Weathertop Foodie Recipes

Thanksgiving Paninis

2012-01-10T19:48:00.003-05:00

We love making paninis, especially with leftovers. And when there is turkey and stuffing involved, we get doubly excited.

Ingredients

2 slices whole wheat bread or ciabatta
Turkey breast, sliced however thick you like
Turkey stuffing (about 1/2 cup per panini)
Cranberry dressing (about 1/4 cup per panini)
Mayo for spreading
Butter or spray oil

Steps

Power up the panini press - we use High power setting for panini.
Spread mayo over both sides of your 2 slices of bread.
Lay turkey and stuffing on one side, cranberry on the other side.
Carefully fold the pieces back together.
Spray oil on both sides of the panini outsides or butter if you are feeling naughty.
Cook the panini for 4-5 minutes.
Enjoy!

Dulce De Leche

2011-12-31T14:53:00.002-05:00

This is from Alton Brown's superb recipe. The baking soda really makes a difference for us.

Ingredients

1 quart whole milk
12 ounces sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped
1/2 teaspoon baking soda

Steps

Combine the milk, sugar, vanilla bean and seeds in a large, 4-quart saucepan and place over medium heat.
Bring to a simmer, stirring occasionally, until the sugar has dissolved.
Once the sugar has dissolved, add the baking soda and stir to combine.
Reduce the heat to low and cook uncovered at a bare simmer.
Stir occasionally, but do not re-incorporate the foam that appears on the top of the mixture.
Continue to cook for 1 hour.
Remove the vanilla bean after 1 hour and continue to cook until the mixture is a dark caramel color and has reduced to about 1 cup, approximately 1 1/2 to 2 hours.
Strain the mixture through a fine mesh strainer.
Store in the refrigerator in a sealed container for up to a month.

Eiley's Blueberry Muffins

2011-10-15T09:48:00.002-04:00

One fall morning, Eiley looked up from her crafting (making her own font!) and said, "Can we have muffins? I love muffins." We had blueberries in the freezer and just enough butter and yogurt to pull this off - 45 minutes later, we had muffins. Perfect muffins.

Ingredients

3 cups of all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
10 Tbsp unsalted butter (1 1/4 stick), softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cup plain yogurt
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
1 1/2 cups blueberries
1 Tbsp flour (if using defrosted frozen berries)

Steps

Adjust the oven rack to the middle-lower part of the oven. Preheat oven to 375°F.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt and set aside.
In a large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar together, beating until fluffy. Add eggs one at a time, beating until incorporated after each one. Beat in the grated lemon peel.
Beat in one half of the dry ingredients until just incorporated. Beat in one third of the yogurt. Beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients. Beat in a second third of the yogurt. Beat in the remaining dry ingredients and then the remaining yogurt. Again be careful to beat until just incorporated. Do not over beat.
Fold in the berries. If you are using frozen berries, defrost them first, drain the excess liquid, and then coat them in a light dusting of flour.
Use standard 12-muffin muffin tins. Coat each muffin cup lightly with one of those convenient vegetable oil sprays. Distribute the muffin dough equally among the cups.
Bake until muffins are golden brown, about 25 to 30 minutes. Test with a long toothpick (we use a thin bamboo skewer) to make sure the centers of the muffins are done.
Set on wire rack to cool for 5 minutes. Remove muffins from the tin and serve slightly warm.

Yield: 12-16 muffins.

Chopped Salad, American-style!

2011-07-27T13:42:00.002-04:00

This salad dates back aways, but while it may be historic, it is really delicious. If you don't have the time or interest in this dressing, we have substituted a Honey-Lemon yogurt dressing.

Ingredients:

1 bell pepper, diced
1 pint of cherry tomatoes, halved or 1 or 2 large tomatoes, diced
1 cucumber, diced
2 Romaine lettuces, or 4 little Boston or butter lettuces, sliced thin
1 cup of black olives, sliced thin
1 cup baby carrots, sliced thin
1 cup celery, sliced thin
1 handfuls of mixed fresh herbs (parsley, basil, chives, mint)
2 teaspoons English mustard
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
8 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Steps:

Wash the salad ingredients and drain, then get a large chopping board and a chef’s knife, and get ready to chop!
It is important to dice the tomatoes, pepper, cucumber into 1/2 inch pieces, as this will help to bind with the dressing when you come back to mix it in.
With the greens, just make sure you chop them all into 1/2 inch strips.
Make a well in the center of the veggies.
Add the mustard, vinegar, and oil - mix well. Season with salt and pepper. Now fuss with the flavor, remember you don't get time to let this stand, it must be flavorful from the get-go.
Toss the salad well and bring to the table to a choruses of "Hurrahs".

Serves 6.

Perfect Custard

2011-07-18T09:57:00.002-04:00

This is a great base custard, especially for trifle. Hold those egg whites for another day (angel food cake, anyone?).

Ingredients

3 cups whole milk
8 large egg yolks
2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla

Steps

Heat milk in a 2 1/2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderate heat until hot but not boiling.
While milk heats, whisk together yolks, sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a heatproof bowl until smooth.
Add 1 cup hot milk to yolk mixture in a stream, whisking, then add remaining milk, whisking constantly. Transfer mixture to saucepan and cook over moderately low heat, stirring constantly, until thickened and registers 170°F on thermometer, 6 to 10 minutes (do not boil).
Immediately force custard through a fine-mesh sieve into a clean bowl and stir in butter and vanilla.
Chill custard, its surface covered with wax paper, until cold and thickened, at least 3 hours.

Chocolate Chip Buttermilk Pancakes

2011-07-06T10:35:00.002-04:00

So, the little ones asked for BFD (breakfast-for-dinner) and they love pancakes above all else (much to my waffle-philia). Daughter #2 "Sweet-Tooth" said, "Oh, what about... chocolate chip pancakes?"

With buttermilk in the fridge for a couple of recipes later this week, this seemed like a logical choice for light, fluffy pancakes.

Ingredients

2 cups flour (mix-n-match white and wheat flours)
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 cups buttermilk
1/3 cup milk
2 eggs
4 Tbsp oil or melted butter
1 cup of mini chocolate chips

Steps

Heat a griddle at 375 F.
Mix together the dry ingredients thoroughly.
Make a well in the dry stuff and crack the eggs. Scramble the eggs. Slowly add the milks and the oil. Mix until just moistened (like brownie batter).
Finally add the chips and just mix through.

Sausage Apple Pie

2011-05-02T18:13:00.003-04:00

I saw this recipe in a related form over at Simply Recipes (see recipe link below). That version has a lot more cheese (3 cups more!) and a more "set" consistency. We were looking for a recipe to use up the last of a bag of Granny Smiths, then we used them up making Apple Crisp.

But I had the idea in my mind. I searched for something that was savory, but not "breakfast-y". I made this one up based on what we had - but there are some great versions out there.

Amy's Apple Sausage Pie (many variants, but "apple pie filling"? Nope.)
Apple and Sausage Pie from Simply Recipes (cheese-crazy)
Sausage and Apple Pie in a Cheddar Cheese Crust from King Arthur Flour

Ingredients

1 lb of sausage (pork, chicken, or turkey; ground or in casing)
1 onion, sliced
3 cloves of garlic
3-5 apples (Granny Smith or Empire), sliced well
3/4 cup of good applesauce (if storebought, add cinnamon and nutmeg)
1/4 cup of cheese (feta, extra sharp cheddar, nothing mild)

Steps

Preheat the oven to 350 F.
Slice or remove the sausage from the casing and saute till browned. Remove the sausage from the pan.
Reserve the juices and saute onions and garlic for 5 minutes. Remove and keep on reserving the juices!
Next comes the apple - if you use 3 apples, bulk it out with some potatoes (I had a leftover baked potato, I sliced it thin).
I mixed the sausage, onion/garlic, applesauce and apple/potato together. Add in cheese at this point. Taste it, add salt and pepper to taste.
Drape the pie crust over a 9-inch pie pan.
Place the filling inside the crust and "tamp down".
Bake for 40-45 minutes at 350 F.

Serves 6.

Broccoli Chicken Casserole

2011-04-25T14:29:00.000-04:00

We were looking for a solid, non-carbo heavy casserole. (Carol informs me that she has been telling me for years about casseroles that fit this bill, but apparently I just now have caught on!).

This is a pretty standard casserole with some simple variations - thighs instead of breasts for some added flavor, simmering in broth not water, Progresso instead of Campbell's, and since that is not condensed we add some stuffing to soak up some of the soup and make the final casserole less watery.

Ingredients

1 lb of chicken (4 breast halves or 4 thighs)
2 pounds of broccoli florets, steamed
1 (18 ounce) can Progresso cream of mushroom soup
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1 cup dry stuffing mix
1 cup breadcrumbs
1/4 cup of butter

Steps

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
Boil chicken until tender in broth. Then shred or cut into bite size pieces.
Meanwhile, steam broccoli until crisp but tender.
In a small bowl mix together the soup, stuffing and mayonnaise. Set aside.
In a 9x13 inch baking dish layer the chicken, broccoli, and soup mixture.
Bake uncovered in the preheated oven for 25-30 minutes.
In the last 10 minutes, saute 1 cup of breadcrumbs in 1/4 cup of butter.
Top the casserole with breadcrumbs and bake for 10 minutes more.

Homemade Cream of Tomato Soup

2011-04-16T13:14:00.004-04:00

We both have a strong memory of comfort food built around cream of tomato soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. And after cold, windy days like today (our annual Farm Open House, 45 F in a gusty 20 mph wind), we need a bit of super-warm comfort.

The trick with this recipe is not to fall back on making Campbell's instead. It does take about 30 minutes of simmering, but it is worth it. We use our own quarts of tomato puree from the year before. The tomatoes are all gone by then, but I have 14 oz cans of Muir Glen diced tomatoes handy to give it some texture.

The 30 minute simmering time is to allow the basil time to get well-mixed.

And finally, we don't buy cream this way (unless it is going into whipped cream). So I used 1/2 cup of whole milk - not from the store which may have some cream removed, but absolutely fresh off the udder, whole goat milk. The cream there is part of the allure of the texture and gives a nice floor to the sweet tomato flavor.

"Tastes like summer."

Ingredients

1 quart of tomato puree, hopefully your own
4 medium sized tomatoes, diced OR 14 oz canned diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp of dried basil OR 10-15 fresh basil leaves (best)
1 broth cube (I used Herb-Ox vegetable bouillon cubes)
1/2 cup heavy cream OR 1/2 cup whole milk w/ cream

Steps

Add the quart of puree, the diced tomatoes, broth cube and the basil to a medium sized pot. Bring to a fast simmer then down to a low simmer. Hold there for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Once the 30 minutes are up, turn off the heat and stir in the cream/whole milk and serve immediately hot.
While the soup is simmering, you might as well start making grilled cheese sandwiches!

Serves 4.

Vietnamese Beef Pho

2011-03-12T17:29:00.004-05:00

Vietnamese Pho is pretty much "awesome broth that has lots of crunchy, yummy add-ons." Obviously then, the broth makes the soup. There are two schools of thought here: make a slow cooked beef broth out of good knuckles, oxtail, or other bones plus a mix of almost "garam masala" type spices. You can see a discussion of those spices at Steamy Kitchen's version of Pho.

It really benefits from remembering that this is "jumped up street food" and so our recipe is fairly flexible based on what is in the fridge that needs to get used super-fast. At its core, the Pho needs a solid beef-y broth, sprouts, beef, and something from the onion family (leeks, onion, scallions, etc). Top with lime juice and cilantro/basil and we are ready.

Even Bri will eat this soup.

Ingredients

6 cups of broth from cubes
2 tablespoons of hoisin sauce
1 tablespoon of fish sauce
1 tablespoon of lime juice
1/3 cup of an Oriental sauce (stir-fry sauce, plum sauce, even gravy!)
1 inch of grated ginger root
1 dash of red pepper flakes
1 cup of sliced onion family (leek, onion, or scallions)
1 cup of carrots sliced
1 lb of flank steak, chilled then sliced very thin against the grain
8-10 oz of rice noodles
2 cups of sprouts
1/2 cup of cilantro, diced

Steps:

In a large pot, heat the broth water to high simmer.
Add sauces, ginger and red pepper. Stir well and simmer until uniform.
Add onion, carrots, steak and cook for 20 minutes.
Add rice noodles and cook 6-8 minutes (read package carefully).
When the noodles are done, serve immediately by ladling into bowls. Top with sprouts, cilantro (basil is also good). Make sure there is more hoisin sauce and hot pepper sauce available on the table.

Shrimp and Vegetable Paella

2011-02-08T17:25:00.004-05:00

This is an old recipe for us, pre-dating "us" but I honestly don't know where I found it. I love paella in its many versions and this one does it for me - lots of flavor from the garlic, wine, and carrot (of all things, that carrot stands out here) and most importantly the marinated artichoke hearts.

There are many times when paella is great, especially as a spring or early fall dish - but today was 10 F with crazy gusts, a driveway that filled with snow, and nothing but low gray clouds. Paella worked today too.

Ingredients:

6 scallions, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Tbsp of fresh parsley - or 1 1/2 tsp of dried parsley
1 cup of rice
1 1/2 cup of water (or better broth)
1/2 cup of white wine (or dry sherry)
1 lb of medium shrimp, thawed and shelled
4 carrots, sliced into 1/4 inch rings
1 jar marinated artichoke hearts, each quarter sliced into 3s

Steps:

Saute the scallions, pepper and garlic in some olive oil for 5 minutes.
Add the parsley and rice, saute for 1 minute and stir often to coat the rice.
Add the broth, wine, shrimp and carrots and simmer 20 minutes, covered.
Finally, add the artichoke hearts (plus all juices from the jar) and stir well.
Serve hot to 4 hungry people.

Marinated Pork Shoulder

2011-01-30T18:34:00.000-05:00

We had to make room in the freezer for the 1/4 cow parts and found a pork shoulder from one of our own pigs. Shoulders here are also called "picnic hams" and being from the front end of the pig, they are tougher and need longer, slower cooking.

Ingredients

4-5 pounds pork shoulder
1 tablespoon fennel seed, finely ground
1 tablespoon black peppercorns, cracked
2 tablespoon thyme leaves, lightly chopped
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary leaves, lightly chopped
4 medium garlic cloves, crushed
2 tablespoons Kosher salt
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 medium all-purpose apples (I used Gala)
1 medium yellow onion, sliced
1 cup dry white wine (or good dark beer)

Steps:

Trim all but ¼-inch of fat from pork shoulder. Put the pork on a sheet pan.
In a small bowl, mix together the fennel , cracked peppercorns, thyme, rosemary, garlic, 2 tablespoons salt and 2 tablespoons olive oil. Stir until the mixture is uniform.
Rub the mixture evenly over the pork shoulder top and bottom.
Wrap the pork shoulder tightly in plastic wrap to hold the marinade against the skin and marinate overnight.
Next day, preheat the oven to 450°.
While the over is heating; peel, halve and core the apples. Cut each half into 4 equal wedges. Place the wedges in a medium bowl.
Peel and trim the onion. Cut in half and cut each half into thin wedges. Mix with the apples.
Toss the apples and onions with the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil and season with salt and pepper.
Place in the bottom of a Dutch oven with a cover and put the marinated pork shoulder on top. (You may also use a regular roasting pan with aluminum foil to cover.)
Roast uncovered for 30 minutes.
Turn the oven heat down to 325° and add the wine (or beer).
Cover the roasting pan and slow roast for 2½ to 3 hours until the pork shoulder is very tender and pulls apart easily when probed with a fork.
Transfer the pork shoulder to a serving plate.
If the pan juices are very thick, add enough water to loosen, then mash and strain. If more liquid is desired, add a little water. The apples will be so soft that they will break down.
Check the seasoning and correct to taste. Serve over potatoes or noodles as a gravy.

Serves 4-6 with leftovers.

Applesauce Muffins

2011-01-24T17:37:00.000-05:00

I am almost ashamed to say that these are from... gasp... Martha Stewart. I will say this, she does cuten-up food and can decorate like nobody's business. And, apparently, she can do muffin recipes. Or at least somebody on her staff can.

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
4 ounces (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cups packed light-brown sugar
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cups store-bought applesauce
1 cup pecans, chopped

Steps:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a standard 12-cup muffin tin with paper liners.
Measure flour, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, nutmeg, and cloves together into a medium bowl. Set aside.
Put 8 tablespoons (1 stick) butter, the granulated sugar, and 1/2 cup brown sugar in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. Cream on medium speed until smooth, about 3 minutes.
Mix in eggs, one at a time on medium speed.
On low speed, mix in applesauce and then flour mixture.
Stir in nuts by hand.
Divide batter among muffin cups, filling each about three-quarters full.
Bake until a tester comes out clean, about 20 minutes.
Cool completely on a wire rack.

Makes 12 big or 15-18 medium size muffins (depending on how high you fill the cups)

Taco Seasoning

2011-01-19T18:05:00.000-05:00

A mixture of spices that approximates what you might buy in a package. Depending on how spicy you and your family like your dishes, use as little or as much as you want.

INGREDIENTS:

1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon black pepper

Steps:

In a small bowl, mix together chili powder, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, paprika, cumin, salt and pepper.
Store in an airtight container for up to 1 year.

Wegman's Marble Cookies

2011-01-11T15:36:00.002-05:00

This recipe appeared in a western NY newspaper several years ago. It was from the "Dear Ask-it" column with this introduction: "This is for M.F. of Canandaigua. It is a very close substitute for Sibley's original Chinese Marble Cookies. I make them all the time. It was submitted by K. L. from Hilton, NY. These are very crisp and delicious."

For Carol, these are a time-machine back to the "Cookie Club" when she was younger - you know the one where you get a free cookie for a kid each time you come in. Well, imagine the cookie being one that you actually could share with a parent who would eat it! That's these.

The big trick here is to make the dough and then cut in the chocolate, but not so much that you smear the chocolate - you want sharp lines of chocolate and non-chocolate dough.

Ingredients

1 cup vegetable shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1.5 ounce unsweetened chocolate, melted

Steps

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.
Beat the shortening with sugar and egg until light and fluffy.
Add dry ingredients and beat until well combined.
Add vanilla and mix gently.
Add chocolate a little at a time, cutting in with a knife. Do not stir.
Form dough into balls and place on an ungreased cookie sheet.
Flatten with the bottom of a sugar-coated glass.
Bake 8 to 10 minutes until lightly golden - watch them carefully, you may have to pull them early or later, depending on your oven's quirks.

Olive Cheese Balls

2011-01-09T10:33:00.002-05:00

This is an old family recipe from somewhere - so tasty, it works great with the salty sourness of green olives (it does not work with Kalamata or black olives). Great appetizer for winter get-togethers.

Betty Crockers' take adds too much dough

Ingredients

2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese (about 8 oz)
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 cup butter, melted
48 small pimiento-stuffed olives, drained and patted dry

Steps:

Grate cheese - we like using a food processor because cheese grating can be really tiring, especially if you make a double batch to freeze.
Stir together cheese and flour in large bowl.
Stir in melted butter and mix thoroughly. If dough seems dry, work with hands to warm.
Mold 1 teaspoon dough around each olive; shape into ball that just covers the olives. Roll it around in your palm, if it makes "points" then prune those off.
Place each ball on ungreased cookie sheet. Cover and refrigerate at least 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 400ºF.
Bake 15 to 20 minutes or until light brown on edges.

Pork Loin with Apples and Mustard-y Cream Sauce

2011-01-02T16:39:00.004-05:00

Carol found this recipe in the wonderful "The Best of Gourmet - 20th Anniversary Edition" - so many great party ideas packed in one book, we actually bought it after we kept it out of the library for too long.

This is a wonderful autumn and winter recipe - not for the coldest of days, but perfect for those warming snaps when the cold breaks and the snow melts. The sauce is wonderful as a "gravy" over rice pilaf with peas (our traditional side dish).

Ingredients

1 (4-lb) boneless pork loin
2 tsp salt
2 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp olive oil
2 Granny Smith apples (3/4 lb total)
1 large onion, chopped
1/2 cup packed, dried pitted prunes, quartered
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
3/4 cup water
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 tbsp dijon mustard
1/2 cup dry white wine

Steps

Put oven rack in lower third of oven and preheat oven to 375°F.
Halve pork loin crosswise, then pat dry and sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt and 3/4 teaspoon pepper(total).
Heat oil in a 12-inch heavy skillet over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking, then brown pork, 1 piece at a time, turning occasionally, 6 to 8 minutes per piece.
Transfer to a roasting pan as they brown (do not clean skillet) and roast pork until thermometer inserted diagonally at least 2 inches into meat registers 150°F, 40 to 50 minutes.
While pork roasts, peel, quarter, and core apples, then cut into 1/4-inch-thick wedges.
Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet, then cook onion in skillet over moderate heat, stirring occasionally, until softened, 3 to 5 minutes.
Add apples, prunes, broth, and water and simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until apples are tender, 10 to 12 minutes.
Stir in cream and mustard and simmer until sauce is slightly thickened, 2 to 3 minutes. Remove from heat and keep sauce warm, partially covered.
Transfer pork to a cutting board and let stand 10 minutes.
Add wine to roasting pan and boil over high heat, stirring and scraping up brown bits, until reduced to about 1/4 cup, 2 to 3 minutes.
Stir pan juices into cream sauce along with remaining 3/4 teaspoon salt and remaining 3/4 teaspoon pepper and heat sauce over moderate heat, stirring, until hot.
Cut each half of the tenderloin crosswise into 4 slices.
Serve pork with sauce - we like to have pilaf and peas on the side, great all mixed together.

Makes 8 servings

Treasure in a Squash

2010-12-06T13:46:00.004-05:00

Jen made this for a brunch - she used a turk's hat squash, hollowed out and then packed with the apple-cranberry casserole. Fabulous as a side or dessert, especially when you can dig the spoon deep and remove some squash and apple at the same time.

Ingredients

1 (5 lb.) squash
1 onion, diced
3 large tart apples, peeled, cored & diced
1/2 c. cranberries
2 tbsp. butter
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 c. walnuts, crumbled

Steps

Preheat oven to 350 F.
Lay squash on its side and cut off 1/4 of it to make a lid. Remove seed and strings.
Melt butter in skillet, add onion and saute until soft about 5 minutes.
Add apples, cinnamon, raisins and sunflower kernels. Stir and toss until well mixed. Cook about 5 minutes.
Scoop apple mixture into squash and replace "lid".
Place on baking sheet and bake at 350 degrees until tender, about 1 1/2 hours.

Serves 8.

Winter Kielbasa Bake

2010-11-29T14:42:00.003-05:00

This is our kind of a meal - easy to assemble and when it cooks, it makes the whole kitchen smell delicious. Buy some quality sauerkraut and kielbasa (I like kielbasa that emphasizes "beef" on the label) and you won't go wrong. Great for grim days in winter.

