American

Blueberry Dumplings

August 11, 2016 by theamiablecooks@gmail.com Leave a Comment

We have an affinity for warm desserts with vanilla ice cream. This love runs very deeply. In the winter, it manifests itself in (mostly) chocolate and (sometimes) apples. In the summer, warm berry desserts, such as pie, are our obsession. The best part of a pie, for us, is the crust, and – more specifically – the part where the crust meets the fruit filling. You know – not the crisp part that touches the pie pan, but the soft, and – for lack of a better-liked word – moist part. The thing with these Blueberry Dumplings is that it’s a whole lot of the best parts of a pie: soft dough (that isn’s too sweet) cooked in vibrant, fresh blueberries and their sweet juices, enjoyed warm with vanilla ice cream. With so many so-called blueberry desserts, you only get a faint hint of blueberry flavor. These dumplings are literally swimming in simmering blueberries, which you proceed to ladle into your bowl along with the dumplings afterwards.

Have your kids help you mix ingredients. As you enjoy this dessert with those you love, teach them a few things about blueberries:

Blueberries are wonderful for a healthy heart, thanks to their potassium and fiber contents.
They also help to regulate the sugars in your blood so they stay at a healthy level.
Blueberries provide your body with unique antioxidants that it needs to keep from getting sick.

The dough is the epitome of simple, but the result is incredible.

When you can’t wait another minute to try it (shoulda had him wash all the sunscreen off his face):

From: Blueberry Dumplings

Blueberry Dumplings

Prep time

15 mins

Active time

35 mins

Total time

50 mins

Author: Paula Deen

Difficulty: Easy

Serves: 6-8 servings

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar, plus 1½ cups
1 teaspoon baking powder
Pinch salt
½ cup (1 stick) butter, softened
¼ cup milk
1 quart fresh or frozen blueberries
2 cups water
Vanilla ice cream or fresh cream, for serving

Instructions

Stir flour, 1 tablespoon sugar, baking powder, and salt together into a medium bowl.
Cut butter into dry ingredients, using a pastry cutter or fork. Add milk to form dough. Set dumpling dough aside.
In a large saucepan, combine berries, 1½ cups sugar, and water and bring to a boil.
Drop dumplings into hot boiling berries by the tablespoonful. Cover pot, reduce heat to low, and cook slowly for 20 to 30 minutes. Do not remove the lid before 20 minutes has passed, and do not stir dumplings.
Serve warm with vanilla ice cream or fresh cream.

Tex-Mex Turkey Burgers (with Avocado Mayonnaise)

July 21, 2016 by theamiablecooks@gmail.com Leave a Comment

Since we live in such a burger-loving country and we’re in the midst of burger-making season, we give you: THE BEST BURGER WE’VE MADE YET. Now, we have said that before, and it has been true. The other burgers you will find on this blog truly are fantastic. But this burger is our new favorite… and we’re not really burger people. However, given the number of times we find ourselves professing that whilst posting yet another burger recipe, we are thinking that it may be time to rethink this “not-burger-people” label we’ve assigned ourselves. Back to the amazing reason we are here: this Tex-Mex Turkey Burger with Avocado Mayo is so, so flavorful: the patty itself is mixed with garlic and paprika, but let’s start from the bottom. A toasty bun is your base, which you slather with a creamy mixture of avocado, mayo, and lime juice. Then some shredded lettuce lends a layer of freshness, followed by your juicy patty, smothered in melty, spicy pepper jack cheese. Sliced avocados and salty tortilla chips go down next, lending even more moisture and some crunch. Slather another layer of that tangy, zippy avocado mayo, squeeze down so the thing fits in your pie hole, and thank us later.

$Tex-Mex Turkey Burgers - patty-1$

Turkey makes for the best burgers, in our humble opinion, and avocado has a way of brightening up the flavor of a burger..

$Tex-Mex Turkey Burger-1$

Let your kids assemble their own burgers. You can even make these into little sliders so their fat little hands can get around them easier. We love fat little hands. As you prepare and enjoy these with those you love, teach them a few things about the ingredients:

Avocados provide your body with B vitamins, which helps it to fight off infections.
Turkey provides your body with protein, which you need to have strong bones and muscles.
Cheese contains vitamin D, which helps keep your teeth strong.

