Thursday, December 6, 2012

LINO (lasagna in name only)

I've been a bit delinquent in posting to our wonderful BB&C blog, but I'm glad to see that others have not fallen behind in their duties. And as I prepare for another sweep of the Barnhart Bloggies look back on some of my recent meals, I find a lot of fodder for some food posts.

The last time David was in town, we made a Butternut Squash and Mushroom lasagna (with copious amounts of help from Olivia). The thing is, though, that this is only "lasagna" in the sense that a spotted dog is a "slow cheetah." I think lasagna (real lasagna) should be somewhat spicy, tomatoey, unbelievably cheesy, and so filling that you almost can't stand to eat a third piece.

While it doesn't really fit those attributes, this one was was pretty delicious. Though we saw room for some improvement after we'd sampled the recipe.

First things first—the lasagna was going to take a long time to cook, so we made up some Devils on Horseback. Here they are, about to go into the oven.


Slice a bunch of butternut squash. For good measure, set a pitted date (Medjool, preferably) on the edge of your cutting board. It wards off bad cooking spirits.

Simmer squash in stock (we used chicken) with some thyme.

Assemble into a beautiful-looking lasagna! (Okay, okay, it seems I missed a few pictures in the middle. Inside there are whole layers of lasagna noodles, a cheese mixture that goes between the layers, as well as crimini/baby bella mushrooms, and onions/garlic, etc.)

Bake for about an hour, and when it looks like this, you're done! Eat it! Enjoy it! That Woody doll (in the background) is wishing he had a real stomach so he could eat this delicious lasagna!

The best way to follow a delicious meal of anti-lasagna lasagna is with bananas foster. The flame is burning away the fat, which makes this dessert much better for the health-conscious.

Suggested improvements:
  • I'm of the opinion that you almost can't have enough garlic, and this recipe is no exception to that rule. Even though the recipe calls for no garlic (NO GARLIC!?!?), we added three cloves. Not nearly enough, as it turns out. It could take about six, I think.
  • Following some of the recipe comments, we used about two-thirds of the cheese/ricotta mixture. Which was smart. David noted that the squash almost has the consistency of ricotta, and could probably take the ricotta's place. Which would make room for crumbled Italian sausage in this "lasagna."
  • The colors here were a bit bland—all orange and white. We thought of adding spinach to the layers, which would have been a nice flavor addition too.


Monday, November 12, 2012

Salsa verde: un gran éxito!

I've been making fresh salsa for a couple months now.  Between Karl's love of all Mexican food and my desire to use appliances that we received as wedding presents, it has been the perfect cooking adventure.  I've gotten pretty close to perfecting regular fresh salsa the way we like it (a little bit of heat, sweet onion taste, and LOTS of cilantro), so I decided to try something new.  Behold, I give you, SALSA VERDE!

You begin by removing the husks from the tomatillos.  This is my favorite part making this salsa because if you pull with just the right amount of force, the entire husk and the stem satisfactorily pop off the tomatillo.

You have to rinse the tomatillos because they are really sticky.  Then they get cut in half, placed on a baking sheet, and are broiled for about 6 minutes.



Next, combine the roasted tomatillos, onion, cilantro, garlic, jalepeno peppers, lime juice, and salt and pepper into a food processor and voila!  You have salsa verde!  


And no, I didn't cut myself and bleed into the jars on the right and left.  I made a batch of regular salsa while I had all the kitchen toys out.  Now all I have to do is figure out how to keep the salsa from disappearing so fast. 

Saturday, November 10, 2012

Shannon Dogs - It's What's for Dinner

It's been long enough since we've made Shannon Dogs that I think at least half of the kids at our table were uninitiated before last week.  The other half were either hiding their enthusiasm for this classic comfort food or failed to recognize its culinary import in our heritage.  Maybe they were distracted as they made final considerations for elections the next day.

But when the meal started, it was clear - Shannon Dogs are a winner with kids and adults alike.


Maybe it's been a while since you've had a Shannon Dog, or maybe you haven't ever tasted this treat.  Here's the quickie overview (and that's all there is, really):

  1. Sautee equal parts sliced hot dog (sorry Andy), chopped onion, and chopped celery
  2. Fill hot dog buns and top with shredded cheddar
  3. Place them in a 9x13 and bake until the cheese is melted
Some notes: 
We served these with garlic roasted potatoes.  Also, the celery and onion is from our garden (Elisabeth insisted that we plant celery, though I knew that it wouldn't grow.  Ahem!).  And we introduced an adult version of Shannon Dogs that use jalapeño smoked sausage instead of hot dogs.   There's room for interpretation.


 

Friday, October 26, 2012

Cake? Chocolate!


Chocolate Cake is the theme of our delectable desserts this week.  I think we've consumed at least 2 pieces of chocolate cake (per adult) every day since Sunday.  We've finally finished off the cakes (yes, plural) - to the great delight of my waistline.  But we'll still enjoy looking at the photos and reminiscing of the amazingly delicious and decadent chocolate we shared.  So, we'll share a photo or two with you, as well.

This cake (the first of our cakes) was created by Steve (but I got to do the frosting and assembling portion as he had to be at church early for a business meeting).  The recipe said it would feed 10 people - but I think they would need to be very hungry to be able to finish 1/10th of this cake in one sitting.  It took 9 people 2 or 3 days to finish off this cake (not all 9 people ate it at the same cake-testing time).  The frosting is very fudgy.  The cake is very dense.  But the cake is somewhat healthy - it contains both apple juice and raisins.

The second cake we consumed has no photographs of it.  It was a birthday gift from a friend and about 1/4 the size of this cake, but still was consumed over 4 days by multiple people.  It was a very dense flourless cake - another birthday indulgence.  Let's just say it was very, very good.

