Colliers Beer Bread

Here's a new bread recipe that I'm testing, I tweaked this a little in hopes that it won't be bland (or just plain yucky the original recipe called for american cheese, gross!). I always end up searching for the ingredients for recipes using the ingredients I already have. The beer and cheese are treats from the Winter Fancy Food Show. It was a blast working with such a great team of people, and of course the food was amazing. Hopefully this bread will be deserving of such yummy ingredients and good memories.

Colliers Beer Bread
1 1/2 teaspoons rapid rise yeast
3 cups flour
1/2 cup oatmeal
1Tablespoon sugar
10 oz Guinness
2 Tablespoon butter
I cup grated Colliers Welsh Cheddar

So it came out a good consistency but was a little heavy on the Guiness, I think I'll try this one again with a lighter beer.

Pasilla and Shrimp Pasta

A quick and easy pasta dish that's subtly spicy with a rich creamy sauce.

3 tablespoon Butter- Throw in a deep frying pan and brown
4 cloves garlic- add to browned butter
2 diced pasilla peppers- add to butter and garlic
1 diced tomato- add to butter and veggie mix
1/3 cup tomatillo salsa- add to butter and veggie mix
1/2 teaspoon cumin
salt and pepper to taste
saute for about 2 mins
1 pound peeled and cleaned shrimp
after shrimp are mostly cooked add
1/3 cup milk
1/4 cup white wine or cooking sherry
2 Tablespoons Cream cheese

Top with shredded Parmesan and enjoy!

Spicy Pickled Grapes

This recipe originally called for white vinegar but I subbed Chardonnay and Raspberry Champagne vinegar for a more delicate flavor. I have read that canning grapes makes them mushy and the finished product looks plenty soft, but I still think they will taste amazing.

3 cups grapes
2 cups vinegar

4 inch sprig of Rosemary
1/2 teaspoon chili flakes

Clean grapes in cold water, remove stems, and fill sterilized jars with grapes. Bring water, vinegar, rosemary, and chili flakes to a simmer. Pour hot brine into jars leaving 1/4 inch head room. Process jars immediately in a boiling water bath, 20 minutes for pints.

Honey Goat Cheese Recipe

Today I made a great honey goat cheese, I used Meyer lemon juiced that I canned this spring and honey from our farm. This cheese was easy to make and will be great on toasted bread with fresh herbs and heirloom tomatoes.


Honey Goat Cheese

1 Quart goat milk
1 third cup Meyer lemon juice
1 Tablespoon Honey

Bring the goats milk to a good boil over low heat, stir in honey, add the lemon juice and let cool on the stove. After it's cool strain through cheese cloth or a handkerchief until most of the whey has drained off, for a softer cheese leave more whey or  for a harder cheese weight the top of the cheese to force more out. Refrigerate after you've reached the desired consistency.

Rainbow Fish

Inspired the beautiful colors of the radishes, beets, and carrots I harvested today I made "Rainbow Fish" for dinner. This recipe is simple and quick, plus it only takes one pan! Enough for 4 people it took about 15 minutes to put together.



Rainbow Fish

1 cup Quinoa rinsed and drained
2 cups water or broth
Variety of radishes, beets, and carrots sliced thinly
3 Tablespoons fresh herbs (I used sage and oregano)
2 Tablespoons butter
4 fillets of fish (I used Tilapia)

Rinse and drain the quinoa, a fine sieve with a handle works the best for this job. I've always had trouble with the quinoa floating away if I rinse it in a bowl. Put quinoa and 2 cups liquid in a baking dish. Chop the veggies and herbs, add to the the baking pan with quinoa. Put fish fillets on top of the vegetables and quinoa, top each fillet with a half tablespoon of butter (note: I used frozen fish so it didn't over cook in the time it takes for the quinoa to cook, if using fresh fish you may want to bake it for about 10 minutes before adding the fish). Grind fresh pepper and sea salt over the entire pan. Cook for about 20 mins on 400 until the quinoa and fish are fork tender.

Watermelon Pickles

I have been wanting to try canning but have been nervous about screwing it up and wasting food or worse making us all sick. So I decided to try making watermelon pickles. You make the pickles with the watermelon rind, I figured at least if I totally screw up it's something I would have thrown to the chickens anyways. I did end up screwing up but it wasn't a big deal (I overcooked them but they still taste okay) better safe than sorry right? I didn't buy any special equipment other than jars. I used my big camping kettle with a veggie steamer rack in the bottom and some tongs to fish out the super hot jars. This worked fine for doing just a few pints, but I don't think the steamer rack would hold up to pint jars or that my pot will be big enough for that matter. I used the rind from one watermelon it yielded 3 pints of finished product and we sampled the last few pieces that didn't fit in the jar, mmm. Watermelon pickles it turns out are sweet and have a hint of clove. I don't usually care for sweet cucumber pickles but these actually taste pretty good! They look pretty in the jar so I think a jar or two will go towards what I want to give away for the holidays. Here's a pic of the finished product and the recipe as found in the Third Edition of Putting Food By by Hertzberg, Vaughn, and Greene.



Recipe: Watermelon Pickles

8 cups prepared watermelon rind
1/2 cup pickling salt
4 cups cold water
4 teaspoons whole cloves
4 cups sugar
2 cups white vinegar
2 cups water

Step 1) Prep the rind: Trim all green and pick off rind and cut into 1 inch cubes, thick rind is best.

Step 2) Dissolve salt in cold water pour over rind cubes (add more water to cover if needed). Let stand 5-6 hours

Step 3) Drain and rinse well. Cover with fresh water and cook until barely tender no more than 10 minutes (err on the side of crispness), drain

Step 4) Combine sugar, vinegar, and water, add cloves tied into a small cloth bag (I used cheese cloth), and bring to boiling, simmer for 5 minutes, pour over rind cubes and let stand overnight.

Step 5) Bring all to boiling and cook until rind is translucent but not at all mushy, about 10 minutes.

Step 6) Remove spice bag and pack rind cubes in hot sterilized pint jars, add boiling syrup leaving 1/2 inch of head room (tip- divide the syrup evenly among the jars then top pff with water if needed).

Step 7) Process in a Boiling Water Bath for 10 minutes Remember to Adjust for Altitude!! Remove jars and complete seals if necessary. Makes about 4 pints (mine only came out 3)

Quick No Mess Mexican Pizza

One of my favorite fast and easy lunches! It only takes a couple minutes to prep and is done in the oven in about 10 minutes.

Ingredients:
Cooking spray
Tortillas
Pesto
1 can refried beans
Veggie toppings
Shredded Cheese

Directions: Cover a cookie sheet in foil. Line tortillas up on the foil and spray with cooking spray (I like to use the olive oil only kind), flip the tortillas.

Spread pesto and beans evenly on the tortillas



Top with veggies. Red onions and tomatoes are my favorite for this.



And LOTS of cheese!



Put "lids" on the quesadillas and spray with cooking spray again.



Bake in a 400 degree oven about 10 minutes until tortillas are crispy and cheese is melty. Enjoy!