Effortless Effervescence

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What foods say “holidays” to you? Is it turkey, cranberry sauce, cornbread stuffing, eggnog, or pumpkin pie? Or something entirely different? (I know some of my Aussie friends celebrate Christmas with a big cook-out. I still can’t wrap my head around Christmas in the middle of summer!)

And on the subject of eggnog, how do you like it? With a shot of whiskey or amaretto? With a dollop of whipped cream on top, dusted with a pinch of cinnamon and nutmeg? Nothing at all, just fresh and ice cold?

For me, nothing says the holidays like store-bought brown-and-serve rolls. I don’t care if they’re full of simple carbs and empty of nutritional value. I love the way they get all crispy on the outside while staying light and springy on the inside. I love splitting one in half and letting a pat of butter melt into a pool in the center of one half while using the other half to mop up my mom’s special from-a-jar-cuz-she’s-got-nothing-to-prove gravy. Ain’t nothing like it, and I dare you to find something better.

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The inspiration for this meal came from The Best of America’s Test Kitchen 2008, so you can imagine that the original recipe was much more involved than mine. And according to one of my friends, it’s totally worth it. But if you don’t have the time or the inclination to attempt perfection, this is a not-so-shabby substitute.

1 TB olive oil
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
2 TB Italian seasoning
1 tsp red pepper flakes
2.5 lbs. ground beef (or half-and-half ground beef and ground chicken or turkey)
1.5 cups bread crumbs
salt and pepper
1 egg
4 cups of pasta, uncooked
1 20-ounce jar of pasta sauce (splurge on a better-quality sauce for this meal; don’t get the generic brand!)
1 14-oz can of crushed tomatoes

Preheat oven to 475 degrees and adjust oven rack between middle and top of oven.

Heat olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add onions, garlic, 1 TB Italian seasoning and red pepper flakes. Cook until onions are golden, about ten minutes. Remove from heat and let cool.

In a large bowl, combine ground meat, bread crumbs, 1 TB Italian seasoning, egg, and salt and pepper to taste. Add cooled onions and garlic, mix well. Form into 2.5-inch meatballs (you’ll have maybe ten or twelve of them) and place on an ungreased cookie sheet (or in the unlined cups of a muffin tin). Bake until well-browned, about 30 minutes.

Towards the end of the meatballs’ cooking time, mix pasta sauce and crushed tomatoes in a medium saucepan and heat until bubbling. Add meatballs, cover and simmer for about fifteen minutes. While meatballs are simmering in sauce, cook pasta according to package directions.

Serve with freshly grated Parmesan cheese and bread. Serves four to six.

Apparently the secret to these meatballs is cooking them in a very hot oven - it gives them a nice crust, but they’re still super moist. The original recipe called for Italian sausage and fresh bread crumbs and milk and blah blah blah - but I think the real secret is the sauteed onions and simmering the meatballs in the sauce. The layers of flavor are heavenly! The only thing that would have made this meal better is if I’d had enough Parmesan to work some into the meatball mix. But that’s what next time is for!

A friend of mine makes less pasta for this meal and more meatballs and sauce so she can serve the leftover meatballs in hoagie rolls with melted mozzarella cheese. She’s also been known to double the meatball recipe and freeze half of them (sans sauce) for a quick meal later.

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Let’s do things a little differently in this edition of Munchies Monday. Let’s talk about FOOD FEARS. Not icky foods that strike terror in our hearts (cauliflower is my arch nemesis). Not sugary/fattening foods that we don’t even want NEAR us because we’re certain that they’ll FORCE us to overindulge and gain fifty pounds in five seconds. (A friend of mine - let’s call her “Amy” - who was on a strict diet to go from a size six to a size two flipped out when her coworker brought in a birthday cake for their boss and set it down next to Amy. I think Amy had a few problems beyond her daily caloric intake, but who am I to judge?) I’m talking about foods that you’re afraid to try making because you’re certain that you will FAIL MISERABLY.

My Food Fears are as follows:
- pie crust (actually, anything that requires using a rolling pin scares me)
- bread (of almost any type - quick breads, yeast breads, rolls, etc.)
- mulit-course dinners (I greatly prefer the approach of dumping meat, veggies, and a starch in a casserole and calling it done; that way I don’t have to worry about my potatoes getting soggy and cold while the roast takes too long in the oven)

Now, a couple of months ago I started tackling my Fear of Baking Bread Without the Assistance of a Bread-Baking-Machine by trying a couple of batter bread recipes. When I achieved batter-bread-SUCCESS!, I decided to move on to the big time: real, kneaded, yeast breads. Yesterday I made a loaf of Walnut-Oatmeal bread (recipe courtesy of my trusty Good Housekeeping Step by Step Cookbook), and though the texture could’ve used some work (I think I didn’t knead it long enough) I’m super proud of myself for taking the plunge. Also, it occurred to me that a round loaf of “artisan bread” from my local grocery store’s bakery would have cost about $4, whereas the loaf I made probably cost about 1/4 of that. What a bargain - especially since I had so much fun making it

Now I guess the next challenge is pastry. It might take me several weeks, though, to work up the courage for that one.

