The next recipe comes via the Jamie Oliver Forum and from one of the members whose family is from Greece. Koukouvagia (her forum name) lives in NYC and brings a Greek flavor to our current topic. This is her take on meatballs:
Here's a greek meatball. They are usually eaten as a fried appetizer but we often drizzle tomato sauce over them and serve them with pasta.
-1lb ground beef (chuck)
- 1 lbs ground pork
- 2 medium onions grated
- 1 bunch scallion finely chopped
- handful fresh chopped parlsey
-handful fresh chopped mint
- 1 clove garlic minced
- 2 eggs
- splash of red wine
- 3 or 4 slices of bread
- splash of milk
- olive oil for frying
- salt/pepper
1. Remove the crust from the bread and cut into chunks in a bowl. Pour a little milk over the bread and set it aside to absorb.
2. In a large mixing bowl beat the eggs. Add the onion, scallion, garlic, herbs, and salt/pepper. Combine.
3. Add the mince. Squeeze the milk out of the bread and add the bread too.
4. Combine swiftly - do not overmix!! Overmixing will cause the meat ball to be tough.
5. Form into ping pong sized balls and set aside.
6. Pan fry in olive oil and drain on paper towels. Voila.
Tip - don't overmix
Tip - Don't add breadcrumbs, they will make your meatball dry.
To overmix or not overmix seems to be something that few can agree on. Or maybe "mix well" does not equal overmixing. Who knows. You must be the judge.
John Lennon once said (sang), "There are places I remember in my life though some have changed. Not forever or for better. In my life, though some remain..."
On my last trip to Michigan, I took a few days and went back to my home town of Battle Creek where I had planned to indulge in a shrimp salad from downtown restaurant that had been there for years. Just before my trip I went online to check the hours to make sure I would get there in time. Something in me died a little as I found that their website only contained a "For Sale" advert along with the realtor's name who was handling the property. One more thing that I could never go to again along with Emilio's (the Mexican restaurant by which I judged all others) The Spa Steakhouse where I bussed tables and fell in with the comradery of the wonderful social misfits that end up serving food to the public, The Clock Restaurant, that 24-hour eatery where I got my first cooking job in Battle Creek and where the best potato pancakes and sausages were made in the deep fryer, The Knight's Inn (Holiday Inn restaurant) ran by the cheapest man I'd ever worked for (he had moles in the kitchen who would rat you out for snitching a sausage)
All of them gone. Just dreams now. But there is that one place that still has that one pie...
On the show last Monday, I talked about a place near Battle Creek, Michigan called Cornwall's Turkey Farm. It's one of those places that I hope is there for years and years to come. Although it's not unchanging, it's gone through several incarnations but still offers something sweet from my youth....Peanut Butter Pie.
My old standby at Cornwall's was always the same: A Sloppy Tom (think of pulled turkey thigh in a sloppy joe sauce on a humongous homemade roll) Large Iced Tea and Peanut Butter Pie.
Ahhh peanut butter. The treat that we were not allowed to have in the house as kids because of an addicted sibling. It was like you can't have cooking sherry in the house because Uncle Louie the Alky is coming to visit. So it was with peanut butter. That's why it became such a treat to go to the Turkey Farm. As big and as filling as the Sloppy Tom was, I could always find a space (usually where my lungs were supposed to be) for a mouth watering slice of Peanut Butter Pie.
And I'm serious about the lung thing. You couldn't breathe by the time you waddled out to your car.
I don't have Cornwall Turkey Farm's recipe for peanut butter pie but I do have one every bit as good that my sister's college friend, Marjean, shared with me several years ago.
Note that this recipe calls for Cool Whip. Feel free to use fresh whipped cream instead as I do.
Peanut Butter Pie
1 graham crust - the one I made was from scratch....
> 1 1/4 c. graham crackers, crushed
> 1/4 c sugar
> 6 Tbls. melted butter
> mix, press in pan and chill - 45 minutes
>
> Beat individually together:
> 2 3 oz pkgs. cream cheese (I use a little
> less)
> 1 C powdered sugar
> 1/2 C peanut butter (I use creamy, but crunchie is good
> too)
> 1/2 C milk (I used 2%)
>
> Fold in 9 oz. cool whip
>
> sprinkle top w/ 1/4 c chopped nuts and freeze
>
> I have also added shaved chocolate or drizzled chocolate
> syrup
> on the top also.
>
> Enjoy,
Thanks, Marjean. I have enjoyed it ever since you passed the recipe on. Hope my readers and listeners will as well.
Last Monday's quck fix (which was different than the one you may have heard on the "rebroadcast") was a reicpe I picked up in Sicily a few years back.
It would be a misnomer to say that memorable times were to be had at Franco's table because the wine flowed so freely that few could remember what conversations had occured. I'll just say that good times and good food were had there and that it seems there was always a big crowd.
I can't tell you how many times I ate at that table (yes, I imbibed with the rest) but I can tell you that Franco was as generous with giving out his recipes as he was pouring the next glass of wine.
Franco loves spaghetti and he made it several different ways during out visit to Sicily. This is a wonderful way to make it particularly if you have wild fennel available. If not, subsitute a teaspoon of fennel seeds. Also, when you serve this to guests, don't tell them it has tuna in it.
I can promise you that there are those who will make a face and judge your abilities in the kitchen before the first strand of pasta winds its way around their forks if the meal even progresses that far. No, wait until they have to first taste and a puzzlement joined with a wonderment crosses their faces. Them tell them, "there's tuna in the sauce."
