Coconut Macaroons

These were really easy - especially with some extra chocolate sitting around from tempering.

I found a recipe here:

But I didn't have any condensed milk - so I found a substitution recipe here:

I cut both recipes in half and ended up with 34 macaroons. They took about 25 minutes in a 300 degree oven. After they cooled a bit, I drizzled some chocolate on them. I remelted the chocolate over an off-heat sauce pan pf of water that had just boiled. I brought the chocolate up to about 105 degrees - it wasn't really runny enough to drizzle - but I got it to work using the back of a spoon.

SWEETENED CONDENSED MILK (SUBSTITUTE)
1 c. instant non fat dry milk 2/3 c. sugar 1/3 c. boiling water 3 tbsp. melted butter Combine all ingredients in blender and blend until smooth. Store in refrigerator. Equal to 1 (14 oz.) can Eagle Brand milk.

Makes 90

• 2 large egg whites
• Pinch of salt
• 1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 2 bags shredded sweetened coconut (14-ounces each)
• Ice cream, optional for Icearoons

Directions

1. Heat oven to 300 degrees. In a medium bowl, whisk egg whites and salt until frothy, about 2 minutes. Stir in condensed milk and vanilla. Using a rubber spatula, fold in coconut until well combined.
2. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper or nonstick baking mats. Using a teaspoon and your fingers, form macaroons into 1 1/4-inch mounds about 1 inch apart.
3. Bake until macaroons are golden brown, about 20 minutes. Transfer baking sheets to a cooling rack; let cool completely. Store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Tempering Chocolate

My plan was to temper chocolate and dip cream caramels in it. Tempering chocolate turns out to be a pain. I worked in it last night until past minute and failed in two attempts. I did more research today - and I think that last night I put the "seed chocolate" in at too high a temperature - and it melted before if could do any seeding. And then - I only took the temp. down to 88 - 91. THis was not cool enough according to other methods I read today.

So, now I am trying again - I remelted the chocolate from last night (over a double boilier - heat off - after simmering lightly) the melted chocolate got up to about 118 and is in the process of cooling to 80. I plan to ring it up to 89 using a bowl of warm water.

For cooling it, I transferred the melted chocolate into the bowl of a stand mixer, and stirring with the dough hook on the lowest setting - that way I don't have to stand there and stir it fo half an hour as it cools. Off to check the temp... 86.4 and cooling.

The tempering directions I am following now are here:

Double Boiler Tempering

Chop chocolate blocks into small pieces or use chocolate wafers.

Fill bottom of double boiler so the hot water does not touch the bottom of the upper pan. Do not let the water boil. Stir the chocolate while melting to ensure even heating. Try to avoid creating air bubbles. Heat chocolate to 120 F. to 122 F.

Replace the hot water with 70 F. water, no cooler. Stir until the chocolate cools to between 79 F. and 80 F. It may occasionally be necessary to add additional cool water to the bottom of the double boiler.

Now replace the 70 F. water with warm water (about 92 F. to 93 F.) and raise the temperature of the chocolate to between 88 F. and 89 F. for dark chocolate or 84 F. to 86 F. for milk chocolate or white cocoa butter coating (white chocolate). Maintain the appropriate temperature while dipping. If the chocolate exceeds 90 F., it will be necessary to repeat the tempering process.

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The directions I used last night - which were good - but led me a bit astray about the "seed" method are here: At cookingforengineers.com - which also appears to be a good site.


When the chocolate got down to 80 degrees - I put it over a bowl of 95 degree water and brought it back up to 89. It was still pretty thick - too thick to use effectively - I tried a test strip on some parchment - and after three or four minutes it didn't look like it had tempered propoerly, it was still soft and bent rather than snapping. I added warmer water to the bowl under the chocolate and brought it up a bit more - slightly over 90. At this point, I decided to dip the caramels anyway.

Dipping took about an hour - I kept an eye on the temperature and replace the water in the bowl under the chocolate with warm / hot tap water every now and then. I used wooden skewers to dip the caramels - I think tongs or some other way of grabbing a caramel from two sides might work better. One problem with the caramels is that when they first came out of the freezer, they were too solid to stick a skewer in. After a while, they became too soft to stay on a skewer - so they had to go back in the freezer.

The chocolate must have been in temper - because in the morning, the caramels were shiny and the chocolate broke with a snap. I think I could have doen a better test for tempered-ness by dipping a spoon in the chocolate and putting it in the fridge for a few minutes. The first sign of success I noticed was the dough hook on the mixer - the chocolate it was covered with hardened to a shiny gloss and broke with a snap. Also, the chocolate I worked with stayed tempered for an hour with occasional reheating - sometimes the reheating went to 95 or 98 - this thinned the chocolate enough to work with and did not destroy the temper.

Cream caramels

I had a chocolate covered caramel with sea salt from Trader Joes -yum. I decided to try to make them. That was the easy part.

Caramel:

After searching awhile for recipes - I followed this recipe from chocolatedgourmand.com - an excellent site with lots of great pictures and tips.

I followed the recipe closely - using a silpat to line the pan that I spread the caramel in. (this is described somewhere in the site - and is worth finding and trying - it was simple) The caramel mixture took quite a while (25 min?) to come to the proper temperature - but it did, I poured it, wrapped it, left it, and it was perfect.

The next day I transferred the slab to a parchment covered cutting board, and put that in the freeze for 15 minutes. Then I cut (slowly - line by line) a grid pattern in the slab. Then I put it back in the freezer to mess with the chocolate (separate post - long story). The process of separating out individual chunks wasn't too hard after if messed with if to a while - it involved returning the slab to the freezer every now and then. Also, It took some trial and error to figure out that the best way to store the individual chunks was on anything, on parchment. They sagged when they warmed - but the resulting shape was cool. I had some on plates without parchment. These were too soft to move until I popped them in the freezer for awhile - then they came off with a bit of help from a paring knife to the bottom.


Classic Cream Caramels

2 cups light corn syrup
4 cups sugar
1/4 cup unsalted butter, cubed
4 cups whipping cream
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
Some Safflower oil.

Oil the foil lined baking dish.
Using safflower oil and a paper towel, generously oil a 9x13 baking dish lined with foil. Don't skimp, trust me.

Heat sugar and corn syrup to boil then stop stirring and cook until 305° F.
Combine the sugar and corn syrup in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir frequently until it comes to a boil. Wash down sides several times with water using a pastry brush. Stop stirring and place a candy thermometer in pan and continue to boil over medium high heat. You are going to boil the sugar syrup mixture until it reaches 305° F (151° C), which will take about 10 minutes or so.

Heat cream over medium heat until simmering.
While you are waiting for the sugar mixture to heat you can heat the cream in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring frequently until simmering. Remove the hot cream from heat and set aside.

Add butter to sugar syrup. Slowly add the hot cream.
Once the sugar mixture has reached 305° F (151° C), reduce heat and slowly add the 1/4 cup of cubed butter. Slowly add the hot cream to the sugar mixture. I usually do this with a small ladle or measuring cup. Keep the mixture boiling while adding the cream, but beware of boil-over if you add the cream too quickly. The boiling mixture will rise rapidly after adding the cream. Let the mixture settle down before adding more cream. The game is to keep it boiling without letting it overflow.

