A slight change. . .

So, no one wanted to take over the blog for me, so it is switching up.  I haven't had a lot of time to blog of late, but I still want to have some fun foodie moments.  I want to debate Top Chef (Why was the Masters version not as good this year?  Why do I already hate Angelo?), experiment with new recipes (Donuts! Bacon-wrapped things), and try out new restaurants in the Triangle area.  Feel free to come along for the ride, or just enjoy the moment.

With Taste,
T

A recipe, An experiment, and a request. . .

I've been craving a good grilled cheese lately. This looks fantastic!

Recently for a post-church lunch, I made waffled grilled cheese. It was fun, and easy (though I am still working out some of the kinks (cleaning burnt cheese must be done while the waffle iron is still hot).

So here goes. . .

Waffled Grilled Cheese!

Ingredients:

Cooking Spray

Bread

Butter

Cheese

Toppings (optional)

Tools:

Waffle Iron

To do:

Heat waffle iron and spray with cooking spray. Butter outsides of bread slices and cut cheese. Put one slice of bread, butter side down, on the waffle iron. Add cheese (not too much, you don't want it to get on the waffle iron if at all possible). Add toppings if desired (tomatoes, bacon, basil, apples--sliced thinly). Add top slice, butter side up.

Press down with the waffle iron, hard. Don't break your waffle iron, but don't let it wussily rest on top. Be careful, steam will come out of the waffle iron, and so you need to avoid getting burned.

I figured out how long it takes by peeking every so often--the time it takes for the light to go off was longer than I like it (I like my grilled cheese slightly grilled, not really grilled). Remove, and eat. The quarter-cut, small-holed waffle iron I have, made perfect rip-able quarters, and I loved that each little square had a little pocket of cheese.

They were delicious, but your bread and cheese (and optional toppings) cannot be too bulky or it doesn't come out right. We plan to experiment more.

Finally, the request. It is over, my sisters. It is time I graduated from the ward, and with that, I believe the D3 Delish Dish needs a new mommy. One who has a little more time on her hands. And who will build it back up to its glory days. Any takers? I'll still happily contribute as a guest if asked. . .

Tantilizing Photos

I've been drawn to amazing pictures lately, but I've really been enjoying gorgeously rendered food photographs. Click on the image, and you can zoom in. Anything you haven't been able to look away from?

Many thanks to Fosters Market, Pixdaus, Waffleizer, Say Yes! to Hoboken, and A Cup of Jo.

P.S. Happy Easter!

An Invitation and a recipe

Happy St. Patrick's Day, Sisters of the D3!

I enjoyed seeing you last night, and hope to see you again soon when we have our first Dining Out of the new year (sorry, I've been a little out of it).

Tuesday, March 23 at 7:00pm at Hibernian in Cary, we'll be meeting for a late St. Patty's Day celebration. Come feast on the flavors of that emerald isle--scrumptious Fish & Chips, Bangers & Mash, Soda Bread, and all things Irish. The food is delightful, and you'll love the funky pub atmosphere (I totally want their library). Please RSVP by noon Tuesday, March 23!

And a recipe for your St. Patrick's Day festivities (thanks, AP!):

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Irish Soda Bread with Raisins (optional) Bon Appétit | February 2005

by Anitra Earle, Yonkers, NY

Anitra Earle of Yonkers, New York, writes: "I'm a perfume detective who hunts down hard-to-find and discontinued scents. One of the benefits of running my business from home is that I get to cook every day. I usually make dishes that I've relied on for years."

Yield: Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients

• Nonstick vegetable oil spray
• 2 cups all purpose flour
• 5 tablespoons sugar, divided
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 3 tablespoons butter, chilled, cut into cubes
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2/3 cup raisins (optional, try dried blueberries for a fun twist!)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 375°F. Spray 8-inch-diameter cake pan with nonstick spray. Whisk flour, 4 tablespoons sugar, baking powder, salt, and baking soda in large bowl to blend. Add butter. Using fingertips, rub in until coarse meal forms. Make well in center of flour mixture. Add buttermilk. Gradually stir dry ingredients into milk to blend. Mix in raisins.

Using floured hands, shape dough into ball. Transfer to prepared pan and flatten slightly (dough will not come to edges of pan). Sprinkle dough with remaining 1 tablespoon sugar.

Bake bread until brown and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 40 minutes. Cool bread in pan 10 minutes. Transfer to rack. Serve warm or at room temperature.

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Serve with Corned Beef and Cabbage. . . I saw this recipe for Corned Beef and Cabbage recently, and was BLOWN AWAY by their presentation. I don't think I've ever thought of creatively producing my recipes.

Have a delightfully lucky St. Patrick's Day!

The Easiest Cookies You'll Ever Make

I made these for the first time a while ago for a little get together we had, and everyone loved them. I made them again for two potluck dinners in one weekend. Finally, I made some for Valentines Day. Every time, they were delicious.

Cake Mix Cookies

Ingredients:

• 1 box cake mix, any flavor
• 1/2 cup oil or 1 cube butter
• 1 egg

Mix ingredients until moistened. Roll into teaspoon size balls. Place on ungreased cookie sheet. Optional: Dip into sprinkles, sugar, or cinnamon sugar.

