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Showing posts from 2014

Spicy Sausage Ragu

I really love the cookbook Pasta by Eric Treuille. The recipes are simple yet deeply flavorful. Every time I've made anything from it there is always just a little twist that helps it stand out from any similar pasta dish. This recipe is a case in point. It seems like a simple pasta sauce and yet it is smoothly spicy in a way that we quickly became addicted to. The only change I made was to double the meat. This was simply because I wanted to use up the entire 16-ounce package of Italian sausage, which was the only size available at the particular store I was at. It wasn't an overpowering presence, possibly because the sausage itself was fairly mild. We liked it that way so I left that possibility in the recipe. Spicy Sausage Ragu Step 1 3 tablespoons olive oil 1 onion, finely chopped 2 garlic cloves, minced Heat oil in a skillet. Cook onion and garlic over medium high heat, stirring frequently, unstil soft and pale gold, 5 minutes. Step 2 8-16 ounces Italian

Herbed Pita Crisps

Our daughter, Hannah, served these up to accompany cocktails when we were at her place for dinner one weekend recently. It is from Hors D'oeuvres by Eric Treuille and Victoria Blashford-Snell. She's a fan of that book, by the way, having given several appetizer and cocktail parties for her friends where they raved about the food, which was all from those recipes. Hannah made these with naan bread and I liked them so well I made them the next weekend. The only caveat I have about using naan is that around the edges it is very thick. The resultant crisps, which must be baked much longer, can be hazardous to the teeth. I had some Boyajian Garlic Oil in the cupboard which I substituted for the garlic and olive oil. It lent a faint garlic flavor quite nicely. Herbed Pita Crisps 2 cloves garlic, crushed 6 tablespoons olive oil 4 pita breads 2 tablespoons fresh or 2 teaspoons dried thyme 1-1/2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon pepper Stir garlic into oil. Cut each pita bread i

Cincinnati-Style Chili

Here comes Fall weather and the first thing that springs to my mind is chili. Talking to my mother about a planned October visit for a horror-movie fest (this is my mother's passion, not mine) she brought up making a pot of chili. "There's just something about cooler weather," she said. To be fair, her weather is not going to be very cool since she lives in Florida, but we will crank the air-conditioning and pretend it is a chilly Midwest fall day. The only question I have is whether she's thinking of Texas-style chili or the sort I remember from school lunches, which I really loved also. Since she grew up in Cincinnati I have a feeling I know which she'll pick. It was when looking through the archives to send her the links for choosing that I found I never shared this delicious recipe. It is from Gourmet magazine and the only gussying up that I can detect is using black beans instead of the traditional kidney beans. I'm good either way. Love beans in

Food Watch: Ratatouille

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I discovered that I posted this elsewhere but never here, where food counts! So, a blast from our past which may be more worth watching than some of the new movies out now. When "Fin" came up on the screen, I suppressed an impulse to applaud. No need. The audience around me, without my reservations, burst into applause anyway. We watched Ratatouille under unusual circumstances. It was a 4:00 movie but the theater was full. Perhaps the rest of the audience, like us, had tried in vain to get into an earlier showing only to find it sold out. More unusually, in a movie marketed to children, this audience was three-fourths adults, adults of all ages. In fact, we ourselves were part of that demographic. Hannah, 18, had rearranged a date in order to make the movie with us. We were at the 4:00 movie specifically because Rose, 17, would not be able to make it over the weekend due to work schedules. Such is the power Pixar can induce in those who have learned that they have tha

Food Watch: Mostly Martha

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Mostly Martha Germany Martha is a chef who has a great deal of discipline, an obsession with food although she never seems to eat, and little joy in her life. When her sister dies, Martha is forced into facing unknown situations after her orphaned niece comes to live with her. Then a new chef is added to the staff and Martha's loss of control seems complete. Suddenly Martha's life is no longer under control at all with the expected growth of character resulting. This is a slow and deliberate movie but the acting and dialogue are great and a lot of the scenes are very funny. Naturally, as this is about a chef, it is a major "foodie" film. Mostly Martha is a German movie with subtitles but don't let that scare you. Actually we liked listening to the German and picking out words that were almost the same as in English ... but that's the kind of thing our family does for fun.

