If you haven’t figured this out already, I’m a carb girl. I love a loaf of fresh baked bread and I am convinced that I could live on bread alone. I have yet to meet a bread I didn’t like. That’s not to say that I haven’t had a few bread making disasters in my kitchen, but for the most part once I got over my fear of yeast and started baking my own bread, I’ve managed to build quite a reputation among my friends as the "go to baker". Whenever there is a function and I’m asked to bring something other than a fancy kids dish, bread is usually what is requested.The one thing I haven’t mastered, until today, was the Baguette. For some reason my baguette’s have never turned out right. They are usually way too hard on the outside, and not really that soft and chewy on the inside.

We’re going to a New Year’s Eve shindig tonight and I was asked to bring, among other things, bread. I was feeling quite ambitious and decided to try a new recipe. S’Kat on Recipezaar posted a fresh baguette recipe that seemed to be popular among other chefs and had a set of directions that were different than what I’ve attempted in the past. S’Kat recommended that during the preheating of the oven process and the baking process, to fill a dutch oven up with water and place it in your oven. This will eliminate the need to continuously open up the oven to spritz the dough while it is baking (which is the method I’ve always tried) and will create the moist environment needed to obtain a nice crusty outside and a soft chewy inside.  The results were right on!

I baked my bread for just a tad longer than I should, but it was still soooo good! It had the perfect crusty/chewy texture I was looking for. I baked two batches of this bread so that we could test one batch prior to the party and then have one to take with us to the party. For our sample baguette, we tried it with some delicious Alejandro & Martin Olivey and Peppery Olive Oil (have you tried their EVOO yet?).  We also mixed in some bread dipping spices to make an  even more delectable combination. In the past, I have made my own dipping spices, but my husband gave me a jar of Dean Jacob’s bread dipping spices, and we tried the olive oil and baguette with those. It was delicious. A little party for our palate.

If you are rethinking that New Year’s resolution to give up carbs, give S’Kat’s recipe a try. I guarantee you it will keep you from going over to the dark side. Here’s the link: S’kat’s Fresh Baguette Recipe.

One month ago today I dished about Apples to Apples and more fun games

Over at our family blog I dished about Mommy Doesn’t Do Snow

Ilva over at Lucullian Delights has challenged all of us food bloggers to show everyone where the magic happens… the Kitchen. I love a challenge and I love seeing kitchens, so I was more than happy to participate.

Here are two pictures of my kitchen. The second photo is of one of my favorite features in our kitchen… our walk in pantry. It’s big enough to store almost everything I need, and as you can see, is well stocked and a mess. 

I hope that you’ll join in the challenge too! I look forward to seeing your kitchens.

You know you’ll be attending a very kid friendly event when the hostess asks you to bring something fancy, and by fancy she means jello. My college roommate, Mikki, invited us over to their house in Lee’s Summit to watch the K-State/Rutgers bowl game last night. When I spoke with her earlier in the week, I asked her what I could bring. She said "How about if you bring a jello salad or something like that. Oh wait… I know! Why don’t you bring something fancy, like Jello Jigglers." There you have it… the essential fancy food of kids everywhere…those tasty Jello Jigglers. That’s my kind of fancy… easy to make, inexpensive, and jiggly.

For those of you with kids who don’t know how to make this oh-so-fancy treat, here it is:

Jell-o Jigglers 

3¼ hours 5 min prep

OK ladies and gentlemen… the time has come. 2007 is right around the corner. If you remember, a couple of weeks ago I wrote about the Food and Wine Challenge I am undertaking in the year 2007. In the January issue of Food and Wine magazine, they listed “100 Tastes You Must Try in 2007″. Being the overly ambitious dreamer that I am, I decided to challenge myself to taste the 100 tastes that they suggest in the year 2007. Let’s be realistic though, I have three small children and am a stay at home mom with one consistent income. Traveling to Paris, Australia, etc. to try one of their suggested tastes would be so wonderful, but it’s not going to happen (wouldn’t that be fun though.. to be that spontaneous?). This is where you all come in. I’d love to find fellow bloggers who can report back to me on the things that I won’t be able to do… let me know what exactly I’m missing out on and if Food and Wine is correct with their evaluation that these things are “must try’s”.

