Sometimes, you just gotta have a muffin.  And here at kitchen-improv, I am discovering my inner baker.  Here’s a simple muffin recipe I’ve developed that beats out that box stuff any day.  And by using self-rising flour you cut out the need to use baking powder; making this recipe even easier.  The great thing about this recipe is that you can easily double it and freeze the remaining baked muffins for a quick breakfast or afternoon snack.  Just remove from the freezer for several hours, or overnight and then reheat.  Feel free to substitute blueberries, or any other frozen fruit.

Ingredients

• 1 cup brown sugar, loosely packed
• 1 1/2 cups low-fat buttermilk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 eggs
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 1/2 cups self-rising flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 1/2 cups frozen strawberries, cut into quarters

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Whisk together the brown sugar, buttermilk, oil, eggs, and vanilla.

In a separate and larger bowl, whisk together the self-rising flour and salt.

In another bowl or bag, coat the strawberries with about 2 tablespoons of the flour mixture.  Coat the berries evenly.

Add the wet ingredients to the flour.  Stir until just barely combined.  Trust me, you want your batter to be lumpy!  Overmixing makes for tough muffins.  Gently fold in the flour coated berries.  Pour the batter into greased muffin tins.  Bake for 25 – 30 minutes or until they reach a light golden color.  Remove from oven and allow to cool before removing from the muffin tins.

You should get 7 jumbo muffins, or about a dozen regular size muffins.

Just because you may be having some fiscal issues doesn’t mean you are doomed to eat ramen noodles and pop-tarts for eternity.  You can still create a delicious and impressive meal without spending a ton of cash.  I’ve been getting creative here at kitchen-improv due to the financial crunch, but I’m still rocking the kitchen even if my grocery budget has been reduced.  This weekend I made a meal that could have fed about six, but I got an additional two nights of leftovers since it was just me and the man.  We had a bacon wrapped pork loin roast stuffed with cranberries and cheese, a spicy-sweet roasted sweet potato puree, and sauteed mushrooms and green beans.  I managed to make this meal for about thirty bucks.  Granted I had a few of the items on hand, but I’m sure you do to.  It’s about time you enjoyed a fancy pants meal that won’t overreach your budget.

Bacon Wrapped Pork Roast with Dried Cranberries and Feta

Ingredients

• 3 to 3 1/2 pound pork loin roast
• 2 Tbsp. rosemary, finely chopped (or substitute dried, just decrease the amount)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 – 3/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
• About 8 ounces thick cut bacon (enough to wrap the pork loin)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

With a sharp knife, slice the pork loin lengthwise and open it as if it were a book, leaving one edge intact.  Season the two “pages” with the rosemary, salt, and pepper.  Sprinkle on the cranberries and feta cheese.  Fold back together and secure with kitchen string in 3 to 4 places.  Season the outside of the pork lightly with more salt and pepper (the bacon will impart some saltiness).  With the filling side up, wrap the pork with the thick cut bacon.  Leave about 1/4 to 1/2 inch between each piece of bacon.  Place the pork on a roasting pan and cook for about an hour or until the internal temperature reaches 160 degrees.  Allow to rest at least 10 minutes before carving.  (Not that I need to tell you this, but don’t forget to remove the string for presentational purposes.)

Spicy, Sweet Roasted Sweet Potato Puree

Ingredients

• 5 medium size sweet potatoes, cut into 1 inch wedges
• 1 large white onion, cut into 1 inch wedges
• 5 – 6 cloves garlic, roughly chopped
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1/4 cup molasses
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 2 – 3 tsp. chili powder
• 3 cups chicken or vegetable stock
• 3 – 4 Tbsp. pepper jelly (optional)

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

In a large bowl, toss the sweet potatoes and onion with the garlic, olive oil, lemon juice, molasses, salt, pepper, and chili powder.  Spread the mixture evenly onto a large baking sheet.  Roast for about 30 to 40 minutes or until the potatoes are tender.

Reduce the oven to 375 degrees.

With a food processor, blend the roasted potatoes with the chicken stock to create a smooth puree.  You will probably need to do this in batches.  Spread the puree into a lightly oiled 9 by 13 inch baking dish.  Swirl the pepper jelly on top of the pureed potatoes.  Bake for an additional 20 to 25 minutes or just until the edges start to brown.

*I roasted the potatoes earlier in the evening and did the second bake of the puree during the last half of the cooking time for the pork roast on the lower rack of the oven.*

Simple Sauteed Mushrooms and Green Beans

Ingredients

• 1 – 12 ounce bag pre-cut fresh green beans (I’ll admit I buy the beans in the microwaveable bag)
• 16 ounces button mushrooms, sliced thickly
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• Juice of 1 lemon
• Salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Cook the green beans in the microwave according to directions, using the minimum amount of time.

