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How To Make Grilled Cheese

by Wendi9 Comments on How To Make Grilled Cheese

Perfect Grilled Cheese

It’s funny how if you stop and think about it, you never stop having opportunities to learn.  I am well past my days as a student in the academic sense.  And yet I continue to be a student of life.

In the last year alone I have learned important life skills such as how to change a flat tire, how to snake a drain, and how to reset my garbage disposal.  These are all good things to know and can get you out of a jam from time to time.  So I lump them into category of things I know and hope that I won’t have to use.

But maybe just as important are the things I’ve learned from our Tater Tot, and these I consider to be life lessons with daily applications.  What’s the number one lesson I’ve learned from my child?  It is that I can have a bad moment but still have a good day.  Many of you already know this lesson but for me this is like trying to master a new language.

All my life, if something didn’t go exactly according to plan it threw me off.  A disagreement left me disagreeable for the whole day.  A perceived slight had me fuming and indignant.  I got good at being prickly and stabby. I might say “let’s agree to disagree” but in my head I would be listing the ways that you were wrong and I was right.

And then I began to see how Libby could go from a full on meltdown one minute (or two, or ten) back to happy the next.  Thanks to her developing understanding about wanting everything she sees, she gets upset in the morning when she sees us walking around getting dressed and ready for the day while she is left in her crib.  There are tears.  There are sobs. Sometimes, there is wailing.  And it goes on for what seems like forever (especially at 6:30 in the morning). But eventually she pulls herself together, sits down in the crib, and plays with a toy.  And you would never know that only minutes before this happy, content, singing baby was a shrieking, whirling dervish.

So what does my 10 month old know that I don’t?  Maybe that it is ok to be upset or angry but once you’ve said as much it’s time to let go and move on.  She doesn’t hold a grudge against us because we put her in the crib, won’t let her crawl into the dishwasher, or keep her hands out of the cat food dish.  Granted, I won’t give you an up-arms hug or wet kiss the way Libby does after she’s calmed down but I might not be shooting mental daggers your way either.  Let’s call that progress, shall we?

Grilled Cheese

Adapted from Bon Appetit

BAH Note:  This is more a process than a recipe.  But the two step approach produces perfectly browned toast on the outside with melty cheese goodness on the inside.  No flipping required.  Of all the life lessons of the past year, this one comes in just below not letting a bad moment lead to a bad day.  Can you blame me?

  • Bread
  • Butter
  • Cheese

Heat your oven to 400 degrees and line a sheet pan with foil.

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add two slices of bread to the pan and cook until the bottom of the bread is crisp and browned.  Transfer the bread to the sheet pan, toasted side down.  Top one slice of bread with the cheese and place the second slice of bread, toasted side up, on top of the cheese.  Bake for approximately 5 minutes or until the cheese is melted.

Carefully remove from the oven and enjoy.

{printable recipe}

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Pimento Cheese

by Wendi13 Comments on Pimento Cheese

8421576412_62da4af718_bOnce upon a time, not so long ago, my routine went something like this:

  • Get up
  • Go to work
  • Come home
  • Dinner
  • Go to bed

Interspersed, at totally random intervals, were things like:

  • Run errands
  • Meet friends for coffee/drinks/dinner
  • Read a book
  • Take pictures
  • Cook, leisurely
  • Nap

There were also regular reoccurring chores that worked their way into the day as needed:

  • Laundry
  • Dishes
  • Cat box
  • Trash

It was a pretty relaxed schedule where, between me and The Mistah, things got done and we still had bits of time to do with as we wished.  And then we became parents.

Between the little person who was now relying on us for every aspect of her care and the deficit of sleep that The Mistah and I were running, I had to write down reminders to myself of even the most basic things to do during the day:

  • Load dishwasher
  • Run dishwasher
  • Put away dishes
  • Wash bottles
  • Wash formula jug
  • Make formula
  • Fill bottles
  • Sweep
  • Scoop cat box
  • Wash baby clothes
  • Trash
  • Put away clothes
  • Empty diaper genie

Depending on the day in question, some of those things might need to be done more than once….so lather, rinse, repeat as necessary.  And then, once Libby started daycare, we had to fit all that in either before or after the end of the work day.  I have to be honest, it has not been easy to maintain some aspects of our life to the same degree as we did before becoming parents.  I don’t cook like I used to…gone are the days of leisurely preparing meals.  I need to maximize the efficiency of what time I get in the kitchen and get food on the table.  And sadly, the other casualty is the state of the house itself.  We have tumbleweeds of cat hair rolling around the hard wood floors, multiplying like Tribbles; clean clothes mound up and take up residence in our bedroom instead of being folded, hung, and put away; and I swear the house itself has shrunk.  We didn’t use to have a lot of clutter.  But now piles and stacks and heaps have become the norm instead of the exception.

