Summer Cookin'

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The change of seasons is always an exciting time for me. The change of seasons means a change in cooking style and available foods. You know how comforting stews and casseroles are to prepare and eat in the winter.  Grilled meats and fresh salads taste just as good in the summer.

In the past few weeks, I've been cooking more summer foods and I've noticed an unfortunate thing...it seems to me that summer foods require more time in the kitchen and I'm trying to figure out why. Maybe it's the meals my family loves to eat in the summer and less about the actual season, but I have noticed that summer foods seem to require more advance prep than winter foods.

While in the fall and winter I might have to start a winter stew or casserole an hour or two before dinner time, I can pretty much throw all my foods in a dish or pot and forget about it until dinner time. But pasta and potato salads require advance preparation to allow for them to be chilled, and grilled meats usually require some sort of early-in-the-day fussing over marinade or rubs.

Today I made a Bacon and Onion Potato salad and some Strawberry Gelato to take to a cookout and I spent quite a bit of time early this afternoon prepping in the kitchen -- not what I wanted to do today.

So my questions to you today are these: what are your favorite summer meals? And do you find that you do more or less meal prep in the summer vs. the winter?

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Hoagie Dip

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This week I tried a recipe that has been on my "recipes to try" list on my sidebar for a while. I saw it back at the end of the professional football season -- a suggested Super Bowl dish. When I saw it I knew my boys would love it and they did. I did, too! All of the flavors of a delicious meat hoagie, in the easy to serve and eat form of a dip. I made two loaves of Artisan Bread (in 5 minutes) and sliced one up and used the other to serve.

My version of the dip is maybe what you would call "poor man's" because I used only salami and ham instead of the pricier prosciutto, but I think this dip would be good with almost any meat -- even bologna. I used 1/2 pound of both ham and salami. I think next time I'll had some hot ham for spice, but other than that I wouldn't change a thing. The day after I made it I thought that using it for cold topping on a hot pepperoni pizza would be almost divine, so we'll try that soon -- a sort of pizza sub. Yum!

Hoagie Dip

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1/2 purple onion diced

4 pickled pepperoncini peppers drained and diced (I used 8 medium)
1/2 head iceberg lettuce chopped about the size of nickels
1 large tomato, halved, seeded, and diced (I used two)
1/2 pound deli-sliced Genoa salami, sliced and diced
1/2 pound deli-sliced ham, sliced and diced
1/4 pound deli-sliced provolone cheese, sliced and diced
1/2 cup mayonnaise
1 T. extra-virgin olive oil
1 T. red wine vinegar
1 t. dried oregano
1/4 t. red pepper flakes
1 10-to-12-inch round loaf of choice, hollowed out
8 hoagie rolls, cut into pieces or halves for spreading dip on (I sliced another loaf of bread)

Combine the chopped vegetables, meats and cheese in a large bowl.

In a small bowl mix the mayonnaise, olive oil, vinegar, oregano, and red pepper flakes and stir until everything is all mixed up.

If you are going to serve within an hour, pour the dressing over the meat/veggie mixture and toss until combined. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

If you are NOT eating it soon,  keep all ingredients refrigerated until about an hour before then toss together so that the lettuce does not get soggy.

Carve out the center of the bread loaf to make a bowl and cut the top piece taken out into bite-size pieces. Serve the hoagie dip in the bread bowl, with the extra bread and hoagie rolls to scoop it up.

Source: modified from The Girl Who Ate Everything

Number 2 Stovetop Mac and Cheese

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My family loves, loves good old-fashioned baked macaroni and cheese. But that's a recipe that I don't make for lunch -- it's a little more involved than I like to get into for lunch when we are sometimes schooling right through the lunch hour. I love this recipe for a quick mac 'n' cheese, but sometimes for lunch my kids beg me (I mean it) not to make the kind with veggies. O.k., sometimes you just want simple comfort food without the veggies.