Spaghetti con Pomodoro e Tonno ala Franco
1 28 0z can plum tomatoes
2 cloves garlic smashed
few sprigs of fennel tops (wild if you can get them)
2 tsp sugar
1/2 lb zucchini (peeled and diced)
1/3 cup olive oil (plus more for frying zucchini)
1 small can (80 grams) of good Italian tuna (drained and flaked)
salt to taste
1 pound spaghetti
Pass tomatoes through a food mill and put in a pan together with garlic, fennel, sugar and olive oil. Simmer for 15-20 min. and fish out garlic and fennel
Meanwhile, saute diced zucchini in olive oil until golden and season with salt.
Add zucchini to sauce and heat through and then add tuna.
Mix sauce with finished pasta and serve.
Although it's a no-no to use grated cheese with fish, we can help but love us our pecorino!
>
Sunday, June 19, 2011
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Meatballs!!!!!
Like lots of Americans, I was under the impression that the proper, and traditional place for meatballs was atop a pile of spaghetti.
To be honest, we rarely ever had them just because the only way my mother made spaghetti was with a meat sauce. "Spag bol," as the English would say.
When we did have spaghetti with meatballs, it came from a can. I don't remember the brand name but it was the only canned spaghetti my father would allow in the house. Not that he was of Italian heritage. (My dad's family were German immigrants on both sides.) But he decided that the meatballs (forget the mushy pasta) were not that bad so it appeared on the table from time to time with the obligatory green can of "Parmesan," which was all many of us ever knew.
Enter the era of television cooking shows. Who knew we'd gotten it all wrong for all those years?
In Italian culture, the meatballs are not sitting on top of a nest of spaghetti like big brown eggs.
In fact, they don't make their appearance until the next course, the pasta having its own spot in the limelight. In addition to this, the meatballs are not the size of your head. They are, ofttimes, medium-sized flat patties. (Think sliders here.) I won't go into the why Italian food is so different here than in Italy. I will, however, direct your attention to the book, Lidia's Italian-American Kitchen by author and chef, Lidia Bastianich, an Italian immigrant who believes there's a legitimacy to Italian-American cuisine. And with whom I couldn't agree more. So however you like them...eat a meatball!!!
My first recipes will take us to Italy where many of us in American associate those tasty globes.
This recipe is one I developed after trying many.
Meatballs My Way
1/2 lb ground beef
1/2 pound ground veal
1/2 pound ground pork
2 cloves garlic minced fine
1/3 cup chopped parsley
1 1/2 cups bread crumbs
2 eggs beaten
2/3 - 1cup grated pecorino romano
Pinch cinnamon
Salt and pepper to taste
Mix to combine and form into balls. Fry in oil just until a crust forms.
Simmer in sauce until done. About 20-30 minutes.
This next recipe comes by way of Sicily from the book, Bitter Almonds, by and Mary Taylor Simeti* and Maria Grammatico. I have made one change after having made these a few times. The sauce does not seem to be adequate enough for as many meatballs as this makes. I always seem to end up with just a little sauce in a pot crowded with meatballs. I have, therefore, doubled the sauce recipe which should work out about right. Also, Ms Taylor Simeti has voided my opening remarks in this blog by suggesting the meatballs be served with pasta.
Sweet Meatballs
For the sauce:
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cups warm water
5 1/2 cups tomato puree
One 4-inch cinnamon stick
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
For the meatballs:
1/3 pound whole blanched almonds, toasted
1 tablespoon sugar
1 pound ground beef
1 1/2 cups plain bread crumbs
1 cup freshly grated pecorino cheese
1/3 cup currants
1/3 cup pine nuts
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs
olive oil for frying
To make the sauce, saute' onion and garlic in olive oil just until translucent. Add tomato paste and warm water, stirring to dissolve the paste. Simmer for a minute and then add the remaining ingredients and simmer for 15 minutes.
In the meantime, make the meatballs. Grind the almonds with the sugar. Combine the ground nuts with the meat, breadcrumbs, cheese, currants, pine nuts, cinnamon, salt and pepper and mix well. Shape into 2 1/2 inch patties, brown in oil and simmer in sauce for about 20 minutes.
*Mary Taylor Simeti has written several books on Sicily which I highly recommend for anyone interested in history and, more specifically, the history of food and place. In addition to Bitter Almonds I would recommend Pomp and Sustenance and On Persephone's Island.
Monday, June 13, 2011
End of the Beginnigs
OK, I should have called this the "end of the starts" but that's not very clever and catchy, is it?
I can't believe that I got this far behind on my blogging for the show. Well, I guess I can considering we had company all weekend and I spent lots of time in the kitchen or over the Weber.
In a related story, I had an idea as I was thinking about making poppers: Brush a little maple syrup on the bacon. It turned out to be a winning thought. I let them go for a few minutes covered in the Weber and then brushed the bacon-wrapped poppers with a little maple syrup adding another layer of flavor to the smoke, tang and bit-of-a-bite.
Of course, you can always leave the bacon off and follow my sister's recipe from the last blog.
But I like the taste and texture that the addition of some meat gives to that very American appetizer.
If you want neither the meat nor all the cheese, choosing to make something healthier but still want the meaty texture in an appetizer, then the recipe for stuffed mushrooms is a good choice.
Mushrooms offer a meaty texture in themselves with the filling adding a nice crunchy and salty contrast.
Stuffed Mushrooms
1/2 cup plain dried breadcrumbs
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley
Several leaves of fresh mint, finely chopped
Pinch of salt plus several grindings of fresh black pepper
Enough olive oil for moistening the mixture plus more for drizzling over the mushrooms.
25-30 mushrooms (white button or cremini)
Preheat oven to 400F.
Mix first five ingredients together in a bowl. Add enough olive oil, mixing with a fork, to moisten.
Remove stems from mushrooms and reserve for another use. Place mushrooms on a lightly oiled baking pan. (Alternatively, you may line with parchment to save clean up.)
