Cooking with Coley

Burgers on the grill.  You can’t beat ‘em. But what you can beat is a shrinking round ball of burger meat.  Don’t you hate when that happens? Your perfect patty hits the piping hot grill, and before you know it you’ve got a swollen blob.

Here’s a quick fix so you can avoid a blob burger (works for both turkey burgers or good ol’ ground beef):

Indent the center of your burger with your thumb.  That’s it.  A small indentation in the center of the burger will prevent the center from swelling and the burger cooking unevenly.

Happy grilling!

Wholly Wholesome. Have you heard of it? If not, read on. Closely.

I recently received some Wholly Wholesome products to review.  Actually I don’t think “some” denotes the abundance of treats I received.  Pies. Pie crusts. Cakes. Muffins. Pound cake.  Cookie Dough. The amount of tasty desserts and sweets packed into my fridge and freezer shouldn’t even be legal.

All Wholly Wholesome products are made with all natural ingredients – no animal ingredients, no conventionally refined sugars and no artificial colors, flavors, preservatives, or additives.  The “Wholesome” name is no joke.  Plus, it makes me feel not so guilty about having all these treats around!

Don’t worry. I’m spreading the wealth. My family and friends have been benefiting for the last three weeks. Here are some highlights and recipes using their products.

Semi-homemade Peanut Butter Oreo Pie Recipe

Peanut butter and oreos. Two of my favorite sweet things.  Combine them together and bam.  Heaven.

Among the pie crusts I received was a Chocolate Pie Crust, so I thought what better sweet partner to pair with it than Peanut Butter.

Recipe adapted from a Cooks.com recipe:

What you’ll need:

• 1 Wholly Wholesome Chocolate Pie Crust (or chocolate crumble crust of your choice)
• 1 (4oz) box instant vanilla pudding mix
• 1 3/4 cup Milk (the pudding instructions called for 2 cups, but I used a little less to make it thicker)
• 2 tablespoons creamy peanut butter (or to taste)
• Chocolate fudge sauce
• 1 container light Cool Whip (thawed)

Procedure:

• Carefully spread/frost the bottom and sides of pie crust with fudge sauce (if really thick microwave for a few seconds).  Note: I found the Wholly Wholesome pie crust to crumble easily even frozen, so be extremely delicate
• In a bowl, whisk instant pudding with milk
• Using an electric mixer, add the peanut butter
• Top with Cool Whip
• Garnish with mini Oreos

The pie was so delicious AND easy that I made a Peanut butter and Reese’s Pieces version for Thanksgiving.  This time I used a Wholly Wholesome Organic Whole Wheat Pie Shell. Instead of vanilla pudding as a base, I used chocolate instant pudding, and I layered crushed Reese’s Pieces inside and atop the pie.  This was also a winner.  Both the Chocolate and Whole Wheat crusts tasted delicious and fresh.  Because they weren’t overly (and artifically sweet), they were a nice complement to the sugary candy I added. Yes, I know.  Embarrassingly, I may have tainted the natural wholesomeness of the pie crusts with Oreos and Reese’s, but at least some of it was healthy right?

I should also mention that I brought a Wholly Wholesome Blueberry Pie to my Aunt’s for Thanksgiving.  It was a hit and also tasted fresh and homemade.

If you’re like me and are not much of a baker, Wholly Wholesome pies and pie crusts will be your new savior.  They’re perfect for the holiday season.  Eespecially if you are spending all your time on making homemade appetizers and dinner or you’re packing your days with present wrapping and last minute shopping.

Visit WhollyWholesome.com for more information or to find your local grocer. Wholly Wholesome products are sold nationwide.

Stay tuned for more Wholly Wholesome reviews.

In the spirit of Thanksgiving, today’s Tuesday tip is you guessed it, Thanksgiving-focused.

However, it’s not a how-to or tip to make your life easier.  Not today.  Today I’ve got some advice on staying healthy.  It’s not easy when you’re surrounded by a smorgasbord of Thanksgiving favorites–buttery mashed potatoes, gravy, pie.  Mmmm.  Thursday can’t come soon enough!  

I received some tips from Timothy S. Harlan, M.D. aka Dr. Gourmet that I thought I’d share with you all.   Don’t worry, he’s not going to tell you not to eat carbs, or to skip the pie.  I wouldn’t stand for that on my favorite day of the year! Instead, it’s about moderation. 

Dr. Gourmet says…

Make plans for the leftovers.

Even if you are cooking for only a few, many recipes just don’t serve only 2 or 4 servings. Decide what you are going to do with the extra food in advance. Make that leftover turkey into a salad, serve the dressing with meals for the next few days, or even take some of the treats to work or to your neighbor.

Make specific portions.

I was at Whole Foods the other day and they were selling individual pumpkin pies. I have seen individual serving pies also in the freezer case at other groceries. Depending on how many you are going to serve for dinner at the holidays, this might work great for you.

For instance, if you are only serving 4 people, then having four individual servings of pie instead of a whole pie that serves eight just makes sense. The research is pretty clear that when there are more portions available we tend to eat them. If they are not, we don’t miss them.

His tips may seem obvious, but the truth is we all get caught up in the eating and stuffing our faces on Thanksgiving.  Slow down, enjoy every bite and remember that it doesn’t get better than Thanksgiving leftovers.

If you have more questions about staying healthy this Thanksgiving or all year round, feel free to tap Dr. Gourmet on his site: www.drgourmet.com. Also check out his healthy Thanksgiving menu and my Whole wheat Couscous stuffing for other nutritious Thanksgiving ideas. 

Happy Thanksgiving!

Who’s ready for Thanksgiving?!  In case you haven’t set your menu, or can make room for one more Thanksgiving side dish, here’s a yummy alternative to the traditional bread stuffing.  It’s festive, colorful, healthy and delicious.

