What Matters Most Now: August 2013 entries

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August 2013 entries

08/28/2013

The Easiest Roasted Fresh Marinara Sauce

fresh produce for marinara sauce www.whatmattersmostnow.typepad.com

Ingredients for the Easiest Roasted Fresh Marinara Sauce

Okay friends, this is the best and easiest marinara sauce ever and it's all prepared with fresh garden ingredients in less than an hour!

With summer's harvest yielding gorgeous tomatoes, this couldn't be an easier way to maximize the season's best flavors with very little effort.

roasted marinara sauce www.whatmattersmostnow.typepad.com

The roasted tomatoes, onions, garlic and basil.

Start with fresh ripe tomatoes, onions, garlic cloves, and a few sprigs of fresh basil, drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Pop this into the oven to roast and there you go!

vitamix blended marinara sauce - www.whatmattersmostnow.typepad.com

Blended marinara sauce ready for serving or for the freezer.

I strained the majority of juices to create a thicker sauce and then blended it on a low setting for a few pulses (this could also be done in a food processor) to get the desired consistency.

ravioli with fresh marinara sauce www.whatmattersmostnow.typepad.com

The Easiest Roasted Fresh Marinara Sauce with fresh ravioli and parmesan.

Your marinara sauce will make for fast meals to deck ravioli, pizza crusts, pastas, chicken parmesan - you name it.

I bagged mine into freezer bags in the portions that I will use for upcoming dinners then froze the bags for storage.

This is a basic, easy recipe for fresh marinara sauce but you could easily add in other items to enhance your marinara such as zucchini, olives, sausage, red wine or other spices. I prefer to make mine basic so it will be versatile enough to morph into a variety of future recipes and then add the items upon preparation.

The Easiest Roasted Fresh Marinara Sauce

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

8 cups of cherry tomatoes or about 24 medium tomatoes, whole (no need to cut or chop) - I used 2 13x9 inch pans and just lined each pan with tomatoes

2 medium onions, quartered

8-10 garlic cloves, peeled

Olive oil

Salt

A few sprigs of fresh basil

Instructions:

1. Line two 13x9 inch pans with tomatoes, onions, garlic and basil leaves. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.

2. Roast for 30-40 minutes in a 425 degree oven. (Your home will smell amazing during this process!)

3. Let cool for at least 10 minutes. At this point I lifted the vegetables out with a slotted spoon and placed them into a blender but you could also use a colander to drain.

4. Blend in a blender or food processor until the sauce has reached your desired consistency. I prefer mine with a little bit of chunky evidence vs. super smooth, but it is also personal preference. Salt to taste.

5. You can either use the sauce immediately or let cool completely and prepare to freeze.

08/28/2013 | Permalink | Comments (4)

08/19/2013

M&M Monster Cookies - Hands-Down My Favorite Cookie

The first time I tried these I was in college. My favorite bakery sold cookie dough scoops in sugar cones - that's what initally drew me in. Then I started venturing into trying not just the raw cookie dough cones that needed to be consumed on-the-spot but also convinced myself into taking a cookie or two back to the dorm room. Fatal mistake. Thus, the Freshman Fifteen (yes, I am pretty sure that I gained 10-15 pounds my freshman year of college living on cafeteria food, late night pizza and treat "splurges" such as these cookies).

Needless to say, you can imagine my delight years later when a friend shared this recipe for the famous M&M Monster Cookies! Fast forward just a few years later and my daughter was diagnosed with a severe allergy to peanuts, a main ingredient in this recipe! I may not get to enjoy these cookies as often as I'd like (only when Miss B is away, like this week, while she is at camp) but it probably cuts down on the return of those Freshman Fifteen pounds!

Next, I will need to share my second favorite cookie of all-time - the Chocolate Marshmallow Frosted Cookies that also were first tasted at the same college bakery! Watch out world - you are in store for some amazing sweet treats!

Friends and family go crazy for these delectable Monster Cookies!

