Secret Recipe Club: Sopa de Arroz

So.
We are in the midst of a kitchen renovation.  The obvious question is to ask why I would do something so asinine as to say that I would participate in Secret Recipe Club when I don't have a kitchen.  The good news is I made this just before the renovation started.  Now, I'm looking forward to it being over so I can start cooking again.
This month, I was thrilled to be assigned and excuse to spend some time in La Cocina de Leslie!  My very first month with SRC, Leslie made my Peanut Butter Crunch Cake.  I was so excited to have a chance to peruse Leslie's blog and make some good, authentic Mexican food.
Leslie lives in Mexico with her husband and 4 children.  She's even written a cookbook called Taqueria Tacos that is being released on my birthday.  J and I are both huge fans of Mexican food.  We had our first date at Mi Hacienda, a Mexican restaurant in Toledo, and that's where he proposed as well!  I wanted to make Leslie's Shredded Chicken Tacos de Mole because it reminded me greatly of my favourite Chicken Enchiladas Poblanas from Mi Hacienda, but I couldn't find the mole paste, and a mole sauce was more work that I was up for.  (But if you are up for the work, Leslie has options for homemade mole sauce!)
Enter this recipe.  I was making a shredded pork in the crockpot to mix with black beans and Mexican rice to make burritos so that I would have things in the freezer for eating during the reno.  I needed a good recipe for Mexican rice.  Leslie's recipe from her mother in law doesn't disappoint.
I present to you now from La Cocina de Leslie, Sopa de Arroz (Mexican Rice):

Classics: Dill Pickles

So.
I posted a picture on Facebook of the enormous bag of cucumbers that I bought at the Farmers Market this past Tuesday.  I think it was a bushel.
Every summer, my one canning project is making dill pickles using the same recipe my mom uses.  It's simple and forgiving.  I'm not really sure why I started, but I know it was after J and I got married, but I've done it every summer since; even the summer we moved. J is obviously a fan, or I wouldn't bother with something this time consuming that only I eat.  I also make these as Christmas gifts, so buying 23 lbs of baby cucumbers might not seem so crazy.
That's right.  23 pounds.  No one needs that many cucmbers.  I ended up having a friend take some.
One thing that that picture on Facebook did was have a whole bunch of my friends ask if the pickles are crunchy (I think so), and would I share the recipe (yes).
I present to you now from the Mary Moore Cookbook Dill Pickles:

Bride of Magazine Challenge: Glazed Shallots

So.
I'm still making posts for things I made last year.  Sigh.  My excuse on this one is that these little gems graced our Christmas Dinner table.  I didn't really blog much between then and the end of the year.
I've made these and another onion side in the past year.  In both cases, J wasn't convinced that they were going to be good.  In both cases, he was pleasantly surprised.  Frankly, in terms of this recipe, so was I.
I'm not much of a sweet and sour girl.  I really don't think sweet things belong in an entree course.  But I thought these sounded good and they helped to fulfill my quota for Year 2 of the Magazine Challenge.
The biggest challenge?  Peeling a whole pound of shallots.  They're small and fiddly.  Martha did, however, have a tip for peeling them that did make decidedly short work of them.  Soak the shallots in warm water until the skins are wrinkled and cracked.  Then slip them off with a paring knife.  It didn't take me long that way!
I present to you now from the December 2006 issue of Everyday Food, Glazed Shallots:

Bride of Magazine Challenge: Crispy Oven Fries

So.
Sometimes I just don't know what to add to my meal plan that will be good for 1 night.
With so many things that I make feeding 4, we get 2 nights out of many meals.  But with all schedules, there's often 1 night in the week left over, and I don't know what to make.  It's at that point we whip out something really simple that if we don't get to it and go out, it won't really matter.
One of those simple, one night meals that we often rely on is broccoli, potatoes or a rice packet and grilled steak.
We buy our steak at Costco, and cut them in half when we repackage into smaller portions.  So a tray of steaks makes a whole lot more servings than the 3 that originally start on the tray at the store.  With the current decision to use up everything in the freezer (or a good portion thereof before defrosting), steak is definitely on the menu.
Usually, I make mashed potatoes because all I need to do is chop, boil and mash to make a side.  But when I saw this recipe in the October 2006 issue of Everyday food, I thought that they might be a nice change of pace.  I was right.  We loved them.  J has requested that I make them again sometime.
They're not for a quick night, but they're different.  I present to you now from the October 2006 issue of Everyday Food Crispy Oven Fries:

Magazine Challenge: Stuffed Onions

So.
My mom's birthday was on the weekend.  J and I invited her to come and do her taxes and celebrate her birthday.  We invited my uncle and his wife to come and join us for dinner. 
Family dinners are a good chance to try out new things.  Frankly, company is a good chance to try out new recipes.  When we have people over, I invariably try new things.  If it works, it's lovely, and if it doesn't, well...there's someone to help eat up the mistake.  I bought a really nice roast at the butcher, and planned on mashed potatoes and steamed broccoli.  So in terms of something new we were looking at a side or dessert. 
This recipe is from November 2005 Everyday Food.  I marked it as something I wanted to try last year, but never got around to.  J was skeptical at first.  I don't know if it was because of the word "onion" as a side, or his general skepticism when I have enthusiasm a little bit different.  But whatever the reason, I told him we were making them anyways.
Just as well.  He loved them.
For those of you who like a different side, or just like onions; I present to you now from the November 2005 issue of Everyday Food Stuffed Onions:

Valentine's Rewind

So.
We were home for Valentine's Day.  J asked me if I wanted to go out, but I really didn't.  We eat out too much.
While flipping through the Jan/Feb 2006 issue of Everyday Food, I found a menu for 2 for Valentine's Day.  I decided that it would be an easy present for us both:  dinner in, with lots of yummy things.  The entire menu as presented by EDF is Artichoke-Parmesan Crostini, Pepper Crusted Filet Mignon with Red Wine Reduction Sauce, Creamy Spinach, Slow-Roasted Tomatoes, and Bittersweet Chocolate Mousse.
The beauty of this menu is it's meant for 2.  The only thing that makes 4 servings is the mousse.  But I didn't think that I wanted to make the crostini or the mousse.  I decided to make the main, serve a cheese course, and buy a dessert for two.  The result was a lovely meal.
I present to you now from the 2006 January/February issue of Everyday Food what we had for Valentine's Day at home:

Magazine Challenge: Brussel Sprouts with Bacon and Apple

So.
I post this today in honour of American Thanksgiving.  I made these for Canadian Thanksgiving in October, and they were well received.  I was serving enough things that J would be skeptical about that I decided to cook a vegetable that he likes and I'm not quite so sure about.  Brussel sprouts.
I have to admit, if I'm not sure about a vegetable, the best thing to do is roast it.  The only people who were skeptical about these were my friend's 2 girls.  But they're often skeptical about what I cook when their family comes for dinner.
While there's no time to make them for Thanksgiving this year, there's always Christmas.  Or Tuesday.
I present to you now from the November 2005 issue of Everyday Food Brussel Sprouts with Bacon and Apple:

Yummy Side: Twice Baked Potatoes

So.
J has been asking for a few weeks if we could have Buffalo Chicken Sandwiches and Twice Baked Potatoes.  I've been putting him off.  It's not that either of these things are difficult or things I don't like, I've just been putting him off.  That finally changed when I realized how much we've been spending eating out while work was crazy.  I finally got around to making these for dinner.
A few years ago, I was part of a cookbook exchange where I received a couple of books that I use quite a bit:  Tom LaCalamita's Ultimate Bread Machine Cookbook and Rachel Ray's 30-Minute Meals 2.  This recipe is a riff on Rachel's recipe.
I have a love/hate relationship with Rachel Ray.  Her stupid little cutesy words bug me, and her smoker's voice gets to me.  I do, however, use some of her recipes regularly.  We love her Italian Wedding Soup, and her suggestions around mise en place are fantastic.  We love these potatoes too.  I need to get that cookbook out.  There are some fun menus.
This is a take out at home menu of twice baked potatoes (Super Stuffed Potatoes), buffalo chicken sandwiches and orange sherbet freezes.  I've never made the drinks, and I have followed the recipe for the sandwiches (which are great), but I make them faster and easier:  Cook a small chicken breast for each person in a frying pan, cutting in half to make more like cutlets.  When mostly cooked, pour Frank's Red Hot Sauce over the chicken, coating well.  Continue to cook, allowing the sauce to thicken.  Turn several times.  Slice fresh crusty rolls and place 1 breast per bun.  Drizzle with ranch or bleu cheese salad dressing.
But the side.  Yum.  I present to you now my adaptation Rachel Ray's Super Stuffed Potatoes:

Magazine Challenge: Buttermilk-Garlic Biscuits

So.
This officially marks 6 recipes from the Jan/Feb issue of Everyday Food 2005.  I'm going to say that I've done what I need to with this issue.  While I do want to make the other 6 things from there that I found, I've officially made 6 things.  This would even be a high note to go out on.
When we made chili at our house, we use a kit.  I KNOW!  But it's just the spices, and it's really good.  It's also one of the few culinary things that J brought to our relationship.  So, for those of you looking for a wicked easy way to make chili, and who are going to the US, might I suggest dropping by a Kroger for your own box or 12 (don't judge) of WIck Fowler 2 Alarm Chili?  It's got a good burn to it, and it's easy.
I often make cornbread from my Holly Hobby Cookbook to go with the chili.  Sometimes, I made rolls, or pull them out of my freezer.  But this time, with a partial quart of buttermilk in the fridge, I turned to Martha and a recipe that I'd seen a while ago.
I present to you now from EDF 2005 Jan/Feb, Buttermilk-Garlic Biscuits:

Pinned: Garlic Parmesan Roasted Brussel Sprouts

So.
I feel like vegetables much like J feels about fruit.  I like a few specific things, and I'm not adventurous.  Most weeks, I buy broccoli in the winter.  In the spring, we eat a lot of roasted asparagus.  If I had my way, we'd eat mostly frozen corn and green beans with a few frozen green peas for variety.
J likes all vegetables - he'll eat any I put on his plate other than squash and sweet potatoes.  So this week when we went to the grocery store, brussel sprouts were on sale.  For whatever reason, I have been pinning brussel sprout recipes.  I decided to see whether or not I liked them.
I present to you now Joy in the Jumble's Garlic Parmesan Roasted Brussel Sprouts:

Grillmistress: Foil Potatoes

So.
J believes that there should be starch with most meals.  He has this bizarre love/hate relationship with carbs that I totally don't get.  He might not want pizza at dinner because there are "too many carbs", but then will add 3 packets of sugar to a cup of coffee.  Although it's kind of the pot calling the kettle black...I just know I don't need the number of refined carbs that I eat in sugar or flour form.
Ahem.  But, he expects either potatoes, rice, or pasta as a side when I make dinner at home.  Here's what we like to do with potatoes in the summer when we're grilling.  I present to you now Sarah's foil packet potatoes:

Dinner with Friends: Jewelled Layered Salad

So.
Keeping with the theme of what I served for dinner when friends came, I present to you this salad.
I originally made this salad to take to family Christmas 2011.  I took home an empty bowl.  I thought it was so pretty in the pictures in the magazine, and you could put it together before going, and combined a whole bunch of things I loved in one bowl.  Other people thought it was tasty too.
As opposed to Christmas with 25 other people, there were only 4 of us eating this Saturday night.  The 6 year olds each ate 1 leaf of spinach.  We had some apples and cranberries left in the bottom of the bowl with some dressing.  I plan to add new spinach and almonds tomorrow to mix and stir.  It will still be good.
I present to you now Kraft's Layered Jewelled Spinach Salad:

I'm Not Sure This is Biggest Loser Material...

I subscribed to Martha Stewart's Everyday Food for about 5 years.  It was as this magazine piled up around my house that I decided that I needed to actually make things in the magazines that came in the mail and not merely admire the pretty pictures.  This is a recipe that I first made for J and I just after he moved to Canada.  At that point, I was still working on impressing him with my culinary skills.  It's amazing what 4 years of marriage will do for you.  The impressing my boy phase is gone.
I will tell you that I have a love/hate relationship with Martha's recipes.  Her baked goods are hit and miss.  I've made pancakes from EDF that were more dry, rubbery hockey pucks than things I wanted to waste perfectly good maple syrup on.  But her entrees and sides are usually winners, and there are many EDF entrees that are staples in our kitchen.  I make these maybe once a year.  It's hard to put that much fat in one dish and not somehow think that we should be eating a healthier version.  But these potatoes are so good.  I love goat cheese.
In honour of The Biggest Loser starting at work this week, I present a recipe that none of my work colleagues would currently eat, despite the fact that these are about the only sort of scalloped potatoes that I will eat.  If you make these, do not replace the cream with milk.  That verges on sacrilege.  They wouldn't be the same.  I think the idea is to not eat too much in one sitting.  From October 2006, I present to you Potatoes Gratin: