Shelley's New Best Friend

A dear friend of mine just had a baby and I've promised food that she can throw in her freezer. OK - that's not too difficult, but finding the perfect recipe is. So, I went to my handy stash of recipes to try in Google Docs and found one for a Tuscan Stoup that sounds good and sounds like something that her other two children might actually eat. One problem - it calls for an ingredient that I've never heard of. And for once, Wikipedia didn't really steer me in the right direction.

So ... I went to recipezaar.com and since I'm fancying myself these days as a novice foodie, I actually signed up for their free membership and posted my dilemma on their community board. Not 15 minutes later, I received reply from people who are far more knowledgeable than I am.

Recipezaar ... I think I love you.

A blast from the distant past

A couple of my readers might remember my Great-Grandma Florence Ewing, but unfortunately for the rest of you, Grandma Ewing went to her heavenly home about 15 years ago and there's no one else like her in this world.

First and foremost, my grandma was tiny - she came up to about my chest. That lady was chin-high, but damn could she cook and bake. I can close my eyes and remember exactly what she looked like - my grandpa Stan favored her in looks and oh, how my grandpa loved his mom. All of the Ewing kids adored her, so did her grandchildren and her great-grandchildren. I would give anything for a loaf of her lemon poppyseed bread. My mom almost cried the day that she opened grandma's last jar of homemade pickles.

One of the things that is maddening about losing someone like my great-grandma is that many of her recipes came from the confines of her head - the lady rarely wrote anything down. So to find this one, with little to no explanation - is a sweet surprise. Even if its just a road map.

Fried Green Tomatoes
by Florence Ewing


Green tomato Seasoned flour
Bacon grease

Stem and wash a green tomato. Slice it round. Roll in seasoned flour. Fry in bacon grease or oleo. Try these for supper. Very good.

Grandma didn't waste words, y'all.

Guinness Cupcakes

When my buddy Erin suggested we have a meal where every recipe had alcohol in it, there was only one that I could think of turning to (instead of just trying to make my mom's vodka slush): Guinness cupcakes. I had run into a recipe for these lovely, stout-laced cakes on a food blog and decided to make them for my friends. And yes friends, it is very, very good.

Guinness Cupcakes
by Dave Lieberman
12 ounces Guinness® stout
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I substituted applesauce for a "lighter" recipe.)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
3 large eggs
3/4 cup sour cream
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, plus more for garnish
2 cups sugar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

For the Frosting:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup heavy cream
3 c. powdered sugar (eyeball it and don't be afraid to try the frosting to make sure it tastes what you want it to be.)
cocoa powder for dusting

Preheat oven to 350°F. In a large mixing bowl, combine the Guinness®, milk, vegetable oil, and vanilla. Beat in the eggs one at a time. Mix in the sour cream. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together the cocoa, sugar, flour, and baking soda. Gradually mix the dry ingredients into the wet Guinness® mixture. Butter 24 muffin tins and divide the batter among the muffin tins.

Bake 25 minutes until risen and set in the middle but still soft and tender. Cool before turning out of the tins.

Make the frosting:
Beat the cream cheese in a bowl until light and fluffy. Gradually beat in the heavy cream. Slowly mix in the confectioner's sugar. Top each cupcake with a heap of frosting and dust with cocoa.

What happened?

To a week's worth of pumpkin?

Well ... on Tuesday, I made macaroni and cheese. Wednesday I made macaroni and cheese. Today is Thanksgiving. :) My favorite chef Erin is cooking for me and member of his family. (I love you, man and I look forward to learning more of your craft.)

I have a few recipes up my sleeve though. In the meantime, I hope you all stuff yourselves silly and enjoy time with your families.

I'll be back. Maybe tomorrow - maybe the weekend. :)

Ravioli in Pumpkin Cream Sauce with Cranberries and Walnuts

This recipe comes from Leslie Sansone's book "Eat Smart, Walk Strong." And considering what's in the ingredient list, it should suprise none of you that I made this dish this weekend while Ryan was gone. The man is patient and will eat damn near anything, but if I presented him a plate with dried cranberries on it ... I think he'd reach for a phone and order takeout.

