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Orange you glad to have a well-stocked pantry?

I wasn’t on my A-game when my sweetie did his weekly grocery shopping this past week, so I completely forgot to get any ingredients to make something in my small skillet. If this weren’t a pandemic with worrying signs in Iowa, I would have said “no worries” and made a special trip. 

However, with everything *gestures at Iowa’s mess*, I thought it best to forgo an extra trip and see if I couldn’t find something to make with what we had on hand.

Chocolate-orange shortbread ingredients.

Thankfully, we have a well-stocked pantry and a copy of my favorite cookbook “5 Ingredients” by Jamie Oliver. I managed to find three official recipes that would fit in a small skillet not including ones I’ve made before or ones that’d fit some other piece of equipment. We also had a few other things in the freezer where I could fake some sort of filo dough pot pie and enough eggs I could have managed a quiche. 

However, I liked the idea of the 5 Ingredients, because it was guaranteed to be easy. After a short debate on pros and cons of any item, my sweetie and I thought the chocolate-orange shortbread sounded ideal. 

I had to do slight alterations, using two mandarins instead of one navel orange and a mix of semi-sweet chocolate chips and a milk chocolate Hershey’s bar instead of dark chocolate. But all in all, with just five ingredients, it was pretty easy to have them all on hand, especially as someone who likes to bake and whose sweetie eats a lot of fruit. 

And boy, for so few ingredients and so little work, it was a perfectly delightful dessert. Maybe I’ll have to wing it more often. 

So tasty, so little left.

Here’s what I did:

Ingredients 

  • 150 g. butter, at room temperature (about 1 ½ sticks), plus more for greasing
  • 200 g. all-purpose flour (about 1 ¼ c.)
  • 50 g. granulated sugar (about ¼ c.), plus more for topping
  • Zest from 1 navel orange or 2 mandarins (divided)
  • 50 g. dark chocolate, chips or chunks (or however you can get chocolate for melting!) 

Directions

Heat oven to 375 degrees. 

Grease a 9-inch skillet with butter. Line with parchment paper, and grease that as well.

Mix together the flour, sugar, and zest from ½ the orange (or 1 mandarin). Use your fingers to mush in the butter, without kneading; the texture should resemble a pie crust that just barely holds together. Press the mixture into the prepared skillet until it’s in an even and cohesive layer. Pierce with a fork throughout. 

Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until lightly golden. Sprinkle with a couple pinches of sugar on top while still warm. Then, remove to a wire rack to let cool completely. Meanwhile, melt the chocolate on a double broiler with water underneath, or a microwave like I did, though it is unlikely to spread in a pretty manner if you do it my way. Spread the melted chocolate on top of the cool shortbread. Grate the remaining zest (or 2nd mandarin) on top, and enjoy with orange slices! 

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Quick & easy chicken, Fancy style

My sweetie managed to find some boneless, skinless chicken breasts so for the next two weeks, we feast!

I know for foodies that boneless, skinless chicken breast is not the mark of a true chef; however, I like its texture and blank-canvas nature. It has its place, and I’ve missed that it’s harder to come by, while I would gladly give it up entirely if we’d have done more to make meat-packing plant workers safer or, simply, kept them home for longer.

Still, old habits die hard, and when my sweetie found these at the co-op, I was excited to have a couple of different simple, but delicious, meals to serve showcasing this cut.

My first foray was an oldie but a goodie. Ever since I found out about Amy Thielen, I’ve been a fan. I love her Midwest-style, and while she’s been a big-time chef, she’s managed to take her recipes from haute cuisine to stuff I can do in my kitchen.

This rosemary chicken is one of those that seems like it’d be served in a farm-to-table restaurant, but I can also make it at home without stress and with few ingredients. It also lets its few ingredients shine.

Rosemary chicken ingredients.

While it’s perfect as a main dish with a side to accompany it, I’ll be honest, my sweetie and I usually enjoy it as a sort of appetizer. It’s great to go from warmed plate to living room table, and we’ll snack as we either wait for something else or have already had a salad. Sometimes simple can be so sweet.

I’ll note that Thielen’s recipe calls for discarding the rosemary sprigs after they’ve been infused, which I did this time and felt that it could have had more rosemary flavor. My sweetie and I have both made this before where we’ve left the sprigs in (or used more than 2); your mileage may vary on how strong of a rosemary flavor you like, but consider using more or keeping it infused for longer/while cooking if you want a heaping dose of the herbal, floral flavor.

Here’s what I did, following her recipe (but downsizing the skillet slightly):

Ingredients

  • 16 oz. boneless, skinless chicken breasts
  • 4 T. (½ stick) butter
  • 2 sprigs fresh rosemary
  • Salt and pepper, to taste
  • 2 t. fresh parsley, chopped (optional)

Directions

Cut each chicken breast into three long, fairly equal pieces. Set aside.

