Rosemary, chocolate and olive oil bread

I’ve been reading the blog 101 Cookbooks for a number of years and the blogger behind it all, Heidi Swanson, never ceases to amaze me.  She tends to cook and blog about whole, seasonal foods and I usually find her recipes to be pretty unique.  The foods she prepares often are interesting combinations which produce amazing results.  Just the other day, Heidi posted about this rosemary, chocolate and olive oil bread and I knew it was in my future.  I figured that since I had almost of full bottle of the mandarin orange Nudo olive oil, that would be a great compliment to this bread (especially since orange flavors and chocolate go together like a dream).  Here’s the dilly:
3/4 cup spelt flour
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
3 eggs
1 cup  olive oil (you can use a flavored one if you’d like, I used mandarin orange)
3/4 cup whole milk (love the small milk chug idea…I mean, who drinks whole milk?! Thanks We are Not Martha!)                                       1 1/2 tablespoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped
5 ounces  bittersweet chocolate (70% cacao), chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
2 tablespoons sugar for top crunch

First, mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl.  Then in a separate bowl, mix the wet ingredients.

Then take your lovely fresh rosemary (thanks Jenna for the beautiful rosemary plant!!) and give that a fine chop.

Then do the same to the chocolate.  The recipe calls for bittersweet chocolate bars (as opposed to chips…not sure why, but I do as I’m told).  I got Newman’s Own chocolate bars.  My only reason is because Paul Newman was a stud muffin :)

Mix the rosemary and chocolate in with the wet ingredients, then combined the wet and dry together.  Once combined, pour the batter into a greased loaf pan.

I sprinkled a little bit of sugar on top for good measure, and of course a crunchy topping!  Pop it into a 350 degree oven for 40 minutes, test for doneness and then put it under a high broiler until the top is nice and crispy.

40 minutes and a burrito for dinner later…

Success! This bread was really delicious because the flavors worked really well together.  If you just go outside of your comfort zone with food sometimes, you might just discover a flavor you didn’t know you liked.  Mixing sweet with savory is such a fabulous thing,  and I love how it’s coming into vogue.  And by the by, you don’t have to be a great baker to make this bread…and this is coming from the girl who refuses to measure because her head might explode.

Enjoy your Memorial Day weekend, everyone!  I’m sure Eliz and I will have lots to share once we come back from the Cape!

-Jackie

Published in: on May 28, 2010 at 7:50 am  Comments (1)  

A Closet Organizing Dream

Last week we had a closet system installed in our bedroom.  It’s a good sized closet – about 4″ deep by 8″ long, but the space was underutilized.  There was just a long rod along the back, and that was it.  So when we moved in January, we tried to maximize the space by stuffing the closet full of old bookshelves and bureaus.  That did give us more storage, but was still kind of a poor use of space… and it was pretty ugly.  So we did our research and considered installing a closet system ourselves (which would, of course, mean that Matt installed it while I handed him tools and played with the cat).  But in the end, it seemed worthwhile to have a company do it so we knew it was done well and had the warranty and all that good stuff that comes with non-DIY home improvements. 

Ready? 

!!!!!!!!    [Cue the choirs of angels!]

It was a pain in the neck emptying out the closet, removing all the old bookshelves, taking down old hardware, painting, etc.   Then, it took a while to put everything back in… but, as you may have guessed, I loved every minute of it.  I tried to act all annoyed about it, but my friend Kelly totally called me out, knowing that I would have a field day with organizing a new closet.  She was correct.  We decided to replace all our old mismatched hangers with wooden ones (Target has pretty reasonably priced ones), so it took me a long time to switch everything over.  But soooo worth it!  It looks great with all uniform hangers, and the wood happens to match our bedroom set (simple pleasures… seriously). 

Yes, I do have 400 cableknit sweaters.  It’s a problem.

It’s nice having the bottom racks.  Since I’m kind of a shrimp, I often had trouble reaching my clothes in the old closet.  This is way more shrimp-friendly.

