Rye Bread w Onions and Caraway (for Bread Machine)

I set this one to bake in the bread machine before work the other day. I was really suprised how good it turned out. I can never be too sure with some recipes. This one I set to be finished in 13 hours. Worked great. House smell like good fresh bread...and since it was a Rye Bread, the caraway seed...oh definitely a good, home-welcoming scent.

Rye Bread with Onions and Caraway (for the Bread Machine)
3 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup rye flour
3 tablespoons sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons dry milk
1 1/2 teaspoons slat
1 1/2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup onions, chopped
2 1/2 teaspoons caraway seeds
1 cup water
1 3/4 teaspoons dry yeast

Add ingredients in the order for your bread machine. Set for the basic dough mode.

This yields a 2 pound loaf.

My First Fridge Friday

I joined Twitter recently and met a new friend, Maggie. She has a great website called Eat Boutique. One of her blog events is "Fridge Fridays" where you take a picture of your fridge on Friday. No matter what shape it is in, no matter how empty or full. Just open the door and snap your picture. Sorry to say mine is completely crazy looking! This is my first Fridge Friday and I promise to have a better looking fridge next week!

See the halibut the round cup of basil is sitting on? That's dinner for tonight...Real fish and chips. I love it.

Maybe just to mess things up I'll count the condiments in my fridge. It's pretty insane. I think currently there are 4 mustards in there. Notice, I skipped the drawers :)

Whisk Wednesday: Guinea Hen w Mushrooms and Chesnuts

Whisk Wednesday! Love playing with the food. Apparently, taking APPEALING food pictures however is not something I'm capable of...but I must say this was a very good, rich, take-the-chill off Sunday chicken dinner.

I subbed chicken for the guinea hen and walnuts for the chesnuts. It was a real experiment for me since I don't normally cook the nuts in a sauce. I sometimes use pine nuts or whiz almonds in the food processor, but these were walnut halves and produced quite a bit of texture.

The dish included Oyster mushrooms, button mushrooms, pearl onions and a beautiful red wine sauce finished with the cooking juices and butter. We really enjoyed this dish and even ate the other half the second day. Great meal!

Want to join us? Visit Whisk: a food blog. Want to see how my companions faired? See their blog posts from the blog roll .

Cubicle Crawl

I head up our Charity of the Month at work as a special assignment. Our best method of raising donations is something "food". We always have one jean day a month.

This month we decided to have "Cubicle Crawl". That is where whoever wanted to bring snacks, would bring them in, set them up on their cubicle cabinet and collect donations from snackers.

WHAT A HUGE HIT! We ended up with only about 12 cubicles with food, but raised almost $400!

I was still searching recipes and racking my brain for a new idea the day before the Cubicle Crawl. I would only be in the office during the morning and was thinking of a crockpot breakfast. On my way to the store, my brain "invented" the following recipe.

Need Recipe Name, For Now, I'll Call It Michigan Mexican Breakfast Casserole

I made 2 giant pans of this casserole and let it cool, cut into squares, wrap about 9squares into a large foil package. I took the "packages" to work and warmed (still in the package) in an electric pan with the lid. Perfect!

Essentially, this is a green chili bisquick crust, topped with sausage, salsa, cheese mixture.

Crust:
2 eggs
1 cup bisquick (I used the heart healthy one)
7 ounces canned green chilies, diced
Good sprinkle of taco seasoning
Cheddar cheese, shredded

Mix crust, spread into a 9x13 dish. This will appear thing, but puffs up pretty good. Shake a good bit of cheddar cheese over the top.


Topping:
1/2 medium onion
3 cloves garlic
1 tube breakfast sausage
16 ounces salsa

Soften onions and garlic in a large fry pan. Add breakfast sausage (I used one tube Bob Evans), crumble and cook till done. I drained some of the fat off and added the salsa jar. Let simmer till the flavors are melded.

Add the topping to the baking dish right on top of the crust. Bake at 350 for about 20 minutes.

What I really liked about this recipe is the way you could change the ingredients. Need it hotter? Use hot breakfast sausage. Want a smokey taste? Add a chipotle and sprinkle of cumin. Don't have a cooking onion, do you have green ones? Be flexible and have fun!

Halibut Sandwiches - Fishy Fishy In The Brook!

Halibut Sandwiches...Halibut Burgers.....Fish Burger....Whatever you want to call them...they are great.

First, fly to Alaska and fish for halibut. Second, have it shipped home. *GRIN*

Okay, maybe you buy the halibut....or even sub cod or another firm whitefish. Either way, this is a great and simple sandwich that really perks up a home meal.

Tartar sauce
Toppings (like fresh, sliced tomatoes)
Halibut
Fresh sandwich bun

Tartar sauce
I have to admit that I don't measure here. I mix, sample, add, then leave it to meld on it's own.

