JBug's Kitchen Antics

Coulda' Been Meatless Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas

Last night's dinner could have been gluten free had I used corn tortillas instead of flour; it coulda' been meatless too had I left out the ground beef but for certain it couldn't have been any more delicious. I had every intention of making them in the manner in which Karina the Gluten Free Goddess intended, but I got the look when I divulged what was for dinner so I had to make a few modifications. That's OK because it wasn't a bad thing believe me, but please hit the link above to see Karina's official version.

Fashioned from cubes of cooked sweet potato, black beans, a mere 4 ounces of ground beef, a bunch of spices, and a lick of cheese, the truly wonderful thing about these autumny enchiladas is, excluding the tortillas, they're scratch made up to and including the sauce... and oh what a sauce it is!

I changed up Karina's recipe a tad and rather than making a chunky Salsa Verde, I dumped some of our home roasted Hatch chiles into a container, added stock, garlic, cumin and chili powder and whizzed it up with the immersion blender, then heated the gorgeous green liquid in the microwave before pouring it over the filled tortillas. The casserole hit the oven for 25 minutes and came out looking like this!

By the way, I made 5 enchiladas and kept the rest of the filling in a container for the Big Guy's lunch today. He'll be making soft tacos out of the same basic ingredients and enjoying every morsel I might add. Oh and one more thing - personally I think the enchiladas will be fabulous meatless as they were intended, but they'd also be a great way to use some leftover pork, chicken or turkey too, so feel free to substitute another meat for the beef.

Beef, Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas (adapted from Karina’s Kitchen, Recipes from a Gluten free Goddess)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 small yellow onion finely chopped

4 ounces ground beef (or leftover pork, chicken or turkey)

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder (I used spicy)

Salt and coarse ground black pepper

2 cups cooked diced sweet potato

1/2 cup chopped green chiles

1 15 ounce can black beans, rinsed and drained

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

1 -1/2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend, divided

8  6 inch flour tortillas  

Sauce:

1 cup roasted green chiles, skins and seeds removed (about 6 large)

1-1/4 cups vegetable or chicken stock

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 tablespoon cornstarch or arrowroot

Place ingredients into blender and blend until smooth, adding more stock if necessary to make a smooth sauce with a fairly thick consistency. Set aside.

Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray and set aside. Preheat oven to 350.

In a large sauté pan heat oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and sauté until softened. Add ground beef and cook, crumbling with a fork until no longer pink. Add cumin, chili powder and cook for additional 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove beef/onion mixture to a bowl and add sweet potatoes, chiles, cilantro and black beans. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as required. Lay tortillas flat on work surface and place approximately half a cup of filling along one edge. Top with some of the grated cheese. Roll tortilla into a cylinder and place seam side down into prepared casserole dish. Repeat with remaining tortillas. Casserole may be refrigerated at this point to be reheated later.

Heat sauce in microwave until bubbling. Pour over filled tortillas and top with remaining grated cheese. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes until enchiladas are hot and sauce is bubbling. Serve with sour cream and additional salsa if desired. – Serves 4 to 6. Download Beef, Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas

A year ago - Coq au Vin

Keepin' It Simple Steak Salad

We've been dining much too fine lately - at least that's the excuse I thought I could fool you with but the truth of the matter is the cook just didn't feel like cookin' last night. Don't worry, it wasn't due to illness or any such thing, just pure and simple laziness. The question of the day was "what could I make that demanded the least amount of effort?"

A quick check of the resources and I eyeballed the leftover steak hiding in the freezer from the weekend, along with some lovely fresh beets in the refrigerator, so a glorified salad made the dinner list. Crisp and tender butter lettuce, red onion, steak with a dab of horseradish, roasted beets and ranch dressing - I mean what could be better than that, right?

Well, if you know me at all, you'd know I always have to take things one step further even when I've been bitten by the lazy bug. Since I also had a sheet of puff pastry in the freezer, I made up these wow little pinwheels from pastry brushed with dijon mustard then loaded down with caramelized onion, crisp bacon and grated swiss cheese. Rolled up like a jelly roll and sliced into 1 inch pieces, they baked in a hot 400 oven and 15 mintues later came out crispy, oozing cheese and full of bacon/onion flavor. Talk about scrumptious giant croutons!

A year ago - Rustic French Meatloaf

 

Oven Roasted Chicken Thighs with Vegetables

There's two different theories on the best method to oven roast chicken - the low and slow way or the quick hot let's just get 'er done theory. While either way will produce a succulent cluck, I used the latter last night resulting in juicy crisp skinned thighs and perfectly caramelized vegetables.

Seasoned with dried thyme, salt, pepper and the mystery ingredient, freshly grated nutmeg, the end result of their sojurn in a 450 oven was incredibly tender juicy meat with a sublime flavor. The thighs got a head start in the oven to release some of their fat and juices, then little golden potatoes, carrots, parsnip, onion and butternut squash hit the pan. That's when the party started.

It was one of those silent parties that the whole neighborhood got in on - that is an enticing aroma that made a passerby's knees weaken. My only issue with cooking chicken this way is the smoke it created in the house but hey, it's a beautiful morning - a scant 67 degrees. The house is opened up and there's nary a sign of a smokey chicken dinner or cookin' of any kind. I might have to do something about that.

What a great day to bake bread - course it might be a good idea to clean the oven first.

Oven Roasted Chicken Thighs with Vegetables (adapted from Bon Appetit)

2 to 3 pounds chicken thighs, skin and bones intact

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

2 teaspoons coarse sea salt

2 teaspoons dried thyme

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg

Assorted vegetables – I used tiny Yukon gold potatoes, carrots and parsnip cut into 3 inch pieces, butternut squash cut into 1 x 3 inch sticks

Preheat oven to 450. Spray a large flat roasting pan with cooking spray then spread 1-1/2 tablespoons olive oil on the bottom. Wash and dry chicken thighs well and place skin side down on roasting pan to coat in olive oil. Turn skin side up. Combine sea salt, thyme, black pepper and nutmeg. Sprinkle half of the spice mixture onto thighs. Place chicken in preheated oven and cook for 30 minutes. Remove to a bowl and set aside. Meanwhile in a large bowl combine vegetables with remaining 1-1/2 tablespoons of oil and the rest of the spice mixture. Toss well to coat. Add vegetables to roasting pan, spreading evenly. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove pan from oven and rotate vegetables. Return chicken thighs to pan along with any accumulated juices, placing chicken skin side up on top of the vegetables. Bake for additional 15 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Download Oven Roasted Chicken Thighs with Vegetables

A year ago - Butternut Squash Galette

 

Sausage and Pinto Bean Chili

Unless you've been living in la'la land you must know by now there's all kinds of ways to make chili. Once upon a time in my history it meant a packaged dry mix, a pound of ground beef, a can of tomatoes and one of beans. Today you might say I've finally been re-educated.

I've been known to make it green, white or red, with or without beans and with ground or chunked pork, chorizo, chicken, and even lamb but last night's version included spicy and sweet Italian sausage for a thoroughly different twist. Oh and we mustn't forget about the beans. Actually it's a little difficult to forget about them since they caused an incredible amount of thunder under the sheets last night, if you know what I mean.

In this instance I used dried pinto beans, rehydrated the quick method because I forgot to soak 'em overnight (large pot; beans; fill with water; bring to a boil; remove from heat; cover and sit for 1 hour), combined with lots of onions, molasses, maple syrup, and a touch of booze, the pot hit the oven at 250 for the better part of the afternoon.

A perfect laundry ironing day dinner, the sweet/hot/spicy flavor was a fabulous way to start off the week especially with a hunk of moist and delicious pancetta, green chili corn studded cheesy cornbread. 

Sausage and Pinto Bean Chili (adapted from High Plains, by Cinda Chavich)

2 cups dried pinto beans

1/2 pound sweet Italian sausage

1/2 pound spicy Italian sausage

2 cups chopped onions (about 2 medium)

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon chili powder

1 tablespoon dry mustard

3/4 cup dry white wine

1/4 cup molasses

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 – 8 ounce can tomato sauce

1 cup tomato juice

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup bourbon or rum

1 cup water (or more as needed)

Pick over pinto beans for stones, and then wash well in a sieve under running water. Add to a large pot of water and soak overnight (or use the quick soak method). Drain and rinse.

Brown sausage in a large Dutch oven over medium high heat, breaking it up as it cooks. Add onions and cook until softened – about 10 minutes. Add garlic, chili powder and dry mustard. Cook, stirring for 1 minute. Add white wine and cook, stirring and scraping any browned bits from the bottom of the pot until wine has almost completely reduced (about 5 minutes). Add molasses, maple syrup, tomato sauce, tomato juice, Worcestershire sauce, bourbon and 1 cup of water, along with drained and rinsed beans. Bring pot to a boil, cover and place in 250 oven for 3 hours. Check pot half way through cooking and add more water as needed if chili is too dry. Serves 6.   Download Sausage and Pinto Bean Chili

Cornbread with Pancetta and Green Chiles (adapted from Bon Appetit)

4 ounces pancetta, diced

2 tablespoons butter

3/4 cup yellow cornmeal

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup grated pepper jack cheese (or cheddar)

1 cup buttermilk

1 large egg

1 small can chopped green chilies

1 cup canned or frozen corn, defrosted

Preheat oven to 400. Brown pancetta in 8 inch cast iron pan. Add butter, and when butter has melted set aside and keep warm. Meanwhile whisk together cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium sized bowl. Fold in grated cheese. In a smaller bowl beat egg and buttermilk together. Add green chilies and corn. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients, mixing with a fork only until just combined. Pour over hot pancetta and bake for 15 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Makes 6 to 8 servings. Download Cornbread with Pancetta

A year ago - Braised Beef and Olives

Ina's Plum Cake Tatin

I saw Ina bake this on television a couple of weeks ago and just knew it was going to be in our future and obviously it didn't take long to become part of our past either. We all know that Ina's dishes are inevitably fabulous and this cake from her book, Barefoot in Paris is absolutely sublime.

This incredible tatin is a take on apple tart tatin only made with plums and without the usual pastry but a light and moist cake instead. With blue plums holding court on the bottom of a pie dish, a simple caramel  poured over top, when baked becomes the top of the dessert in the usual upside down cake manner. After the cake cools a tad and is flipped over, the caramel saturates the cake and hardens too which presents you with a cake soaked in tart plum juices and sweet caramel with delicious crunchy edges. It is very simple to make and absolutely stellar.