Ingredients:

2 lbs. Kielbasa (Polish sausage)
10 small to medium red potatoes, halved and sliced lengthwise
6 carrots (or 1 lb of baby carrots)
1 lb sauerkraut
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 tbsp. granulated brown sugar (if you use apple juice, skip for beer)
1 cup apple juice or 1 cup flat dark beer
1 tsp of caraway seeds (optional, but it really jumps up the flavor)

Steps:

Spray a large baking dish (I use a 4 quart Corning ware) with non-stick spray.
Drain the sauerkraut then spread across the bottom of the dish.
Slice the kielbasa into 2 inch chunks then halve lengthwise, making 2 inch long half cylinders. Arrange the kielbasa on the sauerkraut, skin side up.
Scrub those small potatoes (I love red potatoes here), halve them lengthwise too. Place them skin side up over the sauerkraut.
Slice the carrots; add them to the dish. I sometimes use the organic baby carrots here - one of those little bags works out well.
Thinly slice the onion and sprinkle over all.
Dissolve the sugar in the apple juice (or dark beer) and pour over the entire dish.
Cover tightly.
Bake in a 325°F oven for one hour until It's done when the potatoes and carrots are tender. Easily serves six hungry people.

Oven Baked Sweet Potato Fries

2010-11-19T19:55:00.001-05:00

These sweet potato fries are a family favorite. So easy and our Notorious Non-Eater of Sweet Potatoes actually enjoys them. Not as oily as the fried sweet potato fries from the restaurant and so easy to make in the background while making something as the entree.

And it is packed with vitamins - if my sweet potatoes were not so lumpy, I would skip peeling them. Nice smooth ones from the store may be clean enough to keep the skins on - more vitamins and antioxidants!

Ingredients

2 lbs sweet potatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp sweet Hungarian paprika
1/4 tsp cinnamon

Steps

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil.
Peel the sweet potatoes. Cut each potato in half, and then into quarters. Then, slice into fry shapes, about 1/2 inch wide.
Put the sweet potatoes into a resealable plastic bag.
Add oil, salt, paprika and cinnamon.
Seal the bag and shake well to thoroughly coat the fries.
Spread the potatoes out onto the baking sheet in a single layer.
Cook for 30 minutes, turning every 10 minutes, until slightly browned.

Cast Iron Cornbread

2010-11-14T11:21:00.003-05:00

Here’s a classic cornbread recipe from Homesick Texan's recipe blog. We like it because it is baked in a cast iron skillet which makes setup and cleanup super-easy (take that Jiffy mix!).

Homesick Texan notes, "Be sure and get the cast iron good and hot, as that’s what sears the batter and makes for a crispy, crunchy crust."

Ingredients:

2 cups of cornmeal (we like yellow)
½ cup sifted flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 egg, lightly beaten
2 cups buttermilk
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Steps:

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.
Put the oil in a small cast iron skillet and place it in the oven for a 5 minutes until it’s sizzling.
Mix together dry ingredients. Set aside.
Whisk egg and buttermilk. Mix with dry ingredients
Take cast iron skillet out of oven, and pour hot oil into batter, and mix.
Pour batter into cast iron skillet, bake in oven for 20-25 minutes. Cornbread should be brown on top and pulling away from the sides of the skillet.

Creamy Maple Oatmeal

2010-11-12T09:02:00.001-05:00

We found this recipe at Quaker Oats website and posted it here, mostly the same. The "craisins" work as well as raisins normally do, but they kick it up a notch with a more rounded flavor. You can substitute water for some or all of the milk, but our most Notorious Non-Oatmeal Eater prefers at least half milk. Plus you can get your calcium this way.

Ingredients

3-1/2 cups low-fat milk
2 cups aats (we preferred old fashioned)
1 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup good maple Syrup
1/4 cup toasted wheat germ or bran cereal

Steps

In medium saucepan, bring milk to a gentle boil.
Add oats, dried cranberries and maple syrup.
Return to a boil for 1 minute and then reduce heat to medium.
Cook 1 minute for quick oats, 5 minutes for old fashioned oats or until most of milk is absorbed, stirring occasionally.
Stir in wheat germ or bran cereal

Yields 4 servings

Calories: 360

Buttermilk waffles

2010-11-06T11:56:00.003-04:00

After this, I may never go back to straight 'milk' waffles again. Umm, so delicate and tasty.

Ingredients

1 3/4 cups of flour (you can go as high as 3/4 cup whole wheat with no issue)
1 tbsp of baking powder
1/2 tsp of salt
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups of buttermilk
4 tbsp of oil
1 tsp of vanilla

Steps:

Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl.
In a separate bowl, beat the eggs well. Add the buttermilk, oil and vanilla and mix very well.
Add the wet to the dry and stir until just mixed (like brownie batter).
Let sit for 5 minutes - I like to plug in the waffle iron at this point.
Once hot, spray the iron with veg oil or rub with some butter.
Cook the waffles just to being done - with the sour buttermilk and the baking powder, these will rise and be delicate.

Southwestern Coleslaw

2010-07-05T09:33:00.004-04:00

We had a shindig to introduce some of the family to the puppies and this was my favorite recipe (I cooked zip for this one, all Jackie). I love the concept of coleslaw - just the right sour balanced against the mayo. But while summertime is traditional coleslaw time (see our Ab-Fab coleslaw), mayo just isn't doing it for me these days.

Jackie brought a different version of this, but I dig this one. We topped pulled pork sandwiches with this - wow, waaayyyy better than just the pulled pork on its own (which apparently is a very popular topping in the South, saves on forks?)

This recipe is from Simply Recipes and her comments on the balance were:

If the seasoned rice vinegar adds too much sweetness for your taste, sprinkle in a little lemon juice. If you are using unsweetened rice vinegar, to get the right balance of acidity and sweet, sprinkle a little sugar over the salad and toss.

Ingredients

4 cups thinly sliced cabbage (about 1/3 to 1/2 cabbage)*
1 carrot, grated
2 radishes, thinly sliced
1 green onion, thinly sliced
1/4 cup (packed) fresh cilantro, chopped
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp seasoned rice vinegar (or plain rice vinegar with added sugar to taste)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Steps

Combine cabbage, grated carrot, radish slices, cilantro, onions in a serving bowl.
Add the olive oil and toss to coat.
Add the seasoned rice vinegar, and salt and pepper to taste.
Let it sit in the fridge for 4 hours and then serve.

Serves 4.

Thai Beef and Mushroom Salad (Yam Nua Yang)

2010-06-13T11:10:00.003-04:00

This recipe is adapted from the superb (and all too quickly out-of-print) "The Ultimate Thai and Asian Cookbook", which I have found used on Amazon for $2.22. We have been swamped with kidding season (finally over) and planting season (now onto weeding!) and this quick and super-delicious and it fits the qualification as a SuperFood (mushroom, cilantro, garlic, chiles, and pretty much everything here is good for you).

This meal is perfect for us right now - heavy on salad, lots of great no fat "dressing" to drizzle over top of it, and an easily marinated slice of "Burgess", our quarter of an Angus cow from LongLesson Farm. These feeds four comfortably - just go heavy on the salad and get some awesome fruit or veg sides to round it out.

Ingredients

1. Meat

1.5 lbs of round steak
2 Tbsp of lime juice
2 Tbsp of fish sauce
2 Tbsp of olive oil
2 small chiles (Serrano are a good choice here)
8 ounces of Shiitake mushrooms, stemmed and sliced

2. Dressing

3 scallions, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 Tbsp of lime juice
2 Tbsp of fish sauce
1 tsp of brown sugar
2 Tbsp of cilantro, chopped

3. Salad Fixin's

1 (or 2) heads of romaine lettuce, coarsely chopped
handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 of a cucumber, peeled, seeded, and thinly sliced long-ways
3 Tbsp of toasted sesame seeds

Steps

Marinate the round steak with the fish sauce and lime juice for 2-4 hours.
Preheat the broiler (or grill!) to high heat - place the rack at the highest setting.
Cook the steak for 2-4 minutes (more for thicker cuts) on each side. The Thai prefer this beef be on the rarer side, but your mileage may vary. Remove the beef and let it rest for 10-15 minutes.
Meanwhile, heat a frying pan and add the olive oil.
First add the chiles and saute for 30 seconds alone. Add the mushrooms and saute for 5 more minutes, stirring occasionally. If there is too little oil, add 1 or 2 Tbsp of water to keep it from sticking.
Take the pan off the heat.
Thinly slice the beef, across the grain. The thinner, the better, so sharpen your knife beforehand.
Add the steak slices to the mushrooms in the pan and mix well.
Make the dressing by mixing the scallions, garlic, lime and fish sauce, sugar and cilantro in a small bowl. Drizzle the dressing over the steak and mushroom mixture.
Lay out the romaine, tomatoes, and cucumber on the table. Each person makes a mound of salad on their plate.
Place 1/4 of the steak mixture on the salad and garnishes with the sesame seeds.
Make Yum-Yum noises.

If you are finding that this is not quite enough food, add another 8 ounces of mushrooms to the saute pan (use a larger one or cook in two batches). This bulks out the mixture with no fat and lots of good protein.

Irish Colcannon

2010-04-04T16:28:00.002-04:00

We make colcannon every year for St Paddy's Day - this year I saw a recipe from Kerry Gold butter that added cheese (Wallace would be proud). It was really good and since we needed the cabbage for our Ab-Fab coleslaw later that week, I chose purple cabbage.

It may have been the wrong color for St Paddy's but it tasted better - does purple cabbage taste that much different? We think so.

Ingredients

2 pounds red potatoes, cut into chunks
1 teaspoon salt
6 tbsp salted butter
1 cup onion, sliced
6 cups finely sliced green (or purple!) cabbage
1 cup (about 4 ounces) shredded cheddar cheese
Freshly ground pepper to taste

Steps

Cook potatoes in salted, boiling water about 20 minutes or until very tender; drain well.
Mash with skins on in a mixer, adding butter as a big ole' stick.
While potatoes are cooking, saute onion; cook 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until very soft.
Add cabbage; cook coveredr for 5 minutes more or until very soft (I usually stir it twice during this time).
Stir cabbage mixture and cheese into hot potatoes and season with pepper.

Makes 8 servings.

Ginger-Chicken Egg Drop Soup

2010-03-27T15:37:00.000-04:00

Another recipe from Goodbites (like the "Chicken Cobbler with Cheesy Biscuits"). Pretty easy, very healthy, and fast (although I would use my own chicken, so roasting the bird the day ahead may require a bit more planning - but it tastes so much better!).

If you are not a big fan of ginger, I would cut back on that here. Nothing wrong with going with a stripped down egg-drop soup. We like it (although the girls are currently in a "no soup" phase) this way. Definitely worth a try.

Don't let the Campbell's chicken broth deter you - any good broth will work here. Campbell's is just product placement, eh?

Mo' Better Drunken Noodles

2010-03-25T19:42:00.005-04:00

We had leftover duck, a block of frozen tofu, and an urge to eat something that would drive away the cloudy blues. This mod of a Thai recipe (somewhere between Drunken Noodles and Pad See Ew) took advantage of what we had as fridge leftovers and the produce that our local grocery would stock that wasn't wilted nasty.

We liked it - the fried tofu is awesome - the girls liked it. And it only took 25 minutes.

