Pork and Tomatillo Stew, by Diane

 

This is another recipe from the book Tender at the Bone by Ruth Reichl. I have never used tomatillos before, and was curious to try them. I thought they would be spicy like a mild pepper, but as it turns out they are tart and a bit sour (the grocery store sign described them as having a sour apple taste). This taste was really unexpected, and I wasn't the biggest fan of the overall outcome because of it. But the rest of the ingredients mixed together really well, and with sour cream some of the tartness vanished. I did not add the lime juice to the sour cream because I thought it was tart enough.


Also- a note on peeling the tomatillos and tomatoes. The tomatillos have a leaf like outer skin that does not always easily come off. I found that if you peeled what you could off, the rest washed off easily with cold water. The tomatoes peeled easily once I dropped them into boiling water for one minute.

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. canola oil
8 large garlic cloves, peeled
2 lbs. lean pork, cut into cubes
1 bottle dark beer (I used Guinness)
14 oz. orange juice
1 lb. tomatillos, quartered
1 lb. Roma tomatoes, peeled and cut in half
2 large onions, coarsely chopped
2 jalapenos, diced into small bits (remove the ribs and seeds unless you want some heat!)
1 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped
1 can of black beans, drained and rinsed
salt and pepper

Topping
1 cup sour cream
juice of one lime

Directions:

1. In a saucepan, add the beer, orange juice, tomatoes and tomatillos. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat, simmering for 20 minutes. Set aside.

2. Meanwhile, heat the canola oil in a large pot. Add the garlic cloves and stir to coat with the oil.

3. Sprinkle the pork with salt and pepper and then add it to the oil, in batches, to brown on all sides. Remove from thepot.

4. Add the onion and jalapeno into and saute until tender, 5 or 6 minutes.

5. Add the tomatillo mixture to the pot, scraping the bottom of the pot to be sure you are getting all the browned bits. Add the pork, cilantro, cumin, salt and pepper to taste. Bring the mixture to a boil and then reduce the heat to low.

6. Cook, partially covered, for about 2 hours.

7. Taste for seasoning. Add the black beans and cook an additional ten minutes, uncovered.

8. For the topping, stir the lime juice into the sour cream.

Sauteed Chicken with Sage Browned Butter, by Diane

This recipe came straight from Cooking Light. It was so quick to make and tasted really great. My only comment is that you really have to watch the heat in the pan, because the butter burned on me the first time as did the rest of ingredients in the sauce. I would suggest to take the pan down to medium low heat (they said medium) and let it rest there for about 2-3 minutes before you start with the butter. The butter browns REALLY quickly, and there is a lot to do with it afterwards, so make sure to take out the sage and add in the remaining ingredients literally the second you see it change color and then remove it from heat once the 30 seconds is up for the lemon juice. The recipe also says to pound the chicken to 1/4 inch thickness, but I skipped this step.

Ingredients:

4 skinless boneless chicken breasts
Salt and pepper
Cooking spray
1/2 cup all purpose flour (I only used about half of this amount, so you may want to start with 1/4 cup)
3 tbsp. butter
2 sage sprigs
1 tbsp. minced shallots
1 tsp. chopped thyme
2 tbsp. lemon juice

Directions:

1. Pour flour in shallow dish.

2. Heat large skillet to medium high, coat with cooking spray.

3. Sprinkle chicken with salt and pepper and dredge in flour, flip over and repeat.

4. Add chicken to pan, saute 4 minutes on each side until golden brown. Check to make sure chicken is cooked through. Remove from pan and set aside (I covered it so it wouldn't dry out).

5. Add butter and sage to the pan, cook over medium heat until butter browns.

6. Discard sage, and add in shallots and thyme. Cook for 30 seconds.

7. Add lemon juice and cook 30 more seconds.

8. Pour over chicken and serve. Optional garnish with fresh sage leaves.

Sausage, Pepper, and Cornbread Upsidedown Skillet, by Diane

This recipe is another Diane creation. It was really simple to make, came together pretty quickly, and was really good. I used turkey sausage and low fat cheese to make it healthier, but regular sausage could be substituted or even hot sausage to make it spicy. The recipe for the cornbread came from the back of the package of cornmeal and was also simple to whip together. Finally- I used a camera!!! The pictures look a lot better than normal, and I think for once my creation looks as appealing as it tastes! :)

Ingredients:

Cornbread batter (mix together according to back of package of cornmeal)
1 1/2 tbsp. oil
Turkey sausage, 2 long links, cut into 1/2 inch slices
1 of each green, yellow, orange, and red peppers, cut into thin strips
2 medium onions, cut into thin strips
Salt and pepper
1/2 cup each shredded white cheddar and monterey jack cheese

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450, and heat large cast iron skillet on medium high.

