Quick and Easy!

I made this one last Monday I think. Holli has had no appetite and that has made it hard to cook because I am essentially cooking for myself. On the other hand we have had a lot of leftovers. The favorite thing I made this week was One-Pot Chicken and Brown Rice. I gave Holli a list of the meals for the week and asked which one sounded better. She said this recipe sounded the best. The problem is I had planned this recipe for Sunday so the chicken wasn't defrosted. By the time the chicken defrosted and all was said and done it was 9 PM. This was so easy to make and most of the ingredients we already had! Plus very little dishes and clean up!

One-Pot Chicken and Brown Rice

INGREDIENTS

Serves 4.

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs (6 to 8 ounces each)

Coarse salt and ground pepper

1 large yellow onion, cut into 8 wedges

2 celery stalks, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces

2 medium carrots cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces

1 bay leaf

1 cup brown rice

DIRECTIONS

In a large Dutch oven or heavy pot, heat oil over medium-high. Season chicken with salt and pepper and place, skin side down, in pot. Cook until golden brown on both sides, 10 to 12 minutes total. Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from pot; add onion and celery. Reduce heat to low, cover, and cook 20 minutes.

Add carrots, bay leaf, and 1 3/4 cups water; stir in rice and season with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to low. Cover and cook until rice absorbs almost all the liquid, 40 to 45 minutes. Let stand, covered, for 10 minutes before serving.

Survey Thursday!

The votes are in on last week's survey- 36% think Baby Coats will be a little boy, and 63% vote girl! Just because I am the crafty person that I am, I am hoping for a girl that I can dress and accessorize, but Matt is voting for a boy to carry on the family name.

The new survey is up, and this one is for all those who have experienced pregnancy or are currently experiencing it. I want to know what early symptoms you experienced. I am lucky so far to have avoided vomiting, but these other symptoms sure are pesky!

In other baby news, I rescheduled my first visit for June 7th (changed from the 19th) so we could go while my mom is visiting from Utah. I can't wait!

Last Weekend...

Lets just say things got a little crafty.

Candice came from Richmond so we could get our craft on, and we had a great time sewing together! We learned how to make rolled fabric flowers and I'm now HOOKED!

I made a purse...

And some flower pins...

Loved it. The purse pattern came from this blog, and the flower inspiration came from this fantastic blog of craftiness.

We also attended my staff party this past weekend, complete with a BBQ and Karaoke. My pictures didn't turn out great from that night, because it was dark, we were in a barn, and I hate *hate* on camera flash... but I feel like this picture captures the passion that was PH Karaoke...

This was Matt and FW singing Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You." It was moving.

In other news, the little bun is growing. Online sources are telling me its about the size of a sweetpea this week.

Lost

Well Lost is over, but we took it out with a bang! For the past few months we have been having Lost dinner nights with our friends Stephanie and Michael. We would switch off making a fancy dinner or a fancy desert. This week we combined forces and made a five course dinner. We started off with a salad with bacon vinaigrette and a poached egg next was carrot apple bisque, then a balsamic cherry tomato bruchetta. The main course was homemade cheese ravioli with a roasted garlic and tomato cream sauce. Desert was the crème brulee recipe that I posted last week. Let's just say it was delicious and I shed a tear for every course. I was even more satisfied after watching the LOST series finale. Ok here are a couple of recipes.

Frisée Salad with Bacon-Shallot Vinaigrette

Ingredients

3 slice(s) bacon, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

12 ounce(s) (2 to 3 heads) frisée or 2 bags (5 to 6 oz. each) mixed baby salad greens

1 medium shallot, minced

2 tablespoon(s) white wine vinegar

1 teaspoon(s) Dijon mustard

1/4 teaspoon(s) salt

1/4 teaspoon(s) pepper

2 tablespoon(s) olive oil

6 large eggs

Directions

In 2-quart saucepan, cook bacon on medium 5 minutes or until browned, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, in 12-inch skillet, heat 1 inch water to boiling on high to poach eggs in later. Trim and discard stem ends from frisée; cut leaves into bite-size pieces. Place greens in large bowl.

Remove saucepan from heat. With slotted spoon, transfer bacon to paper towels to drain; discard all but 1 tablespoon bacon fat.

Into bacon fat remaining in skillet, whisk shallot, vinegar, Dijon, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper. In slow, steady stream, whisk in oil until combined. Add warm vinaigrette to bowl with frisée and toss until evenly coated.

Reduce skillet heat to medium to maintain water at gentle simmer. Break eggs, one at a time, into cup. Holding cup close to surface of water, slip in each egg. Cook eggs 3 to 5 minutes or until whites are set and yolks begin to thicken. With slotted spoon, lift out each egg and quickly drain, still in spoon, on paper towels.

To serve, divide frisée among 6 salad plates; top with bacon and egg. Sprinkle egg with coarsely ground black pepper if you like.

