The Charmed Kitchen

Herb and Spice Crusted Pork Roast

I knew I would be having applesauce with this pork roast. I wanted to make a rub that would go with the pork and compliment the applesauce as well.  This is what I came up with. It worked out great. Nice blend of flavors and perfect with the spirited applesauce I used as a side dish.

Herb and Spice Crusted Pork Roast

The Rub:

2 T. coarse sea salt

1 T. paprika

1 T. dried parsley

1-2 cloves minced garlic

2 t. fresh grated ginger

2 t. cinnamon

2 t. fresh ground pepper

Combine all the rub ingredients.

1 pork roast- I used a 3 1/2 pound pork sirloin roast- bone-in.

Spread the rub over the roast, pressing in to help it stick. Place pork roast in a roasting pan and bake in a 350 degree oven for about 2- 2 1/2 hours. Serves 4.

This rub would also be nice on poultry.

The rub ingredients

Cover roast with the rub mixture

Right out of the oven

Applesauce Cake

This is a great recipe. It’s fast to make as well as moist and tasty. I decided to post it after a friend told me she had made a ton of applesauce but only one of her sons really liked it.  She wanted a recipe to use applesauce besides just eating it plain. I think her whole family will enjoy this cake. While I used butter in the recipe you could swap out the butter with coconut oil or shortening for a vegan dessert. This one is for you, Pat.

Applesauce Cake

2 c. unsweetened applesauce

½ c. butter

2 c. sugar

3 c. flour

1 T. baking soda

½ t. salt

1 t. each cinnamon, allspice and nutmeg

¼ t. cloves

1 c. raisins or chopped nuts

Heat together applesauce and butter until butter melts. Cool down a bit. Preheat oven 375 and grease 9×13-inch pan. Stir all ingredients together bake 30 minutes. Cool in pan.

Chicken Waldorf Salad

I remember my Mother making Waldorf Salad when I was a kid. It was always a favorite of mine. Normally it was a Fall treat when apples were in season. I had some extra chicken and wanted to make something easy for lunch so I looked at things I had on hand and decided to make a Waldorf Salad but add the chicken to it. It was a really wonderful combination. I could also see making this with leftover turkey.

Chicken Waldorf Salad

2 c. diced cooked chicken

2 apples, cored and diced

2 ribs celery, diced

1/2 c. raisins

1/2 c. mayo, or more to taste

salt and pepper to taste

1/2 c. toasted pecans

Combine all ingredients, except the pecans and chill. Add pecans just before serving.

Onion Relish

One of my favorite appetizers is caramelized onions. Slow cooked to bring out all the sweetness they can be served with crusty breads, cheeses, smoked meats or crackers. I sometimes spread them on French bread and top with cheese then bake until toasty.They cook down a lot so make plenty. I add them to pasta dishes and soups, too. You can also freeze leftovers.

Onion Relish

2 lbs. Onions, chopped

3 T. oil

1 t. salt

2 T. brown sugar

¼ c. balsamic vinegar

Dash red hot pepper sauce

Paprika

Sauté onions in oil with salt over low heat for 35-45 minutes. Onions should begin to caramelize and brown without burning. Add remaining ingredients and cook slowly another 15 minutes. Adjust seasonings, if needed and serve warm with crusty bread, crackers or smoked meats.

Mushroom Spread

It seems this time of year everyone is looking for more appetizer ideas. This is a great one. Mushrooms chopped fine and cooked down into a spread. Great with crusty breads or crackers and full of rich flavor. I usually end up making a double batch right away. Partly because mushrooms cook down a lot and also because everyone eats it up quickly.

Mushroom Spread

½ lb. mushrooms, trimmed, washed and chopped

2 T. butter or oil

1 medium onion, chopped

½ t. salt

Fresh ground pepper

Dash of nutmeg

1 t. lemon juice

2 t. flour

½ c. sour cream or strained yogurt

½-1 t. dill weed

Sauté onions and mushrooms in butter or oil for 4 minutes. Add seasonings, lemon juice and flour and cook 3 minutes more. Remove from heat and stir in sour cream or yogurt and dill. Serve with pumpernickel bread, crackers or in mini cream puff shells. 

