Simple green salad with poached pears

I couldn't say I had ever poached a pear before this past Sunday. Boy, was I missing out! Poaching the pears was easy and delicious. They really classed up this simple salad of lettuce sprinkled with a little bit of blue cheese, but they would also be fabulous as a light dessert. This was definitely a guest impressing dish for very little work. Enjoy!

Simple green salad with poached pears by Joie de vivre

Ingredients:

2 cups of red wine
2 Tbls. lime juice
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 stick of cinnamon
3 firm fleshed pears
Romaine lettuce
Blue cheese crumbles

Directions:

1. Place the wine, lime juice, sugar and cinnamon stick in a large saucepan and bring it to boil.
2. Halve your pears and remove the skin. Use a melon baller to scoop out the seeds and then run it along the inside middle to remove the core.
3. Once your liquid is boiling, place the pears into it. Turn down the heat until the liquid is just gently simmering. Simmer the pears for 4 minutes, then turn them over in the liquid and simmer for an additional 4 minutes.
4. Turn off the heat and leave the pears in the cooking liquid for 20 minutes.
5. Place a leaf or two of Romaine lettuce on each plate. Top with a poached pear and crumble some blue cheese on top. Voila!
6. To make it extra fancy, bring your poaching liquid back to a boil and boil for just a minute or two until it is a little syrupy. Drizzle a little of the syrup over the salad.

Ham, Cheese and Salami Roll-ups

One of the parenting goals I have for my children is to mold them into at least proficient cooks by the time they leave the house.  We all knew those guys in college that had absolutely no housekeeping skills and could barely boil water to make pasta.  (Believe me guys, housekeeping skills and culinary skills are attractive to women, slovenliness, not so much.)  My five year old is getting to the point where he can handle actual cooking now, as opposed to just stirring, and so my quest this summer is to find some recipes that he can make himself.  I scored big for the mom team in finding this recipe.  It was easy enough that he could do all of the steps by himself while I stood close by to just give directions and put the pan into the oven.  He was so proud of himself and ate a double helping of his meal.  He even wanted to make dinner the next night!  Now I must find some more kid friendly recipes to harness this energy!

Ham, Cheese and Salami Roll-ups adapted from Taste of Home Simple and Delicious March/April 2009

Serves 4-5

Ingredients:

2 Tbls. olive oil

5-6 eight inch flour tortillas

1/2 c. grated parmesan cheese

5-6 slices deli ham

5-6 slices provolone cheese

24 slices thinly sliced deli salami

1/2 c. roasted red sweet peppers, drained

1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees F.

1.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

2.  Lay out tortillas on baking sheet, brush lightly with olive oil.

3.  Sprinkle each tortilla with parmesan cheese

4.  Layer a ham slice on each tortilla, then in order, the provolone, the salami, the red peppers and the mozzarella.

5.  Roll up each tortilla and place a toothpick through them to secure.  Place them seam side down on the baking sheet.

6.  Brush with olive oil.

7.  Bake for 12-15 minutes until browned and cheese is melted through.

Chicken Enchiladas with African Spices

After Sunday's culinary trip to Ethiopia, I have been mesmerized by the flavors and also devising ways to use up some of the berbere I created for the dishes.  I'll need to make more berbere (recipe here) for this Sunday's trip to Ethiopia after this dish, but it was so worth it!  This dish was also inspired by my recent trip to Santa Fe and the desire to recreate some of the delicious dishes I had while I was there.  My friend Cindy shared her mother's recipe for New Mexican Enchilada Sauce and I adapted it to fit in some African flavors.  This wasn't a quick dish, but very few things worth having are quick, right?

Chicken Enchiladas with African Spices by Joie de vivre

Ingredients:

5 chicken legs

About 8 small corn tortillas (I made mine for better and fresher flavor)

1 1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese

For Enchilada sauce:

3 Tbls. unsalted butter

2 Tbls. all purpose flour

1/3 c. berbere (recipe here)

2 c. water

1 tsp. oregano

1/2 tsp. cumin

Directions:

1.  Begin by making the enchilada sauce.  Melt the butter in a large bottomed skillet over medium heat.  Add the flour and whisk well.  Cook the flour in the butter for about 1 minute whisking continuously.  Add the water extremely slowly, whisking continuously to avoid lumps.  Add the berbere, oregano, and cumin and cook the sauce over low heat for about 10 minutes.