Rachel Ray's Stovetop Macaroni and Cheese is just right for a quick comfy lunch without the neon orange cheese that comes in the blue box. It's soft and creamy and very cheesy. I call it the Number 2 Mac 'n' Cheese because all the ingredients come in twos -- super easy to remember. It does call for 2 cups of half and half and when I read that the first time my arteries gave me a gratuitous squeeze. I do use half and half, but I water it down -- about 1 1/4 cups half and half with the rest of the two cup measure being water. It tastes just as yummy. I'm sure you could use milk as well, just don't use a really low fat milk (fat = flavor). Don't forget to taste and salt and pepper at the end, and if your people like a little spice, add a dash of cayenne pepper. I use an 8 oz. block of sharp cheddar cheese shredded in the mini cuisinart and reserve a little to put on top of each serving.

Number 2 Stovetop Mac 'n' Cheese

serves 4

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2 cups elbow macaroni 

2 T. butter

2 T. flour

2 cups half-and-half, warmed

8-ounce bag shredded extra-sharp cheddar cheese (about 2 cups)

Salt and pepper to taste

In a large saucepan of boiling, salted water, cook the macaroni until al dente; drain in a colander.

In the same saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in the flour and cook for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in the warmed half-and-half and cook, whisking constantly, until the mixture is steaming hot and thick, about 4 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cheddar until melted. Stir in the cooked macaroni and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Source: Rachel Ray .

Chili con Carne a la Nigella

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I noticed this photo in my iPhoto album the other day and realized I had never posted the recipe. I do that sometimes when I have a lot of recipes at once -- someone always gets left behind (luckily it wasn't one of my kids!).  This was a really yummy recipe, however, and  I'm glad I found it because I need to put it on the menu again. It is modified just a smidge from Nigella Express -- she used coriander in hers, as well as cardamom and I don't like either spice really (I can't stand coriander). The recipe called for 1/2 t. coriander, and three cardamom pods, if you want to add it. The quantities should be an approximation for you, because you want it to taste the way you like it -- if you like more or less spice, more or less beans, whatever, make it your way. We ate it dumped over baked potatoes with some lovely white cheddar shredded on top. Use the cheese you like, or sour cream -- whatever tastes good. It was a very quick dish to make, starting an hour or more ahead for the potatoes, but only spending 30 minutes or so on the chili -- mostly just simmer time.

Note: I sliced open the sausages and dumped the chorizo into the pot with the beef, but if you would rather have pieces, slice it up instead -- it should be the raw chorizo, not smoked). I also doubled the amount for my family.

Quick Chili

 serves 2 to 4

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1/3 lb (just over 5 ounces) chorizio sausage
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 t. ground cumin (more or less to taste -- I used more)
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
16 oz. jar good quality tomato & chunky veg sauce for pasta
14 oz. can mixed spicy beans (I used pink chili beans)
1/4 cup sweet chili sauce (found this in the Asian food aisle)
1/4 t. red pepper flakes

Cut the chorizo links open and place in a hot, heavy pan and cook over a medium heat until the sausage crisps a little and gives up its orange-red oil. Add ground beef and cook for about 5 minutes, breaking it up to help it brown.

When beef is browned, stir in the spices and then add the pasta sauce, spicy beans and chilli sauce. Also add chilli flakes if desired.

Bring to the boil and then turn down heat and simmer for 20 minutes.

Serve with shredded cheese or sour cream over baked potatoes.

Source: modified from Nigella Express

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If you need some alone time...

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...try doing the dishes.

Haha -- that's a funny saying, but it sure is true. Whenever I ask for help with the dishes, my kids, who just moments before may have been bored to tears, always find something to do.

We recently purchased a new dishwasher and I am thoroughly enjoying loading and unloading -- two jobs I admit I never enjoyed before. During the long season of Lent, I was washing every dish, so loading and unloading seems like a breeze now.