$Tex-Mex Turkey Burgers - close-up-2$

Since these are called Tex-Mex Burgers and Mexico gets plenty of time in the spotlight, let’s learn a few things about Texas while we’re here:

A whopping seventy percent of Texans live within 200 miles of Austin.
On the other side of the spectrum is Loving, TX, which is one of the least (if not the least) populated counties in the U.S.
About eighty percent of Texas is farmland.

$tex-mex turkey burgers collage$

From: Tex-Mex Turkey Burgers with Avocado Mayonnaise

Tex-Mex Turkey Burgers (with Avocado Mayonnaise)

Prep time

20 mins

Active time

10 mins

Total time

30 mins

Author: Food Network Kitchen

Difficulty: Easy

Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients

1¼ pounds lean ground turkey
2 cloves garlic, grated
2 teaspoons hot smoked paprika (TAC note: if you can't find hot smoked, use ½ smoked and ½ regular paprika with a pink of cayenne pepper)
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 avocado, halved
3 tablespoons mayonnaise
Juice of 1 lime
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
4 slices pepper jack cheese (about 3 ounces)
4 sesame potato buns
Shredded lettuce and tortilla chips, for topping

Instructions

Combine the turkey, garlic, paprika, ¾ teaspoon salt and a few grinds of pepper in a medium bowl; mix with your hands until just combined. Form into four ½-inch-thick patties; set aside.
Combine ½ avocado, the mayonnaise, lime juice and ¼ teaspoon salt in a medium bowl; mash until smooth. Thinly slice the remaining ½ avocado and season with salt and pepper. Set aside for topping.
Heat the vegetable oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat (or preheat a grill to medium high and oil the grates). Add the burgers and cook until browned, 3 minutes per side. About 30 seconds before the patties are done, top each burger with a slice of cheese; cover and cook until the cheese melts.
Meanwhile, split and toast the buns; spread the avocado mayonnaise on the cut sides. Serve the burgers on the buns with lettuce, the sliced avocado and tortilla chips.

Nutrition Information

Calories: 570 Fat: 34 g Saturated fat: 8 g Carbohydrates: 26 g Sugar: 3 g Sodium: 760 mg Fiber: 4 g Protein: 42 g Cholesterol: 115 mg

Strawberry Crumble Pie

July 14, 2016 by theamiablecooks@gmail.com Leave a Comment

Warm pie is heaven. Warm fruit crisp is heaven. Put them together and this Strawberry Crumble Pie is the comforting, all-American result. There are some noteworthy and marvelous flavors and textures that go on here: you’ve got this tart/sweet/spicy thing going on – the product of fresh strawberries, lime juice, and cardamom. Allspice and ginger in the crumble topping also lend a bit of spice, which crisps up a bit, resulting in crunchy clusters of sweet, oat-y goodness. The pie crust remains (pleasantly) on the softer side, which is perfect for enjoying with some cold vanilla bean ice cream.

Tips: See all that juiciness at the bottom of that bowl of strawberries? This pie really is more like a crisp and won’t yield perfect slices of pie when cut into. It will come out more saucy and is heaven eaten with vanilla ice cream, like a crisp or cobbler. To make it less saucy, try using a slotted spoon to convey the strawberry mixture into the pie shell. Let it cool for 6 hours and then even refrigerate overnight to get more of a pie-like texture. Also, the cardamom presence isn’t super subtle in this pie. We feel like it makes the pie more interesting and unique. If you aren’t crazy about cardamom, we suggest adding half the amount called for. This recipe calls for instant tapioca, which we find at Walmart (unsponsored).

We cheated and used store-bought pie crust. We find that it gets the job done just fine when you want to skip this step.

Our pie turned out a bit more brown than is photogenic, but it sure tasted fantastic.

