Smoky Deviled Eggs

Deviled eggs sound both epic and silly all at once.  They conjure up the image of a creepy, horned, underworld creature-guy with a pointy tail - holding a pitchfork in one hand an egg in the other.  And a malicious grin on his face. Encased in a cloud of smoke.

And when there is news that deviled eggs are in the same room as you, it comes with just a smidge of disappointment when it is revealed to you that there is no devil.  Just eggs.

They may be eggs, but they are indeed a wonderful, wonderful thing.  Who am I kidding, I love eggs.  How brilliant of an idea was it to take out that creamy yolk, make it even more creamy, season it, then stuff it back into its cooked white shell?  Most definitely brilliant.

So even though deviled eggs will most likely not (I mean, never say never and all that) come with a supernatural evil creature, these particular ones do actually come with a bit of smoke.

I'm not gonna lie - we are kinda obsessed with smokiness.  When smoked paprika, coriander, and cumin come together something magical (perhaps devilish?), happens.  I'm not really sure what that is, but this alchemy makes things very fun and yummy to eat.  This isn't the first time you have seen these flavors here, and I guarantee it won't be the last.  We are much too smitten to turn our backs on these spices. We've recently taken to making these smoky deviled eggs.  We even made them for breakfast, feeling a random desire for stuffed eggs one morning.  And indulging in an unusual breakfast food made me feel a bit devilish, and I happily embraced my pitchfork and horns and pointy tail.

Ingredients
7 hard boiled eggs, peeled
4 tablespoons olive oil mayonnaise
Just a splash of liquid smoke
Just a splash of white wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon cumin
pinch ancho chile powder
1/8 teaspoon dijon mustard
paprika, for garnish
chopped chives, for garnish

Instructions
Halve the eggs, and remove the yolks, placing into a medium-sized bowl.  Add the mayonnaise, liquid smoke, vinegar, spices, and Dijon mustard.  Mix everything together with a fork, getting everything nice and smooth.  Using a small spoon, stuff the mixture back into the holes of the egg whites.  Sprinkle with paprika and chopped chives for garnish. Refrigerate until serving.

Banana and Almond Smoothies

So it is January, that month on our calendar that feels so shiny and new and full of promise.  A month of fresh starts and new beginnings.  For us, one of these beginnings is becoming part of Cooking Light's Bloggers' Connection!  A couple times of month you will find us sharing recipes, information, etc. from Cooking Light.  Of course, we'll make sure to add our own twists and adaptations to give it that Home Skillet edge.

Another of these beginnings is a parent/toddler art class for Max and me.  I hated art classes passionately growing up.  I continue to have flashbacks of all the awful projects that I created.  I have zero ability to make my hands create what my mind sees.  So this should be an interesting experience.  And if you're think Max will be doing all the work, than you don't know Max.  He has... a way. 

So where was I going with that?  Well, smoothies are my favorite snack when I need something quick and substantial and yummy.  I saw these peanut butter, banana, and flax seed smoothies on Cooking Light and figured it would fit the bill!  I didn't have flax seeds, so I substituted some toasted almond slices and figured I would run with the whole combination of almond, vanilla, and banana flavors. I've been loving the taste and find myself craving it often.  This will be the breakfast that pumps me up to take on that parent/toddler art class, and maybe my art skills will begin to improve.  Okay, that's never going to happen, but maybe Max's will!  A delicious beginning to a new beginning.

Ingredients
1/2 cup vanilla almond milk
1/2 cup honey Greek yogurt
2 tablespoons toasted almond slices
2 tablespoons almond butter
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
1 banana
1/8 teaspoon roasted Saigon cinnamon

Instructions
Place everything in a bowl and blend together with an immersion blender.  Or place in a blender and blend - whatever is easiest for you!  Serve with cinnamon sticks if desired.

