Sweet treat for the holidays...

   It’s  been a while since I’ve posted any recipes (nearly 2 years!), but life does sometimes get in the way of good intentions!

   Here is a recipe from a book that I just recently bought.  It’s The Cookie Bible by Rose Levy Beranbaum and it’s her mother’s recipe, for Coconut Snowball Kisses.  With the holidays upon us, it is a sweet treat to serve to family and friends.

 

Coconut Snowball Kisses

 

This recipe calls for using fresh coconut , cracking the coconut, shredding the coconut, and baking it.  I used packaged shredded sweetened coconut.  Soooo much easier!!

 

Ingredients

 

·      3 ½ cups sweetened shredded coconut

·      2 T.  cornstarch

·      1 t. lemon juice

·      1 t. pure vanilla extract

·      1/16 t. sea salt

·      ¾ cup  (+ 2 T. sweetened condensed milk if needed)

 

Put the coconut in a large bowl.  In a small bowl, add the cornstarch, lemon juice, vanilla, and ¾ cup condensed milk.  Mix well.  Pour over the coconut and mix until well blended.  The mixture should be moist and hold together.  If necessary, add some or all of the remaining 2 T. condensed milk.

 

Scoop scant tablespoon mounds onto a cookie sheet lined with parchment paper.  Bake for 15-20 minutes at 350 degrees.  Watch carefully so the tops don’t get too brown.

 

Cool on the cookie sheet and then transfer to a wire rack to cool more.  Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator.  Can be frozen as well.

 

Enjoy!😋

 

Venturing Out Again...

As we go into our 3^rd year of the Covid pandemic 😩… we are vaccinated and boosted and do get together with friends occasionally.  We recently enjoyed a delightful evening with our friends, Charlie and Marcia Russell.  Below is the recipe for the wonderful salmon dish that Charlie prepared.  My contribution to the dinner was the apple fennel slaw recipe that follows. 

 

Salmon Spinach and Feta Roast

★★★★★

Fish, Light/Low Fat

Prep Time: 15 mins Cook Time: 30 mins Difficulty: Easy Servings: 4-6 Source: My Collection

INGREDIENTS

1 whole salmon fillet, skinless

10 ounces frozen spinach thawed or 1 lb fresh spinach steamed and squeezed dry 

Garlic cloves, minced, to taste

8 ounces feta cheese, block not crumbled, cut in ¼ inch thick slices

Olive oil

Salt and pepper

Lemon wedges

Dill sprigs, for garnish

 

DIRECTIONS

Preheat oven to 400 (375 if convection oven).

Combine spinach and garlic in microwave safe bowl and cook till garlic is softened, 1 to 2 minutes on high. Set aside to cool.

Cut salmon fillet in half crosswise. Turn one half of salmon skin-side up and cover with spinach garlic mixture. 

Top spinach with the sliced feta. 

Top with the other half of salmon, turning so the thickness of the roast is nearly even and skin side down. 

Using butcher's or cotton string, tie roast at 1-inch intervals to hold tightly together. 

Place on foil lined rimmed baking sheet and brush with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. 

Cook roast for 20-30 minutes or till cooked through to desired doneness. 

Remove from oven, cover with foil and let rest for 5 minutes. Remove strings, slice and serve. 

Garnish with fresh dill and lemon wedges. Serve with a pilaf.

NOTES

A full filet will taper toward the tail end and may be thinner near the head. In this case, cut the filet in 3 pieces cutting off the tail end where the taper begins and the remaining piece in half. Place the tail end on top of the thinner area near the head. This will equalize the thickness of the roast and avoid over or under cooking any part of the roast. Then proceed with building the roast. 

If you want more browning to the roast, reduce cook time by 5 minutes and broil 4-5 inches from heat for the final 5 minutes. 

I reversed engineered this recipe from a roast I bought at a grocery fish counter. This isn't exactly the same but it's close. I added garlic to give it a bit more flavor. You may have another herb you'd like to add to the spinach mix to complicate the flavor even more. 

The cook times are approximate so keep an eye on it. If you don’t want to buy an entire fillet, you can buy cut fillets and make individual servings. You can try this with other thick fillet fish. 

