Honey Mustard Chicken

Made this up as I went along...

I was going to make a sort of hoppin' john thing, but I was running short of time and we had rice yesterday, anyhow. Stir-fried pork with onion and green pepper and blackeyed peas with corn and a thai-type dressing (fish sauce, lime juice, cilantro)

Fried Rice

With pork and lots of veggies.

Tuna Melt, again

This was much better than the last time I made it. Sliced provolone cheese Sliced whole grain bread 6 oz can of tuna, drained well 2 Tb or so of mayonnaise Three green onions, minced 1/2 stalk of celery, minced 1/2 tsp oregano salt and pepper Preheat the broiler in the oven. Mix the tuna with rest of the ingredients (except for the bread and cheese ;> ) and spread evenly on the bread (one can of tuna makes enough tuna salad for three or four slices of bread). Top each slice with provolone cheese, place the slices on a baking sheet, and place inder the broiler for a few minutes, until the cheese is melted and just browning. Serves one or two.

Strawberry Shortcake

Sweet buttermilk biscuits and whipped cream. Mmmmmmmm!

Steak and Egg Sandwich

Haloscan commenting and trackback have been added to this blog.

Pan-broiled steak

with Maître D'Hôtel Butter, Roasted Hazelnut Asparagus and Baked Potato.

Reubens

Corned Beef and Cabbage

Chocolate Frosted Yellow Cupcakes

This is why ...

...I'm glad I have a digital camera... ...but need an ipod: heh.

Balloon Heads!

I'm officially domesticated now, eh?

Purim

We went to my father's cousin's house for the seudah, and I should have gotten pictures of the food, but I forgot. There were roasted turkey and potatoes, steamed veggies with onions, applesauce and challah. Some yummy hamantaschen (I don't like the poppyseed ones, though) and chocolate covered cherries, too.My sister looks radiant as always, and my brother is supposed to be dressed as John Lennon on the cover of Abbey Road. That's grape juice El's drinking. ;)

Smoked Sausage and Sauerkraut

This was just cheap precooked smoked beef sausage that I cut up, browned, and added about a cup of sauerkraut to while scraping up the fond stuck on brown stuff from the pan.

Another blustery day.

Being able to be outside for more than 20 minutes at a time definitely makes me want to use my camera more.

Spring!

We went to the park today. I feel like we haven't been out in months! It rained for the last few days and now everything smells like thawed dirt. I can't wait to show Ellie the crocuses when they come up. She insisted on bringing the "kite" we made yesterday. I have to find dowels the right length so we can make one that actually flies.

Roast Pork Loin with Duxelles

Roast Pork Loin: (I used a very small roast here; a half pork loin is about 3 or 4 pounds, the time suggested for cooking would be a minimum) Position a rack in the center of the oven and heat it to 450F. Take a pork loin roast and liberally season it with salt, pepper, sage, thyme and rosemary. Place on a rack in a roasting pan and cook for 15 minutes. Reduce the heat to 250 F and cook for another 45 minutes to an hour, until the internal temperature of the roast is 155 F. Remove from the oven and tent with foil while you prepare the duxelles. Duxelles: 2 Tb butter 8 oz mushrooms, wiped clean and diced very small 1/2 cup minced chopped onion 1 Tb dry sherry 1/4 cup heavy cream a pinch of dried thyme a pinch of nutmeg Melt the butter in a large skillet and heat over medium-low heat. Add the onion and cook until slightly translucent, then add the mushrooms. When the mushrooms have let up and evaporated their water, add the sherry and deglaze the pan. add the remaining ingredients, and cook until thickened, stirring often. Carve the roast, spread the duxelles filling between the slices, and arrange on a serving platter.

