News from Nutmeg

My mom always says I'm the comedian of the family.  My older sister Ivy is "The Drama Queen", my other sister Nell is "The Organizer", so I guess for me, being third in the line-up, makes me the little girl who just wants to have fun and get noticed.  Can't blame a girl for that, right?

I don't always "chew the right things" but there are certainly times when I'm feeling sweet, and I do...



AND I still tend to be a little "potty mouth" at times and try to tell my mom that, "she's not always the boss of me" (please don't tell her I said that) but that was when I was a young puppy that didn't know any better...



Now that I'm almost 7 months old,  I'm learning what I can, and can't get away with and, what my role in the family dynamic is (and should) be.

What can I say...girls (no matter how old) just want to have fu-un! 

Look, green feet are always good for a laugh, right? 

Don't mind my intense stare-down in this next picture, I'm pretending that I'm the serious one in the family tonight!  After all, I'm a big girl now...LOL...not!

So then, this one's for you Nancy (you know who you are)! Thank you so much for your support and your contribution to this post :)


With barks and licks,
Nutmeg

FFWD - Cardamom Rice Pilaf

Right away when I saw the title of this recipe, I knew I was going to love it!  Actually cardamom is a relatively new spice for me.  The first time I'd ever used it was, oddly enough, for another one of the FFWD recipe selections.  I was immediately smitten with the heady, spicy and slightly lemony flavor it imparts.

Dorie's recipe (found on page 382 of Around My French Table) starts with basamati rice, cardamom (I used ground as that's what I had in my pantry) and lemon zest to top off the completed pilaf.

To pay homage to my first introduction with cardamom, I knew I also had to include carrots into my rice as I loved that flavor combination so much.  Not satisfied with stopping at carrots, I also added some frozen peas, pine nuts and little squeeze of honey to finish her off.  Mmmmm ~ Delicious!  Spicy with a mild sweetness that tickled our taste buds and the soft buttery crunch from the pine nuts was amazing!

I'm proud to say that Dorie herself has seen my pilaf and was kind enough to tweet me back regarding it:


@kudoskitchen "The pilaf looks great. Glad you liked the add of cardamom - a great spice. Try it in a plain loaf or Bundt cake."


Thanks for the recipe and for the suggestion Dorie, can't wait to try that too :)
 
 
Thanks for stopping by. Please visit again!
Renée

Mock Bruschetta Casserole

There was once a time in my life that I made a lot of casseroles for dinner. When our kids were little, casseroles were a reliable "go-to" type meal to feed our young family. A "one pot/dish wonder", if you will.

Now however, I don't cook casseroles nearly as much as I did "back in the day'.  Come to think of it, I don't think casseroles even get the respect or adoration that they once did.  That makes me sad.

That is until now!

If you visit here often, you'll remember me recently talking about my recipe file and how I intend to revisit my file and, on a regular basis, make recipes that I've collected over the years from magazines, and my many cookbooks.  Recipes, that at one time caught my eye and my tempted my taste buds.  Recipes I thought my family would enjoy (of course with my own adaptations and personal touches to enhance the original). LOL 

This is the one I chose for last night, out of my file. Taking all the help from the grocery store and *gasp* prepared foods, this one comes together in a flash and is simply bursting with flavor.


                      

 I can't actually tell you how many years ago I ripped this from a magazine, or which magazine it might have been, but this was my inspiration and starting point for a meal that was really delicious!  Really and truly!

It was super fast to make and super tasty.  I'm almost embarassed to share it here but I won't apologize because I know that many of you reading this right now have busy family lives and not a lot of time to fuss in the kitchen when your family is hungry and you're being pulled in a million different directions.

I'm calling my version...

Mock Bruschetta Casserole

1 can (14 ounces) Hunt's diced, fire roasted tomatoes, undrained
1 package Stove Top stuffing mix for Chicken
1/2 cup water
2 cups pre-cooked chicken, cut into bite size pieces
1 teaspoon dried basil
1 container fresh mozzarella balls (mini-size)
2 cups Kraft shredded mozzarella cheese with/cream cheese
1 cup Durkee French fried onions

*Note - To bump up the nutrition factor add:
1 package (8 oz) frozen spinach, thawed and squeezed dry. 
(I didn't do this. I just though of it.  Next time, I will.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Place the tomatoes (with their liquid) in a medium size bowl.  Add the stuffing mix and water.  Stir until moistened.  Gently stir in chicken pieces and fresh mozzarella balls (now is also the time to add the spinach, if you choose).

