The Charmed Kitchen

Salmon Quiche

I like canned salmon. There, I said it. I know it sometimes gets a bad rap, but I find canned salmon very convenient to have around. If you didn’t already know this- canned salmon is made from wild caught salmon and has all the nutritional benefits of fresh.  If you are looking for something different to do with canned salmon, you might want to try this recipe.

If you prefer, you could use fresh salmon. About 12 oz. of cooked salmon, flaked, would be used in place of the canned salmon.

The crust is a breeze to make. It’s pressed into the pie pan, rather than being rolled out. The crust is made with whole wheat flour, almonds and cheddar cheese. Yum. Did I mention it also freezes well?

Salmon Quiche

 1 c. whole wheat flour

2/3 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1/4 c. chopped almonds

1/2 t. salt

1/2 t. paprika

6 T. oil

1 (15 oz.) can salmon, flaked, drained, liquid reserved, bones and skin removed

3 eggs, beaten

1 c. sour cream

1/4 c. mayo or salad dressing

1/2 c. shredded sharp cheddar cheese

1 T. grated onion

1/2 t. dillweed

3 drops Tabasco

For crust, combine first 5 ingredients in a bowl. Add oil and mix well. Press into a 9 inch pie plate. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 10 minutes. Remove pie crust from oven and reduce oven temperature to 325 degrees. Meanwhile, begin filling. If needed, add water to reserved salmon juice to measure 1/2 cup. Combine remaining ingredients in a bowl, including reserved liquid. Pour into prepared crust and bake for 45 minutes or until set in the center. Makes 6 servings.

I was getting ready to make a cake when I realized it called for cake flour. Since I didn’t have cake flour, did I have to put off making it? Not at all. There are a couple of ways to “make” cake flour when needed.  It can get pretty annoying when you are getting ready to cook or bake something and find that you are missing an ingredient. You might be surprised at some of the substitutes you have around already. There are also ways you can make what you need or find something that will work just as well.  Here is a collection of some substitute solutions I have accumulated over time. Helpful for the next time you reach for something only to find you are out of it. I will be posting more of them soon.

Cake Flour

Rather than keeping cake flour on hand, you can add lib in a pinch. There are 2 ways to substitute.
For each cup of cake flour you can measure 1 cup of regular all purpose flour and then just remove 2 table spoonfuls of the flour.

Some recipes also call to remove the 2 table spoons of regular flour and replace them with 2 tablespoon of cornstarch. I’ve tried both methods in baking and have had fine results either way. It is important that you measure the flour correctly to begin with. Flour should always be spooned into the measuring cup and then leveled off with a knife.
For a larger amount:
7 cups flour
1 c. cornstarch
Sift together and store until ready to use.

Self-Rising Flour

8 c. flour
5 T. Baking powder
2 T. sugar
1 T. salt
Combine all ingredients and store in an airtight container. Keeps for several months.

Cornstarch

To replace 1 tablespoon of cornstarch you could use:

2 tablespoons flour or 1 tablespoon arrowroot or 4 teaspoons quick cooking tapioca or 1 tablespoon potato starch

Light Brown Sugar

Combine 1 cup white sugar with 2 tablespoons of molasses. Note: for dark brown sugar increase molasses to 3 tablespoons.

Sweetened Condensed Milk

1 c. dry non-fat milk
2/3 c. sugar
1/2 c. boiling water
3 T. butter or margarine melted and hot

Combine all ingredients in a blender until smooth. Can be stored in the fridge and used within 3 days. This is the same as 1 14 oz. can.

Baking Powder

To replace 1 teaspoon you could use  1/3 teaspoon baking soda plus 1/2 teaspoon cream of tartar

Pie Crust Mix

5 1/3 c. flour
1 T. salt
2 1/3 c. shortening, butter or lard

Sift together flour and salt, and then cut in shortening to resemble coarse crumbs. Store in an airtight container until ready to use. To use lightly measure 1 1/3 c. mix into a small bowl. Begin adding cold water 1 tablespoon at a time, using about 4-5 table spoons all together. After each addition of water toss mixture with a fork and start to press it together. As soon as dough will hold together without being sticky, wrap in plastic wrap and chill about an hour. This will make 1 crust and an entire batch will make about 6 crusts.

