Chili Relleno Casserole ...p67

I must apologize for the quality of my photos.  My camera was left on an airplane and, unfortunately for me, but fortunately for the thief, it was finders keepers.  I am using my cell phone now for photos, which does an okay job.  I'm disappointed though as I was just learning how to use f-stops and get creative with the camera - I may just have to experiment now with instagram and the creative apps for shooting with an i-phone!

Back to cooking!

I fell in love with this egg recipe the first time my mother-in-law cooked it up.  You can serve it for any meal of the day, dress it up, or just reheat all week long for a quick breakfast, and it's so much easier to make than a quiche with the time threatening crust, (unless, of course, you make the Bisquick quiche or buy premade crusts...).  I have doctored it up at times with cooked, crumbled sausage or bacon.

I like to top it with sour cream and hot sauce, maybe a few sliced jalapeños, and accompany with fresh sliced tomatoes. 

Layer the whole green chilies on the bottom of pan.

Top layer of cheese adds a golden crust.

Hardy Appetit!

Buffalo Chicken Salad ...p34

This recipe introduced me to two ingredients I've never used before:  Frank's hot sauce and Panko breadcrumbs.  I've kept a bottle of Frank's in my fridge since - like Tabasco with body.....and I plan to use Panko more often.  It's oxymoronic.  Is that a word?  The crumbs are soft, yet crunchy..... 


A really great combination with a slightly tangy dressing of blue cheese and yogurt - you'll enjoy it if you like chicken wings with a side of blue cheese. 

Hardy Appetit!

Cashew Chicken ...p53

Most of you readers are probably too young to remember when Cashew Chicken was about the only Chinese cooking we did at home!  Before woks were readily available at Walmart, Target....oh, we didn't have those stores then either.

We did have local stand alone butchers where we could choose our chicken (live) and have the butcher slaughter it on the spot.  Our local Detroit butcher was Vergote's.  We kids would hide behind mom's skirt listening to the squawk as the butcher's ax fell with a thud across the chicken's neck.  Then we'd eagerly open our eyes to watch the chicken run around the little kitchen with his head cut off.  By the time we studied descriptive phrases in English, we knew what the figurative "running around like a chicken with its head cut off" literally looked like.

Compare that to this conversation between modern kids, "yeah, we went to Walmart, where mom walked the rows and rows of packaged chicken and tried to decide, 'breasts? thighs? wings? boneless breasts?' It's as if she'd never seen a chicken before!" 

The combination of cashews with chicken is still a winner.  The critic loved this simple but tasty recipe.  NOTE:  The ingredients in the cookbook don't list the rice (which from my picture, you can see I didn't have!), lettuce, green onions, and most important, cashews, or their respective quantities, so be sure to determine quantities you'll need before leaving for the store!  And there is a typo in the cookbook, Fry the chicken, don't dry it :-) 

Hardy Appetit!

Dear Abby's Pecan Pie ...p89

My comment for Thanksgiving:  Make this pie. 

Delicious despite my error in not adding butter until I had already mixed in the pecans.  Oops.  I poured it over the top and stirred it in.  It was still perfect!  Combined with the Perfect Pie Crust, all agreed this was worthy of repeat!

My sister turned me on to this trick after years of my tearing thin strips of foil and wrapping pie crust edges to prevent over-browning:  just tear off a square a little bigger than your pie tin, fold in half and cut out the middle - voila!  a perfect foil circle to lay over the browning edges!

Hardy Appetit!

Perfect Pie Crust ...p89

Perfecting pie crust is no easy task, but the critic mastered this years ago. 

