Key Lime Cake Recipe - IN RICE COOKER!!

Can you believe that you can bake in a rice cooker??  YES YOU CAN!!

Key Lime Cake Recipe 

 

1/2 pkg yellow cake mix (Mix the whole thing and make cupcakes from the extra not used here.)
1/2 can of limeade concentrate, thawed
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 carton of Cool Whip
1 key lime (regular lime if you can't find a key lime), halved and sliced in half moons.



1.  Mix cake mix according to directions on package and place the mix into lightly oiled inner pot of the rice cooker.  Then use regular cook setting; it should take about 40 minutes.  Don't worry if it switched to Keep Warm.

2.  While cake is cooking in the rice cooker, mix up the thawed limeade concentrate and 1/4 cup powdered sugar – you may add more or less sugar to suit your taste.

3.  Once the cake is done, place it in a casserole dish with high sides and  cool for about 15 minutes, then pierce it with a tooth picks or a skewer about every 2 inches and pour the lemonade/sugar mix over it.  Place in refrigerator an hour or two to cool.

5.  Right before serving you can frost with Cool whip and line up the lime wedges along the edges.

Nacho Ravioli Bake

Ok, what does that mean??  Nachos and Ravioli???  YES!  It has many good reasons for being a great dish.  First, it adds variety to ravioli.  Second, it allows you to make a full meal in one pan, veggies and all!  And third, it allows you to cut back on the white pasta carbs.

Here is how you do it:

Ingredients:

2 28 ounce bags frozen ravioli
2 cans fat free refried beans.  (If you like it spicy, use the spicy variety.)
1 large can tomato puree
2 large cans diced tomatoes
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
3 cups black beans or any beans you like (Canned beans are fine; I make dried beans and freeze in 1 cup portions.)

Preheat oven to 350F

I use a very large roasting pan/lasagne pan size.  But this can be made in any size casserole

In a large casserole dish pour half of the tomato puree.  Place one layer of the ravioli (still frozen) and then begin layering the refried beans (spreading with a spatula), the black beans, the cheddar cheese and the diced tomatoes.  Depending on the size of your casserole you will have at least 3 layers.  So plan accordingly and only use 1/3 of your ingredients at a time.

When you reach the top layer, end with the cheese and pour the last half of the tomato puree over the top.  Be sure all the ravioli is submerged in the liquid.  The secret to being able to cook the ravioli from the frozen state is to keep them under the liquid.  Cover with foil

Bake covered for 45 minutes.  Remove foil and bake additional 15 minutes or until cheese is bubbly.  Let stand 10 minutes before serving to allow the liquid to cool enough so it won't swim on your plate.

Not much of a menu this week

We are eating what is there this week.  Some is leftovers, some is just what we feel like at the moment and some is going out for the holidays.

Tonight, I am making one of my favorite short cut meals.  It is a ravioli bake.  Take a baking dish and cover the bottom liberally with your favorite tomato sauce; homemade or jarred is OK.  Layer frozen ravioli putting grated Parmesan cheese and mozzarella cheese and more sauce in between the layers.  End with more sauce and cheese and be sure that the edges of the ravs are covered with sauce.  Cover with foil and bake in a preheated 350F oven for about 40 minutes or until bubbly.

I sometimes add spinach or kale in the layers or thinly sliced zucchini or eggplant works too.   If you want to add sliced cooked hot or sweet sausage or small already cooked meatballs, that would work too.
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Menu 9/12/11 - 9/18/11

9/12 - Mon - Pizza
9/13 - Tue - Rice Cooker Sausage Lasagna**
9/14 - Wed - Chinese Take-out
9/15 - Thu - Kielbasa and Red Cabbage Braised in Slow Cooker
9/16 - Fri - Granny's Chicken Stew with Polenta
9/17 - Sat - Chili and Corn Bread
9/18 - Sun - Ravioli Amatriciana

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**
Rice Cooker Sausage Lasagna

1 pounds (dry - uncooked) lasagna noodles, broken into pieces (or any pasta, I always use whole wheat)
1 pound loose hot Italian sausage, out of casing, browned
16 ounce container ricotta cheese
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 tablespoon dried oregano
2 cups mozzarella cheese
1 cup freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
1 28 ounce can tomato puree or diced tomatoes
2 1/2 cups marinara sauce (I always have home made, but store bought is fine)
1 cup warm water

Brush inside of rice cooker pan with olive oil.

Brown sausage in a skillet. Use wooden spoon or potato masher to break up into smaller clumps.

Mix together the ricotta cheese, garlic, oregano 1 cup of the mozzarella cheese and half cup of the Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese in a bowl.

Cover the bottom of the rice cooker pan with 1/2 of the can of tomato puree. Place one third of lasagna or pasta on top. Add half of the sausage. Using a tablespoon or ice cream scoop place dollops of the ricotta cheese mixture (using up half)on top of sausage. Repeat with the tomato puree, pasta, sausage and cheese. Top with the last third of pasta.

Add warm water, then 2 1/2 cups of marinara sauce and top with the remaining cup of mozzarella and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese.

Place pan in rice cooker, and close cooker. Cook on mixture setting (or white setting if you don't have a mix setting) until done.

Today's Bottom of the Jar Recipe

I have posted before about using the bottom of jelly/mustard jars for creating flavor profiles. Today, I made a new one.

I had about 1 teaspoon or so of mustard stuck at the bottom of a squeeze bottle of spicy brown mustard. It just wouldn't come out of the container anymore. So, I added 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce, 1 tablespoon of olive oil, 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar and 1 teaspoon of maple syrup. Shake well. Covered 4 chicken leg quarters with the mixture and roasted in the oven at 375 for 1 hour and 15 minutes. YUMMY!!

****

Mexican Style Chicken and White Beans

After watching a television show about the value of eating white beans I put my thinking cap on and came up with this one.


Mexican Chicken and White Beans in Slow Cooker

3 Boneless Skinless Chicken Breasts (about 18 ounces)
2 14 ounce cans of white beans (sometimes called cannellini)
2 large jalapeno peppers, diced
2 inch piece of chorizo, diced
2 leeks, cleaned, halved and sliced (just the white parts)
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon cumin
1 tablespoon oregano

In a skillet on medium high heat saute the chorizo until heated through and browned. Remove from skillet and add to a slow cooker pot. In oils from chorizo, brown the chicken breasts and then add to the slow cooker. In same pan again, saute jalapenos and add to slow cooker.

Slice up leeks and add to slow cooker. Open cans and add to slow cooker with the liquid. Add the seasonings.

Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6-8 hours or until chicken is cooked through.

***

Potatoes and Wasted Food

How often have you gone out for a burger and after the big sandwich you can't finish those fries on the side?? It happens to me all the time. Or, you just don't want to eat that much more.

Don't send the fries back to the kitchen to be tossed out. Take them home in a "doggy bag". "What???" you say. "Leftover cold fried potatoes are disgusting. They get soggy and are just not good tasting." Well, here is my take on that.

I use leftover potatoes from fast food or a restaurant to make many breakfast dishes. My favorite is potatoes and eggs.