At the start of Lent, I had decided that I would try very hard not to make any unnecessary purchases. That was before the dishwasher died, for the umpteenth time. After having repaired the darned thing half a dozen times over the past two years, my husband said he wasn't spending another nickle to fix it. He said, "Buy another." I, however, knew in my heart of hearts, that a new dishwasher is not a "necessary purchase." I can not physically heat the oven or cool the refrigerator, but I can wash a dish. Urg. And wash I did.

For all of Lent I went through the process of cleaning up after meals the way my mother (in her younger days) and my grandmother and their mothers before them -- the methodical process of efficiently rinsing, washing the least dirty items first, and then the messy pots and pans. I actually didn't mind the whole process, but I admit I am enjoying my new dishwasher (a Kitchen Aid Classic Series).

When I was washing the dishes several times a day, however, I did a lot of thinking about dish soap (what else do you think about when you have in sudsy water much of the day?). I always had a favorite dish soap, Palmolive Oxy. But I got a little bored with it and switched around a bit. Unfortunately (or fortunately for Palmolive) I never found another soap that made as many bubbles. It may not be indicative of cleaning power, but I do like a lot of bubbles.

Eventually I went back to the blue Palmolive, but the other day at Target I picked up a bottle of JR Watkins natural dish soap and I'm going to give it a try.

Anyway...the point of this post was just to ask what dish soap do you use? Do you like it for its cleaning ability, its scent, its ecological factors? I admit my college son has me thinking more about what chemicals are in my soaps and that's why I am trying the Watkins. What is important in a dish soap for you?

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Kalua Pork and Cabbage

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Last week we celebrated the feast of St. Damien of Molokai with a Ohioan/Hawaiian luau (Ohio because that's where we are!). We have learned about St. Damien at home and my children find his life to be fascinating (who wouldn't?). We've never enjoyed Hawaiian food, however, and so I wasn't sure what to expect. I asked Esther for a recommendation on typically Hawaiian food and she told me that Kalua Pork and Cabbage is one to try. She gave me a link for a crock-pot method, which is the one I made. But now that I know what I'm looking for in terms of taste, I think I'll try the other method she gave me, which is a little more jazzed up. I must say, however, that almost every recipe I found for Kalua Pork is exactly three ingredients: pork, salt, and liquid smoke. Pretty simple stuff.

I admit I was hesitant about the liquid smoke in this recipe. I don't like a smoky flavored BBQ sauce and I was afraid the smoke flavor would be overwhelming, but because the list of ingredients is so basic, there didn't seem to be any way around it. I used a Mesquite flavored liquid smoke (which is apparently a mild flavor) and it was very natural tasting -- it tasted as though it had been smoked outdoors. My family loved the flavor and the texture of this tasty pork and I think we will enjoy it again -- it's just too bad St. Damien's day only comes once a year.

Kalua Pork

serves 6

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about 3 lbs. Pork butt or shoulder
3 T. concentrated liquid smoke (I used the mildest Mesqite flavor)

3 T. Kosher, rock, or Hawaiian salt (I used Kosher, but if you can find Hawaiian that might be a real treat)
Small head of cabbage
Water

Place pork roast in the crockpot. Pour liquid smoke over it and sprinkle with salt. Fill crockpot with water to cover.

Cook on high for 4-6 hours. Roast should pretty well fall apart when stuck with a fork. Remove pork from crockpot and let sit until cool enough to handle.

Cut cabbage into large chunks and place in the broth of the crockpot and let cook on high until cabbage is tender. When pork is cool enough to handle, shred and add back to the crockpot until serving time.

Serve cabbage and pork over hot white rice.

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Tea

The ladies at Snapshots Around the World are enjoying tea (or at least photographs) this week, and so, I'm posting my picture here, again.

My tea is Barry's Gold with a bit of sugar and 1% milk. Enjoyed with a chocolate, chocolate chip, cherry biscotti.

Tea for me, is much more than a beverage. Tea, is an event, whether enjoyed alone or with family, or with a friend. To me, tea is a process, and a moment to be enjoyed. I know some people make tea with a cup of water in the microwave. For me, heating one's water in the microwave defeats the purpose. The point is to have a moment of two during the day (and by moment I mean more than a minute) to slow down, to relax and divert one's attention from work. The process of brewing the tea is important to the total experience.

