by Liesel Brooks on October 25, 2009
This one’s for Craig and Katie who have too many pumpkins (if there even is such a thing). I started making these last year and I craved them all summer long. Any squash that stays firm with a little roasting will work and they can easily be made vegetarian by adding some extra cheese and omitting the bird. I’ll apologize in advance for the lack of exactness in this recipe. You’ll figure out your exact as you make them. Since it’s not precise it will be helpful if you read through before making. I think I’m going to add some goat cheese to them next time too.
Method/Recipe:
Ingredients for the filling:
3 lb turkey breast (you’ll only use about 1/2 that, but it’s so nice to have roasted turkey around that I always roast extra)
2 sugar pumpkins, halved and seeded (also called pie pumpkins and like the turkey if you end-up with extra you won’t have a hard time using it…pumpkin risotto…pumpkin quesadilla’s for snack, etc.)
Cumin, cinnamon, cayenne, kosher salt & pepper
Olive oil
12 corn or flour tortillas
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
3 cups grated jack cheese (or pepper jack if you’d like)
3-4 cups sauce (recipe below)
The first step is to roast the turkey breast and pumpkins. Rub the turkey breast with olive oil then dust it with a good amount of smokey paprika, cumin, salt, and pepper at 350° until the internal temp is about 160º then let it rest for 20 minutes. When the turkey is about 1/2 way done place pumpkins on a sheet pan. Brush them with olive oil then sprinkle with about a tablespoon of cinnamon, teaspoon of cayenne, and salt to taste. Roast them for about 40 minutes or until they are tender enough to get a knife through, but still firm.
ready to roast
Once everything is roasty-toasty shred or dice 1/2 the turkey. Scoop the pumpkin out of the shell and slice it in 1/2 inch thick strips. Fill each tortilla with some turkey, pumpkin, jack cheese, and cilantro. Spread 1/2 cup of the sauce on the bottom of your baking dish. Pack the rolled enchilada’s tightly into the dish. Top with sauce and more jack cheese. Bake at 375° for 30-40 minutes or until cheese is bubbly. Sprinkle with cilantro and let it set for 10 minutes before serving. Serve with garnishes like avocado, cilantro, diced scallions, and sour cream.
Chipotle Enchilada Sauce**
Ingredients:
2 large dried pasilla (negro) chiles, stemmed and seeded
2 Tblsp. canola oil
1 large onion chopped (no need to be precise, we’re going to blend the sauce)
2 garlic cloves chopped
1 28 ounce can diced fire roasted tomatoes in juice
2 chipotle peppers in adobo
2-3 cups chicken broth
In a hot skillet toast the chiles by pressing down on them until they begin to blister – remove. Add oil to the pan, then add the onion and garlic cooking until translucent. Add back the chiles, tomatoes, and chipotle chilies. Let the sauce simmer for about 10 minutes. In batches, blend the sauce until smooth adding stock until you get the consistency of a thick soup. Add the mixture back to the skillet and let it simmer and reduce a bit. Add more stock if it gets too thick.
**Nobody will tell if you buy a can of your favorite enchilada sauce and blend a few chipotle chilies into it. Also, this sauce is a great start for tortilla soup. Simply thin it with stock and let cubed chicken poach in it, finish with chips, cheese, cilantro, and your favorite toppings.
by Liesel Brooks on October 21, 2009
Let me just start by saying that I will never make apologies for using real butter in any of my cooking. Butter from grass fed, sustainably raised cows has a rightful spot in our healthy diets. Because I’m just posting a quick recipe for this soup at the request of a few of my friends I won’t go into great detail about my complete endorsement of real butter , but if you need justification beyond the fact that it wasn’t created in the last 50-100 years (when coincidentally our health has taken a serious nosedive) please read more about the beauty of butter and cheese in one of my favorite books, Real Food by Nina Planck. You’ll never make an apology for real food again.
Certain relationships just seem to be made for monogamy. Cheese and beer are not one of them. The affair of cheese and beer is a torrid one since both of these ingredients are shameless sluts in the food world; and it’s completely forgivable considering the absolute perfect match they make as individual ingredients to a long list of players. Still, this match of beer and cheese is like Meg and Tom. You can watch them in other roles, but together…sappy magic!
serve it with toasted rye and bratwurst skewers
My favorite recipe for beer cheese soup comes from one of my favorite food mags, Cuisine at Home.
