Cajun Meatball Fricasee

This is from Cook's Country. It is quite good and makes a nice change from the regular idea of meatballs derived from Italian or Swedish roots.

They say it serves 4-6 but we were able to put half of it in the freezer for another meal later. So I'd say it serves 8 ... and with two pounds of hamburger, that makes sense. Also, we're going to halve the amount of broth called for when we make it again. There was no way that was cooking down enough to be the texture of cream. Even brothy it was good though.


Cajun Meatball Fricasee

Step 1 — Meatballs
22 saltines, crushed finely
1 cup milk
2 tablespoons Worcestershire
2 pounds ground chuck
2 ounces Parmesan
1 tablespoon creole seasoning
1-1/2 teaspoons thyme
1 teaspoon pepper

Preheat oven to 425°. Line jellyroll pan with foil, set wire rack in pan and spray with cooking spray.

Whisk saltines, milk and Worcestershire together. Let sit for 5 minutes to soften crackers. Whisk until smooth paste forms. Add remaining ingredients and mix thoroughly with hands.

Divide into 24 scant ¼-cup portions. Roll with wet hands into meatballs and evenly space on rack. Roast until lightly browned on top, about 25 minutes.

Step 2 — Roux
1⁄3 cup vegetable oil
1⁄3 cup flour

Heat oil in Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Stir continually for entire roux making: stir in flour and cook until mixture is color of peanut butter, 2-5 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and continue cooking until milk-chocolate brown, 5-10 minutes.

Step 3
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 rib celery, chopped
2 slices bacon, cut into ½-inch pieces
6 scallions, white and green separated and sliced thinly
3 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon creole seasoning
2 cups chicken broth (original recipe - 4 cups)
1 tablespoon Worcestershire
White rice, cooked
Tabasco, to taste

Stir in onion, bell pepper, celery and bacon and cook until softened, 7-10 minutes.

Stir in scallion whites, garlic and creole seasoning and cook until fragrant, 1 minute.

Whisk in broth and Worcestershire. Bring to boil over medium-high heat.

Step 4
Add meatballs to stew; reduce heat to low and cook, covered, about 20 minutes. Uncover; increase heat to medium-high and cook until thickened to texture of heavy cream, 8-12 minutes. Serve over rice, sprinkled with scallion greens, with Tabasco on the side.

Lime Crinkle Cookies

These are from Taste of the South magazine which we've found to be a great source for simple, tasty recipes. Rose says these remind her of Fruit Loops. They are just plain good.


Lime Crinkle Cookies

Step 1
1 cup sugar
1/2  cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled for 10 minutes
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 large egg + 1 large egg yolk, room temperature
2 tablespoons lime zest
2 tablespoons lime juice

Whisk together sugar, butter, and vanilla until well combined.

Whisk in egg and yolk. Beat in zest and lime juice. (May look slightly curdled; it’s ok.)

Step 2
2 cups flour
3/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ginger

Sift all together and add to sugar mixture in two additions, folding until well combined. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.

Step 3
1/3 granulated sugar
1/2 cup powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 325° and line jelly roll pans with parchment paper. Put sugars in separate bowls.

Shape dough into 1” balls. Roll in granulated sugar, then roll in powdered sugar.

Place 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Bake 10-12 minutes, until edges are set and cracks have formed. Cool completely on pans.

Summer Corn Salad

My mother got this from somewhere on the internet but I can't track it down. However, I share it here as a good, different summer salad.


Summer Corn Salad

Step 1
6 ears of corn, cooked as Corn Off the Cob

Drain and cool.

Step 2
1/2 cup finely diced red onion
1 cup cherry tomatoes, sliced in half
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup julienned fresh basil leaves

Toss the kernels in a medium bowl with the red onions, tomatoes, vinegar, olive oil, salt, and pepper.

Just before serving, toss in the fresh basil. Add additional salt and pepper to taste, if desired. Serve cold or at room temperature.

