Roasted Garlic Dressing

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I can't wait to try this recipe that was in the Ann Arbor News this week.

It can be refrigerated for up to 2 days.
Makes 1/2 cup
Ingredients:
1/4 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 head roasted garlic (see NOTE)
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper or smoked paprika

Directions:
Whisk together the buttermilk, roasted garlic (preferably still warm), vinegar and salt in a small bowl. Add the cayenne pepper or smoked paprika 1/4 teaspoon at a time, tasting after each addition. Refrigerate in an airtight container until ready to use; shake well before serving.

NOTE: To roast garlic:
Slice the top off 1 head of garlic so that the tops of the cloves inside are exposed. Lightly drizzle with olive oil and wrap tightly in aluminum foil. Bake in a preheated 425-degree oven for about 45 minutes or until the garlic has softened and browned. Set aside until cool enough to handle, then squeeze the softened garlic cloves out of their skins and discard their stem ends.

Luscious Beet Salad

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Luscious Beet salad

Salad
4 large beets
1/4 cup pumpkin seeds, toasted
1 bunch beet greens, chopped
2 scallions, finely chopped
1/4 pound feta cheese (optional)

Dressing
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
3/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh basil

Wash beets. Remove greens but leave beet tops and roots intact. Place beets in a large pot filled with water and bring to a boil. Lower heat and simmer until beets are tender (about an hour). Set aside to cool. Toast pumpkin seeds in a dry skillet over medium heat. Remove seeds from skillet and set aside.

To prepare beet greens, fill a large skillet with water to a depth of 1 inch and heat to a simmer. Wash greens by submerging the bunch in a sink full of cold water. Shake off water and drop greens into simmering water. Let them cook for about 30 seconds, until tender and juicy. Place greens in a colander and gently run cold water over them to halt cooking.

Peel beets by cutting off the tops and slipping the skins off with your hands. Slice beets. Squeeze excess water out of the cooked beet greens and chop. Put beets, beet greens, pumpkin seeds, and scallions in a salad bowl. Shake dressing ingredients together in a jar. Pour dressing over salad and toss gently. Crumble feta cheese on top. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Makes 6 servings

Ribs

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I love this recipe of Alton Brown’s from “I’m Just Here for the Food”. I do end up making these on my grill instead of broiling at the end. It works really well.

Alton Brown's No-Backyard Baby Back Ribs
1 full rack/slab baby back ribs
Kosher salt
Rub No. 9 (see note)

1/2 cup orange juice (not fresh squeezed)
1/2 cup prepared margarita mix
1/3 cup honey
1/3 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon espresso powder or instant coffee (freeze-dried, not actual grounds)
1/8 teaspoon ground cayenne

You will also need:
Paper towels
Extra-wide, heavy-duty aluminum foil
Shallow roasting pan
Saucier or small sauce pan
Kitchen shears
Broiler pan

Rinse the ribs and pat dry with paper towels. Place on a sheet of extra-wide, heavy-duty aluminum foil. (The foil should be 4 inches longer than the ribs on either end.) Season liberally on both sides with the salt and rub No. 9.

Turn the ribs meat-side-down and tightly seal inside the foil by folding and rolling the longer edges together, then closing the ends tight over the ribs. Place the packet in the roasting pan and refrigerate for 6 to 12 hours, turning the sealed packet over once.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Remove the packet from the refrigerator and unroll one end, shaping the foil upward like a funnel. Pour in the orange juice and the margarita mix. Reseal the foil packet and see-saw it back and forth a couple of times to evenly distribute the liquid inside. Return the packet to the pan and place the pan in the middle of the oven. After 1 hour, reduce the temperature to 250 degrees and cook until tender, approximately 2 hours.

Remove the pan from the oven, unroll one end of the packet, carefully drain all the juice into a saucier or small saucepan, and add the honey, ketchup, Worcestershire sauce, espresso powder, and cayenne. Bring the mixture to a boil, whisking frequently until reduced to a glaze that coats a spoon. Remove the pan from the heat.

Move oven rack to the next-to-the-top position and turn on the broiler (use the high setting if you have a choice). Remove the slab from the foil packet and cut it into four equal sections (I use kitchen shears for this). Place ribs on the broiling pan, meat side up, brush with the glaze, and broil for 2 to 3 minutes. Reglaze and repeat until the ribs are a dark mahogany color. Flip the ribs bone side up and glaze, and broil a minute longer.

Remove and allow to cool a couple of minutes before serving, preferably with potato salad or copious amounts of cole slaw.

Makes 1 to 3 servings, depending on who's doing the eating

Rub #9
A part can be any amount - a tablespoon, for example - depending on how much is needed. For one rack of ribs, 1/2 to 3/4 cup of rub will be sufficient. The ratio of ingredients for Rub No. 9 is: 5 parts brown sugar, 3 parts chile powder, 1 part garlic powder, 1/2 part ground thyme, 1/4 part cayenne, and 1/4 part allspice

White Bean Soup with Tomatoes and Basil

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This soup is great this time of year; when the tomatoes and basil are so abundant. Thank you, SC!

2 tsp olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 19-ounce can of cannellini 2 cups chicken broth
2 ripe tomatoes, chopped and seeded
1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, shredded
1/4 cup parmesan cheese

Heat a medium saucepan. Swirl in the oild, then add garlic and saute until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add the beans and the broth. Heat, and then use a masher to coarsely mash up most of the beans.

Bring to a boil, and then reduce heat and simmer for four or five minutes. Add tomatoes and basil, and heat through. Serve with cheese sprinkled on top.

Hot and Sour Soup

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Hot and Sour Soup (like Kosmos in Ann Arbor)

Kosmos in Kerrytown (Ann Arbor) makes the best hot and sour soup I have ever tasted. This is my best shot at making it myself.

1 lb. pork shoulder, trimmed of fat and cut in 1/2 in dice
4 14 or 15 oz cans reduced sodium chicken broth
1 cup grated carrots
2 small onions, sliced thin
3/4 c. white vinegar
10 small Thai chili peppers, diced
1 t. fresh ground black pepper

1 lb. mushrooms, sliced (I forgot these)
1/2 brick extra firm tofu
1.4 c. reduced sodium soy sauce

Here's how I cooked it - I put the pork and the chicken broth in a crock pot and cooked it for about 4 hours on low. I skimmed off lots of the floaties - Kosmos has floaties in it, too, so I didn't worry too much about getting them all out. I added the carrots, onions, peppers and pepper and let it cook for another 4 hours on low. I then added the tofu and soy sauce, and would probably add the mushrooms and let it cook until the tofu was heated through. It's pretty darn close to what they serve at Kosmo's!

Katie Brown's Ribbon Jello

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Jello True confession time - I suck at making jello. For some reason, it never works out right for me. In a fit of insomnia the other night, I watched this show called "The Katie Brown Workshop", and Katie made this jello that looked really cool. I love stripes! Katie is billed as the "young and hip Martha Stewart". I am going to try to make this jello.

Ribbon Jello

6-1/4 cups boiling water, divided
5 pkg. (4-serving size each) gelatin, any 5 different flavors, divided
1 cup sour cream or vanilla lowfat yogurt, divided

STIR 1-1/4 cups boiling water into 1 pkg. gelatin in small bowl at least 2 minutes until completely dissolved. Pour 3/4 cup of the dissolved gelatin into an 8-cup ring mold sprayed with cooking spray or a glass bowl. Refrigerate about 15 minutes or until set but not firm (gelatin should stick to finger when touched). Refrigerate remaining gelatin in bowl about 5 minutes or until slightly thickened (consistency of unbeaten egg whites). Gradually stir in 3 Tbsp. of the sour cream. Spoon over gelatin in pan. Refrigerate about 15 minutes or until gelatin is set but not firm (gelatin should stick to finger when touched).

REPEAT process with each remaining gelatin flavor. (Be sure to cool dissolved gelatin to room temperature before pouring into mold.) Refrigerate gelatin as directed to create a total of 10 alternating clear and creamy gelatin layers.

REFRIGERATE 2 hours or until firm. Unmold. Cut into 16 slices to serve. Store leftover gelatin in refrigerator.

Steak Au Poivre

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Thanks to the Gastronomical3, I started to read "The Kitchen Diaries" by Nigel Slater. What an inspiring book! Then, my dear friends SC and LMcR both started NaNoWriMo, but since I have no desire to write fiction, I thought I'd try to write more about food. I love that Slater writes about the seasonality about food - what was going on in his life, what the weather was like, etc. when he cooked what he cooked. I am going to try to do the same.


So, I have been home from work the past 2 days - the kids' have parent teacher conferences, and I have vacation days left to use this year. As usual, I am trying to cram several months worth of "stay at home mom" type activities in 3 days. This means lots of cooking, cleaning and kid stuff.

I'm just recovering from this year's annual asthma attack, which usually happens to me in November, but I was spared last year. However, this year was a doozy, so all I have been wanting to eat is spicy soups. Last night, I felt like eating and since I had the time, we made a recipe my husband has been wanting to try, from Alton Brown's Good Eats. (I love you Alton Brown - you got my husband interested in cooking!).

Steak au Poivre
Recipe courtesy Alton Brown

4 tenderloin steaks, 6 to 8 ounces each and no more than 1 1/2 inches thick
Kosher salt
2 tablespoons whole peppercorns
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/3 cup Cognac, plus 1 teaspoon
1 cup heavy cream

Remove the steaks from the refrigerator for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour prior to cooking. Sprinkle all sides with salt. Coarsely crush the peppercorns with a mortar and pestle, the bottom of a cast iron skillet, or using a mallet and pie pan. Spread the peppercorns evenly onto a plate. Press the fillets, on both sides, into the pepper until it coats the surface. Set aside.

In a medium skillet over medium heat, melt the butter and olive oil. As soon as the butter and oil begin to turn golden and smoke, gently place the steaks in the pan. For medium-rare, cook for 4 minutes on each side. Once done, remove the steaks to a plate, tent with foil and set aside. Pour off the excess fat but do not wipe or scrape the pan clean.

Off of the heat, add 1/3 cup Cognac to the pan and carefully ignite the alcohol with a long match or firestick. Gently shake pan until the flames die. Return the pan to medium heat and add the cream. Bring the mixture to a boil and whisk until the sauce coats the back of a spoon, approximately 5 to 6 minutes. Add the teaspoon of Cognac and season, to taste, with salt. Add the steaks back to the pan, spoon the sauce over, and serve.

Alton's not kidding about taking this off the heat when you ignite it. All the neighbor kids were over when we did it, and the flames shot up to the ceiling. The kids were duly impressed. My daughter wouldn't eat this, because she is still dabbling in vegetarianism. (it's hard to be a vegetarian when you don't like vegetables!). I made it with half and half because that's all I had.

This truly was good eats - and fairly easy to make. Beef tenderloin was on sale at Busch's this week for $4.99/lb.

A pair of pies

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It is a very gray day here today, and I thought it would be a good idea to use up the left over pot roast I made earlier in the week by making a beef pot pie (on the left). Since I was going through the effort of making pie crust from scratch, I thought I'd make an apple pie, too. (the one on the right) I bought some Northern Spy apples (my favorite pie apple) yesterday at the Ann Arbor Farmer's Market.

For the beef pie, I cut up the leftover beef, and I had a leftover baked potato from the other night that I cut up, too. I cut up a small onion, 3 carrots and 2 parsnips. I cooked it in some low sodium beef broth until the carrots were tender, and then I thickened it up a bit with some flour and water.

For the apple pie, I peeled and cored 4 apples and cut them into chunks. I added a couple tablespoons of flour, a couple tablespoons sugar, a tablespoon of cinnamon and a dash of mace. For my pie crust, I made it the same way I always make it - nothing earth shattering here.

Old Reliable Pie Crust

Double crust
2 c. flour
1/2 t. salt
2/3 c. Crisco, cut up into pats
Cold water - maybe about 1/2 cup

Mix the flour and salt and then add Crisco, and mix it up with a mix, smashing the blobs of Crisco into the flour until the blobs are pea sized with a fork. Add some of the water and mix it in with the fork, and keep adding water until you can get the flour to hold together well. Don't be afraid to add too much water, despite what my 8th grade home ec teacher said. If you don't add enough water, the crust will fall apart. I keep the Crisco in the fridge, which makes a flaky crust. Divide the crust into two hockey pucks. I roll out my crust right on my stone countertop, with lots of flour on the counter and sprinkled on top the puck to start.

