Cannellini Beans & Spinach, January 3, 2017

My sweetie knows how much I love cookbooks, so I got three for Christmas. She got me the King Arthur Flour cookbook, one by Martina McBride, and Ina Garten's Cooking for Jeffrey. The other night, I tried a recipe for Italian white beans and escarole from the Ina cookbook for our supper. Sadly, the grocery had neither escarole nor kale, which I had suggested to my wife as a suitable alternative, should the grocery not have escarole. So, we ended up with spinach and it was delicious. I served it with good bread and pineapple chunks. When dinner was ready, Jeannene said, "This is dinner? I thought you were making something else." It is suggested as a side in the cookbook, but it made a fine dinner, too, and would be nice for vegetarians---and even vegans.

Cannellini Beans and Spinach

2 15 oz. cans cannellini beans, drained & rinsed

1/4-1/2 c. olive oil

7 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 c. chicken or veggie broth

A pinch of crushed red pepper flakes

Salt and pepper, to taste

1 large bunch spinach, well-washed and trimmed

1 c. shaved parmesan (grated is fine, too, just use the good stuff & not the shaky stuff in the green can) (vegans can use some nutritional yeast to add flavor in place of the cheese)

Heat the oil in a pot. Add garlic & cook just until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add everything but spinach and parmesan. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and simmer 5 minutes. Mash half the beans. Simmer another 5 minutes. Cut the spinach into 2-3" wide strips. Add to the pot, cover, and cook another 5 minutes, stirring halfway through the time. Remove from heat and add cheese. Adjust seasonings. Serves 2-4 as a main course, 6 as a side. 

Chicken Caesar Sandwiches, May 21, 2015

I'd purchased a rotisserie chicken and only used the breast meat, so the rest of the meat was shredded, reheated, and used for some yummy chicken Caesar sandwiches the next night. I also made a wonderful, tangy, garlicky white bean dip and served pita chips and raw veggies (sugar snap peas, carrot sticks, and strips of yellow and red bell pepper not used for the previous night's dinner). I woke up the next morning and immediately felt very sad because I'd forgotten to put the rest of the bean dip in the fridge overnight. My dear wife was even more sad, so I have promised to make it again before long.

Chicken Caesar Sandwiches

2 tbsp. olive oil

Leftover chicken (about 2 cups)

Juice of 1/2 lemon

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2-2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

Dash hot sauce

Handful grated parmesan

2 hamburger buns (I like the sesame seed ones)

Romaine lettuce

Heat olive oil in a skillet. Add chicken and stir to heat through. Add everything but buns and lettuce and cook another 5 or 10 minutes. Serve on buns, with lettuce. Serves 2 (with some meat left over for the next day's lunch).

White Bean Dip with Lemon, Garlic, & Dill

2 cans cannellini beans, drained

3 scallions, sliced

3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

Juice of 1 lemon

1/2 tsp. salt

2/3 c. walnuts

2-3 tbsp. chopped fresh dill

Puree everything together. Serve with pita & veggies. Serves 6-8. 

Valentine-Making Party, February 7, 2015

I love to have a Valentine-making party each year! I also love potlucks, because I get to eat things I normally wouldn't think to make. So, Saturday night, I combined the two. I decided to make red beans and rice, given the Valentine's Day theme and the color red. I'd considered making apple and brie toasts and lavender truffles, but, given the cold, something a bit less frouffy seemed in order. What, I wondered, would go great with red beans and rice? How about some Mexican Espresso Brownies? Perfect! I decided to play around and see what I could come up with. I used a box of Duncan Hines chewy fudge brownies and mixed them up according to the package directions, using melted butter instead of oil because I'd run myself out of oil on the fried chicken and forgot until the last minute. I like my brownies chewy much more than cakey, so I used just one egg, instead of two. Into the mix, I put 2 tsp. cinnamon, 2 tsp. chile, a big pinch of cayenne, and about a tablespoon of instant espresso powder. They were stellar, as were the red beans.

