puppy chow

It's that time of year again. Everyone is celebrating the holiday season and it seems like you have an endless calender of events to attend. Most likely at least one (if not more) of your invitations says to bring a favorite dish to share. This treat is by no means my own recipe but it is a childhood favorite of mine. And I've found when taken to holiday parties its a pretty big crowd pleaser. I grew up eating this stuff so I assumed it was a well known snack however I had a friend inform me that she took it to a party in D.C. and thrilled everyone with her 'new dish'. So the next time you need a sweet indulgence sure to please the masses, give this a try.

9 cups chex mix

1 cup semi sweet chocolate chips

1/2 cup peanut butter

1/4 cup butter

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 1/2 cup powdered sugar

mix chocolate, peanut butter and butter in a microwavable safe bowl. Cook in one minute intervals, stirring in between intervals until smooth and creamy. Stir in vanilla. Pour into a gallon sized zip lock baggie with the chex mix and powdered sugar. Shake, shake, shake! When pieces are well coated its ready to enjoy. Keep fresh in an air tight container if you are not going to serve it right away.

Felling daring?? skip the peanut butter and use 1/2 cup of mint chips, butter scotch chips, peppermint or any of the other fun varieties of baking chips found at your local grocery store. You can also keep the original recipe and add in some chopped nuts or crushed candy pieces to jazz it up a bit.

Cranberry Dream Pie

Does anyone out there actually eat the cranberry that gets set on the table every thanksgiving? I see it year after year, awkwardly jiggling next to the turkey, never really giving up the shape of the can it came out of. To be honest, it grosses me out. And with all the delicious foods and flavors this holiday brings why let one black sheep ruin the festive spread? I decided things will be different this year. My mission was to make a delicious dish with cranberry. I actually came up with two. Both desserts. The Cranberry Dream Pie was my favorite of the two so it debuts on the blog first. Seriously this pie is amazing! It has a few steps and might seem semi complicated to those of you who aren't comfortable in the kitchen but it is worth a try. My mouth is watering for another piece as I type this!

Cranberry Dream Pie

2 cups chocolate wafer crumbs (or crushed Oreos)

1/3 cup melted butter

2 squares semi sweet chocolate (mini chocolate chips work too)

1 orange

9 oz softened cream cheese

14 oz whole cranberry sauce

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup whipped cream

1 tsp vanilla

Mix wafer crumbs and butter to form your pie crust. Bake at 350 for ten minutes or until set.

Coarsely chop chocolate.

grate orange peel and mix into chocolate and set aside ***DO NOT skip this step, the orange flavor is a key ingredient in this dessert***

In an electric mixer (kitchen aid or equivalent) beat the cream cheese until smooth and fluffy.

Add cranberry and sugar and continue to beat until evenly mixed.

stir in chocolate and orange.

Gently fold the whipped cream and vanilla into the cranberry mixture. ****careful to fold and not mix or beat or you will loose the fluffy airy quality of this pie***

Pour mixture into pie crust, cover with plastic wrap and freeze for 6 or more hours.

Remove 30 minutes prior to serving.

Garnish with whipped cream, mint or chocolate shavings.

If your looking to save time on this dessert you can buy a pre-made Oreo shell and skip the first step.

Cranberry Pear Crumble Pie

This pie is cranberry recipe number two. This go around I used fresh cranberries instead of the goop that comes out of a can. You can use fresh or frozen, whichever you can find at your local grocer. This pie is much simpler to make than the cranberry dream and will take up a lot less time. It is also BEAUTIFUL! A perfect centerpiece at a holiday meal. For some reason this particular dessert makes me think of Christmas. My recommendation? Make this pie as soon as you finish reading this blog and then make it again for a tasty treat for friends and family on Christmas.

Cranberry Pear Crumble Pie

one pie crust

24 Nilla Waffers- crushed (about 3/4 cup)

1/4 cup brown sugar- packed

1/4 cup butter- melted

8oz cream cheese-softened

1 cup chopped cranberries

2 large fresh pears- sliced *if you must use canned make sure to drain all juice

1 small package instant jello pudding (vanilla) 3-4oz

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

pre bake your pie shell at 350 for 10-15 mins or until light golden brown. let cool

spread softened cream cheese on bottom on pie crust.

combine Nilla Waffers, brown sugar and butter. Sprinkle half onto cream cheese.

combine cranberries, pears, pudding mix (don't make the pudding, you want to use the powder) and cinnamon. Add to pie.

top with remaining crumble.

Bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes or until fruit is tender and crumble is golden brown.