Last week I took about 1/2 a serving of fried potatoes home from a restaurant. In the morning, I preheated the broiler and I sautéed a few leeks (you could use onions) and added the potatoes after I chopped them up. When they were hot through and a bit crispy again, I poured 3 scrambled eggs over them and stirred to make sure the eggs got through the entire pan. After the eggs looked dried on the bottom, I transferred the pan to the broiler and cooked until the eggs were puffed and no longer runny.

Remove from the broiler with a good mitt, careful not to burn yourself. Slice in wedges and serve with grated Parmesan cheese. YUMMY!

****

Mixed Drink Creativity - Peach Melba Martini

I am constantly inventing mixed drinks when we are out bar hopping. Sometimes this habit actually earns me to drink free at the bars we go to. One in particular, that makes an infused vodka with different fruits and herbs, gave me a free martini for every recipe that I created and they sold at the bar. Kind of like a barter system I guess....

Some of the drinks I create are sold in local bars and restaurants. I even had a grocery store manager ask if I would be willing to print a booklet of them for him.

One of my most "famous" drinks is called a Peach Melba Martini. If you have ever had a Peach Melba for dessert you will recognize the flavors instantly. Peach Melba is my favorite dessert. I always have it for my birthday. It is made of fresh peaches topped with a few scoops of vanilla ice cream and then a raspberry sauce with fresh raspberries is poured over the ice cream. Of course it is topped with gobs of fresh whipped cream. The fruit being fresh makes the tart/sweet combination perfect for a mixed drink.

Here is the recipe for the martini:

1 1/2 ounces vanilla vodka
1 ounce peach schnapps or peach brandy
1 ounce raspberry pucker
splash of heavy cream

Shake well and serve in chilled champagne glass with frozen raspberries as a garnish. You can also float some lightly whipped heavy cream on top for extra creaminess, but it isn't necessary.

This is a great drink for after dinner.

Diane's Menu April 12 - April 18

Diane's Menu April 12 - April 18

Sunday - Easter Dinner at my Sister's - Roast Lamb, lots of veggies
Monday - Paganucci Stuffed Peppers, Grilled Tilapia
Tuesday - Slow Cooked Tuscan Beef Stew **
Wednesday - Slow Cooker Fajitas **
Thursday - Pineapple Shrimp Rice Bake **
Friday - Grilled Chicken, Brown and Wild Rice Pilaf, veggie of some kind
Saturday - Dinner out

** Recipes below
**************************
Pineapple Shrimp Rice Bake

SERVINGS: 8
CATEGORY: Main Dish
TIME:
Prep: 30 min. Bake: 15 min.

Ingredients:

2 cups chicken broth
1 cup uncooked long grain rice (I am using brown rice)
1 garlic clove, minced
1 medium onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, julienned
2 tablespoons canola oil
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1-1/2 pounds cooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
1-1/2 cups cubed fully cooked ham
3/4 cup pineapple tidbits, drained (I am using fresh pineapple)

Directions: In a large saucepan, bring broth to a boil. Stir in rice. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 25 minutes or until tender. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, saute the garlic, onion and green pepper in oil until tender. Stir in soy sauce and ginger. Add shrimp, ham and pineapple. Stir in rice. Transfer to a greased 2-qt. baking dish. Bake, uncovered, at 350° for 15-20 minutes or until heated through. Stir before serving.

Yield: 8 servings.
Nutrition Facts One serving:(1 cup)Calories: 273, Fat:7 g, Saturated Fat:1 g, Cholesterol:143 mg, Sodium:774 mg,Carbohydrate:25 g, Fiber:1g,Protein:25 g




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Slow Cooked Tuscan Beef Stew

1 can (10 3/4 oz.) tomato soup
1 can (10 1/2 oz.) beef broth
1/2 cup dry red wine OR water
2 lb. beef for stew, cut into 1" pieces
1 can (14 1/2 oz.) diced Italian-style tomatoes
3 large carrots , cut into 1" pieces
1 tsp. Italian seasoning, crushed
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
2 cans (about 16 oz. each) white kidney beans (cannellini), rinsed and drained

MIX soup, broth, wine, beef, tomatoes, carrots, Italian seasoning and garlic powder in 3 1/2-qt. slow cooker.COVER and cook on LOW 8 to 9 hr. or until done.


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Slow Cooker Fajitas

1 to 1½ lbs. boneless beef round steak, or chicken breast cut in strips
½ lg. red bell pepper, cut in strips
½ lg. green bell pepper, cut in strips
1 lg. onion, cut into thin slices
1 pkg. dry fajita mix (1 oz.)
¼ c. water
6 lg. flour tortillas (I will be using lettuce wraps for mine)
2 sm. tomatoes, chopped
1 avocado, peeled, thinly sliced
½ c. dairy sour cream (We will have fat free sour cream, if we have it at all)

In slow-cooker, combine beef (or chicken or combination of both), peppers, onion, fajita mix and water. Cover and cook on LOW 5 to 6 hours or until meat is tender. Warm tortilla in microwave according to pkg. directions. With spoon, lift meat mixture out of pot. Place about 3/4 cup mixture along center of each tortilla. Top with chopped tomato, sour cream and avocado. Fold both sides over filling.

Makes 6 servings.

New Start to a New Me

I have been doing Weight Watchers online since July 2008. As of last Thursday, 3/26 I had lost almost 50 pounds. It sounds like a good amount, but I have been almost stalled since November. It was partly my own doing, as I was fudging some counts and stretching the extra points I get weekly. However, it was also a function of the way my personal metabolism works. I am not a nutritionist and I don't claim to understand the science totally, but my body doesn't like carbohydrates. I don't mean all carbohydrates, but the "white ones". This includes sugar, four, white rice and potatoes.

Last Thursday I switched to Weight Watchers Simply Filling method of tracking food. My body has already reacted positively and I am rejoicing at already being down 3.4 pounds. I am so excited and it is self-motivating to see such fast results.

Since I love to cook and experiment, it has also given be an opportunity to be extremely creative to get some of my favorite tastes in my diet without using the "no-no" foods. This Friday we are meeting friends for pizza. I could use some of my extra weekly points for some pizza, but I prefer to save the points for my wine/beer while out for Rock 'n Roll on the weekends. So, I have been trying to figure out how to not only say "no" to the pizza, but be satisfied with what I am eating instead.

Here is what I have come up with:

Pizza Casserole with Spaghetti Squash

1 Spaghetti Squash - cooked and shredded
1 large can crushed tomatoes
5 cloves of garlic, crushed
green peppers, diced
leeks, sliced thinly
1 tablespoon dried oregano
freshly ground black pepper
1 cup fat free mozzarella cheese, shredded
1/2 cup fat free Parmesan cheese, grated
4 teaspoons olive oil


Preheat broiler or oven to 450°

Saute leeks, green peppers and garlic in 4 teaspoons of olive oil over low heat. When veggies are soft add oregano and stir to coat. When you can smell the oregano add the can of tomatoes and mix well.

Remove from the heat and add the spaghetti squash threads and half the cheeses to the pot. Pour into a shallow roasting pan. Sprinkle with remaining cheeses.

