Weekend Cookbook Challenge #18 - red and white

Sara of i like to cook posted her recipe for Weekend Cookbook Challenge and I realized that I had just made something that would meet the requirements. I have been cooking a little bit more now that my life is getting back to normally. I just had a big life change plus all the family changes (we have had 2 funerals this year).

Raspberry Tart
a deviation of Everday Foods Issue 24
Serves 10

For the crust

• 1 1/4 C for all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled) plus more for dusting
• 1/3 C sugar
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/2 C (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

For the filling

• 6 C fresh raspberries (rinsed and dried)
  
• 2 T cornstarch
• 3 T lemon juice
• pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 F. In food processor, combine flour, sugar, salt, and butter; process until large moist crumbs can be smooshed together and they stay together.
2. Transfer dough to a round tart pan with a removable bottom; press into the bottom of the pan, working from the center to the edges and up the sides.
3. Freeze until firm, about 15 minutes.
4. Bake crust until golden, 20-25 minutes; cool completely.
5. While the crust is cooling, start the filling by reserving 1 C of your prettiest berries for the top. In a saucepan, bring 1/4 C water and 1 1/2 C berries (I used frozen blackberries since I was short on the raspberries) to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat; simmer, stirring occasionally, until berries begin to break down, 2-4 minutes.
6. In a small bowl, mix cornstarch and 2T water; stir into the pan. Add lemon juice, sugar, and salt. Bring to a boil; reduce heat. Simmer, stirring until mixture begins to thicken, 30-60 seconds.
7. Remove from heat. Stir in remaining 3 1/2 fresh berries.
8. Immediately pour hot berry mixture into cooled tart shell, and smooth the top.
9. Place reserve berries on top, pressing down lightly to help them stick.
10. Refrigerate until cool, about 30 minutes.
    

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Spicy Steak Soft Tacos, Salsa and Lemonade

I saw this recipe in Cook's Country almost a year ago when I received the June/July issue. It was the perfect end to a day filled with Seafood. We had spent the morning at the Astoria Crab & Seafood Festival. The tacos had just the right amount of spicy and was countered by the tart fresh lemonade.

I had most of the ingredient in the house except the jalapeño chilies for the rub. The meat came from an organic grass fed cow. We have been enjoying the portion that we recived in January. It seems we are coming to the end.

Since we needed to go to the store to purchase extra tortillas and fresh salsa, I decided to make the lemonade recipe that was next to the taco recipe. I loved how perfectly tart the lemonade was.

Steak Soft Tacos
Cook's Country June/July 2006
Serves 4

Serve with shredded cheese, lettuce, sour cream, pickled jalapenos and salsa verde.

• 1 flank steak (about 1 1/2 lbs), sliced thin - 1/4 in thick pieces
• 1 T chili powder
• 1 1/2 t cumin
• 1 t coriander
• 3/4 t salt
• 4 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 scallions, green parts cut into 1 in lengths, white parts cut in half lengthwise
• 1-2 jalapeño chilies, minced
• 4 t vegetable oil
• 1/2 c canned tomato sauce
• 1/2 c water
• 2 t brown sugar
• 1 T lime juice
• 12 (8-in) flour tortillas, warmed

1. Place sliced steak in large bowl and sprinkle evenly with chili powder, cumin, coriander, and salt. Add garlic, scallions, and chiles and toss to combine. (Steak mixture can be refrigerated for up to 2 hours.)
2. Heat 2 t oil in large skillet over high heat until just smoking. Add half of the steak mixture and cook, turning slices once, until just browned, about 1 minute per side. Transfer to bowl. Repeat with remaining oil and steak and transfer to bowl.
3. Off heat, add tomato sauce, water, brown sugar, and lime juice to skillet, scraping up any browned bits with wooden spoon. Meanwhile, use slotted spoon to transfer browned steak mixture to cutting board, leaving accumulated juices in bowl. Chop steak into rough 1 in pieces.
4. Add reserved juices to skillet and cook until reduced by half, about 6-10 min over medium heat. Return steak to skillet and cook until meat is glazed and just cooked through, about 2 min. Divide among tortillas. Serve.

