pretty excited about a ‘cookbook’ feature in A-LINE, a new citybeat women’s magazine!

make your own cinco de mayo party with fish tacos and mexican street corn salad!

it is quite an interesting idea to me, this cookbook thing. you know i am not all that great about tracking exactly what i do when i’m cooking, and i like to change it up! but, it was fun to get practice in paying extra close attention when cooking up this meal… might be something i could get into!

with a freezer full of brown bananers, we went looking for a way to use em up!

cooked the bananas in butter and sugar and a touch of cinnamon- on the stovetop and layered them with cubed bread and golden raisins in a casserole. poured a custard (4 eggs with 3 TBSP. and 2 c. heavy cream + vanilla) to cover the bread. let it sit for a bit and baked.

whipped up a frantic salty caramel this morning- to send it through the roof! the mornings before brunch are interesting, looking up from a hopeful caramel project to see folks lining up outside a half hour before we open to try to get a table in the first go-round. adds to the adrenaline of getting the place open in the morning… the caramel: sugar browned on the stove until melted, then whisked in butter and cream until golden. gave it a shake of salt and called it our second to last brunch! whooooo!

guys. you go SO crazy for this and it is SO easy.
go to the store and buy this:

follow the instructions on the back! i make a graham crust that’s about 1 1/2 the normal crust- i like it thicker. whisk together the lime juice, sweetened condensed milk and egg yolks. pour into the crust and bake 15 minutes. chill and serve with sweet, whipped cream.

even timmy could do it!

we have had this recipe saved in our “favorites” file since very early on, but didn’t give it a try until this week! pork ‘country style’ ribs slow cooked in a poblano/tomatillo/corn stew with a cheddar cornbread topping that melts away… goooooo.

like a mexican cassoulet? would like to try again with beans and chorizo?…

i LOVED these. they were my first enchiladas, and i will be playing around with this concept in the future!

we rolled the corn tortillas full of a roasted butternut squash/corn/cheese mixture. then topped them with a spicy tomato/green chile sauce and baked them with more cheese…

for the squash filling:
cut the squash in half and roasted it (cut side down) til soft. let it cool a bit, scooped out the seeds, then scooped the flesh from the skin. while roasting: chopped onions, poblanos, jalapenos, etc. and sauteed them all together. adding corn kernels at the end. mashed this goodness up with the squash and seasoned it. that’s the filling!

i warmed the corn tortillas over a nonstick pan, getting them soft and easy to roll.. i did two at a time, and this seemed like a good speed- i would throw two tortillas on the pan, turn around and stuff the two on the table. a scoop of the squash filling and cheese (we used a pepperjack/mozzarella blend), rolled it all up and placed it seam side down in a casserole. then on to the next two.
(this actually moves pretty fast and it doesn’t have to look amazing, you are going to pour sauce and more cheese on the tortillas, so just keep moving!)

for the sauce:
onions, more poblanos, jalapenos etc. cooked on the stove, then pureed with some tomatoes, green chiles and a little of the adobo sauce from a can of chipotles. added some veggie stock to that (about equal parts liquid to veggies) and cooked everything down on the stove until it is saucy looking and full of flavor. poured the sauce on the enchiladas, covered in more cheese and baked about 20 minutes.

the sweetness of the squash, the texture of the corn kernels and the spicy sauce. yes. again.

using beets instead of carrots in a morning muffin is a GOOD IDEA!

let’s refresh- 2 c. ap flour, 1 1/4 c. sugar, 2 tsp. cinnamon, 2 tsp. baking soda, a pinch of salt, 2-3 c. shredded beets, 1 apple shredded, 1 c. canola oil, 3 eggs, 2 tsp. vanilla, 1 c. walnuts, lots of raisins, goldens and craisins.

i am seriously contemplating hitting this jamming and jellying thing hard this summer! i’ve wanted to try a sweet tomato jam for a minute and when we started thinking bacon and leek bread pudding for breakfast, i thought this could be the perfect accompaniment! bringing some acid to that big brick of dense bread/cheese/egg…

we buy these great big cans of tomatoes- whole romas with basil. i like them and think they bring good tomato flavor when it’s not fresh season… i think the can is 6 pounds and 7 ounces. or 103 ounces. good luck making this recipe small!

in a big pot, the huge can of tomatoes, with the juices and basil. 8 cups of distilled white vinegar along with a splash of sherry vinegar. 3 cups of sugar. some fresh thyme and paprika and a few spoonfuls of vanilla. let it all cook together on the stovetop for a while. breaking up the tomatoes and cooking off a little vinegar.. after it had boiled a bit, i added the juice of a lemon (just to be sure it would gel a bit) and let it chill.

pretty fun! it definitely brings acid and sweet.. if i couldn’t see the beautiful red color, i might wonder if this was tomato at all! i think i like it! next time sweet and SPICY! i’m going to add some jalapenos…

remember when we did that red wine poached pear? i’ve been thinking about doing a lighter, springtime version! so, this one with white wine and goodness!

peeled 12 pears (leaving the stems) and put them in a large pot with 4 cups of sugar, 6 cups of cheap white wine, 4 cups of water, the zest and juice of: 1 huge grapefruit, 4 oranges and 6 lemons. with a few stars of anise and sticks of cinnamon for depth. simmered everything together to dissolve the sugar and tenderize the pears and get it all together. cooled everything overnight and added a little vanilla for balance.

cut the pears in half and used a small spoon to remove the seeds. placed on our honey greek yogurt with some of that good juice and NUTS!

a super juicy, tender pear with the creamy, rich yogurt: dessert for breakfast!

since we’re not sitting around with the saucy spoon push or a squeeze bottle or eye dropper or whatever the cool kids are doing to make sauce look nice, we end up with our cakes having a big blob on them.
oh, well.

i got new equipment in order to make these and i think it is just in the nick of time! a box grater! (it’s the little things..)

grated 5 zucchini squashes on the big hole side- straight into a big colander. added a few shallots, chopped fine, and a good sprinkle of salt, pepper and CRP. then let it all sit and get juicy, straining itself.

after a while, i used my hands to push any extra liquid out of the mix. moved it all to a bowl and added a cup of fine grated romano cheese (i bought it this way, didn’t grate it, ha!) and a cup of breadcrumbs and 2 beaten up eggs. mixed all that together. this is the fritter or cake batter! heat up a bit of oil and fry away!

we gave it a sort of piquillo, thyme aioli… i liked it on it’s own- the zucchini is juicy and tender, the shallots pungent, with the CRP giving heat!

stuffed a big juicy red bell pepper with a sort of paella…

cooked onions, poblanos and spanish chorizo. then peas and toasted, slivered almonds. then some partially steamed rice. poured chicken stock over, letting things reduce and get together slowly.
cored the peppers and roasted them for just about 5 minutes, so they would be a little tender.

stuffed them full of the ‘paella’ and set it on a scoop of the goods, you know, to stabalize it! sprinkled a few small diced pieces of manchego on top- (i know the picture doesn’t quite look that way– i only have pictures of my lunch!)

delish! this falls in the top ten of things we’ve made! and i’ve eaten recently! YES!

juicy, sweet red pepper, the paprika heavy sausage, crisp peas and crunchy almonds! and the rice was nice and tender and full of flavor… we’re talking all my flaves on this one…