Add More Butter

Really Simple Tuscan Pasta Salad

2012-01-11T19:56:00.001-08:00

Carolyn came home from Trader Joe’s with the fixin’s for this salad. It’s so simple it’s silly, but it does taste good and is quick to make.

1 lb. bow tie pasta (or whatever shape you have in the pantry)
3/4 cup (6 oz.) crumbled feta cheese
1/2 cup sun dried tomatoes
1/2 to 3/4 cup (8 to 12 oz.) olive tampenade
2-3 handfuls of baby spinach

Cook the pasta per the directions on the package. Drain and rinse lightly with cold water, to stop the pasta from cooking (probably not what the package says, but ignore the package in this regard). Add the remaining ingredients. Season with salt and pepper (careful with the salt). Add extra olive oil, as desired. Mix well and serve luke warm.

Kotlety

2011-12-14T16:36:00.001-08:00

Kotlety are essentially large meatballs that are flattened, resembling a hamburger in size and shape. My mother served these all the time when I was growing up. Clearly, this is a recipe that was meant to stretch the meat. Kotlety can be frozen. This is comfort food that tastes even better as left-overs. Fried, of course.

Pronunciation: Coat-let-i with the “i” pronounced like the “i” in “ick.”

2 lbs. ground round
2 large eggs
2 onions, diced
1 tablespoon salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
10" length of French bread, torn into bits
1 cup of milk
Bread crumbs (coarse preferred)
Butter
Olive oil

Melt 3 tablespoons of butter in a large skillet. Add onions and cover. Cook for 20 minutes over a low heat, stirring occasionally. After the onions are translucent, remove the cover and increase the heat to medium. Continue to cook, allowing the onions to caramelize. Stir often to prevent them from burning. The entire process will take 30 minutes. (note: you can skip caramelizing if you wish, but I think it adds a nice flavor).

Tear the bread, with crust, into small pieces. i.e. about 1” in size. Soak in one cup of milk. Mix the meat, soaked bread, eggs, onions, salt and pepper in a large bowl. Fashion balls that are about 1.5” in diameter. Roll in breadcrumbs and press to flatten.

Add 1 tablespoon butter and 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the skillet. Arrange the Kotlety in one layer and brown. Turn and brown the other side. Add 2-3 tablespoons of water, cover, reduce heat to minimum (simmer). Cook for 30-40 minutes.

You can prepare a simple gravy from the pan juices. Just add some water, salt, pepper, a bit of vegetable bullion and some flour.

Note: If you prefer, you can bake the raw Kotlety in the oven. 45 minutes at 350 degrees F., covered.

Omelet

2011-07-17T09:46:00.001-07:00

As simple as scrambled eggs, but better organized and ready to accept almost anything as a filling to prevent it from getting boring. The beauty is that the basic omelet can be served without anything but a piece of toast.

Precook any fillings (except cheese) because when added as a filling, they will not cook at all and cold fillings would barely warm up. Avoid crunchy things; somehow, they just don’t go well with an omelet. Some cheese and diced ham is classic, but generally, don’t go overboard with quantities.

Instructions for an omelet for one:

2 eggs
2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons butter
pinch of salt
2 pinches of ground black pepper

Beat the eggs, water, salt and pepper in a bowl. Add the butter to a large seasoned skillet or nonstick pan and melt over medium-high heat. As soon as the butter is melted, spread to evenly coat the bottom of skillet; add the eggs. Grab the handle and swirl the eggs around so they cover the skillet evenly. Allow to cook until the eggs are set (i.e. not runny). If you have a filling, add it at this point, over the middle third of the omelet. Using a spatula, carefully turn the remain two thirds of the omelet over the middle third. Turn of the heat and allow to sit for several minutes before serving on a hot plate.

Double the ingredients if preparing for two.

Note: Experiment with the temperature. The goal is to deliver an omelet that is yellow; show no traces of caramelizing. i.e. not browned in any way. This can be more difficult than it sounds!

Magnolia Hotel Home Made Yogurt

2011-06-24T11:37:00.001-07:00

Our friend Maria Jordan owns a small boutique hotel in Buenos Aires. The breakfast she serves is outstanding and one of our favorite things is her home made yogurt. She serves them in small glass jars. We found similar jars (see photo) at the local grocery store (in Buenos Aires) and hauled them home.

About ten 3/4 cup servings.

8 cups milk (2% is fine)
¼ C. sugar (optional)
1 T. vanilla (optional)

Buy a small container of plain yogurt to use as starter .

Bring milk to a simmer, over low heat so it doesn’t scorch the bottom of the pan. Allow to cool, but still hot (about 15-20 min.). i.e. not so hot that you can’t put your finger in. Remove the “skin” that had formed on the top of the milk with a spoon and discard.

In a small bowl, pour off about a cup of the hot milk into a small deep bowl and mix in the plain yogurt. Stir in the sugar and vanilla. Pour this back into the plain warm milk and stir it all together. Pour into small clean, dry jars with lids (or a larger glass jar). Place into an unheated oven, or any place that would not have any drafts - it doesn’t need to be warm, just not cold. Leave for 10-12 hours. Then refrigerate for up to 10 days.

Note: Our favorite way to eat our yogurt is to mix it with home made granola (see that recipe), ground flax seed and blueberries or other fruit. We normally don’t add the sugar, but I often add a little maple syrup.

Frontier Stew

2011-06-22T21:06:00.001-07:00

During our recent trip to Albuquerque, MN to help Natalie find an apartment, we managed a day trip to Bandolier, Sante Fe and Taos. The destination was really Taos, so that I could introduce Carolyn and Natalie to Michael’s Kitchen and Bakery, and, more importantly, to introduce them to the tamale plate. It had been at least 15 years since I was last there, but it proved to be as good as I remember (except they now add shredded lettuce, which is an unnecessary garnish). The very next day we had lunch at the Frontier Restaurant, in Albuqwerky. I ordered a sampler plate and discovered that the enchilada was covered in the same, delicious gravy as the tamales at Michaels. Except the call the gravy, “the stew.” An internet search turned up the recipe and I made it for Natalie, Julia and Carolyn this evening. The stew was served over home made refried beans (see recipe) and tamales from Costco, accompanied by a Lime Greem Salad. I only wish I had remembered to wear one of my cowboy hats!

1 lb ground pork
1 medium onion, chopped
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon oil, for frying
3 tablespoons flour
1 generous cup diced potatoes
1/2 to 1 cup chopped green chile, to taste
1 quart chicken stock
salt and pepper to taste

1. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add ground pork and chopped onion, breaking apart pork into small pieces. When pork is no longer pink and onions are translucent, add garlic and cook for a minute or so. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and 1 tablespoon of flour; stir to combine.

2. Add potatoes, the green chiles, and chicken stock. Bring to boil and reduce to a simmer. Cook, covered, until potatoes are just tender, 20-30 minutes.

Note 1: Each batch of green chiles is different in both flavor and heat. Test the chiles by tasting before beginning to cook. The chiles I used had no heat at all, so I added one medium jalapeno to give the dish a bit of heat.

Note 2: The Frontier Restaurant uses Hatch chiles, which I could not get. I used a mild green chile that looks like a Hatch chile.

Frijoles Refritos (Refried Beans)

2011-06-21T19:32:00.001-07:00

Refried beans are not actually refried at all. In fact, they are not actually “fried.” They are simply cooked twice. Once in water and once again in a pan.

This recipe is assembled from information gathered from numerous recipes I found on the internet, inspired by our recent trip with Natalie to Albuquerque. I made these with the “stew” that is served at the Frontier Restaurant in Albuquerque, which was miraculously published on the internet. The beans were served along with tamales from Costco, drowning in the stew, with a Lime Green Salad on the other half of the plate. jb 6-22-11

2 1/2 cups of dry pinto beans (about 1 lb or 450gm)
3 quarts of water
1 lb. bacon, fried crisp and crumbled
1/4 cup chicken stock (or water)
½ teaspoon Liquid Smoke (optional, but recommended)
1 tablespoon Chipotle chili powder (optional)
2 teaspoons salt
Monterrey Jack (or queso blanco), shredded
Diced scallions, as a garnish

Crisp fry bacon, cool and crumble. Set aside, but reserve rendered drippings (if not using a microwave).

Inspect the beans, removing any small stones, twigs, or ugly beans. Place the dry beans into a pot with 3 quarts of water. Lower heat to simmer, cover, and cook for about 2 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally. The cooking time will vary depending on the beans. Older beans take longer than newer ones. The beans are done when they are soft and the skin is just beginning to break open.

Remove from heat and strain from the cooking water. Allow to cool to handling temperature. Stir in crumbled bacon bits, in batches, and smash the beans with a potato masher. I prefer to leave some beans whole, to add some texture. Some people strain the beans to remove the skins

Add enough reserved bacon drippings to lightly cover bottom of skillet and heat over medium high heat. Add spoonfuls of mashed beans to fill pan. Stir and cook. You don't want to cook until a crust forms but nearly. Add a bit of water, if necessary. Repeat until all beans are done.

Top with shredded cheese and diced scallions. Serve hot. Ideally, serve with Frontier Stew.

A meal: Smear the beans on to a warm corn tortilla, sprinkle with cheese and onion. Roll it up and enjoy.

Rapee Morv Andelle

2011-06-07T20:12:00.001-07:00

– a Julia Childs recipe

A gratin of Shredded Potatoes with Ham, Eggs and Onions - Serves 4

Tom brought this dish prepared, ready for baking, to Killasonna Lodge for our 2011 Memorial Day Weekend. It’s a keeper.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

½ cup finely minced onions
2T olive oil
2T butter + 2T butter + more butter
2 cups (12 oz) finely diced cooked ham
4 eggs
4 cloves crushed garlic
2T minced parsley and/or chives and chervil
2/3 cup (3 oz) grated Swiss cheese
4T whipping cream, light cream or milk
Pinch of pepper
¼ teaspoon salt

Cook the onions slowly in the oil and 2 tablespoons butter for 5 minutes or so, until tender but not browned.

Raise the heat slightly, stir in ham, and cook a moment more.

Beat the eggs in a mixing bowl with the garlic, herbs, cheese, cream or milk, and seasonings. The blend in the ham and onions.

Peel the potatoes and grate them, using large holes of grater. A handful at a time, squeeze out their water. Stir potatoes into egg mixture. Check seasoning. (May be prepared ahead to this point.)

Heat 2 tablespoons butter in the baking dish (or skillet). When foaming, pour in the potato and egg mixture. Dot with butter. Set in upper third of a preheated oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes, or until top is nicely browned. Serve directly from the dish or skillet.

Black Bean Soup

2011-02-07T21:32:00.001-08:00

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, finely chopped
7 – 8 cloves garlic, finely chopped or squeezed
1 pound (2 cups) black beans
5 cups water
1 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons dried oregano
1 teaspoon chili powder
2 Knorr’s vegetable bullions
2 tablespoons parsley
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Juice of 1/2 lemon

Open the package and spread the beans out on a cookie sheet. Inspect them and remove any stones, ugly beans or foreign material. Then rinse the beans in cold water.

Boil the beans in 5 cups of water for 2-3 minutes. Turn off the heat and let them soak for 1 hour, covered. (Alternative: Soak the beans in cold water overnight, discard the water and use fresh water to cook the beans.)

Heat the oil in a skillet. Sauté the onions over moderate heat for 6-8 minutes. Add the garlic and continue to sauté an additional 8-9 minutes, turning occasionally, until the onions are somewhat caramelized.

Heat up the beans, add the onions and add all the remaining ingredients. Add water (if needed) and bring to a simmer. Simmer for 2 hours, covered, stirring every 30 minutes.

Using a potato masher, press the beans two or three times to break some of them up. (Note: The object is to thicken the liquid base of the soup, not to mash all the beans). Cover and simmer gently for an additional 10 minutes.

Serves 6 to 8.

Gâteau Anna

2010-12-31T13:24:00.001-08:00

A Pear and Apple Cake

This recipe came from the Capital Times, a Madison, WI, daily newspaper, in the early 1980’s. It was the first cake I ever tried making.

2 large eggs
¾ cup sugar
¾ cup all purpose flour
1 stick plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter (softened)
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 Golden Delicious apples, peeled and sliced thin
2 pears, peeled and sliced thin (not too ripe; not too firm)
1-1/2 tablespoons light rum
1 tablespoon double-acting baking powder
powdered sugar

In a bowl, beat 2 large eggs (using an electric mixer) with ¾ cup sugar until the mixture is light and lemon colored. Add flour, butter, salt and baking powder; mix well. Add the rum and mix. Stir in apples and pears. Spoon the batter the batter into a well-butter and sugared 9-inch springform pan, 2-inches deep, and bake it in a preheated moderately slow over (350 degrees F.) for 60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer the cake to a rack and let it cool in the pan for 30 minutes. (Note: Best if served the same day as baked, otherwise the crisp edges soften.)

The Great Sausage Making Adventure of 2010

2010-12-30T07:23:00.001-08:00

Above, home made Chaurice sausages.

The idea of making sausage has been floating around in my head for several years. In September, Carolyn and I had a pizza at a restaurant called Mojo Tapas in St. Louis, MO that had a chorizo sausage that was excellent. I finally decided it was time that I made some sausage. Fortunately, I had Carolyn to help. I think this would be difficult, if not impossible to do alone.