It would be wonderful made with any stone fruit including apricots, nectarines or peaches and even apples or pears too, although you'd need to give the apples and pears a quick saute to partially cook them before placing them in the bottom of the pan. Oh by the way, when you've started your sugar and water caramelizing, don't stir it or move the pot and give it time to percolate. You'll have absolutely no problem with crystallization and you won't have to bother with washing the sides of the pot down as its cooking because you haven't disturbed the granules of sugar. So there!

Enjoy people. This is one dessert really worth making again and again!

Ina’s Plum Cake Tatin (adapted from Barefoot in Paris)

Caramel:

1 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup water

Cake:

8 blue plums, cut in half and pits removed

6 tablespoons unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 cup granulated sugar

2 large eggs at room temperature

1/3 cup sour cream

Rind of half a lemon

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Place a medium saucepan on stove burner and put sugar and water into pot. Cook over medium high heat without stirring or moving pot until caramel reaches an amber color. Meanwhile grease a 9 inch glass pie pan liberally with butter and place on a sheet pan to catch any drips. Place plums, cut side down into pie pan crowding them in so they’ll fit. When caramel is an amber color, immediately pour over plums in dish. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350. Using an electric mixer cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one at a time followed by sour cream, lemon zest and vanilla. Scrape bottom and sides of bowl with a spatula to make sure ingredients are evenly mixed. In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt and add to butter mixture, mixing briefly just until flour is barely incorporated into butter mixture. Do not over mix. Remove bowl from mixer and finish mixing batter together using a spatula. Pour over plums and spread evenly. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes until cake is done. Cool for 15 minutes on a wire rack then invert carefully onto a plate. Serve warm or cold.

A year ago - Sole Almondine

Autumn Pork Stew with Cider

I'm not sure there could be anything that speaks more of autumn than this wonderful flavorful comforting stew. Filled with apple cider, parsnip, onions, beautiful little round potatoes and a couple of Granny Smith's its blissful porky aroma greeted a very tired and stressed out guy last night.

The Big Guy had a major assignment due on Friday which means he's literally spent all weekend marking his students' hard work ...well I'm saying "hard work" although it is likely some worked more effectively than others. Anyway, it takes him about 2 plus hours to mark each assignment and he has 40 students in the class, so he'll be nose to the desk getting through them all before class time tomorrow. At least this year he has help from a TA, Marcus and thank goodness too because it meant the Big Guy was able to grab a whopping 6 hours of shut eye last night. He was out of here this morning at 5:30, off to the salt mines again.

As for this stew, we've had it here before so I'll be shipping you off to the original post if you'd like to download the recipe. Unfortunately this time I forgot to buy pearl onions so I substituted regular chopped yellow onions and I have to say the flavor was substantially different, so don't do that OK? It's worth the effort of getting the real thing.

Now what to do with all the leftovers, you ask? I think I may see another pot pie in our future. Oh darn!

Pork Stew with Cider (adapted from Bon Appetit via epicurious.com)

3 slices thick cut bacon, cut into 1/4 inch dice

2 pounds boneless country style ribs, trimmed and cut into 2 inch cubes

All purpose flour

Salt and coarse ground black pepper

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 cup chopped shallots (about 4 large)

1 cup finely chopped parsnip (about 2 large)

1-1/2 tablespoons chopped fresh sage

1/2 cup apple brandy (I used Apple Jack)

2 cups low salt chicken broth

1-1/2 cups apple cider

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1- 12 ounce bag fresh pearl onions

5 unpeeled red potatoes cut in half

2 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and each cut into 8 wedges

2 tablespoons butter at room temperature

2 tablespoons flour

Preheat oven to 325. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium heat; add bacon and cook until bacon is crisp. Remove to a bowl and set aside, leaving drippings in the pot. Add vegetable oil, increase heat to medium high. Season pork cubes well with salt and pepper and dredge in flour, shaking off excess. Brown well in batches on all sides, removing browned pork to a bowl. Drain all but 1 tablespoon of fat from pot. Lower heat to medium and add chopped shallots and parsnips to pot. Cook stirring occasionally until vegetables are softened (about 5 minutes). Add sage and cook for 1 minute. Stir in apple brandy and cook until almost all has evaporated. Add broth, cider, vinegar, reserved bacon and pork with any accumulated juices, bring to a boil, cover and place in oven for 1 hour and 20 minutes, or until pork is just tender.

Meanwhile place pearl onions in a pot, cover with water and bring to a boil. Remove from heat, cool under running water. Peel onions and set aside.

Add potatoes, pearl onions and apples to stew. Return to oven and cook for additional half hour. Mix together butter and flour to form a paste. Add to pot and stir well to blend. Bring to a boil over medium heat and simmer until thickened (about 2 minutes).  Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as required. Serves 4 to 6.

A year ago - Apple and Stilton Salad with Shallot Vinaigrette

 

 

Ginger Fried Beef

There's a lot more to my home town than cowboys and the Calgary Stampede and one of them is this signature dish from Ginger Beef Peking House in Willowpark Village. I have no clue if the restaurant's even there anymore as it's 11 years since I've been back in the City but it was one of the places you had to keep going back to. 

What's makes this dish unique is that the beef is thinly sliced and coated in a batter made from egg, cornstarch, a little flour, water and vegetable oil then deep fried in very hot oil. While the original method uses flank or sirloin steak sliced into narrow strips, I used very thinly sliced ribeye found in the freezer section of our favorite Asian supermarket. After it's fried for 4 to 5 minutes in small batches, the beef can sit and wait until you're ready to finish it in the sauce which makes this one of the very few stir fries that can be prepped almost entirely in advance. Great for entertaining isn't it?

Finished in a sauce pungent with ginger, garlic and crushed chili flakes, garnished with green onion and grated carrot and served on a bed of rice or noodles, it's the kind of dish that keeps you tripping back to the wok for more and more. In other words, if you think you've made enough think again and double the recipe, OK? You won't be sorry.

Ginger Fried Beef (adapted from High Plains The Joy of Alberta Cuisine and The Best of the Best and more, Recipes from the Best of Bridge Series)

Note – it’s a lot easier to slice the meat very thinly when it’s partially frozen, so plan accordingly when you’re prepping this dish.

1 pound flank or sirloin steak cut into narrow strips, or very thinly sliced rib eye

1 egg, beaten

3/4 cup cornstarch

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

3/4 cup water

Oil for deep frying (approx. 4 cups)

Heat oil (depth of 1-1/2 inches) in a heavy deep pot (I used cast iron Dutch oven) to temperature of 375. Beat egg in a large bowl. Add cornstarch, flour and water and whisk together until smooth. Add beef and mix together until beef is well coated. Batter will be very runny but not to worry.  Cook beef in hot oil in small batches until beef is well browned and crisp – about 4 to 5 minutes a batch. Stir beef around as it cooks to separate pieces, being very careful. Remove beef as it cooks using a skimmer or a wire spider, and set aside on racks covered in paper towels to drain. Repeat process until all beef is cooked. This process may be done in advance.

Sauce:

3/4 cup chicken stock

1/2 cup soy sauce

2 tablespoons hoisin sauce

2 tablespoons white vinegar

3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon sesame oil

1 tablespoon sherry or Chinese cooking wine

3 tablespoons minced ginger

3 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes or more to taste

2 teaspoons cornstarch

2/3 cup grated carrots

1/3 cup sliced green onions

 

Combine sauce ingredients together in a small bowl and whisk until well mixed. Heat a large wok over high heat and add sauce ingredients. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Add beef. Mix well to incorporate sauce with beef. Sprinkle with green onions and carrot. Serve on rice. Serves 4 – or 2 if you’re JBug’s Kitchenites. Download Ginger Fried Beef

A year ago - White Bean Soup with Ham

 

Spinach and Mushroom Lasagne Roll-ups with Gorgonzola Bechamel

Second night in a row! Imagine that! Second night I passed an almost meatless meal by the Big Guy and I didn't hear a lot of groaning either. Well maybe a little. When he noticed the spinach in these lasagna roll-ups, he gave me one of his famous "looks" but kept shovelling it in anyway. Am I good or what?

One of Rachel Ray's inventions, I'm not entirely sure this one's a 30 minute meal at least not the way I made it, but it's pretty delicious anyway. Loaded with sauteed mushrooms, onion and garlic and of course spinach along with sweet creamy ricotta cheese, the flavor key seems to be adding enough nutmeg to the mix along with salt and black pepper. Of course I had to sneak in a smidge of red pepper flakes too, just because I felt the need and while you may think loading the filling on the al dente lasagna noodles is a pain, I was surprised at how much easier it was to make this style of lasagna versus the traditional version.

 

I also changed out the sauce recipe too. Since I was in possession of a mere 2 ounces of gorgonzola versus the 8 ounces Rachel's recipe called for, I made a simple bechamel sauce and added the gorgonzola to it rather than the cheese, chicken stock, heavy cream sauce she recommended. I'm really glad I did too because I can't imagine how strong the sauce would have been with 8 ounces of cheese in it! It could have been due to our brand of gorgonzola, but it was plenty flavorful with just the 2 ounces.

I added some crispy bacon pieces and crunchy bacon flavored croutons to the tossed salad to keep the carnivore happy but I've gotta' say this dinner was a real keeper and we've plenty left for lunches too. Bonus!

Spinach and Mushroom Lasagna Roll-ups with Gorgonzola Béchamel (adapted from Rachel Ray via Foodnetwork.com)

8 Lasagna noodles

16 medium mushrooms, finely chopped

1/2 large yellow onion, finely chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and coarse ground black pepper to taste

1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (or more to taste)

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

1 – 10 ounce package frozen chopped spinach, defrosted and squeezed dry

1 – 16 ounce container ricotta cheese

 

Cook lasagna noodles to al dente as per package directions. When cooked, immediately plunge into ice water to stop cooking process. Drain and blot dry with paper towels. Set aside.

