Honey Cream Pork

This is a recipe that Jan adapted from a dish served at Pissenlits Par la Racine, a cozy French restaurant on the Rue de Bourgogne. Pissenlits Par la Racine means "the dandelion by the root," a reference to the old expression "eating the dandelion by the root," a euphemism similar to the English "pushing daisies." A somewhat alarming name for a restaurant, but a wonderful dish. Very warming, very comforting. I'm not listing amounts for the ingredients because it's a very approximative and adaptable recipe.

 

Ingredients

• Cubed pork, such as pork chops or pork steak
• Butter, ghee, coconut oil, or whatever your favourite cooking fat or oil is
• Flour
• Salt and pepper
• Honey
• Cream
• Cinnamon
• Chicken bouillon or fond de volaille (optional)

• Potatoes, regular and/or sweet, cubed
• Cooking fat/oil
• Salt and pepper
• Garlic powder

Directions:

 

Toss the potatoes with the salt and pepper, garlic powder, and oil. Roast in the oven or fry until browned and tender.

 

Heat the fat/oil in a skillet over medium heat. Dredge the pork in the flour seasoned with salt and pepper and sautée (in batches if necessary) until browned and cooked through.

Add a good drizzle of cream (about 1-2 tbsp per person) and about as much honey. Sprinkle over a pinch of cinnamon and the bouillon, if using.

 

Serve the pork over the potatoes and serve nice and hot.

Posted with Blogsy

Lemon Chicken with White Wine Sauce

Okay, no, this recipe is so much more than the title implies. It's crispy skin and flavorful meat and olives and lemon and who-cares-about-all-of-that-because-OMG-those-PRUNES! Oh, and you can also make a red-wine version with orange instead of lemon and I seriously can't figure out which version I like better. Just go with whatever wine or fruit you have on hand, I guess.

I found this recipe in Molly Stevens's (incredible) book All About Braising, but I changed it kind of significantly. That is to say, I made it into something you don't braise. I did this because A) braising is awesome for tender meat, but not so awesome for crispy skin (crispy skin is WHY I eat chicken, people!) and B) I don't have a casserole dish suitable for braising and even if I did, there's the fact that C) I don't have an oven big enough for such a dish. So, here is my crispy-skinned, small-oven approved recipe for really, really excellent prunes chicken.

This recipe is for two people. Feel free to add more chicken if you have more people and a bigger oven (you won't need to change any other amounts. I kept the sauce the same because SAUCE).

Ingredients:

• 2 whole chicken thighs (the kind with the leg attached)
• Salt and pepper
• Flour for dredging
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup dry white wine (Chardonnay is good. Never cook with wine you wouldn't drink! Unless you don't drink dry white wines in which case...don't cook with wine I wouldn't drink! Use good-ish wine, is what I'm saying.) (Or use a red wine if you're doing that version of the dish)
  
• 1/4 white wine vinegar (or red wine vinegar, if using red wine)
• 1 garlic clove, smashed
• Zest of 1 lemon (or one orange, if using red wine)
• 2 whole cloves
• 10-12 pitted prunes
• 1/3 cup good-quality green olives, pitted (or, again, black olives if using red wine)

Preheat oven to 375. Salt and pepper your chicken, then dredge it in flour.

Heat oil in a skillet, and cook chicken 3-4 minutes on each side (without turning) until a brown crust forms. Set aside and drain off the fat, leaving behind all the delicious brown bits.

Then add the wine, vinegar, garlic, zest, and cloves to the pan and use a wooden spoon to scrape up all those brown bits. If you have an oven-proof skillet, scatter over the prunes and olives and stick the whole pan in your oven. If not, transfer the sauce and chicken to an oven-safe dish so that the pieces fit snugly, and then scatter over the prunes and olives.

Cook uncovered for 30 minutes. That's where your crispy skin comes from.

Remove the chicken, prunes, and olives, and return the liquid to the pan (or return the pan to the stove). Cook over high heat, stirring frequently, until the liquid has reduced to the consistency of a vinaigrette.

Discard cloves and zest, pour sauce over chicken (and over the rice or whatever you're serving this with) and serve with the olives and (omg) prunes.

Yes, the prunes are really that good.