Dairy Belles

The girls made butter from heavy cream this week.  The process consisted of filling a glass jar half full of cream, then shaking shaking shaking!

They ate most of the butter on their baked potatoes for lunch, but saved a little for Dad to eat later (it was very good).


Friday, October 19, 2012

It's Friday? It's Pizza!

We've had a Friday pizza tradition on and off but currently it is ON.

Tonight we went for a short walk while the pizza dough was rising.  We were hunting for interesting leaves and made a quick stop at the park.  By the time we got the oven fired up the kids were h u n g r y!

Add a few minutes for the pepperoni and cheese pie to bake (and cool) and the kids were fairly famished.  And they ate with corresponding fervor.


Meanwhile, the adults waited oh so patiently for the grown up pizza (which the kids ate pretty well too).  This has no tomato sauce - it's sliced yellow tomatoes, cream cheese, and garlic topped with mozzarella and sprinkled with red pepper and basil.  I think we overdid it a little with the garlic.


Mmmmmm!  "When's next Friday, dad?"

Thursday, October 18, 2012

A few things on our table tonight

You might be trying to finish off that huge pot of ham and potato soup, or maybe you've hit the doldrums of autumn food already (if that were possible).  Well, here's a little inspiration for you.

Sliced green and red bell pepper and yellow tomato (the latter from our garden).



Eggs on their way to being hard cooked, potatoes being transformed into french fries and meat simmering on the back burner (yes that's sliced beef and hot dog).


Not shown: Sliced onions, ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise. 

All of the above was combined in the making of our dinner tonight - Pique Macho!  The menu was provided by our good friends and we've made it a few times.  It's a favorite!  I'd provide a photo of the assembled meal, but it was too rapidly consumed.  Besides, I didn't want to offend anybody with culinary sensitivity.

If you are not sure what combination of flavors have just entered your imagination, I offer you this refreshing bowl of tomatoes (also from our garden, and rapidly consumed).

Friday, July 27, 2012

2012 Sourdough Olympics

It's been over 8 shameful months since the last bread post (and sourdough at that).  I thought we should hold a little sourdough olympics.  I've created my loaves.  To be qualified all entries must be submitted by midnight the day of the closing ceremonies, whenever that is.

Bread will be judged based on visual appeal, perceived goodness, and potential for causing an insatiable appetite for a slice or two.  Only sourdough will be considered for the gold, but any bread or bread-like substance may be submitted.


Now you may think that nobody in the Barnhart family has indeed baked bread these last few months.  Maybe it even seems that the Barnharts don't care for bread any longer.  But I can assure that Rachel has been busy kneading, baking, slicing, and buttering.  We went through a strictly sourdough phase in early 2012 with a couple loaves per week.  Then, inexplicably, we switched to lofty sandwich loaves of the highest quality.  Rachel excelled at both.  Meanwhile, I secretly absorbed as much bread lore and bread crumbs as possible.  These loaves are my first in a long time.  Rachel has moved on from daily loaves to a batch of four that lasts as little as two days, and up to a week.  The kids like it plain fine and with butter better.


One more thing I can assure you.  I just finished off the two slices pictured above and it was superb.  I'm wondering if I should put the bread away or just leave it out a little longer.  After all, I might have to take another slice to keep it from going stale.

Sunday, July 1, 2012

Let's compare!

Is it just me, or are there several similarities between this photo and the photo in the previous post?

Friday, May 11, 2012

Hancock Knows Good Pizza

After a short (three month) hiatus, I feel that it's time for another Friday pizza post.  Yes, that's right - this is Foodie Friday.

Now in a head-to-head battle, Hancock deep dish is pitted against that claim to fame of Chicago.  We'll let the pictures do the telling.


We have a ham & green olive and a cheeeese pizza each with its gloriously golden crust and totally tomato top.


Friday, January 27, 2012

Chicago knows good pizza

Last Sunday, in between wooing Hazel with his mad accordian skills and making viral videos, Daniel requested deep dish pizza for lunch. I got ambitious and thought "Ha! What do all these established, time-honored pizza restaurants have that I don't? I'm going to make it myself!" Several cups of cheese later:

Even my cheesy smile can't detract from this deep dish pizza.


Temptingly cheesy

I was pretty happy with how it turned out. The tomato sauce was on the sweeter side which I really like, and it wasn't too hard to put together. Daniel rolled out the crusts (one larger one for the bottom and sides, and a smaller one that fit on top right under the sauce), and David chopped and placed all the ingredients. I've been trying to come up with any excuse I can to make this again...so right now would be a good time for a visit. :) 

Sunday, January 22, 2012

Submersing Food in Hot Liquids/Semi-Solids

I realize this is a little unusual for a Butchers's blog post, because it's only partly about food, and the food pictures aren't all that great. A week ago I hosted a fondue party for some friends from my "long-ago" Milkweed days, and thought some of you might appreciate seeing the photos.

The table set, before we destroyed all the wonderful food.

It was my first time having fondue, and I have to recommend it for any of you who've never tried it. There was a lot of prep-work, but all that prep makes the dining part of the meal go quickly. We prepared a coq au vin broth for vegetables, a traditional cheese fondue, oil for meats, and chocolate for the final dessert round.

(from l to r): Kate, Dan, Jen, me, Maryhope, & Ethan.
And here's the happy crew, after we've decimated most of the food. Of the people here, my ex-Milkweed colleagues are Kate, Jen, and Ethan.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Chicken & waffles

It seems only fitting that we usher in 2012 with some chicken & waffles (with a gravy of heavy cream & Dijon). After last night's dinner of fried livers & gizzards, I think it's safe to say this will be a year of greasy eating.