INGREDIENTS

1 lb of extra firm or firm tofu, frozen and thawed, drained
2 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 inch of ginger, peeled and minced
1 hot Thai pepper or 1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
6 scallions, chopped
8 ounces of cooked chicken, duck breast, pork or beef, sliced
1 lb of bok choy or napa cabbage, sliced thinly
2 carrots, cut thickly on the bias
1/2 cup of cilantro, chopped
1/2 cup of basil leaves, chopped
Lime juice to taste

STIR-FRY SAUCE:

2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 Tbsp. rice vinegar
1 Tbsp. fish sauce or substitute 2 Tbsp. oyster sauce
2 Tbsp. lime juice
1 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 tsp. Thai chili sauce OR 1/2 tsp crushed dried red chilies

Steps:

Cook 8 ounces of noodles (wide rice or wide egg noodles) until al dente - cool off with cold running water and set aside.
Mix the sauce ingredients together in a small bowl. Taste for balance - it should be sweet, sour, spicy and hot simultaneously.
Fry the tofu in 1/2 inch of canola or peanut oil until crusty and golden. Drain on towels and set aside.
Set up a wok with 3 TBSP of oil and stir fry the garlic, ginger, and red pepper. Let it fry for 1 minute.
Add the bok choy (or cabbage), meat, and carrots. Stir fry for 3 minutes.
Add the sauce to the wok and stir for 1 more minute.
Remove from wok and add to a bowl with noodles. Add cilantro and basil.
Toss to coat evenly. Taste test and add more hot pepper flakes if you are brave!

Corning Your Own Corned Beef

2010-03-08T15:18:00.005-05:00

OK, I never had corned beef often as a kid - maybe once a year (hey, we weren't Irish-Americans). Had my share of boiled red cabbage though :D

Anyway, two years ago, Carol had this one week course development job that we scheduled for the week of my Spring Break so I cared for the kids and she pulled 14 hr days working. Ugh. But my end of the deal was a never-ending supply of food, tea, and snacks. Luckily St. Patrick's Day fell on the week, so the kids and me made corned beef, cabbage, soda bread with hand-made butter, and something chocolate-y for dessert.

We bought the corned beef from Eagle Bridge Custom Meats (now USDA certified) and it was fantastic - moist and well-spiced and the same price as that nasty stuff from the big grocery store. This year, we are making our corned beef from our portion of a quarter cow named Burgess from the Masons' at Long-Lesson Farm (here in Johnsonville).

from Simply Recipes, fab recipes and photog!

This is from Alton Brown's excellent recipe:

Ingredients

2 quarts water
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons saltpeter
1 cinnamon stick, broken into several pieces
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 teaspoon black peppercorns
8 whole cloves
8 whole allspice berries
12 whole juniper berries
2 bay leaves, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
2 pounds ice
1 (4 to 5 pound) beef brisket, trimmed
1 small onion, quartered
1 large carrot, coarsely chopped
1 stalk celery, coarsely chopped

Steps

Place the water into a large pot along with salt, sugar, saltpeter, cinnamon stick, mustard seeds, peppercorns, cloves, allspice, juniper berries, bay leaves and ginger.
Dissolve the salt and sugar on high heat, stirring often.
Cool using either ice or refrigeration until the temp is less than 45 F
Once the brine is cooled, place the brisket in a 2-gallon zip top bag and add the brine. Seal and lay flat inside a container, cover and place in the refrigerator for 7-10 days.
Check daily to make sure the beef is completely submerged and mix the brine.
After the 7-10 days, remove from the brine and rinse well under cool water.
Place the brisket into a pot just large enough to hold the meat, add the onion, carrot and celery and cover with water plus 1 more inch.
Set over high heat and bring to a boil.
Reduce the heat to low, cover and gently simmer for 2 1/2 to 3 hours or until the meat is fork tender.
Remove from the pot and thinly slice across the grain. Enjoy with boiled cabbage, soda bread, and easy hand-made butter!

Eating Thai Food @ Land Thai (NYC)

2010-03-07T14:35:00.004-05:00

It is a sad thing to say it, but there is some crappy Thai food out there. I love the fresh tastes of Thai food - galangal (a perfume-y cousin to ginger), cilantro, lemongrass, fresh seafood, wok-ked beans or greens, and of course hot red peppers. Aah.

Up here in upstate, there isn't much to Thai food (of course, according to the first item from this episode from NPR's "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me", there isn't much of anything in Albany).

But when we went to NYC, we decided to go looking for something good to eat. Something we couldn't find here. And that rules out pizza and Italian.

We cruised the NY Magazine's restaurant excellent search engine (sort by neighborhood and cuisine) and settled on "Land Thai Kitchen" on the Upper West Side. It was fabulous, fast and fresh and spicy (although the waitress specifically asked if we wanted the kids' salad to be mild instead! Awesome = 25% tip!).

Things we would like to note:

Restaurants are smaller (quite the discussion with the 7-yr old about real estate values and the size of city lots). Land Thai is literally 10 feet wide, elbow-to-elbow.
Really good food doesn't need to be hard to make - the ingredients here were fresh and not cooked to destruction. Texture choices - yum!
Even kids will eat spicy food if it is good.

Things we would like to eat again (I linked to blog recipes that look close)

Drunken Chicken Noodles - (above) spicy hot and yummy, this one used wide noodles.
Esan Roasted Chicken - (E-san is (as far as I can tell) a commercial version of Nam Jim Jeaw sauce) and this was a dinner which the kids loved and it came with a side of Green Papaya Salad (oh, to die for)
Chicken Galangal Soup - delicious broth with big oyster mushrooms in it.

Great recipes for more Thai over here at RasaMalaysia!

Chicken Cobbler with Cheesy Biscuits

2010-02-19T10:42:00.005-05:00

OK, I haven't made this - yet - but I found this within 2 degrees of separation of SimplyRecipes, so it has to be good, right? Skip the fact that the cheesy biscuits alone may be worth it, here is a recipe for essentially a pot-pie that really looks like a casserole. Frozen chickens, your time has come!

Ingredients

Chicken Cobbler
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 carrot, peeled and chopped
2 celery stalks, chopped (keep the leaves, too!)
8 oz mushrooms, chopped
2 Tbsp. flour
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
4 cups of chicken broth (good or home-made)
4 cups chopped chicken or turkey (white and dark meat!)
1 cup frozen peas
Biscuits:
2 cups flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 Tbsp. sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
3/4 cup milk
1/4 cup canola oil
1 garlic clove, crushed
2 Tbsp. melted butter
1 cup grated old cheddar or Gouda or 1/2 cup grated Parmesan

Steps

In a heavy skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat and saute the onion, carrot and celery for about 5 minutes, until soft.
Add the mushrooms and cook until the mushrooms release their liquid and the vegetables start to turn golden.
Sprinkle with flour and thyme and cook for another minute.
Stir in the broth and begin scraping up the browned bits on the bottom of the pan, stirring until smooth.
Bring to a simmer and cook for about 5 minutes, until thickened.
Stir in the roasted chicken or turkey and peas and pour into a baking dish that will accommodate it.
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
To make the biscuits: In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, sugar and salt. Add the milk and canola oil and stir by hand just until you have a soft dough.
On a lightly floured surface, pat or roll the dough into a 9” x 14” rectangle. Stir the garlic into the melted butter and spread over the dough, then sprinkle with cheese.
Starting from a long side, roll tightly jelly-roll style into a log. Cut into 8-12 biscuits using dental floss or a serrated knife.
Lay the biscuits on top of the chicken mixture, leaving a bit of space between them (they will rise in the oven), and bake for 30-40 minutes, until the the biscuits are puffed and golden brown and filling is bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Serves 8.

Birthday Belgian Waffles

2010-02-12T10:57:00.002-05:00

This is our favorite waffle recipe (found here almost randomly several years ago)- it usually shows up on birthdays topped with whipped cream, strawberries, and maple syrup. The trick is the rise time, it needs 60 minutes which translates pretty cleanly to make it before and then cook it after farm chores in the morning.

The above pic is from the Interweb, not ours, but the banana slices and powdered sugar are a nice fancy touch. We love these and we talked it over and this is just a little more intensive than normal waffles - just that rise time.

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups water, blood-warm
2 1/4 tsp active dry yeast (one packet)
3 cups sifted flour
3 large eggs (separate 3 yolks and 1 egg white)
1/3 cup sugar
8 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted and cooled
2 tsp vegetable oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups whole milk

Steps

Dissolve the yeast in the water (I like a 4 cup measure) and let stand for 10 minutes.
Melt the butter in a small pot.
Sift the flour and salt in a large bowl; stir to blend and reserve.
To the yeast-y mixture, add the 3 egg yolks, one of the egg whites, and sugar.
Add the milk, melted butter, oil, and vanilla to the liquid. Stir until the mixture is smooth.
Add the liquid mixture into the flour mixture and beat until the mixture is smooth.
Beat the 2 separated egg whites until stiff peaks form.
Fold the egg whites gently into the batter.
Let the batter stand for 1 hour, stirring every 15 minutes.
Preheat the waffle maker; the light will turn off when preheated.
Add 1 cup of batter - it looks like too much and it seems too runny to me, but it makes a nice full, fluffy waffle.
For best results, do not open the waffle maker and peek - the light goes out when it is done, early views will cause it flop more (and we like 'em tall and fluffy).

Makes about 8 waffles. We can eat 1 each topped with whipped cream, berries, and syrup. Maybe more if you were really really hungry. Like after farm chores.

"Focaccia of Doom"

2010-02-05T19:41:00.004-05:00

This recipe is one of our oldest - it harkens back to the Burlington days in the mid-90s. We found a wonderful little trattoria there on Cherry Street - they had an olive oil dipping sauce that was salted and heavily garlicked. So good that we went home (burping all the while) and started looking for a focaccia to match it.

We found a version of this recipe in Nava Atlas' "Vegetariana", a very nice veg cookbook. We omitted some of the ingredients (the original called for slices of sun-dried tomatoes in the loaf, but we found that the tomato clashed with the garlic oil dip).

This is a great recipe because it takes about 1hr 20min from start the yeast to put it on the table. Pair this with some sauce-simmering and the meatballs, and it all works out to be ready at the same time (and without all the sweating).

Ingredients

2 1/4 tsp of dried yeast
1 Tbsp of brown sugar
2 Tbsp of olive oil
1/4 cup of minced sun-dried tomatoes (optional)
1 1/2 cups of whole wheat flour
1 cup unbleached white flour
1/2 tsp of salt
Dried rosemary
Kosher salt
Olive oil

Steps

In a 2 cup bowl, add 1 cup of blood-warm water. Sprinkle in the brown sugar, oil, and yeast. Stir very lightly, just get some of the yeast below the surface of the water. Let stand for 10 minutes until the yeast starts to foam.
Add the sun-dried tomatoes if you like (we usually skip this if we are going to dunk the bread in olive oil/garlic because it is too sweet).
In a large bowl, add the flours and salt. Mix well.
Slowly pour in the yeast slurry and mix.
Knead for 5 minutes, incorporating all of the flour, the dough will be "goldilocks" - so, not too sticky (add a bit more flour to the kneading area) and not too dry (it should hold together with some cracking). Alternatively, mix for 5 minutes on medium with a dough hook on your trusty stand mixer.
Form the dough into a ball, put it back into the bowl and cover for a 10 minutes rise time (I like being near the woodstove, but not on the ground - dog noses push in the towel).
Take the ball and roll it out into a round, about 12 inches across should make it about 1 inch high. Place this on a cookie sheet, cover with a towel and
Let rise 40 minutes in a warm place.
Preheat the oven to 400 during the 40 minute rise.
Uncover and bake for 2o-25 minutes, it should have a hollow "thunk" when it is ready.
Let cool for 5 minutes and serve with olive oil - we have two favorites:

EVOO with balsamic vinegar (about 2 EVOO: 1 balsamic).
EVOO with garlic (1 tbsp EVOO: 1 clove of good minced garlic)(never garlic in a jar)

Cuban Black Beans and Rice (plus Mojo Criollo)

2010-01-31T17:29:00.005-05:00

I have to admit a guilty pleasure - we love to watch the breezy spy-do'gooder series "Burn Notice" on the Interweb. I have learned that there is a remarkable:

number of exploding things you can make with the help of a hardware store or cell phone (not your mother's MacGyver)
amount of yogurt being eaten by spies on surveillance duty (perhaps all that Fiona does eat)
love affair with Miami out there, especially to Cuban cuisine (though the main characters never are seeing actually eating those Cuban sandwiches).