Vegetable Literacy by Deborah Madison

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Vegetable Literacy: Cooking and Gardening with Twelve Families from the Edible Plant Kingdom by Deborah Madison My rating: 3 of 5 stars This is a beautifully written book which nicely weaves gardening and cooking anecdotes with factual information. Having read several other books which fill a similar niche I was interested to see how this one stacked up. I really liked the writing and author's voice. However, none of the recipes appealed to me. To be fair, Madison is speaking to vegetarians whenever she writes and I am not in that group, though I do enjoy a good vegetable recipe as much as the next person. These recipes may all be quite stellar but the titles and descriptions never looked enticing. I tend to enjoy vegetable recipes coming from ethnic sources, especially Asian, and there is something about her recipes that always looks a bit forced in the way that many vegetarian cookbooks have done in the past. I should add that there are some very basic recipes for most

Tips & Tricks: Frozen Coffee Cubes

A few years ago I gave y'all a great recipe for iced coffee . For a while I made it and then my interest in iced coffee took a nosedive. Recently my interest revived, but not to the point of all that planning ahead. I'll admit it. I just save the leftover black coffee from that morning and dose it up with a bit of milk and some sugar. To my palate it is just about the same. Which may say more about my lack of discernment about iced coffee than anything. What I could discern though was that the cold milk wasn't getting the coffee "iced" enough and adding ice cubes watered it down. Ugh. I have begun using a little trick that I read about decades ago in a mystery novel, The Innocent Flower by Charlotte Armstrong . Some frozen cubes of coffee provided a neat twist in the mystery solution and also powerfully grabbed my imagination. I began keeping a stash in the freezer and lo and behold! No more diluted iced coffee!

Food Watch: Spinning Plates

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It's not what you cook. It's why. Spinning Plates (documentary) This was a fascinating comparison of three very different restaurants - one high concept where the chef is like an artist, one Iowa restaurant that holds the community together, and one Mexican restaurant where the family has placed their hopes for a better life on its success. The flow is masterful between the places as their stories progress and we get to know the main restauranteurs. It was also interesting in that none of these were about going somewhere to get a bite to eat. All these places were the focus of hopes, dreams, and fulfillment on an entirely different plane than mere sustenance. It compares well with Jiro Dreams of Sushi and, in fact, I liked it better. We found ourselves afterward in terms of our own business, our own hopes and dreams, and our own lives. Highly recommended.

Grilled Salmon with Chili-Lime Sauce

This is from Quick & Easy Vietnamese by Nancie McDermott. McDermott has become a real favorite of mine for simplified but authentic Asian meals. This could not have been easier or more delicious. 'Nuff said. Get out there and cook it! Grilled Salmon with Chili-Lime Sauce STEP 1 2 tablespoons vegetable oil 2 tablespoons coarsely chopped ginger 1 tablespoon chopped garlic 1 tablespoon chopped shallots or onion 2 tablespoons fish sauce 1 tablespoon soy sauce 1 tablespoon sugar 1-1/4 pounds thick salmon, tuna, halibut, or other meaty fish filets Combine all the marinade ingredients, dissolving sugar. Marinate fish for 20-30 minutes at room temperature or refrigerate for up to 1 day. STEP  2 — Chili-Lime Sauce 1/4 cup fish sauce 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice or white vinegar 2 tablespoons water 2 tablespoons sugar 1/4 teaspoon chili-garlic sauce 1 tablespoon thinly sliced green onions Combine sauce ingredients, dissolving sugar. Place on platter on which

Tips & Tricks: Side to Side Whisking

I like to whip cream using a whisk instead of my Kitchen Aid mixer. There's something tactile about watching the cream change as I whisk it around. And to my mind it makes less to wash up after. Though that's probably not really true. But it's stuck in my head, so there you go. I was interested when the July/August Cook's Illustrated has a piece on The Best Way to Use a Whisk. It turns out that "side-to-side" works best. Much better, in fact, than the standard beating action we've all been taught. There's a lot of scientific talk about "shear force" and suchlike, and you can pick up a copy to get all the scoop.  I made a Pavlova last weekend and whipping up that cream with a back and forth action was definitely easy. I also must put in a word here for Trader Joe's heavy cream. They've got really great dairy products, including a cottage cheese that is better than any of the regular stores. And their whipping cream is a nice th

