Deglazing

Looking for Something? I’m here to help!

Hello!  It’s Nicky.  I find it interesting to see what you are looking for in recipes when you visit my site.  I may not have just what you are looking for, but I can surely send you in the right direction if there is a recipe you may be looking for out in the www.  If you can’t find what you are interested in by looking around my site, then feel free to drop me a line at  nicky (at)deglazing.com.  I would be more than happy to try and help you out.  Or if you have a recipe you would like to see me make and catalogue on this site then let me know and I will see what I can do.

Happy Cooking!

Lighter Cheesecake Bars

Roasted Veggie Lasagna

 

Another Day, Another Potato Recipe

I like to think of myself as an equal opportunity vegetable eater.  I love them all.  Sprouts, sure thing.  Carrots, you bet.  Eggplant, keep it coming.  Even with all the vegetable love I notice there are certain vegetables that I make over and over again.  Potatoes, I’m talking about you.  I think it’s too bad potatoes got such a bum rap over the years.  Not all potatoes are French fries and not all starches should be banned from the planet.  Potatoes are delicious and Tim’s Irish ancestors couldn’t be wrong.  Potatoes are like a blank palette. You can flavor them in a million combinations and when you roast them in the oven the get a lovely crisp, brown exterior.  This recipe is about as easy as it gets.  We served them with a breakfast for dinner, but you could certainly use them with any variety of meat options, if you are so inclined.  These ones are flavored with garlic and shallots, but you could easily swap out the garlic oil for any flavored oil you like.  Unfortunately, potatoes aren’t the only ones with a bum rap, just look at poor garlic.  Garlic is delicious when it’s cooked down.  It goes from rough around the edges raw garlic to sweet and tender in a matter of minutes.  We could all learn something from garlic. 

I like to think of these potatoes as lazy man home fries.  No fuss, no muss.  No parboiling or pre-cooking of any sort.  It’s a chop and drop recipe and sometimes when you have a million things going at once it’s best to rely on chop and drop.  Keep in mind the oven is rocking for this recipe, so do keep an eye on the potatoes or they will go from beautiful and bronze to blackened and burnt. 

Garlic and Shallot Oven Roasted Potatoes (adapted from Cooking Light)

• 2 Tbsp. chopped garlic
• 1 large shallot, thinly sliced or finely minced
• 1 tsp. fresh rosemary, finely minced (you can also use your favorite dried herbs here)
• 1 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1 1/2 pounds red potatoes, washed and cut into bite-sized chunks
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. cracked black pepper

1. Preheat oven to 475 degrees F.
2. Combine garlic, shallots, rosemary (or dried herbs), and olive oil in a small saucepan over medium heat.  Cook for 2 minutes or until golden, stirring frequently.  Remove the garlic and shallots from the oil with a slotted spoon and set aside.  Drizzle the remaining oil over the potatoes in a large bowl, and toss to coat.  Arrange potatoes in a single layer on a nonstick aluminum foil lined sheet pan.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Roast at 475 degrees F for 30 minutes, flip the potatoes over halfway through cooking.  The potatoes should be golden brown.  Remove from the oven and toss with the remaining garlic and shallot mixture.  Makes 4 – 1 cup servings. 

Apple Cinnamon Oatmeal Pancakes

I am absolutely nuts for oatmeal.  When I go out to breakfast I often scan the menus longingly for steal cut oatmeal.  My Dad thinks it’s pretty funny that I want oatmeal and fruit when I go out to breakfast, but there you have it.  Tim, on the other hand, is not such a huge fan of oatmeal.  He loves oatmeal in baked goods, but not prepared as a big old bowl of oats.  I don’t know, I think it might be texture thing.  He will, however, happily eat oats in any other manner from veggie burgers to pancakes.  Speaking of pancakes, these apple cinnamon oatmeal pancakes are pretty amazing.  Good for you and delicious.  It’s an easy way to sneak a few whole grains into your diet.  Trust me, oats made like these, well everyone can get behind them.  The original recipe comes from Cooking Light.  The original was a simple oatmeal pancake.  I am sure they would be amazing too, but adding a little shredded apple never hurt anyone.  It couldn’t be simpler to do.  I use the larger openings on a box grater to shred a peeled granny smith apple.  I then tossed the apple shreds with 1 Tbsp. sugar, 1/2 tsp. cinnamon, and 1/4 tsp. nutmeg, and 1 Tbsp. flour.  No need to get the extra moisture out of the apples, they worked just fine.

