Fig and Date Coffee Cake

Posted on December 7, 2011 by Andrea

It’s no secret that I like cooking with beer but I also like baking with beer. And experimenting with different ways to use beer in the kitchen.

One of my most recent experiments resulted in what is now my favorite coffee cake of all time. This coffee cake uses dried figs, dates, and nuts as part of the crumble topping.

This helps keep the cake moist while baking and gives a slight nod toward the fig newtons of my childhood. I wasn’t a huge fan of fig newtons as a kid but when I got older I enjoyed them a great deal.

Having found dried figs at the store, I knew that I wanted to use them in something. With seasonal beers out right now, the idea of making a coffee cake with one seemed like a natural fit.

I’ve made this cake several times since the first experiment and it always makes me squee with happiness when I get a chance to nibble on it.

Read more on Fig and Date Coffee Cake…

French Onion Soup For Two

Posted on November 17, 2011 by Andrea

I adore French Onion soup. It’s warm and loaded down with caramelized onions. It’s got bread that helps thicken it up and then it’s topped with melty cheese. Plus served to you in a little crock pot! Can it get any better?

When Scott and I were dating, I would order this soup as a starter whenever I saw it on the menu. It wasn’t the best “date” soup to be eating but Scott never minded me slurping away or when I had cheese dangling from my chin.

He’s a keeper!

Once I started making it at home, I stopped getting it out at restaurants. For some reason I have not made this soup in ages and recently decided that I needed to change that.

My version is not traditional at all but it gets the job done. When I’m craving French Onion soup, this is where I turn.

Andrea’s French Onion Soup For Two

1QT Beef Stock

Read more on French Onion Soup For Two…

Double Stuff Squash

Posted on October 26, 2011 by Andrea

Not long ago at the grocery store, I saw some new-to-me squashes and decided to pick some up. The one I ended up using first was a Sweet Dumpling squash.

I went back and forth about stuffing it because I wasn’t quite sure what I wanted to stuff it with, rice or…?

If I had had goat cheese on hand, I would have made a rice concoction. Since I didn’t, I decided to go with stuffing to stuff the squash.

I used my apple stuffing recipe to keep things very fall-ish feeling.

I cut the squash in half and removed the seeds. I saved those though because I can roast them!

I preheated the oven to 400. I filled a baking dish with a little bit of water to create a steam. I put butter on the exposed squash and sprinkled it with a little all purpose seasoning (similiar to poultry seasoning).

I roasted the squash for about 20 minutes and then flipped it over for another 15 or so.

Whole Wheat Drop Biscuits (Vegan)

Posted on September 12, 2011 by Andrea

I love biscuits. They’re warm and they make me want to eat jam. I’m not a jam person at all but when I have a biscuit, there’s only two things that go with it, gravy or jam. Okay sometimes butter but I would rather have gravy than butter on my biscuit.

Growing up, we didn’t have traditional biscuits. My mom made drop biscuits. Drop biscuits are made without having to knead the dough and adding in butter.

They’re really easy to make and are a nice addition to a meal.

My mom always made them with Bisquick and in the beginning I did as well.

As I started paying more attention to ingredients and eliminating processed food, Bisquick had to go.

Since drop biscuits are so simple to make, there’s no need to use a boxed mix.

Andrea’s Whole Wheat Drop Biscuits

1 1/2C White Whole Wheat Flour

1/2tsp Baking Soda

1/2tsp Baking Powder

A Pinch Of:

Unfried Green Tomatoes

Posted on June 24, 2011 by Andrea

The first time I ever heard about fried green tomatoes was because of the movie by the same name. Before that they had not crossed my radar. Like most things from the south, I was not exposed to them until much later in my adult life. Thank goodness for college, traveling, and cooking shows!

The idea of a fried green tomato intrigued me. The closest thing to it I did have was fried zucchini. There was good fried zucchini and then there was horrible fried zucchini. If you’ve ever had fried zucchini, you know exactly what I’m talking about. I looked into making fried green tomatoes and realized the technique between the two was very similar.

Plus what a great way to use up unripe tomatoes! They are always in abundance come the end of summer, right? Breaded warm tomatoes are amazing, maybe with a little cheese on top and you’ve got a really great side dish.

