I've had this Michael Chiarello recipe for quite a while and
finally decided to try it. I don't know about you, but when I see such a long
ingredient list, I get intimidated. But when I scanned the ingredients,
it sounded fairly low-calorie, and very balanced nutritionally.

And here's another factoid of information about what it's
like in JaneWorld: you cannot make a dish spicy enough to
satisfy my eldest son. When flames are shooting out of my mouth from
some kind of salsa and all I can think about is immersing myself
in the nearest horse trough,
he's shaking his head no; not enough heat for him.
At our house, it isn't considered spicy unless beads of sweat pop
out on your forehead. Long ago I gave up the idea of keeping pace
with him. I didn't receive the same asbestos
stomach lining that the aliens gave him.

And though I have sunk low in my son's esteem, I take comfort
in knowing there's one bigger lame-ass than me:
my husband. Maybe it's because he's a redhead. I mean, he sunburns
after ten seconds outdoors; maybe that is somehow related
to his ability to process the heat in peppers. All I know for sure is
that we never let him forget what a spice wimp he is.

And imagine getting my guys to eat something with zucchini
in it--what a coup!


Chiarello Chicken and White Bean
Chili with Veggies

Ingredients:

3 pounds chicken thighs, skin and bones removed, cut into 3/4 inch chunks
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
Grey salt
4 teaspoons fennel seeds
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1 cup masa harina or all-purpose flour
1/2 cup EVOO, plus additional as needed to cook the chicken and for garnish
4 red onions, minced
6 cloves garlic, minced
2 green jalapeno peppers, diced
2 red jalapeno peppers, diced
1/4 cup tomato paste
6 Tablespoons chili powder
1 Tablespoon minced fresh thyme leaves
2 cups white wine
4 cups chicken stock
1 (12 oz) can diced tomato in juices
2 (15 oz) cans white beans, rinsed and drained or 4 cups cooked white beans
3 zucchini, cut into 3/4 inch pieces
1 poblano pepper, diced
1 orange or red bell pepper, diced
1 bunch scallions, sliced
1/2 cup torn basil leaves
Grated Parmesan, for garnish

Method:

Place chicken in a large bowl. Season liberally with pepper and grey salt. Toss with fennel seed and smoked paprika. Sprinkle the masa harina or flour over the chicken and toss to coat.

Heat a cast iron pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add 1/4 cup olive oil; when it begins to smoke, add the chicken, leaving the excess flour or masa harina in the bowl. Spread the chicken evenly so it covers the bottom of the pot in one layer. (You may have to cook the chicken in batches to do this, adding more EVOO as needed).

Leave the chicken alone, without turning it, so the meat will brown and caramelize, about 5 minutes per side. The chicken has a lot of moisture in it, so a good amount of steam will come from the pan before it is caramelized. As it browns, turn each piece with tongs. Once all the sides are caramelized, remove the meat from the pan with a slotted spoon, leaving juices in the pot.

Over medium heat, add another 1/4 cup EVOO to pan along with the onions and garlic; cook until onions soften and caramelize, about 5 minutes. Add the jalapenos, cook until softened, about 2 minutes. Add the tomato paste, chili powder and thyme, stir to combine. Add wine, bring to a simmer, then add the chicken stock, diced tomatoes, and cooked chicken. Stir to incorporate everything, season with salt. Simmer until chicken is wonderfully tender, about 45 minutes.

Add the white beans, zucchini, poblano, red pepper an scallions. Bring to a simmer and cook until vegetables are tender, about 10-15 minutes. Stir in basil. Serve immediately or cool and store in the refrigerator for up to 3 days. To serve, sprinkle with grated Parm. and drizzle with EVOO.

The only chanages I made: I didn't have any white wine on hand, so I subbed
additional chicken stock. Masa harina is also not exactly a staple in
my pantry, so I tried regular finely ground corn meal and it
worked just peachy.
I will definitely add this recipe to my regulars. It was nutritious, easy (although
time-consuming) and had enough heat to satisfy my boys!

Channeling Sandra Lee with Oreos

Have I mentioned yet that I have a split personality?

No?
I have a traditional self, the one that loves homemaking, cooking,
baking, gardening, making the house a home.
That's my Jane side. Jane loves her children and her home
and would rather stay in on a Saturday night watching
videos and cuddling with hubby on the sofa.

