My little sister asked me what we were having for dinner last night. When I told her we were having grilled steak sandwiches, she asked me, "Does your husband know how lucky he is? Mine is getting a bowl of cereal!" Believe me when I tell you that my husband gets his requisite nighttime bowls of Cheerios, but last night he struck supper-time gold. Juicy grilled steak sandwiches on crusty rolls with sweet bell peppers and melted cheese make for one man-pleasing dinner. Best of all, it's not much more effort than pouring some Kix and milk into a bowl. Especially if you can get your fortunate fella to man the grill. Move over Lucky Charms, now there's something meatier.
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Super Fast Grilled Steak Sandwiches
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Plum Crumb-yes, that's really the name of this cake
It's Tuesday again, and that means hundreds of internet bakers are joining together as part of our TWD baking club and recreating a sweet treat from Dorie Greenspan's sizeable tome, "Baking: From My Home to Yours." This week, the appointed recipe is a plum brioche tart. You will not find a plum brioche tart here. Yeast risen brioche dough, while extremely pleasant in other forms, is not to my liking in tart form. And so I had decided not to participate in today's baking, except that a couple of days ago while swimming in my parent's backyard, my daughter noticed some plums, just ripe for the picking on a poolside tree. Together we plucked the best of the bunch, and then threw the squishy ones over the fence because no one lives back there and it seemed like the sensible thing to do. Ripe plums make very fine baseballs, in case you are ever in need, by the way. Having procured my plums by sheer fortune, I knew I had to make something delicious with them. I remembered a plum crumb cake that I used to love from an old Pillsbury cookbook. Please don't be put off by the name Plum Crumb. Maybe you won't be, but my mother regularly uses the noun "Crumb" to label married men with-how shall I say?- lascivious and licentious behavior. For example, if Mom knows anything about John Gosselin, she would definitely dub him a Crumb. But don't blame this crumb for any of his misdeeds. This crumb is a soft lemon cake,
covered with juicy jewel -toned plums,
and then topped with a brown sugar streusel.
I remembered that I used to adore it, but like so many things that I used to love in my youth (cool ranch doritos, for example) I worried that it wouldn't survive the test of time. I am very happy to be wrong. It's scrumptious, just absolutely scrumptious and I hope you'll make one soon. I sure will. I know a great place to get some free plums.
Money Saving Tips:
Plum Crumb Cake
2 tablespoons butter, softened
pinch of salt
Saturday, July 11, 2009
Summer Tex Mex Vegetable Soup
Would I sound like a broken record if I told you that my sister just had a baby? Well, it's true. My youngest sister, the ever charming Mary Kate, just gave birth to a darling little baby boy. I don't have a single pregnant sister left, uh, that I'm aware of anyway; I'll keep you posted if I hear otherwise. I've been up in Salt Lake City with Mary Kate, trying to be a sisterly helper, since her husband had to be out of town for a few days on business. Only I think I failed. I really didn't help her with the baby at all. Her other son, the two year old Jakers, took such a liking to me that I was completely wrapped up with him. He slept on my pillow, followed me into the bathroom, brushed my hair, confiscated my bracelets and yellow flower sandals, made sure I watched INTENTLy all of his tricks including light saber fighting, ball kicking, piano playing and dancing, and generally delighted me in every way. I'm home now and I dearly miss my rough and tumble little buddy. What will I do without him?
Tuesday, July 7, 2009
Katherine Hepburn Brownies
Maybe the reason that I love actresses of yesteryears so much is that I can tell them apart. Their looks were distinctive. They didn't have plastic surgery to fix their noses, their wrinkles, their lips. They didn't bleach their teeth, and while some of them certainly bleached their hair, they didn't all do it, and certainly not the same shade of platinum blond. They look like they even ate dinner once in a while, and didn't have liposuction to have it all sucked away. And they were gorgeous. Real human women-with flaws and all-are so much more beautiful then the false and brittle images that Hollywood promotes these days. Like Katherine Hepburn, for example. She's spectacular in Bringing Up Baby, divine in Philadelphia Story. She was a real woman; beautiful, talented, and imperfect. And Hepburn even had her own brownie recipe.
A gooey, delicious, fudgy, deeply chocolaty brownie recipe. On second thought, maybe she was perfect after all.
Monday, July 6, 2009
Summer Submission
Good morning, fellow patriots.
Notice the lack of inhibition when a small charge does this....
And this...
And this
I think I'll pretend I'm seven again and really enjoy my summer.
I think I'll enjoy it even more knowing I'm the one with the camera. No photographic evidence will ensue. Phew. Pass the pancakes.