Creamy Red Pepper Sauce

I was looking for a pasta sauce recipe that wasn't cream-based, because I just noticed that about 112% of my recipes are, when I found this one...

...which is totally cream-based but shhhh. It has vegetables in it! I made a few changes from the original recipe by making it a bit easier, reducing the dirty dishes (oh what, you have a dishwasher? How awesome for you, person-who-sucks), and increasing the vegetable-to-cream ratio.

Ingredients:

• 2 red bell peppers, or any combination of red, orange, and yellow
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced (or more - you can't have too much garlic, that's my motto)
• 1 tbsp dried basil (or a big 'ole handful of fresh basil, chopped, if you've got it) (or probably a spoonful of pesto, mmmm, I bed that'd be great)
  
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 1/4 cup Romano or Parmesan cheese
• 1-2 tbsp butter
• Red pepper flakes, or cayenne pepper
• Chili powder
• Salt and pepper
  
• Olive oil (I never really measure olive oil. Like garlic: it's hard to have too much)

Preheat your broiler. Or preheat your absurdly tiny oven which pretty much is a broiler. Cut your bell peppers in half and remove the seeds, then brush both sides with olive oil and let them roast until the skin has some black spots and the flesh is tender. Then let them sit, in a sealed plastic baggie if you're really on top of things, (or just on a paper towel in the fridge if you're me not) for about 45 minutes.

Heat some olive oil in a skillet. Remove the skin from the peppers and throw them in the skillet with the garlic, the basil, and the spices. You can purée this mixture later if you want a really smooth sauce, but if you prefer to minimize your dirty dishes then just mash up the peppers with your spoon as you cook the mixture for about 10 minutes over medium heat.

Then add the cream and cheese and stir until it's all a uniformly gorgeous orange-y color. Add the butter, more or less depending on how much you care about your arteries, stir it again, add salt and pepper to taste, and serve over pasta or whatever, seriously, you could actually just eat this sauce by the spoonful.

It's particularly good with cheese ravioli.

Veal Piccata

I have wanted to make this since I ate it at a restaurant two years ago. WHY did I wait so long? It's super-lemony and so easy to make. You could use chicken or pork cutlets, or probably tofu.

Veal Piccata

4 veal cutlets,pounded thin
Salt
Lemon pepper
Flour
4 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 tsp garlic powder or equivalent fresh garlic
1 cup white wine
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 tablespoons capers
2 tablespoons butter
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley (or a tablespoon of dried)

Season the veal with salt and lemon pepper, then dredge in flour. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Saute cutlets for 3 minutes per side, or until golden. Set aside and keep them warm in a very low oven. Add garlic powder (if using fresh garlic, add to pan first, saute 1 minute), wine, lemon juice, and capers. Bring to a boil and continue to boil until liquid is reduced by half. I use the end of a wooden spoon to as a "dipstick" to measure the level of liquid. Then, just reduce to a simmer and stir in butter and parsley. Simmer for a minute or two. Return veal cutlets to pan and coat with sauce. Serve immediately over linguini (or rice?) with lots of crusty bread to sop up the lemony goodness. If you want to be fancy, you can garnish the platter with lemon slices and parsley.

Tofu Parmesan

Don't turn your nose up! This is awesome, really!

The trick is to freeze the tofu:

Step 1: Drain the tofu well. (Cut it into three chunks, place it on a paper towel-lined plate, put more paper towels on top, another plate, and then a jar/can to weight it. I wait about 20 minutes, then change the paper towels out and do it again.)

Step 2: Wrap the tofu in plastic wrap and chuck it in the freezer overnight.

Step 3: Take it out of the freezer several hours before you want to use it. You can thaw it in the microwave on defrost.

Step 4: More draining! Slice the tofu into whatever shape you want (for this recipe, slices about a 1/4" thick), then press firmly with paper towels until it is quite dry.

Now that your have your frozen/thawed slices, here's the loosely-prepared recipe:

1 block extra firm tofu, prepared as above
bread crumbs
1 egg, beaten
flour
parmesan cheese, grated
2 t dried oregano
1 t dried basil
1/2 t garlic powder
salt & pepper
olive oil
8 oz tomato sauce
4 oz shredded mozzarella

First, you'll need to fry up your tofu slices. Heat a couple tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Mix up some bread crumbs with a bit of parmesan, salt and pepper, and any herbage you like.