Homemade Bread Crumbs

Posted on June 23, 2011 by Andrea

Most of us are accustomed to seeing that canister of “Italian Style” breadcrumbs in the grocery store. Most of us have probably even purchased it a time or two.

Or several times.

I’m as guilty as the next person, I used to have them on hand all the time. Then a light bulb went off and I realized I could make my own at home with the bread that I liked.

Making breadcrumbs couldn’t be easier, you only need two things:

Bread
Food Processor

That’s it! I like to use the end pieces of bread to make bread crumbs but you can use whatever you like. After I slice up bread that I brought home, I usually put the end pieces in their own bag. Unless I eat one right away! I take the bag of end pieces and tuck them in the freezer until I’m ready or until I gather enough to make bread crumbs.

Leftover Idea: Veggie Stuffing Bowls

Posted on March 24, 2011 by Andrea

What do you do when the only leftovers you have from a roast dinner are stuffing and gravy? This is the task I faced the other night when I was deciding on our dinner options.

I love stuffing and gravy, both of which are treats that we don’t have very often. I’ll be darned if I was going to let it go to waste!

But what to do with it?

That evening was a very cold and rainy night. Complete with freezing rain and then snow, all of which screamed for a big bowl of something warm and comforting. Then the idea came to me, why not make a stuffing bowl?

I had veggies and decided to combine that with the stuffing.

I didn’t measure anything, so the following are guesstimates.

Andrea’s Veggie Stuffing Bowls

Leftover Stuffing

Leftover Gravy

1 Small Head of Cauliflower, chopped up into bite size pieces

1 Yellow Squash, chopped into bite size pieces

2011 Super Bowl Party Foods

Posted on January 31, 2011 by Andrea

Need some party food ideas for your Super Bowl Party? OHC has you covered!

Beer and Bacon Mac ‘N Cheese will definitely be a crowd pleaser!

Spicy Chex Mix is easy to make and even quicker to replenish when the snack attack hits.

Pasta and Lentil salad to get some veggies in on Game Day!

Quick coleslaw, great as a side or as a topping to some pulled pork or a burger!

This Chipotle Glaze would go lovely on some wings!

Chipotle not your style? Try these Garlic Teriykai Wings instead.

Cheddar Beer Bread for carbs so you can party all day long, cheese for staying power!

Just for the Steeler fans, you better get some chipped ham right quick and get a crockpot of Ham BBQ going to make sandwiches. Have some Iron City on ice too while you’re at it!

GO STEELERS!

Thanksgiving Apple Stuffing

Posted on November 19, 2010 by Andrea

I have been cooking with apples more and more lately. Before I couldn’t stand the taste and texture of cooked apples and now I’m finding that I can tolerate it a bit more.

I still don’t want any apple pie though! You all can have that.

I’ve also been toying around with new ideas for some holiday dishes and one I played with was stuffing. Oh man both Scott and I love stuffing. Mmmmm! I love it super seasoned with crispy edges. My mom made alright stuffing but you know, I used to really like the box mix stuff! I used to make that for Scott and I all the time. Then about nine years ago, I started researching how to make stuffing from scratch and I discovered that it’s not hard at all.

From that point on, I started making homemade stuffing. This allows me to control the ingredients and how much seasoning I want, it’s a win-win for us all! Plus you know homemade is better than any box of whatever.

Tuesday Tip: Homemade Croutons

Posted on August 17, 2010 by Andrea

Ever since I started eating salads as a wee lass, I have loved croutons. No scratch that, I adore croutons! Crispy crunchy little bits of bread that are loaded with flavor adding a nice texture to salad. Sometimes they’ll soak up a bit of the dressing acquiring even more flavor! I prefer smaller bite sized pieces but I won’t turn down a crouton when presented to me.

I used to buy croutons all the time at the store. I had my favorite brands and favorite flavors. Garlic was a must and cheese was optional.

Croutons that came on salads from a restaurant seemed even more special. No doubt they were the same croutons I was buying myself but when you’re out to dinner everything always seems a little more decadent and special.

I rarely meet a crouton that I don’t like. Oh it happens, just not often.

For some reason it never occurred to me to make my own until I saw Ina do it several years ago. Then the lightbulb went off, “I can do that too!”