Fall is my favorite season, always has been. Fall foods are the best part! I recently had some amazing seasonal meals, my favorite came from Lightcatcher Winery (we had a bottle of their spiced red wine, too). Mushroom ravioli with a grape sauce and cauliflower puree, and a salad with toasted walnuts, gorgonzola, apples, pears and a maple-onion vinigarette.
Unfortunately, between work and school, I'm gone 50+ hours a week and never seem to have the energy I need to try new recipes here at home. When your routine is get up/go to school/go to work/sleep/get up and do it all over again, it sort of zaps your will to do anything at all.
Occasionally, however, I manage to pull it all together and cook something new. Last week I made this butternut squash soup from Cooking Light. It was good the first night, but I really didn't like the reheated leftovers. Make this for a crowd, or cut the recipe in half and decide for yourself if the leftovers are worth it. The spiced pumpkin seeds were AMAZING!
Seeds:
1 tbs powdered sugar
1 tbs brown sugar
1 tbs beaten egg white
1/4 tsp water
1/8 tsp salt
1/8 tsp cinnamon
Pinch of ground red pepper
3/4 c pumpkinseed kernels
Combine everything but the seeds in a bowl and stir well. Add the seeds, and stir to coat. Spread evenly on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper and coated with a small amount of cooking spray or oil. Bake at 300 for 15 minutes, stir, and bake 15 more minutes. Once the seeds have cooled, break them apart (they tend to stick together).
Butternut squash soup:
3 1/2 pounds butternut squash, seeded and cut in half
1 tbs vegetable oil
1/4 tsp salt
4 c chicken broth
2 c water
1/2 tsp more salt
Brush the cut sides of the squash with the oil and sprinkle with 1/4 tsp salt. Place face-down on a coated baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees for about 1 hour and 20 minutes. Set aside to cool, when you can handle them, scrape out the pulp and discard the skin.
Place the pulp and chicken stock in a large dutch oven over medium heat. Use a stick blender to blend until smooth. Stir in the water and remaining salt, and let it come to just barely a simmer before you kill the heat. Serve with the spiced seeds on top!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
Emily is a big huge dork
I've started a wine journal, in Excel no less. It focuses on Texas wines, since that's what I am currently obsessed with, and includes tasting notes, purchase history and a "Want it/Don't buy it" category. Hey, I've got to keep track somehow!
I haven't been cooking very much since school started in June, but that should hopefully change after next week. I switched to full-time at school, and will only be working about 2-3 nights a week at Starbucks, so I'll have plenty of time to cook in the evenings! Definitely looking forward to eating my Lean Cuisine frozen meals for lunch instead of dinner. Also looking forward to de-zombifying myself for a few months. Being permenantly tired sucks.
Lentil salad is on the books for dinner tomorrow, I love cheap n easy protein! We have a coconut in the fridge, too, not sure what that will turn into. Maybe cocktails, maybe muffins. I never really know until Ryan hacks it up for me and I make up my mind. I also need to make red sauce and chicken stock.
I haven't been cooking very much since school started in June, but that should hopefully change after next week. I switched to full-time at school, and will only be working about 2-3 nights a week at Starbucks, so I'll have plenty of time to cook in the evenings! Definitely looking forward to eating my Lean Cuisine frozen meals for lunch instead of dinner. Also looking forward to de-zombifying myself for a few months. Being permenantly tired sucks.
Lentil salad is on the books for dinner tomorrow, I love cheap n easy protein! We have a coconut in the fridge, too, not sure what that will turn into. Maybe cocktails, maybe muffins. I never really know until Ryan hacks it up for me and I make up my mind. I also need to make red sauce and chicken stock.
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
Pumpkin Muffins
1 box spice cake mix
1 15 oz can pumpkin
1 cup water
Mix in bowl with mixer. Fill paper cups 3/4 full. Bake at 350 for 20 - 25 minutes. Makes 24 muffins. Muffins will be very moist. Can top with cool whip or other toppings if desired.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Special Dinner Out
On Friday night, Ryan and I had dinner at Lightcatcher Winery. It was one of the best meals I have had in a long time!
Pasta Salad with Summer Vegetables
This is perfect to bring to a cookout or picnic in the summertime. It's fairly easy to make, it tastes light and summery, and it can sit out for hours without getting funky like dairy-based salads can.