So tell me, peeps: What are your Food Fears? Don’t hold back because you think your answers are to simple or silly!

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My good friend Kerry was over this past Saturday (as is becoming our weekly custom) to help me with a new crochet project and with making/eating dinner. It’s a win-win situation for both of us: she gets a big kitchen to work in, I get help with cooking. Brilliant, right? Well, Kerry pointed out this weekend that our general approach to cooking together never involves an actual recipe, just tossing a bunch of yummy ingredients together, applying heat as necessary, and enjoying the results.

Now, one of the things I’m trying to do in my online life (as well as my offline life, but that’s a bit harder because I don’t think before I speak - at least, not as often or as well as I think before I type) is to greatly reduce the amount of profanity in my daily vocabulary, so for that reason, I won’t be completely renaming my Monday features. However, in honor of Kerry, I will present a recipe for something we made last week, and I will call it:

2 to 2.5 lbs. of russet potatoes, peeled (if you care to - I never peel potatoes because I’m lazy) and diced
6 eggs
1/2 lb. prosciutto, thickly sliced
1 10 to 12 oz. package of frozen peas
1 cup mayonnaise (give or take - depending on how mayo-ish you like your potato salad)
3 Tbsp. yellow mustard (such as French’s) OR 1 Tbsp. ground mustard powder
1 tsp. sugar
salt and pepper to taste

Bring 2 to 3 quarts of salted water to a boil in a large stockpot. Once water comes to a boil, add potatoes, reduce heat, and simmer until potatoes are fork-tender but NOT mushy, about 7 minutes. Drain potatoes in colander and run cold water over them for a minute or so, then place colander refrigerator.

While boiling cooking the potatoes, bring a few cups of water to boil in medium saucepan. When water reaches a slow, steady boil, reduce heat slightly and gently place eggs, still in shell, into the water. (I use a slotted spoon to lower the eggs into the pan.) Boil for 12 minutes, then remove saucepan from heat. Run cold water over the eggs in the pan for a minute or so, then gently peel each egg under running water. Chop the eggs finely and put them into a large mixing bowl; place mixing bowl in refrigerator to chill.

While potatoes and eggs are chilling in the fridge, cook the peas according to package directions and dice the prosciutto. (I should add that you might want to buy a whole pound of prosciutto - half of which will be gobbled up by family members as they watch you cook. And, of course, the chefs must taste each ingredient to make sure it’s the best possible quailty.)

Now you must to assemble the salad: add potatoes to the eggs in the mixing bowl, along with the mustard, mayonnaise, prosciutto, sugar, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly, then carefully stir in peas (so they don’t become smashed and mushy). Then chill the entire salad for at least a half hour more (or cover and store for three or four days, if you can resist it that long) and serve garnished with paprika and fresh parsley.

It was Kerry’s idea to add the peas and prosciutto to my traditional potato salad recipe, and I have to say that I think it’s the best idea she’s EVER had. Normally I put lots of sweet relish in my potato salad, but I don’t think this version needs it. Enjoy!

Oh, and a note: it occurred to me as I was writing this recipe up that it might come across as slightly micro-managerial and elementary, since I am telling you how to boil eggs, for Pete’s sake. But I didn’t even know how to properly hard-boil eggs until a few years ago, when my good friend Dan instructed me on the fine art of egg salad. I’m sure there are some folks out there who are similarly unschooled, and an “elementary” recipe such as this might be just what you need to get over your fear of the stove

It was my turn to bring the snacks to Bible study last Wednesday, and since I didn’t have any spare cash to go out and get chips and dip and fancy store-bought cookies, I whipped up some yummy food at home.

It’s a good thing that I just happened to have all this stuff laying around - the results were yummyful!

1 lb. pasta (I used mini farfalle, because they’re so cute)
1 3.5-oz package sliced pepperoni
1 8-oz can sliced olives
1 15-oz can petite diced tomatoes
1 cup Italian, Caesar or vinaigrette dressing
1 cup (about 8 oz.) shredded mozarella cheese

Prepare pasta according to directions on box. While pasta is cooking, cut the pepperoni slices into quarters and toss with olives, tomatoes and dressing in a large bowl (do not drain the juices from the cans of olives and tomatoes - just dump it all into the bowl). When pasta is done cooking, drain it and rinse with COLD water; toss with pepperoni and dressing mixture. Place the bowl in the refrigerator for a few minutes to chill, then stir in the shredded cheese. (You don’t want the cheese to melt into the hot pasta - trust me, it becomes a big mess!) Salt and pepper to taste, then cover the bowl and chill until you’re ready to serve your delicious Pizza Pasta Salad!

