Giada's Kitchen and Booze

I've decided that the guest will pick the two cookbooks from which the meal is prepared. Since it's just Roman and me tonight, I asked him to pick two random numbers between one and 140, and these are the ones he chose:

52. Giada's Kitchen: New Italian Favorites
77. The Bartender's Black Book (why not!)

It's a coolish pre-fall day, so soup sounds good.


Tuscan White Bean and Garlic Soup

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 shallots, chopped
• 1 sage leaf
• 2 (15-ounce) cans cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 4 cups low-sodium chicken broth
• 4 cloves garlic, cut in 1/2
• 1/2 cup cream
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 6 slices ciabatta bread
• Extra-virgin olive oil, for drizzling

Instructions

Place a medium, heavy soup pot over medium heat. Add the butter, olive oil, and shallot. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the shallots are softened, about 5 minutes. Add the sage and beans and stir to combine. Add the stock and bring the mixture to a simmer. Add the garlic and simmer until the garlic is softened, about 10 minutes. Pour the soup into a large bowl. Carefully ladle 1/3 to 1/2 of the soup into a blender and puree until smooth. Be careful to hold the top of the blender tightly, as hot liquids expand when they are blended. Pour the blended soup back into the soup pan. Puree the remaining soup. Once all the soup is blended and back in the soup pan, add the cream and the pepper Keep warm, covered, over very low heat.

Place a grill pan over medium-high heat. Drizzle the slices of ciabatta bread with extra-virgin olive oil. Grill the bread until warm and golden grill marks appear, about 3 minutes a side. Serve the soup in bowls with the grilled bread alongside.

Notes:

1. The flavor was wonderful. 
2. Next time, I'll add one more can of beans. We both wanted the soup to be a bit thicker.
3. Watch the bread carefully as it cooks. The first half of my loaf burned to a crisp!

And now for dessert! A fancy-schmancy drink that's perfect for a cool evening, and fncy enough for the Emmys... since I'm not dressing up for them...

Chocolate Kiss

Ingredients

• 1.5 oz. Peppermint Schnapps
• 1/2 oz.Coffee Liqueur

Instructions

1. Fill with Hot Chocolate
2. Top with Whipped Cream
3. Sprinkle with Shaved Chocolate or Sprinkles. 
4. Drink. Repeat. (Not part of the official instructions...)

Notes:

1. Yum.
2. I grated a frozen York Peppermint Patty on top of the drink.
3. Yum.

Party Food!

We're heading to a party tonight, and I want to bring a dish to share. (That sounds so Ina of me. "And Jeffrey will just LOVE it!")

I was introduced to this yummy dish several years ago at one of the Wildey's parties at the farm. I couldn't stop eating it! Thankfully, the woman who made it was able to recite the recipe to me from memory.

COWBOY SALSA

Ingredients

• 2 cans black eyed peas, drained
• 2 cans white shoepeg corn drained
• Half bunch cilantro, chopped (or more or less to taste)
• Green onions (to taste - I use about 2/3 bunch)
• Avocado - 2 cut up
• Garlic to taste (I used 2 cloves thru the garlic press)
• Salt and pepper (to taste)
• 1tsp Cumin (or more to taste)
• Red cherry tomatoes (as many as you like!)
• 1/2 c red wine vinegar (not pictured)
• 1/2 c extra virgin olive oil (not pictured)

Instructions:

• Mix & let sit overnight. 
• Enjoy!

An Evening with Better Homes and Gardens

My decision to create this blog and actually start cooking started in a matter of hours. I was excited and unprepared, so for the sake of time, I went to cookbook number one: my Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook. It's the tried and true cookbook for newlyweds everywhere! The second decision I made was to not only have dinner, but also a weekly dessert. For the sake of time, I decided on a slow cooker dessert from the Better Home and Gardens Biggest Book of Slow Cooker Recipes. I believe I picked this one up at Half Price Books (a great place to go if you have a book addiction!)

Dinner: Pasta with Bolognese Sauce

Ingredients:

• 12 ounces bulk sweet Italian sausage or ground beef
• 1 cup chopped onion (1 large)
• 1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
• 1/2 cup chopped green sweet pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped celery
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 pounds Roma tomatoes, peeled, seeded and chopped (about 4 cups), or two 14.5-ounce cans tomatoes, undrained and cut up
• 1 6-ounce can tomato paste
• 1/2 cup dry red wine or beef broth
• 2 tablespoons snipped fresh basil or 1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil, crushed
• 1 tablespoon snipped fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried oregano, crushed
• 2 teaspoons snipped fresh marjoram or 1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram, crushed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 1/4 cup whipping cream
• 2 tablespoons snipped fresh parsley
• 10 ounces dried pasta, such as spaghetti, linguine, or penne

Instructions:

1. In a large saucepan or Dutch oven cook the sausage, onion, carrot, sweet pepper, celery, and garlic until meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain.
2. Carefully stir in tomato, tomato paste, wine, dried herbs (if using), salt, and black pepper. Bring to boiling; reduce heat. Simmer, covered, for 30 minutes. Uncover; simmer for 10 to 15 minutes more or to desired consistency, stirring occasionally. Stir in whipping cream, parsley, fresh herbs (if using); heat through.
3. Meanwhile, cook pasta according to package directions. Drain. Serve sauce over hot pasta. Makes 5 to 6 servings.