In a large saute pan, melt the butter over medium heat.  Add in the mushrooms and cook for about 3 to 4 minutes or until the mushrooms begin to take on a little color.  Add in the lemon juice and continue to cook for another 2 minutes.  Add the green beans to the pan and season with salt and pepper.  Cook for another 2 to 3 minutes and remove from heat.

I’ve already expressed my love for all things spinach artichoke related, so now it’s time to meld that delectable duo (note the overt use of alliteration) with my love of risotto.  The result is a creamy rice dish with the spunk of spinach artichoke dip, that is a healthier alternative to eating a ton of the classic spread.  The risotto is rich and flavorful but not laden with excess fat.  This dish is great on it’s own or topped with grilled chicken breast.  Give it a try for the new year in your own kitchen and you too can impress your friends with your mad risotto skills.

Ingredients

• 4 cups reduced sodium chicken or vegetable stock
• 2 cups white wine (sauvignon blanc if possible), or replace with more stock
• Several sprigs fresh thyme
• 1 ½ cups risotto (Arborio rice)
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3-4 cloves minced garlic
• ½ teaspoon salt
• Fresh ground black pepper to taste
• One (14 ounce) bag fresh spinach
• Two (14 ounce) jars artichokes, drained well and roughly chopped
• Juice of 1 lemon
• 1/3 cup light sour cream
• ½  – ¾ cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

In a separate pot bring stock, wine, and whole thyme sprigs to a simmer and keep hot while preparing the risotto.

In a large stock pot (or risotto pot if you have one), preheat the olive oil over medium heat and sauté the garlic for 2 minutes.  Add the risotto, salt and pepper, and sauté for another minute.  Slowly add the stock/wine mixture while stirring, allowing the risotto to absorb most of the liquid before adding more. This usually takes between 25 – 40 minutes depending on how fast the liquid is absorbing.  Once all the liquid has been added (discard the thyme stems) add the artichokes, lemon juice, and spinach.  Allow spinach to wilt down.  Remove from heat and add in the sour cream and Parmesan cheese.

Serves 6 – 8 as a hearty side or 4 as a main course.

With all the craziness of the holiday season, I thought it would be refreshing to take a step back and write about fighting food stress.  As a confessed former food-stresser, the holidays can bring back some tough memories of my relationship with food.  So I think I’ll share a few grains of the wisdom I’ve gleaned over the years.

1.  Don’t equate holidays with food.  Start thinking about the holidays as a time to celebrate your family, friends, and even yourself.  Focus on holiday traditions that don’t center around food, like watching favorite holiday movies or caroling.  It took awhile to train myself to not make food my “end all, be all.”  Remember, food is about nourishment and enjoyment, not deprivation and obsession.

2.  Don’t starve yourself before going to a holiday party to avoid feeling guilty.  Eat normally throughout the day and you will be far less likely to over-indulge.  And as an added bonus, the wine won’t hit you over the head two sips into your first glass.

3.  Make time to exercise.  However you do it, make an effort to get moving.  You will relieve stress, feel better about yourself, and you won’t have to worry about making a New Year’s resolution to start exercising.  There’ no time like the present; even if it is the holidays.

4.  Think about finding healthier versions of your favorite holiday recipes.  You don’t have to go the fat-free, sugar-free route; just make some minor adjustments to help keep your body in better shape over the holidays.  There are some great recipes for low-fat spinach dips, low-sugar fudge, and even slimmed-down eggnog available.

5.  Exercise self-control, not “restriction;” when it comes to eating.  This is true all year round, but especially during the holidays.  Restricting is a harsh and unnecessary (unless you are medically supervised to do so) way to control your diet.  It breeds negative thought processes regarding foods and can lead to unhealthy behavior.  Treat your body with all the components of a healthy diet along with treating yourself to a smart amount of holiday goodies.

Hopefully, the holidays will bring you all good tidings and happiness.  Here at kitchen-improv, I wish you all the best cheer, the best food, and a positive outlook for the holiday season and the upcoming new year.  Food is fun.  Holidays are fun.  This year, make them go hand-in-hand.  And may your holiday kitchen continue to effing rock!

Hummus has got to be one of my favorite dips/spreads of all time.  I especially love to keep it around during the holidays to bring to parties or for a light dinner.  It’s affordable, healthy, and easy to customize.  Now, I do not typically put tahini (sesame paste) in my hummus for a few reasons – 1:  Tahini can be pricey and 2: Tahini adds a large amount of additional fat (albeit, a rather healthy fat).  But feel free to add tahini if that’s how you like to roll.  Here is a basic hummus recipe that you can play adapt and spruce up for the holiday season.

