Loaves of Comfort

It's been a crazy few days around our house with a very sick baby. So, needless to say, I haven't exactly been the best cook on the block. In fact we had take out two nights in a row (otherwise known as "Seth's cooking" around here), which is something we haven't done since our parent-free days.

So while I'm not making much comfort food, I wanted to write about it. Usually when I think of comfort foods, I think of cheesy casseroles and hearty soups, but really, for me at least, it's any food that evokes some kind of emotion. It's a food that makes you smile at the mere thought or perhaps even conjures up a memory you'd never forgotten but seldom spend much time thinking of.

That's where Erik's bread comes in. Erik is a guy's guy. His nickname is Hoops. He's from a small town on the Oregon Coast, loves to chat about sports and would likely be hard-pressed to find someone he couldn't get along with. What I didn't know was that he could bake. Now I don't think he's spending all of his free moments standing at the mixer with flour-dusted jeans, but there's one recipe he really gets into. And lucky for friends like me, he likes to share.

At the holidays, or most recently, on my birthday, Erik pops by to drop off a loaf of Pulla, a braided Finnish bread similar to challah. It's a gorgeous bread that is dense, slightly sweet and tastes of a hint of cardamom. It's shiny crust is thin, golden and soft, and I've yet to find a way I don't like it. I'll eat a slice plain, toasted with butter, make French toast with it or use day-old cubes for a bread pudding.

Erik says he had the bread as a kid and made a point of having his grandmother show him how to make it. It was a recipe she brought with her from Finland. Erik still uses the 3-by-5 note card she scrawled the recipe on for him. I'm happy for family recipes, and especially happy for friends who share them.

Here is the recipe, straight from Erik, which he says is a combination of his grandmother's instructions and his own notes. And I'm guessing that since this great recipes makes four loaves, you won't mind sharing at least one of them with a friend of your own.

* I chunk 1 stick of butter into a really large mixing pot. (My Grandma wrote Fleischmann's margarine, but we actually use whatever butter we have on hand.)
* 2 cups of milk, warmed on the stove until lukewarm. I usually look for bubbles to form around the edges before pouring it in. (The idea is to use the warm milk to help melt the butter. I've yet to remember to pull a stick of butter out of the fridge a few hours early to allow it to warm, but maybe I'll remember to do that next weekend.)
* 1 packet of yeast softened in half a cup of warm water. We use a fast-rise yeast that Erin keeps in the fridge. What I do is put a packet's worth (2 1/4 teaspoons, I think) in a little ceramic cup, then moisten it with lukewarm water from the tap. (I've gotten a little neurotic about not killing the yeast, so I first warm the cup with warm water from the tap.)
* 1 cup of sugar.
* Half a teaspoon of cardamon seed powdered. You can, of course, buy powdered cardamon seed, but I follow my Grandma's method of putting the granuals into a cloth, then pounding into powder myself with a hammer. Again, I see how this can seem a little weird but I figure I better follow Grandma's methods.)
* Half a teaspoon of salt.
* Four or more egg yolks and 1 white. (I crack the first three eggs and drizzle the whites into a glass that I use later as egg wash before baking.) Obviously, you whip the eggs then pour into the mixing pot with all the rest.

By this time, the milk is usually warm enough to pour in. I swish it all together, dissolving everything into a liquid before adding 8 cups of flour. Incidentally, I usually measure out the flour and put it into a separate bowl, which I then put in the oven to warm slightly. (Still panicky about killing the yeast.)
Next step is to start mixing in the flour with a mixer. When it becomes too thick for that, I start adding flour and kneading by hand. Ultimately, I like the ball of dough to have enough flour that it won't stick to the pot.
The next step is to let it rise for 1 hour in warm conditions. (After various experiments, I've turned up our furnace to 70 and set it on a chair in front of a vent next to the dining room table. My mom thought this was whack and said normal people put it atop the fridge, which is generally warm. All I know is, this has worked for me in this particular house, so I don't mess with success. In the past, I've had trouble getting the dough to rise. My Grandma theorized that my old apartment wasn't warm enough. Of course, she usually kept her place sweltering at roughly the temperature a Finnish sauna ... but I digress.)
Punch it down after an hour and let it rise another hour.
Braid it in loaves and let those rise for about 45 minutes. (I warm the oven slightly and let them rise in there).
When you're ready to bake, pull the egg wash out of the fridge and paint it atop the loaves. Sprinkle with a fancy granular sugar and put it in the oven.
Bake for 350 for 10 minutes, then turn it down to 325 and bake for 20 to 25 more minutes. (I usually swap the pans at this point, so the ones on top aren't too well-done.)
Eat.

Oddles of Noodles

Not long after I met Christiane, I was reading one of her menus when I asked her to describe her sesame noodles. Chalk it up to my Oklahoma upbringing, but I'd never had this dish before. I was half embarrassed that I hadn't even heard of it.

I knew that it was an Asian dish, but beyond that I knew nothing. When I was in elementary school, there was a strip mall bordering our subdivision, and nestled in the middle was a Chinese restaurant. I don't know the actual name, and frankly in that place at that time "Chinese" was the ubiquitous term for anywhere that served fried rice and egg drop soup. This helps explain some of my perceptions I later learned to label as misconceptions. Like the time I asked my roommate Joan, who is Filipino, if she grew up using chopsticks (before you think I'm a complete idiot, she was eating with chopsticks during this conversation). The Jersey girl told me she didn't start using them regularly until she moved to San Francisco for grad school.

I am proud to say that I learned more in college than how to fill a Blue Book thanks to friends such as Joan. I came to understand there are thousands of variances in Asian cuisine. In fact, to think otherwise would be like thinking that all North American food tasted the same. And, of course, we recognize that even here in the United States there are variations of the same dish from region to region, such as how Memphis barbecue is different than Texas barbecue and New England chowder is different than the bowls full of it we eat on the Oregon coast. And then there are even those dishes that slip in and catch the tidal wave of hip just by being fresh and new.

That's how sesame noodles came to us. According to a New York Times story, sesame noodles, or Szechuan noodles, became popular in New York in the 1970s and '80s as a fun, flavorful new take on Chinese takeout. They are typically served cold and soon became a new standard in Chinese food - at least in that corner of the country.

Today there are lots of recipes out there for sesame noodles, which now are just as frequently called peanut noodles. Many of those recipes include nothing more than peanut butter, soy sauce and chili oil. And many of them aren't nearly this good. I can't say how this recipe holds up to the New York dish, but I can say that I haven't met someone who doesn't like these noodles. Don't feel daunted by the long list of ingredients. Most of them are things you may already have in the pantry, and even if you don't, they don't spoil quickly.

And as if this dish needs to be any more appealing, it is easy to make and can be refrigerated until serving. That makes them perfect for a busy day, leftover lunches or a picnic in the park. You can serve them naked except for their sauce or top them with sliced peppers, green onions and black sesame seeds. When I make them as a dinner, I top them with lots of steamed veggies.


Szechuan Noodles
From Ina Garten

6 garlic cloves, chopped
1/4 cup fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup tahini
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup good soy sauce
1/4 cup dry sherry
1/4 cup sherry vinegar
1/4 cup honey
1/2 teaspoon hot chili oil
2 tablespoons dark sesame oil
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 pound spaghetti

Place garlic and ginger in food processor. Add remaining ingredients, except pasta, and puree to a smooth sauce.

Cook pasta until al dente (do not overcook as pasta will absorb the sauce as it sets). Drain well.

Combine sauce and pasta until pasta is thoroughly coated. Refrigerate until ready to serve, giving it about 15 to 20 minutes to come up to room temperature before eating.

Top with sliced bell peppers and green onions.

Cookie Craving

Last night over wine and fondue on a girls' night, we began talking about our favorite cookies. It was the perfect opportunity to profess my renewed love for the just-out-of-the-oven cookie. Really, who doesn't like a warm, gooey cookie? Pair it with some ice cream, and that's my idea of the perfect dessert.

Recently I've started stocking my freezer with balls of cookie dough that are just about 10 minutes away from that perfect dessert. It's a tip from the pros. Make one batch of dough, bake off just what you need (OK, want) at that point and freeze the rest. It's a technique that will pay off tenfold, I promise. Instead of having a heaping mound of cookies as a result of one afternoon's craving, you'll get your fill then and have more for later. And not only does this trick settle a late-night sweet tooth, but it could also make a great, easy dessert for a casual dinner party with friends. A cookie fresh out of the oven could rival the most pretentious of cakes or pies.


Of course, you can buy premade cookie doughs at the grocery store, and many of those aren't bad, but this method would allow you to make any kind of cookie you like. Below I've listed a recipe for a great chocolate cookie that is meant to be eaten warm. It also happens to pair quite nicely with a good scoop of vanilla ice cream.

