Along with the turkey I had barbecue sauce, tortillas, shredded Mexican blend cheese, half of a red onion, and half of a red bell pepper, all left over from other meals.  Since this was kind of a last minute dinner and I wasn’t sure exactly how it was going to turn out, I didn’t really measure anything.  If you’re not comfortable with that kind of cooking, this is a great way to start.  The best way to get better at cooking without a recipe is to practice.  Just use your judgement and use what you like.  If you have barbecued brisket or chicken instead, then use those.  I used a Mexican blend of shredded cheese, but cheddar, monterey jack, or pepper jack would all work.  If you don’t like onions, don’t use them.  If you like green bells instead, use those.

I’ve learned that when making quesadillas, like pizza, do not overdo it on the fillings (toppings for pizza).  It can be a mess to flip over, and if the filling to crunchy tortilla ratio is off, they aren’t as tasty.  Also, make sure to get your pan hot and use some kind of fat (butter is best in my opinion) even if its just a little bit.  It makes for a much crunchier exterior.  Enjoy!

Barbecue Quesadillas

Serves 3-4

Ingredients

• 6 flour tortillas
• 2-4 tablespoons butter
• 1 1/2-2 cups chopped barbecued turkey (brisket or chicken)
• 3-5 tablespoons barbecue sauce
• 1/2 red onion, thinly sliced
• 1/2 bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1-2 cups shredded cheese
• sour cream (optional)

Directions

1. Mix the turkey with the barbecue sauce, adding 1 tablespoon at a time until the meat is lightly coated. (Add more if you like.)
2. Heat a skillet over medium heat.
3. Lay out half of your tortillas and begin evenly layering cheese, turkey, onions, bell peppers and more cheese.  Top with another tortilla.
4. Melt some butter (I use between 1/4 and 1/2 tablespoon) in the hot skillet.  Carefully transfer one quesadilla to the skillet and cook for 3-4 minutes until the bottom is nicely browned.
5. Spread a little more butter on the top tortilla before flipping, being careful not to let too many toppings escape.
6. Cook for another 3-4 minutes until the other side is browned and the cheese has melted.  Transfer to a plate.
7. Repeat with the other quesadillas.  You can keep these warm in a 200°F oven on a cookie sheet.
8. Cut into quarters and serve with sour cream if desired.

We had an hors d’oeurves dinner and had a wide variety of tasty foods that I need recipes for now.  A super delcious queso, spicy jalapeño, black bean and corn dip, and some crazy good chocolate chip cookies.

I made chicken taquitos that turned out to be pretty good.  These were easy to prepare ahead of time, easy to assemble, they re-heated well and were a popular item on our buffet table.

I used a rotisserie chicken, a “Fiesta” blend of cheese and added a little more lime juice and cilantro than the original recipe.  Low fat cream cheese is fine in this recipe.  You can change up the filling any way you’d like.  There are so many options with taquitos!  I made a black bean and corn version that people liked even more than the chicken ones, so I’ll get around to typing that one up in the next couple days.  Enjoy!

Baked Chicken Taquitos

Courtesy of Our Best Bites

Ingredients

• 3 oz cream cheese
• 1/4 cup green salsa
• 2 tablespoon fresh lime juice
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro
• 2 tablespoons sliced green onions
• 2 cups shredded cooked chicken
• 1 cup grated Monterey jack cheese
• 12-15 small corn tortillas
• kosher salt
• cooking spray

Directions

1. Heat oven to 400. Line a baking sheet with foil and lightly coat with cooking spray.
2. Heat cream cheese in the microwave for about 20-30 seconds so it’s soft and easy to stir. Add green salsa, lime juice, cumin, and chili powder.  Stir to combine and then add cilantro and green onions. Add chicken and cheese and combine well.
3. You can prepare up to this step ahead of time. Just keep the mixture in the fridge.
4. Work with a few tortillas at a time and heat in the microwave until they are soft enough to roll without cracking. It helps to place them between damp paper towels. Usually 20-30 seconds will do it. If you find yours are cracking when you roll them or come unrolled right away, just try heating them longer and try the paper towel thing.
5. Place 2-3 T of chicken mixture on the lower third of a tortilla, keeping it about 1/2 inch from the edges.
6. Then roll it up as tight as you can.
7. Place seam side down on the baking sheet. Lay all of the taquitos on the baking sheet and make sure they are not touching each other. Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray or an oil mister and sprinkle some kosher salt on top.
8. Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes or until crisp and the ends start to get golden brown.
9. Serve with sour cream, salsa and guacamole.

