Tomato Pie – Two Variations

I made the Cabot’s Pie tonight and it was really good. I use a low-fat olive oil mayo and it worked out nicely. It’s a good base recipe and I think it’s a good springboard for some new creations.

Cabot’s Summer Tomato Pie
Ingredients:
1 15-ounce package refrigerated (2) pie crusts
2 pounds plum tomatoes, thinly sliced
1/4 cup chopped fresh herbs (basil, thyme, oregano or favorite combination)
1 bunch spring onions, thinly sliced including some green tops
1 1/2 cups Cabot Sharp Cheddar, grated
1/3 cup reduced fat mayonnaise
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
Coarsely ground black pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

2. Follow package directions to prepare crusts. Line bottom crust with foil and fill with pie weights, raw rice or dried beans. Bake in preheated oven 8 minutes. Remove and set aside to cool slightly. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees.

3. Layer tomatoes, herbs, onions and cheese evenly in pie shell. Mix mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt and pepper and spread over evenly.

4. Place second crust over top, crimp edges to seal and use a sharp paring knife to cut 4 steam vents on top.

5. Bake until top crust is golden and filling is bubbly, 45 to 50 minutes. Let stand 10 to 15 minutes to set before slicing.

When you’re hankering to put some Lowcountry South in your mouth, nothing does it better than this classic.

Another variation I want to try maybe next week:

Ingredients:
1 (9 inch) pie shell
7 ripe tomatoes, sliced
1 yellow onion
3/4 cup mayonnaise
1/3 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
ground black pepper to taste
2 teaspoons fresh basil
2 teaspoons fresh oregano
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C).
2. Bake the pastry shell for 8 to 10 minutes or until browned.
3. Slice onion and place in the bottom of pastry shell. Slice tomatoes and arrange over onions. Add black pepper to taste.
4. In a medium bowl, combine mozzarella, parmesan and mayonnaise. Spread this mixture evenly over tomatoes.
5. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Once cooked, garnish with fresh herbs.

KitchenAid Stand Mixer

I have officially left the 18th Century of cooking and the various and sundry rotator cuff injuries ensued while mixing quadruple batches of cookie dough. I got a KitchenAid Stand Mixer for Christmas this year. It was my “holy grail” of Christmas gift.

So, I am hoping to add more to this blog this year. It’s a work in progress as I imagine that any cooking/recipe blog is. I know that the coming year will be a time for reducing grocery costs. I am hoping to have a small garden this year and I definitely plan on canning some things.

Stay tuned…

Thanksgiving Day Menu

I am a very traditional gal. With tradition comes a connection to the past and something to pass on to future generations. Traditions can ground an adult and provide a child with a rich experience. However, this Thanksgiving I am breaking traditions. Every year I make the standard stuff and I have noticed that so much of it goes to waste — or worse, goes to waist!

This year I am cutting out our sweet potatoes since no one here really cares for them. I put them on our table because they were a tradition in our home. I am cutting out the green bean casserole. I throw it away every year after each person takes a small spoonful. This years menu will be more healthy for it.

So, here’s the start of our healthier Thanksgiving Meal:

Roasted Turkey

Roasted Colorful Vegetables

Mashed Potatoes with Turkey Gravy (lower fat version)

Cranberry Stuffing

Yeast Rolls

Dessert:

Pumpkin Pie

Birthday Cake (We normally celebrate 2 birthdays on Thanksgiving when family is together)

Colorful Roasted Vegetables

This is a holiday favorite at our house.

Colorful Roasted Veggies
SERVINGS: 12
Taste of Home
Ingredients:

• 4 medium carrots, julienned
• 1-1/2 pounds fresh asparagus, trimmed and halved
• 1 large green pepper, julienned
• 1 medium sweet red pepper, julienned
• 1 medium red onion, sliced and separated into rings
• 5 cups fresh cauliflowerets
• 5 cups fresh broccoli florets
• 1/4 to 1/2 cup Crisco® Light Olive Oil
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tablespoon dried rosemary, crushed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon pepper

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine the vegetables. In a small bowl, whisk the oil, lemon juice, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper until blended. Drizzle over vegetables and toss to coat. Transfer to two greased 15-in. x 10-in. x 1-in. baking pans. Bake, uncovered, at 400° for 20-25 minutes or until tender, stirring occasionally. Yield: 12 servings.