2. Add oil into hot skillet, then add peppers and onions. Stir frequently (there will be a lot in the skillet) as to evenly cook veggies. Sprinkle a bit of salt and pepper in and stir.

3. While the veggies are cooking, mix cornbread batter and set aside. You can shred the cheese now too if you are using blocks instead of pre-packaged cheese.

4. When veggies start to brown slightly, remove and set in a bowl. Add the sausage to the skillet and brown, then add back in veggies and mix. Remove from heat.

5. Sprinkle cheese evenly over ingredients in the skillet, then pour cornbread batter over top and spread to cover evenly. This should reach nearly the top of the skillet.

6. Place the skillet into the oven and cook for approximately 20 minutes or until cornbread is golden brown. (If the batter is spilling over the sides, place the skillet onto a baking sheet before putting into the oven).

7. Remove from oven, place a large circular platter (about 2 inches larger in diameter than the skillet) over top of skillet and flip. Remove skillet and voila!

Coconut Bread, by Diane

This recipe came from a really great book I read, Tender at the Bone by Ruth Riechl. She is the editor of Gourmet Magazine, and the book is her life story told in recipes. This particular recipe came from her roommate who was from French Guyana, and it sounded so amazing in the book that I had to try it. With that being said, I completely messed up the recipe and although I could tell what the bread was supposed to taste like (really light and slightly sweet), the bread did not rise and came out with an odd texture. So, barring that you actually follow the recipe, I think it might actually turn out ok! Plus, I figure the editor of Gourmet Magazine knows a thing or two about baking. :)

Ingredients:


1 c. warm water
1/2 c. sugar
2 pkg. active dry yeast
4 c. white flour, plus extra for kneading
1/2 pound butter

2 eggs, beaten
1 t. salt
1 t. vanilla extract
1/2 medium sized fresh coconut (I used shredded coconut because I know from experience how hard this would be from scratch! I also used some extra to sprinkle on the top)


Directions:

1. Put water in a large bowl. Add sugar and stir until dissolved. Add yeast, stir, and let sit a few minutes until it foams.

2. Add 1 1/2 c. of the flour and mix until smooth.

3. In another bowl, cream butter, eggs, salt, and vanilla until very well mixed.

4. Remove coconut from shell, chop and put in a blender. Grate finely and add to butter mixture.

5. Add coconut-butter mixture to flour and mix until in forms a smooth dough.

6. Add remaining flour, a little at a time. Turn out dough onto a floured surface and knead until it forms a smooth, elastic ball, about 10 minutes.

7. Put dough into a lightly greased bowl, cover, and let rise until doubled.

8. Punch down, shape into a free form loaf, and set on an ungreased baking sheet. cover with a towel and let rise 1/2 hour more.

9. Preheat oven to 350.

10. Bake for 50 minutes to an hour. (During the last 10 minutes I sprinkled the coconut on top to toast it). Let cool on a rack.

Pasta with Sausage and Peppers, by Cheryl

Mmm, this is so so so good! With every bite of this tasty dish you get a mouthful of flavors that you just want to keep devouring! I made it for the first time a few weeks ago and I've since made it twice. I adapted the recipe from www.kohlercreated.com. Yum!

Ingredients:

whole wheat pasta, cooked
olive oil
2-3 cloves garlic
1/4 cup red wine
1/4 cup balsamic vinaigrette
1 15 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 cup sweet peppers, sliced
4 links turkey or chicken sausage, sliced
3 tbsp parsley, finely chopped
3 tbsp basil, finely chopped
red pepper flakes (more or less depending on how spicy you want it)
salt and pepper
Parmesan cheese

1) Heat a large saute pan over medium-high heat, then add the olive oil. Add the garlic and saute for about 1 minute. Lower heat to medium.

2) Add the wine and boil for 2-3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, peppers, sausages, parsley, and basil. Add the vinaigrette and stir. Lower the heat to a simmer for about 10-15 minutes. Add salt and pepper as necessary.