Mayonnaise
Dijon mustard
Fresh or dried dill weed
Lemon juice
Chopped dill pickle
Garlic powder sprinkle
Onion powder sprinkle (or grate a bit of fresh onion)
Want kick? Add a touch of horseradish

Halibut
Rinse halibut, remove skin, cut into sandwich sized pieces, about the size of your bun/roll
Season with salt and pepper.

Dredge halibut in flour seasoned with garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Fry in about 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a non-stick skillet. When golden brown, flip with a fish spatula and brown the other side.

Toast buns and slather your tartar sauce on. Add your halibut and tomatoes or other toppings. (Such as LETTUCE - Thank you Mooner). You can even drizzle some malt vinegar on if so desired. Serve...Serve with napkins and one of those Chinet plates I love so much. Easy clean-up!

Whisk Wednesday: Cornish Hens w Cream & Apples

I dragged my feet on this meal. Fruit and meat. Not a favorite. Apples? But this IS Whisk Wednesday and my desire to delve deep into French cooking. What better way is there to do that than by following Le Cordon Bleu At Home?

Beautiful meal. Actually, wonderful tasting too. A roasted cornish hen is served over circle croutons and plated with baked apples and a cream sauce that is highlited with apple brandy. We loved it! It was a fun dish to make too. I will definitely be cutting those croutons again. Not only were they pretty, but they absorbed just the right bit of sauce and really made this dish come together.

Want to join us? Visit Whisk: a food blog. Want to see how my companions faired? See their blog posts from the blog roll .

Reduced-Fat French Onion Dip w Homemade Potato Chips

Yes! I am a potato chip eater. I love chips. Sweets? Yeah, they are good....but chips...oh man. I love chips.

I signed up to be a recipe tester with Cook's Country and have been eagerly awaiting my first test. I finally received it and it is for a Reduced-Fat French Onion Dip. Now I can't give away their recipe but I can give you a few sneaky tidbits about it.

One is that part of the recipe is made with cottage cheese which is blended with a bit of boiling water to smooth out any lumps. I myself am against cottage cheese for it just LOOKS weird. But I did try the recipe exactly and it tasted great!

I hadn't used my blender in forever so it was fun to get that massive powerhouse of a kitchen appliance out again. Whip that cottage cheese with those carmelized onions...oh man. This was low fat??? Tasted really good. Hmmm... I have plans for this method in other things :>)

Next, this dip recipe was just that...dip. It didn't even offer any suggestions for serving veggies or potato chips. My task? To find a good potato chip recipe that wasn't ridiculously fattening, thereby trashing all low-fat efforts on the dip.

I found a great one. It was from Cook's Illustrated which stated was Herb Potato Chips, but I 86-ed the herbs and went with a nice coarse kosher salt. The method is pretty cool.

Thinly slice 1 potato

Lay slices onto a well oiled cookie sheet

Sprinkle with salt

Grease the OUTSIDE bottom of another cookie sheet and leave the potato slices between the two sheets. Bake at 375 for about 20-25 minutes.

OMG. Stop me now. They were completely great! I promise to add some variations on this recipe because they have to be WAAAAY Less fat that store bought potato chips. I doubt I used 1 1/2 TB of vegetable oil. They were crisp, had some golden brown spots on them and held up well to the dip.

Ask me how work was today? I spent the day in and out working on warranty data and pondering every chip flavor known to man. I love recipe day dreaming.

Spice Cupboard

I was talking with my friends the other day about my spice cupboard and decided to share a picture. As you can see, I do buy alot from Penzey's. I can't help it. I love so many of their spices. I also use several of their spices to make my own rubs. That is so much fun! One of my favorites is here.

I hope to see a pic of everyone else's spice cupboard too! Post a link in your comment!

Garlicky Shrimp Caesar - Definitely Vampire Proof

Great salad! This is my version of a Garlicky Shrimp Caesar. I used about 3 1/2 fat cloves of garlic and I pressed them into the dressing. You might just want to use two cloves. My dressing was very garlicky. I however, love garlic and thought it was great.

Garlicky Shrimp Caesar

4 Wooden Skewers
3/4 pound Shrimp, peeled and deveined
1 head romaine lettuce
Parmesan Cheese Block
Croutons
Dressing:
2 garlic cloves, pressed
1T dijon mustard
2t worchestershire sauce
Grind black pepper
2 anchovies, smashed
1 egg
1/2 cup olive oil

Soak wooden skewers in water for about 30 minutes. I use two skewers for each strip of shrimp. It makes it easier to flip them around on the grill and not have the shrimp "spin" on you.

Use your washed romaine lettuce and tear into bite sized pieces. Add to a large salad bowl.
Shave curls of parmesan cheese using your potato peeler and add to salad.
Sprinkle in croutons. You can wait till serving time for this if you are not eating right away.
Brush shrimp with olive oil, salt, pepper and cayenne. The cayenne can be omitted.
Grill the shrimp about 3 minutes, flipping occassionally until done. Set aside. The shrimp do not have to be steaming hot on the salad, in fact it's better if they are a bit cooled off from cooking.

Whisk all dressing ingredients together in a medium bowl. Slowly drizzle the olive oil in until thickened.

