Pickles!

My love of food and my love of writing have long been overlooked!

i return to my blog... considering no one will pay me to write anything :)

Have you ever heard of McClures Pickles?

I love pickles. something I have in common with the Duggars. I mean, i love them! But those yellowed grocery store jared pickles fail me. There is no crunch, there is no tang, there is no snap to the pickle. They are spongy, wet, and often unappetizing. I think the whole world would love pickles if they could taste an amazing pickle.

I was watching my favorite channel: The Food Network (no surprise there) and they have a show called The Best Thing I Ever Ate... snack attack! Ted Allen talked about his love of a McClure pickle, and they have been featured in BonAppetit Magazine, one of my favorite subscriptions. So... I was interested.

I have recently discovered that you can order many of your favorite foods from other cities over the internet. I discovered it with Berger Cookies, which deserve their own blog post, but back to pickles. The McClure family only sell their pickles by the case at $120 a case. Thats a little out of my grocery budget. but Market Hall Foods sells them by the jar for $12.50

I am so excited about trying my pickles... I just have to wait for them to arrive.

Free Coffee

Free coffee with an iPhone app! Best Day ever!

Comfort Food Round 2

Chris likes to find random videos online and play them for me to try and make me smile. I am not very good at navigating you tube and Chris has much more fun finding the best videos than I do.

He played this one for me and I can’t get the song out of my head!

On the poll, no one voted for chocolate cake. I was surprised since I always thought people loved chocolate cake. I am not a big cake fan, or really a very big fan of sweet foods altogether, a savory dish is more my style of comfort food. I could not stop thinking about it though, is chocolate cake no longer a comfort food? I decided to turn to the queen of comfort, Mama Deen.

I chose to make Paula Deen’s Mississippi Mud Cake. I don’t normally bake and the idea of exact measurements was frightening. After a late night trip to the store, and then sending Chris for one more ingredient, I finally managed to concoct the extreme, rich, sweet comforting cake. If you don’t find chocolate cake comforting, you have to try this recipe.

Recipe courtesy of Miss Paula Deen
Serves: 12 to 16 servings

Ingredients:
2 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 stick unsalted butter
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup cocoa
1/4 cup water
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup buttermilk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 bag miniature marshmallows

Icing:
1 stick unsalted butter, softened
3 tablespoons cocoa
6 tablespoons milk
1 (1-pound) box confectioners' sugar
1 cup chopped pecans or walnuts
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease and flour a 13 by 9-inch baking pan.
Combine the sugar, salt, and flour in a large mixing bowl. Bring the butter, oil, cocoa, and 1/4 cup water to a boil in a saucepan. Add to the flour mixture.
Beat together the eggs, baking soda, buttermilk, and vanilla. Add to the chocolate mixture, mix well, and pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 30 minutes.
While the cake is baking, make the icing by melting the butter in the cocoa and milk over low heat. Bring the mixture to a boil, then remove from the heat. Stir in the confectioners' sugar. Slowly mix in the nuts and the vanilla. Take the cake from the oven, and when it cools a bit cover it with miniature marshmallows. Pour the warm icing over the cake and the marshmallows. Cool the cake before serving.

Here is the cake portion in the oven, without a mixer I was nervous about the lumps you see in the batter.

While the cake was baking I made the icing, oh my! A stick of butter and a pound of powdered sugar later I had an amazing, fudgelike syrup, check it out!
Here you can see the marshmallow layer. I tucked in a layer of mini marshmallows and then put it under the broiler for 30-45 seconds to puff up the marshmallow and make it nice and soft. It turned out really nice.

Here are our plates of midnight comfort food, with the only appropriate drink; milk.

Wedding Website

I have been working on our wedding website and it isn't finished yet but here is what I've come up with. I'm not sure of the exact address but here is a link. Sign our Guest Book so we feel loved!

Wedding Website

Thanks to the knot!