The first time I made this dish a few years ago, I absolutely adored it. This time, not so much - I think because I've been seduced by the pumpkin cream penne that I made last week. Darn you Rachael Ray!
Ravioli in Pumpkin Cream Sauce with Cranberries and Walnuts
by Leslie Sansone "Eat Smart, Walk Strong"

1 lb. frozen or fresh ravioli (I used four cheese)
1/2 c. walnuts, chopped (didn't have 'em, used pecans instead)
1 T. butter
2 T. minced garlic
2 T. fresh sage leaves (didn't have 'em ... boy do I suck)
1 15 oz. can pumpkin
1/2 c. milk
1/4 c. dried cranberries

Cook pasta according to directions. In the meantime, heat your oven to 400 degrees and place the walnuts on a baking sheet. If you so desire, go ahead and roast them (about three minutes). But you can omit this step if you so choose.

Heat butter in a large skillet over medium until bubbling. Add your garlic and saute for a minute. Add sage leaves (doh!) and saute an additional 30 seconds. Add the pumpkin and milk and stir. Continue cooking until the sauce is hot and bubbly. If it seems too thick (and it probably will), just add a little bit more milk until you get it to the desired consistency.

Put the pasta in a large serving bowl, cover and toss (GENTLY!) with pumpkin sauce. Sprinkle with nuts and cranberries. Serve at once.

Verdict: Meh. Probably won't make it again.

Pumpkin Chicken Enchiladas

Are you ready for me to be done with cooking with pumpkin? I think Ryan is too - but only a few more days left in this week and perhaps a turn to something more "traditional" in the future.

In the meantime, I made this for Monday night's dinner and wow. This is the first time that Ryan didn't take seconds on an entree that I made, but I didn't think it was that bad. (In fact, I'm eating it right now for breakfast - move over raisin bran - I got a new source of awesomeness.)

I got this recipe from my friend Lindsey who stole it from Martha Stewart. Both of us put our own twists on the original recipe and I think that if you're trying to eat healthy or sneak some healthy stuff into your family's food, this might be a way to go.

Pumpkin Chicken Enchiladas

by Lindsey Thompson - adapted from Martha Stewart

8 corn tortillas
6 scallions, diced (LT uses cilantro, 2T fresh chopped - I used a 1/4 of an onion, finely chopped)

leftover chicken, shredded (maybe a pound)
optional: roasted green chiles, chopped small (SK omitted)
6 oz. of white sharp cheddar cheese, shredded

Sauce
1 can of pumpkin puree (15 oz)
3-4 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 jalapeno (remove seeds and membranes if you don’t need extra heat)**
1 teaspoon chile powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin (I added this too)
2 teaspoons of salt
1/4 teaspoon of pepper
1 1/2 cups of chicken stock or water

DIRECTIONS:
Preheat your oven to 425 degrees. In a blender, puree pumpkin, jalapeno, chicken stock, garlic, chile powder, cumin, salt, and pepper. Place 1 cup of this sauce in the bottom of an 8 inch glass casserole dish. In a bowl, combine shredded chicken with green chiles, cilantro, and/or scallions and season with salt and pepper. Place some of the chicken mixture on each tortilla and then lay the tortilla seam side down in the casserole dish. Pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas. Top with cheese. However, if you are casein-free, this recipe is fine without cheese. Martha recommends placing your casserole dish on a baking sheet in the oven to prevent any spills. Bake for 20-25 minutes until cheese is melted and casserole is bubbly.
Serves 4 alone or possibly 6 with sides.

**Variation: I've been craving chipolte peppers in adobo sauce since my buddy Paul S. made salsa using it. To my Midwestern tastebuds, these peppers are plenty spicy, but they had a heat and a depth that I haven't found in fresh peppers. (It's probably the MSG.) Anyway - in lieu of the jalapenos, cumin, chili pepper, etc., I just took one chipolte pepper and threw it in my food processor along with a spoonful of the sauce. One word: Heavenly.

Cooking for dads

I found a mention at the Star Tribune about this site - it's an Eden Prairie father who has his own cooking site. His recipes are very basic, but they're geared towards guys who don't know how to cook.