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June 16, 2013 by Bake Up, Little Suzy
I’m not exactly what you’d call a sports fan. I mean, sure, I’ll watch gymnastics at the Summer Olympics and figure skating at the Winter Olympics. But beyond that, I don’t know the difference between a double dribble and a double play.
I make an exception to my sports Grinch-i-tude each summer when Handsome Greg takes me out to see our minor-league hometown team, the Saint Paul Saints. Granted, the game itself bores me to tears, but I love that the game is An Event. I love the anticipation of the action, and getting to know the people sitting near us, and the hokey entertainment between innings, and the tiara-wearing pig who delivers the game ball. And I love baseball food—hot dogs, pretzels, cracker jacks—I love it all.
And so when I was tasked with preparing a springtime dinner for Mom and Handsome Greg last month, I thought, how can I elevate baseball cuisine?
I braised fresh bratwurst in beer infused with apples and onions, and served them in soft Kaiser hot dog rolls topped with Bloody Mary Ketchup and Rosemary-Roasted Garlic Honey Dijon. I served the brats with soft pretzels and beer cheese sauce, alongside a great, big platter of fresh veggies with homemade French onion dip. For dessert, I served homemade Cracker Jacks—caramel puff corn and peanuts in red and white striped popcorn boxes.
Touchdown! Or home run! Or whatever, I don’t know.
I first made Bloody Mary Ketchup from scratch, with slow-roasted tomatoes and onions and blah blah blah. I most recently tried the same idea with store bought ketchup, and it was every bit as good, but with far less work and time. So here’s the quicky version:
Continue reading for the Bloody Mary Ketchup recipe
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Category Family and Friends, Fruit, Handsome Greg, My Mom Rules, Recessipes, Sauce, Tomato | Tags: fruit,handsome greg,my mom rules,recessipes,sauce,tomato | No Comments
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February 17, 2013 by Bake Up, Little Suzy
It’s official! My dear imaginary friends, this summer I’ll be singing again. My little theater group won a spot in the 2013 Minnesota Fringe Festival, and we will present a brand, new show this August. Details will be forthcoming; keep your eye out for Blue Umbrella Productions’ premiere of Are You There, God? It’s a New Musical Revue!
To kick off our first production meeting of the season, I prepared for my collaborators, Tall Paul and Hurricane Windy, a wreath of fresh vegetables and crackers surrounding a bowl of creamy, flavor-packed sun-dried tomato dip. The silky, tangy spread was equally charming atop celery sticks, pita chips, and the next day’s turkey bagel sandwich for lunch.
Continue reading for Sun-Dried Tomato Dip recipe
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Category Appetizer, Family and Friends, Fruit, Garlic, No Cheese Left Behind, Spread, Tomato, Vegetable, Vegetarian | Tags: appetizer,fruit,garlic,no cheese left behind,spread,tomato,vegetable,vegetarian | 7 Comments
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December 30, 2012 by Bake Up, Little Suzy
Happy Holidays, imaginary internet friends! And congratulations on surviving the end of the world. Now I’m off to Barnes and Noble to demand a refund for my Mayan wall calendar. Wish me luck!
In the meantime, I hope you’ll take another look at the 10 most popular recipes I shared this year.
S’mores Fried Ice Cream with Chipotle Chocolate Sauce
Asparagus Lasagna with Pancetta, Goat Cheese, and Lemon
Baked Churros with Cinnamon Ice Cream and Dulce de Leche
Loaded Baked Potato Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Cinnamon Roll Grilled Cheese Sandwich
Homemade Oatmeal Cream Pies
Toffee Cashew Cookies
Chicken Pot Pie Soup with Pie Crust Crackers
Jalapeno Popper Grilled Cheese Sandwich
And the most popular recipe of 2012:
Pepperoni Stuffed Chicken Breasts
Here’s to a delicious (and gooey) new year!
Category Asparagus, Bread, Breakfast, Cake, Caramel, Carrots, Celery, Chicken, Chocolate, Cookies, Corn, Dessert, Family and Friends, Fruit, Garlic, Green Beans, Grilled Cheese, Handsome Greg, Ice Cream, Jalapeno, Lemon, My Mom Rules, No Cheese Left Behind, Nuts, One-Dish Meals, Onion, Pasta, Peas, Pork, Potato, Professor Meowington, Recessipes, Sandwich, Sauce, Soup, Spread, Tomato, Turkey, Vegetable, Vegetarian | Tags: asparagus,bread,breakfast,cake,caramel,carrots,celery,chicken,chocolate,cookies,corn,dessert,fruit,garlic,green beans,grilled cheese,handsome greg,ice cream,jalapeno,lemon,my mom rules,no cheese left behind,nuts,one-dish meals,onion,pasta,peas,pork,potato,professor meowington,recessipes,sandwich,sauce,soup,spread,tomato,turkey,vegetable,vegetarian | 2 Comments
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December 13, 2012 by Bake Up, Little Suzy
Dear Martha Stewart,
When I read your recipe for Aunt Maggie’s Jam Thumbprint Cookies, I had the highest of hopes. See, I had this jar of fig jam in the fridge, and I wanted to use it for something special. I’d spent countless hours perusing Pinterest boards when I came across your simple recipe for what seemed to be the perfect vehicle for my sweet, figgy spread.
