Bowl of Berries

I have to admit, I am not a huge fan of Halloween.  I do love the change of weather and all of the pumpkin things but I have never been one for being scared.  I blame this on an early childhood Halloween memory.  I think I was maybe 5 or 6 and I was trick or treating in the neighborhood of my childhood babysitter.  I walked up to her door, I think I was an angel or I wore one of my dance costumes.  There was a ghost sitting on the front porch holding the bucket of candy.  I creeped up and timidly reaching into the bucket for candy.  All of a sudden “BOO!” the ghost moved and I bolted for the street screaming bloody murder the whole way.  My babysitter threw off the sheet she was sitting under and ran to console me, but I was FREAKED!  I was never the same and hence my love hate relationship with Halloween.  I will not walk through a haunted house, or haunted hay ride or even a creepy wax museum for that matter.

I will however carve pumpkins (see our artwork above!) and dress up to go to a party or go downtown. So however you choose to celebrate or not to celebrate have a fantastic Friday!

Here goes kids, the step by step tutorial you have been waiting for to make your very own homemade pasta and raviolis.  I know you are excited.

You may ask why I was inspired to create this meal on a random Tuesday night, after I worked all day and had a Jaycee meeting…well Michelle over at Thursday Night Smackdown has inspired me to try new things and get over my fears of stupid things like pasta dough and she posted this fantastic recipe for Winter Squash Raviolis that Scottie sent to me yesterday morning.  I thought that was a hint that he wanted to try and make it, I was later to find out, about half way through this process that he was simply relating the post title to the movie Three Amigos, you can imagine my frustration, but the meal ended well so I couldn’t complain much.

I was also thrilled to not have to purchase anything!  I had a butternut squash sitting on my counter waiting for its debut and I JUST so happened to have Italian flour in my pantry, sad I know.

I also got to break out my pasta roller, the uber cool machine that Mom got me when I was in college.  This thing is mac daddy and it’s a shame it’s been living in my closet for so long.  Come out of the closet- it’s time to play!

Ok on to the fun, recipe for the dough at the end so if you wanna skip past the crap load of pics I am about to post and the witty banter, go ahead and scroll down.

We start with a well, yes a well.  Scottie was adament that he wanted to make the well and make the dough by hand, he wanted to show off his Alton Brown skills I guess.  So I got the ingredients together and made the well.

*Nice beer, consider it an appetizer

Then he began to slowly stir the eggs, gradually bringing in the flour from the sides.

This proved to be a long process, I think we were mixing for like 15 minutes before it finally looked like dough and not a pool of freakishly yellow snot. Next time I may throw the whole thing in the KitchenAid and see what happens.  Finally we got to the kneading stage.

The directions state not to knead the dough like bread, which is foreign to me because I only know how to knead bread, hence my troubles with biscuits and pie dough.  But I tried my best and pressed out the dough into a disk and then reformed it into a ball, repeat the process.  I did this for about 10 minutes and then decided the dough (and my arms) needed to rest.  Meanwhile I made the filling; roasted butternut squash, crisp bacon, thyme, sage, a bit of milk, salt and pepper and a generous amount of grated parmigiano reggiano cheese.  When my arms stopped aching I went back to kneading for a few more minutes until the dough became as “silky” as I thought it was going to get.

Then is was time to get rolling!

I quartered the dough and fed each piece through the largest setting on my rollers.  Be sure to wrap up the dough you are not using or it will get dry and crumbly and almost impossible to roll smoothly.  We continued to roll until we had nice thin sheets of beautiful yellow pasta.  We then periodically dropped little teaspoon mounds of squash filling on the dough.

Then folded the dough over and cut very imperfect ravioli squares.

