Cookin' In Texas: 2007

Wednesday, December 19, 2007

Panettone!!

As all of you know, I am a hard core Italian-American! And one of my Dad's favorite things to eat (only during Christmas) is Panettone. He normally buys it, and his wise words of advice are...

"Don't buy it from William's Sonoma because it cost a fortune and it taste the exact same as when you buy it from Costco or the grocery store. You know it all comes from the same place!"

So I thought, screw buying it, why not try and make it!!

P.S. If your not quite sure of what it is, it is like a sponge/angel food cake with fruit in it. Kind of like a really fluffy Italian fruit cake :)

This is Mario Batali's recipe from Food Network. It is pretty easy and it came out pretty good!

Panettone!! Oh yeah!

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

2 eggs

3 egg yolks

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup milk

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup currants, soaked in warm water for 1 hour and drained (you can sub Raisins here if you like. I am not a big fan of currants, so this is what I did!)

2 oranges, zested

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

Butter and flour an 8-inch round deep cake pan or panettone mold. In a mixer, cream the butter with the eggs and egg yolks until pale yellow, 3 to 4 minutes.
Replace the beater with the dough hook attachment, and with the mixer running, add half of the flour. Add half the milk and mix for 1 minute. Add the remaining flour followed by the remaining milk and all of the sugar and mix well. Continue mixing and kneading with the dough hook until the dough becomes dry enough to handle. Turn the dough out onto a floured surface and sprinkle with the currants, orange zest, cream of tartar, and baking soda. Knead by hand for 5 to 10 minutes.

Place the dough in the prepared pan and bake for 35 to 45 minutes, or until a wooden skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. The top will be quite cracked. Remove from the oven, invert onto a rack and cool. Slice into wedges to serve.

Saturday, December 1, 2007

Fettucini Alfredo

It may not be the healthiest thing, but on a cold night, with a fire and a movie, it is absolutely one of the most loved and comforting foods.

I thought I would give you a quick and easy way to make it.

1 pint heavy cream

1 stick of unsalted butter

1 cup Parmigiano reggiano

Black pepper

Dash of Salt

1lb whole wheat or spinach fettucini

DIRECTIONS:

On low-medium setting heat cream. Add stick of butter and wisk constantly. (It may be easier to cut up the butter into pieces so they blend easily.) Add cheese and black pepper to taste. Let

that mixture heat for 5-8 minutes until it is a thick cream. Boil water and cook pasta per package.

For a great dinner option, add some mushrooms and grilled chicken. For a vegiterian dish, try using spinach pasta!

Sunday, November 25, 2007

Roast Turkery

This recipe is easy, simple AND delicious!! If you want to know how to cook a huge turkey (for example, our 21lber for Turkery Day) of if you just need a new recipe for dinner. They sell those amazing small turkeys that only have the breast!! Now, this recipe can conform to chicken, turkey, cornish hens, or even duck and really depends on the size of the bird! Feel free to play around with it!

The recipe below is for a Turkey. You will have to adjust with spices and olive oil for smaller birds.

Turkey
1/2 cup olive oil

4 Sprigs of Fresh Rosemary

Thyme

Oregano

Lemon Dill or Dill

Parsley

Cheese Cloth

2 Lemons - Halved

DIRECTIONS

Remove all packages and neck from inside Turkey. Rinse with cold water and pat dry.

Remove fresh Rosemary from its sprigs and place in bowl. Mix olive oil and herbs together. This should form a runny paste. There is no set amount on each herb, so use whichever ones you like best.

Spoon olive oil herb mixture onto bird, making sure to reach all spots. Knead mixture into skin with hands. The fresh rosmary will be whole and the other herbs will have mixed in with olive oil.

Tuck wings underneath bird. Place lemon halves inside cavity of bird. Tie with cheesecloth and cook as per package. I would recommend 15 min a pound on a 325 degee oven. Basting every 15 min, after the first hour.

If your turkey becomes too brown on top, during the cooking process, make sure and put tinfoil on top. One hour before the turkey is done, take the tinfoil off again.

When you remove the turkey from the oven, flip it over (breast side down in the pan) and let sit for 45min to an hour. According to Gordon Ramsey, Turkey should never be piping hot, and should always sit for close to an hour. Once the turkey is done, it will be golden brown and juicy. Carve and eat!!