Spray a casserole dish with cooking spray and set aside. For filling, heat a large sauté pan over medium high heat.  Add olive oil and when shimmering add mushrooms, onion and garlic. Season with salt and pepper. Sauté until mushrooms have released all their liquid and begin to brown. Add nutmeg and cook for 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and move to a medium sized bowl. Cool to room temperature. Stir in spinach (should be almost dry), along with ricotta cheese. Mix well to combine. To fill, lay lasagna noodles out flat and spread each with approximately a half cup of filling, spreading to within a quarter inch of each end. Roll noodles up and arrange in prepared casserole dish.  Refrigerate until needed.

 Sauce:

1/4 cup unsalted butter

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 cups milk (I used whole milk)

2 ounces gorgonzola, crumbled

Coarse ground black pepper

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. When melted stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly for 2 to 3 minutes. Slowly whisk in milk. Cook sauce, whisking constantly until sauce is thickened and almost comes to a boil. Remove from heat and whisk in gorgonzola. Stir until cheese has melted. Taste for seasoning and add pepper as required.

1-1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350. Pour sauce over lasagna roll ups and top with shredded cheese. Bake for 25 minutes or until roll ups are hot and sauce is bubbling. Serves 4. Download Spinach and Mushroom Lasagne Roll-ups with Gorgonzola Bechamel

A year ago - Cheesy Baked Gnocchi with Cauliflower and Tomatoes

Rich and Creamy Swiss Onion Soup

Onion soup is the perfect autumn meal so naturally it's quite popular right about now. Several of my friends have included it on their menus recently and heaven knows I couldn't be left out. Just to be ornery though I changed mine up a bit.

This particular version has all the great flavors that a traditional pot of onion soup enjoys like beautifully golden caramelized onions and butter of course, but it also includes a touch of garlic, a fair bit of sherry and a kiss of thyme all wallowing around in a pot of beef stock.

Now if you're wondering where the "Swiss" comes in, prepare yourself! I don't know about you, but when I think of Switzerland I think of beautiful verdant green meadows dotted with happy cows and the sound of bells ringing. I promise you, this soup will definitely ring your chimes because it's finished with heavy cream and a crunchy crouton topped by loads of shredded Swiss cheese and garnished with french fried onions and crispy bacon.

It's rich, creamy, full of flavor and so good the Big Guy said he could eat 6 bowls of the stuff. He didn't, but he coulda'. He just had one monster sized one instead.

Creamy Swiss Onion Soup (inspired by Gulf Shore Delights)

3 slices bacon, chopped

4 very large yellow onions, sliced (8 cups total)

1/4 cup unsalted butter

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon thyme

3/4 cup sherry, divided (do not use cooking sherry – use the real thing)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Sea salt and coarse ground black pepper

4 cups low sodium beef stock

1-1/2 cups heavy cream

 

2 cups shredded Swiss cheese (I used baby Swiss and Madrigal)

6 to 8 slices country style bread

French fried onions and crispy bacon as garnish

Heat a large heavy Dutch oven over medium heat and add chopped bacon. Cook until crisp. Remove from pot reserving bacon and drippings separately. Return 1 tablespoon bacon drippings back to pot and add butter and when butter has melted add sliced onions. Cook, stirring often, until onions are a rich golden brown – about 20 to 25 minutes. Add garlic, thyme and 1/2 cup of sherry, stirring bottom of pot to release any browned bits. When sherry has almost completely reduced, stir in flour. Cook, stirring constantly for 2 minutes – mixture will be very heavy and thick. Slowly add beef stock and whisk well until smooth. Lower heat to a slow simmer, cover pot and cook for 30 minutes, stirring often to prevent sticking. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as needed. Add heavy cream and heat to serving temperature. Do not boil. Just before serving, stir in remaining 1/4 cup of sherry. If soup is too thick for your tastes, add more beef stock (or cream) to bring to desired consistency.

Meanwhile, heat oven to 350. Brush bread slices on one side with reserved bacon drippings and place bread on a rack on a sheet pan. Toast for 10 minutes, turning once or until crouton is crisp. To serve, place soup in oven proof bowls. Top each with a crouton, then add approximately 1/4 cup shredded cheese. Bake until cheese melts. Garnish with French fried onions and reserved bacon. Makes 6 to 8 servings. Download Creamy Swiss Onion Soup

A year ago - Sausage & Vegetable Bolognese with Polenta

Apple Jack Glazed Baby Back Ribs with Corn Green Chile Gratin

Just imagine enjoying tender juicy baby back ribs coated in a shiny Asian flavored glaze on your weeknight menu. I don't know about you, but we always seem to reserve a meal like this for the weekend thinking it requires a lot of time to prepare, but believe me that's not the case here.

You see the ribs are drizzled with pineapple juice, wrapped in foil and roasted in the oven for an hour and then cooled in the accumulated juices. That makes them perfect for partial prepping in advance - either while you're enjoying coffee and breakfast in the morning, or the night before. Whatever, you can just haul the pre-roasted ribs out of the refrigerator, coat 'em in glaze and finish them just before serving, which is exactly what we did.

We needed an excuse to try out our fancy new little gas grill and these glazed baby back ribs were just the ticket. You see, I've been after the Big Guy for a while to purchase one that I can use when he's out of town because I don't do charcoal plus we were a tad frustrated with the cooking equipment provided at the houses we rent at the beach so after a little research we found the perfect solution - the Coleman Roadtrip Grill LXE. It's perfectly portable so we'll be able to take it with us. How 'bout them apples?

As you can see, it worked beautifully putting a "dew" on the ribs. The spicy boozy Asian flavored glaze takes about 5 minutes to put together and can be made in advance as well which means dinner can be ready in a flash. Talk about make you look good!

We had our ribs along with a creamy corn and green chile gratin which can also be prepped ahead of time, refrigerated and cooked just before you need it. Loaded with roasted green chiles, sweet corn and cheese, the gratin is really like a chile rellano casserole and just a little different from the standard rib "withs" of beans and coleslaw. 

Apple Jack Glazed Baby Back Ribs (adapted from Bon Appetit via epicurious.com)

1 – 2-1/2 pound rack baby back pork ribs

Sea salt and course ground black pepper

1/2 cup unsweetened pineapple juice

Preheat oven to 350. If desired remove membrane from back of ribs. Season rack well with salt and pepper. Place on a large sheet of aluminum foil and pour pineapple juice over ribs. Seal foil and place on a sheet pan to catch any drips. Roast for 1 hour. Remove from oven, open foil and turn ribs upside down so the meaty part is facing into the juices. Cool to room temperature then refrigerate until just before serving.

Glaze:

5 tablespoons honey

1/4 cup Apple Jack brandy (or bourbon)

1-1/2 tablespoons hoisin sauce

1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

1 tablespoon plum sauce

1-1/2 teaspoons light molasses

1-1/2 teaspoons soy sauce

1-1/2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon hot chili paste (sambal oelek)

1/4 teaspoon each salt and pepper

Place ingredients into a jar or container, seal and shake to combine well. Refrigerate until needed.

To prepare – preheat grill until medium hot. Grill ribs, brushing often with glaze and turning frequently until desired color – about 10 to 15 minutes. Serves 2.

Corn and Green Chile Gratin (inspired by Wall Drug Cookbook)

10 ounces roasted green chiles, chopped

1 cup frozen corn, thawed

1 cup grated cheese (I used combination of sharp cheddar and Monterey jack)

1 egg

3/4 cup milk

5 tablespoons flour

Salt and pepper

Hot sauce (optional)

Fried Onion Rings and Crisp Bacon for garnish

Preheat oven to 350. Spray two 10 ounce ramekins with cooking spray. Arrange 1/4 cup of green chiles in bottom of each ramekin. Top with 1/4 cup frozen corn, then cheese. Repeat layers ending with cheese. Using a whisk, beat egg in a small bowl. Whisk in milk, flour, salt, pepper and hot sauce. Pour mixture into ramekins. Ramekins may be refrigerated at this point and baked later. Place ramekins on a sheet pan to catch any drips and bake in preheated oven for 35 to 40 minutes, or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Garnish with onions and bacon. Serves 2. Download Corn and Green Chile Gratin

A year ago - Green Chicken Curry

Tomato Cobbler

We love cobbler around here and I've been known to make it often as our sweet treat of the week particularly during berry season; however, I'd never made a savory version before last night.

Apparently we have Martha Stewart to thank for the original, but I've seen different versions on several blogs that I visit during the past couple of weeks. While I just had to go check Martha's out, I trust Mary from One Perfect Bite to give me a version that will suit our taste buds to a "T" and believe me her Tomato Cobbler didn't disappoint.

I used an assortment of large and small pearl tomatoes, along with a little less garlic than called for, a little more red pepper flakes and a lot more basil. Our basil plant is producing like a mad thing since the weather's cooled a tad and I just can't be satisfied using a mere tablespoon of the pungent green herb. The tomatoes, pepper flakes, basil and garlic keep company in the gratin dish with some golden caramelized onions as well as a good amount of coarse ground black pepper and sea salt, and the whole thing's covered with a moist, tender, flakey, cheesy dropped biscuit. It is awesome.

While the dish would be perfect on a Meatless Monday menu, we had our cobbler along with some sweet Italian sausage because there's no way I could pass such an obvious vegetarian dish by my resident carnivore without hearing a roar or two.

I'm sending you to Mary's site for the recipe since the only other thing I did was cut it in half but it's so darn tasty I really wish I'd made the whole recipe so we could enjoy it again and again; however, just so you know the half recipe made a very generous 4 servings so at least we'll have some for lunch today.

By the way, I also used Madragal cheese rather than Gruyere just because we love the stuff, but you really could use a nice sharp cheddar, a swiss or even crumbled blue and the topping would still be superb. Oh, and if you're not into the time it takes to caramelize the onions to a nice sweet finish, just saute them till tender and add a smidge of sugar to the tomatoes instead. I think it would work fine.

A year ago - Oxtails braised in Red Wine

Pinot Braised Duck Legs with Roasted Pears and Onions

When I think of autumn I think of geese flying south calling out their coordinates for all the world to hear as they travel on. I think of a nip in the morning air, frost on the pumpkins, and the smell of rotting leaves. I think of Mother harvesting her garden and jars of pickles, jams and preserves lined up on the counter and the freezer and root cellar being filled for the long winter ahead. Needless to say I'm working from memory here since autumn in Tucson is more like summer where I come from. Do you sense a whine?