Tips and Tricks 1

Most of us have our little tricks and tips we use in the kitchen. Some of them we learned from our mothers, some we learned from our friends, and others we learned by trial and error. Here are a few of mine that I have picked up here, there, everywhere, and in the kitchen while something was burning. Enjoy!

• When a recipe calls for cooked and chopped bacon, I use very sharp kitchen shears to cut the bacon and I cook it pre-cut. Put the cooked bacon on a paper towel to let fat drain off and viola you are ready to go. The bacon cooks faster this way too. I have one pair of shears that I use on meat. I cube my chicken breasts this way or my stew meat. It is fast and very easy and much nicer than using a knife IMO.

• When a recipe calls for finely chopped nuts instead of pulling out your knife pull out a large ziplock bag. Put nuts in bag, let extra air out of bag and seal. Take rolling pin and gently smash by hitting or rolling the pin over the nuts until you reach the desired consistency. This works for most hard food that needs to be crushed or finely minced.

• When cooking beans — rinse them well and then cover them with cold fresh water. Add a tsp (per pound) of baking soda to the beans and bring to a rolling boil. Boil for 10 minutes in baking soda mixture. Then rinse beans well and add fresh clean water and cook the way you normally would. This baking soda boil will release a lot of the enzymes that cause (*ahem) gas when you eat the beans. Beware though… there is a chemical reaction with the baking soda and beans that causes a nasty green foam (for pintos anyway) that boils over easily.

• When making whipped cream use a metal bowl. About 15 minutes or more before you plan on whipping the fresh cream, put metal bowl and beaters into freezer. I also put my cream in the freezer for about 10 minutes before I whip it. The ice cold utensils and bowl will make the cream whip quicker.

• Throw a couple of marbles in the bottom half of your double-boiler. They will rattle when the water gets low. It will let you know to add more before the pan runs dry and burns.

• Next time you open a bottle of red or white wine, freeze some of it in an ice cube tray. When they are frozen solid put the cubes in a freezer bag (separated by color of wine, etc) and zip closed. When a sauce calls for wine you will have it on hand.

• When cooking steaks use the leftover “stuff” in the pan to create a wonderful sauce to serve over your steaks. Deglaze the pan you have used to cook your steak in with brandy or another fortified wine (my husband loves when I use Madiera). Just put a couple of tablespoons of the brandy and gently scrape the pan to release the scraps of meat and fat left in the pan after searing the steaks. Then to the pan and wine add a couple of tablespoons of real butter, and a little grand marnier or chambord (maybe a splash of red wine).

Zuppa Toscana

This is a family favorite. I make it a lot in the winter time and serve it with a salad and some good bread. The soup is savory, filling and unique. Enjoy!

Makes: 6-8 servings
INGREDIENTS

1 lb Italian sausage, baked and sliced
1-2 cloves minced garlic (to taste)
1 large diced white onion
1/2 pound of bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 tsp garlic puree
10 cups water
4-5 cubes of chicken bouillon
1 cup heavy cream
3-4 Large russet potatoes, washed well and sliced but not peeled
1 C. finely chopped Kale

Using a little bacon grease, saute bacon, onions and garlic in large stock pot until onions are transparent and soft.  Mix together the chicken bouillon and water, then add it to the onions, bacon and garlic. Cook until boiling. Add sliced potatoes and cook until soft, about half an hour. Add baked and sliced sausage and bring to boil again. Turn heat down immediately and add heavy cream and cook until thoroughly heated. Add kale just before serving.

Fried Sugar-Cinnamon Plantains

This recipe is sort of impromptu. I kind of measured the ingredients, but you get the gist of the idea. It’s like Banana’s Foster — only not. No bananas and no rum, although I protested tonight that while these were frying the Mr. should run to town and get me some good rum to cook them in. He agreed that it would be very good to add some rum, but the cost of gas ended the idea. So, alas, here are our sweet, cinnamoney, yummy plantains, sans rum!

Ingredients

2 large plantains, ripe but firm (a few spots on the skin)
1/3 C. Butter (if you love me, don’t use margarine… please!)
1/4 C. Sugar
1-2 T. Ground Cinnamon (to taste)

Slice plantains in half crosswise and then length wise until they are approximately 1/4-inch thick. Melt butter in a large skillet over medium-low heat.

Mix sugar and cinnamon on a plate. Dredge plantains in sugar mixture until well coated. Place in butter and cook about 4 minutes on each side or until golden; drain on paper towels.