Continue cooking caramel until it reaches target temperature.
Once the cream has all been added, continue stirring constantly until the mixture reaches 242-243° F (116°) for dipping or else 246-248° F (117° C) for wrapping. If you like your caramel harder, you can keep heating until you get to around 250° F. If you like your caramel soft, be careful not to make it too soft. Extra gooey caramel is hard to package or dip. The caramel will usually continue to heat a degree past when you remove it from heat.

Remove from heat and let cool 5 minutes. Add salt and vanilla.
Let sit 5 minutes before my favorite part: stirring in the salt and vanilla. If you love vanilla, then get ready for what you might call vanilla free-basing. Once you pour in the vanilla and salt, stir just until blended. As you stir the vanilla into the caramel, the vanilla bourbon will boil off and you can inhale intense vanilla smell.

Pour into oiled baking dish. Let sit overnight wrapped tightly.
Pour mixture into prepared baking pan. Cover well and let cool overnight. Once you are ready to dip or wrap, peel the foil off the caramel. This can be a major pain. I simply have to find a better way. They need to make a silpat lined baking pan. The gooier the caramel, the smaller the pieces of foil rip off. Oil a large plastic cutting board and place the caramel slab there. Slice into pieces and wrap or dip.

Dip or wrap as desired.
I typically prefer to make my dipped caramels more gooey than the wrapped caramels, but note that softer caramels are more difficult to work with and dip. Even firm caramels will succumb to gravity and sag after a few minutes. When dipping, slice only as much as you need from the main block to maintain rectangular shapes.

Quick Raita!

I made this as part of throwing together a no-effort meal featuring a can of some sort of Indian soupy dish with white rice. Searched for a recipe and found this one from epicurious:

Ingredients:

1 large unpeeled English hothouse cucumber, halved, seeded, coarsely grated
2 cups plain whole-milk yogurt
1/4 cup (packed) chopped fresh mint
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon plus pinch of cayenne pepper

Preparation:

Wrap grated cucumber in kitchen towel and squeeze dry. Whisk yogurt, mint, cumin, and 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper in medium bowl to blend. Add cucumbers and toss to coat. Season raita to taste with salt and pepper. Cover and refrigerate at least 2 hours. (Can be prepared 1 day ahead. Keep refrigerated.) Sprinkle raita with pinch of cayenne pepper and serve.


I changed a few things - I used
-2/3 of a leftover cucumber - peeled seeded and minced (no squeezing - the idea here was a quick simple meal).
-1 single serving of plain yogurt
-juice of the small half of a lemon
-about a T of frozen mint leaves - chopped up
- about 3/4 t cumin
-a pinch of cayenne - and then more to taste

whisk together and eat immediately

I will try it the epicurious way sometime - with towels and time and such - but this worked very well - especially going from thinking about it to eating it in about 5 minutes.

Braised Pork Roast

This recipe is from the Silver Spoon Italian Cookbook.

This recipe was easy to set up - I rolled the roast in rosemary leaves, tied, it browned, and then added onions, garlic, and wine, and then left it alone to simmer. The recipe called for 90 minutes of simmering - so I didn't check the temp. for amlonst an hour - and the temp. was up to 190. Whoops. Oh well. IT was still tasty and the juices made nice gravy. The texture was card boardy. Next time I will check the temp. much sooner - and I will use lower heat fo simmnering.

2.25 Lb. Pork Roast
rosemary leaves from 2 or 3 sprigs
6 T olive oil
2 T butter
.5 medium onion - chopped
1 clove garlic - crushed
3/4 c dry white wine
1 T dijon mustard
1 t white wine vinegar (I used red - because tha tis what I had)

press half of the rosemary needles into the roast
tie the rost with twine
heat 4 T of oil and the butter in a pan
brown the roast on all sides - turning with tongs
pour off the accumulated fat
add the onions and garlic and wine
lower heat and let simmer for 90 min. (check temp after 30 or so just in case

when roast is to temp. - remove and let sit for 10 minutes
ass mustard, rest of oil, and vinegar to pan juices (I also added 1 t corn starch dissolved in about 1/4 C wine - for thickening)
Slice roast in thick slices and serve with gravy

I served sweet potato disks with this - yum!

garlic chive and cous cous salad

I made this salad to go with lemon parsley stuffed chicken. I seemed strange - I just threw together stuff that I had as a way to use garlic chives leftover from trying to make pad thai. It worked better than I expected - I might even make it again.

half a bunch (about 30-40) garlic chives
1 C cous cous
1 1/4 C chicken stock
1/4 C crasins
1/4 C cashews (chopped if you feel like it)
1/4 C chopped cucumber
1 T balsamic vinegar
2 tsp. Olive Oil
1/5 tsp. sea salt

-Boil the chicken stock - turn off heat and add the cous cous - let sit for five minutes and fluff with a fork.
-Preheat a grill pan - spray with some oil and, when the pan is hot, put in the garlic chives - let them grill for about 3 minutes and then turn the chives over to grill the other side. Salt the chives. Remove them from the pan when they are grilled on both sides.
-Chop the grilled chives into 1' lenghts
- mix all ingredients together

Improvised Ground Turkey Soft Tacos with Mole

I threw this together sort of in a hurry tonight - but it came out unusually well. I heated canola oil in a nonstick saute pan - and added half an onion minced, .5 t ground dried cayenne pepper, about the same amount of cumin, and about half that amoutn of cinnamon. After this mixture cooked for a few minutes and the onions became soft, I added about .5 lb. of ground turkey - and a bit more olive oil to keep things sizzling. After the turkey browned, I turned the heat down and added 1 pressed garlic clove, about half a small fresh chili pepper finely diced 2 T of mole sauce from trader joes, ans about 1/4 c water. I stirred, turned the heat down to a a simmer, covered, and let it simmer for about 20 minutes while some black beans and rive from a Vigo bag cooked.

I made salsa as follows: 1 med hot house tomato, the other half of the onion, about a t of cayenne powder, 3/4 t of cumin, juice from 1/4 of a lime, a tiny piece of lime rind cut into very small bits, about a t of tomato paste, about 1.5 of white vinegar, salt, one cube of frozen cilantro from trader joes, some frozen corn I had in the freezer, and a pressed garlic clove. I mixed all of this in a bowl - it tasted OK but was funny looking - so I ran it through a food processor.

I took one avocado and removed the flesh to the bowl of a masher - and added a T of the salsa, plus a bunch of salt, more pressed garlic, and more chili or cayenne powder.

I also throw some pomegranate seeds into the turkey and the salsa - since they were in a bowl nearby. (ok in the salsa - not noticeable in the turkey)

The turkey simmered with the mole sauce was very good. This is worth repeating. The soft tacos - assembled with the turkey, salsa, guac, black beans and rice, and cheddar cheese (grated) and shredded lettuce - (served on a tortilla steamed in the microwave in a plastic zip lock bag with a moist paper towel in it) were very good.

Raosted Bell Peppers

bell peppers
basil leaves
garlic
olive oil
salt
pepper

Line a roasting pan with foil, place peppers in it, and place in the middle if a 350 degree oven for 1 hour.
Wrap peppers with foil after one hour - let cool.
Cut the peppers in half, remove the seeds, membranes, etc, and peel the peppers.
Put the peeled peppers on paper towels to absorb juices.
Cut the ppers into strips. Lay the strips in a baking dish. sprinkle with garlic, salt,and pepper after each layer. Drizzle with olive oil. Let sit for flavors to combine before serving.