After finishing all of the dough it was time to boil the raviolis.  They only take a minute or two to cook so I began trying to make the brown butter sauce that Michelle made.  I open the fridge and realize I only had light butter, I know, I didn’t know they made such a thing either and I felt like less of a foodie because I bought it against my better judgment.  I plunked a few tablespoons on my hot pan and held my breath.  The butter melted ok, and it looked to begin foaming so I added my chopped hazelnuts.  Then the whole thing seized up and began to almost crystallize.  It was gross and totally inedible.  I was not even about to put my beautifully imperfect raviolis in this mess.

After a freak out moment and almost throwing my hands up in defeat, I was talked down by Scottie who suggested a cream sauce.  I had whole milk, that I conveniently needed to use up, the fake butter and cheese.  Figuring this was my last resort I went for it, making a quick bechamel sauce and adding in a huge mound of grated parm.  The fake butter didn’t ruin this sauce and dinner was saved.  Hooray!

I dotted the raviolis with the sauce, which ended up quite thick but I figured any moisture from the noodles would thin it out.  I topped it with a bit of crisp bacon and a nice grind of pepper and dinner was finally served, only 2 hours later and 10pm.  But definitely worth it.

*Scottie likes lots of cheese, and maybe future heart failure

Scottie actually ate these even though he is not a big fan of squash, whoops!  My bad!  Though he had quite a pile of cheese on top and I gave him extra bacon.  I will play around with fillings for future pasta making attempts.  I think next time we will go all out and make a full on lasagna from scratch, I will be sure to have appetizers and 3 hours to get that feat accomplished!

Seven-Yolk Pasta Dough
Adapted from French Laundry Cookbook

1 3/4 cups (8 ounces) all-purpose flour
6 large egg yolks
1 large egg
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil
1 tablespoon milk

Mound flour on a board or other surface and create a well in the center, pushing the flour to all sides to make a ring with sides about 1-inch wide. Make sure that the well is wide enough to hold all the eggs without spilling.

Pour the egg yolks, egg, oil and milk into the well. Use your fingers to break the eggs up. Still using your fingers, begin turning the eggs in a circular motion, keeping them within the well and not allowing them to spill over the sides. This circular motion allows the eggs to gradually pull in flour from the sides of the well; it is important that the flour not be incorporated too rapidly, or dough will be lumpy. Keep moving the eggs while slowly incorporating the flour. Using a pastry scraper, occasionally push the flour toward the eggs; the flour should be moved only enough to maintain the gradual incorporation of the flour, and the eggs should continue to be contained within the well. The mixture will thicken and eventually get too tight to keep turning with your fingers.

When the dough begins thickening and starts lifting itself from the board, begin incorporating the remaining flour with the pastry scraper by lifting the flour up and over the dough that’s beginning to form and cutting it into the dough. When the remaining flour from the sides of the well has been cut into the dough, the dough will still look shaggy. Bring the dough together with the palms of your hands and form it into a ball. It will look flaky but will hold together.

Knead the dough by pressing it, bit by bit, in a forward motion with the heels of your hands rather than folding it over on itself as you would with a bread dough. Re-form the dough into a ball and repeat the process several times. The dough should feel moist but not sticky. Let the dough rest for a few minutes while you clean the work surface.

Dust the clean work surface with a little flour. Knead the dough by pushing against it in a forward motion with the heels of your hands. Form the dough into a ball again and knead it again. Keep kneading in this forward motion until the dough becomes silky smooth. The dough is ready when you can pull your finger through it and the dough wants to snap back into place. The kneading process can take from 10 to 15 minutes.

Even if you think you are finished kneading, knead it for an extra 10 minutes; you cannot overknead this dough. It is important to work the dough long enough to pass the pull test; otherwise, when it rests, it will collapse.

Double-wrap the dough in plastic wrap to ensure that it does not dry out. Let the dough rest for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour before rolling it through a pasta machine. The dough can be made a day ahead, wrapped and refrigerated; bring to room temperature before proceeding.

*Camera phone pic again,and even better a plastic spoon!  So classy am I.

