Valentine's Dinner for Three

This was our first Valentine's Day together since we've been married. Kind of missed the last one. oops. Finally got it checked off the list. It was quite a day. I woke up late...as usual, and when I got out of the shower, my cute little pregnant wife had made me a scrumptiously simple, quick breakfast... because she's got a crush on me. I don't know what you call this meal where you're from, but around here, we call them camel's eyes. Well, I call them camel's eyes. Kristen thinks that's gross, so she calls them "eggs in toast." She made them extra special by using a heart-shaped cookie cutter to cut out the center of the bread. She buttered a pan on medium-ish heat, put in the bread, then cracked an egg into it. Salt and pepper and she's got a happy husband(that's me). She even put it on the red plate we got as a wedding gift. That's how I know she really thinks I'm special.

Then, she whisked me away to school. blah, blah, blah, classes and stuff. My brother, Thomas(hi Thomas) was in town and he picked me up after class, Kristen was still at work. So we stroll over to the store. "What should I do for Valentine's?" I ask. "I dunno," he replies. Okay, that's not what he said. I had planned on making dinner for Kristen, but I had no idea what to make, so Thomas recommends pork chops with cream sauce, portabella mushrooms, red potatoes, and some baked cinnamon apples to finish it off. With a look of bewilderment I said, "...I don't know. I don't even know how to make any of that stuff." So after loafing around the grocery store for a good while, I came up with a pretty good idea, I thought: pork chops with cream sauce, portabella mushrooms, red potatoes, and some baked cinnamon apples to finish it off...oh, AND salad. Mostly the last part was my idea. ...and I think I got her a rose and chocolate or something girly like that. She liked it. Whatever. Anyway, we thought it was about time we got back to our respective families. So we did.

I hid everything in the refrigerator and told her not to peek, or Santa Valentine wasn't going to leave us any presents. That was a lie, of course, but it worked. Then, before we could get to making dinner, we had to go to some doctor appointment. Oh yeah, we're having a girl.
...Okay, who am I kidding, I'm going freaking crazy with excitement.
Here's a couple pictures of our sweet little thing.


This is relevant to this blog because this girl likes to eat. Well, she likes to eat good food... and oranges, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Well, she liked dinner, too, and that's where we're going with this, but isn't she cute? You can take a minute to get all googly-eyed.








Alright, now to the good stuff. Just kidding, I love her. ...but really, here's what we did for dinner. After being captivated by those ultrasound pictures for a while, we scanned them into the computer, posted them onto some social network, then I went to Google and typed in "pork chops and cream sauce recipes." I did the same for each meal item, then we got to work. Kristen helped me. Mostly because I get lonely in the kitchen alone...and I can't cook as well as her...and I wouldn't know where to find anything without her.

So you melt some butter and a little olive oil into a pan, then put the pork chops in on medium heat, browning both sides. You set those aside and keep them warm. I put some chicken stock into the pan with whatever was left after the pork chops. That sat for just a little bit on the heat while I mixed a little flour into some cream, then I added that to the pan and mixed it together with a whisk. Have you ever used those silicon coated whisks? I have. They're amazing. That's not what I used here, so I live in constant fear that I'll scratch the bottom of the pan. I have to eat to help me forget, but I have to cook to eat. It's such a vicious cycle. ...add some salt and pepper to the sauce and simmer for about 5 minutes. Then put the pork chops in and drown them in deliciousness.

The real trick is getting everything done at once, so you'll need to plan ahead of time. I think it all works out most the time anyway, so don't plan too much, just enough to convince your wife that you have a plan, then see if she wants to run to the store for something or make the potatoes while you work on the other stuff.

Kristen made the potatoes. They were delicious, and this is how it's done. Mix the small red potatoes in a bowl with olive oil and salt and pepper. Thoroughly slather the potatoes, covering them pretty well. Make sure you have pre-heated your oven to about 375 degrees. Place the potatoes on a baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes, or so. They're done when the biggest one is soft. You can name that one, so you both feel less awkward about your having to poke him. "While potatoes are cooking use a mixer to whip the butter, shredded Parmesan, chopped garlic, chopped basil and salt and pepper." That's what the recipe says. I'll post the link at the bottom. This is when you put it all together in the bowl and smash it. That's right, smash it. Don't completely obliterate it, just kind of chunk it up pretty good.