My Big Guy knows how homesick I get this time of year so he cooked up an autumn dinner last night to beat all. Duck legs marinated in a lovely fruity Pinot Noir, then sauteed to a deep rich brown and braised in the marinade liquid until richly colored and extremely tender. He strained the pinot flavored braising liquid to make a deep garnet colored sauce redolent of juniper and cloves and jazzed up the duck with roasted caramelized onions and pears (as if it needed jazzing). Plated beside a creamy two potato gratin, dinner was without question, absolutely unbelievably superb!

 

And you know what? That's not ALL the Big Guy did this weekend. He smoked 15 pounds of side and back bacon, sliced it up all "purdy" and wrapped it to fill our freezer with the food of the Gods; he also rolled, tied and sent about 3 pounds of cured side pork to the wine fridge for another round of pancetta; made a Sunday morning breakfast including some of his maple smoked bacon to rival the best restaurant's fare, mixed up a couple of spicy bloody mary's and to top it all off, he put together our new shiny red gas grill.

So I bet you're wondering what I did to contribute to the household aren't ya? Ah, that would be not much! What a GREAT weekend!

By the way, you don't have to cook duck to enjoy this side dish of sweet roasted onions and pears. It would be fabulous next to a roast pork loin or nestled beside roast turkey or goose on your holiday table. It is that special!

Pinot Noir Braised Duck Legs with Roasted Pears and Onions (adapted from Gourmet via epicurious.com) 

3 or 4 large duck legs

1 750 mil bottle Pinot Noir

Bouquet Garni of 10 juniper berries, 3 whole cloves, and orange zest from half an orange and 1 bay leaf all tied in a cheesecloth bag

1 stick cinnamon

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 large carrot in quarter inch dice

1 large onion, in quarter inch dice

1 large celery rib in quarter inch dice

Salt as required

2 parsley sprigs plus 1 tablespoon minced parsley

Beurre manie’ made from 2 tablespoons softened butter and 2 tablespoons all purpose flour

Trim excess fat from duck legs. Place duck legs, wine and bouquet garni and cinnamon stick in a large bowl. Cover and chill for 2 hours.

Transfer duck legs to a plate and pat dry with paper towels. Discard cinnamon stick but reserve marinade and bouquet garni. Heat a large Dutch oven over medium high until very hot. Add vegetable oil and when shimmering add duck legs skin side down and cook until well browned and crisp – about 20 minutes. Turn and born on other side – about 2 minutes, then remove to a plate. Pour off all but 2 tablespoons fat from pot. Return pot to the heat and add vegetables along with a sprinkle of salt. Sauté until tender and lightly browned – about 15 minutes.

Return duck legs to pot, skin side up. Add parsley and reserved marinade along with bouquet garni. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to simmer, cover and cook for 1-1/2 hours or until duck legs are very tender. When cooked, transfer duck to a plate and keep warm. Strain liquid through a sieve and let stand for a few minutes. Skim off excess fat if desired. Return liquid to pot and cook to reduce to 2 cups of liquid. Add beurre manie’ a little at a time whisking after each addition. Boil for 2 minutes. Serve duck legs with sauce spooned over them. Garnish with parsley. Serve with roasted pears and onions.

Roasted Onions & Pears

1 pound small onions, peeled

2 ripe Bosc pears

2 tablespoons unsalted butter

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

2 teaspoons honey

1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 400. Melt butter in cast iron skillet large enough to hold ingredients in a single layer. Add onions and bake for 30 minutes. Peel and core pears, adding pear halves cut side down and bake additional 20 minutes. Stir together lemon juice, honey and salt and add to onions and pears. Toss to coat. Download Pinot Noir Braised Duck Legs with Roasted Pears and Onions

A year ago - Fried Catfish with Hushpuppies

Salmon Pot Pie

In my opinion pot pie is the epitome of down home comfort food. Although it can be a humble sort that makes use of those darn blankety blank leftovers, it can also morph into an elegant dish worthy of the fanciest of dinners. Take this salmon pot pie for example.

This particular version starts with duxelles which is just a fancy term for minced mushrooms sauteed in butter along with garlic, salt and pepper. Layered on the bottom of a couple of ramekins, the sauteed mushrooms are covered by a rich, flavorful sauce constructed from golden brown onions, white wine, vegetable stock and cream and jazzed up with chopped fresh parsley and dill. Topped with blanched asparagus and chunked up salmon (I used a leftover plank cooked fillet), it gets a puff pastry lid before it hits the oven.

Using the mushrooms and the cream sauce, the pie can really be made from any kind of seafood you wish - shrimp, scallops, cod whatever and if you're not into seafood chicken would work wonderfully well too. You could also change out the dill in the sauce and use fresh tarragon instead and as for the pastry top - keep it simple and use mashed potatoes if you'd rather. Personally I'm a tad partial to pastry in any form, but use your imagination and add whatever turns your crank. You'll be amazed and so will your dinner partner. Mine sure was!

Salmon Pot Pie (inspired by High Plains, Cinda Chavich)

1/4 cup butter, divided

1 cup minced mushrooms

2 cloves garlic, minced

Salt and coarse ground black pepper

1 medium onion, minced

2 tablespoons flour

1/2 cup dry white wine

1 cup vegetable stock

1/2 cup whipping cream

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

2 tablespoons chopped fresh dill

8 ounces pre-cooked salmon

8 asparagus spears, cut into 1-1/2 inch pieces and blanched

A sheet of puff pastry, thawed per package directions

Melt 2 tablespoons butter in a sauté pan over medium heat and add minced mushrooms and garlic. Cook, stirring until mushrooms are tender and dry – about 10 minutes. Remove to 2 ramekins that have been sprayed with cooking spray. Spread evenly on the bottom and set aside. Add remaining 2 tablespoons of butter to the pan and add onion. Cook until onion is golden brown and tender. Stir in flour and cook for 1 minute, then slowly whisk in wine, vegetable stock and whipping cream. Season with salt and pepper and cook until sauce is thickened – about 3 or 4 minutes. Stir in chopped parsley and dill. Pour sauce on top of mushrooms in ramekins. Top with asparagus and salmon chunks. Preheat oven to 400. Place ramekins on a sheet pan and top with puff pastry. Decorate as you wish, then cut slits in top of pastry to allow steam to escape. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes until top is golden brown and pies bubble. Serves 2. (Note, may use uncooked salmon – just cut into one inch cubes, and make sure all bones and skin has been removed. Cook for 30 minutes).

A year ago - Stacked Pizza and Fried Ravioli

Our Window On The World

From where we're lookin', it's a great day for playing hooky. See ya' tomorrow.

General Tao Chicken Wings

The thing about blogging in real time is you miss the opportunity to make improvements on recipes because there isn't a second chance. Unfortunately that was the case with last night's wings. Had I the chance to do it all over, I'd have done things a little differently.

These wings are lovely and the sauce is really dynamite but the method of cooking the wings themselves leaves a bit to be desired. I love a good crisp coating on a wing and you just can't get that by baking it naked in the oven, at least I can't. They either end up brown but over cooked and dry, or pale and moist. What can I say?

Had I my druthers, I would have coated them in cornstarch and fried them in hot oil (or butter) to get them good and crisp and brown before they hit the oven to finish cooking; however I was out of cornstarch, low in oil and out of butter too. The cupboard's darn near bare and so is the wallet. Unfortunately I already spent the week's budget so there's no way I could hit the supermarket anyway. I'm kind of anal that way - ok call it disciplined. Thankfully tomorrow's shopping day (Saturday).

Now about that dynamite sauce, don't let it scare you. The basis is a lovely golden caramel made from white sugar and a touch of water. It's no work at all because as you likely know, caramel thrives on being ignored as far as stirring goes anyway. Ya' gotta' keep your eye on the stuff to make sure it doesn't burn but for heaven's sake don't stir it or move the pot while you're letting that sugar melt. After the carmel is perfect, it gets a lift with Asian ingredients and coats the wings with a perfect flavor combination - and I do mean perfect.

The Big Guy loved it so much he said it took his breath away, and that was true but not for the reason you think. Between you and me I might have added a little extra sambal oelek to the mix just to get a rise out of him. LOL

I'm posting the recipe the way it was constructed last night but stay tuned for the improved version shortly. I'm determined to make 'em perfect next time and I know for a fact there's won't be any complaints from the peanut gallery about the repeat.

General Tao Chicken Wings (adapted from Ricardo Larrivee, Food Network Canada)

1-1/2 pounds chicken drummettes

2 tablespoons oil

Salt

Sauce:

2 teaspoons cornstarch

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 teaspoons sesame oil

3 tablespoons rice vinegar

3 tablespoons water

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh ginger

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon sambal oelek (or more per your taste)

1/2 teaspoon paprika

½ cup sugar

3 tablespoons water

Green onion for garnish (optional)

Preheat oven to 375. Line baking sheet with aluminum foil and place wire cooling racks on top. Spray all well with cooking spray. Place wings into a bowl and coat well with oil. Sprinkle with coarse sea salt and arrange on racks so they’re not touching each other. Bake for 20 minutes. Turn wings and bake for another 20 to 30 minutes, or until meat is tender. Finish by broiling until skin is crisp and lightly browned.

Meanwhile, place sugar and water in a large saucepan and cook without stirring over medium heat until the mixture turns golden in color. Important – do not stir or move the pot during this process. In a bowl whisk together cornstarch, soy sauce, sesame oil, rice vinegar, water, ginger, garlic, sambal oelek and paprika. Stir carefully into hot caramel mixture and simmer until sauce is smooth and syrupy – about 30 seconds. When wings are cooked remove to a bowl and toss with warm sauce. Garnish with green onion. Download General Tao Chicken Wings

A year ago - Seafood Chowder with Dill

Linguini with Bacon Clam Sauce

Remember this? We came back from the Oregon coast with another year's supply of clams thanks to the Big Guy and his secret Waldport honey hole. I particularly love the gaper clams because by the time I get to them, they've been cleaned to a pristine form and there's no yucky yuck to deal with. The long neck you're looking at on the clams yields the most amazing meat once it is cleaned and skinned. 