Thanks to Papa Spud’s I have been introduced to kale.  I wasn’t sure what to do with it initially, but I happened to see a recipe for a soup on Elly’s blog and I figured adding salted pork to a new vegetable is a great way to try something new!  I changed some things around a bit, using things I had on hand including some vegetable demi glace I got at Southern Season.  This is not at all necessary but I felt fancy using it

This soup is FANTASTIC!  The bacon adds fantastic saltiness, the beans added a nice thickness and I felt uber healthy eating my greens!  You could skip the bacon all together to make it vegetarian, just make sure to add more salt.  You will also want to use good chicken or vegetable stock as opposed to broth because you want maximum flavor.  This soup is actually quite filling to, I added a whole wheat pita from Neomonde Bakery for a nice complete lunch.  Perfect for a cold day, it’s finally starting to feel like fall around here!

Bacon, Bean, and Kale Soup

3 slices of bacon, diced
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 T. tomato paste
2 T. veggie demi-glace (if you have it)
1/4 tsp. red pepper flakes
2 quarts chicken broth
1.5 Tbsp. rosemary
2 cans cannelini beans, drained and rinsed
1 Turkish bay leaf
1 bunch kale, chopped
salt and pepper

Heat a dutch oven over medium heat, add sliced bacon and cook until crisp. Remove bacon and allow to drain on paper towel. Drain off most of the grease, leaving about a tablespoon or so. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Stir in the garlic, cooking until fragrant. Add the tomato paste,red pepper flakes, and demi glace if using cooking just a minute or two to cook off some of the paste.

Meanwhile, lightly smash about 1/2 a can of the white beans (this will thicken the soup a bit). Add the chicken broth, rosemary, beans, rind and bay leaf. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil and then reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer for about 20-30 minutes. Add the kale and simmer an additional 8 minutes or so until the kale is tender. Add in bacon and serve.

CSA’s are all the rage nowadays.  Everyone is looking to buy local and support the local farmers.  This area have sorta become known for this with articles is many large cooking magazines praising restaurants and residents for buying and eating locally.  I am all for supporting the local people which is why I hardly ever go to chain restaurants and love going to the Farmer’s Market.  But sometimes I just can’t make it out to Lake Wheeler Rd for a trip to the market, something about working 50-60 hours a week, plus service work, plus a relationship- it just doesn’t always happen.

Then I heard about Papa Spud’s Organics.  I kinda drug my feet about signing up but then I heard they have a bit more variety and are offering deliveries year round!  They have a suggested sampler that you can chose but if salad turnips don’t strike your fancy you can swap it out from a group of other options.  I tend to like to try new things so I try and stick to the recommended sampler.  This week I received:

Mixed NC Apples (3 ct.) / Perry Lowe Orchards, NC
Zucchini Squash (~1 lb.) / Sunset Ranch, NC
Whole Wheat Pitas (4 ct.) / Nemonde Baking Company, NC
Green Kale (1 ct.) / Cottles Organic Farm, NC
Acorn Squash (1 ct.) / Somerset Farm, NC
Green, Red, or Romaine Lettuce / Timberwood Organics, NC
Anjou Pears (2 ct.) / WA

It was like Christmas!  I had to work both jobs that day so Scottie put it in my house and I raced home to open it up.  Even though I knew what was in it, I was still excited.  I knew what items I would be receiving the Friday before so I was able to plan my weekly menu around the items including; Greek Chicken Pitas, Bean, Bacon and Kale Soup, Apple and Raisin Stuffed Pork, and Pear Gorgonzola salad.

I absolutely love this service.  It saves me a trip to the farmer’s market, sometimes saves me from the grocery store all together and I love knowing it’s fresh and from local farms.  Check it out and see if they delivery to your area!

It’s no surprise that everyone is watching what they spend and with the economy it way it is and the uncertain job market I am joining the masses.  In an attempt to cut down on waste and make my dollars stretch more I am really trying to focus on using everything I have, this means cleaning out the freezer, pantry and using the dreaded….leftovers.  I am not a huge leftovers fan, I can tolerate some and I think  some dished even taste better the second re-heat…but in general I get pretty bored with the same thing everyday (unless it is fried egg sandwiches- I will never get sick of those!)  So I had a rather large london broil that I picked up a while ago and felt it was time to defrost it and put it to good use.

