Tag: cooking (page 3 of 9)

April 5, 2016 / 0 Comments

Cooking With Betty

I was looking for a new cinnamon roll recipe for Easter. One that wouldn’t make a gazillion, as this year I wasn’t cooking for a crowd and one that wouldn’t take too much effort as I had a lot of other baking, cooking and prep work to get done the day before.

I came across a cake mix cinnamon roll recipe on the Betty Crocker website and I decided to try that, with a few exceptions. I can’t easily get yellow cake mix here, so I used a white one instead and I decided to splash some vanilla extract into the dough mixture, you can’t go wrong with vanilla!

I also made my own cream cheese frosting, laced with vanilla and a hint of clementine zest. The end results were wonderful. I made the rolls the day before and went through every step, right up until baking them. Instead, I covered them and let them stay in the fridge over night. We were up early Easter morning, so while Mr. Michie made coffee, I put the rolls out on the counter for about thirty minutes and then baked them. They rose beautifully and the house smelled divine!

March 24, 2016 / 0 Comments

Cooking With Ree

With the ushering in of Spring this week, I was craving something sweet and a pie sounded like a wonderful idea. I think pie is always a good idea! I made The Pioneer Woman, Ree Drummond’s “homemade vanilla pudding” from her Dinnertime Cookbook.

The pudding had a wonderful consistency. In future I think I would add a bit more vanilla, but that is just to suit my tastes. Now, in Ree’s recipe she put her cooked pudding into individual pots and topped them off with unsweetened whipped cream. I placed mine in a pie shell and made a mountain of vanilla whipped cream. It was perfect! I had a slice for dessert and a slice for breakfast and a slice for an afternoon snack…

March 14, 2016 / 0 Comments

Cooking With Audrey

I grew up surrounded by fantastic cooks. My grandmothers and one of my grandfathers, my aunts and both of my parents all know their way around a kitchen. They have instilled in me, not just the ability to cook, but an appreciation for good food and good ingredients.

I LOVE to be in the kitchen. I find it therapeutic to cut vegetables, stir a sauce, get inspired by something I’ve read and adapt it to suit our tastes. I also and I’m not embarrassed to say this have a bit of a thing for cookbooks. I have new ones and vintage one’s, some from my Nana, some from my Mom. I don’t always cook from them, but I love looking through them as a catalyst for ideas.

I’m going to make a point this year to share some of what I’m cooking here. It’s a new series I’m starting, called “Cooking with…”.

First up, I’m cooking with Audrey. To go along with pulled chicken, smothered in homemade Carolina mustard based BBQ sauce, I made a batch of Audrey’s coleslaw. It’s a simple dressing mix involving sour cream at it’s base instead of a traditional mayonnaise mixture. I whipped it up and threw in some grated carrot for good measure. It was refreshing and a soothing compliment to the spiciness of the BBQ sauce.

December 14, 2015 / 0 Comments

Gingerbread Girls

We spent yesterday afternoon making gingerbread. The house smells wonderful and cozy. When Mr. Michie kissed me goodnight, he told me that my hair even smelled of gingerbread, which made me smile! Happiness is…

November 25, 2015 / 1 Comment

Marilyn Monroe’s Stuffing

Maybe more famous now then during her lifetime, Hollywood starlet, Marilyn Monroe seems as at home in the kitchen as she did on the silver screen. Auctioned off during a 1999 sale of her personal effects at Christie’s, heralded two well used cookbooks and a set of bright yellow enameled Le Creuset pots and pans. She had a love affair that fans never knew of, she was a kitchen goddess, long before it became a “thing” to be.

I know that today, for many, is a day of preparation and if I was at home celebrating Thanksgiving with my family, we would already be in the kitchen working away on family favourite’s and much loved recipes. In case you are looking for something new this year or haven’t quite finalized that Thanksgiving menu, I thought I would share this little recipe.

