Friday, December 31, 2010

Friday Firsts - Last of the Year

Friday Firsts

Hi everybody! Happy Friday! I can't believe it's already the last day (and Friday) of 2010!

Sorry, I don't have a first to share with you today, unless you count me sharing the sweet potato bread. I've been sick in bed the past two days so have just made it down to the kitchen for tea, water, and soup.

To participate in Friday Firsts create a blog post featuring a "first" of yours. Next, link that blog post below and tell us about it! If you don't have a blog or a specific post to link to please tell us about your first in the comment section! Any and all participation is welcome!



If you would like to display the Friday Firsts button as a badge in your post or on your side bar, you can copy and paste the following code:

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Sweet Potato Bread

It feels odd to have not shared this recipe with you yet because I have been baking it all month long.

Seventeen total loaves to be exact.

20 pounds of sweet potatoes, 20 pounds of flour, four pounds of butter, a gallon of milk, and a whole jar of yeast has passed through my kitchen in the past few weeks to make those loaves.

It was worth it. I love this recipe! It was what I chose to gift to everybody this year.


I first saw the bread on Sophia's blog, shared from The Kitchn (in roll form). I'll share mine below for convenience, and since I made a few alterations.

3/4 cup warm water
1 scant Tbsp active dry yeast
1 heaping cup mashed sweet potatoes
1 cup milk (I used skim)
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) melted butter (I used salted)
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 tsp kosher salt (*see Note below)
4 cups all purpose flour

Begin by scrubbing your sweet potatoes and baking them in a 350° oven until soft. Wait a few minutes to cool, peel off the skin, and mash.

Use a very large bowl and add the warm water and yeast in the bottom. Let it sit a few minutes to dissolve while you set up the other ingredients and prepare things, such as melting the butter. (*Note: I do not buy unsalted butter. It falls under the non-alcoholic beer category for me - what is the point? If the extra salt bothers you, simply omit one of the teaspoons of kosher salt.)

Combine the rest of the ingredients except the flour in the bowl, stirring with a large wooden spoon (Any other people out there from an Italian household that grew up with a deep fear of wooden spoons?) until fully incorporated. Add the flour and begin working with the spoon, using your muscles. It will seem like too much flour and you'll wonder how you will get it all mixed - but trust me, it will eventually come together.

Spray another large bowl with non-stick spray and plop the dough into it. Let rise until doubled - about two hours. (Tip: I have two favorite methods for letting my dough rise. The first is in a warmed microwave. Our microwave is right above our oven, so it conveniently was warm from baking the potatoes beforehand. Another great place to let dough rise is in your kitchen sink with the drain plugged and a few inches of hot water in the bottom.) After two hours, transfer the dough to a greased loaf pan. Bake at 400° for approximately 40-45 minutes.

This really is a beautiful bread. It's not like a sweet, desserty bread you'd expect from the name. Instead, it's more savory with a hint of sweetness. The crust gets a delicious crunchy exterior, while the inside remains moist and fluffy.

My favorite way to eat it is toasted with a drizzle of honey.

And that is exactly how I finished a whole loaf.

In three days.

By myself.

Friday, December 24, 2010

Friday Firsts - Merry Christmas!

Friday Firsts


I get my Friday Firsts posts set up on Thursday so they can post at midnight. Thus, it's Thursday as I type this.

As soon as I woke up my initial thought was along the lines of "Thursday?! Oh no, it can't be Thursday, it's too gruesome!!" (Name that movie - but don't be lame and google it first.)

What on earth was I going to share and would that many people really be concerned with sharing their firsts on Christmas Eve? I thought not.

So, let's just sit back and admire Johnny's and my Christmas cards from this year, and years gone by. If you have your act together and would like to share a first, I'll add the form below for your links!

2010

2009

2008


Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Cans for Comments Results

Thank you to everybody that participated in Cans for Comments here and the post I did on Mara's blog.

Last year's total was 41 cans.

This year's total??
57 cans!

Incidentally, I bought 114 items before doing the final tally, inadvertently doubling it! Pretty cool coincidence, if you ask me!

Oats, dried pinto and white beans, baked beans, two kinds of stuffing mix, canned tuna in water, and chicken noodle soup. (Please excuse the piles of sand in the back of my Jeep from this summer spent in N.C.)

Laura's total was 52 cans for Alaska's food bank!

And, I just learned that Roz also participated, collecting 24 cans for the Vancouver food bank!

Thanks again ladies and commenters! It's so exciting to see how a small act can turn into a big help, spanning different time zones and countries - donating hundreds of items of food to those in need!

Monday, December 20, 2010

Giveaway Winner and Cans for Comments

The winner of the Holiday Baking giveaway was #26..



Congratulations Brandy! I'll pass your information onto the sponsors and your baking package will be on its way!

Today is the LAST DAY to leave a comment (or 5) on my Cans for Comments post. For every 1 comment left, 1 can of food will be donated to a local Chicagoland food pantry. Please help me help others this holiday season!

