Wednesday Fun #5 - Halloween Candy

Happy Halloween!

Let's pretend we're all kids again. What kind of candy would you be hoping to collect tonight?

Easy Chicken Pot Pie

This simple, yummy, easy recipe is from the back of a Campbell's soup label. It's a good way to use up any leftover chicken you may have, because you're likely to have some or all of the other ingredients on hand. You can always throw in any other leftover veggies that might be in your frig, or extra cream soup or season it up a bit, but the basic is good, too. Yummy, easy, simple.

1 c. cubed cooked chicken
1 c. frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
1 can Campbell's Cream of Potato soup
1/8 tsp. pepper (ok, who measure 1/8 tsp.? A dash of pepper, people.)
3/4 c. milk (split into 1/4 and 1/2 cups)
1 egg
1 c. Bisquick Baking Mix

1. Preheat oven to 400F. In 9" pie plate, mix chicken, vegetables, soup, pepper and 1/4 c. milk.
2. Mix remaining milk (1/2 c.), egg and baking mix. Pour over chicken mixture. Bake 30 minutes or until golden.

Serves 4.

Cream Cheese Mints

Another re-post from my own blog.

Cream cheese mints
4 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
1/2 tsp. mint extract
3 drops food coloring
2-1/4 cups sifted powdered sugar

Mix cream cheese, mint and food coloring; gradually add powdered sugar and mix until smooth. Pipe out mints (I used a large cake decorating tip — a cookie press would work too) onto a piece of wax paper or parchment paper sprinkled with granulated sugar. Sprinkle more sugar over the top, chill for at least 2 hours. Devour by the handful

Tomato Snack

This isn't really a recipe, I admit, but peeps told me I should put it on here anyway.

Buy a "log" of chevre goat cheese from Trader Joes. Cost is only about $4 for a large log shape of the cheese and it freezes well. Just cut off what you want at the time and freeze the rest. Yes, of course you can use a different chevre.

Cherry/Grape tomatoes

Paul Newman's Sesame Ginger dressing. (In PET-1 plastic bottles! - Check out the link for lots of yummy recipes.)

You can put the cheese directly on the tomatoes, and use the dressing as a dip, or just crumble some cheese in with the tomatoes and drizzle the dressing over (my prefrence). Also good with a salad underneath. This has become one of my very favorite snacks. And, I can claim it's healthy!

Tahra's Tabbouleh

Here's how I make tabouleah or however it's spelled. It's not really a Middle Eastern style because I don't chop the crap out of the parsley. It's a bit more chunky, with more couscous, so it's easier to eat with silver wear and I find more people like it this way. Also, I do this all by hand, I do not use my food processor because I don't want things to get too fine. I have to also put in a lot of notes here because this is just something I made up. It’s not a “real” recipe. Warning – it’s very yummy and filling, but does leave you with bad breath.

This lasts a week or a bit more in the fridge.

¼ c. olive oil
¼ c. lemon juice
1 clove garlic
A couple of twists of the pepper grinder and a dash or two of salt
1 medium bunch of parsley (just grab one of whatever they have at the store. If you are a huge parsley fan, add more).
1 medium cucumber
2-3 roma tomatoes
4 oz (half a regular block) of feta
1c cooked and cooled couscous (1 c water to a boil, add ¾ c couscous, cover, and let stand until done, then cool)
Optional: ½ (no more or it infuses way too much flavor!) shallot. You can easily skip this, or add a couple tsp of chives if you really want.

Parsley – cut off the big stems so you mostly just have leaves and their little stems. Chop.
Tomatoes – Remove the seeds and then dice. Roma (or Plum as they call them out here) are best for this – fewer seeds to flesh. Don’t leave the seeds in!!!
Feta – I dice this into small cubes. You can crumble it if you want, but make sure the pieces are small
Cucumber – peel and scoop out the seeds. Then dice.

Combine the olive oil, lemon juice, garlic, salt and pepper and (optional) ½ shallot in bowl. Add the rest as you chop it up. Stir, let sit for 15 min or more for the full flavor, and enjoy!

