Calibasitas

I feel like I'm finally starting to catch up from the back log of recipes. This is the last dish I made while my mother was in town visiting. In my surfing the good ole interweb I came across a site where you could fill out a survey and get a free subscription to Woman's Day. So far, this recipe is the only thing interesting I've found in that magazine. That is one of the many reasons I never subscribe to magazines. I just can't justify the cost of subscribing for one interesting thing, sometimes less, per issue. Anyhow, I digress. Here is the original recipe:

Jill's Favorite Calibasita from Woman's Day Sep 2009 serves 5
4 small zucchini, diced
2 tsp kosher salt
2 Tbsp olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
4 ears of corn, kernels sliced off
2 Roma/plum tomatoes, diced
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella or feta (optional)

1. Place diced zucchini in colander set over a bowl. sprinkle with salt, toss and let stand 20 min. (this draws out the excess liquid from the zucchini)

2. transfer zucchini to kitchen towel and pat dry.

3. heat oil in large non stick skillet over medium high heat. add onion and garlic, saute 3-5 minutes until soft.

4. add zucchini and corn. saute 6-7 minutes until vegetables are almost tender

5. add diced tomato, saute 2-3 minutes until softened and zucchini is tender. remove from heat and stir in cheese if desired.

Now, for my alterations! I added 1/2 pound bulk sausage. I did this to appease Mr. "It's-not-dinner-unless-it-has-meat-in-it." I had Italian, but breakfast sausage would be tasty too. We had this along with eggs and corn tortillas. The end result was really a veggie loaded breakfast burrito. I mostly added the eggs because I knew that Blockette was more than likely to eat it if eggs were in the mix. (For some reason eggs serve a similar function that ketchup does for most kids, it makes the food palatable. Three cheers for the incredible edible egg!)

I can't figure out why this recipe calls for Feta or Mozzarella cheese. Because this dish has a name that means little squash in Spanish, I can't justify using a traditionally Greek or Italian cheese. I tried a bit of the veggie-meat-egg mix topped with both cheese versions. It didn't work for me. A Mexican blend (from a pre shredded bag) seemed like a better combination.

Next time I'd also add a can of black beans. Not only would it add to the taste, but I think it would look darn nice too. Black beans are a newly acquired taste for me. I used to hate them, but I had them a while ago and now I think they are great. Guess I'm getting less picky in my old age.

Do yourself a favor, when you make this, don't substitute frozen or canned corn. Using fresh corn gave off this rich buttery flavor that the rest of the veggies seemed to soak up. I don't think I would have loved this meal nearly as much sans the fresh from the cob kernels.

Mrblocko added salsa and Tabasco to his portion. EW! He's always gotta ruin a perfectly good meal with junk like that. I shouldn't complain too much, at least he's eating more vegetables.

Blackberry chicken

Here's another dish I made but forgot to take a photo of because I was anxious to chow down. If you're curious about the beautimous nature of this dish, go to the recipe link here for 5 spice grilled chicken thighs with blackberry glaze. I mentioned this recipe in July when I made the uber lemon-y Moroccan Chicken with lemon and olives. While the Moroccan chicken was a disaster, the Blackberry 5 spice chicken was a hit. This is definitely going to be my go to chicken thigh recipe.

The only thing I changed about this recipe was that I didn't brush on the glaze. I kept it reserved on the side to use as a dipping sauce. The recipe has you pouring on the glaze after the chicken comes off the grill. I was worried that the glaze might be too sweet. Leaving it on the side allowed me to control how much sweetness I wanted with each bite. I also guessed correctly that Blockette might turn her nose up at a sauce that wasn't mustard, ketchup or BBQ sauce.

I think it would be interesting to try this recipe basting on the glaze while the chicken is grilling. It sounds like it would be tasty all sticky, charred and caramelized over the grill flame. Or, conversely, it might just burn up into a nasty blackened stinky mess. Good thing Mrblocko is in charge of the outdoor flame. Then I won't be the one to blame if dinner gets ruined!


