birthday

my birthday was two weeks ago now-crazy! i made it yet another year, which always surprises me!

the day started out with opening my birthday present. the only thing i asked for was “a paper towel holder and some replacement pearl earrings”. seriously, i try to be easy to please. matt picked up on the hints and got me both with a little something extra (gluten-free beer!). you remember when matt proved his love by fishing for the pearl earring in the toilet, don’t you? you can read about it here.

we enjoyed my 26^th birthday by both being at work. yeah, we both worked. i think that’s the definition of being an adult—working on your birthday.

anyways…

matt took me to a great hole-in-the-wall mexican street-food place. it was perfect. the whole restaurant had 3 tables and 8 chairs for patrons and was run completely on one flat-top grill. amazing. i don’t know how those ladies do it! we ate our fill (read stuffed ourselves to a coma with delicious mexican food) and rented a movie to end our night.

saturday we planned to go see oz-when i saw the previews over chistmas (when we saw the hobbit), i told matt “that’s near my birthday and i think we should go”. so our friends g & l came out from the city and we got to spend time with them, watch the movie and go out to lunch. i found this restaurant not too far from our house where i could get gluten-free pizza. win!

the rest of our day we enjoyed by relaxing and watching the newest james bond movie. this is more like movie-birthday weekend, but we had a great time relaxing and getting caught up on some recent movies!

#8: creamy cauliflower garlic rice

the creamy cauliflower garlic rice is inspired by one of my favorite bloggers lindsay at pinch of yum. i love the style of her writing, her personality and how familiar she is with her readers. its like when i read her posts she is talking to me like a friend. love that about her.

anyways, i’d been wanting to try to do something different with cauliflower (including making pizza crust!) and this was my chance. while lindsay showcases this as a side I really wanted to see if i could make this a one-pot meal for us. so, i simply added some sautéed chicken and steamed broccoli to the cast of ingredients to make an all-in-one!

6-8 c. chopped cauliflower (about one head)

4 c. vegetable broth + 2 c. water

½ c. milk

1 ½ c. rice

1 t. salt

2 T. butter

6-8 cloves of garlic, minced

½ c. mozzarella cheese

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts

2 c. chopped broccoli

cook the rice according to package directions. set aside. while the rice is cooking, bring the vegetable broth and water to a boil in a large pot. add the cauliflower and cook until tender, about 10 minutes. transfer cauliflower pieces to a blender or food processor to puree. blend the cauliflower adding milk or vegetable broth until you get a smooth and creamy consistency. season with salt (or whatever else you’re fancying at the moment!). and pour over cooked rice.

while rice and cauliflower are cooking in a large skillet, melt the butter and saute chicken. add broccoli and garlic and cook over low heat until fragrant. add to creamy rice mixture and stir until well mixed. garnish with mozzarella cheese and season with salt and pepper.

can we say that this was wonderful, homey, inspiring. it made me feel like i could actuallyhandle cooking cauliflower as a sort of “healthy alfredo” as lindsay calls it. it wasn’t as intimidating or scary as it seemed and i feel good about making my first puree!

 

#7: gluten-free yellow cake

disclaimer: matt constantly gives me a hard time about cake and frosting not matching. at one point (wedding planning) he claims that i said something to the effect of “i really don’t like when cake and frosting don’t match”. well, i don’t ever recall saying that, but it could have been a heat of the moment exclamation when i was frustrated about cake/cupcakes being so expensive.

back to the story/recipe/real reason for writing. to appease matt that i don’t have a distate for non-matching cake and frosting, i felt it was time to make a yellow cake with chocolate frosting.

here is the recipe from easy gluten-free baking, find the cookbook here.

1 c. plus 2 T. white rice flour

1 c. cornstarch

2 t. baking powder

1 t. xanthan gum

1 t. salt

1 c. butter (softened)

1 c. sugar

4 eggs

1/2 c. milk

2 t. vanilla extract

sift together the first five ingredients until well combined. set aside. cream the butter and sugar together. add eggs, and beat until the mixture if fluffy. add milk and vanilla. add dry ingredients and beat until well combined.

pour into prepared 9 x 13-inch pan. bake at 350 degrees for 25-30 minutes until cake tester comes out clean. remove from pan and let cool on a wire rack. frost as desired.

to prove my point (see above), i frosted this with a rich chocolate frosting. this served as our dessert for valentine’s day.

thanks to z & j for this recipe book—it has had several really great recipes.

can you believe we are finished with valentine’s now? we are. thankfully! there is much more to come–by the end of march to be “on track” i’m supposed to have 13 recipes done…what you don’t know (and what i’m about to tell you) is that i have 5 more already written. boo-yah!

