Bagel Chip Dip

This is a Sandra Lee recipe that is supposed to be served with bagel chips, but I couldn't find any in our grocery, so we picked up some good crackers and took this along to my cousin's annual Canada Day/4th of July bash. I have lightened the recipe somewhat. I would probably go easier on the seasoned salt next time.

16 oz. light sour cream
1 c. finely-chopped scallions
3/4 c. light mayonnaise
1/4 c. chopped fresh parsley
3 tbsp. chopped fresh dill
2 tsp. seasoned salt

Mix together and serve with bagel chips.

Sweet Treats

On his last day with us this month, Pie and I baked together. He was so excited to make a cake from scratch that he asked me to write the recipe down for him to take to his grandma's & try to make there. He is a great kitchen helper, measuring everything with scrupulous care and making sure he has clean hands at all times. We had fun licking the batter from the bowl and utensils, too! The recipe came from the February 2003 issue of Gourmet.

Everyday Cocoa Cake

2 c. flour
3/4 c. cocoa (we used Ghirardelli)
1 & 1/4 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1 & 1/2 sticks butter, room temperature
1 & 3/4 c. brown sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
1 & 1/3 c. water
Powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Butter a 9" round cake pan. Dust with flour. Whisk all the dry ingredients (except powdered suagr) together. Beat butter with sugar until pale & fluffy. Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add vanilla. Add flour & water alternately, beginning and ending with flour, mixing just until combined. Bake 55 minutes-1 hour. Allow to cool 1 hour. Remove from pan and dust with powdered sugar. Perfect with a cold, cold glass of milk.

A week later, I made J a long-promised batch of granola, original recipe from the same issue of Gourmet, but modified to her tastes. The original called for crystallized ginger & apricots.

Maple Red Fruit Granola

1/4 c. flaxseeds, ground
6 c. old-fashioned oats
2 c. sliced almonds
1 c. raw green pumpkin seeds
1/2 c. raw sunflower seeds
1 tsp. salt
3/4 c. oil
3/4 c. maple syrup
1 c. dried Rainier cherries
1 c. dried cranberries

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix all but fruit together. Spread evenly on two baking sheets (I didn't grease mine, but think I maybe should have). Bake 15 minutes. Stir granola & switch pans' positions in oven. Bake another 15 minutes, until golden. Allow to cool completely. Add fruit. Makes about 10 cups. We shared ours with the downstairs neighbors, which was a fun delivery!

Back in June, I made a refreshing non-alcoholic drink called a Lemon Daisy. Here's how:

1/2 c. grenadine
1/3 c. freshly-squeezed lemon juice
2 c. club soda
2 c. Sprite Zero (the original called for lemon soda)

Mix grenadine & lemon juice. Pour into ice-filled wine glasses. Top each with 1/2 c. club soda and 1/2 c. Sprite. Cheers!

Mississippi Gorilla and Arkansas Chicken

Sounds like some kind of bizarre joke, but it's actually a couple of good recipes I've tried recently. The gorilla comes from the Sweet Potato Queens' Big Ass Cookbook (and Financial Planner), which is an absolute stitch and has a bunch of good recipes. If you have not yet encountered Jill Conner Browne's world, get thee to a bookstore right away & pick up her books! This is my adaptation of Precious Darling George's Gorilla Casserole:

1 lb. extra-lean ground beef
1 tbsp. oil
1 chopped onion
1 sliced stalk celery
1/2 package grated carrots
28 oz. canned Italian-style tomatoes
1 generous pinch each salt, oregano, basil and Italian seasoning
1 good grinding of pepper
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
3/4 lb. macaroni, cooked
5 oz. frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
A couple handsful of shredded extra-sharp cheddar

Cook beef, onion, celery & carrots in oil until beef is thoroughly browned. Add tomatoes & seasonings. Let simmer half an hour. Mix spinach with macaroni. Add to meat mixture. Put in a greased 13x9 baking dish. Top with cheese and bake 1/2 hour at 350 degrees.

