Umami-let

I'd planned a cozy family dinner of Amish-style beef & noodles, but with the snow & the long commute, Jeannene decided to stay overnight at work. So, I switched gears & made myself an omelet (more of a frittata, actually) starring Asian flavors. This is my adaptation of a "Real Simple" recipe in their February 2003 issue.

Crispy Rice Omelet

1 tbsp. olive/peanut/sesame oil
1 c. cooked Jasmine rice
3 scallions, sliced
1/2 Serrano pepper, seeds removed, minced (use a whole one if you like heat)
1 c. snow peas, slivered
1 tbsp. soy sauce ( plus more at table)
3 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat oil in cast iron skillet. Add rice & cook, stirring frequently, until crispy, about 5-7 minutes. Add vegetables & cook a few more minutes. Beat eggs with soy sauce & pour into skillet. Cook a few minutes, until bottom is set. Put in oven & cool a few more minutes, until top is set. Serves 2.

Dinner Plans, January 2012

-Lentil soup, good bread, salad, fruit
-Hoppin' John, rice, sauteed kale, fruit
-Skillet lasagna, salad, garlic bread
-Pizza, salad, fruit
-Amish beef & noodles, lima beans, fruit
-Corn & cheese chowder, rolls, fruit
-BBQ pork chops, mashed potatoes, broccoli casserole
-Crispy rice omelet, toast, fruit
-Dog s'mores, tater tots, lima beans
-Veracruz-style chicken stew, rice, salad, banana-chocolate chunk ice cream
-Steak with roquefort butter, baked potatoes, salad with warm goat cheese
-Kidney beans & rice, salad, fruit

Other recipes I want to make in January:
-Marshmallows from scratch
-Rosemary shortbread
-Rosemary walnuts
-Sausage dip & chips
-Red velvet cupcakes
-Cinnamon rolls (my mom's recipe)
-Brown sugar toast
-Pea soup with caraway
-Grilled tuna & gruyere sandwiches
-Malted brownies
-Chocolate raspberry truffles
-Cappuccino truffles
-Spiced pecans

Whether my action will live up to my ambition remains to be seen!

When in Doubt, Bake

Last night, I discovered that a colleague of mine had been killed in a car accident. His wife is in critical condition, but is expected to live. Greg was a real stand-up guy, much appreciated by everyone with whom he came into contact. He had just accepted a call to pastor a church in South Dakota so that he could be closer to his kids. I needed something to do with my hands last night while I mulled over the reality of his being truly gone, not just moved away. So, I made a coffee cake with the ingredients I had on hand. The recipe was on the same page of my handwritten recipe binder as the dinner I'd made. The original recipe, which I've had so longer I don't even remember where I got it, calls for blackberries, but I had strawberries in the freezer, so that's what I used. I expect you could use just about any soft fruit you like...other berries, peaches, pears, whatever sounds good. It is dense and sweet, but not overpoweringly so.

Honeyed Berry Coffee Cake

4 & 3/4 c. flour

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 c. butter, softened

1 & 1/2 c. honey

1 tsp. vanilla extract

4 eggs

1 c. buttermilk

2 c. strawberries (or whatever fruit you like), fresh or frozen

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda, & salt. Mix butter & honey with electric mixer until smooth and creamy (and if you want to skip the rest of the steps, you can just slather this on an English muffin, as I was tempted to do). Add vanilla & eggs. Add the dry ingredeients in batches alternately with the buttermilk until all is blended smoothly together. Fold in berries. Butter a 10" tube pan & pour the batter into it. Bake about an hour & 15 minutes, until golden on top. You know it's done if a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the cake.