Wednesday, November 21, 2007

Homemade Pumpkin Pie

Pumpkin Pie

1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin
1 (14 ounce) can EAGLE BRAND® Sweetened Condensed Milk (NOT evaporated milk)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (9 inch) unbaked pie crust or if you want to make your crust... trust me it is worth the time!! (Pie Crust recipe below)

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Whisk pumpkin, EAGLE BRAND®, eggs, spices and salt in medium bowl until smooth. Pour into crust. Bake 15 minutes.
Reduce oven temperature to 350 degrees F and continue baking 35 to 40 minutes or until knife inserted 1 inch from crust comes out clean. Cool. Garnish as desired. Store leftovers covered in refrigerator.

*Pie Crust
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup shortening
1/2 cup water

DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in water until mixture forms a ball. Divide dough in half, and shape into balls. Wrap in plastic, and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight. Roll out dough on a floured counter. Don't over work it. Use as directed in pie recipe

Thursday, November 15, 2007

Deceptively Delicious Potato Soup

So, it finally got cold last night and I was NOT in the mood for anything... really. I knew I would be hungry (being pregnant does that to ya) but I didn't know what I wanted. I searched in pantry, that pretty much had nothing, then I searched in our fridge, and came up with Buttermilk, garlic, and cheese? Potato Soup is all I came up with.

I got the recipe from Deceptively Delicious but to be honest I didn't really care for it. Now, I do

have to preface this by saying, I have never eaten potato soup so... I don't really know if it was good or not? My hubs liked it so I thought I would share it with you and if you try it out... let me know? I did add a couple things, but they can be removed if you are a vegitarian.

Potato Soup

Serves 8

4 Slices of bacon
1 small onion
1 clove garlic, cut in half
2 (14 ounce) cans reduce fat, low-sodium chicken broth
2 pounds potatoes, and kind, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup cauliflower puree
1 1/2 cups butternut squash or carrot puree
1 cup lowfat buttermilk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup shredded reduced-fat cheddar cheese (optional)
store bought croutons (optional)

Cook bacon in medium heat pan until very crispy. Remove bacon and remove grease, leaving 2 teaspoons of drippings. Add onion and garlic to drippings, and cook, stiffing occasionally, until onion is soft but not brown, 5-6 minutes. Be careful not to burn the garlic!

Add broth and potatoes and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Carefully spoon mixture into a blender or food processor and add the vegetable purees, buttermilk and salt. Puree until smooth. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with cheese, bacon, and croutons.

*Here is what I found out... after you blend everything it comes out very fluffy, like there is a lot of air in it. If you like that texture, serve. If not, I would put it back in the pan, I would turn it on low and stir to release some of that air.
*Also, be careful if you don't have low-sodium chicken broth. Do not add salt until you have tasted it.

Enjoy... or at least... tell me what you think!

Monday, November 12, 2007

Chicken Picatta

This is my father and my hubs favorite recipe. It has a lot of lemon, so if you are not too fond of the lemon flavor, you can cut some out :) As my hubs says "if you don't pucker... it isn't Picatta!"

Serving Size 4

2 Large Chicken Breats

1/2 cup White Wine (remember if you wouldn't drink it... certainly don't cook with it!)

White Flour

2 Cloves Garlic

1 tblspn Olive Oil

1/2 cup chicken broth

3 lemons (rolled and cut in half)

1 lb angel hair pasta

Capers (optional)

1/2 stick butter

Italian Parsley (chopped finely)

Red Chilli Flakes (optional)

Salt and Pepper to taste

Butterfly and pound chicken breasts. You want them as thin as possible, so they cook evenly and quickly. Dredge chicken in flour. In other words, simply put dry chicken in flour so they are covered with flour ever so slightly. Salt and Pepper to taste. Lay dredged chicken on seperate plate.

Poor olive oil in non non-stick pan and turn on medium-high heat. Place chicken in pan and cook on each side for 8 minutes or until side is brown. Flip chicken and repeat. If you have to remove some chicken to cook all of the chicken you can keep it heated in a glass dish, placed in the oven on 200 degrees. You should start seeing brown bits form on the bottom of pan. Don't worry about them. Cook all chicken and place in glass pan. Place in oven on 200 degrees F.

