Pepperplate and New Recipes

Have you heard of Pepperplate? We hadn't until we visited with my mentor teacher and his wife in Vermont. They've been using it and gave us a quick demo.

Pepperplate is an app for your ipad/android/chrome device, and also has a website that you can log into. You can upload recipes, create automatic shopping lists (that have been so handy while grocery shopping) and share the recipe easily.

Over the last month Tom and I have been trying out a bunch of new recipes. I have fallen more in love with recipes from Marin Mama Cooks  and we cooked up a bunch of her recipes a few weeks ago. Once I know I like a recipe it goes straight into my Pepperplate account. For a while I only had Jacquelyn's recipes in there, but we have since added our usual dishes and a few new ones to try.

____________________________

We had our first Trader Joe's experience last Sunday and came home with all of the fixings to create meatball subs. My mom used to make porcupine meatballs growing up but we always bought regular meatballs pre-made. This time, Tom was the chef and he was excited to try out the new recipe.

Pre-Oven

Let me tell you, these meatballs were amaaazing! And the subs were incredible. We may never buy a package of meatballs ever again!

Have you tried out Pepperplate?

Where do you normally keep recipes? 

I started this blog as a way to remember recipes, but Pepperplate is so much easier!

Deliciousness: The Prohibition Pig

Tom and I paid a visit to Waterbury last evening to have dinner with a good friend of ours, Matt. Matt was in VT for the week and we were fortunate to have the chance to meet up with him before we left. We needed someplace between Milton and Montpelier, so Tom decided that we would check out the new restaurant, The Prohibition Pig.

He made a good choice.

This new restaurant takes the place of the Alchemist, which was flooded last August during Tropical Storm Irene. It looks quite classy inside, with a darker interior and jars of pickled vegetables along the walls. Their wine and beer list is quite extensive, providing many options for diners. I opted for a Vermont brew, the Hill Farmstead Florence, and was very pleased with the choice.

Barbecue is not always my thing, but it was last night. I ordered their house burger, served with pimiento cheese, a fried green tomato, and house smoked bacon. The burger was sandwiched between a sweet potato bun and was accompanied by a house pickle. It was the most delicious burger that I have ever eaten. Although I wanted more after taking my last bite, it was the perfect amount that left me satisfied after the meal.

The boys ordered apple cider donut holes and a bowl of maple, bourbon, and bacon ice cream. I nabbed one of the donut holes, but cannot tell you why I decided not to try the ice cream. Again, very tasty.

Question for you: What is the most unique burger combination you have ever had?

Grilled Prosciutto and Mozzarella Sandwhich

Last Sunday (4/29) I successfully made a tortilla Española for dinner. Normally I destroy the tortilla when I flip it, it comes out burnt, or the flavor is just bland. This time I made sure to really salt it, cooked it on low, and didn't bother to flip it. Instead, I put a lid on the pan and cooked it for 20 minutes. Perfecto.

By Monday I was craving more Spanish-style comida (food). More specifically, I was craving a bocadillo de jamon y queso (Serrano ham and cheese sandwich), but was lacking the authentic Serrano ham and Manchego cheese.

I discovered the next best thing: A grilled Mozzarella sandwhich with Red Hen bread, basil, tomato, and prosciutto! It was amazing, and so much better than the American grilled cheeses.

Fun fact: Growing up we knew grilled cheese sandwiches as "Toasted cheese sandwiches". My mom broiled them in the oven, toasting them, rather than grilling or frying.

Anyway, to make this sandwich it is quite simple:

1. Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.
2. Butter two sides of really good bread (I used Red-Hen)
3. Lay 1-2 pieces of prosciutto on each un-buttered side of the bread.
4. Lay slices of fresh Mozzarella on top of the prosciutto
5. Cover the cheese with fresh basil leaves.
6. Put the two halves of the sandwich together, making sure the butter is facing outward.

