Category Archives: Favorites

Favorites: Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

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“Muffins are one of my favorite breakfast foods. You can bake up a batch on the weekend, freeze them, and microwave one for breakfast direct from the freezer.”

The above was written by me for my 1990s blog, and it’s still true! I have over 40 muffin recipes in my personal “Muffins” document!

I published this recipe for Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins in my old 1990s blog. I call this recipe “my own”, since I pooled several recipes and tweaked the ingredients until we all thought them perfect.

I don’t make these muffins a lot any more. They come with a pretty high calorie and fat content (about 225 calories/muffin), and it’s hard to eat just one of these. And today I choose butter over margarine, and usually try to use a vegetable oil instead of butter. Saturated fats and all that. Finally, I like my breads to pack more of a fiber and nutrient wallop, and these muffins offer little of either.

I save these muffins for special occasions, when we have company or when I’m in the mood to through caution to the wind. Or when I commit to extra 10 minutes on the stair climber.

I guarantee, these are great muffins.

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

  • 2 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt
  • 1/2 cup margarine
  • 3/4 cup sugar
  • 2 eggs
  • 2/3 cup sour cream
  • 1/4 cup lemon juice (preferably fresh)
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla
  • 3 tablespoons poppy seeds
  • 1 teaspoon grated lemon peel

Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Cream margarine and sugar until fluffy, then add eggs one at a time. Add flour mixture alternately with sour cream, lemon juice, and vanilla; beat until blended. Fold in poppy seeds and lemon peel.

Put into 12 muffin cups and sprinkle tops with sugar if desired. Bake at 375˚ for 18-20 minutes.

muffins

Favorites: Shui Mai

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The “Shui Mai” that I make are little pork-shrimp dumplings encased in a wonton wrapper, steamed, and served with a soy sauce-based dipping sauce. The spelling of “shui mai” varies according to the country or region of origin, and the Americanization thereof. In general, they are bite-sized dumplings served on small plates.

There are a lot of recipes already on the web for shui mai. I’m not offering a particularly special recipe – I’m just encouraging everyone to make shui mai because they are GOOD!

My recipe for shui mai entered my repertoire in the1970s. I learned of these treats from The Chinese Cookbook by Charles Claiborne and a clipped recipe from a magazine, way before shui mai (and pot stickers) became popular out and about. I made them just the other night when trying out the recipe for Chinese Asparagus Salad. Once again they were wonderful!

You need a steamer, either the electric kind or the stacked-bamboo type that sits in a wok. Shui mai take a little time to make but are worth every minute.

Shui Mai


This recipe makes about 40 dumplings and serves about 4 people. Usually, I serve shui mai as part of a meal, perhaps with a stir fry and rice. They aren’t a meal in themselves, they are dim sum, a “small plate” food. If you make too many, they are great the next day!

  • 1/2 lb ground pork (use a fresh, quality ground pork)
  • 1/2 lb raw shrimp, chopped into small pieces but not ground
  • 1/4 cup minced water chestnuts
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped mushrooms (preferably shitake)
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped green onions
  • 1 tablespoon soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon dry sherry or Chinese rice wine (optional)
  • 1 teaspoon cornstarch
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • wonton skins (you need about 40 skins)
  • 1 egg beaten with 1 tablespoon water
  • dipping sauce (recipe follows)

Combine the filling ingredients. Brush a wonton skin with the egg-water mixture, then place about a teaspoon of filling in the center. Press together opposite corners of the square to make a packet. (See the photo of finished shui mai.)

Place the filled dumplings in a steamer. I use an electric steamer and I usually spray the plastic trays with Pam to prevent sticking.

Steam 20-25 minutes (in steamer).

Dipping Sauce

  • 1/2 cup soy sauce
  • 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
  • 1 teaspoon minced garlic
  • 1/2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
  • 1/2 teaspoon sugar
  • a few drops hot chile oil (or use 1 tablespoon Thai sweet chili sauce, or pepper flakes)
  • sesame oil to taste (optional)
  • 2 green onions, chopped fine
  • 1 tablespoon chopped cilantro (optional)

Chinese mealThe shui mai are at about 4 o’clock on the plate, with the dipping sauce in the center. There are many ways to gather in the sides of the wonton skins to form these dumplings; feel free to be creative. Round skins (gyozo) can also be used. And of course, you can vary the ingredients.

