The Beginning!

My 1st blog! I have mentioned to many of you that this was an idea of mine to keep us in touch and drooling. I have had a curious obsession and interest in cooking since I was young and I sure do like to eat (especially when its made for me). This Blog is for OUR ideas and creations in the kitchen. I would like a combined effort from all of you family and friends to add your culinary ups and downs. Share your advice, Play with your food, and then BLOG! Blogging is a horrible word so think of it as food critiquing or a food journal. As soon as we get enough people using it, your recipe book will be full. You will also have a easier time deciding what to make throughout the week. The average American spends $163.5 a week on food. The reason why is because they just pick items and do not plan. This blog will hopefully help you plan your recipes for the week and also inspire us all to try what you made. My wife and I each week switch off who is cooking and try different recipes from various cookbooks. We both have very distinct and different palates, her's is simple with many flavors and usually vegetarian, while mine leans towards hearty and homestyle. There are many types of palates out there especially in our circles of friends and family. Sweet to Sour, Light to Heavy, European to Asian, Winter to Summer, Party or Dinner for One. This Blog will hopefully bring ideas and recipes from all these palates and let us explorer and adventure. This blog is mainly for me because I miss all of you and want to hear from you but I thought this idea would be a great experience. Hope to hear and see things from all of you!

Love,
Chad..der Box

Sunday, February 28, 2010

Fruited Chicken Salad

Ingredients:

1 box shell pasta cooked and drained

cooked & chopped chicken breast

2 big cans mandarin oranges

2 cups seedless grapes-halved

1 can sliced water chestnuts chopped

1 cup diced celery

3/4 cup chopped nuts (optional)

2 pkgs. dry buttermilk ranch salad dressing mix

1/2 of the milk called for in 1 pkg dressing mix

3/4 cups mayonnaise


Directions:

Put all ingredients in large serving bowl except oranges and dressing ingredients

Mix dressing ingredients in small bowl and pour over other ingredients

Refrigerate

Just before serving, mix in oranges

Sort of looks like this:

Monday, February 22, 2010

{ golden chicken potpie } by williams-sonoma

Ingredients

for the filling
  • 1 Tbsp unsalted butter
  • 1/2 cup yellow union diced
  • 1 stalk celery, finely sliced
  • 4 small carrots, sliced
  • 1 cup mushroom caps, quartered {I didn't have mushrooms, so I used frozen peas, very tasty}
  • 1/4 cup dry white wine
  • 1 cup chicken stock {or broth if you prefer a bit more of a salty taste}
  • 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
  • 1 Tbsp all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups diced cooked chicken
  • 1 large egg beaten with 1 tsp water
for the crust {quick puff pastry}
  • 3&1/2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 tsp kosher salt
  • 1 lb cold unsalted butter, cut into 1-inch cubes
  • 2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
  • 1 cup ice water

{filling}
Boil chicken in water until fully cooked. Drain water, remove chicken, dice, and set aside. In a pot, warm and melt butter. Add onion and celery, and saute until golden {3-5 minutes}. Add carrots and mushrooms {again, I used peas...I'm not a HUGE mushroom girl} and saute an additional 3 minutes. Pour in wine, bring to a simmer, and reduce for 3 minutes. Add the stock and thyme and simmer until the vegetables are crisp-tender, about 5 minutes.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flour and 1/4 cup cold water until smooth. Add to stock mixture to thicken. {I added quite a bit more flour and water to achieve a thicker gravy-type filling, so add flour to desired thickness :) } Stir well, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until the vegetables are just tender, about 5 minutes. Add the diced chicken and let simmer another 5 minutes. Remove from heat and pour into a bowl, let cool, cover, and refrigerate for 2 hours. The filling can be made up to 2 days in advance {it's important to chill filling before assembling the pie, because if warm, the filling will heat the pie crust; thus, making it less flaky}

Preheat oven to 400F. Butter a 9-inch pie dish. Pour filling into the dish and cover with pastry crust, folding the edges onto the dish. Brush with egg mixture and cut a few vents in the center. Bake until the crust is golden and the filling is hot and bubbling {about 45 minutes} Let cool 15 minutes before serving.
*This makes enough filling for 1 9"potpie. I doubled this recipe and made 4 {quite large} mini-potpies. I've also made it a few times and found that using broth adds a little more flavor. I felt the stock made the filling a little bland and lacking salt. But that's just me :) Either way this recipe is divine! I love crust, but I like that the crust on this potpie is only on the top. You get more of the hearty filling that way! It is already a family favorite and I plan on using it in the future. {read more if you want to try the homemade crust...recommended...}



{crust}
If you decide you'd rather purchase a store-bought pie crust or use your own recipe with shortening, go for it! BUT I highly recommend trying this at least once! It makes all the difference with butta as the main ingredient...it really melts in your mouth {mmmmm}

In the bowl of a stand mixer, stir together the flour and salt. Fit the mixer with the paddle attachment, scatter the butter over the flour mixture, and mix on medium speed until the butter is the size of large peas and coated with flour. On medium-low speed, add the vinegar and then drizzle in the ice water until the flour mixture is moistened and starts to come together. You may not need all of it.

Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, gather into a ball, and knead lightly until uniform. Roll out until the dough is about 1/2" thick. Divide into thirds, roll each third into a ball, wrap and refrigerate for at least 1 hour or up to overnight. {Or freeze up to 3 months and thaw, still wrapped, in the refrigerator overnight} Makes enough for 3 10" tarts.

When ready to use, roll out on a floured surface to desired thickness and cut a circle for desired size of pie/tart. ***This crust is great with fruit pies as well, just sprinkle sugar on top before baking***

Note: It's important for the pastry dough to be chilled before baking. The colder the dough is going directly into the hot oven, the flakier the crust will be :)



From our family to yours,
Enjoy <3


P.S.
Sorry for the sudden blog bomb, our Mack friends! I've been meaning to post recipes for a while, so I had a few stored up. I'll try to stay more on top of it :)

{ eggplant parmigiana } by williams-sonoma

Ingredients
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 large globe eggplant {about 1&1/2 lb}
  • 1 cup all purpose {plain flour}
  • 3 large eggs, lightly beaten
  • 2 cups plain dried bread crumbs
  • kosher salt and freshly ground pepper { I just used iodized salt, and it was fine}
  • 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
  • 1/2 lb fresh mozzarella cheese, cut into 18 slices
  • Tomato-Basil sauce {there is a recipe for Williams-Sonoma homemade sauce, I just used store-bought which was fine, but if you'd like the homemade recipe let me know and I'll post it}
Preheat oven to 400F. Pour oil onto baking sheet and swirl to cover the bottom. Trim the eggplant and cut crosswise into 18 slices, each about 1/4" thick. Put the flour, eggs, and bread crumbs into 3 separate shallow bowls and line them up. Season each bowl with 1 tsp salt and a few grinds of fresh pepper. Stir 1/4 cup of the Parmesan into the bread crumbs.

One at a time, dip the eggplant slices in the flour and tap of the excess, and then dip into the eggs and allow the excess to drip off. Finally, dip into the bread crumbs, coating both sides, and place on the prepared pan.

Bake for 15 minutes. Flip the slices over and continue to bake until golden on both sides and tender {about 15 minutes longer}. Remove from the oven and let cool for 5-10 minutes. Leave the oven on.

Lightly oil a baking dish. Overlap the eggplant slices in the prepared dish, placing a piece of mozzarella between the slices. Spoon the sauce evenly over the top and sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan. Bake until the cheese is melted and the sauce is bubbling, about 30 minutes. Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
The eggplant is so tender, almost like veil. It's amazing! We tried this recipe for a weekly dinner night with friends and there was none left after the night was over. Definitely a favorite of ours!

From our family to yours,
Enjoy <3

{ mexican chili }

Ingredients
  • 2 lb. ground meat {beef, or turkey for a lighter taste}
  • 2 packages taco seasoning
  • 2 cans kidney beans {drained and rinsed}
  • 2 cans black beans {drained and rinsed}
  • 1 can pinto beans {you guessed it it...drained and rinsed}
  • 1 can corn
  • 2 cans diced tomatoes
  • 2 cans tomato sauce
  • 1-2 cans green chilies (depending on how spicy you like it)
  • 3/4 cup water
*all cans are standard 15 oz. size {except the chilies of course}

Brown the meat and drain grease. Add taco seasoning as if you were preparing taco meat filling. Add all other ingredients and use taco seasoning to reach desired taste. Simmer for 30 minutes and viola! This chili is super tasty and filling! I always keep the ingredients in stock, because it's so easy and such a hit. It also tastes great to serve with crushed corn chips, sour cream, cheese, and/or cornbread.

From our family to yours,
Enjoy! <3

Sunday, February 21, 2010

Blue Cheese Cole Slaw

Ingredients
- 1/2 small head of green cabbage
- 1/2 small red cabbage
- 4 large carrots
- 1 1/2 cups mayo
- 1/4 cup dijon mustard
- 1 tbsp whole grain mustard
- 1 1/2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 1 tsp celery salt
- 1/2 tsp ground pepper
- 1 1/2 cups crumbled blue cheese Please!
- 3/4 cup fresh parsley

We made this for my parents last weekend. It was good. Well, it did have blue cheese!
De-core the cabbage and cut up. We cut it up in small pieces and put it in a small food processor.
Also put the carrots through the food processor. Set in a large bowl.
Whisk together the mayo, both mustards, vinegar, celery salt, and pepper.
Pour dressing over the cabbage and carrots. Do this is portions of the dressing. You might find that it is to much dressing for you liking. When done add the blue cheese and parsley. Mix together and ENJOY!