Here’s the dirty little secret…
1 cup finely minced onion
1/2 cup finely minced celery
1/2 cup minced carrot
5 Tbsp. unsalted butter
5 Tbsp. all-purpose flour
1 tsp. paprika
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 bottle German lager
3 cups low-sodium organic chicken broth
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. Tabasco (or more if you’re super crazy like me)
1 cup whole milk
1 lb grated sharp cheddar
4 oz. cream cheese, cubed
2 Tbsp. chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
Kosher or salt & pepper to taste
Cook the onion, celery, and carrot in butter in a large pot over low heat until the veggies are tender but not brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in the flour, paprika, and mustard. Increase the heat a bit and cook the flour taste out for about a minute or so. Add the beer and simmer it all until it thickens up. Add the broth, Worcestershire, and Tabasco, stirring constantly. Bring soup to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and simmer another 5 minutes.
Add the milk, Cheddar and cream cheese, stirring constantly until the soup is smooth. It’s very important that you don’t let the soup boil after adding the milk and cheese or it may curdle. Stir in your parsley, taste it and then season it all up with salt and pepper.
This is a great after school snack served in a mug with one sammie skewer. Or, in a big soup bowl with two or three skewers and a salad for dinner.
by Liesel Brooks on October 20, 2009
One of my favorite people and bloggers, Mindy Lockard, asked me to be a guest for her Take it to the Table Tuesday where she shares her tried and true crock-pot recipes. I shared my Vitamin C Chicken Chili. Stop by Mindy’s blog today for the recipe.
by Liesel Brooks on October 19, 2009
A few weeks ago I sent Bret to the deli to pick-up some last minute items I needed for a weekend away with the ladies. On the list were 12 thin slices of pancetta. I knew when I saw him come in the door with a box rather than a small deli bag that something had gone awry. This being the same man who once brought home a can of frozen orange juice when the list said “Organic Fresh Apple Juice,” I couldn’t very well take it back and say it was their mistake. And among the mistakes a man can make, bringing home 4 pounds (and $40 worth) of pancetta – cut quite thick I may add – isn’t the worst one. It has forced me to find ways to add pancetta to any and everything (oh the horror).
Pancetta makes everything betta...
Here are two of my favorite recent uses. One is a great side dish for soup or a nice appetizer. The next is a yummy breakfast dish that can be put together in about 10 minutes the night before:
Asparagus-Parmesan Tart
Adapted from a recipe in Martha Stewart’s latest cookbook, Dinner at Home
1 sheet (14 oz) frozen puff pastry thawed
All-purpose flour for dusting
1 large egg, well beaten
10 medium asparagus spears, tough ends trimmed, shaved into thin strips using a vegetable peeler
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper
**3-4 semi-thick slices Pancetta cooked to a crisp and broken into small pieces
1/2 cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll out dough on a lightly floured work surface to smooth creases. Lightly score a 1/2 inch border around dough. Brush off excess flour and transfer to a parchment lined baking sheet. Freeze 15 minutes.
Brush border of dough with beaten egg. Bake until puffed and starting to brown, 10-12 minutes. Toss asparagus with oil, and season with salt and pepper.
Remove tart shell from oven and press down on the center with a spatula. Arrange asparagus on top. Sprinkle pancetta over the asparagus. Bake until asparagus is crisp-tender, about 8 minutes. Remove from oven and sprinkle cheese evenly on top. Bake until cheese is melted, about 4 minutes more. Let cool on a wire rack 5 minutes before slicing and devouring.
**the pancetta was my add…in case that wasn’t abundantly obvious
Peach & Pancetta Strata
This one’s mine.
