Dinner is served

Mom's thanksgiving dinner.

Turkey Day Chocolate Pecan Pie

What would Thanksgiving be without lots of yummy desserts? I decided to make a special "top-secret" dessert this year for our Thanksgiving dinner #2. Everyone seemed to thoroughly enjoy it, although I was a little bummed when it didn't come out completely cooked. (I guess it helps when no one knows how it's supposed to really turn out). I decided to make a Chocolate Pecan pie to accompany Sarah's delicious Cranberry Biscotti and Liz's awesome Banana Bread! The recipe is actually really easy and doesn't take much time, but it seems so fancy that you can pretend you spent all day baking! Here's the recipe:
Preheat oven to 325 degrees.
First, take a frozen pie crust (don't pre-bake it). Chop up 1 cup of Pecans (or Walnuts), and spread them in the bottom of the uncooked pie crust. Then sprinkle 1 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips over the nuts.
In a small mixing bowl, whisk together 2 eggs. To that, add 1/2 cup white sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup flour. Then whisk in 1 stick of melted butter and 1 tsp. of vanilla.
After it's all mixed, pour the sugar and butter mixture over the nuts and chocolate chips. Then, just pop it in the oven for 35-40 minutes. That's it! Let it cool for a bit so it's easier to slice. Finish it off with a dollop of whipped cream or some of your favorite ice cream. It's really good the next day cold too! (If there is any leftover).

Thanksgiving Breakfast

Happy Thanksgiving! This morning everyone came together for an incredibly delicious thanksgiving breakfast =) Mom made 3 different varieties of scrambled eggs, for everyone's tastes. There was also bacon as well as pumpkin scones. I found a starbucks pumpkin scone recipe and tried that out. It was 4 cups of flour, 3/4 cup sugar, 2 tsp. baking powder, cinnamon, cloves, ginger and nutmeg. After mixing the dry ingredients, I cut in 3/4 cups butter. Then, I mixed in 1 cup pumpkin puree, 2 eggs and 6 Tbsp. heavy cream. Bake at 400 F for 15 minutes.

Pasty

This was my first time making pasties. They turned out fairly well, although the dough needs a little work. Jeff, a true yooper, was the official taster. He commented that the filling was good, the crust was a little too hard. I used the cuisinart to make the dough and I think I added a little too much water. The filling is just ground beef, potatoes, rutebega, onions, salt and pepper. Pretty easy. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes, then turn down to 375 for another 45 minutes. They were really yummy!

Nachos a la casa de Puskala

I love this quick and easy dish. Taco meat, salsa, onions, corn, cheese and lettuce....all on top of a layer of tortilla chips. Yum! Bake in the oven until cheese is bubbly and then sprinkle with crisp lettuce for an added crunch. A great dish for football sunday!

Pea Soup

I love soup in the winter time. This is pea soup in the crock pot, made with ham hocks. I also made cheesy baking powder biscuits to accompany the soup =)

Recreating and adapting

John and I had dinner in Los Angeles years ago and I always remember the dinner of scallops and polenta.

Creamy polenta and grilled scallops. Several times I recreate this dinner, each time it is different.....I never make the same "recipe" twice- every time it is different.

Tonight I found some wonderful scallops and I already had the

cornmeal. Cooking the polenta for an hour or more gave me time to make a salad. Fennel, red pepper, pears, arugula, frisée lettuce and roasted gold beets and walnuts with rice wine vinaigrette.

While the scallops are marinating in minced garlic, sea salt, hot pepper flakes, and olive oil, I made a reduction of white wine, lemon juice, garlic, and um ginger.

Saute the scallops. Arrange on top of the polenta and garnish with fresh Parmesan cheese, minced red pepper, and anise leaves.

It is best to have John type this for me.

Yummy fall meal.

Fall at Manitou

Rain, wind, rolling waves on the beach, clouds boiling over Canada.
Rainbows over the harbor in Grand Marias.
Bright yellow oak trees outside our bedroom window.
Harvesting wood for the fires of winter.
Breakfast of sweet potato pancakes with warm maple syrup.

Fajitas

I love fajitas!!! They are easy, fun and so yummy =) Tonight we made a quick, easy fajita dinner. I sauteed chicken in some olive oil and then added green pepper and onion. I finished cooking on high heat for a few minutes. Jeff likes the peppers and onions still crunchy, so we didn't overcook the filling. For a filler, I cooked some white rice and added a little pepper, salt and a can of black beans. We put it all together in a soft fajita shell with some shredded cheddar cheese.

Foraged breakfast

I saw these mushrooms back in August growing down by the flagpole at the bottom of the steps at Manitou. They are bright yellow and I had a feeling they were Chanterelles which are a very distinctive mushroom. But of course John was hesitant to eat anything not found at the local Fresh Market grocery.

Labor Day weekend we were back at Manitou and while running (slowly) I found more groups of these beauties! This time I was prepared with a few books and internet descriptions of the Chanterelle. They are know to the Italians as Girolle and they only grow in the wild. With a mildly apricot scent they are easy to identify. Needless to say, I picked as many as I could find and brought them to the kitchen.

Cleaning is simple and soon they were sliced and sauteing in a pan with sweet onions in a small amount of butter. Add some fresh herbs from the garden and it was the perfect filling for an omelet.