As soon as you've rolled out the crust, fold it in half and bring your pie pan next to the folded side; pick it up quick and put it in the pie plate and unfold. Fill it, and roll out the top and put it on; I like to crimp it with a fork. Poke holes in the top and bake for an hour at 350F

Smoked Turkey

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Here's the recipe my husband used to smoke our first turkey:

Brine:
1 cup kosher salt
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup maple syrup
2 quarts apple juice (or cider)
1 or 2 quarts water mixed with ice (Use enough to allow the turkey to be fully submerged in the brine)

Mix the brine well. Soak the turkey in the brine for at least 16 hours in a cooler.

Pull the bird out of the brine. Rinse off with water, and smoke it until it's 180F.

Peppermint Patties

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This year, instead of cookies, I made candies for Christmas. I was inspired by an article in this month's Saveur magazine, which is a really fine cooking and food mag - one of my favorites. I ended up getting this candy making cookbook (long out of print)

Peppermint Patties

MAKES 3 DOZEN

2 1⁄2 cups sugar
1⁄2 cup heavy cream
1⁄2 cup milk
2 tbsp. butter
1⁄4 tsp. cream of tartar
1⁄2 tsp. peppermint oil
6 drops green food coloring
2 1⁄2 cups semisweet chocolate chips, melted in a bowl*

1. Stir together sugar, cream, milk, butter, and cream of tartar in a medium pot. Bring to a boil, without stirring; reduce heat to medium. Attach a candy thermometer to inside edge of pot; cook, without stirring, until it registers 236°, 12–14 minutes.

2. Pour sugar mixture onto a marble slab. Using 2 heatproof spatulas, scrape mixture back and forth to make a fondant, moving it across the marble quickly until it becomes thick and just cool enough to touch, 3–4 minutes. Toward the end, completely work in the oil and coloring.

3. Gather fondant into a ball; knead until it resembles smooth dough, 3–4 minutes. (If it becomes powdery, work in a few drops of water.) Shape fondant into thirty-six 1 1⁄2"-wide disks, each about 1⁄3" thick. (Keep unshaped fondant covered while you work.)

4. Working with one fondant disk at a time, dip them into chocolate using a fork; let excess drip off. Transfer to a wax paper–lined sheet pan. Let set in a cool spot. Serve immediately or store in an airtight container in a cool spot for up to a week.

* my second batch, I used tempered chocolate instead of melting the chips and they came out better.

English Toffee

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A friend at work started a toffee making business called Bellstone Toffee. It is fabulous, and I had to give it a try for myself. This isn't her recipe, but one inspired by the Saveur article I read (see Peppermint Patties post).

Pecan Toffee
Makes About 2 1⁄2 Pounds

2 tsp. plus 2 cups butter
2 cups sugar
2 tbsp. light corn syrup
2 tsp. kosher salt
2 cups chopped toasted pecans
2 c. semisweet chocolate chips*

1. Grease the bottom and sides of a 10"×15" jelly roll pan with 2 tsp. butter and set aside. Put remaining butter, sugar, corn syrup, salt, and 1⁄2 cup water into a medium pot and bring to a boil over medium-high heat while stirring constantly. Attach a candy thermometer to inside edge of pot and cook, continuing to stir constantly, until sugar mixture is deep golden brown and registers 310°, about 20 minutes. This feels like it takes forever, but COOK ON!

2. Pour the hot toffee onto the prepared pan and, using oven mitts, tilt and turn the pan to fill it evenly. Let the toffee cool for 5 minutes, then sprinkle 2 cups semisweet chocolate chips over the top. Let sit for 1 minute, then use a rubber spatula to gently spread the melted chocolate evenly over the top. Sprinkle the pecans over the chocolate and gently press them down.

3. Refrigerate toffee until it hardens, about 1 hour, then break into bite-size pieces. Serve toffee immediately or store in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 2 weeks. Note - don't line the container with paper towel like I did. It will stick!

* next year, I will try to top it with tempered chocolate. It got a little streaky if you make some without nuts, like I did, for my nut allergy family members.

Pickled Eggs

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In the upper peninsula of Michigan, the locals are called Yoopers. In order for a troll (that's Yooper slang for someone that hails from south of Mackinaw City, i.e. "under the bridge") to claim official Yooperdom, it is the local legend that you have to live in the U.P. for at least 7 years. Thanks to my dual major as an undergrad, and then graduate school at Michigan Tech, which is located in the Keeweenaw Peninsula, I can declare myself a Yooper.

A favorite Yooper bar snack is pickled eggs - but not those sweet, beet colored ones you sometimes see in foodie magazines. It's a spicy pickled egg, that goes really well with cheap cold beer. If you can find it, some Wisconsin local brewery beer is best, like Point Beer or maybe some Rhinelander. Long before there were microbreweries, each little town in Wisconsin had their own brewery, like Steven's Point and their Point Beer, which is one of my favorites. Anyway, if you should find yourself in Wisconsin or have the good fortune of having a cheesehead friend that can bring you some back, that is good. If not, any cheap beer like Old Milwaukee or maybe Blatz would be good, make sure it is very cold. Leinenkugel used to be one of those kind of beers, too, but now it is more widely distributed since they were bought out by Miller, and it's got some boutique beers now and cost lots more. I had made the pilgrimage to Chippewa Falls a couple times as a college student (and even as a grown up) to tour the brewery. When I lived in the U.P. in the 80s, you could get a case of Leinenkugel Original in longneck bottles in one of those hard cardboard returnable boxes for $3.12, plus deposit. Ah, those were the days...

In Houghton, where MTU is located. there is a bar called the B&B which is arguably the most famous pickled egg place in the U.P. It's located on M26 on the way to Ontonagon, but it is still in town. The bar features a sticky floor, an unleveled pool table with crooked cues, and is frequented by locals. Most of them will be kind to you if you care to visit, but some do not like "appleknockers" (another yooper term for downstaters). The B&B used to serve a Wisconsin beer called "Gilt Edge", but it no longer exists. I think they serve Old Milwaukee in it's place. Back in the day, you could get a beer in a small pilsner glass (called a "shell" in Yooper speak) and a pickled egg for 80 cents. This was called a "boneless chicken dinner" by the locals. I know people that regularly make a pilgrimage to the B&B from downstate just for the pickled eggs, but I will save you the 500 miles each way by sharing their recipe that someone once gave me when I was a student.

Ingredients:
2 dozen hard boiled eggs (peeled)
4 cups vinegar
1 jar sliced jalapenos, including the juice
1 onion, chopped finely
1 cup water
1 tablespoon Tabasco sauce
1 tablespoon salt

Directions:
Put peeled eggs in a large glass jar with a lid. Put remaining ingredients in a large saucepan and boil for 10 minutes. Pour over eggs and let steep in the refrigerator for a minimum of 3 days. Serve eggs in a paper cupcake liner with Frank's Red Hot Sauce, black pepper and plenty of the jalapenos.

Home Canning

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Every few years, I go crazy with the home canning exploits. As soon as the green beans come in (usually July-ish) I will be doing pickled green beans. Canning pickled green beans are probably the easiest thing you could ever can. It's a great thing to learn canning techniques on.

Pickled Green Beans
Makes 4 pints

2 lbs. green beans
1/4 c. canning salt
2 1/2 c. vinegar
2 1/2 c. water
2 teas. cayenne pepper, divided
8 cloves garlic, divided
4 heads dill, divided

Trim ends off beans. Combine salt, vinegar and water in a large saucepot. Bring to a boil. Pack beans lengthwise into hot jars, leaving 1/4 in. headspace. Add 1/2 teaspoon cayenne (more to taste), 2 cloves garlic and 1 head of dill to each pint . Ladle hot liquid over beans, leaving 1/4 inch headspace. Remove air bubbles. Adjust 2 piece caps. Process pints 10 minutes in a boiling water canner. Yield: about 4 pints.

