A Peach of a Cheat- Rustic Peach Tart

Sorry for that short break! I've been doing better at keeping up with posting, but I was working on two papers last week and studying for my History midterm. Then Friday I came home with a sore throat that I assumed was from all the dust I was kicking up moving equipment. The chills and fever that followed behind on Saturday proved me wrong. I'm still under the weather so, along with my cold, my kitchen's caught a bit of a cold too. But I happened to have this recipe in my back pocket, and figured now as good a time as any to share it.

I made this recipe awhile back, and it was a great, quick treat. I had a busy day, but Josh had an even busier one helping his dad chop up a tree that fell in their yard. I figured a hard day's labor earned him something special, even if I was busy. This, like the very popular donut recipe, is an idea from Real Simple magazine. I have to say, I'm becoming a big fan of their "Fake It, Don't Make It" features. I know that taking short cuts might not be seen as the classiest thing all the time, but we live in a busy world, right? I know I do! Wife, job, school, housekeeping- I have a lot of hats to wear. So, taking an easier route sure can help sometimes. Anyway, this particular easy-does-it recipe was for a Rustic Peach Tart. I just happened to have almost everything I needed on hand, so after a slight adjustment I got to quick work. Josh really liked his sweet reward, it was especially good with vanilla ice cream on the side.

Rustic Peach Tart
Recipe from Real Simple; Makes 6 servings

1 refrigerated pie crust, half of a 15 oz. package
16 ounce package frozen peaches, thawed for 30 minutes
1 teaspoon cornstarch (optional)
4 tablespoons sugar
Zest from 1/2 lemon
1 egg, lightly beaten

• Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
• Lightly coat a baking sheet with vegetable cooking spray. Place the pie crust on the sheet. Place the peaches in the center of the crust. Sprinkle with the cornstarch (if using) and toss. Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of the sugar and the zest. Fold the outer edge of the crust over the peach filling. Lightly brush the crust with egg and sprinkle with the remaining sugar.
• Bake until the crust is golden and the peaches are bubbling, about 35 minutes. Serve warm or at room temperature.

My notes: I didn't have a lemon to zest, so instead I added a scant teaspoon of cinnamon to the sugar. I mixed it in with all 4 tablespoons so that there would be cinnamon-sugar in both the peaches and on the crust.

One Idea Leads to Another- Apple Cider Glazed Doughnuts

Last week while clicking through my blog feed I saw Tracy's delicious looking post about the delicious sounding Baked Caramel Apple Donuts. When I had snapped out of my drooling state of desire I realized that it was just a little too much to order a donut pan for one recipe. Especially when I need essential things like spatulas and a muffin pan. But seeing her yummy treats reminded me of this Smitten Kitchen recipe for Apple Cider Doughnuts, which I have always wanted to make. I have that post bookmarked on my work and home computers. That dough for those seemed a bit time intensive to make, though. Especially when I can walk less than a mile to the donut shop. But then, hence the name of this post, I remembered this Easy Dougnuts recipe I had torn out of an old Real Simple magazine. I had always wanted to try it, but been a little nervous, as I'd never really fried anything before. However, I decided to take the plunge this past weekend, and I grabbed the supplies on the way home from work Friday. So, after three doughnut recipes I finally arrived at my destination, which turned out to be a bit of a combination of Deb's recipe and Real Simple's. The doughnut making process is Real Simple, and the glaze comes from Smitten Kitchen.

One of the best part's of making this recipe was the treat I discovered when I went to the store to collect my ingredients. In the refrigerated food section while perusing my biscuit options I found Pillsbury's simply Buttermilk Biscuits. No trans fat, no high fructose corn syrup, and no artificial flavors or colors. These are just biscuits with a completely comprehensible ingredient list. What a nice find!

Apple Cider Glazed Doughnuts & Cinnamon-Sugar Doughnut Holes
Makes 10 doughnuts and 10 doughnut holes

3/4 cup vegetable oil
1 10 count Pillsbury's Simply Biscuits (or your preferred refrigerated biscuits)
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
1 1/2 tablespoons apple cider
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• Heat ½ cup of the oil in a medium skillet over medium-low heat.
• Place the biscuits on a cutting board. Using a 1-inch round cookie cutter or shot glass, cut a hole in the center of each biscuit, reserving the extra dough for "holes."
• Make the glaze by whisking together the confectioners sugar and the cider until the mixture is smooth. Make the cinnamon-sugar by mixing the two together. Set aside.
• Test the heat of the oil by dipping the edge of a doughnut in the pan. When the oil is hot enough, the edge will bubble. Place 4 of the doughnuts and holes in the skillet and cook until golden brown, 1 to 1½ minutes per side. Drain on paper towels for a minute after the doughnuts are fried. Add the remaining oil to the skillet, reheat, and cook the remaining doughnuts and holes.
• Dip the top of the warm doughnuts into the glaze and roll the doughnut holes in the cinnamon sugar mixture and serve immediately.

