The Charmed Kitchen

Smoky Sprouts

I was going to start this post talking about how much the flavor of bacon goes with Brussels sprouts. Oh, I would have come up with another word for it- maybe “compliments” or “enhances.”  But I feel like it’s been said before- a lot. Not just by me, either. Truth is the earthy taste of Brussels sprouts are fine all on their own- or roasted lightly and tossed with olive oil and maybe some garlic. I like Brussels sprouts so much I am happy just steaming them and eating them pretty much plain. Still, when I sauteed some up the other day with bacon, shallots and a little fresh parsley I was in heaven.

Smoky Sprouts

I washed and trimmed the sprouts and set them aside. Then, in a large skillet, I cooked up about 4 or 5 thick slices of bacon, which I had cut into 1-inch pieces. They were pretty meaty slices so there wasn’t enough fat to worry about draining off. I added a couple of small shallots that I had chopped up- but a small onion would be fine, too. Once the shallots were wilted I added the Brussels sprouts, about a pound, and cooked them until they were tender and a little browned. I think that extra browning adds more flavor. I finished the dish with some fresh chopped parsley, salt and a little pepper. Simple and quite yummy. You could also add some grated cheese on the top, if you like.

I don’t mind complicated and long cooking dishes sometimes. But for me, often, there isn’t that much time and meals that are full of flavor and don’t take a lot of time or too many ingredients are just what I am looking for. This is one of those dishes. Ready in no time and full of flavor.

Rosemary Biscuits

I really enjoy baking with herbs. They add so much flavor to both sweet and savory baked goods. I love these rosemary biscuits. You can have have them ready for baking in just a few minutes. One of life’s simple pleasures is enjoying homemade biscuits warm from the oven.

Rosemary Biscuits

3 oz. cream cheese, cubed
1 ¾ c. biscuit mix, like Bisquick, I use homemade.
½ c. milk
2 t. minced fresh rosemary or ¾ t. dried

In mixing bowl cut cream cheese into biscuit mix until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in milk and rosemary and stir until soft dough forms. Turn dough onto lightly floured surface and knead until dough holds together, about ten times. Shape dough into a 6-inch square and cut into 4 3-inch squares. Cut each square in half diagonally and place on a lightly greased baking sheet. Bake in a preheated 400-degree oven for 10-12 minutes or until light brown. Makes 8.

Skillet Barbecue Chicken

This dish tastes so good and requires very little effort to put it together. The secret is using three ingredients that each bring plenty of flavor to the table: Barbecue sauce, apricot preserves and spicy mustard. Start to finish, Skillet Barbecue Chicken is ready in little more than 30 minutes- less if you use boneless chicken. It’s a great dinner when you want homemade- but don’t have a lot of time.

Skillet Barbecue Chicken

Oil
3 lbs. Chicken drumsticks or thighs
1 c. barbecue sauce
½ c. apricot preserves
1 T. spicy mustard
In large skillet cook chicken in oil until lightly browned. Cover and cook over medium low heat until cooked through, about 25 minutes. Turn chicken occasionally to prevent burning. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over chicken. Heat until bubbly. Serves 4-6.

Chicken in Hot Tomato Vinaigrette

I like chicken with tomato sauce but wanted to do something different than my usual marinara. By adding a couple of different vinegars, some citrus, herbs  and a little heat I ended up with a sauce that is sort of…. well….more like a salad dressing. At least the flavors remind me of salad dressing.  I used my home canned tomatoes, but you could use store canned. It took only a few minutes to put together. Honestly, the hardest part was remembering how to spell vinaigrette.

Chicken in Hot Tomato Vinaigrette

1 can (14 oz.) tomatoes, stewed, diced or whole, large pieces broken up, if needed
1 clove garlic, minced
1 T. balsamic or red wine vinegar
1 T. lemon juice
1 t. sugar
1/2 t. lemon zest
1/2 t. crushed red pepper flakes – or to taste
salt to taste
1 T. chopped fresh basil or 1 t. dried
1 T. chopped parsley or 1 t. dried
1½-2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken, cubed
1 T. oil
1 T. butter
Parmesan cheese and additional parsley for garnish

Combine first 7 ingredients and simmer together until thickened, about 20 minutes. Add salt to taste and herbs. Simmer 5 minutes longer. Meanwhile heat oil and butter in skillet and sauté chicken about 5 minutes or until chicken is cooked. Add sauce and simmer about 2 minutes longer. Serve alone or tossed with rice or pasta. Garnish with cheese and a little more parsley. Serves 4-6.

Candied Orange Peels

During the winter months, when citrus is in season, I find myself eating a lot of oranges. I also find myself with a lot of orange peels. I dry some and powder it up for use in baking and cooking.  But there is always more. A dear friend of mine loves candied orange peel so I am sure to make her at least a couple of batches this time of year. It’s a pretty easy thing to make and a nifty way of turning something that might otherwise be discarded into something tasty. You can also candy other citrus peel this way like grapefruit or even make candied ginger by using slices of fresh ginger. Best to use organic oranges, since you are eating the peels.

