July 13, 2009

Tomatoes in Mid-Air by aaroncorey on Flickr

When tomatoes go bad, there's only one thing they're good for, but that makes for a very long laundry day!

So how do we keep our tomatoes from going so bad that they can only be used as a damaging projectile?  We're in the middle of excellent tomato season now, and I usually buy a ton of them at the farmer's market on the weekend. I know that storing them in the fridge is a huge no-no…it changes the texture and ruins the flavor.  But is there anything else I can do to make my maters last until I can eat my entire haul?

Here's a tip I read on Cook's Illustrated.  Store your tomatoes (at room temp) stem side down.  Why, you ask?  Two reasons:

• A tiny amount of air can exit through the cut stem end, allowing for dehydration and quicker spoilage

• That cut stem end can also be an entrance for bacteria and mold which will also lead to spoilage

Who knew?  Now we do, and we can keep our tomatoes fresh for all those awesome summer dishes.  LilSis' Heirloom Tomato Salad with Basil Vinaigrette comes to mind!

~BigSis

July 8, 2009

Last week we talked about Party Menus, Chips and Dip, Pizza on the Grill, Quick & Easy Recipes, and No-Bake Desserts. Lots of talk about lots of food! We were definitely in ‘party-mode' in preparing for the holiday. And, unfortunately, I also consumed a lot of party food last weekend and while on our ten-day vacation in Chicago.

Monday morning, I decided that the vacation was over and that it was time to get back on track!  No party food for me for a while.  🙁

I could actually be satisfied with a salad for dinner, but the guys aren't too thrilled with the idea of just a bunch of green stuff for dinner.  And, to be honest, I'm a little bored with my same old salad recipes so I'm on the lookout for some new ones.

I've been so busy since returning home from vacation that I haven't had time to flip through any cookbooks or browse the internet for fresh salad ideas. A few days ago, I received my new August/September issue of Food Network Magazine. When I found the article on “50 Simple Salads”, I was glad that I had taken a few minutes to look through the magazine.

If you don't subscribe to the magazine, you can find the  “50 Simple Salads” recipes here. There are a lot of simple dressing ideas and some interesting combinations in some of these salads, but I did say that I was bored, right?

I wonder if my family would try a Watermelon-Feta Salad?

Watermelon-Feta Salad

Or a Squash and Orzo Salad?

Squash and Orzo Salad

This Bacon Bistro Salad looks really good to me. But, of course it does, it's got fried bacon in it!

Bistro Bacon Salad

It may be an experiment to see if I can get my guys to eat a salad other than a Caesar Salad or an Iceberg with cucumbers, but I'm going to give it a try. Wish me luck!

~LilSis

July 3, 2009

I know lots of you are going to be grilling for July 4th, and you're going to need a dessert that doesn't involved heating up the kitchen with a blazing oven, right?  Right.

When I think of a cool no-bake dessert, the first thing that comes to my mind – and makes my mouth water – is the classic Cherry Cream Cheese Pie!  When we were kids, this was our favorite.  There weren't many leftovers with 4 kids around, but whoever got up earliest the next morning always scarfed up the remaining bit of pie for breakfast!  SisMama still makes this and we all still love it!

It looks like Paula Deen makes our Cherry Cream Cheese Pie too!  That's one of the things we love about you Paula…you know what good is, whether it's fancy foo-foo or not!

Cherry Cream Cheese Pie from Paula Deen

This other awesome cool pie just popped back into my head today.  I got this recipe from a boss MANY blue moons ago!  I wish my darn camera hadn't passed away, and I'd make this and take a photo, but alas, I'm still camera-less.  I do have two notes on this recipe for you.

1. Do they still make Dream Whip?  I hope so, because this is a good pie and I'm not sure what we'd substitute for it.
2. Fresh Texas blueberries are so awesome now that I feel guilty giving you a recipe using blueberry pie filling, but I'm sure you could modify the recipe to use the fresh blues.

Now for the pie!

Banana Blueberry Pie

2 graham cracker pie crusts
3 bananas, sliced
2 packages Dream Whip
1 cup sugar
Dash of salt
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 can blueberry pie filling

Line pie crusts with banana slices.  Mix Dream Whip as directed on package.  Mix sugar and salt with cream cheese and add to prepared Dream Whip.  Pour into shells over bananas and cool until firm, about 1/2 hour.  Top with pie filling.  Keep refrigerated.

I haven't mentioned it before, but I'm not the hugest Rachael Ray fan in the world.  I'm not hatin', cause life's too short for that; I'm just not lovin'.  I do have to give snaps to her for her scrumptious-looking Frozen Mojito Cake-tail. Note that I didn't say yummo, or delish…I just said scrumptious.  This dish screams summer to me, and it's all boozed up with rum!

