Some kind of noodle...

It's a rainy Sunday afternoon here in Denver. The weather this morning seemed promising. The sun was shining, I went for a jog. Then the clouds moved in and the rain started. I've had one of the best weeks I think I've had in a long time. Work was good this week (I was due for a good week!) My new bed arrived yesterday and I love it. Last night Dan and I ate at Fruition.

It's down on 6th Avenue in Denver and it was so good. For an appetizer I had the Lump Crab. They were tiny little creme fraiche crepes, filled with blue crab and covered in this delicious sauce. Dan had the Fruition Salad, he said it was very good. For dinner I had scallops...DELICIOUS! Dan had Pork Shoulder with Spaetzle. It was good too. Dan made dessert...Plum Tart. I had thought that I would "borrow" his recipe to share on the blog this week (of course giving him all the credit...I mean come on even Martha doesn't come up with all that stuff herself). But I had some inspiration of my own this afternoon, all from digging through the kitchen cabinets (maybe next time, Dan...) I made myself some Thai Iced Tea, which if you have never made it before, it makes the house smell so good. Then I got out the wok and started in. I don't really have a name for what I made, but I threw in everything I liked and wrote it all down and voila...I present....some kind of noodle dish.

Udon Noodles and Chicken

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut in bite size pieces

8 oz. Udon noodles, cooked according to directions

3 scallions, cut in 1/2 inch pieces

2 medium carrots, diced

1 can sliced water chestnuts, drained

1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced

1 1/2 teaspoons garlic, minced

2 tablespoons sesame oil

1/4 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons Hoisin sauce

2 tablespoons Asian Chili Sauce

2 tablespoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar

Heat the 2 tablespoons sesame oil in wok. Cook chicken until cooked through and remove to plate. If needed, add a bit more oil to the wok. Saute the ginger, garlic and carrots until they begin to soften. Add the scallions and cook about 2 minutes more. Add the soy sauce, Hoisin sauce, Chili Sauce, brown sugar and vinegar. Return the chicken to the wok. Add the water chestnuts and the cooked noodles. Toss to coat and allow to heat through.

Thai Iced Tea

6 black tea bags

4 cups water

4 star anise

2 cinnamon sticks

4 cardamon seeds

4 cloves

Steep all the above and let cool. Discard tea bags and spices. Refrigerate until ready to use.

When ready to serve, pour sweetened condensed milk into the bottom of the glass. Pour the tea in the glass and stir in the milk. Add ice if desired.

Back so soon...

I wrote a recipe last weekend and still wasting the day away in the kitchen, I decided to test it out and make sure it turned into something I would want to share. Oh my my, this was some good chicken. I boiled up some pasta to go with it and dinner was served.

Chicken Calzone

4 boneless chicken breasts, pounded out to uniform thickness

1 cup fresh spinach, chopped

1/2 cup mushrooms, diced

3 oz. pancetta, diced

4 slices mozzarella cheese

6 button mushrooms, sliced

1 medium tomato, diced

1 cup white wine

1/2 cup chicken stock

2 teaspoons chopped garlic

2 teaspoons chopped fresh basil

salt and pepper to taste

In a skillet, saute the pancetta until it starts to crisp. Add the spinach and mushrooms and continue to saute until mushrooms are tender. Season with salt and pepper and a pinch of red pepper flakes if desired. Salt and pepper chicken breasts. Divide spinach mixture between the 4 chicken breasts. Top with slice of mozzarella (can substitute shredded), then fold over like a calzone. Heat about 3 tablespoons olive oil in the same skillet you cooked the filling in. Brown chicken on all sides and place in casserole dish covered with aluminum foil and keep in a 225 degree oven for about 20 minutes while you make the sauce.

Again, using the same pan, saute 2 teaspoons garlic. Add the white wine and chicken stock. Let the sauce reduce until slightly thickened. Add the sliced mushrooms and tomatoes and cook until mushrooms are tender and tomatoes are heated through. Add the 2 teaspoons basil and season with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over warm chicken and serve with pasta tossed with olive oil and basil.

