Rice and Beans

Source: Epicurious

I saw this recipe on The Way The Cookie Crumbles, my favorite blog besides Pioneer Woman. I have actually never had rice and beans before, but it looked like good eatin'.



Only as I was preparing it did my husband say, "Hey, I used to eat this all the time in the south!" No pressure! Actually, his version was straight up red beans and rice, so this was an improvement.



I like Crumbly Cookie's version. I think 3 cans of beans would have been WAY too much as in the original recipe. I was a little bummed out when I realized my can of Old Bay seasoning was expired. I used cumin, but I think the Old Bay, or creole seasoning, would have complemented the flavors better.

I personally could have done without the rice. I never mix rice in with Chinese food when we eat it because it "dilutes" the flavor to me. I know, I'm weird.

Rice and Beans

Serves 4

8 ounces cooked sausage, such as kielbasa (I used a full pound)
1 medium onion, diced small
1 stalk celery, minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon Old Bay or creole seasoning
2 (15-ounce) cans red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15-ounce) can diced tomatoes
1 cup chicken broth

6 cups cooked long-grain white or brown rice (from 1 cup uncooked rice)

In a 3- or 4-quart saucepan over medium heat, cook the sausage until it begins to brown and fat begins to render. Add the onions and celery/pepper/whatever and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and just beginning to brown. Add the garlic and spice(s) and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the beans, tomatoes, and broth. Bring to a simmer over medium-high heat, then cover and reduce the heat to low. Simmer, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is thick and the flavors have blended, about 45 minutes. The mixture will thicken slightly after the heat is off. Serve over rice. Enjoy!

Garlic and Chicken Stuffed Shells

Source: Allrecipes?

I saw this on Love Deliciousness as well as Annie's Eats and had to try it. We love Italian food more than anything and this looked like a good twist on basic pasta! Annie's Eats notes the recipe is originally from All Recipes, but when I searched the site, I couldn't find one exactly like it. No matter--the version posted here is great! Like the other blogs, I also halved this recipe. I cooked 12 shells for the two of us, and after stuffing the rest, froze those without adding pasta sauce. I'll just have to thaw the rest overnight to make them again! Very tasty and a departure from my typical Italian dishes!


Making these also reminded me I really need to use my oven more! I make so many dishes in a skillet that I forget how nice it is to clean up while everything's baking!

Garlic and Chicken Stuffed Shells

1 box (or more) uncooked jumbo pasta shells (about 50-55)
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 chicken breasts, cooked and coarsely shredded
30 oz. part skim ricotta cheese
1/3 cup Italian breadcrumbs
1 ½ tsp. salt
½ tsp. black pepper
1 ½ tsp. dried parsley (1 tbsp. fresh, chopped)
6 large basil leaves, torn (I used 1 tsp, dried)
1/3 cup half and half
approx. 28 oz. pasta sauce
¼ cup Parmesan cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375°. Cook pasta shells according to package directions and drain. Separate onto a cutting board or cookie sheet to prevent from sticking together. Add ingredients garlic through half and half to a food processor and process until just combined. (I left the chicken out of the food processor, and then poured the mix over it and stirred, so as not to further chop up the chicken.) Add more salt and pepper if necessary, to taste.

2. Spoon enough sauce into baking dish(es) to cover the bottom. Fill the cooked shells with the ricotta mixture and place open side up in a prepared baking dish. Spoon as much of the remaining sauce over shells as desired. Bake covered with foil for 15-20 minutes, remove foil and continue baking for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and serve.

Shelly's Crunchy Shrimp

Source: Nom Nom Nom

I saw these recently on Shelly's blog, and I love Panko, and I love shrimp, so I had to try it! It was so simple and delicious! The original recipe is for 2 servings--if you have more, I'd plan for at least 10 shrimp per person and adjust the rest of the ingredients accordingly. I also reduced the amount of cayenne pepper to 1 teaspoon. The original recipe called for 3, which was too hot for us. I'll definitely make this again!



Shelly's Crunchy Shrimp

Ingredients:

Approximately 2 dozen medium shrimp, thawed
3 tablespoons flour
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste)
2 teaspoons black pepper
3 teaspoons garlic salt
2 eggs
Panko bread crumbs (about a cup or so)
Vegetable oil

Directions:

1. Mix the flour, cayenne pepper, black pepper, and garlic salt in a small bowl or pie plate. In a separate bowl, beat 2 eggs. Pour some Panko crumbs in another pie plate.
2. Heat up some vegetable oil in a large skillet (not olive oil). Pour just enough oil so it thinly covers the entire bottom of the pan.
3. Take a shrimp, dunk it in the flour mixture, then the egg, then the panko. Carefully put it in the skillet. Repeat as necessary.
4. Fry each side about 2-3 minutes until golden brown.
5. Serve, either plain or with whatever sauce you prefer. I thought they were great all by themselves, and my husband liked a little cocktail sauce!

