greek salad sans lettuce

won't keep ya but a minute, real quick like, i wanted to share our supper last night. i made a greek salad sans lettuce. trust me, you don't need no stinking lettuce, put the iceberg away. i had seen ina garten put one together the other day on tv and thought it look simple and terrific, so i whipped one up for the big j and me. the kids, they had grilled cheese. i have to say this was one expensive (remember, i am a cheapo) greek salad after buying the yellow and orange bell peppers at almost $2 each! i had to protect them like newborns. i turned my back one time, and travis had one of the peppers playing veggietales starring the larry the hothouse cucumber and pimpdaddy pepper. it was like a bad slow motion action scene as i dove for it..nooooooo! crazy.

anyway, it was delicious and it makes a ton, plenty of leftovers. also, in the fridge, i had some cold spaghetti noodles and roasted chicken, so my "mix-in" crazy husband did just that. he loved it. the greek vinaigrette is simple and nothing fancy, but has loads of flavor. i wouldn't say it the best dressing out there, but it was good enough for us. go whip of a batch of this pricey salad today. enjoy.

beth's $$ greek salad

in your favorite bowl add the following:

1 pint grape tomatoes, halved
1 hot house or english cucumber, seeds removed, sliced big
1 each, yellow and orange bell pepper, cut chunky(check local bank, they might offer pepper loans)
1 half small red onion, sliced thinly
about 1/2 cup calamata olives, whole ( i got mine off olive bar at the market, love these babies)
a big ole hunk of good feta, cubed

in a separate bowl mix, 1/4 red wine or balsamic vinegar(i used balsamic, my favorite and why my salad looks kinda brown), 1/2 tsp of dijon mustard, one glove of garlic finely minced, pinch of salt, coupla grinds of fresh pepper and 1 tsp of dried oregano( roll the oregano in your hands to crush and get the oils to release). whisk. now slowly stream in about 1/2 cup good olive oil, whisking the whole time. this will emulsify the dressing. taste and adjust seasonings. pour over the veggies and cheese. let set for awhile at room temp for the flavors to mellow and meld. i do this and then pop the salad in the fridge. we like ours cold. enjoy.

vanilla bean panna cotta-my first, not the prettiest, but dang tasty

so i had seen a contest on my baking addiction to win some vanilla beans. i got excited. i don't buy vanilla beans because they are beyond my budget, but i will certainly take some free ones, that is if i win. guess what? i didn't win. the donated beans for jamie's contest was from beanilla, a online store in grand rapids, michigan. i went over and started poking around, holy cow, beanilla makes its vanilla products affordable for every budget. i couldn't resist and ordered five of their tahitian beans. i am excited, again. a few days later they arrived. guess what? the folks over at beanilla sent me an additional five madagascar vanilla beans!! whoohoo!! now i am really excited. i highly recommend you pay the nice people over at beanilla a visit. they offer so many interesting vanilla products from vanilla fleur de sel to vanilla paste(gotta try that one). i used one of the tahitian beans for the panna cotta. it was so plump, moist and chocked full of bean seeds(don't know if that is the correct jargon or not to refer to the specks).

now, what to make? i scoured dozens of recipes searching for ideas. i stumbled across this panna cotta. it looked easy enough. i set about making it yesterday afternoon, before rendezvousing with my girls to see julie and julia. it came together quickly and was ready for the fam to enjoy one while i was at the movies.
i don't have any molds, so just used coffee cups. i think they worked okay.
this is the creams ( i used heavy cream and 1/2 and 1/2) warmed and infusing with the vanilla bean. yum.
not too exciting, but the gelatin blooming.
the panna cotta mixture in the cups ready for the fridge. oh yea baby.
viola! not the prettiest panna cotta, by no means, kinda resembles a poached egg, but oh sooooo good. just look at the vanilla bean seeds. they are everywhere. they did tend to gather at the bottom of the cup, which naturally became the top when inverted. it certainly didn't make for a lovely presentation, but who cares. I drizzled plain ole honey on the plate. every spoonful you could drag the panna cotta through the golden sweetness. this was a big hit in my house, everyone loved it. i have to say i think i loved it the most. i ate this particular one for breakfast.

the panna cotta is tasty, but could stand some improving. i believe using all heavy cream is the way to go for creaminess. also, i thought the panna cotta was a little too thick and glunky, too much gelatin perhaps? who knows, but i will make again. go order some beans today and make this. you won't be disappointed. enjoy.

p.s.-julie and julia was great fun!! go see it.

peanut butter oatmeal cookies, i wouldn't call them the "best"

i have been in cookie mode this weekend. i had a half jar of "cheap" peanut butter that I needed to use, so i sifted through some recipes and came across this one. i figured why not? i love peanut butter(cheap or jif) and oatmeal, so why not combine the two. it is a good cookie, not my favorite or the "best" peanut butter cookie. i am still searching. got a great recipe? send it my way and i will bake a batch. anyway....

