A Pizza Fiasco

This weekend we hosted our first dinner party in our new home. I was so excited for it! We had recently bought patio furniture for our deck at a ridiculously low price so we finally would have enough seating for everyone! I was also excited to enjoy our new deck, have new and old friends over, and try out some new recipes. I prepped for the night as much as I could throughout the day. My plan was to make four different pizzas, a raspberry-lime slushy, snacks for before the meal, and a simple dessert after.

People arrived and things were going pretty well; I was in the kitchen a little more than I wanted to be, but people were enjoying themselves. I had placed my rolled out pizza dough on my pizza peel and overturned cookie sheets, and these I had on top of the stove because I have limited counter space in this new kitchen. Well, the stovetop was warm because the oven was preheated to 500 degrees Fahrenheit. Due to this, my dough became warm and extra sticky—only I didn’t realize this until it was too late. I tried to slide the pizza, full of toppings into the oven with a quick forward-back jerking movement like I usually do, but it didn’t budge!

Uh oh, don’t panic Whitney, try again.

I tried harder, jerking my arm forward as if I was doing a quick, hard jab in kickboxing. A cherry tomato half and a crumble of goat cheese rolled off the pizza, onto the pizza stone, and then fell to the oven floor.

Oh no!

I knew then that I was doomed, absolutely doomed. I knew from previous experience that bad, bad things happen when pizza toppings come off the pizza in a 500-degree oven. I tried to play it cool, had a friend help me shove more cornmeal under my pizza so it would slide off, tried again, and this time the pizza slid onto the pizza stone in the oven like it normally does.

Whew! Ok, there we go Whitney, breath, let the pizza cook, please stop sweating so much, maybe, just maybe, this will all turn out ok.

I tried to give a confident smile to my friend B, who had helped me, as we checked on my other sticky pizza dough and shoved more cornmeal under them. The time came to take the first pizza out of the oven; I nervously held my breath and opened the door.

Please, please be ok.

A big cloud of smoke came out.

Crap.

All hope is lost.

The tomato and goat cheese crumble that had rolled off were burning on the bottom of the oven floor along with the extra cornmeal that I had to use to get the pizza off the peel. I took the pizza out as quick as I could and apologized and explained the situation. I had no choice but to put the next one in, and so I did. The other two pizza’s I took outside to Scott and told him to grill them. We’d only tried grilling pizzas once before and they had come out pretty ugly, but this was a dire situation and I didn’t know what else to do.

(The grilled half of the pizza that stayed "together" the first time we tried grilling pizzas.)

(The other half of the pizza, in unintentional pieces.)

When I walked back in the house it was filled with a smoky haze and the majority of our guests were inside.

Why me?! Can I go hide now? Can this be over? Where is a time machine when I need one? Why do I have to get so excited and ambitious and cook four different, original pizzas? Because that’s what I do, I’d be bored if I didn’t. I would, wouldn’t I? Or is it my pride? Oh I don’t want to think about my faults now. More importantly, why did I put the pizza dough on the stovetop? I could have cleared space elsewhere. But I was in a rush and I was in a rush because I made four different types of pizzas. Curse my pride.

I apologized to the guests for the smoke cloud and suggested they move outside. They didn’t move. I tried again.

Maybe the smoke wasn’t as bad as I thought? No. It’s bad. Then why aren’t they going outside? Are they trying to further humiliate me? Calm down Whitney! You’re getting irrational. Wait, I see D moving. He’s going outside! Oh I could just hug him! But that would scare him--he doesn’t seem the type. Please, follow his lead J and O. I beg of you!

They went outside. Hallelujah! I opened the windows, and turned on the fans to try to clear some of the smoke. Three minutes until the pizza needed to come out of the oven, and then the house would be really smoky.

I’m going to burn this place down yet. I feel sick. I don’t know what I would do if the fire alarm went off. Where is our fire alarm anyway? What if I can’t turn the fire alarm off, and then the fire truck comes? What do I do with my guests then? Send them home with empty stomachs as they vow to themselves never to come over for dinner again? Mortifying. Whitney, you have got to get a grip on yourself. Be strong! Your guests look worried for you--smile! God, I need you to disable the fire alarm when this pizza comes out, ok? Thank you. Amen. Ok, breath.

I held my breath (for the smoke this time) and took the pizza out from the billowing smoke. I immediately turned the oven off and listened for the smoke alarm. Nothing.

Hallelujah. Thank you. Thank you!

With that I went outside and joined the rest of my guests. We prayed and ate. My heart rate slowed down, a bit. I finally got to join in conversation with my guests. People exclaimed over the pizza, said they loved it, and picked their favorites. Normally I would have been thrilled and joined in, curiously asking what they liked about their favorites, but the smoke-out ordeal was too fresh in my mind to relax.

They’re just saying nice things because they feel obliged to. They’re trying to make me feel better. I wonder what they’d say if I hadn’t made us all perform an obligatory fire drill. Would they still say they liked it as much?