Lightly dredge each slice of tofu in flour, then dip in the egg wash, then cover with the bread crumb mixture. Pan fry until crunchy. Try not to eat too many pieces before assemblage.

Mix your tomato sauce with the oregano, basil, garlic powder and some salt and pepper. You can use a canned pasta sauce, if you like. I've tried it both ways and found I actually preferred the tangy-ness you get from the plain tomato sauce method. Let this sit for at least fifteen minutes. (I swear, you'll get better flavour if you let it sit.)

In a baking pan, layer sauce/tofu/mozz until everything runs out, making sure you end with a nice layer of cheese. Sprinkle a layer of parmesan over the top and bake at 400 for about 20 minutes, or until nice and bubbly.

I like to serve this with some pasta and garlic bread. And I've made myself really hungry thinking about it.

No Time For Bierocks

Do you ever crave bierocks? Wait - maybe that's just me. I really like bierocks, but they take time to make. I don't have an excess of bierock-making hours in my life. So, I cheat. And the result is quite tasty. Here you go:

Bake some fresh rolls. Brown some ground beef and simmer it with a bag of shredded cabbage, a chopped onion, a cup of water, and lots of salt, pepper, garlic. Eat the rolls and the meat mixture together.

The above recipe just sounds too simple to be trusted, doesn't it? Ok, I'll fluff it up a bit. Same ingredients, more words:

First, put some frozen roll dough to rise. Or, if you're really pressed for time, use the frozen pan rolls that you just pop into the oven. But buy a good, "homemade" type brand, not a simple brown-and-serve that you find in the bread aisle. Now, brown a pound or two of ground beef in your largest skillet. I use a 12-inch skillet. If you don't have a large one, use a Dutch oven. Brown the meat well, so that some of it actually turns brown - it will have a much better flavor than if you were to just stir the beef around until it's sort of wet-cement-colored. Next, add one onion, diced. Then dump in a bag of shredded cabbage. I prefer to use the "coleslaw blend" because it contains a bit of shredded carrot, too. This will take up all the room in your skillet, but don't worry, it will cook down. Sprinkle the mound of cabbage liberally with salt and garlic powder, grab the pepper grinder and be generous with it, then add a cup of water. Slap on the lid, lower the heat to a simmer, stir occasionally. When the cabbage is almost tender, put the rolls into the oven to bake. Check the ground beef-cabbage mixture, taste it, and add more salt and pepper to taste. To serve, simply scoop a mound of the yummy meat mixture into a freshly baked roll and enjoy.

There, that's it! Now you can't say that you have no time for bierocks.

Simple Tomato Sauce

This, for me, is The Sauce. It's surprisingly cheap. It's elegantly simple. It's incredibly tasty. It requires only slightly more effort than opening a jar. You'll never want to pour Ragu on your spaghetti again.

This is a recipe which has made its rounds on cooking blogs. I first saw it on Smitten Kitchen. It apparently originates here, in a book which is near the top of my wish list.

Anyway, the sauce. The Sauce. There are three ingredients in the original recipe: tomatoes, onion and butter. Yes, that's it. No pinch of sugar or cinnamon, no dribble of red wine, none of that. If you're me, and you're bad, you assault The Sauce with a couple cloves of garlic. This here is the way I make it (garlic; doubled; with residual onion bits) - that Smitten Kitchen post has the original, unadulterated recipe.

You need:

2 28oz cans whole peeled tomatoes (Any brand will work, but San Marzano are especially good. You do have to search a bit for them.)

10 T butter (I usually have salted on hand, so that's what I use. If you use unsalted, you'll probably want to have some salt nearby.)

2 medium yellow onions, peeled and halved

3 cloves garlic, minced

Put everything in your biggest saucepan. Bring it to a simmer, then drop the heat, keeping it at a slow, steady simmer for about 45 minutes. Stir it every now and then, crushing the tomatoes against the side of the pot. The original recipe tells you to remove and discard the onion - me, I like the onion, and it's usually started to disintegrate by that point anyway, so I remove only the biggest, most solid chunks - and then I crush some of those up with a fork and put them back in.