The answer to a bad week...coffee & chocolate

What a week! I've been through hail storms, tornado warnings, blizzards, cancelled flights and an 8 1/2 hour drive from Lubbock, Texas back to Denver. The weather is miserable here, but always one to look on the bright side, it provides me a great opportunity to waste away the weekend in the kitchen...my de-stresser. I had been thinking about chocolate cake, but I know that I don't need to make an entire chocolate cake and have it sitting around the house. I didn't want to do cupcakes...what to do? what to do?. What about a cakey, kind of cookie? Perfect. I hesitate to share this recipe, because I got it right on the first try and I really think it could change your life. Chocolate and coffee together in a cookie...in the words of Ina Garten, "how bad can that be?"

Chocolate Coffee Cookies

1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

3 1/2 cups flour

1/2 cup cocoa

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup strong brewed coffee

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cocoa. Set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs, one at a time. Add the vanilla and turn mixer speed to low. Add the cooled coffee. Stir in the dry ingredients until well combined. Drop by spoonfuls on parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 12 minutes. Let cool on wire rack until completely cool.

Chocolate Frosting

2 cups powdered sugar

1/4 cup cocoa

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 tablespoons brewed coffee

3 tablespoons milk

Beat until well combined. Dip each cookie in frosting and let set up.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Happy Easter

So, I have a bit of a confession to make. While I always hope that my blog posts will inspire others to cook and be creative, this post is headed towards being a bit of a downer. So, I hope the recipe inspires you, and I hope what I'm about to share makes you think about those you love and how you inspire them...maybe even if you don't realize it.

Tomorrow is Easter, and I'm a bit sad. Not sad because it's Easter, but for a couple different reasons. The first being that for the first time in my life (all 40 years) I will not be having a holiday dinner with my family. There are certain dishes we have every year for Easter that I won't be getting. We always have ham. The potatoes and vegetables changed from year to year, but the 2 things I love the most about Easter are...are you ready for this?...deviled eggs and our traditional apricot dessert. I know, I know...deviled eggs? I honestly think that eating deviled eggs at Easter was the only time I eat deviled eggs all year long. I just don't trust any old deviled eggs, only my moms. I did take the time to make the apricot dessert for myself. There are somethings I won't give up, even if I am 900 miles away from my family. I've included the recipe, so I hope you all try it.

Now for the second reason I'm a little sad. This weekend marks ten years since my grandma passed away. I mention this because in a sense, she is the reason I do this blog. I got this love of cooking from spending time with her in the kitchen. As a little boy, I would spend many of my summer days with her. She was always baking something, she had a pretty healthy sweet tooth. But the thing she taught me, which I didn't realize until years later, is that family and food and being with the ones you love, either preparing a meal or eating it, can be a precious gift. The memories we create around holiday meals aren't the only ones that last, it's everyday. A simple lunch could hold a memory that lasts a lifetime. I have a lot of her things, measuring spoons, dishes, recipe boxes and they remind me of her, but even if I didn't have those things, just being in the kitchen keeps me connected to her. I miss her a lot. There are those times in life when I would give anything to be that little boy again just having a cookie with my grandma.

I hope you all have a blessed Easter. Here's the recipe for the apricot dessert. The one good thing about this Easter and making the dessert for myself...I don't have to wait until tomorrow to eat it!!!

Apricot Dessert

1/2 of an Angel Food Cake

1- 46oz. can apricot nectar

7 level tablespoons cornstarch

1 1/2 cup sugar

1 pint whipping cream

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/4 cup sifted confectioner's sugar

1 cup chopped pecans

Line a 9 x 13 inch baking dish with angel food cake pieces, broken into bit size. In a medium saucepan, combine nectar, cornstarch and sugar and cook over medium heat, stirring frequently, until mixture is thickened. Pour the thickened mixture over the angel food cake. Refrigerate until firm. In a large bowl, whip the cream, vanilla and sugar until light and fluffy. Spread over chilled cake. Sprinkle with chopped pecans.