Fill the kettle with cool, fresh water and put it on the stove. Heat until boiling (the water must be very hot in order to brew the tea properly). When the water boils, turn it off and let it sit for just a moment. The decision to use a tea bag or loose leaves is personal. Loose leaves are not always superior over tea bags, as long as quality tea is used -- with either method. Quality tea does not have to be exorbitantly expensive -- just choose a good, reliable brand, or visit a tea shop and ask for advice. Place loose leaves in a strainer (or chose a bag) and place in cup or tea pot. Add hot water and let steep for at least three to five minutes -- taste to determine your preference. Do not dunk twice and discard -- you are completely missing the point, and the taste. After steeping, remove bag or strainer (do not squeeze). Add sugar, lemon or cream (or leave plain). Serve with a treat. Keep a box or tin of cookies in the pantry just for tea, or bake some scones and pop them in the freezer -- pull one out and heat in the oven or toaster oven for 20 minutes before tea time. Sit and enjoy with a book, a friend, or just quiet moments looking out the window.

A good cup of tea should recharge you, and not just because it's caffeinated.

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Nigella's Chocolate Cheesecake

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Last week, I was planning my menu for Mother's Day dinner. My mom was planning to be with us and I was planning as much of dinner to be prepared before hand as possible. My husband likes to think that he does all the work on Mother's Day, which just means I have to appear to not be working on the actual day. It makes for a lot of work, I'll tell you that. I asked one of the kids, "How about a strawberries and cream cake for Mother's Day?" To which he replied, "How about a chocolate cheesecake?" I suppose that's what I get for asking. 

I hunted down a new recipe for cheesecake, something we had not tried before and I am so glad I did. This recipe was not only very simple to make, but it was such a yummy cheesecake. Very soft and chocolatey, but not overly so, it was a perfect cheesecake. I really liked the crust -- with the addition of the cocoa powder, you take a graham cracker crust and make it chocolate. Yum!

A few notes: custard powder is instant vanilla pudding, so you'll need to buy a small box and use 1 tablespoon. I always keep an open box on-hand for adding to whipping cream, so you can use the rest another day. Also, I did not use all of the sauce on top -- it was too much. You can either half the recipe or save the remainder for drizzle over each piece at serving time.

Nigella's Chocolate Cheesecake

 serves 12

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Cheesecake base:

1 1/3 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup butter

1 T. cocoa

Cheesecake filling:

6 ounces bittersweet or semisweet chocolate, chopped small

2 1/2 cups cream cheese

3/4 cup superfine sugar

1 T. custard powder (instant vanilla pudding)

3 large eggs

3 large egg yolks

2/3 cup sour cream

1/2 t. cocoa, dissolved in 1 tablespoon hot water

Sauce:

3 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped

1/2 cup heavy cream

1 t. dark corn syrup

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. 

To make the base, process the graham crackers to make rough crumbs and then add the butter and cocoa. Process again until it makes damp, clumping crumbs and then tip them into the pan. Press the crumbs into the bottom of the pan to make an even base and put into the freezer while you make the filling. 

Put a kettle on to boil.

Melt the chocolate either in a microwave or double boiler, and set aside to cool slightly.

Beat the cream cheese to soften it, then add the sugar and custard power, beating again to combine. Beat in the whole eggs and then the yolks, and the sour cream. Finally add the cocoa dissolved in hot water and melted chocolate and mix to a smooth batter. 

Take the springform tin out of the freezer and line the outside of the tin with a good layer of cling wrap, and then another layer of strong foil over that. This will protect it from the water bath.

Sit the springform tin in a roasting pan and pour in the cheesecake filling.

Fill the roasting pan with just boiled water to come about half way up the cake tin and bake in the oven for 45 minutes to 1 hour. The top of the cheesecake should be set, but the underneath should still have a wobble to it. 

