Homemade Pinkberry Frozen Yogurt

We don't have Pinkberry here in Houston. We've got our share of knockoff joints, of course, but I get tired of wading through the sea of inferior frozen yogurts looking for the one true cup of creamy, tart goodness. And as much as I love Pinkberry I'm not driving up to Dallas for yogurt.

So imagine how delighted I was to discover you can make your own Pinkberry at home! And it's super easy! Here's what you need:

3 cups plain Greek yogurt
3/4 cup sugar
An ice cream maker

No, really, that's it.

Now, people will tell you that you can make your own Greek-style yogurt by straining a container of plain old Dannon (or whatever) over cheesecloth. I don't believe them. I've done it, and it may have the right texture, but it just doesn't have the same flavor as authentic Greek yogurt. Plus, you really need whole-milk yogurt to enjoy a truly delicious and decadent cup of frozen yogurt. Low-fat schmo-fat, I say! Go out and get yourself the real thing if you can find it. You won't be sorry.


Once you've got your yogurt, mix it together with the sugar. I used an electric mixer to make sure the sugar was completely dissolved. Then just freeze it in your ice cream maker according to your machine's instructions. Twenty minutes later (for my handy little Cuisinart) you've got your very own Pinkberry that you can top with whatever fruits, nuts or sweet treats you've got on hand.

If you like flavored yogurt you can add a little vanilla or coconut extract to taste. Or chocolate syrup. Or fruit juice. Improvise! Go crazy!

Quiche Lorraine

When I was a kid one of my all-time favorite foods that my mom used to make was Quiche Lorraine. I used to beg her to make it all the time, and she would demure, telling me that it was a lot of work and only for special occasions. So imagine my surprise when, as an adult, I decided to make try making it for myself, only to discover that quiche is one of the easiest dishes to make like, ever. Assuming, of course, you use refrigerated pie crusts. If you wanna be all ambitious and make the crust yourself then it starts to qualify as a lot of work, and honestly those refrigerated crusts are almost as good as homemade anyway.

I suspect now that my mom's reasons for not making it more often had far more to do with how fattening it is than how much work. And it is fattening. But oh, so delicious. And for some reason I always get a hankering for quiche in the summertime. Maybe because a little goes a long way and when it's 105 in the shade I'm not in the mood for a lot of food. Or maybe because the leftovers taste so good cold. It's possible that sometimes I even eat them right out of the pan while standing at the fridge with the door open. Don't tell my mama, though.

I don't have my mom's old Quiche Lorraine recipe, so I have to make due with someone else's. I usually go with the old standby Betty Crocker recipe, because there's a pretty good chance that's what my mom was using. Only my mom always used Canadian bacon instead of regular bacon, so that's what I do, too. It tastes a little more like dinner food that way.

Chocolate Chip Zucchini Bread

When we lived on the west side of Houston we used to go to this German restaurant called Rudi Lechner's. It wasn't the best German food ever, but it was in the neighborhood and had a warmly retro atmosphere that we enjoyed (and not intentionally retro, but retro in a your-grandparents-actually-used-to eat-here kind of way). Plus, the kid liked it, which is not to be taken for granted. Her favorite things were the spaetzle and the warm zucchini bread they brought out before the meal. Unfortunately, after a very bad customer service experience one night when we'd gone there to celebrate hubby's birthday, we swore never to darken their door again. And we haven't.

As it turns out you can buy spaetzle at H-E-B that, while not quite as good as Rudi's, is more than good enough to satisfy the kid. But she's been on me to make zucchini bread and finally, after several years, I have gotten around to it. I don't know why I never did it before. I make loads of pumpkin bread every fall and banana bread several times a year, and zucchini bread is basically the same thing. Well today I had a couple of zucchinis (zucchini? zucchinae?) in the fridge starting to go soft and it occurred to me that I should make bread. Duh!

Of course, I knew that just any old recipe wouldn't do, or else I'd have to listen to the kid tell me how mine wasn't as good as Rudi's. I needed a ringer. And what better way to guarantee a win than chocolate? So chocolate zucchini bread it was. The recipe I finally settled on was Paula Deen's.

