Fresh Ricotta is Soooo Easy and Sooooo Worth the Time

I found a great recipe for vegetable and cheese cannelloni a few weeks ago and it called for fresh ricotta. Not wanting to hunt all over for the expensive and elusive fresh ricotta (quite different and better than the ricotta you can find in any grocery), I decided to make my own. By the way, I will provide the cannelloni recipe another day. It’s great.

There are many internet and you tube resources for making various cheeses and I looked over many of them. The simplest method required only whole milk, an acid, either vinegar or lemon juice, and salt. Some recipes called for the addition of a little heavy cream for extra flavor and, well, “creaminess”. I had everything on hand so I gave it a go. (Note: The resulting cheese from this recipe is more like an Indian paneer than true ricotta, but it works perfectly in recipes calling for ricotta and it’s delicious on its own.)

For safety reasons, the milk needs to be heated to at least 185 degrees, Fahrenheit. I poured the whole milk into a heavy-bottomed stainless steel soup pot to which I added a cup of heavy cream and a tablespoon of salt. Using a candy thermometer attached to the side of the pot, I slowly heated the mixture, stirring nearly constantly, until the milk simmered, steamed and reached 190-200 degrees. For a gallon of milk, this took about 15 minutes on my electric stove. At that point, I turned off the heat, and stirred in 6 tablespoons of lemon juice. Rather quickly, the curds and whey began to separate.

After 5-10 minutes it was time to strain away the whey. There are a few easy ways to accomplish this without buying any cheese-making aparatus or using yards of folded over cheesecloth.  I find the easiest way is to use a man’s cotton or linen handkerchief, clean of course, and rinsed with water, placed over a medium sized colander or strainer. I have also used a #4 coffee filter in a strainer, but it doesn’t hold a lot. The handkerchief is at least 12 inches square and easily fits in my large colander with the corners hanging over the rim of the colander.

Whichever straining method is used, you must place the strainer over a bowl large enough to catch the hot whey. You will have much more whey than cheese and if your bowl isn’t large enough to hold it all, you will need a second bowl close by. You can also put the colander in the sink and let the whey go down the drain. (Remember that the curds and whey are very hot.) Carefully pour the contents of the pan into the colander or strainer. At this point, you can let it stand to complete the draining away of the liquid. This can take 30 minutes or so, depending on how dry you want the curds. You can hurry the process by bringing up the ends of the handkerchief, twisting them around to force the cheese to release more liquid. The ball of cheese will be hot for quite a while, so be careful if you use your bare hands to squeeze out the liquid.  Once the draining is complete, you can scrape the cheese off the cloth and into a container. I usually let it cool an hour or so on the counter before refrigerating it.

A gallon of milk will produce about 2 cups of cheese. Of course you can always make a smaller amount. If you don’t need that much for a specific recipe, the rest of the cheese can be flavored with some chopped herbs for a savory cheese spread for bruschetta or any other bread. You can also make a sweet cheese spread by adding honey; this would be good on  biscuits.

With no preservatives, the cheese must be refrigerated and used within 3 or 4 days. If you have milk that is nearing it’s expiration date, this is a great way to avoid wasting it.  I have saved some of the whey and used it as the liquid for baking bread. It can also be used in soup recipes.

 

Asparagus – It’s great!

The new season for the Farmers’ Market brought the beginning of a promising supply of tasty locally grown produce. Among the first delights were beautiful asparagus spears. I used the first asparagus bundle to make the following asparagus cheese tart. The recipe originated on the “What’s Gaby Cooking?” website (http://whatsgabycooking.com). It’s simple, quick to prepare, and oh, so tasty! It’s also easily adaptable to your own cheese preferences and I made a few alterations to the original recipe myself.  Give it a try before all the fresh asparagus is gone for the year.

Gorgeous and delicious!

 

ASPARAGUS CHEESE TART

 

Serves 4

Ingredients:

1 sheet puff pastry (I used Pepperidge Farm)

½ cup shredded Gruyere (I used white cheddar once instead of Gruyere)

¼ c. shredded Parmesan

1 bunch of skinny asparagus

1 T. olive oil

¼ c. minced scallions or shallots, optional

salt and black pepper

 

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

2. Trim off 1 inch of the asparagus to remove the woody ends.  Toss with 1 tablespoon of olive oil.

3. Thaw the puff pastry on a piece of parchment paper (about 30 minutes) until you can carefully unfold the two flaps. Roll out the dough slightly to seal the seams. Transfer the parchment paper and dough to a baking sheet.

4. Sprinkle half of the cheese onto the pastry. Line up the asparagus spears on top of the cheese. Sprinkle with the scallions or shallots if using. Scatter the rest of the cheese on top and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

5. Bake for 20 – 25 minutes until the pastry dough is golden brown and puffy and the asparagus is roasted and cooked through.

HANGER STEAK RULES!

Here in my part of the world it is nearly impossible to find hanger steak in our supermarkets. After years of reading about the tenderness and delicious flavor of this “butcher’s cut”, I was determined to find one to cook at home. I have seen it on the menu of Rue Dumaine, a wonderful restaurant near Dayton, Ohio, but I always chose a different item. My husband, however, did order it on two occasions and pronounced it wonderful.

In my “recipes to fix someday” file – which will require me to live to 150 in order to accomplish – I had a few recipes for hanger steak, one for pan-roasting and the other for grilling. I split the difference and used the marinade for the grilled steak and the sauce from the pan-roasted steak. We had broccolini and browned butter mashed potatoes as accompaniments.

For the marinade, I mixed a version of Chef Anne Burrell’s hanger steak recipe from the Food Network, some dijon, chopped garlic, a little rosemary, lemon juice and zest. I smeared it on the steak, bagged it up, and let it hang out in the frig for a couple of hours. When ready to cook it, I let it sit on the counter for a while to come to room temperature, then salted it, and got to work. For the sauce prep, I peeled and sliced 4 large shallots, put red wine vinegar and some dry red wine at the ready, and picked a few stems of parsley from the garden. The sauce recipe is from Daniel Boulud’s Cafe Boulod Cookbook via Epicurious.

The broccolini (a cross between broccoli and kale, I believe) is a little daintier than broccoli and maybe a little milder in taste. It takes just a few minutes to steam and we like it sprinkled with a little Parmesan or Asiago.

I delegated the mashed potatoes preparation to my husband. I had already browned some butter (slowly and stirring nearly constantly) and set it aside.All he had to do was peel and cut the potatoes, cook them and mash them up with some of the browned butter, buttermilk and whole milk, salt and pepper. He drizzled the rest of the butter over the finished product.

I must admit that the red wine reduction renders the sauce a very dark, almost chocolate color, which some might find off-putting. The taste more than made up for it, I assure you.

Remember to cook the steak to medium-rare at the most! I understand that hanger steak, very tender at rare and slightly beyond, can become tough if cooked to well done. Slice it against the grain and it will reward you with delicious, juicy tenderness and taste.

Stuffed Jalapenos and Nachos and Mojitos – NUM

Sam scored a bagful of jalapenos at the farmers’ market on Saturday with dreams of a get-together chowing down on jalapenos stuffed with cheesey goodness and wrapped with bacon. We chatted with Alex and decided that nachos and mojitos would be good accompaniments and so it was on for tonight.

The jalapenos were halved, lengthwise, seeded and deveined, stuffed with cream cheese (some mixed with chives), and then wrapped with half slices of bacon. These little devils were baked in as 375 degree oven for at least a half hour until the bacon looked thoroughtly cooked and we couldn’t stand the wait. At that point we retired to the patio, mojitos in hand, to enjoy the varying heat of the peppers. These were all from the same farm, presumably the same crop of plants, but there were some that were relatively tame and others that were hotter. Luckily, there were no killers in the bunch. (That’s happened before!)

While we were waiting for the jalapenos, we prepared the nacos. A nice, thick layer of taco chips on a half sheet pan, topped with cooked and drained ground beef, refried beans, diced canned green chilies, dollops of sour cream, grated jack and cheddar cheese, minced onion, and into the oven for 15 minutes at 350, until the cheese is melted and the whole thing is hot and too tempting for words.

