Homemade Applesauce

You know what's kinda funny? Before I cooked this applesauce recipe, I didn't really care for applesauce. The fact that I wanted to cook it was a surprise in itself, but, I was making a rosemary roasted chicken, and for some reason the idea of pairing it with something sweet appealed to me, so I gave it a try.

Let me just say, I've been converted to applesauce...homemade applesauce that is! It was so good, and the house smelled delicious with that cooking over the stove and the chicken in the oven.

Here's what you'll need:

8 cooking apples ( I used Red Delicious)

1c. brown sugar

1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

2c. water

Peel, core, and cut apples into large chunks. Place in a pot with 2 cups of water.

Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer for 5-10 minutes or until apples are semi-soft. Once that happens, add brown sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Stir well and continue to simmer until sugar granules are dissolved and apples are soft.

Now's the time for it to really take 'applesauce' shape. If you want, you can mash it by hand, but I threw the apples into a food processer and pulsed them until they got to the thickness that I wanted. I like mine a little chunky, but you can puree them to your little hearts desire.

Return the applesauce to the pot, and keep warm on the stove until ready to serve...or you can refrigerate them to eat as a cold side. Either way, they will be delish!

Happy Cooking!

-G



Dining through Europe

So I was trying to figure out what to do for dinner one day, and I felt inspired to try something different. Usually, we have a meal that consists of a main dish, a side, some veggies....same ole, same ole. The idea to do a "European style" meal seemed super duper not only because it's easy, but, I was feeling very "ooh la la" that day.

OK, so what I call European style is pretty much a table full of appetizers and fancy Hors d'oeuvres that go well with wine. Obviously, fruit and nuts was a must. I also found some prosciutto and aged Asiago cheese, AKA "smelly cheese" that paired really well with wheat crackers. And yes, that is guacamole and chips on the table too...not very European, but hors d'oeuvre-ish nonetheless.

I also found these cute little pickles at the store that I thought would go great with some garlic-stuffed olives. And of course, the standard cheese ball and bruschetta is a must. 



Yes, that is also a Margarita. You didn't think you could have chips and dip without a little somethin' somethin' to wash it down!

So there you have it, a dinner in Europe without the passport!

Happy Cooking!
-G

Pumpkin Chip Muffins

Pumpkin and chocolate are two things that I would have never put together in a recipe. They just seem like they would really clash in flavor. But, recently I found this recipe for a pumpkin chocolate loaf (which I converted into muffins), and the pictures looked so good that I decided to give it a try.

I baked these for a fundraiser bake sale, and sure enough, the entire tray of over 30 muffins was the first item to go! I think what makes them so good is that not only do they have a spice-cake flavor, but on top of that, they add chocolate in the batter and chocolate chips. Peeps, doesn't get any better than that!

Here's what you'll need:
3-1/2c. sugar
1-1/4c. vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 can (29-oz.) solid-packed pumpkin
3 squares (1-oz. each) unsweetened chocolate, melted and cooled
1-1/2tsp. vanilla extract
3-3/4c. all-purpouse flour
1-1/2tsp. salt
1-1/2tsp. baking powder
1-1/4tsp. baking soda
1-1/4tsp. ground cinnamon
1 to 1-1/4tsp. ground cloves
1/2tsp. ground nutmeg
2c. semisweet chocolate chips

In a large bowl, combine sugar and oil. Add eggs and mix well. Stir in the pumpkin, chocolate and vanilla. Add the dry ingredients into the pumpkin mixture, and stir until blended. Stir in chips.

Scoop into well-greased muffin tins and bake at 350 degrees for 55-65 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool for ten minutes, then remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.

Happy Cooking!

-G

There's Somethin' Fishy Goin' on........

I don't like fish. I never have. Growing up in the panhandle, that's pretty much a mortal sin. Everybody needs to like fish...it's just the way it is.

One thing that I do like is burgers. I'll take a sloppy, greasy cheeseburger any day. But, in efforts to be more health conscious, I decided to compromise and find a healthier alternative to the regular American cheeseburger. I found recipes for black bean burgers, but all the comments I read about them said they tasted like crumbly cardboard. So, I chucked that idea. During my search, I came across a recipe for salmon burgers by Paula Deen (of course). At first, I wasn't thrilled with the idea, but I decided to give it a try anyway, and OMG, I'm so glad I did. They were AMAZING! And very simple to make, not to mention, very healthy!

Here's what you need to make them:

1/2c. red bell pepper, diced
1/2c. yellow bell pepper, diced
3/4c. panko
2 cloves garlic, minced
2lbs. salmon fillets, skinned and finely chopped
1 lg. egg, slightly beaten
1 Tbs. soy sauce
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/2 tsp. salt

In a medium bowl, combine peppers, panko, garlic, and salmon. Add egg, soy sauce, lemon juice, and salt. Use hands and combine all the ingredients. Form the mixture into 8 patties.

