arroz con pollo

when jason and i went to florida back in february for our last trip before the baby came, i asked around for the best places to eat in tampa. multiple people recommended columbia restaurant in ybor city, both for the food and the flamenco show they put on during dinner. we made our reservation and arrived shortly before the show started. to those who recommended it, you were completely right. the show was entertaining and relaxing and the food was amazing!

we started with their famous 1905 salad and lobster croquettes and jason had pork tenderloin. while the croquettes were really delicious, as was the tenderloin, the star of the meal was my arroz con pollo. the waiter lifted the lid off the huge pot of rice and chicken table side and i couldn't believe how unbelievably simple and delicious it was. needless to say, i've had dreams about that meal ever since.

while we were still in the restaurant, between flamenco acts, jason and i whispered across the table about the flavors and how to recreate it at home. while this isn't an exact replica - as hard as we all try, i don't think we can ever completely recreate restaurant dishes at home - it's a pretty darn good try. the flavors and the dish itself are incredibly simple, yet full of flavor. while it takes a bit of time to make, it's not complicated, like most dishes that take an hour to make, and totally worth every minute.

arroz con pollo
adapted from prevention rd
1 hour, serves 4 to 6

2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in half
1 onion, chopped
1 green pepper, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
12 ounces lager beer
3 2/1 cups chicken broth
8 ounces tomato sauce
1 bay leaf
2 teaspoons dried oregano
2 teaspoons cumin
3 1/2 cups rice
1/2 cup frozen peas

1. season the chicken with salt, pepper, and cumin. coat the bottom of a large dutch oven with oil and place over medium high heat. when hot, add the chicken and cook about 3 minutes on each side, or until brown. remove chicken from the pan.
2. add the onion and green pepper to the pan and cook until the onion is translucent. add the garlic and cook until fragrant.
3. add beer, chicken broth, cooked chicken, tomato sauce, bay leaf, oregano, and cumin. season with salt and pepper and bring to a boil. reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.
4. add the rice, bring to a boil, and reduce to a simmer. cover and cook about 30 minutes, or until the rice is fully cooked. add the frozen peas during the last five minutes of cooking. serve hot.

toffee chocolate chip cookies

any time i see another blog declare a chocolate chip cookie "the best", i add it to the list, hoping one day to try all of the best chocolate chip cookies and declare a winner myself. since i typically make chocolate chip cookies once a year - ok, twice - it's going to take a while for me to get through them all.

this recipe caught my eye not only because it's deemed "the best" but also because his kids make them all the time, they're both crispy and chewy, and it was deemed "the best" after trying dozens of chocolate chip cookie recipes. i was intrigued enough to give them a spin. with a hearty dose of toffee bits, they were mine in no time. 

are these the best chocolate chip cookies? no, but they're pretty darn close and pretty tasty none the less. for me, they're a little too flat - which i realize could be due more to my method than the recipe itself - i like a cookie with a little bit more heft to it. but they're definitely chewy and crispy and a breeze to throw together.

and mom, since you like thomas keller's chocolate chip cookies so much, i think you'll like these too.

these chocolate chip cookies not grabbing you? how about one of these: thomas keller's chocolate chip cookies, the chewy [alton brown's chocolate chip cookies], cook's illustrated's chocolate chip cookies, or crunchy jumbo chocolate chip cookies.

toffee chocolate chip cookies
adapted from rock recipes
30 minutes, makes about 2 dozen cookies

i made a double batch of these cookies, omitting the toffee bits. i baked off about half of the dough and mixed 1 cup toffee bits into the second half, so i had both chocolate chip cookies and toffee chocolate chip cookies. which means my husband and i had our own batch of cookies, since he doesn't care for toffee.

1/2 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/3 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup toffee bits

1. preheat your oven to 350F. line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. in a large bowl, cream the butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar until light and fluffy. add the egg and vanilla and mix until combined.
3. add the flour, salt, and baking soda and mix until combined. stir in the chocolate chips and toffee bits.
4. drop cookies by rounded tablespoon (or tablespoon and a half using a medium sized oxo cookie scoop) onto the parchment paper. be sure to leave a good two inches between cookies as they spread when baked. bake until light brown around the edges and the middle is just starting to set, about 12 minutes. remove from the oven and cool on the baking sheet for 10 minutes before moving to a wire rack to cool completely.
5. store in an airtight container. these cookies freeze really well.

