When I was in high school, my best friend Deni and I spent way too much time at Meridian Hills Country Club. Her grandfather was happy to pay the bill so we indulged. We'd eat lunch there most days. Jimmy would bring us our favorite salad then fresh strawberries for dessert. YUM!
For oh so many years as an adult, I tried to figure out what the dressing was on the salad. I'd ask around and nobody could find out. Then, one day sbout 6 years ago I was meeting a friend there for lunch and I discovered the salad was no longer listed on the menu. Horrors! Oh, but we can still make it for you the waiter assured me. They did and it tasted just like always. Wonderful. So I asked the waiter if he'd be so kind as to ask the chef what was in the dressing. He came back out and said it was just a Caesar dressing. Hmmm, it certainly didn't taste like that. On the way out of the parking lot, the AH HA moment hit - pickle relish. There were little specks of green in the dressing. On the way back to the office I stopped at the grocery and bought the ingredients. That night I made my own Meridian Hills Special Salad. It tasted just like the real deal. And, the pickle relish made all the difference.
The Caesar dressing I use is homemade but there are some really good ones sold commercially. I just like the recipe I've always used and I like knowing what goes into it. The recipe came from a friend MANY years ago. I've not measured in eons so all the measurements are guesstimates. Actually, talking about the dressing reminds me of a funny story. The friend who gave me the recipe was going to teach me to jet ski. I showed up at his house with my makeup still on. He suggested I take the makeup off since I'd be honked off when I dumped the ski and my makeup ran. I said I had no intention of dumping the ski. Thanks to doing a lot of Jazzercise in those days I had great balance and was lucky enough to not dump the ski. He said it was the first time he'd taught someone and they'd not dumped it :-) Today, well, I'd have to take the makeup off!
Now, when I have leftover turkey, this is one of the recipes I typically make. Don't you love to make those dishes that evoke wonderful memories?
Meridian Hills Special Salad
Ingredients:
For the salad:
chopped lettuce
slivered swiss cheese
chopped turkey
chopped ham
Caesar dressing
pickle relish
For the dressing:
Eggbeaters - equal to two eggs
dijon mustard, about 1 T
lemon juice or lime juice or key lime juice - about 2 T
white wine vinegar, a couple of teaspoons
anchovies - 1 tin
Worcestershire Sauce - a couple of good dashes
Tabasco - a few drops
garlic - about 1 T chopped
olive oil - until the dressing thickens
Directions:
To make the dressing, put the anchovies in the blender. Add everything else but the olive oil. Puree until it's well blended and smooth. Slowly pour in olive oil until the dressing thickens.
To make the salad, layer the lettuce in a bowl and top it with the meats and cheese. You can also add hard-cooked eggs and ripe olives. Pour on some dressing and top it with a dollop of pickle relish.
Many years ago, I found a cookbook called Bakery Lane Soup Bowl. At this point, I have no idea where I found it. Since it was used, my guess is the church rummage sale. I'd not tried anything from the cookbook in spite of reading it cover to cover. When Connie came home with a growler of stout for the 1/3 cup I needed for the cheddar ale spread, I realized either we were going to be drinking a LOT of stout over the course of 48 hours or I was going to have to find another use for a good part of it. How about cheese beer soup? One of my all-time favorite soups. Bakery Lane was the second cookbook I looked in.
What did we think? The soup was relatively complicated to put together. Chop, shred, brown, mix... Three pans and multiple steps. I liked it better than Connie did. In my opinion, it wasn't quite thick enough. And, I'd have added some cauliflower and broccoli to the vegetables. And, I'd have added more cheese. Last, but not least, it says to top it with bacon. I did and the bacon sank to the bottom... But, I'll make it again with some tweaks.
Cheddar Cheese Soup
Ingredients:
1/2 c diced bacon (2 oz)
1 olive oil
1 c chopped carrot
1 c chopped onions
1 c chopped celery
3 c chicken stock
1 1/2 c beer
3 1/2 c milk
1 lb extra sharp cheddar cheese
2/3 c flour
1/2 c heavy cream
Directions:
Brown and drain bacon.
Wipe out the skillet. Pour in the olive oil. Saute the vegetables until they're softened and onion is transparent.
In a large saucepan, heat the stock and beer.
Add the vegetables.
Shred cheese on large holes of grater.
Toss the shredded cheese with the flour. Here's where you need to add more thickening if you want a thicker soup. Scald the milk. Add the cheese and flour mixture and stir until the cheese is melted. Once the vegetables are tender, add the cheese/milk mixture to the vegetable pot. Add the cream at the same time. Stir well. Serve topped with the bacon crumbles and fresh parsley if desired.
