Food Lush

Reader Help: Surviving a Kitchen Remodel

Editor's note: For our last week at Food Lush, I've asked the writers to share both a favorite post by another writer, from over the last three years, and a favorite post of their own. You'll see these posts linked to at the top of their new post for the week. Enjoy a stroll down Lush memory lane!

by Elissa

Boy is it hard to pick a favorite Food Lush post--there has been so much amazing stuff written here. But the recipe I have probably made the most since learning about it here is Jonna's enchilada casserole--it's delicious, flexible, and easy! My favorite post of my own (perhaps for nostalgic reasons, as my baby is now 18 months old) is this one about eating while pregnant.

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In a couple of weeks we are embarking on a renovation of our kitchen. We're not moving any walls, but the current space will be totally gutted and everything is going to be replaced.

As eager as I am to say goodbye to the hideous faux-brick floor, the stained butcher block counter, and the cabinets that give off splinters, I am dreading living without a kitchen for a month. Who better to give me some tips to keep us fed than all of you?

We will have a refrigerator, microwave, and toaster oven set up in our dining room during the remodel. I know we will eat out more than usual and do plenty of take out, and I am also planning to stock up on frozen meals that I can stash in our chest freezer. For those of you who have been through this, what did you end up eating the most? Should I invest in a slow-cooker (I had been toying with the idea of getting one anyway)? And what frozen meals do you like the best (there's only so much mac n' cheese one family can eat)?

Finally, I want to thank all of you for reading, commenting, and making Food Lush such a great online community. I have loved being a part of this. The end of Food Lush has motivated me to find a new place to write online, and my sisters and I have started a food blog called Harts in the Kitchen. I hope you'll check it out and visit me there--we'll be writing about all kinds of food-related things, and I'll be sure to post the "after" pictures of our kitchen once it's finished.

How to Make Any Meal Special: Homemade Popovers

by Elissa

I like to make a nice meal on New Year's Eve (this was true even before I had young kids). This year I tried out a collection of recipes from the Wall Street Journal for steak, celery root puree, sauteed cabbage, and popovers. Even though the meal had multiple components, the prep was relatively simple. I didn't care for the cabbage (cumin just didn't fit, in my opinion), liked the steak, and loved the celery root puree. But the popovers definitely put the meal over the top and made it worthy of a celebration.

I'm sure they would be more photogenic if I had a popover pan (I just used a regular muffin pan), but hopefully you can see how puffy, golden, and delicious they were. Although they are at their best hot from the oven, we kept our leftover popovers in the refrigerator and they were still awfully tasty when reheated in the toaster oven the following day. The batter is not complicated to make and can be made a few hours in advance.

The next time you want to transform an ordinary meal or wow some guests, add these to the menu and watch them disappear.

Hidden Gem: Museum of Appalachia Restaurant

by Elissa

This year, we spent Christmas with my husband's family in southeastern Kentucky. It's a 9-10 hour drive from our home in DC, and we were traveling with a three-year-old and a one-year-old. Fortunately my worst fears were unrealized and the kids did great in the car. On the way there we drove through the night and they slept most of the way. But on the trip home, we decided to risk driving during daylight hours.

Our strategy was influenced by this article I read on Serious Eats about the excellent restaurant at the Museum of Appalachia. The museum is just outside Knoxville, Tennessee, a little over an hour from my in-laws' house and on our way back to DC.  We decided to begin our journey mid-morning and stop at the museum for a visit and lunch before continuing on our way.

The museum itself is certainly worth a visit: it features a bunch of historic cabins and other structures that contain lots of interesting artifacts. The kids especially loved the free-ranging peacocks wandering the grounds and the live banjo music that was featured in one of the cabins. But the lunch we ate at the museum restaurant would have been worth a special trip.