As the evening went on I relaxed more and enjoyed the rest of it with our guests. Today I had the left over pizza for lunch. There was one slice each left of the proclaimed favorites. I heated them up in the (cleaned) oven so I wouldn’t make the crust soggy in the microwave, and took a bite. I was shocked! It really did taste great. I had been so anxious the night before that I couldn’t taste anything I was eating. (Do you ever have that when you host?) But now, wow! Maybe my guests hadn’t been lying after all.

Two Pizzas

I’m sorry I don’t have pictures of either of these pizzas but I think you will understand that certain circumstance prevented my remembering to take any photos.

The first pizza I’m sharing with you is a pesto-based pizza that is best when covered with fresh, garden picked cherry tomatoes as they have maximum flavor with a wonderful juiciness when you bite into them. The balsamic syrup drizzled on the pesto pizza is something that I had in a restaurant in Kansas City and loved. It adds a ton of flavor and gives everything a nice “pop.” Try it over pizzas, meats, pastas, whatever tickles your fancy.

The second pizza is a potato pizza that has a unique, creamy caramelized onion sauce that would be great as gravy over meats and potatoes too. To counterpoint the sauce’s richness I topped the pizza with spicy andouille sausage and slices of tart granny smith apples. I’m not convinced that I like the granny smith apples with the sauce so that is optional. I do think though, that if you just had caramelized onions without the sauce, and perhaps add typical hot Italian sausage with fennel (instead of andouille), then the addition of apples would be perfect. Mix and match how you see fit!

Pesto Farmer’s Market Pizza with Balsamic Syrup

Pizza dough for one 12-14inch pizza (When I find a pizza dough I can proclaim "the best" I'll share it with you.)

¼ cup pesto (If you buy your pesto, make sure you buy a quality brand.)

1/3 pound of red cherry tomatoes

1/3 pound of yellow lemon cherry tomatoes (If you can’t find these, use whatever your farmer’s market has as long as it is cherry or grape size, preferably yellow for color.)

3 small Japonese eggplants or about ½ a globe eggplant

3-4 oz. of goat cheese

¼ cup grated Parmesan

2 Tablespoons balsamic vinegar

2 Tablespoons water

Pinch of sugar

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to as high as it can go with a pizza stone in it. This is important if you’re going for that crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside pizza crust that you would find in a restaurant with a brick oven or wood fired pizza. If you don’t care, then bake it on a cookie sheet that you put into the oven with the pizza on it.

While your oven is preheating, peel eggplant and slice into ¼ inch thick rounds. (If you’re using a globe eggplant salt the rounds and leave them to sit for 20 minutes. This will get rid of its bitter juices. At the end of twenty minutes, wipe off the juice with a paper towel.) Halve the cherry tomatoes, sprinkle the tomatoes and eggplant with salt and pepper and toss with olive oil. Place on a baking sheet covered with aluminum foil (tomatoes can get messy when roasted in the oven) and place the baking sheet into the oven to roast for 20-30 minutes flipping the eggplant slices once, until eggplant is very tender. Set aside.

While your veggies roast, make your balsamic syrup. Into your smallest sauce pan put the balsamic vinegar, water, and a pinch of sugar. Bring to a simmer, turn on your vent fan, and let simmer with the lid off until it reaches a syrupy consistency. Take it off the heat and let cool, the syrup will thicken more as it cools.

Stretch out dough to desired thickness and width. If it doesn’t want to stretch leave it alone for a few minutes and let it relax. It will be more willing when it’s relaxed. Place dough onto a pizza peel (or baking sheet) that has been sprinkled with cornmeal. (Do this only if you’re using a pizza stone that is already in the oven.) Spread your pesto on to the dough and then top with the eggplant, cherry tomatoes, crumbled goat cheese, and freshly grated parmesan. Slide the pizza into the oven and bake for 8 to 11 minutes depending how hot your oven is. When the pizza is done baking drizzle the balsamic syrup back and forth over the whole thing. Yum.

Rosemary Potato and Caramelized Onion Pizza

Check out this link as to how to make the sauce and prepare the potatoes. Make HALF of the recipe if you’re only making once pizza.

1 link of andouille sausage

½ Granny Smith (or other tart apple) - optional

Preheat your oven as stated above. Stretch out your pizza dough and top with sauce, potatoes, sausage, and apple. Bake in the oven until crust is nice and crisp. Remove from oven and devour—with a smile.

Paul Bunyan Wannabes

Yesterday Scott had a day off and we decided to be productive with that time and rent a sawzall with an extra long blade from our neighborhood hardware store and trim some trees. At least that’s what I thought we were doing. However, when I got outside I saw this.

“What are you doing?” I asked Scott. “Cutting down the tree in two sections.” Scott nonchalantly replied. “Really?!” I thought. We had talked about wanting to cut down some trees for some time now, but Scott never seemed to think that we could do it on our own and that we needed professional help—and I could see his point. “Oh, ok. I’ll hold your ladder.” I said, thinking that Scott was crazy, but at the same time admiring his brave, take charge attitude and rejoicing that we were going to reclaim our front yard from the wild.