To freeze cookie dough: Make cookie dough following recipe directions. Shape dough into appropriate size balls, discs or cut shapes based on recipe instructions. Place dough on cookie sheet, making sure no cookies touch. Place in freezer loosely covered for approximately 30 minutes to 1 hour or until frozen. Transfer frozen dough balls to freezer bag or storage container. To bake, remove however many cookies you want from the freezer and allow to rest at room temperature for about 15 minutes and then bake as recipe instructions indicate.

Molten Chocolate Cookie
adapted from Guittard Chocolate Company recipe

2 Cups Dark Chocolate Chips
3 Tablespoons butter
2 Large eggs
1/2 Cup Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon vanilla
1 Cup all-purpose flour
1/2 Teaspoon baking powder

Melt chocolate chips and butter in a double boiler over low heat, stirring until smooth and thick. Remove from heat and set aside to cool. In a large mixing bowl, combine eggs, sugar, salt and vanilla. Beat on high until mixture is a pale yellow and slightly thick, about 2 minutes. Mix in chocolate on low speed, stopping to scrape the bowl. Slowly add flour and baking powder on low speed just until incorporated. Cover dough and refrigerate for 15 minutes. Scoop dough into balls and either bake immediately or freeze. Bake in a 375 degree oven for about 10 to 12 minutes. The outsides should be crusty and the inside will remain soft and gooey.

Biscuit Perfection

I have my dad to thank for my addiction to breakfast. I can't imagine heading out the door for the day without sitting down to at least a bowl of cold cereal. As a kid, I used to sit down at the table with Dad to enjoy our breakfasts while I often read the back of the cereal box and he read the paper. My older sister was part of this ritual until she reached junior high, and my mom was usually headed home from working the night shift as a nurse when we were eating breakfast. As my mom's jobs changed and my sister moved out, Dad and I were still sitting down together in the mornings to enjoy breakfast.

I still can't manage a day without breakfast, and when I married Seth he worked a swing shift. That meant those morning meals were our only time together. So, we started our own tradition of a hearty breakfast. These days I prefer oatmeal or a simple fried egg on top of a piece of toast, one of Dad's dishes.

On weekends, though, we typically have a bigger breakfast. Many of those mornings include Seth making some scrambled eggs while I bake biscuits. It's hard to beat the salty, flaky, buttery taste of a great biscuit. When a friend finds out about my biscuit passion, they usually assume it was something I was raised on -- a country girl from Oklahoma probably had lots of biscuit breakfasts. It's true, my mom did make biscuits a lot. But, just like a lot of moms, she made the Bisquick variety. In fact, I remember disliking the canned version most of my friend's moms made. The Bisquick version was the standard in my book.

Somewhere along the line I stopped buying Bisquick myself. I found a recipe in my Better Homes and Gardens cookbook that I liked. My early attempts at biscuit-making weren't necessarily great, but I could tell that I should strive for a new standard. Lots of biscuits out there, including Bisquick's, bake up a little stiff and end up with the crumb of a cake doughnut. To me, a biscuit should be a soft, pillowy bread with buttery layers that flake apart with the ease of a fork. My mom taught me that: A good biscuit is fork split -- no knife required.


After much practice, I can usually turn out a biscuit I think is pretty darn good. Much like making any pastry, though, the recipe can only get you so far. Technique is important. You don't want all the butter to melt before baking because it's that process that creates those lovely layers as the melting butter creates steam pockets in the toasty oven. And also like may other pastries, biscuits need a dab of butter on top to help them brown.

There are several things I've learned along the way that help make a better biscuit such as popping the unbaked dough in the freezer for a few minutes before baking will help them rise better because the butter will be good and cold. And don't turn your biscuit cutter, just press it straight down and pull it back up. Turning causes one side to fall. And after cutting your biscuit rounds, dip both sides in melted butter for a lovely golden crispness. The unbaked biscuits of this recipe even freeze well, so bake up what you want and throw the remaining in an airtight container for a quick baking later.

I think once you have one of these biscuits, you could find a reason to make breakfast a habit in your house, too. They're great on their own or split 'em open and make a little biscuit, bacon and egg sandwich. That is a breakfast worth repeating!

Flaky Biscuits
adapted from Better Homes and Gardens
2 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for working with dough
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, cold, cubed
2/3 cup milk
2 tablespoons butter, melted

In a food processor combine dry ingredients and cubed butter. Mix, pulsing until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. If you do not have a food processor, use a pastry blender to combine ingredients. Dump flour and butter mixture into a mixing bowl and add milk. Combine with a spoon. Turn out dough onto well-floured surface. Work dough into a ball and use a rolling pin to roll dough out to about 3/4 of inch thick. Use a biscuit cutter to cut rounds, or using a knife cut square biscuits. Dip cut biscuit tops and bottoms in melted butter and transfer to baking sheet. Place biscuits in freezer for at least five minutes (I place the entire baking sheet in there). Bake biscuits in 450 oven for about 10 to 12 minutes or until golden brown.

Variation: Add two teaspoons of sugar to dry mixture and zest of one lemon or orange. In cut dough, make a thumb print and put a teaspoon of berry jam into each depression. Make a glaze with citrus juice and powdered sugar to brush on the top of baked biscuits.

Carrots on the side

Yesterday was one of those days when the weather can't make up its mind. Growing up in Oklahoma, a statement like that would typically be followed up with a damage description. Like the hail damage my mom recently got on her car or my in-law's fence that just blew over onto their neighbor's car.

Here in the Northwest, even when the weather is wacky, it's still typically benign. Last night the television news anchors kept talking about hail. I finally realized they were referring to the sleet-like pellets no bigger than a peppercorn. In my book, you can't call it hail unless it's at least the size of a marble, and don't expect sympathy unless we're talking golf-ball sized.

So, given that we had some sunshine mixed in there, I'd say yesterday was a fair weather day. Especially when you consider that extra hour of daylight, teasing us with the long, warm days yet to come. It was reason enough for us to pull out the Weber grill for dinner. We grilled turkey burgers and carrot sticks. I often cook oven fries to go with burgers, but since we'd tried Burgerville's Rosemary Shoestring Fries earlier in the day, we decided to go a bit healthier for dinner.


Carrots are something I've always got in the fridge. They keep longer than most veggies, are available year-round, and they are so versatile, they can easily go from appetizer to side dish to main. I didn't care for carrots as a kid, but that was because I mostly ate them raw. I still don't care for them raw, but wow, a little heat does a carrot good. My go-to side dish is to roast or grill carrot sticks tossed in olive oil, salt and pepper. The dish is so easy to prepare and it turns a hard, somewhat flavorless veggie into a slightly sweet and salty bite.

Forgo the baby carrot sticks, which are wasteful seeing that carrots don't grow in tiny, uniform shapes. Just buy the plain old, dingy orange carrots. It literally takes a few seconds to peel them, and then you can cut them into sticks, on the bias for a nice bite-size pieces or shred them. You can even use your peeler to create beautiful carrot ribbons that are fun in a salad or a long-cut pasta dish. Just as when cooking anything, you'll want to cut them uniformly so they will evenly cook. And when they are done cooking, toss them once more in a bowl with a bit of salt. I bet you'll be surprised just how good a carrot can be. Around here, at least, we didn't miss the fries!

Grilled Carrots Peel and slice carrots into fairly uniform-sized sticks by cutting carrot in half and then either halving or quartering those pieces. Toss in olive oil, salt and pepper. Place on a hot grill, rotating to grill on all sides. Toss once again with salt. Serve warm or room temperature as an appetizer or side dish. Variations: Prepare carrots with same method and cook in a 400 degree oven instead of grill until carrots cooked through and slightly caramelized. Add dried herbs or minced garlic to olive oil for flavor variations.

Fish and chips, not fries

Last week I headed to the kitchen to make dinner, looking forward to cooking the cod fillet I'd picked up. I looked at a couple of potatoes daring to me they'd take root if I didn't do something with them immediately. I planned on throwing the fish in a foil packet in the oven with lemon, butter and salt and pepper.

And right then, my healthy fishy meal was diverted. I pulled out the mandolin and started slicing potatoes. Maybe, I thought, I'll make them au gratin, layered with cream and cheese. That seemed like a lot of work. Plus, my fish was going to cook so quickly, why would I want to wait on potatoes to cook? Then, without a thought, I pulled out a large pan and the vegetable oil. I would make chips to go with my fish. Yeah, chips. If I'd have thought about it too long, I would have probably thought that sounded like a silly idea, too. There's the whole I've-never-made-potato-chips factor combined with the I-never-buy-potato-chips motto. But hey, just because I don't eat McDonald's doesn't mean I don't like hamburgers.

