lara – Page 68 – Feed Your Kids

Hummus

Hummus, garnished with paprika and black sesame seeds Hummus (a very easy, yummy, healthy snack) 1 can garbanzo beans (chick peas), drained (reserve the liquid) juice of 1 lemon 2 – 3 cloves garlic, cut into small chunks 1/4 cup tahini (sesame seed paste) 2 Tbsp. olive oil tiny sprinkle of salt any other flavorings/seasonings … Continue reading “Hummus”

Hummus, garnished with paprika and black sesame seeds

Hummus
(a very easy, yummy, healthy snack)

1 can garbanzo beans (chick peas), drained (reserve the liquid)
juice of 1 lemon
2 – 3 cloves garlic, cut into small chunks
1/4 cup tahini (sesame seed paste)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
tiny sprinkle of salt
any other flavorings/seasonings you might like (cumin, paprika, etc.), to sprinkle on top

Throw all of the ingredients in the blender and puree until smooth, adding some of the reserved garbanzo liquid, if necessary, to reach the right consistency.

Serve with celery sticks, bell pepper strips, cucumber rounds, baby carrots, cherry tomatoes, pita chips or other dipper of your choice or spread inside half of a pita pocket for a sandwich (add sprouts or whatever else you or your little people might like).

If I’m serving this for adults at a party, I will sprinkle a few black sesame seeds (try an Asian market) over the top and garnish with a couple of Italian parsley or cilantro leaves sticking out of the dip.

Chicken a la King, or Emeril’s “Yummy Creamy Chicken”

OK, OK, so it’s not gourmet, but this is actually really tasty. It’s one of Boy and Girl’s absolute favorites. I actually get “Yay! Chicken a la King!”. Really. Hubby really likes it, too. To make it really fancy, you can add a little (1 -2 Tbsp.) finely chopped Italian parsley. It’s a recipe from … Continue reading “Chicken a la King, or Emeril’s “Yummy Creamy Chicken””

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It’s a recipe from Emeril’s There’s a Chef in My Soup cookbook for kids. This is a REALLY great cookbook. Emeril calls this “Yummy Creamy Chicken” (recipe here), but it’s really basically just a good version of Chicken a la King. This recipe is also another use for the “Baby Bam” seasoning that I mentioned that I use when I make croutons.

Cooking the veggies and chicken.

I didn’t have any frozen green peas today, so I used cut green beans, instead. I also usually use white onions, since I don’t normally keep yellow ones around. I also used the leftover Sweet Potato Biscuits from New Year’s Day, instead of making the normal Buttermilk Biscuits that I usually serve this on top of (recipe for those later).

This is one of our “tried and true” recipes. I almost always have the main ingredients around: carrot, onion, celery, bell pepper, frozen peas, chicken and chicken stock, so I can throw it together in a hurry. I already made a chicken pot pie out of tonight’s leftovers (poured the leftover Chicken a la King into a pan lined with Pillsbury pie crust); I’ll let you know how it goes.

FYI: The “Holy Trinity” of French cooking is onion, celery and carrot (mirepoix). The “Holy Trinity” of Cajun/Louisiana/Emeril-style cooking is onion, celery and bell pepper. By the way, Paul Prudhomme said that WAAAAAAY before anyone even knew who Emeril was.

Beignets/French Doughnuts

Boy and Girl started back to school today, after the Christmas holiday, so I wanted them to have a really nice breakfast. French doughnuts (beignets) are one of their favorites, although they are kind of a pain in the neck to make on a busy morning and they do make the house smell like grease for the rest of the day. We served these with some scrambled eggs and a fruit-yogurt smoothie. I must admit that I do routinely use a mix to make these, but I adapt the recipe a tad and add a little cinnamon, a little more water and cut them smaller than the mix makers recommend. I always use Cafe du Monde’s mix and generally don’t have a problem finding it here in Texas (although I did have some momentary, selfish and ultimately, unfounded, panic about this after Hurricane Katrina), but if it is hard to find in your area, you can order off Cafe du Monde’s website or try a Cost Plus World Market store.