parker house rolls [12in2012]

i typically eat dinner rolls on only one day each year, thanksgiving. ever since i can remember, we have had brown 'n serve dinner rolls at thanksgiving. found in the frozen foods section of the grocery story, they're small rolls that need a quick pop in the oven to bake them off. we go through a couple bags of them each thanksgiving and they're always completely devoured by the end of the meal. each year, someone tries to change it up with homemade rolls or bread, which results in groans and complaints from all of us grandkids. which was fine, 20 years ago when we were kids. but now, as adults, we can't quite break away from the brown 'n serves. some things never change.

think of these rolls as a homemade version of brown 'n serves. only these have flavor, are lighter and fluffier, and are about twice the size. 

the first time i made these rolls i had two critical errors: yeast issues and i followed king arthur's directions for laminating the dough. my yeast was either bad (aka dead) or i didn't bloom it and should have (since i didn't use instant yeast, my yeast needed a chance to bloom before mixing it with the other ingredients) since my rolls came out more like hockey pucks than light and fluffy. my yeast issues made the dough laminating even worse. the original recipe calls for rolling out the dough, spreading a layer of melted butter, folding the dough in half and cutting out rolls to form them. this leaves a layer of butter in the middle of the rolls. what i ended up with was a divide through the middle where the butter layer was. needless to say, it was not so good.

in my second attempt, i used new yeast and i was sure to bloom it first before using it. and when it came time to forming the rolls, i skipped the melted butter stage all together. i had perfectly light and fluffy rolls.

parker house rolls
adapted from king arthur flour
3 hours, makes 16 rolls

if you choose to use instant yeast, there's no need to bloom it first. skip step 1 and simply add it with the rest of the ingredients in step 2.

2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
1 cup milk, room temperature
3 tablespoons sugar
3 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup potato flour
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons butter, melted or very soft
1 egg, room temperature
1 tablespoon melted butter, for brushing on the finished rolls

1. in a large bowl, add the milk and yeast and let sit for five to ten minutes, until the yeast is bloomed. the yeast will foam up slightly and will have a strong, yeasty smell. if this doesn't happen, your yeast is bad and the rolls won't rise.
2. once the yeast has bloomed, add the sugar, flours, salt, butter, and egg and mix just until combined.
3. knead the dough by hand for about ten minutes or with your mixer's dough hook attachment for about seven minutes, until smooth.
4. grease a large bowl and transfer the dough to it. cover loosely with a towel and let rise about an hour and a half until doubled in size.
5. grease a nine by thirteen inch baking pan and set aside. divide the dough into sixteen relatively equal portions. form each dough portion into a ball and place in the pan in four rows of four. use your fingers to push the dough balls down to cover the bottom of the pan. cover the pan loosely with a towel and let rise an additional hour.
6. preheat your oven to 350F. bake the rolls about 20 minutes, until golden brown on top. brush with melted butter as soon as they are taken out of the oven. let cool in the pan.

hot pepper jelly

my mother turned my sister on to hot pepper jelly a couple years ago at one of the major holidays. she decided to change things up and introduced us to a new appetizer - hot pepper jelly mixed with cream cheese on crackers. personally, i don't care much for it - i don't particularly care for peppers - but the two of them and other friends and family go crazy for this stuff. so last summer, in the height of pepper season, i made two batches for them for christmas.

and you know all those warnings about "wear gloves when cutting jalapenos"? yea, they're no joke. i thought it was a little overboard, so i decided to cut all the peppers with bare hands. my fingers were perfectly fine the entire time i was cutting, the entire time i cooked the jelly and canned the jelly. it wasn't until later that night, when i was making dinner that they started burning like crazy. and didn't go away until later the next day. next time, i'll know better.

hot pepper jelly
adapted from all recipes
makes 48 ounces

4 cups peppers, a mixture of red bell, green bell, and jalapeno (about 3c red & green bell and 1c jalapeno)
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1.75 ounces powdered pectin
5 cups white sugar

1. place the chopped peppers in a colander and drain. discard the liquid.
2. place peppers in a large saucepan over high heat. mix in vinegar and pectin. bring to a full boil and boil 2 minutes. if you want a smoother jelly, use an immersion blender to blend the mixture to the consistency you desire.
3. mix in the sugar and bring to a boil. boil exactly two minutes, stirring constantly.
4. remove from heat and skim off any foam.
5. ladle jelly into sterile jars within 1/4" of the tops. cover with lids and bands.
6. process in a boiling water canner for 5 minutes. remove from the canner and let cool. store jars that didn't seal in the refrigerator. store sealed jars in a cool, dry place away from sunlight for up to one year.

orzo with artichoke pesto and grilled corn

i spent my last childless saturday morning being as lazy as possible. i watched a couple hours of food network, caught up on a couple magazines, and did whatever else i felt like. that morning, i watched giada make this orzo pasta salad as part of a simple beach picnic and decided to invite some friends over for one last pre-baby dinner - and a reason to make the salad.

