Spicy Corn Chowder

Corn chowder is one of my favorite soups, although the amount of cream and butter that goes into a typical batch is not terribly appealing. I came across a recipe that uses yogurt instead of cream - which means less fat and more protein! I couldn't wait to try it. I've made a lot of soup this year since this winter is never ending, and as good as this chowder turned out, I hope its the last soup I make until next fall!

This is a totally vegetarian recipe.

Unless of course you add bacon, and then its not!

Chowder ingredients. 

Everything that went into this chowder was organic, except for the spices and the yogurt. I've always preferred to eat organic, but since watching Food Matters a couple weeks ago I've been even more aware of the groceries I buy.

Prepare your veggies. I always wash, chop, peel, etc. before getting started on any meal so that I don't have to stop in the middle to do it.

Heat a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and onions - saute until translucent (about 8 minutes).

Add vegetable broth and bring to a boil.

Add potatoes and cook for 8 minutes, or until tender.

Add corn kernels, red peppers and spices and cook for another 2 minutes.

Remove pot from heat. Pour soup through a strainer into a large bowl, reserving both vegetables and broth.

Put half of the vegetables into a bowl and gently mix in the yogurt. This will help to temper the yogurt and prevent it from separating.

Combine the remaining vegetables and broth in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth.

Pour the pureed vegetables back into the soup pot and heat over medium, then stir the yogurt and vegetable mixture into the pot.

Serve warm. 

Spicy Corn Chowder

Recipe adapted from Stonyfield.

Serves six.

Ingredients:

• 6 ears fresh corn or 16 ounces of frozen corn (if using frozen, defrost)
• 1 medium onion, finely chopped
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 4 cups vegetable broth
• 3-4 medium red potatoes, finely chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
• 1/4 tsp allspice
• 1/4 tsp cumin
• 1 1/2 cups 0% plain Greek yogurt
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Prepare your vegetables and remove corn kernels from cobs (if using fresh corn).
2. Heat a large soup pot over medium-high heat. Add olive oil and onions - saute until translucent (about 8 minutes).
3.  Add vegetable broth and bring to a boil.
4.  Add potatoes and cook for 8 minutes, or until tender.
5.  Add corn kernels, red peppers and spices and cook for another 2 minutes.
6.  Remove pot from heat. Pour soup through a strainer into a large bowl, reserving both vegetables and broth.
7.  Put half of the vegetables into a bowl and gently mix in the yogurt. This will help to temper the yogurt and prevent it from separating. 
8.  Combine the remaining vegetables and broth in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth.
9.  Pour the pureed vegetables back into the soup pot and heat over medium, then stir the yogurt and vegetable mixture into the pot.
10. Serve warm and enjoy!

Other deviations to try - add chopped bacon and/or chopped chicken to chowder. Add ground turkey/beef for a Mexican twist.

I liked this chowder - it was definitely very hearty and filling. If I make it again I'll use less spices - I didn't expect it to be quite this spicy because I thought the yogurt's creaminess would counter the hotness more than it did.  Overall I think its a fun alternative to your typical chowder, and definitely a lot healthier!

Best Pizza To Date

This weekend I made the best homemade pizza (to date)...and by that I mean its the best pizza I've made thus far, although if asked nicely, I wouldn't hesitate to date this pizza. It was that good.

It seemed like it'd been forever since I made pizza at home - sure, I've been eating lots of pizza, but making it is half the fun. I didn't want to make just any old pizza...I wanted to try something new. So I came up with this concoction, and let me tell you, it was amazing!

I used pizza dough from Trader Joe's and layered the following:

• slathered dough with Sweet Baby Ray's BBQ Sauce (original)
• thin layer of light mozzarella cheese
• pieces of grilled chicken (that had been cooked in BBQ sauce)
• caramelized onions
• chunks of fresh pineapple
• layer of extra sharp cheddar cheese
• fire roasted diced tomatoes

Being the control freak that I am (and in all fairness, when it comes to food, so is Pat) we each decorated our own half of the pizza to our exact specifications. Pat also added some bacon to his half. We cooked this on the new pizza stone Santa brought for Christmas (love this!) for about 17 minutes at 400 degrees.

