Another submission

Thanks to the time change, we have another dinner review from Robin. Her picture and comments are below. Wow, those crawfish look great! (they have crawfish in Germany?)



It so happened tonight was a good night to try this week's recipe, Linguine with Clams and Peas. I was really hesitant because it got a horrible review, but I thought it had potential so I did do a pretty major sub, added some veg and need to note one technique that I've learned from Italians when dealing with a light sauce like this one. So here goes:
1. I skipped the canned clams ... I've never had good success with it and it has an overpowering fishy-ness to it. So I subbed crawfish meat which, surprisingly,I could find in the refridgerated section of thegrocery store here.
2. I upped the veggie broth from 1 cup to 1.5 cups to make up for the lack of clam juice. And added a half a glass of wine (which is probably more like 4 oz) ...the other half went to the chef.
3. Veggie additions: I added a couple hand fulls of brocolli and a carrot, julienned into matchsticks and used fresh (not frozen) peas. Also, I threw a handful of green beans in with the pasta while it was cooking.
4. Techniques worth noting .... don't ever omit the salt (like the recipe says to do) when cooking pasta. You need the salt to flavor the pasta ... trust me on this one, there is a HUGE difference between salted and unsalted pasta. You need to take the pasta out of the boiling water a couple of minutes before it is al dente and toss it with the light broth, put a top on it and let it finish cooking in the broth. It will soak up the wonderful broth flavor and be fabulous.

So, overall I still feel like I kept with the "spirit of the recipe" especially since the original got a horrible rap. But, mine had more of a veggie taste than a seafood taste. Anyway, we both really loved it but I'm going to put it in my box of keepers,rewritten as follows:

Linguine with crawfish and spring vegetables
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250 g. dry linguine
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, smashed
200 g. pkg. crawfish meat
1 1/2 cup organic vegetable broth (such as SwansonCertified Organic)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
1 cup fresh green peas (or frozen)
1 carrot, julienned into matchstick pieces
1 c. fresh brocolli florets
1 c. fresh green beans
1/2 cup (2 ounces) preshredded Parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

Preparation
Heat oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic to pan; sauté 1 minute. Add broth,wine, peas, brocolli, carrot and red pepper to pan;bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes,stirring occasionally until vegetables are tender. Add crawfish meat and heat through, 2 more minutes.Cook pasta according to package directions in salted water, adding green beans along with pasta to the cooking water. Take pasta out of cooking water 2 minutes before the suggested cooking time and toss with the broth and veggies. Cover pan and allow pastato finish cooking. It will soak up the broth and taste wonderful.Sprinkle with cheese and basil.

Challenge Update

Anyone wish to share their challenge results? If you would like to write a post yourself, let me know and I will give you posting privileges...Oh, the power!!!

We had a submission from our international representative, Robin in Berlin made the Grilled Eggplant Salad and gave it an "excellent" review. I should try that one. I don't think I have ever made eggplant before.




Last week I made the Vietnamese Caramelized Pork and Rice Noodle Salad and thought it was "very good". I would like to make it again and it was pretty easy, but it had a lot of different parts to it, so it took awhile to put together. I can see making this after a Saturday spent doing house chores for dinner. It was refreshing and filling, but not too heavy. I made the recipe as written...maybe added a little more lettuce than it called for, subbed radishes for the bean sprouts, and served it with a Belgium beer like they recommended (Stella). It served me and Mark, plus my parents with some left over.



Mark was a little hesitant at first. It reminded him of Thai lime beef salad which he HATES (who doesn't like Thai lime beef salad?!?!?), but seemed to like it in the end.

Which is worse...

or is it What is worse? Not sure. Anyways, on the day you are referred to a cardiologist, which is worse, having a chocolate crossant and a non-fat hazelnut latte for breakfast, or a Hardees #1 combo for lunch?

I've been really tired lately, and thought I could be low iron. I went to my OB/Gyn for some bloodwork and he thinks I have an irregular heartbeat. I had an EKG today and will see the cardiologist next week.

Aren't I too young to see a cardiologist? I am very upset by this. It will probably be nothing, and I understand, they have to check everything out, blah, blah, blah, but I don't really have time for this!

Thyme-Garlic Roasted Asparagus

When I was reading through this magazine and picking out recipes to make for my challenge, I thought if I made this one, it really shouldn't count. It is too close to my normal go-to asparagus recipe. But, I had some asparagus in the fridge and decided to try it as written. I am very glad that I did! The result was a very garlicky thyme scented vegtable dish. My usual consist of spreading the asparagus on a pan, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and bake for 10 minutes at 400. This was a little bit more involved, but I would definately make it again, as long as I already had the cutting board out. I think by placing the garlic under the asparagus, that keeps it from burning. Here is the recipe that was in the magazine:

Thyme-Garlic Roasted Asparagus

"I created this hassle-free asparagus recipe, and my guests love it every time." --Lynda Bennett, Belvedere, CA

3 garlic cloves, minced
Cooking spray
1 pound asparagus, trimmed
1 teaspoon olive oil
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 400°.

