Steamed Artichokes with Blender Hollandaise Sauce

This has to be one of my favorite foods. It is the 2nd favorite food of my Princess - right behind tomatoes, my kids love tomatoes!
  Steamed artichokes are a cinch to make, and the only reason why we don't have them more often is because they are on the pricier side. I picked these ones up from Costco for a little over $1.20 a piece. The hubby has been asking to have some, so I decided to splurge. :)
  Whenever we eat artichokes the hubby quotes his dad and says, "I wonder what the po' folks are havin' tonight." It always makes the kids laugh. :)

Here's how you get started:
  Fill a large pot (preferably one with a steamer basket) with 2 inches of water, a little salt, 1 lemon (cut into pieces and squeezed) and 1 bay leaf. Put the pot on the stove over high heat, so it came come to a boil.

While the water is getting hot, trim the artichokes. Just peel off the two bottom layers of leaves at the base of each artichoke. There's not much "meat" on these leaves, so they just get in the way.

Then, using a pairing knife, trim the ends off of each artichoke (1/2 inch to 1 inch) and then trim the woody outside off from the stem. Go from the base of the artichoke down to the end.

When it's all trimmed you'll see the lighter inside portion of the stem. This tender goodness can be enjoyed along with the heart of the artichoke. (The best part.)

Place the artichokes into a colander (I just use the streamer basket that fits the pot I have on the stove. -Saves dishes.)

Rinse the artichokes thoroughly to get off any dirt.

Place the artichokes, in the steamer basket. into the pot of boiling water on the stove. The artichokes should not be touching the water. Put the lid on the pot and turn the heat down to low. Steam the artichokes for about 20 minutes.

While the artichokes are cooking you can make the Hollandaise sauce. You can go the traditional route and make it in a double boiler on the stove, but ever since I discovered the blender method when I was in high-school I have never looked back! It's literally done in less than 3 minutes! Place 3 egg yolks and the juice of a lemon (1 Tbsp is traditional, but I like the tang of 2 Tbsp) into a blender. (Hot sauce and salt are optional)

Put the lid on and turn the blender on. Remove the center portion of the lid and slowly drizzle in the HOT melted butter. The butter is essentially cooking the egg yolks, but you don't want scrambled eggs so go slowly!

Run the blender for a minute or two longer to make sure everything is emulsified. It will look like this when it's done.

Pour it out into a dish and it's ready to be poured over Eggs Benedict, or some steamed veggie of choice. Tonight it's artichokes!

After about 20 minutes the artichokes should be ready. The leaves will have opened up like this:

And you should be able to pierce the bottom of the artichokes easily with a knife.

Serve them up with the sauce you just made and voila! A meal fit for a king - or a house full of kids in my case. :)

Here's the recipe:

Steamed Artichokes  (They don't really have a recipe, just a list of ingredients: The same method is used to make any number of artichokes. It can make only one -although why would anyone want to make only one? Or it can do 8 like I did tonight.)

Artichokes
Water
Salt
1 Lemon cut and squeezed
1 bay leaf

Take of the bottom two layers of leaves from each artichoke. Trim the stems and cut off the ends (about 1 inch). Rinse the artichokes thoroughly to remove any dirt. Fill a large pot with about 2 inches of water, about 1 to 2 tsp of salt (I just pour some in), the lemon and bay leaf. Bring water to a boil and turn down to low. Place the artichokes into a steamer basket and place into the pot of simmering water. Put a lid on and steam the artichokes for 20 minutes - until the leaves are open and you can pierce the bottom easily with a knife. Serve warm with Hollandaise sauce.

Blender Hollandaise Sauce
adapted from Betty Crocker Cook Book

3 egg yolks
1-2 Tbsp of lemon juice (to taste)
1 stick (1/2 cup) of salted butter, melted and HOT
a few dashes of hot sauce (optional)

Place the egg yolks and lemon juice into a blender. Put the lid on and start the blender. Take the center portion of the lid out and slowly drizzle in the HOT butter while the blender is running. Be careful not to let it splatter back on you. Run the blender for a minute or two to make sure everything is fully emulsified.  Serve warm or at room temperature.  

Almond Shortbread Thumbprint Cookies

photo from Land-O-Lakes.com

My mother in law made these the other night and raved about how good they were. She didn't have any jam, so she just cut up some fresh strawberries and mixed them with a little sugar for the filling. If I had any fresh strawberries on hand I would have tried it her way, because it sounds heavenly. As it was, I used my mom's homemade plum jam (made from the plums off her tree) and my homemade blueberry preserves. They are outstanding, and completely addictive. Seriously, if you don't want to eat the whole batch by the end of the day you better give them away or have someone hide them for you. (Hiding them myself never seems to work, because I always go and dig them out of their hiding place anyway.)