Yaki Udon (Japanese Stir-Fried Udon Noodles, by Cheryl

I really like udon noodles, but I can't find them at the grocery store near me. I ordered them off amazon.com and received 12 packages of it! I found this recipe off www.wanderingchopsticks.blogspot.com and it was delicious. The combination of the plum sauce with the spiciness really hit the spot! Yum!

Ingredients:

2 or 3 7-oz packets of fresh udon noodles
1 small onion, thinly sliced
1 small red bell pepper, thinly sliced
1/4lb beef, sliced into strips
4 tbsp mirin or white wine (I used white wine)
4 tbsp hoisin sauce
4 tbsp flour
3 tsp ground black pepper
2 tsp salt
sesame oil

Directions:

1) Slice meat into strips about 1/2 inch by 2 inches and rinse. Slice onion and bell peppers into strips.

2) In a bowl add wine, hoisin sauce, flour, pepper, and salt. Mix thoroughly and set aside.

3) In a pan, drizzle sesame oil and add onions.

4) When the onions have softened add the udon noodles. Stir every once in a while until the noodles soften more.

5) Add the bell peppers and cook for about 5-10 minutes until the peppers soften a bit. Pour contents of pan into a large bowl.

6) Add the beef to the pan and cook. Add 3/4 of the marinade and mix.

7) Add the noodle mix back into the pan, toss, and add the rest of the marinade. Make sure everything is evenly distributed.

Cheesy Chicken Enchiladas, by Diane

So I know that the photo quality on this blog has been a bit lacking, but I recently got a new phone with a high pixel camera and decided to use it for this photo. It came out amazing on the phone itself so I was satisfied with it at the time, but once I put it up here it lost some of it's color and quality...so once again I apologize for this photo as the real version looked much more appetizing.

Anyway- I made these enchiladas with a friend this week and they could not have been easier or cheaper to make. They take a while to make, but the steps are simple and there is plenty of downtime between them. We used four large whole wheat tortillas instead of 12 6-inch corn ones, because a) we didn't have time to make tortillas (its VERY hard to do) b) corn tortillas tend to fall apart, and c) because we wanted four large ones instead of lots of smaller ones. They completely filled the baking dish, so it was no problem. Also, we topped our enchiladas with homemade guacamole, which was delicious. I should add that the original recipe came from www.asweetpeachef.com, and her enchiladas look a lot more like ours than the photo above! (http://www.asweetpeachef.com/chicken/shredded-chicken-enchiladas/). She also includes the recipe to make the corn tortillas, which I would like to attempt at some point. At any rate, these were delicious and I'll definitely make them again!

Ingredients:

2 cloves garlic, minced
1 1/2 cups red enchilada sauce (we used Trader Joe's, it was good but definitely spicy!)
Kosher salt
Ground black pepper
2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup each shredded cheddar and Monterey Jack cheese (we increased this to 1 1/2 cups each)
1/2 cup plus 1 tbsp. cilantro, roughly chopped
12 6-inch corn tortillas
Cooking spray
Optional topping: guacamole, sour cream, salsa, or cilantro

Directions:


1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Add the minced garlic to the enchilada sauce in a deep skillet and heat to boiling. Generously sprinkle kosher salt and ground black pepper over the chicken breasts and then nestle the chicken breasts into the sauce. Reduce the heat to low, cover and cook until the chicken is cooked through, about 15-20 minutes.

3. Remove the chicken from the sauce, set aside and let both the chicken and the sauce cool. Once cooled, shred the chicken with two forks and transfer to a large bowl.

4. Add half the enchilada sauce, 1/2 cup each of the Monterrey jack and cheddar cheeses and the 1/2 cup of cilantro to the shredded chicken. Stir to combine.

5. Wrap the tortillas in a damp cloth or paper towel and microwave on high for 20-30 seconds until pliable and warm.

6. Use cooking spray to coat a 9-inch x 13-inch baking dish, set aside.

7. Spoon about 1/3 cup of the chicken mixture along the center of the tortilla (we divided our mixture into fourths and used that amount). Gently, but firmly, roll the tortilla around the filling and place into the baking dish, seam-side down. Repeat with remaining tortillas.

