Cherry Kuchen Bars: Big Delicious, Small Effort

February 18, 2012 By Lynn Erhorn Leave a Comment

Cherry Kuchen I picked up one of those “Holiday Desserts” magazines available at the grocery store checkout back in December. It turned out to be a more ambitious baking season than usual. I made up baskets with mini date-nut loaves and four different varieties of cookies for my loved ones. Consequently, I never got around to making these bars and the magazine stayed folded open to this page for a month on my kitchen counter, calling to me as I went on my January juice fast. I mentioned in the last post that I’ve been on a health kick since then, so the all-purpose flour and the sugar canisters have been very lonely in my cupboard for almost two months. It might have remained that way a while longer, but as any good church-going lady will tell you, pot lucks will just mess you up! Last Monday, when my ladies bible study small group was charged with bringing desserts, I knew it was time to make these bars and indulge in a bit of reward for all my discipline.

Although the cherry pie filling peeks through and the bars are finished with a confectioner’s sugar glaze, they are easy to cut, serve, and eat as finger food without creating messy fingers (difficult to manage at a pot luck where everyone is standing and balancing a paper plate). The dough is a light shortbread-like consistency, so the eating experience is more reminiscent of a cookie than a cake. I cut my 9×12 pan into 32 small bars, which made perfect bites. Most importantly, the flavor is just amazing. The almond extract in the glaze is a must, in my opinion.

Since these are bars, I bought this commercial baking pan that has square corners rather than using a glass baking dish with rounded corners. This way, there are no odd-shaped corner bars. I found metal works best for this recipe and suggest you use an aluminum pan without a non-stick coating.

I suspect you’ll have the same difficulty limiting yourself to just one as I did! Let me know in the comments how yours turned out.

For the Bars
1/2 cup butter (1 stick), softened (I used unsalted)
1/2 cup shortening (I used Crisco butter flavor shortening)
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 eggs
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 20-oz can cherry pie filling (I used Comstock Lite)

For the Glaze
1 1/2 cups confectioner’s sugar
1/4 tsp almond extract (I used slightly more, but definitely go easy here)
3-4 TBS milk

Instructions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Beat together butter and shortening with an electric mixer on medium speed for about 30 seconds. Add the sugar, baking powder, and salt and beat until combined. Scrape the sides of the bowl, then add in the eggs and vanilla and beat until combined. Reduce speed to medium-low and add the flour half a cup at a time until well combined. If your mixing bowl is too small, you can stir in any remaining flour with a wooden spoon.

Set aside about 1 3/4 cups of the dough and press the rest into the bottom of an ungreased 9×12″ baking pan. Bake for 12 minutes. Spread the cherry pie filling over the crust evenly. Make sure at least a little syrup covers every bit of crust, but don’t worry that there won’t be a whole cherry in every bite. The flavor is most important and we’re not going for a gooey bar. Drop the remaining dough in roughly tablespoon-sized mounds on top of the filling, leaving some gaps between the mounds.

Bake about 30 minutes more until the top is light brown. Cool the bars in the pan set on a wire rack for about 10 minutes. While cooling, mix together the confectioner’s sugar, almond extract, and just enough milk to make a thick (but smooth) drizzling consistency. Pour over the bars. Cool 10 minutes more, then score the top into the size bars you desire with a serrated knife. Don’t cut all the way through. Refrigerate for 1 hour.

Carefully cut bars along the scored lines. If necessary, run your knife around the edges of the pan to loosen. I served these right in the pan as shown in the photo, but you can arrange them on a dish if you like. Leftovers can be stored in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Note: You may substitute any flavor pie filling and use vanilla extract in the glaze instead of almond.

Your Daily Bread

Exodus ²²Then Moses made Israel set out from the Red Sea, and they went into the wilderness of Shur. They went three days in the wilderness and found no water. ²³When they came to Marah, they could not drink the water of Marah because it was bitter; therefore it was named Marah. ²⁴And the people grumbled against Moses, saying, “What shall we drink?” ²⁵And he cried to the Lord, and the Lord showed him a log,and he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.

There the Lord made for them a statute and a rule, and there he tested them, ²⁶saying,“If you will diligently listen to the voice of the Lord your God, and do that which is right in his eyes, and give ear to his commandments and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases on you that I put on the Egyptians, for I am the Lord, your healer.”

Filed Under: Recipe Box Tagged With: bars, cherry, Comstock cherry pie filling, Crisco butter flavor shortening, dessert, kuchen, recipes

Crispy Kale: Salty Crunch Minus Carbs

February 12, 2012 By Lynn Erhorn Leave a Comment

We’ve been on a long hiatus, but our analytics tell us there are a bunch of you who still stop by to peruse our recipes here and on our Facebook page. THANK YOU! While our blogging may have taken a nose dive, our cooking most certainly has not! In addition to our long-standing love of ethnic cuisines and just super-delicious food, we’ve been exploring the healthier side of eating in the last several months. We splurge on the weekends with beef and some carbs, but the weekdays are all about fresh green juices, green tea, super-green salads, a smattering of whole grains, and lean fish or poultry at dinner. That will not make things boring around here! To prove that to you, we make our grand re-appearance with Crispy Kale Chips!

Scratching your heads? I did too, at first. But, trust me, these are so very delicious, you will want to sit right down and eat the whole bowl. I first heard about crispy kale while watching Rachael Ray coach Lou Diamond Phillips on her Celebrity Cook-Off reality show. It caught my ear because I’ve only recently discovered the wonderfulness of kale and have incorporated it into my diet almost daily. It is a key ingredient in my morning super-nutritious juice and it goes into almost every soup I make these days. With all the liquid and leaves going into my system during the week, I often feel I’ve just gotta have a crunch of something in the middle of the afternoon. Since I’m trying to keep the carbs to a minimum (and mostly whole grain to boot), the idea of a crispy kale snack intrigued me. Ms. Ray mentioned it was “so easy” to make, and that sealed the deal for me; I went googling to find recipes. I found that some people make it more complicated than it needs to be. I tried the simplest version (and the most popular) and my first batch was almost perfect. It’ll take you about half an hour to whip this up. I’m telling you right now: Make a double batch! If you have kids, these will disappear from the bowl in a flash!

Ingredients

1 bunch fresh kale
Olive oil
Kosher salt

Instructions

Thoroughly wash and dry the kale in cool water. It is important to dry the kale completely so it crisps rather than steams. Remove the stems easily by circling your thumb and forefinger around the base and pulling the stem through. Tear the leaves into pieces about 1 1/2 – 2 inches wide.

Put the leaves in a large bowl and drizzle with about 1/4 cup of olive oil (just enough to lightly coat the leaves) and sprinkle with about 1/2 teaspoon of Kosher salt (use just a little more if you have a large bunch of kale, but you don’t want these to be over salted). Gently massage the oil into the leaves so that each leaf is completely coated.

Coated Kale Spread the coated leaves in a single layer on a baking sheet – preferably one without a non-stick coating. Don’t let the leaves overlap at all. You may need 2 baking sheets. Bake in a 350-degree oven for about 20 minutes until the leaves are about half their size and the edges are just beginning to brown. When you remove them from the oven, they should be extremely delicate. Carefully scoop them up with a plastic spatula and drop them into a clean bowl or basket lined with a paper towel.

Here’s the most important thing to remember: Keep your portion set aside before you call anyone else to the table! The papery crispiness is so satisfying and the salt seems to just make that automatic hand-to-mouth reflex kick in. We have the best-fed dog on the planet who was also very pleased that we were willing to share. You can leave the bowl on the counter or the table all afternoon and they won’t get stale or soggy. That is, if they last longer than 5 minutes. I’d like to tell you how to store the leftovers, but I have no idea! Mine disappeared.

In truth, my first batch was a bit over salted, but they were still such a treat we just drank some more water with them. That happened because I decided to sprinkle additional salt over the leaves before baking. Since I couldn’t see the salt when I spread them on the baking sheet, I thought I hadn’t added enough. Go lightly with the oil, too. Remember these will be about half their size after baking and you don’t want them to be greasy.

If you try this, I would love to know what you thought of them! Please leave a comment!

Your Daily Bread

²³ The desire of the righteous ends only in good;
   the expectation of the wicked in wrath.
²⁴ One gives freely, yet grows all the richer;
   another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want.
²⁵ Whoever brings blessing will be enriched,
   and one who waters will himself be watered.
²⁶ The people curse him who holds back grain,
   but a blessing is on the head of him who sells it.
²⁷ Whoever diligently seeks good seeks favor,
   but evil comes to him who searches for it.
²⁸ Whoever trusts in his riches will fall,
   but the righteous will flourish like a green leaf.
²⁹ Whoever troubles his own household will inherit the wind,
   and the fool will be servant to the wise of heart.
³⁰ The fruit of the righteous is a tree of life,
   and whoever captures souls is wise.

Filed Under: Recipe Box Tagged With: healthy, kale, recipes, snacks, vegetarian

Baked Potato Soup

March 9, 2011 By Lynn Erhorn 1 Comment

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Sure, lots of people have a potato soup or potato-leek soup recipe. But, I’d never had baked potato soup until I saw it on the Panera menu last winter. There’s a difference, people. A big difference. When we had a significant number of baking potatoes left over from Christmas’ family dinner, I looked online for a recipe and found several. From a number of them, I created this one. It was ridiculously good and only got better over the next 2 days in the refrigerator. If you’re a fan of twice-baked potatoes, this soup tastes like a liquid version of that! The addition of a little red pepper sauce makes this soup unique and especially wonderful. This recipe makes a large potful. You can halve it if you’re not feeding a crowd or don’t want leftovers.

