Fried Green Tomatoes

Fried Green Tomatoes
Ingredients

4 large green tomatoes
2 eggs
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 cup Panko breadcrumbs
vegetable oil for frying

Directions

Slice tomatoes 1/4 inch thick.
Whisk eggs and milk together
On one plate, spread out flour, and on another plate put Panko breadcrumbs.
Dip the tomatoes in the flour, then the egg and milk mixture, lastly dip in breadcrumbs.
Heat oil in a large skillet, no more than 1/4 an inch of oil, when the oil is hot, fry the tomatoes 4 at a time, edges not touching. Flip when the tomatoes are browned and fry them on the other side. Drain on a paper towel.

(Instead of Panko breadcrumbs, you can also use a mixture of 1 cup flour, 1/2 cup cornmeal, salt and pepper)

Spring Vegetable Rolls

 Crispy Vegetable Spring Rolls
(Makes 42 spring rolls)
 I prefer the spring roll wrappers instead of the wheat wraps, they are thin and the result is a light crispy spring roll. 

Ingredients

10 spring roll wrappers thawed for 2 hours
1 red pepper, thinly sliced
1 carrot thinly sliced with a peeler
8 snap peas thinly sliced
1 cup bean sprouts
¼ white cabbage, shredded
Bok choy cabbage sliced (1 cup)
1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
some rice noodles, soaked in water
3 tablespoons oyster sauce
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
some salt and pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 egg, beaten
2 cups vegetable oil for deep frying rolls


Equipment you need ready:

1 wok
1 wooden spoon
1 bowl
1 spoon
1 brush
1 tea towel
1 saucepan
1 slotted spoon
1 tray lined with paper towel
tongs


Directions
Prepare the vegetables:

Begin by heating the wok. When hot, add some

oil, the red peppers, carrots, cabbage, bok choy, snap peas
 and bean sprouts. Cook lifting and turning the vegetables over until the vegetables have slightly softened and their tasted have had a chance to mingle.

While the vegetables are cooking, immerse the rice noodles in water for 3 minutes, then remove and drain in a colander. This allows the noodles to soften a little, I also cut the noodles with scissors. It gets tangled like silky hair when you add to the vegetables.

Add the noodles, 3 tablespoons oyster sauce,3 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 teaspoon sugar, salt and pepper to taste. Mix well, take off the heat and place in a bowl to cool a little. Or you can put in the fridge covered and continue the next day. The rolls hold up better when frying if you allow the filling to cool completely.

To Make the Spring Rolls:
Remove the plastic wrap around the spring roll wrappers, dampen a tea cloth, squeeze out excess water, and lay flat. Next put the wrappers on half of the damp cloth and then fold the cloth over the wrappers so that they are covered with the cloth. This way the wrapper don't dry out while you are making the rolls. Peel off one spring roll wrapper, they are extremely thin and a bit fiddly. Place one wrapper on the cutting board.

Brush the edges of the wrapper with the beaten egg. Next, add the filling in the bottom part of the wrapper in a thin log shape, not touching the edges. Leave the bottom few centimeters clear.

                  Lift the wrapper over the top of the filling and tuck it in under the filling.

                                 Fold over the left side .................and then the right side

                                      ....................   and roll it up to form a tube....................
Brush a little more egg along the top part and seal the roll. Repeat until all the rolls are finished.

Spring rolls ready to deep fry.

Deep Fry the Spring Rolls

In a saucepan, pour 2 cups vegetable oil and heat over high heat.

Once the oil is hot, deep fry the spring rolls, 3 at a time, until lightly brown, which should take only 1 minute. I've timed them and they go fast, no more than 30 seconds on each side. Remove with tongs and place on paper towels to drain.

Serve your crispy spring rolls with sweet and sour sauce or black vinegar, or whatever sauce is your preference. Cindy gave me a great sauce recipe, sesame seed oil, soy sauce, white vinegar and a little sugar, I think, but I shall have to check on that.  You can make them and reheat for later. Reheat in oven at 350 degrees F.

Spring rolls freeze really well, put in freezer cooked. When needed, thaw for a few hours, then wrap in silver foil and heat in oven at 350 degrees F. for 20 minutes, after 20 minutes, uncover and continue baking until crispy, approx. 5 minutes.