So we went at it with full steam ahead. We cut down that tree and then Scott moved on to the next while I trimmed off the branches of the fallen tree and threw them into a pile. It was hard, sweaty work and the blade of our sawzall was the first to show it. It became so hot that the metal bent and warped into and “S” shape. Still, we plowed on cutting down our third tree. Since we only had one saw I had to use our long-handled snips to cut off branches that would normally be too big for it. Being my competitive, determined self I faced each branch with defiant resolve as I straddled it and place the handles of the snips on the inside of my knees and adducted with all of my might “grunting” like Maria Sharapova. Dead, brittle branches brought out my inner Lara Croft Tomb Raider. I came after them swinging the snips around my head as I galloped toward the branch, bringing the snips down yelling “hi-yaa!” as the branch snapped and shattered. I finished the deal with a “tough guy” shrug and looked menacingly around at the other branches as if daring them to challenge me.

Scott, meanwhile, was having a tougher time with the now possessed “S” curved sawzall. It vibrated terribly, seemingly going nowhere at all, and had a mean kick-back when the blade got caught in the wood that would jam his arm. On our fourth, and last, tree he’d had enough and tried to push and kick the tree the rest of the way over. When that didn’t work, I suggested tying a rope around the top and pulling while I pushed. Still no luck. Then Scott thought he’d tie the rope to his truck and pull the tree down with that. “Brilliant” I thought, that always works in the movies. Excited, we tied the rope to his car and I took pictures and cheered my man on.

The excitement was short lived. The rope snapped.

We tied it again, the rope snapped again in a different place. Disappointed, and knowing that Scott needed a break, I grabbed the sawzall and told the tree it’s time had come and I went at it. It hurt my arm and my hands and my wrist, but I bit my lip and tried harder. I dislike sissies and I didn’t intend to be one. The jiggling and snapping of my arm to and fro at the mercy of the psychotic will of the sawzall only made me angry as I gripped the beast tighter and forced it further into the tree. With my adrenaline waning, I stopped to rest with my thumb throbbing from a newly formed blister. Scott took over then, and with my pushing and him sawing we were finally able to topple that tree!

After we cut down that tree we decided to stop. So what if our yard was in shambles and it looked like a tornado had passed through?

We were hot, sweaty, sticky, covered with dirt and sawdust, exhausted, dehydrated, short on patience, and, just to top it off for good measure, a bee stung me. Yup, we’d had enough. After showering, speeding to McDonalds with our free smoothie coupons, and then guzzling the smoothies down in delicious silence punctuated with the occasional “Ahhh,” we started to feel better.

For supper that night I made a delicious, vegetarian meal that Scott declared was in the Top Five of Any Meal in Durham. For Scott to rank something vegetarian that high is a great compliment. I toasted tortilla shells in the oven so they’d become crisp like a cracker, spread on a slightly sweet and smoky black bean purée, and topped it with avocado slices, broiled tomatoes, black beans, and peach slices that had been tossed in a cumin-lime vinaigrette. Simple, fast, refreshing, and delish—sounds like a keeper to me! I hope you enjoy!

Avocado Salad on a Tortilla Spread with Black Bean Puree

While this is great as a meal, it can also be served as hors d’oeuvres. Also, depending on the tortilla used, I believe this could also be a vegan recipe. Finally, I think some thinly sliced red onion would taste and look great on this if you would like to add it--I didn't because a certain person doesn't like ANY raw onions.

Serves 2

2 whole wheat tortillas

nonstick spray (I used olive oil spray)

1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed

1/2 medium-large onion, diced

1 clove of garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon of ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon salt

Juice from 1/2 a lime or about 2 tablespoons

1 Tablespoon water

1 avocado, sliced

1 peach, sliced (You can substitute with a mango (very sweet) or pineapple (more tart) if peaches are not good.)

About 14 grape tomatoes, halved

Salt and pepper

VINAIGRETTE adapted from a Bobby Flay recipe

2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice

1 Tablespoon rice wine vinegar

1/2 Tablespoon (1 1/2 teaspoons) honey

1/2 Tablespoon toasted cumin seeds or around 1/3 teaspoon of ground cumin

2 Tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro leaves (I did not have this b/c I didn't have any on hand, but I think it would be better with cilantro)

1-2 Tablespoons of olive oil

Salt and pepper

Preheat oven to 400F.

While the oven preheats, sauté the onion in olive oil over medium heat until golden brown (this is where the sweetness comes from in the black bean paste). When the onions are almost done, add the garlic about 30 seconds before removing the pan from the heat. Put 2/3 of the black beans in a food processor with all of the onion and garlic, 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin (this gives the paste the "smoky" flavor), 1/4 teaspoon salt, 2 Tablespoons lime juice, and 1 Tablespoon water. Puree the mixture until a smooth paste forms.

Spray each sides of the tortilla with nonstick spray and lay flat on a cookie sheet. To prevent tortilla from bubbling (see picture below), try poking holes in the tortilla with the tines of a fork. Salt and pepper halved tomatoes and arrange skin-side down on the baking pan next to the tortillas. When oven is preheated, toast the tomatoes and tortillas for 10 minutes or until the tortillas are crisp and hard. I cook the tomatoes because we like them better this way but if you're a raw tomato lover you can certainly skip this step!