Fill each with some of the mixture and drizzle with a little of the oil and bake for about 25 minutes or until topping turns a golden brown.
Another healthy appetizer I featured last week was one made of fresh fava beans very reminiscent of Hummus, a favorite of my partner, Jim. I made this over the weekend and got the seal of approval from the house hummus-lover. Hope you'll take the opportunity to make this while fava beans are enjoying their short, short season.
(Make certain that you choose the smallest beans possible as the larger ones take on an unpleasant texture and taste and must be freed of their outer skin through boiling and tedious removal.)
Use a good extra virgin olive oil. I prefer a good unfiltered oil with a bit of a peppery bite if available.
Fresh Fava Spread
1 1/2 cups young, fresh fava beans, shelled
1/4 cup grated pecorino cheese
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Pinch of salt
Several grindings of fresh black pepper
Extra Virgin olive oil
Place all ingredients except olive oil in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until everything is finely ground scraping down the sides with a spatula from time to time.
With the processor running, add a stream of olive oil until mixture achieves a spreadable consistency. While adding, check from time to time making certain that the mixture does not become too thin.
Serve on crostini or cracker of your choice.
Last week's Quick Fix finds its place on my top ten sauces for that pasta staple to which we always return...spaghetti. (I like to remember Sofia Loren's quote, "Everything you see, I owe to spaghetti.")
I have no idea if this recipe originated from the area of Calabria in the toe of Italy or whether perhaps it was made in the kitchen of a Calabrian immigrant using what was available here in America. Whereever it came from, it found its way to me and now it's finding its way to you. I hope you'll try it. The leftovers, if there are any, make a beautiful frittata the next day.
Calabrian Spaghetti
1/4 pound sopressata, diced
1/2 cup pitted calamata olives
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
Chili flakes to taste (or if you can get them, one dried Calabrian chili chopped)
1/3 cup dry red wine
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped flat leaf parsley
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cups passata or tomato puree
1/2 chopped onion
1 pound good quality spaghetti, cooked and drained.
In a large wide skillet, heat olive oil and saute onions and saute until soft. Add chili flakes, soprressata and olives cooking for an additional 3 minutes or so. Deglaze with wine and add passata and garlic and reduce slightly.
Add basil and cook an additional minute. Stir in parsley and mix with cooked spaghetti serving pecorino at table.
I can't believe that I got this far behind on my blogging for the show. Well, I guess I can considering we had company all weekend and I spent lots of time in the kitchen or over the Weber.
In a related story, I had an idea as I was thinking about making poppers: Brush a little maple syrup on the bacon. It turned out to be a winning thought. I let them go for a few minutes covered in the Weber and then brushed the bacon-wrapped poppers with a little maple syrup adding another layer of flavor to the smoke, tang and bit-of-a-bite.
Of course, you can always leave the bacon off and follow my sister's recipe from the last blog.
But I like the taste and texture that the addition of some meat gives to that very American appetizer.
If you want neither the meat nor all the cheese, choosing to make something healthier but still want the meaty texture in an appetizer, then the recipe for stuffed mushrooms is a good choice.
Mushrooms offer a meaty texture in themselves with the filling adding a nice crunchy and salty contrast.
Stuffed Mushrooms
1/2 cup plain dried breadcrumbs
1/2 cup grated Pecorino Romano cheese
1/4 cup finely chopped flat leaf parsley
Several leaves of fresh mint, finely chopped
Pinch of salt plus several grindings of fresh black pepper
Enough olive oil for moistening the mixture plus more for drizzling over the mushrooms.
25-30 mushrooms (white button or cremini)
Preheat oven to 400F.
Mix first five ingredients together in a bowl. Add enough olive oil, mixing with a fork, to moisten.
Remove stems from mushrooms and reserve for another use. Place mushrooms on a lightly oiled baking pan. (Alternatively, you may line with parchment to save clean up.)
Fill each with some of the mixture and drizzle with a little of the oil and bake for about 25 minutes or until topping turns a golden brown.
Another healthy appetizer I featured last week was one made of fresh fava beans very reminiscent of Hummus, a favorite of my partner, Jim. I made this over the weekend and got the seal of approval from the house hummus-lover. Hope you'll take the opportunity to make this while fava beans are enjoying their short, short season.
(Make certain that you choose the smallest beans possible as the larger ones take on an unpleasant texture and taste and must be freed of their outer skin through boiling and tedious removal.)
Use a good extra virgin olive oil. I prefer a good unfiltered oil with a bit of a peppery bite if available.
Fresh Fava Spread
1 1/2 cups young, fresh fava beans, shelled
1/4 cup grated pecorino cheese
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint
Juice of 1/2 lemon
Pinch of salt
Several grindings of fresh black pepper
Extra Virgin olive oil
Place all ingredients except olive oil in the bowl of a food processor. Pulse until everything is finely ground scraping down the sides with a spatula from time to time.
With the processor running, add a stream of olive oil until mixture achieves a spreadable consistency. While adding, check from time to time making certain that the mixture does not become too thin.
Serve on crostini or cracker of your choice.
Last week's Quick Fix finds its place on my top ten sauces for that pasta staple to which we always return...spaghetti. (I like to remember Sofia Loren's quote, "Everything you see, I owe to spaghetti.")
I have no idea if this recipe originated from the area of Calabria in the toe of Italy or whether perhaps it was made in the kitchen of a Calabrian immigrant using what was available here in America. Whereever it came from, it found its way to me and now it's finding its way to you. I hope you'll try it. The leftovers, if there are any, make a beautiful frittata the next day.
