We are getting close to college football kickoff! Are you excited? I am too. The season of tailgating is once again upon us! Speaking of tailgating, remember last year when I had posted on my Facebook page that I was working on a new cookbook? Well, the time has come to announce that the new tailgating book is...
Julie is an OSU alum with a master's degree in education from Ohio State. She currently lives in Ohio with her husband and daughters. I received my master's in professional writing from the University of Oklahoma, and authored Gibbs Smith's OU themed cookbook last year. However, I was born and raised in Ohio and once a Buckeye, always a Buckeye!
Saw this on a shirt from Donkey Tees. If you want the shirt, go here.
I will be flying back home for a short time to visit family as well as do a couple of signing events to help promote The Ohio State University Cookbook. Here is a brief list of upcoming events, but keep checking back on the Upcoming Events Page for the most up to date info:
Both events will feature samples of some of the recipes from the cookbook, and Julie and I will both be there to sign. So, stop on by and see us if you are in the area. We look forward to seeing you!
I know that in my last post, I talked about how I thought that I may or may not have some sort of gluten allergy. Well, it turns out that I don't, but I do have other dietary issues such as anemia and a severe slight Girl Scout cookie addiction. That being said, I know I said I would create and post some new gluten-free recipes, but the fact of the matter is...I've moved on to a different focus. Now, that doesn't mean that I won't do that sometime in the future, because I am interested in the gluten-free phenomenon. It just means not this time around.
Instead today I would like to talk about all the new recipes that I've tried over the last several weeks! In my household, we try to assign dinner happenings with each day of the week. For instance, Monday used to be Taco Bell Monday, until Taco Bell started making us sick every time we ate it. So, we just decided to make homemade tacos on Mondays and skip fighting over the bathroom for the rest of the night. Tuesdays are leftovers or "Get what you want nights" which basically means fend for yourself. Wednesday is our eat out night of burgers or BBQ, Thursday is calzone night at a local pizza joint (because that's the restaurant's special for that day). Friday used to be Pizza Night before we found calzone Thursdays so now Friday is a little up in the air, but I usually cook some sort of easy meal like spaghetti or something. Saturday is the same as Friday, but lunch is always leftovers from the week. But Sunday - Sunday is my day to create!
Sunday the kitchen is mine to experiment with something new or try out a recipe that I found and think will be a challenge to cook. Or at least that is what Sundays have become. They used to be just big meal days, such as roast, chicken schnitzle, etc. But Sunday lunch (or lupper as I call the meal between lunch time and supper time), has evolved into something much more rewarding.
The first thing I tried in the evolution revolution, was one of Gordon Ramsey's dishes called Salmon en Croute.
I left the grain mustard off, because if you've been reading this blog from the beginning, you'll know that I just don't like mustard. This dish was exciting for me to try because:
1) I've never cooked with fresh dill or fresh basil, or even salmon fillets for that matter!
2) I have never used pie crust for anything other than pies, I know weird right? (Not really)
So, I went to the market in town that carries the best fresh and frozen fish and looked for either one whole side of salmon, or a couple of fillets. The best option was a fresh frozen (I know, what an oxymoron) side of salmon and it looked delicious! But there was a problem. The recipe specifically calls for the salmon to be skinned. All the awesome cooking show chefs say you can just ask your local butcher to remove the skin for you. Well, I didn't see how my local butcher could remove it from a frozen fish, but maybe he had some fillets or a thawed side that he could remove it from while I waited. Just as I was thinking that, my friendly local butcher asked if he could help me. I explained what I needed and why and he asked what the recipe was that I was cooking. "Salmon en Croute," I said. And then his eyes glazed over, but he replied with an "uh, huh." He told me he did not have any salmon without the skin, but that it will peel right off when I cook it. I re-explained that the fish would be encased in a pastry so that wouldn't work...to which he repeated, "Well, it'll just fall right off if you cook it." Yes, thanks genius.