Pictured above is homemade vegetable soup with cornbread and a vegetable platter of pinto beans, buttered corn, and fried apples (my daughter and I shared this). The restaurant serves a hot lunch from 11 to 2 every day. In addition to sandwiches and hot dogs, they offer at least one entree and a dizzying number of vegetable sides. You can tell that this food is made with love, and the atmosphere is really charming. Here is my son enjoying his chicken and broccoli casserole in front of the cozy fireplace:

And my daughter enjoyed her lunch in this adorable vintage high chair:

We got a large quantity of delicious food that handily fed the four of us for only $25 (the fast-food dinner we got at Wendy's later the same day cost the same amount). My only regret is that we didn't end up getting dessert--the post-church lunch rush led to a line at the counter, and we were in a hurry to get home. But given our regular travels to this part of the country I know we will get back to the Museum of Appalachia sometime soon.

If you live near Knoxville or ever find yourself in the vicinity, don't miss this special place for a delicious meal.

Holiday Baking Odds and Ends

by Elissa

I'm now nearing the end of my annual holiday bakefest. I think all the butter, flour, and sugar have gone to my head, so please excuse the somewhat fragmented post. Here are a few things I've learned this year.

Are you planning to decorate Christmas cookies this year? I attempted to make my own cookie icing this year, and am happy to recommend this recipe. 

My artistic skills are admittedly terrible, but this icing was pretty easy to work with and looks great. And it only requires 4 ingredients (I would at least double, if not triple the recipe; I also added some extra milk to get it to come together).

I am so delighted with Katie's idea for cookie packaging. I ordered a bunch of the boxes and they are perfect.

They hold plenty of goodies (pictured here: molasses cookies, brown butter rice krispie treats, and fleur de sel caramels). And they look great with just a simple ribbon on the outside, plus there are no worries about spilling.

And finally, I wanted to share the swiss chard miracle that occurred at our house last week. Both of my kids are pretty good eaters (knock wood), but leafy greens are still a tough sell. I offer them but don't make a fuss if the kids refuse, which is my general strategy when it comes to food. Last week we were having swiss chard sauteed with garlic and soy sauce, quinoa, and fried eggs (idea courtesy of Dinner: A Love Story). I fixed my plate (with plenty of chard), and was getting ready to make a plate for my son with a small serving of chard on the side. He demanded to take my plate and proceeded to polish off a large serving of chard. While not related to holiday baking, I'm using it to assuage my conscience as he consumes large quantities of baked goods.

And that's all I've got right now. Hope that you all have lots of delicious holiday treats coming your way!

 

Edible Gifts: California Olive Ranch Olive Oil

by Elissa

So, there is obviously no shortage of food-related gift ideas on this site lately (see, e.g., the exceptional gift guide), but I can't resist throwing another idea out there. The idea of giving nice olive oil (perhaps with some fancy vinegar) is hardly new, but I love the bottle of California Olive Ranch Olive Oil that I picked up at the grocery store the other day.

{photo credit: californiaoliveranch.com}

It comes in a beautiful, substantial dark green bottle that features olive shapes, and I love the illustration on the label. The olive oil tastes fabulous too--it's been great in salad dressings and on roasted vegetables. And the price was not unreasonable given the quality of the product and the packaging.

Lately I've read some disturbing articles about olive oil fraud that suggest that much of the "extra virgin" olive oil coming from Europe is not extra virgin and may not even come from olives. But this olive oil bears the seal of the California Olive Oil Council, which gives me some confidence that this is the real thing. And the company seems to take sustainability seriously, which is nice.

If you're looking for a consumable gift for someone who likes to cook or eat, see if you can find California Olive Ranch Oil at your local store (I found mine at Safeway). Or you can always orde online. Happy shopping and gifting!

Citrus Pudding: Lighten Up Your Winter Desserts

by Elissa

As the days get shorter and the weather gets colder, one of my consolations is the return of good citrus fruit. I've had this recipe for tangelo pudding bookmarked forever and have been waiting for the return of citrus to give it a whirl.  Basically, you make a very simple pudding from fresh-squeezed citrus juice, zest, and cornstarch. Add a little whipped cream and you have a perfectly elegant dessert.