Our project was hampered by the fact that we do not own a meat grinder with a sausage stuffing tube attachment. Nor do we have the meat grinding attachment for the KitchenAid stand mixer. Our only alternative was to have a butcher grind the meat for us. Besides, we needed to buy hog casings anyway, so we headed to Zier’s Prime Meats in Wilmette. We bought a nearly 5 pound chunk of pork shoulder. The butcher ground it to a consistency equal to typical ground beef used for hamburger.

The second problem, because we did not have the proper equipment, was how to stuff the ground meat into the hog casings. I had researched sausage-making on the internet and found recommendations to use a cake decoration piping bag. We happened to have several of these.

Finding recipes was easy (internet). I realized that I could divide the ground pork and mix it with different herbs and spices to make several different types of sausage. I decided on Italian Sausage, Spanish Chorizo, and a Creole sausage called Chaurice (which I had never had before). I didn’t follow the recipes exactly, but rather, determined the proportions of herbs and spices based on a number of recipes. Not exactly intuition . . . but guessing.

Above, hog casing soaking in water. The casing comes on a strip of plastic to keep it organized.

The hog casing comes salted and has to be washed and soaked for 15 minutes in lukewarm (not hot) water. (Don’t over soak). Using the piping bag, with the largest tip we own, we made several Italian sausages. But it was difficult and the piping bag split. The tip burst out of the next bag and we were frustrated, but Carolyn had the inspiration to try using her cookie press. It worked like a charm. We had some leftovers from stuffing and friend them up, right there and then, to sample the sausage. Of the three sausages we made, I liked the Chorizo; Carolyn preferred the Chaurice. Unfortunately, the Italian was too salty (I reduced the salt by half in the recipe below). The sausage turned out far better than expected. Despite all the work and frustration, dare I say it . . . it was worth it. The sausage tasted better and had a better consistency than any sausage we’ve had in a restaurant or bought at the grocery store. Now I’m dreaming about bratwurst and Polish sausage! --jb December 30, 2010

Above: I labeled the spices with a water based pen to keep track which was which

Note: The hog casing broke several times. I think that’s normal. I think that the thickness of the casing is not perfectly consistent; it’s weak in places. Simply take the meat and put it back into the stuffer.

Spanish Chorizo

I read that Spanish Chorizo, made in Spain, is air-cured for up to four months in special high-ceilinged rooms. Some chorizo is smoked; some is not. This recipe does not call for smoking, but because it includes smoked paprika, the sausage has a smoky flavor that is not overpowering. I didn’t have Aleppo pepper, so I took advice I found on the internet to substitute it with a 4 to 1 mixture of sweet Hungarian paprika and cayenne pepper.

Mix the first six ingredients together:

• Coarse salt: 2 teaspoons
• Garlic: ¼ t +1/8 t teaspoons
• Ground nutmeg: ½ + 1/4 teaspoons
• Brown sugar: 0.8 tablespoon
• Smoked paprika : 1 tablespoon, slightly rounded
• Aleppo pepper substitute: 1 tablespoon Hungarian sweet paprka plus ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper
• Ground pork: 1.5 lb.

I spread the ground pork on a large cutting board to an even thickness of about 3/8” and evenly distributed the spices. Then I turned half of the meat over on to the other half and used my fingers to massage the meat to thoroughly distribute the spices. Lastly, fill casings. Push the meat through the casing so you have about 2 inches of casing to tie off the end. Next, cut the casing at the other end, several inches past the meat, so you have another loose end with which to tie. Squeeze the meat toward the first tied end before tying the other end.

Above: Ground pork spread just before applying the seasonings.

Chaurice (Creole Pork Sausage)

• Ground pork: 2 lb.
• Salt: 2 teaspoons
• Ground cayenne: 1/8 teaspoon
• Powdered thyme: 1/2 teaspoon
• Chili powder: 2 teaspoons
• Hungarian sweet paprika: 1 tablespoon
• Ground black pepper: 3/4 teaspoon
• Onion powder: 1 teaspoon
• Garlic powder: 3/4 teaspoon
• Allspice: ¼ teaspoon
• Cumin: 1-1/2 teaspoons

Italian Sausage

• Ground pork: 2 lb.
• Salt: 1 teaspoon
• Black pepper (ground): 1/8 teaspoon
• Fennel seeds: 1 heaping tablespoon
• Optional: Crush red pepper flakes: 1 tablespoon (or as you like)

Cranberry Relish

2010-12-26T16:56:00.001-08:00

12 ounces fresh cranberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup orange juice
1/3 cup dried cherries
4 tablespoons Grand Marnier
2/3 cup coarsely chopped pecans

Wash cranberries and combine in a heavy saucepan with sugar, water and orange juice. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce the heat and cook at a gentle boil until cranberries begin to pop.

Remove from heat and stir in the cherries and Grand Marnier. Chill for up to a week. Stir in pecans just before serving.

8 to 10 servings

Kolaczki

2010-12-26T16:49:00.001-08:00

1 lb. salted butter, softened (see note 1)
6 oz. cream cheese, room temperature
3 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
Fruit filling (such as Solo brand apricot, raspberry, etc.)
Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Using a mixer, whip butter and cream cheese together. Sift flour and baking powder into the butter/cheese mixture. Divide the dough into two balls. Roll out to 1/8" thickness. Cut into rounds with the open end of a glass and place 1 teaspoon of filling in the center. Fold two edges together and pinch.

Bake for 12 minutes. After cookies cool, dust with powdered sugar.

Note 1: Or use unsalted butter and add 1 teaspoon salt

Carolyn’s Holiday Sweet Potatoes

2010-12-26T16:35:00.001-08:00

Christmas dinner isn’t dinner without Carolyn’s signature sweet potatoes.

6 medium sweet potatoes (Garnet variety if available)
1/2 stick of butter plus one tablespoon
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 cup orange juice
salt
2 tablespoons Cointreau or Gran Marnier
2 cups mini-marshmallows

Wash potatoes and cut off the ends. Cook in oven at 350 degrees until soft; about one hour. You can cook them in a microwave if preferred. Cool to room temperature.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cut potatoes into 1/2" thick slices and arrange the rounds in a buttered baking dish so that each round overlaps it's neighbor.

In a sauce pan, melt 1/2 stick butter. Add sugar and dissolve. Add orange juice and liquor and stir. Drizzle over the potatoes. Dot potatoes with remaining butter and sprinkle with some salt. Bake for 30 minutes. Add the marshmallows and broil for 2 minutes, until browned and soft.

Ptaszki (Translation: Little Birds)

2010-12-26T16:07:00.001-08:00

Also known, inelegantly but popularly, as Christmas Pork Rolls. First prepared in 1982 while learning to cook and living in Madison, WI. -jb

2 large pork tenderloins (will make approximately 20-26 ptaski)
(tip: buy trimmed tenderloins; cost more but save time)
Bacon, cut strips in half, cross-wise
Green peppers, cleaned and sliced into ½” wide pieces
Onions, sliced into thick ¾” wide pieces
Pickles (Vlassic brand Polish style), spears, cut lengthwise in half and ends trimmed to 4” long (but reserve the pickle juice)
Hungarian Paprika
Salt
Black Pepper
Garlic Powder (see note 1)
Olive Oil
Reserved pickle juice
2 Knorr’s vegetable bullions

Special tools:
Waxed paper
Kitchen mallet
Spray bottle with tap water
large nylon cutting board
round toothpicks
two oven-proof 12” skillets (or work in two stages with one skillet and an oven-proof baking dish)

Preparation: Spread waxed paper over a 2’x4’ section of the kitchen counter. You will be laying out the flattened medallions of pork on this area. Spray the area with water and keep it moist to prevent the meat from sticking to the waxed paper. Also, cut off a dozen or more sections of waxed paper, 10” long. You will use these to cover the meat as you pound it flat. This minimizes splatter of small bits of meat.

Trim off any excess fat from the tenderloin. Cross cut the tenderloin on a slight diagonal, into 1” to 1¼” thick medallions. Each tenderloin will yield about 12 medallions.

Spray the cutting board with water. Place a medallion of pork on the cutting board and spray with water. You want to keep the meat very moist as you work. Cover the medallion with a piece of waxed paper and pound with the smooth side of the mallet. Carefully pound the medallion until very thin; about the thickness of shirtbox cardboard. The resulting piece will be about 4” x 7”. Spray the waxed paper layout area with water and set the meat, flat, on the wet surface. Repeat until all the medallions are flattened and arranged in rows on the waxed paper. Remember to spray often as you work to keep the meat moist.

Heat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Sprinkle the meet with about 2-3 pinches of salt, pepper, garlic powder and paprika. Place a slice of bacon over the each piece of meat. Place a piece of green pepper, pickle and onion at the end closest to you, perpendicular to the length of the meat. Have toothpicks ready. Roll the meat, starting at the end with the green pepper-pickle-onion and spear with one or two toothpicks to hold the roll together. Place on a plate to free up work space. Repeat the instructions with the second tenderloin.

Pour 5-6 tablespoons of oil into a 12” skillet, turn up heat to medium high and add ptaszki to fill the skillet in one layer. Brown on all sides (as best you can; the toothpicks are in the way). If your skillet is not oven-proof, place the browned ptaszki into a large oven-proof baking dish. Brown the remainder of ptaszki until all are browned. Add 1/3 cup of pickle juice and sprinkle the rolls with a little Paprika. Cover with aluminum foil and place into the oven. Bake for 1-1/2 hours.

Gravy: Pour the liquid from the baking dish into a skillet and add about ½ cup of water. In a cup, add 2 tablespoons of flour and 1 tablespoon of cornstarch to 3 tablespoons of cold water. Mix thoroughly until smooth. Set aside. Add the Knorr’s vegetable bullion in the pan and dissolve, breaking it up with the back of a spatula. Add black pepper, to taste. Add the flour-water mixture and stir constantly while cooking over a moderate heat until thickened. Season with salt, to taste.

Above, cutting medallions from a piece of tenderloin

Above, a medallion covered with a piece of waxed paper

A flattened medallion

All ingredients applied and ready to be rolled up.

Ptaszki, ready to be browned.

Browning in a cast iron skillet

Green Beans

2010-12-15T15:22:00.001-08:00

Cooking green beans, you might think, is to simple to warrant a post, but this post is more than simply cooking instructions.

When I was growing up my mother served green beans often. I didn’t particularly like them. They were bland, soft and tasteless. They came from a can.

Green beans are easy to grow in your yard or even in a container, although a single bush would probably only produce a handful of beans. There are pole beans (i.e. a vine that needs to be supported by a pole of some kind) and bush beans. Purple green beans are fun because, well . . . they’re purple. When you cook them, unfortunately, they turn green.

The typical green beans found in supermarkets, called string beans, are larger and thicker than the French Haricot vert beans. They also tend to curl, whereas the French beans are elegantly straight. The French beans do have a slightly different taste, but it’s a subtle difference. I prefer the haricot verts for aesthetic reasons, although both varieties are good to eat.

There are a dozen ways to cook green beans. Here’s how I prepare them: I bring some water to a boil and then place the basket with trimmed beans into the pot and immediately cover it. I reduce the heat to a moderate heat and steam them for about 6 minutes ; until they are al dente. It’s good to check tenderness with a fork because there is nothing worse than overcooked green beans. Once they are cooked, I quickly dump out the water and put the beans into the pot. I salt them with coarse ground salt and grind some black pepper over them and then pour a tablespoon of olive oil into the pan and shake it all about. The oil helps the salt and pepper to stick to the beans.

Note: I trim the stem end of beans, but leave the other end alone. Those little tails are too cute to cut.

Grilled Salmon Steaks with Peach and Mustard Glaze

2010-12-12T10:36:00.001-08:00

Grilled salmon is simple to cook and is elegant to serve. It’s a dish that you can prepare for guests quickly, without having to disappear into the kitchen for 30 minutes because the marinade is made earlier in the day or the night before.

1/3 cup peach marmalade
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup cream sherry
1/4 cup Dijon mustard
2 T ginger powder (shaved and chopped fresh ginger would be ideal)
2 T honey
4 to 8 (8-ounce) salmon fillets

1. Combine first 6 ingredients. Heat in a saucepan and stir well to mix the ingredient.

2. Cut the salmon filet into individual steaks.

3. Place the cooled glaze into a large Ziplock bag with the salmon. If you have time, seal and marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes. Drink some cream sherry while waiting. If you are really planning ahead, do this the night before and refrigerate overnight.

4. Preheat grill for 10 minutes on high. Place salmon on grill and cook for about 6-7 minutes (uncovered). Reserve the marinade. Using a wide metal spatula, turn the steaks once and cook an additional 4 minutes.

Serve on hot plates and liberally spoon the marinade over each steak. Garnish with a slice of lemon and a spring of rosemary to dress it up. Nicely accompanied by green beans and oven roasted potatoes. Or rice. Or couscous. Or whatever you like.

Notes

1. Feel free to substitute orange marmalade.

2. We generally buy the Farm Raised Atlantic Salmon, boneless & skinless, at Costco.

3. There are health benefits to eating salmon, but also risks. Read the following article to be informed.

Wild vs. Farmed Salmon, The Pros And Cons

By Joseph Schwartz
bjs54@cornell.edu
Cornell University News Service
http://www.news.cornell.edu

On the one hand, farmed salmon has more heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids than wild salmon. On the other hand, it also tends to have much higher levels of chemical contaminants that are known to cause cancer, memory impairment and neurobehavioral changes in children. What's a consumer to do?

