A word about the cupcake...

I just wanted to share the quick story of the cupcake I added to the background of the title. This past summer, I had the opportunity to attend a luncheon at Stapleton, where Martha was in town touring some of the KB Homes Models that she designed. There was a cupcake decorating contest during the luncheon and this picture was my entry. The caterer (delicious food, by the way) and one of M's "people" selected 8 finalists. I was one of the lucky 8, but much to my dismay I did not win. Martha selected the top 3. I like to think that I was number 4. Here's some pictures from the event.

I don't need no stinkin P.F. Changs...

Now of course I need P.F. Changs, it's one (on a list of many) of my favorite restaurants, but this weekend I made a recipe I found a long time ago that is supposed to be PF's recipe for those delicious lettuce wraps. I have to say, they are pretty darn good, even if they aren't really the famous recipe. The weather here has been so-so this weekend, in the 30's & 40's. Today there were some random flurries of snow, but no accumulation in town. I spent most of the weekend doing a total interior redesign of my apartment, I think I moved every piece of furniture in this place except for maybe the barstools. I'm pretty happy with the results. I always think it's important to switch things up a bit and make your environment a continually evolving reflection of you and your personality (ooh so deep!) Anyway the place is clean and cozy, just in time for me to hit the road and head to Daytona Beach later this week! Oh well, at least I'll come home to a clean house!!! Here's the lettuce wrap recipe. I highly recommend you try them.

Lettuce Wraps

SPECIAL SAUCE

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup water

2 tablespoons ketchup

1 tablespoon lemon juice

1/8 teaspoon sesame oil

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons rice vinegar

Chinese Hot Mustard (to taste)

Asian Chili Sauce (to taste)

Dissolve the sugar in the water in a small bowl. Add the ketchup, lemon juice, sesame oil, soy sauce and rice vinegar. Whisk. Add the mustard and the chili sauce to taste and stir to combine. Refrigerate until ready to use.

FILLING

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 skinless chicken breast fillets

1 cup water chestnuts, diced

2/3 cup straw mushrooms, diced

1 garlic clove, minced

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Saute the chicken breasts until cooked through. Remove to cutting board to cool. In the meantime, dice the water chestnuts and mushrooms to the size of a pea. Chop the chicken. Add the water chestnuts, mushrooms and chicken back into the skillet and saute until mixture is heated through. Add stir fry sauce and cook until hot.

STIR FRY SAUCE

2 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

Whisk together in a small bowl.

Serve the mixture in a lettuce cup and spoon sauce over the top.

Beer Braised Ribs

Beer Braised Ribs...doesn't that just sound like the perfect meal for a cold, winter Sunday in January. The only problem is that it was in the 60's today, and I wore shorts when I went for a run at the park. Needless to say, I made the ribs anyway. I wrote the recipe the last time I made them, but needed to test it one more time before I shared it with you all. They were so tender and delicious and I rested them on a big pile of mashed potatoes. Good thing I went for that run, huh?

Beer Braised Ribs

3 slices bacon, diced in large pieces

1 1/2 pounds ribs (country style-no bone)

2 large onions, cut into long strips

1 can beer

1/3 cup dry rub + more for rubbing (recipe below)

3 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons flour

2 tablespoons canola oil

Sprinkle the ribs lightly with the rub and coat all sides. Set aside. In a dutch oven, brown the bacon until crispy and the fat has rendered. Set bacon aside to drain on paper towel lined plate. Add the canola oil to the bacon fat and brown the ribs on all sides. Remove the ribs to a plate and set aside. Add the onions to the grease and cook until they start to become translucent. Add the 1/3 cup dry rub, brown sugar and flour to the onion mixture and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the can of beer and stir to combine. Return the ribs and bacon to the pan. Cover with lid. Bake at 375 degrees for 3 to 4 hours. (Today I cooked them at a very low temperature (275 degrees) for about 8 hours).

Dry Rub

This recipe makes more than you will need, but you can also try it on other meats.

1/2 cup paprika

2 1/2 tablespoons ground black pepper

2 tablespoons coarse salt

1/2 cup brown sugar

3 tablespoons sugar

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoons nutmeg

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

Stir to combine and store the extra in a plastic bag or jar to use later.

Fish Eyes and Glue

I rediscovered something this weekend, fisheyes and glue. Now, for any of you who don't know what I'm talking about, you obviously didn't go to the Spoon River Valley Grade School, I am of course referring to Tapioca Pudding. I guess it was apparant even as a child that my palette was a bit more refined than those other kids who curled up their nose when the big plop of pudding got slapped down on the lunch tray, I loved it!!!! What's wrong with you guys, this stuff is delicious, who cares what it looks like. I had kind of forgotten about it for a long time, until yesterday morning at the grocery store I was wandering the aisles aimlessly thinking about what kind of things I could stir up and that box of Minute Tapioca caught my eye. I made quick work of mixing up a pot of it, and I can't tell you how great eating that warm tapioca pudding made me feel. Tapioca can really be kind of versatile. I remember my mom using it to thicken a tomato-vegetable beef stew she used to make, and of course their is the Utsinger tradition of Tapioca Date Pudding every New Year's Day. Here's the recipe for the Tapioca Pudding I made yesterday, as well as the one for the Date Tapioca Pudding.

