Crock Pot Coq Au Vin

I love a good Crock pot dinner, especially in the middle of winter when the wind is howling and the snow is falling and the air is frigid and I need to be warmed up from the inside out. And that's exactly what this meal did.

I've been wanting to make coq au vin for a while now, and while this recipe takes a lot of liberties with the dish, it was still absolutely delicious. The wine added a subtle tangy quality to the dish, the bacon made it smoky, the mushrooms made it earthy, and the onions kept it a little bit sweet. It was the perfect balance of flavors. Next time, I'd make a few changes; I'd add carrots for a bit more sweetness, and at least one more clove of garlic. Though the boneless breasts actually turned out to be pretty tender, I might even try making this with bone-in chicken pieces and increase the cooking time a bit. I'll definitely make this again. When it comes to simplicity and comfort, the Crock pot just can't be beat!

Crock Pot Coq Au Vin

Source: Best-Loved Slow Cooker Recipes

4 slices thick-cut bacon
2 cups frozen pearl onions, thawed
1 cup sliced button mushrooms
1 clove garlic, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
6 boneless skinless chicken breast halves (about 2 pounds)
1/2 cup dry red wine
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup tomato paste
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1. Cook bacon in medium skillet over medium heat. Drain and crumble. Season chicken with salt and pepper. Layer ingredients in slow cooker in the following order: onions, bacon, mushrooms, garlic, thyme, pepper, chicken, wine and broth. Cover and cook on Low 6 to 8 hours.

2. Remove chicken and vegetables; cover and keep warm. Ladle 1/2 cup cooking liquid into small bowl; allow to cool slightly. Turn slow cooker to High; cover. Mix reserved liquid, tomato paste and flour until smooth. Return sauce mixture to slow cooker; cover and cook 15 minutes or until thickened.

Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

This cookbook is filled to the brim with delicious-sounding old-fashioned desserts, and out of all the choices, it may seem a little bit odd that I chose to make chocolate chip cookies. But my grandma makes the most delicious chocolate chip cookies, and one of my favorite memories is of going over to her house and curling up with a stack of them (with milk for dunking, of course). She always put walnuts in hers, but I saw this recipe using hazelnuts and I just had to try them. I'm a sucker for the hazelnut-chocolate combo (I believe that I am largely responsible for keeping Ferrero Rocher in business), and once again, the pair did not disappoint me. These cookies have wonderful texture, and they're very good. I'm visiting my grandma tomorrow, so I'm going to take a few of them to her. Of course, they're not nearly as good as her chocolate chip cookies, but I don't think I'll ever find any that are!

Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

Source: Taste of Home's Grandma's Great Desserts

1 cup butter or margarine, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

2 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup chocolate chips

3/4 cup chopped hazelnuts

1. In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugars on medium speed for about 3 minutes. Add vanilla and eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.

2. Combine flour, baking soda and salt; add gradually to batter, beating well after each addition. Stir in chocolate chips and hazelnuts.

3. Drop by heaping tablespoonfuls 3 inches apart onto lightly greased baking sheets. Flatten with a fork. Bake at 375 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes or until light brown. Remove to a wire rack to cook. Makes 3 dozen cookies.

"Ohio Style" Corn Dogs

I made homemade corn dogs for dinner last night. Oh yes I did. And they were delicious -- much better than anything from a box, and just as good as the corn dogs at the fair. I served them with tater tots. I felt like I was 12 years old.

But I didn't really care, because they were so good. And they were very, very easy. I don't think I'll ever feed Andrew frozen ones when making them from scratch is so simple! I don't know what exactly it is that makes them "Ohio style," but that's what the recipe said. And this is a cookbook full of recipes written by grandmas, and grandmas are never wrong! (They certainly weren't wrong about these corn dogs. Very, very tasty, no matter what state they were from!)

"Ohio Style" Corn Dogs

Source: A Taste from Grandma's Kitchen

1/2 cup yellow cornmeal

1 cup flour

1 tablespoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon sugar

1 cup evaporated milk

1 egg, beaten

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon dry mustard

Dash of pepper

10 to 16 hot dogs (we used 5 bun-length hot dogs, and had just a little bit of batter left over)

Wooden skewers

Vegetable oil for deep frying

1. In a bowl, mix first ten ingredients. Pour mixture into a tall glass.

2. Skewer hot dogs with wooden skewers; dip in mixture. Deep fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Drain on paper towels.

Pasta with Creamy Spinach and Parmesan Cheese

I made this pasta dish for dinner last night, and this morning when he got home from work the first thing Joe said to me was, "That pasta you made last night was so good. You've got to make that again soon." And believe me, honey, I will make it again soon.