One day after 9/11, a stroke severely limited the use of the left side of her body, and I thought she'd never make pies again.  Not so.  It is now one of my greatest joys to watch her toss the dough and determine the point at which it is just the right consistency to roll out.  She uses her hands and what a delight it is to see her use both her hands; her brain doesn't instruct her to use her left, so we've dubbed it "Mr. Lonely," in order to isolate those instructions.  "Tell Mr. Lonely to hold the bowl."  And he does, but he must be told.  She refuses to use a fork like I do to toss the dough, insisting her fingers tell her when it is just right, "that's your problem making dough - you're afraid to touch it!" and I am - I've always heard you don't touch the dough.  But hers is the golden touch and every crust she makes is delectable and flaky.  She says the secret is she doesn't "press" the dough, she just tosses it. 

The recipe was contributed by my sister, who runs a very close second to my mom in pie-crust making! So this Perfect Pie Crust was my attempt to, well, make it perfect. 

And it was excellent, no doubt, but I still prefer my mama's no measure, touch technique! 

Hardy Appetit!

Sweet Potato Crunch Casserole ...p66

Oh. my. gosh.

I love sweet potatoes anyway, but topped with this crunch, love reaches a new super sweet delight!  It's as if a package of pecan pralines was crumbled all over the top.  If you're diabetic, you might wanna not tempt yourself here....

The critic went wild over this side dish.  I share her delight and have decided I will use this topping (not the sweet potatoes) as the crunchy topping in every apple crisp recipe from now on. 

Hardy Appetit!

Spinach Salad ...p35

Amp up your meal tonight with a dark green spinach salad using this simple, tasty dressing.  One warning.  The dressing makes a lot....  I wasn't sure if I should use it all on my one simple bag of prewashed spinach leaves, or bottle the extra.  I chose to bottle the extra, feeling I drenched the leaves plenty with a good pour and could use this again on other salads.  If you don't want your salad soupy wet, I'd suggest you reduce the recipe by 2/3. 

Or eat it at Linda's and see how it's really done.

Hardy Appetit!

Peanut Butter Cookies ...p99

A Victor is declared in the battle of the Peanut Butter Cookies....

It seems we either love peanut butter or we don't.  I happen to love peanut butter, but steer clear of popping too many cookies in my mouth when my husband is near.  One might think he had an allergy to peanuts from his ability to whiff the first, escaping trace from the lifting of the lid.  Worse if I seductively lick it off my lips as he enters the room.  Nothing like the aroma of peanut butter to kill the mood.  Perhaps his dislike stems from his brother's great love of peanut butter - one got the love gene, the other the don't like (I won't say hate, as he wouldn't like that word too much!).

While these peanut butter cookies are nothing to complain about, we all (minus my husband) concurred that the "Classic Peanut Butter Cookies" on the same page of the cookbook is tastier and creamier.  Perhaps this is due to the fact it has 1/2 cup more butter....yum, I love butter.   But if you need to save that last stick of butter, then by all means, these cookies will satisfy your peanut butter tastebuds just fine!

Hardy Appetit!

Crazy Crust Pizza ...p60

In years past,  I have made this pizza and remember the crust truly being crazy - puffy with crests and valleys...this time that didn't really happen.  I may not have cooked it in the right pan, using a 9" x 13" baking pan rather than a pizza pan, which may explain the sanity of this crust.  Oh there were puffs but gentle like easy listening waves instead of rock.... 

My crests were below grade, rather than above...

My favorite topping - slightly crisp mushrooms and onions

The critic, as well as my son, loved this pizza crust.  I loved the consistency of taste and texture and the ease of making it!  You'll love adding your own favorite toppings to this "Crazy Crust." 


Hardy Appetit!

Drop Dumplings ...p86

I love it when the critic loves her very own recipe without knowing it's hers.  It means that I'm cooking like my mama and that's a good thing because usually I have trouble making dumplings.  Just not my forté.

 These dumplings, however, were simple to make and remained moist during the devouring of the first helping into the second.  In fact, I served them up for lunch the next day and they were still quite good - not pasty and gooey like some I've made.

If one of the things you dislike about baking pies, dumplings, and the likes, is the task of lifting the dough off your flour-strewn counter, invest in a Silpat.  It's a silicone, non-stick baking mat...safe to use in high oven temps (though I've never used it in the oven);  I use it as a non-stick mat.  It's wonderful! 

