We had dover sole for dinner on Monday. I grilled it on the grill, on some aluminum foil for about 4 minutes per side. Any more than that and it dries out. It's a really thin fish.
I made a thai coconut milk/lime rice from Trader Joe's. It was a heat and eat. Great for a Monday night. I also made a quick salad. I used the beluga lentils from Trader Joe's, these are a nice small black lentil. I added two chopped tomatoes, four artichoke hearts that had been packed in water, and then 2 tbs of red wine vinegar, and a splash of olive oil. Add salt and pepper and you have a quick good salad.
Last night, I used up some the rest of the sole. I dredged it in flour seasoned with salt and pepper, and pan fried it, and then created a lemon butter sauce for it. I make this sauce and it's always too lemony, so I've got to cut down on the
lemon. Scrape the pan after you cook the fish, and add 1/4 cup white wine, 1/3 cup lemon, although this is where I'm changing it, 1/4 of lemon juice. Bring this to a boil and then add 4 tbs of room temperature butter. Melt the butter and add 1.5 tbs of capers. Pour over the fish. I served this with artichokes and a baked potato with tomatoes and pecorino romano cheese, and greek yogurt.
Dinner elsewhere tonite. Eating with Tami and Reece and Doug at Tami's house. Yeah! No cooking.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Monday, April 26, 2010
Doug Day
It was Wednesday, so it's a Doug Day. Doug is our friend who lives in Stateline and works for the Department of Transporation. He helped Rob with his campaign for Justice of the Peace years ago and he shows up almost every Wednesday when he is in town for dinner.
I made a shepherd's pie with the leftover venison from Sunday.
Venison Shepherd's Pie
5 carrots, diced into 3/4 inch cubes
1 can of green beans drained
1 lb of grilled venison, that has been cubed
8 oz. of sliced mushrooms
1 onion, diced and sauteed
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 bag of hashbrown potatoes, the obrien kind without the peppers and onions.
1/4 c milk
1/4 c grated parmesan cheese
1/4 c sour cream or greek yogurt
1 package of brown gravy mix
Cook the carrots in boiling water, until they are barely tender.
Saute the onions and garlic, and then add the mushrooms. Add the brown gravy mix and 1 cup of water, stir it all together.
Add the venison and heat it. (Remember, it's already cooked.)
While you are doing this, put on a pot of water to boil. When it is boiling, add the potatoes and cook until tender. This doesn't take very long. Mash them and then mix them with the milk, cheese and sour cream/yogurt.
In a 2 quart casserole mix the carrots, onion/meat mixture and green beans together. Top with the mashed potatoes and bake at 400 for 25 minutes or until bubbling on the sides.
On Thursday, I threw together an anything pizza. It hit the spot with a nice salad. Easy dinner.
Friday and Saturday we were in Reno for a conference and ate cruddy fast food. In and Out Burger, Baja Fresh, Jack In the Box. It's awful I know, but it is what it is.
Sunday, we got home late and had a quick snack. Boned and skinned sardines packed in oil on french baguette with manchego cheese and a lovely dirty martini. What a way to end a great weekend.
I made a shepherd's pie with the leftover venison from Sunday.
Venison Shepherd's Pie
5 carrots, diced into 3/4 inch cubes
1 can of green beans drained
1 lb of grilled venison, that has been cubed
8 oz. of sliced mushrooms
1 onion, diced and sauteed
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 bag of hashbrown potatoes, the obrien kind without the peppers and onions.
1/4 c milk
1/4 c grated parmesan cheese
1/4 c sour cream or greek yogurt
1 package of brown gravy mix
Cook the carrots in boiling water, until they are barely tender.
Saute the onions and garlic, and then add the mushrooms. Add the brown gravy mix and 1 cup of water, stir it all together.
Add the venison and heat it. (Remember, it's already cooked.)
While you are doing this, put on a pot of water to boil. When it is boiling, add the potatoes and cook until tender. This doesn't take very long. Mash them and then mix them with the milk, cheese and sour cream/yogurt.
In a 2 quart casserole mix the carrots, onion/meat mixture and green beans together. Top with the mashed potatoes and bake at 400 for 25 minutes or until bubbling on the sides.
On Thursday, I threw together an anything pizza. It hit the spot with a nice salad. Easy dinner.
Friday and Saturday we were in Reno for a conference and ate cruddy fast food. In and Out Burger, Baja Fresh, Jack In the Box. It's awful I know, but it is what it is.
Sunday, we got home late and had a quick snack. Boned and skinned sardines packed in oil on french baguette with manchego cheese and a lovely dirty martini. What a way to end a great weekend.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Well, It's Wednesday
How can the week move so fast? I just don't get it. Unbelievable!
Monday was leftover day. Lot's of venison, potatoes, and cauliflower left. So, leftovers.
Yesterday, I took some venison that I had cut into stir-fry strips when we were butchering the meat and we had a stir-fry. I used a recipe from the Food Network Magazine. I love that magazine.
Anyway, you take your protein, (venison), mix it with 1 tbs. rice wine vinegar, 1 tbs. of corn starch, and 1 egg white, and let it set covered in the refrigerator for an hour.
Cut up three cups of any combination of vegetables that you want, I used bok choy, carrots, and red peppers, along with the roasted peppers from dinner on Sunday.
You need 2 chopped green onions, 2 tbs of ginger and 3 to 4 chopped cloves of garlic.