So, I heated oil and, working in small batches, slipped the thin slices of potato into the pot. I turned the chips as needed to help them brown better. I was a bit nervous about them not being crisp enough, so I let them get pretty well-browned. I wasn't bothered by this, though, because think about how different a Kettle chip looks compared to the thin, pale Lay's version. As the chips came out of the oil, I placed them in a bowl lined with paper towels, dusted them generously with salt and tossed.


They were a divine burst of crispy, salty yumminess. And what a treat. Plus, the already heated oil gave me a great excuse to fry the fish. So, we had fish and chips for dinner. It was the kind of meal I remember being very excited about coming home to as a kid.

I'd give you a more formal recipe if I thought I had any expertise with this dish, but I don't. But I will say, it's not as hard as you may think, and, if you approach it like I did, with very little thought, I think you'll find it's actually easier than you could imagine. Just heat some oil (I'd suggest some type of veg or peanut oil) and slice potatoes using a mandolin. Once the oil bubbles rapidly when a potato slice is added, it's hot. Turn to brown and remove when golden. They will continue to brown slightly once removed from the oil. Salt immediately after removing. Serve 'em warm or room temp. I'd give you advice on storing them if I thought you'd need it, but I'm guessing you'll finish them before the day is done!

It's not just for breakfast

When someone I know opened up a bed and breakfast a few years ago I told them they should cook bacon every morning. When asked why, I said "Because everyone loves the smell of bacon, and most people probably don't cook it at home too often."

Seth agrees with this sentiment, at least the smell-good part. He's long been a proponent of a bacon-scented candle. My cousin Nathan agreed recently over dinner that everyone loves the smell of bacon -- "Except vegetarians," he said. "To vegetarians bacon smells like violence." Ha! Probably true, but so, so sad.

I grew up in the heart-smart '80's when margarine was in and eggs were out. My mother's work as a registered nurse in a cardiac unit at the local hospital meant that even as a third-grader I knew the heart-healthy diet no-nos. So, we ate a lot of turkey bacon. I think it was just becoming popular and what else should we cook in our brand new microwave (Which, by the way, along with the cordless phone ensured me that we were indeed rich, I tell you.)?

I don't remember the last time I tasted turkey bacon, but I do remember enough to know it does not taste like pig bacon. Bacon is salty, crispy, perhaps slightly sweet, and is proud of its flavor-inducing fat. Thanks to the "Eat This, Not That" guy, it's become popular trivia that turkey bacon is actually not great for you. It's got more sodium than the real deal. More sodium than salty piggy bacon? Yes. So why take a turkey when it's a pig you want? I say, don't.


Bacon isn't just for breakfast. It's a pantry staple in my house. It's cheap. And you can cook it quickly and make just the right amount. I put it in pasta, atop my pizza, on a sandwich, in a salad. It turns an otherwise ordinary meal into something memorable. It satisfies a meaty craving in a veggie-heavy dish. And because we most often eat it in strips alongside eggs, we're mesmerized at how great it tastes for dinner.

So, in case you don't often have bacon in the fridge, pick some up. Here are a few pointers and recipe ideas:

• Look for nitrite- and nitrate-free bacon. These are preservatives that aren't necessary.
• For the most versatility, buy the plain stuff. Don't get sucked into applewood-smoked or peppered stuff. That way, your bacon will fit the flavor profile of many more dishes.
• Compare prices with the prepackaged stuff and what's in your grocer's deli case. Bacon freezes well, and it doesn't spoil as quickly as fresh meats (remember bacon has been cured). And remember at the deli case you could buy as little as two slices if you'd like.
  
• Read labels and ingredient lists. There shouldn't be chemicals or fake-sounding things, especially if it's labeled nitrite- and nitrate-free.
  
• Forget the splatter. Line a rimmed cookie sheet with parchment paper or foil and lay flat as many slices of bacon as needed. Cook in a high-heat oven (approx. 400 degrees) or under the broiler. Watch closely as it will cook fast. Remove when cooked to desired doneness and place on paper towels to drain. When I'm making bacon for a dish such as pizza, I cook it in my preheating oven.
  
• Use the rendered fat from cooking bacon to saute onions or other veggies for your dish. This imparts a wonderful flavor and is a great way to stretch your bacon even further.
• Cook an extra slice one evening and store in the refrigerator covered overnight. Add to your brown-bag sandwich the next day. What a treat.
  
• Around my house, two to three slices of bacon is enough per person for dinner portions. If your crew is a bit more meat-eatin' than that, up it to four or so slices.
  
• Combine baby spinach, sliced mushrooms, crumbled bacon, blue cheese, apple slices and an apple cider vinegar dressing for a delicious entree salad.
  
• Toss good pasta with parmesan, arugula or spinach, bacon and olive oil.
  
• Grilled cheese + apple slices + bacon = DINNER! (the apple and bacon go inside the sandwich)
  
• Bacon, egg and biscuit sandwich is one our breakfast favorites around here.
  
• Use cooked bacon as a pizza topping like this.
  
• Use bacon to top soups. Here's an idea: Bake russet potatoes. Mash 'em, skins and all and combine with enough milk to make it a soup instead of mashed potatoes. Add salt and pepper. Add butter for more yummy. Then top with shredded cheddar and bacon.

Feel Better

I know that just a couple of weeks ago, I wrote about a soup, so I had some reservations about mentioning soup again. Technically it's still winter, though, and pretty much every one seems to be recently over a cold or getting one. So, soup it is. Again.

My cousin Nathan visited last week to do some amazing carpentry work on our unfinished staircase. It looks great, and we're pleased -- even Seth! During his visit I had the chance to cook for him, which was fun. But somewhere along the way I lost my voice. Maybe I should take it as a hint. After a couple of days of practically no voice, I was feeling very much like I wanted someone to cook for me. I wanted to snuggle on the couch with a cup of hot tea and have some delicious soup.

In a slight fog, I managed to pull together a soup that took very little effort and made me feel a bit better. We ate our soup snuggled in the den watching "Get Smart." It was the perfect not-feeling-well movie. It was funny and didn't require any brain power to watch it. It's like for a couple of magical hours I was able to be on autopilot. And we even had a couple of chocolate cookies for dessert thanks to a chocolate craving I had earlier in the weekend.

Hope everyone else is feeling well. Spring cannot come soon enough!


Sausage and Fire Roasted Tomato Soup
1 (or 2) links of good Italian sausage, casing removed
1 medium onion, diced
2 carrots, peeled, quartered and sliced
1 28-ounce can of fire roasted tomatoes (I like Muir Glen Organic)
Approximately 3 cups of vegetable or chicken stock
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups small or short-cut pasta
2 handfuls of spinach, chopped
Red pepper flakes to taste
Salt and pepper to taste

Brown and crumble sausage add onion and carrot, cooking until vegetables begin to soften. Add stock and deglaze the pot. Add canned tomatoes and paste. Bring to a slow boil, stirring occassionally and adjusting seasoning. Add pasta and continue to cook on a slow boil until pasta is al dente. Do not overcook the pasta as it will continue to cook in the soup once you turn off the heat. Just before serving, stir in the spinach. Top with parmesan and enjoy!

Delicious combination

This post is about a pizza, but really, it's not about pizza. It's about what happens when you bring salty, sweet and tangy together in one bite. It's also about taking a few ordinary foods and making something that tastes extraordinary.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a pizza snob. I'll dig into a pepperoni pizza with red sauce and tons of cheese any day of the week. It's just that I make pizza at home about once a week, and I never seem to have the traditional pizza ingredients on hand. So instead, I top my pizza with whatever I've got around -- olive oil and parm are always in my kitchen, and that's a good start for any pizza, right?

The most recent pizza I made was topped with olive oil, parm, crumbled bacon, caramelized onions, pear and blue cheese. If that didn't sound good, then go call Domino's because I cannot help you.


The combination is delicious. Salty bacon and parmesan balance the sweet, ripe pear and caramelized onions, and the blue just adds enough of a bite to make the entire thing come together. These ingredients also pair nicely over pasta or even sandwiched between two pieces of good bread.

I hope this encourages other home cooks to think outside of the Pizza Supreme box. Getting creative with pizza isn't about taco pizzas or the 5-pounds-of-meat variety. It's about using what you have and being confident to try something a little bold. Try apple instead of pear or roasted red grapes. Add pesto instead of olive oil. Leave off the blue and add some argula instead for a little bite. Heck, good pizza dough, olive oil, parm and red pepper flakes is good -- I call 'em breadsticks!

Do what sounds good. And the only real rule to remember is to not use the Pizza Big Guys as the guide. A delicious pizza doesn't have to weigh in at 10 pounds or be covered in gooey cheese. In fact, the more simple it looks, the better it will probably taste. Red sauce and mozerella are not a requirement.

