For My Peeps

     It's almost Easter and for a few months now, we have all been captivated by the colorful tantalizing displays of Easter candy. I am a sucker for Easter; always have been. Easter signifies the start of spring weather and that my week long birthday celebration is nearby (April 17th). I enjoy Easter candy more than I do at Halloween. First of all, how can one resist purchasing anything shaped like a cute little bunny? Those of you who know me, I love bunnies. For years I had numerous bunny collectables and had some real ones as pets growing up. My favorite cartoon characters have always been Bugs and Thumper. If I ever had the courage to get a tattoo, you bet it would be a white rabbit on my shoulder (those of you who have no clue what I am talking about, watch the Matrix). Why, even my husband's nickname for me is "Rabbit".

     For some reason, I have never made my own Easter candy. Why the hell not? This past Christmas my candy was a huge success and I feel so comfortable and up for the challenge to cover anything in chocolate. I have even invested in a good Candy Maker for a mere 60 bucks. Wilton or Chocomaker both have affordable, easy to use products. It has a dial for melting which takes roughly 12 minutes with less stirring than over a double boiler. Once it's melted, the chocolate stays melted on the warm setting for a very long time. It's easy to store and clean! Well worth the purchase if you like to cover things in chocolate. It also makes for a great fondu pot.

     So what Easter candy could I possibly covered in chocolate? PEEPS!!!! I love peeps. I especially love the bunny Peeps, of course. Peeps have always been a special part of my Easter. Not just for eating, these sticky little critters are great for gags and tormenting people. Years ago, some of my friends and I began a Peep War. We would go over each others houses for dinner or to watch a game, and when no one is watching, you strategically hide Peeps all over their house. Friends would grab a coffee mug from the back of their cabinet months later to find a crusty little present waiting for them. YOUV'E BEEN PEEPED! Plants, purses, pillows, porches, cars; you name it, we've peeped it.

     But this year I am Peeping people in a good way with chocolate covered Peep Pops. WHAT??? Oh yeah. That is what I said. Stop drooling or you will short out your computer. I must say, my first try at these were so successful. They are tasty and cute and will be sure to add more business to dental professionals everywhere. These make great gifts for school or a beautiful addition to any Easter basket. I am giving mine out to my family this year at Easter. Yesterday, I surprised my students with them. I got them all sugared up at the end of the day and received many thumbs ups and even hugs from students usually lacking in social skills. Here's how to make someone smile this Easter:

Chocolate Covered Peep Pops:

Boxes of Bunny Peeps (I recommend the bunnies because the chickies are too bottom heavy and will not stay on the stick. Plus I don't think they really look like chickies covered in chocolate. They look like Easter aliens.

Bags of melting chocolate. 1 bag of chocolate made 18 chocolate covered peeps. So do the math, that is 1 and a half boxes of peeps to one bag of chocolate. This time of year you can get a variety of spring colors. I bought a bag of each to experiment.

Sprinkles, jimmies to decorate

lollypop sticks, wax paper, and candy bags

This is one stop shopping at it's best! you can purchase all of these items at A.C. Moore!!!

Place your chocolate in the melter, while it is melting, take a lolli stick and gently shove it up the bunnies butt. Believe me, they don't mind. Try and stick it up there straight so you don't have a lopsided peep pop. Say that 42 times. Lay out 18 Peeps with sticks onto wax paper. When candy is melted, grab a spoon and spoon the mixture onto the peep. The peep is made out of marshmallow. If you dip it in the chocolate like a dumbass, it will fall off and into your melter or pot. You will be living the Agustus Gloop nightmare all over. Don't contaminate your chocolate. Has Willie Wonka not taught you anything?
Lightly shake off excess chocolate. Place back on wax paper and immediately decorate. Takes about 30 minutes to harden and then you can place them in cute little baggies and add some ribbon for a the ultimate Easter treat. Children and adults alike will be bowing at your mighty chocolate making skills, or just crashing from too much sugar.

                                        HOPPY EASTER PEEPS!!!!!

Ya Gotta Frittata

     I must admit I was not very good at making frittatas when I first started. I don't burn food often but this was one dish, I kept overcooking. Electric ovens are not friends with the frittata. I believe they were the culprit in my over cooked eggy failure. Many recipes I have researched suggest using an oven save skillet. Any time I make eggs with my iron skillet, I end up with a lot of post cleanup scraping. No thanks. I love frittatas though and I fought through my struggles to get a perfectly fluffy and creamy dish. They are great for any meal of the day and it is the perfect recipe to use with almost any leftovers decaying in your fridge. With the right equipment and some yummy ingredients, I think I finally nailed it!
     The Italian word frittata derives from fritto, the past participle of "to fry" (friggere), and was originally a general term for cooking eggs in a skillet. Over the years, the frittata has modernized into any egg dish that is baked and served in slice form. There are many versions of the frittata, one of my favorites, perfect for Easter brunch, is Alton Brown's asparagus and ham frittata. Any fresh vegetable or leftover/pre-cooked meat can be used in a frittata. I love making these for weekend breakfasts as I go through the fridge trying to get rid of anything that has not been eaten during the week. This week I had some fresh spinach on the verge of wilting and some leftover beer brats. I love how versatile this dish is. You can use any type of cheese on hand. I have used feta and goat in the past. Greyere, a very good and tasty melty cheese, is perfect with any baked dish and is excellent on a frittata with bacon. Today I used a sharp cheddar that I thought would pair nicely with the brats.

