BlogHer Food '09

I had a lovely Saturday. I attended the first annual BlogHer Food conference, and it was fantastic.

I was actually a bit hesitant to attend, since I don't really consider myself a foodie, and although this is technically a food blog, and even though I've written about food for over a year and have a cookbook coming out (in a few weeks! squee!) I don't actually know that much about food.

And I will never, ever have a zen moment while cutting an onion.

shhh. don't tell anyone.

So I was a bit worried to go. I was worried that it might feel a bit snotty.

I was SO WAY WRONG.

I didn't bring my camera (Adam had it on the soccer field for the girls' game), so I don't have pictures of the lovely ladies I met, but I'd like to link to some extraordinary women (and Sean. Hi, Sean!) who you might or might not already know.

These are all real people who know about food. I had a real conversation with all of them, and guess what? No one was snotty. Yay!

And they all twitter. I've been super hesitant to jump on the twitter bandwagon because I'm terrified of time-suck. But I signed up, so I can keep in touch better with my peeps. I haven't actually tweeted anything yet, though, because I haven't figured it out. I think this is who I am: http://twitter.com/stephanieodea
well. I know WHO I am, but that doesn't mean I know what to do with this here account. I plan to put the kids to bed early and figure it out.

(psst, there is no order to these blogs. just how they happened to pop into my head just now.)

Shirley Braden, Gluten Free Easily
Diane Eblin, The W.H.O.L.E. (whole healthy organic living everyday) Gang
Alison St. Sure, Sure Foods Living
Elana Amsterdam, Elana's Pantry
Michelle Stern, What's Cooking Blog
Karen, Sassy Monkey
Kristen Doyle, Dine and Dish
Michelle Lentz, My Wine Education (wine-girl.net)
Book of Yum
Anne-Marie Nichols, This Mama Cooks
Shauna James Ahern, Gluten Free Girl
Kalyn Denny, Kalyn's Kitchen
Sean Timberlake, Hedonia
Stefania Pomponi Butler, City Mama
Lydia Walshin, The Perfect Pantry and Drop In and Decorate
Alana Kellogg, Kitchen Parade and A Veggie Venture
Jaden Hair, Steamy Kitchen
Ree Drummond, The Pioneer Woman Cooks
Elise Bauer, Simply Recipes

I enjoyed this conference so very much, and if I had a choice between attending the full BlogHer conference or BlogHer Food, I'd choose the smaller focus of the Food. While I always have a complete ball at the full conference, I really liked the smaller feel at Saturday's event.

I get overwhelmed easily.

There has been a bit of buzz throughout the blogosphere about lunch. Lunch was sponsored by Bertolli, and the wine served was from one of my favorite wineries: St. Supery. I was invited to an event Friday night at St. Supery winery, and although I originally RSVPd yes, I chickened out due to 1) being pregnant and 2) not wanting to stay out late (probably had lots to do with number 1!)
Adam and I served St. Supery's Sauvignon Blanc at our wedding, and I routinely give St. Supery as a gift. It's a great wine, a great price, and it's local.

As for the food, I didn't have it, because I ate the gluten free option, which was a fabulous risotto.
Which you can make in the slow cooker!

Traditional Risotto
Corn Risotto
Breakfast Risotto

Thank you to Lisa, Elisa, and Jory for this wonderful event. I'm looking forward to next year!

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Slow Cooker Beef Bourguignon Recipe

This is an easy copy-cat (or sort of copy-cat) of Julia Child's famous Beef Bourguignon. I cut the butter completely, and simplified the spices, but the flavor is all there.

And, I have STILL not seen the Julie and Julia movie. I was all set to go with a group of friends, but then got another wave of all-day-I don't-know-why-they-call-it-morning-sickness and found myself glued to the couch on our planned night out. And then school started, and soccer started, and PTA started, and life got a bit complicated.

I will see it, though. I promise.

The Ingredients.
serves 6

3 pounds beef roast, or beef stew meat (I used a chuck roast I had in the freezer)
6 slices bacon--no need to cook (I used turkey)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, sliced in rings
1 cup carrots (chopped or baby, your choice)
4 garlic cloves, smashed and chopped
1 tablespoon herbs de provence (here's a recipe to make your own)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 tablespoon tomato paste (not pictured, oops!)
2 cups red wine (you can use non-alcoholic if you wish)

The Directions.

Use a 6 quart slow cooker. In the bottom of your stoneware, smear around the olive oil. Then lay down 3 slices of bacon. Add sliced onion and garlic. Put the meat into the pot on top of the onion and garlic, and sprinkle on dried spices and herbs. Toss the meat to distribute the spices to all sides. Add tomato paste. Lay the other 3 slices of bacon on top of the meat, and throw in the carrots. Pour wine over the whole thing.

Cover and let cook on low for 8-9 hours, high for 4-5, or until meat has reached desired tenderness. If you are using a roast, you may want to flip the meat about an hour before serving so more liquid is absorbed into the meat. You can also cut the meat into chunks and return to the pot, if you would like more moisture to absorb.

Serve with whipped mashed potatoes, and a ladle full of crock juices.

mmm.

The Verdict.

We all really liked this a lot. The kids weren't crazy about the carrots, because they took on the wine flavor and were a bit tart, but Adam and I loved them like that. The meat had lots of flavor, and I was quite pleased with the amount of juice left in the slow cooker---it made an excellent gravy. I didn't try to thicken it up on the stove top with cornstarch or flour, but if you enjoy making gravy, I'd imagine it would be wonderful.