In general, a new study shows that the net benefits of eating wild Pacific salmon outweigh those of eating farmed Atlantic salmon, when the risks of chemical contaminants are considered, although there are important regional differences.

Those are the conclusions of Barbara Knuth, Cornell professor of natural resources who specializes in risk management associated with chemical contaminants in fish, and Steven Schwager, Cornell associate professor of biological statistics and computational biology and an expert in sampling design and statistical analysis of comparative data. The two have co-authored a benefit-risk analysis of eating farmed versus wild salmon in the Journal of Nutrition (November, Vol. 135).

Read the rest of this article here:

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/35370.php

Onion Burger

2010-08-29T17:16:00.001-07:00

Rachel stay with us for the first time this weekend and we had a terrific time. We met Natalie for lunch at Irazu, on Milwaukee Avenue, near Western. Afterwards we went to Grant Park, planning to visit the Field Museum. We arrived at 4:10 and learned that the last admittance was at 4:00 (!), so we went to see "The Bean." Dinner at Mista Pizza. Sunday morning Rachel help make a surprize breakfast for Carolyn (blueberry pancakes). After breakfast we embarked on a bike ride through the NU campus. It was hot! And humid. We turned on the lawn sprinkler for Rachel to cool off. After lunch we went to visit Rachel's great grandmother. We returned in time to make dinner, which consisted of an onion hamburger. This was a first try, but everyone gave it a two thumbs up.

1 lb. ground beef, 7% fat
1.3 lb. ground beef, 20% fat
2 large onions, diced
Dubliner Irish cheese, diced into 1/4 inch cubes
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt

Place 2 tablespoons of olive oil into a 12" skillet; spread to cover pan. Set heat at medium high; add the diced onions and 2 tablespoons water. Cover and cook for 12-15 minutes. Stir, add another 2 tablespoons of water, cover and continue to cook. Repeat for one hour. Caramelize the onions; don't burn them.

Mix the beef together with the salt and cheese. Add the caramelized onions and mix thoroughly. The mixture will be fairly wet; not like a standard hamburger. Form balls and squash into patty shape. Grill on high heat; flip when underside is well cooked. Serve on a toasted bun.

Mediterranean Style Skillet Potatoes

2010-06-06T10:05:00.001-07:00

Paul and Tom joined us at Killasonna Lodge last weekend (Memorial Day Weekend). They really liked the potatoes, which I made to accompany the Frittata B for breakfast. They also liked the “HomeWare” outfits that we brought for them from Adriana’s atelier in Buenos Aires.

Potatoes
Olive Oil
Ham (preferably a honey ham), diced (optional)
Salt
Black pepper
Oregano
Thyme
Basil
Paprika
Hot pepper flakes (optional)

Bake or microwave potatoes; cool; slice into 1/4" thick rounds. Dice the (optional) ham.

Arrange the potato rounds on a cutting board and generously sprinkle with salt, pepper and spices (easy on the paprika).
Pour about 1/4 cup of olive oil into a skillet and turn the heat to medium high.
Place the rounds into the skillet, seasoned side facing skillet. While browning, season the clean side generously with more salt, pepper and spices. Flip occasionaly so everything gets nicely browned.
Once browned, push the potatoes to one side of the skill and add the ham. Use a spatula to turn the ham so it gets thoroughly coated with the oil and seasonings.

Note 1: The potatoes soak up the oil, so add a little bit at a time, as needed, but be careful; you don't want the potatoes to be oily.
Note 2: Be generous with the oregano, thyme and basil.

Frittata B

2010-06-06T09:35:00.001-07:00

Sunday, June 29, 2008. Carolyn and I started the weekend by taking Natalie, Julia, Elliot and Zoe to dinner at Sabor a Café on Friday night. Yesterday we did at a road trip, of shorts, to Madison, WI to attend Tom’s 60^th birthday party (see photo below). We awoke with the alarm clock set to nine. Glorious! I made breakfast a little after two in the afternoon and it turned out perfect. I had been trying to make a frittata for years without scorching the eggs and always failed. This time it worked; miraculously and perfectly. I think adding water did the trick, combined with cooking over a moderate, somewhat low, heat. –jb

6 large eggs
1/3 teaspoon salt
Generous sprinkling of thyme leaves
¼ teaspoon crush red pepper flakes
¼ cup water
Olives (Provencal, if possible), without pits (about ¼ cup)
2 tablespoon Giardinara
Brie, cut into ten ¾” pieces
Gorogonzola, broken into 10 small pieces
Spray canola oil
10 cherry tomatoes

Spray a 12” skillet with three short bursts of oil. Heat the skillet on low heat for several minutes.

Mix the eggs, salt and water well and pour into the skillet. Place olives and small dollops of giardinera into the eggs, followed by the cheese and tomatoes, distributed somewhat evenly. Sprinkle with thyme. Cover and cook over slightly less than medium heat for about 8-10 minutes; until done. Be careful not to scorch the eggs (i.e. the dreaded light brown crust under the frittata). If done correctly, the entire thing will slide out of the skillet in one large piece. Serve with toast and jam.

Note 1: I have made this with a variety of adjustments. Sometimes with olive tampenade substituting for the olives and giardinera, sometimes without Brie. Add or subtract as you like, just be sure to cook slowly. i.e. just below medium, covered.

Note 2: What’s the difference between an omelets and a frittata? On omelets is folded; a frittata’s ingredients are combined with the eggs.

Alfajores de maicena

2010-06-03T17:36:00.001-07:00

Sofia (Maria’s daughter) shared this recipe when we visited in Magnolia Hotel in May, 2010. The cookies are made from cornstarch, not flour.

150 gr Butter
150 gr powdered sugar
3 egg yolks
500 gr maicena (cornstarch)
10 gr baking powder
Vanilla
Dulce de leche repostero
Shredded coconut

Mix butter and sugar in processor for 5 minutes until smooth
Add 3 egg yolks, one at a time, and process
Add baking powder; process
Add vanilla; process
Wrap in plastic and allow to chill in refrigerator
Roll out and cut into circles with a shot glass
Bake at 180 deg. C for 10-12 minutes
Smear with dulce de leche
Coat edges with coconut

Mussels Provençal

2010-05-21T19:10:00.001-07:00

Last Saturday, May 15, 2010, Carolyn, Julia and I had lunch at El Obrero, a well known and well regarded “bogedone” in the La Boca barrio of Buenos Aires. The restaurant is well off the beaten path, in a somewhat seedy neighborhood containing many industrial buildings, stray dogs and little street life. The sidewalks in this area are unusual, abruptly changing elevation that presumably is meant to protect the buildings against flooding from the nearby river (see photo below). Note that there are no guard rails at the top of the elevated sidewalks. The restaurant, which dates back to 1954, is popular and crowded. The food and service were excellent. Here, Carolyn and I introduced Julia to mejillones a la provençal (mussels provencal). Following is my interpretation, which I developed after a trip to France in 2000. Extremely simple, but totally satisfying. -jb

2 lbs. mussels, cleaned and debearded
2-3 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium onion, finely diced
1 cup white wine
¼ teaspoon celery seed
salt and black pepper to taste
2 bay leaves
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 medium/large tomato, diced

In a Dutch oven, cook the onions and garlic in the olive oil for 10 minutes over a medium heat. Add the remaining ingredients and cook for 5 minutes. The heat to boiling and add the mussels, cover and reduce heat to medium. Cook about 8 minutes or until all the mussels have opened. Discard any mussels that remain closed. Serve with bread and white wine.

first prepared June 29, 2000

At El Obrero, located at Augustin R. Caffarena 64

Lemon Marmalade

2010-05-05T19:30:00.001-07:00

TJ Max has a section with various condiments, jams, etc. Although I am suspicious of how long they have been there, I couldn’t pass up a jar labeled Sicilian Lemon. It was love at first bite, but once the jar was empty I couldn’t find a replacement. I decided to make my own and was rewarded with success on my first try. The marmalade is wonderfully tart. Best, of course, on fresh croissants (because they are packed with butter).

Don’t use this recipe to make marmalade from non-acidic fruits!

5 lemons
5 cups water
4 cups sugar

6 small Mason jars with rings and lids
Optional (but extremely helpful): Funnel sized for processing marmalade
Tongs

Day 1: Fill a bowl with 5 cups of water. Slice four (4) of the lemons into paper thin slices, removing seeds as you go. Chop slices so you don't have long pieces. Cover and refrigerate 24 hours.

Day 2: Place the contents of the bowl into a pot, bring to a boil and reduce heat to just below the boiling point. Cook for 20 minutes. Pour back into the bowl and allow to cool. Cover and refrigerate 24 hours.

Day 3: Place the contents of the bowl into a pot. Bring to a low boil and add 4 cups of sugar. Continue to boil for 50-60 minutes, stirring occasionally. Meanwhile, fill another deep pot with water, add the glass Mason jars, and bring to a slow boil. Wash the lids and rings in hot, soapy water. Rinse well and place on a clean paper towel. Five minutes before removing from heat, add the juice of one lemon and stir. Next, fill each jar with marmalade to within 1/4” of the top of the jar; no more/no less. Using a clean, wet paper towel, clean off any marmalade from the top edge of the jars. Apply the lids and screw on the rings. Tight, but not super tight. Using tongs, place jars into the pot of boiling water and boil (“process”) for 10 full minutes. Carefully remove from heat and drain most of the water into the sink. Using a towel, remove the jars and place on a towel. Allow to cool for 12-24 hours. (After 24 hours, push on the lids. They should not pop up and down. If they do, discard.) The jars will keep for up to one year without refrigeration.

Note 1: The second time I made the marmalade I used lemons that had been sitting on the table for a couple of weeks and had softened. The marmalade set up much better than the first time, when I used just bought firm lemons.

Note 2: The recipe made more than 6 jars of marmalade. Place the extra in a jar or bowl, covered, and refrigerate right away.

Note 3: I don’t know why, but no pectin is needed for this recipe. At least I didn’t use any and it turned out great.

Video below emphasizes that the lemons must be sliced very thin:

Yield: 6 jars

The Birthday Granola

2010-04-07T16:41:00.001-07:00

Natalie brought over some granola she made about a week ago. It was supposed to be for Carolyn, but I must admit that I probably ate most of it. I became addicted to it. When my b-day rolled around she gave me a fresh batch and the recipe in the form of a card (below). Not mention taking C and I out for dinner and some wine glass I.D. thing-a-ma-bobs. Nice birthday! The batch she made for my b-day was a bit more toasted than the first. I like the toasty flavor. I will be making this often!

Split Pea Soup

2010-03-09T19:06:00.001-08:00

The perfect use for a ham bone . . .

1-1/2 – 2 lbs. ham bone (or pork neck bones)
16 cups water
1 lb. split yellow peas
1 onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, diced (or one teaspoon ground celery seed)
2 pcs. Knorr’s vegetable bullion
1 teaspoon salt
2-3 medium potatoes, cut into ¾” pieces
8 oz. cranberry sauce

Boil the bone(s) in the water for an hour. Remove bone(s) and discard. Strain liquid, if necessary, with a cheese cloth. Add the peas and allow to sit in the broth for 1 hour. Add all the remaining ingredients, except the cranberry sauce, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for one hour. Add cranberry sauce and stir. Puree, in stages, in a blender or food processor. Serve with a crust white bread. (February 13, 1995)

Potato Pancakes (Placki kartoflane)

2010-03-02T19:55:00.001-08:00

My mother made piles of potato pancakes when I was a kid. She served them hot or room temperature. The exact recipe remains a mystery because she didn’t follow a written recipe. She simply threw everything together and made, the relatives all seemed to agree on this, the best “placki kartoflane” to be had. The recipe below is based on her oral instructions.

8 medium potatoes
2 large eggs
12 tablespoons flour
2 medium onions
1/2 teaspoon salt
Canola oil
Butter

Grate the onions (or puree them in a machine) and add to a large mixing bowl with the salt and two eggs. Mix well. Grate the potatoes. Add the potatoes and the flour to the bowl and mix well.

Place 2 tablespoons of oil and 2 or 3 pats of butter in a cast iron skillet. Heat on high. Add four dollops of the potato mixture and flatten. When brown, flip and cook for about 4 or 5 minutes. Remove to a hot plate and keep in a warming oven. Add more oil and butter and make the next four pancakes. Continue until all the mixture is used. Serve immediately.

Poles usually serve potato pancakes with sour cream and/or apple sauce.

Roasted Chicken with 50 to 100 Cloves of Garlic

2010-01-11T19:10:00.001-08:00

Serves 4

This recipe, I have read, comes from Provençal, however, like all old recipes, has many variations. This chicken is roasted. The garlic turns mild and creamy after the long roasting. It may sound overpowering but the garlic cloves mellow and sweeten in the oven.

Note: Option, if you don’t want to peel the garlic. Separate cloves from garlic bulb, leaving peel intact. When you serve them, the creamy flesh will readily squeeze out from the skins.

Feel free to use as many cloves as you want because any leftover roasted garlic cloves can be peeled and used to make a simple garlic mayonnaise known as aïoli.

Note: After the chicken is removed, you will have some remaining liquid. Add enough cloves of garlic over cover the bottom of the roasting dish, add a bit more water (~1/3 cup), sprinkle with ~1 or 2 tablespoons of olive oil, and roast for 1 hour at 325F. Use as a spread on toast or mix into mashed potatoes.

