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Memorial Day Menu: Part 3 – Orange julius

June 19, 2011 by Hannah

Fresh orange julius smoothie

A lot has happened since Memorial Day, aka my last blog post. A week and a half in Canada? A wedding? Another wedding? Insanity? I’ll take a little of each, please.

Here, at last, is Part 3 of our Memorial Day menu. Orange julius!

***

By the way, if you missed my previous post, I’m splitting our Memorial Day Menu into several posts:

***
This was one of my favorite treats growing up, and now it’s a household staple for Stephen and I as well. Orange julius (orange cream smoothie) is really quick, more delicious than you could ever imagine, AND it’s somewhat healthy!  That’s a win in my book for sure.

Ingredients

By the way… the only thing I have EVER measured out in this recipe is the milk, and even then I don’t do it every time. In fact, on my actual written “recipe,” the only ingredient with a listed measurement is the milk.

So basically, what I’m trying to say is, I made up all the numbers in this recipe. I figured that might be better than telling you to just throw a bunch of stuff in there until it looks good.

  • Ice
  • 1 cup milk
  • 1/2 can of orange juice concentrate (frozen)
  • 1/2 tsp vanilla extract (I usually use a little more, but I love vanilla)
  • 1-3 Tbs sugar, depending on taste

If you keep a couple cans of orange juice concentrate on hand in your freezer, you should have everything you need to whip up a quick batch of this fabulous smoothie. You will become any guest’s favorite person ever.

Directions

The trick is to blend the ice and milk for a few seconds to get the ice into smaller pieces before adding everything else. It’s no big deal if you don’t do it that way, but it helps guarantee smoother results.

  1. Pulse the milk with a few big handfuls of ice in the blender.
  2. Add the remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.

One batch makes enough for 2-4 people, depending on how big your cup is. Stephen and I have no problem finishing off one batch, but we live in Texas, where it’s currently 104° F outside. (Though in the interest of full disclosure, our orange julius consumption is by no means limited to the summertime.)

And to wrap up the Memorial Day Menu series, you get an exclusive, behind-the-scenes peek at the wreckage in my kitchen after all that frenzied cooking!

My messy kitchen after cooking

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Memorial Day Menu: Part 2 – Soft pretzels

June 1, 2011 by Hannah

Soft warm pretzels

There’s something special about pretzels.

No, not the tiny hard ones you buy in a bag (though they do have their place!). I’m talking about the big, warm, soft, salty variety that makes you want to live in a pretzel shop. My friend Andrea and I decided that not only can soft pretzels end wars and cure world hunger, they also make the PERFECT snack. What more could you want in a food?

I found them on one of my favorite blogs, Annie’s Eats, and then my friend Tram made them and posted about it on her blog, Momma Bird’s Kitchen. I’d been wanting to make them for months, and I finally got my chance.

Mine aren’t as cute and little because (A) It was really hot outside, and I was going back and forth to Stephen and the grill outside by the pool, and (B) I was in a huge hurry and juggling corn cobs and dishes and a spastic timer. And also because I wanted to eat them and didn’t want to waste time making them look pretty. Thus, I ended up with the “rustic” look. That I intended them to have all along. Ahem..

***

By the way, if you missed my previous post, I’m splitting our Memorial Day Menu into several posts:

***

So, without further ado (who am I kidding? There’s always plenty of ado when I’m around), the Glorious Pretzels of Peace and Love.

Ingredients

You really don’t need any special ingredients! That’s awfully exciting for someone on a budget (though you do need a hefty amount of baking soda…).

For the dough:
  • 1 1/2 cups warm water
  • 1 Tbs sugar
  • 2 tsp salt
  • 2 1/4 tsp. instant yeast
  • 4 1/2 cups flour
  •  4 Tbs butter, melted
  • A splash of vegetable oil for greasing the bowl
The original version calls for kosher salt or at least big chunky pretzel salt, but I didn’t have any. It didn’t really affect the flavor, but it sure would’ve been prettier with the right salt.
For finishing:
  • Cooking spray or silicone pan liners
  • 10 cups water
  • 2/3 cup baking soda
  • 1 egg yolk, beaten with 1 Tbs water
  • More salt for sprinkling

Directions

The actual baking process is pretty quick, but you do have to let it rise. Also, I only have a hand mixer. I don’t have a stand mixer with a dough hook. If you do, use it. If not, work harder and still end up with delicious pretzels.

