Karen Cooks

Ooey Gooey Butter Layer Cake - Paula Deen

2012-01-21T16:07:00.000-07:00

My sister made this recipe around Christmastime and she said it was delicious and everyone who ate it raved about it. I invited friends over for dinner and cake for one of their birthdays and asked what kind of cake he wanted. He requested anything but chocolate, so I decided to make this.

This looked like a time consuming recipe. I made the filling and frosting 2 days before making the cake, and made the cake the day before it was needed. In a nutshell, this cake, including the filling and frosting used 5 sticks of butter, 1 cup sour cream, 8-1/4 cups sugar, 2 packages of cream cheese, and 8 eggs. Wow! I was curious as to the calorie count, so calculated the calories using this link.

Are you sitting down? The entire cake contains 13,392 calories! That's 837 calories per slice for 16 servings. The cake was very heavy and reminded me of a cross between pound cake and cheesecake. The filling had the most flavor, but the rest of the cake was quite bland and the frosting was way to sweet for my taste.

Not a winner of cake as far as I'm concerned. I've had better cakes (with a whole lot fewer calories)! If you'd like to try the cake, or use the filling for one of your favorite cakes, you can find the recipe here.

Pizza Hut Pan Pizza - Copycat Recipe

2012-01-18T13:23:00.004-07:00

Homemade pizza is so easy and so inexpensive, it's a wonder why more people don't make it themselves. We like a thin crust pizza, but when I saw this at Brenda's blog, I wanted to give it a try.

It was a delicious pizza, but I really can't tell you if this tasted like a Pizza Hut pizza, or not, considering I can't even remember the last time I was in a Pizza Hut, much less how the pizza tasted! But, the dough was a joy to work with... nice and soft and smooth, and easy to roll out. The sides and bottom of the crust were super crispy.

I didn't make the sauce called for in the recipe... I used jarred spaghetti sauce along with shredded mozzarella, mushrooms, red onions, tomatoes, and some fresh herbs. This recipe makes three 9-inch pizzas; perfect when you have people who want different toppings. Next time I make pizza, I'm going to use this dough, but roll it out into one large pizza.

You can find the recipe on Brenda's Canadian Kitchen. Thanks, Brenda!

Slow Roasted Garlic Mojo (Mojo de Ajo)

2012-01-03T13:42:00.000-07:00

Definition of Mojo: a magic spell, hex, or charm; broadly: magical power

Whip up a batch of this stuff and you'll be working your mojo in the kitchen every time you use it! Although this recipe is from Rick Bayless, I first saw it on Pam's blog, Pam's Midwestern Kitchen Korner. She listed several uses for this liquid gold, which I've included in the recipe.

The garlic roasts in olive oil and comes out of the oven fragrant and caramelized and I don't have to tell you that your kitchen will smell wonderful while the garlic is roasting!

I use this just as I would use plain olive oil with the addition of a few (or several) spoonfuls of the roasted garlic whenever I saute anything. And it's perfect as a dipping sauce with homemade french bread. Now that I've tried it, I can't imagine not having a jar of it in the fridge all the time!

PRINT RECIPE (adapted from Rick Bayless)

Slow Roasted Garlic Mojo (Mojo de Ajo)

4 large heads garlic

3 cups olive oil

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup lemon juice

Preheat oven to 325F. Separate and peel garlic cloves. Put cloves into a plastic bag and mash with the flat side of a meat tenderizer. Stir the garlic, oil and salt into an 8" baking pan, making sure the garlic is submerged in the oil. Put into oven and bake for 45 minutes. Remove from oven, add lemon juice, then return to oven for 20 minutes. Let cool and put into covered glass jar and refrigerate.

Uses:
- Dipping sauce for bread
- Spread over pizza crust before adding other ingredients
- Use as a topping for bruschetta
- Add to soups
- Spread on toasted french bread
- Use it to brown a roast
- Add to homemade salad dressings
- Roast potatoes in it
- Add to pasta sauces
- Serve with fish and seafood, such as shrimp scampi
- Add to marinades
- Pour onto popcorn

2011 Recipe Roundup

2012-01-01T11:33:00.000-07:00

Thank you for reading Karen Cooks this past year. I appreciate all of your comments and look forward to reading your blogs in 2012!

The 10 recipes shown today are the ones that had the most views throughout the year - here's the countdown, beginning with Portuguese Rice Pudding, which had the most views.

Happy New Year!

Portuguese Rice Pudding

Boston Brown Bread

New England Clam Chowder

Portuguese New England Boiled Dinner

Best Cheesecake Ever!

Homemade French Bread

Lemon-Ricotta Cookies

Deviled Eggs with Tarragon and Capers

Unstuffed Cabbaged Rolls

Mexican Style Hot Pickled Carrots

Cranberry Sweet Rolls

2011-12-30T12:23:00.002-07:00

Q: What do you get when you mix milk, honey, vanilla bean, yeast, flour, salt, a stick-and-a-half of butter, 10 egg yolks and takes three days to make?

A: Milk and Honey Brioche

Q:What do you get when you mix sugar, water, and fresh cranberries, boil them for12 minutes, then separate the solids from the liquid?

A:Cranberry Jam (and a sweet container of cranberry juice – think Cran-Martini!)

Q:What do you get when you roll out the Milk and Honey Brioche dough and spreadit with the Cranberry Jam?

A:Cranberry Sweet Rolls.

Thiswas the yellowest (10 egg yolks!), silkiest (albeit stickiest) dough I’ve everhandled. It is the softest, most tender bread I have ever eaten. And 3 days tomake? From someone who wants everything right now? I can just tell you that it was well worth the wait.

Theselovelies come from Stella. Besides graduating from the Culinary Institute ofAmerica and currently working as a Pastry Girl (don’t call her a Pastry Chef) at Table 310 in Lexington,Kentucky, Stella has a beautiful blog, Brave Tart, where she shares hercreations with us.

Hereare the links to Stella’s recipes:

Milkand Honey Brioche

CranberryJam

CranberrySweet Rolls

HappyNew Year!

Homemade Soft Pretzels

2011-12-20T18:26:00.000-07:00

Soft pretzels, hot out of the oven. I ate two.

This is a really good recipe. They don't taste like the pretzels you can buy at the mall. You know the place. (Psst! They're better!)

The recipe makes 8 big pretzels. Next time I'll make make them smaller, or maybe make pretzel sticks or pretzel nuggets. And I want to chop up some canned jalapeños and add it to the dough. These were brushed with melted butter when they came out of the oven and they didn't fare well overnight. They were kind of soggy and the salt melted away. Next time I'll have a few friends over so there won't be leftovers. Or, I could eat them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. That would work.

There are some suggestions for topping variations on the recipe page.

PRINT RECIPE

Homemade Soft Pretzels (adapted from here)

Pretzel Dough

10-12 ounces flour (about 2-1/2 cups)

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

2 tsp yeast

1 cup warm water (110°F to 115°F)

Topping

1/2 cup warm water

2 T baking soda

Kosher salt

3 T butter, melted

In a small saucepan, combine 1/2 cup water and 2 tablespoons baking soda. Bring to a simmer and stir to dissolve baking soda. Remove from heat and let cool.

Place flour, salt, sugar, and yeast in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment and mix well. Change to dough hook and knead for 5 minutes or until dough is soft and smooth and no longer sticky. Put dough into a greased bowl, cover, and allow to rise for 30 minutes.

Preheat oven to 500°F. Spray a baking sheet with non-stick cooking spray, or alternatively, line a baking sheet with parchment.

Remove dough from bowl to a pastry mat. Divide dough into 8 pieces and let rest for 3 minutes. Roll each piece of dough into a long rope and shape into a pretzel. Dip each pretzel into the soda wash and place onto the greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with Kosher salt, then let rest for 10 minutes. Bake for 8-10 minutes until the pretzels are golden brown. Remove pan from oven and brush pretzels with melted butter.

Jalapeno-Cream Cheese Swirls

2011-12-14T14:05:00.000-07:00

Antipasto, aperitif, canapé, cocktail, chips & dip, fingerfood,finger sandwich, samples, starters, hors d’oeuvres or munchies. Whatever you callthem, ‘tis the season!

Using a refrigerated crescent roll and the help of a food processor, this little bite is quick and easy to prepare. The recipe makes 32 sweet and spicy swirls. Put a plate of these on your table and watch them disappear!

PRINT RECIPE (adapted from Tasty Kitchen)

Jalapeno-Cream Cheese Pinwheels

3/4 block of cream cheese, softened
5 pickled jalapenos
2 T sugar
1 tube refrigerated crescent rolls

Preheat oven to 375F. Put cream cheese and jalapenos in a food processor and mix thoroughly. Keeping crescent roll dough intact, roll out gently on a lightly floured surface. Spread half of the cream cheese mixture over the dough. Sprinkle with 1 T sugar. Roll up starting at the long end. Cut roll in half, then half again, continuing until 16 slices have been cut. Place cut side down on a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment. Repeat with second sheet of dough. Bake for 13 minutes or until lightly browned. Let cool slightly on pan. Remove with a spatula to serving tray.

Rosemary Bread

2011-12-12T08:00:00.000-07:00

This is my first month in the Secret Recipe Club! Each member is assigned a blog and from there you choose a recipe to make yourself. This recipe comes from Julie at A Little Bit of Everything. (Hi Julie!)

Julie lives in Omaha and as I was going through her recipes, I was surprised at how many I had either made myself or saw a recipe that I'd been wanting to try. I'd been wanting to make the copycat Rosemary Bread from Macaroni Grill restaurant and saw that Julie had baked it. I love the smell of Rosemary and after reading how Julie loved the bread, decided to make it.

This made two very small loaves of bread... just right for individual loaves at dinner. They could also be hallowed out to make a soup bowl.

I adapted the recipe slightly, using olive oil in the recipe instead of butter.

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RosemaryBread (adapted from food.com, recipe 64446)

1 T yeast

1 T sugar

1 c warmwater

1 tsp salt

1 T oliveoil

2 ½ cups flour

2 Trosemary, chopped

1 T butter

Place yeast,sugar, water, salt and oil in bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddleattachment. Mix for 1 minute. Add 2 cups flour and 1 tablespoon choppedrosemary. Change to dough hook and knead for 8 minutes, adding more flour asnecessary, until dough is smooth and elastic.

Spray a bowlwith cooking spray. Place dough into bowl, cover and let rise in a warm placeuntil doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch downdough and divide in half. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Shape each pieceof dough into a small rounded oval loaf. Cover and let rise again untildoubled, about 45 minutes.

Preheat ovento 375°. Bake 15-20 minutes untillightly browned. Remove from oven, brush with butter and sprinkle with seasalt. Makes 2 individual loaves.

Homemade Stock

2011-11-30T17:18:00.001-07:00

I trust everyone had a good Thanksgiving with family, friends and too much food! My gardener and I have been busy the last few weeks. We had five guests from California who came up for deer season. Early mornings, hunting nearly every day, cooking, butchering deer, packaging meat, lively dart games, lots of laughs and staying up too late made for an enjoyable, if not tiring, two weeks. Everyone went home with plenty of venison and more importantly, everyone made it back home safely.

I hope you've made your own stock before. If you haven't, please try it - the difference homemade stock makes in soups is great... plus, it's really easy to make the stock!

