meatloaf cupcakes with mashed potato frosting

In all the excitement of posting the funfetti cake, ice cream, and cupcakes that I made for Micah's first birthday celebration this past February, I almost forgot to post what I made for dinner! We wanted to make a simple dinner to celebrate with family - I decided to make my favorite macaroni and cheese (from America's Test Kitchen) since the kids love it, along with meatloaf and tossed salad.

As I was preparing the components for the meatloaf, I suddenly remembered a show on Food Network I had seen a long time ago, where they featured a restaurant in Chicago that made meatloaf cupcakes topped with mashed potatoes as frosting. (I specifically remember it was in Chicago because I had immediately texted my cousin in Chicago to ask if she knew of the place!) And so I decided to turn my meatloaf into cupcakes as well!

After forming my meatloaf into giant meatballs, I patted them into a cupcake tin, and then brushed on a mixture of brown sugar, ketchup and ground mustard.

I baked them at 350F for about 25 minutes, until the meat was cooked through and the glaze had become dark and sticky.

My husband whipped up a quick batch of mashed potatoes, deliciously flavored with butter, heavy cream, and salt. Then I filled a piping bag fitted with a large star tip, and got to work piping my mashed potato "frosting"!

The final touch was a sprinking of chopped green onions. Aren't they cute?!

kimchi jjigae

I've been into watching the show "Kimchi Chronicles" on PBS lately - it's a show where chef Jean-Georges and his wife Marja (who is half Korean) travel throughout Korea and taste different Korean foods, and then they go back home and each cook up a version of the dishes they tasted.  One weekend I watched an episode where they had kimchi jjigae, a spicy Korean kimchi soup.  My mouth immediately started watering, and after that day I've been obsessed with it!

A couple of weeks later I was craving that spicy soup, so I decided to try making it using Marja's recipe.  I didn't have any pork belly on hand, so instead I used a leftover rotisserie chicken, bones and all.  I know, rotisserie chicken bones in kimchi jjigae is probably not the authentic way to make it, but I was desperate for some soup!

So I browned my leftover chicken and bones with some sesame oil in my cast iron pot, added thinly sliced onions and chopped kimchi, and then covered it with water.  Then I brought it to a boil and then let it simmer for over half an hour, then added a bit of fish sauce and scallions and allowed it to simmer for another 10-15 minutes.

It was so simple to make, yet so delicious!  Hot, sour, spicy, salty ... perfect for a cold winter day.  Next time I'm definitely going to try it with the pork belly!

*** Update: I have no made this several times, using various meats such as leftover roast chicken or turkey, spam, or portugese sausage, and I still love it each time!  One note about using portugese sausage - it makes the soup extra spicy, so beware when inhaling soup as the spiciness will make you cough!

french onion and bacon tart

I saw this recipe for french onion and bacon tart from America's Test Kitchen, and my mouth started watering.  So I had to make it.  It's kind of like a quiche, but it doesn't have as many eggs as a quiche would have.

For the pie crust, I used my favorite all-butter pie crust recipe, and pressed it into a 9-inch tart pan with removable bottom. I didn't have any pie weights for the blind baking, so instead I used mung beans, the only dried beans that I could find in the house.  (Sorry mom, these were the beans you brought to my house to make soup with!)

Next up was frying up some bacon. Yum!  Of course I had to snack on a few, because who can resist crispy, salty, delicious bacon when it's on a plate right infront of you!

Then, I added sliced onions and fresh thyme to the pan with the rendered bacon fat, seasoned it, and let it cook until the onions were nice and caramelized.

After letting the onions cool slightly, I combined them with a mixture of eggs and half-and-half, and then poured them into my baked tart shell.  The final step was topping the whole thing with the crispy bacon (what was left of the bacon, that is).

Then I put it in the oven and baked it at 375 F for about 25 minutes until it was set.  I let it cool for a bit, and then unmolded it from the tart pan.

I have to say, this recipe makes one delicious savory tart.  The combination of flavors and textures is heavenly - flaky buttery crust, combined with sweet caramelized onions and creamy eggs, and crispy salty bacon to top it all off!  And the best part is that you could have it for breakfast, lunch, or dinner!

pan-fried mantou

One of my favorite snacks as a kid was mantou, which is a type of Chinese steamed bun.  It's slightly sweet and very dense yet fluffy, similar to the bun you'd find in a char-siu-bao (or manapua, if you're from Hawaii).  When I was little, my favorite way to eat these was steamed, covered in butter, and dipped in sugar.  But as an adult, my favorite preparation is sliced, pan-fried with butter or olive oil, and lightly salted.

I'm not sure if this is just something we do in my family, or if it is widely prepared this way, but BOY is it good!  It's crunchy, toasty, slightly sweet and slightly salty, and perfect with a cup of coffee or as a side starch to any meal.  My mouth is watering just thinking about it...

thanksgiving turkey

When it was time to sign up to make something for Matthew's preschool Thanksgiving party, I hesitated.  Did I want to make an apple pie?  Maybe pumpkin pie - since the previous time I signed up to make pumpkin pie, I had made pumpkin cupcakes instead.  I couldn't decide, so I held off signing up so that I could have more time to think about it.

Turns out I didn't have to decide.  My husband came home a couple of days later and informed me that Matthew's teacher had asked us to make the turkey.  The turkey?!  I guess no one else wanted to sign up for this task.  It's only like the biggest and most important part of a Thanksgiving meal!  I can understand why no one would volunteer for this!

Luckily, I have a favorite way to roast my turkey.  I generously season the cavity with salt and pepper, and then stuff it full of aromatics - I use garlic, lemons, whole sprigs of fresh herbs (rosemary from our garden, in this case), and a whole quartered onion.  Then I slather the outside with lots of olive oil, and season with more salt, pepper, and chopped herbs.  Tuck the wings under, tie up the legs with twine, and it's ready to go in the oven!

Unfortunately for my husband and I, we didn't start this task until the night before, just after midnight.  Which meant that it would be done cooking in the middle of the night.  I was able to take a nice nap on the couch though, and my husband woke me around 4am when the turkey was out of the oven and we could finally go to bed.  (Thanks hon!)

It was worth it though.  Matthew was very proud that he brought the turkey, and all of the kids (dressed as pilgrims and indians), teachers, and parents all enjoyed a nice, although chaotic, Thanksgiving lunch.

chicken pot pie

Chicken pot pie is one of those dishes that just makes you feel good.  For me, it is the ultimate comfort food.  Flaky buttery pie crust, rich delicious chicken and veggie soup - I don't know anyone who doesn't love chicken pot pie!  Even my three-year old, who usually has to be told over and over again, "Eat your dinner!", will happily wolf down my chicken pot pie without being told once to eat his dinner!

I like this recipe from Everyday Food on PBS, except I make my own all-butter pie crust, and I also add celery and potatoes to the soup.  For the chicken, I boil four chicken thighs in salted water until tender, and then I take the meat off the bone and cut into bite-size pieces.  Then, I use that broth in the soup instead of canned chicken broth.

I use these Corningware baking dishes for my individual pies:

And a ramekin for Matthew's mini pot pie:

Cover the baking dishes with homemade pie crust, cut slits for vents, and brush with egg wash:

And thirty-five minutes later, it's time for delicious homemade chicken pot pie!