Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Review of last recipe - It was a fine stuffed mushroom recipe, but I still prefer my standby; a sausage stuffed mushroom ala Silver Palate cookbook.

As a side note, the next recipe should have been a pork meatball in sweet and sour sauce. As much as I'm trying to make each and every recipe I ever saved (because I thought it was a recipe important enough to save), I just couldn't get myself to go through the motions to prepare it, as I'm not a big fan of sweet and sour; maybe I was more of a fan back in the 70's - yuck.

Also, my neighbor, Dean, was nice enough to bring over some fresh tuna he just caught. Will be making cookies to try to compensate. I am a lucky neighbor.

TODAY'S RECIPE - PHYLLO MEAT TRIANGLES

1 lb ground pork, beef or lamb
1 med onion, minced
2 cloves garlic
1/4 c dry red wine
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp dried parsley flakes
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/4 c grated parmesan cheese
1/2 lb (10-12 sheets) phyllo dough
1 c butter, melted

Cook ground meat until lightly browned, breaking up with a fork as it cooks. With a slotted spoon, transfer meat to a bowl and discard all but 2 tbsp fat from skillet. Cook onion and garlic until onion is soft. Add wine, tomato paste and seasonings and stir to blend well, cooking 2-3 minutes, then stir in cheese.

Carefully unroll phyllo dough. Cut sheets in half to form 12"x8" sheets. Place them on a piece of wax paper and keep covered with a damp cloth. Store remaining phyllo in fridge or freezer.

Place one sheet in bottom of greased 12"x8"x2" baking pan, brush with melted butter. Lay another sheet on top, brush again with butter and continue until there are 10-12 sheets of phyllo(you've cut the original 10-12 in half, making for 20-24 total) in the pan. Spread meat mixture over phyllo dough and layer the remaining phyllo sheets, brushing each with butter, until all are used.

Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 1 hour until top is crisp and golden. Cut into 2" squares, then cut each square into triangles. Serve hot. Makes 48.

Monday, June 14, 2010

Review of last recipe - The peppers were really good...and so simple to make.

TODAY'S RECIPE - MUSHROOM APPETIZER
.. from a Woman's Day magazine circa 1980

1 1/2 tbsp finely minced onion
2 tbsp butter
1/2 c finely chopped cooked shrimp
4 tbsp grated parmesan cheese, divided
3 tbsp dry bread crumbs
3 tbsp sherry, divided
2 tsp parsley flakes (what! That's so 80's; will use real parsley.)
dash of salt
12 oz mushrooms, stems removed
small whole cooked shrimp and parsley for garnish

In a medium skillet, saute onion in butter until tender. Remove from heat; stir in shrimp, 3 tbsp each parmesan and crumbs, 2 tbsp sherry, parsley and salt. Stuff mushroom caps with shrimp mixture. Place on baking sheet or broiler pan, sprinkle with remaining 1 tbsp parmesan and sherry, and broil 5-6 inches from heat source for 5 minutes or until lightly browned. Serve hot; garnished with shrimp and parsley.

Friday, June 11, 2010

Review of last recipe - Ok, so I've made pate a choux a bunch of times in the past and thought I knew what I was doing. I was hurrying through the recipe, and I didn't let the cooked flour mixture cool and started adding the eggs right away so the batter wasn't as thick as it should have been. I spooned out too large an amount for each, and as the batter was too loose, it spread as it went onto the cookie sheet. The end results were like small dinner rolls, instead of petite (or is it petit; are choux male or female? I don't know, though in my head, le choux sounds more like it than la choux. But I digress...) choux. I mixed gruyere and swiss since I had a little of both in the fridge. My husband said they smelled like cheezits and I had to agree. They tasted fine. They just didn't look the part.

TODAY'S RECIPE - MEDITERRANEAN CHARRED PEPPERS
The perfect addition to an antipasto platter!

4 each of green and red peppers (I already know I'm going to substitute
green for yellow; just a personal preference)
3 tbsp olive oil
2 lg cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp lemon juice or red wine vinegar

With long handled fork, hold peppers over open flame, turning frequently until skins are charred, or place on foil lined baking sheet and broil, turning frequently 10-15 minutes. Place peppers in brown paper bag where the skins will steam off. Rinse peppers in cold water. Remove stems, seeds, membranes and cut into 1/2" strips. (Note: I plan to just cut the peppers in half and clean them out prior to charring them. No need to rinse them in cold water. Just peel off the skin and go.)

In medium bowl, toss gently with oil to coat. Add garlic and salt, mix well and refrigerate covered overnight or for a few days. When ready to serve, sprinkle with the lemon juice or vinegar.

Makes 10 servings.

Per serving: 48 cal, 1 g protein, 3 g carbs, 4 g fat, 0 cholesterol, 58 mg sodium

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Review of last recipe - I stuffed the mixture into mushrooms and they were kind of retro ... I should have sprinkled some grated parm on top before baking to add another layer of flavor. They would have been presentable in the mid-80's, but they were just so-so in today's world. I have better stuffed mushroom recipes. And, I would never serve this as a stand-alone baked in a scallop shell; just not that tasty on its own.

TODAY'S RECIPE - GOUGERE PUFFS

1 c water
1 stick butter, cut into 1/2" pieces
3/4 tsp salt
pinch of nutmeg
dash of white pepper
1 c flour
4 eggs, at room temperature
2 1/2 c gruyere or swiss cheese
1 egg yolk mixed with 1 tbsp water
1/4 c grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

Mix water, butter, salt and nutmeg in large pan and bring to a boil over high heat. Remove from heat and stir in flour. Place over medium heat and beat quickly with wooden spoon until dough forms a ball. Transfer to a bowl and cool for 5 minutes. Beat in eggs, one at a time. Mixture should be glossy. Blend in gruyere cheese.

On a large greased baking sheet, drop the dough in spoonfuls (or pipe balls with a pastry tube fitted with a large plain nozzle) spaced far enough apart so that they can expand. Brush only the tops with egg and water mixture, then bake until puffy and golden; about 20 minutes.

Remove from oven, make a slit in the top of each gougere, and sprinkle with parmesan cheese. Return to the oven for 10 more minutes. Serve immediately.

Makes 2 dozen.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Review of last recipe - I almost threw this one away too! It really wasn't that bad; I think I just don't like alot of raw garlic. This would probably work better thrown into some pasta.


TODAY'S RECIPE - DEVILED CLAM APPETIZER
This came off a Snow's minced clam can circa 1983.

1 clove garlic, finely chopped
2 tbsp melted butter
1 tbsp flour
1 (6 1/2 oz) can Snow's minced clams, undrained
1/2 c seasoned dry bread crumbs
1 tbsp chopped parsley
2 tsp worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp dry mustard
8 lg buttered mushroom caps (optional)

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

In medium skillet, cook garlic in butter until golden. Stir in flour. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Spoon into 8 tiny baking shells or 8 large buttered mushroom caps. Place in shallow baking pan, and bake for 5-8 minutes until hot. Serves 8.