Cooking Through the Football Season

Last year my oldest sister (who is also an Aggie) gave me and my middle sister (whose husband went to Vet school at LSU) copies of the Southern Living “The Official SEC Tailgating Cookbook.”  Which is cool now that we are all fans of SEC teams. 

The way the book is organized, each team is highlighted in alphabetical order and has its own game day menu and dishes that are inspired by the team, the school and/or its locale.  For instance, LSU’s game day menu naturally includes Chicken and Sausage Gumbo.  Mississippi State’s menu includes Mississippi Mud Cookies. 

The book also includes a list of team inspired spritzers (all non-alcoholic) and cupcakes as well.  You can visit the Southern Living website for even more SEC game day and tailgating tips and recipes.

So, as I was flipping through it and humming “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year” on Saturday morning, the first Saturday of the 2013 College Football season, I had this great idea!

I am going to cook my way through the college football season this year using this cookbook. 

Here’s what I plan to do….

On weeks when Texas A&M is playing an SEC opponent, I plan to make something from our opponent’s menu.  On weeks when we play a non-conference opponent, I will make something either from Texas A&M’s menu or one of the other many great looking recipes in the book. 

Week 1 has come and gone and I did make something from the book.  I’ll post it shortly. 

Gig ‘em and Beat The Hell Outta EVERYONE!

Slow Cooker: The Best Cookbook Ever? Maybe.

For my birthday this year, I received, among other things, a cookbook from my daughter. A slow cooker cookbook to be exact.

Now, I had requested the new Slow Cooker Revolution by America’s Test Kitchen/Cook’s Illustrated from my husband. However, he’s a guy and doesn’t remember details like that and gets to the store and asks himself, “Now, which book did she ask for?” And finally gives up and just picks one.

The one I received was Slow Cooker: The Best Cookbook Ever by Diane Phillips. And I have to admit that after being a little wary and disappointed by not getting the specific one I had requested, I have actually been pretty impressed.

The is not a “throw in a can of this and a can of that” kind of a slow cooker recipe book. These recipes are the real deal. The author seems to have a very good understanding and does a very good job of layering flavors to give the finished project deep and complex flavors after hours in a slow cooker.

So far I have tried three recipes out of this cookbook. I usually withhold all judgments until I have tried at least that many. This one has passed the test.

A couple of things I will say about it. A) You cannot be afraid of bacon. Out of the three recipes I tested, all three included bacon. 2) You cannot be afraid to cook with alcohol. Otherwise be ready to look for substitute ingredients. Two of the three recipes I tried called for either wine or beer. And 3) You need a good place from which to purchase “soppin’ bread” because these are some good sauces.

And I have to admit, using my slow cooker has been nice. I am able to cook a meal mostly while I am at work and most of these recipes make enough for plenty of leftovers for one of our busier nights when my husband can just heat something up and not have to cook.

The first recipe I tried was called Bistro Chicken Thighs and is made up of chicken thighs in a tomato and wine sauce. It was so good that this is the only picture I could come up with.

One of the other recipes that I just tried this week is Hungarian Smoked Beef Braise. It’s like a gorgeous cross between a hearty beef stew and a pot roast with root vegetables.

Since we are headed into the fall and winter months, and my daughter said of this recipe, “The would be great on a cold winter evening,” I’m going to share this recipe with you.

Hungarian Smoked Beef Braise

Serves 8

Ingredients:

6 medium Yukon gold or red potatoes, quartered
4 medium carrots, cut into 1-inch lengths
2 teaspoons salt
½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
4 strips thick-cut bacon, cut into ½ - inch pieces
3 medium onions, cut into half rounds*
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
2 chipotle chiles in adobo, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup all-purpose flour
3 ½ - 4 pounds beef chuck, cut into 1-inch pieces
2 tablespoons (plus some extra) canola or vegetable oil
One 14-15 ounce can chopped tomatoes, with juice
Once 12 ounce bottle Guinness or dark ale**

* For the onions, I saw this “cut into half rounds” description a couple of times in the book. As near as I can tell, this means to cut the onion in half lengthwise and then slice (so that the layers of the onion make a rainbow type pattern when sliced).