I combined many different recipes to come up with this salad.  A lot that I looked at use chips or cornbread as a layer in the salad, but I am not a fan of soggy bread in anything besides stuffing at Thanksgiving.  So, I left the chips out, and served them on the side instead.  If you want to add chips, cruch up about 2 cups and use half as a layer in between the corn and lettuce layers.

Mexican Layered Salad

Ingredients

• 2 – 3 heads of romaine, chopped
• 1/2 cup shredded red cabbage
• 3 grated carrots
• 3 – 4 roma tomatoes, chopped
• 2 avocados, cut into 1/4 inch chunks and tossed with about 1 tablespoon of lemon juice
• 6 – 8 green onions, chopped
• 1 large can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 2 cans whole kernel corn, drained
• 2 cups shredded cheese, a combination of cheddar and monterey jack is great
• 1 1/2 cups ranch dressing
• 3/4 teaspoon cumin
• 3 – 5 tablespoons lime juice
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• Tortilla chips for serving

Directions

1. In a small bowl combine tomatoes and scallions.
2. Combine romaine, cabbage and carrots in a large bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, combine dressing, cumin, lime juice and cilantro.  Whisk to combine.  Set aside.
4. In a trifle dish, layer half of the beans, then half of the corn.
5. Top half of the lettuce mixture and press down.
6. Top with half of the  tomato mixture, then half of the avocado.
7. Sprinkle with half of the cheese, then drizzle with dressing.
8. Repeat layers again, pressing down as needed.
9. Top with cheese, then cover with plastic wrap and let sit for at least 1 hour.  Can prepare 1 day ahead.
10. Serve with tortilla chips.

Ben spent most of his law school days with three great guys at Baylor, and as a result I became great friends with them, their significant others, and their kids.  After graduation we moved to Amarillo along with one of the other couples, Tim and Jackie.  Jason and Carrie and their adorable girls moved to Decatur and Christian moved to Houston.  Being scattered throughout the great state of Texas makes getting together a tough endeavor.  It’s also hard to find a time that works with everyone’s schedule.  So, this weekend was a special one because everyone was able to meet up in the bustling metropolis of Decatur.  Christian brought his fiancé, so we were able to meet her, and we definitely approve.

One of the great things about this group is our numerous shared interests.  For Carrie H and I one of those is food!  We had many incredible dinner parties in Waco, and when we get together now we usually plan a menu for one of our meals.  This weekend, Carrie also planned great breakfasts and lunches.  She is incredible.

The main event was a Mad Men and 60’s inspired meal of hors d’oeuvres and cocktails.  In our research of this era we discovered that a lot of the dishes were made using convenience foods like cocktail weenies, canned foods, pre-prepared foods, etc.  I am not ashamed to say that I am a food snob.  I won’t say that Carrie H is a food snob…but I won’t say that she’s not a food snob… anyway, we were not about to cook a meal using a bunch of canned food.  We did want to use some of the traditional menu items, but to add some updated recipes to create more of an interesting and tastier meal.  Here is the final menu decision.

Spinach dip with crudités

Fruit kabobs

Caramelized Shallot and Gruyere Fondue (recipe below)

Brie stuffed mushrooms

Smoked paprika bacon wrapped dates stuffed with manchego

Swedish meatballs

This was such great fun.  I’m usually not pushing for a themed party complete with a wardrobe to match, but I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to wear this dress and share my Bump-Its so that all the ladies could have nice puffy hair-dos.

We made the guys get a little fancy and wear skinny ties.  They were good sports.

Here is the fondue recipe.  I’ve made this before and it is delicious.  I think it tasted more delicious served from my awesome avocado green vintage fondue pot…a gift from Carrie H.

Gruyere Fondue with Caramelized Shallots (Bon Appetit, March 2000)

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 1/4 cups thinly sliced shallots (about 6 ounces)
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 1/2 cups (or more) dry white wine
• 14 ounces grated Gruy(re cheese (about 3 1/2 cups packed)
• 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
• Generous pinch of ground nutmeg
• 1 sourdough baguette, cut into 1-inch cubes

1. Melt butter in heavy medium skillet over medium heat. Add thinly sliced shallots and sauté 3 minutes. Reduce heat to low; sprinkle shallots with sugar, salt and pepper. Sauté until shallots are caramelized, about 15 minutes. Transfer shallots to small bowl. Add 1 1/2 cups wine to skillet; boil 1 minute.
2. Pour wine into heavy medium saucepan; set over medium-low heat. Toss cheese with flour in medium bowl to coat. Add half of caramelized shallots to wine; add cheese mixture by handfuls, stirring until cheese melts and is smooth before adding more. Thin with more wine if mixture is too thick. Season with nutmeg, salt and pepper.
3. Transfer cheese mixture to fondue pot. Set pot over candle or canned heat burner. Top fondue with remaining caramelized shallots. Serve with bread cubes.

