My Bit of Earth

Sweet Husband Speaks: Bad-Ass Biscuits and Gravy

Every so often Sweet Husband says, "I should start a breakfast blog."  I always agree wholeheartedly.  The man is one-hundred percent in charge of weekend breakfasts at our house, and is very good at experimenting and perfecting recipes until they're perfect.  (I've resigned myself to being the principal taste-tester...it's a rough job!)  We've even gotten so far as to give this hypothetical blog a name, "The Bad-Ass Breakfast Blog". 

But, alas, Sweet Husband does not necessarily enjoy blogging on a regular schedule, and so the BABB has not been realized.  Meanwhile, yesterday morning--after a particularly nice round of biscuits and gravy--I said, "I'm going to blog about this recipe, it's awesome."

S.H.: "You know, maybe I should get co-author rights on your blog?"

Me: "Um, if you want to be a co-author, you have to write mister."

S.H.: "Well, I could do that...every once in awhile."

Now how could I turn that down?  Especially when he was plying me with gravy?

Without further ado....I give you Sweet Husband!

*****

My favorite type of food is breakfast food, so over the years I've spent time perfecting it. After many attempts at biscuits, I finally stumbled on to this recipe.  My reason for settling on this recipe over others is the quick and simple procedure for mixing in the fat.  Other recipes want you to cut the fat in with your fingers without getting it too hot.  This never seems to work for me--I always end up with big clumps of fat, or over working the mixture to the point that my biscuits don't rise.  This recipe solves that problem by having you melt the butter and pour it into cold buttermilk, stirring to break it up into tiny pieces.  This is freaking genius!

 

So, now I have what I consider to be the perfect biscuits.  But what about toppings?

Yes, there are jams and jellies, but everyone knows that the ultimate biscuit topping is gravy.

Mmmm gravy....Some call it "food of the gods".   Some give it it's own food group.  Whatever you want to call it, it's amazing.  

My gravy is very simple--no real measuring, so these are just estimates.  This weekend it went as follows:

• 1/2 pound of hot Italian sausage
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 heaping tablespoons of flour
• 1 quart of milk
• 1 tablespoon Herbs de Provence
• Salt and pepper

I start by cooking my sausage in a skillet until it's cooked through, and then I break it up into small pieces.  Next, I pour in the olive oil.  (I add extra fat because the sausage I use is very lean.  If you have a lot of grease in the pan skip this step.)  Next, I add a couple of heaping tablespoons of flour into the pan, and stir it all together until all of the oil is absorbed and the sausage is coated in the flour/oil mixture.  At this point the pan should look pretty dry, and you shouldn't see any freestanding oil. 

Let that cook for a minute or two, then pour in the milk.  Keep the pan over medium heat, and stir constantly until the gravy starts to thicken and bubble.  If it doesn't seem thick enough let it cook down a little, and remember that it will thicken as it cools as well.  

Once it's thick enough, you can start adding your seasonings.  I used about a tablespoon of Herbs de Provence and a teaspoon of salt or more.  Measuring is for baking not making gravy! If you're using a milder sausage you might want to put in some pepper too.  

Now break out those fresh biscuits and slather them in some bad-ass gravy!

 

The Kitchen Reader: What We Eat When We Eat Alone

This month's Kitchen Reader book was What We Eat When We Eat Alone: Stories and 100 Recipes.  (If the title sounds familiar, I read a review of this book several months ago, and ended up testing the chocolate mousse recipe--divine, I tell you!)

The book is essentially a couple of foodies asking people "What do you eat when you're alone?  When you don't have to think of anyone else?  When your only limitation is what's in your cupboard?"

Some of the answers are a little bizarre--oyster crackers crumbled in milk?  avocado soft tacos?--but that's what makes the book interesting.  Because often it was stuff that I hadn't thought about before, but, now that I have, sounds really yummy.  (Fried potatoes with yogurt sauce anyone?)  I really want to try at least 90% of the recipes in this book.

And, of course, it got me thinking about what I eat when I eat alone.  

Like many of the people in the book my go-to, just-for-me recipe is both a little indulgent and a little bit utilitarian--i.e. made from ingredients that I almost always have on-hand.