  1. Combine the water, sugar, salt and yeast in a large bowl. Mix on low speed until the yeast is dissolved. Add the flour and butter and mix just until it starts looking like dough. At this point, either switch to the dough hook and knead for about 5 minutes, OR flour your hands, stick ’em in and moosh them around for a while until the dough becomes more solid and smooth. Move the dough to a large bowl with a little vegetable oil drizzed in it. Turn the lump of dough once to coat the top with oil. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and let it rise in a warm place for about 55 minutes (it should double in size). I put it in the trunk of my car. This is Texas, friends. I’m surprised it didn’t start baking in there.
  2. Preheat the oven to 450° F. Lay the silicone pan liners on 2 baking sheets, or spray both sheets lightly with cooking spray. Put the water and baking soda into a large saucepan and bring to a boil.
  3. Divide the dough into 8 pieces. Take one piece, roll it into a long rope, about 18-24 inches. Make a U-shape with the rope, twist it, and fold it back over to make a pretzel shape. Once you have all the dough shaped into pretzels, place one of them into the boiling water for about 30 seconds each. Fish it out of the water with a slotted skimmer and return it to the baking sheet before moving on to the next.
  4. Brush the tops of the pretzels with the egg/water mixture and follow with a light sprinkling of salt.
  5. Bake 12-14 minutes or until “dark golden brown.” Cool on a rack for about 5 minutes before serving. Or not:
Stephen sneaking a pretzel
We were going back and forth to the pool/grill, so Stephen took the golden opportunity to snatch a pretzel off the cooling rack. Please note the guilty look.

Next, I’d really like to try mini pretzels, cinnamon sugar pretzels and mustard pretzels. But not all at the same time. That would be weird.

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Memorial Day Menu: Part 1 – Buttery basil corn

May 30, 2011 by Hannah

dish where corn used to be

…

What?

Oh yeah, that’s where the corn used to be before I remembered to take a picture of the final product. It was GOOD. In a delightful chain of events, my parents and brother came over yesterday, gave Stephen his birthday present early (a tiny little charcoal grill that we can actually use at our apartment!), and the next day was Memorial Day. Thus ensued the grilling frenzy.

I’m not going to jam our entire meal into one blog post, so I’ll spread it out. Here’s our Memorial Day menu:

The grilled chicken started out like this:
Stephen seasoning raw chicken thighs
And ended like this:
Chicken thighs hot off the grill

I think there was some marinating and grilling somewhere in there too. That was Stephen’s deal. YUM.

So I’ll be tacking the buttery basil corn in this blog post. The other dishes will follow in later posts. We got the corn recipe from a grilling recipe book my parents got for Stephen, called Patio Daddy-O at the Grill. The original recipe calls for 6 ears of corn, but we could only fit 3 on our grill (plus there are only, what, 2 of us?), so I’m going to use the measurements for what we did.

Ingredients

This is super cheap to make (especially when corn-on-the-cob is on sale at Walmart for $0.15 per ear!).

  • 3 ears of corn (don’t remove the husks!)
  • 1/2 stick butter, softened
  • 1/2 Tbs lemon juice
  • 1/2 Tbs chopped fresh basil (I used 4 leaves from the basil plant I’m growing in a pot. You could taste the freshness!)
  • Salt & pepper
  • Olive oil
  • 2 Tbs grated parmesan cheese
If I were to stick to the measurements (ha), it should’ve been 1/4 cup parmesan, but I used a little less.

Directions

I’ll tell you what we did, but I’ll also include directions for if you don’t have a grill. The grill added some excellent flavor, but it would still be good if you just boiled the corn instead.