Calabrian Spaghetti
1/4 pound sopressata, diced
1/2 cup pitted calamata olives
1 tablespoon fresh basil, chopped
Chili flakes to taste (or if you can get them, one dried Calabrian chili chopped)
1/3 cup dry red wine
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped flat leaf parsley
3 cloves garlic, chopped
2 cups passata or tomato puree
1/2 chopped onion
1 pound good quality spaghetti, cooked and drained.
In a large wide skillet, heat olive oil and saute onions and saute until soft. Add chili flakes, soprressata and olives cooking for an additional 3 minutes or so. Deglaze with wine and add passata and garlic and reduce slightly.
Add basil and cook an additional minute. Stir in parsley and mix with cooked spaghetti serving pecorino at table.
Thursday, June 9, 2011
Week of June 6,2011
Like my experience with Everybody Loves Raymond, The Golden Girls and The Sopranos (or any other shows that I discovered only after they'd started to rerun them) I came to poppers late in life. Wait. I can explain. I only ever saw them in boxes in the frozen food section of the grocery store and they all had pictures of some oblong breaded things on the packages.
They didn't interest me. I'd spent money on deep-fried looking things in the frozen food cases before and had been sorely disappointed on the waste of money and calories. (I hate spending what I imagine to be my daily allotment of calories from fat and bad stuff on, well, really bad stuff!!!)
It wasn't until last summer that I got all fanatic and obsessed with poppers when Maria Vieagas
was talking about getting a poppers holder for the grill that I got interested. Then another friend from Canada said something about putting them in the smoker and my mouth started watering and I had to make some.
I got the stuffing recipe from my sister, who bakes hers, and the idea from wrapping them in bacon from Dave who barbecues his. I'll give both recipes.
Jalapeno Poppers
They didn't interest me. I'd spent money on deep-fried looking things in the frozen food cases before and had been sorely disappointed on the waste of money and calories. (I hate spending what I imagine to be my daily allotment of calories from fat and bad stuff on, well, really bad stuff!!!)
It wasn't until last summer that I got all fanatic and obsessed with poppers when Maria Vieagas
was talking about getting a poppers holder for the grill that I got interested. Then another friend from Canada said something about putting them in the smoker and my mouth started watering and I had to make some.
I got the stuffing recipe from my sister, who bakes hers, and the idea from wrapping them in bacon from Dave who barbecues his. I'll give both recipes.
Jalapeno Poppers
8 oz cream cheese softened
4 oz cheddar cheese, shredded
4 Monterey Jack, shredded
1/4 t salt
1/4 t chili powder
1/4 t garlic powder
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs - if baking
1 lb fresh jalapenos
Preheat over to 300 degrees. Cut jalapenos in half lengthwise and seed. Combine cheese and seasonings. Spoon about 2 T filling into each half and roll in breadcrumbs. Place on greased baking sheet. Bake, uncovered for 20 minutes for hot, 30 minutes for medium and 40 minutes for mild pepper taste.
Note: When working with hot pepper, always use plastic gloves to protect hand and avoid touching your face.
I make mine basically the same way with the exception of using the bread crumbs, of course, and baking them in the oven. As I stated on my show, I like to wrap some bacon around each one, secure with a toothpick and bbq (off heat and with the lid closed) until bacon is done and jalapeno is tender. Alternately, and even better in my opinion, you can use a smoker instead. The flavor is just spectacular with the addition of that good hard wood smoke.
My next recipe on the show was for slow cooker meatballs. After looking over the list of recipes for meatballs, I realized I had given the wrong recipe. If you copied down the recipe from the show, feel free to use it and let me know how they turned out. I'm going to give you the recipe I use.
Slow Cooker Meatballs
Meatballs:
2 lbs ground beef
1 1/4 cups bread crumbs
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2-3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup minced onion
For Sauce:
1 can pineapple chunks, drained, juice reserved
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
Several grindings of fresh black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 chopped green pepper
Combine meatball ingredients and form into small cocktail-sized meatballs. Brown in skillet in batches lift out with slotted spoon and place in slow cooker.
Pour reserved pineapple juice into the same skillet in which meatballs were browned and stir to combine. Mix cornstarch and cold water and add to skillet stirring over medium heat until thickened.
Add the rest of the ingredients heating through and add to slow cooker. Cook on low for 8 hours.
Since I have a picture of the Peanut Butter Cake that I mentioned on the show, I'm going to give the recipe for that now and finish up with the rest of the appetizers and the Calabrian Spaghetti later.
As I stated on the show, this is the cake that was sold at The Strawberry Festival up by the kitchen. Hope you'll try and enjoy it.
Peanut Butter Cake
1/2 cup butter (room temp)
1/2 cup smooth or crunchy peanut butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs (room temp)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups cold water
Generously grease and flour a bundt pan. Cream butter, peanut butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add eggs one at a time combining well after each addition. Stir in vanilla.
Sift together flour, soda and salt. Add to creamed mixture alternately with water mixing well after each addition.
Pour into pan and bake at 350F for 45 minutes or until a toothpick or wooden skewer comes out clean.
Cool for 5 minutes, remove from pan and cool thoroughly on cooling rack.
Frost with following:
Peanut Butter Butter Cream Frosting
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar
3-4 tablespoons milk
Cream butter with peanut butter, vanilla and salt.
Add sugar alternately with milk, beating until light and fluffy.
I make mine basically the same way with the exception of using the bread crumbs, of course, and baking them in the oven. As I stated on my show, I like to wrap some bacon around each one, secure with a toothpick and bbq (off heat and with the lid closed) until bacon is done and jalapeno is tender. Alternately, and even better in my opinion, you can use a smoker instead. The flavor is just spectacular with the addition of that good hard wood smoke.