I marinaded the beef in my favorite sauce ever, I actually swiped it from one of those dinner prep places, I have used it multiple times, usually with flank steak but it really lends itself well to other cut of meat.  The first time it was sliced thin and and served with a veggie couscous.

The next day I had a head of romaine that was on its last leg so I washed it up, added some asian pears and chopped it into bite sized pieces with my mezzaluna.  This is my new way of preparing salads, I find they are easier to eat by making everything the same size.  I then chopped the steak into bit sized pieces then tossed everything in a big bowl with some toasted sesame dressing (not from scratch- form Kraft- shame on me. )  I added some no-knead bread (post coming soon) and dinner was served.  I was so proud of myself!  Two completely different dinners using the same protein.

If I was trying to stretch it once more I would add the steak to a wrap for lunch the next day.  But alas, there was none left this time.

Sweet and Tangy Steak Marinade

1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1 T. sesame seeds
1 T. Minced garlic
1 T. grated ginger
1 T. toasted sesame oil

Add to any flank steak, london broil, even pork!

I know what you are thinking, you just spent a lavish weekend in Vegas, and you went camping?  I should say, not just camping but backpacking, in the backcountry of Grandfather Mountain.  Yes, I deserve a gold star.  I forgot this was on my 101 List, so I was happy to mark this one off the list.

The weather was absolutely perfect, cool nights and just warm enough during the day.  After getting our hiking/camping permits in Boone we drove to one of the trail entrances.  Parking spots were at a premium but after a few minutes we found one and got geared up for the hike into the woods.  The pack seemed a bit heavier than the night before, but nothing I couldn’t handle.  The dogs were amped up so we had to coral their energy a bit.  It was to be about a 1.5 mile hike into the woods where there would be about 4 or so camp sites.  Scottie was increasingly concerned about the camp sites being full, I had not wrapped my brain around the concept and thought we could just plant out tent anywhere.  The hike was not quite easy as it was gradually uphill and full of roots and rocks.  It was definitely sweating and realized the 3 month break from working out was evident.  We got to one section near the end and I thought we lost the trail, but I looked up and saw the trail was indeed marked over a running stream and some very large rocks. Neither dogs were able to jump over them so Scottie had to remove his pack to carry them across.  I thought I would never get across as the weight of the pack made it hard to climb up the rocks.  But I finally did and just as Scottie went to put his pack on his camera bag fell into the water- yes his brand new pride and joy was submerged.  He was able to retrieve it but only have being full of water.  It is currently residing in a bag of rice in hopes of pulling out the moisture.  After the crisis with the camera we hiked the remaining bit of the trail to the sites.  The first one we found was already claimed and I then understood Scottie’s concern, there is one raised wooden platform and one fire pit, so we were off to try the other site.  Luckily the second site was available and we eagerly took our packs off and let the dogs have some water.

The site was called Storyteller’s Rock because it was just under the overlook of the same name.  there was a bit of traffic that would come through with people climbing to the top for a view but nothing too terrible, I actually enjoyed seeing other humans.  Once we got the tent up and had a snack for lunch Scottie was off to collect firewood while I sat down with a book.  Yes I felt lazy but I was still new to the whole camping and nature concept.  He got the fire going and we had a gourmet meal of velveeta shells and cheese and beenie weenies for dinner.  It was actually not bad!  I smuggled in a bit of wine to help with my anxiety as the sun set but the first night was actually enjoyable.  I tried not to think about the animals that could be peering in or the random noises, the wine definately helped!

