I have had this recipe marked for a while but have not had a good venue to make it. So if you read the last post (Butterhorns) that I did, you will see that tonight seemed like a good night to roll them out. Figuratively speaking, of course. This is from Taste of Home Feb/March '09. Yep, an old one. It's one of the magazines Jessica gave me when I was laid up.
Cordon Bleu Appetizers
4 oz cream cheese, softened
1 tsp dijon mustard
1 cup (4 oz) shredded Swiss cheese
3/4 cup fully cooked diced ham
1/2 cup minced chives, divided
18 slices French bread (1/2 inch thick)
In a small bowl, beat cream cheese and mustard until smooth. Stir in the Swiss cheese, ham, and 1/4 cup chives. Spread 1 tbsp mixture over each bread slice; place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Sprinkle with remaining chives.
So these were pretty good. The cheese didn't get very melty, I thought it would spread over the bread better but it just stayed where I put it...also my chunks of ham were kind of big, so if I made this again I would cut the ham up smaller. Nathan and Emma didn't try them, but everyone else did. I got no negative feedback. These looked pretty nice on the tray too.
Thursday, August 12, 2010
Butterhorns
Sounds like something they would serve on the Matterhorn. Basically these look like Pillsbury crescent rolls except they're homemade. The lady who sent this recipe in to Taste of Home says that you can cut them into any shape, but I'm not really creative like that. Probably Becky H would make flowers or whales or something...Anyway I just made them crescent-shaped. This is from the Taste of Home Aug/Sept 2010 issue. Emma and I made these to go with the supper we are having tonight. Steve's parents are coming over and the kids really wanted to have their favorite supper with them, which is (drumroll please): Shepherd's Pie. So I made these rolls to go with it, and also I am making an appetizer which I will post separately. To kind of fancy up run-of-the-mill shepherd's pie...which I know the kids will eat without a fight, which has to count for something, right??
Butterhorns
1 tbsp active dry yeast
1 tsp plus 1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup warm milk (110 to 115 degrees)
1 egg
3/4 tsp salt
4 cups all-purpose flour
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 tsp sugar in warm water. Add the butter, milk, egg, salt remaining sugar and 2 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (I used the whole 2 cups). Turn onto a floured surface, knead until smooth and elastic (about 6-8 minutes). Place in greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down. Turn onto lightly floured surface; divide in half. Roll each portion into a 12-inch circle; cut each circle into 12 wedges. Roll up wedges from the wide end and place point side down 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets. Curve ends to form crescents. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks. 2 dozen
Emma and I already ate one. I told her we have to try them to make sure they're yummy before we feed them to other people. They were very very good. Nice and soft. And really not very hard, although a tad time-consuming just because of the rise. But we weren't going anywhere today anyway so it's fine. A keeper for sure.
Butterhorns
1 tbsp active dry yeast
1 tsp plus 1/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup warm water (110 to 115 degrees)
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup warm milk (110 to 115 degrees)
1 egg
3/4 tsp salt
4 cups all-purpose flour
In a large bowl, dissolve yeast and 1 tsp sugar in warm water. Add the butter, milk, egg, salt remaining sugar and 2 cups flour. Beat until smooth. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough (I used the whole 2 cups). Turn onto a floured surface, knead until smooth and elastic (about 6-8 minutes). Place in greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Punch dough down. Turn onto lightly floured surface; divide in half. Roll each portion into a 12-inch circle; cut each circle into 12 wedges. Roll up wedges from the wide end and place point side down 2 inches apart on greased baking sheets. Curve ends to form crescents. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 30 minutes. Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from pans to wire racks. 2 dozen
Emma and I already ate one. I told her we have to try them to make sure they're yummy before we feed them to other people. They were very very good. Nice and soft. And really not very hard, although a tad time-consuming just because of the rise. But we weren't going anywhere today anyway so it's fine. A keeper for sure.
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Homemade Flour Tortillas
So after my fiasco last month trying to make tortillas (see "Homemade Tortillas" from July '10), my friend Lisa gave me this recipe to try. She gave me 2 sample tortillas also, to prove that she had successfully done this. So I would know it wasn't a practical joke. She got the recipe from allrecipes.com. I have had varying degrees of success with that website. Anyway here is the recipe.