Biscuit Mix (like Bisquick)

8 c. flour
1 c. powdered milk
1 c. powdered buttermilk
1/4 c. baking powder
1 T. salt
1 ½ c. shortening*

In large bowl combine dry ingredients and mix well. Cut in shortening until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Store in a tightly closed container and use in 1-2 months. Makes 10 cups.

* You can use butter or coconut oil in place of the shortening- but store mix in the fridge.

Biscuit Mix 2

10 c. flour
½ c. sugar
1/3 c. baking powder
1 T. salt
2 c. shortening

Mix dry ingredients well. Cut in shortening until it resembles coarse crumbs. Store in an airtight container and use within 3 months. Makes 13 cups.

Taco Seasoning

4 t. onion powder
3 t. chili powder
1 t. cornstarch
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. cumin
½ t. oregano
1/8 t. cayenne pepper

Mix and store in a cool, dry place. This is the same as 1 packet of taco seasoning mix.

Homemade Corn Syrup

2 cups granulated sugar
3/4 cup Water
1/4 tsp. Cream of Tartar
dash of salt

Combine all in a large, heavy stainless steel pot. Stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and cover with lid for 3 to 4 minutes to get the sugar crystals off the sides of the pan.

Uncover and cook to softball stage, 238 to 240 degree’s F. or when a small amount is dropped into cold water and does not hold its shape; stir constantly. Cook for another minute.

Cool and store in covered jar at room temperature, will keep well for 2 months at room temperature.

For dark corn syrup add 1/4 cup molasses

Chocolate Substitutions

To substitute cocoa for unsweetened chocolate in a recipe combine 3 tablespoons of cocoa and 1 tablespoon of fat.

Unsweetened chocolate can be turned into semi sweet chocolate by adding 1 tablespoon of sugar to each melted ounce. Three ounces of unsweetened chocolate and 3 tablespoons of sugar will equal 4 ounces of semi sweet chocolate.

Creole Jambalaya

There are so many variations for Jambalaya. I don’t think I ever had a Jambalaya I didn’t like. This Creole dish varies a little with each person who makes it. The assortment of ingredients adds so many layers of flavor.

Traditionally, Jambalaya would include smoked sausage or ham, chicken, shellfish, rice, tomatoes and assorted veggies and seasonings. It is definitely a great dish for a party. It is hard to make a small batch of Jambalaya!!!

This recipe is a tweaked version I got from a boss of mine a long time ago. I must say, every time I make this for friends it gets rave reviews.

                                                                Creole Jambalaya

1 lb. smoked sausage, sliced into 1 inch pieces

1 c. chopped onions

1 c. chopped celery

2 garlic cloves, chopped

1/4 c. oil

2 c. cubed uncooked chicken

3 c. chicken stock

1 1/2 c. uncooked rice

1 16 oz. can tomatoes

2-3 t. paprika

Cayenne pepper to taste

Black pepper to taste

1/4 t. ground turmeric

1 lb. medium shrimp, peeled and deveined, uncooked

1 1/2 c. frozen peas

1/2 c. chopped red pepper

1-2 lb. mussels, optional

In Dutch oven cook sausage, onion, celery and garlic in oil until onion is tender. Add remaining ingredients, except shrimp, peas, sweet red peppers and mussels. Bring to a boil, turn down to simmer and cook 20 minutes. Stir in shrimp, and peppers, cover and cook 10 minutes. Stir in peas and stick in mussels, if desired. Cover and cook 5 more minutes. Discard any mussels which have not opened in 5 minutes. Serves 8.

