Mmmm, Muffins...

Muffin Monday!

I recently had a huge Muffin Fail. I have often thought that it might be nice to have a savory muffin so when I found a recipe for Olive, Goat Cheese and Rosemary Muffins I couldn't wait to make them. The Bear and I love all those flavors so how could things possibly go wrong right?

Well trust me, the can go terribly wrong. After assembling all the ingredients with care I eagerly awaited for the timer to go off. The smell was mouth watering. I patiently waited for them to cool enough so that I could shove one in my mouth! The moment finally came and the muffin was promptly shoved.

BLAH!

IT TASTED LIKE WALL PAPER PASTE!

How was that possible? I did everything right. I wonder some times if these magazines even test the recipes before they publish them.

Hanging my head in disappointment there was nothing to do but walk away with my unsatisfied muffin shaped hole.

___________________________________________

Cranberries to the Rescue!

The next morning I was desperate to fill that muffin shaped hole in my belly so I searched the pantry to see what kind of muffins I could whip up.

SUCCESS!

As a matter of fact, such a success that Fabulous Foodie Friend Jennifer requested the recipe!

Cranberry Pecan Muffins

(my personal version of this recipe)

(makes 1 Dozen)

1/2 Cup Butter, softened

1 Cup Sugar

2 Eggs

1 tsp Vanilla Extract

1 Cup 2% Plain Greek Yogurt

2 Cups All-Purpose Flour

1 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

1/2 tsp Fresh Grated Nutmeg (ground in the jar is just not the same)

1/4 tsp Salt

1 heaping Cup Frozen Cranberries, slightly thawed and course chopped

1/2 Cup Pecans, chopped

Preheat Oven to 400 degrees

• In a mixing bowl, cream Butter and Sugar.
• Add Eggs one at a time, beating well.
• Add Vanilla
• Fold in Yogurt
• In a separate bowl combine Flour, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Nutmeg and Salt.
• Stir in Flour mixture to creamed mixture until moist.
• Fold in Cranberries and Pecans.
• Pour mixture into a greased muffin pan.
• Bake at 400 degrees for 20-25 mins or until toothpick comes out clean.
• Cool 5 mins before removing from a pan and cool on a wire rack.

These muffins didn't last long around here that's for sure. They would be great to send with your loved ones to enjoy during their morning commute.

What's your favorite muffin flavor?

Random December Highlights And Mentions...

I thought that I would post a few random things from this month.

Early in the month we had a bit of snow. Just enough to say hello.

I found inspiration in a bit of coffee on the counter and I went wild with the fun!!

I painted the design for this year's Christmas Card using coffee and then embellished with a touch of watercolor. Then scanned it into my computer for a bit more fun.

Christmas Card Production Line. Staining each card with a coffee ring. This is only part of the pile I made :)

My fabulous friend Jennifer Moore of Indulgent Health has a cartoon named Jenny Quips and now you can get her on T-shirts!!! I absolutely LOVE mine. She is adorable and makes everyone she meets so happy, won't you go and get yours today? JennyQuips.com

Weiner has finally discovered that if she turns around on the loveseat, she can survey the whole neighborhood. She says it's better than cable, "Next time on..."When the neighbor gets in the car..." She's utterly addicted.

I made Chicken Paprikash for the first time and man oh man was it delicious!

Oh we aren't just interested in dinner around here! Desserts baby, that's where it's at. We held a Tiramisu contest and we both agree that the smoothness of the Kahlua is nice but if we combine it with a touch of Brandy then we think we'd have Thee Perfect Combo.

Living with Hard Wood Floors = Cold Feet

Our solution?

You guessed it, awesome rockin fuzzy Crocs. Never seen these at the store before? Well that's because apparently they keep all the cool stuff online! The Bear says he's never shopping in an actual store ever again, online is where it's at.

My first Morning Dove.

I simply had to run and get my camera. What a way to start the day.

I hope that all of you have had a wonderful December filled with Kindness, Joy and more Love than you could ever hope for.

Cheers,

And may it only get better from here!

Green Goddess, Meet Persimmon Siren...