What is cardamom, anyway? It is a seed that comes from a plant, related to ginger, that grows in Southeast Asia. It is really aromatic and totally exotic. It is a good source of iron, which helps to oxygenate your tissues.

Adapted slightly from: Strawberry Crumble Pie

Strawberry Crumble Pie

Prep time

35 mins

Active time

1 hour

Total time

1 hour 35 mins

Author: Food Network Kitchen

Difficulty: Easy

Serves: 8 to 10 servings

Ingredients

For the crust:
1 storebought pie crust OR:
1¼ cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ cup cold vegetable shortening
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
2 tablespoons ice water
2 tablespoons vodka or apple cider vinegar
For the topping:
¾ cup rolled oats
½ cup all-purpose flour
½ cup packed light brown sugar
½ teaspoon kosher salt
¼ teaspoon ground allspice
¼ teaspoon ground ginger
6 tablespoons cold unsalted butter, cut into cubes
For the filling:
2 pounds strawberries, hulled and halved
½ cup packed light brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoons instant tapioca
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
½ teaspoon ground cardamom (or ¼ tsp if you're not too hip on this spice)
Pinch of kosher salt
Vanilla bean ice cream, for serving (optional)

Instructions

Make the crust: Pulse the flour, granulated sugar and salt in a food processor until combined. Add the shortening and pulse a few times until the mixture looks like coarse meal. Add the butter and pulse a few times until it is in pea-size pieces. Add the ice water and vodka; pulse a few times until the dough starts coming together but is still crumbly. Turn out onto a sheet of plastic wrap and form into a disk. Wrap and refrigerate until firm, at least 1 hour or overnight.
Meanwhile, make the topping: Combine the oats, flour, brown sugar, salt, allspice and ginger in a medium bowl. Using your fingers, work the butter into the mixture until clumpy. Refrigerate until ready to use.
Put a baking sheet in the lower third of the oven; preheat to 400 degrees F. Make the filling: Combine the strawberries, brown sugar, granulated sugar, tapioca, lime juice, cardamom and salt in a large bowl. Stir until the sugar and tapioca are dissolved and the strawberries are evenly coated. Set aside.
Roll out the dough into a 12-inch round on a lightly floured surface. Ease into a 9-inch pie plate. Fold the overhanging dough under itself and crimp the edges with your fingers or a fork. Refrigerate until firm, at least 15 minutes. Spread the strawberry filling in the crust and sprinkle evenly with the crumble topping. Place the pie on the hot baking sheet and bake until the crust is golden brown and the juices are bubbling around the edge, start checking at 40 minutes. Transfer to a rack and let cool completely, at least 4 hours.

Extra Cheesy Mex Mac ‘N’ Cheese (aka Best Mac ‘N’ Cheese Imaginable)

July 1, 2016 by theamiablecooks@gmail.com Leave a Comment

The summer party and barbecue get-together season is upon us, and a good mac ‘n’ cheese is a MUST. If it’s your turn to provide this most beloved and comforting of sides, do it right, for Pete’s sake (sorry, Pete, for taking your name in vain. Not sure why you’re the victim in this phrase)!

This Extra Cheesy Mex version is THE absolute best one we’ve ever had, let alone made.

Shallots and fresh thyme make the flavor unique and ancho chile powder lends a delicious Southwestern smokiness and kick. Unsponsored tip: You can find ancho chile powder at Walmart.

A trio of melty cheeses – mozzarella, cheddar, and manchego – make it sublimely satisfying and gooey. Unsponsored tip: Trader Joe’s is a great place to buy cheese at a good price. Shred it yourself if you can’t find it pre-shredded (just put it in the freezer to firm up for 10-15 minutes if it’s too soft to shred).

Kids make great cheese-sprinklers.

It isn’t sloppy and runny so it holds up well packed in there on your paper plate alongside your other favorite sides.

Show up with this beauty and you’ll be the star of your next summer party.

