RECIPES – Page 273 – Chasing MY Life WHEREVER it Leads ME

Sesame Garlic Green Beans

1½ pounds fresh green beans, trimmed
1 bunch green onions, finely sliced
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon sugar
2 teaspoons minced garlic (jar)

Cook the green beans for 5 minutes in boiling water.

While the beans are cooking, combine the soy sauce, sugar and oil, set aside. Spray a sauté pan with PURE. Over a medium heat sauté green onions and garlic until soft. Add the beans. Stir several minutes until well coated. Add soy sauce mixture, stirring constantly until most of the liquid is absorbed.

Hamburger Steaks with Parmesan Potatoes and Onion Gravy

HAMBURGER STEAKS
1 pound ground chuck
1 pound hamburger
1 sleeve Keebler club crackers, crushed
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon white pepper
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 cloves minced garlic
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 Jumbo eggs
1 tablespoon liquid Smoke – MYSTERY ingredient
PARMESAN MASHED POTATOES
6 medium red potatoes, washed and cut into pieces
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4-1/2 cup Buttermilk
ONION GRAVY
3 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons self-rising flour
1 tablespoons cream sherry
2 cups hot water
1 tablespoon better than bouillon beef base
1 teaspoon Kitchen Bouquet
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all the hamburger steak ingredients until well mixed. Form six steaks.
Bake 30 minutes in convection oven at 350 degrees.
In a large skillet melt the butter for the gravy. Saute the onions until browned.
Add the bouillon base, cream sherry and hot water. Bring to a boil.
Reduce heat, add flour and continue cooking to desired consistency.
Bring potatoes to a boil until tender. Drain.
Combine potato ingredients and beat until smooth.
Enjoy

BOSTON CREAM PIE

When I was a little girl Boston Cream Pie was my FAVORITE Sunday dinner dessert and my grandma made it for me regularly until I was about 10 years old and then Sunday dinners as we knew them stopped on a regular basis. Since then I have craved Boston Cream Pie on a regular basis and finally have resurrected her recipe.

According to about.com, Boston Cream Pie is “Not a pie, but not your average cake, Boston Cream Pie is one of the city’s signature recipes. A descendant of pudding-cake pie, the Boston cream pie is considered to be the creation of French chef Sanzian of the Parker House Hotel (now the Omni Parker House). In 1996 the Boston Cream Pie was named the official dessert of Massachusetts. Use this recipe to make one yourself, and find out what makes the Boston Cream Pie such an enduring favorite.”

CAKE

1 cup sugar
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 JUMBO egg
1 1/4 cup cake flour
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup whole milk

CUSTARD***

1/3 cup sugar
scant 3 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 cup whole milk
3 JUMBO egg yolks
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
3 tablespoons unsalted butter

GLAZE

2 ounces semi-sweet chocolate
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 cup powdered sugar
3/4 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons hot water

CAKE
Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter and flour a 9 1/2-inch springform baking pan. I use a square one to make pieces easier to cut.

Combine the butter, sugar, and vanilla in a bowl. Cream together using an electric mixer until the mixture is light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, beating thoroughly after each one.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, cream of tartar and salt. Combine with the creamed mixture and add the milk.

Pour batter into the prepared pan*. Bake in the middle of the oven for 50 to 60 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Remove from oven and let the cake cool in the pan on a wire rack.

CUSTARD
Combine the cornstarch, sugar, milk, eggs, cream, vanilla extract, and salt in a saucepan. Whisk until smooth.

Bring the custard to a boil over moderate heat, whisking constantly. Continuing to whisk, let the custard boil for two minutes.

Remove from heat, and whisk in the butter. Set custard aside to cool, continuing to whisk occasionally.

GLAZE
In a double boiler, melt together the chocolate and butter until smooth. remove from heat and stir in powdered sugar and vanilla. Stir in hot water 1 teaspoon at a time until desired consistency.

BUILDING THE PERFECT PIE
Remove the cake from the pan and cut it in half horizontally with a long serrated knife.

Place one half of the cake on a plate with the cut side facing up. Top with custard.

Place the other half of the cake on top, with the cut side down.

Coat the top of the cake with glaze allowing it to drip down the sides.

*I like to use my square spring form pan for a couple of reasons; it make cutting pieces a lot easier since the slices when it is cut as a pie tend to try and fall over and my serving plate is rectangular in shape.