What I like to do is make up a single serving of pasta.  When the pasta is almost done, I brown some butter in a sauce pan, throwing in some herb-y goodness if I've got it.  (Thyme, sage, rosemary...really, just whatever.)  Once the butter is brown, I add a splash of balsamic vinegar.  Then I drain the pasta and toss it in the butter mixture for a few seconds, just to coat it.  For toppings, again, it's just whatever's on hand--Parmesan cheese, capers, olives, a bit of preserved lemon....delicious!

Give me some more ideas, guys--what do you eat when you eat alone?

Ladies and Gentleman, May I have your attention puh-lease!

(Yeah, sorry about that...couldn't help myself....)

This, for those of you who have not grown up in the Eastern European-immigrant-influenced Midwest, is a bierock--a meat and cabbage filled pocket pastry.

Despite the fact that I did actually grow-up in the Eastern European-immigrant-influenced Midwest, I had never tried one until a few weeks ago when we ate lunch with Nice Grandma at The Friendship House.  (If you ever find yourself in Wamego, Kansas, it is--almost literally--the only place to go.)  It was such a tasty little bite that Sweet Husband and I decided to try to make some of our own.

We secured Nice Friend's grandmother's recipe, which was perfect in all respects but two:

1. The filling to dough ratio.  We started with less meat than recommended (about 1 1/2 pounds, instead of 2 pounds), and still had about 3 cups of filing leftover.  Not a big deal, as I think it will mix in well with rice or pasta, but something to consider.
2. The seasoning.  Nice Friend warned us that bierocks are traditionally a bit bland.  We subbed 1/2 a pound of hamburger for apple sausage, added about three fistfuls of dried sage and thyme, and two dried chili peppers.  Although that was enough to make them acceptable, I certainly wouldn't call them overly flavorful either.  Something about the dough is just like kryptonite to the spices. But if you have your bierocks with mustard or--as The Friendship House serves them--with horseradish sauce, all will be well.

The recipe makes about 2 dozen, and you can freeze whatever you can't eat in a few days.  I'm looking forward to the stash of easy to grab lunches!  

Also, although they wouldn't be "traditional", you could really fill these with about anything, as long as it's not too liquid-y or greasy.  Maybe sun-dried tomatoes, mozzarella, and spicy sausage for something more Italian?  Lamb and feta to go a little Greek?  Possibilities, possibilities!  Here's the basic recipe:

 

Bierocks

Dough

• 2 pkgs yeast
• 1/2 cup warm water
• 1/2 tsp sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 1/4 cups milk
• 1/2 cup butter
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 5-6 cups flour+

Dissolve the yeast in the water with the 1/2 tsp sugar and let sit until foamy.  Add eggs, milk, salt, sugar, and butter.  Add flour to make a soft, but not sticky dough.  Cover and let rise for 45 min. to 1 hour.  Knead down and let rise again.  Roll dough out to 1/4 inch thick, and cut into 6-inch squares.

Filling

• 2 lbs ground beef (As noted, we used 1lb ground beef and 1/2 lb sausage--and next time I might even up the ratio of sausage)
• 1 medium onion (chopped)
• 3-4 lbs shredded cabbage
• salt, pepper (and whatever other seasonings you want to add--it's really not possible to over-season these)

Cook ground beef with half of onion.  Cook cabbage with the other half of the onion (until it's translucent).  (Our meat was very lean, so there wasn't a lot of fat to drain off, but you'll want the filing to be fairly dry, so if either the cabbage or the beef is liquid-y at all, you'll need to drain it well.)  Add everything together and cook for 5 more minutes.

Assembly

Put enough filling on each square so that you can still pinch the corners together.  (I found 2-3 heaping tablespoons worked well.)  Put the pinched side down on a greased cookie sheet or parchment paper.  (Although not in the original recipe, we brushed the tops with butter to make them nice and brown.)  Bake at 400 degrees for about 15-20 minutes, or until browned.  

Eat a few while they're warm and delicious, then wrap the rest in foil and freeze for later noms!

With Love, From Julia

Awhile back--maybe a year ago--Sweet Husband went on a quest to learn to properly poach eggs.  Through trial and error, he found the best method was to crack the eggs into coffee cups and slowly lower them into simmering vinegar-water.  The coffee cup and the vinegar together take care of one of the biggest problems in poaching eggs--the whites separate into a tentacle-y creature, instead of forming a nice, round pocket.