Start boiling water and cook pasta according to package.

Turn pan to high heat and add wine and garlic. Let simmer until brown bits on bottom of pan have soaked into the sauce (deglazing pan.) Turn heat to low and add chicken broth and lemons. After 5 min add chicken back to pan.

Drain Pasta, poor back in pot, add butter, sauce and chicken to pasta. If wanted add parsley and red chilli flakes. Serve hot and Enjoy!

Thursday, November 8, 2007

Deceptively Delicious Chocolate Chip Cookies

So I bought this book a while back and I finally got around to making a recipe. I have been craving chocolate so I thought this was a great one to try. You see my hubs is like a child and only eats about 3 vegitables out of the 100, so I figured I would give it a go.

Recipe by Jessica Seinfeild - Decepetively Delicious

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Nonstick cooking spray
1 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
3/4 cup trans-fat free soft tub margarine spread
2 large egg whites
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 (15 - ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed. *She does non suggest pureing these, but after making them I would!*
2 Cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
3/4 cups raisins (optional)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.

In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the sugar and margarine with a wooden spoon or on medium speed until smooth. Beat in the egg whites and vanilla, then the chickpeas and chocolate chips. Add the flour, oats, baking soda, and salt, walnuts and raisins (if wanted,) and mix on a low speed until a thing dough forms.

Drop the dough by the tablespoonful onto the baking sheet, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart. Press gently with a fork to flatten. Bake until the cookies are golden brown and just set, 11 to 13 mintues; do not overbake. Transfer to a rack to cool.

Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

Wednesday, November 7, 2007

Homemade Chicken Soup

Since it is getting cold here in Texas I thought a soup recipe would be fitting. This soup is great for kids, colds, or husbands that you just want to shut up ;-) My mom makes it for me everytime I get sick!

Momma's Chicken Soup
Serving Size 2

1 Bone In Chicken Breast
2 Boxes Organic Chicken Broth
2 tblspn Butter
2 cloves Garlic
1 Onion (chopped)
3 Carrots (chopped)
3 Celery Stalks (chopped)
2 Eggs
1 Package of Pastinas (small round pasta)
Pepper and Salt to taste

Salt and Pepper chicken and place in Dutch oven. Brown Chicken in dutch oven or large pan over medium-high heat. That should take abotu 10 minutes on each side. The inside will not be cooked. Remove chicken from pot.

Add Butter, garlic, onion, celery, and carrots to pot. Let cook for 10 minutes being careful not to let the garlic or onions brown, make sure to stir every so often. Once the onions, carrots and celery have become tender add chicken broth and chicken. Let simmer on low for 30-45 minutes making sure to stir every so often.

After 30 min remove onions, carrots and celery (optional) and take chicken from broth. In a seperate pan cook the pastinas as per package. Once onion, carrots and celery have been removed, take chicken off the bone and into shredded pieces and place back in broth.

Once the pastina is cooked add it to the chicken and broth. Crack 2 eggs directly into the pot. It will give the effect of a Chinese Egg Drop soup. It will rise to the top and automatically scramble. Stir the soup and Serve Hot!

Sunday, November 4, 2007

I am so sad!

I have no inspiration for recipes lately. All I have been craving are these crappy things :(

I would love to hear your recipes, something that has been in your family or something that you've created. Just something to inspire me again!!

Friday, November 2, 2007

Apple Cinamon Oatmeal

I am an avid Oprah watcher, and I know that most people have time to eat breakfast but don't. Oprah says breakfast kick starts your day and increases your metabolism, so you can start burning calories early in the day. Since I am pregnant, I am really trying to watch my weight, or at least what I eat.
I also love apples and cinnamon and there is just something about oatmeal on a cold day.
So this morning as I was cookin apples and I thought of this awesome dish.

1 cup oatmeal (preferrably the fast cook kind)
1 Fiji apple cubed (try and make them the same size so they all take the same time to cook)
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1/2 tbsp butter
1 tsp cinnamon

Cook Oatmeal as per directions. Also, if it says to add milk, try using plain organic soy milk. It really makes a world of difference. It is better for you and has a great taste.