My Notes:

• I forgot to buy parsley. It was still good.
• I pureed the sauce a bit with my immersion blender because Roman doesn't like chunky food. It worked pretty well!
• I added the entire pint of whipping cream, because it was that or throw it out!
• I mixed the drained pasta into the sauce and served - that's how Giada and Mario say to do it. :) 
• Rating 3.5/5

Dessert: Peanutty Chocolate Pudding Cake

Ingredients:

• 1 cup all purpose flour
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 2 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2 tbsp cooking oil
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 cup peanut butter flavored pieces
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 2 cups boiling water
• 1/2 cup chunky peanut butter (I used creamy)
• 2 tbsp chopped peanuts
• Vanilla ice cream
  

Instructions:

1. In a bowl, stir together flour, the 1/2 cup sugar, 2 tbsp cocoa, and baking powder. Add the milk, oil, and vanilla; stir batter until smooth. Stir in the peanut butter pieces. Spread batter evenly in the bottom of the greased slow cooker.
2. In a bowl combine the 3/4 cup sugar and 1/4 cup cocoa. Stir together boiling water and peanut butter; stir into the cocoa mixture. Pour evenly over the batter in the cooker.
3. Cover; cook on high-heat setting for 2 to 2 1/2 hours or until a toothpick inserted 1 inch into center of the cake comes out clean. Let stand, uncovered, for 30 to 40 minutes to cool slightly.
4. To serve, spoon pudding cake into dessert dishes. Sprinkle with peanuts. Serve with vanilla ice cream. 

 My Notes:

• This did not taste as good as it smelled. It was mushy and bland.
• Rating 1.5/5.
• One strike. Two more, and the book goes!

Obsessive Cookbook Disorder

I love cookbooks - I love reading about techniques, thinking about the flavor combinations, deciding whether my picky-eater husband will eat the recipes... You could say I have a cookbook addiction. My husband says I have Obsessive Cookbook Disorder (OCD). Recently, I was inspired to compile a list of my cookbooks, and I realized that I do, in fact, have OCD.

I've started collecting cookbooks 14 years ago, when my friend Molly gave me my first cookbook at my wedding shower: The Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook. It covers everything from how to hard boil an egg to Cheesy Italian Meatball Casserole to Canning. Everything. A few years after receiving that book, I got more interested in cooking. We'd moved into our first house, had a lovely neighbor who shared some of her Taste of Home cookbooks with me, and I learned about good comfort food cooking.

A few years later, I attended a women's health event where I met Jeanne Jones. Her biography reads, "Her mission has been to show Americans that they can eat well and healthfully at the same time." I won an autographed cookbook from her and discovered that cooking wasn't this mysterious, difficult process (I was never interested in helping my mom cook or learning from her), and it was actually quite fun! Mistakes were part of the game (don't ever set a glass baking dish on top of a hot burner that you didn't realize was on), but the successes were fun and fulfilling in a way that I'd never experienced.

I ultimately got something in the mail about joining The Good Cook book club. I would receive four cookbooks for $1 each, AND I had the opportunity to buy ANOTHER cookbook for half price! All I had to do was pay shipping and buy one book at member's edition prices within the next year. I remember I got a Rick Bayless cookbook (right), The Best Kitchen Quick Tips, and I can't remember what else. I think that was the official start of my addiction. The special offers - the half off everything, the four books for $10 each, the clearance specials - got me in trouble. Before I knew it, I had an entire piece of furniture dedicated to housing my books.

So, due to the recent realization that I have SO MANY cookbooks, a co-worker inspired me to actually cook from all of them and write about it. I know I'm not the first person to do a blog like this. For me, my goals are simple:

• Use all of my cookbooks (and get rid of the losers)
• Become a better cook
• Plan a weekly special meal for my family, and eventually get up the nerve to invite friends
• Be accountable for my addiction by writing about my cooking adventures

And now that I've admitted I have an OCD problem, I can admit the number of cookbooks that I currently own... Deep breath... I have 140 cookbooks, with two more on the way (it was a really good deal!)

Stay tuned for my first adventure. :)