I didn't have any oranges on hand for the zest, so I left it out and I'll tell you that I didn't even miss it. Then again, I'm generally opposed to extraneous citrus in my recipes--unless there's an honest to god Alton Brown-y, chemistry-related reason for it to be there, just don't do it. I have eaten far too many cheesecakes, buttermilk pies and blintzes ruined by unnecessary lemon flavor. If I'd wanted a lemon-flavored dessert, I'd have ordered one with lemon in the name!

But I digress.

The verdict on Paula's chocolate zucchini bread is A+. It was sweet, but not too sweet, the zucchini was detectable, but not overpowering, and most importantly, the kid loved it. She declared mine even better that Rudi's because "it's got CHOCOLATE!" Proof that everything is improved by chocolate, even vegetables.

TIP: If you don't want your chocolate chips all falling to the bottom, dust them with a light sprinkling of flour before adding them to the batter. Works like a charm!

Savory Meatloaf

The other day I had a craving for meatloaf. Good, old fashioned meatloaf with gobs of sweet, ketchup-y glaze on top and a heaping side of mashed potatoes. Yum!

My recipe uses oatmeal instead of the traditional breadcrumbs, for added fiber and fewer net carbs. I used lean ground sirloin, although you could also use ground chuck or some combination of ground beef, pork and/or veal if you want to get creative. The secret to this dish is the herbes de Provence, which gives it a subtle, distinctive flavor.

Savory Meatloaf

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 cup diced white onion
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
3/4 cup quick-cooking oatmeal
3/4 cup milk
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon herbes de Provence
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/3 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon dark brown sugar
1 tablespoon honey mustard

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Saute onion in olive oil over medium-low heat for 5 minutes, or until translucent. Remove from heat. In a large bowl combine onions, beef, oatmeal, milk, egg, herbes de Provence, salt and pepper and knead with your hands until combined. Pack into a greased 9" x 5" loaf pan.


In a small bowl combine ketchup, sugar and mustard; spread evenly over meatloaf. Bake for 1 hour to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Cauliflower and Cheddar Gratin

The munchkin isn't a big fan of veggies, but she does like cauliflower, so I'm always looking for new and exciting ways to prepare it. Last night I decided to go the cheese route, basically amending a baked mac & cheese recipe by substituting the cauliflower in place of the macaroni.

Cauliflower and Cheddar Gratin

1 large head of cauliflower, cut into smallish florets
3 tablespoons butter, divided
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 cups lowfat milk
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/4 teaspoon paprika
1 cup grated sharp cheddar cheese
2 tablespoons Italian-style bread crumbs

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Cook the cauliflower florets in a large pot of salted boiling water for 5 to 6 minutes, until slightly tender. Drain and place in a 8" x 11" baking dish.


Melt 2 tablespoons of the butter in a medium saucepan over low heat. Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly for 2 minutes.


Add the milk (I like to heat it a bit in the microwave first for easier mixing) slowly, whisking to combine. Bring to a boil and continue stirring for 2 minutes, or until thickened.


Remove from heat and add the pepper, paprika, cheese and 1 teaspoon of salt. Stir until the cheese is melted and smooth. Pour the cheese sauce over the cauliflower.

In a small saucepan, melt 1 tablespoon of butter and combine with bread crumbs. Sprinkle on top of cauliflower.


Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until top is browned. Watch you kid eat her vegetables and feel good about it.

New Year's Eve Dinner

We had a quiet New Year's Eve at home this year with just the three of us, but I decided that was no reason not to make a special dinner anyway. Here's what was on the menu:

Butternut Squash Soup
Cranberry-Crusted Rack of Lamb
Blue Cheese Yorkshire Pudding
Green Bean, Walnut and Feta Salad
Pecan Cheesecake Pie
Rossini Bellinis

First the soup, which is a Jamie Oliver recipe (although he insists on calling it pumpkin soup despite the total lack of actual, you know, pumpkin in the soup). I've made it once before--at a Christmas dinner several years ago--and remembered it as one of the best soups I've ever had. That's right, not one of the best soups I've ever made, but one of the best soups I've ever tasted, period.

