A Good Week for Cooking!

 

Blogging has been way down my list over the last couple of years.  Life has been busy and interesting.  I’ll not go into all the details except to say we’re hoping for a MUCH better 2023! 

Over the last couple of years we’ve had way too much carryout and not enough good old-fashioned home cooking.  Hopefully that will also improve in 2023.  At least over the last week it has.  We’ve made four new recipes, four old favorites and one blast from the past.  How did it go?  Well, one of the misperceptions I find is that folks assume since I’m a good enough cook I don’t have many failures.  And, truly I don’t wind up with many two’s.  But, I do have failures.  Usually they’re ok enough to eat the meal.  But, then the leftovers wind up in the trash.  Last week we had two such failures.  I’d read a recipe for a lemon/orzo/chickpea/spinach soup.  It sounded fresh and wonderful.  It wasn’t.  I listed it as “blah to the max.”  Then, there were the mussels.  Enough for a meal after we used some for cioppino.  Another blah to the max. 

Fortunately the other two new recipes were REALLY good.  One was the aforementioned cioppino from Taste of Home.  Another was a Monte Cristo sandwich – made with a Bisquick mix from Betty Crocker Right Size Recipes.  Then the blast from the past was a tomato basil soup.  I think it was my mom’s recipe.  It’s in a “cookbook” of recipes I put together about 15 years ago and has no provenance listed.  It’ll be a regular in our rotation going forward.  Particularly since I now know it can be served warm equally successfully.  And, last but certainly not least were the old favorites:  cauliflower cheese soup and barley vegetable soup, both from Park Tudor Treasures.  Plus Alex Guarnaschelli’s French Onion Soup with Short Ribs and a Kate’s creation chicken pot pie.

Let’s start with the Tomato Basil Soup since it’s SO very easy!

Tomato Basil Soup

Ingredients:

28 oz can of crushed tomatoes

½ c half and half

16 oz chicken stock

½ package basil ( we used about a handful of leaves)

½- 1 t sugar

 

Directions:

Combine everything in a food processor and process until smooth.  Refrigerate for a couple of hours to allow the flavors to blend.  You can serve this either cold or hot.

 

Chicken Pot Pie

 

Ingredients:

Shredded rotisserie chicken

Potatoes, diced and parcooked

Carrots, diced and parcooked

Mushrooms, diced and sauteed

Can of cream of chicken soup

Cream

Dry Sherry

Thyme

Gruyere cheese, shredded

Pie crust

 

Directions:

This is  one where you just need to put together whatever veggies you want with the chicken.  We were out of peas or they’d have gone in.  No parsnips either.  It’s pretty much a clean up the kitchen dish.  

You’ll want to dump the soup into a small saucepan.  Pour in about a quarter of a cup of sherry.  Then, enough cream to make a nice sauce.  Or less sherry and more cream.  Toss in about a couple of teaspoons of thyme.  Or whatever herb trips your trigger.  Then, a handful of the shredded gruyere.  Let that melt and toss in the chicken and whatever veggies you’ve cooked.  Pour everything into a pie crust lined casserole dish.  Crimp the edges of the crust and bake at 350 until the crust is nice and brown. 

 

Spicy Fresh Seafood Cioppino 

Ingredients: 

5 garlic cloves, minced

2 T olive oil

1 24 oz can tomato basil pasta sauce

1 8 oz bottle clam juice

1 c dry white wine or chicken broth (I used the wine)

Salt and pepper

1 t sugar

Crushed red pepper flakes to taste

1 t thyme

1 lb fresh littleneck clams (I was stuck with canned)

1 lb fresh mussels, scrubbed and beards removed

1 lb uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined

1 lb uncooked bay scallops (I used a seafood medley from Trader Joes that also include calamari rings)

1 6 oz package baby spinach

 

Directions: 

Saute the garlic in the olive oil.  Do not let in brown.  Add in the pasta sauce, clam juice, wine and seasonings.  Allow it to simmer for 10 minutes.  Add in the seafood and cook until the shrimp is pink and the mussels and clams have opened.  Toss any that do not open!  Add in the spinach and stir to wilt it just a bit. Adapted from Taste of Home.  

