Fresh Daiquiri and my Simple Syrup Teddy
Juice of 1/4 to 1/2 a lime
1 tsp of sugar or simple syrup.
Muddle limes and sugar, add ice, pour in rum and shake, shake, shake. Strain into a martini glass. Sometimes I add a few ice cubes if the day is warm.
Chronic Chronicling: The Inspiration for my Simple Syrup Teddy: I used to work with this beautiful, funny, energetic woman. One day I was with her watching a bike race in Vancouver on a rainy day – I thought it might be interesting. Bikes were skidding and wiping out all over the place and you don’t really see who wins – you have to wait for the news to spread through the crowd – it was uninteresting. She livened up the whole spectator situation when she pulled her Tequila Teddy out of her purse. That’s what she called her honey bear that she had refilled with tequila and I thought she was hilarious. Her boyfriend was a cyclist so she came prepared.
This salad has unusual ingredients, but every time I make it for a party or potluck I get a lot of compliments. I love it too. The grapes, green onion, mint, goat cheese, and balsamic vinegar go together so well. It’s healthy and refreshing and fills me up enough for a light lunch. I found this recipe in Shape magazine (May 2006). It was with a group of recipes for salads that have whole grains in them. The dressing is made up of equal parts maple syrup and balsamic vinegar and has no oil. A friend who tasted it thought that the dressing was great and was going to use it for other dishes. She pointed out that balsamic vinegar doesn’t cling to food very well and that mixing it with the maple syrup tastes good and it improves the texture of the balsamic vinegar as a dressing. I thought this was a very good point and I’m going to try using this dressing for other balsamic vinegar applications very soon.Ingredients (serves about 4)
1 Cup Bulgur
1.5 Cups boiling water
1.5 Cups red grapes, halved
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1/4 Cup chopped fresh mint
2 oz goat cheese (crumbled or chunked with a fork)
3 Tblsp balsamic vinegar
3 Tblsp maple syrup
Put bulgur in a heat-proof bowl, pour boiling water over it, mix a little, cover with a heat-proof plate, and allow to sit for a 1/2 hour. Remove lid and fluff bulgur with a fork and allow to cool completely. I use a bread knife to halve the grapes. Add grapes, onion, mint, and goat cheese and mix together. Combine balsamic vinegar and maple syrup, pour over the salad and toss a little with a fork. Season with salt and freshly ground pepper and enjoy!
Filed under: Main Dish, Medium Fix, Rachelle Mee-Chapman | Tags: chicken, rice, risotto
Submitted by: Rachelle
Risotto is one of my favorite comfort foods, and it’s surprisingly easy to make. The key to successful risotto is to keep the broth warm in a saucepan over low heat next to the skillet you are cooking the rice in. While making risotto you do have to stir it regularly, but you don’t have to beat it like a maniac. Just stay attentive so it doesn’t scorch. Be sure to let all the liquid absorb before pour adding more.
The first time I made this it turned out much too salty, even with unsalted butter and no-salt broth. So start with a little bit of salt and adjust towards the end, after you’ve put in the parmesan cheese (which is quite salty in itself.) This calls for lots of unsalted butter – 12 T total. Sticks of butter are a different size in DK than in the USA, so I’m not sure how many sticks this is for all you Yanks. It’s two big sticks of Dansk smør. This easily serves 6-8 as a main dish.
Shopping List
8-10 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken stock
8 T unsalted butter
2 medium yellow onions, minced
coarse salt and black pepper
2 c Arborio rice (don’t use other kinds of rice!)
1 cup dry white wine (chardonnay, sauvignon blanc, or chablis will all work)
1 cup grated parmesan cheese
4 T unsalted butter
1 lb quartered mushrooms
2 2inch sprigs of fresh rosemary, stripped off woody stems and lightly chopped
2 cooked chicken breasts, diced
In a large skilled or wide saucepan, heat 4 T of butter over medium heat. Add onion, a little salt, and a good deal of fresh ground pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until the onions are soft and slightly translucent. Add the rice and cook stirring frequently for 2 minutes. Add the wine and cook, stirring until absorbed.
Add two cups (about two soup ladle’s full) and continue to stir the rice so it doesn’t scorch. Keep stirring until it’s almost completely absorbed. This will take about 10 minutes of medium heat. Then keep adding the broth one cup (one ladle) at a time and repeat. Make sure you scrape around the edges of the pan so all the rice gets some attention.
