Seven Sporadic Questions: Krista's Kitchen

   A few posts back I made two different recipes that I had found at the same blog, Krista's Kitchen.  So it seemed only fitting that I feature her for June's episode of Seven Sporadic Questions.

When I read Krista's blog, I get the mental image of a super-organized person who loves trying new things, and is very family oriented.  Let's visit with her now!

1. What inspired you to start blogging?

I don’t know if it was inspiration so much as efficiency that motivated me to start my blog. Here’s the 

story: In the winter of 2007 we moved from Indiana to Atlanta, GA. Since it was the middle of the school 

year, I didn’t look for a teaching job while we settled into our new home. (Before we moved I taught high 

school Family and Consumer Science or “Home Ec” classes). While we were in Georgia and I wasn’t 

working, I was able to really dedicate some time to one of my passions: cooking! I tried new recipes, 

learned new techniques, perfected my favorite dishes, and invented a few of my own. Also, during this 

time, my youngest daughter was born. I decided to start a family blog to keep all of our relatives and 

friends “back home” updated on the happenings of our little family. After starting our family blog, I 

discovered other blogs. I found Ree Drummond’s blog, “The Pioneer Woman Cooks” by clicking a link 

on one of the blogs I was reading. “How cool!” I thought. “A whole blog dedicated just to what she’s 

cooking. That’s a great idea!”

When we were transferred to Ohio in the summer of 2008 for my husband’s job, I began getting a lot of 

phone calls and emails from friends in Georgia and my friends and family in Indiana requesting recipes 

and advice about meal planning. Looking up recipes and returning calls and emails was taking up a lot of 

time. Not that I minded, but trying to keep up with a 3 year old and crawling baby while unpacking were 

already keeping me pretty busy! Then I remembered the Pioneer Woman’s blog and thought, “Wouldn’t 

that be convenient?” I could put my tips for meal planning and all of my recipes into a blog and then my 

friends and family could access them whenever they wanted. I actually thought that blogging would save 

me time by not needing to look up a few recipes! You bloggers know that this is not the case. At the time, 

I also didn’t realize that there were like, a GAZILLION other food bloggers out there. Nearly a year after 

I began my blog, the movie “Julie and Julia” hit the theatres. By then, people besides my family were 

reading my blog. I got a lot of, “Oh, so you saw the movie and then started a food blog? “ Nope. I was 

clueless. : ) 

2.  What's your favorite thing to make for a crowd?

I always make dessert when I’m having company over. My husband isn’t big on sweets and my oldest 

daughter only likes brownies. If I make a dessert, I’m usually the one that ends up eating the whole thing. 

So I usually try to wait until company is coming to make dessert. I love to bake. You know that theory 

that you’re either a cook or a baker? It doesn’t apply to me. I was a baker first, and then became a cook

later out of necessity- I had to get dinner on the table for my family. Now I enjoy doing both. 

I love to cook for a crowd, so consequently, we entertain whenever I can get people to come over. I

sometimes make my old favorites, but I often test out new recipes on company. I love to make fussy little 

appetizers that both look impressive and taste amazing when we host a party.  However,  my most 

requested summer recipes for a crowd are Bruschetta, as well as Beef On A Stick, Spicy Peanut Chicken

Kabobs, and Rotini Salad.

3.  What's your favorite thing to make for just you?

I tend to make seafood or Asian cuisine (or a combination of the two) when it’s just me. Recipes like 

Linguine with Clam Sauce, Coconut Shrimp Soup, and sushi are some of my favorites. Oh, and I love to 

make a Caprese Salad for my very own lunch in the summertime

4.  If you could invite 3 famous people (living or dead) to dinner, who would they be?  Any 

particular reason?

Curtis Stone. When I was in college and during the first few years after I joined “the real world”, I was a 

huge fan of TLC’s “Take Home Chef”. I used to wish that Curtis Stone would pick me up in the 

supermarket and come home with me for an afternoon of cooking! So, I guess I’d start with him. (I may

still have a teensy weensy married woman’s crush on him.) Can you blame me? Have mercy, he is HOT!

Plus, I recently read one of his cookbooks and cooked some of the recipes and they really are fabulous. Of 

course we wouldn’t have to cook or eat. He could just talk to me with that cute Australian accent of his….

