Welcome To Our Table

Cowboy Salad

2009-11-06T21:07:05Z

1 ¾ cup fully cooked ham, cubed
3 ripe tomatoes, cut in chunks (plum tomatoes work well)
1 11oz. can corn kernels, drained
4 oz. Monterey Jack cheese, cut in long, thick strips
½ cup red onion, thinly sliced
2/3 cup ranch dressing, homemade or purchased
1/3 cup chopped Italian parsley
1 small head Boston lettuce, leaves separated
¼ cup smoked almonds, rubbed between paper towels to remove excess salt, than coarsely chopped

Toss first 7 ingredients in a large bowl to mix and coat.

To serve, line a large serving platter with lettuce; top with ham mixture and sprinkle with almonds. Serves 4

Fresh Every Morning Date-Bran Muffins

2009-11-04T23:49:45Z

This recipe was given to me by my friend Kathi, who got it from her mom, Shirley. It makes enough batter for several dozen muffins, and the recipe says you can keep them in your fridge for up to a month. I bet you’ll use them up sooner than that!

3 cups sugar
1 cup Crisco
4 beaten eggs

Cream together the sugar, Crisco and eggs.

2 cups boiling water
1 cup chopped dates
3 tsp baking soda

In medium-sized bowl, pour 2 cups boiling water over dates and baking soda. Let stand for 3 minutes.

4 cups flour
4 cups All-Bran cereal
2 cups Bran Buds
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1 quart buttermilk

Mix together and add to creamed mixture; stir, then add date mixture. Mix well. Pour into large covered container for storage in the refrigerator. It will thicken as it stands. To bake, scoop into muffin pan lined with paper muffin liners. Bake at 400 degrees for 12-15 minutes.

Cranberry Applesauce

2009-11-04T23:18:25Z

6 sweet and tart apples (I like using a mixture), peeled, cored and sliced
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries, washed and sorted to discard any shriveled ones
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2-1 cup granulated sugar, depending on sweetness of your apples
1 cup water
1/2 tsp salt

Place all ingredients in large saucepan. Bring to boil; lower heat to simmer and cover. Cook for 20-30 minutes or until apples are soft enough to mash. Taste to check for sweetness/tartness and add sugar if desired. Cook until sugar is dissolved if you added more.
Remove from heat and mash with potato masher. Serve hot to accompany poultry or pork. Store in fridge for a week or two if it lasts that long, or freeze up to a year.

Crunchy Baked Pork Chops

2009-11-04T23:17:45Z

from America’s Test Kitchen

4 center-cut boneless pork chops, 6-8 ounces each, 3/4 – 1 inch thick
Table salt for brining (I used kosher salt)

To brine: Dissolve 1/4 cup salt in 1 quart water. Submerge chops, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate 30 minutes. Remove from brine, rinse chops under cold water and dry with paper towels. If you are using enhanced pork injected with a salt solution, eliminate this step.

Breading:
4 slices hearty white sandwich bread, torn in 1-inch pieces
1 small minced shallot (about 2 Tbsp)
3 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed in garlic press (about 1 Tbsp) (this tends to be a bit garlicky, so watch out!)
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
Ground black pepper
2 Tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 tsp minced fresh thyme leaves (or 1/4 tsp of dried)
2 Tbsp minced fresh parsley leaves
1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour - plus 6 Tbsp, used separately
3 large egg whites
3 Tbsp Dijon mustard
Lemon wedges

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare pork chops with brine as directed above.

2. Pulse bread in food processor until coarsely ground. You should have about 3 1/2 cups crumbs. Transfer crumbs to rimmed baking sheet and add shallot, garlic, oil, 1/4 tsp salt and 1/4 tsp black pepper. Toss until crumbs are evenly coated with oil. Bake until deep golden brown and dry, about 15 minutes, stirring twice during baking time. (Do not turn off oven.) Cool to room temperature. Toss crumbs with Parmesan, thyme and parsley.

3. Place 1/4 cup flour in pie plate. In second pie plate, whisk egg whites and mustard until combined and smooth; add remaining 6 Tbsp flour to mixture and whisk until smooth, with pea-sized lumps remaining.