Sauteed Portabella Mushrooms

Sauteed Portabella Mushrooms
Great with steak, roast beef, hamburgers or all alone

Ingredients

3 large portabella mushrooms
olive oil
butter
soy sauce
tobasco sauce

Directions

Remove stems and peel off outer skin.
Slice mushrooms.
Heat up a skillet with a tablespoon olive oil
and 2 tablespoons butter.
Saute mushrooms and after two minutes,
add 2 tablespoons soy sauce and a generous
shake of Tobasco sauce.
Cover skillet, lower heat and continue to
simmer until tender.
Serve with the sauce it cooked in.

Maple Glazed Vegetables

Maple-Glazed Vegetables

Ingredients

15 Brussel Sprouts ends snipped off and halved
1 Butternut Squash, peeled and cut in 1 inch pieces
1 Red Onion chopped
Olive Oil
Salt
Pepper

Glaze

1/2 cup Butter
1/2 cup Maple Syrup
1/2 cup Brown Sugar


Directions

Preheat oven to 450 Degrees F.
Sprinkle vegetable with salt and pepper.
Toss brussel sprouts, butternut squash and onion with 1/4 cup olive oil.
Place vegetable on baking pan (sprayed with Pam)
Bake approx. 35 minutes or until tender.

While the vegetables are in oven, prepare the glaze.
In a saucepan melt 1/2 cup butter on low heat, add maple syrup and brown sugar, stir well.
Drizzle over vegetables when they are tender and continue to bake for 8 minutes.

Cucumber Salad with Greek Yoghurt

Cucumber Salad with Greek Yoghurt






Inspired by Chef Kamal Al-Faqih from his book Classic Lebanese Cuisine.

Ingredients

2 cucumbers (choose narrow firm
cucumbers without large seeds,
English cucumbers are excellent for this salad)
1 large clove garlic
1/2 teasp. salt
1/2 teaspoon tahini
1 cup Greek yoghurt (see how to make your own)
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh mint leaves or
1/4 teaspoon dried mint flakes.

Directions

Put the garlic and salt in a medium sized bowl. Mash the garlic to a pulp using a pestle.
Add 1/2 teaspoon tahini and mix well (tahini serves as a binder) and then add 1 cup yoghurt and the mint. Mix well. Cover and refrigerate until needed.

Peel cucumber lengthwise, leaving a little strip of green skin. Quarter it lengthwise, then cut each quarter into small pieces. Cover and refrigerate.
Add cucumber to the yoghurt mixture just before serving.

broccoli salad with strawberries

 Broccoli Salad with Strawberries and Poppy Seed Dressing
A refreshing salad...........

Ingredients

1 head broccoli
8 strawberries
2 tablespoons Marie’s Poppy Seed Dressing

Directions

Chop broccoli and slice strawberries into a bowl.
Add 2 tablespoons Marie’s Poppy Seed Dressing,
mix and serve.

Little Neck Clams with Fetuccini

Fettucini with Fresh Clams, Parsley & Lemon
4 Servings

Ingredients

1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
8 garlic cloves slices
1/2 cup chopped Italian parsley
1/2 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup freshly squeezed lemon juice
3 lbs Littleneck clams
or Manila clams, scrubbed
1 lb. fettucini or spaghetti

Directions

Immerse clams in a bowl of water first and scrub with a brush, change the water three times, there is often sand attached.
Prep your ingredients as it goes fast.
Prepare bowls with 1/2 cup chopped parsley,1/2 cup wine,1/4 cup lemon juice.
In a saucepan pour 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil and add 8 garlic cloves.

Heat up a saucepan of water for the fettucini, with a tablespoon salt.
When the water is boiling, add fettucini, stir a little with a wooden spoon.

Next, heat the oil and garlic over medium heat, once the garlic is medium brown,
(2 mins) add clams and the Italian parsley. Stir for 2 minutes.
Add wine, simmer for 2 mins.
Add lemon juice, cover and simmer till clams open (6 mins) 

The fettucini should be done, drain in a colander, pour the sauce the clams cooked in over the fettucini and place the clams on top................serve with salad.

rack of lamb

Rack of Lamb
Inspired by Curtis Stone.
He says that roasting
meat on the bone brings

 a great element of flavor
to a dish. Racks of lamb
are lean, he believes by
covering the rack in a
crust, the meat is
protected from the heat
and stays much juicier.
We make this dish often,
it is so tender and tasty.

