Category: Cooking

Chicken with Lemon Sauce

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Chicken with Lemon Sauce

Chicken with Lemon Sauce

I did a cooking class yesterday and made lamb with lemon sauce. I loved it and wanted to make some when I got home- but alas I didn’t have any lamb defrosted. I also didn’t have the romaine lettuce the recipe called for. Part of the trouble with not going to the grocery store is having to swap our ingredients sometimes. I decided to swap out a few things and the end result was quite nice. I used boneless chicken thighs in place of the lamb and a combination of shredded cabbage and baby bok choy for the romaine lettuce. Frankly, I love the lemon sauce so much pretty much anything I served it with was going to taste pretty  good.

Here is the lamb recipe with my substitutions noted. Since I had boneless thighs I didn’t have to cook the dish as long, probably simmered it for 30 minutes in total.

Fricassee of Lamb with Lettuce

2 1/2-3 lbs. lamb shoulder, or use pork- I used boneless chicken thighs

3 medium onions, chopped

2-3 heads romaine lettuce, washed and sliced thin- I used 2 c. shredded cabbage and 2 heads of baby bok choy, sliced

1/2 c. olive oil

Egg and Lemon Sauce -recipe follows

Cut the meat into serving pieces. Heat the oil in a pot and sauté the meat. Add salt, pepper, the onions, lettuce and a small amount of water. Cover the pot and let the fricassee simmer for about an hour. Prepare the egg and lemon sauce, pour it over the fricassee and serve.

 Egg and Lemon Sauce

1-2 c. stock

2 eggs

juice of 1 lemon

flour, about 1-2 tablespoons, depending on how thick you want the sauce

Bring stock to the simmer. Beat eggs well. Mix the flour with the lemon juice.

Add to the eggs and keep beating. Add the hot broth slowly while you keep beating. Pour the egg and lemon sauce in the pot and bring to a simmer, stirring constantly. Makes 1-2 cups. For a thinner sauce eliminate the flour.

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Feed the Birds

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Suet/seed bowl for the birds

Suet/seed bowl for the birds

With cold weather it’s a great time to fill those bird feeders. Times are hard for them in cold weather. I have been feeding birds my whole life. I have fond memories of building a bird feeder with my dad when I was just a kid. Over the years I’ve fed the birds all sorts of things but I find myself most often going for black oil sunflower seeds. They are a favorite food for many birds. You can also make them a special high-fat treat for extra cold days. I melted together some suet and then combined black oil sunflower seeds with some nuts and raisins. I put the mixture in little bowls to harden. Once firmed up I dipped the bottom of the bowls in hot water for a few seconds to loosen the mixture.  I then placed the suet blocks in old onion bags for easy hanging. Here are some other bird-friendly recipes. 

Bird Pudding

1 c. melted suet or shortening

1 c. sugar

5 c. water

2 c. cornmeal

1/2 flour

2 c. cold water

1 c. raisins seeds or nutmeats

Bring fat, sugar and water to the boil and remove from the heat. Stir in the cornmeal and flour and stir until smooth. Add cold water and raisins, seeds or nuts, stirring until mixed  well.  Pour in loaf pan and store in fridge. Place slices of the pudding on feeding trays. Note: this is a cold weather treat. 

Songbird Muffins

1 c. each cornmeal, whole wheat flour and bread crumbs

1/2 t. baking soda

3/4 c. dried fruit, like raisins or currants

1/2 c. rendered suet or shortening

1 c. water

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and stir in fruit. Add fat and water and stir to combine. Spoon into greased muffin tins and bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Place muffins on feeder trays or stick on branches.

Hang suet mixture in a mesh bag

Hang suet mixture in a mesh bag

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Swedish Yellow Split Pea Soup

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Swedish Yellow Split Pea Soup

Swedish Yellow Split Pea Soup

With the extra cold weather back again I can’t stop making soup. Everyone seems to simmering a pot of it. This is a great soup. Made with yellow split peas it in enhanced with the addition of smoky flavor from either smoked pork or turkey. It is not pureed as many other pea soups but rather served with the yellow peas cooked until tender but still intact. It is filling, rich and light at the same time. Great served alone or with a rye bread.  

Swedish Yellow Split Pea Soup

1 lb. yellow split peas, rinsed

2 qts. Boiling water

1 bay leaf

1 c. chopped onion

1 tsp. Dried marjoram

1/4 t. ginger

dash nutmeg

1/2 t. pepper

1 T. salt, or to taste

Ham shank bone plus 2 cups diced ham or 1 smoked turkey piece (drumstick, thigh, neck or wing) plus 2 cups diced turkey, optional

Note: you can use 1 teaspoon liquid smoke if omitting meat.