Seven ounces of the lovely things were chopped up and went into this invention from JBug's Kitchen. Should I call it an invention or an innovation? We happen to love the flavor of clams casino in no small part due to the bacon and since I had some oil packed sun dried tomatoes and our basil is still going ballistic I added that too and came up with a sauce to beat all others. Topped with some spiced up bacon flavored french bread crumbs, this one's worth another go 'round in the not too distant future. 

Linguini with Bacon Clam Sauce (an original from JBug’s  Kitchen)

4 slices bacon

2 slices fresh French bread

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Salt and coarse ground black pepper

1 tablespoon butter

1 tablespoon oil from sundried tomatoes

2 cloves garlic

7 ounces chopped uncooked clams

1/2 cup white wine

1/4 cup oil packed sundried tomatoes, chopped

3/4 cup heavy cream

1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped

1/3 cup fresh basil, chopped

1/4 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

6 ounces linguini, cooked to al dente per package directions (reserve 1/2 cup pasta cooking water)

Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat and cook bacon slowly until crisp. Move bacon to a paper towel to drain; reserve bacon fat in pan. Place French bread into a food processor and process to coarse crumbs. Add crumbs to reserved bacon fat in sauté pan and cook, stirring often until a rich golden brown. Season with red pepper flakes and salt and pepper. Remove to a bowl. Wipe sauté pan clean.  

Heat butter and oil over medium heat in sauté pan and add garlic. Cook, stirring constantly for 10 seconds. Add chopped clams and white wine. Cook for 1 minute until clams are opaque. Add sundried tomatoes, cream and bring to a boil, reduce to high simmer and cook for 1 to 2 minutes, until slightly thickened. Add al dente pasta to pan along with half the parsley and basil. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly to allow pasta to absorb sauce. If it gets to thick, add reserved pasta cooking water. Crumble bacon and add to pasta along with parmesan cheese. Toss to coat. Move to a bowl and garnish with remaining parsley and basil. Top with browned bread crumbs. Serves 4. Download Linguini with Bacon Clam Sauce

A year ago - Pork and Apple Pie

Pina Colada Cupcakes

I swear by the time dessert time rolled around last night I was plum happy to bury my face in this little coconut pineapple rum ball and I enjoyed every alcoholic crumb full of it too. In fact eating more than one at a sitting might nix driving or operating any kind of machinery because for certain you'll blow more than a point 08. Geez, may I shoulda' had 2 and it would have got me out of operating the dishwasher. LOL

For someone who cooks as much as I do and who's spent the better part of her life in the kitchen, failures still occur from time to time and they're not taken lightly. I mean, you'd think someone that's been cooking in some form or another since she could reach the kitchen counter with the help of a chair would know a thing or two about what's going to be good and what isn't. I love trying new recipes and since yesterday was our anniversary, I planned something that I thought we'd enjoy and was original to both of us. Of course I had every intention of posting it and can give you a preview of the plate, but you'll not be finding the recipe on this site anytime soon.

Described as one of the national dishes of Germany, Sauerbraten is a roast marinated in a mixture of wine, vinegar, onions, herbs and spices for 3 whole days, before it hits a braising pot. After braising in the same mixture for many hours, the tender rump roast is removed and ginger snaps, and more sugar added to the marinade as it is made into a thick rich gravy. Sounds kinda' good right? Ya, that's what I thought too but alas I hated the taste.

The Big Guy, however, will eat anything but peas so he gamely had 2 helpings and made the rest of it into 2 crammed full containers for his lunch the next couple of days. What can I say, but this is the lovely man I married who also enjoys a big bowl of menudo every Saturday morning for breakfast as well as beef cheeks, heart, tongue and liver of any kind. Baaaahhh.

Now, if you're still with me, I mentioned way back at the start of this post the saving grace of our celebratory dinner was this wonderfully easy to prepare and incredibly tasty take on Pina Colada cake; however, instead of making one large cake, I constructed 12 individual taste bombs instead. 

The cake is a mere mix that uses light rum instead of water as the liquid. Baked in jumbo muffin pans or in my case individual 8 ounce aluminum foil cups, when the cakes have cooled they remain in the pans and are soaked in a mixture of rum and Coco Lopez cream of coconut. Refrigerated for several hours or even overnight, they're removed from their pans, rolled in toasted coconut then each topped with a spoonful of crushed pineapple and crowned with whipped cream garnished with a touch more toasted coconut.

They're mind blowing incredibly delicious rummy yummies for your tummy and certainly saved my bacon. Oh, speaking of saving bacon, a person who shall remain nameless forgot about said 11th anniversary but redeemed himself big time last night. He came home with not one, but two lovely little boxes of truffles, that's a whole dozen of 'em people, along with a gushy card and 2 tickets for an upcoming KD Lang concert at the University. Sweet eh?

Pina Colada Cupcakes (adapted from Gulfshore Delights, The Junior League of Ft. Myers)

1 package yellow cake mix (I used Duncan Hines ..is there any other kind?)

2/3 cup light rum

3 large eggs

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 – 15 ounce can Coco Lopez (cream of coconut)

1/3 cup light rum

 1 – 8 ounce can crushed pineapple well drained

Whipped Topping or Whipped Cream

1 cup coconut, toasted

Preheat oven to 350. Spray 12 jumbo muffin cups with cooking spray and set aside. Using an electric mixer, combine cake mix, rum, eggs and softened butter. Beat at medium speed for 5 minutes. Distribute evenly between muffin cups and bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. (The cakes may fall but don’t worry – they’ll be fine). Leave cakes in pan and cool on wire rack. Meanwhile combine cream of coconut and rum together. Poke a few small holes into each cake with a skewer, then pour rum/cream of coconut mixture slowly on top of each cake, distributing evenly between the 12 cupcakes. Cover and refrigerate for several hours or overnight. Before serving, carefully remove chilled cakes from muffin tins and roll sides of cupcakes into toasted coconut. Top each cake with a spoonful of crushed pineapple, followed by a mound of whipped cream. Garnish with more toasted coconut. Makes 12 servings.

Note – may be made in a 9 x 13 inch pan (bake for 35 minutes). When cake has cooled slightly poke holes in top with a skewer, then pour cream of coconut rum mixture over top of warm cake, then cover and refrigerate. Top cake with crushed pineapple, followed by whipped topping and garnish with toasted coconut.   Keeps well in refrigerator for 3 or 4 days. Download Pina Colada Cupcakes

Hawaiian Pork Chops

Pork is king in this house ...ah that would be next to beef in the Big Guy's estimation but if I say it's king then it must be king. No seriously, I've been working on an index for this site which is a gargantuan job considering there's well over 900 recipes. I'm blown away by the amount of pork we eat (chicken too), so it's quite beyond me why we haven't had Hawaiian Pork Chops before now.

I used sirloin pork chops although chicken thighs would work wonderfully well too and coated them on all sides in cornstarch then gave 'em a quick saute in a hot pan. Removed to a casserole all brown and crisp, they looked edible right then but sirloin is notoriously tough unless it's braised first. Sauteed onions, garlic and celery top the chops followed by sliced green pepper and pineapple chunks, followed by a mix of pineapple juice, brown sugar, soy sauce and ketchup it all it the oven for a 50 minute meditation.

Plated with some smashed sweet potatoes, it made for a very quiet evening meal. Hey, we were too busy chowing down to have any meaningful conversation.

Hawaiian Pork Chops (an original from JBug’s Kitchen)

6 pork sirloin chops trimmed of excess fat

Salt and pepper

Cornstarch

1/4 cup vegetable oil

2 large onions, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup chopped celery

1 large green pepper, sliced in rings

1 – 20 ounce can of pineapple chunks

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup soy sauce

1/4 cup ketchup

1 tablespoon cornstarch

Water as required

Preheat oven to 350. Heat oil in large sauté pan over medium high heat. Season pork chops with salt and pepper then dredge in cornstarch. Place chops in hot pan and cook until browned on both sides, about 5 minutes. Remove to a casserole dish that has been sprayed with cooking spray. Remove all but 1 tablespoon fat from sauté pan and add onions, garlic and celery. Cook until onions are slightly softened. Place lightly sautéed vegetables on top of pork chops. Drain pineapple, reserving juice. Place pineapple chunks on top of sautéed vegetables followed by green pepper rings. Mix together reserved pineapple juice, brown sugar, soy sauce and ketchup. Pour over casserole, cover well with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Remove cover. Make a slurry from cornstarch and water and mix into liquid in casserole. Return uncovered to oven for additional 5 minutes. Serves 6.

A year ago - Brined Pork Loin with Port Sauce

Sun Dried Tomato Pesto

There's more to pesto than the basil variety and darn near unlimited uses for the stuff. Simply a paste made from fresh herbs combined with oil and sometimes but not always cheese and nuts, pesto's a great layer of flavor next to the crust in a pizza, as a pasta sauce or even dressing up a simple grilled cheese sandwich.

I've been known to make pesto out of fresh mint to top lamb chops, or cilantro and chiles for a southwest boost to grilled chicken as well as everyone's favorite, an ordinary everyday basil pesto, although I'm not sure how something that smells so fabulous can be labeled "ordinary"; however, I can attest to the fact this sun dried tomato version will go the distance with any of 'em.

Simply made with jarred oil packed sundried tomatoes along with garlic, fresh basil, grated parmesan cheese, lemon juice and of course olive oil, it gets better and better the longer you let it sit in your refrigerator. In our case, we used it as a relish on panko crusted halibut fingers on top of a bed of whole wheat couscous and thank goodness for that too. I have to admit I'm not much of a whole wheat fan and it brought a whole new dimension to what could have been a rather ordinary fish dinner.

Next time you think you may have made something that's bordering on boring or darn near inedible, give your grub a lift and jazz it up with some pesto.

By the way, if your wondering how I cooked the halibut, I simply gave it a good dose of salt and pepper, and coated it in a layer of mayonnaise followed by a dredge in panko crumbs. It hit a little oil in a medium hot pan and cooked for a grand total of 7 minutes. Of course the cooking time will vary depending on the thickness of your fish. Bon appetit!

Sun Dried Tomato Pesto (an original from JBug’s Kitchen)

4 ounces oil packed sun dried tomatoes

5 or 6 fresh basil leaves (optional)

2 cloves garlic

2 tablespoons toasted walnuts

2 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese

1/4 cup olive oil

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Place sun dried tomatoes, basil, garlic, walnuts and parmesan cheese in a blender and pulse until well combined. With the motor running slowly add olive oil. Drizzle in lemon juice. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as required. Store in airtight container in refrigerator.