I don’t think that I’d pick another famous person. Truthfully, I don’t give a lot of thought to famous 

people. Maybe because I’m so far from their world? I’d rather have dinner with the people I already know 

and love. Since becoming a stay-at-home mom, a girls’ night out is one of my favorite things to do.

Dinner with my 2 sisters and/or a group of my best girlfriends is always just what I need to put me in a 

good mood. Dinner with a famous person would certainly be something to brag about, but I’m pretty sure 

I’d have more fun with “my girls” on any given night. 

Finally, I would love to sit down with my grandma one more time. My dad’s mom lost her battle with 

cancer when I was a freshman in high school. She wasn’t famous, but she certainly was a great lady! I’ve 

always wished that I could sit down with her now that I am an adult and get her perspective on things and 

hear her stories.

5.  When you think of your childhood, do any favorite dishes come to mind?

Many of my childhood memories are centered around my family’s kitchen. Growing up on a farm, 

everything came from our barn or garden and everything was made from scratch! I come from a long line 

of good cooks and I spent hours learning from my mom and my grandmas. I have written about many of 

my childhood favorites on my blog. Some standouts are  fresh green beans, fried mushrooms, ham and 

beans with cornbread, my mom’s lasagna, and desserts like Texas Sheet cake, homemade ice cream, 

lemon lush, apple dumplings, and rhubarb cream pie.

6.  What do you have in your kitchen that you just couldn't do without? (besides your stove/oven of 

course)

I absolutely love my Santoku knife. I use it every day. A super sharp knife is a must have! Also, my 

beloved KitchenAid stand mixer, my immersion blender, my Pampered Chef chopper and microplane 

grater, and my wooden spoons and rubber scrapers.

7.  What's your favorite part of blogging?  Do you think you'll keep doing it for a while?

I have always enjoyed writing, so blogging about food is a great way to combine two things that I enjoy. 

While I started blogging so that friends and family could have easy access to my recipes, my blog has also 

become a creative outlet for me. Plus, I like that fact that I have a record of nearly everything I have 

prepared in my kitchen over the last 2 years. If I want to remember what I thought of a recipe or how I 

executed a certain step, I only have to type the name of the recipe into a search bar on my blog and I can 

see all of the details

Writing a food blog also challenges me to keep learning about food and cooking and to keep trying new 

recipes.  The saying “practice makes perfect” holds true.  I have become a better cook, photographer, and 

writer because I exercise those skills almost daily to provide content for my blog. 

I also like blogging for the fact that you put the information out there and then receive feedback. Whether 

it’s a tip, a new recipe, or just a word of encouragement, I enjoy hearing from the people who are reading 

my blog. This brings me to the final reason I enjoy blogging- the friendships that I have made as a result.  

Sure, they are friendships based on reading each other’s blogs and responding with comments, emails,

and facebook messages but the friends I’ve made in the blogging world are not so different from the 

friends that I see in person.  We share parts of our lives with each other, offer support, and genuinely care. 

So, for all of the reasons that I listed above, I do believe that I will keep blogging for some time. I’ve been 

at it for 2 years and 7 months now. While I’m not turning out posts every day like I did in the beginning 

(before I had to balance work and family activities and caring for a new house with a great big lawn), I 

still shoot for 2-3 posts per week.  Some weeks I really have to force myself to get a post up- there never 

seem to be enough hours in my day-but my blog is something that I’m not willing to let go of. 

Well, I don't know about y'all, but after reading that I'm pretty darned hungry! Somebody pass the sushi!

p.s.  I'm not sure why my paragraph lines came out all broken like that...sorry :)

Algerian Bouzgene Berber Bread with Roasted Pepper Sauce

To be honest, I really don't know what a couple of the words in that post title mean.  But I found this recipe printed out next to my husband's computer....I can take a hint.  So I'm not really sure of the source of the recipe.

It turned out to be a little more of a time investment than I expected, but I'm glad I made it.  You just can't go wrong with roasted red peppers.  I love the aroma when they come out of the oven.

The bread is pretty plain and simple, so it pairs perfectly with the zesty sauce.  

