Category: Food and Drink

Cheesy Crackers… because I’m Sick of Soup and Tea

Thought I’d try a recipe that I’ve had for a while, one for home made cheesy crackers… kind of like Cheez-its. My kids love those crackers and whenever they eat a lot of something, I like to see how a home made version might turn out. ChewOutLoud.com had a super simple recipe- four ingredients: cheddar, flour, butter, and salt. That’s it. I didn’t want to mess with a lot of ingredients or kitchenware with this crummy cold I have, but I’ve been bored with just TV and reading, I needed to create something. And of course, I had to make a few changes, so my recipe follows-

Four ingredients...
Four ingredients…

Cheesy Crackers

  • 1 1/2 shredded cheddar cheese
  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 4 tablespoons cold butter, cut up
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
Voilà- dough
Voilà- dough

Put all the ingredients into food processor bowl, and blend until the dough starts to come together- 30 to 60 seconds. Don’t overwork the dough, think of it as a cousin of pie crust and if it mixes too long the crackers will be tough.

dough disks
dough disks

Flatten dough into three disks, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least an hour.

almost crackers...
almost crackers…

Roll out the dough disks one at a time to about 1/8th of an inch thick and cut into squares of approximately one inch.

Place on baking tray, and poke the pre-crackers a couple of times with the flat end of a skewer (optional), and bake at 350 degrees for 15-20 minutes, until they start to brown lightly.

Finished!
Finished!

These were really tasty, but I think I still overworked the dough- 30 seconds was probably all the mixing it needed. Also, they are unbelievably greasy, until you think about how much cheese and butter there is to so little flour. Probably why they are so tasty, too!

If you have young kids, you really ought to try this recipe or a similar one. I bet they would really enjoy making their own cheesy crackers! Mine came out less crispy as store bought crackers, so I put them back in the oven for a bit longer- if you do this, watch out, they brown very fast.

New x 2 from TJs- Tea and Dinner

Well, you know how it goes- when one person in the house falls ill the rest will soon follow. Like me. After running a few errands and before I started to feel too crummy, I picked up a couple of new-to-me items from Trader Joe’s.

My sore throat told me that tea would be a smart purchase. I love tea, all kinds- green, black, herbal, and mixes. If I’m going to be stuck with a scratchy pain in the neck I mighty as well try a new brew to break up my favorites- roasty genmai-cha , herbaceous mint, and perfumed Lady Grey.

A new tea and quick dinner...
A new tea and quick dinner…

I wanted something easy to throw in the oven for dinner, too, and The Boy always loves anything resembling a chicken nugget. A pot of rice and boiled edamame later, we had two new things to try: Organic Ginger Pear White Tea, and Tempura Chicken with Sweet and Sour Sauce.

Verdicts:

The Tea
I don’t care for ginger, have never tried any white teas, and was suspicious of the word “flavored” in tiny print next to the word “pear” on the box. However, I loved this tea! Totally surprised me. The ginger was very mild, as was the tea (I think that is what white tea is known for) and the “pear” was subtle, too. Very good. I look forward to putting this tea into my rotation tomorrow as my dry throat annoys me.

The men laughed at these serving sizes...
The men laughed at these serving sizes…

The Chicken
Yep, the little nuggets are probably the same that you get in Trader Joe’s Orange Chicken. Which we love. Totally deep fried, battered, and I am there. This sauce was nothing special, a basic sweet and sour glaze. What killed us is the serving size- check it out, there are supposed to be seven servings! I piled the chicken into seven similar sized piles and the men of the house laughed at me. The Boy ended up eating two servings of everything… growing boy and all. I took one serving, wanted more, but honestly didn’t need any more. Boo. I hate to admit that I like to eat way too much food. Curse my love of eating!

My dinner- I wanted more but know that I need less. Boo!!!
My dinner- I wanted more but know that I need less. Boo!!!

New Menu Monday: Garlic, Garlic, GARLIC! New Side Dish for Navy Bean Soup

The Husband is sick as a dog, poor sweetie. He’s the complete opposite of me when ill- leave him alone, bring the occasional tea or hot toddy and he is fine. Me? I want sympathetic noises several times an hour, offers to fetch the remote, tissues, phone, iPad, etc… And soup. I want nice, preferably home-made soup.

Navy Bean Soup is on the menu tonight for two reasons: it is The Husband’s favorite (poor sick sweetie!), and I want to do a “New Menu Monday” post. So, instead of our favorite bean soup side, The Most Fantastic Corn Bread On The Face Of The Earth, I found an interesting and good looking garlic bread.

