It’s not too late to sign up for the Christmas Snail Mail. Go clickety-click!

I think I should start by saying that these are all gone. I baked them the previous night and between me and my brother, we finished all 8 of them in less than 24 hours. I thought 8 was too many and enough to share outside of the house. Either we were hungry or these were really good. Hah!

Most of you know by now that I love tinkering with a good recipe. It doesn’t matter what you tell me, I just will. I blame it really on my university “training” where we were not spoon-fed at all and we basically had to live by the “find your own creative means” mantra to get the end results. In the beginning this was something I detested because hey, I just got out of a sheltered private Catholic high school life and I’m being thrown into the lion’s den. I eventually loved it…thrived in it. And now here we are. Unless there’s no leeway (e.g. following instructions for a camera), I will tweak to my heart’s content. It does not satisfy me to just do what’s been done. I like to play, especially with food. Cooking has satisfied my creative hunger (pun hehe) like no other. And I get fed, too. :-)

SOOO… (good lord I babble a lot), when I saw Elle’s corn muffins, there was no question that when I make them I will mess with them. [Sorry, hun.] She used Gale Gand’s Featherlight Muffins recipe. I noticed that that the tops looked soft, and I would like them a bit harder, but not too hard that it will scrape the roof of my mouth. When I checked the ingredient list I got a bit worried about the mere half cup of sugar for a cup of flour. I didn’t think that was enough sweetness for me, so I added honey to add a little more. Plus I increased the temperature to 400°F to hopefully give that little crisp at the top which I just love about muffins.

I wanted to make ones like the Kenny Rogers corn muffins, which I really, really love, but we didn’t have corn nibblets. Hmph. To remedy this need for another ingredient and to further experiment, I added crumbled aged creamy cheddar cheese to just four of the muffins.

You’ll see melted cheese peeking on the right muffin, which has it. The left one is ‘plain’.

The ones with cheese are so incredibly good!!! And you know what? I would like to have more and bigger chunks of cheese next time. Yum, yum. Stick with good cheese, though.

I waited for the muffins to bake until it started to brown on the sides, which took about 17 minutes and 30 seconds [no really!]:

The brown part that you see? I always eat that the last. Yummers!

Here’s my army of eight that have dutifully served their duty to feed and be delicious:

I used tart shells because I didn’t realize that there are no muffin pans at my parents’ house. Hrmm.

Okay, so here’s the verdict on my little experiment:

Good things about these muffins: A delicious muffin top that’s worth the last bite for and it’s not too hard either, I’d say they were crunchy/chewy. Soft, dense (but not too much that you get full with one muffin), creamy and I could almost say “cushion-y” muffin body that is so, so nice to bite into, you won’t feel like you’re eating it just to get to the “top” — ‘know what I mean? They are GOOD. I like the sweetness of this — it’s perfect for me. The cheese is a really nice touch and I won’t make them without next time. Make this as a breakfast treat and people will be running to the kitchen to wait — no, DEMAND — for them, because not only are they so divine to the olfactory senses plus they live up to the aromatic hype. I can still remember how they smelled right out of the oven!  MMMMMM….yummm. Can’t wait to make the next batch tonight!

Bad thing about these muffins: You’ll be able to finish them in a wink. I could have easily eaten ALL of them by myself.

Ok, on to the almost step-by-step photos and recipe.

Created with Admarket’s flickrSLiDR.

I’ll post the PDF recipe tomorrow done!, which is going to be our blog’s FIRST YEAR. I still can’t believe it’s that old.

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The hamburger. It is one of the simplest dishes to prepare. Even in its simplicity, there are ways of making your simple ground beef become infinitely flavorful. Everyone has their idea about the right way to make a burger, there are even competitions for the “perfect hamburger.” When Joy was out, I wanted to use the grills in the apartment complex we live in now that the weather is changing.

The following is dangerous territory as it will induce Pavlov-like symptoms. Enter with caution and a full stomach. Continue Reading

When I saw the photo for this on the May 2008 Gourmet magazine, I knew I had to make it. How can I resist cheese? I’ve also been meaning to get into bread-making. I thought this would be a good start. Yes, I’ve made cinnamon rolls so many times, but it’s time to move on and progress towards my goals of baking a good French bread and soft pretzels.