Rachael Ray's Frozen Mojito Cake-tails

Enjoy your 4th of July everyone, and stay cool with a delicious no-bake dessert!

~BigSis

July 2, 2009

Caramelized Maui Onion Dip

I found this Carmelized Maui Onion Dip recipe in the June issue of Sunset and I can't wait to share it with all our “grass skirt wearing” friends on Saturday.

I love Maui. I love everything about Maui; the peacefulness, the beaches, the rainbows, the whales, the pineapples, the Maui onions and the Maui onion chips.

While in the midst of a little meltdown yesterday, I had to have a talk with myself about trying to think happy thoughts when all I felt like doing is sitting down and crying.  And when I think happy thoughts, I always think of Maui.

I had intended on taking photos of our entire spread at the Luau Party this Saturday, but because of circumstances beyond my control, that's just not going to happen. (I promise I'll try to keep this short.)

While at our family reunion in Chicago, my camera stopped working at the end of the evening. I just thought that the battery had died, so the next day I charged the battery and still nothing. When we got home, I tried connecting the camera to my laptop and it didn't recognize the camera.

Yesterday, I broke down and took my memory card to CVS to check and see if their machine could find my pictures. Nope. Nada. Nunca. Nothin. They are ALL GONE!! Not just all the pictures of the family reunion, and the kids and grandkids, but hundreds of others that I had not backed up.

Seriously! I've got I had so many irreplaceable pictures on that disk. And, it's all my fault for not backing them up.

So, that's all I've gotta say about that. (Did I just quote Forrest Gump?) I just wish I was in Maui eating some of this dip with some of these Hawaiian Sweet Maui Onion Chips.

Don't even try to eat just one!

When in Maui together, BigSis and I have been known to make a run to the nearest ABC Store to stock up on a few bags of these amazing chips. And, yes, a tummy ache is sure to follow, but it's worth it.

I think all this talk about Maui and Maui Onion Dip and Chips has already made me feel better. What about you? What thoughts make you happy?

~LilSis

June 30, 2009

Tomorrow is already July 1st! Wow! Another month has flown by. And Summer has definitely arrived. It was hot, hot, hot and humid on our vacation in Chicago this past week. Any cooking that we did was outside on the grill to avoid turning on the oven. But one night, after a long day at the family reunion, we broke down and ordered some pizza. And, of course, it was awesome pizza so now I have pizza on the brain.

In the summer, I rarely turn on the oven. We make almost everything on the grill. But, for some crazy reason, I've never made pizza on the grill so I've decided that it's time for me to give it a try. Here are a couple of pretty basic recipes.

Tyler Florence's Pizza on the Grill with Sausage and Mozzarella may not be Chicago Pizza, but it looks incredible to me and I can't wait to try it.

Tyler Florence Pizza on the Grill with Sausage and Mozzarella

I just recently saw a good step by step instruction on Amanda's Kitchen for Making Pizza on the Grill. These are a couple of examples of her awesome pizzas.

Pizza on the Grill

While surfing the net for a few more ideas, I stumbled across this Pizza on the Grill: 100 Fiesty Fire-Roasted Recipes for Pizza by Elizabeth Karmel and Bob Blumer.  I think I'm going to have to put this in my Amazon shopping cart!

I don't know about you, but I'm ready to fire up the grill! Once I perfect the basics of making the pizza on the grill, I'm sure it'll be a lot of fun experimenting with different varieties. But, I can guarantee you that I won't ever try to compete with a real Chicago pizza. Never!

~LilSis

June 18, 2009

Hey LilSis, great job on the breakfast potato cake.  Way to represent BigSisLilSis on the Potato Ho Down!  I'd take off the bacon, but there's just one thing I would add to it, and that's a big splash of Frank's Red Hot Sauce!  I am the Spicy Condiment Queen, so you had to know I'd like some spice-o-rama on my taters.

I'm still obsessing over Vivi's Carnival Mustard – in fact I just bought my second jar since I first wrote about it – and I gobbled up that jar of Joe T Garcia's Salsa Picante in record time, so I might as well disclose my obsessive love for Frank's Red Hot Sauce.  Daddy loved it, I love it, and now we have Big T into it.  I put this stuff on and in everything…hummus, deviled eggs, soup, broccoli, green beans, asparagus, blackeyed peas, sandwiches, tofu, edamame, guacamole, anything except eggs. I'm weird like that.  I don't like ketchup or salsa or anything spicy on my scrambled eggs.  It's just wrong.  Scrambled eggs are supposed to be creamy and buttery, not fiery.

So do I, Grandma! So do I!