So today, a 20 F cold day with a west wind that just wouldn't quit, we hung a 10 ft gate and latch. We were shivering on the way in. I suggested we use up the rice by making bean burritoes - Carol countered with enchiladas (no cheese!) - I volleyed with Cuban Black Beans - and Carol said "Mojo sauce!"

Mojo (according to WikiP) "In Cuban cooking mojo applies to any sauce that is made with garlic, olive oil and a citrus juice, traditionally sour orange juice." Sadly, we don't have any sour orange available, so we mod below according to the "3 Guys from Miami" website, to whom we defer on all questions about Cuban cooking.

Mojo goes great here, but use it as a marinade too, if you dare. Garlic is the point, not an addition, keep that in mind. The oil is left out here, but if you were using it for a marinade of meat, then follow the version here (3 Guys) with oil.

This is related to our own "Vampire Marinade" (which if you follow the WikiP link on Mojo above lists the cilantro-heavy variant of Mojo as a typical Puerto Rican choice).

Ingredients

Black Beans and Rice

1 onion, chopped (not too finely, it is fun as texture)
1 green pepper, chopped
2 14 oz cans of black beans (Goya makes a nice organic)
1/2 cup of mojo criollo
1 tbsp of cumin

Mojo Criollo

1.5 cups of orange juice (use a good one, no green orange flavor Need Apply)
1/2 cup of lime juice
1/2 cup of lemon juice
1 tsp of sea salt
2 tsp of oregano
1 head of garlic, minced (we use a strong garlic we grow called "Music")

Steps

Start with the mojo - add the juices, salt, oregano and garlic to a jar. Shake the bejeesus out of it and then let it sit at least 1 hour. Refrigerate any extra up to 7 days (time to plan more cuban dishes this week).
Saute the onion and green pepper in olive oil until they are nearly clear.
Add the beans, cumin, and mojo criollo. Heat it up and let some of the juices boil off.
Serve hot with rice.

Makes about 6 servings (4 if you love mojo).

Our Spaghetti and Meatballs

2010-01-01T17:25:00.005-05:00

So, for us, spaghetti has never been a big deal - Carol is not a big fan of just spag-and-sauce. I used it as an excuse to deploy the "focaccia-of-doom". But there were always leftovers...

Until I found this meatball recipe from Simply Recipes. I don't use the sauce - we use our own (this year's blight knocked our tomato sauce production down to zero, so I sub in Newman's Sockarooni Sauce (with red and green peppers!).

We throw these on top of linguine (best) or spaghetti, top with the meatball(s) and then drizzle sauce over top. Yummie! And if you can stand the extra garlic, try adding in the "focaccia of doom" and dip those bread slices into olive oil studded with minced garlic. Vampires beware!

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef (I use 90% lean, plenty of fat from the cheese and pork)1
1 lb fresh sweet Italian pork sausage (I like the local Geno's)
2 Tbsp chopped fresh basil (or 1/2 Tbsp dried basil)
2 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley (or 1/2 Tbsp of dried parsley)
2 eggs
¾ cup bread crumbs
¼ cup grated parmesan
sea salt and pepper to taste

Steps

Preheat the oven to 400 F.
Mix together meats and herbs in a medium bowl (I use the KitchenAid!).
When well combined add the eggs, bread crumbs and parmesan. Add salt and pepper to taste. Mix for 1 minute till really well combined.
Roll the mixture into golf-ball sized meatballs (should make about 20).
Place the meatballs on a cookie sheet (I line mine with aluminum foil to keep them from sticking) and cook them at 400 F for 20-25 minutes.

Smoked Salmon Rollups

2009-12-05T09:41:00.001-05:00

One of my favorite appetizers - it involves salmon lox, what's not to love?! Good water crackers are the best thing to put these on. Or just pop them in your mouth :D

The real trick is to slice it well - we freeze it for 30 minutes before slicing. Sometimes you can do this before the "chill" time. And then use a sharp knife (we use a serrated tomato knife) and then rinse it in water between every other slice. Much easier then.

Ingredients

8 ounces cream cheese, softened
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1 garlic clove, smashed
1 tablespoon onion, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon spanish paprika, dried
1/4 teaspoon lemongrass and chili spice mix (Hot, more if you wish)
1 tablespoon dill, finely chopped
8 ounces thinly sliced smoked salmon

Steps

In a stand mixer, add cream cheese, lemon pepper, garlic, and dill.
Process until combined and smooth.
Lay out slices of salmon on a piece of plastic wrap, slightly overlapping edges.
Spoon cream cheese mixture onto salmon evenly.
Roll the salmon into a long and wrap tightly.
Chill for at least 2 hours. I like to put it in the freezer for the last 30 minutes (makes it easier to slice).
Cut roll into 1/4 inch slices, serve on crackers or pieces of bagel.

Makes 24 slices.

Winter Oden Soup

2009-12-04T17:29:00.009-05:00

Ingredients

2 Tbsp miso paste
2 cups of beef broth
4 Tbsp of mirin
1 5x5inch square of nori or 1 3-inch length of konbu
1 Tbsp of furikake (optional)
8 ounces of mushrooms, torn into chunks
4 cups of water
1 lb of beef - your choice of cut, although I like tougher cuts here
1 lb of tofu, coarsely chunked
4 carrots, sliced
1 bunch of green onions, coarsely chopped
1 bunch of kale or spinach, stemmed and coarsely chopped
6 ounces of udon noodles

Steps

In a large pot, add the water, miso, mirin, broth, seaweed, and furikake (optional).
Let the broth simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the sliced beef to the broth and simmer 20 minutes. Tougher cuts should go longer, which is awesome since this smells up the kitchen so fast.
Add tofu, carrots, and greens. Simmer 30 minutes.
When there are 10 minutes before dinner, add the udon noodles.
Garnish with green onions. Serve hot!

Between 6-10 servings, depending on slurpings!

Super No-Knead Bread Master Recipe

2009-11-28T17:41:00.004-05:00

A few years ago a New York Times writer posted a recipe for "no-knead" bread that involved a long ferment with a minimum of yeast, a very wet dough, and a closed Dutch oven to make an airy, but crispy bread. The downside of this bread was the planning - about 24 hrs of lead time to get started. Not much to do, but we just aren't this organized. OK, I am not this organized :D

So, when I made the Potato Corn Chowder, I went looking for a variant that worked with less time. A faster ferment. Turns out it is pretty easy to do with 2/3 tsp of yeast instead of 1/4 tsp. A shorter rise (only 8 hrs for us, mixed it before we went out fencing and started baking it when we ran out of sun) makes a superior-to-any-store bread.

Now, if only I could get my sourdough starter under control...

Ingredients

3 cups of flour (use any combo of white, bread, and whole wheat)
2/3 tsp of instant yeast
1 1/4 tsp of salt
1 1/2 cups of blood warm water

Steps

Mix all the ingredients in the morning before you go out to hang fencing. I mixed the dry ingredients by hand and then added the warm water.
Cover with plastic wrap and leave it in a warm place - the house was cold (mid-50s), so I set the oven to "warm" for 5 minutes, then turned it off and placed the bowl in for 8 hours.
When we ran out of light, I came in, pulled the bowl out and turned the dough out onto the counter.
Shape the dough roughly into a ball and cover with a towel or plastic wrap again. Let proof for about an hour in a warm place again.
While the dough is proofing, heat the oven to 450°F. Put in your Dutch oven to heat.
When the dough has doubled in size, put it in the Dutch oven. You may have to pour it, pry it off the baking sheet, or just roll it in - the dough is very wet. Don't worry if it looks a mess.
Cover the pot with a lid and bake for 30 minutes. Remove lid and bake for another 15 minutes to let it brown.

Makes a 1 lb loaf.

Potato Corn Chowder

2009-11-28T17:28:00.004-05:00

This is one of our oldest recipes - we only have it written down in one place on a notecard. I don't even know where we got it from, but it has been a stand-by for as long as I can remember us being together.

It is a straight ovo-lacto vegetarian recipe, but you could add some sausage to it (I know Bri would like that) or some chicken. I even saw a variant of this with lobster. Lobster! Riiiight.

Or version is big on the potatoes and corn, fresh is best, but where do you get fresh corn when it is cool enough to eat soup? Not around me, at least not with local.

Ingredients

1 onion, chopped
2 carrots, chopped
2 stalks of celery, chopped
3 red (or Yukon Gold) potatoes, chopped
2 bay leaves
broth to cover (about 1 quart)
3 cups of corn
2 cups of crushed tomatoes (14 oz can)
1 tsp of dried thyme
1 tsp of marjoram or oregano
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup of milk, soy-milk or yogurt

Steps

Saute the onion for 5 minutes under medium-high heat.
Add the carrots and celery and saute 2 minutes more.
Add the potatoes and bay leaves, then cover with broth. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.
Add the corn kernels (still frozen is fine) and the tomatoes. Bring to a low boil, then add the herbs and simmer for 25 minutes.
Remove and mash about 1 cup of potatoes (I inevitably bring along some corn and tomatoes... mush 'em all). This will thicken the soup and make it more chowder-like.
Finally, add 1 cup of milk or yogurt and simmer 5 more minutes.
Serve immediately with a great bread.

Makes 10 servings.

Baked Shrimp Scampi

2009-11-22T17:09:00.008-05:00

We were desperate for some dinner during the fencing project - Carol found shrimp and salmon, both frozen, in the freezer. We have a couple of quick shrimp dishes (Peanut Shrimp and a "Cajun" shrimp recipe from Cooking Light that I should post some day soon). But we have an enormous 3 quart container of harvested garlic (gotta love the "Music" variety). So Shrimp Scampi came to mind quick.

We found this recipe quickly on the web - it is from a Barefoot Contessa recipe, slightly modded for a simpler kitchen. We have fresh rosemary in the house (potted plants rock) and the parsley is still holding on outside (after several nights of 22 F lows). And this is born - and it is good. We have had this one twice this week. Yum.

Ingredients

1 lb raw shrimp
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp dry white wine or sherry
salt and pepper
2/3 stick of butter, room temperature
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup onion, minced
1 Tbsp fresh parsley, minced
1 tsp fresh rosemary, minced
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 egg yolk
1/3 cup panko

Preheat oven to 425º.

Peel the shrimp and then put them in a bowl.
Add olive oil, wine or sherry, and pepper. Let sit at room temperature while mixing the rest.
In the stand mixer, add the butter, garlic, onions, parsley, rosemary, red pepper flakes, lemon juice, egg yolk, and panko. Mix this "topping" at medium speed until well combined.
Place the shrimp in a single layer in a glass pie pan.
Pour the remaining marinade over the shrimp and then sprinkle the topping over the shrimp.
Bake for 10 to 12 minutes (the shrimp will be thoroughly cooked and pink).
Serve over pasta (spaghetti or shells) or rice.

Makes 4 servings.

Double Apple Bundt Cake

2009-10-03T12:09:00.004-04:00

I found this near perfect recipe in Dorie Greenspan's "Baking". Superfabulous and it uses up apples, which is always a blessing when I get over-eager and come home with a bushel of Macs. You can make the applesauce fresh (we use the slow cooker overnight to caramelize it well) or use last year's quarts which seem to be hogging the pantry shelves now.

