Tormented Kitchen

Hello, dear readers. Happy holidays! I think Christmas time is my favorite holiday. It's a time of giving and generosity. It's a time for family and traditions. We've put up a smaller tree this year, decorated the house with all of the collected nutcrackers, and started cooking up the old-time favorite recipes. We even sent a Secret Santa gift to an elderly gentleman at a nearby retirement home. Fortunately, (or unfortunately, depending on how you look at it) I've been cooking a lot of unhealthy but delicious things.  These things are irresistible and should only be eaten in small quantities because they make you pack on that dreaded "winter weight." But that is what New Year's resolutions are for! I've been making these marbled cake bars for years and they never had an official name.  I've snooped and found out that others call them Can't Leave Them Alone Bars. That name really has no staying power in my memory banks, so I'm ju...

Yum for broccoli! We like broccoli. I bought a seriously huge bag from Costco. I barely made a dent in it after this broccoli casserole and a couple nights of steamed broccoli. Note to self: Costco bags of broccoli are too big for normal consumption. Going back into my childhood, I liked broccoli with "cheeze."  Since processed cheese is very high in sodium (and lots of artificial weird stuff) I don't like to eat it all that often. Thankfully, my kids aren't big fans of Velveeta. However, this is one of those traditions where I have to indulge myself every once in a while. This was part of the Easter dinner feast. It was really salty and oozy and yummy. I'm pretty sure we negated any health benefits from the broccoli with all the "cheeze" and butter, but I enjoyed it immensely. Ingredients 2 lbs broccoli, chopped 1 lb block Velveeta 3 T. butter 2 T. milk 6 Ritz crackers, crushed Method 1. Microwave or steam broccoli until just tender. ...

Easter time has come and gone yet again. Now, let me tell you something. Usually, I attempt to give up something for Lent, and fail miserably 3 days later. I gave up chocolate for Lent this year. This is not the first time that I've tried to give up chocolate, but it was the most successful time! I was really trying to eat healthier. There was one birthday party with marble cake that I could not resist. For the most part, I was very focused on what healthy things I could eat instead of chocolate. That sort of impaired my inspiration to cook and blog about food.  Now that I've survived the month+ without chocolate, I've managed to put together a few thoughts. 1. I am a chocoholic. 2. I don't have to eat all chocolate all the time. 3. I should only eat the really good chocolate in small quantities. 4. Chocolate will put me into a tailspin of eating. No Chocolate means I'm in better control of what I eat later in the day. 5. I really do like fruits and veggies, b...

I think everyone has their own version of Christmas goodies. This is one of mine. We're not big pans of peanut brittle. If I substitute almonds for the peanuts, then this stuff doesn't stand a chance! Ingredients 2 cups granulated white sugar 1 cup light corn syrup 1/4 cup salted butter 1/2 cup water 2 1/2 cups nuts, peanuts, pecans, or blanched slivered almonds, or a combination 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda Method 1. Combine sugar, corn syrup, butter and water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil. The color will gradually turn a nice toasty caramel color. Be sure to use a spoon that won't melt.   2. Using a candy thermometer, cook until 275F.  Stir in the nuts and heat up to 295F. 3.Remove pan from heat and stir in the baking soda. Mix well. 4. Pour onto buttered cookie sheets.  Spread it with a wooden spoon or forks to help pull it. 5. Allow to cool a few hours.  Break into pieces and enjoy.

If you like sweet potatoes, I think you will love this. Mom's way of making these has been one of my favorites for ages. Honestly, I like it this way much better than the marshmallow way. If you want to use canned sweet potatoes, I guess go ahead. I have never used them myself. Let me know how they work out. If  you're wondering what the difference is between sweet potatoes and yams, in the US, the difference is moot. True yams are not available here. We have all sweet potatoes with different skin and flesh colors. I found some very cool reading on this from TAMU. Other cool things about food are available on Food Timeline. Ingredients 2 sweet potatoes 2 Tablespoons packed brown sugar 2 Tablespoons brandy 1/3 cup light corn syrup 2 Tablespoons butter, diced 1/3 cup pecan halves (or more or less to your liking) Method 1. Boil whole sweet potatoes until tender, about 30 minutes. When done, remove from water and let cool until cool enough to handle. 2. Peel swe...

 I have been meaning to do up this post on chocolate dipped strawberries since early February. Well, time has not been on my side lately. So I'm too late for Valentine's Day, but just in time for Mother's Day. Well, Mother's Day in the US.  Not so sure when that falls in other countries. Men and inexperienced cooks take note. This recipe is so easy, even you can do it! It's impressive, but always has an impact, even if the chocolate isn't perfect. You don't have to use strawberries either. You could actually dip anything you like in melted chocolate. Cookies. Pretzels. Potato chips. Just keep in mind the typical shelf life or refrigerator storage lifespan of the item you are dipping. For berries, they are good for about 3 days. I'd even go for a banana, but you'd have to eat it right away so it didn't turn brown. And apparently my sister and bro-in-law grill bacon and cover it in chocolate.  So get creative! Ingredients 1 1-lb pac...

A few years back, at Christmas, my mother in law had a great idea for Christmas dinner.  She wanted us to make a beef tenderloin roast with a layered potato dish.  Justin, his brother Brian and I set to work in the kitchen.  Brian took over the potatoes.  Justin took charge of the meat.  I made the sauce, dessert, and other goodies that night.  Since that fateful meal, Justin's creation has become a regular on our special-occasion menu. We've even tried grilling it instead of oven roasting.  Both are tasty, but I'm only going to focus on the oven version here. Now, before I get into the recipe, let me explain that there are two ways to get beef tenderloin.  Obviously, if you go to the butcher and ask for a beef tenderloin, you will get beef tenderloin. However, you could get it either as the single, long tenderloin muscle all alone, or as a roast that combines some of the other muscles surrounding the tenderloin as the...

Sugar cookies. What is more traditional that a special cookie only made for a holiday? I really fell down on the job for making special goodies for Christmas, so my guilt has been egging me on to make sugar cookies for Valentine's Day. I know, not really a holiday where you get time off from work, but it was an excuse to make some cookies. I found a cute new heart shaped cookie cutter with a hot pink silicone edge-grippy-handle-type protrusion. I needed some new cookie cutters. And it was half price. I only bought that one, but I saw a cute set with different size hearts, some were ruffly, scalloped edged hearts, too. Too cute, but I was able to resist. Lately, my son has been asking to help in the kitchen more and more. I made the cookie dough one night, letting him help measure ingredients and turn on the mixer.  The dough rested in the fridge overnight, then he helped me roll it out. This particular recipe is tad on the dry side, so we had a few tears in the doug...