Here’s the list of the “100 Tastes You Must Try in 2007“. I’ll write next to the ones that I know I most likely won’t be able to complete. I’ve had several things already, but feel like it’s only fair that I start fresh actually tasting these things in the year 2007. If there are any of the “tastes” out there that I’m unable to complete and you’d like to join forces, please let me know. It could be a fun way for us all to increase our culinary palate and explore things that we otherwise may have missed out on.

Without further ado, from the January issue of Food and Wine magazine, here is the much anticipated list (for complete details visit http://foodandwine.com/articles/100-tastes-to-try-in-07:

1. Langoustine
2. A Burgundy at La Paulee de New York - any takers?
3. Good fast food noodles from wagamama.com - how about this one?
4. Greek olive oil
5. Greek Wine
6. Greek Cuisine - they suggest eating at Parea restuarnt in NYC, however I can probably find a suitable substitute locally
7. Greek Spices
8. Greek Cooking School Feast - Oh, I wish!! Anyone out there so lucky?
9. Corn Bread with Scallions
10. Argentine Malbec
11. Phoenix Pale Ale
12. Dale’s Pale Ale
13. Porkslap Pale Ale
14. House-Infused Bourbon
15. Aspen Kettle Corn
16. Great Canadian Wines from the Okanagan Valley
17. Scandinavia’s Avant Garde Cuisine - I don’t think I’ll make it to Scandinavia this year
18. House Made Mixers
19. Japanese Sweets - they suggest visiting Toraya Cafe in Tokyo…any takers?
20. Truffle Teas
21. Dan Dan Noodles
22. Cocktails that don’t pack a punch (low alcohol drinks using Italian aperitifs
23. Maple flakes
24. Boutique Aussie Wines
25. Artisan Swiss Cheese
26. A meal at Les Ombres in Paris - another one that I wish I could do!
27. Peruvian food
28. Tiny Sweets
29. Chicago Power Meal - I might be able to swing this one
30. Virgin Strawberry Bellinis
31. Wine at Vino Volo (airport wine bar)
32. The whole tree - leaves, fruit and wood
33. Japanese Frites
34. Santa Caterina Maret in Barcelona - any takers
35. Fallon and Byrne market in Dublin - sounds fabulous, but don’t think I’ll be able to this year
36. Mill City Farmers’ Market in Minneapolis - I may be able to do this one, but I’m not positve
37. Chef Marc Vetri’s Pizzas in Philly - this is another one that I might be able to do, but can’t guarantee it
38. Bacon Baklava
39. Sucrine
40. Southern Italian Wine
41. Icelandic Ingredients
42. Healthy snack bars that pass the taste test
43. Amaranth
44. Kamut
45. Buckwheat
46. Rosa Mexicano’s salsas
47. Custom bred pork - hmmm…maybe?
48. Syrah from South Africa
49. Hot Hunan Shrimp
50. Fire pit foods
51. Clandestine dinners
52. Veal Muenster burger from Father’s Office (I wonder if I can find something like this arond here?)
53. African spices and teas
54. American raw milk cheeses
55. Wine from Douro Valley, Portugal, Guadalupe Valley, Mexico, Long Island NY, Slovenia, and Tasmania, Australia
56. Automat Wine
57. Bluebrass Cobbler
58. Quick Mediterranean at Leon in London - sounds good… wish I could do this one!
59. Poke to go - they suggest doing this at Tsukiji Fish Market in Tokyo - anyone able to do this one?
60. An Adria Innovation (tienda.com)
61. Green Bean Salad with Toasted Pecans
62. Pea and Mint Risotto
63. Deconstructed Negroni at Bourbon and Branch in San Francisco - any San Fran takers?
64. The Majestic Restaurant in Singaore - how about this one?
65. Freeze Dried Flavors
66. Catered Cocktails - is there such a thing in KC? Are we that hip?
67. Exotic Ice Cream
68. 2006 Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand
69. Roasted Cauliflower with Ajvar Dressing
70. Battered Cod with Marie Rose Sauce
71. Mangosteens - currently not legally imported in the US, but may be soon. This is a “we’ll see” one
72. Sichaun peppercorns
73. Wild Artichokes
74. Iberico Ha,
75. Pork Fried Rice
76. Fruit Chips
77. Kaiseki - can’t visit the restaurant but may be able to get my hands on the cookbook… would that count?
78. Sri Lankan hoppers from Gardiner restaurant in Toronto - anyone?
79. Marques de Riscal Rioja in Rioja - I so wish!
80. Fortnum and Mason’s restaurant in London - anyone from London able to do this? They have an ice cream parlor!
81. Melted marshmallows from the Avenues at the Peninsula Chicago Hotel - another one I’ll really try to do!
82. Fish chile peppers
83. Feta cheesecake and wine poached dates
84. Gordon Ramsay restaurant in NYC - anyone?
85. St Alban restaurant in London - another one up for grabs
86. Sensing in Paris - and yet another one
87. Rockpool Bar and Grill in Melbourne - and another?
88. Pieree Gagnaire restaurant in Hong Kong - and another?
89. Sushi at David Bouley’s cooking classes in Manhattan - and another?
90. Malt Ball Cake - I have to figure out a way to get my hands on this Brooklyn creation!
91. High Tech Caviar
92. Mark Herold Cabernet
93. Cielo at the Boca Raton Resort and Club - I don’t see anyone being able to do this one… if you can, let me know!
94. Croatian Olive Oil
95. Spanish Matiz Piparras
96. Peperoni Cruschi
97. African Honey
98. Aussie Raisins on the Vine
99. Le Demon Vert
100. Bruleed Key Lime Tarts

