Quickie Superbowl Pizza Cheese Dip

Italian cheese dip for game day.

I’m making pizzas today and since the hubby isn’t a Mexican food fan, I decided to try my favorite online cheese dip recipe with an Italian twist. My friends can vouch for me, I love cheese dip. My skinny jeans complain about it on a regular basis. But, today is the Superbowl and its a national holiday for food, right? So, two homemade pizzas (Thanks to Chuck for teaching me how to make them years ago at the “Hut), and some pizza cheese dip are on the agenda for tonight.

I thought I’d go ahead and post, even though it wasn’t in the “plans” because it is super quick and easy to do. Let me know if you decide to try it last minute! 

Oh, and if you don’t have cream at hand and that worries you? Evaporated milk works almost as well!

Here is the recipe by Food Renegade http://www.foodrenegade.com/creamy-mexican-cheese-dip-without-velveeta/. I’ve  been using it a lot lately for after-school snackage because it portions and then freezes well. So, I clicked over and completed all the steps, up until you add the cheese. Here’s my first change for pizza dip – I added 4 ounces cheddar, 4 ounces mozzarella and 2 ounces Double Gloucester (just because I love it) instead of all cheddar.

Continue with Renegade’s recipe until the end – now here I replaced the Rotel (tomatoes and chilies) with a can of stewed Italian tomatoes and a handful of pepperoni – that I (now this is important unless you want lumpy, bumpy dip) whizzed up with my motor-b0at hand mixer until it is all in little pieces.  Then, back to the recipe – stirring in the tomato mixture and a bit of salt and Italian seasoning instead of his chipotle.

And, it’s getting close to gametime, so I’d better go get that pizza dough rising. Have a great night!

Shrimp Salad, so good…

Shrimp Salad for lunch today.

Just had to post, the romaine stayed crisp and the shrimp marinated beautifully. Lunch is going to be very, very good!

Cool kitchen toy

Lettuce knife makes salad prep easier. And my kitchen prettier!

A gift from my daughter, this lettuce knife, is pretty dang cool. It not only ‘cuts’ lettuce easily and helps prevent browning (something I would have loved to have had back in my salad bar duty years at Pizza Hut at Tallgrass Center – good Lord, I must’ve cut a thousand pounds or more of lettuce, mushrooms, green peppers and more back in the day).

Cutting lettuce for tomorrow's shrimp salad!

And it’s orange. I love orange. It makes me happy. As do salads. I can’t wait to put this lettuce to good use tomorrow with the shrimp I just tossed into a marinade. Yummy!

Here’s a link to a similar knife: http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?order_num=-1&SKU=11631428

Lovely Eggplant

Fried eggplant with freshly grated Parm.

Eggplant, aubergine, whatever you want to call it — I call it heaven. I love it sautéed, roasted, stuffed but most of all, I love it fried. Dinner tonight was homemade pasta (chicken alfredo), some garlic bread and fried eggplant dusted with freshly grated Parmesan. A salad was originally planned but after a quick trip outside with the dogs – anything cold was quickly deleted from the menu.

No recipe to share, per se. Just peel, slice, dredge in flour, egg/cream mix, dredge in flour again then it’s into the pan full of hot oil (toss a bit of egg mix in and see if it pops, if it does, the oil is ready). Brown, flip, brown – then pull them out and salt/cheese ’em while they are still steaming. I put mine on a paper towel covered plate, it seems to help them from becoming too soggy before they hit the table.

Enjoy!

A cup of tea

 

A lovely cup of tea.

It’s cold outside. I believe the temperature is hovering in near zero. And that’s the high for today – this day of blizzards. So, all the drapes are pulled closed to keep this drafty, old house from leaking too much. The fireplace is burning and I’ve pulled up the ol’ laptop to the dining table – a good view of the fire, the kids and the television.

Mariage Frères Marco Polo Tea, to be specific. I first experienced it when I worked for Dean & DeLuca as a copywriter, as it was among a handful of items opened during a photoshoot and divided up. The guys knew I liked tea, so the big tin of leafy happiness was mine. Since I’ve left Dean & DeLuca, I’ve had to pay for my tea. Sad, isn’t it? But a little trip out to their site for a link to post for my readers gave me a little smile – my old copy appears to still be online and helping to sell the product. That’s a boost to the old ego.