Try it just once. I bet you'll be hooked, too.

Here's the crust recipe I always use. It was given to me by my former neighbor Kim Mahan who owns a cooking school and catering business. I use it to either make two thin-crust pizzas (think pizza and bread sticks). If you don't need both crusts as once, you can freeze one.

Pizza Crust
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup of warm water
1 package (or 2 1/2 teaspoons) yeast
Olive Oil

The dough is easiest made in a food processor fitted with a dough blade. It can be made by hand, but expect a more consistent crust with food processor.

Combine flour and salt in the food processor. Add yeast to the warm water and stir to combine. Turn the processor on and pour the water mixture in slowly followed by a light drizzle of olive oil. Process until the dough forms a ball, then process for about 1 more minute. Remove dough from processor work bowl and place in a bowl at least double its size. Drizzle olive oil over top and smear around with your fingers. This will keep the dough from getting an outer crust on the dough ball. Cover loosely with plastic wrap or a dish towel. Let the dough rise for approximately 1 to 2 hours, until it has doubled in size. Once dough has risen, use quickly or store in the refrigerator in tightly-wrapped plastic for about 1 day or freeze.

Bake crust (topped with pizza ingredients) for about 10 to 14 minutes (depending on the thickness) in a 450 degree oven. A pizza stone is best, but a cookie sheet would do.

A Winter Treat

I don't like going to the grocery store. Don't get me wrong -- I love shopping for food. But when you combine a budget and those glowing lights and high ceilings, it just doesn't feel so fun. For a while I was writing a weekly menu and shopping exclusively for that menu. I dreaded writing the menus, and, while it took the thinking out of the nightly dinners, it also felt constraining at times. Maybe when Wednesday rolled around, I didn't feel like Turkey Meatloaf Patties. Or maybe it sounded good, but I just didn't have the energy.

Basically, I'm just not a planner. I simply operate better when I don't think and just do. Sometimes that makes for a very bad dinner. But thankfully, more often than not, it leads to something much better or more creative than if I'd planned the entire thing out a week in advance. Plus, I've noticed that I am being more resourceful with my pantry and not wasting as much (which is always the danger if you buy an ingredient with just one dish in mind).

This is how I came to know a beautiful dish I named Roasted Butternut Squash and Golden Beet Risotto. I guess I used all my creativity to make the dish, not name it.

I had a big squash awaiting my attention and decided to cube it and roast it one afternoon. I added the golden beets because I was afraid I might forget I had them if I didn't cook them at once. I wasn't quite sure what I'd do with the roasted veggies, but I knew if I took the time to roast them in the afternoon, a dinner would come much easier. As I reached in the cabinet for the polenta (anything on top of polenta makes a meal in my book), I noticed the Arborio rice. I instantly could picture a delicious golden risotto.


So, that's how the dish came about. It wasn't really very insightful, but wow, it was good. The roasted squash and beets take on a subtle sweetness, and the squash practically melts in to the dish while the beets maintain their cubed shape, making for a nice texture overall.

Of course the trick to a good risotto is paying attention and checking the grains during the cooking process. Otherwise, you could end up with a pile of mush. Another risotto tip is that if you'll be adding parm or another salty cheese, go easy on the seasoning until the end. It would be easy to over salt and turn all of your hard work into an inedible meal.

Oh, and in keeping with my latest trend, I topped my risotto with crumbled bacon. It was delicious, of course, but a vegetarian version would be just as delightful.

Roasted Butternut Squash and Golden Beet Risotto
1 large butternut squash, peeled and cubed
3 golden beets, peeled and cubed (reserve greens for garnish)
1 medium onion, diced
1, 32-ounce box of chicken or veg stock (Pacific is organic, easy to find and affordable)
2 cups Arborio rice
3/4 cup + finely grated parmesan cheese
Salt and pepper to taste Olive oil

Toss cubed squash and beets in olive oil, pepper and a pinch of salt. Liberally sprinkle baking dish with salt and add veggies. The salt on the pan will help keep veggies from sticking. Roast squash and beets in a 400 degree oven until a knife easily slides through. Be sure the squash and beets are all cubed to equal size, so cooking time will be even. Roasting will take approximately 25 minutes for a cube a little smaller than 1-inch. Once cooked through, remove and set aside. This step can be done ahead. Store covered in the refrigerator after completely cooled. Bring to room temperature before adding to final dish.

Pour stock into a sauce pan and heat over low heat. In a wide-bottomed pot, saute onion in olive oil. Add rice and cook over medium heat, stirring, until grains just begin to turn translucent on edges. Add a ladle or two full of stock to the rice and stir. Continue stirring and adding stock. There should be just enough stock to almost cover the grains. Do not add more until the stock has been absorbed. Continue this process, checking occassionally to see if the grains are cooked through. When they are nearly cooked through, go easy on the stock, trying to make sure that the liquid is cooked down at same time the rice is done. Add in parm and veggies and stir lightly until incorporated. Add seasoning to taste. More cheese could be added for a richer, saltier taste. Serve immediately topped with additional cheese and garnish with chopped beet greens.

Alternate method: Top with bacon if desired. Cook bacon in wide-bottomed pot and saute onion in bacon drippings instead of olive oil.

This recipe will make approximately three to four meal-size portions or probably double that for a side dish.

Pork Cabbage Soup

Note to Readers: This post marks a new step for The Dinner Hour. Each Monday you can check the blog for a new recipe and a quick read. Although my food photography skills are lacking, I will try to offer a decent photo or two. My hope is that this gives readers something to look forward to. Any feedback is appreciated!

I've read many recipes for cabbage soup, and, to be honest, none of them ever sounded very appealing. I do like raw cabbage, but I've never been to interested in cooked cabbage. But yesterday I walked into New Seasons and stopped at their tasting counter (yes, I realize this is direct consumer marketing, but at New Seasons even that feels friendly!). They had samples of a cabbage soup that tasted delicious. I picked up the recipe and realized I had several of the ingredients already in my pantry. So, I decided I'd pick up the remaining ones and make it for dinner that night.

I have to say the best part of this meal was its simplicity. It took me no more than 15 minutes from prep to stovetop. If you have a good pantry with winter veggie staples this meal should not require too much. If apple cider vinegar isn't a staple in your pantry, go get some today. It's delicious in many recipes from deviled eggs to coleslaw dressing. TIP: Vinegars can be purchased in gallon jugs -- this is the best bang for your buck, and they don't go bad.

I suspect you could even make a tasty version without the pork, although in that case the seasoning may need tweaking or simply substitute veg stock for some of the water. I scaled down the meat quite a bit for this soup because it's cheaper and fits into our eat-less-meat motto. The recipe calls for pork shoulder, but I purchased two country-style ribs from the butcher and got away with just the right amount. Any slow-cooking cut would be suitable for this dish.

Pork Cabbage Soup
Adapted from New Season's Sophie's Kapusta

1 1/2 pounds pork shoulder, cut into 2-inch cubes
1 medium head of green cabbage, cored and chopped
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
1 carrot, grated
1 apple, peeled and diced
1 cup sauerkraut, rinsed
2 large waxy potatoes OR other low-starch potato
2 teaspoons Kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon fresh cracked pepper
1/2 teaspoon caraway seeds
1 bay leaf
Apple cider vinegar and additional S &P to taste
Mild greens of your choice (fresh chopped spinach or beet greens are good)

Put the meat, onion, cabbage, sauerkraut, apple and seasonings into soup pot. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Cook until meat is tender, approximately 1 hour. Add carrots and potatoes. Continue to cook until potatoes are tender. Remove from heat. Add vinegar to taste preference (try 1/2 cup and then sample). Add salt and pepper as needed. Just before serving, add greens for color.

Uninspired

Perhaps it's because we've been a bit under the weather around here, but I'm feeling rather uninspired in the kitchen these days. I've been getting less sleep thanks to that crazy little man of mine, and all the sleepiness makes me want to crawl onto the couch with a warm blanket and a cup of hot cocoa. Not make dinner.

And then trying to be creative and budget-wise. It's just feeling a bit more like a chore than I'd like. Perhaps I'm also feeling a bit sorry for myself because we've just started watching Mad Men, and I just can't get over how beautiful Betty keeps her house clean, her kids looking just as beautiful as she and the meals hitting the table. She is in therapy, though, right?

This week I cooked a pot of beans, and now we're playing the how-many-meals-can-be-based-on-beans game. Don't tell Seth. I'm hoping he won't notice.

Until next week, send me your quick and easy dinner recipes. Please. I can't even keep my kid and house clean, so dinner will sink without some inspiration.

