Baked Pears (or tomatoes) and Feta

People have been eating fruit and cheese together since... well, since whenever.  A long time, let's just say.  This recipe began with Halley, who taught me to make her mom's famously simple tomatoes with feta... except that one night after a long day of teaching, there were simply no tomatoes to be had in the house.  But there WERE a couple of pears leftover from a trip to the farmer's market a week earlier with our old college roommate, Christine.  Substitute tomato for pear and voila... a new recipe.  Both recipes are amazingly simple to make, if you've got about half an hour or so to wait for them to bake.  They are also the perfect serving size for 1 or 2 people... or multiply for like 50 :)

For a single serving of this recipe, you will need:
- 1 ripe pear or tomato
- roughly half a cup of crumbled feta cheese (I like the kind that comes with Mediterranean herbs mixed in)
- approx 1/2 T olive oil

For baked pears, slice the pear in half (longitude-wise).  Spoon out the middle seed area so that there's a handy little hole in the center.  The more you spoon out, the more room for feta :)  Fill the center with feta and place pear halves in a small baking dish.  Drizzle olive oil over the feta-topped area.  Bake for 25-30 mins @ 350 degrees F.

For baked tomatoes, slice the tomato in half (latitude-wise).  Set tomato halves in small baking dish and cover tops with feta.  Drizzle olive oil over tomatoes.  Bake at 350 for 25-30 mins.

These make the perfect accompaniment to any meal, particularly meals with Italian or Mediterranean entrees.  Bon appetit!

Hot Chocolate, Whipped Cream Day

The title of this post comes from one of the songs in the My First Piano method series by Nancy and Randall Faber.  The song is in 3/4 time and is designed to reinforce the concept of a "tie."  It also has an adorable picture of a girl and her dog drinking hot chocolate together in front of a winter scene.  Yes, these are the types of things I relate to... and believe it or not, I love it.

Unfortunately when my youngest student got to this song, she informed me very decidedly that she doesn't like hot chocolate... and even worse, she doesn't like peppermint.  To which I said:  What's NOT TO LIKE??  Anyway, we recently had a breakthrough on this topic after I put special Coldstone hot chocolate in my student's Christmas goody bags... apparently she likes THAT hot chocolate but none other.  My personal feeling is that whatever she's been drinking just hasn't been chocolatey enough.

Which brings me to the main point of this post:  if you're gonna make hot chocolate, don't just half-ass it.  Do it right.  Because then you end up with adorable 7-yr-olds who somehow don't like hot chocolate.  Below, please find the Katie Smith / Megan Wehrle / found off the back of the Hershey's baking chocolate box recipe for hot chocolate, tweaked of course to perfection by yours truly.

The secret to good hot chocolate is to put just as much cocoa in as you do sugar... maybe even err on the side of more cocoa than sugar.  So the ratio is 1:1, no matter what measurement you're using... maybe even 1:1.3, where the larger amount is always cocoa.

For instance, for 1 cup of hot chocolate, you would follow the rough guidelines below:
- 2 T sugar
- 2 T+ a little extra of cocoa... just eyeball it.  Call it a mounding heap.
- Add a dash of salt if you so desire... I never do.
Put this in a small saucepan and add just as much water as you did cocoa -- in this case, 2 T+ (or a little less than 2 and 1/2 T).

Add the water to the saucepan and whisk over medium heat til dissolved into a chocolatey syrup.  Add milk.  In the case of one serving, you would add roughly 1 - 1 and 1/2 cups of milk, maybe 2 if you need to stretch it... the hot chocolate in the pan should be dark in color once everything is disseminated.  If in doubt, use less milk.  Stir over medium heat until hot to the touch, milky swirls form on top, and steam is evident.  Do not boil.  Pour or ladle into a nearby mug.  Top with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles or shavings... that's right, olympic style.

For peppermint hot chocolate, add 1/4 tsp of peppermint oil / extract / imitation flavoring to each mug, then top with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles.

For Mexican hot chocolate, add roughly 1/2 tsp of cinnamon (sprinkle on top after poured in mug).  Stir and top with whipped cream.  And sprinkles if you're one of those people who needs them like a toddler needs their blankie... I am.

For naughty peppermint hot chocolate, add a shot of peppermint Schnapps to each mug, then top with whipped cream and chocolate sprinkles.

For 3 servings, I like to use 5 T sugar, 5 T+ of cocoa, 5 T+ water, and roughly 4 - 4 and 1/2 c milk.

From my mug to yours... cheers, friend :)

Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup

This recipe is so basic... so perfect for a January evening when it's 18 degrees outside.  If you know how to make chicken noodle soup from scratch already, you're golden... just use rice pasta instead of regular.  If you don't know how to make it, read on for a crash course in the art of homemade goodness.