Roasted Slices of Carnival Squash Doused in a Gingery Brown Butter

Carnival squash is my very favorite squash.  And this is because of its name.  I have yet to find sources to confirm this, but I am positive that it derives its name from what was found inside by a person long long ago.  They totally found a carnival inside!  Whenever I cut one of these open, I become convinced that I too will experience this - a whole miniature Dr. Seuss-like carnival - exotic and fancily dressed animals, parades, ferris wheels and carousels with horses, game booths, entertainers in glittery sparkly costumes - will be found in my squash. This has yet to actually happen to me, but I will never give up hope that such a thing will come tumbling from the one on my cutting board.  No other squash provides that twinge of excitement when opening it.  Acorn squash? I mean, I guess it would be cool to find an acorn inside if you were a squirrel.  But I am not a squirrel.  Butternut? What is a butternut I would have to ask.  Delicata?  Now this one is kinda neat - there have been reports that a flower and teeny birds have been spotted inside.  But these do not a carnival make. A carnival, now that is indeed exciting. And though I have yet to be the lucky enough to find an actual carnival, drizzling roasted slices of this squash in a gingery, cinnamony, juniper berry brown butter is like a carnival of flavors for my taste buds.

Ingredients
1 carnival squash, halved then sliced
olive oil
salt
1 stick butter
1 tablespoon grated ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground juniper berries
1/2 teaspoon Saigon cinnamon
juice from 1/2 of Meyer lemon
fleur de sel, to taste

Instructions
To roast the squash:  Heat oven to 400.  Place the slices of squash on a baking sheet (I line mine with a Silpat).  Drizzle with a tablespoon or so of olive oil and sprinkle with a pinch of salt.  Roast for about 10-15 minutes then flip the slices.  Once those have become nice and brown as well, take out of the oven and drizzle with desired amount of the gingery brown butter mixture.

To make the brown butter mixture:  In large saute pan, add butter, ginger, juniper berries, and cinnamon.  Melt then allow the butter brown, about 5-7 minutes total.  You will see brown specks that have formed on the bottom of the pan.  Be careful to not burn the butter. Take off heat and add the lemon juice. Finish with the fleur de sel. Spoon desired amount over the the roasted wedges, making sure to get all those solid bits from the butter.

Parsnip, Fennel and Tarragon Soup with Squash and Apple Turkey Cheddar Sandwiches

We used to have this designated area in our living room, originally called "the reading nook."  It was a futon mattress covered with pillows and surrounded by books.  This eventually got phased out to make space for the nugget boy. But that reading nook actually had very important second function, which became our more commonly used term for the space.  It was called "the mope hole."  The mope hole was a fun place for - you guessed it! - moping.  Mad or sad or stressed about something?  Just go to the mope hole and hug a pillow!  Snuggling into a makeshift fort of books and pillows is a surefire way to lift a dark mood.  After a good mope, the sun shines brighter, the birds chirp more beautifully, the grass is greener, the sky bluer, I'm sure you get the cliched picture.  But alas, I am a woman without a mope hole.  So instead, I look to delicious food to eradicate a foul mood.  A warm bowl of parsnip, fennel and tarragon soup served with a grilled turkey, apple, and squash sandwich, all melty with cheddar, was just the thing to help me recently on a cold, (relatively) dark day.

Ingredients
6 peeled parsnips, cut in half lengthwise
1 fennel bulb, thinly sliced on mandolin
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
salt, to taste
white pepper, to taste
1/3 cup tarragon leaves
2-3 tablespoons of juice from Meyer lemon
1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
1/4 cup ricotta
1/2 cup whipping cream
2 cups chicken stock
deli turkey slices
slices of good quality cheddar
a roasted slice of acorn squash
slices of Granny Smith apple
good quality Dijon mustard
slices of whole wheat bread
1 tablespoon canola oil

Instructions
Heat oven to 400.  Place parsnips and fennel in baking dish.  Cover with olive oil, salt and pepper. Bake for 30-40 minutes, until tender and brown.  Remove from baking dish and place in a pot.  Add tarragon, lemon zest, lemon juice, ricotta, whipping cream, and chicken stock.  Blend everything together with an immersion blender (or pour into a blender or food processor), and puree until smooth.  Gently heat the soup until hot.  To assemble the sandwiches, place the turkey, cheddar, squash, and apple slices between the slices of bread, and smear one piece of bread with the mustard.  Heat oil in a cast iron skillet over medium heat and place the sandwich(s) in it.  Bronze one side of the sandwich, then flip over to bronze the other side.  Serve the soup with the turkey sandwiches, and feel your mood, hopefully, become a happy one.