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This is the Beignet mix that I use.

Beignets, rolled and cut, ready to be fried. I cut the rolled dough into strips about 2 inches wide, then cut across the strips to make squares/rectangles. This is a half-batch (1 cup mix to about 5 oz. of water and 1/4 tsp cinnamon). If I’m making them for company, I make more of an effort to cut them into more attractive, uniform, diamond-shaped pieces, but I was in a hurry today.

After frying, draining on paper towel. These are maybe just a TAD overdone, but still OK. I wasn’t patient enough this morning to mess with the thermometer to check the oil temperature. It’s also really important to use the right size pan and enough oil to allow the doughnuts to “float” as they cook – you don’t want to dough to be able to touch the bottom of the pan.

After being dusted with the absolutely crucial powdered sugar. The kids (OK, me, too…..) like to have an additional small mound of powdered sugar on their plates for “dipping/coating” after each bite.

I have enjoyed eating these since I was a little kid. I grew up in East Texas, just across the border from Louisiana, in an area strongly influenced by “Cajun” culture (gumbo recipe coming soon), and spent a lot of time at my grandparent’s house. My grandmother used to make these all the time. My grandfather and I would always pretend to “fight” for the last one, but, in the end, he would always let me have it. XOXO Pappaw!

New Year’s Day Menu

New Year’s Day Menu Click on names below for links to recipes. “Texas Caviar” (Black-Eyed Pea dip), served with Fritos “Scoops” chips (served as an appetizer, recipe below) Hickory Ham with Jezebel Sauce and Sweet Potato Biscuits (I made the Jezebel sauce in the blender to get it really smooth and set aside a little … Continue reading “New Year’s Day Menu”

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New Year’s Day Menu
Click on names below for links to recipes.

“Texas Caviar” (Black-Eyed Pea dip), served with Fritos “Scoops” chips
(served as an appetizer, recipe below)

Hickory Ham with Jezebel Sauce and Sweet Potato Biscuits
(I made the Jezebel sauce in the blender to get it really smooth and set aside a little bit of it, before adding the spicy hot horseradish, for the kids.)

Roasted Brussel Sprouts with Pancetta

Potato Gratin with Creme Fraiche and Gruyere
(too delicious for words and VERY easy)

Winter-Spiced Molten Chocolate Cakes with Rum-Ginger Ice Cream
(Last year, my sis-in-law said this was the best dessert she’s ever eaten.)

“Big As Your Head” Cinnamon Meringues
(adapted from this recipe – I made a batch and a half, with 12 egg whites, and used 1 tsp. vanilla and 1 tsp. McCormick’s new cinnamon extract, plus a couple of shakes of ground cinnamon.)

Ever since we’ve had kids, we have preferred to stay home on New Year’s Eve and watch Dick Clark (ever tried to find a babysitter for New Year’s Eve? Impossible!). We leave the crazy partying to the youngsters and celebrate the next day. This has become our traditional family New Year’s Day meal. We also tape a dime (Boy and Girl usually do this) to the bottom of each dinner plate before we put them out on the buffet (keep reading to find out why).

I first made these chocolate cakes (cover recipe of January 2004 Bon Appetit magazine) for a potluck going-away dinner party for some friends that were moving to Hong Kong (will be great to have you back stateside soon, Neaglis!). I didn’t cook them long enough the first time and they ran all over the plates – we had to rush them out to dining room to make sure they wouldn’t drip off the edge, but they were so tasty, I knew that I had to try them again. I made them again last New Year’s and they were a huge hit. I knew then that we had a new traditional New Year’s dessert. MANY MANY MANY thanks to Hubby, who went out on New Year’s Eve at 10:00 pm to buy more chocolate, after I mistakenly bought sweet instead of bittersweet – couldn’t have done it without you, Honey! Recipe tip: You have to work REALLY quickly to get these unmolded, garnished and served. The ice cream is softer than usual (it doesn’t freeze as “hard” as regular ice cream once you add the rum) and the cake is warm, so the ice cream will melt if you don’t move fast. Definitely slice the thin pieces of crystallized ginger for garnish ahead of time. Toss them with a little bit of plain, granulated sugar to coat them so that they don’t stick together and keep them in a small, airtight container until you’re ready for them.