Before cooking:

And after, Pat carefully taking this baby out of the oven:

I think there should be a Pizza Genius award, and I'd be the winner this week. All of these flavors were perfect together! The BBQ sauce was great with the extra sharp cheddar cheese, caramelized onions are always a great addition to any meal, and pineapple on pizza used to be my favorite as a kid, and was so great on this! The fire roasted diced tomatoes added a little spiciness, which I love. 

 

The pizza stone worked well - we were able to get a nice crispy crust and bottom of the pizza while cooking the toppings perfectly (otherwise I think the bottom would have been soggy from all of the toppings we added). With pizza stones you use corn meal instead of flour on the surfaces, which I think also contributed to the great texture.

On Saturday night we had plans to have dinner at my mom's house, and I'd offered to bring an appetizer. At about 3pm I realized that I hadn't planned anything to make and didn't have enough time to go to the store and cook something before leaving. So instead I turned to a well-known cooking genius, Miss Ina Garten herself! My mom gave me her Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics cookbook a few years ago for Christmas. After flipping through a few pages, I found a recipe that I had all of the ingredients for - the Cape Cod Chopped Salad.

I toasted some walnuts...

Zested and squeezed an orange...

Made some dressing...

And threw together the rest of the ingredients to make this salad:

Salad with dressing and extra add-ins:

Salad Recipe (original recipe by Ina Garten)

I made a few changes based on my own personal preferences...

Salad

• 5 pieces center cut bacon, cooked and chopped
• 12 ounces organic mixed greens
• 1 large Gala apple, peeled and diced
• 1/2 cup toasted walnut halves, coarsely chopped
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 6 ounces extra sharp cheddar cheese, in small cubes

Dressing

• 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar
• 1 tsp grated orange zest
• 2 tbsp freshly squeezed orange juice
• 2 1/2 tsp Dijon mustard
• 2 tbsp maple syrup
• 1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 2/3 cup olive oil

To toast the walnut halves - cook in a dry skillet on medium-low for about 10 minutes, stirring often, until slightly browned. 

I put all toppings for the salad in separate bags and assembled when I got to my mom's house.

For the dressing I simply put all ingredients together in a measuring cup, then transferred to a clean bottle for transport. When ready to serve the salad, I shook dressing until well combined.

*Note - this recipe makes a very generous serving size of the dressing. Between five of us we probably used less than half of the bottle.

This salad was very good - it combined many things that I love. The dressing was light and citrusy- would be perfect for a summer picnic (or when you want to be in denial about the 3 feet of snow outside).

Jim grilled dinner outside, despite the snow. I was hoping to catch some pictures of him in action (the snow was as high as the opening to the grill) but we got there too late. He made steak tips and tons of delicious roasted vegetables.

My delicious dinner:

 

My mom made apple crisp and pumpkin pie for dessert. I just realized that I don't have a picture of these, but I had some of both, and they were fantastic. The apple crisp had a great topping that was the perfect crispness (many I've had have been soggy, but this was anything but). 

Sunday morning was my long run of the weekend - I planned to run twelve miles. The funny thing about running is that no matter how much or how often you run, you're always going to have your off days. Sometimes a two mile run seems like torture and the next day you can run ten miles easily. Well, yesterday I wasn't really feeling the run. I'd say that part of it was due to the fact that I was on the treadmill for yet another long run, which isn't very exciting - and its a lot easier to quit running on a treadmill in the gym with your car parked outside than it is when you're out on the road and have no other choice but to keep running. After mile four I was dying - I just didn't have my head in the right place. I wanted to quit, but knew that I'd be so mad at myself if I did. I remembered an article my mom printed for me from The New York Times over a year ago, and a training article I read in Runner's World Magazine several months ago - there was an idea about walking 1 minute for every mile you run. I never tried this method - to be honest, I felt like it was cheating in some way. But when I couldn't muster up the miles yesterday, I tried it out. And guess what? It worked. After running the first four miles, I started running a mile and then walking a minute, and kept repeating. With this method I was able to run ten miles - it wasn't the twelve I'd planned on, but it was much better than the four I almost quit after. I'm really happy I tried this and was able to get out another six miles- I know I would have been really beating myself up over it if I'd quit at four. It also made my chocolate milk, apple, and leftover pizza that much more satisfying when I finished!