I substituted grapefruit juice for the tangelo juice, added a little more sugar, and skipped the orange flower water (I didn't have any). The result was amazing: fresh, sweet, tart, and tasting much more decadent than you would expect. I used whipped cream from a can, but I'm sure that fresh whipped cream with a little Grand Marnier (as Russ Parsons suggests) would be sublime. I think this would be the an excellent end to a hearty winter meal like braised short ribs or roast chicken. I can't wiat to try it with the oroginal tangelos, and any other citrus I can get my hands on over the next few months!

Fall Produce Recommendation: Comice Pears

by Elissa

I love a good pear, but my experiences with a lot of varieties are mixed. A good Bartlett or Bosc pear can be great, but the ones I get at the grocery store are often not that good. The variety that almost never lets me down is Comice.

They don't look particularly fabulous, but they ripen beautifully on the counter and are juicy and delicious. Keep an eye out for them at the supermarket, and let them ripen until they start to give when pressed. Then enjoy, but keep a napkin nearby because pears this juicy can get messy!

Austrian Treats

by Elissa

I have a wonderful friend from Austria named Helene--she helped to raise me and my sisters and is like a second mother. Whenever she would travel back to Austria to visit her family, she would bring back her favorite sweets to share with us. I got the chance to visit her recently and she gave me a stash of two of my favorite things.

The first might be my favorite store-bought cookie of all time: Manner Schnitten.

They feature crisp wafers and layers of hazelnut chocolate cream. If you like Nutella, you really need to seek them out. Unfortunately they can be hard to track down. I have occasionally found them at European specialty shops, and you can buy a 12-pack from Amazon (although it will set you back $30 once you add in shipping). And Helene will tell you that the Manner Schnitten here are never as fresh as the ones you get in Austria. So I guess the real solution is to head to Austria.

The other Austrian confection that I can't get enough of is Mozartkugeln.

In addition to the portrait of the composer on the wrapper, these chocolates feature a marzipan center, a layer of nougat, and a thick layer of dark chocolate. Sadly, these are also often pricey and hard to find (if you're willing to pay a 17 euro shipping fee, check out austriangrocery.com).

Anyone else share my love of these delicacies? Please share your favorite source in the comments.

The Wednesday Chef's Amazing Pork Chops

by Elissa

I hope you all read Luisa Weiss's terrific blog, The Wednesday Chef. It has everything that I love about food blogs: great recipes, mouthwatering photographs, and excellent writing. I've been a regular reader for years now, and Luisa has never steered me wrong in the kitchen. Recently, she taught me an easy and delicious way to make pork chops.

This recipe solved my problems with dry, blank pork chops. The amazing thing? The recipe only has 3 ingredients: coarse salt, pork chops, and lemon. Go read what Luisa has to say--she explains the method (and the recipe's Italian provenance) much better than I could. But if you are looking to spiff up your pork chops with a recipe that's as simple as possible, you need to try it.

On a related note, if you like food memoirs you should definitely check out Luisa's book: My Berlin Kitchen. It's a really good read and includes lots of original recipes.

Afghan Pumpkin (Kaddo Bowrani)

by Elissa

So I've been in a cooking rut lately. The thought of getting dinner on the table each night feels like a terrible burden, and I'm struggling to come up with ideas. In an effort to get things moving again, I was thinking about some of my favorite restaurant dishes, and I thought back to a pumpkin appetizer that I love at an Afghan restaurant called The Helmand. There's one in Cambridge, Massachusetts and one in Baltimore, Maryland--I think their ownership is related--and I've been lucky enough to eat at both of them.

This pumpkin dish sounds pretty weird--it features a base of braised, sweetened pumpkin. Then there's a layer of garlic yogurt sauce, followed by a dollop of tomato meat sauce. But the combination of flavors is sublime. I had all the ingredients (I substituted kabocha squash for the pumpkin), found a recipe online, and decided to give it a try.

And the results were pretty good! Next time I might try increasing the tomato in the meat sauce, but this was a fairly good approximation of what I remember from the restaurant. Amazingly, my kids even liked it!

So if you've ever enjoyed this dish, or if you are looking to mix things up in the kitchen, give this recipe a try. And if you're near Cambridge or Baltimore, definitely check out The Helmand--the food is amazing.