Spinach and Beer Brat Frittata with Cheddar and Leeks:

Eggs - I choose egg beaters, I use 2 to 3 eggs per person (1/2 cup eggbeaters=2 eggs)
spices: salt, pepper, smoked paprika, parsley (you can use whatever you like)
1 leek or onion diced
2 handfuls of fresh spinach chopped
3 very grilled beer brats chopped into bite sized pieces
1/2 cup of shredded sharp cheddar cheese
 2 Tbs canola oil

Pre heat oven - I bake mine at 350 but you can also broil it, just don't multi-task and try to vacuum or floss your teeth. Keep an eye on it!!!!

The Fritatta is cooked on the stove first and then placed in an oven. You must keep it in the same pan. Do not try to transfer or you'll get scrambled eggs. In an OVEN SAFE skillet or saute pan, heat the oil. I prefer to use my Creuset. Throw in leeks and spinach and cook for 3 minutes on medium or until nice and soft. Add the brats. Scrape all the ingredients off the sides of pan and make sure it is well greased. Add the egg and season. Add the cheese. DO NOT TOUCH IT!!!

There is no stirring involved in this recipe. Turn heat to medium low. You do not want to burn your frittata because then you would have a terrible temper tantrum and I don't want to see that. Most recipes say to cook the frittata stove top for 3 to 5 minutes. I have a fool proof method. Using potholders, (I don't want you suing me because you burned yourself, dumbass) lightly shake the pan. When the egg has settled and there is a slight jiggle in the middle, it is ready for the oven. Make sure the sides do not get too brown unless you want a crispy texture. I do not.

Place the pan in the oven. Broil for 3 minutes if you want to do Alton's broil method. If you do, keep a close eye on it. I prefer to cover mine with a lid and bake for 10 minutes. I then take the lid off and bake for a few minutes more until top is nice and brown. I think this makes it  fluffy and keeps the frittata moist. Do the jiggle test again with potholders. If there is no jiggle and it does not look watery, it is done!

Let cool, serve in slices with some warm croissants and a salad for a fantastic meal!

This is good for me?

     This question, often asked by my husband when he is eating his dinner, always puts a smile on my face. If I can make my husband go back for seconds on a low fat meal, then you know this shit tastes good. For years, people always thought healthy food equals no taste. Not true! My husband loves chicken tetrazini. I came up with a low fat version that will knock even the most finicky eater's sock off.

First of all, what the hell is tetrazini?

I Googled it for ya!

Tetrazini is an American dish usually involving a non-red meat (often diced fowl or seafood), mushrooms, and almonds in a butter/cream and parmesan sauce flavored with wine or sherry and stock vegetables such as onions, celery, and carrots. It is often served hot over spaghetti or some similarly thin pasta, garnished with lemon or parsley, and topped with additional almonds and/or Parmesan cheese.

The dish is named after the Italian opera star, Luisa Tetrazzini.^[1] It is widely believed to have been invented ca. 1908–1910 by Ernest Arbogast, then chef at the Palace Hotel in San Francisco, California, where Tetrazzini was a long-time resident.

Most of the recipes I have researched contain flour, butter, cream, and cheese givin this bad boy 15 to 16 grams of fat per serving. My version is at least half of that maybe more. Taking out the cream and butter, using whole wheat flour, and adding in less starchy veggies makes this a lean but hearty meal. Here's what I did:


Bikini Tetrazini:
Very thin sliced turkey cutlets cut into bite size pieces
3 Tablespoons olive oil
1 head broccoli
1 package shitake mushrooms
1 red or orange bell pepper
1 red onion
1/2 box spaghetti
low sodium parmesan cheese
1/2 cup plain fat free Greek Yogurt
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
salt pepper garlic powder
1/4 cup white wine or sherry (I was sippin some Cupcake Chardonnay so I poured some of that in)

Heat 1/2 the oil in a big ass skillet, stir
add the veggies and cook on medium high for 10 minutes, season, stir
dredge the turkey cutlets in flour and add to skillet, stir, stir, stir
add more oil if needed
add a dash of wine, stir
season, turn heat down a bit, stir, I know your wrist hurts but you don't want to burn it!
cook noodles to your preference and drain and put in a big pot
cook turkey mix till all is well cooked and veggies are tender 
Add seasoning
Last minute, add yogurt and cheese, stir, taste, season
pour over pasta and gently fold it in

Save some for lunch tomorrow, it tastes even better the next day!