Spray a 13x9 inch baking dish with cooking spray and evenly place the stuffing and chicken mixture inside.  Top the mixture evenly with shredded mozzarella cheese and top that with the French fried onions.

Bake for 20 minutes, or until heated through and the cheese is melted.

It may not be gourmet, but it certainly is "Renée", on a busy Wednesday night.  Try it, you'll like it :)

This adaptation of the magazine-file-recipe collection received a rousing thumbs up from our illustrious panel of dinner time judges, and I am free to cook another day :)

Until we eat again,
Renée

Garlic Lovers Pizza!!!

If you're a huge garlic lover (like we are) then you simply MUST make this pizza!  The crust is so simple to make and oh-so flavorful.  The toppings can be as I've shown here or you can load it up with all your favorites. Your call.  You can do whatever strikes your fancy,  just as long as you don't skimp on the garlic!!!

The Crust:

3-1/2 to 4 cups all purpose flour

1 package active dry yeast

1 tablespoon garlic powder

2 teaspoons dried basil

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons sugar

In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients, starting with only 3-1/2 cups of flour. More may be necessary later.

The Crust (continued):

3/4 cup water

3/4 cup beef stock

1/4 cup butter

1-1/2 tablespoons dried minced onion

In a small saucepan (over low heat) heat the above ingredients until the butter is just melted. Allow to cool slightly so that you can comfortably stick your finger in and not be burned.

Add the liquid ingredients into the dry ingredients in the large bowl and mix until moistened.  Stir in enough remaining flour (if needed) to form a soft but not sticky dough.  Knead until the dough is smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes.

Place the dough in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top.  Cover with plastic wrap and let rise in a warm place until doubled (about 1 hour).  When dough has fully risen, punch down and allow to rest for at least 15 minutes.

After the dough has risen, add approximately 1 tablespoon cornmeal to the surface of your baking pan (I used a pizza stone) and using your hands, flatten the dough out, on top of the corn meal, into whatever shape you wish.

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees and pre-bake the crust for approximately 15 minutes.  This is a thick crust so the pre-baking of the untopped crust is definitely something you'll need to do.

After the initial pre-baking, take the crust from the oven and allow to cool for a few minutes.  Using your fingertips, lightly dimple the top of the crust to form little wells.

Toppings:

2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
5 (or more) freshly grated garlic cloves
4 red ripe tomatoes
1 log fresh mozzarella cheese
dried basil and oregano (*Note - fresh herbs are preferred but dry is what I had on hand, use what you have)

Using a pastry brush, and being liberal, brush the olive oil (gently) on top of the crust.  Next, peel and grate the garlic and (gently) spread it over the crust, along with the olive oil.

                    

 

Slice your tomatoes and mozzarella cheese into 1/4" thickness.  Starting with the tomatoes, arrange them on top of your crust making sure to cover as much or surface area as possible.

Next, layer on the fresh mozzarella cheese however you choose (*note - you can also grate this cheese to form shreds if you prefer) and sprinkle the top with additional basil and oregano.

Increase your oven temperature to 400 degrees and slip your pizza into the oven for approximately 20 minutes or until the cheese is browned and bubbly.

Open wide...your pizza is ready!!!

Now, let's see how well you were paying attention.  There is a surprise hidden somewhere in this post. Can you spot what, or who, it is?  Say "Cheese"!!!

Until we eat again!

Renée

Scary Dinosaur Vlogs

I wanted to try something new.  Something that would hold your interest.  Something that would breathe new life into my blog postings about my tiles.  Something you might enjoy watching.  Something that would be a big change from those still step by step pictures I usually show.

I decided to film a vlog.  I'll have to admit to you however, I have a long way to go in becoming a experienced vlogger.   Just like everything, I'll get better at it the more I practice but, until that time, please bear with me and my bad directing, narrating, production quality and of course my inability to edit.   I still hope you find it (them) slightly entertaining and get a better feel for my painting process.

If I haven't scared you off yet, maybe this dinosaur tile will:  This is the end product.

Feel free to watch each separate video or skip around and just watch the ones that catch your eye. I'll never know.  I just hope you watch some of these videos and then let me know your thoughts.  No harm done if you give me constructive criticism.  It's the way I will grow and improve so no worries if you need to go there.  Honest!  Plus, you can't be any worse then I am with myself (all in good fun).









Whoops! Somethings are better left unsaid!



Are you bored yet?  Plates? I'm seriously showing more paper plates?



