I have conquered french fries...

I never thought I would say it but I have finally conquered french fries.  How to cook them that is.  I've cooked them before.  Lots.  And lots.  But they have always come out soggy and limp like a greasy ol' noodle.  Never have they come out like they do at that place which we don't mention in this house because 3 year old ears are ALWAYS listening.  I'm not saying any names but it rhymes with...pacdonald's (okay, totally made that one up...but nothing rhymes with that greasy ol' place - serves it right).

But I have finally been able to say that I can cook up a mean ol' bunch of crispy french fries.  Totally not good for you.  Yes, I know.  But given we don't have them very often I think it's okay to bend the rules a little and fry us up a bunch of these.  It is a process.  But once you "get" the process then it's really quite easy. 

So tonight, grill you up some BBQ bacon and cheddar burgers (seriously, if you're going to break the rules...go all out) and enjoy this recipe.  It's worth it!


Ingredients: (recipe credit:  Emeril Lagasse - food network)

4 large russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4 by 1/4-inch thick batons

2 quarts peanut oil

Salt and pepper

 

Rinse cut potatoes in a large bowl with lots of cold running water until water becomes clear. Cover with water by 1-inch and cover with ice. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes and up to 2 days.

 

In a 5-quart pot or Dutch oven fitted with a candy or deep-frying thermometer, (or in an electric deep fryer), heat oil over medium-low heat until the thermometer registers 325 degrees F. Make sure that you have at least 3 inches of space between the top of the oil and the top of the pan, as fries will bubble up when they are added.

Drain ice water from cut fries and wrap potato pieces in a clean dishcloth or tea towel and thoroughly pat dry. Increase the heat to medium-high and add fries, a handful at a time, to the hot oil. Fry, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are soft and limp and begin to turn a blond color, about 6 to 8 minutes. Using a skimmer or a slotted spoon, carefully remove fries from the oil and set aside to drain on paper towels. Let rest for at least 10 minutes or up to 2 hours.

When ready to serve the French fries, reheat the oil to 350 degrees F. Transfer the blanched potatoes to the hot oil and fry again, stirring frequently, until golden brown and puffed, about 1 minute. Transfer to paper lined platter and sprinkle with salt and pepper, to taste. Serve immediately.

Decorating for Christmas...oh, and some of the best blueberry muffins EVER!

Last night the boys dragged up all of my Christmas boxes/decorations from our basement.  Now, the process of decorating begins...you know, where you get REALLY messy at first in order for it to be neat and clean later....well, we are not quite at that neat and clean yet.  Truth be told, I'm about as far from it as you can get.  So tonight when I looked around at the chaos gaining speed as the seconds went by, I decided that there was no way I was going to add to this mess by cooking some elaborate dinner. 

Nope. 

It was breakfast at night.  Have you ever had breakfast at night?  Oh man, sometimes it is exactly what you need.  The smell of muffins and eggs drifting through the house.  These muffins are seriously the best blueberry muffins ever.  Of course, I cannot take credit for this recipe, if I could then I would have a cookbook and be rich and famous and have a personal shopper because I have a serious issue with shopping...food shopping, not a problem...clothes, toys, and everything else - ugh!  That would mean I would have to venture into the mall (think, evil music playing) and that's a whole other blog post right there.  So since that whole cookbook thing is not panning out for me, I guess I'll go and try and clean up Christmas tree needles and that silver tinsel stuff - which by the way, in the winter will stick to EVERYTHING. 

Enjoy the blueberry muffins...

Ingredients:  (recipe credit - all recipes "to die for blueberry muffins")

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup white sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 egg

1/3 cup milk

1 cup fresh blueberries

1/2 cup white sugar

1/3 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup butter, cubed

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

 

Directions:

 

1.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.

2.  Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup   measuring cup; add the egg and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups right to the top, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.

3.  To Make Crumb Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup butter, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking.

4.  Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

An obession...

Last night our house smelled like chicken noodle soup.  Except that it wasn't soup I was cooking.  Just smelled like it.  I had baked a wonderful chicken in the oven for dinner .  When dinner was over I shredded the chicken off the bones and I was not about to let those wonderful chicken parts, bones and all those other things I don't want to know the name of, go to waste.  So at 8 o'clock I threw that chicken back into a pot (along with a bunch of veggies and spices) and by 10 o'clock I had 7 mason jars filled with wonderful golden chicken broth.  It's incredibly simple and tastes wonderful in soups and stews.  Best news is that I know exactly what's in it.  And that's why I do what I do...

I am finding that the deeper I go into making everything homemade, the more I am using every last inch of the food we eat.  If you go to the trouble of peeling or chopping or shelling something, by golly, you begin to appreciate just exactly where your food comes from and what goes into preparing it.  If the kids sit and shell peanuts for a while just to get a jar of peanut butter, then they are more likely to eat every last drop because they took the time to make it.  I find myself looking at food very differently right now. 