Candied Orange Peel

2 large oranges ( you can also use 1 grapefruit or 3 lemons)

or 1 lb. of ginger root*

¾ c. water

¾ c. sugar, plus extra for rolling

3 T. light corn syrup, optional

Remove peel from fruit using a sharp knife. Try to get the peel off in 4 pieces. Cut the peel into ¼-inch wide strips. Place peel 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 with the corn syrup. Boil 2-3 minutes and then add the peel. 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 peels on top of the sugar. Toss the peels around until cooled adding more sugar if needed.  Place peels on a drying rack for 24 hours before storing. Once dried you can also dip one end of the peels in dark chocolate. Makes ½ pound.

* If making the candied ginger root peel and cut into 1/4- inch slices. Then cut the slices into 1/4-inch thick strips

Ham and Cheese Strata

I really love this dish when I have company coming over. It is easy to make and always goes over well. Since it is assembled ahead of time you can make it the day before and then just bake it when you want it. What is a strata? The simple answer is that it just means layers. Strata is a dish that can be made so many ways with all sorts of ingredients. In this strata you make sandwiches, top them with a mixture of egg and milk and then bake it up. I used rye bread, ham and Swiss cheese, but you can use different bread, cheese and meats (or even no meat)  to make any number of combinations. I have made a Reuben strata with corned beef, Swiss, sauerkraut and thousand island dressing.

Ham and Cheese Strata

12 slices bread, crusts removed if desired – I used rye
6 slices cheese – I used Swiss
1/4 c. diced green onions
1/2 c. chopped sweet pepper
2 c. diced cooked ham or turkey ham
3 eggs
2 c. milk
1 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper

Place six slices of bread on bottom of 2-quart oblong casserole. Top each slice of bread with a slice of cheese. Top cheese with the onions, peppers and ham. Top with remaining bread and cut each “sandwich” in half diagonally. Combine remaining ingredients and pour over sandwiches. Cover dish and let stand several hours or overnight in the fridge. Bake uncovered in a 350-degree oven for 40-45 minutes, or until puffed and set. Serves 6.

Kahlua Chocolate Walnut Squares

Made these in class yesterday and everyone liked them a lot. They are almost brownie like in texture with the wonderful flavor of the Kahlua in both the batter and the brown butter frosting. Nuts and chocolate chips are added to the batter as an added bonus.  It was a class for the University of Mount Union. I always have such a good time there with my friend, Bonnie, the volunteers, staff and of course the lovely people who come to my classes. The class is at their nature center and while it was a very snowy day most everyone was able to shovel out and get to the class.

Kahlua Chocolate Walnut Squares

1 ¼ c. all purpose flour
¾ t. baking powder
½ t. salt
½ c. butter, softened
¾ c. packed brown sugar
1 egg
¼ c. coffee liqueur
1-c. chocolate chips
1/3 c. walnuts
1 T. coffee liqueur (for tops of bars)

Brown butter icing

2 T. butter
1 T. coffee liqueur
2 t. milk
1 1/3 c. powdered sugar

Walnut halves or chopped walnuts

Combine dry ingredients and set aside. In large bowl cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in egg then stir in liqueur, then flour mixture. Fold in chips and nuts. Turn into greased 7×11 inch pan and even out. Bake in a 350-degree oven for about 30 minutes. Top should spring back when touched lightly. Cool in pan 15 minutes then brush with remaining liqueur. When cool spread with brown butter icing and top with nuts. Makes 24 bars.

To make icing:
Brown butter in small saucepan. Do not burn. Remove from heat and beat in remaining icing ingredients. Spread on bars. Allow frosting to set up before cutting.

Shrimp and Bacon Chowder

I love the combination of shrimp and bacon. When I was looking for a quick dinner the other night I knew I would be using them together. It was a really cold night so I decided to go with a chowder. I rooted around my fridge and pantry for the rest of the ingredients and ended up with a very satisfying dinner. Even better because a friend was able to come over and share it with me.

Shrimp and Bacon Corn Chowder

6 slices bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 onion, sliced
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
2 medium potatoes, peeled and cubed
1½ c. chicken stock
1 can cream corn*
½ c. corn- fresh or frozen
1½ c. half and half
½ c. chopped fresh parsley
12 oz. raw shrimp, peeled and deveined
Salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
Dash of hot sauce

In soup pot, cook bacon until almost done. Add onion and continue cooking until onion is cooked. Spoon out most of the bacon fat. Add the carrots, potatoes and stock and simmer, covered, until the veggies are tender. Add cream corn, corn and half and half and bring up to a simmer. Add parsley and simmer, covered, 10 minutes. Add shrimp and cook another 5 minutes or until shrimp is just cooked. Adjust seasonings and serve. Serves 3-4.

*I decided to use a can of cream corn as the base. When I was a kid my Mother would make me something she called cream corn soup. She rarely used prepackaged foods and made wonderful homemade soups all the time. I think it was on one of those days when she was just really busy. To make her cream corn soup she would empty the can of corn into a saucepan. Then she filled the can with milk and added that, too. A little salt and pepper and the soup was done. Just before serving she’d put a small pat of butter in the soup. As a kid I just loved it. I must admit I don’t eat cream corn soup anymore, but as a base the cream corn can really make a nice chowder.