Savoury Table

Somethng Really Special For Father's Day: Butter Pecan Ice Cream

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Harris) — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 17:58:00 +0000

It goes without saying that I believe all the recipes I put on my blog are really delicious, but sometimes one comes along that stands out above all the rest. My mother has been telling me for years that this Southern Living butter pecan ice cream recipe is da bomb, but for some reason I never followed through and made it. My loss, but I have now seen the light and today I hope to enlighten you too. This is some wonderful stuff.

With Father's Day coming up in a couple of days, I, like many of you out there, am looking for some really great recipes to treat that special dad in our lives. We will be barbequing lots of good stuff for ours and I can't imagine any better way to follow that up than with this outstanding decadent dessert.

As you will notice there are eight, count 'em, EIGHT egg yolks, one stick of butter and almost two cups of cream for a little over a quart of ice cream. How can it not be good? At risk of you thinking I'm going all Paula Deen on you, I promise to only make this on special occasions like the Father's Day, the 4th of July or a sunny Tuesday afternoon.

Butter Pecan Ice Cream (from Southern Living Magazine)

I've never made or eaten homemade ice cream that is this silky, smooth and delicious. I followed the ingredients and directions closely with only one small diversion, I prepared my custard the night before, transferred it to a container with a tight fitting lid and refrigerated it over night so I could put it in my little electric ice cream freezer and freeze it the next morning. I then transferred it to another container and froze it in my home freezer for an additional 4 hours or so before serving, so it was nice and firm. If you do this, the days of impatient diners eating soupy homemade ice cream are long gone.

1/2 cup unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
3/4 cup sugar
8 large egg yolks
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract (next time I will probably decrease this to 1/8 teaspoon)
1/2 cup chopped toasted pecans

Melt butter in a small heavy saucepan over medium-high heat. Simmer about 4 minutes or until butter turns light brown and the milk solids on the bottom of the pan release brown specks. Set aside; let stand until just warm.

Combine milk, cream, and sugar in a medium saucepan over medium heat; bring to a low boil, stirring occasionally to dissolve the sugar. Remove from heat.

Beat egg yolks in a medium bowl with an electric mixer on medium speed 1 minute. Slowly add brown butter with specks into yolks, and beat 2 minutes or until mixture is thick and fluffy.

Slowly pour one-quarter of hot cream mixture into the egg mixture, stirring until incorporated. Pour this mixture back into the medium saucepan; add remaining hot cream mixture over low heat, stirring constantly with a heat-resistant spatula until mixture reaches 170° and lightly coats the back of spatula. (Be careful not to let the custard boil or the egg yolks will curdle.) Strain custard into a bowl through a medium-mesh sieve. Refrigerate custard 1 hour or until chilled; stir in the extracts.

Pour mixture into a 1 1/2-quart freezer container of an electric ice cream freezer. Stir in chopped pecans, and freeze mixture according to manufacturer's instructions. Freeze 4 to 6 hours before serving.

For more great recipes like this, beautiful design ideas and expert gardening tips, visit Southern Living Magazine's site.

Something From Nothing #13: Chocolate Meringue Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Harris) — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 15:10:00 +0000

Boy do I ever have a case of spring fever. All I want to do in the evening is sit on the front porch, have a cool drink and watch the world go by. I just can't seem to get in the kitchen and get cooking for anything. It has been chicken spaghetti salad and leftovers around here for the past week. It is times like these that are perfect for a something from nothing recipe.

Since I haven't posted a dessert in awhile, I set my sights on coming up with something sweet, simple and easy. It didn't take me long to land on meringues. Light and versatile, these little crispy clouds are really pretty easy to make, they just take a little time. You can flavor them, dip them, add food dye to color them or just enjoy them as they are. A couple of my favorite ways to eat them is by mixing raspberries or strawberries in syrup and lots of whipped cream with them for a delicious Eton Mess or crushing them over ice cream. Another way is just throwing some cocoa in with the sugar and eating them like cookies, which is what I've done here.

While the ingredient list is short, there is one thing you need a lot of, and that is time. These are perfect when you have no plans for the day, because under the best of circumstances they take about 3 hours start to finish (the more humidity in the air, the longer they take). I think they are just perfect for when you want something spectacular with just a little bit of effort. Now, back to the front porch for me.

4 large egg whites, room temperature
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 - 1/2 cups powdered (icing) sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt (normally I use kosher, but for this I like plain old table salt because the grain is finer)
4 tablespoons cocoa (optional, for white meringues just omit this)

Preheat oven to 200 degrees.

Place egg whites in the very clean bowl of a stand mixer (I wipe everything down with a little vinegar). With the whisk attachment in place, beat whites until they are foamy. Add the vanilla extract and continue to beat for approximately 15 minutes or until whites are stiff and glossy.

While the whites are being beaten, whisk together the powdered sugar, salt and cocoa.  Add the sugar mixture to the beaten whites a heaping tablespoon or two at a time, mixing well between each addition.

At this point you can transfer the mixture into a pastry bag that has been fitted with a large decorating tip and pipe them into little swirly mounds, but since this is something from nothing, I spooned mine onto a Silpat lined cookie sheet or one that has been covered with parchment paper and sprayed with non-stick cooking spray.  Be sure and pile it high and top with a little swirl if you can.

Place cookie sheet into the preheated oven and bake for approximately 2 - 1/2 to 3 hours. Some recipes call for you to close the door onto a wooded spoon so it remains cracked to keep the oven from getting too hot and to allow any steam to escape. I usually just cook mine with the door closed and that seems to work fine for me.  Perfectly cooked, they will peel easily from the surface they are baked on. It is important to remember that you are not cooking the meringues as much as you are drying them out.

Turn off the oven, crack the door and let them cool in the oven. Serve or store in an airtight container.

Makes 24 meringues.

*Don't worry if your meringues are a little underdone on the inside I still love them. Just say that they are truffle filled. This works every time with Americans. . . Europeans not so much.

Something to Soothe a Summer Cold: Tom Yum Soup

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Harris) — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 01:06:00 +0000

I think I may have made mention of my beautiful, charming and hip niece Kheili before. What a sweet, darling girl. She is just so very dear to me. Without her I might never have discovered the important things in life like Groupon or Living Social.  There is just no telling where I'd be. I would most certainly be paying too much for sushi and car washes at the very least. She does her very best to keep me up to date on things, so I have learned to listen when she tells me about a new discovery or old favorite of hers.

I happened to mention to her the other day that Mr. H and I were suffering with stuffy noses and sore throats. She relayed to me that one of her favorite cold remedies is a spicy, aromatic soup that is rumored to have medicinal powers called Tom Yum. Being a believer in Jewish penicillin myself, I was skeptical that this Thai concoction could measure up, but in the interest of science I started searching around for recipes.

Tom Yum is a clear, spicy soup that is widely served in Laos and Thailand, but is also very popular in the neighboring countries of Malaysia, Indonesia and Singapore.  "Tom" comes from the Thai word for boiling, and "Yum" is derived from the word "yam" which is a Laotian and Thai spicy and sour salad. This soup is most often made with prawns, but there are many variations which use tofu, noodles, rice, pig knuckles, chicken, and coconut milk instead of, and in addition to, the prawns.

I have to say that Kheili was right again, as this is just what the doctor ordered. This soup is hot, sour and aromatic, which is just what we both needed to soothe our symptoms. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a meal just for when you are sick. This is a delicious soup for any meal, any time of year, even when you are feeling great. I know for a fact that my daughter is going to love this when she needs a warm up from the chill of the air conditioning this summer. Thanks for the suggestion Kheili!  You've come through for me yet again.

Tom Yum(ish) Soup

I headed over to my well stocked Korean market for many of my ingredients, but there are easy substitutions for many of the harder to find ingredients in this recipe.

6 cups broth (I used chicken but feel free to use vegetable or fish if you prefer)
4 kaffir lime leaves (the zest of 1 lime will work nicely as a substitute for this)
1 lemongrass stalk, cut into 1" lengths
1 - 2" piece galangal root, sliced into 1/8" thick pieces (omit this if you can't find it and add just a little more ginger root)
1 - 2" piece ginger root, sliced into 1/8" thick pieces
1 - 2 birdseye peppers, sliced in quarters diagonally (thinly sliced Serrano peppers are a nice substitute)
1 garlic clove, smashed
1 handful mushrooms (straw, sliced button, enoki, etc.)
2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons fish sauce
1 tablespoon Tom Yum Paste or Thai chili paste (I didn't add this to mine and it was still delicious)
Juice of two limes (add juice a half at a time to suit your taste)
1/2 pound medium size shrimp
1/2 cup small diced firm tofu (optional)
1 small bunch cilantro leaves
2 green onions, chopped

Pour the broth in a large saucepan. Add the kaffir lime leaves, lemongrass, galangal, ginger, peppers and garlic. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes.

Remove the cover and stir in the mushrooms, sugar, fish sauce, Tom Yum Sauce and lime juice. Simmer for 5 minutes longer then add the shrimp and tofu. Cook for approximately 2 - 3 minutes or until the shrimp starts to turn opaque. Remove from the heat at this point to avoid overcooking the shrimp. Add salt to taste. Ladle into bowls and top with cilantro and green onion. Serve piping hot.

Serves 3 - 4

Blogging and Contesting: Sparkling Lemon Ginger Cooler and a Cooking Contest Central Membership Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Harris) — Tue, 28 May 2013 12:47:00 +0000

Unfortunately I have had to draw another name for my giveaway. This time Random.org chose Holly as my winner for the CCC membership. I'm sorry that I didn't get a screen capture to post here. Congratulations Holly. I hope you are a big winner in the months to come.

I have been blogging for going on five years now. I started because I simply wanted to share some favorite recipes with others who love to cook and create recipes as much as I do. Much to my surprise, many of you stopped by, left great comments and still come back all these years later. You are why I keep going. Thanks for sharing your time with me.

My first couple of posts took me weeks of writing, rewriting and proofreading before I published. Now years later I still care, but I am much more relaxed, so relaxed in fact, that I recently missed adding flour to a cake recipe.  DAMN! There's a saying that goes, "If you want to find a mistake, just hit publish." So true. I'd like to now extend my sincerest apologies to anyone (Susan) who made the flourless version of my Pineapple Macadamia Cake.

Photography for my blog is a whole new animal altogether. I first started out just snapping photos at the dinner table and soon found out that would never do.  I needed a DSLR, lessons to figure out how to use said DSLR, and lights and props . . . lots and lots of props. Almost five years and a couple of million dollars later, my photos have improved, but I still only get about 1/4 of then on the food porn sites. Sometimes I understand why, sometimes I don't.

Even though I love it, the blogging world itself is a pretty competitive place. I have never understood why we just can't be more supportive of each other. Don't get me wrong, I have been lucky and met many great, supportive and talented bloggers who really want to share their knowledge and perks with others, but I have to say that they are not all so generous. It can be dog eat dog out there sometimes, but I have learned to lean in and not forget why I started this in the first place.

One place where I have never been disappointed is in the world of contesting. You wouldn't think that would be the case would you? I belong to a couple of sites where we members chat mostly about contests, but often times life and family seep in there too and friendships develop. If you need a question answered about contest rules, or opinions about a recipe you are entering, it will be answered thoughtfully and with great encouragement.  Even when there is a million dollars at stake, everyone is happy to help just hoping that someone from the "family" might be the big winner. Honestly, I love these people.

This time of year there are more cook-offs and contests than you can shake a stick at. Cook-offs are my favorite because not only do you win a wonderful trip to some place fun, but you usually get to cook next to someone that you've known for a long time but have never met.   Last year I got to meet several people at The Gilroy Garlic Festival that I have been wanting to meet in person for a very long time. I didn't win anything, but I've never had so much fun at a cook-off before. So far I know I'll be reunited with a couple of them at Pillsbury and I have my fingers crossed that the rest of them will make it and if that happens, watch out Vegas.

Trying to pick out a recipe to go with this post has proven to be difficult at best. I have lots of great contest recipes in my archives, but I kind of like to keep them under wraps just in case the right contest comes along. The the last one I retired and published here on my blog (Chicken Enchilada Mac and Cheese) was one of my most popular posts ever. I had entered versions of it in a couple of contests without any attention from the judges, so when the Support for Sandy event took place I donated this great recipe for the cause. Looks like those contest judges don't know so much after all.

Since it is finally summer here in Colorado, I thought I'd retire a version of a really refreshing drink recipe that I developed a couple of years ago. It didn't win anything but accolades from my friends and family, but just like that mac and cheese recipe, I think the contest judges really missed out on something special. Their loss is your gain because this is a sparkling, refreshing glass full of yum. You are really going to love it.