The chicken comes from stellar children's book & cookbook author and innkeeper Crescent Dragonwagon's Dairy Hollow House Cookbook. She has other great cookbooks, such as The Dairy Hollow House Soup and Bread Book and The Passionate Vegetarian. The recipes are wonderful, but the storytelling is even better. These are cookbooks you will want to sit down and read. Get them! Dairy Hollow House is an inn in Eureka Springs, Arkansas & I am dying to stay there. In the meantime, I will console myself with the books & cooking things like Chicken Nouveau'zarks, of which this is my adaptation:

7 cloves garlic, minced
Juice of 1 large lemon
Plenty of fresh pepper
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
2 tbsp. butter
2 tbsp. olive oil
2/3 c. dry white wine
1/2 c. chicken broth
1 tbsp. Dijon mustard
1 bunch scallions, sliced
A generous handful of sliced baby portabellas
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. thyme
Salt to taste

Mix 2 of the garlic cloves with the lemon juice & pepper. Toss into a large ziploc bag with the chicken & marinate at least 1 hour, turning every so often. Ina large skillet, heat butter & oil. Brown the chicken on both sides. Mix rest of ingredients together, stirring until smooth. Cover & simmer about 20 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through and tender. Remove the chicken and keep it warm. Remove the bay leaf and mash the garlic into the cooking liquid. Raise the heat and bring to a boil. Cook, stirring often, until reduced and slightly thickened, about 5 minutes. I served this with egg noodles, a big salad and Italian bread. It was wonderful!

Cooking up a Storm

I've been having so much fun cooking these days...feels great to be back in the kitchen. I made a positively abysmal pork chop casserole Monday night. J was nice enough to say it was good, but it was not. At all. Ptooey. I ended up having a peppermint chip hot fudge brownie sundae at Mitchell's to get the revulsion out of my psyche. However, I have been very pleased with the past two nights' efforts. Tuesday night, I made an amazing polenta casserole, an Emeril recipe from his terrific potluck cookbook, and served it with salad. Last night, it was a zucchini frittata with corn and tomato bread pudding, both Better Homes & Gardens recipes. The polenta casserole & bread pudding recipes below are my adaptations of the originals.

Polenta Casserole

1 tbsp. olive oil
1 1/2 lb. sweet Italian sausage (I used turkey sausage), removed from casings and crumbled
1 c. onion, chopped
1 c. green pepper, chopped
1/2 c. red pepper, chopped
1 tsp. garlic, minced
1 1/2 tsp. Italian-style Essence seasoning mix (I used 1/2 tsp. each basil, oregano & Italian seasoning)
2 c. crushed tomatoes
1/4 tsp. pepper
Salt
1 recipe creamy polenta (below)
2 tbsp. cold butter, cut into pieces
1/2 c. freshly-grated parmesan

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat olive oil on high temperature in skillet. Cook sausage in oil until browned. Drain & set aside. Cook onions & peppers in same skillet for 2 minutes. Add garlic & Essence. Cook another 2 minutes. Add sausage & cook another minute. Add tomatoes & cook until liquid is evaporated, about 7 minutes. Season with salt & pepper. Put into 13 by 9 baking pan. Spread polenta over sausage mixture. Top with butter & parmesan. Bake 1/2 hour. Serves 8-10. If serving 8, 16 WW Points with pork sausage, 11 with turkey, assuming 1% milk in either case.

Creamy Polenta

4 c. milk (1%)
2 c. chicken stock (I used canned, low sodium, fat-free)
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. white pepper (I used black)
1/8 tsp. + pinch of mace
1 3/4 c. polenta
1 c. freshly-grated parmesan
3 eggs
2 yolks

Mix milk, stock, seasonings. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally. Whisk in polenta. When it starts to thicken, reduce heat to medium-low. Cook, stirring constantly, until tender, about 10 minutes. (Watch out! Hot flying polenta plops hurt!) Add parmesan. Remove from heat & stir, allowing to cool, about 3 minutes. Whisk eggs until frothy. Add 1/2 c. polenta to eggs and whisk. Gradually add the mixture back to the rest of the polenta, stirring. Stir vigorously 2 minutes.