Ingrediens

• 1 (15 ounce) can chick peas, rinsed and drained
• Juice of 1 large lemon
• 3 cloves of garlic, roughly chopped
• Salt to taste
• 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Directions

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor to make a smooth spread.  If need be add some water or more olive oil to create your desired consistency.

Hummus is a great blank canvas because it takes on additional flavors really well.  You can serve it with pita wedges, vegetables, chips, or just about anything else you want.  It’s also delicious on sandwiches and in wraps.  If you want to fancy it up a bit, try adding into the food processor any of the following:

1. A large handful of roughly chopped, roasted red peppers
2. 1 1/2 tsp. curry powder and chili powder to taste
3. About 1/3 cup or chopped sundried tomatoes packed in olive oil and 1 tsp. dried basil
4. Juice of an additional 1/2 lemon and fresh ground black pepper to taste

It finally feels a bit wintry in north Louisiana, and with an actual chill in the air I decided it was time to share my favorite recipe for one of my favorite cold-weather side dishes – roasted squash.  I like working with acorn squash because it’s easier to cut and handle than a butternut squash.  Small people like small gourds I suppose.  (Go ahead and giggle if you must – I did).  Roasting the squash with the Riesling imparts a subtle sweetness that goes along nicely with the honey butter.  But you can substitute vegetable stock or water if you need to.  This recipe is more of a method and can be manipulated to suit your favorite flavor profile.  Try different types of white wines, switch out maple syrup or brown sugar for the honey, or add your favorite fresh herbs.  Because at kitchen-improv, it’s all about discovering how to make your own kitchen effing rock.  Now go buy some squash and get roasting.

Ingredients

• 2 acorn squash, halved and seeded
• ½ cup Riesling wine
• Kosher salt to taste
• Fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons  butter, cut into small chunks and divided
• 4 tablespoons honey, divided (about 1 Tbsp. per squash half)
• 1 Tbsp. freshly chopped thyme leaves, divided

Directions

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.  Place the squash halves in a baking dish.  Pour the Riesling into the dish.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste.  Dot the squash halves with the butter and drizzle over the honey.  Then sprinkle over the thyme leaves.  Cover the dish with foil and bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until the squash is tender.

Serves 4 as a side dish.

Ah, yes, the holidays approacheth.  And amidst all the hundred of chores on your list, you will inevitably be invited to a party where you feel the need to bring a dish.  And if you are short on time, money, and kitchen patience, then I have the recipe solution for you.  I came up with these tartletts (insert your own joke here) last year in a pinch.  They are simple, cheap, and are great served hot or at room temperature, making them great to transport to parties.  The recipe is simple to adapt if you need a small amount or if you are cooking for a crowd.

Ingredients

• 2 packages frozen Fillo dough mini – shells
• 2 Tbsp. butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 12 ounces baby Portabella or button mushrooms, roughly chopped
• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tsp. dried rosemary, crushed
• 1 – 2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
• 1/2 – 3/4 cup shredded Havarti or white cheddar cheese

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Heat the butter over medium heat.  Add the garlic and cook for about two minutes.  Add in the mushrooms and cook until just tender, about four to five minutes.  Add the cranberries, salt, pepper, and rosemary to the pan.  Cook for another two to three minutes.  Finally, deglaze the pan with a splash of red wine vinegar.  Remove from heat.

Divide the mixture between the Fillo shells.  Top with the cheese and bake for ten minutes or until the tartletts are golden brown.

Makes about 30 tartletts.

Recently, I had the pleasure of being able to cook for our local arts council shindig.  It was my first time preparing a meal for fifty people and I learned a slew (love that word) of tips on feeding a crowd.  And since the holidays are quickly descending upon us, I figured now would be a good time to share a few of my findings.  Feeding family and friends during the holiday season can be a bit daunting to say the least, but with ample preparation and a big bottle of wine – you can send stress packing.