Favorites: Pork with Paprika and Mushrooms

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Time to write down a recipe for something that I have always cooked without a recipe. It’s something that I just “throw together”. But this one needs to be shared, it’s that good and simple.

I used to take inexpensive cuts of meat and cook them for hours in onions, seasonings, and stock. When tender, I’d stir in a bit of sour cream and serve over noodles or rice. Comfort food. In the last several years, my old method for making this dish gravitated towards the recipe below. Instead of tough meat, I use pork tenderloin. This version only takes about 30 minutes prep and cooking time.

My husband asks: “What is that dish you are making?” and I never know what to call it. It emerged from my repertoire unnamed. Is it a stroganoff? A goulash? A paprikash? I really don’t know. All I know is that it’s very good, easy, and low-calorie (especially if you use non-fat yogurt).

You might already make something like this, but if not, try this easy recipe. I’ve named it “Pork with Paprika and Mushrooms”.

Pork with Paprika and Mushrooms


Serves 2.

  • 9-11 ounces pork tenderloin, cut into 1/8-1/4-inch round or scallop-shaped pieces
  • 1 small onion
  • 1/2 red bell pepper, sliced (optional)
  • 2 teaspoons paprika
  • 2 tablespoons flour
  • 1 cup chicken broth
  • 3-4 ounces mushrooms (about 4 large), sliced
  • 3 tablespoons sour cream or Greek non-fat yogurt
  • noodles (3 ounces dry will serve 2 people)

Halve the onion, then cut into slices. Saute in a little hot olive oil (add the bell pepper slices too if you are using them). When it begins to soften, add the pork tenderloin and cook a few minutes, until all the pieces are browned on all sides. Add the paprika and flour and stir until the flour is incorporated, then stir in the chicken broth and mushrooms. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Simmer the mixture, covered or uncovered, for about 20 minutes. While it simmers, cook some noodles. Currently, I like pappardelle noodles. These are wide, long noodles, usually sold dry and nested. Fettuccini would work well too, or short, wide noodles.

When you are almost ready to serve, stir in the sour cream and gently heat for a minute or two. To serve, spoon the pork mixture over the noodles.

Here’s how it looks just before you add the sour cream/yogurt. You want a small amount of thick gravy, since the sour cream will thin this sauce.

Pork Paprika

Here it is, plated.

Pork Paprika

 

1990s blog and Favorites: Mexican Pizza

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Mexican PizzaThis Mexican Pizza is a bit unusual, in that the dough itself has several flavorings. I clipped the recipe from a magazine decades ago, and made changes over the years as my own cooking methods developed.

For many years, I cooked this as an 16-inch round pizza on either a cookie sheet, a perforated pizza pan, or a pizza stone, baking at 425˚ for 20 minutes. Lately, though, I’ve been making small, individual pizzas and rolling the dough thinner and baking at 475˚ for 15 minutes. We like it both ways, so I’ll give directions for both methods.

Each time I make this pizza, I vary the toppings. Be creative! Chorizo is often one of my choices. It’s a Mexican-style sausage. Often local stores carry locally-produced chorizo and every company that makes it seems to use a different recipe. Some are very spicy, some are very fatty. I always cook it first and blot with paper towels to get the fat off. And taste it to make sure it’s not too hot.

Mexican Pizza
Full-size baking method


One pizza serves 3-4 people.

Dough:

  • 3/4 cup water
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1 minced clove garlic
  • 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • dash cayenne
  • 1 tablespoon oil
  • 1 2/3 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup masa
  • 1 tablespoon yeast

Necessary toppings:

  • 12 ounce can tomato sauce seasoned to taste with cumin, chile powder, red pepper flakes, basil (fresh is best), and oregano (preferably Mexican oregano) – I like to simmer this mixture for about 15 minutes
  • 12 ounces Jack cheese
  • 4 ounces mozzarella cheese

Suggested toppings:

  • green onions or cooked red or yellow onions (I like to cook the onions until they wilt, and then add about 1/2 teaspoon each cumin and chile powder)
  • chopped, canned green chiles
  • chopped, cooked green or red bell peppers
  • chopped, cooked tomatoes
  • chopped cilantro
  • olives
  • chorizo or hamburger: cooked and wiped with paper towels to get some of the fat off

Put the dough ingredients in the bread machine. Set the machine to “dough” cycle. (The cycle should knead the dough and then rise it.) Watch the dough carefully during the first five minutes, and add more flour or more water if necessary to make a good ball of dough in the bread machine. (Example photos below.)