The history of mac ‘n’ cheese is a bit sketchy. Rudimentary versions involving cheese, pastry dough and butter were found in 14th century Italian and French cookbooks, and the combination seems to have gained popularity from there, evolving into recipes involving bechamel sauce, parmesan and breadcrumbs. Thomas Jefferson is credited with introducing the dish on a large scale to the United States when he served it at a state dinner. Apparently, he tried his hand at inventing a machine that would make macaroni, but ended up having some imported from Italy when that didn’t work out.

Adapted slightly from: Extra Cheesy Mex Mac ‘N’ Cheese

Extra Cheesy Mex Mac 'N' Cheese (aka Best Mac 'N' Cheese Imaginable)

Prep time

20 mins

Active time

55 mins

Total time

1 hour 15 mins

Author: Marcela Valladolid

Difficulty: Easy

Est. Cost: $13

Serves: 8 servings

Ingredients

6 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 shallots, minced
¾ cup breadcrumbs
1 tablespoon ancho chile power
2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
Kosher salt
1 pound mini elbow macaroni
¼ cup all-purpose flour
4 cups whole milk
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups shredded mild manchego cheese
Freshly ground pepper

Instructions

Heat 1 tablespoon butter in a medium skillet over medium-high heat. Add the shallots and saute until translucent, about 5 minutes. Mix in the breadcrumbs until coated, then the chile powder and thyme; season with salt. Remove from the heat and set aside.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Rub 1 tablespoon butter in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish.
Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the macaroni and cook as the label directs, until tender but still firm to the bite. Drain and set aside.
Meanwhile, melt the remaining 4 tablespoons butter in a large heavy pot over medium-high heat. Add the flour and stir for 1 minute; do not brown. Add the milk in a slow, steady stream, whisking until smooth. Bring to a simmer, then reduce the heat to low and cook, whisking, until the sauce thickens, about 10 minutes. Whisk in 1 cup each mozzarella, cheddar and manchego. Season generously with salt and pepper. Stir in the pasta and remove from the heat. Pour the pasta mixture into the prepared baking dish.
Mix the remaining 1 cup each mozzarella, cheddar and manchego in a medium bowl. Sprinkle over the pasta. Top with the breadcrumb mixture. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes. Uncover and bake until the top is golden, start checking at 7 minutes. Serve immediately.

Foil Packet Fish (Tilapia with Potatoes, Red Onion, Tomatoes and Smoky Red Pepper Oil)

June 30, 2016 by theamiablecooks@gmail.com Leave a Comment

Imagine a tin foil dinner that is wonderfully flavorful and abnormally exciting. Behold Tilapia with Potatoes, Red Onion, Tomatoes and Smoky Red Pepper Oil! This may be our favorite way to eat tilapia: the vegetables end up perfectly tender and juicy, and the sweet, flaky fish positively melts in your mouth. The red pepper oil lends vibrance and interest with it’s cumin, paprika, garlic, and sherry vinegar. Delicate textures with a bold oil make for THE most perfect foil packet meal to enjoy anywhere from home to the woods to the fire pit at the beach.

Tip (unsponsored): We love the fish we find in the non-frozen section at Costco or at our local Asian market. This recipe calls for you to add a splash of wine or water before closing the foil packet. We suggest using wine for the lovely depth of flavor it offers. If you’re like us and don’t drink alcohol but use small amounts to cook with, check your local grocery store for mini chardonnay bottles. Our local Walmart carries a six-pack of mini, plastic chardonnay bottles that are perfect for cooking – no wasting the rest of a big bottle or freezing in cubes required.

You’ll want to par-boil your potatoes beforehand. Easy as can be, simply assemble and grill.

Twelve minutes later, you’ll be enjoying the best fish you’ve ever made.

Here’s the magical oil that makes all the difference:

(*Insert the gurgling sound Homer Simpson makes when he sees doughnuts here.)

Have your kids help you place vegetables on each foil packet, taking note of the beautiful aroma of the fresh herb you choose. As you prepare and enjoy this meal with those you love, teach them a few things about some of the ingredients:

Fish, such as tilapia, contain a lot of marvelous nutrients, but are most well-known for their omega-3 fats, which are great for your brain and which your body can’t make on it’s own so you must supply it through the food you eat. These acids are believed to lower your risk of all the major diseases you hear most about, such as heart disease and Alzheimer’s.
Red potatoes’ skins are full of iron, which helps your blood to oxygenate your body.
Red onions help your heart stay strong by keeping your blood vessels healthy.