Place pan under broiler or in VERY hot oven. It is done when the cheeses are melted and gooey.

Because of the oil it has to be eaten on 2 separate days or by 2 people. The other option is to count the extra oil in towards the weekly points. (2.5)

If you lower the oils to 2 teaspoons you could eat the entire thing if that's what it takes to make you feel satisfied.

If you substitute whole wheat pasta for the spaghetti squash it is still a filling food, but you would have to count it as the "once a day" item.

Another option is to add 1/2 cup of the Morningstar breakfast starter "sausage bits" to get that flavor that many people love on pizza.

If this is eaten by folks counting points it is 4 servings and 4 points as written originally per serving. If you use whole wheat pasta instead it is still 4 servings, add another 2 points per serving and if you add the Morningstar breakfast starter sausage bits you would add another 1 point per serving.

I will be experimenting quite often and hopefully I will remember to post my results.

Multi Bean and Pea and Lentil Soup for lunch today

I cook beans once or twice a week in my Pressure Cooker. But this package that I just bought, which was so inexpensive, was all mixed peas/beans/lentils already. Because I bought them in bulk, they had no directions on the package. We tend to avoid pre-packaged seasonings as they are so full of salt.

So here is what I did.

In my QVC MultiCooker:

Sautéed one onion and 2 jalapeno peppers (seeds and all) in 2 tablespoons of canola oil
Added 2 heaping teaspoons cumin and 2 bay leaves and 2 cups of the bean/lentil/pea mixture and stirred it around to coat.
I added enough water to cover it with a few inches extra and set it on high pressure for 25 minutes.
When done I gave it a quick release.
Added 1 large can of tomato paste, 3 tablespoons of the WOW chicken soup from the Ingredient Store, 1 pound kielbasa, 1 pound of carrots.
Back on high pressure for 20 minutes, natural release. Added quite a bit of hot sauce and stirred it in.

DELICIOUS!! We each had two bowls and there is enough left for lunch tomorrow too. The largest beans and the carrots had a bit of a bite, which we like and everything else was creamy.

Diane's Menu October 18 - October 24

Diane's Menu October 18 - October 24
Saturday - BBQ ribs and soba noodles in the Rice Cooker
Sunday - Bulgur Pilaf with Moroccan Roast Chicken **
Monday - Weekly take out pizza
Tueday - Diane's 30 Minute Coq au Vin **
Wednesday - Roasted Garlic and Asparagus Risotto in Rice Cooker
Thursday - Curried Chicken Salad (with roast chicken leftover from Sunday)**
Friday - Ginger Pumpkin Bisque ** and Ham Sandwiches

** Recipes included below.

*******************

Bulgur Pilaf with Moroccan Roast Chicken

Ingredients:

For the Chicken:

One 4-pound chicken, rinsed and patted dry
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
3/4 cup (tightly packed) pitted prunes, quartered
6 thin slices lemon, pitted, plus more for garnish
2 Tbsp. butter, melted (optional)


For the Bulgur Pilaf:

Generous pinch of saffron threads
1 1/2 Tbsp. butter
1/2 cup finely diced shallots or onion1
1/2 cups coarse bulgur
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup slivered almonds, toasted
1/4 cup chopped fresh mint


Directions:

Set a rack in the center and preheat the oven to 350° F.
Season the chicken well, inside and out, with salt and pepper.
In a small bowl, blend the oil with the ginger, cinnamon, allspice, cloves, cardamom, and cayenne.
Starting at the neck opening, gently press your hand between the skin and the flesh all over the chicken to loosen the skin. Rub half of the spice oil into the flesh under the skin.

Toss the prunes and lemon slices in the remaining spice oil. Stuff these into the cavity of the chicken. Secure the opening with skewers or toothpicks. For a very crisp skin, brush the chicken with the melted butter.

Set the chicken on a roasting rack in a roasting pan and bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted where the thigh meets the leg registers 165°F, 1 to 1 1/2 hours. Remove from the oven, and let rest for 10 minutes before carving.

After the chicken has been roasting for about 35 minutes, begin preparing the bulgur pilaf; in a small bowl, stir the saffron into 1 tablespoon of warm water. Set aside.

Melt the butter in a heavy 2-quart saucepan. Add the shallots and cook over medium-high heat until they soften, about 3 minutes. Stir in the bulgur and continue cooking, stirring frequently, until the bulgur emits a faint toasted aroma, about 3 minutes. Add 3 1/4 cups of water plus the saffron and its soaking water. Bring to a boil. Stir in the salt. Cover, lower the heat, and simmer until the bulgur is tender, 20 to 25 minutes. If all of the water has been absorbed and the bulgur is not done, stir in 1/4 cup hot water and cook over a very low heat for a few more minutes. Turn off the heat, and let the bulgur steam for 10 minutes or until the chicken is done. To serve: Remove the stuffing from the chicken. Discard the lemon slices. Stir the prunes, almonds, and mint into the bulgur. Add salt to taste. If you wish, skim the fat from the chicken pan juices and stir them in.

Carve the chicken and serve each portion with a large spoonful of the bulgur pilaf.
From "Whole Grains Every Day, Every Way" by Lorna Sass

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Diane's 30 Minute Coq Au Vin

3 boneless chicken breasts, cut into chunks
4 ounces pancetta, diced (I find it dices easier when it is partially frozen)
1 can cream of mushroom soup
3/4 cup red wine
3/4 cup boiling water
1 ounce dried porcini mushrooms
1 medium onion, in large dice
2 cloves garlic, minced
2-4 ounces unsalted butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
Freshly ground pepper


Empty can of mushroom soup into a bowl. In the can place the dried porcini mushrooms crushed up in smaller pieces. Pour boiling water into the can to the halfway point and let sit to cool.In skillet (preferably NOT non-stick), melt 2 tablespoons butter over low heat. Add oil and onion and pancetta. Cook slowly, do not let onion color. Raise heat and add chicken and garlic and cook until all pinkness of chicken is gone and some browning has occurred. Remove chicken from pan. Add red wine and scrape up bits. Return chicken to the pan.Mix the cooled porcini mushroom mixture with the bowl of cream of mushroom soup. Pour over the chicken in the pan. Bring to a slow simmer stirring occasionally to mix all ingredients. Add the other 2 tablespoons of butter and let melt and blend in.Serve over rice or noodles. Garnish with parsley.

*****

Curried Chicken Salad

3 cups diced cooked chicken
1/2 cup finely chopped celery
1 can (8 ounces) water chestnuts, drained
1 medium apple, diced
3/4 cup halved green grapes
3/4 cup pineapple tidbits, juice drained and reserved
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup slivered almonds

DRESSING:

1-1/4 cups mayonnaise
1/4 cup reserved pineapple juice
1 tablespoon soy sauce
1 tablespoon vinegar
1/4 teaspoon lemon or lime juice
1 to 3 teaspoons curry powder

In a large bowl, combine first eight ingredients. Blend all dressing ingredients and toss with chicken mixture. Chill several hours. Yield: 8 servings.