I first stumbled onto this recipe when looking for a low-fat dessert to bring to a work get-together. Since two of my coworkers are dieting, I thought it’d be cruel to make something so loaded in calories and fat that they couldn’t even try it! I’ve made this delicious carrot bread twice and tweaked it slightly each time. I’ll probably keep experimenting with this recipe until I get it exactly the way I like it, but until then, have my in-progress version of “I Can’t Believe It’s Low Fat” Carrot Raisin Bread.

1.5 cups grated carrot
1 cup raisins
1 egg
1/3 cup white sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 heaping teaspoon apple pie or pumpkin pie spice
1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix together carrots, eggs, sugars, apple sauce, milk and vanilla. Stir in dry ingredients until just blended, then add raisins. Pour into a greased 9-by-5-inch loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees until the top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle of the loaf comes out clean (about an hour). Cool and cut into 18 1/2″ slices.

If I were making this for a friend who’s watching their sugar intake, I’d use Splenda instead of the white sugar, but the recipe as-is isn’t very high calorie. If I wanted to transform the bread into a vegan treat, I’d sub another 1/2 cup of applesauce for the egg and milk. All in all, a super yummy, super healthy, super versatile little dessert bread. Oh, I ought to see what it’s like with dates and chopped, dried apricots! Mmmm….

Jennifer at Conversion Diary has written an excellent post titled The Ultimate Burnout Survival Guide, which I highly recommend to anyone and everyone who finds herself in a mess of deep doo-doo. Go, read, learn. Disclaimer: Jennifer is a Catholic who writes with a decidedly Christian bent, but her advice is good for people of all faiths. Seriously, go, read, learn!

ETA: And, thanks to Grey, I found this H-I-LARIOUS letter from a frustrated laundress/mom. Oh, how I LOLed.

ETA2: The brilliant Steve G just left a comment on Conversion Diary about how optimists and pessimists approach problems, and OMG IT IS AWESOME. So don’t just read Jennifer’s post, but read the comments to. Go on. Read em!

This weekend I made a seriously awesome dish that my entire family looooooved. (And by entire family, I also mean my dog Milo, who stole a taste from Chrissy’s bowl when she left it on the coffee table, LOL.) When I bragged about my culinary stylings on Facebook, several friends asked for the recipe, and it occurred to me that I ought to share the yumminess with my Smooch-fans; not just the yumminess of this particular recipe, but every awesome recipe I try. So I’m going to attempt a regular blog feature called Munchies Monday. Since I normally do my cooking experiments over the weekend, it makes sense to share the spoils with y’all at the beginning of the week - and this way, if you’re stuck planning your menu for the week ahead, you just might get some inspiration.

So without further ado, I bring you the inaugural post of Munchies Monday… *drumroll*

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My husband isn’t a fan of Mexican food, so I was taking a chance with this recipe, which I invented based on weird cravings I was having Saturday afternoon. (Actually, craving enchilada sauce is NOT all that weird for me, but I usually supress my desires until I’m out to lunch with a friend who shares my preferences.) Despite his suspicions of beans and peppers and chunky bits of tomato, my hubby LOVED this super-easy, super-yummy casserole. I hope you like it, too!

5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 TB. olive oil
.5 cup chopped white onion
8 ounces white button mushrooms, sliced
1.5 lbs. ground meat (I used ground turkey)
1 TB. cumin
1 TB. chili powder
1 4-oz. can diced jalapenos
1 15-oz. can petite diced tomatoes
10 6-inch flour tortillas, cut in half
1 large can refried beans
1 14-oz. can enchilada sauce (I used half a can each of red and green sauce)
4 cups (16 ounces) shredded Mexican-style cheese

Saute garlic and onion in olive oil until soft, then add mushroom slices Cook until the mushrooms have given up their liquid, about five minutes. Add ground meat and spices; cook until no more pink remains, about 10 minutes. Stir in jalapenos and tomatoes (including juices) and remove from heat.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease a 9×13-inch casserole. Line the bottom of the dish with half of the tortillas, then spread half of the canned beans over the tortillas. Follow with half the meat and veggie mixture and half the cheese. Drizzle layers with half the enchilada sauce. Repeat with remaining tortillas, beans, meat, cheese and sauce.

Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes, until cheese it melted and bubbly and all layers are heated through. Serve with sour dream, guacamole, salsa and/or tortilla chips.

There are multiple ways you can “tweak” this recipe to make it healthier or more suited to your family’s tastes, such as use less ground meat or substitute it with tofu, or even eliminate the meat altogether and add more veggies. I’ll probably do something slightly different every time I make this recipe, depending on what I have on hand. For instance, I wish I’d thought to pick up a bell pepper and some fresh cilantro while at the store on Saturday, but the favorable reaction of my family (the casserole dish was three-quarters-empty within ten minutes) leads me to believe that this incarnation was fine just as it was.