In my life, I haven’t experienced another relationship like the one between a dog and their humans. Can you imagine what life would be like if we got as excited as they do when our favorite person came home from work, or asked us if we wanted to take a walk with them? They forgive our bad attitudes and forget the grumpy mornings. They just want to be around us. Their tails flap excitedly when we walk into the room. They love us so much.
It was our best dog’s birthday the other day. He turned twelve. We tried to return some of the love he has shown us for all these years with treats and homemade cookies. And we let him dictate the plan for the day, which meant everyone lounged around until like 6pm then got hyper and went for a walk.
I winged it with the cookies. I’m not a baker, but sometimes I try. I’ve baked enough that I’ve got a general idea of what to do to make a cookie. Still, it’s a bit of a guessing game.
I wanted to incorporate some of Brando’s favorite things: bacon, cheese, and peanut butter. We don’t have a lot of flour left, so I did without. I made oats into oatmeal. And I used egg whites to bind it all together.
Brando ate his cookies while we watched the tiger show. Are you watching it? I can’t decide if I’m glad that we did. I guess it’s given us something to think about besides the Coronavirus. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
(Singing and clapping) “THIS IS YOUR BIRTHDAY SONG. IT ISN’T VERY LONG.” Happy birthday Brando. We love you a lot!!
Peanut Butter Bacon and Cheddar Dog Cookies
Yield: 40 small cookies
Ingredients
2 cups rolled oats
2 cups water
1/4 cup crunchy peanut butter
3-4 tablespoons egg whites
2 1/2 tablespoons bacon grease (or olive oil)
1/3 cup grated cheddar cheese
Directions
Pre-heat the oven to 300°F with an oven rack in the middle position.
Cook the oats and the water in a medium-sized saucepan until the oats have softened, about 10 minutes.
In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the peanut butter, egg whites, and bacon grease. Then add the cheese. Fold in the cooked oats and mix until combined.
Using a spoon, drop the dough onto un-greased baking sheets, about 1 1/2 tablespoons per cookie. Leave a bit of space between cookies, but they don’t need too much. Bake until the cookies are set and a bit browned, about 35-45 minutes, rotating the pans every 15 minutes. Cool for 5-10 minutes on the baking sheet, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely, about an hour.
This is going to be easy. Like, not as easy as making toast from store bought, pre-sliced bread. But, not as difficult as making toast from homemade bread. More like making toast from store bought not sliced bread.
The only difficult thing is waiting for the oven to heat up (ours takes twelve years) and making sure the chicken isn’t still frozen (ugh, mine is).
So while I wait for both of those things to correct themselves, I’m gonna halve some brussels sprouts and think about whether or not I could write a cookbook.
It’s something I’ve wanted to do for a while now. Just recently it’s been on my mind a little more. I was talking to Maggie Green about it last week and she asked “Why not you?” Yeah, why not me?!
So I’m putting this out there. Not for any reason but to tell you, so you can know first. “I’m gonna do the thing that scares me. Let my dreams be big enough to scare me.” –Arielle Estoria (paraphrase)
Ok, I think the oven’s ready. Remember, this is easy. You can swap out the veggies if you want to. I’m using brussels sprouts and broccoli, because it’s what I have on hand. I’d also like to make it with cauliflower, carrots, or even just a simple chicken and potatoes dinner. You could try rutabagas or parsnips, beets (chioggia beets would be super pretty), maybe even some cabbage wedges?? You’re the boss of your dinner, so make it how you want, use what you have on hand, and use this recipe as a guide, not something you have to follow exactly.
Leave a comment on the @De_Ma_Cuisine Instagram post announcing the giveaway or on this blog post. You can comment about sheet pan dinners, whether or not you’d buy my cookbook, what Sir Kensington’s products you love the most, or anything else you find interesting.
Rules:
Giveaway is open to residents of the United States.
Using two baking sheets, toss the chicken and all veggies in 1 cup of Sir Kensington’s dressing. Spread everything out evenly. It’s good if it touches. I like to keep the chicken skin side up, keeping the bottom in contact with the baking sheet. Bake, turning sheets once and stirring the veggies, until the chicken is fully cooked and the veggies are tender inside and browned and crispy outside, about 50-60 minutes (depending on your oven).
While everything roasts, whisk together the remaining vinaigrette and the mayo to make a sauce.
Top veggies with Maldon salt. Serve the veggies and chicken with the sauce poured overtop or on the side for dipping.