2.  Add the chicken legs to a 4-5 quart crock pot insert.  Pour the enchilada sauce over the chicken legs.  Cover and set the crock pot to LOW.  Cook the chicken legs on LOW for about 4 hours, stirring once after about 2 hours.

3.  Once the chicken is cooked, remove the meat from the bones and place it in a medium sized bowl.  Shred the meat with two forks.

4.  Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.

5.  Into an 8 x 8 inch Pyrex baking dish, spoon about 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce from the crock pot.  Cover this with a layer of about 4 tortillas (enough to cover the bottom of the dish.  Spoon about 1/4 cup more enchilada sauce over the top of the tortillas.  Over this, layer 1/2 of the chicken.  Put 1/2 of the cheese over the chicken and spoon another 1/4 c. sauce over the cheese.  Repeat the layers.  Tortillas, sauce, remaining chicken, remaining cheese, and the remaining sauce.

5.  Place this dish into the pre-heated oven for about 20-30 minutes until the cheese is melted through and bubbly.  Allow to rest for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Peanut Butter Quesadillas

I realize I may have lost some of you with the title of this post.  Sorry for that.  A few days ago I reconnected with a childhood friend on Facebook.  We were reminiscing about one of her mother's signature dishes, peanut butter pizza.  This got me thinking of the peanut butter/cheese combination, and thus, these quesadillas were born.  These were stick-to-your-ribs yummy in a "that's interesting" yummy sort of way.  I'm sending this over to Nick, the Peanut Butter Boy, for his Great Peanut Butter Exhibition.  If you're brave enough to try these, let me know what you think!

Peanut Butter Quesadillas by Joie de vivre

Serves 1

Ingredients:

2 Flour tortillas

1 Tbls. peanut butter

1/4 cup shredded mozzerella cheese

Directions:

1.  Spread the peanut butter on one of the tortillas.  Lay the tortilla on a griddle.  Place the griddle over low heat.  Sprinkle the mozzerella cheese on top of the peanut butter and top with the other tortilla.

2.  Occasionally check the bottom of the tortilla by lifting carefully with a spatula.  When it is beginning to brown, flip the quesadilla over to the other side.  Cook until lightly browned on both sides and cheese is melted.

3.  Cut into 4-8 pieces and serve with a tall glass of cold milk.

Trip and Food photos from Santa Fe, NM

First of all, I want to give a big thank you to all of you for reading my blog!  I was able to post every day in February and your lovely comments kept me motivated!  I had so much fun doing it, I plan to post every day in March as well.  It wasn't easy towards the end as I was actually in Santa Fe, New Mexico for a few days last week.  Thanks to the feature on Blogger that allows you to post things in the future, I was able to meet my goal.  I'm feeling a little rusty as I type this.  It's been a few days (for me) since I've posted, but I thought you'd enjoy some pictures of Santa Fe.  It was so good for me to get away.  My hubby had a work conference so I was able to spend some quality girl time with myself (the kids were at grandma's) walking around the Plaza in Santa Fe and getting a massage and facial at the spa at our hotel.  Jealous?  I haven't even gotten to the food part yet!

My first morning in Santa Fe, I wandered.  I happened across the state capitol building.  It isn't much to look at from the outside, but I took a little tour and it is quite large inside.  They were having "Las Vegas, New Mexico" days in the lobby, so the place was just jammed pack with police, firefighters, school principals, etc. all from Las Vegas, New Mexico.  In addition to that, they were having some tribute to soldiers from the Vietnam War, so retired veterans were all around as well as members of the Lyons Club.  After my little tour, my tour guide was preparing to show 120 elementary school kids around.  I would not want to trade jobs with her!

San Miguel Church, just off of the Plaza, is the oldest church in the U.S.A.  There is evidence in the foundation of it being built on an Indian temple site from the 1300's.

The outside of San Miguel Church

The inside of San Miguel Church

I cannot remember the name of this church right now (San Lorenzo?).  It's claim to fame is this "miraculous" staircase.  It's miraculous because it defies the laws of physics by making two complete revolutions without any external supports.  I thought it was miraculous that they actually got $3.00 from me to come see the darn staircase!

