brunch

Everyone loves brunch. (That's why I submitted a recipe for Cornbread Cakes Benedict to the Mississippi Magazine contest.)

Though I admit the above picture is not the prettiest, this recipe is a nice alternative to standard brunch egg dishes. We usually eat it as a scramble. Tott had a good idea, though. She made it finger food friendly by making the scramble and then putting it in Fillo cups and melting the cheese on top.

Sausage, Onion, & Apple Scramble

1 package of andouille sausage, sliced
1 onion, roughly chopped
1 or 2 green apples, diced
shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp allspice
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp paprika
salt and pepper to taste

Saute sausage until it begins to brown. Add onions and apples. Sprinkle with spices. Saute until the onions and apples are soft. Drain fat. Serve topped with shredded cheese.

untimely but tasty

This recipe should have been posted in June. That way, you could enjoy your gin fizz all summer long.

As it is, Kaytie wanted a glass of wine last night. We had none. She would settle for bourbon. Again, we had none. A gin drink, perhaps? Is there tonic in the fridge? Alas, no. Luckily, she's married to a bartender (me). I whipped up a gin fizz.

These drinks should be light and easy to drink, so you can guzzle them by the pool. (I like gin, so I tend to make them on the strong side.)

Gin Fizz

1 - 1.5 oz gin
3 - 4 oz club soda
1/2 tsp Splenda
juice of 1/2 a lemon

Mix over ice.

tired of potato salad

I know summer officially ended a couple days ago, but I think we have a couple more weeks of barbecue weather. Traditionally, we have sides like potato salad and cole slaw with burgers and other grilled meats, but sometimes a new dish is pleasant.

We got this recipe from Kaytie's grandmother, and we've enjoyed it for several years now.

Radish Salad

1 bag or bunch of radishes
lots of salt
3 green onions
about 1/4 cup vinaigrette

Cut the green tops off of the radishes and rinse the radishes well. Scrub the dirt off.

Slice the radishes so thin that they are transparent. (Though I have done this with a knife, a mandoline makes this job much easier and faster.)

Place the sliced radishes in a bowl in very thin layers, salting generously between each layer. The salt gets the heat out of the radishes. (I'm not sure what that means, but that's what Kaytie's grandmother says, and I know that the radishes are much more palatable once they've been salted.) Cover the bowl and let it sit in the fridge for a couple hours.

Dump the radish slices in a colander and rinse well. The salt has done its job and must be washed away.

Slice the green onions and put them in a bowl with the radishes and enough vinaigrette to cover. We use a balsamic vinaigrette from the grocery store, but you can certainly make your own.

Mix and serve.

NOTE: Once the dressing is added, the radishes will begin to turn pink. I'd wait to dress the radishes until right before you serve it. Alternatively, you can let the dressed salad sit overnight and serve a bright pink salad the next day.

P. S. I know there are too many pictures in this post. I don't care.

i'm a believer

I've never been impressed by asparagus. (Except in Veggie Tales...) I was pleasantly surprised, therefore, when I tasted some asparagus at a potluck thrown by Kaytie's coworkers. It was lemony and crisp. I loved it.

I wanted to give it a try as a side next to some roasted pork tenderloin. It was great - had a nice acidity that set off the pork's sweet balsamic reduction.

Blanched Asparagus with Toasted Almonds

1 bunch of asparagus

juice of 1 lemon

1-2 Tbs butter

slivered almonds

Toast the almonds. I spread them on a small baking sheet and heated them in the toaster oven. Kaytie prefers to toast nuts in a skillet on the stove. Either way, KEEP AN EYE ON THEM. As soon as they start to brown, remove from heat.

Slice the tough bottom ends off the asparagus stalks.

Fill a large skillet with salted water. Bring to a boil.

Drop in all of the asparagus. Simmer until just fork tender (about 3 minutes).

Drain. Return the asparagus to the hot skillet and toss with the butter and lemon juice.

Top with toasted almonds and serve ASAP.

back in the saddle

There are a lot of projects going on at our new house. (Maybe we'll finish them all by 2012...) Sometimes, my friends volunteer to help with the work. Most of the time, when they hear what I need, they find an excuse to avoid it. Caleb, on the other hand, followed through on his promise to help me put up my metal storage shed. In the rain.