No-Knead Bread

Last winter I came across this recipe for No-Knead Bread and I've been wanting to try it ever since. Let me just say right out that I am not a bread baker- I love to bake, but it's usually cookies/pie/cakes etc. Rarely will I bake bread. However, I love fresh homemade bread and I don't even mind the kneading/ rising/ kneading. It's kind of satisfying. A karmic way to earn the fresh baked yummy-ness.
But my curiosity got the better of me and I'd read that this bread was really quite good. The trade off for not kneading is that you have to wait about 24 hours between the urge to bake bread and the urge to eat the bread. The first rise is a 12-18 hour wait, another 2 hours for the second rise, 45 - 60 min. to bake, and then a little time to cool.

This is how the dough looked after the initial rise (18 hours or so). It looked more like pancake batter than bread dough and I was dubious. I was worried if I took it out of the bowl it was going to just run all over.


I managed to get it floured and set for the next rise- and it didn't quite double in size, but it did expand a bit and I got it into the pan. (sorry for the white on white here). It still did not look like a promising bread.


But THEN! Ta-dah! After baking for 45 min. the top was a nice golden brown and pretty crusty. When I put it on the wire rack, it was still cracking and popping. I cut into it a few minutes later and it looked great- nice crust, soft and chewy middle. It tastes really good too!


I used maybe a little too much flour in the second rise (but it was so sticky!) but I'm definitely going to try it again. This recipe is supposed to be very forgiving so you can add cheese, or herbs or dried fruit to make it savory or sweet.

Wednesday Fun #4 - Food Blogs

When I started these Wednesday Fun entries at the beginning of October, I said that sometimes there'd be a question... sometimes other stuff. So, I figured I should probably put an "other stuff" sort of Wednesday Fun. And since my favoritest holiday is coming up, here are a few links to some Halloween recipes! (Not that I've tried these out, they just look promising.) If you've got links to other sites or specific Halloween recipes, put 'em in the comments!

Epicurious's Halloween Recipes

AllRecipes.com: Halloween

Good Housekeeping's holiday section

HalloweenKitchen.com

The Food Network's Halloween section

Roasted Asparagus with Balsamic Browned Butter

Our local grocery store had asparagus on sale yesterday, so I got some and made this recipe, which I'd done before, but not for quite a long time. It reminded me that THESE ARE THE BEST VEGETABLES EVER! You cannot believe the amount of self-control it took to take a picture before starting to snarf these beauties down. It's salty, savory, smoky, buttery... yum!

(P.S. From Cooking Light magazine, March 2002. They say 8 servings using 2 lbs. of asparagus. I used 1 lb. (but the full amount of sauce) and 2 adults and one toddler polished it all off quite handily.)

40 asparagus spears, trimmed (about 2 lbs.)
Cooking spray
1/4 tsp. kosher salt
1/8 tsp. black pepper
2 Tbl. butter
2 tsp. low-sodium soy sauce
1 tsp. balsamic vinegar

1. Preheat oven to 400F.

2. Arrange asparagus in a single layer on baking sheet [9x13 glass pan was fine for 1 lb.]; coat with cooking spray. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Bake at 400F for 12 minutes or until tender. [Yesterday I was in a hurry, so I baked for a bit, then turned on the broiler for the last bit to finish them off and it worked great.]

3. Melt butter in a small skillet over medium heat; cook for 3 minutes or until lightly browned, shaking pan occasionally. Remove from heat; stir in soy sauce and vinegar. [Be careful - spattery.] Drizzle over asparagus, tossing well to coat. Serve immediately.


Tips & Hints: I read this somewhere else, but an easy way to trim asparagus is to just take each one individually, hold it by both ends, and then just snap off the bottom. It should break just the woody part off. No need to guess how much to cut!

Bloggy Potatoes

Originally posted in a comment at The Bus o' Love, reposted here because Ms. Huis Herself asked me to. I don't remember where I got this one.