Salad Dressing

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My son has been making salad dressing in our house since he was in kindergarten. This is his recipe. I don't like bottled salad dressing very much. Besides being lots cheaper to make, I think it tastes better, too. We like our salad dressing more tart and lighter, and so we use a 75/25 ratio of vinegar to oil.

3/4 c. red wine vinegar
1/4 c. olive oil
4-6 cloves garlic, crushed
3/4 t. kosher salt
1/2 t. coarse ground black pepper
1 T. minced parsley
1 t. dry mustard
1/2 t. minced basil
1/2 t. minced oregano

Combine in a jar with a lid and shake. Refrigerate whatever's left over. Tastes better the day after you make it.

Curried Cauliflower Soup

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Here's a good, easy soup that only I will eat at my house. (we've got lots of non vegetable fans here). I can and will eat the whole batch - give it a try. It's great this time of year!

Curried Cauliflower Soup

1 head cauliflower cut into florets
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
Salt
1 tablespoon butter
3 onions, sliced 1 inch thick
1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder
4 cups water
2 cups reduced-sodium canned chicken or vegetable broth
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

1. Preheat oven to 450°. On a baking sheet, toss cauliflower with vegetable oil and 1 teaspoon salt. Spread out, and roast until the florets turn brown, about 25 minutes.


2. In a medium saucepan, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add onions, and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Stir in curry powder, cauliflower, water, and broth; cover, and bring to a boil. Uncover, lower heat, and simmer 5 minutes.


3. Using a slotted spoon, transfer 3 cups cauliflower to a bowl, and set aside. Put remaining florets into a blender or food processor, add 1 teaspoon salt, and process until smooth. Stir purée into broth in pan, and reheat if necessary. Ladle soup into bowls, and top with reserved florets and parsley.

The Anti Christmas Cookie

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Here's a cookie recipe that doesn't taste anything like Christmas - it tastes like a pina colada. Because it's different than the usual fare, I guarantee it will be snatched up first off of your holiday cookie tray. This recipe made me a finalist in the 2006 Detroit Free Press Holiday Cookie Contest.

Key Lime Bars

3/4 cup granulated sugar
8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter softened
2 cups quick OR old fashioned oats, uncooked
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk (not evaporated)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup fresh key lime juice
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 (3 1/2-ounce) jar macadamia nuts, chopped (about 3/4 cup)

Heat oven to 350ºF. Lightly spray 13 x 9-inch metal baking pan with cooking spray.
In large bowl, beat sugar and butter until creamy. Add combined oats, flour and salt; mix until crumbly. Reserve 1 cup oat mixture for topping; Press remaining oat mixture onto bottom of baking pan. Bake 10 minutes. Transfer to wire rack

In same bowl, combine sweetened condensed milk, sour cream, lime juice, mix well. Pour evenly over crust. In medium bowl, combine reserved oat mixture with coconut and nuts; mix well. Sprinkle evenly over filling, patting gently.

Bake 30 to 34 minutes or until topping is light golden brown. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars. Store tightly covered in refrigerator.

Makes 32 bars.

Brownies - the Magic Kind....

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Zingerman's Magic Brownies

13 T butter
6.5 oz unsweetened chocolate
1.5 C cake or all purpose flour
3/4 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
4 eggs
2 C sugar
1.25 t vanilla
1 C coarse chopped walnuts, toasted

Grease a 13x9x2 inch baking pan. Preheat oven to 325. In a heavy small saucepan, heat the butter and chocolate over low heat, stirring, till chocolate is melted and smooth; set aside to cool. In a small bowl sift together flour, baking powder and salt. In a large mixing bowl, beat eggs and sugar with an electric mixer on high speed for 5 minutes or till light yellow and fluffy, scraping side of the bowl occasionally. Add cooled chocolate mixture and vanilla. Beat on low speed until combined. Add flour mixture; beat on low speed until combined, scraping sides of bowl. Stir in walnuts. Spread batter in pan. Bake 30 minutes or until brownies appear set. Cool in pan on wire rack; cut into bars.

Awesome Brussels Sprouts

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Lately, the AA News food section hasn't really excited me, but this week, there were a few recipes I can't wait to try! First is this one from eve: the restaurant. I have eaten these sprouts there and they are terrific. I'm going to make them tonight for a dish to pass at my brother's house.