Adapted slightly from: Mix-and-Match Foil Packet Fish

Foil Packet Fish (Tilapia with Potatoes, Red Onion, Tomatoes and Smoky Red Pepper Oil)

Author: Food Network Kitchen

Difficulty: Easy

Est. Cost: $20

Serves: serves 4

Ingredients

Tilapia, four 6-ounce skinless fillets
2 cups red potatoes, cut into small pieces and boiled
1 cup red onion, thinly sliced
1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes
2 springs fresh thyme
2 splashes white wine
Kosher salt, pepper
For the Smoky Red Pepper Oil:
¼ cup chopped roasted red peppers (or piquillo peppers)
½ cup olive oil
2 teaspoons sherry vinegar
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1 grated garlic clove
¼ teaspoon ground cumin
*You will need some heavy-duty tin foil.

Instructions

Make the Smoky Red Pepper Oil: Puree the roasted red peppers with the olive oil, sherry vinegar, smoked paprika, garlic clove and ¼ teaspoon each kosher salt and ground cumin until smooth.
Lay out 2 large sheets of heavy-duty foil.
Mound 2 cup vegetables in the center of each, season with salt and pepper and top with a sprig of thyme.
Place the fish on top of the vegetables; season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil.
Add a splash of white wine.
Bring the short ends of the foil together and fold twice to seal; fold in the sides to seal, leaving room for steam.
Grill or campfire method: Preheat a grill to medium high or light a campfire and put a cooking grate in place. Grill the foil packets until the fish is just cooked through, 12 minutes.
Let the packets sit 5 minutes, then carefully open and drizzle with the pepper oil.
Oven method: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Put the foil packets on a baking sheet; bake until the fish is just cooked through, about 12 minutes. Let the packets sit 5 minutes, then carefully open and drizzle with the pepper oil.

Peanut Butter S’mores Bars

June 22, 2016 by theamiablecooks@gmail.com Leave a Comment

IT’S SUMMER!!! Summer means a few things, but – most importantly – S’MORES. We replace the Hershey Bar for a Reese’s Cup in our favorite s’more. And the only thing better than a s’more made the old fashioned way with graham crackers is a s’more made with a soft graham cracker crumb dough and a peanut butter layer. The result is a gooey, rich bar of summer fun. It’s true that you won’t get that toasty marshmallow heaven with this version, but if you don’t have a camp fire handy, it’s the next-best thing. Grab some milk and sink your teeth into the delicious layers of this fun cookie bar.

We used those huge, thick Hershey bars but the chocolate layer was a little too thick for our liking. We suggest using bars that are the same thickness as the regular size Hershey bar.

We used natural peanut butter, but any peanut butter will work.

A jar of marshmallow Fluff is the perfect amount for this square pan of treats.

Put your kids to work. This is an easy and fun recipe! At the very least, let them place Hershey bars on the bottom cookie layer.

Don’t worry if your top layer isn’t perfect. It doesn’t have to be!

We first spied these on Pinterest and decided to try Lindsay’s version from Pinch of Yum and they didn’t disappoint. We will refer you to her blog post for the recipe. Thanks for the great recipe, Lindsay!

Foil Packet Shrimp (Lemon-Coriander Shrimp with Corn, Zucchini and Tomatoes)

June 1, 2016 by theamiablecooks@gmail.com Leave a Comment

Tin foil dinners can be really delicious. This Foil Packet Shrimp is more than that – it’s amazing. After you take your foil packets – full of flavor and nutrients – off the grill, you’ll cut them open and behold the vibrant, aromatic fruits of your labor. You’ll then sprinkle the most delightful of dry seasonings on the contents: ground, toasted coriander and mustard seeds and lemon zest. FREAKING FANTASTIC. Warm, sweet corn, tender, juicy zucchini, and delicate shrimp will wow you while sweet cherry tomatoes burst in your mouth. Move over hamburger and potatoes, because there’s a higher-class foil packet in town.

