Culinary Wanderings of the Brown-Eyed Baker

Future Homesick Texan

2010-01-22T06:45:00.000-08:00

Homesick Texan is rapidly becoming one of my favorite food blogs. It's fitting, since I will no longer be calling Texas my home soon, and I'm sure I will be craving those Texas flavors just the same as this inspired blogger.

Recently I gave her recipe for Sour Cream Chicken Enchiladas a try. Remember the theme for this month and next month's posts? Cooking in other people's kitchens? I've made this twice now, once at my parents' and once at a friend's. Both times have presented some interesting challenges.

Neither time that I went shopping for this was I able to find serrano peppers. The first time I just made it without them at all, and it was pretty good but very sweet, which I think the peppers might have balanced out. But the second time I upped the amount of cayenne pepper to balance out the sweetness a little more and I liked that. Also I didn't use a cast-iron pan. I don't know what difference it makes but ignorance is bliss, I suppose.

It went pretty well at my parents' house. I'm learning that THOROUGHLY reading a recipe before starting it is very important...not just to make sure I have the proper tools, but to also be aware of the process of the recipe. The reason I realized this is because I was trying to juggle so many different things with this recipe...make the sauce, shred the chicken etc. and have them all done at the same time so that everything was warm...only to realize that it all had to go in the oven at the end anyway, so it really didn't matter. I think it took me about 3 hours from start to finish.

The second time was at a friend's house. Let me start this narrative by stating that he is a bachelor. Not just a "single guy" bachelor but a "half of my kitchen is empty because I don't use it" bachelor.

Lessons learned?

Making sauce without a whisk...not fun.
No rectangular casserole pan? Use a pie pan and the square pan. It gets the job done.
Chicken breasts that have been frozen since summer 2009 will not, in fact, kill you. And it tastes just fine, once you cut off the freezer burn.

The worst part is, I made them twice and didn't get any pictures. I'm obviously out of practice. But go check out Homesick Texan's blog, you won't be disappointed.

No more excuses! Just an update.

2010-01-19T12:01:00.000-08:00

Life has been a bit tumultuous lately. I graduated and got a job in Portland, Oregon which I will be starting in February. And because I graduated, I moved out of my apartment. Sadly, all of my kitchen has been boxed up and placed in my mother's storage unit until I get my own place in Portland.

But!

Since school has been over I have been cooking quite a bit. We will just call any installments between now and March "Cooking in Other People's Kitchens."

On a related note, I got to meet my favorite WWC, Rachel Ray!

Okay not really, the picture is from the wax museum in New York City. But I did squeal when I saw the reproduction of her kitchen and I had my picture taken with her likeness.

I also went to Washington, DC recently and visited the History and Science Museum of the Smithsonian where they had a reproduction of Julia Child's kitchen. No wax figured of her culinary greatness, sadly.

I have some great posts on the way, from my personal recipe for guacamole to a lesson on the brining process. Again, I apologize for being a bad blogger but now that school is over I should be able to spend less time in textbooks and more time in cookbooks!

Excuses are like...

2009-10-03T06:35:00.000-07:00

I'm alive, I swear! I'm about to hit midterms for my last semester of college EVER. Unless I truly decide to get a PhD. but, we won't go there for now.

I've been cooking a little but to be honest I mostly live off of Lean Cuisines. Such is the life of a single, busy girl. But I did make these simple but amazing cookies the other day; those were a big hit. And when I do cook, I've been playing with the whole concept of "flavor-to-taste" which I think I am getting better at.

College will be over soon and I'll be able to play with food again! Until then, at the very least, expect results from the annual UTA Accounting Chili Cook Off at the end of this month...I have a chili recipe that will hopefully get us in the running this year!

Grill Fail

2009-09-01T06:33:00.000-07:00

In an attempt to get back in the swing of things, I tried to make my favorite recipe so far: Grilled Chicken Sausage with zucchini. I'm still a little perplexed as to what I did wrong, but the sausage was BURNT. I turned my back for a second and it was just...bad! I mixed it up anyway, hoping that all the juice from the tomatoes would bring back a little moisture, but it was just bad. My roommate, bless her heart, came home and picked out the sausage, grilled some veggie sausage she had made and we were going to add that back to the saute...but that burned TOO!

Still puzzled as to how that happened. But I'm back in the saddle again, so that's something.