I was also able to fit all my dresses that had been hanging in the guest room closet, and all my pocketbooks.  I had to get creative with baskets and fabric boxes in order to really maximize all the space possible, but I ended up with two empty shelves!  The plan is to keep them empty for now, since I know they’ll be needed for something soon enough.   I even found a place for my wedding dress (3 years later…) – a big fabric box from the Christmas Tree Shop did the trick (see bottom right).  Now it’s at my disposal so I can try it on occasionally and make sure it still fits.  Or just sit around in it and have a beer (why wear it only one day?!). 

The drawers were a great addition to help take some pressure of our overstuffed dresser drawers.  Believe it or not, all those fabric boxes hold pocketbooks.  I must have 30 of them… which is totally stupid because I use the same blogging one every day.  But I can’t get rid of any of them!   I need a Cableknit Sweater/Pocketbook Hoarder Support Group. 

So we’re really happy with our new closet, especially now that everything is neatly put away and organized.  The only project left now is cleaning up the remnants of our old closet. 

All I can say about that is…

- Elizabeth

Published in: on May 27, 2010 at 6:58 am  Comments (3)  

Fried Farfalle Pasta

Yes, you can fry pasta.  You might not want to stand in front of a vat of boiling vegetable oil in this near 90 degree weather, but I can promise you that it’s delicious.  I first saw this recipe on Martha Stewart’s website (shocking, I know) and was quite intrigued.   I mean we all know a million different ways to serve pasta (I won’t list them all in classic Bubba Gump style) but I’ve never heard of fried pasta.  When we needed an extra little snacky type appetizer for the engagement party a few weeks ago, I thought I’d try this puppy out.  Where’s what I did:

Note: I made a ton of it, but you can easily halve the recipe

2 boxes farfalle pasta

4-6 cups of vegetable oil

3/4 cup grated parmesan

zest of two lemons

red pepper flakes

First boil the pasta until al dente (about 10 minutes or so).  Once the pasta is half done, drain it and pat it dry with paper towels.  Then get the oil a-bubblin’ and start putting the pasta in the oil a few handfuls at a time.

After the farfalle has been frying for 3 minutes or so, scoop it out with a spider strainer and set it on paper towels for drying.  While it’s still hot, sprinkle the pasta with the parmesan, lemon zest and pepper flake mixture.

The pasta comes out super crunchy and delicious.  I loved the flavor combination of lemon and red pepper and cheesy parmesan.

It was such a good little snack instead of regular chips or crackers, perfect to pair with a cocktail!  Enjoy!

- Jackie

Published in: on May 26, 2010 at 6:34 am  Leave a Comment  

Salmon with Chutney and Pineapple

True to my word, I cooked last night with fresh pineapple.  I usually try to make salmon one night a week, most often early in the week when we’re trying to recover from a weekend of eating out, eating too much, and/or eating junk (most weekends involve all three).   I tried to do “Salmon Sundays” (I do love alliteration) for a while, but weekends get so busy, especially this time of year.   So tonight was Salmon Monday… which doesn’t have nearly the same ring to it.   Normally I keep salmon pretty simple – usually under the broiler with lemon pepper seasoning.  But last night I mixed things up and brought the flavor flave to the table.  Here’s what I did:

First I lightly brushed the salmon with olive oil.  I used a bit of cooking spray on the pan, but not a lot – I find that if I go light on the spray, the skin will stick to it and I’ll be able to pretty cleanly lift the salmon from the skin when done cooking (this does, however, make for a messy cleanup; I often choose these nights to take Matt up on his generous and mostly sincere nightly offer to do the dishes).  Sometimes I get lazy and have the fish counter guy take off the skin, but I do find that cooking with the skin imparts so much more flavor. 

Then I dusted with cajun seasoning and popped it in the oven for 10 minutes or so.  I wanted to give the salmon a chance to really soak in the cajun flavor before topping it with other taste sensations.    After parcooking with the cajun, I added a light coating of a mango papaya chutney, then just dropped on some fresh pineapple chunks. 

Meanwhile, I sauteed some stir fry style veggies with olive oil, pineapple chunks, a bit of pineapple juice, and a teaspoon or so of the chutney.  I like it when all my flavors connect and enhance each other.  I also boiled some brown rice.

