Superbowl - Getting ready to eat...I mean watch football

I am married to quite the sports nut, but to this day, I only have the vaguest, fuzziest understanding of football. I'll sit down every once in a while watch, get the basic understanding of downs, fumbles, touch downs and field goals - but I have to confess - it's not really my cup of tea. I do attend Superbowl parties yearly; I participate in that weird Superbowl pool/lottery type thing, but I go to the party for an entirely different reason - uh...to EAT. Since moving back to the US, Family has been going to a friend's house to eat, I mean watch football, and this year is no different. Host and Hostess of the party has asked that I bring two items - Asian Pulled Pork Sandwiches and Hot Artichoke Dip...both which I will bring. I thought I'd do a quick compilation of some yummy favorites that might go very well with a game of football. (or if you are anything like me - something that goes well with your hunger.)

Superbowl Menu Ideas

Appetizer
Hot Artichoke Dip
Hot Crab Dip
Guacamole
Spinach Dip with Vegetables

Finger Foods
Garlic Ginger Honey Wings
Kimchee Quesadilla
Egg rolls

Lighter Fare
Ginger Slaw
Curried Ginger Slaw
Greek Panzanella
Sesame Soy Noodles

Heftier Fare
Asian Pulled Pork Sandwiches
Asian Marinade Ribs
Ultimate Bbq Ribs
Kimchee Burgers
Baked Sausage Pasta with Fontina Cheese
Turkey Chili

Sweet Tooth
Pecan Rolo Pretzels
Korean Sweet Potato Pie
Crispy Chewy Oatmeal Toffee Cookies

Creamy Pasta with Leeks, Asparagus, and Chicken: For when it continues to rain

For the sun, who has disappeared from recent memory

In the Bay Area, although one expects rain and wants much rain during the winter months, the reality of continuous, endless, days of rain on end is entirely a different story. Mothers with multiple children find themselves scrambling to find ways to entertain the kids while keeping the house from being destroyed. I too have found myself pulling my hair out near the end of the day after almost 3 weeks of continual rain and kids being unable to play outside. It's not pretty, it's not fun, and it's not easy.

On top of that, personally, I need to see sunshine. I am, after all a California girl through and through, and the lack of sunshine is getting to me. I find myself a bit more snappish than usual, edgy and irritable - and have decided it is due to the lack of sunshine. I need a few moments at least, to allow my skin to bask in some sort of warm glow - and the rain, however appealing on the first couple of days, does not do it. I feel wet, damp and sickly - instead of energetic, vibrant and alive.

To bring some warmth and heat into the otherwise damp and dreary gray days, I decided to make another variation on a pasta dish I had posted before - this time using up some leftover rotisserie chicken and brightening it up with some lovely green asparagus. The result was something yummy, and effort was minimal. It was almost liking having a bit of sun in my day, although I'm still waiting for the real deal.

Pasta with Creamy Leeks, Chicken and Asparagus

(adapted from Food and Wine | January 2010)
Serves 6

1 pound pasta like bowtie, fusilli, gemelli - something that can hold sauce (I favor the mini bowties because they cook so quickly - 7 minutes)
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 large leeks, white and light green parts only, thinly sliced
2 cups rotisserie chicken meat, shredded into bite-sized pieces
1 1/3 cup heavy cream
1 lb of asparagus, tough ends broken off, cut into two inch pieces
1/2 cup lightly packed basil leaves, finely chopped

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
Parmesan cheese (optional - for sprinkling on top)

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook the pasta according to package directions, until al dente, then drain.

Meanwhile, in a large, deep skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the leeks cook over moderate heat until leeks are softened, about 12 minutes. Add the asparagus, chicken and cream and simmer over moderate heat until asparagus is crisp tender, about 6 minutes.

Add the cooked pasta to the skillet and toss over moderately low heat until coated with the leek sauce, about 1 minute. Remove from the heat, add the chopped basil and toss. Season with salt and pepper. Spoon the pasta into bowls and serve. Sprinkle Parmesan cheese if desired.

