Homemade Dog Treats

I often mention the two-legged people I live with, but I've neglected to mention the other occupants of this house:

Wowzer (on the right), is the manliest dog you'll ever meet. He is fiercely protective of his home and his people, and ripples with muscles and testosterone. However, the tutu he's rocking in this picture is representative of the prissy, whiny-baby side that emerges when he refuses to get his feet wet during a rainstorm, and especially whenever Josh leaves a room.

Dizzy is a fluffy bundle of spunk who believes wholeheartedly that it's ok to plop in a stranger's lap and that everybody she meets must have her slobbery kisses. She is easily frightened by the mildest of noises and runs to the opposite end of the house when any of the following items appear: a roll of packing tape, a blender, or Josh weilding an electric drill. Despite that, she holds her own when Wowzer attacks her in play and can let loose with some grown man-sized, wall-shaking belches when she's finished her kibble.

Like any other dog, these two won't leave my side when I'm in the kitchen. I could only imagine their delight when I pulled these treats out of the oven - not only were they going to get a taste, but the whole tray was just for them!

You will need:

1/2 cup of peanut butter

1/4 cup honey
1 tablespoon olive oil or melted unsalted butter
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk together peanut butter, honey, oil and chicken broth. In a separate bowl, combine flours and oatmeal. Mix dry ingredients into wet ingredients. Place dough on flour dusted surface. Roll or press dough out to about 1/4” inch thick.

My dogs are 10 and 15 pounds, so I used a small cookie cutter to cut out cookies. If your dog is bigger, you can use a bigger cookie cutter. Roll out leftover scraps and cut out as many as possible (or freeze extra batter for another time). Put cut out cookies on a parchment lined baking sheet. Bake for 14-16 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack and cool completely before feeding to your dog. Cookies will keep for up to two weeks when properly sealed.

Homemade Cream of Mushroom Soup

It's no secret at this point that I can't stand buying readymade items at the grocery store that I could just as easily make at home. I just won't do it, especially in the case of canned soups. I mean, just look at the ingredients (if you really can call them ingredients) on the back of a can of Campbell's cream of mushroom soup. Modified food starch, monosodium glutamate, soy protein and less than 2% of milk? Why bother putting that junk in your body when you can have something that not only tastes better, but consists of 5 ingredients that you can purchase without having to Google to find out what the heck they are first?

Ok, I'm done ranting. I understand the convenience of canned soups, especially for casseroles...but if you happen to feel like giving it a shot yourself, here's what to do.

You will need:

2/3 cup vegetable oil (or melted butter)
2/3 cup flour
1 cup chopped mushrooms
3/4 cup chicken or vegetable stock
3/4 cup milk
Salt and pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Once oil begins to shimmer, add mushrooms and stir. Whisk in flour and stir quickly for 1-2 minutes, until the resulting roux deepens in color and the mixture starts to thicken.

Slowly pour in stock and whisk until combined. Continue whisking as mixture thickens - when it coats the back of a spoon, pour in milk and season with salt and pepper. Reduce heat to medium low and stir occasionally until ready to use.

I usually pour any leftovers into a Mason jar and keep it in the fridge for a couple of days, but it's at its best hot off the stove.

Spicy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Man, has it been dull around here lately.

Not that there hasn't been plenty to do - birthday parties, Predators games, lunch dates and deadlines continue to punctuate everyday life - but dinner? It's not been much to write about. In fact, it's been downright sad.

For the last week and a half, Josh has been on a fruit and vegetable detox which allows minimal protein and no sugar (I say Josh has been on the detox, but I have been too - only I lasted 6 days and he's still trucking along). The cravings for so many bad things I never typically want were overwhelming and I had to get back to my normal way of eating. So here we are out of the gate with good, old fashioned chocolate chip cookies - only these cookies aren't as classic as they appear. Along with chocolate chips, they are studded with chopped sweet and spicy pecans from Trader Joe's and kicked up by cayenne and cinnamon in the batter.

The detox helped me lose 5 pounds, but these cookies helped me to feel normal again.

You will need:
 
2 sticks unsalted butter
2 1/4 cups bread flour
1 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup white sugar
1 1/4 cup brown sugar
1 egg
1 egg yolk
2 tbsp milk
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup Trader Joe's sweet and spicy pecans, coarsely chopped

Melt butter, waching closely, until it begins to brown. Do not allow to burn! Add to mixing bowl. In another bowl combine flour, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and cayenne.