Now, drain the liquid off your protein and then cook it in some canola oil in your wok or skillet. when it is opaque take it out, wipe out the pan, add 2 tbs. more canola oil and the garlic, ginger, and green onions. Saute 30 seconds and then start adding your veggies, the ones that take the longest to cook first. Then add your protein and rewarm it, and cook it through. Finally add the sauce,
I made this sauce: 3/4 cup chicken stock, 1 tbs. cornstarch, 3 tbs black bean or oyster sauce, 1 tbs. rice wine vinegar, 1 tbs. soy sauce, 2 tsps. sesame oil. If you like it spicy, add 1 tbs of chili sauce. Mix together.
Stir fry until sauce thickens a little, take it off the heat and serve with rice. It was good. Rob, who loves chinese food, thought it was great!
Monday was leftover day. Lot's of venison, potatoes, and cauliflower left. So, leftovers.
Yesterday, I took some venison that I had cut into stir-fry strips when we were butchering the meat and we had a stir-fry. I used a recipe from the Food Network Magazine. I love that magazine.
Anyway, you take your protein, (venison), mix it with 1 tbs. rice wine vinegar, 1 tbs. of corn starch, and 1 egg white, and let it set covered in the refrigerator for an hour.
Cut up three cups of any combination of vegetables that you want, I used bok choy, carrots, and red peppers, along with the roasted peppers from dinner on Sunday.
You need 2 chopped green onions, 2 tbs of ginger and 3 to 4 chopped cloves of garlic.
Now, drain the liquid off your protein and then cook it in some canola oil in your wok or skillet. when it is opaque take it out, wipe out the pan, add 2 tbs. more canola oil and the garlic, ginger, and green onions. Saute 30 seconds and then start adding your veggies, the ones that take the longest to cook first. Then add your protein and rewarm it, and cook it through. Finally add the sauce,
I made this sauce: 3/4 cup chicken stock, 1 tbs. cornstarch, 3 tbs black bean or oyster sauce, 1 tbs. rice wine vinegar, 1 tbs. soy sauce, 2 tsps. sesame oil. If you like it spicy, add 1 tbs of chili sauce. Mix together.
Stir fry until sauce thickens a little, take it off the heat and serve with rice. It was good. Rob, who loves chinese food, thought it was great!
Monday, April 19, 2010
We Ate at Home
That's what we did last week. We ate at home. On Tuesday, we had leftovers of a sort. I reheated the lentil soup from Monday, and made open faced chicken sandwiches.
Open-faced Chicken Sandwiches
2 pieces multi-grain bread
1 chicken breast from the roast chicken on Friday, sliced thinly
1 onion sliced thinly and sauteed
1/2 chipotle pepper sauteed with the onion
1/2 cup shredded gouda cheese
1 tsp. dijon mustard.
Spread the mustard on each bread slice, place half the chicken on each, add the sauteed onion and pepper and then top with the gouda cheese.
Place under the broiler for 3 to 4 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly.
On Wednesday, our friend Doug came for dinner. I made salad, and baked tortelloni. We love this dish. The recipe appears in an earlier blog. I took some leftover challah, and melted butter, mixed it with chopped garlic and put it under the broiler for about 3 minutes, oh, cover it with parmesan cheese. Then put it under the broiler.
On Thursday, we had leftover lentil soup and artichokes. Neither Rob nor I were very hungry, so it was a nice light meal.
On Friday, it was the Soroptomist wine tasting and then we tried out the new sushi bar in town called Kibuki. OMG, as my daughter would say, it was divine. The freshest fish I've ever eaten, and so flavorful. Rob started talking to the head chef and he called us up to bar, after he had been done for the evening and made us the most heavenly sushi.
Saturday, we played more tennis than is humanly possible, and then went out for dinner to the Blind Onion Pizzeria. It was good, Greek Pizza and Caesar Salad. Easy for me.
Last night I decided to use some of the venison we had in the freezer. We've got to start eating it, so that the freezer is empty when hunting season starts again. I marinated the venison in a bottle of beer, one tbs. of chopped garlic, lemon pepper, and worstershire sauce for about an hour and a half. I grilled it on high heat, until it was just pink. Yummy.
Smoky Paprika Cauliflower
I took a head of cauliflower and cut it up into slices. Doused it with some white wine, and olive oil, and 2 tsps of smoky paprika. I put it into aluminum foil and grilled it cooked it in the packet until the cauliflower was tender. Finish it off with ground black pepper.
Pepper Potatoes:
I cooked a couple of baked potatoes in the oven and roasted some minature sweet peppers on the grill. I sliced up the peppers dressed them with some olive oil and worstershire sauce and then piled that up on top of the potatoes. It was great!
Open-faced Chicken Sandwiches
2 pieces multi-grain bread
1 chicken breast from the roast chicken on Friday, sliced thinly
1 onion sliced thinly and sauteed
1/2 chipotle pepper sauteed with the onion
1/2 cup shredded gouda cheese
1 tsp. dijon mustard.
Spread the mustard on each bread slice, place half the chicken on each, add the sauteed onion and pepper and then top with the gouda cheese.
Place under the broiler for 3 to 4 minutes or until the cheese is bubbly.
On Wednesday, our friend Doug came for dinner. I made salad, and baked tortelloni. We love this dish. The recipe appears in an earlier blog. I took some leftover challah, and melted butter, mixed it with chopped garlic and put it under the broiler for about 3 minutes, oh, cover it with parmesan cheese. Then put it under the broiler.
On Thursday, we had leftover lentil soup and artichokes. Neither Rob nor I were very hungry, so it was a nice light meal.