Zucchini Frittata

1 small zucchini, thinly-sliced
1 leek, well-washed and thinly-sliced
1 tbsp. butter
6 eggs
2 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley
2 tbsp. water
1/8 tsp. rosemary
Salt & pepper
2 tbsp. freshly-grated parmesan or 2 oz. sliced Camembert (I used both)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In 10" ovenproof skillet, cook zucchini & leek in hot butter just until tender. Beat eggs & seasonings together. Pour over veggies. Cook on medium-low like an omelet until almost set. Put in oven. Bake 4 minutes. Sprinkle with parmesan or top with Camembert. Let melt. Serve in wedges. ( I have a theory that this would be improved by putting the cheese in the egg mix rather than on top, but have not yet tested my theory)

Corn and Tomato Bread Pudding

7 sundried tomatoes in oil, snipped into bits
4 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 c. light cream (I used 1% milk)
1 tsp. basil
4 c. dry French bread or English muffins, torn into pieces (I used ciabatta)
1 1/2 c. corn
1 c. extra-sharp cheddar or pepper jack, shredded

Preheat to 375 degrees. Cover tomatoes with hot water and let stand 15 minutes. Drain. Beat eggs, cream and basil together. Toss the bread, corn, cheese and tomatoes together in a casserole dish. Pour the egg mixture over top. Bake 45-50 minutes. When a clean knife inserted in the center comes out clean, it is done. Cool slightly before serving.

What I'm Eating in July

1: Buffalo chicken macaroni salad, green salad, fruit
2: Lemonade chicken, rice, salad with oil & vinegar dressing
3: J's Choice
4: Independence Day Picnic
5: J's Choice
6: Gorilla casserole, salad, fruit
7: J's Choice
8 & 9: Cooks' Days Off
10: J's Choice
11: Chicken Nouveau'zarks, noodles, salad, marinated cherries
12: J's Choice
13: Swiss steak, mashed potatoes, almond green beans, plum sorbet
14: J's Choice
15: Brandied French toast, strawberries with Grand Marnier, bacon
16: Omelets, English muffins, mesclun with tarragon dressing, boozy fruit
17: Birthday dinner
18: Steak w/caramelized onion sauce, baked potatoes, baby greens with warm goat cheese, blue mojitos
19: J's Choice
20: Ropa vieja, rice, maduros, avocado salad
21: J's Choice
22: BBQ shrimp, matchstick potatoes, brown-buttered corn with basil, greens with hot garlic dressing, Rangoon Rubies
23: Meatloaf sandwiches, veggies & dip, fruit
24: J's Choice
25: Mexican burgers, chips, salad, plum-peach cobbler
26: J's Choice
27: Curried pork kebabs, baguette with sundried tomato spread, salad, cinnamon applesauce
28: J's Choice
29: Chicken scampi, good bread, strawberry spinach salad, chocolate sorbet
30: Anniversary dinner out
31: J's Choice

Ragout & Popovers

Last night, when we returned from our water park weekend, I made beef-vegetable ragout, noodles, salad and chive popovers for dinner. The ragout recipe came from a Better Homes & Gardens 1-dish dinners cookbook. I was very pleased with the ragout and J loved the popovers. It was the first time I've cooked in weeks, since before I left for Santa Fe! It feels good to get back into the cooking swing again and nice to be using fresh, summery veggies! For dessert, I rolled some bittersweet chocolate chips in Pillsbury reduced-fat crescent rolls and baked them as the package directs. Those were delicious, almost as good as the ragout.

Beef-Vegetable Ragout

12 oz. beef tenderloin, cut into 3/4" pieces
1 tbsp. olive oil
4 oz. sliced shitake mushrooms (although I used a blend of shitakes & oyster mushrooms)
1/2 c. chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 tbsp. flour
Salt & pepper
14.5 oz. can beef broth (reduced sodium, 98% fat-free)
1/4 c. port or sherry (I had burgundy on hand, so I used that)
2 c. sugar snap peas (I used fresh, but you could use a 10 oz. package of frozen ones, as the recipe calls for...just thaw them before you put them in)
1 c. cherry tomatoes, halved

Heat oil in a skillet. Cook meat in oil. Set aside. In same pan, cook mushrooms, onion and garlic, until tender. Add flour, salt & pepper. Add broth and wine, cooking & stirring constantly until thickened and bubbly. Add sugar snaps, cooking and stirring 2-3 minutes. Add meat & tomatoes and heat through. Serve over egg noodles. Serves 6. 6 WW Points.

Chive Popovers

1 c. flour
3/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/3 c. fresh chives, snipped
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 c. milk (1% fat-free works fine)
1 tbsp. butter, melted

Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Mix flour, salt, pepper and chives. Add the rest and stir with a fork, just until mixed together. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin and divide the batter evenly among the cups. Bake 15 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake another 20 minutes. Serve hot. Makes 12. 1 WW Point.