(If you don’t have a bread machine, knead the dough until it’s smooth, then let rise until double in bulk and continue with the recipe below.)

When the machine signals that the dough is done, take it out of the bread machine. Roll into a 16 inch circle about 1/4 inch thick. Lightly oil a pizza pan or a cookie sheet and place the dough on it. Top with seasoned tomato sauce, then the cheeses, then pick and choose from the suggested ingredients (or come up with your own ideas).

Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes.

Mexican Pizza
Small-pizza baking method

This baking method is more complicated but we like these personal, crispy pizzas. It’s tricky because you need to assemble each pizza on a pizza peel and then slide onto the hot baking stone, and thus can only do one at a time. If you are making small pizzas for more than two people, I suggest you use a parchment-lined half-sheet pan instead of the baking stone. If you have 2 such pans, you could bake all four small pizzas at once.

Preheat a baking stone in the oven at 475˚ for 30 minutes.

When the dough is finished rising, cut it into 4 pieces. Roll each into 7-8″ circle. Sprinkle some corn meal or semolina flour on a pizza peel. One at a time, place the small pizza rounds on the pizza peel. Top with seasoned tomato sauce, then the cheeses, then the vegetables and meat. Transfer to the oven and bake 15 minutes.

My stone fits two small pizzas at a time. You can only prepare one pizza on the peel at a time, so I put them into the oven staggered. Just use a timer and remember which one you put in first. When the first two are done, do the same with the second two.

They have to cool a little before you eat them, and by the time you do eat them, you are ready for seconds and the next two pizzas are done. I always make all 4 small pizzas for the two of us. Yes, we have leftovers. Yes, we eat them cold. And yes, we each try to get to them first. Dibs!

Making small pizzas: photos

First, the dough. I know my bread machine, and usually, after 5 minutes a dough with the correct amount of moisture will begin clumping. Mine had not begun clumping:

doughSo I dripped in about 2 tablespoons of water, checked after a few minutes, and it looked right. Starting to clump:

dough

Here it is near the end of the kneading cycle: SONY DSC

In the photo below, the dough is finished and my sauce (in the pan), cheese, and toppings are shown mise en place. I chose red onions, butcher counter fresh chorizo, whole olives cut in half, and cilantro as toppings – and the jack and mozzarella cheeses of course. I like to saute my onions in a tiny amount of oil, salt to sweat, and then when they are soft, sprinkle with Mexican oregano, cumin, and hot chile powder. I was told in cooking class that one reason to cook onions before using in a dish is to make them more amenable to taking up seasonings. It works: these seasoned onions are very good on their own, and definitely perk up the pizza.

pizza ingredientsHere is a small pizza on the pizza peel, ready to go into the oven. The cooked pizza is at the top of this page.

ready to cook

1990s blog and favorites: Botched-Up Cassoulet

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CassouletI call this “Botched-up Cassoulet” because I do know that a cassoulet is a famous French entree that if prepared according to tradition, is complicated and takes days to prepare. I have an e-mail from a “fellow food fiend” who describes making this dish:

I have been cooking for three days. First I made a complicated true French cassoulet including sausage, lamb and duck. I even bought these wonderful white beans that I can only get in the Bay Area. When we were there over the weekend I stocked up. I wish you could see these beans, they are so beautiful I can barely stand to cook them. They look nothing like beans in a bag.

I looked up “cassoulet” in my authoritative cookbook, The Best International Recipe (from Cook’s Illustrated, Christopher Kimball). Sure enough, a cassoulet recipe is offered: flageolet beans, boneless pork shoulder, garlic pork sausages, and confit duck legs. The duck confit alone takes over a day to make. And the authors admit that even this is a toned down version, appropriate for a home cook. (But we all know, hint hint, that a true cassoulet can only be made by a properly trained chef.)

