I was at a friend's house for dinner last weekend, and she made a beef stew that she prepared IN A PUMPKIN!! Yeah, my friend's name is Ina Martha Garten Stewart, by the way. (Just kidding, her real name is Mo. Ina Martha Garten Stewart is my imaginary friend.) Anyways, I didn't get the exact recipe from her but if you're interested, I found a few recipes you could try here, here and here. What a perfect dish to prepare for friends and family on Halloween night! Do it!!
I was recently on a "booze cruise" with a bunch of moms (and excuse me while I cry for not being there this very second). We sailed along on a water ferry, drinking wine, eating appetizers and talking about how our kids and husbands drive us crazy! Juuuuuust kiddddddding. Anyways. Someone made these Spinach Balls and they were FANTASTIC. I asked her if I could share the recipe and she said yes, so here it is! Funny story though, I made them over the weekend and forgot one giant ingredient: the 3/4 cup of butter. I realized this after my first bite and wondered why they didn't taste as addictive as they had on the boat. Butter... butter makes everything better. However, they were still pretty good without the butter so if you're in the mood to make them SUPER healthy, you can go ahead and omit it. (But I wouldn't recommend it cause I don't recommend those kind of things.)
Combine all ingredients, roll into small bowls, place on a baking sheet (I greased mine) and bake for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees, until the edges are golden. Enjoy!
The next morning I sautéed the leftovers in BUTTER and added a fried egg. Yum.
I didn’t want to end my vacation by filming anything too strenuous, so I went with this creamy pork stew, which is one of my favorite cold weather dishes of all time. This comforting stew is very delicious, quite easy, and ready to accept all sorts of seasonal produce.
As usual, I kept the ingredient list to a minimum, as not to get in the way of demonstrating this simple procedure, but things like squash, Brussels sprouts, cabbage, mushrooms, and root vegetables, would all be wonderful swimming around in the subtly sweet, just-rich-enough sauce.
As I mention in the video, you always want to buy a nice hunk of pork shoulder, and cut your own chunks. If you want to save five minutes of work buying the pre-cut stuff in the package, go ahead, but please know you’re paying more money for a lower quality product. Not to mention, you can’t control the size and shape of the cut.
If pork isn’t your thing, this would be lovely with veal, beef, or chicken thighs. No matter which meat you use, simmer it until tender, and this simple, cider-spiked, cream sauce will turn it into a big bowl of autumn goodness. I really hope you give it a try soon. Enjoy!
Ingredients for 4 large portions:
2 tbsp vegetable oil for browning meat
2 1/2 pounds pork shoulder
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves minced garlic
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup apple cider or apple juice
2 tbsp Dijon mustard
1 tbsp horseradish
1 1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup chicken broth, or as needed
1 stalk celery, sliced
1 cup sliced carrots
a few sage leaves
2 sprigs thyme
2 small sprigs rosemary
*Fresh herb note: I just tossed mine in whole, but if you don’t like that texture, you can simply pick and chop herbs before adding.
1 dry bay leaf
pinch of cayenne 1/2 cup green peas, fresh or frozen
fresh apple strips and fresh chive to garnish
- Serve on steamed rice, mashed potatoes, or noodles.
Pumpkin is everywhere right now (I mean, check this out), and we're suckers for it. I'm surprised we all don't run out to buy pumpkin flavored toothpaste! (Don't steal that idea, it's mine.) I gave you some pumpkin ideas last week, and now here's another: Pumpkin Gingersnaps (click there for recipe). These are delicious... soft and chewy, and rich with all the flavors of the season... cinnamon, spice and pumpkin of course! Pumpkin. Pumpkin. If you say that word a lot it starts to sound really weird. Also who puts a 'p' and a 'k' right next to each other?? Pumpkin lovers do.
I recently had the opportunity to work with International Delight - the coffee creamer that comes in delicious, everyday as well as innovative flavors - and this morning I had the chance to share some brunch ideas using these creamers on the Today Show with Kathie Lee and Hoda! If you missed the segment or want to view the recipes, click here. By the way, it's totally acceptable to make Pumpkin Stuffed French Toast for dinner in the month of October. Also, make sure to check out International Delight's website for more information on their delicious creamers and more easy, everyday recipes. Aaaaaaand, if you're in the mood for more PUMPKIN (you know you are), I pulled up a few other treats I've tried in the past... have a happy fall weekend!
Canned tuna used to be a very inexpensive source of protein, but it isn’t necessarily anymore. The price varies depending upon where it comes from and how it’s caught. For the purposes of this review, I reviewed only sustainably caught white albacore tuna, mostly brands available at the supermarket. Generally domestic brands are more expensive than imported.
I don’t see much difference between chunk and solid, since it is always served broken up anyway. I only tried solid or water packed, not oil packed tuna which in my opinion is always tastier. I taste tested the tun drained, straight from the can. But my preferred way to serve it is in a tuna salad with mayonnaise, lemon, relish, celery and green or red onion.
This pole caught Marine Stewardship Council certified sustainable tuna is packed, and one would assume caught, in Oregon. It’s tested low in mercury, the cans are bpa-free, claims to be turtle safe and dolphin safe and is 6 rather than 5 ounces.
Excellent, oily and rich with good flavor and texture
This brand has a bpa-free can, it’s packed and one can assume caught, in Thailand. It’s tested and claims to be the lowest in mercury. It claims to be turtle safe and dophin safe.
This pole and line caught tuna claims to be dolphin safe and is processed and packed, and one would assume caught, in Thailand. I mistakenly purchased salt free, but I seasoned it with salt.
