UGH! Wisconsin.

So I heard from my sister-in-law today. She and my brother live in LA. "No posts on your blog this week?" she asks. "NO!", I reply. "No f*#$ing posts. Do you understand the lighting issues I'm dealing with here in Milwaukee? No sunshine for days on end? How the hell am I supposed to do my food justice, when I have to shoot it with FAKE LIGHT?!?!"

That's why I have no photos lately. It's not because I've been cooking crappy food......Carnitas with Tomatillo Salsa....Chinese Style Short Ribs with Wasabi Mashed Potatoes...Triple Chocolate Brownies....Chicken Breasts in Sundried Tomato Cream...yeah, all of these items have been churned out of my kitchen in the past week. But I refuse to shoot crappy pictures from the artificial light in my house. 'Cause I know my shots will look like doo-doo, and I doo-doo not want doo-doo pictures!!

Today we had a snowstorm (you might have heard about it if you watch the news) where we got 18 inches of snow. Seriously. 18 inches! So hand in hand with the snowstorm were (duh) snow, and no sunshine, so once again, no pictures. Tomorrow the forecast is better, maybe I can shoot the Three Cheese Stuffed Shells I've got on the menu.

Does this ever happen to anyone else? You make something really amazing and you just don't have the heart to post a crummy shot? I'd love to commiserate.

SCOTCH-A-ROOOOOOS

OKAY. Is there a better dessert in the whole world than Scotcheroos? I mean really. I'm not talking about Creme Brule or Bananas Foster. Or Baked Alaska or Crepes Suzette.....I mean, down and dirty DESSERT. Scotcheroos, people. Peanut butter, chocolate, butterscotch.....oh yeah. They're not gourmet. That's okay!! Scotcheroos. 'Nuff said. This is the kind of dessert that makes you happy you have kids around, 'cause it's not sophisticated or grownup. It's just yummy. Here's the recipe. As my daughter would say, "Happy belly"!!!

SCOTCHEROOS

Serves: Uh, not enough....maybe 4 hungry Damrons.

Source: http://allrecipes.com/

1 c. sugar

1 c. light corn syrup

1 c. peanut butter

6 c. Rice Crispies or Special K

1 c. semi sweet chips

1 c. butterscotch chips

Line a 9x11 Pyrex pan with foil and hit it with non-stick spray.

Place cereal in a medium mixing bowl.

Bring sugar and corn syrup to a rolling boil over medium high heat. Remove from heat and whisk in peanut butter until melted and smooth. Pour over cereal and stir until well blended. Scoop into prepared pan. Press with a spatula until mixture is spread neatly throughout the pan.

Microwave both semisweet and butterscotch chips in a glass bowl until melted and smooth stopping periodically to stir, about 2 minutes. Spread over the top of the cereal mixture. Chill until topping is set, about an hour. Cut into uniform slices and try to refrain from eating the entire pan within the hour. Sick...just sick...in a good way, of course!!!

Chicken Pot Pie with a Lattice Crust

We have a winter storm warning here tonight -- high winds and -30 windchills. If that doesn't call for a comfort menu, what does? One of my favorite winter meals is this chicken pie with a pastry top. I like to have a big green salad alongside.

CHICKEN PIE
Serves: 5-6
Source: ?? I honestly cannot remember, I've been making this for years and have no idea where the recipe came from! Besides that, I've changed it so many times it doesn't resemble the original anyway. ;-)

2 c. cooked diced chicken
1 c. fresh broccoli
1 large carrot, small dice
2 leeks, white and pale green parts only, rinsed thoroughly and diced
3 T. butter
3 T. flour
2 c. whole milk or half & half
1 large chicken bouillion cube, dissolved in 1/4 c. whole milk
1 c. Parmesan
1/2 c. frozen peas
1 box refrigerated pie crusts

Preheat oven to 425. Remove pie crusts from box and allow to come to room temperature. Place one crust in the bottom of a glass pie plate, and prick all over with a fork. Line pan with pie weights and bake crust for 12 minutes. Remove and set aside.

Meanwhile, cook broccoli, carrots, and leeks in a pan of boiling salted water until tender, about five minutes. Drain and set aside.

Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add flour. Cook and stir for five minutes. Gradually add the two cups of whole milk and the additional 1/4 c. milk, whisking constantly until mixture begins to thicken, about 7 minutes. Add in the Parmesan, the cooked chicken, the frozen peas, and the reserved vegetables. Stir to combine. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Pour filling into prepared pie shell.

To make a lattice-topped pie, follow the directions on Simply Recipes -- she has an amazing set of instructions and photos that show in gorgeous detail how to make the perfect lattice! Here's the link:

http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/005134how_to_make_a_lattice_top_for_a_pie_crust.php

See what I mean? Aren't those awesome instructions?!