1. Heat olive oil in a small frying pan on medium-low heat. Place sandwich in pan and cook for 3 minutes, until crispy and slightly toasted. Flip and repeat for other side.
2. Place sandwich onto pan and bake in the oven for 3-5 minutes, until cheese is melted. 
3. Remove from oven (careful - it's hot!). Open sandwich and place slices of tomatoes between layers of basil leaves.

Apparently my Spanish-styled food cravings did not end last week. This Tuesday I was whipping up some Valencia-styled paella. I wonder what the next dish will be!

General Tso's Chicken

Sometimes I wonder why books are only $2 at the Christmas Tree Shop. And sometimes I actually get the chance to figure out why.

I once got a cupcake recipe book there that had a recipe for chocolate cupcakes but showed a photo of a vanilla cupcake. Ooops!

And then there was the book that Tom bought last year titled, "30 Minute Meals: A Commonsense Guide".

30 Minute Meals my butt! We've only cooked from it three times because it's taken well over 1.5 hours to make each meal!

So I will warn you, this meal could take a while (because you need to marinade the meat!). It will also take more time if you find out that you don't have Chinese rice wine as soon as you get home from the grocery store, causing you to have to go back out to get some.

Was the recipe worth the time? Maybe. It was a good recipe and it certainly had a little spice to it. What's even better though, is that you know exactly what is in it (unlike some of the Chinese food you may get when you order out).

General Tso's Chicken
From 30 Minute Meals: A Commonsense Guide

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons Chinese rice wine
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 4 tablespoons lite soy sauce
• 3 teaspoons sesame oil
• 2 boneless chicken breasts, cut into cubes
• The zest from one orange
• 1/2 cup peanut oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons chili flakes (or red pepper flakes)
• 2 tablespoons freshly chopped ginger
• 1 cup scallions, diced, plus extra to garnish
• 2 teaspoons sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Jasmine rice (or any other rice)

1. In a medium bowl combine the rice wine, cornstarch, 2 tablespoons soy sauce, and 2 teaspoons of sesame oil (the rest of the soy sauce and sesame oil will be used later in the cooking). Add the chicken, toss to coat, and marinade for at least 1 hour in the fridge.
2. Be sure to begin cooking the rice at the same time you begin heating the oil in step number 3.  
3. Heat the peanut oil on high in a large nonstick pan (or a wok if you're fancy enough to own one!). Remove the chicken from the marinade and stir fry it for two minutes at a time. You will need to work in batches. Chicken should be browned and cooked through. Remove the chicken from the pan and allow to drain in a colander over paper towels. 

1. Once all of the chicken is cooked, drain all but 1 tablespoon of oil from the pan. Reheat the pan over high heat. Add the red pepper flakes and ginger and fry for 10 seconds. Add the chicken back into the pan, as well as the scallions, sugar, orange zest, remaining soy sauce and sesame oil, and salt. Fry for 2-3 minutes. 
2. Serve chicken over warm rice and garnish with extra scallions. 

Sauteed Tarragon Chicken

I know what your next chicken dinner should be.

Friday night I discovered my new favorite chicken recipe. Seriously, it's going to take a lot to beat this one.

Perhaps one of the reasons I love it so much is that it called for sweet paprika. The only sweet paprika I have is from our trip to Spain. Once I figured out how to open the can, Wilson and I couldn't get enough of it's aroma (he would not let me cook in peace). It is by far one of my favorite spices to use in cooking.

"The aroma of fire. The color of the sun. The taste of the race (?). The force of wind."

The recipe is from Marin Mama Cooks. She has very helpful step by step photos on her blog. Make sure you have at least four chicken breasts. We only had two chicken breasts in the freezer and I was too lazy to get more. Normally that's fine because I rarely finish eating one. However, this time I had to refrain from gobbling mine up and attacking Tom's. The tarragon, yellow curry, and paprika were just so flavorful. 