This is a company-worthy meal.

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Slow Cooker Orange Chicken Recipe

I was talking to my grandma the other day, and she mentioned that my brother had brought her and grandpa orange chicken from Panda Express.

and that was it. I needed some.

I've made lemon chicken a few times in the slow cooker, and was impressed with the results. I tested out the same recipe with orange juice instead of lemonade, and guess what? Instant orange sauce, without ingesting tons of deep-fried grease or a drop of gluten. Yay!

The Ingredients.

1 1/2 pounds boneless chicken, cut in 2-inch chunks
1/2 cup flour (I used Pamela's Baking Mix)
olive oil, for browning the chicken
1 tablespoon kosher salt
6 ounces (1/2 can) frozen orange juice concentrate, thawed (I'd opt for little-to-no pulp. The pulp can taste a bit bitter when cooked)
3 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
3 tablespoons ketchup

updated 9/20/09: I've heard from a few readers that 1 tablespoon of salt is too much. If you are using iodized or table salt, this will be the case. Kosher salt doesn't taste as "salty" as regular salt, and since the granules are larger, you don't get as much in the tablespoon as you would with regular salt. Adjust accordingly. xoxo steph

The Directions.

Use a 4 quart slow cooker for best results. Dredge the chicken pieces with the flour, and shake off the excess. Go ahead and throw away any remaining flour, we won't need it. Heat olive oil in a large skillet on the stove and brown the chicken on all sides. There is no need to fully cook it, just sear it enough for the flour to stick and get a nice coating.

Plop the chicken pieces into your slow cooker. In a small mixing bowl, combine the orange juice concentrate, brown sugar, balsamic vinegar, salt, and ketchup. Taste. If you'd like the chicken to be a bit sweeter, add a touch more sugar. Pour sauce mixture evenly over the chicken, and toss gingerly to coat.

Cover and cook on low for 6 hours, or on high for 3 to 4. Serve over white or brown rice.

The Verdict.

Delicious. All four of us had seconds. Like I did with the lemon chicken, I sprinkled some red pepper flakes onto my portion, because I like a bit of heat. Everyone else at the table ate it as-is, and was quite happy.

other great take out fake out dishes:
Mongolian Beef
Broccoli Beef
Chow Mein
Fried Rice
and for dessert: super soft gluten free sugar cookies

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Adapting Slow-Cooker Meals for Your Family

We are officially Back to School---it started Monday. I've mentioned before that I am a meal planner, and the fall brings out a plethora of good intentions to eat wholesome family meals together each night, and share highlights of the day.

This year was no different. I had my menu planned out, and a shopping list ready to go.

But. This year I'm pregnant (baby girl #3!), and I have a new kindergartner. Which means that instead of going to the store while both girls were in school, I disinfected the blinds (that's totally normal... right?) and instead of going right after kindergarten let out, we both fell asleep on the couch during Arthur.

I may have even drooled a bit.

And all of a sudden it was time to get my third grader who had "so much homework, mom," and the store couldn't happen. So I made do. This is a variation of the Autumn Sausage Casserole that I made last year, but made with ingredients I had in the house. Other than the spices, the ingredients were all different.

But it still worked. Hopefully, this will provide 1) inspiration to re-purpose leftovers, and 2) encouragement to fool around with recipes/ingredients to suit your own family. If you don't like something listed in a particular recipe or don't have the ingredient in the house, tweak it! Cooking should be fun. When it isn't, that's when the pizza guy stops by, resulting in a tummy full of grease and a $30 bill.

The Ingredients.
adapted from Slow Cooker Autumn Sausage Casserole
serves 6


1 pound cooked meat. I used leftover teriyaki chicken and steak from the weekend barbecue, and about 15 meatballs (Coleman Natural, they're gluten free!)
3 cups already-cooked and somewhat crunchy brown rice (from 4 days ago)
1 small yellow onion, diced
1 box Hannah Montana cinnamon apples and raisins
1/2 apple, chopped, leftover from breakfast
2 ears of corn, kernels removed
1 cup frozen peas
1 handful wilted baby spinach
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon all spice
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon (decreased from 1/2 tsp because of the seasoned apples and raisins)
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 cup chicken broth

The Directions.

Use at least a 4 quart slow cooker. I used a 5.5 quart. Because there isn't much liquid in this dish, it's best to cook on low (unless you're using sausage. The sausage provides the right amount of oil and moisture, and cooking on high would work just fine if need-be). The only thing that needs to soften and cook is the raw onion. If you don't have at least 5 hours, pan fry the onion in some olive oil until it is soft and translucent.

Otherwise, toss everything into the slow cooker, and stir well to distribute the spices. Cook on low for 3-6 hours. If you're home to do so, stir an hour before serving.

The Verdict.

Last year we declared around the dinner table that this was just like eating a bowl full of fall. I'd agree. This has a wonderful homey flavor, and is kind of addicting. Adam and I kept sneaking spoonfuls out of the crock while we were doing the dishes. 3 out of the 4 of us had seconds. The other one had very little, declared she wasn't hungry, then asked for a peanut butter and honey sandwich 30 minutes later.

I think my head may have exploded. I'm not sure.

Happy September!
edited 9/7: Rachael used her slow cooker every day for a month, and logged her fantastic results!

other dishes you may like:
Maple Dijon Chicken
Azorean Spiced Beef Stew
Ropa Vieja
Sausage and Vegetable Medley
Meal Planning with the Slow Cooker

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