NY Style Bagels, by Diane

 Making bagels has been on my list for a long time now, because I love cooking projects that take a bit more time and teach you new skills. Also, it's rare that I get to have an authentic New York bagel, and while many in my area are close, I thought I'd see what it would be like to try it on my own. Plus- we have the goal of making bread for the month of January for our Cooking Class, and bagels fit perfectly into that goal!!! I found a recipe from an actual NY bagel maker who spent 20+ years making them in his own bagel shop (http://johndlee.hubpages.com/hub/Homemade_bagel_recipe_Make_great_nadrolled_water_bagels__its_as_easy_as_baking_a_loaf_of_bread).
I figured he might be a good expert to follow, plus this seemed like the best and easiest recipe to follow of all the ones I found online.

So, on New Year's Eve of all nights, I found myself stuck in the house with a crazy eye infection and antibiotics from strep that wouldn't let me drink, and I thought to myself- why not take on a cooking project to distract me! I know it's not January yet, but I'm using the bagels to ring in the new year tomorrow at brunch so I'm counting it!

For toppings, I chose sesame seed and a garlic/sea salt combo (they came together in a shaker I bought at Target!), but really you can choose any toppings you like! I also made fancy cream cheeses by mixing a block of cream cheese (I used lowfat) and whatever flavoring I wanted (I used scallions in one and strawberry jam in the other) in bowls with mixers on medium until they were whipped and blended! Yum!!

The final verdict: These bagels were DELICIOUS, though not quite on par with NY. But they were awesome substitutes. They were really easy to make and though they took a while to make most of that time was the wait between the steps. I had to add a bit more flour than called for because my dough was really sticky, and I'm not sure if that influenced the outcome or not. Otherwise, my only note is watch the sea salt- a little goes a long way as I unfortunately found out!!


Ingredients:


4 cups bread flour
1 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 tsp instant yeast
1-1/4- 1-1/2 cups of warm water



Directions:

(I'm just copying and pasting from the website since he states it best!)


Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. You don't have to worry about soaking the yeast when you use instant yeast (most yeast sold these days is instant yeast). The dough should feel stiff, but add the extra water if it's really stiff, or you can't get all the dry flour incorporated.
Plop the dough down onto the counter, and knead for about ten minutes, or until the dough is uniform and smooth.
Cut the dough into 8 equal sized balls, and let rest for 10-20 minutes.
Pre heat your oven to 425.
Now, take each of the dough balls and using two hands, roll it into a little snake on the counter. When the snake is longer than the width of your two hands, wrap it around your dominant roiling hand. The dough rope should be wrapped so the overlapping ends are together at your palm, near the start of your fingers. Now take the two overlapping ends, and use your palm to squish/roll these two ends together. Once the dough is fused, you should have a perfectly circular bagel-to-be! This is the only part of the process that can take a little practice before your bagels will look really professional. Don't get discouraged if they don't look perfect, it just takes practice!

First attempt at shaping bagels!! Not too bad!

Let your bagels rest on the counter for about 20 minutes, and meanwhile, bring a pot of water to boil, and grease a large baking tray lightly. You can just rub a splash of vegetable oil and rub it around.
After the 20 minute wait, your bagels will start to look puffy, and it's time to get them boiling! Add them as many at a time as you can to your boiling water without crowding them. Boil for about a minute, turn them over, and boil for another minute. Take them out a let dry for a minute and then place them on your oiled baking tray. Repeat until all the bagels are boiled. (You can add any toppings you like to these. To make sesame, onions, poppy seed, caraway etc. etc. bagels just have a dry plate ready with the seed or spice topping spread out on it. After the bagels have come out of the boiling water, place them face down onto the seeds, and then place the seed side up onto the baking tray. Bake and flip as for plain bagels.)

Toppings all ready to go

Look how big they got after boiling!! Ready for a bake in the oven.

Add the tray to the oven, and after 10 minutes, flip the bagels over, bake for another ten minutes; and they're done! Let them cool for at least 20 minutes.

Out of the oven!!! Just have to wait 20 minutes longer.....