I offer instead a tasty version that is very good and can be relatively low in fat. While being high in fiber and nutrition. And being very easy to make. The original recipe is from one of my slow cooker cookbooks. I’ve made this tons of times and included it on the short list of recipes in my 1990s blog. It’s yummy, even to my non-bean-loving dining partner.

Botched-Up Cassoulet (crock pot method)


1990s note by me: A true European “cassoulet” is, I believed, baked in a special ceramic casserole under special conditions. I remember reading about it once. It is one of those esoteric topics that true chefs like to go on at length about. Here is my version. Do not be afraid to substitute anything, just keep the total liquid to the amounts specified.

Serves 2-3 people.

  • 15 oz. can navy beans*
  • 8 oz. can tomato sauce
  • 2 carrots cut into 1/2 inch pieces
  • 1 stalk celery, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 1 clove garlic, minced
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/2 teaspoon basil (use a tablespoon of fresh basil if you have it)
  • 1/2 teaspoon oregano
  • 1 cup water plus 1 teaspoon chicken bouillon (or use chicken stock)
  • about 1 cup chicken, cooked or not
  • about 3/4 cup ham or sausage

Put it all in the crock pot and cook on low 10-12 hours.

*Navy beans are those small white beans, often sold as Great Northern beans. Instead of using canned, you can buy them dry, soak overnight, and boil, with salt to taste, until done.

Non-crock pot method

You might note that the photo at the top of this page reveals that I cooked the cassoulet in a Le Creuset rather than a slow cooker. Sometimes I prefer to cook it this way. Part of the problem is that my current slow cooker is pretty big and a meal for two people gets lost in it. So, the following is my method for baking the cassoulet in a covered casserole. I like to cook the onions first, and the Le Creuset allows me to do that on the stove top and then add the rest of the ingredients for the baking step.

Directions: Use the same ingredients as listed in the slow cooker method, above. Begin by cooking the onions until they are soft, then add the garlic and cook 30 seconds. (If your casserole cannot be used on the stove top, you can skip this pre-cook step.) Combine all of the ingredients in the casserole and cover it. (My choice for chicken is bone-in, skinned thighs. I used three of these chicken thighs along with a half-cup of ham for the two of us when cooking the cassoulet in the photo.)

Bake at 325˚ for two hours. Then, uncover, turn the oven up to 400˚, and cook for about another 20 minutes. Check a couple times during this uncovered baking period; it’s time to take it out of the oven when most – but not all – of the liquid has evaporated.

This is extra good with some bread crumbs on top. So if you want to, roughly shred  enough sourdough bread to make about 3/4 cup crumbs. Saute these large crumbs in a small amount of butter. Put on the uncovered casserole in the last 15 minutes of the baking time.

Read the introduction to my 1990s cooking blog for background information.

 

Chicken Tagine

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This recipe became part of my repertoire in 2006. I combined a recipe clipped from a magazine and class notes from the Mediterranean cooking class that I took at the Culinary School of the Rockies (now Escoffier). Input from my daughter’s Moroccan boyfriend and his family helped too. The recipe is now fine-tuned and tested enough to share. I have to tame down the olives and saffron to suit my dining partner; I’m giving options for those (like me) who love these ingredients.

A “tagine” is basically a stew. It gets its name from tagine, a traditional pot with origins in North Africa. A tagine is a flat cooking dish with a lid that has tall, sloping sides. It is meant for long, slow cooking of meats, allowing time for the meat to tenderize, while the cooking liquid constantly condenses on the lid and drops back into the pot. Authentic tagines are earthenware and colorful. I would have loved for my daughter to bring me one home from her travels, but they are a little too big to fit in a backpack. Instead, I purchased a westernized one made by LeCreuset. It has a cast iron base (good for browning meats) and a stoneware lid.

TagineMy tagine recipe can be cooked just as well in any heavy, lidded stove top pan, or baked in the oven in a stove-top-to-oven casserole. When we made a lamb tagine in cooking class, we cooked it both ways, and none of us could tell a difference.

