Leftovers. Well, sort of leftovers. We had some lamb chops left over from Biltoki's so I massacred them, by cooking them too long, and we ate them with a potato dish I made up and steamed white asparagus. We also had a marinated avocado appetizer. Take an avocado, halve it and then douse it with olive oil and balsamic vinegar. Yummo!
Potato Gratin (serves two)
two small potatoes, sliced very, very thinly
1 onion, 3 cloves of garlic, and 8 ounces of mushrooms sauteed in two tbs of olive oil.
1/2 c sharp cheddar cheese
1/2 c dark beer
Oil the bottom of a small casserole dish, and then layer it with potatoes. Add a layer of the onion mixture, and then a layer of cheddar cheese. Do it again. Then add one more layer of potatoes and a layer of cheese. Pour the beer over the casserole and bake at 400 for 25 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly.
We are having Rob's stew tonite. Let you know about it tomorrow.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Finally, We Are Home
We finally made it back to Elko on Sunday evening, January 3. Because it was late and we didn't want to cook we had doctored pizza. It's the only way to go.
On Monday, we had soup with greens, but I added some of the leftover turkey from earlier in the week. It was really great.
Tuesday, I had still not been to the grocery store. I had to come up with something, so we had couscous and salmon. I had some premade salmon patties in the freezer. Salmon burgers really. I cooked them in the frying pan with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, until they were cooked through. I made couscous, which is easy. Take the couscous, follow the package directions and voila in 5 minutes you have a great side dish. I then sauteed a bunch of dried mushrooms that I had rehydrated along with one sliced onion and some sliced garlic. I put the couscous on the plate, layered it with the salmon burger and then topped it with the mushroom/onion mixture. I steamed some white asparagus and we had a meal.
Wednesday, our friend Doug came to dinner. He is quite the pasta lover, so I thought it would be good to make a big ole pasta dinner. We had baked Tortelloni with garlic bread and salad.
Baked Tortelloni
For the sauce.
1.25 pounds of ground turkey, browned.
1 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes with italian seasoning
1 can of tomato sauce
1 onion sauteed
4 cloves of garlic chopped and sauteed.
1/4 c sugar.
1/2 c. red wine.
2 tbs. of tomato paste
Let the above simmer for as long as you can before you make your meal.
1 pound of dried tortelloni, cooked in 3 quarts of boiling, salted, and oiled water.
1 pound of parmesan cheese grated
In a casserole dish, spread the bottom with sauce, add a layer of dried tortelloni, and a layer of cheese. Continue this until you reach the top of the casserole. Finish with a layer of parmesan cheese.
Cook at 400 for 45 minutes until the cheese is golden and the filling is bubbly.
Serve this with garlic bread and a salad. Amazing.
Friday, we went out to Machi's with David Buchler's parents, Beth and Howard. It was a gas. We talked for ever. Made challah and gave Beth a loaf.
Saturday, we went to dinner at Biltoki's with Mira and Gary. A great time. We are lucky to have such good friends.
Sunday, Spicy ramen noodles with chicken. This is a take on a recipe from Cook's Illustrated.
Saute one chicken breast that has been cut into thin strips in one tbs. of olive oil. Remove the chicken from the pan and add, the white part of 6 green onions that have been chopped along with one tbs of olive oil. Add 2 cloves of garlic, and 1 tbs. of minced garlic. Saute for about one minute and then add 2 tbs of soy sauce, 1 tsp of asian garlic chili sauce, and 2 cups of chicken broth. Add 10 ounces of sliced mushrooms and let simmer for 10 minutes, or until the mixture is reduced by half.
Meanwhile, boil some water and cook the noodle portion of three 3 ounce ramen noodle packets. Discard the seasoning packet. Once the noodles are soft, add them to the liquid mixture and mix in the chicken. Sprinkle with the green part of the green onion and enjoy.
Oh yes, I am caught up. Yeah!!!!
On Monday, we had soup with greens, but I added some of the leftover turkey from earlier in the week. It was really great.
Tuesday, I had still not been to the grocery store. I had to come up with something, so we had couscous and salmon. I had some premade salmon patties in the freezer. Salmon burgers really. I cooked them in the frying pan with a little olive oil, salt and pepper, until they were cooked through. I made couscous, which is easy. Take the couscous, follow the package directions and voila in 5 minutes you have a great side dish. I then sauteed a bunch of dried mushrooms that I had rehydrated along with one sliced onion and some sliced garlic. I put the couscous on the plate, layered it with the salmon burger and then topped it with the mushroom/onion mixture. I steamed some white asparagus and we had a meal.