Homemade Flour Tortillas
4 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp lard (I used olive oil)
1 1/2 cups water
Whisk the flour, salt, and baking powder together in a mixing bowl. Mix in the lard with your fingers until the flour resembles cornmeal. Add the water and mix until the dough comes together; place on a lightly floured surface and knead a few minutes until smooth and elastic. Divide the dough into 24 equal pieces (cha, right) and roll each piece into a ball. Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Use a well-floured rolling pin to roll a dough ball into a thin, round tortilla (oh, no problem). Place into the hot skillet and cook until bubbly and golden; flip and continue cooking until golden on the other side. Place the cooked tortilla in a tortilla warmer; continue rolling and cooking the remaining dough.
I think you can guess how this went for me. Emma came in as I was putting the ingredients together, and wanted to help. So we did this together. That was the only good thing about it!! We did okay until it was time to divide the dough into 24 equal pieces. I did attempt this. But when it was time to roll them out, even rolling them as thin as I possibly could, #1 they were not round, not even close, and #2 they were so small they looked like you would use them for a doll tea party. So then I put 2 balls together and rolled them out. The shape improved somewhat, but they were as thin as I could get them, so thin that they ripped a little when I transferred them from the pastry mat to the skillet, but once they hit the skillet, they rose so much that I think they were too thick. Lisa's didn't look like that. So, big fail (again). I have totally given up on homemade tortillas and will only be using store-bought from now on.
It was a very nice time with Emma though. I was getting frustrated with the dough, which was not always cooperative about being rolled into a circle. At one point Steve came in and I kind of snapped at him, just a little, and Emma said "Don't worry Daddy, she's not mad at you, she's mad at the dough." Ha!
Homemade Flour Tortillas
4 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp lard (I used olive oil)
1 1/2 cups water
Whisk the flour, salt, and baking powder together in a mixing bowl. Mix in the lard with your fingers until the flour resembles cornmeal. Add the water and mix until the dough comes together; place on a lightly floured surface and knead a few minutes until smooth and elastic. Divide the dough into 24 equal pieces (cha, right) and roll each piece into a ball. Preheat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Use a well-floured rolling pin to roll a dough ball into a thin, round tortilla (oh, no problem). Place into the hot skillet and cook until bubbly and golden; flip and continue cooking until golden on the other side. Place the cooked tortilla in a tortilla warmer; continue rolling and cooking the remaining dough.
I think you can guess how this went for me. Emma came in as I was putting the ingredients together, and wanted to help. So we did this together. That was the only good thing about it!! We did okay until it was time to divide the dough into 24 equal pieces. I did attempt this. But when it was time to roll them out, even rolling them as thin as I possibly could, #1 they were not round, not even close, and #2 they were so small they looked like you would use them for a doll tea party. So then I put 2 balls together and rolled them out. The shape improved somewhat, but they were as thin as I could get them, so thin that they ripped a little when I transferred them from the pastry mat to the skillet, but once they hit the skillet, they rose so much that I think they were too thick. Lisa's didn't look like that. So, big fail (again). I have totally given up on homemade tortillas and will only be using store-bought from now on.
It was a very nice time with Emma though. I was getting frustrated with the dough, which was not always cooperative about being rolled into a circle. At one point Steve came in and I kind of snapped at him, just a little, and Emma said "Don't worry Daddy, she's not mad at you, she's mad at the dough." Ha!
Thursday, August 5, 2010
Grilled Potato Salad
This sounded so yummy when I saw it. It's the last one from the Lipton cookbook I started last week. I am just going to put this cookbook in the Goodwill bag, or put it in a yard sale or something, since it has no sentimental value...we had this with the pork chop recipe that I posted a minute ago...