I hope you try the recipe and enjoy it as much as I did!

CSA: Week 10 Preview: Chard and Bacon Pasta

Two posts in one day?! Only because I had such a delicious dinner that I wanted to make sure I could share it with all of you.

I picked up our10th CSA this morning. I normally put the greens away and wait a few days before using them in a dish.

Since I'm tired of "forgetting" to use them I set out to search for a chard recipe for dinner tonight.

And I discovered a winner! The following recipe is so good that it really could be on Sarducci's menu. You don't know what Sarducci's is? Please make plans to eat there next time you're in Montpelier....

Chard and Bacon Pasta
Adapted from Epicurious

1/2 box of Penne
6 oz Vermont Smoke and Cure bacon, cut into 1/2" slices
1 medium onion, sliced
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
6 cups of chard, stemmed, and chopped
1/2 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
Parmesan cheese (grated) or Parmesan, Asiago, and Romano cheese mix
Salt and Pepper

1. Prepare the pasta according to packaging directions. Collect 1/2 cup of the pasta water before draining the pasta and set aside. Return the pasta to the pan and cover to keep warm.

2. Cook the bacon in a large pot until it starts to crisp. Remove the bacon and place onto paper towels to collect the grease. Drain all but 1 tablespoon of the bacon grease from the pan.

3. In the bacon-pan, saute the onions over medium heat until softened. Add the garlic and cook for one minute before adding the chard, salt, and pepper to taste. Cook for one minute and add the pasta-water. Continue to cook for a few minutes until the chard is wilted. Add the balsamic vinegar, pasta, and olive oil, and mix thoroughly  Remove from heat. Sprinkle with bacon and grated cheese.

Enjoy!

It's about Time for a New Post!

There have been a few happenings in my life since my last post so I apologize for not updating sooner. Here's a quick recap of what's happened since the beginning of the year

• I started "training" for the Boston Marathon but have had difficulty due to freezing cold weather and less free time to run.  
• Tom and I had a good friend from DC come up for a weekend. We learned to ski, toured the area, ate lots of Vermonty food, and enjoyed the company of our great friend.
• The session started up again for Tom so he's rarely home. However, neither am I, see below. 
• Last week I said goodbye to Hannaford after working there for 7 years. My mom and I put in a combined 42 years with the company. Crazy!
• I started working part time at a great, new bakery in Essex, My Little Cupcake :) It's heaven
• I discovered why I'm missing all of my hair ties: Wilson steals them off tables or out of my hair and runs away with them. Where he puts them, I have no idea. I had to buy a new package of them last week. Makes me feel better knowing that I'm not the one that's misplacing them.

Last Sunday when I got home from the bakery I was exhausted and hungry. Thankfully Tom was around and he cooked up a delicious pre-Valentines Day dinner for us. It's been a long time since I've had something that delicious! He made surf and turf: beef tenderloin, scallops, asparagus, and bread. The beef was incredibly tender and I couldn't get enough of the asparagus. The lemon made it delicious!

He finished the meal with a delicious parfait creation: chocolate chip ice cream, strawberries, raspberries, vanilla cake, and homemade whipped cream (that he made on his own!). Only, I was too tired to stand and too excited to eat it to get a good photo of it.

Montpelier Farmer's Market

I miss living in Chittenden County. All of my friends and family are up there and there's just way more to do than down here! However, there is one thing that Montpelier has Milton beat in - and that's their farmer's market.

Tom or I head down to the Farmer's Market every Saturday morning. Sometimes we make a date out of it! It's literally a 5 minute walk from our house so we have no excuse not to go. 

I love seeing all of the different vegetables! We've seen purple potatoes (with the same amount of antioxidants as blueberries) as well as purple beans! We've bought tomato, pepper, lettuce, and herb seedlings and now have a container garden on our steps.

The start of our garden in May - now there's no room for us to walk!

