The Epicurious Runner

It’s National Waffle Week! It started on the 5th and goes through the 11th. We celebrated National Waffle Week by making delicious homemade waffles topped with Caramelized Cinnamon Apples. They weren’t exactly the healthiest waffles, okay they weren’t healthy at all, but hey sometimes you deserve a special breakfast like this!

Here is the recipe.

Waffles (from Allrecipes.com)

Ingredients

• 2 Apples
• 2 – 3 Tbsp. Butter or Margarine
• 2 Tbsp. Brown Sugar
• 1 – 2 tsp. Cinnamon

Add butter and sliced apples to a pan. Saute apples until they are noticeably softer, about 10 minutes. Add in the brown sugar and cinnamon and saute for about 5 minutes longer. Cook the apples to your desired consistency.

2 Apples makes enough for 2 people or 2 waffles. Enjoy!

Are you celebrating National Waffle Week? Or have you ever celebrated any kind of food holiday?

I have been making a ton of my own pizza’s recently and I’m trying to make them better and better every time. I’m leaning toward the Neapolitan style pizza, well at least for the toppings, I have yet to perfect a Neapolitan crust.

The first two pizzas, I did not like the crust very much. I thought it was a good recipe because I had used it before, but it turns out that it was just not good at all. Okay, that’s a lie, the texture and the ‘thinness’ of the crust was excellent, I just did not enjoy the flavor. It was too…flour tasting? I don’t know, whatever the flavor was, it just stood out too much and did not go with the flavor of the rest of the pizza.

In this case, indeed the third times the charm! I really enjoyed this crust! I think maybe next time though, it should be cooked for only slightly longer and it will be even better. The crust was pretty thin, but it had a good chewy consistency and the flavor was spot on. This was the best homemade pizza I have ever made! Looks pretty good right?

The key to making good homemade pizza is using fresh mozzarella cheese, not the bagged pre-shredded stuff! I sliced up the mozzarella and placed it all over the pizza and then I topped it with grated Romano cheese and it comes out looking like this. Mmmmmm, so good!

Here is the dough recipe I used:

• 1 3/4 – 2 1/4 cups Flour
• 1 envelope of Fleischmann’s Pizza Yeast
• 1 1/2 tsp. sugar
• 3/4 tsp. salt
• 2/3 cup very warm tap water
• 3 tbsp. oil

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Combine 1 cup flour, yeast, sugar and salt in a large bowl. Add water and oil. Mix together until well blended; about 1 minute.

Add gradually, 1/2 cup flour until soft dough ball is formed; will be slightly sticky. Add additional flour if need to form dough ball.

Knead on a floured surface adding additional flour if needed, until smooth and elastic; about 4 minutes. With floured hands, press dough out to fill greased pizza pan, OR roll dough to a 12 inch circle and transfer to greased pizza pan.

Top as desired with pizza sauce, toppings and cheese.

Bake on bottom oven rack for 15-20 minutes until cheese is bubbly and crust is brown.

I made oatmeal this morning for breakfast and I thought it was going to be delicious because it looked pretty good, right?

I was excited to write about this Coconut Blueberry Almond Oatmeal , but then it turned out to be a huge failure. The main reason is that the oats I am using are the 1-minute Quaker oats and those never taste that good. They are the only thing I have in my cabinet right now and I’ve made good oatmeal with them before so I was expecting a lot more. I generally like my oatmeal thick and this was was pretty dang thick!

The consistency was off and the flavor was very bland. It wasn’t sweet enough, even though I added a good drizzle of honey. The only good part about it was the almonds. After they sat in the oatmeal for a few minutes, they softened up and they were perfectly delicious in my mouth. Oh well, better luck next time.

I want to make more pizza now!

I swear, every summer I go through a phase where all I am craving are fish tacos. They are so good! I haven’t had a lot of different kinds, but the ones from Margaritas stick out to me and are really good, considering they’re fried. I prefer the fish to be grilled or baked. I woke up on Sunday morning and read a few blogs before I stumbled upon this post from Eat, Live, Run. That was it, I couldn’t get them off my mind! I had a pretty chill weekend and didn’t have too many responsibilities so I decided that my one and only goal for Sunday would be to finally make my very own fish tacos.

I have a very specific way fish tacos should be made, so I searched and searched and searched before I found the right recipe. It happened to be Mr. Bobby Flay’s recipe, which made me happy and even more confident that these suckers would come out phenomenal.

I made my list and went to the grocery store to buy every last ingredient that was needed. The recipe is pretty simple, but it takes A LOT of prep time. I was dicing and chopping for over an hour, but in the end it was all worth it.