That's it. For me, this makes enough sauce for a pound of noodles, and I always make that much because the leftovers are fantastic.

"Southwestern" Hash

This really shouldn't be called a recipe, but I make it (or some variant of it) often enough it's worth mentioning.

1/2 pound sliced mushrooms

1/4 medium onion, sliced

1 bag of Simply Potatoes "Southwestern" hash browns (You could certainly improvise another shredded potato product. I've never used frozen potatoes, but you could probably make it work. You could also, if you're that sort of person, shred your own potatoes, in which case you'd need 4.5 C, plus some chopped peppers.)

about 4 oz cheese (I like swiss), shredded

5-6 slices soy bacon, cooked and crumbled (Or real bacon, if you prefer pork products.)

4 eggs

2 T spicy brown mustard

Salt and pepper to taste

Butter and olive oil for cooking

Heat about 1 T of butter and 1 T of olive oil in a big skillet. Add the sliced mushrooms and onions, and cook until the mushrooms start to brown. Then, add a bit more oil and dump in the potatoes. Stir it all together, then let it rest a minute or so before stirring again. (Do this repeatedly - you don't want actual hashbrowns, so you want to stir, but you don't want to stir too often or things don't brown well.)

While the potatoes cook, combine the eggs, mustard, shredded cheese and bacon in a bowl. Whisk everything together until well combined and slightly foamy (like you're making an omelete).

When the potato shreds are done (meaning they no longer have the taste/texture of raw potato), pour the egg mixture into the skillet and stir, stir, stir! The egg and melted cheese binds everything together. It's ready when you no longer see raw egg. Serve as you see fit - sour cream, salsa, extra cheese, etc.

Spinach Artichoke Lasagna

Ken loves this stuff. And I don't blame him - it's excellent. Allow me to pat myself on the back.

Get these things:

12 lasagna noodles (I use no-cook, because it saves that much time. Obviously, if yours aren't no-cook, you'll need to cook them, or you'll have a very strange lasagna.)

1 medium onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 14.5 oz can vegetable broth

1 can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped (The original recipe called for marinated. I haven't been able to find marinated, so I've just been using plain hearts. There's nothing wrong with that.)

1 t dried rosemary

10 oz fresh spinach (I use bagged baby spinach, you could also prep your own, or use frozen. Make sure you thaw/drain it first, though.)

3 C tomato sauce (I use what we have on hand - usually a jarred sauce with mushrooms.)

1 C ricotta cheese

4 C shredded mozzarella

4 oz feta, crumbled (You can use plain, or one of the herbed varieties.)

Do these things:

Preheat the oven to 350. Grease a 13x9 dish.

In a big pan over medium heat, sauté the onion in olive oil until it softens a bit. Add the garlic and give it a couple more minutes.

Add the broth and the rosemary, and bring the pot to a boil. Add your artichokes and the spinach. Reduce heat to a simmer, and let it go for about five minutes. (Assuming you're using fresh spinach, you'll want to stir a few times as it wilts.) Stir in the pasta sauce.

Now, um, make it into a lasagna, and then sprinkle the feta all over the top.

HANDY LASAGNA SCHEMATIC
(Key: * = feta, /= mozzarella, - = spinach mix, ~ = noodles, o = ricotta plops)

(top of pan)

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ooooooooooooo
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Cover the pan with foil and bake it for 40 minutes. Then remove the foil and bake it for ten more. THEN flip on the broiler and put it under the broiler for three minutes. (Yes, the broiler makes a difference. Don't you want a delicious cheese crust on your lasagna?)

Eat, and enjoy the admiration.

Mushroom Stew

This recipe is actually titled "Mushroom Bourguignon", and it comes from Smitten Kitchen, one of my favourite blogs. You should head over there first - it's her recipe (I changed very, very little), and she has amazing pictures of it.

When I first saw it, I drooled, but just about moved on - bourguignon = complicated and full of meat, in my mind. The pictures got stuck in my head, though - meaty 'shrooms in dark, rich broth...yeah, I had to try it. I'm very glad I went back for this one. It tastes like you spent hours on it, but it's really quite easy. I was sad, sad, sad when the leftovers were gone.