Heat a 9- to 10-inch skillet over medium heat. Add the butter, When it foams and then turns nut-brown, remove it from heat and add the rosemary sprigs, tilting the pan so that the butter foams over the rosemary. Set aside to infuse for 5 minutes. Remove and discard the rosemary sprigs (or keep them for a stronger, more rosemary flavor).

Set the skillet back on the burner, over medium-low heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper, and then add them to the skillet. Cook slowly, moving and turning the pieces often, until all the pieces have cooked through, about 15 to 20 minutes. Add the parsley if using, and place on a warm plate, pouring the pan juices over the chicken, and enjoy!

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My favorite mistake

I’m going to say right up front that I forked this one up royally from beginning to end. So, I can’t say that it was a great recipe, but I do think that it’s salvageable, as in, the blame lies with me.

And, to be honest, I still had a lot of fun making it.

It’s been a stressful week, and I came home grumpy. But once I started to make this week’s poppy seed streusel and listening to podcasts about “Doctor Who” (*nerd alert*), I felt immensely better. I didn’t even really care that I was forking up.

Streusel ingredients. Notably not pictured is the milk I should have used.

I have loved my Amy Thielen “The New Midwestern Table” cookbook, so the fact that this recipe didn’t turn out I think is a fluke. I have made a lot of things from it, including hand pies this year.

And, seriously, it has a butt-ton of butter, sugar, and flour, so it should have been perfect.

Also, while her recipe said to bake for a half hour, I knew it looked done about 7 minutes early, and instead of trusting my gut, I let it go for another 5.

So, the fact that it’s hard as a rock, is on me.

Then, the second page of the recipe really spends a lot of time on the importance of grinding the poppy seeds well. This was after I had, uh, not done that. See, I bought a bunch of cream and figured there was not harm in replacing whole milk with cream. Except that, obviously, cream whips quite quickly. So, when I mixed them together in the blender, there was whipped cream well before poppy seed broke and bruised.

I made up for it by adding water instead of more cream later … but the damage (or lack thereof to the poppy seeds) was done.

So, the fact that the poppy seeds are intact and the innards of the streusel didn’t turn out as expected, is also on me.

Again, though, it was an adventure to make, and I’m pretty sure if I follow the recipe, and trust my gut, I’ll nail it next time.

It doesn’t look that bad until you noticed the blackened edges and that that ain’t *lightly* golden.

Here’s what I did. Actually, scratch that, here’s what I should have done:

Ingredients

  • ¾ c. poppy seeds
  • ¾ c. whole milk (DO NOT SUBSTITUTE)
  • 1 c. raisins
  • 3 c. sugar, divided
  • ½ c. heavy cream
  • 2 t. apple cider vinegar
  • 3 c. all-purpose flour
  • ½ t. sea salt
  • 3 sticks butter (the recipe calls for salted; I used un- so hopefully that didn’t mess things up), and more for coating the pan, all at room temperature

Directions

Combine poppy seeds and MILK in a blender and process on high until the poppy seeds have broken down down. Add the raisins, 1 c. sugar, the cream, and the vinegar. Process until smooth.

Pour the mixture into a medium skillet and bring to a simmer over medium heat. Stir often to prevent it from sticking, and continue reducing heat to keep the mixture at a slow bubble. Keep cooking until the mixture thickens to like jam, about 30 minutes. I’d say a little less but that might just be because I overcooked the thing from top to bottom in the oven.

Meanwhile, heat the oven to 375 degrees, and lightly butter a 9-inch by 13-inch sheet pan.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, the remaining 2 c. sugar, salt, and the butter. Use your fingers to work the butter into the flour mixture until well combined, and the mixture holds its shape when squeezed together.

Scoop 5 loose cups of the butter mixture onto the sheet pan, and use your hands to spread evenly, and then gently press down. Bake for about 10 minutes, and then let cool for about 10 minutes.

Then, pour the poppy seed mixture on top, and spread until smooth. Then squeeze the remaining butter mixture on top of the poppy seed mix to make decorative nuggets, leaving some space for the filling to show through.

Bake for about 30 minutes, or until LIGHTLY golden brown, *checking often*, and then cool in the pan before cutting into squares. Enjoy, if you got this far and succeeded!

 

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Piece of (strawberry short) cake

I’m starting to sound like a broken record, but for the third week in a row, I was in search of a recipe that was easy and quick. In fact, this is the first time this year that I made this week’s recipe on the same day I posted my blog.

Like any (recovering) journalist, I live for a deadline.