Salsa Verde
Makes about 1 1/2 cups

• 1 (11 oz) can of tomatillos, drained
• 1/2 onion, chopped rough
• 1-2 jalapeño chiles, chopped rough
• 2 garlic cloves
• Juice of 1 lime
• 1/2 c packed fresh cilantro
• 1/2 t salt

Pulse onion, chiles, and garlic in food processor until coarsely ground. Transfer tomatillos to food processor along with lime juice, cilantro and salt. Puree until smooth, scraping down sides as necessary. (Salsa can be refrigerated in airtight container for up to 4 days.)

Best Lemonade
Serves 6-8

Store the lemonade in a covered container in the refridgerator for up to 3 days.

• 1 large lemon, slice thin ends discarded
• 1 1/2 c sugar
• 7 cups cold water
• 2 cups fresh lemon juice (from about 12 lemons)
• ice (for serving)

Using potato masher, mash lemon slices and sugar in deep bowl until slices release their juice and sugar begins to dissolve. Stir in water and lemon juice until sugar completely dissolves. Strain out lemon slices and chill or pour over ice before serving.

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Changes

Hi everyone

I realize that I have not been posting. Things have changed to the point that I don't have time to post regularly on EOT. I will be posting occasionally but you will be alerted to a post if you read my other blog Pursuit of Fiber. I will be cross posting.

Thanks for staying with me here at EOT for six months of constant posting. If you want to keep up with me check out my other blog.

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Sorry for my silence

We went to Spo Vegas March 3rd to care for my mother in law and she took a turn for the worse. We are currently there until the end. Please understand. I also don't have internet access while I am there except sporadically. I have not been cooking much since people are bringing us food every day. What I do make I will try to share with ya'll with my new camera.

Chrispy

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Weekend Dog Blog

Frankie waiting for her football to be tossed on Saturday morning. Look for all the other dogs over at Sweetnicks on sunday.

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A small buttery piece of heaven

Churchable and I made the trek once again to Spokane for a weekend with Meemo, my mother-in-law. She continues to be a trooper in her battle with cancer and always thinks she can do a little more to help out around the house and kitchen.

Chicken pot pie was my first thought when I read about the Waiter there’s something in my …. blog event over at Cook sister!. Since I haven’t made the dish since I was in college, I got a craving for it and had to contribute. Our fast food culture provides pot pies in the frozen food section at the grocery store. These are a bit salty and somehow unsatisfying. Although frozen foods are cheap and easy, I hope that my experience might inspire someone else as well.

While planning this out in my head, I decided on individual pies. This was based purely on a love of crust. With individual pies, the whole family can have more crust and be certain that the portions were divided fairly. I have the perfect ramekins pining away in my cupboard because I neglected to make more mac n cheese for the freezer. This recipe turned out so good it might become my new freezer go-to or at least it will trade back and forth with the mac n cheese.

Unfortunately in my hurry to pack and head on our 7 hour trek to Spo Vegas, I forgot to pack the ramekins. This was quite an oversight since Meemo’s kitchen is Spartan. A few basic items are readily available, while some essentials are notably missing. Some elegant dishes can be found in dusty corners where nobody has touched them along with forlorn baking goods suffering from old age. I sidestepped this wearisome scene and scampered across the street to borrow ramekins and a large muffin tin from the neighbor.

My husband helped me out on this recipe since he is so good with pie crusts. He made it extra buttery and flaky by accident and I really liked the combination with the creamy filling. I also used the stir fry mix that comes with my CSA share each week for the main bulk of the veggies.

Chrispy’s Super Easy Pot Pie
1 large pie or 8-10 individual pies

• 2 ½ - 3 pie crusts – use your basic recipe with a little more butter or shortening.
• 2 T butter
• Mixture of spices – these change with my mood, but just pick the spices you like.
• 2 C medium chopped vegetables ( I used 1 stalk of celery, 3 carrots and the stir fry mix)
• 2 C shredded cooked chicken (you can get a rotisserie or cook one yourself)
• 3 T all-purpose flour
• salt and pepper
• 2 -14.5 oz cans of low-sodium chicken broth

1. Preheat oven to 450 F with rack in the center.
2. Make pie crust mixture and cut into rounds to place in muffin tin, ramekins or pie pan. The individual pies will take up about 1 ½ pie crusts for the bases. Bake the crusts until browned, about 7-8 min. Remove. Reduce oven to 350 F.
3. While the pie crusts are baking, melt butter over medium heat. Add the vegetables and spices and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes. Add the chicken and cook for about a minute until it is warm. Sprinkle the flour over the mixture, then season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring, until the flour is incorporated. Add the broth to the pan; increase the heat to medium-high, stirring constantly till the mixture thickens slightly, about a minute or two.
4. Pour the mixture into the just baked pie shells. Cover with remaining pie crusts, crimping the edges so they stick some. Make one slit into the top of each individual pie and several in a main pie.
5. Bake the pies on a baking sheet until golden brown and bubbly. 15-20 minutes. Remove the pies from the oven, let rest for 10 min, and then serve.