We buy eggs from one of the vendors, as well as locally raised steak, pork, and highland beef.

If you've never tried Highland Beef then you need to stop reading this, go to Google, and find out where the closest farmer is near you and get some. I mean it.

Tom and I both agreed that it was one of the best burgers we've ever eaten. I would go as far as to say it was the best burger I've ever had. It just tastes so earthy, is very moist, and seems lighter in my stomach than regular beef. Best of all, it's raised locally, and it's raised on grass. We made it last week for dinner which ended up being very Vermont themed. Sharp Cabot cheese, rolls made in a Vermont Bakery, a tomato and onion from the farmer's market, lettuce from our container garden, and the beef. Oh - and milk that was (hopefully) from VT as well. Next time, I want some blue cheese for those burgers. Then they would be perfect :)

Memories of Meat Pie

*Disclaimer* Before you read further, I totally understand that this is normally made during the winter months, usually around Christmas, but sometimes you can't help having cravings*

When I think about food from my childhood, one of the dishes that pops into my head immediately is meat pie.

If you have never had meat pie, you're missing out. Especially if it is my mom's. Her meat pies were incredible. Every now and then I'll smell something that reminds me of it. After doing research, I discovered that it is a French-Canadian dish, which would explain why the recipe was passed down from my Grandmother on my dad's side. His family was definitely French Canadian.

In fifth grade I made a cookbook not realizing how thankful I would be for it today. At the time I thought that I would always have my mom around to make me delicious food. Had I known differently, I would have asked her how to make everything she made, including her potato salad and egg salad - two dishes that I miss a lot and don't think I'll ever eat again unless the recipe is somewhere hidden in our house.

I am very fortunate that my 5th grade self asked my mom how to make meat pie so that I could include the recipe in my cookbook. I'm pretty sure she didn't use a recipe the entire time I was alive, she just threw it together as she cooked. The recipe that I wrote down was pretty basic. It said to add water, but didn't say how much. And it had a range for the amount of spices to use.

My brother has been asking for it for a year, and my dad talks about it all the time. We needed our meat pie fix. I bought potatoes at the farmer's market yesterday, had an onion from last week's market, and bought the meat at Hannaford. This afternoon, after planting herbs and peppers in containers on our porch, and after running my final long run before my marathon next week, I  began the cooking process. 

Gail's Meat Pie

3 pounds lean ground pork

1 pound lean ground beef

4-6 medium potatoes, peeled

1 onion

2-3 teaspoons salt*

1 teaspoon pepper*

1/2 to 1 teaspoon cloves*

1/2 to 1 teaspoon nutmeg*

2 cups water

2 pre-made pie crusts from dairy section (if you're feeling ambitious, feel free to make your own from scratch)

*The spices are used to suit your taste. I used slightly more than the recipe called for.

Wash and peel potatoes. Cut in half and grind using a course meat grinder. This part may be altered. My mom always used a meat grinder, and so I did as well when making the recipe. After peeling the onion, cut it in half and place this in the meat grinder as well.

In a large pot (I used a 10 quart but it doesn't need to be that big), put in potatoes and onion. Add 1.5 cups of water to begin with, then add the ground pork and beef. Add spices and cook on medium low until the meat is no longer pink. Drain the liquid from the pan. At this time, do a little taste test of the meat. You may want to add more salt or pepper, maybe even more of the cloves or nutmeg. Some of the flavor may have left the meat when the liquid was drained. Flavor to your liking. My advice, don't add too many cloves, and you can't have enough salt and pepper.

While the meat is cooking, prepare two glass pie dishes with the bottom pie crust. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Once the meat is fully cooked, scoop the mixture into the prepared pie dish. Lay the second crust on top of the meat and fold the edges around. Trim off excess crust. Cut slits in the crust to let out air.

Bake the pie for about 14 minutes. Let it cool for at least 10 minutes before serving.

My favorite memories are eating it cold for leftovers.