one of our good friends - who will remain nameless - hates artichokes. i mean, hates them with all his might. and of course, he just happened to be coming over for dinner. i was careful not to mention the artichokes and was pleasantly surprised to see him go back for seconds! while i haven't been able to totally convert him, it's a start.

orzo with artichoke pesto and grilled corn
adapted from giada de laurentiis
30 minutes, serves 10-12

1 pound orzo pasta
2 cups frozen corn kernels or 2 ears corn, shucked and cleaned
12 ounces frozen artichoke hearts, thawed
3/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup slivered almonds
1/2 cup fresh oregano
1/2 cup fresh parsley
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
zest of one lemon
2 garlic cloves
2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered
1 1/2 cups grated parmesan cheese

1. cook the orzo pasta according to the package directions. drain, do not rinse, and put back in the pot it was cooked in.
2. while the orzo cooks, prep the corn. if using frozen corn, place in a sautepan over medium low heat. saute for about five minutes, stirring occasionally, until it just starts to brown. remove from heat and set aside to cool. if using ears of corn, brush with olive oil and grill for a couple minutes until the corn just starts to brown. let cool for a few minutes and then cut the corn off the cob.
3. to make the pesto, add the artichoke hearts, olive oil, almonds, oregano, parsley, lemon juice, lemon zest, and garlic cloves to a food processor and process until smooth. season with salt and pepper. 
4. when the orzo is finished cooking (it's ok if the orzo is still hot or warm), mix in the pesto, corn, tomatoes, and parmesan cheese. season with salt and pepper. serve at room temperature or chill in the refrigerator.

slow cooker beer barbecue pulled chicken

i love a good barbecued chicken sandwich, but hardly ever order one when i am eating out. the few times i have, i've always been disappointed. the chicken breast is usually dry and over cooked and it's either slathered in way too much sauce or there's just enough there to say it's topped with sauce. this slow cooker version is the best of both worlds - super tender and juicy chicken swimming in beer barbecue sauce. 

my favorite part? it's made in the slow cooker. on these hot ninety-plus-degree days, the last thing i want to do is turn something on inside to offset my air conditioning or stand over a blazing hot grill. and this recipe makes a ton of chicken, plenty for a party, or freeze the leftovers in dinner size portions and enjoy the next time it's too hot to turn on the stove.

slow cooker beer barbecue pulled chicken
adapted from how sweet it is
4-8 hours, serves 10-12

jessica and a lot of her commenters recommend using a thinner bottled barbecue sauce for this recipe. jessica used bone suckin sauce & i used dinosaur barbecue's sensuous slathering sauce.

about 3 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tablespoon onion powder
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
12 ounce beer, not light
about 20 ounces thin barbecue sauce

1. add the chicken to the slow cooker and coat with the onion powder, paprika, and garlic powder. season with salt and pepper.
2. pour the beer over the chicken & then the barbecue sauce.
3. cook on high about 4 hours or low about 8 hours until cooked through and falling apart.
4. at least fifteen minutes before serving, remove the chicken breasts, shred them, and return the meat to the sauce in the slow cooker. turn your slow cooker up to high (if it isn't already) and cook, with the lid off, for about fifteen minutes to further thicken the sauce. serve between soft rolls.

banana cupcakes with honey cinnamon buttercream

these are the best cupcakes jason has ever had. better than red velvet, butterfinger topped with ganache buttercream, brown sugar poundcakes with brown butter icing, dr. pepper cake, and the most shocking - better than classic chocolate with peanut butter icing. these banana cupcakes aren't just banana bread, dished out in individual portions topped with buttercream. they're soft and light, everything you would expect from a good cake, spiced up perfectly with cinnamon and nutmeg, and topped with one of my favorite buttercreams.

banana cupcakes with honey cinnamon buttercream
cake adapted from a dash of sass, buttercream adapted from martha stewart's cupcakes
1 hour, makes 24 cupcakes

for the cake:
2 1/4 cup cake flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 1/2 cup mashed bananas (approximately 3-4 bananas, very ripe)
1/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup + 1/3 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 tablespoon dark rum

for the buttercream:
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons honey
1 cup unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. make the cakes. preheat oven to 350F. line two muffin pans with cupcake liners and set aside.
2. in a large bowl, whisk the cake flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg and set aside.
3. in a separate bowl, mix the bananas, milk, vanilla and rum and set aside.
4. in a third bowl, beat the butter, brown sugar, and white sugar until light and fluffy. add the eggs and mix until incorporated.
5. add about a third of the dry ingredients to the butter sugar mixture, then a third of the wet ingredients. continue alternating adding dry and wet ingredients until all are combined.
6. fill prepared muffin tins about three quarters full.
7. bake about 18 minutes. cool in the pan about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely.
8. while the cakes are cooling, make the buttercream by mixing all ingredients until incorporated. whip for a minute or two until light and fluffy.
9. once the cakes are cool, ice with the buttercream. store in an airtight container.