***The traditional custard substitutes in this recipe for a pineapple custard which is what we like to do.

TRADITIONAL CARNITAS

CARNITAS (my most favorite way to make this recipe)
2-3 pound boneless pork roast with fat
1 can Old El Paso verde enchilada sauce
1 large onion, chopped fine
2 cloves garlic, minced, Jar
sea salt
white pepper

Pre-heat oven to 300 degrees.
Lightly spray your baking dish with PURE.
GENEROUSLY salt and pepper both sides of your roast. Put in the baking dish.
Cover the roast with the onion pieces.
Whisk the minced garlic into your enchilada sauce.
Pour over the onions and roast to coat well.
Cover loosely with foil.
Bake for 3 hours or until fork tender.
Remove to cutting board with a juice well.
Shred the meat and return to pan with the juices.
Increase heat to 325 degrees.
Cook uncovered 30 minutes until tops are slightly crispy.
Turn the meat and bake another 30 minutes. There should be virtually no juices left.
Serve with warm tortillas, guacamole and salsa.

This makes enough for 4 large burritos. It is a lot of time and work so I usually double everything and then portion out for freezer packs.

CHEESECAKE APPLE CRISP

CRISP
2-3 large Granny Smith apples (4 Cups)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup apple juice

TOPPING
2/3 cup flour
1/2 cup old fashioned oatmeal
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 small box cheesecake flavored instant pudding

Preheat oven to 350°.
In a large mixing bowl combine all CRISP ingredients and mix well. Pour into an un-greased stoneware pan.
In a mixing bowl combine the topping ingredients and mix until crumbly.
Sprinkle topping over apple mixture.
Bake 45-60 minutes or until apples are tender and topping is crisp and golden.
Serve warm with a scoop of French vanilla ice cream.

CROCKPOT LASAGNA

1 1/2 pounds hamburger

1 medium onion, chopped
2 teaspoons garlic, minced jar
14.5 ounce can Hunt’s Diced Balsamic vinegar, Basil and olive oil tomatoes
13.5 ounce can Popeye chopped Spinach
15 ounce can Contadina Italian Herb tomato sauce
2 tablespoons Classico Sun Dried tomato pesto
1 tablespoon Pampered Chef Italian Herb mix or equivalent
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon white pepper
16 ounces ricotta cheese
8 Lasagna noodles, no boil bake
8 ounces mozzarella cheese
PURE

Brown hamburger with onion and garlic. Drain off fat.
Mix together the diced tomatoes and spinach, juice and all.
Whisk together the sauce,pesto and seasonings.
Pour the tomato and spinach mixture over the meat mixture and toss together. Allow to drain again.
Generously spray the crock pot liner with PURE.
Layer as follows & cook on low 3 hours

1/2 of the sauce
noodles broken to fit
meat mixture
noodles
ricotta cheese
meat mixture
noodles broken to fit
other 1/2 of sauce
mozzarella cheese

I cut into here so you could see the layers

CLEANING THE FRIDGE SOUP

I love this soup! I make it whenever I clean the refrigerator. I start with all the vegetables that are on then wilting side. You’ll notice the tomatoes are a bit wrinkly and the lettuce is limp. I clean all the outsides and trim the edges and then put them all in the pressure cooker with 3 cups of homemade chicken broth. When the rocker starts, I let it go for 10 minutes and then let it cool naturally. I’ll use whatever I have, fruit included, last time there was also a banana, apple and kiwi in the mix.

After it cools I open it and drain the broth out through a colander Then I mash all of the vegetables and and let them drain through the colander for a few minutes also.

I add 1 tablespoon of sea salt and 1 teaspoon of white pepper to the broth and a 2 1/2 pound chuck roast to the broth. I start the pressure cooker again and when it starts rocking let it rock for 20-25 minutes this time. I let it cool down naturally again.

I mix the vegetables back in and add 2 cups dry pasta and let it simmer for an hour.

You haven’t wasted anything because it’s wilted and you have a super tasty soup. It makes 8 servings.

SAUCES & REDUCTION SAUCE SPELLED OUT

Sauces typically consist of a flavorful liquid such as stocks, milk, cream, vegetable purees or butter and a thickener, an ingredient or combination of ingredients that gives the sauce a thicker consistency such as:

Roux ~ which is equal parts fat and flour combined together over a low heat until a consistent paste is formed
Cornstarch ~ a fine, white powder made from the ground starch removed from corn
Arrowroot ~ is similar to cornstarch but made from ground plant roots
Liaison ~ a mixture of egg yolks and heavy cream, whisked together and carefully incorporated into a warm sauce.