Sparkling Lemon Ginger Cooler

Ice
2 ounce lemon ginger simple syrup (recipe follows)
1 - 1/2 ounces vodka (or a good glug of dry white wine)
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
4 ounces (or enough to top off your glass) sparkling water

Place a good handful of ice in a large glass. To the ice add the Lemon Ginger Simple Syrup, vodka, lemon juice and sparkling water. Stir well. Garnish with a slice of lemon.

Lemon Ginger Simple Syrup

1 cup water
1 cup granulated sugar
1 ounce fresh ginger, grated (a piece just a bit smaller than a golf ball)
Zest of 1 large lemon

Place all of the ingredients in a small saucepan. Bring to a simmer and cook until the sugar dissolves (just a couple of minutes). Remove from the heat and let it steep until it comes to room temperature. Strain twice to remove all the bits. Use immediately or keep unused portions in an air tight container in the refrigerator.

To spread the contesting love, Kristina over at Cooking Contest Central has offered to give one of my blog readers a year's subscription to her site. Cooking Contest Central is home to the most comprehensive cooking related contest listing on the web. Not only will you find pertinent information about every cooking contest that you can imagine, but you are also provided with links to each contest site. You will also gain access to a big warm group of new friends that are just waiting for you to arrive.

If you want to enter this little giveaway valued at $25, please just leave me a comment saying so. If you want extra entries, you can sign up to receive my posts via e-mail (see field in the upper right hand side of this page), follow my page on Facebook, Pinterest or Twitter, and there ya go! Please be sure to leave a separate comment for each method of entry and whatever you do, make sure I have a way to contact you in case you win. You will have 48 hours to claim your prize, if not a new winner will be drawn. My lucky winner will be chosen on Monday, June 3rd at about noon mountain time. Thanks and good luck!

Something From Nothing #12: Sausage Gravy

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Harris) — Mon, 20 May 2013 13:44:00 +0000

If you'll recall, the last SFN recipe I posted was for sweet milk biscuits. This month I decided to follow up that recipe with another simple little mixture that together make one of my favorite meals in the world, biscuits and gravy.

Known in my friend circle in my 20's as the perfect after party food, you can't beat this combination of carbs and protein for its ability to sober you up and get you back on the right track at 3 am. Even if you're not a drinker, you're going to love this soul feeding concoction for its delicious taste and thriftiness. It can easily feed a family of four for just a few dollars.

Although this particular recipe is made with sausage, you can make it vegetarian by leaving out the sausage and using a couple of tablespoons of vegetable or olive oil for the fat you need to get started. Then leave out the bouillon altogether or swap it with Better Than Bouillon's "No Chicken" or a vegetable soup base for extra flavor. If you prefer a dairy free gravy, just replace the milk with all water and stock. It will be more of a brown gravy, but that's what you get for being a vegan.

I have shown it as a breakfast dish here, but replace the eggs with a side of collard greens and you have a delicious southern-style soul food supper.

Sausage Gravy

1/2 pound (8 ounces) bulk pork sausage meat
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup milk
1 cup water
1 teaspoon chicken base or bouillon
Black pepper

Fry sausage meat in a heavy bottom skillet over medium high heat, breaking it up into crumbles as it cooks.

When the sausage is browned and cooked through, sprinkle the flour over the top, stirring it in as you do. Mixture will be very dry at this point.

In a container with a spout, mix together the milk and the water. Gradually pour the mixture into the sausage and flour, whisking constantly and vigorously as you bring the mixture up to a boil. Add the bouillon and continue stirring. Add a healthy grinding of black pepper. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook, stirring constantly for 1 minute. Remove from the heat and serve immediately.

If before you serve it, the gravy continues to thicken, stir in small amounts of hot water to thin it back down.

Serves 4.

*I cut my Sweet Milk Biscuit recipe in half to make just 4 biscuits. Along with this recipe for gravy, you have the perfect size meal for 4.

The New Jewish Table Cookbook Review and Giveaway: Potato and Cheese Knishes with Spring Asparagus and Pickled Red Onion Salad

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Harris) — Wed, 15 May 2013 02:46:00 +0000

CONGRATULATIONS TO NANCY! YOU ARE THE WINNER OF THIS BEAUTIFUL COOKBOOK. IF YOU'RE NOT A WINNER, DON'T DESPAIR. I HAVE A NEW GIVEAWAY COMING IN A COUPLE OF DAYS.

Recently I got a chance to review The New Jewish Table cookbook by Todd Gray and Ellen Kassoff Gray, owners of the D.C. restaurants, Equinox and Muse. This book is a collection of Jewish recipes (mostly traditional) which have been thoughtfully interpreted by Todd and Ellen for today's cooks. Since I've been feeling a bit stale lately, I have been wanting to try something totally new and different and this looked like my chance.

Being a die hard foodie, there isn't a style of cooking that I don't enjoy preparing and eating. I guess out of all the types of cooking, kosher recipes must be the most foreign to me. Not only do I not have a kosher kitchen, it just seems like there are so many rules that I am really afraid of breaking that I have just stayed away, but no more, this book has empowered me. I'm going in.

For those of you, who like me, are unsure about the rules of kosher cooking, this book kind of spells it out in simple terms; and after reading that Todd was actually raised in a ham and cheese friendly Episcopalian home, I now know why. . . he totally understands. After reading about his upbringing I also understood why there is a recipe in there for mini Reuben sandwiches with pastrami and Swiss (even I know that's not kosher). It was only after marrying his Jewish wife and enjoying her family's recipes that he fully embraced Jewish cooking.

As Ellen explains it, the laws that govern observant Jews when it comes to eating are called "kosher" which means, fit or correct in Hebrew. This word's implied meaning is to do what is moral and virtuous. She also goes on to explain that keeping kosher is not so much about a Rabbi blessing the food, but preserving and respecting the spirit of the things consumed. This may explain why many people are drawn to kosher food today regardless of their religious beliefs.

After a little research I learned kosher cooking really isn't as confusing as it sounds. Now I am in no way an expert on this, but as I understand it, the basic rules are that you cannot mix milk products and meat in the same dish. Vegetables, grains, fruit, eggs and fish are parve (neutral foods that are neither milk or meat) and can be eaten with anything (according to some views, fish and meat should not be served together). Only fish that have scales and fins are kosher, so no shellfish, and only animals with cloven hooves that chew their cud may be consumed, which of course means no pork. I really don't want to simplify this too much so for more in depth information about kosher foods (and there is a lot), please CLICK HERE.

To help make menu planning a bit easier, the Gray's have divided the book into seasons. Each season is then divided into six chapters: brunch, starters, lunch, dinner, sides and desserts. Chapters are then broken down by headings such as meat, dairy, parve and mixed (for the Episcopalians and Presbyterians out there). Each recipe also comes with a meat, dairy or parve designation. There is also a special section reserved for traditional Jewish holiday dishes. One of my favorite features is the chef's appendix in the back that provides recipes for seasoning blends, salad dressings, stocks and condiments.

After flipping through the book about a million times I finally settled on testing the recipe for Potato and Cheese Knishes because I have heard about them my entire life and never had them, and besides that, the name is kind of fun to say. In the book this recipe is categorized as a side dish, but I thought it would also be great as a vegetarian main course. Seeing that this was a dairy dish I wanted a parve recipe to go with it, so I chose Todd's recipe for Spring Asparagus and Pickled Red Onion Salad, leaving out the Parmesan to cut down on the cheese content and calories of my meal.

Since everything for both dishes was made from scratch this was an involved meal, but the recipes were well written and easy to follow. The only real adjustment that I needed to make was the baking time for the knishes, but that's not rocket science. Since I live at 6,300 feet, it is not unusual that cooking times are often longer for me, so my knishes took 35 minutes to bake instead of the suggested 20. They turned out flaky, buttery and all and all delicious.

What can I say about the salad? This was the PERFECT accompaniment to the knishes. The chilled asparagus topped with the homemade sweet and sour pickled red onions and the sherry mustard vinaigrette rocked. I hate to use the word PERFECT again, but I can't think of a more perfectly delicious meal to eat under the stars on a hot summer night with a cold white wine spritzer. Looking for an elegant lunch or dinner menu? Here it is.

To sum it all up, I am so glad that I got to review this beautiful book. The recipes are not only well written and beautifully photographed, but are also prefaced by interesting personal notes by both Todd and Ellen. If you are looking for elegant and delicious recipes with kosher guidelines, this is a great resource. Even if you are just looking for great recipes and don't care about the kosher aspect, this is a still a wonderful book.

Personally, this is going to be my go to book for the summer. I can't wait to make the Fried Green Tomato Sandwich with some of my leftover pickled red onions or the Grilled New York Strip Steak with Caramelized Artichokes, or even the Smoked Salmon and Sweet Corn Beignets with Lime Sour Cream. It's going to be a delicious summer at my house.

Not only did the wonderful folks at St. Martin's Press provide me with a free book for this post, but they also are providing me with an extra copy to give away to one of my readers. Even if you think you don't need one more book in your collection, I encourage you to sign up for this giveaway or go out and buy a copy.

This giveaway is open to all of my US readers. Just leave a comment saying you'd like to be entered. If you'd like extra entries you can follow me by e-mail (just type your address in the field at the top right of this page), follow me on Pinterest by clicking on the button under the e-mail sign up, follow me on Facebook by CLICKING HERE, or on Twitter by CLICKING HERE. Be sure and leave a separate comment for each method of entry. Entry time for this giveaway is from today 5/14 until noon on Tuesday, 5/21. Good luck!

*Please be sure to leave me a contact address if your info isn't available to me by clicking through on your name. Winners have 48 hours from the time I contact you to claim your prize or another winner will be chosen.

Potato and Cheese Knishes

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 cup (2 sticks) cold unsalted butter (I know, I know, but it's worth it)
3 teaspoons vegetable shortening
1 large egg yolk
1/4 cup ice water
1 pound (about 3 medium) russet potatoes, peeled and cut into quarters
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/4 cup diced yellow onions, sauteed
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 cup ricotta cheese
1/4 cup (1 ounce) grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Egg wash (1 egg + 4 tablespoons water, beaten)

Prepare the dough:
Sift the flour and 1 teaspoon salt into a large bowl. Cut in the butter using two knives. Add the shortening and egg yolk, beating until blended with a hand-held electric mixer on low speed; add the water and continue beating until the dough comes together.

Transfer the dough to a lightly floured work surface and knead for 2 minutes. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

*I used my food processor to prepare the dough and it worked beautifully. I also prepared it in the morning, refrigerated it most of the day and baked it in the evening so I did not let it sit overnight. My dough was flaky and tender. Since I've never made it before, I don't know how good it would be with the extra time in the refrigerator, but mine was fabulous.

Prepare the potatoes:
Bring a large pot of salted water to boiling over high heat. Drop the potatoes into the pot and cook until they are fork tender, approximately 20 - 30 minutes. Drain in a colander and set aside to dry. Put the potatoes through a food mill or the grating attachment of a food processor and place in a large bowl. You will need 2 cups; if there is more, reserve the excess for another use.

Make the filling:
Heat the oil in a small saute pan over medium -low heat. Add the onions and garlic and saute until shiny and aromatic, approximately 3 minutes. Transfer the onion mixture to the bowl with the potatoes. Add the ricotta and Parmesan cheeses, the parsley, the remaining 1 teaspoon salt, and the pepper; mix together with a wooden spoon.

Fill the knishes:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Divide the dough into three equal pieces. Roll out each piece to a 6 x 8-inch rectangle strips (I made mine just a bit bigger, like 8 x 11"). Cut each rectangle into equal halves lengthwise. Spoon 1/3 of the filling along the center of the three strips, leaving a 1-inch margin along each edge and at the ends. Brush some egg wash along the margins; lay one of the remaining strips on top of each filled strip (stretching it a bit to cover the filling) and press together along the edges forming a rectangular packet.

Bake the knishes:
Arrange the knishes on the prepared baking sheet. Bake until golden brown, approximately 20 minutes. Cut the knishes into 2 inch lengths and serve immediately.

Spring Asparagus and Pickled Red Onion Salad

36 jumbo asparagus spears, peeled
2 cups Pickled Red Onions (recipe follows)
3 cups mixed baby salad greens
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 cup Sherry Mustard Vinaigrette (recipe follows)
Parmesan cheese to shave over salad (I omitted this to make my salad parve)

Cook the asparagus:
Bring a medium saucepan of lightly salted water to simmering over high heat. Add the asparagus and boil until al dente, approximately 3 - 4 minutes. Using tongs, transfer the asparagus to a bowl of ice water and chill completely. Transfer the asparagus to paper towels to drain.