99 cents

A few months ago some girlfriends and I were talking about our grocery bills. Exciting, I know, but the topic seems to come up frequently. My friend Kim mentioned that she read somewhere that you should only buy proteins for no more than a dollar a pound. My reaction was, "Yeah, right."

I very often buy meats for more than a dollar a pound, and a recent holiday discussion with my mom revealed that her local butcher was asking somewhere around $15 a pound for prime rib. In this economy, even my parents vetoed the spendy beef for their holiday party.

But really, a dollar a pound? You can't even buy canned tuna for that. Eggs are about the cheapest thing I can think of, and since I've never cooked with them by weight, I'm not really sure what the price per pound is. On Sunday I was at Winco and saw whole fryer chickens for 99 cents a pound. You had to buy two birds, but I thought I had to take them up on the offer because it seemed like such a good deal. When you buy bone-in meat, it's always good to remember that part of that weight is bone, but even still, the price was right. I'll put the bones to use to make stock, so they're worth the price anyway.

I roasted one of the chickens last night, pulled the meat off and left the carcass in a pot of seasoned simmering water for about four hours. I made a chicken noodle soup using Grandma Peach's homemade egg noodle recipe. Cheap, easy and good. The ingredients were basic: chicken, onion, carrot, celery, water, flour, egg and seasoning. The result was delicious on a warm snowy night (yes, it snowed here. Again!).

Tonight I'm making chicken enchiladas with the remaining meat, and tomorrow I believe I'll roast the other bird. Some of that meat will hit the freezer for a quick meal on a later date.

Chicken Noodle Soup
1 whole fryer chicken
2 onions, one quartered, one diced
3 carrots, thinly sliced
3 ribs of celery, thinly sliced
2 cups of flour
2 eggs
Bay leaf
Olive oil
Salt and pepper

Rinse and pat dry chicken, removing any organ meats inside the bird (either discard or save for another use). Season the bird well with salt and pepper both outside and underneath the skin. Roast in a 375-degree oven until internal temperature is 155 degree. The temperature should rise to 160 after resting a few minutes. This took about 50 minutes in my oven for a bird just under five pounds. Once cooked, let chicken cool until it can be handled, then remove meat from the bones. Discard excess fat and skin. Place the meat in the refrigerator, and reserve the carcass.

Fill a large stock pot a little more than half-full with water. Season generously with salt. Add one onion, peeled and quartered, and bay leaf. Place carcass in water, making sure it is covered. Place the pot on a medium-high heat until it begins to boil, then reduce to a simmer. Let simmer with a cocked lid for roughly three hours. The liquid should have reduced by roughly half, leaving a concentrated broth. Remove carcass and drain broth, running through a sieve to collect bay leaf and any other meat or bone particals.

Add oil, onions, carrots and celery to pot and cook on medium heat until vegetables begin to soften. Return broth to pot. Add approximately four cups of water and season well. Bring liquid to a light boil. Add in noodles and cook for three to four minutes until noodles are done. Add about half of the chicken, shredded, to the pot.

The soup can be served immediately, but for best results, allow to sit overnight. That's because my noodles tend to be slightly tough just after cooking. After setting up for several hours, they are perfect. Perhaps you'll have more delicate hands, and your noodles will be tender! To skip the work of the noodles, buy prepackaged egg noodles from the freezer section of the store or you could used dried pasta.

To make noodles:
Combine with your fingers approximately two cups of flour, a few pinches of salt and two eggs in a medium bowl to form a sticky, thick dough. The exact amount will vary, so it's OK if you're left with some unused flour in the bottom of the bowl. If not, using a rolling pin, work the dough into a thin layer. Using a pizza cutter, cut the dough into long thin strips, roughly three inches long by a quarter-inch wide. Let noodles sit out for at least an hour to dry slightly. Then they can be refrigerated until ready to cook.

Piglets in a Blanket

We have returned home after a whirlwind of travel delays over the holiday. While we did get a little restless living out of a suitcase for nearly two weeks, we were fortunate to have the chance to spend so much time with our family and friends. One afternoon my mom and I made loads of fingerfoods to have on hand while a few dozen of family members came by to visit. We made a cheese plate with brie and blue, mini roast beef and cheddar sandwiches with horseradish and artichoke dip.

But knowing we'd have kids among the mix, I wanted to make sure there was something on the table they'd enjoy. I immediately thought of a favorite in our house, Pigs in a Blanket. It's a meal that, of course, isn't on the diet menu, but, wow, it's heavenly. I make biscuit dough and wrap it around a hot dog sliced down the center and stuffed with cheese. On a really good (or bad, depending on your perspective) day, I'll also make my mac' 'n' cheese to go alongside.

Of course mini-versions of everyday favorites are becoming poplar, perhaps thanks to this year's foodie fascination with all things Spanish, including tapas. It seems sliders, the cute name for mini burgers, have been the front runner even making it on to family chain restaurant menus.

I had a fabulous time making mini Pigs in a Blanket when I enlisted my 5-year-old niece, Lily, as my sous. We used the standby Pillsbury Crescent Roll dough instead of homemade biscuit dough. The taste is just as good, and it is actually much easier for little hands to work with. We served ours on a tray with small dishes of ketchup and mustard for dipping.

The only trouble was that I couldn't make enough. About 50 pieces disappeared shortly after the tray hit the buffet table. It turns out it wasn't just the kids who loved them!

Piglets in a Blanket

1 can Pillsbury Crescent Roll dough
1 12-ounce package mini sausages such as Lil' Smokies
Condiments for dipping

Unroll the Crescent roll dough on a lightly floured surface. Pinch together the pre-cut sections of dough to make one large, uncut piece. With a rolling pin, roll the dough slightly thinner. Using a knife or pizza cutter (the good option for kids), cut strips approximately one inch in length. Then, cut the inch-wide strips into pieces about 3 inches in length. Cut one test strip and wrap around a sausage to make sure the size is correct.

Continue cutting dough into strips. Wrap each sausage in the dough, leaving the ends uncovered. Place on cookie sheets, seam-side down.

Bake according to package directions, cutting the time down to account for the small pieces. Dough should be firm and slightly golden when done. Serve warm or room temperature.

Family Thanksgiving

Since moving to the Northwest almost eight years ago, I've learned to spend holidays in an entirely new way. Growing up, my family always got together for the holidays. We typically spent them all with my dad's parents, and we had a Christmas Eve tradition with my mom's brother and his family.

So, when you move away from everything and your husband works a swing shift, the holidays can turn blue. The very first Thanksgiving I spent out here was actually before Seth and I were married, and I was just visiting. He had to work that evening, so I snuggled up on the couch with a frozen dinner. Pathetic, huh? Since then, my holidays have (slowly) progressed into our own traditions. There was the year I cooked one tiny game hen for myself and enjoyed a bottle of wine. Bad idea.

But as jobs changed and life moved on, we began to create traditions of our own. We enjoy quiche on holiday mornings and Lamb Popsicles on Christmas. We've roasted turkeys with friends and had many wonderful meals around our table. But this year was different. With the recent addition to our family, I can barely plan humdrum weekday dinners, so thinking about Thanksgiving was a little overwhelming. We'd let our friends know they were welcome to come over, but everyone was headed out of town or to a family function.

Then I got a call from cousin Nathan who recently moved to Oregon via Dallas; Togo, Africa; Boston; New Zealand; the French countryside; and, most recently, Northern California. Our dads are brothers and we grew up about three hours apart -- he in Dallas, and I outside of Oklahoma City. We played together as kids during holidays and summer visits, but as we got older, we saw each other less. Then after college he joined the Peace Corps and started a journey that would take him around the globe. He's an organic farmer, winemaker, carpenter and generally all-around-going-to-make-it-anywhere kind of guy.

Nathan and Amy

Somehow or another, we've both now landed fairly close to each other. He just bought some land and an old farmhouse that's about an hour from our home, and he plans on starting his own farm.

This year, it was Nathan who completed our holiday. He called the Friday beforeand said he wanted to come for dinner, and he also had a nine-pound turkey he'd raised that he wanted us to roast.

The extent of my meal planning was a trip to the farmer's market to pick up whatever veggies looked good. Then I ran by Julia Bakery to pick up their delicious challah to make a pumpkin bread pudding (which I served warm with some yummy homemade maple ice cream).

Thanksgiving afternoon, Nathan, Seth and I took turns entertaining Jasper, and we all helped with the cooking. It was a small gathering but one that won't soon be forgotten. We had great company, ate good food and drank good wine.


Of course this year we have plenty to be thankful for, but the opportunity to share a holiday with family who lives close was an added treat. Not to mention the fun of having the farmer and the winemaker at the table with us.

