WE'RE MOVING!!!

Micah and I are moving to Nashville in a week and a half.  We will be starting new jobs, well...I will, he's still got to find one.  And I will have a new kitchen, with new countertops that I already love, (because I hate the color of my current ones) and I am going to get a rolling butcher block and have a breakfast table and it's all going to be so wonderful.

I can't wait to cook my very first mean in my new kitchen!

Also, I don't believe in new years resolutions, but I do believe in new house resolutions.  I vow to cook more meals and document more meals.  I vow to become the MOST organized person in the world.  And I vow to put more posts up.

See ya'll after christmas and the new year!

Booth

I've been cooking, I swear...

I just haven't been posting about it because I don't have a good camera anymore.  But here's a picture of some bagels I made yesterday...

They are delicious, and each one is a uniquely different flavor.  I never ever ever want to buy bagels again, because it's not that hard to do, and they are so good.  A few of the varieties are 1.  Cinnamon, raisin, cranberry, honey 2.  Garlic 3.  Garlic, Onion, Basil, Parmesan 4.  Plain 5.  Basil and many many more, I made 2 batches of them, I just didn't get a picture of the other ones.  Some of these are going to get turned into bagel chips, (which I am secretly but maybe it's not a secret now, obsessed with.)  They are really easy to make also.  Whenever I get back home to my cookbook I will get the recipe up.  I promise.  It comes from Love Food "Baking Bible".  The recipe is really easy, the key to successful fluffy bread of any kind I have discovered is to ABSOLUTELY make sure you give it the proper amount of rise time.

There aren't any awesome bagel shops in Memphis, which makes me very sad.  If I had the money, I would open my own.  Where I am from there is a Beagle Bagel (yum) and in New Orleans near my mom's house there is a great bagel/bagel sandwich place.  MEMPHIS WHY DON'T YOU HAVE ONE?!?  I will start one.  Don't worry.  Even if I am just taking orders from friends and making them in my kitchen.  You'll never know what hit you.

Finally some food to post about!

 I cooked up a storm today.  I mean, a full fledged meal, dessert and all.  The kind you start around 12:30 on and not stopping until about 6:30.  It was fantastic.  However, I didn't take many pictures, but there are a few.  

This Zucchini Cornbread is really easy to make, and it's so very delicious.  The recipe came out of the Bon Appetite for July.

     

This unexpected concoction, Bloody Mary Salad, goes on top of a Flank Steak.   

             

A picture of the whole meal, Flank Steak with Bloody Mary Salad, Watermelon with Grilled Halloumi, Tomatoes, and an Mint, Basil, Olive oil mixture, and Zucchini Bread.

Peach, Nectarine, and Raspberry Cobbler

with "Biscuit Topping"

*I'll come back and add the Recipes in a little while.*

Yes, we have....

No food.  I haven't forgotten to blog, I just haven't actually cooked anything.  Hopefully we will go grocery shopping soon (maybe tomorrow) and then I can return to my regularly scheduled programing...I mean cooking.

So until then happy eating...

I'm going to continue my debate with Micah of programming vs. programing....whats the difference?

Catching up....

On things that I should have posted last week or the week before!

A few Sunday's ago we had friends over for brunch, so this post will be a long one, but it is jam packed full of delicious things.  I thought I would start the post off with some beautiful flowers that I got for the occasion.  The Lilies aren't in full bloom in this shot, but a few days later they were.

Also I got a new flour sifter, and I was really excited about that, even though it's silly.

So I sifted my flour thoroughly.  Then added the yeast to make the dough for the bread.

I was making bread to make Creme Brûlée French Toast .  The recipe is of course from my favorite lady over at Smitten Kitchen.  However my bread recipe is from a cookbook I have here at my house so the recipe will be down at the end of the post.

I love the way the recipe tells you to soak the toast in the mixture, for thirty minutes before cooking them, because it makes it so much better.

After baking the bread with the mixture, you make a caramelized sugar top, just as with creme brûlée.

And now for the grits souffle!!  I will never eat grits again any other way.  This is seriously the best way that I have ever had grits, and I absolutely love it.  I found the recipe one day when I was at work flipping through a magazine.  They come out beautifully fluffy, and deliciously cheesy, with just the perfect amount of seasoning.  Then to top if off, you serve it with a little drizzle of honey on top.  I'm sold.  Like I said, I never want to eat grits again, any other way.

The recipe doesn't call for extra cheese on top, but like the good southern girl that I am, I love my cheese grits, and extra cheesy.

Also the extra cheese on top gives it a little more of a crust on top.

Next in the line up....BACON!  I love bacon.  It's so good.  This bacon made my house smell fantastic.  It was honey and maple soaked bacon.  Yum.

Now, when it comes to scrambled eggs, I am a little bit picky.  I don't like to mix milk into my eggs, and whisk them to oblivion and then scramble them.  I actually like to drop a egg into the skillet let it start to cook, and then start to scramble it.  It is more like a fried scrambled egg.  But since I was having guests, I did mix a splash of milk in, along with salt and pepper, and whisk for a little bit.  But then I cooked it in the skillet with a bit of butter, and made it sort of how I like it, and sort of how most other people eat them.  

I love fresh berries, and they went really well on top of the french toast.

It was so much food and so heavy, that we all go like 1/4th of the way into the meal and were so full we had to take a break.  But there was one thing that was for certain, we all had very happy bellies!