For instance, if I am shopping for vegetables right now in the store, I wonder where in the world is it warm enough to grow a good ripe tomato.  Because it sure ain't warm here.  Many times our fruits and vegetables are being shipped from a great distance.  And that means that this tomato, I'm holding in my hands, has been on a truck for at least a couple of weeks (or more) before it has even come to me.  It's no wonder that a tomato bought in the middle of winter tastes so bad in comparison to one at its ripest during the summer.  There is no comparison. 

So what started as a game to me just to see how many things I can make homemade is very quickly becoming an obsession of finding the best quality food for my family.  I realize that this will take me some time, but my new goal is to provide (meaning canning and freezing) this summer enough fresh quality fruits and vegetables that we can put away to last us throughout the winter until next summer garden season rolls around. 

It will take LOTS of planning on my part, for this is a big family that likes to eat...a lot.  It will take getting a WAY BIGGER garden.  And it will take...going local.  Local for the things that I cannot grow.  Going local for my apples and blueberries and strawberries.  Going local for my honey and going local for the things I cannot grow.  I already lined up a cow from a local farmer to eat...the cow that is, not the farmer.  And also a pig.  Now, I just need to find a farmer with free-range chickens and fresh eggs.  That shouldn't be that hard, right?  We live in Iowa.  Farm belt city.  Surely there's some farmer out there who can hear my plea.  Or....better yet....maybe I'll just talk my husband into moving out to the country and buying some land.  Our own little green acres....it's the place to be....farm living's the life for me....(sorry, just started belting out a song there). 

Well, I may not make it through perfectly this time...but I will prevail.  I must, it's definitely an obsession now.  Plus, think about what it will do for our food bill...yippee for us!

Thanksgiving 2012

We had a wonderful time giving thanks with family and friends this year.  We drove 11 hours to be with my side of the family in the great state of Tennessee.  I'll be the first to admit that travelling that far is hard...on anybody really.  But my children don't know any different, they have grown up this way.  My husband's side of the family is also 11 hours...we can't win.  But still we pack each holiday and travel.  Why?  Because we love our family and we adore getting to spend time with them, albeit 4 hours, 2 days or 2 weeks.  It's what it's all about.  Not the turkey, the decorations or even the shopping.  It's about family.  It's what means the most. 

We hope that this Thanksgiving season found you surround by those you love and who love you the most.

Oh...and maybe some turkey could be thrown in there for good measure.  ...I'm just saying...no reason to go hungry...

Pita Bread

I'm in the kitchen today...where else would I be...making my favorite pita bread.  We are travelling for the holidays and I am in need of several things to take to feed our large family along the way.  Since we take our lunch on the road, I decided that I would make a large batch of these pita breads to fill with our favorite sandwich stuff.  It seems to be less messier in the car than our regular bread I make...and that, is a very good thing in a car packed full of people.  So here's my pita bread recipe.  Try it.  You will never buy pita bread from the store ever again...trust me on that one.

Pita Bread (recipe from the book "Homemade" by Reader's Digest)

Ingredients:
1 1/2 cups warm water (105 - 110 F)
1 teaspoon dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
3 cups bread flour or all-purpose flour
1 heaping teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons olive oil plus additional
1/4 cup minced fresh herbs, such as thyme, rosemary, cilantro, or parsley (optional)

In a large bowl, combine the water and yeast.  Using a fork, stir rapidly to dissolve the yeast. Add the sugar and 1 1/2 cups flour.  Using the paddle attachment of an electric mixer, stir until all the ingredients are well blended.  Cover the bowl with lightly oiled plastic wrap and let stand in a warm place until the dough has doubled in size, about 2 hours.

Add the salt, 1 1/2 teaspoons oil, and the remaining 1 1/2 cups flour.  Again using the paddle attachment, beat the mixture until it is smooth and elastic, 5 to 10 minutes.

Lightly flour a work surface and lightly oil a large bowl.  Turn out the dough onto the work surface and knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, 10 to 12 minutes.  Place the dough in the bowl and turn it until it is completely coated in the oil.  Cover the bowl with lightly oiled plastic wrap and set in a warm place to let the dough rise, about 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or foil.

Lightly flour the work surface again and turn out the dough onto the surface.  Divide the dough into 4 balls (sometimes I make 5).  Using a rolling pin, roll each ball into a 1/2 inch thick, 6 inch diameter circle.  Place the dough circles on the prepared baking sheet.  Lightly brush each circle with oil and, if desired, sprinkle with herbs.  Bake until the pita breads are golden, about 8 minutes.  Remove the pita breads to wire racks to cool.  Cut in half when cooled.

Everyone needs this book...

I use this book at lot.  So much so that I would check it out from our local library and gripe so much when I had to finally take it back that my Mom took pity on me and finally bought me my own copy.  Love it!  It's not my only cookbook I use, but it's definitely one to own.  It has everything from shampoos to breads to how to make your own marshmallows...gonna try me that one, for sure.  Today I'm making pita bread from this book.  I'll post that one next. 

So if you've got a hankerin' for homemade caramels or marshmallows or even pita bread...you gotta get this book.

I pray I will...