February Is the Month For Pot Pies!

Posted on February 19, 2012 by Becky Homecky

Page of Pot Pies From Betty Crocker's "Dinner In a Dish" (1965)

I did a little informal poll amongst my facebook friends, to get their opinions about pot pies…  This was mainly because my husband’s childhood experience with this meal was completely disparate from mine.  I wanted to see if popular opinion fell more in line with my experiences, or if he was the one running with the opinion herd.  Wow, was the response interesting…

Hub thinks of frozen individual pot pies, filled with spongy chicken and the frequent green pea bomb.  Apparently, he is not alone.  My friend Robin’s response lays it all on the line — “First thing that comes to mind is the force fed frozen personal sized pot pies my mother used to make me eat as a kid. A ‘fresh’ from the frozen department pie with a creamy inside that tasted like chicken sh*t and frozen (oh God, not frozen!) peas and carrots. There may have been chicken in it, but for the love of food, I wouldn’t call it that… ever.”  Y’all, that sounds horrible!  That’s not my mind’s pot pie… ew, no wonder he wasn’t looking forward to February!

Lemme back up a little: MY experience was a totally different thing.  Growing up, Mom did most of the (delicious) cooking, but Dad has this handful of dishes that he has perfected.  Each one is distinct in my mind, and OUTSTANDING.  (Chicken Cordon Bleu, his herbes de provence-rubbed holiday Turkey, and his Beef Pot Pie!)  They were good when I was a teen living at home, but now almost 20 years later, no one makes the turkey at Thanksgiving but Dad.  It’s the best.  Moist and juicy, oh Nelly, my brain is getting off subject.  (I was just thinking about trying to put some of that leftover turkey into a pot pie, and I got a little dizzy!)

Anyway, he made his pot pie for us a few times a year, usually special occasions, one of them frequently Valentine’s Day.  Mom had started a family tradition when we were small children when we got snowed in on one February 14th with no babysitters coming to us, no parents going out for a romantic dinner.  My mother made the best of it!  I don’t remember what we ate that first year, but I do remember that we dressed up in our fanciest clothes, clip-on earrings, and our house slippers, danced to Glenn Miller Orchestra in the living room, and drank ginger ale out of champagne glasses.   It was divine fancy fun.  That continued for years, but with Dad’s beef pot pie being a featured dish for that holiday — and if you think about it, it is a very ‘cozy’ dish.  Piping hot, rich gravy, flaky pastry, a balance of veggies… it can even look beautiful.  To this day a perfect pot pie still feels like a big slice of love.   Dad made his classic dish again for Mom this last November, and she bragged to everyone on the phone that when they cut into it, it remained a perfect slice of pie, with no contents oozing onto the plate, and that it was the most delish it had ever been.  I have been making my version of his pot pie for years, but with an endorsement like that, I just may have to ask him to jot down the most updated version of that recipe.

I did a little bit of research around the home, delving into a couple of vintage cookbooks.  The image you see above is from1965, Betty Crocker’s Dinner In A Dish Cook Book from a chapter entitled, “Hearty and Homestyle.”  I have several thoughts about this — mainly that this Becky and that Betty are a little like-minded on this topic, she put in the correct chapter!  It’s called, “Chicken Dinner Pie,” and I like that hers uses a real homemade crust.  I also like that her sauce is made from broth and cream, all of that sounds ‘proper’ to my mind, but the use of canned veggies — ick!  I think I can do better….  The recipe is featured in a whole section about meat pies, including “Salmon Pie with Egg Sauce”; “Tuna Confetti Pie”; and “Balogna Biscuit Bake.”  (I could not make this stuff up!) On the page *following* the above image is a real doozy, “Chicken Littles.”  It is essentially little individual chicken pies, but ones also stuffed with mushrooms, pork sausage, pimentos, and peaches.  (Pimentos and peaches?!  That does not sound… cozy.)  So, you know, maybe I won’t follow Betty to the letter.