I save bones and not just the carcasses. I save chicken bones that we've eaten the meat from. Why not? I keep a plastic bag in the freezer and just put bones in there as they become, shall we say... available. After Thanksgiving, I had a turkey carcass, two pheasant carcasses and a gallon size plastic bag full of chicken bones. What I got from that? Six quarts of gelatinous, rich stock that I'll use for soups now that winter has arrived in Montana.

Here's what you do: Put bones in a big pot. Add celery, carrots, bay leaves, peppercorns, and vinegar. Bring to a boil then simmer for hours. The longer you simmer it the better it will be. I simmered mine for 9 hours the first day. At night, I turned off the stove and left it. The next morning I continued simmering for another 6 hours or so.

Include wings and feet if you can. These parts contain more collagen, which will give you a more gelatinous broth. If you want beef stock, just use beef bones... roasting them first will give a richer taste to the stock. After the stock has cooled a bit, strain it and pour into Mason jars. I can't see wasting a canning lid for stock, so I use a doubled piece of plastic wrap. Then, put the jars in the freezer. It's that simple... and that good.

PRINT RECIPE

Homemade Stock

Bones (chicken, turkey, pheasant, beef)

3 ribs celery

3 carrots

1 large onion, cut in half (with peel)

2 bay leaves

10-12 peppercorns

1 T vinegar

Put everything into a large pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for at least 10-12 hours. Strain, pour into containers, and freeze.

Antelope Liver Paté

2011-11-10T13:41:00.001-07:00

Most people who refer to venison are talking about deer meat, but the term actually includes elk and antelope, among others. I found a recipe for Deer Liver Paté on Rhonda's blog and adapted the recipe using antelope liver.

This paté was delicious. We ate it on smeared on toasted bread with a glass of wine. It's not for sissies, though, especially after it aged a few days. This recipe used a pound of antelope liver and I ended up with a lot of paté! Next time I make it, I'll be sure to have a crowd in the house to help us eat it up! Thanks, Rhonda for a great recipe!

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Antelope Liver Paté

1 pound antelope liver, skinned and cutinto large pieces

8 T (1 stick) butter, divided use

1 T Garlic Mojo

1 anchovy filet

1 bay leaf

1 cup yellow onion, diced

¼ cup purple onion, diced

1 T minced garlic

1 T capers, chopped

½ T fresh thyme, chopped

½ tsp salt

½ tsp pepper

¼ cup dry sherry

½ cup parsley, coarsely chopped

1 tsp extra virgin olive oil

Zest from one small lemon, about ½ tsp

½ cup Parmesan cheese, grated

In a large skillet, over medium high heat,melt 4 T of butter. Add Garlic Mojo to the pan. Add anchovy filet and cookuntil it has melted. Add bay leaf and onions and cook until onions are soft,about 3 minutes. Add liver, garlic, capers, thyme, salt and pepper. Cook untilthe liver is browned on the outside and still slightly pink on the inside,about 5 minutes. Add the sherry and cook until most of the liquid hasevaporated and the liver is cooked through. Do not overcook.

Let cool. Discard bay leaf. Add liver mixture, parsley, extra virgin olive oil,lemon zest and Parmesan to a food processor and puree. Stop and scrape down thesides occasionally. Cube 4 T butter, add softened pieces and pulse untilblended. Add more salt and pepper to taste. Pack the paté into ramekins, coverwith plastic wrap and refrigerate for six hours.

Chicken Paprikash (Paprika Hendl)

2011-10-31T15:25:00.001-06:00

In Bram Stoker's Dracula, a dish called Paprika Hendl is featured. This dish has Hungarian, German and Translyvanian origins. In researching it, I found that it is very similar to Chicken Paprikash. This recipe gave me a deep, rich sauce, which I served with boiled potatoes.

I'm linking this recipe up with Foods of the World Forums and a post by another Montana foodie who only lives a short 30 minutes from me. Hope we can meet someday, Ron!

Happy Halloween!

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Chicken Paprikash

6 chicken thighs

2 T olive oil

1 cup white wine or sherry

1 large onion, thinly sliced

1 bay leaf

8 cloves garlic, minced

3 medium ripe tomatoes, coarsely chopped

2 heaping T Hungarian Sweet Paprika

½ cup sour cream

2 T flour

2 tsp salt

1 T black pepper

Put olive oil into a dutch oven over medium heat. Seasonchicken with salt and pepper. Cook thighs until browned. Remove chicken frompan and set aside. Deglaze pan with wine or sherry.

In the same pan, add onion and bay leaf. Cook until onionsare caramelized, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook another minute. Addtomatoes, paprika and return the chicken to the pan. Bring to a simmer and cookuntil chicken is tender, 45 minutes to an hour.

Whisk sour cream with the flour and stir into the chickenuntil well mixed. Remove bay leaf before serving. Serve hot with dumplings,noodles, or potatoes.

Roasted Shrimp with Queso Fresco

2011-10-26T11:33:00.000-06:00

It's getting to be that time of year when photographing evening meals becomes frustrating. I'll ask you to trust me that this Roasted Shrimp with Queso Fresco smelled and tasted much more appetizing that this picture shows.

I adapted this recipe after seeing it on Debbie's blog, The Friday Friends and also at Brenda's blog, Brenda's Canadian Kitchen. I love Feta, but didn't have any on hand. I wanted to run to the store to get some, but you know how it goes when you go to the store for one item. Somehow you walk out with a basket full of stuff that you didn't realize you needed. Since I had some Queso Fresco on hand, I used it instead. I also have some very ripe tomatoes, so used them instead of canned.

This was really good. This is the first time I've ever used fennel. The slight anise flavor and crunch of the fennel was very nice in this dish. The Queso didn't have quite the tang that Feta would, but it was cheesy and good. I'd like to try it with Feta next time.

PRINT RECIPE

Roasted Shrimp With Queso Fresco

4 T olive oil, divided use

1-1/2 cups fennel, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 cup white wine

1 pound ripe tomatoes, chopped (or 1 (14.5 oz.) can diced tomatoes

1/4 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp Kosher salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 pound (41-60) peeled and cleaned shrimp, remove tails

5 oz. Queso Fresco, crumbled

1 cup fresh bread crumbs

3 T fresh parsley, minced

1 lemon

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Heat 2 T olive oil in a 10- or 12-inch oven-proof skillet over medium-low heat. Add the fennel and saute until fennel is tender, about 8-10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 minute more. Add the wine and bring it to a boil, scraping up any browned bits. Cook for 2-3 minutes more. Add the tomatoes, oregano, salt and pepper. Simmer over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally for 10-15 minutes.

Add shrimp over the tomato mixture. Scatter the Queso evenly over the shrimp. In a small bowl, combine bread crumbs and parsley with the remaining 2 T olive oil and sprinkle over the shrimp.

Bake for 16 minutes, until the shrimp are cooked and breadcrumbs are golden brown. Squeeze the juice of one lemon over the shrimp and serve hot with crusty bread.

Getting Started in Canning

2011-10-23T15:20:00.001-06:00

I made another batch of salsa yesterday and intended to photograph the process, but it was just too awkward. The last thing I wanted to do was drop my camera in a huge pot of boiling salsa. Instead, I decided to take some pictures of the equipment that is needed for canning and give you a short and sweet "how-to" with links to sites that will give you safety information, recipes, and detailed instructions.

My grandmother used to make apricot jelly and prickly-pear jelly. Whenever I'd visit she'd send me home with a jar or two and I loved the fact that she made it from scratch and with love, even picking the apricots from the tree and the fruit from the cactus herself. My choice for my first canning project was blueberry jam and it turned out great!

The first thing you'll need is a Ball Blue Book, which will guide you step-by-step through the canning process. This information is also available online, There are two methods of canning food: The water bath method and the steam pressure method, which uses a pressure cooker. I'm going to talk about the water bath method today.

You'll need a big pan, which will be filled with water that has been brought to a boil. This is the water your filled and capped jars will go into for the water bath. This pan is 21-quarts.

This rack fits inside the pan. After the jars are filled and capped, they can be put into this rack and then lowered into the boiling water. The rack keeps the jars off the bottom of the pan and gives you a safe way to submerge and retrieve the jars.

After the jars have been in the water bath for the proper amount of time and you've taken them out of the pan, they should be set on top of towels. The towels provide an insulation between the jars and your counter. If you set a hot jar on a cold counter, or onto a counter that had water sitting on it, there would be chance for breakage. You'll need pot holders and an oven mitt so you can hold the hot jars. And, you'll need a wet, clean dishcloth to wipe the threads and rims of the jars after you've filled them and before you place the seal and bands on the jars. Wiping the threads and rims will ensure that no food particles will interfere with the sealing process.

This is a pair of tongs which is a handy way to move hot jars. The yellow part of the tongs is rubberized to help prevent breakage and it also allows you to get a good grip on the jar.

You'll need a ladle for filling the jars. After the jars are filled, run a small, thin spatula around the inside wall of the jar to get rid of air pockets. The green item is a lid retriever... simply a plastic handle with a small magnet on the end. This is handy for retrieving lids that are in hot water, which softens the seal so it will better adhere to the rim of the jar.

A wide-mouth funnel makes it easy to fill the jars, which can be a messy process (at least in my kitchen)!

And, finally, you'll need jars, which you can buy in 4 ounce, 8 ounce (1/2 pint), 16 ounce (pint), and 32 ounce (quart) size. Jars are available either in the regular, or wide-mouth variety. You'll also need lids, which are the flat discs in the picture. The bottom of the lid is rubberized so it will seal to the jar. The rings are put on after the lids and hand tightened before the jars go into the water bath. The rings are removed before storage to prevent rusting.

All of these items can be purchased in kits like this. Take a look at Ball's "Intro to Canning" and you might just find yourself in the kitchen preserving food from your garden or whipping up some homemade jams and jellies for the neighbors at Christmastime!

Zucchini Salsa

2011-10-19T15:03:00.002-06:00

It wasn't a very good summer for our garden. Because of rains last spring, we planted two weeks later than usual. We got early spinach, lettuce and radishes, which was nice for salads, but when we should have been picking ripe tomatoes, we were sitting on the deck wishing for warmer weather and a longer season. We got plenty of zucchini, but not the quantities that we've had in years past, and maybe that's a good thing! It would be nice to have ripe tomatoes to eat all summer long, but it was a ripe one here and an almost ripe one there that my gardener would bring into the house. It didn't take long to eat them up. Our temperatures dipped the second week of this month and we covered the garden at night for a few days, then harvested everything that was left and tilled the garden.

We've been busy making sausage, too. We made 12# of Jalapeno Summer sausage and 15# Cracked Pepper & Garlic Summer Sausage. We use ground venison along with some ground pork and use a kit like this that includes the seasonings and the casings. After the casings are stuffed, into the smoker they go (each log is 3#). These are delicious sliced up and served on crackers with cheese and a glass of wine!

My kitchen is lined with bowls and bowls of green and pink tomatoes, a few zucchini on the counter and a few small jalapenos and bell peppers. I already made several jars of piccalilli using green tomatoes and went looking for something different. I found Zucchini Salsa at allrecipes.com. Despite thinking "Eww... zucchini in salsa??", it got such rave reviews and I decided to give it a try. It turned out absolutely delicious and you'd never know there was zucchini in it! I'm going to make a few more batches using green tomatoes. We opened a jar at breakfast the other day and by the time we'd finished, half the jar was gone!