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ah....can almost feel the warmth

Baked Sausage Pasta with Fontina and Basil: Comfort in the rain

When it's cold and wet outside, I want to turn on my oven for primarily two reasons. One is that I live in a large house, but it is incredibly drafty and cold in the winter and no heating system can warm it up. We tried to warm it up our first winter living here, and all we managed to do was rack up a $500 heating bill one month. I was mortified. The oven warms the kitchen and gives it a comfy feel minus the dramatic dollar signs on my PGE bill. The second reason - I love baked savory things. I love sticking something in the oven, not having to mess with it, and then having it come out, ready to be eaten. It's the best. If you add ooey gooey something on top, even better. Bring THAT on home to me.

Ideally, I would be whipping up a lasagne, but I never seem to have enough time to make it in a manner I feel does it justice. I am still thinking and fiddling with some ideas I have, but in the meanwhile, I decided to whip up this dish - a pasta tossed with sausage and tomatoes, topped with fontina cheese and baked until the fontina is melty and gooey. Make no mistake - the fontina cheese is a MUST. Do NOT try and use mozzarella because fontina just has a special wonderful flavor, a different quality when melted and just makes the dish different. There are not that many ingredients in this dish, so the fontina flavor is very important.

Baked Sausage Pasta with Fontina and Basil
Serves 8

1 lb of pasta - elbow or ditalini would be a nice choice here
1 lb of sweet Italian sausage, casings removed (This is NOT precooked sausage. This is uncooked sausage. The outer skin of the sausage needs to be peeled off)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced
6 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 14.5 oz cans of diced tomatoes or two cans of crushed tomatoes (crushed tomatoes creates a more "sauce-y" pasta, while the diced leaves chunks of tomato and a less saucy mix)
3/4 lb fontina cheese, rind removed, sliced as thinly as possible

1/2 cup basil chiffonade

Preheat oven to 350. In large pot, cook pasta according to package directions, ONE MINUTE less than required. Drain pasta and set aside.

In a large skillet over medium heat, add sausages and use the back of a spoon to break up into small pieces. Cook until evenly browned, about 5 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove sausage from the skillet and put on a plate, but leave the oil and fat. In the remaining oil, cook onions until translucent. Add garlic and cook for an additional minute. Add sausages back in and add tomatoes. Continue to cook until all the sauce is hot and bubbling. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from heat. Add pasta to the skillet and toss, then pour into a 3 quart casserole dish. (I used two smaller casserole dishes.) Top with slices of fontina cheese.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until cheese is all melted. Remove from oven and top with basil chiffonade. Serve!

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Warm up your house and tummy with this when the weather is wet.

Pickled Onions: The food equivalent of a great pair of earrings

I use a lot of pickled onions in my recipes. I've put them on:
Kimchee Hotdogs
Steak and Provolone Paninis
Kimchee Burgers
Asian Pulled Pork Sandwich

I also add them to grilled ham and cheese sandwiches, on top of salads, and sometimes just eat them with some scrambled eggs. There is something about that tart and tangy bite with my food that just makes it go down all the better.

A funny story about the pickled onions on a sandwich - Father HATES most American food. After working in a hospital for multiple decades, he has lost all desire to eat anything that is grilled, with cheese on bread. (hamburgers, sandwiches - he does not like them at all.) However, last time he was at my house, I was dealing with nonsensical party prep for Son's birthday and could not manage to get anything fancy together for lunch one day. Father said he'd eat what we were having, and I thought I'd jazz up a sandwich with the pickled onions. Just a basic ham and cheese sandwich with the pickled onions. Guess what? Father LOVED it and said that he had never tasted a sandwich so good.

The moral? Pickled onions add that extra special touch to most sandwiches -and takes it from ordinary to special. They are like a great pair of earrings you have at the ready - only you put them in your food. The onions are SIMPLE to make, and you can leave them in your fridge for about two weeks.

Pickled Onions
2 red onions, sliced about 1/4 inch thick
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2-2 cups of white vinegar

In a large bowl (I prefer a glass bowl that has a tight sealing lid so I can just make, mix, and store in the same single container) add sliced onions, sugar and salt.

Pour vinegar over the salt and sugar and make sure to cover the onions fully. (You made need more or less depending on the size of your bowl)

Give a quick stir and then cover and place in the refrigerator for at least 24 hours and up to 2 weeks.