The recipe for the grits was pretty straight forward, 

1 cup water

1 cup milk

1/2 cup quick cooking yellow stone ground grits

1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese

4 egg whites

1 egg yolk

2 tablespoons heavy cream

1 tablespoon honey

butter for ramekins

(although the recipe didn't call for it, I also used sharp cheddar in the mixture for an extra kick.)

The grits should be real corn ground grits, they work better, instead of the quaker instant ones.  There should be a few different brands of the proper grits in the flour aisle of the grocery.

1.  Preheat oven to 350º , butter 6 1/2 cup ramekins and set aside.

2.  In a heavy bottom 2 qt saucepan, pour water and milk in pan and bring to simmer.  Slowly pour in grits, whisking briskly until well combined.  Add cayenne pepper and salt.  Cook for five minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in cheese (both cheeses if desired) until melted.  Cool.

3.  In large mixing bowl beat egg whites until stiff.

4.  Into cooled grits, add egg yolk and cream and stir until mixed.  Gently fold in whites until mixed.

5.  Using ladle, place grits in ramekins and fill 2/3rds.  (Here is where I would add a little extra cheese on top for an added crusty layer.)   

6.  Bake 10-15 minutes (but no more than 15) until puffy and slightly golden on top.

7.  Drizzle with honey and serve immediately.

Aaaaaannnnnnddddd now for the recipe for making your own bread for the Creme Brûlée French Toast...

1 Egg 

1 Egg yolk

1/4- 1 cup lukewarm water

4 1/2 cups white bread flour plus, plus extra for dusting

1 1/2 tsp salt

2 tsp superfine sugar

1 tsp active dry yeast

2 tbsp butter, diced

vegetable oil, for brushing

1.  Lightly beat together the egg and egg yolk in a measuring cup.  Stir in enough lukewarm water to make up to 1 1/4.  

2.  Sift the flour and salt together into a bowl and stir in the sugar and yeast.  Add the butter and rub it in with your fingertips until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.  Make a well in the center, pour in the egg mixture, and stir well with a wooden spoon until the dough begins to come together, then kneed with your hands until it leaves the side of the bowl.  (if the dough still isn't sticking together, slowly and carefully stir in enough water to get the dough to stick, but not making it sticky.)  Turn out onto a lightly floured counter and knead well for about 10 minutes, until smooth and elastic.

3.  Brush a bowl with oil.  Shape the dough into a ball, put it into the bowl, and put the bowl into a plastic bag or cover with a damp dish towel.  Let rise in a warm place for 1-2 hours, until the dough has doubled in volume.

4.  Brush a 7 1/2 x 4 1/2 x 3 1/2 loaf pan with oil.  turn out the dough onto a lightly floured counter, punch down with your fist, and knead for 1 minute.  With lightly floured hands, shape the dough into a rectangle the same length as the pan and flatten slightly.  Fold it lengthwise into 3 and place in the prepared pan, seam side down.  Put the pan into a plastic bag or cover with a damp dish towel and let rise in a warm place for 30 minutes, until the dough has reached the top of the pan.

5.  Preheat the oven to 425º.  Bake the loaf for 30 minutes, until it has shrunken from the sides of the pan, is golden brown, and sounds hollow when tapped on the bottom with your knuckles.  Turn out onto a wire rack to cool.

Finally some time to post...

Because for whatever reason I have been really busy this week on my off days.  I'm three meals behind, and currently cooking a fourth, but something has to boil for a while so I had a moment to sit down to write before I need to attend to the cooking food, and before I have to leave to get a haircut (yaaaaayyyyyyyyy it's been since January and my hair just can't take it anymore) but we are here about food...not my hair.

The real title of this post should be...

"Getting creative when you are running out of food..."

Because while you are waiting for paychecks to roll in so that you can go grocery shopping, meals can get a little strange.  Good, but unexpected.

So what did I make with mushrooms, thyme, garlic and onions?

Well none other than pizza on a tortilla!  (Micah's had jalapeno's because he loves them so)

We always have a fair amount of cheddar, goat, havarti, fresh parm, or some other kind of cheese in the house, so that works out well for pizza making.

Mmmm, I topped mine with a lot of goat cheese.

The recipe for this is easy. 

Get some tortillas.  

See what you have in your fridge and pantry that you might like on a pizza.  I had mushrooms, garlic, onions, thyme, cheddar cheese, goat cheese, and fresh parmesan.

If you have butter or if you want to do this, coat the top of your tortilla, (the side that everything is going on) with a thin layer of butter, this helps the tortilla to cook nicely and not just burn.

Throw all your toppings on, plus your cheese, since this isn't like regular pizza where you have to let the dough cook for a while before you put everything else on, you can just pile it up and put it on a pizza pan or cookie sheet and put it in the oven for like 10 minutes.

I also added a little salt and pepper, and a bit of paprika to the top of the tortilla before I put the toppings on, but thats just a person preference.

So, quick, easy, and tasty.

Hopefully in the next few days I can get caught of on the rest of the things that I have made in the past week/week and a half.

I hope that everyone has a great weekend!

My Blog was down....

It wouldn't let me sign in for a few days, but I do have a meal to post, hopefully I can get to that sometime this weekend in between work, P&H prom (it's a prom at one of the local bars for all of us too old for high school prom, and so much fun), brunch with my crazy friends (which I shall document because it's bound to be good) and sleep.  But it might be Monday or Tuesday before I actually get it posted so if it is, don't be too upset with me.

Have a great weekend!