Category Archives: TaMara

Thursday Recipe Exchange: Mardi Gras!

I’m getting ready to travel again, so I’m swamped with getting everything done at work and home.  But that doesn’t mean we can’t still celebrate Fat Tuesday with some New Orleans style food and drink.  Bring on your party recipes.  And next week let’s go vegetarian.

I wanted to do gumbo, but didn’t have time to recipe test anything this week, except a death-by-chocolate Texas Sheet Cake, and I find my own gumbo recipes lacking. Luckily when it comes to gumbo, JeffreyW runs circles around me.  Here’s his take on a shrimp gumbo:

I was rummaging about in the big freezer and turned up a stick of Andouille sausage.  That put me of a mind to make a pot of gumbo.  I noticed that Alton Brown was touting a method of making a brown roux in the oven that seemed to be foolproof, and didn’t require one to stand over the stove stirring for a half hour and more:

Place the vegetable oil and flour into a 5 to 6-quart cast iron Dutch oven and whisk together to combine. Place on the middle shelf of the oven, uncovered, and bake for 1 1/2 hours, whisking 2 to 3 times throughout the cooking process.

Seemed to work pretty well:

This was after 90 minutes.  It could have spent a little longer and been a bit more brown but I went with it as you see it.  More or less following Alton’s recipe, I put it over a medium flame on the cooktop and stirred in diced celery, green peppers, and onion.  The roux turned right away into thick mud but I kept stirring it until the veggies softened a bit, about ten minutes.  Next was several cups (4-5?) of the stock the chicken I used was cooked in, fortified with some Creole seasoning, along with the canned tomato bits I used in lieu of fresh.  I did have fresh thyme and even grow my own bay leaves now.  That simmered for a half hour before I added the cooked chicken, thawed pre-cooked shrimp, and the sliced and browned Andouille sausage.

Serve over rice, and be sure to have a bottle of hot sauce on the table lest you be taunted.

Hit the comments with your own Mardi Gras recipes and I’ll see you next week!  - TaMara

Cross-posted at Balloon-Juice.

Kindness Ranch: Cute Critters and Quiet Retreat

Was glad to help promote a great animal sanctuary on my work blog.  Thought I’d go ahead and share it here, too.

Cross-posted at Aqua Care Solar

We know many of our clients personally and often attend their events and contribute to their charities.   So it just seems a natural extension to promote them on our blog.  We are happy to use this platform to help you reach out.   I was thrilled to learn about Kindness Ranch this morning from one of our Solar clients.  Here’s some information on this great organization.  If you’re looking for a sweet companion, check out their animals up for adoption.

Rosco stole my heart a bit.

Kindness Ranch is the only sanctuary in the US that takes in all kinds of research animals. While new, it is the result of a decade of work, saving, and planning.

Laboratory animals have long held a special place in the heart of Dr. David Groobman, Founder of Kindness Ranch. Successful in business, Dr. Groobman first saved enough to provide for his family into the future. Once this was accomplished, he dedicated all the profits of his business for ten years to the ranch. He searched four years to locate the perfect 1,000 acre parcel near historic Hartville in Wyoming.

Groobman’s passion attracted caring board members to the cause. Together, they began planning for a sanctuary with the expectation that the residents will always receive the best in animal care and that dogs and cats would be rehabilitated in a home-like environment. Ground was broke in 2006. After building four guests yurts, a dog yurt, a cat yurt, and a managers’ yurt, construction was finished in the summer of 2007.

The benefits to the animals are obvious: they are well-cared for in every aspect of their lives.

Besides rescuing everything from dogs to pigs, you can also take advantage of the serenity of their Wyoming location and take a time out there:

The Hartville area of Southeastern Wyoming is steeped in history. Here you can find peace and serenity, wildlife and outdoor activities, and, of course, the Kindness Ranch. As a Kindness Ranch member, you can stay in one of our beautiful yurts. Use it as a base while you visit local sites or stay here and help us care for the animals.

Head over to their page and learn more about the good works they do.  And if you would like us to promote your event or charity, hit the comments or send us an email:  office@aquacaresolar.com

Valentine’s Chocolates

Photo from FoodNetwork.com

I’ve never done a Molten Lava Cake.  I’ve always wanted to, just haven’t gotten around to it.  I hear they are very easy.  I googled around to find one that had good ratings.  The recipes vary greatly, so I decided to go to a reliable source:  The Pioneer Woman.  She liked this recipe from Tasty Kitchen.

