Sewing Hell

Mostly cooking, but some other things too.  This is one of those things.  I wanted to make some simple chiffon scarves since I couldn't find any the right colors, weight, etc.  Out comes the serger so I could make blind hems.  To make the hems the pitch, the feed, three of the tensions all have to be adjusted.  The plate and the pressure foot are taken off & replaced with a differant plate and foot.  AND THE RIGHT NEEDLE HAS TO BE REMOVED.  This is only a big deal if you can't find the tiny little metric allen wrench needed to remove it.  Three hours, three complete sets of allen wrenches, about 13 loose wrenches and a whole lot of frustation later I found B's new unopened tool set that had the tiny metric wrench I needed.  Then the tension wouldn't adjust properly on two dials, because they were broken.  About that time, I got a blinding migraine, turned off the lights and gave up for the evening.  The next morning I combined the two broken dials, so I ended up with one broken one & put it the dial spot for the needle I wasn't using.   It still took some time to get all the adjustments correct, but I finally did.  I got 4 scarves out of the experience and I figure that if I count my time they only cost me about $65 each.

REUBEN SANDWICH

Took a long weekend to visit C, so didn't do much cooking this weekend. I did have this recipe/picture from last week. I've never been a big fan of Reuben sandwiches. Of course, when my mom made them it was processed corned beef, a large amount of sauerkraut and extra strong swiss cheese - Yuck! But last week we had a particularly good corned beef, so I made Reubens for dinner on Sunday night. What a difference the right ingredients can make! Real corned beef, baby swiss, a small sprinkle of sauerkraut put on a rye bread that was sparingly spread with Thousand Island dressing, then grilled. A REALLY GOOD SANDWICH!

Happy St Patrick's day

So making Shamrocks on cookies - not as easy as you might think. After trying several different implements we ended up using paint brushes.

Hello Dolly Bars

As I said, C visited this weekend and made some delicious cookies while she was here. She got the basic recipe from another blog - Smitten Kitchen. However, the recipe is another take off on Magic Cookie Bars which have been around for a long time. The recipe called for butterscotch chips, which I didn't have (and probably never will, only chocolate chips are worth having), so she raided my cupboard and basically used every type of chocolate chip I had, white, semi-sweet, dark, milk chocolate and then threw in some toffee bits for good measure. Needless to say they are SWEET. I made her cut down by half on the butter for the crust, but I don't know why I worried about the extra butter calories when you can get a sugar high just looking at the delicious things. C also doubled it & put it into a 9 x 13 pan.

Hello Dolly Bars
Adapted from Homesick Texan

1/2 cup (1 stick) salted butter, cut into large pieces
1 1/2 cups graham crackers crumbs (about 8 graham crackers, pulsed in a food processor)
1 1/2 cups chocolate chips
1 cup butterscotch chips
1 cup shredded coconut
1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped
1/3 cup sweetened condensed milk (just under half a small can)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Melt butter in microwave in heatproof bowl until just melted when stirred. Add graham cracker crumbs. Mix and then press evenly into the bottom of 8×8 baking pan.

Layer coconut, pecans, butterscotch and chocolate chips on top of graham cracker base. Pour sweetened condensed milk over whole mixture.

Bake in oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until the top is light brown.

Pizza

Homemade pizzas for dinner last night. I made whole wheat and regular individual pizza crusts. I prefer the whole wheat. We had a variety of toppings, C made a Canadian bacon, I made a white vegetable one with zucchini, tomatoes, onions and mushrooms and one sausage & mushroom. B who apparently never saw a pizza before, piled mostly meat in the middle of his pizzas then topped it with sauce and cheese.

Pizza Crust

2 cups unbleached white flour
1 to 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 package yeast
1 cup warm water
2 Tablespoons olive oil
cornmeal

In a large bowl, combine 2 cups flour, undissolved yeast and salt. Stir very warm water and olive oil into dry ingredients. Stir i enough of the whole wheat flour to make a soft dough. Knead dough on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 4-6 minutes. Cover and let rest on floured surface for 10 minutes. Lightly oil one 14 inch or two 12 inch pizza pans. Sprinkle with cornmeal. Form dough into a smooth ball. Roll dough to fit pans. Add sauce and toppings. Bake in a preheated 400 degree oven for 20-30 minutes until done. Time depends on the thickness.

Irish Soda Bread

The Irish have redeemed themselves. Irish Soda Bread is pretty good. As the name implies, it uses baking soda and baking powder reacting with buttermilk as a leavening agent instead of yeast. It is quick to make, I made it last night & C & I had it for breakfast this morning. It's a little dense, but is a quick bread like a Sally Lund.

