Posted by Natalie on June 11, 2009 · 1 Comment
Dearest Oven Lovers,
The husband and I are headed off to celebrate our first anniversary (can’t believe how quickly it goes!) with a vacation in sunny Florida for the next few days. I thought this presented a great opportunity to introduce you to some fantastic bloggers. For the next four days, you’ll get to meet these four ladies and check out their favorite summer recipes!
(she’s not actually a cupcake.)
Please enjoy meeting these lovely ladies. I can’t wait to see what they have in store!
Posted by Natalie on June 10, 2009 · 1 Comment
There’s something very special about carmelized onions. I think I’d call it a simple pleasure.
Last night, we had some leftover puff pastry from the
Parisian Apple Tartlet, but we didn’t have much else. When I saw the onions, I knew I wanted to throw these turnovers together. Carmelized onions are so sweet and delicious.. I was surprised that I was patient enough to fully cook them before diving in!
I was really pleased with the way these came out. I would have enjoyed some more cheese in them, but all we had was a little parmesan. I think gorgonzola, blue cheese and gruyere would all be great with the onions. I think they would work great for parties in a smaller appetizer portion.
Click here for a more in depth tutorial on carmelized onions. It’s worth the effort- you won’t be sorry!
Carmelized Onion Turnovers
1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
4-5 onions, any mix (red, yellow, sweet, whatever you like), thinly sliced
olive oil
salt
balsamic vinegar
cheese of your choice (blue cheese, gorgonzola, parmesan, gruyere, mozzerella, etc)
1. Heat a 1-2 tablespoons olive oil in a Dutch oven or large sauce pan. Add onions and salt them. Cook onions, until deep brown in color, about 45-60 minutes. Near the end, add balsamic vinegar to deglaze the pan.
2. While onions are cooking, cut puff pastry sheet into 6 squares. Place onion mixture and cheese into the center of the square. Fold pastry over the mixture to make a triangle and seal edges with a fork. Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 15 minutes. or until golden brown. Remove from oven and let cool on paper towels for about 5 minutes before serving.
Posted by Natalie on June 10, 2009 · 6 Comments
I wasn’t sure if I had time to make this recipe today, but
Tania convinced me and I’m glad she did. It was just about the easiest Dorie recipe ever! All you do is cut out a circle of puff pastry, put 1/2 an apple on top, sprinkle with some brown sugar and butter, and stick it in the oven. I found myself asking, “is that really it?”
Yes, yes it is. Blissfully simple.
This recipe is actually a perfect fit for me today, as I am researching flights to Paris to visit my cousin (more like a sister/best friend). She’ll be in Paris for a month, and I’ve wanted to go to Europe for the longest (LONGEST) time. This recipe gave me visions of the most divine week in Paris with one of my favorite people in the world.. is there a better endorsement for this recipe than that?
Thanks, Jessica, for picking such a lovely recipe! Make this and be transported to the streets of Paris.
Posted by Natalie on June 6, 2009 · 3 Comments
I know it’s summer, but I’m one of those people who eats soup when it’s hot outside. I think soup is really great for summer- it’s usually nice and light, full of veggies, and won’t weigh you down throughout the day. I’m especially enamored by soups you can recreate on a whim. Exhibit A: Minestrone.
Minestrone is the king of customizable soups. You can honestly just throw in whatever you’ve got. I’ll give you a rough outline of what to do.
1. Chop or dice up some basic veggies – carrot, celery, onion – and throw them in the pot with some olive oil. Add some garlic and spices of your choice, and cook them down a bit.
2. Add some more chopped veggies – squash, green beans, tomatoes, broccoli, cauliflower, potatoes, substantial kind of stuff- and let those cook down a little, about al dente.
3. Throw in some white wine to deglaze, if you want. Let it hang for a few minutes.
4. Add your
chicken or veggie stock and then add your
pasta as well. Pick a smaller pasta.. I like ditalini. You can also add
canned beans at this point. Let it come to a boil, then bring it down to a simmer and let it hang until the pasta is cooked to your liking.