5 large eggs
2.5 cups whole milk
pinch of kosher salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
2 tablespoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 loaf day-old Challa** bread haphazardly torn into bite size’ish pieces
3 cups frozen peaches
3-4 semi-thick cut slices pancetta cooked crispy and crumbled
Butter a 9×11 casserole dish. In a bowl whisk 5 eggs. Add milk, salt, cinnamon, syrup, & brown sugar. Toss 1/3 of the bread pieces in the bottom of the casserole top with 1/3 of the egg/milk mixture. Layer one cup of the peaches. Sprinkle with 1/3 pancetta. Repeat two more times. Press down on the mixture in the casserole with squeaky clean hands. Refrigerate over night. (your part is done)
An hour before you want breakfast the next morning wake husband and tell him you heard something odd in the kitchen. Then tell him as long as he’s in there he should preheat the oven to 350 degrees. After you hear the oven beep that the temp is ideal tell your husband that you heard the sound again and that you are very very frightened and would like him to check things out. As long as he’s up he should put the strata in the oven. Set your alarm for exactly 50 minutes. Take the strata out of the oven and let it set for 10-15 minutes. Serve it with butter and syrup and a little extra coffee for the husband.
**it’s especially annoying to the teens in the house if you consistently say “Holla” like the girls on MTV do when referring to the Challa bread.
by Liesel Brooks on October 6, 2009
Some don’t believe that ADD is a real disorder. Until the late 90’s even I thought the reason I couldn’t finish a sentence and wandered aimlessly through my house, office, grocery store, and neighbor’s yard frantically trying to recall why I was there was a result of too many chemical perms in the 80’s. Turns out my tight little dog-turd hairstyles (as my grandmother affectionately called them) had nothing to do with my inability to organize my thoughts. My very attentive physician gave me a test with a list of “do you do this” questions and it was apparent after checking yes to every single one of them that I may need to pay attention to this ADD thing. The list of highly-successful, highly-effective people with ADD is quite long, and I’m determined to put my name on it. Move over Ben Franklin! Since he’s already conquered the founding father thing, I’ll tackle the organization of food in my home. I’ve tried every gadget, gizmo and “life-changing” system out there and can tell you with absolute certainty that I operate best with the simplest of tools. I’m a pen and paper girl and an obsessed one at that. Ask the people at Moleskine and Sharpie about their shrine to my wallet.
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I shop everywhere. We buy from the butcher, farmers market, specialty deli, and every shop in between. Because I am a bit of a nut about what we eat and where it comes from I make a lot of stops. One-stop-shopping makes me shudder in my boots. I carry the file folder in the picture everywhere with me. I use large post-it’s with the name of my regular stops on the front. I add things to the appropriate list as I think of them. When I have to make a bedtime trip to Target because I’m out of diapers (blame the ADD) I grab my file, which is certain to save me another Target trip the next day. If I happen to have an extra 15 minutes before picking-up my son I can stop at the butcher around the corner from his school. You get the idea. Inside the file are piles of coupons that I can browse through as I’m shopping. My little file may not be the next big app on the iphone, but it works for me. Next week I’ll share my fabulous grocery list making skills (seriously, I’m skilled in the list area).
by Liesel Brooks on October 5, 2009
On Saturday mornings before I can be completely woken by the “mama, I awake…maaaamaaa up! up!” coming from the monitor, Bret rescues my sleepy state by shutting-off the little voice box and scooping-up the sweet yummies from their beds. I’d love to linger in that cloud of down until noon, but I simply can’t resist the smells and conversation coming from the kitchen. It goes a little something like this:
Greta: What doing Daddy?
Bret: We’re making french toast.
Lulu: We make fench toes!
Greta: I do it! I do it! I do it!
Bret: Don’t drop the egg on the floor Greta
Greta: I drop it? I drop it? I drop it?
Lulu: NO DEDO (Greta), Daddy do it!
Greta: Mama up? Mama up?
Bret: No, Mama’s sleeping
Who wouldn’t want to leap out of bed for this scene?
French toast for the twinkies
Saturday is usually freezer pop day too. The little ones love to have them after their nap so I make a big batch to last the week. I have this theory that the more green color I include in their food from a young age, the more open they will be to a variety of foods as they grow. After all, isn’t it usually the green color that turns them off before they even have a bite? I can’t be the only one who has had to request no basil on the Margherita pizza (a crime) because even the very sight of little green specks will slam those little lips shut before they even have a taste. I participated in the “green ban” with my oldest son and as a result he still has an almost colorless diet. So, with the twins I started with green. Their first solid food was avocado and I’ve been sprinkling something green on almost everything I serve them since. I can’t prove my efforts are effective, but I can tell you that my youngest two are crazy about spinach pops and my oldest would have thrown it at the wall if I’d served him something that resembled frozen grass.