Tips (unsponsored): We are pretty picky about shrimp. They must adhere to strict textural qualifications (be firm and gray when raw and really meaty – not grainy, for lack of a better word – when cooked. It’s hard to describe the textural difference between “good” and “bad” shrimp, but there truly is a distinct difference). They should smell of the sea but not bad. We are always happy with the raw shrimp in Costco’s frozen case. This recipe calls for you to add a splash of wine or water before closing the foil packet. We suggest using wine for the lovely depth of flavor it offers. If you’re like us and don’t drink alcohol but use small amounts to cook with, check your local grocery store for mini chardonnay bottles. Our local Walmart carries a six-pack of mini, plastic chardonnay bottles that are perfect for cooking – no wasting the rest of a big bottle or freezing in cubes required.

Be sure to thinly slice your zucchini so that it gets done. We suggest using a mandolin or food processor.

This would also be lovely on some slices of peasant or baguette, drizzled with olive oil and toasted. It would bulk up the meal a bit as well, as this is a light dinner.

Have your kids help you place ingredients on the foil. As you prepare and enjoy this meal with those you love, teach them about some of the ingredients:

Corn has a lot of lutein, which is great for your eyes.
Shrimp is a good source of copper, which strengthens your body tissue.
Zucchini contains antioxidants, which are awesome for your eyes.

Adapted slightly from: Foil Packet Fish

Foil Packet Shrimp (Lemon-Coriander Shrimp with Corn, Zucchini and Tomatoes)

Author: Food Network Kitchen

Difficulty: Easy

Est. Cost: $21

Serves: 4 servings

Ingredients

Large shrimp, 1½ pounds (peeled and deveined; tails intact)
1 cup grape or cherry tomatoes, halved
1 cup zucchini or yellow squash, thinly sliced
2 cups corn kernels, thawed if frozen
4 springs fresh thyme
4 splashes of white wine
Kosher salt, pepper
Olive oil
Lemon-Coriander Seasoning:
1.5 teaspoons each coriander seeds and mustard seeds
1 teaspoons grated lemon zest
⅛ teaspoon each kosher salt and pepper
*You will need heavy-duty tin foil.

Instructions

Lay out 4 large sheets of heavy-duty foil.
Mound 1 cup vegetables in the center of each, season with salt and pepper and top with a sprig of thyme.
Put the shrimp on top of the vegetables; season with salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil.
Add a splash of white wine (or water).
Bring the short ends of the foil together and fold twice to seal; fold in the sides to seal, leaving room for steam.
Grill or campfire method: Preheat a grill to medium high or light a campfire and put a cooking grate in place. Grill the foil packets until the fish is just cooked through, 10 minutes. (While the packets are cooking, make your topping, see below.)
Let the packets sit 5 minutes, then carefully open and add your topping.
Oven method: Preheat the oven to 450 degrees F. Put the foil packets on a baking sheet; bake until the shrimp is just cooked through, about 12 minutes. (While the packets are cooking, make your topping, see below) Let the packets sit 5 minutes, then carefully open and add your topping.
Make the Lemon-Coriander Seasoning: Toast the coriander seeds and mustard seeds in a dry skillet.
Coarsely grind in a spice grinder (or crush with a skillet).
Mix with the grated lemon zest and the kosher salt and pepper.

Pickles (Zesty Dill!)

May 27, 2016 by theamiablecooks@gmail.com 2 Comments

There is something sublimely delicious happening right now: it’s pickle season! We are here to dispel any misconceptions that you might have about making pickles, because they are incredibly easy and so very worth the wait. Our beloved Aunt Jenny (only a few years older than myself) has a most excellent garden in Salem, UT. It is so excellent, in fact, that Blake and I find ourselves green with envy each time we visit her amazing home. In her fertile mountain soil, her garden produces only the finest and most exquisitely beautiful of fruit and produce (think Martha Stewart Magazine). In discussing the supremacy of her garden one day, her pickling method (which is pretty standard) came up. We tasted one of her delightfully zesty pickles and have been hooked ever since.