That has been the established method of egg poaching in our house, until last weekend.  

I was reading Julia's Kitchen Wisdom--which is like the cliff notes version of Mastering the Art--when I came upon a trick Sweet Husband had not discovered in his research.  

Using a push pin, punch a hole in the bottom of the egg's shell.  Then gently boil the egg (with the shell still on) for ten seconds.  Using tongs, pull the eggs from the water, then carefully crack the egg back into the water and poach as normal.  That little ten second dip is just enough to keep the egg in its shape.  (And you can use your coffee cups for coffee!)

My Mama's Deviled Eggs

At Thanksgiving, I finally begged and pleaded enough that Nice Mama showed me how she makes deviled eggs (and stuffing too, but we'll get to that later).  While it is entirely possible that this recipe is fairly standard, they are just the kind of deviled eggs that I love, so it was important to me to get down exactly what she puts into them.  

Of course, I can't make any recipe without doing something to it--even my own mother's apparently--so when experimenting at home I had to add just a teensy squeeze of hot sauce.  (I use the kind with the rooster on the bottle.)  

Mmm...deviled eggy perfection!

My Mama's Deviled Eggs

• 6 hard boiled eggs, peeled
• About 2 heaping Tablespoons mayo
• About 2 squirts of plain yellow mustard
• About 3 Tablespoons dill relish
• 1 squirt of "rooster" hot sauce
• salt and pepper
• paprika or chili powder

Cut the peeled eggs in half and deposit the yolks in a large mixing bowl.  Add about half the mayo and relish, then add the mustard and hot sauce. Mash everything together, and see how it looks.  The goal is to have everything well incorporated, but still a little chunky.  Add more mayo and relish as needed to get the right consistency.  Season with salt and pepper to taste, then scoop the yolk mixture back into the whites.  While it's not mandatory, they'll taste much better if you refrigerate for a few hours before eating.  

It is mandatory, however, that you sprinkle them with paprika and/or chili powder prior to serving--it really does make them so much prettier!

Quite Possibly the Perfect Buche de Noel

I can't let the year slip out without a post about this guy, but I promise this will be my last Christmas-y post.  (Excluding a little Christmas present knitting, but that doesn't count right? Right!)

Through the whole month of December I went back and forth about whether to make a Buche de Noel (that's a Christmas Yule Log cake, in English, but it's so much more fun to say it in French).  Our local bakery makes them, but they're kind of expensive...which is fair because they can be a big pain to make yourself.

'Round about December 22nd though, I found this recipe promising an "easy yule log".  It looked simple enough, so I finally made up my mind to give it a go.

Seriously--easiest buche ever!  It took me less than an hour (excluding cooling time, of course) to put it all together, and it tasted wonderful!  I'm so excited to find a buche that doesn't take four hours and four thousand ingredients--yay, yay, yay!

Have a happy, safe New Year everyone!

*****

Bûche de Noël (Slightly modified from Easy French Food)

• 4 eggs (these have to be at room temperature)
• 2/3 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup cake flour (sifted before measuring)
• 2 Tablespoons Grand Marnier or other flavoring

Butter a 10 X 15 inch jelly roll pan. Line with parchment paper and butter that as well. Preheat oven to 400° F.

In a mixer beat the eggs until they are very thick and light colored (this takes about 7 minutes). Continue beating and add the sugar in 1 tablespoon at a time, allowing each spoonful to mix in before continuing with the next. Beat in the vanilla as well.

Stop the mixer and sift 1/2 cup cake flour on top of the batter. Using a spatula, gently stir the flour into the batter. Sift the final 1/2 cup flour on top and then very gently fold this into the batter. You want to stop as soon as all the flour is integrated into the batter. This will give you a lovely, airy cake.

Pour and spread the batter into the prepared pan and bake for just 10 minutes. Do not overbake or the cake will be too stiff to roll without breaking.

Dust a clean dishtowel with powdered sugar.  As soon as you take the cake out of the oven, turn it out onto the towel.  Remove the parchment paper and allow the cake to cool for a couple of minutes. Douse with Grand Marnier or other flavoring.  While it is still warm, roll the cake up from one of its short ends with the dishtowel inside (this way the cake gets used to being rolled and won't tear when you fill it and roll it back up). Allow the cake to cool completely.