We dug into those babies and made short work of them, washing them down with a second mojito. Love those more than margaritas. They are the only reason I grow mint. Of course, I wind up using the mint in other ways, but in the spring when I plant my herb garden, I think of mojitos and make sure to get a nice and healthy mint plant. (Be sure to plant mint in a pot, not in the garden, or it will take over. You will have mint enough for mojitos for everyone in the neighborhood.

What a nice evening it was. Kids and dogs running around, adults enjoying adult food and beverages, the weather pleasurable, and the end of summer fast approaching. I hope your Labor Day holiday had at least one day as great as today was for us.

Quick and Tasty Summer in a Bowl

While checking out some foodie blogs the other day, I ran across this tempting recipe for soup. Quick preparations and handy ingredients prompted me to make this yesterday for lunch and I’m here to tell you that it was well worth the effort.

It is a timely soup for us now; the end of summer approaches and the local farm markets are offering the bounty of nature. We have oodles of tomatoes, peppers of all colors, and more squash than we can handle. The corn has been great and if you’re lucky enough to have a few ears on hand (or a can of corn in the pantry) give this a try. It’s from “locallemons.com” – that’s local lemons. My apologies to the “locallemons.com” people for altering their recipe to suit my needs and whims.

Quick and Tasty Summer in a Bowl

Ingredients:

3 ears of corn

2 pounds of tomatoes (you can use canned if necessary)

2 1/2 T. roasted garlic (or just use raw garlic, minced)

1 red onion, peeled and chopped

2 poblano peppers

2 jalapeno peppers (I used crushed red pepper flakes about 1/4 teaspoon instead of jalapenos)

1/4 c. chopped cilantro

2 T. butter or oil (I used 1 T. of each)

sea salt

1 avocado, sliced

1 c. water or chicken broth, optional, to dilute

1/2 fresh lime, juiced

Now, here are my notes. First of all, it makes a small amount, about enough for 3 large-ish servings. If you’re feeding a crowd or aiming for leftovers, you’ll have to double or triple the recipe.

Second of all, be sure to read it all first. You must roast the peppers, first in order to skin them and render them a little tender. This is easy if you have a gas stove or grill but takes a little longer with an electric broiler unless you have one that gets blazing hot in no time flat. I don’t. But anyway, it should be no problem to get the peppers roasting while you prepare everything else.

Thirdly, you need to roast garlic and have 2 1/2 tablespoons available. I didn’t have time to do that; I was starting this at nearly 11:00 and wanted to eat at noon. No time for garlic to roast. I improvised by sauteing the garlic with the onions at the beginning. I imagine that roasted garlic would give its own unique flavor to the dish, but I didn’t miss it. Next, I added about a cup of chicken broth with the tomatoes. Why? I don’t know. It just seemed like the thing to do. Lastly, the recipe calls for jalapenos, which I didn’t have on hand. I used a sprinkling of crushed red pepper to give the soup some added heat. Jalapenos, of course, add flavor as well, so I had to go without that. I found that the poblanos leant more that enough peppery flavor, but if jalapenos float your boat, go for it.

I guess this  demonstrates my philosophy of not letting a missing ingredient get in the way of trying a new recipe. There are exceptions, of course. Baking usually requires strict adherence to the ratios of ingredients, if not the exact amounts. But to let the absence of shallots keep me from making a sauce when I have scallions would be a shame. I recognize the difference between the two and am usually able to reconcile the taste discrepancies. In this case, fresh corn would be perfect, but canned or frozen corn would hardly be taboo. In fact, I doubt if anyone could tell the difference in this soup, as rich and flavorful as it is. The end of the sermon.

1. Roast the poblano and jalapeno peppers under the broiler or over a grill until the skins are black and blistery. Let them cool for a while until you can handle them and slip off the skins,, remove the seeds and white veins and give them a rough chop.

2. Peel the tomatoes* and break them up with your hands into a bowl. (If using canned tomatoes, save the juice.)

3. Melt the butter in a large pot over medium heat. Cook and stir the onions until soft and add the raw garlic, if using raw, and cook another minute or two without browning the garlic. Add the tomatoes and continue to cook on medium heat. Now add the crushed red pepper flakes if you are using that instead of  jalapenos.

4. Mash up the peppers in a mortar and pestle, a small food processor, or with a fork or other mashing type device until they somewhat come apart. We don’t want puree, here, folks, just a further breaking down of the cell walls. Scrape all this peppery goodness into the cooking pot.

5. Next crush the corn a tad and add the broken kernels and the corn juice into the pot as well.

6. Stir in the roasted garlic, if using, and add a little sea salt to taste.

7. Cook all this for 10 to 20 minutes until it reaches the consistency you like. You can add a little water or chicken broth to dilute it a bit if it gets too thick.

8. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with a slice or two of avocado and a little drizzle of lime juice.

We had toasted bread and some cheese with this for our lunch and decided this recipe is a keeper. Give it a try. It just tastes like summer in a bowl.

Yet Another Potato Gratin Recipe

Can you stand another recipe from me for potatoes gratin, scalloped, whatever you want to call it? You probably think that we have it for dinner every other night. Actually, in the interest of saving calories, fat grams, and carbohydrates from my waistline, we, or should I say “I”, restrict ourselves to just once every other month or so. 

It’s a frequent request from the man who lives here, the one who can eat all the calories, fat grams, and carbohydrates without affecting his waistline or cholesterol count. I, on the other hand, can feel the cholesterol count go up if I even think of cheese, potatoes, butter, milk, or cream in a single bite.

Regardless of all that, I threw caution to the wind and prepared this delicious potato recipe a while ago and it was right up there among my favorite potato recipes. The addition of cabbage made it reminiscent of colcannon.  If you’ve never tasted that Irish delight, try it next year on St. Patrick’s Day. 

The origin of this dish is from Food Network’s Tyler’s Ultimate Show. I halved the recipe for the two of us and still had a bit left over. Double it to serve 6 easily.

ULTIMATE POTATO GRATIN (based on Tyler Florence’s recipe)

Notes:   I didn’t use the entire half head of cabbage; I used about a third. I also used regular bacon that I had on hand, about 4 slices. If I find myself without chives, I usually substitute some shallots, or scallions. To save calories and fat grams, use half and half or milk instead of heavy cream. Gruyere or cheddar could work instead of  the parmesan, but the taste would be different. I have occasionally used regular cabbage instead of Savoy.

 

1/2 head Savoy cabbage, cored and shredded 

1 inch piece of slab bacon, thinly sliced

1 T. butter

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1/8 c. finely chopped chives

Salt and Pepper

1 lb. baking potatoes, unpeeled, thinly sliced (about 1/8″)

1 1/4 c. heavy cream 

1 c. parmesan, grated

 

1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. 

2. Fry the bacon; remove from the skillet when crisp, and drain on paper towels. 

3. Add about 1 teaspoon of the butter to the bacon fat in the skillet; let it melt and add half the garlic and the cabbage. Over low heat, let the cabbage wilt slowly and mix with the garlic. Add the bacon back to the skillet along with the chives. Season with salt and pepper. Remove from the heat.

4.  With the remaining butter, grease the casserole or gratin dish and set aside.

5. In a large bowl, combine the sliced potatoes, half of the cream (3/4 cup), half of the parmesan (1/2 cup), and the rest of the garlic. Season with salt and pepper and mix carefully with your hands. 

6. Place about half of the potatoes in the gratin dish. Sprinkle with a little more parmesan. Spoon the cabbage on top and repeat the potato layer and sprinkle with the rest of the cheese.

7. Cover with foil and bake one hour. Remove the foil and bake another 30 minutes. Let stand about 10-15 minutes before serving.

 

 

 

Nitty-Gritty

I’m not from the South but I sure do love me some grits! If you want to be more sophisticated, call it polenta, dahlin’. Mush, polenta, grits, cornmeal porridge, call it what you will. I don’t care. Just fix yourself some and enjoy it.

Forget those little paper envelops of instant grits. Yuck. It’s easy enough to make it from “scratch”. Boil some water, whisk in the grits, stir, stir, stir, yawn, stir, stir, stir. See? Easy. 