Carrot Apple Bisque

4 Carrots, peeled and cut into chunks

1 Tbsp. butter

4-8 C. chicken broth

1 large apple, chopped, or 1 C. apple sauce

1/2 C. heavy whipping cream

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/3 C. green onion or chives, minced

In a sauce pan, combine carrots with butter and 1 C. of the chicken broth. Cook, covered, until carrots are very tender, about 15 minutes. Add apple and cook 5 more minutes. Remove pan from heat, take off lid and allow cooling for about 10 minutes. Whirl carrot mixture into a blender until smooth or force mixture through a strainer. You may need to add more chicken broth to blend. Return to saucepan. Stir in the cream and nutmeg. Stir in remaining chicken broth until the soup reaches the desired texture. I like mine a little more liquidy. Serve hot or cold. Top with chopped chives or green onions.

Best Enchiladas EVER...just keep a fire extinguisher close by

Ok gang (by gang I mean the 3 or 4 people who read this blog)! I have tried out some new recipes this week and I wanted to get these posted before our LOST series finale extravaganza (See post next Monday for more details). This first recipe comes from our William-Sonoma cookbook. I have been messing around with making a green sauce for Chicken Enchiladas for a while, but with little success. I mean they weren’t bad, but it was just lacking something. I should have thought green sauce = tomatillo, but I didn't.

My sister Candice is over this weekend and my family is huge on Mexican food, so I decided to try this recipe. It was super spicy! I don’t know why 9 serrano peppers didn’t throw up any red flags. If I were to make these again I would probably deseed the peppers after boiling or I would use less peppers. If you like spicy things then this is for you!

Chicken Enchiladas with Tomatillo Sauce (Enchiladas Verdes)

Ingredients:

For the chicken:

2 lb. chicken breasts

1/4 white onion

1 garlic head, halved crosswise

1 Tbs. sea salt

For the sauce:

3 lb. tomatillos, husked and rinsed

9 serrano chilies

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1/4 cup safflower or canola oil

1 Tbs. sea salt, or to taste

For the enchiladas:

1/3 cup safflower or canola oil

18 thin corn tortillas

1 cup crema or crème fraîche

1 white onion, thinly sliced

1 cup crumbled queso fresco

Directions:

To prepare the chicken, place in a saucepan with the onion, garlic and salt and add water to cover. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce the heat to medium, cover and simmer until the chicken is cooked through, 20 to 25 minutes. Let cool and lift out the chicken, saving the broth for another use. (The chicken can be wrapped and refrigerated for up to 1 day before continuing.) Discard the skin and bones and shred the meat with your fingers. You should have 4 cups chicken.

To make the sauce, in a saucepan, combine the tomatillos and chilies with water to cover. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat and cook until tender, 10 to 15 minutes. If some of the tomatillos remain firm, the pan should still be removed from the heat. Drain and, working in batches, place the tomatillos and chilies in a blender along with the garlic. Process until a smooth sauce forms.

In a fry pan over medium-high heat, warm the oil until it is smoking. Quickly add the tomatillo sauce and fry, stirring constantly, until the sauce begins to bubble. Reduce the heat to low and cook until the sauce starts to thicken, 5 minutes more. Add the 1 Tbs. salt; taste and add more salt, if needed. Keep warm. When the sauce is combined with the tortillas and chicken, the taste of salt will be quite diminished; it should be highly seasoned at this point. You should have 3 cups of sauce. If needed, add some of the chicken broth.

Preheat an oven to 350°F.

To make the enchiladas, in a fry pan, heat the oil over medium-high heat until sizzling hot. Using tongs, quickly pass each tortilla through the oil to soften, and then drain on paper towels.

Using your fingers, dip each tortilla briefly in the warm sauce, place on a plate, put a large spoonful of shredded chicken near one edge and roll up the tortilla. Place, seam side down, in a baking dish. Cover with the remaining sauce. Bake until thoroughly heated, about 10 minutes.

Remove the enchiladas from the oven and top with the crema, onion slices and crumbled cheese. Alternately, arrange the enchiladas on individual warmed plates and garnish before serving. Serve immediately enchiladas become soggy quickly.

Serves 6.

Also for breakfast this morning I made a Baked French Toast. It is like a Bread Pudding with a coffee cake crumb on top. It turned out awesome! I can see this being a mother’s day breakfast for our family. I topped ours with Strawberries and homemade whipped cream. This could definitely be a breakfast or a desert. Remember you need a least a few hours to soak. I would recommend soaking it over night. Everything can be prepared the night before so it is really easy to put everything together the next morning.

Baked French Toast

Prep Time 15 Minutes

Cook Time 1 Hour

Ingredients:

FRENCH TOAST

1 loaf Crusty Sourdough Or French Bread

8 whole Eggs

2 cups Whole Milk

½ cups Whipping (heavy) Cream

¾ cups Sugar

2 Tablespoons Vanilla Extract

TOPPING

½ cups All-purpose Flour

½ cups Firmly Packed Brown Sugar

1 teaspoon Cinnamon

¼ teaspoons Salt

1 stick Cold Butter, Cut Into Pieces

Fresh Fruit (optional)

Preparation Instructions

Grease 9 x 13-inch baking pan with butter. Tear bread into chunks (or cut into cubes) and evenly distribute in the pan.