As for what type of crust is best, popular consensus seems to be your classic two-crust pie crust.  I did hear opinions about biscuit crusts (yes!), and even one about cornbread crust (ooh!), which do have the appeal of ease.  I’m little concerned about the nuance of skill involved with pie crust from scratch.  Good, flaky pie crust is a tricky beast.  I’m intimidated, and I wonder if I should cave to time and ease (like Dad!) and use the refrigerated Pillsbury crust.  My mother-in-law makes a perfect pecan pie, and the best part is that dreamy golden pastry…  I wonder if I could entice her to show me how she does it when she visits this week?  I bet if I had everything ready, Lad, Meemaw, and I could have a fun afternoon coated in flour and rolling some dough.  I will be sure to record as much as possible, in the name of science, you know.

I’m also tinkering with a chicken pie, one likely featuring the oh-so-easy savory rotisserie chicken…  I like the thought of doing one topped with a biscuit topping, or maybe a little experiment with some delicate puff pastry?  I bet I could do little puffed cups out of canned biscuit dough in muffin cups…  lots of ideas out there!  Let me know what you’d like to see, I’m pretty open on this subject.  Just don’t expect my recipe to contain green peas, it ain’t gonna happen!

 

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White Chicken Chili

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Becky Homecky

Not content with just a ‘red chili’ recipe, I also decided to make a poultry variation this January, just for giggles.  I’m glad I did, I think I will be making this one again and again.  And by using the rotisserie chicken, it is so EASY!

1 TBSP vegetable oil

1/2 of a medium-sized onion, chopped

4 garlic cloves, minced

1 can chopped green chiles (undrained)

1 jalapeno, minced

1 stalk of celery, finely chopped

1/2 of a yellow bell pepper, chopped

1/2 cup of beer (something lite or an average pilsner are good)

2 (14.5 oz) cans of chicken broth

1 savory flavored rotisserie chicken

1 TBSP cumin

1/2 tsp ceyenne

1/2 tsp dried oregano

1/2 tsp dried coriander

3 (15 oz) cans of ‘white beans’, rinsed– I use Bush’s beans in pinto, great northern, and cannellini (also known as white kidney beans).  Bush’s actually makes a blend of pinto and great northern in one can, so if you want to cut out the complication or cannellinis, you can just do three cans of that!

A few hefty pinches of salt and a few turns of the pepper grinder

 

*Heat your oil in a large soup pot, add in all veggies, some salt, and sautee until everything is softened and slightly translucent.  (You may wish to hold the minced veggies– the garlic and the jalapeno– until the others are about halfway cooked.  Tiny pieces like that can scorch, and you don’t want that flavor in your chili!)

*While those veggies are working, pull the meat off of your rotisserie chicken.  You want to be careful that you don’t catch any bones, and you should remove the skin.   Chop the chicken into bite-size pieces.  — Side note:  I use the remaining chicken carcass to make broth, and as I am prepping the veggies I put the ‘cast-away parts’ (the bits you might normally throw away or compost) back in the bag the chicken came in…  That way, the next day when your soup pot is free again and you’re ready to make broth, you have a ton of flavor makin’s there on the ready.  All you do is dump it in and add water to cover!

*When all is softened, add in your liquids, your herbs and spices, you chicken and your rinsed beans.  If you’d like, you can taste it at this point to check the seasonings, since everything is cooked and won’t hurt you.   Heat until piping hot, or simmer for a few hours for greater depth of flavor.  (I recommend this, since it starts out being a lot like a beany chicken soup, but over time breaks down and combines to be more like we imagine chili to be.)

This recipe easily serves 8  people or so….

 

The first recipe of this that I tried (shown in the photo) had me add cream at the end, a step that we found to be totally unnecessary.  I think the point of that was to ‘hurry up’ the creamy texture of this, which is something that longer simmering can take care of…  anyway, the pic looks kind of gross.  That said, this chili is good, even if it is really simple.  I served it with corn tortillas that I cut into strips, monterey jack cheese, sour cream, cilantro, and green onions.  Yummy!

 

 

Categories: Chili, Recipes | Tags: , , , | 3 Comments

Buttermilk Ranch Dressing

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Becky Homecky

Lad likes this so much that he was dipping his carrot sticks and throwing his head back in ecstasy, so I consider that a WIN.

Don't painic, jar shown contains a double batch!

1/2 cup good quality mayo

1/2 cup low fat buttermilk

1/2 cup sour cream

2 tsp minced garlic (I use the jarred stuff for this recipe, and I make sure that I get as much of the garlicky liquid in my tsp as possible!)