8. Lightly spray the tortillas with cooking spray (or brush lightly with olive oil). This will help the tortillas turn golden in the oven and will also help keep them from cracking. Place baking dish in the oven, uncovered, for 8-10 minutes or until the tortillas begin to turn golden.

9. Reduce the oven temperature to 400 degrees. Remove the baking dish from the oven. Pour the remaining sauce over the enchiladas and sprinkle remaining cheese over the sauce. Sprinkle with 1 tbsp. fresh cilantro.

10. Lightly cover baking dish with aluminum foil and place into the oven for 20 minutes.

11. Carefully remove foil after 20 minutes and bake, uncovered, for an additional 5-10 minutes or until the cheese is golden.

12. Remove form the oven and let stand 5-10 minutes prior to serving. Garnish as desired.

Moroccan Vegetable Stew, by Diane

Today I decided to make my lunches in bulk for the rest of the week. I chose this recipe because it's healthy, pretty easy to make, super delicious, and it only gets better with time. I found parts of the recipe online, mainly for the spice mixture which is inherently Moroccan, and then added other traditional Moroccan elements. You can play around with other veggies and squashes, today I added sweet potato as well. If you do add more veggies and find that there is not enough liquid, just add 1/2 cup to a cup of water, more diced tomatoes, and more spices to taste. You really can't mess this recipe up. It's also really delicious with cubed beef or lamb that is pan seared first then added in during the cooking process. Although the recipe says to only cook the stew for 20 minutes once the veggies are added, I find that cooking it on low/simmer for over an hour really helps the flavors to blend together nicely. Finally, serving it over couscous with butter and mint is an optional step but makes it a little more filling and authentic. Enjoy!


Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. EV Olive Oil                                           

1 onion, finely chopped                           

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped                

1 tsp. ground ginger                                  

1 tsp. ground turmeric                               

2 tsp. ground cumin                                  

2 tsp. ground cinnamon                           

½ tsp. dried chili flakes             

14 oz. can diced tomatoes      

14 oz. can chickpeas       

¾ cup golden raisins 

1 cup water   

¾ lb. butternut squash, in 1 in. cubes      

1 zucchini, in small cubes  

2 carrots, in small cubes

Salt and pepper to taste, if needed

Optional: 1 cup instant wheat couscous, butter, and chopped fresh mint

 Directions:

1. In large saucepan, heat oil on medium. 

2. Add onion, cook 3-5 minutes until translucent. 

3. Add garlic and spices, cook 1 minute. 

4. Add tomatoes, chickpeas, and raisins plus 1 c. water. 

5. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for 20 min. 

6. Add vegetables and cook for 20 min. or until they are tender. 

7. Season with salt and pepper if needed. 

8. Optional- Serve with couscous, made with butter and mint.

Fondue, by Cheryl

One of my all time favorite restaurants is The Melting Pot. I'm normally not a chain restaurant type of gal, but this is one I can't resist. So of course when Jon and I were registering for gifts for our wedding I had to have a fondue pot. Well two years later we finally put it to use! I made a cheese fondue using broccoli, carrots, apples, and bread as the dippers and a coq a vin type fondue for our main course using beef and shrimp as our entrees with potatoes, mushrooms, and broccoli. I also made The Melting Pot's green goddess dip and a citrus hoisen sauce to go with it. I'm saving the dessert for another time so stay tuned! Yum!

Cheese fondue

Ingredients:

4 oz gruyere cheese
4 oz cheddar cheese
1/2 cup of beer
1 garlic clove, minced

Directions:

1) Bring beer in pot to a small boil. Add garlic and mix.

2) Slowly add small amounts of cheese to the pot and mix. Keep adding cheese until it reaches your desired consistency. If it's too loose, add more cheese. If it's too stiff, add more beer.

Coq A Vin

Ingredients:

3 mushrooms
2 chives
3 1/2 cups vegetable broth (I used chicken)
1/2 cup red wine

Directions:

1) Slice mushrooms and dice chives.

2) Place mushrooms, chives, and broth in pot and bring to a boil. Once boiling, add the red wine and bring to a boil.

3) Cook shrimp for 1 1/2 minutes and beef for 2 minutes. Use a separate plate to eat off of once food is cooked!