Served with Stone House Walnut/Cherry bread, Strawberry Rhubarb jam from Duluth and John's very strong French Roast coffee. Can't beat that while looking over Lake Superior.

bean dinner

Sometimes I am tired of meat!

My favorite rice lately is Basmati rice from India. It has a nutty flavor and cooks quickly.
Rinse the rice, cover with 1/2 inch of water, bring to a boil and simmer for about 15 minutes. Can't beat that!

Saute some garlic, onions and carrots until soft. Add a can of drained black beans and warm through.

Serve over the rice with chopped parsley.

I steamed some asparagus while the rice cooked, then slightly chilled. I added a lemon vinaigrette with tomatoes from the garden and fresh herbs.

Perfect

Summer Pasta Salad

Summer pasta salads are some of my favorite dinners. Cool, refreshing and light! Last night we ate a chicken pasta salad and grilled squash - delicious. The pasta salad was made with:
1 box penne or spiral pasta
2 chicken breasts
12 mushrooms
2 slicing tomatoes
First, I marinated the chicken in 1/3 cup olive oil, 2 tbsp. red wine vinegar, minced garlic, 3 tbsp. lemon juice. Then sauteed the chicken over medium heat. When the chicken was cooked, I cut it into 1 inch dices and tossed them in a serving bowl with the cooked pasta, diced mushrooms and tomatoes. I topped the salad with a dressing similar to the chicken marinade.
For a second dish, I cut zucchini and yellow squash into strips and added a green pepper to the mix (cutting it into strips as well). I marinated the veggies in olive oil, salt and pepper for an hour before throwing them on the grill for 20 minutes. The finished product was delicious!

Shrimp on the Barbie

Last night was one of the many beautiful summer evenings we've had so far. We decided to grill and threw some corn and shrimp on the grill. We've found the best corn is from Fresh Market. I seasoned the corn with a little salt and pepper, then wrapped them in aluminum foil. The corn went on the grill first. About 25 minutes total for the corn. The shrimp was marinated in a little lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper. They went on the grill at the very end for about 4 minutes total. I also made a Farmer's Market salad with red leaf lettuce, red onion, grape tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers and a rice vinegar dressing. Everything was delicious, the shrimp probably only needed 3 minutes total on the grill - they cook so fast!

Pulled Pork

Last weekend we hosted the post annual party for the "annual meeting" for Superior Dunes.

Based on Elizabeth's recommendation I made pulled pork and served it on small dinner rolls from COSTCO's bakery.

It was just about the easiest party recipe I have ever made. Massaged the spices into the pork the night before and refrigerated overnight. Saturday morning I put the shoulders into cast iron casserole and an earthenware casserole with 1/2 cup water in each, covered tightly and cooked at 325 degrees for a total of 6 hours. I let the meat sit in the oven for another hour with the heat off.

Everything cooked before the party and I only needed to reheat!

Below is the recipe which I doubled since I had a 13 pound pork shoulder from COSTCO. It was delicious. Made 2 large casserole pots. Only used one casserole and served enough to feed 20+ with other side dishes.

I plan to make this again especially as this can then be used in other dishes such as the Carnitas taco that Chipolte makes.


Spicy Rub

1 T fresh crushed black pepper
1-2 t cayenne pepper
2 T ground cumin
2 T dark brown sugar
1 T oregano
4 T paprika
2 T sea salt
1 T sugar
1 T ground white pepper
1/2 cup water

1 boneless pork shoulder 6 to 8 pounds

Mix all rub ingredients together in a bowl.
Massage run into the meat ( really rub)
Wrap tightly or put in plastic bag
refrigerate at least 3 hours - 8 to 12 is better
Pre-heat oven to 325 degrees
place pork in casserole with tight lid. Meat should just fit in pot.
Bake for 1 hour & turn
Bake for another hour & turn again.
Check after a total of 6 hours.
Shred & serve....doesn't even need BBQ sauce!

California Pizza Kitchen

Our dinner last night was inspired by my recent trip to Chicago. We walked past the California Pizza Kitchen during one of our many walks. I had never eaten there before and decided to create a dinner of what I imagine a meal there would be like. Last night I cooked a "white" pizza. I drizzled olive oil on pizza dough rolled out very thin. I sprinkled sea salt and pepper on top of the oil. Then topped with feta cheese and a little mozzarella. I diced some onions and tomatoes to put on top as well as some grilled chicken. Basil from mom's garden got chopped and sprinkled on top. It turned out pretty well and overall was very good. We also had a green salad with green leaf lettuce, avocado, carrots, mushrooms and a white wine vinegar dressing! Yum...

Welcome

Hi and welcome to our new blog. We are so excited to start cooking and discussing. Chris has been working on different bread recipes lately to try and find one that she really likes. Emily just created a scrumptious breakfast for Aurora and I while we visited her in Chicago. Liz (who is a Clement-Puskala) is in desperate need of some new recipes and ideas....I'm kind of in a rut with enchiladas as my specialty right now.
We are going to try a bunch of new, different recipes and write about them. We'll post what works and what doesn't work along with tips and substitutions. We are excited and can't wait to start!