On Friday, it was the Soroptomist wine tasting and then we tried out the new sushi bar in town called Kibuki. OMG, as my daughter would say, it was divine. The freshest fish I've ever eaten, and so flavorful. Rob started talking to the head chef and he called us up to bar, after he had been done for the evening and made us the most heavenly sushi.
Saturday, we played more tennis than is humanly possible, and then went out for dinner to the Blind Onion Pizzeria. It was good, Greek Pizza and Caesar Salad. Easy for me.
Last night I decided to use some of the venison we had in the freezer. We've got to start eating it, so that the freezer is empty when hunting season starts again. I marinated the venison in a bottle of beer, one tbs. of chopped garlic, lemon pepper, and worstershire sauce for about an hour and a half. I grilled it on high heat, until it was just pink. Yummy.
Smoky Paprika Cauliflower
I took a head of cauliflower and cut it up into slices. Doused it with some white wine, and olive oil, and 2 tsps of smoky paprika. I put it into aluminum foil and grilled it cooked it in the packet until the cauliflower was tender. Finish it off with ground black pepper.
Pepper Potatoes:
I cooked a couple of baked potatoes in the oven and roasted some minature sweet peppers on the grill. I sliced up the peppers dressed them with some olive oil and worstershire sauce and then piled that up on top of the potatoes. It was great!
Tuesday, April 13, 2010
Crazy Day, Comforting Dinner
Monday was crazy. You know how it is, heading back to work after a long break. I was so happy I had made the extra roast chicken on Friday, because we used it last night.
I started out with Lentil Soup. What a hearty, comforting way to begin a meal.
1 onion diced finely,
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 tbs. olive oil
2 carrots cut into small dice
3/4 tsp of smoky paprika or cayenne pepper (if you like heat)
1/2 tsp of cumin
2 bay leaves
8 ounces of fresh spinach
1 large can of chicken broth
8 - 16 ounces of water
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 lb bag of brown lentils.
Saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil for about five minutes and then add the carrot, the paprika, cumin, bay leaves broth, water, lentils, and boullion cube. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer and let cook for 20 minutes or until the lentils are tender. Three or four minutes before you take the soup off the heat add the spinach. Let it cook down and you are ready to serve.
We ate this with mulit-grain bread that I made last week.
For the rest of the meal, I cooked up some asparagus, took some of the left over orzo that hadn't been sauteed with the veggies from Friday, heated it, dressed it with olive oil, red pepper flakes and a dusting of pecorino romano cheese. We ate all this with some of the leftover chicken.
Easy, and filling.
I started out with Lentil Soup. What a hearty, comforting way to begin a meal.
1 onion diced finely,
2 cloves of garlic minced
1 tbs. olive oil
2 carrots cut into small dice
3/4 tsp of smoky paprika or cayenne pepper (if you like heat)
1/2 tsp of cumin
2 bay leaves
8 ounces of fresh spinach
1 large can of chicken broth
8 - 16 ounces of water
1 chicken bouillon cube
1 lb bag of brown lentils.
Saute the onion and garlic in the olive oil for about five minutes and then add the carrot, the paprika, cumin, bay leaves broth, water, lentils, and boullion cube. Bring to a boil and then turn down to a simmer and let cook for 20 minutes or until the lentils are tender. Three or four minutes before you take the soup off the heat add the spinach. Let it cook down and you are ready to serve.
We ate this with mulit-grain bread that I made last week.
For the rest of the meal, I cooked up some asparagus, took some of the left over orzo that hadn't been sauteed with the veggies from Friday, heated it, dressed it with olive oil, red pepper flakes and a dusting of pecorino romano cheese. We ate all this with some of the leftover chicken.
Easy, and filling.
Monday, April 12, 2010
Shabbat
On Friday we had Shabbat and had a friend over to dinner. Lili did such a great job of planning and helping create a wonderful Shabbat. We had roast chicken. You can find the recipe in one of my previous posts. We cooked two so that I could use the leftovers from one this week.
I roasted aspargus and made an orzo side dish.
Orzo with artichoke hearts and black olives.
Bring 5 quarts of water to a boil and add one box of orzo. It's the 1 lb. box. Cook until the pasta is firm, but not mushy. Drain, rinse with cold water so it doesn't stick together, dress it with some olive oil, and set it aside.
In 2 tbs. of olive saute 1 chopped onion, 1 small can of chopped black olives, I used kalamata olives and chopped them, they were good. Also add 6 diced artichoke hearts that are packed in water. Saute until the onion is translucent and then add the orzo. Cook until the orzo is hot and then top with grated pecorino romano or parmesan cheese.
Easy, and yummy.
Now, Lili is a big fan of lemon bars so she and I went to the food network website and found a recipe from Ina Garten for lemon bars. Check it out at www.foodnetwork.com.
Of course, it was challah day because it was Shabbat.
I roasted aspargus and made an orzo side dish.
Orzo with artichoke hearts and black olives.
Bring 5 quarts of water to a boil and add one box of orzo. It's the 1 lb. box. Cook until the pasta is firm, but not mushy. Drain, rinse with cold water so it doesn't stick together, dress it with some olive oil, and set it aside.
In 2 tbs. of olive saute 1 chopped onion, 1 small can of chopped black olives, I used kalamata olives and chopped them, they were good. Also add 6 diced artichoke hearts that are packed in water. Saute until the onion is translucent and then add the orzo. Cook until the orzo is hot and then top with grated pecorino romano or parmesan cheese.
Easy, and yummy.
Now, Lili is a big fan of lemon bars so she and I went to the food network website and found a recipe from Ina Garten for lemon bars. Check it out at www.foodnetwork.com.
