All the Ingredients

New Year, New Food: Barbari Bread & Persian Potato Chicken Salad

My friend Rebekah is married to a tall, dark, handsome Iranian. Over the years I have worked with her, she has learned to cook a number of Iranian dishes. One time she brought a dish into share (we have a little lunch group, low-cal, where some of us occasionally make lunch and bring it in to share). I have to confess that I don't remember what Rebekah made for lunch that day. I only remember the bread she brought. It was a wonderful Iranian flatbread called Barbari. Rebekah had brought it to share because this flatbread is fat free--a plus for a lo-cal lunch. After we had all eaten, there was flatbread leftover. Several pieces. I ate it all. Toasted, it was heavenly. A nice, light brown flatbread topped with sesame seeds. Toasted. Maybe I put some butter on it after I toasted it. Maybe it wasn't fat free then.

Anyway, it's not a bread Rebekah buys locally. Friends of hers go to Chicago to shop the  Middle Eastern food stores there and bring things back. Like the Barabari. So on the first day of this new year, Rebekah brought me an entire package of Barbari. Two and a half feet of it! As I was carrying it gingerly out of work later, Ryan (you know, the one who loves the pineapple angel food cake) asked, "Is that a skateboard made of bread?" It certainly was large enough. So I took my flat of bread home, and thought about what to make with it. 

So I noodled around on the web looking for a salad that might be served with this Iranian flatbread, and came up with Salad Olivieh. Supposedly Russian in origin, it is served throughout the Middle East. The salad is a cross between chicken and potato salad. I like chicken salad, and I like potato salad, but I had never thought of combining them. So I continued to examine recipes and soon realized that there was no way I could follow a traditional recipe for Salad Olivieh, which calls for anywhere from two to three CUPS of mayonnaise, and still serve it to the lo-cal lunch group. So, what follows in the recipe I created. It is based on a traditional Salad Olivieh, but features lower calorie ingredients.

Persian Potato Chicken Salad

• 2 chicken breasts
• 3 small, plain baked potatoes
• 5 carrots

The recipe I was very roughly following called for 2 cups of shredded chicken. You could buy a roasted chicken and use the meat from that. But since I was starting from scratch, I roasted two whole chicken breasts with the potatoes and carrots. Then I chilled them, got rid of any residual chicken fat, and cubed the potatoes, chicken, and potatoes. I didn't shred the chicken because I was cubing everything else, and did the chicken that way too. Not traditional.

In a bowl, to the above ingredients, add:

• 3 hard-boiled eggs, also chilled and cubed
• 1 cup frozen peas (you could also use a frozen peas and carrot mix)
• 1/2 cup sweet pickles, diced

The traditional recipe calls for a 19-ounce jar of Persian pickles. I have never eaten a Persian pickle, and have no idea what their flavor is like. I substituted gherkins because I had them in the fridge. I put in only half a cup because I didn't want them to overwhelm the flavor of the other ingredients. Again not traditional.

For the dressing: 

• 1 cup fat-free mayo 
• 1 tablespoon honey mustard
• 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon yellow mustard
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 cup fresh lime juice

Whisk all of the above ingredients in a bowl, and then gently stir the mixture into the other ingredients. As I mentioned the more traditional recipes all call for lots  of regular mayonnaise. They also use more olive oil, and lemon juice. I used less olive oil, lime juice instead of lemon (personal preference), and fat free mayo. VERY not traditional. This was plenty of dressing for my tastes.

I took the salad into the lunch group, and served it with toasted pieces of the Barbari Bread. Rebekah said it was delicious, but had I not told her it was my version of the Persian chicken and potato salad, she never would have known. Her husband's family always shreds the chicken, uses the correct pickles, and uses a LOT of mayonnaise. I was going to take a picture of the other members of the lo-cal lunch group enjoying the salad and Barbari, but by the time I remembered to get out my camera, their plates were clean.

I will certainly make this salad again. But I may have to try and make the Barbari myself because I don't know when I'll get more. Thanks Rebekah!

 

Double Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti: For Deborah & Darin

I have already written my lament at the passing of Gourmet magazine. I miss it most at Christmastime. Every year I would wait for the cookie-covered December issue to arrive to see what new delight I could bake to send to family members. And then, when publication of Gourmet stopped, it was with the November issue. You know that those holiday cookie recipes were already written, the December cover photo already chosen. It was a doubly cruel blow. But I have my back issues.

