Off Eating...

Off eating in Tucson, Arizona- the best food on earth!

Impossible Pie

This pie is like magic. My Aussie mate Lois introduced me to it when she made it at my house one night a few months ago. When you pour it into the pie plate it is runny but once it bakes it magically turns itself into three layers; the bottom will be pastry-like, the middle custard-like and the top slightly crusty due to the ingredients sinking and floating during baking.

1/2 cup (75g) all purpose flour
1 cup (220g) sugar
3/4 cup (60g) desiccated coconut
4 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
125 grams butter, melted
1/2 cup (40g) flaked almonds
2 cups (500ml) milk

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 180C/350F. Grease a deep 24cm pie dish. Combine flour, sugar, coconut, eggs, vanilla, butter and half the almonds in large bowl; gradually add milk, stirring until combined. Pour into pie dish; bake 35 minutes. Remove pie from oven. Sprinkle remaining nuts over pie; bake a further 10 minutes. Serve pie with cream, if desired. Store pie, covered, in refrigerator for up to 2 days.

Yield: Serves 6-8

Southwest Soup

I am a lover of soups. One of my favorite things about living in Ireland is that it is almost always perfect weather for soup. It is hard but if I had to pick a favorite soup recipe I think this would be it. It’s an easy crockpot recipe for a soup that is typical in the southwestern part of the United States. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do!

1 ½ pounds chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1 can (15 oz.) whole tomatoes
1 can (10 oz.) enchilada sauce (Old El Paso brand is great!)
1 medium onion, chopped
1 can (4 oz.) chopped green chilies
1 clove garlic, minced
2 cups water
1 can (14 oz.) chicken broth
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 package (10 oz.) frozen corn
6 corn tortillas
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 large avocados, diced
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
sour cream
freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

Combine chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chilies and garlic in crockpot. Add water, broth, cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper and bay leaf. Stir in corn. Cover and cook on low 6 to 8 hours or on high 3 to 4 hours. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly brush both sides of tortillas with oil. Cut tortillas into 2 1/2-by- 1/2-inch strips. Place on a baking sheet. Bake, turning occasionally, until crisp, 5 to 10 minutes. Serve soup in bowls and garnish liberally with diced avocado, a dollop of sour cream, tortilla strips, cilantro and Parmesan cheese.

Yield: Serves 4-6

Variation: From time to time I throw black beans and zucchini in it also.

Healthier Mac n' Cheese

This delicious recipe comes from the Avoca Cafe cookbook. Avoca is one of my favorite stores/cafes in Dublin. This is a great way to make a healthier macaroni and cheese.

75 ml butter
75 g flour
850 ml milk
225 g grated mature cheddar cheese
350 g macaroni
1 head of cauliflower, blanched and divided into florets
2 large tomatoes, sliced
bunch of fresh basil, roughly chopped

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 180 C/350 F. Melt the butter, add the flour and cook, stirring constantly over a low heat for 5 minutes. Add the milk and bring to a boil slowly, stirring all the time. Cook for 5 minutes, taking care it doesn't burn on the bottom, and set aside.Stir in three quarters of the cheese, keeping the rest for the top.

Cook the pasta until just done. Blanch a head of cauliflower, divided into florets, until just done, drain and refresh under cold water and combine with the pasta. Add the pasta and cauliflower mixture to the cheese sauce. Pour into a buttered ovenproof dish, top with remaining cheese and bake in the preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until golden and bubbling. Remove from oven, top with tomato slices and basil.

Yield: Serves 4

Variation: The cookbook suggests a variation of stirring in 2 tins of drained tuna and 1 can of sweetcorn instead of the cauliflower, tomato, and basil.

Wines of Chianti

My husband and I took my mother in law to Tuscany last week where we spent 5 days driving around Chianti wine country. Wines from this region of Italy are my absolute favorite. While there we stopped at a number of beautiful vineyards where we partook in wine and olive oil tastings. We tasted a number of Chianti Classicos, Chianti Riservas, and Super Tuscans. My favorite was the Classico followed by the Super Tuscan. Whenever I buy wine at a store or a restaurant I always look for the Chiantis first. Its always good but there is nothing like drinking it in Italy while overlooking the vineyards, the huge Tuscan villas, and the Tuscan countryside- bellissimo!

Off Eating...

Off eating in Tuscany April 9-13th, 2010.

Monkey Bread

My mother-in-law makes this delicious breakfast treat called Monkey Bread. We ask her to make it for us every time she visits us or we visit her. It is very easy to make but be careful as its even easier to eat!

4 tubes of refrigerator rolls
cinnamon sugar mixture
3/4 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar

Instructions:

Separate rolls and divide each roll into quarters. Roll quartered dough balls in cinnamon -sugar mixture, making sure to coat well. Place coated dough balls into four round 8-inch baking tins. Combine sugar, brown sugar and white sugar together in a small sauce pan on the stove until butter is melted and sugar is dissolved. Pour melted butter mixture evenly over each tin of coated dough balls. Bake in preheated oven at 350 for about 30 minutes. Remove from oven and invert onto a plate. Best when eaten warm from the oven.

Yield: Serves about 8