50 to 100 cloves of garlic, peeled
1 tablespoon butter, room temperature
3.5 lb whole chicken
1 tsp salt
1 tsp cracked black pepper
1 cup white wine or water

Preheat the oven to 400F. Peel the garlic. Rub butter over outside of chicken and inside cavity; salt and pepper the skin and inside cavity.
Tie legs together with kitchen string. Place the garlic cloves, in single layer, in medium baking dish and place chicken on the garlic.

Pour the water carefully into dish; roast, uncovered, brushing occasionally with pan juices, about 1 hour 30 minutes or until browned and cooked through. Stand chicken on platter, covered with foil, 15 minutes before serving.

Serving suggestions: Oven Roasted Potatoes.

Sliced chicken breast with pieces of garlic.

Garlic, roasted in the pan juices.

Oven Roasted Potatoes

2010-01-11T18:59:00.001-08:00

Potatoes
2-3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Pre-heat oven to 400F. Wash the potatoes and dry with a paper towel. Microwave for 5 minutes. Remove and allow to cool (cool enough to handle; about 20 minutes).

Pour some olive oil into a cast iron (or other oven proof skillet or dutch oven). Pour some on your hand and coat each potato with oil. Place in the skillet. Place the skillet in the oven on an upper rack and roast for 40 minutes.

Bacon-Wrapped Beef Tenderloin with Herb Stuffing

2009-12-27T13:13:00.001-08:00

Troy prepared Bacon-wrapped Beef Tenderloin for our 2009 Christmas Eve dinner, accompanied by scalloped potatoes, carrots, rigatoni with sausage and mushrooms (see that recipe), and more. He followed the recipe exactly, but he found that the meat was slightly undercooked. After slicing it, he put the meat under the broiler for a few minutes and the result was perfection. The smaller ends of the tenderloins were fairly well done and the thickest end was a dark pink. Everyone’s preferences were met.

1 cup (2 sticks) butter
6 garlic cloves, chopped
4 cups fresh breadcrumbs made from French bread, crust removed
2 1/2 cups chopped fresh parsley (from 2 to 3 large bunches)
2 2 1/4- to 2 1/2-pound center-cut beef tenderloin roasts
20 to 24 bacon slices (about 1 1/2 pounds)(thin, not thick cut bacon)
Canola oil

Note: Some reviewers on Epicurious.com recommend applying a rub to the meat before wrapping with bacon.

Melt butter in large pot over medium heat. Add garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Add breadcrumbs. Sauté until golden brown, about 4 minutes. Remove from heat; mix in parsley. Season stuffing with salt and pepper. Cool completely.

Starting at 1 long side, cut each tenderloin lengthwise almost in half, stopping about 1/2 inch from opposite long side. Open tenderloins like books. Sprinkle cut sides with salt and pepper. Pack half of stuffing on 1 side of each tenderloin. Fold plain side over stuffing.

Slightly overlap half of bacon slices on sheet of parchment paper, forming rectangle equal in length to 1 tenderloin. Place tenderloin at 1 edge, across bacon ends. Using parchment as aid, roll up tenderloin in bacon. Using kitchen string, secure bacon around tenderloin, tying at 1 1/2-inch intervals, then tie once lengthwise. Repeat with remaining bacon and tenderloin. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Wrap tenderloins and refrigerate. Let stand at room temperature 1 hour before continuing.)

Preheat oven to 400°F. Pour enough oil into large skillet to coat bottom; heat over high heat. Add 1 tenderloin. Sauté until bacon is brown, turning often, about 10 minutes. Transfer to rimmed baking sheet. Repeat with second tenderloin. Roast until thermometer inserted into center of each registers 130°F to 135°F for medium-rare, about 30 minutes. Transfer to platter. Let stand 15 minutes. Cut off strings. Cut tenderloins into 1/2-inch-thick slices.

Source: Bon Appétit | December 2004

Baked Rigatoni with Sausage and Mushrooms

2009-12-27T12:37:00.001-08:00

Troy prepared this as a side dish (!) for our 2009 Christmas Eve dinner. This, coupled with the Swedish Meatballs, was the principal reason I grossly over-ate (3 helpings). This dish has a deep, rich and marvelous mushroom flavor that is instantly addictive. We took some leftovers home and had them for lunch on Saturday . . . wow. This is a keeper! Indeed, Carolyn and I made it this evening!

Note: This recipe is for 25 servings. Remember to cut in half unless you are making it for a crowd.

4 ounces dried porcini mushrooms
4 cups hot water
4 tablespoons olive oil
4 large onions, finely chopped
5 pounds hot Italian sausages, casings removed
4 pounds button mushrooms, sliced
4 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary
2 cups dry white wine
4 bay leaves
2 14-ounce cans beef broth
4 cups half and half
4 pounds rigatoni
6 cups freshly grated Parmesan cheese
Additional grated Parmesan cheese
Fresh rosemary sprigs (for garnish)

Rinse porcini mushrooms. Place in medium bowl. Add 4 cups hot water, cover, and let stand until softened, about 20 minutes. Drain, reserving soaking liquid. Chop porcini.

Heat 2 tablespoons oil in each of 2 heavy large pots over medium heat. Divide onions between pots; sauté until tender, about 10 minutes. Divide sausage between pots. Increase heat to high and cook until no longer pink, breaking up into small pieces with back of fork, about 12 minutes. Divide button mushrooms and chopped rosemary between pots and stir until mushrooms begin to soften, about 8 minutes, covered. Divide porcini, wine, and bay leaves between pots and boil until almost all liquid evaporates, stirring frequently, about 6 minutes. Using a ladle, remove 1-1/2 cups of the liquid (not needed). Divide porcini soaking liquid between pots, leaving sediment behind. Divide beef broth between pots. Boil until sauce is syrupy, stirring occasionally, about 20 minutes. Divide half and half between pots; boil until thickened slightly, stirring occasionally, about 5 minutes. (Sauce can be made 1 day ahead. Cool slightly, then cover and chill. Rewarm before continuing.)

Brush four 3 1/2-quart glass or porcelain baking dishes with oil. Cook pasta in 2 large pots of boiling salted water until just tender but still firm to bite, stirring occasionally. Drain. Divide pasta between sauce in pots; stir to coat. Mix 3 cups cheese into each pot. Season pasta with salt and pepper. Divide among prepared baking dishes. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate. Bring to room temperature before continuing.)

Preheat oven to 375°F. Cover dishes with foil. Bake pasta just until hot but not bubbling, about 25 minutes. Sprinkle with additional cheese. Garnish with rosemary sprigs and serve with additional cheese.

Note 1: We made 1/2 of the recipe, however, we used 2 tablespoons of oil to sauté the onions.

Note 2: The wine adds a considerable amount of liquid. Next time, I plan to use 1/2 of the wine.

Note 3: After baking, we removed the foil, returned the pan to the oven and broiled for 3 minutes.

based on a Bon Appétit | December 2004 recipe

Swedish Meatballs

2009-12-18T17:08:00.001-08:00

Every year, the weekend before Christmas, Carolyn and her daughters get together to make Swedish Meatballs. I have a standing invitation to finely dice the onions and to get out of the kitchen so production can take place unimpeded. We’ve never actually counted, but the outcome must be about 200 meatballs. The recipe is based on a recipe passed down by Carolyn’s mother, Martha.

5 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon black pepper
1-1/2 teaspoons sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons sage
2 teaspoons ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon ginger
2-1/2 teaspoons ground allspice
½ teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup bread crumbs
¼ cup dried or fresh parsley
3 lbs. ground beef
1-1/2 lbs. ground pork
1 lb. ground veal
3 eggs
½ cup half & half
2 medium onions, very finely diced (about 3 cups)
Butter
Knorr’s Vegetable bullion

Mix the first 10 ingredients together. Mix the meat until thoroughly blended. Combine everything, except the butter and bullion, and mix well in a large bowl. Form meatballs by rolling some of the mixture between your palms. The meatballs should be small; no larger than 2.5 cm in diameter. Melt some butter in a large skillet and brown the meatballs, turning occasionally. Remove to another pan. After all the meatballs have been browned, deglaze the skillet with 1 cup of water and add the liquid to the meatballs. Add the bullion and some additional allspice. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes. Refrigerate until Christmas. Leftovers freeze nicely.

note: Ground veal can be difficult to track down. If you cannot find it, simply substitute with an additional 1/2 lb. of ground pork and 1/2 lb. of ground beef.

Yes, smell that butter!

Strozzapreti

2009-11-03T20:42:00.001-08:00

Strozzapreti are simple pasta noodles that are easy and very quick to make. The word, in Italian, means “"priest strangler.” Don’t know why, but several reasons come to mind why someone might want to strangle a priest. :)

It took three tries to get this simple noodle right. The first time I used two eggs and a cup of flour. The resulting noodles were tough. Too tough. I watched a couple of videos on You Tube and decided to experiment be substituting one egg with water, adding salt and a bit of olive oil. The dough was dry. I made one noodle and boiled it as a test. Tough.

Third try: I cranked up the liquids and the pasta turned out very nicely. The recipe follows. Search this blog for the “Roasted Tomato Sauce” recipe to serve with the noodles.

1 large egg
1 cup all purpose unbleached flour
1 T extra virgin olive oil
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 T tepid water

Start heating a deep pot of water. Place plates into a warming drawer.

On a suitable work surface (I use the kitchen counter), place the flour in a pile and sprinkle with the salt. Using the back of a tablespoon measure, form a deep well in the center. Pour the water, olive oil and one egg into the well. Using an ordinary fork, break the yolk and slowly mix the egg/water/oil with the flour. Work carefully so the liquid stays within the confines of the flour. Eventually, as all the flour is incorporated, the dough will attain a dry consistency. Flour your hand and begin to knead the dough into a round shape. Knead until the dough is smooth. Flour the surface and the dough and begin rolling it with a rolling pin. Turn over frequently and sprinkle with flour to keep it from sticking to the work surface and rolling pin. Roll it out until it is very thin; perhaps 1/8" thick.

Using a knife or pastry cutter, cut the dough into 1" wide strips. Wet your left palm with a bit of water, pick up a strip and roll it between the palms of both hands. The strip should stick to itself. Pull it apart and drop it on the counter. Continue until all the noodles are formed. Sprinkle with flour to keep them from sticking.

Once the water is boiling furiously, drop all the noodles into the water. Be careful that they do not stick together. They will fall to the bottom of the pot of water and soon rise. They are finished cooking as soon as they rise. Remove them to warm plates and serve with Roasted Tomato Sauce and red wine.

The egg, with the water and olive oil, in a well made in a cup of flour.

A video in which I demonstrate the technique for rolling the dough into the correct Stazzopreti shape.

Roasted Tomato Sauce

2009-11-02T18:51:00.001-08:00

Carolyn and I attempted to make Strozzapreti (a type of pasta noodle) this evening, but failed. Strozzapreti is a noodle that is made by placing the dough around a bamboo skewer. I simply could not do it. In the spirit of making lemonade out of lemons, we decided to make tallerines, which are simply flat, wide noodles. But the noodles turned out too tough. Not inedible, but a bit more chewy that we wanted. But there is a silver lining. The tomato sauce recipe is a keeper! It’s easy to make and it has a wonderful flavor. It would go well with fusilli, although we will try making the Strozzapreti another time.

Update: We made Strozzapreti (see the separate recipe post) the following evening. Actually, we made it twice. On the final try I increased the water and oil, and achieved good results.

12 ounces (about 22) cherry tomatoes or 6 medium tomatoes, halved
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
5 garlic cloves, minced
2/3 cup finely grated pecorino cheese
1/4 cup, firmly packed, fresh basil leaves
salt & black pepper
hot pepper flakes, optional

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In a mixing bowl, combine tomatoes, 1 tablespoon oil and 4 minced garlic cloves. Toss well, then arrange tomatoes on a baking sheet, cut sides up. Salt and pepper lightly. Roast until soft and collapsing, about 45 minutes; do not allow to dry or brown.

Combine remaining minced garlic, cheese, and basil in a food processor. Process until very finely chopped.

When tomatoes are roasted, remove them from the oven, place on serving dishes and immediately sprinkle cheese-herb mixture on top and lightly mash with a spoon so cheese melts. Serve over pasta. Drizzle each serving with a tablespoon of olive oil.

2 servings.

Before

After . . . right out of the oven.

Albondigas

2009-11-01T20:01:00.001-08:00

Carolyn and I first enjoyed albondigas (Mexican meatballs) at a restaurant on Lincoln Avenue. We went back again and were stunned to find that they removed them from the menu. Big mistake. Soon they went out of business. This recipe is the result of gathering information from a half dozen different recipes, with the hope of recreating the albondigas we enjoyed on Lincoln Avenue. I first prepared this recipe for a Cinco de Mayo office lunch in 2006. This batch made 39 meatballs and required three baking dishes; enough for 19 servings! It's a lot of work, but the albondigas freeze nicely and are great to have on hand. Of course, you can always make 1/3 or 1/2 of the recipe.

Meatballs:

3 lbs. ground beef
3 lbs. ground pork
3-4 medium onion, finely diced
3 medium zucchini, peeled and finely diced
3 tablespoon dried oregano
5 tablespoons minced garlic
3 cups plain, dried bread crumbs (I use a coarse variety)
1-1/2 cups coarsely chopped fresh mint leaves
6 large eggs
2 teaspoon ground cumin
3 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Sauce:

1 can (28 oz) crushed tomatoes
2 to 8 canned chipotle chiles in adobo (7 oz can), stemmed and seeded (I used 10 the first time: too hot! I used 5 the second time plus 1 T. of the adobo sauce; too mild.) note: Add the adobo sauce.
2 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoon oregano
2 tsp ground cumin
1 can (28 oz.) tomato sauce
3 cups white rice (prepared makes about 6 cups)
1-1/4 cup chicken broth

Preheat oven to 450 deg. F. and begin preparation of rice.