2 TBSP fresh minced chives

1 TBSP dried parsley (I’m sure fresh would be good, but I didn’t have it)

1 tsp dried dill (again, its what I had on hand)

1 tsp ground mustard seed (mustard powder?  What is that called?)

1 TBSP white wine vinegar

kosher salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

*mix ‘em together, taste it, and chill it! You may want to adjust some flavors to suit your palate, so dip a celery stick and tweak it….

This dressing tastes better the next day, and should last for a couple of weeks if stored in a tightly closed container and refrigerated.  (I have no idea how long it really lasts, both times I’ve made it, it has disappeared before I’ve had the chance to find out.)

Categories: Ranch Dressing, Recipes, Salads | Tags: , , , , | Leave a comment

Wedge Salads and the Dressings Who Love Them

Posted on February 1, 2012 by Becky Homecky

 

I’ve been thinking a lot about wedges lately…  shoes, haircuts, or salads, it turns out, I loves me some wedges.  Yes, the wedge salad is sort of old-fashioned, but I don’t have to tell you I’m an old-fashioned girl.  (Have you noticed my dishes?  My glassware?  Heck, the eyeglasses in the shot above?  I *favor* the old!)  I was so excited when I saw the other day that the wedge salad is returning to shi-shi favor.  The hub says he just doesn’t get it.  “It’s just a chunk of lettuce?”  No, its… okay, yeah, its a chunk of lettuce.  Iceberg lettuce, chilled and cut into (obviously) a wedge, and drizzled with a dose of delish dressing.  The dressing is essential, it needs to be good, a creamy dream that lands into each and every little crevasse of that crispy iceberg.  I’m a vinaigrette lover (those of you who know me well know that I adore vinegar), but with a wedge it just won’t cut it….

As a general rule, I like ranch.  Or I like the concept of it….  its just that over the years, my palate has become really sensitive to all of the chemicals in processed dressings.  I’ve turned into one of those really annoying patrons that asks the servers tons of questions at restaurants– “Are your dressings made in-house?”  The thing is, I need to know.  There is no point in ordering a salad if it is going to be doused in chemicals I don’t want to eat….  And now that I have the lad, I am ultra-aware of what goes into his healthy little body.  And his little body loves creamy dressings, he would eat honey mustard on just about everything if I’d let him.

I had been buying the more expensive chilled ranch in the produce section of the grocery, thinking that it was somehow more healthy.  One day we came home from said grocery, and as we are unpacking the bags, Hub accidentally tapped the brand new bottle of ranch on the countertop.  IT EXPLODED.  It was rancid, and fermented, just disgusting.  We had JUST bought it!  How can that be?  I started looking at the ingredients, and…  I was kinda horrified.  Those are not ingredients found in my Granny’s pantry!  So.  I have to make my own, right?  My goal became for me to create a ranch recipe good enough to not want to go back to that bottled stuff ever again.  Done.

*To emulate my dazzling wedge salad shown above, start with a head of iceberg.  Remove outer leaves, and wash head thoroughly.  Slice into wedges, removing the stumpy center core, and return to the chiller until ready to serve. (Quarters are traditional, but I did eighths for the January dinner, knowing that the chili would be the main event.)  When you are ready to eat, drizzle with dressing (obviously I recommend the creamy buttermilk ranch, recipe posted above) and sprinkle with any additional toppings you desire– shown here are avocado, mo jack cheese, green onion, cilantro, and served with lime wedges for your squeezin’ pleasure.  More ‘traditional’ wedge toppings bleu cheese crumbles and crispy bacon bits, which also would *rock* with this dressing.

Categories: Ranch Dressing, Recipes, Salads | Tags: , , , | Leave a comment

Meaty Chili Con Carne

Posted on January 31, 2012 by Becky Homecky

Loosely based on one I found on Food.com

This is based on the one from food.com, but I made a ton of changes.  In the end, we decided that if you’re gonna put meat in your chili, this one is pretty darn good.  I specify Bush’s beans because they are one of the few companies I am ALWAYS loyal to– they are based here in East Tennessee, and to my mind, I’m supporting a local company with an excellent product.  (Also, I rinse the two cans of beans that come without the chili sauce because I heard years ago that rinsing off the bean slime reduces the gas that often comes with beans– and it seems to work!)