The Five Classic French Mother Sauces are:

Béchamel – is a rich, creamy, smooth white sauce with a subtle onion flavor made by simmering an onion studded with whole cloves in milk and then adding the infused milk, minus the onion, to a white sauce.
Velouté – a rich, smooth, light colored sauce made by thickening chicken, veal or fish stock with roux.
Espagnole – full-bodied sauce made by adding brown roux, pureed tomatoes and mirepoix (combination of onions, carrots and celery) to brown stock; usually used to make demi-glace.
Tomato – traditionally made by adding a roux to tomatoes, vegetables and stock.
Hollandaise – a smooth, buttery, pale yellow sauce made by whisking melted butter into a mixture of egg yolks, lemon juice or vinegar. Hollandaise sauce is the only mother sauce served as is.

In ‘classical’ French cooking, sauces are a defining characteristic of French cuisine.

In the 19th century, the chef Antonin Carême classified sauces into four families, each of which was based on a mother sauce which are also called grandes sauces. Carême’s four mother sauces were:

Béchamel, based on milk, thickened with a white roux.
Espagnole, based on brown stock (usually veal), thickened with a brown roux.
Velouté, based on a white stock, thickened with a blonde roux.
Allemande, based on velouté sauce, is thickened with egg yolks and heavy cream.

In the early 20th century, the chef Auguste Escoffier updated the classification, adding sauces such as tomato sauce, butter sauces and emulsified sauces such as Mayonnaise and Hollandaise.

A sauce which is derived from one of the mother sauces is sometimes called a small sauce, or secondary sauce. Most sauces commonly used in classical cuisine are small sauces, or derivatives of one of the above mentioned mother sauces.

Mother sauces are not commonly served as they are, but are augmented with additional ingredients to make small or derivative sauces. For example, Bechamel can be made into Mornay by the addition of Gruyère or any cheese one may like, and Espagnole becomes Bordelaise with the addition and reduction of red wine, shallots, and poached beef marrow.

To make a reduction sauce, start by preparing the meat as you normally would. Remove the meat from the pan and allowed to rest while you make the sauce. Remove the excess fat so that the sauce will not be greasy. Increase the volume of the pan drippings by adding stock, cream, wine, balsamic vinegar, or meat juices.

Allowed the sauce to simmer so that it reduces in volume. This reduction makes the sauce dense and thick, so that it can be used like a gravy. It also concentrates the flavors. As a result, reduction sauces are often very strongly flavored, and most cooks use only a little bit, so that the flavor does not becomes overwhelming. Reduction sauce can be poured over meat like a gravy, or arranged as a visual appeal on the plate.

Often the sauce is pressed through a sieve to clarify out chunks of vegetables or meat parts. Often it is paired with other sauces or flavorings and each person can layer the flavors as desired.

ANGEL WINGS with BANANA DROPS & STRAWBERRY KISSES

I had something similar in a restaurant in Carmel a few years back, well by similar I mean that it had the angel food cake and strawberries. I embellished a bit by adding the bananas, mocha hot fudge and caramel sauce, but I think a little decadence is good. All in all the hot fudge and caramel are the only caloric portions of this dessert. It LOOKS more decadent than it is!

What do you get when you use these ingredients?

ANGEL WINGS with BANANA DROPS & STRAWBERRY KISSES
1 slice angel food cake per person*
3 strawberries per person
1/2 banana per person
2 tablespoons MOCHA HOT FUDGE SAUCE per person
2 tablespoons CARAMEL SAUCE per person
whipped cream

Slice cake in half diagonally and arrange on plate.
Sprinkle banana slices and strawberry slices randomly around angel food cake pieces.
Pour

*I like to make loaf angel food cakes for this recipe

RITZY CARROT & BROCCOLI CASSEROLE

Grams made this as a broccoli casserole for years and I recently converted it to include carrots (I love the color combo), remove the yucky for you condensed soup and then I also discovered Joanne at Eats well with Others who is hosting BSI for this month – talk about perfect timing!

RITZY CARROT & BROCCOLI CASSEROLE
4 medium carrots
2/3 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons butter
pinch cinnamon

Wash, peel and slice carrots diagonally.
In a saucepan combine the water, salt and sugar.
Add carrots. Bring to a boil.
Turn down heat to simmer and cook until JUST tender crisp.
Drain.
Toss with butter and cinnamon.

