Mother's Day 2012: Memories of Sunday Suppers with My Mom

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Mom and Me, 2012

Sundays are for suppers. Not just any suppers. Suppers made patiently, slowly, lovingly. Like the way your mother or grandmother used to do.

When I was a child, most Sunday mornings were spent rolling the meatballs. From the time I about four years old, I’d stand on my mom’s rickety yellow step stool, and eagerly dig my hands into the cold pork and beef mixture she had waiting for me on the counter top. I’d add the eggs (yes, I was an egg-cracking prodigy), the bread crumbs, the parsley, the grated cheese, and I’d being to squish and mash the mixture with delight. That is, until my hands turned purple from the cold. Then my mom would run my hands under warm water, rubbing them with her own, before she’d let me start rolling the meatballs again.Click here to continue reading this post. 

Thinking of Dad this Father's Day (Plus, a Give-Away)

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As I was thinking of what to write about for a Father's Day post, I started to recall the times I talked about my dad on this blog. Turns out, it's a lot of times. So, rather than create a new story, I'm going to share some of the spark some good memories of you and your and dad. And, to dads everywhere, thanks, and Happy Father's Day.


There's a give-away too! 
In the comment section below, please share a fond memory of your dad. It can be sentimental, funny, quirky, food-related, sports-related, whatever. It's completely up to you! I'll choose 5 winners and mail them a signed copy of my book, Recipes Every Man Should Know. 

Deadline for entry is the end of the day, Sunday, June 10th so I can mail you the books in time for Father's Day on June 17.

Tweet about the contest, mentioning @Susan_Russo, and I'll count that as another entry. Good luck!


Lobster So Big, You Could Put a Saddle on It and Ride ItSee a video of my dad trying to crack open a 14-pound crustacean. This is good viewing, folks.

How to Make Italian Pepper BiscuitsMy dad share's his perfect pepper biscuits for my Christmas cookie round-up.

What's In Your Basement?My attempt at an intervention regarding my dad's obsession with stockpiling food. 

How to Roast Peppers with Jerry LewisDad + Jerry Lewis + bushels of peppers = Labor Day celebration

How to Make Pizzelle Cookies in 5 Easy StepsBuddy may be the Cake Boss. My dad is the Pizzelle Boss.

Hey, Dad, I Finally Like Spaghetti Squash!A story about my dad's overzealous appreciation to spaghetti squash.

Bring Back the McDonald's Shamrock ShakeMe: Wisdom teeth, pain. Dad: Shamrock Shakes. Lots of them. 

Patriots PizzaOne of the first posts I had written on Food Blogga highlighted two of my dad's favorite things:pizza and football.

Meat Lover's (No Bean) Chili Recipe

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I was challenged to see if I could make a low-carb, no bean chili. I know there are lots of people who don't need beans in their chili. 

I am not one of them.

or at least I THOUGHT I wasn't one of them. I stand corrected. Very very very corrected.

This is a great chili --- it has all the spice, kick, texture, and heartiness of chili but doesn't have a single bean.  I hate it when I'm wrong.

The Ingredients.
serves 8


2 pounds beef stew meat (frozen is fine)
10 ounces smoked andouille sausages, sliced
1 (14-ounce) can diced tomatoes (whole can)
1 onion, peeled and diced
4 cloves garlic, minced (or about 2 teaspoons garlic powder)
1 tablespoon cumin
2 tablespoons chili powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 cups beef broth

The Directions.

Use a 6-quart slow cooker. I didn't brown anything for this recipe, but merely plopped it all in and turned the slow cooker on. Load everything into your cooker --- meat, sausages, tomatoes, onion, garlic, and all the seasonings. Stir in the broth. Cover, and cook on low for 8 to 10 hours. For chili, the longer the better, in my opinion -- get the flavors to really meld together and provide the meat an opportunity to fall apart.

If you'd like, you can help the meat out by shredding it completely with two large forks, or you can even pulse a few times with a handheld stick blender to naturally thicken the gravy/sauce (what do you call the juice in chili?). 

Serve with your favorite toppings. My kids really like the Scoops chips that Tostitos puts out -- they ate their bowls that way.

The Verdict.
I served this on a chili night to three other families, because I was eager to test out a no-bean version. The crock was scraped clean! I've made quite a few chilis the past few years, and love having a new one to share. I think you'll really enjoy it.

Have a great day! Here are a few other chili recipes you might enjoy, and feel free to share your favorites --- you can never have too many chili options!

pizza chili
enchilada chicken chili
white bean chili
poor man's chili
sweet potato chili (vegan!)
traditional chili
21-Ingredient chili




We're still hosting daily giveaways! Click on over to join in the fun, and start compiling great ideas for the upcoming Holidays.
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Slow Cooker Bourbon Baked Beans

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I bought bourbon for the first time. I wasn't sure what kind to buy, but chose the Jim Beam because I recognized the name and it was on sale.

and then I made the most awesome baked beans known to man.