Ingredients

6 reduced sodium bacon strips, diced
1 large sweet onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
8 Tbs flour
2 tsp salt
2 tsp dried basil
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
6 cups chicken broth (we use Swanson fat free, 33% less sodium)
6-8 large baked potatoes, cubed (leave the skin on half of them, peel the other half)
1 cup sour cream
1 cup low fat milk (1% or 2% – not skim)
1 tsp hot pepper sauce (Crystal Louisiana hot sauce is ideal. Tabasco is too hot)
Shredded sharp cheddar cheese

Instructions

In a large saucepan (6 quarts or larger), cook the bacon until crisp. Drain and set aside. Remove all but 2 Tbs of the drippings from the pot. Saute the onions and garlic on medium high heat until tender. Stir in the flour, alt, basil & pepper. Mix well. Gradually add the chicken broth. Bring to a boil for 2 minutes, then add the potatoes, cream, and hot pepper sauce. Heat through, but do not boil. Crumble the bacon and stir it in. Serve topped with shredded cheddar and fresh minced parsley (optional).

Your Daily Bread

Proverbs 16:²⁰ Whoever gives heed to instruction prospers,
and blessed is the one who trusts in the LORD.

²¹ The wise in heart are called discerning,
and gracious words promote instruction.

²² Prudence is a fountain of life to the prudent,
but folly brings punishment to fools.

²³ The hearts of the wise make their mouths prudent,
and their lips promote instruction.

²⁴ Gracious words are a honeycomb,
sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.

Filed Under: Recipe Box Tagged With: baked potato, original recipe, soup

Apricot & Pecan Cookies With A Twist

February 26, 2011 By Lynn Erhorn Leave a Comment

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I picked up a great cookie cookbook in World Market last December called “1 Dough 100 Cookies.” Even though I was coping with a broken hand and a cast that month, I managed to get my holiday baking accomplished with the help of my sweet friend Jill. Together, we made four cookie recipes in a single day, the “Apricot & Pecan” cookies from this cookbook among them. I also like to peruse the imported and unusual food options at TJ Maxx around Christmastime, both to fill out my pantry and to stuff gift bags. This year, I found some wonderful crystallized ginger from China. I had another recipe that called for it, so I picked it up, but then I got the brilliant idea that a little crystallized ginger would make a pretty awesome cookie recipe even better. Turns out my instincts were spot on!

The grated orange rind and minced dried apricot make this cookie delightfully bright in flavor and the shortbread texture makes it irresistible. As soon as I had my cast removed, the first thing I did was make this recipe again. I gave half the batch to Jill for a gathering at her home, sent a dozen to my pastor who had seen the picture I posted on Facebook and expressed his interest in tasting them, and…well…the rest pretty much went into my tummy. I made a double batch both times, but unless you’re planning to share, I’m going to recommend against that for the sake of your waistline! Let me know how your batch comes out in the comments!

Ingredients

1 cup butter, softened
scant 3/4 cup superfine sugar
1 egg yolk, lightly beaten
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
grated rind of 1 orange
1/4 cup plumped dried apricots, minced
3 Tbs finely minced crystallized ginger
scant 1 cup finely chopped pecans
salt

Instructions

In a large bowl, sift together the flour and a pinch of salt.

Two great ways to prepare the pecans is to either put halves or pieces in a Ziplock freezer bag and pound them with a meat tenderizer’s flat side or pulse them carefully in a food processor until they are fine but take care not to turn them into meal. You do want these very fine. If they’re too large, they won’t stick to the dough well when you roll it in them.

In a separate mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy. Beat in the egg yoke and vanilla extract. Slowly add the flour mixture on low speed. Add the orange rind and apricot and mix on low until thoroughly combined.

Form the dough into a log about 2 inches in diameter and press the ends to flatten as much as possible. Spread the pecans in a shallow pan or dish and roll the dough in the nuts until well coated. Wrap the log in plastic wrap and refrigerate for an hour.

Arrange your oven racks on the top and bottom positions. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Line two baking sheets with baking parchment.

Unwrap the dough and cut into 1/4-inch slices or slightly thicker with a sharp knife. If your slices are flat on the bottom, you can reshape them but avoid handling them excessively. Put the slices on the prepared cookie sheets about 1/2 inch apart on all sides.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, switching the sheets half way through baking. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheets for about 10 minutes before carefully transferring to wire racks to cool completely.

Store in an air-tight container for up to 10 days…if they last that long!

Your Daily Bread

Mark 1:¹ The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, ² as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:

“I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way”—
³ “a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’”

⁴ And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁵ The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. ⁶ John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. ⁷ And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. ⁸ I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.”

Filed Under: Recipe Box Tagged With: apricot, cookies, crystallized ginger, dessert, original receipe, pecan, snacks

Oven-Braised Beef Stew

February 23, 2011 By Craig Erhorn Leave a Comment

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Try this while its still winter. Its easy and satisfying, and when you cook slowly in the oven the flavors intensify while the meat gets nice and tender.

I’ve been disappointed many times with results from the ubiquitous slow cooker, particularly when trying to make a good stew. So I resorted to the old-fashioned method of braising in a dutch oven. Braising is essentially cooking slowly in the oven in a heavy lidded, cast iron pot which holds its temperature well and cooks very evenly. Slow cooking in the oven is actually faster than using slow cookers on your counter top, since the slow cookers usually run at about 185 to 250 degrees and take a long time to get up to speed. Putting boiling food into a pre-heated 300 degree oven starts off much warmer and takes less time to get results.

I have also been frustrated by the variable quality of stew beef from the supermarket. You really don’t know what you’re getting when you buy a package of beef for stewing, and often these are just pieces trimmed off various cuts of meat which may or may not be suitable for a good stew. If you spend the few extra minutes it takes to buy a good pot roast and cut it up, you will be much happier with the result. Buy any pot roast cut from the chuck.

Ingredients:

3 lb pot roast, cut into 1 ½ inch pieces
fresh parsley
1 large Spanish onion, chopped
1 cup frozen cut green beans (we used french style this time, but the heartier cut is better for stew)
3 garlic cloves, minced
4 large carrots, sliced into ¼ inch rounds
1 cup dry red wine (we recommend Beaujolais – you don’t want the wine to be overpowering and this a fairly mellow variety)
1 lb Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1 inch pieces
2 cups beef broth
dried thyme
bay leaves
flour
kosher salt
freshly ground black pepper
Canola oil

Procedure:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Spread the meat out on paper towels, and pat it dry with another layer of paper towels. Sprinkle the meat with a generous amount of kosher salt and freshly ground pepper. Heat 1 Tbsp of oil in your dutch oven until it is quite hot but not smoking. Brown the meat in batches over medium high heat, so that the meat isn’t crowded in the pot and can be turned easily as it is cooked. Put the browned meat aside in a bowl as it is cooked. Add an additional Tbsp of oil for the second batch of meat, but no more oil if you need 3 batches to finish browning.

Reduce the heat to medium, add another Tbsp of oil to the pan and add the onions. Cook until they are soft, then add the garlic and cook for another minute or so. Add 3 Tbsp of flour and cook for about 2 minutes. Add the wine, stir briefly, then add the broth while stirring constantly to fully dissolve the flour. Add 2 bay leaves and 1 tsp dried thyme. Bring just to boiling and add the reserved meat. Stir until the mixture starts to simmer, remove from the heat, and cover with the lid. Cook in the center of the oven for 1 hour.

Add the potatoes and carrots after the first hour of cooking, and continue cooking covered in the oven for an additional hour. Remove from the oven, add the green beans, replace the cover and allow to stand for 5 minutes. Mince enough parsley to equal ¼ cup while the dish is standing, then add the parsley just before serving. Taste for salt and adjust as needed. Remove the bay leaves and serve.

Your Daily Bread

Genesis 25: 19 This is the account of the family line of Abraham’s son Isaac. Abraham became the father of Isaac, 20 and Isaac was forty years old when he married Rebekah daughter of Bethuel the Aramean from Paddan Aram and sister of Laban the Aramean. 21 Isaac prayed to the LORD on behalf of his wife, because she was childless. The LORD answered his prayer, and his wife Rebekah became pregnant. 22 The babies jostled each other within her, and she said, “Why is this happening to me?” So she went to inquire of the LORD.
23 The LORD said to her,
“Two nations are in your womb,
and two peoples from within you will be separated;
one people will be stronger than the other,
and the older will serve the younger.”
24 When the time came for her to give birth, there were twin boys in her womb. 25 The first to come out was red, and his whole body was like a hairy garment; so they named him Esau. 26 After this, his brother came out, with his hand grasping Esau’s heel; so he was named Jacob. Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them. 27 The boys grew up, and Esau became a skillful hunter, a man of the open country, while Jacob was content to stay at home among the tents. 28 Isaac, who had a taste for wild game, loved Esau, but Rebekah loved Jacob. 29 Once when Jacob was cooking some stew, Esau came in from the open country, famished. 30 He said to Jacob, “Quick, let me have some of that red stew! I’m famished!” (That is why he was also called Edom.) 31 Jacob replied, “First sell me your birthright.” 32 “Look, I am about to die,” Esau said. “What good is the birthright to me?” 33 But Jacob said, “Swear to me first.” So he swore an oath to him, selling his birthright to Jacob. 34 Then Jacob gave Esau some bread and some lentil stew. He ate and drank, and then got up and left.