Pomegranate Dressed arugala salad

Dressing:

1 T Pomegranate vinegar
.5 T Balsamic vinegar
1 T Olive Oil
1 tsp honey
1 T lemon juice
.5 tsp coarse sea salt
dash pepper

Salad:

Arugala leaves
diced cucumber
diced carrots
craisins
cashew nuts
grated parmesan

Curried Rice

Simple and yummy:

Add rice and half chicken stock and half water to a rice maker. Add a tsp. curry powder. Start the rice cooker.

Tilapia with rosemary, lemon, and capers

-2 Tilapia fillets
-1 Lemon
- 2 T Capers
- Olive Oil
-1/4 C sherry
- Rosemary Sprigs
- Garlic

This was quick and tasty:

Preheat the oven to 350 ish.
Heat olive oil in a nonstick skillet. Add rosemary sprigs and sliced and mushed garlic. Remove the garlic when it is golden, Reserve the rosemary sprigs.
Place fillets in the skillet. Turn after 2 or three minutes - put a rosemary sprig under each fillet after turning.
Add juice from half the lemon, sherry, capers.
Cover the skillet and put it in the oven for 8 minutes.
Remove the skillet from the oven, remove the fillets to a dish and cover. Place the skillet over a medium flame to reduce the liquid. Add juice from the other half of the lemon.

Plate the fillets over rice (see curried rice recipe) and drizzle with pan sauce.

Crispy Orange Beef

I made this last night and used bibb lettuce and rice stick noodles to make it into lettuce wraps. The beef was very good. It was OK in a lettuce wrap - but this concept needs to be developed more - probably some other ingredients would help. But, as a stand alone recipe the beef is very tasty.
(though it is double deep fired - so it won't win any health food contests)

Orange Beef

half pound boneless beefsteak, sliced into 1 half X 2 x half inch pieces
half teaspoon baking soda
half Cup water

Marinade:
half teaspoon kosher salt
1 small egg
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon corn oil

Sauce:
2 tablespoons chicken broth recipe here
1 teaspoon sugar
half teaspoon cornstarch
half tablespoons rice wine
half teaspoons mild rice vinegar
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 teaspoon oriental sesame oil

for frying
canola oil

For Stir Frying:

1 large piece dried tangerine peel, in small pieces
4 to 5 dried hot red chili peppers
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger
half teaspoon minced garlic
1 scallion, chopped
2 teaspoons sugar

Mix the beef with the baking soda and water; refrigerate for 1 hour (about 30 minutes was fine). Rinse the beef thoroughly with cold water and dry well. The meat must be very dry.

Mix the marinade ingredients, add the beef, mix well and refrigerate again for at least 1 hour.

Mix the sauce ingredients and set aside with all the other ingredients near the stove.

PHeat a wok over high heat and add the oil.

When the oil is hot and almost smoking, add the beef. Stir and fry until it just changes color, then remove the beef with a slotted spoon

Heat the oil again until very hot. Return the beef to the oil and stir and fry once more, until the beef is crispy around the edges.

Reheat the wok to medium hot. Get rid of all but 2 Tablespoons of the oil. Heat 2 tablespoons of the drained oil, then add the tangerine peel, chili peppers, ginger, garlic and scallion. Stir fry for a few seconds, or until the chili peppers brown, then add the beef. Stir for 30 seconds and add the sugar.

Add the sauce to the beef, stirring constantly until it coats the meat with a clear glaze. Turn off the heat and serve hot.

Basil Pasta

I have an urge to try making basil pasta. I have lots of basil and I ought to use it. Here is a recipe I will try: (it is from Allrecipes.com here)

INGREDIENTS

• 3/4 cup chopped fresh basil
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons water
• 2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

DIRECTIONS

1. Using a food processor, process basil leaves until chopped very fine. Add 1 1/2 cups of flour and pulse two or three times, or until combined. Add egg, 1 teaspoon oil, and the water until dough forms a ball shape. If dough seems dry, add a bit more water. Wrap dough in a piece of plastic wrap which has been coated in a few drops of olive oil. Refrigerate dough for 2 hours.
2. Remove dough from refrigerator, and cut into 6 equal size portions. Run pasta though pasta machine, or roll with rolling pin to desired thickness. Use the additional flour to coat pasta while rolling.
3. Allow pasta to dry for one hour prior to cooking.
4. Cook in a large pot of boiling water until al dente. This should take only a 3 to 5 minutes, depending on the thickness of the pasta.

Blueberry Pie

Part of a week spent in Michigan earlier this sumer was U-Pick Blueberries! Hundreds of huge beautiful blueberries - fresh and cheap! Here is a recipe I found for making pies (from About.com here)

The recipe is different from what I expected - no baking the pie - but I tried it because it seemed much easier and quicker than other recipes. It worked well, and the "raw" berries were very good. I didn't use enough thickener - so the pie was runny. It was still very tasty. Also, I have to admit to using premade pie crust dough, the kind that comes in a box. It was very good and very easy.

INGREDIENTS:

• 3 cups blueberries
• 3/4 cup water
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• dash of salt
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 pie crust (9 inch) -- baked

PREPARATION:

Bring 1 cup of blueberries and water to a boil. Boil gently for 4 minutes; add butter. Stir in sugar, cornstarch, and salt. Cook slowly, stirring, until thick and clear. Remove from heat; add lemon juice.

Pour mixture over the remaining 2 cups of blueberries; stir gently to combine. Pour into the baked pie shell. Serve chilled or at room temperature with a dollop of sweetened whipped cream.

Tilapia Fish with Lemon Sauce Recipe

This is from Cooking.com here When I made it, I put the tilapia in the saute pan for two minutes or so on each side to give it some color, hit it wous some sherry and lemon juice and then I added most of the sauce to the pan and reduced the heat and let it simmer for a few minutes. Also, instead of black olives, I used chopped cured Mediterranean olives from Trader Joes - it was yummy, but the sauce didn't look all that great - kind of black and nasty like mud - but is was very tasty. I served it by plating the fish and spooning some, but not all of the sauce over the fish. cooked with some saffron, slivered almonds, Also, I served this with Israeli cous couscrasins, and raisins. After the cous cous was cooked, I stirred in some basil vinaigrette dressing (see separate post). The fish was very good!!! RECIPE INGREDIENTS For the Lemon Sauce: 1/4 cup lemon juice 1 teaspoon chopped shallots or onions 1 tablespoon chopped capers 1/4 cup sliced pitted black olives 1/2 teaspoon chopped lemon zest 3/4 cup vegetable oil 3 tablespoons chopped Italian parsley For the Fish: 4 boneless, skinless Tilapia fillets or other firm, white-fleshed fillets 1 teaspoon vegetable oil Garnishes: Cooked asparagus Baby cherry tomatoes Chopped parsley

RECIPE METHOD

In a bowl, combine the lemon juice, shallots, salt and pepper to taste, capers, olives, and lemon zest. Slowly whisk in the oil until the sauce is emulsified. Stir in the parsley. Set aside.

Season the fish with salt and pepper, to taste. Pour the teaspoon of oil into a nonstick skillet, and heat over medium-high heat. When hot, add the fillets and cook for about 2 minutes on each side, depending on thickness of fish.

Put the fillets on a serving plate, garnish with the asparagus and tomatoes, some lemon sauce, and a sprinkle of parsley.