Bean Burgers, by Cheryl

Continuing on with my health kick, I decided to try bean burgers from www.ashleyscookingadventures.blogspot.com. These are definitely a healthy option for burgers, although I'll be making them for one from now on since Jon was not too happy when I presented him with a "burger" that was not made of beef! He was not a fan, and I think if I make these again I need to use much less salt. I also need to figure out how to get them to stay together more, rather than them falling apart while eating them. Overall, they were a good option and with tomatoes, cheese, and avocado on top it was pretty tasty! Yum!

Ingredients:

1 can of kidney beans drained and rinsed

2 tablespoons whole wheat flour

1/4 cup finely chopped mushrooms

1/8 cup finely chopped bell peppers

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon paprika

Burger toppings of your choice: cheese, tomatoes, onion, ketchup, etc

Directions:

1) Combine beans, flour, mushrooms, bell peppers, and spices in a large mixing bowl. With a fork or potato masher, mash ingredients together until the beans are broken up. If ingredients get too dry, add 1/2 tsp of water or olive oil.

2) With your hands form mixture into patties the size of a standard burger . Spray skillet with cooking spray and heat to medium-high. Allow the patties to cook for about 3-4 minutes on each side. Complete burgers should be crispy on both sides and not fall apart easily.

3) Top with cheese and/or other toppings of your choice.

Southwestern Quinoa Salad, by Cheryl

I've been searching for some healthy meals to eat for lunch and dinner and came across this one on www.ashleyscookingadventures.com. I am in love with this recipe! It was so good that even Jon liked it and it is very hard to convince him to try some of my healthier recipes. Not only is this full of fiber and protein, but the quinoa (pronounced keen-wa) is super healthy and has all nine essential amino acids making it a complete protein source for humans (which is rare among plants). It also is a very good source of magnesium, iron, copper, and phosphorus, and is gluten free. I will be making this dish by the boatloads and having it for lunch or as a side dish at dinner. If Jon likes it then you know it tastes great! Yum!!!

Ingredients:

1 cup cooked quinoa

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

8 green onions, chopped

1 red bell pepper, seeded

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1 cup corn (I used canned corn)

2 (15 ounce) can black beans, drained

Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

1) Cook 1 cup of quinoa according to directions and set aside. In a large bowl whisk together the olive oil, lime juice, vinegar and cumin.

2) Add green onions, red bell pepper, cilantro, corn, and beans and toss to coat.

3) Fluff the quinoa and break up any chunks. Add the quinoa to the bowl with the veggies and mix well. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve immediately or refrigerate until ready to serve.

Chicken Pot Pie Stew with Dumplings, by Diane

 This week it suddenly got freezing, and that combined with me still recovering from being sick I graduated to the next best thing to chicken soup! My mom made up this recipe a few years back and it is exactly like a chicken pot pie (same ingredients) but in soup form. The best part though is these doughy dumplings that get tossed in in the last few minutes. Yum!!!


Ingredients:

1 tbsp. EVOO
6 carrots, peeled and chopped
3 celery stalks, chopped
1 yellow onion, chopped
1 bag frozen mixed vegetables (corn, carrots, green beans)
1/2 bag frozen peas
1 spring fresh thyme, leaves removed
1 tsp. poultry seasoning
3 chicken breasts, cubed (rotisserie chicken works too)
3 cans condensed cream of chicken soup (we use 99% fat free)
3 cans-worth of water or milk
3 cans-worth of chicken broth (we use 99% fat free and low sodium)
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
2 cups Bisquick baking mix (we use low fat)
2/3 cup skim milk


Directions:

1. In a large soup pot, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add in raw veggies and saute until tender, about 7 minutes. Add in frozen veggies and cook until thawed. Remove veggies (leave the juice in the pot) and set aside in bowl.

2. Add chicken into the pot along with thyme and poultry seasoning, cooking in the leftover veggie liquid until just white on all sides.

3. Add veggies back into pot, along with remaining ingredients through pepper. Use the empty cream of chicken soup cans to measure your other liquids, adjusting the amount of chicken broth until the stew is your desired consistency.

4. Bring to a boil, then reduce to low and simmer uncovered for 30 minutes or longer (it's ready after 30 but tastes better the longer it cooks, up to 1.5 hours). Stir occasionally.