Place pie on a cookie sheet and bake in the middle of the oven for 35-40 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Allow pie to rest for five minutes before 'slicing' (it won't really slice, it will probably mostly 'ooze') and serving in a shallow bowl.

I'm totally bummed about how these pictures turned out, by the way. I took some better ones in daylight this afternoon, then my husband came home and accidentally put them all on his computer! Shoot!!

Telluride Ski Weekend

I'm coming down from a long weekend high and feeling a little sad tonight! We're just back from skiing with our good friends Sarah and Robert and they're four kids. Their family is spending the schoolyear in Telluride and we went out for a four day visit. The best word to describe it is AWESOME! What a fabulous time. The snow was amazing and of course the skiing was incredible. And the views! Stunningly beautiful, is all I can say.

Sarah's a foodie too. We didn't really cook anything together, but we did have some amazing smoked salmon bagels one morning -- Sarah made them look so good we decided to shoot them with the mountains in the background. She spread onion bagels with cream cheese, then topped that with capers, mixed baby greens, the salmon, red onion, sea salt and ground pepper, then a squeeze of lemon juice. So yummy! After the bagels and a rocket fuel latte, we were off for the slopes.

Back to reality tomorrow....tonight I'm still enjoying my Rocky Mountain high!

Double Chocolate Biscotti & Lasagna Rolls

Man, it's cold here today. I mean, bone chilling cold -- I know I'm preachin' to the choir for you girls who live up here in the north land, but it's -15. FIFTEEN BELOW ZERO!! The wind is howling, and the day's only saving grace is that the sun is shining brightly. I can handle this weather long in to April as long as the sun continues to show her face on a regular basis!

Today I made two GREAT recipes. I'm showing pictures of both, even though neither of them photographed all that well; you'll just have to take my word for it! This lasagna recipe is simple and delicious, and tastes like it was SO much more work than it was. Usually, I make Giada's basic marinara but today, I have to admit, I punted and used Rao's Marinara. This sauce has had incredible reviews and believe me, it ain't cheap. A 4c. jar was 9.89! Criminy! But, between the tomatoes and fresh basil Giada's calls for, the cost was probably comparable. Anyway, there are two sauces in this recipe -- a bechamel, and the aforementioned marinara, which make it so rich and decadent! I love it!

The biscotti are amazing, especially since I used Valrohna cocoa. Wow. It's worth it to use the best quality cocoa you can afford. I hope you guys try these recipes -- they're perfect for a cold winter day.

Lasagna Rolls with Two Sauces
Source: http://www.foodtv.com
Serves: 6

2 T. butter
4 t. flour
1 1/4 whole milk
1/4 t. salt
1/8 t. freshly ground pepper
pinch of nutmeg

1 15-oz. container whole milk ricotta
1 10-oz. box frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
1 c. plus 2 T. grated Parmesan
1 large egg, lightly beaten
3/4 t. salt, plus more for pasta
1/2 t. freshly ground pepper
12 dried lasagna noodles
butter, for baking dish
2 c. Giada's Quick Marinara (or good quality purchased sauce)
1 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Melt the butter in a medium heavy saucepan over medium low heat. Add the flour and cook for 3 minutes, whisking constantly. Whisk in the milk. Increase the heat to medium-high. Whisk the sauce until it comes to a simmer and is thick and smooth, about 3 minutes. Whisk the salt, pepper, and nutmeg into the cream sauce.

In a medium bowl, stir together the ricotta, spinach, 1 cup of the Parmesan cheese, the egg, 3/4 t. salt, and the pepper until blended.

Bring a very large pot of salted water to boil over high heat. Add the lasagna noodles and cook until just tender but still firm to the bite, stirring frequently to prevent the noodles from sticking together. Drain. Arrange noodles in a single layer on a cookie sheet sprayed with cooking spray.

Preheat oven to 450. Butter a 9 x 13" glass baking dish. Spread the bechamel sauce over the bottom of the prepared pan.

Spread 3 T. of the spinach filling evenly over each lasagna noodle. Roll the noodles up and arrange the rolls, seam side down and not touching one another, atop the bechamel sauce. Repeat with the remaining noodles and ricotta mixture. Spoon 1 cup of the marinara sauce over the lasagna rolls, then sprinkle with the mozzarella and remaining 2 T. Parmesan cheese. Cover the dish tightly with foil. Bake until the rolls are heated through and the sauce bubbles, about 20 minutes. Uncover and bake until cheese on top is golden, about 15 minutes longer. Let stand 10 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining marinara sauce in a small, heavy saucepan until hot. Transfer the sauce to a sauce boat and serve alongside.

