Half Assed Kitchen

Cornbread muffins

We love us some good cornbread. Sweet but not too cakey, moist and full of corn kernels. We've just discovered that adding a can of creamed corn to your cornbread makes a quick and easy, go-to recipe. This is a great addition to your Thanksgiving feast or simply to serve with a fantastic bowl of chili.

Rating: Truly 1/2 assed

Here's what you need and how you do it

3/4 cup yellow cornmeal

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup canned creamed corn

1/2 stick butter or margarine, melted

1 large egg

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease an 8x8 baking pan or muffin tins. Whisk all ingredients together and stir until just blended.

Bake about 20 minutes, or until cornbread begins to turn golden and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

For a printable version of this recipe, click here.

Orange cranberry sauce with ginger

We are pleased as punch to welcome our guest poster, the fabulous Vanessa from 40Licious. She's an amazing cook who is famous for winging it. Where winging it means throwing in a little of this and little of that until something delectable is bubbling away on the stovetop.

In this case, it's Vanessa's' orange cranberry sauce with ginger.

Rating: 1/4 assed

Vanessa: This year I’ve been charged with bringing the cranberry sauce to the first-ever TG with my boyfriend’s parents. Though I gazed longingly at the plastic tub of ready-to-go cranberry-orange sauce at Trader Joe’s, I passed and decided it was infinitely better to at least attempt making something from scratch. Years ago, I made some insane cranberry-orange relish from the back of the bag of Ocean Spray Cranberries, so I gathered up the ingredients I thought I needed and headed back to the kitchen.

But there was no recipe for cranberry-orange anything on the back of the bag! And surfing around for it just left me cranky. (Please note that “cranberry” and “cranky” share the same root. This is not by accident.)

So here’s what I ended up doing. Please note most measurements are estimated, you just go on and be your own bad self with those. Also, try to use organic oranges and other ingredients when you can, it tastes soooooo much better.

Here's what you need and how you do it:

2 bags of fresh cranberries

A piece of ginger about half the length of your pinky (Ed. note: we used a bigger piece. The size of our actual pinky.)

An orange or two, peeled and chunked

2 cups sugar 

1 cup water

Glass of wine or loaded eggnog (Ed. note: we used 1 cup red wine.)

In a blender or food processor with a metal blade, chop up the ginger, orange and one of the bags of cranberries.

Drink some of the wine or eggnog.

Place the cranberry mixture in a saucepan and add about a half cup of water. Add the other bag of cranberries, whole. Add the sugar.

Boil the hell out of it for about three or four minutes; keep stirring. If it looks like it’s too hot and about to burn, add a little more water. While you are doing this, you can drink some more wine or eggnog.

Taste it to see if it needs more sugar. If so, add some. What are you waiting for? Turn flame way down.

Finish your wine or eggnog.

Check your Facebook. But don’t get all caught up in that or your sauce might burn.

When the sauce becomes redder than blood, you can turn it off and just let it sit nicely until you are ready to serve or refrigerate.

Celebrate by pouring another glass of wine or eggnog.

(Ed. note: We skipped the blender/food processor step altogether and just boiled the cranberries and oranges whole. It kept the recipe simpler and left one less contraption to wash. Also, boil for approximately 15 minutes. The oranges add more moisture so you'll have to go longer than the Ocean Spray bag says to get a thicker consistency.)

For a printable version of this recipe, click here.

Pan-fried cauliflower with herbs and breadcrumbs

 

First off, some business. We have ourselves a winner of Martha Stewart's Everyday Food subscription. Carol H., come on down. You've got a year's worth of Martha coming your way. We've sent you an email.

To celebrate Carol's good luck, we're giving you a recipe for pan-fried cauliflower, which is an adaptation of Roasted Cauliflower with Herbed Breadcrumbs from Everyday Food. But we're pretty sure ours is better because, Hello Fried.

In reality, it's kind of sauteéd, if you will, in olive oil, so it's not all that bad. The panko crumbs add a lovely golden crunch and the herbs balance all that fried goodness with a fresh lift.

