Author: QuiltLady

WEEKLY MENU PLANS

Menu Plan Monday hosted by Laura at I’m an Organizing Junkie


 DATE BREAKFAST LUNCH DINNER
MONDAY 5/26 YOGURT SANDWICHES PECAN CHICKEN in MAPLE CREAM SAUCE from LYNN’S PARADISE CAFE
TUESDAY 5/27 BAGEL & CREAM CHEESE FRUIT & CHEESE C.O.R.N.
WEDNESDAY 5/28 YOGURT SOUP TIPSY CHICKEN from CARPENTER STREET SALOON
THURSDAY 5/29 FRUIT FRUIT & CHEESE SNAPPER WRAPPERS SNAPPER PATRICK from PAT’S FISHERMAN’S WHARF
FRIDAY 5/30 CEREAL SALAD SMOTHERED PORK CHOPS from THE DINNER BELL
SATURDAY 5/31 FARMER’S BREAKFAST OUT BLT HASH BROWNS from LYNN’S PARADISE CAFE
SUNDAY 6/1 BAKED EGG BOATS  C.O.R.N HOT BROWN from THE BROWN HOTEL

BAKED EGG BOATS

BAKED EGG BOATS
1 (13.2 oz) Pillsbury Simply Rustic French Bread, sliced in half, crosswise
2-4 slices bacon
2 JUMBO eggs
2 tablespoons heavy cream
2 slices Havarti cheese
1/4 cup grated sharp cheddar
2 scallions, finely sliced
1 pinch coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

  • Preheat oven to 350˚.
  • Place bread halves on a lightly greased baking sheet. Slide into the oven and bake for about 20 minutes. 
  • While these bake, dice the bacon and cook until crispy. Remove the bacon from the skillet and drain on paper towels. 
  • Remove loaves from oven and slice a long hole in the middle of them, lengthwise. Pull out some of the dough filling inside each loaf, creating little boats. 
  • Lay the slice of Havarti inside the cavity, creasing it into the edges to make a deep hole.
  • Whisk together the eggs and heavy cream until well blended. 
  • Add the bacon, cheese, scallions, a pinch of salt and pepper. Whisk to combine.
  • Pour the filling into each loaf boat and top with grated cheddar.
  • Bake an additional 20 to 25 minutes, until set in the center and golden brown.
  • Serve immediately!

FARMER’S BREAKFAST

This is another one of those recipes that has floated around for so long that I have no idea what I tore it out of. The paper has yellowed, the edges look like they have been gnawed on, but the flavor is the same!

1/4 cup butter
2 cups small cubed uncooked potatoes
1 large bunch green onion, sliced thin
1 cup cubed ham
6 eggs
3/4 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1/4 teaspoon white pepper
2 tablespoons heavy cream
1 cup shredded Monterey Jack/Mild Cheddar combo

  • Melt butter in cast iron pan.
  • Add potatoes and onions. Sprinkle with celery salt.
  • Cover and cook over a medium high heat, stirring occasionally until evenly brown and golden, about 20 minutes.
  • Add the ham and cook another 5 minutes.
  • Reduce the heat to low.*
  • Whisk together the eggs, salt, pepper and cream until well blended.
  • Pour egg mixture over ham and potatoes, cover and cook until eggs are almost set, about 10 minutes.
  • Occasionally run a knife of spatula around the edge to allow eggs to run down and not burn.
  • Sprinkle with cheese and cover again until cheese melts.
  • Cut into wedges and serve with toasted Oat Sunflower Bread.

*Using an electric stove, I switch burners and start with a cooler burner at this point since cast iron does not cool down as quickly. I like the cast iron though for the nice crisp edge to the potatoes.

KENTUCKY HOT BROWN

Tonight we tried the HOT BROWN from THE BROWN HOTEL from OFF THE EATEN PATH by Morgan Murphy from Southern Living.  I did have to make a couple of small substitutions but we loved it and cannot even think about changing the substitution back.
THE HOT BROWN serves 4

1/4 cup butter

1/3 cup flour

4 cups heavy cream 

10 tablespoons Pecorino Romano cheese, divided**

salt and pepper, to taste

1 pound thinly sliced turkey (I used Costco sliced and it was perfect)

4 Texas toast slices (I used thick Sourdough)

4 plum tomatoes, sliced lengthwise (I used grape tomatoes halved and scattered)

1/4 teaspoon paprika

8 cooked bacon slices

2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

  • Preheat broiler with rack 4 inches from heat.
  • Melt butter in a heavy 2 quart saucepan over medium low heat.
  • Whisk in the flour until smooth and golden.
  • Gradually whisk in cream over medium heat, whisking constantly until thick and bubbly.
  • Stir in 1/2 cup cheese, salt and pepper, stirring to blend.
  • Place toast slice in the bottom of a lightly greased casserole dish.
  • Top with turkey slices.
  • Top with tomatoes.
  • Spoon cheese sauce over tomatoes.
  • Sprinkle with the remaining cheese.
  • Broil 5 minutes or until cheese begins to brown.
  • Sprinkle with paprika.
  • Top with bacon pieces.
  • Sprinkle with parsley.
  • Enjoy.