After cooking for about 20 more minutes (this was a pretty thick piece of fish) at 400 degrees, the salmon was ready.  It turned out pretty good – the chutney had a nice kick to it, and the pineapple was really fresh and fruity.   As usual, I made too much food.  It’s hard cooking for two, but I still always end up loading up the plates with larger portions than are necessary.  But at least this was a really healthy meal to overeat!  

It was a beautiful night on the roofdeck.  Here’s a fuzzy, but lovely, view.  

Ahhhh…. summer. 

- Elizabeth

Published in: on May 25, 2010 at 7:14 am  Comments (1)  

A Retro Evening at Lucky’s Lounge

If you feel like jumping into Don Draper’s shoes for a night, I have the place for you.  Lucky’s Lounge (“Den of Cocktail Cool” as their website describes them) is located on Congress Street in the Fort Point neighborhood of Southie, but you have to be in the know to find it.  Lucky’s doesn’t have a sign or any sort of advertisement to let you know where they’re located, the restaurant/bar is located in an unassuming brick building in the basement level.  You seriously feel like you’re stepping into a speakeasy during prohibition.  The place is decked out with retro light fixtures, fake wood paneling and posters of Marilyn Monroe, Frank Sinatra and the Rat Pack.  Chris and I ended up going there on Friday night to sit at the bar and try out their dinner menu.  I’ve been for brunch a few times and am obsessed with their food, so I knew it was going to be a tasty adventure.

Doing my best Betty Draper, I saddled up to the bar and ordered myself a vodka gimlet.  Meanwhile, Chris isn’t as suave as Don Draper and his old fashions and rye cocktails and he ordered a beer.

Now that we were property hydrated, we headed to the dinner menu.  I wasn’t starving so I decided to go light and order the ahi tuna fish tacos with jicima slaw and homemade guac.  Holy mother they were good.  They were perfect size and just the right amount of spice.  And the jicima slaw was a sweet, crunchy addition.  Stellar call on my part.

My tacos were good, but I must admit defeat when I see fit.  The defeat came in the form of Chris’ dinner demolishing mine.  He ordered a special on the menu for the night: lobster grilled cheese sandwich on brioche with brie.  Words can’t describe how unbelievably amazing this sandwich was.  It was served with homemade rosemary flecked shoestring fries, which were equally addicting.

When I say I would order this as my last meal on death row, I’m not kidding.  I’m pretty sure Don Draper would appreciate this sandwich, or at least my man Roger Sterling would.

Lucky’s is a great restaurant in itself , but it’s also a great bar to hang out at on a Friday or Saturday night.  If you’re looking for a place to go and live vicariously through the cast of Mad Men, Lucky’s is your best shot in Boston.  And Pete Campbell would agree…that jerk.

- Jackie

Published in: on May 24, 2010 at 6:38 am  Comments (1)  

A Life-Changing Pineapple Slicer

Matt and I have recently been eating a lot of pineapple.   A whole lot – so much that one trip to the grocery store each week isn’t enough.  When this obsession began, we were buying whole pineapples and slicing them ourselves.  It’s cheaper than buying the fresh, packaged chunks… but it’s messy and kind of difficult, and you don’t end up with much more than you get from a package.   So then we got lazy and started buying storebought pineapple, but since I’ve been making an effort to buy organic fruits and vegetables from Whole Foods (which I’ve heard referred to as ”Whole Paycheck”), our habit began to get prohibitively expensive.   Enter the pineapple slicer, the new love of Matt’s life.   It was a cheap purchase from Amazon, but it’s changed our tropical fruit lovin’ lives – especially Matt’s, since he’s on perpetual pineapple patrol.

In our zeal to test out our new purchase, I was a bit late and lazy with the camera – please forgive the poor quality (and ignore the dirty dishes in the background).

First,  simply cut off the top of the pineapple.

Next, insert the slicer into the top of the pineapple and begin twisting.

The deeper you go, the more the juices start squishing around, and slowly, big interconnected rings of pineapple start rotating up out of the rind (is that what you’d call the outside of a pineapple? my short-lived google search was inconclusive).

We had to take out the top half, then start over for the bottom half, but I think once we practice with the slicer we can probably do it all in one fell slice.

The shell (rind?) remains intact, and you can actually drink the small amount of fresh juice right out of it!  Matt did do that, but I was heartily discouraged from posting the photo.  It might be fun to drink fresh pineapple juice, but it ain’t pretty.