As you can see, mine are no where near as pretty as the professionally done ones pictured above. But I know they tasted just as good!

  This was a late night craving (hence the dark photos) and a last minute whim, so I don't have any step by step instructions. But I didn't want to let another day go by without sharing them with you. These are wonderfully crisp, flaky and deceptively light in texture. The jam or fruit filling gives a nice sweetness and tang that perfectly offsets the buttery cookie. The almond glaze puts the cookie over the top. If you've never had a shortbread thumbprint cookie you should definitely try these!

Here's the recipe:
from Land-O-Lakes.com: Rasberry Almond Shortbread Thumbprint Cookies

(Raspberry) Almond Shortbread Thumbprint Cookies

1 cup salted softened

2/3 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup toasted nuts (walnuts or pecans work best), chopped finely (optional)

1/2 to 1/3 cup jam (or fresh fruit minced with a little sugar)

Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar 
2 to 3 teaspoons water

1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract

Combine softened butter, sugar and 1/2 teaspoon almond extract in large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add flour (and nuts if using); beat at low speed, scraping bowl often, until well mixed. Cover; refrigerate at least 1 hour or until firm. (I didn't do this because my batter was already pretty firm. It will depend on how soft your butter was.)
Heat oven to 350°F. Shape dough into 1-inch balls. (I used my smallest scoop - about 1 1/4 inch across). Place 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Make indentation in center of each cookie with thumb (edges may crack slightly). Fill each indentation with about 1/4 teaspoon jam. (My bigger cookies took 1/2 tsp of jam.) Bake 14 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. (Mine only took 12 minutes, so keep an eye on them!) Let stand 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to cooling rack. Cool completely.
Combine all glaze ingredients in small bowl with wire whisk until smooth. Drizzle over cookies. 

Makes 34-42 cookies depending on size. (Original recipe says 42, but I only got 34.)

Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

I had a craving last night. A cookie craving. Which isn't so unusual for me, but the type of cookie gave me pause. Oatmeal Raisin. I have never liked Oatmeal Raisin cookies. They are usually cake-y, and cooked raisins are among my least favorite things. But, nonetheless, I had a craving. And what does a dessert junky with no will power like me do? Fulfill the craving of course.
  Earlier that day I had watched a re-run of Paula's Home Cooking and she had made some "after school snacks" including these cookies. (That's probably where the craving started.) Any-who I looked up the recipe and started my late night baking (hence the bad lighting in the step by step photos). I tweaked it a little, but not much.
   While I was baking the cookies I remembered that I needed to bring the dessert for the PTO meeting today so I decided to bake the whole batch (instead of freeze most of it as per usual), and also to make big cookies (about 4  1/2 inches across instead of the usual 2 1/2 inches).
   When these cookies were done I was ever so grateful that I had the crazy craving. They hit the spot perfectly. They are my favorite texture - chewy. They are lightly spiced with cinnamon and just a sprinkling of the usually offending raisins. They were a huge success at the meeting and with the guys at the fire station (I couldn't leave them around the house, I would eat them all for sure.) The six that I had were divine, and if I hadn't wisely given the rest away I would have finished them off myself. I'm definitely keeping this recipe and making it again and again - whenever I get the insane notion to bake Oatmeal Raisin Cookies again, that is. :)
Here's how I made them:
The butter (2 sticks) and the sugars (1 cup brown and 1/2 cup white) went into the bowl of my stand mixer.

After the butter and sugars become one, I added two eggs.

While the mixer was running, I then added 1 tsp salt

a rounded tsp of cinnamon (maybe 1 1/8 tsp)

1 tsp baking soda

and 2 tsp of vanilla.

I scraped down the bowl, and continued to mix again. I was doing other things while making these cookies so the mixer was probably running for 5-10 minutes with all the a fore mentioned ingredients.

I forgot to mention this earlier, but I put some raisins (3/4 cup) in a bowl with some hot water, and let them soak.

While the mixer was running, I put 1 1/4 of pecans into a dry pan to toast over medium heat on the stove. They are done toasting when the nuts are hot and you can smell them. Stir them frequently and don't let them burn!