Of course, it was challah day because it was Shabbat.
Thursday, April 8, 2010
Deep, Deep Dish Pizza
We had Deep Dish Pizza last night for dinner. Rob spent some time in Chicago going to school, and fell in love with deep dish pizza. We have tried more than one recipe to capture the flavor he was used to, and finally found one. I've tweaked it, and we had it for dinner last night.
This is a big stuffed pizza. You need a deep dish pizza pan, or a 10 - 12 inch spring form pan.
The crust comes from a recipe I read in Cook's Illustrated. It's a little detailed, but well worth it.
Dough: 3.25 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1.5 tsps table salt
2 tsps sugar
2.25 teaspoons, or 1 package of yeast
1.25 cups water, room temperature
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus 4 tablespoons, softened
1 tsp plus 4 tablespoons olive oil.
Mix the flour, cornmeal, salt, sugar and yeast in a bowl until incorporated. Add water and melted butter and mix until fully combined. Knead if for a few minutes until it is a glossy elastic ball. You can use a stand mixer, but I do all my dough by hand and it comes out great.
Coat large bowl with olive oil and and let rise at room temperature until nearly doubled, 45 to 60 minutes.
You will make the sauce for the pizza during the rising period. The recipe is below.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a 15 x 12 inch rectangle. Spread the softened butter over surface of dough, leaving 1/2 inch border. Starting at the short end, roll dough into a tight cylinder. With seam side down, flatten cylinder into 18 x 4 inch rectangle. Cut rectangle in half crosswise. Working with 1 half, fold into thirds like a business letter; pinch seams together to form ball. Repeat with the other half.
Put both balls into an oiled boil, cover tightly and put in the refrigerator to rise again until nearly double in volume, 40 to 50 minutes.
Sauce: 2 tbs. unsalted butter
1/4 cup grated onion, from 1 medium onion
1 tsp of italian seasoning
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
8 roma tomatoes, grated.
1 small can of tomato paste
1/4 tsp sugar
1 tbs. olive oil.
Melt the butter in a saute pan and add the onion along with the Italian seasoning. Saute until the onion is golden and then add the garlic. Saute again for about 30 to 45 seconds, and then add the tomatoes and tomato paste along with the sugar. Bring it to a boil, drop it to a low simmer and put it on the back of the stove. Don't cover as you want to get rid of the liquid. Let it cook for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once it is finished add the olive oil, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
The fillings:
You can fill this with anything you want to. Our favorite is Italian turkey sausage, pine nuts, and spinach. So here's the process.
1.25 lbs of italian turkey sausage
1/4 c. pine nuts.
1 pound of spinach.
4 cups of mozzarella cheese
2 cups of cheddar cheese
1 cup of parmesan cheese
5 tbs. olive oil.
1. Take 1 tbs of olive oil and grease the springform or pizza pan. Take one of the balls of dough from the refrigerator and roll it out into a 15 inch disk. Put it into the dish, and make sure the dough comes up over the sides of your pan, so you can seal it with the top crust.
2. Cook the turkey sausage, you can add the other 1/2 onion (diced) from the sauce. I added 8 ounces of sauteed mushrooms as well today, I had them and needed to use them. Don't salt the mushrooms or onion, as it makes them sweat, and then you have too much liquid in the pizza. Remove from the pan.
3. I then toasted the pine nuts. Removed them from the pan and added 2 tbs. of water along with the spinach and wilted it.
4. Now, cover the bottom of the dough with the grated cheddar cheese and 2 cups of the mozzarella cheese. Cover this with 3/4 of the tomato sauce. Cover this with the turkey sausage mixture, the pine nuts and the spinach. Then cover this with the remaining mozzarella.
5. Roll out the other ball of dough and cover the pizza. Crimp the two disks together and take the remaining sauce and spread it over the top of crust. This is why you want it to be really dry, not liquid at all. Cover the tomato sauce with the parmesan cheese and then drizzle the remaining olive oil across the top.
Bake at 400 for 25 minutes. Remove from pan and let sit for 10 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve.
This is a big stuffed pizza. You need a deep dish pizza pan, or a 10 - 12 inch spring form pan.
The crust comes from a recipe I read in Cook's Illustrated. It's a little detailed, but well worth it.
Dough: 3.25 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1.5 tsps table salt
2 tsps sugar
2.25 teaspoons, or 1 package of yeast
1.25 cups water, room temperature
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted, plus 4 tablespoons, softened
1 tsp plus 4 tablespoons olive oil.
Mix the flour, cornmeal, salt, sugar and yeast in a bowl until incorporated. Add water and melted butter and mix until fully combined. Knead if for a few minutes until it is a glossy elastic ball. You can use a stand mixer, but I do all my dough by hand and it comes out great.
Coat large bowl with olive oil and and let rise at room temperature until nearly doubled, 45 to 60 minutes.
You will make the sauce for the pizza during the rising period. The recipe is below.
Turn the dough onto a lightly floured surface and roll into a 15 x 12 inch rectangle. Spread the softened butter over surface of dough, leaving 1/2 inch border. Starting at the short end, roll dough into a tight cylinder. With seam side down, flatten cylinder into 18 x 4 inch rectangle. Cut rectangle in half crosswise. Working with 1 half, fold into thirds like a business letter; pinch seams together to form ball. Repeat with the other half.
Put both balls into an oiled boil, cover tightly and put in the refrigerator to rise again until nearly double in volume, 40 to 50 minutes.