A bit tinny flavor
CONCLUSION The American Tuna was really the most delicious. In a tuna salad will it make a difference? Maybe a little, but more likely in other dishes like a Salad Niçoise. Meanwhile you can often purchase fresh fish, even albacore, at the same or less than the price of canned fish. So I'd only recommend buying canned tuna if you really prefer it or for the convenience factor. Which canned tuna do you buy, and why? Leave a comment and let me know!
Disclaimer: I was provided as of the Safe Catch tuna and purchased the other brands for the purposes of this review. I was not compensated monetarily for this or any other post.
I made these awesome cookies for a party. Super simple to make and so delicious. I love the combination of sweet and salty, chewy and crunchy and of course, chocolate. Never too much chocolate! In fact, I think I'll drizzle these with dark chocolate next time...
I'm also thinking you can vary these with other candy bars - as long as you cut the into thin strips that will fit along the middle of the dough, you're golden.
150 g butter 150 g sugar 225 g flour 3 tbsp golden syrup 3 tbsp cocoa powder 1,5 tsp baking powder 1,5 tsp vanilla sugar (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
3 Snickers bars, each cut into three thin slices, length-wise 1 egg handful of salty peanuts, coarsely chopped
Cream the butter and sugar. Add flour, syrup, cocoa powder, baking powder and vanilla. Mix into a nicely uniform dough - I use my Kitchen-Aid for this.
Shape two long, thin rolls of dough and place on a baking sheet. Score both down the middle. In this score, insert the thin planks of Snickers, and pinch slightly so that the rolls hold together.
Brush with eggwash and sprinkle with lots of salty peanuts.
Bake at 175°C for 10-12 minutes. Let the cookies cool slightly before cutting them at an angle, then let them cool completely before you attempt to move them. (Or eat them.)
Nothing is more disappointing than a soggy french fry. There are lots of things I don’t just like crispy but extra crispy. Toast, onion rings, pizza crust, potato chips, breaded cutlets, pie crust, streusel. I could go on and on. And is there anything better than the crispy edges of a roast? I’m the one who wants a rare slice from the middle and a crusty slice from the end of the roast—beef, pork or lamb.
There are lots of ingredients for making food crispy and many of them contain gluten, and one of them is naturally gluten free, cream of rice. Cream of rice is finely ground rice that cooks very quickly. It can be used as a hot cereal but also in recipes like this one for baked rice custard that I plan on experimenting with shortly. When used in meatballs it absorbs moisture but also helps to create a lovely crisp texture to the surface of the meatballs. I like beef meatballs to be delicate and tender made light with ricotta or moist bread crumbs, but lamb meatballs are really good with a bit of a crust.
I have used black pepper, cumin, paprika and cinnamon to season these meatballs, but you could change up the spices if you prefer using fresh mint or garlic, or swapping chili powder in place of paprika. You could leave out the cumin and cinammon, I added them because lamb is strong flavored and pairs well with hot, sweet and smoky spices. The meatballs are great as an appetizer, served with toothpicks but also with rice, orzo or pilaf. You can also make them bigger if you like, you’ll just need to broil them a bit longer.
Lamb Meatballs
Serves 4
1 pound ground lamb, 80% lean
1/4 cup finely chopped white or yellow onion
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon sweet or smoked paprika
1/4 cup cream of rice
1 egg
Mix all the ingredients gently with your hands. The meatball mixture will be wet but will firm up. Refrigerate the mxiure for at least 30 minutes. Using a teaspoon scoop the mixture and roll into meatballs and place on a foil lined broiling pan. Broil meatballs for 6 minutes. Serve with tahini sauce, garlic yogurt sauce or tomato sauce.
Just wanted to let everyone know that I’ll be on vacation this week, so you'll have to rely on re-runs for your Food Wishes fix. I'm looking forward to a short, but relaxing break, where I do as little as humanly possible. We’ll continue to publish your comments and questions, but I won’t be around to respond to the small fraction I usually do. That means, as usual, you’ll have to rely on each others expertise. That should work out just fine. Thank you for understanding, and we’ll see you next week! .
This recipe is a real oldie. I've had it for ages and my mom often made it when I grew up - I think she got it from a neighbor when Philadelphia cream cheese was first introduced to Sweden. I've actually blogged about it before, but considering that was NINE years ago I think it's fine to do a re-post. I recently made it again, and inspired by a very similar-tasting paleta I had in Copenhagen last summer at Hija de Sanchez I decided to top the whole thing with a drizzled Dulce de Leche and some raspberries. Delicious.
Frozen Cheesecake with Dulce de Leche drizzle serves 12
200 gram cream cheese 3 eggs, separated into yolks and whites 200 ml sugar 300 ml heavy cream 1 tbsp vanilla sugar finely grated peel of one big lemon
150 g digestive biscuits 50 g butter, melted
Use a springform pan. Blitz the digestive biscuits in a food processor. Add in the melted butter. Press this firmly into the base of your pan. Place in the fridge while you proceed.
Cream the cheese, egg yolks and the sugar with the lemon peel. Beat the cream until it forms stiff peaks. Carefully blend with the cheese cream. Beat the egg whites until stiff, and fold those in too. Pour carefully on top of the crust in the pan. Put in the freezer for at least six hours or overnight. On the day of serving, take it out and remove it from the tin - you might need to carefully run some hot water on the outside. Place on a serving plate and drizzle with dulce de leche.
Take out about twenty minutes before you want to eat and top with the berries. This keeps well in the freezer (but better without the fruit).
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