Green Goddess Dutch Oven, may I introduce you to Persimmon Siren Stand Mixer.

YEARS ago we promised that if we ever found ourselves living in a house with an actual kitchen we would purchase the coveted Kitchenaid Stand Mixer of our dreams. Well that time has finally come my dear readers. After some debate about color choice the decision was made and the order was placed. While out and about one day, I arrived home to the following scene.

Merry X-mas

To: Cuisiniere

From: the Epicurean

(The BEST Hubby a gal could ever ask for)

She is more beautiful in person than I could ever have imagined.

It took me a few days to gather the nerve to get her messy. I mean her Orange paint job is one to rival any high end sports car.

What was the first recipe you ask? Why it was my lovely Aunt Nanny's Caroler Cookies! Perfect for this Holiday Season.

What kitchen addition are you hoping Santa will bring you this year?

Green Goddess Dutch Oven, Gumbo Anyone?...

The moment I brought The Green Goddess Dutch Oven (my new love) into the house The Bear took one look and screamed GUMBOOOOOOOO! I do make a mean gumbo but never have I been able to make it in a true Dutch Oven. So tonight I made his dream come true. Gumbo it is baby!

I know for my last post I gave out a detailed ingredient list and directions, but this recipe? Well dear readers this recipe is top secret. I can't give em all out can I? Besides, the idea behind "Gumbo" is, throw what you got in the pot and call it YUMMY.

I will share one trick with you though and this is truly the trick behind a good gumbo, how to make the roux. You mix your flour and oil in the Dutch Oven and you put it in the oven. Yep, that's right you bake it in the oven! No more standing over a hot stove stirring constantly under threat of burning! Simply heat your oven to 400 degrees and bake the flour and oil mixture stirring occasionally until it's cooked to your desired brownness. A good roux is the foundation of any good gumbo.
My chicken, andouille sausage and shrimp gumbo served over rice; nectar of the Gods around here.
A bowl of homemade gumbo, a frosted glass of ale and we're celebrating a Wednesday baby!

What should my next recipe be? Perhaps homemade baked beans? I don't know, what do you think?

If you're really interested in the recipe I might be persuaded to share ;)

Green Goddess Dutch Oven, My New Love...

I can't even tell you how long I've wanted a Dutch Oven. It seems like every time I get excited to make a new recipe the directions start with "Get out your Dutch Oven". Damn, I don't have one. Well now I do baby so watch out. I found this beautiful Green Enameled Cast Iron Goddess at Marshals and I LOVE her. Now, what to make first, what to make... I've decided to christen this baby with a Bone-in Pork Shoulder Braised in Belgian Beer and panchetta. But wait to see how I serve it, oh man this is a tastey meal.

Here are my ingrediants.

6oz Panchetta (Italian Bacon), chopped (I could only find it prepackaged and sliced)

2 Onions sliced

6-7lb Bone-in Pork Shoulder

2Tbsp Extra-Virgin Olive Oil

1 Head Garlic, minced

1tsp Fennel Seeds, toasted and ground

1tsp Coriander Seeds, crushed

2 Cups Belgian Beer

1 Cup Low Sodium Chicken Stock

For Caramelized Apples (this is the secret touch)

1Tbsp unsalted butter

1 peeled, cored and sliced apple (I used a golden apple)

2Tbsp Sugar

Finally, for serving; thick slices of rustic bread.

Preheat Oven to 300 degrees

*Crisp Panchetta in the Goddess Dutch Oven (GDO) until fat is rendered. Remove crisped Panchetta and reserve.

*Add onions to GDO and cook till caramelized. Remove and reserve.

*Season Yummy Pork Shoulder with S&P. Add oil to GDO and with fat side down place shoulder (pork shoulder not your shoulder) in GDO until golden. Flip and repeat.

*Add garlic and spices to GDO and about a minute until fragrant.

*Add Beer, stock, panchetta and onion; bring to a simmer.