The vegetables that I listed below are only suggestions, because that's what I had available. I can imagine that this would taste great with any fresh garden vegetable, so please experiment!
-1 pound small-sized pasta (bowties, wagon wheels, whatever), cooked al dente
-6-8 slices center-cut bacon
-2 garlic cloves, minced
-1 tsp salt
-1/4 c balsamic vinegar
-3-4 tbsp olive oil
-2 tbsp dijon mustard
-1 tbsp honey
-1/2 tsp pepper
-1/2 tsp salt
-2 tbsp dry or fresh basil (fresh is best)
-1 large cucumber, chopped
-1 green pepper, chopped
-1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
Cook the bacon in a pan or skillet over medium heat. Remove the bacon, set aside to cool and chop into small pieces. Leave drippings in pan.
Add the minced garlic and 1 tsp salt to the pan. Sautee the garlic in the bacon drippings until it is well cooked. Pour the contents of the pan through a strainer to remove any solids, into a mixing bowl.
Add the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, honey, salt, pepper and basil to the bowl with the bacon drippings. Whisk well until combined. Toss with the still-warm pasta and set aside to cool.
Toss the veggies and bacon bits with the pasta just before serving. Serve cold or at room temperature.
The vegetables that I listed below are only suggestions, because that's what I had available. I can imagine that this would taste great with any fresh garden vegetable, so please experiment!
-1 pound small-sized pasta (bowties, wagon wheels, whatever), cooked al dente
-6-8 slices center-cut bacon
-2 garlic cloves, minced
-1 tsp salt
-1/4 c balsamic vinegar
-3-4 tbsp olive oil
-2 tbsp dijon mustard
-1 tbsp honey
-1/2 tsp pepper
-1/2 tsp salt
-2 tbsp dry or fresh basil (fresh is best)
-1 large cucumber, chopped
-1 green pepper, chopped
-1 pint cherry or grape tomatoes, halved
Cook the bacon in a pan or skillet over medium heat. Remove the bacon, set aside to cool and chop into small pieces. Leave drippings in pan.
Add the minced garlic and 1 tsp salt to the pan. Sautee the garlic in the bacon drippings until it is well cooked. Pour the contents of the pan through a strainer to remove any solids, into a mixing bowl.
Add the olive oil, balsamic vinegar, dijon mustard, honey, salt, pepper and basil to the bowl with the bacon drippings. Whisk well until combined. Toss with the still-warm pasta and set aside to cool.
Toss the veggies and bacon bits with the pasta just before serving. Serve cold or at room temperature.
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Texas Hill Country wine tour
Last weekend, I joined my amazing Houston-based girlfriends, Shannon and Tiffany, for a Girl's-Only Wine Weekend extravaganza. We participated in the 2009 Harvest Wine Trail in the Austin-Fredericksburg area. It was a wonderful trip, and I wanted to share some of my tasting notes with you.
Let me preface this by stating that I am not highly educated in wine - I know a few things, and I have a pretty good sniffer, but I just drink what I like! I wanted to be able to buy a bottle from each vineyard, so I had a $15 per bottle limit. Of course, there were a few places that I ended up not buying anything from, AND I ended up breaking that rule now and again, but whatever.
Friday:
First stop, Spicewood Vineyards. We had a lovely host and it was a very pretty setting - tranquil and simple. We tasted a total of 7 wines, and there was really only 1 that I didn't care for. I ended up purchasing the 06 Chardonnay - grapes come from Washington state and it was aged in 100% stainless, so the usually overpowering oaky taste was replaced with a rich fruity (but dry) flavor. It's very crisp and tropical. I also took home a bottle of the 07 Cabernet Claret, which is delicate and spicy, with notes of apple and cherry. Overall, an excellent experience.
Second stop, McReynolds Winery. Incredibly rustic, with two adorable winery dogs and a funky older couple running the place (both with PhD's, I might add). Note: don't bother with the cheese plate, it's pretty dinky. All of the wines at McReynolds have undertones of minerals and an almost dusty taste. It can sometimes be overpowering. Also, their reds had a very strong "grapey" flavor (the fancy term is "fruity" but really it's just grape). I ended up purchasing the 02 Merlot, mostly because I wanted the 06 but it was out of my price range and the 02 was very spicy and bold. Overall, an okay experience.