I checked with Shirley--- distilled alcohol is gluten free, yet some people react to anything made with grains. If you know you react, this might not be a good recipe for you. Here's a bit more on that from Shirley, at Gluten Free Easily.

The Ingredients.
serves 8-10 as a side dish, 4-6 as main course


1 pound pinto beans, soaked overnight and then drained and rinsed
      (if you don't have time to soak overnight, no problem. Put them in a large pot, and cover completely  
       with water. Bring to a rapid boil for 10 minutes, then turn off stove and cover pot. Let your beans sit 
        for 1 hour, then drain water and put beans into crockpot)
8 ounces bacon, cooked, crumbled, and drained
1 onion, diced and browned
4-6 cloves garlic, diced and browned
1 cup prepared barbecue sauce (read labels carefully if avoiding gluten)
1 cup lightly packed brown sugar
2 tablespoons molasses
1 tablespoon ground mustard
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup bourbon

The Directions.

Use a 6-quart slow cooker. In a large skillet on the stovetop (or use your Ninja!) brown the bacon, onion, and garlic until the bacon is crisp and the fat has been rendered. Discard the fat, and pour the bacon mixture into an empty slow cooker.
Add the soaked and drained pinto beans. Now add the brown sugar, molasses, barbecue sauce, and dried ground mustard. Stir in chicken broth and bourbon.

Cover, and cook on low for 10 hours, or until beans are soft. If you live in a high-altitude, your beans may take longer to cook. If you prefer to cook on high, check after 6 hours or so.


I served our beans with homemade corn bread made from masa.



This is the recipe I used:

Preheat oven to 425° and lightly butter a cake pan. In a mixing bowl, combine:
1 1/2 cups masa
1/2 cup all purpose flour (I use Pamela's Baking Mix as my gluten free all purpose flour)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon white sugar

wet ingredients:
1 1/3 cups milk
1/2 stick melted butter (1/4 cup)
2 eggs

Mix the dry ingredients together until well-incorporated and the baking powder isn't clumpy. You can sift, if you'd like, but that's kind of a lot of work for a quick cornbread. I end up using my fingers sometimes to break up clumps.
Then mix in the wet ingredients --- use a fork or a whisk, no need to use a machine. Pour batter into pan -- it'll be quite thick, and you may need to shove it around to get it in place.
Bake at 425° for about 20 minutes.

The Verdict.

These beans are perfect. I am SO looking forward to the next potluck --- they had tons of flavor and smelled absolutely amazing. All 5 of us licked our bowls clean. I'm really very pleased with this recipe, and I think you will be, too. If you don't want to use bacon, I bet a saved ham-bone/hock would be *perfect*.
The masa cornbread was an experiment. I didn't have cornmeal in the house and really wanted cornbread. This is quite tasty-- it's nowhere near as sweet as traditional cornbread and tastes "cornier" if that makes sense. This would be a more traditional flavor that the pioneers or Native Americans would have had. 

at least that's what I told the kids.


a few announcements:

~ Ninja has *very generously* increased my cooking system package to now include the roasting kit, the baking kit, the mini warmer, the travel tote, free shipping, and a 5-year warranty for the Holiday season. This is the absolute best package deal available for the Ninja Cooking System and is better than the infomercial offering. 

~ we are still hosting giveaways daily on the giveaway page! Click on over and enter to win!

~ Amazon has my Totally Together: Shortcuts to an Organized Life book on sale. Make 2013 the best year yet by getting completely (and totally!) organized. 

~ I'm going to be speaking next month at BlogHer PRO on pricing and proposals. I can not believe how much my life has changed ever since I made that silly resolution in 2008, and I am so very (very) thankful. I am always happy to share blogging info and what has/hasn't worked for me, and think this will be an extraordinary conference. 

Have a wonderful day!!







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Priest's Beef Stew (Papaz Yahnisi)

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Since I haven't posted a new recipe in a while, I wanted to break the silence with a heavily delicious or deliciously heavy one: priest's beef stew or ragout. This succulent ragout recipe comes from the Aegean part of Turkey, and judging by the name, priest--not "yahni" since it is of Persian origin for meat and onion dishes--the dish must be originally Greek. Another clue about its Greek roots is the use of cinnamon. Although it is an indispensable spice in Turkish cooking, cinnamon is used for the most part in desserts, not in savory dishes and most definitely not in stews. But here we go, this stew asks for cinnamon and allspice, and in the end the beef braised for hours with these spices is just fantastic. If you are a meat eater, you will want to write this recipe down.    