Cuban Stew

I snatched this from a fellow poster on a political board I visit. He always has the most intriguing and incredible recipes to offer in the recipe forum there (I know, politics and culinary arts don’t mix, but hey it works there!). This recipe was no exception. The broth is very rich and full of flavor. I cooked mine all day on low in the crock pot. I did not put the plantains into the stew because they were a little ripe. Instead I fried them and served them on the side. That recipe will be posted next. Enjoy!

Cuban Pork & Plantain Stew:

3/4 -1 lb pork tenderloin, cubed (I salted and peppered the meat before dredging it in the flour)
3 Tbl Flour
2 Tbl Olive Oil
1 small green Chile, chopped (I used a small can of chopped)
4 large cloves Garlic, chopped
1 Green Pepper, chopped
1 Lg Onion, chopped
1/2 tsp ground Cumin
Juice of three Limes
4 oz White Wine **I didn’t have white wine on hand, so I used sherry and it worked out great!
1 large Tomato, chopped
2 cups Chicken Stock
1 tsp dried Cilantro
3 slightly ripe ( a few spots ) Plantains or barely ripe Bananas sliced on a diagonal

Flour the pork pieces. Heat a pot over high heat, add the oil. Add the pork cubes and brown on all sides ( 3-4 min )

Then add the Garlic, chopped Onion, Chile and green Pepper to the pot and cook while stirring until the onions are clear and the green pepper has lost its bright green color. Then, add the Cumin, Wine, Lime Juice, chopped Tomato and stock. Bring to a boil and then reduce to barely a simmer for 1 hour or 8 hours in a crock pot on Low.

Add the Plantains or bananas for the last 10 min. Serve over Yellow Rice, mashed potatoes or even egg noodles.  This tastes much better made a day ahead & reheated.

This is almost Ropas Viejos since it uses leftovers. Traditional Ropas Viejos uses Beef but is almost the same. I have made the above with Chicken Thighs and the meat was more moist.

New York Style Crumb Cake (Cook’s Illustrated)

I have made this delightful and delicious cake a few times in the past. The last time I made one, I slipped half of it into a dish I was returning to a friend who had fixed a meal for me while I was recovering from an illness. When I made the last one I sprinkled miniature chocolate chips on top and turned this already delicious cake into a decadent delight!

I do not have a kitchen mixer, so I just did it all the old fashioned way. I cut the butter in with a hand held pastry mixer.

Whether or not you make it exactly as it’s printed (which is what I highly recommend!) or embellish it a little with your own little touch, this cake recipe is a keeper. I plan on making this again this weekend, so I will add a picture as soon as I can.

As always I recommend not substituting any ingredients. Use real butter and cake flour. Substitutes always compromise the quality of your final product.

Enjoy!

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New York-Style Crumb Cake

Crumb Topping
1/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon table salt
8 tablespoons unsalted butter (2 sticks), melted and slightly cooled
1 3/4 cups cake flour

Cake
1 cup cake flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon table salt
4 tablespoons unsalted butter (½ sticks), at room temperature
1 large egg and 1 large egg yolk
1teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup buttermilk
Confectioners’ sugar for dusting

For the crumb topping, mix together sugars, cinnamon, salt, and butter in medium bowl to combine. Add flour and stir with rubber spatula or wooden spoon until mixture resembles thick, cohesive dough; set aside to cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes.

For the cake, adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and preheat to 325 degrees F. Line a 8-inch square pan with a parchment paper sling (spray the pan with cooking spray, lay in a sheet of parchment, pushing it into corners and up sides, allowing excess to overhang edges of dish.

In bowl of standing mixer fitted with paddle attachment, mix flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt on low speed to combine. With mixer running at low speed, add butter one piece at a time; continue beating until mixture resembles moist crumbs, with no visible butter chunks remaining, 1 to 2 minutes. Add egg, yolk, vanilla, and buttermilk; beat on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 1 minute, scraping once if necessary.

Transfer batter to baking pan; using rubber spatula, spread batter into even layer. Form crumb topping into large pea-sized pieces and spread in even layer over batter, beginning with outer edges and then working toward center. Bake until crumbs are golden and wooden skewer inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Cool on wire rack at least 30 minutes. Remove cake from pan by lifting parchment overhang. Dust with confectioners’ sugar just before serving.

Canning Your Butters, Jams, Jellies, and Preserves

I came across a great page for a quick reference. I figured I would link you to that instead of writing this all out myself. It’s written and organized very well. There are basic safety guidelines for procedure and storage. If you have any questions, please feel free to ask.

<<Click: Canning Foods at Home>>