In large bowl, mix the first eight ingredients until well blended. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with the cumin, salt and black pepper. Add to the meat and mix well.

With wet hands, shape meat into 2-1/2 inch balls and place into a 9” x 13” baking dish, spaced apart. Bake until lightly browned; about 20-25 minutes.

Meanwhile, remove seeds from the chipotle peppers and add to a blender or processor. Add the crushed tomatoes, garlic, oregano and cumin. Puree until smooth. In a separate bowl, combine the puree, tomato sauce and rice. Stir well.

When the meatballs are ready, spoon on the tomato-rice mixture, spreading it to fill the spaces between the meatballs. Bake another 10 minutes. Remove from oven and place meatballs, without the tomato-rice mixture, on warmed plates. Add one cup of chicken broth to a baking dish and mix well. Serve with the meatballs.

Dice the zucchini fine

Work in process . . . ready to combine with the sauce.

Forgot to defrost the butter? @&%$!

2009-11-01T09:54:00.001-08:00

Okay, so you are a dupa (boludo, in Spanish, in Argentina), like I was, and forgot to remove the butter from the refrigerator (or freezer) to bring it to room temperature. If you going to mix the butter for cake, there is a simple solution that will immediately bring your butter to room temperature: Simply grate it. Instant gratification!

Note: if you don’t have a grater, I imagine that a vegetable peeler would work too.

Crumb Bottom Coffee Cake

2009-10-26T20:00:00.001-07:00

This coffee cake is a perfect accompaniment to a cup of coffee or tea. I have made it with blueberries, raspberries, and no berries at all. It keeps well, lightly covered with waxed paper, for nearly a week.

2 cups of all purpose flour
2 tsp. of baking powder
1 cup of sugar
1/2 stick of butter, softened
1/2 tsp. of salt
1 egg
2 tsp. of vanilla extract
1/2 sour cream (or 1/2 cup of buttermilk or milk)
1 1/2 cup of fresh blueberries (optional)

Crumb bottom:
5 tbs. of cold butter, cubed
3/4 cup of all purpose flour
1 cup of brown sugar
2 tsp. of cinnamon
1/4 tsp. of salt

Powdered sugar for dusting

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 8×8 square pan or bundt pan with non stick spray (or even better, some butter!).

Use a hand mixer, starting out at low and gradually working up to medium speed. In a medium mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar for 2-3 minutes, until light in color and creamy. Add egg and vanilla and mix for an additional 2 minutes. Add salt, baking powder and flour. Add the sour cream and mix an additional 3-5 minutes. Batter will be quite thick. Carefully fold in fresh blueberries (or whatever) and spoon batter into the pan. Set aside.

Mix brown sugar, flour, cinnamon, and cold butter until the mixture is crumbly. Add crumb topping mixture to the cake pan and gently press everything down, slightly pushing the crumb mixture into the batter.

Bake in the oven for 55-60 minutes. Remove from oven and let it sit for 10 minutes.. Invert onto a plate. Garnish with powdered sugar.

Couscous

2009-08-15T11:53:00.001-07:00

This is a flavorful couscous. I like the large “pearl couscous,” which seems difficult to find. Fortunately, the Ziyad brand Maftoul couscous (see image of package below) is available at the Oakton Market in Skokie. (Ignore the instruction on the package.) I serve this with the Moroccan Style Chicken Tights, accompanied by lightly sautéed zucchini slices.

جيد جدا (which translates to “muy bien”)

1 cup couscous
Water (1-1/2 cups)
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, diced (2 onions dices, if caramelized)
one (Knorr’s) vegetable bullion
¼ teaspoon (or more) of garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1-1/2 tablespoons butter
1 carrot, finely diced

Lightly brown couscous in 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet. Add the remaining ingredients, except the carrots. Cover and cook over low heat until couscous is tender, but with a slightly firm center, turning occasionally. Add additional water if necessary. Add the carrots shortly before the couscous is fully cooked. Next, remove cover, increase heat to medium and sauté over moderately high heat until slightly browned, stirring often.

Note: This recipe works perfectly well following the instruction above, however, I urge you to first caramelize two onions as follows: Dice the onions. Add 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil to a 10 or 12-inch skillet, add the onions, add 2-3 tablespoons of water, and raise the heat to medium. Cover and cook for 20-30 minutes, occasionally stirring, until the onions are thoroughly limp and caramelizing. Remove the cover and continue to cook, turning occasionally, until all liquid is evaporated and the onions are nicely caramelized. Add these to the couscous for an even better dish.

Olive Oil Cake

2009-08-15T11:31:00.001-07:00

8 to 10 servings.

This coffee cake is very easy to make and lasts several days. It’s terrific for breakfast, with some fruit.

1-1/2 cups unbleached white flour
1 cup sugar
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon coarse salt
2 large eggs
¾ cup whole milk (1% works fine too)
½ cup olive oil (mild flavor)
2 -3 teaspoons finely grated orange peel (I used 1 Mandarin orange)

Preheat oven to 325 deg. F. Oil and flour a 9x5x3 inch metal loaf pan (i.e. bread pan).

Whisk together the first 5 ingredients in a large bowl. In a medium bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, olive oil and orange peel. Gradually add egg mixture to dry ingredients, whisking continuously. Whisk until well blended. Pour into the loaf pan.

Bake cake 60 to 65 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Remove pan from oven and cool a rack for 20 minutes. Use a cake knife or other tool to loosen cake edges from pan. Invert pan to remove cake. Place top side down on a serving dish and allow to cool completely.

Classic Potato Salad

2009-08-03T17:39:00.001-07:00

Gluten free – serves 8

It’s takes a little bit of advance planning and work, but home made potato salad is so far superior to store-bought. I encourage you to make this. It keeps well for days, covered with plastic wrap. (Potato salad accompanies ribs in the photo above). First prepared 8-1-09 for a dinner with Catherine Severson and Chris Hurn.

8 medium red potatoes (~2.5” diameter), peeled, boiled, cooled (room temp) and diced
1 1/2 cups mayonnaise (real mayo; not Miracle Whip)
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoon yellow mustard
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 celery ribs, sliced
1 cup diced red onion
5 hard-boiled eggs, sliced and halved
Paprika

Place diced potatoes in large bowl. Mix next 7 ingredients in another bowl, add to the potatoes, and mix. Add celery and onions and mix well. Stir in the eggs. Sprinkle with paprika.

Tip: Boil the potatoes in moderately hot water; not a violent boil, or the potatoes will crack open. Once the potatoes are done (fork tender), pour out the hot water and replace with cold and two or three large handfuls of ice cubes. This will cool the potatoes quickly.

Variations: Although I have not tried any variations, yet, I have had potato salads with chopped gerkins, diced red peppers, crumbled bacon, capers, green beans (cooked), diced ham, chopped green onions, etc. Experiment . . . that’s the joy of cooking!

Grandma’s Babka

2009-07-24T20:10:00.001-07:00

Babka, which means grandmother in Polish, is a coffee cake that is traditionally baked for Easter. Babka's are made in molds, typically, from yeast dough and contain raisins and/or currants. They are topped with a sugar syrup and flavored with rum. The rum adds a bit of moisture, but Babka is a relatively dry coffee cake . . . hence the need to have coffee with it.

There is a legend that Polish King Stanislas Leszczynska (1710–1774), the father-in-law of King Louis XV of France, was deposed and exiled to Lorraine, where he found the traditional kouglhopf too dry, so like any good Pole, he dipped it in rum. Evidently he was out of vodka. His chef refined the recipe, using brioche dough and raisins. The king, pleased with the results named it Baba, after Ali Baba, a hero in the book A Thousand and One Nights. Somewhere, along the way, the name was changed to Babka. My guess is because "baba" is an unkind word for a woman. Sort of like "bag," as in "the old bag." Babka, on the other hand, references the person who in many families was likely the one who most often made the cake. The photo above is a typical Babka, although it appears that it’s not soaked with rum. I remember, as a kid, enjoying the inside of the Babka because it was soaked with rum.

I came across the sheet of paper below while searching for another recipe. It's my mother handwriting and contains two recipes for Babka. The other recipes appear to be cookie recipes.

1/8 kg. flour
8 egg yolks
10 dkg. sugar
4 dkg. yeast
1/4 liter milk (whole, I'm sure)
1/16 liter clarified butter
pinch of salt

These are the ingredients for the first recipe, but she did not include any instructions what to do with them! I will have to ask and update this posting later. Meanwhile, I think I will have some rum . . .

Moroccan-Style Chicken Tights

2009-07-21T18:49:00.001-07:00

Serves four

Let me admit right away that this recipe is not Moroccan at all. It’s not based on a Moroccan recipe, but rather, it’s an invention rooted in how I imagine a Moroccan cook might prepare chicken. I haven’t actually ever had chicken prepared by a Moroccan, but it doesn’t really mater . . . this is one tasty chicken dish.

You probably noticed that the name of this dish refers to “tights.” I refer to the chicken thighs as “tights” as an homage to my immigrant Polish mother who, notwithstanding her quite good English, and to everyone’s amusement, always pronounced “thighs” as “tights.” I love the mistakes that people make when trying to speak a non-native language. It leads to a great deal of hilarity, confusion and discussion; all highly desirable outcomes. Otherwise, you would simply get your question answered or point across and that would be that. Boring, eh? Case in point: When Carolyn and I made our second trip to Buenos Aires, we came prepared having learned a few Spanish words and phrases. Among these was the phrase “mas despacio,” which means “more slowly.” We had had plenty of experience hearing fast-spoken Spanish, which we found impossible to understand and planned to say mas despacio, por favor often, to slow people down. Instead, we wandered around Buenos Aires politely insisting “mas espacio, por favor,” which means “please, more space.” Of course, this lead to all sorts of confusion. But, it did slow people down because they recognized that we really had little grasp of their language.

A technical note:

I am not a fan of chicken fat and trim as much from the chicken as possible. The first and second photos (below) show the before and after trimming. I prefer that the little pile of fat ends up in the trash rather than in our veins.

Another technical note: Turn on the exhaust fan. If you have a recirculating kitchen fan, open a window. This recipe is aromatic and can generate a bit of smoke.

The final technical note: I’m not sure what sort of wine to suggest with this meal. Perhaps a harder liquor is in order. Although alcohol is not permitted in Muslim households, I know they have alcohol in Casablanca, since I saw the movie at least a couple of times.

The recipe . . .

8 boneless/skinless chicken thighs
salt
garlic powder
black pepper
cinnamon
cardamom
paprika
cumin
ground red pepper (cayenne)
sugar
3 tablespoons olive oil

What? No quantities? No, just sprinkle the chicken evenly with spices. Be generous. The quantity of each spice is about the same, except be sparing with the cayenne pepper. Arrange the chicken, spiced side facing the pan. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet to medium heat and sprinkle more spices over the bare side chicken. Sauté until the chicken is browned (nearly blackened in appearance; five or six minutes), reduce heat to medium and turn chicken. Cook another five or six minutes.

Serve with couscous and a side of steamed and lightly buttered carrots OR slices of zucchini. This is how I imagine I would make chicken tights if I was Moroccan.

Leftovers: This dish is ideal for leftovers. Simply place into a skillet with the couscous, add a couple tablespoons of water, cover and heat on low heat until warm. Remove cover, turn up the heat to medium and cook until the liquid has evaporated.

Couscous

I like to use the large “pearl” couscous. Lightly brown couscous in 3 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet. Add one diced onion and water (or chicken broth)(quantity per instructions on package), one (Knorr’s) vegetable bullion, ¼ teaspoon (or more) of garlic powder, salt, 1-1/2 tablespoons butter, and one finely diced carrot. Cover and cook over low heat until couscous is tender. Remove cover, increase heat to medium and sauté over moderately high heat until slightly browned, stirring often.

Zucchini

Slice ¼” thick on an angle. Push aside chicken once it is near the end of the cooking time and arrange zucchini slices in skillet. Cook for 4 minutes per side.

Chicken, ready to be cleaned of fat

Chicken, cleaned of fat. Note the 2 tablespoons of fat removed (circled)

Black Bean, Corn & Tomato Salsa

2009-07-13T19:04:00.001-07:00

Carolyn made this for her birthday party, 7-12-05. It was a hit.

2 cans black beans
1-1/2 cups chopped seeded tomato
¾ pkg. frozen corn
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro, plus springs for garnish
1 red onion, diced
1 lemon (juice)
1 lime (juice)
½ cup olive oil
1-1/2 teaspoon salt

Drain the beans and tomatoes and in a bowl combine them with the corn, red onion, and the minced coriander.

In a small bowl whisk together the oil, the lemon juice, and the salt, pour the dressing over the and stirring to mix. The salad may be made 1 day in advance and kept covered and chilled. Serve the salad, garnished with the cilantro sprigs, at room temperature or chilled slightly. Keeps for several days.

White Trash Nachos

2009-07-13T18:55:00.001-07:00

We first discovered White Trash Nachos at the Silver Cloud Bar & Grill (1700 N. Damen Avenue), in Bucktown. The recipe is very simple and devilishly tasty. I first prepared this for Carolyn’s 7-12-09 birthday party using our End of Millennium Chili recipe.