Long time no post!

2009-08-17T18:15:00.000-07:00

So I promised myself when I started this that there would be no apology posts but here I go, making excuses. The last 2 weeks have been insane! I spent a week in New York (my very first time!) and started a new job. I have barely even been grocery shopping, let alone cooking! I'll have something again soon, including some NY-inspired dishes and cooking tips for the busy working girl.

For now, I'm going to heat up some leftover taco meat and relax after my first day of training at the new job. Ciao!

Chocolate Dipped Bananas

2009-08-01T09:07:00.000-07:00

My boyfriend works as a valet at the DFW airport. They changed the dress code this summer to NO SHORTS and my poor honey has to stand outside in this 100+ degree weather in a heavy black polo and black pants! So I made him a sweet frozen treat to help him cool off after a long day at work.

Chocolate Covered Bananas
8 popsicle sticks
4 bananas, halved crosswise
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tbsp sugar
12 oz semi-sweet chocolate
finely chopped pecans, if desired

Insert the popsicle sticks into the thick end of the banana. Place on wax paper and freeze for at least 2 hours.

In a small saucepan, heat the cream and stir in the sugar until dissolved. Remove from heat and set aside. In a double broiler, heat chocolate until melted. Add the heavy cream mixture and stir until smooth.

Remove the bananas from the freezer and roll in the chocolate, covering them completely and place back on the wax paper. Sprinkle with nuts, if desired. Place back into the freezer until ready to eat.

We had a lot of chocolate left over, so I dipped some strawberries in them, too, and just placed those in the fridge until the chocolate set.

Shiner Smokehaus Pork Chops

2009-08-01T07:21:00.000-07:00

I have this great cookbook called How to Win a Cowboy's Heart that I permanently borrowed from my mom. It has a great recipe for smothered pork chops, and is the only way I have ever made pork chops. They are really delicious, smothered in apples and onions after they have basically been fried. But we have been on a bit of a health kick lately, so I wanted to try a variation on the recipe, grilling them instead of frying them. And with a 6 pack of Shiner Smokehaus sitting in my fridge, what better starting ingredient for a marinade?

I want to emphasize the fact that this is a serious first for me. My own marinade? No recipe? Dangerous ground here. But I started with Shiner, how bad could it be?

If you have never tried Shiner beers, I recommend that you do so. Immediately. They haven't made a single beer that I don't like, and their special summer blend, Smokehaus, is no exception. I don't know how they did it, but it has this great mesquite-smoked flavor that is perfect for summer and grilling. If you live in one of those unfortunate places of the world that does not sell delicious Texas beer, first of all...I'm sorry. Secondly, I think Sam Adams Summer Ale would be a good substitute, or maybe a hefeweizen.

I did a little bit of reading on marinades before I made my own. Of course by research I mean I read what Alton has to say about it. His very first line under the marinades section? "Marinades have long been hailed as "tenderizers." They're not.

Huh. Really, Alton? I thought that was the whole point.

He goes on to say that marinades seem to tenderize because they add flavors to our meats, and those sweet/salty/acidic/spicy flavors activate our taste buds and create more saliva in our mouths, making food easier to chew and creating the illusion of a more tender meat.

So, with new found confidence from the knowledge that marinades are all about flavor and not necessarily the right combination to "tenderize," I gave it a whirl. And let me tell you, these pork chops were GOOD.

Shiner Smokehaus Pork Chops
Marinade:
1 bottle Shiner Smokehaus beer
2 tbsp honey
juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger

Apple Topping:
2 granny smith apples, quartered and sliced
half an onion, sliced
cinnamon
olive oil

Whisk all of the marinade ingredients together. (Be sure and use a large container for this...beer foams a LOT when you whisk it.) Put the pork chops and the marinade in a container with a lid, and refrigerate for 2-6 hours.

Fire up the grill! If you are fortunate enough to have a charcoal grill, then go that route. I don't even know how to tell you to use it so I'm not going to try. I have a gas grill (baby steps). Grill the pork chops until cooked through.

Meanwhile, heat up some olive oil in a frying pan at medium high heat. Add the apples, onions, and cinnamon, cooking until soft. Remove from heat.

Top the cooked pork chops with the apples and onions, crack open a Shiner Smokehaus and enjoy!