We made another of our old favorites recently.  It's Alex Guarnaschelli's French Onion Soup with Short Ribs.  It's a long, complicated recipe and is totally worth the time it takes.  For me it pretty much sets the standard.  But, I'm not going to try and add the recipe to the blog.  Here are our photos:

LOTS of garlic in with the onions

The recipe calls for Korean short ribs but they're hard to find so I instant pot traditional short ribs.

Alex calls for 1/2 cup of shredded gruyere on each crouton.  She's exactly right!

You put the onion short rib mix on top of a handful of shredded gruyere.

Then, you pour in this magnificent broth.  

And, top it with a lovely broiled cheesy crouton of French bread.  Heavenly!

 

 

Scallops with Basil Cream, Farro with Swiss Chard and Hazelnuts and Buttered Beets with Pine Nuts

I cooked for three evenings straight and had a great time being home and getting to cook.  We'd been gone so much that I'd pretty much forgotten what my kitchen looked like.  About a month ago I started prepping for the two dinner parties.  Making lists of potential recipes.  Finding out what folks liked and didn't like.  Wednesday after work Connie headed to the grocery store and I headed to the kitchen.  And, proceeded to cook for almost three hours.  It was well worth the time and effort because we now have several new recipes that we'll make again.  A couple that will be go-to's. 

Wednesday evening was scallops with basil cream sauce.  Then, I had some Swiss chard in the front bed that I knew I needed to use.  (And, you can see the gorgeous lilies too!)

I found a recipe with farro and kale and figured the chard would be a perfect substitution.  The third dish was one that sold me on the cookbook - buttered beets with pine nuts.  We gave each and every dish a five.  The scallops were quick and easy and incredible.  Actually, the same description can be applied to the other two dishes.  Just amazing.

Thursday was catfish etouffee with a kale salad.  Both were good but not standouts like the night before. 

Then, Friday evening.  That was zesty hummus for an appetizer.  That's going to be a new family favorite.  It was so easy and so flavorful and SO beautiful.  Dinner was shrimp and mushrooms in a sherry cream sauce over Texas toast.  Alongside was a roasted carrot salad that was very complex and very tasty and a cucumber/beet/radish salad.  The cucumber salad was good but probably isn't one we'll make again.  If I'm going to have cucumber salad I want Christiane's cucumber/feta/herb salad.  It's killer.  I'll work on posting these recipes another day...

So, let's dig in on some recipes here:

Scallops with Cream and Basil
(serves 4)

Ingredients:

6 T butter
12 sea scallops
salt and pepper
1/4 c chopped shallots
1 t slivered garlic
pinch crushed red chile flakes
1/2 c dry white wine
3/4 c heavy cream
20 basil leaves, cut into ribbons

Directions:

In a large skillet, melt 4T of the butter.  When it's hot, add the scallops. Salt and pepper them to taste.  Brown both sides of the scallops.  Remove them from the heat before they've cooked through.  Wipe out the pan and add the other 2T of butter.  When it's melted, add the shallots,  Saute until they're softened.  Then, add the garlic and the chile flakes.  Cook that for about a minute and don't let the garlic get too brown.  Add in the white wine and cook over relatively high heat until it's reduced by half.  Then, add the cream and cook the sauce down until it's reduced by half.  Once that's done, add the scallops and pan juices back to the pan.  Add half the basil after about a minute.  When the scallops are just firm, you're ready to serve.  Top the scallops with the remaining basil as you serve them. 

adapted from the New York Times

Farro with Kale or Swiss Chard
(serves 4-6)

Ingredients:

1 c pearled farro
salt and pepper
3 T EVOO
1/4 lb pancetta or guanciale, chopped (I omitted this but would add it next time)
4 shallots or 1 small onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 bunch Tuscan kale or 1 bunch Swiss chard, stemmed and chopped (I thinly sliced the stems and sautéed them and added them in)
freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 c chicken stock
1/2 lemon, juiced
1/3 c chopped hazelnuts, toasted

Directions:

Cook the farro as per the package instructions.  Drain it and set the pan aside.  Pour the EVOO into a large skillet and add the pancetta.  Use medium heat.  Once the pancetta is lightly browned, add the shallots.  When those have softened, add the garlic.  Cook for a few minutes then add the kale or Swiss chard and let it wilt.  Stir in the chicken stock and the nutmeg, lower the heat and let it simmer until the greens are just softened.  Combine the greens, farro, lemon juice and hazelnuts to serve.