Matt was extremely enthusiastic about the pineapple slicer, and he was shockingly animated during the test run.  My favorite quotes were:

“This is even better than I thought it would be!”    “This is blogging awesome!”    “This is the best thing I’ve ever bought!”   “This has changed my life!”  “I’m leaving you and marrying the pineapple slicer!”

Just kidding on the last one.  Though if he had a gun to his head, I’m not so sure…

My goal for next week is to cook with fresh pineapple and blog about it.  We mostly just eat it plain, or if my sweet tooth gets the best of me, slathered in some Nutella.  (Speaking of marrying an inanimate object… )

- Elizabeth

Published in: on May 21, 2010 at 4:53 am  Comments (1)  

Nudo Olive Oils and our Giveaway Winners!

Last year for my birthday, Eliz gave me a very unique gift…my very own adopted olive oil tree from Italy!!  Seriously, how cool is that?!  So basically, when you adopt an olive tree from Nudo, they send you two shipments from the grove (unfortunately it’s not just from your particular olive tree, it’s from the entire grove).  They give you information about your tree: the grove where your tree lives (mine lives in the Rosalio grove), the age of your tree (38 years old) and the olive variety (leccino).  The Nudo groves are located on the eastern cost of central Italy in a town called Le Marche about three hours away from Rome.  They even encourage you to go and visit your tree (I wanna go!).

The first shipment I received last fall were three lovely infused olive oils: mandarin orange, lemon and chili pepper.  Soooo yummy for dipping bread in!

And just last week I received my final shipment of extra virgin, first cold pressed olive oils.  If these unique olive oils are awesome enough, they’re also organic!  Each tin of oil gives you serving suggestions, for example the lemon oil is great drizzled over roast chicken…I’m getting hungry!

In the package they include an olive oil tasting card to rate the color, smell, taste and your own description of the olive oil.  They suggest you put it in a wine glass and hold it up to the light to judge the color, then you take a big ol’ wiff of the oil and rate the smell, and finally you take a good glug of the olive and rate the taste.  When’s the last time you took a big sip of olive oil from a wine glass? I know it’s been a while.

This was probably one of the most creative gifts I’ve ever received, I mean how many people do you know how have an adoptive olive tree in Italy?!  If you’re trying to think of a super creative and unique gift for someone, I highly recommend it.

And now for our giveaway winners!  Our two winners of two bottles of Country Bobs BBQ Sauce is…..(drum roll)….

Joan and Alan!!

Congrats guys!  Country Bob will be sending you your two bottles of sauce…enjoy! :)

-Jackie

Published in: on May 20, 2010 at 6:47 am  Leave a Comment  

Updates, Eggplant, and the Parish Cafe

I have a whole bunch of random topics to cover, none of which really merited a full entry.  So I decided to just smush them all together in one big blog. 
 
First – an update on my chocolate, cherry, and almond drops.  I was a bit heavy handed with the chocolate (I doubled the amount… so I guess that’s more than a “bit” heavy handed), and it showed.  They were still really good, but too gooey.  I had to keep them refrigerated to keep them pulled together – I think that at room temp they would have started falling apart.  So next time I would use the actual recipe and stick to it.  I often forget that with cooking you can usually mess with measurements and just estimate quantities, but you can’t really do that with baking (even though these were no-bake, I think the idea still applies).  After all, cooking is an art, baking is a science [I realize Jackie said this exact same thing in yesterday’s blog – for the record, I had already written it in my draft, so I’m not copying her!  Great minds…]. 
 
Next update – my new favorite author!  A few weeks ago I blogged about Firefly Lane by Kristin Hannah, and I mentioned that I was listening to another of her books in the car.  I finished True Colors last week and now I am officially hooked on Kristin Hannah.  I was pretty much sold on her after reading Firefly Lane, but now she’s definitely going to be my summer reading obsession.  True Colors started out a little slowly, but picked up before long.  I really liked the setting of the story – a horse farm in a small town on Puget Sound.  There was one point in the story where I felt that a “normal” book could have or would have ended, but the plot thickened and deepened and the end came 300 pages later.  That’s another reason why I heart Kristin Hannah – the length of her books!  It leaves so much time for character development, the only negative of which is that I feel a sense of loss now that I’m finished.  I even went out and bought a few more of her books.  I rarely buy books – I usually trade/share with others or go to the library.  But I felt such a need to get my hands on some more Kristin Hannahs that I sucked it up and paid through the nose at Barnes and Noble.  At least now I have a few more sitting on my nightstand, ready to devour.  
 