My next recipe on the show was for slow cooker meatballs. After looking over the list of recipes for meatballs, I realized I had given the wrong recipe. If you copied down the recipe from the show, feel free to use it and let me know how they turned out. I'm going to give you the recipe I use.
Slow Cooker Meatballs
Meatballs:
2 lbs ground beef
1 1/4 cups bread crumbs
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2-3 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 cup minced onion
For Sauce:
1 can pineapple chunks, drained, juice reserved
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup cold water
1 cup ketchup
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
Several grindings of fresh black pepper
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 chopped green pepper
Combine meatball ingredients and form into small cocktail-sized meatballs. Brown in skillet in batches lift out with slotted spoon and place in slow cooker.
Pour reserved pineapple juice into the same skillet in which meatballs were browned and stir to combine. Mix cornstarch and cold water and add to skillet stirring over medium heat until thickened.
Add the rest of the ingredients heating through and add to slow cooker. Cook on low for 8 hours.
Since I have a picture of the Peanut Butter Cake that I mentioned on the show, I'm going to give the recipe for that now and finish up with the rest of the appetizers and the Calabrian Spaghetti later.
As I stated on the show, this is the cake that was sold at The Strawberry Festival up by the kitchen. Hope you'll try and enjoy it.
Peanut Butter Cake
1/2 cup butter (room temp)
1/2 cup smooth or crunchy peanut butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs (room temp)
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups cold water
Generously grease and flour a bundt pan. Cream butter, peanut butter and sugar until light and fluffy.
Add eggs one at a time combining well after each addition. Stir in vanilla.
Sift together flour, soda and salt. Add to creamed mixture alternately with water mixing well after each addition.
Pour into pan and bake at 350F for 45 minutes or until a toothpick or wooden skewer comes out clean.
Cool for 5 minutes, remove from pan and cool thoroughly on cooling rack.
Frost with following:
Peanut Butter Butter Cream Frosting
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup peanut butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups powdered sugar
3-4 tablespoons milk
Cream butter with peanut butter, vanilla and salt.
Add sugar alternately with milk, beating until light and fluffy.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Taco Salad
The quick fix for the Memorial Day show comes to you courtesy of the old Loading Dock restaurant in the Frandor Shopping Center in Lansing, Michigan. I literally still dream of that place. I can't tell you how many nights I've wandered through dimly lit, rambling hallways in old buildings stretching on for what seems like miles of city blocks, looking for the Loading Dock to find Pat and Jean Collins and ask for my old job back. Most times my searching is in vain while a few others I actually catch a glimpse of them and in even fewer they hire me back. But it's never the same and I never even seem to get so much as an order of fries out let alone one of their great taco salads.
OK, ours wasn't the greatest Mexican salad in the area. That honor went to El Azteco for their
Topopo Salad. But ours was certainly popular enough as evidenced by the amount we sold.
In addition to my dreams, I've tried looking up Pat and Jean online with no luck. I do, however, enjoy that salad from time to time and will be enjoying it tonight for my dinner. I hope you'll take a few to enjoy it, too.
There are very good taco chips on the market and I'm sure very good baked ones as well for those who are watching their fat intake. I do like to make my own, however, using the handmade or any other thick tortilla. Best to let them dry out for a short time before cutting them into wedges and frying in hot oil. (If you plan on salting them, do so immediately after retrieving them from the hot oil to make sure the salt sticks.)
Also, feel free to make your own taco meat (or vegetarian version) instead of using the packet.
Loading Dock Taco Salad
1 pound ground beef (or turkey)
1 packet taco mix
Tortilla chips
Shredded cheddar cheese
Shredded lettuce
Garnishes of your choice (tomatoes, scallions, avocado...)
Sweet and sour cream sauce (recipe below)
Salsa or hot sauce
On each plate, crush some of the chips into large pieces. Sprinkle with some of the cheese.
Top this with some of the hot taco meat mixture followed by some lettuce and any of the garnishes you wish to use.
Serve sour cream sauce and salsa or hot sauce on the side.
Sour Cream Sauce
1 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup of white vinegar
Whisk all ingredients together. Taste and balance flavor to your liking with more vinegar or sugar if needed.
And if anyone runs into Pat or Jean Collins, tell them I said "hi" and I'm still making that salad. Oh, and if they happened to reopen the Loading Dock...
OK, ours wasn't the greatest Mexican salad in the area. That honor went to El Azteco for their
Topopo Salad. But ours was certainly popular enough as evidenced by the amount we sold.
In addition to my dreams, I've tried looking up Pat and Jean online with no luck. I do, however, enjoy that salad from time to time and will be enjoying it tonight for my dinner. I hope you'll take a few to enjoy it, too.
There are very good taco chips on the market and I'm sure very good baked ones as well for those who are watching their fat intake. I do like to make my own, however, using the handmade or any other thick tortilla. Best to let them dry out for a short time before cutting them into wedges and frying in hot oil. (If you plan on salting them, do so immediately after retrieving them from the hot oil to make sure the salt sticks.)
Also, feel free to make your own taco meat (or vegetarian version) instead of using the packet.
Loading Dock Taco Salad
1 pound ground beef (or turkey)
1 packet taco mix
Tortilla chips
Shredded cheddar cheese
Shredded lettuce
Garnishes of your choice (tomatoes, scallions, avocado...)
Sweet and sour cream sauce (recipe below)
Salsa or hot sauce
On each plate, crush some of the chips into large pieces. Sprinkle with some of the cheese.
Top this with some of the hot taco meat mixture followed by some lettuce and any of the garnishes you wish to use.
Serve sour cream sauce and salsa or hot sauce on the side.