I took the salmon home and let it thaw overnight in the fridge. The next day I unwrapped it and tried tugging on the skin to see what I was really dealing with. Hm, it was not going to come off without a fight, (or according to the genius butcher, fire). However, I had a knife. Mind you, it was not a filleting knife, or a fancy knife, or even a sharp knife for that matter - I know, a dull knife is the most dangerous thing in a kitchen. Maybe I'll get a round to sharpening them all, but for now, I'm going to keep telling my story. So anyway, it wasn't all that bad, it just took some patience . I held the corner of the skin, prying it up just enough to make an incision (yes, I'm now an official animal skin surgeon). I sliced slowly as close to the skin as I could, cutting off the least amount of meat with the tough skin as I gently pulled it back and away from the fillet. I took off a few chunks when I accidentally sliced a little deeper into the meat than I meant to, but all in all, it came off pretty well. I don't need no stinkin' heat to teach that skin who's boss!
*Oh, and just FYI - bake the salmon on a baking sheet with edges, because I did not and about half way through cooking, the butter leaked out of the parcell, dripped off the pan and all over the bottom of my oven. There was a lot of smoke inside of it and I was about 3 minutes from setting my entire kitchen on fire. This has been a The More You Know: Cooking Addition announcement. You are welcome.*
I have to be honest, fish is not one of my favorite meats unless it is batter-dipped, deep fried, and covered in catsup, mostly because the flavor isn't really all that appealing to me. Therefore, I never cook fish, I don't really know what to do with it. However, this one dish was so amazing, that it made me wonder what else I could do with other varieties of fish?
Ack! I have more recipes and Sunday Lupper experiences to share, but my laptop battery is dying! Ok, stay tuned for more to come...
Today is the day for all Sooner fans - The Cotton Bowl 2013!! I was just sitting here wondering the percentage of Normanites who took off work early, or mysteriously caught some sort of sickness today, just to get out and gear up for the game tonight? It's okay to have football fever, my friends. Especially when your team makes it to a bowl game!
Ok, so the pre-game actually starts tonight at 6:30 (Central time) and kickoff is at 7pm. So, if you haven't already been to the grocery store - good luck! Go! Take off work now and get thee to a food supplier! And for goodness sake, DO NOT FORGET THE BEER! You still have time to put together some awesome gameday recipes, especially if you bought the University of Oklahoma Cookbook, so don't panic.
Oklahoma vs. Texas A&M. Both teams stand 10-2 so it should be an exciting game, to say the least! So start coughing loudly if you are still in the office, and get some supplies. Don't have the book with you to make your super-fast grocery list? Here, start off with these, and remember, you can never buy too much cheese...or corn chips.
Ok, you got this! Now get out there and start your watch party! We got a bowl game to win!
Sorry I've been away from here for a few weeks, it has been really busy on this end. I've spent the last few weeks preparing a new book proposal and sending it off to my publisher. I've also been setting up signing events for my new book that came out this weekend!!
Here are the first signing event dates that I will be attending this month:
September 8th - OU Bookstore (Gate 3 of OU Stadium) just before 1st home game, from 3:30-5pm.
I am also in the midst of setting up two different publication parties on the University of Oklahoma campus the last week of September, and the first week of October, if you can't make the first two events. The publication parties will feature a sampling of some of the recipes from the book (and free food is always a fantastic reason to show up!). I will have copies of the book to buy ($14.99) and I will sign them there as well. Solidified dates and times of these 2 events will be updated on my FaceBook page soon!
Now that we got all that business out of the way, how 'bout those Sooners yesterday? The game started off neck and neck, then after half-time, OU pulled ahead scoring 3 points in the third, and nailing the game down with 2 more touchdowns in the 4th against UTEP. The Miners lost to #4 University of Oklahoma, 24-7. Way to start off the season, guys!
Labor Day weekend was THE weekend for kicking off the college football season, from coast-to-coast! There were seventeen games just on Saturday alone, and the season is just getting started! So if you will be hosting any game day tailgating parties, watch parties, or other seasonal events that require tasty treats, entrees, dips, or beverages, then pick up your copy of the Official University of Oklahoma Cookbook and have fun this football season!
Today, I'm gonna share a recipe, bad pictures, and an account of this week in my kitchen. It all started with bananas. Note: when you buy organic bananas, you have about half the time to eat them before they go bad, as you do non-organic bananas. So unless you are a monkey, or happen to have monkeys living in your household, do not buy organic bananas in bulk, just FYI.
