leek, potato, and broccoli soup

although i had plenty of left over food from the weekend last nite i had a hankering for some soup...like i had in Ireland. creamy and delish...served with homemade croutons. i admit i had never made croutons before. it was very easy. i used a total of 1 1/2 sticks of butter between the soup and croutons. and believe me...it was worth every scrumptious bite. Here goes it:

the soup

in heavy pot melt 1 stick salted butter. add one large leek chopped, 5 spring onions chopped, 5 potatoes peeled and chunked, and 2 handfuls of frozen broccoli florets (you could use fresh if you have it on hand). after about 10 minutes add 2 cups each chicken and beef broth. cover with lid and boil until potatoes are tender. in batches blenderize until smooth. place back into heavy pot and bring the heat back up. turn off heat and add 3/4 cup heavy cream and salt and pepper

to taste.

the croutons
i took 6 slices of my homemade rosemary and garlic bread and cubed it. i placed 1/2 stick of butter in a skillet. when the butter was melted i added the bread. i cooked them for about 10 minutes turning them often until they were well toasted.
serve the croutons in the soup.

tonite however...i am pooped. we had leftover lasagna. i have had a bath. i am now relaxing (after folding laundry and doing dishes). i plan on starting my new book 'the girl who kicked the hornets nest'. no matter how tired i am...a good book can keep me up all nite!

~bon appetite

lasagna with homemade noodles and chocolate cream pie

i have been waiting for this day! the steelers game is going to be the big event in our house tonite. so in celebration of that i am made lasagna with homemade noodles and marinara. i used my 'pasta queen' pasta maker. that's always fun. and i was really hungry for chocolate. i scanned a couple recipe books before i came upon a recipe for a chocolate pie that was sure to cure my craving. the recipe book i found it in was from 1966 called the 'favorite recipes of california desserts'. i have made several of the recipes in this neat little cook book. i believe i picked the recipe book up at a yard sale. isabelle helped make the pie. and it was FABULOUS!!! i love when that happens!

Go Steelers!!

~bon appetite

garlic and rosemary bread

i have this great little french bread recipe that came with my kitchen aid. i use it instead of the white or wheat bread recipe. i like free form artisanal loaves. i kick this recipe up a notch by roasting a whole bulb of garlic and adding it along with rosemary to the dough while i am kneading it.

just take the garlic and place it in a small piece of tin foil. put it in a hot oven...450degrees for about 20-25 minutes. remove it from the oven. careful...its hot. squeeze the garlic cloves out of their skins. add the cloves the the dough during the kneading process. also add some rosemary. i add 1-2 tbsp. let raise just until the dough has doubled. punch down. divide into 4 sections. dust large baking sheet with cornmeal. form loaves. place on baking sheet. with very sharp knife cut slits in top of dough. not too deep. let dough raise again....just about 10-15 minutes. put into HOT oven...450 degrees for 25 minutes. when the bread comes out of the oven brush with butter.

this bread is savory and gratifying. any french bread recipe will work. good luck.

~bon appetite

lamb kabobs-moroccan style

no football saturday. rats. i really go through football withdrawl after the superbowl. then when fall rolls around again i get all excited for the new season to begin.

so for saturday i wanted to try lamb kabobs. i have ground lamb. i googled several recipes. some called for cubed lamb...some for ground. so i took 3 recipes from the internet...took what i liked from each recipe and combined it into one recipe. i also made a killer yogurt sauce. this sauce would taste good on any grilled meat...chicken...pork. yorgurt is just plain good.

i began this recipe by taking yogurt the day before and place it in a wire strainer and placing it over a bowl in the fridge. by saturday all the water had drained out of it and it was thick, thick, thick. here is the recipe:

YOGURT SAUCE

1 c yogurt

1 tbsp mayo

2 tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 cloves garlic ran through a garlic press

salt and pepper to taste

2 tbsp chopped mint leaves (i used dried mint leaves from my garden i use for tea)