There is, indeed, a pickle season. We suggest giving your local Asian market, Sprouts, or farmer’s market a call periodically, starting at the end of May, to ask when they’re pickling pickles are on sale. We find ours for a good price (99 cents to $1.50/lb) at our local Asian Market. You can absolutely get them cheaper if you’re on the lookout. You want the short, stocky pickling cucumbers, sometimes called “Kirby’s.” You never want to use a waxy cucumber for pickling. Look for pickles that are uniform in size, heavy and firm, and straight (you will fit more spears side-by-side in each jar):

We put plenty of dill (also bought at our Asian market, 59 cents/bunch, we used 3 bunches) in each jar before adding the pickle spears:

We also enjoy some heat, so we use quite of few whole dried red peppers (usually found with the Mexican spices):

Your kids will LOVE helping you make pickles. Let them drop garlic and stuff each jar with dill. Be sure not to fill your jars too full to the top:

There are a few items of equipment that will help making pickles a cinch (unsponsored): a large enamel canning pot, a rack for lowering and removing jars into the water bath, a jar grasper (?) for allowing you to handle hot jars, a funnel for getting brine into jars without a mess, and a magnetic lid grabber (?) for handling hot lids. The set we have can be purchased on Amazon for about $60. We used 8 wide-mouth pint jars (cost is about $10 for 9 jars at Walmart) for this batch of pickles. We aren’t sure we love wide-mouth jars for pickles as they are shorter and only allow for a shorter pickle.

Six weeks will seem like forever, but good things come to those who wait and you will have some fantastically zesty pickles to slap along side your sammichess (our kids’ pronunciations surface sometimes) and burgers, like this Perfect Burger.

As you prepare and enjoy these with your family, teach them about some of the health benefits of homemade pickles:

Cucumbers offer a good amount of fiber, which is retained even after pickling. Fiber helps your body digest things properly and keeps your digestive tract clean.
Cucumbers also provide your body with iron, which helps your blood to oxygenate your body.

Pickles (Zesty!)

Author: Aunt Jenny

Difficulty: Easy

Serves: 8 jars, 80-95 pickles

Ingredients

8 c. water
4 c. vinegar
½ c. kosher or sea salt (do not use table salt)
8 lbs pickling cucumbers (sometimes called "Kirby's)
16 whole cloves garlic
2-3 bunches fresh dill
whole dried red peppers (6 for hot or 2 for mild spice)
You will need 8 sterile canning jars with lids (wash with soap and water or in dishwasher).

Instructions

Mix the water, vinegar and salt in large pot.
Bring to a rolling boil then reduce heat to low boil.
Meanwhile, rinse and dry your cucumbers. Cut into spears, discarding the ends.
Drop 2 cloves garlic, 2-6 red peppers, and ¼th bunch (or more) dill into each jar.
Pack 8-10 spears tightly into each jar.
Ladle the hot brine into each jar, being careful not to overfill (leave ½ inch space at the top).
Screw lids on jars, only until the lids give you some resistance (they will finish securing in the water bath).
Lower jars into the water bath in batches and let process for 15 minutes (water should be at least 1 inch above the tops of the jars. It is not uncommon to have a jar break). Remove each jar using jar tongs.
You will hear popping sounds from the jar lids as they cool. This means that the lids are securing properly.
After jars have cooled, remove the outer lid ring and test the seal. If it comes off easily, then that jar won't have the proper shelf life.
Let stand 6 weeks before eating.

Perfect Cheeseburgers (no grill required!)

May 25, 2016 by theamiablecooks@gmail.com Leave a Comment

We have to admit that cheeseburgers aren’t our favorite meal. Holidays like Memorial Day and the 4th of July, though, are cause for making a juicy burger. And THIS is a juicy burger – we find that we don’t even need mayo/ketchup/mustard! The thing we’ve noticed about burgers is that (usually) the simpler the better, especially when it comes to the actual patty. The only real keys to a great patty are: 1) use an 80/20 ground chuck, 2) handle the beef as little as humanly possible, since over-handling makes for a tough burger, and 3) don’t make your patties too ball-shaped and make an indentation in the center with your finger, ensuring that the outer edges of your burger won’t become over-done while you wait for the center to be done enough.