Arrange the salad:
Lay six asparagus on each of six plates. Divide the Pickled Red Onions equally over the asparagus. In a large bowl, toss the salad greens with sherry Mustard Vinaigrette to taste; mound them on top of the onions and asparagus, dividing equally. Using a vegetable peeler or cheese plane, shave very thin slices of Parmesan cheese and lay on top of each plate of salad. Drizzle with additional vinaigrette if desired.

Pickled Red Onions
Makes about 2 - 1/2 cups
Thinly slice enough red onions to equal 4 cups (about 2 large red onions). Combine 2 cups of water, 1 cup of red wine vinegar, 1 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon kosher salt, and 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper in a medium saucepan; bring to simmering over medium-high heat, stirring to dissolve the sugar. Wrap 1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds, 1/4 teaspoon coriander seeds, and 1 bay leaf in a small piece of cheesecloth, tying closed with kitchen twine (I never have cheesecloth so I emptied out a tea bag, stuffed it with the spices and stapled it closed). Add this spice sachet and the onions to the sugar mixture and bring to boiling over high heat; immediately remove the pan from the heat and set aside to let the onions reach room temperature in the pickling liquid. Discard the spice sachet and if not ready to use the onions, transfer them with the pickling liquid to a container and refrigerate for up to 3 weeks.

Sherry Mustard Vinaigrette
Makes about 1 cup
Whisk together 1/4 cup sherry vinegar, 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, 1 - 1/2 teaspoons whole grain mustard, 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard, and 1 teaspoon honey in a small bowl. Add 1/4 cup canola oil and 1/4 cup olive oil and whisk until well combined. Season with salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste.

A Tribute to Sophia Lisa: Black Bean and Farro Burgers

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Harris) — Tue, 07 May 2013 16:28:00 +0000

Black Bean and Farro Burger Tortas

Thank goodness for the internet. We are so blessed to have such a wealth of information at our fingertips. It is sometimes hard to believe that not much more than a generation ago, we got most of our information from perpetually outdated encyclopedias that our parents had to finance to provide for us. Now all we have to do is type in our query, and like magic we have thousands of results instantly.

My daily Google searches are usually limited to recipes and uses for things like samphire or pandan, why my tulips won't bloom or how I can get a stain out of velvet, you know, really important stuff. Another one of my frequent searches, and I really hate to admit this, is the obituaries from the online newspaper in the town where we used to live. Unfortunately, I have found as you get older you start to see more and more names on the screen that you recognize.

A few days ago I was reading through the obits and came across the name of an old friend from high school. I had known for sometime that she was ill because a little over a year ago this same paper had done a long story about her. She had been diagnosed with ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease) several months earlier and her employer, to whom she had given several years of loyal service, was honoring her with a tribute and a large contribution to the ALS Association. Now sadly, just a few short months later she is gone.

I met Lisa in high school. She was the girlfriend of one of my boyfriend's friends. She was nice enough, albeit a bit quirky, but that was kind of what I liked about her. We would often eat lunch together with our boyfriends and it was at one of these lunches she introduced me to my very first veggie burger. She had mixed it up from a package of soybeans and dehydrated vegetables, fried it and stuck it in between two slices of white bread. Much to my surprise, it was actually quite good. So good in fact, that I never forgot it.

Lisa had aspirations of going to culinary school, which back then was a strange desire for a girl from a small Texas town in the middle of nowhere, but as I said before, she was a bit different. Well, from what I understand she did head to culinary school and even spent time cooking in London and for the Merchant Marines before returning to Texas and settling not 40 miles away from that small town where we both grew up.

It was about this time that she replaced the middle name she had gone by for so many years and started using her more glamorous first name, Sophia. She eventually married, gave birth to three children and enjoyed a successful career in the beauty industry.

I ran into her several years ago and we did briefly exchange pleasantries but not much more. I guess too much time had passed for us to rekindle our friendship and neither one of us felt it. That was kind of a shame, because as I discovered from reading up on her, we had quite a bit in common. We both had a passion for cooking, we both lived in England for a time, we were extremely proud of the families we created, and after a couple of trips around the sun, we had both landed up in the same place.

So as you can tell, I've been thinking a lot about her these past few days. I've also been thinking about her family and the painful struggle that they have all been through, and how much they are going to miss her. Most of all, I am thinking about that healthy, vibrant young girl who split a soy burger with me in the middle of the city park, on a nice spring day while sitting on the hood of a red Opal Cadet. What a nice memory. Rest in peace Sophia Lisa.

By now I'm sure you've guessed where this post is going, and rightly so, because without a burger there wouldn't be a memory or a story. The hardest part of this post was finding a recipe for a burger that was as good as that very first one. After a couple of tries and much tweaking, I am happy to say that this is even better.

This is a pretty lengthy list of ingredients, but if you use your food processor with the grater attachment to prepare the vegetables, you can assemble it pretty quickly. Without a doubt this is probably the best bean/veggie/grain burger I have ever eaten, so you’ll find it is worth just a few extra ingredients. Even my son who is super, super picky, had to admit he loved these.

15 ounce can black beans, well drained

1/2 small yellow onion, grated

1 large celery stalk, grated

1 large carrot, grated

1/3 red bell pepper, grated

1/2 poblano pepper, grated

1 large clove garlic, crushed

2 slices bread (I like to use a hearty bread like granary or whole wheat), grated to make crumbs

1 cup cooked farro or brown rice

1/2 teaspoon lime zest
2 tablespoons coarsely chopped cilantro

1 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 small egg, beaten

1 cup flour

4 tablespoons cooking oil

Place beans in a strainer to drain; set aside.

Heat a non-stick or cast iron skillet over a medium high heat. Add the grated onion, celery, carrot and peppers. Sauté until they are soft and all juices have evaporated, approximately 5 minutes.

Place drained beans in the food processor and process until smooth, or mash well with a potato masher. Transfer to a large bowl and add the sautéed vegetables, bread crumbs, farro or rice, lime zest, cilantro, chili powder, cumin, egg and salt and pepper. Stir well until the mixture is completely combined.

Line a small cookie sheet or large plate with plastic wrap. Divide the mixture into 6 equal portions. Roll each portion into a ball then flatten into 1/4 - 1/2” patty that is a similar shape to the buns you will be using (they will be sticky). Gently roll each patty in flour, dusting both sides and tapping off excess. Place onto prepared cookie sheet, cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to one hour.

Pour the oil into a cast iron or non-stick skillet and heat over medium high. When the oil is hot, add the patties being careful not to crowd them in the pan. Cook for approximately 5 minutes on each side or until they are golden brown and crispy. If your pan is the same size as mine, I had to cook my patties in two batches, so I divided the oil in half for each batch.

Remove patties from the pan and serve immediately while they are still hot and crispy. Leftovers are delicious but I prefer reheating the patties in a preheated 350 degree oven to restore the crispiness as microwaving will make them soft.

Makes 6 patties

I made my burgers into Mexican tortas with buttered and toasted bolillos, guacamole, chipotle mayo, Mexican blend cheese, and lettuce and tomato, but you can dress them any way you want.

My Guest Post at Cheap Recipe Blog: Chicken and Spaghetti Salad

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Harris) — Sat, 04 May 2013 23:30:00 +0000

Chicken and Spaghetti Salad

Now that Haley has shared her delicious Chinese Chicken Salad recipe here, it is time for me to reciprocate with a recipe of my own over on her site. It just so happens that I have been saving a favorite chicken salad recipe for the perfect occasion and this is it. With warm weather on the horizon, this dish will be a great addition to your summertime repertoire. To view this recipe and more of Haley's health conscious and budget friendly meals over at Cheap Recipe Blog, CLICK HERE. Enjoy!

Guest Post From Haley at Cheap Recipe Blog: Chinese Chicken Salad

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Harris) — Mon, 29 Apr 2013 12:03:00 +0000

For the first time ever I am turning my site over to a guest blogger, but don't worry, I am leaving you in good hands. Haley over at Cheap Recipe Blog has agreed to share one of her health conscious, delicious and budget friendly recipes with us here today. Her blog is just filled with tons of great recipes just like this one. My new favorite is her Challah Bread Pudding with Chocolate and Caramel Sauce, so be sure and CLICK HERE to visit her site after you've enjoyed her post here today.

Hey Savoury Table readers! This is Haley from Cheap Recipe Blog, and I am super excited to be guest posting on Karen’s blog today. I connected with her last year after discovering one of her recipes on Foodgawker. We recently agreed to do a guest blog swap, which is why I’m sharing this recipe with you today.

I love how effortlessly Karen goes from cheap and simple crowd-pleasing recipes (like her “Something From Nothing” creations) to fancy schmancy, impress-your-friends dishes (like duck empanadas with smoked tomato mayo). And let’s not forget her desserts! She’s got this recipe blog thing down pat.

About My Recipe

So as you may have guessed by the title of my blog, I am all about cheap recipes. Specifically, cheap recipes that are healthy and taste awesome. This particular recipe fits all of my criteria:

· It’s cheap. About $4 for 4 servings. Booyah!

· It tastes awesome. Trust me on this. This salad is great whether you serve it to your family as a main course, or whether you divide it up for individual lunches throughout the week.

· It’s healthy. Especially if you go easy on the dressing J

Today, I make budget cooking a priority. In doing so, I have discovered time and time again that cheap cooking can be delicious and healthy. One of my favorite tips for saving money on groceries - and one that I have implemented in this particular recipe - is to buy fruits and vegetables in their natural state (versus buying produce that has been pre-cut, pre-washed, etc.) I was able to save about a dollar by purchasing a head of cabbage and chopping it myself, versus buying a bag of pre-shredded cabbage.

The dressing for this salad is my own spin on Savoury Table’s “Something from Nothing” concept. It uses ingredients that you likely have on hand, saving you money and quite possibly a trip to the grocery store. This dressing is good on pretty much any Asian-style salad. Give it a go!

(Budget-Friendly) Chinese Chicken Salad Recipe

Salad ingredients:

1 small head of purple cabbage

3 carrots

3 red Fresno peppers (if you want a little heat)

4 green onions

1 cup chopped rotisserie chicken

Chow mein noodles, for topping

Makeshift Asian-style dressing:

1/3 cup real mayonnaise

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon soy sauce

2 teaspoons rice vinegar

Pinch of cayenne pepper

Instructions

Shred cabbage and carrots in a food processor or by using a food grater. Chop peppers and green onion. Set aside some of the green onion for topping the salad. Toss vegetables together in a large mixing bowl. Place on individual serving plates. Top with chicken, chopped green onion, and chow mein noodles.

Whisk all salad dressing ingredients together in a small bowl. Spoon desired amount of dressing over each salad and serve.

A $40 Gallon of Milk and a Little Edible Sunshine: Pineapple Macadamia Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Harris) — Mon, 22 Apr 2013 17:41:00 +0000

Today's recipe started almost a week ago when I ran into the grocery store for a gallon of milk. Telling myself yet again that I wasn't going to buy not one more thing than that, I put my blinders on headed in. Deciding that I was just too delicate on this day to carry my heavy purse AND a gallon of milk, I quickly detoured and rolled out one of those little mini shopping carts that I am so fond of (this is always a mistake).

Just as I was turning my cart around to head to the bowels of the store, the fresh pineapple display caught my eye. There it was, a fragrant fruit pyramid so appealing I couldn't possibly pass it by. I quickly grabbed a $3.00 pineapple, threw it in my cart, put my blinders back on and headed for the dairy section. Somehow, half an hour and $40 dollars later I left the store with my pineapple and $37.00 worth of things that I didn't know I needed until I got there. It wasn't until I got home that I realized I had forgotten to buy milk.

Within the next few days that beautiful pineapple turned into a prickly lump that rolled around and clogged up my crisper drawer. For days I worked around it telling myself that after supper I would clean and chop it. Finally when it started to brown, I chopped it up and threw it in a Gladware container, inviting everyone in the house to help themselves and have a healthy snack instead of a handful of M & M's. Five days later, the pineapple bowl is still full and the M & M's are gone, but I'm not giving up yet. I think I'm going to take it and give it a new identity that I know will get eaten.

Years ago before we were married, my husband's secretary gave him a recipe for a gooey little cake that he was just crazy about. It was one of those community recipes that was a fad in the 1980's. Full of pineapple and nuts, he loved it so much that even he had a go at baking it every now and then. After I came along, he passed this recipe on to me and I revamped it, making it the family favorite that it is to this day. It is so good that I am postponing my Pillsbury Bake-Off diet to bring it to you. I would blame my blog on my lack of discipline, but I think it is obvious . . . I am hopeless.