Okay, so some of the bunch were eaten, but there were still 5 bananas left before they got too soft for my liking. I didn't want to just make smoothies for the next several days out of them, so I thought about the next most popular thing to do with soft bananas -- banana bread! I'd never actually made it, so I thought, why not give it a go? I dug out a recipe for it that Mom gave me years ago and put it to use.
Banana Nut Bread
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
*Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Mix all of the above in a medium bowl and set to the side.
1 stick of softened butter 1 cup sugar 2 eggs 3 over-ripened bananas 1/2 cup of walnuts (apparently optional, because I didn't use them and they turned out just dandy)
*Mix these ingredients together in a large bowl. Add above "dry" mixture. Pour into a lightly greased bread loaf pan/dish and bake for 25-30 minutes. Check center with toothpick and bake until no batter comes out on it.
Now, I decided that I didn't want to use nuts, because of nut allergies for people who might be eating them. And, I wanted muffins instead of bread so I just double layered some cupcake papers in my muffin pan, poured in the batter until they were about 80% full, and baked for about 35 minutes. Viola!
Did I remember to take a picture before they were gone? Nope. *Sigh* I'll get this documenting thing right one of these days. However, I DID get a picture of the French Silk pie that I made that day!
Ta-da! Go me! Did I get a picture of the pie after it was cut open? NO!! Crap. Still learning. Okay, so now you're probably wondering what French Silk pie has to do with bananas. Nothing. Well, something, but it's only by association, not that there's actually any bananas in this pie. See, I have yet to make a pie crust from scratch ( but it's on my list of things to try), so when you buy pre-made pie crusts, they come in packs of 2. I still had two bananas left over to do something with after the muffins, so I decided to try a salted carmel banana cream pie, (which was a total disaster, but I'll get to that). Anyway, so I had this whole other pie crust that I didn't know what to do with.
So I thought about what kind of pies I like that I haven't had for a while, and French Silk was at the top of my list! If you've never had it, you are missing out, big time! It's chocolatey, creamy, and best of all, it is the richest, most delectable pie I've ever had. Each time I make it, I nearly cry when it's gone. I first made it in 7th or 8th grade home-ec class as part of a group project. I had never made a recipe that involved before, but it was totally worth the effort! We found it in one of the cookbooks that was at the school. I would love to give credit where it is due for this one, but I just don't remember, it was a bazillion years ago. It's kind of a long/detailed recipe so I don't want to add it to this post, but if you would like it feel free to message me on FaceBook, and I'll send it to you.
Okay, so the Salted Carmel Banana Cream pie sounded sooooo good when I found the recipe on a blog that I enjoy reading, called Sing For Your Supper..., however, I couldn't get the pie to set up. I wound up burning the carmel the first time, so I remade it. The second round I had run out of butter, so I just made it with what I had. I made a basic carmel sauce with just sugar and cream and salt. It actually turned out really good. On to the rest of the pie!
I followed the instructions and layered it like the recipe said to, but it just turned in to a globby, mess...but OMG did it taste good! I combed over the recipe again to see where I went wrong. No, it wasn't because I made the carmel without butter, it wasn't because I put the carmel drizzle on top of the pie (because I knew the whipped cream would dissolve under the weight of it. You are supposed to drizzle on just before serving). No, the reason my attempt failed was because I used cook and serve pudding instead of instant. So, if this recipe sounds like something you want to try, (and you totally should because it's awesome!) don't forget to use instant pudding, because if you don't, you will need a bowl and spoon to be able to eat it (not that that was so bad, but still).
I seriously need to invest in some new dishes.
And as if making 2 gourmet pies and banana muffins from scratch in one afternoon wasn't enough, I decided I needed to make some brownies. You know, to have something to go underneath the left-over carmel sauce, and ice cream.
Oh, and then for dinner, I thought it would be fun to try a new Asian-style chicken recipe. (*Facepalm*) What am I doing? What possessed me to do all this on the same day? I was like a mad cooking ninja! Of course, I didn't cook for the rest of the week, so I guess marathon baking/cooking/desserting, comes with a price. So I threw a few different ideas together and got this:
Oops, that one is a little blurry. Here's a different plate of the same food.
It tasted pretty good, but not as flavorful as I was hoping for. However, I made some notes about how to improve it and I'll try again.
Anyway, that's what I did one day last week. And then I took a nap. The end.