Here's the recipe for you

Printer Friendly Recipe

Ingredients

• 2 red bell peppers
• 4 tomatoes
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
• salt to taste
•  
• 2 pounds semolina
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
• 3 cups water, or as needed
• 4 tablespoons olive oil
• 6 tablespoons olive oil for frying

Directions

1. Preheat your oven's broiler. Place red bell peppers and tomatoes on a baking sheet, and roast under the broiler for about 8 minutes, turning occasionally. This should blacken the skin and help it peel off more easily. Cool, then scrape the skins off of the tomatoes and peppers, and place them in a large bowl. Remove cores and seeds from the bell peppers.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the jalapenos and garlic, and cook until tender, stirring frequently. Remove from heat, and transfer the garlic and jalapeno to the bowl with the tomatoes and red peppers. Using two sharp steak knives (one in each hand), cut up the tomatoes and peppers to a coarse and soupy consistency. Stir, and set sauce aside.  (I preferred just cutting the veggies up before putting them in the bowl)
3. Place the semolina in a large bowl, and stir in salt and 4 tablespoons of olive oil. Gradually add water while mixing and squeezing with your hand until the dough holds together without being sticky or dry, and molds easily with the hand.  (I only ended up using about 2 cups of the water.)  Divide into 6 pieces and form into balls.
4. For each round, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a large heavy skillet over medium heat. Roll out dough one round at a time, to no thicker than 1/4 inch. Fry in the hot skillet until dark brown spots appear on the surface, and they are crispy. Remove from the skillet, and wrap in a clean towel while preparing the remaining flat breads.
5. To eat the bread and sauce, break off pieces of the bread, and scoop them into the sauce. It will slide off, but just keep reaching in!

Rhubarb Crisp

So I've been lurking around at a blog called Krista's Kitchen lately and have a couple of new dishes to show for it.  Firstly is this rhubarb crisp that we had for dessert tonight.  

I have to say, I don't really think I've ever tried rhubarb before in my life. If I have I sure don't remember it.  Did you know the leaves are poisonous?  I guess that's why they sell only the stalks.  Anyway, it's a pretty tart fruit (or is it a veggie?) so this recipe has a ton of sugar in it.  

I loved the combination of the tart and the sweet, along with the oatmeal and brown sugar flavors in the topping.  Give it a go if you get a chance!

Here's Krista's recipe:

Printer Friendly Recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed

1 cup all-purpose flour

3/4 cup quick cooking rolled oats

1/2 cup melted butter

1 teaspoon cinnamon

4 cups sliced rhubarb

1 cup granulated sugar

2 tablespoons cornstarch 

1 cup water 

1 teaspoon vanilla

Preparation:

In mixing bowl, combine brown sugar, flour, oats, butter and cinnamon; mix together until crumbly. Press half of the brown sugar and oats mixture into a buttered 8-inch square baking dish. Top with the sliced rhubarb. 

In a saucepan combine 1 cup granulated sugar, cornstarch, and the 1 cup of water and vanilla. Cook together until clear, then pour over rhubarb.

Top rhubarb with remaining crumb mixture and bake at 350° for 45 to 55 minutes. 

Also tonight from Krista's blog we had her Cheesy Chicken Toritilla Soup.

I had been in the mood for regular torilla soup, and saw this cheesy variety, and said "sign me up!".  

It's pretty tasty, to me it's more dip-like than soup-like.  Either way, a bowl full of melty cheese is always a good thing.  

Here's the recipe for the soup:

Ingredients

•1 envelope Taco Seasoning

•1-½ pound Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts, Diced

•½ cups Chopped Onion

•2 T Butter

•⅓ cups Flour

•2-½ cups broth, chicken or vegetable

•8-12 oz. 2% Milk Velveeta, cubed

•8 oz. Shredded Monterey Jack or Mexican 4 cheese blend shredded cheese

•1 jar salsa (any Variety)

•1 cup half and half or milk

•Fritos, green onion, and sour cream (for garnish)

Preparation Instructions

In a skillet, add seasoning and diced chicken. Cook until chicken is thoroughly cooked. Drain, and set aside. 

In large saucepan (or pot), saute onion in butter for 2 minutes. Stir in flour until blended, then gradually stir in the broth. Bring to a boil. Cook and stir for two minutes longer, or until thickened slightly. Add Velveeta, shredded cheese and salsa. Cook on medium-low until cheese is melted.