Grilled Potato Salad
1 envelope onion soup mix
1/3 cup olive or vegetable oil
2 tbps red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 pounds small red or all-purpose potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 tbsp fresh basil, or 1 tsp dried basil, crushed
Freshly ground black pepper
In a large bowl, blend soup mix, oil, vinegar, and garlic; stir in potatoes. Grease 30x18 inch sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil; top with potato mixture. Wrap foil loosely around mixture, sealing edges airtight with double fold. Place on another sheet of 30x18 inch foil; seal edges airtight with double fold in opposite direction. Grill, shaking package occasionally and turning package once, 40 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Spoon into serving bowl and toss with basil and pepper. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
Oven method: Preheat oven to 450. Prepare foil packet as above. Place in large baking pan on bottom rack and bake, turning packet once, 40 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Toss and serve as above.
So this was VERY good. The kids didn't really like it, but Steve and I did. I think it would be good for like a barbecue or potluck or something, because it did make quite a bit. Smelled awesome while it was cooking. I forgot to grease the foil, but there was enough oil in the mix that the potatoes didn't really stick. So this one is a keeper! Maybe a bit much "onion soup mix" action, so I wouldn't necessarily make these two things together again. But still a good meal. Also the typical foil size is 12 inches wide, so that made for some interesting moments, but I still wouldn't buy bigger foil just for this recipe.
Grilled Potato Salad
1 envelope onion soup mix
1/3 cup olive or vegetable oil
2 tbps red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 pounds small red or all-purpose potatoes, cut into 1-inch cubes
1 tbsp fresh basil, or 1 tsp dried basil, crushed
Freshly ground black pepper
In a large bowl, blend soup mix, oil, vinegar, and garlic; stir in potatoes. Grease 30x18 inch sheet of heavy-duty aluminum foil; top with potato mixture. Wrap foil loosely around mixture, sealing edges airtight with double fold. Place on another sheet of 30x18 inch foil; seal edges airtight with double fold in opposite direction. Grill, shaking package occasionally and turning package once, 40 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Spoon into serving bowl and toss with basil and pepper. Serve slightly warm or at room temperature.
Oven method: Preheat oven to 450. Prepare foil packet as above. Place in large baking pan on bottom rack and bake, turning packet once, 40 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Toss and serve as above.
So this was VERY good. The kids didn't really like it, but Steve and I did. I think it would be good for like a barbecue or potluck or something, because it did make quite a bit. Smelled awesome while it was cooking. I forgot to grease the foil, but there was enough oil in the mix that the potatoes didn't really stick. So this one is a keeper! Maybe a bit much "onion soup mix" action, so I wouldn't necessarily make these two things together again. But still a good meal. Also the typical foil size is 12 inches wide, so that made for some interesting moments, but I still wouldn't buy bigger foil just for this recipe.
Onion-Baked Pork Chops
This is one of the last 2 things I have marked to try out of that Lipton cookbook I found. We had this tonight along with a hot potato salad recipe that I will post separately, for the sake of labeling. I pretty much love that onion soup mix. I don't think I've ever made anything with it that I haven't liked. It is pretty salty, but that's still okay for us.
Onion-Baked Pork Chops
1 envelope onion soup mix
1/3 cup plain dry bread crumbs
4 pork chops (I used boneless)
1 egg, well beaten
Preheat oven to 400. In small bowl, combine soup mix and bread crumbs. Dip chops in egg, then bread crumb mixture, until evenly coated. In lightly greased 13x9 baking or roasting pan, arrange chops. Bake uncovered 20 minutes or until done, turning once. 4 servings.
They have a "tip" afterward that says you can use other Lipton soup mixes besides this one, such as Onion, Savory Herb with Garlic, or Fiesta Herb with Red Pepper Soup Mix.
Emma ate all her meat without me having to say anything. Nathan was a different story. He doesn't like his "chicken" to have any "yuckies" on it. But, we made him eat it anyway. Nothing bad happened. Steve and I both liked it. The pork chops were very moist, which is nice because sometimes pork can be rather dry, at least when I make it. The breading must have sealed in the flavor. So not bad.
Onion-Baked Pork Chops
1 envelope onion soup mix
1/3 cup plain dry bread crumbs
4 pork chops (I used boneless)
1 egg, well beaten
Preheat oven to 400. In small bowl, combine soup mix and bread crumbs. Dip chops in egg, then bread crumb mixture, until evenly coated. In lightly greased 13x9 baking or roasting pan, arrange chops. Bake uncovered 20 minutes or until done, turning once. 4 servings.
