Archive for the ‘food’ Category

Crazy Cat

January 25th, 2009
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Nothing spices up oven-fried catfish like a deformed lemon. Chris and I make sure to pick all of the weird ones from our tree first, mostly because they’re the tastier ones.

catfish and deformed lemon

A couple of nights ago I made catfish fish sticks from a recipe I found online titled Fishsticks in a Flash. Of course I’m going to make them. If it’s made of few ingredients and takes less than a half hour, I’m all over it. The fish sticks took 20 minutes. BONUS. They tasted just like the large cat we always order at Jonathan’s Fish & Chips. DOUBLE BONUS. And Chris couldn’t stop talking about it. TRIPLE BONUS.

Penelope even had a taste. She was mad we didn’t give her more.

Fish Sticks in a Flash

1/2 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 pound U.S. Farm-Raised Catfish fillets, cut into 1-in thick strips

1. Preheat the oven to 475°F.
2. Lightly oil or coat a large baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
3. Combine the cornmeal, cheese, garlic powder and salt in a medium bowl and mix well.
4. Place the oil in a small bowl. Lightly coat each piece of fish in the oil and then roll in the breading until well coated.
5. Arrange the fish on the prepared baking sheet and bake until golden brown, 10 to 12 minutes.

January’s Sweet + Savory

January 14th, 2009
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January’s edition of the Mountain Echo has been out for a while and I’m thinking, Maybe I should post what I did!

I’ve blogged about Barefoot Contessa’s Pesto Pea Salad before, and decided I’d share it again, but with a few additions of my own. I’m the type of person that likes a hearty salad that could double as the main dish, so here it is; BC’s Hearty Pesto Pea Salad. While I love it, Chris isn’t a fan, and I’m really at a loss for why. Maybe it’s because he doesn’t particularly like peas. Maybe.

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Hearty Pesto Pea Salad

adapted from Bare Contessa’s Pesto Pea Salad
servings: 4 prep time: 15 minutes
8 ounces chicken
2 cups of frozen peas
2 tablespoons pine-nuts
3 cups baby spinach leaves
1 cup grated carrots
3 tablespoons pesto
1 cup grated parmesan
Cube chicken, cook in frying pan with a little olive oil until lightly browned. Toast pine-nuts in a dry sauté pan and cook over medium heat for about 4 minutes, or until evenly browned, tossing frequently.To assemble salad, place the spinach leaves in a salad bowl. Sprinkle the peas, pine-nuts, parmesan and carrots over the spinach. Add the pesto and toss.

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Apple + Orange Cake*

makes: one small bundt cake
total time: 40 minutes


Cake:

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup applesauce
1 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teapoon soda
Preheat oven to 350º and grease small bundt pan. Cream sugar and butter, add egg and beat well. Stir in applesauce, then slowly add dry ingredients. Pour into greased bundt pan and bake at 350º for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out smooth.

Glaze:
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup brown sugar, firmly packed
4 teaspoons cornstarch
1/2 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon orange grind, grated
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
3/4 cup water

Mix the sugars with the cornstarch in a medium saucepan. Gradually add the orange and lemon juices, stirring vigorously to avoid lumps. Stir in the orange rind, salt, butter, corn syrup, and water. Bring to a boil over medium heat and cook until the sauce thickens, 5 to 8 minutes. Serve hot.

*Glaze recipe taken from The Winter Vegetarian by Darra Goldstein.

Yule be glad you did it.

December 29th, 2008
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Honestly, many thanks to my Mother-in-law for keeping me motivated for this mammoth DBers Challenge. I wouldn’t have been able to do it in 12 hours if it weren’t for her. Overall: I’ll likely never make this again, but it was absolutely delicious.

This month’s challenge is brought to us by the adventurous Hilda from Saffron and Blueberry and Marion from Il en Faut Peu Pour Etre Heureux.
They have chosen a French Yule Log by Flore from Florilege Gourmand.

If you want the recipe, go here (it’s 18 pages of hair-pulling, eye-gouging fabulousness) because I don’t want copy down the colossal recipe. Sorry. I will, however, tell you what the layers are. . .

  • Almond Dacquoise
  • Dark Chocolate Mousse
  • Dark Chocolate Ganache
  • Praline Feuillete
  • Vanilla/Nutmeg Creme Brulee
  • Dark Chocolate Icing

It was great to have my mother-in-law’s help, plus her enormously huge kitchen and sweet glass servingware.

Brother-in-law, Eric, seemed to like it.

Also, thanks to Chris and father-in-law, Cordell, for getting me the amazing D200 and 50mm Lens for Christmas. You can almost taste the creaminess of the mousse and the crunchiness of the feiullete through the screen.

Million Formula Cans Pt. II

December 17th, 2008
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It’s a good think that Penelope drinks so much, otherwise I wouldn’t have anything to put Christmas presents in. Now I’m thinking, what am I going to do when she grows out of formula? Maybe I’ll just have to buy formula just for the cans. Or beg neighbors that have little ones for their leftover cans. I love those things.

This year I made marshmallows, caramels, chocolate-dipped meringue cookies. I feel a little guilty that I’m contributing to the annual sugar-induced coma. Oh well. At least they’re tasty.

Second Annual Christmas Candy Box Printable

December 3rd, 2008
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Merry Christmas! I hope y’all will be spreading the Christmas spirit with my candy boxes and your favorite homemade confections. I know I will. Here’s the second annual Christmas box design available for free! CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD. This download is free for personal use only.

Caramels That Won’t Fail

Dorothy Schettler
Makes about 200 one-inch squares

2 sticks butter (or 1 cup)
1 1/2 cups Karo syrup
4 cups sugar
2 cans evaporated milk

Butter a jelly roll pan, set aside. In a large pot, melt butter, add Karo syrup, then sugar. Cook until boiling. Slowly add evaporated milk so candy won’t stop boiling, stirring continuously with a wooden spoon. Cook to firm ball stage (235º on candy thermometer. Pour into buttered pan and cool 5 hours or overnight. Cut in 1″ squares, wrap in wax paper, and eat or give away. This recipe is also good for caramel apples. FYI.

More Christmas Candy Printables (By Year)

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