Okay, enough of the travel shots.  I know what you're really interested in seeing...the FOOD!

My first breakfast in Santa Fe.  This was a little shop right off of the Plaza that I happened to wander into.  They made all of their pastries and breads on site.  I steered clear of the pastries in favor of their crepes though.  I actually went back there with my hubby our last morning in town as well!

The animal breads...aren't they cute?!  I wouldn't want to eat them for fear of ruining them!

More animal breads

My first breakfast in Santa Fe, a mushroom, chicken, and spinach crepe.  Less than half was plenty and the waitress was very good at refilling my coffee.

My last breakfast in Santa Fe at the same creperie.  A chorizo, egg, and cheese crepe.  Again, less than half was plenty.

This is me and hubby standing outside of Bert's La Taqueria on one of his lunch breaks from the conference.  We stumbled across this restaurant on the backside of a church a few blocks from our hotel and it ended up being my favorite restaurant of the trip.  We sat next to a pair of fellow foodies (unfortunately the only other people in the restaurant) who took our picture.

I'm not even sure what this is!  I ordered some local specialty off of the menu that they were almost out of.  They had a little bit left which they shared with us.  There were beans and green peppers in it, stewed a long time, and it had a wonderful smokey flavor.

Hubby and I shared so this is a combination of the fish, beef and pork tortillas.  My mouth is watering just remembering this dish!

Friday night dinner was at a restaurant called the Pink Adobe.  Very cute atmosphere.  We sat in this little room next to a fireplace where the waitress would put another log on the fire every time she passed.

We shared the crab enchilada.  Yes, this is the portion that has already been halved!

The Pink Adobe is famous for its apple pie.  We had to taste it.  The rum sauce it is floating in was fabulous.

Saturday morning we again stumbled across this restaurant, Tia Sophias, off of the Plaza.  There was a little bit of a wait so I casually started chatting with someone waiting next to me.  "Have you been here before?" I ask.  "Oh yes," was the reply, "I come here every week.  In fact, I've been here twice this week!"  How can you go wrong with an endorsement like that!  We got there at a good time as this place soon became packed with locals.  We were seated relatively quickly, oh it was so good.

My breakfast, the huevos rancheros with rice and beans.  The beans were a PERFECT accompaniment to the eggs.  The green chili sauce was spicy and delicious.

Lunch was just okay at someplace called The Burrito Bar (?).  Actually if we had been in town here we would have considered it exceptional, but in comparison to all of the excellent restaurants we ate at, it was my least favorite.  A chicken and avocado burrito with green chili on top.

Our final dinner in Santa Fe was at a place called The Bull Pen off of the Plaza.  Hubby and I split again (yes, this is the half portion that has already been split!) a steak with sauteed mushroom, crispy onions, and green chili floating in a pool of sizzling butter.  We split a loaded baked potato and a side of au gratin spinach (which was more like a little bit of spinach floating in a pool of melted, gooey cheddar cheese)

Santa Fe was beyond fun for me to go to.  Reliving the trip through food, I already feel myself going back to "vacation mode" and relaxing.  I would totally recommend going if you are able. Now I need to get out my Rick Bayless cookbook and start trying to recreate some of these dishes!  

No-Knead Pizza Crust

Everyone is on the No-Knead bread wagon right?  You know, the bread making technique made famous in the NY Times?  It creates flavorful, crusty breads letting time do the work for you.  So when the King Arthur Flour blog posted a No-Knead Pizza Crust, it went to the top of my "must make" recipe list.

This recipe did not disappoint.  It did indeed take time, but it created the best homemade pizza crust I've ever made.  It was firm but had great texture and taste.  Don't let the "time factor" steer you off of this recipe.  There was probably only about 5-7 minutes of hands on time.  The rest of the time was waiting while the little yeast workhorses did their thing.

No-Knead Pizza Crust adapted from King Arthur Flour blog

Ingredients:

3 cups bread flour

1/4 tsp. instant yeast

1 1/2 tsp. salt

1 1/2 - 2 c. warmish water

Directions:

1.  The night before you want to make pizza, mix together all of the ingredients, stirring just to combine.  The mixture will resemble cottage cheese.  