Comfort Food

Comfort food has always been an interest to me; Food that provides more than just physical nourishment but emotional as well. Comfort food can be different things to different people, particularly from different parts of the country. In the North East where I grew up it was hearty vegetable soup that my mom spent all day making so the smells soaked into the whole house. In the South East where I live now, there is more bacon and Macaroni & Cheese. Chris is from the Midwest and he loves cabbage wrapped in pastry or homemade pasta with cream sauce. For the country as whole we think of Thanksgiving turkey, stuffing, and gravy. How can so many different types of food give people such similar emotional satisfaction?

I decided to try to make some comfort food of my own after the results of the poll were in. Chris and I were talking and I asked if he liked Chicken Pot Pie. His eyes lit up. I have never been a fan of Chicken Pot Pie but I definitely think of it as a comfort food. Creamy sauce, juicy mild flavored meat, fluffy pastry, vegetables… it sounds comforting. After I decided I would try the pot pie I was on a search for a recipe. Often things non-acidic are described as comfort food, maybe because they don’t upset our stomachs. The problem for me is that they often are full of heavy cream and bad fats. (Maybe I’ll write the next blog about the types of fats and my passion against them being named “fat”)

I changed Cooking Light’s recipe a little based on what I had at the house and 

what we like. Here’s what I got, approximately of course.

Chicken Pot Pie
6 servings (serving size: 1 1/2 cups)
Ingredients
· 1 tablespoon butter
· 1/4 cup chopped yellow onion
· 1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
· 1 1/2 cups refrigerated diced potatoes with onions (such as Simply Potatoes)
· 1/3 cup Pino Grigio
· 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
· 1 (14-ounce) can fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
· 2 cups chopped chicken breast
· 3 cups mixed vegetables (green beans, lima beans, corn, carrots, mushroom, broccoli)
· 1/4 teaspoon salt
· 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
· 1 1/2 tablespoons cornstarch· 2 tablespoons water
· 2/3 cup half-and-half· Cooking spray
· 2 ½ cups low-fat baking mix (such as Bisquick Heart Smart)
· 1 cup fat-free milk
· 2 large egg whites, lightly beaten

Preparation
Preheat oven to 425°.
Melt butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and thyme; sauté. Add potatoes; sauté. Add wine; cook 1 minute. Stir in mustard and broth; bring to a boil. Cook 4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in chicken, mixed vegetables, salt, and pepper; cook 1 minute. Combine cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water in a small bowl, stirring with a whisk. Add cornstarch mixture and half-and-half to pan. Reduce heat, and simmer 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Spoon mixture into a 13 x 9-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray.

Lightly spoon baking mix into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine baking mix, milk, and egg in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk. Spoon batter over chicken mixture; spread evenly to cover. Bake at 425° for 20 minutes or until topping is golden and filling is bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 348 (24% from fat)
Fat: 9.2g (sat 4.1g,mono 2.2g,poly 0.9g)
Protein: 23.5gCarbohydrate: 43.3g
Fiber: 4.4g
Cholesterol: 55mg
Iron: 3.1mg
Sodium: 634mg

Calcium: 131mg

It was a little messy in the kitchen since I had to cook the chicken in one pan, cook the filling in one pot, mix the bread in one bowl, combine the corn starch in another bowl, and chop everything on my small counter. Once it all made it into my 9 x 13 though it looked pretty. The saucy filling was bubbling up the sides of the pan topped with a crown of fluffy bread.
Normally I cook for just Chris and myself but I had a special opportunity last night, I got to send some pot pie over to my neighbors, Ray & Kari. I don’t like to give out food I haven’t tried yet or even more uncomfortable; a new recipe. There was no other way though. I scooped some out and ran next door. As I was running out the door Chris called through a mouth of food that I didn’t need to be nervous, it tasted very good.

We ate our big bowls full of moist flavorful chicken, creamy broth, vegetables that still had their texture, and a thick layer of bread to soak it all up. The immediate urge to nap afterward was the comfort part kicking in. We left the dishes and lay down on the couch to soak in the warm full comfort of a hearty dish. If you wanted to try the pot pie I might suggest a little less bread on the top and trying a deeper dish, the 9 X 13 made a nice presentation but I wished the pie were a little thicker.