Marco Polo tea from Dean & DeLuca

But, beside the lovely, lasting compliment to my copywriting skills and the tea that’s warming my palate and throat, there is something missing.

No cookies.

Bethy concurs.

Bethy checks out the pitiful cookie jar.

No cookies. There are vanilla cupcakes. There is coffeecake (although I think the dog licked it when he escaped his crate this week…). There is a lovely tin of custard I can whip up in the pantry. But, no cookies.

A quick scan of English food blogs in my bookmarks and killer cookies were found: http://www.donutstodelirium.com/2010/04/ottolenghi-white-chocolate-blueberry-cookies/

But, I don’t think tonight is the night to make cookies. The dishes are done and I can smell the steamy, lemony smell that comes from the dishwasher at the end of it’s humming cycle. The kids were bribed with cupcakes. The husband content with a bit of popcorn.

And me, I think I’ll stick with my tea.

Two sugars, please.

Too sick to cook. Oh, well…

Bowl of hard-earned chicken soup.

I really was too sick to cook this past week. Barely got out of bed on Thursday, but the dear husband was out of town on Friday. So, I dragged my germy butt out of bed and began to rummage through the kitchen for something besides sugary cereal and miso soup for my little one and me to eat.

No luck.

The good thing about buying good, fresh veg, raw meats and lovely cheeses, as well as making many of your own pastas, breads and snacks is that I control much of what goes into my family’s collective tummy. Less preservatives. Less freezer burn.

The bad thing? No frozen crap available to nuke when Mom is sick.

And Bethy’s idea of cooking is pulling some graham crackers out of the snack drawer. Bless her.

So, since there were 4 pounds of chicken thighs waiting to be cooked in my ‘fridge and I was always told to feed a cold – I propped myself up on the kitchen stool and got to work. First, boiled the chicken thighs until nearly done. Cooled those suckers and then picked the meat off. I dumped almost all of the water out of the pot – but I did reserve about 4 cups. I decided to make this “broth like” to keep my cough to a minimum. No cream of chicken soup was to be found in my cupboard, anyway.

Chicken went in.
A can of carrots.
A can of ‘schrooms.
Leftover peas.
The kernels from two frozen ears of corn.
A little salt and pepper.
And I threw in a stock cube to make sure it was nice and salty.

Now, originally, I found a half box of wheat pasta in the pantry and planned to throw that in. Simple, right? But, when I ventured to the pantry to dig out the stock cubes – darn if I didn’t see that box of “baking mix” on the baking shelf. I could suddenly see those fluffy little clouds of bread-y goodness melting in my mouth (had to visualize it, couldn’t actually taste anything at this point of my cold). So, once the veg and the chicken pieces got nice and happy in their hot tub (did I mention that my cough medicine has codeine in it?) I threw together the recipe for drop biscuits on the back of the box. Threw those in. I happily watched them puff up. Flipped those dudes over and let them finish cooking.

A few minutes later, I was the proud owner of a large mixing bowl full of Pantry Dump Chicken Soup. And, hey, it wasn’t too bad. I think. But, hey, I stayed upright for about 30 minutes to accomplish my task. And, even though my toddler refused to share in my bounty – preferring cheese and crackers –  the warmth, salt and protein got me through a very long Friday.

Unfortunately, the cold medicine also got me. I fell asleep far too early and spaced it off, leaving the “leavins” on the stove. So, the dogs got a very nice Saturday morning breakfast!

Beautiful tenderloin

The Never Fail Tenderloin never fails me and I can cook it just right - nice and rare!

 

A friend introduced me to a new cookbook and I simply love it. It’s beautiful, it has wonderful food and it’s even local. Written in honor of Carlene Banks, one of Wichita’s late “Grande Dames” and with proceeds benefitting our terrific museum (the Wichita Art Museum or WAM), Artfully Done Across Generations is both a cookbook and a coffee-table-worthy art book featuring images of art from the WAM collection. 

 With 538 recipes (I’ve only tried a handful), but I can testify that they have all been spectacular. In fact, I’ve included several in my cooking school and served the Never-Fail Beef Tenderloin several times already. The family even asked for it for this year’s Easter dinner! I’m thinking we’ll go with a more traditional ham, though! 

You all should try this terrific recipe – it’s incredibly easy and very tasty! It gives a sweet and savory crunch to the outside of a succulent and tender cut of meat. And it is simple to ensure you reach your desired “doneness” with this recipe, as well. Just make sure you have a thermometer!