2 tbsp chopped parsley

combine all the above ingredients. place in fridge. serve with lamb kabobs.

here is the lamb kabob recipe:

LAMB KABOBS MOROCCAN STYLE

in a food processor puree one large onion and 3 cloves garlic. add this pureed mixture to the 2 pounds of ground lamb in a very large bowl.

in a small bowl combine the following:

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp nutmeg

mix it up well. add this mixture to ground lamb also. stir it with a wooden spoon until well blended. divide the mixture up into 8 sections. this will yield about a 1/4 pound of meat for each skewer. next, mold the individual portions of meat onto wooden skewers. if you have metal skewers by all means use them. they work better and cook the meat faster and more evenly. once you have all the kabobs made place them in the fridge for and hour or two. this helps mingle all the flavors and helps them hold up during the grilling process. otherwise they fall apart on the grill if you skip this step. grill kabobs on a medium heat turning the kabobs occasionally to cook evenly. when you think their done plate them. let sit 5 minutes. t o serve pull the kabob off the skewer and onto a piece of flat bread. drizzle with the yogurt sauce.

my family loved these! give it a try. this meat is lucious and succulent. i am off to have some breakfast...1/2 lamb kabob left in the fridge....it's all mine!

~bon appetite

Justy's Cream Puffs

the girls have been asking their dad to make cream puffs.

sooo...thursday nite he got down to business. we have this really great cook book we recieved as a wedding gift from my cousins Sherron and Sarah. It was printed in 1947. It has wonderful recipes that are very easy to follow and uses food items that one usually has on hand. justy likes this recipe best. he also made custard from scratch to fill them with. they were spectacular!! in the recipe it has this variation in case eggs are too expensive. here is an excerpt:

"If eggs are expensive, modify the recipe for soft custard by substituting one tespoon of corn starch for one egg yolk or two teaspoons for two egg yolks or one whole egg."

i love it! here is a wild recipe....not sure i would try this one:

Peanut butter and pickle sandwiches

1/2 c peanut butter

1/2 c chopped pickle

1/4 c cream or hot water

cream peanut butter and water together and add chopped pickle. use between thin, buttered slices of bread.

~bon appetite!

chuck roast done right

mmmm....tonite dinner's done and i barely walked in the door. the roads are clear of ice for the first time since last week (thanks to my husband) and all i have to do is walk in and grab a glass of vino. but i wouldnt want such an easy time with dinner every nite. i really like chopping, dicing, mincing, etc... pulling dinner together. its very satisfying. i love feeding people. i want to see them gobble it up and ask for more. it makes me happy. very fulfilling...feeding people.

the other nite justy grilled steak and i made a spinache salad with yellow bell pepper and radishes. i get so hungry for fresh, raw, vegatables and steak. it is one of the best meal combinations ever.

tonite we are enjoying roast, gravy made from the juice of the roast, and left over smashed potatoes.

the EASIEST way and TASTIEST way to cook a roast is this:

*place frozen 4-5 pound roast in le creuset cookware

*cover with tin foil

*place in oven at 280 for 7 hours

*drain juice

*add 1 tsp beef boullion and 2 cups water

*when it boils add premixed flour solution while whisking. add small amounts until gravy is to the consistency you like

**flour solution: 3 tbsp flour in 1/2 cup water. i use a small jar. i put the lid on it and shake, shake, shake. add to liquid to thicken gravy.

my husband just got the fire going. dinners done. wine is good. moon is full. dog is sleeping on beautiful wool kitchen rug (rats!). kids are healthy (and happy) life is good. and just keeps gettin' better...bon appetite!

jumbo farfalle

evening. its friday eve. and tomorrow my baby girl turns sweet 16. i cant believe it!!!! awww....she is wonderful. and it seems like just a few years ago i had my 16th birthday. goes by fast. everyone tells you that....but its really is true.

tonite my other little baby helped me make dinner. we made homemade meatballs and sauce. and....tada....homemade pasta. farfalle. literally meaning butterfly. iz kneaded the dough a full 10 minutes. we let the dough rest for another 10 minutes. then we rolled out the pasta with my 'pasta queen' machine. we boiled the pasta 3-4 minutes in salty water. then just dressed it with salt, pepper, and evoo. we ate it along with the meatballs and sauce and bread i made on monday. it was really really good.

the weather has been really cold here. -13 degrees. but tonite it is in the 20's. will be a beautiful birthday weekend for my girl.