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced finely

1 1/2 pound (ish– my Food City seems to oversize their “1 lb” ground beef) of ground round– I used the 85/15 mix

1 can (14.5 oz) of crushed tomatoes

1 can tomato paste

1 cup of cheap beer (a ‘lite’ or pilsner is best)

2 cups beef broth (I used a Knorr beef bouillon cube reconstituted in 2 cups hot H2O)

1 cup strong coffee

1 can chopped green chiles

1 bell pepper (not green, the flavor is too harsh, choose red, yellow or orange)

1 jalapeno, finely minced (more if you want to turn up the heat, but I feel that this is just right for us)

2 TBSP of brown sugar

1 large can (28 oz., I think?) of Bush’s pinto beans in chili sauce (undrained)

1 15 oz. can of Bush’s black beans, rinsed

1 15 oz. can of Bush’s red kidney beans, rinsed

1 1/2 TBSP of cumin

1 TBSP unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp oregano

1 tsp cayenne powder (increase this if you want spicier chili)

1 tsp dried coriander

1 tsp kosher salt

2 dashes of cinnamon (a little goes a long way here!  We’re just trying to add dimension of flavor, not have the flavor read as ‘sweet’)

black pepper to taste

 

(Please note that the ingredients in these pics are from my first try– I decided that the dark beer had too prominent of a taste and changed the recipe to reflect that… also these adorable sweet chiles can be hard to find at all seasons of the year, so I subbed the bell for them– but use ‘em if you can find ‘em!)

*Prep your veggies, chopping, dicing and mincing your little brains out.

*In your large soup pot, brown the beef with all your fresh veg, adding the jalapeno and garlic when the beef is almost browned.  (You don’t want your tiny bits to singe.)

*When your meat is browned and your veggies are softened and translucent, add your salt, sugar, cocoa, and herbs and spices.  Turn these a few times to make sure your meat is coated.  This sounds like a silly step, (and it will smell odd and crazy-strong) but we found that the meat part of the first batch was bland, and doing it this way seems to flavor the beef more directly.

*Add your liquids (coffee, broth, beer) and your two types of tomatoes.

*Simmer until you can’t stand it any more!  This is one of those chilis that the longer you cook it, the better it gets, and it is unbelievably good the next day.  I recommend at least three hours of low cooking, all day is better.

*Serve with all of the good stuff you normally put on chili– In my photo it’s with fritos, cheddar cheese, avocado, and sour cream.  Serves a bunch!  At least 8 big bowls, or about 12 regular sized ones.

Categories: Chili, Recipes | 2 Comments

January is chili month.

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Becky Homecky

I guess you could say that we are all gearing up for the super bowl (or the SOUPer BOWL, heh heh), but the chili recipes seem to be *everywhere.*  I went to pick out a magazine at the grocery store the other day, and literally three covers had giant bowls of the steamy stuff.  (And I chose one without it.)  My Mother-in-law shows up with a bag of fast lunch from Wendy’s, and in it is chili.  I sat down to watch Top Chef today, and the episode I caught was the Tejas rodeo chili cookoff.  It seems as I have chosen a good topic.  (It could be that I’m noticing it because I’m feeling a *bit* guilty for not blogging enough….)

I’m sure that there are a whole two of you out there reading this who are thinking, “Why is Becky working on her chili recipe?  Her chili is great!”   Hub and I agree with you.  Problem is, my *old* chili recipe relied on some crutches.   Delicious, delicious crutches.  I used Bush’s chili starter in a can.  You’re supposed to add meat and tomatoes (I add beer and more beans and all kinds of stuff), and its really easy and good.  BUT, the whole point of this blog thing is to find my version of things, and well, some day when I’m grandma, I can’t exactly pass on my classic chili recipe with the canned starter mix, can I?  Not and feel classy about it.