Sauce: 2 tbs. unsalted butter
1/4 cup grated onion, from 1 medium onion
1 tsp of italian seasoning
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
8 roma tomatoes, grated.
1 small can of tomato paste
1/4 tsp sugar
1 tbs. olive oil.
Melt the butter in a saute pan and add the onion along with the Italian seasoning. Saute until the onion is golden and then add the garlic. Saute again for about 30 to 45 seconds, and then add the tomatoes and tomato paste along with the sugar. Bring it to a boil, drop it to a low simmer and put it on the back of the stove. Don't cover as you want to get rid of the liquid. Let it cook for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. Once it is finished add the olive oil, and season with salt and pepper to taste.
The fillings:
You can fill this with anything you want to. Our favorite is Italian turkey sausage, pine nuts, and spinach. So here's the process.
1.25 lbs of italian turkey sausage
1/4 c. pine nuts.
1 pound of spinach.
4 cups of mozzarella cheese
2 cups of cheddar cheese
1 cup of parmesan cheese
5 tbs. olive oil.
1. Take 1 tbs of olive oil and grease the springform or pizza pan. Take one of the balls of dough from the refrigerator and roll it out into a 15 inch disk. Put it into the dish, and make sure the dough comes up over the sides of your pan, so you can seal it with the top crust.
2. Cook the turkey sausage, you can add the other 1/2 onion (diced) from the sauce. I added 8 ounces of sauteed mushrooms as well today, I had them and needed to use them. Don't salt the mushrooms or onion, as it makes them sweat, and then you have too much liquid in the pizza. Remove from the pan.
3. I then toasted the pine nuts. Removed them from the pan and added 2 tbs. of water along with the spinach and wilted it.
4. Now, cover the bottom of the dough with the grated cheddar cheese and 2 cups of the mozzarella cheese. Cover this with 3/4 of the tomato sauce. Cover this with the turkey sausage mixture, the pine nuts and the spinach. Then cover this with the remaining mozzarella.
5. Roll out the other ball of dough and cover the pizza. Crimp the two disks together and take the remaining sauce and spread it over the top of crust. This is why you want it to be really dry, not liquid at all. Cover the tomato sauce with the parmesan cheese and then drizzle the remaining olive oil across the top.
Bake at 400 for 25 minutes. Remove from pan and let sit for 10 minutes. Cut into wedges and serve.
Multi-grain Bread
I have this super easy recipe for multi-grain bread. It's healthy and I love it. It also makes a really pretty loaf.
2 c. water
3/4 c. multigrain cereal
1 tbsp butter
1/3 c. molasses
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp sugar
1/2 c. lukewarm water
1 pkg. yeast
4.5 cups all-purpose flour
Combine the 2 cups water and the cereal in a sauce pan and bring to a boil, stirring frequently. Reduce heat and simmer for about 5 minutes until slightly thickened. Remove from the heat and stir in butter until melted, then molasses and salt. Let cool completely.
Dissolve sugar and yeast in the 1/2 c. of lukewarm water and let stand until it is frothy. In a large bowl, comibne the yeast and cereal mixtures. Using a wooden spoon, gradually beat in enough of the flour to make stiff dough.
Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic. Place in lightly greased bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 1 to 1.5 hours or until doubled in bulk.
Punch down dough; turn out onto lightly floured surface and knead into a smooth ball. Divide dough and either place in 8 x 4 inch loaf pans, or make a free form loaf like i do. I also take one egg yolk, add 1 tsp of water and make an egg wash. I brush the top with the egg wash and it makes a beautiful golden brown, glossy crust. Bake at 375 for 30 to 35 minutes. I bake it at 400 for 20 to 25.
The Party's Over (Passover is Over)
Passover ended on Tuesday at 8:19 pm. Our last Passover meal wasn't full of matzah, but we had Artichokes with a lemon, butter, soy dipping sauce. This sauce is Rob's mom's recipe. Equal parts of all three, melt the butter, mix it all together and you are set. I don't steam the artichokes, I boil them. It's easier.
Matzah ball soup is the next course. Matah balls are not hard to make.
2 eggs
3 tbs. of cold water
1 tbs of canola oil
between 1/2 and 3/4 cup of matzah meal
1 tsp of kosher salt
pepper to taste.
Mix the eggs with the water and canola oil, add the matzah meal, salt and pepper and mix again with a fork. Place the mixture into the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Take 1 tsp of mixture and form it into a ball with your hands and then put it in slowly simmering chicken broth. Let it cook until it floats to the top, plus five minutes and then serve. This makes twelve matzah balls.
When I make the chicken broth, I use two or three whole chicken carcasses from roast chicken on Friday night. Cover the carcasses with water add one chopped onion, 2 or 3 carrots and celery if I have it, I also season it with salt, pepper, and 21 Seasoning Salute, which is like Mrs. Dash, or something along those lines. I let it come up to a boil, skim off the foam, and then bring it down to a simmer and let it cook until it tastes great. I let it cool, and then skim the fat off the top.
Now you have chicken soup.
We also had cheesy potatoes. This is my sister's recipe. Her husband loves them, so they are really called Kevin's cheesy potatoes. It's a very simple dish, but so totally yummy.
You need:
1 package of obrien potatoes, (I forgot them at the grocery store, so I took two pounds of red potatoes and cut them into small cubes and then boiled them until soft. Cool them if you use the red potatoes.
Because I forgot the obrien potatoes, I diced up a red pepper and added it to a pan with 2 tsps of olive oil, along with 1 diced onion. Saute until soft.
