Happy Thanksgiving!

There's turkey, I roast it with bacon on it partly for flavor and partly because my mother did and we'd snack on it as the turkey cooked. Cooks treat. There's sage and onion dressing, mashed potatoes, broccoli casserole ala Ivy, roast carrots with tarragon and brown sugar, brussel sprouts with bacon, steamed green beans, the best gravy I ever made.

There's homemade bread to have with dinner or to cut into thick slices to hold more turkey sandwiches.

Lemon cheesecake, pumpkin spice streusel muffins or gingerbread for dessert.

I cook because I love it. I have people I love around me. They will devour a feast it took 2 days to make in 15 minutes, grunt, lay down and sleep without saying a word about the quality or quantity. No ooohs, ahh's, accolades or thanks but they love me and I love them and isn't that what it's really all about.

Happy Thanksgiving.

/cook because you love it

Tracy

Pumpkin spice streusel muffins

Sometimes the name says it all. I found a shortcut recipe for pumpkin muffins online somewhere a while back and thought it sounded too interesting not to try. I'm always up for a culinary adventure including something prepared or packaged to turn it into something much more than it was ever meant to be. However, true to form, I am genetically incapable of following a recipe so mid-mix, I changed it up and I'm glad I did.

Make these. You'll be happy.

In an enormous bowl, combine:

1 box spice cake mix (really, Duncan Hines rocks here)

1 15 oz can pumpkin puree (not pie filling!)

1/2 cup of water

1 egg

*the original "recipe" doesn't include an egg. I thought these needed the additional lightness and the egg supplies that beautifully. I also sometimes sprinkle a light dusting of cinnamon on the dry mix, not always, but I'm trying to keep it real and confess to the little somethings I do to recipes to make them a little more than they were.

Fill 12 papered and greased (trust me here) muffin tin.

You can bake them off like this, if you're dull, boring and pedantic when really all they need to take you to outer space is a streusel topping!

Topping:

1 stick butter (or a stick of margarine will work here actually)

1 cup flour

1 cup brown sugar

Combine until it's crumbly and yummy, lightly pack it high on the muffins and press down slightly to be sure it's stuck into the batter. There is more topping than you need here so you can pop any leftover into a ziploc and toss it in the freezer for next time you need a streusel 'hit'.

Bake at 375 until a knife comes clean, mine too 25 minutes today.

Trust me, always have the cake mix and pumpkin on hand, a $1.64 investment will give you substantially more joy every time you make them!!

/enjoy

When biscuits aren't rich enough, add gravy!

I'm always looking for things that my husband likes to eat. I'm sort of a girl that way. He is usually indifferent to food and I will never understand the "I eat to stay alive" mantra. I, on the other hand, stay alive merely to cook and eat. I haven't decided if he shrugs and says, "that's ok" to whatever I place before him to drive me crazy or whether he legitimately couldn't be bothered. Either way will drive a foodie directly around the bend. I'm on a mission to get a new reaction and today I have a plan.

Since he's an original Texan, it occurred to me, biscuits and gravy. Oh ya, stodge on stodge. Thick, creamy, rich, peppery sausage gravy smothering enormous, light fluffy biscuits seems one hell of a way to start a day (I must digress here, the fact they call it "gravy" drives me mad, it's a cream sauce but hey, if these southerners need it to be "gravy" and it floats their boat, who am I to nit pick. Have at it, Texans.) I will admit I do make killer biscuits and pretty darned good bechamel sauce, so this seems like rather a breeze breakfast feast to whip up on a Sunday morning.

I'm up before everyone else and am well into it, let us begin:

1/2 chub (hehehe I said chub, yeah, I live with an 11 yr old boy, I'm infected!) of whatever sausage you like, I have HEB Pork and Sage

1 heaping tablespoon flour

enough milk to cover or to take to consistency you like, maybe 2 cups for those who need a starting point

salt, pepper and a scrape of nutmeg

Brown the sausage in a drizzle of bacon fat if you have it, none if you don't.

Brown it well, this matters, you'll get crispy bits and the flavor is truly enhanced by a few extra moments here.

When it's brown, sprinkle with flour and cook it out until the sausage is dry and there's flavor stuff stuck to the bottom of the pan. It's called "fond" but no one knows that and it sounds chefy and I'm not chefy.

When it's all dry and you can see there's stuff stuck, pour in your milk, it'll bubble up like mad, stir stir stir. It will not be lumpy, scrape up the bits and bring the whole thing to a boil.

