What do you do when you find yourself with a ton of stale bread?  Normally I would have made dressing, but since I’m trying to be a bit more adventurous while my wife is away, I thought that a savory bread pudding sounded like a good idea.

When I started looking around for recipes, I realized that bread puddings are as varied and free-form as most dressings.  I found asparagus, bacon, sausage, breakfast and a thousand other versions. This is the perfect dish for the seat of your pants cook, which kind of fits with my style, don’t you think?

The one recipe that caught my eye was for a savory bread pudding with caramelized onions.  If there is one ingredient I have no lack of, it’s onions. So the only question was what other ingredients I had handy, and whether or not I wanted to add some type of protein other than eggs.

The end result was surprising if not perfect. This is one recipe I’ll revisit and modify.  It’s simple, convenient and a great way to use up items that I constantly have on hand. In short, it’s the perfect compliment of simplicity and lifestyle.

So with no further ado, I present you with my new pet project…

Read more…

Popularity: 5% [?]

I can’t remember the first time my mother brought home a tub of Rondelé cheese, but from the moment she did, I was hooked.  We all were.  It was the staple on wheat crackers in our home for years.  It was used with vegetable platters, smeared on sourdough with salami and a favorite at parties.  It only took one taste.

Of course, not every store carries this delicately herbed cream cheese, nor its it carried in all regions.  I have not been able to find a good quality replacement in Texas, though I’m sure it exists somewhere.  The thing is, I’m not looking any more.  It’s so easy to make that I’ll never buy the ready-made version again.

This particular version was made to go with a wrap we made for a friend’s commissioning reception, but it would be fabulous with any savory accompaniment. The flavors can easily be adjusted to suit your needs or be made with what you have on hand, so there really is no excuse not to give it a try the next time you have a need for a dip or spread that’s a little bit different from the fare found at the local BigScaryMegaMart.  I hope you enjoy this as much as everyone at the reception did.

Garlic and Herb Cream Cheese

Ingredients:

• 1 – 8 oz container cream cheese, softened
• 2 tbsp. milk
• 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
• 3/4 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 tsp. onion powder

Method:

Mix milk and cream cheese together in a medium bowl with an electric mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer using the paddle attachment until creamy. Add remaining ingredients and mix well, scraping sides of bowl constantly.

Place in an airtight container and refrigerate for at least one hour to allow the flavors to blend.

Use as cheese dip, or spread on crostini, for wraps or wherever else you would use flavored cream cheese.

Share and enjoy!

What I would have done differently had I thought of it at the time:

The possibilities for flavors is pretty much limited only by your imagination.  Adjust herbs and garlic to suit the dish you are making.  Dill for fish, mint for lamb or heavier, more savory herbs for beef.  Add in some sun-dried tomatoes and use as topping for toast points, crostini or as a dip for crackers.  It’s really up to what you want at the time.

Links to other recipes like this:

• Herbed Cream Cheese, from The Crispy Cook
• Herbed Cream Cheese Spread or Dip, from Seasonal Ontario Food
• Herb Garlic Cream Cheese, from Chaos in the Kitchen

Popularity: 5% [?]

This is definitely a case of cooking by the seat of my pants.  I was thinking about flavor combinations the other day while snacking on leftover pork roast with caramelized apples when all of a sudden, someone was making some kind of empanada or other. I don’t know of too many flavors that go together like pork and apple, and that’s what gave me the seedling of an idea that grew into a profound, soul consuming, kind of demoniacal need to make this dish.

Unfortunately, as far as I know I’m the first one to try these combinations as an empanda. I scoured the web and all my favorite food blogs looking for something similar or even remotely similar, but there was nothing that I could find as a jumping off point.  I was on my own, which in my case is always the best way to be in a situation like this.

I knew the combination of flavors would work.  The trick was in how much I wanted to bring the traditional flavors of cumin and chilies in with the apple.  Did I want to add some cinnamon to elevate the apple flavor? Why yes. Yes I did.  Cilantro?  Probably should… But in what amounts?  It would be very easy to take this particular combination way to far, and in the process take a great flavor pairing and ruin it completely.

Luckily, I guessed right. The apple and cinnamon pair wonderfully with the more traditional pork filling.  It actually came out tasting a little like i’d used Chinese Five-Spice powder in preparation, but I didn’t.  They were moist, succulent and savory in ways I have to revisit again. And Again.  And again. And… Well, you get the point.

Read more…

Popularity: 2% [?]