Ingredients
1 cup breadcrumbs
2 tablespoons fresh rosemary chopped
salt and pepper
2 tablespoons butter
2 racks of lamb (with 6 chops)
1 tablespoon runny honey
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard

Directions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
Chop 2 tablespoons rosemary leaves, mix in with 1 cup breadcrumbs and season with salt and pepper. Melt 2 tablespoons butter and mix into the breadcrumb mixture. Put in a pyrex dish.
Mix together 1 tablespoon honey and 1 tablespoon Dijon mustard. Put to one side.

Heat a large skillet, with a teaspoon oil and sear the racks of lamb on all sides quickly.
Brush the lamb with the honey mixture and dip the glazed lamb into the breadcrumbs so that all sides are covered.

Bake in the hot oven for 20 minutes. The meat should be extremely pink on the inside, it continues to cook while resting.
Leave the lamb to rest for 4 minutes, then carve the lamb into individual chops and serve with mint jelly.

scallops

Scallops
(From Fine Cooking)

Ingredients

24 large sea scallops
4 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons finely diced medium shallot
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/4 cup chopped Italian parsley
and chives (combined)
1/4 teaspoon grated lemon zest
salt and black pepper
3 lemon wedges

Directions

Have all ingredients prepared before you begin cooking
Rinse the scallops in cold water and pat dry with a paper towel.
In a skillet, heat 1 tablespoon unsalted butter and 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat.
Place the scallops in a single layer in skillet, season with salt and pepper and sear the scallops for 2-3 minutes until one side is brown and crisp. Turn the scallops over and sear the other side until brown and scallops feel firm to the touch. Take the pan off heat and remove and set scallops in a warm spot.

To make the sauce, in the same skillet, add 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter and saute shallots for about 1 minute to soften.
Add 1/4 cup dry white wine and simmer for 2 minutes.
Add herbs and lemon zest and add 2 1/2 tablespoons butter. Lower heat and whisk until the butter melts into the sauce.
Return scallops to skillet and gently roll scallops in sauce to warm through.

Add a little salt and pepper and serve with lemon wedges.

Chocolate Cream Pie

Chocolate Cream Pie

Epicurious is a great site for recipes, this one is delicious. I’ve made it with an ordinary pie crust as well and it’s still excellent.

Ingredients

The crust

1 1/3 cups chocolate wafer crumbs (approx. 26 Nabisco Famous Chocolate Wafers)
5 tablespoons unsalted butter melted
1/4 cup sugar

The filling

2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 teasp. salt
4 egg yolks
3 cups milk
5 oz. bittersweet chocolate melted
2 oz. unsweetened chocolate melted
2 tablespoons unsalted butter softened
1 teasp. vanilla

Topping

3/4 cup chilled heavy cream
1 tablespoon sugar

Directions

Make the crust first.
Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Stir together the crumbs butter and sugar and press on bottom and up sides of a 9 inch pie plate. Bake until crisp, approx. 15 minutes and cool.

Next make the filling. Whisk together sugar, cornstarch, salt and yolks in a saucepan until combined well, then add milk in a steady stream whisking constantly. Bring to boil over moderate heat, whisking, then reduce heat and simmer whisking one minute until thick. Whisk in chocolates, butter and vanilla. Cover filling with a buttered round of wax paper and cool for 2 hours.

Spoon filling into pie crust and chill for at least 6 hours.

Just before serving,mix heavy cream and sugar together with an electric mixer until the cream is stiff. Spoon on top of pie
This pie is also good without the cream topping!

Pot Roast

Pot Roast

The chuck roast with the T bone is the best, but they seem to be hard to find these days. Remove as much of the fat as you can or the dish will be too oily.

Ingredients

Chuck roast
Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom Soup
Spanish onion chopped
Lipton’s Beef and Mushroom soup diluted with water or red wine (better)
2 cloves garlic chopped
1 stick of celery chopped
1 carrot chopped

Directions

Place chuck roast in a baking pan and add all the above ingredients. Spread the mixture all over meat.
Seal thoroughly with silver foil.
Bake at 295 degrees F. until the meat is tender and falls away from the bone. The slower you cook the meat, the more tender it becomes. Check after 2 hours for tenderness. May need more time.

Serve with potatoes and carrots.
Can be frozen.

Kibbe Kishk

Kibbee Kishk
Kishk powder is a mixture of fermented milk, salt and bulgur dried and ground into cornmeal. Used in savory dishes it has a tart flavor.
The recipe for Kibbee Kebabs can be found in my February blogs, posted on 2/13/12

Ingredients

For 25 Kibbee Kebabs (uncooked) use:
1 can Campbell’s beef broth
2 quarts water
1/2 cup rice
3 cups kishk mixed with water first
1 tblsp. salt
shake of pepper
1 tablsp. allspice


For 16 Kibbee Kebabs (uncooked) use:
1 can Campbell’s beef broth
6 cups water
1/4 cup rice
2 cups kishk mixed with water first
2 teasps. salt
shake pepper
1/2 teasp. allpice
Put all above ingredients in pan and bring to a gentle boil, stirring continuously.
If mixture becomes too thick, add more water.