Thankfully, I picked another recipe this week that not only was as simple as it seemed but came together with little effort. I needed the latter after losing an altercation with a cat that has left my right hand only partially usable.

Strawberry shortcake bars also happen to be delicious and the kind of treat that will please my in-laws as we head to St. Louis this weekend to see them.

Strawberry shortcake bars ingredients (sans flour because I keep it in a big honkin’ container because I use that much).

Everything’s coming up Christinia!

Because I’m cutting it down to the wire (again), two quick notes on this recipe:

  • It’s pretty strong on the shortcake, which I like, but it may be a bit dry for others’ tastes. If that’s not your thing, maybe cut down on the flour or add a little more whipped cream to the topping.
  • It doesn’t specifically call for it, but a stand mixer works really well for this recipe. Creaming both the cake and the topping is enough of a pain when one’s hand is healthy but it was pretty much a requirement for me this week. A hand mixer would also work, but I really appreciated saving the labor this week.

Fresh from the oven (and cooled) and it was amazing.

Here’s what I did, mostly following a recipe I found randomly online:

Ingredients

For the bars:

  • 1 c. (or 2 sticks) unsalted butter, plus a little more for coating the sheet pan (I used to use salted but we’re *trying* to be healthier)
  • 2 c. sugar (like I said, trying)
  • 4 large eggs
  • 2 t. vanilla
  • 5 c. all-purpose flour
  • 1 t. salt
  • ½ t. baking soda

For the topping:

  • 8 oz. cream cheese, softened
  • 1 c. powdered sugar
  • 1 t. vanilla
  • 1 c. heavy whipping cream, whipped (or 8 oz Cool Whip but I like real cream, again, trying)
  • About 1 lb. strawberries, sliced

Directions

Heat oven to 375 degrees, and grease a large rimmed sheet pan.

In a large bowl, cream the butter and sugar until fluffy. Then, add the eggs one at a time until well incorporated. Add in vanilla and stir until combined.

In a separate large bowl, mix together the flour, salt, and baking soda. Add to the wet mixture and beat until combined. (The dough will look like cookie dough.)

Spread the mixture on the sheet pan, using greased hands to spread evenly onto the pan.

Bake shortcake for 10 to 15 minutes until golden.

Remove from oven and let cool.

Meanwhile, mix together the cream cheese, powdered sugar, and remaining vanilla. Beat until smooth. Fold in the whipped cream, and chill until the bars are cool.

Spread the cream mixture on top of the shortcake, and then cover with the sliced strawberries. Eat immediately, or chill until ready to serve to in-laws, and enjoy!

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Mom recipes combine to make for delicious sheet pan dinner

So sue me, my first fish recipe comes too late for Lent. But I think this tilapia and asparagus dinner is delicious any time of year.

The recipes come from my mom, and as far as I know she doesn’t necessarily make them together; they just happen to combine the same flavor base that make them work well together. They also just happen to combine some of the best flavors out there — garlic, cayenne, butter, and olive oil. That’s right, two kinds of fat. Yummy!

Tilapia and asparagus sheet pan ingredients.

Mom gave me the tilapia recipe when I was first starting out to cook. Frozen tilapia isn’t overly expensive, it keeps, and this makes for an easy meal when you’re just starting to learn to cook. The asparagus recipe is a long time favorite, as it combines the above flavors with a good deep roasting that makes them impossible to resist. If I ever have any extra asparagus lying around, which is rare, this is how I make ‘em. So, it seemed obvious to combine them into one simple and healthy-ish meal.

Just add some stove-top grain dish, and you’ve got a full meal that tastes great.

So much yummy goodness.

Here’s what I did:

Ingredients

  • 4 fillets tilapia (fresh is best but costly)
  • 1 bunch asparagus
  • 4 T. butter, divided
  • 4 T. olive oil, divided
  • 4-5 cloves garlic, minced, divided (I was lazy and used the jarred stuff but whatever works)
  • Cayenne pepper, to taste
  • Salt, optional (I used salted butter so skipped it, but you may want to add more or definitely add some if you use unsalted butter)

Directions

Heat oven to 350 degrees.

Remove woody ends of asparagus, and spread out over about half the sheet pan. Top with half the olive oil, half the butter, and half the garlic. Sprinkle with cayenne if desired. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes.

Remove the sheet pan. On the other half of the sheet pan, dot half the remaining butter and half the remaining olive oil on the sheet pan. Add the tilapia fillets on top. Top with the remaining butter and olive oil, and the garlic; sprinkle generously with cayenne pepper, to taste. Bake for 12 to 15 minutes until the tilapia is cooked through.

Serve over a grain, spooning on the garlic, butter, oil mix as desired, and enjoy!