This recipe, like a recipe from your grandmother or mother, is scrawled on letterhead from an insurance company, probably the nearest thing she had to hand. Recipes written on the back of receipts or in the margins of a book always seem to me, the best kinda recipes! And like many old recipes I have, there is not a clear step-by-step directive, but you can still follow along or hazard a guess at her meaning. However, the NY Times Cooking section has researched and refined her scribbling in to an exact recipe and I shall include that below, in case you don’t have the time or inclination to decipher this yourself.

{Recipe Image From “Fragments: Poems, Intimate Notes, Letters by Marilyn Monroe”}

Marilyn Monroe’s Stuffing, Matt Lee and Ted Lee

INGREDIENTS

A 10-ounce loaf sourdough bread
½ pound chicken or turkey livers or hearts
½ pound ground round or other beef
1 tablespoon cooking oil
4 stalks celery, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
2 cups chopped curly parsley
2 eggs, hard boiled, chopped
1 ½ cups raisins
1 cup grated Parmesan
1 ¼ cups chopped walnuts, pine nuts or roasted chestnuts, or a combination
2 teaspoons dried crushedrosemary
2 teaspoons dried crushed oregano
2 teaspoons dried crushed thyme
3 bay leaves
1 tablespoon salt-free, garlic-freepoultry seasoning (or 1 teaspoon dried sage, 1 teaspoon marjoram, 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger and 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg)
1 tablespoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
1 tablespoon pepper

PREPARATION

Split the bread loaf in half and soak it in a large bowl of cold water for 15 minutes. Wring out excess water over a colander and shred into pieces.
Boil the livers or hearts for 8 minutes in salted water, then chop until no piece is larger than a coffee bean.
In a skillet over medium-high heat, brown the ground beef in the oil, stirring occasionally and breaking up the meat, so no piece is larger than a pistachio.
In your largest mixing bowl, combine the sourdough, livers, ground beef, celery, onion, parsley, eggs, raisins, Parmesan and nuts, tossing gently with your hands to combine. Whisk the rosemary, oregano, thyme, bay leaves, poultry seasoning, salt and pepper together in a bowl, scatter over the stuffing and toss again with your hands. Taste and adjust for salt. Refrigerate, covered, until ready to use as a stuffing or to bake separately as dressing. To serve as a dressing, pile about two quarts of the mixture into a 9-inch square baking dish and bake at 350 degrees until the top is evenly browned, about 1 hour.

March 9, 2015 / 1 Comment

“M&M” Date Night #1

As I mentioned in my previous post, this weekend, we decided to try a new Date Night plan of action: “M&M Date Night”. The M&M equals “Movie and Menu”. We want to try and do this at least twice a month and simply put, we plan to create a menu around a movie.

We started off the first of many “M&M” date nights with a childhood favourite, a classic really: The Goonies. We decided to go with homemade pizza and ice cream since that is one of Chunk’s favourite things to eat! The party lights were on and candles were lit.

While I was busy making pizza dough (I used my go-to recipe from Annie’s Eats, although I have made a few tweaks of my own to it), Mr. Michie found a “Which Goonies Character Are You?” quiz and we took that. I got Mikey:

He got Sloth:

I’m not sure what that says about us? We went with Italian sausage, mushroom and feta as our pizza toppings. Although Mr. Michie was sans mushrooms and just ate a manly carnivore pizza. It totally hit the spot and for dessert, we made ice cream sundaes with caramel sauce, chopped pecans, marshmallow fluff, whipped cream and cherries all piled high. It was a really fun way to spend a date night and we plan to do many many more!

So, here’s to date night, long may it last! GOONIES, NEVER SAY DIE!!!!!

February 20, 2015 / 1 Comment

White Chocolate Bark

I had a block of Log House vanilla flavoured almond bark to use in the pantry. I love this stuff! It is great to dip pretzels in, fruit, nuts. You name it, it will most likely taste delicious with this smothered over it. I love opening that package, the smell that hits you instantly reminds me of being little. I can taste the white chocolate Easter candy lollipops that my mom would sometimes get us from the hardware store in town.

