Dependables

There are certain things in life that you should always be able to depend on to be there for you.  To be able to pull out in a moment's notice, to never fail, and to make you look like pretty much a rock star upon completion every time.  They are those things that once you find them, you can stop looking for anything else similar because your dependable is basically untouchable.  It's like when you find them you almost want to exhale that huge sigh of relief because it's just going to be another thing that is going to make your life so much better.  I love to gain dependables in my life and when one comes along it is the most amazing feeling.  I have "back pocket dependable" recipes for banana bread, chocolate chip cookies, basic tomato sauce and probably 20 other different things but a few weeks ago I added a very big one to the pile:  the most perfect roast chicken.  There is something about cooking roasted chicken that feels extremely homey and domesticated from the savory smells that whiff through the house, to the long-ish, drawn out cooking time, to the classic feel of the meal as you are eating it.  Come on, can I paint an even more "pro roast chicken" picture then I'm doing right now?  


I came across this recipe for Honey-and-Lemon-Glazed Roast Chicken from an old Food and Wine Magazine a couple of weeks ago when I was in the mood for chicken one night and have already made it twice.  The sweet-salty-acidic combination in the glaze of lemons, honey and soy sauce is amazing and I loved the idea of the high to low cook temperature technique in the recipe.  I promise you, this is one roast chicken recipe that you will always be able to depend on. 

Note:  The recipe calls for small 3 pound chickens.  I like to use larger chickens (5-7 pounds each) that tend to have more meat on them.  I just extended my cooking time longer at both temps and checks the bird's internal temperature to make sure they were done.  I also like to roast my chickens onto of a bed of veggies that are not so much to eat but because they add tremendous flavoring to the stock that I've made after with the carcasses and such.  Oh and one more thing - if the bird that you're roasting has one of those plastic pop up timers, please pull it out beforehand or ignore the purpose of it.  I know more disasters that have come out of it because call me silly but there is no way that little thing can predict proper temperatures and such.    

Just the best frickin dessert out there

For as long as I can remember my mother has had a recipe box in the kitchen containing her arsenal of go to dishes and growing up I would always get pretty excited when one of those small, hand written cards would come out because it usually meant that we would be making something special or with some sort of significance to it.  When I look through the cards now you can identify themes in cooking through the years of what was widely popular and you tend to get nostalgic over different dishes that you used to have a lot as a kid growing up such as "open sesame chicken", "do ahead mashed potatoes" and "cranberry raspberry mousse".  And then you realize that there was a very big thing having to do with all things jello considering it takes up a large chunk of the desserts section.  You start to think a little harder and remember that there was always some sort of jello dessert at the buffet of party, and my Mother and Aunt had these matching Tupperware jello molds where you changed the top symbol based on the specific time of the year (which I still think is in our basement because God knows I'm going to need it for some sort of project one day).  By no means were these your run of the mill basic jello recipes.  They involved layers of fruit, cream, or crust mixed in and usually spearheading the efforts was my Mother's good friend Barbara who I would even go so far as to deem in the land of jello, she would be the queen because she probably has a whole recipe box devoted to these recipes.  I know that jello gets a bad rap a lot of the time because there are some dousies out there involving multiple canned goods or weird texture issues that have mentally scarred you.  You think it's dated and old-fashioned and I even used to think "oh I'm way too gourmet for jello".


But then 2 summers ago, down at Barbara's cottage in Milford one of those jello desserts made an appearance from the archives and after one bite I forgot how much I loved it and those apprehensive, too good for jello thoughts quickly fell by the wayside as I went in for my second helping of the pistachio dessert and I was back on board of the jello train.  The pistachio dessert has now made appearances at multiple parties and one of my friends even deemed it "the best frickin dessert ever" because it's refreshing after a big meal and sometimes you just aren't in the mood for a slice of cake or another baked good.  I know I don't have to give any more reasons for you to make it yourself after you've seen the picture or ever experienced a bite of it but let me just push you further over the line so I can almost guarantee that you'll be running out to grab the ingredients.  It's super easy to make, travels well, and can be made the day before.  Do I have to be any more convincing?  I promise once you have your first helping, you'll be back on the jello train too and if you're still wavering then we'll just have to bring in Barbara's strawberry pretzel jello to win you over once and for all. 

good shot of all the layers

Pistachio Dessert Squares


Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  With a pastry blender or two forks, mix together until crumbly:
-1 stick of unsalted butter
-1 and 1/4 cup of flour
Then add in:
-1 cup of ground nuts (walnuts work best) 


Spread into a 9 x 13 greased baking dish and bake for 20 minutes.  Set aside and let cool.


In a mixer, combine 
-8oz of cream cheese, softened
-1 cup of confectioner's sugar 
-Half of a container (the 8oz size) of cool whip.


In another small bowl, whip together until firm:
-2 packages of instant pistachio pudding 
-3 cups of milk 


First spread cream mixture evenly onto the cooled crust and then top with the pistachio pudding.  Add the remaining half container of the cool whip as your top layer and chill.  