French Toast fail

2009-07-26T10:28:00.000-07:00

So drawing inspiration from Zesty's Super Star Toast, I decided to make myself breakfast the other day, but thought I could improve his method just a bit with FRENCH toast. He made an amazing looking piece of toast with peanut butter, bananas, and blueberries. I didn't have any blueberries on hand, so I decided to put just peanut butter and bananas on french toast.

Result? Mushy mess. Zesty knew what he was doing putting it on regular toast...the french toast just got really soggy. The flavors weren't too bad, and I got it down with a big glass of milk, but I really think next time I'll stick to regular toast. It'll hold up to the peanut butter better, I think, and give some contrast in texture, instead of the plate o' mush that I got. It didn't even make pretty photographs.

I'm pretty sure the french toast on its own would have been delicious...I mixed up egg and milk with a splash of vanilla and a sprinkle of cinnamon. It just didn't hold up to the peanut butter very well at all.

Lesson learned! Sticking with the toast next time.

Holy Yum!

2009-07-23T06:56:00.000-07:00

So excited! Megan over at Megan's Munchies has awarded my S'mores Treats with a Holy Yum award! Brought me right out of my post-midterm funk. Thanks, Megan!

Italian Sausage with Zucchini and Tomatoes

2009-07-19T09:39:00.000-07:00

Here I go with the zucchini again. It really is my favorite vegetable. I got this recipe at Whole Foods, and it called for regular italian sausage. Not too long ago, my Aunt Karen introduced me to chicken sausage...all the flavor of sausage, and only 90 calories a link. I picked up this Archer's Farm brand chicken sausage at Super Target. It does NOT look appetizing raw but once I grilled it that all changed.

Saying I got this recipe from Whole Foods isn't entirely accurate...I got it from the Whole Foods Recipe app I have on my iPhone. As if I didn't have enough reasons to love my iPhone. I have browsed a lot of recipes on it and you can expect to see them soon!

This is a very simple recipe but was packed with tons of flavor. It got me thinking a lot about garlic, because the garlic in this recipe is treated so much differently than the garlic for the Summer Vegetable Pasta I made. I want to investigate garlic, but it will have to wait until after finals. Only a week and a half of summer school left!

Italian Sausage with Zucchini and Tomatoes
adapted from: Whole Foods Recipes
One package mild Italian style chicken sausage
2 tbs extra virgin olive oil
4 to 6 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tbs dried oregano
1tbs dried basil
1 pound zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
One package grape tomatoes, halved (I think it was a pint? I'm not sure. The clear plastic container.)
salt and pepper to taste

Grill sausages until cooked through. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium high heat. Add garlic and oregano, stir for a few seconds. Add zucchini and cook until tender, about 3 to 5 minutes.

When the sausages are cooked, cut into bite-size pieces and add to the pan with the basil, tomatoes, salt and pepper. Continue to saute until tomatoes are just softened, about 1 minute.

Morning Glory Breakfast Cookies

2009-07-17T10:27:00.000-07:00

I had a hankering to bake the other day and I thumbed through one of my favorite cookie books and came across this recipe. It looked pretty good, for the most part, but I made a couple of modifications to make them a little healthier and more delicious. The original recipe called for sweetened coconut and raisins. I nixed the coconut altogether, switched the raisins to craisins, and we were in business!

I liked this recipe because I thought it looked like a very healthy sort of cookie. Obviously it still has the flour, sugar, and butter components of a cookie but it's also full of grated apple, carrots, craisins, and walnuts. The raw dough was so delicious I didn't know how many cookies I would end up with! They didn't turn out overly sweet so they truly taste more like a breakfast food, and go GREAT with coffee. When I make these again I want to use whole wheat flour to get these as healthy as possible. I have a health nut for a roommate so I want to make things that she will eat, too!

Once I get the recipe I usually defer to Alton Brown's creaming methodology instead of following the recipe exactly. He's a genius, that man. I'm Just Here for More Food is my baking bible.

Morning Glory Breakfast Cookies
adapted from: Big Fat Cookies

2 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3/4 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp finely grated orange zest
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup peeled and finely grated carrots (I used 2 carrots)
1 cup peeled and grated apples (one medium granny smith apple for me)
1 cup craisins
1 cup chopped walnuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and position a rack in the middle of the oven. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Combine the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a bowl and set aside. (Ideally, this should be done in a food processor or sifter. However, as we have already established, I have no food processor, and an old roommate put my sifter in the dishwasher and turned it into a rusty mess. So, I whisk. But in an ideal world: food processor. Sorry, Alton.)