Also, both Stephen and I usually cut our corn off the cob to eat it (does anyone else get some serious corn-between-the-teeth issues even after flossing multiple times? Or is it just me?). The original recipe just says to roll the corn cob in the butter mixture, but I’m going to tell you what I did instead.
  1. If grilling: Soak the corn (still in the husks) in water for about an hour so they don’t burn up on the grill. You may also want to rip off the stringy fluff at the very tip. If boiling: Remove the husks and strings and place in a pot. Fill with water to about 1 inch above the corn. Boil for about 10-15 minutes, cut off the kernels, then skip to Step 5.
  2. Mash together the butter, lemon juice & basil, and add salt and pepper to taste. Cover and place in the refrigerator until the corn is done. I’m a big believer in letting flavors have time to mix.
  3. Grill the corn, still in the husks, over medium-high heat for about 20-25 minutes, or until the husks are evenly charred all the way around.
  4. Remove the husks and strings from the corn, and cut close to the cob to remove all the kernels. To keep from getting charred husks all over my kitchen, I placed each corn cob in a plastic grocery bag while I removed the husks.
  5. Take the butter mixture out of the refrigerator and mix it up with the corn. Add the parmesan cheese and stir. Devour. We definitely ate 3 cobs’ worth of corn between the two of us.
Oh, the beauty that is seasoned butter. Before mixing:
stick of butter with basil, lemon juice, salt and pepper
After mixing:
Seasoned butter mixed up with basil, lemon juice, salt and pepper
Here is the charred corn:
Charred corn-on-the-cob from the grill
In their golden glory after taking off the husks:
Corn cobs with husk removed

… and that’s where this photo saga ends. We were so hungry by the time it was ready that I didn’t even think to take a photo. Oops. Buttery corn goodness with flecks of beautiful green basil. Use your imagination.

More Memorial Day Menu recipes to come!

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Pad Thai

May 26, 2011 by Hannah

Pad Thai in the pan with lots of cabbageSo sad… it’s missing cilantro because I didn’t have any. 😦

This Pad Thai recipe is adapted from a fabulous little book called “Gourmet Meals in Crappy Little Kitchens” by Jennifer Schaertl (See another recipe I cooked from that book: stuffed chicken breast). It’s so easy, and you can dress it up or down (why do I feel like I’m talking about a purse or a pair of shoes?).

The book says it makes 4 servings, but it’s definitely closer to 6-8. Or maybe I just overdo it on the cabbage. But whatever. I love cabbage. Thank you and you’re welcome.

Ingredients

The ingredients are very forgiving, so if you don’t have something, a substitute will probably taste just as delicious. The first time I made it, I used egg noodles instead of rice noodles, oyster sauce instead of fish sauce, white vinegar instead of rice vinegar, brown sugar instead of cane sugar, olive oil instead of vegetable oil, ground ginger instead of fresh ginger, and red pepper flakes instead of red Thai chili pepper. See what I mean? My name is Hannah, and I have a problem with following directions.

Actually, I am a MAJOR rule-follower, except when it comes to food. And maybe a few other random things. No, I don’t claim in any way to be normal. Why do you ask?

I felt like it could’ve used a little more sauce next time, but here’s what I used last night:

  • 8-10 oz. dried rice noodles (you can use egg noodles instead, but I have a very deep love for rice noodles)
  • 1/4 cup oyster sauce (you can use fish sauce instead)
  • 3 Tbs rice vinegar (you can use white vinegar if you need to)
  • 2 Tbs brown sugar
  • 2 Tbs olive oil + 1 Tbs chili oil (use 3 Tbs olive oil if you’re a pansy)
  • 1/2 tsp ground ginger (you can use more, but I’m not a huge fan of strong ginger flavor)
  • 1 tsp red pepper flakes (the result isn’t spicy at all to me, but more sensitive types might want to scale back on the pepper flakes)
  • 2 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken cuts (I used some chicken breasts I had in the freezer, but you can use thighs or whatever you have. It equals about 2-4 chicken breasts depending on how much chicken you want.). Dice the chicken into small chunks.
  • 1 regular cabbage, thinly sliced (I love cabbage. If you aren’t such a fan, you can use as little as 1/2 a cabbage and probably get away with it.)
  • 1/2 cup toasted (or roasted) and chopped peanuts (preferably unsalted, but salted works too)
  • 1 lime, cut into wedges
Cilantro is a very important ingredient too, but I didn’t have cilantro last night (insert sad eyes and a pitiful sniffle). If you happen to have cilantro, you’ll use a whole bunch.

