Lola's Kopanisti Spread

So during the summer we spent in Portland we took a few days (due to a wonderful gift from some great friends) and spent sometime in downtown Seattle. One of the things we enjoyed the most was lunch we had at this Greek restaurant, Lola. It was sooooo great! Everything was wonderful, and we had a really great appetizer. Of course, I scoured the internet and hunted down a recipe similar to the Kopanisti dip we had. I tweaked it a little for our taste (the original recipe calls for wine, which I don't tend to use when I cook). Apparently this isn't a traditional Kopanisti style dip but this, at least ingredient wise is the closest to what we had! Can't wait to make it! Wonderful memories, and if you ever find yourself in the area-check Lola's out. It's fantastic! You'll probably need to make reservations... ;)

INGREDIENTS:

• 8 oz feta cheese
• 2 oz bleu cheese
• 1 clove garlic
• 2 Tbsp fresh mint leaves
• 1/4 tsp chipotle chili powder
• 3 Tbsp olive oil
• Blackberry/Marionberry Syrup
• chopped pistachios
• fresh mint infused oil (optional)

PREPARATION:

• Blend first 5 ingredients in a food processor.
• Slowly add olive oil until you've reached desired consistency - you want it to be creamy and smooth.
• Top with as much or as little syrup, chopped pistachio nuts, and fresh mint infused oil as you'd like
• Serve with the breadstuff of your choice - warm crostini, chunks of french bread, or our favorite, wedges of pita.

SERVES/MAKES: 1 1/2 cups approx.

Granola Bars!

The first time I made this was w/ Bernice at Char's house, and they were good! So good I got a copy of the recipe right then, and then haven't tried making it since. Until tonight. We bought a large thing of oats awhile back and haven't used much of it except on no-bake cookies, which are great, but definitely not on the healthy side so I went looking around the internet for something to use it up on. Turns out there's also a copy of this recipe on allrecipes.com which totally reminded me about this recipe and inspired me to finally get around to making them. And on the plus side, we had practically all the ingredients for it, just had to go out for the wheat germ.

Anyways, while I was looking around on the internet I saw an awesome photo of someone using a muffin pan to make pre-portioned pieces. Thought that was definitely a GREAT idea as I really hate cutting bars - it's messy and I forget about them and they end up too hard to cut etc. I was determined to make a whole batch  fit in 24 cups of our mini-muffin pan and managed to do it... But unfortunately I packed it in way too tight and we managed to forget to set a timer for it, so I really have no idea how long they were in there for for sure, but we're thinking it was probably close to the recommended half an hour. Which ended up being definitely WAAAAAAY TOO LONG! They were really dense and kinda hard. Still edible and flavorful, but not really enjoyable to eat. On the upside though, they really were the perfect size. So next time, no packing it in and probably will cook 10 - 15 min. only. We figured on this batch, if they start getting too dry we'll just crumble it in a bowl and have it with milk and eat it like cereal! Kinda fun having pre-portioned sizes like that. 

INGREDIENTS:
Dry Ingredients:

• 2 cups rolled oats
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar (Try with just 1/2 cup next time?)
• 1/2 cup wheat germ
• 3/4 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 cup flour
• 3/4 tsp. salt

Wet Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup honey (Increase to 1/3 to compensate for less sugar?)
• 1 egg - beaten
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 tsp vanilla

OPTIONAL MIX-INS:

• 3/4 cup raisins or 1/2 cup craisins
• 1/3 cup coconut
• 1/2 cup mini chocolate chips
• 1/4 cup peanut butter

PREPARATION:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease a 9x13 pan. Mix oats, brown sugar, wheat germ, cinnamon, flour, mix-ins and salt. Make well in center and pour in honey, egg, oil and vanilla. Mix well and pat into pan. Bake 30-35 min. Cool for 5 min. Cut into bars and serve.

Char's Hot Fudge Sauce

INGREDIENTS:

• 1/2 cup of butter
• 1 cup of sugar
• 3-4 heaping tablespoons of unsweetened powder cocoa
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 small can or 1/2 large can of evaporated milk
• 1 tsp of vanilla

PREPARATION:

Melt first 2 ingredients together, mix thoroughly. Add next three ingredients. Bring to a boil and simmer until mixture reaches thread stage (for our altitude around 215F). Test in a glass of ice water. I usually stop before I get to this point. I just let it simmer stirring almost constantly for 5-7 min. After fudge reaches soft ball stage remove from heat and add vanilla. Keeps in fridge for a couple weeks.