Unroll the cake, and spread about 1/2 of the chocolate buttercream (recipe below) evenly on top.  (This recipe really does make enough icing, so don't be scared to use too much!) Carefully roll the cake back up and neatly place on your serving dish.

Optional: To enhance the yule log effect, cut off the ends at an angle and use these to create stubs on the log (they're supposed to look like cut off branches), attaching them with some buttercream.

Frost the outside of the log and, using a fork, trace irregular lines in the frosting to give it a woody effect. Cover the cake carefully with plastic wrap and allow it to "age" in the refrigerator for several hours.

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

• 1/2 cup soft unsalted butter
• 3 1/4 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/4 cup buttermilk 
• A little more Grand Marnier or other flavoring

Whip the butter in your mixer until is is light and creamy. Sift together the sugar, cocoa and salt and add this to the butter. Beat until well mixed then add the vanilla, buttermilk, and a splash of whatever flavoring you're using. Beat until very smooth.  You may have to add a little more buttermilk to give it a spreadable consistency. This makes just the right amount of buttercream for the yule log cake recipe above.

The Kitchen Reader: Cookie Recipe Exchange Day!

For this month's Kitchen Reader, instead of reading, we're having an online cookie recipe exchange.

I have been baking up a storm this year--peanut butter balls, truffles, candied orange peels, orange shortbreads--but since I've written about all that before, how about something new?

Upon trying this recipe, Sweet Husband declared it his "perfect candy bar".  I have a feeling it's going to become standard Christmas candy in our house, which is great because it was super easy!

 

Cranberry and Nut Bark (recipe slightly modified from Real Simple)

• 12 ounces of chocolate (I used dark, but semi-sweet or even white chocolate would be good too.)
• 2 1/2 cups mixed nuts (Make sure there are some pistachios in the mix, as they'll make it pretty and green.  In fact, I probably would have used all pistachios if they weren't so spendy.)
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries (Optional, but very pretty as a red-and-green-thing in combo with the pistachios.)

Melt the chocolate in whatever way you see fit.  Real Simple recommends doing it in a double boiler setup, but I just did mine in the microwave.  (Carefully--go thirty seconds at a time and give it a really good stir in between each spin in the microwave.)

Spread the chocolate evenly on a parchment lined baking sheet that's at least 9x13.  While the chocolate is still hot, sprinkle on the nuts and cranberries.  Pat them down gently at the end to ensure good contact.

Put in the fridge until it's all set up--about 30 minutes.  Then break the chocolate into pieces and enjoy!

*******

For more cookie ideas be sure and check out these lovely Kitchen Reader blogs:

Blue Ridge Baker
Cooking for Comfort
Food.Baby by Susan
Jill's Blog
Laws of the Kitchen
Shortbread South
Someone's In The Kitchen
Spike Bakes
Tea and Scones

Eye Candy...Er, Um, Gingerbread

Just a little fun from last weekend's Lawrence Gingerbread Festival....the amount of detail in some of these is incredible, from beautiful sugar windows right down to a tree and presents tucked inside! 

The Kitchen Reader: The Warmest Room in the House

For this month's Kitchen Reader, we read The Warmest Room in the House: How the Kitchen Became the Heart of the American Home by Steve Gdula.

This book had much more breadth than depth, but it was a nice overview of how our history has shaped the food we eat and visa-versa.  It was full of little interesting factoids--for example, according to the book, salads came into vogue in the twenties and thirties when women's clothing changed (I'm picturing flapper dresses) in a way that didn't allow them to camouflage extra weight anymore.  Hamburger Helper was introduced to make something yummy out of cheap hamburger during lean economic times in the seventies.  And microwaves came about when a defense engineer accidentally melted his candy bar by getting it too close to a magnetron.  

While it got a little tedious towards the end, I did learn quite a lot.  It's not for everyone, but I think general trivia junkies and kitchen anthropologists would all really enjoy this book.

In Which I Meet the Pioneer Woman

Do you all know about the Pioneer Woman?  

Also known as Ree Drummond, she's a city girl turned rancher's wife who blogs about life in the country, food, photography, and lots else.  (If you don't know what I'm talking about, start with her Black Heels to Tractor Wheels story of how she met her husband, "the Marlboro Man"--that's how I got sucked in!)  