Every year, I go into my office, and poke through the plastic magazine holders to find the December 1994 Gourmet. It contains a family favorite, Double Chocolate Walnut Biscotti, on page 236. Actually, that's not quite true. I have never made the recipe with walnuts. They are wonderful nuts, and I always have them on hand, but to me chocolate and hazelnuts are made for each other. So I mix up a batch of chocolate hazelnut biscotti every year to send to my brother's family in North Carolina. They are a holiday favorite of my niece, Deborah. And since Deborah and her husband Darin are among the few (yet special!) regular readers of my blog, I have decided that this year, my present to them will be the Christmas biscotti recipe. 

Double Chocolate Hazelnut Biscotti

(as adapted from Gourmet, December 1994, page 236)

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 stick (6 tablespoons) butter, softened
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs (I prefer brown)
• 1 cup hazelnuts, rough chopped
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1/2 cup dark chocolate chips
• 2 tablespoons confectioners' sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, and butter and flour a large baking sheet. In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Then add the eggs and mix until well-combined. Stir in the flour mixture to form a soft dough. Stir in the hazelnuts and chocolate chips.

On the prepared cookie sheet, form the dough into two slightly flattened logs, each about twelve inches long and about two inches wide. (Flouring your hands makes this easier.) Dust the top of each log well with the confectioners' sugar. Bake the logs 35 minutes, or until slightly firm to the touch. As the logs bake and expand, the tops will crack slightly. Cool the logs on the baking sheet for about five minutes. 

On a cutting board, using a sharp knife to slice cleanly through the hazelnuts without tearing the dough, cut the log diagonally (or straight across--my preference) into 3/4-inch slices. Arrange the biscotti, cut sides down, on a clean baking sheet and bake until crisp--about ten minutes. Cool the biscotti on a rack. They don't keep well because as they bake, the biscotti make the entire house smell like chocolate, and they are eaten almost immediately! I was able to keep some once in a holiday tin, for three days because I had labelled zucchini bread. I am sure they would freeze beautifully.

So, Deborah and Darin, the biscotti are in the mail. The tradition is yours now. Merry Christmas!

Cooking from the Books: Good Eats: Volume 1: Baby Back Ribs

I had a week off in October. One of the things I did that week was to cook food in large quantities so that I would have things in the freezer to get me through Holiday Retail Exhaustion. After spending nine hours on my feet helping customers, I want to come home to a hearty dinner that is already thawed and ready to heat. 

This week, however, I discovered that I had a rack and a half of baby back pork ribs left from a big bundle I had bought at Sam's Club in July. With snow on the ground, it is too cold to grill them slowly over charcoal like we prefer. But in all the Cooking Channel's reruns of Good Eats, I remembered seeing an episode where Alton cooks ribs in the oven. I dismissed this idea as nonsense, but decided that that would be the recipe to use for these ribs.

The recipe comes from his Episode 27: Pork Fiction, and was easy to assemble. I took the thawed ribs, and covered them with my SECRET dry rub recipe. This is a rub recipe I adapted from a Cook's Illustrated recipe that I have followed for years to grill my famous pork back ribs. (Yes, they are famous because my father-in-law talks about them to all his friends in Texas.) I also use this dry rub to cook my son, Bacon Boy's favorite bacon, but I digress. Alton includes a recipe for a dry rub if you need one.

Then the ribs are bundled into heavy duty foil pouches, meat side down, where braising liquid is poured into one end of the foil pouch. Alton's recipe uses white wine, white wine vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, honey, and garlic. I am all about using what's on hand, so I made my braising liquid with:

• 1/3 cup apple cider (fresh pressed)
• 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
• 2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 smashed and chopped clove or garlic

And since I had cooked some of my dry-rubbed bacon for BLTs at lunch (the very last garden tomato--sadness), I added about a tablespoon of the seasoned bacon fat.

I divided the liquid between the two pouches of ribs, and put them on a cookie sheet. I baked them in a 250 degree oven for 3 hours. This allowed me time to get the Christmas tree in the stand, get the lights on it, and go to the gym. This time of year, I am all about dinner that doesn't need tending.