Sour Cream Sauce
1 cup sour cream
3 tablespoons sugar
Pinch of salt
1/4 cup of white vinegar
Whisk all ingredients together. Taste and balance flavor to your liking with more vinegar or sugar if needed.
And if anyone runs into Pat or Jean Collins, tell them I said "hi" and I'm still making that salad. Oh, and if they happened to reopen the Loading Dock...
Saturday, June 4, 2011
'Tis the Season to Eat Cherries (and other musings and recipes)
I just finished off the few last remaining Queen Anne cherries that I got yesterday at Andy's Produce Market in Sebastapol. Problem is, I want more. Last year was the year that Jim fell in love with cherries. He had no problem buying pounds of them and eating them (pits and stems flying out the car window) on our way back home to Guerneville. Come to think of it, around about this time of year when the fruit is beginning to appear in Northern California, it's not a good idea to follow too close behind us if you happen to see our our green Honda Civic traveling anywhere in the West County unless you don't mind being hit by the stray cherry pit, apricot stone or strawberry top. This is the only time we eat in the car and it's a lovely experience. But back to cherries.
I first discovered the goodness of fresh cherries when I lived in San Francisco and they appeared at the old farmer's market in The UN Plaza every Sunday and Wednesday. I just happened to get a few one day and decided to have a sample taste on the 5 Fulton on my way home. By the time I got there, I was left with a plastic bag of pits and very sticky fingers. It got to be a habit and although the bus drivers never said anything to me they did frown as I flashed my Muni Fast Pass and their eyes looked down at the bag of cherries then back up at my face.
They say the record rain this Spring may ruin quite a bit of the cherry crop. The ones I finished off today didn't look all that good but the taste, that taste that says "Spring" to me with all the other things to enjoy this season, was absolutely there!
What do egg incubators and peppadews have in common?
I may be going out on a limb on this one, but I think that we have Sonoma County to thank for both of them. OK, I know we have Sonoma County to thank for the invention of the chicken egg incubator. It was invented in The Egg Basket itself, Petaluma our big city to the south that borders on Marin County.
OK, so what about peppadews, those little saucer-shaped sweet, sour, a little spicy pickled peppers with the big cavity that begs to be stuffed? They may not have been produced here but they sure got a big boost from our very own Guy Fieri on his Food Network show, Guy's Big Bite.
I'd surely never heard of them before and I'm betting that is the case with a lot of other people who enjoy them.
I first started getting these at Safeway at their Olive Bar, the self-serve island with all the Mediterranean veggie appetizers. The last time I was in the Safeway over on Marlowe and Guerneville Road in Santa Rosa, they were missing. I'm hoping that they haven't disappeared altogether. They have the yellow ones in jars at G&G but the quality is not the same and they're a little too pricey. If you do get them, though, one of the best ways I know of to fill them is with an herbed goat cheese that you can put together yourself.
Stuffed Peppadews with Herbed Chevre
8 oz chevre goat cheese
a tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely minced
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
s&p
15 or so peppadews
Minced chives (for garnish)
Cream the cheese, herbs, garlic and salt and pepper until a spreadable consistency is reached. (You may have to add a little milk or cream.)
Fill each peppadew with the cheese filling and garnish with some minced chives.
Another popular item that has found its way onto the appetizer table in the past several years is pita chips. These are so easy to make that I can't see spending my ever-shrinking food money of a package of them at the market.
Pita Chips
Slice pitas in two so you have two circles each with a rough and smooth side.
Brush a little olive oil on the rough side and sprinkle on some salt.
Cut each crosswise in half and each half into 4 triangles.
Lay on baking sheet and back at 375F for 10-12 minutes.
OK, now that you've got your pita chips, you'll want to find the perfect dip for them. So, in keeping with our middle eastern theme, we couldn't do better than Hummus bi Tahini. Think of it as a happy marriage of hummus and tahini.
Hummus bi Tahini
1 cup dried chickpeas, picked through, washed and soaked for 24 hours in the refrigerator.
Juice of 2 lemons
3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup tahini
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon (or more to taste) harissa* (optional)
Extra virgin olive oil
Put drained chickpeas and garlic in bowl of food processor and run until finely chopped. Add tahini, lemon juice, cumin, pinch of salt and harissa (if using) and run until well combined.
With the processor running, add a stream of cold water just until it starts to thin a little then switch to olive oil and add until a spreadable consistency is achieved. Taste and correct for salt if needed.
I like to serve this in a bowl with a sprinkling of paprika followed by a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
*(Harissa is a fiery Tunisian condiment found in Middle Eastern or specialty food stores.)
I first discovered the goodness of fresh cherries when I lived in San Francisco and they appeared at the old farmer's market in The UN Plaza every Sunday and Wednesday. I just happened to get a few one day and decided to have a sample taste on the 5 Fulton on my way home. By the time I got there, I was left with a plastic bag of pits and very sticky fingers. It got to be a habit and although the bus drivers never said anything to me they did frown as I flashed my Muni Fast Pass and their eyes looked down at the bag of cherries then back up at my face.
They say the record rain this Spring may ruin quite a bit of the cherry crop. The ones I finished off today didn't look all that good but the taste, that taste that says "Spring" to me with all the other things to enjoy this season, was absolutely there!
What do egg incubators and peppadews have in common?
I may be going out on a limb on this one, but I think that we have Sonoma County to thank for both of them. OK, I know we have Sonoma County to thank for the invention of the chicken egg incubator. It was invented in The Egg Basket itself, Petaluma our big city to the south that borders on Marin County.
OK, so what about peppadews, those little saucer-shaped sweet, sour, a little spicy pickled peppers with the big cavity that begs to be stuffed? They may not have been produced here but they sure got a big boost from our very own Guy Fieri on his Food Network show, Guy's Big Bite.