Cool and serve with whipped cream.

Is anyone else feeling chili?

One of the reasons I love food so much is that it can be inspired by every aspect of our lives. This particular recipe was inspired by the season. Last week Nebraska got its first snow. It was a perfect first snow, just enough to remind us the winter season is upon us. Beautiful flurries that clung to the grass and trees and disappeared by the morning commute. The chilly weather got me in the mood for, well, Chili. And I'm sure no one will argue with me here, the BEST chili is grandma's chili. One of the many, many things I love about my grandma is that she isn't afraid of heat. She is never shy with the spices. Just like my grandma, this recipe is a little on the older side. If your not old school and don't feel like deboning a whole chicken and making your own broth or stock; feel free to buy a can of swanson's broth and use your favorite cut of chicken (cooked through of coarse).


White Chicken Chili

one whole chicken-boil, debone and dice
save 2 cups broth
16 oz Monterrey jack cheese- cube
12 oz pace salsa medium (or spicy if you like)
12 oz green enchilada sauce
2-15oz cans white northern beans and juice
4 oz diced green chilis and juice
1 small onion diced
1 1/2 tsp cumin
salt and pepper to taste
****If you like add one jalapeno (I dice mine with seeds for the heat)
****Also if you can get your hands on some hatch green chili's substitute a fire roasted chili for the canned diced green chili's

Sautee onion and jalapeno until tender, add all ingredents and cook until cheese is melted and all ingredents are melded together. This is also an awesome crock pot recipe, throw all the ingredents in before work and set to low or medium low (depending on your model) and let cook for 8 to 10 hours. Serve with sour cream, onions and fried tortilla strips, YUM!

Ray's The Steak

I must admit that my most recent trip to Washington D.C. was a bit of a food disappointment. We arrived late in the evening only to find that our hotel reservation had been switched to an 'express' which did not have a restaurant or room service. Thus forcing us to walk around an unknown area until we ran into a random greasy, yet organic (?), diner. And I'm sure you all read about our failed lunch date at The Good Stuff Eatery. So there was a lot riding on our dinner reservations. Before I left good old Nebraska I put out a facebook plea for recommendations of D.C. dinner spots. My friend Pat sent me several establishments to look into. The one that first caught my eye was a steak house with a clever name. Ray's The Steaks. It was on the same subway line we traveled so I took this a fate and made a dinner reservation. I wasn't sure what to expect as we walked up. The restaurants designer believed in a very minimalistic approach. The sign outside was made up of simple white letters on a black backdrop placed just above the entrance. The interior matched. Classic wood floors, white walls with black accents, sleek black table tops and quality silver utensils. At first impression it seemed kinda stiff but the longer we sat there, the more comfortable we felt. The wait staff was super friendly and the whole place was filled with good conversation and laughter. We were given our menu's and a plate of bread and a bowl of spiced nuts. And what a selection! A restaurant that serves only steaks and we still had over fifty menu items to choose from. Different cuts, sizes, styles, and sauces. I was impressed to see hanger steak on the menu. A rare cut of meat that is one per cow. I was a little nervous looking over the menu as my mom is not a big steak eater. In fact it has been over 11 years since she has last had a steak. She decided on the steak salad, well done. And I eventually choose a Brazilian strip, medium rare, with a spicy deablo sauce and sauteed garlic. While we waited for our food to arrive I couldn't help but noticed how well trained the staff was. As I watched them at times they seemed choreographed they moved that smoothly among themselves. I have a feeling that this detail that made our evening so nice was completely un-noticed by the majority of the patrons there. No one ever notices when things go right, only when things go wrong with service do people pay attention. But I paid attention. Slight head nods and small hand gestures between the servers and bussers keep the tables clean, our water glasses full and the dinning room floor relatively clear of traffic. Our food arrived in a timely manner and it too was minimalisticly plated. In fact the only thing on my plate was my steak. No squiggle of sauce, no parsley, no garnish. Just a well cooked piece of meat. We were also served family style mashed potatoes and creamed spinach free of charge. Which for an upscale steak house is un heard of. My steak was thick and juicy just as I expected. What really impressed me was that my mom's well done steak was still tender and juicy. Personally I take offense to any steak that is cooked above a medium, as I feel it destroys the texture of the meat. But her steak was cooked through without being leathery and tough. The deablo sauce that came with my steak was made with spicy green chili's and a hint of cilantro. Very spicy on its own and tamed to a desirable level of heat when eating with the steak. I did find that about a third of the way through my steak I stopped using the sauce and just ate the meat because it was so well seasoned. You could taste the grill! And not in a burnt ashy way. No, what you tasted was a well seasoned cast iron flavor. The same sort of flavor that comes off of my cast iron skillet that goes three generations back. The mashed potatoes were just lumpy enough to let you know they were made from real spuds and creamy enough to not require extra butter or gravy. The only part of the meal that we didn't eat was the spinach. I thought it was a tad on the bitter side and my mom just isn't a cooked greens eater. But that didn't phase either one of us, we both had more food than we could finish. And the check? under $25 a person. As soon as we left the restaurant I sent Pat a thank you message, his recommendation was right on. A quality steak dinner in a friendly well staffed restaurant for under $25, Ray's The Steaks lives up to its name.