She recently compiled a bunch of her recipes into a book--I love bloggers-with-book-deals, it gives me hope in life--and was in Kansas City last night promoting it.  Not being able to let such a close opportunity slip by, I recruited some former co-workers who are also big PW fans, and we went over to meet the Pioneer Woman in person.

While, of course, there is only so much observation you can do in the time it takes to get your book signed, she seemed just as sweet in person as she is on her blog.  Hilarious impersonations too!  She just made me want to cancel my plans for the rest of the week and go laugh with her over coffee.

And although I've only gotten to skim through so far, the book--The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl--looks awesome.  The recipes are of the "simple-but-yummy" variety, with nice, standard ingredients that are easy to come by.  Stuff you'd have on hand on a ranch in the middle of nowhere, I suspect.  

I can guarantee we will be trying every single one of the delicious looking breakfasts!

Oh, and did I also mention she gave out cutie-cute t-shirts?  In fact, because I had two tickets for the signing, I got two of said shirts.  One for me, and one that I will give away here.  (That's me, always thinking 'bout you!)  It's an extra large (but they run pretty small), and you can see what it looks like here.  To win, just tell me why you're a Pioneer Woman fan.  I'll randomly pick someone at, oh, let's say 7 p.m. on Wednesday.

UPDATE: And the wiener--as the PW would say--chosen by Sweet-Husband-random-number-generator, is Abby.

Wine-ing in Missouri

In addition to relaxing and chasing Moe 'round the forest, we also did a little bit of wine tasting while we were in Missouri last weekend.

Now, what you have to understand about Missouri wine (and Kansas wine, too, for that matter) is that it is not California wine or Australian wine or European wine.  I'm not an expert by any means--I just like wine and like to learn what I can about it--but I think the Missouri wines are almost...wilder.  It's like they haven't had the time to get all polished and smooth like their older cousins.  Missouri used to be prime grape growing country, but prohibition wiped that out.  And since most Midwestern states kept prohibition on the books for much too long, well, there's still some catching up to do.

Also, the grapes commonly grown in Missouri are different.  The state grape of Missouri is called the "Norton", although you'll also hear "Chambourcin", "Chardonnel", "Seyval" and "Vignoles" tossed around--these are varieties the same as Merlot or Cabernet.  And just like you can tell the difference between Merlot and Cabernet, you can tell the difference between a Cabernet and a Norton.  Norton usually tastes "oakey" to me on it's own, although I really like it with food.  I love the Missouri white wines--when you a good one, it's almost apple-y, but not in a yucky sweet way.

The only thing I don't like about wine tasting in the Midwest is that sometimes you have to sort through a lot of not so good wine to find the yummy stuff.  Don't get me wrong--there are worse ways to spend a weekend--but even with good pre-planning you're likely to find at least one closed winery and a couple that are selling sugared grape juice before you get to something nice.  It makes it kind of a quest.

To that end, this trip I decided we need a rating system in order to recommend places to other people who are traveling through.  Admittedly, my criteria is not scientific.  A place with decent wines and good atmosphere is as likely to make me happy as a place with amazing wine, and so forth.  Nonetheless, here is the system I've come up with: 

1=Not really worth a stop, even if you're in the area.

2=Worth stopping through if you're already going to be in the area.

3=Worth going out of your way or making a special trip.

With all that out of the way here's (finally) a little about the wineries we visited this trip.

Bristle Ridge Vineyards, Knob Noster, Missouri, 1.  

Meh.  I wanted to like this one, I really did.  Their upper end wines were OK, but not worth the almost $20 a bottle price tag.  

Montserrat Vineyards, Knob Noster, Missouri, 1.

I think this place is in business because it's next door to Bristle Ridge.  If you stop at one, it makes a lot of sense just to pop in at the other, but we didn't like this one at all. 

Grey Bear Vineyards, Stover, Missouri, 2. 

This was in the middle of nowhere, in a fairly non-descript building.  (See the second picture from the top on the right.)  It's actually kinda just in someone's backyard.  But the inside was a fairly nice looking restaurant.  I was a little disappointed that we weren't there at dinner time, because the menu looked good.  We ended up getting a few bottles of their white wine--a "Seagrass" and a "Buckskin".  I found it interesting that, although they were making most of their wine with their own grapes, they also had a few Cabernets, which the lady said were made from Colorado grapes.