Filed Under: Recipe Box Tagged With: Beef Stew, braise

Sunday French Toast Casserole

February 19, 2011 By Craig Erhorn Leave a Comment

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Here’s a special breakfast that is always a hit. Its easy to make, and most of the prep is done the night before. Pop it in the oven, make a warm berry syrup to go on top, and you have something really special. Berry syrup is really easy to make, and so good, I’m sure you’ll be happy you made it.

About 10 years ago, I was working for a multi-billion dollar consumer products company that had a wellness initiative. Once a quarter, everyone would get a little magazine with health tips and a few “healthy” recipes…… Ha! My dad lived to 89 and my mom is still kickin’ at 91. I ‘m going to enjoy life while I can.

I found the basis for this recipe in the magazine one spring, and adapted it to use whole eggs instead of egg whites, and “real” cream cheese instead of no-fat cream cheese. I actually like it with 2% milk instead of the skim milk that was originally specified.

This week, we decided to make it again. Where’s the recipe? Can’t find it. OK, well then we’ll make it from memory. So here it is:

Ingredients:

4 – 6 slices of “country style” thick white bread – depending on size, you use as much as will fit in a glass 9x13x2 baking dish.
Cream cheese – about 12 oz.
2 cups 2% milk
3 Tbsp sugar
1 tsp almond extract
½ tsp salt

Instructions:

Cut the bread slices in half, as if they are the halves of a sandwich. Spread the cream cheese on them generously. Coat your baking dish with cooking spray, then lay the bread, cream cheese side up, in the dish.

Whisk the milk, sugar, almond extract, and salt in a bowl – then pour over the bread. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate over night.

To cook :

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, and cook the casserole for about 30 minutes, or until the edges of the bread are starting to crisp just a little. Top with warm berry syrup and enjoy!

Berry Syrup:

1 cup water
1 cup sugar
2 Tbsp corn starch dissolved in 2 Tbsp water
1 pint of blueberries (you can use any berry you like – I prefer raspberries, but sometimes I make both syrups so guests have a choice)
2 Tbsp butter
¼ tsp salt

Combine water, salt, and sugar, and bring to a rolling boil over high heat stirring frequently. Add the berries and reduce the heat to medium. Cook, stirring constantly for a few minutes until the syrup turns the color of the berries and the berries start to disintegrate. Add the cornstarch mixture, stirring constantly. As soon as the syrup is nice and thick, take it off the heat and add the butter. Stir until the butter is melted. Serve with the French toast.

Your Daily Bread

John 6:³⁵ Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty. ³⁶ But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe. ³⁷ All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. ³⁸ For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. ³⁹ And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day. ⁴⁰ For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

Filed Under: Recipe Box Tagged With: berry, breakfast, cream cheese, french toast, original recipe, syrup

Make the Perfect Quiche

February 16, 2011 By Lynn Erhorn Leave a Comment

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Julia Child taught me how to make great quiche. Well, not personally. I used her “The Way to Cook” book which is big, colorful, and radiates personality, just like the great French chef herself! Chef Child explains that quiche is somewhat of a state of mind. Once you have the basic concept down, the possibilities are endless. That basic concept is to follow these simple steps:

Pre-bake your crust with weights
Fill your shell with flavorful ingredients
Pour in the custard to surround and fill the shell
Bake until brown and puffed

I use frozen, store-bought shells and prefer deep dish for quiche. Today, I chose Mrs. Smith’s brand, but have used Pillsbury and a couple of other brands. Right out of the freezer, let the shell stand on the counter for about 20 minutes. Prick the bottom all over with a fork, then line the shell with aluminum foil and weight with dried beans or pie weights. If you don’t do this, your shell will puff and bubble and you won’t see a clear separation of custard and crust. Bake at 375 for 10 minutes, discard the beans, and let the crust cool.

Meanwhile, you can prepare your custard and filling. Because pie shells vary in depth and some fillings will take more space than others, it’s best to use a custard ratio rather than a set amount of eggs and cream. It may seem strange to say, but quiche is not all about the eggs. In fact, you want to be careful not to have too much custard. The goal is to allow the custard to surround and embrace your filling ingredients and, as the eggs slowly cook, suspend them in a creamy cloud of goodness. So, for each egg you break into your glass measuring cup, add enough liquid (you can use cream, low fat, or skim milk here, but I find whole milk is best) to reach the 1/2 cup mark. It follows, then, that 2 eggs would need liquid to reach 1 cup and 4 eggs would reach 2 cups. I used 4 eggs today, but I prepared custard with 5 eggs and had some leftover. That’s better than having to mix up additional custard if you come up short, so I recommend preparing 4-5 eggs’ worth of custard.

Cheese is another must in quiche. Finely grated cheese is best and any cheese will do. If you buy a bag of pre-shredded cheese, you’re making your task much more pleasant and easy! When you’re ready to fill your shell, start with a layer of shredded cheese covering the entire bottom. Then, add your flavor ingredients (I’ll get to those in a minute), then the custard, and top with a few more tablespoons of cheese. Fill the shell to the top, just below where the fluted edge begins. The quiche will puff while baking, then settle on the counter. Bake at 375 degrees, usually for about 40 minutes. The top will get quite brown, which is a good thing. You want to make sure the custard is fully set or you’ll have runny quiche. So, don’t go for a gorgeous, pale yellow appearance. I’ve used the toothpick test and also just slightly jiggled the quiche to see how much wiggle it has to help determine doneness.

Ready to go in the oven

Okay, now the filling! Once you’ve got that whole feel for what a quiche ought to be, you can fill your shell with anything you like! I have two favorites. The one pictured here is broccoli, green onion, and mexican 4-cheese and it’s just delicious! The other favorite is shrimp, green onion, and Parmesan cheese. Here’s how I do those:

Broccoli Quiche

Cut florettes into small pieces to make about 2 cups
Slice 3 green onions thin, about 3/4 of the way up (discard the tops)
Prepare custard and add salt/pepper
Line the bottom of the pre-baked shell with shredded Mexican 4-cheese blend
Fill to top with broccoli and green onions
Pour in custard starting in the center and moving out to the edge in a spiral
Top with more cheese and bake

Shrimp Quiche

Chop 12-15 large cooked shrimp, cold (I buy shrimp cocktail)
Grate 1/2 cup fresh Parmesan cheese (don’t even think about the stuff in the green can!)
Slice 2-3 green onions thin, about 3/4 of the way up (discard the tops)
Line the bottom of the pre-baked shell with Parmesan cheese
Add the shrimp and green onions
Pour in custard starting in the center and moving out to the edge in a spiral
Top with more cheese and bake

Your Daily Bread

1 Peter 2:¹ Therefore, rid yourselves of all malice and all deceit, hypocrisy, envy, and slander of every kind. ² Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation, ³ now that you have tasted that the Lord is good. ⁴ As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— ⁵ you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶ For in Scripture it says:
“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
will never be put to shame.”

Filed Under: Mad Scientist, Recipe Box Tagged With: breakfast, broccoli, brunch, original recipe, quiche, vegetarian

Indian Style Chick Peas

February 12, 2011 By Lynn Erhorn Leave a Comment

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I wanted to follow up quickly with the side dish I prepared for Craig’s Butter Chicken. We are fortunate to have an Indian grocery just 10 minutes from our home. Here’s an online Indian grocer based out of Wisconsin, though I’ve never ordered from them and cannot vouch for their products or their service. If you’re not a fan of Indian food or don’t feel adventurous about tracking down and working with the exotic spices you’ll need to make it, worry not! We’ve got some easy and delicious recipes in the wings! This one is great for vegetarians! And, there are options provided for you to leave out or substitute the hard-to-find ingredients, so you can still make a great chick pea dish with more common Western pantry items.

I modified a recipe from a cookbook called “Indian Home Cooking,” which is our go-to book when we’re dabbling in this cuisine. The author’s recipe was called “Kwalitys Chickpeas,” from the name of a Bengal restaurant that specialized in them. I changed it up enough that I thought it would be inappropriate to claim the moniker. This dish is deep in flavor, spicy but not insanely so, and perfect as a side dish for any Indian meat dish or even as part of a pot luck buffet if your crowd is fearless!

Here in the West, we tend to heat our oil in a pan, add ingredients, then season. Indian cooking always starts with a “tempered” oil, so we add whole spices at the start and let them sizzle for a few minutes before anything else is added. Often, there are several steps at which spices are added, depending on their texture and ability to retain their flavor when cooked. What works for us is to use several small prep bowls with each “round” of seasonings measured out, so we can grab them and toss them into the pan when needed. Once you get going with this recipe, things need to move quickly, so it’s important to read through the steps and have all of your ingredients ready to go. Okay, let’s jump in!

Ingredients

3-4 tbs Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp black peppercorns (look for extra bold tellicherry for the best flavor)
4 whole cloves
4 green cardamom pods
2 whole dried red chilies
1 1/2-inch piece of ginger, minced
6-8 fresh or frozen curry leaves, torn into pieces (this is optional, but I love the flavor. If you can find it fresh, it freezes extremely well)
2 red onions, finely chopped
1 small jalepeno pepper, seeded and finely minced
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp dried mango powder (also called amchur) or the juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp pomegranate seed powder (also called anaardaana) or the juice of 1 lemon
2 tsp ground toasted cumin seed (make ahead by oven-toasting whole seeds, then grinding)
1/2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp garam masala
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 1/2 cups water
3 19-0z cans chick peas, drained and rinsed

Instructions

Combine the oil, cumin seeds, peppercorns, cloves, cardamom, and red chiles in a large saucepan on medium-high heat. We use an over-sized commercial frying pan. You’ll want your widest, deepest pan. This makes a lot! Or, halve the recipe and go with your best frying pan. Cook the spices, stirring until the cumin begins to brown (about 2 minutes).