****
Ginger Pumpkin Bisque
(from the Marsh Tavern, Manchester, Vermont as published in Yankee Magazine)

3/4 cup of chopped shallots AND1/2 cup chopped onions
OR1 large onion chopped
2 tsp. of grated gingeroot OR 2 tsp. ground ginger
2 Tbsp. oil
1/4 cup flour
4 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup apple cider
1 16 oz. can pumpkin (in a pinch substitute squash)
1/3 cup maple syrup (the REAL stuff...don't skimp!!!)
2 bay leaves
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. dried thyme, crushed
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/8 tsp. ground cloves
1 cup whipping or heavy cream
1/2 tsp. vanilla(nutmeg for garnish)


In a 3-quart saucepan cook shallots, onions, and gingerroot/ground ginger in hot oil over medium heat till tender but not brown. Stir in flour. Add chicken broth and cider all at once. Cook and stir> over medium heat till thickened and bubbly. Sitr in pumpkin, maple syrup, bay leaves, cinnamon, thyme, pepper and cloves. Return to boiling; reduce heat. Cover and simmer 20 minutes. Remove from heat. Discard bay leaves. Cool slightly. In a food processor or blender container cover and blend mixture in 3 or 4 batches. Return the soup to the saucepan. Stir in the 1 cup of cream and vanilla. Heat through but do not boil!!!! If desired, swirl cream into each servin and garnish with sprinkled nutmeg OR a sprig of fresh thyme.

Makes approx. 8 cups or 8 to 10 appetizer servings.

Diane's Menu June 28 - July 4

Diane's Menu June 28 - July 4


June 28 - Grilled Rib Eye Steaks, Corn on the Cob, Green Salad (Extra corn made for salad the next day)
June 29 - Grilled Shrimp Over Black Bean-and-Corn Salad
June 30 - Weekly Pizza Night
July 1 - Roasted Chicken Thighs, Steamed Broccoli, Curried Quinoa (Extra chicken made for Salad next day.)
July 2 - Easy Thai Beef or Chicken Salad
July 3 - Baked Virginia Style Ham, Cuban Style Lentil Salad (Some of the leftover ham saved for Saturdays salad, the rest frozen for future use.)
July 4 - Neighbor's BBQ - Aduki Bean and Rice Salad
July 5 - Lentil Salad with Smoked Turkey (I am using the ham from Thursday)




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Grilled Shrimp Over Black Bean-and-Corn Salad

Marinated shrimp:

1/3 cup fresh lime juice
1/4 cup thawed orange juice concentrate
2 Tablespoons low-sodium soy sauce
2 Tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
2 Tablespoons honey
1 garlic clove, minced
2 pounds large shrimp, peeled

Salad:

2 cups coarsely chopped tomato
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1/3 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 can (15-oz.) black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can (15.25-oz.) whole-kernel corn, drained
1 jalapeno pepper, seeded and chopped
1/4 cup fresh lime juice
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon black pepper

To prepare marinated shrimp, combine
first 6 ingredients in a large zip-top bag.
Add shrimp to bag; seal. Marinate in the
refrigerator 1 hour, turning occasionally.

Brush or wipe your Indoor Grill (like a George
Foreman) with cooking oil and preheat. Please,
do not use an aerosol (can) spray. Your grill will
last a lot longer, and will thank-you for it. Also,
by not using an aerosol spray you will be doing
your part to go green, and help the environment.

Remove shrimp from bag; discard marinade.

Place shrimp in the grill. Grill 1-2 minutes or
until shrimp are done (check after one minute).

To prepare salad, combine tomato and next 5
ingredients (tomato through jalapeno) in a large
bowl. Combine 1/4 cup lime juice, oil, cumin, salt
and black pepper in a small bowl; stir with a whisk.
Pour dressing over bean mixture; toss well. Spoon
salad onto each of 6 plates; top with shrimp.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 3/4 cup salad and
4 ounces shrimp).
7 WW Points per serving.

After serving the grilled food, make sure that
your grill is unplugged. Put a wet cloth that
can be washed and re-used in your grill and
close the lid. In 10 to 30 minutes, the grill will
wipe clean


Join the YAHOO! group for more George Foreman Grill Recipes


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Easy Thai Beef or Chicken Salad

"Chicken or beef - whatever your preference - inspired by a soy and sesame dressing, piled on top of a delicious fresh vegetable salad. Topped off with a side of steamed rice, this dish is perfect for a fresh and delicious main course any night of the week!"


INGREDIENTS:

1 cup white rice
2 1/2 cups water
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breasts
salt to taste
garlic powder to taste
1 head lettuce - rinsed, dried and torn
3 large cucumbers, seeded and chopped
1 large onion, finely diced
2 tomatoes, diced
1 bell pepper, diced
1 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 cup fish sauce
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon crushed red pepper flakes

DIRECTIONS:

1. Rinse rice in a fine mesh strainer under cold running water until no longer cloudy. Transfer to a medium saucepan and cover with 2 1/2 cups water. Bring to a boil, cover, and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 15 minutes, remove from heat and let stand for at least 10 minutes, or until all liquid has evaporated.

2. Preheat oven to 250 degrees F (120 degrees C).

3. Season chicken with salt and garlic powder. Heat 2 tablespoons vegetable oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Cook chicken, reducing heat when necessary, until no longer pink in center and juices run clear. Transfer to preheated oven to keep warm.

4. Place lettuce, cucumbers, onions, tomatoes, bell peppers, and cilantro together in a large mixing or serving bowl. Toss to combine. In another bowl, stir together the lime juice, fish sauce, sugar, and crushed red pepper until well blended and sugar is dissolved.

5. Remove chicken from oven, slice into thin strips, and drizzle with dressing. Divide salad and rice among serving plates, and top each with chicken slices. Dressing may also be served at the table and each salad dressed individually.


****

Aduki and Rice Salad (I am making at least 6x this recipe to take with us to a BBQ)

1/2 Cup aduki beans, soaked
1 cup long grain rice (Mine will be be cooked in the rice cooker)
2 tablespoons oil
2 tablespoons lemon-juice or wine vinegar (I use lime juice)
Salt and Pepper
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup corn kernels
2 sticks celery, chopped
1 small onion, very finely chopped
1 small cucumber, diced
2 tablespoons raisins (not in mine)
2 tablespoons walnuts or pecans, chopped
Garnish: Chopped parsley (I use cilantro)

Cover the aduki beans with water and cook for 30 - 45 minutes, taking care that they remain intact.

Boil the rice for 10 minutes in enough water to just cover it. cover with a clean teatowel and saucepan lid and leave on a low heat until the rice is fluffy and dry (5 to 10 minutes, depending on the rice)

Mix the oil and lemon or vinegar together and stir into the warm rice. This is important so that the rice absorbs the flavors.

Cook the frozen peas (I just add them to the rice cooker when it turns to keep warm and let them steam.) and add to the rice together with the corn kernels, the drained aduki beans, the chopped vegetables, raisins and nuts. Stir well and sprinkle with parsley or cilantro. Serve chilled in a wide earthenware bowl or shallow terrine.