When it boils, that's the thickest it'll get so be sure it'll coat the back of a wooden spoon. Salt and pepper to taste then add a little more freshly cracked black pepper. I also scrape in a little nutmeg because nutmeg and cream based sauces are best best friends. If you want it thinner, add a little milk but the point here is thick, rich and sausagy delicious!

 

Here it is, finished. I just have to make some biscuits and pour it over. We'll see if my native Texan husband approves of his British wife's offerings!

These are the biscuits I'm making to go with these:

http://tracyloopers.blogspot.com/2010/11/fast-food-breakfast-its-my-version-of.html

They're the lightest and come up the biggest and if you're covering something with sausage gravy, it'd better be light and gigantic.

I'll update when it's served up and give the quoted response!

Well, well, both son and husband seemed delighted, it was all eaten and I had a "that was good" whispered. Praise indeed?

I'm sure it'll be put into weekend winter breakfast rotation :) Even money says husband spends the rest of the morning snoozing it off while child and I hit the nature center and hike.

*update*

"extremely tasty" oh ya!

/enjoy!

Fast food breakfast, it's my version of the breakfast sandwich

I felt like a sausage mcmuffin but really, there's no redeeming qualities at McD's to get me dressed on a Saturday morning when there's (finally) no soccer. I don't begrudge my beloved his enjoyment and fulfillment being part of a soccer team it's just that, well, unlike many parents, it's just for fun for us (hardly the end all/be all of many in the soccer world) We legitimately don't care if they win so long as they had fun. That being said, the season is over for now *yay*.

We are heading to kiddo's elementary school's carnival so he can revisit some of his teachers and younger friends. It's a beautiful day so I hope to find a quiet spot under a tree where my Nook and I can spend quality time, with a funnel cake of course.

Back to breakfast; necessity meet the mother of invention.

Problem one is solved, I know how to cook, bonus. Problem two is ingredients and luckily I have everything I need. As I see it, a few simple steps will result in gastronomic joy as well as excess. That just can't be bad and yes, it kind of only takes this to make me happy.

1. Make biscuits (easy)

Combine:

2c flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt

rub in 1 stick of margarine (!) it makes it better, who knew

Combine 3/4 cup milk and 1 xl egg, stir into the dry until it's thick and stodgy, turn onto floured board, flip a couple of times, cut into 5 large biscuits, place on cast iron pan, cook at 425 for 15 minutes or until beautiful, remove to rack and cool enough to slice open.

2. Luckily, I'd bought a pack of frozen sausage on sale to try so I tossed them into a pan and cooked them.

3. Move sausages to foil to keep warm, fry 2 small fresh eggs from friends chicken - these are green/blue which is disturbing until you crack them into the sausage fat and the enormous bright orange yolk smiles happily back at you. Fry over easy so there's some firm yolk but some soft and runny.

4. Slice white English cheddar (or whatever you have) thin and grate some for the top of the egg.

5. Assemble. Slice biscuit, place some thin slices of cheese on bottom, place hot sausage patty on top, then place two small fried eggs on top, sprinkle the grated cheese over and place the 'lid' slightly to the side.

6. Child is still sleeping (thankfully) so he'll get his later...Serve this beautiful creation to waiting husband and cross fingers it's a hit. *I'm still waiting for a verdict.

Make these, you'll be a star and I honestly think I had 5 on the table faster than if we'd have dashed out to McD's or any other fast food joint to buy a paper bag full.

/enjoy!

White bean ragu, the perfect side

Ok, so I love roast chicken. I would eat roast chicken, in some incarnation, on a daily basis, given the opportunity. The weather is finally starting to cool down in Austin and as a result, my culinary fires begin to burn bright. I want to cook hearty, rib sticking, hearty food.

One of my issues with my desire to perpetually indulge in roast chicken is the sides. I will happily eat my roast chicken without a side but really, who on earth wants to do that?

Sure, mashed potatoes are the foods of the gods particularly when drowned in a rich chicken gravy. Sometimes, though, you need to shake up the menu. Enter my delicious white bean ragu. This is just as happy as a side as a main course. I ate an enormous serving of a version of this when I was in Brighton, England, a million years ago and it's never left me.

I roasted a couple of chickens - NEVER just roast one! and needed a little something to go with/under it. This is also as ridiculously cheap as it gets, the beans were on sale last week at 2/$1.00! so with the addition of one piece of each vegetable that everyone already has in the fridge, the cost is maybe $1.50? It makes 6 servings as a side and way more servings if you add more broth and eat it as a soup! Do the math on this and rejoice!