Add the ginger and curry leaves and stir in. Add the onions, jalepeno and salt. Cook on medium-high for about 15 minutes, stirring frequently until the onions are brown at the edges and still a bit translucent in the center. The longer the onions cook, the more flavorful your dish will be.

Add the mango and pomegranate powders (don’t add the lemon juice here if you’re substituting) and the ground cumin, turmeric and garam masala. Cook, stirring for about a minute.

Stir in the cayenne and black peppers. Add the water and two of the cans of chick peas. While this is cooking, mash the third can of chick peas in a separate bowl until you have a lumpy puree, then add to the pan and stir. Simmer gently for about 5 minutes. If you substituted lemon juice for the powdered spices, add this now.

The original recipe says to taste for salt before serving, but honestly, there’s so much going on here in the flavor department, I’m not sure how anyone would know if they needed salt! Just go ahead and serve up a heaping spoonful and enjoy! As with most Indian dishes, this actually tastes even better the next day.

We’d love to know what you think of the recipe, whether you’ve worked with any of these spices, and especially what your experience was if you made this! Leave us a comment!

Your Daily Bread:

Esther 1:¹ This is what happened during the time of Xerxes, the Xerxes who ruled over 127 provinces stretching from India to Cush: ² At that time King Xerxes reigned from his royal throne in the citadel of Susa, ³ and in the third year of his reign he gave a banquet for all his nobles and officials. The military leaders of Persia and Media, the princes, and the nobles of the provinces were present. ⁴ For a full 180 days he displayed the vast wealth of his kingdom and the splendor and glory of his majesty. ⁵ When these days were over, the king gave a banquet, lasting seven days, in the enclosed garden of the king’s palace, for all the people from the least to the greatest who were in the citadel of Susa. ⁶ The garden had hangings of white and blue linen, fastened with cords of white linen and purple material to silver rings on marble pillars. There were couches of gold and silver on a mosaic pavement of porphyry, marble, mother-of-pearl and other costly stones. ⁷ Wine was served in goblets of gold, each one different from the other, and the royal wine was abundant, in keeping with the king’s liberality. ⁸ By the king’s command each guest was allowed to drink with no restrictions, for the king instructed all the wine stewards to serve each man what he wished.

Saran, Suvir and Lynes, Stephanie, Indian Home Cooking, (New York: Clarkson Potter, 2004)

Filed Under: Recipe Box Tagged With: chick peas, Indian, original recipe, vegetarian

You CAN make restaurant quality Indian food

February 11, 2011 By Craig Erhorn 1 Comment

Click to enlarge

We’re BIG fans of Indian cuisine, and have always enjoyed the “curry rush” that you get from eating the complex spice mix used in these dishes. Between just the curry powder and the garam masala in this recipe, there are 15 different spices. If you enjoy Indian food, this recipe is a winner. Its relatively simple, doesn’t take long to make, and will deliver a restaurant quality dish if you use quality ingredients.

I have tried a few recipes for what is typically characterized in Indian restaurants as “Butter Chicken”. Most have been only so-so, until I “customized” this one to my own preferences . Having eaten in many good Indian restaurants, I would put this one up against any of theirs.

It bears repeating to say that if you want a quality result you have to use quality and fresh ingredients. For this recipe, I bought a “better” brand of chicken than the grocery store brand and a premium brand of tomato puree that is very highly rated in taste tests from one of the cooking magazines I subscribe to. I also used fresh spices from Penzey’s – and if you use their spices you know the seasonings they sell are top shelf and very affordable. If there is no Penzey’s store near you, go to penzeys.com and order online. Once you start with their products you will find yourself tossing out all your old spices and re-stocking with Penzey’s. It makes that much difference – seriously. OK, commercial over.

Ingredients:
2.5 lb bone-in split chicken breasts (I used Whole Foods)
1 Tbsp clarified butter (otherwise known as ghee, but its easy to make this yourself.)
1 quarter of a large Spanish onion, finely chopped
½ tsp powdered ginger
1 clove garlic, minced
2 jalapeno chiles, finely chopped ( about 3 Tbsp) – leave out the seeds or the dish will be too hot
¾ cup tomato puree (I used Muir Glen)
2 tsp curry powder – not the hot kind (I use Penzey’s Maharajah Curry Powder)
2 tsp Garam Masala (Penzey’s is great)
1 tsp ground cumin
½ tsp chili powder
4 oz unsalted butter (1 stick)
Heavy cream (for adjusting sauce consistency)
¾ cup good quality whole milk Greek yogurt (Cabot dairy makes a great one, don’t even think about Dannon)
Fresh cilantro for garnish

Procedure:
Roast your chicken pieces in a 350 degree oven for 1 hour and let them cool down while you are making the sauce. If its more convenient, you can cook the chicken ahead of time and store it until you’re ready to complete the dish.

Start out with the clarified butter in a non-stick frying pan. Cook the onion over medium –high heat until it starts to turn golden. Add the garlic, and jalapenos. Cook briefly, to get the spices aromatic and then add the tomato puree. Take the pan off the heat for a moment and add the curry powder, garam masala, cumin, chili powder, and powdered ginger. Put the pan back on the heat and cook for another few minutes. Bring the heat down to low, add the butter, and stir continuously until it is completely melted. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the yogurt. Cover and put aside while you prepare the chicken.

Remove the skin from the chicken and discard. Cut the meat into good size 2 inch chunks and discard the bones. Put the chicken in a baking dish with a lid, and add the sauce. Mix well. At this point, you will probably find that the consistency of the mixture is very thick. Adjust the consistency by adding 1/3 to ½ cup of cream depending on your preference. Remember that the sauce will thicken a little more during final cooking.

Cover the dish and bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. Remove the cover and bake another 10 – 15 minutes. Serve over plain basmati rice, and sprinkle with chopped cilantro.

While the flavor of the complex spice blend in this dish is outstanding, we had some leftover and reheated it the next day. Wow! Even better. Be sure to save some for leftovers.

Lynn added her special version of Indian chick peas to this dish, for a perfect compliment. That recipe is coming soon!

Your Daily Bread

Proverbs 30:³² “If you play the fool and exalt yourself,
or if you plan evil,
clap your hand over your mouth!
³³ For as churning cream produces butter,
and as twisting the nose produces blood,
so stirring up anger produces strife.”

Filed Under: Recipe Box Tagged With: butter, chicken, curry, Indian

Vietnamese Salad with Lemongrass Dressing

January 31, 2011 By Lynn Erhorn Leave a Comment

Click to enlarge

Fair warning right up front: This recipe is for adventurous cooks! But, the combination of citrus and fresh herbs make this light salad well worth the effort! The flavor is restaurant-quality and super exotic. My adventure started while leafing through a big, colorful Australian vegetarian cookbook from our home library (credit below). The ingredient list made it clear I would need to pay a visit to my local Chinese grocery. If you’re unaccustomed to shopping in Asian, Indian, and/or Latin markets, you may feel a little overwhelmed by the number of unfamiliar items stocking the shelves. But, there’s usually someone on hand to help you navigate this new frontier. For this salad, I needed rice vermicelli, fresh lemongrass, palm sugar, and kaffir lime leaves. I’d only worked with the first of these before. As it turned out, I could not procure the lime leaves, even after calling a couple of other ethnic markets in town. So, I substituted fresh basil and still got a delicious salad. See the note below for some tips on working with fresh lemongrass.

Ingredients

6-7 ounces dried rice vermicelli
1 cup crushed peanuts (dry roasted, unsalted)
1/2 cup mint leaves, torn
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, firmly packed
1/2 red onion, sliced in to thin wedges
1 green mango, julienned
1 cucumber

Lemongrass Dressing

1/2 cup fresh lime juice (about 3 limes)
1 tbs shaved palm sugar
1/4 cup seasoned rice vinegar (I used unseasoned)
2 stems fresh lemongrass, finely chopped
2 red chillies, seeded and finely chopped
3 kaffir lime leaves, shredded (I used fresh basil leaves)

Okay, this will get pretty wordy, since I want to give you everything you’ll need to delight your eyes and your taste buds and want to make this again! This dish is all about the gorgeous presentation and the amazing flavor.

First, let’s make the dressing. If you have a jar with a lid, this dressing benefits from a good shaking. However, I made mine in a 2-cup glass measure, covered it in plastic and used a fork to whisk it. Prepare the lemongrass as directed at left and put it in the container. Add the lime juice and rice vinegar (usually available in the ethic foods aisle of your supermarket). Palm sugar is actually sap from a variety of palm trees, usually date palms. It’s minimally processed, low on the glycemic index (so it’s great for diabetics) and mine came little 1-tbs molded cakes that were maple colored. I actually ate one like a piece of candy and it was delicious! To shave it, I just used a hand-grater placed over my container. I’m going to love working with palm sugar in the future! We always have dried red chillies in our refrigerator, so I reconstituted 2 of these in boiled water for about 10 minutes. Make sure the seeds are removed or the dish will be too spicy. Chop the chillies very fine and add to the dressing. This should give just a hint of heat without making the salad “hot.” Again, I couldn’t get lime leaves anywhere, so I used about 3-4 fresh basil leaves, shredded. I stack my leaves, roll them up lengthwise very tightly, and slice thin, then cut the resulting strips in half. Give this delicious dressing a little taste just to treat yourself, then cover and refrigerate while you make the salad.