We put peanut M&Ms, popcorn, marshmallows and a few sprinkles on this bark. We hit the nutty, the salty and the sweet notes. Now, we just have to wait for it to set. I know what I’m having tonight: a big hunk of bark with a cup of hot chocolate…

{They have a nice recipe site HERE, always a good starting point if you want to make something delicious for bake sales, parties, holiday treat packages or something delicious just for you!}

January 19, 2015 / 0 Comments

Dolly Parton’s Banana Pudding

I LOVE banana pudding. I don’t think I could call myself Southern, if I didn’t. I also happen to adore Dolly Parton. She is a spitfire country woman for sure! While cruising through Pinterest tonight on my way home, I saw a picture of her, which led me to her banana pudding recipe! What could be better to beat the Monday blues than a little bit of sunshine yellow banana pudding?

The meringue topping would be an interesting twist, I’m more of a sweet whipped cream kinda gal, but if Dolly likes it, I’ll give it a whirl!

The recipe from her cookbook Dolly’s Dixie Fixin’s, is below and the original article can be found at AnOther mag.

Pudding

1 box of vanilla wafer cookies
4 large firm, ripe bananas, sliced
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/8 teaspoon salt
3 cups milk
1 large egg
Yolks of 3 large eggs
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Meringue Topping

Whites of 3 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method

1. Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In deep dish toss the cookies and bananas to mix well; set aside.

3. In a large saucepan combine 3/4 cup of sugar, flour and salt, beat in milk until blended and smooth. Bring to boil over medium-low heat and cook for 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat.

4. In small bowl beat egg and egg yolks, adding 2 – 3 tablespoons of the hot milk mixture. Stir egg mixture into saucepan and set over a low heat. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly until mixture is hot but not boiling. Stir in the butter until melted. Remove from heat and stir in 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract. Pour mixture over cookies and bananas in casserole.

5. To prepare the meringue topping beat the egg whites, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla extract together until stiff peaks form. Spoon the mixture over the top of the pudding and bake for 15 minutes until top is golden.

July 21, 2014 / 0 Comments

Summer Squash Pizza

I love vegetables! One thing I truly miss living in London is the roadside vegetable stands and pop-up Farmer’s Markets that exist in the South. The places you stop by on a hot Summer day, the vegetables still warm from being picked out of the fields. A Southern staple is yellow squash. I have not been able to get it in England until recently. Last year we noticed that Whole Foods was selling it and like crazy people we stocked up.

This year, I have done the same. Stocking up, slicing it and throwing it in to the freezer, so we have it as a side dish or to throw in to soups, pastas, risottos or in a vegetable medley. I picked some up on my way home from work on Friday and an idea started buzzing in my head. I knew just what I was going to do with it. Mr. Michie was on a school field trip on Saturday and I decided that I would make pizza for dinner. I have played around and around with this one particular dough recipe we like, making adjustments and tweaks and I have finally perfected it to satisfy our tastebuds.

I made the dough early in the day, so it had plenty of time to rise and just be. Before, Mr. Michie got home, I sauteed thin slices of yellow squash and cubes of pancetta. I also slowly cooked down an onion, till it was golden yellow and tender. Once he arrived home we got to work. I shaped the dough and brushed it with garlic oil and a little salt. We sprinkled freshly grated mozzarella over the top and then layered on onions, squash and pancetta. We finished it off with little dollops of ricotta, here and there. Once it was out of the oven it had a sprinkle of freshly chopped basil and some oregano.

It was wonderful. It was the taste of Summer in your mouth, the salty, the sweet, the savoury. It is most definitely a combination that we would make again.

{We have tried many different dough recipes over the years and this has become our favorite. I have made my own tweaks to the dough, but this is the recipe I used before I took the leap to start changing things: Annie’s Eats Homemade Pizza Dough}

July 3, 2014 / 0 Comments

4th of July Pins

Just a bit of last minute pin-inspiration for the 4th tomorrow!

1. Fourth of July Ice-Cream Sandwiches, Say Yes
2. Let it Wave, The Adventures of Tartanscot
3. Red, White & Ruffled, Bakerella
4. Americana, It’s A Southern Thing
5. Red, White & Blue Sprinkle Popcorn, A Pretty Cool Life

{Pinned HERE, Follow me on Pinterest HERE}