Au Gratin Potatoes

Preheat oven to 400°

3 lbs. thinly sliced red potatoes
1 1/4 cups creme fraiche
1 1/4 cups shredded gruyere, shredded
Salt, pepper & paprika to taste
parsley or crushed rosemary

Generously butter a 9x13 cake pan. Add in layers: half of the potatoes, half the creme fraiche, and half of the cheese, add salt, pepper and paprika. Repeat. Bake 45 minutes. Before serving, sprinkle parsley or crushed rosemary over the top.

Pumpkin pie

I'm sitting here eating a piece of the second pumpkin pie I've made this fall, and it's much better than the first one (despite a little mishap with the lid on the cinnamon jar leading to a LOT of extra cinnamon...). It always is. Because it always takes me til the second one to remember that I adapt the recipe a little. So this is slightly adapted from The Joy of Cooking.

Advance prep:
Buy a pie pumpkin. Scrub it clean, stab it a few times and bake it on a pan with a lip at 350° for about 1.5 hours or until you can easily stab through it with a bamboo skewer. Do NOT undercook — it makes the puree process brutal. If it's cooked enough, it will pretty much fall apart once you take it from the oven. Pull the stem off (I usually get about 1/3 of the skin at the same time), slice it in half, let it cool a little and scoop out the string & seeds (reserve seeds for roasting if that's your thing). Peel the flesh out of the skin (again, only easy if it's cooked long enough) and puree it in a food processor or blender. Puree will keep in the refrigerator for a couple weeks. About an hour before you use it, measure out your amount, fudge a little on the high side, and put it in a cheesecloth-lined seive to drain out all the extra liquid. You get a much nicer pumpkin flavor that way.

Pumpkin Pie
Make or buy your favorite pie crust (I use Pappy's frozen pie crust dough — not as good as homemade but way easier, and tastier than the Pillsbury roll-out kind). Joy will tell you to brush crust with an egg yolk and partially pre-bake. I've found that to be a pain in the ass and the crust gets soggy anyway, so I skip it.

Preheat oven to 350°.

In a large bowl, whisk together 2 eggs.
Add and whisk together:
2 cups pumpkin puree
1 cup heavy cream + 1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 t salt
2 t cinnamon
2 t ginger
1/2 t nutmeg
1/4 t cloves

Pour into crust and bake 1 hour or until center is mostly set but still a little jiggly. (It should wobble, but not ripple, when you jostle the pie pan.) Let cool completely. I like to serve it with whipped cream sweetened with honey & seasoned with a little cinnamon.

How to easily cut up a bell pepper

I learned how to do this in a cooking class long ago. I don't remember any more exactly how I used to cut up a bell pepper, but I know it wasn't this easy and uniform, so I figured I'd share. It helps to start with a squarish, or at least not bendy, pepper.



1. First, lop off the top. Don't worry if half the stem is left behind in the pepper.





2. Turn the pepper so it's sitting on that nice stable flat side you just made. Then you can cut straight down to slice off a side. (This is where the "squarish" part makes it easier.)





3. Continue cutting off the sides straight down. You'll end up with something sort of like this.




4. Turn what's left of the pepper over on to its side and cut off the top. If your sides of the "pepper cage" around the seeds are thin, it might break in half like mine did.




5. Then it's easy to slice and/or chop up the conveniently sized and shaped pieces of pepper for cooking or just plain eating. Yay!

Wednesday Fun #3 - Most Treasured

What piece of your kitchen and/or kitchen equipment do you treasure the most? Your stove, knives, mixer, cookbook collection, cast iron pan, corn-on-the-cob holders, salt and pepper collection... what?

And why? It's the most used, useful, prettiest, has sentimental value, makes the best ___, always wanted one... what?

Bison?

I was reading an article this weekend about Bison and how it's supposed to be better to eat because it's really lean. Also, I guess the trend towards local foods is helping boost the popularity of Bison. I know that we've had it, but it was always at a restaurant or a fair or something. Has anyone ever cooked Bison at home? Any ideas? Can you do more with it than just make burgers? Have you tried?

Sichuan-Style Stir-Fried Chicken with Peanuts

This yummy recipe is from Cooking Light magazine, the March 2002 edition. I think it actually tastes like something you'd get at a Chinese restaurant. We like broccoli, so I often add some of that, too.