I'd surely never heard of them before and I'm betting that is the case with a lot of other people who enjoy them.
I first started getting these at Safeway at their Olive Bar, the self-serve island with all the Mediterranean veggie appetizers. The last time I was in the Safeway over on Marlowe and Guerneville Road in Santa Rosa, they were missing. I'm hoping that they haven't disappeared altogether. They have the yellow ones in jars at G&G but the quality is not the same and they're a little too pricey. If you do get them, though, one of the best ways I know of to fill them is with an herbed goat cheese that you can put together yourself.
Stuffed Peppadews with Herbed Chevre
8 oz chevre goat cheese
a tablespoon fresh rosemary, finely minced
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
s&p
15 or so peppadews
Minced chives (for garnish)
Cream the cheese, herbs, garlic and salt and pepper until a spreadable consistency is reached. (You may have to add a little milk or cream.)
Fill each peppadew with the cheese filling and garnish with some minced chives.
Another popular item that has found its way onto the appetizer table in the past several years is pita chips. These are so easy to make that I can't see spending my ever-shrinking food money of a package of them at the market.
Pita Chips
Slice pitas in two so you have two circles each with a rough and smooth side.
Brush a little olive oil on the rough side and sprinkle on some salt.
Cut each crosswise in half and each half into 4 triangles.
Lay on baking sheet and back at 375F for 10-12 minutes.
OK, now that you've got your pita chips, you'll want to find the perfect dip for them. So, in keeping with our middle eastern theme, we couldn't do better than Hummus bi Tahini. Think of it as a happy marriage of hummus and tahini.
Hummus bi Tahini
1 cup dried chickpeas, picked through, washed and soaked for 24 hours in the refrigerator.
Juice of 2 lemons
3 cloves garlic
1/2 cup tahini
1 teaspoon ground cumin
Salt to taste
1/2 teaspoon (or more to taste) harissa* (optional)
Extra virgin olive oil
Put drained chickpeas and garlic in bowl of food processor and run until finely chopped. Add tahini, lemon juice, cumin, pinch of salt and harissa (if using) and run until well combined.
With the processor running, add a stream of cold water just until it starts to thin a little then switch to olive oil and add until a spreadable consistency is achieved. Taste and correct for salt if needed.
I like to serve this in a bowl with a sprinkling of paprika followed by a drizzle of extra virgin olive oil.
*(Harissa is a fiery Tunisian condiment found in Middle Eastern or specialty food stores.)
Thursday, June 2, 2011
Memorial Day Show (Beef Back Ribs and Dolmas)
Although this was a show dedicated to appetizers, I couldn't help but throw in a recipe for one of my favorite slowcooker gems, Barbecued Beef Back Ribs. I've had lots of back beef ribs and they ran the gamut from leather-on-a-stick to meltingly sensuous. I think think this recipe comes pretty damn close to the latter.
Slowcooker Beef Back Ribs
1 1/2 cups your fave bbq sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup honey
1 tbls Cajun seasoning
12 oz strong beer or ale
Mix all ingredients in slow cooker and add
3 lbs beef back ribs. Stirring to coat.
Cook on low for 8 hours.
If you really want to put these over the edge, remove the ribs to a pan and keep covered in a low oven. Skim the fat off the resulting juice in the slowcooker (there will be quite a lot), then reduce it in a wide skillet and serve with the ribs.
When I think of dinner parties with courses and appetizers, my mind goes back to a Thanksgiving dinner I attended while I was living in East Lansing, Michigan. A woman whom I worked with at the Grande Gourmet, just the kind of shop you would imagine, asked if I had plans for Thanksgiving. As my family was going up north for the holiday weekend, I jumped at the chance when she told me she would be making a fancy cake enrobed in marzipan. (Pumpkin pie, indeed!) I was ready for her gathering along with some students from MSU that she had invited. What I wasn't ready for was the estate-like place they lived on. (It seems she worked at the shop as a hobby for lipstick money.) The drive in front of the the landscaped yard was more like an off ramp from the freeway. I half expected the butler to come to the door with a silver plate on which to place my calling card. Luckily, the stoner son answered the door saving me the embarrassment of fumbling around for my nonexistent card. I also wasn't ready for the classic hors d'oeuvre that I found on the side table.
In my very limited world, nobody except rich people and Lucy Ricardo (remember the episode in Paris?) ever ate escargot. Yet here they were. Not in the snail shells that you always see sold with them in the grocery store. No, these were served in crispy puff pastry shells. Buttery, garlicky and tender as could be, they were so delicious that I couldn't help but sampleone and then another and another... (Thanks in no small part to my stop in the son's room during a tour of the house.) Escargot in pastry shells has since been available to the masses via Trader Joe's frozen food appetizer section. Not bad either. But by all means, don't pass up a dinner invitation to a snazzy crib just because TJ's has escargot in the freezer. They sure don't have gourmet cakes coated in marzipan and they absolutely don't have appetite enhancers.
Something they didn't have on that hors d'ouerve table was dolmas which is fine since I have gotten to be quite a snob about my stuffed grape leaves. Don't get me wrong: if offered a canned dolma I'll gladly accept. That being said, since making my own I don't think anything comes close. If you've access to fresh grape leaves, by all means use them. If you must use the canned variety, put them in a large bowl, cover them with boiling water (making certain the water gets between the leaves), let set for 20 minutes, drain, rinse well in cold water and repeat the process once more to remove the salt. If you do have access the fresh grape leaves, make sure they have not been sprayed with insecticide, for starters. Also, get more than you are going to need, stack the extras in freezer bags and store in the freezer. This will eliminate the need for boiling fresh leaves in the first step to making dolmas the next time you want to make them as freezing them will breakdown cells making the leaves limp enough to roll.