Bake for about 8 minutes at 375.

Thus far, I've made yellow, chocolate, German chocolate,  Funfetti, yellow with cinnamon sugar, strawberry, and chocolate with red sprinkles. (The above is strawberry with red sprinkles.)

An odd way to say, "Thank you!"

My food story since surgery has been interesting.

• A "bounty!" of produce brought by Mom and Dad (B has a habit of singing this while raising her arms that compels me to shake my head at her).
• The night before surgery, the nummy pork from Cafe Rio that Ashlee gifted us with for Mom's birthday (made by me).
• The night after surgery (my first food in more than 24 hours), the hospital's beef with broccoli.
• The next day and part of the next--grilled cheese and tomato soup--Velveeta and Campbell's--totally childhood memories of feel-better comfort food (sorry, it is what I wanted).
• A beautiful Southern Season chocolate gift basket from the 3 Musketeers at work.
• Gorgeous, delicate, white bean soup while cheering for various Olympic sports with AP.
• Mashed potatoes.
• Pineapple, clemantines, oranges, bananas . . .
• German Pancakes from B.
• Cereal--as a non-cereal eater, I've been weirdly pro-cereal of late. Maybe because all of the drugs make my body uneasy about a lot of things, so cereal is simple enough not to throw it into a tailspin.
• A pasta salad bursting with so many intricate flavors, I am sure I haven't hit them all yet--maybe Rachel will share the recipe?
• Crepes, crepes, crepes. Brit's berry sauce recipe and Thells's lemon custard recipe, I may need. Though the standard Parmesan chicken with Boursin and raspberry jam is always delicious, spiced nuts with pear and goat cheese is pretty amazing.
• Crack cupcakes (really pumpkin, chocolate baby cupcakes that you can't stop eating) from the Major Baker.
• German Chocolate Cake Balls--mmm, mmm, mmm. CC, we need to have a tasting of various flavor combinations and then rate them all!
• Reheated sausage and egg, from A, mixed with golden pancakes for a delicious new take on pigs in a blanket.
• As a kid, I hated meatloaf, but when HK (doesn't that kind of feel like a combination of Harry Potter and JK Rowling?) stopped by with baked potatoes, green beans, and mini-meatloaves (almost a deconstructed shepherd's pie), both Miss B and I couldn't get enough! Long after there were exclamations of it's goodness.
  
• Pizza, Pizza.
• Oatmeal, pumpkin, chocolate chip cookies (another Major creation of doom--and by doom I mean I cannot stop eating them) and milk.
• Pineapple.
• Shakespearean in it's flavor pedigree, but simple in its ingredients--gorgeous, perfectly seasoned Asparagus with moist, flavorful chicken. And a berry pie. Perfectly, lusciously delicious and filling--not too fancy, but perfection in every bite.

So there you have it, a week and a half worth of food to fill the tummy and warm the soul of a recuperating, slightly vertigo-troubled individual who truly appreciates those who have brightened her recovery with their gifts. Thank you!

P.S. Please, if you can, post recipes--I think everyone deserves to revel in the splendor of this glorious "Bounty!"

Around the Web in Foodie Posts: Randomness

My favorites from the past few weeks:

• Pie Pops - brilliant!
• A menu plan for Sunday School
• Waffleizer - fabulous new blog I have stumbled across. This is genius!
• Ironman meets Ironchef - if you are into working out and cooking, do not miss this year's!
• Eating light for the new year
• An amazing way to reuse your lemon peel.
• A defense of crisco - it really does make the best pie crust!
• A conversation about school lunches.
• Gorgeous pictures of a Paris open-air market.
• Cocoa brownies to die for
• A restaurant in a tree!
• Bizarre Lady Gaga cookies
• Superbowl recipes! - just in time for this weekend!

ETA: Sorry, I have been MIA of late. I'm working on it.

Feliz Navidad Tamales

Last month I learned how to make tamales from an Ecuadorean woman in my ward. She has been cooking since she was five years old, and her enthusiasm for making food is infectious. She says that tamales are often made as a dish for a special occasion, such as Christmas, because they can be time consuming to make, therefore special.

This weekend I came home for Christmas and made tamales for my family. They are not hard to make, and so delicious and healthy! The filling can be modified to any taste--mine are not very spicy, for example, but yours could be full of chili peppers if you'd like.

Ingredients for the Tamale Filling:

4 tablespoons achiote oil (or you can dissolve achiote powder into hot oil, and its pretty much the same thing)
2 small onions or a bunch of scallions cut small
1 box or small bag of frozen peas and carrots
2 or 3 cooked and shredded chicken breasts (boiling them is quick & easy, or use leftover chicken)
2 or 3 hard-boiled eggs cut small
1 handful chopped fresh cilantro
2 minced garlic cloves
1 cup chicken broth
black olives sliced small (not quite a whole can)
salt and pepper to taste

The tamale filling can be made the night before. Heat the oil in a large skillet and saute the onions, garlic, cilantro, and olives until they are soft and hot but not yet beginning to brown. Add the chicken meat and stir well. Add the chicken stock, bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a rapid simmer and add salt and pepper to taste. Add the peas and carrots and eggs, and mix well. Simmer for a few minutes then remove from heat and either set aside or refrigerate until later.