Now I must confess – I am not that fond of plain old grits, no extra added ingredients.  Give me some sausage gravy, some cheese, some bacon and eggs, then I’m happy to eat the grits. But I prefer them dressed up a little with some flavor cooked in with them. The star of the show of our traditional Christmas breakfast is a grits “souffle”, flavored with garlic and cheese, fluffy with beaten yolks and egg whites folded in, and topped with a crisp cornflake crispiness. Yum.

Last night I fixed a pot of grits as a side dish for dinner. It was so simple and tasty that you just have to fix it. (It would be a great addition to a hearty breakfast, also.) The grits are flavored with Cheddar and Parmesan.

This recipe is from the September, 2008, issue of Southern Living. Thanks, guys and gals.

 

TWO-CHEESE GRITS

4 c. water

1 t. salt

1 c. uncooked quick-cooking grits

1 c. (4 oz.) Cheddar cheese

1/2 c. (2 oz.) Parmesan cheese

2 T. butter

Salt and Pepper 

 

1. Bring the water and salt to a boil in a 3 qt. saucepan.

2. Whisk in the grits; reduce heat to  medium-low, and cook 5 – 6 minutes until tender.

3. Remove from heat, and stir the cheese and the butter. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Barefoot Roast Chicken

Ok, all chickens are barefoot, roasted or otherwise. The “Barefoot” I’m referring to here is the Contessa one, Barefoot Contessa, Ina Garten, who hosts the popular Food Network show. I used to watch her show, then I quit for a while, now I’m watching it again. I’ve also read most of her cookbooks and taken from them recipes that look like something I might actually prepare. 

I have so many recipes clipped/copied from various sources – thousands, I dare say. Every now and then I go through my files and look at a particular recipe and think “Who am I kidding? I will never fix this.” I can usually get rid of one third of them. I also find some duplicates, or near duplicates. Still, I have too many to use effectively. I guess it’s some kind of foodie addiction, this incessant searching for and collecting recipes. Luckily for me and my family, it’s not a harmful addiction. I don’t force feed anyone.

Be that as it may, I bought a roasting chicken yesterday and am cooking it right now. Last week, I tried Thomas Keller’s “favorite” roasted chicken from Epicurious.com. It was fine and you can find it here.  I wanted to try something different and the Barefoot one uses lots of vegetables as an edible rack upon which to cook the bird. That’s always good. That way there are lots of very tasty veggies cooked in the drippings. 

Here’s the recipe, or at least the way I fixed it. You can find the official one at the Food Network website.

Barefoot Contessa and Morgana’s Roast Chicken

1 (5 to 6 pound) roasting chicken

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1 large bunch of fresh thyme, plus 20 sprigs

1 lemon, halved

1 head garlic, cut in half crosswise

2 T. butter, melted

1 large yellow onion, thickly sliced

4 carrots, cut into 2-inch chunks

1 fennel bulb, tops removed and cut into wedges

Olive oil

 

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

2. Remove giblets and neck if present in chicken cavity. Rinse the chicken with running water inside and out. Check for excess fat and pinfeathers and remove them. Pat the chicken dry on the outside.

3. Liberally salt and pepper the inside cavity.

4. Stuff the cavity with the lemon halves, and the garlic and the bunch of thyme.

5. Brush the outside of the chicken with the melted butter and season with the salt and pepper.

6. Truss the chicken legs and tuck the little wing tips under the chicken’s body. 

7. Place the onions, carrots, and fennel (I added a cut-up parsnip ’cause I had a lonely one handly) in the bottom of the roasting pan. Toss with salt and pepper, the 20 sprigs of thyme (I only had a few) and a little olive oil. Place the chicken  on top of the vegetables.

8. Roast for one and a half hours, or until the juices run clear when you cut between a leg and a thigh. Remove the bird and vegetables to a platter and cover with foil for about 20 minutes. Slice up the chicken and serve with the vegetables.

UPDATE:

Here’s how I finished the dish. While the chicken was resting, I poured the pan drippings into another container and removed as much of the fat as possible. Then I added about 1/4 c. white wine to the pan and scraped up the little goodies on the bottom, those caramelized bits of chicken, carrots, and the rest of the veggies. Over medium heat, returned the drippings and some chicken broth (saved from a previous dinner) and a little splash of cream.  I drizzled this over the veggies and chicken when they were served next to mashed potatoes which were ready just in time.

It’s trash day tomorrow so I went ahead and removed the remaining chicken from the bone and will decide what to do with it tomorrow. I’m way too full and tired to think of it now. I know I’ll be glad I took care of that little chore right away. I can get rid of the carcass immediately. I hate to keep chicken bones in the freezer. I’m not always prepared to make broth each time I have chicken. I would love to be able to have a ready supply. Oh well. Dream on.

Any suggestions?

Roasted Chicken and the Remains

I used Thomas Keller’s recipe for roasting a chicken Monday night. It’s a high-heat-no-basting-leave-it- alone-kind of recipe that appealed to me. I found it at Epicurious. It was highly rated by those who read and tried the recipe so I decided it was worth giving it a go. It’s not much different than any other high heat roasting instructions but I found some of the comments in the ratings section interesting.

Several people warned that the recipe would set off all of the smoke alarms in the house.  I followed the suggestions of more than a few reviewers that a layer of sliced potatoes under the chicken would soak up the drippings and prevent smoke. That did the trick. I included a few slices of onions with the potatoes and had a bonus of crispy, chicken flavored potatoes and onions. I also had a layer of nonstick foil under the potatoes to make cleanup easier. 

Here’s the basic recipe:

Wash and dry the chicken, inside and out.  (Let’s hear it for paper towels!) Season the inside of the bird with salt and pepper. Truss the chicken to keep a nice shape that cooks more evenly without overcooking the wings and legs. Sprinkle the outside of the chicken with lots of salt. I found that the dried skin repelled the larger Kosher salt crystals, so I used table salt which stuck a little better. If you lightly rubbed the skin with oil or butter the salt would adhere. Then sprinkle with pepper to taste.

I placed my chicken on a rack over the aforementioned foil, potatoes and onions. Next, the chicken went into a 450 degree F. oven until done. Keller suggests 50-60 minutes, with a 15 minute resting period once removed from the oven. My chicken was slightly larger than the 2-3 lb bird he recommends in the recipe. It took significantly longer for mine to be done, about another 15 minutes in the oven. After resting, it was nice and juicy.

While the chicken was cooking and resting, I made mashed potatoes. When I took the chicken out of the oven, I scraped off the layer of onion and potato slices from the foil on the bottom of the roasting pan, gave them a quick chop or two and mixed them into my mashed potatoes. That was a delicious addition, let me tell you, and the caramelized onions and crispy chunks of potatoes added some textural interest as well. Let’s hear it for textural interest!

We had about 2 cups of chicken leftover after we picked the meat off the carcass. Last night I used it in a quick chicken divan casserole. I have a different chicken divan recipe for you to consider  here .

The one I used last night was a little simpler. I steamed some broccoli florets and made a quick mornay sauce with a little gruyere, white wine and nutmeg for flavor. I layered the broccoli, half of the sauce, the chicken and the rest of the sauce. Then a topped it with about 1/4 c. grated parmesan. It baked in the oven for about 25 minutes at 350, just until the top was starting to get golden brown. The recipe for that is at the bottom of this post.

I had planned to make chicken salad with the remains, but, having a cold, I didn’t want to handle all the fresh ingredients and risk sneezing or coughing all over food that wasn’t going to be cooked later. For that reason, I let my husband unload the dishwasher for me and set the table. That’s about the only benefit of having a cold. 

EASIER CHICKEN DIVAN

1 1/2 c. cooked broccoli florets

1 1/2 to 2 c. cooked chicken, diced

1/2 – 3/4 c. shredded gruyere or swiss cheese

3 T. butter

3 T. flour

1 c. milk or cream

1/2 c. chicken broth

2 T. white wine

1/4 t. nutmeg

salt and pepper

1/4 c. grated parmesan

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease or spray an 11 X 7 or 9 x 9 baking dish or gratin dish with the same capacity.

2. In a medium, heavy bottomed saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the flour and stir for a minute or two to cook the flour. Then add the 2 T. white wine and the chicken broth and stir to  mix well. Add the milk and whisk until all lumps are gone and the sauce begins to thicken. (If the sauce is too thick, you can add a few tablespoons of milk or cream.) Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring. Season with the nutmeg, and the salt and pepper to taste.