24 hours later, the pickles transform into beautiful, bright pink deliciousness

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Grapefruit, Orange and Avocado Salad: Lighten up!

For JY, loyal blog reader who sent me a beautiful salad bowl (the one you see to your left)

I've been taking things far too seriously. Everything seems to stress me out as I worry about the craziest things - the state of education, nutrition in schools, for whom will I vote for in 2012, and how much more toilet paper do we have left before I have to buy more? My kids have also started coming into their own, which is just a fancy way of saying that they aren't listening to me anymore. Each morning I mentally prepare myself to do battle with three kids and their wills pitted against mine - and it just stopped being fun.

So I'm lightening up. One of my New Year's Resolutions that I shared with at my small group was, "I will be nicer to my kids." Yes - I know you must all think that I am incredibly NICE to my kids, all the time, making them this delicious food - but I do a fair bit of yelling when I don't get my way. And since I am not getting my way a lot - I'm yelling a lot. But not anymore - I'm trying to get things in balance, keep my perspective (the three of them combined STILL don't weigh more than I do - so I how can I let them upset me so much?) and trying to laugh more. And it's working. I just remind myself that they are still young, still boisterous, and still just having fun.

This salad helps me do that, because as I make the salad, I have three kids who are grabbing my arms trying to get the bits of grapefruit and orange as I put them into the bowl. I need really only one orange and one grapefruit to make it perfectly, but as my kids grab the supremes of grapefruit and orange, I usually end up needing two of each. And it's an act of patience that stops me from yelling, and an act of grace from above that helps me to laugh while my kids are making me nuts.

The only difficult thing about doing this salad is cutting supremes. If you've never done it, here is a video from my favorite hunky Asian chef, Ming Tsai. He does a bit more than the actual supreme, making a salsa, but you can watch the first portion of the video and you'll know how to do it.

This is a great salad to go with any pasta dish.

Grapefruit, Orange, Avocado Salad
Serves 4

1 8 oz bag of spring mix lettuce
1 ripe avocado, cut into slices
1 ruby red grapefruit
1 orange
Half a red onion sliced, very thinly
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste

In a salad bowl, put in the spring mix lettuce. On top, add your avocado slices and thin slices of red onion. Prepare both the grapefruit and orange to cut into supremes, by peeling away the peel and the pith. OVER the salad bowl, cut the supremes and and let them fall into the bowl. When you have the "guts" of the fruit left, squeeze the juice into a bowl. (this will become your dressing.) In the bowl with the squeezed grapefruit and orange juice, add 2 tablespoons of red wine vinegar and 1/4 cup olive oil. Season with salt and pepper. Drizzle dressing over salad and serve.

Printable recipe

Isn't it such a beautiful bowl?

Coffee Cake with Walnuts: For all the ladies

For JY and HYK for sharing and the ladies of Wellspring Church

There is a group of women at a church which I do not attend, who use my blog. Admittedly I do have two friends there who have shared my blog, but after that, many women of Wellspring have cooked from it - to the point where my one long time friend commented, "I can't go anywhere within this church and NOT eat your food. It shows up EVERYWHERE." In my head, because I've never met a majority of these women, I imagine them meeting together, cooking together, singing together and laughing together. And that image just makes me smile.

This coffee cake is for those ladies. Because I want a few of them to make it, invite a few of their lady friends over and enjoy it together as they laugh and sip on coffee. The cake is relatively simple, really delicious and perfect with a hot cup of coffee any time of day. (It is 8:19 PM and I've just had a small piece with a cup of coffee.) So all you ladies of Wellspring, make this cake and laugh some more!

Cinnamon Coffee Cake with Walnuts (adapted from Gourmet | April 1990)

Cake
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons double-acting baking powder
1 cup sour cream
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 stick (1/2 cup) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping
1/3 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/3 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup walnuts
1 teaspoon cinnamon

In a bowl whisk together the flour, the baking powder, and a pinch of salt and in another bowl stir together the sour cream and the baking soda.

In a large bowl cream together the butter and 1 cup of the granulated sugar until the mixture is light and fluffy, add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition, and beat in the vanilla. Stir in the flour mixture alternately with the sour cream mixture and stir the batter until it is combined well.