So, what ends up happening is that I’m sort of setting out to duplicate the yumminess of the Bush’s mix.  It’s tough.  There are sooo many recipes for chili out there, sooo many opinions!  While watching Padma and Colicchio sample bowls of the red stuff, I heard over and over how “proper chili” should not have beans in it.   Hub actually paused the TV, “No BEANS?!” he turns to me, utterly shocked.  We are con carne lovers around here.  Beans are SO good for you.  Please hear what I am about to say with an open mind– for the past 10 years, my chili has been ONLY beans, no meat.  I know, I know, some of you feel that’s not possible.  I get it.  Let’s just say that in Tennessee, we don’t hold to no Texas rules!

The first week, (January, week one)  I decided to go with Food.com’s #3 recipe of 2011, titled “the Best Chili You Will Ever Taste.”   With a title like that, there are a lot of expectations.  I decided to read the comments, and see if it lived up….  in reading, I found that the people of the world felt that the title was a little misleading.  The agreement seemed to be that its a recipe for good chili, not the best.  I made some changes based on their feedback, and headed to the grocery store.

My main issue with the recipe is that it calls for two meats.  Here I am, unconvinced that I even need one, and they want me to buy two?  And standing there over the Food City meat case, I made the call.  Screw the sirloin, I was never really going to regularly make chili with an pricey ingredient like that, so I just got the ground beef.  Five dollars of groud beef, that is. It was just 15/ 85 ground round, not even the best.  I’m telling you, the meat aspect isn’t really winning me over.

Overall, the chili was nice.  I have some more changes to make and test out (likely at the end of the month when my buddies are over), but I’m sure I’m on the right track.  It didn’t use chili powder, and I do like that about it…  but I want to try a few more varieties, maybe a chicken or turkey one, and yeah, a vegetarian one.  Two weeks in, and we Homeckys have already eaten a BUNCH of chili.

 

 

 

 

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My Apologies

Posted on January 19, 2012 by Becky Homecky

Hello there, its been awhile.

I guess we can call this a sort of “soft opening” for the blog, instead of one of those GRAND OPENINGS!! with the banners and searchlights, sparkly cocktail dresses, pumping music, and free tasty noshes.  We’re sort of slipping into instead, trying vainly to get into the habit of blogging, and missing deadlines like crazy over here.  My extreme apologies for missing meatloaf month…  I have an excuse.  Really.

Yeah, it was the holidays.  My birthday is in December, as is little Lad’s… that could be excuse enough, but the truth is, we got the Martian Death Flu.  Or at least that’s what I’m calling it.  It was wicked bad.  Like, dial yourself out of Christmas festivities bad.  Like, eat nothing on the holiday table bad.  I was just so happy that we had family around, it could have been the worst holiday ever for our little guy.  Anyway, I cancelled the dinner party.  I didn’t make the meatloaf.  I WILL be making the meatloaf, at some time in the future, I know there were diners anticipating the arrival of that recipe.  I *promise* I will do it.  I have to, I’ve talked too much about it already.

As for the diners who were supposed to take part in the meatloaf dinner, I am lumping them in with the chili eaters of January.  Its gonna be one heckuva party…..

 

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Pot Roast

Posted on November 29, 2011 by Becky Homecky

I can practically smell it, can't you?

Pot Roast

3 1/2 lbs of round Sirloin tip roast (approx)
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 TBSP grill seasoning (I used a blend by McCormick)
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp ground thyme
1 tsp whole mustard seed
3 TBSP vegetable oil
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup red wine (a red cooking wine is okay if it is all you have access to)
1 (32 oz) box of low sodium beef broth
2 TBSP Worchestershire sauce
1 TBSP prepared yellow mustard
3-5 garlic cloves (depending on size)
1 large yellow onion
baby carrots (at least half a bag)
3 stalks celery
red-skinned or new potaotes
more S&P to taste

*In a large stock pot or sautee pan, heat your oil over med heat.

Assembled Ingredients

*Using the flour and dry spices, make your dredging mix and place in a dish large enough to hold your roast.  Place meat in the dredging mixture, and then flip over and dredge the other side. Dump your flour mix into the trash, you can’t use it again. (Hang onto the plate for a minute, you’ll need it when you move your roast off the heat for a bit.)

*Move to hot oil in pan. Roasts are something that can’t be rushed, so you’re not trying to do all of your cooking here. You really just want to give your roast a nice sear (this is a caramel brown color) and create some yummy brown bits on the bottom of your pan. Flip and sear the other side as well. When you have a nice color on both sides, move meat off of heat (to your held dish) for a few minutes.