Irish Soda Bread

3 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 cups buttermilk
½ cup raisins
1/4 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 325 degrees F (165 degrees C). Grease a 9x5 inch loaf pan. Combine flour, baking powder, sugar, salt and baking soda. Blend egg and buttermilk together, and add all at once to the flour mixture. Mix just until moistened. Stir in butter. Pour into prepared pan. Bake for 65 to 70 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the bread comes out clean. Cool on a wire rack. Wrap for several hours, or overnight, for best flavor

Irish Brown Bread

I now know where the Blarney stone came from - it's really a loaf of this bread! How in the world can a loaf of bread be hard as rock on the outside and doughy in the middle? I can't figure it out. Surely it's not supposed to be this way. I baked it to the upper range of the time given and it was still doughy, so I cooked it longer and it just got harder on the outside, but still doughy in the middle. It did have a good flavor, but not good enough to keep. All but a slice ended in the trash. I might try a different version later. But next I think I'll try the Irish soda bread recipe.

Nanaimo Bars are apparently a Canadian national cookie/bar. Named after a town in Canada. They're ok, but they have nothing on Lamingtons. The Aussies win out over the Canadians every time.

NANAIMO BARS

Bottom Layer:

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/4 cup granulated white sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 large egg, beaten

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1 cup coconut (sweetened or unsweetened)

1/2 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

FILLING:

1/4 cup unsalted butter, room temperature

2 - 3 tablespoons milk or cream

2 tablespoons vanilla custard powder (Bird's) or vanilla pudding powder

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cups powdered sugar

TOPPING:

8 ounces semisweet chocolate chips

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

Butter (or use a cooking spray) a 9 x 13 pan

BOTTOM LAYER: In a saucepan over low heat, melt the butter. Stir in the sugar and cocoa powder and then gradually whisk in the beaten egg. Cook,stirring constantly, until the mixture thickens (1 - 2 minutes). Remove from heat and stir in the vanilla extract, graham cracker crumbs, coconut, and chopped nuts. Press the mixture evenly into the prepared pan. Cover and refrigerate until firm (about an hour).

FILLING: In your electric mixer cream the butter. Beat in the remaining ingredients. If the mixture is too thick to spread, add a little more milk. Spread the filling over the bottom layer, cover, and refrigerate until firm (about 30 minutes).

TOP LAYER: In a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, melt the chocolate and butter. Spread over the filling and refrigerate.

TO SERVE: To prevent the chocolate from cracking, using a sharp knife, bring the squares to room temperature before cutting.

Chicken Piccata with Whole Wheat Pasta

So tonight I had to decide between fish or chicken, but during my browsing I found a recipe I thought sounded good & used capers, which I've kind of been looking for. Also with the chicken piccata, I got to use my pasta maker again. I wish I had looked the recipe up in my Test Kitchen "best of" recipes, because if I had checked more closely I would have known it was a lemony flavored sauce. I like lemon, but this sauce tasted of lemon and was bland at the same time. I liked it better as I ate more of it, the hightlights being the whole wheat pasta that I made and the capers which added briney, salty bursts of flavor.

I'm not sure if I would make this sauce again, I wasn't too impressed & I think there are probably better tasting sauces out there. The pasta was worth the effort & the recipe was large enough that I put several servings of fettucini in the freezer.

Italian Bread

To go with the Cheese Stuffed Shells posted earlier this week, I also made a couple of loaves of Italian bread. This weekend I'm going to try a couple of other ethnic/regional recipes. Irish Brown Bread and Nanaimo Bars.

Stuffed Shells Florentine

Cheese Stuffed Shells Florentine

1 egg - beaten
15 oz. tub ricotta cheese - low-fat okay
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese - low-fat okay
1 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup frozen spinach, thawed & squeezed
12 oz box jumbo pasta shells
spaghetti sauce

Prepare pasta according to package directions under cooking slightly. I cooked mine for 13 minutes, the directions called for 12 to 15 minutes. Drain the pasta and rinse with cold water to stop them from cooking further. Place on a cookie sheet sprayed lightly with oil, so the shells won't stick to the sheet or each other. While the pasta is cooking combine egg, ricotta, mozzarella, Parmesan, and spinach.
Spoon enough cheese mixture into each shell to fill, about one tablespoon. My box of pasta had 41 shells in it and the filling worked out perfectly. Once filled the shells can be placed on a cookie sheet sprayed lightly with oil and place in the freezer. Once frozen put in a plastic container, removing as needed. To cook, put a small amount of sauce in the bottom of a baking dish, place the shells in the dish and then cover with spaghetti sauce. Sprinkle parmesean over the top. Cover tightly and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes or until cooked through. I pulled out eight shells for two servings, and that was more than ample. I used spaghetti sauce that I made last summer and froze, but your favorite canned or fresh sauce would work.