We went antelope hunting earlier this month and I got to take some pictures of this beautiful country, which I'd like to share with you. Oh, yes, we got an antelope and I saved the heart and liver, so I'm going to have a couple special posts for those soon. And yes, I've got the Zucchini Salsa recipe for you, but first, a few pictures...

October Sunrise in Montana

Another view of the sunrise

A few cattle.

A few more... my friend, Rhonda told me that there are 3 cows to every person in Montana!

A couple of trees out in the middle of nothing but rolling hills.

It takes a lot of hay to feed all those cattle in the winter!

Old fence posts.

Mountains

Ok, on to the salsa... this recipe got a 5-star review from 85 people and in reading the reviews, it was no surprise to see that everybody made theirs just a little different, adding this and leaving out that according to their tastes, which is exactly what I did with the original recipe.

We both loved this salsa, so another couple batches will be made next week. I'll still make a few changes to the recipe below by adding a few more jalapenos and leaving out the tomato paste, which I thought gave the finished salsa too much of a canned tomato taste. I think by leaving it out, we'll end up with a fresher taste.

I plan to do a blog post on canning soon, but there is lots of information to get you started here.

Edit 10/23/11: I made another batch of salsa with the following changes: Omitted green peppers and tomato paste. Used a total of 10 jalapenos with seeds. This made a hot salsa, which we prefer. If you prefer spicy, find that recipe here.

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Zucchini Salsa - adapted from Food.com

10 cups peeled and gratedzucchini
4 large onions, chopped
4 green peppers, seeded andchopped
¼ cup plus 1 T Kosher salt,divided use
5 large jalapenos, seeded andpureed in food processor
2 T dry mustard
1 T granulated garlic
1 T cumin
2 T red pepper flakes
1 T black pepper
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 cup lemon juice
5 cups chopped red or greentomatoes
12 ounces tomato paste

Day one: In a large pancombine zucchini, onions, green pepper and ¼ cup salt. Mix well, cover and letstand overnight. Do not refrigerate.

Day two: Transfer vegetablesto a colander and let drain for one to two hours. Return mixture to the pan andadd pureed jalapenos, mustard, garlic, cumin, red pepper flakes, black pepper, vinegar,lemon juice, 1T salt, tomatoes and tomato paste. Mix all ingredients well.

Cover pan and bring to a boil.Remove from heat and immediately ladle into sterilized jars and seal. Processin a water bath for 20 minutes (for altitudes between 1000 and 6000 feet).

Bacon Hash and Broiled Eggs

2011-10-02T15:37:00.003-06:00

A few facts: The entire state of Montana is home to fewer than 1 million people (989,415 to be exact, according to the 2010 census). My previous homeland, California, is home to 37 million people. In terms of land area, California has 156 square miles and Montana right up there with 146 square miles. But... there are 238 people per square mile in California and only 6.8 people per square mile in Montana. Big difference!

So... not a lot of people in Montana, which means too, that there's probably not a lot of food bloggers in Montana. That's why I felt lucky to have found Rhonda's blog at The Kitchen Witch. She's a Montana food blogger and we live less than two hours away from one another.

Rhonda writes some great posts, has beautiful pictures... and of course has some wonderful food and recipes. Last Friday she posted her Bacon Hash and Broiled Eggs and as soon as I read it, I knew what we'd be having for Saturday morning breakfast.

I made a few changes (don't we all) and pared the recipe down for the two of us. It was delicious and got a thumb's up from my gardener. Thanks, Rhonda, for the yummy recipe!

Here's my version...

PRINT RECIPE HERE

Bacon Hash and Broiled Eggs

5 slices bacon, cut crosswise into small strips

1 large russett potato, peeled and cut into 1/2" dice

1/2 large onion, chopped

3 T water

Eggs (one or two per person)

Grated cheese

Salt & pepper

In large skillet over medium heat, cook bacon until crisp. Add potatos, onions and water. Cook, uncovered, over medium-high heat until water has evaporated and potatoes and onions are browned, about 15 minutes. Salt and pepper to taste.

Put the has mixture into individual ramekins. Crack one or two eggs on top and place ramekins on a cookie sheet. Place under broiler for 3-5 minutes, depending on how you like your egg cooked. Sprinkle grated cheese on top and return to the broiler until cheese melts and is bubbly.

Albondigas

2011-09-15T10:25:00.000-06:00

I don't want to see Summer come to an end, but there are telltale signs that it's doing just that. We've been having temperatures in the high 80's and low 90's here in Havre, Montana, but on Tuesday it was cloudy and chilly with a high temp of only 63. Add to that, the honkers have been flying overhead and there are a few fallen leaves on the ground; a sure sign that Autumn is near.

I'm one of those people who can't really enjoy a nice hot bowl of soup unless the weather is cooperating... that is, cold or rainy days when a simmering pot of soup on the stove helps to warm the kitchen and then our bellies.

So, on Tuesday when the temperature dipped, I was all over having soup for dinner. With plenty of zucchini on the counter and a few ripe tomatoes from our garden, I decided to make Albondigas.

Albondigas (al-BON-dee-gahs) means meatball in Spanish. So, what we have here basically, is Spanish meatball soup.

This was made with homemade chicken stock, zucchini, tomatoes and tiny meatballs which I made with ground beef. Cilantro, cumin and a dash of lemon juice round out the flavors in this soup. I cooked some tortillas and this was a perfect meal for a chilly day.

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Albondigas

Meatballs

1# lean ground beef

1 egg

4 cloves garlic, minced

½ tsp salt

¼ tsp pepper

1 tsp ground cumin

Soup

4 cups chicken stock

2 cups boiling water

1 cube Knorr Caldo de Tomate (tomato bouillon with chicken flavor

½ medium onion, chopped

1 stalk celery, chopped

3 medium tomatoes, chopped

1 medium carrot, sliced into rounds

¼ tsp ground cumin

¼ tsp oregano

1 large zucchini, sliced

½ cup cooked rice

1 T lemon juice

Salt and pepper to taste

Chopped cilantro to taste

Combine all ingredients for the meatballs and roll into small balls. You should get 24-28 meatballs from a pound of ground beef.

Brown meatballs in a frying pan with some olive oil. Transfer to a paper towel lined plate.

In a soup pan, add some olive oil and sauté celery, onions and carrot for 5 minutes. Add chicken stock, water, tomato bouillon, cumin and oregano.

Bring to a boil. Reduce heat. Add meatballs and zucchini. Simmer gently until meatballs and zucchini are cooked, 10-15 minutes.

Season with salt and pepper to taste. Add 1 tablespoon lemon juice.

Ladle Albondigas into soup bowls and garnish with chopped cilantro and cooked rice.

Mexican Style Hot Pickled Carrots

2011-08-30T15:04:00.002-06:00

Thanks to all of you who left comments on my previous post about "Karen Cooks" turning three! The winner of How to be a Domestic Goddess by Nigella Lawson is Joan from "Grandma's Recipe Box". Congratulations, Joan!

You can find a bowl of these spicy carrots on the tables of many Mexican restaurants in Southern California.

I made this about 4 days ago and you can see that we've eaten lots of it already. We have it with breakfast, lunch and dinner and it goes well with eggs, sandwiches, grilled meat and of course, burritos and tacos! It's such a good mix, I don't know why I don't make it more often.

Thinly sliced carrots, onions, and jalapeño peppers get dressed in seasoned oil and vinegar. I've seen recipes that call for parboiling the carrots, but have read reviews that it makes the carrots too soft. I didn't parboil these carrots because we like a little crunch in them. They will soften a little the longer they sit in the dressing. You could also add thinly sliced radishes to this mix.

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Mexican Style Hot Pickled Carrots

3 large carrots, very thinly sliced on the diagonal

1 medium onion, very thinly sliced

12 oz. can sliced jalapeño peppers

1 tsp Mexican oregano

5 cloves garlic, peeled and left whole

1 bay leaf

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Put all ingredients into a large bowl and mix thoroughly. Keep in a jar with a lid in the refrigerator. If there isn't enough liquid to cover the mix, add some cider vinegar. Serve with breakfast, lunch and dinner. Good with eggs, sandwiches, beef, chicken and of course, any Mexican food! Makes 1 quart.

Zucchini-Nutella Bread

2011-08-23T13:26:00.000-06:00

I haven't shared much of our garden this year, but after a late planting, it's finally doing well. We've harvested all of the spinach and most of the radishes and a few ripe tomatoes, but the majority won't get ripe for another few weeks. We have red onions, banana peppers, jalapeno peppers, sweet cherry peppers and bell peppers yet to come.

One of our neighbors dubbed this summer for us as "The Summer of the Deck" and I have no doubt that my gardener ageed with her. He's been working on the deck, weather permitting, since he began tearing down the old one last March. We started with plans of replacing just the flooring, but the more we uncovered, we found pretty much all of the wood was rotten and needed to be replaced. So, it was built from the ground up. You can see a little of it in the picture above, but I'll post pictures of it another time.

Oh, zucchini. I love you. I hate you.

But mostly, I love you.

We check the garden nightly now for zukes, because if left on their own for too long, they tend to grow to the size of baseball bats. My gardener found one that he swears was three feet long. Take into consideration that my gardener is also an avid fisherman ;) He joked that he was glad his brother had a 2.5 ton pickup so he could take the thing home with him.

When I saw Emily's Marbled Nutella Banana Bread on her blog, Sugar Plum, I thought hmm, how about Zucchini-Nutella Bread, and so it was born.

This is one of those recipes that tastes much better than it might sound. This is an amazingly moist bread with all the goodness of Nutella and all the healthfulness of homegrown zucchini.

I adapted my favorite Banana Bread recipe from Emeril for this.

I made another loaf today with bananas, but I'm sending that to my granddaughter, Kayla, so she can have a slice for breakfast before she starts her first day at Kindergarten next Monday.

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Zucchini-Nutella Bread

10 T butter, cut into 1/2" pieces

2 c grated zucchini

1/2 c sour cream

2 large eggs

1-1/2 tsp vanilla

2 cups flour

3/4 c plus 2 T sugar

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 c toasted, chopped walnuts

1/2 c Nutella

Spray 9x5 loaf pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Puree the grated zucchini, sour cream, eggs and vanilla in food processor.

Sift flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder and salt into the bowl of an electric mixer with a whisk attachment. Add butter and mix on low until blended. Add the zucchini mixture in 3 batches, scraping the sides of the bowl and mixing on medium speed between each addition. Fold in the nuts.

Divide half the batter into a medium bowl. Stir in Nutella until combined. Alternate spoonfuls of each batter into loaf pan. Swirl gently with a knife.

Bake until lightly browned and bread bounces back to the touch, about 1 hour 10 minutes. Remove from the oven and cook for 10 minutes before turning out onto wire rack to cool completely.

Three years ago today, I was sitting at my computer (looking up recipes, no doubt!) when I stumbled onto someone's blog. I then googled "food blogs" and found lots more! Having just moved from California to Montana and with plenty of time on my hands, I thought, hmm, I could do that! I went to Blogger and clicked on "create a blog" and the rest is history.

I've had so much fun with Karen Cooks these last three years and the best part has been because of you, and you, and you! I've met so many wonderful people in the last three years! So with my thanks for following, today I'm giving away a copy of Nigella Lawson's "How to be a Domestic Goddess". Just leave me a comment and you're automatically entered to win!