Top 10 of 2008

I've seen this on a few other blogs, and thought it was a neat idea. Without further adieu, here are my top 10 recipes from my blog from 2008.

1.Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic

I put this in the category "Best Chicken Ever" for a reason. The skin is crispy, the chicken is moist, and the flavors are sublime. If you make one recipe from my site, make this one!

2. Chicken Marsala



This is a very close second. I have made chicken marsala in the past, but have found the breading falls off. The Cook's Illustrated version pan-fries the chicken and then puts it in a 200 degree oven to keep warm while you make the sauce. Yum yum yum.

3. Almond Crusted Halibut



A real winner from All Recipes. The crunchy coating on the halibut combined with the shallot-infused butter sauce (it's not exactly a calorie-saver) makes for a delicious dish.

4. Baked Pasta



A ridiculously simple Italian dish that satisfies every time. This is the recipe most requested by my husband!

5. My Fly Stir Fry



I don't make a lot of pork-based meals, but this is one of my favorites. The pork strips marinated in a combination of mirin, rice vinegar, and soy combined with crisp veggies over egg noodles is always yummy!

6.Stuffed Peppers



My first Cook's Illustrated recipe! Since then, I've bought The New Best Recipe, an online subscription to cooksillustrated.com, and their recommended roasting pan, garlic press, and Dutch oven. It is an expensive addiction! But anyway, back to the peppers. We loved these! Not too difficult and an easy company dish.

7. Pioneer Woman's Whiskey-Glazed Carrots



So...freaking...good. And easy, too. I could not stop eating these over Christmas dinner!

8. Garlic Rosemary Roast Chicken with Potatoes



Another great recipe from The New Best Recipe. I had never brined a full chicken before, or roasted on a v-rack. The red potatoes were also really, really good--seasoned with rosemary, garlic, and chicken drippings. I believe in the v-rack!

9. Sunday Gumbo



This had the perfect blend of a lot of different flavors, and just the right amount of spice, too.

10. Pioneer Woman's Linguine with Chicken Thighs



I am not playing a hoax on you: there IS a Pioneer Woman recipe without any heavy cream OR butter! I love, love, LOVE this recipe. Using chicken thighs instead of breasts was a new idea to me, and I love the resulting flavor and tenderness.

Thank you to everyone who looks at my blog! 2008 was my first year and not only did I learn a lot, but having a blog forced me to try a lot of new recipes, which was a ton of fun. I look forward to even more recipes and new ideas in 2009!

Garlicky Shrimp Pasta

Source: Cook's Illustrated

Yum yum yum! Cook's Illustrated continues to impress me. I love shrimp, and I love pasta, so I knew this would be a winner. I especially loved the idea to cut the shrimp in small pieces and use shorter pasta--so much of the time I make dishes like this with linguine and the pieces get lost in all that pasta. It made for an even balance, and it was surprisingly filling! I've never made a dish with clam juice before, and I like the taste it added to the dish. Cooking the shrimp for a short period allowed it to still have a nice bite. I would suggest having all the ingredients ready to go once you start cooking the shrimp, since the dish comes together quickly from that point. And I just realized I completely spaced on the parsley--it would have added some nice color had I remembered!

Garlicky Shrimp Pasta

5 medium garlic cloves , minced or pressed through garlic press (about 5 teaspoons), plus 4 medium cloves, smashed
1 pound large shrimp (21-25), peeled, deveined, each shrimp cut into 3 pieces
3 tablespoons olive oil
Table salt
1 pound pasta in short, tubular shapes, such as fusilli, campanelle, or mezze rigatoni
1/4-1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons unbleached, all-purpose
1/2 cup dry vermouth or white wine
3/4 cup clam juice
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 teaspoon lemon juice plus 1 lemon, cut into wedges
Ground black pepper

Instructions

1. Toss 2 teaspoons minced garlic, shrimp, 1 tablespoon oil, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in medium bowl. Let shrimp marinate at room temperature 20 minutes while you prepare the remaining ingredients.

2. Heat 4 smashed garlic cloves and remaining 2 tablespoons oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until garlic is light golden brown, 4 to 7 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and use slotted spoon to remove garlic from skillet; discard garlic. Set skillet aside.

3. Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large Dutch oven over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta. Cook until just al dente, then drain pasta, reserving 1/4 cup cooking water, and transfer pasta back to Dutch oven.

4. While pasta cooks, return skillet with oil to medium heat; add shrimp with marinade to skillet in single layer. Cook shrimp, undisturbed, until oil starts to bubble gently, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir shrimp and continue to cook until almost cooked through, about 1 minute longer. Using slotted spoon, transfer shrimp to medium bowl. Add remaining 3 teaspoons minced garlic and pepper flakes to skillet and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute; stir in vermouth and cook for 1 minute. Add clam juice and parsley; cook until mixture starts to thicken, 1 to 2 minutes. Off heat, whisk in butter and lemon juice. Add shrimp and sauce to pasta, adding reserved cooking water if sauce is too thick. Season with black pepper. Serve, passing lemon wedges separately.

Focaccia Bread

Source: All Recipes

I saw what looked like an amazing recipe for focaccia bread on Annie's Eats; however, having never made bread before, the length of time it took to make the recipe intimidated me. I found a shorter recipe on All Recipes, so I was off! It was very simple, but it showed me I don't need to be afraid of bread. A candy thermometer is essential, and it's nice to have a mixer with a dough hook, but not completely necessary.

To be honest, I didn't love the end result. It was too dense for my liking. So why am I posting this? First off, it gets excellent reviews on All Recipes; secondly, I discovered a HUGE error after
making it--I didn't knead it nearly enough. The original recipe didn't indicate how long; not only that, it said to knead it by hand, so when using the dough hook on my KitchenAid, I was uncertain when it was at its "smooth and elastic" point, also thinking that kneading with a mixer meant far less time by hand. I later read the proper times to knead, see below. I'll probably try it again in a few weeks and report back if the texture was improved!

Prep Time: 30 Minutes
Cook Time: 15 Minutes
Ready In: 1 Hour
Yields: 12 servings

INGREDIENTS:
2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon white sugar
1 tablespoon active dry yeast
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 cup water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon grated Parmesan
cheese
1 cup mozzarella (I did not add the cheese; if using, add about half-way into baking time so it doesn't burn.)

DIRECTIONS:
1. To proof the yeast: Add 1 cup of water to small dish, heated from tap until 110 degrees. Dissolve the sugar in the water. Slowly whisk in the yeast until completely dissolved. (Do not just dump in the water as I did the FIRST try or it will become a gluey clump!) Let sit for about 10 minutes, until mixture is frothy, like so:





If the mixture doesn't become frothy, unfortunately the yeast is no longer active and you'll need to start over.

2. Add the mixture to a large bowl. Stir in salt and vegetable oil. Add in the flour, garlic powder, oregano, thyme, basil and black pepper. Mix using a spoon, or flat paddle attachment, until the dough has pulled together. Either turn out the dough on a lightly floured surface or use a dough hook to knead until smooth and elastic. According to Baking911, it's important to knead bread long enough; 8-10 minutes by hand or 5 minutes with a dough hook.

3. Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl, and turn to coat with oil. Cover with a damp cloth, and let rise in a warm place for 20 minutes. (I consulted Google and one of the suggestions was to place the bowl on top of a heating pad on low. Since the recipe doesn't allow much time for the dough to rise, I let it sit there, and it rose quite well!)



4. While the dough is rising, add the olive oil to a small saucepan and warm over low heat. Add a combination of herbs to your liking. I used small amounts of rosemary, basil, oregano, and thyme. You could also add Italian seasoning just to simplify.

3. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Punch dough down; place on greased baking sheet. Pat into a 1/2 inch thick rectangle. Brush top with olive oil, allowing to sink in dough completely before putting in the oven. Sprinkle with kosher salt.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm.

Rave: Zyliss Susi 2 Garlic Press

I have an OXO garlic press, and every time I've used it, I've been like, "SERIOUSLY? That's ALL the garlic you're going to give me?" I did some digging, and found the Zyliss Susi 2 Garlic Press had received great reviews. I got mine last week and I LOVE it! It's easy to use, and you don't have to peel the garlic cloves first. The only problem, which is not really the Zyliss's problem, is garlic cloves seem to be HUGE now, even when I'm not buying elephant garlic, that sometime you have to fiddle to get the device lined up right before you press. But overall, a great garlic press! And very affordable at $14.99. There is also a model that comes with a cleaner, which is supposed to help get out the garlic bits--I just rinse mine well and put it in the dishwasher.