The meringues were an afterthought – after using all of those eggs and yolks for the cakes, I couldn’t bear to throw away 12 egg whites, so I whipped up a batch of meringues. They finished baking right as the clock was striking midnight (but, of course, had to stay in the oven overnight afterward). It turned out that I didn’t bake them QUITE long enough and they were pretty chewy, but VERY tasty. They were a big hit with Boy and Girl, so I will probably try them again. Of course, then I’ll have to throw away egg yolks…..guess I’ll have to make Hollandaise or Zabaglione.

“Texas Caviar” Black-Eyed Pea Dip
(adapted from the GREAT Junior League of Austin cookbook, Necessities and Temptations.
I forgot to take a photo of this, but it looks more like a relish or salad than a conventional, smooth dip, since the peas remain whole. It is pretty and colorful, though, and is fairly healthy.

***REQUIRES ADVANCE PREPARATION***
This warning is for my BF, Eileen, who routinely starts to prepare the evening’s dinner without reading the recipe in advance, only to find that she’s overlooked a step that says “marinate overnight” or “allow bread cubes to sit overnight to dry” or “refrigerate overnight to completely cool”. It’s a charming little quirk that has the side benefit of giving us (me, Hubby and Ei’s hubby) lots of amusement at her expense. XOXO, Ei!

2 packages fresh black-eyed peas
(don’t remember how many ounces were in the bags of peas that I bought, but I think they were each about 2 cups)
3 to 4 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
3/4 cup olive oil
3 Tbsp. white balsamic vinegar
1 medium to large-sized white onion, finely chopped
2 green bell peppers, finely chopped
4 bay leaves, torn in half
salt and pepper to taste
a sprinkle of chopped fresh Italian parsley or cilantro, if desired

Cook peas (I cover them with water and microwave them for 20 – 30 minutes until softened, but not mushy) according to package directions. Drain. Combine all ingredients and pour into an airtight Tupperware-type container and refrigerate for at least 24 hours before serving, stirring once every 8 hours or so, if you think about it. Serve cold or at room temperature with Fritos “Scoops” chips.

It is also a family tradition to have someone (Girl, this year) read this as we are loading up our plates, so that we’ll remember what each item is supposed to “do”:

New Year’s Day Reading:
It is considered bad luck to wash, sign contracts or cry on January 1st. So, settle back with a serving of black-eyed peas for luck, cabbage for money, a slice of ham to look ahead (pigs root forward), and a dime under your plate for wealth and health all year long. No questions today, just answers to make the rest of the year as merry and bright as the holidays.

Texas Breakfast Tacos

OK, so Boy and Girl are getting a little sick of the leftover potatoes, but this was the end of them. I took the leftover Garlic-Onion Home Fries, some browned, crumbled, low-fat breakfast sausage, some scrambled eggs and a little cheddar, stuffed it inside a whole wheat tortilla and there you have it….a Texas breakfast staple. A BIG hit with hubby (he doused them in Sriracha, as usual) and Girl, but Boy didn’t like the tortilla (it was a low-carb brand that I have to admit wasn’t very tasty – won’t be buying those again) and ate the filling out of his taco with a fork. The one in the photo is mine – I don’t like eggs in mine (just potato, sausage and cheese).

Mini Sloppy Joe Sliders and Garlic-Onion Home Fries

OK, so I used Manwich canned sauce (tons of sodium and high fructose corn syrup) to make these, but Boy and Girl LOVE these. To make them a bit healthier, I used bison (VERY low fat) meat from my in-laws’ farm (my in-laws don’t raise them, but have an arrangement with the producer to re-sell it), added a can of organic pinto beans (drained and rinsed to get rid of the excess salt) and served them on mini whole wheat dinner rolls, to cut the portion size. Add a salad and it turns into something pretty healthy. Bison meat (same as buffalo, I think?) is really healthy, but we do find it to be a tad “gamey” to eat on it’s own. It’s OK, though, if it’s going in a tomato sauce or will be pretty heavily seasoned. Hubby made some great ravioli with it for Christmas Eve dinner, but I forgot to take a photo – DRAT!