The cookie that came to be in my galley kitchen, however, was nothing like the cookie you (and your commentariat) described.
And yes, I’ll admit that I didn’t exactly follow your recipe to the letter. It’s true—I browned the butter then cooled it in the fridge before creaming it with the sugar.
But still! Should that have affected the recipe to such a dramatic degree that instead of a perfectly round, soft, chewy confection, I ended up with a charmingly misshapen, tender, delicate shortbread? Really, if it weren’t for the sweet-sticky figs and $8 worth of pine nuts, this cookie would be nothing but an over-sized, nutty bite of heaven that melts in your mouth.
It’s lucky for you that this cookie turned out as beautifully as it did. Your reputation was really on the line.
Most humbly,
Bake Up, Little Suzy
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Category Cookies, Dessert, Fig, Fruit, Fruit Desserts, Nuts, Vegetarian | Tags: cookies,dessert,fig,fruit,fruit desserts,nuts,vegetarian | 1 Comment
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November 28, 2012 by Bake Up, Little Suzy
It’s embarrassing how much time I spend thinking about recipes I want to try. I’ll start with the germ of an idea (say, a pear dessert for Mom’s birthday dinner). Then I’ll spend weeks – maybe months – considering the options: pear tart, pear cobbler, pear cake, pear sorbet… And when I finally decide on the perfect recipe, I abandon the idea entirely because I’m terrified of making a mistake. (Yeah, I never said my process was a healthy one.)
In this case, the paralyzing fear was invoked by the menace of homemade caramel sauce—it’s the easiest thing in the world to ruin. I think if I ever get around to recording another CD, it’ll be called Ways to Ruin Caramel, with forlorn country ballads like “Too Runny,” “Too Hard,” “Bitter and Scorched,” and “Grains of Sand.”
It took no less than three glasses of cheap wine for me to face my caramelized fear, and I’m so drunk—I mean, I’m so happy that I did! This caramel sauce is the perfect texture (creamy but not too thick), with the subtlest bite of sea salt and just enough booze. *hiccup*
The other components of the recipe – poached pears, sweetened mascarpone, flaky puff pastry, and toasted pistachios—are a cinch to prepare, yet every bit as delicious as the bourbon caramel.
Continue reading for the Poached Pear Napoleons with Bourbon Caramel Sauce recipe
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Category Caramel, Dessert, Family and Friends, Fruit, Fruit Desserts, Lemon, My Mom Rules, No Cheese Left Behind, Nuts, Pear, Spread, Vegetarian | Tags: caramel,dessert,fruit,fruit desserts,lemon,my mom rules,no cheese left behind,nuts,pear,spread,vegetarian | 14 Comments
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November 14, 2012 by Bake Up, Little Suzy
Just last week(ish), I shared with you all how my allergy to green peppers indirectly prevented me from ever tasting tomatillos. Today, my imaginary internet friends, I’m going to tell another terrible tale: The Most Lamentable Tragedy of Bake Up, Little Suzy’s Exclusion from the Whole of Asian Cuisine.
(I know. The title needs work. It’s a little wordy.)
Bell peppers are not my only edible allergens. I’m also allergic to ginger, coffee, curry, and horseradish. And that bizarre combination not only kept me from coffee house poetry slams in the 90’s, but also excludes me from enjoying the cuisine of Asia to this very day.
I’ve long dreamed of preparing meals that feature the genuine flavors of China, India, Korea, Thailand—but I’ve never really tasted them, out of fear of, well, dying. So I’m attempting to learn about entirely unfamiliar flavors, in utterly inauthentic ways.
I begin today with this fresh and crispy, savory and sweet, salty and crunchy salad. Now I’m assuming that normal people who don’t share my allergies will add ginger to the dressing or the marinade or both. But I found this salad delicious, satisfying, and not at all deadly without it.
Continue reading for the Sesame Chicken Salad recipe.