Red Beans & Rice

1 lb. dried red beans

4 c. water (plus more for soaking)

1 onion, chopped

1 can diced tomatoes

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 tsp. red pepper flakes

2 tsp. salt

1/4 lb. diced ham (you can sub bacon or salt pork or omit altogether for a vegan dish)

2 tsp. cumin

Cooked rice

Soak beans in cold water to cover by at least 4 inches for at least 8 hours. Drain and mix with rest of ingredients, except rice, in a slow cooker. Cover and cook on high for 6-8 hours. Serves 6. 

My sweet wife's contribution was yummy little shredded beef sliders with honey chipotle sauce. Ken & Meghan brought brownies, too, but theirs were topped with York mini patties before baking (in a heart-shaped pan!) & then they were sprinkled with Valentine sprinkles. Meghan's always got adorable desserts! They also brought delicious honey garlic meatballs. Brenda & Kenny brought an Italian sub they sliced up into teeny individual subs, along with some chicken salad (oh, yum!) and palmiers for dessert. Frank & Connie brought all the makings for Bananas Foster and we had quite a show, what with the flames and the cinnamon sparkles! 

La Luna Cooks Gooseberry Patch: Woods Creek Bean Soup

Oh, dear. I simply had my expectations too high on this one. I suppose it's because I was expecting it to be something it isn't, a creamy navy bean-style soup, like my grandmom's or my father-in-law's. I knew, looking at the recipe, that a single can of Great Northern beans for a soup recipe, in conjunction with 32 oz. broth, would not make that sort of soup. I forgot, however, and I think some part of my mind also expected the blender portion of the recipe to make a difference. It didn't. I am not usually a huge fan of broth bean soups, so it's not too much of a surprise that I found this one pretty meh. The recipe also calls for not salt at all, not one grain. I don't think most soups can stand without at least a smidge of salt.

This soup was certainly a good choice, however, for dinner with my mom, who avoids salt and fat as much as she possibly can. She liked it quite a bit, in fact. Since she's vegetarian, I subbed unsalted veggie broth for the fat-free chicken broth in the recipe, so it is very nicely adaptable for vegetarians. We used the turkey kielbasa normally cooked into the soup as an add-in at the table for the carnivores among us. The broth had good basic flavor (imparted by Italian seasoning), despite needing some salt, but if I am going to have soup that brothy, I want a good lot of vegetables in it, or some noodles. However, I did really like the idea of adding spinach to a bean soup and may use that in my usual bean soup, sometime in the future. The added flavor was a plus, for certain!

Bean Soup As Good As Travis Griffith's

When I was a young woman, I loved my grandmom's cooking. One of the things she made well was ham & bean soup. When Jeannene was small, her dad did almost all the cooking in their family. It was how he showed love and he was a magnificent cook. He loved to make things like prime rib and shrimp cocktail and other classic dishes. However, he was from Harlan, Kentucky, and his southern roots shone in his cooking, too. He was famous for his biscuits & gravy. He was also well-known for his delicious ham & bean soup. The other night, I made a pot of my own. Upon tasting it, Jeannene said, "Daria. This is as good as my dad's. I wish he were alive again just so he could eat this." She proclaimed it, "Fabulous" and I was very honored to be placed in the ranks with Travis. I think my grandmom would have liked it, too. I served it with corn muffins and slices of Opal apple, a new variety to me, and Jeannene's new favorite apple.

Ham & Bean Soup
16 oz. dried navy beans
2 quarts water
1 center cut ham sliced (1 1/2-2 lb), cubed
3 stalks celery, diced
3 carrots, diced
1 onion, diced
1 bay leaf
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cubes Knorr ham-flavor bouillon (or 4 smaller-sized cubes, such as Wyler)
1/2 c. tomato juice
2 tbsp. flour
1 tbsp. brown sugar

Rinse beans and sort through to ascertain that any stray bits of rock or what-have-you have been removed. Place in large soup pot with water to cover and soak overnight. When ready to cook, drain beans and add 2 quarts water. Add all but flour and brown sugar. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer 3-4 hours. Mix flour with some of the soup broth and the brown sugar. Add to pot of soup, cover, and cook another hour.