5. In the last 20 minutes, add in your dumpling dough by the spoonful (mix the two remaining ingredients in a bowl to form dough). Cook uncovered for 10 minutes, then covered for 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Pumpkin Pie Milkshake, by Diane

This past week I've been sick with strep throat and couldn't swallow any solids. After a few days of tea and chicken soup broth, I needed something more substantial and since it was the holiday time I thought this was a good way of combining some ingredients I was seriously lacking towards the end of the week. It was so good that I think I'll bring it back next year, hopefully with no sore throat :)

Ingredients:

1/2 cup canned pumpkin (I picked the 100% pumpkin just to be healthier, but you can get the canned pumpkin pie mix now too which would have all your spices and sugars)

1/2 cup skim milk

1 cup light vanilla frozen yogurt

1 tsp. pumpkin pie spice

2 packets splenda

Optional: whipped cream on top!

Directions: Blend and enjoy!!

White Chocolate & Cranberry Cookies, by Cheryl

I decided to make cookies for our landlords and security guard for the Christmas holiday. Besides them all being very nice people I thought it also be best to stay on everyone's good side :) Of course this really put my Italian on the spot since none of them speak English. I went up and said, "Ho cucinato questi per Natale e per tu e tua famiglia. Loro sono biscotti con ciocciolato bianco e mirtilli rossi". "I cooked these for Christmas for you and your family. They are cookies with white chocolate and cranberries". I was pretty proud of the fact that the only thing I had to look up was cranberries! I was also pretty proud that I used the past tense since I'm learning that right now. They were very thankful and appreciated the gesture. I also made a batch for me and Jon to share, which are almost all gone since they are soooo delicious! A very festive cookie for this time of year. Yum!

Ingredients (makes about 24 cookies), taken from www.allrecipes.com:
1/2 cup softened butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg
3/4 cup white chocolate chips
1 cup dried cranberries
1 tablespoon vanilla

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease cookie sheets.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and vanilla. Combine the flour and baking soda; stir into the sugar mixture. Mix in the white chocolate chips and cranberries. Drop by heaping spoonfuls onto prepared cookie sheets.
3. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes in the preheated oven. For best results, take them out while they are still doughy. Allow cookies to cool for 1 minute on the cookie sheets before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Healthy Pancakes, by Cheryl

I stumbled upon this recipe on my friend Ashley's cooking blog www.ashleyscookingadventures.com. I thought it would be a great alternative for pancakes since we eat so many carb laden foods in Italy. The result was a very healthy and good for you pancake! They definitely had the low carb taste to them so I didn't even attempt to make them for Jon! I plan to give this recipe to my dad who's always looking for low carb versions of his favorite things. Overall, I would make these again! Yum!

Ingredients:

4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature (I used the 1/3 less fat version)
4 eggs
6 tablespoons Flax meal
2 tablespoons coconut flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 cup pecans

Directions:

1) In a large bowl combine all of the ingredients and whisk to combine.

2) Heat a nonstick skillet or griddle over medium heat. Use a 1/4 measuring cup to drop your pancakes onto the skillet. Flip when golden brown on one side.

3) Serve with butter and/or syrup.

Apple-Beet-Carrot-Ginger Juice, by Diane

Before...

...After!!!

This year for Chanukkah I asked for a juicer, since juicing seems to be the latest health craze here and I've been pretty interested in it for a few months. Juicing involves taking fresh, raw, and hopefully organic fruits, vegetables, and plants and extracting the juice into a very healthy drink. The skin and leaves and even cores of most items are left on because you are trying to get the most nutrients possible in your drink. The idea behind juicing yourself (or going to one of the many juice bars that are popping up here) is that you drink what you juice on the spot, rather than drinking bottled juice, because there are several key enzymes that disappear after even a few hours of being extracted. 

I had been drinking Naked's Green Machine for a while now because of it's healthy ingredients, but hated the amount of sugars in the drink. So, after hearing several friends proclaim that it was making them feel amazing, I decided to ask for a juicer for Chanukkah. I started out with this recipe, because it's the sweetest and most "juice" tasting juice recipe I know while still being mostly veggies. It is an acquired taste because of the beet, but one that very quickly becomes delicious and is surprisingly filling. I have been using this basic recipe to add in other things like pears and cucumbers, too. So far I feel a bit better and it's definitely the healthiest meal of my day!!