Peeeeea Soooooup!

Ok, so quite awhile back went to Mimi's Cafe for lunch and got the soup that came with my meal. Usually I'll try and get a cream based soup, as Clam Chowder is my *favorite,* but for whatever reason I was feeling kinda adventurous so decided to get their pea soup. Growing up I did not like it at all, looked horrible and clumpy and just can't ever remember it being all that appetizing. However this time, it was amazing! Loved it! Was sooooo good and definitely hit the spot. 

Since then I looked around for various pea soup recipes to find one that I could easily make at home that didn't require that much effort. And the reason I'm posting is ... SUCCESS! I've found one that I really enjoy and has been really easy to make. By now I've already made it 3 times or so now, so I'm at the point where I can share how I've made it etc. It's essentially Alton Brown's recipe that I've tweaked just a little to get the results I like. And this is great with some toasted croutons (herb breads taste the best!) and fresh parmesan sprinkled on top. Sooooooo good! It's now coming up on warmer weather so not as weather appropriate, but on those days where it's cooler and you just want a little something something to warm you up this is perfect! Oh, and one more thing, this gets better and better after it sits, so leftovers taste great!

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 Tbsp butter (Alton's calls for unsalted, but I've never had that on hand so I just use salted)
• 1 med-large size onion depending on how much onion you like-the flavor doesn't come off really strong so if you can use a lot if you like
• 4 cloves fresh garlic minced
• 1 lb bag of dried green split peas
• 6 cups chicken broth (use either canned or bullion, tried it both ways, haven't noticed a change in taste)
• 2 Tbsp curry paste (the original recipes calls for powder, I've only ever used paste because that's what I generally use in my cooking-I imagine either way is just fine)
• 1 cup - 1.5 cups of cubed ham-best if you use ham off the bone instead of processed
• Salt and Pepper to taste

PREPARATION (Copied directly from Alton Brown's Recipe):

Place the butter into a large (4 to 6-quart) saucepan over medium-low heat. Once melted, add the onion and a generous pinch of salt and sweat for 2 to 3 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to sweat for an additional 1 to 2 minutes, making certain not to allow onions or garlic to brown.

Add the peas, chicken broth and curry powder. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover and cook at a simmer until the peas are tender and not holding their shape any longer, approximately 45 to 50 minutes. Taste and adjust seasoning as needed. Using care and a stick blender, puree the soup until the desired consistency. Watch out for hot splatters.

Instant Pot Directions: Cook on high pressure for 15 min, natural release 10-15 min

Note: I generally let it simmer for a full hour so I don't end up with any hard pieces in the peas. And because I don't have an immersion blender I ladle out 2/3 to 3/4 of the peas/onion into a blender and blend it up and then pour it back in.  I've done it where I've actually blended up all of it, and while it works, it just ends up being goopy without any shape, so it's better if you leave some of it unblended-though if you do it this way, you may want to do a finer chop of your onion at the beginning.

I have noticed on occasion too that it can get more soupy than thick, so you can just add some cornstarch to a couple Tbsp of cold water and add in after the blending bit and bring it back up to a boil. I imagine if you wanted the soup to stretch farther if you've got guests etc. you could add more water/chicken stock at the beginning and than to thicken it up use the same method.

As well, as the original recipe didn't call for any ham, I just add it in at the end to the pot after adding back in the blended portion. You can simmer it for an additional 5 min or so just to get the ham up to temp. Serve with croutons and cheese on top!

Doing Some Maintenance...

Hey, there-Just to let people know, there will probably be some random or repeat posts etc. as I'm trying to fix some of the functionality of my blog. For whatever the search function isn't really working and I want it to, gosh darn it. So I've added the search function and now I'm going back through posts to make sure that they are showing up right etc. It'll all be fixed eventually...hopefully... 

'Microwave' Chicken Curry

UPDATE Aug. 2013: I've decided that this post needed an update as we don't really make it the way the original recipe called for anymore. We do it on the stove-top and the use slightly different ingredients now too. Left the link to the original recipe if you still wanna try it out via the microwave!

ORIGINAL POST: So this is a fabulous recipe that I absolutely love. It was a recipe featured on a food network show that got canceled starring George Duran called "Ham on the Street"-very fun show, too bad they stopped running it. Anyhow, although it seems kinda random for right now-I just did this recipe and used leftover thanksgiving turkey instead of chicken and it turned out marvelously. :0) Didn't use basil because it was on the expensive side, just used the whole bunch of cilantro. I also got really mild curry, didn't plan on it being so mild so I put in a little bit of Sriracha Hot Chili sauce (the really hot Asian chili sauce) to kinda of heaten it up a little, did the trick. Also, you don't have to do it in the microwave, I just do it on the stove in a pan-it went really quick because the turkey's already cooked.