About the olives. My first choice are the big, green “Greek” olives, probably from a market’s open deli section. Do not use the bottled “Spanish olives” used for martinis. Do not use stuffed olives. Greek olives might be called Ionian, Nafplion, or “cracked green”. (Here’s the Cooks Thesaurus reference on olives.) You can use kalamata olives; these are smaller and purplish-black, but they are almost as good in this dish, and are good jarred, so you don’t have to make a special trip to the store. The original recipe called for 2 cups of olives; I cut this down to 1/2 cup so that I could serve it to my dining partner. I’ll usually add more to my own serving, although they are best cooked into the sauce, as they help thicken the dish.

About the “preserved lemons”. This is a Moroccan specialty. They are difficult to find in local stores, but are pretty easy to make. I was given some at my cooking class, and later by some Moroccan friends. But I’ve substituted plain lemons as in the recipe below and find they work fine (at least for this non-connoisseur).

Chicken Tagine


This serves about 4-5 people. It can easily be cut in half for 2-3 people.

  • 8 large boneless, skinless chicken thighs, skinned and cut into big chunks
  • 3/4 cup onion, chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • salt (to taste)
  • 1/2 cup cilantro, minced
  • 1/2 cup parsley, minced
  • 1 teaspoon cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ginger
  • 1 teaspoon paprika
  • 1/4 teaspoon saffron (optional)
  • 1/2 teaspoon pepper (or to taste)
  • 2 average-size potatoes; Yukon golds work well but any will do
  • 2 cups water or chicken stock
  • 1/2 cup Greek green olives (Ionian or Nafplion)
  • 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice (about 1 lemons-worth of juice)
  • grated peel of 1/2 lemon (or use 1/2 of a Moroccan preserved lemon, peel only, chopped fine)
  • 1 1/2 tablespoon cornstarch dissolved in a little water
  • chopped fresh cilantro and parsley for garnish

Cook onions in a small amount of olive oil until they wilt, salting to sweat, then add the garlic and stir for 30 seconds. Add the chicken and stir for several minutes, then add the cilantro, parsley, cumin, ginger, paprika, saffron, pepper, potatoes, and stock.

Simmer, covered, about an hour. (Or, bake in a 350˚ oven, covered, for an hour.) Add olives, lemon juice, and lemon peel. Slowly and with stirring, add the cornstarch and water. Simmer a few minutes until it thickens. Taste and adjust seasonings.

Sprinkle with a little chopped fresh cilantro and parsley and serve over couscous or rice.

Chicken TagineThis is one of my new comfort foods!

Apple Oat Bread

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apple breadApple Oat Bread is a great bread for toast and for peanut butter sandwiches. It’s been a favorite of mine for twenty years. The recipe originated in the small booklet that came with my first bread machine.

I thought about making this bread a couple weeks ago – I craved it. But alas, I didn’t have any dried apples in the house. I put “dried apples” prominently on my next shopping list. I tried the groovier store first (Whole Foods), but only found some brownish ones in the bulk section. No problem, I’ll get them at the regular store (Safeway). But they had no packaged or bulk dried apples. Only some “apple chips” that had been fried in oil.

Okaaay. Guess I’ll have to make my own. So I purchased a few fresh apples. The next day I used my dehydrator to dry them …

dried apples… and the next day I made Apple Oat Bread. It was worth it all! My recipe is below. Please refer to my post “My Daily Bread” for my methods of kneading, rising, and baking yeast breads, as well as information on flours and measuring.

Apple Oat Bread

  • 1 cup apple juice
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons butter
  • 1 teaspoon sugar
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1/3 cup dried apples, chopped into the size of raisins
  • 12 ounces bread flour (about 2 1/4 cup)
  • 1/2 cup oatmeal (quick works best)
  • 2 1/2 teaspoons yeast

Put all the ingredients in a bread machine and set to the dough cycle. Most machines take about 1 1/2 hours to knead and rise the dough. Some machines have the option to add ingredients like raisins late in the kneading process; this is not really necessary for dried apples because they will hold up okay through the kneading process.

When the bread machine is done, remove the dough from the machine and set it on a bread board. Fold it over a few times, then form into a loaf. Put it in an 8 1/2″ x 4″ loaf pan and set it in a warm place to rise until it is above the edges of the loaf pan. (See My Daily Bread for reference.)

