Top 15 Recipes of 2010

I have been a worthless human being today.

I still haven't changed out of my pajamas, and my back hurts from lying on the couch for so long.  I'd love to be able to say that I'm sick (even though I don't actually want to be sick) or that I have some other good reason for being such a disgusting fatbody today, but I don't.  Just laziness.

What makes it even worse is that today is Matt's super long day at work, and my laziness draws a stark contrast to his grueling day.  If I were Matt, I'd be hating me right now. 

Maybe I'll bake him cookies. 

Or pour him a glass of bourbon when he walks in the door.

(Sorry, we're the last two people on the planet to get into Mad Men, and we've been watching several episodes a night.  Boy, that Don sure is dapper!)

Anyway, one of the only things I have done today (other than watch 16 and Pregnant on On Demand--which is much more base than just watching it when it comes on tv.  I had to seek out 16 and Pregnant to watch it, and I did, and that makes me a horrible person.) is read other people's blogs, and many of them have been doing these "best of 2010" things.  I actually kind of hate those posts, but I kind of love them, too. 

So, I've gone back and forth about whether I should do one, but now since I can basically either do this post or get off my ass and get on the elliptical machine, I'm going to do the post.  Ellipting is hard.

Okay, so these are my fifteen favorite new recipes from 2010. 

First up, appetizers.  My favorite appetizers from 2010 are: (click on the link to get the recipe)

Redipulous!  This stuff is stupid good, and I'm almost afraid to make it because it's so good and I would eat all of it by myself.  I think I'm going to try to make a healthier version so that I can eat the whole thing by myself and not feel as guilty.

Bacon Jam.  I know I've gone on and on about this lately, but it really is just so good.  Just remember to follow the directions.  And eat it on some fancy bread.

Okay, now for some entrees.

P Cubed.  It's just wonderful.  Matt hates peas and this is still one of his favorite meals. And don't skip the lemon; you'll regret it.

Kung Pao Chicken.  It was always our favorite thing to order when we ate Chinese, and now we can make it at home!  So good, and actually not all that bad for you.

Smitten Kitchen's Chicken Meatballs.  I will make these until the day I die.  Also not terrible for you.  (Oh, and did you know that you can grind chicken in a food processor?  I didn't.  Cassie told me, and it's super fast and easy.)

Ginger Pork Stir Fry.  Mmmmmmmmm.  It seems like pork tenderloin is always on sale, and this stuff is crazy tasty.  Add vegetables to your liking.

Guinness Steak.  This one's a grilling recipe, so you may be waiting until spring or summer to make it, but it's delicious, and it's simple, and you get to drink the other three Guinness beers.  Win, win, win.  (I actually hate beer, so Matt gets to drink the beer.)

Pioneer Woman's Chicken Pineapple Quesadillas.  So good.  So good.  I--I just love them so much!

Bitten Word's Lemon Rosemary Chicken.  Mmmmmmmm.

And now for the desserts.  Last year was all about cupcakes for me.  This year I changed gears a little and went bananas for ice cream making.  There's still some baking, but it's mostly frozen treats.  Just go buy yourself an ice cream maker and be an ice cream making pen-pal with me already.

Mandy's Famous Pumpkin Cheesecake Ice Cream.  You'll just die, but in a good way.

Mandy's Famous Raspberry Sorbet.  It's the best, and it's beautiful, and it's good for you.

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes from Annie's Eats.  My favorite vanilla cupcake.  Also Mitch's favorite vanilla cupcake.

Blackberry Pie Bars.  (Or cherry, or raspberry, or whatever fruit you'd like.)  It's Cheryl from Back in the Day Bakery's recipe, so you know they're delicious.  Make them to share, and people will love you.

Banana Puddin' Ice Cream.  Goes over very well with Southerners.  Use twice as many Nilla Wafers.  Mmmmmmmm.

And, finally, Thomas Jefferson's Vanilla Ice Cream.  TJ's just good at everything, wasn't he?  This ice cream has the best texture, and rich flavor.  It's a little bit of a labor of love, but it's worth it.