**I didn’t realize I was out, but I was, so I substituted sharp cheddar and it was lick the plate clean good.

ORANGE CARROT CAKE with ORANGE CREAM CHEESE FILLING and PINEAPPLE CREAM CHEESE ICING

I made this for Christmas dinner’s dessert, but it should have been a meal in itself. DEFINITELY making this one again and again!!
ORANGE CARROT CAKE with ORANGE CREAM CHEESE FILLING and PINEAPPLE CREAM CHEESE ICING

CAKE
4 eggs, room temperature
3 cups flour
2 teaspoons finely shredded orange peel
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
2 1/4 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup spiced rum
1/2 cup golden raisins
2 cups finely shredded carrots
1 cup flaked coconut
1 – 11 ounce can mandarin orange sections, drained WELL and coarsely chopped

  • Pour rum over raisins and set aside for at least an hour.
  • Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  • Line pans with waxed paper and grease and flour the paper in 3-8 inch cake pans.
  • In a large bowl sift together the flour, baking soda, orange peel, salt and sugar.
  • In another bowl cream together the canola oil, vanilla and 1 egg. Add additional eggs and beat until well creamed.
  • Add dry ingredients gradually until well blended.
  • Fold in carrots and coconut blending well.
  • Drain raisins and oranges WELL and fold in last.
  • Spoon batter into prepared pans.
  • “drop” pans to settle batter evenly.
  • Bake 30-45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.
  • Cool 10 minutes.
  • Remove layers from pans and remove wax paper.
  • Invert cakes onto rack and cool completely before assembling.

*As an option you could soak the raisins in orange juice instead and then substitute 1 teaspoon maple flavoring for the rum. But my favorite way is to use Parrot Bay Coconut rum.

ORANGE CREAM CHEESE FILLING
6 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup orange marmalade
1/2 cup powdered sugar

  • In a medium mixing bowl beat cream cheese until fluffy.
  • Add orange marmalade and powdered sugar.
  • Spread half the filling between each layer.
  • Frost top and sides of cake.

PINEAPPLE CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
16 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup butter, softened
2 tablespoons pineapple juice
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 cups powdered sugar

  • In a medium bowl beat cream cheese and butter until smooth.
  • Add lemon juice and vanilla. Beat until blended.
  • Add powdered sugar gradually until well blended and smooth.
  • Ice first layer and then add 2nd cake top and ice again including sides of cake.
  • Refrigerate 1 hour to set icing before serving.

SNAPPER WRAPPERS

SNAPPER PATRICK from PAT’S FISHERMAN’S WHARF was a fantastic choice!!  I will make this again and again, but next time I will go simpler and make it more of a casserole bake.

SNAPPER WRAPPERS
1 pound lump crabmeat, drained (I used chopped flaked Krab)
4 skinned red snapper fillets (any white fish would work)
1 teaspoon salt (we felt this was too much-next time I’ll use 1/4 teaspoon)
1 teaspoon garlic powder (we felt this was too much-next time I’ll use 1/2 teaspoon or fresh)
1 teaspoon ground red pepper
1/4 cup butter, melted
2 tablespoons water
lemon wedges (I used lemon slices under each roll up while cooking)

  • Preheat oven to 400˚.
  • Pick crabmeat, removing any bits of shell.
  • Cut snapper fillets in half lengthwise.
  • Top each fillet with about 1/3 cup crabmeat.
  • Roll up fillets and secure with wooden toothpicks.
  • Blend together the salt, garlic powder and red pepper.
  • Combine melted butter and water in the bottom of your baking dish, blending well.
  • Sprinkle 1 teaspoon of seasoning mix over top of the butter  mixture.
  • Arrange roll ups in baking dish.
  • Sprinkle roll ups with remaining seasoning mixture.
  • Bake uncovered for 16-18 minutes or fish flakes when tested with a fork.
  • Plate roll ups. 
  • Spoon pan drippings over roll ups before serving.
  • Serve with lemon wedges.

GRAN’S OLD FASHIONED POT ROAST

Super Savory Pot Roast & Veggies

I love Pot Roast. I adapted grams old recipe to my family and their likes.