Tapioca Pudding

1/3 cup sugar
3 Tablespoons Minute Tapioca
2 3/4 cups milk
1 egg, well beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix all the ingredients, EXCEPT the vanilla, in a medium saucepan and let it stand for 5 minutes. Cook mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly until it comes to a full rolling boil.
Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. (The pudding thickens as it cools). Cool for 20 minutes and stir. Serve it warm or chilled.


Grandma Utsinger's Date Pudding

1 box Large Pearl Tapioca
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1 box chopped dates
5 cups water

Soak the Tapioca in 5 cups water overnight. Add the dates and brown sugar to the tapioca and stir. Bake covered until tapioca is done at 350 degrees. Stir frequently while baking and add more water if necessary. Serve warm with whipped cream and chopped pecans.

Soup is good for the soul...

It just stopped snowing a quick little flurry about 15 minutes ago. The prediction is for maybe 2 inches. I'm not holding my breath. What a great day to get thing straightened up around the house after the busy month of December. I've of course been doing some cooking this morning and just finished a bowl of soup that I can't stop thinking about. It began, innocently enough, with a trip to Hacienda Colorado with Kristina yesterday for lunch. We had a bowl of tortilla soup, and it got me a a tangent (as most of you know, it doesn't take much) and I decided to check out some recipes, make my own recommendations, and I struck gold on the very first try. I immediately took some pictures and headed to the computer to share it with you. Now, if only I was as excited about finishing the laundry, running the vacuum and cleaning the bathroom. Enjoy the soup!

Meatball Tortilla Soup

2 pounds ground beef

4 tablespoons chopped cilantro

1 tablespoon minced garlic

juice of 1 lime

2 teaspoons ground cumin

2 teaspoons chili powder

1 tablespoon Frank's Red Hot Sauce

Salt and pepper to taste...don't be stingy with the salt.

Mix all the above ingredients and form into meatballs. I made my fairly small, (small enough to eat in one bite), but I don't see any reason why you couldn't make them whatever size you wanted.

Add a couple tablespoons olive oil to the bottom of your soup pot and cook the meatballs until they are brown on all sides. Remove them to a paper towel lined plate and set aside.

Using the oil and drippings from the meatballs, add the following (in this order)

1 large yellow onion, diced

3 teaspoons chopped garlic

Cook the onions and garlic until the onions become translucent. Add

3- 4oz. cans green chiles, diced

1-29 oz. can stewed diced tomatoes with the juice

8 cups chicken stock

1 heaping tablespoon chili powder

3 teaspoons ground cumin

1-2 Tablespoons Frank's Red Hot Sauce or to taste

Salt and pepper to taste.

Let it simmer for about 30 minutes then add 1 cup white rice.

Let the rice cook, then if needed, thicken the soup.

Mix 1 cup chicken stock and 1/2 cup flour in a small bowl. Add to the soup pot and cook until thickened.

Add meatballs back into the pot and simmer for another 20-30 minutes.

Serve the soup with cheese, tortilla strips or chips and sour cream.

Home for the Holidays

I went back home for the Christmas holiday and to celebrate my birthday. The trips home seem like they fly by in a whirlwind, and I don't get everything done I hope to. It's always good to be with my family and see friends, and of course I love cuddling up with the dog who remains glued to my side for the whole time I'm home. This year posed a unique problem for Christmas baking. An ice storm had hit Canton on Friday and reeked havoc on a lot of electrical lines and in the process burnt up the control panel on my mom's two month old stove. The stove worked fine, but you couldn't turn on the oven. I still managed to put out a delicious Christmas Eve meal of lasagna rolls, fried cheese tortellini and garlic bread. All with a toaster oven and skillet. So the big day came (not Christmas, my birthday...) and the whole family went out to dinner. I got up the next morning (3:40am) to fly back to Denver. Dan picked me up at the airport and we went to LOLA'S for brunch (technically it was breakfast, because it was WAY earlier than we would normally ever get there. In fact, we were the first customers through the door that day!) Dan made me the most delicious and beautiful cake for my birthday, it was sooooo good and I still have a couple pieces stashed in the fridge. New Year's Eve came and we went to a great little party with lots of interesting characters. I have to say that this New Year's Day, I feel more focused and driven in my life than I have in a long time. I think that this time of year we all reflect on our lives and maybe partly for me at least turning 40 had a little to do with it. As I go into 2009, I am confident in what I want, I know the things that are important to me, the people who I love and I'm focused on creating new opportunities in all aspects of my life. I know this will be a great year! I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season, and I wish you all the best in the coming year!