6 broccoli crowns, washed and trimmed into 2 inch pieces (stalks also)
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 Jumbo egg
1 small Vidalia onion, chopped
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
salt and pepper to taste
4 tablespoons butter
1 1/3 cups ritz cracker crumbs**
4 tablespoon flour
1/2 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cook broccoli in boiling, salted water or steam until JUST tender.
Drain well, cool slightly and toss with carrots and onions.
Layer into a greased 9×9 baking dish.
Top with cracker crumbs.
Melt butter in bottom of saucepan. Whisk in the flour until smooth.
Add the chicken broth, milk, mayonnaise and egg, whisking until smooth.
Pour over broccoli mixture.
Cover and bake 40 minutes.
Top with cheese and bake uncovered an additional 10 minutes.
Let stand 5-10 minutes before serving.

**I love to substitute Keebler buttery garlic club crackers and add garlic!

PERFECT BUTTERED CARROTS

4 medium carrots
2/3 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon sugar
3 tablespoons butter
pinch cinnamon
parsley

Wash, peel and slice carrots diagonally.
In a saucepan combine the water, salt and sugar.
Add carrots. Bring to a boil.
Turn down heat to simmer and cook until JUST tender crisp.
Drain.
Toss with butter and cinnamon.
Garnish with a pinch of parsley.

Cooking The Italian Way – Risotto

You want to know how to make a room full of southern Italians (Sicilians no less!) become. Completely. Quiet.

We’re talking pin-dropping silence here. Tension so thick you could cut it. With a scalpel. (Oh, anatomy lab. It all comes back to you now, doesn’t it…)

I don’t know if you’ve ever met a Sicilian before. But we’re not exactly known for our indoor voices. Imagine a construction crew. Blasting TNT. Outside your window. That’s the volume that my father speaks at. In normal conversation.

So this is no easy feat.

Unless of course. You know the magic word.

Risotto.
Risotto is a northern Italian dish you see. And southern Italians? Don’t get along very well with northern Italians. So when you tell your Sicilian family that you’re making risotto for dinner. It doesn’t always go over so well.

There may be yelling and screaming. But most likely. There will be silence. Because they are so mad that words just don’t suffice (that’s the irony of this whole being loud thing. They are loud when they’re happy. Loud when they’re angry. And silent when they’re livid.)

So then you sit them down. And explain to them that we live in a modern world. A world in which everyone should live in peace and harmony, with no animosity towards anyone else.

They may look at you skeptically. They may be seething with rage. There will probably be sighing. And head shaking. (What did we DO to raise a daughter like this?)

But they love you. And so they sigh. And begrudgingly agree to eat the risotto. That you have stood over the stove cooking for the past thirty minutes. Stirring. And stirring. And stirring. (Why hello carpal tunnel syndrome, how nice to meet you!)

So you sit down to eat. And what ensues? Is more silence. Because they are eating. And eating. And eating. And eating.

Whoever said that food heals all wounds. (Yes I totally took creative license with that idiom. Time is nice. But food is better.) Definitely knew what they were talking about it.
So here are two of my favorite risotto recipes. You can make them with arborio rice. Which is the traditional way to do it. I usually use orzo because it’s less expensive and more readily available. The directions are the same either way and the end product is equally as delicious!

Orzotto with Leeks and Sun-dried Tomatoes
Serves 4, adapted from Williams-Sonoma Risotto

8 cups broth
2 tbsp olive oil
3 leeks, white parts only
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 lb orzo
1 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, julienned
2 tbsp butter

Bring the broth to a simmer. Heat the oil.

Saute the leeks and the pepper until softened (season with salt!), about 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.

Add the orzo to the pan and saute for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the wine. Cook on medium heat until the wine is almost evaporated, stirring constantly. Add in the simmering stock a ladleful at a time, each time waiting until it is almost all evaporated to add the next ladle.

Stir. Constantly.

When the orzo is tender, stir in the leek/pepper mixture and the sun-dried tomatoes. Cook to heat through. Remove from the heat and stir in the butter. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Orzotto with Spinach
Serves 6, adapted from Williams-Sonoma Risotto

7 cups broth, lightly simmering
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, chopped into small pieces
1 lb spinach, chopped
3 cups orzo (or arborio rice)
1 cup dry white wine
2 tbsp butter
3 tbsp parmesan cheese
salt and pepper, to taste

1. Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil. Add the onion and saute for 4 minutes. Add the spinach, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 4 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, transfer the spinach to a bowl. Leave as many of the onions as you can.

2. Add the orzo to the pan and saute for 3 minutes. Add the wine and stir until absorbed. Add the stock one ladleful at a time, constantly stirring and only adding the next ladleful once the previous one is almost evaporated. Do this until the orzo is cooked. Then stir in the spinach, butter, and parmesan cheese. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Happy eating! And feel free to check out more Italian recipes on my blog.

Category: RECIPES