Stir in half and half. Add the chicken back in. Stir. Heat through but do not boil. Remove from heat and enjoy. 

On a side note, my totally awesome hubby surprised me today with a brand spanky new laptop!  My old one was slower than a turtle in a coma, and was a little "quirky", putting it mildly.  This one looks at me and says "c'mon slowpoke, whatcha waitin' for?"  Okay, so it's a little mouthy, but I love it!  Thanks for the early birthday present!


Anyway, since I'm on a different machine, it may take me a while to get all my old bookmarks found again.  But be patient, I'll find you!


*I shared this as a part of Potluck Sunday @ Mommy's Kitchen*

Cone-oli's

Well good people, I typed out this whole post about these cute little pretend cannoli's last night, was almost done, then deleted the whole thing!  So here's to starting over.  I found this recipe in the latest issue of Food Network Magazine and thought it was too clever to pass up.

Most of the family seemed to think they were pretty good, but the boy child seemed to like them extra good.  They were certainly easy enough.  

Here's the recipe for you


Printer Friendly Recipe

• 1 1/4 cups ricotta cheese
• 1/4 cup cream cheese, at room temperature
• 1/3 cup confectioners' sugar, plus more for dusting
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1 teaspoon finely grated orange zest
• 1/3 cup finely chopped bittersweet or semisweet chocolate (about 2 ounces)
• 6 sugar cones
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped pistachios

Put the ricotta in a fine-mesh sieve set over a bowl. Refrigerate 30 minutes to drain.

(You could possibly skip the previous step...I didn't have once ounce of anything drain out of mine)

Transfer the ricotta to a large bowl. Add the cream cheese, confectioners' sugar, vanilla and almond extracts, and the orange zest and beat with a mixer until smooth and fluffy, about 1 minute. Fold in 3 tablespoons chopped chocolate. Cover and refrigerate until thick and cold, at least 1 hour.

Transfer the ricotta mixture to a resealable plastic bag. Snip off one corner and pipe the mixture into the cones. Gently press the remaining chocolate and the pistachios into the ricotta mixture. Dust the cones with confectioners' sugar.

Migas

Just a quick post for you on this fine Mother's day eve.  In fact, this might be a fun dish to serve mom if you're doing a brunch thing. That is, if your mom enjoys flavorful, stick-to-your-ribs type food.  And it makes up a lot so there's plenty to go around!

not an especially photographic dish

I first heard of the Tex-Mex concoction on Pioneer Woman's site, so that's the recipe I went with.  I loved it, and I feel sure that you could adapt it to whatever you have on hand, just as long as you include those crispy little fried tortilla bits.  That's the key.  I added a bit of bacon but other wise followed the recipe exactly...here it is for you.

Printer Friendly Recipe

Migas

4 whole Corn Tortillas

1 whole Jalapeno, Seeds And Membranes Removed, Finely Diced

4 whole Plum Tomatoes, Roughly Chopped

1 whole Green Pepper, Roughly Chopped

1 whole Red Bell Pepper, Roughly Chopped

1 whole Medium Onion, Chopped

12 whole Large Eggs

¼ liters Cotija Cheese, Grated (may Use Cheddar, Monterey Jack, Etc.)  (I have no idea how to measure cheese in liters....I used about a cup)

⅓ cups Cilantro, Chopped

1 Tablespoon Butter

1 Tablespoon Olive Oil

¼ cups Half-and-half

In a bowl, whisk together eggs and half & half. Salt and pepper eggs, then set aside.

In a small skillet over medium heat, heat oil and fry each corn tortilla just until crisp. Remove to a paper towel-lined plate to drain. Chop tortillas and set aside.

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, melt the olive oil with the butter. Add onions and bell peppers and cook until starting to turn brown/black, about 3 to 4 minutes. Add in diced jalapenos and stir to combine. Add tomatoes to the skillet and stir around, then add tortilla pieces, stirring gently to combine.

Reduce heat to low.

When the heat has decreased, pour egg mixture into skillet. Stir gently to cook with the peppers, folding mixture very gently as it cooks. Add in grated cheese and chopped cilantro, and stir to combine

Hope you all have a great mother's day!