Roasted Peach... Salsa? Chutney?

I wanted something different to go along with a pork tenderloin I'm making for dinner tonight.  I figured the leftover shriveled farm share peaches would be perfect. Until they were missing from the fridge!  So off I went to buy some "Late Season Tree Ripe Peaches" at the grocery store.  Of course, they were under ripe, but I figured since I was cooking them, it really didn't matter.

This is one of my favorite combinations, sweet and savory.  You can lower the savory by using sweet onions or omitting both the onions and the white pepper.

The only problem I have is what to call this? A salsa, chutney, fresh jam?  Let me know if you have any suggestions!  For now, it is...

Balsamic Roasted Peaches

4 Peaches, cubed (leave the skin on, its just easier)
1/2 onion, diced
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil (or neutral oil if you want something sweeter)
1 tsp brown sugar
pinch salt
pinch ground white pepper

Preheat oven to 450
Combine oil, vinegar, sugar, salt and pepper.  Put peaches and onions in a bowl and add dressing.  Mix until everything is evenly coated.
Place peaches on a lined baking sheet, taking care not to add any excess dressing
Roast for 40-45 minutes, stirring every 15 minutes


Serve the sweet and savory version with pork, chicken or fish.

If you made the sweet only version, serve over vanilla ice cream, angel food cake or pound cake.  Or use for a filling in a cake (dice the peaches instead of cubing them, and you may want to stir them every 10 minutes, they may only take 30 minutes to cook)

Well, Google and my phone are arguing again.  There will be a photo here eventually!

Banana Glazed Pork

I started this post the other night, but it took me a while to get the photo imported (love the new auto-import function between phones and google+! Made it so much easier!).  Anyway, dinner from Tuesday, on Saturday!

Not So Kid-Approved Dinner

We have the Cooking Light Kids-Approved cookbook.  Everyone once in a while, my kids will pick a recipe and we'll make it.  Tonight, the 7 year old decided we were making Pasta with Winter Squash.  I didn't quite have everything, so I modified it a bit.  But, it didn't matter, the 7 year old took a big bite and started crying.  He did not like it at all.

Pasta with Winter Squash Sauce

1 acorn squash

2 tbsp butter

1 clove garlic

1 tsp dried sage

1/2 cup walnuts 

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp brown sugar

black pepper

1/2 lb pasta (not spaghetti, go with ziti or rotini)

Cut squash in half, seed and place in a microwave dish cut side down. Add 1/4" of water and microwave 8-12 minutes or until cooked and soft.

Peel, diced then mash squash until smooth. Set aside

Place walnuts in a fry pan and toast over medium heat until fragrant. Take off heat and set aside.

Melt butter in another pan and saute garlic until golden brown. Add sage, stir until butter turns slightly golden.

Add butter mixture to squash and mix well.

Cook pasta according to directions. Mix hot, drained pasta with squash mixture.  It will take a minute for everything to incorporate.  Add walnuts and mix to combine.

Serve with grated Parmesan cheese.

You can have this as a main dish, or as a side dish with a meat.  Unless your kids already like winter squash's flavor and texture, this may not be a big hit with the little ones, but my meat eater hubby even enjoyed it!

But... you're doing it WRONG! Spaghetti Carbonara

There are a few dishes that everyone remembers from their childhood that should be made *just* so.  Making it wrong isn't a "difference of taste", it borders on sacrilegious.  Growing up with Southern Italian roots, for me, this food is Spaghetti Carbonara.

The American version contains cream.  While that is a tasty dish (cream AND bacon!) it is NOT Carbonara.  If anything, it's Alfredo with Bacon.  Then today, I saw a recipe called "Gluten Free Carbonara".  I'm thrilled there's a recipe for those who are gluten free (hint: just sub out gluten free pasta), but please don't follow the directions of putting eggs in hot pasta water!  It made a thicken eggy soupy-saucey thing, not Carbonara.