Chocolate Mousse

Hannah asked for Chocolate Mousse for her birthday and I automatically pulled down The Silver Palate Cookbook which has a whole section of them. I've made the Lime Mousse many times but never tried this (which is actually in the chocolate section - so these ladies are all about mousse and put them everywhere).

It was the deepest, darkest, most luscious mousse ever. Also rather solid, not ethereal like some you might think of. The recipe says it serves 8, but I'd say 10-12.

It was really easy, worked like a charm, and, as I said above, delicious.

INGREDIENTS

1-1/2 pounds semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup prepared espresso coffee
1/2 cup Grand Marnier
4 egg yolks
2 cups heavy cream, chilled
1/4 cup sugar
8 egg whites
Pinch of salt
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract


METHOD

1. Melt the chocolate chips in a heavy saucepan over very low heat, stirring; add the espresso coffee, then stir in the Grand Marnier. Let cool to room temperature.
2. Add the egg yolks, one at a time, beating thoroughly after each addition.
3. Whip 1 cup of the cream until thickened, then gradually beat in the sugar, beating until stiff. Beat the egg whites with salt until stiff. Gently fold the egg whites into the cream.
4. Stir about one third of the cream and egg mixture thoroughly into the chocolate mixture. Then scrape the remaining cream and egg mixture over the lightened chocolate base and fold together gently. Pour into 8 individual dessert cups or a serving bowl. Refrigerate for 2 hours, or until set.
5. At serving time, whip the remaining cup of cream until thickened, add the vanilla, and whip to soft peaks. Top each portion of the mousse with a share of the cream.

Shrimp Soup with Cumin

This is from Mark Bittman's How to Cook Everything. My mother loves this soup. She says that she feels as if she is in an elegant restaurant whenever she has it. So, in some cases, it literally carries you away from your hum drum life!

It is easy, delicious and ... elegant.

Shrimp Soup with Cumin
Yield - 4 bowls

INGREDIENTS

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, peeled
4 thick slices French or Italian bread
1 tsp ground cumin
Salt and freshly ground pepper to taste
5 cups shrimp stock, chicken stock, water or a combination
1 to 1-1/2 pounds shrimp, peeled

PREPARATION
Combine olive oil and garlic in a large, deep saucepan or casserole and turn heat to medium. Add the garlic cloves and cook, stirring occasionally, until they are a very deep golden, almost brown, about 10 minutes. Remove them with a slotted spoon and set aside.

Turn heat to low and brown the bread in the oil on both sides, in batches if necessary; it will take about 5 minutes. Remove the slices and spread each with about 1/2 clove of the cooked garlic. Mince the remaining garlic. (I just use a whole glove on each slice.)

Cut each of the shrimp into 3 or 4 pieces. Put stock into the pan, turn heat to medium and bring to a gentle boil. Add shrimp, cumin, salt and pepper and cook over low heat for 3 or 4 minutes.
Place a piece of bread in each of four bowls, then ladle in a portion of soup with shrimp. Sprinkle with minced garlic, garnish and serve.

Corn Off the Cob

I was making fried chicken the other day (yes, I felt very Southern, farm family-ish). We were going to have corn on the cob (substituted at the last minute at the store when all the green beans had brown spots). At the last minute I realized that my one big pot was going to be used for the chicken so I had nothing big enough for corn on the cob.

However, I also knew all those frozen niblets were once on the cob. I'd read enough cookbooks to have a vague idea of how to cook that corn deliciously when it was off the cob. More than anything this tells me of my dependence on frozen corn, which I've found very unsatisfactory as of late.

I may switch to this until the corn on the cob is out of season.

The New Doubleday Cookbook (1985 - not so new now but a wonderfully dependable overall cookbook) had this dandy recipe which we all loved.

They called it Boiled Fresh Whole Kernel Corn but that name just doesn't cut it.

Corn Off the Cob

6-8 ears sweet corn, shucked
1 cup boiling water
1/2 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
Pinch pepper
2 tablespoons butter

Cut corn from cob. Place in a saucepan with water and sugar, cover, and simmer 5-8 minutes until tender. Drain and season with salt, pepper, and butter.