King Cake

If you are planning a Mardi Gras party, you will want a King Cake. King Cakes are a long-standing tradition in New Orleans at Mardi Gras. A small plastic baby is often hidden in the cake, although you can use a bean or even a whole pecan or almond. Tradition has it that the guest who finds the “surprise” in their piece will host next year’s party. Be careful to warn guest so they don’t break a tooth or swallow the “prize”.  You can also use the whole nuts inside the cake and just set the baby on top of the cake when serving.

The “cake” is really a sweet cinnamon swirl bread.  The yeast dough is rolled out, spread with butter and cinnamon sugar, and rolled up. Then the dough is shaped into an oval shape.

After it is baked, it is decorated with colorful frostings, sugars or both. Traditionally the colors used are yellow, green and purple, but, hey it’s your cake have fun with it. If you want just the sugars, and no frosting, then brush the king cake with a beaten egg before baking and sprinkle with the sugar then. Otherwise, you’ll decorate the cake once baked and cooled.

King Cake

1/4 c. butter

16 oz. container sour cream

1/3 c. sugar

1 t. salt

2 packages active dry yeast

1 T. sugar

1/2 c. warm water

2 eggs

6 /2 c. flour

1/2 c. white sugar

1 1/2 t. cinnamon

1/3 c. butter, softened

Colored sugars and frostings (recipes follow)

Heat together the first 4 ingredient to about 100 degrees. Dissolve yeast and sugar in warm water in large bowl and let stand 5 minutes. Add butter mixture, eggs and 2 cups of the flour. Beat 2 minutes at medium speed and gradually work in enough flour to form a soft dough. Knead until smooth and elastic, about ten minutes. Place dough in a greased bowl, turning to grease top and cover. Allow to rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour. Stir together 1/2 c. sugar with cinnamon and set aside. Punch dough down and divide in half. Roll out one piece of dough into a 28×10-inch rectangle. Spread dough with half of the butter and sprinkle with half of the sugar mixture. Starting at long end roll up jelly roll fashion and pinch seam to seal. Shape dough into an oval shape and pinch ends together. Place seam side down on a greased baking sheet. Repeat with remaining piece of dough except remember to add the toy baby, nut or bean if you want the “surprise”. Cover and let rise about 20 minutes. Bake in a preheated 375-degree oven for 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool before decorating with tinted frostings and colored sugars. Makes 2, serving 24.

Frostings

3 c. powdered sugar

3 T. melted butter

3 t. milk

1/2 t. vanilla

Green, yellow, red and blue food coloring

Combine sugar and butter and add enough milk to make the glaze a drizzling consistency. Add vanilla and divide mixture in three small bowls. Tint one bowl yellow, one green and one purple, using both the red and blue food coloring. I often don’t bother to tint the frostings, but rely on the tinted sugars for color.

Tinted sugars

1 1/2 c. granulated sugar

Food coloring

Place 1/2 c. sugar in each of three small bags and add a couple of drops of food coloring to each. One use yellow, one green and one both the red and blue for purple. Shake the bags to distribute the color. You should only need a couple of drops of each.

Decorate the cake by making bands of the colored frostings and then sprinkling on the sugars.

Jelly Doughnuts

I remember how fun it was to watch my parents making doughnuts. The making of the dough, then cutting the dough into circles. The dough circles would then rise on the counter, under linen towels until puffed up. Gently they would be fried, then set on paper towels to drain. Once cooled, the filling would be piped into them through a pastry bag filled with some wonderful jelly or jam.

I also remember learning to fill them. Squeezing the jelly from the pastry bag into the doughnut was tricky. You wanted to make sure there was enough filling, but not so much that they split open. After a couple of tries,  I realized you could figure it out by the weight of the filled doughnut in your hand.

My parents were both excellent bakers. My father had even been a professional baker at one time. I thought it was normal to have parents who made doughnuts. It was the norm in my family.

My folks only made them for special occasions. Unless my Mom got a taste for homemade jelly doughnuts. Then, my dad would make them for her. She loved jelly doughnuts. More than pretty much anyone else I knew.