these cookies came together easily and quickly. the dough was a little soft, so i refrigerated it between baking. the cookies are slightly undercooked, chewy, sweet and peanutty. you can see the oatmeal in them, so it gives the illusion you are eating healthy. big j he loved them. he thought they were tasty with his hot coffee. the kids, they love peanut butter, but didn't love these. they both whined for more snickerdoodles. well, you know who's boss in this house, so off to make more snickerdoodles. enjoy.

also, i melted a square of semi-sweet chocolate with a smidge of butter in the micro and topped a few, not too shabby.

snickerdoodles, what was i thinking?

now, i have eaten a few snickerdoodles in my time, but i had never made them, until now. good lawd, what was i thinking? they have got to be one of the easiest and yet most scrumptious cookies evaaaah. i found an old 2007 issue of cooking light magazine and stumbled across their version of the snickerdoodle. quite frankly, after reading the ingredients, i don't see how it is "light", but who cares, it's dang tasty. the cookies are slightly undercooked, chewy, sweet, buttery, with flecks of cinnamon and sugar on their crackly tops. holey moley. i can see me making these often. my two youngin's loved them. i posted the recipe below with a few personal notes added. whip up a batch today for your crowd. enjoy.

cooking light's snickerdoodles

Ingredients
3/4 cup granulated sugar
2/3 cup light brown sugar
1/2 cup butter, softened( i used margarine, because it was all i had at the time)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large egg(extra large egg, because that is what i use)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
Cooking spray(used silpats, because i love them)

Preparation
Preheat oven to 400°.
Combine 3/4 cup granulated sugar, brown sugar, and butter in a medium bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until light and fluffy. Beat in vanilla and egg.

Lightly spoon flour into dry measuring cups; level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon, and salt, stirring well with a whisk.(i didn't pre-mix flour, just dumped it all in the mixer) Add flour mixture to butter mixture; beat just until combined.(i refrigerated the dough for about 15 minutes before shaping) Shape dough into 30 balls.

Combine 1/3 cup granulated sugar and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon in a small shallow dish. Roll balls in sugar mixture, and place 2 inches apart on baking sheets coated with cooking spray(i used silpats). Bake at 400° for 8 minutes or until tops crack.(in between bakings i put the dough back into the fridge) Cool on pans 1 minute. Remove from pans; cool on a wire rack.

cinnamon and sugar, mmmmm....

i keep wanting to write snickerdoddles....

hot milk cake

this is my mama's go to cake. i remember this as being a staple in our family's over eating since well, forever. i had forgotten about this cake till i was reminded of it recently at a family reunion. apparently, my nephew has fond memories of his grandmother baking this for him. she loved to serve it with fresh peaches or strawberries and whipped cream. although i could not find her exact recipe, i am pretty dang sure this is close. it is wonderfully easy to make and with a short list of ingredients i betcha have everything you need right in your cupboard. it is dense, yet light, moist and cakey. also, it is not really a pound cake 'cause it's not as heavy. baked in a tube pan it browns up with a yummy crackly top. this is a great all purpose cake in my book. enjoy.

hot milk cake

1/2 cup butter
1 cup milk
4 eggs
2 cups sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 pure almond extract
2 cups flour
1 tsp. baking powder

preheat oven to 325 degrees fahrenheit. grease and flour a tube pan.

in a saucepan over medium heat, bring the butter and milk almost to a boil, but don't actually boil. beat the eggs and sugar, beating constantly add the vanilla and almond extracts. add flour gradually, add the salt and beat until smooth. gradually add the milk and butter mixture, beat well. add baking powder. pour into prepared pan. bake for one hour. cover top with foil if it browns too quickly. cool for about ten minutes before inverting on a plate.
the crackly top....yum.

krispy kreme doughnuts, hot doughnuts now

krispy kreme doughnuts, a southern staple. we did a little trip today to our local store. it was rainy, hot and humid, perfect doughnut eating weather. this place has been around since at least the mid 1960's. it has been a fixture in my family's overeating for years. i was always partial to the vanilla creme filled, chocolate glazed ones as a kid. today, i am no longer a big doughnut fan, but once in awhile one tastes pretty dang good. needless to say, my kids were pumped and that was before the sugar.

the doughnuts(choir sings), it is always hard to choose, so we opted for an assortment....decisions, decisions....
the spoils-6 original glazed, one cruller, one with sprinkles, one blueberry cake, one chocolate cake, one strawberry creme, one chocolate glaze. oh mama, now let the feasting begin!

don't ya just love the hats?
ahh, the french cruller, c'est mangnifique....

tres bien....
we paid dearly for this sugary treat about a half hour later....

part of the fun is watching them make the doughnuts. it's the closest thing to dinner theater my kids have ever experienced and, yes, it was pretty much their dinner.
it is mesmerizing....




i wish i could send you a dozen or two. krispy kreme doughnuts, get'em while they're hot!

no crowds

where do you go when you just need to get away? the bathroom, of course. enjoy your lunch in a spa like setting surrounded by lush greenery and "love" candles. this is what t choose to do during our family reunion. there were just too many folks for him i guess and he had found the perfect spot to enjoy his hot dog, cool and best of all, no crowds.