Wednesday, our friend Doug came to dinner. He is quite the pasta lover, so I thought it would be good to make a big ole pasta dinner. We had baked Tortelloni with garlic bread and salad.
Baked Tortelloni
For the sauce.
1.25 pounds of ground turkey, browned.
1 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes with italian seasoning
1 can of tomato sauce
1 onion sauteed
4 cloves of garlic chopped and sauteed.
1/4 c sugar.
1/2 c. red wine.
2 tbs. of tomato paste
Let the above simmer for as long as you can before you make your meal.
1 pound of dried tortelloni, cooked in 3 quarts of boiling, salted, and oiled water.
1 pound of parmesan cheese grated
In a casserole dish, spread the bottom with sauce, add a layer of dried tortelloni, and a layer of cheese. Continue this until you reach the top of the casserole. Finish with a layer of parmesan cheese.
Cook at 400 for 45 minutes until the cheese is golden and the filling is bubbly.
Serve this with garlic bread and a salad. Amazing.
Friday, we went out to Machi's with David Buchler's parents, Beth and Howard. It was a gas. We talked for ever. Made challah and gave Beth a loaf.
Saturday, we went to dinner at Biltoki's with Mira and Gary. A great time. We are lucky to have such good friends.
Sunday, Spicy ramen noodles with chicken. This is a take on a recipe from Cook's Illustrated.
Saute one chicken breast that has been cut into thin strips in one tbs. of olive oil. Remove the chicken from the pan and add, the white part of 6 green onions that have been chopped along with one tbs of olive oil. Add 2 cloves of garlic, and 1 tbs. of minced garlic. Saute for about one minute and then add 2 tbs of soy sauce, 1 tsp of asian garlic chili sauce, and 2 cups of chicken broth. Add 10 ounces of sliced mushrooms and let simmer for 10 minutes, or until the mixture is reduced by half.
Meanwhile, boil some water and cook the noodle portion of three 3 ounce ramen noodle packets. Discard the seasoning packet. Once the noodles are soft, add them to the liquid mixture and mix in the chicken. Sprinkle with the green part of the green onion and enjoy.
Oh yes, I am caught up. Yeah!!!!
It's Quick and Easy
We hit a point during the week when I needed things to be quick and easy as we were doing a lot of traveling around and skiing.
Wednesday, we had quick chicken pot pie. Use the leftovers from the golden mushroom chicken, add some green beans, carrots and potatoes, cover it with the pilsbury bread dough, bake for 40 minutes at 375 until crust is golden and filling is bubbly.
Thursday, we sent Lili to her mom and we had leftovers.
Friday, Christmas Day we went to India kebab and Curry our favorite Indian restaurant.
Saturday, we had turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and green beans. A sort of traditional holiday meal, but not really. The stuffing was out of a box, and the potatoes were plain ole mashed.
On Sunday, we went to Cindy's and her sister Jenny made slamon and squash with a baked potato. Very good.
Monday: Leftovers
Tuesday, Vietnamese at Golden Flower with Tyler and Jen, Ash, Jeri and Camil. Golden Flower is not great vietnamese. The broth for the soup is way too cloudy and greasy.
Wednesday: WE had dinner with Stephanie and John at The Cadillac Ranch. It was a good meal. Very enjoyable. I think I would go there again. It's very much pub food. Easy to have a good time and relax. It was great to see Stephanie and John.
Thursday: New Year's Eve. We stayed home, because we did. We had a roast chicken from Safeway, left over stuffing and steamed asparagus. AT midnight we ate twelve grapes and drank champagne. It was nice to be with Rob.
Friday: We went to Temple Beth Or for services and the dairy oneg afterward. I made a rice dish to take.
Cheese Rice Casserole
1 cup rice cooked with two cups of water.
3/4 c. soy milk
3/4 c cream cheese
salt and pepper
21 seasoning salute, from Trader Joe's
3/4 c cheddar cheese
1 c green beans
2 small tomatoes
1 onion, diced and sauteed
2 tbs olive oil.