Monster Cookies

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

3 eggs

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar

1 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 teaspoon agave nectar syrup or corn syrup

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 1/2 cups peanut butter

4 1/2 cups rolled oats (not quick cooking oats)

1 cup semisweet or dark chocolate chips

1 cup candy-coated milk chocolate or dark chocolate pieces (M&M's)

Instructions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. In a large bowl, beat the eggs. Add the remaining ingredients in order, mixing well.

3. Use an ice cream scoop to measure onto ungreased cookie sheet or baking stone.

4. Bake for 11-15 minutes.

Makes 6-7 dozen depending upon the size of your scoops.

08/19/2013 | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack (0)

08/14/2013

The Hubs' Blue Cheese Stuffed Bacon Burgers - The Best Burgers Ever!

Okay, brace yourselves because this recipe is one that you may dream about for nights on end after one taste. Because this recipe is not the most figure-friendly nor heart-healthy, it does not make an appearance very often in our house but boy, it's one that has us dreaming about its' next arrival! The Hubs' has affectionately coined these "heart-attack on a bun burgers" but I don't want that to stop you from trying this recipe...at least just once!

This weekend was the Hubs' birthday. I say that lightly because we have been celebrating this guy's birthday for days...maybe even weeks. But he deserves it. So, he picked out his birthday dinner menu to include these Blue Cheese Stuffed Bacon Burger, Sweet Potato Fries, Salad and my mom's famous berry pie. Yes, yet again, her pie remains the most requested birthday dessert to date.

Happy Birthday pie - whatmattersmostnow.typepad.com

The birthday boy and his special berry pie baked by Gram.

Now, I'm coming clean with an apology right off the bat. These burgers transform you to another world and in doing that I might have been a bit neglectful in taking a final photo to share with you all of the finished product. I remembered when there was just a bit of burger left on my bun, resulting in this photo and my apologies.

The burgers went nicely with sweet potato fries sprinkled with dill seasoning and a salad straight from the garden packed with cherry tomatoes, peas, cucumbers, a blend of lettuce accented with blue cheese and wonton strips.

I have shared before how much we love our Traeger Wood Pellet Grill from this Grilled Salmon recipe and this Pulled Pork recipe and how the smoky flavor from the pellets (mesquite, hickory, apple, cherry, maple) penetrates the meat and seafood.During our wedding reception, several meats served were smoked on the Traeger and I kid you not, wedding guests went out and invested in their own Traeger after sampling those meats!

I love that I just have to flip a switch and set a temperature and I am ready to grill. There's no need to hover over the grill as the temperature stays consistent with no hot spots and you can even bake with the Traeger as a fan makes the grill work like a convection oven giving you a wood-fired oven for pizzas, breads, cookies, cobblers - you name it. This extends my kitchen with an extra oven.

The Hubs' Blue Cheese Stuffed Bacon Burgers

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

2 pounds ground beef

6 strips of peppered or hickory bacon

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

5 tablespoons dry onion soup mix

1/2 teaspoon steak seasoning blend

6- 12 tablespoons blue cheese (it depends on how much blue cheese you prefer)

6 hamburger buns or ciabatta rolls

Instructions:

1. Combine meat and dry ingredients in a large bowl. Shape mixture into 12 very thin meat patties.

2. Place 1-2 tablespoons of blue cheese onto six of the meat patties, top with remaining patties, and then, with the cheese inside the patties, seal the edges with your fingers.

3. Cut strips of bacon in half and place two strips of bacon across raw meat patties and secure with a toothpick. Hamburger experts suggest making a slight depression in the top of the patty to accumulate the meat's juices like a small pond or to cook a burger using indirect heat such as using a Traeger. I think the addition of the bacon helps with the moistness of these burgers.

4. If you are using a Traeger grill, turn it onto "High". For other grills, bring the heat up to the highest temperature. Place the hamburger patties onto the grill and cook for 6 minutes per side until done.

5. Toast the buns and serve.

Makes 6 hamburgers.

For a variation: you could stuff the burgers with other types of cheese such as sharp cheddar, mozzarella, pepper jack - the sky's the limit!