Combine peas, boiling water and bay leaf and simmer, covered, about an hour, stirring occasionally. Remove bay leaf. Add remaining ingredients, except diced meat and salt, and cook, covered, over low heat for about 1-1 1/2 hours. Peas and meat should be tender. Remove meat and cool, cutting any usable meat off the bone and returning to soup along with additional diced meat, if desired. Season to taste. Serve with a pumpernickel bread or Swedish Limpa bread. Freezes well. Serves 6-8.

 

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Baking Pita Bread

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Pita dough rising

Pita dough rising

After tasting fresh homemade pita bread it’s nearly impossible for me to eat the stuff I find in stores here. It is fun to make and pretty easy. Although the recipe calls for placing the rolled out dough directly on the oven rack I place mine on baking sheets in the oven. Just a little easier and neater. I also used about half whole wheat flour in this batch.

Pita Bread

 4 ½- 4 ¾ c. flour

1 pkt. Active dry yeast

1 ½ t. sugar

1 ½ t. salt

1 ¾ c. water

2 T. oil

In large bowl combine 2 cups of the flour with other dry ingredients. Heat water and oil to 120-130 degrees (warm) and add to flour mixture in bowl beating until smooth. Beat three minutes then begin stirring in enough flour to make a soft dough. Knead on floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 10 minutes. Cover dough with plastic wrap and then a towel and let rest on board 20 minutes. Punch dough down and divide into 12 pieces. Shape each into a smooth ball and place on board, allowing space in between. Cover and let rise 30 minutes. Pre-heat oven to 500 degrees. Roll dough balls into circles. Place 3 circles at a time directly on oven rack. They will puff up and brown in about three minutes. Remove to rack to cool and repeat with remaining dough. Makes 12.

Roll dough out into circles right before baking

Roll dough out into circles right before baking

Fresh baked pita bread

Fresh baked pita bread

 

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Breakfast Pita Pizza

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Breakfast Pita Pizza

Breakfast Pita Pizza

I like to use pita bread as a crust for pizza sometimes. I normally go with traditional toppings. This morning I decided to use one of my homemade pita breads for a hearty breakfast style pizza. I started with the pita bread- topped it with a scrambled egg and a drizzle of barbecue sauce. Then I added a cooked sausage patty cubed up. Finished with a little shredded cheddar cheese and then popped it in the toaster oven to heat through. Hearty breakfast for a chilly day.

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Corned Beef “Calzones”

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Corned Beef Calzones

Corned Beef Calzones

I made these for a friend a while back and we were talking about them the other day. I decided to make them again. They are almost a Reuben but I didn’t include the sauerkraut. You could, if you liked. I sometimes make these with thousand island dressing  inside them as well, but I decided to leave it out and serve it on the side instead.  I thought I would share the recipe with you. Thanks, Jared, for the inspiration.

Corned Beef Calzones

3 ¼ c. flour

1 c. rye flour

1 T. sugar

1 t. salt

1 package quick-rising yeast

1⅓ c. hot water

1 T. oil

1 lb. thin sliced corned beef

8 oz. shredded Swiss cheese

1 egg , beaten

Caraway seeds, optional

Set aside 1 cup of the all-purpose 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. Cover dough and let rest 20 minutes. Divide dough into 8 pieces and roll one piece into a 6-8 -inch circle. In the middle of the dough place 1 ounce of the Swiss cheese and 2 ounces of the corned beef. Brush the edge of the dough with water. Fold over the dough in half and press the edges to seal. Brush the edge again with water and roll the edge over again. It will give you a prettier look and seal the calzone better. Repeat with remaining dough and fillings. Place calzones on greased baking sheets- or on a baking sheet with a silicone liner or parchment paper liner. You will end up with 8 calzones in all. Only put 4 on one baking sheet. Cover and let rest 15 minutes while preheating the oven to 400 degrees. Before placing calzones in the oven brush with beaten egg and sprinkle with the caraway seeds, if you like. Also poke a few holes in the tops with a fork to help steam to escape while baking. I put both baking sheets in the oven at the same time and switch them halfway through baking. Bake in a preheated 400-degree for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. If baking both at once switch them after 10 minutes or so. Cool slightly before eating. Serve warm and refrigerate leftovers.

 If you want to use regular yeast use warm, rather than hot water. Also, allow a little more time for the dough to rise the first time, about 40 minutes. Everything else will work the same.