What you’ll need: (serves 4)

• 2 servings whole wheat pearl couscous; Chicken broth to cook it in
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries (craisins)
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 1/4 cup toasted pumpkin seeds or pecans
• 1/2 onion chopped
• 1 cup sliced mushrooms
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) to taste

Procedure:

• Cook couscous in chicken broth according to cous cous instructions
• Separately stir fry garlic, mushrooms, onions and celery until cooked to liking (I cooked until the celery was still a bit crispy, yet tender)
• Separately toast dried pumpkin seeds (toss in a frying pan until lightly browned and crunchy)
• Combine couscous with veggies and pumpkin seeds
• Add in the cranberries last and toss
• Add EVOO, salt and pepper to taste

Tip: The pumpkin seeds got soft quickly and were not good for leftovers; when I make this whole wheat couscous stuffing again for Thanksgiving, I’m going to swap in pecans for the pumpkin seeds.  Pecans cans be toasted or tossed in with the veggies and slightly warmed when all ingredients are combined

Apple Pickin’ – Honey Pot Hill Orchards Review (about a month late): I’m not much of a baker, but when it’s apple season I make an exception.  Not even because I like apple pie. But there’s still nothing  better than pickin’ my own apples and turning them into a homemade pie to share with friends.

A couple weeks ago, Ryan and I went to Honey Pot Hill Orchards in Stow, MA. Located  about 25 miles from Boston,  it’s just close enough to not mind the drive, but far enough to feel removed from the hustle and bustle of the city.

Although it’s a bit commercialized, the apple cider donuts were as good as they come and the hayride lines moved quickly.  I’d recommend it over several of the other Massachusetts apple orchards I’ve tried.

Apple Pie Recipe: This year was the first time I made my own pie crust.  I was hesitant thinking that what a waste of time it will be if the pie crust is a flop and the pie is ruined.  But despite my hesitations and lack of experience, it was a success!  (I tried the crust, so I can attest to that part!)

What you’ll need for the crust: (This is enough for 1 layer of dough; double the recipe for the top and bottom layers)

• 1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup butter, chilled and diced
• 1/4 cup ice water

Procedure:

• In a large bowl, combine flour and salt. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
• Stir in water, a tablespoon at a time, until mixture forms a ball.
• Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for 4 hours or overnight.
• Roll dough out to fit a 9 inch pie plate. Place crust in pie plate.
• Press the dough evenly into the bottom and sides of the pie plate.

Note: This crust recipe was taken from allrecipes.com

What you’ll need for the apple filling: (this is my mom’s favorite recipe, slightly adapted)

• 8 large apples (I prefer Macs); peeled and sliced
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 tbsps all purpose flour
• 1/2-1 tsp ground cinnamon
• Dash ground nutmeg
• 2 tbsp butter
• Extra soft butter and sugar to lightly brush/sprinkle on crust respectively

Procedure:

• Combine sugar, flour, spices, and dash salt; mix with apples
• Add apples to bottom layer of pie crust and dot with butter
• Top with other layer of crust dough, seal and cut slits to allow steam to escape
• Sprinkle with sugar
• Bake at 400 degrees for 50 minutes (with about 15 minutes left brush top of crust with butter)

Do you ever read through a recipe and get stumped by certain terms?  You have all the ingredients, and before you know it you find yourself at a road block wondering what the heck the directions mean.

“Cut in” butter was one of the stumpers for me.  Here’s the scoop:

You’ll often see the term when baking.  If a recipe says to “cut in” butter, you’ll want to take the butter out of the fridge about a half hour before you need it (you want it soft but NOT melted). When it comes time to use it, cut the butter into approximately 1/4 inch pieces or small chunks.  When you add the butter to the mixture, you’ll want to use a pastry cutter (pictured left), two knifes, a fork or even your hands to mix the butter in.   (Use your hands as a last result because it may melt the butter which you do not want). Mix until it turns into small crumbs and almost resembles oatmeal.  The butter added to a pie crust yields a nice flaky crust.

What’s Tuesday Tip for the Novice all about?  Want to contribute a tip?  Learn more here!

Simple as that.

What’s Tuesday Tip for the Novice all about?  Want to contribute a tip?  Learn more here!

I don’t want to toot my own horn, but this Japanese style soba noodle soup was delicious.  Not only that, but it was quick and easy to prepare and didn’t require the all-day simmer that most soups need to really bring out the flavors.

Ever had Wagamama’s chili chicken ramen?  It’s a favorite take out item of mine, and this flavor profile is very similar.  Try out this recipe, and I promise you’ll be happy you did.

What you’ll need:

• Approximately 10 cups chicken broth (I prefer the Maggi Chicken Bouillon)
• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 2 red chili peppers, sliced
• 1/2 cup sliced scallions
• Handful of cilantro; plus additional leaves for garnish
• Approximately 2 cups sliced mushrooms
• Japanese buckwheat soba noodles
• 2 tbsps soy sauce
• Sriacha (optional – the chili peppers I bought didn’t end up being spicy, so I wanted to add some heat)
• Fresh grater ginger to taste (I used about a 1″ x 1″ piece)

Procedure:

• Boil broth, add chicken
• Add all veggies, cilantro and ginger, bring to a boil
• Add soy sauce and Sriacha (optional)
• After about 35 minutes, remove chicken, let it cool and then pull it apart with a fork or your hands so it’s shredded
• Put chicken back into soup, cook for approximately another 15 minutes
• Cook soba noodles separately
• Garnish soup with additional cilantro

Next time I make it, I plan to add bean sprouts and a fresh lime wedge as a garnish.  I just forgot them at the store when I made this last.