Then the flip side of the coin: Amy,
The Wild One. She's the one that calls her husband during
his work day to tell him all the naughty things she's
going to do to him that night when he gets home. She has
a whiskey voice, low and sultry. She likes the
nightlife and has a real weakness for vodka and
cranberry juice.

Jane is adamant about the superiority of cooking
and baking from scratch. The slow food movement holds
a lot of appeal for her.

But---

The crazy-busy wifemomemployee Amy
finds relief in short cuts. Anything to get drudgery done fast so she can
get on with the fun stuff. The Sandra Lee side,
if you will.

My third-born recently celebrated his twenty-first birthday
and, given the choice, requested white cake ('because everything you
bake is chocolate') of some kind. I offered him an Oreo cake. Had
to get some chocolate in there somehow.

I had two Oreo cookie cake recipes: one that required
crushed Oreos to be distributed throughout the cake
batter. It was a Bundt cake with only powdered sugar sprinkled
over it in place of frosting or glaze. It had a nice glaze instead of typical frosting.
It was easy and light and didn't make you feel
guilty after you ate it.

The second one was the one I chose this past week.
I don't remember where in cyberspace I 'appropriated' this recipe,
but there was a note that the blogger got it from
Pampered Chef Delightful Desserts.
It sounded a little richer and actually had frosting, one of
my personal priorities in baked goods.

Cookies and Creme Cake

Cake:

12 creme-filled chocolate sandwich cookies, coarsely chopped
1 pkg. white cake mix
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup sour cream
3 egg whites
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Icing:

6 creme-filled chocolate sandwich cookies, coarsely chopped
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons butter, softened


Method:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray fluted cake pan with nonstick cooking spray. For cake, coarsely chop cookies, set aside. Combine cake mix, water, sour cream, egg whites and oil; mix according to package directions.

Pour half of the batter into pan. sprinkle chopped cookies evenly over top of batter but not touching sides of pan. Spoon remaining batter over cookies.

Bake 50-55 minutes or until toothpick inserted in cake comes out clean. Cool in pan 10 minutes. Loosen cake from sides and center tube of pan. Invert onto cooking rack; remove pan. Cool completely.

For icing, coarsely chop remaining cookies and set aside. Combine powdered sugar, sour cream and butter; beat until smooth. Ice top of cake, allowing some to flow down the sides.*** Sprinkle top of cake with cookie crumbs. Let stand until icing is set. Cut into slices. Store leftover cake, covered, in refrigerator.

Yield: 16 servings.


***I found I needed to add a few drops of milk to mixing bowl when beating the frosting to make it thin enough to do any 'flow down the sides.'

And below is the first Oreo cake I made, for the sake of comparison.
If you decide to make either of them, I'd love to hear from you, and
hear what you think. They're both good, everyday-type cakes,
quick to throw together and lighter than many of the cakes I
have in my repertoire. But they're not really anything that special.
Which is not to say 'don't make them'; it's just that I like to fuss a
little more and create something really memorable. Someday
I'll try to come up with something more worthy of the
Oreo name.



Second Oreo Cookie Cake

Ingredients:

1 pkg. white cake mix
16 Oreos, coarsely crushed
1 pkg. (3 oz) cream cheese, softened
2 teaspoons milk
2 cups heavy whipping cream
3/4 cup powdered sugar

Method:

Prepare cake batter according to package directions; stir in crushed cookies. Spoon into a greased and floured bundt pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 33-38 minutes, then test with a toothpick to determine doneness. Cool for 10 minutes before removing from pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

In a small mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and milk until smooth. Beat in cream until mixture begins to thicken. Add powdered sugar; beat until stiff peaks form. Frost cake. Garnish with additional Oreos. Refrigerate leftovers.

Yield: 12-16 servings.

My Own Little Hand-off of Power

The New Sheriff In Town

After a much too long absence, I am back,
new laptop in place, with a new post.
Finally.
And I'm rarin' to go.

If you knew me at all, you would know that I rail against Big Business,
with all their soul-destroying marketing. For instance, don't get me started
on Disneywhore.

But...I must sing the praises of a product that has really delivered for me over
the years:

Sunbeam.

I was given a yard sale stand mixer the first year of my first marriage.
For twenty-five dollars, I got 16 years of excellent service,
glitch-free.
About the time that Sunbeam was slowing down, someone gave me
yet another Sunbeam, again used, and again, an outstanding product.