They have a "tip" afterward that says you can use other Lipton soup mixes besides this one, such as Onion, Savory Herb with Garlic, or Fiesta Herb with Red Pepper Soup Mix.
Emma ate all her meat without me having to say anything. Nathan was a different story. He doesn't like his "chicken" to have any "yuckies" on it. But, we made him eat it anyway. Nothing bad happened. Steve and I both liked it. The pork chops were very moist, which is nice because sometimes pork can be rather dry, at least when I make it. The breading must have sealed in the flavor. So not bad.
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Hearty BBQ Beef Sandwiches
This recipe is out of a cookbook I've had for a while, Lipton Recipe Secrets The Magic of Flavor. I can't remember where I got it, if it was a gift or not. It was the next one in line on my cookbook shelf, so I did manage to find 3 recipes out of it that I'm going to make, but I don't think I'll keep the cookbook in the long run...some cookbooks I've never made anything out of, but I keep because of sentimental value or whatever. But this one I can't really remember anything about, so...the publication date is 1999.
Hearty BBQ Beef Sandwiches
1 envelope onion soup mix
2 cups water
1/2 cup chili sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 3-lb boneless chuck roast
8 kaiser rolls, toasted
Preheat oven to 325. In Dutch oven or 5 quart saucepot, combine soup mix, water, chili sauce, and brown sugar. Add roast. Cover and bake 3 hours or until roast is tender. Remove roast; reserve juices. Bring reserved juices to a boil over high heat, boil 4 minutes. Meanwhile, with fork, shred roast. Stir roast into reserved juices and simmer, stirring frequently, 1 minute. Serve on rolls. 8 servings
This smelled awesome while it was in the oven. We have all the windows open today, and Steve said he could smell it in the driveway. I cannot confirm if this is true, but it might be. This came out rather watery, even after I did all the steps, so I let it simmer until Steve got home, which ended up being about 30 minutes, on low. Nathan & Emma just ate the meat, not on the sandwich rolls, and they both liked it. It seemed a bit salty to me, but that's to be expected considering the ingredients...plenty of this leftover, which is good because we can have it tomorrow, since I will be not feeling like cooking after working all night tonight. A keeper...
Hearty BBQ Beef Sandwiches
1 envelope onion soup mix
2 cups water
1/2 cup chili sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 3-lb boneless chuck roast
8 kaiser rolls, toasted
Preheat oven to 325. In Dutch oven or 5 quart saucepot, combine soup mix, water, chili sauce, and brown sugar. Add roast. Cover and bake 3 hours or until roast is tender. Remove roast; reserve juices. Bring reserved juices to a boil over high heat, boil 4 minutes. Meanwhile, with fork, shred roast. Stir roast into reserved juices and simmer, stirring frequently, 1 minute. Serve on rolls. 8 servings
This smelled awesome while it was in the oven. We have all the windows open today, and Steve said he could smell it in the driveway. I cannot confirm if this is true, but it might be. This came out rather watery, even after I did all the steps, so I let it simmer until Steve got home, which ended up being about 30 minutes, on low. Nathan & Emma just ate the meat, not on the sandwich rolls, and they both liked it. It seemed a bit salty to me, but that's to be expected considering the ingredients...plenty of this leftover, which is good because we can have it tomorrow, since I will be not feeling like cooking after working all night tonight. A keeper...
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Amanda's Mac & Cheese
So Amanda got this recipe from some guy named Alton Brown. He, apparently, is on the Food Network. She sent this to me months ago, but this is the first time I've made it. This is the recipe as she sent it to me. I will hold my comments til the end. Like maybe you wish I always would, ha ha.