The Food and Wine Website has also tempted me with 15 more tastes to try… I may have to give these a shot to make up for the restaurants I can’t go to! I did mention before that I was an overly-ambitious dreamer, didn’t I? I forgot to throw in crazy.

Well my friends, that’s it. Looks like I have a year of new and wonderful tastes, and lots of wine ahead of me! Hope you can join me in this culinary adventure.

One of my goals for 2007 is to start menu planning again. I used to make a menu plan on a monthly basis and was quite obsessive about it, but since we moved to our new house and added another baby to the family, my old menu planning habits have fallen by the wayside. These days, dinner is usually planned about an hour before we actually eat it. I hate not being organized about menu planning, so I’m going to give it a whirl again. This time around, I’m going to be a little less ambitious and instead of a monthly plan, work on a bi-weekly basis. I’ll be planning for the 1st through 16th and the 17th through the end of the month.

Why do I want to make a menu plan?

1) Menu planning, if done correctly, should save us money. It should eliminate those last minute runs to the grocery store for one or two things that inevitably end up with a cart load of spontaneous purchases. Hopefully I can stick to my bi-weekly grocery store run and just send hubby to the store for perishables when we need them. (He seems to be immune to the need to make spontaneous grocery purchases!) It also reduces the number of times we go out to eat just because I haven’t made dinner. This way, when we go out to eat we’ll be able to plan for it and go to a restaurant worth eating out at, versus just going to the closest or quickest option.

2) I post my menu where the entire family can see it, so this should eliminate the constant “What’s for dinner” questions from everyone who can read.

3) Menu planning saves time. It streamlines the process for me so I can plan ahead the night before. Get meat out of the freezer that needs thawed out, chop up veggies ahead of time if I have a free moment, etc.  

Here’s what I have planned for the first half of January: 

Monday 1/1 - Chicken Marsala

Tuesday 1/2 - Coq Au Vin

Wednesday 1/3 - Melt in your Mouth Pot Roast

Thursday 1/4 - Chicken with Red Pepper Sauce

Friday 1/5 - Southwest Pizza 

Saturday 1/6 - Family Christmas (Pulled pork, ham, turkey)

Sunday 1/7 - Juicy Grilled Burgers

Monday 1/8 - Jacob’s Birthday - eat out at restaurant of his choice (please not McDonald’s!)

Tuesday 1/9 - BBQ Crusted Roughy

Wednesday 1/10 - Swedish Meatballs

Thursday 1/11 - Chicken Parmesan

Friday 1/12 - Oven BBQ Pork Tenderloin

Saturday 1/13 - Pesto Halibut

Sunday 1/14 - Dijon Chicken and Spinach

Monday 1/15 - Italian Meatloaf

Tuesday 1/16 - Herbed Chicken Breast

Wednesday 1/17 - Teriyaki Pork Roast 

Well, there you have it. A half of months worth of meals planned. I’ll work on the sides a little later on, but they typically consist of salad, veggies and sometimes pasta or potatoes. I was going to link to all of the recipes for you here, but I just don’t have time tonight. If you are interested in any of the recipes, just let me know and I’ll be happy to forward them on to you!