As I grew into the obsessed foodie that I now am, I realized that
I was baking way too much for the old small one to handle.
Doubling batches of cookie dough (does anyone really make
a single batch anymore? They must live alone) was
becoming a health risk: I was breathing in copious amounts
of all-purpose flour every time I mixed up dough.

After reading and researching, I decided to ask Santa for the
Holy Grail: Kitchenaid.

Did I mention that I have a very enabling husband?
He fed the obsession this past Christmas and delivered unto me
a pristine egg-shell-colored Kitchenaid.

And not just any KA. It's a Professional 600 and it's sitting
on my counter as we type, purring like our new kitten Cleo.
A very special chocolate cake was his christening task,
and he was certainly up to the challenge.
Smooth as buttah.

I've named my new love Mighty Mac, which will most likely
only make sense to fellow Michiganians, but that's okay.

He's a hottie, isn't he?
Mighty Mac in profile--this is his best side.


And check out the power of this baby-he can handle the stiffest-errm-toughest
jobs I throw at him, six cups of flour or more, with no air pollution whatever.
My lungs have been giving thanks ever since he arrived.

So to the makers of Sunbeam stand mixers: I salute you! You make a
quality product. I'm a little sad that I've outgrown you.

And to Mighty Mac: I think it's the beginning of a
beautiful friendship.

Here I am...again

Update:

Hang on, cats and kittens. My moon is now ascending, and the planets
are aligning...finally.
I was able to replace my laptop this weekend
and as soon as I can, I will be back, baking my brains out
accompanied by the usual rants, raves, and ramblings.

See you soon!

Jane

Ozzie and Harriet, Guinness, and Me

I'll come right out with it:

I hate beer.

But before you tag me as a crazy Mid-Western Suffragette,
let me add this:

I do drink.

Alcohol.

On many occasions.

I have never, however, developed a taste for beer. If you have read my profile in the right margin, you know that I grew up in The All-American household.
On lazy Sunday afternoons, my dad would usually be found in a lawn chair, next to the ubiquitous red Weber kettle grill with a Budweiser in his hand.

I would always beg for just a sip, even though I disliked it.

Who knows why? Maybe because Bud was a part of that mysterious place called Adulthood.

As an important P.S., let me add that those were the only times I saw my dad drink alcohol.
There was usually some mixed drink in his hand, the same drink nursed throughout New Year's Eve celebration. One drink for the entire night.

The man was not a drinker.

But he always said that to grill a chicken well, you had to have a beer in your hand.
?!?!?!?!?!?!

P.S.S. My mother's idea of a high time was to drink wine highballs on New Year's Eve.

All two of them.

(I jest, but I'm thankful I didn't grow up with demonstrations of excess in any vice.)

That was a folksy way, I hope, to drive home the point that I do not enjoy beer.

It also explains why I had to make a special trip to the market to buy beer, and not just any beer, but one that has been described more than once as an acquired taste:

Guinness.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find any singles. This recipe requires only one Guinness, either bottle or can.

It was worth it. This recipe is sublime.

And if anyone has any idea what I can do with the remaining 5 bottles of Guinness,
let me know.




Beef and Guinness Casserole
(from The Antics of A Cycling Cook)

Ingredients:

2 pounds stewing beef, chopped into bite-sized pieces
6 onions, roughly chopped*
4-5 carrots, roughly chopped
2-3 stalks of celery, roughly chopped
2 cloves of garlic, crushed and minced
Herbs of your choice**
2 teasp. Dijon mustard
1 can Guinness
1 cube beef stock
salt and pepper

Method:

Preheat oven on low heat. Heat some oil in a large oven-proof pan. (I used my bigass frying pan, then transferred the food to a roasting pan before sticking it in the oven.) Brown the meat on all sides. Add all the vegetables to the pan and cook for several minutes until tender. Add everything else to the pan and season to your taste with salt and pepper. Mix well, add lid (or transfer to oven-safe pan and cover) and let the magic happen, low and slow (two or more hours).

Serve with good bread for getting every drop of that wonderful gravy!






*That's right-6 onions. I used 4 large yellow ones and wished I had not second-guessed the recipe and gone with all 6.

**I went with a teasp. and a half of Herbes de Provence--Delicious!