Chicken Piccata

with Shrimp and Mushroom Risotto and Sauteed Spinach with Pine Nuts. Recipe for Shrimp and Mushroom Risotto here (scroll down to "happy rice") Chicken Piccata: Three boneless chicken breast halves (about 1.5 pounds), pounded very thin and cut in half if very large (you can usually find pounded out chicken cutlets at the grocery store, but they cost, like, twice as much and it's not hard to do it yourself.) salt and pepper 1/3 cup flour 2 Tb butter, divided 1 Tb oil 1/2 cup chicken broth 2 Tb rinsed capers 2 Tb lemon juice 2 Tb chopped parsley Heat the oven to 200 F and have a baking sheet ready. Mix the flour and salt and pepper, and dredge the flattened chicken breasts in it, shaking off the excess flour. Melt 1 Tb of the butter and the oil in a large skillet over medium heat and saute the coated breasts until they are nicely browned on both sides and the thickest pieces are at least 165 F. Place on the baking sheet and keep warm in the oven. (you may have to cook the breasts in batches.) When the chicken has finished cooking, add the chicken broth and deglaze the pan. Cook until thickened slightly, then add the lemon juice, capers and parsley and heat through. Stir in the remaining butter and serve over the chicken. Serves 3. Sauteed Spinach with Pine Nuts: 16 oz bag spinach leaves (or you could clean and destem a bunch or two of spinach) 1/4 cup pine nuts 1 garlic clove, minced tiny 2 Tb oil Heat the oil over medium heat in a large skillet or dutch oven. Add the pine nuts, and cook, stirring, until lightly browned. Add the garlic and the spinach and cook, tossing quickly in the pan (tongs can be useful here) until the spinach is just wilted. Remove from heat and serve immediately.

I generally hate this sort of thing...

...but I think this is kinda cool. My Johari Window My Nohari Window

Cheesecake Pie

To make this, I cut a recipe down a bit, because I don't have a springform pan, and even my largest pie or cake pans do not have as large a capacity as one. I was huddled over the counter with a calculator trying to keep the ingredients in proportion to one another, and I remembered why I've never been much of a baker. Cheesecake Pie Graham Cracker Crust: 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (putting graham crackers in a bag and rolling over them with a rolling pin works pretty well) 6 Tb melted butter 1/4 cup sugar 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon 1/4 tsp ground nutmeg Mix the ingredients together and press into a large greased pie pan. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until lightly browned and solidified. Cheesecake Batter: Have all ingredients at room temperature, and heat oven to 450F. In a large bowl, beat two pounds of softened cream cheese until smooth and creamy. Gradually beat in 14 oz (1 cup plus 1/4 cup plus 2 Tb plus 1 Tsp) sugar and 1 Tb flour; this is the last chance you get to make sure there are no lumps of cheese before you add in the eggs. Add 1 tsp lemon zest and 1/2 tsp vanilla. Beat in, one at a time, 4 large eggs and one egg yolk. Try not to over mix the eggs, because if you beat enough air into them, the batter will rise dramatically in the oven, and then fall, like a souffle. When the eggs have been wholly incorporated, beat in 3.2 oz (1/4 cup plus 2 Tb plus 1 tsp) heavy cream slowly. Pour the batter into the crust, scraping the sides with a spatula and smoothing it into the crust evenly. I had about a cup left over, and I was worried that it would spill over, but it probably wouldn't have. I made "cheesecake creme brulee" out of the extra batter Bake for 15 minutes at 450F, and then lower the temperature to 200F and bake for another hour. Let cool in the oven for a half hour with the oven door held ajar by a wooden spoon or something similar. Let cool completely before serving, preferably refrigerating at least a day or two, to let the custard set and the cheese flavor intensify.