Right now we’re kinda in between seasons. It’s technically fall. But produce-wise, we’ve still got a few summer treats hanging on (hello zucchini!), yet are simultaneously moving into the winter goodies (hello root veggies!).
This Shepherd’s Pie is a mash of the two (no pun intended, hello mashed potatoes!).
This is a great dish for using leftovers. Mostly on the mashed potato end. You may want to bookmark this one for Thanksgiving, along with Shepherd’s Pie of the South. One uses up the leftover turkey or chicken, the other uses up the mashed potatoes. No, it’s not too early to start planning what you’re going to do with your Thanksgiving leftovers. It’s never too early to menu plan. 😉
Back to October, which is a great month, by-the-way. We celebrated our 7th wedding anniversary a couple weeks ago, and the baseball postseason is in full swing. Yeah, both of these make me happy. Add to that the cooler weather and falling leaves and you may understand why this is my absolute favorite time of the year.
Since it’s my favorite month, we should eat some of my favorite foods. We should enjoy hearty, warm meals. We should bring out the quilts and hot chocolate mugs. We should eat Shepherd’s Pie (and Chicken Pot Pie, and Chili and Cornbread, and… oh I’m getting hungry).
One thing that I love about Shepherd’s Pie is that it’s a great way to use yesterday’s dinner. I’m a big fan of making yummy foods and then repurposing the leftovers. Want to see how it could work? Say Sunday’s dinner is Roasted Chicken, with Mashed PotatoesandMushroom and Savory Gravy, and Steamed Carrots with Honey and Butter. By making a little more than you will need the first night, you give yourself the starting points for the rest of the week’s dinners. Monday: Chicken and Rice Soup. Tuesday: Shepherd’s Pie. Wednesday: Honey Mustard Chicken Sandwiches. Thursday: Chicken Club Pizza. Friday: Sheppy Pasta (make extra Shepherd’s Pie filling and toss with pasta and tomatoes). Saturday: Soup Day (Taco Soup, Mashed Potato Soup, and definitely remember to make some Chicken Stock with the chicken bones). (Of course make sure that foods are frozen if they will be saved for more than a few days, and re-heated to a safe temperature… but you knew that.)
Another thing that I love about Shepherd’s Pie is that it just tastes so darn good. Starting at the top, we’ve got some cheese. It’s all melty and maybe a bit crispy where it touches the skillet. Then a layer of Mashed Potatoes. Well, I love those on their own, so I can’t really go wrong here. And the foundation of this dish, ground beef (you could also use tempeh, chicken, maybe even tofu), veggies, and a bit of sauce. Well, sure, don’t mind if I do. You can make a big skillet to feed the whole family, or make individual portions and heat them up one or two at a time (I like to use medium-sized ramekins for this). It freezes well, so once everyone has eaten their fill, pop them into single serving containers and they can be saved for lunches. I wonder, maybe you could even fry an egg and slide it on top of the pie, then toast some bread, top it with a tomato slice and a sprinkle of salt and pepper, and a drizzle of good olive oil, and have it for breakfast… stranger things have happened.
However it’s eaten, this meal is a winner in my book. Husband’s too. We love pie… especially the savory kind.
Heat oven safe skillet. Add beef. When partially cooked, add carrots through cumin. Cook covered, stirring occasionally, for 10-15 minutes, or until veggies are tender.
Add peas and garlic, cook 1 minute.
Add balsamic vinegar and tomato paste, cook 2 minutes.
Whisk cornstarch with water and stock. Add to veggies and beef. Bring to a boil and let sauce thicken.
Taste and adjust seasonings.
Smooth out and top with mashed potatoes, cheese, and sprinkle with coriander and chili powder. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until cheese is melted and potatoes are hot.
So I had this idea. I’m beginning what I hope will be a regular series based on my experiences in planning dinner parties around our seasonal produce. I’m going to share plans, tips, suggestions, recipes, thoughts, and ideas. I think it sounds like fun. I can always talk about food…
There are people who are experts at party planning. I know some of them personally. I respect and admire their skills.
I am not such a person.
I do, however, love to menu plan and enjoy spending time with friends and family. One of my favorite things to do when hanging out is eat. Food makes things even more fun, so says me.
We are fortunate to have access to amazing organic produce. Our weekly menu is generally planned around what we get in the box. So are the dinner parties that we throw.
And what’s more fun than a themed dinner party?! Maybe lots of things… but I sure enjoy them.