Peel away the foil and cling film wrapping and sit the cheesecake in its tin on a rack to cool. Put in the refrigerator once it is no longer hot, and leave to set, covered with plastic overnight. Let it lose its chill before unspringing the cheesecake to serve. 

To make the chocolate sauce: very gently melt the chopped chocolate, cream and syrup. When the chocolate has nearly melted, take off the heat and whisk it to a smooth sauce. Let it cool a little, and pour it over the chocolate cheesecake on its serving plate. 

Source: The Food Network

Grad Party Plans

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We have a high school graduation at the end of this month, and as the month seems to be flying by, I thought it wise to set my menu. I don't know how many will be attending the party yet, but it will likely be a crowd of friends, family, teachers and large teenage boys. I hope that this menu offers a little something for everyone to enjoy, while offering me enough flexibility to get most of it done in the days before the party.

Sweet tea, soda pop, sangria and beer

White bean dip with veggie chips

pretzels and peanuts
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Barbecued Pulled Pork

Hot and Sweet Italian sausage pieces with sauteed peppers and onions

Soft rolls

Pepper Jack Pasta Salad

Fruit Skewers

Beans and Wieners

Mexican Jumping Bean Slaw
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Vanilla Cupcakes and Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Chocolate Sour Cream Cupcakes

Snickerdoodle Bars

"Nieman Marcus" Chocolate Chip Cookies

Mexican Chocolate Cake

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Jam Filled Muffins

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This recipe is a just a slight modification to my recipe for Nancy's Sweet Muffins. A couple weeks ago I had planned breakfast for dinner (one of my favorite dinners) and we needed a little something to round out the meal.

I know most folks today are trying to pack as many nutrients into every bite of food as they can, but, frankly, sometimes we just need some inexpensive belly filler. I think our diets are pretty healthy all around and I refuse to worry about feeding my kids a little white flour and sugar. When I was little, no one ate whole wheat anything and we were perfectly healthy. It seems today people are either worrying themselves sick (pun intended) about feeding kids the perfect diet, or they don't care at all and they feed them all crap. I'm looking for a happy medium. Tasty enough to be fun, cheap enough to keep us in the black, and healthy enough to, well, keep us healthy.

These little muffins definitely fall in the tasty and cheap department, but rounded out with some eggs, peppers, potatoes, and some orange wedges, they are just lovely. Use your favorite flavor of jam, or give everyone their favorite flavor. I used seedless strawberry myself.

 

Jam Filled Muffins

makes 6

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1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 t baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup jam

sugar to sprinkle

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Grease the cups of a jumbo muffin tin (six cups). Mix dry ingredients. Beat eggs; add oil and milk. Make a well in dry ingredients and add wet ingredients. Stir only until moist. 

Divide about half the batter among each muffin tin. Top with about 2 teaspoons of jam, right in the center. Top with remaining batter, pushing the batter down around the edges to seal the jam in. Sprinkle with a little bit of table sugar.

Bake in greased muffin tins for 15-20 minutes, until golden on top and toothpick comes out clean.

CAUTION: If you enjoy these muffins straight from the oven, the jam will be very hot.

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Asian Barbecue Chicken Pizza

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By now you probably have realized that I can turn almost anything into a pizza. To me, a circle of dough is just the perfect blank slate for almost any flavors, and what better way to get the food from your plate to your mouth? ;-)

This pizza was inspired by a recipe I saw for Asian Chicken Salad -- the flavors looked yummy, and so did all those fresh veggies, but my husband and teenage sons don't ever consider salad to be dinner. The funny thing is, I can load all those same ingredients on top of a pizza dough and there you have dinner. Silly boys.