The Brunch Series: Recipe Link Round-up

To round out the series on brunch, here are the links to some of my favorite recipes that you can now make at home:


-Carrot Souffle I came across this recipe in a home magazine a couple of years ago and instantly fell in love with a new creative take on how to serve carrots.  Do not be fooled or frightened by the word souffle in the recipe.  It is a foolproof recipe that is made very easy by the use of a food processor.  I almost always make it ahead of time and then just bake it right before it's going to be served.  


-Baked Glazed Ham Ham is one of those party foods that everyone always gets really excited about.  The host loves it because they are relatively simple to make and feed a large crowd with ease and guests are into it because it's one of those things you don't make at home on a regular basis and who doesn't love those mini ham sandwiches.  A lot of times, a ham will come with a ready made glaze but sometimes it's fun to jazz it up a bit with your own homemade touch.  In years past I've made a pineapple mustard glaze by Martha Stewart that is quite delicious but I was going for ease this year and you can beat the Barefoot Contessa's glaze recipe.  Another thing that can easily be made ahead of time and I swapped out apricot preserves for the mango chutney and it was just as good.  


-Roasted Salmon with Mustard Tarragon Sauce One of my favorite ways to cook salmon and by baking it at a high temperature, it almost seems at first bite like you might have poached it but since not many home cooks actually own a fish poacher this is a simple way to get that kind of flavor.  Also a great weeknight dinner and can be served at room temperature over a salad as well for a fancy lunch.  

The Brunch Series: Spring Pea and Artichoke Salad

This is one of my favorite salads to include in a brunch buffet because it gives a great pop of color to the menu, is super easy to make and people literally go crazy for it once they've tried it for the first time.  I know so many people out there have aversions to peas probably because they remember eating canned or over-cooked peas in that horrible puke green color as kids but  when cooked properly, bags of frozen peas are great staples to have on hand in the kitchen and I've always been a big fan of them.  Whether they are tossed into a salad or mixed into a pasta dish there are so many great things you can do with them and here's just one of them.   This salad isn't limited to just brunch menus. It is a perfect accompaniment to luncheons and dinners with fish especially with the subtle dill dressing that it is dressed with.


Spring Pea and Artichoke Salad 


Sour Cream Dressing:
In a small bowl mix together the following:
-1/4 cup each sour cream and mayonnaise
-1/4 cup fresh dill, finely chopped 
-1 tablespoon cider vinegar 
-1 teaspoon salt
-1/2 teaspoon each minced garlic and pepper 


In a large bowl, add the following:
-3 cups frozen petite peas thawed 
-1/2 English cucumber, quartered and sliced thin 
-1 cup thinly sliced radishes
-1/2 cup chopped red onion
-1 (14oz) can of water packed artichoke hearts, quartered


Pour dressing over the salad and stir gently to combine.  Adjust for seasonings and serve.  


Note:  The dressing and salad can both be made ahead of time but do best when the 2 elements are kept separate until just before you are going to serve them.   

The Brunch Series - Baked French Toast Casserole

I've come to realize that once you do something enough of times, it will eventually get over the big metaphorical hump where at once seems like this massive, chaotic, stress inducing event to where it will become second nature and dare I say, almost easy.  Well after 4 Palm Sunday brunches, we have finally hit that point where I know what we're doing, what works and what doesn't, what you need to let go of when you are entertaining for the masses (because God knows I wouldn't have it any other way then to basically stuff my home with an over capacity crowd of wall to wall people) and what each of our roles is in the whole party scheme of things.  I am a self-admitted control freak and I will mentally kill myself for things to be that "oh so perfect" vision that I imagine things to be because that's how I am but I knew after last year something had to change because admittedly so I didn't have a good time at my own party.  I was a stressed out mess, wanted to be everything to everyone and literally wanted to pass out in exhaustion by the time the desserts hit the table.  So I gave myself my own personal pep talk and said "change your game plan.  What is important to you and what can you let go?  Remember this is supposed to be fun- you are not running a restaurant here and when it comes down to it, people come for the food and they love everything but they really come to be around each other and you can't lose sight of that".  I delegated my heart out and even farmed out the cooking to my trusted friends who I knew would do a great job.  I kept calm and carried on and had so much time freed up that I didn't have to get up super early and even had time to shower and get ready like a sane adult instead of the basket case I usually am.  By the time all the food went out I was able to kick back, have some brunch bevs and enjoy myself as people went to town on everything.  I got to pick on a few things and then enjoyed my own plate once everything was done and cleaned later in the day.  I made updates to my notes for next year and if my mother wants to invite 30 more people, Maryanne go to town because I have a fail proof system in place and can handle it (even though people might soon be spilling into the streets but isn't that what it's all about?).

The first year we did the brunch, our guests really wanted the different recipes that were made so an index card circulated throughout the house as a sign up sheet for what people wanted to learn how to make.  4 years later and this lovely blog exists so I thought this would be the perfect opportunity for a little brunch series of posts so you can all replicate at home. Over the next couple of days I will share a number of recipes so keep checking back and before you know it you will have your own fool proof, back pocket brunch menu. 