For this first event we kept it small. Six friends: Dave and Bekah, and Nolan and Joanna, and us. I was inspired to get creative with roasting fruit. Figs and grapes are in season right now and are both so yummy when roasted. They get this deep, rich sweetness that is so different from eating them fresh. They are the main component to this meal. All the other dishes were created to compliment them.
Lucky figs.
Lucky grapes.
For our appetizer I made crostini with grapes, havarti cheese, and one sliver of lemon zest. They were gooey, bright, and really tasty (or so I gather – of the 18, I only got 1 ;)).
I made a simple salad with lettuce and tomatoes. The dressing was a basic vinaigrette with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, maple syrup, and roasted garlic.
The main dish was Roasted Chicken with Gorgonzola and Figs. The chicken was topped with figs, salt, pepper, and browned butter (which I had to make twice because I burned it the first time), then roasted for about an hour. For serving, sweet caramelized onions and tangy gorgonzola cheese are piled on top.
I made two sides. One was more of a classic; a simple every day dish. Steamed carrots with butter and honey. But, they didn’t taste normal or boring. The second side was wilted kale with walnuts and bacon. Ok so bacon (good bacon) is always a winner in my book. In this dish it was no different. The bacon worked so well with the nuts and the wilty wilty greens.
And then, dessert. This may have been my favorite part of the meal, and I’m not a sweets person. I roasted some figs. Nothing on them – just figs, parchment paper, and a 375F oven. I melted some chocolate over a double boiler (which was actually a glass bowl resting on a pot of boiling water). I whipped some cream, sweetened slightly by coconut palm sugar, with a hint of vanilla. The figs were a bit crispy, kinda caramelized, super deep and sweet. They’re topped with whipped cream and drizzled with chocolate. Then cinnamon is sprinkled over it all. Not too much, just a hint.
We have a tiny apartment, so we don’t have room for a large dining table. Um and the dining room is my office, so we really don’t have room. But, we make do. We added a couple leaves to the table and plopped it into the middle of the living room (about 4 feet from where it normally lives, leafless). We squeezed 6 chairs around it. It still left just a small surface area, so the centerpiece was a bowl of grapes from the week’s box. Oh and the bowl was a family heirloom – it used to belong to Husband’s grandma. I set the table with mismatched china that we’ve collected over the years. We used silverware that was also from Husband’s grandma, wine glasses that we found at a yard sale, cloth napkins that were a wedding gift. To be honest, with the friends that we were hanging out with, I knew that we were just happy to be together, eating, sharing, fellowshipping. So, there wasn’t too much pressure to have the perfect table or even the perfect food… from them… the pressure was all from me. 😉
A few things that either I did do that are a good idea, or that I will do next time:
Let my friends contribute. Making all the food myself is a daunting task.
Write out a plan. Figure out what can be made ahead of time (the day before, the morning of). It helps things run a lot smoother and allows for less panicked, more relaxed cooking. For example, I made a list of things that could be done early (you don’t have to make a list, I just love lists). Then in the morning I chopped fruits and veggies, roasted the garlic, cooked the bacon, and made the salad dressing. It made the afternoon much less stressful.
Have an appetizer for guests to snack on while I finish last minute preparations, photographing, and setting up.
Let guests know that I’m going to be taking photos/videos. (The photos will look better and guests will be much happier if they know in advance that they’re not just there for the food. ;))
Last modified on 2013-10-27 23:51:50 GMT. 2 comments. Top.
Green Salad with Tomatoes and Maple Vinaigrette with Roasted Garlic
Recipe Type: Side, Salad, Vegetables, Vegetarian, Fruit
Author: Rachel Oberg – De Ma Cuisine
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6
Ingredients
8-10 C lettuce, torn
2-3 tomatoes, chopped
dressing: 3 cloves roasted garlic
1/4 to 1/3 C balsamic vinegar
salt
pepper
1 T maple syrup
1 t dijon mustard
3/4 C olive oil
Instructions
Drizzle garlic with olive oil and wrap in foil. Roast for 45-60 minutes. Remove from oven. When cool enough to handle, squeeze pulp from 3 cloves garlic and mash with a fork. Set aside.
Whisk together garlic, balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper, maple syrup, and dijon. Slowly stream in olive oil, whisking as you do, creating an emulsion.
Chicken is roasted with browned butter and figs then topped with some sweet caramelized onions and tangy gorgonzola cheese.