5 Spice Chicken with Blackberry Glaze from My recipes.com
1 tablespoon five-spice powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
8 (3-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken thighs
3/4 cup sugar-free seedless blackberry jam (such as Smucker's)
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
1 tablespoon water
3/4 teaspoon grated peeled fresh ginger
Fresh blackberries (optional)

Prepare grill. Combine first 3 ingredients in small bowl. Sprinkle spice mix evenly over chicken. Place chicken on grill rack coated with cooking spray; cook chicken 6 min on each side or until done. While chicken grills, combine jam and next 3 ingredients in a nonstick skillet. Simmer over med-low heat 8 min til glaze is reduced to 1/2 c. Drizzle glaze evenly over chicken; garnish with blackberries, if desired. Serve immediately.

Maple Mustard Burgers

I have a new favorite burger recipe. These were so moist, with a great combination of sweet and tangy. Mrblocko grilled these up a few weeks ago when my mom was in town. She thought they tasted like sweet pickles, and Mrblocko agreed. I greatly dislike sweet pickles and I LOVED these burgers, so clearly they were both wrong.

The burgers looked and smelled scrumptious right off the grill. Naturally, I got so distracted with wanting to eat them, I forgot to take a picture. Trust me, they don't look all that different from a regular burger.

As for the changes I made: Go ahead and call the snobby cooking police again. I only had a heaping tablespoon of real maple syrup, so I used the fake stuff to make up the difference. The sugar content was still there to get caramelized and there was plenty of maple flavor. (Sometimes the fake syrup tastes more maple-y than the real thing.) The bottom line was the burgers were rockin awesome and that's all that matters. And I said it...check it out.

Also, Mrblocko did not follow the cooking times listed in the recipe. He cooked them about medium to medium-well. I think this was an accident on his part as he normally cooks burgers medium-rare to medium. Even though they were cooked more than usual, the burgers were still perfectly moist. Maybe the moisture content in the burger is such that they need to be cooked longer or they will fall apart?

Sadly, I don't have a clue where the recipe came from. I'd love to give credit where credit is due. When I first started scouring recipes from the Internet I was lax on website documentation. If this recipe looks familiar please let me know what website/book it originated from!

Maple Mustard Burgers
1 pound ground beef
1/4 cup chopped onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground black pepper

Glaze:
3 Tablespoons maple syrup
2 Tablespoons spicy grainy mustard
1 Tablespoon cider vinegar
1 teaspoon honey
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1 teaspoon orange zest (zest of about 1 orange)

In a medium size bowl, combine all ingredients for burger. Form into 4 patties. In medium bowl combine all glaze ingredients. Preheat grill to medium high heat. Brush burgers with prepared glaze. Place patties on grill for 7-8 minutes, basting every 2 minutes or until dark golden brown and slightly crisp on exterior. Flip burgers and continue to cook for another 7 minutes, basting every 2 minutes. This recipe is for well done, adjust time and temperature accordingly if you prefer a less well done burger.

Fresh Broccoli Salad

Many moons ago Mrblocko and I were winding down for the night in front of the TV. Correction, Mrblocko was playing a computer game on the couch and I was watching "Good Eats" on the Food Network. Apparently, Mrblocko was paying more attention than I thought he was, because he nudged me and said, "That sounds really good. Can you make that sometime?"

I was shocked because the dish in question was Fresh Broccoli Salad from the episode, "If it ain't broccoli don't fix it." Anytime my husband expresses interest in a salad or veggie, I'm all over it. So, the next day, I went online and printed out the recipe. I stuck it in my recipe binder and promptly forgot about it.

Then, the recipe magically resurfaced and it was a big success. Even Blockette enjoyed it, but she is an unusual kid who begs me to buy broccoli and cauliflower at the grocery store. (Yet another reason why I think she might be someone else's kid. When I was her age, you couldn't get me to touch that stuff with a ten foot pole.)

Mrblocko liked the lemony-ness of the dish. I like lemons, but I thought it was too much of a good thing. Next time I'll increase the mustard. I think that will help to balance the lemon flavor.