Serve with dressing on the side, or mix in with the salad if you prefer.

Additions/Changes:

• Grilled chicken instead of shrimp
• Serve crusty bread instead of topping with croutons
• Proscuitto strips are great
• Saute chopped proscuitto and use like bacon and sprinkle
• Omit garlic from dressing and saute garlic slices in olive oil and sprinkle over salad
• Add fresh summer tomato slices

There are a variety of great changes and substitutions you can make with Caesar Salad. Just one of the reasons it's so perfect for a meal.

Handy Use for Olive Dish

The other night I wanted to soak some skewers before grilling with them. The soaking, uh...yeah, that's pretty important. Please do not make me tell the story of what happens on the indoor gas grill when you try to cook something with UNsoaked wooden skewers.....OH geez. And the part where I try to hide the fact that the gas grill has giant flames shooting up off the food....yeaaaah....so nice. *eyeroll* Just please, soak your skewers. ORRR better yet, frighten your mother with the story and she will run out and buy you metal ones *GRIN* That's what I did.

I only wanted to slide some shrimp on the skewers and give them a quick grill. These were not mega-sized shrimp and the wooden skewers were skinnier, hence the soaking requirement.

As I looked around the kitchen, holding the skewers and doing the ohhh will this dish work...no...what about this one?....You know that routine. Well, I stumbled onto my Olive Dish. A super discount gem from Williams-Sonoma's After Christmas Sale. I have to say, this worked just PERFECTLY. Very little clean-up. So get out your olive dish!

Don't have an olive dish? No problem, I've also made a foil package and fill with water and spare all clean-up!

Chicken Stock - Uses...How handy

I don't always have homemade chicken stock on hand. I sure wish I did, it's very economical and so easy to make. Smells and looks alot better than the canned stuff, that's for sure. But for some reason, I have found that in order to cook, I have to partake in a 9-5 JOB. Very depressing. Working just gets in the way of cooking all the foods that I would love to make. Hmmph.


One of my loves is Costco, and one of the products my Costco carries is this Chicken Broth which is much better than the other shelf brands.


I find many people saying, but WHAT do you use it for? I find myself reaching for that stock container in my fridge, so often. Soups, stews, simmers, sauces, etc. I've found that I can cut back on oil and use some stock instead. VERY good secret.


Take a meal that you would soften garlic and onion. I heat a smaller amount of olive oil, toss in the chopped onion, then garlic and then a touch of stock. Maybe a few tablespoons. Just depends on what I'm making. But I really like knowing that I'm reducing the amount of oil/fat in my cooking.


This is a nice mild stock without a heavy chicken flavor. I'm not trying to sell you on this brand, but as you hang around this website you'll read where I'm tossing in some "chicken stock" and this is what I mean.

Fish Burgers From Leftovers!

I love to think about food. I love to read recipes, cookbooks, food emails, blogs, newspapers, all things food related. Somehow in the back of my mind, between zillions of recipes and some leftover seafood, this is what I invented.

Crispy Fish Burgers

Leftover halibut, about 4 ounces

Cooked shrimp, about 4 ounces

Fish Cake fillings

Remoulade

Mix with other ingredients to make essentially a fish cake. Like a crab cake, but here made with halibut and shrimp. You could use cod and crab. Tilapia and lobster. Whatever you have on hand. I really liked the blend of fish and shellfish.

Seafood Mix

Mayonnaise

Dijon Mustard

Salt, Pepper, Garlic Powder, Onion Powder, Dill Weed, bit Cayenne

Celery and Parsley, minced

Bread Crumbs

1 egg, beaten

Mix together the seafood mix ingredients and form into 2 patties.

Remoulade

Mayonnaise

Dijon Mustard

Capers

Salt, Pepper, Dill Weed, Minced Parsley

Lemon juice

Mix the remoulade ingredients and set aside till serving time.

Heat 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil in a non-stick skillet over medium heat. When hot add the patties and cook each side till nice, brown and crispy.

Serve with remoulade, sliced tomatoes and a fresh bun.

Whisk Wednesday Swap!

Fun stuff! Michelle of Big Black Dog suggested a swap among the Whisk Wednesday friends. This is the neat stuff I received! A julienne peeler, OXO measuring cups you can actually read, a sweet car, a great Kyocera slicer, and the best gift of all....homemade herbs de Provence! What a special gift. Thank you Natashya!

Chicken Fricassee w Garlic and Sage

I like chicken. I like garlic. So, naturally I would love a chicken dish, simmered with 20 cloves of garlic and white wine then the juices poured off and made into a rich garlicy finishing sauce. That was our Le Cordon Bleu dish for Whisk Wednesday. Tender chicken, hinted with a bit of sage, and I served mine with baby gold roasted potatoes. Great meal. The potatoes were good with the garlic sauce as well.

Follow our Whisk leader at Whisk Blog. Scroll down on the right to see the BlogRoll and how the rest of my teammates did. I'll bet there will be some mouth-watering dinners there!