Back to the huge zucchini.  I really wish I’d weighed this monster before using it yesterday.  Just use this picture as proof…it was a big vegetable.

Ginger was scared of it.  I took it out of the fridge and when I turned around she saw it and tucked her tail in between her legs and ran out of the kitchen.  Strange.

This recipe is from Paula Deen, which explains the odd mixing techniques and large amounts of sugar, oil, and eggs.  The ingredients were simple.  I resisted the urge to add pineapple or chocolate chips.  I’m glad that I did because I enjoyed the simple flavor of the zucchini and the rich pecans.  Sometimes simple can be perfect.

I sugared the pans after greasing them, a new favorite trick that gives the bread a nice crunchy, sweet exterior.  I had mixed up some cinnamon sugar for the rice pudding last week, so I used the cinnamon sugar in one of the pans, so that loaf was a little extra special.

The memories of the Amish bread catastrophe made my palms get all sweaty when it came time to remove the bread from the pans.  Hooray!  Only one little corner of the bread remained this time.

Zucchini Bread

Ingredients

• 3 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon ground nutmeg (optional)
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 3 cups sugar
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 4 eggs, beaten
• 1/3 cup water
• 2 cups grated zucchini
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 cup chopped pecans

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine flour, salt, nutmeg, baking soda, cinnamon and sugar. In a separate bowl, combine oil, eggs, water, zucchini and lemon juice. Mix wet ingredients into dry, add nuts and fold in. Bake in 2 standard loaf pans, greased and sugared, for 50-60 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean.

Both recipes come from Finecooking.com.  There are quite a few hummus recipes on the site, but this one seemed just different enough to be fun without being weird or overly complicated with ingredients.  I like the versatility of hummus.  A dip for pita chips or fresh veggies, and equally good spread on a flat bread with veggies or some turkey and wrapped up for a quick lunch.

The garlic in this hummus is cooked in olive oil along with some ground cumin to mellow the flavor of the garlic, and the results are really nice.  The soy sauce in the hummus isn’t obvious, but does add something to the flavor.

For the pita chips, make sure to halve them to create 2 circles, then cut the pita halves into triangles or strips.  If you cut the entire pita into pieces, your chips will not crisp quite as well.  The recipe calls for 10 pitas, but I only used 4.  Just cut what you need, brush them on both sides with a little olive oil, and sprinkle with kosher salt.  Easy peasy.

Hummus

Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 400°F.

Split each pita into two rounds. Lightly brush each round on both sides with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Cut each round into 8 wedges and arrange in a single layer on rimmed baking sheets. Bake until golden and crisp, about 12 minutes.

Serve warm or at room temperature.

Summer rolls are one of those things that seems so daunting that most people, or maybe just me, do not even want to attempt to make them at home.  Why spend so much time preparing something like this?  Why not just be content to order them at a restaurant where someone else labors instead of you?  Because once you know how to do it you will realize that it’s not an impossible task and that they taste better when you’ve made them yourself.  Oh, and it’s quite a bit cheaper than restaurant fare.

This recipe is from Epicurious.com, and had really high fork ratings and 95% of people would make them again, so I figured I could handle it.  I prepped everything and made the sauce early in the day.  I didn’t really measure my vegetables and herbs.  I chopped and shredded more than I needed and made more noodles than called for.

This resulted in a lot of leftover veggies, but made more rolls and I had more chances to screw up and tear the rice paper…which, by the way, is very easy to do!  Use a light hand with the wrappers and be prepared to toss some into the trashcan. I like bean sprouts, so I added those to a few of the rolls when I added the carrots.  After adding the carrots, when rolling the roll closed, is when I would tear the rice paper.  Good news though, by the last couple rolls I was putting out some very pretty, tight, nice looking rolls.