Pavlova with Strawberries

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This is from The Silver Palate Cookbook . The Pavlova is a meringue based dessert which was created in honor of the Russian ballerina, Anna Pavlova. Like her, as the story goes, it is light, airy, and elegant. I'll tell you this. It is absolutely delicious. Everyone had two helpings. It is also much, much easier than you might imagine. If you've got a mixer for whipping the egg whites it will be a real breeze. If not, however, hand whipping will do just fine. It will just take a little while. I'd say that more important than a mixer would be the superfine sugar which blends so easily into the egg whites. I've worked with meringue cookies enough that when I realized I didn't have an 8" springform pan, I didn't panic. Instead I experimented and it worked out just fine (details of that are in the recipe). The guest of honor whose visit inspired this dessert production doesn't drink so I didn't use any liqueur on the strawberries. It was delicious

Mom's New York Cheesecake

My very favorite. The one I always requested for birthdays when I was growing up. And I can't believe I never shared it with y'all! Well, that is now remedied. Enjoy! Mom's New York Cheesecake Step 1: 1/2 cup butter, softened 1/4 cup sugar 1 egg yolk 1cup sifted flour 1/4 teaspoon lemon rind 1/4 teaspoon vanilla Make the crust: Preheat oven to 400°. Cream butter and sugar, add egg yolk. Then add other ingredients. Pat 1/3 of dough in bottom of springform pan. Cook for 6 minutes, cool completely. Meanwhile, raise oven temperature to 475°. Butter sides of pan and put remaining dough around the sides of the pan. Crust will only come up 1/3 of the sides of the pan. Step 2: 2-1/2 pounds cream cheese 5 eggs 3 tablespoons flour 1-3/4 cups sugar 1 lemon rind 1/4 teaspoon vanilla 1/4 teaspoon salt 2 egg yolks 1/4 cup cream Make the filling: Beat cream cheese until soft. Mix in all remaining ingredients. Pour filling into crust. Bake at 475° for 7 minute

Easter Story Cookies

This recipe is from a friend whose small children look forward to making these every year. Not only do you get delicious meringue cookies but a delightful way to really help children connect with the main points of the Easter story. Ingredients: 1 c. whole pecans 1 tsp. vinegar 3 egg whites Pinch salt 1 c. sugar also need: Zipper baggie, Wooden spoon, Tape, Bible Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F. Place the pecans in a zipper baggie and let the children beat them with the wooden spoon to break them into small pieces. Explain that after Jesus was arrested, the Roman soldiers beat him. Read John 19:1-3. Let each child smell the vinegar. Put 1 tsp. vinegar into a mixing bowl. Explain that when Jesus was thirsty on the cross he was given vinegar to drink. Read John 19:28-30. Add the egg whites to the vinegar. Eggs represent life. Explain that Jesus gave His life to give us life. Read John 10:10-11. Sprinkle a little salt into each child's hand. Let them taste it an

Easter and Food

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Easter foods are primarily those of Easter Sunday, the day on which Jesus rose from the dead, a day of special rejoicing for Christians, who rejoice too at reaching the end of the long Lenten fast. This time also marks the beginning of spring, the season of renewal, and a cause for general rejoicing. The concept of renewal/rebirth is responsible for the important role played the by egg in Easter celebrations, a role which no doubt antedates Christianity... In Europe, there is a general tradition, not confined to Christians, that Easter is the time to start eating the season's new lamb, which is just coming onto the market then. For Christians there is the added symbolic significance that Jesus is regarded as the lamb of God. In Britain, a leg, shoulder, or saddle is roasted at this time and served with new potatoes and mint sauce. For the French, a roast leg of lamb, the gigot pascal ( pascal and the English paschal refer equally to the Jewish Passover and Christian Easter),

Filets Mignons with Mushrooms

This is what I selected for our New Year's Day dinner. It had been forever (almost literally) since we'd had that American standard, a steak and a baked potato. In particular, for this meal we also added a serving of   Creamed Jalapeño Spinach (we are in Texas, after all). It was scrumptious and seemed to bode well for the New Year. In particular, these mushrooms are simply wonderful and would complement any steak. I am not a big filet mignon fan but could foresee a nice grilled ribeye with these alongside. This recipe is from the latest Cook's Country magazine (March 2014) from their 30-Minute Supper section. I used regular button mushrooms. I also used a pinch of dried thyme, instead of fresh, add with the mushrooms so it could soften up over the cooking time. Filets Mignons with Mushrooms Serves 4 4 (6-8 ounce) center-cut filets mignons, trimmed Salt and pepper 3 tablespoons vegetable oil 1 pound cremini mushrooms, trimmed and quartered 1 shallot, mince