WHITE BEAN RAGU

2 cans white beans

1 carrot

1 stick celery

1 small leek (because I had one and I love them; don't not make this for lack of a leek)

1 onion

2 pieces of bacon

water or chicken broth

chopped parsley (I buy 2 bunches of fresh parsley a week at .50 and keep them in a vase in my kitchen, partially to use daily and partially to fulfill my desire for greenery that I ultimately kill off, these only have to last a week and I can eat them! a win win!)

salt, pepper, thyme

Chop all the vegetables and leave them aside for a moment. Chop the bacon into small pieces and fry until almost crisp in a large saucepan. Toss the vegetables in and fry them around for a bit. We don't want color here, just soften them and release their flavor.

When the vegetables are softened, some pepper and some thyme and toss around. Add the two cans of white beans, drained, and enough water or chicken broth to cover by a couple of inches. Leave to simmer for an hour. Stir it occasionally, careful not to mash up the beans. Salt at the end if needed. Add the chopped parsley at the end as well so it's green and yummy looking.

It should be thick enough to not run all over the plate but thin enough to be smooth and velvety. This is a crazy dish that, as I said, can be thinned to be a soup, cooked down to be an even thicker side or you can puree into a soup as well, it if you're into that sort of thing.

This really is quite delicious, I serve it in big bowls with shredded roast chicken on top and a drizzle of the liquid from the roasting pan. Welcome to fall, you're going to love this!

/enjoy

a little self promotion

I got an email today that began like this:

"Hello Tracy Williams:

We've reviewed your contributions to Factoidz and selected you to become one of our Staff Writers. Staff Writers are the top writers and experts in our community who have proven their abilities and dedication to the mission and spirit of Factoidz... "

Is there fame or fortune involved? Nope. Is there money at all attached so we can finally move and have a life and friends where Connor can have friends over? Nope. Am I still tickled pink for no tangible reason except the random support from strangers? You betchya.

/me

Sometimes you just need a Cornish Pasty

I’m feeling very, um, old school lately. I’m sick of the new diets, the new fads, vegan or gluten free food. I’m standing firm and looking straight back. I want meat pie, bangers and mash, millionaire shortbread and today; the Cornish pasty. There’s a long, hardworking, eat what’s available history to the Cornish pasty. I try to pay some homage to those women who made these for their husbands heading to the mines back in the day and try not to fancy it up at all. Sometimes good food is, quite simply, good food. The good food is local, seasonal and the very best of the best stuff to cook with. This is my version, I hope the Cornish wives would be proud.

Wandering Sprouts made me realize, delighted, it's winter vegetable time. I am about to sign up withJohnson's Backyard to enjoy the local goodness of my favorite time of year. I know a few people who are fans and luckily handoff the vegetables they can't identify to me! I simply have to sign up and get my own boxes. I think I prefer the winter veggies and am a fan of all of them. Austin doesn't give much Fall weather so I take advantage and cook up a storm when the season hits.

The most time consuming, active participation of this is the chopping. Put on a cool cd, your favorite radio station or plug your ipod into your head, it's not that long and you'll truly feel like you've been involved!

The Pastry;

I make it in a cuisinart because I can and because, well the Cornish wives would have too, if given the opportunity. I also weigh, sorry about that.

250 grams of flour

125 grams of butter/lard mixture

pinch of salt

1 extra large egg and a splash of milk, I’d guess 2 Tbsp.

I pulse the flour and salt, add the fat and pulse until it’s sandy looking then break in an egg and the milk and turn it on until it turns into a ball. Wrap in plastic and put in the fridge for a bit.

OR you can unroll a delicious package of the pre-made stuff.

The Filling

I will give you amounts I used today but you can simply adjust by what you like, it’s the percentage of half meat to veggies that’s really the only big deal. You can use ANY winter vegetable, sweet potatoes, butternut squash, pumpkin, kohlrabi. I used carrot, onion, swede, potato and leek because I love them and they were what was in the fridge.

1 small carrot

1 small onion

1/2 rhutabaga (swede)

1 large potato

1 leek (it’s my welsh heritage sneaking out, I’m passionate about them)

1.5 lbs chuck steak chopped small.

Chop everything small and mix. You can see the percentage of onion/leek to swede to potato. Keep the pieces tiny but not ground, season heavily with salt and pepper and when you think it’s seasoned enough, give it one more turn around.

Roll the pastry and cut into 6′ rounds.

Lay a line of the mixture down the middle and egg wash the entire circle, lift the sides and seal tightly along the top. Brush with egg and bake at 425 for 45 minutes. If they start to darken too much, lay foil loosely over them.