Mint - Tahini Salaad Dressing to Try:

INGREDIENTS

• 2 pickle-size Persian cucumbers, diced
• 1 large tomato, diced
• 3 radishes, diced (optional)
• 1 green onion, sliced
• 10 mint leaves, sliced
• 1/3 bunch parsley, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 3/4 cup tahini
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• Salt, to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Combine the cucumber, tomato, and radish in a bowl with the green onion, mint, and parsley. In a small bowl, stir together the garlic, tahini, lemon juice, and olive oil until smooth; season to taste with salt.
2. Toss the vegetables with the dressing until combined. Cover, and refrigerate for 30 minutes before serving.

Fresh Basil Vinaigrette

This is from recipiezarr at http://www.recipezaar.com/171816
I added a tblspoon of honey to the recipe and used more basil - because my basil plants are producing lots and lots of leaves - I have to use a bunch every day.

Yummy and quick!

1/4	cup lemon juice
1/4	cup red wine vinegar
1/3	cup fresh basil leaves
2	tablespoons Dijon mustard
1/2	cup olive oil
1	teaspoon salt
1/2	teaspoon pepper

1 T honey

-put everything but the olive oil and honey into a blender.
- blend
- drizzle in oil and honey

Rosemary Foccacia

My rosemary plant is thriving. I felt like using some - so I am trying this recipe from Recipezaar

1 (1/4 ounce) package active dry yeast (1 Tablespoon) 1 2/3 cups lukewarm water (105 to 115 F) 5 cups unbleached all purpose flour, plus additional for kneading 2 1/2 teaspoons table salt 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

FOR THE TOPPING

3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil 1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh rosemary 1 teaspoon coarse sea salt

Not the one? See other Rosemary Salt Topped Foccacia Recipes

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• Low Cholesterol Flat-shaped Breads
  
  
• European Flat-shaped Breads
  
  

1. Stir together 1 2/3 cups lukewarm water and yeast in bowl of mixer and let stand until creamy, about 5 minutes. Add 5 cups flour, 1/4 cup oil, and 2 1/2 teaspoons table salt and beat with paddle attachment at medium speed until a dough forms or use a wooden spoon if you don’t have this equipment. Replace paddle with dough hook and knead dough at high speed until soft, smooth, and sticky, 3 to 4 minutes. Or use a wooden spoon or your hand to mix. Mix at least 8 minutes by hand.
2. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead in 1 to 2 tablespoons more flour. Knead dough 1 minutes (it will still be slightly sticky), then transfer to a lightly oiled bowl and turn dough to coat with oil. Let rise, covered with plastic wrap, at warm room temperature, until doubled in bulk, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.
3. Press dough evenly into a generously oiled 15 by 10 by 1 inch baking pan. Let dough rise, covered completely with a kitchen towel, until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.
4. Preheat oven to 425°F.
5. Stir together rosemary and 3 Tablespoons oil. Make shallow indentations all over dough with your fingertips, then brush with rosemary oil, letting it pool in indentations. Sprinkle sea salt evenly over focaccia and bake in middle of oven until golden, 20 to 25 minutes.
6. Immediately invert a rack over pan and flip focaccia onto rack.
7. Favorite Recipes Phoenix Place.

RICOTTA PANCAKES

RICOTTA PANCAKES This is from Cooks.com: link

Dry ingredients: 1 tsp. baking powder 1 pinch of salt 1/2 c. flour Also need: 3 lg. eggs, separated 1/2 lb. Ricotta 1/2 c. whole milk Combine the dry ingredients and set out your milk and cheese. Whip egg whites until very stiff. Combine Ricotta, egg yolks and milk with the dry ingredients. Then fold in egg whites. Have griddle hot (test by dropping a few drips of water onto the griddle. If water bubbles skitter around on the griddle it is just right). Drop batter onto hot griddle with a spoon - depending on the size of spoon, one or two tablespoons at a time. Pancakes should be about two to three inches in diameter. Cook as you would regular pancakes. Serve with your favorite topping or with white sugar and butter. These pancakes are very light and delicate - and delicious!! Recipe can be doubled. Pancakes are very good cold when topped with jam, rolled up and eaten with fingers.

Turkey Burgers

Turkey Cheddar Burgers

1 lb ground turkey
1 cup low-fat shredded cheddar
1 tbs balsamic vinegar
1 tsp parsley
1 tbs dried chives or 2 of fresh chopped
1 tsp dried onion
1 tsp garlic powder
Dash of salt, pepper, paprika

Form loosely packed burgers.
Spray a non stick pan with cooking spray.
Heat pan on high add burgers to hot pan reduce heat to medium cover pan (keeps everything moist)
Cook 3-4 minutes on each side turning as little as possible.

Alfredo sauce

Take whatever noodles you are making out of the pot they boiled in. Reserve a bit of cooking water.
pour about .4 C of cream into the pot - bring it to a simmer.
Add a sprinkle of cinnamon and some pepper
put the noodles back (they have to still be warm)
throw in a few handfuls of freshly grated Parmesan cheese.
Stir, add some cooking water if it is needed for consistency.

That should make a creamy sauce.

Roasted Tomato Sauce

This a recipe from Cooks Illustrated

3 lb. vine-ripened grocery store tomatoes - cut in half pole to pole
1 medium onion cut into disks
3 cloves of garlic peeled
2 T tomato paste

Pre-heat the oven to 400
line a cookie sheet with foil - and put a cooling rack on it
put the tomatoes, garlic, and onion in a bowl - toss with the tomato paste

Place a piece of foil in the center of the rack - put the garlic and onions on it
place the tomatoes on the rest of the rack around the garlic and onions.
Put the tray in the oven for about 20 minutes

Put the roaster tomatoes, onion, and garlic in a food processor and process until the tomatoes are broken down.

Yum!

Pasta Maker!

I found a new manual pasta maker at a flea market - it has lots of attachments. I tries making fettuccine and ravioli. The first time, I made the dough too wet. The fettuccine didn't really separate - and the ravioli was a disaster - it rolled back up in the roller and was very gooey. The fettuccine worked pretty well. Here is the recipe I used:

4Cs flour and 4 eggs, 1.5 T olive oil - with everything thrown in a food processor and pulsed until it started to get sticky enough to form into a ball. I added drops of water until it seems stick enough - but I used too much water.

I tried again without the food processor - this time I used 1C flour, 1 egg (beaten), and about 3/4T of olive - and no water at first. I made a mound of flour, made a well, put the egg in the well, mixed with a fork, etc.. Eventually the mix became a dough, I added about a T of water - tsp at a time - the dough was much drier, but it did hold together. It was harder to get it started in the roller, but the noodles were much better. Yum!

Sweet Potato disks

This is an easy sweet potato side dish. You can set it up, get it going, and do other stuff - you will probably forget about it and then when you remember it will be done!

Pre-heat oven to 400
Pre-heat an oven safe skillet.
Cut two sweet potatoes into disks a bit less than 1/2 an inch thick.
Put the disks in a bowl and toss them with a bit of canola oil and some salt.
Put the oiled, salted disks in the skillet - flat sides down - cook them for about 4 minutes on each side. The sides should be slightly browned.
Put the skillet with the oven for about 15 minutes.

Yum!!!

Slow Cooker Split Pea Soup

This was fairly easy to set up - I used 7 slices of turkey bacon instead of ham - so I had to cook that first. Also, the recipe dosent mention anything about boiling or soaking the split peas, but my slow cooker directions say it is important to boil and soak. I boiled them for 10 minutes, but did not soak them - since I was going to cook them for 7 hours. The peas were soft after 7 hours, but didn't get mushy and form a smooth consistency. The soup was still tasty - but I might run half of it through a blender to make it more "split pea soupy."