Ingredients
1 t olive oil
6 cloves roasted garlic
2 T butter
1 to 1 1/2 C water
6-8 chicken breasts
8-12 figs, sliced in 4
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
2 onions, sliced
1 T honey
1/4 C (or more) gorgonzola cheese
Instructions
Pre-heat oven to 375F.
Drizzle garlic with olive oil and wrap in foil. Roast for 45-60 minutes. Remove from oven. When cool enough to handle, squeeze pulp from 6 cloves garlic and mash with a fork. Set aside.
Brown butter in a small skillet (watch carefully so it doesn’t burn).
Grease a large ovenproof dish. Add water. Add chicken. Top with figs, salt, pepper, and then drizzle browned butter over.
Bake uncovered for 45-60 minutes, or until internal temperature of chicken reaches 170F.
Add onions and honey to a dry skillet. Cook over low heat for 30-40 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Remove from oven and top with mashed roasted garlic, caramelized onions, and dot with gorgonzola.
Last modified on 2013-10-27 23:51:45 GMT. 2 comments. Top.
Steamed Carrots with Butter and Honey
Recipe Type: Side, Steamed, Vegetables
Author: Rachel Oberg – De Ma Cuisine
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6
Ingredients
4 large carrots, cut into chunks
water
pinch salt
1-2 T honey
1 T butter
Instructions
Add water to the bottom of a pot with a steamer basket (about an inch deep, or not touching the bottom of the basket). Add carrots to the steamer basket. Cook until tender, about 15-20 minutes or so.
Last modified on 2013-10-27 23:51:48 GMT. 0 comments. Top.
Wilted Kale with Walnuts and Bacon
Recipe Type: Side, Vegetables, Meat, Pork, Nuts, Stove Top
Author: Rachel Oberg – De Ma Cuisine
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
4 slices bacon
1 T olive oil
3 bunches kale, stems removed, sliced into long ribbons
pinch nutmeg
salt
pepper
2 T balsamic vinegar
1/2 C walnuts, chopped
Instructions
Cook bacon. Drain on paper towel. When cooled, crumble and set aside. Discard fat from pan (or reserve a bit for cooking).
Add olive oil (if all bacon fat was discarded), when hot, add kale and some seasonings. Use tongs to turn and mix kale, as it wilts down, add more kale and more seasonings. Cook over medium-low heat for about 10-15 minutes, or until all kale is wilted. Add 2 T balsamic vinegar. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
Serve topped with walnuts and bacon.
3.2.1255
Roasted Figs with Whipped Cream Chocolate and Cinnamon
Figs are roasted and topped with a cloud of whipped cream, a drizzle of chocolate, and a sprinkle of cinnamon.
Ingredients
12-18 figs, quartered
1/2 to 1 pint whipping cream
1/8 to 1/4 C coconut palm sugar
1 t vanilla extract
3.5 oz. dark chocolate
cinnamon, for topping
Instructions
Pre-heat oven to 375F.
Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Place figs on baking sheet with a bit of space between them if possible. Roast for 10-20 minutes, or until figs are slightly crispy and caramelized.
Whip cream with sugar and vanilla using an electric mixer or by hand. Whip until stiff peaks form.
Heat about 1 C water in a pot. Place a bowl in the pot – it needs to be large enough so that it rests on the edge of the pot on its own and does not touch the boiling water. Break chocolate into pieces in the bowl. Stir with a spoon as it melts. Once melted, remove from pot (carefully, bowl will be hot).
Spoon figs into a bowl and top with whipped cream, a drizzle of chocolate, and a sprinkle of cinnamon. Serve immediately.
Recipe Type: Side, Vegetables, Meat, Pork, Nuts, Stove Top
Author: Rachel Oberg – De Ma Cuisine
Prep time:
Cook time:
Total time:
Serves: 6-8
Ingredients
4 slices bacon
1 T olive oil
3 bunches kale, stems removed, sliced into long ribbons
pinch nutmeg
salt
pepper
2 T balsamic vinegar
1/2 C walnuts, chopped
Instructions
Cook bacon. Drain on paper towel. When cooled, crumble and set aside. Discard fat from pan (or reserve a bit for cooking).
Add olive oil (if all bacon fat was discarded), when hot, add kale and some seasonings. Use tongs to turn and mix kale, as it wilts down, add more kale and more seasonings. Cook over medium-low heat for about 10-15 minutes, or until all kale is wilted. Add 2 T balsamic vinegar. Taste and adjust seasoning if needed.