Do you menu plan? What does a menu planning session look like for you? How often do you plan your menus and why do you do it? Do you have any tips for making the process more manageable? If so, let me know. I’d love to hear from you!

One week ago today we dined on Chicken Enchiladas and Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies.

Over at our family blog, I dished about The Santa Clause Behavior Modification Program.

I just wanted to pop on here tonight to wish everyone a very Merry Christmas and if you don’t celebrate Christmas, I wish you a wonderful day. It amazes me now that I am a parent how exciting it is to see Christmas through the eyes of my children. I hope that as you celebrated this day, you were able to find the magic and joy of the season and that you have a sense of peace, happiness and hope when you look forward to the coming year.

They say that breaking bread with others is a sincere way of sharing our hearts, minds, and homes with people… it’s an act of peace and graciousness.  My wish for you is that you always have someone to break bread with.Merry Chrismtas!

Kristen 

One week ago today, I dished about  Our Annual Chrismtas Party.

Over at our family blog, I dished about The One That Got Away.

What do you make when you find yourself home alone for the weekend, without a husband in sight, when you are sick of sweets and hearty food, and you’ve been reading about delicious salad’s all week and you have some wonderful new Alejandro & Martin Olive Oil that you want to try out? Me? I make a Spinach and Red Onion Salad. Yes… red onion, which is the equivalent of really stinky breath. No need to worry though because the only person within my breaths distance is my 6 month old baby, and she hasn’t complained so far. If you are interested in offending others with your stinky breath, but tasting an amazingly simple salad, here’s the recipe adapted from Recipezaar:

Fresh Spinach Leaves, Washed and Spun Dry (I just use the pre-packaged bag of spinach)

Our Santa decided several years ago that by this time in the holiday season, he is up to his ears with cookies. If he has to gobble down one more thumbprint, chocolate chip, shortbread, snickerdoodle, sugar cookie, etc. he’ll turn into a cookie himself. You see, Santa’s wife is a little obsessed with baking. She’s obsessed with baking in December and is obsessed with baking the 11 other months as well. Santa just wants a cookie break. As much as the thought behind giving him cookies is appreciated, he is thankful when alternatives are sought out. I’ve heard that Santa is a meat and potatoes kind of guy, but a nice steak just didn’t seem like an appropriate thing to leave out for him. For this reason, our Santa Clause receives yummy, gooey, warm from the oven Cinnamon Rolls every Christmas. This works out as an advantage for our family too. Santa gets a tasty treat (something other than cookies) when he delivers the presents and we have a nice breakfast all ready for us on Christmas morning. To make things even easier on me, I use a Cinnamon Roll recipe that utilizes the bread machine. Talk about easy!

If Santa comes to your house each year, what do you leave him as a snack? 

One week ago today I dished about The Placecard Lineup

Over at our Family Blog I dished about  A Really Loud King

"Is it really okay to eat Puppy Chow?" This is a question my almost 5 year old son asks me anytime I make this delicious snack.

He just can’t get over the fact that we are eating something named after dog food, and that looks like dog food too! I wish it bothered me more because Puppy Chow is my weakness. Put a plate of cookies in front of me… I can pass. Put a box of chocolates in front of me… I can resist. Put a bowl of fresh Puppy Chow in front of me and I go nuts. I just can’t stop nibbling from the bowl.

Where the heck was I this week when I was reminded that I hadn’t made my annual batch of puppy chow? It was someone’s blog, I know, but now for the life of me I can’t remember where it was. If it was you who gave me the reminder, please speak up so I can give you the credit for adding 5 pounds to my waistline.

If you haven’t had Puppy Chow before, you are missing out. It’s not the most sophisticated of snacks, but it sure is good!

Puppy Chow

9 cups Chex or Crispex cereal

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup smooth peanut butter

1/4 cup butter

2 teaspoons vanilla

1 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Pour the cereal into a large bowl and set aside. Microwave the chocolate chips, peanut butter, and stick butter for 1 minute on high. Stir and then microwave for 30 seconds longer or until smooth. Add vanilla and stir. Pour the mixture over the cereal and stir until coated. Pour mixture into a large paper grocery sack. Add powdered sugar, close the bag and shake until it’s completely coated. Spread on waxed paper to cool. To maintain freshness, store in a sealed zip loc bag or sealed tupperware container.