Bacon, Green Onion and Asiago Cheese Bread

2011-08-20T14:43:00.000-06:00

My gardener takes a sandwich for lunch almost every day, so when Heather said this bread was perfect for sandwiches, I thought I'd make a loaf for something a little different.

I started with what has become my favorite flour made right here in Montana. I blended the white whole wheat with the white flour for this bread and it was a perfect combination for this recipe.

A little crisp bacon...

Lots of green onions...

And your favorite cheese. Heather used bleu cheese, but my gardener isn't a fan, so I used Asiago.

This bakes up with a wonderfully dark, crispy crust and a dense crumb.

I especially like this bread toasted. All the flavors just pop when it's toasted.

You can find the recipe here!

Karen Cooks has a blogiversary coming up next week. It's been three years and 300 posts, so stay tuned for a giveaway!

Herbed-Baked Eggs

2011-08-05T18:40:00.001-06:00

While I'm cooking dinner, it's so much fun to grab my little scissors and go out to my herb garden. Snip, snip... a little parsley here, a bit of thyme there... snip, snip... a few branches of rosemary. I purposely cut more than I'll use; I crush the excess gently in my hand and put them on the counter so I can enjoy the aroma as I'm working in the kitchen.

This recipe is from Ina. I've made them before and have been thinking of them lately. So, tonight this was our dinner. These eggs are soft, creamy, custardy, hot, bubbly, buttery, and full of fresh-picked herbaliciousness.

Have you ever had baked eggs? If not, you're missing out... better make some soon!

Herbed-Baked Eggs - from Ina Garten
1/4 tsp minced fresh garlic
1/4 tsp minced fresh thyme leaves
1/4 tsp minced fresh rosemary leaves
1 T minced fresh parsley
1 T freshly grated Parmesan
6 extra-large eggs
2 T heavy cream
1 T unsalted butter
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
Toasted French bread or brioche, for serving

Preheat the broiler for 5 minutes and place the oven rack 6 inches below the heat.

Combine the garlic, thyme, rosemary, parsley, and Parmesan and set aside. Carefully crack 3 eggs into each of 2 small bowls or teacups (you won't be baking them in these) without breaking the yolks. (It's very important to have all the eggs ready to go before you start cooking.)

Place 2 individual gratin dishes on a baking sheet. Place 1 T of cream and 1/2 T of butter in each dish and place under the broiler for about 3 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Quickly, but carefully, pour 3 eggs into each gratin dish and sprinkle evenly with the herb mixture, then sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Place back under the broiler for 5 to 6 minutes, until the whites of the eggs are almost cooked. (Rotate the baking sheet once if they aren't cooking evenly.) The eggs will continue to cook after you take them out of the oven. Allow to set for 60 seconds and serve hot with toasted bread.

Imitation Crab Salad

2011-07-31T13:31:00.000-06:00

I'm not a big fan of crab. I had fried soft-shell crab in a restaurant once and will never eat it again. Crab legs (for me) are just too much work for the amount of food you get. Ditto with Dungeness Crab. Canned crab? Ehhh. To me, it all is pretty tasteless.

But that Imitation Crab... the fish that's made to look like crab, but not necessarily taste like it? Oh, yeah... that I like!

So, the other day when my gardener needed help loading up all the lumber from the old deck to make a run to the dump, guess who he asked to help? Yep, yours truly.

Well, that meant having to take off my sandals to put on real shoes. It meant ruining my hair which I'd just washed and styled because I had to use my straw hat in the sun. Straw hat + sun + sweating = ruined hair.

It meant using gloves to try to save my mani that I got with my granddaughter last week in California.

My daughter went along, too, and she got a pedi. I'm sure she'll be pleased as punch to see this picture on the interwebs.

So, when dinnertime rolled around, and the prospect of lighting the stove or oven became imminent, I decided to go the cold route and came up with this Imitation Crab Salad. We like spicy in our house, so if the horseradish and Old Bay seem like too much, feel free to modify to your taste.

Hauling stuff to the dump. That's a man's job, right?

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IMITATION CRAB SALAD
8 oz. imitation crab, flaked

1/4 cup onion, finely chopped

1/4 cup bell pepper, finely chopped

1 medium tomato, chopped

1/4 cup fresh or frozen peas

1 cup mayonnaise

1/4 tsp granulated garlic

1/4 tsp black pepper

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp Old Bay Seasoning

1 tsp prepared horseradish

1/2 tsp lemon juice

1/2 tsp dried parsley

Lettuce

Mix first 5 ingredients in a bowl. In separate bowl, mix mayonnaise and next 7 ingredients; add to crab mixture. Chill well. Serve on lettuce with crackers or toasted bread.

Raspberry Buckle

2011-07-29T16:30:00.000-06:00

This is week 7 for our garden this year. We got a late start because of too much rain. I don't think the garden is as lush as last year at this time, but it's doing okay. The herbs I put in pots are along the edge of the garden and they are thriving. We've harvested spinach and radishes and one or two small tomatoes so far. There are bell peppers, yellow peppers and jalapeno's on the plants and lots of tomatoes and of course, zucchini with several blossoms already. The new deck is coming along and the railing will be up shortly.

When I was a kid, we'd pick blueberries just down the road from where we lived. My dad punched two holes in big tin cans and strung a rope through it so we could hang the can around our neck. .

I wish I had that setup yesterday when a friend let me pick these raspberries. I could only pick one-handed, but even that didn't stop me though from filling my bucket with these crimson beauties!

I came home and made Raspberry Buckle. How is a Buckle different from a Slump, a Grunt, a Cobbler, a Crumble, or a Betty? You can get the scoop right here.

The recipe I used is from Martha and it was very good. I didn't have any vanilla ice cream in the house, but I think a scoop along side a warm scoop of this would be great!

Golden Pull-Apart Butter Buns

2011-07-27T16:10:00.002-06:00

I've been in California for the last month thoroughly enjoying myself with a couple of angels.

Kayla (5) and Emily (15 months)

Emily likes to do everything herself...

... which, of course, includes feeding herself!

And she *loves* books. If I read Yellow and Yummy once, I read it 1,000 times! I'd no sooner finish a book and she'd sign "more".

Kayla loves to be in the kitchen. Here she's making cinnamon rolls. We also made Snickerdoodles, Chocolate Chip Cookies and French Bread.

She was good at cleaning up in the kitchen, too ;)

And when she's not busy in the kitchen or with riding her bike (without training wheels, thankyouverymuch), she loves to dress up and be pretty.

And I can't forget to post a picture of my wonderful daughter and son-in-law, Cameo & Justin. They put up with me for 31 days and I came out with nary a scratch! This picture was taken at Lower Yosemite Falls. We met my nieces and nephew there and took a 3 hour bike ride along many of the trails at Yosemite. So pretty!

And this is Wrigley. He's a good boy. Every time I went to the pantry, he'd follow me, because he knows that Gramma's are good at handing out treats.

Yes... yes, I do have a recipe for you today. For anything bread, I find myself headed to the King Arthur Flour website. They have lots of recipe tutorials and an active blog where they actually answer comments and give baking advice to people who visit their site with questions. You can also choose to view their recipes by volume or weight. I find myself liking to bake bread by weight these days.

I liked these buns... they were soft and tender on the inside with buttery goodness on the top. Perfect for a dinner roll or sliders. A recipe makes 16 rolls, so you could double the recipe for Thanksgiving dinner and have mini-turkey sandwiches for leftovers!

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Golden Pull-Apart Butter Buns from King Arthur Flour

Buns:

3-1/2 cups King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour

2 tsp instant yeast

2 T potato flour of ¼ cup instant potato flakes

3 T Baker’s Special Dry Milk or nonfat dry milk

2 T sugar

1-1/2 tsp salt

4 T soft butter

2/3 cup lukewarm water

½ cup lukewarm water

Topping:

2 T melted butter

Directions:

1) Combine all of the dough ingredients in a large bowl, and mix and knead — using your hands, a stand mixer, or a bread machine set on the dough cycle — to make a soft, smooth dough.

2) Place the dough in a lightly greased container — an 8-cup measure works well here — and allow the dough to rise for 60 to 90 minutes, until it's just about doubled in bulk.

3) Gently deflate the dough, and transfer it to a lightly greased work surface.

4) Divide the dough into 16 equal pieces, by dividing in half, then in halves again, etc. Round each piece into a smooth ball.

5) Lightly grease two 8" round cake pans. Space 8 buns in each pan. Can you use 9" round cake pans, or a 9" x 13" pan? Sure; the buns just won't nestle together as closely, so their sides will be a bit more baked.

6) Cover the pans, and allow the buns to rise till they're crowded against one another and quite puffy, about 60 to 90 minutes. Towards the end of the rising time, preheat the oven to 350°F.

7) Uncover the buns, and bake them for 22 to 24 minutes, until they're golden brown on top and the edges of the center bun spring back lightly when you touch it. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the middle of the center bun should register at least 190°F.

8) Remove the buns from the oven, and brush with the melted butter. After a couple of minutes, turn them out of the pan onto a cooling rack.

9) Serve warm. Store leftovers well-wrapped, at room temperature.

Yield: 16 buns.

Scalloped Potatoes

2011-06-19T16:20:00.000-06:00

Scalloped potatoes... the story about a few potatoes that got all dressed up in butter, rich cream and luscious, gooey cheese.

This is a delectable side dish for so many things: pork loin, roasted chicken, roast beef - it's a shame that most people only make it for special or holiday dinners. It's a very simple recipe and oh, so good!

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Scalloped Potatoes Recipe from Martha

3# Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and sliced paper thin

3 cups milk

1 clove garlic

3 T unsalted butter, softened

Coarse salt and freshly ground pepper

1 cup heavy cream

5 oz. Gruyere cheese, grated

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees with a rack set in the lower third of oven. Combine sliced potatoes and milk in a large saucepan over high heat. Bring to a boil and immediately reduce heat to low; cover and simmer until potatoes are just tender, about 3 minutes.

2. Place colander over a large bowl and drain potatoes, reserving milk. You should have 2 cups of thick, starchy milk. If potatoes have absorbed more than 1 cup of milk, add enough milk to bring the reserved milk volume to 2 cups.

3. Rub a 3-1/2 quart oval baking dish with garlic and butter. Arrange sliced potatoes in the baking dish; season with salt and pepper. Dot with remaining butter and pour over reserved cooking milk and cream. Sprinkle cheese over top.

4. Transfer baking dish to oven and bake until cheese becomes deep golden brown and milk has reduced and thickened, 80-90 minutes. Remove from oven and serve immediately.

Mom's Blueberry Muffins

2011-06-13T17:27:00.000-06:00

I wasn't sure it was going to stop snowing this past winter. Now, I'm wondering if it's ever going to stop raining! In May, Havre got dumped with 3.51" of rain (average rainfall for May is 1.84"). This month, we already have 2.33" of rain when the average is 1.90". Enough already! We should have planted our garden Memorial Day weekend, but it was raining. When the rain stopped for a few days, the ground was soaked and my gardener couldn't get in there with the roto-tiller.

I bought some big, beautiful, healthy herb plants and kept them indoors until they begged to be repotted. I put them outside and they got battered by wind and rain. I think they'll all make it, but they sure don't look very pretty now.

Sage

Rosemary

Basil

Lemon Balm

Thyme

Flat Leaf Parsley

Chives

Stevia

My gardener was going to plant last weekend come hell or high water (hehe). We kept the garden covered with a tarp during the night and, if it wasn't raining, uncovered it during the day to dry out. He tilled the ground and we planted, but you can see the clods of dirt here, which was the best we got, as wet as the soil was. I planted three foot sections of mixed lettuce, radishes, and spinach on this end of the garden and will plant another three foot section each week.