Bake at 385˚ for 22 minutes.

It’s yummy toasted with cream cheese and Apple Butter! Toasting brings out the cinnamon, permeating the whole house with its wonderful aroma.

Apple Oat Bread toasted

Lamb Stew, with Cinnamon

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Lamb Stew with Cinnamon

I created this recipe! And I wrote it down, pretty amazing for me, but maybe not so much since this happened during the last two years, so I had the time since I wasn’t working. I wrote the introductory paragraphs then too.

(2011) This all began with a trip to the Savory Spice Shop on the Boulder mall. I brought home the most wonderful cinnamon that perfumed the house for days. I would come in from outside and think “cinnamon, I must use it in a dish other than a dessert!” In the meantime, I put it in a dessert and muffins. Once I ate a re-heated cinnamon-laden muffin for breakfast, and then hours later, in different clothing and hands washed, I was in the last 5 minutes of a 30 minute stint on the ellipticals at the rec center, and very sweaty, and suddenly I smelled cinnamon wafting around my head! I shook my head in amazement.

So back to the idea for a main dish with cinnamon. I thought back to the Mediterranean cooking class I took a few years ago. Cinnamon was in a chicken dish, and a ground lamb dish. I was thinking more of a stew. So I googled lamb and cinnamon and stew, and found a recipe that I based the following recipe on, with changes in spices made from the cooking class recipes.

Was the recipe a success? Yes! Did I get my cinnamon “fix”? Yes I did. Just the sort of complex flavor mix that I was looking for. Mixed with the lamb aroma, the cinnamon itself wasn’t recognizable as pure cinnamon, but it added a complexity that was simply super. The hint of cayenne picked up the flavor to perfection.

This recipe serves two, generously. Since one of my pet peeves is the restaurant tradition of serving the same serving size to a small woman as a large man, I am reluctant to state the number of servings with a pretension of accuracy. It would serve one guy and two women, is my guess. It serves the two of us with some left over, enough for lunch the next day or for the doggies.

Lamb Stew, with Cinnamon


Serve this over rice or couscous. Flatbreads (naan) make a nice addition too.

  • 1 pound boneless lamb stew meat, cut into chunks
  • olive oil or vegetable oil
  • 1 carrot, diced
  • 1 stalk celery, diced
  • 3/4 of a medium onion, sliced thin
  • 3 cloves garlic, chopped
  • 1/2 t cinnamon
  • 1/4 t cumin
  • a few shakes each of: nutmeg, allspice, cloves, and red (cayenne) pepper (watch the cayenne – not too much! really, just a couple shakes!)
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • a couple bay leaves
  • 3 T flour
  • 1 cup of diced, canned tomatoes – about 3/4 of a 14-oz. can
  • 1/2 cup white wine
  • 1/2 cup chicken stock
  • chopped parsley to taste

Brown the lamb in batches in a little hot oil in a pot on the stove. Don’t crowd it; if you put too many of the lamb cubes in at once, they won’t brown as well. As they brown, remove the lamb cubes from the pan and set them in a bowl.

In the same pot that you browned the lamb in, saute the carrots, celery, and onion in a little oil until soft, adding a little salt to help sweat the vegetables. Add the garlic and the spices and salt and pepper and continue to cook and stir for a couple minutes. Add the lamb back to the pot. Add the flour and stir until it’s incorporated. Finally, add the tomatoes, wine, and stock. (Feel free to add a bit more stock if it looks too thick.)

Cover and simmer for at least 2 hours, probably more like 2 1/2 hours. Check periodically; add more stock if it’s too thick, and check the lamb to see if it’s done. You want the lamb to be falling-apart tender, and it takes awhile. (This could be done in a crock pot. I’d suggest 7-8 hours on low.)

Before serving, add some chopped fresh parsley (if you remember! I always forget).

The photo on the top of this post is of the cooked stew. The photo below is before the long simmering step. By the end of the cooking, the celery and onions meld into the sauce and the spices. This really is good, I’ve made it three times and someday I’m sure it will be listed in my “favorites”!
Lamb Stew with Cinnamon, before simmering

 

 

Favorites and 1990s Blog: Beef Jardiniere Crepes

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This favorite recipe for leftover beef in crepes was in my 1990s blog. I’m listing it in both categories because unlike the cookie recipes, which I can  make only rarely, I make this recipe a lot.