Double Chocolate Biscotti
Source: http://www.epicurious.com
Makes 30 Biscotti

1 3/4 c. flour

1/3 c. cocoa powder

2 t. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

1 c. sugar

6 T. butter, room temperature

3 large eggs

1 1/2 t. vanilla

8 oz. semisweet chocolate chips

Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper. Sift flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt into a medium bowl.

Using an electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in a large bowl to blend. Beat in eggs one at a time, then vanilla. Beat in flour mixture. Stir in semisweet chips. Drop dough by heaping tablespoonfuls onto prepared sheet in two 10 - 11" long strips, spacing 3" apart. Using metal spatula or wet fingertips, shape strips into 11 x 2 1/2 " logs. Refrigerate 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350. Bake logs until tops are cracked and dry and tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 25 minutes. Cool 10 minutes.

Reduce oven temperature to 325. Using parchment as an aid, transfer logs to a clean work surface. Re-line cookie sheet with clean parchment. Using serrated knife, gently cut warm logs crosswise into 3/4" slices. Arrange sliced cookies on prepared baking sheet. Bake biscotti until just dry to the touch, about 8 minutes. Turn biscotti over. Bake until top is dry to the touch, about another 8 minutes. Cool on baking sheets.

Shrimp Quesadillas and the Packers

It's a big day for football up here in Wisconsin .... but you couldn't pay me enough to sit outside at Lambeau Field tonight! It's -25 with the windchill, for gravy's sake. So the DamFam is hanging out at home enjoying a fire and football from the comfort of our family room.

Here's what we're munching on while we wait for our chili to finish cooking. I found this recipe on Simplyrecipes.com, I just love that site! I made these a couple of weeks back when I was asked to bring an appetizer to a neighborhood get together, and they were gone in a flash.

One note: the original recipe calls for sliced avocado as a garnish, but our grocery store's avocados were hard as rocks. Today I'm using fresh guac' from the deli instead.

Shrimp Quesadillas
Serves 2
Source http://www.simplyrecipes.com/

1/2 lb. large shrimp, cooked, peeled, and deveined
the juice of one lime
2 scallions, minced
a hefty pinch of minced cilantro
1 jalapeno, minced (seeded and deveined if you can't take the heat)
1/4 t. chipotle chili powder (I added this, it's not on the original recipe)
Shredded Queso Quesadilla (a semi-soft Mexican melting cheese)
2 or 3 Flour tortillas
Sliced avocado or guacamole
Sour cream & additional cilantro sprigs for garnish

Chop the shrimp into bite sized pieces. In a medium glass mixing bowl, combine the lime juice, scallions, cilantro, jalapeno, and chipotle chili powder. Toss shrimp in lime mixture and season with salt and pepper. Set aside to marinate for 20-30 minutes. Drain off lime juice.

Heat a grill pan or skillet over medium high heat. Spray one side of flour tortilla with cooking spray and set spray side down on a cutting board. Top one half with some shredded cheddar, then some of the shrimp mixture, the a bit more cheddar. Fold over and set aside. Repeat with another tortilla. Place both quesadillas in the grill pan and cover partially with a lid. Toast until golden and cheese is melting, then flip and repeat on the other side. Remove to cutting board and allow to rest for a minute or two. Cut into wedges and place on serving platter. Garnish with sliced avocado, a spoonful of sour cream, and cilantro sprigs.

Garlic Roasted Potatoes

I made these potatoes earlier in the week to go along with pork tenderloin. The tenderloin, although yummy, turned out to be uh, how shall I say? Non-photogenic. The potatoes were picture worthy though, so here they are. (Dad, if you're reading this, I just want to point out the extra 'green stuff' I added for your benefit!) This is one of my favorite go-to side dishes. Here's the recipe:

Garlic Roasted Potatoes
Source: Barefoot Contessa Parties!
Serves 8

3 lbs. small red or white skinned potatoes (or a mixture)
1/4 c. good olive oil
1 1/2 t. sea salt
1 t. freshly ground black pepper
2 T. minced garlic (about 6 cloves)
2 T. minced fresh parsley

Preheat the oven to 400.

Cut the potatoes in half or quarters and place in a bowl with the olive oil, salt, pepper, and garlic; toss until the potatoes are well coated. Dump the potatoes on a baking sheet and spread them out into one layer; roast in the oven for at least 1 hour, or until browned and crisp. Flip twice with a spatula during cooking to ensure even browning.

Remove the potatoes from the oven, toss with the minced parsley, season to taste, and serve.