My notes: The original Real Simple recipe called for the large-style (i.e. Grands) biscuits. Since mine were a little smaller they just needed about a minute frying on each side instead of 1 1/2 . I think next time, if I'm using a similar glaze, then I'd dip both sides in it, instead of just the tops.

Pot Sticker Dinner

After getting a bag full of sugar snap peas from my pop-in-law's garden I was thinking about what I'd like to use them for when I remembered a recipe I had torn our of an issue of Real Simple. I decided this would be a good time to give it a shot, but ended up using the recipe as more of a jumping-off point for putting together something more my own. Real Simple's recipe called for several ingredients I didn't have on hand, so I just worked with what I had and really enjoyed the outcome.

Pot Sticker Dinner
Adapted from Real Simple; Serves 2
















6 frozen pot stickers (I used chicken)
2 cups sugar snap peas, trimmed
2 cups fresh broccoli florets
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
1 red bell pepper, in strips
2 servings of brown rice
1 scallion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup soy sauce
Fresh ginger, peeled and grated

• Prepare rice per package instructions.
• Meanwhile fill a large saucepan with 1 inch of water and fit with a steamer basket (or fill a large skillet with 1/2 inch of water). Bring the water to a boil. Place the pot stickers in the basket (or skillet), cover, and steam for 4 minutes.
• Add the snap peas, carrots, bell pepper, and broccoli cover, and steam until the pot stickers are cooked through and the vegetables are tender, 4 to 6 minutes.
• In a small bowl, combine the soy sauce and fresh ginger to taste. Toss the pot stickers and vegetables with the sauce. Divide the brown rice among bowls/plates and top with the pot stickers and vegetables.

Easy Entertaining with Beef Bourguignonne

I realize that I took my little blog vacation, said I was back, posted two entries and then promptly disappeared again. We've been so busy with house-hunting, family holidays, and Josh's shows that I've either not been cooking at all or I've been making fast, familiar recipes. However, just because a recipe is fast doesn't mean it can't impress. I recently tried this recipe I'd pulled from my February 2008 Real Simple. You may be familiar with their "Fake It, Don't Make It" recipes usually in each issue, and this is one of them. This meal was so easy and so quick, and on top of that so delicious. This would be a great recipe for having friends over during the holidays, like we all so often do. Of course half our friends are vegetarian, so you'd need to make sure you've got the right crowd for this dinner. I served it over egg noodles and it was seriously fantastic. Since we were all on our lonesome the night I made it I froze the extra two servings and it was still just as good when we had that a month later. Serve it with a fresh salad and some good bread and you'll be ready to go.

Quick Beef Bourguignonne
Recipe from Real Simple; Serves 4














1 tablespoon olive oil
1 1/4 pounds sirloin steak, cut into 1-inch pieces
Kosher salt and pepper
1 10 ounce package sliced mushrooms
1 16 ounce package frozen pearl onions
2 cups red wine
1 10.75-ounce can Campbell's Golden Mushroom soup
1/2 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped (optional)

• Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat.
• Season the steak with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper and cook until browned, about 5 minutes. Transfer the steak to a bowl and set aside.
• Add the mushrooms and onions to the pan and cook until the liquid has evaporated. Add the wine and simmer until reduced by half, 5 to 6 minutes. Stir in the soup and 1/4 cup water and bring to a boil. Add the steak and juices from the bowl and simmer, 2 minutes.
• Divide into individual bowls and sprinkle with the parsley, if using.

My notes: I used a relatively cheap Cabernet Sauvignon for this recipe and it was really good. I don't know anything about wine, but I found the recipe had enough other flavors going on in it that I could drink the same wine with my meal without it being too much. I left out the parsley, since this dinner was just for us and I saw no use in buying a whole bunch of parsley just to sprinkle on this one meal. However, for entertaining I would definitely use it to help break up the brownness of the dish. Not the prettiest picture, I realize, but I was in a hurry. Afterall, I got to eat it when I was done!

Real Simple?

Last night I was planning on making a recipe from my latest issue of Real Simple. I honestly didn't think this recipe would be that hard, but then again I didn't take my total lack of motor skills or mental concentration into account. I really am not that great at multi-step cooking. Now I'm sure you're wondering to yourself, "Aside from toast, doesn't most cooking require more than one step?" And yeah, you'd be right. But the fact remains that since this recipe required me to put things in a skillet, remove them, add more things in the skillet, move to oven, and then back to the skillet with more ingredients that I should probably have realized I would be doomed. The outcome tasted good, but if you think that it looked anything like the picture below, you are sadly mistaken. I would recommend this recipe if, you know, you're not task-handicapped like me.