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour (I used 1 1/2 white and 1/2 wheat)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 sticks (10 tablespoons) unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 large eggs
1 cup apple-butter or thickened applesauce
2 apples, peeled, cored and grated (I used Macs)
1 cup pecans, chopped
1 cup plumped raisins

Steps:

Center rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 F.
Butter a 9-to-10 inch (12-cup) Bundt pan.
Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices and salt.
Working with a stand mixer, beat the butter and sugar on medium speed until the mixture is smooth, thick and pale.
Add the eggs one at a time, beating for about 1 minute after each addition; you'll have a light, fluffy batter.
Reduce the mixer speed to low and beat in the apple butter - don't worry if it curdles the batter.
Still on low, add the grated apples and mix to completely blend.
Add the dry ingredients, mixing only until they disappear into the batter.
Fold in the nuts and raisins.
Roll the batter into the Bundt pan and smooth the top of the batter with the rubber spatula.
Bake for 50 to 55 minutes or until a thin knife instered deep into the centre of the cake comes out clean.
Transfer the pan to a rack to cool for 10 minutes before un-molding.

Ab-Fab ColeSlaw

2009-08-18T17:21:00.005-04:00

Coleslaw is a sorta shredded "salad" of some member of the broccoli/cabbage family - usually cabbage, but also broccoli (and even cheese?!?). It is never pickled, but regardless of whether it is garnished with a vinegar-based sauce or a mayo-based sauce, it should always be crisp.

Here is a recipe with a mayo-based sauce (which according to WikiP could not have arisen any earlier than the first mayo, which was invented in Europe in the 18th Century). I found this over at the infrequently updated "Toast", which has some fabulous recipes, especially of hearty things (like this and this).

Toast says that she got this recipe from a Peter Reinhart cookbook and it has the 'perfect' proportions. I agree - tastes just like the Marie's Coleslaw Dressing from the store if you add celery seeds.

Ingredients:

1 small or 1/2 large head of cabbage, finely shredded (I use the processor)
3 carrots, finely chopped (again with the processor, different blade)
1 1/2 cup of Hellman's Mayo (only the best, no Miracle Whip Need Apply)
1/2 cup of white sugar
1/4 cup of cider vinegar
1 tsp of coarsely ground black pepper
1 tsp of celery seeds
salt to taste (ours is about 1 tsp)

Steps:

If you have one, use the food processor to shred your cabbage. I core mine and then cut it into quarters. They get dropped onto the disk blade that has one long open groove. Voom voom done.
Then use the disk blade with the small holes and send the carrots through the processor. We like carrots a lot, so I add more than I wrote above.
In the large bowl you will be letting your slaw rest in, add the rest of the ingredients and mix together well.
Add the cabbage and carrots and toss until the whole thing is well coated.
Chill for 2 hrs at least in the fridge and then serve. Yum.

Grilled Corn on the Cob

2009-08-16T09:39:00.004-04:00

Easy skeezy, lemon peasey - we mostly just boil our fresh sweet corn for 3 minutes, drain and serve with butter and salt. It should be sweet, salty, buttery and smokey! The great thing is that by soaking the husk, you steam the corn first before you grill it - this insures your corn cooks in a reasonable amount of time.

But on camping nights, we cook out at the firepit and this is how we make grilled corn. You could also do this on a barbecue grill in almost the same way (I would add a few more minutes to a normal load of briquettes or add 25% more briquettes to make it hotter while the corn cooks, definitely cover the grill while it cooks to increase the temp and the smokey flavor).

Steps:

Sorta husk the corn - pull back the green outer leaves without pulling them off.
Remove the silks and the first one or two layers of pale inner husks.
Push the outer husk back down over the corn again.
Submerge in a pot of water for 15-30 minutes.
Once you have a good hot fire, place the corn on a grate 12-18 inches over the fire and let it cook for about 10-15 minutes. The husk will begin to blacken. This is good.
Carefully remove the corn and husk it properly.
Place the corn back on the grate and cook for another 10 minutes, turning it once or twice. Some blackening may occur.
Serve hot with butter and salt.

Cucumber and Red Onion Salad

2009-08-09T13:24:00.003-04:00

After much trial and error, we decided that we liked our cucumber best sliced thickly and on a diagonal. This kept it from getting soggy, and was pretty as well. But do that you like best. The longer you chill the more the flavors will meld, but the cucumbers will continue to soften. The cucumber will also release juice because of the salt in the dressing. But it’s no problem. just toss again with all the liquid right before serving.

Ingredients:

3 - 5 large cucumbers, peeled, seeded, and sliced
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 tsp celery seed
4 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
3 Tbsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp salt
3 garlic cloves, finely minced

Steps:

In a medium size bowl, combine the cucumber and onion.
In a small bowl, stir the other ingredients.
Pour the liquid (really a vineagrette) over cucumber and onion and toss to coat.
Chill for 2-4 hours for flavors to meld.
Toss again before serving.

THE Banana Muffin Recipe

2009-08-03T10:08:00.001-04:00

I am always on the hunt for the perfect muffin recipe - a base recipe that you can add any base flavor and it still turns out great. I think it found it here - this base recipe uses bananas (and matches them against pecans and chocolate chips!) and makes a great earthy base to the bananas sweetness and moistness. This recipe has much less sugar than usual muffins call for, but remember that the chips and the bananas both give some sweetness.

Ingredients:

4 ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 beaten egg
1/3 cup canola oil
1 1/2 cups flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup of chopped pecans

1/2 cup of chocolate chips

Steps:

Mix the mashed banana, sugar, egg and oil together. Set aside.
In a separate bowl, mix together flour baking soda, baking powder, and salt.
Mix wet and dry ingredients all together until just mixed. Lumpy is good.
Add pecans and chips - mix just enough to disperse them.
Pour into greased muffin tins, and bake in 350 degrees oven for approximately 20 minutes.

Variations:

Substitute 1 cup of pumpkin or squash puree for banana. Add cinnamon and nutmeg (1 t of each for our spicy household) to kick it up - skip chips and add raisins. Keep pecans.
Substitute 1 cup of applesauce for the banana and the oil. Add cinnamon (2 tsp) and skip the chips but add 1/2 cup of raisins instead.
Substitute 1 cup of grated zucchini for banana. Definitely keep the pecans, but add raisins, 1 tsp each of cinnamon, allspice, and nutmeg. Also possible to skip raisins and add the chocolate chips (zucch and choc - woohoo!).

Making Catnip-Fennel Tincture

2009-07-31T12:48:00.001-04:00

Using herbs is just as serious and dangerous as using any medication, but here we use several herbal combinations that are safe enough to use almost every day. Standard disclaimers about talking to your doc first before using any new herb should be obvious - YMMV with any treatment.

My favorite one (and useful to food-o-philes) is a Catnip-Fennel tincture that settles the digestive system very quickly (especially for gas, but boy does those burps taste of fennel). Probably pretty similar to the practice of drinking mint tea (catnip is in the mint family) and the South Asian practice of eating fennel seeds after eating.

NEVER EVER TAKE IF YOU ARE PREGNANT - catnip can cause abortion in pregnant mammals of all kinds.

Ingredients:

2 ounces of dried fennel seeds
2 ounces of catnip leaves
about 24 to 30 fluid ounces of 80-proof vodka
1 quart jar with lid

Steps:

Weigh out the fennel and catnip.
Pour the herbs into the quart jar carefully - my catnip always seems to dribble everywhere.
Pour in enough vodka to cover the herbs and then another inch more.
Shake, shake, shake the herb mixture.
Each day for 6 weeks, shake the jar and flip it upside down. Store in a dark place away from direct sunlight.
After the 6 weeks, drain the liquid out and keep it. I like to line Mason jar ring with a very with very fine cheesecloth (like you use to make cheese, double or triple up that gauzy stuff you buy at a store) - then I invert the jar over a container and let the liquid drain out slowly. I let the tincture brew in a regular width jar and then nest it inside a wide mouth jar to drain (more stable that way).
Add the "drunk herbs" to your compost pile.
The alcohol should keep the tincture stable and germ-free for at least a year or longer. If the temperature stays pretty constant, it should remain at full potency.
I take about a tablespoon by mouth when I feel full or gassy.

Next on the list of tinctures to try out:

Ginseng tincture - not sure if it is cheaper, but it would be fresher than what you find at the Asian groceries.
Immune-booster tincture - Molly's Herbs makes this and we use it on our goats when they need a bit more immune boost. It is out of stock right now, so I am going to compound up my own this week. Probably a good idea to take daily during flu season, especially since you need to get echinacea into your system right at the start of the infection.
More everyday tincture ideas here.

Nana's Gooseberry Coffeecake

2009-07-18T11:04:00.004-04:00

Gooseberries are a member of the currant group - small fruits on upright bushes that make "mushroom" shaped shrubs that are just this side of indestructible. They do have trouble with white pine blister rust around us (they are an alternate host species that doesn't die, just looks crappy come August), so we choose a resistant variety after NYS allowed gooseberries to be sold in state again.

Gooseberries are a source of much face-puckering around the house - Carol is not a fan of gooseberries at all. Why not? Because they are intensely sour when cooked and must be given some sugar or they will twist your yer face right off.

But they are very dependable - they don't have mast years and weather doesn't seem to make a difference on yield much at all. In fact, we neglect these shrubs intensely (the thorns help with that) and the deer completely ignore them. 3 shrubs yield about 3 gallons of berries every year. Every year.
Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups of fresh or thawed, frozen gooseberries, topped and tailed
1/2 cup sugar (less or more to taste)
1/4 cup cornstarch
2 cups flour
3/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup butter
1 cup buttermilk
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Topping:
1/4 cup butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 tsp of good cinnamon

STEPS:

Gooseberry Filling:

In a saucepan, combine gooseberries and sugar.
Cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes. This should break open the gooseberries and make a multi-colored, seed-y stew.
Bring to a boil and then remove 1/2 cup of juice and mix with cornstarch; stir into saucepan.
Let sit on heat for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat and set aside.

Cake Batter:

Combine flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl.
Cut in butter until dry mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
Beat together buttermilk, eggs and vanilla and then stir into crumb-y mixture.
Spread half of the batter evenly into a buttered 9 inch cake pan.
Carefully spread gooseberries on top.
Then drop the remaining batter by tablespoonfuls over filling, sealing it in.

Topping and Baking:

Melt butter over low heat. and then remove from heat.
Stir in flour, sugar, and cinnamon until mixture resembles crumb topping.
Sprinkle over batter evenly.
Place coffee cake on middle rack; bake at 350° for 45-50 minutes.
Cool in pan. Cut in squares.

Yield: 8-10 servings.

"Not Quite BBQ" Pork and Steak Marinade

2009-07-18T10:41:00.002-04:00

This recipe is nicknamed NQBBQ - not quite BBQ - because it is a transition between just adding steak sauce and the Green Vampire marinade. NQBBQ is salty and sweet at the same time - you really want to try it before you marinate with it.

It is a balancing act of what tastes just right, the ketchup should go in last to taste (this 2 Tbsp is to my taste).
When I marinate withe NQBBQ, I like to set the meat in it for 1-4 hrs. More for tougher cuts and less for lighter ones - time doesn't seem to make a huge difference in flavor, just in tenderizing the meat (might be the saltiness acts quickly no matter what).

Ingredients

1 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp canola oil
1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp lemon juice
2 Tbsp brown sugar
2 Tbsp ketchup

Steps

Blend all ingredients together in a small bowl.
It will keep for up to a month in the fridge - if you want to hold it for longer, don't add the ketchup until you need it. The salt will keep the solution for months.
If you marinate, let it go for several hours (there is little acidity here, just salt to tenderize).

