From Arthursdays....

Saturday, January 11, 2014

When left on my own to cook recently, I was able to strike out for cooking freedom! My wife was off to do something and left me a recipe from the Artist’s Palate Cookbook as well as a pile of ingredients, and told me to make the Sandro Chia Vegetarian Lasagne.

I was in heaven! I seldom get the opportunity to cook, and almost never left to my own devices. She freed me from the bonds of the recipe, and told me to loosely follow it (no meat could be added) but to enjoy myself and do a good job.

She left me a counter full of the needed ingredients, and I had my kitchen full of other things I could add. I imagine in the end the only additive I used was red wine and some spices, not included in the original recipe, and also included some in me as well (the wine not the spices). The tomatoes we used were a bit different than suggested, and I added an additional can of tomato paste.

The only part of this that got very interesting beyond it being fabulous, was it called for using a leek. I knew what a leek was and had eaten leeks, I realized I’d never cooked one or even saw one cooked. Do I use the green part? If so, how do I use it? I was in the middle of cooking, as I hadn’t carefully read the recipe first, when it said to add a leek to the vegetable mixture cooking on the stove. 

As a 21st century guy, I immediately sprang into action. I quickly got out my tablet and punched in “cooking leeks” and was able to watch the video on how to clean and cook leeks while I cooked! I was able to clean it and get rid of the hard green stuff and make a great lasagne.

The basic book recipe was (including a few additions):

¼ cup olive oil

1 medium onion chopped, 

2 cloves garlic, minced

2- 28 oz. cans crushed tomatoes

1 small can tomato paste

2 bouillon cubes (vegetarian or beef if you’re sneaky)

½ cup red wine

Salt and pepper as needed

1 large red or green pepper, sliced (I used orange, as that was what we had)

 1 leek, halved and sliced

1 large carrot grated

1 package (2 cups) sliced mushrooms

1 small zucchini, sliced

1 box no boil lasagne sheets

1 lb. grated mozzarella cheese

¾ cup grated Parmesan cheese

1 cup basil leaves (added at the end, and I forgot them completely)

1 TBS oregano

½ TBS thyme

½ ts dried hot pepper

Preheat oven to 350. In a large saucepan over medium heat sauté the onions, and garlic in olive oil until soft. Add wine, tomatoes, ½ the spices and bouillon cubes. Simmer for about 30 minutes. Stir in basil and salt and pepper. I used a hand blender at this point to amalgamate the sauce a bit, leaving it less chunky.

In a large skillet, use remaining olive oil on medium heat and cook pepper and leeks until soft, about 6 minutes. Add mushrooms, zucchini and carrot and cook until soft, about another 5 minutes. Season with the remaining spices plus salt and pepper.

Lightly oil a 9”x13” baking pan. Spread ½ cup of the sauce on the bottom and lay 4 lasagne sheets over it. Sprinkle 1/3 of the vegetable mixture, followed by about a cup of sauce. Top with ¼ cup of the mozzarella and a TBS of the Parmesan. Repeat, ending the top layer with remaining sauce and cheese.

Lightly cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes.

This was wonderful, and even better the second day!

Ooey-Gooey Cinnamon Buns (from the web)

Ooey-Gooey Cinnamon Buns

 

Prep time 2 ½ hours

Baking time 30 minutes

 

1 teaspoon white sugar

 

 

1 (25 ounce) package active dry yeast

½  cup warm water (110 degrees F 45 degrees C)

 

½   cup milk

 

 ¼  cup white sugar

¼  cup butter

 

1 teaspoon salt

2 eggs, beaten

 

4 cups all-purpose flour

 

¾  cup butter

 

¾  cup brown sugar

 

 1 cup chopped pecans, divided

 

¾  cup brown sugar

 

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

 

         ¼  cup melted butter

 

DIRECTIONS:

In a small bowl, dissolve 1 teaspoon sugar and yeast in warm water. Let stand until

creamy, about 10 minutes. Warm the milk in a small saucepan until it bubbles, then

remove from heat. Mix in 1/4 cup sugar, 1/4 cup butter and salt; stir until melted. Let

cool until lukewarm.