Since my sister-in-law's family and mine joined forces for the holidays, we've had turkey sandwiches for Christmas Eve. This year, I changed it up and had turkey manhattans as an option. The non-baker actually made a couple of loaves of buttermilk bread for the base of the manhattans. You'll get to read about the bread later. It was fantastic!! The mashed potatoes were simply russets - cut up and cooked then smashed with low-fat Philly and a bit of 2% milk. Because the peels have so much good stuff in them, I didn't even peel the potatoes. The gravy, well, I totally cheated and bought some of the jars at the grocery. The turkey, though, was a production. And, what a successful production.
Last time I made a whole turkey and combined two recipes for the brine. This time, I used Alton Brown's brine recipe (one of the two I used on Thanksgiving) but I totally made up my rubs. This is the most moist turkey I've ever had. I'd planned on slicing it then putting it into some broth to warm it up for the turkey manhattans. It didn't need broth at all. We actually cooked the turkey breasts on Thursday the 23rd. Sunday the 26th we were still eating leftovers and the meat was still moist as all get out. We're looking forward to a couple more days of leftovers!
Brined Turkey Breast
Ingredients:
For the brine:
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 c dark brown sugar
1 gallon vegetable stock
1 T black peppercorns
1 1/2 t allspice berries
1 1/2 t candied ginger
For the under skin paste:
1 large onion, sliced
2 t rosemary
1/2 c apple cider
1/2 c white wine
For the on the skin rub:
1/2 c olive oil
1 t crushed rosemary
2 T dark brown sugar
1 T finely chopped garlic
Directions:
To make the brine:
Because I brined the turkey at the office, I did it a bit differently. I put a couple of cups of water in a saucepan, then added the other ingredients - including a couple of large dollops of vegetable base. Once the salt and vegetable base had dissolved, I poured everything into a thermos and took the brine base, turkey breasts and big stockpot into the office. Once there, I unwrapped the thawed turkeys (they take 2-3 days to thaw in the fridge) and rinsed them then plopped them into the stockpot. I poured the brine base over them then filled the stockpot with cold water to cover. I left the turkeys in the brine for almost 12 hours. Then, I took them home and finished up. I did not rinse them after pouring the brine off.
To make the under the skin paste:
Slice the onion and saute it until very soft in a small amount of olive oil. Once it's started to soften, pour in the cider and the white wine. Add the rosemary.
When the liquid has almost totally evaporated, add the garlic. When all you have is a bit of syrup, remove the pan from the heat.
Allow the mixture to cool a bit then puree it in the blender or food processor.
Rub it under the skin.
It'll be lumpy as all get out. That's ok!
To make the on the skin rub:
Mix all the ingredients
and rub thoroughly into the turkey skin.
Put the turkey back in the stockpot and refrigerate it overnight.
To roast the turkey:
Preheat the oven to 500. Remember it's easier to rearrange the racks while they're cool...the voice of experience speaking here! Put the turkey on a roasting rack and roast it for 30 minutes at 500. Then, if you have one, put a remote thermometer in the thickest part of the breast, tent the turkey with foil and put it back in the oven at 350. For a 14-16 lb bird it should require another 90-120 minutes. Once the turkey reaches 161, remove it from the oven and tent it with foil. Allow it to rest for 30 minutes. Before carving, remove the skin and toss it.
adapted from Alton Brown's turkey recipe on FoodTV.
Beans. They're so good for you. And, I do love them. But, on occasion, I get tired of eating them the same way. In soups and salads. Sometimes I'm ready for a new way. I've tried bean dips but for the most they don't do much for me. So, when I saw this recipe on TravelEatLove's blog, I thought this might be a bean dip I could love.
Indeed it is. We discovered white truffle oil a couple of years ago when I needed it for a recipe. Connie called from the grocery store and said this stuff is $15 for 8 oz. Do you really want it? I looked at the recipe and we didn't need much. Means a little goes a long way and we'd not be using up the bottle really quickly. So, let's splurge and get some. That bottle lasted us almost two years. And, we didn't use the truffle oil judiciously. It went in LOTS of dishes. We added it when it wasn't called for. We got far more than $15 of enjoyment out of it!!! We bought another bottle last spring so I had the backup ready to go. Here's the deal with the white truffle oil. When a savory dish needs a little something but you just can't put your finger on it - oftentimes this will work. Just add a little. The flavor is incredible. It does kind of what soy sauce does. Adds a depth of flavor that you just can't pin down.