1. Figure out exactly how many people you will need to feed and what type of budget you are working with.  To save some money (and sanity) ask people to bring their own drinks.  This is especially helpful if you are throwing a cocktail party.  Money is tight; so most people don’t mind pitching in, as long as they are being fed.
2. Check to see if you will be having any guests that have particular allergies, are vegetarian, vegan, etc.  so you can plan dishes accordingly.  If you have a guest that has a stringent diet, ask them for ideas or recipes about a dish to prepare.
3. Think about preparing dishes where the majority of the prep work can be done the day before the gathering.  That way you don’t have to rush to get everything cooked and you can enjoy the day.  Casseroles are great make ahead dishes.  All you have to do is put them in the oven and bake them prior to service (that’s why I love shepherd’s pie so much).  You can also make dips, chop vegetables, and prepare sauces the day before as well to cut down on your cooking time.
4. If you want to try out a new dish for your gathering, make sure to give it a test run first.  You never know when a recipe might not turn out exactly the way you want.
5. Clean out your refrigerator and pantry.  You can finally get rid of that package of ramen you’ve had since 2002, and you’ll create more storage space.  Organizing your ingredients cuts down on the amount of time you spend staring into your refrigerator and pantry.
6. Make a food preparation and cooking timeline for yourself.  Sitting down for an hour to map out your culinary battle plan will save you time and confusion later on.  Decide when you are going shopping (and even organize your grocery list), when you can prepare make ahead dishes, and when things need to go in the oven, etc.
7. Consider purchasing heavy-duty disposable bake ware to cut down on clean-up.  Because after a long couple of days of cooking, the last thing you want to do is wash a sink full of baking dishes.
8. Plan your menu according to your cooking comfort level.  Don’t attempt to feed thirty guests roasted quail with a mushroom demi-glace if you are uneasy about how to prepare the dish for that many people.  If you can make a rocking spaghetti sauce for a hundred, then do that.  It should be fun to feed your friends and family, not a source of indigestion-inducing stress.  People want good food that evokes the feeling of togetherness during the holidays, they don’t expect to be served something you have trouble pronouncing.
9. Take it one task at a time.  Starting too many preparations or dishes at one time usually leads to something burning, curdling, or some other unwanted kitchen catastrophe.
10. Clean as you go.  This is absolutely crucial in my kitchen in any situation because I cannot work in chaos.  It’s kitchen-improv, not kitchen-bedlam.  A clean area is much more conducive to easier and better cooking.

These are just a few nuggets of insight on cooking for a crowd of any size.  Hopefully, they will help make your holiday cooking a little less stressful.  And if need be, potlucks can be just as effing delicious, provided no one brings those little cocktail weenies covered in ketchup and grape jelly.

I love pork.  From bacon to tenderloin to prosciutto – pigs taste effing awesome.  I especially love working with pork tenderloin for a variety of reasons.  It’s a healthy and lean cut of meat, it is versatile, it’s quick cooking, and absorbs flavors beautifully.  Crusting a pork tenderloin with rosemary and fennel is one of my favorite preparations.  It’s simple, elegant, and healthy.  It’s great served with a fresh spinach and mushroom salad and a thick slice of toasted french bread.  Go ahead, crank up the oven and embrace the swine.

Ingredients

• 1 ½ – 2 pound pork tenderloin
• 1 – 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil
• Kosher salt to taste
• Fresh ground black pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon dried rosemary
• 1 tablespoon fennel seeds
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• ½ cup white wine (apple juice or chicken stock would work nicely as well)

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a mortar and pestle (or use a coffee bean grinder), combine rosemary and fennel and work into a coarse powder.  Add the garlic powder.  Coat the pork with olive oil and season with salt and pepper.  Apply the rosemary and fennel mixture to create a “crust” on the pork.  (You may not need the entire mixture).  Place pork in a baking dish and pour the wine into pan.  Cook for 30 – 40 minutes, or until the internal temperature reaches 150 to 155 degrees.  Allow to rest for ten minutes before carving.

Serves 6.

The internal temperature of the pork should reach 160 degrees after it’s resting period.  The pork (like other meats) will continue to cook after you remove it from the oven for another 5 to 10 degrees; which is why I suggest removing the tenderloin at the afore mentioned temperature.

If you walked into my kitchen seven years ago, you would have found a coffeepot, cheap wine, saltines, and pop-tarts.  I just wasn’t a “cook.”  It’s hard to say exactly when the shift took place.  Perhaps it was when my husband made me a phenomenal dinner when we first started dating.  There was his version of parmesan chicken, homemade tomato sauce, salad with cucumber dressing, and bread.  It was also the first time I saw a caper and the first moment I realized you could use cream in something other than coffee.

I grew up in a household that cooked.  From my grandmother’s nap-inducing Sunday lunches to my mother’s infamous turkey dressing, I was surrounded by great food.  But somewhere along that strange road through adolescence, the desire to cook and continue eating great food got a smidge waylaid.  But to be cliché – that is another story for another time.

I think too often we eat, or don’t eat, for the wrong reasons.  Be it stress, lack of time, intimidation, or whatever the reason – most people have lost the desire to create incredible food to share with loved ones and to enjoy themselves.  For a long time I failed to remember that food is fun.  Being in the kitchen is an opportunity to exercise your creativity, experiment, triumph, fail, laugh, dance, and open many bottles of wine.  So quit making excuses and get in the kitchen.  And I’m always here to help with my musings and straight forward recipes.  Remember, no matter what the culinary outcome – I guarantee your kitchen will effing rock.