Rating: Truly 1/2 assed

Here's what you need and how you do it

1/2 to whole head cauliflower, cut into florets

Lots of olive oil

Salt, pepper to taste

1/2-1 cup Panko (or other bread crumbs)

1 teaspoon garlic (or one clove)

Fresh parsley

Fresh thyme leaves

1/2 teaspoon lemon zest

2 Tablespoons lemon juice

Over medium heat, in a skillet, sauté cauliflower, bread crumbs, garlic, salt and pepper in olive oil. When cauliflower and bread crumbs start turning golden, add parsley, thyme, lemon zest and lemon juice. Heat through and serve piping hot.

For a printable version of this recipe, click here.

Garlic mashed potatoes

Fall = Mashed Potatoes. At least in our book. We started making them in September and we're not letting up until June. Mashed potatoes are such an inexpensive, comforting and, if you leave the skins on, somewhat nutritious food.

We like to mix in garlic, thyme and a few other ingredients to make our mashed potatoes noteworthy*. And, as we mentioned, we like the skins. They taste good and keeping them in place cuts your prep time by 80%.

Rating: Truly 1/2 assed

Here's what you need and how do it

2 to 3 LARGE russet potatoes (or 5 to 6 smaller Yukon Golds)

2 Tablespoons butter or margarine

1/2 cup cream, half-and-half or milk

2-3 cloves garlic

2 Tablespoons fresh thyme

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup cream cheese (optional)

Salt and pepper to taste

Wrap garlic cloves in aluminum foil and place in 350 degree oven for 20 minutes. Cut potatoes into small pieces and boil in large pot 20 to 25 minutes. Drain. Mix with butter, cream, thyme, nutmeg, cream cheese, salt and pepper. Squeeze roasted garlic from their skins and mix into potatoes.

Serve piping hot with extra butter, salt and pepper.

For a printable version of this recipe, click here.

*Adapted from Real Simple.

How to grill corn on the cob

We've adored grilled corn on the cob since our grandfathers used to cook it over hot coals in a half barrel every labor day.

It was just this year that we finally tried it ourselves.

The delicious smokiness took us right back. And tasted like summer epitomized.

Rating: 1/4 assed (Super easy)

Here's how you do it

Soak your corn cobs (still in husks) in a bowl of water for 1 to 3 hours. (Really, there's no need to shuck silk and twine husks together as some recipes advocate.) Place on grill at low heat, turning often, like hot dogs. To evenly cook, make sure to keep on grill for 20 to 30 minutes.

Shuck, slather with your choice of toppings and enjoy.

Scalloped potatoes with mushrooms and white wine

Tender potatoes, sweet-tangy white wine and a creamy roux make this a Side to die for. We've prepared this dish more than once and, with each try, it turns out better than the time before.

When you serve a side this good, you can slack on the entreé (think pork chops or a rotisserie chicken).

Seriously. We love this one. You need to try it. Soon.

Rating: Truly 1/2 assed (Simple, but not ridiculously so)

Here's what you need and how you do it

3 baking potatoes (thinly sliced)

1 medium onion, chopped

3 Tablespoons olive oil

8 ounces crimini mushrooms, sliced

2 Tablespoons butter or margarine

1-1/2 cups milk, half-and-half or plain Silk Creamer

5 Tablespoons white wine

1/4 cup flour

1 teaspoon salt

Black pepper

Fresh rosemary (optional)

In a skillet, heat olive oil, onion, mushrooms, salt and pepper until the mushrooms have given up most of their moisture and the onions have turned transparent.

Meanwhile, heat butter, milk and wine in a separate sauce pan. Once warmed, whisk in flour and continue to heat until the roux has thickened.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Layer potatoes into a greased, shallow baking dish. Stir mushroom mixture into sauce and then spoon over the potatoes.

Bake for 45 minutes to an hour, until potatoes are soft and sauce is bubbly. Sprinkle with fresh rosemary if desired.