Deglazing the Pan

*Your pan now has a little bit of oil and a nice, crispy crust on the bottom. You’ll want to deglaze it with the wine and cider vinegar, lifting as much of that yummy brown stuff off of the pan. It’ll smell really strong and you’ll wonder if you’ve misstepped, but this will flavor everything nicely in the end.  Once you’ve done this, add your box of broth, worchestershire sauce, and mustard. (This mixture will not be smooth by any means, but not to worry– it will desolve over the coming hours.) Remove the papery wrap from the garlic, cut the rough ends off of them, and crush them with the flat side of a knife.  Drop the cloves whole into the broth.

*Replace the meat into the juices and bring to a simmer. Lower the heat and cover the pot, cooking the meat for several hours,turning occaisonally. I cook the roast anywhere from 3-5 hours, the goal is for the meat to fall apart easily under the twist of your fork.

Just after the veggies were added

*Two hours before you are to serve it, add your vegetables. Carrots can be placed in the pot in their whole ‘baby’ form; the onion should be cut into eighths; celery and pototoes should be cut into 1 inch chunks. I buy nice potatoes so I don’t have to worry about peeling them, I like the little red-skinned ones.  Just be sure to scrub them well and cut them into fairly uniform chunks.  You can experiment with your veggie options a little, if you like mushrooms, you can see that from the photos that we tried the ‘shrooms as a choice.  (We weren’t overwhelmed, but we are rather mushroom-neutral)  I still would like to try adding a sweet potato one of these times, I bet that would be really good.  If you are tight on space in your stock pot, you can remove the meat for a bit, and let the veggies cook down alone in the broth.  As the meat cools, you can shred it (forks or fingers, whatever works best for you) and remove as much fat and gristle as possible, making for a more pleasant dining experience for you family and friends. If you opt to do this, you can finish it one of two ways.  One is to mix the shredded beef back into the pot of veggies about a half an hour before serving, just warming it all up to the same temp again.  You can crank the heat a little more at this point, you want those juices to reduce considerably, so its darker and more like gravy.  The other option is moving the meat and veggies to a casserole dish or roasting pan, (optimally putting the roast on the bottom in a little broth, veggies on top) season with a little salt and pepper, and roast at 400 degrees for a half an hour or so.  While this is happening, reduce your broth to a gravy on the stovetop, ladling it over the roast as you serve it.  Serves 4-6  Best when served with some sort of bread for getting that gravy!

Categories: Recipes | 3 Comments

Pumpkin Pudding Parfait

Posted on November 29, 2011 by Becky Homecky

Individual Pumpkin Parfaits

Pumpkin Pudding Parfait (my answer to pumpkin pie!)

1 bag gingersnaps (the little rounds that are like vanilla wafers– I used Murray’s)
2 cups whipping cream, very cold
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 (8oz) block of cream cheese, softened
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
2 boxes Jell-o Pumpkin spice pudding
3 cups cold milk

(for optional topping, 2 TBSP powdered sugar with 1/2 tsp cinnamon and 1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice mixed in– best if sprinkled through a fine sieve or sifter)

Special tools required would be a pretty bowl for serving your dessert (You could do it like a trifle), a spatula, and a food processor or hand mixer.

*As a prepatory step, chill your processor bowl and blade or mixer beaters and bowls, and measuring cups– anything that will come in contact with the whipped cream. Things will happen much faster if you have everything cold before you begin. You can do this after you start softening your cream cheese.

Showing that cream who is boss.

*Making whipped cream is super-easy when done with a food processor. It happens so fast, you will actually need to keep a close eye on it, you will turn your cream to butter before you know it! Round up all ingredients and tools for the job, set up the cold processor, and turn it on…Using the cold measuring cup, slowly stream your cold cream into the processor, allowing it to mix for a good thirty seconds to a minute before stopping it. You can watch through the bowl for when it stops looking liquid and starts to be more like fluffy batter. (If using a mixing bowl and hand mixer, just add dairy straight to the bowl for both steps instead of streaming in.)  Add the vanilla and powdered sugar, and pulse a few times until combined thoroughly. Remove about half of the cream to another cold bowl and refrigerate. To the remaining whipped cream in the food processor, add softened cream cheese (you can chunk it up if you’d like, for easier combining), and spices. You can also at this point add a pinch of salt. It’ll brighten the flavor a little. Process this creamy mixture until smooth and well-combined, pausing to scrape the sides of the bowl if necessary. Taste, adding more sugar if you like things really sweet.  (Keep in mind that the pudding and gingersnaps will add a lot of sweetness.)  Set aside briefly.