Lightly coat a grill pan or skillet with cooking spray.  Heat over medium-high heat until hot. Grill patties, 5 minutes per side, or until desired degree of doneness (I also threw the buns on the grill at the same time to get toasty.)

While the fishy patties were grilling, I made a seasoned mayonnaise, using 1c. mayo, 2 cloves minced garlic, 1 tsp. soy sauce, and 1/2tsp. sesame oil.

Spread the sesame mayonnaise over toasted buns. Top each with a lettuce leaf, tomato, slice of red onion, and a salmon patty (which I topped with melted provolone cheese.)

Yeah.....it was pretty awesome, if I do say so myself....

Happy Cooking!

-G

Mini Blueberry Cobblers

It's that time of year again......

In honor of the initiation of summer, I decided to welcome back the blueberry! Oh how I love this little fruit...

Last Christmas, I was given a set of ramekins, and I've been scratching my head on what I can use them for. Well, after scouring the internet for recipes, the idea came to me....DUH! Why don't I make personalized cobblers? They were so simple to make, delicious, and I love how everyone had their own little serving!

For starters, I used 6oz. ramekins, so I used about 2/3c. of fresh berries. I dusted them with some sugar, and set them in the fridge to let them soak and make their own syrup.

Meanwhile, I made the crumb topping. I half invented the recipe, but really, it's very basic. I used 1/4c. flour, 1/2c. dry oats, 1/4c. brown sugar, 1tsp. cinammon, and 1/2 stick of butter. I cut the cold butter in until I had a nice crumbly mixture.

Top off your dishes with the topping........

And bake in a 375F oven for about 20 minutes of until you see that the tops are golden brown, and somewhat crispy.

After removing them, you might want to let them cool a little bit, but personally, I think the best way to eat these is piping hot with a nice scoop of icey cream on top!

Oh, how I love summer and all that it brings!

Happy Cooking!

-G

Girl......That's a French name!

 Alright, I already know what you're thinking. That this croissant recipe is going to have a million steps and ingredients and that in the end, it might "pop" and you'll end up with a flat piece of bread. To be honest with you, that's what I thought about croissants the first time I saw a recipe for them. Plus, they used so much butter and a small batch of them would turn out to be pretty pricey, not to mention not artery-healthy.

Well, contraire monfreir.........

As I was flipping through an old issue of Food and Wine Magazine, I came accross this recipe that had only four ingredients, and none of them were butter! So, I figured I would give it a try, and they turned out delicious!

Start out by combining 3/4c of hot water with 1 envelope of active dry yeast. Wait for it to do it's magic, then sir that in with 2 tablespoons of sugar and 3-3 1/2c of any all-purpouse baking mix (I used Bisquick).

Turn that dough onto a lightly floured surface and knead until dough is soft and elastic.

Roll the dough out into a 12-inch circle; cut the circle into 12 wedges.  Roll up wedges, starting at the wide end, to form a crecent shape. Place point side down into a lightly greased baking sheet.

I decided to add some pizzaz, so I lightly brushed them with butter and sprinkled them with an Italian seasoning mix. You didn't think I could make a croissant without using any butter, did you?

Cover and let rise in a draft-free place for about an hour or until they double in size. Bake in a 425F oven for 10-12 minutes or until the tops are golden brown.

Enjoy!

Happy Cooking!
          -G

Winner, Winner... Green Bean Dinner

OK, so my family and I really enjoy occasionally eating at this local Chinese buffet. I'm not sure how legit it is, seeing that they also serve beef enchiladas on the menu, but they make the most bomb shizzle green beans I have ever tasted. So, Dad decided to try to replicate their recipe, and even though they don't taste the same, they are still UH-MAZING!

When I make them, I take the liberty of tweaking with the ingredients, like I did for this post, and I've come to realize that when you cover a whole bunch of beans in butter and garlic, anything else added can only make it better! Almonds was a new addition for this recipe, but I bet bacon bits would also be really good.

I start this off by sauteeing lots of mashed garlic in some butter and olive oil, and I add a pinch of ground ginger just so I can call it "asian." When using almonds, I also throw those in there so they can get toasty!

In the meantime, I start cooking the beans. I always buy them fresh, and make sure to cut the dry ends off, and also in half so we don't have humongonous pieces.  Place them to boil in a medium sized pot. Once the water begins to boil, place a timer for 4 minutes. I like my beans more crunchy, but if you like them softer, obviously, boil them longer.

Once you get them to the desired tenderness,  blanch the beans in some cold water to keep them from cooking any more.

Drain the beans, and dump (don't you like that technical term?) them into the garlic and butter mixture. Give them a quick toss to incorporate everything, and, TADA, you have amazingeness in a pan!

I served these babies with some baked chicken, a creamy corn pudding, and a green salad and it truly was a winner, winner, grean bean dinner!

Happy Cooking!

-G