After three hours, I opened the ends of the pouches, and poured out the braising liquid into a skillet (I used the one from cooking the bacon that I had drained the fat out of), and simmered it until the suce thickened. While the sauce was simmering, I baked a bag of Alexi Onion Rings in the oven. If you have never tried Alexia Onion Rings, they are crunchy and wonderful, and hidden in the healthy frozen foods section at the grocery store.

When the onion rings were done, I opened the pouches and put the ribs, meat side up, onto the cookie sheet. Then I painted the thick rib glaze on the creepy looking gray ribs, and broiled them for about five minutes. They came out of the oven looking like they had been grilled, low and slow, over charcoal. The whole house smelled of porky goodness.

I served the ribs with a salad (Marzetti's Champagne dressing), a choice of Famous Dave's barbecue sauces, and the Alexia Onion Rings. I thought the ribs would be good, but they were excellent! The meat was tender and juicy, and the flavor off the glaze was a sweet amalgem of the braising liquid ingredients.

Once the snow falls here in Iowa, summer favorites like garden tomatoes and grilled baby back ribs fall off the menu. Alton's oven rib recipe has put the baby backs back!

 

Duncan Hines Cake Mix & Wilderness Fruit Filling: Part 2: Angel Food Cake Cupcakes

I think that Angel Food Cake is the white bread of the cake world. It has a nice flavor and texture, but I never crave it by itself. Angel Food Cake needs dressing up. 

Some where, some time in the last few years someone gave me a great, and fantastically easy, Pineapple Angel Food Cake recipe. You take a box of Angel Food Cake mix, pour it in a bowl, and add a large, 20-oz. can of crushed pineapple, stir them together and bake until golden--about half an hour--in a 9 by 13 pan. This is one of my favorite cakes to treat my co-workers with. It takes me two minutes to get it in the oven, and by the time I am dressed, the cake is out of the oven and ready to go. Angels could not make a cake faster that tastes as wonderful. And it's inexpensive--less than $5.

After the first batch of Duncan Hines cupcakes that I made, I still had half a can of the Wilderness More Fruit Blueberry Pie Filling. I also had one free Duncan Hines Cake Mix coupon left from the batch I received as part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program. So I got a box of Duncan Hines Angel Food Cake mix with it.

Last Saturday morning, we had to open our store an hour earlier than usual--and an hour earlier than the schedule had originally been written for. I had to ask several employees to come in an hour earlier. When one of them balked, I coaxed, "I'll make the Pineapple Angel Food Cake." 

"Deal!" he agreed.

This time I had to get up a little earlier because I wanted to make the Pineapple Angel Food Cake as cupcakes. I dumped the box of Duncan Hines Angel Food cake in the bowl, added the large can of crushed pineapple, and stirred. This always produces a slightly fizzy cake batter. I am sure Alton Brown could tell me why, but I just like stirring as the batter fizzes. This time, just as I was about to dish the cake batter into the cupcake papers, I added the half can of Wilderness More Fruit Blueberry Pie Filling. It was very heavy compared to my light, fizzy batter, so I just let it sink in the middle of the bowl, and gave it a little swirl with a spoon. Then as I scooped out the cupcake batter, I made sure to dip into the middle of the bowl each time and nab some of the blueberry pie filling. The usual Pineapple Angel Food Cake recipe makes 24 cupcakes; this batch made 40.

The resulting cupcakes were swirled with the blue of the pie filling and very moist. They very quite popular at work, and the employee who agreed to come in early enjoyed four! I think even my mother, the cake purist, would have enjoyed them. 

So, is you are looking for a way to treat your co-workers this holiday season, start with a box of Duncan Hines Cake Mix!

What's New: Duncan Hines Cake Mix & Wilderness Fruit Filling

My mother raised me to be a cake purist. A snooty cake purist. If it wasn't whipped up by loving hands at home, from scratch, it wasn't good cake. All it took was my son remembering at 9 p.m. at night that he needed cupcakes for the school bake sale/class party/birthday treat at school the next day for me to become an instant fan of cake mixes. I began keeping boxes of chocolate and yellow cake mixes hidden in the back of my cupboard for just such emergencies. Once I had baked the cake or cupcakes needed, I could easily whip up my mother's favorite frosting for cakes for children--creamy peanut butter mixed with confectioner's sugar. Life was much easier. 