Now, let’s talk about rice vermicelli. This is a thin, white noodle usually packaged in long, twisted sections. I didn’t measure 6-7 ounces. I grabbed a section about 4 inches wide by 6 inches tall and almost an inch thick, gently broke it away from the pack, and plunged it into a large bowl of boiled water. Let the vermicelli soak for about 15 minutes until soft, then drain and rinse with cold water. Drain again. Use kitchen scissors to cut the long strands into 2-3 inch sections. You can be kinda relaxed about this process, but lift up handfuls now and then to be sure you don’t have any extremely long strands, which will be hard to eat.

While that’s soaking, slice your mango into very thin julienne strips. I used a mango that wasn’t completely green, so there were softer sections that didn’t look so much like julienne, but I appreciated the extra sweetness that gave the dish. Just be sure you don’t choose a mango that’s super ripe. This recipe called for a Lebanese cucumber, but I used an ordinary cuke. Slice it in half, scoop out the seeds with a spoon, then slice each half in half again. Turn the sections over (skin side up) and slice thin on the diagonal. Cut the red onion in half from top to bottom (not across the middle), remove the center, and slice very thin wedges (the thinner the better). If your onion is very large, cut these slices in half and maybe don’t use an entire half.

Put the peanuts in a quart-sized freezer bag and crush with a meat mallot or pulse just a couple of times in a food processor. You want a nice crushed nut, not a powder or a meal. I coarsely chopped my mint, but tore off the leaves of the cilantro and left them large. That’s all the prep work for the salad itself. Combine all of these ingredients using only 3/4 of the peanuts and toss to combine. Give the dressing a fresh shake or whisk and and add it to the salad. Toss well, cover, and refrigerate for 30 minutes. Sprinkle with remaining chopped peanuts when serving.

Your Daily Bread:

Acts 19:⁸ Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. ⁹ But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. ¹⁰ This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord. ¹¹ God did extraordinary miracles through Paul, ¹² so that even handkerchiefs and aprons that had touched him were taken to the sick, and their illnesses were cured and the evil spirits left them.

Price, Jane (Ed.), The Complete Vegetarian Cookbook, (Sydney: Murdoch Books, 2001)

Filed Under: Recipe Box Tagged With: asian, dressing, lemongrass, rice vermicelli, salad

Nice! Rice Pudding

January 30, 2011 By Craig Erhorn 1 Comment

Here’s a simple old-fashioned dessert that is just what the doctor ordered on a cold winter evening when you want something warm and sweet after dinner. You’ll find yourself sneaking a bowl out of the fridge for snacks and breakfast as well. If you want to be really decadent, you can add whipped cream on top. But this recipe tastes so rich and creamy it isn’t necessary. Lynn loves it. I get lots of atta-boy points when I make this……….

Traditional rice pudding recipes (and that mass-produced goop you buy in the store) are made with plain long-grain rice. I prefer to use Basmati. It makes a huge difference and imparts a flavor you won’t get otherwise. If you haven’t tried Basmati as a substitute for regular white rice, you are definitely missing out. I use it exclusively and don’t even have regular rice in the house. Using good quality cinnamon is important in this dish, don’t use that stuff that has been in the back of your pantry for the last 10 years. Use fresh spices. You can get whole nutmeg in the Hispanic section of your grocery store for a very reasonable price.

Ingredients

1 cup Basmati rice
6 cups whole milk
1 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
½ tsp good quality cinnamon (I use Chinese Cassia)
heaping ½ tsp kosher salt
a dash of ground nutmeg, or equivalent grated fresh from whole nutmeg (my preferred method)

Put all the ingredients in a saucepan and bring just to simmer over high heat, stirring often. Turn heat down to low and cover. Simmer gently for about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally and adjusting the heat to keep the simmer going. Watch carefully when the cooking time is almost up to avoid over-cooking. The rice pudding is done when it is thick and clings to the spoon. This can happen quickly, so when it is almost done you should be stirring every 2 – 3 minutes.

Dish into individual bowls immediately, and then give the pudding 5 minutes to cool down to eating temperature. Watch it disappear!

Your Daily Bread

Nehemiah 8:^7-12 The Levites—Jeshua, Bani, Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodiah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan and Pelaiah—instructed the people in the Law while the people were standing there. They read from the Book of the Law of God, making it clear and giving the meaning so that the people understood what was being read. Then Nehemiah the governor, Ezra the priest and teacher of the Law, and the Levites who were instructing the people said to them all, “This day is holy to the LORD your God. Do not mourn or weep.” For all the people had been weeping as they listened to the words of the Law. Nehemiah said, “Go and enjoy choice food and sweet drinks, and send some to those who have nothing prepared. This day is holy to our Lord. Do not grieve, for the joy of the LORD is your strength.” The Levites calmed all the people, saying, “Be still, for this is a holy day. Do not grieve.” Then all the people went away to eat and drink, to send portions of food and to celebrate with great joy, because they now understood the words that had been made known to them.

Filed Under: Recipe Box Tagged With: basmati, dessert, pudding, rice

Lets go Greek for a Change

January 29, 2011 By Craig Erhorn Leave a Comment

This smells even better than it looks!

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I want a change from the old favorites – something that will provide some variety while not sacrificing the satisfaction factor. And what could be bad about meatballs? Well, these are Greek meatballs. Simple to make, and very good in a subtly spiced tomato sauce with olives.

I found myself with a pound or so of ground lamb after making another dish, and went looking for something to do with it. Based on a recipe from an old Greek cookbook I had, this one is my own take on “soutzoukakia.”

For the meatballs:

2 potato rolls (hot dog or hamburger type)
1 lb ground lamb
2 garlic cloves, minced
3 tsp ground cumin (I highly recommend grinding it fresh in a spice grinder or a mortar&pestle)
1 egg lightly beaten
¼ cup all purpose flour
salt & fresh ground pepper to taste
extra virgin olive oil for frying

Soak the rolls in a little bit of milk for a few minutes, then drain and squeeze out excess. In a large bowl combine the rolls, lamb, garlic, cumin, egg, salt, and pepper and mix with your hands. Sorry, meatballs have to be mixed by hand – get over it. If you mix with a spoon or a kitchen machine you won’t get the right texture.

After mixing, take small handfuls of meat (a little bigger than a golf ball) and roll them into an oblong shape like a small sausage. When all the meat has been used, put the flour on a large plate and roll the meatballs in the flour to coat.

In a large deep skillet, heat 3 Tbsp oil and fry the meatballs until they are uniformly golden. Lift them out and put them in a bowl. Discard the oil and wipe the pan clean.

For the sauce:

1 tsp cumin seeds
14 oz can diced tomatoes
1 Tbsp tomato paste diluted in 2/3 cup hot water
½ tsp dried Turkish oregano
16 pitted green olives, rinsed with water

Heat 3 Tbsp olive oil over medium heat in the skillet. Add the cumin seed and stir briefly to flavor the oil. Add the tomatoes and diluted tomato paste and bring to a simmer. Add the meatballs, oregano, and olives. Season with salt and fresh ground pepper to taste. Stir to coat meatballs with sauce, then cover and simmer for half an hour. Similar to other meat dishes in tomato sauce, they’re even better the next day – so if you can stand waiting, cool them off and refrigerate for 24 hours in the sauce, then reheat. These are great over rice with a Greek salad!

Filed Under: Recipe Box Tagged With: greek, lamb, meatballs, soutzoukakia

Chicken Paillards with Clementine Salsa

January 28, 2011 By Lynn Erhorn Leave a Comment

How it looked on our table tonight

We just finished dinner and are so excited about this dish, I had to sit right down and share it with you! Since we’re at the end of Clementine season, I suggest going right out to your local supermarket and grabbing yourself a crateful so you won’t have to wait a year to try this amazing recipe! The delicious fruit and fresh herbs make this healthy dish light, bright, and worth the prep time! Craig got this recipe delivered to his inbox from “bon appetit,” to which we subscribe. For proper credits, see the recipe in it’s natural habitat here.

Ingredients
4 5-ounce chicken breast halves
4 clementines, peeled, diced (about 1 cup)
1 cup cherry tomatoes, quartered (I used Camparis, diced)
1/2 cup finely diced red onion
1/2 cup finely diced celery
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
1/4 cup coarsely chopped fresh cilantro
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1 serrano chile, seeded, minced (I used half of a large jalepeno)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 cup fresh clementine juice (from about 6 clementines)

You can follow the link above to read the official cooking instructions. Here’s how I did it, with some photos I took along the way. Click on them to enlarge.

I did this first step in the morning to save a little time. Rinse the chicken breasts, pat dry and trim away the “tender” portion if present. Pound the chicken between two sheets of plastic wrap (using the flat surface of a meat tenderizing mallet — not the textured ends) until they are about 1/4 inch thick. I suggest pounding 1 chicken breast at a time to insure you have enough room for the meat to spread out. Stack the breasts and slide them into a gallon-sized freezer bag. Chill.

About an hour ahead of the time I wanted to serve dinner, I prepared the salsa. This is what takes most of the prep time. Combine the clementines, tomatoes, onion, celery, basil, cilantro, and pepper in a large bowl. Toss with the fresh lime juice and 2 tbs. olive oil and set aside at room temperature. Don’t refrigerate this or your meal will get cold as you’re eating.