Sauteed Chicken With Corn and Edamame
Recipe from Real Simple; Serves 4
4 ounces sliced bacon
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 6-ounce boneless skinless chicken breasts
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 large red onion, thinly sliced
2 cups frozen shelled edamame, thawed
1 1/2 cups corn kernels, fresh (2 ears) or frozen

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
• In a large skillet, over medium heat, fry the bacon until crisp, about 6 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate. Discard the drippings. Wipe out the skillet and heat the oil over medium-high heat.
• Season the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper. Cook until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a baking dish and roast until cooked through, about 8 minutes.
• Meanwhile, add the onion to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft, about 8 minutes. Add the edamame and corn and cook, stirring occasionally, until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Break the bacon into pieces and add them to the skillet. Stir in the remaining salt and pepper. Spoon onto individual plates and serve with the chicken.

My notes: Most of the problems with this recipe were my fault. My chicken breasts were definitely larger than 6 ounces, but I'm kind of limited to what I can find and afford at my small grocery store. So, I had to bake them for longer than 8 minutes. Much longer. Which then threw off the onion mixture. Also, I can never, ever get bacon to cook crisply in a skillet. After 6 minutes I had 3 soft pieces of cooked bacon. I threw it in the oven with the chicken, and it got a bit crisper. I tore it into bits, which allowed me to only use the meaty portions of the bacon, eliminating at least some of the fat. From now on I refuse to cook bacon any way other than in an oven. Also, since my chicken breasts were really big, I just cut them into big chunks and mixed them in with the bacon and veggie/bean mixture. This meal was pretty good, actually, but not worth the amount of time and effort it took me to complete it. Josh for some reason, despite being a man, didn't like the smokiness of the bacon with everything else. Real Simple mentions you could go sans bacon to cut the fat, and apparently Josh would support that suggestion. Another note- try to remember when you've just taken a dish out of a 400 degree oven. Luckily I let go of it quickly enough that I barely burned my fingers.

Cooking Television

Today was an enjoyable day for my Saturday morning TV ritual. I had a nice cup of hot black coffee with a bit of sugar while watching, which really hit the spot.

On today's episode of Real Simple the food segment concentrated on uses for those bits of condiments left in your refrigerator. They demonstrated a vinaigrette made with your left over Dijon mustard, a steak sauce with a ketchup base, and a very simple rice dish with a bit of salsa. I think I am going to try the vinaigrette for my salads this week. You can find more condiment recipes here.

Rick Steves' Europe was centered in the Tuscany and Umbria region of Italy. We got to see an example of an old olive oil press and how it was operated, a vineyard that has been producing wine since the Etruscan days, and a delicious looking example of the classic bruscetta- grilled bread rubbed with garlic and topped with thinly sliced fresh tomatoes, salt, and olive oil. Mmmmm!

Mexico One Plate At A Time was all about the typical paste seasonings in Yucatecan cuisine, including a frequent ingredient in this season's episodes- achiote. Right off the bat, Rick cooks up one of the easiest and delicious looking dishes. A simple Mahi steak brushed with a paste of achiote seasoning and lime juice cooked on the grill. After taking a trip through the Merida market he goes back to his Chicago home kitchen to show us how to create our own achiote paste and then used it on some short ribs. He also went over two other pastes, bistec and a black paste which gets it's color from charred chilies. Both these pastes were used in poultry dishes. I think I could handle the Mahi dish, especially if I use store bought achiote, ha.

Everyday Food focused on things you could make with a majority of ingredients you might have in your pantry. This included a Spaghetti Carbonara, Pasta with Lentils and Arugula, Pineapple Pops, Fudgy Brownies with Chocolate Cream Soda, and Bean Burritos. I've made the bean burritos before and they are great. I usually tweak their recipe, using Mahatma brand Spanish rice and pepper jack cheese in place of white rice and monterrey jack. This is featured as a freezer recipe, because you can easily wrap the burritos individually and freeze for a fast dinner solution. I always think about freezing our leftovers, but they never make it further than the fridge for great lunches through the rest of the week. Josh really loves this burrito, and was actually reminiscing about them while I watched the show! The pineapple pops looked really easy and good, those might be a fun dessert for having a few friends over during the summer. I bet it would also be great if you substituted some coconut cream for the milk for a pina colada pop! The brownies they featured are based off the recipe I used earlier in the week for my Almond Mocha Brownies. Josh was put off by the Chocolate Cream Soda, and remarked he'd rather just have some chocolate milk. I thought that another idea might be something I'd seen in one of my recent Everyday Food issues- a Black Forest Shake. I think the cherries would make enough of a departure from a combo that might otherwise be too chocolaty. But, who had ever complained about too much chocolate? I think I might even consider making both the pasta dishes, so I'd say that this was a really great episode!