Third stop, Lost Creek Vineyard. Now, we got to Lost Creek late in the afternoon, after the tasting room closed. So, we stayed for dinner! I had a spicy lobster bisque and a wonderful mixed-greens salad with balsamic dressing and strawberries. Since we never made it over to Flat Creek Estate, we ordered a bottle of their 2007 Super Texan. It didn't last long! After dinner, we purchased a bottle of Lost Creek's 2005 Chardonnay (which was on their tasting menu). The girls didn't care for it, but I like white wines in the summertime and enjoyed drinking it on the patio while listening to a folk-country band.
Saturday:
First, Pedernales Cellars. Tried 6 wines, mostly reds because Tiffany was having a white wine hangover :) Took home the 07 Merlot and the 08 Muscat - normally I don't drink dessert wines, but it was just too good to pass up. The girls each bought a bottle of port, which was off the hook. The wines were all excellent, and the facility is shiny and new. Very nice place to visit!
Then we drove up to Fredericksburg, to the Fredericksburg Winery. Tried 6 of their "dry" wines, but they were too sweet. To quote Shannon "Excellent place to go if you are accustomed to drinking Franzia White Zin from a box and want to move up a step".
Third stop, Becker Vineyards. Stocked up on lavender soaps and had a fantastic host who stopped counting and started pouring anything he felt like. It was awesome, we got something like 14 tastings for $5. Plus, we went on a mini cellar tour, which was fun. I could have walked away with at least 5 bottles, including their "who needs dessert?" port, but I restrained myself and bought the 07 Zinfandel, which was bold and bright.
Fourth stop was Torre di Pietra, which didn't have any free tastings for ticket holders (wtf?). They had a great retail section, but it was dark inside, and felt a little like being in a dungeon. Since it was too hot to sit outside and listen to the band, we crammed into an empty spot at the bar and tasted 4 wines, from a Primitivo to the Tango Port. The two bottles I loved, the 05 Claret and Mataro, were WAY out of my range...and, honestly, not necessarily worth the high price tag. So I left empty-handed, boo hoo.
Even though it was not planned, we saved the best winery for last. At the end of a long, very hot day, we decided to visit Woodrose Winery in Stonewall. We sat on the deck, facing a pretty wooded area, and purchased the "Mike's Choice" tasting menu. One interesting tidbit is that their 07 Zinfandel was made with the exact same grapes that the Fredericksburg winery purchased to make their 07 Zinfandel, with incredibly different results. FW's Zin was sweet, delicate and fruity. WR's Zin was peppery and bold. I broke my "no pink wine" rule and bought their 2008 Texas Rain Rose, and a bottle of the 07 Three Dog White. Somebody came out to check on us, and Tiffany asked to pay extra for an additional off-menu tasting. Turns out, that somebody is Mike, owner and vinter. He brought out two reserve wines for us to taste, then gave us a personal tour of the property. We saw the cellar and fermenting room, got to taste an unlabeled, unreleased Cab-Merlot blend that was JUST bottled, AND got to barrel taste a merlot. It was amazing!
Let me preface this by stating that I am not highly educated in wine - I know a few things, and I have a pretty good sniffer, but I just drink what I like! I wanted to be able to buy a bottle from each vineyard, so I had a $15 per bottle limit. Of course, there were a few places that I ended up not buying anything from, AND I ended up breaking that rule now and again, but whatever.
Friday:
First stop, Spicewood Vineyards. We had a lovely host and it was a very pretty setting - tranquil and simple. We tasted a total of 7 wines, and there was really only 1 that I didn't care for. I ended up purchasing the 06 Chardonnay - grapes come from Washington state and it was aged in 100% stainless, so the usually overpowering oaky taste was replaced with a rich fruity (but dry) flavor. It's very crisp and tropical. I also took home a bottle of the 07 Cabernet Claret, which is delicate and spicy, with notes of apple and cherry. Overall, an excellent experience.
Second stop, McReynolds Winery. Incredibly rustic, with two adorable winery dogs and a funky older couple running the place (both with PhD's, I might add). Note: don't bother with the cheese plate, it's pretty dinky. All of the wines at McReynolds have undertones of minerals and an almost dusty taste. It can sometimes be overpowering. Also, their reds had a very strong "grapey" flavor (the fancy term is "fruity" but really it's just grape). I ended up purchasing the 02 Merlot, mostly because I wanted the 06 but it was out of my price range and the 02 was very spicy and bold. Overall, an okay experience.