Sunday, December 19, 2010

Garlicky Kale

Cans for Comments - going on HERE. Each comment left on the linked post will equal one can of food donated to a local food pantry. Please help me help others this holiday season! Ends Monday 12/20.



Ever since starting Friday Firsts, I'm constantly on the lookout for new and interesting things to try (moreso than usual).

When Foodista tweeted about this kale dish, I bookmarked it. I had been wanting to try kale and this dish looked like a simple, flavor-packed way to do just that.

I doubled the recipe, making slight alterations.

2 Tbsp olive oil
2 bunches curly kale
~8 cloves garlic, minced
~4 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
dash freshly grated nutmeg

To prep the kale, remove the stems by holding in one hand and running the other hand's index and middle finger along the stem, "stripping" the leafy greens from it. Place in a colander and rinse really well under cold water.

In a high sided large skillet add the olive oil over medium heat. Once heated, add the kale and cover. It will take about 5 minutes to reduce. Stir occassionally, taking care to rotate the bottom kale to the top, and vice versa.

Uncover and add the garlic, balsamic, and nutmeg. Cook for another minute or two, until the garlic has softened. Toss so the garlic and vinegar are combined well.

Yields 4 generous servings, probably closer to 6 if you're normal. (Hey, we love our veggies, ok!?)

I loved it! It was really substantial, if that makes sense. It had a great, hearty flavor for a green. The tinge of the balsamic was the perfect balance and all of the garlic was the perfect compliment. I'm not really sure what the nutmeg added, but Rachael Ray swears by it, so I had to try, right!?

Hello, new beautiful side dish! Welcome to our house, it's nice to have met you!

Do you like kale!?

Have you left a comment for my Cans for Comments post yet?
Please do!

Friday, December 17, 2010

Friday Firsts - Kale

Friday Firsts

Happy Friday everybody! (Click the image above if you need more information on Friday Firsts!)

My first for this week is trying and cooking Kale! Unless I've had it without my knowledge in something, I cannot ever remember eating kale. And I've certainly never cooked it- until now!


The result!? I loved it! I was a bit nervous because I've heard others' dislike for it. I will be sharing the recipe in the next post because I have a few announcements to share:

Holiday Baking Giveaway - going on HERE. A 3 pack of Gladware, Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix, and a $25 grocery gift card up for grabs. Ends Sunday 12/19.

Cans for Comments - going on HERE. Each comment left on the linked post will equal one can of food donated to a local food pantry. Please help me help others this holiday season! Ends Monday 12/20.

Now it's your turn to tell me about your first! To participate in Friday Firsts create a blog post featuring a "first" of yours. Next, link that blog post below and tell us about it! If you don't have a blog or a specific post to link to please tell us about your first in the comment section! Any and all participation is welcome!



If you would like to display the Friday Firsts button as a badge in your post or on your side bar, you can copy and paste the following code:


Thursday, December 16, 2010

Second Annual Cans for Comments!

I was listening to the radio the other day when the news came on. Two stories caught my attention. The first, was that the "Honeybee Killer" was shot and killed during a botched robbery in a strip mall Johnny and I had just been at not even two weeks ago. (I know!!!)

The second was a little more somber: The Salvation Army reports that donations this year are down 13% from previous years' figures. At first I thought "well, yeah that's because everybody uses debit cards and doesn't have change for the little red buckets." But then I realized that couldn't be the reason for a 13% drop. Debit cards have been around for years and it hadn't affected donations this badly before.

It made me stop and think how devastating it must be for many families this time of year. To not only be struggling to pay the normal bills and costs of life, but to add the stress of presents, a tree, decorations, a big Christmas dinner, and other holiday expenses that add up.

To hear that even the charities trying to help these families are struggling made me want to chip in! I emailed Laura to see if she'd be up for another serious ass-kicking friendly competition of Cans for Comments this year. Her response? "Hells yeah!"

So here's where you come in!

Each comment left on this post between today and Monday, December 20th will equal a can of food donated to a local Chicagoland food pantry.

Leave a comment for yourself, your mom, your dog. Tell me what your favorite color is, what you want for Christmas this year, or what your middle name is. Just leave comments so I can beat the pants off Laura donate tons to charity this year!

And if you'd like to join in too, just let us know! We'll add you to the list!

Cans for Comments 2010 Hosts
Hey What's for Dinner Mom?

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Holiday Baking Giveaway

The folks at Betty Crocker, Glad, and Safeway stores have teamed up with My Blog Spark for a "Bake your Holidays Merry" giveaway. They're hoping to revive the holiday tradition of baking and giving cookies.