I don't like mushrooms. I just don't. I don't know why and I wish I could like them, I just don't. For those of you that do like mushrooms, gross. Just kidding, that's fine. In fact, my wife happens to love mushrooms, too. So I figured I could go ahead and make them because it was Valentine's Day, and I've got a big crush on her. These were simple enough, I guess. I'm not sure how to properly slice mushrooms, so I just sliced them. It worked. Then I chopped up a quarter of an onion. Put some olive oil and a little garlic(or garlic flavored olive oil) into a pan on medium heat. When you put in the mushrooms and onion, reduce the heat to somewhere close to low. That's what they say, at least. I think you should just wing it. "Blacken" the mushrooms. I don't think that's the same kind of blacken they do to chicken and stuff, I think it's just cook them until they turn dark. Who knows? No really, who knows? Maybe you can clear this up for all of us. Okay...when they're done, take it off the heat, sprinkle on a little oil...if you want...then salt and pepper, and some Parmesan and Asiago cheeses.

I used the red plate. That's how she knows I really think she's special. I wish there were other ways, but this is all I can think of.

I know, I know, this is dragging on forever. You know how to make a simple salad, I hope, so I'll leave that to you all. We used some spinach and it was good. So this leaves us with just the baked apples. You cut out the core, but not clear through, leaving a well in the middle. You put in butter and brown sugar and sprinkle it with cinnamon and bake it. Some people say they put some water or apple juice in the bottom of the baking pan and maybe some vanilla, which I'm totally okay with. Do what you want. Even if you don't get these all the way tender, they'll still taste good, but try to make them nice and tender and yummy.

Well, I dragged you all through that, so I hope you like it. I think we recommend the food. It was pretty easy. I was scared out of my mind, but I had my cute wife to make sure I didn't mess it up.

Here are the recipes:

Pork chops with cream sauce:
Slight variation of recipe found here: www.bellalimento.com/2011/02/08/braciole-alla-panna-pork-chops-in-cream-sauce/

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter (I don't care if you use salted butter)
• 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
• 4 boneless pork chops
• salt/pepper
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 cup heavy whipping cream
• 1 teaspoon all purpose flour

1. Into a saute pan add butter and oil and heat over medium heat until butter has melted. Add pork chops. Season with salt and pepper. Cook until browned on both sides. Turning as necessary. Transfer pork chops to a plate and keep warm.

2. Into your hot pan add chicken stock. Cook for just a little bit. Place flour into cream and mix together. Add cream mixture to pan and whisk together. Season with salt and pepper. Allow to simmer for approximately 5 minutes.

3. Continue cooking on LOW for approximately 5 minutes or until sauce has thickened. Then, return pork chops to pan. Turning to coat.

Portabella Mushrooms
A little bit different than this: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/easy-portobello-mushroom-saute/

• 3 tablespoons olive oil, divided (whatever that means)
  
• 1 1/2 tablespoons garlic flavored olive oil (I just added a little more olive oil and a little minced garlic)
  
• 1/4 onion, cut into chunks
• 2 portobello mushroom caps, sliced
• salt and black pepper to taste
• freshly grated Parmesan
• freshly grated Asiago cheese

1. Warm 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil and 1 1/2 tablespoons garlic flavored olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Stir in onions and mushrooms; reduce heat to low, and cook until the mushrooms are soft and blackened and the onions are black around the edges. (Add additional olive oil as needed.) Turn the heat off, drizzle with 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle generously with Parmesan and Asiago cheeses.

Red Potatoes
http://www.iloveinns.com/recipes/smashed-red-potatoes-with-parmesan-basil-butter_118.htm

• 12 small red potatoes
• 3 tbsp olive oil
• Salt & pepper to taste
• 4 oz. unsalted butter
• 3 tbsp grated Parmesan
• 1 tbsp chopped garlic
• 1/4 cup chopped basil (fresh) (We didn't really use fresh basil, just some of the dry stuff. Worked just fine)
• Salt & pepper to taste
  

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a mixing bowl, add red potatoes, olive oil and salt and pepper. Toss to cover potatoes. Then place on a baking sheet. Cook potatoes until largest potatoes are soft to the touch, approximately 25-30 minutes. While potatoes are cooking use a mixer to whip the butter, shredded Parmesan, chopped garlic, chopped basil and salt and pepper. Add the roasted potatoes to bowl and with a large spoon, smash potatoes to a rough mash.