#6: polenta bites with caramelized mushrooms

this is a recipe i had seen a couple times and thought “i’ve never made polenta, maybe i should try”, and since i was already doing a bunch of new recipes anyways, why not?!

a side note, i didn’t actually “make” the polenta. i bought it pre-cooked. sorry, i didn’t have time for that. maybe a bettter statement would have been “i’ve never worked with polenta”. also, my instructions are a touch different since i didn’t make the polenta and i kind of guessed on the amount of cream used.

2 c. heavy cream

1 t. ground salt

½ t. ground nutmeg

1 c. polenta (i used one “roll”)

1 c. grated parmesan cheese

in a large saucepan, ½ c. of cream and add the polenta. the polenta will be in the roll shape, and will break down as it is heated, however it will need some help with the breaking down. add cream as needed to help the polenta break down. cnce the polenta is thick, smooth, and creamy, add the salt, nutmeg, and parmesan cheese. keep warm.

3 T. olive oil

½ lb. button mushrooms

salt

black pepper

2 T. unsalted butter

1 T. minced garlic

1 t. fresh thyme leaves, chopped

1 T. lemon juice

2 T. fresh parsley, chopped

in a medium skillet over high heat, heat the olive oil. when the oil is hot, add mushrooms in a single layer. do not stir; allow them to sizzle while the bottoms caramelize. after 2 minutes, toss, and season with salt and pepper. continue to cook without stirring for 5 minutes. add the butter and cook until it begins to brown, then add garlic. continue to cook. add thyme and cook for 10 more seconds. add lemon juice and cook until liquid evaporates. add the parsley. stir and remove from heat.

while this recipe is meant to be served as a tapas or appetizer, you can also serve it as a side. create a bed of polenta on the plate and spoon mushrooms over the polenta. enjoy together.

this was an interesting dish–i think i probably spent the most time on it because i was worried about the polenta not actually breaking down. thankfully, it did. and, i have a compliment from matt that it is the best polenta he has ever tasted.

are you inspired to work with an ingredient that was previously foreign to you?

#5: brussels sprouts with pecans and cranberries

first let me say that i know that brussels sprouts are the “in” food to be cooking/eating/serving etc. well, that is fine, i don’t mind jumping on the bandwagon, but first i needed to try them. i mean, years ago when they were served to me as a kid, they were steamed and we dunked them in ketchup (disgusting, i upchucked at the sight of them). so, brussels sprouts and i don’t have the best relationship—but, it’s a new year, a new age, and since i was the cook, i could make them however i wanted—this meant the ketchup was absent (mom & dad, what were you thinking?).

from what i could tell, there are a lot of variations on this dish. the one i first saw, included blue cheese, barley, and balsamic vinegar; others call for almonds, you get the picture. those variations led me to a general idea of the dish, and of course, i took it upon myself to modify and not go exactly by the recipe.

this is one of alton brown’s—another personal favorite. but, sorry, alton, i wanted to experiment!

1 lb fresh brussels sprouts, rinsed and trimmed

3 oz coarsely chopped pecans

3 T. unsalted butter

¼ t. salt

¼ t. ground pepper

4 oz. coarsely chopped dried cranberries

(if you’re me)

several “splashes” of balsamic

small handful of blue cheese

slice the brussels sprouts using the thinnest slice option on your mandolin.

in a saute pan over medium-high heat, toast the pecans. cook, stirring gradually, until the pecans darken in color and begin to give off a toasted aroma. add the butter to the pan and stir. once the butter has melted, add the brussels sprouts, salt and pepper, and cook, stirring continuously until the color brightens and the sprouts are tender. add balsamic vinegar for some added zing as you desire. remove pan from the heat, add cranberries and blue cheese. serve.

we really enjoyed this one. i think we were both surprised at how flavorful the dish was and how much we both liked it. i’m sure matt’s parents are also just as surprised! so, with our first go around i think we’ve decided we could handle them again. i would like to try some other recipes just for variety–i’m sure there are others just waiting to be tinkered with!

enjoy!

Be My Valentine

I bet you’re wondering what kind of fancy things we made for valentine’s dinner.

Actually, maybe you’re not because after all, that was practically a month ago!

Let’s rewind to last Valentine’s, shall we? We were staying in a hotel in Racine because Matt was working on a two-week project and I wasn’t working. We ended up both forgetting about Valentine’s day until the day of, and went to one of Racine’s premier restaurants that ended up having terrible service. Now, I realize I’m painting a rather morose picture, but I assure you that it wasn’t morose, it was wonderful and simple and relaxing.