Hardy Appetit!

Microwave English Muffin Bread ...p87

Ready to rise

Bread cooked in a microwave?  My husband's mother, way back in the late 70s, ahead of the times, took a microwave cooking class when the rest of us were terrified that the machine was going to cook the cook and not the contents.  I'm not sure how much the fear was warranted, but the story of the elderly woman who, desiring to quickly dry her poodle by placing it in the microwave, only to have it go poof! had all of us scared to attempt anything more than reheating our leftovers or boiling water....and that at arm's length.

Risen to the top of the loaf pan, now ready to bake.

Well, most of us are still here and the microwave has become standard equipment in just about every household in America.  And if the only thing I ever cooked in a microwave was this bread, I would want one on my counter.

Fully baked loaves.....still pale, ready to be sliced and toasted.

This bread is so easy to make, I often am baffled as to why I don't make it regularly!  If you just slice and eat, you'll find it bland -  this bread is designed to be toasted - just like English Muffins.   Along with some tasty jam, it makes a lovely Christmas gift for your friends and neighbors.

Hardy Appetit!

Sara's Summer Squash ...p81

A lot of you (especially men it seems) don't like this illustrious, dull vegetable, therefore, we cooks disguise it with tomatoes, eggplants, zucchini and cheese and call it Ratatouille, hoping that you will find it palatable.  In reality, I think squash suffers from a bad reputation because of its presentation in just about every institutional cafeteria as a "squashed," overcooked, tasteless vegetable devoid of any flavor.  Unlike the crisp explosion of moisture refreshment you get from sliced cucumbers, the moisture derived from sliced, cooked squash tastes like, well, slime.

Yet, I love squash. I love the beautiful yellow blossoms that indicate the vine is about to bear fruit, and usually lots of it.....  I love the satisfaction of pulling a basketful of squash off the vine, and just looking at it on my kitchen table for days.  I love the creamy yellow of the skin.  I love, even more, eating it when cooked up in a tasty casserole like Sara's Summer Squash. 

The critic enjoyed this recipe as much as we did.

Hardy Appetit!

Cucumber Salad ...p32

Just recently my husband asked if I knew that a person can live on cucumbers.  I know that they are refreshing to eat and use cosmetically....I'm not certain about all the nutrients they contain, and I won't go into that as I did with broccoli, but the facts are out there.  Cucumbers are very good for you.  Optimally, eat the whole thing - peel, pulp and seeds for the most benefit - but if you ARE going to eat the skin, be sure to buy organic.  Evidently, organic means the wax is non-synthetic and free from chemical contaminants.  

The critic loves cucumbers - perhaps one of the reasons she has lived a long, reasonably healthy life.  Mom's preference though is to have them sliced and soaked in vinegar and salt, just the way her dad just to like them.  I wish I could keep a bowl going in the fridge all the time, but they're likely to be gobbled up in one sitting.  

Seedless English cucumber

Begs you to bite down on this hydrating wonder!

This recipe calls for soaking in sour cream as well as the vinegar, and while there is no mention of letting them sit for any length of time in the refrigerator, they are better after sitting a few hours  or overnight in the refrigerator.  The critic thinks cucumbers served this way are YUM.  I only used one very long seedless cucumber without reducing the amount of sour cream - which I think should have been done - or you be sure to use 3 large cucumbers or 2 English cucumbers.  I love the addition of the white onions in this recipe - nice flavoring.

 

Hardy Appetit!

Broccoli Salad ...p31

Broccoli has suffered long enough from a maligned reputation, thanks in part to President George Herbert Walker Bush who banned it from service on Air Force One way back in 1990.  In my attempt to bring honor back to this misunderstood veggie, I googled "broccoli" for some reasons why it should be on your dinner plate this week.

I was shocked to find out all I did.