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Category Chicken, Fruit, Greens, Nuts, Onion, Orange, Salad, Sauce, Vegetable | Tags: chicken,fruit,greens,nuts,onion,orange,salad,sauce,vegetable | 8 Comments
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November 4, 2012 by Bake Up, Little Suzy
Green pepper is my sworn enemy.
The conniving nightshade sneaks into salsa, it prowls in pasta, and it lurks in jambalaya, waiting to make its deadly move. Just one bite of a bell pepper and I’m a pathetic wheezing heap, my lips swollen like a Hollywood collagen job gone terribly wrong.
For years I avoided green salsa in every Mexican restaurant, for fear that the lovely olive color might be enhanced by the scoundrel bell pepper. And as a sad consequence, I never tasted the delightful tang of tomatillos.
Until now. I made this recipe for Mom and Handsome Greg, and instantly fell madly in love with the tart tomatillo sauce warmed through with a healthy teaspoon of smoky cumin. I filled corn tortillas with a luxurious and creamy chicken mixture, then doused them with the silky tomatillo sauce and topped them with a generous handful of gooey cheese.
Next time I make this dish I’ll use white cheddar – the orange cheese with the green salsa was a little off-putting. Otherwise it was perfect.
Continue reading for the Green Chile Chicken Enchiladas recipe
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Category Chicken, Fruit, Garlic, Jalapeno, Lime, No Cheese Left Behind, Onion, Poblano, Tomatillo, Vegetable | Tags: chicken,fruit,garlic,jalapeno,lime,no cheese left behind,onion,poblano,tomatillo,vegetable | 4 Comments
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September 26, 2012 by Bake Up, Little Suzy
It’s my 2nd blogiversary! That’s right, imaginary internet friends, Galley Kitchen turns two this month.
I plan to celebrate the terrible twos by having a temper tantrum in the grocery store and demanding TWO stories at bedtime. Or maybe I’ll make a pie. I haven’t decided yet.
A year ago in my one-year blogiversary post, I set a couple goals for the 2011-2012 blog year, and I’m feeling pretty good about my progress. I learned to cook fabulous dinners on an unemployed lady’s budget, I learned to take decent photos after sunset, and, thanks to Handsome Greg, I have three new adverbs at the ready (frostingly, gravily, and somewhatkumquat).
The very first recipe I shared on Galley Kitchen was inspired by an overabundance of apples, so today I’m sharing another apple recipe. This Pear and Apple Crostata is a perfect fall treat; the filling has just enough sugar and cinnamon to turn the apple and pear juices into a luxurious sauce, barely coating the tender fruit snuggled under a flaky duvet of pie crust. Next time I’ll brush the pie crust with egg wash—it was a tiny bit dry—but I’ll otherwise follow the recipe as is.
Continue reading for the Pear and Apple Crostata recipe
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Category Apple, Dessert, Fruit, Fruit Desserts, Handsome Greg, Lemon, Pear, Pie, Recessipes, Vegetarian | Tags: apple,dessert,fruit,fruit desserts,handsome greg,lemon,pear,pie,recessipes,vegetarian | 4 Comments
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September 17, 2012 by Bake Up, Little Suzy
When I left my apartment this morning, a chilly wind mussed the yellow-green-red-orange leaves in the trees while it whipped my almost-dry hair into snarled submission. As I squinted into the crisp, blue sky, I thought—
Crap. I can’t do this. I’m still not ready to write about autumn. Sorry, folks.
Today’s recipe features the juicy, tart strawberries I loved all summer. There’s really nothing fall-like about it. The chewy toasts topped with goat cheese, basil, and summer berries macerated in sweet balsamic vinegar are a perfect appetizer for your next dinner party. In July.
Continue reading for the Balsamic Strawberry Crostini with Goat Cheese and Basil recipe
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Category Appetizer, Bread, Fruit, No Cheese Left Behind, Strawberry, Vegetarian | Tags: appetizer,bread,fruit,no cheese left behind,strawberry,vegetarian | 3 Comments
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July 31, 2012 by Bake Up, Little Suzy
I’m a sucker for miniature food.
Bite-sized morsels taste better, somehow, and these mini-scones are no exception.
The recipe is remarkably similar to my cranberry orange scone recipe, but these are improved by, well, tininess.
If captioned cat photos on the internet were edible, they’d taste like blueberry lemon mini scones.
They’re just so cute. I want to hug them with my teeth.
Continue reading for the Blueberry Lemon Mini Scones recipe
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Category Blueberry, Bread, Breakfast, Fruit, Lemon, My Breaducation, Scones, Vegetarian | Tags: blueberry,bread,breakfast,fruit,lemon,my breaducation,scones,vegetarian | 9 Comments