Happy I survived my first night in the woods, I woke up excited and ready to hike around.  We made oatmeal and I had a powerbar for some extra fat.  We decided against packing up and moving sites as we didn’t know the availability of the other sites.  So we put out faith in our fellow backpackers and left our tent and stuff (bringing valuables with us ofcourse) went out for a nice hike.  We decided on about a 5 mile route, the first 1.2 mile or so was quite strenuous, we gained about 800 feet in elevation.  There were some great views though and the dogs were fantastic!  The rest of the hike was  not as bad and most of it was downhill.  We decided to cheat a bit and instead of going back to camp we went to the car and drove into Blowing Rock for lunch.  Blowing Rock is soooo cute, had a not been dirty and sweaty I would have loved to walk around the cute shops and cafes.  We ended up at Woodland’s BBQ and we pretty much pigged out.  Cold beer, the best wings I have ever had, and lots of pork barbeque! It was so full.  We decided to bring the wings back to camp for dinner.  However I was still way too full to eat, even after hiking back in to camp (which was undisturbed- yey!) but Scottie enjoyed them with some ramen noodles.   I was a bit more nervous as the sun set this day as Scottie asked me in the morning if I heard the rustling and footsteps the night before.  So I was freaked out about the possibility of a bear getting us, and the leftover chicken wings strung from the tree didn’t help my nerves.  However I slept ok, mainly because of exhaustion from the hiking the day before.

The next morning we decided against oatmeal in favor of a Bagelicious sandwich was a bagel shop in Boone that Scottie used to frequent.  A Bagelicious is a bagel, fried egg, ham, bacon, cheese and with the addition of Duke’s mayo I was in absolute heaven.  heart attack waiting to happen?  Ofcourse- but you don’t eat these things everyday.

Overall, I am quite happy with myself.  I never in a million years though I would go camping much less backpacking!  Now I am ready to take on some backpacking vacations!  I may get to Africa sooner then I had planned!

I LOVE making breakfast food.  Even if I have a jammed packed weekend with work, errands, and cleaning I still try to make time for a special breakfast.  I have a couple boxes of pancake mix I am trying to use up and using the mix as it would just be boring so I have been looking for creative ways to use it up beside the usual pancakes and waffles.  I was running low on time a few weeks ago and instead of flipping pancakes I decided to bake one big one.  I had some apples to use up, a couple bags of pecans in the freezer and said pancake mix.  A quick peruse of AllRecipes and I found this recipe.  It took minutes to put together and while in the over I had time to scan the coupons and sale ads before work.  This came out almost cake-like which was really nice.  I didn’t think it needed any additional maple syrup but you could certainly add more if you like that kind of thing.  I reheated some leftover tortilla from the day before and breakfast was done!  Perfect for the cooler weather that is creeping in.

Baked Apple Pecan Pancake

1 cup pancake/waffle mix
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
2 tablespoons butter, melted
1 cup apple - peeled, cored and sliced
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup pecans, chopped
3 tablespoons maple syrup

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Mix together pancake mix, milk and egg until blended. Set aside.

2. Pour melted butter in 9-inch pie plate. Place apple slices in bottom of pie plate. Sprinkle cinnamon and pecans over apples and drizzle syrup over top. Pour batter over apples.

3. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 30 minutes or until top springs back when touched. Loosen edges and invert onto serving platter. Cut into wedges before serving.

*Yes Mom is drinking beer, and enjoying it!

Mom and Dad came for the weekend, a belated birthday celebration.  I managed to stretch this thing out 2 full weeks!  We went out to dinner at Nina’s on Friday night, which was wonderful.  nice and relaxed, good food and wine and of course lively conversation.   Saturday included Dad going to the State game with a friend (they lost, no tears were shed in my house) and Mom and I went to Aveda in Chapel Hill to get facials and walk around Chapel Hill including the gourmet food mecca, Southern Season.  That night we went to Beer Fest in Durham.  I was a little concerned as I know there would be a ton of people there, in close quarters and I knew Mom wasn’t a huge beer fan.  Well, I was so wrong.  Yes there were a ton of people but the festival took place at the Durham Athletic Park in the outfield to things were much more spread out and enjoyable.  And Mom actually enjoyed the beer!  Yes there were a few she gave to me or dad to drink but she actually found a few she liked.  Success!  Such a fun night, as you can tell by the picture.