So, there you have it.  That took way more time than I thought it would, and now I must peel my body off of this couch before I order myself a pair of pajama jeans.  (They're the hot new fashion sensation, you know.)

Cinnamon Glazed Almonds

Something I like to do is to take something that's healthy, and then to add massive amounts of butter and sugar and salt to it and make it unhealthy.  Pumpkin cheesecake ice cream?  Cooking Light's recipe for spinach dip?  Strawberry cupcakes?

Yeah, it's quite a talent.  Today I made almonds decidedly unhealthy.  Unhealthy and delicious.

I go bananas for candied nuts.  The first time I had these cinnamon glazed almonds, I was fourteen years old, and I was in Disney World with Tanya and her family celebrating her birthday.  The trip was super fun, and we ate like kings, but for some reason, the part that has stuck out in my mind was toward the end of the trip (about one hour before we started watching Scrooged in their conversion van.  I loved that van.  It had a TV and VCR way back in the mid '90s, and the back seat would recline to be something like a queen-sized bed.  I could have lived in the van--down by the river!).  Anyway, we were leaving the park, about to head home, when Tanya's dad bought a little cone-shaped paper container holding glazed almonds.  He shared a few with me, and all I can remember about that was how I wanted to devour the entire thing.  But that would have been really weird and I was a teenager who, at least sometimes, wanted to be liked.

Since that time, I've found it nearly impossible to resist cinnamon glazed almonds when at a theme park, or at the movie theater by our house (isn't that a crazy thing for a movie theater to sell?), or at the mall.  The mall's the worst, because there's usually some sour-faced teen standing outside the Nutty Bavarian stand with a tray of samples.  I always take a sample, and if Matt's with me I'll make him take one, too, even though he doesn't even like cinnamon glazed almonds.  (PS--Later we'll do a post on why Matt's such a weirdo.)  I'll also occasionally take off my jacket or attempt to alter my appearance in some way so that I can walk back by and take a second sample. 

Well, that was enough rambling.  I love these nuts and have for a long time.  (That would've been a lot more concise, huh?)

These is basically the same recipe I used for the candied pecans in the Pecan Praline Ice Cream.  It's simple and easy.  These almonds would also make for a cute homemade Christmas gift.

Have at it, ladies and gentlemen!

Cinnamon Glazed Almonds

Ingredients

2 pounds roasted almonds (I used salted, but you could also use unsalted)

1 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons kosher salt

2 tablespoons cinnamon

2 egg whites

splash water

Directions

1.  Mix egg whites and water until frothy.  In a separate bowl, combine sugars, salt, and cinnamon.

2.  Stir in almonds, making sure that they are coated with the egg whites.

3.  Add the sugar mixture and stir until almonds are completely coated.

4.  Spread almonds in a single layer on two baking sheets, and bake at 250 for one hour, turning every 15 minutes. 

Chewy Caramel Popcorn and Pretzel Bars

I just have a few things to mention about this recipe.  First, it is featured in the current issue of my friend Martha's Everyday Food, which you should probably subscribe to.  Second, I added Reese's Pieces, because, in my opinion, Reese's Pieces make everything better.  Third, I was a little "meh" about them, but then found that I couldn't stop eating them, so I guess I was a more "mmmmm!" than "meh."  When I took them to school to have my coworkers and students finish them off, they were all "mmmmmmmmm!"

So, anyway, here goes it.

Chewy Caramel Popcorn and Pretzel Bars (from Martha Stewart's Everyday Food, October 2010)

Ingredients
Nonstick cooking spray
12 cups plain popped popcorn (from 1/2 cup kernals or 2 microwave packages)
4 cups coarsely chopped small salted pretzels

2 cups sugar

coarse salt

2/3 cup heavy cream

2 cups miniature marshmallows

Directions

1. Coat a 9 x 13" baking dish with cooking spray.  In a large bowl, toss together popcorn and pretzels.  In a medium saucepan, bring sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 cup water to a boil over medium high.  Boil, undisturbed, until mixture is amber in color--8-12 minutes.  Remove pan from heat and slowly pour in cream (mixture will sputter).  Immediately add marshmallows; stir until melted.