I loved the original recipe made enough pancakes for three people.  It’s hard to find recipes for just two or three.  I am sure the recipe could be doubled easily for a bigger crowd.  If you want to keep the first pancakes warm as you cook the rest of them, then set a pan with nonstick aluminum foil in an oven at 200 degrees F.  As you cook the pancakes move them to the oven to stay warm until all of the pancakes are done.  It’s a great little trick if you are making pancakes or waffles for a crowd. 

Oatmeal Pancakes (Cooking Light Best Baking Recipes)

Ingredients

• 1 1/10 ounces all-purpose flour (1/4 cup)
• 1 cup quick-cooking oats
• 1 tablespoon sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup nonfat buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 large egg
• Cooking spray

Preparation

1. 1. Weigh or lightly spoon flour into a dry measuring cup; level with a knife. Combine the first 7 ingredients in a medium bowl, stirring with a whisk.
2. 2. Combine buttermilk, butter, and egg in a small bowl. Add to flour mixture, stirring just until moist.
3. 3. Heat a nonstick griddle over medium heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Spoon about 2 1/2 tablespoons batter per pancake onto griddle. Turn pancakes over when tops are covered with bubbles; cook until bottoms are lightly browned.

Playing with the Night Light

Some of the best times playing with my camera have to do with capturing the light.  I guess, on a fundmental level, that's what photography is all about.  Capturing the light and to a varying degree chasing the light.  It often reminds me of one of my favorite all time books, Chasing Daylight. It's a wonderful book about a dying man and his wish to capture the most of his remaining days.  It's beautifully written and a wonderful story, I highly recommend it.  I think of photography in the same way.  It's all about capturing the moments.  The little indefinable moments, the things that take your breath away, make you smile, make your heart sing, the things you would miss if today were your last day.  I often find my favorite photos are the unplanned ones.  The ones were something strikes me and I just have to capture it.  Photography is often a playful call to life for me.  It slows my whirring mind and gives me the chance to capture life's elusive quality.  Last night I noticed the crazy sky.  It was like dawn, but in the middle of the night.  I knew I wanted to capture it.  I didn't care if the photo was breathtaking, but I wanted a record of it.  So I set up my camera and tripod.  Then I decided to do a little project I had been dying to try, writing with light literally.  This one takes two people, but it's so much fun.  If you have kids they would love to give it a try.  I start by focusing on the light source, in this case a very small flashlight.  Tim holds it and when I release the shutter he begins to write something.  In this case the shutter was open for 6 seconds.  Keep in mind the writing has to be done backwards in order for the camera to capture it properly.  Here are a few of the outtakes.  I am also including a funny photo of John looking p-oed about a bottle cap on her head.

BLAT Salad with Buttermilk Dressing

Salad is one of our favorite quick lunches.  Sometimes a nice hearty salad is all you need. Today I knew we were looking for a quick, yet delicious lunch.  The first thing that came to mind was a BLT salad from the Everyday Food cookbook, Fresh Flavor Fast.  I am big fan of all of the Everyday Food cookbooks.  The recipes are quick, easy, and most importantly delicious.  This recipe is quite easy to adapt to a variety of different tastes and diets.  The bacon can be swapped out for veggie bacon.  We like avocado, so I add a little of that too.  The real beauty of this recipe lies in the dressing.  It might sound odd a first, but trust me it works and it works perfectly.  The flavors balance out amazingly well.  Be sure to use a flavorful apple cider vinegar.  Trust me, it's the one thing that really matters in the dressing.   A poor flavored vinegar is going to stand out and not in a good way.  Speaking of good quality flavorful vinegars, I am in love with the line that Williams-Sonoma carries.  I particularly love the red wine vinegar and apple cider vinegar that they carry.  I buy another brand for my balsamic, so I haven't tried their balsamic yet, but I am sure it's yummy. 

This salad packs a lot of flavor punch for relatively few calories.  Without the avocado and using non vegetarian bacon, it comes in around 375 calories per serving.  Now that's a BLT you can get behind. 