Moving on to eggplant!  Last week I had dinner at my friend Katlyn’s house and she made these awesome eggplant stackers.  I was impressed and intrigued by them, so before we even sat down to dinner I creepily asked if I could take a picture.  Luckily, she agreed, and it’s a good thing – because I think the world needs to know about eggplant stackers!  She had breaded and fried slices of eggplant, then stacked them with fresh tomato, mozzarella, and basil in the middle.  Sooooo delicious, and very summery!   A great idea which I will definitely use – soon.  They reminded me of an appetizer I had at my friend Kate’s wedding a few years ago (yes, nearly all of my friends are named Kate, Katie, or Katelyn).  It was a grilled vegetable stack – a portobello mushroom, sliced tomatoes, and onion and pepper rings, topped with basil and a balsamic drizzle.  It was little grilled stack of summery heaven, and I’ve been meaning for years to recreate it at home.  
 
Finally, a mini-review of the Parish Café on Boylston Street.  We went there Saturday early evening for Jackie’s birthday before the Saw Doctors concert.  They’re known for their sandwiches, many of which are recipes from other local restaurants (Flour, dBar, Upstairs on the Square), but they also have a great beer selection.  We sat outside on the patio – here’s a picture of the birthday girl enjoying some delightful white sangria! 


 
I often get weird about eating with my hands, so I had to bypass the sandwich menu.  Instead, I ordered the Sean’s Simple Chicken, which I’d seen before on the Phantom Gourmet.  It was pan fried with capers and white wine, and topped with diced tomatoes, served over mashed potatoes and spinach.  Sooooo up my alley.  I only discovered capers a few years ago and I think my life only truly began then.  It was one of those meals that looked huge and I did the whole “oh boy, I’ll never eat all of this!” routine… but of course, I ate almost every bite.  Truthfully, the only reason I didn’t clean my plate was pride after my big “these portions are way too big!” performance.  It really was such a simple dish, but very well done.  Jackie had the Zuni Roll (from the Cottonwood Café’s menu – my husband swears the Zuni Roll is better at the Parish Café than at the Cottonwood) – turkey, havarti, cranberry chipotle.  So good!  We also passed around Chris’s veal sandwich (with his permission, not like while he was in the bathroom or something), which was extremely tasty. 


 
After the Parish Café, we headed to the House of Blues for the Saw Doctors concert.  On the way, we ran into the guitarist!   Here’s Re and Jackie with the “Superdoc”:


 
We were on the mezzanine level and after some perseverance, we eventually elbowed our way to the railing and had a great view.  What a fun night!  Happy birthday, J!

*** Don’t forget!  Thursday is the last day to submit a comment to be in the running for 2 free bottles of Country Bob’s All-Purpose Sauce!

-Elizabeth

Published in: on May 19, 2010 at 7:09 am  Leave a Comment  

Crafts for Slackers

I fancy myself to be a relatively crafty person.  One of my main roadblocks in the world of crafts is that I don’t have the patience or desire to read directions.  Which is precisely why I’m a good cook, not a good baker (cooking is an art, baking is a science and many crafts are most definitely a science!).  There are so many crafts out there with a gazillion bullet points of steps which I just can’t deal with, so this is why I like embroidery.  I saw this project idea on marthastewart.com a while ago (although Martha’s purpose was for making a quilt, which I’m not into) and I decided to use the template and embroider these cute little birds onto pieces of linen and frame them.  Basically all I did was free hand sketch (but you could trace) the image on the fabric, then just choose whatever color embroidering thread you want and do a basic stitch over your pencil lines.

Each of these birds seriously only took me about an hour to do, such a great thing to do while catching up on your DVR!

Then I bought these mismatching wood frames at the Christmas Tree Shop…I love the shabby chic look!