This is the time to start your mushrooms. In another skillet, melt 4 T of butter over medium heat. Add mushrooms, stirring occasionally. After about 5 minutes, add the diced chicken and rosemary. Stir from time to time and cook another 5 minutes or so.
Keep adding the broth one cup at a time to the rice, allowing the rice to absorb most of the liquid before adding the next batch. You may not need all the broth. If you run out and the rice still is not creamy and tender, it’s okay to add a few ladles of hot water.
When the rice is at the desired consistency, add the mushroom mixture from the other pan. Heat another 3-5 minutes to blend the flavors. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the remaining 4 T of butter and the parmesan cheese. Adjust the salt and pepper and have yum!
NB: This was originally “Simple Risotto” from Martha Stewart’s Everyday Food, but I’ve changed it significantly.
Filed under: Italian, Main Dish, quick fix, Rachelle Mee-Chapman | Tags: Doctored Recipies, pasta, red sauce, tomatos
Created by: Rachelle
One of my favorite instances of cooking alchemy is when I make something from whatever I have on hand and it actually turns out delicious. This week we got a little magic in the kitchen by doing what my mother calls ‘doctoring up’ a couple jars of red sauce. Viola! Rich, satisfying Bolognese sauce. The classic red sauce base made it a hit with the kids, and the savory olives, balsamic vinegar, and a bit of white-pepper-kick made it a win for the grownups as well. I thought we would be disappointed with just hamburger instead of Italian sausage, but the ground beef actually gave it a satisfying meaty flavor. (So much for being food snobs!) You can whip this up for dinner in about 30 minutes. It serves at least 6.
Shopping List
olive oil
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 -1 ½ pounds lean ground beef
coarse salt to taste
2-3 tsp white pepper (white pepper is key in Italian cooking)
2 jars of good quality pasta sauce (I like Seeds of Change or Amy’s Organic)
2 2-3 inch springs of fresh rosemary, stripped off the woody stems and chopped slightly
1 dozen kalamata olives (we can only find the un-pitted variety in CPH, but people just throw them in the sauce whole and let the dinner guest deal with the pits)
3 glugs of balsamic vinegar
one handful of fresh basil leaves, sliced
cooked pasta (mini penne, or fusilli works well) and cheese as desired.
How to Doctor the Sauce:
In a large skillet sauté ground beef, garlic, salt and pepper in olive oil until browned. Break up ground beef with a spoon as needed. (If you can’t get lean ground beef, you’ll need to drain off the excess fat after this step.)
Add prepared pasta sauce and rosemary; allow to simmer about ten minutes to meld flavors.
Add olives. Simmer some more. Just before serving add balsamic vinegar and basil leaves.
Serve over pasta, top with cheese, and have yum!
Tutorial for Newbie Cooks: How to Chop Basil
Okay, now the basil. Don’t be scared! Pinch the leaves off the stems. It’s a little like plucking a daisy. (”She loves me. She loves me not.”) You only want the leaves. Wash the basil leaves and dry them in a salad spinner. If you dont’ have a spinner, pat them dry between two paper towels, or just shake them off over a sinke and call it done. Stack the leaves on top of each other on a cutting board. There now, isn’t that nice and orderly? Roll ‘em up into a little bundle, and slice lengthwise into thin shreds. Aren’t you the cooking pro? Into the bowl they go. Good job!
Filed under: Breakfast/Brunch, Main Dish, quick fix, Rachelle Mee-Chapman | Tags: baked goodies, breakfast, brunch, pancakes, rachelle
photo by Katy, recipe by Rachelle
Paul learned how to make these from his college roommate and now he makes them on-demand for our kids. Cut them in quarters and pour on the syrup for a simple, sweet weekend treat — or serve them whole on a pretty platter heaped with fruit, drizzled with creame fraiche, and sprinkled with brown sugar for a more elegant brunch.
Shopping List
(makes one pie-plate sized pancake)
2T butter
1/2c milk
1/2c flour
2 eggs
Heat oven to 450. Melt butter in pie pan (glass works best). Whisk together milk, flour, and eggs. Pour into pie plat and bake 5-8 minutes until the pancake puffs and the edges brown slightly. These will ‘fall’ when you pull them out of the oven, they’re supposed to, don’t worry. Top with berries, bananas, or just plain old maple syrup (the real stuff please). Have yum!