1/2 c sharp cheddar cheese
juice of one lemon
1 tsp. smoky paprika
Heat the soy milk in a pan and add the cream cheese along with salt and pepper to taste. Stir the mixture until the cream cheese melts. Add the 21 seasoning salute, or any other kind of seasoning blend you like. Take off the heat and add 3/4 c of cheddar cheese. Stir until the cheddar cheese is melted.
Saute the cooked green beans and the onion in a pan add the juice of the lemon and then add to the cooked rice. Take this mixture and add it to the cheese mixture.
Put all this in a casserole dish and cover with the sharp cheddar cheese and the smoky paprika.
Bake at 400 for 25 minutes or until golden. Chop the two tomatoes finely and sprinkle them over the top just before serving. This was really yummy for just using what I had in the refrigerator.
Saturday the 2nd was leftovers. Chicken and stuffing. We then went out to a cool club called St James Infirmary. We'll go there again.
Wednesday, we had quick chicken pot pie. Use the leftovers from the golden mushroom chicken, add some green beans, carrots and potatoes, cover it with the pilsbury bread dough, bake for 40 minutes at 375 until crust is golden and filling is bubbly.
Thursday, we sent Lili to her mom and we had leftovers.
Friday, Christmas Day we went to India kebab and Curry our favorite Indian restaurant.
Saturday, we had turkey, stuffing, potatoes, and green beans. A sort of traditional holiday meal, but not really. The stuffing was out of a box, and the potatoes were plain ole mashed.
On Sunday, we went to Cindy's and her sister Jenny made slamon and squash with a baked potato. Very good.
Monday: Leftovers
Tuesday, Vietnamese at Golden Flower with Tyler and Jen, Ash, Jeri and Camil. Golden Flower is not great vietnamese. The broth for the soup is way too cloudy and greasy.
Wednesday: WE had dinner with Stephanie and John at The Cadillac Ranch. It was a good meal. Very enjoyable. I think I would go there again. It's very much pub food. Easy to have a good time and relax. It was great to see Stephanie and John.
Thursday: New Year's Eve. We stayed home, because we did. We had a roast chicken from Safeway, left over stuffing and steamed asparagus. AT midnight we ate twelve grapes and drank champagne. It was nice to be with Rob.
Friday: We went to Temple Beth Or for services and the dairy oneg afterward. I made a rice dish to take.
Cheese Rice Casserole
1 cup rice cooked with two cups of water.
3/4 c. soy milk
3/4 c cream cheese
salt and pepper
21 seasoning salute, from Trader Joe's
3/4 c cheddar cheese
1 c green beans
2 small tomatoes
1 onion, diced and sauteed
2 tbs olive oil.
1/2 c sharp cheddar cheese
juice of one lemon
1 tsp. smoky paprika
Heat the soy milk in a pan and add the cream cheese along with salt and pepper to taste. Stir the mixture until the cream cheese melts. Add the 21 seasoning salute, or any other kind of seasoning blend you like. Take off the heat and add 3/4 c of cheddar cheese. Stir until the cheddar cheese is melted.
Saute the cooked green beans and the onion in a pan add the juice of the lemon and then add to the cooked rice. Take this mixture and add it to the cheese mixture.
Put all this in a casserole dish and cover with the sharp cheddar cheese and the smoky paprika.
Bake at 400 for 25 minutes or until golden. Chop the two tomatoes finely and sprinkle them over the top just before serving. This was really yummy for just using what I had in the refrigerator.
Saturday the 2nd was leftovers. Chicken and stuffing. We then went out to a cool club called St James Infirmary. We'll go there again.
Linzer Torte
Linzer Torte
12 servings
1 c butter
1 c sifted all purpose flour
1 1/2 c unpeeled almonds, ground
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/8 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp cinnamon
2 egg yolks
1/3 c. raspberry jam
1/2 c egg white, slightly beaten
1 1/2 tbs. confectioners sugar.
1. Preheat to 325.
2. Chop butter into flour. Add the almonds.
3. Mix the sugar with the cloves, cinnaomon, and egg yolks. Add to the flour mixture, and knead the dough until smooth and well-blended.
4. Turn two-thirds of dough into a nine-inch tart pan. Press dough over bottom and halfway up sides. Spread with jam.
5. Roll egg-sized balls of the remaining dough between the palms to make long rolls about one-third to one-half inch in diameter and about eight inches long. Place the rolls on a baking sheet and chill until firm.
6. Using a spatula, lift the rolls and arrange lattice style over the jam. Fasten to the dough around the rim of the pan by pressing lightly.