Buffalo Creek Winery, Stover, Missouri, Closed.

A wild goose chase....

Heinrichshaus Vineyards and Winery, St. James, Missouri, 3.

We actually found this winery the last time we were around St. James.  The owner is the most amazing German man who I suspect knows more about wine than I could learn in three lifetimes.  This time he was a little busier so we didn't get the entire history lesson unfortunately, but the wine was still awesome.  (Sweet Husband and I were half thinking that we had invented that part, but nope!)  And at about $10 a bottle it's a bargain, too.  Really, if you're ever within an hour of here, you need to make the trip.  (And, just as a note, Google Maps will try to route you to Highway B--Heinrich is one more road over on Highway U.)

Native Stone Vineyard, Jefferson City, Missouri, 2.

The wines were OK, but not amazing.  They also have beer.  (Sweet Husband was unimpressed.)  And lunch.  (The menu looked good, but we were, once again, too early.)

Summit Lake Winery, Hartsburg, Missouri, 2.5.

A cute little town and a winery with wines I really liked.  If we had hit this one on the way to Rock Eddy instead of on the way home (i.e. pre-Heinrich) it would have been a "3" I think.  (FYI: They also have a place in Holt's Summit, Missouri.)

Les Bourgeouis Vineyards, Rochport, Missouri, 3.

Much more a big, corporate-y vineyard, but (unlike the St. James Winery, which is similarly corporate-y) this one had really good wines.  Two beefs?  1) Their Norton, while yummy, was about $25 a bottle.  2) Most of their wines are mixed with California grapes.  For example, the Norton was 25% Merlot.  I actually thought it was great--the Merlot kind of took the edge off the Norton--but it feels like cheating.  

Other than that though, the view alone was worth the stop--we had a tasty little "picnic lunch" at their over-the-river A-frame and Wine Garden.  And, as Les Bourgeouis is about two seconds off I-70, it's right on the way to either St. Louis or Kansas City.

A Week With the Barefoot Contessa: Roasted Potato Leek Soup

And, as a finale to this week with the Contessa, Roasted Potato Leek Soup.

I halved the recipe, which made three 8 ounce jars of soup.  I was sooo rich and creamy, and the roasted leeks were heavenly!  

A Week With the Barefoot Contessa: French String Beans

Today's "Week With the Contessa" recipe is French String Beans.  

Little diversion.

Over the past few weeks I've been watching old episodes of "The French Chef", i.e. Julia Child's first cooking show.  In addition to being immensely entertaining, they're a bit of a study in food anthropology.  If you've ever watched Food Network at all, you can just sit and pick out the techniques that the modern chefs are still using.  Terribly enlightening.

But, in any event, in one of the episodes, Julia does green beans.  Other than the fact that Ina added roasted onions and peppers, the two recipes are exactly the same.  The moral?  Green beans are green beans...although, given the choice, I must admit I prefer Julia's more simple preparation.

My Very Most Favoritest Recipes

As I was trying to search my own archives for a recipe the other night (What, you think I post those all for you people?  Whatever--this is all about me being able to find things later!), I had a thought: I should put all the recipes we use often in one handy place.

The organization still probably needs work--is Pomegranate Jelly a "Winter Food"?  Or a "Holiday Food"?--so I'm not promising it's set in stone.  Heck, I'm not even promising it'll stay the same from month to month, but, at any rate, here ya go:

My Very Most Favoritest Recipes

(See also, handy link in upper right sidebar under search box.)

P.S. Mom, if you're reading this, I need your deviled eggs recipe, both to add to the list and to make--I've been craving them like crazy lately!

A Week With the Barefoot Contessa: Chicken Chili

Today's Barefoot Bloggers recipe is Ina Garten's Chicken Chili.  I halved this recipe, but then only used one large boneless, skinless chicken breast.  It made a perfect portion for two people, and although I can't say it was the most incredible, amazingest chili ever, it was pretty good and very easy to toss together.

Autumn Morning Delights

Pretty leaves and chestnuts from the farmers' market....

I had never actually seen a chestnut in its natural skin before, have you?  They're painfully prickly!

Thankfully they were just for show.  "Chestnut Charlie" was happy to give me a sample that was already peeled and roasted to delicious nutty goodness!