Marinade:
2 Tbl. low-sodium soy sauce
2 Tbl. rice wine or sake
1 tsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. dark sesame oil
1 1/2 lbs. skinless, boneless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces

Stir-frying oil:
2 Tbl. vegetable oil, divided

Sauce:
1/2 c. fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
2 Tbl. sugar
2 1/2 Tbl. low-sodium soy sauce
2 Tbl. rice wine or sake
1 Tbl. Chinese black vinegar or Worcestershire sauce
1 1/4 tsp. cornstarch
1 tsp. dark sesame oil
2 Tbl. minced green onions
1 1/2 Tb. minced peeled fresh ginger
1 1/2 Tbl. minced garlic (about 7 cloves)
1 tsp. chile paste with garlic

Remaining ingredients:
1 1/2 c. drained, sliced water chestnuts
1 c. (1/2 inch) sliced green onion tops
3/4 c. unsalted, dry-roasted peanuts
6 c. hot cooked long-grain rice

1. To prepare marinade, combine first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl, cover and chill 20 minutes.

2. Heat 1 Tbl. vegetable oil in a wok or large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chicken mixture; stir-fry 4 minutes or until chicken is done. Remove pan; set aside.

3. To prepare sauce, combine broth and next 6 ingredients (broth through 1 tsp. sesame oil); stir well with a whisk. Heat 1 Tbl. vegetable oil in pan. Add 2 Tbl. green onions, ginger, garlic, and chile paste; stir-fry for 15 seconds. Add broth mixture; cook 1 minute or until thick; stirring constantly.

4. Stir in cooked chicken, water chestnuts, green onion tops, and peanuts; cook 1 minute or until thoroughly heated. Serve over rice.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 3/4 c. stir-fry and 1 c. rice).
CALORIES: 590 (25% from fat); FAT 16.7 g (sat 2.7 g, mono 6.8g, poly 6g); PROTEIN 36.9g; CARBS 71.4g; FIBER 3.3g; CHOL 66 mg; IRON 3.8mg; SODIUM 591 mg; CALC 75 mg.

Chocolate Carmel Bars

Any time there was a family event, I would force my mom to make and bring these bars. Eating the Sexy Blonde's brownies made me remember them.

Beat:
1 c. margarine
2 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
2 1/2 c. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3 c. oatmeal

Pat 3/4 of this mixture on bottom of 9x13 pan.

In a double boiler (or microwave), melt:
14 oz Kraft caramels
2 Tbsp. water
15 oz. sweetened condensed milk

Pour this over the batter in the pan. Sprinkle 3/4 cup chocolate chips on top. Then sprinkle remaining batter on top. Bake 20-25 minutes at 325.

Dead Sister Dip

I spoke of this delicious dip last time we visited MN, so here's the recipe. Yes, it got this name because it was the recipe of a sister who died, but her sister, and then her friends, passed it on. Don't ask.

I recommend keeping this dip in one of those tiny crock pots, or an electric fondue pot.

3/4 to 1 jar salsa (your choice of brand)
8 oz cream cheese
1 can Hormel chili WITHOUT beans.

warm and serve.

Mom Cake

Told my mom about this blog and she insisted I post this recipe as it's easy and delicious - called "Higgins Cake" but I'll rename it Mom Cake.

2 c flour
2 c sugar
1, 20 oz can crushed pineapple in juice (don't drain)
1 tsp vanilla
2 eggs
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 c chopped nuts (optional)

Mix all of the above. Bake at 350 for 40-45 minutes in a 9x13 greased pan.

Frosting:
1/2 stick margarine (4 Tbs)
1, 8 oz pkg cream cheese
1/2 c. chopped nuts (optional)
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 c. powdered sugar.

Mix well and spread over slightly warm cake.

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

Grew up with this one - it's yummy. I think of it as eating my veggies but getting cake at the same time. A good one to pull on the kids since you can't taste the zucchini but it makes the cake very moist.
Note - on this one you put the topping on BEFORE you bake. But, I have made this without the topping and it was just fine.