4. Increase oven temperature to 425 degrees. Spray wire rack with cooking spray and place in rimmed baking sheet. Season chops with pepper. Dredge 1 pork chop in flour; shake off excess. Using tongs, coat with egg mixture; let excess drip off. Coat all sides of chop with bread crumb mixture, pressing gently so that thick layer of crumbs adheres to chop. Transfer breaded chop to wire rack. Repeat with remaining three chops.

5. Bake until instant-read thermometer inserted into center of chops registers 150 degrees, about 17-25 minutes. (It took longer for my chops to reach 150 degrees, but maybe living at 7400 ft. had something to do with that.) Let rest on rack 5 minutes before serving with lemon wedges.

These chops were tender from the brine bath and the tops of the chops were crunchy, just like ATK promised they’d be. The bottoms of the chops, however, were not as crunchy as the top. If you went through the trouble of browning them before baking, maybe you could remedy that, but I like the ease of popping them in the oven straightaway.

Confetti Couscous Salad

2009-11-06T21:05:56Z

Dried fruit, couscous and mixed greens toss together into a colorful, cool summer salad.

3 cups cooked couscous
1 medium red or yellow sweet pepper, coarsely chopped
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots, dried cranberries and/or golden raisins
2 Tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
1 green onion, chopped
1 cup bottled poppy seed dressing
1/2 tsp grated lime peel
dash of hot pepper sauce
8 cups mixed baby greens
1/3 cup toasted slivered almonds

In a large bowl, combine cooked couscous, sweet pepper, dried fruit, cilantro and green onion. In a small bowl combine dressing, grated lime peel, and hot pepper sauce. Stir half of dressing into couscous mixture. Cover and chill mixture and remaining dressing for 1 to 4 hours. To serve, combine salad greens and almonds in a large bowl. Pour remaining dressing over greens; toss to coat. Divide greens among 6 salad plates. Spoon couscous mixture atop the greens.

Great Grains Muffins

2009-10-30T03:16:05Z

I made these muffins today to go alongside our steaming bowls of soup at lunchtime. They’re from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking from My Home to Yours cookbook. I love the combination of grains that give a little bit of crunch to the slightly sweet muffin.

Great Grains Muffins

1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup yellow cornmeal
1/3 cup old fashioned oats
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup buttermilk
1/3 cup pure maple syrup
2 large eggs
1 stick (8 tbsp.) unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3/4 cup quartered prunes or other dried fruit and/or chopped nuts (optional) (I used raisins)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Butter or spray muffin pan or line with paper cups. Place muffin pan on baking sheet. (I didn’t do that; I just stuck it on the oven rack.)

In a large bowl, whisk together the flours, cornmeal, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. In a large glass measuring cup or another bowl, whisk together the buttermilk, maple syrup, eggs and melted butter. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry ingredients and, with whisk or rubber spatula, gently but quickly stir to blend. Don’t worry about being thorough—or if the batter is a bit lumpy, that’s fine. Stir in fruit or nuts if you’re using them. Divide batter among muffin cups.

Bake for 18-20 minutes, or until tops are golden and a thin knife inserted into the center of the muffins comes out clean. Transfer the pan to a rack and cool for 5 minutes, then carefully lift each muffin out of its mold. Serve warm.

Italian Sausage and Pepper Pasta

2009-09-10T23:58:54Z

This is a delicious, quick pasta sauce. If you prefer, Italian style turkey sausage can be substituted for the pork sausage. Just add a little olive oil to the pan when you brown it.

1 pkg. sweet or hot Italian pork sausage (if you use links, remove from casing)
1 large onion, chopped
2 tsp minced garlic
2 green bell peppers, thinly sliced
1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
8 ounces fresh mushrooms, sliced
2 (28 oz.) cans crushed tomatoes
2 tsp marjoram
salt and pepper to taste
1 lb bowtie or penne pasta

Bring large pot of salted water to boil and cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, cook sausage in large skillet over medium heat, breaking up chunks with a spoon, until no longer pink. Drain off excess fat. Add onions, garlic, peppers and mushrooms; saute until crisp-tender. Add crushed tomatoes and marjoram. Simmer for 10-15 minutes until flavors blend. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serve sauce over pasta. Garnish with freshly grated parmesan. Add a fresh salad and garlic bread to complete your dinner!