~bon appetite

meatballs in red wine marinara

happy saturday. it rained alot here today...on top of the snow. then after a couple of hours the rain turned to snow. we spent the day inside. i made 2 loaves of french bread and some really good meatballs. my girls thought they were great. i waited till after they ate to tell them what was in them! nothing icky...just not what you would expect to put in raw burger... here it is:

2 pounds burger

handful dried apricots roughly chopped

1/4 cup walnuts chopped

1 egg

1 cup shredded cheese (i used half and half dubliner and feta)

salt and pepper

i mixed this all together and made meatballs the size of golf balls. meanwhile, in porcelain covered dutch oven i sauted 1/2 a purple onion until tender. to this i added a cup or so of red wine. cook this for a couple of minutes then add one large can of stewed tomatoes and one regular can of tomato sauce. i brought this to a boil and added my meatballs. i covered it with a lid and simmered it for 25 minutes. then i tuned off the heat and let it set (this was around 10 this morning). later in the day...around 2 when everyone was getting hungry they enjoyed the meatballs and sauce with fresh french bread.

i managed to paint my bathroom today....turquoise. i have had the paint for awhile and the fabric to make the shower curtain. it looks lovely and fresh. it was an all day project. i am ready to relax. i am reading 'the girl who played with fire' and if its anything like the first one 'the girl with the dragon tattoo' then i will certainly spend late nites reading. i love books like that! and i love the winter days. spending the weekend just hanging out with my girls. izzy boo made some fantastic chocolate chip cookies today. she is quite the little chef. she melted some chocolate this morning to dip marshmellows in and she told me she zested a lemon and added that to the chocolate!

well, i am off to read. stay warm and eat well!

~bon appetite

leg of lamb

happy new year! i know...i need to make time to blog. its not that i dont have time to do the things i like to do. we all have time. its just about fitting these things into our busy lives. life goes by and we think we have some control over our daily activities. then, before we know it....we are running around feeling like we cant get anything done! yikes.

i try and remind myself this is MY day. this is MY life. slow down. so, as a new year has dawned once again....i will, like so many, make some resolutions. i will command my life. i will not drive fast to make it to work on time. i will not vacuum the house in the evening when i am pooped. i WILL spend more time with my kids. i WILL enjoy cooking for my family. and for new years resolution sake....i will TRY and use the F word less.

at the end of december i placed a bid on some lamb. the hospital where i work was auctioning off 35 pounds of lamb. i placed the highest bid....i won! so i now have this wonderful selection of lamb in my freezer. justy and i decided to try leg of lamb. last nite (after the meat was completely thawed) i put grain mustard all over it...just smeared it all over. then i cut slits in the leg. justy cut pieces of rosemary off our rosemary plant and we cut up an entire bulb of garlic. into each of the slits we stuffed a clove of garlic and a spring of rosemary. we then covered it will saran and put it in the fridge over nite. after work justy drizzled olive oil over it and placed it in a HOT oven...500 degrees for one hour uncovered. then turned the oven down to 400 and cooked it 30 minutes longer. we then let it rest for 15-20 minutes. i made smashed potatoes to go with it. it smelled so wonderful i knew it had to be good. it was DELICIOUS! scrumptiously sweet. perfectly flavored. how have i been cooking this long and not discovered this flavor?! what a great dish to kick off the new year.

~bon appetite