Pineapple Macadamia Cake

2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs, room temperature
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups crushed pineapple (canned or fresh)
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts
1/2 cup shredded coconut
Icing (recipe follows)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Cream sugar and eggs together in a large bowl with an electric mixer set to medium. When they are light and fluffy add the flour, soda, vanilla, pineapple, salt and macadamia nuts; continue to mix with the mixer set to low. Add the coconut to the mixture with a large spoon. Mixing by hand will prevent the coconut from sticking to the beaters.

Pour the mixture into a greased 9 x 13" baking dish. Place into the preheated oven and bake for 25 - 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from the oven and cool for 5 - 10 minutes. Spread icing on top while still warm.

Icing:
8 ounces cream cheese, softened to room temperature
3 tablespoons butter, softened to room temperature
1 - 3/4 cup powdered (icing) sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup chopped macadamia nuts
1/2 cup toasted coconut

Place the cream cheese, butter, sugar and vanilla into a large bowl. Blend completely with an electric mixer set to medium or by hand. Stir in the nuts. Spread on warm cake and sprinkle with toasted coconut*.

*To toast the coconut, sprinkle it on a cookie sheet and place in a 300 degree oven. Watching carefully, bake until it starts to brown. Stir around and continue to bake for a few more minutes or until is is mostly brown. Remove from the oven and transfer to plate or bowl to stop it from cooking. Cool before sprinkling over the top of the icing.

A Couple of Words to the Wise and the Weary: Mexican Inspired Chicken and Lime Soup

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Harris) — Mon, 15 Apr 2013 13:48:00 +0000

I caught The Today Show a couple of weeks ago when they had a mommy blogger on talking about her new book on the trials, tribulations and rewards of raising a young family. She was very pretty, not yet afflicted with that famous deer in the headlights stare that we mothers of teenagers possess. She had bright white teeth, long shiny hair, sparkling blue eyes and all this was tucked into a size 2 pencil skirt. I would have loved to hate her, but I just couldn't. She was adorable.

Even though our lives are very different, I can still totally relate to her, because I once was where she is now. Not enough hands or hours in the day, at this point in a mother's life you often feel like you need to clone yourself to get everything done. Then after a long day of cleaning, cooking, running back and forth, and the kids are finally in bed, you find you still have a full day's work to do. And mothers only get celebrated one day out of the year?! Doesn't hardly seem fair does it?

As I watched and listened to her interview, I couldn't help but wish that I could give her the benefit of my hindsight.  If I could I would tell her to relax and enjoy every moment as best she can. Try not to sweat it too much when the kids melt down in the grocery store, bite their neighbor in their preschool class, or say the "F" word in front of their grandma, because believe it or not, these are the good times. I don't want to sound fatalistic, but in the not too distant future bigger challenges most certainly await.

In just a few short years her patience will likely be stretched beyond imagination. Adolescence and teenage years are a virtual minefield of alcohol, drugs, sex, bullying, bad attitudes, negative peer pressure, stupid parents, meat head coaches and the always impending fear of internet predators. It can really get ugly out there. I once saw a quote on Facebook that said something like, "If you enjoy watching people doing stupid sh*t, you're going to love being a parent."  Yep, that about sums it up. Don't worry though, you'll probably survive.

So how does this relate to this food blog? Well, if there is one piece of advice that I'd like to pass on to any parent, blogger or not, it is to make gathering the family together at suppertime a priority.  I know that it sounds pretty simple and oftentimes pretty hard to do, but it will really pay off in the long run. Family meals are invaluable information gathering sessions that nourish not only the body, but the mind and family as well. All you really need to do is sit back and listen.

And while you're at the table, let the kids eat what they want from what's on the menu that night. Don't worry they'll live, just make them take a vitamin. I've never understood why in the world anyone would want to take a great family bonding opportunity like this and turn it into a "you can't leave the table until you eat your spinach" tug of war. Just bear in mind that no matter how picky they are they will most likely grow out of it before adulthood, and if they don't it will no longer be your problem anyway.

One of the weapons in my weeknight supper arsenal was a Mexican inspired chicken and lime soup. Everyone loved the base of chicken and aromatic vegetables which was only made better by choosing their own toppings from the Lazy Susan spinning around in the middle of the table.  My son didn't like much of anything in his soup, but my daughter liked a little bit of everything in hers, and that was just fine with me. In the great power struggle between parents and kids, this is one I let them win.

Chicken and Lime Soup

There are a couple of ways to start this soup. I often use leftover home roasted or store bought chicken carcass and just pour some water or chicken broth over it and either stick it in the slow cooker or on top of the stove, depending on how much time I have. I'm starting from the very beginning here since I found a nice size organic chicken on sale today. I cut it in half and will have two full meals here. In my opinion, a bargain always tastes better than regular price.

The Basic Soup:
1/2 of a medium size chicken
5 cups chicken broth
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon cumin seed
1 medium size onion, chopped
3 large celery stalk, chopped in large pieces
2 medium size garlic cloves
2 medium size carrots, cut into 1/2" coins
Juice of 2 fresh limes (my juicy little limes produced 4 tablespoons of juice)

Place the chicken, broth, bay leaf, cumin seed, onion, and celery into the bowl of a slow cooker set on high. Cook for approximately 3 hours. At this point add the garlic and carrots. Cook for an additional 30 minutes or until the carrots are tender crisp. Alternatively, place the ingredients into a stock pot, bring to a boil and cook on low and follow the same method as for the slow cooker.

Remove the chicken from the broth. Shred the meat and discard the bones before returning it back to the broth. Add the lime juice; stir well and serve.

Serve with your desired toppings from the suggestions below.

Optional Extras:
Cooked rice or fideo (short thin noodles)
Tortilla strips or chips (I like to spray corn tortillas with cooking spray and bake on a cookie sheet at 300 degrees until they are brown and crispy)
Chopped tomatoes
Chopped ripe avocado
Chopped green onion tops
Grated cheese
Chopped cilantro
Slice Jalapenos
Sliced olives, black or green

Serves 6

Back From Planet Pillsbury: Salted Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Harris) — Sun, 07 Apr 2013 02:22:00 +0000

I have to start this post with a big "thank you" to all of you who took the time to register and vote for my Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest recipe. I am happy to say that because of all of the love you showed me and my Bacon Corncakes, I will be competing for the million dollar prize in Las Vegas in November. Like the other 99 people who will be competing with me, winning this contest is a dream of mine and your help has brought me one step closer. I'm also looking forward to giving you a behind the scenes look at this iconic contest from a contestant's point of view so stay tuned.

Back in December before all this Pillsbury stuff started I felt like I was really hitting my blogger stride. I had so many great ideas for blog posts, I didn't know how I was going to get them all done in my lifetime, then I got distracted by the contest and everything slowed down. Now that I am in a holding pattern for the next several months, I'm trying to gather back up all those brilliant blog ideas and regroup.

In an effort to clear my mind and get my creative juices flowing again, I decided to do something totally different and kind of therapeutic for me, clean out my very small and very packed pantry. I don't often do this so it takes me awhile to get up the courage to see what lurks in the dark recesses. It usually takes a couple of weeks of having canned goods spill out and smash my toes before I get fed up enough to finally do it, and today was the day.

By the looks of the things I pulled out of there you would have thought that some half mad old cat lady stocks my kitchen. I know it can't possibly be that long since I last had the courage to purge my dry goods, so how did I manage to miss that cornbread package that was dated May 2006? I'd also like to know who the hell bought 3 cans of coconut cream, 2 cans of clams and no less than 50 assorted boxes of Jell-O dating back as far as 2009? And why do I have 2 plastic bags of some odd looking grain obviously from the bulk section of Whole Foods that is only identified as "5887" on the twist tie? Our household purchasing agent should probably be let go, but I have no idea how to fire myself.

So after 2 hours of solid work, with a couple of coffee breaks thrown in, I finally have a tidy pantry. I have uncovered some things I have long been looking for and a couple of things that I wish I hadn't, but it is done. Now I think I'll consolidate and use up a couple of the things I have found by setting a couple of eclectic buffets. Tonight for example, Mr. H and I are going to have something with lots of apple cider vinegar, canned salmon, peaches and beets, and maybe a hearty serving of 5887 on the side, but dessert is where things are really going to shine. Since I also found 3 partial jars of peanut butter and 4 open packages of chocolate chips, peanut butter cookies it is.

In the past I've made no secret about the fact that I don't exactly enjoy baking cookies, but for these I will make an exception. The easy base recipe for these cookies comes directly from my very old and trusty Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook. Then when they're still just a bit warm, I melt a little chocolate, give them a good drizzle and then a sprinkling of Murray River Flake or kosher salt. Serve these with a cup of coffee flavored with some eight year old powdered hazelnut creamer,and you have the perfect reason to take a snack break from any unpleasant task.

Salted Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies (adapted from Better Homes and Gardens New Cookbook)

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter or margarine, room temperature
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup granulated sugar, plus extra for coating dough
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 egg, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 - 1/4 cups sifted all-purpose flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Thoroughly cream butter, peanut butter, sugars, egg, and vanilla; set aside. Sift together dry ingredients; blend into creamed mixture. Scoop into heaping teaspoons, shape into balls; roll lightly in granulated sugar. Place 2" apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Press gently with the back of a fork in a crisscross pattern. Bake in the preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes. Cool slightly; remove from the pan and cool on wire racks. Drizzle with melted chocolate (recipes follows) and sprinkle with salt flakes. Makes approximately 3 dozen.

Chocolate Drizzle

2/3 cup chocolate chips (milk or semi-sweet)
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
Kosher or flaked salt to taste

Place chocolate and oil in a medium size bowl and stir well. Microwave in 20 second increments, stirring after each. Continue until chocolate is melted. Drizzle chocolate over cookies with a spoon in sweeping motions. Allow to set up slightly. Sprinkle with coarse or flaked salt to taste. Allow chocolate to set up for an additional hour or so or until firm.

Something From Nothing #11: Sweet Milk Biscuits

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Harris) — Mon, 01 Apr 2013 13:37:00 +0000

When brainstorming for these posts, I very often find myself looking at some sort of bread, because bread is the original something from nothing. Throughout time civilizations have mixed together flour and water and produced bread which has sustained them in times of both poverty and prosperity. It isn't called the staff of life for nothing. Virtually every culture in the world has their signature type of bread and at some point in this series I'll probably make most of them.

Since this is pretty much the beginning of this series, I thought I'd start close to home with the favorite quick bread of my clan, biscuits. I'm not taking about the English version that translates to cookie in American, I'm talking about the fluffy little pillowy clouds that have adorned the weekend breakfast table of my family for most of my life. Slathered with butter and jam or drenched in gravy, no matter how you dress them you've got to love them.

Biscuits aren't just for breakfast either. This is really one versatile dough. Leave out the sugar and add herbs to it before dropping it in a bubbling broth, and you have dumplings. Double the sugar and you'll have wonderful little shortcakes that beg to be topped with strawberries and whipped cream. Top them with clotted cream and jam and you have the same tasty scones that famous English cream teas are built around. You can even use this dough as a base for appetizers and sandwiches.

Well now that I have extolled the virtues of biscuit dough, I guess I'll shut up and give you the recipe. So whether you are planning a memorable breakfast, a summertime dessert or an English tea, this is your go to recipe. I hope you enjoy.

Sweet Milk Biscuits

You don't have to have buttermilk in the house to make delicious flaky biscuits and this version that uses plain old milk from the fridge proves it. I'll let you in on an even bigger secret, you can also use reduced fat or low-fat milk, or even water to replace the whole milk and they will still be good.

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar (optional, but I love the flavor)
6 tablespoons chilled unsalted butter, cut into small pieces
2 tablespoons shortening (or lard if you have the courage)
1 cup whole milk

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Place the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in the bowl of a food processor. Process a couple of seconds to combine. Add the butter and shortening and process until the mixture resembles cornmeal. With the processor add the milk and process until the dough pulls away from the sides. You can also do this step by hand with a pastry cutter or fork, it just takes more elbow grease and a little more time.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface. Form a disk that is about 1 - 1/2" thick and cut with a floured biscuit cutter or small glass that has been dipped in flour. Place side by side in a non-stick pan or lightly greased cast iron skillet. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes or until cooked through and golden brown. Serve immediately.

Makes 8 large 3" biscuits

Easter Egg Recycling: Chipotle Cilantro Deviled Eggs

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Harris) — Sun, 24 Mar 2013 20:26:00 +0000

Oh spring, so close yet so far. Here in Colorado winter could be over tomorrow or last another couple of months. To show her wicked sense of humor, Mother Nature often teases us this time of year with several bright warm days in row, only to suddenly smack us across the face with 10 inches of snow just to remind us who's the boss. OK girl, we get it.