2013.08.05 this is claire k creations pick for the secret recipe club!

secret recipe club: minted lemon ice

for this month's secret recipe club, i chose something incredibly simple - in ingredients, time, and method - and refreshing, since our thermostat has been wavering between hot & humid and obnoxiously hot and humid, from no reason needed. it's no surprise that frozen lemonade and lemon italian ice are two of jason's favorite hot weather treats, since he loves the tartness of lemons. this time - as i did last summer with this minted pineapple lime agua fresca - i added some fresh mint to kick up the freshness. i loved it. with the tartness of the lemon, freshness of the mint, and sweetness from simple syrup, it's a perfect mid afternoon treat to beat the heat.

for more information on the secret recipe club, including the list of participating bloggers, featured recipes from members, and instructions on how to join, visit the secret recipe club website! 
 

check out my previous secret recipe club posts: white chocolate macadamia nut blondies, raspberry cream filled eclairs, jam swirled cheesecake, whole wheat grapefruit cake, chewy no bake granola bars & carrot cinnamon waffles, cannoli, gingerbread muffins, double chocolate peanut butter chip oatmeal cookies, butterscotch peach cake, whole wheat honey pancakes, minted pineapple lime agua fresca, breakfast tacos, simple almond sandwich cookies, & roasted banana rum cake.

minted lemon ice
adapted from no reason needed
5 minutes prep, at least 6 hours freeze; serves 2-4

1 1/2 cups water
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup lemon juice
big sprig fresh mint

1. bring the water and sugar to a boil and boil a couple minutes to make sure the sugar is dissolved.
2. remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice. transfer to an 8x8", 9x9" or 8.5x4.5" pan and add the mint sprig. 
3. let sit on the counter to cool for 10-15 minutes. remove the mint sprig & transfer to the freezer.
4. freeze completely solid, six to eight hours, or overnight. use a fork to scrap the surface of the ice before serving.

jason's pasta primavera

below is the third installment from jason, my taste tester, who - since his macaroni and cheese success and egg sandwich experiment - has decided cooking isn't really too hard. he has occasional food projects, just like me, that he wants to share. here's his method for pasta primavera.

With my friend visiting from out of town, I wanted to make a good meal that he would like. He told me that he likes pasta primavera, a dish I've never made before and have eaten only a couple of times -- rare enough I couldn't remember what the dish was. Basically, pasta primavera is a pasta focused on vegetables, and sometimes has meat.

I looked for recipes online but didn't really find anything that struck my interest. I found one that was close enough to what I wanted that I could use as a guideline, which came from Cooking Light. I didn't quite like the recipe there, most specifically their sauce is corn starch and half-and-half. I'm not a fan of Alfredo sauce and certainly did not like the thought of a "light" Alfredo. Instead, I wanted to just have a simple butter and garlic sauce. I also like short cut pasta, so I used rotini instead of fettuccine.

Like most pasta dishes, the exact amount of each ingredient doesn't really matter that much, so I mostly just put in how much looked right, or whatever was convenient based on the size from the store. For example I just bought a small box of grape tomatoes, I didn't really care how much was in there, I think it was half a pound.

jason's pasta primavera
30 minutes, serves 4-6

For the pasta:
8oz frozen green beans
8oz frozen broccoli
16oz rotini pasta
8oz grape tomatoes, cut in half
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 green pepper, seeds removed and cut into thin strips
4-6 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons butter (half a stick)
1/2 cup grated parmigiano-reggiano cheese
salt and pepper

For the meat:
2 chicken breasts
olive oil
Italian seasoning
salt and pepper

Sometimes I make up a batch of chicken breasts to use throughout the week in pasta dishes as well as salads. For this pasta this is what I had already done, so I just pulled it out of the refrigerator for this dish. Here is my standard chicken recipe:

1. Preheat the oven to 350F.
2. Put about 1 tbsp of olive oil into a glass baking pan, just enough to coat the bottom of the chicken.
3. Put chicken breasts in the pan.
4. Cover chicken breasts lightly in olive oil.
5. Season well with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.
6. Flip the chicken (add just a little more oil if enough did not transfer from the pan).
7. Season well with salt, pepper, and Italian seasoning.
8. Place chicken in the oven until reaches a temperature of 165F.