This recipe was not one to disappoint as you can see. It smelled and tasted so good, and it has that rustic look and texture, it made us feel like we’re in the country as we drooled over it:

The dough was a bit of challenge to work with, I should warn you (or it could just be me, really). For my first time, I think I did good. I ‘cheated’ and used a rolling pin to flatten it out, instead of using just my hands. Having refrigerated the dough overnight, I was faced with a really tough dough.

You might be wondering how the cheese got ingrained in there. The two kinds of coarsely grated cheeses (I used havarti and fresh mozzarella chopped in the food processor) are lumped into one big ball — and you might cry when you realize the amount of cheese in there as you hold it, but carry on because this really is one mightily awesome food to reach your mouth — but as I was saying, so the ball is placed in the middle of the slightly flattened dough, then it’s wrapped and ‘tied’ at the top, then pushed back down to spread into an 11-inch disk. Makes sense? That was the most challenging part for me.

It’s baked for 10 minutes, then sprayed with olive oil and baked for another 3 minutes to brown. And then you’ll be rewarded with this:

I’m killing you now, aren’t I? Please, dig in!

You know what else you can use this dough for?

Pizza! Yup, I made this with parmesan, mozza, and turkey bacon. Great for snacks. The dough is comparable to the frozen pizza doughs you can buy, and reminiscent of Pizza Hut’s P-zone’s dough. Not too shabby since this doesn’t take a lot of effort as the other pizza dough recipes I’ve seen (and have been scared with).

Alright, after taunting you, here’s the the recipe:  [And Happy Friday!]

GEORGIAN CHEESE BREAD

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 teaspoons (1/4-oz package) active dry yeast
• 7 tablespoons warm water (105-115°F)
• 1 2/3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour, divided
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 large egg, lightly beaten
• 1/4 lb Havarti cheese, coarsely grated
• 1/4 lb fresh mozzarella, coarsely grated (add 1/2 tsp salt)
• olive oil (for spraying or brushing)

Preparation:

1. Sprinkle yeast over warm water and stir in a tablespoon flour. Let stand until creamy, about 5 minutes. (If yeast does not activate, start over with new yeast.)
2. Stir together salt and remaining flour in a large bowl, then stir in egg and yeast mixture to form dough.
3. Transfer dough onto a well-floured surface and turn to coat with flour, and then knead until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Form into a ball and dust with flour. Let the dough rest in a bowl, covered with plastic wrap, punching down with a wet fist every hour, at least 2 hours and up to 3.
4. Preheat oven to 500°F with rack in middle. Turn out dough onto floured pizza pan. Turn to coat. Flatten with your fingers into a 7-inch disk.
5. Toss together cheeses and compact them into a 3-inch ball with your hands. Place ball in middle of dough, then gather dough up around ball of cheese, squeezing excess dough into a topknot. Press down on topknot with a damp fist to press cheese out from center. Continue to flatten dough and distribute cheese evenly, pressing outward from center, until dough is an 11-inch disk.
6. Cut a 6-inch X through top of dough to expose cheese. Bake until pale golden, about 10 to 12 minutes. Brush/spray surface of dough with olive oil and bake until golden and cooked through, 3 to 5 minutes more. Serve cut into wedges.

Notes

Dough can be made 1 day ahead and chilled in bowl (for a slow rise), covered with plastic wrap. Punch down and bring to room temperature before proceeding with recipe.

If you are using a perforated pizza pan, be sure to have a baking sheet on the rack underneath it when you bake the bread. There might be cheese dripping through the holes. On that note, the cheese might burn so be ready for a smoky oven (and kitchen, and house…).

The cheese bread reheats well in the microwave for 20 seconds.

I’m doing some “spring cleaning” around here and deleting doubled drafts and whatnot. I found this which I made last February. Heavens, it’s May already. Time flies and next thing I’m 30. The end. It all goes down to that. Eek.

As anyone who eats with me on a regular basis can tell you — I am not a big fan of sandwiches. I don’t crave for it, I don’t fantasize about making them, and I just don’t care for them much unless I make them at home with only a few ingredients that I really like. I could not stand piling up all sorts of stuff in the sandwich — I want to taste the cheese, the meat, the bread, and the leaves. I liken it to eating everything in the fridge in one bite. It’s not palatable at all. I know I have weird tastes sometimes.