The recipe is from Real Simple here:

Slow-Cooker Recipe: Smoky Pea Soup

From

Thick as fog yet pure as rain, this soup deserves an accompaniment of homemade corn bread or biscuits.

object2=">2 ham hocks (about 1 1/2 pounds)*
object2=">1 pound green split peas
object2=">2 large carrots, coarsely chopped (2 cups)
object2=">2 large celery stalks, chopped (2 cups)
object2=">1 large onion, coarsely chopped (1 cup)
object2=">2 garlic cloves, chopped
object2=">2 32-ounce cans chicken broth
object2=">1 bay leaf
object2=">1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves

Rinse the ham hocks. Place them in a 4- to 6-quart slow cooker, along with the peas, carrots, celery, onion, garlic, broth, bay leaf, and thyme. Cook on low for 8 hours, or on high for 4 hours. Using tongs, remove the ham hocks. When they're cool enough to handle, pick off the meat and discard the skin and bones. Chop the meat into small pieces, return it to the soup, and stir.

*A ham bone from a roast or 1/2 pound of cooked smoky bacon can be substituted; however, the soup will then require up to 1 tablespoon of salt. Add it 1/2 teaspoon at a time, tasting after each addition.

Yield: Makes 6 servings

Curried Cous Cous

I made this for two picnics. The first time, I used Israeli cous cous - becuase that is all the grocery store near me had. It was really good - I reccomend this - though it worked fine with regular cous cous. I did not use mint either time - becuase I didn't have any. It was still fine.

The recipe came from epicurious here:

introduction

Can be prepared in 45 minutes or less.

serving size

Serves 2.

ingredients

2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 garlic clove, minced and mashed into a paste
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
3/4 cup chicken broth
3 tablespoons raisins
1/2 cup couscous
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh mint leaves

preparation

In a non-stick skillet heat oil over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and cook onion with salt to taste, stirring, until browned lightly. Reduce heat to moderate. Add garlic paste, curry powder and cook, stirring, until garlic paste is golden. Remove skillet from heat and keep mixture warm.

In a small saucepan bring broth to a boil. Stir in raisins and couscous and let stand, covered, off heat 5 minutes. Fluff couscous with a fork and transfer to a bowl. Stir in onion mixture, mint and salt and pepper to taste.

Gourmet, April 1995

I had crabcackes almost ready to eat and need some sauce. A quick google search led to this recipe. It was quick, easy, and good. DIJON CRAB CAKE SAUCE

1 tablespoon vegetable oil 1 small shallot, minced 1 small garlic clove, minced pinch of kosher salt 1/2 oz white wine 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard 1 tablespoon butter Sauté shallot and garlic until shallot is translucent. Add wine to deglaze pan, allowing to reduce for 15-30 seconds. Add mustard and salt; bring to boil. Remove from heat. Add butter and stir gently. Fills a 2 oz ramekin. Enjoy :D Submitted by: Joe

Parent-Visit EGG-TACULAR!!!!!

I plan to make this this weekend. It is from Martha Stewart.com

Serving: Serves 6

• 6 large eggs
• 1 1/2 Cups skim milk, preferably organic
• 1 Teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 Cup all-purpose flour
• 2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1/2 Teaspoon salt
• 1/2 Teaspoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 Cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature
• 4 apples, such as Gala or Red Delicious, peeled, quartered, cored and thinly sliced
• 1 Tablespoon light-brown sugar
• Confectioners' sugar, (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
2. Combine eggs, milk, and vanilla in the jar of a blender. Blend until well combined. Add flour, granulated sugar, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Blend until dry ingredients are well incorporated; set aside.
3. Place butter in a 9-by-13-inch glass baking dish. Transfer dish to oven and heat until butter has just melted. Carefully remove from oven and place apples in a single layer in baking dish. Return to oven and cook until butter begins to bubble, about 4 minutes.
4. Pour batter over apples, sprinkle with brown sugar, and continue baking until puffed and golden, about 20 minutes. Sprinkle with confectioners' sugar, if desired; serve immediately.

Turkey Sausage

This is from:
http://www.panix.com/~clay/cookbook/bin/show_recipe.cgi?sausage+recipe106

Turkey Sausage, Italian

1 pound extra-lean ground turkey
2 teaspoon crushed fresh garlic
2 teaspoon ground paprika
1 ½ teaspoon whole fennel seeds
1 teaspoon dried Italian seasoning
½ teaspoon salt

Combine all of the ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for several hours for all the flavors to blend.

Thai Chicken Soup

This recipe is adapted from Cook's illustrated magazine:

1 tsp. vegtable oil.
3 lemon grass stalks (bottom 5 inches sliced)
3 shallots
8 sprigs cilantro - chopped
3 tablespoons fish sauce
4 c chicken stock
2 cans coconut milk
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 lb. white mushrooms, stemmed, and sliced in 1/4" slices
1 lb. boneless chicken breast - thinly sliced
3 tbsp. fresh lime juice (2 or 3 limes)
2 tsp. thai red curry paste
cooked white rice

Method:

Heat the oil in a saucepan until it shimmers. Add lemon grass, shallots, cilantro, and 1 T fish sauce, stirring frequently until softened;
Add chicken broth and 1 can of coconut milk, bring to a simmer and reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes;

While the broth simmers, combine lime juice, curry paste, remaining fish sauce, and 1/2 tsp sugar in a small bowl. Whisk together and set aside

strain broth, rinse saucepan, and return broth to saucepan;
Add remaining can of coconut milk to saucepan and bring to a simmer;
reduce heat to medium, add mushrooms and cook for 2 or 3 minutes
add chicken and cook, stirring just until no longer pink -

remove the soup from the heat - stir in the lime juice / fish sauce mixture

To serve:

Fill a small bowl with cooked rice - pack it down and flatten the top. Invert the bowl in the middle of a larger soup bowl so it is like an island- (repeat for each bowl)

Ladle the soup - fill the ladle with chicken and mushrooms - in the soup bowl around the rice - make sure the chicken and mushrooms are evenly distributed. Ladle in liquid soup to the level of the chicken and mushrooms.
Garnish with cilantro and perhaps some sliced red chili pepper - on top of the rice "island"

Yum!!!!

Honey Soy glazed grilled salmon

This recipe is from the Cook's Illustrated guide to grilling and barbecue.

I used skinless center cut salmon fillets instead of skin-on fillets - this worked fine.

Marinate salmon fillets for thirty minutes in a half-and-half mixture of soy sauce and maple syrup. Prepare a two-level grill - heat the grill with all burners on for 15 minutes - then turn all but one of the burners down to low.

Prepare glaze while the fillets are marinating:

In a small saucepan, mix together 3 tbsp. each of soy sauce and honey. Heat over low heat until is thickens slightly.

• Oil the grill over the burner on high -
• Put the fillets over the high burner, grill for two minutes on each side. Brush the glaze on the top side after the second side grills for two minutes -
• Flip the fillets glazed side down over one of the low burners.
• Glaze the new top side.
• Flip after three minutes and grill for another three minutes.

Lemon Rosemary Chicken Skewers

This recipe is from Epicurious.com:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/104459


This is good - worth repeating and fairly easy.