For this recipe, you will need:
- 1 roasted chicken (I like to grab mine from the deli sections of grocery stores... Schnucks makes an herb-roasted chicken that's hot and ready to walk out the door -- perfect for a late evening of teaching when there's just not enough time to cook the thing yourself)
- half an onion, sliced and quartered
- roughly 1 c chopped celery
- roughly 2 c chopped carrots (I like to use baby carrots and just cut them in half)
- half a bag of frozen peas
- 3/4 - 1 lb brown rice pasta (or other gluten-free pasta)

Debone chicken... however much you'll think you'll need.  Last time I made this, I basically used all the dark meat -- legs, thighs, wings, and back -- and a little bit of breast meat.  Debone the rest and freeze.  You can also keep (freeze) the carcass to use for future chicken soups (just boil with remaining meat until bare; remove before adding pasta).  Put meat in large stewpot and fill mostly with water.  Add onion, celery, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil.  This is your stock.  After stock has boiled, add pasta and cook til tender in boiling stock (you can also save time by cooking the pasta separately and then adding later after carrots).  Add carrots and cook for 10 mins.  Add peas and cook til everything is well done, soup is boiled down, and your house smells amazing (roughly 45 mins - 1 hr).  Add more salt and pepper if necessary.  Serve with hot chocolate and love :)

Spicy Black Bean and Carnitas Chili

This recipe is a take-off from the last recipe posted... seriously, you could go 1,000 miles just making small departures from a basic chili.  For instance, our family had a ton of leftover roasted pork shoulder from Christmas dinner.  A few changes here and there can make for an entirely different, yet familiar dish.  For this version, you will need:

- roughly 1-2 lbs leftover pork, cubed and / or shredded
- half an onion, chopped
- 1 pkg ranch dressing mix
- 1 pkg fajita mix
- 3 cans black beans
- 1 can diced tomatoes
- 1 can diced tomatoes w/ green chiles
- 2 cans whole kernel corn
- 1 cup water
- salt and pepper to taste

Sautee pork and onions together in oil in a large stewpot.  When meat is warmed and sizzling, add ranch and fajita flavor dust.  Stir to coat meat evenly... meat should have an oily, wet look but not be swimming in oil (otherwise drain before adding packages).  Drain half the liquids from all canned ingredients and add contents of cans to stewpot.  Salt and pepper to taste.  Add roughly 1/2 tsp of cumin if desired.  Add 1 cup of water and simmer 20-30 mins or until desired consistency.  Top with corn chips, sour cream, and shredded cheese and serve.

Santa Fe Chili

This recipe is so simple and it makes a ton.  Perfect for keeping in your freezer to pull out at the last minute on a cold winter night.

For this recipe, you will need:

- 1.5 - 2 lbs ground beef
- half an onion, chopped
- 1/2 tsp cumin
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 package of ranch dressing mix
- 1 package of salsa mix... I like to use mild.  For a spicier recipe, use 2 pkgs each of ranch and salsa.
- 1 can of each of the following:  black beans, kidney beans, pinto beans, diced tomatoes with chiles, and diced tomatoes
- 2 cans whole kernel corn (or white corn for variety)
- 1 cup water

Brown ground beef with onion, cumin, salt, and pepper in a deep skillet or stew pot.  After meat is thoroughly cooked, drain most of the grease off into a separate bowl and return pot to burner, adding ranch and salsa mixes.  Add some of the drained grease back in if necessary... mixture should have a wet look to it.  As mixture starts sizzling again, add all canned ingredients with juices, mixing thoroughly.  Add water and stew uncovered for approx 1 hr.  Alternate:  transfer to a crock pot for 2 hrs.  Turn burner off, take pot off stove, and let sit covered for 30 mins.  Mixture should have chili consistency.  Serve with tortilla strips / chips, shredded taco cheese, and sour cream.

Tomato, Basil, and Mozzarella Salad

This recipe comes to me from my friend Sarah, who used to work for St. Louis Bread Co / Panera.  So technically it's their recipe, but passed on from friend to friend.  This salad is not only a summer favorite, but works well into the early fall as well.  The ingredients are key.  Do not settle for shredded mozzarella.  And don't cut anything out.  The fresher the tomatoes, the better.  I like buying mine from local farmer's markets or using the ones given to me by friends with tomato plants who have tomatoes coming out of their ears at the end of the summer and just want to get rid of them.

You will need:
- cut lettuce... not a lot, just enough to add some fluff (I like romaine best)
- LOTS of fresh tomatoes, quartered into fairly large chunks (one chunk should equal a mouthful)
- chopped fresh basil
- chopped or sliced red onion to taste
- sliced cucumbers, chopped in half
- fresh mozzarella pearls (the wet, soft kind that you can find in the specialty cheese area of the grocery store)
- Panera balsamic vinaigrette dressing (found in higher-end grocery stores like Schnucks or Dierbergs... maybe Hy-vee?)

Combine ingredients in large bowl and dressing and toss.  Does not keep well.  Serve within 12-24 hours.  Or eat immediately :)  The ratio of tomatoes to lettuce should be at least 1:1 or even 2:1 for best results.  Enjoy this beautiful taste of Italy on a patio or balcony with a glass of wine on a cool evening = perfection itself.

cold soups

Because of the distinct lack of classical music radio in St. Louis, these days I'm listening more and more to hip hop (don't judge) and public radio. In this recent radio recalibration process, I've come across the most wonderful broadcast: The Splendid Table (splendidtable.org). This week, hostess Lynne Rossetto spoke with New York Times food columnist Melissa Clark about "blendid" soups. The idea is simple, yet brilliant. If you can make a smoothie, you can make a delicious, cold summer soup.

Find Melissa's July 9 article here: http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/14/dining/14appe.html?_r=1&ref=melissa_clark

Find Melissa's recipe for cold borscht with dill cream here: http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/recipes/light_borscht.shtml

Find a recipe for chilled avocado soup topped with crab meat from Food and Wine magazine online here: http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/chilled-avocado-soup-topped-with-crab

Find a recipe for cold cucumber soup here: http://busycooks.about.com/od/coldsouprecipes/r/cucumbersoup.htm

Find the Barefoot Contessa's recipe for summer gazpacho here: http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ina-garten/gazpacho-recipe/index.html