While the tortillas and tomatoes toast, make the vinaigrette. Combine in a bowl lime juice, vinegar, honey, cumin, cilantro and whisk in the oil. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Peal and slice the peach and avocado* and place slices immediately into the vinaigrette so the avocado slices don't turn brown.

When the tortillas are cool enough to handle spread on your black bean paste.

See that big air bubble I got? Don't worry if you have this, your tortilla will just be all the lighter and more crispy for it!

See, you can hardly tell it was there.

Top with tomatoes, the rest of the beans, and the peach and avocado slices, straining the vinaigrette from them as you take them out of the bowl. Drizzle some of the vinaigrette over it all for lots of flavor, but make sure you don't end up with too much vinaigrette on your tortillas as they'll turn soggy. Cut into slices and enjoy!

*First halve the avocado and remove the pit/seed. Then take a knife and slice through the fruit, but not through the skin, longways to get nice long slices. Then, take a spoon and carefully scoop the fruit out and separate the slices with you fingers.

purée

Update!

I’m back!

Boy it’s been a long time and a lot has happened since I last wrote! I’m having trouble writing about anything in detail since it has been so long. If I expounded on southern tea parties (actual tea parties, not the political tea party), or the range of emotions one feels when looking for theright job, or heat and humidity so bad that after thirty, no, ten seconds outside one is glistening (read sweating) all over, you would be lost and confused. Thus, this post is simply an update so that we can catch up and hopefully pick back up where we left off.

As you know, it all started on Match Day when Scott was matched to Duke for his Internal Medicine Residency. Shortly after that day we began preparations to move here. We bought our first house (as you saw in my last post) and with that purchase a whole bunch of other busy work came with it that took up most of our "free" time. Once we moved all of our time has been taken up with making our new house our home! So, ready for this fast-forward update? Here goes!

Scott graduated from medical school.

So proud!!

I worked my last day of work at the University of Iowa. It was so surreal to work my last day at my first real, post-college job. On that day I had a potluck with my coworkers that I spent the last two years with, that I developed friendships with, and who were my first "real" coworkers at my first "real" job. I miss it and my wonderful coworkers!

Me in the lab

My desk!

The night of my last day of work Scott and I drove to my hometown for one of my high school friend’s wedding. It was a wonderful wedding and a great reunion with an amazing group of girls!

The girls and I

Sunday, we drove back to Iowa City and started packing, and packing, and packing. Nearly everything we owned was packed in boxes by Monday night. However, I still had some food left in the fridge and freezer and because I’m Dutch (read cheap) I couldn’t throw it away. Thus, this lead to some creative ways to prepare food . . . and the discovery that you can make “hard-boiled” eggs simply by placing an egg directly on an oven rack at 350F and leaving it in there for 12-15 minutes. I also learned that microwave scrambled eggs aren’t all that bad.

Tuesday some wonderful people from church and work showed up throughout the day and helped us load our GIANT 26ft. truck (we originally reserved at 16ft truck, but through unavailability and free upgrades wound up with a 26ft truck). Wednesday we cleaned all day long. It was exhausting and no fun at all, though I did learn why it is very important to move the stove and fridge out at least once a year and clean behind them. I solemnly intend to do this regularly in our own house!

Finally, late Wednesday night we’d had enough of cleaning, and left for Moline, IL where we were meeting Scott’s parents and staying the night. Thursday we drove all day and stopped in West Virginia for the night. We ate at an Olive Garden and our waiter was the most interesting waiter I’ve ever had. He sat down in the booth with us and told us stories and talked about how tired he was from his long day of work with a thick southern, mountain-region, redneck accent. I don't think he meant to be, but he was very entertaining!

I've never seen a cuter truck driver in my life!

Here we are waiting for hours after closing for the seller's realtor to show up and give us the keys. We were so bored we even unloaded some of the truck only to set our stuff on the driveway!

After unpacking and painting the majority of the inside of our house, we escaped to the beach with Scott's family and had two wonderful days there. I'm so excited to be living near an ocean now!

The view from our hotel window

When Scott's family left, we spent the next week building and planting our raised-garden beds. we've since harvested lots of herbs, one Japanese eggplant, two cherry tomatoes, and one roma tomato with many more on the way!

Our third week in NC my family arrived to help us build a deck for our house.

While the men worked, my mom and I attended a picture-book tea party hosted by my dear friend and former college roommate.

We all agreed my friend could give Ms. Martha Stewart a run for her money!

The menu, with fresh cut flowers from her yard

Homemade raspberry cordial anyone?

Due to the intense heat we decided to skip out on construction work the next day and hit the beach!

Scott and my younger (I can't call him "little" anymore!) brother catching some waves

After the beach and tea party, we settled down and got to work and whipped out this beauty in four days thanks to my (architect) dad!

We love our deck! Thank you dad!

After my parents left Scott immediately started residency . . . and I haven't seen him since. Seriously though, while he is busy, Scott and I try to make the most of our time together and do fun things, like hike around Lake Jordan.