It is usually about this time of year that my heart begins to ache for the bluebonnets, Indian paintbrushes and delicate pink evening primroses that so beautifully blanket the highway verges and pastures of my beloved Texas. This is one of the most breathtaking sights that you'll see anywhere. Even if you are lucky enough to be a native and have seen this spectacular site your whole life, it feels new every year.

Field of Texas bluebonnets; photo by bombay2austin

Bluebonnet time means Easter, and Easter means shiny new patent leather shoes, crisp frilly dresses, fancy Sunday brunches and lots of hard boiled and decorated eggs. My children are big now and it has been years since I have dyed eggs for anyone, but every Easter I still boil half a dozen or so for our other tradition, deviled eggs.

When I was a kid, after the eggs were boiled, dyed, hidden, hunted and found, and we managed to choke a couple of them down, we would gladly hand over the remainder to our mom so she could work her magic. She would peel and cut them in half, pop out the yolks and mash them together with a dollop of Miracle Whip and a teaspoon or two of sweet pickle relish. What she produced was a hand held, two bite morsel so good that the kids in our family would choose to eat them first, even over the ears of our chocolate Easter bunnies.

Now I can in no way claim to make deviled eggs as good as my mother's, but I can make some pretty good ones. While I really love Mom's classics, the more special the occasion, the fancier I like to get with them. In addition to the sweet pickle/Miracle Whip version, I love to make them with curry powder, sun-dried tomato and/or basil pesto, or my favorite variation which is a nod to the spicy south Texas food I love so much, chipotle cilantro. Spicy, smoky with just a faint hint of sweet, these are definitely the most requested of them all.

Chipotle Cilantro Deviled Eggs

6 large eggs (out of the fridge or your kids' Easter baskets, your choice)
2 tablespoons mayonnaise
1 teaspoon very finely minced canned chipotle pepper*
1 - 2 teaspoons adobo sauce form the canned chipotle peppers (2 tsps. will produce a pretty spicy egg and be forewarned, the longer they sit, the spicier they will get)
1/8 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
2 teaspoons finely minced onion
Pinch garlic powder
Pinch white pepper

Place eggs in a large sauce pan. Cover with cool water and place on stove over medium high heat. Bring water to a slow boil and cook eggs for 5 minutes. Remove pot from the heat, cover and let sit for 30 minutes.

While the eggs are boiling, combine mayonnaise, chipotle pepper, adobo sauce and sugar in a small bowl, stir well to combine; set aside.

Remove eggs from the water and peel. Cut in half lengthwise. Gently pop out the hard cooked yolks into the bowl containing the mayonnaise mixture. Add the onion, garlic powder and white pepper Stir well. Spoon equal amounts into the egg white halves or transfer egg yolk mixture to a pastry bag that has been fitted with a star tip. Pipe yolk mixture into the whites. Chill. Garnish with cilantro leaves before serving.

Makes 12 deviled eggs.

*For my English followers who might not be able to find chipotle peppers in adobo, try playing with a combination of smoked paprika, hot chili powder with a touch of tomato puree until you get a taste that you like.

Ok, one last time before it's all over but the crying. Please, please, please click HERE to cast a quick vote for my Pillsbury Bake-Off semifinalist recipe for Bacon Corncakes with Warm Maple Cream. You will have to do a quick registration, but Pillsbury is a class act and won't sell your info or bombard you with e-mails, I promise. Voting ends this coming Thursday, March 28th at 12 noon central time. This year finalists are decided solely upon popular vote so your vote could make all the difference. Thanks so much for your support for my journey to Las Vegas, the $1 million dollar prize and my place in Pillsbury history.

Creative Culinary Guest Post: Braised Short Ribs with Cheesy Horseradish Grits and Sweet and Sour Porter Sauce

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Harris) — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 13:23:00 +0000

I'm changing things up just a bit here today. My friend Barb over at CREATIVE CULINARY asked me if I'd help her out and write a guest post. There's a lot going on with her these days so she just needed a leg up, and I'm very flattered that she thought of me. True to its name, she has a very creative site with gorgeous photos, delicious recipes, and if you are looking for a cocktail, this is the place. So I invite you to join us over at her blog for our little party. I promise there is some great food as always and valuable information about where you can get some of the best Colorado beef that I have ever eaten.

Hellooooo, gorgeous. Short ribs from 5280 BEEF.

Braised Short Ribs with Cheesy Horseradish Grits and Sweet and Sour Porter Sauce. For the recipe, CLICK HERE.

By the way, in case you missed it . . .

After you visit Creative Culinary, please be sure and head on over to the voting gallery at the PILLSBURY BAKE-OFF CONTEST'S SITE and vote for my recipe for Bacon Corncakes with Warm Maple Cream. For the first time in its long history, the finalists heading for Vegas in November will be determined by you. Voting ends on Thursday, March 28th at 12 noon central time. Thank you so much for your help!

The Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest Semi-Finals: Bacon Corncakes with Warm Maple Cream

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Harris) — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 20:49:00 +0000

The last couple of weeks I have been bursting at the seams to share something with you, but fearing I'd say the wrong thing and blow it, I've kept quiet up until now. Well I am pleased to announce that a recipe creation of mine has made it to the semi-finalist voting round of the 46th Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest, which will be held November 10 - 12, 2013 in Las Vegas.

If you'll recall a couple of months ago I posted a Pillsbury Bake-Off recipe for Dilly Casserole Bread. I mentioned at that time that the qualifying ingredients and categories had just been announced for the upcoming contest, but I was a bit worried because for the first time finalists would be determined by public voting. Never having ever won a popularity contest in my life, I was (and still am) really skeptical if I could pull this one off, but after much consideration and a little bit of "what the heck", I bought some ingredients and got cooking.

I first got started in cooking contests back in 2004 when I got the call to participate in the 41st Bake-Off Contest. I knew that I wanted to go, but I had no idea how much fun I was going to have. The contest is well run and exciting and you are treated like a superstar, and to top it all off the pot of gold at the end of this rainbow is a check for $1 million dollars. I landed up winning the Dinner Made Easy Category, $10,000 and was in the final four to win the million. I didn't win the big prize but wasn't worried because I had no doubt that the next one belonged to me.

The next contest I bought my qualifying ingredients and mixed and baked and stirred until I started to look like the dough boy, but there was no call for me that year. Notification day I watched the forum of the cooking contest site I belong to light up with excitement. It seemed like everyone got the call but me. I spent the next two days at the back of a dark closet with a bottle of vodka and a box of tissues nursing my wounds. As the years and contests passed the rejection never did get any easier, but I never gave up. It became painfully obvious to me that I had lost my Pillsbury mojo.  I was humbled in this same manner for the next three contests.

When this year's contest was announced I did my best but prepared for the worst yet again, and despite this fatalistic attitude, I came up with something that finally got me noticed.  Today the semi-finalist recipes have been posted on the Pillsbury site for voting and mine is up there vying for attention and votes with the rest of them.

There are 60 recipes in all for this first category called Amazing Doable Dinners, and only the top 33 will move on to finalist status. So I bet you think this is where I ask you to pop on over to their site and vote for my recipe, and you are right. I really hope you look over the 60 recipes and vote for my brilliant, clever, awesome and delicious breakfast for dinner recipe for Bacon Corncakes with Warm Maple Cream.

While you're there be sure and look over the other recipes too.  You can vote for as many recipes as you'd like, but you can only vote for each recipe once per e-mail address from 12 noon, March 14th to the 28th. I'm warning you now though, if my recipe doesn't make it, it is back to that dark closet with those tissues and that bottle of vodka. Oh yeah, and you will have to hear lots and lots of whining and crying for months and months about what went wrong.

Breakfast for dinner was the theme of my entry into the Amazing Doable Dinners category of the Pillsbury Bake-Off Contest with these Bacon Corncakes with Warm Maple Cream. To see the recipe and cast your vote, CLICK HERE

After seeing the category names for this contest, I knew that I wanted to think out of the box and go for something unexpected and fun, kind of like the pancake suppers my mom used to make. Remembering in the past that one of the qualifying ingredients was flour, and hoping that it would be the same this year, I set my eye on a pancake supper.

When the ingredient list was published, thankfully there was my flour. Knowing that I needed to use at least 1 more qualifying ingredient (this is where it really gets tough), and with a 7 ingredient limit I only had 6 more to play with, I needed to choose carefully and choose ingredients with flavor. Then I had to figure out how to use one or more of them in a couple of important ways to stretch my ingredients to the max.

As I looked down the list further I knew from eating my grandmother's southern cooking that I could put corn in my pancakes and they would be good. I then added a bit of bacon and some of the drippings for flavor and moisture, a touch of Eagle Brand Sweetened Condensed Milk for hydration and sweetness, and an egg for fluffiness and texture. What developed was a simply delicious corn cake with a sweet and slightly salty flavor that everyone (including my super picky son and his best bud) couldn't get enough of, and good thing because this turned out to be the Harris family's official dish of the 2012 - 2013 school holiday break.

Believe it or not after I perfected these simple pancakes I had two ingredients and the majority of a can of Eagle Brand left. So, instead of topping them with plain old maple flavored syrup, I decided to blend the two together, coming up with what I believe is the perfect compliment to these pancakes. The creaminess of the Eagle Brand seems to almost mellow the sweetness of the maple flavored syrup and really produces something special, which is exactly what this dish deserves.

If you'd like to see my entry, the recipe and hopefully vote for it, CLICK HERE. You never know you just might get inspired and decide to enter yourself. There are two more categories to go.

Thank you so much for your support. Finalists will be announced April 4th, and good or bad, you know you'll hear all about it.

Better Than Bouillon Tasting and Giveaway: Spanish-Style Toasted Pasta and Shrimp

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Harris) — Sat, 09 Mar 2013 19:49:00 +0000

Congratulations to my two giveaway winners, Angela and Velva! Please contact me with your flavor requests and address and we'll get them out to you.

I've talked before about how much I love my America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook. At risk of repeating myself, which it has been pointed out by my children that I frequently do, I must say that I have never made a recipe from this book or the PBS show of the same name that hasn't been really great.

The other day I happened to catch an episode of the TV show, and on this particular day they were preparing a recipe for Spanish-Style Toasted Pasta and Shrimp. This dish is a combination of toasted pasta (known as fideo in Spanish cooking), tomatoes, smoked paprika, and shrimp all cooked in a flavorful broth. Not only was it mouthwatering, but it so happened that this was just the type of recipe that I had been searching for.

You see a week or so ago the folks at Better Than Bouillon asked if I'd like to review a couple of their products and give some away to my readers. Having been fond of their premium and organic products for years now, I of course said yes, so the search was on for a brothy recipe to showcase their products.

Up until this communication with them I thought that they made only chicken, beef, ham and vegetable bases. I was pleasantly surprised to learn that they make 26 soup bases in all with flavors like au jus, chili, mushroom, turkey and fish, to name just a few. Many of these flavors are also available in vegan, organic, low-sodium, and kosher. To learn more about this line of products, click here to access their site.

When they asked me what flavors I'd like to try, I decided to step out of my box and cook with some of the ones I wouldn't normally have in my pantry like the fish and no chicken. It is not that I don't like fish, I just don't like fishy fish and have been burned so many times that I am really quite shy, and if I'm being quite honest, I would probably never buy it. As for the no chicken, I was really anxious to just check out the flavor and report to my vegetarian friends that there is a new (to me) product that they can play with.

So this is where the ATK recipe comes in. This recipe claimed to have an easy preparation, just a few ingredients, rich Spanish flavors and almost 4 cups of broth. The original recipe calls for the broth to be made from shrimp shells cooked in chicken stock, but I'm letting the Better Than Bouillon fish base stand in in its place because besides the fact I wanted to try it, I really didn't want my house smelling like shrimp all night.

Well, preparing this recipe looked pretty fast and easy on television. In reality, it does take a little time to clean the shrimp and get them ready to go, but once that is done things do take shape pretty quickly. On the show they claimed that this would be a great Tuesday night dinner, which is true if you are an experienced and organized cook. Otherwise, save this one for a time when you aren't tired from a day's work and have a few extra minutes to spare, but do yourself a favor, make it, and make it soon because it is delicious.

As for the Better Than Bouillon, the fish base receives two enthusiastic thumbs up, even from a fish shy girl like me. It has a pleasant and subtle flavor that is really the perfect base for dishes like this or soups and chowders. I love it and will be keeping it on hand from now on. This just might be a whole new beginning for fish and me.

I'm sad to say that my jar of no chicken was a casualty of the United States Postal Service and a replacement didn't make it in time for this post, but when it does arrive I'll be sure and let you know what I think.