Try them!
Blend together one bag of organic frozen spinach, two cups of frozen mango, one can of organic pears in their own juice (with the juice). Blend it for a while so that the spinach becomes completely pureed. Add some apple juice or water to thin if needed. Pour into fascinatingly shaped freezer molds and freeze for at least four hours.
After Nap Snack
by Liesel Brooks on September 29, 2009
Why would you give your body a substance developed in a lab and call it food? My passion for real food is somewhat recent. I haven’t always been so adamant about knowing where our food comes from or even understanding what is good for our bodies and why. For as long as I can remember I’ve been pretty crazy about cooking. I have memories of blending together two raw eggs, one cup of milk, a dash of cinnamon and sugar and proudly presenting it to my dad as eggnog. It was shortly after my mom passed away and I realized even at that young age that food made my dad smile. I’m sure he found a way to toss that repulsive blend, but he made me believe he loved it and couldn’t get enough. Funny, we seemed to be out of eggs a lot after that first batch. Even still, a passion was born.
My fascination with how we choose food and the powerful, far-reaching effect that those choices have started only a few years ago. Somehow, I got on an email list for PETA and clicked on a link to an article about how pigs are raised in a factory farm setting. The article and video left me numb and sad. I am not a fan of PETA and I am not a vegetarian and never will be. I firmly believe we are omnivore’s and meat is a wonderful source of necessary fuel for our bodies. I have nothing against vegetarianism, but I do feel that the choice is a misinformed one at times. I am, however, very committed to learning everything I can about the food we eat, where it comes from, who suffers for it, why it’s produced the way it’s produced, and who stands to profit at the expense of our health. We vote with our dollars. I vote for the purist choice I can.
I am perplexed when I’m in a conversation with someone about food and they tell me they don’t want to know too much. Yes, I understand that knowledge about the what is on your plate will force you to make different choices, but plugging your ears and chanting, “na na na na na,” is not the answer. Our children have absolutely no choice about the habits they form around eating and what they put into their bodies except the choice we give them. They are exposed to environmental toxins that were unheard of 50 years ago. Once an odd occurrence, asthma is now the number one reason for childhood visits to the E.R. Obesity in children is staggering in numbers and even leading to heart disease in teenagers. The food industry stalks and exploits our children and if given enough leeway, will convince them that the lab tech, not the local farmer, supplies them with “healthy” food choices. We must take a stand in our homes. I am not suggesting drastic measures that alter your lifestyle to an unrecognizable state. Just take some time to learn a little about what food production is doing to our bodies, our children, our planet, our economy, our choices as a society, and flavor for goodness sake!
I was riding with a friend the other day when she pulled over to fill-up her gas tank. When I asked her why she requested the premium gas costing 0.20 more per gallon than the other two choices, she said, “that’s what the manual says to put in it.” Maybe it’s just me, but I’ve don’t remember ever opening the manual that came with my car to decide what gas to put in it. I can’t imagine caring more about that piece of metal that I’ll be trading for next years model more than I do my body and my planet. Yet, in later conversation when I told her that grass-fed beef has more omega-3 and CLA than it’s grain-in-gel-form-fed counter part, and that the alternative has an unhealthy amount of omega-6 and has possibly never set foot on grass (an herbivore, people …never ingesting an herb), she told me that was too much information. Imagine if I’d gone on to tell her the rest of the ramifications of factory farming. At least her car won’t get cancer from filling-up on cheap fuel.
by Liesel Brooks on September 25, 2009
Fresh corn will be one of the summer vegetables that I’ll miss the most. I love to make corn salsa, corn and potato soup with bacon on top, corn cakes, grilled corn with lime and chili butter …the list goes on and on. The easiest way to prepare it though, is simply roasted right in its husk in a 400 degree oven for 20 or so minutes (after soaking in water for 15 minutes). Sometimes, just for fun we create little hairstyles out of the husks. It’s a fun little task for the kids to do and helps them appreciate good presentation.