Holiday Help

The holidays are a time when even the most kitchen phobic get the urge to bake, baste or broil. The tough thing is that those of us who do spend time in the kitchen feel our go-to recipes are bit too routine for the most wonderful time of the year. And those who don't cook, well they resort to terrible recipes that they will follow religiously no matter how insane (I apologize, Janet) -- like the legendary casserole my mother-in-law served that called for Cheez Whiz. Luckily, a close friend made her give up this particular recipe card before I married into the fold. The story, however, is still served up each holiday.

To save us all from recipe rut, I asked several friends to fork over their favorite recipes for sweet treats or brunch. It seems those are the dishes that we are likely to give as gifts or be asked to bring along to a festive meal with family or friends.

And to redeem myself and put me back in good graces with my mother-in-law I will share a recipe I got from her called Cranberry Apple Bake. It's delicious, easy and the perfect answer to the canned cranberry blob.

Early A.M. French Toast
Kim shares this yummy warm dish with us. It's the perfect fit for a busy holiday morning, and let's take it from this three-time mommy that anything that can be done ahead of time is a winner!

1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup butter
2 tablespoon corn syrup
5 eggs
1 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 loaf french bread, cut into thick slices

In a medium saucepan over medium heat mix and melt butter, brown sugar and corn syrup. Spray a baking dish with non-stick veggie oil and fill with the butter mix. Mix eggs, milk and vanilla. Arrange bread slices in dish and pour egg mixture over the bread. Don't miss any area and use all of the mixture. Any extra will get soaked up by the bread. Cover dish and refrigerate over night. In the morning, simply uncover and slip into a 350 degree oven for 30 minutes.

Cranberry Bread
A Thanksgiving tradition since I was in second grade: Cranberry Bread. My class made this recipe around Thanksgiving and we each got to take some home at the end of the day. My mom liked the recipe so much that she started taking it to our annual family T-day dinner in Philly. I don't actually remember making it in school that day - I just remember that we always have this on Thanksgiving! -- Liz Odar

2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup butter
1 egg
1 tsp grated orange peel
3/4 cup orange juice
1 1/2 cup fresh cranberries, chopped

Stir all dry ingredients in a bowl. Cut in butter until crumbly. Add egg, orange peel, and juice, stir until evenly moist. Fold in berries. Spoon into greased 9x5x3 loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 70 minutes or until done. Let bread stand in pan 5 to 10 minutes before removing to cool on wire rack.
Note: This recipe doubles easily. The loafs can also be made and baked ahead of time and frozen for a couple weeks.

Chili Cheese Egg Puff
As a kid, I vibrated from sugar overload all Christmas Day. We would wake up and eat the chocolate Santas from our Christmas stockings for breakfast, and lunch usually consisted of sweet holiday breads and cookies. That's probably why, as an adult, I have made it a tradition to prepare a savory, protein-packed breakfast. I often host a Christmas brunch for my family, and this egg casserole -- a recipe I found in the newspaper -- is usually on the menu. -- Erin Middlewood

10 eggs
1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 pint cottage cheese
1 pound (2 cups) shredded jack and cheddar cheese combined
1 stick butter, melted
1 7- to 8-ounce can diced green chilies
Preheat oven to 350 F. Oil 13x9x2-inch pan. Beat eggs; add all ingredients, except chilies. Mix well. Add chilies. Pour into pan. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes. Top should be lightly brown and center should be firm.

Aunt Joan’s Molasses Crinkles
We love to enjoy these cookies at holiday time—along with Russian Tea Cakes (what is it about sugared dough balls in December?)—dipped in hot chocolate, coffee, or peppermint tea (my favorite). Even though the cookies are named after Aunt Joan, I think the recipe belongs to Grandma Myrtle, who named them for the daughter who loved these cookies more than any of the other kids…though I suspect my dad would beg to differ. -- Bonnie Rough

¾ cup shortening or unsalted butter (shortening for softer cookies, butter for slightly chewier)
1 cup brown sugar
1 egg
¼ cup molasses
2 ¼ cup flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
½ teaspoon cloves
¼ teaspoon salt
Granulated sugar to roll cookies

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cream shortening (or butter) and brown sugar. Add egg and molasses; mix well. In a separate bowl, sift together remaining ingredients. Blend dry with wet and refrigerate dough for 1 hour. Once the dough is chilled, hand-roll it into nickel- or quarter-sized balls. Roll the balls in granulated sugar to coat, then place on baking sheet. Bake 10-12 minutes.

Mashed Potato Cinnamon Rolls
I make these cinnamon rolls for Christmas morning. I usually serve it with sausage and fresh fruit. -- Dina Hovde

1 teaspoon sugar
1 package yeast
1/2 cup warm water (110 degreesish)
2 cups scalded milk
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, very soft
1 cup mashed potatoes (or substitute 1 cup of prepared instant potatoes)
1 egg, well beaten
5 cups flour (it usually takes more, for me)
2 cups brown sugar
1 cup flour
1 cup cold margarine (not butter)
2 tablespoons cinnamon (or more)

Mix sugar and yeast together with warm water. Let sit 10 minutes. In large bowl, stir next four ingredients. Stir mashed potatos and egg into that. Then add yeast water to the large bowl. Add the flour after that. Knead 10 mins on a floured surface; adding flour as needed (up to 2 cups, sometimes) to keep it from sticking to you. Grease another large bowl and plop dough into it and turn it over and around once to coat the surface of dough with the fat. Cover and let rise (either at room temp for 2 hours or until double in bulk). My friend Hope says she has let it double in the refrigerator overnight, though I have never tried this. After dough has risen, place on floured surface again and roll into a large rectangle (about 1/4" thick). Cover the surface with the following mixed ingredients (use forks or pastry blender). Roll up dough like a jelly roll. Slice about 1" thick (this is easy to do using a string so you don't smoosh each little roll into awkward shape with too much force). Lay rolls on side in greased 9x13 and 9x9 pans. (Sometimes I use two 9x13s, depending on size of rolls). There should be a little space (not much) between rolls to allow for more rising. Cover with a cloth/dish towel and let rise about an hour or so. (About even with tops of pans.) Bake at 375 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes or until they look dry on top. Cool for 20 minutes (if at all possible), then add the icing. Recipe below. You should know that sometimes I skip the icing, opting for just butter.

Icing
1/4 cup melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons milk
1/2 cup (or more) powdered sugar, to desired consistency
Whisk ingredients until they come together.

Butter Cookies and Jan Hagel
My grandmother's butter cookies. I LOVE THEM. They are around the entire season. They are a hit with kids because of the colored sugar rim. Then there's my mom's Jan Hagel recipe. We are Dutch, so they are a must during the holidays. Can never decide which of these cookies I love more.
-- Dina Hovde

Butter Cookies
2 cups flour
3/4 cups sugar
1 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
Sugar for rolling

Mix all together. Form into a log and then roll in colored or plain sugar. Slice with knife carefully to maintain a circular cookie. Bake at 375 degrees for 12 to 15 minutes or until slightly golden.

Jan Hagel
1/2 pound butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 egg, separated
Almonds

Mix first four ingredients plus egg yolk together in bowl and press onto 9x13 cookie sheet. Brush with 1 unbeaten egg white (spread thin). Sprinkle top with slivered almonds or almond pieces. Bake at 375 for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Quiche Lorraine
My mom made this quiche for weeknight dinners occasionally when I was a kid. I always loved the recipe, and I found it even more endearing when she told me that a friend gave it to her in college. The friend, she said, was in a French class. Maybe that's why we can't learn a second language in this country! -- Amy Prince

1 small onion, diced
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 cup grated Swiss cheese
1/2 cup milk
1 cup whipping cream
3 eggs, beaten
6 slices of bacon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
Unbaked 9-inch pie crust

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Place pie dough in 9-inch pie plate and pierce bottom with fork or knife to prevent puffing. Blind bake pie crust for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and set aside. Reduce oven to 375 degrees. Cook bacon; remove from pan an place on paper towels to drain. Reserve about 2 tablespoons of grease and saute onion in same pan with reserved bacon fat. Crumble cooled bacon. Spread bacon, onions and cheese evenly in pie shell. In a mixing bowl, combine milk, cream, eggs and seasoning. Pour liquid mixture into pie shell. Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes. Quiche should be set in center, and slightly golden. Cool slightly before slicing.

Cranberry Apple Bake
Here is my mother-in-law, Janet's, Cranberry Apple Bake recipe. It's one I happily adopted to my own holiday table and with good reason. It's tasty, and, as Janet says, "If I can make it, anybody can." - Amy Prince

3 cups apples, finely chopped
1 cup sugar
2 cups whole, fresh cranberries
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 cup chopped nuts
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix apples, cranberries and sugar in a bowl and set aside. In a second bowl, mix butter, brown sugar, flour and nuts. Transfer fruit mixture to a 9-by-9-inch casserole or baking pan; spread evenly. Top with butter and brown sugar mixture. Bake for about 1 hour and cool slightly before serving.