For a printable version of this recipe, click here.

Seasoned sweet potato fries

This is a quick, easy side packed with tons of nutrition and flavor. These oven-baked sweet potatoes are a great way to sneak some extra vitamins into your family (or yourself).

Here's what you need and how you do it

2 sweet potatoes (or yams)

Olive oil

Salt

Pepper

Paprika

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Peel and slice sweet potatoes. Toss in a bowl with olive oil, salt, pepper and paprika to taste and mix. Spread evenly across a baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 15 minutes, turn fries and bake another 10 minutes.

Also, try experimenting with other herbs and spices. We've seen these done with cumin, lime, cinnamon, rosemary, garlic and a whole host of other spectacular seasonings (but not all at once!)

Pasta with sundried tomatoes and olives

We call this a side dish, because it doesn't boast a major protein source. But it could be classified as a light entrée. It's extremely tasty and easy to toss together at the last minute.

Here's what you need and how you do it

Pasta, such as spaghetti, angel hair or fusilli

Sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil

Green or kalamata olives

Olive oil

Salt

Cook pasta until al dente. Drain and toss with remaining ingredients.

For a printable version of this recipe, click here.

Garlic Bread

Has it really been four days since we've posted?

Well, we have a good excuse. Garlic bread. We've been thinking about and experimenting with garlic bread.

We prefer garlic bread of the soft, rather than broiled, crispy variety. It needs to be buttery and fresh with a nice, mellow garlic finish.

Here's what you need and how you do it

1 baguette

10 or so cloves of garlic

Olive oil

Salt

1/3 to 1/2 cup butter or margarine

Handful fresh parsley, chopped

Heat oven to 350. Chop the top off a head of garlic, nestle it into a square of aluminum foil and drizzle with olive oil. Wrap completely in the foil and roast in oven for 20 minutes.

Cut baguette down the middle lengthwise.

Squeeze roasted garlic cloves from their peels (save the rest for another time). Mix cloves with butter or margarine, parsley, and salt to taste.

Put baguette halves together, wrap the whole loaf in foil and place in oven for 15 minutes.

Serve warm.

For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, click here.

Rustic rosemary dinner rolls

We've been experimenting with these rolls for a while and are happy to report we've found a recipe we whole-heartedly embrace.

Our rustic rosemary dinner rolls are crusty on the outside and chewy-airy on the inside. With a palate-pleasing dusting of sea-salt and infusion of fresh rosemary, they're a great accompaniment for almost any dinner. Or, if you're carb-addicts like we are, they stand alone, warmed with butter, too.

Also, no kneading required! We thought you'd like that part.

Here's what you need and how you do it

1 package yeast

1 Tablespoon white sugar

1/4 cup warm (not hot) water

3 cups white flour

1/4 cup rye flour 

1/4 cup whole wheat flour (You can experiment with the types of flours you select. Just be sure to keep the 3 cups of white flour, unless you want to end up with a very different kind of roll.)

1 teaspoon salt

1/2 to 3/4 cup water

1/4 cup (or so) fresh rosemary

Sea salt

Proof the yeast by adding it to 1/4 cup of warm water and 1 Tablespoon white sugar. After about 10 minutes, it should be puffy.

In large bowl, mix with flours and salt. Pour in 1/2 cup water and thoroughly combine ingredients. The texture of the dough should be shaggy and fairly sticky. But not so sticky it's impossible to work with. If the dough is still too dry, add the last 1/4 cup of water little by little. If you go overboard with water, you can always sprinkle more white flour back into the dough to get the right consistency.

We don't knead this dough, but we do take it from its bowl and pull it like taffy a few times (say, 5).

Place in a greased bowl and cover with a dish towel. Set in a warm place to rise.

When the dough has doubled in size (after 1 to 2 hours), punch down and fold in rosemary. Divide dough into small balls and place in greased baking pans. Sprinkle tops with sea salt and more rosemary.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes, or until tops are starting to turn golden.

Serve warm.

For a printer-friendly version of this recipe, click here.