Green Leaf Wrap

You can use collard greens, iceberg lettuce, bib lettuce or butter lettuce. It’s simple… prepare your wrap or burrito, but use greens rather than a tortilla.

Blanche the leaves in boiling water, and then ice water – or heat them on a skillet. Here are a few recipes that would lend themselves to this preparation.

Reuben

Reuben: Corned beef, horseradish, parsley and bean sprouts. Fry in butter briefly after wrapping.

Breakfast Sandwich

Breakfast Sandwich: Scrambled egg and cheddar cheese – with or without sausage/bacon.

Cucumber Sandwich

Cucumber Sandwiches

Grilled Bologna

Grilled Bologna Sandwich

Lobster Roll Sandwich

Lobster Roll Sandwich

Pulled Pork Sandwich

Pineapple Pulled Pork Sandwich

California Sandwich

California Sandwich

Egg Salad Sandwich

Egg Salad Sandwich

Tasajo

Tasajo

Tuna Salad Sandwich

Tuna Salad

Parnassienne au Chocolate

Christopher Gross’ Parnassienne au Chocolate Chocolate Tower

From Phoenix New Times: October 21, 2010

Chocolate Tower

What’s better than chocolate? Three kinds of chocolate, of course.

Chef Christopher Gross of Christopher’s Restaurant and Crush Lounge created his often-imitated Parnassienne au Chocolate Chocolate Tower: Nearly half a foot of a dark chocolate lattice over a white chocolate tube that envelops a chocolate mousse center.

Today he shares the recipe for his signature tower — the same one he shared with Julia Child on her PBS master chef series — so you can try your hand at chocolatiering at home.

Click through for the three-part recipe: Mousse, lattice, and espresso sauce.

Chocolate Mousse

(Serves 8)
What you’ll need:
5-½ oz. semi-sweet chocolate, broken into pieces
3 Tbsp unsalted butter, sliced
¼ cup heavy cream
1-¼ cups egg whites (10 large)
4 Tbsp superfine sugar

What you’ll do:
1. Pour two inches of water into a saucepan and bring to a slow simmer. Set a stainless steel bowl on top of the pan, and add the chocolate and the butter. Stir occasionally as the chocolate melts; when smooth and lump-free, in about five minutes, remove and let the chocolate cool to room temperature.
2. Pour the cream into the stainless steel bowl set over ice and water. Beat by hand or with a portable beater, whipping in as much air as possible, until stiff peaks form.
3. Beat the egg whites to the soft peak stage; whip in two tablespoons of sugar; continue beating to stiff peaks form gradually adding the reminder of the sugar.
4. Whisk a quarter of the egg whites into the cool, melted chocolate, and then gradually add the rest. Fold in the cream quickly, deflating as little as possible.
5. Cut a piece of parchment paper into a rectangle 3-½ inches wide by 5 inches long. Form into a cylinder approximately 5 inches tall and 1-½ inches in diameter. Close the side with a piece of sticky tape and make sure that it stands up straight. Repeat to form 8 cylinders.
6. Fill a pastry bag with the mousse and pipe into the tubes, leaving a -½-inch space at the top. Drape the tops of the cylinders with a sheet of plastic and place in the freezer until frozen solid (approximately 1 hour).

Lattice

What you’ll need:
3 oz. semi-sweet chocolate, cut into pieces
6 oz. white chocolate, cut into pieces

What you’ll do:
1. For decorating the towers, cut eight 5-inch squares out of parchment paper.
2. Melt the semi-sweet chocolate over low heat.
3. Fill a decorating cone with some of the dark chocolate, and drizzle free form diagonal lines no more than 1/4 inch apart in a lattice pattern across each of the parchment squares. As each square is done, lay flat on one of the baking sheets.
4. When all squares are finished put the sheets in the freezer until the chocolate is set, or about 5 minutes. Reserve the remaining melted chocolate.
5. Melt the white chocolate over low heat.
6. Remove one dark chocolate lattice square from the freezer. And with the offset spatula, spread 2 to 3 tablespoons of the white chocolate in a very thin layer on top of the lattice, leaving a 1-inch strip uncoated at one side. Scrape off any excess chocolate.
7. Unwrap one frozen mousse tower and lay it on top of the white chocolate, parallel to and opposite the uncoated strip. Quickly wrap the parchment around the mousse, handling as little as possible and being careful to leave the uncoated flap overlapping.
8. Return each finished tower to the freezer, immediately after wrapping in parchment. Repeating steps 6 to 8 until you’ve latticed all the mousse towers.
9. The papers may be peeled off after five minutes in the freezer, and the chocolate lattice will remain in place around the mousse.
10. Then let the mousse defrost in the refrigerator for about an hour.