What yummy concoction did you put on your oven pancakes? Do tell in the comments or link us to your recipe!
Filed under: cocktails, happy hour, Katy K | Tags: cocktails, cosmo, muddle
Posted by: Katy K
My absolute favourite cocktail is a Cosmopolitan. It is both delicious and beautiful. People think it isn’t a “real” cocktail – just some girl’s drink whose main feature is the color.
A good Cosmopolitan is not very sweet and made with fresh lime. It is not so different from other “real” cocktails such as the margarita or the daiquiri (the original daiquiri). The pink color comes from a dash of cranberry juice, a completely respectable ingredient for a drink. The men don’t know what they are missing.
Shopping List
Vodka (Ketel One is good)
Cointreau
fresh limes
sugar (or sugar syrup: how to make simple syrup)
unsweetened organic cranberry juice
Per drink:
-Muddle 1/4 or 1/2 of a lime with 1 tsp of sugar (or simple syrup) in the bottom of a cocktail shaker. (How to muddle skip forward to 2:30 to save blah blah blah.)
-Add ice
-Pour 1.5 oz of vodka, 1/2 oz of Cointreau and approximately 1/2 of a teaspoon of cranberry juice over the ice.
-Shake vimfully until cold and a little water from the ice has opened up the flavors of the drink.
-Strain into a stemmed martini glass. You may garnish with a slice of lime if you wish.
I think that muddling whole slices of lime is important because I believe that the oil in the rind adds to the flavor.
I use “Baker’s Sugar” which is finer than regular sugar to make my drinks and my simple syrup because it dissolves more easily in liquid. Actually I use baker’s sugar for everything now. It comes in an easy-to-use milk carton-type container.
I also freeze cranberry juice in an ice cube tray and store the ice cubes in a ziploc bag in the freezer. Then I can melt a cranberry cube and have some juice for a few cocktails any time I want.
I like to use a pint glass with my cocktail shaker – the way the bartenders do. I have old-fashioned ice-cube-tray ice. It is big and I can’t crush it with a muddler. When I shake it in the extended cocktail shaker volume, made by inverting a pint glass into the shaker, my cubed ice is broken down. This cools off my drink and releases water more effectively than the cocktail shaker alone.
I love this Cosmo but, other than this one, the best one I’ve found in Seattle is served up by the bartender at Bick’s Broadview Grill on Greenwood Ave (where I did hear a man order a Grey Goose Cosmo just the other day).
Filed under: Katy K
My partner-in-crime has her intro up on our about page…but here it is, just in case you missed it. 
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Actually, the first time I met Rachelle, I talked to her because she has beautiful red hair (I LOVE red hair). She was writing Scottish Blessings in colored chalk on the sidewalk in front of her house. She was actually very coy. The next time I remember is when she invited the neighbourhood to her house for chili (food!). I went to the party because I wanted to get to know her. The third time I remember was election night. My nearest neighbour invited me to go with them to Rachelle’s because they were unsure of what to expect. I went with them and when I walked in, Paul offered me a cocktail (drinks!)and that was it. I really wanted to get to know these people better. He made me an Old Fashioned, or was it a Sidecar? It was delicious and served in a cool glass.
Since those fateful days, Rachelle noticed me cooking for myself and carrying my bag full of lunch and snacks past her front door every morning. I eat in restaurants with various foodie friends several times a week. I mix up cocktails for anyone who will take one. I like to post pictures of food that I cook, or that someone else cooks and I eat, online. I am obsessed. Rachelle pointed out the obvious – that I would enjoy hosting a food blog. I think it is time that I enter the fray and stake out some territory on the world wide web. I hope you enjoy Food Hero too.
Filed under: Main Dish, Medium Fix, Rachelle Mee-Chapman | Tags: dressings, lime, marinade, salad, spinach, steak
Adapted by Rachelle from Martha’s Stewart’s Everyday Food. (A great cooking magazine.)