Cooking Television

So, I guess this is going to become a regular thing on here, commenting on my Saturday morning shows. Perhaps I should give a little background on my Saturday mornings. Most weekends I wake up just a bit before 9:30 to catch Real Simple, followed by Rick Steves' Europe, and then Mexico: One Plate At A Time. Then I've got an hour and a half before Everyday Food comes on. Obviously, not everyone's PBS station runs shows at the same time, but this is my Saturday morning line-up. I encourage you to take a look at your affiliate's schedule if you haven't seen any of these shows before. Now, I know that Rick Steve's Europe isn't a cooking related show, but he does often discuss some aspect of the local cuisine in whatever part of the continent he is in. And really, since it's gonna be quite awhile before I can afford to get there, this serves as my weekly vacation.

On this week's episode of Real Simple the cooking segment focused on 30-Minute Sloppy Joes. I ate sloppy joes as a kid on occasion, but not too often. Not that I didn't think they were delicious, but I really didn't get too excited about half the contents of my sandwich being on my hands and face. And I'm still not crazy about that. And Josh just bemoaned how disgusting the sandwiches were through the segment, so I don't think you'll be seeing a sloppy joe post on here anytime soon. That said, this month's issue of Real Simple does have some interesting looking recipes, so there isn't a total lack of Real Simple inspiration.

This week's episode of Mexico: One Plate At A Time with Rick Bayless was great. At first I thought I was in for a letdown. As it opened on a scene of a courtyard filled to the brim with dancers I thought I was about to be watching a repeat of the Merida episode. And while they were in Merida, this episode was very different. It was all about snacking- I love snacking! This show has got me thinking about ceviche again, especially since Josh's dad delivered some trout to us last week. I honestly didn't take notes during this episode, but it was filled to the brim with some of the most delicious looking Yucatan snacks that I doubt you could go wrong with making anything from the episode.

Everday Food seemed to answer the age old query, "Where's the beef?", this week with a steak filled episode. They did a lime marinated skirt steak with chili sweet potato wedges, shell steaks with parsnip fries, and a chili rubbed steak with salad. They also made a heavenly looking strawberry tart, which I can only imagine to be a fantastic dessert for any event this time of year. I must admit that all these recipes have been floating around in my head since watching the show, and a couple since before that, having seen them in the magazine. I have never in my life considered eating a parsnip, but they've got me mulling it over.

Did you see any of this week's episodes? Have you made any of the recipes featured? Please share if you have!

Cooking Television

Well, since I'm just now posting on Tuesday, you can guess that I didn't have quite the weekend I was expecting. We overslept by an obscene amount on Saturday, but I had set my Saturday morning shows to record, with the exception of Everyday Food, assuming I would be up by then. I told you it was obscene how late we slept! So, I missed Everyday Food. Did anyone else catch it? Anything good? I'll look up the episode info in a bit. Since I've been a fan of the magazine for awhile I'm hoping it was just recipes I'm already familiar with.

This week's Real Simple had a meal that looked great for the warm weather that will be headed our way (did I mention that it snowed here on Saturday...in Texas!). Their preparation of Panzanella looked delicious. A nice no-cook meal is always a good idea on hot summer nights. I can definitely see myself entertaining with this one, since using the oven can cause an uncomfortable temperature increase in the dining nook directly adjacent.

Saturday's episode of Mexico- One Plate At A Time was all about tamales. I have never made tamales, and living in Texas, I am more familiar with the corn husk variety. But Rick made his tamales the Yucatan way, with banana leaves. I don't know that this is something I'll be trying anytime soon, but this show was highly informative. As I'm fairly new to the show it was the first time I got to watch Rick at action in one of his real-life restaurant kitchens too.

I'm in the process of trying to get my Easter post together, as well as one for dinner from last night. I missed work yesterday thanks to this cold weather making my FM flare up, but I'm better today, and will hopefully be even better tomorrow. I've got several blog events coming up, which will mean quite a lot of posts, hopefully. And I can guarantee that I won't have such a late start next Saturday!

If you haven't yet, head on over to This Week For Dinner and share your menu with everyone!

Cooking Television

This morning's episode of Mexico One Plate At A Time was so the best episode I've seen thus far. Watching Rick Bayless and Jacques Pepin cooking together in Pepin's Yucatan kitchen, not quite tv studio worthy, was a true treat. It has offically outranked the ceviche episode.

And, I dare say I might actually make my own barbeque sauce after watching this morning's Real Simple. And the Orange-Ricotta Pancakes, which didn't appeal to me while perusing Everyday Food magazine, looked delicious when they made them in today's episode. I am very much a visual learner, so sometimes it takes a television show to open my mind. I heart PBS.