These are fantastic eaten warm or room temperature or cold. I always serve them with Heinz baked beans (in tomato sauce) which I get at my local import store. Some foods simply must be eaten together. I always have loads of filling left and I put it in a ziplock bag in the fridge. I will assembly line make more of these tomorrow, smaller for lunches or snacks and use up the filling. The pastry made 5 healthy pasties today and I simply wasn’t in the mood to make more. You CAN if you would like bake this in a large pie but I don’t think it’s nearly so good for some reason.

I hope you make these and enjoy these and remember that old school is the new cool kid in town. Go to wherever the vegetables are local and seasonal and you'll be delighted with the results.

/enjoy

I, quite simply, like Quiche

I like quiche and I never ever make it. I'm always delighted to see it at 'mommy' gatherings, baby showers and at PTA functions. My friend made it for me for dinner the other night and I swear it was the best thing I ever ate. The fact that son and I were surrounded by a loving family and everyone was giggling and talking instead of sitting in stoic silence may have had something to do with it, as well as the fact someone ELSE cooked for ME which is a rarity. The fact the eggs came from the chickens in the backyard and it was made with love and was truly delicious is probably the main contributing factors!!

Waking up at 5am on a Sunday, although painful and ridiculous has one small advantage. The ability for me to cook on the weekend without any negative comments, looks or the ever popular "no, I don't want any" which seems to be the standard here now. I love to cook for other people, I just want a smile and a full tummy in response however I'm playing a dangerous game and am keeping track now...the last nine questions I asked (offering food) were answered with "no". Wow.

Today, I want quiche and I will enjoy it and I am having a lovely early morning in the kitchen. I am going to try really hard to not be crushed when no one else wants any.

I am cheating completely because sometimes (particularly at 5am on a Sunday) the last thing you want to do it make pastry. Enter the frozen crust which is now a staple in my freezer for just such an occasion.

I pulled the crust out of the freezer and sat it on the counter, turned on the oven to 375 and opened the fridge door (well, as far as I can open my fridge door, it only opens 80degrees which is a whole new kind of frustrating) to determine what on earth was going to fill my quiche today.

BACON CHEESE QUICHE

8 slices of bacon - cooked crisp and broken in chards

1/2 onion chopped small and fried in the bacon grease

In a large glass measuring cup (with the spout for ease of pouring)

3/4 cup cream

1 cup milk

4 eggs

salt and pepper

scratch of nutmeg (I use whole nutmeg and grate it just a pinch if you have already ground)

couple of shakes of Herbs d'Provence (or any dried herb you like)

a couple of tablespoons of fresh flatleaf parsley - chopped

1 cup grated old cheddar (I use white English cheddar)

Assembly

In the almost thawed pie shell, crumble the bacon and evenly spread the fried onions, cover with the cheese and then pour the egg/milk mixture over. I grated a little extra cheese for the top and popped it into the oven, on a tray, on the lowest rack.

I checked at 20 minutes but it wasn't anywhere near done so I set it for another 20 and VOILA! It was puffed, golden and a knife came out clean when inserted into the center.

I think quiche is best at room temperature so it's on a rack on the counter, waiting, waiting, waiting. Its a little torturous not being able to eat it yet so I'm doing this instead. Did I mention it looks divine?

apparently son loved it too! *yay*

/enjoy!

FAT chocolate chip cookies

I love a good chocolate chip cookie. I seriously doubt there's a person who doesn't like one! Well, I know one person but they don't like anything. The rest of us will be intoxicated by the smell of them baking and the warm gooey-ness of them straight out of the oven.

I will take this opportunity to draw my line in the sand; I strongly dislike thin, flat, crispy chocolate chip cookies. If you're a fan of those types [and I guess SOMEONE has to be] then I suggest you avert your eyes. We are going short, fat, chewy, slightly gooey here and although I try not to play in self-deprecation land, they're rather like me in that regard.

It's an old school, back in the day recipe. There's a reasons we revisit those recipes, they were good. They were easy and they were ab-so-lutely delicious. Take your "only pure butter will do" purist hat off, we're going into shortening land here, get a pen, you'll be making these shortly.

Thick Chocolate Chip Cookies

In a bowl/mixer blend

3/4 cup shortening (I'm a crisco girl here and don't even try to use butter flavor, it's a horrible acrid flavor)

1 1/4 cup brown sugar

2 Tbs milk

2 tsp vanilla

When it's nicely blended, no need to whip or cream.