adapted from Rachael Ray


Buttered Beets w Pine Nuts
(serves 2)

Ingredients:

1 beet
butter
balsamic vinegar
pine nuts

Directions:

Peel and grate the beet on the large holes of your grater.  Brown the pine nuts in about a tablespoon of butter.  Spoon the pine nuts out of the butter and add the grated beets.  Cook for a few minutes until they're tender.  Add a dash (about a teaspoon) of the balsamic.  Serve topped with the pine nuts.

adapted from A Fresh Taste of Italy

Orange, Should've Been Chicken, Shrimp

I must've been a VERY good girl.  Why?  I got THE blog I wanted for Secret Recipe Club.  You read that right THE blog I wanted.  Last month, The Kitchen Witch got me.  She said we shared the same tastebuds.  She was SO right.  Life was insane (ok, it's been totally insane for years!) and I didn't get a comment to her.  Then, I got my Secret Recipe Club assignment.  Whoop, Whoop!  I now had an excuse to blow two hours reading a blog I wanted to read.  REALLY wanted to read.  Giggles is so right.  We do share the same taste buds.  We both love citrus.  We're both adventurous eaters.  So incredibly much fun to read her blog.  I felt like I was curled up in the cabin of my dreams just relaxing and reading.  Oh, and drooling :-)

So, what to make?  Guiness Irish lamb stew?  Marjitos?  Candied orange olive oil cake?  Lemon ginger elixir?  Orange chicken?  Did you notice how many have citrus?  Yeah, me too.  And, there are plenty more.  Oodles to be specific - lol.  Orange chicken it was.  If I was going to get this made in time, one of us needed to run to the store the evening before our cooking adventure.  I was going to be working in my Columbus, IN office so knew I'd be home late.  Connie got the grocery list that I'd left on the counter.  He got home from the grocery and got busy getting ready for our grandkids to visit.  About 2am he flew out of bed.  I heard the alarm being shut off then the back door opened then a racket in the kitchen.  It was one of those you are better off waiting it out than getting in the middle of it deals.  I waited.  Upstairs he trudged.  So, what happened?  He says, "I never took the groceries out of the trunk."  Ok, so we had rotten chicken.  Fine, we'd stop on the way home from the office the next evening.  Except when we  left the office the rain was pouring. A bar of soap in the back yard and I'd have been able to take a shower!   We got drenched just going to the car.   At that point I made an executive decision.  Giggle's orange chicken would be just fine with shrimp.  And, you know what?  It was.  We loved it.  I wouldn't have changed a thing.  Now, I'll know I can make it with either shrimp or chicken and it'll be great. 

Before I show you the recipe, here are a few of the photos of the epic water balloon fight Grampie had with Bradley and Rosie.  Daddy David sat in a safe zone making the water balloons.  He was also in charge of dousing anyone who didn't follow the rules.  Mostly Grampie who kept forgetting to go back to his safe zone after throwing a balloon.  Mommy Kara and I sat in another safe zone with our cameras.  We were dubbed the historians.  And, yes, that's our herb garden behind Kara.

Orange Chicken

Ingredients:

for the chicken:

2 lbs boneless, skinless chicken, cubed (I substituted shrimp)
2 eggs
1 T water
1 1/2 t salt
1/4 t pepper
1/2 c cornstarch
1/4 c flour
peanut oil for deep frying

for the sauce:
2 cloves garlic, minced
1" piece ginger, peeled and minced
1/2 t crushed red pepper
4 green onions sliced, white and green parts separated
1 T rice wine vinegar
1 1/3 c orange juice
2 T cornstarch
1 1/2 T soy sauce
2/3 c orange marmalade

Directions:

This recipe comes together very quickly so you really want to have everything set up and ready to go.  Your mis en place.  You'll need two bowls for the sauce ingredients.  Put the garlic, ginger, red pepper and whites of the green onions in one. 

The balance of the sauce ingredients go in the other.  Start with the cornstarch and rice wine vinegar.  Stir them into a slurry then add the other ingredients. 

Then set up two wide, shallow bowls (think pasta bowls) for the chicken or shrimp dipping.  In one, put the egg and water.  In the other, mix the flour, cornstarch, salt and pepper. 