And although I still prefer to make cake from scratch, nothing cheers up stressed out retail co-workers this time of year, as showing up to work with cake. Cake says. "Although I can't give you a raise, and the customers might not always be cheerful and happy this time of year, I appreciate all your hard work, and make you cake." As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received coupons for Duncan Hines Cake Mixes and Wilderness Fruit Filling. I bought a Classic White Cake Mix, and a can of Wilderness More Fruit Blueberry Pie Filling. Following closely after the many indulgences of Thanksgiving, I wanted to try the low fat version of the cake mix featured right on the Duncan Hines box.

First, I lined two pans with cupcake papers, and spritzed them lightly with Pam for Baking. If you have ever baked fat-free cupcakes, you know that they become very attached to the cupcake papers. But you only want to give the papers the lightest misting--too much and the cupcakes don't attach to them at all, and they look like ladies shucking frilly skirts. not an appealing look.

Then I mixed the Duncan Hines Classic White Cake Mix according to the lower fat version, adding 1& 1/4 cup water, 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce, and 3 egg whites. I spooned batter into each cupcake paper so that they were half full. Next I placed about a teaspoon of Wilderness More Fruit Blueberry Pie filling into the center of each cupcake more or less neatly. Then I topped them off with rest of the cake batter--roughly a tablespoon each. I sprinkled a little blue decorating sugar on top, and baked the cupcakes for about twenty minutes. 

Then I cooled the blueberry cupcakes briefly on a rack, put them on a platter, and went out the door to work. Because of the ease of using a Duncan Hines cake mix, I was able to make these cupcakes before I left in the morning, showing up with a cheerful plate of fabulous cupcakes to treat my co-workers. A success all around--and everyone said they were delicious! Because I used the low fat option on the box, and didn't use frosting, they were light enough that some people ate two. (Like me!) And I got to hand out the extra Duncan Hines coupons that I had received as well.

I have half a can of the Wilderness Blueberry Filling left, so today I bought a Duncan Hines Angel Food cake mix and a small can of crushed pineapple. That way I can make Retail Relief Blueberry Pineapple cupcakes to take to work on Saturday. Try taking Duncan Hines cake to work, and see how happy you can make your co-workers!

Cooking from the Books: Good Eats: Volume 2: Swiss Steak

Alton Brown makes my short list of food personalities that I admire. After all, the man convinced me that brining is a necessity for the Thanksgiving Turkey, and I have a permanent Post-It on that page in I'm Just Here for the Food. But I have to confess that although I have all his cookbooks (including the newest, Good Eats: Volume 3), I have not cooked around in them very much. Maybe it's because I consider him a sort of foodie older brother. Need to know why high-gluten flour works better for homemade pizza dough? Check Alton. The answer will be there in one of those volumes--probably accompanied by a cute diagram of gluten molecules. Alton has all the answers.

My husband and I recently had the pleasure of hearing Alton speak in person at a benefit for the Cedar Rapids Public Library. A flood two years ago laid waste to the main branch of the library, and soaked many of its volumes. Alton came to speak at a fund-raising benefit, and donated a number of books to help rebuild the Library's collection, including some rare and odd cookbooks, and all of the ones he has authored. He was just as charming and funny in person as he appears in all of his television venues.

The Cooking Channel is rerunning all of the Good Eats episodes, and there are many that I have never seen. I was intrigued by the episode about Swiss Steak and how it belongs in the Museum of Food Horrors. I was born in Atlanta, but spent most of my formative years in Phoenix. I learned how to cook South, and Southwest. Swiss Steak was not on either of those menus. Then when I moved to Iowa to go to graduate school, I entered a new food arena and learned that many people in the Midwest ate breakfast, dinner, and supper (instead of breakfast lunch, and dinner), often consuming "hotdish" at some of those meals (instead of "casserole"), and drank pop instead of soda. And suddenly I was dining in restaurants that had pork tenderloin sandwiches instead of tamales, and Swiss Steak instead of fried chicken, biscuits, and gravy.