Our weekends together always include food so I made a few dips to enjoy Friday night before dinner.  The Cheddar Spread reminds me of my favorite pub cheese you buy in the store, the recipe came from Melissa.  I think next time I will replace the mustard with horseradish.  YUM!  The hummus was made with dried beans, yes I soaked them and cooked them but Friday I worked from home so I was able to let the beans boil for a while.  You MUST try this and use the dried beans, it was so much better then the canned beans, so creamy and lovely.  This recipe came from AllRecipes.
Cheddar Ale Spread

8 oz. cream cheese
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2½ cups shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons heavy cream
¼ teaspoon salt
dash of garlic powder
¼ cup beer (pretty much anything but a light beer)
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Combine the cream cheese, mustard, cheddar cheese, cream, salt and garlic powder in a food processor. Process for 30 seconds, add the beer, and continue processing until very smooth. Pulse in the parsley until just dispersed.

This can be stored in the refrigerator for up to 4 days. You will want to take it out an hour before serving if you do refrigerate.

Authentic Middle Eastern Hummus

3 cups dry garbanzo beans, soaked overnight
1 pinch baking soda (optional)
3/4 cup tahini paste
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon ground cumin
salt to taste
1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Rinse the garbanzo beans and and place in a pot. Fill with enough water to cover by at least 1 inch. Add baking soda, if using. Bring to a boil and then simmer over medium heat until the beans are very soft, 1 1/2 to 2 hours.

Drain the beans, reserving some of the water to use later. Reserve a small handful of the whole beans for a garnish. Transfer the rest to a blender or if you have a hand blender, a large bowl. Blend the beans until smooth, adding 1/2 cup of olive oil gradually. Add some of the reserved water if needed to help it blend. Add the tahini and blend in along with the lemon juice. Season with cumin and salt.

Spread the hummus into a flat serving dish and garnish with the reserved beans and a drizzle of olive oil.

This is one of the recipes I made for the wine tasting, a tortilla is essentially a frittata.  This was so easy to make, I had a house full of people and was able to crank it out in no time.  I really wanted to dress it with the mixed greens but at that point in the night my guests needed food!  I didn’t get a bite of it so I made a smaller one the next morning for breakfast.  It was the perfect hangover food!  Protein and carbs- yum! Who needs Bojangles.  Though I do love their bacon, egg, and cheese biscuits- ugh, I am making myself hungry.

The recipe below is for the full size, I halved it for breakfast and used a small omelet pan and it was perfect for two with slices leftover for the next morning. Next time I may add some crushed red peppers because I kinda wanted this to be spicier, but I guess it depends on the chorizo you get.  Ooooo or you could add some shredded pepper jacj cheese, that would be delish.  Ok, looks like I am making this again this weekend!  And you should too!

Potato and Chorizo Tortilla

4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 fresh chorizo sausages, cut into slices (I crumbled mine)
3 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1 medium onion, chopped
8 large eggs
1/2 cup milk
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup mixed baby greens, for garnish
1/2 lemon, juiced

Heat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Pour 3 tablespoons olive oil into a 12-inch non stick, ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chorizo and fry for 5 minutes; add the potato and onion and fry until the onions start to soften, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat and cover the skillet; cook until the potatoes are tender, about 10 minutes. Remove the cover, raise the heat, and cook until the potatoes are brown and crispy, about another 5 minutes. Meanwhile break the eggs into a large bowl, add the milk, season with salt and pepper, and whisk until frothy. Pour the egg mixture into the pan, shaking the pan to distribute the eggs evenly. Put the pan into the oven and cook until puffy and set, about 12 to 15 minutes. Turn out onto a cutting board and let it cool to room temperature. Toss the baby greens with the remaining oil and lemon juice; season with salt and pepper. Place the greens on top of the tortilla, cut it into thin wedges, and serve.