serves 4-6, depending on the appetite 2 lb stew beef1 lb pearl onions, peeled (you can use frozen ones, but I really think they don't taste the same)3 tbsp butter1 head of garlic,8-10 cloves, don't panic it's good3 tbsp red wine vinegar or 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar1 can of diced tomatoes or 3 tomatoes, grated1 tsp sugar1 tsp cinnamon1/2 tsp allspice, ground1 tsp sugar1 tsp or more salt1 tsp black pepper1/4 c flour 2 c hot waterparsley, finely chopped to garnish
-Place stew beef on a flat surface (a big plate or a tray), sprinkle flour on top, and make sure each piece is coated.-Melt the butter in a stew pot, add stew beef, and on medium heat saute until they are all browned and crispy outside: ~6-7 minutes.-Add pearl onions and garlic and stir for  another 6-7 minutes. At this point flour on the beef might stick to the bottom of the pot, but that's fine. Keep stirring; it'll go away once you add tomatoes and water.-Add diced or grated tomatoes (I always put diced tomatoes in a food processor or a hand blender and pulse 2-3 seconds to have a smoother texture), spices, salt, and boiling water.-Once it bubbles, turn the heat down to low, cover ans simmer for at least 2 hours, and get a beer &  go outside because the delicious smell will drive you crazy. -Serve with rice and/or crusty bread.
I started making papaz yahnisi based on a recipe that I read from a Turkish cookbook back in the day when I didn't have a blog and wasn't careful about my recipe sources. and now I cannot remember the name of the writer or the book. If I remember, I'll definitely cite it. TweetPin It

Emma's 1st Birthday Invitation | DIY Extra Thick Photo Invitation

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Emma's 1st Birthday is just a couple of weeks away.  In a way, I can't believe she is going to be one, but then again, it feels like we've been parents for 5 years already!  It does seem like a lifetime away when we headed to the Emerson Hospital in Concord...


December birthdays are tricky.  Mike's birthday is the 7th and when he was younger his Mom always made sure that they celebrated his birthday before they decorated for Christmas - to make sure they didn't couple up the holidays.  No birthday photos in front of the tree.  


I feel like the 15th of December is a little too late to wait to decorate, so I am attempting to design her party with a 'winter wonderlandy, creamy, dreamy, candylandy" sorty of feel.  I wasn't sure how I was going to accomplish it, until I came across my source of inspiration...

Thanks to Paper-Source!  When I walked in the store, I thought this paper (that I used to line the opal shimmer envelopes) was the perfect inspiration for the party.  Cute pink, red and green holiday cookies that look girly and feminine, without being too over the top "Christmas."

When looking at the pinholepress.com site for holiday cards, I noticed their extra thick side-striped cards.  I only needed 15 invitations, so I couldn't justify ordering them... so, I figured out how to make them.  Of course.

The photo doesn't quite do it justice, as my lens couldn't focus in enough, but as you can see (sort of), the card is triple thick with a layer of pink cardstock sandwiched between two cream cards.  It is all glued together, then cut to reveal the edging.
Here is the process!

I printed a front and back on the same cream sheet of cardstock.


BTW, isn't this the cutest set of Emma photos?!  Here is the original in BW.  They were taken on a whim in her high chair.  I photoshoped out the background and, boom, cutest ever invitation photos.  You can even see the applesauce all over her face and pj's : )


I cut out each photo, leaving a little edge.


Then ran the cards through my xyron sticker machine (also from Paper-Source).


I placed the front sticker on a sheet of pink cardstock...


Then the back sticker on the back, matching them up.  Then I cut out the entire card.



Stay tuned for more party details!

 Here is the easy-to-pin strip!

 

Ginger Spice Cookies | Holiday Cookies

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Nothing smells better (or more like the holidays...) than Ginger Spice Cookies baking in the oven.  When we had friends over for dinner over Thanksgiving weekend, I served a couple of these mini cookies with Salted Caramel Gelato.  I like serving cookies and ice cream for a dinner party because it is casual, and not to mention easy.  It isn't an over the top, overly rich, dramatic dessert that sends everyone over the limit, but it is a sort of comfort food dessert that everyone loves.

Our friends that came for dinner texted Mike last night for the recipe, so I thought I'd share this morning!  The recipe is based on the Barefoot Contessa's Ultimate Ginger Cookie recipe, but with a few adjustments.

Ginger Spice Cookies


2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup unsulfured molasses
1 egg
sugar, for rolling the cookies

In the bowl of an electric mixer beat the brown sugar, oil, and molasses on medium speed for 5 minutes. Add the egg, and beat for 1 minute.  With the mixer still on low, slowly add flour, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, ginger, and salt and mix on medium speed for 2 minutes.

Make small balls (1 inch in diameter) with very small ice cream scoop or with a spoon. Roll them into a ball with your hands, then press both sides of each cookie in granulated sugar and place them on the sheet pans. Bake at 350 for 6-8 minutes.  They should look soft when they come out of the oven.