Review of last recipe (photo above) - Really good and would be even better on an outdoor grill!

TODAY'S RECIPE - ITALIAN STEAMED MUSSELS

Serves 4

1 medium onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 tbsp oil
1/4 cup parsley, chopped
3 tbsp fresh basil or 1 1/2 tbsp dried
2 cups dry white wine
1 1/2 cup chopped tomatoes
salt and pepper
2 lbs. mussels, cleaned and debearded
4 slices italian bread, brushed with oil and garlic and toasted in the oven until crisp
grated parmesan cheese (Don't real Italians say to never put cheese on
                                         seafood?)
           
In a tall soup pot, saute the onion and garlic in oil until soft.  Add the parsley, basil, wine and tomatoes and bring the mixture to a boil.  Season with salt and pepper.

Cook the mixture over low heat 15 minutes or until the broth has come together.

Add the mussels and cover the pot.  Steam the mussels for 5-10 minutes, or until the shells have opened.

Place a piece of garlic toast in the bottom of a soup plate.  Add the mussels and pour the sauce over them.  Serve the mussels with freshly grated cheese.

Review of last recipe (photo above) - Well, baking has never really been my forte.  Sure I can bake cookies and certain desserts, but have never mastered pastry dough and pie dough.  I realize my baking equipment is quite old and, in some cases, non-existent (for example, I had to go out and buy a bundt pan for the rum cake a few blogs ago, and my muffin tins which I used in the last dessert recipe are at least 25 years old).  So I didn't expect to have a tart pan, never mind two 4" tart pans, so made this in a pie plate.  To break it down, my crust is not pretty (but was very tasty), the filling was scant and not as flavorful as I would have liked.  Will not be making this again ... we'll see how the husband likes it.

TODAY'S RECIPE - CALIFORNIA BARBECUED STEAK
From Family Circle Magazine, which I believe is still in circulation.

Serves 10

1 2" thick top sirloin steak (about 2 1/2 lbs)
3/4 cup catsup
3/4 cup chili sauce
1 1/2 tbsp soy sauce
3 tbsp honey
3 tbsp hoisin sauce (optional)
3 tbsp minced green onions
3 cloves garlic, mashed
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

Put steak in a plastic food bag.  Combine the rest of the ingredients and pour mixture into the bag with the steak.  Fasten securely.  Place bag in a shallow pan and let marinate in refrigerator 24 hours, turning occasionally.

Lift steak out of marinade, pat dry and broil 4" from the heat, brushing several time with the marinade; about 8 minutes on each side for rare.

Review of  last recipe (photo above) - I bought shucked oysters from my fishmonger as I'm not much of a shucker.  These were good, but the sauce is more caloric than I'd like, so I won't be making this again.  And, frankly, I really prefer my oysters raw.

TODAY'S RECIPE - BANANA CREAM TARTS

Pastry:
6 tbsp flour
1 tbsp sugar
pinch of salt
3 tbsp well chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2" pieces
1 egg yolk
1 tsp cold water
1/8 tsp vanilla

Filling:
2 tbsp sugar
4 tsp flour
pinch of salt
2/3 cup milk
1 egg yolk
1 tbsp dark run
1 tsp butter

1 small banana
whipped cream
2 tbsp shredded coconut, toasted

For the pastry:  Sift flour, sugar and salt into medium bowl.  Cut in butter using pastry blender or 2 knives until mixture resembles coarse meal.  Blend yolk, water and vanilla in a small bowl. Add to flour and blend with fork until mixture just holds together.  Shape dough into ball.  Wrap in plastic and refrigerate at least 1 hour.

Lightly grease two 4" tart pans with removable bottoms.  Divide the dough in half.  Roll out half on lightly floured surface inot 6: circle, 1/8" thick.  Repeat with remaining dough.  Fit into pans; trim and crimp edges.  Refrigerate until firm.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Line pastry shells with greased parchment paper and fill with dried beans, rice or pie weights.  Bake 8 minutes.  Remove paper and weights.   Prick bottoms of shells with fork in several places.  Continue baking until shells are golden brown; 7-8 minutes, covering the edges with foil if rims brown too quickly.

For filling:  Blend sugar, flour, salt in top of double boiler set over gently simmering water.  Gradually whisk in milk and continue whisking until thickened; about 15 minutes.  Cover and cook 10 minutes, whisking occasionally.  Remove from heat.  Blend yolk and rum in small bowl.  Whisk small amount of milk mixture to saucepan.  Place over gently simmering water and whisk 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in 1 tsp butter.  Cool.

Slice banana and arrange in bottoms of shells. Pour cooled filling over.  Refrigerate until firm.  Just before serving, pipe cream decoratively over tops, and sprinkle with toasted coconut.

Review of last recipe (photo above) - With a hunk of spinach ... for all the prep work and basting needed, it wasn't as good as I had hoped.

TODAY'S RECIPE - HUITRES EN PAQUETS (Wrapped Oysters)
Georges Paineau, owner of Le Bretagne, a Michelin-starred restaurant and inn in Brittany (he's still alive and the establishment still open) presented these when he was the guest chef at Maison Robert in Boston in the 1980's. 

Serves 4

1 1/4 cups unsalted butter, cut up
16 very large fresh spinach leaves
16 large oysters, shucked with juices saved
juice of 1/2 lemon
salt and pepper

Use 1 tsp of the butter to grease the bottom of a large skillet.  Set the skillet aside.

Remove the stems from the spinach and wash the leaves.

Wrap up the oysters as you would wrap a package, tucking in the edges first, then rolling the package over onto itself to close it.  Set the packages, seam side down, in the skillet and cover the pan with a lid.  Set the pan over high heat and cook the packages for 3 minutes, or until the spinach is bright green.  remove the pan from the heat at once and set it aside.