 

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Here is the salad I contributed to the dinner with Charlie and Marcia…

Apple-Fennel Coleslaw

Ingredients

• 1 small green cabbage (about 1 pound), shredded (about 5 cups)
• 1 small fennel bulb, thinly shaved (about 1 cup), reserve the fronds for garnish
• 1 small red onion, thinly sliced (about ¾ cup) (I used green onions instead.)
• 1 tart-crisp apple, such as Granny Smith or Honeycrisp, peeled, cored and julienned
• About ½ cup chopped celery
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt, plus more to taste
• ¼ cup apple cider vinegar
• ¼ cup neutral oil, such as grapeseed or canola
• Juice of 1 lime (about 2 tablespoons)
• 2 teaspoons honey, or more to taste
• 1 teaspoon celery seed
• ½  teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper
• ½  cup loosely packed chopped fresh cilantro, mint, basil or a fresh tender herb of your choosing (Note:  this is optional.)

 

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the cabbage, fennel, onion and apple. Season with the salt and toss to combine. (The cabbage may need more salt, so taste as you go.)

In a small bowl or jar, whisk together the vinegar, oil, lime juice, honey, celery seed and pepper. Taste, and sweeten with more honey, if desired, and season with a small pinch of salt. Slowly pour the vinaigrette over the slaw ingredients, using just enough to lightly coat all the cabbage. (You may have some leftover.) Toss the slaw to evenly distribute the vinaigrette, then fold in the cilantro. (See the note below about the dressing.)

Sprinkle with reserved fennel fronds, if desired.

The slaw can be served right away, but is best after about 15 minutes of rest. The cabbage and onions will absorb the flavor of the dressing the longer the slaw sits.

Note:  Instead of the dressing in the recipe above, I used the following dressing recipe…

 

Apple Cider Vinegar Salad Dressing

Ingredients 

·       ⅓ cup extra virgin olive oil

·       ¼ cup apple cider vinegar

·       1 tbsp. Dijon mustard

·       1 tbsp. honey

·       1 garlic clove, minced optional

·       ½ tsp. salt

·       ½ tsp. pepper

Instructions 

Just place all of the ingredients into a mason jar and shake for a good 30-60 seconds, until combined (or whisk all the ingredients in a bowl).

A Cooking Challenge...

I recently had the honor of working with a friend to prepare and serve a wedding celebration dinner for some friends of ours.  My job was to make the Beef Wellington.  I was a little intimidated since I had never made Beef Wellington before, but I hoped I could rise to the challenge. I used a recipe from “Cook’s Illustrated” and combined it with a recipe from “Delish.com” and then made some of my own adjustments.  You could make this in one day, but it is so much better to split it up into 3 days… and a lot easier on the nerves! 

 

Here is what I came up with…

 

Beef Wellington

 

Ingredients

 

1 (3 lb.) center-cut beef tenderloin, trimmed and tied

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

Olive oil, for greasing

2 T. Dijon mustard

1 1/2  -  2 lbs. mixed mushrooms, roughly chopped 

6-8 shallots, roughly chopped

4 garlic cloves, peeled

2 t. minced fresh thyme

1T. Madeira

8 T. unsalted butter

12-24 thin slices prosciutto (depending on the length of the tenderloin)

Flour, for dusting

14 oz. frozen puff pastry, thawed

1 large egg, beaten

Flaky salt, for sprinkling

 

Directions

 

Day 1

·      Using kitchen twine, tie tenderloin in 4 places (or have your butcher tie up the tenderloin). Season generously with salt.  Wrap in plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight.

·      Make duxelles: In a food processor, pulse mushrooms, shallots, and garlic until finely chopped. To skillet, add butter and melt over medium heat. Add mushroom mixture and cook until liquid has evaporated, about 30-45 minutes. Add the Madeira and stir for about 2 minutes.  Remove from the heat and add the thyme and stir well.  Season with salt and pepper, then let cool.  Store in airtight container overnight.

Day 2

·      Over high heat, coat bottom of a heavy skillet with olive oil. Once pan is nearly smoking, sear tenderloin until well-browned on all sides, including the ends, about 2 minutes per side (12 minutes total). Transfer to a plate. When cool enough to handle, snip off twine and coat all sides with mustard. Let cool in fridge.