*Note: I used tilapia, instead of mahi mahi, which is what the recipe called for. You can basically use any type of good white fish. This recipe came from FoodNetwork.com

Ingredients

• 4 (8-ounce) mahi mahi fillets
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• Citrus Vinaigrette, recipe follows
• 8 (6-inch) flour tortillas, cut into 2 1/2 to 3-inch circles, and deep fried
• Red Cabbage Slaw, recipe follows
• Tomato and Avocado Salsa, recipe follows

Directions

Citrus Vinaigrette:

• 3/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup lime juice
• 1 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
• 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 1 heaping tablespoon honey
• 1/2 cup canola oil

Red Cabbage Slaw:

• 1/4 cup rice vinegar
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1/4 head red cabbage, finely shredded
• 1 large carrot, cut into fine julienne
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
• Salt and pepper

Tomato and Avocado Salsa:

• 4 plum tomatoes, chopped
• 2 ripe Hass avocados, peeled, pitted and diced
• 1/2 small red onion, finely chopped
• 1 serrano chile, finely diced
• 1 to 2 limes, juiced
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 to 2 teaspoons honey
• 3 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper

I made Derek and I a humongous breakfast this morning, well I suppose it was more of a brunch because it was so big. But, it was one of the best breakfasts I’ve had in a long time.

• Garlic Homefries
• 2 Over Easy Eggs
• 3 Pancakes

I’ve been making pancakes a lot recently and I need to share the recipe because it’s one of the best recipes I’ve found. This is definitely my go to recipe for pancakes and they come out perfect every time.

Today I used bread flour instead of normal white flour and I think it made them even better. These pancakes were extra fluffy and soft. I would also recommend adding oatmeal and/or flax to make them a little more on the healthier side.

The Perfect Pancake Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 tablespoon white sugar
• 1 1/4 cups milk
• 1 egg
• 3 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

1. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar. Make a well in the center and pour in the milk, egg and melted butter; mix until smooth.
2. Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Pancake: Calories: 158 | Total Fat: 5.9g | Cholesterol: 41mg

Makes 8 Pancakes

I made a delicious salad last night for dinner and I even made my own croutons and salad dressing! For the croutons, I cut up  some stale italian bread into small cubes and placed them on a cookie sheet. I then drizzled some Extra Virgin Olive Oil over them and sprinkled some italian seasoning. Then placed into a 350° oven for 10-12 minutes.

• Green and Yellow Peppers
• Mushrooms
• Romaine Lettuce
• Carrots
• Celery
• Tomatoes

The dressing was of course an Alton Brown recipe: Veni Vedi Vinaigrette

I’m trying very hard to eat a lot healthier right now because I have not been eating well at all. I’ve also gained a few pounds over the last few months and it only bothers me because my pants are fitting a little tighter. Like the rest of the world I am setting some weight loss and healthy living goals. I am going to take it slowly and steadily so it will be a lot easier to maintain. I think my new training schedule will give me a nice push in the right direction, exercise wise.

Just to keep things clear though, I only want to shed a few pounds so I can fit into my jeans better. I also need to rid my body of all the junk that I’ve been eating. The best way for me to do this is to eat a lot more fruits and veggies than I have been. It’s really as simple as that. Wish me luck!

As I had mentioned earlier, I made Alton Brown’s Macaroni and Cheese last night for dinner. This was my first real time actually making baked macaroni and cheese. It was quite eventful, in my opinion. I had a lot of pressure from Derek also because he typically doesn’t like mac and cheese (I know, who doesn’t LIKE macaroni and cheese!?). I was really hoping he would like this one, especially because it is Alton Brown’s recipe.

Anyway, it was delicious! It had a ton of flavor and the consistency was perfect. The did not have onions in my version though, that was the only ingredient I was missing. It still tasted great without it. I am going to eat some leftovers tonight, that is certain! Here is the recipe, if you are interested. Baked Macaroni and Cheese

We paired it with a Southern Tier ‘Cherry Saison’ which we have had for probably almost 6 months.

The beer was delicious. Not at all what I had expected. I thought it would be a lot sweeter than it was. It’s actually 8% alcohol and has a very strong bitter, hoppiness to it. It went well with our meal.

For dessert, I ate a yummy peanut butter ball! These things are amazing and I must have the recipe. They are made by a friend of Derek’s family and I look forward to them every Christmas.

I gotta run, I am working on making Roquefort Cheese Balls for the New Year’s Eve Party tonight!