I ate Swiss Steak once in a well-known restaurant because my husband likes it, and recommended it to me. It tasted like the sole of an old shoe floured, fried, and swathed in white gummy gravy. Nasty! It quickly joined the list of things I never order in a restaurant like beef stew (no one ever makes it as well as I do) or tuna sandwiches (they should not be half dark tuna, half mayo and onion).

So I was intrigued by Alton's tear down and reconstruction of this midwest favorite. The rules emerged: you should buy your own good quality meat, slice and tenderize it yourself, and after flouring and searing the steaks, cook them low and slow in a broth in a Dutch oven. Alton set the bar pretty high, but I don't have time to buy, slice, and tenderize my own meat. Plus I shop at a small-town grocery that has a beautifully run meat department. In their meat case, I found lean, high-end,
tenderized "cube" steaks. I bought four.

Then I floured them lightly in seasoned flour. I am big fan these days of Mrs. Dash's Table Blend--no salt (and I don't miss it), but lots of pepper and other spices with a nice zing. Then I browned them in olive oil, and layered them in my Dutch oven. I strayed outside the suggested recipe here: I used organic beef broth, but added about half a cup of mushrooms and onions that had been left over from a batch I had sliced and sauteed for another recipe. I also threw in a little chopped sage, fresh from the garden. Then the covered pot went into the oven for about two hours. Halfway through, I rotated the meat layers. 

Instead of making mashed potatoes which seem to be the standard accompaniment to Swiss Steak, I again took the fast route and put half a bag of Ore Ida Golden Fries on a cooke sheet in the oven. My mother always made real Beef Stroganov over shoestring potatoes, so I piled my fries on the plate and topped them with Swiss Steak and the now thick and creamy mushroom and onion gravy. My husband pronounced the combo fabulous, and rechristened the dish "Swiss Steakanov." He said that this take on Swiss Steak is a new creature entirely, moist and tender in a way that most midwest Swiss Steak is not. 

I think it's time for me to cook around a bit more in the Good Eats cookbooks. Thanks, Alton!

What's New: Tervis Tumblers

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received a Tervis Tumbler to try. I had never heard of Tervis before, but in 1946, the founders of this company, engineers Frank Cotter and G. Howlett Davis (Ter + vis = Tervis), created the first double-walled tumbler that insulated beverages with air trapped inside. This year the company celebrates 65 of making quality custom tumblers. I was thrilled to get a clear tumbler with the Foodbuzz Tastemakers logo on it.

I always start the day off with a glass of ice water. This tumbler is amazing because it keeps cold drinks cold for a long time. Really cold.

In honor of Halloween, I decided to make an iced Pumpkin Spice Au Lait with some of my Godiva Pumpkin Spice Coffee. I brewed the coffee double-strength, adding about 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon for a little extra kick, and chilled it. I put ice in my Tervis Tumbler and added half a cup of milk. Then I poured on the Godiva Pumpkin Spice coffee, topping it with whipped cream and a few sugar ghosts. A ghoulishly delicious drink!

The tumbler works really well with hot beverages too. I drink a lot of tea, hot and cold, and I was able to pour hot water straight into the tumbler for brewing a tea bag. The tea stayed hot for a long time. I have a ceramic double-walled coffee tumbler from a major coffee chain that does not keep my hot drinks hot as long as my Foodbuzz Tastemakers tumbler from Tervis does.

There's just one problem with my Tervis Tumbler. It didn't come with a lid. Which did not make my beverages safe from Sunny.

Who is Sunny? you ask.

Sunny is my cat, my boon companion. He gets up with me--even at 3:30 a.m.--and keeps me company while I get ready for work. He greets me at the door when I come home in the evening. He purrs me to sleep at night. And he is addicted to liquids. He loves sink water, tub water, and in an unguarded moment will try toilet water. If you leave your glass, mug, cup, or Tervis Tumbler unprotected, Sunny will drink your coffee (he likes foamed milk more than whipped cream), tea, diet Mountain Dew, Kool-Aid, and water. First he samples your drink with his paw, and tastes it. Right taste, right temperature? Then, he sticks his head in and drinks.

Sunny loves hanging out on the counter while I get ready to make coffee every morning. If I don't shut the back of the coffee-maker quickly enough, Sunny samples the water first. He never knocks beverages over, but you know he's been there by the wet paw prints leading away from your cup. Argh! Time to get a fresh glass--or tumbler--full.