** We don’t normally have Guinness beer in our house. But, being a good Texan, I do quite often have Shiner Bock. The Shiner Bock worked great in this recipe.

You will also need:

Large skillet
1 gallon sized zip top baggie
5-7 quart slow cooker

Method:

Arrange the potatoes, carrots, 1 teaspoon of the salt and the pepper in the insert of the slow cooker and stir to combine. Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp.

Transfer the bacon to the slow-cooker insert and remove all but 3 tablespoons of fat from the pan. Heat the remaining fat in the pan over medium-high heat. Add the onions, paprika, chiles, and garlic and sauté until the onions begin to soften ( 4-5 minutes).

Transfer the mixture to the slow-cooker insert. Put the flour and the remaining 1 teaspoon of salt in the zip top baggie. Put the meat in the flour, toss to coat and shake off any excess flour.

Heat the canola oil in the same skillet over high heat. Add the meat a few pieces at a time and brown on all sides. Transfer the browned meat to the slow-cooker insert. Deglaze the pan with the tomatoes, scraping up any browned bits from the bottom of the pan.

Transfer the tomatoes to the slow-cooker insert. Add the Guinness (SHINER) and stir to combine. Cover the slow cooker and cook on high for 4-5 hours until the meat and vegetables are tender.

Skim off any fat from the top of the stew and serve the meat and vegetables from the slow cooker.

Everything Cookies & Brownies {Cookbook Review}

When my friend, Marye, asked me to review her cookbook I was thrilled to do so.  I got it in the mail and couldn’t wait to get out the flour and my trusty KitchenAid stand mixer and try out a few recipes.

But first, a little background on the author.  I met Marye through Twitter (@maryeaudet) this past spring.  She is a wonderful resource for bouncing food and flavor ideas around with (and I might add an incredible source of Christian encouragement).  She has eight kids in a wide range of ages and lives in an old restored farmhouse in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.  She does a lot of food writing and blogs at Baking Delights on a regular basis as well as other places as listed on her home page.

The impression I get from this book is that her whole approach comes from her own experience as a mom.  In other words, ladies, this is a practical cookbook written by a mom as a wonderful resource for moms. 

“Don’t wait for a rainy day to make some cookies.  Choose a recipe, gather your family together, and enjoy some quality time while creating a mouth-watering snack.”

The cookbook starts off with a chapter of “Cookie Baking Basics” which includes a lot of handy tips (i.e. substituting non-caloric sweeteners, what to do when using a glass pan instead of metal and cookie storage tips) and interesting facts as well.  For instance, did you know that “the very first decorated cookies in history are thought to be from Switzerland”? 

“Knowing how to store and ship cookies makes it easy to send a quick gift or have a cozy snack whenever you want.  Keep the cookie jar full and the family happy by using your freezer to your advantage.”

The remaining chapters (2-16) break down all of the 300 (yes, I said 300) cookie and bar recipes into genres to make them a little easier to find.  Just to give you an idea, some of the chapter titles are All Kinds of Chips, Easy Drop Cookies, Brownies and Bars, No-Bake Cookies, and Kids Can Bake!  There is even an entire chapter dedicated to Cookies for Special Needs (such gluten free and egg/dairy free) which is a great resource for that treat you have to fix for your child’s class when there is that one child with an egg allergy. 

“Storing Gluten-free Treats:  Cookies that are baked without gluten do not have the same storage times as regular cookies.  In fact, gluten-free items are at their best still warm from the oven.  Plan to eat the cookies immediately, or place in the freezer for longer storage.  Warm the cookies a few minutes in the oven and they will taste as fresh as if they were just baked.”