Asian Barbecue Chicken Pizza

serves 4 to 6

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2 boneless chicken breasts

2 T. olive oil

2T. soy sauce

1 T. honey

Sauce:

2 t. oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 T. minced fresh ginger

1/4 c. diced red onion

1/3 c. reduced-sodium soy sauce

1/3 c. brown sugar

1 T. rice vinegar

2 T. ketchup

1/2 t. sesame oil

Salad:

1 bag cabbage slaw mix

1 red pepper, thinly sliced (or combination of red and yellow)

4 radishes, thinly sliced

1 carrot, cut into matchsticks or shredded

1/4 c. seasoned rice vinegar

1 T. sesame oil

1 T. honey

salt and pepper to taste

1 recipe pizza dough (or prepared pizza crust)

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Mix 2 T. soy sauce, olive oil and honey. Pour over chicken breasts and marinate for an hour or more in the refrigerator.

Prepare sauce: In a small saucepan, heat oil. Add garlic, ginger and onion and saute over medium low for about 5 minutes, until soft. Add remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Simmer over medium low heat until thickened, about 15 minutes. Turn off heat and allow to cool slightly.

When ready to prepare pizza, heat outdoor grill or grill pan. Cook chicken over medium low heat until done. Set aside to cool a minute.

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.

Prep pizza dough: grease large pizza pan. Spread dough to edges of pan (see technique here).

 Slice chicken into bite size pieces. 

Spread sauce over dough and then top with chicken pieces.

Top evenly with cheese. Bake for 10 minutes or until cheese is golden and crust is evenly browned on the bottom.

Meanwhile, place cabbage, radishes, carrots and peppers in bowl. Mix together vinegar, sesame oil, and honey in a container with a lid. Shake thoroughly and pour over salad. Salt and pepper and toss. Taste and adjust seasoning and sweetness if necessary. Toss occasionally while pizza bakes.

When pizza is done, remove from oven and let sit for a few minutes. Slice and serve, topped with salad.

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Poaching in progress

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My friend Kim at Starry Sky Ranch has joined with two other women to create Snapshots Around the World. This week's subject is "eggs" and I just happened to have this photo that I recently snapped when I was poaching eggs -- quite a few eggs for my very hungry husband and teenage boys.

It's best to place each egg you are poaching in a small bowl or glass so that you can place the container close to the simmering water and drop it gently. Always add a teaspoon of white vinegar to your poaching water and it will help hold the whites together.

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Nigella's Meatloaf and Noodles Romanoff

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I'm always on the lookout for a great meatloaf recipe. I think I have lamented before that my children are not big fans of meatloaf. One of the boys really enjoys my Meatloaf with Mushroom Gravy, but another has decided he does not like mushrooms and can't quite get past them to eat the meatloaf. Picky kid.

Anyway, I saw this recipe in Nigella Lawson's Nigella Kitchen and was intrigued by the recipe, mostly because of the eggs that are enclosed inside the meatloaf. It reminded me of our family's favorite Chicken Pot Pie with the hard boiled eggs. Also, completely topped with bacon -- who can resist? I wouldn't serve it regularly with all that bacon on top -- not very healthy -- but it's definitely worthy of a once in a while treat.

A few notes on the recipe -- I used butter to cook the onions instead of the duck fat offered as a choice. A few days later I saw Jamie Oliver cook with duck fat and he has me convinced that it would well be worth it once in a while to use it, though I'm not certain I could even find it at the store. I did not use 4 onions, but one large which was probably close to a pound. Also -- I had no intention of making gravy so I used the bread slice trick (seen at the Meatloaf with Mushroom Gravy recipe) to soak up the fat.

Also, on the Noodles Romanoff -- simple, simple recipe, but the kids loved it so much I decided to post the recipe.You can probably use a teaspoon of dried chives if you don't have fresh, but you won't get the same exact flavor.  If you don't have chives in the garden, or even just in a bed outside the back door, definitely pick up a plant. In no time at all you'll have plenty of chives (in fact, you might want to put your plant in a pot because they take over the garden).