Directions

It is incredibly quick and easy (unless you shell the peanuts by hand like I did…).

  1. Boil some water, remove from heat, and put the dried rice noodles in the water to soften. The water should fully cover the noodles. The noodles can just chill out in the pot while you’re cooking the rest. After 20 minutes, strain all the water out of the noodles.
  2. Whisk the oyster sauce, vinegar and sugar in a small bowl and set aside. If you use the whole cabbage, you may want to make more sauce than the recipe suggests.
  3. Heat the olive/chili oil in the biggest sauté pan you have over medium-high heat. If you don’t have a big sauté pan or wok, use a big pot. Add the ginger, pepper flakes and garlic, sautéing for about 1 minute.
  4. Pat the chicken pieces dry with a paper towel and add them to the pan. Sauté until completely cooked (2-4 minutes).
  5. Add the cabbage, 1/2 of the cilantro bunch, 1/2 of the peanuts, and the sauce mixture. Fold everything over until it’s all coated and mixed well. Sauté for a few minutes, until the cabbage begins to wilt.
  6. Stir in the drained noodles and toss until they’re warm and coated with sauce.
  7. Serve immediately, sprinkling some peanuts and cilantro on top. Garnish with a lime wedge (squeezing it over the noodles adds a wonderful flavor).
It keeps really well in the refrigerator, too. I had leftovers for lunch today.
You will probably want to chop your chicken into smaller pieces, but I was tired of cutting after shelling and chopping all the peanuts by hand.
Sautéing chicken in the pan with spices and oil
Draining the rice noodles
Draining the rice noodles
It’s amazing how long it takes to shell 1/2 cup of peanuts.
Chopped peanuts on the cutting board with a knife
Mmmmm
Chopped chicken simmering in juices
I have a huge pan, and this is AFTER the cabbage wilted down – and BEFORE adding the noodles. Let’s just say I’m busting out the big guns (14-inch wok) next time.
Pan of cabbage in sauce

Posted in Easy meals, Recipes | 2 Comments »

Apricot salmon with a kick

May 19, 2011 by Hannah

Apricot salmon with mushroom risotto and corn on the cob

This is Part 2 of the Meal of Deliciousness. Admittedly, the picture isn’t all that great, but this is one of my favorite salmon recipes (discovered haphazardly in one Suzanne H.’s kitchen on that fateful day in college). The ingredients may sound a little weird, but just trust me on this one. The finished product mixes them divinely.

Ingredients

There are absolutely no measurements to this concoction, but I’ll do my best to estimate. The estimated measurements are for one serving of salmon.

  • 1 serving of fresh salmon
  • 1 Tbs apricot preserves
  • 1 Tbs honey
  • 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (a few sprinkles, based on how much of a kick you want it to have)
It would also be delicious with orange marmalade instead of apricot preserves.

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°. It really couldn’t be much easier. The biggest issue is deciding whether you want to tent-bake or bake it in a pan.
  1. To tent-bake, place the salmon on a piece tinfoil about the size of a dinner plate. Sprinkle on the cayenne pepper, then spread the apricot preserves over the top, and drizzle with honey.
  2. Connect 2 sides of the tinfoil at the top and fold that edge to seal it. It should now look like a tube-shaped tent. Fold up the ends to seal so that no air can escape.
  3. Place on a pan and bake 15-20 minutes depending on how big the salmon is. If you use the tent-baking method, you must split up the salmon into separate servings and “tent” each serving separately.
  4. If you use a pan instead, use something with a lid (or seal with tinfoil). Just place the salmon directly on the plan, place the toppings, cover and bake.
I really with I had a better picture to show this dish in all its simple, delicious splendor. Oh well. I guess you just have to make it for yourself.

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