Anytime Potatoes

I discovered this potato recipe many years ago.  I unfortunately have no idea where it came from.  However, I do remember making them before a home-coming dance in high school.  Two of my girl friends came over and we made dinner for our dates. How cute, right?  At the time I just baked them in a 9x13 inch dish.  However, since getting our cast iron skillet I always make them in there.  I suppose you could use another type of dish if you do not have a cast iron skillet.  I call them "anytime potatoes" because you could really make them "anytime." They work great at breakfast with eggs or at dinner with fish, chicken or anther main dish.  They are super easy to whip up and are great when you have a couple of left over potatoes around the house.  They're great for company too because they are so low maintenance.  One time Kevin bought a 5 lb. bag of potatoes at the grocery for one recipe, which only needed a few potatoes.  Needless to say we had many many potatoes left over.  These "anytime potatoes" were great at using up the potatoes we had left over.  I hope you find many uses for these potatoes just as I have! 

Anytime Potatoes
Serves: 3-4

Ingredients:
1.5 lb Potatoes*
2 Tbs Olive Oil
2 tsp Kosher Salt

* A note on the type of potatoes for this recipe. I used Yukon potatoes this time because I happened to have a some extra on hand.  I have to say that the typical "baking potato" or Russet potato works a little better. 

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees.  Wash and then cut up the potatoes.  Try to make them some what uniform in size to insure uniform cooking. I make mine in about a 1" dice. 

 

Put them in a the cast iron skillet and drizzle the olive oil and salt over them.  Stir to combine. Put the skillet in the oven.  Bake for about 30 minutes total, stirring every 10-15 mintues so all the sides get crispy.

 

xoxo Melissa

Perfect Baked Rice

I like to think of myself as a decent cook, but there's one thing that always gets me: rice!  For some reason when I make it on the stove it sticks to the pan, doesn't fully cook in the allotted time or is very sticky.  It wasn't until one of my husbands co-workers gave us this recipe a few years ago, that I've been able to master it.  I know the method seems unconventional at first, but give it a try, you won't be disappointed.  The must-have for this recipe is a cast iron skillet.  Ours holds special meaning for me because we bought it on our way home from Gatlinburg, TN, after Kevin proposed.  However, you can easily find one at your local Target or department store.

Perfect Baked Rice
Serves: about 4

Ingredients:
1 cup long grain white rice
14.5 ounces broth (chicken, vegetable or beef) I used vegetable here

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.  Pour the rice and chicken broth into the cast iron skillet and stir until combined.  Cover the skillet with aluminum foil and tightly pinch the seems to keep the steam and heat in while it cooks.

Place the skillet in the oven and bake for about 25 minutes.  I usually lift the foil a bit after 25 minutes to make sure it's done, remove it from the oven and then let it sit for about 5 more minutes before serving.  Enjoy!



xoxo Melissa

Food Travels: Washington D.C.

This past fall my husband and I took a trip to Washington D.C..  My husband been to D.C. in junior high school, but this was going to be my first trip!  What was the #1 thing to see on my list??  Georgetown Cupcakes, of course!  Yes, of course we saw the White House, Washington Monument, Smithsonian Museums and other main D.C. attractions too.  We happened to pick a Saturday to spend in Georgetown and boy was their shop busy!  However, it was well worth the wait!  I consider myself a cupcake connesoir and I have to say, I don't always find bakery cupcakes to be all they're cracked up to be.  These definitely did not fall into that category.  I got a caramel apple cupcake and Kevin got chocolate with chocolate frosting. They were both absolutely delicious and I suggest a trip if you are ever in the DC area!

 

See, we made it to some of the main sights!

And had cupcakes...

 

Cupcakes!

 

Cupcakes!

xoxo Melissa

25 Things You Didn't Know About Me

After reading week after week of "25 Things You Didn't Know About Me" in my US Weekly magazine, I thought I'd give it a try.

1. I was born in Michigan.
2. I like most veggies, but am not a fan of summer squash.
3. My favorite color is Red.
4. I'm training for my first 1/2 marathon.
5. I almost hit a car while taking my driver's license test, but passed anyways.
6. I have a tri-colored Australian Shepherd named Lucy who likes to run in circles
7. My first job out of college was for Enterprise Rent-A-Car.
8. I studied abroad in Luxembourg while in college
9. I'm afraid to go in the ocean because of sharks
10. I was captain of my high school cheerleading squad.
11. My closet is organized according to clothing type and then color.
12. When I saw my husbands closet and it was organized the same way, I knew we were meant to be together :)
13. In college I was a tour guide for prospective students.
14. I tore my ACL and had reconstructive surgery on my left knee in 10th grade.
15. I've visited many of the capitals in Western Europe and even lived in one, but just this past fall made it to our own capital of Washington D.C.
16. Baby Boom is one of my favorite movies.
17. I can name the states in alphabetical order and in song, thanks 4th grade music teacher!
18. My eyes are hazel, but sometimes change color.
19. I could spend hours (and an unlimited amount of money) walking around Target.
20. I have a major sweet tooth.
21. I lived in Boston for four years after college - loved it!
22. I love to read and usually have at least 5 books checked out from the library at all times.
23. I have one, younger sister name Allison. 
24. Someday I would love to learn French.
25. Ice cream is one of my favorite foods.