The potatoes were some of the leftover boiled fingerlings from Christmas dinner (before they got smashed, buttered, parsleyed and horseradish creme fraiched). I cut them into chunks, heated some olive oil in a pan over high heat, added the potatoes and cooked them on high, tossing/turning every few minutes, until they were crusty and browned all over. Then, I set the potatoes aside in the serving dish, added a tiny bit more oil to the pan and added 2 minced garlic cloves and about 1/4 cup finely chopped onion and sauteed those until soft, then added the potatoes back in (I was afraid that if I sauteed the onion and garlic with the potatoes, that they would get too brown and bitter before the potatoes were done).

This dinner was a big hit with Boy and Girl!

Baked Banana French Toast

From left to right: Cream Cheese-filled, Strawberry-filled, Original banana-filled. This French Toast was yummy, crusty, rich, sweet and flavorful. I tried two other fillings, in addition to the original banana, which is very good. Girl doesn’t care for bananas, so I made a strawberry paste by simmering and mashing some frozen strawberries with a little … Continue reading “Baked Banana French Toast”

From left to right:
Cream Cheese-filled, Strawberry-filled, Original banana-filled.

This French Toast was yummy, crusty, rich, sweet and flavorful. I tried two other fillings, in addition to the original banana, which is very good. Girl doesn’t care for bananas, so I made a strawberry paste by simmering and mashing some frozen strawberries with a little water until it was thick and pasty and used that to stuff the toast instead of the banana. That was very yummy. The other version was with sweetened cream cheese; I added a sprinkle or two of cinnamon and about 1 Tbsp of sugar to half a brick of lowfat cream cheese and used that in place of the banana. That one is my favorite.

The great thing about this recipe is that a lot of it can be done in advance (making the creme anglaise) and that it bakes, so you don’t have to babysit and turn the French toast on a griddle while it’s cooking.

A Pullman pan is the culinary term for the long, rectangular (square when viewed from the “end”) loaf pans that bakeries use to make sandwich loaves in. Some Pullman pans have lids that slide over the top to keep the bread from rising so much, so that the baked bread will have a dense “crumb”. I did have to special-order the Pullman-pan brioche from my local grocery store, since they normally only make brioche rolls, and not loaves. If I looked around, I could probably find a store that makes it regularly, but, I just ordered it then cut the crusts off and cut it into 3-inch thick slices and froze it until I was ready to use it this morning and that worked fine. I do think that using brioche is worth it – it made it really light and flavorful.

I cooked the creme anglaise a little too long, so it was really thick. I actually made a half-batch of the toast this morning, but made a full batch of the creme anglaise, thinking that I would put the leftover creme in the fridge to make it again another day soon, but because my creme turned out so thick, I actually used the whole batch of creme for a half-batch of bread.

I found that it took longer than 12 minutes to bake, but that may have been because I over-soaked my toast in the double batch of thickened creme.

This recipe was adapted from Brunch by Marc Meyer and Peter Meehan, but I saw it when it was published in the February 2006 issue of House Beautiful. I’ve looked for the recipe online, so that I could link it for you, but haven’t been able to find it. I don’t own the cookbook, but it looks like a really good one. The authors are the owners of the Five Points Restaurant in New York. Boy and Girl really loved this, as did Hubby.

Baked Banana French Toast

For creme anglaise:
4 egg yolks
1/4 cup sugar
pinch of salt
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup warm heavy cream

For the French toast:
1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
1 loaf Pullman brioche or similar bread, crust removed

about 4 very ripe bananas, mashed
warmed maple syrup

Prepare creme anglaise: Whisk together egg yolks, sugar, salt and vanilla in a pan. Whisk in 2 Tablespoons cream. Add remaining cream, whisking constantly. Cook, over medium low heat, stirring constantly, until sauce barely coats the back of a wooden spoon. Pour sauce into a shallow bowl and let cool.