3. Add the gruyere or swiss cheese and stir to melt the cheese.

4. Put the broccoli in the bottom of the baking dish. Pour about half of the sauce over the broccoli and then add the chicken evenly over the sauce. Pour the remaining sauce over the chicken and then sprinkle with the Parmesan.

5. Bake in the oven for 20 to 25 minutes until the top starts to become golden brown.

 

I hope you try one of the two Chicken Divan recipes and, by all means, roast a chicken. It’s one of the true values in the grocery. 

 

 

 

 

Bricks in the Kitchen

 

One day last week I was catching up with the DVR’d Food Network shows I like to watch. Mostly, Barefoot Contessa, Tyler Florence –  that’s enough. If I watch too many shows, I would have way too many ideas floating around in my mind and wouldn’t get around to trying any of them. I usually find one or two to try each week and those that I have liked best were usually from Barefoot Contessa or Tyler Florence. 

I use her method for roasting beef tenderloin**. It never fails, and is so easy. Tyler’s dishes are usually great, but sometimes just a little too involved for me to make at the last minute. I do like his Ultimate Potato Gratin with the Savoy cabbage*** and prepare it several times a year.

Last night I was compelled to prepare a meal that Tyler Florence had on his show last week, “The Ultimate Brick Chicken”. It looked intriguing, weighting down the whole chicken with bricks while browning it in a skillet. The method was used to force as much surface area as possible to be in contact with the hot oil in the skillet. The cooking was finished in the oven while I made the recommended couscous and delicious yogurt sauce flavored with cilantro and mint, honey and lemon juice. The sauce was so good that I had to try a few – HA!  – spoonfuls. I think it would make a delicious salad dressing on its own. 

The chicken, a whole split chicken, backbone removed, and flattened, was rubbed with a Moroccan inspired spice mixture and allowed to rest in the frig for about 4 hours. Then it was into the hot skillet, bricks applied, and cooked for 15-20 minutes undisturbed on the burner, then flipped over, and finished in the oven for 35 minutes. It was served with the apricot, almond couscous, the recipe for which takes couscous to a whole new level. Delicious!

Here’s the recipe for the whole she-bang. It will become one of your favorites.

(You will need a brick a heavy rock, the afore-mentioned extra cast iron skillet, or something really heavy (and relatively clean) to lay atop the chicken. I had an old brick in the yard which I covered in foil. It wasn’t big enough to weight down the whole bird so I scrounged around and found another rock which did the trick.)

(Go to this link and  read the comments sections for other folk’s reviews of this meal. The photo shows the chicken and couscous served on flatbread seasoned and grilled. I didn’t fix that this time. If you can’t find a flat chicken, ask your butcher to remove the backbone of a whole chicken and flatten it for you. If you can’t do that, look for a “split chicken” in your grocery. I found one at Kroger. I suppose you could always use a cut-up chicken and cook  it the same way. Maybe I’ll try that next time.)

 

*Brick Chicken with Apricot Couscous

Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence

Prep Time: 15 min

Inactive Prep Time: 4 hr 0 min

Cook Time: 1 hr 0 min

Level: Intermediate

Serves: 4 to 6 servings

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons cumin seed
• 2 tablespoons whole coriander
• 2 cinnamon sticks
• 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 lemon, juiced
• 1 whole free-range chicken (3 pounds), split (see directions below or have butcher split chicken for you)
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Mint Yogurt Dressing. recipe follows
• Apricot Couscous, recipe follows

Directions

Toast cumin, coriander and cinnamon in a medium saucepan over low heat until fragrant. In a clean spice grinder or coffee grinder, blend spices until fine. Add the toasted spices to a bowl with paprika and cayenne. Season with kosher salt. Stir in the olive oil and lemon juice.

Prepare chicken by splitting it down the back and removing the backbone, breast bone and rib cage. Lay the chicken out flat and rub the blended spices all over. Marinate for up to 4 hours or overnight.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Heat a large cast iron skillet (or other heavy oven-proof pan) over medium-high heat. When hot, add a 2 count of extra-virgin olive oil and place the chicken skin side down in the pan. Cover it with a second cast iron pan (you could also use a more traditional foil-wrapped brick) immediately so the skin doesn’t have time to contract. Reduce the heat to medium and cook for 10 to 15 minutes until chicken is golden brown and has a nice crust. Finish cooking in the oven for a further 20 to 25 minutes. Internal temperature between the leg and thigh should register 165 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, when cooked through. Serve with Mint Yogurt Dressing and Apricot Couscous.

Mint Yogurt Dressing:

• 1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
• 1/2 bunch chopped fresh cilantro leaves
• 1/2 bunch fresh mint leaves
• 2 green onions, green parts only
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 lemon, juiced
• Extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt and pepper

While chicken is cooking, combine yogurt, cilantro, mint, green onions, honey, lemon juice, extra-virgin olive oil, and salt and pepper, to taste, in a blender. Blend until mixture is fully combined and has a smooth consistency.

Apricot Couscous:

• Extra-virgin olive oil
• 1 small red onion, small dice
• 1/4 cup dried apricots, coarsely chopped
• 1/4 cup whole almonds toasted, coarsely chopped
• 1 cup couscous
• 1 1/2 cups chicken stock, warm
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon zest
• 2 scallions green parts only
• 1/4 cup fresh mint leaves, roughly chopped
• 1/2 bunch fresh cilantro leaves, roughly chopped plus leaves for garnish
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

In a medium saucepan add a 2 count of extra-virgin olive oil. Add the red onion, apricots and almonds and saute gently over low heat until translucent and slightly fragrant. Add the couscous then dump in the warm chicken broth. Stir with a fork to combine, add lemon zest and cover. Let sit for 10 minutes, then uncover and add the scallions, mint, and cilantro. Fluff again with a fork. Season, to taste, with salt and pepper. Toss gently to combine.

Serve family-style on a large platter and garnish with fresh cilantro.

Yield: 4 to 6 servings

 

 

 

***The Ultimate Potato Gratin

Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence and the Food Network

Prep Time: 20 min

Inactive Prep Time: 10 min

Cook Time: 1 hr 35 min Level: Easy

Serves: 6 to 8 servings

 

Ingredients

• 1 head savoy cabbage, cored, cleaned, and shredded
• 1 (2-inch) piece slab bacon, thinly sliced
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
• Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 bunch fresh chives, finely chopped to 1/4 cup
• 2 pounds baking potatoes, unpeeled and thinly sliced (about 1/8-inch), see Cook’s note*
• 2 1/2 cups heavy cream
• 2 cups grated Parmesan

Directions

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Finely shred the cabbage. Cut the bacon into 1/2-inch chunks. Place a small skillet over medium-low heat and fry the bacon, until crisp. Remove from pan with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Set aside.

Add 1 tablespoon butter to bacon fat in frying pan. When it has melted add 1/2 the garlic and give it a quick stir with a wooden spoon to soften. Add the cabbage and coat it with the butter. Slowly let it wilt. Add the bacon. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Remove from heat and add most of the chives, reserving a little for the garnish.

Generously butter the bottom and sides of a 9 by 13-inch ovenproof casserole dish. In a large bowl, combine the potatoes, 1 1/2 cups of cream, 1 cup of Parmesan, and the remaining garlic. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper. Using your hands, place a layer of potatoes in the casserole dish. Sprinkle with Parmesan and repeat with 2 more layers. Spoon the cabbage mixture on top and spread it out evenly over the potatoes. Top it off with 2 more layers of potato and Parmesan. Pour the remaining 1 cup cream over the dish. Sprinkle with the remaining Parmesan.

Cover dish with aluminum foil. Bake for 1 hour. Remove foil and bake for 30 minutes until golden brown. Leave for 10 minutes before serving. Garnish with fresh chives.

• Cook’s Note: Slice the potatoes immediately before using so they don’t turn brown.