Tips for making summer rolls:

• Make sure you keep the rice paper moist and don’t let the sheets touch each other for too long or they’ll stick together and tear.
• Don’t try to pack too much in the rolls.  If they are too full they won’t roll properly and there is more of a chance of the paper tearing.
• Have some water available to dip your fingers in to help manage the rice paper.
• If you plan to have left over rolls, don’t spread any peanut sauce on them.  Leave them plain and use the peanut sauce to dip the rolls.

Step 1: Place lettuce leaf on top of rice paper round and spread with a bit of peanut sauce.

Step 2: Layer rice noodles, mint, basil and cabbage in the center of the lettuce leaf.

Step 3: Roll rice paper halfway, folding in the sides as you reach the center (like a burrito).

Step 4: Place some carrot, the cilantro and bean sprouts on the crease, then roll the rest of the way.

Make the roll as tight as possible without tearing the paper.  Press the paper together to seal the roll.

Summer Vegetable Rolls

From Epicurious.com

Ingredients

For peanut sauce

• 3 tablespoons finely chopped onion
• 1 small garlic clove, minced
• 3/4 teaspoon dried hot red pepper flakes
• 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons water
• 1 tablespoon creamy peanut butter
• 1 tablespoon hoisin sauce
• 1 teaspoon tomato paste
• 3/4 teaspoon sugar

For summer rolls

• 1 ounce bean thread noodles (cellophane noodles) or thin rice noodles
• 1 tablespoon seasoned rice vinegar
• 4 (8-inch) rice-paper rounds, plus additional in case some tear
• 2 red-leaf lettuce leaves, ribs cut out and discarded and leaves halved
• 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves
• 1/4 cup fresh basil leaves (preferably Thai)
• 1/2 cup thinly sliced Napa cabbage
• 1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 1/3 cup coarsely shredded carrot (1 medium)

Preparation

Make sauce: Cook onion, garlic, and red pepper flakes in oil in a small heavy saucepan over moderate heat, stirring, until pale golden, about 4 minutes. Whisk in remaining sauce ingredients. Simmer, whisking, 1 minute, then cool.

Make summer rolls: Cover noodles with boiling-hot water and soak 15 minutes, then drain well in a sieve. Pat dry between paper towels and toss with vinegar and salt to taste.

Put a double thickness of paper towel on a work surface and fill a shallow baking pan with warm water. Soak 1 rice-paper round (make sure there are no holes) in warm water until pliable, 30 seconds to 1 minute, then transfer to paper towels.

Arrange 1 piece of lettuce on bottom half of soaked rice paper, folding or tearing to fit and leaving a 1-inch border along edge. Spread one fourth of peanut sauce over lettuce and top with one fourth each of mint, basil, cabbage, and noodles. Roll up rice paper tightly around filling and, after rolling halfway, arrange one fourth of cilantro and carrot along crease. Then fold in sides and continue rolling. Transfer summer roll to a plate and cover with dampened paper towels.

Make 3 more rolls in same manner. Serve rolls halved on the diagonal.

Cooks’ note:Summer rolls may be made 6 hours ahead and chilled, wrapped in dampened paper towels in a sealed plastic bag. Bring rolls to room temperature before halving and serving.

 This one has a few frills – coconut and toatsed pecans.  This recipe is the medium frills recipe.  One of the others has zero frills, and the third favorite is chock full of goodies.  You have to prepare yourself for that one.

The redeeming thing about banana bread is the banana.  Bananas are very good for you, so feel free to indulge in this bread without guilt.  Check it…

This recipe is from Magnolia Bakery in NYC.  I think I have recommended the cookbook before, so really, go buy it already!

Banana Bread with Coconut and Pecans

Last week, I found myself rummaging in my pantry and cabinets for something to bake.  I found some cranberries and a bag of pecans.  So, the search began for a biscotti recipe.  I found this on delish.com, a site I had never been to.  This recipe is from Todd English, and the ingredient list sounded delicious, cardamom and nutmeg, so I gave them a try.

I made half the batch with just pecans and half with cranberries and pecans.  I preferred the plain pecan, but the tartness of the cranberry with the pecans is a really nice combination.  The original recipe calls for orange zest, which I left out.  If you’re into that, then just add 1 tablespoon of zest when you add the flour.  

I will definitely make these again, but will bake the uncut loaves for the full 35 minutes.  I made the mistake of baking them for only 25 minutes, and the middle was a little underbaked and hard to slice.  I had to bake them for a bit longer after slicing them to make a good crunchy biscotti.  