BLT Salad with Buttermilk Dressing (Everyday Food Fresh Flavor Fast)

Serves 4 as a main course

• 8 slices of veggie or regular bacon
• 1/2 baguette, sliced into 3/4 inch cubes
• 2 Tbsp. olive oil
• 1/3 cup buttermilk
• 3 Tbsp. mayonnaise
• 2 Tbsp. apple-cider vinegar
• 1 scallion, trimmed and thinly sliced
• 1 pound romaine hearts, coarsely chopped
• 1 pint cherry tomatoes, halved
• 2 avocados, thinly sliced (optional, not included in the calorie count)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.  Arrange bacon in a single layer on a rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake until browned and crisp, about 15 minutes.  (This is the method for standard bacon.  If you are using veggie bacon, I suggest pan frying it.)  Transfer to a paper towel-lined plate to drain.  Cool, then crumble into large pieces.
2. Meanwhile, make croutons:  Toss baguetter cubes into oil, and season with salt and pepper.  Spread into a single layer on a large rimmed baking sheets (or divide among two smaller ones).  Bake until golden brown, rotating sheets and tossing croutons halfway through, 15 to 20 minutes. 
3. Meanwhile, in a large bowl, whisk together buttermilk, mayonnaise, vinegar, and scallions; season with salt and pepper.  Add romaine, tomatoes, and croutons; toss to coat with dressing.  Sprinkle with bacon and serve immediately. 

A few bonus photos of the cat and the famous Bo pillow pet.

 

Learning, Learning, Learning

One of my favorite hobbies is playing with my camera.  I am no master, but I enjoy the process.  In recent weeks I have been trying to learn just what all those buttons mean.  It's been an interesting look into the world of photography.  I have to say it makes me respect those amazing photographers, you know the Kelby's of the world, even more.  Today I was trying to get some interesting shots of Tim's favorite candy machine.  Here are some of the outtakes.  As you can see, I am still learning, learning, learning.

By the way, if you are interested in learning more about your camera and how it works, then I highly suggest the book, "Your Camera Loves You, Learn to Love It Back".  It's a great resource for learning more about just what all those buttons do.

Mocha Monkey - A Different Kind of Smoothie

Tim and I love mocha drinks, desserts, snacks of any sort.  So when I went looking for interesting smoothie ideas and came across these mocha drinks at BHG I knew we had to try them.  It may just be me, but I can't in good conscience call these straight up mochas.  They have a banana in them and I can tell you bananas aren't part of the "normal" mocha equation.  So I decided I had to rename these smoothies and the name Mocha Monkey was born.  Honestly, no matter what you call them they are good.  It's a nice little dessert or a great post workout pick me up.  It's a nice way to incorporate a little chocolate into your day.  You could even call these grown up chocolate milks.  They couldn't be simpler to make.  It's a chopped, drop and blend recipe.  I think that's why most people enjoy smoothies.  Great flavor with little effort. 

Wow, I don't know about you but winter has finally set in here in Maine.  The snow certainly is beautiful.  I hear my friends in the Pacific Northwest are going to get a rare snow event this week.  If you are reading, Jay and Gretta, stay safe and enjoy the snow!  Hard to believe the first month of 2012 is half over already. 

Mocha Monkeys (Mocha Smoothies from Better Homes and Gardens)

ingredients

• 1 cup fat-free milk
• 1 medium banana, peeled, cut into 1/2-inch slices, and frozen
• 1 to 2 tablespoons sugar or honey
• 1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder (I use a nice dark cocoa powder)
• 2 teaspoons instant coffee crystals (I like to use instant espresso powder here)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup small ice cubes or crushed ice

directions

1. In a blender combine milk, banana, sugar, cocoa powder, coffee crystals, and vanilla. Cover and blend until smooth. Add ice cubes. Cover and blend until nearly smooth.
2. Makes 2 servings

It's Like Cookies for Breakfast - Apple Oat Scones

 

If you visit this blog often you will see how much we love breakfast, especially on the weekends.  I like to make us a couple of latte drinks and something yummy to eat.  Speaking of yummy and eating here's a funny photo of John having breakfast this morning.

So back to breakfast.  This week I got my issue of Martha Stewart Living and I knew immediately we would be eating the apple and oat scones on page 26.  I love scones.  I love them all.  I also love oatmeal, so it only makes sense I would love these apple and oat scones.  I am not going to tell you these are overly healthy for you, but compared to a cream scone they are absolutely virtuous.  It's funny how comparisons can help human to rationalize and justify anything.  These scones are like having an apple cinnamon oatmeal cookie for breakfast.  A big warm and chewy breakfast cookie.  Now that's something I can get behind.  If you aren't bent on being virtuous for breakfast, then you could drizzle a little maple syrup glaze over them before serving. This recipe uses a standard scone making method.  Cut the butter into the dry ingredients and then mix in the buttermilk and apples into the dough.  Be sure to leave plenty of room between the scones.  They look quite small when you first cut them (2x2 inches) and the expand quite a bit.  In fact, it may surprise you how much they expand.  The other suggestion I have is to make sure you use a really sharp floured knife to cut the scones. 