Another little trick? This rub works beautifully with a skirt steak or flank steak – you know those less expensive cuts meant for fajitas in the meat case? Follow the same instructions, but start watching your meat after about 10 minutes – those thin cuts cook quickly!

Never Fail Beef Tenderloin (modified)
Original recipe from Artfully Done Across Generations
1 (5 to 6 pound) beef tenderloin, trimmed
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 pressed garlic cloves
1 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 teaspoon onion salt
3/4 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup brown sugar  (packed)
1 cup beef stock

Preheat your oven to 375. Combine mustard, garlic, salts and pepper then coat the tenderloin with your mustard mix. Then, press brown sugar evenly into the mustard and place in the oven, uncovered. Bake until reaches desired doneness. (140 degrees for rare and 150 for medium rare. Anything more than that and you’ve committed blasphemy and ruined a 40-buck cut of meat.)

I serve the tenderloin sliced and without any sauce or decoration. It’s too good to cover up in my opinion. However, the formal recipe says that while you allow the meat to rest (10 minutes should do it) that you add the stock to your pan drippings and heat through to serve as a sauce.

Hint: This is extra good the next day, sliced thinly and served on a fresh croissant with a creamy horseradish sauce.

http://www.artfullydonecookbook.com  

 

 

 

Chicken bundles make elegant nibbles

Chicken bundles are tasty and adorable.

I’ve blogged before about the Artfully Done Across Generations cookbook that was published to benefit the Wichita Art Museum (WAM). I’ve had fun working my way through this beautiful cookbook, and I can’t decide whether to put it back on my shelf of cookbooks, or place it on the coffee table with warnings of dire consequences to my children if they touch or maim it in any way.

Many of the cookbook’s recipes require fancy, expensive or just plain not-in-my-cupboard kind of ingredients. But I keep going back! So, I suppose it will stay in my kitchen, gaining many stains of honor.

I’ve tried several recipes, but this one is my favorite, so far. I’ve made up dozens and frozen them so that I can have plenty available for unexpected company or (the more likely) the night that a “frozen dinner” is necessary for our busy, crazy family.  Chicken boursin bundles are one of 538 recipes, and a definite standout.

The best part? The main ingredient is cheap chicken. And you can stock up on the Boursin cheese (just freeze it, double bagged in a Ziploc!) after most holidays, to help minimize the cost of these tasty treats.

Chicken Boursin Bundles
From the Artfully Done Across Generations Cookbook
Phyllo sheets (they call for 8, but I rip 8 before I finish, so get a big box)
1/2 cup butter (I recommend sweet cream)
4 or 5 chicken tenderloins, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1 carton French garlic and herb cream cheese
1 tablespoon grated onion (or shallot)

Prep for Chicken Boursin Bundles.

 Thaw phyllo dough and unroll sheeets onto a smooth, dry surface (I have a12x20 piece of marble I use for work like this, picked it up at Lowe’s for a few bucks!). Cover with plastic wrap THEN a damp towel.  Next, grate some onion (or shallots, I really liked it when I substituted one) and mix into your Boursin cheese.

Bundles before the Pinch!

 

Now take one phyllo sheet at a time, and lay it on a countertop (or another surface like a marble floor tile above), brush with some melted butter and layer them. Eight sheets should do it. If you’re like me, you’ll go through sixteen in order to get eight unripped, unblemished sheets. Don’t worry, it’s normal – I think.

Cut your phyllo-butter dough into squares that are about four inches. Spoon about a half teaspoon of cheese/onion mixture onto each one and top with a chunk of chicken. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Gather edges and pinch together. Brush with butter to help glue phyllo together better and to give it a good, golden glaze.

Place them, evenly spaced, on a baking sheet.

Pop into a 425 degree oven after placing on an ungreased cookie sheet. The recipe says to freeze them first, but I’m a mom, I’m usually in a hurry so I skip that step. Bake on lower rack for about 10 minutes. Serve warm. Yum.

Note: even though my husband loves these little bundles of joy, he claims they are more “baby shower” appropriate than Final Four, SuperBowl or BCS Championship appropriate! Not sure I agree, but thought I would share the opinion!

Don’t forget the cookbook is available: Artfully Done Across Generations Cookbook