All about Cheddar Cheese

Cheddar is one of the most popular cheeses in the world and one of my favorites. It originally came from Somerset, in England but is now produced in many  parts of the English speaking world and beyond. But only 14 makers are licensed to use the EU Protected Designation of Origin “West Country Farmhouse Cheddar” which indicates it's still made in the traditional way.

The process for making cheddar is similar to other cow's milk cheeses, with the addition of a unique process that has taken on the name "cheddaring." Slabs of curd are stretched, then piled on top of each other to help drain the whey. This helps to harden the cheese and develop acidity and flavor. Farmhouse cheddars are traditionally wrapped in cloth and then aged. Good English cheddar should be buttery and nutty in flavor and should have a soft crumbly texture. Cheddar improves with age, developing those crunchy crystals of calcium lactate you find in other aged cheese, like Parmigiano Reggiano. 

I recently got a chance to try some Westminster cheddar, and am happy to report that it is very widely available in supermarkets. Westminster aged cheddar cheese is made on England’s oldest cheddar making farm in North Somerset only 15 miles from the village of Cheddar. The Barber family has been making cheddar since 1833 and is reputedly to be the oldest cheddar making family in the world. The milk from their cheddar comes from Holstein Freisian cows. The cows are grass fed for 8-9 months of the year depending on the weather ( free from growth hormones, RBGH or RBST). As with all cheeses, the flavor is very much an expression of what the animals eat. What sets their cheddar apart? They hand turn the cheddar and it's not blast chilled, this lets the starter culture have more time to develop. They also mature the cheese at a slightly higher temperature to let the cheese mature again and develop in flavor. 

While the popularity of cheddar has a lot to do with the influence of the expansion of the British Empire and milk rationing during WWII (cheddar was virtually the only cheese made in England during the war), it's versatility in cooking is also undeniable. If you are enjoying aged cheddar, it's good to at least try it on its own. Here are my tasting notes:

Farmhouse

Aged 10 months, it's buttery, creamy texture that melts and lasts on the finish, much sharper than domestic "extra sharp" cheddar with a richer flavor but not acidic. 

Sharp

Aged 12 months, it is both sharper and drier than the 10 month, but still very creamy with no bitterness, a bit fruity.

Vintage 

Aged15 months, it's even sharper, but less salty, little bit of crunch from the crystals, nutty.

Farmer's Reserve

Aged 2 years it represents only 2% of total production. It's the driest, with more crunch, complex but still creamy and earthiness.

Some of my favorite ways to use cheddar:

* Grilled cheese sandwiches

* Served with my favorite chutney and bread

* In macaroni and cheese with Spanish peppers

* In cheddar biscuits

* As a topping on chipotle chili 

* In fondue

* In a souffle

* On double stuffed baked potatoes

* In cream of broccoli soup

* In chile cheddar bacon waffles

* In corn chowder

Disclaimer: My thanks to Westminster Cheddar for supplying me with samples. 

Chocolate and Olive Oil Crostini

A setting or rising sun is one of those sights that we, as a species, love to behold.  So colorful and and epic and majestic, it inspires a sense of wonder and awe.  Unless you are a certain two year old.  The sun is totally old news, apparently, for him.  A sunset, though, is exciting for one and only one reason - it is a harbinger of the moon!  Our little guy is quite taken with the moon, and has a deep love for just sitting outside and gazing up excitedly at it.  Moon watching, actually, can begin as early as 3 or 4 pm. That's when we start to think the moon is out.  So we have to go outside and check if it can be seen.  As expected, it usually is not visible at that time.  So we keep checking again and again and again.  And eventually, that wonderful moon of ours does indeed make an appearance (though I'm not sure how he will take the news that the moon goes through a "new moon" phase).  And when that happens, he scoots some chairs out to the deck and demands a moon watching companion. If Max was running the show, one would do nothing but moon watch from 4 pm until bedtime.  But, as you can imagine, that leaves no time to do things like, I don't know, make dinner.  So compromises are made.  Full on moon watching begins after dinner once the dishes have been cleaned up.  We go to the deck, bundle up, sit on on the chairs that Max so helpfully brought outside, and eat a snack while gazing up at the moon. These crostini with a chocolate and olive oil drizzle, mint leaves, coconut flakes, and vanilla salt make for a fun moon watching snack.  Packed onto a tray and taken outside, it is a delicious companion to celestial observations. And of course, it can be eaten indoors as well.