2 T olive oil

3 T butter

2 pounds mushrooms, sliced about 1/4" thick (I use one pound of portobellos and one pound of cremini.)

2 carrots, diced

1 medium yellow onion, diced

3 cloves minced garlic

1 C red wine (I use Yellow Tail Merlot)

2 C vegetable broth

2 T tomato paste

1/2 t dried thyme

1 1/2 T flour

1 C pearl onions, peeled

salt and pepper

egg noodles and sour cream, for serving

In your biggest sauce pan (I use my 6 quart for this), heat 1 T of the oil and 1 T of the butter on high. Add the mushrooms and cook until they start to sear, but before they get juicy (I set a timer for four minutes, and stir them a lot). Remove them from the pan, and, if possible, put them somewhere where people won't pick at them like I always do. (Also: put them in a bowl. A plate may get messy. And for love of all that's holy, DON'T PUT THEM ON PAPER TOWELS. This will cause major facepalming on my part.)

Turn the heat down and add 1 T of oil and 1 T of butter. Dump in the carrots, onions, thyme, and a several pinches of salt and pepper. Let these cook for about 10 minutes, until the onions are started to brown a bit. (Or, if you're me, get distracted and burn the onions. I do it EVERY TIME. Don't worry, still tastes great.) Add the minced garlic and cook for the time it takes you to wrestle open the bottle of wine. (A minute or two, that's all.)

Add your C of wine to the pan, and be sure to scrape all the yummy bits off the bottom. Crank the heat up until it boils, then turn it back down to medium. Pour in the broth and add the tomato paste. Dump that bowl of mushrooms (plus any juices they've left behind) back into the pot. Get everything up to a boil again, then reduce again, and let the whole thing simmer for about 15 minutes.

Add your pearl onions, and simmer for 10 more minutes. In a separate bowl, combine the flour and remaining 1 T of butter. Add that to the stew, and cook for 5-10 more minutes, or until the sauce is the right consistency. Mine's usually ready pretty quickly. Partly because I'm hungry.

Serve it over egg noodles, with lots of sour cream.

Green Lentil Loaf

I've been trying to type an introduction to this recipe for almost half an hour. Here's what you really need to know, without all the fluff:

- It's delicious.

Yeah, just try this. Don't be turned off by its vegetarianness. Some people may even tell you it's "healthier". It's moist and loaf-y, and great with mashed potatoes and mushroom gravy. And ketchup. Just like meatloaf.

You will need:

2 C cooked green lentils (They just about double in volume - so I use 1 cup plus a little more, and have more lentils than I need. Make sure your lentils are well cooked, otherwise you have a crumbly loaf - still tasty, but not the same.)

2 T tomato paste

6 slices bread, torn into small pieces (white, wheat, sourdough, whatever...no cinnamon raisin, please)

3 eggs

1 C vegetable broth

1/2 t dried basil

1/4 t garlic powder

1/2 t black pepper

1 t dried parsley

1 T olive oil

1/2 - 1 packet dry onion soup mix (That's right, dry soup mix. More soup mix = more onion flavour, but also more salt. I find that 3/4 is actually about right.)

"Loaf Glaze" (You know, that stuff you put on meatloaf. Take about 1/4 C of ketchup and add vinegar and brown sugar to it. Start with a T of each and go up from there. When it's reached the level of sweet 'n' tangy you like, you're good. Don't like sweet, tangy glazes? What's you problem? Okay, you can skip it, or you can use plain ketchup.)

Now do this stuff:

Preheat your oven to 400F.

Grease up a 9x5 loaf pan. (My grease of choice is butter. Because it's butter.)

In a large bowl, combine the cooked lentils, bread, eggs, broth, tomato paste, basil, garlic powder, black pepper, parsley, olive oil and soup mix. Stir, stir, stir, then dump it into your greasy pan.

Bake the loaf for 40 minutes. Remove loaf, cover top with glaze and bake another 10-15 minutes, or until the top is nice and gooey. Let it sit about 10 minutes before serving, or you wind up with a sloppy plate.

Mom's Scalloped Chicken

This has always been a holiday dish because it makes a large amount. It's so good! One serving won't be enough... you'll be back.