Chopped and Sautéed Brussels Sprouts
4 cups Brussels sprouts, base removed and thinly sliced
1 tablespoon extra virgin
olive oil
1 Roma tomato, diced
2 to 3 tablespoons butter
11/2 teaspoons kosher salt, preferably Diamond brand
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1. Prepare ice bath (to stop Brussels sprouts from overcooking) and set aside.
2. Bring pot of salted water to a boil and blanch Brussels sprouts for about 1 minute.
3. Quickly strain Brussels sprouts and place in ice bath to shock.
4. When Brussels sprouts are completely cooled, strain again and dry well on towels.
5. Sauté Brussels sprouts and tomatoes briefly with a small amount of olive oil in large sauté pan over medium-high heat.
6. Add butter and stir to combine until just melted but still creamy. Season with kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper and remove quickly from heat. Serves 4.

Shrimp on Christmas Eve

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At our house, we eat seafood on Christmas Eve, except my daughter, who doesn't like it. She gets to pick something different, and this year, she has selected her current favorite, beef flavor ramen noodles. (to each her own!) My son loves smoked trout from Monahans. I'm thinking this year, we'll go big on shrimp. Here's another recipe featured in the AA News that I am going to try tomorrow:

SPICY CITRUS SHRIMP
1 lemon
1 navel orange
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
30 medium shrimp, peeled and veins removed
Salt

Zest the lemon and half of the orange and place the zest in a medium bowl. Peel both pieces of fruit, then finely chop half of each. Placed the chopped fruit in the bowl with the zest and reserving the remaining halves.
To the bowl, add the oil, garlic, black pepper and pepper flakes. Mix well. Add the shrimp and toss to coat. Cover and marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes, or refrigerated overnight.
Heat a grill or grill pan over medium-high heat. Remove the shrimp from the marinade, allowing bits of citrus to stick. Discard the marinade. Season the shrimp lightly with salt and grill until opaque and cooked through, about 3 minutes per side.
Use the reserved halves of lemon and orange to squeeze a bit of juice over the shrimp just before serving. Makes 10 three-piece servings.

Low Points Cookies

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Okay, for those of us that have been on the WW points program, it can be hard to find a sweet treat that has a low "point" value. WW publishes the point value of foods, but for engineers who can't stand looking up things in a table and have an overwhelming need to describe what we do with math, we like to calculate points in our heads.

Points are calculated per serving by figuring out how many calories, grams of fat and fiber are in it. I understand the formula is patented by WW, but I have figured it out by my own personal nerdly interpolation, geek that I am. By my estimates, there's 1 point for every 50 calories, plus 1 point additional for every 12 grams of fat, minus almost 1 point per 4 grams of fiber.

I used to buy meringues at Meijer because they were a good low point option, but they stopped selling them. So I am going to try making them, based on this recipe (which I modified slightly) that I read about in the AA News this week. Six cookies would be 1 pt., by my estimates.

Chocolate Meringues
Makes 84 cookies

4 egg whites, room temperature
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

Adjust oven racks to divide oven in thirds, then preheat to 250F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper. In the bowl of a mixer, combine egg whites, cream of tartar and salt. Beat on medium until frothy, about two minutes. Increase speed to medium-high and add sugar in a slow, steady stream. Beat egg whites until they hold stiff peaks, about 10 minutes. Add vanilla and beat until thoroughly combined. Decrease speed to low and mix in cocoa until just combined.
Transfer meringue to a pastry bag with a 1/2-inch opening and without a tip. Alternatively, use a large plastic bag and cut off one corner. Onto prepared baking sheets, pipe peaked mounds about 1 inch in diameter and 11/2 inches apart. Bake for 30 minutes, then switch baking sheets from one shelf to the other. Bake for another 20 to 25 minutes or until meringues are dry. Turn off oven, open it a crack and allow meringues to dry and crisp in the oven for an hour.

Approximate nutritional content per serving (2 cookies):
Calories..................................... 21
Fat........................................... 0 g
Dietary fiber............................ 0 g