Add 1 egg

When it's incorporated, blend then add

1 3/4 cup a/p flour

3/4 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

When that's nicely mixed add

1 cup chocolate chips [semi sweet today but milk will do]

Bake on an ungreased cookie sheet at 375 for 12 minutes. Mine take 12 minutes because I make them small which, for me, justifies eating an entire plateful at a sitting "they just tiny". If you make them larger, adjust the cooking time, we want them just set in the middle so they stay soft. The shortening stops them from spreading too much so you can load up your sheet pan.

Old school, easy, delicious. Go make them...now!

*and yes, I'm terribly terribly disturbed that this cookie looks as though it's sticking it's tongue out at me but will more than likely devour it anyway, from the other side of course!

/enjoy!!

Chicken Scallopini, that's what's for dinner

Ok, so HEB has split chicken breasts on sale for $1.00/lb again. Go, load up, it's crazy cheap and you can roast them with skin and bone or you can take the meat off and make my ridiculous cheap, tasty and easy chicken scallopini as well as about a million other recipes.

See me be lazy about it today, I'm going to send you back to www.examiner.com to check out the details. I tried their slideshow option, let me know what you think.

http://www.examiner.com/budget-meals-in-austin/chicken-scallopini

Cooler weather and cheap chicken are too tempting for me and since Connor loves loves loves this meal, it's his favorite directly behind my schnitzel and buttered noodles, I think I'll make it for him soon. I have recently been making my ciabatta dough recipe, half of it and laying it as a big blob on parchment paper after it's initial rise. Poke finger holes in it, drizzle it with olive oil and hide minced garlic in the holes so it doesn't burn. Let it sit on the counter until the oven is 500 degrees and bake it off util it's cooked. It has a different texture and more a true foccacia than other recipes I've tried. It's a nice addition.

Anyway, Connor's had a rough time these last two weeks. Since today is mom/son night, maybe I'll do it as a special dinner for us to reconnect, talk about the pain in the butt that is middle school and be sure we're both still doing ok.

Let me know what you think about the recipe and slideshow - oh and go make it, it's crazy good!

Scones, more of the same and slightly different

I cooked today.

I looked for sultanas and currents but couldn't find them for my 'classic' scone. I made them with raisins which are far too big (for my taste) and next time I'll be sure to have sultanas here. I can't believe they seem to be a specialty item at my local grocery *ugh*.

They still turned out amazing. These suckers are 2 inches high. I glazed them with a little vanilla glaze. It made them better. Also the raspberry/lemon scones are the original recipe and size, i like these better. The orange got out the door before I got a shot of them.

I delivered them to the office, husband handed them out, less than 5 minutes, gone.

I'm trying to figure how to get into some other offices to sell the scones. If the cupcake people can do it, why on earth can't I? I mean everyone likes a cupcake every once in a while but show me a savory one *ick* and sometimes people want a little bit less sweet... yeah... I need to figure out how to do this.

I think a couple of offices, one delivery a day would suit just fine, fresh out of the oven, delivered and then still loads of time for the writing and volunteering and other things I love to do. (Loopers, how I miss you).

Ok, this is my mission, ideas??

In any event, here's what I did today:

/enjoy the pics, I'll post the raisin scone recipe next time, I have a 6th grade dance to chaperone.

White Bread, single loaf

I'm back firmly (and widely) in the saddle, culinarily speaking. I have most definitely been inspired by the "cooler" temperatures, dry weather and early morning freedom that comes when husband heads off to work.

I don't do well standing around waiting for him to leave - don't people have offices? - and I am incapable of getting into anything while he is still here. That being said, I went on the ciabatta AND single white loaf kick. Both were done by noon and, frankly, delicious.

I tried a new morph for the single white loaf. Recently the loaves I do are too heavy and stodgy. I don't like heavy and stodgy. Son liked them and said they were "ok" but I wasn't happy. I've been playing with the single loaf for a while and, ta da!, I mastered it. I make this when we need sandwich bread. Son used to buy lunch, then take it and now he wants "good" cheese and home made bread, um, really? you're eleven for pete's sake - his wife's going to be annoyed with me.

I wrote the recipe and procedure out on my http://factoidz.com/white-bread/ spot but here's some pics in a better size and format:

*each rise was about an hour in an oven with the light on.

I also played with my standard ciabatta recipe today but I left the loaves to rise much longer, I was futzing between ovens (yes I have two) so there was a longer delay and it turned out to be a good thing. I will definitely be adopting this the next time I make ciabatta!

*that first rise in the bowl took 30 minutes! the yeast was insane an apparently loves the weather as much as me!

Make bread. You'll be happy

/enjoy