2 bags Fritos
1/2 lb. shredded “Mexican cheese” (50/50 Colby and Monterey Jack)
Chili (about 4 or 5 cups)

Place contents of 1-1/2 bags of Fritos into a 9 x 12 baking dish. Top with chili, spreading evenly with a spoon. Cover with cheese. Place under a broiler, just long enough to melt the cheese. Serve.

Below, the Redneck Fire Alarm

BBQ Ribs

2009-07-13T18:05:00.000-07:00

I first made these ribs for a July 4, 2003 lunch for Carolyn, Natalie and Julia. This year I served them for Carolyn’s birthday party, accompanied by White Trash Nachos, and Black Bean, Corn & Tomato Salsa. As you can see in the photo, I like to cut the ribs up and serve them on a platter.

2 to 6 slabs of baby back pork ribs
Can of spray olive oil

Rib Rub

2 tablespoons salt
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons ground cumin
2 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons chili powder
4 tablespoons paprika
1 tablespoons ground chipotle chili pepper

Basting Sauce

1-¾ cups apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons Tabasco
2 tablespoons sugar
1 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoons freshly ground black pepper
2 tablespoons maple syrup (warmed, or it won’t mix)
2 tablespoons ketchup

Remove ribs from refrigerator and allow them to reach room temperature.

Spray ribs with oil and generously sprinkle with the dry rub. Turn and repeat. The point is to get as much of the rub mixture to stick as possible. With the concave side facing down, spray the ribs with olive oil and apply another coating of rub. And repeat a third time.

Set the grill to high for 10 minutes
Carefully place the ribs on the grill, concave side facing up. Reduce heat to lowest setting (on my DuKane grill this means turning the right burner off and setting the left burner to "low") and close cover. Cook 45 minutes.
Open cover and baste. Carefully turn the ribs, baste this side, cover and cook another 30 minutes.
Baste again. Cover, but this time keep the cover slightly open to vent some of the heat (about an inch or two). Cook another 30 minutes and baste.
Again cover, leaving the lid slightly open and cook 20 minutes.

Remove from grill, cut into individual pieces and serve. Wet sauce is optional.

Coddled Eggs

2009-05-09T10:47:00.001-07:00

Tomorrow is Mother's Day, but we're taking the mom in this house out for brunch. Since there will be no elaborate breakfast served and as a consolation prize, I made Coddled Eggs for Carolyn this morning (eve of MD). I had never made coddled eggs before, so this was somewhat of an experiment (that turned out beautifully). The egg yolks were wonderfully runny and the whites soft but cooked through. I served the eggs with hashbrown potatoes and naan (Indian flat bread) with butter and jam.

Before I get to the recipe, let' ask ourselves the question I did, before making breakfast: "What are coddled eggs?" In short, these are eggs that are very gently cooked, in water that is just below the boiling point. See Wikipedia's description HERE.

In my version, I used two small ramekin dishes in a covered pan. I coated one with vegetable oil, but not the other. The result of that experiment was that the eggs were identical. You will find, after turning out the eggs, that bits of egg remains stubbornly attached to the sides and bottom of the ramekins. Don't despair. Simply use a soapy abrasive cleaning pad (i.e. one of those green pads) and the egg matter will come off easily.

There are other options beside ramekins: Special coddling dishes (see photo below), although I just view this as just more stuff you don't know cluttering up your kitchen.

4 eggs
vegetable or olive oil (optional)

Place ramekins in a pot and add water to 1/2" below the rim of the ramekin. This is done just to correctly guage the amount of water to use in the pan. Remove ramekins.

Crack two eggs into each ramekin. (You can add salt and pepper at this point, or even herbs or spices, but I did not.) Heat the water to boiling and reduce heat somewhat. Add the ramekins with eggs and cover. Cook for 6 (to 10) minutes.

Carefully remove the ramekins (careful! They will be hot) and turn out on pre-warmed plates. Served with toast and whatever accompaniment you desire.

Side note: The 100 pleats on a French master chef's toque (hat) represent the 100 different ways that he knows to prepare eggs. I have a long way to go.

Eggs ready to be placed in barely boiling water.

Special coddling dishes, if you have money to burn and space in your cabinet.

Carolyn liked it!

Chicken Tetrazzini

2009-05-08T16:19:00.001-07:00

Click on images to view larger version.

This recipe makes use of lots of butter. Not for the faint of heart. On the flip side, it makes 12-servings. You can always opt cut everything by half, but it takes just as long to prepare this meal. The dish is almost creamy in texture and deliciously rich and flavorful. Of course it is . . . it has more than a stick of butter in it!

1 lb. cooked thin spaghetti
4 cups rotisserie chicken (i.e. one chicken), pulled off the bone and cut into bite sized pieces
1 lb. fresh mushroom, cleaned and sliced (an extra half lb. won't hurt)
9 or 10 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 cup flour
2 teaspoon salt
1 tsp. black pepper
¼ teaspoon nutmeg (freshly ground if possible)
½ teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 tablespoon parsley (dried or fresh, finely chopped)
1 tablespoon thyme, dried
4 cups whole milk
1/2 cup white wine
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Butter a large (9" x 12") casserole dish.

In a 12” skillet, over medium heat, saute sliced mushrooms lightly in 1 or 2 tablespoons butter. Mushrooms should be slightly limp. Remove mushrooms from skillet, including any liquid.

Melt remaining butter in pan and stir in the flour. Cook on a medium flame, stirring constantly. Add the salt, pepper, garlic powder, and onion powder. Cook until bubbly. Stir in the milk and continue cooking until the liquid thickens (stirring constantly). Bring to a boil for one minute (turn up heat if necessary), stirring constantly. Stir in the wine, chicken, and mushrooms and mix well. Pour into casserole dish and cover with the cheese. Bake in a 400ºF oven for 25 minutes and conclude by broiling so the top browns slightly.

Serve with garlic bread and a side dish of vegetables. Or just eat it straight out of the casserole.

Note: Instead of garlic and onion powder, an option is to use 1 large onion, finely diced (or grated) and 5 cloves of garlic, minced. Add at the end, with the mushrooms.

Slice mushrooms medium thickness.

Cook in 1 or 2 tablespoons butter until limp

Butter mixed with flour in skillet. Stir continuously until bubbly.

12 servings. Good for a crowd or lots of leftovers. Reheat in microwave. About 1.5 minutes for a serving or two. Even better, melt a bit of butter and reheat in a skillet, covered. At the end, crank up the heat to caramelize the bottom.

Ensalda con Lima

2009-03-26T04:26:00.001-07:00

Read the back story HERE.

serves four

1/2 cup vegetable oil
juice from 4 limes
3 tablespoons sugar
1-1/2 teaspoons salt
1/8 teaspoon white pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
soft lettuce greens (i.e. Boston lettuce); enough for 4 servings
handful of medium size white mushrooms (i.e. about 12), cleaned and sliced paper thin

I remove the stems before slicing the mushrooms. Mix ingredients and shake well to thoroughly mix ingredients. Toss with the greens and mushrooms.

Blackened Tilapia

2009-03-08T14:59:00.001-07:00

This recipe is not too spicy, but very flavorful. It's pleases everyone, every time and is simple to prepare. Paired with small, boiled red potatoes (or fingerlings) and a green vegetable (green beans, broccoli, asparagus), it's elegant and quick. We usually use Tilapia for this dish, but it was intended for Swordfish by chef Jacques Pepin. Grouper would be another good alternative. (Photo above, taken 3-7-09, shows tilapia with Potato & Bacon Gratin and green beans, which we served to guest We serve this dish to Curt and Jennifer Finfrock).

serves four

4 fillets of Swordfish (3/4-1" thick) or Tilapia (6-8 oz. each)
1tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 teaspoon ground cumin
1-1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground red pepper
4 tablespoons Canola oil

Trim away and discard the skin (if using Swordfish). Mix the herbs and spices and spread on a plate or piece of waxed paper. Press fillets into the herb and spice mix, coating the fillets completely; bottom, top and edges, using 1/2 of the mix.

Heat the oil in a large non-stick skillet until hot. Add the fish, seasoned side facing the oil. Sprinkle with the remaining herb and spice mix. Sauté for three minutes, turn and sauté three to four minutes. Serve immediately on warm plates.

Mustard, Herb and Garlic Encrusted Beef Tenderloin

2009-03-05T20:19:00.000-08:00

Carolyn and I first prepared this dish for New Years Eve dinner (2001) accompanied by onion mashed potatoes, green beans, and caramelized shallots. It's a simple yet elegant entrée. The fresh herbs, I think, are essential. I doubt that the same flavor would emerge from dried herbs. -JB 1-7-2001.

I can't believe it's been eight years, but I prepared this for our dinner with Paul and Tom this past weekend at Killasonna Lodge. -JB 3-5-09

3 tablespoons olive oil
salt
black pepper
4 1/2 lb. beef tenderloins (fillet mignon), preferably cut from the thick end (ask butcher for "choice" rather than "select"; Black Angus if available)
6 garlic cloves, minced
2-1/2 tablespoons minced fresh thyme
2-1/2 tablespoons minced fresh rosemary
6 tablespoons Dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 375º F.

Mix the garlic, thyme, rosemary and mustard in a small bowl.

Season all sides of the meat with salt and pepper. Place 2-3 tablespoons of oil in an oven-proof skillet (cast iron is best) and brown the meat for five minutes. Generously coat the top of each filet with the mustard and herb mixture. Place in oven and roast for 30-40 minutes (or until meat thermometer inserted into center registers 125º F for medium-rare).

Potato & Bacon Gratin

2009-03-05T20:08:00.000-08:00

A gratin, which originated in France, is a dish in which the ingredients are allowed to form a crust. Either the ingredients form the crust or the ingredients are topped with something that will make a crust. Gratins typically are topped with a mix of butter and breadcrumbs or with cheese. The most basic and well known of gratins are scalloped potatoes. This recipe is an off-shoot of the basic recipe. It's virtually fool-proof and amazingly delicious. We paired this with Mustard, Herb and Garlic Encrusted Beef Tenderloin. All I can say is WOW.

Some recipes call for soaking and draining the sliced potatoes, twice, to remove excess starch. I don’t do that, so I can’t comment on whether it’s worth the extra work.

Serves 6

8 slices smoked bacon, rind removed, chopped
3 tablespoons olive oil
20 or more whole sage leaves
4 cloves garlic, peeled and thinly sliced
2 lbs. potatoes, scrubbed (Yukon Gold or Charlotte are preferred, but not essential)
10 oz. double cream or crème fraiche (I use a mix of 5 oz. 1/2+1/2 or heavy cream and 5 oz. milk)
3 tablespoons Parmesan cheese, grated
½ cup smoked mozzarella cheese, grated

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

Fry the bacon in the oil for 3-4 minutes, until golden. Remove from heat as you add the sage and garlic. Cook one or two minutes and remove from heat. Set skillet aside.

Arrange enough sliced potatoes (not peeled) to cover a large cutting board (or cookie sheet or whatever) and season evenly with salt and pepper. Place potatoes into a large bowl. Repeat until all the potatoes are seasoned and in the bowl. Add contents of the skillet. Add the cream to the bowl. Mix and place into a shallow baking dish or casserole (~ 9” x 13”). Cover with aluminum foil and place in the bottom third of the oven for 50 minutes. Remove the foil and cook an additional 10 minutes. Sprinkle with the cheese and cook an additional 5 minutes. Feel free to broil it for two minutes to give it a nice crust.

Coffee Cake with seasonal fruit

2009-03-01T21:03:00.001-08:00

Any seasonal fruit can be used in this simple coffee cake. Blackberries were used in the cake in the photo above. My favorite version is with peaches and blueberries. Although I haven't tried it, I think this cake would be perfectly good without any fruit at all, but the fruit adds a bit of moisture to an otherwise dry cake.

The dough is incredibly sticky. Use a bowl with curved sides, if possible, and a spatula to get all the dough transferred into the springform pan. Slightly press the fruit into the dough. The cake will rise around it as it bakes.

note: when I set the oven to "convection bake," it slightly overbaked the bake. Use the regular bake setting.

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (room temperature)
2 large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
zest from one fresh lemon
1-1/4 cup self rising flour
2 peaches & handful of blueberries (or other fruit)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Generously butter a 9-inch springform pan.

Using an electric mixer, beat ½ cup of butter in a large bowl until fluffy. Add ¾ cup sugar and beat until blended. Beat in eggs, one at a time, then the lemon juice and the lemon peel. Beat in flour until smooth. Spread batter evenly in buttered pan.

Arrange peaches in circles and lightly press in blueberries between the peaches. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of sugar over the cake and bake until cake is golden, about 40 minutes.

Optional: Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

note: photo at top taken 1-23-10 during a visit by Diane, Troy, Rachel and Kevin. This cake was made with peaches and blueberries.

