Wednesday, March 02, 2005

Deja Vu

Shoo-Fly Pie

(Preheat your oven to 450)

1. Make your favorite pie crust recipe and put it in a pie tin. (I have a fabulous recipe . . . but it's my great-grandmother's and you'd have to beg me in a bad way for it! Betty Crocker does a nice job as well.)

2. Combine 1 1/4 cups flour, 1/2 cup brown sugar, 1/8 tsp baking soda, 1/8 tsp cream of tartar, 1/2 tsp nutmeg, and 1/2 tsp cinnamon. Cut in 1/4 cup shortening. Reserve.

3. Combine 1/2 cup blackstrap molasses, 1/2 cup very hot water, 1/4 cup brown sugar, and 1/4 tsp baking soda until everything dissolves and the mixture begins to foam. Pour the syrup into the pie shell, then top with the crumbs. Protect the top of the crust with strips of aluminum foil and bake as follows:

10 minutes at 450 degrees, then
30 minutes at 375 degrees, then
30 minutes at 350 degrees.


Quick Black Bean Chili

Combine the following in a crock pot and cook on high 4 hours:

30 oz black beans, rinsed and drained
30 oz diced tomatoes with liquid
14.5 oz chicken or vegetable broth
14 oz canned corn, rinsed and drained
2 green peppers, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 to 6 green onions, thinly sliced
juice of 2 small limes
handfull chopped cilantro
1 jalapeno, minced
2 to 3 tbsp chili powder
1 tsp (or more) cumin

Jon-O-Meter Rating: 2.5 (but I bet it would be a 1.5 if you left out the jalapeno and reduced the chili powder to 1 tbsp -- not nearly as exciting, though!)


Pancake Mix

Whisk together:
4 cups AP flour
1 cup buttermilk powder
2 tsp baking soda
4 pinches salt
1/2 cup sugar

Cut in:
1 stick butter

Store in freezer. To prepare, combine 1 1/2 cups mix, 1 egg, and 1 cup water. Whisk until smooth.


Crazy Clusters
melt 1 bag chocolate chips with 1/4 slice parrafin wax. (Or use leftover chocolate from your party last week, like I did.) Stir in dried fruit, coconut, nuts, Cheerios, etc. until everything is well coated. Drop by tablespoonfulls onto waxed paper. Cool. Store in a cool place (like the fridge. Or your windowsill, since it's cold outside.)


Made-Up Pasta
1. I finely sliced about 1/3 of a yellow onion and plopped it in a pot with about a tablespoon of butter. I let that cook over low heat until the onion was just starting to turn translucent.
2. I added about a tablespoon of AP flour (give or take) and stirred for a couple of minutes.
3. I then stirred in about 6 leftover cloves of roasted garlic (from the Chx w/40 cloves last week,) and the last glass of white wine that was left from the party. I cooked and stirred until the mixture thickened to a glossy almost-paste.
4. Then I stirred in about a tablespoon and a half of parmesan cheese, one "Mini Babybell" cheese wheel (a semisoft cheese that comes individually wrapped in red wax from the Laughing Cow cheese people,) about a tablespoon of half and half, and enough chicken broth to thin it out to a sauce-like consistency.
5. Finish with the juice of one small lemon, about a handfull of chopped parsley (also leftover from last week,) a couple handfulls of frozen green peas, salt, and pepper to taste. Heat through and serve over cheese ravioli (or it would be fine over plain noodles, too!)


Don's Pancakes

Combine until smooth:
1 cup flour
1 cup buttermilk
1 egg
2 tbsp butter, melted
pinch salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 to 2 tbsp sugar

Cook 1/4 cupfulls over medium heat until edges are dry and bubbles pop over the top of the batter. Flip, finish cooking, and enjoy!



BANANA BREAD

Combine the following well:

2 1/2 cups flour
1 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3 tbsp oil
3/4 cup milk
1 egg
1 cup mashed ripe banana
nuts, chocolate chips, cinnamon, nutmeg, etc. (or enjoy it plain)

Pour the batter into a greased loaf pan and bake at 350 degrees for 55 to 65 minutes.