Now, I'm not saying that MY recipe is the ONLY version of Carbonara. I'm sure my inclusion of onions will raise a debate in purist circles.  But it's the method more than the flavors I'm concerned about.  True Carbonara is pasta tossed in some sort of cooked cured pork, beaten eggs and cheese.  In the good ol' days, the heat from the pasta would just barely solidify the egg (think poached), but now, the eggs are cooked a bit more for safety reasons.  I tend to cook my eggs until they're just not runny.  The residual heat will bring them to solid but not dry.

And now, my family's Spaghetti Carbonara:

1 lb Spaghetti
1/2-1 lb bacon, or pancetta if you're feeling fancy, diced (note: you can use veggie bacon, just add oil to the pan when you cook it)
1 onion, diced (optional)
1 cup peas, cooked (optional, I barely add them, but it is an easy way to get veggies in you!)
3 eggs
1/2 cup good hard cheese (parmesan, Romano, etc), grated
A good amount of Black Pepper (we don't measure the pepper, just keep grinding until the egg mixture has lots of black specks in it)

In a large frying pan, cook the bacon until crispy.  Remove the bacon from the pan and let it drain
Make sure you have about 2 tbsp of fat/oil in the pan.  Take away bacon fat or add olive oil as needed
Saute onion over medium low heat until tender, but not browned
Remove the pan from the heat, and add the cooked bacon and peas, if you're using them
Whisk eggs and combine with cheese and black pepper
Cook the spaghetti according to the box's direction to your preferred doneness
Drain the spaghetti and put in the pan with the bacon
Turn on the heat to medium and add the egg mixture.  Constantly mix the spaghetti (I find using tongs is the easiest) until the eggs are just cooked through.  Use your own preference on "doneness".
Remove from heat.
Serve with extra cheese and black pepper.

Almost Instant Black Bean Soup

Yep, it's New Year's Eve. We're not doing anything special, heck, we're old and have kids.  I'm making fajitas and since it's all of 28 degrees and there's 8 inches of snow on the ground from a few days ago, I wanted black bean soup.  I popped on google and mashed together a few recipes. I'm writing it all down, so I don't forget! This was almost too easy to be true! and it way tastier than Panera's soup (and I really like Panera's!)

2 cans (16 oz) black beans, rinsed
1/3 cup of white wine (that last little half glass that I couldn't drink without getting stink-eye from the Hubby)
2 tsp to 1.5 tbsp Cumin (depending on your preferences)
Dash to 1/2 tsp Chili Powder (again, depending on your preferences)
2 tsp Molasses (if you use more cumin, you may want more molasses, aim for the same amount or slightly less Molasses than Cumin)
1 tsp Lime juice (more if the soup is too sweet)
2 cloves garlic minced
Salt and water or broth

Saute the garlic in a pot and added the wine when the garlic is fragrant.

Add about half of the beans and some water (or broth) to make it thin enough so you can use your immersion blender.  Whip it up until it's pretty smooth. Add water/broth to keep it the right consistency.

Add the rest of the beans, and the seasonings.  Puree some more if you want less whole beans. I ended up with about 1/4 of the beans left whole.

Simmer, covered on low for at least 15 minutes.  Add water/broth if it's too thick. Salt if needed.

Serve with a dollop of sour cream (or not, if you want to do the vegan thing)

______

I honestly think it's the sweet and sour of the molasses and lime juice that makes this soup.  Part of me wants to totally puree it, so I don't have the protein flavor center of the beans.  I did go with the lower end of the measurements, I'm not in the mood for super spicy tonight, but I could see it working with the bigger flavor punch.

*****
Edited to add: Ok, I pureed the whole thing. You'll need to up the seasonings. I added another tsp of lime juice, molasses and a 1/2 tsp of cumin. Plus almost a cup of water. and salt.  So, everything :)

Until relatively recent, I really didn't like coconut. I remember getting Mounds or Almond Joys as a kid for Halloween and being bummed as my mom eagerly devoured them. A few years ago, I think when we were in Hawaii or the Caribbean for vacation, I tried some fresh coconut and really enjoyed it.