And if you don't already have curry, I would recommend the Vermont curry sauce, so easy to use and it comes in already portioned Tbsp rectangles-love it! It comes in 5 different levels of heat, I got the first, I'd say you'd be safe with the third one, though not quite sure what it's called on the box. Anyways, try this recipe, it's so easy and you'll love it if you're a fan of the curry taste! (You can always add an extra cube of curry if it's tasting heavy on the coconut milk...) Oh, and one last thing I've noticed as I'm eating this: as someone who's had it with chicken before, the turkey flavor is stronger than chicken, so if that's not your thing, of if it throws you off just add a little bit more spice. Still tastes 'oh so good' though...

Oh, and here is the  link the to recipe on Food Network's site if you want to check out the original recipe.

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 Tbsp olive oil or vegetable oil
• 2 - 3 Tbsp curry paste, chopped up into smaller pieces (incorporates quicker this way!)
• 1/4 cup to 1/2 cup of diced onion, your preference 
• 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (or thigh, sometimes it's cheaper), cut into strips (or chunks)
• 1/2 bunch basil, leaves chopped (We tried this out w/ Thai Basil, still good! And it's usually cheaper too! Makes for a more Asian flavored curry.)
• 1/2 bunch cilantro, leaves chopped
• 1 (13.5-ounce) can coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• Kosher salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Sriracha to taste (ranges anywhere from 1/2 tsp to a Tbsp, totally up to you. And if you're preparing for a range of tastebuds, kids included, I would just add it to individual bowls when serving)
• 2 -3 cups or 1 small pkg of bean sprouts(This is totally approximate. We buy ours at Winco and it usually it comes in a smallish pkg. I can't remember how much is in there, but we usually dump it all in. I've also bought it at Macys before and it was just an open bin and you get however much you want.)
• Steamed rice, to serve
• Paprika, for garnish
• 1 scallion, thinly sliced, for garnish (Totally optional, we usually leave this part out b/c we use the onion in the curry)

PREPARATION: 

1. Heat the oil in a large saucepan or wok and add the curry paste, mix and let it go until it's bubbly.
2. Add diced onions and let it go for a few minutes, you want to caramelize the onions by the end
3. Add the chicken and cook until a little over half-way done, until you just see some pink left on the chicken. Don't want to overcook at this stage, or you'll have tough chicken by the end. It'll cook the rest of the way in the coconut milk broth.
4. Add the coconut milk, basil, cilantro and soy sauce and season with salt and pepper. Give it a good stir, cover it, and bring it up to a boil.
5. Drop it back down to a simmer and add bean sprouts. If you want to add hot sauce (sriracha) I would do it at this stage Let everything simmer for 5 - 10 min. Really flexible recipe, you just want to make sure your chicken is cooked through all the way and then cook until the bean sprouts are the texture you want. The longer the you let it simmer the softer they get. We prefer them firmer so we just add them in at the very end for a few minutes.
6.  Serve over steamed rice, garnished with paprika and scallions. Enjoy!

How to Cook with 'Alcohol'

So you know how sometimes when you cook you come across recipes that call for alcohol? And you're wondering how can I make this recipe without it? Or what can I use in place of it? There are a ton of different alcohols out there and it's hard to know what can be used instead and when, especially when substituting for specific types of alcohols. I found this chart awhile back and figured it was worth sharing. It's the most comprehensive one that I've found out there. It lists the type of alcohol, what it kind of tastes like and then what you can use instead. As someone who's never tasted any of it, it's nice to know what it's like to better judge what to use instead. A nice bonus too, is that there are also a bunch of links to different articles about cooking with alcohol. 

Oh, and I've also decided to include a direct link to an alcohol burn off chart-it lists various methods of cooking  with alcohol and then lists the amounts of alcohol left in your end product after cooking etc. It's a very personal thing, deciding whether or not to eat or cook foods that require alcohol, or at least for a practicing Latter-Day Saint. There are some that don't feel that it's a problem and some that feel otherwise. Either way I figure it's important to educate ourselves on the matter, eh? :0)

ALCOHOL SUBSTITUTION CHART

ALCOHOL BURN-OFF CHART