PS The muffin tins are tricky to get the pie out of them. If you are going for appearance, make a few extra in case some can not be lifted out as a unit.

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WCC 13: your newest cookbook

My cookbook challenge comes from a Christmas present I received this week. I didn’t put off buying presents. As a matter of fact, I did my shopping early to no avail. At least I got a cookbook out of it!

I ordered my last Christmas present from Amazon before the month of December even started. My self-congratulating was short lived. A week after making the order my husband got an email stating that it would be late. That’s usually no big deal – except the present was for him. We had a good Christmas and he liked the present I got him.

For some reason the book ordered in November was returned to Amazon in December without ever arriving here. I patiently assumed I would get credit for it. In that time my husband decided that he didn’t want a book of 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. He wanted some actual music to play in our house. After lots of confusion, we finally ordered a little over a week ago. He got his CD, and bought me a CD too. Then there was that dreadful Amazon conspiracy – Super Saver shipping. And what better excuse to get a book on interesting socks. And of course I needed a cookbook. I had already picked out something to cook for Sara’s Weekend Cookbook Challenge, but this book came and I had to cook from it.

I originally read a review on Slashfood. It was the cookbook that started my wish list. Now after much searching for a link, I know it was slashfood but I feel like I am losing it.

So the book I got was The Big Book of Breakfast by Maryana Vollstedt. I love breakfast. This book is really good too. There are recipes on Beverages, Egg Cookery, Omelets, Frittatas, Quiches, Stratas, Casseroles, Sandwiches, Skillet Entrees, French Toast (yum!), Pancakes, Crepes and Blintzes, Waffles, Meats, Potatoes, Grains and Cereals, Breads and Cakes, and Fruit.

As I perused the book, I thought about the next morning’s breakfast with my husband. We used to be able to have breakfast at least 3 times a week together. My husband had a 8-day work week that had him off 4 days. Now he works days. I guess it is nice to have him home every night but I think I see less of him now and I miss breakfasts with him. I was glad we could have a lazy morning that included breakfast.

I have to admit I love breakfast but hate cooking it. I could make it for dinner or lunch but I really don’t like cooking breakfast. I have a problem with eggs. I love to eat them but I prefer not to cook them. To me it is just as easy to grab a bowl of cereal.

I decided that I wanted to have Ham and Tomato Benedict and Broiled Grapefruit. Wow was this yummy. My only mistake was that I hate pulling out the big blender and I did not grab the correct attachment for the immersion blender. I should have done one of these things so that the hollandaise sauce was emulsified.

Ham and Tomato Benedict

Serves 4

Assemble the ingredients, 2 English muffin halves per plate. Layer ham (about a slice of deli ham), tomato slice, and a poached egg on each muffin half, and top with the sauce. Serve with avocado slices and olives.

Hollandaise Sauce

• 4 egg yolks
• 3 T lemon juice
• 1 T water
• ¼ t salt
• dash of cayenne pepper
• 1 cup of butter (The real stuff, don’t substitute), melted

1. In a small, heavy saucepan over medium-low heat, combine yolks, lemon juice, water, salt and cayenne.
2. Whisk constantly until mixture bubbles and begins to thicken, 2-3 minutes.
3. Scrape mixture into blender. Add butter in a slow, steady stream and blend until all the butter is used and sauce is thickened, about 30 min. (I think you could use the milkshake glass that comes with your immersion blender for the same result)

Broiled Grapefruit

• 1 grapefruit, cut in half
• brown sugar
• cinnamon

Heat Broiler; place each half on a heavy baking sheet. Sprinkle the flesh with brown sugar and cinnamon. Place in the broiler for 5 min and serve immediately when done.

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