Be back tomorrow with ...Katherine Hepburn Brownies
Friday, July 3, 2009
Blackened Corn Spicy Potato Salad and Patriotic Cookies
When you get a minute, over the course of the weekend, I hope you'll read the Declaration of Independence. (Click here for a copy.) The second paragraph is the juiciest, containing the basic human rights on which this country was founded: Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness. (Jefferson borrowed some of these ideas from English political philosopher John Locke, who wrote earlier that the basic human rights were life, liberty, and property. ) Jefferson established that the purpose of government was to help human beings secure these rights. On these principles, the republic of the United States is established. We, the citizens, are the rulers, which is a hefty responsibility when you stop to think about it. For our republic to function, we citizens have to be well-informed and pro-active. The best route to becoming an educated citizen is to read the primary documents upon which this great country is founded. So take a minute this weekend to read that famous birthday announcement of our new nation, The Declaration of Independence. If you can, read it out loud to your family, just as it was done across the colonies in 1776, after we Americans first gained the rights and responsibilities of freedom. You may want to even take off your hat and shout a few huzzahs in between sparklers and piccolo petes.
1/2 cup packed cilantro leaves
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Catalina Island Cheeseburgers
Sailor and I just got home from volunteering at a community food bank. Together with my teenage sunday school class (young women, we call them), we shelved donated food items. I'm kicking myself for not having my camera on hand. You might have liked to have seen when I picked up the leeky jar of natural peanut butter. I believe we collectively unloaded five pallets, and by the end we knew right where to put the asparagus spears, baby food, salad dressing, and umpteen million tins of canned soup. Cream of Chicken, Cream of mushroom, tomato, tomato and basil, chicken and rice, chicken noodle-I've seen it all tonight. Amidst all of the reaching and packing, I had to remind myself of how fortunate we are to have a healthy abundance of good food available. We have a little garden, a modest closet full of food storage, and a weekly budget that allows us to nourish our bodies and enjoy all the pleasures of a varied diet. It's also good to have a little extra to share, especially during these trying economic times-yet another reason to be frugal. I'm anxious to get back to the food center with my own little family. Although the four of us won't be able to get five whole pallets unloaded, we could renew our feelings of gratitude by recognizing that what we have enough to share. Enough said.
Sheesh, I must be on the wrong holiday, because it surely isn't Thanksgiving. But Fourth of July makes me grateful too; not just grateful because I've got enough to eat, but grateful to be an American citizen. Maybe I'll write more about that tomorrow. For today, here's my latest and greatest cheeseburger. I named it after Catalina Island in California, where you can buy juicy burgers with roasted green chilies. My version has a southwest inspired Thousand Island dressing, plus a hefty pile of cilantro, red ripe tomatoes, and melting cheddar cheese. Plus the buns: I posted my homemade hamburger buns here last year, but I'm reposting them again today; they're just to good to be forgotten.
Money Saving Tips:
Every grocery store in town has ground beef on sale this week. Buy it in bulk and separate it at home to save some serious moolah. Make your own hamburger buns to save even further.
Catalina Cheeseburgers:
Estimated Cost: $8.00 for four
Notes: You can use fresh jalapenos here; just be sure to roast or blanch them first.
1 and 1/4 lb. ground sirloin or chuck
1 4 ounce can diced green chilies
1 egg
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 and 1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons minced onion
2 tablespoons minced jarred or canned jalapenos
sliced sharp cheddar cheese
4 hamburger buns
sliced tomatoes
chopped cilantro
To form patties, combine the meat, chilies, egg, garlic, salt, and pepper. Shape into four patties and grill about 5-7 minutes per side for medium, adding cheese slices for last two minutes of cooking. In a separate small bowl, combine mayonnaise, ketchup, onion and jalapenos; season to taste with salt and pepper. To assemble burgers, spread both sides of buns with mayo mixture. Place tomatoes, burgers, and cilantro on bottom buns; place top bun over.Homemade Hamburger Buns
Estimated Cost: $2.00 for 10
Notes: These buns will take your burger from so-so to unforgettable. Make them a couple days ahead and freeze them, or bake them up fresh. Use all purpose flour for a soft rich bun.
Tips: Buy professional quality yeast. My favorite is SAF. Ask your baker what brand he uses, and ask if you can buy some. A great place to let dough rise during the summer is inside a warm parked car.
1 cup milk plus 1 tablespoon, divided
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons butter, plus more for buttering bowl
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg, yolk and white divided
2 and 1/4 teaspoon yeast (I use SAF)
3 cups flour
In a microwave safe small bowl, combine 1 cup milk, sugar and butter. Heat until butter just melts and mixture is warm but not hot. If it is hot, wait until it is lukewarm to proceed. In a large bowl, combine salt, egg white, yeast, and flour-one cup at a time, to form a soft dough. (In a separate small bowl, combine remaining egg yolk and tablespoon of milk). The dough will be sticky. Add a little extra flour if necessary to keep the dough sticky, but still workable. Knead dough briefly, about three minutes, to form a smooth elastic ball. Butter same bowl, replace dough, cover and let rise for about 1 hour, or until doubled. (At this point, you could punch the dough down and refrigerate it for up to 24 hours, or until ready to proceed.) Shape dough into 10 separate round buns. You can roll them out and cut them with a biscuit cutter, or you can simply shape them into 10 round buns. Let rise on a greased baking sheet for about 45 minutes, or until light and risen. Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Brush buns with egg yolk mixture. Bake for about 15-18 minutes, or until nicely browned.
Up Next:
Blackened Corn Potato Salad
Also...I'm still working on that perfect pound cake. I've got my latest version in the oven-it looks extremely promising....