Back to the mixer - I added 1 1/2 cups of flour to the mixer, while it mixed on low. (Adding only 1/4 cup at a time so as to not completely cover myself and the kitchen in airborne flour.)

Once all the flour was incorporated, I scraped down the bowl again.

I drained the raisins,

and added them to the cookie dough.

Then I roughly chopped the toasted pecans,

and added them to the dough as well.

Last, but certainly not least, I turned the mixer on and added 2 cups of rolled oats. (I only ever use the old fashioned kind.) Again, only 1/4 cup at a time.

When everything was mixed well, it looked like this. (I scraped down the bowl one last time.)

I used my "big" scoop this time (big to me, medium to everyone else). It's probably 2 inches across. Make sure to line your cookie sheet with parchment paper or a silpat. And give them plenty of room to spread. 3 inches apart is best.

After 10 minutes in a 350F oven they came out looking like this:

On the next bach I thought I would try baking them for 9 minutes and see how they turned out. This was them. They are a little under done in the center, and brown around the edges. Strangely enough, though, they cooled just as flat and dark as the first batch. And I couldn't tell much of a textural difference between the two.

This is the whole batch (minus the handfuls I ate while making them, and the couple the hubby had).

Looking at these pictures makes me want some. I wish I didn't give the rest away. . . oh well. Guess I better make some more. :)
Here's the recipe:
adapted from  Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

1 1/4 cup pecans, toasted and chopped
3/4 cup to 1 cup raisins (to taste)
2 sticks butter, at room temperature
1 cup packed dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tsps vanilla extract
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp salt
2 cups old-fashion rolled oats, uncooked

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat.
Add 1/2 cup hot water to the raisins. Allow the raisins to sit on the counter for about 10 minutes. Drain the raisins and set aside.  In the bowl of a stand mixer, combine the butter and the sugars and beat until very creamy. Add the eggs, and beat again until mixed. Keep the mixer running and add the vanilla extract, salt, cinnamon, and baking soda.  With the mixer on low, add the flour 1/4 cup at a time until fully incorporated. Scrape down the sides. Add the raisins and pecans. Mix on low again and add the oats until fully combined. Scoop out about 2 inch scoops of batter onto the prepared baking sheet. Leave plenty of room for the cookies to spread. Bake until the cookies are cooked in the middle, about 10 minutes. Remove the cookies from the oven. Cool on the baking sheet for about 3 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cool completely. Store in an air tight container.

Spinach and Chicken Soup

Yesterday I went to Costco and bought a Rotisserie Chicken to use for dinner, because I hadn't gotten anything together for that night yet. So, I took it home and took all the meat off the bones to use for another meal or two and then I put the bones into a big pot, covered it with veggies herbs and spices and made my Homemade Chicken Stock. After draining the stock, I had enough for two soups (about 16 cups). The day was getting away from me, so instead of using the chicken I had previously reserved for dinner I decided that tonight we would have soup. I already had the piping hot stock and the chicken that I separated from the boiled bones. It was a fantastic idea, because it only took about 15 minutes total to whip up and it's now one of my favorite soups!
   I also bought a huge bag of spinach from Costco (like I often do), so that I can put spinach into anything and everything. It's a great way to work more vitamins and minerals into my families diet. So, I was thinking I would try my hand at a Spinach Soup. The last time I was at Win-Co I picked up a new kind of pasta. (I like to do this from time to time to break up the monotony of having the same shapes all the time.) The pasta is Ancini Di Pepe - little balls. I thought this soup would be the perfect time to try this new pasta.
   So I put half of my hot stock into a soup pot and got started. I turned the burner over medium heat to keep the stock boiling. Then I added some carrots, celery and onion. Then I washed and chopped two big bunches of spinach and added that to the pot. With a little thyme, salt and pepper it was tasting really good. Last but not least, I added about 2/3 cup of the pasta and let it boil away for about 10 minutes (until the pasta was tender). Dinner was served. With the addition of the homemade bread I had made the day before it was an awesome meal!
   Every once and a while I just have to pat myself on the back. ;) The trick is to have a really flavorful stock. Then all the rest are just accessories.
The picture above is my husband's bowl at the table. This is my bowl in the kitchen (hence the different sizes and lighting). I wanted you to see all the deliciousness that is this soup. It really is a new favorite of mine. I would have it over Chicken Noodle any day. 

I did my best to recreate the recipe from memory (since I didn't document it as I went along). This soup is too good not to share. I know you'll like it to!

