The Charmed Kitchen

Chicken Florentine

After picking up some spinach the other day I was trying to decide what to do with it. I remembered a dish my Mother used to make. Pork Chops Florentine. Basically, pork chops baked with spinach. Mom added potatoes to the dish, too. I remember how much I loved it and how I thought there was never enough spinach. Spinach cooks down a lot so prepare to use more than you might think. I used a one pound package of spinach and could have used more. It was quite easy to make and since I bought 2 pounds of spinach I’ll likely do something similar with the rest of it. I didn’t have pork chops so I used 4 bone-in chicken thighs but any cut of chicken would have worked. Boneless will take a lot less time to cook. Pork chops would also be wonderful in this dish.

Season the chicken pieces with salt and pepper. Brown the  chicken pieces in a skillet. Once it’s nice and brown on both sides turn down the heat and cover the skillet. Cook until juices run clear when chicken is poked with a fork. This took about 30 minutes with the thighs. Remove the chicken from the pan and spoon out most of the fat. Add 1 large onion, sliced, and cook until golden. Add the spinach- I used a pound and it was freshly washed so it had some water on the leaves. Stir the spinach over medium high heat until it wilts down. You can even turn the heat down and cover the pan to speed up the process. While the spinach is wilting place 1 cup of milk or half and half in a jar with a tight-fitting lid. Add 2 T. flour- put on the lid and shake until the mixture is smooth. Pour milk mixture over the wilted spinach and stir until mixture becomes thickened and bubbly. Add salt and pepper to taste and a some grated nutmeg. I also added a dash of hot sauce. Return chicken to the pan, turn down the heat and simmer for 5 minutes or until everything is nice and hot.

Chocolate Truffles

These decadent little bites of chocolate are always a nice gift for the holidays. I like to take a box to parties as a thank-you to the host or hostess. These are easy to make, too. Only 4 ingredients and you can make a batch in no time. You’ll need 12 ounces of bittersweet chocolate. You can use 2 cups of chocolate chips or splurge and get a really nice high end chocolate. Just up to your own taste and budget.  Another thing to remember- one of the rules when working with chocolate- always wear brown.

Truffles

1/3 c. Whipping cream

6 T. butter, cut into small pieces

2 c. chocolate chips- or 12 oz. chocolate, grated or chopped coarsely

Unsweetened cocoa

Heat cream to boiling in small saucepan. Stir in butter and cook until melted. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate until melted. Place in shallow bowl and chill until firm, at least a couple of hours. Roll mixture into 1-inch balls and roll in cocoa. Sometimes the mixture is quite firm and hard to roll into perfectly smooth balls. You can roll them out as smooth as you can, roll in cocoa and then roll again to smooth out. You might want to give them another roll in the cocoa after that.  Makes about 30.

Mutton roast

I never had mutton before today. I’ve had lamb plenty of times. When lamb is over a year in age it is called mutton. I got my roast from a local farm- thanks to Kaey Brey. She raises lamb and I had enjoyed several of her lamb roasts before. I was not sure what to expect. Kaey told me to braise it for a long time. It is a shoulder roast- even with lamb a shoulder would take long cooking with moist heat. Since mutton is tougher I was told to cook it a much longer time. I set it up in a covered roaster on a rack. This way the fat would drip off and the meat would not be sitting in it while cooking. I did a simple rub on the meat- salt, fresh ground pepper, garlic powder and paprika. In the bottom of the roaster I put red wine, some chicken stock, and an assortment of aromatic veggies. I cooked it at 350 degrees for 8 hours. The house smelled amazing and the dog kept following me to the kitchen- sure that what he was smelling certainly must be ready. I did have to add more liquid a couple of times. Make sure your roaster has a very tight lid or check on it from time to time so the liquid does not run out. The plan was to share the mutton with Jonathan the next day so I cooled the roast and took out the bones. Well, in the interest of full disclosure the bones fell away from the roast when I took it out of the roasting pan. It was very tender. I strained out the pan juices and placed all in the fridge. This morning I took the roast and placed it in the crock pot. I added the de-fatted pan juices and set it to heat up while we ran errands. When we got back we enjoyed the mutton with a tossed salad and some steamed sweet potatoes. It was really good. The flavor and texture reminded me of beef. Dense and very filling. Since the roast was over 7 pounds we’ll be having mutton a few more times. I think I’ll make shepherd’s pie from at least some of it. It makes me wonder why we don’t see more mutton in the market. It was really tasty and rich, while not being gamey. Don’t know if you ever had mutton but if you haven’t I hope you get a chance to try it sometime.