I adpated this recipe so you get two treats in one — great steak and a delicious salad. Using pre-washed fresh spinach and ginger from a jar will save you a little time. If you want to use fresh ginger peel it with a veg peeler and slice the entire root thinly. Chopped what you need for the recipe and put the rest in the freezer for long-term keeping. This calls for flank steak but you can use any grilling steak. For more info than you’ll ever need to know on how to pick a steak click here, and here is a handy video of How to Broil a Steak. (I only do the pan-searing step for really thick steaks.) Have Yum!
Shopping List
1/3 c lime juice (4 limes)
2T soy sauce
2 green onions, thinly sliced
2T ginger, peeled and minced (or scooped from a jar)
1/2 t red-pepper flakes
1 1/2 lbs flank steak
coarse salt
fresh pepper
bag of fresh pre-washed spinach
red onions
mandarine oranges (tinned and drained is okay)
Sliced almonds
crusty bread (of course)
Get out a glass pan or rimmed baking sheet and a ziploc bag. Put all your marinade ingredients into the bag, seal and shake. Now open it back up and put your steak in there. Seal and turn it over a few times to coat both sides. Let marinade in the fridge for at least one hour, but preferably overnight.
When you start getting hungry, take the steak out and put it on your pan to bring it to room temprature. Turn on your broiler and put your broiling pan in the oven. Pour the marinade into a small sauce pan. Bring to a boil, then turn down the heat and cook, stirring regularly until the sacue thickens slightly. I usually try to get it to reduce by half. Set the pan aside.
Slice your red onions thinly. Peel your mandarin/satsuma and break it into segments. Give your spinach a little extra wash and spin in the salad spinner. Pour it in a bowl and toss it with the onions, oranges, and almonds.
Now put your steak in the broiler and keep an eye on it. It will take 5-7 minutes for a flank steak, longer for thicker steaks. You have to turn the steak over half way throuhg. Again, check out this video for tips about times for rare-vs-well done. It’s not hard, but the timing can be tricky. Err on the side of under-doneness as the steak will continue to cook slightly once you take it off the heat. You can always make a small slice in the center of the steak to check for done-ness.
When your meat is done to your preference, take out the pan and let the steak sit for a few minutes. Toss your salad with your reduced dressing. Hopefully it’s still warm, because this will wilt your spinach slightly and release all the flavors in your salad. Slice a hunk of crusty bread, put everything on your plate and nosh away.
Posted by: Rachelle
A few years back I read an article in Real Simpleabout how to organize your recipes. (I can’t find the original one on line, but they do offer 8(!) methods here.) I’d been trying different methods for sometime, and was thrilled at how well this system worked.
Shopping List
several three-ringed binders
plastic sheet protectors
binder dividers with tabs
glue stick
scissors
copy paper (you can used stuff that’s been printed on one side — reduce, reuse!)
recipe cards from grandma, aunties, and the sweet old ladies at church
favorite recipes from magazines
recipes printed from your Epicurious recipe box or other on line sources
Sort your recipes into broad categories. Then sort again into subcategories. (Don’t worry, you can easily shuffle them around again easily with this method.) These are the categories that work for my collection, I have a binder for:
Soups and Sides: veggie soups, meat soups, salads, sandwiches
Main Dishes: pasta (meat, veggie), beans, meat (beef, chicken, lamb, fish)
Baked Goodies: breakfast foods, sweet bread, yeast breads, cookies, pies/cakes/desserts
Special Occasions: fancy appetizers, cocktails, Christmas, Easter, Passover, Thanksgiving
-Recipe cards that have writing on both sides get taped inside the plastic protectors — I put four to a page.
-Recipe cards that are one sided can be mounted to paper first to make them easier to slide into plastic sheaths.
-Recipes from magazines get pasted onto paper and slid into protectors. I try to keep the pictures with them for inspiration. Sometimes I cut out the recipes themselves and glue them onto part of the picture.
-Recipes printed from on line sources are just slipped into the page protectors.
Now you can easily flip through all your recipes. Decide that a side dish works better as a main dish? Just move the page protector to the other binder. Real. Simple.
I’ve never quite gotten to this step, but the original article also suggested that you go through your cook books and make a list of your favorites with their page numbers, then put that list in the front of your binder.
I like tearing out magazine recipes and then tucking them into the binder pockets. Then a couple time a year on a lazy weekend, I go through them and put the ones I still want to keep into the binder.