Ingredients
3.5 ounces good quality chocolate ( I used a Lindt 70% cacao bar)
1/4  cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil, divided
1 baguette, sliced
vanilla salt
white pepper
1/3 cup chopped mint leaves
1/3 cup coconut flakes

Instructions
Heat oven to 375.  Place the baguette slices on a baking sheet (I used a Silpat to line mine).  Pour 1/4 cup olive oil in a bowl, and brush the oil on each slice.  Sprinkle a bit of vanilla salt and pepper on each.  Bake for 8-10 minutes or until golden-brown.

Place the chocolate bar (chopped) and 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a small microwaveable bowl. Carefully melt the chocolate and olive oil together (about 30 seconds).  Stir the mixture.

Have fun with these - drizzle the chocolate and olive oil on the crostini, or use it as a dip.  Sprinkle more vanilla salt on top, if desired. Or throw on some mint leaves and/or coconut flakes.  Whatever floats your boat!

Shortbread Thumbprint Cookies with Fruity, Nutty, Chocolaty Flair

I am beginning to think the only holiday traditions we have are intending to do festive activities and not following through.  For instance, this year we were going to carve pumpkins for Halloween, like we did last year.  Didn't actually happen.  It got pushed back and back until it would have been December 1 and we would have been the weird people with a jack o lantern out on the porch in December instead of glittery Christmas decorations. For Hanukkah, we plan to make latkes at least one of the nights.  This year we managed to make some before Hanukkah started.  But not during.  Even though we swore to ourselves we would.  Quite frankly, there didn't seem to be any reason not to make these again. We were looking forward to them! We actually completely failed to celebrate this holiday. Candles were bought for the menorrah and never even lit.  And now on to Christmas, we still have a few days, but it is looking increasingly likely that the gingerbread houses will not indeed be assembled and decorated.  Perhaps we crack under holiday pressures? At some point these things sound super fun but once they are upgraded to the category of tradition they also bring a sense of obligation, a yoke we refuse to wear?  Lazy? Busy? Perhaps we prefer to go with the flow, and see what new fun things each season brings? I have no idea.  But there is actually one tradition - ok, I'm not using that word anymore - one activity that always happens this time of year... one that, without fail, actually happens.  The cookies are always baked.  The exact list of cookies changes each time.  There are a few stalwarts, lending their years of experience to the annual cookie brigade.  But it is the addition of new cookies that adds excitement and a sense of whimsy to the mix.  These particular cookies are actually a hybrid between the new and old- a former heavy hitter recipe from my mom that got a bit of a chocolate makeover.  So here are some shortbread thumbprint cookies filled with either apricot or orange spread.  Or a raspberry, for funsies. Drizzled with a chocolate and almond ganache. Toasted almond slices optional.

Ingredients
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
2 cups flour
1/3-1/2 cup apricot or orange spread
raspberries
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
1-2 tablespoons heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/3 cup toasted almond slices, optional

Instructions
Using electric mixer, cream butter and sugar.  Add in extract.  Slowly stir in the flour.  The mixture will look sandy at first, but the dough should come together, just keep the mixer going.  Feel free to add just a touch of milk if it doesn't seem to come together.  Refrigerate for at least an hour.  Form into 1-inch balls.  Use the handle of a wooden spoon to press an indentation into the ball.  Fill with either the apricot spread or place a raspberry in there.  Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes, until the edges are lightly browned.  Cool for a minute on the tray then move to a cooling rack.  Combine chocolate chips and cream in a microwaveable bowl.  Carefully microwave for 30 seconds, or until the mixture is melted.  Stir in the almond extract.  Drizzle chocolate mixture over cookies.  Add toasted almond slices to each cookie, if desired.