Barefoot Bloggers: Mexican Not-Chicken Soup
November 27, 2008 at 10:49 am | In Barefoot Bloggers | 5 CommentsTags: Barefoot Bloggers, soup
For our second Barefoot Bloggers recipe in November, Judy of Judy’s Gross Eats chose Mexican Chicken Soup. Great choice! We had it for dinner on Sunday night served with avocado slices and quesadillas.** We really liked it. It is very simple but very tasty. I will definitely make it again.
I did make a couple of substitutions. I used diced instead of whole tomatoes and I didn’t puree them. I also skipped the chicken (natch) and added white beans instead. Why white beans, you ask? Because white beans were first connected to the tortilla back in the days of the…blah…blah…I made a giant pot of them over the weekend and am looking for any and every use for them. The kids better examine those PB&Js closely. You never know where an errant white bean will show up.
Thanks again, !! I will definitely make this again.
**For those of you who also follow Tuesdays with Dorie, you have been privy to my dilemma over son #2’s eating habits. Well, I tried to take a cue from Jessica Seinfeld and add a little carrot puree to his quesadilla. He immediately spotted (?)/tasted(?) the offending ingredient and refused to eat anymore until he was given a “regular” quesadilla. His dad’s assurances that it was just “special cheese” fell on deaf ears. Jessica Seinfeld – 0; Colin – 2 (he also picked the chips out of the chick pea chocolate chip cookies, leaving the dough).
BB: Herb Roasted Onions? Yup!
November 13, 2008 at 6:20 am | In Barefoot Bloggers | 24 CommentsTags: Barefoot Bloggers, onions
Who in their right mind when surveying all of Ina Garten’s recipes would choose a dish of onions for the Barefoot Bloggers? Me, that’s who! I know. It kind of surprised me too. I did go through a raw onion love affair in my early twenties. During a couple of college summers, I worked at a racetrack. Every day for lunch we would eat in the trainers’ cafe. And every day I would get a turkey sandwich with red onions. One of my co-workers told me that I reminded her of an old lady. Fortunately, she never commented on what must have been some serious onion breath.
That period ended and I haven’t given onions a lot of thought since. I did, however, set some criteria for choosing a recipe — 1) easy – I know this is the time of year when people start to get busy in the kitchen with other things; 2) reasonable ingredients – time for me to spend money on toys, not truffles; and 3) a recipe I would pass over at first glance. Honestly, it had never occurred to me serve onions – just onions – as a dish.
I am crying just looking at all of these…
Happily, it all worked out for me. I really liked these. The only slight change I made was to cut down on the lemon but I never use as much as recipe calls for unless the recipe is intended to be lemon flavored. We had them with marinated portobello mushrooms and couscous. I would definitely suggest making the whole recipe. The leftovers were a nice addition to a veggie wrap the next day. My mom was over for dinner. She was extremely skeptical at first but raved about them later. My husband, not a fan of onions so much, thought I should have continued passing over this one. I disagree. If you skipped it, too, I hope you give it a try. You might be surprised.
Our next official recipe is Mexican Chicken Soup. I haven’t made it yet but plan to see a vegetarian version from me.
Herb Roasted Onions from Barefoot Contessa at Home (the one below is from the Food Network. The recipe in the book has more servings. I made that one.)
Ingredients
2 red onions
1 yellow onion
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup good olive oil
1/2 tablespoon minced fresh parsley leaves
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Remove the stem end of each onion and carefully slice off the brown part of the root end, leaving the root intact. Peel the onion. Stand each onion root end up on a cutting board and cut the onion in wedges through the root. Place the wedges in a bowl.
For the dressing, combine the lemon juice, mustard, garlic, thyme, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Slowly whisk in the olive oil. Pour the dressing over the onions and toss well.
With a slotted spoon, transfer the onions to a sheet pan, reserving the vinaigrette that remains in the bowl. Bake the onions for 30 to 45 minutes, until tender and browned. Toss the onions once during cooking. Remove from the oven, and drizzle with the reserved dressing. Sprinkle with parsley, season to taste and serve warm or at room temperature.