Anyway!  I used to buy Tabasco sauce, but now it just seems hot with no depth of flavor.  Frank's is a little hot, but not nearly as lethal as Tabasco, and it has tons and tons of amazing flavor.  Frank's web site has some great spicy recipes that use it, so check them out for some inspiration, but all you really need to know is put it on everything!  Including LilSis' potato cake!

~BigSis

June 17, 2009

This is one combination of ingredients that I can't seem to get enough of:  tomatoes, basil, mozzarella, and garlic!  We're lucky here in Southern California to have great produce practically year round, but if you happen to live somewhere else, hopefully you're able to get them now that Summer is right around the corner. I found this great medley of small heirloom tomatoes at Trader Joe's.

Recently, I talked about my love for Insalata alla Caprese. The ingredients in this salad are very similar, but just served differently. So, if you love Caprese, I guarantee that you'll love this salad!

It's quick and easy, so it's perfect to take to a neighborhood cookout or to a friend's house for a cocktail party.

I found the original recipe for this dressing in the June 2009 issue of Food & Wine. It was featured in an article called “best 5-minute dressings”. The original recipe didn't include the mozzarella cheese, but I couldn't imagine this salad without it. I think I also doubled the garlic and the olive oil. This is my version.

Heirloom Tomato Salad with Basil Vinaigrette
(adapted from June 2009 issue Food & Wine)

1 lb. small heirloom tomatoes, sliced in half
2 garlic cloves
pinch of crushed red pepper
1 cup packed basil leaves, coarsely chopped
1/2 c. extra-virgin olive oil
2 T. Champagne vinegar
1/4 lb mozzarella, diced into cubes
Fresh ground pepper, to taste
Coarse salt, to taste

Season the tomatoes with salt and pepper, arrange on serving platter and sit aside.

I don't like the bite of raw garlic in a dressing, so I pressed the garlic cloves into a small pan and sauteed them in a tablespoon or so of the olive oil just until a little soft. I then added the crushed red pepper flakes to the oil and garlic and sauteed for just another minute or so.

Put the basil in the food processor and pulse until finely chopped. Add the oil, vinegar, the garlic and the crushed red pepper and process until smooth. Toss in a bowl and add cubed mozzarella. Season with salt and pepper. Pour on top of the tomatoes and serve!

I think this tomato salad would also be great served on top of a plate of baby lettuce.

I have to use this beautiful bunch of basil soon, so…

some time in the next few days, I'll be sharing with you yet another great recipe that includes these fantastic ingredients!

I hope you love them as much as I do!

~LilSis

June 16, 2009

Have you heard about these new mixes for fat-free brownies called No Pudge?  All you add is non-fat vanilla yogurt. Since I fessed up to being a bake-from-scratch snob, but then had a raving disaster with my homemade cherry pie, I figure I'm obligated to humble myself and try some mixes.  I've heard that these brownies are good, but I'm so skeptical!  A brownie with no butter?  And it's supposed to be worth eating?  I say prove it!

I bought a box of the original flavor of No Pudge at Central Market for $4.59.  They also have mint, raspberry and cappuccino varieties but I wanted to start off with the basic chocolate.  The nutritional label says each brownie has 110 calories, 0 grams of fat, and 22 grams of sugar (!).

The No Pudge brownies couldn't be easier to make.  You add 2/3 cup of non-fat vanilla yogurt to the mix, which includes sugar, flour, cocoa, egg whites, cornstarch, wheat gluten, salt and baking soda.  You mix the yogurt in thoroughly and smooth it into an 8″ square pan.  The instructions say to bake for 30 to 35 minutes, but I only had a 9″ pan, so I baked for closer to 25 minutes.

After chilling overnight, I took these to work for an informal taste test and these are the results:

• Everyone agreed that the flavor was very chocolaty, and two people thought you couldn't tell the difference between these and a full-fat brownie. I could tell!

• The consistency was very fudgy and pretty gooey.  I wonder if I underbaked these, and if they would be less gooey with more baking time, although they tested done and I hate to overbake brownies.  I'd rather slightly underbake than overbake.

• My opinion was that the texture was a tad spongy and gooey at the same time.  I also thought the first note on my tongue was sugar, which makes sense since non-fat baked goods usually compensate with extra sugar.  I could totally tell that something was amiss with these little guys, although the chocolate fix was there.

Would I bake these again?  Nah.  I'd rather have half of a Barefoot Contessa Outrageous Brownie than several of these.  It was a fun experiment, but that's just how I roll.  I have to say that I like that there aren't a bunch of artificial ingredients and sweeteners in these brownies, but I'm not really into non-fat versions of real food.  Perfect examples are the grossness of non-fat mayo and non-fat cheese.  Blecch.