If, like me, you need to eat something savory in the morning before you have coffee cake, last night's dinner is a quick and delicious choice:

Dilly Egg Muffins

1 tbsp. butter

1/2 tsp. dill

1 tbsp. flour

3/4 c. milk

3/4 c. shredded cheddar cheese

Salt & pepper, to taste

2 eggs

1 English muffin, halved

Melt butter over medium heat in a small saucepan. Add the dill and cook about a minute. Add the flour, stirring well to get rid of any lumps, and cook until slightly browned. Lower heat to a simmer. Stir in cheese, making sure to allow it to melt comepletely into the sauce. Add salt & pepper. Simmer on very low heat while you fry the eggs & toast the muffin. Serve eggs on muffin, topped with sauce. This recipe feeds one, but can easily be doubled or more.

While I'm blogging, I might as well add a couple of other dishes I've made over the past week. My granddaddy, Clyde, was one of my best friends. His very favorite birthday dinner was the beefsteak pie his mom, my great-grandma Sadie, made. Either my grandmom, my auntie, or I made it for him most years for his birthday. Now that he has died, I make it every year on his birthday in his memory. And because I love it as much as he did. Jeannene has gone back to being a pescatarian as of our return from Disney, but she made an exception for Clyde's pie. Mashed potatoes are a great side. Serve with your favorite veggies, too. I like a green salad or some steamed broccoli with this.

Grandma Sadie's Beefsteak Pie

2-crust pie shell (I use Pillsbury, but if you are more ambitious than I, by all means use a from-scratch crust. I lucked into 69 cent pie crust this time.)

2 lb. boneless roundsteak, with fat trimmed

2 tbsp. butter

1/4 c. water (my grandmom sometimes used beer & that's what I use)

Salt & pepper

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Cube the steak and dredge it in the flour. Melt butter in large skillet. Brown steak, in batches, in the butter, adding more if needed. Salt & pepper generously. Put pie shell bottom into pie plate. Fill with beef. Sprinkle with 1/4 c. water/beer. Top with the other pie shell & vent. Bake 15 minutes. Reduce heat to 350 degrees. Bake another 45 minutes. Let stand for 5 minutes before cutting. Serves 6.

The other night, Pie actually had a friend over for the first time since we've moved here. He lives just down the street and seems like a really nice kid. They hung out & played video games & watched anime, had a good ol' time. Jeannene invited him to stay for dinner, so I made what basically amount to Italianish sloppy joes, with crinkle fries, corn, & peaches. I think the recipe came from Southern Living several years ago, although I have slightly adapted it. The sandwiches reheat fairly nicely for lunch the next day.

Spicy Beef Rolls

1 lb. ground beef

1/2 small onion, chopped finely

1/2 c. tomato sauce

1/2 c. ketchup

3 tbsp. parmesan cheese, grated

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/4 tsp. fennel seeds

1/4 tsp. oregano

6 Kaiser rolls

6 slices Provolone cheese (mozzarella would be fine, too)

2 tbsp. softened butter

1/2 tsp. garlic powder

1/2 tsp. paprika

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brown the beef with the onion. Drain. Add tomato sauce, ketchup, parmesan, garlic powder, fennel, oregano. Simmer 15 minutes. Mix butter, garlic powder, & paprika. Spread on half of each roll. Add beef and cheese slices. Wrap in foil and bake 15 minutes. Serves 6.

Red Devil

With Jeannene away in Detroit for the week, I am free to make things she might very well turn up her nose at upon being offered them. Red Devil is one of those. While she is not completely opposed to meals made with cans of soup, she is definitely opposed to saucy foods served on toast---no Welsh rarebit (one of my favorite foods ever), no chicken a la king, and very likely no red devil. So, I made some just for me tonight, with a romaine salad topped with Maytag blue cheese crumbles (http://www.maytagdairyfarms.com/aspx/welcome.aspx), blue cheese dressing and garlic croutons. Dessert will be a sumptuous Harry and David pear (www.harryanddavid.com).