 

In a large bowl, combine the yeast mixture, milk mixture, eggs and 1 1/2 cup flour; stir

well to combine. Stir in the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, beating well after each

addition. When the dough has pulled together, turn it out onto a lightly floured surface

and knead until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.

 

Lightly oil a large bowl, place the dough in the bowl and turn to coat with oil. Cover

with a damp cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

 

While dough is rising, melt 3/4 cup butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir

in 3/4 cup brown sugar, whisking until smooth. Pour into greased 9x13 inch baking

pan. Sprinkle bottom of pan with 1/2 cup pecans; set aside. Melt remaining butter; set

aside. Combine remaining 3/4 cup brown sugar, 1/2 cup pecans, and cinnamon; set

aside.

 

Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface, roll into an 18x14 inch rectangle. Brush

with 2 tablespoons melted butter, leaving 1/2 inch border uncovered; sprinkle with

brown sugar cinnamon mixture. Starting at long side, tightly roll up, pinching seam to

seal. Brush with remaining 2 tablespoons butter. With serrated knife, cut into 15

pieces; place cut side down, in prepared pan. Cover and let rise for 1 hour or until

doubled in volume. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).

 

Bake in preheated oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until golden brown. Let cool in pan for 3

minutes, then invert onto serving platter. Scrape remaining filling from the pan onto

the rolls.

 

Farmers Cheese from arthursdays March 14, 2012

My Grandmother used to make Farmers Cheese. I have a vivid memory of her hanging the ball of cheese tied with a string, in the kitchen window. I have no real idea how long it hung or why, but hang it did.

Last week I decided that in keeping with the aforementioned family tradition (only because I decided to make it one) I would try my hand at cheese making. I perused recipes on cheese making and decided that Farmer Cheese would be the easiest to start with, as it did not use unusual ingredients nor did I need a thermometer. As well, there was the newly minted family tradition.

I looked at recipes for Buffalo Mozzarella but my local supermarket had no buffalo milk available. I looked at exotic cheeses but clearly Farmers Cheese was a good start. I put several recipes together and came up with the following:

Ingredients:

2 liter container of whole milk (about ½ a gallon)

½ teaspoon salt

Juice of ½ a lemon

1/8 teaspoon white vinegar

(not much to buy here)

Directions:

Put the milk into a large pot and add salt.

Turn heat on to medium to medium-high and cook until it is almost boiled. Stir every now and then to make sure the bottom of the pot doesn’t stick and the milk doesn’t boil.

When it’s almost boiling and little bubbles appear at the edges, take the pot off of the heat.

Stir in vinegar and lemon juice which will curdle the milk. Let sit for 15 minutes.

Put cheese cloth in a colander and put the colander into a large pan so the cheese will drip through the cheese cloth and the colander.

After a while (when it’s cool enough to handle) squeeze the cheese (the curds will be in the cheese cloth and the whey will be in the pan) as dry as you can do easily, wrap up the cheese in the cheese cloth and place on a plate in the refrigerator for several hours.

Serve with salt and pepper on top and you can add some spices or chives as the occasion occurs. However, if you want to use it with raisin toast, no salt, pepper etc. will do.

Farmers Cheese is much like a cross between Cottage Cheese and Cream Cheese. I had it this morning on a toasted bagel!

Icewine Martini for Two- from arthursdays

 

Icewine Martini (from the LCBO magazine)

Today Canada is one of the top producers in the world of premium Icewine, but it was Germany that first invented it in the late 1700s. Subtly sweet and seductive, this drink features Icewine, and is mixed with vodka and club soda.

No one can control Mother Nature. German winemakers experienced her wrath first hand, when frost came early, leaving their grapes frozen and ruined, or so they thought. One clever soul decided to pick some of the frozen grapes, and realized their sweetness. Soon the grapes were pressed and the first Icewine was made.