Black Forest Mini Cheesecakes

I had some cherry pie filling left over from making Danish and wanted to use it up. I also needed a dessert for dinner with a friend. I came up with these. This is a great recipe for a number of reasons. To start with it’s cheesecake, which is always a good thing. This is also a really quick recipe and simple to make. It also just makes 6 little cheesecakes. Perfect for when you don’t need a lot of something. You can just make extra batches when more is needed. Also fun for when you are craving cheesecake but don’t have the time to make a large one.

Black Forest Mini Cheesecakes

6 vanilla wafers

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1/3 c. sugar

1 t. vanilla

1 egg

chocolate syrup or sauce

cherry pie filling

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place paper liners in 6 muffin tins and place a vanilla wafer in each one. Set aside. In medium mixing bowl beat together cream cheese, sugar and vanilla until smooth. Beat in egg until just mixed. Spoon batter into prepared muffin tins.  Bake for 15- 20 minutes. Cheesecakes will puff up and then deflates a little when cooled. Once cooled top each cheesecake with a little chocolate syrup and a spoonful of cherry pie filling. Chill. Makes 6. Serves 2-3.

Place vanilla wafers in lined muffin tins

Fill with prepared batter

Bake until filling is just set

Top with chocolate syrup or sauce

Finish with cherry pie filling

Cherry Chocolate Blintzes

We made the Cherry Danish in class the other day and had some leftover cherry pie filling. I didn’t want to waste it. I also had some flour tortillas so I combined the 2 for what I think is a pretty nice dessert. Easy to make, too. First I softened the tortillas in milk for about 10 minutes. This makes them more pliable- like a slightly thicker crepe. I wanted to dress them up a little so I melted some semi-sweet (bittersweet) chocolate with a little half-and-half.  Two parts chocolate to one part of the half-and-half. I melted them in the microwave for half a minute or so then stirred until they were smooth. I put the melted chocolate in a squeeze bottle and put a nice swirl of it in the center of a tortilla. Then I added a couple of spoonfuls of the cherry pie filling. I folded up the sides a little and then folded it over- like making an egg roll.  Then I melted some butter in a pan and cooked them over medium heat until golden on both sides. I put a drizzle of the chocolate on a plate, dusted the blintz with powdered sugar and placed it on top of the chocolate. Simple and kind of elegant, too. Would be nice served with whipped cream or ice cream.

Put some melted chocolate in the center of the tortilla

Add cherry pie filling

Fold into a bundle

Brown in butter

Drizzle plate with chocolate sauce before placing blintz on top

Ready to serve

Easy Cherry Danish

If you are a baker you might balk at calling these Danish. They are not the traditional Danish we are used to. They are tasty, though, and easy to make. My Mom used to make a batch whenever she had unexpected guests. Ready in no time. I used cherry pie filling in these but you can use other fruit fillings or even make cheese Danish.

Easy Danish

 2 c. biscuit mix, like Bisquick or Jiffy Mix- I make my own.

2 T. sugar

1/2 c. butter

2/3 c. milk

assorted preserves or pie fillings or even sweetened cream cheese or ricotta for cheese Danish

1/2 c. confectioner’s sugar

milk

Combine biscuit mix and sugar. Cut in butter. Stir in milk. Drop rounded tablespoonfuls on lightly greased baking sheet. Indent middle using spoon. Leave 2-3 inches in between as they grow. Spoon preserves, or pie filling, into indents. Bake in 400 degree oven for 10-15 minutes or until lightly browned. Combine confectioner’s sugar with enough milk to make a runny glaze. Drizzle over cooled Danish. Makes 12.

Freshly drizzled with glaze

Turkey Rueben Loaf

Whether you are using leftover turkey from Thanksgiving or sliced deli turkey this is a fun and easy bread to make. By using quick-rising yeast you can make this sandwich loaf in about 1 hour. Quick enough for any day of the week. I made mine with turkey and Swiss cheese but you can make all kinds of variations, including using corned beef in place of the turkey for a traditional Rueben.