7. Brush with egg white and bake on the lowerr shelf of hte oven about one hour and fifteen minutes.
8. Set the pan on a rack and partly cool the tart before removing the rim pan. Before serving, sprinkle the tart with confectioners' sugar, and if desired, slivered almonds.
12 servings
1 c butter
1 c sifted all purpose flour
1 1/2 c unpeeled almonds, ground
1/2 c. granulated sugar
1/8 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp cinnamon
2 egg yolks
1/3 c. raspberry jam
1/2 c egg white, slightly beaten
1 1/2 tbs. confectioners sugar.
1. Preheat to 325.
2. Chop butter into flour. Add the almonds.
3. Mix the sugar with the cloves, cinnaomon, and egg yolks. Add to the flour mixture, and knead the dough until smooth and well-blended.
4. Turn two-thirds of dough into a nine-inch tart pan. Press dough over bottom and halfway up sides. Spread with jam.
5. Roll egg-sized balls of the remaining dough between the palms to make long rolls about one-third to one-half inch in diameter and about eight inches long. Place the rolls on a baking sheet and chill until firm.
6. Using a spatula, lift the rolls and arrange lattice style over the jam. Fasten to the dough around the rim of the pan by pressing lightly.
7. Brush with egg white and bake on the lowerr shelf of hte oven about one hour and fifteen minutes.
8. Set the pan on a rack and partly cool the tart before removing the rim pan. Before serving, sprinkle the tart with confectioners' sugar, and if desired, slivered almonds.
Friday, January 8, 2010
It Sure Is Taking Forever
It really is taking forever for me to get things catalogued in this blog after our trip. It's the 12th of January and I'm still blogging about December 20th. We had pot stickers for dinner. Pretty easy. They come already made and then I created some sauce for them, and away we went. The sauce is just soy sauce, srirachi hot sauce and a little rice wine vinegar. Great dipping.
On Tuesday the 21st, we had Warm Rueben Pie, Blinzes, Russian Tea Cookies, and Rugelach.
I was a busy cooker.
Warm Rueben Pie: Cooks Illustrated Magazine.
Lili picked this one out and it was good, although if I made it again, I would change the sauce a little bit.
1 1/2 lb. of corned beef, or pastrami if you can't get corned beef.
1 lb. of swiss cheese, or we used dutch havarti because we had it.
1 tube of pillsbury ready to bake bread
1 1/2 cup of sauerkraut.
The recipe asks you to make a sauce, but I'd just get thousand island dressing in a bottle and use that. The dressing the recipe calls for is too sweet.
Unroll the bread and create a circle. On one half pile the meat, the cheese and the sauerkraut. Spread the dressing on the top. Pull the other half of the dough over the fillings and crimp the dough together to cover it. Brush the top with an egg wash and then sprinkle with caraway seeds or fennel seeds.
Bake at 400 for 20 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
I also made blintzes which are a crepe filled with ricotta cheese and fruit. I got the recipe from the Marin Independent Journal.
Lemon and Dried Blueberry Blintzes
Servings 8 (16 blintzes)
For the crepes: 1 1/4 cup all purpoe flour
2 tsps powdered sugar
4 large eggs
1 1/4 c low fat milk
3/4 c. water
6 tablespoons butter melted,plus more for brushing.
For the filling:
2 cups part-skim ricotta cheese
3 tbs. sour cream, plus extra for serving
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 tsps lemon zest
3/4 c dried blueberries.
To make the crepes, in a blender combine the flour,powdered sugar, eggs, milk, water and melted butter. Blend until smooth. Let the batter rest, refrigerated for 20 minutes or up to one day. Heat a 10 inch nonstick skillet or crepe pan over mediuim heat . Brush the pan with melted butter. You many only need to do this for every other crepe. Pour 1/4 cup of the batter into the center of the pan, then immediately tilt and rotate the pan to spread the batter evenly over the bottom. Cook the crepe until the edges are lightly browned and beginning to curl up -- about 2 to 3 minutes.
Carefully loosen the edges of hte crepe witha spatula and flip the crepe over in the pan. Cook until the second side is slightly browned, about another 20 seconds. Slip the crepe onto a plate. Prepare the remaining crepes in the same manner. There should be enough batter for 16 crepes.
To make the filling, in a medium bowl stir togetherthe ricotta, sour cream, sugar, egg, egg yolk, lemon zest, and dried blueberries.