"Green Vampire" Marinade

2009-07-07T12:24:00.002-04:00

OK, still tweaking about a Costa Rican marinade - same caveat applies here about it being authentic that you see in the post before this for a pork chop marinade. It was good, but not exactly what I wanted. So I hunted about and found some ideas and mushed those together to make this recipe - Green for the enormous amount of cilantro (thanks to a warm spring, the reseeded cilantro bolted early this year) and the enormous amount of garlic (umm, is there such a thing as an excessive amount of garlic? Yes, Virginia. But this isn't it yet).

The combo of cilantro and garlic leads to a marinade that is very interesting: it gives a strong flavor even with little marinade time, works for a variety of meats, AND lasts in the fridge. It comes out looking like a loose pesto, but smells like a Mojo Criollo Meets a Garlic Lover. Umm, good. And great for repelling the pesky upstate vampires you find clustering around grills.

So far, we have used this with steak (marinated for 2 hrs) - grilled and then sliced like fajitas - AND marinated chicken breast on skewers for just 30 minutes and then grilled. The girls loved both of them. Yes, something spicy passed their lips and they liked it.

Ingredients:

7 cloves of garlic
2 cups of cilantro (I use the tops as they bolt, stems and leaves)
1 Tbsp of sea salt
2 Tbsp of lemon juice (or substitute lime juice for a more tropical taste)
1 cup of olive oil (EVOO is nice, but you won't taste it if you grill the marinated meat)

Steps:

Puree the bejeesus out of the garlic in a food processor.
Add the cilantro to the food processor bowl. Bend stems to make them fit. Trust me, the processor will make short work of them.
Begin puree-ing the cilantro and slowly pour in the lemon juice, salt and olive oil.
Keep puree-ing until the result has bits only the size of pesto ingredients - very finely chopped. Smells like a lime-y, cilantro garlic sludge.
Remove and use. Keeps for 2 weeks in the fridge (that would be the garlic's effects!) and has enough to make 2 decent batches with some leftover to dip with at the table. Oh yes, you will want to try dipping your food in this.

I make a big batch of this and use it for several meals. We also add this to the side dishes too (baked potatoes, rice, and boiled potatoes all take this as a drizzle well).

Grilled Pork Chops - Pura Vida Style

2009-06-14T17:50:00.003-04:00

OK, I don't know for sure if Costa Ricans eat pork chops this way, much less at all, but let's just say that these are at least inspired by Central American cuisine. I spent a summer in Costa Rica during college and we ate very simply (beans and rice, 2x a day) and never saw a bit of pork except for the piggies that ate the whey behind the Monteverde lecheria ("cheese makers").

Hints here that it could be from CR - cilantro!, lime juice, and lots of black beans and rice on the side. Could that be from almost any Central American country... well, yeah. But I really like CR, "pura vida" is the national slogan. C'mon!

Caveats:

I only got to marinate this for 1 hour in the fridge, 2 hours would be best.
Grilling the chops really makes them shine, but broiling works too.
Side dishes of "black beans and rice" and a nice salad round it out.

Ingredients

4 pork chops (ours were our own pastured, 1 inch thick lovelies)
1/3 cup of good olive oil
1/3 cup of lime juice
1/4 cup of minced cilantro
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes (not traditional, but our cayenne is too hot for the girls)
1 teaspoon of sea salt

Steps

Combine the oil, juice, cilantro, garlic, pepper, and salt in a tupperware container.
Whisk the marinade together well.
Add in the chops and place in the fridge. Set the timer for 2 hrs.
Fire up the grill and grill the chops for 3-5 minutes per side. Sadly throw away the delicious smelling marinade - can't eat it nor grill with it.
Remove and let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Fresh Asparagus Bake

2009-05-21T19:45:00.003-04:00

This is my favorite way to serve asparagus in an entree. So, every May this gets "front and center" treatment for lunch and sometimes dinner!

This recipe is very flexible, I added ham below (we did that today for the first time) - but it is great without it (fresh asparagus really brings enough flavor on its own). We have added feta cheese instead cheddar and that went very well with the asparagus. Doesn't need a whole lot of extras in terms of herbs either, let the fresh ingredients do all the talking.

Ingredients

10 awesomely farm-fresh eggs
1/2 cup of milk
one bunch of asparagus, chopped
8 oz ham steak, cubed
salt and pepper to taste
2-4 oz of cheddar cheese, grated

Steps

Preheat oven to 400 F.
Beat the eggs and milk together.
Add salt and pepper
Add asparagus bits and stir to mix 'em up.
Spray oil on a 9 x 9 pan.
Pour in egg/asparagus mixture.
Top with cubed ham and cheese.
Bake for 30 minutes and then let cool for 5 minutes.

Peanut Grilled Shrimp

2009-04-23T21:07:00.003-04:00

This is one of our favorite new recipes - it makes a slimmed down version of our Pad Thai recipe. Pad Thai is more a principle than a recipe, but ours relied on the peanut sauce (lots of lime juice, ketchup, peanut butter and spice).

This recipe allows you to make a simple grilled (or broiled) shrimp then top dress it with some peanut sauce. We like to have it with steamed broccoli and then over some rice noodles. Toss the peanut sauce over the shrimp, brocc and noodles... very nice, simple, and fast (15 minutes from start to finish).

Ingredients:

1 lb of shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 Tbs of lime juice
2 Tbs of sesame oil
1/4 cup of peanut butter (natural if you can get it)
1/4 cup of orange juice
1 clove of garlic, minced
1 tsp of hot sauce
3 Tbs of ketchup (or to taste)

Steps:

Mix the lime juice and sesame oil together.
Marinate the shrimp with the juice/oil for 2-8 hrs in the fridge.
Mount the shrimp on skewers.
Grill the shrimp, 2 minutes per side. Or... turn on the broiler for 5 minutes. Place the skewers over a 9x13 pan on the top shelf of the oven. Broil 2-3 minutes per side.
In a small pan, heat up the peanut butter, orange juice, garlic, ketchup and hot sauce. Mix well until it has the consistency of a sauce.
Take the shrimp off the skewers and drizzle the peanut sauce over it.

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

2009-04-11T18:47:00.004-04:00

This is an adapted version of 101 Cookbooks adapted version of a Peter Reinhart crust recipe :D I love the ancestry of these things.

Ingredients

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups white flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon instant yeast
1/4 cup olive oil
1 3/4 cups water, ice cold

Steps:

Mix together the flour, salt, and instant yeast in the bowl of an electric mixer.
Add in the oil and the cold water until the flour is all absorbed.
With the dough hook, mix on medium speed for 5 to 7 minutes, or as long as it takes to create a smooth, sticky dough that clears the bowl of the little fragments.
Transfer the dough to a floured countertop. Cut the dough into 6 equal pieces and mold each into a ball. Rub each ball with olive oil and slip into sandwich bags. Refrigerate overnight.
When you are ready to make pizza (anytime in the next few days), remove the desired number of dough balls from the refrigerator at least 1 hour before making the pizza. Keep them covered so they don't dry out.
Place a baking stone on a rack in the lower third of the oven. Preheat the oven to 450 degrees (you can go hotter, but I like the results I get at 450).
Uncover or unwrap the dough balls and dust them with flour. Working one at a time, gently press a dough round into a disk wide enough that you can bring it up onto your knuckles to thin out - you should be able to pull each round out to 12-inches or so. If the dough is being fussy and keeps springing back, let it rest for another 15-20 minutes.
Place the pulled-out dough on the prepared sheet pan.
Add your toppings and slide the topped pizza onto the baking stone.
Bake until the crust is crisp and nicely colored (about 14 minutes with a solid topping load).

Makes six 6-ounce pizza crusts.

Lentils Ole!

2009-04-02T18:43:00.002-04:00

This is one of our mainstays from the "Burlington days" - lentils are great: quick cooking and take up flavors very easily. This is our version of a Sloppy Joe - no beef, but you could just as easily drop in ground beef or pork for the lentils. And that would be much better than the crap Sloppy Joe mix or canned stuff.

Serve with bread (English muffins are great) and big salad. Or go light on the BBQ sauce and try it with some salsa. Then make some cornbread while the lentils simmer.

Always, finish with some fruit!

Ingredients:

3 cups of water
1 cup of brown lentils
1 Tbs water
4 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup minced onion
1/2 cup green peppers
1 cup BBQ sauce to taste (we use our KC style sauce)

Steps

Bring lentils to boil in a pot - then simmer 20 minutes until soft.
Add water, garlic and onion. Cook for 2 minutes.
Add green peppers and cook for 5 more minutes until all are soft.
Add BBQ sauce and simmer 5 more minutes.
Add lentils and simmer 10 more minutes.

Hilltown Barbecue Dry Rub

2009-04-02T17:26:00.000-04:00

Another finecooking.com adaptation, this is the dry rub I cover every barbecued chicken with.

Ingredients

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
2 Tbs. Old Bay Seasoning
1 Tbs. seasoned salt
2 Tbs. garlic powder
1 Tbs. onion powder
1-1/2 tsp. celery salt
2 Tbs. paprika
1 Tbs. chili powder or seasoning
1 Tbs. black pepper
1-1/2 tsp. dried sage
1/2 tsp. ground allspice
1/4 tsp. cayenne

Steps:

Add the sugar and spices together in a bowl and stir to combine.
Alternatively, put the ingredients in the food processor and pulse to combine.
Rub all over chicken. store the remainder (if any) in a jar in a dark place.

Kansas-City Style Barbecue Sauce

2009-04-02T17:20:00.000-04:00

This is a KC style barbecue sauce from Finecooking.com - this style is much better than the commercial versions of KC Masterpiece etc. Like Wikipedia notes, the KC style is noted for its "sweet and tangy sauces which are generally intended for liberal use."

I like to apply this to grilled chicken in the last 5 minutes or added to Lentils Ole.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup cider vinegar; more to taste
2 Tbs. Worcestershire sauce
1 Tbs. dijon-style mustard
1 Tbs. chili powder or taco seasoning
1-1/2 tsp. black pepper
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground allspice
1/4 tsp. cayenne or hot sauce
2 cups tomato ketchup

Steps:

In a large saucepan, combine all the sauce ingredients.
Heat over medium, stirring well to mix and dissolve the spices.
Reduce the heat and simmer the sauce, uncovered, for 30 min., stirring occasionally.
In final 2 minutes, add in 2 T of butter, stir to melt.
This can be canned, just skip the butter step - 10 minutes per pint in a boiling water canner.

Roast Duck with Sweet Cherry Sauce

2009-03-29T20:07:00.002-04:00

This was Carol's b-day dinner - our own Muscovy duck and a sweet, dark cherry sauce to slather over it. Served with steamed fresh broccoli and a wild rice pilaf. Woof! Cherries and the dark, almost "roast beef" flavor of the Muscovy go together really well.

This was simple enough that cooking it was only a background thought while we seeded in tomatoes and peppers, cleaned up and got other chores down. Easy-skeasy and super-delicious. And there are 2 more Muscovy in the freezer!

Ingredients

1 duck (we raise Muscovy, best of the ducks, IMHO)
20 oz of sweet cherries, pitted (we chose organic frozen ones)
12 oz of strong dark beer (we used Sam Adams' Cherry Wheat)
2 cups of good broth or stock (our own turkey broth)
1 small onion, finely minced or 1/4 cup onion flakes
1/3 cup white sugar
salt and pepper

Steps

Roast duck in a 250 F oven, breast side down for 3 hrs.
Raise oven to 350 F, flip duck to breast side up for 30-45 minutes. Watch the skin and remove when it becomes crispy, not dry.
While the skin crisps, in a pot place the frozen cherries, beer, and broth on medium-high until cherries thaw.
Add onions or onion flakes, sugar, and salt and pepper.
Simmer uncovered for 30 minutes to develop the flavors. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Boca Negra Cake: Carol Says Yum

2009-03-29T15:02:00.002-04:00

This was Carol's birthday cake this year.