So once I finished this project and realized how easy it was to create my own unique artwork, I decided to take the embroidery idea and use it towards other projects.  I went out and bought these teeny weeny little onesies and embroidered them with super cute little images, and gave them as a baby shower gifts!  It’s a wicked thoughtful, homemade gift that moms-to-be really love.

This kind of project can be done by some of the least crafty folks out there, so give it a try!

Also, make sure you leave a comment under any of these posts for a chance to win two bottles of Country Bobs!!  Note: the comment link is a very small link in yellow below the post.  Good luck!

-Jackie

Published in: on May 18, 2010 at 6:38 am  Comments (2)  

Belated Mother’s Day, Country Bob’s Sauce, and a Giveaway!

Yesterday we celebrated a belated Mother’s Day with the first cookout of the summer.   It was a beautiful day for the roofdeck and it felt great to fire up the grill and kick off barbeque season.  By Labor Day I usually grow a little weary of the same old grill fare, but nothing tastes as good as the first few hot dogs and hamburgers of the summer.  As usual, we prepared quite a feast. 

For hors d’oeuvres we snacked on curry dip and pita chips (I’ll have to feature this recipe sometime – in Jackie’s words, it’s a “taste explosion” – very different and very good), mini lobster rolls (didn’t get a chance to take a picture because they disappeared so quickly!), and cheese and crackers.   Then we grilled up hot dogs, sausages, turkey tips, and the main feature (and best part!)  Country Bob’s hamburgers.  

I had been wanting to try Country Bob’s All-Purpose Sauce and had a hard time deciding what recipe to use it in.  Ribs?  Buffalo wings?  Stew?   All very tempting (and all on their great website!  www.countrybobs.com/recipes/), but I couldn’t resist their recipe for the “World’s Greatest Hamburger”.   And the name isn’t just hype – this burger actually won Best of Show at the St. Louis BBQ Cookoff!  

The recipe itself is very simple, which really appealed to me.  When it comes to grilling, I often find the least complicated recipes/preparations to be the best. 

Ingredients

2.5 lbs ground sirloin

3/8 cup Country Bob’s All-Purpose Sauce

1/2 packet Lipton Onion Soup

salt & pepper or other seasoning salt

Simply mix all ingredients together and form into 8 patties. 

The burgers turned out sooooo moist and delicious!   I think what I loved best about Country Bob’s sauce is how it complemented the meat.  Some steak/all-purpose sauces are so thick and overpowering – all you can taste is the sauce.   Country Bob’s is very flavorful, but it really brings out the flavor of the meat instead of covering it up as so many other sauces do.   The burger had a mild and subtle barbeque flavor instead of the in-your-face bbq flavor you often find with other sauces.  I topped my burger with a bit more sauce just to round out the Country Bob’s deliciousness, which made mine into more of a straight up bbq burger.  But I think that if you went with traditional burger toppings like ketchup and mustard, what you’d end up with is a really really tasty, moist, flavorful traditional burger.   I’m not a cheese person, but Jackie, Matt, and my dad added pepperjack to their burgers for an extra kick. 

Now that I’ve finally tried Country Bob’s and I’ve discovered all the great recipes on their website, I’m hooked.   I’m dying to try the Scrumptious Grilled Onions, California Bean Dip, Balsamic Vinaigrette (homemade salad dressing is the way to go), and Slow-Cooker Buffalo Wings (I’m a sucker for slow cookers!).   Now I’ve got to get my hands on the Spicy All-Purpose Sauce – I can’t resist the heat!  Definitely check out their website for tons of great ideas. www.countrybobs.com.

And now for the Giveaway!  Country Bob’s wants to share the love and send a few of our readers some of their sauce.   Simply post a comment by Wednesday and tell us your favorite grilling or barbeque recipe or tip, and we’ll pull two names out of a hat.  Country Bob’s will send each of our winners two bottles of their fantastic All-Purpose Sauce so you can experience it for yourself.   We’ll announce the winner on Thursday morning.

We look forward to reading your comments and sharing Country Bob’s!   Happy grilling!

- Elizabeth

Published in: on May 17, 2010 at 7:09 am  Comments (5)  
« Older Entries
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.