To assemble the blintzes, one at a time place a crepe on a clean work surface with the paler side facing up. Place 2 tbs of filling at the center of the crepe. Fold the opposite sides of the crepe over the center until they barely touch. Fold in the other two sides to make an envelope that completely encloses the filling.
Put the blinzes back in the crepe pan with some butter and warm until golden brown. Serve with jam, or sour cream.
It's not the holidays without these special cookies.
Russian Tea Cookies
1 c butter softened
1/2 c. sifted confectioners sugar
1 tsp of vanilla
2 1/4 c of flour
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 c finely chopped pecans.
Mix the first three ingredients together thoroughly and then add the flour salt and pecans. Form the dough into a ball and then chill it for up to an hour. Form small balls from the dough and bake at 400 for 10 - 12 minutes. Roll in confectioners sugar when you take them from the oven and then once again when they have cooled.
I'm posting the rugelach in a separate entry.
On Tuesday the 21st, we had Warm Rueben Pie, Blinzes, Russian Tea Cookies, and Rugelach.
I was a busy cooker.
Warm Rueben Pie: Cooks Illustrated Magazine.
Lili picked this one out and it was good, although if I made it again, I would change the sauce a little bit.
1 1/2 lb. of corned beef, or pastrami if you can't get corned beef.
1 lb. of swiss cheese, or we used dutch havarti because we had it.
1 tube of pillsbury ready to bake bread
1 1/2 cup of sauerkraut.
The recipe asks you to make a sauce, but I'd just get thousand island dressing in a bottle and use that. The dressing the recipe calls for is too sweet.
Unroll the bread and create a circle. On one half pile the meat, the cheese and the sauerkraut. Spread the dressing on the top. Pull the other half of the dough over the fillings and crimp the dough together to cover it. Brush the top with an egg wash and then sprinkle with caraway seeds or fennel seeds.
Bake at 400 for 20 minutes or until the crust is golden brown.
I also made blintzes which are a crepe filled with ricotta cheese and fruit. I got the recipe from the Marin Independent Journal.
Lemon and Dried Blueberry Blintzes
Servings 8 (16 blintzes)
For the crepes: 1 1/4 cup all purpoe flour
2 tsps powdered sugar
4 large eggs
1 1/4 c low fat milk
3/4 c. water
6 tablespoons butter melted,plus more for brushing.
For the filling:
2 cups part-skim ricotta cheese
3 tbs. sour cream, plus extra for serving
1/4 c. granulated sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
2 tsps lemon zest
3/4 c dried blueberries.
To make the crepes, in a blender combine the flour,powdered sugar, eggs, milk, water and melted butter. Blend until smooth. Let the batter rest, refrigerated for 20 minutes or up to one day. Heat a 10 inch nonstick skillet or crepe pan over mediuim heat . Brush the pan with melted butter. You many only need to do this for every other crepe. Pour 1/4 cup of the batter into the center of the pan, then immediately tilt and rotate the pan to spread the batter evenly over the bottom. Cook the crepe until the edges are lightly browned and beginning to curl up -- about 2 to 3 minutes.
Carefully loosen the edges of hte crepe witha spatula and flip the crepe over in the pan. Cook until the second side is slightly browned, about another 20 seconds. Slip the crepe onto a plate. Prepare the remaining crepes in the same manner. There should be enough batter for 16 crepes.
To make the filling, in a medium bowl stir togetherthe ricotta, sour cream, sugar, egg, egg yolk, lemon zest, and dried blueberries.
To assemble the blintzes, one at a time place a crepe on a clean work surface with the paler side facing up. Place 2 tbs of filling at the center of the crepe. Fold the opposite sides of the crepe over the center until they barely touch. Fold in the other two sides to make an envelope that completely encloses the filling.
Put the blinzes back in the crepe pan with some butter and warm until golden brown. Serve with jam, or sour cream.
It's not the holidays without these special cookies.
Russian Tea Cookies
1 c butter softened
1/2 c. sifted confectioners sugar
1 tsp of vanilla
2 1/4 c of flour
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 c finely chopped pecans.
Mix the first three ingredients together thoroughly and then add the flour salt and pecans. Form the dough into a ball and then chill it for up to an hour. Form small balls from the dough and bake at 400 for 10 - 12 minutes. Roll in confectioners sugar when you take them from the oven and then once again when they have cooled.
I'm posting the rugelach in a separate entry.
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