The package includes:

- a 3-pack of Glad reusable containers
- a package of Betty Crocker sugar cookie mix
- a $25 Safeway card (also valid at Dominick's, Tom Thumb, Randalls, Vons, and Genuardi's)

I used my sugar cookie package to whip up the thumbprint cookies pictured on the back. I'm going to pack them in a Gladware and send them to my brother for Christmas! I think he might like these a bit more than the sweet potato bread I'm gifting everybody else!


I also have another prize pack to give to a Dinner at Christina's reader! There are three ways to enter (each worth one entry):

- Visit BakeSweetMemories.com and leave a comment telling me which recipe you would like to try. (worth 1 entry, mandatory)

- Tweet the giveaway, mentioning @DinneratXtinas (worth 1 entry, leave an additional comment)

- Share a "first" with Friday Firsts this Friday. (worth 1 entry, leave an additional comment)

Giveaway will end Sunday, Dec. 19th. Winner will be announced Monday, Dec. 20th.

This prize pack and the one to be rewarded were received compliments of MyBlogSpark, Gladware, Betty Crocker, and Safeway stores. Any opinions of the products are my own.

Monday, December 13, 2010

You may be in Christina's kitchen if...

(a la Jeff Foxworthy's "You might be a redneck if...")

...when working with squash little bits of guts end up on her shiny, black cabinet doors.

...when baking, some of her drawer handles become covered with batter smudges.

...her stovetop has little crunchies under the burner.

...to the left of her sink is in a constant state of disarray.

...her cereal selection would make a six year old jealous.

...this guy's always at her feet because he knows she's going to drop something.

...the recycle bin is always overflowing because she's too lazy busy to empty it.

...she forgets about rising dough in the warm microwave on a Wednesday.

...she somehow manages to forget about rising dough in a warm microwave on Thursday, too.

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Life with a Food Blogger

Before I moved in with Johnny he was a bachelor for eight comfortable years.

Three of those years he didn't even have a kitchen, because he'd torn it out for remodeling. His food prep area consisted of a microwave in a spare bedroom. Needless to say, he ate take out a lot.

Much has changed since then.

He used to have all white dishes.

He used to have a small bag of flour he kept in a ziploc bag. It was his only baking-related ingredient on hand.

He used to have maybe 10 utensils, tops.

This drawer used to be full of candy.

This cabinet used to be empty. Not one thing was in it. (Hi Poe!!)

This closet used to be empty, too. (Such a shame, really...)

How has your life changed since becoming a food blogger?

Friday, December 10, 2010

Friday Firsts - Carbonara

Friday Firsts

Happy Friday everybody! Please click the image above if you need more information on Friday Firsts!

It's scary how close we're zooming towards Christmas! I swear I've been to the post office pretty much every day this week between shipping Amazon orders, Etsy apron orders, and Christmas presents.

My first for this week is Carbonara! Not only was this the first time I ever made carbonara, it was also the first time I'd ever eaten it too! Definitely a keeper!! I'm only sad that I didn't try it sooner.

Now it's your turn to tell me about your first! To participate in Friday Firsts create a blog post featuring a "first" of yours. Next, link that blog post below and tell us about it! If you don't have a blog or a specific post to link to please tell us about your first in the comment section! Any and all participation is welcome!



If you would like to display the Friday Firsts button as a badge in your post or on your side bar, you can copy and paste the following code:

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

10 Pounds of Angus Burgers

I won Christo's caption contest a few weeks ago from Marx Foods.

Justin was kind enough to let me wait until after Thanksgiving for their delivery. I needed to clear some freezer space.

A fully insulated, well-packed box landed on my doorstep. Inside were 20 beautifully crafted burgers. 18 of them went into the freezer, 2 of them were defrosted for dinner that night.

I cooked them medium rare in a pre-heated dry skillet over medium high heat with just a sprinkling of salt and pepper.

The last minute or two I put on a slice of cheddar to melt.

"Amazing" doesn't do these burgers justice.

Johnny verified with me three separate times that he was just eating meat sprinkled with salt and pepper. He could not get over how much flavor was packed in these, he was convinced I had marinated them or something.

Thanks again Christo and Justin!

Tuesday, December 7, 2010

S'Mores Brownies

You're going to hate me.

Actually, let me rephrase that.

You're
going to love me, your thighs are going to hate me.

1 box your favorite brownie mix
1/2 bag mini marshmallows
6-8 graham crackers
1 bar your favorite chocolate

Bake the brownies according the package instructions, removing from oven just before done. Layer with the marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate bar (I used 70% cocoa). Place back in the warm oven until the chocolate and marshmallows soften a bit.

For extra sinfulness, slice and serve warm. (Random factoid: knowing that I'd be making these, I bought the low-fat graham crackers. As if that somehow made it better.)

As expected, these are obnoxiously sweet. My teeth were hurting. But it is oh so good.

I think it'd make an excellent potluck contribution. It'd also be great for a bake sale or cake walk. As easy as brownies, but a lot more special and unique!

A huge thank you to Mary at Giving up on Perfect, who linked these up to Friday Firsts!