Prepare French toast: Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly butter a sheet pan and place in oven.

Cut bread into 8 3-inch-thick slices. Cut each slice diagonally into 2 triangles. Cut a slit into the wide side of the wedge, creating a pocket. Fill pockets with mashed banana.

Dip stuffed bread slices into sauce, lightly coating each side. Place slices on preheated pan and bake until golden brown, about 12 minutes. Serve with maple syrup. Serves 8.

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The photo that was in the article with the original recipe had the toast pictured like this, with 2 slices together, filling sides together, but I served them differently. I think that they must have baked the slices together that way, since their slices fit together that way better than mine, but I placed my slices on the baking sheet with the filling side up, so that side would toast and the filling wouldn’t be soggy. I also didn’t make any effort to “pair up” the bread slices that had originally been together before the bread was diagonally sliced.

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I think that the toast looks better served like this, with the slices angled up off the plate, filling sides up.

My mother’s “Jailhouse” Rolls

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My mother used to be an assistant district attorney in Beaumont, Texas. The county jail was in the same building, a few floors above. The jail cafeteria made these rolls regularly (at least when the grand jury was in session, I don’t think they made them for the prisoners), and they smelled so good while my mother was at work that she had to ask for the recipe. They are a holiday MUST for our family now. My mother and I used to make pans and pans of them to give as teacher gifts at Christmas and it would be unthinkable to have a meal with the extended family without them. My kids (and Hubby, and my dad) go CRAZY for them. They are rich, moist, yeasty and YUMMY. My mother insists that using margarine (instead of butter) and instant mashed potatoes (instead of “real” ones) provides a lighter texture. That does go against my real/slow/whole food philosophy, but I must admit that I wouldn’t change a thing about the way these rolls taste, so she must be right.

“Jailhouse” Rolls

1 cup mashed potatoes (reconstituted instant ones recommended)
2 sticks margarine
3 eggs
7 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cups lukewarm water
1 package dry yeast
1 scant teaspoon salt

Mix yeast in water; blend and set aside. Mix potatoes, eggs, margarine, sugar and salt. Add flour. Add yeast water. Mix. Place in a greased bowl and cover with a cool, damp cloth. Refrigerate for 2 hours. Remove from refrigerator. Roll dough out to about 3/4 inch thickness and cut with a biscuit cutter. Place in buttered pans (8″ round cake pans work well). Brush the tops with melted butter and let rise for several hours. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 – 15 minutes until lightly browned on top.

Cinnamon Roll Version
(too delicious for a description to do them justice – just trust me)

1 recipe prepared Jailhouse Roll dough

for cinnamon rolls:
1/4 cup margarine, melted
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional, unless you’re making them for me)
1/2 cup golden raisins (optional)

for icing:
2 cups powdered sugar
2 Tbsp margarine
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 or 3 Tbsp milk

Prepare dough as above. Divide dough in half after removing from the refrigerator. Roll each dough half into a large rectangle. Brush each rectangle with melted butter. Sprinkle each with a mixture of the sugar, brown sugar and cinnamon. Add chopped pecans and/or golden raisins to each rectangle, if desired. Roll rectangle into a log. Cut into 3/4 inch slices and place in a buttered pan. Let rise for several hours. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 minutes. Let rolls cool in pan. Mix together powdered sugar and butter in the food processor. Add vanilla and milk. Drizzle over cinnamon rolls and DEVOUR.

Christmas Prime Rib Dinner

Christmas Day Lunch Menu: Romaine Heart Salad with Roasted Red Pepper Vinaigrette and Emerilized French Bread Croutons (recipe follows) Suzanne Goin’s Slow-Roasted Prime Rib Roast (from December 2006 Fine Cooking magazine) Smashed Fingerling Potatoes with Horseradish Creme Fraiche (from the same issue, but here’s a synopsis) My mother’s Orange-Glazed Carrots (recipe follows) My mother’s Jailhouse … Continue reading “Christmas Prime Rib Dinner”

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Christmas Day Lunch Menu:

Romaine Heart Salad with Roasted Red Pepper Vinaigrette
and Emerilized French Bread Croutons (recipe follows)

Suzanne Goin’s Slow-Roasted Prime Rib Roast
(from December 2006 Fine Cooking magazine)

Smashed Fingerling Potatoes with Horseradish Creme Fraiche
(from the same issue, but here’s a synopsis)

My mother’s Orange-Glazed Carrots
(recipe follows)

My mother’s Jailhouse Rolls
(explanation and recipe will follow in next post)

This roast was SOOOO good.
The actual recipe is not available on Fine Cooking’s website, but here is some info. from the article: http://www.taunton.com/finecooking/pages/c00251.asp

The Prime Rib recipe is available here.

It’s worth a visit to Fine Cooking mag to get the back issue, though, for the potato recipe and lots of other great stuff (http://www.taunton.com/store/pages/backissue_fc.asp). That was a particularly good issue.

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The “Roast Beast”, as we called it, in the oven.

I would definitely recommend it and would make it again in a heartbeat. My only reservation was the cost of the meat. The roast that I used was a little over 6 pounds and cost $80!!! Prime Rib is so tender and juicy that it was definitely worth it, but I think that the flavor profiles of the herbs, garlic, etc. were so good that this recipe would definitely be worth trying with a “lesser” cut of meat for a more everyday meal. The horseradish cream from the potatoes was GREAT on the roast, too.

Roasted Red Pepper Vinaigrette

1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup olive oil
1 clove garlic, pressed through a garlic press
3 Tbsp. roasted red pepper puree
(just pop the peppers in the blender – if you use jarred ones in oil, be sure to drain the oil first)
salt and pepper to taste

Whisk together vinegar, garlic and pepper puree in a high-sided bowl. Whisk continuously while slowly pouring in olive oil. Salt and pepper generously – remember that each salad will only have a bit of the dressing, so will only have a bit of salt and pepper on it.

This basic vinaigrette recipe can be adapted to almost any flavor combination. One of Girl’s favorite recipes is raspberry vinegar and a bit of raspberry coulis instead of the peppers (omit the garlic) to make a Raspberry Vinaigrette.

“Emerilized” French Bread Croutons

1/2 loaf French bread (not baguette, but the larger, softer type)
about 4 Tbsp. melted butter
about 1 Tbsp. Emeril’s Baby Bam seasoning
(recipe here)

Note: You may need a little more or less butter and seasoning, depending upon the size of your loaf of bread.

Preheat oven to 250 degrees.

Cut bread into bite-sized cubes (your choice, but I like them on the chunky side). Toss bread cubes with the butter in a large bowl. Sprinkle with the Baby Bam until each cube has a light coating of seasoning on it. Toss again until butter and seasoning are evenly distributed. Bake on an ungreased sheet pan until lightly crunchy and VERY lightly browned (20 – 30 minutes), gently stirring/tossing/turning about every 10 minutes. You will need to watch them carefully. Allow the croutons to cool before adding them to your salad. Store any leftovers in an airtight container or zipper bag.

(Emeril’s Baby Bam seasoning is really yummy and is good as an all-purpose seasoning on lots of different things. It’s worth the extra step to mix up a batch.)

Orange-Glazed Carrots
(Thanks, Mom!)

1 1/2 cups orange juice
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp. butter
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
pink of ground ginger (or garlic, if preferred)
1 pound fresh carrots, peeled and sliced on the diagonal into 1/2 inch pieces
(or 1 pound whole baby carrots)

Steam carrots until tender but still slightly crisp; set aside. Mix juice, sugar and butter in a small saucepan. Cook over medium heat, whisking frequently, until it gently bubbles. Mix water with cornstarch until there are no lumps, then add to the juice mixture. Cook until thickened. Add ginger (or garlic). Pour over carrots.

Hubby taking a “Cat Nap”

I took Hubby with me to my exercise class today. Apparently, it wore him out, because he came home and took a nap. The cats (who are littermates) were THRILLED to have a snuggle buddy in the middle of the day and enthusiastically (err….well…..sluggishly) joined him in his lethargy.

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