In return, I cooked dinner, and Tallie and Kaytie joined us. Sunday supper lives again! I'd forgotten how great it is to cook a real meal; we've been eating a lot of beans & rice, sandwiches, and take out. I'd also forgotten how much I like to feed people.

I roasted some sweet potatoes and blanched some asparagus (recipe to follow) to go with a roasted pork tenderloin. It was great!

Roasted Pork Tenderloin
(feeds 4-5)

2 pork tenderloins
1 tsp ground corriander
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 ground chipotle pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
garlic salt

Rinse the tenderloins and trim off the fat and silver skin. Place them in a glass bowl.

Dump the other ingredients (except the garlic salt) in the bowl, too. Goosh everything around so the pork is covered in the marinade. Marinate in the fridge for 8-10 hours.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in an ovenproof skillet over medium high heat. Sprinkle the pork with garlic salt. Sear the pork in the skillet, about 30 seconds or a minute on each side. (I used a skillet with low sides, and the splattering oil caught on fire. It was awesome.)

Put the pork in the oven and roast for about 8-10 minutes. I used a remote probe thermometer and took the meat out when the internal temperature was 150-155 degrees.

Let the pork rest for 5 minutes before slicing. While the meat is resting, make the...

Mustard Balsamic Reduction

1/3 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp honey

Whisk everything together in a small pot and bring to a boil. Boil until reduced by about half.

Slice the pork into medallions and drizzle with the balsamic reduction.

who needs bisquick?

Yes, we've been known to keep Bisquick in the house. (I also eat frozen chicken pot pies and mac 'n cheese from a box. What of it?) The biscuits it makes aren't great, but it's nice to have as a pancake mix.

Anyway, Kaytie wanted some pancakes one recent morning, but we were out of Bisquick. No problem, I thought. I can make up some pancakes. And so I did. They were a little too sweet, though that worked in our favor, as we were out of syrup.

While Tyler and Han were in town for my birthday this weekend (Kaytie let me jump out of a plane!), we invited them over for breakfast, and I tweaked my recipe. Here's the final product.

Pancakes
(makes about 18 3-inch pancakes)

1 1/2 cups self-rising flour
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 cups milk

Mix all the ingredients together.

Use a 1/3-cup measure to scoop the batter onto a hot pan (over medium heat). After about a minute, when bubbles form in the top, flip the pancake.
Give the pancake about 30 seconds to brown before taking it off the griddle.

Serve hot with lots of butter and syrup.

new digs

Well, we're finally moved in. Far from settled, though. We've refinished the floors (never again!), and we're almost finished painting the master bedroom. I've cut down more bamboo than I like to remember, and I've just barely made a dent in the overgrown backyard.

On the plus side, we're having a great time with our new hobby: buying furniture that needs to be reupholstered. So far, we've amassed a couch, a loveseat, a club chair, and a chair that we found on the curb in the new neighborhood. (Some reupholsterer is going to make a fortune.) Our most recent acquisition came from a nice family in Madison. We bought a sofa table they'd listed on Craigslist, and they threw in a wingback chair for free! People are so nice.

What better way to say, "Thanks!" than with a nice loaf of bread? Kaytie first made this lemon bread to welcome someone to our previous neighborhood. It's quite tasty. The best thing about this is that it's really more like cake - it just masquerades as bread. It's awesome with vanilla ice cream.

Because I can't leave well enough alone and with a nod to our readers at Hederman Brothers, I added some blueberries. Delicious!

Blueberry Lemon Bread

1 2/3 cup self-rising flour
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
1 stick butter, room temperature
2 large eggs
2 tsp (packed) lemon zest (or up to 2 Tbs)
½ cup milk
3 oz fresh blueberries (half a cup)

Glaze

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice, strained

Preheat oven to 350. Grease an 8 ½ by 4 ½ by 2 ½ loaf pan.

In one bowl, whisk together flour and salt.

In another bowl, using an electric mixer (or your stand-up mixer) beat butter and sugar together until light and fluffy. Add the eggs and lemon zest.

Add dry ingredients to the butter mixture a little at a time, alternating with a little milk.

Gently fold in the blueberries.

Pour mixture into prepared loaf pan. Bake about 1 hour, or until toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven.

Make the glaze: Over low heat, combine the lemon juice and sugar, stirring until the sugar is dissolved and the glaze is clear.

Loosen the edges of the loaf by running a sharp knife between the bread and the pan. Top with glaze, let bread cool in pan, then remove.