Add sugars to mixing bowl with butter. Cream butter and sugar on medium speed. While mixing on medium speed, add eggs, milk, and vanilla. Slowly add in flour until well incorporated.

Stir in chocolate chips and pecans with a wooden spoon.

Chill dough for at least 24 hours, up to 36 (trust me on this one).

The next day, preheat oven to 375° F. Grease your cookie sheets or line them with parchment paper. Place cookies about an inch apart on baking sheets, and bake each sheet 8-12 minutes or until golden and puffy.

Adapted from Alton Brown's "The Chewy."

Guacamole

I've contemplated posting my guacamole recipe several times, but always dismissed that notion, assuming everybody has a go-to guacamole recipe. Not so, I learned over the weekend. A friend told me she gets that guacamole is inclusive of avocados and tomatoes, but beyond that, she's lost. I thought maybe there are others like her, so far it be it from me to keep my guac a secret.

You will need:

6-8 Hass avocados, halved, pit removed
4 tomatoes (try not to include any seeds)
Half a medium red onion, diced
1 jalapeno pepper, ribs and seeds removed, diced
Handful cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon cumin
Juice of one lime
Salt to taste

In a small bowl, combine tomatoes, onion, jalapeno, cilantro and lime juice. Season with a little bit of salt and set aside for at least 20 minutes. Then, strain the mixture to remove as much excess water as possible.

Spoon each half of avocados into a medium mixing bowl and break up gently with a fork. I like my guac chunky, but if you prefer it smooth, mash it to the desired consistency either with a fork or a potato masher. Add cumin and salt and mix well. If you're going for chunky guac, you want to mix as little as possible to keep the avocados from getting too mashed.

Gently add the tomato mixture (aka pico de gallo) to the avocados and combine. Adjust seasonings as necessary.

Grapefruit Honey Yogurt Scones

I have always been a grapefruit lover. I'm sure my initial introduction to grapefruit was partially influenced by the fact that my mom! let me! sprinkle sugar! on my breakfast!, but it stuck with me. I plan on coercing my someday-children into an early grapefruit adoration the same way.

Unfortunately my someday-children won't be able to witness a true grapefruit enthusiast in action in their early days of grapefruit consumption. My grandfather could eat a grapefruit like I'd never seen and likely will never see again. A product of his wartime and Depression-era generation, Grandpa was very mindful of waste, and cleaned out every grapefruit half he ate (one half every morning) down to the rind. Every shred of flesh was meticulously scraped away with a ridged grapefruit spoon and consumed, his clean rind shells never failing to fascinate (I liked to turn them inside out like rubber poppers when nobody was watching). To this day, I can't eat more than the inner sections, juice, and whatever I can scrape away of the edges without puckering as the flesh becomes more and more tart - and all of that after a teaspoon of sugar, still.

Either I picked up the wrong bag of grapefruit last week (I wanted the red Rio Star and got the pink instead) or grapefruit season is already over. While they're not my favorite, I decided to take a page from Grandpa and use what I had. I thought scones from Joy the Baker would be a good place to start.

You will need:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup granulated sugar, divided
2 tablespoons honey
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter, cold
1 Ruby Red grapefruit (or in my case, an unwanted pink grapefruit), zested and segmented
1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt

Place a rack in the center of the oven and preheat to 425 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside (note: I thought I could just spray a sheet pan, but they stuck a little..parchment would be best).

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Set aside.

Zest the grapefruit and combined zest and granulated sugar on a clean cutting board. Rub together the zest and sugar with the back of a spoon or a plastic bench knife. The sugar will be a pale orange color and smell of grapefruit. Measure 2 tablespoons of the grapefruit sugar and whisk into the dry ingredients. Save the remaining grapefruit sugar for topping the scones just before baking.

Segment the grapefruit next. Slice off the bottom and top of the grapefruit, then use a sharp knife to cut away the peel and pith of the grapefruit, exposing the pink grapefruit flesh. Remove the inner core membrane from the peeled fruit, then use your fingers to peel away the white membranes surrounding each segment. Set segments aside.