This meal is the kind of thing I absolutely love to cook: simple ingredients, that are simple to prepare, that come together to make something absolutely knock-you-over good. My oh my, this pasta was delicious. This recipe comes from On Top of Spaghetti..., a pasta cookbook I've had for a long time but never cooked from. After looking through it, I discovered that it's filled with delicious pastas I'm just dying to try, and it's definitely one I'm going to come back to frequently. All that pasta...my poor, poor waistline.

I made very few changes and additions to this recipe, mostly just for convenience's sake; they're in purple.

I would entertain with this pasta. As a main course. It is that good.

Pasta with Creamy Spinach and Parmesan Cheese
Source: On Top of Spaghetti... by Johanne Killeen and George Germon

12 ounces dried spaghettini (I used an entire box of fettucine)
8 cups firmly-packed washed and trimmed baby spinach
1 cup heavy cream (I used about 1 1/2 cups)
10 swipes of fresh nutmeg across a grater (I used a dash of dried)
20 to 25 turns of a pepper mill filled with white peppercorns (I used a couple dashes of ground white pepper)
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

1. Bring a large pot of water to a boil for the pasta. Stir in a generous amount of salt and drop in the pasta. After a minute or two, add the spinach a handful at a time so the water doesn't lose its boil at any time. Cook, stirring often, until al dente.

2. Meanwhile, warm the cream over moderate heat with the nutmeg, pepper, salt and garlic powder. Bring it to a boil, but don't let it reduce. Taste the cream; it should be well-flavored with nutmeg and pepper. Add more if needed.

3. Drain the pasta and spinach in a collander, reserving about 1 cup of the pasta cooking water. Over low heat, stir the pasta into the cream mixture along with most of the parmesan cheese (save the rest for passing at the table or garnishing). If the noodles absorb too much cream, add pasta water, a tablespoon at a time, until you have the consistency of heavy cream, with each serving having a puddle in the bottom of the bowl. Serve immediately.

Breakfast Quesadillas

Every once in a while, our cafeteria at work serves breakfast quesadillas, and I always get one because I'm a sucker for quesadillas. In my opinion, anything slathered with sour cream and salsa tastes good, but the quesadillas themselves are always pretty bland. When I stumbled across this recipe for breakfast quesadillas, it seemed like a natural choice for me to try. Plus, it gave me the opportunity to use my Christmas present for the first time!

These were delicious! I made a few changes to the recipe, which I've highlighted in purple below. Joe really liked them, too, so I'm sure I'll be making them again!

Breakfast Quesadillas

Source: Pillsbury Annual Recipes 2007

1/3 pound bulk pork sausage (I used spicy sausage)

6 eggs

2 tablespoons sour cream

2 tablespoons half-and-half (I didn't have any, so I used 1 tablespoon of milk and 1 tablespoon of heavy cream)

1 package taco seasoning mix (I substituted 1 tablespoon of Emeril's Southwest seasoning)

1 tablespoon butter or margarine

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh chives

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh cilantro (I used a dash of dried; it would have been better with fresh, but I didn't have any)

2 tablespoons chopped tomato

1 can chopped green chiles (I omitted because I thought it would be too spicy with the hot sausage and pepper-jack cheese, but I'll add them next time I make these)

1 package flour tortillas, burrito size

1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

1/2 cup shredded Monterey jack cheese (I used pepper-jack cheese)

1. In a skillet, cook sausage over medium heat, stirring frequently, until browned and no longer pink. Remove sausage from skillet; drain on paper towels. Meanwhile, in medium bowl, lightly beat eggs, sour cream, half-and-half and seasoning mix with wire whisk until well-blended.

2. In a separate nonstick skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Add egg mixture; cook 2 to 4 minutes, stirring frequently, until mixture is very moist. Stir in cooked sausage, chives, cilantro, the tomato and chiles. Cook 1 to 2 minutes longer or until egg mixture is set but still moist. Remove from heat.

3. Place tortillas on work surface. Top half of each tortilla with 2 to 3 tablespoons egg mixture; sprinkle each with 1 tablespoon of each of the cheeses. Fold untopped half of tortillas over egg mixture.

4. Heat a 12-inch skillet (or griddle) over medium heat. Place quesadillas in skillet; cook 30 to 45 seconds on each side or until crisp and lightly browned. Remove from skillet; place on serving plate. Cut each quesadilla into wedges. Top with chives, salsa, sour cream, or avocado, if desired.