good stuff eatery

September has turned out to be a very busy month and has presented me with some fun, unique food opportunities. About seven years ago while donating blood I was asked if I would like to give an extra vile and be entered into the Department of Defense (DOD) national bone marrow donor program. In return for entering yourself in the program you received the rest of the day off of work, so of coarse I said yes. Being in the national bone marrow donor registry is pretty uneventful. Until you get called. I got my first call two and a half years ago. After a series of rigorous physical screening I was determined to be the closest match for a leukemia patient in need of a donation. My donation was actually for stem cells, not marrow. Which is a less painful, more precise method of treatment. Its a cleaner product that's more easily accepted by the recipient. This initial treatment lead to two more donations over two years to help stimulate the healthy growth of cells for my match. ANYWAYS, the point of telling you all this is that the donations are held in Washington D.C. Which means every year or so I get an all expense paid vacation to the nations capitol. And I take full advantage of the booming food scene there. On my first trip years ago I was super excited to visit a new restaurant opened by a favorite Top Chef contestant of mine, Spike Mendelsohn. The Good Stuff Eatery is a burger joint serving the good old favorites as well as new and interesting burger combinations. They also offer hand cut fries (with or without special seasoning), hand spun shakes and a selection of homemade dipping sauces. My first trip to the Eatery was a memorable one. We were even lucky enough to meet Spike and see him work. The burgers were large, hearty and delicious. The staff friendly and fun. It was such a memorable trip that I have gone back every time I visit D.C. However, this last trip was memorable for all the wrong reasons. I have been craving a burger from The Good Stuff Eatery for weeks now, ever since I got the call to come back. It was the first place we went when we arrived in the city. The music was unbearably loud and the place seemed ridiculously crowded. And it didn't take long to figure out why. Right inside the door in the only downstairs waiting area was a large shipment of paper products. Some boxes were even open and product taken out to be used while the rest of the boxes sat there unattended and obviously not where they belonged. There was mass confusion as you walked up to the counter, no one was sure who was in line, who was waiting for their food and who was working. There were at least four men in uniform just standing around on the customer side of the counter. Doing nothing. Being a manager myself, it was really hard for me not to tell those lazy boys to stop leaning on the wall and go put away the paper shipment. Once we finally made our way up to the counter we had to yell, literally yell, over the music to order our food. And when the cashier couldn't hear us correctly she didn't politely ask us to speak up, instead she rudely ordered us to 'talk louder'. The experience was so far from the usual I couldn't help but look around and notice the be-wildered look on the other patrons faces too. Finally we were handed a buzzer and a numbered ticket and sent to wait. The next thing we knew the rude counter girl was shouting numbers that didn't match any one's ticket. And since none of our buzzers were buzzing we all stared right back at her. Eventually (and still rudely) she informed us she was calling the numbers of the buzzers. Which left us wondering why hand out buzzers if you aren't going to use them for their intended purpose? At last we went upstairs to take our seats. Again we noticed several employees standing around. And several uncleaned tables. The only upside to this trip was that the food was still amazing. My mom and I got the same burger, A cheese burger with American and Muenster cheese, sauteed mushrooms, caramelized onions and 'the good stuff sauce'. And we both got hand spun shakes. Mine was a black and white (vanilla with hot fudge) and my mom got a basic chocolate shake. As we were enjoying our super calorie laden lunch we starting to get an uneasy filling. And it soon became apparent what the extra staff was for. To stare at you and make you uncomfortable so you leave sooner. All and all we spent less than a half and hour at lunch. I was left with the overall feeling that the boss was away (and had been away for a while) and his employees were not behaving as they should. At least that is what I hope was the problem. Sadly I doubt I will ever find out. If I was a D.C. resident I would surely give The Good Stuff Eatery another chance. But since I only have a few days a year to sample the D.C. food scene I won't be waisting them on another chance at a horrible experience.