Irish Soda Bread

With the the start March, I've found many cooking magazines on the shelves tailoring their recipes towards the typical March fare: corned beef, mint flavored desserts and breads like Irish soda bread.  I've made soda bread several times before with disappointing results.  They always seem to turn out dry and some-what acidic, probably from the pronounced baking soda in the recipes. I recently decided to make use of these March themed recipes and make my family a Guinness beef stew one night. I thought an Irish soda bread would go nicely with it. This recipe comes from Cook's Country. I have generally had good luck with their recipes, so I thought I would give it a try.  I was not disappointed this time!  My family ate almost the entire loaf and commented on it's moistness and whole grain flavor.

Irish Soda Bread
Serves: 6-8

2 cups all purpose flour
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup toasted wheat germ
3 Tbs sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 3/4 cups buttermilk
3 Tbs unsalted butter, melted


Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Get a baking sheet ready with either parchment paper or slightly greased with cooking spray.  Whisk dry ingredients (flour through baking soda) together  in a medium bowl. 

In a measuring cup, measure out buttermilk and add in 2 Tbs of the melted butter, whisk to combine. (We're saving the additional 1 Tbs of butter for the end).  Don't worry if the mixture looks a little curdled.  Mine did and it turned out fine.  Add buttermilk mixture to dry ingredients.  Stir until mixture just comes together.  Over mixing the dough can make the bread tough.  Once the dough has come together, turn it out on a lightly floured surface.  Knead bread about 8 turns, or until mixture has come together and isn't too sticky.  Form dough into a round ball and place on prepared baking sheet. Make a shallow (about 1/4 inch) cut in the shape of a cross on the top of the loaf.  Bake for 50-55 minutes, until center of loaf comes to about 195 degrees.  At 195 degrees, a skewer inserted in the center should come out clean.  I have an oven safe thermometer which I used to gauge the temperature.  Mine hit 195 degrees at about 55 minutes.  Once the bread is finished cooking, remove it from the oven and brush on the final 1 Tbs melted butter, with a pastry brush.  Let loaf cool on a wire cooling rack.  I cut out wedges and served with butter - delicious! Enjoy!

(shot before baking)

xoxo Melissa

How to Cut up a Canteloupe

Here's another, hopefully useful, "how to" on fruit preparation.  While working in a dining hall prep kitchen in college, I cut up boxes and boxes of cantaloupe.  Oh the fun jobs we have in college, right?   However, I generally didn't mind this job (way better than chopping onions!) because I really like cantaloupe and could sneak a few pieces here and there while working!  While it's not as difficult to cut up compared to my earlier "how to" on pineapple, I thought some might find this tutorial helpful.

 

                                 

 

Step one: Place cantaloupe on cutting board and get a medium sized, sharp knife.  Cut the cantaloupe in half from root to tip.

 

                            

                                  

 With a spoon, scrape out the seeds and discard.  

 

 

Lay the cantaloupe halves upside down on the cutting board.  Take one half at a time.  Cut each half in half.  Then, at an angle, make two more cuts on each side of the cantaloupe half.  Cutting from outer skin towards the center of the cantaloupe.  Repeat with second cantaloupe half.  You should know have 6 slices from each half.





With a small paring knife. take each cantaloupe slice in one hand and slice with the paring knife between the rind and fruit, making sure not to leave any green rind remaining (it doesn't taste very good!). 

You should now have 12 cantaloupe slices, without rind.

 

With your paring knife, cute each slice into bite-sized pieces.  That's all there is to it!  The more you do, the better you'll get and the quicker you'll get.

 

xoxo Melissa

Food Travels: Santa Rosa, California

 For our one year wedding anniversary, my husband and I took a trip to California. We were both so excited to see the sites, drink in the local wine and of course, the food! My husband has been a long time fan of the Food Network show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. I was never much of a fan before we met as most of the food destinations were outside of Ohio and I was more interested in watching shows about cooking. However, once we met and I started watching the shows, I too was hooked! We have added DDD stops to most of our vacations now and it really is quite fun to try them all out.

Since we were going to be in California, we definitely had to stop at one of our main man's restaurants. We made a detour on our way from San Francisco to Napa, to stop at Tex Wasabi's in Santa Rosa.  While Kevin was in 7th heaven driving the windy along Route 1A from San Francisco north, I was dreaming about lunch at our special destination.