******

Cuban Style Lentil Salad

6 cups water
1 1/2 tablespoons coarse Sea salt
1 1/2 cup lentils, rinsed thoroughly
5 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
4 large cloves garlic, slivered
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon Sea salt
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
4 green onions, using the white and light green parts, sliced thinly on the diagonal
1/4 cup finely diced jicama
sprigs of fresh parsley and lemon wedges, for a garnish

Use a large pot to bring the water to a boil. Add the sea salt. Add the lentils, reducing the heat to medium-low. Cook covered for about 30 minutes, or until the lentils are tender but not mushy. Do not overcook.
While the lentils are cooking, use a medium skillet to heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil over medium low heat. Add the garlic and cook gently for about five minutes, or until softened but not browned.
Remove the skillet from the heat and add the cumin, coriander, cayenne, and the salt.
Add the white wine vinegar, combine thoroughly, and transfer to a large serving bowl.
Drain the cooked lentils and add them to the vinegar and seasoning mixture, taking care to combine thoroughly.
Drizzle with the remaining four tablespoons of olive oil and toss again to mix. Cool to room temperature, then stir in the scallions and the jicama.
This dish may be served immediately, or it may be chilled for one or two hours in order for the flavors to combine. Garnish with parsley and lemon wedges.


*************

Lentil Salad with Smoked Turkey

Ingredients:
1 cup lentils, rinsed
2 cups chicken broth or water
1/4 cup minced fresh tarragon (1 tsp. dry)
11 ounces (2 cups) smoked turkey breast, cubed
1/4 cup red onion, minced
1/2 cup celery, minced
2 tbsp. fresh parsley; minced
1/4 cup regular or light mayonnaise
1/4 cup plain lowfat yogurt
2 tsp. Dijon or hearty style mustard
1 tbsp. freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 garlic clove, peeled and minced
salt, pepper to season

Place the lentils and chicken stock in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat-simmer until the lentils are softened but still firm to the bite, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain the lentils, move to a large bowl, and cool to room temperature. Add the minced tarragon, turkey breast, red onion, celery and parsley to the cooked lentils. Mix gently. In a small bowl whisk the remaining ingredients and add to lentil mixture. Mix again lightly. Makes 6 servings.

Join my Yogurt Group for more recipes using Yogurt

Yogurt

I have always loved yogurt. Even the plain variety. I started to make my own yogurt about 2 years ago. It is so healthy and you can do so many things with it. I make smoothies for breakfast and use homemade yogurt cheese in place of sour cream and cream cheese. This is my latest experiment. It was very good. I used it as a dip with celery sticks for lunch.

If you are interested in more ideas and recipes for yogurt and yogurt cheese join my Yogurt YAHOO! group.

SPINACH DIP
From NOT JUST CHEESECAKE



1 1/2 cups nonfat yogurt cheese
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 teaspoon seasoned salt (optional)
1/4 teaspoon dried dill weed
1/4 teaspoon Tabasco sauce
1 package (10 oz) frozen chopped spinach, thawed

Drain spinach, then squeeze out as much liquid as possible. Chop finely. Combine with remaining ingredients and mix well. Cover and chill.

Makes about 2 1/2 cups.

1/4 cup: Calories 35, Protein 4 gm, Carbohydrates 5 grams, Fat less than 1 gram, Cholesterol 0, Calcium 138 mg, Sodium 51 mg

My Love Affair with Curry

When I was a little girl we went to a restaurant for Easter Sunday once called Patricia Murphy's. My mother always cooked, especially for holidays, but this year she wasn't feeling well, so my grandmother took us out to dinner. It is a restaurant that no longer exists and you can see information about it's history and tradition here: Patricia Murphys Gardens in Yonkers

Lamb being a traditional Easter choice for a meal was on the menu and they made it with a herb and curry rub. My mother HATED curry, and she couldn't eat dinner that day because the whole place reeked of the perfume of the curry.

After that, I assumed that I didn't like curry. And, until I was out on my own and cooking for myself, I continued to believe that. When I finally tasted it at an Indian restaurant I fell in love. I also love the Thai curries that I have tried. So, now I cook them for myself or order them at a restaurant any time I can.

I just got a new cookbook called 660 Curries, The Gateway to Indian Cooking by Raghavan Iyer. Well, it is an encyclopedia of flavor on every page. I will have to finish this review and spend the rest of my living days reading and cooking from this book and I still won't be able to try half of them.

Curry is the gateway to Indian cooking. It is the backbone of Indian cooking, it's the GLORY of Indian cooking. Curry has nothing to do with the powder in a can and everything to do with amazing flavors. Curry is the dazzling layering of spices and ingredients, the familiar made new and the exotic made accessible. Not to mention all the tasty sauce to mop up with rice or bread. 660 Curries is Salmon with Garlic and Turmeric, Grilled Chicken with Cashew-Tomato Sauce, Lamb Shanks Braised in a Fennel and Cumin-Kissed Broth, Toasted Tamarind-Rubbed Shrimp, Pork Ribs with a Sweet-Sour Glaze. 660 Curries is traditional, contemporary, extraordinary, and it's jam-packed with easy one dish dinners that dance on the palate, in recipes created for the home kitchen. Even some of the more exotic ingredients are easily gotten from a list of mail order sources or some easy substitutes.

The beginning of the soft cover book has 16 pages of full color photographs. The chapters are plentiful and complete.

1 - The Curry Quest - history and information
2 - Spice Blends and Pastes
3 - Appetizer Curries
4 - Poultry, Game & Egg Curries
5 - Beef, Lamb & Pork Curries
6 - Fish & Seafood Curries
7 - Paneer Curries
8 - Legume Curries
9 - Vegetable Curries
10 - Contemporary Curries
11 - Biryani Curries
12 - Curry Cohorts

It also has 4 Appendix

Metric Conversion Charts
Glossary of Ingredients
The Elements of Curry
Mail Order Sources for Spices and Legumes


In over 800 pages there is more information than you ever need. I wanted to find just one recipe to try first so I closed my eyes, flipped the pages and pointed and chose Pigeon Peas and Peanuts with Jaggery. It was awesome. My husband wants to know when I am going to try something else from this book.

1 cup oily or unoily skinned split yellow pigeon peas (toovar dal), picked over for stones
1/2 cup raw peanuts (without the ski)
2 cups chopped fresh or frozen fenugreek leaves; or 1/2 cup dried fenugreek leaves soaked in a bowl of water and skinned off before use
1/2 cup shredded fresh coconut; or 1/4 cup shredded dried unsweetened coconut, reconstituted
1 tablespoon crumbled jaggery or firmly packed dark brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons coarse kosher or sea salt
1 teaspoon tamarind paste or concentrate
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
4 to 6 fresh green Thai, Cayenne or Serrano chiles, to taste, stems removed, slit in half lengthwise, do not remove the seeds.
2 tablespoons Ghee or canola oil
1 teaspoon black or yellow mustard seeds
1/2 teaspoon ground asofetida

1 - Place the pigeon peas and the peanuts in a medium-size saucepan. Fill the pan halfway with water and rinse the pas by rubbing them between your fingertips. The water will become cloudy. Drain this water. Repeat three or four times until the water remains relatively clear; drain. Now add 4 cups water and bring to a boil, uncovered, over medium-high heat. Skim off and discard any foam that forms on the surface. Stir in the fenugreek leaves. Reduce the heat to medium-low, cover the pan, and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the pigeon peas are tender, 20 - 25 minutes.