This little guy was on our path and he was quite a ways away from the water, I hope he makes it to where he's going!
Scott with some cool, rainbow colored fungi. (Or are they lichen? See below for a close up.) If you think his hat looks like a 60 year old man would wear it, you're right. My dad originally bought it at the beach and Scott (who rarely wears hats because he doesn't like how they look on him) took a liking to this hat claiming it makes for excellent sun protection. Oddly enough I'm attracted to it. It is like when the first few guys were brave enough to wear pink shirts (before it was popular) because they were "man-enough" and didn't worry about what others thought because they were confident in themselves. That's how it is for me with Scott and this hat.

While Scott's working I have been applying for many, many jobs and sometimes an angel of a friend calls and gives me an excuse to stop applying for jobs and get out of the house. One time that excuse was to check out the North Carolina botanical gardens where I saw my first ever venus fly trap, which apparently is NC's state flower!
If you're wondering, we did test the fly trap's abilities by poking a stick in the center of the flowers and some of them do close quite quickly!

Lastly, we went back home for a week for Scott's brother's wedding and it was so good to be home again!

Congrats you two!

That's all folks! You're a trooper if you've read this far!

Recipe coming next time . . .

Oatmeal Brulée with Ginger Cream

Oh it is so good to be writing again! I’m sorry I have been away so long. Since I last wrote Scott and I have bought our first house!!! We went down to North Carolina for a whirlwind trip in which we looked at 20 houses in one day, and decided on a small, cute, brick bungalow. There are definitely “problems” with the house, most notably the size of the kitchen and amount of storage, but it’s those problems that make the house perfect. It is our first home after all, and it just would not feel right if it wasn’t small or if we wouldn’t want to change any aspect of the house. I enjoy the challenge of a tiny kitchen and the brainstorming of solutions to make it work for me. I already have dreams of salvaging an old, distressed cabinet or chest of drawers and converting it into a movable kitchen island with wheels on the bottom and a butcher block on top. On the wall above where I would keep this “island” I would have open shelves made of ½ inch thick Lucite on top of old, unstained, weathered wood. The shelves would be attached to the wall with clean, shiny, silver “L” brackets. Of course, this is all in my dreams, and I already have lots of dreams, so I’ll have to wheedle some out, but I would love it if I could realize this one.

While our kitchen will shrink in moving to this house, our number of bedrooms will increase, which means that our parents will no longer have any excuse to make hotel reservations when they come to visit us! We will have ample room for them and I’ll be able to do one of my favorite things ever--make breakfast. Without a doubt breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. I could eat it forever. Even cereal on weekday mornings has caused me to nearly miss my bus to work on multiple occasions for no other reason than that I couldn’t resist refilling my cereal bowl just one more time. One of the reasons I like breakfast so much is because of my monster of a sweet tooth. You see, all breakfast foods, except for egg dishes, are sweet and that, I believe, is why I love breakfast so much.

One recipe that I’ve gone back to multiple times (which, as you know, is quite rare for me) is an oatmeal brulée recipe. It holds a special place in my heart because it was instrumental in my learning to like oatmeal. For most of my life (11/12 to be exact), I did not like oatmeal. I never really had it growing up and on the rare occasions when I tried it I was always reminded of snotty boogers. Sorry if I’ve grossed you out, but now you see why I did NOT like oatmeal. In my mind, oatmeal was perfect for the kid in my second grade gym class who particularly enjoyed eating little parcels that came from his nose. Perhaps I thought of oatmeal this way because on the occasions that I did try oatmeal, it was always too runny with an excess of milk, not even warm (room temp at best) either because of the cold milk or because it was mass produced and had been sitting out awhile, and it was made with quick oats, which in my mind, turn into the perfect soft booger consistency. No, oatmeal was not good at all; it was a weird squishy substance that did not deserve any recognition or acknowledgment from me. Why did just about everyone else like it? I simply figured that oatmeal had bamboozled them when they were just wee little tykes and didn’t know any better and as they grew up it became some sort of strange comfort food to them. However, I do try to keep an open mind about almost anything in life so I was destined to try it again, and again, until I liked it.

I like this particular recipe because it is very hot when it is served and there is no danger of it cooling down too fast. This hot temperature and the whole oats (vs. quick oats) do a lot to save this oatmeal from becoming “snotty boogers.” Even if the texture did resemble such things I don’t even know if I would mind because the flavor is so good. The milk (or cream if you prefer) for the oatmeal is steeped with slivers of ginger, some orange peel, and a cinnamon stick. Buried beneath the oatmeal at the bottom of the dish is a layer of berries that burst from the heat in the oven and let their juices ooze out. Topping the oatmeal is a candy crust of caramelized sugar, just like a crème brulée. It’s a beautiful dish full of surprises! If you do not like oatmeal, I suggest you try this.

Oatmeal Brulée with Ginger Cream

Adapted from Yvonne Starlin in Taste of Home

Serves 4

Ginger cream:

1/2 cup milk or cream

2 thin slices fresh ginger root with a 1 inch diameter

1 cinnamon stick (3 in.)