·      Place plastic wrap down on a work surface, overlapping so that it’s twice the length and width of the tenderloin. Shingle the prosciutto on the plastic wrap into a rectangle that’s big enough to cover the whole tenderloin. Spread the duxelles evenly and thinly over the prosciutto. (For a video that shows how to do this, check out https://www.delish.com/cooking/recipe-ideas/recipes/a58702/easy-beef-wellington-recipe/ )

·      Season tenderloin, then place it at the bottom of the prosciutto. Roll meat into prosciutto-mushroom mixture, using plastic wrap to roll tightly. Tuck ends of prosciutto as you roll, then twist ends of plastic wrap tightly into a log and transfer to the refrigerator for 30 minutes.

·      Lightly flour your work surface, then spread out puff pastry and roll it into a rectangle that will cover the tenderloin (just a little bigger than the prosciutto rectangle you just made!). Brush the pastry with egg wash.  Remove tenderloin from plastic wrap and place on bottom of puff pastry. Tightly roll beef into pastry.  Once the log is fully covered in puff pastry, trim any extra pastry, then fold the ends under to seal well. Wrap roll in plastic wrap to get a really tight cylinder, then chill overnight.

Day 3

·      Remove plastic wrap, then transfer roll to a parchment-lined baking sheet. Bring to room temperature.  Brush with egg wash and sprinkle with flaky salt.

·      Bake at 450°F until pastry is golden (40-45 minutes) and the center registers 85°F for medium-rare.  Remove from the oven and let rest about 45 minutes until the internal temperature reaches 130°F before carving and serving. (A digital meat thermometer is great for this!)  Enjoy!

 

Pandemic Cooking Continues...

 

This pandemic has been going on for more than a year.  Over 500,000 have died in the U.S. and over 2 ½ million have died worldwide.  Vaccines are now available and, thankfully, Rich and I have both had ours and hope to remain healthy.  It has been a scary time!  We pray for a better time for all people everywhere.

 

While we have been quarantined this past year, I’ve been cooking … a lot!!  I posted a couple of recipes last year and just noticed that I didn’t post any in 2019.  In my defense… I was having knee problems that year and had my right knee replaced in October 2019 and my left knee replaced in August 2020.  I will try to be better about posting recipes and I invite all my friends and family to send me their favorite recipes and I will be glad to post them as well.  As I said at the beginning of this blog 11 years ago… I only post recipes that either I have tried or others have tried so I know they are good.

 

Here are a few more…

 

Hotel Roanoke Peanut Soup

 

When we lived in Roanoke, VA, the Regency Room at the Hotel Roanoke was one of the places we loved to go on special occasions.  One of their signature dishes is peanut soup.  The recipe below is a combination of the recipe posted on the hotel website and the one I got from the chef of the Regency Room about 30 years ago.

 

Ingredients:

 

·     1 stick of butter

·     1 small onion finely chopped

·     2 stalks celery finely chopped

·     4 T all-purpose flour

·     2 quarts chicken broth (I prefer Kitchen Basics brand)

·     2 ½ cups creamy peanut butter (I prefer Jif)

·     1 T lemon juice

·     2 T dry sherry

·     Salt to taste

·     Chopped dry roasted peanuts to top

 

Instructions:

 

In a large pot, melt the butter, add the onions and celery and sauté until tender.  Stir in flour until well mixed.  Gradually stir in the chicken broth, stirring to keep the mixture smooth.  Simmer on low heat for about 30 minutes. 

Remove from the heat and puree the soup mixture with an immersion blender.  Stir in the peanut butter, lemon juice, and sherry.  Salt to taste.  Heat through and serve with chopped peanuts.

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

 

Butter Fried Chicken

 

This recipe is from chef Andrew Zimmern and I got it from Food & Wine magazine.  It is amazing!!

 

Ingredients

 

·       4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (2 pounds), halved crosswise (I used 3 breasts)

• 1 cup all-purpose flour (I used ½ cup)
• 3/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
• 1 cup breadcrumbs
• 2 tablespoons finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dried basil
• 1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 4 large eggs (I used 2 eggs)
• 2 sticks unsalted butter
• Kosher salt
• 3 shallots, minced (I used green onions)
• 3 tablespoons capers, drained
• 1 lemon, thinly sliced

 

Directions

• Step 1

Using a meat mallet, lightly pound any thicker parts of the chicken breasts so they are of even thickness. In a shallow baking dish, mix the flour, salt and pepper. In another shallow baking dish, mix the breadcrumbs, cheese, oregano, basil and cayenne. Place the eggs in a medium bowl and beat well.