2 - Stir in the coconut, jaggery, salt, tamarind paste, turmeric and chiles. Continue to simmer the dal, still over the medium-low heat, uncovered, stirring occasionally until the flavors meld, about 5 minutes.

3 - Heat the ghee in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add the mustard seeds. Cover the skillet and cook until the seeds have stopped popping (not unlike popcorn), about 30 seconds. Sprinkle in the asaferida. Pour this into the dal, and serve.

Note: To reconstitute coconut, cover with 14/ cup boiling water, set aside for about 15 minutes, and then serve.


Jaggery: A bamboo like sugarcane that dots the landscape in India. Mexican stores sell a similar product called piloncillo. Dark brown sugar is an easy substitute.

Ghee: Clarified Butter

Asafetida: A member of the carrot family. It is dried and then grated. It smells like the worst thing you have ever had in a kitchen. A cross between dirty socks and rotten onions. But, when cooked it tastes like oniony-garlick. (I can't get past the smell. I don't use it, I use onion and garlic!)

As a post note: I ran into another review with many pictures and other recipes for this book on line. Check out this link.

Diane's Barley Pilaf

Today for dinner we had BBQ ribs and I wanted something different than rice to go with it so I invented a Barley Pilaf that was awesome. I cooked it in my rice cooker.

Diane's Barley Pilaf

1 cup pearl barley
3 cups water
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup mixed dried vegetables (I buy them from bulkfoods.com - it includes potatoes, carrots, green pepper, onion, parsley)
1 tablespoon WOW seasoning (It is a seasoning mix from the Ingredient Store, chicken bouillon based, with many herbs and spices; it's flavorful, but not spicy or hot.)
1 1/2 cups frozen baby peas or 1 can baby peas


I melted the butter with the olive oil in the rice cooker. Added the cup of dried mixed vegetables. Stir to coat and soften. Add barley and stir to coat with fat. Add wow seasoning and water. Close rice cooker and cook on rice setting. For the on/off variety turn on. When rice cooker turns to keep warm, add peas. Close and let steam for 15 minutes to heat peas through. Fluff with the rice cooker spatula and serve.

There is left over and I am going to use it with my eggs tomorrow morning to make an omelet.

Diane's Menu June 21 - June 27

Saturday - June 21 - Risotto de fungi (This is a family recipe, in the rice cooker this time though.) Salad
Sunday - June 22 - Spare Ribs, corn, white rice
Monday - June 23 - Pizza night
Tuesday - June 24 - Chicken, Bean and Wild Rice Salad
Wednesday - June 25 - Cavatelli and Peas
Thursday - June 26 - Grilled Lamb Kabobs, Curried Quinoa
Friday - June 27 - Pork Cholent Stew, Salad

RECIPES:

Chicken, Bean and Wild Rice Salad

Makes 6 servings (about 1 cup each)
Preparation Time: 10 to 15 minutes

1 package (6.2 ounces) fast-cooking long grain and wild rice, cooked without spice packet, cooled
1 can (15 ounces) Light or Dark Red Kidney beans or 1 1/2 cups cooked dry-packaged Light or Dark Red Kidney beans, rinsed, drained
1 can (15 ounces) Black beans or Pinto beans or 1 1/2 cups cooked dry-packaged Black beans or Pinto beans, rinsed, drained
1 can (11 ounces) Mandarin orange segments, drained
1 cup frozen, thawed peas
Raspberry Vinaigrette (recipe follows)
Salt and pepper, to taste
6 cups spinach leaves
12 to 16 ounces broiled or grilled boneless, skinless chicken breast, sliced or cubed
1 can (15 ounces) julienne beets, drained
1/2 cup coarsely chopped toasted pecan halves (optional)

Preparation

Combine rice, beans, orange segments, and peas; pour 2/3 cup Raspberry Vinaigrette over and toss. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Spoon salad onto spinach-lined plates, arrange chicken on salad; spoon beets to the side. Drizzle remaining 1/3 cup Raspberry Vinaigrette over beets and chicken. Sprinkle with pecans, if desired.
Raspberry Vinaigrette
Makes about 1 cup

1/3 cup olive oil
1/4 cup raspberry or red wine vinegar
2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots or red onion
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons orange juice

Preparation

Whisk together the all ingredients. Prepared ahead, refrigerate until serving time. Mix again before using.

TIP: To save time, prepared raspberry vinaigrette dressing can be used. To cool rice quickly, spread cooked rice on a cookie sheet and refrigerate.
NOTE: Although bean recipes usually call for a specific variety, any canned or dry-packaged bean variety can be easily substituted for another.

Nutrient Information

Per serving: Calories 445; Fat 13g; % Calories from Fat 24; Carbohydrate 65g; Folate 240mcg; Sodium 1326mg; Protein 26g; Dietary Fiber 12g; Cholesterol 37mg

**************************

Curried Quinoa Recipe

Serves Six to Eight
1 Cup Quinoa
1½ Tbsp. Vegetable Oil
½ Onion Diced (about 4 or 5 ozs.)
1 Tsp. Grated Fresh Ginger Root
½ Fresh Green Chile (Finely Chopped)
1 tablespoon ground curry (we love spicy, use less to taste)
1¾ Cups Water
½ Cup Fresh or Frozen Peas

Rinse quinoa with cold water.
Some commercially available products are pre-rinsed.
Read your package.

Quinoa is coated with a natural substance called saponin that protects the
grain by repelling insects and birds. Rinsing the quinoa is important to
avoid a raw or bitter taste. You can tell if there is saponin by the
production of a soapy looking "suds" when the seeds are swished in water.

Place oil and diced onions in a heavy saucepan. Sauté the onions on medium
high heat for four to five minutes.

Add the ginger root, chili, and quinoa. Cook for one minute stirring
constantly. A fine, white spiral appears around the grain as it cooks.


Stir in the curry powder. Cook for one minute stirring constantly.

Add the water and bring it to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer
for 15 minutes.

Stir in peas. Cover and cook for four or five minutes or until peas
are tender and all the water has been absorbed.

Fluff with a fork before serving.

*****

Cholent Stew:

2 pounds cross-cut beef shank - pork works well too
1 cup dried black beans, rinsed and picked over
3/4 pearl barley
15 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sweet paprika
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 beef bouillon cube, crushed
4 cups water, or to cover

1. Place the ingredients in the slow cooker in the order in which
they are listed. Cover and cook on high until the beans are tender,
5 to 6 hours. This meat will probably have fallen away from the
bones by this time.

2. Remove and discard the bones and any large pieces of marrow or
fat, If any pieces of meat are larger than bite-size, transfer them
to a cutting board, chop, and return them to the stew. Stir before
serving hot.

