Black Bean Soup

I needed something quick and easy to throw together for dinner last night, as I had another function to attend. (I'm looking forward to a night at home soon!) This soup fit the bill and had a lot of flavor for something so simple. I used canned black beans which really cut down on the time. Besides, since living in a high altitude location, I didn't want to mess with dry beans and the experiment to see how long it would actually take them to soften up when cooking. Black Bean Soup (Mesa Grill by Bobby Flay)

1 pound dried black beans, or 3 cans black beans, drained and rinsed

2 Tbls olive oil

1 medium carrot, peeled and coarsely chopped

1 medium Spanish onion, coarsely chopped

3 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped

1 cup red wine

3 jalapeno chiles, roasted, peeled, and seeded

1 poblano chili, roasted, peeled, and seeded

4 cups chicken stock, low-sodium chicken broth, or water

2 Tbls fresh lime juice

salt and pepper to taste

I also used shredded cheese and sour cream as a topping.

If using dried beans, pick over them to remove any stones, put them in a large bowl, and add enough cold water to cover by at least 2 inches. Let soak for at least 8 hours or overnight. Drain well. Heat the olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add the carrot, onion, and garlic and cook for about 5 minutes, or until onion is translucent. Add the wine, bring to a boil, and cook until reduced by half. Add the beans and reduce the heat to medium. Add the jalapenos, poblano, and stock and simmer for 30 minutes if using canned beans, or 1 1/2 hours if using dried, until the dried beans are cooked through. Remove from the heat and add the lime juice, and salt and pepper to taste. Using a blender or food processor, puree half of the soup and return it to the pot. Bring to a simmer before serving. Ladle the soup into individual bowls. Serves 6-8.

easy sticky buns

These are SO easy and SO delicious! My husband and I had friends staying with us the past weekend, and I made these easy sticky buns for breakfast Sunday morning. It's one of those recipes that after you make it, you wish you had never discovered as they could be addicting.

Easy Sticky Buns - Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics

12 Tbls unsalted butter, at room temperature

1/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

1/2 cup pecans, chopped in very large pieces

1 pkg (2 sheets) puff pastry, thawed

Filling:

2 Tbls unsalted butter, melted and cooled

2/3 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

3 tsp ground cinnamon

1 cup raisins

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Place a 12-cup standard muffin tin on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. In the bowl of an electric mixer, combine the 12 Tbls butter and 1/3 cup brown sugar. Place 1 rounded Tbls of the mixture in each of the 12 muffin cups. Distribute pecans evenly among the 12 muffin cups on top of the butter and sugar mixture. Lightly flour wooden surface. Unfold one sheet of puff pastry with the folds going left to right. Brush the whole sheet with half of the melted butter. Leaving a 1-inch border on the puff pastry, sprinkle each sheet with 1/3 cup brown sugar, 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and 1/2 cup of the raisins (I omitted the raisins and substituted with more pecans). Starting with the end nearest you, roll the pastry up snugly like a jelly roll around the filling, finishing the roll with the seam side down. Trim the ends of the roll about 1/2 inch and discard. Slice the roll in 6 equal pieces, each about 1 1/2 inches wide. Place each piece, spiral side up, in 6 of the muffin cups. Repeat with the second sheet of puff pastry. Bake for 30 minutes, until the sticky buns are golden to dark brown on top and firm to the touch. Allow to cool for 5 minutes, invert the buns onto the parchment paper, easing out the filling with a spoon. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Barefoot Bloggers: Coq Au Vin

This is one recipe that had it not been chosen by Bethany, it would have never been made in my house. I frequently see recipes for this dish in various cookbooks and cooking magazines, but it's always been somewhat intimidating to me. I now know I CAN make Coq Au Vin! I have yet to be disappointed with a Barefoot Contessa recipe, and this was no exception. I will say, I'm not sure that I will make this dish again, now that I have completed the recipe. It was good, just not something my husband and I would enjoy all the time. In our opinion, this dish was very rich; perfect for a cold winter's night. I omitted the mushrooms, as neither my husband nor I like them. The other change we would make to the recipe (if we were to make it again) is to take the skin off the chicken. The original recipe didn't indicate that you should remove the skin, but I felt it would have allowed the chicken to soak up more of the wine/broth during the cooking process. Overall, this was a success!
Coq Au Vin (Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics)
2 tablespoons good olive oil
4 ounces good bacon or pancetta, diced
1 (3 to 4-pound) chicken, cut in 8ths
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 pound carrots, cut diagonally in 1-inch pieces
1 yellow onion, sliced
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1/4 cup Cognac or good brandy
1/2 bottle (375 ml) good dry red wine such as Burgundy
1 cup good chicken stock, preferably homemade
10 fresh thyme sprigs
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature, divided
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1/2 pound frozen small whole onions
1/2 pound cremini mushrooms, stems removed and thickly sliced (I left out)

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F.
Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven. Add the bacon and cook over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes, until lightly browned. Remove the bacon to a plate with a slotted spoon.
Meanwhile, lay the chicken out on paper towels and pat dry. Liberally sprinkle the chicken on both sides with salt and pepper. When the bacon is removed, brown the chicken pieces in batches in a single layer for about 5 minutes, turning to brown evenly. Remove the chicken to the plate with the bacon and continue to brown until all the chicken is done. Set aside.
Add the carrots, onions, 2 teaspoons salt, and 1 teaspoon pepper to the pan and cook over medium heat for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic and cook for 1 more minute. Add the Cognac and light to burn off alcohol. Put the bacon, chicken, and any juices that collected on the plate into the pot. Add the wine, chicken stock, and thyme and bring to a simmer. Cover the pot with a tight fitting lid and place in the oven for 30 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is just not pink. Remove from the oven and place on top of the stove.

Mash 1 tablespoon of butter and the flour together and stir into the stew. Add the frozen onions. In a medium saute pan, add the remaining 1 tablespoon of butter and cook the mushrooms over medium-low heat for 5 to 10 minutes, until browned. Add to the stew. Bring the stew to a simmer and cook for another 10 minutes. Season to taste. Serve hot.

Aunt Mary's Cheese Ball

I'm not a huge fan of cheese balls, but I do like ones with a cream cheese base. My Aunt Mary has made a corned beef and cream cheese ball for several years. When I got married, I asked her for the recipe and have made it every holiday season since. I am attending a potluck this evening and thought the cheese ball would be perfect.



Aunt Mary's Cheese Ball
3 (8 oz) pkgs cream cheese, softened
3 pkgs corned beef, diced
2 bunches scallions, thinly sliced
dash garlic powder
dash onion poweder
1 Tbl worchesture sauce

Mix all ingredients until well blended, reserving half package of corned beef to cover the outside. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

TWD: Grandma's All-Occasion Sugar Cookies

I always enjoy trying new sugar cookie recipes, and this one didn't disappoint. In fact, the dough was so tasty, I almost didn't get any baked cookies out of it! I had high hopes of getting the cookies decorated before I needed to get this post up and ready, unfortunately I have about 50 other things I need to get done before tonight....so no decorated cookies....just the main thing. I dare say, the plain cookies won't be around long enough to decorate which means at some point I'll just have to make another batch. (Some point being possibly next year for the holidays!) Thanks to Ulrike for choosing this week's recipe!

Monster Mix

This is an easy snack that travels well and gives you a boost of energy. It will also satisfy your salty and sweet cravings! I have bought a mix like this at the grocery store, but after looking at the list of ingredients, I figured it would be very easy to throw the mix together myself and it would end up being a few dollars cheaper in the end. The container in the picture is one I decorated (with the help of my friend, Wanda). It's a glass mason jar with a sticker/wall applique rubbed on the side and jingle bells glued to the top (so you always know who's sneaking in the jar!).

Monster Mix
2 cups cocktail peanuts
1 1/2 cups raisins
1 cup M&M's
1/2 cup chocolate chips
1/2 cup peanut butter chips

Pour all ingredients in mixing bowl and mix with spoon or hands until well combined. Put into container of choice. Easy, quick, and satisfying!

Quick post

Sorry for the lack of posts this last week. My husband and I were able to fly back to Indiana to spend Thanksgiving with our families. We hadn't been home for Thanksgiving since we were married (5 years ago). It was great seeing our families (and surprising my mother-in-law who didn't know we were coming). Now I can explain that the post regarding Thanksgiving, that was posted ON Thanksgiving, was actually ready to go before we left. We did have a "mock" Thanksgiving with a couple of friends the Saturday before we left for our trip.

I hope to be back in the kitchen this week, trying some new recipes, and to start my holiday baking. In the meantime, I'm catching up on all my messages and checking in on the blogs that I've missed reading during our trip.