I love to make crepes. They are so pretty and yummy. They do take a chunk of time, though, since I always mix them and then let the batter sit for at least an hour before cooking. And pan-cooking the crepes is time-intensive, at least for about 10-15 minutes. This all means that (for me) the time chosen to make crepes is traditionally a slow, leisurely pocket of time, a Sunday afternoon, a time with nothing pressing.

Crepes can be made ahead of time and stored in the refrigerator for several days. For Beef Jardiniere Crepes, I used to make the crepes, filling, and sauce on Sunday, and then on a weekday quickly put them all together and bake. Then it was a 30-minute weekday meal, and delicious and low calorie.

I have watched Alton Brown make crepes on TV, and read about them elsewhere. I make them a little different. I cook both sides, and rarely are my crepes “lacy”. If crepes are lacy, all the good moist filling leaks out. And I really don’t understand why one would only cook one side. Maybe mine are thicker. Maybe mine are better.

I do use a pan sold specifically for crepes. I bought it years ago and it looks like it. It is a cheap, light, non-stick pan with shallow sides. Any 8-10″ non-stick pan will do. To save calories, I lightly coat the pan with non-stick spray (instead of butter) before cooking each crepe. Details on my method are in the text and photos below.

Beef Jardiniere Crepes


I make these a lot. They are yummy, on the low-calorie side, have lots of veggies, and use up leftover roast beef. Plus I just like crepes. [Note to myself in my personal recipe file.]

This recipe serves about 4.

Crepes:

  • 2 eggs
  • 1 cup milk
  • 3/4 cup flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt

Filling:

  • 1 pound leftover cooked beef, chopped into 1/4-1/2″ dice
  • 1 1/2-2 cups beef broth
  • 1/2 cup chopped onion
  • 1/2 cup chopped celery
  • 3/4 cup chopped carrots
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried basil or fresh basil to taste
  • 1/2 teaspoon dried sage or fresh sage to taste
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water

Sauce:

  • 1 1/4 cup reserved cooking liquid
  • 1 tablespoon catsup
  • 1 tablespoon red wine (optional, but good)
  • 1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
  • salt and pepper to taste
  • parsley, fresh or dried, to taste
  • 1 tablespoon cornstarch

Place all crepe ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth, stopping and scraping down a couple times, about 1-2 minutes. Let stand at least one half hour before making the crepes, then blend briefly again.

(At this point, you can jump down to making the filling while the crepes rest.)

Heat a non-stick skillet on medium high until a drop of water sizzles when put in the pan. Or, hold your hand an inch above the pan and see if noticeable heat is coming off it. I keep my pan on a setting between 8 and 9 (with 10 being the highest setting). Give the pan a quick spray with something like Pam (do this before cooking each crepe). Measure out about 1/3 cup crepe batter. Hold the pan in one hand and quickly pour the batter into the pan and rotate the pan so that the batter covers the pan. Cook only 10-20 seconds, until golden brown on the bottom. Then, flip and cook the other side. Continue until all crepes are cooked. (Makes 8-10 crepes.)

Cook the onion, carrots, and celery in a small amount of butter or olive oil until the onion wilts, then add the chopped roast beef and the broth and cover and cook 15 minutes.

Pour off 1 1/4 cup of the vegetable-beef cooking liquid and reserve for the sauce. If too much of the liquid has cooked away, make up to this volume with more beef broth. You want to leave a little liquid behind in the vegetable-beef mixture too, so that it is saucy.

Add the 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water to the vegetable-beef mixture and cook over medium high heat until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat and set aside.

Combine all the sauce ingredients except the cornstarch. If the mixture is cool, you can add the cornstarch directly to it; otherwise, stir the cornstarch into a little water first and then slowly stir it into the sauce. Cook the sauce until thick – this takes just a few minutes.

Note: We like our sauces fairly thick. If I see that the sauce is not thickening as much as I like, I’ll add more cornstarch. This is an individual preference so feel free to make changes.