Here are the tomato plants, bell pepper, banana pepper, jalapeno, sweet cherry peppers and zucchini. They don't look like very happy plants, do they?

You may have noticed that our deck is gone! My gardener has been busy already this summer. He built floor-to-ceiling cabinets in the garage and tore the deck down. We were hoping to keep the framing and just replace the floor, but all of the wood was rotten, so down it came. See the ladder beneath the slider? Those were our temporary stairs while the deck was down.

Oh, see those two rugs draped over chairs and the grill? Our basement flooded, so yes, we've been busy. On top of that, my computer crashed and I was without for two weeks. I didn't even freak when the computer crashed because several months ago I ditched my external hard drive where I backed up files and signed up with Carbonite, an online backup system. So easy and no worries. They offer a free 15-day trial, if you're interested. This ain't no paid advertisement... Carbonite doesn't know me from Adam... I'm just super impressed with the service they provide.

When the skies weren't pouring down rain, my gardener has been out working on the deck and nearly has the framing completed. When it's finished, we'll have a party and you're invited!

Now for the blueberry muffins! This is the recipe that my mom used and I've not tasted any better muffins than these. No mixer required; just put the ingredients into a bowl and mix by hand. So good right out of the oven with some butter! Be sure to sprinkle the dough with plenty of granulated sugar - it adds a little sweetness and a nice crunch to the top of these muffins.

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Mom's Blueberry Muffins

1 cup blueberries

4T butter

1-3/4 cups flour

2-1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1/2 cup milk

Melt butter in a mixing bowl. Sift flour, baking powder, salt and sugar into the butter. Add unbeaten egg and milk. Beat until smooth. Fold in blueberries. Put cupcake liners in muffin tins and fill 2/3 full. Top generously with additional granulated sugar. Bake at 375 F for 20 minutes. Makes 8 big muffins or 12 smaller ones.

Seafood Paella

2011-05-17T10:14:00.000-06:00

My gardener and I aren't big restaurant people. Dinners seem rushed; often the food and service is mediocre and the noise levels are always louder than we like. (Gee, I make us sound old!)

We usually save dining out for celebrations. But, when we celebrated our 3rd anniversary last month, we decided to stay home and cook a celebratory meal instead of going out, and I couldn't think of a better meal to make than Seafood Paella.

Yes, this looks like a lot of food for two people! Leftovers became our lunch or dinners for the next few days, but it's so good we didn't mind.

There are a lot of steps in making paella and it takes a while, but it's totally worth the time and effort. This took about 3 hours to prepare, so if you're looking for a quick dinner, this isn't it.

Making the sofrito is essential to the success of this dish. Using a box grater, grate halved tomatoes and discard the skin. Onion and seasonings are added to the tomato which is then cooked until reduced to the consistency of jam. This step alone can take 45 minutes to an hour.

Another step essential to a good paella is letting the rice toast on the bottom of the pan until it becomes crispy. This is called socorrat and is an indication of an authentic, well made paella. Smoked paprika adds a flavor and spice to this recipe that you just won't get with plain paprika.

Do you have a celebration coming up? I guarantee you'll celebrate in style with this dish and you won't have to leave a tip!

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Seafood Paella

2 medium onions, finely chopped

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

4 cloves garlic, finely chopped

2 T fresh parsley, finely chopped

2 large tomatoes

4 T olive oil, divided use

2 tsp smoked paprika

1-1/2 cups Arborio rice

8 oz. clam juice

2 cups stock (vegetable or chicken), heated

Large pinch of saffron

1-1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

1/2 cup frozen peas

1# frozen uncooked jumbo shrimp, thawed

1# clams or mussels

2 links Italian sausage, cooked

1 (14 oz.) can artichoke hearts, quartered (not marinated in oil)

1. Using a box grater, process the tomatoes and discard the skin.

2. Make the sofrito: Heat 2 T olive oil in paella pan, and over medium heat, cook the onion, parsley and garlic for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add tomatoes and smoked paprika. Cook until all the liquid from the tomatoes has evaporated and the sofrito is the consistency of jam. This may take 45 minutes to 1 hour. Put the sofrito into a small bowl. Wipe pan clean.

3. Heat 2 T olive oil in paella pan over medium heat. Cook red and green peppers for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4. Add the sofrito and rice to the paella pan; stir to coat the rice.

5. In a medium saucepan, add stock, clam juice, salt, pepper and saffron. Bring to a simmer.

6. Add hot stock to the sofrito. Stir to combine and bring to a medium-high simmer and cook for 15 minutes without stirring.

7. After 15 minutes, scatter peas over the paella. Push shrimp, clams and mussels into the rice. Top with artichoke hearts and cooked sausage.

8. Turn up the heat to medium-high for a minute or two until you can smell the rice toasting at the bottom, then remove pan from heat. The toasted rice on the bottom of a paella is called socorrat.

9. Cover the pan with foil and let paella rest for 10 minutes.

10. Serve directly from the paella pan along with lemon wedges.

Mexican Salmon Patties

2011-05-05T08:25:00.000-06:00

Happy Cinco de Mayo!

Cinco de Mayo celebrates the Mexican army's victory over the invading French army in 1862. One way to celebrate? With food, of course!

I had planned on making salmon patties for dinner, so instead of my usual ingredients, I added some flavors of Mexican influence and here you go... Mexican Salmon Patties! The only thing that was missing was a margarita!

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Mexican Salmon Patties

1 can salmon, drained

1 egg

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 tsp lime juice

1/2 jalapeno, stemmed, seeded, and finely diced

1 rib celery, finely diced

1 T finely chopped cilantro

4 green onions, finely chopped

3 T crumbled Queso Fresco

3 T bread crumbs

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and mix well. Shape into patties. Cover and refrigerate at least an hour.

Oil for frying

1 egg, beaten

Panko bread crumbs

Dip each patty into the egg. Roll in Panko bread crumbs. Fry at 350F until browned on both sides.

Serve with rice and garnish with sliced avocado, lime wedges, and crumbled Queso Fresco

Makes 4 12-oz. patties

Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls

2011-04-30T09:28:00.000-06:00

I've made Stuffed Cabbage Rolls and love the flavor, but doubt that I'll ever make them again. Just too much fuss with having to boil the leaves, stuff the leaves, then roll the leaves.

I'd thawed some antelope burger and was trying to decide what to do with it for dinner. When I saw that Pam made Loose Savoy Cabbage Rolls, I got the half head of cabbage that was in the fridge and whipped this up in no time.

I made a few changes, based on what I had on hand. I really liked this dish. You get all the goodness of stuffed cabbage rolls with none of the fuss! Thanks, Pam for a great dish!

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Unstuffed Cabbage Rolls

1-1/2# ground meat

1/2 onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 T Worcestershire sauce

3/4 cup uncooked rice

8 oz. canned mushrooms, drained

2 (14 oz) cans diced tomatoes

1 cup white wine

1/2 head green cabbage, sliced

Brown meat, onion, and garlic in a large skillet until meat is cooked. Add Worcestershire, rice, mushrooms, tomatoes, wine and cabbage. Put mixture into a large baking dish. Cover and bake at 350F for one hour until cabbage is tender and liquid has been absorbed.

Deviled Eggs with Tarragon and Capers

2011-04-25T13:33:00.000-06:00

Why is it that a plate of deviled eggs in a room full of people lasts about that long? Because they're so good, that's why!

This is the perfect finger food... easy to pick up... a couple of bites and it's gone. I made these eggs to go with our Easter dinner but didn't want the same old mayonnaise-mustard-pickle relish variety, so I went on a search and found this recipe.

I love the light anise scent and flavor of tarragon, and capers are a favorite of mine, so I figured I couldn't go wrong with these. Dust them with a little paprika and dress them up with a parsley leaf and you have a perfect plate of deliciousness!

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Deviled Eggs with Tarragon and Capers

6 hard-cooked eggs, peeled

1/4 cup mayonnaise

1 T capers, drained and minced

3 tsp fresh minced tarragon

1/4 tsp ground mustard

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

Paprika

Slice eggs in half lengthwise. Remove yolks; place in small bowl. Mash yolks with a fork. Stir in mayonnaise, capers, tarragon and mustard until smooth and creamy. Spoon or pipe into egg white halves. Dust with paprika. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour or until ready to serve.

Best Cheesecake Ever!

2011-04-19T16:16:00.000-06:00

Whenever I need a cheesecake, I rely on this one that I found in 2001. It's rich, cheesy and creamy... perfect if you want a plain cheesecake that can be topped with fruit.

Apparently, this recipe was served at the Old Original Bookbinder's Restaurant in Philadelphia, which was the oldest seafood restaurant in the city. The restaurant began as an oyster saloon in 1865 by Dutch immigrant, Samuel Bookbinder. The restaurant filed Chapter 11 in 2006 and has since closed, but another restaurant continues operation today in Richmond, VA.

I adapted this recipe slightly in the amount of graham cracker crumbs I use. The original recipe calls for 2 tablespoons to be sprinkled over the bottom of a 9-inch springform pan. That amount doesn't begin to cover the bottom of the pan, so I use the crumbs of five whole graham crackers.

If you've never made a cheesecake, don't be intimidated. I think it's easier to make than a cake. Try this recipe and your family and friends will think you're amazing!

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Best Cheesecake Ever!

5 whole graham crackers (processed to make crumbs)

4 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened

1 cup white sugar

4 eggs

1 tsp fresh lemon juice

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp lemon zest

Sprinkle the bottom of a lightly greased 9-inch springform pan with the graham cracker crumbs. Combine the cream cheese and sugar. Mix at medium speed until well blended. Add eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each addition. Blend in the lemon juice, vanilla extract, and lemon rind. Pour batter into the pan and bake in a preheated 325F oven for 50 minutes or until cake is set in the center. Loosen cake from rim of pan; cool before removing rim of pan. Chill before serving. Top with fruit of your choice.

Homemade Ricotta

2011-03-28T15:16:00.000-06:00

The recipe for these cookies included a container of Ricotta. I knew I wanted to make the Ricotta instead because it is so easy and tastes so much better than store-bought.

The hardest part of making Ricotta is waiting for the milk to come to a simmer. Patience is not my middle name.

Here's what you do: Put 8 cups of whole milk into a large pan. Add one teaspoon of salt. When the milk is at the simmering point, add 3 tablespoons of lemon juice. Give it a stir and let it sit for two minutes while the curds form. Scoop the curds into a lined colander (I use clean, rinsed Handi Wipes) and let drain for 5 minutes. PRINT RECIPE

You might be interested in these recipes, too!

Ricotta Pound Cake

Soft Scrambled Eggs with Fresh Ricotta & Chives

Spinach and 3-Cheese Stuffed Shells

So easy...

Lemon Ricotta Cookies

2011-03-26T12:47:00.000-06:00

Even though there's still snow on the ground, the skies in North Central Montana are sunny and bright. So, why not have some sunny lemon cookies to go with the weather!

These cookies from Giada are cake-like. The recipe called to put two tablespoons of dough on a parchment lined sheet, but the cookies were so big! On subsequent batches, I only used one tablespoon of dough and they were a better size. Giada also gives us a recipe for a lemon glaze to top these cookies, but my gardener and I like less sweet cookies, so I left it off.