*Cover and transfer to oven, basting every hour until meat is falling off the bone, about 4 hours.
The above picture is right before it was transfered to the oven. Isn't she beautiful? Mmmm.
Here she is about 4hrs later falling off the bone! What's that up in the left hand corner you ask?
In a skillet melt 1Tbsp unsalted butter. Place one peeled, cored and sliced golden apple in the skillet with the melted butter. Sprinkle 2Tbsp of sugar over apples and cook over md-high heat stirring occasionally until the apple is caramelized.
Now, ready for the meal? Place one slice of rustic bread on a plate, put some shredded pork shoulder on the bread slice and drizzle jus from the GDO over the pork; make sure pieces of onion and panchette are in the jus drizzle. Top with caramelized apples and a drizzle and caramel sauce from pan. ENJOY!

I can't tell you how delicious this meal is. When The Bear and I sat down and the first bite hit our lips all you could hear were MMMMMMmmmmmms! And don't you even think about skipping the caramelized apples cause that's the icing baby, the FRIGGIN ICING!

Now, what happened to the "bone" in the Bone-in Shoulder you ask? Well you have to know that Weiner the Wonder Dog is involved, right? Of course she is...
Have you ever seen such love? I mean look at those eyes, complete obsession.
She tried to take it into the other room and on the carpet but I stopped her. Ugh, you stay in the kitchen on the rug that I can throw in the washer, thank you.
I mean LOVE!!!! I let her chew on it for a few minutes then I took it away and saved it for later. This type of "treat" is so rare that she's not used to it.

I love my new Goddess Dutch Oven. Tonight I made my world famous (okay family famous) gumbo. I took a picture so stay tuned for gumbo!

Do you have a Green Goddess Dutch Oven? If you do please share what recipes you make with it cause baby, I'm on a roll!!!!!!!

Homemade Pesto Anyone? Hellz Yeah...

I mentioned that when Momma Bean was here a couple weekends ago she brought me a Thai Basil plant. Well the occassion to use a bunch of it finally arrived and I leapt at the chance. I was surfing my all time favorite food site Foodgawker and found a fabulous recipe I had to try. If you've never been to Foodgawker you simply must have a look. It's food porn for the eyes, seriously. The recipe is for Pesto Pasta Salad with Grilled Chicken and it comes from the blog The Parsley Thief by a lady named Katie in Norwalk CT. Here is the link to the Recipe and here is a link to the Home Page of her blog. Her recipes are really great and totally worth a look see even if you don't enjoy cooking, her photos will convince you otherwise.



I followed her recipe exactly except for two things, I used baby spinach instead of arugula and I used half my Thai Basil and half fresh Sweet Basil from the store as I wanted to use my basil but didn't have enough on my plant to make the pesto.



This recipe is GORGEOUS, not only to look at but to eat. This one is a definate 2 thumbs way the hellz up! Homemade pesto is so out of this world that you will never use store bought again.



I love this time off year. The produce is beautiful and everything tastes fresh and fragrant.



What sort of pasta dishes have you been making?

Friday Food Fun...

Yesterday we were watching one of our favorite shows, Good Eats with Alton Brown and discovered that YES, frozen crab is easy and oh so tastey. The episode was Crustation Nation III Feeling Crab. Now I know what you're thinking, Bean, WHY in the HELL would you want to eat frozen crab when you live a stones chuck away from the coast? Wellllllll, just watch the episode and you'll find out. It all has to do with location, type of crab and getting the most meat bang for your buck. Plus, we LOVE eating for cheaper at home, who doesn't?

Today I was out getting my Mane Tamed ;) by the oh so fabulous Lorraine, owner of Lorraine Aprile Salon in Old Town and on my way home I stopped to pick up our crabbie dinner, 2lbs of Dungeness Crab and 1lb of Snow Crab. Sort of a crab taste test evening. I wanted King Crab legs but all they had we ones that were still frozen and I didn't feel like waiting over night for them to thaw in the fridge. I'm hungry now dammit! As you know, eating crab can be a bit messy and since the weather was perfect in the late afternoon we moved our delish meal to the porch! It was so much fun. I felt like royalty sitting on the porch of our ghetto apartment building listening to commuters drive by on their way home to TV dinners after a long day in the hamster wheel. Aw, now this is the life baby.