Now we’re to the present. This year it is my “year” to plan everything. (Everything really only means Valentines day and anniversary). We take turns planning dates and celebrations because we didn’t want either one of us to get burnt out on it. Anyways, I wanted to make some new recipes, try out some things I’ve never done before. So, we did. And thankfully Matt was on board.

I made a menu, made a homemade card, and went grocery shopping. Our menu included Rib-eye steak with a chive cream sauce, polenta with caramelized mushrooms and Brussels sprouts with almonds, cranberries and blue cheese. Wow, it was really fun, but really crazy in our kitchen!

In the next couple days I will post my recipes for each of them–consider this the first in the Valentine’s Day Series…

#3 4: Steak with Roquefort Chive Sauce

This recipe is from Ina Garten—lets just get it out of the way and say that I love her. I enjoy that she is calm, collected, she isn’t showy, and her food isn’t either. It is simple, elegant, and she clearly loves to cook and serve her husband. Honestly, I feel like she could mentor me.

Ok. Anyways…

Matt is usually our protein cooker-I’m nervous about it a lot because it is hard to get right. In some cooking shows I’ve watched the chef say that they can “feel” if a cut of meat is cooked and to what degree. Me? I’m usually looking at the timer and wishing it to come out how I want. Anyways, this was the part I was most worried about because honestly, this was the part that I knew Matt would want to have done well. The other two sides might not excite him, but having a beautiful cut of rib-eye, that would bring a smile to his face.

So, here are her instructions. I had to make some modifications—seeing as with the stores I went to, no Roquefort cheese was to be found. For that, I ended up using blue cheese, because they have very similar consistencies and tastes.

You can find the recipe here.

Steakhouse Steaks

Steak-take your pick on the cut—she suggests filet mignon

2 T. vegetable oil

1 T. fleur de sel

1 T. coarsely cracked black peppercorns

2 T. unsalted butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Heat a large, well-seasoned cast iron skillet over high heat until very hot, 5 to 7 minutes. (This is where the house got kind of smoky and we had to open the doors/turn on the fan because things got crazy!). Pat the steaks dry and with a paper towel, brush lightly with vegetable oil. Combine fleur de sel on a plate and roll the steaks in the mixture to coat all sides. When the skillet is ready, add steaks and sear evenly on all sides. Top each steak with a tablespoon of butter and place skillet in the oven. Cook steaks until they reach 120 degrees F. Remove to serving platter, cover, and let rest for 10 minutes before serving.

Roquefort Chive Sauce

1 ½ c. heavy cream

2 oz. Roquefort cheese

½ t. salt

¼ t. pepper

1 T. chopped fresh chives

Bring the heavy cream to a boil in a small heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat. Cook at low boil, stirring occasionally, until the mixture has become thick and cream. Remove the pan and add the cheese, salt, pepper, and chives and whisk rapidly until the cheese melts. Serve on prepared steaks.

all you are in Christ

All you are in Christ…

I’ve recently been going through a YouVersion reading plan that is entitled 15 days in the Word with John Piper. We both love how insightful he is—almost to the point that sometimes it goes over our heads. But, I love this devotional from Day 8—it isn’t the whole devotion, but you can really feel not only Piper’s passion, but feel the Lord surrounding you with truth of being in Christ.

Being in Christ Jesus is a stupendous reality. It is breathtaking what it means to be in Christ. United to Christ. Bound to Christ. If you are “in Christ”, listen to what it means for you.

1. In Christ Jesus you were given grace before the world was created. 2 Tim. 1:9

2. In Christ Jesus you were chosen by God before creation. Eph. 1:4

3. In Christ Jesus you are loved by God with an inseparable love. Rom. 8:38-39

4. In Christ Jesus you were redeemed and forgiven for all your sins. Eph 1:7

5. In Christ Jesus you are justified before God and the righteousness of God in Christ is imparted to you. 2 Cor 5:21

6. In Christ Jesus you have become a new creation and a son of God. 2 Cor. 5:17

7. In Christ Jesus you have been seated in the heavenly places even while he lived on earth. Eph. 2:6

8. In Christ Jesus all the promises of God are Yes for you. 2 Cor. 1:20

9. In Christ Jesus you are being sanctified and made holy. 1 Cor. 1:2

10. In Christ Jesus everything you really need will be supplied. Phil. 4:19

11. In Christ Jesus the peace of God will guard your heart and mind. Phil. 4:17

12. In Christ Jesus you have eternal life. Rom. 6:23

13. In Christ Jesus you will be raised from the dead at the coming of the Lord. 1 Cor. 15:22

This is a wonderful truth. Union with Christ is the ground of everlasting joy, and it is free.

Isn’t that beautiful? Isn’t that restoring? Doesn’t that give you such hope and peace? Doesn’t it settle your heart in difficult times of trials to know that you can have peace in Christ.