Mix with 8 ounces of cream cheese, and two cups of cheddar cheese. Put into a 9 x 13casserole dish and cover with another cup of cheddar cheese. Bake at 375 for 35 - 40minutes. Again, this is wonerful, particularly if you are Lili as she is a potato-holic.
We also had a roast which I cooked in the style of a brisket. I took the recipe from the The Complete Meat Cookbook . Mediterranean Brisket.
1 8 - 10 lb brisket
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tbs of oil from sun-dried tomatoes
3 -4 medium onions thinly sliced
2 cups canned tomato puree
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and chopped.
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 tsp dried thyme.
2 cups beef stock
2 cups of dry red wine
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 350. Heat the oil in a ductch oven or roasting pan over medium-high heat. Brown the brisket on all sides. Remove the meat and pour off all but 1 tbs of fat. Put in the onions, tomato puree, sun-dried tomatoes, bay leaves, and thyme and stir well to combine. Put the brisket back into the pan and spoon some of the onions and tomatoes over the top. Add the stock and the wine and bring to a simmer.
Cover the pot tightly with aluminum foil and put the lid on to form a tight seal. Bake the brisket for 3.5 - 4 hours, or until it's fork tender.
Remove the meat to a platter and cover loosely with foil. Degrease the sauce and taste for salt and pepper.
Serve it with the sauce. It's quite good and the meat is so very tender.
We had chocolate almond cake for dessert. It was a super final Passover meal.
Matzah ball soup is the next course. Matah balls are not hard to make.
2 eggs
3 tbs. of cold water
1 tbs of canola oil
between 1/2 and 3/4 cup of matzah meal
1 tsp of kosher salt
pepper to taste.
Mix the eggs with the water and canola oil, add the matzah meal, salt and pepper and mix again with a fork. Place the mixture into the refrigerator for 30 minutes.
Take 1 tsp of mixture and form it into a ball with your hands and then put it in slowly simmering chicken broth. Let it cook until it floats to the top, plus five minutes and then serve. This makes twelve matzah balls.
When I make the chicken broth, I use two or three whole chicken carcasses from roast chicken on Friday night. Cover the carcasses with water add one chopped onion, 2 or 3 carrots and celery if I have it, I also season it with salt, pepper, and 21 Seasoning Salute, which is like Mrs. Dash, or something along those lines. I let it come up to a boil, skim off the foam, and then bring it down to a simmer and let it cook until it tastes great. I let it cool, and then skim the fat off the top.
Now you have chicken soup.
We also had cheesy potatoes. This is my sister's recipe. Her husband loves them, so they are really called Kevin's cheesy potatoes. It's a very simple dish, but so totally yummy.
You need:
1 package of obrien potatoes, (I forgot them at the grocery store, so I took two pounds of red potatoes and cut them into small cubes and then boiled them until soft. Cool them if you use the red potatoes.
Because I forgot the obrien potatoes, I diced up a red pepper and added it to a pan with 2 tsps of olive oil, along with 1 diced onion. Saute until soft.
Mix with 8 ounces of cream cheese, and two cups of cheddar cheese. Put into a 9 x 13casserole dish and cover with another cup of cheddar cheese. Bake at 375 for 35 - 40minutes. Again, this is wonerful, particularly if you are Lili as she is a potato-holic.
We also had a roast which I cooked in the style of a brisket. I took the recipe from the The Complete Meat Cookbook . Mediterranean Brisket.
1 8 - 10 lb brisket
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper
2 tbs of oil from sun-dried tomatoes
3 -4 medium onions thinly sliced
2 cups canned tomato puree
1/3 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained and chopped.
2 bay leaves
1 1/2 tsp dried thyme.
2 cups beef stock
2 cups of dry red wine
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 350. Heat the oil in a ductch oven or roasting pan over medium-high heat. Brown the brisket on all sides. Remove the meat and pour off all but 1 tbs of fat. Put in the onions, tomato puree, sun-dried tomatoes, bay leaves, and thyme and stir well to combine. Put the brisket back into the pan and spoon some of the onions and tomatoes over the top. Add the stock and the wine and bring to a simmer.
Cover the pot tightly with aluminum foil and put the lid on to form a tight seal. Bake the brisket for 3.5 - 4 hours, or until it's fork tender.
Remove the meat to a platter and cover loosely with foil. Degrease the sauce and taste for salt and pepper.
Serve it with the sauce. It's quite good and the meat is so very tender.
We had chocolate almond cake for dessert. It was a super final Passover meal.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
New Passover Recipe
I made a new Passover dish last night because we have to use up all the matzah I bought. Tonight at 8:18 pm, Passover ends. Back to bread and I just can't wait. Neither can Lili. She is so ready to eat bread again, and she's only been observing since Friday.
Anyway, here it is. Mexican Matzah Pie. This is not kosher. It mixes meat and dairy. So be ware.
3 chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
1.5 lbs of fresh spinach
2 14 oz. cans of fire roasted tomatoes
1 - 2 chipotle peppers in sauce
1 onion diced
1 tsp of chopped garlic
2 tbs. olive oil.
4 or 5 matzah boards
3 cups of cheddar cheese
1 egg yolk mixed with water to make an egg wash
1/2 cup of cheddar or gouda cheese
Saute the onion and garlic until translucent in one tbs of olive oil.
Remove from the pan and cook the chicken until golden in one tbs of olive oil.
Add the onion and garlic back to the pan and add the tomatoes and chipotle peppers.
Cook until all the juice from the tomatoes dissipates. Then add the fresh spinach and let it wilt. Cook again until the liquid dissipates. This is important, or it will make your matzah crust soggy.