We prefer grilling our burgers on a skillet to the grill. The result is just more juicy! We cook ours for about 6-7 minutes (flipping at about the four minute mark), topping with cheese and covering the pan for the last minute to allow the cheese to melt.

If you follow those guidelines, all that’s really left to do is to make sure you have great fix-ins to go on that juicy burger. An important item to note here is that a good, soft bun makes a big difference. Most grocery stores offer a more “homemade”-style bun in their bakery sections (usually not where you find the name-brand buns, such as Sara Lee). We just discovered that our Costco carries brioche buns, and those make for a really delicious, buttery bun. Next, we highly suggest using butter lettuce (you know, the “living lettuce” that comes attached to it’s dirty roots still in the package). It is more delicate, more delicious, and a better texture for enjoying on burgers.

Another must are good tomatoes, and we suggest using heirlooms. Pepperoncini’s are a must in our house as well. And the rest is just personal preference – we also love avocado and sprouts on our burgers. Slap one of our homemade Zesty Dill Pickles on the side of that burger and you’ve got yourself a simple but delectable cheeseburger.

Let your kids top their own burgers. Tip: Burgers can seem overwhelming for small children and Trader Joe’s carries mini sesame seed buns (that are adorable!) if you want to make slider-sized patties for those little hands.

Easy Strawberry Tart

May 20, 2016 by theamiablecooks@gmail.com Leave a Comment

We recently shared a super simple yet beautiful Spring Tart recipe using Puff Pastry. This Strawberry Tart is the perfect sweet counterpart to serve at a brunch or baby/bridal shower. We’re literally talking about 15 minutes of active time here, then into the oven it goes. It’s so easy, your ten-year-old could do it. Ours did…

Begin by scoring the edge of the Puff Pastry (simply cut half-way deep into the dough 1 inch from the edges. The dough will rise around the strawberries and create a pretty, raised border):

Then you’ll brush the dough with melted butter:

And sprinkle generously with sugar:

Arrange strawberry slices any way you think is pretty. We went with the photo that Food Network Magazine provided and alternated the way the strawberries pointed by rows:

Sprinkle with more sugar, bake at 400 degrees for about 30 minutes, and viola!

We like to sprinkle everything we possibly can with powdered sugar, so we did so here:

The really nice thing about this tart is that it isn’t overly sweet. Some might even claim that it isn’t sweet enough. We think that’s a good sign that you’re justified in serving this to guests as a non-dessert item – you don’t always want a sickly-sweet dessert just because it involves strawberries. Here, the strawberries shine and aren’t overpowered by a high-fructose-corn-syrup-y glaze. Whip up a couple of these pretty, subtle tarts the next time you need to bring something bright and easy to a get-together.

Depending on their age, your kids can make this entire thing themselves! At least let them sprinkle sugar and arrange strawberry slices (you can fix them when they’re not looking). As you prepare and enjoy this with those you love, teach them a few things about strawberries:

Strawberries are bright red because they contain anthocyanidin, which helps to protect your heart from disease.
Strawberries also provide you with manganese, which is great for kids whose bones are growing.
Strawberries give you vitamin K for proper blood clotting, and you can only get it through your diet.

From: Strawberry Tart, #47

Easy Strawberry Tart

Prep time

15 mins

Active time

30 mins

Total time

45 mins

Author: Food Network Kitchen

Difficulty: Easy

Serves: 9 squares

Ingredients

1 puff pastry sheet
melted butter
granulated sugar
sliced fresh strawberries

Instructions

Roll out the puff pastry sheet into a 10-inch square.
Score a 1-inch border around the edges with a knife.
Brush with melted butter and sprinkle with sugar.
Arrange sliced strawberries inside the border; sprinkle with more sugar.
Bake at 400 degrees F until golden, 30 minutes.

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