What do you call Chilaquiles?

Anyone who grew up in a house where someone cooked regularly knows what it meant to discover the way their mom makes a beloved dish isn't at all what you're served when a neighbor kid invited you over for the same meal.

For me, one of those memorable moments happened when I moved to Fresno from Oklahoma for a summer internship in college. I'd befriended a crazy but fun page designer who sat next to me. She was about 10 years older and had just moved from the East Coast for the job. Both of us looking for friends in the office, we often ate lunch together in the company cafeteria. One day she brought leftover tuna casserole, and I mentioned that the homey casserole was one of my favorite comfort foods. She said the next time she made it that she'd bring me some for lunch.

I was excited at the thought, well, at least of the memory of my mom's dish. While the leftovers my friend brought me weren't horrible, it just wasn't what I was used to. I smelled the cream-of-something-soup and was immediately disappointed that it hadn't occurred to me that someone would make the dish without a homemade white sauce.

I made a dish tonight that I now know as chilaquiles. I was introduced to it after Karly and Jose brought us a huge and delicious pan of it after Jasper was born. After searching online for a recipe, I realized that there are probably no two people who make this dish the same way. It's even gone chic with a deconstructed blue-corn version created by Bobby Flay.

Chilaquiles is a common Mexican dish often served for breakfast. It's basically a leftover scramble or casserole. The common ingredient in all of the recipes I came across is tortillas. Some called for tortilla chips and others for stale corn tortillas. After that, the recipes start looking as varied as the versions of tuna casserole. Some call for eggs, others for chicken; some produce a nacho-like dish and others a scramble. The heart of the dish is that the tortillas soak up a sauce and become soft chunks.

I attempted to replicate the dish I was served. In my mind, the dish Karly and Jose brought will always be what I call chilaquiles. It uses beans for the protein, but, of course, feel free to add or substitute as you like.

This is the type of dish that is produced by home cooks in every culture around the world. Cooks take an inventory of what they've got on hand an improvise. Eventually, that dish turns into Mom's go-to meal, often making them the comfort foods that remind us of childhood. It's resourceful and practical, and it's something we've forgotten. Many of us go to the grocery store to buy a list of ingredients to make one meal. Of course there are times when that's needed, but if we could take a lesson from the great pantry cooks, we'd learn to waste less, spend less and create some heavenly dishes.

Chilaquiles

1 pound dried pinto beans
1 medium onion, diced
1 15-ounce can of diced tomatoes
1 8-ounce can of tomato paste
1 10-ounce can of red enchilada sauce
1 4-ounce can of green chiles
12 corn tortillas
3/4 cup sour cream
Cheese for topping (cheddar or jack)
Seasoning to taste (salt, pepper, chili powder)
Corn or other oil for frying

Cook the dried beans in generously salted water until tender. Drain cooking liquid from beans, reserving for later use. If tortillas are not stale, place on sheet pans in a single layer in a 300 degree oven until beginning to crisp. They will need to be turned over once. This process should take about 12 to 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let tortillas cool -- they should harden once cooled. In a heavy-bottomed skillet add enough corn oil to fill the pan about 1/2 inch deep. Heat oil until it bubbles rapidly when a small piece of tortilla is added. Fry the tortillas about 30 to 45 seconds per side. They should become slightly golden on the edges. Place fried tortillas on paper towels to drain and sprinkle with salt. In another pot, saute onion just until it begins to soften. Add canned ingredients and about 2 cups of the reserved cooking liquid from beans. Let ingredients come together and slightly thicken over a low heat for about 15 minutes. Taste for seasoning. Remove from heat. Add beans and sour cream; stir until combined. In a 13-by-9-inch casserole, use six tortillas to cover pan. Top with half of the bean mixture. Repeat the process, layer the remaining six tortillas and then the remainder of the bean mixture. Place in a 350-degree oven for 25 minutes or until heated through. Remove from oven and top with shredded cheese. Melt cheese under the broiler and serve warm.

Note: Canned beans could be substituted for the dried beans, adding both the beans and liquid to the mixture.

To stuff or not to stuff?

I know some people are purists when it comes to stuffing the actual bird. After all, it's called stuffing, right?

The reason that is frowned upon these days is that during the butchering process, the cavity of the bird is exposed, making it susceptible to bad germs. To kill those germs, the temperature must reach 160 degrees inside the middle of that stuffing.

Basic science says that if you pack the cavity full of bread, by the time the inside is 160 degrees, the outside of the bird will be well above that temperature, drying out the meat.

So, do what you wish, but I prefer to bake mine in a casserole dish and save my guests the possible stomach ache.

A great meal from a modest soup

I was in my early 20s before I ever tasted split pea soup. It was at one of the better restaurants in the dinky town where I had my first newspaper job. It was a cafe decorated in country kitsch. But not that country-blue-and-duck theme. It was an updated twist with lots of reds, blacks and whites and the classic camping enamelware dishes. They had great soups and sandwiches, and a group of us young news reporters would escape on dreary Northwest winter days for a long lunch to gossip and bitch.

It was at this cafe that I discovered I really loved split pea soup. It felt like a hearty soup for a cool day -- thick and rich with an appealing simplicity. And it is simple. It can be made with merely water, dried peas and seasoning. But add a few more ingredients and this humble dish can be elevated to a great meal.

Ham is the classic pairing with this soup, and smoked ham hocks would be a lovely addition.

I made a version by frying a few slices of bacon. Then I caramelized onions in the bacon drippings and reserved both ingredients for later. Deglaze the pot with stock and add the peas. Cook on a low heat, slowly bubbling for about an hour. Season soup as needed, and finish off with a little milk or half and half. Crumble bacon and warm it along with the onions. Top soup with a generous mound of the sweet onions and salty bacon. I also added some small croutons made with some leftover bread, olive oil, salt and pepper.

The dish was a welcome meal on a cool night, and the richness of the simple ingredients made it feel like a dish far from its humble roots.

Roast Chicken

This posting is more practical than poetic.

The economy is in the tank, and, for the time being, at least, we're down to one income. Oh yeah, and I have a much different allotment of time to devote to cooking since Jasper's arrival. That means a shift in my meal prep habits -- instead of spending an hour after work on dinner, I now have 10 to 15-minute blocks throughout the day that I can spend doing little bits of prep. I also have to be mindful of when I can afford to leave something on the stovetop or in the oven, and when I can't.

So, in an attempt to feed my family well on a budget and with little time, I resorted to one of the oldest tricks in the home cook's book: the roast chicken. I did roast my own, just gave him a healthy dose of salt, pepper and olive oil and put him in the oven until he hit 150 degrees (poultry should be cooked to 160, so remove your bird at 150 and let it rest for 15 or so minutes under some foil, and it'll hit the right temp). Then, after the chicken cooled, I removed all the meat and into a plastic container it went. My mom recently told me she roasts a whole chicken in her slow cooker. Haven't tried it yet, but I will next time.

Of course, there's no shame in picking up one of the roasted chickens they sell in the grocery store. It cuts down on your time in the kitchen, and they are pretty affordable.

So what's next? Well, you could serve a perfectly acceptable Sunday dinner of roast chicken, a starch and a veg. Then use your leftovers later in the week. Here's what I did with mine. I got three dinners out of the bird, plus a lunch or two of the dinner leftovers. Not bad for $5 worth of chicken. Aside from the chickens, each of these meals basically has one other main ingredient: noodles, flour or rice. Notice these are all pantry staples. And for the list of veggies that go with each meal, it's pretty easy to simply substitute with whatever you've got on hand.

Meal 1
Peanut noodles topped with sliced red peppers, carrot ribbons, green onions, chicken and black sesame seeds
This dish is easily made in stages, and since it's best served room temp, it's ready whenever you are. The sauce for the noodles sounds complicated, but if you've got a food processor, it's actually very easy. There are lots of recipes out there, but click here for the one I use. Boil the noodles to al dente and let them soak up the sauce for a couple of hours for best results. Spend five minutes slicing the veggies, and then come dinner time it's just a quick assembly.

Meal 2
Chicken Pot Pie
This is a favorite of mine. A quick roux turns into a white sauce to create the heart of this dish. A quick steam of carrots and potatoes gives them a jump start on cooking. To the sauce, add the steamed carrots, potatoes, corn and peas (I use frozen for both of these). Then add diced chicken. Pour into a baking dish and refrigerate if not cooking immediately. Make a biscuit dough and cut out thin rounds. I then freeze my biscuits as you get the best rise and layers from super cold butter. Use store bought biscuit dough if you prefer. Bake the filling until warmed through and bubbling. Remove from oven, top with unbaked biscuits and return to oven to bake biscuits. Leave any leftover biscuit rounds in the freezer for breakfast.