2-3 pound Pot Roast
2 medium Onions
1 bag baby carrots
3 Tablespoons Avocado Oil
3 large Yukon potatoes~scrubbed clean, but not peeled
Kosher Salt
White & Black Pepper
3 teaspoons minced garlic
1 teaspoon rosemary
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon Pampered Chef Rosemary mix
Beef bullion
Red Wine (2 cups) OR White Wine (2 cups) or plain old broth

Pre-heat the oven to 350 degrees. The meat you use is important. My favorite roast is the chuck roast because it has wonderful marbling throughout the meat, and when cooked right (prep, cover, cook ~ don’t fiddle with it while it’s in the oven) any chuck roast winds up being tender and melt-in-your-mouth delicious. Be aware that the tougher the piece of meat is, the longer it needs to cook so that the connective tissue will soften and break down. You truly can’t rush a pot roast, you’ll be disappointed if you try as it will be dry or lack flavor. BE PATIENT. You want the meat to basically fall apart. You SHOULD NOT need a knife to cut it.


Bring the piece of meat to room temperature. GENEROUSLY sprinkle the first side of meat with the Kosher Salt and Pepper mix. Heat enough olive oil in the bottom of a fry pan to make a thick coating. Heat to a medium-high heat. Cut the onions tip to root, cut off root and stem, peel and lay flat into hot oil. Brown both sides well. Remove to side. Add the baby carrots and do the same. I normally cut each carrot just in half. Brown carrots and like Ree said you’re trying more for color here than cooking. They will have plenty of time to cook in the oven. I also like to add my garlic (I use the bottled minced garlic from the produce section) and spices at this point. By this time I have put them all into a mortar and pestle to revive their scents and aromas. When carrots are finished, remove them to the same plate as the onions. If necessary add more olive oil to the pan and add the roast seasoned side down. While it’s browning season the other side really well Brown both sides and all edges really well.


Now, for the oven I like to use my grandma’s old Magnalite dutch oven which cooks really even! And see those little hobnail bumps in on the bottom side of the lid? Those are better known as drip catchers. They collect the steam from the juices and redistributes it all right back down on the roast as it cooks. These help keep the meat moist and juicy. After the roast is browned, place it in the dutch oven and spread vegetables all around it.

While fry pan is still hot, add white or red wine and the beef bullion to deglaze the pan ~ make sure you scrape up all the stuck little bits from the bottom. Cook long enough to mix well and then pour over the roast. The liquid should come up at least half way on the sides of the roast and vegetable mixture. For this recipe we added the white wine to the recipe and drank the red. The red wine, Harrod wine, is from our nephew’s vineyard so we don’t waste it cooking, but enjoy every last drop.

Put the lid on the dutch oven, put it in the oven, don’t open the door for AT LEAST 3 hours! Today’s roast was 2.39 pounds and I roasted it for 3 1/2 hours. Go relax or at least get the dishes you’ve dirtied so far done up. At 3 hours, I prep the potatoes for boiling. I too, prefer not to cook mine with the roast ~ I prefer a bit of substance instead of the mush they become with the roast. I do a basic mashed with heavy cream, salt, pepper, and butter (hey you gotta splurge a little sometimes!)

We get 2 meals out of these proportions. Now to us eating starts with the eyes ~ so make it pretty. I love my polish pottery, all of it is unique one-of-a-kind creations and decorates a table and your meal so easily!

BREWED CHOCOLATE CHUNK COOKIES

BREWED CHOCOLATE CHUNK COOKIES
1 cup butter, softened
2 1/4 cups King Arthur all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon fine sea salt
1 teaspoon Baker’s Brew Coffee Spice
2 extra large eggs
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup C&H blue agave amber nectar
1 teaspoon PURE Madagascar Vanilla
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1 cup Black Walnuts chopped fine

  • Preheat oven to 350°.
  • Sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt and Baker’s Brew Coffee Spice. Set aside.
  • In the base of your mixer cream together the butter, sugar, vanilla and amber nectar until well blended.
  • Add eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition.
  • Add flour mixture gradually, beating to incorporate after each addition.
  • Add nuts and chocolate pieces until evenly distributed.
  • Drop by spoonfuls into cookie sheet.
  • Bake 10 minutes or until golden.
  • Rest 2 minutes before removing from cookie sheet.
  • Cool on wire rack.

CHICKEN CHILE CORN CUSTARDS

This recipe turned out fantastic and would be perfect your next brunch gathering. It also makes a wonderful cold winter’s night meal.