And I’ve decided to stop beating myself up about it.  Because these things are the result of choosing to spend time with Libby.  Yes, I could put her in her crib and spend a weekend afternoon (or a Tuesday night) braising or baking, cleaning and organizing.  But she is only ever going to be this age once.  If I miss out on helping her discover the world around her now, I don’t get a second chance later.  So maybe I choose to use a quiet weeknight after she’s gone to bed to sew her a bib instead of sweeping up tumbleweeds of cat hair.  Don’t get me wrong, a clean, tidy house gives me inner peace.  But seeing her wear her bib like a superhero cape and “fly” gives me way more joy.

So, if you happen to pop in to say hi or we set up a date for you to come over for a leisurely visit, I ask that you kindly turn a blind eye to the state of my house.  I’ll do my best to make things somewhat presentable.  I may even manage to pull together a little something for us to nibble on.  And I will most certainly try and distract you with adorable baby cheeks and squeals.

Pimento Cheese

Adapted from Biscuits and Such

BAH Note: I love Elena’s experience and tradition of hand kneeding the pimento cheese in a ziplock bag.  Seriously, if I had luxury of time these days, I’d give that a try.  And I totally see that becoming one of Libby’s ways to help me in the kitchen and introduce her to cooking.  But right now, time is not on my side so I turn to the food processor.  Whichever way you choose to make this delightful spread is perfectly acceptable.

Serve on crackers, spooned into the cavity of a celery stalk, or eat right from the spoon.  Much like my housekeeping choices these days, there’s no right or wrong, only what works for you.

  • 8 ounces sharp cheddar cheese (go for something with serious bite here)
  • 2 to 4 tablespoons mayo
  • 4 ounces diced pimento, drained (look for this in a jar at the grocery store)

Using the shredding disk of your food processor, shred the cheddar.  Dump the shredded cheese out of the workbowl onto a sheet of parchment, foil, or paper towel and replace the shredding blade with the regular blade.  Return the cheddar to the food processor and add 2 tablespoons mayo and the drained pimento.  Process, adding the additional mayo as necessary, until you reach your desired consistency.

{printable recipe}

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Peach Preserves

by WendiLeave a Comment on Peach Preserves

Peach Preserves

Adapted from Ball Blue Book Guide to Preserving

BAH Note: I took this base preserve recipe and made three different batches of preserves.  One was plain peach preserves.  The second was a ginger peach preserve (added ground ginger to taste to the base recipe).  The third was habernero peach preserve (added a few splashes of hot sauce to the base recipe).  No matter if you fancy it up or not, it’s good stuff.

  • 4 cups peach slices (from about 4 pounds peaches)
  • 1 package powdered pectin
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice
  • 7 cups sugar

Working in batches, blanch the peaches in boiling water for about one minute.  Remove with a slotted spoon or spider strainer and transfer the peaches to a towel lined board to cool.  Use a pairing knife to remove the skins and then pit and slice the peaches.

Combine the peach slices, pectin, and lemon juice in a dutch oven or large non-reactive pot.  Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring occasionally.  Add the sugar, stirring until it is dissolved, and bring to a rolling boil.  Boil hard for 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Remove from the heat, ladle the jam into heated jars, leaving 1/4 inch head space, and process for 10 minutes.

Let the jars cool for 24 hours before checking the seal and storing the jars. Any jars that have not sealed should be refrigerated or immediately reprocessed using new lids.

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Rosemary Beef Tenderloin

by Wendi2 Comments on Rosemary Beef Tenderloin

Rosemary Beef Tenderloin

Adapted from Saveur

  • 2 pounds beef tenderloin, trimmed and tied
  • 1/2 cup canola oil, divided
  • 3 tablespoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons butter

Combine the rosemary, garlic, a pinch of kosher salt, and half the oil in a small bowl.  Rub the mixture all over the tenderloin, transfer the tenderloin to a platter or piece of foil, and let sit at room temperature for 45 minutes to 1 hour.