Molten Chocolate Cake – by Brandielle

  • 4 pieces (squares) Semi-sweet Baking Chocolate
  • ½ cups Butter
  • 1 cup Powdered Sugar
  • 2 whole Eggs
  • 2 whole Egg Yolks
  • 6 Tablespoons Flour
  • 2 cups Real Whipping Cream (seriously It’s So Much Better!)
  • 2 Tablespoons Sugar

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Spray 4 custard cups with Pam and place on cookie sheet.

Microwave chocolate and butter in large bowl on high for about 1 minute, until butter is melted. whisk until chocolate is also melted.

Stir in sugar until well blended. Whisk in eggs and egg yolks. Stir in flour.

Divide between cups.

Bake 13-14 minutes until sides are firm and center is soft. Let stand 1 minute.

Combine sugar and heavy cream and whip until stiff.

Invert cakes on dishes and top with whipped cream.

=======================

I do make a mean pudding cake – which is basically an extra-large lava cake.  And to make it even tastier, I substitute coffee for the boiling water.   It doesn’t get any simpler than this:

Mocha Cake

  • 1 cup flour
  • ¾ cup sugar
  • ¼ cup unsweetened cocoa
  • 2 tsp baking powder
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • ½ cup milk
  • 3 tbsp oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla

====

  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa
  • 1 cup very hot coffee**
  • 8×8 inch baking dish, lightly oiled

Preheat oven to 350°

This is a pudding style cake, so you don’t want to over bake it. You’ll serve it warm and directly from the pan. When you cut into it a thick, gooey chocolate center will be revealed.

From the top list: combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder & salt. Combine milk, oil, & vanilla, mix well and add to flour mixture. Stir well. Pour batter into baking dish. From the bottom list: combine sugar & cocoa and sprinkle over batter. Pour hot coffee over batter – DO NOT stir. Bake for 30 minutes or until center springs back when touched, do not over bake.

** for a stronger coffee flavor, double the ground coffee to water ratio, or use espresso.

Also, for a fun read, head over to The Pioneer Woman.

Ice Crystals

Friend sent me this picture this morning of her window:

Woke up to what is known as champagne powder, about 2 inches.  The snow looks like it has tiny bubbles on top of it.  I think it’s because it is so dry, it puffs up like popcorn.  Great for skiing. Excellent for shoveling – just use your broom.  I would have taken pictures, but I’m still fighting off this virus and anything beyond work and sleep is too much for me.

So if you’ll pardon me, I’m going  to go crawl back under the comforter.  I do have a turkey thawing.  We’ll see what I decide to do with it.  Until then….

A Little Dinner Music

JeffreyW linked to this in another blog.   I love Bruce, so I’m putting it here.

Tes Makes Beef Stew with Apples

http://tesathome.com/2012/02/09/beef-stew-with-marjoram-and-wild-apple/

Tes' Beef Stew photo by Tes at Home

I was pleased to pop over to Tes at Home and find Tes created a wonderful recipe that would be perfect for a tonight’s slow cooker recipe exchange   It sounds like she peeked into her kitchen and found a variety of ingredients and decided they would make a good stew.  I believe she’s right.  Click link below or either picture for the recipe.

Tes’ Beef Stew with Marjoram and Apples

http://tesathome.com/2012/02/09/beef-stew-with-marjoram-and-wild-apple/

Can't wait to try this. Photo by Tes at Home

Thursday Recipe Exchange: Portuguese Beef and Pasta

Years ago, when I was first learning to ski, I was very frustrated by the amount of time I spent on my ass and not skiing.  Someone told me that if I wasn’t spending  a lot of time picking myself up, I wasn’t really skiing. I needed to push my limits to get better. In other words, it was all good.  I find that information works for a lot of things in life.  Cooking is no exception.

This week, I spent a lot of time on my figurative ass, playing with the new crock-pot making various recipes.  There were epic failures.  The first thing I tried was a slow cooker meatloaf.  It called for a basic meatloaf recipe – I have a favorite – and then cook all day on low.  The results were not stellar.  More like steamed meatloaf.  An unappetizing color and texture.  Not the nice deep brown of a good baked loaf.  I was able to salvage it by cutting it into thin slices and frying it up for sandwiches.

I'll stick to these scalloped potatoes from now on.

The next failure was the scalloped potatoes.  This called for a slightly modified recipe, a bit more moisture than in the baked method.  The flavor was fine, the texture was horrible.  Kind of like if you reheated some that you baked.  Rubbery and chewy.  I’m not sure how you could modify the recipe to get a creamier texture.  I’d love to hear any ideas in the comments.