From "Baking with Julia"

"A boca negra, or black mouth, is what you'll have after one bite of this intensely chocolaty cake - you'll also have a smile on your face. A chocolate craver's ideal, this cake calls for 12 ounces of bittersweet chocolate, and you'll taste every ounce, so choose chocolate you love."

"The cake is meant to be served warm or at room temperature, when it is as moist, dense and dark as the chocolate you use to make it. Chilled, it has all the appeal of fudge. The white chocolate cream, which is made a day ahead, is one you can use with other desserts, and neither the cake nor the cream is a challenge for beginner bakers. In fact, if you make it in the food processor; it takes only 5 minutes."

Here is the recipe from What's Cooking America

Ingredients

12 ounces bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 1/3 cups sugar, divided into 1 cup and 1/3 cup
1/2 cup bourbon, kirsch, chambord or red wine
1 cup unsalted butter, cut into 10 pieces, room temperature
5 large eggs, room temperature
1 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Steps

Position a rack in the center of the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Lightly butter a 9-inch round cake pan and line the bottom with parchment or waxed paper; butter the paper. Put the cake pan in a shallow roasting pan and set aside until needed.
Place the chopped chocolate in a medium bowl; set aside.
In a 2-quart saucepan, mix 1 cup of the sugar and the bourbon; cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar dissolves and the mixture comes to a full boil.
Immediately pour the hot syrup over the chopped chocolate and stir with a rubber spatula until the chocolate is completely melted and the mixture is smooth.
Piece by piece, stir the butter into the chocolate mixture, making certain that each piece of butter is melted before you add another.
Put the eggs and the remaining 1/3 cup sugar in a medium bowl; whisk until the eggs thicken slightly.
Beating with the whisk, add the eggs to the chocolate mixture and whisk until well-blended. Gently whisk in the flour.
Pour and scrape the batter into the prepared cake pan, running your spatula over the top to smooth it. Carefully pour enough hot water into the roasting pan to come about 1 inch up the side of the cake pan.
Bake the cake for exactly 30 minutes, at which point the top will have a thin, dry crust.
Remove from oven and remove the cake pan from its water bath; wipe the pan dry and cover the top of the cake with a sheet of plastic wrap. Invert over a plate.
Serve the cake warm or at room temperature with the chilled Whipped Cream.

Super-Everything All Grain Waffles

2009-03-14T18:25:00.004-04:00

We love breakfast - especially weekend breakfasts where waffles and pancakes rule. Sometimes we go "breakfast for dinner" and waffles show up there too.

We are trying out the SuperFoodsRx cookbook and there are no waffles, but this one is definitely in the spirit - 1/3 cup of batter servings, but since our waffle iron needs two 1/3 cup scoops to make one waffle, we think one serving is probably half a waffle PLUS 1/2 cup yogurt and 1/2 fruit to top it off. Booyah!

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup wheat bran
1 1/2 teaspoon of baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
1/2 cup yogurt (low fat and plain)
1/2 cup applesauce
1 cup low fat milk
2 eggs, beaten (free-range and fresh, if you can get it)

Sift together the flours and powders.
Make a well and drop in the yogurt, applesauce, milk and eggs.
Mix all together, do not go past the "just mixed" stage.
My secret - let the batter sit for about 10 minutes as the waffle iron heats up. Waffles seem to get fluffier.
Cook waffles as you normally would.

Top with whatever fruits you like - we thawed some strawberries from last summer, keep the thawed juices and put them on top of yogurt on the waffles. Yummy!

Our Staple Zucchini Bread

2009-03-08T14:40:00.002-04:00

Our garden (like most!) yields waaaayyyy too much zucchini for us to handle. We try adding it to everything, but there is only so much you can do with zucch. We used to grow a Seeds of Change variety, but then last year we switched to the Costata Romanesco zucchini (easy to find, we got ours from Baker Creek Seeds).

Costata has a really nice nutty texture and the flesh stays pretty crisp, so it is perfect for the zucchini bread the girls like.

If I have it, I like to plump the raisins up beforehand in some orange juice and then cut the sugar some.
Also, I can cut the oil in 1/2 with applesauce (1/2 c applesauce + 1/2 c oil).
Finally, we like to cook this up in the bundt cake, makes it easier to control the portion size and it just looks fancier!

Ingredients:

- 3 large eggs

- 1 cup sugar (half brown and half white sugar)

- 1 cup oil (see note #2 above)

- 2 cups white flour

- 1/2 t baking powder

- 1 t salt

- 1 t baking soda

- 2 t cinnamon

- 1 t allspice

- 1 t cloves

- 1 t fresh nutmeg

- 1 cup plumped raisins

- 2 to 3 cups zucchini

Preheat the oven to 350 F.

Mix eggs, oil and sugar together till well blended.
Add flour, powder, salt, soda, and spices.
Mix the whole lot together till well blended.
Add raisins and zucchini and mix till just combined.
Pour into a greased bundt pan or a 9x5 or 8x8 or whatever pan you have lying about.
Bake for 1 hour or until the toothpick test comes out clean (less in wider lower pans, I would check at 50 minutes with an 8x8).

This is also a great base recipe for substitutions

Pureed pumpkin or squash for zucchini (might add some dry milk powder to balance).
Applesauce instead of zucchini (more spicing and less oil).
Carrot "cake-bread" might work here too.
Winter zucchini cake - we grate the zucchini in summer and freeze in 1 lb baggies. Make sure you drain the grated zucchini before adding it.

Lentil Soup With Sausage

2009-02-28T17:57:00.002-05:00

This stew-soup is perfect for using canned tomatoes, frozen spinach, and stored onion, garlic, and carrots. I am not fussy about lentil type or even sausage type (we have used chicken sausage, kielbasa, even hot dogs!), but the tomatoes and the spinach are key here - accept no lesser substitutes. It is easy enough I can cook it and clean all the dishes in the kitchen at the same time (woohoo!). Also, nothing feel better on cold winter nights that a bowl of something solid like this.

Ingredients:

1 to 2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 lb. of hearty sausage, sliced
1 or 2 large onions, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
4 to 6 cloves garlic, chopped
4 cups water + broth cube
1 cup lentils
1 quart of tomato juice
1 package of frozen, thawed spinach (about 1 lb)
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 Tablespoon paprika

Steps

Saute onion and carrots, adding up to 1 Tablespoon of olive oil if necessary to prevent sticking.
Cook 5 minutes over medium heat, stirring
Add the garlic and cook 1 to 2 more minutes.
Add the water, broth cube, lentils, and tomato juice and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add spinach, cumin, paprika, and salt, if desired.
Simmer, uncovered, for an additional 30 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Optional: Some like a smoother consistency - take some soup and run it through the blender and then add it back.

Serve hot with a great bread, warmed butter, and a salad!

Winter Squash

2009-02-21T12:10:00.002-05:00

This is half of one of our Blue Hubbard squashes - harvested in October, held in the basement and finally whacked in half when I had no more Waltham Butternut squashes.

What do you do with all that squash (~ 12 lbs of pureed squash in 1 lb freezer bags)?

Spicy Pecan Pumpkin Muffins from FoodieFarmGirl
Two Ingredient Pumpkin Yellow Cake with Apple Cider Glaze
Pumpkin or Squash Bread from Simply Recipes
A host of squash recipes at 101 Cookbooks
Spicy Pumpkin Soup from Simply Recipes

Rustic Potato Loaves

2009-02-01T15:39:00.002-05:00

Found this in the Julia Child cookbook, "Baking with Julia" that Dorie Greenspan edited together. This works great on stretching flour and if the potatoes are yours, all the better. The loaves end up with a crust to die for and a moist, stretchy (not gummy) interior.

A real find from a cookbook with some seriously complex recipes - this one is no more complex than a simple sandwich loaf - even easier if you save potatoes from an earlier meal!

3 potatoes, cooked, mashed, cooled (with skins!!!)
2 tsps salt
1/2 cup reserved potato water, warm
2 1/4 tsps active dry yeast (or 1 packet)
2 Tbps olive oil
4 3/4 cups flour (I use unbleached King Arthur)

Dissolve the yeast in the warm potato water for 5 mins.
Then mix in the potato, salt and olive oil. (In the mixer, I use the mixing attachment here)
Gradually add in flour and knead (in the mixer, I use the dough hook here). It will look crumbly, but keep going, it comes together somehow. In the mixer this takes me about5 minutes.
Keep kneading for another 3-5 minutes - 5-7 minutes in the mixer. Tthe dough very sticky but don't add more than 1/2 cup of extra flour.
Knead the dough until smooth.
Place it in a covered bowl and proof for 30 mins. It will have risen noticeably, although it may not have doubled.
Pre-heat the oven 375 F and insert a baking stone or tile.
Cut the dough in half and work with just one half at a time.
Flatten and start rolling from one end until almost to the other end. Gently pull that end and dust its far edge with flour. Moisten and fold over to seal the edge.
Shape the new loaf into a football (American!).
Repeat with the other dough.
Places the loaves on a lightly floured sheet, seam side down, cover and proof for 30 minutes more.
When you are ready to bake the loaves, throw three ice cubes onto the oven and shut the door immediately.
Transfer the doughs onto the baking stone, seam side up.
Before you last shut the door, throw two more ice cubes in.
Bake the bread until the crust very brown, 45 - 50 mins, you should hear the hollow sound when you tape the loaves' bottom (or 200 F on an instant read thermometer).
Rest them 20 mins before slicing.

I don't have any pics of this, but someone Dutch does - here is her Flickr set of it, step-by-step.

Ribollita (reboiled soup from heaven)

2009-01-28T10:59:00.003-05:00

Serves 10-12, makes about a gallon

Ribollita means "reboiled" in Italian, so this is essentially a peasant soup that uses yesterday's leftover bread and adds in whatever is nearby and handy. Like "refrigerator chili", you add what you have. This version works with the ingredients we have handy in the pantry and are in season in store right now.

It ends up being very healthy because it is basically almost no-fat - except for the olive oil you saute with and the cheese and sausage. Other than that it is spoonful after spoonful of awesome broth, kale, and beans. With some bits of carrot and sausage hidden here and there.

Ingredients:

2 cans cannellini beans
8 cups of vegetable stock/broth
4 onions, chopped
3 carrots, chopped
4 celery stalks, chopped
1 leek, chopped
6 cloves of garlic, chopped (double if you're sick)
1 bundle of "crinkly" kale, sliced into 1" wide chunks
1 quart of tomato puree
2 good-sized sprigs of fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon crushed red hot pepper
4 links of sausage, sliced
2 or 3 cups of stale bread (cut into cubes, I like to add something wheat-y like our focaccia)

Making The Soup:

Saute the onion, carrot, leeks (optional, it is really great, but our grocery doesn't always have it) and celery in some olive oil for 8 minutes.
Add the chopped garlic and saute for a 2 minutes.
Add kale and saute for 2 or 3 minutes.
Add the thyme, rosemary and hot pepper flakes.
Cover with 2 quarts of vegetable stock and add the tomatoes.
If you have a piece of dried up parmesan cheese in the fridge, now is the time to add it.
Add some sliced sausage - we like chicken sausage with bell peppers..
Simmer, simmer, simmer on medium-low for about 40 minutes.
Add the beans and simmer for an additional 10 minutes.
Add stale bread in the last five minutes.
Serve with grated parmesan.