Heat your oven to 425 degrees.  Melt the butter and remaining oil over medium heat in an ovenproof frying pan.  Add the tenderloin to the pan and brown on all sides.

Transfer the frying pan to the oven and roast until an instant read thermometer inserted in the thickest part of the tenderloin registers 125 to 130 degrees for medium rare or 140 degrees for medium.

Remove the tenderloin from the oven, loosely tent the frying pan with foil, and let the meat rest for 20 minutes before serving.

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Pork and Sweet Potato Stew

by WendiLeave a Comment on Pork and Sweet Potato Stew

Just because I made this stew in the Advantium doesn’t mean you can’t tinker with the recipe and make it in your oven.  Your cooking time will be longer in the oven.

Pork and Sweet Potato Stew

Adapted from The GE Advantium Cookbook

BAH Note: I finally figured out how to cut sweet potato into perfect cubes.  Cut a thin slice off of one long side of the sweet potato.  Rotate the sweet potato so that the flat side is down on your cutting board.  Now cut a thin slice off of the left and right side of the sweet potato.  Rotate the sweet potato one more so that the last uncut side is accessible and cut a thin slice off it.  You’ve basically just squared your sweet potato.  Cut the pointy (or rounded) ends and remove any remaining peel.  Cut the sweet potato lengthwise into 1/4 inch thick “boards”.  Lay each “board” on your cutting surface and cut them lengthwise into 1/4 inch sticks.  Cut the sticks into cubes.  Viola!

  • 2 pounds pork tenderloin, cut into 1 inch medallions
  • 1 large onion, diced (or 1 cup butter braised onions)
  • 1 red pepper, diced
  • l large sweet potato, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (approximately 2 cups)
  • 1 1/2 cups apple cider (can substitute chicken broth)
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
  • 1/2 teaspoon cumin
  • 1/4 teaspoon allspice
  • 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
  • 2 medium apples, peeled, cored, and diced
  • 1/4 cup sliced green onion

Lightly coat a 4 quart casserole dish with cooking spray and add the pork, onion, and diced red pepper.  Microwave on power level 7 for 10 minutes.  Carefully remove the dish from the Advantium and stir the contents.

Add the sweet potato, apple cider, salt, paprika, cumin, allspice and red pepper flakes to the casserole dish.  Cover and place in the Advantium on the metal baking tray (use potholders to remove the glass tray).

Press the SpeedCook button then scroll to My Recipes, New Recipe.  Set the cook time for 20 minutes and then use the following settings: U=4, L=4, M=5.  After 20 minutes, carefully remove the casserole dish, add the apples and stir.  Cover and continue to cook another 10 to 15 minutes at the same settings until the pork is done.

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Melissa’s Sour Cream Biscuits

by WendiLeave a Comment on Melissa’s Sour Cream Biscuits

Sour Cream Biscuits

Adapted from Melissa d’Arabian

  • 4 tablespoons butter, cubed and frozen for 15 – 20 minutes
  • 1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
  • 1 tablespoon baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
  • 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
  • 1/2 cup sour cream
  • 1 to 2 tablespoons buttermilk, heavy cream, or half and half (may not be needed)

Heat your oven to 425 degrees and line a half sheet pan with parchment.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, oregano, and salt in the food processor and pulse a few times.  Add the frozen butter and pulse until the mixture looks like crumbly like wet sand.  Add the sour cream and pulse until the dough comes together.  If your dough is still dry and crumbly, sprinkle the dough with the buttermilk (heavy cream or half and half) a teaspoon at a time and process just until the dough comes together.

Turn the dough out onto your prepared sheet pan and pat it into a thick circle, about 4 inches across.  Using a bench scraper, cut the dough into 6 wedges and spread them out on your sheet pan.  Bake for 12 to 15 minutes.

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Flashback Friday – Matchmaker

by Wendi2 Comments on Flashback Friday – Matchmaker

Flashback Friday

The following originally appeared on 4/27/09 at Exit 51.

Matchmaker

Did you know I can see into the future?  Sometimes, I can.  And in your future I see scallops with balsamic glaze.  This will not happen right away.  No, it will take some time.  But I do see you together.

Glazed

How can I possibly know this?  I know because this was a recipe I tested for Cook’s Illustrated.  The final recipe should appear in CI sometime later this year.   Until then, you will just have to take my word that I think the two of you will really hit it off.