This is my kind of sandwich, which I assume would be considered boring and conservative in a sandwich lover’s world:

A slice of muenster cheese slightly melted over freshly toasted whole wheat bread.

Topped with fresh spinach leaves.

Then a slice of folded roast beef with some freshly crushed pepper.

It’s perfect for me.

How do you make your sandwiches?

Before we started this website, Dan and I used to send photos from our phones to friends and relatives saying, “Wish you were here” when we want to share food and restaurants we’re trying, or places we’re visiting. Now, we get to say that to all of you and share images of our experiences. I love being able to do it. The beauty from the simple things, such as a relaxing day, a beautiful afternoon, the burst of colors from nature, good food, new experiences, etc., is overwhelming to keep to oneself. I think it’s criminal not to share it. We hope you like them!

The first thing that greeted us when we entered the Pike Place Market were the flowers. Cheap flowers! We’re talking about $5 to $10.

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Pause. Breathe deep. And behold a remarkably rich and creamy mac n’ cheese that’ll have you smitten:

And the good thing is, we didn’t even have to lift a finger in preparing it! Dan’s mom, Mary Anne, baked it as part of Easter dinner at their house, and we took some home. Woohoo! What can I say — she spoils the family good. :-)

The recipe she used was from one of the finalists on Emeril’s Best Mac ‘n’ Cheese Ever Challenge, Princess Thompson, who described this as — ‘…the right mixture of love and cheese and once you taste you’ll want to Smack Yo Mamma and say, “Why didn’t you ever make macaroni and cheese like this?“‘

It was awesome. I still remember taking my first mouthful. Wow.

Go make ‘em before you get a smackin’ from your friends and family! Here’s the recipe: Continue Reading

Quiche used to be one of those foods that I had no opinion of — I neither like nor hate it. Just so-so. I’ve never had one that sent sparks flying until I took a bite of my own the other day. I know it’s extremely biased to say that, but considering how hypercritical I am of my cooking and calling anything sub-par as ‘failures’, please bear with me on this.

I have never made quiche and haven’t had the inkling to make one. This changed decades later when I saw the crustless quiche in the March 2008 issue of Gourmet (page 84). I instantly envisioned my own tasty fluffy egg-y goodness in ramekins:

A couple of minutes out of the oven, with the poofy top now sunk in.

I was inspired to make them in serving size containers, which should be just the right amount for me and Dan. I coated the ramekins with corn flake crumbs, lined the bottom with leftover corned beef (from Monday’s dinner) that was sauteed with white onion and celery. Then came the topping of shredded Colby Jack cheese. Finally, the egg-milk-cream mixture sealed it to make quiche. The result was beyond divine:

Love at first bite.

The sweet scent of sauteed onion, celery, and corned beef lingered in the kitchen while these were baking, so I was expecting a good treat after 25 minutes. Digging into the just-out-of-the-oven steaming quiche released a comforting aroma that surpassed all my expectations. The first bite was indescribable. Wow — did I really make this?! It was light and soft, the eggs were perfectly, perfectly cooked. The ‘filling’ was oh so happy to be melded in the cheese and egg and milk. Just…wonderful. I think Dan and I have now been “converted” from being unimpressed with quiche to loving quiche.

I learned a lesson the day I made my first quiche: Don’t walk away from a dish until you’ve tried making it at home. The freshness of the ingredients and the dish itself, and the joy of cooking, make a huge difference. Yes, there might be few mistakes every now and then, but that’s what makes it a great adventure!

If you love quiche, try this and let me know what your quiche-connoisseur taste buds think. If you never liked quiche, are still on the fence, and/or would like to try it, I honestly think this might make you change your mind. And it’s so simple to make, too!