Spread garlic in an 11 x 7-inch baking dish coated with cooking spray. Arrange asparagus in an even layer over garlic; drizzle with oil. Combine thyme and salt; sprinkle evenly over asparagus. Bake at 400° for 15 minutes or until asparagus is crisp-tender, turning once. Yield: 4 servings

CALORIES 45 (24% from fat); FAT 1.2g (sat 0.2g,mono 0.9g,poly 0.1g); PROTEIN 2.6g; CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 31mg; SODIUM 146mg; FIBER 2.6g; IRON 0.6mg; CARBOHYDRATE 5.8g

Cooking Light, JUNE 2007

Caramel Layer Cake

For my first recipe for this challenge I picked the caramel layer cake. Mmmmm....



I usually don't like to make cooking light baked goods. It just doesn't work like the full fat version. This one turned out ok, but I probably won't make it again. The frosting was pretty yummy, and there was actually enough for the whole cake! (something else that usually doesn't happen with cooking light recipes) I followed the directions to frost the cake before it set, but the frosting was probably still too hot. I couldn't get it to stay on the sides. The cake itself was more bread-like than cake-like. It reminded me of corn bread. However, it rose nicely and browned well. My changes are listed below:

Caramel Layer Cake

Work quickly to spread the frosting on the cake before it begins to set. We call for light brown sugar in the cake to lend a subtly sweet flavor, but dark brown in the frosting to provide a contrasting rich caramel flavor. You can use light brown sugar for both the cake and frosting, if you prefer.

Cake:
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon cake flour (I used AP)
1 cup packed light brown sugar
7 tablespoons butter, softened (I used 8)
1/2 cup egg substitute (I used 2 large eggs)
2 cups cake flour (about 8 ounces) (I used 1-3/4 cup AP flour and 1/4 cup cornstarch)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup fat-free milk (I used 1%)

Frosting:
1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar (I used light)
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare cake, coat 2 (8-inch) round cake pans with cooking spray; line bottoms of pans with wax paper. Lightly coat wax paper with cooking spray; dust pans with 1 tablespoon flour. Set aside.

Place 1 cup light brown sugar and 7 tablespoons butter in a large mixing bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed 3 minutes or until well blended. Add egg substitute to sugar mixture; beat well. Lightly spoon 2 cups flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, and 1/4 teaspoon salt, stirring well with a whisk. Add flour mixture to sugar mixture alternately with 1 cup milk, beginning and ending with flour mixture.
Spoon batter into prepared pans. Sharply tap pans once on counter to remove air bubbles. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pans. Remove wax paper; discard. Cool cakes completely on wire rack.

To prepare frosting, combine 1/2 cup dark brown sugar and remaining ingredients in a medium, heavy saucepan over medium heat; bring to a boil. Cook 2 minutes or until mixture is thick, stirring constantly.

Place 1 cake layer on a plate; spread with 1/3 cup frosting. Top with remaining cake layer. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Yield: 16 servings (more like 12) (serving size: 1 slice)

CALORIES 298 (29% from fat); FAT 9.7g (sat 6g,mono 2.5g,poly 0.5g); PROTEIN 5g; CHOLESTEROL 28mg; CALCIUM 136mg; SODIUM 238mg; FIBER 0.3g; IRON 1.9mg; CARBOHYDRATE 48.5g Cooking Light, JUNE 2007

Sunday Morning

It was an overcast Sunday morning here in SC. What is good to do on days like this? Read the paper and take a nap.

"Mommy, this paper is boring. I have been through the whole paper and there are no good articles..."


"...and here is another typo..."


"...and I don't want to nap. I want to STAND!"


Happy Monday to all!

Cooking Light Challenge for June

Anyone feel like participating in a challenge? It isn't so much that you are competing against people, but more trying to challenge yourself. See, I had been a subscriber to Cooking Light since the Jan/Feb 2000 issue. I received that first subscription as a gift (Thanks Craig!) and it is what started me on my foodie journey. However, I have really starting coming away from Cooking Light with other recipe sources (Food Network) and to be honest, you start seeing the same recipes over and over. With the move and everything, I let my subscription run out, but I just picked up the June issue at the grocery store. I haven't looked at it except the index in the back to figure out how best to do this challenge.

Here are the rules:
- Make one recipe from this issue each week, plus two additional squeezed in somewhere.
- It is ok to substitute as long as the frame of the recipe remains the same (ie, if the recipe calls for skim milk and all you have is 2% by all means, use your 2%)
- One recipe should be something you would not normally try. This can contain an ingredient you don't normally cook with or I might try an appetizer or dessert since I usually don't make those from this magazine.
- Bonus: Make an entire meal from this magazine.

Anyone in?