Baked Apples
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/baked-apples/

• 4 tart green apples (Or whatever apples you want to use)
  
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 4 tablespoons butter
• 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Scoop out the core from top of the apple, leaving a well. Do not cut all the way through. Stuff each apple with 2 tablespoons brown sugar and 1 tablespoon butter. Place in a shallow baking dish and sprinkle with cinnamon.
3. Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes(or so), until sugar begins to caramelize and apples are tender.

Well, that's it. Oh, and salad. Do what you want with it. We put in some yellow and orange bell peppers and they were delicious. Alright, I'm signing off. Thanks for tuning in.

The Story of Tin&Pan

So we've had a few inquiries regarding our name, Tin & Pan. "What does it mean?" "Who made it up?" or simply, "I don't get it."

It's quite simple, really. I'm Tin and he's Pan. Why? We don't know. Nathaniel is just a really long name. Don't get me wrong, I love it...but it's not really suited for moments when I really need his attention. For instance, if we're driving down the road and a child runs out in the street, taking the time to say a three-syllable name could be a matter of life and death. And we're quite partial to children and don't prefer to run them over, so we needed a nickname. I tried Thaniel for awhile, but that was too much like Daniel and was confusing people. Then we tried Than, and I liked it. You can put almost anything on the end of it and it makes you laugh. Thanster, Than-a-roni and cheese, Thanbottom, Thanny-boo. It worked for me. One day, Pan came out instead of Than, and we laughed harder and liked it better. It's moments like those when I'm sure he thinks, "I'm so glad I found you, cause I would feel so bad for anyone else who was stuck with you." So, long story short, Pan stuck. (Variations include, but are not limited to: Panzer, Panner, Panel, Panzel, or my favorite, Pansel in distress).

Now...Tin is pretty easy to wrap your mind around. My name is Kristen. And though I am not a Tin, but rather a Ten, who really pronounces Kristen as Kris-Ten. No one. Therefore, Tin is a suitably silly nickname I have lovingly acquired by many a roommate, sibling, and friend.
Alas, Tin & Pan came to be the name of our blog. I think it's fitting, too, that we write about food because we like to use pans when we cook and aluminum foil is shiny like things made out of tin...so, I mean, it works. Tin & Pan, two peas in a pod, two kooks in the kitchen(haha get it??).

Well, I hope that clears up any confusion and doesn't make it worse. Try one of our favorite after-school snacks to clear your mind!

Yummy Apple-Cinnamon, Cheesy Bagel Melt (sound gross? Trust us, it will change your world)

1 bagel (we use plain, but I bet cinnamon-raisin would be yummy, too)
1/2 an apple, cored
1 slice of cheddar cheese
a few dashes of cinnamon

Cut your bagel in half. Slice your apple into thin strips that they can lay nicely on top of your bagel. Distribute apple slices evenly on top of bagel halves. Sprinkle cinnamon on top of the apples. Lay slices of cheese on top and place under the broiler for about 60 seconds or until cheese is melted and bubbly. Enjoy with a glass of Cran-Rasp juice!

I hope there's bacon in Heaven.

... I guess it wouldn't really be Heaven without it. I think that if we're extra good, we can have not only bacon, but something made with bacon, onion, and garlic.
Our house smelled like heaven the other day when Kristen made some Black Bean Soup, and when I ate it, it was like each bite was full of a thousand little angels that hugged my taste buds.

Kristen let me help a little bit, but she's the pro, so I just did what she said. I stirred, and...sampled, and ...sampled some more(She said to stir. I did the other part all on my own). I can't help it. That's a point I'd like to make. Anytime you're making something, especially with bacon, make sure you measure a little extra for yourself and the person helping. They'll love you for it. I sure love my wife for it.
So after you cook the bacon a little, until everything starts getting greasy and delicious, then you throw in the onion until that gets greasy and delicious, too, or until they start getting "translucent". Then you throw in the garlic. Yum.

Let it all sit for about a minute, then pour in the chicken broth.
-Let me tell you something, chicken broth is some good stuff, clinically proven to be good for you. Recommended by Dr. Mom, probably. Anyway, I wondered if the beautiful bacon, onion, garlic blend could get better. It can, and this isn't even where it stops. After you add the broth, you put in the other stuff; tomatoes, ketchup(which probably isn't necessary, but doesn't ruin it, so whatever), Worcestershire sauce(war-chester-sure, wor-shire, worse-tur-shiyr?? Who knows?), and chili powder. Then you stir in the black beans and bring it to a boil, well, you turn up the heat and let the stove bring it to a boil, but it's all the same. Let it simmer for about ten minutes, then let it simmer some more. This is when you almost can't stand it anymore, if it wouldn't mess up your face, you'd stick it right in the pot.
I'll confess, we've never used the cilantro. I don't know why, we both love it. I recommend it, and we'll try it next time. You put in the cilantro after it's been simmering a while, just taunting you. When the soup has thickened, you put in the lime juice, and woohoo!! It's time to eat!