Almost a century later in Ontario, Karl Kaiser, an Australian-born chemist, and Donald Ziraldo, a young Italian-Canadian, joined forces to open Inniskillin Winery. In 1984, this dynamic duo made their first successful Inniskillin Icewine. In time, the Niagara regions Icewine Festival began, and now glamorous galas and winery tastings are hosted each year. It is believed this is where The Icewine Martini made by Inniskillin was first introduced and became an instant classic.

Ingredients

1 oz Icewine
1 1/2 oz Premium Vodka
Splash of club soda
Frozen grape

I had gotten my wife a small bottle (a miniature) of Icewine as a stocking stuffer at Christmas. When we saw this recipe we realized that we now had something good to do with the Icewine.

Two of them before dinner and the Super Bowl was perfect!

Smoked Turkey (from Arthursdays - October 9, 2011)

With my wife and daughter being away for a few days looking at a university for her (younger daughter), I had some time to devote to a cooking project. This being Thanksgiving weekend in Canada, turkeys were on sale. We don’t have those great US giveaways for thanksgiving with $.29 a pound, but we did have a reasonable $.99 a pound turkey waiting for me when I got to the store on Thursday. I took the smallest I could find, a little over 16 pounds, and I put it in the fridge to thaw. The next day it went into the sink filled with cold water to complete the thawing process. It was covered in a plastic shell so no water got in.

I had Saturday to cook, and we were planning to have a turkey dinner at our neighbours anyway on Monday, so I could try anything.

I knew better that to try a deep fried turkey, because besides having to buy the fryer, my wife would kill me and then not even eat the turkey. So, my decision was to smoke it.
I woke up on Saturday morning, came downstairs, lit the right side of the barbeque and found my aluminum pan with wood chips, soaked some more chips for later, and started the chips in the pan on the hot right side. The center and the left side were cold, and that was where the turkey would go.

I washed out the turkey, put the giblets and the neck in the freezer and quickly salted and peppered the bird, squeezed lemon juice over it, put the lemon and an onion inside the carcass, put olive oil on the bird and covered it with paprika.

I put aluminum foil in the bottom of a roasting pan, sprayed it with Pam, and put in the turkey. I put the pan on the left side of the grill. The temperature with just the right side on full, would reach and stay at about 275 degrees Fahrenheit, a perfect temperature to use for a slow oven, and that would call for half an hour a pound.

Every hour to an hour and a half, I added wet wood chips to the aluminum pan over the heat, and smoke continued to be generated.

At 4:00 p.m., 8 hours later, the thermometer said, when I inserted it in the deepest part of the breast, 180 degrees, the perfect temperature for poultry.

The smoked turkey was done to perfection, the pan was full to the edge with juices that I was able to pour off and turn into gravy, and at about 4:15 p.m. my wife and daughter arrived home.

It was a perfectly lovely day and a great turkey.

Good Cookies from www.arthursdays.blogspot.com 6-15-11

My daughters make these fantastic cookies and I asked them how they did it. They said they saw them on the web and they just made them with Pillsbury Refrigerated Cookie Dough and some Oreos.
The following are some significant package FAQ’s. The girls said just use the dough and put on the Oreos and bake. This seems to make sense. I looked on the web and found several actual recipes but don’t seem to need them but I’ve included one for the die hards in my audience.

These are fantastic!

Pillsbury Refrigerated Cookie Dough FAQ's

What are the package directions?

Chocolate Chip 350º F. 10-14 minutes SPOON heaping teaspoons of dough onto ungreased cookie sheets Chocolate Chip Walnut 350º F. 10-14 minutes SPOON heaping teaspoons of dough onto ungreased cookie sheets Chocolate Chunk 350º F. 9-14 minutes SPOON heaping teaspoons of dough onto ungreased cookie sheets Double Chocolate Chip & Chunk 350º F. 9-14 minutes SPOON heaping teaspoons of dough onto ungreased cookie sheets Gingerbread 350º F. 7-11 minutes SLICE dough into 1/4-inch thick slices. Place slices onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Can I add extra ingredients to the dough (candy, nuts, raisins, chocolate chips, coconut, etc.)?