Cookbook Review: The Chile Pepper Encyclopedia Author (s): Dave DeWitt

Book or Magazine Title: The Chile Pepper Encyclopedia Author (s): Dave DeWitt
Category: Reference
ISBN: 0-688-15611-8
Publisher: William Morrow & Company, Inc.
Date published: 1999
Edition: N/A
Description: Soft cover
Illustrated: Some
Photographs: Yes a few black and white
Pages: 338
Price: $13.57 at Amazon.com




Which type of chile is the hottest?

What country did the first chile plants come from?

Can chiles really be used to cure headaches and memory loss?

How did "bird" chiles get their name?

Why are some people more sensitive to the heat of chiles?

What's the best way to cool "chile burn"?


These are just a few of the questions you'll find answers to in The Chile Pepper Encyclopedia. World-renowned chile expert Dave DeWitt has compiled this exhaustive A-to-Z collection of entries on everything you'll ever need to know about chiles. Using this encyclopedia, you'll learn about chile species, origins, terminology, cuisines, and agriculture. Medicinal uses and chile folklore are covered in often painful detail for example, nineteenth-century Peruvians believed that the juice of crushed chiles applied to the eyes would cure conjunctivitis. For true chileheads, there's information on chile fairs and festivals and hot sauces and salsas, and DeWitt attempts to settle the endless debate over the origin of the most famous of chile dishes, chili con came.

The Chile Pepper Encyclopedia is also filled with more than one hundred hot and spicy recipes.

Each recipe is rated on a heat scale from the mild Indian Minced Meat Curry to the extremely hot Chiltepin House Sauce made with 2 cups of chiles. There are even a few spicy desserts, like Chocolate Chess and Chile Pie, for chile lovers who just can't get enough heat.

Black-and-white drawings and photographs, charts, and tables appear throughout the book and a color insert includes photographs of dozens of chile types, invaluable for identification, making this an indispensable sourcebook for chile aficionados, gardeners, cooks, and anyone else who has a burning interest in fiery foods.

DAVE DEWITT is an internationally known chile pepper expert and the author and coauthor of numerous books and articles about chiles. DeWitt, the founder of the National Fiery Foods Show and cofounder of The Chile Institute, was the editor-in-chief of Chile Pepper magazine for ten years and is currently the editor and publisher of Fiery Foods magazine. He lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

This book is a very good read and has more information and answers about chiles than any other book I have seen. But, this book is lacking photos of the different kinds of chiles. When I was (actually I still am somewhat) a newbie to using chiles I needed photos to pick out the right chiles in the store. This book would be a great companion to the picture book The Great Chile Book by Mark Miller.






Chicken PAPRIKASH

Csirkepaprikas

This is one of the classic paprika recipes from Hungary. Be sure to use only imported paprika in this dish, or the flavor will not be the same. It is traditionally cooked with lard or goose fat and served with dumplings. Serve over egg noodles, plain rice, or boiled potatoes.

MAKES 6 SERVINGS

HEAT SCALE: Medium

3 tablespoons corn oil
2 tablespoons butter
One 2 1/2 to 3-pound chicken, cut into serving pieces
2 medium onions, chopped
3 large cloves garlic, minced
1 rounded tablespoon medium-hot paprika
1 tablespoon hot paprika
2 rounded tablespoons mild paprika
2 tablespoons brandy
3/4 cup chicken stock
1 whole, fresh, long, red chile, such as New Mexican
1/3 to 1/2 cup sour cream
Salt to taste



In a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat, heat the oil and butter.
Add the chicken pieces and cook until browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the chicken and set aside. Add the chopped onions to the skillet and cook, stirring, until the onions are translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 1 to 2 minutes more. Reduce the heat to very low, stir in all the paprika, and cook for an additional minute, stirring constantly. Add the brandy and stir to deglaze the pan. Add the browned chicken pieces and mix well. Add the chicken stock and whole hot red pepper.

Bring the mixture to a boil over high heat, reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 45 to 60 minutes. Using a slotted spoon, remove the chicken to a serving platter and keep warm. Bring the liquid in the casserole to a boil over high heat, and cook until the liquid is reduced by about one third.
Turn the heat to low, and slowly stir in the sour cream, until the sauce is smooth. Add salt to taste. Pour the sauce over the chicken and serve immediately.

Recipe Deal Breakers

I read this article from the New York Times and had to share it. I read cookbooks for fun. I collect recipes in numbers that I could never cook unless I lived 500 lifestimes. What makes me choose one recipe over another? Well, this article has a few of the answers.


******

NY Times

June 4, 2008
Recipe Deal Breakers: When Step 2 Is 'Corral Pig'
By KIM SEVERSON

I was reading a recipe for apple strudel when I came to a sentence that
stopped me cold: "If you don't have a helper," it began.

If a dish needs a helper, I need to move on.

Although I didn't end up with a strudel, I did end up on a quest. I
began asking good cooks I know about recipe deal breakers - those
ingredients or instructions that make them throw down the whisk and walk
away.

Whether for reasons practical or psychological, even the most
experienced cooks have an ingredient, technique or phrase that will make
them bypass a recipe.

Some deal breakers are simply a function of place. People in small New
York apartments don't execute recipes that require well-ventilated
spaces. They rarely char peppers or broil salmon, lest the apartment
stink for days. They rarely deep-fry.

"Not because of health reasons," said one adventurous cook who divides
his time between kitchens in Manhattan and Fire Island. "But because
it's messy, requires disposing of lots of oil afterward, and is a pain
to get the temperature right."

Recipes that involve absurdly local or obscure ingredients are also
problematic. Paula Wolfert, in one recipe, requires 48 tender young
grapevine leaves, freshly picked. Diana Kennedy, in her recipe for the
Mexican sausage moronga, calls for two quarts of pig's blood. "If you do
not kill your own pig," she advises, "order it through your butcher."

Melissa Steineger, a good cook I know in Portland, was long a slave to
such recipe tyranny. It started with the Coyote Cafe cookbook from the
Southwestern chef Mark Miller. She recalls recipes that required
ingredients like "wild boar from the hills surrounding Santa Fe." They
went unmade until her cooking skills improved and she had an epiphany:
she could substitute.

"That freed me," she said.

Beyond place, general fussiness is a common deal breaker: stuffing an
olive, for example, or cutting vegetables into precise shapes like
matchsticks.

The chef Thomas Keller is the modern king of the fussy recipes. His
books are stacked with one deal breaker after another. To make his
cornets filled with salmon tartare and crème fraîche, one must first
figure out how to make "a 4-inch hollow circular stencil." Then the cook
must balance a baking sheet on the open door of a hot oven and set the
tips of cornet molds on par-baked circles of batter at the 7 o'clock
position before rolling.

These are the kinds of instructions that make people open a box of
brownie mix and call it a day.

Other deal breakers are techniques. "I won't truss," one friend said,
"and I won't lard."

Anything that requires long sessions pounding food in a mortar or
forcing something through a sieve stops Fran Gage, the San Francisco
pastry chef and author. "Not that I won't try the recipe," she said,
"but I'll read it carefully to see if I can use a machine instead."

Others avoid recipes that require wearing rubber gloves, handling
something carefully with tongs or removing all jewelry before proceeding.