To make red devil, heat together 1 can of tomato soup (I used Campbell's), 1/2 c. milk, a generous handful of shredded sharp Cheddar (about a cup) and a healthy dash or two of Worcestershire sauce. Stir the concoction until the cheese has melted. While you are stirring, let the toaster do its thing with some bread. Now, you can use a beautiful, chewy multigrain bread, of course. Whatever you like. But, the very nature of this recipe does rather call for Wonder Bread. And you really ought to cut the toast into points. When the sauce is ready, ladle it over the toast points and garnish with a sprinkle more shredded Cheddar. This makes enough for 8 slices, which will serve 4 people. It'll reheat nicely for lunch, though, if you are dining solo or there are only 2 of you.

Scrumptious Soups (and sundry other yummies)

Playing catch-up! I've been having a ball cooking in the swoony kitchen, even though my at-home time is limited by a daily 3-hour commute. Here are some of the things I've been making lately:

Broccoli Rabe & Bean Soup

8 tbsp. olive oil

1 lg. onion, chopped

7 cloves garlic, minced

2 potatoes, peeled & diced

4 tomatoes, diced

2 cans cannellini beans, drained

8 c. chicken stock

1 bunch broccoli rabe, finely chopped

Salt and pepper

Grated parmesan for garnish

Saute onion a minute or two in heated oil in a large soup pot. Add garlic & cook, stirring, another minute. Add tomatoes & potatoes and cook about 5 minutes on medium-low heat. Add beans & stock. Bring to a boil. Add broccoli rabe, cover & cook on medium for about half an hour. Adjust seasonings, then simmer another 10 minutes. Serve with parmesan. Serves 4-6. (This is my adaptation of a recipe from 12 Months of Monastery Soups, one of my new favorite cookbooks, along with d'Avila-Latourrette's similar book on salads.)

Taco Soup

1 lb. ground beef

1 small onion, chopped

3 c. water

2 16 oz. cans stewed tomatoes, broken up

2 16 oz. cans dark red kidney beans

16 oz. tomato sauce

1 envelope taco seasoning

1 avocado, diced

Shredded Cheddar

Tortilla chips

Sour cream

Brown the beef with the onion in a soup pot. Drain grease. Add water, tomatoes, beans, tomato sauce, taco seasoning. Cover and simmer 15 minutes. Garnish with avocado, cheese, chips & sour cream. Serves 10-12.

Spicy Squash Stew

2 tbsp. vegetable oil

1 onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tbsp. curry powder or garam masala

1 tbsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. cayenne

4 c. diced butternut squash (I highly recommend buying this already peeled)

2 parsnips, chopped

2 c. chicken broth

1 can diced tomatoes

1 can butter beans, drained

1 can garbanzos, drained

6 oz. baby spinach

1 can light coconut milk

Lime for garnish

Heat oil in soup pot. Saute onion in oil until tender. Add garlic & 1/4 tsp. salt. Saute, stirring, 1 minute. Add spices and cook, stirring, 2 minutes. Add squash, parsnips, broth and tomatoes. Bring to a boil. Cover and simmer over a reduced heat for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add 1/4 tsp. salt, butter beans, garbanzos. Simmer, uncovered, 10 minutes. Add spinach & coconut milk and heat through. Serve with lime wedges. Serves 8. (This is my adaptation of a recipe from the April 2005 issue of Cooking Light.) We had this with rolls and the below salad:

Avocado, Endive & Carrot Salad

1 lg. avocado, diced

2 Belgian endives, separated into individual leaves

A few handsful arugula (watercress if you can get it. I couldn't, so subbed what I had)

1 large carrot, peeled & sliced into very thin half-moons

6 tbsp. olive oil

2 tbsp. red wine vinegar

A good shake of dry mustard

Salt & pepper

Place veggies in a salad bowl. Whisk the rest together in a small bowl until thickened, then toss with veggies. Serve promptly. Serves 4. (This is based on St. Martin Salad in the aforementioned salad cookbook.)