Grilled Chicken Margarita on Green Chile Rice

Picture tender chicken pieces, marinated in lime, sugar, salt, a touch of coriander and a kiss of garlic, grilled to perfection and presented on top of a creamy cheesy green chile rice, all surrounded by grilled vegetables. I'm talkin' about last night's dinner.

It comes to us courtesy of Taste of the Territory, a wonderful cookbook put out by the Service League of Bartlesville Oklahoma and all I gotta' say is thank goodness for ingenuity. I only wish I'd taken a video because while all of this was coming together we were experiencing an unbelievable monsoon thunder storm which resulted in over 2 inches of rain in about a 2 hour time frame. Of course true to Murphy's Law, the storm hit right at the time we were supposed to be grilling our dinner in the outside kitchen, but no matter. We switched to grill pans and the Big Guy came through once again.

The result - gloriously tender kabobs of sweet, salty, lime flavored bird that really taste like a margarita sans the tequila although I'm not quite sure that the addition of a shot or two wouldn't be a good idea. The chicken would be wonderful on its own with the grilled vegetables but we went a step beyond and whipped up a casserole style rice dish, loaded with creamy ricotta, sour cream, cheese and roasted Hatch green chiles just because ya' gotta' have starch ya' know.

Grilled Margarita Chicken (Adapted from Taste of the Territory) 

1 pound chicken tenders or chicken breasts cut lengthwise into 3 pieces

1/2 cup fresh lime juice

3 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1 clove garlic, minced

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Whisk together lime juice, sugar, salt, coriander, garlic and vegetable oil. Place chicken pieces into a zip bag and pour marinade over top. Seal and refrigerate for a minimum 1 hour. Thread onto skewers and grill until done. Serve with grilled zucchini, onions and tomatoes. Serves 4 Download Grilled Margarita Chicken

Green Chile Rice Gratin (Inspired by Taste of the Territory)

3 cups cooked rice

1 cup sour cream

1 cup ricotta cheese

4 large roasted green chiles, skinned, seeded and chopped (or 1-6 ounce can)

Salt and pepper to taste

1-1/4 cups grated 4 cheese blend (or Monterey jack)

Spray a gratin dish with cooking spray. Preheat oven to 350. Combine cooked rice, sour cream, ricotta and green chiles. Taste for seasoning and add salt and pepper as required. Place half the mixture into prepared gratin dish. Top with half the grated cheese. Repeat. Place casserole into preheated oven and bake for 25 to 30 minutes or until hot and bubbling. Serves 6. Download Green Chile Rice Gratin

 

Blue Cheese Grits with Vegetables and Chicken Sausage

This month's Cooking Light magazine happens to hold a bunch of recipes I'd like to try so last night I whipped up their Blue Cheese Polenta with Vegetables. Of course they meant it to be vegetarian, but there's no way our resident carnivore would have been satisfied with that so I added some chicken and apple sausages to round out the menu.

The only thing I couldn't decide was whether to use yellow polenta or white grits and really, is there a difference? After a little web research I found this article in the St. Petersburgh Times that said "Downtown grits and their uptown relative, polenta, may seem a world apart. But both, made from ground corn, are similar enough to substitute for each other."

So there you go. As you can see, I used grits. I also changed the method and browned the sausage, then finished cooking them by a quick braise on top of the vegetables. The apple flavor in the chicken sausage went very well with the sweetness of the vegetables and the gorgonzola in the creamy grits. Just for good measure, I added a smidge of goat's cheese that I happened to have in my cheese drawer as well which really took away the sharpness of the gorgonzola.

Blue Cheese Polenta (Grits) with Vegetables and Chicken Sausage (Adapted from Cooking Light, September 2011)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 large onion, sliced

1 red bell pepper, sliced

1 green bell pepper, sliced

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

Salt and Pepper to taste

1/4 cup white wine or vermouth

1 pound chicken sausage (I used apple flavored)

Wondra instant blending flour

3/4 cup quick cooking polenta or grits (I used grits)

3 cups milk (I used homo)

1/2 cup water

1 ounce goat’s cheese

3 ounces crumbled Gorgonzola

Salt to taste

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven and dust sausages lightly with flour, shaking off excess. Brown evenly over medium high heat and remove from pan. Set aside. In same pot add onion, peppers and thyme. Season with salt and pepper. Cook stirring briefly to break up vegetables. Add white wine, and then return sausages to pot. Lower heat to low, cover and cook for 15 minutes or until vegetables are softened and sausages are firm to the touch and cooked through.

Meanwhile in a heavy medium sized pot, heat milk and water to boiling. Whisk in grits (polenta) and cook, stirring often for 5 to 7 minutes or until thickened. Add cheeses and stir until melted. Taste for seasoning, adding salt as required.

A year ago - Pasta with Lamb Ragout

Chicken and Andouille Gumbo

I feel tremendously sorry for anyone that's never had gumbo. It is the quintessential comfort food, a rich savory stew from Louisiana that's a blend of "Indian, French, Spanish and African cultures" - at least according to Wiki it is. In my book it's the absolute best use of onion, sweet bell peppers, celery, andouille sausage and chicken that I can think of.

Every time I make it I think of my friend Lea at La Casa De Nanan because she's my Cajun sunshine and I know she's the one to give us the goods on making an official version; however, I do believe that once you've got a roux mastered, gumbo is simply made from whatever the cook happens to have available in the kitchen on any given day. I'm confident this one will stand up just fine as long as it's not served along side Lea's. LOL

Don't let the thoughts of making a roux scare you because if that's what's keeping you from doing it, my way takes all of 3 to 4 minutes from start to finish. Now, don't get me wrong; you can coax a roux along for as long as you want to stand over it and stir, but this particular recipe for gumbo is a quick week night solution for dinner so a mere 3 to 4 minutes will give you a passable roux. The key is to have all your ingredients ready before you start and of course you need the right pot. If you've got a cast iron Dutch oven, now's the time to dust it off and you might as well keep it handy, because you'll notice that I use it a lot.

By the way, hit this link and check out what was said the last time we whipped up a pot.

Chicken and Smoked Andouille Gumbo (adapted from Bon Appetit)

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/3 cup all purpose flour

2 stalks of celery, chopped

1 large onion, chopped

1 green bell pepper, chopped

1 red bell pepper, chopped

2 bay leaves

1 teaspoon coarse salt

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon cayenne depending on taste

1 teaspoon garlic granules

1 teaspoon Cajun seasoning

2-1/2 cups seafood or chicken stock (low sodium)

1 – 14 ounce can diced tomatoes with juice

1 pound smoked andouille sausage cut into 1/2 inch thick slices

1 pound chicken, cut into 1-1/2 inch pieces (I used chicken tenders)

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Flour for dredging

Freshly cooked long grain rice

Prep all ingredients before you start. Heat oil in heavy cast iron Dutch oven over high heat until almost smoking. Add flour, lower heat to medium high and stir being careful not to splash, cook stirring constantly until dark reddish brown in color (takes 4 to 6 minutes stirring constantly). Do not under any circumstances leave the pot unattended.

When the roux is a rich reddish chocolate brown, immediately add chopped celery, onion and bell peppers and stir well to combine. Lower heat to medium and cook until vegetables are softened – about 5 minutes. Add spices and cook for additional minute. Add stock and canned tomatoes. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile add vegetable oil to a large skillet and heat over high heat until oil is hot. Dredge chicken in flour and shake off the excess. Sauté in hot oil until browned on all sides. Set aside. In same pan, add andouille slices and fry until andouille is browned on the outside. Add sautéed chicken and andouille to Dutch oven and simmer for additional 15 minutes. Serve with rice.  Makes 6 large servings.

A year ago - Pineapple Bran Muffins

Cinnamon Caramel Apple Pear Pie

There are pies and then there are capital "P" pies. Suffice to say, this beauty belongs to the capital variety.

I'm not sure if you remember, but some time ago I made an apple pie and swore I'd never use another recipe as long as I lived.I followed the recipe of that previous pie and upped it a notch or 10.

Old fashioned in the extreme, this version's loaded with 3 kinds of apples including Granny Smith, Golden Delicious and Rome Beauty as well as a couple of Bosc pears. Topped with a buttery cinnamon caramel kissed with some of that fabulous Meukow Cognac we discovered while we were on vacation, it is without question, the most incredibly sublime work of pastry art ever to depart our oven. Using a variety of apples means some remain crisp while others cook to a creamy consistency; the sugary crust is crisp and delicious and the cinnamon caramel well let's just say it's really good...GOOD being the understatement of the century.

Oh in case you're wondering, this wasn't what we had for dinner last night but it is for certain our sweet treat for the week.  Last night we were guests of some members of the Mountain Oyster Club here in Tucson for a soiree of epic proportions so JBug's Kitchen was dark last night.

Cinnamon Caramel Apple Pear Pie (Adapted from allrecipes.com)

1/2 cup unsalted butter

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/4 water

1/2 cup white sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

Dash salt

1 tablespoon Meukow Cognac

Melt butter in a small pot over medium low heat. Add flour and cook, stirring to form a paste. Quickly mix cinnamon together with sugars and add to pot along with water and salt. Bring to a boil whisking constantly, then lower heat and simmer for 2 to 3 more minutes. Remove from heat and stir in cognac.  

 Your favorite recipe for a double crust pie

 3 Granny Smith apples

2 Golden Delicious apples

1 Rome Beauty Apple

2 Bosc Pears

Preheat oven to 425. Peel, core and thinly slice apples and pears. Line pie pan with bottom crust and top with apples and pears, mounding them up in the center. Top with lattice crust and crimp edges. Gently pour sugar/butter mixture over the crust, pouring very slowly so it doesn’t run off. Bake for 15 minutes, then lower heat to 350 and bake for 55 minutes or until apples are tender. Cool to room temperature before cutting.

A year ago - Blackberry Pie Bars

Portobello Mushrooms with Italian Stuffing

I'm one of likely very few people who have a love/hate relationship with mushrooms. Some days I love 'em and others I hate 'em. I didn't hate this dish but let's just say I was under impressed. It has nothing to do with the stuffing and everything to do with the mushrooms; however that is personal opinion only. The Big Guy thought it was all quite delicious.