One week ago today I was dishing about My Oven Going on Strike.

Over at our family blog I was dishing about Hugs Being Cool.

I am constantly making meals for people. Some people donate money, some people scour their house and pack up things to fling to Goodwill, some people volunteer their time, some people have charity auctions. I do those things as well, but what I find myself doing at least once on a weekly basis is cooking something for someone. I enjoy cooking and baking and I enjoy blessing others with the things that I make. I hope they enjoy it too.

My friend Amy had a baby a couple of weeks ago and I volunteered to make dinner for her family this evening. She had a special request… chicken enchilada casserole. I was excited to not have to play the guessing game on what they would like and was pleased to make her a chicken enchilada casserole. It’s a simple recipe, and one that I can make in two’s so my family wouldn’t go hungry.

Along with the chicken enchilada casserole, I made a spring mix salad and chips with black bean dip. Things were all good until I started to think about what to make for dessert. After my day of baking on Sunday, the last thing I really wanted to conquer was more baking. If I did bake something, I sure as heck wanted it to be something simple yet different. Something that they wouldn’t be getting a ton of this time of year.

I decided to pull out my trusty copy of The Good Home Cookbook. Do you have a copy of this cookbook yet? If not, run out and get one today. You deserve it, as it should be a staple in any and everyone’s kitchen from here on out. It is one of those new cookbooks that I can tell will be a classic, almost like The Joy of Cooking. It has recipes that are easy to follow and it is chock full of down home goodness. Each and every recipe has been tested by real people… cook’s just like you and me. In this cookbook you’ll find outstanding comfort food, recipes for gourmet meals, and everyday meals for the busy chef. I plan on buying this cookbook as a wedding gift for each new bride and groom that I know, as a "going to college gift" for each new college student I know, and anyone needing recipe inspiration, whether they are a new or experienced cook. 

I knew I would find something in a cinch when I opened the cover. My first instinct was to do something other than cookies, but the recipe for Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies caught my eye. I flipped past it but in the back of my mind, I kept thinking about it. I went back to page 401 in the cookbook, and decided this would be it. Amy would be getting Choclate Dipped Shortbread Cookies as the dessert with her meal.

This recipe was so simple, and the result was fabulous! I used the Nestles Swirled Milk and White Chocolate Chips for the chocolate, just because it sounded good to me (and it’s all about me, right?) These shortbread cookies were so soft and delicious and they would go perfect with a cup of hot tea or hot chocolate.

Here’s the recipe, adapted from The Good Home Cookbook:

Chocolate Dipped Shortbread Cookies 

 Shortbread:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, room temperature

1/2 cup powdered (confectioners) sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

In the bowl of your electric mixer (or with a hand mixer), cream the butter until smooth. Add the sugar and beat until smooth. Beat in the vanilla extract. Gently stir in the flour mixture just until incorporated.  Flatten the dough into a disk shape, wrap in plastic wrap, and chill the dough for at least an hour.  

Preheat oven to 300 degrees with the rack in the middle of the oven. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

On a lightly floured surface roll out the dough to 1/4 inch thick. Cut into rounds or whatever shapes you wish using lightly floured cookie cutter. Place the cookies on the prepared baking sheet and place in the refrigerator for about 15 minutes. This will firm up the dough so the cookies will maintain their shape when baked. Bake for 20
minutes, or until cookies are lightly brown. Cool on rack.

For Chocolate-Dipped Shortbread Cookies

Allow the cookies to cool. Melt 4 ounces of semisweet, milk chocolate or white chocolate with 1 teaspoon oil in the microwave (watch carefully, stopping at every thirty seconds to stir… do not over cook). Dip each cookie into the melted chocolate and place on a parchment lined baking sheet. (I used a knife and spread it on as my dish wasn’t deep enough for dipping. I also just covered half of the cookie in chocolate).  Chill in the refrigerator until the chocolate is set.

One week ago today I dished about The Bad Day Cure!

In our Family Blog, I begged for someone to please smack me.