1/2 c. margarine
1/4 c. oil
1 3/4c. white sugar
2 eggs
2 1/2 c flour
4 Tb. cocoa
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. sour milk (which would be just short of 1/2 milk plus 1 1/2 tsp lemon juice)
2 c. zucchini, peeled and grated
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 325. Cream marg, oil and sugar. Add eggs. Add dry ingredients alternately with sour milk (or, be like me and just dump everything in together). Add zucchini and vanilla. Beat well. Pour into greased 9x13 pan.

Topping:
1 c chopped walnuts (optional)
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 c. chocolate chips

Mix ingredients and spread evenly on cake before baking. Bake cake at 325 for 40-45 min or until done.

Wednesday Fun #2 - Spice Showdown!

(Ok, it's more like Spice Countdown, but that's got less alliteration.)

Quick! Name 3 spices you know are in your cupboard. Bonus points if they all start with the same letter!

Pouched Pears with Honey Sauce

From Into the Sauce! the Buca di Beppo cookbook. So rich and wonderful! It takes, like 2 hours to do because of all the zesting and peeling and poaching that's involved, but you can do all of it ahead of time (and should, because the pears should be cold when served) and just warm up the honey sauce, spoon it over the pears and serve it.

6 Bosc pears
3 cups cold water
1/2 vanilla bean
1 cup sugar
Juice of 1 large lemon
2 cups Honey Sauce (see below)

Peel and core the pears (a melon baller works well), leaving the stems intact. Place the cored pears in cold water and set aside. Mix 3 cups of water, the vanilla bean and the sugar in a saucepan large enough to hold all the pears. Heat the syrup over medium heat until the sugar dissolves. Stir in the lemon juice. Drain the pears and add to the syrup. Cook over medium heat in covered pan, turning occasionally, until the pears are tender, about 30 minutes. Cool the pears in the syrup to room temperature, then refrigerate until cold. Remove the pears with slotted spoon and place each pear on an individual dessert plate. Spoon the Honey Sauce over the pears.


Honey Sauce

2 cups honey
Zest of 4 lemons
Zest of 4 oranges
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

In a saucepan, heat the honey to a simmer over low heat. Add the lemon and orange zest, ground cloves, cinnamon and nutmeg. Mix well and cook over low heat for about 5 minutes. Serve warm or refrigerate to use later. Prior to using the sauce, slowly reheat it to server warm. Makes 2 cups.

Salmon Ball

This one comes from The South Beach Diet Cookbook. Yummy! Serve with veggies for dipping, or really, whatever sounds good with smoked salmon.

2 cups canned salmon, drained, flaked, and skin and bones removed
8 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon prepared horseradish
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke
1/2 cup chopped almonds
3 tablespoons chopped parsley

In a large bowl, combine the salmon, cream cheese, onion, lemon juice, horseradish, salt, and liquid smoke; mix thoroughly. Refrigerate for 4 hours, or until firm enough to form into a ball.
In a small bowl, combine the almonds and parsley. Shape the salmon mixture into a ball. Roll in the almond mixture. Refrigerate for 1 hour, or until chilled.

Prosciutto-Wrapped Figs Stuffed with Blue Cheese

Got this one from Cooking Light. The original recipe can be found at this link:
http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1197143

I haven't had any luck actually finding fresh black mission figs, so I've used whatever dried figs I could find and rehydrated them a bit with near boiling water. I've also done this in the oven instead of on the grill. Just put them on a cookie sheet in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes or so.

12 large fresh black Mission figs, trimmed
2 ounces blue cheese, cut into 12 cubes object
2 ounces thinly sliced prosciutto, cut into 12 strips
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons honey
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Dash of salt
Cooking spray

Cut each fig in half, cutting to, but not through, base of fig. Place 1 cube of cheese inside each fig; gently close to seal. Wrap one prosciutto strip around each fig.
Combine vinegar and next 3 ingredients (through salt) in a small saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer until thick, about 10 minutes. Cool.
Place figs on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 6 minutes, turning occasionally, until prosciutto is crisp. Drizzle each fig with balsamic syrup.

This should serve 6.

Stuffed Pork Chops

I got this recipe from my mom. It's classic Midwestern comfort food, cream of mushroom soup and all. It was originally for the oven, but I just did it this week in the slow cooker and it turned out well, so I'll include both cooking instructions.