Mix together eggs, milk, cream, sugar, and vanilla. Pour evenly over bread. Cover tightly and store in the fridge several hours or overnight.

In a separate bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, and salt. Add nutmeg if desired. Add butter pieces and but into the dry mixture until mixture resembles fine pebbles. Store in a Ziploc in the fridge.

When you’re ready to bake the casserole, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Remove casserole from oven and sprinkle crumb mixture over the top. (If you’re using fruit, sprinkle on before the crumb mixture.) Bake for 45 minutes for a softer, more bread pudding texture. Bake 1 hour or more for a firmer, less liquid texture.

History, Hen and Bacon, and Crème Brûlée

I apologize for my writing, spelling, and or grammar in advance....

If Holli can Blog about Crafty things I can Blog about what I love most...food! Most people don't know how I fell in love with cooking, so here's the story. I had many examples in my life who had an influence on my cooking, first being my father. Growing up my Dad didn't cook a lot, but when he did it was usually something awesome. I don't want to discount my Mom's cooking because she was the one who normally cooked, and cooked well; but it wasn't like Dad cooking. The old man had a special touch. Even top ramen tasted better when he made it. He also has the same love of red meat as I do!

My second influence was also a man. When I graduated High School my family moved to Germany and I stayed in Seattle for a year until I left for Brazil on my mission. Needing somewhere to live I stayed with my aunt for a while. I then decided to stay with one of my best friends parents, as I was already over there once a week to watch Survivor. Tom and Liz Clouthier were what you would call foodies. Their main rule while I was there was dinner was ready at 5:30 and if you weren't there you didn't eat. Tom got me interested in things like fresh pasta, white wine sauce, and he made a ministroni soup that was to die for!

From there I traveled through Europe and gained an even greater appreciation for food, eating Rahmschnitzel in Germany, Pasta in Italy, crème brûlée in Paris, chocolate in Belgium, and so on. I then traveled to Brazil and Mexico, learning to love their cuisine as well.

By the time I came to college in Virginia, I loved food and had great examples, but could not cook to save my own life, so I ate things that college males normally eat such as: Mac and Cheese, Top Romen, Microwave Pizza, and Chicken Nuggets.

Then I met the Love of my life, who bring all things good out of me. We wanted to make a gourmet pizza, as she has the same love for food as I do. The Pizza included: Alfredo pesto sauce, three types of cheese, roasted red peppers, garlic, onion, bell peppers of all colors, artichoke hearts, and rosemary chicken. The pizza was awesome and we had left overs of all the ingredients, so I said, "Why not use that to make a cream sauce for a pasta?" I then started to experiment and made and awesome sauce! At that moment I realized that I had made something that not only tasted good, but GREAT! And I had done it with out a recipe, I had just made it up. I also realized that I really enjoyed it. Those two meals gave me confidence in the Kitchen. From that point my love of cooking and eating has only grown.

Holli, my family, and I went down to Montpelier one weekend and we passed a street called Hen and Bacon rd. I thought that would be a cool name for a restaurant and told her if I ever opened a restaurant I would call it that. So I worked up a logo one day when I was bored and here it is!

Who knows maybe my dream will become a reality one day.

This would be a good food blog post without a recipe. After eating one of these in Paris I couldn't stop. This is the best recipe I have found for Crem Brule there is also a youtube video. It is super easy. I takes some time to cook and chill, but you can do it all ahead of time. The top it with sugar and touch it!

Crème Brulèe

2 Cups Cream

1/3 Cup Sugar

4 Egg Yolks

1 tsp. Vanilla extract or ½ Vanilla bean

Heat the cream and vanilla in a pan in a low temperature. Whisk egg yolks and sugar in a bowl. Temper egg yolks with cream by adding a little bit of cream at a time while mixing so the eggs aren’t cooked by the hot cream. Try not to add too much air by whisking. Fill cake pan with about 1-2 inches of water. Fill ramekins and use torch to remove any bubbles. Cook 30-35 min @ 325 degrees. Put in fridge for about 4 hours or until chilled. Cover with sugar and torch the top.

Here is the video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_16ZZtTH_Y

Spice it up

Ok, ok... I know my blog has been somewhat archaic. I just added a... wait for it.... drumroll...... survey! Who knew it was so easy to add a survey to your blog? Ok, probably most of you. But I just discovered it. I figured we would kick off with a little baby-gender survey... and after debating whether to add 'transgender' (as the forms I fill out at work have) I decided against it. So you have two choices. Male. Female.

And... We're back!

Alrighty folks- as you can see this blog just got a pretty new facelift and some much needed subject matter. Yep, you guessed it, this will inevitably turn into the chronicles of pregnancy, birth and child rearing.

Not so very long ago, Matt and I had a conversation about how our blog was, lets say, less than exciting. We decided we needed to vamp it up- he was going to start posting about his mad cooking skills and the amazing meals we have, and I was going to start posting about my return to all things crafty. Lets hope for everyone's sake that we get a few posts in about something besides our little bun in the oven, just to spice it up.

Here's to a whole new caliber of blog!