It's still just as good as I remember, even without the chestnuts, which have been stubbornly unavailable at any stores in my area this year. The key to this soup is the combination of the pancetta and the fresh sage, which mingle to sublime effect. Next time I think I'll puree more than half of the soup in the blender, however, because I like it a bit smoother than Jamie obviously does.

This was my first time attempting a Frenched rack of lamb, although I make lamb chops frequently and have even dabbled in a leg or two over the years. This recipe comes courtesy of Cooking Light and turned out exceptionally well. The breadcrumb mixture seemed in need of some more moisture, so I improvised by adding a few dashes of tawny port. I also used fresh rosemary instead of dried, because who wants dried rosemary? My only gripe is that the breading got a little over brown, so next time I might do well to tent it in foil towards the end of cooking or perhaps place the whole thing on a lower oven rack.

I've never attempted a Yorkshire pudding before and I have to admit that I was more than a little skeptical about this recipe. The batter seemed watery, I was almost certain they would be bland and flavorless, and frankly the whole idea of heating oil-filled muffin tins in the oven sounded like a disaster waiting to happen. But despite my reservations the puddings turned out great. Light, fluffy, perfectly brown and subtly flavored by the blue cheese. Since I'm more worried about carbs than fat because of the hubby's diabetes, I cheated and used two whole eggs rather than an egg and a egg white. The biggest problem is that the scorched oil discolored my muffin pan even more than it was already discolored. The moral of this story? Never, ever, buy non-stick baking pans. I've already added a couple of commercial-quality, aluminized steel pans to my Amazon wish list. You know, the kind that won't rust and can be scrubbed with steel wool if need be.

The green bean salad may become one of my new go-to recipes. It was easy, tasty, and--shockingly--even got a thumbs up from the munchkin, who generally won't touch veggies with a ten-foot pole (amazing what a little feta cheese can do). I bought a pound of the haricots verts from HEB that I like so much and sliced them in half for easier eating. The best thing about this dish is that it can--and in fact should--be made in advance and held in the fridge until you're ready to serve it. I can also attest that it tastes exactly as good the next day.

The pie was, sadly, not an unqualified success. I really only made it because I've been dying to use my new green Emile Henry pie plate (just like the ones Ned has at the Pie Hole!) since before Christmas. Unfortunately, I underestimated the cooking time and it didn't quite set thoroughly. It also browned a bit too much around the edges (use a pie shield, dummy). Despite its imperfections, however, the taste was, I have to say, wonderful. I've always found pecan pie to be just a tad too sweet for my taste. But pecan pie and cream cheese? Heaven. I'll have to give this one another shot and see if I can improve on it. And the pie pan? Gorgeous.



As for the drinks, well, we had a bottle of champagne left over from my birthday, and since neither the hubby nor I actually like champagne, I thought a mixer of some kind was called for. These strawberry bellinis sounded nice, but they were, in fact, only okay. Worse, the strawberry/sugar mixture ended up sticking to everything like bumpy pink superglue. Totally not worth it. Next New Year's I'm just going to buy us a bottle of really nice wine. Possibly a Two Hands shiraz.

Belated Christmas Cookies

Every year the munchkin and I make and decorate sugar cookies for Santa. Only this year, the woman who runs our favorite Lebanese restaurant sent the hubby home with a bunch of homemade cookies. So I talked the munchkin into leaving those out for Santa and putting off our decorating until Boxing Day, when mommy would be less busy and cranky.

I've been on the hunt for a decent sugar cookie recipe for years. One that doesn't taste like paste, as most of them seem to do. I tried Alton Brown's last year, and despite his claims of awesomeness, was not impressed. This year, I gave Paula Deen's recipe a shot, and folks, I think we finally have a winner.



The down side is that these cookies can spread a bit in the oven (as evidenced by Fatty the Cookie Man on the top right up there). But not too badly, and I say it's fair trade-off for edible cookies--these babies are buttery and sweet and aided enormously by the hint of almond extract.