Sealing the edge

Sealing the edge

Ready for the oven

Ready for the oven

Fresh from the oven

Fresh from the oven

These are really nice served with thousand island dressing. You can buy it but I prefer to make my own.  Just combine equal amounts of ketchup, mayo and sweet pickle relish.

equal parts of ketchup, mayo and sweet relish

equal parts of ketchup, mayo and sweet relish

Stir to combine

Stir to combine

 

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Irish Soda Bread

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Irish Soda Bread

Irish Soda Bread

It’s that time of year. But I confess to making Irish soda bread all through the year. It is easy and so good. Right from the oven with some butter and jam. Yum.

Irish Soda Bread

2 c. flour

½ t. each baking powder and baking soda

¼ t. salt

2 T. butter

¾ c. raisins

2 t. caraway seeds

1 egg. Beaten

1 c. buttermilk

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Dust a baking sheet with a little flour. Combine dry ingredients in bowl and cut in butter to resemble coarse crumbs. Add raisins and caraway seeds. Combine egg and milk and set 2 tablespoons of this mixture aside. Add remaining milk mixture to flour mixture and combine just until dough forms into a ball. Place on baking sheet, brush with reserved egg mixture and cut a crisscross on top of loaf. Bake about 25 minutes or until bread sounds hollow. Makes 1.   

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Irish Soda Bread Scones

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Irish Soda Bread Scones

Irish Soda Bread Scones

I was getting ready to make some Irish Soda Bread but then I got to thinking about scones. Couldn’t make up my mind so I combined them in this recipe. They came out really great. A little crispy on the outside and moist on the inside. Wonderful all on their own but even better with butter and jam or perhaps some Devonshire clotted cream.

  Irish Soda Bread Scones

2 c. flour

3 T. sugar

2 t. baking powder

1 t. baking soda

½ t. salt

1/3 c. butter

½ c. raisins

1 t. caraway seeds

2/3 c. buttermilk

1 egg

Milk

Extra sugar for sprinkling

Preheat oven to 425 degrees and lightly grease a baking sheet. Combine dry ingredients in medium bowl and cut in butter to resemble coarse crumbs. Stir in raisins and caraway seeds. Beat together buttermilk and egg and add to flour mixture, stirring with fork until mixture just coming together. Turn onto floured surface and knead 5-6 strokes or until ball of dough holds together. Dust an 8-inch round cake with  flour. Press dough into cake pan. Invert pan over onto prepared baking sheet. I find if I do this quickly the dough comes out more easily. Remove cake pan. This will give you a perfect 8-inch circle of dough.  With a sharp, floured knife cut dough into 8 wedges. Brush top with milk and sprinkle with extra sugar. Bake 14-16 minutes. Makes 8. 

Fresh from the oven

Fresh from the oven

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Venetian Cabbage

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Venetian Cabbage

Venetian Cabbage

I love cabbage in all sorts of dishes. Maybe it’s from my Eastern European roots but I like cabbage in salads, soups and side dishes. I really love it prepared this way. Smokiness from the bacon and a hint of rosemary and garlic. If you are looking for an easy and tasty way to prepare cabbage try this recipe for Venetian Cabbage. I think you will be pleased.

Venetian Cabbage

1/2 c. minced pancetta (Italian bacon) or thick bacon

2 cloves garlic, minced

pinch of rosemary, minced- I used a bit more

1 T. olive oil

2 1/2 lbs. green cabbage, trimmed and shredded

1/2 c. chicken stock or white wine

Cook bacon, garlic and rosemary and oil in saucepan until mixture starts to sizzle. Stir in the cabbage, tossing to coat well. Cook, covered, over low heat for an hour adding the stock or wine a little at a time. Add salt to taste before serving. Serves 6.

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Polynesian Cole Slaw

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Polynesian Cole Slaw

Polynesian Cole Slaw

I got this recipe from a friend many years ago. We made it in class the other night. It’s a nice variation on a salad I enjoy a lot of different ways. The crunch of the cabbage goes well with the sweetness of the fruit. Since cabbage is on sale everywhere lately I thought I would share the recipe with you.

             

    Polynesian Cole Slaw

4 c. shredded cabbage

1 (11oz.) can mandarin oranges, drained or 2 mandarin oranges, peeled and separated

1 (8 oz.) can pineapple tidbits, drained, reserving 2 T. of the juice

1/4 c. mayonnaise

1/2  t. fresh grated ginger

1/4 t. each nutmeg and white pepper

Combine cabbage with fruit and set aside. Combine remaining ingredients including reserved juice to make dressing and pour over cabbage mixture, tossing gently to coat. Chill several hours or overnight before serving. Serves 8.

 

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