Key West Cafe

While I am certainly not one to wish ill on anyone, it would be no great dining loss if a hurricane swept Key West Cafe right out of existence. We ate there last night and will never return. The ambiance was pleasant, with fun beachy music, pineapple & palm tree lights and pictures of old Key West spots on the menus. The evening started out perfectly promising, in fact. There were a number of yummy-looking items on the menu.

Sadly, the evening tanked from there, although our spirits remained high despite the crappy dining experience. In fact, we were nearly giddy with hilarity over how bad the experience was. It started with drinks orders. They had no Bud Select or Modelo for J. She was happy with the Dos Equis she got, though. I was disappointed that they had run out of mint for mojitos, but even the great Casa Juancho sometimes runs out of mint so I ordered a strawberry daiquiri instead. It wasn't a great daiquiri by any means and I wished I'd just had water because it was such a waste of money. It was unpleasantly pulpy, great not-remotely-flavorful lumps of unprocessed berry. Gack.

We vacillated about an appetizer. I was all for the grouper nuggets while J was interested in the grilled shrimp cocktail. I am generally opposed to eating cold shrimp and J didn't want the grouper, so we decided to try the hog dip. A mix of cream cheese, seafood and herbs and served with tortilla chips, we assumed it would be served hot. It was ice cold and rampant with horseradish from the cocktail sauce liberally poured over the top. It was beautifully presented, but tasted no better than chip dip from a 1960s bridge party given by a hostess more interested in cards than in cuisine. Definitely not something we wanted to consume, much less pay $10 for. When the waitress arrived to ask us how it was, we told her it was not good and that also we'd expected it to be warm. Her response was, "Oh, that's too bad. Do you want me to box it up for you so you can maybe munch on it at home later?" What?!? Hell, no! If it's not good, how is taking it home going to improve it? Twit.

I responded that since it was bad, we had no plans to eat it in any environment. I told her it didn't need to be boxed up, it needed to be thrown away and that we'd like to try the nachos instead. Further, if she wasn't comfortable with that, I'd be happy to speak to the manager. With a funny little head shimmy that looked like a remnant of her junior high getting-ready-to-scrap persona, she reluctantly took it away. I saw her talking to three or four other people in the kitchen, pointing our way with more head weaving and bobbing. She finally came out & asked if we'd like to order our entrees. I reiterated our desire to try the nachos, although I wondered if we should just pay for our drinks and go next door to Carrabbas for dinner. We definitely should have. Mmm, calamari...

We waited an interminably long time for our nachos, chatting about vacations we'd like to take and the fact that the cooks were probably spitting in our food. Exasperated, I said to J, "How long do nachos take to make???" Her response: "A long time if you're jacking off in 'em!" We dissolved into fits of laughter, taking up a bit more time as we waited. When the nachos finally arrived, they were quite cold and soggy and unquestionably mediocre in flavor. We were hungry, though, so we ate them, giggling over how hostile our waitress was and how much she seemed to despise us. We sat and sat after finishing our nachos, speculating on the reason our waitress was in this line of work when she so obviously should be doing something that involves no mental acuity or social skills. Mean us. But, it was really quite ridiculous.

I said, "She's not going to come back over here" but, after an age of waiting, she finally meandered our way. I believe she had one other table, so it's not like she was slammed. I think there were three tables in use the whole time we were there, from about 7 until about 9:45. Yes, it took that long. When she arrived at our table, she sullenly asked if we were ready for our check. Why no, we actually would like to split a Cuban sandwich. All of a sudden, she perked right up, gushing about how it's her very favorite. I told our new best friend, whose Prozac must have kicked in, that she should have one in Miami and she gushed that she'd love to. Then, she gushed about her upcoming girls' getaway to Myrtle Beach in July and how "pumped" she was about it. When she brought the Cuban, she also brought us some Cajun mayo, telling us that we'd been ordering just like she orders all night & she thought that we'd like the Cajun mayo just like she does. She gushed about how she'd eat it on anything. The whole experience was just so odd. I am left wondering if the gushing and friendliness was in order to get a tip. Busing our appetizer dishes at some point during the meal would have helped toward that, too. The Cuban was passable, but really, Cuban food shouldn't be spicy. They did it with jerk pork rather than plain pork. But, it was fine. I ate my half, but J was already feeling poorly. Today, she is sick. I felt a little off, but generally have a cast iron digestive system so no more than a little off. No more Key West Cafe for us, though. Not ever.