Grouper with Lemon Marjoram Butter

1/2 stick butter, room temperature

1 tsp. lemon zest

2 tbsp. lemon juice

2 tbsp. chopped marjoram

1/4 tsp. salt

A good grinding of black pepper

4 grouper fillets

Olive oil

Preheat broiler. Line a shallow baking pan with foil. Mix everything but the fish & olive oil together. Brush the fish with the oil. Put into the pan. Salt & pepper. Broil 4-6" from heat until cooked through, 5-7 minutes. Serve topped with butter. Serves 4.

Pepper Jack Dip

10 oz. shredded Monterey Jack

10 oz. shredded pepper Jack

1 can chopped green chiles

1 2/3 c. mayonnaise

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix everything together in a small baking dish. Bake 25-30 minutes. Serve with tortilla chips.

Kielbasa, Potatoes & Peppers

1 package kielbasa, sliced 1/2" thick

2 onions, sliced

5 potatoes, diced

1/3 c. water

1/2 tsp. salt

1 red pepper, sliced into thin inch-long strips

1 green pepper, sliced as above

Salt & pepper

Cook sausage & onions on medium-high heat, stirring often, until onions are golden, about 7 minutes. Stir in potatoes, water and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and cook 10 minutes. Add peppers. Cook, covered, 5-7 minutes. Adjust seasonings. Serves 4-6.

Apple Crisp

10 apples, peeled and sliced

Lemon juice

1 c. flour

1 c. brown sugar

1/2 c. cold butter

1/2 tsp. salt

1 tsp. cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place apples in greased casserole and sprinkle with a little lemon juice. Mix the other ingredients, cutting the butter in with a pastry blender or two knives. Sprinkle over apples. Bake 30 minutes. This is my go-to apple crisp recipe, the one I spent my childhood helping my mom & grandmom make. It is delicious.

Cappuccino Truffles

12 oz. chocolate chips

6 tbsp. butter

3 tbsp. heavy cream

1 1/2-2 tbsp. instant espresso (preferably Medaglia d'Oro)

In a large microwavable glass bowl, cook everything 1-1 1/2 minutes, until almost melted. Stir until smooth. Freeze 1 hour. Shape into balls. Roll in cocoa powder. Chill. This is my go-totruffle recipe, the one I make every Christmas. They are awesome & easy. Makes a bunch.

I also make chocolate rum balls at Christmas-time. I learned to make them while assisting my almost-grandma, Mary Monk, with her "cookie factory," which gets underway early in December every year and provides friends & neighbors all around the holler and up on the ridge with yummy treats. This is my favorite of all:

Chocolate Rum Balls

1 c. chopped pecans

1 c. Oreo crumbs (if you find a source of the pre-crumbed sort, let me know! Used to be able to find them easily & now, they are nowhere)

1 c. powdered sugar

1 1/2 tbsp. light Karo syrup

1/4 c. light rum

Sugar in which to roll the rum balls

Mix everything but the granulated sugar. Shape into 1" balls and roll in sugar. Makes 2-3 dozen. My grandmom's friend, Jean, once ate so many of these she made herself sick and my "Second Grandma" Genevieve Klyce included them in the Dayton Women's Club cookbook. If you make these once, you will have to make them every year. Fair warning!

Cookie-Baking Fuel

Tonight, Jeannene and I were in full-bore cookie & cupcake making mode, having a blast with gel food colors to tint the icing & sprinkles to scatter across the cupcakes. We needed some fuel, a supper that would be easy to throw together and delicious amidst the sweets-sampling. So, I made a simple lentil & pasta stew, which was delicious with ciabatta and fresh fruit. If I were serving it to company, I would add a big, leafy green salad. If I had a crew going out trick or treating, I would serve it to them before we left.

Lentil & Shells Stew

1/2 c. olive oil

1 lg. yellow onion, chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

64 oz. chicken stock

1 lb. dried lentils

16 oz. tomato puree

1 bay leaf

1/4 tsp. ginger

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 c. small pasta shells

Grated parmesan cheese for garnish

Heat the olive oil in a large soup pot. Saute the onions & garlic over medium-low heat for a few minutes. Add stock, lentils and tomato paste. Stir well and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce to a simmer. Add bay leaf, ginger, salt & pepper. Cover & simmer gently about 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaf. Add pasta, cover and simmer 15 minutes more. Serve dusted with parmesan.