Finally we're getting to the "meat" of this dinosaur...


You'll  have to excuse the appearance of the top of my head in this next video.  As I always do, I take off my glasses to see better as I paint.  It's an age thing!  Then, without thinking about the camera, I accidentally bend over my tile to see my work better and luckily for you, this is what happened...



I'm giving away all my secrets but if you need to turn off the volume to better get through these videos, feel free.  I understand. LOL





We're getting close, don't worry. This is almost over :)





Sorry that this is all being filmed upside down.  I'll work on that for future vlogs. I promise.



And...you've made it through. Last one, but it's a long one.  Thanks for being so patient with me. You deserve a gold star!



I sincerely appreciate your coming to visit me here at my blog and I hope you enjoyed this posting as much as I enjoyed bringing it to you!!!  Please take a moment to say hello in the comment area.  I'd love to know you're out there :)
Sincerely,
Renée

Puppy "Tales"

Nutmeg: "Hey look what mom bought us".

Ivy: "It looks interesting."

Nutmeg: "I don't have a good feeling about this. Mom, what are you trying to pull here?"

Nellie: "I'm bored"

Ivy and Nutmeg:  "Oh yeah, we get it now...Yippee!!!!" 






All:  "Thanks Mom!"


Ivy: "It's going to be another great summer here in our backyard!"

Nellie: "Don't worry about me, I'll be off chasing birds"

Nutmeg: "What's a summer mom?



Woo, Woo, Woof!
Ivy, Nutmeg and Nell

FFWD - Bacon, Egg And Asparagus Salad

                      I loved this salad on so many levels.

Level One: I didn't think I would.  Seriously?  Eggs, asparagus and Dijon vinaigrette? Did I read that right?



But I LOVED this salad!  Actually we both, (my husband and myself) LOVED this salad!!!


Level Two:  In the "olden days" (pre-FFWD) I would have passed right by a recipe like this in fear of stepping out of my/our "taste bud comfort level".   Oh ye of little faith I was!

Level Three:  ASPARAGUS!!!  I needn't tell you about my love of asparagus, do I? 
I didn't have a lot (asparagus) to go around, and I wanted the most bang for my asparagus buck, so I halved them (something I've never done before) and I ROASTED them (something I always do).  Yeah baby!

Level Four:  Bacon! Need I say more?

Now, here comes the tricky part... I'm not a runny yolk type of gal.  Never have been and never thought would be. So, for the egg portion of this recipe (found on page 130 of Around My French Table), I opted to fry my eggs, in olive oil!!!



Level five:  I've NEVER cooked my eggs in olive oil before but always wanted to fry  try it.  At first, I was going to do a hard yolk center but at the last minute of basting (did I mention the olive oil? LOL) I turned off the heat and screwed up my courage to have a semi-soft yolk instead.  You can call me brave heart!

Level six:  I added toasted pine nuts.  Buttery little nuggets of nutty goodness.  Pine nuts are my friend!

Level Seven:  Calling hubby up for dinner and seeing the surprised look on his face when he saw the completed dish and exclaimed "Egg Salad?" THAT'S what we're having for dinner tonight?  Um...yeah. What did you expect...meat and potatoes? HA!

Eighth and Final Level:  The combination of flavors here are exquisite! The buttery smooth texture and taste of the semi-soft egg yolk mixed with the tangy bite of the Dijon vinaigrette.  The slight crunch of the pine nuts and crisp bacon combined with the delicate and tender leafy greens.  Oh, and let's not forget the undeniably mild and delicious taste of the asparagus that tied all the flavors together neatly on one plate.

All that and then some. 

The look of delighted surprise on both our faces as we experienced something that we weren't quite expecting was in itself, rewarding.  I think I must have said to my husband at least three times last night "I feel like we're sitting in a little Paris bistro", and seriously, isn't that what food is supposed to be all about?

As they say, a picture is worth a thousand words:



If you'd like to check out all the other wonderful home cooks interpretations of Dorie's  Bacon, Egg and Asparagus Salad, you can do so here as it's always fun to see (and read) their experiences. 

Heck, you may even want to join us as we travel the pages of "Around My French Table" together.  It's a lot cheaper than a trip to Paris and "almost" as much fun :)


Until we EAT again!
Renée
check out my hand painted tiles

As requested, here is the original recipe (in photo form) as written by Dorie Greenspan  from her cookbook "Around My French Table".  As you can see from the final photo from the cookbook, I made my eggs quite a bit different than called for in the recipe.