The rest of the week was spent making traditional slow cooker foods – soups and a lovely pot roast.   It wasn’t a total loss.  I did learn that for a fool-proof slow cooker recipe it’s best to have a recipe that can cook, unattended, all day without risk of ruin.  Both the potatoes and the meatloaf really could not have cooked any longer than they did.  They would have turned out even worse.

So that was adventures in cooking this week.  What foods do you use your slow cooker for successfully? Anything usual that we’ve never thought of?  Hit the comments.  Next week I think our theme will be Mardi Gras, and I’m hoping you’ll come prepared to share some favorite drinks as well as Cajun food recipes.  Someone should bring the King’s cake recipe, too.

Here’s one of my favorite fool-proof slow cooker recipes:

Portuguese Beef & Pasta

This works best if you cook the pasta separately and either add it to the beef the last 15 minutes or serve the beef over the pasta.  This is one of those slow cooker recipes that the longer it cooks, the better it gets, usually 10 hours minimum for best flavor.

  • 1 lb round steak, cut into thin strips, remove excess fat
  • 1 tsp salt
  • ¼ tsp pepper
  • 1 onion, thinly sliced
  • 1 green pepper, cut into thin strips
  • 1 tsp crushed garlic
  • 6 oz can tomato paste
  • 2-14 oz can diced tomatoes
  • 1 cup water
  • 1 bay leaf (remove before serving)
  • ½ tsp crushed red pepper
  • 8 oz dry macaroni**

Slow-Cooker and saucepan

Add beef, salt, pepper, onion, green pepper, garlic, paste, diced tomatoes, water, bay leaf & red pepper to Slow-Cooker. Cook according to manufacturer’s directions (usually 8-10 hours on low) until beef tears easily with a fork. In saucepan, cook macaroni according to package directions. Drain well (you don’t want any water in your beef mixture) and mix beef and pasta and serve.

**Ditilani works really, or any tiny pasta, like tiny elbow macaroni or tiny bow-ties.

Super Bowl Sunday

It’s the big day and all I want is tomato soup (homemade naturally) and orange juice.  Still nursing this cold and the weather nicely cooperated – a big snow storm closed down everything on Friday so I could work at home.  Under a big comforter.  In sweats.

The sun is shining today, so I will probably try to get out a bit.  But no super bowl party for me.  If you still need recipes, we got a few right here:

Super Bowl Recipes 

I particularly like the Drunken Chicken skewers

Have fun.  Enjoy the game.  Go Patriots!

I’ll be watching Downton Abbey.    

Super Bowl Recipes: Chili Pizza

My Aunt June takes my brother Gary’s Chili recipe one step further.  I think this would also be awesome on a cornmeal crust.

Chili Pizza

  • Pizza dough
  • Chili
  • Shredded Cheddar

Roll out on pizza pan, spoon chili on top, try to use less of the liquid.  Add shredded cheddar cheese on top.   450 oven, for 10-15 minutes, until cheese is bubbly.

I’m going to add another favorite here, too.  Layer tortilla chips in a single layer in a baking sheet, add layer of shredded cheddar, layer chili, another layer of chips and top with shredded cheese.  Bake at 350 degrees until cheese is bubbly.

Super Bowl Recipes: Buffalo Chicken Dip

Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images

No secret I have friends in Patriot-land and it seems in the last few years Colorado/Denver and Boston/New England have gone against each other in various sporting events and I’m forced to fall back on my original upbringing – New England all the way.  Although I will admit I was truly torn between the Red Sox/Rockies World Series match-up.  I alternated between my Rox gear and my BoSox gear.  This year, no such dilemma as the Patriots face off with the Giants.

So from the land of the Patriots comes another Super Bowl recipe from my friend Butch Maier.  Take it away, Butch:

Now that the Patriots are in the SuperBowl I will reveal my winning dip that I have been making. by the way the Pats record is 7-0 when I make ths dip,Alabama won a national championship with this dip so here goes………….(btw)NO GIANTS FANS can use this weekend.

BUFFALO (not bills) CHICKEN DIP…..

  • 8oz pkg of cream cheese
  • 1/2 cup of blue cheese or ranch dressing
  • 1/2 cup of Texas Pete hot sauce or Franks Hot Sauce will do
  • 1 cup of shredded mozzarella cheese
  • I use 2-12oz cans of chicken or use 2 boneless breasts
  • plenty of scooping chips.

Stir is softened cream cheese,dressing,hot sauce,cheese,and chicken mix it all around in a big bowl then put in a 9 inch pie plate smooth out and I bake 20 mins at 350 until its bubbling…..

In the interest of blog equity, I’m willing to post a Giant’s fan recipe.  Email me with it or hit the comments with it.  :-D