The only thing that would make my Tervis Tumbler better is a lid. So I visited their web page, http://www.tervis.com/Main.aspx , and ordered a purple lid to match the Foodbuzz logo. Tervis has all sorts of tumblers on their web page that you can order customized for your business or organization. They have cool St. Louis Cardinals World Series Tumblers.

I will love my Tervis Tumbler even more when it has a lid!

 

 

 

What's New: Godiva Caramel Pecan Bark Coffee

There are coffee purists out there (you know who you are) who think that coffees should not have flavoring added to the beans. I used to be one of them. In a past life, I worked as a barista for a company that sold only different "roasts" of coffees--nothing flavored. But then when I was no making coffee for anyone other than myself, I began to shop around other coffee houses, and try brews that were flavored. Usually what I drink at home is a combination of one part plain roast to three parts flavored roast. I tend not to like quite as much flavoring in my coffee as other folks.

As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker Program, I received two bags of Godiva's Coffee latest seasonal flavors--Pumpkin Spice, and Caramel Pecan Bark. Every coffee house is featuring a pumpkin coffee drink right now, so I decided to experiment with the Caramel Pecan Bark. 

Brewed by itself at full strength, this medium roast coffee is a delight. The packaging describes it as "Rich, smooth caramel and toasted pecans with a creamy Godiva milk chocolate finish." Mixed with steamed milk, it is a perfect way to start the day. The caramel aroma floated out of my cup, and as I sipped the coffee, I noticed the slight hint of chocolate. I decided to enhance the caramel and the chocolate notes of this coffee.

Besides Godiva coffee, I am seriously addicted right now to Godiva tablet chocolate bars. My favorite is the Milk Chocolate Salted Caramel. I have a secret stash of them at home. Every day in my lunch, I pack one square. I can't have two squares or the whole bar lying around because I will sit down and eat it all. This tablet is a thin piece of Godiva milk chocolate with flecks of crisp caramel throughout and a dash of salt along the way. Salted caramel is a very trendy flavor right now in everything from cupcakes to hot drinks. I think the Godiva Milk Chocolate Salted Caramel tablet is the best of them all. So I decided that this tablet and this coffee needed to be blended.

First, I brewed the Godiva Pecan Bark Coffee. Then for a single cup of decadence, I chopped up a square of the Godiva Milk Chocolate Salted Caramel Bar. I put half of it in the bottom of the cup, and added the hot coffee. Then I quickly swirled on whipped cream and Smucker's Caramel Sauce, topping it all off with the rest of the square of chopped caramel bar. This drink was fabulous! And the best part of the gooey bits of caramel from the chocolate tablet at the bottom of the cup.

This is an easy drink to make. The Godiva Pecan Bark Coffee will make your kitchen smell wonderful, and will be a great start to your day. Mix it with the Salted Caramel Bar for a match made, well, in Godiva Heaven. Try it!

What's New: Marzetti Simply Dressed: Simply the Best!

My mother gave me her love of tea. My brother Michael gave me his love of peanut butter. And my sister Stephanie gave me her love of salad dressing.

Every time we went out to eat when I was a kid, my big sister would get french fries. And with her french fries, she always had to have a side order of blue cheese dressing. That was what she dipped fries in instead of ketchup. I didn't like blue cheese dressing at that point, and thought she was crazy. It was a habit she kept up all of her life.

But then along came Ranch Dressing to change my mind about salad dressings as condiments. I grew up in the fifties along side the packets of Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing. In those days, if you wanted salad dressing, you mixed it up yourself. For Ranch, you had to buy the packet of Hidden Valley seasoning, and add it to mayonnaise and buttermilk. It was my job to set the table for dinner every night, and my job to make the dressing for whatever salad we were having. My mother saved old mayonnaise jars so that I could mix up the ranch dressing. Every night that we used it, we had to stir it all together again. It was rich and creamy.

Gradually, I followed in my sister's footsteps, and started using Ranch as my condiment of choice. I like Ranch Dressing on pizza, wings, burgers, fries--all sorts of foods that really don't need the extra fat calories, but are improved by the flavor. (Try sprinkling some Ranch Dressing powder on your potatoes before you roast them.) I have always remained true to the Hidden Valley brand. I don't think anyone else's Ranch tastes as good. 