Squeeze the juice of 6 or 7 more clementines into a measuring cup to 1/2 cup. Since I used more oil to cook the chicken than the recipe calls for (I used a large commercial frying pan), I think I should have used more juice here. The resulting reduction looked more like oil than orange juice even though I removed half the oil from the pan before deglazing. But, the flavor was still outstanding.

Lay the chicken breasts on a platter and season with salt & pepper. Heat the remaining 2 tbs olive oil (I probably used more like 1/4 cup) on medium high heat. Add the chicken and STAND BACK! The meat will splatter the entire time you’re cooking, so if you have a splatter screen, have it at the ready! Wear an apron, too. Cook the chicken until slightly browned and cooked through. This recipe said that should be 3 minutes on each side, but I probably had the meat a little thicker than 1/4 inch and I had a very large pan, so mine took more like 6 minutes per side.

Here’s what it should look like:

Drain the chicken on paper towels. Add the clementine juice to the skillet (remove most of the oil if there’s still a considerable amount there) and boil until reduced by half, stirring often. That took me about 3-4 minutes.

Plate the chicken, drizzle the clementine sauce over it and top with a generous amount of salsa.

We try to have a couple of carb-free dinners each week, so this was one of them. I served this with steamed green beans tossed with slivered almonds sauteed in butter for about 2 minutes. This felt like a vacation meal to us. We just smiled all the way through it. There was salsa leftover and I’m thinking about tossing it with some red and black beans and some garbanzos to make a salad for lunch tomorrow.

I promise, if you make this dish once, you will make it again and you’ll probably want to invite some guests to impress! This one is a real winner!

Your Daily Bread:

Matthew 7:¹⁵ “Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. ¹⁶ By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? ¹⁷ Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. ¹⁸ A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. ¹⁹ Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. ²⁰ Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

Filed Under: Recipe Box Tagged With: almonds, bon appetit, chicken, clementine, green beans, paillards, salsa

Tabbouleh, Done Right!

January 27, 2011 By Lynn Erhorn Leave a Comment

Click to enlarge

This delightful salad originally came from Lebanon and Syria and I’m betting most Americans have had it (or at least seen it on a salad bar). Wikipedia tells me the name comes from the Arabic word meaning “little spicy,” though this salad isn’t at all spicy. It also tells me the American version of this salad is known as “Eetch,” but I’ve never heard of that! Careful with that Wiki!

I make a salad for Craig’s lunch each day. In order to keep him from dying of boredom, we tuck various goodies into two of the corners of the oblong container I send to work with him. Sometimes it’s a scoop of tuna, sometimes a bean salad, sometimes some hummous. He was bringing home tabbouleh from Costco for about a year when I casually mentioned that I used to make it often years ago and had a pretty good recipe. Once I whipped up a batch, there was no turning back for him!

Now, I’ve gotta be honest: This can be a labor intensive salad to make if you do it the way I do, but the results are well worth the effort. I make it on the weekend, usually, and once I did it a few times I got the time down to about 45 minutes. It’s mostly chopping and pinching work, as you’ll see. Since there is so much parsley in the salad, I believe it’s important to take care to keep stems out of the bowl for the most pleasant eating. Ya just can’t do that with a knife. So, I pinch off each little trio of leaves by hand and discard all the stems. Most recipes call for the parsley to be finely minced, but I like the leaves just as they come off the bunch (plus, it saves a lot of time after all that pinching).

Served as a side (though it can be a meal!), this batch will serve 8-10. It barely makes it through the week for us since we both love it. And, that’s good since tabbouleh really needs to be fresh to be amazing. Craig’s very fond of lemon in Middle Eastern dishes, so I make this very bright. It’s almost surprisingly citrusy, which will make you the hit of the pot luck if you bring this along!

Ingredients

3/4 cup bulgur (aka: cracked wheat or burghul)
2 tsp olive oil
3 cups chopped curly-leaf parsley (stems removed)
1 cup finely chopped fresh mint
4 whole spring onions, finely minced (aka: green onion or scallion)
1 large beefsteak or heirloom tomato, chopped
1/2 cup olive oil
juice of 2 lemons
2 cloves garlic, finely minced (I use 1 tsp of jarred minced garlic for this)

In a large bowl, soak the bulgur in 3/4 cup of boiling water and 2 tsp of olive oil for 10 minutes (stir before leaving to soak). Stir again and set aside.

Chop your herbs, onion and tomato while the bulgur is cooling. The cooler it is when you add the rest of the ingredients, the better.

In a second bowl, combine the spring onion, mint, and parsley, taking care to pinch off the parsley leaves and remove as much stem as possible. You can tear or chop particularly large leaves or clusters, but leave smaller leaves intact.

Cut the tomato into 1/2-inch chunks.

Prepare the dressing by combining the 1/2 cup of olive oil, lemon juice and garlic.

Drain the bulgur of any excess water and add the herbs, onion, and tomato. Toss to combine well. Pour in the dressing and toss again, making sure everything is well coated. (The bulgur will want to collect on the bottom of the bowl. Don’t let it.)

Cover and chill for at least 2 hours before serving.

Serving Suggestions

Served with hummous and warmed pita bread, this can be a meal in itself. We’re planning to serve it with some charcoal-grill roasted chicken too, for an upcoming dinner party. Stay tuned for Craig’s amazing Spinach Pie recipe, which is also great with tabbouleh if you’re going for that Middle Eastern or Greek experience.

Your Daily Bread

Luke 3:¹⁵ The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah. ¹⁶ John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷ His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” ¹⁸ And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them.

Filed Under: Recipe Box Tagged With: bulgur, mint, original recipe, parsley, salad, tabbouleh, tabbouli

Easy Asparagus Soup

January 26, 2011 By Lynn Erhorn Leave a Comment

Image borrowed from Whole Foods

By popular demand, here’s an easy recipe for a super delicious soup! Let me know how you like it! I’m giving the quantities for a double batch, so you can easily halve this if you’re not freezing or don’t have a large crowd to feed.

4 lbs fresh asparagus
4 medium potatoes (I like the gold variety) peeled and cubed
8-10 whole green onions (scallions) chopped
8 cups chicken broth
2 tbs fresh dill (or 3 tbs dried)
1 tsp ground white pepper
2 tsp salt (I use kosher)

Cut off the fibrous ends of the asparagus and cut remaining asparagus into 1-inch lengths.
In a large pot, saute asparagus, potatoes, and scallions in 2 tbs olive oil for 3-5 minutes, stirring frequently.
Add chicken broth and seasonings and bring to a boil.
Reduce heat and simmer covered for about 30 minutes, until potatoes are fork tender.

It'll look like this while cooking and before pureeing.

Puree soup either with an immersion blender (worth getting if you don’t have one!) or in batches in a blender until smooth. Taste for salt.

If you’re freezing some, I recommend ladling 4-5 servings into a 1-gallon freezer bag, then freeze flat on a cookie sheet. Once frozen, they stack neatly. Thaw by soaking in warm water until you can pour the soup into a pot for reheating, but be sure the bag has no tears or holes.

Your Daily Bread

Proverbs 15:16 Better a little with the fear of the LORD than great wealth with turmoil.
17 Better a small serving of vegetables with love than a fattened calf with hatred.

Filed Under: Recipe Box Tagged With: asparagus, soup

Thanksgiving Desserts – Spoon Bread & Bread Pudding

December 2, 2008 By JardinPrayer 3 Comments

Our kitchen was so full of hustle bustle this year (hey, let’s face it…every year!) that I just couldn’t even think about taking pictures of the cooking process for most of our dishes. I did manage to sneak in a few shots of the bacon-wrapped brussels sprouts, but I’ll do that as a separate entry. Here, I’m going to focus on the bread-like dishes. These pictures are just mined from the interwebz. All of these recipes were tried for the first time and all turned out so good I simply have to share the joy! Go and make them…then come back and tell me how your family liked them! By the way, comments making any reference whatsoever to calories, fat content, or weight gain will be immediately deleted! Other than that, comment away! LOL!

I’ve tried at least a half dozen recipes for spoon bread and have been disatisfied every time. Then, my stepson Matt mentioned he’d had the perfect spoon bread at a Thanksgiving table several years back. He got the recipe for us and we made it this year to RAVE reviews! The key…and I am telling you this is key…is the use of Jiffy Corn Bread Mix. From scratch recipes and other corn bread mixes just didn’t come out with the intense flavor and texture that reminds me of my favorite Mexican restaurant’s spoon bread. This one is da bomb!

Kentucky Spoon Bread

Ingredients
1 Box Jiffy Corn Bread Mix
1 stick of butter, melted
1 8 oz. can of whole corn, drained
1 8 oz. can of cream style corn
1 cup sour cream (I prefer Daisy brand)
2 eggs, slightly beaten

Instructions
Melt the butter and combine the Jiffy mix, corns, sour cream, and beaten eggs in a large bowl. Pour into a 1.5 quart greased casserole and bake at 350 degrees for 35-40 minutes, until center is firm. Serve warm.

I doubled this recipe and used a 9×13 glass baking dish with outstanding results. The bread will be dense, very moist, and utterly delicious!