 

*BEEF TENDERLOIN CONTESSA

Copyright, 2001, Barefoot Contessa Parties!, All rights reserved

Prep Time: 5 min

Inactive Prep Time: 20 min

Cook Time: 25 min

Level: Easy

Serves: 8 to 10 servings

Ingredients

• 1 (4 to 5 pound) fillet of beef, trimmed and tied
• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
• 1 tablespoon kosher salt
• 1 tablespoon coarsely ground black pepper

Directions 

(Be sure to remove the beef from the frig an hour before cooking so that it can reach room temperature)

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees F.

Place the beef on a sheet pan and pat the outside dry with a paper towel. Spread the butter on with your hands. Sprinkle evenly with the salt and pepper. Roast in the oven for exactly 22 minutes for rare and 25 minutes for medium-rare.

Remove the beef from the oven, cover it tightly with aluminum foil, and allow it to rest at room temperature for 20 minutes. Remove the strings and slice the fillet thickly.

Note: Be sure your oven is very clean or the high temperature will cause it to smoke.

Fix Breakfast in the Evening

At one time or another each of you has had a breakfast concoction called a “strata”. You know what I mean  – one of those sliced-bread-on-the-bottom, eggy/cheesey/milky-mixture-poured-over-the-top, kept-in-the-refrigerator-overnight-and-cooked-in-the-morning-thingies. They are usually too dry, too salty (especially if there’s sausage involved), and just not worth eating.

However, when we have overnight guests, it’s not great fun to awaken hours before everyone else and start whipping up gourmet delight. That’s when we all too often pull out one of the tried-but-not-true “strata” recipes. For lack of anything better, they’ll do.

Well, I’m here to give you something better. Actually, my friend Vicki gave me something better. 

I have fixed this several times to hungry guests who all raved about it. Give it a try next time you need an AM life saver. All you need to do is put it in the oven, set the timer, go get dressed, section the grapefruit, fix some toast and grapefruit, make sure the coffee’s ready, set the table, pour the juice, remember the salt and pepper, get the cream for the coffee, put the jelly in a pretty bowl, get the jelly spoon, get the sugar, sweetener….

Well, anyway, there’s always a lot to do, but this recipe will help somewhat. By the way, it’s easy to double. When I double it, I bake it in a buttered 9 x 13 pan.

Thanks, again Vicki.

VICKI’S BREAKFAST PIE

Serves 6

8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

1/2 c. corn flakes, crumbled

1 T. bacon fat or melted butter

 

5 eggs

2 1/2 c. shredded refrigerated hash browns

8 oz. shredded Monterey Jack cheese (or cheddar)

1/2 c. cottage cheese

1/3 c. milk

2 green onions, thinly sliced

 

1. Cook the bacon, drain on paper towels, and crumble.

2. Mix the, corn flakes and bacon fat together and set aside.

3. Beat the eggs until foamy and stir in the rest of the ingredients.

4. Butter a 9″ pie pan.

5. Pour in the egg mixture.

6. Sprinkle with the bacon/crumb mixture.

7. Cover with foil. Refrigerate overnight.

8. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Bake 325 degrees for 50 minutes. If doubling, use a buttered 9 X 13″ pan and bake for  60 minutes. Let stand for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Pork Chops from the Crock Pot

As I have said before, I rarely use a crockpot. When I find a crockpot recipe that works for me, I am always surprised. Sometimes one can pitch all the ingredients in the pot, turn it on, leave it alone for 8, 9 or 10 hours. No worries, mate. Of course, your meal may be less than gourmet, but, it’s a meal. The obvious benefits of crockpot cookery aside, the results are usually less than stellar. 

This recipe was a pleasant surprise. It does require some packaged food items, but they are some that might be found in many homes. However, it is not one that can be ignored for 8 hours or more. It’s ready to eat in 5 to 6 hours, tops. So, it’s not one you can fix in the morning and have that evening for dinner. For working folks, it would be a good one for a weekend meal. Start it after lunch, run errands, take a nap, watch the big game, work in the yard. Then you’ll have a good pork chop dinner waiting for you. 

FRUITY PORK CHOPS AND STUFFING

1 c. diced dried fruit, apples, apricots, raisins, cranberries (I use a mixture)

1 c. chicken broth

1/2 c. apple juice (1 small box)

3 T. butter

1/4 t. cinnamon

1/8 t. nutmeg

1 – 6 oz. package Stovetop Stuffing mix (pork or chicken flavor)

4 pork chops, 1/2 to 3/4″ thick

1/8 t. salt

1/8 t. pepper

 

1. Combine in a small saucepan: 1/4 c. apple juice, dried fruit, broth, butter, cinnamon and nutmeg.

2. Bring to a boil. Stir in the stuffing mix. Remove from heat. Cover and set aside.

3. Arrange pork chops in the bottom of a crockpot. Pour the rest of the apple juice over the pork. Sprinkle with the salt and pepper. Top with stuffing.

4. Cover and cook on low setting for 5 to 6 hours.

 

Pork Roast with Sauerkraut – A New Year’s Tradition

Normally, we ring in the New Year safe and sound slumbering away in our beds. No wild parties, no midnight champagne, or funny hats for us. Our celebration begins the first day of the New Year. A champagne Mimosa will suffice, thank you, very much. It’s so important to maintain a steady supply of vitamin C. A nice omelet and some toast will start the day off nicely. It will also give me the nutrition necessary to prepare the main meal of the day, one destined to provide all the “good luck” for the year.

Hoppin’ John, sauerkraut, pork, all these are tradional good luck foods in the United States, Hoppin’ John mainly in the South. I have made  Hoppin’ John Salad that was good, but as a whole, I don’t particularly like Hoppin’ John, and I’ve tried many variations. Usually, we will have pork and sauerkraut with mashed potatoes. 

Here’s how I prepare it:

 

PORK ROAST AND SAUERKRAUT

3 lb. pork loin, boneless

2 slices bacon

1 chopped onion

1-2 apples, peeled and chopped

2 c. sauerkraut, rinsed and drained

1 1/2 c. fruity white wine (Riesling)

6-10 crushed juniper berries

1 bay leaf

 

1. Preheat oven to 325. Cook bacon until crisp, drain on paper towels, chop and reserve.

2. Saute onion in bacon grease. Add apples, cook 3 minutes. Add wine, juniper berries, and bayleaf.

3. Heat to boiling. Put into a casserole. Add sauerkraut and stir to combine. Nestle pork in the kraut.

4. Cover and Bake for 3 hours. Remove pork to a platter and cover with foil. Let rest for 15 minutes.

5. Slice pork and serve with kraut.

 

Option: Add smoked pork chops and polska kielbasa for a choucroute garni.

Making Do

Most certainly you have found yourself perusing recipes looking for just the right dish to prepare later that day. How often have you found one that looked good only to check the ingredient list and be disappointed by the inclusion of heavy cream, or shallots, or vermouth, or whole-grain mustard, or fresh tarragon – any particular ingredient that you don’t have on hand? It seems to happen to me once a week, at least. 

Unless you’re extremely organized, wealthy, or blessed with a well-stocked grocery on the bl0ck, you occasionally find yourself without what seems to be a key ingredient in a recipe. Let me tell you that unless it is the eggplant in Eggplant Parmesan, or chicken in Chicken Cordon Bleu, or pasta in Spaghetti and Meatballs, you can usually work around the roadblock. Will your final outcome be sublime? Maybe not, but then again, even with the missing ingredient it might not have been sublime. With some kitchen experience, however, one can usually guess how a particular recipe will turn out without the missing item.

For example, I never let the lack of shallots prevent me from trying a new recipe. Regular onions or scallions will substitute. Will there be a difference in taste? Certainly. You can guess that the onions will produce a more pronounced taste, that the garlicky-component of the subtle shallot  will be missing. Can you add a smidgeon of garlic to compensate? Give it a try. Unless the Queen or some other dignitary will be a guest, it really doesn’t matter. I usually go for scallions as a shallot substitute and forget the garlic.

Did you use the last of the whole-grain mustard on that ham sandwich last week? The use regular dijon. No dijon? Well, I would definitely not use yellow mustard. There is too big a gap between the tastes of yellow and dijon. But check you frig. You may have some honey mustard that could do the job. 