Amanda's Mac & Cheese
1/2 pound elbow macaroni
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
1 tbsp powdered mustard
3 cups milk
1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp paprika
1 egg
12 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 tsp kosher salt
fresh black pepper
3 tbsp butter
1 cup panko bread crumbs
Preheat oven to 350. In a large pot of boiling salted water cook the pasta to al dente. While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt 3 tbsp butter. Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about 5 minutes. Make sure it's free of lumps. Stir in the milk, onion, bay leaf, and paprika. Simmer for 10 minutes and remove the bay leaf. Temper in the egg. Stir in 3/4 of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a 2 quart casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese. Melt the butter in a saute pan and toss the bread crumbs to coat. Top the macaroni with the bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and rest 5 minutes before serving.
Okay couple things. Panko bread crumbs are different than regular bread crumbs in that they do not get soggy. So they taste really good on top of this. Amanda and I both got our panko bread crumbs at the Natural Living Center, but you might be able to get them at Shaw's, or maybe Hannaford. I am reasonably sure Wal-mart won't have them. Also do you know how to temper an egg? Well I didn't. Well, actually, I did know the technique but didn't know it was called that. So you don't crack the egg right into the mix, because the egg starts to cook right away and you have little bits of scrambled eggs in your mac & cheese. That's what happened to me. What you have to do is crack the egg into a separate bowl, put a bit of the hot mixture into the bowl, mix it all around, then add it all back to the pot. That's what I'll do next time. I have done that with dessert recipes before but never with regular food.
Emma was gone, but Steve and Sam really liked this. Sam gave it 2 thumbs up, and said if he had 4 thumbs, he would put them all up. Steve really liked it. Nathan did not, at all. I think he didn't like the look of the still-crisp bread crumbs, and his tastes tend more toward the blue box mac & cheese anyway. Nathan's comment: "This is NOT delicious." I wasn't sad because I know it is just his immature taste buds talking. Definitely keeping the recipe, it will be my new mac & cheese recipe. Mad props to Amanda for forwarding it to me!!
Amanda's Mac & Cheese
1/2 pound elbow macaroni
3 tbsp butter
3 tbsp flour
1 tbsp powdered mustard
3 cups milk
1/2 cup yellow onion, finely diced
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp paprika
1 egg
12 oz sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1 tsp kosher salt
fresh black pepper
3 tbsp butter
1 cup panko bread crumbs
Preheat oven to 350. In a large pot of boiling salted water cook the pasta to al dente. While the pasta is cooking, in a separate pot, melt 3 tbsp butter. Whisk in the flour and mustard and keep it moving for about 5 minutes. Make sure it's free of lumps. Stir in the milk, onion, bay leaf, and paprika. Simmer for 10 minutes and remove the bay leaf. Temper in the egg. Stir in 3/4 of the cheese. Season with salt and pepper. Fold the macaroni into the mix and pour into a 2 quart casserole dish. Top with remaining cheese. Melt the butter in a saute pan and toss the bread crumbs to coat. Top the macaroni with the bread crumbs. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and rest 5 minutes before serving.
Okay couple things. Panko bread crumbs are different than regular bread crumbs in that they do not get soggy. So they taste really good on top of this. Amanda and I both got our panko bread crumbs at the Natural Living Center, but you might be able to get them at Shaw's, or maybe Hannaford. I am reasonably sure Wal-mart won't have them. Also do you know how to temper an egg? Well I didn't. Well, actually, I did know the technique but didn't know it was called that. So you don't crack the egg right into the mix, because the egg starts to cook right away and you have little bits of scrambled eggs in your mac & cheese. That's what happened to me. What you have to do is crack the egg into a separate bowl, put a bit of the hot mixture into the bowl, mix it all around, then add it all back to the pot. That's what I'll do next time. I have done that with dessert recipes before but never with regular food.
Emma was gone, but Steve and Sam really liked this. Sam gave it 2 thumbs up, and said if he had 4 thumbs, he would put them all up. Steve really liked it. Nathan did not, at all. I think he didn't like the look of the still-crisp bread crumbs, and his tastes tend more toward the blue box mac & cheese anyway. Nathan's comment: "This is NOT delicious." I wasn't sad because I know it is just his immature taste buds talking. Definitely keeping the recipe, it will be my new mac & cheese recipe. Mad props to Amanda for forwarding it to me!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)