I used pecans because they were in the freezer begging to be used. On the episode of "Good Eats" in question, Alton Brown used hazelnuts. For some reason they don't keep hazelnuts with the rest of the nuts at Meijer's. You can only find them in the baking section in teeny tiny bags. Next time I'll splurge and use hazelnuts. I'm interested to see if the flavor of the salad is changed drastically with a different type of nut.

Fresh Broccoli Salad from Alton Brown's Good Eats on The Food Network
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1 lemon, zested
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Pinch freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup olive oil
1 pound broccoli, rinsed, trimmed and sliced thinly on a mandolin
6 ounces cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
3 ounces coarsely chopped, toasted pecans or hazelnuts
2 tablespoons chiffonade fresh basil leaves

Whisk vinegar, zest, lemon juice, mustard, salt and pepper in med bowl. While whisking constantly, gradually add oil. Add broccoli and toss to coat. Cover and place in the refrigerator for 1 hour. Stir in tomatoes, hazelnuts and basil. Cover and allow to sit, at room temp or in the refrigerator, for another 15 min before serving.

Disaster Averted

I'm really behind on posting the things I've made lately, but I wanted to write about the Blockette's "cake disaster that almost was" while it was still fresh in my mind.

Many months ago I was surfing the Internet and came across Conversations With a Cupcake's Bow in the Clouds Six Stack Cake. Blockette had been peeking over my shoulder and saw the photo on the blog and inhaled all the air in the room. "Mommy, I want that cake for my birthday!!!"

I thought, why not. It looks like fun. Yeah. Fun. Fun if you like disasters and a huge mess. I went through 2 dishwasher loads of dishes making this one little cake. (Well, I guess at six layers it wasn't such a little cake.) At one point half my hand was purple from the food coloring gel. Thankfully, it washed off after several scrubbings. I thought I was going to have rainbow hands to match the rainbow cake.

I knew I was really in trouble when I flipped over the first 2 cake pans and one of them fell completely apart. The inside was still uncooked. How did that happen? I baked it for 25 minutes, five minutes longer than the longest suggested cook time. I gently placed the cake back into the pan and cooked it for another 15 minutes. That seemed to work. At least the cake was set, although it had seriously deflated.

Once the layers had cooled, I made the frosting. This was the first time I made frosting completely from scratch. Wow did that ever make a lot of frosting! The frosting was much thinner than the stuff from a can that I usually use. I put a thin schmeer of frosting between each cake layer, just enough to help keep the cakes in place. I attempted to put a crumb coat on the exterior of the cake but the icing kept sliding down and pooling at the bottom.

I waited an hour and made another attempt. Same results. Lather, rinse, repeat for another 4 hours. At this point, the frosting had thickened up quite a bit, but now the frosting was too heavy for the moist cake and the cake started to tilt. Hooray for the leaning tower of Rainbow cake!!! I improvised and inserted some bamboo skewers to help prevent any further slippage. That seemed to work, but then the frosting started to slide down again.

I figured the cake wasn't going to get any better and I should just quit while I was ahead. I threw on some rainbow chocolate chip sprinkles Blockette had picked out, and called it a day. You can see in the photo below how the frosting continued to melt downward. Apparently gravity was not the best buddy of this icing. I'd hate to think what would have happened had it actually been a humid summer-y day, and not in the low 70's. Thank goodness for unseasonably cool weather!

Anyhow, the Blockos ate dinner and put the excited almost 4 year old Blockette to bed. I went back into the kitchen to spy on the cake. There was a small blue moat forming around the base of the cake. I tried not to panic/cry. A few hours later Mrblocko and I headed off to bed ourselves. I peeked once more at the cake and the moat had grown. I calmly got out a pink cake mix I happened to have in the back of the pantry and resolved get up early and make cupcakes. I waited to have my meltdown until after I got to bed. Mrblocko assured me everything would work out in the end. I was not a believer.