When life gives you meyer lemons...

Okay, I think I'm done for the day. Although I have about 4 lemons left, so it's hard to say what I might dream up while I sleep. The lemon tart is delicious. I have to give Dan some credit for this recipe. I was talking about the lemon martini I made on Tuesday night and he asked me if I put any thyme in it? Then today while watching the Food Network, I saw the same combination. I decided to give it a whirl and I'm pretty happy with the result. I'll let you know what Dan has to say about it, I'm sure he'll say something about how the thyme is really what made it good and without it, it would have just been...uh okay.

Meyer Lemon Tart

Tart Crust

2 sticks butter, softened

1 1/3 cups powdered sugar

Zest of 1 meyer lemon

2 egg yolks

2 cups + 2 Tablespoons flour

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme leaves

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the sugar, lemon zest and thyme and combine. Add the egg yolks, one at a time and continue to mix. Whisk the flour and salt together in another bowl and slowly add to mixer. Mix just until combined. The dough will be soft, so wrap it in plastic wrap and let it chill in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes. Press the dough into the bottom and up the sides of a tart pan or springform pan. Chill again for 30 minutes. Line the shell with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or beans and bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees. Remove the weights and parchment and bake for another 15 minutes. Set aside to cool.

Lemon Curd

6 egg yolks

1 whole egg

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup meyer lemon juice

zest of 1 meyer lemon

pinch of salt

1 stick butter, room temperature

In the top of a double boiler, combine egg yolks, egg sugar, lemon juice and zest. Whisk and cook until mixture is thickened. Remove from heat and let cool slightly. Add the butter, 1 tablespoon at a time and whisk after each addition. Pour curd into prepared shell and bake for 15 minutes in a 350 degree oven.

***I used the egg whites I had left over for meringue, however this would be just as good with whipped cream or even a sprinkling of powdered sugar.

I'm on a rampage....

It occurred to me this morning that I am on what I am now referring to as a "cooking rampage". I don't know what's come over me lately, maybe it's the traveling. When I get home, I could spend all my time in the kitchen. I guess thinking about it, I've always kind of been that way, but the inspiration is overflowing lately. I've got a couple things to share in this post, and (still on the meyer lemon kick) I've got a tart crust chilling the the fridge right now and curd ready to go. Last night I made meyer lemon scones. They aren't a typical, dry scone, more like a sweet biscuit with amazing lemon glaze. And for lunch today I made my latest addiction, a veggie sandwich (no cooking at all, but soooo good)! There is a little coffee shop down in LoDo that serves this sandwich, so I recreated it and I eat it alot!! I mean alot! Try these out, and as soon as I taste the tart I'll let you know how it turns out! Have a great weekend!

Meyer Lemon Scones

2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 cup cold butter, cut into 6 pieces

1/2 cup meyer lemon juice

2 teaspoons meyer lemon zest

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. In the bowl of a food processor combine all the dry ingredients and pulse it to combine. Add butter and zest and pulse until mixture is crumbly. Add lemon juice and pulse just until mixture forms a ball.

Scoop batter onto parchment lined baking sheet with tablespoons (i used an ice cream scoop). Bake for 20 minutes or until light golden brown.

Let cool slightly. Mix together 2 tablespoons lemon juice and enough powdered sugar to make a glaze. Drizzle over the scones.

Veggie Sandwich

Ciabatta Bread

Spring Mix

Sliced Cucumbers

Sliced tomatoes

Red onion

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus

Swiss Cheese

Balsamic Vinegar

Spread the hummus on the bottom slice of bread, add cucumbers, tomatoes, onion and cheese. Toss the spring mix in a little balsamic vinegar to coat it. Enjoy!!!!!!