"Serves 18" gives some pause. Others won't make anything that varies
with the weather, like a meringue recipe that cautions against trying it
on a humid or rainy day. The recipe within a recipe can be a deal
breaker, especially if the minor player needs to be made days ahead of time.

Unusual equipment is a common deal breaker, too. How many times has a
couscous recipe been cast aside because there is no couscousière in the
house?

Cindy Burke, a friend and food writer from Seattle, usually enjoys any
excuse to buy another pan. But she found her deal breaker when she read
the recipe for a honey-glazed beehive cake on the cover of the June
issue of Martha Stewart Living magazine. The perfect pan for the job,
according to a note in the back of the magazine, is an out-of-production
Martha by Mail version occasionally available on eBay. (An alternative
from Nordic Ware was on backorder this week.)

And then there are the irrational deal breakers. People who might find
dishes like Richard Olney's mousseline forcemeat an intriguing kitchen
romp have outsize reactions to certain phrases or techniques for reasons
they can't articulate.

"Working quickly" may be simply too anxiety-producing, especially when
combined with "before it hardens." Others fear recipes involving a candy
thermometer or ones that take food to the brink of burning, like caramel
or a roux.

People shy away from recipes that require split-second timing to assure
culinary success with expensive ingredients. The word "just" is often
involved, as in "cook the scallop just until it turns opaque."

And then there are the specific foods that have scarred a cook for life.
One friend's most humiliating culinary failures have involved sheet
gelatin, so she shuns recipes with gelatin. Barbara Fairchild, the
editor in chief of Bon Appétit magazine, avoids pie recipes. Years ago,
as a new bride, she was to make the Thanksgiving pies for her
mother-in-law'
s dinner. She botched the crust completely.

"It's really hard to sit down and make a pie because I flash back to 25
years ago," she said. "It's a total phobia."

For the recipe writer, finding the fine line between a deal breaker and
an important technique or ingredient can be difficult. Arthur Schwartz,
the Brooklyn-based food writer, is working on a new book on the food of
southern Italy. His conundrum: whether a recipe should call for
filleting fresh anchovies, a task he says is nearly impossible to do
well (unless you're Sicilian, presumably).

As an author, he believes they are an essential ingredient for an
authentic recipe. But as a cook? " 'Fillet and butterfly 12 4-inch fresh
anchovies' is an instruction that would stop me dead," he said.

The question of how far is too far is often pondered in the test
kitchens of Gourmet, which built its reputation on recipes that took all
weekend and a small bank loan to produce.

Kemp Minifie, the magazine's executive food editor and a 30-year veteran
of the magazine, had sympathy for my dislike of recipes that demand
helpers. She recalled a stuffed squash blossom that required one person
to blow into the flower while the other stuffed it with the contents of
a pastry bag.

The recipe didn't run in the magazine. Nor do ones that call for glove
boning, which is a way to turn a bird inside out to bone it without
cutting into the skin.

"It's a marvelous technique, but who is going to do that?" Ms. Minifie
asked.

And then there was the British chef who gave the magazine his recipe for
slow-baked salmon with a sauce of cream and Avruga, a smoked herring
roe. Within the recipe was another recipe for making fleur de sel from
buckets of seawater.

"That," she said, "was one of those rolled-eyeball moments."

The magazine did print the salmon recipe. It called for store-bought salt.

Cookbook Review: The Bacon Cookbook

I have gotten a few new cookbooks lately. One that I really like is called The Bacon Cookbook by James Villas. I was afraid of posting about it before because Bacon is not a politically correct food to talk about lately. After all, it's full of fat, sodium and calories. But I for one think it's just SO good that I had to buy the book and review it for you.

Diane

*************************
Book Title: The Bacon Cookbook
Author: James VillasCategory: General - American
ISBN: 978-0-470-04282-3
Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
Publisher Address: Hoboken, NJ
Website or E-mail: www.wiley.com/culinaryandhospitality
Copyright: 2007
Description: hardcover – 8 ½ x 11 x 1 ¾
Pages: 276Illustrated: none
Photographs: full color and full-page photos interspersed throughout the book
Price: new from $35 to $23.10



Crispy, salty, smoky, sweet - who can resist the allure of bacon? Certainly not food writer James Villas who's been beguiled by bacon since he was a boy.

In recent years, the variety and quality of most supermarket bacon have improved immensely, and many premium American artisan bacons, as well as delicious foreign ones, are now available at finer outlets and online. The book takes one around the world and introduces new and familiar bacons to the reader and cook.

If health concerns sometimes make you feel guilty about loving bacon, Villas urges you to relax. Yes, it's high in sodium and fat, but if eaten in moderation or used as a flavoring agent, as it is in many recipes in the book, bacon is a guilt free indulgence. In fact, using bacon in a pea soup for example and leaving out added salt, makes the recipe actually lower in sodium than if you omitted the bacon and used salt as a seasoning instead. Oh and it tastes better too!

The book begins with 17 pages of bacon history and pictures of bacon from all over the world. How to buy, store, cook and mail order bacon is included. As well as a 2 page section on the health issues associated with bacon.

Following the introduction are chapters called

Canapés and Appetizers
Breakfast and Brunch Dishes
Soups and Chowders
Salads and Sandwiches
Casseroles and Stews
Main Courses
Vegetables and Fruits
Pasta and Rice
Brads
Desserts

I really love this book. There are so many great ideas for adding that wonderful flavor as well as new recipes for the old standards. One interesting one that I want to try is called Caribbean Beef and Bacon Stuffed Plantains, I didn't have plantains in the house though so I settled for an old standard. Believe it or not, I have never made lentil soup. I have always made split pea soup instead. This recipe was great. It said it feeds 6, but my husband and I ate it for dinner and there was 1 serving left for me to have for lunch the next day. It was great. Very tasty and easy to make too.

Austrian Lentil and Bacon Soup

1/2 pound smoked slab bacon (preferably Speck), rind removed
2 quarts water
2 cups dried quick-cooking lentils, rinsed
1 medium leek (part of the light green leaves included), finely chopped
1 celery rib, finely chopped
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 frankfurters, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds

Cut 2 slices from he bacon slab and set the slab aside on the plate. In a large skillet, fry the bacon slices until they render their fat. Transfer the slices to a plate and set the skillet of fat aside.

In a heavy 4-5 quart pot or casserole, bring the water to a boil. Add the lentils, the slab and slices of cooked bacon and the leek, celery, and carrot. Return to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover and simmer for 30 minutes.

Heat the fat in the skillet over moderate heat, add the onion, and stir till softened, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle the flour over the onion, reduce the heat to low, and stir till the flour is golden brown. Ladle about 1/2 cup of lentil soup into the skillet and whisk till the mixture is thick and smooth. Add the vinegar and salt and pepper and stir well. Scrape the contents of the skillet into the lentil soup, stir well. Cover and simmer till the lentils are tender, about 30 minutes.

With a slotted spoon remove the bacon to a cutting surface, cut into small dice and return it to the soup with the frankfurter rounds. Simmer about 5 minutes longer and serve the soup hot in heavy soup bowls.

Makes 6 Servings