To cook the apples. Mix apples, cinnamon and brown sugar in a bowl with hands. Add butter to a saucepan on medium-low heat. Stir until the brown sugar starts to form a syrup, about 10 mintues.

Remove apples from heat and stir in oatmeal or cream of wheat. This is a delicious breakfast that anyone can make to head out the door and start their day with a bang!!

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Every Cookie Imaginable!!

Monday, October 29, 2007

Artichokes in Meat Sauce

Carciofi nella Salsa di Carne

I know you see those crazy things with the spikes on, but how in the world do you cook 'em?

Well, my entire life these have been staples in the Venezio household. Even my finicky, picky husband ate 'em up!

Here's how Nona makes them!

Serving Size: 2

2 Artichokes

1 lb Ground Beef (the leaner the better)

1 Can tomato sauce (my Nona would kill if she knew I said that - but come on, who has 4 hours too cook some gravy (what we call red sauce in the North East))

Basil, Oregano, and Italian Parsley (finely chopped)

First you have to cut off the tips of the artichokes. When you buy them you will see that each petal comes to a sharp point. You have to snip the tips, so they form the shape of a U with a flat top. It is pretty easy, it just takes a little patience.

Take the raw ground beef out of package and add Basil, Oregano and Italian Parsley. You can add as little or as much as you like, it really depends on your taste. Then take spoonfulls of raw meat and stuff them inside each petal. Not too much or it will fall out. A tip is to start on the bottom and work your way up. It will get harder and harder to stuff as the petals get tighter together.

Once that is complete, add sauce to a large pot. Turn on Medium- Low, add meat stuffed artichokes and put a lid on. Simmer for 45 minutes.

The artichokes should come out tender and the meat and sauce should be almost ready to fall out.

Poor sauce on top and serve hot!

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Stuffed Peppers - Venezio Style!!

As most of you know, my father is a phenominal chef! He's had no lessons, just an Italian mother who nailed good cooking into his brain :)

Most Sunday's Matt and I head over here for a delicious dinner. This evening we got one of my personal favorites, Peperoni Imbotiti Ai Risotto - Risotto stuffed peppers!

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 large red and yellow bell peppers
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 cup risotto
1/2 cup green olives, pitted
1/2 cup black olives, pitted
4 tablespoons capers (optional) rinsed
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 bunch Italian parsley, finely chopped to yield 1/4 cup
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup progresso bread crumbs

First chop off tops of peppers, saving top and scooping out seeds and veins.

Then cook Risotto. If your not familiar there is a recipe here http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Gourmet-Mushroom-Risotto/Detail.aspx. Delete the mushrooms. And remember... always stir!

Mix capers, and both types of olives in the risotto, constantly.

Let the rice, olive mixture cool. When cool, place in peppers.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, poor wine in bottom of dish and cook for 20 minutes.

This was our finished product :) Enjoy!

How to cook Fresh Pumpkin

Ever wondered how that can of pumpkin goodness actually gets in the can??
I have the answer!

This is an easy how-to way to cook a pumpkin and have fresh pumpkin for scones, pies or bread!!

1. Wash the outside of the pumpkin in warm water.

2. Cut Pumpkin in halves

3. Scoop out seeds and stringy meat. Either place the seeds on a cookie sheet or throw them away.

Make sure all the stringy meat has been taken off. It will give a bitter taste if left on.

4. Cut into pieces - the larger the better, the easier to peel! (We made the mistake of cutting it in small pieces:) Then place in microwavable safe bowl with lid. Put 2 inches of water on the bottom and nuke!

5. Remove pumpkin from microwavable container - but be careful - steam leaves a nasty burn!
Take a spoon and spoon meet into food processor.

6. Food process and store what you don't need. It should be a lot fluffier and lighter in color than a can.

Enjoy!!

Friday, October 26, 2007

Veronica's Apple Pancakes

I got this recipe on http://www.allrecipes.com/
This is Veronica Martin's recipe.

It is so full of fat but divine! It is like desert for breakfast!!
I also posted a comment a woman left so you can make it low cal, I haven't tried the low cal version yet! I also made them with whole wheat flour, and it really gave it an amazing texture!