In this case gi-normous meaty portotello mushrooms get a quick wash and dry then are relieved of their gills. I use a melon baller because the edges are sharp and make short work of the task. By the way, you can make 2 large stuffed mushrooms, or 4 smaller ones - whatever you prefer. As you can see, we're of the opinion bigger is better.

Place the 'shrooms on a shallow baking sheet and fill them with a mixture of ricotta, chopped spinach, ground beef, garlic, onion, shredded mozzarella and parmesan. Spiced up with plenty of salt and coarse ground black pepper, along with Italian seasoning, basil and red pepper flakes, top the monster mushrooms with grated fresh parmesan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes in a 400 oven.

The stuffing would be fabulous filling some gorgeous sweet bell peppers or even topping a hollowed out partially baked eggplant too. You could serve the stuffed veg's on top of a ladle full of marinara sauce or even a bechamel, but in our case we simply had them along side a crisp everything but the kitchen sink salad. It made for a tasty and calorically responsible dinner - a rare and wonderful thing coming from JBug's Kitchen!

Portobello Mushrooms with Italian Stuffing (Adapted from Dairygoodness.ca)

2 large Portobello mushrooms or 4 medium sized

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

6 ounces frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry

6 ounces extra lean ground beef

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 onion, minced

1 cup grated mozzarella cheese

1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes

Salt and coarse ground black pepper

2 tablespoons freshly grated parmesan cheese

Rinse and dry Portobello mushrooms. Remove and discard gills by using a sharp spoon or melon baller. Place mushroom caps on a shallow baking sheet and set aside.

For stuffing combine ricotta, well squeezed spinach, ground beef, garlic, onion, mozzarella and dried herbs. Season well with salt and coarse ground black pepper. Pile loosely into mushroom caps. Top with grated parmesan cheese. Bake in preheated 400 F oven for 30 to 35 minutes until mushrooms are tender and the meat is cooked through. Serve with green salad. Download Portobello Mushrooms with Italian Stuffing

A year ago - Moroccan Serpant Pie

Beer Braised Turkey Thighs with an Island Twist

Don't you think turkey's rather the forgotten bird? I mean, other than Thanksgiving and Christmas, it's just not as popular as it could be which is really a pity. It is incredibly inexpensive, versatile, delicious and braised, it's darn near perfect for the upcoming autumn season.

We had the hint of an autumn day here yesterday with temperatures just a smidge under 90 and when you've been enduring triple digits for as long as we have, a 90 degree day almost calls for fleece. It certainly rang my braising bell and with the Big Guy out bird hunting for the day, it was the perfect menu item. Isn't it like having a fish in the refrigerator ready for dinner when the significant other goes fishing just in case he's skunked...and...wait for it people...a bird in hand is worth 2 in the bush. Ha...gotcha!

Seriously, gorgeous big meaty turkey thighs, seasoned with salt and pepper and dredged in flour, browned to a rich dark color are then removed from the pot and set aside while the trinity (onion, carrots and celery) is sauteed until softened. After the veg are darn near perfect, they're joined by diced leeks, lots of garlic and ginger which introduce that island flair. After the aromatics had a few minutes in the hot pot, some tomato paste joins the party followed by flour to thicken what becomes an amazing braising liquid. Cooked for a few minutes to lose the flour taste, the holy grail of the pot is introduced - dark, rich beer.

I used Black Butte Porter and to lose the bitter flavor, it hits a boil and bubbles in the caldron for a good five minutes. Topped off with a can of consomme, a touch of water and some ground allspice for another hint of the Caribbean the browned turkey thighs go back in, the pot's covered and hits the oven for a couple of hours.

Served on a bed of rice, the rich mahogany colored stew is with out doubt, the best thing since sliced bread.

Now, I know we've blogged about this before just after the Big Guy got back from St. Croix almost exactly 2 years ago, but this is a dish that cries out for a place on your regular rotation. You could make it with turkey wings or drumsticks too but the thighs I used on this occasion were absolutely superb. I just wish to heck I'd cooked more of them!

One more thing - a word of warning. You'll want to batten down the hatches, pull the drapes and make sure the door's locked, because the smell of this cooking's going to bring the neighbors calling and goodness knows you're not going to be inclined to share. It is that good!

Beer Braised Turkey Thighs

Inspired by Foodnetwork.com Emeril Lagasse, 2006 and revised from previous JBug’s Kitchen recipe

2 large turkey thighs washed and dried

Salt and coarsely ground black pepper

Flour for dredging

2 Tablespoons vegetable oil

1 medium onion, small dice

2 carrots, small dice

2 celery stalks, small dice

1 leek, white part only small dice

4 large cloves garlic, minced

2 Tablespoons fresh ginger, minced

2 Tablespoons tomato paste

1-1/2 Tablespoons all-purpose flour

1-1/2 - 12 ounce bottles dark beer (I used Black Butte Porter)

1 can Beef consommé’

1/2 cup water

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

Chopped fresh parsley for garnish

Heat large Dutch oven over medium high heat. Add oil and heat till almost smoking. Season turkey thighs with salt and pepper; dredge them in flour and brown well on all sides, without crowding in hot oil. Takes about 10 minutes, total.  Remove from pan. Set aside.

Add onions, carrots and celery to Dutch oven. Cook stirring until vegetables are soft – about 5 minutes. Add leeks, garlic and ginger. Cook 1 minute more, stirring well. Add tomato paste and incorporate well into vegetables. Sprinkle with flour. Cook for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add beer, bring to a boil and cook for 5 minutes. (This step helps to remove the trace of bitterness from the beer.) Add beef consommé, water and all spice. Bring to a boil. Add seared turkey thighs. Cover pot and place in 350 oven for 2 hours, or until thighs are very tender. Remove cover from pot during last half hour of cooking.  Serve turkey thighs and sauce on a bed of steamed rice. Garnish with fresh parsley. Serves 3 to 4 people, depending on size of turkey thighs.

A year ago - Hanger Steak with Mushroom Madeira Sauce

Chipotle and Green Chile Pork Cheeseburgers

We all seem to be stuck on using beef for hamburgers so in the interest of individuality, we thought we'd do something different for our Labor Day barbecue yesterday. We cooked up burgers made from the other white meat instead.

The trouble with using ground pork in a burger is that today's hog farmers have bred the fat right out of the meat. Because it is so lean, it tends to dry out a lot which means one needs to add moisture to the meat.That was no problem for us because we live in the land of chipotles and green chiles and happen to love their flavor, along with some smooth melting, mild flavored Muenster cheese.

 

Rather than fire up the charcoal, the Big Guy cooked 'em in a grill pan in his outside kitchen. Once the burgers were nicely browned on both sides, he put the cheese slices on top and covered the pan with foil so the cheese melted and got all ooey gooey.

When the burgers came off the grill, they were dressed in thin slices of tomatillo and creamy avocado in keeping with our southwestern theme. If you're not into chipotles or green chiles, you could use grated raw zuchinni or even grated apple along with cheddar cheese. They'd be fabulous but you'll have to give them a new name. Right?

By the way, if you think our burgers looked a tad underdone you need to know the U.S. Department of Agriculture recently announced a change in the "official" safe cooking temperatures of pork and it's been lowered to 145 from 160. Just be sure to use a meat thermometer to test your burgers and remember to let the meat rest for a few minutes before you dress 'em, because the internal temperature will go up a few degrees as the patties continue to cook. If you want to feel even safer about your ground meat, grind your own. That way you're sure the equipment you use is absolutely immaculate before you start the process.

We had a side of baked beans along with our burgers. I had seen a recipe for a version cooked with root beer of all things, and since I've a half bottle of Dr. Pepper left from our shredded pork last week, I thought I'd just substitute the Dr. Pepper for the root beer. I mean pop, is pop (soda) right?  Well they might have looked good but in this case looks were definitely deceiving. They tasted kinda' weird. Doesn't it make you feel good to know I have my share of failures too?

Chipotle and Green Chile Pork Cheeseburgers (adapted from Gourmet Magazine via Epicurious.com) 

1 pound ground pork

2 teaspoons minced Chipotle in adobo plus 1 teaspoon adobo sauce

3 garlic cloves, minced

2 roasted green chiles, minced (or 2 ounces from a can)

Salt and pepper

Muenster cheese slices

Toasted hamburger buns

Mayonnaise

1 large tomatillo, husked, rinsed and thinly sliced

1 avocado, sliced

Combine pork with chipotle, garlic, green chiles, salt and pepper. Be careful not to overwork meat or it will be tough. Form into patties and grill on hot oiled grill or in grill pan until patties reach the internal temperature of 145. Just prior to removing from grill, add cheese slices and cover loosely with foil to allow cheese to melt. Remove from grill and allow to rest covered for a few minutes. Dress toasted hamburger buns with mayonnaise. Add cooked pork patties and garnish will tomatillo and avocado. Download Chipotle and Green Chile Pork Cheeseburgers

A year ago - Fried Mac and Cheese

 

Black Plum Cobbler - A New Invention

Stone fruit season is upon us and I couldn't resist buying some plums last week. Of course, I had every intention of putting them "au naturel" into the Big Guy's lunch box but somehow the thought of a warm from the oven cobbler seemed far more attractive.

Without a recipe in sight, I simply whipped up a shortbread crumble and sprinkled some into the bottom of a couple of 10 ounce ramekins. Topped off with a sliced plum and a half each, the little beauties were dressed with a mixture of egg, sugar, sour cream, and vanilla before a dusting with the rest of the crumbs. A half hour later, a the golden ramekins emerged from the oven oozing fruity goodness to a symphony of rattling spoons and groans of ectasy. Dee-ricious. So good in fact, they needed not one speck of icecream or whipped cream of any kind, and you all know how I love me some cream!

Black Plum Cobbler (an original from JBug’s Kitchen)

3/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 tablespoons sugar

Dash of salt

6 Tablespoons cold butter

Combine flour, sugar and salt in a small bowl. With a pastry blender, cut butter into dry ingredients until small crumbs. Set aside.