For our follow-up Thanksgiving dinner Sunday evening with a different group of family, I tried a bread pudding recipe from Penzey’s One magazine. If you haven’t yet discovered the amazing world of Penzey’s Spices, I encourage you to go visit their website, subscribe to their magazine, and…most importantly…throw away every dried herb and spice in your cupboard and replace them all with Penzey’s. You will be astounded at the difference in your tried and true receipes. The magazine always has great receipes…many from readers…and I have never, ever, had a bad result using their recipes and spices. Going Penzey’s has transformed our kitchen and our culinary life!

This recipe is over 100 years old and was contributed by a Penzey’s One reader whose family has passed it down. I can see why it has endured, though I have modified it slightly to round out a few ingredients. It calls for a whiskey sauce, which I made the first night, but then made a non-alcoholic vanilla sauce the next night. Both versions are included below.

Bread Pudding

Ingredients
16 day-old hamburger buns, torn in large pieces
(Leave them exposed to the air, opened up and spread out on a baking sheet overnight. You want most of the moisture out of the bread. Big pieces yield lots of texture, smaller pieces make a smooth, wet pudding. I prefer the large chunks.)
1 14-oz can evaporated milk (not sweetened, not condensed)
4 cups milk (lower fat milks are okay, not skim)
2 1/2 cups sugar
4 eggs, beaten
3 tbs cinnamon (oh, yes…go heavy here)
2 tbs plus 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup melted butter

Whiskey Sauce
1/2 cup sugar
1 stick butter
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/8 – 1/4 cup whiskey

Non-alcoholic alternative is to substitue 1/2 tsp vanilla extract and 1/2 tsp imitation rum extract for the whiskey, or 1 tsp vanilla extract and leave out the rum extract altogether.

Instructions
Preheat over to 400 degrees. In a large bowl (I needed a punch bowl as my largest mixing bowl was too small), combine the ripped up buns, canned milk and evaporated milk and let soak for 5 minutes. Meanwhile, stir together the sugar, eggs, cinnamon, and vanilla to make a gorgeous goop! Add to the bread and milk and mix well with a wooden spoon. Take care not to mash the bread chunks too much. Pour into an ungreased 9×13 pan and drizzle the melted butter over the top. If you have a larger one, you may want to choose it, or else place the pan on a lipped cookie sheet. This will rise high in the oven. and some of the butter may spill out. Bake until lightly browned and no longer wiggly, about 50 minutes. Carefully remove from oven and let sit for 5-10 minutes. Bread will settle and melted butter that may be pooled on top will soak in.

To make the whiskey sauce, combine all ingredients in a medium sauce pan and bring to a rolling boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Pour 1-2 tablespoons over individual servings of warm bread pudding.

Well, there you have it. That oughta keep you away from the scale for a while! I must confess, I’ve been going back for midnight snacks of this bread pudding…and I never do that! Something about the warmth and the texture and the cinnamon flavor tastes even better snuggled in bed in front of the tv! Note that I am not officially recommending that to you…it’s more of a confession, really.

Please comment…they are my favorite snack food of all!

Your Daily Bread

Deuteronomy 16:14 And you shall rejoice in your feast, you and your son and your daughter, your male servant and your female servant and the Levite, the stranger and the fatherless and the widow, who are within your gates. 15 Seven days you shall keep a sacred feast to the Lord your God in the place which the Lord chooses, because the Lord your God will bless you in all your produce and in all the work of your hands, so that you surely rejoice.

Filed Under: Recipe Box Tagged With: bread, bread pudding, corn, Kentucky, recipes, spoon bread, Thanksgiving, whiskey sauce

Homemade Pizza To Die For!

October 26, 2008 By JardinPrayer 5 Comments

Click to enlarge. Seriously -- click! Yummm!

My last recipe post included a complaint that we haven’t been able to find good Chinese food in Jacksonville. New Yorker’s are pretty finicky when it comes to food. Well, if there’s anything more scarce in Jacksonville than good Chinese food, it has got to be good pizza. That stuff you see advertised anywhere outside of New York as, “New York Style Pizza?” Fuggedaboutit! Gimme a break! So, once again, this household coped with the problem by simply making what we wanted in our own kitchen.

My husband makes his own bread regularly. He enjoys messing with yeast and kneading and waiting for stuff to rise. I, on the other hand, do not. So, that’s his department. He found a recipe for “New York Style Pizza Dough,” at Recipe Pizza online. That link will take you to their version, but I’ve reproduced it here with a couple of modifications we’ve made after making it about a half dozen times.

Now, I’m not going to tell you this tastes exactly like the best pizzaria pizza in New York, because it doesn’t. However, it does taste unbelievably good and close enough to satisfy us! We discovered last night that the fresher your flour is, the easier the dough will be to work with. Hubby prepares it a couple of hours before we want to eat and then I roll up my sleeves and take over

This recipe makes 1 15-inch and 1 12-inch pie

the shell forming and assembly. He handles the baking peel (that wooden paddle) and the actual baking. The system works flawlessly!

New York Style
Pizza Dough

Ingredients Required
1 1/2 cups warm water (105F)
4 1/2 cups of all-purpose flour
1 tablespoons of olive oil
2 1/2 teaspoon of granulated sugar
2 1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon of yeast

Step by Step Procedure

In a large bowl, dissolve sugar and salt in water.

Add oil and flour and mix with a dough hook in a heavy duty mixer until dough forms.

Turn out to a lightly floured surface and press into a circle.

Sprinkle yeast evenly over dough and knead for 12 minutes.

Divide dough into portions: 6 oz. for Calzones, 18 oz. for 12 inch, 25 oz. for 15 inch

Roll each portion into a ball. You want a dough ball without visible seams except the bottom.

Place dough balls in a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and allow to proof for 1−2 hours at room temperature to use the same day, or store in refrigerator to use the next day.

Place dough ball on lightly floured surface, and lightly flour the top. Use fingertips to evenly flatten out the dough ball. Work from the edges to the center press dough into a 12″ circle. Place both hands within the shell edge and stretch with fingertips and palms maintaining an even pressure. Or, use a lightly floured rolling pin to stretch to desired shape. (I do both)

Lift the shell onto a square of baking parchment placed on your pizza peel.

Add desired toppings to the pizza.

Carefully slide the pizza and parchment onto the stone in the preheated oven.

Bake in a 550 degree oven for 10 minutes for a 15″ pie and 8 minutes for a 12″ pie, until crust is golden.

Additional Information
Cooking pizzas with this dough should be done on a baking stone. Using a pan will produce a very soft “doughy” crust. The stone in the oven should be preheated to 550F for an hour prior to baking, and should be placed in the middle of the oven.

Now, let me tell you about the toppings we put on last night’s pizza. I’m telling you, you should have been there! Since you weren’t, please enjoy this slide show of the process, featuring my step-son Matt sampling the meaty, cheesey goodness!

You can click on the slide show to visit the web album and see these shots full size.

We had some leftover grilled bratwurst in the refrigerator. I cut that into thick slices, then tossed those into my food processor and pulsed for about 20 seconds until I had a nice, course, crumbled result. I also had about a half dozed strips of chicken breast I didn’t use when I made the Pad Thai the other night, so I breaded and fried those in olive oil, drained them and cut them into bite-sized chunks. We always have onions and jarred sliced mushrooms on our pizza. I prefer to sliver my onions by cutting them in half, removing the centers and then slicing lengthwise as thin as possible.

So, the large pie got topped in this order: sauce (Ragu Pizza Quick Sauce has worked fine for us), mozzarella (I prefer part-skim and always buy it pre-shredded for this purpose), bratwurst, chicken, a little granulated garlic and a little oregano, onions, mushrooms. Just look at that picture at the top of the post! Doesn’t that look amazing? It was, by a wide margin, the best pizza I have ever had in my life, New York or anywhere else!

We decided the smaller pie would be a white pizza. I dumped an entire pint of ricotta cheese onto the shell (again, part skim) and spread it around with a tablespoon, nearly to the edge. Then, I added minced, jarred garlic (crucial to the flavor of this one) and some fresh ground black pepper. The mozzarella was next (I went light on this layer) and then topped it with some freshly sliced, ripe plum tomatoes.

Of course, pizza toppings are a very personal thing. We often like to crumble crisp bacon on ours. If you haven’t tried that, and you’re not the slightest bit concerned about packing on the calories and making your pizza exponentially fattier (lol), you really must try this! Hubby likes sliced black olives and pepperoni. What are your favorite toppings and, have you ever made your own pizza?

Your Daily Bread

Leviticus 23:17 You shall bring from your dwellings two wave loaves of two-tenths of an ephah. They shall be of fine flour; they shall be baked with leaven. They are the firstfruits to the Lord.

Filed Under: Mad Scientist, Recipe Box Tagged With: bratwurst, New York, new york style pizza, original recipe, pizza, pizza dough, recipe, white pizza

Cold Sesame Noodles: They Don’t Sell It Here, So I Had To Make It!

October 24, 2008 By JardinPrayer Leave a Comment

I’m a New Yorker, born and raised. There, if you walk into just about any Chinese take-out restaurant, you can order Cold Sesame Noodles (sometimes called, “cold noodles with sesame sauce,”). In my single years, a pint of that and a pint of roast pork fried rice made a perfect dinner for me. I could pick it up on the way home, walking from the subway to my Queens apartment and it filled me up for very little cash. In fact, that Chinese place on 108th Street in Forest Hills at about 65th Avenue made the best cold sesame noodles anywhere! I wonder if they’re still doing that.