In a small bowl, beat the eggs and vanilla extract together.

Using a stand mixer with the paddle attachment on medium speed, beat the butter for about 30 seconds. Slowly add the sugar and beat until creamy. (This is a tricky term if you're not used to it. The key is to WATCH the butter/sugar, and it eventually gets to a point where it noticeably changes in consistency. It lightens in color and color and gets almost fluffy-looking. You can't SEE the granules of sugar anymore, but you can feel them.)

Lower the mixer speed and add the egg mixture, half at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Add the orange peel, carrot, and apples.

Work in the flour mixture in three installments. Add nuts.

Using an ice cream scoop, scoop mounds of dough onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving at least 2 inches of space in between each scoop. (Hey, the book is called Big Fat Cookies. They mean that literally.) Bake one sheet at a time, for about 20 minutes, until the bottoms are browned, the tops are pale but firm, and an inserted toothpick comes out clean. Cool the cookies on the cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Trust me on the craisins. Pure genius. Raisins are so passe.

S'mores Treats and Birthday Wishes!

2009-07-15T14:12:00.001-07:00

Today is my amazing boyfriend Matt's 25th birthday! As a special treat, I made an invention of his: S'mores Treats! We created them together for a bake sale last ear and they were such a big hit they have become a bake sale staple. I've spent the last few days studying for a tax midterm so I love having the excuse of Matt's birthday to make sweets. One of the best things about him is that he is so easy to please. A PB&J makes him just as happy as gourmet sushi and I just love it! Makes my life easier.

We normally mix chocolate chips directly into the mix but they always melt and make a phenomenal, gooey, delicious mess. This time, in honor of his birthday, I put a little more effort into it and dipped the bottoms into melted chocolate and drizzled it on top.

Delicious!

S'mores Treats
6 cups Golden Grahams
1/2 stick butter
10 0z bag of marshmallows
chocolate

Melt the butter in a large pot and then fold in the marshmallows, stirring until melted. Remove from heat and stir in the cereal, then spread into a buttered pan. Let sit until cool. Once cool, cut into squares. Melt the chocolate, then dip the bottoms of the squares into the chocolate and invert on a cooling rack. Refrigerate to set the chocolate. Once it has set, flip them over and drizzle remaining chocolate over the top.

Summer Vegetable Pasta

2009-07-09T08:17:00.000-07:00

I love Rachel Ray. I think she has a great attitude and her food always sounds great. I even own 14 Rachel Ray magazines. From those magazines full of countless recipes, I have made a total of one, and it involved Pillsbury crescent rolls. Not very daring, I know. Now we can call it two! I love zucchini but the only way I have ever cooked it is grilled, so when I came across this pasta in the 2009 June/July issue, I just had to make it!

So, first of all, as you can guess from the picture this recipe has corn in it. EARS of corn. It is the perfect season for it and I was able to get it for only $0.10 each! I had to remove it from the ear, and let me tell you, that is an interesting process.

It gets EVERYWHERE.

I live in an apartment, so there's the kitchen counter, then a higher bar-top counter; the corn flew over the bar top and I found it in the living room carpet. I kid you not. Once I got over the shock of flying corn kernels (and swept and vacuumed) I ended up with about 2 cups of corn from 4 ears. So, if you don't want to risk flying corn, maybe try 2 cups frozen/canned. But the fresh corn gives it a really great texture and flavor so I would not recommend going that route.

Also, the zucchini is supposed to be thinly sliced. So I took this opportunity to give my roommate's mandoline slicer a try. Tiffany's mom sells Pampered Chef so our kitchen is full of gadgetry. It's a really neat slicer, but about 2 zucchinis in I was sick of it. It has this safety mechanism built in, to avoid hurt fingers, but it wastes a lot of the vegetable. I think I'll reserve it for potatoes from here on out.

All in all, it was a big hit! Matt even liked it and he usually does not go for entrees that do not involve meat, meat-and-potatoes man that he is. The swiss cheese definitely adds a great kick.