LEMON-ROSEMARY CHICKEN SKEWERS
8 skinless boneless chicken breast halves (each about 7 ounces)
48 8-inch bamboo skewers, soaked in water 30 minutes, drained
1 1-pint basket grape tomatoes or small cherry tomatoes

1 cup olive oil
1 cup fresh lemon juice
6 bay leaves, broken into small pieces
3 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary
4 large garlic cloves, pressed
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons hot pepper sauce

1 cup light mayonnaise
Cut each chicken breast half lengthwise into 6 thin strips. Thread each strip completely onto 1 skewer, leaving 1/2 inch of skewer exposed at 1 end. Press 1 grape tomato onto end of skewer. Divide skewers between two 15x10x2-inch glass baking dishes, stacking skewers if necessary.

Pour oil into bowl. Whisk in next 6 ingredients. Pour marinade over chicken. Marinate 1 hour at room temperature, turning often, or cover and chill overnight.

Preheat oven to 425°F. Remove skewers from marinade and arrange on 2 large rimmed baking sheets; reserve marinade. Bake chicken until just cooked through, about 8 minutes. Transfer to platter.

Transfer reserved marinade to medium saucepan. Boil over medium-high heat 1 minute. Cool marinade 15 minutes. Strain. Pour 1/2 cup marinade into medium bowl; whisk in mayonnaise. Season sauce to taste with salt and pepper. Spoon remaining marinade over chicken to moisten. Serve chicken with sauce.

Bon Appétit
December 2000

Carrot soup

This is from a recipe at Epicurious.com
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/recipe_views/views/236394

I wanted to have soup and grilled cheese sandwiches - but I wanted something better than cans of tomato soup. I used the recipe below as a starting point, but I made some changes:
-I cut the recipe in half - and it was just enough for two servings;
-I used about a half a C of coconut water (not the creamy stuff used for Thai, but a Goya can of coconut water - like you would get right out of a drilled coconut) in addition to the water called for in the recipe (next time would would replace all the water with coconut water),
-I added about a teaspoon of cayenne pepper sauce - this was just enough to taste a bit of heat;
-I crumbled bacon over the soup before serving it.

The soup was very good - creamy, tasty, satisfying etc. and fairly quick and easy to make. I served it with basic grilled cheese and bacon sandwiches - which were very good dipped in the soup. I will keep this recipe around.

1 cup sliced shallots (about 4 large)
1 Turkish or 1/2 California bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
Rounded 3/4 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon chopped fresh thyme
1/2 stick (1/4 cup) unsalted butter
1 small boiling potato (3 oz)
1 1/2 lb carrots, peeled and cut crosswise 1/4 inch thick
1 3/4 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth (14 fl oz)
1 cup apple cider (preferably unfiltered)
1 1/4 cups water
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 cup sliced almonds, toasted

Cook shallots, bay leaf, ginger, curry powder, and thyme in butter in a 2- to 3-quart heavy saucepan over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, until shallots are softened and pale golden, 6 to 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, peel potato and cut into 1/2-inch cubes.

Add potato to shallot mixture along with carrots, broth, cider, water, salt, and pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, until carrots are tender, 20 to 25 minutes. Discard bay leaf.

Purée soup in 2 batches in a blender until smooth, transferring as blended to a large bowl (use caution when blending hot liquids). Return to saucepan to reheat if necessary. Serve soup sprinkled with almonds.

Pad Thai - A work in progress

I tried making Pad Thai last night - mostly because I had some shrimp and didn't have ant coconut milk - so I couldn't make the Masaman curry / cous cous / shrimp / snow pea dish I had in mind. After a quick inventory of my kitchen, and some web searching for a recipe - I decided on Pad Thai. Here are the two websites I used:

http://chezpim.typepad.com/blogs/2007/01/pad_thai_for_be.html

http://www.thaitable.com/Thai/recipes/Pad_Thai.htm

The chezpim site is more of a method then a recipe - but it seems like a good method. I didn't follow it all that carefully - so I am to blame for the mixed results. My sauce mix was pretty stinky and I don't think I made enough - but the dish can out OK after all. I added some lime juice to the sauce - and ended up hijacking the recipe with some soy sauce to ensure it was edible. Hmmmmm... I guess I will keep trying.

Salmon with Avocado dip

Here is the recipe I am trying tonight: (From allrecipes.com)

INGREDIENTS
* 2 avocados - peeled, pitted and diced (I used 1)
* 2 cloves garlic, peeled and minced (I used 1)
* 3 tablespoons Greek-style yogurt (I used a bit less and used plain yogurt)
* 1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (I used the juice from half a lemon - it was probably too much - the dip was good, but fairly lemony))
* salt and pepper to taste
* 2 pounds salmon steaks (I used two fillets - about 6 oz. each - I defrosted them for about 20 hours and I think that made a difference in the texture rather than trying to getntly nuke them just before cooking)
* 2 teaspoons dried dill weed
* 2 teaspoons lemon pepper (I used Penzey's lemon garlic grilling mix - becuause I had some)
* salt to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat an outdoor grill for high heat, and lightly oil grate.
2. In a medium bowl, mash together avocados, garlic, yogurt, and lemon juice. Season with salt and pepper.
3. Rub salmon with dill, lemon pepper, and salt. (I also coated the seasond fish with olive oil) Place on the prepared grill, and cook 15 minutes, turning once, (I broiled instead of grilling) until easily flaked with a fork. Serve with the avocado mixture.

(Added later)

This was very good - though I made it somewhat differently from the recipe above. I broiled the salmon rather than grilling, and, I thought I was going to bake it first so I had the oven pre-heated to 425 - so I guess I broil-baked it. The broililng gave the top nice color and made it a bit csispy. Also, I messed with the ingrediants as indicated in edits to the recipe above.

The dip was similar to guacamole (What do you expect when the main ingrediant is mashed up avocado) - but different enough that it stands on its own. It was very good on the salmon.

Parsley Lemon Stuffed Chicken Breasts

I made this again on 12/04 - using parsley in the stuffing, a pinch of cayenne pepper in the gravy, and less time in the oven. Yum!! It came out really well. I also used lower heat sauteing the apples and onions, and added a bit of olive oil during the saute to keep things sizzling. I als made a strange cous cous salad - see separate post.

I made this again on 3/17. I used cilantro instead of parsley. It was good, but it would have been better with parsley. Also, 15 minutes is the oven was too long. The temperature raced by 150 degrees when I checked it. Oops. Still good, but a bit tough. Finally, I strained the gravy this time - this was worth doing and I also thought that the gravy might have been improved with a bit of cayenne pepper - or something to give it some heat.

2 chicken breasts
2 slices wheat bread
1 lemon
1/4 C. shredded fresh parsley leaves
4 cloves garlic
1 small onion - minced
half an apple - diced
2 tbsp. apple cider (optional)
several sprigs of rosemary
salt
pepper
olive oil
1 tbsp. butter
-
-preheat oven to 350

Stuffing:

-toast and dice the bread - put the diced toast pieces in a small mixing bowl
-preheat a 12" ovenproof skillet
-add half the butter, the onion, and the apple to the skillet, saute for 4 or 5 minutes.
- bruise a tbsp. rosemary leaves and add them to the skillet - add some salt and pepper and cook for another two minutes
- mince one clove garlic and add it to the skillet
- cut the lemon in half and squeeze the juice from one half into the skillet - let it cook for another 30 seconds or so.
- add the sauteed apples and onion to the diced bread
- add the parsley to the mix
- squeeze the other half of the lemon into the the stuffing mixture
- add 2 tbsp. apple cider to the stuffing mixture
- mix the stuffing together

Chicken:

- Pat the chicken breasts dry,
- carefully slice into one side of each chicken breast to make a pocket - for the stuffing
- mince two cloves of garlic
- coat the inside and outside of each piece of chicken with minced garlic, salt, pepper, and some olive oil
- stuff each chicken breast with the stuffing - if they look to fragile to turn once in a skillet, tie them closed
- reheat the skillet the apples and onions cooked in
- add 2 tbsp. olive oil
- place the stuffed chicken in the skillet - brown for about 3 minutes on each side - turning carefully to not spill the stuffing
- after a few minutes on the second side, add the rest of the rosemary, and several peeled and crushed garlic cloves to the skillet, and put the skillet in the oven for 15 minutes.