Bacon Mac and Cheese

There's nothing quite like comfort food, especially on cold winter days. After a day full of running around, cleaning, and a couple hours at the gym, all I wanted was something warm and cheesy. And a little bacon never hurts, right?

This is another Cooking Light recipe. I originally saw it and thought of Pat, since he's a die-hard mac and cheese lover, but as I looked at the ingredients I knew I would love it, too. I consider myself a lover of all cheeses (except blue cheese) but extra sharp cheddar cheese has been my favorite since I was a kid. This recipe calls for 2 cups of shredded sharp cheddar, so it was off to a good start.

I used this bacon from Trader Joe's because it doesn't contain any nitrates or nitrites (which are often found in deli meats and have been shown to cause cancer) and no preservatives were added to it.

Get your penne pasta cooking on the stove, until al dente. As that is going, prepare the ingredients for your cheese sauce. Cook and chop your bacon, slice your onions, shred your cheese and get out your favorite hot sauce! (Sriracha has become a favorite of ours).

Combine flour and 1/2 cup milk in a saucepan over medium heat.

Gradually add 1 cup milk and bring to a boil. Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly.

Remove from heat and let stand for 4 minutes. Stir in 1 1/2 cups cheese.

Add salt, onions, hot sauce, pepper and bacon; stir.

Add cooked and drained pasta; toss.

 

Spoon into a 2-quart baking dish coated with cooking spray. Top with remaining cheese and bacon. Broil 7 minutes.

Once you have all of the ingredients ready, this mac and cheese was fast to prepare. I steamed some broccoli as I broiled the dish for a delicious meal.

At first I was a little bit skeptical about adding hot sauce to mac and cheese, but it gave the dish just a little extra warmth that was very good. The onions were another addition that I wouldn't have thought to put in, but added a lot to the depth of this dish (and normally you don't use the word "depth" to describe your average mac and cheese!). I loved this and so did Pat, and leftovers the next day were just as good! I'm sure this will be made many more times this winter.

Recipe

Original Recipe from Cooking Light

Ingredients

• 3 1/2 tsp salt, divided
• 12 ounces penne pasta
• 4 tsp all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 cups skim milk, divided
• 2 cups finely shredded extra sharp cheddar cheese, divided
• 1/2 small sweet onion, diced
• 1 tsp hot sauce
• 1/2 tsp pepper
• 3 slices center cut bacon, cooked and chopped, divided
• cooking spray

Directions

1. Preheat broiler.
2. Bring 6 quarts water and 1 tbsp salt to a boil. Add pasta; cook 8 minutes or until al dente.
3. Combine flour and 1/2 cup milk in a saucepan over medium heat. Gradually add 1 cup milk; bring to a boil.  Cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; let stand 4 minutes or until it cools to 155 degrees. Stir in 1 1/2 cups cheese. Add 1/4 tsp salt, onions, hot sauce, pepper, and 2 slices bacon (chopped); stir. Add pasta; toss.
4. Spoon into a 2-quart broiler-safe dish coated with cooking spray; top with 1/2 cup cheese and remaining piece of bacon. Broil 7 minutes.

The Final Thanksgiving of 2010

Yes, prior to this weekend I'd already had four Thanksgivings. But what's one more? Pat's cousin Brian was in Italy for Thanksgiving (visiting his brother Michael who is there for the semester studying architecture) so we offered to host a Thanksgiving for Brian when he got home...and this time Pat and I cooked everything!

Pat has always enjoyed cooking, and his favorite meal of the year is Thanksgiving dinner, so he was happy to tackle this project. I've never done more than one dish for a Thanksgiving meal, so this was a test for me. Pat made the turkey, stuffing, gravy and carrots. I made the squash, mashed potatoes, brussels sprouts, cookies, and pumpkin pie bars. Pat's Aunt Lisa made the chocolate cream pie, and Ocean Spray made our cranberry sauce! 

Our guest of honor, Mr. Turkey, has become a family tradition. Lisa always brings him to Thanksgiving, and she brought him to my place because she knows how much I love him. Its the simple things, right?

On Friday I made the cookies (Chunky Peanut Chocolate Chip Cinnamon) and the pumpkin pie bars.  Pat and I brought a plate of the cookies to share with Steve and Krissy on Friday night when we went to their house for dinner then out to see Love and Other Drugs (which I loved).

Saturday was a whirlwind of cleaning, cooking, and setting up for our guests, which included my mom, Pat's mom, Pat's brother Jack, cousin Brian, Aunt Lisa, and Lisa's boyfriend George. I scrounged around for some Thanksgiving decorations, but didn't find any. I did find a turkey cookie cutter, though! Pat was a little worried when he saw me take a hammer to the pumpkin, but then saw what I had in mind.

Yes, I'm a dork.

I set the table in Thanksgiving colors and used mini pumpkins as place setters.

(Our dining room table only had room for five, so the boys sat at the table in the living room).

I made a vase out of a sweet dumpling squash I had...just cut it as if you were coring an apple, but don't go all the way through, so you can fill the hole with water and add flowers.

I set up a buffet table in the dining room so people could serve themselves. Once the turkey was done it was time to eat! Look at this beauty!

My (very full plate):

Dinner was great! Everything tasted very good and it was so nice to have a lot of family over to cook for and spend time with. 

I always save room for some dessert, especially Thanksgiving dessert!

Lisa's Chocolate Cream Pie

Pumpkin Pie Bars

Chunky Peanut Chocolate Chip Cinnamon Cookies

I went for a slice of pie and some pumpkin pie bar (I'd already tried a few cookies in the baking process):

Thanksgiving #5 was a success! Recipe of the dishes I made follow below.

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Chunky Peanut Chocolate Chip Cinnamon Cookies (Martha Stewart)

Makes 50-60 cookies

Whisk flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon in a medium bowl:

Put peanut butter and butter in a large bowl and mix until combined.

 

Add sugar and brown sugar, mix until combined. 

Mix in eggs.

Gradually add flour mixture; mix until just combined.

Fold in chocolate chips, peanuts and vanilla until well distributed.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Refrigerate dough until it is slightly firm (about 15-20 minutes). Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Space balls 2-3 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Flatten slightly and bake until just golden (about 11-12 minutes).

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
• 1 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 2/3 cup roasted, salted peanuts, coarsely chopped
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in a medium bowl. Put butter and peanut butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment; mix on medium speed until combined, about 2 minutes (I did this all by hand instead of using an electric mixer). Add sugars; mix 2 minutes. Mix in eggs. Gradually add flour mixture; mix until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips, peanuts and vanilla with a mixing spoon until well distributed. Refrigerate dough until it is slightly firm, about 15 minutes.
2. Roll dough into 1-inch balls. Space balls 2-3 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment paper. Flatten slightly. Bake until just golden, about 11-12 minutes. Transfer cookies to wire racks to cool.

I really liked these cookies, but think I would have liked them even better if there were equal amounts of peanuts and chocolate chips (I found myself looking for cookies that had a lot of peanuts in them). Next time I'll use 1 cup each of chocolate chips and peanuts.

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Pumpkin Pie Bars (recipe give to me by Krissy, not sure of its origination)

Makes 24 squares

Mix together 1/2 cup brown sugar and 1/4 cup sugar.

Cut in 3/4 butter until it makes coarse crumbs, then stir in 1 cup old fashioned oats.

 

I softened the butter for these, since I'm so used to doing it for all the cookies I've made recently. This made the mixture less crumby and more buttery. I was supposed to reserve 1 cup of the crumbs for the topping, but ended up only being able to reserve 1/2 cup, since the buttery mixture took more to spread across the whole pan. Press this mixture into a 9x13 inch pan.

Doesn't this look like creme brulee?

After cooling for about an hour:

Beat together 8 ounces cream cheese (I used light - probably the only thing light about this dish!), 15 ounces canned pumpkin, 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice, 1/2 cup sugar, and 3 eggs.

Pour over crust.

Top with reserved crumbs (I didn't have enough reserved crumbs, so I added about 1/2 cup oats and 1/4 cup each dark and light brown sugar to the reserved crumbs).

Bake for 25-30 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool completely.