You really want to use a thermometer with temperature alert on the chicken, and don't just bake it by the time. You want to cook meat as minimally as possible and still stay safe. Chicken especially dries out quickly if you let it go too long. Let the chicken cool (to keep all of the juice from flowing out), then you can cut it into bite sized strips.

Now you can start on the pasta dish.

1. Bring a pot of water to boil.
2. Meanwhile, heat olive oil in a pan, then add minced garlic, green peppers, and tomatoes and saute until the peppers are starting to get tender and the tomatoes starting to break down. Add the cooked and cooled chicken towards the end, just long enough to reheat it.
3. When the water boils, add broccoli and green beans. Boil for several minutes, until almost tender. Pull the vegetables out with a spider or dipping a colander.
4. Add the pasta to the boiling water and cook until al dente (see box for timing).
5. When the pasta is done, reserve a ladle-full (1/4 to 1/2 cup) of the pasta water, drain the pasta and return to the pot. Toss in the vegetables and chicken, and add half a stick of butter.
6. Stir to melt the butter to coat the pasta.
7. If the sauce is too thick, add small amounts of the reserved pasta water.
8. Add the grated cheese, this will also thicken the sauce to balance out with pasta water if needed.
9. Add salt and pepper to taste.

strawberry vanilla scones

i've professed my love of scones many times before, so i'll keep this one short and sweet. these scones combine two of my favorites - strawberry and vanilla. and just like tuesday's strawberry cupcakes were a great way to use up super ripe berries, so are these scones. they bake up perfectly sweet, moist, and full of vanilla flavor.

usually when i form  scones, i turn the entire ball of dough out onto a cutting board or baking sheet and cut into wedges. this time, i changed it up. i knew i wanted to coat the unbaked scones in even more vanilla sugar for an extra burst of vanilla and to get a nice crunchy crust from the sugar and figured i'd have to mess around with sprinkling a wedge with sugar. until i saw a picture of classic peanut butter cookies. you know the kind, rolled in sugar and smashed with a fork. a perfect way to drench scones in sugar! and instead of using a fork, i used my fingers to smush them down, ever so gently to flatten out the top. this might be my new go to way of forming them.

strawberry vanilla scones
30 minutes, makes 8 scones

vanilla sugar is granulated sugar that's had a vanilla bean steeping in it for a couple days or weeks. after making ice cream or another treat that requires a vanilla bean, rinse off the bean and toss it in with some sugar. after a couple days, the sugar will be full of vanilla flavor. if you don't have vanilla sugar, substitute granulated sugar.

1 3/4 cups flour
2 tablespoons vanilla sugar
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon + 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
pinch of salt
1/2 cup unsalted butter, cold
1/2 cup milk
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups finely chopped super ripe strawberries
about 1/4 cup vanilla sugar, for finishing

1. preheat your oven to 375F. line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.
2. whisk the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt together in a large bowl.
3. using your hands or a pastry blender, cut the butter into the flour mixture until it resembles coarse crumbs.
4. add the milk and vanilla extract and mix just until combined. fold in the strawberries.
5. using your hands, divide the dough into about 8 equal pieces. the dough will be pretty wet, form into a loose ball, and coat in the vanilla sugar. place each ball onto the baking sheet. using your fingers, gently press down on the top of the ball so the dough is flat (see the picture above).
6. bake for about 15 minutes. transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely before storing.

fourth of july roundup

putting the finishing touches on your fourth of july spread? here are some of my favorites from the archives, perfect for any picnic.

drinks

electric lemonade, blackberry sangria, strawberry mojitos

break out the grill

teriyaki chicken kebobs, chicken vegetable kebobs, sweet chicken & red onion kebobs

sides

stovetop macaroni & cheese, kinda bruschetta dip

great northern cornbread, creamy corn with cilantro, bread & butter refrigerator pickles

mini bacon scallion corn muffins, refrigerator garlic dill pickles

ice cream

mint ice cream, blackberry ice cream, strawberry sour cream ice cream

strawberry sorbet, blackberry swirl ice cream

cakes, cookies, & other sweets

dr. pepper cake, cook's illustrated's chocolate chip cookies, banana bars

 

chocolate peanut butter chip cookies, alton brown's chewy chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal cream pies

ina's chocolate cupcakes, thomas keller's chocolate chip cookies, browned butter iced brownies

raspberry jam tart, chewy lemon sugar cookies