Ready for the oven

If you are looking for holiday gifts and want things you won’t find anywhere else you have to come to Pilgrim Church in Tremont this Saturday. The craft show is also for a good cause. This is an annual fundraiser for Women Speak Out for Peace and Justice. I feel honored to be a part of it this year. They have an eclectic group of vendors and artists. A few of the artists  only do this show. It is a lot of fun and well worth checking out.

I will be selling my cookbooks, homemade jams and jellies, herb seasoning packets, beer bread mixes, bean soup mixes and more. This will be your first chance to get some of the very limited supply of Pineapple Ginger Preserves, too.

Here is the location and time.

Pilgrim Congregational Church

2592 W. 14th Cleveland, Ohio

Saturday, Dec. 7, 2013

10- 4:00 p.m

I hope the see you there. Bring a friend or two.

Stuffed French Toast

Whenever I make this dish I remember a Winter brunch in the park with friends. It was February and cabin fever led to the idea to meet up in the park for brunch. We cooked everything over the grill or on a camp stove. It was pretty cold. We still had a great time. I made this French toast and it was a big hit. It’s even more fun when you are cooking inside. Around the holidays I seem to have more company for breakfast and brunch and I almost always make this version of French toast. You can stuff the bread the night before and keep it in the fridge until ready to cook which will save you time in the morning. 

Stuffed French Toast

 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened

1 t. vanilla

1/2 c. chopped nuts

1 16-oz. loaf French bread

4 eggs

1 c. whipping cream or half and half

1 t. vanilla

1/2 t. ground nutmeg

Mix together cream cheese, vanilla and nuts. Set aside. Cut bread into 10-12 1 1/2 inch slices. Cut pocket in each slice and fill with 1 1/2 T. filling. Combine eggs and whipping cream with remaining vanilla and nutmeg. Use tongs to dip the bread, taking care not to squeeze out the filling. Cook toast on lightly greased griddle until browned on both sides.  Keep toast warm in oven until ready to serve. Serve with maple syrup, warmed preserves or powdered sugar. Makes 10-12 slices.

Mini S’mores

If you find yourself cooped up with the kids this is a fun thing to make with them. Since you are working with an open flame always provide adult supervision. My niece Elia and I had fun making these a couple of days ago. Great for both rainy and snowy days, they can also be made around a picnic table on a warm summer evening.

Mini S’mores

mini marshmallows

toothpicks

candle

graham cracker cereal- we also thought tiny graham cracker bears would have worked

mini chocolate chips

Set up a candle on a sturdy surface. We placed everything in a jelly roll pan. Place marshmallows on a toothpick and hold over candle flame until toasted. Place a few mini chocolate chips on a piece of cereal. Add the marshmallow and use a second piece of cereal to secure it. Slide marshmallow off the toothpick.

Toast mini marshmallows over a candle

Turkey Lo Mein

Just thought I’d share another recipe for turkey. Seems like a lot of us have leftovers. This one uses pasta and Asian flavors for a simple dish that is ready in no time at all. Tastes pretty good, too.