...but wait, there's more! If you want. You can go right ahead and eat it like that and I won't blame you. I'll even support your decision, but if you want to serve it in a bread bowl, I'll not only support you, but I'll encourage it. This soup is good with rolls anyway, so even if you don't make bowls out of it, you can make some delicious rolls.

This is where I really got to help. While Kristen was making her masterpiece, I was mixing bread ingredients, constantly asking her if I had enough of this, or if I did that right. Well, it kind of turned out, so I'm happy. So this is what I did:

There I was, standing in the kitchen, and I grabbed a bowl. It was a medium sized bowl, made of glass. I said, "Kristen, will this work?" She turned toward me, and with a voice of certainty said, "Sure." She always has the answers. I measured out 2 1/2 cups of WARM(not hot, not cold, and certainly not lukewarm) water. Believe me, warm is the way to go. You put the yeast in, then the sugar. It gets kind of gooey pretty quick, and that's when you put in the salt and oil and mix it just a little. If you've never done this, I recommend you stop here for a second and scoop up some of the mixture. The oil is separated from the rest of the gooeyness and looks pretty cool. Do what you want, but someday, someone may ask if you've done that, and if you haven't, you have two choices: tell the truth, and be laughed at and ridiculed, or lie, and go to you-know-where, and never get bacon or black bean soup again.
Mix in the flour and knead for ten minutes, then let it rise until it doubles in size. Then, you can let out all your frustration and punch it down. Yeah!

You can turn it into rolls, bread, bread bowls, braids, a Mickey Mouse head, the Death Star(either partially constructed or in the middle of being blown up. You choose), or anything else.
If you make it into bread bowls, you cut of the top and dig out the insides after it's done. I like to run my thumb or fingers around the inside and kind of pack it down. I think it might help hold the soup better, but I haven't proven it yet.
It's just 100% deliciousness. We hope you enjoy it.

Special thanks to the Holloman family for originally sharing this soup with Kristen, you made my life better.
-N


Black Bean Soup

Serves: 8-10
Cook time: 35 min.

INGREDIENTS
-10 slices bacon, finely chopped
-2 medium onions, chopped (about 2 1/2 cups)
-6 garlic cloves or 3 tsp. minced garlic
-1 (14.5 oz) can chicken broth
-1 1/2 cups canned chopped tomatoes
-2 Tablespoons ketchup
-2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
-1 Tablespoon chili powder
-4 (15.5 oz) cans black beans, drained but not rinsed
-salt and pepper to taste
-1 bunch cilantro (I've never used this in the soup, but I bet it'd be good :))
-juice of 1/2 a lime
-Scallions, sour cream, and shredded cheese for garnish if desired

DIRECTIONS
Put the bacon into a large heavy pot and place it over medium heat. Cook until it starts to give up its fat, about 4 minutes. Stir in the onions and cook, stirring, until they start to turn translucent, about 4 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook until you can smell it, about 1 minute. Add the broth, tomatoes, ketchup, Worcestershire, and chili powder. Stir in the beans, turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. Adjust the heat so the soup is bubbling gently and cook 10 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Meanwhile, pick off the thick stems from the cilantro. Wash it and shake it dry. Chop the cilantro coarsely and stir it into the soup when it has been simmering 10 minutes. Cook until the soup is thickened, about 5 min. Stir in the lime juice. Serve with garnishes.


No Fail French Bread

INGREDIENTS
2 T. yeast
5 T. oil
2 1/2 cups warm water
1 T salt
2 T sugar
6 cups white flour

DIRECTIONS
Mix all ingredients together and knead for 10 minutes. Let rise until double in bowl. Punch down. Divide and form into 2 french loaves or 3 regular bread pan loaves. Gash top of loaves three times with a serrated knife. You can also brush with beaten egg white and sprinkle with sesame seeds. Let rise until double- 30 min or so. Bake for 20-30 minutes at 400 degrees F. (Shorter for a soft crust, longer for a thick and chewy crust). You can also put balls of the dough on a cookie sheet to make "bread bowls." (I bake my bread bowls about 16 minutes instead of the full 20-30).