Here’s the visual step-by-step guide:

On to the recipe:

POST ST. PATTY’S CRUSTLESS QUICHE

Yields 3 small ramekin servings

Ingredients – can be easily doubled

• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter, plus additional (softened) butter for coating the sides of the ramekin
• corn flake crumbs for coating the sides of the ramekin
• 1/2 white onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup sliced celery
• 1/2 cup cooked corned beef, diced
• 9 tablespoons Colby jack cheese, shredded
• 2 large eggs
• 1/2 cup heavy cream
• 1/2 cup whole milk
• kosher salt
• 1/2 tsp pepper

Preparation

1. Pre-heat oven to 425°F.
2. With a cooking brush, thinly coat the sides of the ramekins with softened butter. Add about a tablespoon of cornflake crumbs then rotate the ramekin to spread the crumbs and let them adhere to the butter on the sides. Tap awaw and remove excess crumbs..
3. Sauté onions and celery in a tablespoon of butter in a frying pan over medium heat, about 2 minutes. Add corned beef, and sauté for 4 minutes. Remove from the heat then divide and spread on the bottom of each ramekin.
4. Top with 3 tablespoons of cheese for each ramekin. Spread evenly.
5. Whisk together eggs, cream, milk, and 1/2-teaspoon pepper in a medium bowl. Pour into each ramekin.
6. Place ramekins on a baking sheet and bake in the oven until top is golden and custard is set in center, about 25 minutes.
7. Slightly cool before serving.

Notes

• This is a fantastic “basic” recipe that you can alter with your own ingredients for the filling – fish, poultry, beef, vegetables, including your leftovers!
• You can easily double the recipe to fill a 10-inch quiche dish or 10-inch glass pie plate. Bake for 25-30 minutes.

We hope you’re all having a good Sunday. It’s bright, and warm and sunny here at our end.

If you’ve missed something, here’s a recap of what we had this week:

• Bittersweet Chocolate Pudding Pie – Lick-the-dish-clean good decadent chocolate pie.
• Cinnamon Rolls I – No-Rise Dough) - Joy’s first attempt at making homemade cinnamon rolls with cream cheese glaze
• Cinnamon Rolls II — Success! – The best payoff for not giving up…amazing rolls.
• Comfort Beef Stew – Winter’s last sip.
• Food Gossip Meme: He Says, She Says
• Linguine with Beef and Mushroom Sauce – The pasta that earned a nice compliment from Dan.
• Free Italian cookbook - Free cookbook for download until March 31st.

Also, I mentioned last week that we’ll be featuring recipes that we like, admire, and want to bookmark for future reference. It’s easier than trying to remember where to get them when we need the recipe. Go have a look at these delicious creations:

• Katy’s Fig and Goat Cheese Canapes – Easy to make snack that’s promisingly decadent.
• Pam’s Mom’s Clam Chowder – Could probably be the recipe that would finally get us to cook homemade clam chowder.
• Cheese Puff’s Water Fried Buns — Tender buns that look absolutely amazing and delicious
• Patricia’s Dorie’s Best Chocolate Chip Cookies — Just look at the those cookies!
• Dhanggit’s French Bread — Beautiful homemade bread.

A peek at this week’s ‘menu’ at Gourmeted:

• Cocoa Brownies

• Beef Stir-Fry
  

• Lengua Estofada (Braised Beef Tongue)

• We’re kicking off the series on How We Take Food Photos - from discussing the basic equipment, setting up your camera for taking step-by-step photos, to dealing with kitchen and dining table lighting, and more! A few people have asked about how we do things here, so we’re going to do a continuous series on food photography, and hopefully we can all learn from each other.

It’s the big game. The big game means big eats. I knew coming into the party that my parents were hosting that Portillo’s Hot Dogs and Italian Beef would be served. It’s a staple in the family to prepare it at least once a year. Thankfully this year it was at one of the greatest games around. We wanted to bring something for everyone to enjoy. Taking from a dish at our nearest dinner spot, I decided to make a spinach and artichoke dip.

When it was completed and every one had a taste, there were requests for the recipe all around. By popular demand, I present the recipe. However, in the Gourmeted fashion, no recipe is ever replicated.

Please register and Vote for Gourmeted between February 4 and 8. Won’t you please, please — vote for the newbie on the block?
We’ll all have a chance to win a trip to Napa Valley for the annual Death by Chocolate Festival. We’ll take you there with pictures and send you postcards from beautiful Napa, if you want. ;-)
It’s a win-win situation! What are you waiting for? Go vote!

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Thursday night was an interesting night for me. I did not feel like cooking too much and really did not feel like getting something from a local fast food place. Joy suggested I make an omelette. So I did.

But I have never made an omelette before, so I hit up good old Google for advice: WikiHow for the perfect omelette. Please follow along with feasting eyes.

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