2/3 cup sugar

2 eggs

1/2 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon half and half

2 teaspoons vanilla

Dash of salt

3 black plums, stoned and sliced into wedges

In a small bowl whisk together sugar, eggs, sour cream, half and half, vanilla and salt until well combined. Spray 2 – 10 ounce ramekins with cooking spray and place on a sheet pan to catch any drips. Sprinkle one quarter of the dry ingredients into the bottom of each ramekin and top with black plum wedges. Pour sugar/egg/cream mixture over top of plums, splitting the liquid between the two ramekins. Top with remainder of the crumbs. Bake in preheated 350 oven for 30 minutes or until the top is golden, filling is set and bubbling. Serve warm.  Serves 2 Download Black Plum Cobbler

By the way, if you're wondering what we had for dinner last night, the Big Guy grilled some baby back ribs on the barbecue and I whipped up a potato salad. See it and weep! Sorry there will be no recipes. The Big Guy doesn't share his secrets and as for the potato salad, I didn't write one single solitary thing down.

Jalapeno, Green Chile and White Cheddar Hush Puppies

As you know, unless you've never read the "ABOUT" section to your right, I'm Canadian and I for one am rather literal. Prior to my introduction to the American culture if anyone said "hush puppy" to me, I'd automatically think of this.

 
Needless to say, I've had an epiphany. Sometimes the most unlikely of combinations will give you memorable results and that's what happened last night. The cheddar crust on the pork pot pie we had the other day had me wishing for more cheddary crispy goodness and since hush puppies were on the menu for dinner along with a fillet of cod, I figured I'd try cheddar in the hush puppies.

I also had a dearth of jalapenos and the Big Guy roasted a bunch of Hatch green chiles over the past weekend so I pulled a bag from the freezer and used those too. I swear, there's never been a better combination of flavors and I for one have never made better hush puppies. Incredibly crisp on the outside, full of cheddary peppery flavor and subtle heat, these puppies are light as air, moist and incredibly addictive.

Next time you're having fish for dinner, fry up some of these little dough boys. You'll be glad you did.

Jalapeno, Green Chile and White Cheddar Hush Puppies (inspired by Taste of Home)

2 cups cornmeal

1 cup plus 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 teaspoons sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup finely grated extra sharp white cheddar cheese

1/2 cup finely minced onion

2 jalapeno peppers, finely minced

4 roasted green chiles, chopped (or 1 – 4 ounce can)

1 egg

2/3 cup water

1/2 cup milk mixed with 1-1/2 teaspoons white vinegar

1/2 cup butter, melted

 Oil for deep frying

Heat oil in deep fryer to 375.

In a large bowl whisk together cornmeal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt. Stir in grated cheddar until well combined. In a smaller bowl, beat together egg with water, soured milk, and butter. Add onion, peppers and chiles to dry ingredients, followed by rest of the wet ingredients. Mix lightly with a fork until just combined. Using a small 2 ounce cookie scoop, drop dough into hot oil. I cooked about 8 at a time. Fry until golden brown on both sides – about 1 to 2 minutes. Remove from fat and drain on paper towels. Serve warm.  Makes 4 dozen.  Download Jalapeno, Green Chile and White Cheddar Hush Puppies

A year ago - Braised Orange and Ginger Shortribs

Chicken Parmigiana

Chicken Parmigiana is one of the most popular restaurant meals at Italian eateries which is amazing really, because it's pretty darn easy to make at home although you'd never know that because it looked like a bomb hit my kitchen last night. You can count on that admission being the cause of several loud groans and some laughs from my twin sister because when we were growing up, I cooked and she did the dishes, and did the dishes, and did the dishes. Do you get my drift?

As it turned out, my sister's a long way from here and it was my turn to clean up the kitchen last night. I have to admit it took a while, but this dish was worth every minute. Really just a chicken paillard in a fancy Italian dress, the chicken breasts are pounded, then dredged in flour, egg and panko crumbs and fried quickly and then slathered in marinara sauce and fresh mozzarella before getting a quick finish in the oven. 

By the way, I scratch made the marinara, although a good jarred variety would do in a pinch. I added some of our homemade pancetta because we love the flavor, along with some herbs and spices and fresh basil and a splash of dry marsala wine to. While it may not be a "true marinara" sauce, it's the way we like it. After all, isn't that why we all cook in the first place?

Julia might roll over in her grave as I say this, but personally I don't think there's a right or a wrong way to cook anything. I mean obviously some things turn out better than others, but In the same way that we have individual likes and dislikes in art and music, we have individual preferences as far as food goes too. Just because we enjoy highly flavored food in our house doesn't mean we're bad people or we're doing it wrong.

The point I'm trying to make is this - if our recipes are too spiced up for you, or you don't happen to like garlic, or you're not into pancetta, or you have an aversion to pepper, or you like white wine rather than red, or you're not into marsala, for heaven's sake just leave it out and do your own thing. It's not a big deal and for sure I don't think the kitchen police are going to care one iota. Capiche?

 Chicken Parmigiana with Tomato Sauce

4 skinless boneless chicken breast halves

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

2 eggs beaten with 1 tablespoon water

1 cup panko crumbs (or more as required)

Vegetable oil

6 ounces fresh mozzarella, thinly sliced

1 ounce parmesan cheese, grated

Fresh basil and parsley

Red pepper flakes as desired

Cooked pasta of your choice

Wash and dry chicken breast pieces and place each between two pieces of plastic. With a mallet, pound until approximately one quarter inch thick. Season on both sides of each pounded chicken breast. Dredge in flour, then dip into egg mixture making sure all sides are well coated, then coat in panko crumbs, pressing crumbs onto chicken with your fingers. Set aside and repeat with remaining chicken.

Preheat oven to 400. Place vegetable oil to a depth of a quarter inch in a large skillet and heat over medium high heat until very hot. Add chicken pieces, two at a time and fry on both sides until golden brown – about 2 minutes per side. Move to a baking sheet and repeat with remaining chicken. Top each browned chicken breast with some tomato sauce, then top with a few slices of mozzarella and a sprinkle of parmesan cheese. Bake for 5 to 7 minutes or until cheese is melted and chicken is cooked through. To plate: place approximately 1/3 cup on sauce on bottom of plate; top with piece of chicken and garnish with basil and parsley. Serve with plain pasta and pass the red pepper flakes. Download Chicken Parmigiana with Tomato Sauce

Tomato Sauce:

1 tablespoons olive oil

4 ounces pancetta, diced

1 large onion, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 teaspoons Italian seasoning

1 teaspoon dried oregano

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 bay leaf

1/2 cup marsala wine

1 teaspoon sugar

2 – 28 ounce cans whole tomatoes with juices, pureed with immersion blender

1 – 14 ounce can crushed tomatoes

1 – 6 ounce can tomato paste

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat oil in a large Dutch oven and add pancetta. Cook over medium low heat until fat is rendered and pancetta is crisp. Add onion and garlic and cook until onion is soft, stirring often – about 10 minutes. Add pepper flakes, Italian seasoning, oregano, basil and bay leaf. Cook stirring for 1 minute, then add marsala wine. Cook for 30 seconds, then add sugar, tomatoes and tomato paste. Season well with salt and pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring often then reduce heat to a slow simmer and cook for 1 hour or until sauce is thickened to your preferred consistency.

 A year ago - Macaroni and Cheese

Pork and Squash Pot Pie with White Cheddar Crust

As luck would have it, we're still enjoying the shredded pork from Saturday night. I'd popped some of it in the freezer to hold onto and jury rigged this recipe from High Plains to make use of it instead of the cooked turkey called for.

What can I say - the pork is the bomb and the cookbook is a real keeper. My wonderful sister Joy sent it to me for Christmas in 2001, just when my homesickness for the land of my birth was at its zenith. Quite honestly I had to put the book aside for a while because it just made me cry but enough of that already. After all I've been in the U.S. 11 years now so I should be over it by now, right?

This particular pot pie is about as different as you can get from the old standard, with cubes of buttternut squash, sliced onions and white beans along with the pork all served up in a rich creamy gravy. Just so you know, I adjusted the recipe to our tastes by adding a few more herbs, in no small part to make up for the fact that I used pork rather than roasted turkey. I dare say it would be fabulous with some of that leftover Thanksgiving bird and you could throw in stuffing and turkey gravy too just for good measure. It would be fabulous.

The true topper on the pie's got to be the white cheddar crust which is really a cross between a dumpling and a biscuit. The flavor of the cheddar really makes the pie, so don't leave it out, OK? The only negative about the whole thing is that I found the crust was quite "moist" and dumpling like where it touched the filling. The Big Guy liked it but I'm more fussy than he is (or is it anal and no comments on that one please). I think next time I'll bake the crust separately and pop it on top of the pie just before serving; however, you be the judge because it's all good. Darn good!

Pork and Squash Pot Pie with White Cheddar Crust (adapted from High Plains by Cinda Chavich)

2-1/2 cups water

1 teaspoon salt

2 cups peeled, seeded butternut squash cut into half inch cubes

2 tablespoons butter

1 medium onion, slivered

2-1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 cup chicken broth

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning

1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary

1/4 teaspoon dried ground sage

1/2 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper

Salt as required

1 cup cooked white beans (rinse well if using canned)

3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

3 cups cooked cubed or shredded pork roast

Boil squash cubes in salted water until barely tender (7 to 8 minutes). Drain, reserving 1 cup of liquid and place cubes in bottom of casserole dish. In saucepan melt butter over medium heat and add onions. Cook, stirring occasionally until onions are softened and just starting to brown – about 8 to 10 minutes. Stir flour into onions and cook, stirring for 1 minute. Slowly whisk in reserved squash cooking liquid along with chicken stock. Bring to a boil, stir in seasonings and cook until thickened (about 10 minutes). Taste for seasoning and add salt as required. Cool slightly. Preheat oven to 400.  Arrange cooked roast pork over squash cubes in casserole dish. Add white beans and sprinkle with parsley. Pour prepared sauce over top and using a fork, mix together lightly.

Crust:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons cold butter, cut into cubes

1-1/2 cups shredded white old Cheddar cheese

2/3 cup milk

In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, baking powder and salt. Using a pastry blender cut in butter until crumbly. With a fork, stir in shredded cheddar. Add milk and stir lightly until a soft dough forms. Drop dough on top of casserole and make in preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until top is golden and casserole bubbly. Serves 6

Hey people - Great minds think alike. Check out my friend Lea's site because she made Chicken Pot Pie last night. Yum!