Third stop, Lost Creek Vineyard. Now, we got to Lost Creek late in the afternoon, after the tasting room closed. So, we stayed for dinner! I had a spicy lobster bisque and a wonderful mixed-greens salad with balsamic dressing and strawberries. Since we never made it over to Flat Creek Estate, we ordered a bottle of their 2007 Super Texan. It didn't last long! After dinner, we purchased a bottle of Lost Creek's 2005 Chardonnay (which was on their tasting menu). The girls didn't care for it, but I like white wines in the summertime and enjoyed drinking it on the patio while listening to a folk-country band.
Saturday:
First, Pedernales Cellars. Tried 6 wines, mostly reds because Tiffany was having a white wine hangover :) Took home the 07 Merlot and the 08 Muscat - normally I don't drink dessert wines, but it was just too good to pass up. The girls each bought a bottle of port, which was off the hook. The wines were all excellent, and the facility is shiny and new. Very nice place to visit!
Then we drove up to Fredericksburg, to the Fredericksburg Winery. Tried 6 of their "dry" wines, but they were too sweet. To quote Shannon "Excellent place to go if you are accustomed to drinking Franzia White Zin from a box and want to move up a step".
Third stop, Becker Vineyards. Stocked up on lavender soaps and had a fantastic host who stopped counting and started pouring anything he felt like. It was awesome, we got something like 14 tastings for $5. Plus, we went on a mini cellar tour, which was fun. I could have walked away with at least 5 bottles, including their "who needs dessert?" port, but I restrained myself and bought the 07 Zinfandel, which was bold and bright.
Fourth stop was Torre di Pietra, which didn't have any free tastings for ticket holders (wtf?). They had a great retail section, but it was dark inside, and felt a little like being in a dungeon. Since it was too hot to sit outside and listen to the band, we crammed into an empty spot at the bar and tasted 4 wines, from a Primitivo to the Tango Port. The two bottles I loved, the 05 Claret and Mataro, were WAY out of my range...and, honestly, not necessarily worth the high price tag. So I left empty-handed, boo hoo.
Even though it was not planned, we saved the best winery for last. At the end of a long, very hot day, we decided to visit Woodrose Winery in Stonewall. We sat on the deck, facing a pretty wooded area, and purchased the "Mike's Choice" tasting menu. One interesting tidbit is that their 07 Zinfandel was made with the exact same grapes that the Fredericksburg winery purchased to make their 07 Zinfandel, with incredibly different results. FW's Zin was sweet, delicate and fruity. WR's Zin was peppery and bold. I broke my "no pink wine" rule and bought their 2008 Texas Rain Rose, and a bottle of the 07 Three Dog White. Somebody came out to check on us, and Tiffany asked to pay extra for an additional off-menu tasting. Turns out, that somebody is Mike, owner and vinter. He brought out two reserve wines for us to taste, then gave us a personal tour of the property. We saw the cellar and fermenting room, got to taste an unlabeled, unreleased Cab-Merlot blend that was JUST bottled, AND got to barrel taste a merlot. It was amazing!
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Comfort food: Refrigerator pie
The ultimate in pudding-ey goodness!
Prepare the vanilla pudding according to the directions on the box for pie filling. Pour over the bananas, and refrigerate for 15 minutes to cool.
While the pudding cools, prepare the chocolate pudding according to the directions on the box for pie filling. Pour over the vanilla, then top with Nilla cookies. Chill, then serve!
-1 store-bought graham cracker pie shell
-1 packet of cook-and-serve vanilla pudding
-1 packet of cook-and-serve chocolate pudding
-1 or two still slightly green bananas
-1 box Nilla cookies
-Milk
Slice the banana and layer in the bottom of the pie shell so it looks something like this:
Prepare the vanilla pudding according to the directions on the box for pie filling. Pour over the bananas, and refrigerate for 15 minutes to cool.
While the pudding cools, prepare the chocolate pudding according to the directions on the box for pie filling. Pour over the vanilla, then top with Nilla cookies. Chill, then serve!
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