I gave Derek this Alton Brown cookbook for Christmas and I was the first to crack into it.

We had some tofu in the fridge so we decided to have Fillet O’Fu.

It was a very simple recipe and we already had all of the ingredients. We actually did have to make one substitution, we used Red Wine Vinegar instead of Sherry Vinegar.

It takes a lot of prep time, like hours and hours, so we knew we would be eating pretty late. I think I started it around 5 and we ate around 9. The tofu has to be drained out for 2 hours and then it has to be marinated. We marinated it for an hour, but I would definitely suggest you do it longer, possibly even over night.

The result was good, I think Derek enjoyed it more than I did. It was a little too vinegary for me, but I still enjoyed it. I suppose I was expecting a little more since it took so long to prepare.

This was last night’s dinner. Tonight I am making Baked Macaroni and Cheese, also from the Good Eat’s cookbook! I was craving mac & cheese and figured I would give the recipe a look over to see if we had all the ingredients. The only thing we are missing is the onion. Hopefully it will still be good without it. I think so!

The marinated pieces were then dipped in flour, egg, and breadcrumbs. I thought they looked delicious even before being cooked.

Served with a side of Spicy Saffron Rice.

Here is the recipe:

Fillet O’Fu

Stay tuned for Alton Brown Macaroni and Cheese!

This recipe was sent to me by my Aunt Paula. I am going to write it exactly as how she sent it to me. There is a paragraph of tips/comments at the bottom that is very helpful. Enjoy!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup shortening or vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 2 eggs
• 2 cups flour
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda

Directions:

Thoroughly cream shortening and sugars; add eggs and beat well.  Add dry ingredients; mix thoroughly.   Chill.
Roll 1/8 inch thick on lightly fhoured surface.  Cut with floured cookie cutter.  Place a tsp of filing on each half of cookies; top with remaining cookies.  Press edges together with fork.  Pierce fork in the middle of cookie.  Bake on greased sheet at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.

Filling:

Combine one cup of chopped dates, 1/4 cup sugar, and 1/3 cup of water.  Cook over low heat until thickened.  About 5 minutes should do it.  Add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts, if desired.

Comments:

The dates come in an 8 oz. package which is what you need.   Make sure you are buying CHOPPED dates.  I do not have a cookie cutter so I use what I have in the kitchen.  You can use the bottom of a round glass.  The size I used this past time was about 2 3/8 in diameter.  I think I make larger cookies than Nana did.  The amount of cookies I made with this recipe last time made 30 cookies, with some of the dough left over.

Regarding chilling the dough, the last time I made the dough late afternoon & kept it in the refrigerator until the next morning.  I wrap it up in wax paper, (flour the paper so it doesn’t stick to the paper when you try to use it.  It doesn’t take long to make the dough but it is the cutting out 30 circles with 30 tops & filling them in, etc. that takes time but they are SO GOOD.

Here it is!

The recipe for my mom’s famous stuffed mushrooms. Everyone in my family loves these and I’m sure they will be around for several generations.

Okay so the picture may not look so appetizing, but trust me, they are exquisite!

Ingredients

• 1 or 2 containers of whole mushrooms
• 4 to 6 Stalks of Celery
• 3 Sleeves of Ritz Crackers
• 3 Sticks of Butter

Directions:

Rub down all mushrooms with a moist paper towel to remove all dirt residue. Remove all stems from the mushrooms and put into a food processor along with the stalks of celery. Make sure there are no leafy parts left on the stalks. Once the celery and mushrooms are finely diced, place into a large frying pan with 2 and a half sticks of butter and saute until they are soft and you are able to smell them.

While they are sauteing place 3 sleeves of Ritz crackers into the food processor, one stack at a time, or however many will fit into your food processor. After the mushrooms mixture is done sauteing, shut off the heat and blend the cracker crumbs into the mushroom mixture with a wooden spoon.

Place the Mushroom/Cracker filling into a large bowl or container and set aside. Place all of the mushroom caps from earlier into a baking dish (I use a 9×13 glass dish). Fill the mushrooms caps with 1 teaspoon of the filling and once they are all stuffed, use the remaining filling to cover all the gaps in the baking dish, leaving no spaces. The last half stick of butter will be used for the top of the stuffing. Cut small pats of butter and place them sporadically through out the top of the dish.

If making a day in advance, cover with foil and store in the refrigerator.

When ready to bake, place onto middle rack in oven at 350 degrees for about 25 minutes or until you can see them bubbling in dish.

Enjoy!