Fast forward to a few months ago, when I made triple chocolate cookies for work. A coworker didn't stop by my desk until the afternoon, so he missed them. We chatted, he "complained" and I promised him something special for his birthday. He said "Coconut Cream Pie, November 18" and walked away. Well, that's tomorrow, but since I don't bake on weeknights, I made it on Sunday.

Now, I've NEVER made a coconut cream pie before. Actually, I've never made a cream pie that wasn't boxed pudding and whipped cream (from scratch, at least). So I googled it. Found Martha's recipe, which is the only one with coconut custard (as opposed to vanilla custard with shredded coconut mixed it), but she used whipped cream instead of meringue. Found Alton's Lemon Meringue Pie... left out the Lemon part, used the meringue. Have my mom's amazing "shortbread style" dessert crust, which I HAD to use! Saw Cook's Illustrated "Almond Joy Pie", which had chocolate and almonds mixed in the custard.... hmmm, to fancy, but I can top the meringue with anything I want, right?

The only thing I wish I did was take a photo of the pie, it was gorgeous, if I do say so myself. And it was incredible tasting too! It was creamy and oh man! YUMMY!

So, here's my "Almond Joy Topped Coconut Cream Pie". Its a 3 part recipe: the custard and pie assembly in part 1, the meringue in part 2 (cause its good for different pies!) and the crust in part 3. It seems complicated, but its really not, just follow the order in the main recipe, and it should work out. You can make it all in one day, or spread it out over a few days.

Coconut Cream Pie

Ingredients

• 4 egg yolks, separated
• 3 cups canned unsweetened coconut milk (2 cans)
• ⅔ cup granulated sugar
• 5 tablespoons cornstarch
• ¼ teaspoon salt
• 2 ounces semisweet chocolate
• ½ recipe Dessert Pie Crust
• 1 recipe Meringue
• ¼ cup Toasted Coconut
• ¼ cup Sliced Almonds
• ¼ cup Mini Chocolate Chips

Method

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

On a lightly floured work surface, roll out chilled dough to a bit less than 1/4 inch thick. Fit dough into a 9-inch pie plate. Trim crust to a 1/2-inch overhang all around. Fold to make a thicker edge and crimp. Prick dough all over with a fork.

Line pie shell with parchment paper, fill with pie weights or dried beans. Bake until edges of crust just turn golden, 15 to 20 minutes. Remove parchment and pie weights. Return crust to oven, and continue baking until golden all over 15 to 20 minutes more. Place pie shell on a wire rack to cool completely.

Melt chocolate, let cool slightly, then coat the inside of the cooled crust with the chocolate. Let sit until chocolate sets up.

In a bowl, lightly whisk egg yolks; set aside. In a saucepan, whisk together coconut milk, granulated sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Bring to a simmer (do not boil), and cook, whisking constantly, 3 to 4 minutes.

Whisk a quarter of hot-milk mixture into egg yolks; whisk in remaining milk mixture. Strain into a clean saucepan, and cook over medium-high heat, whisking constantly, until custard is thick and bubbles appear in center, 2 to 3 minutes.

At this point, you can either fill and top the pie, or let the custard cool and assemble the next time. To cool, transfer custard to a bowl, and cover with plastic wrap, pressing it directly onto surface to prevent a skin from forming. Set in ice bath for 30 minutes to chill before putting into fridge for up to 1 day.

Fill crust with coconut custard. Top with meringue, then sprinkle on almonds and toasted coconut. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes, until meringue is golden brown. When cooled, sprinkle with mini chips.

Meringue

Ingredients

• 4 egg whites
• ⅛ teaspoon cream of tartar
• 2 tablespoons sugar

Method

Place egg whites and cream of tartar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the whisk attachment. Beat egg whites until soft peaks form and then gradually add sugar and continue beating until stiff peaks form, approximately 1 to 2 minutes

Dessert Pie Crust

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour
• 1 stick butter
• ½ cup sugar
• pinch salt
• 1 egg
• water or juice to pull dough together
• ½ teaspoon vanilla (optional)

Method

Put flour, sugar, salt and butter in food processor. Pulse until combined and butter is broken into small pieces.