Meal 3
Southwest Chicken Bowl
This recipe is from Mike. He made it for us on a trip to the coast a few years ago. It's basically a rice bowl with corn, black beans, onion, red pepper, lime, avocado and chicken. It's quite good and easy to make. It, too, can be made in stages and refrigerated. It is great served room temp or warm. If you have it on hand, add cilantro and sour cream for garnish.

Grace

It's been just over three weeks since our lives were changed forever. Jasper Elliott Prince was born on Sept. 29, and it was then that time seemed to stop. We had a few setbacks that slowed our recovery a little, and when we came home from the hospital we were all in a fog.

That's when grace showed up at our doorstep.

In Elizabeth Gilbert's much-praised book "Eat Pray Love," she talks about grace, about how it percolates differently in each of us. If I had more time or patience, I'd search through the book and find the passage, but if I had more time and patience I might just use the time to do some laundry, clean something around the house, take the dog for a walk or just take a nap.

Gilbert mentions that her sister sees her as graceful, and she does so in a way that denotes she herself is missing the quality. But Gilbert says her sister does graceful things she'd never done. Specifically, she says that her sister is the type who takes a casserole to a friend or neighbor who's just had a baby.

That is grace.

And we were blessed to have so many graceful friends. In the days following our return home, we had a different set of friends showing up each night to bring us food. This is something my group of girlfriends has done regularly (well, as regularly as people have babies), but I've always been on the giving end, not the receiving. Until now.

I was overwhelmed at the generosity. A friend who pulled together a fabulous meal on extremely short notice the day we left the hospital. Another who made delicious, 18-hour homemade bread to go with her pasta figioli. One who made us one of his mother's best cake recipes and then confessed that he'd never baked a cake before. The soups, the casseroles, the lasagnas were delicious. We got spoiled, having almond bars, pecan bars and brownies after every meal as well.

We felt lucky enough to make it home after this incredible journey with a happy, healthy baby boy. But then again, I guess the blessings of our friends aren't luck. We seek them out, nourish our relationships and provide for them when they need, too. What we are is thankful to be part of an amazing group of people.

We are thankful that grace showed up at our door.

Raw Apple Muffins

Today I needed to bake something. Waiting for a baby to come -- even when feeling awful -- can get a little mundane. And yesterday I noticed that we'd eaten the peaches and berries we'd bought at the market last weekend, but we hadn't eaten all of the apples. So naturally, while laying awake in best last night, I figured I'd make Raw Apple Muffins with them.

The muffin recipe was one that Christiane introduced me to, but it wasn't until I ran across the recipe in Marion Cunningham's "Breakfast Book" that I copied the recipe for myself. It's a simple recipe that seems fairly foolproof if you follow Marion's advice. The best part of this recipe is that I've got the ingredients on hand pretty much any time except the peak of summer when apples are hard to come by (at least good ones).

The result is a dense, fruit-filled muffin that has some depth to it that can be hard to come by in a world where muffins are often thought of as a super-sweet, cakey pastry made fake-tasting berries. (If this describes what you call a muffin, you are under strict orders to go to a REAL bakery -- not in a grocery store, you must be able to see people making baked goods and the staff should be able to describe tastes, textures and ingredients -- ASAP.)

Take the extra step and follow the directions to use three separate bowls. And if you've got disposable gloves in your kitchen, put a pair on and do use your hands to mix. Even if you don't have gloves, your hands still are the best option to combine the ingredients because it is a thick, chunky batter.

Here's the recipe. Enjoy, and don't dare cut the recipe down -- these muffins freeze really well, so any extras need not go to waste!

Raw Apple Muffins
from Marion Cunnigham's "Breakfast Book"

4 cups diced apple (peeled or unpeeled)
1 cup of sugar
2 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup oil (corn oil is very good)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup raisins
1 cup broken walnuts

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Grease 16 muffin tins.
Put 3 mixing bowls on the counter. Mix the apples and sugar in one bowl and set aside. Put the eggs, oil and vanilla in a second bowl and stir to blend well. In the third bowl, put the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt, and stir the mixture with a fork until blended.
Stir the egg mixture in to the apples and sugar, and mix thoroughly. Sprinkle the flour mixture over the apple mixture and mis well. (I use my hands because this is a stiff batter.) Sprinkle the raisans and walnuts over the batter and mix until they are evenly distributed. Spoon into the muffin tins.
Bake for about 25 minutes or until a straw comes out clean when inserted into the center of a muffin. Serve warm.

Comfort Foods

Being two and half weeks from my due date, I now know how women get the courage to endure labor, perhaps even with gusto. I am so miserable most of the time that the thought of bringing this chapter to a close sounds delightful, even if it could involve hours of sporadic pain, hospital machines and perhaps even stitches (yikes!).

Of course I'm ecstatic to meet our little guy and that, too, is great motivation. But the yo-yo of lack of sleep one day and zombie symptoms the next coupled with constant but not-yet-productive contractions are driving me crazy.

So, if I find a couple of minutes of comfort in something as simple as pudding, don't judge.

I can't remember the last time I made pudding (given the above comments, of course I'm speaking of instant pudding). It's been so long I forgot how easy and fast it is. Just mix the powder with milk and wait five minutes.

Lime green pistachio pudding never tasted so good. Sweet, cool and creamy.

The pudding binge was a bit random for me, but perhaps it fits in well with my overall pattern of shopping, cooking and eating lately. My grocery bills have crept up in the past few weeks as I've thrown things in the cart that I haven't dared to buy in years -- Keebler cookies (Deluxe Grahams and Fudge Stripes), powdered lemonade, Saltine crackers and, yes, Jell-O instant pudding.

I've had several people ask me whether I've had strange pregnancy cravings. I wouldn't say that I've had cravings. I had the very common food aversions in the first few months, but I have never had a hankering for pickles and ice cream. I'm pretty sure this is a myth, much like pregnancy lasting nine months (it's actually nine and half, and if you think those last two weeks don't matter, I dare you to call me right now).

The foods I'm craving now aren't strange or gross. They are very much in line with things I've craved when I've been very sick. They're my comfort foods. By that I mean they're foods I found in my mom's kitchen when I was a kid. And these are just the packaged foods. I've also indulged in a dish my dad used to make us for breakfast, a poached egg on top of toast with syrup, and last week I made a mean tuna casserole straight from my mom's recipe one night and a heaping pile of mashed potatoes another night.

There is a deep connection between the foods of our childhood and those we crave when we're in need of something later life -- sick, sad or celebrating. That explains why ethnic foods are such a huge part of immigrant culture. And why, in nearly every culture, holiday traditions are closely tied to foods.

So make sure you've got something in your pantry that can pass as a comfort food in a fix. You never know when you need a little something to lift your spirits. If you're pregnant, I'd advise upping the rations -- you're gonna need it. In the meantime, I'll manage through the next few weeks with pudding what ever other quick, random dishes I can gather the courage to throw together. I'll keep in mind, however, that a few weeks after Lil P is born, my mom will come for a visit. I'm hoping she brings a hankering to comfort us with some great foods. Somehow, I think she'll be more than happy to!

Casserole Kick

I'm on a casserole kick lately. Blame it on the final weeks of pregnancy or a recent late-summer dose of cool weather and rain. Whatever the case, I've made two dishes recently that while aren't new, they were new to me. Both were inspired by items I had in my pantry and veggie basket.

The first is a dish I'll call Just Veg Lasagna. It started with slices of zucchini, eggplant and carrots. The large chunks of vegetable sliced about 1/4 inch think got a toss in olive oil, salt and pepper and then headed for a trip under the broiler until lightly browned and cooked thoroughly. A red sauce combined sauteed onions, fresh tomatoes, canned tomatoes and their juice over a medium heat to reduce. Once about half the liquid was reduced, I popped that mixture into the food processor with a handful of pitted black olives and bread crumbs. Then I simply built my casserole, lasagna style, alternating layers of the veggies, sauce and cheese. A quick trip in the oven to melt the cheese (finished under the broiler for browning), finished the dish.

The second dish was a version of the old Tamale Pie. I cooked polenta with some salsa verde (the kind for enchiladas, not chips), frozen corn and a good dose of salt. Once cooked, I added in some shredded cheddar. I spread the polenta in the bottom of a casserole in an even layer. Then I combined some leftover cooked ground pork, a can of rinse and drained beans, sauteed onions, chili powder and salt. That mixture was spread on evenly over the polenta layer and then topped with cheddar. The dish was warmed in the oven and also finished under the broiler to brown cheese.

As Seth said, the dishes weren't quite gourmet, but he did ask for seconds.