Ingredients:

2 apples (I like gala for their sweetness)

4 carrots

1 small beet

1/4 inch slice ginger

Few drops fresh lemon juice (to keep the apples from browning)

Directions:

1. Prewash all ingredients with an organic wash to make sure you are getting rid of pesticides, etc. since the skin will remain on. Chop off any brown spots or rough ends.

2. Place ingredients whole in juicer, adding in the lemon drops after the apples.

3. Drink cold and immediately!

Beef and Butternut Squash Chili, by Diane

Cheryl and I started this blog with all kinds of ways to eat butternut squash, and a few months ago I found a new one- chili. This recipe looked unique, and it definitely tasted different. It wound up being like a cross between beef stew and beef chili. The red wine made it kind of tangy and the spices were really good. Overall it was a good dish to keep you warm (it's freezing here again!) and a nice new way to eat butternut squash!!

ps- this is another CL recipe...

Ingredients:

Cooking spray (I omitted this)
1 tablespoon canola oil, divided 
1 1/2 pounds boneless chuck roast, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch cubes 
3/4 teaspoon salt 
1 1/2 cups chopped onion 
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper 
2 tablespoons tomato paste 
1 tablespoon minced fresh garlic 
2 teaspoons diced jalapeño pepper
2/3 cup dry red wine 
1 1/2 teaspoons ground ancho chile pepper (I had to sub chili pepper)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon 
1 (28-ounce) can whole tomatoes, undrained and chopped 
1 (15-ounce) can no-salt-added kidney beans, rinsed and drained 
2 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash 
1 cup coarsely chopped carrot 
6 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream 
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves

Directions:

1. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add 1 teaspoon oil; swirl. Sprinkle beef with salt. Add beef to pan; sauté 8 minutes, turning to brown on all sides. Remove beef.
2. Add 2 teaspoons oil to pan. Add onion and bell pepper; sauté 3 minutes. Add tomato paste, garlic, and jalapeño; sauté 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add wine; bring to a boil, scraping pan. Cook 2 minutes. Return beef to pan.
3. Stir in ancho chile pepper and the next 7 ingredients (through kidney beans), and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat to medium, and simmer gently for 1 hour. Add butternut squash and 1 cup carrot, and simmer for 1 hour or until beef is tender. Ladle 1 1/3 cups chili into each of 6 bowls, and top each with 1 tablespoon sour cream and 1 teaspoon cilantro.

Galaam Oop, by Diane

Tonight's dinner is another CL recipe (the November issue was a big source of inspiration to me, unfortunately the December one is not so much, so I'll be hunting for inspiration elsewhere!). The article it's from was about a literal dream come true for me- taking cooking courses overseas and then writing about it. The author went to Thailand (somewhere I've been dreaming to go to and would be the site of my next vacation if a certain someone hadn't just moved to the amalfi coast!) and the recipes she learned looked amazing. Having never cooked thai myself (outside of crappy boxes of pad thai from the grocery store) I picked out this recipe because it seemed really unique. Apparently the name means cabbage that is steamed with little or no oil. 

The dish was easy enough to make, and I liked the use of ground sirloin instead of other types of ground beef, but the problem was in the flavor. It was seriously lacking any. Once I added soy sauce, it turned out to be really addicting. I also had to omit the peanut oil (I subbed canola) because I couldn't find it, which may have altered the flavor a tad. Overall, this was a good dish once the soy sauce was added- but without it I'd never make it again. I also doubled the recipe because the serving size was only a cup per person which is really small.

Ingredients

2 tablespoons peanut oil
1 cup thinly vertically sliced shallots
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/4 pound ground sirloin
4 cups finely shredded cabbage (about 1 small head)
1 cup thin plum tomato wedges (about 2 medium)
1/3 cup coarsely chopped unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts

Directions:

1. Heat a wok or Dutch oven over medium heat (I used a saucepot with a tight lid).

2. Add peanut oil to pan, and swirl to coat. Add shallots, salt, turmeric, and red pepper; cook for 3 minutes or until shallots are tender, stirring frequently.