DETOXIFIES  Nutritionally, broccoli is like that threefold cord not easily broken mentioned in the Bible - Eccl. 4:12, in its job of detoxifying our bodies.  According to WHFoods,

Broccoli has a strong, positive impact on our body's detoxification system, and researchers have recently identified one of the key reasons for this detox benefit. Glucoraphanin, gluconasturtiian, and glucobrassicin are 3 glucosinolate phytonutrients found in a special combination in broccoli. This dynamic trio is able to support all steps in body's detox process, including activation, neutralization, and elimination of unwanted contaminants.

IMPROVES USE OF VITAMIN D  Most people over age 50 find the need to supplement their Vitamin D intake.  Well, please eat your broccoli then because broccoli just loves to assist in the metabolic balance of Vitamin D with Vitamins K and A that it contains in abundance.  

ACTS AS ANTI-INFLAMMATORY  A flavonoid (Kaempferol) in broccoli has anti-inflammatory qualities.

LOWERS CHOLESTEROL  Broccoli, when lightly steamed, binds with the bile acids in your digestive tract to excrete cholesterol.

FIGHTS CANCER  But please don't cook your broccoli to mush because that destroys sulforaphane - an extremely potent cancer-fighting agent and immune system booster.  ScienceDaily.com

1 1/2 cups served 2-3 times a week is the minimum recommended serving, but to get the most out of its cancer-fighting properties, 2 cups 4-5 times per week is optimum.

Statistics however show that the average American eats 4 1/2 pounds per year.  Is that enough?

If one pound of chopped broccoli = 4 1/2 cups,
 or  1 lb:4.5 cups,   then
    52 lbs:234 cups (1.5 cups x 3 svgs. x 52 weeks) recommended servings

If my math is right, we are sorely deficient in our broccoli intake, to the tune of 47.5 lbs short per year.

NATURAL SUNSCREEN  Broccoli doesn't have to be served as "trees".  Popular now are the broccoli sprouts - added to your sandwich or salad just like alfalfa or bean sprouts.  The latest bad news to bounce around is that our sunscreen lotions that we slather on routinely are suspected of causing the very skin cancer it is designed to protect against.  Well, eat those broccoli sprouts - they contain an extract that boosts your natural ability to defend yourself against UV rays.  That extract is the same sulforaphane mentioned above and when rubbed on skin is proving to substantially protect it from UV rays without the carcinogenic effects!

And broccoli doesn't have to be boring.  Use it as the basis for salads, soups, a side dish, casserole, dessert (yes, dessert!), or drinks....

If you're not quite that adventurous that you'd make a dessert or drink using broccoli, try this salad recipe.  Loaded with healthy additions like raisins and cheese, it satisfies with a nice crunch and just a touch of sweetness. It's also very pretty in a clear salad dish.

Hardy Appetit!

Demers Crêpes ...p107

I haven't cooked a crêpe since living in Canada 30 years ago, and I cooked them on the bottom (yes, the bottom) of my then brand new frying pan which I still use almost daily - though this morning I didn't attempt to use the bottom due to 30 years of burner etchings!  In fact, while I type, I remember I poured the crêpe batter onto a plate and dipped the bottom of the pan into the batter to just coat it - that's how I got them super thin.  Now I'm going to have to try this recipe again just to attempt that technique again!

If you've never tried cooking up crêpes - try.  They are wonderful - whatever is wrapped in them is enhanced by, not overwhelmed by, the delicate flavor of the french version of a tortilla.  This morning to celebrate America's birthday, we wrapped our crêpes around real whipped cream flavored with ginger (thanks, Jenn!), then topped with a medley of blueberries and raspberries - RED, WHITE & BLUE - and a thin stream of chocolate.  Let's just say they started our day with flavor fireworks!  Superb.

Lift, tilt and twirl the pan slowly to coat the bottom of your pan.  Remember to keep it thin.