1 Tbsp. grated orange peel

3 Tbsp. maple syrup (I prefer to use real maple syrup!)

1/8 tsp. grated nutmeg

Oatmeal:

4 cups water

2 cups old-fashioned whole oats

1/2 tsp. salt

3 Tbsp. brown sugar

2 Tbsp. butter or nonstick spray

1 cup fresh or frozen unsweetened raspberries, blackberries, or blueberries, thawed (do whatever you have, I like raspberries the best)

1/4 cup sugar

In a small saucepan, bring the milk/cream, ginger, cinnamon, and orange peel to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and let simmer for ten minutes. Remove from the heat and strain and discard the solids. Stir in syrup and nutmeg; set aside.

In a large sauce pan over medium high heat bring the 4 cups water to a boil. Add the oats and salt and cook, stirring occasionally, for five minutes uncovered. Remove from the heat and stir in the brown sugar and the ginger cream. (The original recipe says to only stir in 1/4 cup ginger cream and to serve the rest with the finished brulees. I added it all once by mistake and liked it that way so that is why I've written the recipe that way here. You can do as you please.) Cover and let stand for two minutes.

Grease four 10-oz. ramekins with butter or nonstick spray. Add the berries to the bottom. Spoon oatmeal over the top, level it flat, and then sprinkle the sugar (1 Tbsp sugar per ramekin) on top. Place ramekins on a baking sheet and broil 4-6 inches from the heat for 7-9 minutes or until sugar is caramelized. Watch this step carefully so your sugar doesn't burn! Serve and enjoy!

Fettuccine Alfredo

Growing up I was a picky eater. While my family would have spaghetti and meatballs, I would have buttered noodles with salt, no pepper. I even have photos documenting me trying my first bite of a BLT sandwich. It was a big deal! During this stage of my life, my orders at restaurants were pretty predictable. For a long time I would only order cheese pizza, then when I got to high school my friends would want to eat at Mexican restaurants, so I eventually learned to like chicken quesadillas. Each year, the night before the women’s tennis state tournament, the team would all go out to eat at Olive Garden, so I learned to order their chicken alfredo. Until about my senior year of high school, those were my general orders and I didn’t venture beyond them.

The interesting thing is, once I did venture beyond them I have not gone back since. Suddenly those flavors of chicken and cheese were monotonous, without excitement or dimension. Besides, I figured every restaurant has them, so why order something that I can get anywhere? I don’t think I could tell you the last time I ordered chicken alfredo for myself. I had never made it either, until out of the blue I decided to last Friday night.

mI really have no idea what caused my sudden urge. I wanted pasta that night and I wanted to use one of the zucchinis I bought on sale, but how that led to alfredo sauce, I’m not sure. Perhaps because I’m always trying to make new things and alfredo was one that I hadn’t tried? I don’t know, but what I do know is that I will be making this sauce again. It was simple, full of flavor, delightfully creamy, and, for an alfredo sauce, pretty healthy. Truly! The sauce can be made all in one pot and by the time your pasta and chicken are cooked, it will be ready too. I started with just ½ tablespoon of butter in a medium saucepan and cooked it until brown to give the sauce a rich flavor. I then added the garlic and cooked for 30 seconds, whisked in the flour so the sauce would be able to thicken, added skim milk, some chicken stock for extra flavor, and parmesan cheese to finish it off. Simple and satisfying. If you’ve been like me with your nose turned up at chicken alfredo, it’s time to lower it down and take a good whiff of steamy pasta soaking in a bath of creamy cheese sauce. No, the flavors aren’t groundbreaking, but you cannot deny that they’re good and if you’re a mom or dad with limited time, picky eaters, and a desire to feed your little ones something healthy, try making this—I think you’ll be happy with the results!

Chicken Alfredo with Whole Wheat pasta and Zucchini Ribbons

My notes: If you are feeding this to kids you might want to peal the zucchini so it can be “camouflaged” and hide in the pasta. I know it’s deceitful, but I think it’s OK in this case. You could even take it one step further and steam some cauliflower and puree it with the sauce. I doubt anyone would be the wiser. Also, I used butter instead of olive oil because I believe you can get a much richer flavor by browning the butter than using olive oil, which you need here since the rest of the ingredients are rather “light.” Finally, if you are making this for dinner guests and want to give it the “wow” factor, I might add a couple of drops of white truffle oil.

Serves 2-4 depending on whether you’re serving children, adults, or ravenous male teenagers

2 4-6oz. chicken breasts

1 zucchini, julienned

olive oil

salt and pepper

Whole-wheat fettuccine 1-1 ¼ inch wide circle of pasta in your fist

Sauce:

½ tablespoon of butter

2 good size cloves of garlic, peeled and minced

1 ½ tablespoons all purpose flour

½ cup of low sodium chicken stock

1 cup of milk (I used skim, but if you want to use 2% or whole feel free)

Salt and fresh cracked pepper

1/4-1/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese (use less to keep it healthy, more if you want to up the flavor)