Ingredients:

Crust and Topping:

• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 3/4 cup butter
• 1 cup old fashioned oats

Pie:

• 8 ounces cream cheese
• 15 ounces canned pumpkin
• 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 3 eggs

 Directions:

1. Mix together brown sugar and sugar. Cut in butter until it makes coarse crumbs. Stir in oats. Reserve 1 cup. Press rest into a 9x13 inch pan. Make at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Cool.
2. Beat together cream cheese, canned pumpkin, pumpkin pie spice, sugar and eggs. Pour over crust. Top with reserved crumbs. Bake 25 minutes at 350 degrees. Cool completely.
3. Cut into 24 squares. Store in an air tight container in fridge.

These were very good, Krissy made them a couple weeks ago when she came over for dinner and gave me her recipe. Its a nice twist on pumpkin pie and I love the addition of oats!

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Roasted Mashed Butternut Squash

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Cut 2 butternut squash open lengthwise and remove seeds. Place in baking dishes with a little bit of water in each dish (just enough to cover entire surface). I added about 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice to each half and drizzled maple syrup on top.

I roasted these in the oven for about 45 minutes.

When they came out I used a fork to shred/remove all squash from the outer peel.

Put in a large baking dish and mashed with fork. Added more pumpkin pie spice and maple syrup to the top. This sat for a couple hours before dinner.

When we were getting ready to eat, my mom helped me improve the texture by adding about 1/4 cup water and microwaving for about 10 minutes. Who knew it was supposed to be very smooth? Ha I guess it was a little bit underdone for my mom and Pat's tastes. So after the added water and microwave time, it was very smooth and delicious! You don't need butter or a lot of spices to make this taste good, just a little bit of maple syrup and pumpkin pie spice (or cinnamon, nutmeg and ginger) is delicious.

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Mashed Potatoes (with a ricer!)

Have you ever seen a potato ricer? Until a few years ago, I hadn't. That was until I was asked to prepare 10 pounds of mashed potatoes for Thanksgiving (I believe in 2007) and my dad sent me a YouTube video with a recipe and the chef used a potato ricer. Well I didn't have the contraption to use for my potatoes then, but for Christmas that year my dad bought me my very own ricer (incidentally, I also bought him his very own ricer, too!). I have come to love this contraption. It makes the smoothest, tastiest mashed potatoes! This gives it such a nice consistency that you don't even need to add butter to the potatoes.

I think it looks like a giant garlic press.

I boiled 5 pounds of potatoes. My dad always boils potatoes with the skins on and then removes them, he says its easier than peeling each potato. Umm, not so much. I ended up playing a mighty long game of Hot Potato with myself to get all the skins off once these were cooked!

 

Fill the ricer with potatoes. 

Close the ricer and squeeze!

And voila! Look at all those riced potatoes!

I then mixed about 1 1/2 cups milk into the potatoes, using a spatula to smooth them (note - you should never add cold milk to hot potatoes! First warm the milk in the microwave or stove, then add it to the potatoes). Then I added a few tablespoons of light sour cream (I ended up adding a few more once this was all mixed in).

Mix it all together, and you have delicious mashed potatoes with hardly any fat. I love the taste of these!

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Roasted Brussels Sprouts 

My mom and I originally made this recipe from the 2007 In Style Holiday Trends Issue. We've made it a few times since, and have adapted it to our preferences.

Have you ever seen brussels sprouts on the stalk? I haven't!

Remove brussels sprouts from the stalk. Wash sprouts and halve the larger ones.

Toss with bacon, garlic, and olive oil.

Saute in a large pan on medium heat for about 20 minutes, cover for the first several minutes to allow sprouts to cook through.

Stir in balsamic vinegar, chicken broth and panko.

 

Transfer to an oven dish. Stir in half of Parmesan cheese, and sprinkle rest on top. Bake for 5-10 minutes until melted (and rest of Thanksgiving food is ready!)

Ingredients:

• 2 pounds brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved
• 1/4 pound bacon, diced (for vegetarians - this can be omitted and still have a delicious dish)
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar
• 2 tbsp chicken broth
• 1/2 cup panko
• 1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
• salt and pepper to taste

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, toss brussels sprouts with bacon, garlic and olive oil.
2. Cook vegetables in a large pan on medium heat for about 20 minutes, keeping covered for about the first 10 minutes. Cook until sprouts are fork tender.
3. Stir in balsamic vinegar, chicken broth and panko.
4. Transfer to an oven dish. Stir in half of cheese and sprinkle the other half on top. Cook at 400 degrees for 5-10 minutes.