Turkey Rueben Loaf

3 ¼ c. flour

1 T. sugar

1 t. salt

1 package quick-rising yeast

1 c. hot water

1 T. oil

¼ c. thousand island dressing*

6-8 oz. thin sliced turkey- regular or smoked

4 oz. sliced Swiss cheese

1 c. sauerkraut, rinsed and squeezed dry

1 egg white, beaten

Caraway seeds

Set aside 1 cup of the flour. Combine remaining flour with the other dry ingredients in a medium bowl. Stir in water and oil and gradually stir in enough flour to make a soft dough. Turn onto lightly floured surface and knead until dough is smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes. Roll dough into a rectangle about 16 x 8. Spread dressing down center middle of dough. Top with meat slices, cheese and sauerkraut. Cut one-inch wide strips of dough from filling to edge on both sides. It will sort of look like fringe.  Alternating sides, fold strips up and over the filling at an angle.  Carefully lift loaf onto greased baking sheet and place at an angle. Cover with a towel and place sheet on top of a roasting pan half-filled with simmering water for 15 minutes. Brush with egg white and top with seeds. Bake in a preheated 400-degree for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. Cool slightly before slicing. Serve warm and refrigerate leftovers.

* You can make your own Thousand Island Dressing by combining equal parts of ketchup, mayo and sweet pickle relish.

Note: The variations for this bread are almost endless. Some favorite combinations are ham and Swiss with mustard, roast beef and cheddar, chicken, broccoli and cheese, Spinach with ricotta or feta and onions, pizza, assorted fillings. You get the idea. Use your imagination and have fun. Just be careful not to overfill, or the bread will be hard to move, use fillings that aren’t too runny and always use cold fillings.

If you want to use regular yeast use warm, rather than hot water. Also, don’t let dough rise over boiling water. After kneading cover dough and let rise 45 minutes. Punch down and assemble as in original recipe. Cover with a towel and let rise until dough looks puffy, about 40 minutes. Bake as directed above. These breads can also be frozen. 

Roll out dough and spread dressing down the center

After adding remaining fillings cut strips along both sides of the dough

Ready for folding

Pull strips over the filling overlapping them as you go

Let rise before baking

Brush with egg white and sprinkle with caraway seeds- then bake

Fresh from the oven

Challah Bread

I posted pictures yesterday of the bread in progress. Here is the recipe. Pretty basic and a really easy bread to make. This is the recipe my Mom always made. I must admit to sometimes adding some raisins to the dough- about a cup added in near the end of the kneading. This time I just did the classic recipe. Crunchy crust. Great sandwich bread and a nice texture for French toast, too.

Challah

2 c. hot water

1 T. each sugar, salt and oil

1 package active dry yeast

¼ c. warm water

About 8 cups flour

2 beaten eggs

Poppy or sesame seeds, optional

In large bowl combine hot water, salt, sugar and oil. Dissolve yeast in warm water in small bowl and add to oil/water mix. Stir in 1 cup of the flour and eggs, reserving 2 tablespoons of the eggs for later. Gradually stir in enough of the flour to make soft dough. When dough pulls away from sides of bowl remove to floured surface. Knead dough, adding flour as necessary about 8-10 minutes. Dough should be smooth and elastic. Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, turning to grease top, cover with a towel and allow to rise in a warm, draft free place until doubled, about 1 hour.

Punch dough down and divide into 8 equal pieces. Roll three of the pieces into 12- inch ropes. Place in a greased 9×5-inch loaf pan. Take one of the remaining pieces of dough and divide into thirds. Roll the pieces into 3-nine inch ropes and place on top of the braid already in the pan. Repeat with remaining dough and cover. Allow to rise until doubled in bulk, about 1 hour.  Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Brush loaves with reserved eggs and sprinkle with sesame or poppy seeds, if desired. Bake 40-45 minutes. When done loaves will be nicely browned and sound hollow when tapped. Makes 2 loaves.       

Note: Bread dough can also be placed on greased baking sheets instead of in loaf pans. The result will be longer and flatter, but very pretty.

Starting to rise

Brush with egg and sprinkle with sesame seeds right before baking

Warm from the oven