This is one half of a Dungee with a side of clarified butter! Doesn't it look delish? The clarified butter is sooooo very easy to make. The recipe also came from Alton Brown's show. The butter really does make all the difference.

As for the taste test results...

We both felt that the snow crab legs tasted slightly sweeter but they are a lot juicier/messier and a little harder to get to the meat. The Dungees have a great taste and the meat is WAY easier to get to and there's a lot more of it. So if we had to choose between the two I think we would both go for the Dungee. The price was only a few cents difference between the two, Dungees being slightly more expensive but totally worth it.

So there you have it. Friday at Casa Mohler and Life is Good. What did you have for dinner?

White Beans and Greens...

Okay, I know, alright already! For all of you who have been waiting with baited breath, here it is, the recipe you've all heard me talking about for a long time. Well here it is in technicolor! Yeah that's right, in full color! Sorry, I don't have smell O vision yet.

I have a hard time repeating recipes but this one has become a staple. I want to reiterate that I only only pass along a recipe that is "Bear Approved".

Here is the ingredient list...
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 sm Shallots (finely chopped)
2 cloves Garlic (finely chopped
1Lb Mustard Greens (washed, cleaned and trimmed)
1 Lemon Juiced
2 tsp Brown Sugar
1 Bay Leaf
1/4 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
14.5 oz Veg Broth or Stock
28oz. Diced Tomatoes (undrained)
(2) 15oz Cans White Beans (I use Cannellini)
(Instructions on the cooking process to follow at the end) Unfortunately I found that I didn't photograph all the ingredients on the list and I also realized that I pictured "Stewed" tomatoes in this picture. Once I went to add them I realized my mistake and changed the can to actual Diced Tomatoes that the recipe called for.

Here are my finely chopped shallots and garlic. Do you like my knife? Bear bought it for me a little while back and I absolutely LOVE it. I use it every day!

Since my local grocery didn't have Mustard Greens I was forced to use Kale instead but the process is the same. You take the Greens and you rinse them then you trim them to bite/mouth size pieces removing the thick heavy stem part. Mmm, yummy.

This is how it looks when you had the first pot full of greens.

Mmmm, the greens are starting to wilt.

After photographing the initial ingredients I realized that I had neglected to show some of the ingredients like lemon juice and bay leaf.

Mmmm, this is the pot almost ready to eat. All I have to do at this point is scoop it out and put it in my belly!

Ready for my tummy!

This recipe never lasts long around here. We LOVE our veggies in this house. So with out further ado, here are the directions...

Heat oil in a large pot over md-low heat.

Add the shallots and cook for 4 mins.

Add the garlic and greens and cook stirring unil the greens wilt, about 3-5 mins

Add Lemon juice, brown sugar, bay leaf, red pepper, broth and tomatoes w/juice.

Bring to a boil.

Reduce heat and simmer until greens are tender, (not soggy) about 10-15mins

Add beans and cook till heated through.

Remove bay leaf.

Season with S&P if desired.

ENJOY!

This is really a yummy recipe that is so easy to make and is so nutritious. I encourage all my readers ot go out and make this delicious pot of nummy goodness for themselves and their loved ones.

What tastey recipes have you made recently?
(as always, if you find a problem with my recipe please let me know.)

Bittersweet and Butter Beans...

This past Sunday found me dancing around the kitchen to one of my favorite bands Bittersweet. Their album The Mating Game is great. Here's a link to the YouTube Video, go and check it out. I think you'll really enjoy her sultry voice.

A really great friend of mine just passed along a simple soup recipe that is now "Officially Endorsed" by The Bear. I have one rule when passing along recipes, if the Bear doesn't give it two thumbs up then it doesn't get shared. He's my greatest critic, always has been, always will be. 4C Veg Stock (the whole box pictured here)
2 (14oz) cans Butter Beans, drained (next time I'll add 1 more can or maybe 2. We LOVE beans)
4 Tbsp Sun-Dried Tomato Paste (the whole tube) you can substitute regular Tom Paste
5Tbsp Basil Pesto
(Optional, 6 Sun-Dried Tomatoes from a bag, cut into pieces with kitchen shears, yummy)

In a large pot add Veg Stock and Beans
Bring to a boil then simmer for 5 Mins
Add Paste and Pesto, stir to combine well
(if opting to add the additional Sun-Dried Toms, do so now. I did and it was yummy)
Cover and simmer 5 Mins
Remove 4 Laddles worth of the soup into a blender or food processor and blend well. Return blended to pot. This will thicken up the soup

Here's what she looked like right before I slurped it down. The Bear's Birthday is tomorrow, hence the cake mix on the counter! I see CupCakes in our future. Mmmm, CupCakes.