Spanish- Style Toasted Pasta and Shrimp (adapted from America's Test Kitchen)

3 tablespoons plus 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil

3 garlic cloves minced (1 tablespoon)

Salt and pepper

1 1/2 pounds extra large shrimp (21 to 25 per pound), peeled and deveined, shells reserved

2 3/4 cups water

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth (I used 3 teaspoons BTB fish base and 1 teaspoon chicken base since I wasn't making stock from the shrimp shells)

1 bay leaf

8 ounces spaghetti or thin spaghetti, broken into 1- to 2-inch lengths

1 onion, chopped fine

1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, drained and chopped fine (I used petite diced)

1 teaspoon paprika

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

1/2 teaspoon anchovy paste (I omitted this)

1/4 cup dry white wine

1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley (I substituted chopped green onion tops)

Lemon wedges

Combine 1 tablespoon oil, 1 teaspoon garlic, 1/4 salt, and 1/8 teaspoon pepper in a medium size bowl. Add the shrimp, toss to coat, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

At this point I deviated from ATK and added 3 teaspoons BTB fish base and 1 teaspoon BTB chicken base to the water called for to steep the shrimp shells, with 1 large bay leaf. I brought this mixture to a simmer, covered and let it cook until I was ready to use it, removing the bay leaf before adding the broth to the pasta.

Toss spaghetti and 2 teaspoons oil in broiler-safe 12-inch skillet until spaghetti is evenly coated. Toast spaghetti over medium-high heat, stirring frequently, until browned and nutty in aroma (spaghetti should be color of peanut butter), 6 to 10 minutes. Transfer spaghetti to bowl. Wipe out skillet with paper towel.

Heat remaining 2 tablespoons oil in now-empty skillet over medium-high heat until shimmering. Add onion and 1/4 teaspoon salt; cook, stirring frequently, until onion is softened and beginning to brown around edges, 4 to 6 minutes. Add tomatoes and cook, stirring occasionally, until mixture is thick, dry, and slightly darkened in color, 4 to 6 minutes. Reduce heat to medium and add remaining garlic, and paprikas. Cook until fragrant, about 1 1/2 minutes. Add spaghetti and stir to combine.

Pour broth through fine-mesh strainer (if boiling the shrimp shells, if not add the broth) into skillet. Add wine, 1/4 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and stir well. Increase heat to medium-high and bring to simmer. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until liquid is slightly thickened and spaghetti is just tender, 8 to 10 minutes. Preheat broiler about halfway through cooking time.

Scatter shrimp over spaghetti and stir shrimp into spaghetti to partially submerge. Transfer skillet to oven and broil about 6 inches under broiler element until shrimp are opaque and surface of spaghetti is dry with crisped, browned spots, 5 to 7 minutes. Remove from oven and let stand, uncovered, for 5 minutes.

On the TV show, they served this with a homemade aioli which I plan on trying next time. In the print version they suggest serving it with chopped parsley and lemon wedges. I didn't have either but found it to be great with some chopped green onion tops.

Serves 6

*To see America's Test Kitchen's original recipe and their simple technique for breaking spaghetti into spaghettini (or fideo), please click here.

And now for the giveaway. Better Than Bouillon will provide two of my lucky U.S. readers with four assorted jars each of their soup base. To be entered all you have to do is leave a comment stating what you'd make with a jar of their soup base. You can earn an extra entry by signing up to receive my posts by e-mail. To do this just type your address into the field at the top right hand corner of this page under the Foodgawker badge. Be sure to leave your contact information in your comment. My winning readers will have 48 hours after notification to respond or a new winner will be drawn. I will draw my lucky winners on Friday, March 15th around noon mountain time. Good luck!

**The folks at Better Than Bouillon provided me with samples of their products to review and give to two of my readers. No payment of any kind was received in return for this post and all opinions stated here are my own.

Something From Nothing #10: Shortcut Banana Praline Sundae aka Bananas Foster My Way

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Harris) — Thu, 28 Feb 2013 17:00:00 +0000

Usually I like My Something From Nothing posts to be made from stuff that you can dig around in your cabinet and find. I'm coloring out of the lines just a bit this time by calling for something fresh, but I've just got to use up the almost too ripe bananas that are on my countertop.

I don't know about you, but I do love bananas in my cereal, I just don't always get around to eating them before they are black enough to either make banana bread or freeze to make banana bread later. Since I already have a freezer full of black bread bananas, I'm going to make a different kind of treat from the ones that are lounging in the fruit bowl in my kitchen.

This is a quick little shortcut recipe that I have been making for a couple of years now. One of the ingredients does double duty so all it takes is just five ingredients and five minutes you can have a world class dessert. So if you've got some bananas you need to use up (and I bet you do) and nothing for dessert, here you go.

2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup dark or light brown sugar
1 medium size scoop vanilla ice cream (approximately 1/2 cup), plus more for serving
Kosher salt to taste
1 medium size banana, sliced into 1/4" slices across

Melt butter in a medium size skillet set over medium high heat. Once the butter is melted and sizzling, stir in the sugar until it is completely combined with the butter. Cook, stirring frequently until mixture is bubbly and slightly foamy in appearance.

Add the scoop of ice cream to the butter and sugar mixture in the pan and stir until it is completely melted and blended well. Mixture will have a milky, caramel appearance.

Add salt to taste.

Reduce heat to low and add the bananas. Cook to heat the bananas through, stirring gently.

Pour the bananas and sauce over ice cream to serve.

Serves 4

This is a great base recipe. If you wish you can stir in a splash of strong coffee, bourbon, rum, Amaretto, or Kahlua. This is also great sprinkled with toasted nuts or coconut.

Omni Hotels' Simply Street Food: Duck Empanadas with Smoked Tomato Mayo

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Harris) — Thu, 21 Feb 2013 14:52:00 +0000

A little over a week ago the Omni Interlocken Hotel here in Denver hosted some area food bloggers to a tasting of their menu for their Simply Street Food promotion. In an effort to get the word out about this temporary event, the Omni treated us to an afternoon of delicious food and drink in the cozy pub like surroundings of their casual Tap Room.

Our host for the afternoon Sous Chef Troy Micheletti, explained to us that the Simply Street Food menu is the result of a competition between more than 100 Omni chefs from San Antonio to Singapore, who were asked to create street food inspired dishes made popular in their homelands. From all of these recipes, six of the best were chosen to make up this menu and we were lucky enough to have to tasted them all.

With roots in Nigeria, Acaraje de Orixa is commonly sold in the streets of Bahia, Brazil and is the creation of Chef Josemar Passos of the Tivoli Ecoresort Praia do Forte. This Afro-Brazilian delicacy is prepared with a ground black-eyed pea and shrimp paste.

Duck Empanadas with Smoked Tomato Mayo, was created by Chef Gene Moss of the Omni La Mansion del Rio in San Antonio, Texas. The crispy empanada is stuffed with flavorful duck confit and paired with a sweet and smoky tomato mayonnaise.

Chef Scott Mole of Omni Bedford Springs Resort in Bedford, PA, created this Citrus Ancho Braised Lamb Tostada, which is a combination of delicate and tender lamb piled atop a crispy tortilla. Braised in a secret family recipe that was inspired by the Mexican cuisine of his parents, this is a blend of simple, fresh ingredients served with a Latin twist.

The Chicken Musakhan Sandwich is inspired by Musakhan, a traditional Palestinian chicken dish which is a common Middle Eastern street food. The flavors of this grilled chicken sandwich are vivid and unexpected with the addition of the dill pickle, mustard and ketchup. Chef Mohamed Alaa Allaham of Emirates Palace Hotel, Abu Dhabi is the talented creator of this delicious dish.

Who wouldn't love this sandwich? Short Rib and Vermont Cheddar Sandwich, is the creation of Chef Gerard Tice of the Omni Parker House, Boston, MA. Bursting with the flavors of fresh beef, native produce, Vermont cheddar cheese and artisan brioche, this sandwich is definitely a highlight of this colorful menu.

Famous Peddler's Char Kway Teow is a popular dish served throughout Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia. This version of the dish, developed by Chef Andy Oh of Pan Pacific Orchard, Singapore, features plump shrimp and flavorful bits of sausage tossed with flat rice noodles.

My photos are representative of the menu's portion sizes which were served to us on our visit. As you can tell with prices ranging from $9 - $15, these dishes are a pretty good value. The Tap Room is open from Monday thru Thursday 4pm - 11pm, Friday 4pm - 2am and Saturday and Sunday 11am - midnight. This special menu is available now through the month of March. Be sure and pair any of these dishes with one of their beers from their amazing selection. This definitely goes on my list of things to do on a cold snowy Saturday afternoon . . . or any other afternoon for that matter.

Since I always add a recipe at the end of my posts, I chose to prepare the duck empanadas as my featured recipe. Chef Moss just may burn my house down for this, but I felt I needed to make an executive decision and alter the recipe just a bit so home cooks might find it easier to prepare. Since duck is often times expensive and hard to find, I made mine with some shredded turkey thighs which I found to be a nice substitute.

I also abbreviated the Smoked Tomato Mayonnaise recipe a bit and it turned out pretty close to the original if I do say so myself. If you would like to view and make the Omni original recipe, click on the link at the bottom of this page. I know at first glance this recipe sounds a bit involved, but since all the components are prepared in advance, assembly is really quite quick and they take just a few minutes to shallow fry.

"Duck" Empanadas with Smoked Tomato Mayonnaise, Adapted from Omni Hotels' Simply Street Food

For the meat filling:
2 large turkey thighs (mine weighed 2 - 1/2 pounds)
Salt and pepper (and whatever other spices you like to season you protein with)

Season thighs. Place in a preheated 350 degree oven. Cover and cook for approximately 1 hour or until juices run clear and meat is cooked through. Uncover meat for the last 20 - 30 minutes of cooking time to give it a more colorful appearance. Thighs can also be cooked over a medium high heat on an outdoor charcoal grill. Remove cooked thighs from heat, allow to sit for 10 minutes before removing meat from the bone and shredding with a fork; set aside.

For the mayonnaise:
1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
2 tablespoons finely diced onion
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon red or white wine vinegar

Place all ingredients in a medium size bowl, stir well, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

For the marinated cabbage:
1 - 1/2 cups finely shredded cabbage (approximately 1/8 of a small head of cabbage)
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil (I use 1/2 teaspoon dried basil which worked well)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint (Not being real fond of mint I used just a pinch of dried, which is all I had on hand. Hey it's winter!)
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Black pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

For the empanada dough (Adapted from Epicurious):
2 - 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 stick ice cold butter, chopped into 1/2" cubes
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup ice water
1 tablespoon vodka or white vinegar

Place the flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor and process for a few seconds to combine. Add the butter and process until the mixture looks like corn meal.

In a small spouted container whisk together the egg, water and vodka. With the processor running, pour the mixture into the flour and process until the dough is formed and pulls away from the side of the bowl. Flatten to a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Empanada Assembly:
Remove chilled dough from the refrigerator. Divide into 12 equal portions. Roll each portion into a 5" round. Place about 1/12 of the meat (about 1 ounce or a heaping tablespoon) and drained cabbage onto 1/2 of the circle. Dampen the edges of the dough with just a bit of water. Fold the dough over the filling and press edges together. Press the edges with the tines of a fork to decorate; repeat with all of the dough and filling, set aside.

Pour enough oil into a medium size sauce pan so that it comes up the sides at least 1". Place over medium heat and heat until the oil is hot and shimmering. Drop empanadas into the hot oil one or two at a time (do not crowd). Watching carefully fry empanadas for just a minute or two on each side or until they are golden brown. Drain on paper towel lined tray. Keep warm until ready to serve. Serve with the Smoked Tomato Mayo

Makes 12

Looking for more information about this event? Be sure and visit Barb at Creative Culinary, Ansh at Spice Roots, Holly at A Baker's House or the Omni Hotel website where you can find links to recipes and more information about Simply Street Food.

Tasting Colorado by Michele Morris: Buffalo Redeye Stew and Cookbook Giveaway

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Harris) — Fri, 15 Feb 2013 17:02:00 +0000

Even though I have always loved to cook, that doesn't mean that I've always been good at it. When I was first married I did have some recipes that I was pretty good at, but my repertoire was limited and after about 3 weeks of marriage, even my confirmed bachelor husband was hungry for something other than Rice-a-Roni and dirty martinis.

It was about this time that I discovered the PBS series, Great Chefs of the West. I loved the dishes that the chefs prepared so much that as soon as I could I called the 800 number at the end of the show and ordered my companion book. This TV series and cookbook sparked a curiosity of blending favors and cooking in me that I still enjoy. I guess it is my Texas roots, but throw in an ancho chile or a little bit of bacon grease into anything and I am in heaven.