Mississippi Lemon Icebox Pie, by Diane

So last night my Dad and I were once again watching Best Thing I Ever Ate, and once again it was WAY past dinnertime so once again we were STARVING as we watched (why we do this to ourselves, I have no idea). The episode theme was 'Served Chilled,' and a recipe came on for Lemon Icebox Pie from a little restaurant called Crystal Grill in Greenwood, Mississippi. People apparently come from all over to get these famous pies, and my Dad and I (both lovers of my grandmothers infamous Lemon Meringue pies) instantly latched on to this recipe and decided to make it the next day. We were missing the oven temperature, so my Dad (always the salesman) called up the Crystal Grill and told them our story. After listening to his accent ("Son, I can tell you're real because you sho' ain't from 'round these parts"), and thanking us for calling (they've had a huge influx of customers and calls since the show), the owner of the place said he would love to share the recipe with us. Not only did he give exact measurements and directions, but he also said to make sure the we put "a cup 'a love in it too" (also on the show the chef says that the way to make lemon icebox pie is to really want some lemon icebox pie). So, today this is what I baked, making sure that I really wanted it (not a hard thing to do- it looks so good!) and adding in my cup of love. The result- a suuuuper creamy lemony tart pie that was delicious! It was amazing chilled, and in the future I think I am going to try this recipe with key lime instead of lemon as well. :) I got the whipped cream recipe online, and in the future I think I will add in at least one more tbsp of sugar since I would have liked it sweeter. But all in all, it was an amazing pie!

Just a note- the recipe calls for leaving the pie in the fridge overnight, but I only left it for 6 hours and it was fine. At any rate, plan on making this WAY ahead of time!!


Ingredients:

1 graham cracker crust (they actually recommended store-bought)
6 egg yolks
1 qt. sweetened condensed milk
1 cup lemon juice
1 pint heavy whipping cream
2 tbsp confectioners sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 lemon (for decoration)
1 cup 'a love :)


Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 325. Place crust on baking sheet.

2. In large bowl, mix egg yolks lightly with whisk until broken and blended. Add in condensed milk and lemon juice, stir with whisk until mixture is smooth and creamy. (A note from me based on past baking experience: make sure not to whisk which would add in air bubbles- this should be dense and thick, not light and airy- for the same reason do no over stir!).

3. Pour mixture into crust, bake for 20 minutes.

4. Refrigerate overnight. (I did this for 7 hours and it turned out fine)

5. Make the whipped cream: Chill the beaters and the bowl in the freezer for at least 10 minutes (this helps the cream solidify). Pour the COLD heavy whipping cream into a large bowl and beat on high. Just before peaks begin to form (the cream will get slightly thicker), add in the sugar and vanilla, 1 tbsp/tsp at a time and beat. Continue beating until it turns into whipped cream, with stiff peaks.

6. Cover the chilled pie in whipped cream, decorate with lemon slices, and serve immediately! :)

Roasted Rosemary Chicken with Squash, Apples, and Leeks, by Diane

Tonight was family dinner night, and I wanted to cook something special that looked impressive but was not to complicated. I chose this recipe, I found it in a magazine years ago and never got around to making it (I can't recall the name of the magazine). I didn't have a whole chicken so I substituted chicken breasts, which worked out great. Anyway, the end result was super delicious and made the whole house smell terrific. All of the flavors worked really well together and we wound up having a really healthy, comforting kind of meal.

Two notes- I had never cooked with acorn squash before, and wasn't sure how to get all of the rind off since it is really curvy with lots of grooves that a peeler won't fit into. I roasted it with the skin on, which could be easily peeled off when eating. But, if you don't like that option, another winter squash like butternut can be substituted easily and I think would pair well with all of the other flavors. My other note is that when I went to check on the dish halfway through, I found a lot of liquid collected at the bottom. It was preventing the ingredients from browning in the oven because they were so wet, so I poured most of it out and cooked it for the remaining time, which worked really well.

Ingredients:

1 whole chicken
2-3 medium sized leeks, cleaned and halved lengthwise
6 stalks fresh rosemary
4 empire or braeburn apples, cut into wedges
1 whole acorn squash, cored and cut into large pieces
EVOO
Salt and pepper



Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400.

2. Combine all ingredients in large baking dish, toss in olive oil and season lightly with salt and pepper.

3. Roast uncovered for 45 minutes. Halfway through cooking rearrange items to ensure proper browning (this is when I poured out the excess liquid).