2. Pour caramel mixture over popcorn and pretzels and quickly stir with a rubber spatula to coat.  Transfer mixture to dish and use a piece of plastic wrap coated with cooking spray to press evenly into dish.  Sprinkle with coarse salt if desired.  Let cool completely before cutting into bars.

**Note: I made half with Reese's Pieces and half without.  People overwhelmingly preferred the Reese's Pieces variety.

Baking Classes and New Best Friends

So, I got to meet one of my baking idols--Ms. Cheryl Day, the owner of Back in the Day Bakery--tonight at the baking class I told you about earlier.  And not only did I get to meet her, but she fed me dinner.  And by dinner I mean four desserts.  And they were all amazing.  And she's so nice.  And I got to sit in the very front row because I was an hour early because I was afraid of being late and because last night I was having dreams about the baking class and about how Cheryl and I would begin our life-long friendship (or "rest of our lives friendship") on this night.

It was kind of like how Romeo had that dream that the events on the night of the party would ultimately lead to his death, except that it was the opposite. 

[source]*

I mean, it was pretty much amazing, and Cheryl and I are pretty much best friends forever now, even if she doesn't know that.

And even though I didn't think I'd probably learn all that much--I mean, I already know how to bake--I learned a whole lot about butter and eggs and temperature and lumps and beating and other things that would probably bore most people, but that I was super excited to learn.

And Cheryl, my new best friend forever. . .well, she's kind of a badass. And so is her husband Griff.

Seriously, though, I just sat there starstruck.  I was so nervous at first and so intimidated by her awesomeness that I found myself sitting there at the table like I did when I went to foot-washing Baptist school--straight up, hands closed as if I was about to pray.

Pray for more of this chocolate cake, perhaps.

[source]

Or pray that Cheryl, who recently got herself a cookbook deal (a cookbook I can't wait to buy!), will let me be one of her recipe testers.  Pick me, Cheryl!  Pick me!

And now I need to go ellipt, because I ate four desserts for dinner.

*Even though I had taken my camera with me, I didn't take any pictures because I didn't want to be "that girl" with the big obnoxious camera.

My Favorite Cookie

Now, this is kind of a Sophie's Choice kind of thing.  I mean, cookies?  How can I decide which one is my all-time favorite?  Can't I go with current favorite?  Favorite strawberry cookie?  Favorite chocolate chip cookie?  There need to be subdivisions.  But there aren't.  And this, my friends, is my favorite cookie.  (PS--my wedding dress almost didn't fit because of cookies.  That tidbit should surprise nobody.)

It's Real Simple's recipe for Peanut Butter Cup Cookies.  And it's. . .so good that you'll eat 15 of them and then not fit into your wedding dress.  (Not entirely true; the culprit in the wedding dress saga was the Pepperidge Farm White Chocolate Macademia Nut cookie--a close second.)

Back in the fall, Carly put these up on her Facebook (which is, apparently, my complete inspiration for this blog), and I was in love.  I was all, "Hey, I subscribe to Real Simple!  Why didn't I see that recipe?"  Oh yeah, that was because I had a bout of narcolepsy whilst reading that particular issue, and then the magazine rested on the floor by my side of the bed for three weeks.  Shoooooooooooooooot.

Thank the good lord for Carly!

And here's why this recipe is so perfect (beside the fact that it's, well, perfect): we always have miniature Reese's cups.  Matt has the self control of Jesus (at least when it comes to Reese's cups), and for some reason I can refrain from shoving them into my mouth.  So we can keep them on hand at all times.  Matt will say, "I'm going to have a dessert," and he'll stroll into the kitchen and come back with ONE mini Reese's.  (Yeah, I kind of hate him, too.) 