Turkey Lo Mein

1 onion, chopped

 2 T. oil

1 can sliced water chestnuts, drained

1/2 c. green peas- you could also use green beans

2 c. diced cooked turkey

8 oz. angel hair pasta -I use a very fine noodle I get at the Asian market

soy sauce to taste

 Hoisen sauce or oyster sauce to taste- you could also use stir-fry sauce

 sesame oil

chopped green onions

Heat water for pasta. Heat oil in skillet and cook onion until browned. Add water chestnuts and cook 1 minute longer. While onion is cooking cook pasta. Add peas to onion mixture and stir to combine. Add the turkey and heat through.  Drain pasta and toss into turkey mixture. Season with soy sauce and what ever Asian sauce you have on hand. Drizzle with sesame oil and top with green onions. Serves 4.

Very thin Asian pasta

Turkey With Tortellini

If you are looking for another way to use leftover turkey I would suggest pairing it with some cheese tortellini. I did it last week for dinner with friends and it came out great. I used frozen cheese tortellini, leftover turkey, broccoli and a creamy tomato sauce. Simple and very tasty.

Turkey With Tortellini

1 lb. cheese tortellini, cooked and drained

2-3 c. cubed cooked turkey

2-3 c. cooked broccoli, chopped

2 T. butter or oil

2 T. flour

1 c. half and half or milk, warmed

2 c. stewed tomatoes- I used my canned tomatoes- you could substitute a 14 oz. can of tomatoes

salt and pepper to taste

fresh chopped parsley

In bowl combine tortellini with turkey and broccoli and place and a lightly greased casserole. In saucepan melt butter and add flour whisking until smooth. If using oil just combine oil and flour in pan and whisk until smooth. Add  half and half and cook, stirring often until thickened and bubbly. Add tomatoes and heat through. Season to taste. Puree sauce and pour over the turkey mixture. Sprinkle with the parsley. Bake in a 350 degree oven until heated through and lightly browned around the edges- about 40 minutes.

Sweet Potatoes

I just wanted to clear something up. With all the sweet potato and “yam” recipes circulating it seemed like a good time for this post. Are you eating sweet potatoes or yams? Well, if you live in North America you are having sweet potatoes. No matter what the produce department labels them everything in the store is, botanically speaking, a sweet potato. Red, orange and yellow, big and small – all are sweet potatoes.

So where did the yam thing start? Well, many years ago the state of Louisiana had an abundant crop of sweet potatoes. They wanted to sell them in a competitive marketplace so they decided to call them yams. Just a name change in an effort to give their product an edge over the competition. You’ll often still see them sold as Louisiana Yams.

There are yams- they are larger and quite starchy. They might be found in specialty markets in the States, but they are NOT in your local grocery store. A sweet potato by other name will taste as sweet.

Candied Ginger

I posted a recipe recently using candied ginger. It was a recipe for pineapple preserves. I got so much response about the candied ginger (how to use it, where to get it) that I decided to post the recipe for making your own. I make it several times a year. I use the ginger in baking and just as a snack. It isn’t hard to make at all and keeps just about forever. It also could make a nice gift.

Candied Ginger

1 lb. fresh ginger root

¾ c. water

¾ c. sugar, plus extra for rolling

Remove peel from ginger using a peeler  or a sharp knife. Slice ginger into 1/4 -inch slices and then cut the slices into 1/4-inch thick strips. Place ginger in a pot with cold water and bring to a boil. Boil 1 minute, drain, and rinse under cold water. Repeat process 2 more times. Return to pan with fresh water and boil 15 minutes. Drain and pat dry. Bring ¾ c. water and ¾ c. sugar to boil in sauce pan. Boil 2-3 minutes and then add the ginger. Simmer, stirring occasionally until all but a spoonful of the syrup is left. This should take about 10 minutes. On a wax-paper lined baking sheet sprinkle 1 cup of sugar and arrange the ginger on top of the sugar. Toss the ginger around until cooled adding more sugar if needed.  Place ginger on a drying rack for 24 hours before storing. Makes 3/4 pound.

Select firm, fresh ginger

Cut into 1/4-inch thick strips

Ginger cooking in water

Simmer in water/sugar mixture until most of the liquid is gone

Toss in sugar to coat

Place on cooling rack to dry for 24 hours before storing