You can fill them with any number of jellies, jams and cream fillings. I had fresh strawberries and dried apricots so I used them to make both a strawberry filing and an apricot filling. Once fried and filled, the doughnuts can be eaten plain or topped with a drizzle of powdered sugar glaze or just rolled in powdered sugar. They are a bit of work, but well worth the effort.

Jelly Doughnuts

Dough:
4 c. flour
2 T. sugar
1 t. salt
½ c. butter
1 packet yeast
¼ c. warm water
2 t. sugar
1 c. evaporated milk
2 eggs, beaten
Combine flour with sugar and salt. Cut in butter and set aside. Dissolve yeast in warm water and 2 t. sugar and set aside. Combine milk with eggs. Stir in yeast mixture and add to flour mixture stirring well. On lightly floured surface knead dough until dough is smooth, about 5 minutes. Dough will be very sticky. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 1½ hours. Remove dough from bowl and punch down. Using about a third of the dough at a time roll dough out to about an ½ -inch thickness and cut out with a 2½ -inch biscuit cutter. Re-roll scraps and cut out. You should get about 2 dozen. Place dough circles on a floured surface and cover with a towel until doubled, about an hour. Heat oil in a deep pan until it reaches 375 degrees. Cook doughnuts a few at a time until golden on both sides, about 1 minute per side. Drain on paper towels and cool before filling.

Note: You can also refrigerate the dough after kneading it if you would prefer. Just place dough in an oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight. Roll and cut dough into doughnuts when cold from the fridge. Allow to rise, covered, until doubled in bulk, about 2-3 hours. Fry as directed.

To fill doughnuts use a pastry bag fitted with a long tube tip for filling. I have these handy plastic syringes which are easy to use. Insert tube tip into doughnut and squeeze gently until doughnut is filled with jam. Be careful not to overfill or doughnut will split. Once filled doughnuts are topped with a powdered sugar glaze or rolled in powdered sugar.

Apricot Filling

12 oz. dried apricots, chopped up
2 c. water
2 c. sugar, or to taste

Combine apricots with water in saucepan and simmer, covered until apricots are really tender. This will take at least an hour- add more water, if needed. Add sugar to taste and cook until thickened. Puree mixture in a blender.

Strawberry Filling

1 lb. strawberries
1½ c. sugar
½ c. water
3 T. cornstarch

Crush berries and place in saucepan with the sugar. Cook until berries are tender, about 10 minutes. Combine water with cornstarch and add to strawberries. Cook until thickened and bubbly. Cool. , Puree. Makes 2 cups.

Ethiopian Spiced Lamb Chops

I was having a friend over for dinner and wanted to make something special. I know he really likes lamb, so I decided to make lamb chops. Since he also likes my Ethiopian seasoning blend, I decided to use them to season the lamb. They were amazing!!

I pan seared the lamb chops in a cast iron skillet, turning them to brown all all sides. They were thick chops and I wanted to cook them through, without burning the outside. So, once I browned them, I turned the heat down to let them cook more gently for a few more minutes. I cooked them about three more minutes per side. They came out great. Very tender, an even pink color throughout, with a nice brown exterior.

The Ethiopian spices complimented the lamb nicely. I’ve used this spice blend with chicken, beef and pork in the past, but never with lamb. I can see using these spices with lamb again. They worked so well together.

So here is the recipe. Hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Ethiopian Spiced Lamb Chops

4 lamb chops, about 3-4 oz. each

1 T. paprika

1 t. each cayenne pepper, cumin, garlic powder, salt and ginger

½ t. allspice

¼ t. cinnamon

Combine seasonings and rub all over the surface of the lamb chops. Heat a skillet until hot. Place lamb chops in skillet and brown on all sides. Turn down heat and allow chops to cook until cooked to your preference. I like lamb rare, and these were pretty thick chops. They took about three minutes per side to cook, once browned.