This is where you can add other seasonings if you'd like.  I thought about adding some Asian seasonings but decided to try that next time.  Put a smallish skillet on the stove with about a tablespoon of oil in it.  Last, but not least, pour peanut oil (I used vegetable oil because that's what we had on hand) about 1" deep in a wide skillet.  Now, Giggles recipe called for a wok or a deep fryer.  I like the skillet because it gives me more control over turning the protein to make sure both sides get browned.  If you've got a deep fryer and want to use it, that way you can get both sides brown at once...  Turn the heat on under the small skillet.  You want to use medium heat.  Heat the oil to about 350.  Now, you're ready to get going.   

Dunk a handful of the protein in the egg wash. 

Then, toss it in the cornstarch/flour mixture.  Put it in the hot oil in the big skillet.

 
 Put the garlic/ginger mixture in the small skillet.  Once it's sizzling, slowly stir in the orange juice mixture. 

Stir this occasionally.  Turn the protein if you need to get both sides brown.  The crust will be nice and shatter thanks to the cornstarch.  Drain on paper towels.  Once all the protein is done and drained, toss it with the sauce and serve over rice. 

Top with a scattering of the green onion tops. 

An InLinkz Link-up

Cooking Out

Our friends are retiring in droves.  The first one who really got to me was Chris.  Every once in a while we take a long weekend trip with Chris and Mark.  All of the sudden, we didn't have to abide by a teacher's schedule.  That's when it finally dawned on me that I have less than ten years to my own retirement.  Oh, my.  I absolutely love what I do so I'm not sure I'll ever totally retire.  But, there will be a time I'll slow down because there are so many other things I'd like to do.

We'd had a busy week.  Monday was Memorial Day so there was a family party at brother John's house.   He did ribs on the grill  I brought the other stuff.  All too often he does the ENTIRE dinner and I feel like a freeloader so I was totally thrilled that he actually let me bring almost everything.  I took David's cheese dip, Brown sugar shrimp from Gastro Grilling, brie with brown sugar and pecans, Casa d'Angelo Salad, Aunt Bebe's Bean Bowl, vinaigrette potato salad, deviled eggs and Strawberry Torte.

Tuesday night we were actually home for burgers on the grill smothered with onions and mushrooms. 

Wednesday was a retirement reception for our friend Phyllis Geeslin who has done such an incredible job as executive director of the Benjamin Harrison House.  Thursday was dinner out with our dear friends George and Steve and Ellen.  We were celebrating Ellen's retirement.  Are you seeing the pattern here???  So, Friday evening we were going to celebrate our friend Brenda's retirement.  Brenda and Janet used to sit behind us at Colts games.  They were some of the first friends we made as a couple lo those many years ago when Connie and I first met. 

My wonderful housecleaner, Debbie, hasn't been here for a couple of months.  Between her mom's surgery and getting engaged and all kinds of things, life has interfered with her visits to my house.  Needless to say with our schedules at work and the fact that it's spring and our yard is VERY needy, the interior has been sadly neglected.  The dust is thick and it's obvious we have a dog and a cat cohabitating with us. 

Now, what would you do?  I've been out all week with the exception of one evening.  I really wanted to eat dinner at home.  But, we were supposed to go out with Brenda and Janet.  And, my house wasn't quite ready for prime time.  Good friends ignore the dust and the dog fur.  Indeed they do!  Instead of going out, we ate at home.  What a lovely, relaxing evening.

I marinated pork tenderloin in a fabulous marinade from Cuisine At Home magazine.  That's going on my list of go-to marinades.  Then, I did fingerling potatoes in a foil packet on the grill. 

And, corn on the cob with a mustard/maple/thyme glaze.  I've made that before.  It was the star of the show.  We had a salad of lettuce and strawberries from the garden.  It also had asparagus, orange segments and toasted pecans.  Last but not least, I took an idea from Food Network magazine and ran with it.  Bananas grilled with toffee bits, chocolate and mini marshmallows. 