Fill crepes with vegetable-beef mixture, cover with foil, and bake at 375° for 15-20 minutes. Serve with the heated sauce.

Below is a photo of a crepe just about ready to be turned. See the how the edges are golden brown. And I wasn’t kidding when I said my crepe pan was old and worn – but it works great. crepesNow the second side cooks:

crepes

 A pile of crepes:crepesThe beef and vegetables cooking:

beef and vegetable fillingThe filled crepes waiting to be covered and baked. I usually have a little extra filling that I put over the top of the filled crepes, it makes them look prettier.

filled crepesI wasn’t going to take another photo of the prepared crepes or I wouldn’t have chosen the yellow plate. But plated, they looked so pretty (we both commented on them) that I just couldn’t resist. Below is my one-and-a-half crepe serving, my calorie-allotted amount. It was very good.

plated crepesI usually have some leftover crepes. I don’t mind, I like them for breakfast. Sometimes I fill them with cottage cheese, sprinkle with a little cinnamon, roll up and cook in a non-stick pan for a few minutes. Kind of like healthy crepes suzette. Or I just heat them up and drizzle with syrup. Or we have them for dessert, filled with blueberries. Can’t go wrong having too many crepes about.

Favorites: Italian-Style Turkey Cutlets

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I found this recipe somewhere in a magazine or newspaper way back when: meaning, before I started writing down where and when I got a recipe. It has stood the test of time; I still make it today and I made it when the kids were here too. This recipe is for four people, although now I halve the recipe for just the two of us.

If you can’t find thin turkey breast cutlets, slice a whole breast horizontally. These are best when the crunch-to-juicy-turkey ratio is large.

Today, I generally chop a fresh tomato or two for this dish, since I halve the recipe and who wants half a can of tomatoes leftover. I also use fresh thyme and basil to taste. If you keep the amount of frying oil low and don’t add more mozzarella cheese, this is a great low calorie meal.

Italian-Style Turkey Cutlets

  • 4 turkey breast cutlets or fillets (about 1 1/4 pound for 4 people)
  • 1 egg white
  • 1 tablespoon Dijon-style mustard
  • 1 cup bread crumbs (you will have some leftover)
  • 1/4 cup chopped onions or shallots
  • 1 clove garlic, chopped fine
  • fresh or canned tomatoes (about 2 cups)
  • herbs to taste (thyme, basil, oregano, or an Italian mix)
  • 1/4 cup grated mozzarella cheese

Cook the onion in a saucepan until it wilts, then add garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add the tomatoes and fresh or dried herbs to taste. Salt and pepper to taste. Let this mixture simmer at least twenty minutes while you prepare the turkey cutlets.

Pound turkey cutlets to about 1/4″. If they spread out into huge pieces, cut them into smaller ones. Beat the egg white in one shallow bowl and put the bread crumbs in another shallow bowl. Shake some dry Italian seasoning mix and salt and pepper onto the bread crumbs and mix in.

Slather the Dijon mustard over the pounded turkey cutlets. Then dip them in the egg white, then roll in the bread crumbs.

Heat a non-stick pan until it feels nice and hot when you hold your hand an inch above it. Then drop in a little oil (olive oil is great) and spread it around. Add the breaded cutlets and cook 4-5 minutes on each side until golden. As they cook, heat the broiler in your oven.

Remove the cutlets from the pan and place them on a baking sheet or broiler pan. Divide the grated mozzarella cheese among them, then put them under the broiler and watch carefully until the cheese melts.

Plate the finished cutlets and spoon on some of the sauce. Cooked noodles are a great accompaniment, and a little fresh Parmesan doesn’t hurt!

Here’s a photo of the tomato sauce simmering and the cutlets frying. I use the pan in the back for the broiling step. This whole meal goes together in about 30 minutes. It’s a great meal for a workday. (Or a busy retirement day.)

turkey cutletsHere is the plated meal. I used my own homemade noodles, prepared in a big batch the week before and stored in the freezer. Making the agnolotti from the New Pasta Cookbook a few weeks ago really inspired me to get out my manual pasta maker more often and make my own noodles. Something good has come from my travel through my 250 cookbooks!

turkey cutlets