I can see these “brownies” being served at a baby shower or spa party hosted by one of the “ladies who lunch” in Dallas.  I imagine they'd be cut into 1/2″ squares.  Give me a regular brownie, even if it means more time on the treadmill!

Oh, and P.S.  My camera is on the critical list, so these craptastic photos may be the last you see from it!  I took well over 100 photos to even get a couple that were usable.  If you love your camera, please send me your recommendation of any models I should look at!

~BigSis

June 15, 2009

This past week, we had a big fresh fruit salad every morning. If you've been reading, you'll remember that I talked about SirHoney's doctor wanting him to go on the Dash Diet Eating Plan to try to lower his blood pressure. So, I've been buying a ton more fruit and making a variety of fruit salads every day.

I decided since we've been good all week, it wouldn't hurt to have a little treat for Sunday morning breakfast. So, I started with a traditional Potato Pancake recipe and tweaked it a little. This is what I came up with.

Potato Ho Frosty Gay's Breakfast Potato Pancake
(adapted from Williams Sonoma Everyday Roasting)

3-4 tablespoons olive oil
5 large russet potatoes
12 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
1 c. grated cheese (I used a light 3 cheese blend from Trader Joe's)
coarse salt to taste
ground pepper to taste
small bunch chives, cleaned and snipped
sour cream, optional

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Oil a ceramic quiche dish with a teaspoon of the olive oil. Grate potatoes into a bowl, working as quickly as possible to prevent them from turning brown. (You can put the grated potatoes in a bowl of cold water while grating the rest, but be sure to dry really well.) Transfer half of the shredded potatoes to the prepared dish. Sprinkle with some of the coarse salt, a few grindings of pepper, a few drizzles of olive oil, half the bacon and half of the cheese. Put the remaining potatoes in dish and repeat the salt, pepper, olive oil, bacon and cheese.

Roast until potatoes are dark brown and crisp on top yet soft inside, 50-55 minutes. If the potatoes begin to brown too quickly, as mine did, reduce oven to 350 degrees.

Remove from oven and let rest for 5-10 minutes, sprinkle with chives, then cut into wedges. Serve immediately. I couldn't resist adding a big dollop of sour cream to the top!

I'm submitting this recipe to this month's Potato Ho Down.

You can check out the full roundup of this month's Potato Ho Down hosted by Krysta at Evil Chef Mom on Wednesday, June 17th.

~LilSis

June 11, 2009

BigSis, I haven't had Joe T's Salsa Picante in so long; I think I forgot how much I used to like it. For quite some time now, my favorite has been the Trader Joe's Double Roasted Salsa.

Sometimes when I really, really love something so much that I know I won't be able to resist it, I don't let myself buy it.

Well, this salsa is one of those things, like Crunchy Cheetos. (I absolutely cannot have those in my house.) I usually only buy this when we have guests. I got it out yesterday after school for HayHay and some of his friends. There won't be any left for me, so I had myself ‘one perfect chip'.

Doesn't get much better than this!

Not that the salsa itself has any fat or is bad for you at all! It isn't! It's actually quite healthy! Here are the ingredients:

Tomatoes, water, double roasted anaheim peppers, onions, cilantro, cider vinegar, jalapenos, lime juice, sea salt, garlic, cumin, black pepper.

The green chilis are roasted peeled and roasted again. The double roasting process give this salsa such a smoky flavor.

For two teaspoons, there are only 10 calories, no fat, and 140 mg. of sodium.  It's so hard for me to describe the flavor of this salsa. It's very unique! I think it is the smoky flavor that I like so much. I can't even taste the cumin or the cilantro, which makes me happy because sometimes those can be overpowering.

I love the texture because there are no large chunks. And yes, I still buy Pace Picante Mild Extra Chunky for SirHoney! Ick!  I prefer a smoother consistency, so this is just perfect. This salsa would be so good on eggs or veggies.

So, why do I not buy it more often?

Because I have no willpower, that's why! When I have this salsa, I must eat it with these! The best darn tortilla chips ever! We said adios to Tostitos when we discovered these.

What a Perfect Pair!

Unfortunately, there are no Trader Joe's in Texas, as most Texans probably already know. Sorry, BigSis! I've heard that there are some Texans that load up their cars and trucks with coolers and drive on over to Arizona for their favorite Trader Joe's products. I've come to believe that's probably true.

That could be your next outing with SisMama, BDot and Aunt C!  Here's a cool map showing all of the current Trader Joe's locations and locations coming soon!

So, BigSis, I guess when you're in my ‘neck of the woods', I'll share some of the TJ's Salsa with you and when I come to ‘Big D', you can have some Joe T's ready for me.

Or maybe on my next trip, I'll bring a jar with me and we'll have a real live Salsa Showdown!

~LilSis