Garlic Parmesan Petal Bread from YourHomeBasedMom.com
Garlic Parmesan Petal Bread photo from YourHomeBasedMom.com

I was late today, digging this recipe out of my Pinterest board “Breads, Muffins, Pastries and Quick Breads.” well after 4:00 this afternoon with errands still to run. On the way home, I ran into the grocery store and picked up a bag of frozen dough for rolls, as suggested by the author. The recipe I’m trying tonight comes from a March 2015 entry from the blog “YourHomeBasedMom.com.” There are tons of great recipes there, go check her out.

Thawing Dough
Thawing Dough

The changes I made to this recipe were to use nine, not 14 rolls; Italian seasonings instead of oregano; fresh garlic, not garlic salt; and real parmesan cheese, not “the kind from the green can.” Her recipe suggests using home made dough, frozen ready-made if you are short on time… which I was.

Ready to Roll and Dip
Ready to Roll and Dip
All Coiled Up
All Coiled Up
Risen Dough
Risen Dough

Garlic Parmesan Petal Bread

  • 1/3 cup butter, melted
  • 2 big cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, finely grated
  • 3/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning
  • 7 frozen rolls, thawed

Microwave butter on a plate then mix in the cheese, garlic, and Italian seasonings. Roll thawed dough balls into ropes, then roll in seasoned butter and place coiled up in your buttered cast iron pan. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown on top.

This. Was. DELICIOUS! I really think that the fresh garlic really made this recipe. Fast, easy and yummy. I’m already thinking about how the next time I will make a dough with half whole wheat and add even more garlic and parmesan.

Beautiful!
Beautiful!

Specialty Cheeses- Italian Gogonzola Dolce and French Double Cream

I just discovered that one of the Whole Foods near me has a $5 or less basket full of chunks of Heaven. More specifically, smaller cuts of cheese.

I picked up a Gorgonzola “Dolce,” not knowing that they even exist. Sini Fulvi brand, to be exact. Wow, delicious! Creamy but with the little crystals of a more aged cheese, not too strong… I guess that would be the “dolce” part of the variety. Just enough veining to give it the best taste. Loved it, and Sini Fulvi Gorgonzola Dolce is in my favorites column now.

The second cheese is a French Double Cream, kind of like a brie but without the characteristic brie flavor that The Husband can’t stand. This brand “Fromager d’Affinois Guilloteau,” too, was delish. So very mild, extra creamy with a very light, fresh flavor. It paired really well with my Pinot Grigio on this (almost) summer evening.

Finding new things to try this year has turned out to be a delicious and rewarding idea this evening.

Gorgonzola Dolce and French Double Cream
Gorgonzola Dolce and French Double Cream

San Diego Ramen Scene #1- Rakiraki & Tsukemen

Kearny Mesa has a bounty of international restaurants, especially Asian shops. From Chinese dumpling houses to Japanese ramen restaurants, this seems to be the area to hit. It took us several years, but we finally made it to one of the more talked-about noodle joints: Rakiraki & Tsukemen on Convoy Avenue. One of the biggest reason we have never eaten here is because it is on the same corner as O’Brien’s Pub, and it is hard to pass by this pub even when you want to try a new place… O’Brien’s is just that good.

My bowl of the Super-Delux
My bowl of the Super-Delux

The Girl and I hit Rakiraki tonight, and although we were only mildly impressed, we both agreed we would still like to come back for another try at the menu. Tonight we each had ramen. She tried the original with chicken: “ORIGINAL SIGNATURE RAMEN- Custom craft noodles and original chicken broth topped with green onions, bamboo shoot, organic crushed sesame, nori dried seaweed and your choice of aburi chasiu or chicken chasiu.” I had the super-delux, also with chicken: “SUPER DELUXE HAKATA TONKOTSU RAMEN- Custom craft noodles and deluxe tonkotsu broth topped with sizzled garlic chips, five-spice soy sauce pickled egg, bean sprouts, green onions, bamboo shoots, wakame seaweed and organic crushed sesame.”

The Girl is pretty squeamish about fats and oils… the texture just does not appeal to her, and she felt that the layer of oil floating on her soup was just too much for her. She dug the flavor, but couldn’t get past the greasiness. She did, however appreciate the organic chicken- have you noticed that “Organic Chicken” tends to be less fatty? I think it is… Just wondering if I am the only one who noticed. I liked my dinner overall, but was not bowled over by it. The noodles, broth and toppings were just… all right. Good enough to try the restaurant another time, but not containing any wow factor that I hoped for. I’ll try a different dish next time.

For any of you who may be interested in learning more about the Ramen scene in the San Diego area, here is a nice summary put out a couple of years ago by our main newspaper. This Union Tribune San Diego article “Who Serves the Best Ramen in San Diego?” has a good list with a short review of seven different foodie’s favorite spots. Click on for more recommendations!