Broccoli-Cheese Soup

2009-09-05T22:41:16Z

While visiting Franklin, Tennessee several years ago we stopped for a snack at a charming little bakery. This is one of their most popular soups, and they kindly shared the recipe with us. Wish I could remember the name of the bakery!

10 oz. frozen broccoli or fresh equivalent
1 qt. chicken stock
6 T. butter
2/3 c. flour
3 oz. Velveeta cheese
1/3 c. grated cheddar cheese
2 c. milk

Cook broccoli in chicken stock until tender. Drain, reserving liquid. Puree broccoli in food processor until chunky/smooth. Melt butter in soup pot. Add flour and stir over low heat for 3 to 5 minutes. Gradually stir reserved liquid into butter mixture. Add cheese and stir until soup comes to a boil. Add broccoli and milk. Heat to boiling point, but don’t boil. Garnish with additional grated cheese.

Chicken Pot Pie with Biscuit Topper

2009-08-23T00:30:17Z

Just in time for the arrival of cooler evenings, here’s one of my favorite comfort dinners—Chicken Pot Pie. It’s simple to customize this recipe to suit your family’s taste. Stir in whatever vegetable you desire before pouring the mixture into the casserole dish. For ease of preparation, you can start with a rotisserie chicken (I like to get them at Sam’s Club). Make a large 9×13 pot pie, or fill individual ramekins and top with a single large biscuit. Dig in!

FILLING:
6 cups cooked chicken, torn into bite-size pieces
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
8 oz fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 1/2 cups frozen peas
4 Tbsp butter
1/2 cup flour
1/8 tsp dried thyme (optional)
3 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup half-n-half or heavy cream
3 Tbsp freshly chopped Italian parsley
salt and pepper to taste

In large skillet, melt butter, then saute onion, green pepper, and mushrooms until tender. Sprinkle flour over vegetables; stir and cook briefly until well mixed. Stir in chicken broth, thyme, and cream; add peas. Cook until peas are tender and sauce is thickened. Add chicken and parsley; salt and pepper to taste. Keep mixture very hot until biscuits are made, then pour into greased 9×13 inch baking dish. Place on baking sheet lined with foil to catch any spillovers. Preheat oven to 425 degrees while making biscuits for the top.

DROP BISCUITS:
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sugar
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup cold buttermilk
8 Tbsp unsalted butter, melted, then cooled for 5 minutes

Heat oven to 450 degrees. Whisk flour, baking powder, baking soda, sugar and salt together in a large bowl. Combine buttermilk and melted butter in measuring cup.

Add buttermilk to flour mixture and stir gently just until dough pulls away from bowl.

Drop 12 large spoonfuls of biscuit batter over hot chicken mixure in baking dish. (If the mixture is cool, your biscuits will be soggy.) Bake at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes, or until biscuits are golden brown. While it’s baking, how about making a crisp salad to complete your dinner!

Vanilla Pudding

2009-08-19T00:25:51Z

3/4 cup sugar
2 1/2 Tbsp cornstarch
1/8 tsp salt
3 1/2 cups half-and-half
3 large egg yolks
1 Tbsp unsalted butter
1 Tbsp vanilla

Combine sugar, cornstarch and salt in a medium saucepan. Slowly whisk in the half-and-half and then the yolks.

Bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, whisking constantly to keep from sticking. Cook and stir until pudding is thickened and coats the back of a spoon.

Pour pudding through a mesh strainer into a bowl, using a rubber spatula to stir the pudding through. Add butter and vanilla; stir until butter melts. Press plastic wrap onto surface of pudding to prevent skin from forming. Chill until set, about three hours.

To serve, pour in individual serving bowls. Top with berries and/or peaches and a dollop of sweetened whipped cream. Makes 3 cups, about 4 servings.