And if I am going to spend those calories on dressing, I want it to taste good. I hate fat-free dressings. They have a weird viscosity that always reminds me of a science experiment gone wrong. I won't eat anyone's fat-free Ranch, but I do like the light version that Hidden Valley makes.

Today when you wander down the salad dressing aisle of your local grocery store, there are hundreds of salad dressings to chose from, already made up for you in an amazing assortments of flavors. There are also the bottled dressings that contain ingredients that are not shelf-stable, and that are sold in the produce section in a refrigerated case.

And that's where you find the Marzetti. I have been crazy about Marzetti Honey Dijon dressing for decades. My favorite dip for sweet potato fries or onion rings is that dressing with some Ranch swirled into it--heaven! I like the Marzetti Blue Cheese dressing as well (Stephanie was right all those years ago)--and both the lighter versions of these two are very good. Marzetti makes lots of different dressings, and periodically I like to bring something new home to try. Want a killer combo for your next tossed salad? Try mixing the Marzetti Ranch half and half with their Blue Cheese. 

So I was thrilled when as part of the Foodbuzz Tastemaker's Program, I received a coupon for a free bottle of the new Marzetti line: Simply Dressed. These salad dressings are different from others on the market because they don't contain polysorbate 60 or propylene glycol alginate or anything else you need a chemistry degree to understand. The Simply Dressed Ranch contains ingredients like canola oil, extra virgin olive oil, sea salt, spices, and buttermilk. I also got the Simply Dressed Champagne made with extra virgin olive oil, olive oil, sea salt, spices, and champagne and white wine vinegar. These dressings are full fat, so you need to use them modestly. However, the Simply Dressed ranch contains 2 grams less fat per serving than Hidden Valley Ranch.

So how did these dressings taste? 

For the Simply Dressed Champagne, I made a salad out of fresh garden veggies (soon to come to an end with a hard frost predicted this week): tomatoes, bell pepper, and cucumbers. To them I added celery, mushrooms, carrots, and romaine lettuce. And I threw in some Marzetti Whole Grain Croutons that I found in the produce section as well. I poured on a couple of tablespoons the dressing and tossed it all together. I thought the salad was very flavorful--the dried herbs in the dressing really helped jazz up the vegetables. My mother used to take flat
champagne left over after parties, and make champagne dressing with it. Her dressing had an alcoholic kick to it. The Marzetti version is much smoother in taste, and won't get you pulled over for eating a salad  and driving. My husband's verdict after eating the salad: "Not bad." (This is HIGH praise from him for a salad, believe me!) Next, I'd like to try this dressing as a marinade for chicken.

For the Simply Dressed Ranch, I tried it three ways. First, I dipped a carrot stick in it. Ranch dressing is my go-to dip to dress up raw veggies. It was wonderful. I like the flavor o buttermilk that the background. Next I put it on some deep dish pizza I had made. A lot of people eat
Ranch dressing on pizza. I've been doing it for a long time. Think about it. Most of the time I eat veggie pizza, no meat. So it's kinda like eating hot salad on a crust with some tomato sauce and cheese added. Ranch seems like a natural addition. Sometimes I even put cold lettuce on top of hot pizza with Ranch dressing. It works for me. The Simply Dressed Ranch on pizza is a winner. Finally, I also tried the Ranch on plain lettuce, the most simple salad. A little dressing went a long way,  and made the lettuce zesty.

I have a confession. I have been eating Hidden Valley Dressing for most of my life. The Marzetti Simply Dressed Ranch is better. Way better. I think that because it is made with buttermilk and other natural ingredients, it tastes fresher. Like you made it yourself instead of getting it out of a bottle. Marzetti Simply Dressed salad dressings are made with all natural ingredients, have to be kept refrigerated, and are more expensive than the others on the shelf in the salad dressing aisle, or in the refrigerated section of the produce section. They are worth it.

I think even my sister Stephanie would agree.