That morning I awoke to find a nice blue lagoon around the cake and the side had sprouted a slow orange leak. Good thing I had that pink cupcake mix. The cupcakes baked with no problems and I went about my business preparing for the party.

Eventually, it was cake time. I didn't have Blockette blow out her candles on her cake, but put them on cupcakes instead. I wasn't sure if the cake could stand the short journey from the kitchen to the dining room without sustaining structural damage. Mrblocko thought we should at least cut the cake and see what it looked like. I was afraid of what I might discover, so I made Mrblocko do it.

He exclaimed, "Look Honey! It isn't ruined. It looks cool!"
Here is the first slice.
Notice that the blue layer is almost non existent, and the purple layer is much thinner than the other layers. Eureka! That's why there was a blue mess around the base of the cake. The weight of the other 4 layers pressed out the fruit juices from the purple and blue layers.

How did the cake taste? Delicious! My best friend MrsThunder said she was curious to find out if you could taste the food coloring gel. If there was any weird taste resulting from the gel, the fruit covered it up nicely. No one went back for seconds because even a tiny sliver wound up being a huge slice. I couldn't eat my whole piece. I think that was more due to the frosting. Man was it ever uber sweet! It was good in small doses between the cake layers, but if you got a big hunk of it you needed a healthy swig of milk to neutralize the sweetness.

I sent the leftover cake to work with Mrblocko. He said it disappeared in less than 15 minutes. People said it was very rich, but it didn't stop them from eating the cake. I also had Mrblocko give some of the cupcakes to our neighbors. We still have a lot. I'll probably send the leftovers to work with Mrblocko just so I don't O.D. on cake.

Unless I was bribed and it was a very special event, or if I had selective amnesia, I wouldn't make this cake again. It was good, but too many things went wrong. I do think that if I wanted a particular fruit flavored cake I'd make this on a smaller scale. I was especially fond of the orange and lemon layers. I bet either one, or both would make a tasty 2 layer cake.

I won't make the frosting again. It was just too sweet. I have over a cup left over that I'm not sure what to do with. It's too bad it's so sweet. I love eating leftover frosting on graham crackers. Maybe I'll use it to frost sugar cookies. I think if I warm it up so it gets to a thin glaze consistency it would be used in a smaller dose and therefore, not nearly as sweet. Any other ideas of what to do with super sweet leftover frosting?

Bow in the Clouds Cake from Cheeky Kitchen
2 boxes white cake mix
6 eggs
1 c. water
2/3 c. oil
1/2 c. raspberries
Zest of 1 orange + 2 T. juice
Zest of 1 lemon + 2 T. juice
Zest of 1 lime + 2 T. juice
1/2 c. blueberries
1/2 c. blackberries
Wilton Icing colors in red, orange, yellow, green, blue and purple

In large bowl, combine cake mix, eggs, water, and oil . Scoop 1 c batter in 6 small bowls. In 1st bowl, mix raspberries and 1/4 t red coloring. In 2nd bowl, mix orange zest, juice, and 1/2 t orange coloring. In 3rd bowl, mix lemon zest, juice and 1/4 t yellow coloring. In 4th bowl, mix lime zest, juice and 1/4 t green coloring. In 5th bowl, mix blueberries and 1/4 t blue coloring. In 6th bowl, mix blackberries and 1/4 t purple coloring.

Prepare six 8" cake pans by greasing and flouring each generously. Using a spatula, spoon and spread each color of batter into its own cake pan. Bake in an oven, preheated to 350F for 17-20 min, til tops spring back when touched lightly. Allow to cool completely. Frost with White Chocolate Frosting.

Billowed White Chocolate Frosting
1 c. butter, softened
1 bag white chocolate chips
3 lbs. powdered sugar
1/4 to 1 full cup milk

In  large bowl, microwave white chips JUST until melted. Immediately beat in butter until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and beat  til light and fluffy. BE SURE TO ADD YOUR MILK in bit by bit, beginning with 1/4 c at first, then slowly adding by T til desired consistency is reached. Cover and refrigerate 5 min to firm up just slightly. Makes enough frosting to ice between each layer of cake, and around the outside of the cake.