1 hen or 2 fryers, stewed, deboned, and cut into bite-sized pieces (save the broth)
1 1/2 cups chopped celery
1/2 onion, chopped
1 can condensed mushroom soup
1 cup processed American cheese, shredded
2 beaten eggs
round, buttery crackers, crushed to make 4 cups
4 cups chicken broth

Combine celery and onion with broth and simmer until tender. Mix all ingredients except crackers thoroughly. Add 3 cups of the crackers, mix gently. Pour mixture into a 13 x 9 inch pan; sprinkle remaining cracker crumbs on top. Bake at 325 degrees for 50 to 60 minutes or until golden brown.

For a quicker version, simply use a deli-roasted chicken and canned chicken broth. The taste is still fantastic!

Apricot Chicken

This is so easy, and the flavor is delicious.

1 fryer, cut up (or use thighs, boneless breast, whatever)
cooking oil to cover bottom of pan
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
12 oz. jar apricot preserves
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1/4 cup sliced almonds (toasted or not)

Brown chicken pieces in oil; add salt and pepper. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes, turning chicken frequently. Combine soy sauce and preserves; pour over chicken. Continue to simmer for another 5 to 8 minutes. Sprinkle with almonds. Serve with rice. Makes 4 servings.

Reuben Casserole

It's like a big Reuben sandwich in a baking dish. There are never leftovers when I take this dish to a pot-luck.

1 (32oz.) bag sauerkraut, very well drained
1 pound deli-style corned beef, chopped
1/2 (8 oz.) bottle Thousand Island dressing
1 pound shredded Swiss cheese
12 slices buttered rye bread, cut into 1 inch pieces

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In the bottom of a 13 x 9 x 2 inch casserole, layer the sauerkraut (you may need to squeeze it dry with your hands), corned beef, dressing, and cheese. Top with the buttered rye bread cubes. Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Let cool slightly to set before serving. Serve with extra Thousand Island dressing, if preferred. I'm not sure how many servings this makes, because everyone goes back for more.

Lemon Cream Chicken

When you read the list of ingredients for this dish, you may think it seems too rich, with the 4 tablespoons of butter, the cup of heavy cream. Hey, indulge! (Just don't indulge too often.) The sauce you'll create is velvety and decadent. It's so good you'll want to put it on everything - veggies, fish, ice cream... well, maybe not ice cream. This is a simple to prepare, yet elegant meal. It's great to serve when you're wanting to impress someone.

1 cup plus 1 Tablespoon flour, divided
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
4 Tablespoons butter
1 cup chicken broth
1 cup heavy whipping cream, divided
3 Tablespoons lemon juice
8 oz. mushrooms, sliced

In a large resealable plastic bag, combine 1 cup flour, salt and pepper. Add chicken and shake to coat. (if you'd rather not do the flour thing, just go ahead and brown the naked chicken. It's good that way as well.) In a large skillet, cook chicken in butter for 8-9 minutes on each side or until juices run clear. Remove chicken and keep warm.
Add broth to the drippings. Bring to a boil over medium heat; stir to loosen browned bits from pan. Simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until broth is reduced to 1/3 cup (which will probably actually take more like 20 minutes). Stir in 3/4 cup of the cream, then the lemon juice and mushrooms (feel free to omit the mushrooms if you don't like them - it will taste fabulous anyway). Cook over medium-low heat for 5 minutes.
Combine remaining flour and cream until smooth; stir into skillet. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Return chicken to skillet and heat through. Serve over white rice. Don't count on having leftovers. You'll probably be licking the plate clean at the end of the meal. Yield: 6 servings.

Swedish Meatballs

This is probably not authentic, but it's pretty good anyway.

1 pound ground beef
1 egg
1/2 cup dry bread crumbs
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup chopped onion
2 teaspoons parsley flakes
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon ground allspice
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup

Combine ground beef, egg, onion, bread crumbs, 1/4 cup of the milk, parsley, salt, allspice, and pepper. Shape into about 30 meatballs. Brown meatballs in skillet; add soup and remaining milk, heat through. Serve over buttered noodles sprinkled with parsley. Serves 4 to 6

Hawaiian Ginger Beef

I got this recipe when I lived in Hawaii. You can use a cheaper cut of meat, you'll just need to simmer it longer.