Enjoy!

08/14/2013 | Permalink | Comments (0)

08/12/2013

Uncle Harlan's Simple Rustic Bread Recipe

We are getting spoiled with some amazing recipes these week that come to you via my Uncle Harlan, made famous on this blog for his Simple Rustic Sesame Crackers, Liptauer Spread and Buttermilk Scone recipes.

This recipe transforms into all sorts of scrumptious variations with the addition of herbs, spices, cheeses or chopped olives (our favorite)! My mind is swirling with all the possibilities from the addition of Fresh Rosemary and Garlic to Basil Olive Parmesan!

baking bread whatmattersmostnow.typepad.com

Mara takes a crack at baking Uncle Harlan's Simple Rustic Bread recipe.

The lovely Miss Mara stepped in and offered to try out Uncle Harlan's recipe for me and I must say, it was quite the hit with the family. The evening coincided with my dad's 75th birthday so we were able to bring Mara's bread to the celebration to share with the family.

Grandpa and grandkids - whatmattersmostnow.typepad.com

Poppy celebrates turning 75!

The recipe was created for the novice cook/baker via Harlan's numerous revisions, tweaks and adjustments. Mara wanted to add that the recipe is super easy to make but to be patient when waiting for the yeast to get foamy. She also agreed that seasonings and a sprinkling of kosher salt make it even better.

I absolutely love recipes that I can prepare in advance and freeze for chaotic weeks or that I can double and store stocked in my freezer for days when time is limited. This recipe from Harlan is one of those treasures that can be stashed away and even repurposed for pizza crust!

Simple Rustic Bread

Recipe from Uncle Harlan Attfield

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

1 packet (2 1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast (Harlan notes: you can use instant or fresh but some adjustments need to be made: http://thefreshloaf.com/faqs/baking/yeast

1/2 tsp granulated sugar (Food for the yeast, if you have it.)

1 1/2 cups 110 degree F water (Warm to the touch, by all means never hot.)

3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour (Leveled with the back of a knife)

1 tsp salt (Any salt will do but a fine grain salt mixes more evenly here.)

Instructions:

1. Dissolve yeast and sugar in water; allow to rest 8 minutes. (The yeast will bubble and foam and smells great! If the yeast didn't foam after 15 minutes, the water was too hot or too cold or the yeast was too old or dead.)

2. In separate bowl, combine flour and salt. (When asked to combine dry ingredients I always use a wire whisk as it takes the place of sifting.)

3. Pour yeast mixture over flour mixture after it has rested and bubbled and mix well with a heavy spoon. (The dough doesn't stick as much to a stiff silicone spatula.)

4. Turn dough onto a floured surface. (Have extra flour on hand for the next step.)

5. Knead, at least 2 minutes. (Applying pressure with the heel of your hand, press, fold and stretch; adding flour to kneading surface until dough is no longer sticky. This is when you can apply your muscles and enjoy one of the best parts of bread making.)

6. Place in greased bowl. (I use olive oil.) and cover with a warm, damp cloth to let rise 45-60 minutes or until at least double in size.

7. Punch down and shape as you like. (Long and slender or round are the easiest although Mara shaped hers into a flat round pizza crust version.)

Mara shaping the dough. (Don't you love her nail color?)

8. Let rise uncovered for 30-45 minutes on a lightly greased baking sheet or a baking stone (no knead to grease if using a stone.) During this time, preheat your oven to 425 degrees F.

9. Bake for 30-45 minutes depending on the shape, until the bread sounds hollow when thumped on its bum (bottom).

10. Let cool on wire rack before serving. (About 60-90 minutes should work. Harlan shares that this makes great toast.)

Variations: You can add herbs, spices and other good things to this recipe, like cheese. Consider this a blank page and write on it to your heart's content.

Freezing: Roll dough in a ball and place in a plastic freezer bag; allow a little extra room, as the dough will rise a bit before it freezes completely. Thaw in refrigerator completely before using. At this stage, it is best for pizza.