Espresso Sauce

What you’ll need:
1-½ cups half and half (light cream)
½ fragrant vanilla bean (or 1 tsp vanilla extract)
6 egg yolks
⅔ cup sugar
1 cup ILLY espresso coffee beans (2 oz.)

What you’ll do:
1. Heat the half and half with the vanilla bean, when almost at a simmer remove from the heat and cover the pan.
2. Meanwhile, start beating the egg yolks with the hand held mixer in the pan until thick and lemon-colored.
3. Gradually beat in the sugar, and then slowly blend in the ¼ cup of hot cream to warm the yolks. Blend slowly to minimize air bubbles.
4. Remove the vanilla bean from the remaining cream and blend the cream into the yolk mixture.
5. Pour in the espresso beans and set over low heat, stirring slowly and constantly until the mixture is thick enough to coat the back of the spoon.
6. Strain through the fine meshed sieve into a bowl and let cool. Serve warm, tepid or chilled.

Plate the chocolate tower plain or with fruit of your choosing. Then drizzle the espresso sauce over the components as desired.

This is one to bust out for dinner with the in-laws, your boss, a significant other, or anyone else you might be trying to impress. Can’t quite nail the presentation? Head over to Christopher’s instead.

(This is part three of our Chef Chat with Gross. Check out parts one and two for more about how he made the transition from picky eater to worldly chef and his foie gras battles.)

Fresh Beans

This is good for wax beans, green beans, string beans, etc. It is NOT intended for things like peas, lentils and Lima beans.

Bring pot of water up to a boil.
Add 3 TBL salt.
Add beans and boil for 15 minutes.
Remove to a skillet.
Add 3 TBL butter.
Saute on low heat for another 15 minutes.
Beans should be soft, and not al-dente at all.

Cauliflower “potato” Salad

1 head cauliflower cut into small pieces – steamed
1 C Greek yogurt
1/2 C Miracle Whip
1 TBL Dijon mustard
1 stalk celery
Salt, pepper, dill relish, diced red onion to taste
3-4 hard boiled egg – mashed
Combine and refrigerate

The Best Bagged Popcorn

CLICK HERE for the LifeHacker website on this subject.

Here is the ORIGINAL REPORT by Cooks Illustrated.

Here is a similar study by America’s Test Kitchen.

Braised Leeks

Cut off the green parts of the leeks. Separate and rinse them well, then keep them for stock made at a later date.
Cut off just the “strings” of the roots, keeping the body intact.
Cut them in half lengthwise.
Brown them in butter for 3 minutes per side.
Add 1/2 cup chicken broth and 1/2 C white wine to the pan and bring up to a simmer.
Cover loosely with a piece of foil and simmer 15-20 minutes
Plate and garnish with parsley, chives, coarse salt and/or grated black pepper.OR
Alternate: Vinaigrette
- Dijon mustard
- French’s mustard
- Red wine vinegar
- Extra virgin olive oil
- Salt and pepper
- garlic
- shallots
- Whisk, taste and season
Put some vinaigrette on the bottom of a baking dish
Put into your halved leeks
Pour remaining dressing over top
Put into fridge for 3-12 hours
Plate and top with remaining sauce
Add hazelnuts, croutons, hard boiled egg pieces, chives
Serve cold

Garlic Head Toast

Cut off the top of an entire head of garlic.
Place on crumpled foil so it stays upright.
Add salt and pepper, then drizzle with olive oil.
Carefully close the foil and bake at 425º for 60 minutes.
Squeeze out garlic meat and spread on toast.
Garnish with oregano or chives.