Yes. In a large bowl, break up the cookie dough. Add the desired ingredients and mix well. Drop the dough by teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake according to package directions.

Someone’s Actual Recipe

Ingredients

2 1/4 Cup Flour

1 teaspoon Salt

1 teaspoon Baking soda

3/4 Cup Granulated Sugar

3/4 Cup Brown Sugar

2 teaspoons Vanilla Extract

2 large Eggs

12 oz Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

1 16.6 oz Package Double Stuffed Oreos {You won't use all of the cookies only about 12}

Directions

1. Combine Flour, Salt and Baking soda

2. Beat softened butter, sugar, brown sugar, and Vanilla

3. Add eggs one at a time to mixture

4. Add flour, salt and baking soda mixture slowly to mixture

5. Add Chocolate Chips to mixture

6. Set Chocolate Chip Cookie dough aside.

7. Pre-Heat oven to 375 degrees

8. Set up 6 Double Stuffed Oreos on parchment paper covered cookie sheet

9. Using your hands put a small handful of cookie dough on each side of the Oreo and roll into a ball. Make sure Oreo is completely covered. Repeat until aprox. 14* cookies are covered.



10. Bake for 12-15 minutes at 375 degrees!

Matzah Brei - from arthursdays.blogspot.com April 17, 2011

Matzah brei is “fried matzah. Wikipedia says about it:


Matzah brei (Yiddish: מצה ברײַ; Hebrew: מצה ברייט‎, matzah breit, or מצה מטוגנת, matzah metugenet, literally, "fried matzah"), sometimes spelled matzah brie or matzo brei, is a dish of Ashkenazi Jewish origin made from matzo fried with eggs.

Numerous recipes exist for this dish. Typically the dry matzo is briefly softened in hot water or milk, broken into pieces, mixed with eggs, and pan-fried in butter, oil or schmaltz. It may be formed into a cake, like a frittata, or broken up and cooked like scrambled eggs. It can be savory or sweet. It may be combined; omelet-style, with meat and other foods, or it may be topped with sauces such as apple sauce, salsa or preserves. Some eat it with sugar, syrup, or jelly.

Matzah brei is commonly eaten as a breakfast food during Passover, when only unleavened bread is permitted. However, some Jews do not eat matzah brei during Passover because they do not eat gebrochts, matzah that has come into contact with water.

Erev Pesach ('Eve of Passover'), the traditional night of the First Seder, is on Monday, April 18, 2011. While I seldom recognize the holidays too much in my family, I do have the “food roots” and need my fix of holiday food. This time of year, while my wife wants to start dyeing eggs, I crave Matzah brei.

I was going to make a run to the store this morning, as a Sunday morning would be a perfect time to have a big breakfast, when a quick look through the pantry found an unopened box of matzah. Most of you won’t have this around, but this time of year you are likely to find it in any supermarket within a stones throw of some sort of Jewish enclave. No enclave, you may have to send for it.

I proceeded to make my matzah brei. Here’s this mornings recipe:

4 sheets of matzah

5 eggs

Salt and pepper to taste

Oil or margarine (I use olive oil)

Preparation:

1. In a large bowl, break 3 sheets of matzah into small pieces.

2. Pour in hot water to soften matzah.

3. Strain mixture to remove water and leave softened matzah

4. Break up additional sheet of dry matzah and put on top of wet matzah

5. In a separate bowl, beat eggs.

6. Add eggs, salt and pepper to matzah. Mix well.

7. Heat oil in a frying pan. Cook matzah-egg mixture over medium heat

8. When lightly browned (yellowed even) on one side, turn out onto large plate or pizza pan and turn over, back into the hot frying pan, to get the second side done.

9. Some people prefer a scrambled type mixture, in my household we always made a large omelet type presentation.

10. Feel free to eat it with jelly, jam, syrup and anything else that works for you.

My wife and I had it for breakfast, my daughter declined. “Not her favorite ethnic food”, she declared.

I can’t stop smiling, and we even have some leftovers for later!