2.  Cover the bowl with Saran Wrap and let it rest overnight until right before you are ready to bake the crust.

3.  When ready to bake the crust, pre-heat your oven with a pizza stone inside to 450 degrees F.  Heavily flour your counter and scrape the "dough" out onto the counter.  Heavily flour the top and use a dough scraper to fold the dough over a few times.  It will be very, very wet and soupy.

4.  Place a square of parchment onto a pizza peel or the back of a cookie sheet.  

5.  Pat the dough out onto the parchment into a circular shape until it is about 1/4 inch thick.

6.  When your oven is pre-heated, slide the dough, parchment and all, onto the pizza stone.  Spray the crusts and the inside walls of your oven with water to create steam and shut the door quickly.  Bake the crust for about 16 minutes.

7.  Remove the crust from the oven and put your pre-cooked toppings on top.  I used tomato paste, mozzarella cheese and pepperoni slices.

8.  Slide the pizza back into the oven for another 8 minutes until the toppings are hot and the cheese is bubbly and starting to brown.

Mac, Cheese, and the Laundromat

Cats are finicky creatures.  Have you ever done something stupid like save a few dollars buying a different brand of cat litter, only to end up having your cat pee all over your bed?  Yeah, that was me cursing my stupidity as I recently bundled myself and my comforter down to the Laundromat.  I brought my new Christmas present along with me, a copy of Ina Garten Barefoot Contessa Family Style Cookbook, and a notepad in order to make my grocery list.  During the wash cycle, I was busy setting the week's menu and making my list, and when I popped the comforter in the dryer, I knew I had just enough time to make it to the grocery store and back before it was done.  Did I end up saving money with the new cat litter?  Unfortunately, I think by the time the laundry was done, I finished $10.00 in the hole.  Why must I learn the hard way?  The good news is that now our cat is finally using the litter box again, and I made a yummy macaroni and cheese with tomatoes inspired by my trip to the laundromat.  Nice kitty...

Macaroni and Cheese inspired by Ina Garten Barefoot Contessa Family Style Cookbook

Ingredients:

Salt

Vegetable oil

1 lb. elbow macaroni

1 qt. 1% milk

8 Tbls. (one stick--that's right baby) unsalted butter, divided into 8 pieces

1/2 c. all purpose flour

6 c. grated cheese (I mixed 2 c. mozzarella, 2 c. medium cheddar, and 2 c. Swiss)

1/2 tsp. black pepper

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

four small Roma tomatoes, sliced

1 1/2 c. white bread crumbs

Directions:

1.  Pre-heat the oven to 375 degrees

2.  Bring a large pot of salted water to boil, drizzle in a little vegetable oil, and add your macaroni.  Cook until al dente (about 6 minutes).  Drain and set aside.

3.  Meanwhile, heat the milk in a saucepan but do not boil it.  Melt 8 Tbls. butter in a large pot and add the flour.  Cook over low heat for 2 minutes stirring continuously with a whisk.  While whisking, add the hot milk a little at a time, whisking well between each addition.

4.  Off of the heat, add the grated cheeses, 1 Tbls. salt, the pepper, and the nutmeg.  Stir gently, wait 2 minutes and stir gently again.   Add the hot, cooked macaroni and stir well.  Pour mixture into a 3 quart baking dish.

5.  Arrange the sliced tomatoes on top of the dish.  Sprinkle the bread crumbs on top.  Bake for 30-35 minutes until the sauce is bubbly and the macaroni is browned on top.

Imagining Avignon

Joan over at Foodalogue has been hosting a wonderful food event titled, "A Culinary Tour Around the World".  Each week, she and participants travel virtually to other countries through the food.  They "meet" people along the way as they dine their way through the country.  Joan started this event not only to satisfy her traveling bug, but to bring awareness to organizations that help fight hunger such as BloggerAid and World Food Programme.  I am so honored that Joan asked me to join their group in France this week.  I had so much fun imagining myself bicycling through southern France and sitting at farmer's tables, that I plan on joining them again.

When Joan and the others caught up with me, I was in a little town in southern France called Avignon.  Avignon has a long history, however, it is probably most famous for the Palais des Papes.  In 1309, Pope Clement V declared Avignon to be the residence of the Papacy instead of Rome.  Seven popes eventually resided in Avignon, however when Gregory XI moved the papacy back to Rome in 1376, a schism occurred in the Catholic church and a small band of cardinals declared a second pope, an antipope, in Avignon.