Overall it is a comprehensive resource for cookies and brownies.  I mean, I was amazed and honestly, a little overwhelmed at how this book almost literally takes you through cookies from A to Z.  It is a nice mix of standard recipes that you would recognize, new twists on old standards and new/different things you may have never heard of.  Everything from the most common Chocolate Chip Cookie that’s good comfort food on a rainy afternoon to the specialty Rose  Crackle Cookie that would be the perfect addition to any tea or bridal shower. 

Recipes are laid out to be simple  and concise.  There’s not a lot of fluff.  They are clear and to the point.  It’s pretty no-frills and does not have pictures with the recipes, but just gets right to the point.  Each recipe also includes tips and usually ingredient substitution/ addition/subtraction ideas.  The book is paperback and lies open nicely on your countertop to easily refer back to the recipe as you cook.

In general the ingredient lists are fairly common, but there are some very unique recipe names that would call for some specialty ingredients.  For example you would need loose leave Chai Tea Blend for the Russian Chai Tea Cakes, and you would need mascarpone cheese for the Tiramisu Brownies.  But I think if you were making some of those more specialty recipes, you’d be ready to get those special ingredients. 

Now, I’d like to show you some of my results from the Everything Cookies & Brownies cookbook.

First up, Pecan Pie Bars. 

Now, if you have read this blog for any length of time, you know that I am not a big nut fan.  However, my daddy is.  And now that my daddy is back in these United States, I am excited to get to cook for him again.  So, I made these Pecan Pie Bars for him.  I also figured that with his experience with pecan pie, that he would be a good judge of how they turned out. 

From what I could tell, I thought they turned out gorgeous.  And easy… Oh WOW!  Just see for yourself.  Marye has granted me permission to give you this recipe.

Pecan Pie Bars
(yields 36 bars)

Ingredients:

Crust:
3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup unsalted butter (cool room temperature)

Topping:
1 1/2 cups light corn syrup
4 eggs
3/4 cup white sugar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
3 cups chopped pecans

1.  Preheat oven to 350 F.  Line 10” x 15” jelly roll pan with parchment, allowing it to overhand sides and ends slightly.

2.  Stir together flour, 1/2 cup sugar and salt.  Cut in 1 cup butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Press firmly into the pan.

3.  Bake 20 minutes

4.  Mix together corn syrup, eggs, remaining sugars, melted butter and vanilla; whisk until smooth.  Stir in pecans.  Pour over hot crust.

5.  Bake 25 minutes, or until set.  Cool completely before cutting into bars.

**You can sprinkle 1 cup of chocolate chips over the crust before pouring on the topping for a chocolaty variation.**

Do you see how easy that is???

This is one of those recipes that you can make it once and from then on just be able to look at the ingredient list and go without looking at the directions hardly ever again.  There is nothing better, in my opinion, than a completely from scratch, homemade recipe that you can almost do in your sleep it’s so easy.  And this is one of those.

And my daddy?  He tried one and immediately hid them from anyone’s sight.  So, I’d say he liked them pretty well.  And they are more portable than regular pecan pie so he took them out to the deer lease with him the following week where, from what I gather, they were a big hit as well.

I have also made the Chocolate Toffee Cookies.  Now, these are a little more involved as they require some refrigeration.  And certainly these are cookies you make for a little bit of a special occasion when you’re willing to spend a little on ingredients.  But oh, heavens.  SO worth the 1 pound (uh-huh… 1 POUND) of bittersweet chocolate.  They are like a rich brownie in cookie form with little pockets of toffee.  Also known as “heaven in edible form.”

Overall I am impressed with the Everything Cookies & Brownies cookbook.  From the easy to read recipes to all the tips sprinkled throughout the entire book about everything from ingredients to methods.  It’s a comprehensive guide to cookies and I believe it would be well used in your kitchen.  I know it will be in mine.

Everything Cookies & Brownies can be purchased through Amazon.