Stuffed Shells & Spooks-Begone Stew

I took advantage of my day off yesterday to tackle a couple of semi-fiddly recipes I wouldn't normally try on a working day. I made spinach & cheese stuffed shells with a salad and a loaf of La Brea Bakery ciabatta. I had never made stuffed shells before because of the task of stuffing each individual shell, but I actually found it very relaxing and enjoyable. Not only that, but the end product was delicious! Dessert was another fiddly thing. I am not much of a baker and had never, that I remember, bothered making brownies from scratch. While brownies (at least the fudgy, chewy variety) are one of my very favorite sweets, I tend to be perfectly pleased with the results of the box variety. Furthermore, I have so often had brownies from scratch that are not so awesome. Add to that the monotony of unwrapping 24 miniature York peppermint patties and this recipe is not one I would usually make. However, it sounded so yummy when I saw it in the York ad years ago and I had the spare time, so I made York brownies and they were well-worth the effort! As Paula Deen says, any recipe that starts with 3 sticks of butter has got to be good!

Spinach & Cheese Stuffed Shells

12 oz. box jumbo pasta shells

18-20 oz. frozen creamed spinach

16 oz. ricotta

8 oz. shredded mozzarella

1 jar spaghetti sauce (I used Trader Joe's roasted garlic marinara)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare the spinach according to the directions on the box. Mix with cheeses. Pour some of the sauce in the bottom of a 13x9" baking pan. Stuff uncooked shells (you likely won't use the entire box...the remainder might be nice to cook & serve with butter & parmesan to family members who don't dig the sauce/spinach so much) with spinach & cheese mixture. Place the shells in the baking dish and cover with the rest of the sauce. Cover with foil (or not...I forgot & the edges of a few shells got kind of crunchy, but it was just fine) and bake an hour and a half.

York Brownies

3 sticks butter, melted

3 c. sugar

1 tbsp. vanilla

5 eggs

2 c. flour

1 c. cocoa

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

24 mini peppermint patties (a 12 oz. bag fit the bill with one left over for me to pop in my mouth while the brownies baked)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix butter with sugar and vanilla. Add eggs. Add dry ingredients. Set aside 2 cups of the batter. Spread the rest in a greased 13x9" baking pan. Add the peppermint patties. Spread the remaining batter over the top. Bake 50-55 minutes. Cool before cutting. Makes about 36.

We haven't eaten yet tonight, but when the stew is done, we'll have it with rustic rolls from Whole Foods and slices of honeycrisp apple. On my commute, I am listening to a rather silly but fun novel by Jeaniene Frost called, I believe, "This Side of the Grave." In the book, we learn that, while garlic doesn't repel vampires, it does, when combined with marijuana carried on the person, repel ghosts. While I was smashing & peeling the entire head of garlic, I was thinking of this. So, in honor of the story & the season, I named the stew:

Spooks-Begone Stew

4 lb. beef chuck roast, cut in 1 and a half inch cubes

1/4 c. flour

12 oz. tomato paste

2 and a half pounds new potatoes (or small red potatoes, larger ones halved)

2 onions, diced

32 oz. beef broth

15 oz. Guinness (or other Irish stout)

1 head garlic, separated, peeled and smashed

Salt & pepper

18-20 oz. frozen peas, thawed

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a big, ovenproof pot, toss the beef with the flour. Add tomato paste and mix. Add potatoes, onions, broth, stout & garlic. Season. Cover and bring to boil on stovetop, stirring occasionally. Put in oven and cook until meat if fork-tender, 2 and a half to 3 hours. Add peas. Adjust seasonings & serves. Serves 10. (I am hoping Jeannene will break her no meat but fish rule to help me eat it!)