Here's a typical site in our kitchen. I cook and Wiener the Wonder Dog is right there in the mix. Even if there's no meat to be found she still hopes something will fall to her level so she can sample what's for dinner! If it doesn't look promising then she just sits there with her eyes closed and pouting. Poor dear.

The Bear said that this soup would be just PERFECT in a thermos and packed for a picnic or a hike through the park. Yep, it's that good. Note to self, I think The Bear wants to go on a picnic.

Oh, I do hope you try this simple and satisfying recipe. Please let me know if you do and what you think about it.

I hope you've enjoyed this Musical Culinary Adventure. What music to you like to groove and cook to?

Bean Reporting Live from Blizzard 2010...

Gee, does this sound like Deja Vu or what? Barely 2 months ago I was reporting live from Blizzard 09. Well that one was about 17 inches of snow. This time we got 20 inches and in our old town on Frederick MD our friend Leah reports 30 inches, and that's just 45 mins away from here. This is crazy considering that 2 weeks ago it was hitting 70 degrees and I was wearing a Sun Dress around the house. The Weather Channel reported that the snow would begin to fall on Friday at 10am and Lo and Behold we spotted the first snow flakes at 10:17am and they just kept a comin. Now "Princess" Beanie will only do her, ahem, "business" if you take her for a walk. Now after that much snow the only thing to do is to suit up and take her out front of the building to find a tire track to walk in. It seems to have done the trick! The snow was so deep she could barely see out of the tire track over the snow.

Here's the front of our building in the trench that I personally shoveled just to be able to get out of the door. Beanie was not happy with me for taking what she thought was a very long and unnecessary time to take a stupid picture!

Here's what my car looked like after my FIRST attempt at snow removal. Just this amount took hours till I finally gave up. I did finally manage to free it today after many more hours of work. Why, where was Brian you ask? Well we won't get into that, we'll just say that I was up and out working at this early and we met in the hall way when I was finished and he finally got curious! He made up for it though by VERY thoroughly cleaning my kitchen. I mean what a great job! He scrubbed and took the gas stove top apart and got every little last bit of grease and baked on goodness off. He's truly the hero of the hour. I'd rather shovel snow any day than tackle that job! I love you my Bear!

Last blizzard we went out and took pictures to share with you. Well this time around we thought, "You've seen one you've seen them ALL"! So this time we stayed in so I don't have any great photo spread to share with you but I do have some nice "Complimentary Color" Night Photos from my porch to share with you.

So Breathtaking. There is nothing more lovely or romantic than to sit on the porch with the love of your life, in the dark, quiet calm after math of a Blizzard.

I wish my neighborhood was this magical all the time.

This brings us to our "Lessons fo Being Snowed In with a Loved One" section. Luckily The Bear and I are very well versed in spending long periods of uninterupted time together so it hasn't been as painful as I imagine it has been for some of you. But there do come times of uncontrolled laughter over absolutely NOTHING that funny, and food creations that end up so gosh darn yummy, your tummy SCREAMS Uncle like it's Thanksgiving. You let The Bear loose in the kitchen and you know it's not gonna be good for the waist line. Like these Cheesy Bacon and Scallion Fries served with Ranch Dressing, for dipping of course.

Or this first ever Homemade Thai Bubble Tea! Ya, that's right. Oh man was that good. I made from scratch Chicken and Rice Soup to keep us going and we ended up running our of crackers. Well Bear to the rescue. He got so bored today that he went online, found a recipe and make crackers from scratch! Yes FROM SCRATCH! That's what a Blizzard will do to a person.

What did the Blizzard make you do?