Herb substitution is a little trickier. Fresh herbs and dried herbs are as different as night and day. You can substitute dried for fresh, using the general ratio of 1/3 part dried to 1 part fresh. The result will be different, not necessarily bad, just different. Dried basil on a fresh tomato  is nothing like fresh basil leaves. In fact, I wouldn’t use dried in that case at all. But I would put it in spaghetti sauce.

Dried parsley is an abomination, in my opionion. I don’t even have it in the house. Fresh parsley is readily available and keeps for at least a week in the frig in a plastic bag or on the counter for a few days as a bouquet  with stems in water in a small vase. Other frequently used fresh herbs can be grown or bought as needed, although I’ve never had good luck growing them on my kitchen windowsill. But I do grow them outside in the summer. It’s great to have a ready supply.

So, the moral of this story is this:  Don’t let the lack of an ingredient stop you in your tracks. Unless you feel that it is absolutely essential, go ahead and make a substitution. Use your best judgement, and, if nothing will suffice, just leave that ingredient out altogether.

Here’s a recipe that adapts itself well to all the substitutions mentioned in the first paragraph. 

MUSTARD AND TARRAGON CHICKEN SAUTE 

Substitutions noted

4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

1 1/2 T. butter, or olive oil

1/3 c. shallots, or onion, or scallions

1/3 c. vermouth, or dry white wine, or chicken broth

2 T. whole-grain mustard, or plain dijon, or honey dijon (NOT yellow mustard)

1/2 c. whipping cream, or heavy cream, or evaporated milk if using broth

2 1/2 T. fresh tarragon, or scant tablespoon (2 t.) dried, divided

 

1. Pound chicken to even thickness between waxed paper or plastic wrap. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

2. Melt butter in skillet. When foamy, saute chicken until cooked through, 5 minutes per side. Transfer to a platter and cover with foil to keep warm, or put in warm oven.

3. Add shallots or onions to skillet. Saute two-three minutes. Add vermouth and bring to a boil. Reduce  heat to simmer and add cream and 2 T. fresh or all of the dried tarragon. Simmer until slightly thickened, stirring often.

4, Return chicken to the pan with any pan juices on the platter. Simmer three minutes. Sprinkle with the rest of the fresh tarragon and serve.

2.

 

What to Do with Those Extra Egg Whites or Egg Yolks

I enjoyed one of my favorite breakfasts this morning – poached egg whites on toast with warm milk and butter.  I know, it sounds rather bland, milquetoasty and all that. But it’s the ultimate comfort breakfast food for me. My mom would fix it for my dad and me occasionally and I love it.

I fix it differently than my mom did. She would heat up milk and a little butter in a cast iron skillet and slip the eggs into the simmering milk and serve the egg on toast with some of the milk drizzled on top. At the time, I hated egg  yolks so I would carefully peel off the whites and give the yolks to my dad or to the dog, if he was around. Now I save the uncooked yolks for pies.

Now, I use my handy-dandy three compartment, nonstick egg poacher which I set into a pan of simmering water. I cover it, set the timer for six minutes, fix my toast, and warm up the milk in the microwave. I cut the toast into triangles, set the eggs on it, and pour over the milk. I add a small pat of butter, a little salt and pepper, and I am in breakfast heaven. Most people think I’m crazy to like this. So, call me crazy.

My husband likes to make pies, especially cream pies. The recipe he uses requires three egg yolks. Because he never makes a meringue topping for his cream pies, I get to have the egg whites for my breakfast the next day. It’s a good symbiotic relationship. However, today, I felt like my poached egg dish and so I would provide the three eggs for his next pie. So, I thought.

I had a little extra time this afternoon and I made a butterscotch pie to surprise him tonight. You can find the recipe here.  

A Well-Stocked Pantry

Behold the pantry in my kitchen. I just cleaned it and reorganized it today and am glad I did. Now I know I can stop buying cans of cannelini beans because I found 4 stashed in the pantry behind various other things. 

I’ve tried to group similar items together although I am constrained somewhat by the size of the items and the height of the shelves. Most tomato products are on the same shelf, as are cans of soup, beans and fruits. I usually can easily find what I’m looking for because the shelves are only seven inches deep. That’s deep enough for about 2 cans.

If pressed, we could survive for a long time on the contents of the pantry. I also have a stash in the basement. When I shop at warehouse clubs and buy cases of food, I keep those in the basement and bring up two or three items at a time to replenish the pantry. I also keep items in the basement that are too large to keep on the pantry shelves or items that are rarely used. I have a Sharpie in the basement for marking the month and year the items were bought so that I can use the oldest products first. If only I could remember to do so! Along with my food in the basement, I have lots of candles and matches and a few cooking utensils, cooking pots and cans of sterno and a spare hand operated can opener.  I have two or three squeeze bottles of alcohol-based hand cleaner in case water isn’t available, and a few gallons of bleach in case available water is questionable. I also have several cases of water in plastic bottles. Paper towels and plates are handy as well.  could survive for weeks in an emergency. Fortunately, I have the extra space in the basement.

Don’t get me wrong; I am not a “survivalist”, just a realist.  It only makes sense to me to keep enough food and other necessities on hand for those times when the power goes out or a blizzard strikes. We had a severe wind storm a few months ago and power was out in many neighborhoods for days or even weeks. Fortunately for us, we were without power for only eight hours. 

Sometimes, instead of going to the grocery, I like to just make a pantry meal. 

Here is a partial list of my kitchen pantry:

Tomato products: canned tomato sauce, puree, whole, diced, and crushed tomatoes, salsa, catsup and chili sauce

Soups: tomato, mushroom, cream of chicken, and lots of broths, beef, chicken and turkey

Fruits: peaches, applesauce, pears, pineapple, cranberries, canned and dried

Vegetables: corn, all types of beans, mushrooms, chilies, olives, pickles and relish

Pasta: all types of pasta, rice, couscous, and noodles

Baking supplies: baking powder and soda, flours, sugars, salt, oatmeal, cornmeal and grits, chocolate chips and coconut

Proteins: canned tuna, ham, “Spam”, chicken, beef, evaporated milk

 

I hope you all have at least a 3 day supply of the essentials, especially water and any necessary medications. Your life, or at least convenience, could depend on it.

Happy New Year’s Day!!

Not interested in pork and sauerkraut, this year. No red cabbage, no hoppin’ john for me. I am so tired of cooking, washing dishes, and menu-planning that all I want is a good, juicy hamburger for dinner. Add some fries to that and I’ll be fine, and take my chances on the  lack of good luck for 2009. After all, this has not been a good year in many ways, and I had all the traditional good luck food January 1, 2008. 

UPDATE: However, I did take a look at Pioneer Woman’s blog this morning and found a black-eyed peas salad  recipe that I think I will make today. Just covering my bases, you know. I will try it and give you a full report later. In the meantime, here is the recipe, direct from  the Pioneer Woman. Thanks, Ree.

UPDATE: I made the salad and we had it on New Year’s Day to ensure good luck. The only can of black eyed peas I had was a can of seasoned “southern style” peas. They were very smoky and I’m sure would have been delicious fixed in another way. However, for this dish I should have used just plain ol’ peas.  In spite of that, the recipe was good and tasty. 

 

Black Eyed Pea Salsa/Dip/Salad

Dressing:
1/2 cup olive oil
1/3 cup white wine (or regular) vinegar
2 to 3 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon celery seed
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/2 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground pepper

Veggies:
3 stalks celery, finely chopped
3 green onions, sliced
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 cucumber, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1 jalapeno (optional), seeded and chopped
1 cup (more if desired) chopped cilantro

2 cans black eyed peas, drained.

Mix together dressing ingredients. Set aside.
Combine all vegetables (except cilantro) with black eyed peas. Pour dressing over the top and gently stir together. Add cilantro and stir gently.
Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour. Serve with tortilla chips and have a Happy New Year!

What’s Your Favorite Christmas Food Tradition?

Our family has favorite Christmas foods that we anticipate each year. As we get together to celebrate the holidays, we share some of the same recipes from year to year with occasional new dishes making an appearance. 

Olive roll-ups (see below), stuffed mushrooms, twice-baked potatoes, broccoli-cauliflower salad always show up at our Christmas Eve feast. It wouldn’t seem right not to have Buche de Noel as we wait for Santa to deliver his treats. We’ve been making it for 30 years, with a few variations from time to time.

