Chocolate milk for Halloween?

Did you know that chocolate milk is the official beverage of Halloween?  How can that be, you might ask...how can any milk product be passed out to trick-or-treaters without risk?  Well, I recently learned about the Milk Unleashed campaign, which is introducing what's called Shelf Safe Milk to folks who haven't heard of it before.

What is Shelf Safe Milk?  It's simply milk that has been briefly subjected to higher than usual temperature in the pasteurization process.  You get the same nutrition and great taste, but it doesn't need to be refrigerated until opened.  This means that small "juice box" style cartons can be passed out for Halloween, as well as tucked into lunches, picnic baskets, etc.  And just in case you are wondering, these small boxes are recyclable too!

I was sent several different varieties to try, and being the chocolate milk fiend that I am, I can tell you that there is no difference in taste.  So check out your local grocery store and see if they are carrying shelf safe milk...hint, hint...it won't be in the dairy case!   

Manischewitz Wine Bottle Organ

Hurricane Sandy

I may possibly be offline for a few days.  Even if a few more posts show up, I may or may not be able to approve your comments or answer your questions.  See you soon, I hope!

Have you tried malangas?

Common in Cuba and Puerto Rico, malangas just recently made it into my local grocery store.  They're pretty unattractive root vegetables, with a shaggy skin and uncertain shape.  Some are bulbous, some are long and curvy.  All are pretty ugly. 

But oh, the taste!  If you simply peel them (easier to do than it looks like), boil them up and mash or whip them like regular potatoes, they are just delicious.  Malangas have a nutty flavor, and they whip up creamy smooth and silky without any additions of cream or milk.  I added some chopped scallions and that was all...not even butter.

Chocolate-orange cookies

Do you like the chocolate oranges that are all over the place at Christmas time and then disappear the next week?  I wasn't crazy about them until they started showing up in a dark chocolate version, and then...well, let's just say that I wish it was Christmas all year.

Chocolate-Orange Cookies are a way to enjoy that flavor all year round.  I changed the recipe only slightly, adding a tiny bit of orange extract and making them a bit smaller.  By using rounded tablespoons, I ended up with 5 dozen cookies, which I baked 12 per sheet, rotating and switching the sheets half way through baking.  They took about 12 minutes at 350 to be perfect.

Stuffed mini-bell peppers

This is a terrific appetizer that is pretty fast and easy to make, especially if you've got some cooked rice left over.   If you can't get ground lamb, or you just don't like it, another ground meat can be substituted.

Greek Stuffed Mini-Bell Peppers

2 small bags of mini-bell peppers
1 lb ground lamb
1 c cooked rice
Salt
1 clove garlic, minced
1 c feta cheese, crumbled
2 T fresh mint, chopped
2 t dried oregano

Preheat oven to 400.  Slice each mini-bell lengthwise, without removing the stem.  Clean out the insides.

Mix the rest of the ingredients together in a bowl by hand.  Using a small spoon, fill each bell and place on a foil lined rimmed baking sheet.  Place on the high-middle rack of the oven and cook for about 5 minutes.  Turn on the broiler and cook a few more minutes until the meat is sizzling and cooked through. 

Chicken and sweet potatoes with pesto

Poultry and sweet potatoes are such a natural pairing that I'm always interested in figuring out more ways to put them together, especially if it's fast and easy.  If you've got homemade pesto on hand, use that, but if not, a standard basil pesto from the market works pretty well. 

Chicken and Sweet Potatoes with Pesto

Olive oil
Fresh rosemary
Sweet potatoes, sliced into spears
Chicken breasts, sliced, or chicken tenders
Cayenne pepper
Basil pesto

In a Dutch oven, cook the sweet potatoes over medium low heat in olive oil.  Add rosemary for the last few minutes.  Remove to a plate and keep warm.  Cook the chicken in olive oil with a bit of cayenne pepper.  When cooked through, return the sweet potatoes to the pot and stir in some pesto to taste.