Since we moved to Jacksonville three years ago, not only is it really tough to find good Chinese to begin with, but my husband and I have never seen this culinary delight on any menu. Three years is a long time to go without that kind of taste sensation. So, I just got fed up about six weeks ago and decided I’d figure out a way to duplicate that flavor, by hook or by crook. I knew I needed peanut butter and something with sesame flavor that was dark in color. But what?

At Publix (the coolest supermarket in the universe, IMHO), I browsed the “Ethnic Foods,” aisle – the Chinese section in particular. Soy sauce…terayaki sauce…chili sauce…fish sauce…AHA! There is was, and I don’t know why I’d never seen it before. Sesame Garlic sauce by “Iron Chef.” Who knew that was a brand (then again, of course it is). I read the ingredients and they sounded like exactly like what I’d need to make the famous, yet elusive sauce. I picked up 2 bottles and headed home.

I already had angel hair pasta (a nice, big, 16-oz box from Mueller) and Jif creamy peanut butter in the pantry. Seemed like I was set. I put on my white lab coat and got busy (not really ). I figured about 2/3 cup of peanut butter was right. A full cup would be too much. I started light, but ended up pouring about half the bottle of sesame garlic sauce in. Then, I added a few tablespoons of HOT water until the consistency was thick, but not gummy. Meanwhile, I cooked the angel hair in salted water with a little olive oil (this only takes about 4 minutes, so don’t get distracted!) after breaking it in half. I drained the pasta and ran cold water over it to stop the cooking process and cool it off. That’s why the sauce can’t be too gummy…you’re gonna try to evenly distribute it in the cold noodles without making mush out of everything.

Two tablespoons worked well for me to get the stuff properly mixed. I don’t recommend using forks. The pasta is delicate while still a bit warm and you don’t want to shred it. Once mixed, I covered it with plastic wrap and put the whole bowl in the freezer for about 45 minutes. Serve it in the bowl with bean sprouts and slivers of cucumber on the side or piled for guests to put on top. I didn’t have any cucumbers when I made this for the second time last night, so we’ve just got the sprouts in this picture.

I also made Pad Thai using noodles and sauce from a box. The shrimp goes with the Pad Thai, but since my stepson is allergic, I served them on the side. It was certainly a noodle-intensive meal, but the hot dish with lime and cilantro flavors complimented the cold dish with peanut and sesame flavors perfectly!

Once again, the pictures are clickable to view full size. I’d love to know if you make this. I know if you do, you’ll be back here thanking me. This stuff is heavenly! If you want my Pad Thai receipe, just say so in the comments and that will be my next cuisine post, though I mostly follow box directions and enhance, enhance, enhance.

Your Daily Bread

Genesis 19:1 Now the two angels came to Sodom in the evening, and Lot was sitting in the gate of Sodom. When Lot saw them, he rose to meet them, and he bowed himself with his face toward the ground. 2 And he said, “Here now, my lords, please turn in to your servant’s house and spend the night, and wash your feet; then you may rise early and go on your way.” And they said, “No, but we will spend the night in the open square.” 3 But he insisted strongly; so they turned in to him and entered his house. Then he made them a feast, and baked unleavened bread, and they ate.

Filed Under: Recipe Box Tagged With: chinese, cold noodles, iron chef, original recipe, pad thai, peanut butter, recipes, sesame

One Awesome Meat Loaf Recipe

October 18, 2008 By JardinPrayer 9 Comments

This is what I made for dinner last night. My mother always made an excellent meat loaf when I was growing up. I stuck to her recipe faithfully until I became vegetarian in my 20s. Let me just say right now that most vegetarian alternatives to meat loaf are to be avoided at all costs unless that’s all you have in the vaccuum-sealed bags in your bomb shelter and the alarm has sounded. Seriously. However, I did make a few interesting discoveries during that decade of my life that carried over to my kitchen life when I climbed back on the meat wagon. One such thing is using oats in meat loaf rather than bread crumbs. Of course, using oats when the other ingredients are tofu and sunflower seeds and…well…NO MEAT…doesn’t make for a very tasty dinner. But, just swapping the bread crumbs for some oats works really well!And, I’m led to believe it may help reduce cholesterol if used for 30 consecutive days!

Truth be told, I had not done this for several years. My meat loaf was still widely appreciated, so I stuck with Mom’s recipe most of the time. But, yesterday afternoon I was hanging out with Rhett & Link on UStream during their live broadcast and I mentioned my dinner plans. Link noticed my comment in the chat window and said, “Meat loaf? Don’t use bread crumbs…use oats.” And, I figured, hey…why not use oats?

So, here’s my recipe, which is mostly Mom’s, slightly modified over the years, and most notably modified by the use of Quaker 1-Minute Oats,

though, you can use long-cooking if that’s what’s in your pantry. (Images are clickable for full-sized view.)

Ingredients and Assembly

Ingredients
2 lbs fresh meat loaf mix
(I use 2 parts ground chuck to 1 part ground pork)
2 eggs (beaten)
1-1.5 cups coarsely chopped onion
(I used Vidalia here)
1/2 cup worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
(nothing labelled “catsup” has ever been in my pantry…who knows what that stuff is?)
2 cups dry rolled oats, very briefly processed (like, 2 pulses)
1/4 cup dried parsley (or 1/2 cup chopped, fresh, flat-leaf)
salt, pepper

Instructions
Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. I start with the meat, add the wet ingredients, then the dry on top, though I have no idea why. Wash your hands well, remove rings and watches, then get in there with both hands and SQUISH, SQUISH, SQUISH until everything is uniformly blended. Really, it’s the only way. Then, pick up the whole meaty mess and slap it between your hands a few times to remove any air pockets that might make crevices in the loaf during baking. Form it into a loaf and place on a prepared pan.

Voila! Gorgeous!

Here, you can see I’ve used my broiler ban with the bottom portion lined with foil for easy cleanup later and the top portion prepared with cooking spray. I made a double recipe here, so there are 2 loaves shown. I like to shape the loaves with squared ends and a flattened top because then all the slices come out about the same height and width except for the very ends. I have found I get more bang for the buck that way. I never use loaf pans. I find the loaf is difficult to extract and all the fat is trapped on the bottom.

Bake at 350 degrees fahrenheit for 50-60 minutes until nicely browned. Remove from oven and let stand for 5 minutes before serving.
I served mine with mashed potatoes last night. We ate very late, so there was no veggie, but I usually serve this with broccoli first steamed, then tossed in some olive oil with a little garlic and oregano. I eat my meat loaf with ketchup which offends my husband nearly to the point of distraction. If I haven’t remembered to heat up some jarred beef gravy, he will use A-1 Steak Sauce on his.

Please comment! Let me know if you like meat loaf, if you have a cool meat loaf recipe, or of you think you might try this one!

Your Daily Bread

Acts 10:9 The next day, as they went on their journey and drew near the city, Peter went up on the housetop to pray, about the sixth hour. 10 Then he became very hungry and wanted to eat; but while they made ready, he fell into a trance 11 and saw heaven opened and an object like a great sheet bound at the four corners, descending to him and let down to the earth. 12 In it were all kinds of four-footed animals of the earth, wild beasts, creeping things, and birds of the air. 13 And a voice came to him, “Rise, Peter; kill and eat.” 14 But Peter said, “Not so, Lord! For I have never eaten anything common or unclean.” 15 And a voice spoke to him again the second time, “What God has cleansed you must not call common.”

Filed Under: Recipe Box Tagged With: dinner, meat loaf, recipes, Rhett & Link, Rhett and Link, UStream

Asian Slaw – Oh-so-Good!

October 13, 2008 By JardinPrayer 5 Comments

I had something called “Asian slaw,” in a restaurant a few months ago…it might have been a Panera or some place like that…I don’t recall. Anyway, I loved it. “I wish I had a recipe for that, ” I said to myself. Then one afternoon I was planning a cookout and I had a bag of shredded cabbage & veggies. I just wasn’t in the mood for mayonnaise that day. I tend to prefer vinegar salads while my husband is a mayo man. Since there is no accounting for taste and since I was the one in command of the kitchen on that day (which is not always the case…hubby is an awesome cook!), I decided to experiment with an Asian dressing for the slaw. We’re both fairly good at deconstructing flavors in a dish and have had some success at reproducing more than a few dishes we’ve enjoyed in restaurants. Here’s what I came up with. I’m very slightly modifying the dressing recipe based on the taste, so I haven’t actually tried the version I’m giving you here, but I know this is how I’ll make it next time and that it will be awesome! Let me know if you try it!

Here’s what yesterday’s batch looked like, presented in hubby’s grandmother’s awesome footed bowl:

And, here’s the recipe:

1 bag cole slaw (or veggie slaw)
1/2 cup sliced almonds

Dressing
1/2 cup rice vinegar
3 TBS sesame oil (dark)
juice of 1/2 lime
1/2 inch piece of fresh ginger, finely minced
(or 1/2 tsp powdered ginger)
1/4 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp toasted sesame seeds
1 tsp black sesame seeds

Combine all ingredients for dressing and pour over slaw and almonds. Cover and chill at least 2 hours.

There you go. So, are you a vinegar person or a mayo person?

Your Daily Bread

Genesis 1:29 And God said, “See, I have given you every herb that yields seed which is on the face of all the earth, and every tree whose fruit yields seed; to you it shall be for food. 30 Also, to every beast of the earth, to every bird of the air, and to everything that creeps on the earth, in which there is life, I have given every green herb for food”; and it was so. 31 Then God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good.

Filed Under: Recipe Box Tagged With: asian, cole slaw, dressing, food, Panera, receipes

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