You've probably already guessed, but we loved this dip. It's super easy to make and the flavor is incredible. It's actually good for you in a lot of ways. Beans, lemon juice, garlic. Your breath? Not so much :-)
White Bean Truffle Dip
Ingredients:
1 can white navy beans, drained and well rinsed
juice of one large lemon (about 2T of juice)
12 roasted garlic cloves
2 T white truffle oil
Directions:
Toss the garlic with a little olive oil and put it into an oven proof baking dish. Roast the garlic at about 450 for 20 min. It'll be very soft and just a little brown. How's this for a really fuzzy photo???
Juice the lemon. Remember to roll it on the counter before you cut it. That'll help release the juice.
Combine all the ingredients in the food processor and process away.
This is best made the day before it's going to be used. It can be served with baguette, crackers, crudite, fingers (just kidding but we did lick the spatula thoroughly.)
Many thanks to TravelEatLove for a great recipe and really helpful notes on what she'd do the next time she makes this. We increased the garlic a bunch but left the lemon the same since our lemon was mongo.
I'm on my second cold of the season and it's turned into bronchitis. Connie caught the first one and gave it to me. I felt good for a couple of days in between then came down with the 2nd one. He now has that cold also. Delightful. I love sharing, just not colds! So, I finally broke down and stayed home for a day. Mostly sat in my chair and read - when I wasn't napping. Well, yes, and I watched Food Network. I've never made a lot of Sandra Lee's recipes because she uses too many prepared foods - the whole jist of the show, I know. I'd rather have more control over the ingredients. But, there is a time and a place for the whole semi-homemade deal. Like when you're sick and you just don't have the energy to deal with dinner. Choice one is semi-homemade, choice two is carry out. For half the cost, I can prepare twice the number of meals. Sign me up.
This is actually my creation. Born of desperation many years ago when I wanted something more substantial than chicken noodle soup but I didn't want to cook. It was so good that it's become my go-to feeling puny recipe. The best part is you're still getting that famous Jewish Penicillan - chicken stock. Referred to around here as liquid gold. I fill my freezer with containters of homemade stock. But, for this recipe if you don't have homemade stock or don't feel like messing with thawing it etc, hey, just open a can!
Chicken and Noodles
Ingredients:
1 46 oz can chicken broth
package frozen noodles (I use Reames)
two large handfuls of baby carrots
1 rotisserie chicken (so, what did we do before they had these???)
1 carton mashed potatoes ( I use BobEvans from the refrigerator section, but you can use frozen, box mix, whatever trips your trigger)
1 jar turkey gravy, if desired
1 large handful frozen peas, if desired
Directions:
Open the can of chicken broth and pour it into a large pot.
Crank the heat up and bring the broth to boiling. While that's happening, cut your carrots into chunks. Then, bone the chicken. Use the lid of the chicken for scraps.
Saves washing a bowl! Once the broth is boiling, add the noodles
and carrots
and give it a good stir. Turn the heat back to medium. Let the noodles and carrots cook for about 20 minutes. Right at the end, toss the chicken meat
and peas in.
Heat up the potatoes. For each serving, spoon a big dollop of potatoes in the middle of a pasta bowl.
Pour the noodle mixture over.
Serve. If you want more sauce/gravy, heat up the jar of turkey gravy and add it to the mix.
I waxed euphoric over the individual potato gratins. Please, allow me to add sweet potatoes and beets to that list. This is a recipe that has so many possibilities.
Here's a link to the original post: Individual Potato Gratins.
Basically, you slice red potatoes VERY thinly and layer them in muffin tins with salt, pepper, garlic and a bit of finely grated cheese. Then, you top them with a tablespoon of cream and bake them. They're beyond wonderful. We've now had them at least four times... Connie asks for them and he's not a huge fan of potatoes.
Once we tried the individual potato gratins, Connie and I brainstormed. Basic ingredients, liquid, cheese, seasonings... Two of our top choices were beets and sweet potatoes. Now, the problem with both of them is that they aren't typically a size that can be easily mandolined and fit into a muffin tin. So, when we tried these I had a choice between cutting rounds that would fit and wasting a good bit of potato or beet OR cutting pieces and filling the muffin tins. My Scotch heritage won out. Go figure. They still tasted fantastic. They just didn't stand beautifully on their own once they were taken out of the muffin tins.
How did we make them? In both cases, we used blue cheese with cream. I added some chopped walnuts to the beet gratins:
My guess is these will be great with a lower calorie option like chicken stock or a mix of chicken stock and some white wine. I'm also dreaming up different combinations. Like greek lemon potatoes. Or, mediterranean with some kalamata olives. I just bought a new bag of red potatoes so a remix is on the menu!