CHICKEN WITH 40 CLOVES (to be served at tomorrow night's party, via the Crock Pot)

Ingredients:
1 package "Fryer's Favorite" bone-in chicken pieces (breasts, thighs, and legs,) with the skin removed and lightly browned in olive oil
1 onion, chopped
4 ribs celery, chopped
4 carrots, scrubbed and chopped
bunch of parsley
bunch of tarragon
1 cup chicken broth
salt
pepper
ground nutmeg
40 cloves garlic, seperated but not peeled (a bit more than three whole heads)

Directions:
1. Chuck the trinity (carrot, onion, celery) in the bottom of a greased 4 or 5 quart crock pot and toss them with your fingers to mix them up. Lightly season with salt and pepper, layer over a few sprigs of parsley and tarragon, and scatter about a third of the garlic cloves over.
2. Add about half the chicken pieces. Season well with salt, pepper, and nutmeg. (Remember nutmeg is quite potent.) Add a few more sprigs of parsley and tarragon, and about half the remaining garlic. Repeat these layers. Drizzle over the chicken broth.
3. Cook on low 8 hours or until chicken juices run clear. (Well, I haven't done this part yet, but I plan to tomorrow. I'll let you know how it goes.) Remove chicken to a platter. Fish out the garlic cloves and serve with crostini -- squeeze out the roasted garlic and spread it over the toast like butter. Strain out the veg and serve if you'd like to.


FALAFEL

Ingredients:
4 whole-wheat pitas, halved
8 leaves lettuce
16 slices tomato
1/4 cup dry breadcrumbs
1/4 cup minced cilantro
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ground cayenne pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 egg
15 oz chickpeas, drained and rinsed
Sauce: combine 1/2 cup plain yogurt, 2 tbsp lemon juice, 2 tbsp tahini, 1 clove garlic, minced, and a pinch salt
1 tbsp olive oil

Directions:
1. Combine the breadcrumbs, cilantro, cumin, salt, cayenne, garlic, egg, and chickpeas in a food processor and pulse until smooth. Shape into 16 patties. Cook patties in olive oil about 5 minutes per side or until browned.
2. Fill each pita with 2 falafel patties, 2 slices tomato, 1 lettuce leaf, and about 1 tbsp sauce. Makes 4 servings (2 pitas each.)


Chinese Dumplings
Ingredients:
1 to 1 1/2 pounds ground pork
1 medium head Napa Cabbage (looks kind of like Romaine)
1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced
salt and pepper to taste
1 to 2 packages dumpling skins (available in Asian markets, or you can substitute potsticker wrappers)
white vinegar, soy sauce, and chili sauce for dipping

Directions:
1. Finely mince and squeeze dry 4 to 6 large leaves of cabbage. Combine the cabbage, pork, garlic, salt and pepper.
2. Place about 1 teaspoon pork mixture in the middle of each dumpling skin. Wet your finger and run around half the edge of each skin. Fold the skin over the filling and pinch just the top to close. Then hold the dumpling vertically in your hand, making small folds and pinching the skin completely to close.
3. Boil the dumplings about 6 minutes, or until they float up to the top of the water. Drain and serve with the dipping sauces.


RED VELVET CAKE
Ingredients:
2 1/4 cups AP flour
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup Crisco
2/3 cup baking cocoa
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/4 tsps baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp baking powder
1 tsp red food coloring
2 eggs

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease and flour 9X13 pan.
2. Dump all ingredients in a mixing bowl. Beat on low speed 30 seconds, then kick it up to high and beat 3 minutes. Pour batter into pan and bake 40 to 45 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely on wire rack.

WHITE MOUNTAIN FROSTING
Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
2 tbsps water
2 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla

Directions:
1. Combine sugar, corn syrup, and water in saucepan. Heat to 242 degrees Farenheight.
2. Beat egg whites to stiff peaks. Slowly beat in sugar mixture on low. Add vanilla and just incorporate. Kick mixer up to high and beat to stiff peaks, about 10 minutes. Frost cake.

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