BB: All Day Vegetable Pot Pie
October 28, 2008 at 3:55 am | In Barefoot Bloggers | 3 CommentsTags: Barefoot Bloggers, pot pie
Ina, Ina, Ina. Do you think I work on a farm, or in construction or in something –anything- that would require serious physical exertion before sitting down to Sunday dinner? Well, I don’t. I work in an office. I did rake some leaves on Sunday but that is hardly enough to justify even one slice of her Vegetable Pot Pie as written.
Deb of Kahakai Kitchen chose Vegetable Pot Pie as our second Barefoot Bloggers recipe for October. I was excited to try it. Pot Pie is such a warm comforting meal on a cold night. Being vegetarians, we aren’t likely to sit down for some good old turkey pot pie.
Well, this recipe started out promising but turned into a frustrating day for me. I was also dealing with some cupcake issues for TWD. First, there is enough fat in this recipe for a sumo wrestler. One and a half sticks of butter for the sauce alone? I think not. I cut way down on that and used a mix of butter and olive oil. I tried to give a health boost to the crust by using a mix of whole wheat and all purpose flour. I have no idea if that was the problem but it was the crumbliest ugliest crust in the history of crusts. Take a look.
Gorgeous, dahling.
By this time I had already broken a pie plate and “onion juice” was burning a hole through a cut on my finger. There wasn’t going to be a second crust attempt. I spent about .5 seconds trying to make it fit in one piece and then just patched it together.
My second issue was the preparation. 18 pots and pans and even more steps. I cut the second group of onions because two seemed like more than enough. I liked this recipe. I really did but I don’t think I can give this much effort to pot pie. I have made another version from allrecipes that I like and isn’t nearly as time consuming. I did like the fennel and some of the elements of this one. I may try to combine the two for a reasonable alternative.
BB: Butternut Squash Baby!
October 9, 2008 at 2:11 pm | In Barefoot Bloggers | 10 CommentsTags: Barefoot Bloggers, butternut squash, risotto
Let me just pause for a moment of celebration. I actually posted on time. Beware the sky may open up and swallow us all.
Back to topic, Rachel of Rachel Likes to Cook chose Butternut Squash Risotto for our first October recipe. Great choice! I love winter squashes. Last year, I discovered making risooto at home. Match made in heaven. I did, unfortunately, have to skip the saffron. As I mentioned in Want Pies With Post, the grocery cart was awfully full this week. Do you ever have those weeks where you are out of every staple? I swear we needed jam, pickles, ketchup…all those things you don’t have to buy every week. Plus, I lost $20 bucks at the farmers’ market last weekend. Totally into thin air…
So, no saffron. But it was great without it. I would have taken more pictures, but, as others have noted, it took longer to cook than the recipe specified. The family was ready to eat. The only change I would make would be to give it a little more kick. But I often think that with risotto. I must not have a very sophisticated palate.
Check out the other barefoot bloggers here. Next up Vegetable Pot Pie. We fully into fall….
Barefoot Bloggers: Grown Up Mac ‘n Cheese
September 12, 2008 at 3:46 am | In Barefoot Bloggers | 6 CommentsTags: Barefoot Bloggers, Macaroni and Cheese
It is a good thing that I don’t love mac ‘n cheese because, otherwise, I could outgrow my clothes very quickly. Our first September recipe for the Barefoot Bloggers is Grown Up Mac ‘n Cheese chosen by Heather of Randomosity and the Girl. And grown up it is. My kids would have none of it.
The recipe is supposed to include bacon, gruyere, cheddar and blue cheese. I made a couple of substitutions. Vegetarians we be so no bacon for us. I considered using soy bacon and decided it wasn’t worth the extra dirty dish. I also had (futile it turns out) hopes that my kids would eat it so I skipped the blue cheese and went for feta. Some of the other bloggers mentioned that it smelled when cooking. I don’t really like blue cheese and didn’t want to deal with the howls, whining and smirky faces that would inevitably result from stinky mac ‘n cheese. I also need to avoid yeast for one family member so I used club crackers instead of bread crumbs.
I am not, in fact, a big mac ‘n cheese fan. I can pretty much guarantee that I did not taste mac ‘n cheese until adulthood and I have never eaten the boxed kind. Not that I am a big food snob. I just think there are some foods you can’t start as an adult (spaghettios, cheez whiz, and fun dip come to mind). We weren’t a cheese eating family so there you go.