John & Carolyn's End of the Millennium Chili

2009-02-24T19:31:00.000-08:00

There is a story that a friend of mine, Terry Jackson, told me about his entry into Pepper Construction Company's annual chili contest. Terry takes cooking seriously and he took the chili contest very seriously. He prepared for a week in advance. He bought pork shoulder, seasoned it lovingly and cooked it in a low oven for 8 or 10 hours. He bought a beef sirloin, salted it nicely and cooked it for 8 hours. And then he spent a couple of hours finely dicing the meat by hand before adding it to a pot with ground beef. His recipe listed an entire page of spices and seasoning. He literally spent days preparing the winning entry. On the contest day, Terry shmoozed with the judges and basked in a winner's confidence. A woman who decided, the night beforehand, to enter the contest, using ordinary hamburger, tomato sauce from a can and a package of chili seasoning won. Terry renamed his recipe "Loser's Chili." I still have it, but I can;t imagine undertaking to make it. Carolyn and I concocted the following relatively simple recipe in and make it at least a couple of times each winter. We made it a couple of night ago, but didn't have any smoked chipotle sauce, so I added another tablespoon of chili powder.

Serves 8 to 10

4 tablespoons olive oil
3 large onions, diced
All the cloves of a bulb of garlic, crushed
1-1/2 pounds ground round
1-1/2 pounds ground chuck
4 tablespoons chili powder
3 tablespoon smoked chipotle sauce
OR 1 tablespoon ground chipotle chili pepper
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon dried basil
3 tablespoons dried oregano
1 tablespoon dried thyme
3 tablespoons Worchestershire sauce
1 tablespoon Liquid Smoke
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes with added puree
(or any canned tomatoes plus a small can of tomato sauce)
1 6-ounce can tomato paste
1 can (14 oz.) black beans
1 can light red kidney beans
1 can dark red kidney beans
1 tablespoon salt

Heat oil in large pot over medium-high heat and add onions. Sauté onions over fairly high heat, stirring often, until they are translucent and starting to caramelize; about 10 minutes.

Add the ground beef and sauté until brown, breaking up meat with back of spoon; about 5 minutes.

Add all the spices and mix well. Mix in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, garlic, and beans (drained). Stir well. Simmer, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking, 45 minutes. Thin with beer or chicken broth, if needed (unlikely).

Serve with cheddar goldfish crackers.

(Re-heat over low heat before serving, to prevent burning.)

Corn and Wild Rice Soup With Smoked Sausage

2009-02-23T19:15:00.001-08:00

“Good soup is one of the prime ingredients of good living. For soup can do more to lift the spirits and stimulate the appetite than any other one dish.” ~Louis P. De Gouy, The Soup Book (1949)

This is a hearty winter soup that is very simple to prepare, and even more simple to eat. It's truly a Midwestern dish because it's made with wild rice. Northern wild rice, called manoomin by the Ojibwa (which means "good berry"), grows wild in the shallow water of small lakes and streams. Native Americans harvested the rice by pulling their canoes into stands of wild rice grass and bending the stalks into the boats to knock off the grain. Wild rice is packed with protein and fiber. It smells awful when it's cooking, but don't let that discourage you. The final product smells good and is tasty. Add cream or half & half to create a potage, but I prefer to keep it thin. Approximately 12 servings

64 oz. chicken broth
8 ox. Northern wild rice
1 can corn
1 can creamed corn
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 fully cooked smoked sausage (such as low-fat turkey kielbasa), cut into 1/2-inch cubes
6 medium-large carrots, peeled, diced
2 medium onions, diced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

Optional (if not concerned about calories or arteries):

1/4 cup cream or half and half, at the end, and whisk vigorously.
OR
a dollop of sour cream

Bring 4 cups broth to boil in heavy medium saucepan over medium heat. Add wild rice, cover and reduce to a low heat. Simmer until all liquid evaporates and rice is almost tender, stirring occasionally, about 60 minutes.

Sauté onion and carrots for 7-8 minutes in the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the sausage and cook another 5 minutes. Add remaining chicken broth, cooked rice, corn, salt and pepper. Reduce heat, cover, and cook until wild rice is very tender and flavors blend, about 15-20 minutes longer. Add half and half, if desired.

Sea Bass

2009-02-21T10:31:00.001-08:00

This is a simple but elegant dish with wonderful flavor. Unfortunately, Chilean Sea Bass is terribly over-fished and the population in the South Pacific is threatened with extinction. The Chilean Sea Bass is not technically a bass at all and was tagged with this name to overcome the fact that it's actually a rather prehistoric looking fish called "Toothfish." Alternative choices are black cod, grouper or hake.

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 (6-oz) fillets Chilean sea bass, black sea bass or striped bass, skin removed
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon tri-color pepper, freshly ground
2 Meyer lemons, sliced thin slices
1 teaspoon dried thyme
2 garlic cloves, very thinly sliced
20 cherry or grape tomatoes
2 tablespoons drained bottled capers

Pat fish dry and sprinkle both sides with salt and pepper. Place olive oil and sliced garlic into a 12" skillet. Heat over a medium heat until aromatic. Cook another 5 minutes, careful not to burn the garlic. Remove and discard garlic, but retain the oil.

Cut the tomatoes in halves. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Immediately arrange the lemon slices in the skillet, covering the entire bottom, and place tomatoes and capers around the edge of the skillet (see photo). Quickly place the fish over the lemon slices and sprinkle with thyme. Cover the skillet with a tight fitting lid and cook the fish on a fairly high heat for 6 -8 minutes.

Spoon the tomatoes, caper and lemons, with the pan juices, over the fish. Serve the fish on a warm plate with a green vegetable (green beans, asparagus, broccoli, etc.) and small red or heirloom potatoes.

Chicken & Sausage Stew

2009-02-21T09:08:00.000-08:00

This is a hearty entrée with a complex flavors and chicken that falls off the bone. I like to use a cast iron skillet to brown the chicken and sausage because it does a better job browning than a standard skillet. But it's not essential. Any skillet will do. Don't over-cook the sausages while browning because they will cook further in the pot. You want them to remain juicy. It's certainly possible to make this dish without the sausage, which contributes a lot of unnecessary fat, but it admittedly tasty fat.

Rather than a cut-up whole chicken I often buy a package of 2 chicken breasts, with bone, skinned; a package of boneless, skinless chicken thighs; and a package of chicken legs. Although more expensive to buy skinless pieces, it saves time. With this much chicken I increase the amount of other ingredients proportionately. The amounts are forgiving. Serves 6-8; great for left-overs.

6 medium red potatoes, halved (3 or 4 quartered potatoes, if using large)
1 cut-up chicken, skinned (or 6-7 legs and 6-7 boneless/skinless thighs)
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 green peppers, quartered and quartered again
3 red peppers, quartered and quartered again
1 or 2 lb. mushrooms, sliced (more is better)
6 links Italian sausage
1 large (red) onion, quartered and quartered again
½ bulb crushed garlic (or 2 tablespoons minced garlic)
2 vegetable bullion (Knorr’s)

Coating for chicken (mix well before coating):

1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 tablespoon oregano
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon thyme
1 tablespoon dried, ground rosemary (or 1-1/2 T. fresh, ground)
3/4 teaspoon rubbed sage

Seasonings:

2 tablespoon oregano
2 vegetable bullion
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon thyme
1/2 tablespoon dried, ground rosemary (or 1 T. fresh, ground)
2 teaspoon fennel
1/2 teaspoon salt

Using a paper towel, remove skin from the chicken pieces. Cut and pull off as much of the fat as possible. Using a large, sharp knife, cut each breast in half (cross-wise).

Coat chicken pieces and brown on all sides in the olive oil in a 12” skillet over medium-high heat. Remove to a plate. Add the sausages and brown. Remove and set aside with the chicken.

Add the onions and a couple tablespoons of water. Brown for 6-7 minutes.

Place 1 tablespoon olive oil in the bottom of a deep pot. Add to the pot, in the following order: the potatoes, mushrooms, any remaining coating, vegetable bullion, the garlic, chicken, sausage, seasonings, one half cup of water. Cook for 30 minutes on low heat, covered. Add the peppers and cook an additional 20-25 minutes, covered.

Serve with bread and red wine.

Snickerdoodle Cookies

2009-02-07T17:10:00.000-08:00

We did a little babysitting today with Rachel and Kevin. To keep Rachel busy and entertained we made cookies. Following my instructions, Rachel, who will be 4 in May, did all the work, including breaking the eggs, mixing the batter with the hand held blender, shaping the cookies, and arranging them on the cookie sheet. The dough is incredibly sticky, but the misshapen lumps turn into nice round cookies during baking. Natalie and Julia arrived to visit just minutes after the cookies came out of the oven. Yes, timing is everything.

Science lesson: I wondered what cream of tartar is and what it's for. It's technical name is Potassium bitartrate ( aka potassium hydrogen tartrate) and it's a byproduct from wine making as it crystallizes in wine casks during the fermentation of grapes. It is collected, purified and turned into an odorless, white, acidic powder. It produces a creamier texture in sugary desserts, because it inhibits the formation of crystals. It also is used to help stabilize and give more volume to beaten egg whites. On top of that, it can be combined with vinegar to form a paste to clean copper pots and pans.

1 1/2 cups white sugar
1 cup butter, softened
2 eggs
1/4 tsp vanilla
2 3/4 cups flour
2 tsp cream of tartar
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large mixing bowl, combine sugar, butter, eggs and vanilla with an electric mixer until mixed thoroughly (until creamy). Add flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt. Mix until well blended. Shape into 1 1/4 inch balls.

1/4 cup of white sugar
2 tsp cinnamon

Mix sugar and cinnamon together thoroughly. Roll balls in the sugar/cinnamon mixture until covered. Arrange on an un-greased cookie sheet 2 inches apart and bake 7 to 9 minutes. (notes: I baked the cookies on the Convection Bake setting for 7 minutes. The cookies had a nearly cake-like interior).

Split Pea Soup

2009-01-26T17:33:00.001-08:00

We occasionally buy a spiral cut ham and always make soup from the bone. This recipe is incredible easy and makes an elegant, creamy soup. Serve with a crust bread (preferably home made) and plenty of butter.

All soups usually benefit, aesthetically, from some sort of garnish. I usually chop up some of the ham, for this soup, and carefully drop it into the soup. Because it's thick, some of the ham tends to float. Other ideas for a garnish: chopped green onions, baby peas, really coarsely ground black pepper, chopped parsley, a nasturtium, several celery leaves, croutons . . . whatever is on hand.

1-1/2 – 2 lbs. ham bone (or pork neck bones)
16 cups chicken stock -OR- water
1 lb. split yellow peas
1 onion, diced
4 cloves - garlic, minced
2 stalks - celery, diced
2 Knorr’s vegetable bullion
1 teaspoon salt
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cut into ¾” pieces
8 oz. cranberry sauce
1 teaspoon salt

Boil the bone(s) in the water for one hour (gentle boil). Remove bone(s) and discard. Strain liquid with a cheese cloth (if necessary). Add the peas and allow to sit in the broth for 1 hour. Add all the remaining ingredients, except the cranberry sauce, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for one hour. Add cranberry sauce and stir. Puree, in stages, in a blender or food processor. Serve with a crusty white bread . . . and butter. (February 13, 1995)

Potato Pancakes (Placki Kartoflane)

2009-01-24T18:31:00.001-08:00

Placki Kartoflane was one of my favorite dishes as a child. My mother would make piles of them and we would have them as leftovers throughout the week.

4 large potatoes, grated
2 eggs
8 tablespoons flour
1 small onion, finely diced or grated
salt

Place the grated potatoes and onion into a large bowl. Add two eggs and mix well. Sprinkle with two tablespoons of flour and some salt, mix well and repeat until all the flour has been incorporated.

Melt two tablespoons of butter and oil into a 12” skillet. Heat until hot and spoon four heaps of potato mixture into the skillet. Flatten each pancake gently. The pancakes should be about ½” thick. Fry to a crisp golden-brown and serve immediately with salt and pepper. Optionally, serve with a dollop of sour cream or apple sauce on the side.

Below, potato pancakes with lamb top sirloin and green beans.

Simple Coffee Cake With Seasonal Fruit

2009-01-24T15:32:00.001-08:00

This cake is particularly good with apricots and blueberries. I haven’t tried it, but I imagine it would be perfectly good without any fruit.

½ cup (1 stick) unsalted butter (room temperature)
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1-1/2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1-1/4 cup self rising flour
Seasonal fruit (such as 2 peaches, sliced & handful of blueberries)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Generously butter a 9-inch springform pan.

Arrange peaches in circles and lightly press in blueberries between the peaches. Sprinkle 3 tablespoons of sugar over the cake and bake until cake is golden, about 40 minutes.

Optional: Serve with ice cream or whipped cream.

Mint Layer Cake

2009-01-24T14:36:00.001-08:00

Although this is a relatively simple cake, it can be made to be an elegant cake with the addition of some fresh flowers or mint leaves. It's perfect for a birthday or other celebration. It's a relatively fool-proof cake, but you must have three 9-inch cake pans. If you like mint, this is the cake for you!

1 3/4 cups cake flour
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/4 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 cups sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3 large eggs
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
Mint Whipped Cream
3-1/2 cups chilled whipping cream
6 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon peppermint extract

Makes about 6 cups.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour three 9-inch-diameter cake pans with 1 1/2-inch-high sides. Line bottom of pans with parchment paper.

Sift first 5 ingredients into a medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat sugar and butter in large bowl until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Mix in the vanilla. Add dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk in 3 additions each, beating until well blended. Divide batter equally among prepared pans (~ two heaping cups for each); smooth top of batter.

Bake all three cakes at once until tester inserted into center comes out with some moist crumbs still attached, about 25 minutes. Cool cakes in pans on a rack (out of oven) 15 minutes. Turn cakes out onto racks; peel off parchment paper. Cool completely. The cakes can be made a day ahead. Cover and store at room temperature.