 

We stopped in on a Tuesday afternoon around 1:00 and surprisingly it wasn't crowded at all - perfect time to stop by! We were both so excited and honestly, pretty famished from the ride from San Francisco.  Although his new restaurant in NYC has received some flack lately for its food quality, we didn't experience anything like this at Tex Wasabi.  For an appetizer we ordered the Gringo Sushi Jackass Roll, shown below, which was made up of BBQ pork, sushi rice, french fries all rolled in rice paper and topped with a garlic chili mayo.  What an interesting take on sushi!  I have to say, it was pretty tasty and we had no problem at all finishing it right off! 

 

For our main meal I ordered the Tom "Real Deal" Turkey Sandwich" and Kevin ordered Guys Big Bite Burger.  Neither were let downs and both were enormous, as seen below.  We were both thoroughly excited to have finally eaten at a Guy Fieri restaurant as well as have a truly delicious meal after a long day of driving.  If you're ever around Santa Rosa, we would definitely recommend a trip to Tex Wasabi!

 

xoxo Melissa 

Buckeyes

 These treats were first introduced to me by my grandmother, who covered the entire peanut butter ball with chocolate and called them "Helmets" as they looked like a helmet.  You see, she's from Connecticut, where everything Ohio State and buckeye themed isn't quite as popular.  She loves to bake (cookies especially) and her "helmets" are always the star of her cookie trays to me.  Since I live in Columbus, her recipe has been slightly tweaked for all for the Ohio State fans here.  However, if you're more of a chocolate fan of don't want to take the time to make them look like the buckeye nut, feel free to dip them all the way in chocolate, just like Grandma Giapponi.

Ingredients:

2 cups chunky or creamy peanut butter

3 Tbs butter
3 cups confectionery sugar

12 ounces chocolate chips
1-2 tsp vegetable oil (if necessary)
 

 

Mix together the peanut butter and butter until smooth.  Slowly add the confectioners sugar, until mixed thoroughly.  Chill mixture for about an hour. 

Then roll the refrigerated peanut butter mixture into 1-inch balls.  I used my 1" cookie scoop to make sure they were all about the same size.  It made 45 balls.  Put the tray of finished peanut butter balls in the freezer for at least an hour for them to harden. Without doing this, they will melt once you put them in the melted chocolate.

Melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler or in the  microwave.  Stir until smooth.  I microwaved mine for about 2 minutes total, stirring at 30-second intervals.  To smooth the chocolate out a little, I added 2 tsp of vegetable oil.  Once the chocolate is smooth, dip the balls in the chocolate mixture and then place on parchment paper.

The best technique I found to do this was to dip the ball in the chocolate, move it around a little bit to get the sides coated, and then lift it out with a fork. I tapped the fork a little on the side of the bowl to get off extra chocolate, which will pool at the bottom of the buckeye once set on waxed paper, if you don't do this.  I also used a toothpick to help me set the buckeye (sitting on the fork) onto the waxed paper. 

Once you have a full tray, put them in the refrigerator to harden.  Can you see the one I accidentally dropped entirely in chocolate??  I don't think anyone will mind a little extra chocolate :)  I don't make these very often, but when I do, I'm transported back in time to when I was a little girl, eating them at my grandparents.  I hope you enjoy them as much as i do.

xoxo Melissa 

My Year of Pie

I've always wanted to cook my way through a cookbook. With the book and movie release of Julie and Julia, I was even more enticed to complete this goal of mine.  However, the daunting task of cooking all the way through a cookbook has always gotten me in the end.  There were always too many recipes, too many different ingredients to buy for one-time use, too many servings of food for my 2-person household, etc. The reasons which prevented me before go on and on.  However, this past month I found myself once again in the cookbook section of Barnes & Noble with the goal of "cook my way through a cookbook" once again before me... While looking through their selection, my mom presented me with "A Year of Pies" by Ashley English.  "What a great idea" I thought!  Baking a pie doesn't involve too many different cooking tools, funny ingredients, wouldn't be too expensive to do each week and wouldn't be too hard to either eat over the week, give away or take to work. The cookbook has been bought and now the task lies before me... 52 weeks and 52 pies.  I am proud to say I am five weeks in and five pies have been made!  I will periodically update everyone on my pie progress and what pies I've been making!

Hazlenut Steamer

 Before I drank coffee, I'd often buy a flavored steamer at Starbucks.  I don't think they list this drink on their store menu any longer, but they will still make it for you if you ask for it.  I recently ordered one at a store which sells Starbucks coffee and they made one and charged me the price of their hot chocolate. It's just steamed milk with one of their flavorings, but a great alternative to one of their pricier coffee drinks or for someone who doesn't drink coffee.  You could essentially flavor yours without whatever flavor you would like.  I chose hazelnut, which I found at my local World Market store.  FYI - World Market has an enormous selection of flavors.  I've also seen them at Kroger.

1 cup milk (I used Almond Milk)
1 Tbs hazelnut syrup

Measure milk in liquid glass measuring cup.  Microwave for about 2 minutes, depending on how powerful your microwave is.  I'd keep an eye on it the first time you make it.  Pour milk into a mug.  Add flavoring. Give it a good stir and enjoy!  This drink is great for a cold morning or evening.

xoxo Melissa