Directions

Drop kibbee kebabs gently into kishk mixture and simmer for 20 minutes. Keep covered. After 20 minutes, check to make sure the kibbee kebabs are not pink inside. If still pink cook for a little longer. Shut off heat and let kibbee kebabs steep in mixture for a few hours.

If you make the kibbee kebabs at the same time as the kishk mixture, any leftover filling can be added to the kishk mixture.

May be frozen.

steamed broccoli

Steamed Broccoli

Ingredients

1 bunch broccoli

Directions

Place a flexible
steamer in a saucepan

and fill pan with just
enough water so that
you get a glimpse of
water through the
steamer holes.Add a
sprinkle of salt and
bring to boil covered.
Cut off the ends of the broccoli stalks and place in steaming pan, cover and steam until
the broccoli is tender. Do not overcook.

Serve with lemon wedges.

corn beef New England style

Corn Beef New England Style

Buy the packaged corned beef (flat cut brisket) with juices

Ingredients
Brisket of  corn beef with juices            
1 jar of pickling spices
1 whole garlic
Cabbage
Carrots
Potatoes

Directions

Place the brisket of beef in a large pan and add 1 jar pickling spices, 1 whole garlic (cloves cut in half) and cover with water.
Bring to boil and simmer covered till tender...(approx 4 hours)

When tender, let cool in own juices. Slice the meat and add a little of the juice it cooked in.

Serve with boiled potatoes, cooked sliced carrots, wedges of cabbage. Strain the juices the corned beef cooked in and steam the cabbage in these juices, tastes delicious. The cabbage absorbs all the tastes of the corned beef.
Serve with vinegar on the table.

Leftovers are good as cold corned beef on rye bread with Russian Dressing.

French Fries (chips)

French Fries (chips)
This is a faster method of making french fries inspired by Curtis Stone’s cook book,
Cooking with Curtis

 
Ingredients

slice potato into french fry wedges

6 russet potatoes                                                 
vegetable oil

Directions

Peel the potatoes and slice into french
fry wedges, heat up a saucepan of water
 and blanch the potato slices in boiling
 water for 4 minutes.
Drain and wrap in potato towels to dry off.

Heat up a deep saucepan with vegetable oil, enough for deep frying. Deep fry the potatoes in small batches until crispy brown and drain on a paper towel.

cod deep fried in beer batter

Cod in Beer Batter

Ingredients

1 lb cod, cut into 6 pieces, or larger if you wish.
For the batter....
1 teasp. dried yeast
1 bottle beer
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour
vegetable oil for frying
1 lemon
a jigger of whisky added to the batter (optional)

Directions

Make the batter first.

Wash the cod, and pat dry with a paper towel
Using a whisk, slowly mix the beer and yeast together until frothy. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for 10 - 15 minutes.
Next, gradually add the flour, whisking all the time, to the beer and yeast mixture.
Be careful not to let the batter get too thick. If you like, add a little whisky to the batter as well.

Season the fish with salt and pepper and sprinkle a little flour over the fish.
Heat up the oil for deep frying until a cube of bread  browns  in 30 seconds, or 340 degrees F. Dip the fish in the batter and drop into the hot oil very carefully, two at a time.  When crispy brown...should be done in less than three minutes, remove with a slotted spoon and place on paper towel. Continue to deep fry the other pieces in the same manner.
Serve with lemon wedges, tartare sauce and french fries.

beets

Beets

I always used to poach beets in gently simmering water until they were tender, but baking them keeps the sweetness in and they don't become mushy.



Ingredients

Beets with leaves on (fresher)                                        
Baking dish
Silver foil
White vinegar







Directions

Wash the beets, Cut off the leaves and stalks, not too
close to the bulb.

Place in baking dish, cover with silver foil.
Bake at 400 degrees F. for a good hour covered.
Pierce with a fork to test for tenderness.
Remove from oven and allow the beets to cool a bit.            
Peel off the skin, slice beets into a bowl, pour over
 some white vinegar and serve.
Can be served warm or cold.
You can also add sliced red onions if you like.