Celebration Dinner!

Tonight we had dinner at my parents' house to celebrate my nephew's Confirmation!  My mother made a family favorite, beef brisket along with mashed potatoes, broccoli, baked acorn squash, salad and biscuits.  The brisket slow roasts which makes it so tender you can cut it with a butter knife!  The mashed potatoes were simply potatoes, milk, butter and salt.  The acorn squash were halved and placed flesh side down on a baking sheet.  Then it was baked for 40 minutes at 375*.  After the time is up, check them by pressing on them.  If your finger makes an indentation, they are done.  If not, continue cooking for another ten minutes. The recipe for the brisket is pictured below.  My mother cut it out of a magazine several years go.  It feeds 12 so there were plenty of leftovers!

Treason for Breakfast

This morning, I tried my hand at Eggs Benedict. Surprisingly, the most difficult part was not the Hollandaise sauce, it was the poached eggs! The keys to the sauce were whisking like crazy and adding a little hot water to keep it from getting too thick. You have to be aggressive when whisking the sauce! I don't have any special poaching pans or rings so I tried to just poach them freestyle in a pot of hot water. I poached them for 3 minutes, but when I tried to remove them from the water, they just fell apart! I ended up pouring the whole mess down the drain and fried some eggs in a little bit of oil. It wasn't exactly how I planned, but it worked out. Cooking sometimes is like the 2 minute drill in football. Time is ticking down and things aren't in your favor for a good meal, you need to take a deep breath and figure out how to change course for a successful outcome. There are always things you can do like frying the eggs when a recipe isn't cooperating! Be fearless!

Hollandaise Sauce:

4 egg yokes
1/8 tsp Worcestershire sauce
pinch of pepper
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 cup butter melted
1/4 tsp salt

Crest a double boiler by filling a pot about half way with water. Place a smaller pot or stainless steel bowl on top of the first pot and simmer over medium heat. Whisk the first four ingredients together then add the butter 1-2 tbsp at a time while risking vigorously! Add hot water by the tablespoon if the sauce is too thick. When all the butter is whisked in add the salt and remove from heat and cover to keep warm. You may have to whisk it again prior to serving.

Messy Eggs Benedict:
2 English muffins sliced and toasted
4 slices of Canadian bacon, browned
4 eggs fried in a 1tbps olive oil
Hollandaise Sauce

Assemble in above order and enjoy!

Fall Dinner Party

Some dear friends are visiting my parents this weekend.  We don't see them often so we thought  it would be nice to have them over for dinner. This meal took a little over 4 hours to complete so it is a little more labor intensive.  While I was cooking, my husband came home and cleaned the house for me.  The Messy Cook would be nothing without her supporting spouse! The menu was:

Horseradish-Herb Crusted Beef Rib Roast
Scalloped Potatoes
Brussel Sprouts with Pancetta and Parmesan
Green Salad
Rhodes Rolls
Pumpkin Cake

This meal was all about timing and I was very happy that I managed to get it all on the table at the same time!  The pumpkin cake and table decorations were courtesy of Pinterest while the Brussels sprout was a recipe that I found in Southern Living years ago.  It can convert any sprout hater into a sprout eater!

We had a great time visiting with our friends and hope to see them again soon!

Breakfast for Dinner!

Tonight I took a crack at converting a recipe to gluten free. It all started a few weeks ago in a Williams Sonoma store when I saw a cornmeal waffle mix. The mix contained wheat so I put it down as we are trying to cut down on gluten, but the idea of trying cornmeal waffles stuck with me and I decided tonight would be a great time to try making them. I found a basic cornmeal recipe and made my modifications. I didn't have enough milk so I mixed skim milk with heavy cream. I figured that would make a nice 2% milk, right?  The other modifications were rice flour instead of wheat and I only used 1 tbsp of sugar instead of the 2 that it called for.  Lastly, I added 2 tsp of almond extract.  My husband said they tasted like funnel cakes! I also made bacon in the oven which is a trick I learned from my sister-in-law's brother-in-law. Thanks, Bryan!   You cook the bacon on a broiler pan at 425* for 15-20 minutes and there is no greasy mess!

Cornmeal Waffles:

1 1/2 cups cornmeal
1 cup rice flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp baking powder
2 eggs beaten
1/2 cup safflower oil
1 1/2 cups milk
2 tsp almond extract

Mix dry ingredients together and then add wet ingredients. The batter will be a bit thicker than regular batter. Cook as normal.

Care and Concern Through Comfort Food

Every now and then, we could all use a little comfort.  Many times when a family member or friend is faced with some sort of crisis, people will express their care and concern through food.  When our neighbor had surgery, I sent some tomato soup over and I know many other neighbors sent meals to them too!  Today, one of my Godsons had a three hour surgery to correct a birth issue and some close friends faced a cancer diagnosis of a parent. These times are never easy, but hopefully a small gesture such as a container of soup let's the recipients know that we are thinking of them and are hoping and praying for a quick end to the crisis at hand.  For my family and friends, I made a revised version of Paula Deen's, The Lady's Chicken Noodle Soup.  I left out the garlic and mushrooms as some of the recipients have sensitivities to those items.  I did use the optional ingredients to make the soup more filling.  I split a loaf of sourdough bread and sent half with each delivery of soup because there is nothing better than a crusty piece of bread to sop up the last of a warm bowl of soup!  I made a double batch and it provided about 15 servings so I was able to keep a container for our freezer too!


Our dinner tonight was another comfort recipe, GF macaroni and cheese which is a recipe from my friend Lisa.  I've mentioned it before.  It is super simple and only takes 15 minutes to prepare and another 25 to bake.  Both of my boys like it better than the "regular" kind (ie, boxed)!

Winners and Losers

Today, was a day of wins and loses.  Traci knew her veggies and won the cooking class and I had a minor loss when I tried a GF biscuit mix which started out so promising, but went from biscuits to cookies!  They tasted alright and made it to the table.  Root vegetables and squashes are some great reasons to love Fall.  They offer you  alternatives to potatoes when thinking about serving a starch.  I roasted the vegetables and also made London broil which is flank steak cut against the grain. You can marinade the meat overnight and prep the veggies the night before too so it can be an easy meal to throw together in little over an hour before putting it on the table.

London Broil:

1-2 lbs of London broil
1/2 cup olive oil
4 tbsp Worstershire sauce
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tbsp thyme
1 tbsp basil
1 tbsp oregano
1 tbsp minced garlic
1/2 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1 tbsp lime juice

Place beef in a gallon size plastic bag.  Whisk remaining ingredients together in a small bowl.  Pour liquid mixture over beef and seal bag.  Marinade in the refrigerator at least 2 hours.  On a medium- hot grill, cook the beef for 5-7 minutes per side depending on personal taste.



Roasted Vegetables:

1 butternut squash
4 parsnips
1 rutabaga
Safflower oil
1 tbsp parsley flakes
1-2 tbsp season salt

Peel and cube all vegetables.  In a large bowl, toss all ingredients together.  Preheat a baking sheet in a 425* oven for about 5 minutes.  Remove baking sheet from oven, sprinkle additional safflower and season salt on the warm sheet and then spread the veggies on the sheet tray. Roast for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes or so to prevent over browning of any one side of the veggies.

Weekend Cooking Class Winner!

Traci Hoopingarner knew her root vegetables! They are from left to right: parsnip, butternut squash and rutabaga. Traci has chosen to learn how to make Paula Deen's Caramel Cake. Congratulations!!!