Happy Thanksgiving!
November 28, 2013 – 4:52 pmFrom our family to yours, a very happy Thanksgiving!
Happy Halloween!
October 31, 2013 – 4:32 pmMommy’s little pumpkin patch
Pork Chops with Spiked Chunky Applesauce
October 30, 2013 – 6:13 pmThis is another recipe of my mom’s, inspired by several similar ones out there on the web. We had this with some baked yam fries and steamed veggies. Very tasty!
Pork Chops with Spiked Chunky Applesauce
For the apples:
1 tbsp butter
2 small granny smith apples, peeled, cored, and each cut into 8 wedges
1 tsp brown sugar
1 tbsp Calvados apple brandy
1 tbsp apple cider
For the pork:
1 tbsp butter
4 boneless pork chops, about 1.5 lb
kosher salt and black pepper
For the sauce:
1 cup apple cider
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/8 cup Calvados apple brandy
1 tsp thyme leaves
Heat a skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tbsp of butter and melt until it stops foaming. Add the apple slices and sprinkle with sugar. Brown lightly on both sides. Add the brandy and cider and cranberries and turn to coat. Reduce liquid until nearly gone. Remove the mixture to a bowl and cover to keep warm.
Season the pork chops with salt and pepper to taste. Add 1 tbsp of butter to the skillet and brown pork chops on both sides, about 5 minutes on the first side and another 4-5 minutes on the second side. Remove the pork chops to a plate and cover to keep warm.
Add the apple cider, chicken broth, and brandy to the skillet and deglaze the pan. Add the thyme and let the liquid reduce by about one third. Add the pork chops back to the skillet and turn to coat in the sauce. Add the apple mixture to the skillet. Let the chops cook for another 5-7 minutes in the sauce, until an internal temperature of at least 145 degrees F is reached.
Serve warm.
Baked Asian Turkey Buns
September 5, 2013 – 8:26 pmThese are my mom’s new take on hom bao with a nod to bierocks. They turned out very good!
Baked Asian Turkey Buns
Makes 8 buns
For the filling:
1 tbsp canola oil
20 oz ground turkey breast
6 oz crimini or shiitake mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1 tbsp soy sauce
4 tbsp sweet chili sauce (I like Mae Ploy Sweet Chili Sauce)
1 tsp sesame oil
For assembly:
8 large frozen white rolls, thawed (we used Rhodes Texas Rolls)
For the dipping sauce:
4 tbsp soy sauce
4 tbsp mirin
4 tbsp lemon
1 tbsp grated ginger
1/2 tsp sesame oil
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Heat the canola oil in a large skillet over medium high heat and brown the turkey. Add the mushrooms and stir to combine. When the mushrooms are tender, add the soy sauce, sweet chili sauce, and sesame oil and stir. Turn the heat to low.
Gently stretch or roll out each dough ball into a 5 inch diameter circle. Spoon filling into the center of the dough, then fold the dough up around the filling to form a filled bun and pinch to seal. Place each bun sealed side down on a parchment paper lined rimmed baking sheet.
Bake for 12 – 15 minutes, or until the buns are golden brown. While the buns are baking, whisk the dipping sauce ingredients in a small bowl.
Serve buns hot.
Welcome Baby!
August 31, 2013 – 8:45 amOur little guy was born on the 20th, and we’re all so in love (and sleep deprived 😉 )!
Cherry Pie
July 21, 2013 – 8:58 amThis is my go-to recipe for cherry pie, based off of the one in Joy of Cooking
Cherry Pie
Makes 1 9-inch pie, 8 servings
2 9-inch pie crusts (either from below or your favorite)
4-5 cups pitted sweet cherries
3/4 cup sugar
3 ½ tbsp cornstarch
1 tbsp kirschwasser (cherry brandy)
1 tbsp water
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp butter
Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
Spread one pie crust into a 9-inch pie pan, gently pressing the crust into the bottom. Mix the cherries, sugar, cornstarch, kirschwasser, water, and lemon juice well and let the mixture stand for 15 minutes. Spoon the filling into the bottom crust and dot with pieces of the butter. Place the second crust over the top and gently form it around the filling. Crimp the bottom and top crusts together. Cut steam vents into the top crust. Place the pie plate on a foil lined rimmed baking sheet and place both into the oven.
Bake at 425 degrees for 30 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees F and bake for anothe 25 to 30 minutes, or until the filling is bubbling out of the vents. Remove the pie from the oven and move the pie plate to a cooling rack. Let the pie cool completely before slicing and serving.
Pie Crust
Makes 1 9 inch pie crust. Can be doubled to make two for a covered pie.
1 ¼ cups flour
½ tsp white sugar
½ tsp salt
10 tbsp cold butter, divided
3 tablespoons ice water
Mix together the flour, sugar, and salt. With a pastry cutter, quickly cut in 8 tablespoons of the butter into the flour mixture until the butter is approximately pea-sized. Add the final two tablespoons of butter and cut in until most of the mixture looks like coarse breadcrumbs with some pea-sized chunks left. Drizzle two tablespoons of ice water over the mixture and cut it in with a rubber spatula. If the dough starts to form balls that stick together when pressed, the dough is moist enough, otherwise add up to another 2 tablespoons of ice water. Press the dough with your hands into a disk, wrap tightly in plastic, and chill for at least half an hour and up to 2 days. After chilling, pull out the dough and place it on a lightly floured surface. Roll from the center out until the dough is approximately 3 inches wider all the way around than the pan. Gently roll the dough around the rolling pin (making sure there is enough flour to prevent sticking) and transfer the dough to the pie pan. Press it in place and crimp or flute the edges.
Everett Mall Farmer’s Market
July 19, 2013 – 7:14 pmA new farmer’s market opened this past week at the Everett Mall. It was small, but quite nice, and I got some great tomatoes, spinach, peaches, “nectarots” (a hybrid of apricots and nectarines), beets, and some delicious just fried mini doughnuts tossed in cinnamon sugar that are not pictured, as they did not make it out of the market. 🙂
Loot from the Mukilteo Farmer’s Market
June 26, 2013 – 3:44 pmLoot from the Mukilteo Farmer’s Market  – Rainer Cherries and Cherry Cider from First Fruits, olive oil from Far North, and my absolute favorite tayberries from Swanson Brothers.  The all too short tayberry season is here, hurrah!
A Corgi Afternoon
May 17, 2013 – 7:20 pmWe spent a very enjoyable Friday afternoon at Leo and Kathy’s house for a corgi meet-up. Much fun was had by all. 🙂
My photos can be found here on Flickr, or there are a few highlights below.
Restaurant Style Salsa
May 3, 2013 – 11:05 amWe had a salsa contest today at work, and I made my variation of this recipe from the Food Network. It turned out quite nicely and was very easy to throw together. I won for Spiciest (even though this doesn’t have that much of a kick) and tied for Best Overall. Yay! 😀
Restaurant Style Salsa
Makes about 8 cups
2 10-ounce cans diced tomatoes and green chiles (I use Rotel)
1 28-ounce can whole tomatoes with juice
1/4 cup fresh cilantro leaves
1/2 small sweet onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 large whole jalapeno, sliced thin (keep the seeds and membrane for spicier; remove them for milder)
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp granulated sugar
1 whole lime, juiced
Place all the ingredients in a 12 cup food processor and pulse until well blended. Pour into a bowl and refrigerate for at least 1 hour before serving to let the flavors meld.