Here's the recipe:

Spinach and Chicken Soup

8 cups homemade chicken stock
2 large carrots, diced
1/2 large onion, diced
3 small ribs of celery, diced
2 large bunches of spinach (about a lb) washed and chopped (you could substitute one package of frozen defrosted spinach)
2/3 cup Acini Di Pepe dry pasta
seasoned salt and freshly ground black pepper (to taste)
1 tsp dry thyme
1/4 tsp freshly ground nutmeg (optional)

Bring stock up to a boil and add all the other ingredients, except for the pasta. Cook over medium low heat (still boiling) for 5 minutes. Add the pasta and continue to boil for another 10 minutes, until the pasta is tender. Serve hot.

Spinach Artichoke Bread

I made this a few weeks back when I had used up all my pita chips for my Spinach Artichoke Dip, and still had a little dip left over.
  My husband really likes the Artichoke Bread that his Aunt Betsy makes, so I thought I would see how he liked the dip baked on top of my No-Knead French Bread. It was a complete success and now his preferred way of having the dip.
   There's no real recipe here, just smear the dip onto the bread and place in a baking dish.

Top with a little extra cheese and bake @ 350F for 10 minutes and broil for another 5 minutes until everything is brown, hot and crusty.

I hope you try it at home too, and let me know what you think!

Here's the "recipe"

French Bread
Spinach Artichoke Dip
Mozzarella cheese, shredded
Parmesan cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 350F. Spread the dip onto the halved bread (cut side only) and place onto a cookie sheet or in a baking dish. Bake for 10 minutes and then broil for 5 minutes until everything is hot and browned on top. Serve hot.

Spinach Artichoke Dip

I'm sure a lot of you already know how easy it is to make your own Spinach Artichoke Dip, but it is relatively new for me. A few months ago I ran out of the Jalapeno Artichoke dip that I had purchased @ Costco, but I still had quite a bit of pita chips left over. I decided I would look on the container of dip to see what the ingredients were and I had all of them in my fridge or pantry already. I substituted spinach for the jalapenos and that was it.  It took me all of 5 minutes to put together (and other 10 to eat most of it by myself.)
  It's a dip served great room temperature or even topped with more cheese and baked until bubbly. It's terrific with chips, crackers or bread. It's really so simple I feel silly for not making it at home earlier. Now you get the benefit from my epiphany. :)

Here's how it starts.
You'll need to squeeze the water out of the spinach. (Whether it's canned, frozen and defrosted, or freshly sauteed.) Spinach has a lot of water in it and it will make the dip runny if you don't drain the water out now. I just put the spinach in a paper towel and squeeze it over the sink.

When the spinach is all drained, put it into a medium bowl.

Then open a can of artichoke hearts. Quartered will make you life easier, but if they are whole, just cut them into quarters yourself. Drain all the liquid and set these aside.

To the spinach, add a block and 1/2 of cream cheese. Yes it's a lot, but this is not a single serving here. It will feed a crowd if you are willing to part with it and share it with others.

Then add a little mayonnaise.

And a little sour cream.

Next comes the salt,

pepper,

granulated garlic (I like this instead of the fresh stuff here, because it distributes better in the mix and I don't like eating raw garlic.), and granulated onion.

Mix everything together and add the quartered and drained artichoke hearts.

I also add a little Mozzarella cheese for texture. If I were to bake this, I would add more on top before baking. Also add a little Parmesan Cheese (or Romano if that's all you have).

Mix everything together and there you have it: For me, I also like to add some red pepper flakes but that's completely optional.

Just grab something to dip and go to town. Mmm. So good!

Here's the recipe:
(These ingredients are all pretty much to taste. If you like more spinach, add more. If you like less garlic add less. This recipe is completely adjustable to suit your tastes. Play around with it and make it the way you would like!)

 Spinach Artichoke Dip

12 oz cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup spinach (frozen, defrosted, and drained)
1 can artichoke hearts, quartered
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp granulated onion
1/2 tsp granulated garlic
1 cup shredded Mozzarella cheese
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
red pepper flake (optional - to taste)
    
Combine all ingredients thoroughly and enjoy. It's best after it sets for at least an hour to let all the flavors meld, but I usually can't wait that long. If you are going to serve this hot, just put it into an 8x8 baking dish, top with more Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese and bake @ 350 for 15-20 minutes, or until hot and bubbly. Serve with veggies, pita chips, crackers or bread. Serves 2-12 depending on how hungry you all are. :) 
  Or, you could smear it on a loaf of French Bread and make Spinach Artichoke Bread. (The hubby's preferred method of enjoying this.)