Baked French Toast Casserole

In a small saucepan on low heat, blend:
-5 tablespoons unsalted butter
-1 cup light brown sugar
-2 tablespoons light corn syrup

Spread the mixture in the bottom of a 9 x 12 greased baking dish.  Cut 1 and 1/2 inch thick slices of challah bread and then cut them into smaller pieces (3 or 4 per slice depending on size) and fit them snuggly into the baking dish.  I find that its easier to have smaller pieces so when you go to serve the french toast, it is more manageable to get out.  As a guide, I usually use 2/3 of a loaf of challah per each casserole.

Beat together in a small bowl and then pour over bread:
-6 eggs
-1 and 1/2 cups milk
-1 teaspoon vanilla

Top with the zest of a grated orange and refrigerate overnight in order for the bread to really soak up the egg/milk mixture. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes uncovered until the top develops a nice crust on top.  Finish the casserole off with a good drizzle of maple syrup and a powdering of confectioners sugar. 

PS:  In the height of getting all the food out I forgot to break out a camera to start taking pictures of everything so there will be no food photos to go along with the recipes.  Next year there can be a designated camera person!

Cupcakes in Bloom

I never thought of myself as this "crafty" or overly creative person until recently but thanks to my dear friend Martha Stewart, Ive begun to move over to the "D.I.Y. dark side".  Love her or hate her, the woman knows what she's doing when it comes to anything creative and she can make a masterpiece with shreds of paper, ribbon and a hot glue gun.  You read her magazines, watch the show and look at all the blogs and are bowled over but how fantastic something looks and before you know it you are sucked in, telling yourself oh so reassuringly like she makes it seem that you at home can do this as well.    You will be in the middle of a store looking at some sort of decoration and want to fall over at the price tag until you think to yourself "Oh I can totally make this at home.  Martha will have a template online or a YouTube video to just walk me through the process and then here you are knee deep in some crazy project that never in a million years did you think you would be concocting at home". 

Well this past weekend I got myself into quite the epic baking project.  There was a baby shower for our friend Julia and because Julia is a lover of all things cupcakes we came up with the perfect centerpiece/dessert: the cupcake bouquet.  Right from the beginning, there wasn't an ounce of hesitation that I wouldn't be able to pull this off and read endless blogs and watched a slew of YouTube videos to better familiarize myself with all of the "how-to" mechanics.  I read the trouble shooting tips to avoid any sort of mishap and even did a test run assembly with store bought cupcakes so I wouldn't be trying this for the first time at 10pm on the night before the shower.  I rounded up a strong baking crew to assist in the baking and decorating since we were making over 200 cupcakes and putting together 8 arrangements and even made countless "to-do" lists and schedules so it would be perfectly planned out.  Baking the cupcakes was a quick sprint in the park.  I picked 4 classic flavors that I make all the time so it would be a straight forward process and discovered the "life-changing" joys of what a 24 well muffin pan could do to your baking. (I always knew that massive muffin pan from WS would come in handy one day).  Assembly of the cupcakes onto the Styrofoam balls went better then expected once we got into a groove and then we hit the frosting stage and here's where things started going downhill fast.  For a majority of my cupcakes I use a cream cheese based frosting that's delicious and super easy to make and I never thought for a second that it wouldn't work well on the bouquets.  Well let's just say cream cheese frosting isn't meant to be piped on a different angles, gravity is not it's friend and we discovered pretty quickly that we were having temperature control issues as well with the frosting.  I couldn't pipe a cupcake for a life of me without it looking like a 6 year old did it and needless to say I was frustrated and ready to throw that piping bag against the wall and after everything going so smoothly all day, the project was at a standstill and we had 200 naked cupcakes that needed frosting. 

This is why you should always have close friends around you for projects like that aren't afraid to go tell you to take a breath, step away from the ledge and take control of the sinking ship and that's what Carmina did (and I know one day is she going to have quite the project that I will be assisting with to make this a fair trade off).  She convinced me that we needed a much thicker frosting that would hold up so after much debate we switched to a Swiss meringue butter cream that as soon as she started piping we knew would be successful.  There were points where we were covered in blue frosting, and I was even attacked by frosting coming out of the mixer that gave us all a good, much needed laugh. I never thought the process would end and in what had by then turned into the wee morning hours the last cupcake was piped and the kitchen was cleaned.  I can tell you I was humbled in a big way that very few things have the ability to do to you and I would have never made it without Carmina and Lisa who became our chief sprinkler and cupcake filler.  We learned a lot about the art of the cupcake bouquet and I know for a fact that this isn't the last of the cupcake bouquets in my life.  It's only a matter of time before the next big baking adventure that we get ourselves into comes along and we'll be ready to go for whatever the baking gods throw at us.  

The cupcakes made it to the shower in one piece and they looked great on the tables and everyone flipped out over how fabulous the idea was.  When you hear all of that, all the butter, eggs and time becomes worth it and you forget about the process of getting there and just that one moment in front of you where it couldn't be more perfect and everything else goes away.