AND, in a class that I've been taking all year, one that I haven't blogged about because I, at times, subscribe to the "If you don't have anything nice to say. . ." addage.  (Also because it's about my job, and I try not to shit talk it too much.  If you want to hear those juicy stories you'll need to phone me.)  Anyway, in my COMPLETELY AWESOME and NOT AT ALL STUPID class on how to teach gifted students, we were learning about how to use rubrics to assess student work.  Our REALLY SMART teacher had us learn rubrics by making a rubric for the perfect cookie.  Although this may seem like an activity that I would enjoy, I found it annoying, and a complete waste of time. Fortunately, I was in the "making the rubric" group and not in the "making the cookies" group.  But I did recommend this recipe to someone who had to make the cookies, and these cookies won the Golden Spatula award.  (Perhaps you're beginning to understand why I am so EXCITED TO GO TO THIS CLASS FOR THREE HOURS EVERY MONDAY NIGHT.)  Point is, these cookies won. 

And they won because they're f'ing delicious.

Are you ready for this tasty madness?

Also, you should know that this is some of the most delicious cookie batter on the planet.

Peanut Butter Cup Cookies (from Real Simple)
.Makes 48 cookies (or 16 if you're Mandy.  I like 'em bigger.)
Hands-On Time: 15m
Total Time: 40m


Ingredients
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 12-ounce package small peanut butter cups, coarsely chopped


Directions
1.Heat oven to 375° F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking soda, and salt.
2.Using an electric mixer, beat the butter and sugars until creamy. Add the egg and vanilla and beat to combine. Gradually add the flour mixture, mixing until just incorporated. Fold in the peanut butter cups.
3.Drop tablespoon-size mounds of dough 2 inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake until light brown around the edges, 12 to 15 minutes. Transfer to a baking rack to cool.

It's Wednesday!  Woop-woop!  (And somebody I know only has 22 more days of school. . .)

Pot Roast

My mom wasn't so much into the cooking.  She had us, and she worked, and we were picky, and it was a big hassle.  She had a rotation of about 4 dinners that we had regularly (one of which was Kraft macaroni and cheese with cut up hot dogs) and two dinners that we had when company came over.  I always thought that cooking was a chore, and it would be a long time before I'd realize how awesome it is.

It was so bad, in fact, that one time I was at the grocery store with my parents when I was a kid, and I grabbed about eight cans of Campbell's chicken noodle soup and threw them in the cart, telling them that I was planning to make a pot of soup.

I did attempt to spread my culinary wings during college, when my roommates and I would cook dinner at the house, something that usually included pre-cooked chicken breasts (that were $5 a piece!), cheese, and tortilla chips.  And we were so proud!

And then when we moved to Savannah, Christina gave me a cookbook for Christmas, and it piqued my interest in cooking.  "I made this!" I'd exclaim after adding bacon to all manner of dishes.  "And it tastes good!"  It was around that time that we discovered Tums.  But it was a good first step.

In the last few years, our cooking skills have improved tremendously.  Not amazing, of course, but capable.  And we're always getting better and we're excited to try new recipes. Most of the things we make regularly, though, are incredibly simple.

I've resisted posting some of our more simple meals here because I feel like they're just common sense.  But, you know, they weren't common sense to the Mandy and Matt of three years ago, and they might not be common sense to everyone.  So we're going to bring out one of our favorite old-timey and not so good for you meals: pot roast.  (I ellipted for an hour tonight while watching the premieres of The Hills and The City, and now all I want is a big bowl of pot roast.  AN HOUR!)

There's a good chance that you already make pot roast and have a recipe that you love, but just in case, here's ours.  It's not fancy.  It's not hard.  But it is delicious.

Matt and Mandy's Favorite Pot Roast

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons olive oil
2 1/2-3 pounds chuck roast
1 cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce (we just use spaghetti sauce--seriously, not classy)
1 cup red wine (or more if you want)
Kosher salt
Black pepper
Potatoes (we usually do about 6 gold potatoes)
Baby carrots (a small bag)
Crushed red pepper to taste (we're usually pretty generous here)

Directions

1.  Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium heat.  Add beef.  Brown on all sides.  Remove roast and set on a plate or sheet of foil.