There is a LOT of cheese in this little recipe and, for once, I was glad to be making something rich where I wasn’t tempted to lick the bowl or eat half the pan. (No way is this two servings). My husband and I both liked it. I can only imagine that it is a million times better than the powdered cheese version. IF you are a big mac ‘n cheese fan, I would definitely recommend it. The feta was a great substitution if you can’t handle blue cheese. We likely won’t be having it again but only because it was a lot of work for two people, only one of whom is really enthused about the dish to begin with.
Barefoot Bloggers: Panzanella
August 22, 2008 at 6:27 pm | In Barefoot Bloggers | 2 CommentsTags: Barefoot Bloggers, panzanella, salad
The first Barefoot Blogger recipe for August was Panzanella chosen by Melissa of It’s Melissa’s Kitchen.
Gah. I am late again. I think I know why. This recipe sounded great, incorporating many ingredients I love but one of the members of my immediately has recently undergone a dietary change. No bread. No vinegar. Difficult to accomplish this recipe without either. So, I waited until I had an excuse to make it without. That time didn’t come before August 12. That is also why I didn’t get to the bonus recipe this month, California Grilled Pizza. Sounds great and I will get to it I am sure.
In short, I really liked this salad. I used an olive oil rosemary bread that was fabulous to begin with. I toasted mine for quite awhile and did not let the salad sit as I have a thing about soggy bread. I am against it. I didn’t quite have all of Ina’s ingredients on hand, but that is the best thing about this type of recipe. It can be altered to suit your preferences/needs. I used balsamic instead of champagne vinegar and skipped the yellow pepper. I am sure there are a lot of great variations out there. Check out the Barefoot Bloggers: Whose Turn Is It? page.
BB: Under the wire, baby, just under the wire
August 1, 2008 at 4:08 am | In Barefoot Bloggers | 1 CommentTags: Barefoot Bloggers
The second Barefoot Blogger recipe for July was Smoked Salmon Spread chosen by Ashley of the Spicy Skillet. I could relay some sob story about how busy I was and how great I am for getting it done at all. But that would be mostly a lie. July was super busy but, frankly, this was mostly plain old fashioned procrastination. I am an expert in that particular field so I should know.
Why did I procrastinate so? Well, there was nothing and, I’m sorry, but nothing that appealed to me about this recipe. Nothing personal, Ashley. I am a little picky.
Cream cheese – only sweetened in baked goods for me. Sour cream – tolerable if highly disguised (see baked goods reference above). Dill – worst herb ever. Salmon – vegetarian, ’nuff said.So, why didn’t I take a pass? It’s the vegetarian thing. I know something will come up that I just won’t be able to work around. So, I attempted a work around on this one. The only person in my family who likes sour creamy type dips is the six year old. yup. I made a six year old size serving. I traded rosemary and olives for the dill and salmon. Will loves olives.
The dip is chilling now. I’ll let you know what he thinks. He is asleep. He is only six, you know. If you’re curious as to what the dip might taste like as written, check out the barefoot bloggers here.
PS It says August 1. That is just annoying. Not everyone lives on the east coast…
Barefoot Bloggers: Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread
July 10, 2008 at 5:02 am | In Barefoot Bloggers | 10 CommentsTags: Barefoot Bloggers, cornbread
Our first Barefoot Bloggers installment for July is Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread chosen by Sabrina and Alexander of Cooking with the Kids. Apparently, there is some ongoing feud between people who like sweet cornbread and those who think the very idea is blasphemy. I think the latter folks are generally from the South. I grew up eating cornbread out of the Jiffy box so I have no dog in this fight. This is a long way to say that I am open to cornbread of any variety and have no go to recipe. But I do especially like it with peppers. So, I was excited to try this version.
So excited that I put it off until the VERY last minute (it is Wednesday night…). I don’t know what I was thinking but I made this whole process far more complicated than it needed to be. I planned to make it with some beans and rice for dinner. Then I decided that, after pasta for lunch, I didn’t need rice and bread for dinner. So I made some black beans and grilled some fajita spiced vegetables.
Meanwhile, I also decided that, after my last miserable attempt at making something with cornmeal eggless, I would make these with the eggs. BUT I wanted to give some to my spouse so came up with bright idea to make half with and half without…on Wednesday night. Well, of course, as is the case with everything, it took longer than I thought. Even with rushing around, there was no way to let it rest for 20 minutes as Ina instructs.