5. Add any greens- spinach, romaine, anything that wilts easily– and let it wilt. Scoop the stuff into some bowls and serve with crusty bread or big, rustic croutons made out of crusty bread.
You really can’t go wrong here. It’s a great recipe when you want to clean out your fridge. Try it soon!
Posted by Natalie on June 5, 2009 · 1 Comment
Word on the street is that it’s National Doughnut Day.
I’m afraid I didn’t make you any doughnuts (
cupcakes are more my thing).. I’m not exactly observing the holiday this year (vacay in a week!).
But, I can share of one of the little bundt cakes that we affectionately call the “Big Fat Doughnut.”
I make often make bundt cakes with leftover Tickled Pink batter so the hubs can eat them and we don’t waste cupcake liners. They don’t stick around long, though- it’s amazing how quickly that man can eat cake.
Happy Doughnut Day 2009! Are you observing?
Posted by Natalie on June 3, 2009 · 4 Comments
If you like to make soup, this post is for you. Or if you like money saving secrets. Or just secrets in general. Read on!
I use a lot of broth. I have discovered various broth solutions, but this one is by far the cheapest, and therefore, most rewarding. Are you ready for the secret? Tell your friends.
Get a freezer bag. Over a few weeks (or months, whatever), throw in all of your veggie scraps, wilting veggies, herb stems, and cheese rinds and store them in the freezer. Whenever you feel the urge to make broth, you just throw it all in a pot of water and boil it for an hour or so, then strain.
That’s it! This is an awesome time and money saver. You’ve got everything at your fingertips, whenever you’re ready. Example A: Today I decided I wanted to make minestrone, but I didn’t have enough broth on hand for the big batch I wanted to make. I remembered my freezer bag, threw it all together with some extra herbs and let it boil. Instant broth!
Some examples of things you should throw in: onions, carrots, celery, leeks, thyme stems, rosemary stems, cheese rinds, and whatever else strikes your fancy. The more flavor the better.
So go spread the word- it’s a recession, people!
Posted by Natalie on June 2, 2009 · 4 Comments
One of my favorite places in Philadelphia is El Vez. I have lots of fond memories there with friends.. eating guacamole and chips, sitting in the round booths or outside, drinking margaritas and laughing for hours. My roommates and I were such big El Vez fans that we often got their Tortilla Soup to go. Because it’s perfect. And I’ve been longing to recreate it. I found a recipe for tortilla soup in the WS Cookbook, and crossed my fingers that it would come close to El Vez.
The preparation was fairly simple and didn’t take long, which made me think it might not get that authentic, slow-cooked flavor. That’s when I threw in the chipotle chile. I’m not sure if that did the trick, but it came out tasting great! It reminded me so much of El Vez. The picture is missing the avocado (I picked a bad one! Hate when that happens.) and should have more tortilla strips (thought we had more of those.), but believe me, it tasted amazing. Please try soon!
Chicken Tortilla Soup
(based on a recipe from the WS Cookbook)
4 servings
olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic
2 tsp chopped fresh cilantro, plus more for garnish
1 can fire roasted tomatoes, drained of extra liquid
1 chipotle chili in adobo sauce, with some extra liquid
1 tsp ground cumin
4 cups chicken stock
1 boneless skinless chicken breast (1/2 lb), cooked, cooled and shredded (I poached the chicken in the liquid as WS suggests, but I think it would be better if the chicken is pre-cooked and shredded)
salt and pepper
For garnish:
-tortilla strips (make by cutting up tortillas and frying in oil or baking at 400 for 7-8 min) or crushed tortilla chips
-1 avocado, pitted, peeled and diced
-1/4 cup shredded jack cheese
-fresh lime, for squeezing
1. Heat 1 tbs olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add onion, garlic and 2 tsp cilantro. Saute until golden, about 10 minutes. Combine onion mixture, tomatoes and chipotle chile in a food processor or blender. Process until smooth.