Now all these years later I am thrilled to have a new book of recipes from some other great chefs of the west courtesy of my friend and fellow blogger, Michele Morris. Chef, instructor and author of the food blog Cooking With Michele, she has painstakingly compiled 120 recipes from all over the state for her new book, Tasting Colorado. Reminiscent of my well loved Great Chefs of the West cookbook, it features not only recipes from Michele herself, but also from award winning cooks, and chefs from restaurants, guest ranches and resorts located around the state.

Beautifully written and photographed, this book is pretty enough for the coffee table, but definitely belongs in the kitchen. The recipes contained in these pages are not only representative of Colorado's love of fresh, local ingredients, but also offers several that display our more sophisticated side and fondness for contemporary global cuisine.

Whether you are a Coloradoan who would like to make Fruition's ricotta cheese cake at home, or a tourist who wants to recreate the tastes of a memorable vacation in Estes Park, the recipes you are looking for are probably in here.  There are even recipe guidelines and help for adjustments of equipment, ingredients, preparation and altitude (welcome to our world) to ensure successful preparation of the recipes.

To kick off the book's release, Michele and her publisher have made an extra copy available to me to give to one of my US readers, and I won't make you jump through hoops enter either. If you'd like to enter just leave a comment. If you'd like extra entries you can like me on Facebook and sign up to receive my posts by e-mail by entering your address in the field at the upper right of this page under the Foodgawker badge. That's it. Choose one, two or all of these and you're in, just leave a separate comment for each method of entry. If you aren't lucky enough to win this copy when I give it away next Friday, Tasting Colorado is available at bookstores and gift shops all around Colorado. You can also pick up a copy online at www.farcountrypress.com or at Amazon.com.

When I started the process of deciding which recipe to prepare, I kind of felt like the decision was predestined in a way. You might recall a few months ago I posted about an evening I spent at a Cooking Matters class. At the end of that post I invited other bloggers to join me in the Cooking Matters Colorado Social Media Recipe Challenge to make a meal for around $1.40 per person.  I am pleased to say that I won that contest and the grand prize which was 40 pounds of local bison meat.

Having received my book and bison at almost the same exact time, I knew that I was going to have to prepare The Buckhorn Exchange's delicious looking recipe for Buffalo Redeye Stew.  The combination of bison, bourbon, black coffee and potatoes just says old west to me. Serve this with an iron skillet full of moist cornbread and you have my husband's idea of the perfect birthday supper.  Yep, it is that good.

Buffalo Redeye Stew from The Buckhorn Exchange, Denver

You're going to read this recipe and say, "Whoa! TWO cups of bourbon?!", but I encourage you to go with at least 1 cup. Michele says to reduce the intensity of the bourbon flavor, replace half or all of the bourbon with beef stock or red wine, and you can do this if you must, but no guts no glory.

I only had 1 cup of Jack Daniels in my cupboard and reluctantly dumped it all in with 1 cup of beef stock. I let the alcohol cook off for a few minutes before covering and simmering. The bourbon adds a wonderful flavor and aroma to the sauce that I don't know if you could get with any yellow bellied beef stock or red wine. I think next time I just might go all Buffalo Bill with it and add with the whole 2 cups.

2 pounds buffalo meat (or beef if buffalo isn't available), cut into cubes
Salt and pepper
Flour, for dredging
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 medium onions, diced small
1 medium garlic clove, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 cups straight Kentucky bourbon
1/2 cup strong black coffee
1 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme
6 small potatoes, peeled and quartered

Season the meat with salt and pepper and dredge in flour.

Heat the oil in a large, heavy-bottomed pan and brown the meat on all sides.

Add the onions and garlic and cook until the onions are soft. Stir in the tomato paste and cook 1 minute. Add the bourbon and coffee, stir to combine and add the rosemary, thyme, salt, pepper and potatoes. Bring to a boil; reduce heat to low, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally until the meat is tender, about 1 hour.

Serves 6

*I cubed a heel of round roast for my stew. Between the altitude and the tough cut of meat I was using, it took my stew about 2 hours to cook. Since it took so long and I don't like overcooked potatoes, I sprinkled my potatoes over the top of the stew at the beginning, cooked them until they were fork tender (about 40 minutes) before removing them and transferring them to a bowl. I then continued to cook the meat until it was tender before returning the potatoes back to the pot to heat through before serving.

And now I'm off to the store for some spaghetti squash. I can't wait to make this one.

Happy Valentine's Day 2013: Francois Payard's Flourless Chocolate Walnut Cookies

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Harris) — Sun, 10 Feb 2013 22:26:00 +0000

When I found out eighteen years ago that I was going to have a baby boy I decided that this was my opportunity to give a precious gift to womankind. I figured that most everyone before me was clueless when it came to raising their boys which, I surmised, was the reason men did so many stupid things when it came to women. So I was going to fix all that with my little wonder boy. Well after eighteen years of blood, sweat and tears, I am here to tell everyone that it isn't nearly as easy as it looks.

Don't get me wrong, I have a pretty good kid, but as I raise this young man I realize that the old saying is true, men are from Mars and women are from Venus. We just don't get each other. What I think is a gentle reminder, he see as nagging. What he sees as waiting for the perfect opportunity, I interpret as maddening procrastination. What he believes to be comfortable, homey surroundings I think is a mess which could potentially cause condemnation of our property. So out of sheer exasperation and exhaustion I turn him over to his father who thinks he can teach him how to "handle" women, and so it goes, the blind leads the blind.

Well, coming fresh off of a "you see if you can do something with him" break, I am rested up just in time to help my young Martian get through Valentines Day with his first real Venusian. Just to make sure that I don't overlook anything, I called in reinforcements in the form of his big sister, who is all over this one. I do have to say I'm a bit worried because in her short history with boys she has dealt with stupidity of epic proportions, and she might not know her own strength. I must remember to ask her to be gentle with him.

For this year while he is still a beginner, we're just going to hit the high points. We'll be sure and tell him that he doesn't have to spend a ton of money to show a girl how much he cares, just put a little thought into it and go the extra mile. Be sure and smell that perfume before you buy it, read the card before you leave the store with it, and most importantly spend the day with her instead of hanging out in front of the Xbox with your Martian brethren.

In the future we'll go over advanced topics like Godiva and Tiffany, but for this year, I think that's enough. Oh yeah, there's one other thing I want him to know. His first Valentine still loves him very much and will always be here for him, even if we don't exactly understand each other.

To show all of my Valentines how much I love them, I like to put together some little red gift bags full of tokens from the dollar store or small things that they have mentioned they like throughout the year. I also make some kind of special sweet chocolate treat for everyone to enjoy. Through the years I've made cake, cupcakes, truffles, ice cream and chocolate covered strawberries, and even though they've all been delicious and well received, I think they are really going to love what I have in store for them this year.

I discovered this year's treat over at Jules Food. If you've never visited this blog, you'll love the adventurous recipes beautiful photographs. I take it to the bank if something is endorsed as really good, so when this recipe for Francois Payard's flourless chocolate cookies was featured, I knew I had to make them. Sure enough, they are perfection. Light, with a thin crispy shell on the outside and a little chew on the inside, these are some special cookies. Best of all, they are easy to prepare. If you really want to impress this Valentine's Day, bake up some of these elegant bites for those you love.

Francois Payard's Flourless Chocolate Walnut Cookies

This is similar to the New York Magazine recipe that Jules used to make these wonderful cookies. Like Jules, I only had about 2 cups of nuts (mine were pre-chopped) when I made mine. The recipe still worked beautifully.

2 - 2 3/4 cups walnut halves (I used 2 cups chopped nuts)
3 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup plus 3 tablespoons unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 large egg whites, at room temperature
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350.

Spread the walnut halves on a large-rimmed baking sheet and toast in the oven watching closely, until they are golden and fragrant, approximately 8 - 10 minutes.

Let cool slightly, then transfer the walnut halves to a work surface and coarsely chop them. Position two racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and lower temperature to 320. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, whisk (or combine with an electric mixer on low speed) the confectioners’ sugar with the cocoa powder and salt followed by the chopped walnuts. While whisking (or with an electric mixer set to medium), add the egg whites and vanilla extract and beat just until the batter is moistened (do not overbeat or it will stiffen).

Spoon the batter onto the baking sheets in 12 evenly spaced mounds, and bake for 14 to 16 minutes, until the tops are glossy and lightly cracked; shift the pans from front to back and top to bottom halfway through to ensure even baking. Transfer the cookies on the parchment paper onto wire racks to cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to 3 days.

*I found that to get 12 nice big cookies, use a slightly heaping dessert spoon of cookie dough.

**I only had one large baking sheet, so I baked mine in batches which worked well enough. The batter for the second batch did stiffen up on me a bit while the first batch was in the oven, but it was still loose enough that it worked. I do have to say that the second batch wasn't quite as glossy and pretty on top, but still tasted great.

Something From Nothing #9: French Vinaigrette and That Bright Orange Stuff You Ate as a Kid

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Harris) — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 14:24:00 +0000

When I started my first "real" job many moons ago, the best part of the day next to happy hour was lunch. I had a couple of favorite restaurants close by the office and thanks to my boss's generous expense account, our small department got to visit one of them almost every day.

One of these favorites was southwest Houston's location of Houlihan's. This was my favorite place for a bowl of French Onion Soup with tons of cheese melted over a big crusty crouton, floating in a dark salty broth. Since I was going French, I thought it only right that I pair my favorite soup with their house salad which was served drenched in a thick sweet tomatoey "French" dressing sprinkled liberally with tangy bleu cheese crumbles. I'd like to say that my palate has matured since then, but if I could find a Houlihan's around anywhere, you bet I'd be there eating soup and salad, with or without an expense account.

A couple of years later when I found myself visiting Europe for the first time, I was really quite surprised to discover that the French dressing that I had learned to love and had been eating for years didn't even resemble real French salad dressing. Real French salad dressing is actually more of what we Americans call Italian dressing without all the herbs and Romano cheese that Kraft likes to put in there. It was different, but I grew to love it, especially on a continent where you count yourself lucky if you are offered any dressing for your salad at all.

Back at home in the US, I had a refrigerator door lined with bottles of store bought dressings. I once thought making good salad dressings to be rocket science and would never have dreamed of making them on my own. When I finally got around to giving homemade a try, I loved it and there's no way I would ever go back to eating store bought again. If you've never made your own dressing you are going to be amazed at how easy and delicious they can be, and I'm pleased to give you a couple of recipes to start with.

As usual this first recipe is my own rendition of a simple old favorite. There are many recipes out there for this traditional French vinaigrette that are usually made without garlic, and even though I think it just rounds out the flavor perfectly, feel free to leave it out if you prefer. Even though there are more ingredients than I usually like to list for my Something From Nothing recipes, I think you'll find that you have most of them in your pantry and if not, they are essential basics that you probably need to go out and buy anyway.

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 medium size garlic clove, crushed (optional, but I love it)
1 tablespoon very thinly sliced green onion tops (or a tablespoon of very finely minced shallot or onion)
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
4 tablespoons olive oil (vegetable oil can be used if you prefer)
Black pepper to taste
5 cups of salad greens

Pour the salt in the middle of a large bowl. This will not only season the vinaigrette, but it will also help give the garlic some traction if the bowl is slippery.

Place a clove of garlic on top of the salt with the rounded side facing up. Hold securely near the root end with a fork. Holding another fork in the opposite hand, place your thumb in the curved part of the fork. Firmly yet gently shave the garlic from the end a little bit at a time until it is crushed. Using the back of the fork, crush any large bits if any against the salt.

Bruise the green onions on top of the salt and garlic with the back of a fork.

Whisk in the mustard and vinegar.

Slowly add the oil in a thin stream while whisking vigorously until it is incorporated.

Season with a healthy grinding of black pepper.

Place salad greens on top and toss immediately, or stop at this point, cover and set aside for up to an hour or so without tossing to serve later.

Make this recipe your own at this point by adjusting the oil or vinegar to make it milder or stronger. You can also add herbs and cheese to the dressing to change it up a bit. This dressing can be easily doubled or tripled and stored in the refrigerator for up to a week. When I double the recipe I don't quite double the onions and garlic to avoid an overpowering flavor.

And now from the sublime to the ridiculous . . .

I toyed with the idea of leaving this second recipe off, but after talking about how good it is I felt compelled to include it. It has many of the same ingredients as the traditional French dressing, but with just a couple of added ingredients like sugar and, well, tomato soup. Yep, you read right. I told you it is ridiculous.

American Style Tomato French Dressing

I know it sounds kind of weird, but you owe it to yourself to try this at least once. I normally don't like to use canned soup for anything, but I must admit I usually have a can of tomato in the pantry just in case we have a grilled cheese emergency, so why not. For the old time Houlihan's experience, add some bleu cheese crumbles, thinly sliced red onion and, dare I say it in yet another post, some real bacon crumbles.