*In your lovely serving bowl of choice, begin to layer your gingersnaps. (This is a good job for kids.) You’re trying to use the whole bag here (minus the broken ones, which must pay the penalty of being eaten by the chef), sort of like the vanilla wafers in banana pudding. You can balance them jenga-style up the sides of your serving bowl, (even using the occaisional dab of cinnamon cream to hold them in place) or just layer them between each layer of tasty fluff. After you have covered as much space as you can with gingersnaps, layer your cinnamon cream into the bottom, leveling it out and using it completely. Top with another layer of snaps, if you are not yet out of them.  Invite children to lick spatulas, they will do so willingly.

the delicate balancing of gingersnaps

*You don’t need to wash the bowl, this will just warm it up. Hopefully you’ve scraped it pretty clean, and a little cinnamon creme will not disrupt your pumpkin pudding.  Reassemble processor (if using) and place in packages of jello powder. Stream in cold milk, just as you did for whipped cream.   It sets up just as the whipped cream, just pause at least once during this process and scrape the sides, you’ll want to be sure there is no powder resulting in clumpy, dusty pudding. Pour this onto the cream cheese layer.  Add any remaining snaps. Refrigerate for a little while, at least 10-15 minutes before topping. You are now free to clean that food processor!

*After the pudding layer has set up, you can now pipe or spread on the whipped cream layer. The first time I tried it, I spread it smooth, and then I used paper doilies (just placing them lightly on the surface of the cream) and sifted my sugar and spice topping in designs on that ‘blank canvas.’ Fun!  See the finished result here– http://www.flickr.com/photos/amberwalker/6423288201/in/photostream

*I would recommend letting this refrigerate and set up at least 6 hours or so, overnight is even better. When serving, don’t forget to dig to the bottom, you want all those dreamy layers!

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My Idea for Diner Dinner

Posted on November 17, 2011 by Becky Homecky

I like to cook, and I take a lot of pride in making classic comfort foods.  My senior year of high school, I became known in my family for my meatloaf, and I got a taste (pardon the pun) of what it was like to really satisfy people I love with a delicious meal.  My version became so legendary, that throughout college, my father would request it for his birthday.  Seriously, meatloaf.   I would make the three hour drive from school, and make the man a meatloaf in June (in Tennessee!) because he’d asked.  Twenty years have gone by since then, and now my husband and son also love the same meatloaf.  People always say, “Its meatloaf, how good could it be?”  I dunno, I happen to kind of love it.  I now make TWO whenever I prepare it, because we all want cold meatloaf sandwiches the next day.  This may sound crazy, but I actually think those second-day sandwiches are *better* than the really good hot meatloaf from the night before.  Anyway, that’s another story, this really isn’t about the meatloaf (not yet, it isn’t).

What it IS about is this– you would think that I would have at least twenty ‘perfect’ dishes that I am now regularly churning out for my little family of three, but it isn’t the case.   I got to thinking about it one day, and imagine my inward embarrassment when I realized that I had only really mastered two other main dishes since then.  Yeah, sure, I make *more* than those three dishes, but I rely heavily on crutches.  When I make spaghetti (or heaven help me, lasagna) I open. A jar. Of sauce.  I bet Bobby Flay doesn’t open a jar with some other dude’s face on it.  (Newman wasn’t Italian, was he?)  Its true, I have no tomato sauce recipe of my own…  and that’s just the beginning, really.

How could I call myself a good cook and not have a hammered-out favorite recipe for so many of these meals?  Why does my macaroni and cheese come from a box, and why does my chowdah originate behind a red and white banded label?  When was I going to stop ‘winging it’ and get serious?  Can you really call a casserole recipe your own if it relies on 4 prepared products and little skill?  Why was I spending all this time watching the Food Network and not implementing anything I was learning?  Horrifying, really.