Not every one turns out;  just keep a handy stockpile to nibble on while cooking.

Below is an excerpt from the cookbook:

M&M enjoy these for brunch on special occasions.  This is from Marc's Grandmother Therese Gratton-Sebek's tried and true recipe from Laval, Quebec.  Crêpes can be topped to suit individual tastes using pre-chopped fruits, cheeses, syrup, etc.  Be as creative as your tastebuds will allow!  We Demers like to smother our with a Lindt milk chocolate bar pre-melted in a bowl in the microwave, strawberries, blueberries, whipped cream and syrup (believe it or not we are actually very health conscious people!)  Since only one can be cooked at a time, we keep a 'stack' warming in the oven while the others are being cooked in the frying pan so that we can eat simultaneously.

Hardy Appetit! and GOD BLESS AMERICA, land that I love.

Addendum to Pink Ladies

Recently we celebrated my sister's 60th birthday.  Yikes, can it be?  She doesn't look a day older than 29.  And in our hearts we will always remain just that.  Her family had a super surprise party for her, dubbing it the Pink Ladies party, though not constrained to ladies or the color pink.  If you read my previous Pink Ladies post, you know it's a dwindling family tradition and my sister's sweet daughter-in-law, of French Canadian descent, wanted to rekindle our love affair with this somewhat disappearing drink concoction. 

Therefore, I'm sharing with you this lovely video in the hopes that someone in each of our respective families volunteers to undertake this bartending task each year.



"Les dames roses sont chaudes, chaudes, chaudes...."

Red Cocktail Sauce for Shrimp ...p13

The only time I buy bottled Cocktail Sauce is when my husband grabs it in the grocery store....this recipe has never failed to be a pleaser and I'm pleased to say tonight, it was extra-special.  Reason being?  My husband made the added horseradish sauce from scratch!

If you've never tried, do!  It's so easy if you have a food processor.  One chunk of horseradish root, a bit of vinegar and salt make about a pint-sized jar.  Radically different from the store bought horseradish sauce that sometimes tastes "funny" - this tasted fresh and pungent.  We learned from the fantastic blog The Garden of Eating that once you blend it smooth, the longer you wait before adding the vinegar, which acts as a neutralizer, the hotter the horseradish.  We opted to wait the full 3 minutes before neutralizing....perfect to our taste!  And perfect when added fresh to this cocktail sauce.

The critic inherited her love of horseradish from her father,

remarking that this was a "generational blessing" as opposed to "curse," so she was the official taste tester:  "YUM YUM YUM," she exclaimed.....

Shrimp, onions, artichokes, and purple potatoes went into the pot along with some seasonings to combine for an "elegant" casual dinner, concocted so that we could comment on the red cocktail sauce.

Hardy Appetit!

Nana's Pigs in a Blanket ...p47

Perhaps to you, pigs in a blanket conjure up "Pigpen" from Peanuts...or little teeny sausages swaddled in biscuits, but that's not what I see.  I see a full kitchen table, populated with my lovely family - think the 1960s (yes, there was still a semblance of family in that decade - not everyone was drinking the Kool-Aid, and many of us didn't camp out at Woodstock, but on the family farms...in our dresses and pearls).

Think mom in her cigarette pants, hair done up in a bun, dad coming home from a hard day's work, and "cabbage rolls" waiting to be dished up on nine empty plates.  Happy times.

Simple ingredients.  Cabbage, beef (not pork as the name infers), rice and tomato sauce.

Mix beef, onions, egg, s&p together

Parboil a head of cabbage

Place beef mixture on leaf, fold sides over and roll up

I make any extra beef into meatballs

Cover with tomato sauce and extra leaves, then bake!

I've assembled pigs in a blanket countless times just by remembering what mom did, but this time I followed her recipe, and wished I was doing it in cigarette pants. 

I'm sure you know nana's opinion without even clicking on "recipe."  We all agree, these are wonderful. 

Hardy Appetit!