In a medium saucepan melt the ½ tablespoon of butter and cook on medium heat until it starts to brown, about five minutes. While the butter melts, fill up your pasta pot with water, season the water generously with salt, cover the pot with its lid, and bring to a boil. When the butter has turned a caramel colored brown add the mince garlic, cook for thirty seconds, stirring twice, and then add 1 ½ T. of flour and stir to incorporate. Turn heat to low and add the chicken stock and then the milk. Cook over low to medium low heat, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is to your desired thickness. Stir in the grated parmesan so it melts. While your sauce is cooking, heat your sauté pan with olive oil over medium high heat, butterfly your chicken breasts or pound them down so they are about ½ inch thick, season them with salt and pepper, and cook them in the sauté pan until golden brown on both sides and cooked through (180 degrees F). While your chicken is cooking, your pasta water should start to boil, add your pasta then, and cook until it’s al dente. Once your chicken is cooked, remove from pan and let it cool while you add the zucchini ribbons for a quick sauté. Add the zucchini and the finished sauce to the drained pasta. Cut the chicken into bite size pieces and serve!

Match Day Breakfast

Scott with his match letter!

What a day! Thursday, March 18, was "Match Day." Match Day is the day in which every 4^th year medical student in the country finds out what residency program they have been matched to. Back in February, after lots of prayer, we submitted our rank list of residencies and waited patiently anxiously for Match Day which seemed so far away. In the weeks before match day we prepared ourselves to be happy with, and even to expect, our second or third choice so we would not be disappointed if we didn't get our first choice, Duke. Since Duke is one of the more competitive programs in the country to get into, we felt it was very reasonable to not expect to actually get in there.

But then all of the sudden Match Day snuck up on us and it was here! Suddenly I was sitting next to Scott with an envelope in his hands watching him open it. He unfolded the eight and a half by eleven piece of paper and we scanned the page for the place where we would be spending the next three years of our life! “Duke . . .” I heard Scott say softly, “Really? Where? Did we get into Duke?!” I questioned taking the piece of paper so I could better examine it while our parents watched us waiting to hear us clearly announce where we were going. There it was, “Duke University Medical Center” printed three lines down, “I think we’re going to Duke” I announced still not sure that’s really where we were going and half wondering if Duke was only printed there to tell us we did not get our first choice. I checked the paper again, there were no other program names listed and I realized that we were indeed matched to Duke!!! “Ahh! It’s Duke!” I squealed, and hugged and kissed Scott who had been sitting quietly in shock. Our mom’s started crying and hugged us and our dads beamed proudly. It was such happy and wonderful moment and it proved to us that God totally knew what he was doing all along (you'll have to ask me for that story, it's too long to put here)! Praise Him!

We promptly went out and bought Scott some Duke gear!

Now I love to cook and entertain, so when my mom said she was sick of hotel breakfasts it was the perfect excuse for me to play in the kitchen and try to make some new delicious thing for our families. I daydreamed of flavor combinations for several days finally deciding what to make on Wednesday night. Recently I’ve noticed poached eggs topping everything, from salads to pizzas to soups and I’ve wanted to try poached eggs over a wilted arugula salad topped with prociutto and either something sour (like pickled shallots) or sweet (like candied pecans) to give a nice point of contrast to the egg and prociutto. Well, such a salad would not do for either one of our dads (they’re more conservative eaters) and it would not do for breakfast so I transformed it. I reduced the amount of lettuce, gave the dish a base with a white bean and thyme waffle, and added some sautéed veggies that one often finds in omelets or frittatas. I upped the flavor components by slow roasting roma tomatoes, adding bacon (hey, I can’t afford prociutto), sautéing mushrooms and a sweet red onion in the bacon juices until the mushrooms browned and the onion turned truly sweet. I deglazed the sauté pan with balsamic vinegar and then added maple syrup and olive oil to make a dressing to wilt the lettuce and further season the vegetables. The flavors were right on point. The different flavors of the earthy mushrooms and white bean waffles, rich bacon, tangy tomatoes, sweet onions and maple syrup (a nod to the traditional waffle topping), fresh asparagus, mellow egg, and pop of balsamic vinegar all gave the dish great depth, interest, and served to bring out contrasting flavors. Our families heartily gave the dish their approval saying, “This is so much better than anything we could have gotten in a restaurant” and “I don’t want this to end, ever! It is so good!” Ahh, music to my ears! I also served caramel rolls for something sweet and bready and strawberry sorbet with strawberries to finish the meal on a light, fresh note.

The dish sans the poached egg. I was too worried about serving people promptly to take a picture of one with the egg on top! Whoops!

The empty plate is for my brother who is an extremely picky eater. He had a caramel roll and peanut butter toast. ;)

Match Day Breakfast

Ok, so a couple of quick notes. First, if you can’t make the waffles due to lack of food processor or waffle iron I would just use some good bread toasted up. Feel free to sub in other types of mushrooms or shallots for the red onion or broccoli for the asparagus depending on what is on sale when you make this. Also, if you’ve never poached eggs before doing a large number at a time can be overwhelming so just fry some up over easy and you’ll end up with a similar result. (I had to do this b/c we were out of vinegar and it was too hard for me to poach them without it.) Finally, I think that if you have white balsamic vinegar you should use that as the dark brown muted the color of my vegetables and it wasn’t quite as pretty.