Pan Bagnat (Provençal Tuna Sandwich)

My parents made a version of this sandwich from the Time Life Foods of the World cookbook series. We loved it. Loaded with different ingredients, bathed in a vinaigrette (the title means "bathed bread"), weighted down and left for all the flavors to meld — it was the perfect summer meal.

So I was intrigued when Cooks Illustrated had their own version and tried it out last weekend. Theirs is more like a Salade Niçoise than the one I grew up with, but I love Salade Niçoise so that was no bad thing!

It was truly delicious, simple to assemble (though requiring about an hour), and perfect for hot weather.

Note: We had extra pieces of this in the fridge for up to a week as we slowly consumed them for lunch (or breakfast!). It held perfectly well and could be made well ahead of time for a party or picnic if you let it come up to room temperature.

PAN BAGNAT

STEP 1
1 vine-ripened tomato, cored and sliced thin
1 small red onion, sliced thin
3 tablespoons red wine vinegar
1 garlic clove, minced
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large baguette, or ciabiatta (18 inches long, 3 inches wide, and at least 2 inches tall), halved horizontally [You can also do this in a large, round loaf as long as it holds the ingredients.]

Heat oven to 350°.

Lay tomato slices on paper towel-lined plate and set aside.

Toss onion, vinegar, garlic, and salt together in bowl.

Using hands or metal spoon, remove inner crumb from bread bottom to create trough, leaving 1/4-inch border on sides and bottom Place breat halves cust side up on baking sheet and bake until very lightly toasted, 5 minutes.

STEP 2
3/4 cup niçoise or kalamata olives, rinsed, pitted
1/2 cup fresh parsley
3 tablespoons capers, rinsed
1 tablespoon fresh oregano leaves
3 anchovy fillets, rinsed and patted dry
1/4 cup olive oil
2 tablespoons Dijon
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Pulse olives, parsley, capers, oregano, and anchovies in food processor until coarsely but evenly chopped, 10-12 pulses. Add to bowl with onion mixture. Add oil, mustard and pepper and toss to combine.

STEP 3
1/4 cup olive oil
3 5-ounce cans oil-packed tuna
3 hard-boiled eggs, sliced thin

Brush inside of each bread half with 1 tablespoon oil. Place two-thirds of olive mixutre in hollow batuette bottom and spread evenly.

Distribute tuna evenly over olive mixture and drizzle with remaining two tablespoons oil.

Shingle tomato slices over tuna.

Shingle egg slices over tomato.

Top eggs with remaining olive mixture and cap with bread top. Sandwich will be very full.

STEP 4
Press gently on sandwich and slice in half cross-wise. Wrap each half tightly in plastic wrap. Sit on a baking sheet to catch any juices that escape the wrap. Place rimmed baking sheet on top of sandwiches and weight with heavy Dutch oven or two 5-pound bgs of flour or sugar for 1 hour.

Flip sandwiches halfway through weighting.

Wrapped sandwiches can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours. Let come to room temperature before serving.

Serves 4-6. Prep time 1 hour.

Savory (Ham, Mozzarella & Basil) Brioche Couronne

Couronne means "crown" and this is obviously named for the shape. However, it is also fit for royalty. An enriched brioche dough is filled with ham, mozzarella and basil to make a wonderful meal.

This is from Paul Hollywood's book Bread and it looks a lot harder than it is. On one hand it does take a fair amount of time for several dough risings. On the other hand, it is really impressive and really delicious and really basic to put together if you are used to making bread. If you aren't, then Paul Hollywood's description will lead you through it without a problem.

Mom said it was better than pizza. Tom didn't want to make rash statements but he agreed it was at least equal to a very, very good pizza.