I know I am capable of so much more, I could be a wicked good cook….  What would it entail?  Its not like I don’t already make the grocery list and prepare the meals…  and lets face it, on average my husband thinks dinner is pretty tasty.  When I apply myself and make something really special, (still with the meatloaf!) the response around the dinner table has been known to make me blush. (Part of that could be chalked up to being redheaded and fair and blushing easily, but the compliments have been known to be pretty flattering.) At what point would it become part of my persona, and could I get good enough at it that people used my cooking skill in their description of me?

How many times did I need to make a dish to have fully developed “my” version of the recipe?  Could I do one in a month?  I decided to try with pot roast, and over the course of several tries, I developed a method that I my family and I really like.  I estimate that if I make a dish once a week, over the course of a month, I will have my final version.  I started a (long!) list of dinners I would like to perfect, and with it I made a master cooking plan, which is this diner dinner blog– intended to help me develop ‘my’ version of desired recipes, one month at a time.

This blog is named Diner Dinner because the meals that I intend to pursue are your ‘typical American fare.’  Now, I know that you could be confused right now– you may be thinking, “Wasn’t she just talking about spaghetti sauce?  That’s Italian!”   And yes, you are absolutely right.  And pizza is too.  And tacos are Mexican, and technically, the hamburger was invented in Germany.  But all of these foods, like the many cultures that make up our vast country of diversity, have SO been assimilated into our daily lives, our everyday diets, that they could easily be found on a classic American diner menu.  And those are the dinners I want to make, I want to delve into what makes the crispiest, most delish fried chicken, and I want to have a sloppy joe recipe that doesn’t rely on a packet of frightening grey powdered chemicals.

Which brings me to another point.  I kind of want to purify a little bit.  I want to use more wholesome ingredients, if not necessarily ‘diet food’.  What I mean to say is less “Kool-Whippe” and more whipped cream, less prepared and packaged food.  No need for dried potatoes, the real ones aren’t that expensive or hard to prepare.  I don’t know that we will lose weight, but I do intend to feel better.  Life is too short feel bad because of fake food.

Speaking of “life is too short,” did I mention the social aspect of this whole plan?  I have a lot of lovely friends.  We all do, don’t we?  I have this constant nagging feeling, a grumpy cloud that follows me around, feeling isolated and wishing to see these people.  We only have one vehicle right now, and it is harder and harder to get out and do spontaneous things.  I want to let them all know that I think of them, and that I still wish to be around them…

It used to be that as a single woman, I would frequently throw a cocktail party or a dinner party, on the spur of the moment and with a delightful turnout of friends.  As time goes on, I still have the same friends, but our families have grown.  It has become harder and harder to remain social with them, and I find myself chatting to chums that I have literally known for 10 years over the pink packages of a princess party, and there are little other social opportunities.

My friends deserve better than this, heck, *I* deserve better, and I have decided to use this dinner program as an excuse to invite people over.  I can’t invite them all, every time, but I sure can see them each a few times a year, and mix them up.  I also like the idea of getting to know some families that we know distantly.  And of course there are people I haven’t seen in ages, people I miss desperately, and they will be fun to mix in to these more familiar parties.

I found several packs of amazing vintage invites at an estate sale, and I will be sending out tiny little paper invites to little clusters of friends at a time, for the last dinner preparation of the month.  I now have the pressure to make each of these dishes good enough to serve to an assortment of friends, but I can do it.  It adds dimension to the challenge.  Yay! I’m so excited!

 

 

((A little disclaimer– PLEASE no angry emails or comments about how your grandma has done this a certain way for 50 years, and I don’t do it right or include her method.  There are LOTS of delicious ways to make food, and in the end, all I’m trying to please are my family and myself.  Pleasing the palates of my friends is a plus, really, the ultimate taste buds in question are those I live with everyday. This means that no recipe will contain peas (they nauseate my husband, and I have never cared for them), and I won’t be working on making liver and onions delightful, as a dish, I don’t find it worth working on.  I’m going with the likes and dislikes of this family first and foremost.  This blog is not intended to offend you in any way, I’m cooking to please a limited audience.))

 

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