Here's to cookies for breakfast and pretending to be virtuous even with 1 1/2 sticks of butter in 12 scones.

Apple and Oat Scones with Cinnamon and Nutmeg

(From Martha Stewart Living - Feb 2012 issue)

Makes 12 scones

• 1 2/3 cups all purpose flour, plus more for rolling
• 1 1/3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats, pluse more for topping
• 1/4 cup plus 2 Tbsp. light brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. freshly grated nutmeg
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 1/2 sticks cold unsalted butter, cut into pieces
• 1 1/2 cups peeled and diced Granny Smith apple (2 apples cut into 1/4 inch cubes)
• 2/3 cup cold buttermilk, plus more for brushing

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Whisk together flour, oats, brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Cut in the butter with a pastry blender or rub in with your fingers. (The largest pieces should be the size of small peas.)  With your fingertips, flatten butter pieces into small disks.  Add apples and buttermilk, stirring until dough just comes together.
2. Turn out dough onto a lightly floured work surface.  Pat dough into a 6 by 8 inch rectangle, and cut into twelve 2 by 2 inch squares with a floured knife.  Place about 2 inches apart on parchment lined baking sheets.  Brush tops with buttermilk, and sprinkle with raw turbinado sugar and oats.  Bake until golden brown, 20 to 22 minutes, rotating sheets halfway through.  Let cool on sheets for 15 minutes.  Serve warm or at room temperature.  (Scones keep, wrapped in plastic, for 1 day)

Old Fashioned Lunch Box Brownies

Brownies come in a variety of shapes, sizes, and styles.  Fudgy, cakey, dense, light, dark, sweet, bitter, you name it and there's a brownie recipe suited to your taste.  I am an equal opportunity brownie sampler.  I like it pretty much all.  I do, however, love the brownies with real melted chocolate the best.  There's something so much richer about the melted chocolate variety, that's not to say that cocoa powder brownies can't be amazing, but for the most bang for the buck you can't go wrong with melted chocolate.  These brownies have melted chocolate and chocolate chips.  Double the chocolate, double the fun.  I love walnuts in my brownies, so I added them.  If you love them too, then add 1 cup of chopped walnuts to your batter when you add the chocolate chips.  If you don't like walnuts, then feel free to omit them.  This recipe is the quintessential recipe for classic lunch box brownies.  You know the type your grandma probably made.  The tops get a nice crust and the middles are still nice and chewy.  The recipe makes a nice 13x9x2 pan of brownies, enough to feed a crowd.  I love to serve my brownies with a few fresh strawberries and a little whipped cream, although they are equally amazing with a little coffee or strawberry ice cream.

This recipe is from one of my favorite cookbooks.  I continually go back to this cookbook and find new inspiration.  It's the Bon Appetit Cookbook, the big orange one.  It has so many wonderful, classic recipes.  Some of my favorites include the chocolate chip-orange scones, the banana cream pancakes, and these brownies.  This cookbook has everything from appetizers to breakfast to lunch and dinner.  It's a wonderful book to have in your collection.  The other great thing about it is the price.  Since this ones been on the market for a few years now you can pick up a copy at many bookstores for $15 or less in the discount cookbook section.  

Chocolate Chip Fudge Brownies (From The Bon Appetit Cookbook)

• 3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter
• 4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped
• 4 large eggs
• 1 3/4 cups sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup all purpose flour
• 1 cup semisweet chocolate chips (about 6 ounces)

Preheat oven to 350 degree F.  Butter 13x9x2 metal baking pan.  Stir 3/4 cup butter and unsweetened chocolate in heavy medium saucepan over medium low heat until melted and smooth.  Remove from the heat.  Whisk eggs and 1 3/4 cups sugar in large bowl until pale yellow and thick, about 3 minutes.  Gradually whisk in warm chocolate mixture.  Whisk in vanilla, then flour.  If necessary, cool batter to room temperature.  Mix in chocolate chips.

Pour batter into prepared pan.  Bake brownies until tester inserted into center comes out with moist crumbs still attached, about 25 minutes.  Cool brownies completely in pan or rack.  (Can be prepared 1 day ahead.  Cover tightly and store at room temperature.)   Cut into squares.  Serve.