     People ask me how I learned how to cook. I don't know. I was often around food and always in the kitchen. I was always helping whoever was cooking and learned a lot along the way from family, friends, and from saying "oooh, I can make that"! One thing I do know still reigns true: Life is too short so go ahead and lick the bowl!!!

Thai Me Up Tuesday

I love me some Thai food. I can't do too much of the spicy Thai but I go gaga over Pad Thai and I am totally nuts for their peanut satay. Another one of my favorite Asian foods to eat is Baby Bok Choy. The baby bok bok (as rob calls it), is much milder in taste and thinner in texture than regular bok choy. This leafy green, is very hard to find, and recently the price of it has greatly increased. Wegman's lately has been selling one small bunch for $4.25! Because baby bok choy cooks down the way spinach does, you need at least 3 or 4 bunches to serve 2 to 4 people. Baby bok choy, also known as Chinese Cabbage, is a member of the mustard family. You can eat the stalk and leaves. The inside little baby nugget, as I like to call it, is a very tender little piece. Do not discard this! Bok Choy can be sauteed, added to stir fry, steamed, grilled, or even roasted. The leaves taste similar to spinach, while the taste of the stalk is thicker and has more of a mild cabbage flavor.

Luckily, today I stumbled upon it for a dollar a bunch at a local produce market and decided to mix it up Thai style in some peanut sauce with some chicken and lo mein noodles. Here's what I concocted:

Rummy's panko breaded chicken thighs with stir fried edamame, leeks, mushrooms, and baby bok choy in a Thai peanut sauce:
Stuff:
3 to 4 bunches of baby bok choy
1/2 bag of fresh or frozen edamame
1 leek sliced thin
1 package or can of mushrooms any type (all I had on hand today was canned but some fresh shitake mushrooms would be dynamite in this dish)
2 or 3 Tablespoons of peanut or sesame oil
1 bottle of Thai peanut sauce
1 package of lo mein noodles
1 pound of boneless skinless chicken thighs
panko bread crumbs
salt, pepper, sesame seeds, garlic powder
egg beaters
cooking spray
crushed peanuts

To do:
Spray glass baking dish with spray and preheat oven to 350.
dip thighs in eggs, then panko
drop onto dish, season, and place in oven for 30 minutes.
Heat a pot of water for noodles, heat wok on medium high, add oil
throw veggies in the wok when hot, add more oil if needed
season
When bok choy is getting soft and tender, add peanut sauce. I used a little more than 1/2 a bottle and covered wok with lid, turning heat to medium low. Stir that baby occasionaly.
Add noodles to pot when water is boiling and cook 5 minutes, drain and add to wok
Add more sauce if you like. You can add crushed red peppers if you like it spicier. The bottled sauce is slightly spicy.
Spoon the bok choy, noodle mixture onto the plate, add slices of chicken on top, add a drizzle of sauce, and garnish with sesame seeds and crushed peanuts
Eat, enjoy
Make your husband clean up the mess and have a nice glass of dry Reisling with this tasty Thai Tuesday meal!

Pork Chops and Applesauce... Part Zwei (that's 2 in German)

     Zees delicious dinner tonight has been brought to you by zee little German in me. Everyone loves pork and applesauce, especially me! After all I have blogged about it before. It's swell! Well tonight of course I decided to put a little twist on my traditional apple topping for pork. I added some apple butter and real butter (no fudder in this recipe) and a little chipotle Tabasco in a sauce pan with some apples and leeks. I took a sip of my beer and holy Octoberfest! Don't tell my great great great grandmother Rosengarten but I dumped half of my lager in the sauce! Zee sauce is good! Real good! I threw it on top of a breaded pork chop cuz nothin beats some apples, beer, and pork. I'm gonna have to break out the lederhosen because zees dish received a 10.01 from the husband zees evening! We served it up with some sauteed veggies and garlic mashed potatoes. Make a German proud and chug the rest of your beer!