Waffles:

1 15oz can of white beans, rinsed and drained

1 tsp. dried thyme or fresh

½ cup chicken stock

Salt and pepper

1 ½ cups flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 tsp. sugar

½ tsp sea salt or ¼ tsp table salt

2 eggs

1 cup milk

3 tablespoons olive oil

Eggs:

6 eggs

1 ½ quarts (6 cups) water

¼ cup white vinegar (You won’t taste this! It just helps the egg whites to coagulate!)

Vegetable salad:

8 roma tomatoes

6 strips of bacon (not the small microwavable kind!) cut into ½ inch bits

8 oz. of fresh mushrooms (I used button)

1 medium red onion

1 clove garlic, minced

½ lb (8oz or ½ a bunch) of asparagus, ends trimmed and cut into bite-size pieces

3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (see note above)

1 well-rounded tablespoon of pure maple syrup

1-2 tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil

salt and pepper

½ bag of arugula or spring greens mix lettuce, about 2.5 oz.

Parmesan cheese

Game plan:

The night before make the waffles, roast the tomatoes, and sauté the bacon, mushrooms, and onions. Leave the tomatoes in the oven overnight and cover and refrigerate the waffles and sautéed mixture.

The morning of,

1. Remove tomatoes from the oven, pull the peels off, and dice.
2. Poach eggs one at a time, warm waffles in the oven, and warm the sautéed mixture in a large sauté pan and add the asparagus to quickly cook.
3. Re-warm all the poached eggs in the hot poaching water. Put veggies on a plate and deglaze the pan with the balsamic vinegar and then add in the maple syrup and olive oil, mix, add the veggies back in.
4. Plate ¼ of a waffle on each plate, put a small handful of salad greens on each waffle, place hot veggies on top, top with a poached egg, and grate large shards of Parmesan over everything to finish the dish.
5. Serve.

Waffles: Preheat waffle pan. Add the drained and rinsed white beans to a small pot with the chicken stock and thyme. Season with salt and pepper and bring to a simmer over medium high heat for five minutes to release the thyme’s flavor. Remove from heat and cool to room temperature. Meanwhile in a large mixing bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and ½ teaspoon of sea salt (1/4 tsp if using table salt). Add the beans and their cooking liquid to a food processor and pulse to puree. Add the eggs, milk, and olive oil to the bean mixture in the food processor and puree until smooth. Add in the flour mixture and pulse until just combined. When griddle is hot, add about ½ cup of batter to it and cook until the waffle is golden brown and crisp all over. Let cool on a cooling rack completely and then store in a zip lock bag in the fridge. If immediately continuing on keep these warm in the oven on a baking sheet.

Tomatoes: Preheat oven to 450F. Cut roma tomatoes into three wedges and remove the core, juice, and any seeds. Place tomatoes face up on a baking sheet, sprinkle generously with salt and the thyme, and lightly drizzle with extra virgin olive oil. Place tomatoes in the 450F degree oven for 10 minutes and then flip the oven off and leave the tomatoes in overnight to finish roasting. If not doing this the night before, roast the tomatoes in the oven for 20-25 minutes at 450F.

Vegetable mixture: Cut bacon into ½ inch pieces and add to a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Stir occasionally so both sides cook and then after about five minutes add the onions and mushrooms and sauté until the mushrooms have browned and onions are transparent and beginning to brown. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute. If continuing on add the asparagus and finish the dish as described below. Take mixture off the heat and transfer to a Tupperware to store in the fridge until morning.

Morning of: Fill a large stockpot with 1½ quarts of water and ¼ cup of vinegar over high heat. While water is heating, remove tomatoes from oven, peel, dice, and add to mushroom and onion mixture. Add this mixture to a large sauté pan over medium heat. When water for poaching is almost simmering, (when the bottom of the pan is covered with bubbles) crack and egg into a small dish, stir the water to make a mini funnel in the middle of the pan, and get the egg as close as you can to the water and gently slip the egg into the “funnel.” Let cook for about four minutes and don’t worry if some of the egg whites turned into wispy threads—it’s ok! Once egg is cooked remove it from the pot with a slotted spoon and dip it into a bowl of cold water to stop the cooking and rinse off any vinegar. Place egg on a plate and poach the other eggs in the same manner.

While poaching eggs, turn oven to 200F and reheat the waffles on a baking sheet. Add asparagus to the vegetable mixture to cook and stir occasionally. Once all of the eggs are cooked, turn off the heat of the poaching liquid and place the eggs back into the pot to warm them (you will not taste any vinegar if you do this). Remove vegetable mixture from the pan and place on the plate that had the poached eggs. Place pan back onto the heat and add 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar and scrap up any of the pan bits. Then add a round tablespoon of maple syrup and two tablespoons of extra virgin olive oil. Mix together and add the vegetables back into the pan and toss to coat.

Plate ¼ of a waffle on each plate, put a small handful of salad greens on each waffle, spoon hot veggies on top, top with a poached egg, and grate large shards of Parmesan over everything to finish the dish. Serve and eat slowly—you won’t want it to end! ;)