What's New: Planter's Peanut Butter

I can never remember NOT eating peanut butter. Peanut butter and jelly toast for breakfast. Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch. Peanut butter on Saltines for snack. My mother allowed us to put peanut butter on whatever bread we had at dinner, but we were not allowed to actually put the jar on the dining room table. That would have been tacky. My brother Michael kept it on the floor by his chair, in easy reach for sharing. Even when I was forced to eat cafeteria food in college, I kept peanut butter, grape jelly, and Club Crackers in my cupboard as my favorite snack while studying. When I used to travel for the company I work for, I often kept a jar of peanut butter and a spoon on the passenger seat next to me, company for the long stretches of road where there was nowhere to stop, and nothing to eat. I eat peanut butter almost every day, at least once.

Mr. Peanut has been a member of my household for as long as I can remember. My parents always had a big can of Planters Mixed Salted Nuts on hand for cocktails parties--it was my job to refill the nut dish when it got low. Personally, I have always preferred Planters Dry Roasted Peanuts to any other nuts out there, although lately I have come to prefer the lightly salted version. And my husband always has to have Planters Cashews in the house as his go-to snack.

So I was happy to hear that at long last, Planters is making its own peanut butter! I had often wished Planters made peanut butter. Whirring up Planter Dry Roasted Peanuts in the blender provided an unsatisfactory option. As part of the Foodbuzz Tastemakers Program, I received two jars of Planter's Peanut butter to try.

Although I refer to my son by the moniker of Bacon Boy, it would be much more accurate to call him Peanut Butter and Grape Jelly Sandwich Boy. He turned twenty this summer, and for at least eighteen of those years, peanut butter and grape jelly on white bread sandwiches have been a mainstay of his diet. Though grade school and junior high, every day for lunch (unless it was pizza day in the cafeteria), he took a pb&j sandwich, Pringles, and apple slices for lunch. EVERY day. The lunch room ladies probably thought I was the most boring mother, making her son the exact same lunch every day, but it was what he wanted. Now when people see Bacon Boy, over six feet tall and over 200 pounds of pure muscle, they say to me, "How did he get so big?" And I always answer, "Peanut butter!"

So when the jars of Planter's Peanut Butter arrived from the National Peanut Board, the first taste test went to my son who happened to be home visiting from college. I have to explain. For eighteen years the only peanut butter he has eaten has been Skippy. Yes, I know all about the wonders of natural, organic, free-range peanut butter, but when you are buying it in gallon drums because your growing boy eats up to five or six sandwiches a day of the stuff (during high school it was not only lunch but pre-dinner snack), natural peanut butter is just too expensive. And the one time I tried to feed my son generic peanut butter, he acted like I had tried to give him a pb&j made from grape jelly and sawdust--he knew it wasn't Skippy. I had to feed the rest of that generic jar it to the birds.

So he happily let me make him a post-lunch snack of half a sandwich made with his friend Skippy, and half a sandwich made with the new Planter's Peanut Butter. He devoured the Skippy half, and then thoughtfully ate his way through the Planter's half. "It's different," he said, "but I like it." High praise!

Since I am the only one in the house who eats peanut butter straight off a spoon, I sampled the creamy Skippy and the creamy Planter's that way. I liked the Planters better. It had more of a roasted peanut flavor. Also in comparison, the Planter's had one less gram fat, one more gram protein, and the same amount of sodium and sugar as Skippy. The Planter's also packed more of powerful peanut aroma when I opened the jar--even after the jar had been open and in use for a week.

For my final test of flavor, I made peanut butter cookies using a recipe out of The Fannie Farmer Cookbook--the same recipe I have been using for decades:

• 1 stick of butter
• 1/2 cup of peanut butter
• 1/2 cup of granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup of dark brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup flour

First, cream the butter and the peanut butter together. Then beat in both the sugars, until smooth, and add the egg and vanilla. Mix together the salt, baking soda, and the flour, and stir it into the first mixture until thoroughly combined. Scoop the dough out in balls (I use my smallest cookie scoop that holds a teaspoon), and roll the balls in sugar. Flatten the balls on a cookie sheet with the bottom of a glass, and bake 10-12 minutes in a 350 degree oven. To decorate this batch, I pressed a piece of candy corn into the top of each cookie as soon as they came out of the oven.

My husband and I though the cookies were great--very peanuty--and even my daughter, Picky Girl, ate one and wanted more. Planter's Peanut Butter has become our new family peanut butter!