Gravy:

- Remove the skillet from the oven, place the chicken on a platter - tent loosely with foil
-
remove most, but not all of the stuffing chunks frmo the skillet-place the skillet over a medium high flame
- add some chopped shallots (but these will burn quickly - so keep an eye on them (30-45 seconds!) (its also OK to blow this step off)
-mix about 19/ c flour with a T of butter - mush it together with fingertips and adjust ratio to make a play-dough-like paste.
- add a 1/2 C chicken stock and 1/4 cup white wine to the skillet - stir with a wooden spoon to mix chunks off of the pan into the gravy
- add the flour-butter mxsture
- cook for 2 or 3 minutes or until the gravy starts to thicken
- strain the gravy and adjust with salp, pepper, cayenne to taste

plate the chicken and drizzle the gravy over it (strain the gravy if you want to get the garlic and rosemary chunks out of it before serving)

I made this tonight and served it with mashed potatoes (covered with the gravy) and steamed broccoli. (3/18/07 - I had been starting the mashed potatoes with the mixing thing in the stand mixer and then switching to the wire whip attachment. I didn't bother with the whip this time and it was fine.)

Pralines

I went to a Mardi Gras party over the weekend. I wanted to bring something related to the theme - but I didn't want to work very hard or have anything that required heating, cooling, or serving. I thought pralines would be too much of a pin - but I found an easy recipe:

I kept the flam low and it took 20-25 minutes from the temperature to creep up to 238 degrees. The mixture changed considerably over the last few degrees - I think it was important to wait.

After adding the butter, pecans, and vanilla, the mixture cooled very quickly. I was only able to make half of them before the mixture was too cool to form flat pralines. I Made lump pralines with the rest, but they were funny looking and not shiny, so I threw them back in the sauce pan with a bit more evaporated milk, gave them a stir, and reheated them slightly until the mixture was smoother and shiny again - about 5 minutes. This produced acceptably flat, shiny pralines. Yum!


The quintessential New Orleans candy. And it's pronounced or (and sometimes by some of the more wacky locals), NEVER . I've had ferners (that's New Orleansese for "non-New Orleanian") stand before me and insist that it's pronounced . Well bra, I'm from The City where they were invented, and I know how to pronounce it. And you're certainly entitled to your opinion on its pronunciation, no matter how wrong it may be ...

* 3/4 cup brown sugar
* 3/4 cup white sugar
* 1/2 cup evaporated milk
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
* 2 tablespoons butter
* 1 cup pecans

Combine the sugar and milk and cook slowly in a heavy pot over a low flame until it reaches the soft ball stage (238 degrees on a candy thermometer). Remove from heat and add the butter, vanilla and pecans. Beat mixture with a wooden spoon until it is smooth and creamy. Drop by spoonsful onto waxed paper. If the candy does not harden within 10 minutes, it may be cooked some more.

Yield: Approximately one dozen

Linguine with Squash, Bacon, and Goat Cheese

This recipe is from Real Simple.

This is fairly easy, dosen't destoy the kitchen, and is yummy! I use turkey bacon and I think it tastes fine. The squash makes the sauce creamy without too much fat - though 4 oz. of goat cheese certainly contribute. I have made it 5 or 6 times.

Next time I make this I will save some of the second 2 oz. of goat cheese to sprinkle on plated servings so it melts as you start to eat it.

made this on 12/3 - I didn't use the full pound of linguine - and I should have - the squash to pasta ratio was messed up - but, it was still tasty. I held back half of the goat cheese -for sprinkling before serving. This was good to do.

6 slices bacon (I use turkey bacon)
1 2- to 2 ½-pound butternut squash—peeled, seeded, and diced (4 to 5 cups) (I made it with a package of peeled, chunked squash from Trader Joe's - that worked fine)
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1 teaspoon kosher salt
4 ounces soft goat cheese, crumbled
1 1-pound package linguine, cooked
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

Cook the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat until crisp, about 5 minutes. Drain on a paper towel, then crumble or break into pieces; set aside. Drain all but about 2 tablespoons of the bacon fat from the skillet. Add the squash and garlic to the skillet and sauté over medium heat for 3 to 5 minutes. Stir in the broth and salt. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the squash is cooked through and softened, 20 to 25 minutes. Add half the goat cheese and stir well to combine. Place the cooked linguine in a large bowl. Stir the sauce into the linguine and toss well to coat. Drizzle with the olive oil and add the reserved bacon, the remaining goat cheese, and the pepper. Serve immediately.

Yield: Makes 6 to 8 servings

NUTRITION PER SERVING
CALORIES 420(26% from fat); FAT 12g (sat 5g); PROTEIN 16mg; CHOLESTEROL 17mg; CALCIUM 101mg; SODIUM 442mg; FIBER 5g; CARBOHYDRATE 64g; IRON 4mg

Frank Mentesana
Real Simple, DECEMBER 2004

Challa Burgers

Obviously, if you don't have any challa, you can use any other buns - but it is really good with the challa described here

Here is what I do for burgers. It's not rocket science - but it works for me.

1 1/2 lbs. ground beef - I use at least 93/7 to keep the burgers from being greasy -
2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp. garlic powder

Combine the beef, sauce, and garlic powder (this is the only place I use garlic powder instead of garlic - it distributes throught the beef more evenly), knead to distribute evenly, and form into patties. I do this my mounding all of the beef on a cutting board, making a well in the center and adding the sauce and powder - that way I don't get another bowl dirty.

I usually cook the burgers on a grill pan over a medium flame - about 5 minutes on the first side, turning only once (this is important), and the longer on the other side until done (I check with a thermometer)

Challa

I use a recipe from a book of recipes collected from bed and breakfasts around the U.S.: Best Recipes From American Country Inns and Bed and Breakfasts by Kitty and Lucian Maynard

1/4 oz. yeast packet
2 cups warm water
2 eggs
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp. milk
2 tbsp. honey
1/8 c. sugar
1 tbsp. salt
1/2 c. canola oil
7 C flour

In the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk together 1/2 c. water and the honey - let it sit for a few minutes if you have time -

-Combine all other ingredients except one egg and the poppy seeds in the mixer bowl
-Knead with dough hook attachment for 10 minutes (or by hand for 15 minutes)
-Cover and let rise to double - I put the covered bowl on a radiator for about 40 minutes
-Punch the risen dough down and divide it into 6 equal pieces - (to make two loaves)
-Roll the pieces into a long ropes - I make them as long as the cookie sheet I will use to cook the bread
-Braid the ropes - Pull each strand back over the previous one to keep the braids tight -
-Flatten the ends and tuck them under the loaf.
- Cover and let rise to double again
- Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
- I have a pizza stone in my oven, I think that helps.
- before baking, beat the remaining egg and brush the beaten egg on the loaves
- Bake in a 375 degree oven for 35 - 40 minutes. I found that after 35 minutes, the center was still doughy.