A Week With the Barefoot Contessa: Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars

Welcome to the latest Barefoot Bloggers concoction--A Week With the Barefoot Contessa.  That's right, there's an new Ina recipe every day this week and I'll be posting all but Wednesday's.  (Wednesday is Caramelized Butternut Squash, which I'm against as a matter of principle.  I don't believe in abusing a perfectly good squash by coating it in brown sugar....)

Today's recipe is Ina's Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars.  I thought they needed about another half cup of jelly for the middle layer (they were a little dry), but they seemed to go over well with my co-workers, so what do I know?  ;)

The Kitchen Reader: My Life in France

For this month's Kitchen Reader, I read My Life in France by Julia Child.

Completely inspirational.

The only book even vaguely about Julia Child that I had read before this was Julie and Julia.  Although I flipped through Mastering the Art of French Cooking once, I just couldn't get into it at the time.  Now that I understand what went into it and all of the history behind it, I just have to try again.  (And read her other cookbooks, and watch all the episodes of The French Chef, which I now have on reserve at the library.)

Her descriptions of all the places they lived during Paul Child's years as a diplomat were fascinating.  And the food!  This is not a book to read hungry!  Although I'm sure some of her descriptions were lifted from letters she wrote contemporaneously with the meals, the amount of detail and description is incredible.  It's almost like you're there eating with her. 

And she was just such a tenacious, brave woman.  I can't even imagine walking into a famous cooking school--and one that's not even taught in your native language, at that--as a novice like she did.  Then there was the endless recipe testing and insisting on perfection for her books.  And did I mention that she didn't even really start learning to cook until she was almost forty?  It puts a whole new perspective on being accomplished, doesn't it?  

Anyone who's interested in food at all just has to read this book!

Homemade Peanut Butter Cups

I've had these on my "to make" list forever and at last decided they would make good Halloween treaties.  The recipe, which originally came from Have Cake, Will Travel, doesn't even require turning on the stove.  I suggest a double batch, and have modified the portions below to reflect that.  I also didn't use all of the peanut butter filling mixture, but your mileage may vary!

 Peanut Butter Cups

• 24 mini cupcake liners
• 1 regular size bag semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup creamy natural peanut butter + 4 generous T to add to the melted chocolate
• 1/2 cup powdered sugar
• 1 t pure vanilla extract
• pinch fine sea salt [if your PB is already salted, it's optional to add more]

Melt the chips in your microwave, keeping a close eye on them and stirring often to make sure they don’t burn. it should take about 2 minutes. add the 4 generous T of peanut butter and stir to incorporate.

Place a heaping teaspoon of melted chocolate in each mini cupcake liner and spread it all over the place with the back of a spoon.

Place the chocolate-covered liners onto a plate, into your fridge, to let it all harden.

Meanwhile, stir together peanut butter, vanilla, salt, and sugar. 

The chocolate should be hard by now, so divide peanut butter paste into all 12 liners, pressing down gently to make sure the paste goes everywhere.

Top with heaping teaspoon of chocolate [melt it again if needed], spreading carefully so that none of the PB paste can be seen.

Chill in fridge for at least one hour, until ready to devour.

Barefoot Bloggers: Cheddar Corn Chowder and Blue Cheese Souffle

I'm a little behind on my Barefoot Bloggers this month, so today you get two for the price of one!

This month's first recipe--chosen by Jill of My Next Life--is the Contessa's Cheddar Corn Chowder.

We made this one Saturday evening after we'd been working in the yard and walking outside all day.  Although I don't know if it's truly one I'd make over and over again (I'm more a fan of blended soups), it was quick, easy, and satisfying.  (Note:  We halved the recipe, and then halved the butter and olive oil yet again--dear Ina and her fats!)

This month's second recipe--from Summer of Sexy Apartment--is Ina's Blue Cheese Souffle.  

This recipe made me feel like a cooking goddess!  The only thing I knew about souffles prior to this was that they fall and it makes you cry.  (I believe I gleaned this knowledge from 80's sit-coms.)  I fully expected mine to do the same, so I was so excited when I opened the oven to a puffy, browned, beautiful little mound.  And then--as if it were alive almost--it slowly started to lower as it cooled.  (Which, so I've read, is what's supposed to happen, so I was OK with that.)  It was the most amusing meal!  And it tasted good too!  

As we are card-carrying egg lovers in this house, I think more souffles will be in our future.