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
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.
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.
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.
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.