After the cookies were out of the oven I whipped up a batch of not-royal cookie icing in various colors, dug out some of the munchkin's old paintbrushes and a collection of colored sugars, and let her go to town. Too bad Santa missed out on these.

Christmas Dinner

We had eight people for dinner this year: the three of us, my father, uncle, mother-in-law and the hubby's aunt and uncle. Here's what I made (or, in the case of the ham, procured):

Swedish Glögg*
Spinach and Artichoke Dip
Logan Farms Honey Glazed Ham
Asiago, Potato and Bacon Gratin
Bourbon Carrots
Brussels Sprouts with Pecans
New Orleans Style Bread Pudding with Whiskey Sauce

The spinach and artichoke dip was a smashing success. The recipe made so much I thought we'd have tons leftover, but it was pretty well gone within an hour. I substituted frozen artichoke hearts for canned because that's what I had on hand, and served it with festive red and green tortilla chips. I wish I'd taken some pictures, because it looked great. I love that this dip isn't over-spinachy, the fatal flaw of a lot of spinach dips.

The ham was the traditional honey-glazed model from Logan Farms, which beats The HoneyBaked Ham Company hands down, if you ask me. How much do I love not having to mess with a main course at the holidays? Lots and lots.

I've had limited success with my potato gratins in years past, but I think this year was the one I finally got it right. One of problems has been the potatoes browning, so this time I kept them in a solution of water and cream of tartar while I was peeling and slicing them to prevent browning. Also, this recipe calls for boiling the sliced potatoes briefly before compiling the gratin. What this means is you can make the whole shebang ahead of time and then keep it in the fridge until you're ready to bake. Tres convenient.

I really wanted to do these glazed carrots with candied chestnuts, but alas there were no chestnuts to be found at any of the stores near me. I even looked at Williams-Sonoma, which I know has had (very expensive) jarred chestnuts in the past, but no dice. So instead a settled for rather boring glazed carrots which were just fine.

This was only the second time I've ever made Brussels sprouts. Also only the second time I've ever eaten them. I'm trying to get over a lifelong bias against them, because I've heard they can actually be delicious when prepared right. The first ones I made were eh, but these were significantly better. I still wouldn't say they're my favorite veggie ever, but weren't bad. However, slicing the sprouts ended up being a bit time-consuming (for the hubby, who was recruited to help). I wonder if they'd be as good if you just halved them instead?

The bread pudding is favorite of mine. I'm not always a big fan of Emeril, but the man knows how to make a bread pudding. Of course, being a card-carrying member of the I Hate Raisins Club, I omit the detestable little bastards from my version. I always forget how much this makes, though. A 13"x9" pan full of bread pudding is A LOT of bread pudding. Next time I should probably cut the recipe in half and make only a quarter of the whiskey sauce called for because you just don't need that much. I could probably cut way back on the amount of bourbon in the sauce, too, because hoo boy, is that stuff strong.

* This recipe, given to me by a Swedish friend, is as follows:

Swedish Glögg

Glögg is the traditional drink in Sweden and Finland during the six weeks leading up to December 25–a cold, dark time of year in Scandinavia. It's similar to a variety of historical mulled wines, such as wassail and gluwein.

1 bottle of red wine
1/4 - 1/2 cup vodka (not spicy or flavored)
10 whole cloves
1 tsp cardamom seeds
4 cinnamon sticks
2 Tbsp fresh ginger, peeled and chopped
peels from half a lemon
1/2 - 1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Crush cinnamon and cardamom in a mortar. Peel lemon (make sure no white inner membranes are included, as this will turn your glögg bitter). Put all spices and peel in a glass or plastic jar with a lid, pour over the vodka and cover. Let stand overnight. Strain the vodka and discard the spices. Mix the spiced vodka with the wine and sugar in a large pot or kettle and heat until steaming–DO NOT BOIL. Stir and taste. If not sweet enough, add more sugar. If it’s too sweet, add more wine and/or plain vodka to taste.

When serving glögg, drop a few slivered almonds and raisins into the bottom of the cup (or, if you're me, pass on the raisins) and enjoy with traditional Swedish ginger snaps.