• Step 2

Working with one piece of chicken at a time, dredge in the flour, then dip the chicken in the egg, letting any excess drip back into the bowl. Dredge in the breadcrumbs, pressing to help the crumbs adhere. Transfer the chicken to a baking sheet.

• Step 3

In a large cast-iron skillet, melt the butter over moderate heat. Add 4 chicken pieces and cook until golden brown and cooked through, turning halfway, 6 to 8 minutes. Transfer the breasts to a serving platter and season with salt. Repeat with the remaining chicken.

• Step 4

Add the shallots and capers to the skillet and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds. Stir in the lemon slices.  Spoon some of the sauce over the chicken and serve with the remaining sauce on the side.

 

*********

 

Norwegian Oatmeal Bread

 

I’ve made a lot of bread during this pandemic and here is a new favorite.  This is a recipe from my friend, Gloria Rainer in Illinois.  It is a recipe handed down to her husband, Brian, by his Norwegian aunt.  The notes are Brian’s.  (My note… I used a stand mixer with a bread hook and it worked really well.)

 

Ingredients:

 

1 cup quick oatmeal

½ cup sugar

3 tsp. salt

2 Tablespoons of butter

1 cup water

1 cup milk (not skim)

2 pkg yeast

½ cup warm water

6 cups flour

 

Instructions:

 

Measure rolled oats, sugar, salt and butter in mixing bowl.  Heat 1 cup water and 1 cup milk to scalding and pour over the oatmeal mixture.  Cool.    Dissolve yeast in warm water and add to cooled oatmeal and add half of the flour. Beat well and continue adding flour until you can handle dough without it being too sticky.  You want to use less rather than more flour.

Put on board and knead until smooth.  Then let rest on the board for 10 minutes.  Then continue kneading until little blisters form on dough. 

Place dough in a buttered bowl and cover with a damp cloth.  Let rise, then punch down and let rise again.

Grease two bread pans 5 x 9” and divide the dough in half.  (Note: I use three bread pans which are a bit smaller than 5 x 9”.) 

Form into loaves and place in prepared pans.  Let rise again. Bake for 10 minutes in a preheated 400 degree oven.  Finish at 325 degrees for 25 to 30 minutes. Keep an eye on the loaves since they may over-brown.  I usually cover the loaves with tin foil so they do not over brown.

Take out of the pans and cool on racks.  Brush top of loaves with better or cream.

 

Note:  If you have an instant cooking thermometer, place the probe into the middle of the loaf.  The internal temperature of a fully baked loaf is 190 degrees.  When it is that temperature, immediately remove it from the oven.  This temperature is always the temperature of a completely baked loaf of bread. 

 

**********

 

 

Rich sometimes kids me about “tweaking” recipes.  I’m sure all of you who enjoy cooking know what I mean.  I often look at a recipe and think, “It would be better if I added this, or changed that.”  That’s what I did with the recipe below that I got from Southern Living magazine.  I added my “tweaks” in parenthesis in italiacs.  As all Southern cooks know… everything’s better with bacon! 😁

 

Skillet-Toasted Gnocchi with Peas

(And Bacon and Mushrooms)

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup salted butter, divided (or bacon grease)
• 1 (16-oz.) package potato gnocchi
• 1 tablespoon minced garlic (about 1 large garlic clove)
• 2 teaspoons chopped fresh thyme
• 1 1/2 cups reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 (10-oz.) package frozen sweet peas, thawed, or 1 1/2 cups shelled fresh sweet peas
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest plus 1 Tbsp. fresh juice (from 1 lemon)
• 2 ounces Parmesan cheese, grated (about 1/2 cup)
• (I bunch of sliced mushrooms… whatever kind you like.)
• (6 strips of bacon, fried, crumbled and set aside)
  

 

Directions 

 

Heat 2 tablespoons of the butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high (or use the grease from the strips of bacon you have fried); (add the sliced mushrooms and sauté until soft.  Remove mushrooms from the pan.), add gnocchi, and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned all over, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and thyme (and mushrooms), and cook, stirring often, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add broth, salt, and pepper; bring to a simmer, and cook until reduced by about half, 4 to 5 minutes. Add peas, parsley, lemon zest, lemon juice, and remaining 2 tablespoons butter (you don’t need to add butter if you used bacon grease); cook, stirring constantly, until butter melts, about 1 minute. (Fold in the crumbled bacon.) Top with Parmesan, and serve immediately.