1 1/2 pounds boneless sirloin, sliced into thin strips
1/4 cup beef stock
2 teaspoons dry sherry
1 1/2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon sugar
1 clove garlic, mashed
2 or 3 slices of fresh ginger root
3 green onions, diagonally sliced into 1/2" pieces
2 Tablespoons oil
1 Tablespoon each of cornstarch and water

Combine soy sauce, sherry, beef stock, and sugar; set aside. Heat oil in large frying pan; saute garlic and ginger for 1 minute. Add meat and onions to the pan and stir-fry over high heat. When meat is almost completely browned, pour in the soy sauce mixture; cover and simmer about 3 minutes. Mix cornstarch and water, gradually stir into the liquid in the pan. Cook until slightly thickened, stirring to coat meat. Remove ginger slices before serving. Serve with steamed rice. Makes 4 to 6 servings.

Sweet & Sour Beef Stew

The name is misleading - this dish is not Asian... or even German. The sauce tastes more like a mild barbecue sauce... so I guess it's a dish of the American West! Yeah, lets go with that! It's an old Betty Crocker Recipe and it's definitely worth a try.

1 1/2 pounds beef stew meat, cubed
2 Tablespoons cooking oil
1 cup carrot, thinly sliced or chopped
1 cup onion, thinly sliced
1 (8 oz.) can tomato sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup vinegar
1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons corn starch
1/4 cup cold water
hot cooked noodles
Poppy seed (optional)

Brown meat in hot oil. Add next 8 ingredients. Cover and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, for about two hours, or until meat is tender. (you may need to add a bit of water if it seems to be cooking down too much.) Combine cornstarch with cold water; add to beef mixture. Cook and stir until thickened and bubbly. Serve over noodles garnished with poppy seed. (more often than not, I am out of poppy seed; the dish is fine without them.) This recipe is easy to adapt to the Crock Pot. You'll want to use a bit less carrot and onion. It serves approximately four people.

Walnut Chicken

Here's one I cut out of a newspaper years ago. (from the Honolulu Star-Bulletin) It calls for 1/4 cup beer. Just drink the rest, or dump it out. Don't omit the beer, because it will not be the same without it.


1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup beer
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breast, cut into 1-inch pieces
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup sliced green onions
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup sliced fresh mushrooms
1 cup broken English walnuts

Combine soy sauce, beer, and ginger. Add chicken and marinate in refrigerator for at least 30 minutes. Heat the oil in a wok or skillet, add chicken and the soy mixture. Stir-fry until chicken is cooked and soy mixture begins to coat chicken (approximately 5 minutes). Add green onions, garlic, mushrooms, and walnuts. cook 3 minutes, tossing mixture with slotted spoon. Serve with rice. Makes about 4 servings.

Ultimate Steakhouse Burger

This really is the ultimate burger! This recipe comes from "Cook's Country" magazine in answer to a reader's request for a burger that is charred and crusty on the outside, moist and juicy on the inside. It will seem like a strange combination of ingredients, but that's what makes these burgers so special. We don't have them often because they are definitely not low-calorie.


grease from 8 strips of crisply fried bacon
1 - 2 slices white sandwich bread, crusts removed and discarded, cubed
1/4 cup milk
1 1/2 pounds ground beef (85-90% lean)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 large garlic cloves, very finely minced

Spoon 3 tablespoons of the bacon fat into a small heatproof bowl and refrigerate while preparing the other ingredients. You may use the cooked bacon in another recipe or serve it atop the burgers. (I usually use the bacon in a salad or something, because the burgers are so good they don't need the bacon.) Place the bread cubes in a small bowl, add the milk, and let mixture sit for about 5 minutes. Using fork, mash bread and milk until it forms a smooth paste. Break up the beef into small pieces in a medium bowl. Season with salt and pepper, then add garlic, bread paste, and reserved bacon fat. Using fork or hands, lightly knead together so that ingredients are well incorporated. Do not overwork the meat or the burgers will be tough. Divide meat into 4 equal portions. Using hands, toss each portion of meat back and forth to form a loose ball, then gently flatten to a 3/4-inch patty. Grill over very hot coals, without pressing down on them, until well seared on both sides and cooked to your preference.