Got and idea for organizing recipes? Have a favorite on-line recipe box? Do tell!
Filed under: Italian, Main Dish, Medium Fix, Rachelle Mee-Chapman, Tips | Tags: dough, pizza, Rachelle Mee-Chapman
Posted by: Rachelle
When we moved from Seattle to Copenhagen in grey, dark February, the kids needed a little something that tasted like home. That’s when we instituted Friday as pizza night. Making yeast dough initially intimidated me. But I found it was a lot easier than I thought, and I’ve included all my tips and tricks below. Start the dough about 1 1/2 hours before you want to eat (1 hr to rise, 1/2 hour to top and cook) and you’ll be golden.
With food prices rising back in the good old US of A, maybe it’s time to change your take-out habits? Two gourmet pizzas in Seattle would set up back at least $45…now we make it at home for about $20. have Yum!
Shopping List
4 c flour
1 1/2 t salt
1/3 c olive oil
1 1/2 c warm tap water
2t sugar
2 pkgs fast-acting yeast (in the baking aisle)
cornmeal
jarred organic pizza sauce
various toppings (See suggestions from our readers below)
In a small bowl mix sugar, yeast and warm tap water with a fork. to activate the yeast your water should be wrist-warm but not scalding. The sugar ‘feeds’ the yeast and gets it rising faster and with more success. Set the mixture aside for 5-10 minutes. If the yeast is alive and kickin’ you’ll see a foam building on the surface. If not, try again.
In a large bowl mix flour and salt. Make a divet in the the flour and pour in the olive oil. Add the yeast mixture and stir with a wooden spoon. The dough starts to form a smooth-ish elastic ball. (Add flour a tablespoon or so at a time if it’s too sticky. It’s better to err on the slightly sticky side than on the dry side.) Turn out onto a floured surface and with floured hands knead for about 3-5 minutes. (How to knead pizza dough here.)
Swipe the bowl you mixed in with a bit of olive oil on a paper towel. Plop the dough ball in there, then turn it over so both sides are lightly kissed with olive oil. Soak a thin dishtowel in warm water and wring it out. Cover the bowl with the dough and put it in a warm, draft-free location for about one hour. (In our old flat we proofed dough on the radiator, but here I put on a step stool in the bathroom with the dryer running! Any warmish spot should do.)
If you are using baking stones now is the time to put them in the oven at 425.
While you are waiting for the dough to rise, slice and dice all your ingredients. If you are using fresh mozzarella, put it in a sieve or colander over a bowl (to catch the water) and sprinkle lightly with salt. This keeps fresh mozzarella from ‘sweating’ on the pizza and making the dough salty. Here are some yummy combos to try from our Food Hero readers:
Three Peper, Three Cheese by Paula Clare: red, yellow, green bell peppers w/mitizhra, mozzerella, and parmesean
Tuscan Goodnes by Elaine Eppler: artichokes hearts, pine nuts, zucchini, black olives, sundried tomatoes, feta cheese, fresh basil
In 45min-1 hr your dough should be about twice it’s original size. Flour your hands and ‘punch’ it down to release the air. Turn it out on to the floured surface again and give it a little knead. Split it into three balls, set them on wax paper to keep them from sticking. Add a smallish hand full of cornmeal to the counter. put the ball of dough on the cornmeal/flour counter. Pat it down into a circle. Dust it with a little more flour. Using a rolling pen — or in a pinch, a clean empty glass jar – roll it out to about 1/4 inch thick, a little thicker on the edges if you like chewy crust. (For more how-to’s see the video link above)
If you’re not using baking stones, transfer your dough to a baking sheet. If you are using baking stones, get ‘em out of the oven and put them on a trivet. Quickly slide the dough from the counter to the hot stone. This starts baking the pizza even before it’s in the oven and gives it that crisp-but-chewy texture. Add your toppings. Pop it in the oven and bake it for 20-25 minutes, keeping an eye on it and maybe moving it up if the top isn’t melting, or down if the bottom of the pizza isn’t browning. Let it set for a few minutes before slicing and your cheese won’t sliiiiiide off. Pour the kids some pop and yourself a microbrew. Have Yum!
Any tips or tricks for the perfect dough consistency? Got favorite topping combos to share? We’d love to hear about it in the comments!