Nigella's Meatloaf

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4 eggs (only boil three)

4 onions, 1 pound

5 T. duck fat or butter

1 t. kosher salt or 1/2 t. table salt

1 t. Worcestershire sauce

2 pounds ground beef, preferably organic

2 cups fresh breadcrumbs

10 ounces (approx. 20 slices) bacon

1 large roasting pan

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Bring a saucepan of water to a boil and then boil 3 of the eggs for 7 minutes. Refresh them in cold water.

Peel and chop the onions, and heat the duck fat in a thick-bottomed frying pan. Cook the onions gently sprinkled with the salt, for about 20 to 25 minutes or until the onions are golden and catching in the fat. Remove to a bowl to cool.

Put the Worcestershire sauce and ground beef into a bowl, and when the onion mixture is not hot to the touch, add to the bowl and work everything together with your hands.

Add the remaining raw egg and mix again before finally adding the breadcrumbs.

Divide the mixture into 2, and in the pan, make the bottom half of the meatloaf by patting half the beef mixture into a flattish ovoid shape approximately 9 inches long. Peel and place the 3 hard-boiled eggs in a row down the middle of the meatloaf.

 

Shape the remaining mound over the top of the eggs and pat into a solid loaf shape. Compress the meatloaf to get rid of any holes, but don't overwork it.

 

Cover the meatloaf with slices of bacon, as if it were a terrine, tucking the bacon ends underneath the meatloaf as best you can to avoid its curling up as it cooks.

 

Bake for 1 hour, until the juices run clear and once it's out of the oven let the meatloaf rest for 15 minutes. This should make it easier to slice. When slicing, do it generously, so everyone gets some egg. Pour meat juices over as you serve or do what you will gravy-wise. 

 

Noodles Romanoff

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8 ounces wide egg noodles

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup whipped cream cheese

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 cup or more half & half or cream

1 T. chopped fresh chives

1 t. salt

1/8 t. ground black pepper

1 clove crushed garlic

2 T. butter

1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

 

In a large pot with boiling salted water cook egg noodles until al dente. Drain. 

In the noodle pot, mix together the sour cream, cream cheese, 1/4 cup of the grated Parmesan cheese, chives, salt, ground black pepper, and garlic. Add a few tablespoons of half & half or cream. Heat on low and stir to a smooth texture.

Stir in butter or margarine to hot egg noodles. Stir into sour cream mixture. Add more cream as necessary to get a creamy texture.

Arrange noodles on warm platter and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup of grated Parmesan cheese.

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Yogurt for kiddies

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Back in the post I wrote about my new yogurt maker, a lovely reader, Shaun, mentioned that her daughter likes the yogurt that comes in fun cups and is produced in a color of pink not found in nature (actually Shaun didn't say all that -- I'm embellishing). Shaun felt it would be difficult to convert her daughter to homemade -- the difference is just too much. I can completely sympathize as my daughter thinks that yogurt that comes in crushable cups is "the bomb."

Yesterday, however, when I was stirring a spoonful of strawberry jam into my homemade yogurt, I had a bit of a revelation concerning homemade yogurt and kids who like it sweet and pink. It's possible that a squirt a Hershey's Strawberry Syrup might just make that homemade yogurt a little more palatable. The strawberry syrup is mostly sugar, but since commercial brand yogurt that is marketed for kids is mostly sugar (sugar is the second ingredient in Danimals Crush Cups), you're not doing any more harm. There are, however, other ingredients in commercial yogurt that is not found in homemade, nor in sugar syrup, so I do think it would be healthier overall. Eventually you can cut back slowly on the syrup until it's just a wee bit sweet and pink.

If the kids don't like strawberry, I noticed that allrecipes.com has a recipe for milk syrup using packaged Kool-Aid -- in which the flavors are nearly endless (and ingredients are even more controlled by you).


In making homemade yogurt and using a syrup additive, you will also save money. In my yogurt maker post I reported the cost savings in making my own yogurt. It's a remarkable money saver if you, or your kids eat a lot of yogurt. If the kids must have fun cups to eat their yogurt from, either save up some of those plastic cups from the commercial brand, or pick up a few cute melamine bowls with their favorite cartoon characters -- only to be used for yogurt.