Husky styles: bun, braid, ponytail, tied back, shaggy bob
Just as corn makes its exit my fall favorite, squash and pumpkin, starts to make an appearance. I took the little ones to a farm today for some fall veggie shopping. They love to touch everything and yell the name of their favorite produce at the top of their lungs, “Look, Mama apples …apples …pumpens …pumpens (pumpkins)!” This particular day there was a nice gal working the stand, who could not have been a day over 19 and who could not have been more concerned with the welfare of my two little shoppers. She followed us at close range for the entire visit saying, “be careful” under her breath once every 7 seconds. Every time I glanced back at her she’d say “oh, they’re so cute.” Thanks crazy. I found it all rather humorous and had to laugh when she told me that I needed to supervise them better because they may fall into the big bin of pumpkins. I’m not an expert, but I think there is some physical law that would protect a toddler who is less than 3-feet tall, from falling into a bin of pumpkins reaching 4.5-feet tall, but if they did fall UP into them — I think that would be simply adorable. She is apparently aware of some hazardous pumpkin accident that threatens the very lives of toddlers everywhere. Watch your children people. You never know when a bin of pumpkins will swallow them up!
The dangerous venture that is pumpking shopping
We managed to escape unharmed with a box full of sweet baby pumpkins that will soon be the star of my favorite, Roasted Turkey & Pumpkin Enchilada’s with Chipotle Sauce. I’ll post that recipe next week. You simply must try it. It’s almost life changing.
Two of the most delicious looking pumpkins there
What are your favorite ways to use pumpkin?
by Liesel Brooks on September 23, 2009
For starters, hello! Here I am…first post. Welcome to my blog. The “About Me” tab above will give you a little more info.
Now, about that spice cabinet and it’s tired state. Few things are more disappointing than a perfectly put together chicken curry and roasted cauliflower that lacks punch. It’s really enough to reduce me to a puddle of tears. All of that slicing, dicing, chopping, and spice blending was for what? A bland puddle of yellow that only teases me with real curry flavor. The horror. I’m not going to be victimized by the lackluster spice cabinet again! Here’s my plan:
Every end of September and March (the start of my two favorite cooking seasons), I’m firing all of the spices in my cabinet. Buh-bye! Tossing them out. Washing my hands of them. Never looking back. Then, I’m going to have my driver (husband) to take me directly to the bulk section for a restocking excursion. Of course I can drive myself to the store, but I must have at least one glass of wine before venturing to spend a good 40 minutes in the bulk spice aisle. I’m not sure why, but purchasing bulk spices is a seriously dreadful task in my world. I think it’s the small baggies, lack of writing room on the tie, and tying over and over. Monotony makes me crazy. Wine makes it bearable. If you’re worried about throwing away that unused portion just consider the chicken and how unfair it is to make it simmer in all of that color minus flavor. It’s for the chickens folks… oh, and your taste buds. Toss the 0.48 worth of flavorless powder, it’s so last year.
Before I head out, I’ll make a note of my most used spices from last season so I can attempt to buy a little better. Now, a few staples I use often enough that they are always fresh in my cupboard, but the rest of those dead little dusty’s have got to go!
I love mixing my own spice blends and am always inspired by my big pile of little baggies when I get home. After I put them all in their new small jar home I’ll get busy blending up a few of the star players like curry, fajita seasoning, warm breakfast blend, and more.
I’ll be sure to share the mixes as I use them. For now, I’ll leave you with my breakfast blend. This is a favorite in my house on buttered toast, blended into a waffle mix, added with a little vanilla to warm maple syrup, and even sprinkled on coffee. You can even add a little cayenne and roast almonds in it. Go ahead, get crazy! I leave it on the counter in a spice duster so the kids can use it when they want. Mixing a few new flavors into the tired cinnamon and sugar blend just helps expand their horizons without really pushing the issue. Put the word magic into the name and they won’t be able to resist. Try it!
Magic Breakfast Dust
(make a small batch for starters – use it for a few days and then make your own flavor adjustments)
2 tablespoons each of cinnamon, sugar
1 teaspoon, nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon each salt and clove
I’d love to hear your thoughts about spices, tragic ruins caused by old bland spices, happy bulk aisle dances, and why you chose tap over jazz.