Applesauce topping for pork with beer:


2 to 3 medium apples (I use gala) peeled and sliced thin then halved
1 leek, sliced thin
3 Tablespoons of Apple butter
3 Tablespoon of butter (cuz thats easy to remember)
3 dashes of Chipotle Tabasco Sauce (a must have in every pantry)
A pinch of smoked paprika
2 pinches of sugar (white or brown)
1/3 of a bottle of beer (whatever you are drinkin works)

Saute leeks and apples in half the butter
Add sugar
When apples and leeks are soft, throw in the chipotle, apple butter, and paprika
Open the beer. If you are cooking for just you and your significant other, take a big sip. Pour a third of the bottle in the pan with the apples and stir it up. If you are cooking for guests, I would drink it after you pour it in the pan. It's good manners.
Add the rest of the butter and stir on medium low til bubbly and thick.
You know I don't measure so if you need to adjust it, taste, and add more of whatever you want. Let your taste buds tell you, dammit, not me!  
Add this to any type of pork. I put this on top of a breaded pork chop.
Sorry Peter Brady, zees is not your kind of applesauce, zere's beer in it!!!
Ain't that shwell???

A Soupendous Sunday Dinner

Nothin beats coming home from a weekend long road trip to a hot bowl of soup. Knowing we were going to be away for a day or two, I decided to try a new soup recipe the night before we left. That way, all I had to do was heat it up and serve it with some crusty bread when we returned home weary and tired from the road. I was walking around Wegman's the other day or what I call my "food heaven" and was offered a creamy broccoli soup sample. I was so pleased with the taste that I grabbed a recipe from the friendly sample lady and picked up a few necessary ingredients. When I got home though, I decided to NOT follow the recipe and do my own thing. This version has frozen veggies that are way cheaper and fat free yogurt that is oh so good for you so you can have a creamy soup without your mother yelling "bikini season is right around the corner". This, my friends, is the result:

Rummy's Not so Creamy but oh so Dreamy Broccoli Soup:

2 bags frozen broccoli (WHY waste expensive fresh broccoli on soup? Really!)
1 cup or so of plain Greek yogurt (you know I don't measure)
Half box of low sodium beef broth (ditto)
water (not much)
2 leeks sliced thin (not the tops)
2 spoonfuls of butter or fudder (fake butter)
2 cloves crushed garlic
salt, pepper, garlic, parsley, (hey it's your soup, throw whatever the hell you want in it)
Asiago prosata cheese, shredded (it's a soft Asiago that I highly recommend you splurge on and put on top of this soup)
2 ends of a loaf of bread cubed
Olive oil

Saute the leeks and butter. Season.
Add broccoli and broth. If broccoli is not covered with broth, add water.
Add garlic and season, taste and adjust.
Just when everything is cooked, add the yogurt.
Taste and adjust add as needed.
Now you can put it in a blender if you must. To be honest, it's a friggin mess. Invest in one of those handheld things that look like a boat motor. Blend til smooth. Taste, taste, taste.
If it's too thick add some broth or water; too thin, add a little flour or yogurt. If it tastes too onion-y, add a pinch of sugar. If it tastes like shit, throw it out.
Place the bread cubes on a cookie sheet, bake for 10 minutes on the top rack of your oven on 350 degrees. Add a little salt and olive oil but don't over season them. It will take away from the flavor of the soup.
When you are ready to serve, add the croutons and the cheese.

                                                                SOUPENDOUS!!!!


No rum tonight but I am sippin on some cherry wine from Cedarvale, a local winery.

Taco Tuesday

     Somehow we always end up eating tacos on Tuesday. I rarely plan it, it just happens. I have many variations of Mexican food for Taco Tuesday. Tonight we are goin a bit healthy with taco salads! Now I highly recommend a kitchen gadget you think you will never use, but when you do, you will thank me for taking up so much space in your cabinet. Behold, the fluted taco pan. This thing rocks! I have used it to make cookie bowls but it is made for a tortilla. Forget frying up a taco shell because it is bad for you and makes a mess. Who wants to clean up grease splatter on taco Tuesday? Just spray the pans with nonstick spray, and broil or bake til crispy.

     While you do that, brown your meat. Sometimes we do turkey. Tonight my meal is mooing. I saute a diced red onion and a pepper and add my meat. Drain that greasy gunk and put it back in the pan on the stove. Add a dash or 2 or 3 of Chipotle Tabasco because it's awesome. I also throw in some enchilada or taco sauce and some chili powder.  I dump in a can of drained and rinsed red kidney beans when I have them. Rob says "the beans add texture to the salad" and some after dinner music as well. You can put salsa in if you want. I don't.

     So when that is all done, it is assembly time. Take your shell out of the oven and remove from pan. Add some lettuce, the meat mixture, some fresh veggies such as avocado and tomato. I top it all off with a little shredded cheddar and some scallions to make it pretty. If you have some corn chips, you can add some on but not too much, now! It's a salad! It's supposed to be healthy! I added a little Greek yogurt on top of mine because it tastes like sour cream and is better for you. Rob prefers to drizzle a little bit of Ranch dressing on his. That is it, my friends. It is only Tuesday so you cannot drink a margarita with this!!!