All in all, between Memorial Day and Friday, there wasn't a bad recipe in the bunch.  I do love the story behind David's cheese dip.  Son number one, David, pulled a deli container out of the fridge and told me he'd found this FABULOUS dip at the store.  It was kind of expensive - like $8 for a pint - but he loved it.  I tasted it and it tasted for all the world like swiss cheese, red onions and mayonnaise.  I read the ingredient list and yup, that's what it appeared to be.  So, next time we went to Columbus to visit the kids, I started at Sam's Club.  There, I bought a mongo wedge of Jarlsberg and a bag of red onions.  Shredded part of the cheese, minced the onions and moistened the whole thing with mayonnaise.  Exactly alike.  And, maybe 25% of the cost...

Here's where to find the recipes that I've already included in this blog:

Casa d'Angelo Salad
Aunt Bebe's Bean Bowl
Strawberry Torte
Corn with Mustard/Maple/Thyme Butter

Now, on to the new recipes:

Brown Sugar Shrimp.  This recipe actually had two dipping sauces with it.  A cocktail sauce and a white horseradish.  Both were good but I felt that both detracted from the shrimp.  This recipe came out of a cookbook called Gastro Grilling.  I've made it about halfway through the cookbook and want to try just about everything in it.  Actually, we've made another recipe and it was equally fabulous.  And, as you'll note, no photos...

Brown Sugar Shrimp

Ingredients:

shrimp, tail on, shells removed, deveined
bourbon
butter
brown sugar

Directions:

Put the shrimp in a bowl and pour bourbon over them.  You don't necessarily need to fully cover them as long as you toss them every couple of minutes.  We used frozen shrimp so didn't worry about refrigerating them.  Marinate them for about fifteen minutes.  Toss the bourbon or use it to cook with as long as your'e going to heat it but do not drink it!  Pat the shrimp dry.  Now, the recipe calls for dipping the shrimp in butter then refrigerating it again.  I didn't have time to do that so here's what I did - Dip the shrimp in melted butter then roll it in dark brown sugar.  Put it on a grill pan.  Refrigerate it until you're ready to grill.  Grill on both sides.  You'll have lovely golden brown shrimp that just melt in your mouth.

Soy Marinated Chinese Pork Tenderloin.  See the gorgeous char on that pork tenderloin?  It tasted equally good.  I can see this on ribs, burgers (pork, beef or turkey,) pork loin, pulled pork, chicken...  Just about anything.  Even a really meaty fish would be fine with this marinade. 

Chinese Soy Marinade

Ingredients:

1/2 c low sodium soy sauce
1/4 c packed dark brown sugar
1/4 c purchased barbecue sauce (I used Sweet Baby Rays and doubled this)
2 T sesame oil
2 T minced fresh ginger
2 T dry sherry or mirin
1 T chili garlic sauce

Directions: 
Mix and marinate your meat for about an hour.  Brush on as you're grilling also.  If you've set some aside, you can serve this on the side as a dipping sauce. 


Gooey Bananas.  I saw this idea on Food Network Magazine's calendar of ideas at the front of the magazine.  They called for splitting the banana and stuffing it with toffee bits, chocolate and mini marshmallows.  Ummm, great idea but there's not enough STUFF.  So, I peeled the bananas and laid them on heavy duty foil (you do NOT want to use a pan you've got to clean later or you will be scrubbing from now until next May...)  Then, sprinkle them liberally with toffee bits, chocolate chips and mini marshmallows.  Seal the packets and toss them on the grill.  You'll need to peek and see how they're doing.  Once the chips have melted and the marshmallows are nice and gooey, you're good to go. 

Morel and Crab Napoleons

At my age there's something wrong with celebrating one's birthday for three days.  It's not a major birthday and 29 is WAY far in the rear mirror.  However, celebrate for three days I did.

Ken, brother number four - that's measured only in age - was here on Friday.  He was on his way from his home in Charlotte to pick up his son Evan in Michigan.  John, that would be brother number three, and his wife, Pam, met us for dinner at our favorite restaurant, Chef Joseph's at the Connoisseur Room.  Joseph is an amazing chef.  I had scallops that were perfect.  They were exactly what I wanted.  I'd told Connie we'd make scallops on Saturday because I had no clue Joseph would have them as his special and I didn't trust any other restaurant to make exactly what I wanted.  Juan waited on us and spoiled us totally.  Sara made her normal fabulous drinks - like my after dinner drink of coffee Patron tequila, salted caramel vodka and Baileys.  Oh, my, but that was good.  John and Tom - the owners - were there to offer birthday wishes.  Sammy even came out of the kitchen to say hi.  John, Pam, Ken, Connie and I had a fabulous time talking about all kinds of things. 