Savoury Brioche Couronne

Ingredients
500g strong white bread flour, plus extra for dusting
10g salt
10g instant yeast
170ml tepid whole milk
4 medium eggs (we used 3 large eggs)
250g unsalted butter, in small pieces, at room temperature
1 pound buffalo mozzarella (we used regular fresh mozzarella)
8-10 slices Parma ham (turns out this is proscuitto - we didn't know that and used applewood smoked ham - mmmm)
Small handful basil leaves, roughly chopped
1 medium egg, beaten
Pinch salt
Handful grated parmesan

Put the flour into a food mixer fitted with a dough hook and add the salt to one side of the bowl and the yeast to the other. Add the milk and eggs and mix until well combined. Add the butter, bit by bit, as you mix for a further 5 minutes. It’s important to add the butter very gradually.

Tip the dough into a large oiled plastic container or bowl and covered with an oiled lid or cling film [plastic wrap]. This dough can rise greatly and needs room to expand. Leave until at least doubled in size — at least 1 hour.

Tip the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, without knocking the air out of it. Roll out to a rectangle, just under 1½cm (3/4 inch) with the long side facing you. Lay the ham slices over the dough. Tear the mozzarella into pieces and scatter over the ham. Sprinkle basil on top.

Roll up the dough from the long side furthest from you to enclose the filling. Roll into a sausage, 40-50cm [16-19 inches]. Cut down the entire length of the roll to reveal the filling [leaving you with two long strips side by side]. Hol the pieces firmly at each end and twist quite tightly together, moving your hands in opposite directions. Now coil the twisted dough into a circle and press the ends firmly together.

Put the crown on a parchment-paper lined baking tray. Put the tray inside a roomy plastic bag and leave to rise for 1-1½ hours, or until at least doubled in size. [We just covered the baking sheet with a towel, as per always.]

Preheat the oven to 400°.  Brush the top of the couronne with beaten egg and scatter with grated Parmesan. Bake in oven for 25 minutes until golden brown. Leave to cool slightly and serve warm or cold.

Eggplant with Molten Mozzarella

The Wall Street Journal ran a story yesterday tellingly titled "No Lucky Charms, Plenty of Okra — What's Left at the Grocery Store."

That is one of the boxes I checked when I was caught up in last week's grocery panic. The most deserted place in the store was the produce section, where I had wandered in search of lemons. (Hey, you need those for cocktails and I was fairly sure cocktails were on our family's emergency list.)

I gravitated to the fully stocked eggplant — some of the most beautiful I'd seen lately — remembering this recipe, which I'd planned to make so the ingredients were fairly top of mind. To be sure it doesn't take many ingredients and is easy, so it's perfect just for an easy meal or for a food panic day when everyone else ignored those gorgeous eggplants.

This is a wonderfully easy and delicious pasta dish from Pasta: Every Way for Every Day. It's also perfect for meatless meals and Fridays in Lent.

I doubled the eggplant (which practically disappeared in the original dish) and the red pepper flakes, tomato paste, and oregano (to keep the sauce flavoring ratios the same for the eggplant).

The molten mozzarella part is a variation to the original recipe, so I'm putting both the original (adapted) and the variation below.

Eggplant with Chili and Garlic
Serves 4

Step 1:
1/2 cup olive oil
2 pounds eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch dice (originally 14 oz.)
4 cloves garlic, crushed
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (originally 1/2 t.)

Heat oil in a skillet. Add eggplant, garlic, and red pepper flakes and cook, stirring frequently over high heat, until golden, 5-7 minutes. Turn down heat to medium low.

Step 2:
1/4 cup tomato paste (originally 2 T)
2 teaspoons dried oregano (originally 1 t.)
salt, black pepper

Stir in tomato paste and oregano and cook, stirring occasionally, until eggplant dice are soft and cooked through, 10 minutes. Add 2 tablespoons hot water to the pan if the eggplant begins to stick. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Step 3:
1 pound dried pasta, tubes or shapes: penne, rigatoni, orecchiette
Parmesan

Meanwhile, cook pasta in a large pot of boiling, salted water, until firm to the bite. Drain. Add pasta with 2 tablespoons additional olive oil to the hot sauce. Toss well to coat. Serve immediately with Parmesan to sprinkle on.

Variation: Eggplant with Molten Mozzarella

Stir 8 ounces diced, part skim mozzarella into the finished sauce and pasta right before serving, omitting the additional olive oil.