Grease an 2 quart casserole. Take the matzah boards and soak them in cold water until they are pliable, but not really soggy. Dry them with paper towel and then form then into a crust in the casserole pan. Take 1.5 cups of cheddar cheese and put it on the matzah crust and then put the chicken spinach mixture on top of that. layer it with the other half of the cheese and then cover with the rest of the matzah. Make an egg wash with one egg yolk and 1 tsp of water and brush the matzah. This makes it golden. I then covered the matzah with 1/2 cup of grated cheese to melt on the top. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes or until cheese is golden and you can see a little bubbling around the edges.
I have to say, I made this with too much chipotle pepper. It was so hot, we had to eat it with huge dollops of sour cream. Really, people who like hot would do great, but it was so hot. OMG.
Anyway, here it is. Mexican Matzah Pie. This is not kosher. It mixes meat and dairy. So be ware.
3 chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
1.5 lbs of fresh spinach
2 14 oz. cans of fire roasted tomatoes
1 - 2 chipotle peppers in sauce
1 onion diced
1 tsp of chopped garlic
2 tbs. olive oil.
4 or 5 matzah boards
3 cups of cheddar cheese
1 egg yolk mixed with water to make an egg wash
1/2 cup of cheddar or gouda cheese
Saute the onion and garlic until translucent in one tbs of olive oil.
Remove from the pan and cook the chicken until golden in one tbs of olive oil.
Add the onion and garlic back to the pan and add the tomatoes and chipotle peppers.
Cook until all the juice from the tomatoes dissipates. Then add the fresh spinach and let it wilt. Cook again until the liquid dissipates. This is important, or it will make your matzah crust soggy.
Grease an 2 quart casserole. Take the matzah boards and soak them in cold water until they are pliable, but not really soggy. Dry them with paper towel and then form then into a crust in the casserole pan. Take 1.5 cups of cheddar cheese and put it on the matzah crust and then put the chicken spinach mixture on top of that. layer it with the other half of the cheese and then cover with the rest of the matzah. Make an egg wash with one egg yolk and 1 tsp of water and brush the matzah. This makes it golden. I then covered the matzah with 1/2 cup of grated cheese to melt on the top. Bake at 375 for 45 minutes or until cheese is golden and you can see a little bubbling around the edges.
I have to say, I made this with too much chipotle pepper. It was so hot, we had to eat it with huge dollops of sour cream. Really, people who like hot would do great, but it was so hot. OMG.
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Fifth Night Passover Seder
Last night we had a seder at the house in Reno. We invited our rabbi and her husband as well as Rob's mom. We had such a good time! It was the fifth night of Passover, and you don't usually have a fifth night seder, but we had a great time. Rob has always wanted to make gefilte fish from scratch, I must explain I guess, about gefilte fish to the non-jew. This is a not really a fish, there is no such thing as a gefilte fish. But, Rob had been listening to NPR last week and found a recipe. It was a little labor intensive, but turned out to be really good. I'm not going to type out the recipe, but if you are interested go to www.npr.org and put in gefilte fish in the search bar. It'll bring up an article about making it or you can go to this web address: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=125170590. Here's a picture of what it looks like, maybe not the most appetizing visually, but really tasty.
After the gefilte fish appetizer, I made a salad and forgot to put it on the table. But it was quite tasty, Fennel and Strawberry Salad.
1 fennel bulb chopped roughly,
2 tbs of fennel frond
8 - 10 large strawberries, quartered
1/2 cup of chopped walnuts
3 tbs of balsamic vinegar
2 tbs of olive oil
Mix it all together and it's a very refreshing salad.
We also had roasted red potatoes and roasted asparagus. Check out the blog, there is a recipe for the asparagus.
So totally simple.
1.5 lbs of small red potatoes
a large drizzle of olive oil
3 or 4 sprigs of fresh thyme
3 or 4 spring of fresh rosemary
1 tbs of course kosher salt
1.5 tsp of fresh ground pepper.
Preheat the oven to 450. Cut up the potatoes in to quarters and put on a cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil, remove the leaves from the herbs and sprinkle on the potatoes, and then salt and pepper. Roast in the oven, turning once for 35 minutes, or until they reach your desired crispness.
We had baked cod as the entree. It was very good. This was a Rob creation and he did well. Put some white wine in the bottom of a pan with onions, lemons, and carrots. It's better if this has been already cooked, so that the onions and carrots are soft. Place the fish on top of this mixture and then sprinkle some thyme, rosemary, and salt and pepper on the fish. Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes. What a flaky, tender fish!
For dessert we had chocolate almond cake. This recipe came from my mom. It's great.
1 cup of almonds toasted for 10 minutes at 375 put through the food processor with 1 tbs of sugar.
5 eggs separated. Mix the yolks with 3/4 cup of sugar until pale yellow in color. Mix the whites with 1/4 cup of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.
Melt 1 and 1/2 sticks of butter and then add 1/2 cup of cocoa powder. Mix.
Now, grease a springform pan, 8 or 10 inches. Mix the almond mixture into the egg yolks, and then add the chocolate mixture, once you have completed that, add the egg white in two parts, folding so you don't deflate them too much.
Bake for 40 - 45 minutes. I decorate mine with strawberries, but you could put any kind of fruit on it.
Here is a picture of Lili, Rob, Doris and myself at the Seder.
After the gefilte fish appetizer, I made a salad and forgot to put it on the table. But it was quite tasty, Fennel and Strawberry Salad.
