Iron Chef Blogger Challenge Week ... ummm

Bad blogger! Bad, bad!

Ok, so I got a bit busy. And got way behind. Even though I completed at least three challenges. We had a big event last weekend (can't believe it has been a week since the wedding!) and with all the prep and fun, I got a bit distracted. And sometimes lazy.

So, here's the updates on the the three challenges I did complete. I'm not going to give them the usual royal treatment but a quick rundown. (Recipes will appear at the end of this post.)

Challenge: Alcohol


Now that it's nice out, we're stopping by the farmer's market a few miles down the street. So I decided to make a tomato sauce using red wine. I am so not a red drinker, so when the recipe called for a dry wine, I had no idea and just pulled a bottle of Two Buck Chuck Cabernet. Turns out that it's a great cooking wine. I have this book called, appropriately, The Complete Book of Pasta and the recipes look amazing, but they are grocery lists of ingredients. Luckily, I had a lot on hand and it turned out pretty tasty. As Brian described it, "it tastes classy." If you like red wine, I would totally recommend trying this out. I would go easier on the wine, though, it was pretty runny.


The mess I made while cooking... not a big surprise.


The sauce finishing up on the stove.

Challenge: Turnips

Ok, so I was getting turnips confused with radishes. I went to the store expecting to buy those pretty red and green veggies and instead had to leave with an ugly, purple bulb. Who was that first person who went, "gee, I think I'll eat this thing?" So weird. I decided to go for a recipe that sounded totally strange, mashed potatoes and turnips with pear sauce. This was another recipe from Epicurious, which is fast becoming a favorite recipe site. Wow, this was a surprisingly wonderful dish! The turnips added a rich flavor, they mashed like potatoes but gave the whole thing an "umph." Try it! I kept the pear sauce as a side, and I could take it or leave it. It did work with the potatoes, but you have to like that sweet and salty mix. The pear sauce was tasty on its own, though, perhaps over ice cream some time? I guess I also took care of the pear challenge that was taking place this week!


Doesn't this look a bit like a quail?

See?

The tasty potatoes! And more mess.

Challenge: Peanut butter

Ok, embarrassing admission. I was lacking anything to take as a snack at work one week (I have to have a mid-day snack or I will eat my lunch at like 9 a.m.) so I took a jar of reduced fat Skippy. I then had a spoonful of straight up peanut butter as a snack for a week. So, I love peanut butter. I was going to stick to my "no baking" rule, but then a recipe for homemade Tagalongs sifted through my Google Reader (by the way, I had over 1,000 postings in my reader after just four days of not checking it, yikes). Tagalongs used to by my favorite Girl Scout cookie (now it's Samoas) and in honor of those years going door-to-door and working the cookie booth outside of Bashas, I decided to make the cookies. They were so tasty but such a mess to make. Plus, I though parchment paper = wax paper and managed to set the smoke detectors in our apartment. That was fun. My big recommendation would be to try to spread the peanut butter instead of leaving it in a ball in the center of the cookie, and to make sure that your dipping chocolate is deep. Despite the mess and excitement, they were (gasp, shall I say it??) better than the Girl Scout version.

Let's see if I can still do the oath: "On my honor, I will try, to serve God and my country. To help people at all times and to live by the Girl Scout law."

Still got it!

I'll try to add my thoughts on gettin' married a little later. Until then, happy cooking!

Classic tomato sauce:

From The Complete Book of Pasta  edited by Jeni Wright

Ingredients

2 T olive oil

1 onion, chopped

2 T tomato paste

1 t paprika

2 cans chopped tomatoes drained (I used fresh tomatoes)

pinch of dired oregano

1 1/4 c. dry red wine

large pinch of superfine sugar (should be read as "supafiiiiiiine")

12 oz. fresh or dried curly lasagna sheets (I used plain ol' spaghetti)

salt and pepper

Parmesan cheese shavings

1. Heat oil in a large frying pan and fry the onion for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until softened but not brown. Add the tomato paste and paprika and cook for a further 3 minutes.

2. Add the tomatoes, oregano, wine and sugar to the pan and season the mixture to taste, then bring to a boil.

3. Simmer for 20 minutes until the sauce has reduced and thickened, stirring occasionally.

4. Meanwhile, cook the pasta in plenty of boiling, salted water accoring to the instructions on the package. Drain thoroughly and turn into a large serving dish. Pour over the sauce and toss to coat. Serve sprinkled with the Parmesan cheese.

 

Potatoes:
From Epicurious.com

(I halved this recipe and it was plenty for 2 - 4 people. Also, a blender works just as well as a food processor in preparing the turnips.)

Ingredients
1/4 cup honey
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter, melted
8 Bosc pears, peeled, quartered, cored
5 pounds Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled, cut into 2-inch pieces
2 pounds white turnips, peeled, cut into 2-inch pieces
1 1/2 cups (3 sticks) butter, room temperature

• Preheat oven to 350°F. Combine honey, lemon juice, and melted butter in large bowl. Add pears; toss to coat. Arrange pears in single layer on large rimmed baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast pears 30 minutes. Turn pears to coat with juices and roast until very tender, about 35 minutes longer. Transfer pears and caramelized liquids to food processor; blend until smooth. (Pear puree can be made 2 days ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)
• Cook potatoes and turnips in separate large pots of generously salted water until tender, about 25 minutes. Drain well. Transfer turnips to processor; puree until smooth. Mash potatoes with room-temperature butter in large bowl until smooth. Stir in pureed turnips. Season to taste with salt and pepper. (Can be prepared 6 hours ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Rewarm in microwave before continuing.)
• Rewarm pear puree. Place potato-turnip mixture in large serving bowl. Swirl in pear puree and serve.

Tagalongs:

From Love & Olive Oil

Ingredients
Cookies
1 cup butter, room temperature
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp milk
Filling
1 1/2 cups creamy peanut butter (natural or regular)
3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
generous pinch salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Coating
about 8 oz. semisweet chocolate chips
2 oz cocoa butter OR 1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Directions

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
• In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Mix in flour, baking powder and salt at a low speed, followed by the vanilla and milk. The dough should come together into a soft ball.
• Take a tablespoon full of dough and flatten it into a disc about 1/4-inch thick. Place on a parchment-lined baking sheet and repeat with remaining dough. Cookies will not spread too much, so you can arrange them fairly closely together.
• Bake cookies for 11-13 minutes, until bottoms and the edges are lightly browned and cookies are set.
• Immediately after removing cookies from the oven, use your thumb or a small spoon to make a depression in the center of each cookie. Cool for a few minutes on the baking sheet then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
• To make filling, whisk together peanut butter, confectioners’ sugar, salt and vanilla in a small microwave-safe bowl. When the mixture has come together, heat it in the microwave (in short intervals, stirring frequently), until it is soft. Working carefully with the warm filling, transfer it to a pastry bag (or plastic bag with the tip cut off) and pipe a generous dome of the filling into each cookie’s “thumbprint”.
• Chill filled cookies for 20-30 minutes, or until the peanut butter is firm.
• Melt the chocolate and cocoa butter in a small, heat-resistant bowl placed over a small saucepan filled with simmering (not boiling) water.
• Dip chilled cookies into chocolate, let excess drip off, and place on a sheet of parchment paper to set.