Corn Bisque

Bring 2 QT of water up to boiling.
Shuck two ears of corn into a bowl.
Chop 1/2 Vidalia onion into corn-kernel sized pieces, and put in with the corn.
Cut the cob into pieces and put it into your boiling water with 1 bay leaf, thyme, corriander, alspice and star anise – the spices in a bundle for easy removal later. Boil 30 minutes.
Bring 2 TBL butter, 2 TBL safflower oil, 5 cloves whole garlic and 1 TBL chopped ginger to high heat and simmer just until pungent.
Remove the garlic and ginger and add your corn and onion, and cook it until it starts to brown.
Add 2 C of your broth into the pan, and add salt and lime juice (to taste)
Simmer 30 minutes.
Mix 1 TBL corn starch or potato starch in with 1 C Half and Half, and add to the pan, whisking continually.
Cook just until it starts to thicken slightly. Add 1/2 more broth if needed for texture, color on consistency.

Trifle

SEE A SIMPLE RECIPE AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS PAGE

This is a very simple and elegant dessert. You can make a large trifle that will serve everyone, or individual dessert cup trifles.

A TRIFLE is a general category of recipe, kind of like “a casserole” – “a burrito” – or “a beverage.”

It simply describes a layered desert, usually with a cake layer, a pudding layer, a fruit layer and a few other layers thrown in for good measure.

I’ve included photos from other websites so that you can get an idea of what a trifle is, and create your own. You will see that the key is to maintain distinct layers. If you browse all of these GOOGLE IMAGES you will see that some trifles are not clearly labeled at all, which makes it not really a trifle.

CLICK ON AN IMAGE FOR AN ENLARGEMENT

A simple recipe that you can follow, if you want a no-fail first attempt.

SIMPLE TRIFLE

First, decide if you want one large dramatic trifle to share, or individual trifles. You definitely want it to be clear glass though. Be very careful to not fill any layer too deeply, or you will run out of space.
SPONGE LAYER: Traditionally you use Lady Fingers in a trifle, but you can buy angel food cake or use the recipe below and it will be just as tasty. You can also simply use Vanilla Wafers. Use a knife and cut prepared angel food cake into 1/2 to 1 inch slices.
If you want to try to make your own sponge layer, here is a recipe for LADY FINGERS.
If you don’t have a biscuit cutter, a single biscuit cutter is a good addition to your arsenal. Cut circles from the angel food cake. If they are too big for your container, cut them into geometric shapes and put them against the wall of your glass.
PUDDING LAYER: Spoon pudding into the bottom of your glass to hold your sponge in place. Pudding can be from scratch or even a box instant pudding. Both will work well.
COOKIE LAYER: You can use crushed Oreo’s or Graham Crackers. You can even use granola. The thing is that you want something with crumbly pieces to create a completely different texture.
FRUIT LAYER: For this, you want a soft fruit like peaches, strawberries, kiwi, and so forth. The fruit should be in bite-sized pieces.
WHIPPED CREAM LAYER: You really don’t want to use spray canned whipped cream, as it breaks down too quickly. Cool Whip is not a bad choice, but making your own whipped cream is actually pretty easy. CLICK HERE for a simple three-ingredient whipped cream.
OPTIONAL: CREAM CHEESE LAYER: Alternately, you can use Cream Cheese, Yogurt, cooked (cooled) Vanilla Pudding, and powdered sugar.
FRESH FRUIT: Top the whipped cream with something like blueberries, strawberries, cherries, etc. Something small and colorful.
GARNISH: You can garnish with more crushed cookies, or even chopped nuts if you want. You can also place a single mint leaf on the very top for an elegant presentation.

STEP BY STEP – OVERVIEW

For a large trifle, put a layer of angel food cake in the bottom
Add a layer of your white mixture cream cheese or whipped cream.
Stack strawberries against the side so they can be seen
Add strawberry pieces and blueberries
Repeat with layers of cake, cream mixture, more fruit
Finish with a layer of cake, cream mixture, and decoratively place fruits

Chef’s Notes

DO NOT USE ANYTHING BELOW THIS LINE IN MY COOKBOOK.