Dice cold butter into small chunks and add to the dry ingredients. Using your fingers or a pastry knife, break the butter down into the flour mixture until butter chunks resemble a coarse meal (like biscuit dough). Add the honey, yogurt and grapefruit segments. Toss together with a fork until all of the dry ingredients are moistened by the yogurt and honey.

Turn the scone dough out onto a lightly floured pastry mat. Pat into an 8 inch circle, about 1 inch thick. Use a knife to cut the dough into six scone triangles - first cutting a cross, then an X. Place on the prepared baking sheet. Lightly brush the tops of the scones with milk or buttermilk, and sprinkle generously with grapefruit sugar.

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes, until golden brown on top and firm but soft in the center. Allow to cool on the pan for 10 minutes before serving.

Chicken Caesar Sandwiches

"You have to leave the kitchen while I make this - I can't share the secret ingredient with you," I told Alyssa as she hovered near me, watching my every move as I prepared dinner for some friends that were joining us later that evening. Lesson learned: telling a kid that a secret ingredient lurks within their coveted salad dressing opens the floodgate to a handful of silly guesses.

"What is it? Is it limes? Poison? Dog toenails? Fish?"

She had guessed fish correctly, but there was no way I was going to let on that tiny, oil-packed anchovies are the key to her favorite Caesar dressing. And they really, really are - if you can't get past the anchovies and are tempted to skip them, don't. Use anchovy paste if you must, but their flavor is absolutely essential!

You will need:
2 chicken breasts (I used a precooked rotisserie chicken from the store)
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh flat leaf parsley, chopped
1-2 anchovies in oil, drained and diced, or 1 tsp anchovy paste
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1½ tablespoons lemon juice
½ cup mayonnaise
1 loaf Italian or ciabatta bread, or 4 Italian or ciabatta sandwich rolls
Romaine lettuce leaves, washed and dried
Shaved Parmesan cheese
Cooked sliced bacon (2-3 slices per sandwich)

Slice chicken breasts into thick slices and set aside.

To make the Caesar dressing, combine the garlic and parsley in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until finely minced, scraping down the sides as needed. Add the anchovies/anchovy paste, mustard, lemon juice and mayonnaise. Process until smooth and well blended. Adjust seasonings to taste if necessary. Refrigerate the dressing if not using right away.

Slice the bread in half horizontally and toast if desired. Spread both cut sides of the bread lightly with the Caesar dressing. Layer the bottom half of the bread with the romaine leaves, then top with shaved Parmesan, cooked bacon slices, and sliced chicken. Place the top half of the bread on top. If using a loaf of ciabatta, slice the assembled sandwich into individual servings. Serve immediately.

Adapted from Annie's Eats.

Bread Pudding Cups

I committed at the last minute to bring something for a company bake sale yesterday, knowing I wasn’t going to have much time that evening for baking. A fussy dessert was out, and whatever it was I wound up bringing had to be portioned into individual servings for a bake sale. What to do?

When I went home for lunch, my answer was right in front of my face. I still had half a pan of bread pudding from the weekend in the fridge and decided in a moment of brilliance what I was going to do. Mini bread puddings portioned out in muffin cups! And I would only need to pick up a few things from the grocery store. I had no idea how they would bake in muffin cups, but they held their shape wonderfully and stood at room temperature both overnight and through the bake sale without issue. To top it off, they were delicious and raised money for a good cause.

You will need:

1 pint cream or whole milk
2 eggs, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup sugar
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted

1 bag semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

1 loaf (12 ounces) Italian bread, torn into small pieces

1 package King's Hawaiian Rolls, torn into small pieces

In a large bowl, combine cream or milk with eggs and whisk. Add vanilla, salt, sugars and melted butter and whisk until combined. Pour in chocolate chips and walnuts, if using, and stir to combine the mixture. Add bread and using your hands, toss the bread cubes until all are coated. Be sure to distribute the chocolate chips and walnuts throughout the mixture as they have a tendency to sink to the bottom.

Line 2 12-cup muffin tins with muffin wrappers and evenly divide the bread pudding mixture among 20 of the cups (the mixture should mound over the top of the cups slightly). Bake in a 350 degree oven for 15 minutes or until the bread is golden and the chocolate has melted. Allow to cool and remove from muffin tin. Serve warm, cold or at room temperature - but they're best warm and gooey.