Cranberry Pecan Biscotti

INGREDIENTS

1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus additional for flouring
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cardamom 
3/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 cup dried cranberries
1 1/2 cups pecans, coarsely chopped

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment or wax paper.

2. Place the butter and sugars in a large bowl and blend until light. Add the eggs and vanilla and blend until thoroughly combined.

3. Add the flour, baking powder, salt, cardamom, and nutmeg, and stir to combine. Add the cranberries and pecans and stir.

4. Transfer to a floured work surface and knead until the dough just comes together. If necessary, add more flour to the work surface. Divide the dough into 2 halves and shape each into a 12-inch loaf.

5. Place 1 loaf on the prepared baking sheet and bake until it starts to crack and is a uniform light brown, about 35 minutes. Set aside to cool. Repeat with the remaining loaf.

6. Lower the temperature to 300 degrees.

7. Place the loaves on a cutting board and, using a serrated knife, cut each on the diagonal, into 20 to 24 slices, 1/2-inch thick, or, for a more delicate biscotti, 1/4-inch thick. Place on the baking sheet and bake until lightly toasted, about 10 to 12 minutes. Turn over and bake until dry and crisp, about 5 minutes.

8. When cooled, store in an airtight container up to 10 to 12 days.

Valentine’s weekend was great.  Our good friends from law school made the trip to Amarillo to spend the weekend.  We began Saturday with pastries from The Village Bakery.  After breakfast we headed out to Palo Duro Canyon for a hike.  We made good use of our new Texas State Parks pass by getting all 9 of us in for “Free!” instead of $4 per person.

It was a beautiful day.  I had never hiked in Palo Duro before, only driven through.  We all agreed that being this close to Palo Duro makes living in the Panhandle worth it!  Our dog, Ginger, all 6 pounds and 7 weeks of her, kept up with us all 4 miles of the trip and still had energy left over afterwards.  We were pretty impressed with her stamina.  Our goal was to see Lighthouse rock.  After about 2 miles on the trail the little girls were tired and we thought that we wouldn’t have time to go all the way to the rock.  So, we headed back to the car.  We checked out the trail map when we got to the trailhead and found out that we were almost there when we’d turned around!  So, Ben was right and I was wrong.  Next time we’ll have to hike all the way to Lighthouse.  It seems like an incredible formation.  After the hike, we headed back home to prepare Valentine’s Day dinner.

I must say that this meal was one of the best we’ve put together.  The company was lovely, so maybe it was partly the people we ate with, but the food…it was wonderful.  The baked brie is courtesy of my Aunt Vivie.  She made a similar appetizer at Christmas.  She used almonds, cranberries and honey inside her puff pastry so the one we made was a bit different.  The thyme and cranberry with the brie was buttery and sweet.  I’m glad we served the brie with the water crackers.  Their clean flavor did not distract you from the rich flavors in the brie.  The salad dressing and spiced pecans is a recipe from Rather Sweet Bakery.  The recipe for the entree came from Fine Cooking.  I used flank steak instead of the skirt steak, and we grilled the steak.  The steak and relish were absolutely incredible.  The flavors really complemented each other as did the textures.  The steak was delicious and tender.  The slight crunch of the vegetables in the relish was a perfect match.  The potatoes were simple.  We all agreed that a meal can be overdone if everything is complex, so the simple roasted potato was a great side.  

Valentine’s Day

Menu

Baked Brie with Thyme and Cranberries

Salad with Spiced Pecans, Goat Cheese and Balsamic Vinaigrette

Smashed New Potatoes

Flank Steak with Radish, Red Onion and Carrot Relish

Baked Brie with Cranberries and Thyme

• 8 oz wheel of brie with top rind removed
• 1 sheet frozen puff pastry, thawed
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 2 teaspoon fresh thyme, chopped
• 1 package plain water crackers

1. Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat the oven to 425°F.
2. On a sheet of waxed paper or parchment, roll the pastry out to a 12-inch square and cut two 6-inch rounds from it. Put one of the rounds on a small rimmed baking sheet.
3. Sprinkle with half of the dried cranberries and thyme, leaving a 1/2-inch border around the edge, and gently press them in.
4. Set the Brie, rind side down, on top of the pastry, sprinkle with the remaining cranberries and thyme, and cover with the other pastry. 
5. Crimp the edges together to seal in the cheese. 
6. Bake until the pastry browns, about 20 minutes. Let cool for 15 to 20 minutes and then serve.

The Lovebirds

Here are the dinner guests!  Jason and Carrie, Christian and Lisa, and me and Ben.