These notes are gleaned from PBS The Great British Baking Show

A Trifle should have well-defined layers
Trifles are a West Wales staple – placed on tables several times each week
Trifles traditionally use lady fingers for the cake layers
Another option is Vanilla Wafers
Use a shallow disk to serve many and to all all flavors in a single serving
Biscuits need to absorb the liquid without disintegrating
Many of the chefs used lemon meringue or lemon curd – The custard should be thick
Recipe 1: layers of biscuit/cake, strawberry, whipped cream and blueberry
Recipe 2: Recipe featured a praline circle on the top
Recipe 3: bananas, strawberries, mangos with Lemon Macaroons on top
Recipe 4: Ginger cake with fruit and creme anglaise
Recipe 5: Spray the layers with cointreau
Recipe 6: Peach, almond and ginger – with browned butter
Recipe 7: Cake layer was a lemon Swiss roll
Recipe 8: Amaretti Bisquits on top
Recipe 9: Chef used a jelly layer

If you are interested, you can MAKE YOUR OWN LADY FINGERS rather than using pound cake

Recipe from Wall Street Journal

Dec 20, 2016 – CLICK ON IMAGES TO ENLARGE

What they are calling their Christmas Pudding was defined in a previous publication. You can use slices of Angel Food Cake, Vanilla Wafers, or more traditionally Lady Fingers. This goes over GREAT at parties. Make sure you assemble it into a clear glass bowl or the WOW factor is lost.

Tasajo

This is a pillard piece of meat that is aged and then cooked quickly.

Trim as much fat from the skirt steak or flank steak (same thing) as you are able. Ask for the outside cut if it is an option.
Cut the meat into 1 inch strips against the grain.
Put between lightly oiled plastic layers and pound until flat.
Lay flat on a drying rack and lightly salt both sides.
Dry in the refrigerator for 3-5 hours.
Put onto hot grill and brush with melted butter.
Great for sandwiches.

Tasajo Jerky

Pepare Skirt Steak as above, but only Steps 1 through 4.
Whisk 1 TBL each Worcestershire sauce, soy sauce, honey and lime juice in a bowl.
Add 1/2 tsp each black pepper, red pepper flakes, garlic powder, paprika, and onion powder; and whisk together.
Marinate the meat overnight in the refrigerator. It’s OK if it is not laying out flat at this point. I like to put them in a zip lock bag, which makes it easy to occasionally agitate them.
The next day, remove both racks from the oven.
Line the bottom of your oven with foil (or use baking sheets) to avoid an awful mess.
Heat the oven to 300º – We will not cook at this temperature, but this will help kill off any bacteria that might be on the meat.
Place one of the racks in the sink, and place a toothpick through one end of a meat strip and hang from the top oven rack. It works well to use bamboo BBQ skewers, and thread 3-4 pieces of meat. This keeps them from accidentally falling off the rack.
Return the rack to the oven and bake the meat for only ten minutes.
Turn your oven down to 150-175º – or as low as it will go.
Prop the door open with a wooden spoon to allow moisture to escape and encourage air to circulate.
It should take between 3-6 hours depending on the thickness of your slices.
Check after 3 hours. Bend the jerky. It should bend and crack slightly, but SHOULD NOT break in half.
Keeps out of the fridge for a week or two, and inside the fridge for a couple of months.

Turkish Cheeses

When we spent three months in Istanbul, we ate a MARVELOUS cheese that was some type of string cheese. Here is what I found at TurkishCulture.org

Anatolian String Cheese

Bahçıvan Ceçil Peyniri ~ 250gString and Jeddal cheeses which are among traditional exclusive products come into prominence with their perfect fibrous structure. Halloumi Cheese specific to Cyprus is also found in our product line. Halloumi Cheese is a very different kind of cheese with its form eligible for toasting. Its taste, smell and flavour are unique. Fresh Mozzarella in Water, specific to Italy is consumed as fresh, has the colour of porcelain white and an excellent taste. It may generally be served sliced in circles with tomatoes sliced in circles, olive oil and basil. Grated Cheese is a practical product which eases the life and may be used in your pizzas, pastas and soups.

CHEESE IN TURKISH CULTURE

For all the new technology and interest in cheese culture, Turkish cheeses are practically unknown. Foreigners are surprised when they learn the extent of cheese production in Turkey and local Turks are sometimes unaware of the many varieties produced outside their immediate area. Many cookbooks regard Ottoman cuisine as one of the world’s classics, but cheese gets but a passing mention.

The reason for this is because the majority of local cheeses are still made on farms or by nomadic peoples. They are often so fresh that they don’t travel well and few rural cheese makers and market traders are familiar with the weighty volumes of Euro-food rules. Small enterprises cannot compete with global food-producing conglomerates. Certainly Turkey has cheese factories and excellent commercially made cheeses in vacuum packs. These are usually more expensive than the traditional farm-produced cheeses. It is easy to believe that Turks eat only the white cheese, or beyaz peynir, similar to Greek Feta cheese. But this is a misnomer, now that Feta is officially recognised as a Hellenic domain cheese.

CHEESE FOR BREAKFAST

Few cultures feature cheese as a breakfast food so spectacularly as Turkey. Indeed, it is the nucleus of a typical breakfast. When a Turk wakes up, he wants breakfast – even if it is well after noon. Visitors find cheese, olives, cucumbers and eggs laid out on the breakfast table. With butter, honey, crusty bread and freshly-brewed Turkish tea, this is the way a Turk begins his day. If he rises early enough, then a second breakfast may well fill the place of a mid-morning snack or “elevenses.”

DİL PEYNİR

Cheese that pulls away in strips and strings, this means literally ‘tongue’ cheese.

Cheese in Turkey
by Dilek Özenen Zorbey

Cheese is one of nature’s most tasty foods. It is eaten by everyone with great pleasure. Cheese is not only a substantial food because of its taste but it also has high nutritional value. Milk, which is itself a great source of nutrition, is processed and made into cheese. The main substance in cheese is “casein”, a protein which has no equal in nature. In addition to being rich in calcium, phosphorus and vitamin A, cheese is an important nutritional source for life.

Another reason for its vast consumption is that it can easily be digested and it aids in the digestion of other foods. This property of cheese is due to rennet which is used to curd milk. Cheese was made in ancient times and was found to be a very substantial food for man. We know that even in the Babylonian Civilization in 2000 B.C. cheese production was quite advanced.Today in Turkey, 60% of the annual 10 million tons of milk is processed as cheese. Although the most tasty cheese is made from sheep’s milk, only 10% of cheese production is produced from sheep’s and goat’s milk, with the remainder from cow’s milk. Cheese consumption differs considerably from other countries in Turkey. The most wide-spread consumption of cheese other than at breakfast, is when it is eaten with fruit or as a sort of dessert after lunch or dinner. However in our country, cheese and olives are a must on the breakfast table. The variety of cheese depends on certain factors: cultural habits and tastes, natural conditions, the species and variety of the animals providing the milk, and the production methods employed. We have more than 100 types of cheese in our country, but when they are grouped according to their similarities,we have around 30 different kinds of cheese. The following is a list of the different kinds of cheese which are the most popular in our country:

White Cheese

It is produced from sheep’s or cow’s milk. Rennet curdles the milk, then it is strained. The curd is salted in brine and packed into tins. It is eaten mostly at breakfast. In addition it is the main ingredient in appetizers, especially when served with our traditional drink “Rakı”. White cheese is also one of the ingredients in an omelette or is put on macaroni. “Börek” is a national food consumed at each meal everywhere in Turkey. Dough prepared with flour, water, salt and eggs, is rolled out wafer-thin, and placed on top of each other with oil in between. Various fillings are put between the layers which is then baked. Cheese is mostly used as a filling for börek.

Kaşar Cheese

It is also produced from sheep’s or cow’s milk. But in the Thracian region, kaşar especially that made from sheep’s milk is traditional and one of the most important dairy products of the region. Rennet curdles the milk, then it is strained and the curd is boiled in salt water. After boiling cheese, the curd becomes like dough due to the heat. It is placed in round moulds and cooled. After being shaped, it is removed from the mould. Kaşar cheese made from sheep’s milk is produced as large wheels and during the ageing process the outer part is allowed to dry which then forms a crust. Some of the cheeses which are produced from cow’s milk have a crust but most are vacuum-packed. Both types are eaten at breakfast, however the fresh cheese is also consumed in toasted sandwiches or on baked foods in the same way as mozzarella cheese.

Tulum Cheese

By removing the water of the curd, a crumbly texture is obtained. The crumbled curd is salted and packed firmly in goat’s skins or in cloth sacks and aged for 3 to 6 months. During this period it becomes tasty. It can be used in börek or similar foods and is also a great appetizer when mixed with walnuts.

Mihalic (Kelle) Cheese

Its production is similar to that of white cheese. The only difference is that it has big holes. The processes applied to it give it a pretty salty flavor and it is usually consumed at breakfast with tea.

Dil Cheese

It is similar to Kaşar cheese as far as production goes but it looks like mozzarella. During the boiling of the curd instead of putting it in a mould it is stretched and becomes fibrous in appearance. It is often consumed at breakfast.

Cerkez Cheese, Orgu Cheese

Dil cheese is packed in moulds of about 100-150 gr which is known as Çerkez cheese. If it is braided it is called örgü cheese. Örgü means braid in Turkish.
Although both cheeses are vacuum-packed, örgü cheese can be preserved in brine and is usually eaten after it is cooked.

Civil (Tel) Cheese

It is produced particularly in Eastern Anatolia and the Black Sea Region. It is a type of Dil cheese made from non-fat cow’s or goat’s milk. It is kept in brine and consumed after cooking it in butter.

Van Otlu Cheese

It is one of the unique cheeses of Turkey. It is produced in Van and its surrounding areas. It is made by mixing the cheese with local herbs. Except for the added herbs, texture, ingredients and the way it is consumed, it resembles white cheese.

Lor Cheese

After boiling the whey, which is strained from the curd, the remaining protein is curdled. It is used in börek, served for breakfast or as an appetizer after mixing it with various herbs and spices.

The cheese culture is so widespread in our country that even in making many of our desserts cheese is used.The following three descriptions are given as examples.

Kuymak

It is a regional food from the Black Sea Region.

Ingredients: 100g cornflour, 1/1.5 glasses of water, 250g tel cheese, 70g butter

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Add the cornflour and stir, then add water and cheese in small pieces. Boil until the cheese is melted, the liquid becomes a paste and the butter comes to the top. Serve hot.

Künefe

It is a popular dessert from Southern and Southeastern Anatolia.

Ingredients: 200g teleme or fresh salt-free cheese, 200g sugar, 1 glass of water, 100g butter, 250g tel kadayıf

Boil the water and sugar to obtain a syrup. In another dish mix the melted butter and kadayıf. Arrange half of the kadayıf in a tray. Spread grated cheese on it. Then arrange the remaining kadayıf. Bake in a 160 degree oven for 20-30 minutes. Remove it from the oven and pour the syrup over it; serve hot.

Kemalpaşa Cheese Dessert

It is a dessert mostly cooked in the Bursa and Balıkesir districts.

Ingredients: 400g sugar, 2 glasses of water, 100g semolina, 1 teaspoon baking powder, 2 eggs, 50g butter, 150g cheese curd

Boil water and sugar to obtain a syrup and leave it. Grate the cheese and knead with the other ingredients to obtain a dough. Take small pieces of the dough, flatten them slightly and place on an oiled tray. Bake in a 180 degree oven for 20-30 minutes until they turn slightly golden. Boil the cookies in the syrup for 15 minutes. Then serve cold and top with cream, if desired.
Some selected examples (please click on pictures to enlarge):

Plum Sauce

This is good for French Toast, Pancakes, Crepes, Shortbread and many other items. It’s a good alternative to syrup or honey.

1 LB plums (chopped)
Optional: Figs or prunes
1/2 LB cherries
vanilla, orange juice, cognac and sugar

Put plums into a pot and add 1 C water.
Bring to a boil.
While that is heating up, pit and puree your cherries and run through a food mill or strainer. Discard solids.
Let your plums simmer uncovered (and reduce) for about ten minutes, then put in your cherry liquid and other ingredients (to taste)
Bring back to a simmer, then reduce until it starts to thicken.

Add on top of French Toast. Top with granola if desired.

Togarashi

Shichimi Togarashi, Japanese Seven Spice

This blend is used throughout Japan as a table condiment, occupying much the same place that salt and pepper do in the American household. Togarashi has a special affinity for Japanese noodles and soups, but can also perk up fish, poultry and beef. Contains Korean chile, paprika, orange peel, seaweed, ginger, poppy seeds, and sesame seeds.

This varies just a bit from the traditional recipe, but I’ve tweaked it to the flavors that I prefer.

Ingredients

2 teaspoons white sesame seeds (toasted)
1 teaspoon black sesame seed (toasted)
1 teaspoon poppy seed (toasted)
3 teaspoons Szechuan peppercorns (coarsely ground)
1 teaspoon dried nori (seaweed) 3 – 2 ” square (pulverized)
1 teaspoon sweet paprika
3 teaspoons dried tangerine peel (pulverized)
3 teaspoons chili powder – cayenne
1/2 teaspoon dried minced garlic

French Bread Pizza

What do you do when your French Bread does not turn out quite the way you want it? Make pizza!

Cut 6-8 inches of bread per person.
Cut it in half, or what we did was just cut the bottom off and turned it upside down.
Cover in pizza sauce.
Add shredded mozzarella and other toppings (see below).
Top with Parmesan cheese.
Put into oven at 350º for 8-10 minutes.
then turn up heat to 450º for 3 minutes

A Few Possibilities

Sauce, mozzarella, Canadian bacon, pineapple chunks
Sauce, mozzarella, pepperoni, jalapeno
Sauce, mozzarella, hamburger, shredded cheddar
Sauce, mozzarella, artichoke, black olives
Sauce, mozzarella, ham, onion
Jarred pesto sauce, sliced tomato
top with fresh basil after it is out of the oven

Cinnamon Toast Butter

I used to eat this at least once a week for breakfast. To make it quicker and easier to make, I mixed up a batch of this to keep on hand in the fridge:

1/4 C CinnaSugar®
1/2 C granulated sugar
1 stick softened butter – not melted

This will keep for a couple of weeks in the refrigerator.

Smothered Chicken

Take two drumsticks and thighs and separate them by cutting in between the bone joint.
Take your four pieces and cover all lightly with Thunder Powder on both sides.
Dredge in a mixture of 1/2 C flour and 1 TBL corn starch.
In 1/4 C of corn oil, sear them all on both sides in a Dutch oven or cast iron skillet. Your goal is NOT to cook them, just to sear them.
Strain the remaining liquid keeping 2 TBL and all of the particulates and fond remaining in the bottom of the pot.
Put in one onion (chopped) and one celery stalk (chopped) and 1/2 tsp salt.
Stir until onion begins to become browned.
Add 2 cloves minced garlic and 1/2 tsp each sage, oregano and chives.
Add 1 TBL flour and stir until flour starts to brown and oil is all absorbed.
Add 1 C chicken broth and whisk together.
Reduce to a simmer, then put the chicken back into the liquid, cover and let cook 30-40 minutes.
Remove the chicken and set aside.
Put 1/2 tsp Thunder Powder back into the pot with the liquid and stir until thickened.
Plate chicken and cover with sauce.
Top with parsley and chives.
Serve with mashed potatoes, also with sauce over them.

Simple Pastry Dough

This is a good and forgiving recipe for dough for a quiche, pot pie, fruit pie, and much more. Simpler Pastry Dough is under this recipe.

Ingredients

2 C flour – sifted
1/3 C sugar (half this for a savory quiche)
2 TBL cornmeal
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp lemon zest
1 stick butter – cold pieces
1 tsp vanilla
1 egg plus an extra yolk
1 oz cold apple cider
Add ice water if necessary for consistency

Using a food processor, pulse together flour, sugar, salt, baking powder and lemon zest.
Pulse in butter, vanilla and egg until it starts to come together.
Finish on the counter on a floured surface.
Wrap in plastic wrap and chill overnight.
Next day, take out and rest (still wrapped) on the counter for an hour.
Knead until it is once again pliable.
Return to your recipe to continue prep. . .

1.5 C AP flour
1 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick butter (cold)
1/2 C milk

Combine salt, sugar and flour
Cut in butter
Blend in milk
Finish on the counter
Let rest 10 minutes
Roll into shape for your pie pan

Grandpa’s Mac and Cheese

Ingredients to feed 6 people

2 C large elbow macaroni –
4 TBL softened butter
1/4 C AP flour
3 strips of cooked bacon
1 TBL baking soda
2 eggs
1/4 C Hatch green chilies
1 TBL buttermilk powder
1/4 C sour cream
1/4 oz evaporated milk
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 C dried chives
3/4 tsp dry mustard
1/2 C shredded Tilamook cheddar cheese
1/2 C processed American cheese or Velveeta
1/4 C Parmesan cheese
1/4 C cottage cheese
1/4 C shredded Swiss cheese
1/4 C softened Philly cream cheese
1/2 C shredded cheese blend – a little bit of each – for topping

Step by Step

Cook the macaroni to taste – slightly more al dente than your preference
Drain macaroni and set aside
In a saucepan, render bacon over medium heat.
Add 4 TBL butter
Stir in 1/4 C (4 TBL) flour to make a roux.
When the roux starts to darken, add a 1/4 C buttermilk and whisk until smooth
Add the rest of the buttermilk to roux a splash at a time, stirring constantly.
Add the rest of the kinds of milk and whisk together
Add mustard and other spices
Stir in cheeses, and cook over low heat until cheese melts and the sauce thickens.
Add macaroni back into the pot, and fold together
Preheat oven and cast iron skillet to 350º
Put butter into cast iron skillet
Pour mixture into skillet, and pat it down
Top with as much shredded cheese as will fit in the casserole
Bake at 350º for 20 minutes
Let rest five minutes before serving

Oh, one more thing…

Serves 6 as a main course or up to 12 when served as a side

Stuffed Bell Pepper

Cut the top off a bell pepper, and set aside.
Remove the veins and seeds from the body of the bell pepper.
Brown 1/2 LB 80/20 hamburger and 1/2 LB ground pork.
Add onions when meat has browned.
Add 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, 2 cloves garlic (minced) or garlic powder, and 1 tsp dried oregano.
Stir to combine, then add 1 C chicken stock.
Add 1 can crushed tomato (drained).
Add 2 TBL golden raisins and 8 black olives (crushed).
Bring ingredients back to a simmer.
Place bell peppers in a baking dish, and fill the bell peppers equally with the mix. Put the top back on the peppers.
Add 2 C of water to the bottom of the baking dish.
Bake at 375º for 45 minutes.
Garnish with a sprig of cilantro and serve with toasted English Muffins.

Lemon Bar

Barb Fenzel of Les Gourmettes Cooking School (here in Phoenix) prepared this recipe. This is my best attempt at recreating it from what I observed.

Grease a 9×12 glass baking dish with butter.
Pulse in your food processor: 3/4 C flour, 1/2 C confectioner sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, and 1 stick (cut into 8 pieces) cold butter.
Press into pan using an offset spatula.
Don’t bother cleaning the food processor basket yet.
Bake at 350º for 30 minutes.
Meanwhile prepare your lemon filling.
Combine in a large mixing bowl: zest and juice from two lemons, 1/2 C sugar, 1 egg plus 1 egg yolk, 1/2 tsp salt and 1 TBL corn starch.
Dump onto your baked base and spread with a spatula.
In your food processor, combine: 1 brick softened cream cheese, 1/2 C sugar, and 1 egg.
Drop it onto your lemon filling by spoonfuls.
Bake at 350º for another 30 minutes.
Rest 1 hour before putting into refrigerator, and then chill 2 hours before serving.
Cut into squares and serve.