2.  Saute onions and garlic in Dutch oven until tender.  Add tomato sauce and wine.  Stir to blend.  Return beef to pot.  Add salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper.  Reduce to low heat.  Cover and simmer for 1 1/2 hours. 

3.  Add potatoes and carrots.  Cover and continue cooking for 1 hour or until vegetables are tender.

This pot roast is a little more beef stewy than others, and makes for some of the best leftovers around.

If I get started right now I can satisfy my current craving by 3 a.m. 

Do you have a favorite pot roast recipe?  What is it?

The Opposite of Jamie Oliver

Thanks, Hugh and Cassie, for showing us this gem.

(Not suitable for work or for small children, or for you, Chloe.)



I wanna eat!

Monday Already?

Why is it that Mondays and Tuesdays never seem to jet by the way that Saturdays and Sundays do?

Hope your weekend was great. Ours was relaxing and delicious. We ate bolognese Friday (and Saturday, and Sunday) and fajitas, both of which I'd highly recommend. And, somehow, neither are all that bad for you, which is nice.

Here are some random musings to take your mind off of actual important things:

1. Pioneer Woman's Dog Photos contest. You can either check out the Flickr page and thumb through 35,o00 pictures, or look at her selections. Here are just a few to wet your nose.

The pictures are gorgeous and capture everything that's wonderful about dogs. (They also make me want to pull out every dime we have in savings and blow it all on a new camera and some photo skills.) I guess it's time for me to implant more puppy embryos into my uterus. Maybe I can just sell my story, "THE WOMAN WHO BIRTHED PUPPIES," to the media, and then use that money to buy a new camera.

2. I love love love the fat rubber bands that come on broccoli. They're the BEST for holding together stacks of index cards. Nothing's more annoying than a crappy rubber band.

3. The Olympics and, more specifically, hockey. I'm not really into sports or the Olympics or anything, but Jordan and I did watch D2: The Mighty Ducks about one thousand times during the 1990's. We basically alternated between that and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2: The Secret of the Ooze. Oh, the good old days before Netflix and the internet and OnDemand. Anyway, all of my hockey-related knowledge comes from D2, so today while Matt watched the USA v. Canada, I lounged on the couch playing solitaire on my phone and yelling at the tv: "DO THE FLYING V! YOU'VE GOTTA DO THE FLYING V!" And then Matt said that the Flying V was stupid, and then I divorced him. Yeah, who knows more about hockey? Matt? Or Emilio Estevez? The Ducks did win the Junior Olympics, after all. Stupid Matt.

4. Matt's Amazing Race cowboy team is growing on me, but it does seem like the game is fixed. Make it a little more obvious that you want Jet and Cord to win, why don't you, Amazing Race Producers? A lasso throwing Road Block? Come on!

5. I've been on a healthy eating/exercising regularly kick lately. I've been using Daily Plate to monitor calorie intake, and ellipting regularly. I love it for many reasons (the sleep, the feeling good, having more energy, remembering that I actually do like healthy food, finding my self control again), but I can't stop fantasizing about baked goods. Last week I was so haunted by the Girl Scout Samoas in the refrigerator that I finally just succumbed, shoving ten cookies in my mouth. And I've spent more time thinking about how to make the perfect Trix cereal cupcake than I've spent thinking about anything else in my life. Pathetic. How much is liposuction?

6. Undercover Celebrity Boss. Thanks, SNL. I especially like Martha Stewart.

Talk to the Moose?

Every now and again, something will happen that will make me want to have kids. This is one of them.

I especially like the little girl who screams and, what, vibrates?, at second 20. I like to think that that was just a candid crazy kid moment and was not staged.

Also, what's with the talk to the moose part? Am I missing something?

Hopefully this song is in your head for the next 100 hours just like it's been in mine.

I love my comfy sweater! I love my comfy sweater. . .

(This post is one of the ways that I have avoided tonight's actual purpose: Operation Eliminate Clutter. I also went Mitchmas shopping but only bought things for myself, attended a Mitchmas party that I was not invited to, and stuffed my body with carbonara, even though I am already too fat to fit in a restaurant booth.)