2. In the same frying pan, heat another tablespoon oil. Add the tomato mixture and cumin. Cook until thickened and darkened, 5-6 minutes.
3. Transfer the mixture to a large pot over medium heat and add the stock. Cover partially and simmer, stirring occasionally, until soup is slightly thickened, about 15-20 minutes. Add the cooked chicken and stir until warmed through, about 2 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
To serve, ladle into bowls and add tortilla chips, cheese, cilantro, avocado and lime juice.
Posted by Natalie on June 1, 2009 · 3 Comments
It’s time for the May PMOW Round Up!
A big thank you to everyone who participated in this month’s challenge, homemade Pop Tarts. It seemed like everyone had a great time making them. I hope you’re all enjoying the group so far- please comment below with any recommendations for next month’s challenge!
In no particular order, here are all of our PMOW participants and their amazing creations..
Amazing job, everyone! Can’t wait for next month’s challenge.. I need your advice in choosing a recipe, so please comment below or email me at natalieherr@gmail.com with your suggestions. (Also, if I’ve somehow left you out of the round up, please let me know and I’ll put you right in!)
Posted by Natalie on May 31, 2009 · 1 Comment
Another installment of the Great Bread series- I know you were all on the edge of your seats. You may be thinking, do biscuits really count as bread, Natalie? In my mind, the answer is yes. I’m not going to go into detail about the difference between bread and biscuits.. maybe I’ll just change the name of the series to Great Carbs.
The occasion for these biscuits was a nice bowl of Edamame Corn Chowder (look for it later this week). We like to have something to accompany our soup around here. I hadn’t made any crusty bread lately, and I was dead tired from a day of baking for Tickled Pink, so I was looking for something quick and satisfying.
I love to find staple recipes like these biscuits!
What’s so great about these biscuits is this: they come together in less than 30 minutes. So many times I’ve wanted something quick to accompany a meal (or I haven’t thought ahead to plan something to accompany a meal) and then I waste time looking for a quick recipe and come up with nothing. These biscuits require little work, and are quite versatile. You can even save extra time by cutting them in squares.
The biscuits have a subtle sweetness from the honey that will work well in savory recipes as well as sweet. Added bonus- each biscuit is only 120 calories! The recipe includes two other variations of the biscuits- spiced pumpkin and parmesan pepper. There’s definitely a lot of freedom with this recipe, and I know I’ll be trying new variations.
Posted by Natalie on May 28, 2009 · Leave a Comment
I make often make bundt cakes with leftover Tickled Pink batter so the hubs can eat them and we don’t waste cupcake liners. They don’t stick around long, though- it’s amazing how quickly that man can eat cake.
One of my favorite places in Philadelphia is El Vez. I have lots of fond memories there with friends.. eating guacamole and chips, sitting in the round booths or outside, drinking margaritas and laughing for hours. My roommates and I were such big El Vez fans that we often got their Tortilla Soup to go. Because it’s perfect. And I’ve been longing to recreate it. I found a recipe for tortilla soup in the WS Cookbook, and crossed my fingers that it would come close to El Vez.
A big thank you to everyone who participated in this month’s challenge, homemade Pop Tarts. It seemed like everyone had a great time making them. I hope you’re all enjoying the group so far- please comment below with any recommendations for next month’s challenge!
Double Berry Chocolate Pop Tarts
Strawberry Toaster Strudel
My Bite Size Pop Tarts
Another installment of the Great Bread series- I know you were all on the edge of your seats. You may be thinking, do biscuits really count as bread, Natalie? In my mind, the answer is yes. I’m not going to go into detail about the difference between bread and biscuits.. maybe I’ll just change the name of the series to Great Carbs.
What’s so great about these biscuits is this: they come together in less than 30 minutes. So many times I’ve wanted something quick to accompany a meal (or I haven’t thought ahead to plan something to accompany a meal) and then I waste time looking for a quick recipe and come up with nothing. These biscuits require little work, and are quite versatile. You can even save extra time by cutting them in squares.
