Spotlight Post: Butter!

I Can't Believe it's not Butter

So remember a long time ago when I had that great idea to do posts about key ingredients and what not? Huh, do ya? Well this is one of those! I was thinking the other day, ya know, I try to use the best ingredients I can, yet I just use the cheap-o butter, and I thought there's got to be something better out there. Introduce Lurpak butter. European butters have a higher butter fat content which make them creamier and more deliciouser that regular butter, you can tell a huge difference. Go see for yourself, buy yourself some Lurpak and some nice bread, spread a little butter on there and if you're not convinced right there, then you've got issues. Price is actually about the same as regular butter, but I have seen it priced really high at places too, I paid $3.99. Anybody else out there using good butter?

Vacation Posts

Off to Market!

Post 2

So my good friend Brett Price was in town this past week. He and I were having a discussion about food and he mentioned a butternut squash risotto that he had made, so I thought, hey, I have a butternut squash, why don’t I make butternut squash risotto. First I made the best salad ever though. Findlay market had some fresh as can be Bibb lettuce that we picked up. Bibb lettuce is great, but it’s very fragile and perishable so get it the day of if you can. I made a salad of the Bibb lettuce, green grapes, red onion, candied walnuts, and goat cheese dressed with a honey balsamic dressing. I know what you’re thinking- “But Jeff, you didn’t have any candied walnuts.” Well my friends, it just takes some walnuts, some sugar, pinch of salt, hot pan, and there you have it- candied walnuts! Anyway, the salad actually turned out marvelous, the goat cheese was fantastic. I know next to nothing about pairing wine and food, but I was drinking some Pinot Noir that went really well.

On to the risotto. First I halved, de-seeded, and peeled a butternut squash. Then I cut it into a 3/4 inch dice and roasted it at 400 degrees for about a half hour. I sautéed some onion and garlic in some butter and oil, added the rice and went about making my risotto. I used Kitchen Basic’s vegetable stock, which is awesome- I highly recommend it, go get you some! I finished the risotto by adding the squash which I mashed up just a little bit, some parmesan cheese, and a pat of butter. I drizzled mine with a little bit of EVOO and a couple drops of balsamic for some sweetness. It turned out really well, risotto makes a great winter dish, I was all warm and toasty afterwards

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For the risotto:

1/4 Red onion

1 Clove Garlic

1tbs olive oil

2tbs butter

1 cup aborio rice

1 quart vegetable stock

2/3 cup parmesan

salt and pepper to taste

Vacation Posts

Off to Market!

Post 1

So on Tuesday the wife and I went down to Findlay Market to pick up some goodies. We wound up with some fresh pasta, produce, Linguisa sausage, and some fresh spices. When we got back we cooked up some of the fresh pasta for lunch. Kept things pretty simple: Kristin had spinach fettuccine with some cremini mushrooms, garlic, sun dried tomatoes, spinach and olive oil, which turned out pretty delicious. I had plain fettuccine and made a fresh tomato sauce with some onions, garlic, and tomato, served with the Linguisa on the side. This was the first time I ever had Linguisa, it’s very similar to Italian sausage with just a little hint of smokiness.

Christmas Cooking Gadgets

Anybody ask for any cool kitchen gadgets this year?

Asian Potsticker Soup

Beth's friend got her a Trader Joe's cookbook for Christmas, and this recipe came from there (with slight modifications). It turned out pretty tasty, but it will be interesting to see how the leftovers taste this week. I'm afraid the wontons will dissolve, but we shall see. It might be a recipe best served right away.

Ingredients:

4 Cups Chicken Broth
1 Tablespoon Rice Vinegar
1 Tablespoon Soy Sauce
2 Cloves Garlic, minced
1 Teaspoon Ground Ginger (or 1 T fresh ginger)
2 Dried Thai Bird Chilies, roughly chopped
1/2 package of frozen Chicken Potstickers from TJ's
1 16 oz. bag frozen Stir-Fry vegetables
1/2 Cup Frozen Edamamme, shelled
1/2 Cup Shredded Carrots
4 Green Onions, sliced
2 Teaspoons Sesame Oil

Process:

Combine the first 6 ingredients in a large pot and bring to a boil. Add potstickers and allow broth to come back to a boil. Add stir-fry veggies, edamamme, and carrots and bring to a boil once more. Let soup simmer 5 minutes and finish with green onions and sesame oil. (This could easily become vegetarian by using veggie broth and vegetable potstickers)

Soup Sundays produced this delicious (and healthly) cream of mushroom soup.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup chopped onions
1/2 cup chopped leed
2 cloves of garlic
2 pound fresh mushrooms, sliced
3 teaspoons fresh dried dill
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup fat free milk
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
ground black pepper to taste
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1/2 cup reduced fat sour cream


Directions
1.Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Saute the onions, leek and garlic in the butter for 5 minutes. Add the mushrooms and saute for 5 more minutes. Stir in 2 Tablespoons of the dill, paprika, and broth. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes.
2.In a separate small bowl, whisk the milk and flour together. Pour this into the soup and stir well to blend. Cover and simmer for 15 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
3.Finally, stir in the salt, ground black pepper, lemon juice, remaining dill and sour cream. Mix together and allow to heat through over low heat, about 3 to 5 minutes. Do not boil. Serve immediately.

Check this Out!

The wife got a book the other day, totally unrelated to cooking, but it has a picture of a piece of carrot cake on the top so I've been wanting carrot cake for like a week. So I was off today and baked one up, Crazy right! Anyway, I hate baking, and I'm not a good baker, the cake was a little overcooked, and the icing looks Horrible! Here's a link the the recipe I used with a few small modifications.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Carrot-Cake-with-Maple-Cream-Cheese-Icing-102155

Chicken Tacos

So, I've realized that most all my posts start with "So...," but I'm ok with that. So anyway, I made some chicken tacos. I simmered some chicken breasts in a poaching liquid that included some dried chili's, onion, garlic, bay leaf, cumin and water. Simmered for about 20 mins then I took out to let cool. I strained the liquid, shredded the chicken, and added it back to the strained liquid and cooked a little longer. I made some corn tortillas and garnished them the traditional way with some chopped white onion, cilantro and a squeeze of lime. I also made some salsa verde which was really good and easy- 4 Tomatillos, 1 whole serano, glove of garlic, half a lime, pinch of salt and a bunch of cilantro. Food processor for a few pulses and voila, Salsa Verde!