I made homemade ricotta to include in these cookies. Ricotta is so easy to make, there's really no reason to buy the stuff in the plastic tub anymore. I'll have the post up for the ricotta soon.

I hope the sun is shining wherever you are!

I'm linking this to BSI (Blogger Secret Ingredient) which is hosted this week by Heather of Girlichef.

Get the recipe here!

Fire Roasted Salsa

2011-03-17T15:11:00.001-06:00

I'm very excited to be the winner of this beautiful molcajete in a blog giveaway! Thank you Mely! Mely has a wonderful blog, Mexico in My Kitchen, where she posts mouth-watering recipes for authentic Mexican food. If you haven't seen Mely's blog yet, go take a look. You'll find all sorts of great food!

A molcajete is a bowl carved in one piece by hand from volcanic stone and is used to make salsa, guacamole and other condiments. The molcajete was too heavy to weigh on my kitchen scale, but it's very heavy! The tejolote, which is the round hand held grinder weighed in at 1 pound, 5 ounces! Before using a new molcajete, it must be seasoned. This is done by grinding white rice until it becomes a gray powder, having picked up some of the volcanic rock in the process. This is repeated until the rice powder remains white. This ensures that when you make salsa, it will be grit free. Here's an interesting video that shows how these beauties are made:

Let's make salsa! I roasted onion, serrano chiles, garlic, tomatillos and tomatoes on a comal, which is simply a round cast iron griddle.

I coarsely chopped the vegetables, then put them in the molcajete in batches and ground them.

When the vegetables were the consistency I wanted, I put the batch into a bowl and continued until everything had been ground.

This was very good salsa with a chunky consistency that I love. I didn't put cilantro in this because my gardener has the anti-cilantro gene. When I want salsa, I chop up enough cilantro and add it to my own bowl. Of course, if you don't have a molcajete, this salsa can be made using a food processor or blender.

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Fire Roasted Salsa

3 Roma tomatoes, seeded

3 Serrano chiles, split and seeded

1 onion, thickly sliced
3 tomatillos, halved

3 cloves garlic

2 tsp lemon juice

2 tsp salt
Cilantro to taste

Dry roast vegetables on a cast iron pan. Coarsely chop all vegetables and transfer to a molcajete in batches until all vegetables have been processed to the desired consistency (see note). Add lemon juice, salt and cilantro. Chill and serve with tortilla chips or over food as a condiment.

Note: Alternately, vegetables can be transferred to a food processor and pulsed until the desired consistency has been reached.

I'm linking up to:

Corned Beef and Cabbage

2011-03-14T12:46:00.000-06:00

I've made my Portuguese New England Boiled Dinner many times, but have never used corned beef in what a lot of people call a traditional New England Boiled Dinner - or Corned Beef and Cabbage. When I saw that Cathy at Wives with Knives made it recently using her crockpot, I decided to give it a whirl. Cathy also let us in on a little secret to finishing the beef under the broiler, which is the way her mom has always prepared it.

I put a couple stalks of celery on the bottom of the crockpot, then layered whole peeled potatoes, sliced onions and peeled carrots. I put the beef on top of the vegetables then poured water in to almost cover the meat. I cooked this on high for 3 hours and then on low for 5 hours. I then removed the beef and vegetables to a roasting pan, covered it with foil and let it sit in a 250 degree oven to keep warm. I poured the broth from the crockpot into a pan and put the quartered cabbage in it to simmer until done, about 45 minutes.

Cathy's tip: Mix together 1/4 cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons Dijon, a dash of cloves and 1 tablespoon of red wine vinegar. When the beef is done, remove the fat and spread with this mixture. Broil the beef until the topping is hot and bubbly. I sliced my beef first and painted the slices with the sugar mixture. It really added a nice finishing touch to the beef. I also mixed some sour cream and prepared horseradish to serve with the meal.

I'm linking this to Cuisine Kathleen's 3rd Annual St. Patrick's Day Blog Crawl! Check there on Tuesday, March 15 to see the roundup!

Cinnamon Bread

2011-03-05T19:50:00.000-07:00

You may have heard of this little blog. It has a few good recipes. The other day, I wanted to bake these. But while I was searching for the recipe, I came across this and if you don't get up and make this right now, you'll be very sorry.

Because, if you don't make this, you can't make Cinnamon Bread

French Toast. And that's all I have to say about that.

Roast Chicken with Lemons

2011-02-27T17:02:00.000-07:00

When I lived near a Costco, I used to buy the roasted chickens. They were $5.99 if I remember correctly. They were tender, moist, and huge! We'd have plenty for a few dinners and a big bowl of chicken and pasta salad. With the nearest Costco now three-and-a-half hours away, I've taken to roasting my own chickens. I thought I had found the perfect recipe, but have recently found one that I like better over at Mari's blog.

This is a method rather than a recipe, (and although we don't eat the skin), it will give you a beautiful crispy skin with moist, tender meat laced with a delicate lemon scent and flavor. Here is the link to the original recipe. In reading this recipe, I had to smile at what I thought was just a tad of hyperbole where it reads "Close up the opening with toothpicks or with trussing needle and string. Close it well, but don't make an absolutely airtight job of it because the chicken may burst". Really? An exploding chicken? I personally don't think you could truss a chicken up tight enough that it would burst, but then again, there's always a first for everything. If you haven't tried this method for roasting chicken, let it be a first for you. Oh, and if it explodes, be sure to let me know.

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Roast Chicken with Lemons adapted from here

Ingredients:

One chicken (3-4#)

One large lemon (or two small)

Salt and Pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350F.

2. Wash the lemon. Roll lemon on counter until soft. This will make it jucier. With a paring knife or fork, pierce the lemon several times (up to 20).

3. Rinse chicken and dry thoroughly. Season with salt and pepper. Insert lemon(s) into cavity and secure opening with toothpicks. Tie the legs together with kitchen twine.

4. Cut a piece of parchment the size of your roasting pan and spray with cooking spray. Put parchment in bottom of pan.

5. Lay chicken breast side down in pan and cook for 30 minutes.

6. Turn chicken on its back and cook for 35 minutes. Discard parchment.

7. Turn oven to 400F and continue to cook for 30 minutes.

8. Remove chicken from oven and let rest for 15-20 minutes before carving.

Orange Bundt Cake

2011-02-16T14:57:00.000-07:00

Maybe it's this long, cold and snowy winter that has me craving something summery and bright. Maybe I'm Vitamin C deficient. I have no other explanation for what made me pick up an 8 pound bag of oranges the other day. We ate some oranges and squeezed some fresh juice for breakfast, but I had to find another way to use them up!

So, this orange, citrusy, summery, light and lovely cake was born.

I used a citrus reamer (one of my favorite gadgets) to get the fresh juice that goes into this cake and a lot of the pulp ended up in the juice, which I included in the cake. Along with the zest, it left tiny bits of bright orange in the baked cake. Without using an electric juicer, I think a citrus reamer does the best job of juicing fruit. If you don't have one, you might consider getting one... it's inexpensive and it does a great job!

This is a really nice cake with lots of orange flavor and a nice light orange aroma. It'd be a good choice to take to a potluck, or to give as a gift. This cake stores well and stays moist wrapped in plastic.

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Orange Bundt Cake - Adapted from here

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

1 cup sugar

zest from 4 large oranges

4 large eggs

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup fresh orange juice

3 cups flour

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray bundt pan with cooking spray.

Sift flour, baking powder, salt, and baking soda into a small bowl.

Beat together butter, sugar, and zest in a large bowl with an electric mixer until creamy. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until incorporated. Whisk in sour cream and orange juice. Add flour mixture a cup at a time and mix until combined.

Transfer batter to bundt pan and bake on middle rack until golden brown and wooden pick inserted in the center comes out clean, about 30-40 minutes.

Cool cake in pan 10 minutes then turn out onto rack.

Parsnip and Caramelized Onion Tart

2011-02-09T15:29:00.000-07:00

Parsnips look like anemic carrots, but don't let their looks fool you. They are sweet, creamy and delicious and have become one of my favorite veggies. A one-cup serving has only 100 calories and a whopping 6.5g of dietary fiber. It's high in vitamin C, which is good news for those of you who rely on it to keep winter colds at bay.

Although they can be eaten raw, when it comes to cooking, parsnips are very versatile. They can be boiled, roasted, baked, fried or cooked and pureed for soup. The sweet flavor of parsnips marries well with sweet potatoes, carrots and apples.

I love caramelized onions and as soon as I saw this recipe I knew where my parsnips were headed.

The crust for this tart is the easiest thing ever. A mix of melted butter, vegetable oil, water, sugar, salt and flour are combined to make a dough that is pressed into the tart pan with your hands. No need to roll out dough for this tart! It came out beautifully crisp and held up well when removed from the pan for cutting.

If you haven't made friends with parsnips yet, I hope you'll give them a try!

Parsnip and Caramelized Onion Tart - Adapted from here.

The crust was made first using this recipe.

For the filling:

1 ¼ cups milk

½ cup Cheddar cheese, grated

2 T butter

3 onions, sliced

1# parsnips, peeled and quartered lengthwise

3 eggs

Preheat to 350° F.

Melt butter in frying pan and add onions. Cook over a gentle heat for 10 minutes, until golden and caramelized. Cut any woody centers out of the parsnips and discard. Cook the parsnips in boiling water for 5-7 minutes, until tender. Drain well and put into a bowl. Mash until smooth.

Beat the eggs and milk together and stir in half the cheese, season and stir in the onions and parsnips. Pour the mixture into the tart pan and scatter the remaining cheese over the top. Bake for 25-30 minutes, until just set in the middle. Remove from the tin and serve warm with a crisp green salad.

Ensalada de Nopalitos (Cactus Salad)

2011-02-03T15:51:00.002-07:00

Have you tried nopalitos? I like them chopped up in scrambled eggs and also fried with potatoes. My gardener doesn't care for them, so when he went out of town a few weeks ago, I decided to make this cactus salad and eat to my heart's content.

Putting this salad together is as easy as chopping up some vegetables and mixing them with a vinaigrette. I started with green onions, radishes, garlic, tomato, bell pepper and corn. I like avocado in this salad, but the avocado I had wasn't quite ripe.

I topped some tamales with some of this salad and also spooned some over a fried egg for breakfast. The rest I ate with corn chips and found that it makes a perfectly good chunky salsa. Be sure to rinse the nopalitos well under cold, running water. They have a tendency to be slimy, somewhat like cooked okra.

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Ensalada de Nopalitos (Cactus Salad)
6 green onions, sliced
3 radishes, sliced then quartered
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tomato, seeded and diced
1/4 cup cilantro, chopped
1/2 bell pepper, diced
1/4 cup corn
1-1/2 cups nopalitos, drained, rinsed and cut into 1/2" dice
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
Cotija or Feta cheese

Place all ingredients in a bowl and stir to combine.

Dressing:
3 T olive oil
1 T red wine vinegar
1 T lime juice

Whisk dressing ingredients together and pour over salad. Cover salad and refrigerate until well chilled. To serve, top with crumbled Cotija or Feta cheese.

Homemade French Bread

2011-01-27T12:08:00.001-07:00

Mmm, french bread.

Mmm, homemade french bread.

Lynda at Lynda's Recipe Box made this and blogged about it a few weeks ago and she made it look so easy and her loaves turned out so pretty, that I just had to make some. Lynda has a great blog with some great recipes. Check out her 2010 Top Posts and you'll see what I mean!