Ken took off Saturday morning and Connie and I were off to brunch before the office.  Unfortunately, we tried a new place:  Just Judy's.  We won't be back.  It didn't seem that anything was scratch made.  And, both Connie's pancakes and my sausage gravy tasted funny.  There was a lot of food for the price but I'd rather have wonderful food and less of it.  After we got home from the office at o'dark thirty, I decided to fix pissalidiere. 

One of our favorite dishes.  It always elicits a conversation about one of our first dates when I fixed it for Connie and he was entranced by the fact that I too love onions, garlic, anchovies, olives and cheese. 

Sunday morning I used Pam's leftover housemade potato chips from Chef Joseph's.  I'd scanned in some recipes on Saturday night and found an Iberian frittata using potato chips rather than sliced and fried potatoes.  It was good but not great so I'll not post the recipe here. 

After our breakfast, we were once again off to the office.  We actually headed home before 5:00.  YAY!  On the way we stopped and bought phyllo dough.  Something I've not used and am not comfortable with.  Something my friend Liz uses all the time and does a fabulous job with.  It was Easter.  I couldn't call Liz for moral support.  It was all up to me.  Argh!  But, I wanted to make this recipe.  It was to be my cook for myself birthday dinner.

I've got a few left from this chapter in Commander's Wild Side.  It's called, "Showstopping Dishes to Impress Your Friends."  Thus far, they certainly have been.  We've made the Truffled Scallops and Crabmeat with Caviar Vinaigrette, Creole Lobster Bisque and Pepper Crusted Beef with Crispy Oysters and Horseradish Cream.  Still to come are the crab and brie stuffed founder and crab and oyster mushroom risotto.  I'm going to skip the other two recipes since one has grits (a Connie no-no and the other has fois gras - a no-no for both of us.)

Well, what did we think?  Amazing.  Over the top.  May I lick my plate?  Please?   Now, this recipe sounds intimidating and difficult.  It really isn't.  I was amazed at how easily it came together. 

Morel and Crab Napoleons
serves two

Ingredients:

for the phyllo squares:
3 half sheets of phyllo dough
2 T butter, melted

for the fish
1 c dry white wine
1 c clam juice
2 fresh parsley stems
5 whole black peppercorns
1 bay leaf
2 tilapia filets (the recipe called for speckled trout)

for the crabmeat:
1/2 pound crabmeat, picked
1/4 thinly sliced green onions or shallots
2 T dry white wine

for the mushrooms:
4 oz assorted mushrooms
3 T butter

for the morel cream:
1 c heavy cream
2 T dry white wine
salt and pepper
1/4 oz dried morel mushrooms, finely ground

Directions:

Lay one sheet of phyllo dough on a baking sheet. 

Brush it with melted butter.  Top it with another sheet of phyllo dough.  Brush it with melted butter.  Repeat with the last sheet of phyllo dough.  Cut them in half.  Bake for 15 minutes at 300F.  The recipe calls for putting another baking sheet on top of the phyllo rectangles so they'll remain flat.  I decided not to do that and they puffed up beautifully. 

Pour the cream and wine in a small saucepan and simmer for 10-15 minutes or until reduced by half.  Stir in the salt, pepper and morel dust.  Keep warm.

In a small skillet, pour the ingredients for the fish poaching - white wine and clam juice.  Add the parsley, peppercorns and bay leaf. 

Bring the poaching liquid to a heavy simmer and add the tilapia.  Cook about 10 minutes or until the fish flakes easily. 

Remove the skillet from the heat and set it aside. 

In another small skillet, heat the crabmeat gently with the shallots and white wine.

Now, it's time to assemble the napoleons...

Pour about 1/4 cup of the morel cream on each of two dinner plates. 

Top the cream with half of a tilapia filet each. 

Top each piece of tilapia with 1/4 of the mushrooms

then 1/4 of the crabmeat. 

Top that with one of the phyllo rectangles. 

Top that with the other piece of tilapia, the mushrooms and the crabmeat. 

Top each with the last phyllo rectangles then drizzle with the rest of the morel cream.

adapted from Commanders Wild Side