Gyros

I was recently looking through my very first cookbook that I bought for myself.  I was a Freshman in College then – and the Betty Crocker Cookbook was just the beginning of a growing passion.  I found a recipe for Gyros in the cookbook and I hesitate to try new recipes on my family – my two girls were off to winter camp with their church youth group – and the only child remaining was my adventurous eater… so I stopped at Trader Joe’s and picked up a few pita bread pockets.  I looked for ground lamb, but all they had was ground beef and it was an acceptable substitute. I also picked up some crumbled seasoned Feta cheese (though not in the original recipe) and it took the Gyro to the next flavor level.  Yum!

The recipe:

Gyros
adapted from Betty Crocker Cookbook (1998)
Serves 4

Ingredients:
1 lb ground lamb (beef)
2 Tbsp water
1 Tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp dried oregano leaves
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 tbsp canola oil
Sauce:
1/2 cup plain yogurt (Greek works too)
1 Tbsp fresh minced mint (or 1 tsp dry)
1 tsp sugar
1 small cucumber peeled, seeds removed, chopped

2 roma tomatoes, small dice
4 pita sandwiches, cut in half and opened
Crumbled seasoned Feta cheese

Instructions:
Mix first 8 ingredients together.  Form into 8 small meat patties.  Heat a skillet and add oil. Cook the meat over medium heat, turning frequently until meat is cooked. About 10-12 minutes.

While the meat is cooking, combine the yogurt, mint, sugar and cucumber. Stir to combine.

Serving Instructions:
Open the pocket of each half of pita bread and put one meat patty inside. Top with a heaping spoon full with the cucumber sauce, diced tomatoes and about 1 Tbsp feta cheese in each pocket. 2 halves equal 1 serving.

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Happy New Year

My husband was recently looking at pizzas in various shapes on New Years Eve.  He challenged me and my daughter to make one for 2012. Challenge Accepted! I used my usual pizza dough (but doubled it) let it rise and then formed the numbers 2012 out of the dough proceeded to top them and bake as normal.  I think it turned out rather well.

My pizza dough (link)  This is my pepperoni Calzone recipe but use the dough recipe for pizza dough.

Toppings: crushed whole tomatoes, pepperoni, cheese

Bake 375 for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.  I treated it as I would a square pizza cutting them in slices.  The dough was rather thick, but it worked and tasted well for the occasion.

Happy New Year!

 

 

Tiramisu

If you are a coffee and chocolate lover like I am, then I am sure you are in LOVE with this popular Italian dessert.  Layered Mascarpone cheese mixture layered with coffee flavor induced lady finger cookies with a dusting of cocoa between the layers – a taste of heaven (I hope I can get it in heaven)!  Be sure to use really fresh eggs (yes they are used in the raw form – but so far I have not had any issues with it.)

As for lady fingers: Try to find the hard ones, but in a pinch you can use the soft ones (I did this time).  I found mine at Trader Joe’s, that is also where I bought my cheese.  I have a friend who has chickens and I lucked out with really really fresh eggs that way! It also has a little alcohol in it, so I don’t let my kids eat it (bummer for them!)

I use the recipe that is provided by Bel Gioioso.  They make a quality Mascarpone cheese and this is the recipe from their cheese container – if you cannot find that brand you can use any other brand.  I am just telling you where I first found the recipe.  The first time I made Tiramisu was in Washington State when my son was just an infant.  Now he is 8.  How time flies!

Tiramisu

adapted from Bel Gioioso’s Tiramisu recipe

Serves 6

Ingredients:

• 3 eggs, separated
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 8 oz Mascarpone cheese
• 1 package Trader Joe’s soft lady fingers (or hard if you can find them)
• 1 cup strong coffee or espresso
• 2 Tbsp cognac (or brandy)
• 1/8 cup cocoa powder (dust using a fine mesh sieve)

Instructions:

Separate your egg white and egg yolk into two separate bowls.  Add the sugar to the yolks.  Beat on medium for about 3 minutes.  Add the cognac, Mascarpone cheese, and 1 Tbsp cooled espresso or strong coffee.  Beat another 3-5 minutes on medium speed until it is well combined.

Add 1 Tbsp of sugar to the egg whites.  Beat on medium high until it is stiff and soft peaks form.  Fold the beaten egg whites into the egg and cheese mixture.  Use a rubber spatula to fold the cheese over the whites carefully, so as to not deflate the egg whites, but still well enough to combine the two into one nice filling.

Dip one side of your lady fingers into the remaining cooled coffee or espresso.  Do not drench them – just a quick dip will do the job.  Line a small (8×8 inch baking dish) with a layer of the coffee flavored lady fingers.  Top with 1/3 of the Mascarpone mixture.  Sprinkle the cheese with a dusting of cocoa.  Repeat with lady fingers, Mascarpone filling and cocoa two more times.  Topping it with the cocoa and then cover the dish with plastic wrap or foil (I used foil and tented it so that it would not touch the top of the tiramisu- because it filled the dish nearly to the top) and refrigerate at least 1 hour for it to set up.

Enjoy!

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Roasted Pumpkin Soup

The site CHOW recently had a series of recipes posted that went with the theme of  Horror movies.  I found it entertaining and you may as well.  (link).  This is where I got the roasted pumpkin soup recipe.  The soup tasted fresh and was easy to follow, but I thought it could have benefited from some cinnamon or other spices to make it more tasty.  You start with roasting a pumpkin in the oven.  I have never done this – and after eating canned pumpkin products all this time (what was I thinking) – this one lacked the canned flavor, but I did not really miss it!

Roasted Pumpkin:

Heat the oven to 375 F, with the baking rack in the middle position.

Cut the (sugar) pumpkins (around 4 lbs in size) in half and remove the strands and seeds by scraping the flesh with a spoon.  Pour a little olive oil into the ‘bowl’ of the pumpkin and use a pastry brush to brush the oil on all edges.  Season with salt and pepper.  Bake at 375F for up to 70 minutes.  Mine were tender around 50 minutes.  You can test the tenderness by inserting a fork into the  meat of the pumpkin to test the doneness, if it goes in easily it is ready.  Remove from the oven and allow to sit for about 20 minutes.  Use a large spoon to scoop the pumpkin meat from the outer shell.  This is a really easy process.  You need 3 cups of pumpkin for this recipe.  I roasted 2 pumpkins and reserved the rest for pumpkin pie.

Roasted Pumpkin Soup

Serves 6 adapted from Chow

Ingredients:

• 4 slices of bacon, cut into small strips
• 2 medium shallots, diced finely
• 1/4 cup dry sherry or red wine
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1 1/2 tsp finely chopped fresh thyme leaves
• 3 cups roasted pumpkin (see above for preparation)
• 1/4 cup heavy cream
• cinnamon/curry powder to taste
• croutons/roasted pumpkin seeds/toasted sliced almonds

Instructions:

Cook the bacon in a stock pot over medium high heat until crisp and remove the bacon to a paper towel.  Cook the shallots in the bacon drippings until they are cooked, about 5 minutes.  Add the sherry (red wine) and cook until the liquid is reduced by half.

Add the chicken broth (originally 2 cups broth and 2 cups water) and thyme.  Cook for 15 minutes.  Add the roasted pumpkin and stir into the soup.  Use an immersion blender to blend the soup (or carefully blend in a blender) until smooth.  Add the heavy cream just before serving. Taste and adjust the seasoning.  Add salt and pepper if needed and stir in a spice like cinnamon or curry to change the flavors

Top each serving with crisp bacon and croutons (or other) I used seasoned sliced almonds that I found near the salads – they were seasoned with pepper.  It was a nice substitution, but croutons would be great too!

A nice Fall soup!  Thank you CHOW for posting it.

 

 

Chili

In my quest to find a new chili recipe I turned to the Food Network website.  I have to admit, I don’t like watching Guy Fieri- from the way he wears his hair, to his over the top loud obnoxious personality -to the way he pronounces his name “Fi-etti!”  I am sorry, is there a “t” in your name? He just isn’t my cup of tea, but if you love him that’s great.. he needs a fan base– and he is on TV and I am not…

But I digress!  I did however try his recipe for “Dragon’s Breath Chili” after I read the reviews.  The name (of the chili) is more intimidating than the taste and I made some changes.  I reduced the peppers and cayenne pepper for one thing, because I wanted my kids to have half a chance of eating it!  This is a good recipe with a bit of spice to grab you, but not overpowering.  I may have to change my opinion of Fi-etti yet (Nah, that’s not going to happen!)  But the guy can cook – I give him that much!  It is more involved than my regular chili recipe that I make.  I changed a few things from the cooking too… I first cooked the peppers and onions- removed them from the pot.  Browned the chuck pieces in batches so they would brown properly (if you follow the directions of the original you won’t get nice browned pieces), then cooked the ground beef and sausage together. Once cooked added the spices and then threw it all in the crock pot to cook.  Here is the link to the original recipe. For best flavor, plan ahead and make this a day in advance.  I would place this in the medium+ heat category.  My kids were able to eat it.

Dragon’s Breath Chili

adapted from Food Network (Guy Fieri)

Serves 10-12

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp butter
3 Tbsp canola oil
2 red bell peppers, diced
2 Tbsp jalapeno, minced
2 Anaheim chiles, roasted, peeled, chopped
2 poblano chiles, roasted, peeled, chopped
2 yellow onions, diced
1/4 cup minced garlic
2 lbs boneless chuck, trimmed of most fat and cut into 1/4-inch cubes
1 lb ground beef, coarse grind
1 lb bulk Italian sausage

2 tsp dried minced onion
2 tsp granulated garlic
3 Tbsp chili powder
2 tsp smoked paprika
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp kosher salt
2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 (15 oz) can tomato sauce
1 1/2 (6 oz) cans tomato paste
12 ounces lager beer
1 cup chicken stock
2 (15 oz) cans pinto beans, drained, but not rinsed
2 (15 oz) cans kidney beans, drained but not rinsed

Topping:
8 oz bacon, cooked and chopped
1 bunch green onions, thinly sliced
1 cup shredded Cheddar

Instructions:

Roasting peppers: I don’t think it is completely necessary, but it does add nice flavor.  How? You place the peppers on your gas burner grate above the flame (or over a barbecue) and turn it from time to time after the skin blisters and turns black.  Then while the peppers are still warm, place them in a paper bag and seal the bag to “steam” them. This loosens the skin and makes them easier to peel later.  I did this process the day before I made the chili.

Chop the peppers and onions.  Heat a large stock pot over medium high heat and melt the butter and heat 1 Tbsp canola oil.  Saute the onions and peppers (bell, chilis) until they are tender, about 5 minutes.  Add the chopped garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes until the garlic is fragrant.  Remove the pepper mixture and set aside.

Add 1 Tbsp of canola oil.  Season the chuck cubes with salt and pepper and brown them in batches in the stock pot.  Remove the browned pieces (set aside), and brown the next batches. (Julia Child was right, for proper browning, don’t crowd the meat).  After the chuck is browned, cook the ground beef and Italian sausage in the same pot.  Remove any drippings.  Add the seasonings (the long list of them- it is worth it).  Stir into the meat and cook for a minute or two. Add the tomato sauce, paste, beer, and chicken broth and bring to a boil.

Carefully pour the contents of your stock pot into your large crock pot.  Add the peppers and browned chuck beef.  Add the beans and stir everything together.   Turn the crock pot on to LOW setting.    Cover and cook on low for about 5 hours, stirring from time to time, or until the chuck beef is tender to the point of falling apart when you try to shred it with a fork.

To serve: top each serving with diced green onions, cheese and crisp bacon, if desired. Serve with cornbread or corn bread pudding.

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Corn Bread Pudding

Okay, this is the world’s easiest recipe to make!  It is our favorite adaptation of corn bread.  It goes really well with Chili… which is my next post.

Every year I “enter” a chili cook off.  Okay, mostly it is good fellowship with great friends that we have known for 15+ years now.  This year my girls want to bring a chili to enter – so we will be bringing 2!   How fun it is to see my girls take an interest in cooking as well.

Back to the corn bread pudding.  It is easy as pie.. actually easier than pie! Unless of course you buy your pies…

Corn Bread Pudding

adapted from a Betty Crocker Cookbook (a friend’s cookbook, so I don’t know the year or edition sorry)

Serves 8

1 box Jiffy corn bread mix

1 stick butter, melted

1 (15 oz) can corn kernels, drained

1 (15 oz) can creamed corn

1 cup sour cream

2 eggs

Instructions:

Preheat the oven to 350F.

Melt the butter in a microwave for 1 minute  (cover the dish or it may splatter).

In a  mixing bowl, combine the jiffy corn bread mix, eggs, sour cream, corn kernels, and creamed corn and mix.  Add the melted butter and mix.  Pour into a square 8 inch baking dish.

Bake for 45-60 minutes, or until it is set.  Serve with Chili.

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Sausage Gravy

Wake up sleepy head!  Biscuits and Gravy will get them up and out of bed!

I found this recipe on my all time favorite site (allrecipes).  The recipe was posted by Bob Evans.  It is a restaurant chain on the East Coast that serves incredible breakfasts. I tweaked the recipe here and there.

Biscuits and Gravy

adapted from Bob Evans recipe on allrecipes.com

Serves 8

Ingredients:

• 1 lb sausage
• 2 Tbsp butter (optional)
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 2 cups milk
• salt and black pepper to taste

additional ingredients:

• 8 prepared biscuits
• 8 fried eggs

Instructions:

Bake biscuits (I used the Bisquick Mix and used the recipe on the box).

Heat a large skillet over medium high heat and cook the sausage, crumbling the sausage as you cook it until it is no longer pink.  Move the sausage to the side of the pan and tilt the pan to let the drippings flow to the other side.  Add the flour and about 1/2 tsp of salt to the drippings (oh this is BAD!  But I feel a tingle! I should really not be eating this, but oh it is sooo good for you –oops tasty!)  Stir the flour into the drippings and combine until there is no raw flour left.  I actually added 2 Tbsp of butter to the drippings so the flour was not clumpy.  Heat the milk up in the microwave.  I find it combines better adding a warm liquid.  Slowly add the milk to the flour mixture and whisk it into the pan.  Add the sausage back in.  Taste and season with salt and pepper if needed.  Bring the gravy to a boil and allow to thicken.  If it becomes too thick you can thin it out with additional milk.

To serve, split a biscuit in half  Top with a fried egg and ladle sausage over the egg, replace the top of the biscuit and ladle more gravy over the dish.  Soon you will have all sorts of creatures (children) crawling out of the woodwork to eat breakfast (big ones too).

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Chicken Fried Steak

There is something special and comforting about Chicken Fried Steak. I think it is the sensation I have of my arteries closing up with the fat content in this dish!  I had to do something about the 5 lbs I lost in the past few weeks.  This did it! I made it before and even posted it on my blog, but it was a long time ago and my picture of it was very poor.

Here is the link to the original recipe.

The Best Chicken Fried Steak
Adapted from allrecipes     Serves 4
Ingredients

• 4 (1/2 pound) beef cube steaks
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp black pepper
• 3/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cups buttermilk
• 1 egg
• 1 Tbsp Tabasco sauce
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 3 cups vegetable shortening for deep
• frying
• Gravy:
• 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 cups milk
• 1 Tbsp salt
• 1 tsp pepper
• 5 dashes of Tabasco

Instructions
Pound the steaks to about 1/4-inch thickness. Place 2 cups of flour in a shallow bowl. Stir together the baking powder, baking soda, pepper, and salt in a separate shallow bowl; stir in the buttermilk, egg, Tabasco Sauce, and garlic. Dredge each steak first in the flour, then in the batter, and again in the flour. Pat the flour onto the surface of each steak so they are completely coated with dry flour.
Heat the shortening in a deep cast-iron skillet to 325°F. Fry the steaks until evenly golden brown, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Place fried steaks on a rack over a cookie sheet to drain.  Keep warm in the oven (around 275°F) until you have finished cooking the other steaks.
Drain the fat from the skillet, reserving 1/4 cup of the liquid and as much of the solid remnants as possible.
Return the skillet to medium-low heat with the reserved oil. Whisk the remaining flour into the oil. Scrape the bottom of the pan with a spatula to release solids into the gravy. Stir in the milk, raise the heat to medium, and bring the gravy to a simmer, cook until thick, 6 to 7 minutes. Season with kosher salt and pepper. Spoon the gravy over the steaks serve with mashed potatoes.

Recipe Notes: Place wax paper between the steaks as you dredge them to prevent the steaks from sticking to each other  before frying.  I added a dash of tabasco to the gravy to give it more flavor.  Good recipe everyone liked it!

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Sweet and Sour Meatballs

My Aunt Helen gave me this recipe when my husband and I got married.  I have made it quite a few times over the past 18 years.  18 years? Wow!  My Aunt is a wonderful cook.  I lived with them briefly before our wedding and my Uncle is the Pastor who officiated over our wedding ceremony.  My children enjoy this meal as well, but now that they are getting bigger, I may have to increase the servings to keep them satisfied!  Thank you Aunt Helen!

Aunt Helen’s Sweet and Sour Meatballs

serves 5-6

Ingredients:

Meatballs:

• 1 1/2 lbs ground beef
• 1 large egg
• 1/4 cup milk
• 1/3 cup chopped onion
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger

For the sauce:

• 1/3 cup white vinegar
• 1 Tbsp soy sauce
• 1 (13 oz) can pineapple chunks or tidbits, in juice
• 1 medium green or red bell pepper, chopped
• 2 Tbsp cornstarch
• 1/2 cup brown sugar

Serve with:

• 2 cups hot cooked rice
• steamed vegetables

Instructions:

Cook the rice according to package directions.

To prepare the meatballs: combine all the ingredients listed and stir to incorporate.  Form into meatballs (I use a small ice cream scoop so the meatballs are uniform in size).  In a non stick skillet heat over medium-high heat with a little oil in the pan.  Brown the meatballs, turning them from time to time to brown them and cook them through.  Remove the meatballs to a serving dish and keep warm while you make the sauce.

For the sauce, drain any fat from the skillet you used to make the meatballs.  Stir the cornstarch into a small bowl with a little water and stir to dissolve the cornstarch.  Set aside.  Put all other sauce ingredients into the skillet and heat through.  Add the slurry of cornstarch.  Continue to heat the sauce through, bringing it to a boil, stirring on occasion.  The sauce will turn a little opaque once you heat the cornstarch and will thicken.  Pour the sauce over the meatballs and serve over steamed rice.

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Crepe Suzette

Part 4 of 4 of my daughter’s French Meal for her French Class is of course dessert.  In hindsight I should have made other crepes that do not call for alcohol.  We have children after all and my husband and I found the taste of it overpowering.  But I cannot be certain that it burned off properly.  As it turn out my daughter (14) is actually pretty good at making crepes.  Okay, we started off rough.  The first 15  or so crepes ended up in a discarded heap, but as time went on, they were actual crepes, that we could use.  I doubled the batter knowing that we would likely have difficulty making the crepes (but the recipe is the original amounts).  The batter must be refrigerated at least 2 hours before making the crepes, so plan ahead.

Crepes Fines Sucrees

(Light Crepe Batter as for crepe Suzette)

Adapted from Julia Child (Mastering the Art of French Cooking page 649)

Yield: 10-12 (6 inch) crepes

Ingredients:

• 3/4 cup milk
• 3/4 cup cold water
• 3 egg yolks
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 3 Tbsp rum/orange liqueur/or brandy
• 1 cup flour
• 5 Tbsp melted butter

Instructions:

Place the items in a blender (or do as I did in a bowl and use an immersion blender to combine) and blend.  Use a rubber spatula to push down any flour that is on the sides to form a smooth batter without lumps.  Refrigerate the batter at least 2 hours or longer before making the crepes.

To make the crepes, heat a non stick skillet (or crepe pan if you are lucky enough to have one) and melt some butter in the pan.  Pour about 1/8 cup of batter into the skillet, rotating the skillet to spread into a thin crepe.  Cook until it is golden brown and flip (very very carefully) to cook the other side.  They are tricky to make, but once you get the hang of it, it does become easier. (My daughter made these remember?)

Crepes Suzette

adapted from Julia Child (Mastering the Art of French Cooking page 650)

Serves 6 (3 crepes each)

• 18 prepared crepes

For the sauce:

• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 2 oranges, zest removed with a microplane
• 1/2 cup unsalted butter, softened
• 1/2 cup orange juice (without pulp)
• 3 Tbsp orange liqueur

For Chafing dish (I used a foil lasagna pan)

• 2 Tbsp sugar
• 1/3 cup orange liqueur
• 1/3 cup cognac

Instructions:

Combine the sugar, orange zest, softened butter and add the orange juice and orange liqueur.  Stir to combine.  Place them in a chafing dish and allow the butter to melt into an orange sauce (I didn’t have a chafing dish and placed a foil lasagna pan over a low flame on my gas burner.  Dip the prepared crepes into the orange sauce to coat on both sides and then fold them first in half and then in quarters and place to the side of your chafing dish (foil lasagna pan).  For presentation: Sprinkle the arranged crepes with sugar. Pour the alcohol over the crepes and light it on fire (make sure you don’t have anything above it- like a face, hair, microwave… I did this part on my table making sure everyone was standing well away).  While the flame is burning, ladle the sauce over the crepes with a long handled spoon.  For some reason it did not burn as much as we had anticipated and the crepes had a sharp alcoholic taste to them.  If I do make them again, I will stop short of the alcohol and just serve them like that, maybe broil the sugar to get a caramelized look to it.

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NOTES: It was part of my daughter’s French project, we were glad to get it done.  As far as making it again, probably not, but it was a good experience for us.  My daughter now realized she can make herself some pancakes for breakfast – since she has now made crepes!