Christmas morning we often have a grits souffle that my mother used to fix, along with fried potatoes and onions, sausages and scrambled eggs. What a treat! After that we would waddle into the living room and collapse. 

Share with us some of your family’s traditions.

 

 

 

Olive Roll-Ups (Great make-ahead appetizer)

(Amounts depend on how many appetizers you need. Each slice of ham should give you 4 – 5 roll-ups.)

Boiled Ham or other uniform rectangular shaped thin ham slices

Soft Cream cheese, room temperature

1 t. horseradish or to taste per small container of cream cheese

Green pimento stuffed olives

Toothpicks

 

1. Drain a small jar of olives and dry the olives with towels and set aside.

2. Mix a teaspoon of horseradish into the cream cheese. Stir until spreadable.

3. Dry both sides of a ham slice with towels and lay on cutting board.

4. Spread one side of ham with cream cheese mixture, thinly.

5. Cut ham slice lengthwise into strips, each slightly wider than an olive.

6. Lay an olive at one end of the ham strip and roll it up, securing with a toothpick.

7. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.

Out-of-Control Soup

Did you ever go to your refrigerator to look for something you positively knew was in there only to find 23 things you forgot you had and never finding what you were looking for until you moved that plastic container shoved wa-a-a-y in the back? You know, that “science experiment” about growing mold? 

Well, I did just that yesterday. Among the 23 things I had forgotten were 2 shrivelly carrots, a partial bag of spinach,  half of a red onion, a lonely, slightly slimy leek, a few sprigs of fresh thyme and rosemary, some leftover corn, part of a yellow bell pepper, a few slices of Genoa salami, about a cup of chicken broth, and some grated parmesan. Before long, I had a plan. “Soup,” I said!  

Obviously, that frig was out of control and I made a solemn promise to clean it out…later. 

But I had a more immediate task. I got out a medium-sized, heavy saucepan, drizzled in some olive oil, and got to work. The slime on the leek was confined to the green ends which I wasn’t going to use anyway. I halved the white part lengthwise and rinsed it well under running water. Then I sliced it and put it aside. I chopped the red onion, the bell pepper, and peeled and chopped the poor limp carrots.

All those little foundlings I threw into the pot with the hot oil. I stirred it and let it cook a while to start tenderizing the veggies. In the meantime, I opened a can of diced tomatoes, and a can of cannellini, which I drained and rinsed (the beans, not the tomatoes). When the veggies were slightly tender, 3 cloves of garlic, minced, were thrown in. I stripped the leaves off a sprig of thyme and the leaves from the rosemary  sprig, chopped them roughly and added them. Then I added the broth, the tomatoes, some salt and pepper, and the salami, cut up into tiny bits. It looked a bit skimpy so I added another 14 oz. can of chicken broth. I brought this concoction to a boil and then lowered the heat and let it simmer for 20 minutes or so. Finally, I dumped in the beans, corn  and the baby spinach, coarsely chopped, and put the whole thing in the crockpot on low.

It was only 10:00 in the morning and we were still full from our weekend bacon and egg breakfast. I knew we had errands to run and wouldn’t want to spend much time fixing lunch later. The crockpot was the answer. I could keep the soup warm and ready for a few hours with no problem. 

Later, after we had picked out and bought our Christmas tree, we were ready for lunch. I sliced up some fresh “No Knead” bread, ladled out the soup, and sprinkled some parmesan over it. Boy! Was it delicious! I enjoyed it again today for lunch. No recipe, just plain old soup.

Try it yourself. I bet you can find some leftovers to throw into a soup pot and make a tasty meal. Chicken, torn up cooked hamburger, shredded roast beef or pork, cut up ham, cabbage, green beans, peas, pasta, rice – you name it. Add some broth, or just water and a bouillon cube if that’s all you have on hand (hold the salt until you taste it), or tomato juice. You probably know instinctively what combinations you would enjoy. Make the most of your food dollar and use those little bits of leftovers.

Now, I must tackle the frig and see what else I can salvage.

Rushing the Season

Technically, it’s not really winter for another 2 weeks, but it’s only 18 degrees, snow is blowing and it sure feels like winter. Shall we make chili? Pot roast? Soup?

While we ponder all the comfort foods appropriate for the cold weather, let’s listen to Vivaldi’s “Winter” from “The Four Seasons”.

The Four Seasons, Part 3, Autumn

As you enjoy your Thanksgiving Feast and family and friend reunions, enjoy this part of Vivaldi’s Four Seasons.

 

Bravo for Broccoli

We love broccoli. It’s so good and delivers great taste and terrific nutrients to promote good health. You can tell just by looking at it! The best, freshest broccoli has such a deep green color, tinged with purple. It’s a visual as well as a culinary treat. Have I won any converts? 

Perhaps those who confess to hating broccoli were forced, as children, to eat broccoli, boiled to sulfury excess, the broccoli, not the children. It should be steamed or sauteed, or even eaten raw, as it is often served in a vegetable tray as an hors d’oeuvre. Some people prefer to blanch the broccoli for a minute and then to refresh it in ice water instead of serving it raw. 

Sauteed with garlic slivers it is delicious. Steamed and garnished with grated parmesan it is delightful. Served with cheese sauce it is dreamy and rich. Added to a stir-fry it is de-lovely. Let’s face it. It’s versatility makes it doggone essential in a well-stocked kitchen. Toss it in a salad. Make it into a soup, or a vegetable on the side use it for a vehicle for delivering creamy dips to the mouth! 

I’m going overboard here, I realize. So, without further ado, I offer an idea for a make-ahead vegetable casserole using broccoli or cauliflower, or both combined, as their tastes are much the same, cauliflower being a bit more delicate, perhaps. 

(To make it ahead, prepare it up to baking it in the oven, step 5. Cover with foil and refrigerate until ready to bake. Add 10-15 minutes to the baking time, or bring to room temperature before baking, uncovered.)

BROCCOLI GRATIN

1 large bunch of broccoli, 2 pounds or so

3 tablespoons butter

3 tablespoons flour

1 1/2 c. milk, whole if you can spare the fat and calories, lower fat if necessary

salt and pepper to taste

1/8-1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, you can grate your own if you wish

1 cup grated cheese (cheddar, swiss, or gruyere, whatever you prefer)*

bread crumbs, optional

 

1. Preheat the oven to 350-375 degrees.

2. Break up the broccoli into large florets. Drop into a pot of boiling salted water and cook for about 4-5 minutes, until just beginning to be tender. Drain the broccoli and set aside.

3. Make a white sauce by melting the butter in a heavy saucepan, adding the flour when the butter starts to bubble. Stir the flour for a couple of minutes to remove the raw taste of the flour and whisk in the milk. Keep whisking to prevent it from scorching on the bottom of the pan. When it is thickened and bubbly, remove it from the heat and add the seasonings and most of the cheese. Keep some back to sprinkle on the top later. 

4. Butter a gratin dish or other shallow ovenproof pan. Spread the broccoli in the pan and pour the cheese sauce over it. Sprinkle with the remaining cheese. You may also strew bread crumbs on top of the sauce if you wish.

5. Bake for 30-40 minutes at 350 or 25-30 at 375, or until the top of the casserole is browned. 

 

* I prefer to use gruyere and parmesan combined, although cheddar is my husband’s favorite.

 

 

 

 

Pumpkin Swirl Cheesecake Rules!

I love this recipe for pumpkin cheesecake. It’s pretty, it’s rich, and it’s always a crowd pleaser. However, I never, ever fix it for Thanksgiving dinner. Why? It’s too rich, that’s why. With all the other goodies I serve at the Thanksgiving Feast (turkey, dressing, my famous make-ahead gravy, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole with the candied pecans around the top, cranberry/strawberry salad, peas, balsamic roasted vegetables, rolls and butter, pecan pie), I would rather have the traditional pumpkin pie with a dollop of whipped cream. 

Any other time of the year, I’m game for whipping up the pumpkin cheesecake. I’m a sucker for cheesecakes, anyway. Key lime cheesecakes are probably my favorite, especially the two layer one I often fix in the summer because it’s so doggone refreshing! 