Add egg, pulse until combined.

Add water or juice (i.e. apple cider for fruit pies) or cold water and about a tablespoon at a time, until the dough comes together in a ball.

Remove from food processor and wrap in plastic wrap. Put in fridge for 10-15 minutes before rolling out. Add liquid or flour to adjust consistency as needed. The dough should roll out without sticking to the pin too much.

Bored in the kitchen

Well, its official, I'm bored in the kitchen.

I've mentioned before that I love to cook. Honestly, I really like all of it, from the shopping, prep work, cooking, eating (ok, not the cleaning up... but who does, really?). But, I work 9+ hours per day, which doesn't include the almost 2 hour (round trip) commute. And I married one of the top 10 pickiest eaters on the planet (no cheese other than mozzarella, no cumin, nothing too spicy, nothing "weird", the definition of which varies on his mood) and we have 2 pre-schoolers, so you can imagine how easy it is to be creative in this house!

So, when I made the "exotic" meal of pan fried chicken with spicy peach salsa/bbq sauce with barley and acorn squash and apples as the sides, well, I was the only one enjoying it. And there's nothing more depressing than cooking a great meal, and then while I'm thoroughly enjoying it (sometimes, even doing a little happy dance), look around and see glum faces, or get asked for "something else".

So, the big question now, is what do I do about this? Do I resign myself to endless nights of making plain chicken, or do I cook two, or three, or God Forbid, 4 different meals? (Yeah, right!) Or do I make what I want, and have the three of them just stare at it.

Lately, the answer has been to bake. And I bring the leftovers to work, if there are any. And work always seems to enjoy my cooking. But then again, which would you rather have: devil's food cupcakes with peanut butter frosting or acorn squash and apples?

I've been out-baked!

I enjoy baking... hell, I enjoy cooking. Hubby isn't too thrilled with me cooking, as I tend to dirty every dish in the house and destroy the kitchen. But I'm a really good cook, so he deals with the mess.

When I first met Hubby, he could barely boil water. I kid you not, one day he asked me to make him pudding and handed me the box of instant pudding. After I stopped laughing, I asked him to look at the directions and walked out of the kitchen. That was his first foray into the kitchen, and he's been slowly getting better at it.

Earlier in the week, he was craving brownies. He didn't even ask, he just picked up the King Arthur Baking Book and started cooking. An hour later, there were the most incredible, moist, chewy, fudgy brownies covered in vanilla ice cream. I've officially been out baked! I've got to post the recipe, they were THAT good.

Brownies from King Arthur's Flour Baking Companion

6 oz unsweetened baking chocolate

1.5 sticks butter

5 eggs

2 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp salt

2.5 cup sugar

1/3 cup light corn syrup

1 1/3 cup flour

1 1/2 cup chopped nuts, mini marshmallows or mini chips (optional, yeah, right! Todd did pecans)

Pre-heat oven to 375 and grease a 9x13 pan

Melt chocolate and butter together in a sauce pan, let cool slightly

Beat together eggs, vanilla, salt, sugar and corn syrup until light and fluffy (this takes a few minutes)

Stir flour into melted chocolate. Fold chocolate batter into egg batter, stir in nuts/chips

Spread batter in pan and brush top w/ 1 tbsp milk

Bake 35 minutes until top is crisp, but a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out covered in chocolate.

Cool several HOURS (ummm, we waited until they were slightly warm) then cut. Cuts easier with a plastic knife or a metal knife sprayed with Pam.

If you don't have the corn syrup, you can make them without, but they won't be as moist. You can probably add some instant espresso (maybe 1 tbsp) and they would be pretty darn close to the Starbuck espresso brownies.