Scrumptious Kidney Bean Burgers

I try to have at least one or two meatless meals every week. My mama & stepdad are vegetarian & I learned growing up that there is a wide world of deliciousness available to vegetarians. Our meal last week of kidney bean burgers, cheesy chile rice, salad with green olive orange dressing, and scalloped pineapple was a perfect example. My friend Kira gave me the burger recipe. It comes together easily and is cheap, to boot!

Kidney Bean Burgers

1/2 c. sour cream (I used light)

2 scallions, chopped

A pinch of oregano

15 oz. can kidney beans, drained

3 tbsp. dry breadcrumbs

1/4 tsp. garlic powder

A good grinding of pepper

1 egg, beaten 

Oil

Mix the sour cream with scallions & oregano. Mash the beans and mix in bread crumbs, garlic powder, pepper, & egg. Shape into 4 patties. Fry about 5 minutes per side, until nicely browned. Serve with dollops of sour cream. To be honest, I completely forgot the egg when I made them last week & they held together fine, so if you're vegan, you can omit the egg & sub vegan sour cream. I also had some avocado and cotija cheese on hand, so I added those with the sour cream topping. Serves 2.

Cheesy Chile Rice

1 c. rice

2 c. sour cream 

2 c. shredded Mexican cheese blend (or Monterey Jack or pepper Jack)

8 oz. chopped green chiles

Several drops hot sauce

Cook rice as you usually do. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix everything but 1/2 c. cheese together & put in greased 2 qt. casserole dish. Top with reserved cheese and bake 15-20 minutes. Serves 4-6. The leftovers are stellar in scrambled eggs or an omelet.

Green Olive Orange Dressing

1/2 c. orange juice

1/4 c. good olive oil

A healthy splash red wine vinegar

1/2 tsp. ground fennel seeds

Salt & pepper

A handful of chopped green olives (Castelvetrano is my preferred variety, but kalamatas are good, too. I got lazy & just used the pimiento-stuffed green olives from a jar & they worked.) 

Mix everything together, whisking to combine well. This is good on any sort of salad, but does better with sturdier lettuces and bitter greens, as it is fairly chunky and fairly assertive. Jeannene's favorite is romaine hearts.

Our pineapple dessert was a deliciously cozy, spicy end to the meal. It's much like pineapple upside-down cake, without the cake. Me, I don't miss the cake. You can do this with any kind of canned fruit you like, but I think pineapple is the best. If you're feeling a little daring and your dining companions don't mind, you might toss in just a smidge of chile powder or cayenne.

Scalloped Pineapple

2 cans pineapple slices

1/4 c. + 2 tbsp. brown sugar

2 tbsp. flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

2 1/2 tbsp. room temp butter

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Put fruit in lightly greased (I do recommend butter for greasing in this case) casserole or cake pan. Mix the other ingredients together & put over fruit. Bake 1/2 hour. This times out well if you pop it in the oven while you eat supper.

Zinged-Up Baked Beans

I'm so excited about the start of fall! For our first dinner of the season, I tried a new, quick baked bean recipe, served alongside cheddarwurst & sweet corn. It came from Gooseberry Patch's Quick & Easy Autumn cookbook. The gingersnaps crumbled on top add a nice zing and a little sweetness, without being overbearing. Here is my adaptation:

Gingersnap Baked Beans

2 slices bacon, cooked until crisp & then crumbled (I used a handful of pre-cooked turkey bacon crumbles)

16 oz. pork & beans

A good shake of onion powder (or 1 tbsp. chopped onion, if you're up for chopping)

1/8 c. dark brown sugar, packed

1/8 c. ketchup

4 small gingersnaps, crushed (I used Newman's Own)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Mix everything together & put in a 1.5 qt casserole that's been sprayed with Pam. Bake 1/2 hour or until hot & bubbly. Serves 3-4.