I subbed monterey jack for the cheddar. I don’t really like cheddar but I am a fan of pepper jack. I figured it would be a good combo. I skipped the cheese and scallions on top. I was too lazy to chop more scallions and too rushed to read the recipe correctly. I threw all the cheese right into the batter. I also halved the butter. There was no way I was using two sticks. I barely made it through the Tuesdays with Dorie pie last week.
The regular version.
The egg free version. If you can see the specks, I used ground flax seeds in this version.
The end result: Really really good. Does NOT need more butter. I am sure It will be really good when we actually get to eat it with dinner. Despite flying through the kitchen at warp speed my two cornbreads didn’t make it time for the beans tonight. After photographing them, I did try both. I would eat either one. And will when I defrost them.
Check out everyone else’s cornbreads here.
Barefoot Bloggers: Parmesan Chic…no…Tofu!
June 26, 2008 at 1:52 pm | In Barefoot Bloggers, June 2008 | 8 CommentsTags: Barefoot Bloggers, tofu
Yeah, you read that correctly. Tofu. We are vegetarians…so there wasn’t any conceivable way I was going to buy, cook and serve chicken. There would have been no takers.
For our second official recipe the Barefoot Bloggers made Ina Garten’s Parmesan Chicken. Part of the reason I joined this group was to expand my culinary adventures in the kitchen. As a vegetarian, it can be too easy to fall back on beans and rice, and I do try to avoid “soy meat” at every meal. So, I thought it would be fun to try to adapt Ina’s recipes to a vegetarian diet. I told Tara when I joined and she didn’t kick me out…so I guess it’s OK.
OK…to the recipe. I – obviously – switched out the chicken for tofu but otherwise stuck to the recipe. I made my own breadcrumbs (a last minute mixture of wheat bread and saltines when I found I didn’t have enough of either) and used the same herb mixture from the Herb Baked Eggs (sooo good). The kitchen smelled so good when I was cooking. Deceptively good for my youngest. He came in the kitchen and excitedly declared, “PIZZA!” He is the pickiest eater I have EVER seen. You can imagine how well the not-pizza-tofu went over.
I was the only one who put the greens on top of my tofu. I think I like the concept of it more than the execution. I almost always find that I have to cut down the lemon zest or juice in a recipe and this was no exception. I made it as written this time, but would use a different vinagrette next time. And I think there will be a next time. It was easy, different from our usual, and pretty healthy.
Check out the other chickens here!
Barefoot Bloggers #1: Herb Baked Eggs
May 30, 2008 at 12:26 pm | In Barefoot Bloggers, May 2008 | 8 CommentsTags: Barefoot Bloggers, eggs
[Note: Huzzah. Pictures are working now. ]
There is a new cooking/baking group that Tara from Smells Like Home started: Barefoot Bloggers. We are working our way through Ina Garten’s (the Barefoot Contessa) recipes. We will be posting twice a month with rotating recipes selected by the members of the group. Tara chose the first recipe: Herbed Baked Eggs from Ina’s book Barefoot in Paris.
Generally, we are not a big egg eating family. My kids, of course, happily consume all manner of cookies, cakes, custards, etc. made with eggs but draw the line at any dish where you can see evidence of an actual egg. My husband doesn’t even go for the sweets. I myself have some picky tendencies, especially when it comes to eggs. I don’t really care for the taste of yolk (at all) and I would rather not see any part of it runny. We don’t do a lot of brunch around here.
So, with these voluminous restrictions in mind, I set out to make this recipe. I, clearly, only needed to make one serving or 3 eggs. Unfortunately, my memory deceived me and I only had two when I thought I had three. So, two eggs it was. I melted the butter and cream as instructed, poured in the eggs and topped with the herb mixture, a delicious combination of parsley, thyme, rosemary and parmesan. My new herb garden proving its worth already!
The eggs were still VERY runny (can’t have that) at 6 minutes so I broiled them for about 5 more minutes. The smell of the herbs was DIVINE. And the eggs were cooked enough that I was able to eat around the yolks (victory!). If I made these again — and the herb mixture might convince me to do so — I would probably skip the heavy cream. I have no qualms about using cream, butter, oil, etc when it improves or enhances the final product. In this case I don’t think it did which makes it just wasted calories.
Check out the Barefoot Bloggers to see if people who actually eat eggs regularly enjoyed them.
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