3. Add beef; cook for 2 minutes or until the beef begins to brown.

4. Add cabbage and tomato; toss well to combine. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover and cook for 10 minutes or until cabbage wilts.

5. Stir in peanuts; cover and cook 10 minutes or until cabbage is tender.

Thanksgiving Turkey, by Cheryl

Living in Italy, this was the first time Jon and I were going to be without family for Thanksgiving. This also meant that this was the first time we were hosting T-day and the first time we were going to make a turkey! We invited about 8 other people to come over to eat. And eat we did! The turkey that we made came out perfectly... and it only took a maximum of 2 hours to cook for a 15 pound turkey! We brined the turkey beforehand and I think that accounted for a lot of its juiciness and retained flavor. All in all Thanksgiving was a success largely in part to this turkey! We plan on making it the same way next year. Yum!

Ingredients:

Whole turkey, with giblets, liver, and other junk removed
1 cup salt
2 1/2 gallons water
1/2 gallon chicken or turkey broth
1 onion, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
3 celery, chopped
butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
kitchen twine or unwaxed floss

For the brine (for a 15 pound turkey):

1) We had to use a cooler to put our turkey in so it required 3 gallons of liquid. If you use a big bowl you might just need 2. Half a gallon was chicken broth and the other half was water.

2) Add in 1 cup of salt and 1/2 cup of brown sugar. The ratio is 1/2 cup of salt to 1 gallon of water. We used brown sugar in one of the 1/2 cups to give it some sweetness. Mix.

3) Place turkey in cooler/bowl and refrigerate for 10-14 hours.

4) Afterwards, remove the turkey from the brine and pat dry. Refrigerate uncovered for another 8 hours.


Directions for cooking:

1) Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

2) Pour about a cup of water or chicken broth into a roasting pan. Scatter in half of the onion, carrots, and celery.

3) Use tin foil on the wire rack part of the pan. Poke a lot of slits through it.

4) Put the other half of the vegetables in the turkey and tie legs together with twine.

5) Brush turkey with melted butter. Do not open oven to baste the turkey.

6) Place turkey in pan, in oven, and cook for 2 hours or until the meat thermometer reads 165 degrees.

Dijon Encrusted Chicken with Roasted Root Veggies, by Diane

This recipe was inspired by a CL recipe, but it called for pork and had some funny directions. I switched the pork to chicken breasts and altered some of the directions but the flavors are still the same.

I have read about mustard flavoring different dishes, but I've been skeptical about it and always ended up changing the flavor to something else. But this week, not one but three mustard (Dijon, specifically) dishes caught my eye and I decided to give them each a whirl. Tonight's dinner was recipe #1.

This dish was SO good. This is the first chicken dish I've made that was completely gone by the time dinner was finished (we make 5 chicken breasts for 3 people so there are leftovers for lunches!). The crust came out really crunchy and the chicken itself was SO juicy it was almost like biting into fried chicken fresh out of the frier. The taste of mustard actually wound up being just a hint of flavor that was really good and complimented the thyme and the chicken really well. And the root veggies were soft and really addictive! All in all, this meal was a total hit and I might be a mustard convert from now on!!!

Ingredients:


(Chicken)
 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard 
4 chicken breasts
1/2 cup panko
1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
1 tablespoon minced fresh parsley
1/8 teaspoon salt 
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons EVOO

(Veggies)
8 oz. small red potatoes, quartered
2 large carrots, sliced in thin circles
2 large parsnips, sliced in thin circles
1 tablespoon EVOO
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 minced garlic clove


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450°.

2. Combine veggie ingredients in medium bowl, toss well to coat. Arrange veggies on baking dish and bake for 28 minutes. Stir after 10 minutes.

3. Meanwhile, rub mustard evenly over chicken. Combine panko, thyme, parsley, salt, and pepper in a large bowl. Dredge chicken in panko mixture.

4. Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add oil to pan; swirl to coat. Add chicken; sauté 2 minutes or until golden brown. Turn chicken and sauté until the other side is golden.

5. Place chicken in a baking dish and into oven, bake for 8 minutes. Let stand 3 minutes.