The most famous Basil

The things you find on the internet! My favorite cross stitch designer is Teresa Wentzler of TW Designworks. I was farting around on her website, looking for an update on a pattern she had been designing called Illuminata. I didn't find anything about the design, but I did find this.

I submitted it at least 6 years ago. At the time, she said that she was having issues with her website and couldn't upload it to her site. I checked every so often to see if her site had been updated. After a while I stopped checking, and forgot about it until today!

The rules behind the submission were that it had to be your own original design and the finished dimensions of the stitched piece had to be one inch by one inch. I remember agonizing over the whole thing because I couldn't chart up the design small enough. Then there were the teeny tiny stitches. What can I say, I'm a glutton for punishment.

It's so funny to see that little stitching of one of my cats. I can tell the design is old because Basil still has a bit of a kitten look to him. He's such an old man now. Don't tell him he's famous, he'll get even more full of himself than he already is.

Bummer of a slaw

This recipe for Spicy Radicchio Slaw with Pecans comes from an article about Cole slaw written by Deb Pearlman of Smitten Kitchen. (It's the second recipe from the bottom.)

I had really high hopes for this salad, and I did enjoy it...the first day I ate it. I think the radicchio and cabbage got too soggy after a few days. It wouldn't have lasted so long, but Mrblocko hated it and wouldn't eat anything past the first bite. My mom who was visiting wound up eating most of it. I'm still not sure if she liked it, or was eating it to be nice. She is tricky like that sometimes.

I think the radicchio was the main culprit. It was very very bitter. I don't remember ever having radicchio that tasted quite so acrid. Perhaps it was a dud radicchio? Either way it overpowered the salad. Purple cabbage would be a good replacement. It would eliminate the bitterness, but keep some of the beautiful color within the salad.

The produce at the grocery store must be off right now, because the Granny Smith apple I used was very tart. I nibbled on a few of the slices before I popped them into the mixing bowl. I like a tart apple but, zowie! The tartness of the apple was not complimentary to the bitter radicchio. Next time, (sorry Mrblocko, I gotta give this recipe another go. Bear with me!) I will use a mix of Granny Smith and a sweeter apple like a Honeycrisp.

I attempted to cut the bitter and tart elements of this salad by adding something sweet. I had originally wanted to use raisins, but I only had currents. The currents were too small to give the needed burst of sweetness. Next time I'll use raisins. I noticed that the grocery store now carries three colors: green, red and the regular dark purple. If I use purple cabbage, I'd eliminate the green cabbage so I didn't have a bunch of leftover cabbage that went to waste. With all that purple in the salad, I'd use green raisins to help balance the color of the salad.

One carrot seemed a bit sparse for my liking. Two or three would add to the color and sweetness. I usually add more carrot than a recipe calls for. I don't know why I didn't do it this time.

I don't know if using regular paprika had a big effect on the taste of the salad. I need to get some smoked paprika and find out. I keep forgetting that I don't have to go to a specialty store to purchase some. They sell smoked paprika in the spice section of the grocery store now. Must be my recent onset of age. Memory is the first thing to go. Where am I!? What am I doing? Who's blog is this! Aieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!

Spicy Radiccio Slaw with Pecans from NPR Makes 6 to 8 servings
Slaw:
1 head radicchio, halved, cored and thinly sliced
1/2 medium head of Savoy cabbage, halved, cored, halved again and thinly sliced
1 carrot, peeled and shredded
1 Granny Smith apple, cut into thin matchsticks
1/2 medium red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup pecans, toasted and chopped

Dressing:
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon smoked spicy paprika
3/4 cup mayonnaise
Juice of half a lemon
Salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Combine radicchio, cabbage, carrot, apple, onion and pecans in a large bowl. Mix well with hands and set aside. In a small bowl, stir mustard, sugar, paprika, mayonnaise and lemon juice until blended. Season with salt and pepper. Pour dressing over cabbage mix and toss well to coat. Taste again for seasoning, then mound onto a platter.