Pour the batter into a buttered 9 X 13 cake pan. In a small bowl stir together 1/3 cup granulated sugar, the brown sugar, walnuts, and the cinnamon and swirl the sugar mixture into the batter. Bake the cake in the middle of a preheated 350°F. oven for 35 to 45 minutes, or until a tester comes out clean. Transfer it to a rack, and let it cool.

Printable recipe

Delicious by yourself, but a lot more fun to share

Fruit Mosaics - Rainy Day Activity

For SJ, queen of creativity, who taught me how to do these

I actually wanted to post this before the holidays, but didn't get a chance to do so. I always get a little bit scared of the holiday parties that are thrown at schools these days as much of it seems to be about putting in front of the kids as much sugar as possible. Although I consider myself an excellent baker, for Daughters and Son, if I can, I try to celebrate special occasions with healthier options.

This year both Daughters had an end of year party - and both classes had sign up sheets for various items. I chose to go with fruit plate for both of them, only I didn't intend to do fruit plate - no - I did fruit mosaics. I have written about these before in another post where I rant for a bit about how schools and parents need to change the way we celebrate.

I really do have fun making them, and I thought it would be something fun that parents could do with their kids on a rainy day. Daughters are great at figuring out what fruits can work for what, and although trying to stay seasonal is a bit trickier, I did manage to turn out a snowman using mostly fruits available in the winter. The snowman was made with Asian pears (dipped in lemon juice to keep them white), apples made up the snow drifts (also dipped in lemon juice) and the background was blueberries. I sliced some grapes to help make the hat, and used some more grape pieces to eyes and buttons.

Here are some samples, and some ideas for having fun when it's too cold to go outside. Although it may not be QUITE as appetizing as some freshly baked cookies, it is healthier and invites a lot of creativity.

Racecar - done by my friend JEL for Son's 2nd Birthday

Dreidel done for Daughter #2's end of year party (she goes to a Jewish Preschool)

Another view of my snowman - I was quite proud of this one and the parents at Daughter's school party all loved the Asian pear. (so many had never had one before)

Not Your Momma's Chicken Soup: Another use of leftover rotisserie chicken

My family really loves Costco rotisserie chicken - at $4.99 - there isn't a lot that I don't like about it either, except leftover chicken, stuck to the bone a couple days after it was delicious, moist and fresh out of the rotisserie.

One thing I do with leftover chicken is to turn it into Curried Chicken Salad or sometimes the Mexican Roasted Tomato Soup with Corn and Chicken. But neither of those take advantage of the entire chicken carcass itself - so I came up with another use of a leftover rotisserie chicken.

I call it "Not Your Momma's Chicken Soup" mainly because I am cheating when I make it. Yes, I make a chicken stock, but I start out with some and just flavor it up a bit with more ingredients. My kids LOVE this soup, my mom-in-law will take down a bowl or two, and when I'm tired, pulling a frozen container out of my freezer always is a small cooking miracle. It is really good, simple to put together, and worth the bit of effort to make it.

Not Your Momma's Chicken Soup
Serves 8

For the stock
1 quart chicken stock
1 quart water
2 carrots, whole peeled
3 celery stalks, whole
1 large onion, outer skin removed
3 garlic cloves (optional)
1 bay leaf
1 leftover rotisserie chicken carcass (meat, bones, skin all good)

For the soup
3 carrots, diced
3 celery stalks diced
1 large onion, diced
Salt and pepper to taste
Chopped parsley (optional)

In a large pot, put in chicken stock, water, carrots, celery stalks, onion, bay leaf, garlic cloves (optional), and chicken. Bring to a boil and allow to simmer, covered, about 20 minutes. Remove chicken carcass from broth and set aside to cool, so that you can remove the remaining meat and shred it.

Placing a strainer over another pot, pour the stock into the pot so that you remove all the random bits of cooked veggies, bits and pieces of chicken and the bay leaf. Into the newly strained stock, add your freshly chopped carrots, celery, and onion. Also add the chicken meat leftover from the carcass, that you have easily removed from the chicken. Season with a bit of salt and pepper.

Bring the soup to a boil, and allow to simmer, covered about 20 minutes, until vegetables are tender.

Serve some and freeze some so you always have some on hand.

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