I wonder whether the published version will offer suggestions about how to use leftover balsamic reduction?  Because I’ve got a small container of it sitting in my fridge.  So far, the only idea I’ve had is to spoon it over sliced pound cake.  I’m not sure which is the better idea, making more scallops or getting more pound cake.

This seeing the future is tricky business.

Sauced

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Blackberry Syrup

by Wendi18 Comments on Blackberry Syrup

Expectations.  There’s a loaded gun just waiting for someone to pull the trigger and spray a barrage of emotionally painful bullets.  How often do our expectations trip us up?

There’s the expectations we have of ourselves. The idea that we should be able to get it all done – family, work, outside interests…the things we have to do and the things we want to do.  Yeah, I can see that leading to a case of poor self esteem when I find myself exhausted at 11pm, baking cupcakes for tomorrow’s office birthday celebration, because I just had to { fill in the blank } before I could get to it.  Our to-do lists are never ending and yet we still trick ourselves into believing that somehow we should be the exception to the rule.  We SHOULD be able to perfectly balance all of the demands for our time and attention.  It looks effortless in the magazines that sell us on the idea that if we only do ‘x’ we can lose 10 pounds overnight, plan the perfect wedding, be the ideal spouse or parent, and our life will be perfect.  I have yet to meet the person who has managed that feat.

Then there’s the expectations we have of others.  Like my expectations that people I hardly know will not ask me questions about things that are clearly none of their business.  Things like my bank statement and my feelings about whether parenthood is right for me are completely inappropriate topics of conversation unless you also happen to be intimately involved in that part of my life.  Or are my therapist.  And yet those wildly inappropriate questions still come my way without a second thought.

To go back to the gun metaphor here, I think the 50 caliber ammunition shell of expectations has to be the ones we have of the members of our families.  For instance, I expect The Mistah to somehow intuit what I’m thinking or feeling without me having to say a word.  We’ve been together for nine years.  Shouldn’t he have developed that sixth sense by now?  We expect the people closest to us to act and react the way we think we would in any given situation, to have the exact same values we do, and to somehow “know” the right thing to say to us at all times.  Talk about a powerful weapon capable of inflicting pain and suffering.

But my friends, there is a solution.  It is as simple as taking the bullets out of the guns we carry daily in our emotional holsters and replacing them with something else.  It is as simple as changing our expectations.  By reframing how we see something, and what we expect to get out of a situation, we have the power to turn that rifle shooting 50 cal bullets into a toy gun that blows bubbles.

So when I’m feeling especially prickly and cranky…which really could be any given day…instead of assuming The Mistah’s spidey senses are on full alert and getting frustrated with him because he didn’t unload the dishwasher or he left his stinky Army gear in the middle of the floor, I can remind myself that despite his many wonderful skills, mindreading is not one of them.  If I want the dishes put away or the gear moved elsewhere I should either ask him to do it or do it myself.  Regardless of which choice I choose, I have no reason to be disappointed by The Mistah.  I’ve taken a deadly 50 caliber bullet and turned it into a harmless emulsion of soap and water.

What’s my point here?  The next time you reach into your emotional holster for whatever you load your expectations into, ask yourself this question…”am I shooting bullets or blowing bubbles”.

Blackberry Syrup

Adapted from Food In Jars

BAH Note:  I set out to make blackberry jam.  Despite following Marisa’s directions to the letter, my jam never set up.  I felt defeated.  I felt disappointed.  I felt like a loser.  And then it occurred to me that while I failed at making jam, I had succeeded in making syrup.  I let my expectations cut me down initially, but once I reframed them, they took on a delicious new flavor.

  • 8 to 9 cups of blackberries
  • 4 cups sugar
  • 2 teaspoons cinnamon
  • juice and zest of 1 lemon

Working in batches, blitz your blackberries in the food processor until they are good and pureed.  Pour the puree through a fine mesh strainer, working the juice through with a spoon.

Bring the blackberry juice and sugar to a simmer in a large, non-reactive (think enameled cast iron or stainless steel) pot over medium heat.  Stir in the cinnamon, lemon juice, and zest and bring to a low boil, stirring frequently.  Cook until the mixture has thickened to your desired consistency then carefully transfer the syrup to jars for storage in the refrigerator.

For longer storage, ladle the jam into heated jars (with new lids), leaving 1/4 inch head space, and process for 10 minutes.

Let the jars cool for 24 hours before checking the seal and storing the jars. Any jars that have not sealed should be refrigerated or immediately reprocessed using new lids.