Veronica's Apple Pancakes

1/4 cup butter, melted
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded tart apple
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon white sugar

In a large bowl, combine butter, egg, milk and apple. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and sugar. Stir flour mixture into apple mixture, just until combined.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Low Cal Version

I altered these to make them less caloric, and they still came out fabulous! My daughter loved them. I substituted 2 Tbsp. Splenda for the sugar, 1/8 c. applesauce for half of the butter, two egg whites for the one egg and used nonfat milk. I also doubled the cinnamon. I ate mine completely plain - was almost like dessert instead of breakfast!

Frech Onion Soup!

This is Alton Brown's http://www.foodnetwork.com/ recipe

Ok... now this took a really long time to make, but it turned out absolutely amazing! I subsituted the wine with Chicken Broth and Doubled up on the Beef Broth. When I am not pregnant, I will try it with the wine!

French Onion Soup

5 sweet onions (like Vidalias) or a combination of sweet and red onions (about 4 pounds)
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups white wine
10 ounces canned beef consume
10 ounces chicken broth
10 ounces apple cider (unfiltered is best)
Bouquet garni; thyme sprigs, bay leaf and parsley tied together with kitchen string
1 loaf country style bread
Kosher salt Ground black pepper
Splash of Cognac (optional)
1 cup Fontina or Gruyere cheese, grated

Trim the ends off each onion then halve lengthwise. Remove peel and finely slice into half moon shapes. Set electric skillet to 300 degrees and add butter. Once butter has melted add a layer of onions and sprinkle with a little salt. Repeat layering onions and salt until all onions are in the skillet. Do not try stirring until onions have sweated down for 15 to 20 minutes.
After that, stir occasionally until onions are dark mahogany and reduced to approximately 2 cups. This should take 45 minutes to 1 hour. Do not worry about burning.

Add enough wine to cover the onions and turn heat to high, reducing the wine to a syrup consistency. Add consume, chicken broth, apple cider and bouquet garni. Reduce heat and simmer 15 to 20 minutes.

Place oven rack in top 1/3 of oven and heat broiler. Cut country bread in rounds large enough to fit mouth of oven safe soup crocks. Place the slices on a baking sheet and place under broiler for 1 minute. Season soup mixture with salt, pepper and cognac.

Remove bouquet garni and ladle soup into crocks leaving one inch to the lip. Place bread round, toasted side down, on top of soup and top with grated cheese. Broil until cheese is bubbly and golden, 1 to 2 minutes.

Pumpkin Spice Scones

I found this recipe online at http://www.pinchmysalt.com/

I altered it a little, because when I made it I didn't want to make the icing, and it wasn't as sweet as I would have liked.

Pumpkin Spice Scones:

1 C. all purpose flour
1 C. cake flour
1 C. white sugar
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground nutmeg
1/4 t. ground allspice
1/4 t. ground ginger
6 T. unsalted butter
1/2 C. raisins (optional)
1/3 C. pumpkin puree
1/3 C. heavy cream
6 T. brown sugar
1 t. vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Get out a baking sheet and line with parchment paper (not required but makes cleanup easy!). Cut the butter into small pieces, put it in a small bowl and put it back in the refridgerator. In a medium bowl, combine both flours, sugar, baking powder, salt, and all spices. Whisk together well. Place bowl in freezer (refrigerator is fine if you have no room in freezer).

2. In a separate bowl, combine pumpkin, heavy cream, brown sugar, and vanilla. Whisk together well. Put this bowl in freezer (or refrigerator) and take the other bowl back out. Get the butter pieces out of the fridge and dump them into the bowl with the flour mixture. Cut the butter into the flour using a pastry blender or rub it in with your fingertips until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the raisins if you are using them.

3. Get the liquid mixture out of the freezer and pour into the flour mixture all at once. Stir with a wooden spoon until everything is just moistened. The dough will be very crumbly, this is the way it should be. Turn the mixture out onto the counter and push the pile together with your hands. It should stick together fairly well. Knead it just a couple of times until everything is together. Don’t knead it too much or the dough will get too sticky.

4. Pat the dough out into a rough circle, 3/4 to 1 inch thick. Cut it like a pie into 8 pieces. Place pieces on the baking sheet so that they are not touching. Sprinkle sugar on top. Bake scones for about 15 minutes at 425 degrees. They should be light brown on the bottom, the tops will darken as they cool.

Cookin' In Texas