Ingredients for Tamale Masa:

3 cups masa harina (or any instant corn flour masa)
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cumin
1 cup softened butter
2 cups chicken broth or water
corn husks

Rinse off the corn husks and place them in a deep pan or pot. Pour boiling water over them and let them soak for about 15 minutes or until soft and pliable, while you make the masa dough. Mix the masa, baking powder, salt, and cumin together, then add the butter and broth and mix (best done with hands) until soft, pliable, and fully combined.

Prepare the Tamales:

Prepare a pot with a steamer in the bottom and a few inches of water (if you don't have a steamer you can use a foil pie pan with holes cut in the bottom and placed upside down in the bottom of the pan) and cover the steamer with a few of the soaked corn husks. Drain and pat dry the corn husks. Take one and spread it out, and place about 2 tablespoons of masa dough in the middle of it. Using the corn husk, roll the dough into a tamale shape and then put a large spoonful of the chicken filling on top of the dough. Fold one side of the corn husk over, then fold the bottom up, then fold the other side over, and then the top. Place the wrapped tamales in the steamer and when the pot is full cover them with a cotton dishtowel and a lid, and steam for 45 minutes. (You might need to add some more water after about 30 minutes.)

To eat the tamales, just unwrap carefully (the steam is hot!) on a plate, and enjoy!

The recipe makes about 25 tamales, and a good portion is 2 medium sized tamales per person.

(Sorry, I should have taken step-by-step pictures of the process and finished product, but I was so excited about making and eating them that I entirely forgot.)

Cheesecake or Pie?

Julianne's Apple Cinnamon Cheese Pie

I have made several cheesecakes now, and I find it interesting that they all have slightly different amounts of ingredients and different ways to cook it. I decided to make up my own recipe and see how it turns out. From the sounds of it, you can change a lot with a cheesecake, and it will still turn out good. This one is more of a cheesecake pie, hence the name "Cheese Pie".

Ingredients:

• 9 inch graham cracker crust
  

• 8 oz cream cheese
• 1/4 cup brown sugar, packed
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• 1/4 cup sour cream
• 1/4 cup apple cider
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  

• 1 large apple or 2 small apples peeled and sliced thinly
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp lemon juice (leave out if you use granny smith apples)

Directions:

1. Prepare a graham cracker crust or use pre-made graham cracker crust. Preheat oven to 350 F.
   
2. Beat softened cream cheese until smooth (this is important if you like your cheesecake smooth). Add brown sugar and beat until smooth. Add heavy cream, sour cream, apple cider, and vanilla.
3. In medium saucepan, saute apples with butter cinnamon and lemon juice until softened (medium to medium-low heat).
4. Beat egg in separate bowl. Add to cream cheese mixture and mix until consistency is even. Poor half of mixture into pie pan. Add apples in one layer (two if necessary). Poor rest of mixture into bowl. Optional: I saved about 1/4 cup of the mixture and added 1/2 tsp cinnamon. I then added this in drops/ swirls over top and used knife to create a marble effect. You can just add the cinnamon ahead of time if you prefer.
5. Put pie pan in large pan filled with about 1 inch of water (optional). Place in oven and bake for 30 minutes. Turn off oven and leave in oven for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, and let pie cool to room temperature. (All of this helps prevent cracking.)
   
6. Refrigerate several hours or over night. Enjoy!

Fire-roasted Tomato Vegetable Soup

From November's Dining In (but also perfect for right now):

Allyson's Fire-Roasted Tomato Vegetable Soup

1 medium onion, chopped

3 stalks celery, chopped

4 carrots, peeled and roughly chopped

5 garlic cloves

2 (14 1/2 oz.) cans diced fire roasted tomatoes

1 (14 1/2 oz.) can fire roasted tomatoes, crushed

3 c. vegetable broth

1 T. oregano

1 tsp. rosemary, crushed between your fingers

4 roasted garlic cloves

1 T. minced parsley or chopped basil

salt and pepper

1 tsp. sugar (if needed)

Preheat oven to 350. In a shallow roasting pan, combine the celery, carrots, and garlic, sprinkle with salt, and lightly drizzle with olive oil. Cover the pan with foil and roast 45 minutes to hour, until the celery is almost tender, stirring every 15 minutes to prevent burning. Set aside.

In a large saucepan, sauté the onion over medium heat, until translucent. Add the roasted vegetables, tomatoes, broth, oregano, and rosemary; bring to a simmer. Simmer on very low heat for 10 minutes.

Use a blender to puree the soup to preferred level of consistency, then transfer back to the liquid. Add the parsley and salt and pepper to taste, and simmer for about 10 more minutes to allow the flavors to blend. If it is too acidic, add a little sugar to taste. Serve with some chopped fresh basil and either a crusty baguette or rye chips.