This recipe makes two loaves - they freeze well if they are well wrapped.
I have used the challa for excellent hamburger buns and french toast - for the french toast, I took a 8" piece of the loaf, poked a hole through the middle of it with a chef's knife (very carefully from each end) and then stuffed it full of pineapple chunks. I set the stuffed loaf in the and egg mix, turning several times, for 20 minutes before slicing into slices for french toast. I let the slices soak for several minutes before cooking in a skillet.

Lava Cake

Update: 2008 - I tried this using powdered sugar - I think at a 4:3 ratio to replace the regular sugar - It worked perfectly - the centers were smooth rather than grainy. The desert was already very good but this change put it over the top! Also - the recipe below serves 12 - I usually cut it into thirds to make 4 - though this requires coming up with 3/4 of an egg.

I found this recipe searching the Internet for Lava cake and Volcano cake. It says it was adapted from a cooks magazine recipe.

The batter is easy to make and the end result is over-the-top chocolate. It is probably the richest chocolate desert I have had. Being a bit cheap (and taking a cue from cooks magazine, I used Bols triple sec instead of Grand Mariner. I also quartered the recipe - to produce four cakes instead of 16. The only tricky part of this was getting 3/4 of an egg - but the recipe worked fine.

I had some unmolding trouble where the bottoms stuch to the ramekin - I think a bit more butter would would have helped.

The center was a bit grainy - I want to try it with powdered sugar to see if it is smoother.

Also, it is important to serve quickly after it comes out of the oven. I made this twice last week. The first time, I served it right away and the centers were perfectly gooey. The second time I was delayed (do to stupidly getting lost in traffic) and they sat for 20 minutes before I served them. They were still tasty, but the centers set.

Lava Cake serves 12

10 tablespoons unsalted butter plus more for greasing ramekins
3 cups granulated sugar plus more for dusting ramekins
16 oz. bittersweet chocolate
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate
4 tablespoons cornstarch
3 large eggs
4 egg yolks
4 teaspoons Grand Marnier
powdered sugar, for dusting
espresso ice cream, for eating

Prepare your 12 4 oz. ramekins by buttering them heavily, making sure to get the corners. Roll granulated sugar in the ramekins to coat, tapping out any excess.

For the cake, use chocolate bars, not chips. The chips have extra ingredients in them to stop them from sticking together. Chop the chocolate finely, and cut the butter into small chickpea-sized nuggets.

Put the butter and chocolate into a metal bowl that will fit snugly over a saucepan filled halfway up with water. Bring the water to a simmer and place bowl filled with chocolate and butter on top. Stir to melt and combine the chocolate and butter. Stir together until smooth and uniform

In a large bowl, combine the sugar and cornstarch and mix well. In a separate small bowl, combine the eggs egg yolks, and grand marnier and beat the eggs until well scrambled.

Add the melted chocolate/butter mix to the bowl with the flour/cornstarch and stir to combine. Add the egg mix and stir to combine well. Keep stirring until you have a deep dark mostly uniform mixture.

Scoop out about 1/2 cup of the batter into each ramekin. You may have to adjust the amounts as you get to the last ramekins.

At this stage you may cover these with plastic and store for 24 hours before baking.

When you want to bake them, preheat an oven to 375 F. Place the ramekins in the oven and bake until the tops have set and show cracks - about 15-20 minutes. Don't overcook. You want a liquidy center.

Remove the ramekins and set them on a cooling rack for 2-3 minutes. To unmold, first run a knife between the cake and the ramekin walls to loosen. The ramekins will still be hot. Use a glove and grip the ramekin. Turn the ramekin over quickly just off-center on the serving dish and dust with powdered sugar.

Pair with a scoop of coffee or espresso ice cream. I used Ciao Bella's espresso ice cream (though known for their gelatos I think this was an ice cream), and can recommend it highly.

Teriyaki Chicken

This recipe is from Recipezaar:
http://www.recipezaar.com/23418

It was really good - and easy!

23 min 8 min prep

Change to: servings US Metric

1/2	cup chicken broth
4	tablespoons soy sauce
2	tablespoons sugar
2	tablespoons oil
2	tablespoons minced garlic
1/2	teaspoon ground ginger
4	boneless skinless chicken breast halves

• Broil/Grill Main Dish
  
• Chinese Main Dish
  
• Chicken Main Dish
  
• Spicy Main Dish
  
• Low Sat. Fat Main Dish
  

1. Mix all marinade ingredients in shallow dish.
2. Place chicken in marinade and refrigerate for 1-1/2 hours. (20 minutes for me!)
   
3. Preheat broiler.
4. Broil chicken 5 inches from heat for about 15 minutes, turning and basting with marinade often.

I pounded the chicken breads to a bit less than 1/2 an inch thick so they would cook more quickly and easily (I wrapped the chicken breasts in wax paper and walloped them with a rolling pin)

I reduced the extra marinade by boiling it for a few minutes until it thickened. The pan was a mess but the sauce was good. I served this with steamed edamame beans and white rice.

Butter Chicken

This recipe is from: Recipezaar:
http://www.recipezaar.com/86753

I mixed garam masala from this recipe: http://www.recipedelights.com/basics/GaramMasala.htm

Ingredients:
Black pepper		20 grams
Cloves		10 grams
Cinnamon		20 grams
Brown cardamom		15 grams
Cumin seeds		10 grams
Bay leaves		10 grams
Coriander seeds		5 grams

Method:
1.	Mix all ingredients and lightly roast on a tawa.
2.	Grind in a mixie and sieve to get a fine powder (garam masala)

...
35 min 5 min prep

Change to: servings US Metric

2	tablespoons peanut oil
1	kg boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in large chunks
50	g butter
2	teaspoons garam masala
2	teaspoons sweet paprika
2	teaspoons ground coriander
1	tablespoon grated fresh green ginger
1/2	teaspoon chili powder (more or less to taste)
1	cinnamon stick
6	cardamom pods, bruised
1 (400	g) can tomato puree
1	tablespoon sugar
1/4	cup plain yogurt
1/2	cup cream
1	tablespoon lemon juice

• < class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">mins Curries
  
  
• Indian Curries
  
  
• Chicken Breasts Curries
  
  

1. Heat a wok until really hot, add 1 Tbsp oil.
2. Add half the chicken and stir-fry for about 4 minutes or until chicken is a nice colour.
3. Remove to plate.
4. Add extra oil and cook remaining chicken.
5. Remove from wok.
6. Reduce heat and add the butter.
7. When melted add all of the spices and stir-fry until fragrant- about 1 minute.
8. Return chicken to wok and stir to coat with the spices.
9. Add the tomato and sugar and simmer for 15 minutes- stir occasionally.
10. Add the yogurt, cream and lemon juice and simmer for 5 minutes or until the sauce thickens a bit.
11. Serve over rice.
12. **This dish can be frozen. After step nine cool completely then store in a zip-lock bag in the freezer. To reheat, thaw in bag in fridge overnight then add contents to saucepan. Reheat gently, then simmer for 8 minutes - add the yoghurt, cream and lemon juice and simmer for 5 more minutes.

I didn't separate the chunks out of the garam masala or the butter chicken sauce - the dish tasted fine, but it had cardamon pods and cinnamon stick bits in it - which was distracting while trying to eat it.

This recipe was pretty good - but not great - the takeout I get from Bombay Curry is way better. I hope to come up with a butter chicken recipe and method that tastes that good.

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