The pumpkin swirl cheesecake has my vote as one of the best autumn or winter desserts to serve for a crowd. The servings can be on the small side because they are so rich and it’s easy to get at least 12-15 servings from a large springform pan.  It’s a make-ahead dish, so it’s perfect for a busy person to prepare a day or two in advance. Go for it. 

By the way, this is a recipe from Philadelphia (AKA Kraft) Cream Cheese. 

PUMPKIN SWIRL CHEESECAKE

For the crust:

25 Nabisco Ginger snaps, finely crushed (about 1 1/2 cups)

1/2 c. finely chopped pecans

1/4 c. (half stick) butter, melted

 

For the filling:

4 – 8oz. pkgs. Cream Cheese, softened

1 c. sugar, divided, 3/4 c. and 1/4c,

1 t. vanilla

4 eggs

1 c. canned pumpkin

1 t. cinnamon

1/4 t. nutmeg

dash cloves

 

Oven 325, 300 for a dark pan.

Steps:

1. Mix ginger snap crumbs, pecans and butter; press firmly onto bottom and 1″ up sides of 9″ springform pan.

2. Beat cream cheese with mixer, adding 3/4 c. sugar and vanilla.  Add eggs, one at a time, mixing on low speed after each addition, until well blended.

3. Remove 1 1/2 c. plain batter; place in small bowl.  

4. Stir remaining 1/4 c. sugar, pumpkin and spices into remaining batter; spoon half of the pumpkin batter into crust; top with spoonfuls of  half of the reserved plain batter.  Repeat layers.  Cut through batters with knife several times for swirl effect.

5. Bake 55 minutes or until center is almost set. (It will jiggle a little when moved.) 

6. Cool completely on rack.  Run a knife around the sides but do not remove the sides until the cheesecake has cooled. Then remove the sides and refrigerate 4 hours or overnight before serving.  Store leftovers covered with plastic wrap in the refrigerator for a few days. 

 

Serves 16

Soup’s On!

In the autumn, I automatically am drawn to making soup, especially hearty ones. Give me a recipe with beans, pork, onions, lots of garlic and a potato or two and I’m good to go. A week ago I made soup with potatoes, sausage, beer and cheddar cheese. It was delicious. No beans in it, but it was still good.

I love lentil soup. I make it a few times each year and always make too much of it. I tried to save it by freezing it but the lentils were too mushy when I thawed the soup and reheated it. I won’t do that again. I guess I’ll have to discipline myself to make only a half recipe or give half of it away. 

The best recipe for lentil soup that I ever found was from Cooking Light magazine. I have a love/hate relationship with Cooking Light. I have been disappointed in about half of the recipes I tried from that magazine and enjoyed about half. I suppose that’s not a bad ratio, but the disappointing recipes were very disappointing and some of the ones I enjoyed were “doctored up” by me and not followed exactly as written. However, this one for lentil soup was followed exactly and I was very pleased with it and therefore recommend it with no reservations. 

Read the ingredient list carefully before you start to make it. It calls for fresh dill and I wouldn’t try substituting dried, if I were you. 

 

BEST LENTIL SOUP (from Cooking Light magazine)

2 T. olive oil

1 1/2 c. chopped onion

1/2 c. chopped celery

1/2 c. chopped carrot

2 garlic cloves, minced

5 1/2 c. water (or combination of water and chicken broth)*

1 1/2 c. dried lentils

2 T. chopped fresh dill, divided

2 bay leaves

1 dried red chile pepper (if you only have red pepper flakes, use those, to taste)

1 – 8 oz. can tomato sauce

1 T. balsamic vinegar

3/4 t. salt

1/4 t. pepper 

3/4 c. (3 ounces) crumbled feta cheese

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, celery, and garlic; cook 10 minutes or until the vegetables are tender, stirring frequently.

Add water, dried lentils, 1 tablespoon dill, bay leaves, chile, and tomato sauce. Bring to a boil; reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes or until lentils are tender.

Stir in remaining 1 tablespoon dill, vinegar, salt, and black pepper; discard bay leaves and chile. Sprinkle with cheese.

*I sometimes use the combination 4 c. broth and 1 1/2 c. water. I also sometimes add some cubed ham or sliced polish sausage.

Fall Flavorful

Halloween has passed us by, leaving candy-jaded palates and shriveled up old jack-o-lanterns by the wayside. After one week, our jack-o-lantern, which sat atop a lamppost covered with a sheet, looked as if he had sucked on a lemon. His face had turned in on itself and he was relegated to the trash pronto. My remaining stash of candy will follow post-haste.

However, we still see pumpkins and other squash varieties in the markets and the thought of the warm, earthy, delicious taste of these vegetables whets my appetite. We made pumpkin french toast and it was delicious. No special recipe needed – for four servings, just add a half-cup or so of canned pumpkin puree to your egg and milk mixture along with 1/3 cup sugar and a sprinkling of pumpkin pie spices (cinnamon, clove, ginger and nutmeg) and cook as you normally would. I plan to fix a pumpkin soup later this week and will provide the recipe when I do. Pumpkin pancakes will be on our breakfast menu this weekend, served with real maple syrup, not the fake stuff.

I have a butternut squash sitting on the counter. I will peel, cube and roast it next week as a side dish to a pork tenderloin I’m planning to stuff with dried fruit. An acorn squash also awaits my attention. 

Fall also gives us the opportunity to savor the unique tastes of the many root vegetables available. I have selected a few recipes using parsnips, one of the vegetables that I neglect, unfortunately. We enjoyed one this week, and will be having another one next week. 

The recipe I followed this week was found in the September, 2008, issue of Southern Living. The accompanying photograph of the dish caught my eye and as soon as I saw that parsnips were included, I decided to give it a try. I’m glad I did. We both thought it was a great dish, and one that can be adapted in a few ways. It calls for chicken, but would work just as well with pork chops. I followed the recipe with only two exceptions. First, I did not use the “skin-on” boneless chicken breasts called for; I used “skinless” boneless breasts. Also, it called for whole wheat flour for dusting the chicken. I used white flour.

I found the pan sauce delicious, but a bit skimpy. next time I make this, I may double the amounts of shallots, and Marsala.

 

CHICKEN BREASTS WITH STEAM-ROASTED PARSNIPS, LEEKS, AND THYME

Thanks to Southern Living, September, 2008

Serves 4

1 medium leek

1 pound parsnips, peeled, cored, and sliced into spears

2-3 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves, divided

4 4-oz. boneless, skin-on chicken breasts

1 sprig rosemary, leaves removed and chopped

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 T. whole-wheat flour

3 T. olive oil, divided

2 shallots, finely chopped

1 clove garlic, crushed

1/4 c. dry Marsala, Madeira, sherry or white wine (or water)

2 T. chopped fresh Italian parsley

2 T. low-sodium soy sauce

Fresh rosemary sprigs, for garnish

 

1. Cut leek lengthwise and wash carefully. Thinly slice white part crosswise and discard greens. Place leek, parsnips and half of the thyme leaves in a microwave-safe dish with 1/4 c. water. Cover and microwave on high until easily pierced with a fork, about 5 minutes. Drain, toss and set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lay chicken, skin-side down, on waxed paper on a hard surface; cover with another layer of waxed paper. Pound to an even thickness of 1/2 inch to facilitate even cooking. In a shallow dish, mix remaining thyme, rosemary, salt, and pepper with flour; dredge both sides of chicken.

3. Add 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil to parsnips, leeks, and thyme; toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper. Place in top third of oven and roast for 15 minutes.

4. Coat a 12-inch skillet with remaining 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil and place over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, but not smoking, place chicken breasts in pan, skin-side down, and brown for 2-3 minutes. (Do not move; they’ll release easily once browned.) Turn and brown other side, 2-3 minutes. Transfer to a serving platter, cover, and keep warm. 

5. Reduce pan heat to medium-low and add shallots and garlic. Saute for 1-2 minutes, until soft. Increase heat to medium-high and add Marsala or other liquid, scraping up brown bits. When liquid reduces by half (about 1 minute), whisk in parsley and soy sauce.

6. Remove chicken skin. Surround chicken with parsnip mixture and top with pan sauce. Garnish with rosemary sprigs.