1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 c. milk
1 c. hot water
2 Tbl. butter or margarine
2 c. Stovetop stuffing
1/2 small red pepper, minced [opt, but adds nice color]
4 pork chops, 1-inch thick [I've done both bone-in and boneless, and 3 or 4.]

Mix soup and milk in 9"x13" pan (or slow cooker) and set aside. Put water and butter in a bowl; stir to partially melt butter. Add stuffing and red pepper; stir gently until water is absorbed. Cut a slit in each chop from outer edge to bone. [For boneless, cut almost all the way through.] Spoon stuffing into chops. Place in pan (or slow cooker). [I like to put them so the open ends all face together, and then glop all the extra stuffing that didn't fit into the cops in the middle.] Spoon soup mixture over chops. Bake at 375F for 1 hour. For the slow cooker, I did 4 1/2 hours on high, then it sat at "keep warm" for about an hour and that was done nicely.

Butternut Squash Soup with Curried Horseradish Cream

Pusher was talking about squash on her blog, and it made me remember that I'd previously posted a recipe for Butternut Squash Soup with Curried Horseradish Cream. It's such a fall food that I thought I'd repost it here. Enjoy!

It's sounds spicy, but it's really not (or not the way I make it - you could of course up the spices yourself). Don't skip the horseradish cream - it adds a lot in terms of richness and flavor.


Butternut Squash Soup with Curried Horseradish Cream
(serves 6)

1 butternut squash
1 cooking apple
2 Tbl. butter
1 onion, finely chopped
1-2 tsp. curry powder
3 3/4 c. chicken or vegetable stock
1 tsp. chopped fresh sage
2/3 c. apple juice
salt & pepper
curry powder, to garnish

Curried Horseradish Cream
4 Tbl. double cream [Regular cream is fine.]
2 tsp. horseradish sauce
1/2 tsp. curry powder

1. Peel the squash, remove the seeds, and chop the flesh. Peel, core and chop the apple.

2. Heat the butter in a large saucepan [or Dutch oven]. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes, until soft. Stir in the curry powder. Cook to bring out the flavor, stirring constantly, for 2 minutes.

3. Add the stock, squash, apple, and sage. [I usually add the sage later with the apple juice since it's fresh, but I'd definitely add in ground/dried now if that's what you're using.] Bring to the boil, lower the heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes until the squash and apple are soft.

4. Meanwhile, make the horseradish cream. Whip the cream in a bowl until stiff, then stir in the horseradish sauce and curry powder. Cover and chill until required.

5. Puree the soup in a blender or food processor. [Or just mash in the pan with a potato masher if soft enough - much less cleanup!] Return to the clean pan [I don't know if they expect you to wash it before putting the same stuff back in, but that' s just crazy.] and add the apple juice, with salt and pepper to taste. Reheat gently, without allowing the soup to boil.

[You could probably keep it warm on low in a slow cooker, but I've never tried. If you do, and it works, leave a comment and tag it, ok?]

6. Serve the soup in individual bowls, topping each portion with a spoonful of horseradish cream and a dusting of curry powder. Garnish with a few lime shreds, if you like.

Enjoy!

Wednesday Fun #1 - Most Challenging

I was going to do this on Mondays since they're usually considered the "downest" days of the week But it looks like people find the time to post recipes on the weekend, so Monday's a good day to see what's new. So I figured to switch the fun to "Hump Day," Wednesday.

On Wednesdays, swing by to see what's up. Maybe it'll be a question, maybe a funny quote, maybe a cooking disaster story, maybe a link to a food website... whatever. I'll put up one for this first Wednesday, but if you want the next week, just say so in the comments & it's all yours. If nobody speaks up for any given week, I'll do my best to fill the space.

So,

What's the most challenging thing you've ever made (or tried to)?

Cookbook Suggestion

I have a suggestion on a cookbook for those of you with only 2 in the house. It's Better Homes and Gardens "Great Cooking for Two". It's nice to have very nice, simple meals that are appropriately sized. Everything I've tried from it is yummy and easy.