fresh Mexican chorizo
1 medium onion, diced
2 cloves of garlic, minced
2 cups Brussels sprouts, raw or cooked, thinly sliced
1 large russet potato, cooked, diced into 1/4 inch pieces
2 cups roasted turkey meat, white and dark meat, diced into 1/4 inch pieces
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon chili sauce
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Sriracha hot sauce (optional)

Directions:1.In a large cast iron skillet over medium-high heat, heat vegetable oil. Add chorizo, and break up with a spoon. Add onion, garlic, Brussels sprouts, and potato and cook, stirring occasionally, until onions become translucent and potatoes begin to brown, about 5 minutes. Add turkey meat, heavy cream, chili sauce, a dash of salt and pepper, and stir until combined.

2.Using a spatula, press mixture into bottom of pan. Let cook without stirring until crust forms, about two minutes. Scrape up hash, mix, and press mixture back into bottom of pan. Repeat every two minutes, until brown crusty bits appear throughout, about ten minutes total.

3. Add a swirl of Sriracha, if desired, and serve.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up!
  

Fruit Salad With Honey-Yogurt Sauce

This was another dish that I made for my brunch themed supper club.  As easy as fruit salad is to make it's a bit time-consuming with all of the peeling, chopping, etc. Plus, you have to eat it pretty quickly or it gets kind of mushy.  I loved the honey-yogurt sauce on top of the fruit.  It was slightly sweet and citrusy which complimented the fruit nicely.  It was nice to have something light on the table with the egg casserole, hash browns, muffins, etc.! My kids lucked out because there was some leftover fruit salad which they gobbled up!  I'm linking this recipe up to This Weeks Cravings at Moms Crazy Cooking blog. 

Fruit Salad with Honey-Yogurt Sauce
from Cooking Light, November 2004

Ingredients:
1 cup vanilla low-fat yogurt
1 tablespoon honey
1 1/2 teaspoons grated lime rind
3 cups cubed pineapple (about 1 medium)
1 1/2 cups chopped Braeburn apple (about 1 large)
1 cup orange sections (about 2 oranges)
1 cup chopped peeled kiwi (about 2 large)
1/3 cup flaked sweetened coconut
1 medium banana, sliced
1/4 cup slivered almonds, toasted

Preparation:
Combine yogurt, honey, and lime rind in a small bowl.

Combine pineapple and next 4 ingredients (through coconut) in a large bowl; toss gently to combine. Just before serving, stir in banana. Top fruit mixture with yogurt sauce; sprinkle with almonds.

Family Rating: 2 thumbs up!

Mimosa Muffins

I am happy that I can be joining This Week's Cravings over at Moms Crazy Cooking again.  It's been awhile, since I don't always make a recipe that goes with the "Craving of the Week."  Last month's supper club theme though was brunch.  So over the next few days I will post and link up the recipes that my husband and I made.  Normally, the couple hosting that month's supper club will make the protein/main dish and then everyone else is free to pick whatever they want to make to go with it - appetizer, side, salad, dessert, etc.  Several years ago we had done a brunch theme, so to add to this month's challenge, we didn't want to make anything that was made at that supper club so very long ago.  Seeing what everyone else was making I thought a muffin would be nice.  As my husband says, muffins are just an excuse to eat cake for breakfast!  These muffins looked different and with the champagne definitely said "adult."  We ate these pretty soon after they came out of the oven.  They were so fluffy from all the baking powder!  The orange flavor was much more pronounced than the champagne, so we even let the kids try some of the leftovers.  I recommend eating the first day!  The leftovers lost some of the moistness over the course of the next few days.

Mimosa Muffins
recipe from Inspired by Charm which was actually a guest post from No. 2 Pencil

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups of all-pupose flour
1/2 cup of sugar
4 teaspoons of baking powder
1/2 teaspoon of kosher salt
zest of two large oranges - 1 teaspoon reserved for glaze
1 cup of champagne (sparkling wine)
1 stick of melted butter
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon of pure vanilla extract

For the glaze:
1 cup of powdered sugar
2 Tablespoons of freshly squeezed orange juice
1 teaspoon of orange zest

Directions:
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in a large mixing bowl. Add zest from two oranges and whisk into dry ingredients. Don't forget to reserve a teaspoon of zest for the glaze. In a separate smaller bowl, combine melted butter, champagne, eggs and vanilla and stir together. Then add wet mixture to dry ingredients and stir, just until combined.
Divide batter evenly among the cupcake pan, and bake for about 18 minutes, or until light golden brown.

Remove muffins from oven, and prepare glaze while they begin to cool. Spoon glaze over muffins while they are still warm, not hot. If the muffins are very hot, the glaze will run off too quickly.

Mommy & Daddy Rating: 2 thumbs up!

Smoked Chile Scalloped Sweet Potatoes

Our supper club theme this past month was Chef Bobby Flay.  Bobby Flay is varied in that he does a lot of grilling and then he also is famous for his "Southwest" style and flavors.  I chose to make a potato side dish. I debated between white potatoes and sweet potatoes.  But this recipe got more positive reviews so I went with it.  I'm so glad that I did.  It couldn't get any easier to make and it was so tasty...but really, I think anything with 2 cups of heavy cream would probably taste good!  It was creamy with a little heat.  It could have even had a little more heat.  Although I don't usually repeat recipes, I will definitely be making this dish again soon!

Smoked Chile Scalloped Sweet Potatoes
Recipe from foodnetwork.com - Courtesy of Bobby Flay, Boy Meets Grill

Prep Time:  10 minutes
Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes

Yield:  4-6 servings

Ingredients:
2 cups heavy cream
1 heaping tablespoon chipotle pepper puree
3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced 1/8-inch thick
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Whisk together cream and chipotle puree until smooth.

In a 9 by 9-inch casserole dish, arrange the potatoes in even layers. Drizzle with 3 tablespoons of the cream mixture and season with salt and pepper. Repeat with the remaining potatoes, cream, and salt and pepper to form 10 layers.

Cover and bake for 30 minutes, remove cover and continue baking for 45 minutes to 1 hour, or until the cream has been absorbed and the potatoes are cooked through and the top is browned.

Mommy & Daddy Rating: 2 thumbs up!