Prepare whipped cream: Beat cream, sugar and peppermint extract in large bowl until stiff peaks form.

Assemble cake: Place one cake layer on a round platter and spread with 1-1/4 cups Mint Whipped Cream over. Top with second cake layer. Spread 1-1/4 cups Mint Whipped Cream over. Top with third cake layer. Spread remaining Mint Whipped Cream over top and sides of cake. Using a pastry knife, smooth the whipped cream so the top is flat and sides are smooth. Refrigerate at least 2 hours.

Garnish with fresh flowers, such as nasturtiums, or mint leaves. Alternatively, use a peeler to make chocolate curls and sprinkle over the cake.

Ann Z's Trick to perfect Brassica oleracea botrytis

2009-01-12T19:05:00.001-08:00

Broccoli is one of those vegetables that suffers terribly from over-cooking. And it's also one of those vegetables that's easy to overcook. Then it's just a mushy green mess that nobody enjoys. Even if it is in the "super food" category.

Our friend Ann taught us a trick that always works:

Put about 1" of water into the bottom of a pot, add your brassica oleracea and turn on the heat. The moment the water begins to boil, remove from the heat and cover. Allow to stand exactly five minutes, drain and serve.

Panetonne Bread Pudding

2009-01-10T17:02:00.001-08:00

6 servings

Panettone -- A 15th century legend credits the invention to a Milanese nobleman, falconer Ughetto Atellani, who fell in love with Adalgisa, the daughter of a poor baker. To win her heart, Atellani disguised himself as a baker and cooked up a extravagant bread that included butter, eggs, and bits of raisins, candied lemon and orange peel. Nice story, but just one of numerous legends that surround this wonderful bread.

Bread Pudding – Bread dates back to the Neolithic era (~ 9,500 BC). Nobody knows when bread pudding was invented. Unfortunately, no romantic legends.

If it’s not the holiday season you can substitute ordinary white bread for the panettone to produce a standard bread pudding, which is worthwhile. We occasion a café in Chicago that makes theirs from day old croissants. I’ve also heard of bread pudding made from day old glazed donuts, which sounds interesting. Experiment! Add some dried cranberries, lemon peel or orange peel for fun. Some alternatives follow the recipe.

Note about rum sauce: Many people serve bread pudding with a rum sauce, but I haven’t tried it yet. Personally, I like drinking the rum while I prepare the bread pudding.

The recipe . . .

2-1/4 cups milk
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, plus some for greasing baking dish
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon, plus some for sprinkling
6 tablespoons sugar, plus some for sprinkling
Pinch of salt
2 large or extra-large eggs
½ of a large Panettone (equal to six slices of white bread)

Preheat oven to 350 deg. F.

Combine milk, butter cinnamon, six tablespoons of sugar and salt in a saucepan and cook over low heat. Grease a baking dish with butter. Cut bread into large pieces (~1-1/2” x 1-1/2”) and place into the baking dish. Pour the milk over the bread and let soak for 10 minutes. Beat eggs and pour over the bread; mix lightly. Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.

Place baking dish into a larger dish or pan and add water to the large pan to one inch of the top. Bake 1 hour. Test with a toothpick for doneness. The center can be fairly moist. Place under broiler to brown. Serve either warm or room temperature.

Egg Nog Bread Pudding

During the Christmas holiday substitute egg nog for the milk. Cut sugar back 1/3 to ½ or it will be quite sweet.

Chocolate Bread Pudding

Combine 2 oz. chopped bittersweet chocolate with the milk.

Apple Bread Pudding

Combine 1 cup of peeled and grated apples (drained) with the milk.

Breaded Pork Chops

2008-12-28T19:23:00.000-08:00

My mother, and my various aunts, all seemed to make outstanding breaded pork chops. I recall that they used thin cut chops and make piles of them. I can remember eating six or seven at a time as a teenager. They were especially succulent because nobody bothered to remove the fat. It simply hid under the bread crumbs.

Before getting to the recipe, I have to tell you that all pork chops are not created equal. There are three principal pork chop cuts. The boneless pork chop, the rib cut pork chop and the loin cut pork chop. Let’s review the boneless chop first. Evidently boneless chops are made for people in a hurry because a piece of meat without a bone will cook more quickly. But there are two problems with this. First, you don’t want to cook pork chops quickly. They lose whatever moisture they had and they get tough. Second, you shouldn’t be using rib cut pork shops in the first place. The pork chop of choice is the loin cut pork chop. Visually, the difference between the two is that the loin cut chop looks somewhat like a small version of a T-bone steak. That is, there is a T-shaped bone (see photo above) with meat on each side. The smaller part is the tenderloin, which, as the name implies, is tender.

The secrets to good breaded chops, I think, are 1.) breading them twice, as explained below, and 2.) browning the chops and then slow cooking over a low heat.

Serves 4

4 loin cut pork chops, all fat removed.
Bread crumbs, plain
Garlic powder
Onion powder
Thyme
Salt
Pepper
3 Tablespoons olive oil
Water

Mix three eggs in a bowl. Sprinkle one side of each pork chop with the five spices (think “moderate”). Use your judgment regarding relative quantities. Dredge each chop, seasoned face down, in bread crumbs. Sprinkle naked side of chop with the five spices, turn and dredge in bread crumbs, including edges.

With plenty of bread crumbs waiting, hold one chop by thick part of the T- bone and, dunk it in the eggs just long enough to coat it. Turn over, if necessary. Place in breadcrumbs, turn it over and on its’ edges to thoroughly and uniformly coat again.

Heat three tablespoons of oil in a large skillet over a moderately high heat. Arrange the chops in the skillet and brown. Flip to brown the other side. Reduce heat to low, add ¼” cup of water and cover. Cook for 1 hour. Add water to keep moist and to keep from burning.

Serve on warmed plate with potatoes, carrots and a green vegetable.

Bigos (A Polish Hunter's Stew)

2008-12-26T17:34:00.000-08:00

When I first moved to Evanston in 1985, I lived on the first floor of a two flat. A quiet Jewish family lived upstairs. One Saturday morning our neighbor knocked on the front door and asked if I had noticed the strange odor in the hallway. I told him I had not, sniffed, and reported that I didn’t notice anything unusual. He returned to the apartment upstairs, shaking his head. On Sunday afternoon he knocked on our door again. This time he insisted that I step out into the hall. “You don’t smell that?” he asked incredulously, “It smells like some animal died out here.” I sniffed, several times, but could not perceive anything unusual. On Monday evening, there was a knock on the back door. When I opened it, our neighbor marched in and went straight to the stove. He pointed at the large, bubbly pot and triumphantly declared (picture Ralph Kramdon of the Honeymooners), “Ah ha! That’s what I’ve been smelling!” I sheepishly offered him a bowl, but he declined.

Bigos, considered to be the national dish of Poland, is a stew that once upon a time aristocratic hunters prepared for their guests. Ordinary Poles couldn’t afford to put so much meat into a dish! Traditionally bigos included game such as wild boar, pheasant, and/or venison. Today, the ingredients, sourced at the grocery store, are less romantic, but make a quite tasty, if somewhat pungent, dish nonetheless. Any kind of leftover meats or sausage, and even fowl, can be added and it simply improves the flavor. The longer it is cooked, the deeper, more complex and satisfying is the flavor. Bogos is typically served with rye bread and is traditionally served the day after Christmas. Who knows why. Polish cooks sometimes refer to choucroute as "bigos alzacki", and Alsatian cooks sometimes refer to bigos as "choucroute à la polonaise.” I prepared and documented this version on January 2, 1999. --jrb

3 quarts of Polish or German style sauerkraut (i.e. fermented cabbage; not merely cabbage with vinegar)
4 large onions, diced
3 tablespoons olive oil
4 loin cut pork chops, meat trimmed from bone (see note 1)
1 lb. beef stew (beef chuck or sirloin), cut into ¾” pieces (see note 1)
1 lb. mushrooms, sliced
3 Knorr's vegetable bullion
1 can (14-1/2 oz.) of chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2-3 dozen black peppercorns
2 carrots sliced into ¼” rounds
1/2 cup frozen blueberries (I also used two heaping tablespoons of Ligonberry preserves and/or apples)
8 oz. tomato sauce
12" of Polish sausage (Kielbasa Wiejska preferred, but any kind will do), sliced into ¼” thick medallions

Day 1: Saute onions in a 12” skillet in the olive oil on low-medium heat for one hour, turning often. Add a little water to keep it moist. Be careful not to burn. You want to caramelize the onions.

Drain and reserve liquid from 1 quart of kraut. Place all three quarts of kraut (including liquid from 2 quarts) into a large pot or Dutch oven. Cook for one hour, stirring every 15 minutes.

Add the onions and the next seven ingredients (see note 1 below). Mix well and cook, covered, over low heat for 2 hours. Stir occasionally and add water when needed to keep the bigos fairly wet. Remove from stove and allow to cool.

Day 2: Heat up the bigos and cook, covered, for another 2 hours. Remove from stove and allow to cool.

Day 3: Heat up the bigos and add the carrots, tomato sauce and blueberries. Cook for 90 minutes (or more). Serve with rye bread and butter.

Note 1: Although you can put raw meat into the bigos, I brown the meat and I think it adds considerable flavor: I season the pork chops with some salt, pepper and garlic powder and brown the chops in a cast iron skillet in about 2T of olive oil (both sides). At the end, I add more olive oil and brown the beef stew over a fairly high heat. This will nicely brown the meat. Then I add about cup or more of chicken broth and deglaze the pan. Add the chops (I include the bones and fish them out later), the beef and the pan juices.

Note 2: You can compress the instructions for Day 2 and Day 3 into one day.

The ingredients above are a general guide. The recipe varies from family to family. You can add ham, prunes, apples, whole or cut up tomatoes, caraway seeds, chicken leftoevers, bacon, etc., etc. Traditionally, Poles include diced “boczek” (Polish pork belly, like salt pork or slab bacon), but I think this simply adds unnecessary fat. A final note: Bigos can be frozen.

"Bigos is no ordinary dish,
For it is aptly framed to meet your wish.
Founded upon good cabbage, sliced and sour,
Which, as men say, by its own zest and power
Melts in one's mouth, it settles in a pot
And its dewy bosom folds a lot
Of the best portions of selected meats;
Scullions parboil it then, until heat
Draws from its substance all the living juices,
And from the pot's edge, boiling fluid sluices
And all the air is fragrant with its scent."

from
Pan Tadeusz, by Adam Mickiewicz (1834)

Greek Lentil Soup

2008-12-26T13:17:00.000-08:00

I obtained this recipe from Lenna Athanasopoulos, an acquaintance, just before she moved back to Krioneri, Greece, in 1997. I arrived at her house on a cold winter afternoon. The wonderful aroma of soup cooking filled the house, fogging all the windows. She insisted that I try it. After one spoonful, I agreed to a bowl. Afterwords, I begged for the recipe. This soup is unexpectedly rich in flavor; thick, and hearty. Serve with a crusty Italian or French bread smeared with butter. Perfect for lunch or as a light dinner. – jb

1 cup (8 oz.) – lentils
6 cups - water
1 large onion, finely diced
3 cloves garlic, finely diced
4-5 bay leaves
2 tablespoons oregano
1 cube vegetable bullion (I use Knorr; Lenna didn’t use any)
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
2 or 3 tablespoons olive oil (Lenna used more)
4 oz. tomato sauce
pinch of sugar
1 tablespoon Balsamic vinegar

Begin boiling the lentils while preparing the other ingredients. Add all the ingredients, except for the vinegar. Simmer, partially covered for 1 hour, stirring often. After one hour, turn off the heat, add the Balsamic and stir. Allow to sit a while before serving.

This soup, like most, tastes better the next day, but be careful when reheating to avoid burning it.

Mushroom Soup (Zupa Grzybowa)

2008-12-26T09:39:00.000-08:00

I have made Polish-style mushroom soup many times over the years, modifying the recipe each time to try to re-create it the way Mom made it. This time I succeeded! The secret to this recipe is to use good dried mushrooms. Borowik (aka Borowki) are traditionally used in Poland. Similar to the Italian Porcini, they are highly prized in Poland. (Latin name: Boletus edulis.) However, that being said, for this Christmas dinner, I used Gourmet Mushroom Blend (Manitou Trading Co.), purchased at Costco and they made a delicious soup. -jb 12-26-08

Serves 8

4 oz. dried mushrooms
20 oz. water (or more, if the mushrooms soak up all the water)
64 oz. chicken broth
3 Knorr’s vegetable bullions
3 tablespoons butter
Rounded 1/8 teaspoon of white pepper
Salt, to taste
6 tablespoons flour + water
2 tablespoons finely chopped parsley

Place mushrooms and 6 oz. of water into a small pan. Boil for 20 minutes. Pour liquid through a cheese cloth into a container and reserve. Rinse mushrooms to remove any sand.

Put 64 oz. of chicken broth into a large pot with the mushrooms. Cook, covered, over a medium heat for one hour. Strain to remove and discard the mushrooms. Add 3 vegetable bullions, white pepper and 3 tablespoons of butter. Cook for 10 minutes.

Mix flour and some water until smooth (consistency of egg nog). Pour into the soup while stirring. Continue to stir until thickened. Serve in heated bowls with a sprinkle of parsley.

(optional: place a dollop of sour cream into the center of each serving. Personally, I don’t like the flavor sour cream imparts to the soup.)