For the fresh unfrozen leaves, put a few at a time into a pot of boiling water and leave them a few minutes until they become limp. Cut the stems and tough veins going just into each leaf out.
Vegetarian Dolmas
40-5- grape leaves
(fresh or preserved)
3/4 cup long grain rice
2-3 tomatoes, skinned and chopped
2 large onion, minced
3 tablespoons finely chopped flat leaf parsley
2 tablespoons finely chopped mint
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
Large pinch of salt and several good grindings of pepper
5 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar
Juice of two lemons
Add rice to boiling water and stir to separate. Drain into a strainer and rinse with cold water draining thoroughly after.
Mix rice, tomatoes, onion, parsley, mint, cinnamon, allspice, salt and pepper together.
Placing a leaf stem-side down and vein-side up, place a heaping teaspoon full of filling in the center. Fold bottom up and over, bring sides over and roll up like a cigar gently squeezing rolled up leaf in hand to tighten and eliminate excess juice.
In a large skillet, line bottom with torn or smallish leaves placing a clove of garlic here and there.
Place finished dolmas closely together in skillet.
Mix the olive oil with 1/2 cup of water, the sugar and lemon juice and pour over dolmas. Place a plate over dolmas, put a lid on the skillet and simmer on a very low flame for two hours making sure that there is always liquid in the skillet or the dolmas will burn.
Cool and serve.
Slowcooker Beef Back Ribs
1 1/2 cups your fave bbq sauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup honey
1 tbls Cajun seasoning
12 oz strong beer or ale
Mix all ingredients in slow cooker and add
3 lbs beef back ribs. Stirring to coat.
Cook on low for 8 hours.
If you really want to put these over the edge, remove the ribs to a pan and keep covered in a low oven. Skim the fat off the resulting juice in the slowcooker (there will be quite a lot), then reduce it in a wide skillet and serve with the ribs.
When I think of dinner parties with courses and appetizers, my mind goes back to a Thanksgiving dinner I attended while I was living in East Lansing, Michigan. A woman whom I worked with at the Grande Gourmet, just the kind of shop you would imagine, asked if I had plans for Thanksgiving. As my family was going up north for the holiday weekend, I jumped at the chance when she told me she would be making a fancy cake enrobed in marzipan. (Pumpkin pie, indeed!) I was ready for her gathering along with some students from MSU that she had invited. What I wasn't ready for was the estate-like place they lived on. (It seems she worked at the shop as a hobby for lipstick money.) The drive in front of the the landscaped yard was more like an off ramp from the freeway. I half expected the butler to come to the door with a silver plate on which to place my calling card. Luckily, the stoner son answered the door saving me the embarrassment of fumbling around for my nonexistent card. I also wasn't ready for the classic hors d'oeuvre that I found on the side table.
In my very limited world, nobody except rich people and Lucy Ricardo (remember the episode in Paris?) ever ate escargot. Yet here they were. Not in the snail shells that you always see sold with them in the grocery store. No, these were served in crispy puff pastry shells. Buttery, garlicky and tender as could be, they were so delicious that I couldn't help but sampleone and then another and another... (Thanks in no small part to my stop in the son's room during a tour of the house.) Escargot in pastry shells has since been available to the masses via Trader Joe's frozen food appetizer section. Not bad either. But by all means, don't pass up a dinner invitation to a snazzy crib just because TJ's has escargot in the freezer. They sure don't have gourmet cakes coated in marzipan and they absolutely don't have appetite enhancers.
Something they didn't have on that hors d'ouerve table was dolmas which is fine since I have gotten to be quite a snob about my stuffed grape leaves. Don't get me wrong: if offered a canned dolma I'll gladly accept. That being said, since making my own I don't think anything comes close. If you've access to fresh grape leaves, by all means use them. If you must use the canned variety, put them in a large bowl, cover them with boiling water (making certain the water gets between the leaves), let set for 20 minutes, drain, rinse well in cold water and repeat the process once more to remove the salt. If you do have access the fresh grape leaves, make sure they have not been sprayed with insecticide, for starters. Also, get more than you are going to need, stack the extras in freezer bags and store in the freezer. This will eliminate the need for boiling fresh leaves in the first step to making dolmas the next time you want to make them as freezing them will breakdown cells making the leaves limp enough to roll.
For the fresh unfrozen leaves, put a few at a time into a pot of boiling water and leave them a few minutes until they become limp. Cut the stems and tough veins going just into each leaf out.
Vegetarian Dolmas
40-5- grape leaves
(fresh or preserved)
3/4 cup long grain rice
2-3 tomatoes, skinned and chopped
2 large onion, minced
3 tablespoons finely chopped flat leaf parsley
2 tablespoons finely chopped mint
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
Large pinch of salt and several good grindings of pepper
5 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar
Juice of two lemons
Add rice to boiling water and stir to separate. Drain into a strainer and rinse with cold water draining thoroughly after.
Mix rice, tomatoes, onion, parsley, mint, cinnamon, allspice, salt and pepper together.
Placing a leaf stem-side down and vein-side up, place a heaping teaspoon full of filling in the center. Fold bottom up and over, bring sides over and roll up like a cigar gently squeezing rolled up leaf in hand to tighten and eliminate excess juice.
In a large skillet, line bottom with torn or smallish leaves placing a clove of garlic here and there.
Place finished dolmas closely together in skillet.
Mix the olive oil with 1/2 cup of water, the sugar and lemon juice and pour over dolmas. Place a plate over dolmas, put a lid on the skillet and simmer on a very low flame for two hours making sure that there is always liquid in the skillet or the dolmas will burn.
Cool and serve.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)