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Polish Kremówka Papieska

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With three big events on the Catholic calendar yesterday I had a hard time deciding which to celebrate. It was the feast of St. Joseph the Worker, for whom I have great fondness, the feast of Divine Mercy, for which I have great devotion, and the beatification of our blessed Pope John Paul II. Hmmm...which to celebrate?

Well, I ended up praying the prayers of the Divine Mercy throughout the day, preparing an Italian meal (which covered St. Joseph in my mind) and enjoying a wonderful a Polish dessert, supposedly the favorite dessert of Pope John Paul II. It was a full and complete day. ;-)

This dessert is one that will be an annual treat on October 22 the new feast day of our beloved Blessed John Paul II. What a treat to look forward to -- like a giant cream filled pastry. Yum! I used the "easier" of the two recipes found at Catholic Cuisine and it turned out just wonderful (but I am wondering how that other one would turn out...might have to do a test run). With just the purchase of a box of puff pastry and cooking a quick pastry cream, the entire dessert was finished. Just a few hours of chilling is all it needed (and it's just as tasty this morning, so don't worry about those leftovers!). I'm not certain how authentic this recipe is, as the video at Catholic Cuisine states the cream cake has a shortbread crust and a pasry top, but it was a delicious attempt at this ethnic dish.



I struggled with the pronunciation of this heavenly treat, but after watching the video at Catholic Cuisine it seems the pronunication is: Krem'-ōf-ka Puh-pes'-ka -- not as complicated as it looks.

I am posting the recipe just as Jessica posted it at Catholic Cuisine, but just so you know I did not bake the pastries with a baking rack on top. I did, however, push them down lightly with a large spatula (just to push some of the air out) halfway through the bake and at the end. My total bake time was 25 minutes. Also, I pulled the pastry out of the freezer and while it thawed, I cooked and chilled my cream -- kind of backwards, but it worked. After the pastries were baked and almost completely cool, I spooned on the chilled cream. Because the cream was set, it didn't run and didn't require the use of the sided dish as a mold, I just plated it on my serving platter and chilled it for several hours before serving. The whipped cream and strawberry are optional, but special.

Polish Kremówka Papieska

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2 sheets (1.1-pound package) frozen puff pastry dough, thawed

1 recipe Easy Pastry Cream (see below)

Confectioners' sugar

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Roll out each piece of puff pastry slightly to blend the seam lines. Without cutting all the way through, lightly score each pastry sheet into 9 sections. Sandwich each puff pastry sheet between two pieces of parchment paper and two cooling racks. This will keep the pastry flat but still flaky. Bake 15 minutes, remove top rack and top sheet of parchment paper. Replace rack and continue to bake until golden and crispy throughout, about 15 more minutes. (See my note above on this technique.) Cool completely.

If you like a thick layer of filling, make a double batch of Easy Pastry Cream. (I made one recipe)

Using a 13x9-inch pan as a mold, place one layer of cooked puff pastry in the bottom of the pan. Pour hot pastry cream over it, and place second layer of cooked puff pastry on top. Refrigerate until set. When ready to serve, using the prescored marks as guides, cut into 9 pieces. Dust each piece with confectioners' sugar. Refrigerate leftovers. (I chilled my cream and spooned it on almost completely cooled pastries. I pulled the pastry out of the freezer and while it thawed, I cooked and chilled my cream -- kind of backwards but it works.)

Easy Pastry Cream

2 cups milk

3/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Pinch salt

5 tablespoons cornstarch

6 large egg yolks

In a medium saucepan, bring milk, sugar, vanilla, salt, cornstarch and egg yolks to a boil, stirring constantly with a wire whisk. Reduce heat slightly and continue to boil 1 minute, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon to get in the corners. Take the pan off the heat and plunge it into an ice-water bath or, if you have lumps, strain it through a sieve into a pan or heatproof bowl set in ice water.