Roasted Pork Loin

Pork Loin Stuffed with Cornbread and Apples Cornbread and Apple Stuffing 1 1/2 tablespoons butter 1/2 cup finely chopped smoked ham 1/2 cup finely chopped onion 1/4 cup finely chopped celery Kosher salt Freshly ground black pepper 3/4 cup diced (1/4-inch) peeled apple 1/2 teaspoon dried sage 1 1/2 cups crumbled and dried homemade cornbread or dried cornbread stuffing mix 1/4 cup apple juice, or more 1 egg, beaten lightly Heat the butter in a medium skillet over medium-low heat; add ham and cook 3 minutes. Add onion, celery and a pinch each of salt and pepper; cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Stir in the diced apple and cook 1 minute. Transfer apple mixture to a large bowl, sprinkle with sage, and stir in cornbread crumbs, apple juice and egg. The mixture should be moist but not too wet. Add more apple juice if the mixture seems dry. Adjust the seasonings and set aside. Stuffed Pork Loin 1 # boneless pork loin (I buy half pork loins and split them into chops and small roasts) 1/2 tsp salt 1/2 tsp ground black pepper 1/2 teaspoon dried sage 2 small apples, peeled, halved, cored and cut into 1/2-inch slices Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Lay the meat, fat-side down, on a large cutting board and make a lengthwise cut two-thirds through the loin. Open up the cut so you have a large rectangle of meat. Place fat-side down and cover with a sheet of plastic wrap. Using a meat pounder, or similar implement of destruction, carefully but authoritatively flatten the meat to an even thickness. 3/4 of an inch is about right. {{WHen I typed up the notes for this I marked places to put pictures of the assembly of the roast, but I forgot to take them. The picture here is of someone else's roast, as is the next link}} Remove the plastic wrap and spread the stuffing evenly over the meat, leaving a 3/4–inch border. Roll up the meat like a jelly roll, so that stuffing is in a spiral pattern. Tie the rolled roast at 2-inch intervals with butcher’s twine. {{rolled and tied}} Place the rest of the stuffing in a small greased baking dish to cook alongside the roast. Combine salt, pepper, and sage and sprinkle over the roast. Lay the sliced apples on the bottom of a roasting pan slightly larger then the roast and set the roast, fat-side up, on the apples. Put the roast in the oven and cook for 15 minutes, then turn the oven down to 325 F and roast for about 45 minutes, until the internal temperature is 145 F. Transfer it to a cutting board, tent loosely with foil, and let rest while you make the sauce. Transfer the apples to a bowl with a slotted spoon and keep warm. Roasted Apple Sauce Reserved apples from pork loin recipe 2 Tb dry sherry 1/2 cup chicken stock 1/2 cup apple juice or cider 2 Tb heavy cream Skim the fat from the roasting pan, leaving the meat juices on the bottom. Put pan over medium-high heat, add the sherry and deglaze pan allowing the alcohol to burn off, about 15 seconds. Add stock, apple juice and cream. Increase heat to high and bring liquid to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring, until reduced by half. Adjust the seasoning and keep warm while you carve the pork roast. Remove the twine from the roast and cut it into 1/2-inch thick slices. Arrange the pork on a serving platter, spoon the sliced apples around the meat and pour the sauce over all. Serves 4-ish.

Cherry Cheesecake Creme Brulee

(Attempt one) This needs to be tweaked. The custard did not set quite as I had hoped. Still very tasty!

Chicken Soup with Matzah Balls

Chicken Soup 1 qt chicken stock 1 chicken breast or leg quarter (bone-in) 1 stalk of celery, chopped 1 carrot, chopped 1 clove of garlic, smashed 1 small onion, quartered bay leaf dill salt pepper 1/2 cup thinly sliced carrot 1/2 cup thinly sliced celery Combine all ingredients in a large saucepan except for the sliced carrot and celery, adding water if necessary to cover everything in the pot. Bring to a boil and simmer for about an hour. When the chicken is completely cooked, strain the broth and reserve some of the cooked chicken to add back to the soup. Bring broth, chicken, and sliced vegetables to a simmer and cook, covered, until the vegetables are cooked. Matzah Balls (makes 10) 1/2 cup matzah meal 2 large eggs 2 Tb oil 2 Tb water 1/2 tsp salt pepper Beat the eggs and mix in the oil, water, salt, and pepper. Stir the matzah meal into the egg mixture, cover and refrigerate for at least a half hour. Bring 4 qts of water to a boil, and add 1 tsp salt. With moistened hands, form 1" diameter balls from the matzah meal/egg mixture and drop into the boiling water. Reduce heat to low, and simmer, covered, for a half hour. Remove with slotted spoon.

Krispy Treats

Krispy Treats 1/4 cup plus 1/2 tsp butter 10 ounces marshmallows 6 cups crisp rice cereal (faux fruity pepples here) Butter a 13x9" pan. Melt the butter in a large saucepan over low heat. Add the marshmallows and stir until completely melted. Remove from heat. Add cereal. Stir until well coated. Using a buttered spatula, press mixture evenly into the prepared pan. Cut into squares when cool. Makes 24 2"x2" squares.

Shabbos Chicken

My mom used to make this almost every Friday night when I was a kid. She uses Mrs Dash, but I don't use that, so I substituted the dried herbs. 4 pieces bone-in chicken (I used 2 leg quarters) 1 minced clove of garlic soy sauce paprika dried oregano dried basil dried thyme ground pepper Preheat the oven to 375 F. Season the chicken liberally with the rest of the ingredients. Place in a roasting pan with 1/3 cup of water and bake for about an hour.