1 fennel bulb chopped roughly,
2 tbs of fennel frond
8 - 10 large strawberries, quartered
1/2 cup of chopped walnuts
3 tbs of balsamic vinegar
2 tbs of olive oil
Mix it all together and it's a very refreshing salad.
We also had roasted red potatoes and roasted asparagus. Check out the blog, there is a recipe for the asparagus.
So totally simple.
1.5 lbs of small red potatoes
a large drizzle of olive oil
3 or 4 sprigs of fresh thyme
3 or 4 spring of fresh rosemary
1 tbs of course kosher salt
1.5 tsp of fresh ground pepper.
Preheat the oven to 450. Cut up the potatoes in to quarters and put on a cookie sheet, drizzle with olive oil, remove the leaves from the herbs and sprinkle on the potatoes, and then salt and pepper. Roast in the oven, turning once for 35 minutes, or until they reach your desired crispness.
We had baked cod as the entree. It was very good. This was a Rob creation and he did well. Put some white wine in the bottom of a pan with onions, lemons, and carrots. It's better if this has been already cooked, so that the onions and carrots are soft. Place the fish on top of this mixture and then sprinkle some thyme, rosemary, and salt and pepper on the fish. Bake at 375 for about 20 minutes. What a flaky, tender fish!
For dessert we had chocolate almond cake. This recipe came from my mom. It's great.
1 cup of almonds toasted for 10 minutes at 375 put through the food processor with 1 tbs of sugar.
5 eggs separated. Mix the yolks with 3/4 cup of sugar until pale yellow in color. Mix the whites with 1/4 cup of sugar and beat until stiff peaks form.
Melt 1 and 1/2 sticks of butter and then add 1/2 cup of cocoa powder. Mix.
Now, grease a springform pan, 8 or 10 inches. Mix the almond mixture into the egg yolks, and then add the chocolate mixture, once you have completed that, add the egg white in two parts, folding so you don't deflate them too much.
Bake for 40 - 45 minutes. I decorate mine with strawberries, but you could put any kind of fruit on it.
Here is a picture of Lili, Rob, Doris and myself at the Seder.
Another Passover Food Try
So, we are hopefully nearing the end of Passover, not that I don't like Passover, mind you, it's just frustrating trying to find something interesting to do with Matzah. Tonight for instance, we got back from Reno at about 8:30 and we wanted something light, but good, and of course sandwiches are out, so we had open-faced matzah sandwiches. Rob and Lili had avocado covered with gouda cheese, which we put under the broiler to melt the cheese. Rob ate his with a hard boiled egg, and Lili ate hers with smoked sardines. I had tomato covered with gouda, again melted under the broiler, and I ate mine with sardines as well. It was really a quite nice meal. But, I'm sick of matzah, and can't wait until we can have bread. I'm making bieroch, and pizza, and any other kind of bread thing I can think of.
Friday, April 2, 2010
Enough Already!
I looked at my sister Heather's blog today and she updated, so I'm not shamed into updating my own. It's Passover right now, and I'm trying to find creative ways to use matzah. If there was ever a drier cracker known to man, I can't find it. Last night we had turkish mina which is a sephardic dish. It's one of the favorites at our house. I got this recipe out of a cookbook by Joan Nathan, she does a lot of Jewish cookbooks.
4 or 5 matzah
1 lb. chopped meat
1 medium onion diced
2 cloves of chopped garlic
1 lb of spinach
3 eggs
1 cup mashed potatoes
1 tsp of cumin
salt and pepper
2 tbs. of pine nuts
6 tablespoons of oil
Place the matzah in cold water for two minutes. No more than that, because they become soggy. Grease a pie pan or a square cake pan with 2 tbs of the oil. Use most of it, so that the matzah crisps up in the oven.
Preheat the oven to 400.
Saute the onion and garlic in 2 tbs of oil until translucent. Then add the ground meat. Cook until brown and then add the chopped, washed spinach, cumin and pine nuts. Saute until the spinach is wilted. Mix with the cup of mashed potatoes and two of the eggs.
Line the pie pan with two or three of the matzah and then put the meat and potato mixture into the pan. Cover with the remaining matzah. Use the remaining oil to coat the top of the matzah. Take the remaining egg, make an egg wash with 1 to 2 tbs of water and brush the top for a golden brown finish.
Bake in the oven at least 25 minutes until the top is golden brown and the interior is bubbling.
I'm going to get some more recipes put in next week since we are on Spring Break.
4 or 5 matzah
1 lb. chopped meat
1 medium onion diced
2 cloves of chopped garlic
1 lb of spinach
3 eggs
1 cup mashed potatoes
1 tsp of cumin
salt and pepper
2 tbs. of pine nuts
6 tablespoons of oil
Place the matzah in cold water for two minutes. No more than that, because they become soggy. Grease a pie pan or a square cake pan with 2 tbs of the oil. Use most of it, so that the matzah crisps up in the oven.
Preheat the oven to 400.
Saute the onion and garlic in 2 tbs of oil until translucent. Then add the ground meat. Cook until brown and then add the chopped, washed spinach, cumin and pine nuts. Saute until the spinach is wilted. Mix with the cup of mashed potatoes and two of the eggs.
Line the pie pan with two or three of the matzah and then put the meat and potato mixture into the pan. Cover with the remaining matzah. Use the remaining oil to coat the top of the matzah. Take the remaining egg, make an egg wash with 1 to 2 tbs of water and brush the top for a golden brown finish.
Bake in the oven at least 25 minutes until the top is golden brown and the interior is bubbling.
I'm going to get some more recipes put in next week since we are on Spring Break.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)