CHICKEN CHILE CORN CUSTARDS
2 medium fresh poblano or Anaheim chile peppers, roasted
1 small sweet red pepper, roasted
2 cups rotisserie chicken pieces
5 eggs, lightly beaten
3/4 cup whipping cream
1 1/2 cups Green Giant white corn niblets, drained
3/4 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese
1 can green chiles, drained well
1/2 cup soft bread crumbs
2 tablespoons fresh chopped chives
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

  • Preheat oven to 425˚.
  • Grease 6 six ounce ramekins.
  • Place ramekins in a 13×9 baking dish.
  • In a large bowl combine eggs and cream.
  • Fold in peppers, corn, chicken, cheese, bread crumbs, chives, chili powder, salt and pepper.
  • Pour mixture evenly into ramekins.
  • Place baking dish on center rack in the middle of the oven.
  • Add 1 inch of boiling water to the baking dish.
  • Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a knife inserted comes out clean.
  • Remove ramekins from water and serve on plates.

    ALWAYS REMEMBER

    Last year someone told me that Memorial Day no longer means as much because we have so many intermixed cultures in the U.S. now.  I beg to differ.  While it has become a 3 day weekend to most, it is NOT just about picnics, BBQ’s and swimming.  Remember that without those brave men and women who died and are honored on Memorial Day, you may not have the rights that you do have.  All of our freedoms came with a price for some and an observance for all.
    Memorial Day is about honoring the countless individual acts of bravery and sacrifice. This holiday is also about honoring the brave men and women who make it home. That means keeping our promises to America’s veterans. This Memorial Day, we remember all the Americans who gave their lives in defense of America. They died so that we may be free – and we are forever in their debt. Too many people have lost sight of the meaning of this holiday. If you visit How to Observe Memorial Day you can read the whole article, but here is an excerpt that lists the highlights.

    “…gather around their sacred remains and garland the passionless mounds above them with choicest flowers of springtime….let us in this solemn presence renew our pledges to aid and assist those whom they have left among us as sacred charges upon the Nation’s gratitude,–the soldier’s and sailor’s widow and orphan.”

    ~~General John Logan, General Order No. 11, 5 May 1868

    “The “Memorial” in Memorial Day has been ignored by too many of us who are beneficiaries of those who have given the ultimate sacrifice. Often we do not observe the day as it should be, a day where we actively remember our ancestors, our family members, our loved ones, our neighbors, and our friends who have given the ultimate sacrifice:

    • by visiting cemeteries and placing flags or flowers on the graves of our fallen heroes.
    • by visiting memorials.
    • by flying the U.S. Flag at half-staff until noon.
    • by flying the ‘POW/MIA Flag’ as well (Section 1082 of the 1998 Defense Authorization Act).
    • by participating in a “National Moment of Remembrance”: at 3 p.m. to pause and think upon the true meaning of the day, and for Taps to be played.
    • by renewing a pledge to aid the widows, widowers, and orphans of our fallen dead, and to aid the disabled veterans.”
    Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday observed on the last Monday of May. Formerly known as Decoration Day, it commemorates U.S. men and women who died while in the military service. First enacted to honor Union soldiers of the American Civil War (it is celebrated near the day of reunification after the civil war), it was expanded after World War I to include American casualties of any war or military action.
    It is the 
    VETERAN    ,  not the preacher,   
    who has given us freedom of religion. 

    It is the     

    VETERAN,  not the reporter,    
    who has given us freedom of the press.

    It is the     

    VETERAN,  not the poet,
    who has given us freedom of speech.

    It is the     

    VETERAN,
    not the campus organizer,
    who has given us freedom to assemble.        

    It is the     

     VETERAN,  not the lawyer,
    who has given us the right to a fair trial.      

    It is the     

    VETERAN,  not the politician,
    Who has given us the right to vote.     

    It is the
    VETERAN     

    who salutes the Flag, 


    It is the
    VETERAN     
    who serves under the Flag.

    Always remember and never forget!

    “The National Moment of Remembrance, established by Congress, asks Americans wherever they are at 3 p.m., local time, on Memorial Day to pause in an act of national unity (duration: one minute).The time 3 p.m. was chosen because it is the time when most Americans are enjoying their freedoms on the national holiday. The Moment does not replace traditional Memorial Day events; rather it is an act of national unity in which all Americans, alone or with family and friends, honor those who died for our freedom. It will help to reclaim Memorial Day as the sacred and noble holiday it was meant to be. In this shared remembrance, we connect as Americans.”

    SAVORY KITCHEN TABLE

    Do you ever get yourself spread so thin that you just want to start over?  LOL I know you do.  We ALL do at some point.  Savory Kitchen Table is my start over point.  I’m working on this being the perfect collection of the tried and true recipes worthy of repeat appearances for my family and yours as well as the BEST parts, photos and memories of life as it happens. Life IS WHAT IT IS and should be celebrated, the ups AND the downs.
    All of my other blogs will be phased out over the next few weeks and Savory Kitchen Table will be an accumulation of our life around the kitchen table and that won’t always be recipes because more than food happens around the kitchen table, at least at our house. It will also include product reviews (good and bad)!