Thanks for all your input about your favorite comfort foods!

Wedding Cakes

As I am planning the wedding many things strike me but today; cakes. Why do we have cakes at weddings?

It seems to me that the protestant wedding is the most commercialized and lacking in true meaning. I look at Indian weddings where it is truly a celebration. The Jewish custom of the chuppah or breaking the glass. I am a little jealous. Chris and I have chosen a non-traditional wedding because the traditions seem empty.

Cake is one of those things for me, it’s tradition, but why?

 Research Links: One Two

This is what I found out:

The breaking of the cake or loaf of bread by the groom over the bride’s head symbolizing the breaking of her virginity and his dominance over her. (Absolutely not!)

 

It could have been a stack of sweet buns the couple tried to kiss over, and if they could it meant lots of children. (Eek! Not doing that one.)

 

Then there is the Bride Pie, which could simply have been a meat pie with a glass ring baked inside that single ladies would try to find to symbolize the next one getting married. (This one at least recognizes the bride is the center of the event but meat pies aren’t our thing)

 

Then the plum cake, which would have been literally sugar with icing, is an option but the rich simply used these to show off to their guests since sugar was so expensive. (Not the kind of meaningful tradition I was looking for)

My search didn’t really come up with anything I want to do at my wedding. 

I know my mom is a little disappointed. She has saved a small green figurine from her wedding cake; she had two of them hidden behind a pillar or something. She has put this figurine on every cake I have ever eaten. She calls him “the little green man” and she was certain he would go on my wedding cake. Besides that I am sure this figurine is full of lead and has poisoned every birthday cake of my life, he has not stood the test of time. He is a little faded and beat up. I want the little green man to make an appearance at my wedding festivities but I don’t want a cake. Personally, I don’t even really like eating cake.

I came up with a solution!

Freed’s Bakery in Las Vegas sells cupcakes. Bachelorette themed cupcakes. Now, I don’t think I can post the link because there is a waiver button about being over 18 to see the picture... If you dare check out what the little green man can stand behind now! It's a far cry from my 8 year old barbie cake. 

http://www.freedsbakery.com/las-vegas-bachelor-bachelorette

Pat's & Geno's

My trip to MD also became a trip to Philly to see Chris’ friend Andrew & his finance Melanie. I have been to Philadelphia on field trips to see a big broken bell and things like that but I’ve not been to hang out before. Melanie had to work during the day so Andrew was our tour guide. We got to see the Rocky stairs, although I’ve never seen Rocky and I thought Andrew might stop the tour right there to go watch the movie. We saw Love Park, boathouse row, and this cool junk garden.

The big tourist attraction however was Pat’s & Geno’s. Andrew told us we needed to try one of each to decide which one we liked better. Andrew even played along and wouldn’t tell us his favorite until we had decided.

We went to Pat’s first. It was busy and I knew there is a specific way to order a Philly Cheese Steak and I didn’t want to mess it up. We told Andrew what we wanted and he ordered, seemed like the best way. We then walked across the craziest intersection to Geno’s. Andrew ordered us the same thing we ordered at Pat’s. We grabbed a table covered in photos of famous people and stealthily unwrapped the Pat’s sub so no one at Geno’s could see.

First I tried Pat’s. Then I tried Geno’s. It was a really difficult decision. I had to try them both a few times before I decided.

Pat’s was pretty greasy, in fact some dripped onto my foot as we walked across the street. The meat was very tender. The bread was crunchy. I couldn’t really taste our provolone because of the slippery meat.

Geno’s wasn’t very greasy. The meat was tougher. The bread was soft. The provolone was easier to taste without as much liquid.

Chris, Andrew and I had a unanimous decision; Geno’s.

Our friend Jeff who lives in Orlando but it from Philly was appalled at our decision. He says that Geno’s is for the tourists and Pat’s is for the true Philadelphians. Maybe I’m just a tourist who doesn’t know a good cheese steak from a bad cheese steak but I do know this; that was the best lunch I’ve had in a long time.