These loaves baked up soft and beautiful on the inside and crunchy on the outside. And the aroma! Oh, my... there's nothing like homemade bread! It would be perfect with a bowl of soup or sliced to make garlic bread.

Lynda kneads her dough by hand and her recipe is written as such. I adapted her recipe to make use of a stand mixer. Even if you've never made yeast bread before, I wish you would give this a try. The dough comes together quickly and rises quickly. If you started right now, you could have french bread for dinner!

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Crusty French Bread - adapted for stand mixer from here

2 ¼ tsp dry yeast

2 cups warm water

6 cups flour

2 T sugar

2 tsp salt

2 T olive oil

Cornmeal for dusting the pans

1 egg white

1 T cold water

Fit stand mixer with paddle attachment. Pour water into mixer bowl and add yeast. Stir to dissolve. Add sugar, oil and salt. Mix on low for 30 seconds.

Mix in 3 cups of flour, 1 cup at a time. Mix on medium until all flour has been incorporated. Add an additional 3 cups of flour, 1 cup at a time. Mix until all flour has been incorporated. Change to dough hook and knead on medium until dough is smooth and elastic, or about 8 minutes. Dough will be sticky.

Place dough in a large greased bowl and turn to coat. Cover and place in a warm place to rise until doubled, about an hour.

When dough has doubled, punch it down, cover and let rise again for 30 minutes.

Punch dough down again and knead for 1 minute on a lightly floured surface. Cut dough into 3 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a 12x9 rectangle. Roll up jelly roll fashion and pinch the seam together. Tuck ends underneath.

Line baking sheet with parchment and sprinkle with cornmeal. Place bread on parchment, cover and rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Make evenly spaced diagonal cuts on top of each loaf. Beat egg white and water together and brush over each loaf of bread with a pastry brush.

Place a pan of hot water on bottom shelf of the oven. Place baking sheet with loaves on shelf above water.

Bake in a 400 degree oven for 25-30 minutes, or until the loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped. Remove from baking pans and cool on wire racks.

Clams in Spicy Broth

2011-01-20T17:18:00.000-07:00

When I read how Susan raved about the recipe she uses for Mussels, Clams and Shrimp in Spicy Broth the other day, it reminded me that it's been way too long since we've had clams with pasta.

So, using the recipe for the broth, I substituted clams for the other seafood and served it over pasta. Susan guaranteed that we would love it, and we did! Thanks, Susan!

Portuguese Rice Pudding

2011-01-15T12:48:00.001-07:00

My grandmother never used a recipe when she made her rice pudding and I guess that my mom never made it because when we moved across country from my grandparents, we all longed for her rice pudding. My sisters and I tried lots of different recipes, but none were like we remembered eating from our Vo-Vo's kitchen.

That is, until I saw this recipe in California Farmer magazine, dated September 2, 1989. I copied the page and made some. We all agreed that this tasted just like we remembered and it's been a family favorite all these years.

Making this dish is similar to making risotto. First, 1 cup each of rice and water are brought to a boil. When the water has been absorbed, milk is added and the mixture is stirred until the milk has been absorbed by the rice. This is repeated two more times, then an egg and sugar are added. It takes a while to make, but the result is the creamiest rice pudding ever.

If you've been looking for a rice pudding recipe and just haven't found the one that's perfect for you, I hope you'll give this a try!

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PORTUGUESE RICE PUDDING

1 cup uncooked rice

1 cup water

5-1/2 cups milk

1 large egg, beaten

1 cup sugar

Cinnamon

Put rice and water in large saucepan and boil until water is absorbed. Add 2 cups milk and bring to a boil. After mixture comes to a boil, stir constantly to prevent burning until all milk has been absorbed. Add another 2 cups milk and bring to a boil, then stir constantly until all milk has been absorbed. Add 1-1/2 cups milk and bring to a boil, then stir constantly until all milk has been absorbed. Beat egg in a small bowl. Add a few spoonfuls of the hot rice mixture and stir. Add egg to the saucepan and stir until well blended. Add sugar, stir and cook an additional 2 minutes. Pour into individual bowls or into a 1-quart serving bowl; sprinkle with cinnamon and nutmeg and let cool.

New England Clam Chowder

2011-01-09T16:07:00.000-07:00

It's still soup weather here in North Central Montana and I'm making the best of it!

I knew I wanted soup for dinner the other night, but couldn't think of what kind to make, so I do what any normal person would do in that circumstance and went to the Internet! It wasn't long before I found the perfect thing... New England Clam Chowder.

I wanted to make bread bowls to serve it in, so went to my favorite baking site King Arthur Flour for this recipe. Although the recipe calls for using sage and thyme, I left it out and made a plain dough. The bread bowls were good, but a very soft bread. Next time, I'll make a more crusty bread.

If it's still soup weather where you live, I hope you'll give this a try!

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New England Clam Chowder

1 T bacon grease

¼ red onion, finely diced

2 small stalks celery, finely diced

½ cup white wine

1 (8 oz) bottle clam juice

2 (6.5 oz) cans minced clams (do not drain)

2 medium red potatoes, ½” dice

½ tsp black pepper

½ tsp dried parsley

3 T flour

2 c Half & Half

Put bacon grease in a saucepan and heat. Add onion and celery and sauté for 5 minutes. Add wine, clam juice, clams, potatoes, pepper and parsley. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until potatoes are tender, about 25 minutes. Mix flour with Half & Half. Add to pan and bring to a gentle boil. Continue to cook about 5 minutes until chowder has thickened.

Homemade Boston Brown Bread

2011-01-07T11:19:00.000-07:00

Fish was on the menu every Friday night while I was growing up in New England; the middle daughter in a Catholic family. We could count on frozen fish sticks; cod; swordfish; and fried smelt, which was one of my favorites.

Saturday dinners were usually Boston Baked Beans that my mom cooked in the oven all day, which included molasses and a big chunk of Salt Pork. She served them right out of the bean pot, with hot Brown Bread.

My Mom didn't make the Brown Bread from scratch - it was good old B&M Brown Bread from a can. She'd take the bread out of the can, wrap it in foil and heat it in the oven along with the beans. We'd get a slice slathered with butter which would immediately melt into the fragrant bread.

This bread is steamed (rather than baked) in an aluminum can. I've had the can for some time and forget which size it is, but it measured 6" high and 4" across. After the batter has been poured into the can, to be sure no water or steam got into the can while it was cooking, I placed a piece of parchment and then foil over the can and secured them with duct tape. To steam the bread, place it in a pot and add water half-way up the can, or you can use a pot with a steamer insert like I did. This bread will take an hour and a half to cook, so be sure to check the water level in the steamer periodically.

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BOSTON BROWN BREAD
1/2 cup white flour

1/2 cup rye flour

1/2 cup corn meal

3/4 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp cinnamon

1/2 cup raisins

1 cup buttermilk

1/3 cup molasses

One clean can measuring 6" tall x 4" around

Place raisins in a bowl and cover with boiling water and allow to sit for 10 minutes; drain. Combine flours, corn meal, salt, baking soda and cinnamon and whisk together. In separate bowl, combine molasses, buttermilk and raisins then add to dry mixture.

Spray inside of can liberally with cooking spray, turning to coat all surfaces. Pour mixture into can and tap on counter to remove air bubbles. Cut a 6" square of parchment and place it on top of the tin, securing with a rubber band. Cut 3 pieces of foil and place over parchment, wrapping tightly. Secure foil with rubber bands or duct tape.

Place can in the bottom of a pot and fill half-way on the can with water. Bring to a fast boil and boil on high for 30 minutes. Reduce heat to low and continue to steam an additional hour to hour-and-a-half. Add additional water as necessary. Use a long skewer and insert it in the middle of the bread. If it comes out clean, the bread is done.

Remove can from pan; remove foil and parchment. Turn can over on a cooling rack to remove bread. Spread with butter and serve with Boston Baked Beans.

Portuguese New England Boiled Dinner

2011-01-02T16:17:00.001-07:00

A traditional New England Boiled dinner calls for a smoked ham shoulder with carrots, potatoes, cabbage, onions and sometimes other root vegetables such as rutabaga, parsnips or turnip. A lot of cooks substitute a corned beef brisket for the meat, and then the dish becomes Corned Beef and Cabbage.

This is called Portuguese New England Boiled Dinner because for the meat portion, linguica, a Portuguese spicy pork sausage, is used. This is what I grew up eating and it's pure comfort food for me.

It's amazing that just cooking these ingredients in a pan of water comes out so flavorful. Served with mustard and horseradish on the side and some good bread to sop up the juice, this meal is perfect for dinner on a cold winter day.

This dish takes some timing and careful attention. After the water is brought to a boil, the heat should be reduced to achieve a gentle simmer throughout. This will assure the vegetables end up tender, but not falling apart.

I hope you'll give this a try! Any other favorite sausage would work well with this recipe, too.

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Portuguese New England Boiled Dinner
1 Bay leaf
2 whole onions
5 carrots, cut into 2-inch sections
4 whole potatoes, peeled
1# linguica (or sausage of your choice)
1/2 head cabbage, cut into 2 pieces from the root
Horseradish
Coarse grain mustard

Peel onions. Keep whole, but using a knife, make a slice half-way down the center of the onion.

Do not cut through root end.

Peel carrots and cut into 2-inch lengths.

Peel potatoes. Keep whole.

Cut linguica (or other sausage) into 2-inch lengths.

Cut ½ head of cabbage in half through the root.

Place a gallon of water in a stock pot. Add bay leaf and bring to a boil.

Place onions in the stock pot and reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Cook until onions are almost tender, about 20 minutes. Be sure to keep water at a gentle simmer so vegetables don’t fall apart.

Add potatoes to the stock pot and cook about 15 minutes. Add more water if necessary, to cover vegetables.

Add carrots and cabbage and cook about 10 minutes, or until they are tender.

Using a slotted spoon, put vegetables on a platter. Transfer vegetables to individual large soup bowls and pour some broth over vegetables.

Serve with butter, horseradish and coarse-grain mustard, along with crusty bread.

Leek, Lemon and Feta Quiche

2010-12-26T17:15:00.001-07:00

I was looking for something a little different for breakfast on Christmas morning and found a recipe for this quiche. Using a refrigerated pie crust, this was quickly and easily put together by chopping and sautéing leeks, whisking half-and-half and eggs along with a little lemon zest and putting it in the oven. Slices of feta are put on top of the egg mixture and I'm glad I resisted the urge to just crumble it and toss it in.

With the delightfully mild flavor of the leeks, just a hint of lemon, and the tangy feta topping, this is perfect for a breakfast or brunch menu. Serve with a few slices of crisply fried bacon and a simple fruit salad.

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Leek, Lemon, and Feta Quiche - adapted from Food 52

1 refrigerated pie crust

1# leeks (3 leeks)

2 T olive oil

1 cup half-and-half

3 eggs

1 tsp freshly grated lemon zest

1 tsp kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

2 ½ ounces feta cheese, cut into ½” slices

1. Preheat oven to 375°F.

2. Remove dark green tops from leeks leaving a couple inches of light green with the white portion of the leeks. Halve the leeks lengthwise, then cut crosswise in ½-inch slices. Place the slices into a colander and rinse well. Drain well.

3. Heat olive oil in large skillet over medium heat. Add the leeks and cook until they are wilted. Turn off the heat and let sit.

4. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the half-and-half, eggs, lemon zest, salt and pepper.

5. Line a pan pan with the refrigerated crust.

6. Distribute the leeks evenly across the bottom of the pie crust. Pour the milk mixture over the leeks. Top with slices of feta.

7. Bake 30-40 minutes. The center should be solid and the crust and top nicely browned. Let cool for 10 minutes before serving.

2010-12-21T17:00:00.000-07:00

Soft Garlic Knots

2010-12-20T15:19:00.001-07:00

Enter here for a chance to win a $65 giveaway from CSN Stores!

Lately, like many of you, I've been busy making a mess. But what a merry and mouthwatering mess it's been!

Honk if you like garlic!

These Garlic Knots are soft and yeasty - good with soup, or pasta and your favorite sauce, or just for those times when you find yourself standing at the kitchen counter with nothing to do. Pull one of these lovelies apart fresh from the oven and dip each piece into the leftover glaze of butter and olive oil. You can thank me later.

I made three batches of these Garlic Knots. When I made the first batch it was -1 degree outside and only 68 degrees in the house. They didn't rise like they should have and I didn't have the patience to wait, so I baked them anyway. The flavor was good, but they weren't light and fluffy. For the glaze, I used minced raw garlic mixed with olive oil and melted butter, but found the garlic to be a bit harsh.

I made the second batch of dough the night before I was going to bake, covered it and left it in a cold oven overnight. When I got up the next morning, the dough had doubled and was perfect for making the rolls. These rolls turned out light and fluffy. This time for the glaze, I heated the olive oil and minced garlic until the garlic turned a very light brown, then added butter and parsley and brushed the mixture on the rolls. Although the garlic wasn't really cooked, it was heated enough so the raw garlic taste was gone. I liked these much better.

When brushing the knots with the oil mixture, be sure to get some of the garlic and parsley, too. You can top these with some Parmesan or Kosher salt, too. I hope you give these a try. You won't be disappointed!

Here is a tutorial for shaping these knots.

PRINT RECIPE HERE

Soft Garlic Knots (adapted from King Arthur Flour)

3 cups flour

1/4 cup dry milk

1/2 cup instant mashed potato flakes

1 T sugar

2 tsp yeast

1-1/4 tsp salt

2 T olive oil

1 c lukewarm water

Glaze

2 T butter

4 T olive oil

3 cloves peeled, minced garlic

3 T dried parsley

Dough: The night before baking, using a flat beater, whisk the dry ingredients together in bowl of stand mixer. Stir in olive oil and water then mix until dough comes together. Change to dough hook and knead until you have a smooth, elastic dough, adding additional water or flour as needed. Place the dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover, and allow to rise overnight, until doubled in bulk.

Shaping: Gently deflate dough and divide dough into 16 pieces. Roll each into a rope about 11 inches long. Tie each rope into a knot, tucking the loose ends into the center. Place knots on a lightly greased or parchment-lined baking sheet, cover, and let rise for 45 minutes to an hour, until very puffy looking.

Glaze: In small saucepan, heat olive oil and garlic until garlic is aromatic. Be careful not to burn. Add butter and parsley and simmer until butter is melted.

Baking: Bake the knots in preheated 350 F oven for 15 to 18 minutes. They should be set, but only very lightly browned. Remove knots from the oven and brush with garlic butter. Yield: 16 garlic knots

Portuguese Kale and Salt Cod Chowder

2010-12-17T13:47:00.000-07:00

Enter here for a chance to win a $65 certificate to CSN Stores!

You may have seen these little boxes at the store and wondered what the salted codfish inside looked like. I forgot to take a picture, but it looks just like filleted and skinned dried fish! Since the fish has been preserved in salt, it must be soaked in water before using. The fish is simply covered with cold water and refrigerated for at least 24 hours. The water should be changed three or four times during that period. After the fish has been rehydrated, it's ready to cook.

I used half the fish to make Portuguese Kale and Salt Cod Chowder. I'll use the other half to make something else, so stay tuned.

Along with linguica and potatoes, the salt cod made a hearty and delicious chowder. I used homemade chicken stock for a rich flavor.

Have you ever cooked salt cod? What did you make?

PRINT RECIPE HERE

Portuguese Kale and Salt Cod Chowder (adapted from The New York Times)

1/2# boneless, skinless salt cod

1 T olive oil

1# linguica, cut into 1/2-inch disks and then into half moons

1 small onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

3 potatoes, cut into 1/2-inch dice

1-1/2 quarts chicken stock

8 oz. kale, stemmed, rinsed and coarsely chopped

2 bay leaves

1/2 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp black pepper

Soak salt cod in cold water for at least 24 hours, changing water every four hours. Keep refrigerated. Drain and tear the cod into bite-size pieces, removing any skin or bones. Cover cod with milk and bring nearly to a boil. Remove from heat, cover and let sit for 15 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Warm olive oil in large soup pot over high heat. Add sausage and cook for 3 minutes to lightly brown. Reduce heat to medium, add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring frequently until the onions are nearly soft, about 5 minutes. Add potatoes and toss. Add chicken stock and bring to a boil. Add kale, bay leaves and red pepper flakes. Return to a boil, then lower heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Add the cod and adjust seasoning.

A Holiday Giveaway!

2010-12-14T09:47:00.001-07:00

The winner is...

Random Integer Generator

Here are your random numbers:

Timestamp: 2010-12-26 17:52:42 UTC

Jenn Flynn-Shon! Congratulations, Jenn!

THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED

Have you finished your wish list for Santa? More importantly, have you been a good boy or girl this year? Yes, you say? How about that time you... (well, I won't bring it up right now...) but what if Santa remembers? What if he remembers and is not pleased? What if Santa crosses something off your wish list? What if you woke up on Christmas morning and that one thing you really wanted wasn't under the tree? Hmm, that wouldn't be good... not good at all.

But wait! I have a solution! CSN Stores would like to give you a $65 gift code that can be used in any of their over 200 online stores. CSN Stores carries everything from Delsey luggage to Le Creuset cookware and They carry so much stuff, I'm sure you could find that special something that got crossed off your list!

All you have to do to be eligible to win is to leave me a comment and include the word snow in your comment. I'll leave this giveaway open until the day after Christmas and will choose a random winner. This giveaway is open to everyone in the U.S. and Canada. Don't forget to leave me an email address so I can contact you.

CSN Stores only ships to the U.S. and Canada. If you're a winner and live in Canada, there may be international shipping charges.

Welcome to my kitchen!

2010-11-29T13:38:00.000-07:00

Penny at Lake Lure Cottage Kitchen is hosting her second annual Kitchen Reveal. I'd love to peek into your kitchens to see where all of you come up with the wonderful recipes I see on your blogs and thought it would be fun to participate this year. So, welcome to my kitchen... where Karen cooks!

Here's the kitchen from the dining room. This is a one-butt kitchen. More than that and it gets crowded real quick.

These stand-alone cupboards and microwave stand were here when we moved into the house. They were white and my gardener painted them green this summer. They sure do help with storage, but one of these days, I'd like to have some built-ins in their place.

The ivory refrigerator was also here when we moved in, and eventually I'll replace it (and the microwave) to match the other appliances. Yes, the front of my refrigerator is always that clutter-free. I keep a calendar, a freezer inventory and a few pictures on the side of the fridge. The only thing on the front though, is a little rooster magnet that my former boss brought to me when she visited Portugal.

This bottom cabinet holds most of the things I need for baking... salt, corn meal, brown sugar, powdered sugar, chocolate chips, dried fruit, honey, oats, raisins, etc. The top shelf holds my gardener's crackers and snacks.

This top shelf holds pasta and rice. The bottom shelf is for beans and canned goods. I don't really buy a lot of canned goods, as you can see. I would rather buy fresh fruits and vegetables. I have recipes and tips that I've taken from magazines taped to the inside of the cupboards.

This top corner cupboards holds all my spices on a turntable, which makes it so much easier to find what I need. An inventory of the spices is taped to the door, so I know what I have. You can see we keep the toaster here and also the coffee. I think we're the only people in Montana who drink decaf!

I love these pull-out drawers. It makes fighting with the pans a little easier.

And because there's no room in the kitchen for appliances, I keep them on a shelf in the office. My mixer, dutch oven, blender, food processor, mini-chopper, salad spinner, extra serving pieces, and way down at the end are where I keep my cookbooks.

When we moved into this house, there was an electric stove. We had a gas line run up to the kitchen and bought this stove. I love it. It has two power burners, one simmer burner and two regular burners. I keep my Wusthof knives above the stove for easy access. No, my counters are not always this clutter-free :)

My Mom always liked Martha Stewart and how particular and organized she was. So, like Martha, she kept her dish soap in a decorative bottle on the sink. I do the same. Yes, I always buy green dish soap so it coordinates with the kitchen. Hehe. Love my gooseneck faucet that makes it so easy to wash big pans.

I keep the sugar and flour containers handy by the microwave. Since I spend so much time in the kitchen, I keep pictures of my family there. From left to right, the small picture is my daughter at 4 years old. Behind that is a picture of my daughter and son-in-law. The middle picture is my now 4-year-old granddaughter Kayla and is my favorite picture of her when she was about 7 months old and found her toes! The picture in back is a favorite one of my gardener standing on an abandoned railroad track in the desert. And finally, the picture on the right is of Emily, my now 8-month-old granddaughter.

And because no kitchen is complete without a kitchen gadgets, here's a peek at one of the kitchen drawers with every gadget imaginable. I would organize it, but I think I'd rather go make some cookies.

Thanks for coming along on my kitchen tour. Be sure to visit Penny's blog on December 1 to see who else participated!

Liver and Onions

2010-11-17T17:16:00.005-07:00

This is a picture of the beautiful country where my gardener and I live. It's acres and acres of rolling hills in North Central Montana. In the distance are the Bear Paws, aka the Bear's Paw Mountains.

(From Wikipedia): Native oral history (of the Bear's Paw Mountains) ties the name to a lone hunter in search of deer to feed his clan. He killed a deer but, while returning to the prairie, encountered a bear. The bear held the hunter to the ground, and the hunter appealed to the Great Spirit to release him. The Great Spirit filled the heavens with lightning and thunder, striking the bear dead and severing its paw to release the hunter.

There are deer and antelope in these rolling hills. You might look at the rather flat land and think "Where would a deer or antelope hide?" There are no trees, but there are plenty of coulees. A coulee is a ravine in the land. You can walk these rolling hills and see nothing, but come up to the top of a coulee and there down in the ravine... if you're lucky...

... you might see a deer or, on this day, an antelope. Well, what do you know about that... this just happens to be opening day of antelope season.

I asked my gardener why we never have liver from deer or antelope. He said "It really isn't good for you." Well, yeah, but neither are Doritos or Twinkies, but that doesn't mean that you shouldn't eat them every now and then! So, on this trip I took a plastic bag just for the liver. I'm sure I've lost some of you by now, just because we're talking about liver, but look at that... that's the most beautiful liver I've ever seen. It's fresh, it's perfect and it didn't come from a container from the grocery store that might have been who-knows-how-many-days-old.

I haven't eaten liver and onions in many years, but this was nothing like what I remembered. So tender, so succulent, so fresh! All I did was slice the liver and dredge it in a little seasoned flour before frying it. I caramelized some onions and it was the perfect dinner after a good day of hunting.