The Palais des Papes

Today, Avignon is a beautiful town, perfect for wandering through, and a base for exploring Provence.  It was here that I "met" my wonderful guide, a gardener named Michel.  He was the caretaker of a small castle in a little town called Charmes sur l'Herbasse.  It was an hour or so drive to the north, so I settled into his little Peugeot and watched the countryside pass.  The fields of sunflowers and lavender were in bloom (in my imagination, it is always summer) so the time passed quickly and I used it to get to know Michel a little better.  Michel's castle was owned by a rich Parisian couple who spent two weeks in the summer and two weeks in the winter in Charmes sur l'Herbasse.  The rest of the year, Michel and his wife, Aurelie, cared for the castle and it's grounds.

When we arrived at Michel's home, Michel's brother, Benoit, and his family were also there for Sunday lunch.  Benoit gave me a two cheek kiss in greeting and invited me to join a game of petanque.  As he looked like he took it very seriously, and I am not really a sporty type, I politely declined to see what Aurelie was up to in the kitchen.  Aurelie was preparing a simple sandwich called Sardines Grillees Croutes on homemade baguettes.  I found an approximation of her recipe in Rick Stein's French Odyssey.

Grilled Sardine Croutes adapted from Rick Stein's French Odyssey

Serves 3

1 tin sardines, in olive oil

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

3 chunks of baguette

3 romaine lettuce leaves

1-2 nice tomatoes, cut into very thin slices

1 jar roasted red peppers

1 small red onion, very thinly sliced

3 hard boiled eggs, peeled and quartered

6 anchovy fillets, in olive oil

Directions:  

1.  Open the sardine tin.  There should be three small chunks of sardines inside.  Open each chunk up by cutting down the middle.  Put the sardines on a cookie tray and broil for 3 minutes.

2.  Begin assembling sandwiches.

3.  Open up each chunk of baguette.  On the bottom halves of the baguette chunks, lightly drizzle with extra virgin olive oil.  Lay romaine lettuce leaves, tomato slices, red onion slices and roasted red pepper pieces on in that order.  Top with sardines and anchovies.

4.  Serve top half of bread alongside.  Also serve with 4 hard boiled egg quarters.

5.  Eat with a fork and knife.

For dessert, Aurelie unwrapped a chunk of Saint Andre cheese, a triple creme cow's milk cheese, and placed it on a communal tray with some prunes.  We also had Aurelie's freshly made yogurt alongside.

After eating, we toured Aurelie's garden.  She had lots of raised vegetable beds, fruit trees, and even a bee hive from which Michel extracts honey in the fall.  It was a very pleasant day in the sun.  We eventually settled in watching Benoit and Michel play a couple of very serious rounds of petanque while sipping on a nice Burgundy.

All too soon, it was time to head to the big city of Grenoble for my flight out of France.  Joan and her travel buddies are off to Portugal next week.  I had been planning on meeting them in Ethiopia in three weeks, but I had so much fun on this adventure that they may see me before that.  If you are interested in joining Joan and crew yourself for their culinary tour, just click on the Foodalogue badge above.  Until then, A bientot!

Football food

I am laughing at how ironic it is to follow yesterday's "Weight Loss Weekly" with today's "Football food".  All things in moderation though, right?  These Chili dogs are a take off another recipe from Fix it and Forget it Big Cookbook.  Fixing these chili dogs in the crock pot made them a perfect food for grabbing during a commercial break.  (Not that I am endorsing eating in front of the T.V., but I know it happens)  These were very rich and cheesy.  Enjoy!

Crock Pot Chili Dogs adapted from Fix it and Forget it Big Cookbook

Serves 8

1 lb. hot dogs

2 15 oz. cans chili

1 4 oz. can chopped green chilies, in your preferred hotness level

1 15 oz. can Nacho cheese condensed soup

8 hot dog buns

1 chopped onion

Shredded cheddar cheese

corn chips

1.  Place hot dogs into the slow cooker insert.

2.  Mix together chili, green chilies, Nacho cheese soup and pour over hot dogs. 

3.  Cover and cook in crock pot on LOW for 3-4 hours.

4.  When ready to serve, place a hot dog in a bun, ladle some chili over the top, sprinkle with cheddar cheese and onions and serve with corn chips.