1 - 10 ounce can condensed tomato soup
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup apple cider vinegar
1/2 medium size onion, finely chopped
1/2 cup granulated sugar (hey, I didn't say it was healthy)
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 pinch cayenne pepper
2 teaspoons Worchestershire sauce
Black pepper to taste

Throw everything in the bowl of a blender. Blend for 5 - 10 seconds or so, or until onion is pureed and everything is combined. Serve chilled.

Makes about 2 cups

I really wish I knew who first made salad dressing out of soup because I'd really like to give you credit for stretching your imagination in such a fun way, so whoever you are, thanks for the recipe.

The Best Part of This Year's Super Bowl For Me: Mushroom Bacon and Swiss Stuffed Bread

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Harris) — Sat, 26 Jan 2013 23:39:00 +0000

It's getting close to Super Bowl time again. This is actually one of my favorite times of year, not because I love the Super Bowl, but because it means that football season is almost over for six or seven blissful months. In my opinion that's something to celebrate.

I think I started disliking football when I was in about the 4th or 5th grade. The game sounds on the TV in the family room on Sunday afternoons were like a macabre alarm clock ringing in the doom of the upcoming school week. It must have reminded my mother of the same thing because her cries of "Karen, do you have any homework?!" always coincided with the sounds of the refs' whistles and that just made things worse.

Oh I've tried to move on from these childhood memories and learn to like football. Once I even sat down to watch a game with my husband and son to ask questions and maybe get a handle on this football thing. No such luck. I asked a couple of questions, but found my mind wandering to thoughts of ponies and rainbows during their explanations. It was an unpleasant experience for all of us. So I decided to own it and just be honest with myself. I just really don't care. There I said it. Well, I do care when there is someone I know playing in the game, but Detroit's season is over so I repeat, I don't care.

This doesn't mean that I don't have a Super Bowl tradition or two, oh no far from it. Every Super Bowl Sunday I find myself a chick flick and go see it while Mr. H watches a bunch of men tackle each other and over indulges in a meal of small spicy bites in glorious peace and quiet. And please don't worry about me. Oh no I won't be alone. The movie theaters are packed with women just like me and there are even a few men there too wearing dark sunglasses and ball caps pulled down to shadow their faces.

This makes me especially happy since I have a friend who actually plays fantasy football with her husband. I'm not sure when and why she went to the dark side, but I think it best my husband never finds out about this unicorn. If he thinks there is hope to change me, he might just decided to hold another football class. Yuck.

Before I head out for the movie on this holiest of sports days, I will lovingly assemble my husband's football watching buffet to help him feel like I am there in spirit. There are a few things that he requires like guacamole and chicken wings, but for the rest of the menu I am allowed to go freestyle.

Seeing that the Super Bowl is next Sunday I am now auditioning dishes for the final menu. One of the dishes that has already made the cut is a pull apart bread dish that Lea Ann from Cooking on the Ranch brought over to my house for our friend Yvette's Muy Bueno Cookbook signing party. I have since seen a couple of variations, but I loved Lea Ann's version smothered in mushrooms and cheese, so I am using that as a base and adding some of my husband's favorite flavors (bacon) to it. With food like this lying around maybe Chick Flick Sunday (or Super Bowl Sunday if you must) isn't going to be that bad after all.

Mushroom Bacon and Swiss Stuffed Bread

This recipe calls for a store bought loaf of bread, but if you are an "Artisan Bread in Five" fan like me and have some dough in the fridge, boy are you in for a treat. Just form a boule and bake it according to recipe, let it cool and start from there.

6 slices bacon
8 ounces mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 clove garlic, crushed
Salt and black pepper to taste
1/4 cup thinly sliced green onions (white and light green parts)
1 cup shredded Gruyere or Swiss Cheese
1 small round loaf of unsliced rustic bread (my bread was the size of a mini boule)
5 tablespoons butter, melted
2 teaspoons freshly squeezed lemon juice or red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Place the bacon in a medium to large size frying pan over medium high heat. Fry bacon to crispy, transfer to a paper towel to drain.

Saute the mushrooms in the hot bacon drippings in the same frying pan. Once they are soft (about 5 minutes) add the crushed garlic and saute for one minute longer. Add salt and pepper to taste. Drain mushrooms and transfer to a medium size bowl to cool.

Once the bacon and mushrooms are drained and cooled, crumble the bacon on top of the mushrooms in the bowl. Add the green onions and cheese. Stir well and set aside.

Slice the bread into a grid in 1" sections almost all the way through the bread, leaving a 1" base at the bottom to hold the loaf together.

Set the bread on a large piece of aluminum foil. Stuff the mushroom mixture into the crevices of the bread; set aside.

Whisk together the butter, vinegar and mustard in a small bowl. Drizzle over the bread on top of the mushroom mixture. Wrap the foil up around the edges of the bread toward the top. I prefer to leave an opening at the top so the bread gets crispy. For a softer result, close the foil at the top before baking. Bake until heated through, approximately 30 minutes. Serve immediately.

This recipe easily serves 4.

My Dad's Answer to Dessert: Meyer Lemon Pudding Cake

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Harris) — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 00:05:00 +0000

I, like probably half of you who are reading this, am a child of divorce. I was eight when my family fell apart. I really hate to put it like that, but it is what it is. Even though I survived it did leave an indelible mark on me. Now before I totally bum you out and you exit out of my site, I have to say that it wasn't really all that bad in the end. Experiences like this made me who I am, and even though there are a few people who might disagree, I think I turned out alright.

Starting at this early age I spent every other weekend with my Dad. Obviously I would have preferred having my parents together, but the times I got to spend with him one on one were priceless. He was both loving and fun and made running even the most mundane Saturday morning errands enjoyable. By the time we had the car washed, his ears lowered, and the dry cleaning picked up, and even though I was half full of "candy and junk" (my mother's words, not mine), he rewarded me with lunch at one of our regular places where I got the VIP treatment. I don't think I've had a waitress ask me since if I'd like "the usual".

Saturday lunchtime with Dad may have meant pit barbecue and drugstore cheeseburgers, but nighttime was reserved for one of his "jungle" buffets at home. Why he called it this was and still is a mystery to me, but I think he was just trying to make simple sound special. He would often pull out some onion dip and taco flavored Doritos for an appetizer which was followed by a main course of Little Smokies drenched in barbecue sauce with a side of dill pickles and some soft, fluffy white bread. Poor old one protein and two veg Mom, how was she supposed to keep up with this?

After the dishes were done he would most likely pull out a boxed treat of some sort for dessert in front of the TV. Two of our favorites were gingerbread and lemon pudding cake. The pudding cake was always my number one choice. I thought then (and still do) that this little box mix was no less than genius. By just adding a little boiling water and popping it in the oven, it magically separated into not one, but two, layers of lemony goodness. On top a light and airy souffle-like cake; on the bottom a silky smooth warm pudding sauce that had the absolute perfect viscosity time after time.

It has been a long time since I've seen one of those boxes on the store shelves, but many years ago a friend gave me her great aunt's mother's cousin's best friend's recipe. Since I've had a persistent craving for one of these lately, I've been looking for a reason to pull out that little yellowed index card and make one. A couple of days ago when I walked into the grocery store and saw a big display of Meyer lemons I knew that this was my opportunity. I hope you'll like this recipe as much as I do.

This one's for you Daddy.

Meyer Lemon Pudding Cake

Meyer lemons were introduced to the US in 1908 by agricultural explorer Frank Nicholas Meyer who brought a sample back from China while working for the US Department of Agriculture. Thought to be a cross between a true lemon and a mandarin or ordinary orange, its flavor is sweeter and milder than true lemons. While Meyer lemon trees produce throughout the year, most of the fruit is harvested in the winter months.

2 tablespoons butter, softened to room temperature

1 cup sugar

4 large eggs, separated placing yolks and whites in separate medium size bowls

1 teaspoon lemon zest (for easier zesting, zest lemons before juicing them)
1/3 cup lemon juice (about 2 juicy medium size lemons)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

1 – 1/3 cup milk

Powdered sugar to garnish

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Spray an 8” square glass or ceramic baking dish (or a dish of a similar size) with non-stick cooking spray; set aside.

Cream butter and 1 tablespoon of the sugar with an electric mixer set to medium until it is fluffy and lemon colored. Mix in egg yolks one at a time alternating with the remaining sugar until it is all combined.

With the mixer set to low, add lemon juice, lemon zest and vanilla; mix well.

Add the flour a tablespoon at a time mixing well after each addition.

Add salt and mix well.

Slowly add the milk; set aside.

Beat egg whites to stiff peaks. Fold in 1/4 of the beaten whites into the yolk mixture to lighten the batter before thoroughly folding in the remaining whites. The batter will be thin so don't worry.

Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish. Place the baking dish in a larger heat proof baking pan. Place the pans on the middle rack of the preheated oven towards the front; pour boiling water into the outside pan until it comes 1/2 of the way up the side of the inside dish. Carefully push the pans toward the back of the oven.

Bake for 40 – 45 minutes or until top is golden brown. Remove from the oven and cool for at least 5 minutes before dusting with powdered sugar and serving. This recipe is also delicious served warm or at room temperature.

Makes 8 servings

This recipe is delicious made with just plain old lemons too. If I have any fresh or frozen berries around I also like to sprinkle a handful into the bottom of the prepared dish before pouring in the batter and baking.

Celebrating National Soup Month: Cream of Sun Dried Tomato Soup with Bacon and Fried Onions

noreply@blogger.com (Karen Harris) — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 21:38:00 +0000

I understand that January is National Soup Month. I'm kind of proud of myself for knowing this because I usually miss these commemorative days for some reason. I guess there must be some sort of app I can find so National Glazed Doughnut Day no longer goes unnoticed, but I'll be darned if I can find it.

Well never mind, the important thing is that I didn't miss soup's special month. I love that I am not alone in thinking that soup is so important that just one day won't do. Soup after all helps to heal us when we are sick, warms us when we are chilled to the bone, and in the case of vichyssoise and gazpacho, sustains and cools us on a hot summer day.

For January's soup celebration, I wanted to make something that was just a little bit special, but still was approachable and affordable for a weeknight meal. Since the weather is dreadfully cold most everywhere during this month, I thought it needed to be hearty as well. After mixing and chopping for a couple of days I finally came up with a soup that I think fits the bill. Creamy and wholesome, flavorful and satisfying, this is definitely a celebration soup, even if you are celebrating just a regular Tuesday night.

Cream of Sun Dried Tomato Soup with Bacon and Fried Onions

1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large carrot, cut in half lengthwise and very thinly sliced across
1/2 medium size onion, thinly sliced across and chopped
1 large stalk celery, very thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 large bay leaf
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
5 cups chicken stock
4 slices bacon
1/2 medium size onion, very thinly sliced
3 tablespoons flour
1/3 cup water
3 slightly heaping tablespoons good quality sun dried tomato pesto (I used my favorite from Christopher Ranch)
1/2 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon shredded Parmesan cheese, plus a couple of tablespoons more for garnish

Melt butter together with the vegetable oil in a large saucepan or small stock pot set over medium high heat. When butter starts to sizzle add the carrot, onion and celery. Sauté until the vegetables are soft, approximately 10 minutes. Add the garlic and bay leaf and continue cooking for one minute longer, stirring constantly. Add the sugar and white pepper; stir well to combine.  Add the chicken stock, stir well, cover and lower the heat to low. Cook for approximately 15 minutes or until the vegetables are very soft.

While the soup is cooking, place bacon in a medium size frying pan over medium high heat. Fry until the bacon is crispy.  While reserving the bacon drippings in the frying pan, transfer the bacon to a paper towel to drain; set aside.

Add the thinly sliced onion to the bacon drippings and fry until they are brown and crispy, approximately, 5 minutes; transfer to a paper towel to drain and set aside until ready to use.

Remove the vegetable and stock mixture from the heat.  Remove the bay leaf. Puree vegetables with an immersion blender, or if using a counter top blender, allow mixture to cool to warm before carefully pureeing and returning to the pot and heating over a low heat.

In a small bowl or cup, gradually stir the flour and water together to form a paste.  To the paste add 1/2 cup or so of the hot liquid from the stock pot to temper it a bit.  While stirring the soup in the stock pot continuously, add the flour mixture. Increase the heat to medium high and bring to a boil while continuing to stir. Cook and stir for one minute before adding the pesto and cream. Continue to heat until the mixture just begins to return to the boil. Remove from the heat and stir in a tablespoon of the Parmesan.

Divide soup evenly among 4 - 6 soup bowls.  Spoon fried onions and bacon on top and garnish with some of the Parmesan cheese, or if you want to add a special touch swirl a little lightly whipped unsweetened cream on top. Serve immediately.

Serves 4 - 6