Blueberry Kolachy

I have fond memories of making these delicate cookies with my Mother. I think of her every time I make them.  I made a batch for a friend the other night, using homemade blueberry pie filling. I have also used cherry, fig, apple, cheese and nut fillings. I made my own blueberry pie filling, but you could use store bought, if you prefer. You can also finish off the cookies with a light dusting of powdered sugar, if you like.

One problem people sometimes have, when making kolachy, is having them open when baking. When you fold the dough over the filling, give it a good pinch. Then fold it over and pinch it again. Also, don’t leave too much flour on the dough. It will prevent the dough from sticking to itself and will cause it to pop open. Some people like to moisten the dough a little, before sealing. That works, too,. I just find the double pinch method works fine for me. Important to know- even the ones that pop open will taste amazing!!

Blueberry Kolachy

Dough

3 sticks butter

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

3 cups flour

Blueberry Filling– recipe follows

Powdered sugar, optional

Mix dough ingredients together and chill well before using.

Roll out chilled dough into squares or circles. Spoon a little blueberry filling into the center and pinch 2 ends or corners together. Bake in 350-degree oven for about 12 minutes, or until golden on edges. Cool and dust with powdered sugar. Makes 4-5 dozen.

Blueberry Pie Filling

3 1/2 c. blueberries

3/4 c. sugar, or to taste

1/4 c. Clear Gel*

1 c. water

1 T. lemon juice

In saucepan, bring blueberries and sugar to a boil, stirring often. Combine clear gel with water and lemon juice and add to the blueberry mixture. Return to the boil and cook until thickened and bubbly. Makes 4 cups. You might not need the whole batch for the cookies.

*Clear gel is a modified cornstarch. It is used in commercial pie fillings and in homemade pie fillings, as well. Unlike regular cornstarch, Clear Gel retains it’s thickness, even if you reheat it. You can find it online or in some specialty food stores.

Cheesy Chocolate Hamantaschen

A friend shared this recipe recently, so I had to try these cookies. The filling for these traditional Jewish cookies, is inspired by the filling used in cannoli. I made a few changes from the recipe he shared, and was very happy with how they turned out. The dough, which contains no sugar, has a wonderful, pastry-like texture. It pairs up well with the filling.

They aren’t a gooey, overly sweet cookie, which I really like. These would be great served as a dessert. They pair up nicely with tea or coffee. I confess,  I had a couple for breakfast with my morning tea. I would definitely make these again.Thanks, Jared, for sharing this recipe.

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Cheesy Chocolate Hamantaschen

Filling:

¼ c. ricotta cheese

5 oz. cream cheese

½ c. powdered sugar

1 t. cinnamon

½ c. mini chocolate chips

Dough:

½ c. (1 stick) butter, softened

3 oz. cream cheese

½ c. half and half or milk

1 t. vanilla

½ t. salt

2½c. flour

Topping:

1 egg white

2 T. water

½ c. chocolate chips

Powdered sugar, optional

Prepare the filling. Beat together the ricotta and cream cheese until smooth. Mix in the milk and cinnamon, then stir in the chips. Chill until ready to use. Make the dough by mixing the cream cheese and butter together. Add the milk, vanilla and salt and mix until smooth. Stir in the flour until a stiff dough forms. Wrap the dough in plastic wrap, or put in a bag and chill at least an hour – or up to a couple of days – before proceeding. On lightly floured surface, roll the dough to a little less than ¼ – inch thickness. Cut dough out into 2-3 inch circles. Place a scant teaspoon of filling in middle of each dough circle. Combine the egg white with water and beat together. Brush a little of the egg white mixture over the edges of the dough circle. Fold the dough up in thirds towards the center, pinching the edges to seal. They should look like little three-corner hats. Repeat with remaining dough, re-rolling the scraps. Brush folded cookies with a little more of the egg white mixture. Place on lightly greased cookie sheets and bake in a 375-degree- oven for 15 minutes, or until golden on the bottom. Remove to cooling rack. Once cooled, melt the chocolate chips and drizzle over the cookies. You can top with some powdered sugar, if you like. Makes 2½-3 dozen.