Combine the water, lemon juice and a pinch each of salt and pepper in a saucepan.  Bring the liquid to a boil, remove the saucepan from the heat, and let the pan cool off.

Lower the heat to medium and return the pan to the heat.  Whisk in the butter a piece at a time, moving the saucepan on and off the heat as the butter is added; the pan should never become hot enough for the butter to turn oily before it is incorporated into the sauce.

When all the butter has been added, coat the bottom of 4 salad plates with some of the sauce.  Then lift the oyster packages from the skillet with a large metal spatula, pat them on paper towels to dry them at the edges and arrange 4 oyster packages on each plate.

Review of last recipe (photo above) - These are scrumptious even though I messed up the recipe.  Initially, I put white sugar in the muffin tins with the butter instead of brown sugar, so I added some brown sugar (but not enough), never measuring it out, which was a big mistake.  They're not caramelized enough, but still are delicious.

TODAY'S RECIPE - BUTTERFLIED CHICKEN
                           (with Mustard and Herb coating)

Serves 8

2 - 3 1/2 lb broiler/fryers
3 tbsp melted butter
1 1/2 tbsp olive oil
salt and pepper

Mustard Herb coating:
1/3 cup dijon mustard
3 tbsp minced scallions or shallots
1/2 tsp tarragon or mixed herbs
5 drops hot pepper sauce
4 tbsp fat/juice drippings from chicken
1 1/2 cups fresh white breadcrumbs

To butterfly a chicken:  With a heavy knife or sturdy shears, cut down close to the backbone from neck to tail on each side to remove it.  Spread the chicken skin-side up on your work surface and bang the breast with your fist to break the collar bones and some of the ribs.  This flattens the chicken.  Fold the wings akimbo behind the shoulders, then make a slit in the skin at either side of the breast tip.  Push the knee of the drumstick firmly up under the armpit to loosen the joint, then insert the tip of the drumstick through the shin slit.  Repeat on the other side. 

Brush chicken all over with a combination of the butter and oil.  Arrange chickens skin-side down (flesh side up) in a broiling pan (not on a rack), and set them so the surface of the meat is about 5" from the hot broiler element.  After 5 minutes, brush the flesh, which should just be starting to brown, with butter and oil.  Baste again in 5 minutes ... use juices in the pan as butter mixture is used up.  Sprinkle lightly with salt and pepper and turn the chickens skin-side up.  Broil and baste 10 minutes more.

For mustard-herb coating:  Drain fat and juices out of the pan into a small bowl.  Skim off and discard all but about 4 tbsp of fat from the top of the juices.  Blend the mustard and other ingredients in a bowl.  Beat one half of the reserved fat drippings into the mustard. 

Spread the mustard over the chicken, then pat on a coating of breadcrumbs.  (Make the breadcrumbs by cutting the crusts off white bread and putting them in a food processor.)  Baste crumbs with the remaining fat/juice drippings.

Final cooking:  Roast in the upper third of a 400 degree oven for 10-12 minutes.  Crumbs should brown lightly.  Chicken is done when drumsticks are tender when pressed.

Review of last recipe - I made the tartar sauce instead, and my fries look greasy in the pic (not my best effort) ... the fish was quite good, however.

TODAY'S RECIPE - BANANA-CARAMEL BISCUITS
From Woman's Day September 2, 1980 ... These can be prepared to baking point in the morning or the day before.  If so, refrigerate and bake a little longer.  Can also be reheated after baking.

Homemade biscuit mix (will keep at room temperature for several months)
6 cups flour
3 tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp salt
1 cup shortening

In large bowl, mix the dry ingredients well.  Cut in shortening until particles are fine.  Store at room temperature in a large glass container with tight cover.  Makes about 7 cups.

1/2 cup butter, melted, divided
1/2 cup brown sugar, divided
2 cups homemade biscuit mix
2 small ripe bananas, mashed
1 tsp cinnamon

Put a generous tsp butter in each of 12 muffin cups and top each with a generous tsp of brown sugar.  Set aside.

Mix biscuit mix and bananas.  On lightly floured surface, knead until well blended.  Roll out in 12" long rectangle.  Spread with remaining butter, and sprinkle with remaining brown sugar and the cinnamon.  Roll up jelly-roll fashion and cut into 12 slices.  Place each slice, cut side down, in a muffin cups. 

Bake in preheated 450 degree oven for 12-15 minutes or until light brown.  Immediately turn out upside down and serve hot.  Makes 12.

Nutritional information:  223 calories, 2 G protein, 26 G carbohydrates, 13 G fat, 24 mg cholesterol

Review of last recipe (photo above) - Wow, what a great dish! I only wish my husband liked peppers, because I would make this more often.  For some reason, as I was eating this, I thought capers would be a nice addition to add another layer of flavor.  


TODAY'S RECIPE - FISH & CHIPS
This recipe has no serving size ... I would say  there's enough batter to coat about 1 1/2 lbs of fish.  Make your usual fries.  Normally, I fry the potatoes first, then put them in the oven to keep warm as I cook the fish.  After I remove the fish, I return the fries into the oil to crisp them up again.  Unfortunately, it doesn't always work out that great and the fries tend to be soft.   

Batter:
1 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup milk
1 egg

Mix dry ingredients, then add milk and egg and beat. 

Heat oil to 365 degrees.  Coat fish and place in pan.  Turn after approximately 4 minutes and cook on the other side.  Keep turning the fish over until it is cooked.  I usually just push my fork into a piece to make sure it's done.  Serve with fries and hot sauce (for a change from tartar sauce).

Hot sauce:
1 cup catsup
juice of 1 lemon
1/4 cup horseradish sauce
2 tbsp prepared mustard