Summer Vegetable Pasta
1 pound rotini
1/4 cup EVOO
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 cup italian-style breadcrumbs
3 zucchini, thinly sliced
4 ears corn, kernels scraped off
6 ounces swiss cheese, shredded
salt and pepper

The recipe says it makes 4 servings, but I think it's more like 6. My roommate, Matt and I all had some and there is still half of it left.

Cook the pasta to al dente in boiling, salted water and drain, reserving one cup of the water.

Meanwhile, in a small skillet, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat then cook half of the garlic until golden (about 30 seconds). Stir in the breadcrumbs and set aside.

In the pasta pot, heat the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil over medium heat and cook the remaining garlic until golden; add the zucchini and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender (about 5 minutes). Stir in the corn, cooked pasta, and pasta water. Add 1 cup cheese and toss; season with salt and pepper.

Stir the remaining cheese into the breadcrumb mixture and sprinkle it on top of the pasta to serve.

Chocolate Pecan Torte

2009-07-06T10:19:00.000-07:00

As promised, my first food post is the torte I mentioned. This recipe was given to me by my grandmother when she found out that I had no use for my food processor. Funnily enough, after I bought everything to make the torte, I got out said food processor and discovered that at some point in the 4 years I have owned it and never used it, I lost the bowl attachment! So I improvised and used my blender. First food lesson? Blenders are not good substitutes for food processors.

Chocolate Pecan Torte
1 cup nuts
4 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1 cup butter
1 cup sugar
5 eggs
1/2 cup flour

You can use any kind of nuts for this recipe; I chose pecans because the grocery store I went to only had pecans, walnuts, and almonds, and pecans sounded the tastiest. Plus I planned on taking this to my boyfriend's mother, and she has a walnut allergy.

I've never had a torte before. The closest I have come is drooling at the Sacher Torte that they serve at La Madeleine. So I was pretty surprised to look at the recipe and see only half a cup of flour, but wikipedia informed me that a torte uses ground nuts in substitute of flour.

After preheating the oven to 325 degrees and lining a spring form pan with parchment and butter, I started out by putting the chocolate and the pecans in the blender and ground them into a fine paste. So far so good.

The next step of adding the sugar and butter was a little tricky. My poor little blender, try as it might, could not handle all that thickness! So I turned to my trusty KitchenAid mixer and hoped for the best. A whisk attachment is not really a substitute for blades, so everything didn't get ground up like I'm sure it was supposed to.

I added the eggs one at a time, then followed with the flour. When I scraped the batter into the pan, it didn't look smooth at all:

After half an hour in the oven it looked pretty good, and smelled amazing! Bob the Fish approved.

I made whipped cream to go with it, and took it over to Matt's parent's house yesterday, and it was a hit! Matt's mom liked it so much she asked me to make it for her birthday cake. I forgot to take my camera with me, but I took this one with my iPhone.

People liked it? Sounds like success to me! But I think I'll get my hands on an actual food processor before I make that birthday cake.

Strep Throat?! So not Martha.

2009-06-30T18:40:00.000-07:00

I had my tax midterm yesterday and was very much looking forward to making that hazelnut torte I mentioned, but I woke up unable to swallow! After a trip to the doctor I was informed that I have strep throat! Terrible. As much as I would like to cook, I don't think anyone wants to try potentially infectious treats. So I'm sitting here with my OJ and my antibiotics. Matt made me banana chocolate chip pancakes (from a mix)...when I'm feeling better I'll have to try those from scratch.

Wish me a speedy recovery so I can start cooking!

Welcome!

2009-06-26T11:48:00.000-07:00

Hi there! Welcome to my little culinary experiment. I am a 25 year old accountant with a strong desire to expand my horizons in the world of food. As the child of a single mother who worked full time and went to school, meals were more about convenience and ease than variety. Growing up in a small town in East Texas, confined to Tex-Mex and barbecue, I was unaware of the possibilities of flavor. Now I live in the Big City (Dallas/Fort Worth) and have had my eyes opened to how amazing food can truly be, which has given me a passion for it. I have been following blogs and stocking up on cookbooks and magazines but haven't been very brave when it comes to cooking new things. I'm ready to begin, and invite you to follow my journey.

I don't have a food post ready just yet; I have a very delicious recipe for a Hazelnut Torte from my grandmother (my favorite WWC = Woman Who Cooks) and I will have it up soon.

Thanks for stopping by! See you again soon.