Recipe of the Day-Bow Ties with Artichoke Pesto

I found this recipe and yeah, I have all the ingredients in the house.  I made the pesto earlier in the day.  So very, very easy.  And then the pasta a little while later.  I used this handy new small chopper/food processor that they have set up for Christmas gifts at Smiths(west coast)/Krogers (back east) for $7.99.  I'm going to go get a few more today for Christmas gifts.  I have been wanting one of these for awhile.  I have the big food processor that my son gave me 2 Christmas's ago that I use a lot.  But I really wanted a small permanent counter food processor too, for the little stuff.

 

This recipe is from Sandra Lee Semi-Homemade 20-minute meals 2 presented by Food Network. There are over 100 recipes that are quick and easy to make.  This may end up being a Christmas present for someone, but right now it's available for sale on my Amazon storefront.  www.amazon.com/shops/oneofakindcookbooks .

 

Bow Ties with Artichoke Pasta

 

8 ounces bow tie pasta (approximately half a box)

2 jars marinated artichoke hearts, drained

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

2 tbsp. Parmesan cheese

1 tsp. lemon juice

3 tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

Salt and pepper

2 tbsp. chopped fresh basil

 

In a large pot of boiling salted water, cook bow ties according to package directions.  In food processor, combine artichoke hearts, walnuts, Parmesan cheese, and lemon juice.  Process for 30 seconds.  Slowly add in olive oil until mixture is a coarse paste.  Transfer pesto to a large bowl.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.

 

Drain pasta and add to pesto in bowl.  Toss to coat.  Stir in basil.  Serve hot with grated Parmesan cheese.

 

Serves 4.

 

What a perfect recipe for the pasta lover in me!

 

Happy Cooking!

 

 

My New Spinach & Artichoke Dip

Usually, I give a long talk on artichokes or spinach first, but today is different.  No talk, just a recipe and a sales pitch.  As usual, you can this book for sale on my Amazon storefront.  www.amazon.com/shops/oneofakindcookbooks/ .  I have tried this recipe twice, a success at each party!

Hot Artichoke and Spinach Dip

Book Title:  Allrecipes.com easy everyday favorites 5-Star Recipes

1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup mayonnaise
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup grated Romano cheese (very expensive, I used the jar stuff-finely grated)
1 clove garlic, peeled and minced
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
salt and pepper to taste
1 (14oz) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
1/2 cup frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 350F.  Lightly grease a small baking dish.

In a medium bowl, mix together cream cheese, mayonnaise, Parmesan cheese, Romano cheese, garlic, basil, garlic salt, salt and pepper.  Gently stir in artichoke hearts and spinach.

Transfer the mixture to the prepared baking dish.  Top with mozzarella cheese.  Bake in the preheated oven 25 minutes or until bubbly and lightly browned.

Mine took about 35 minutes to get lightly browned.  The second time I made this, I pre-prepared the dish 2 days before it was to be baked and it was still some kind of wonderful.  Low calorie?  Probably not.  I actually prefer fresh cut-up French bread to tortilla chips with this.  You try and let me know.

Happy Cooking!

The History of Punch

I go to many parties.  Where there used to be an abundance of alcohol, there now seems to be numerous non-alcoholic drinks available as well.  Gone is the time when you would drink and drive.  There are now designated drivers and we are all making responsible choices.  With that said, this is not an advertisement for drinking responsibility, but more an opportunity for more non-alcoholic party punches.  So bring out those beautiful crystal punch bowls of yesteryear (I have 3 sets) or those beautiful beverage containers that we all have and start serving something different than Crystal Light.

 

But first the History of Punch.  Though it's mainly known as a non-alcoholic beverage today, punch was invented as a beer alternative in the 17th century by men working the ships for the British East India Company.  These men were accomplished drinkers, throwing back an allotment of 10 pints of beer per shipman per day.  But when the ships reached the warmer waters of the Indian Ocean, the beer held in cargo bays grew rancid and flat.  Once the boats reached the shore, sailors created new drinks out of the ingredients indigenous to their destinations: rum, citrus and spices.

The sailors brought punch back to Britain and soon the drink became a party staple, spreading even as far as the American colonies.  Massive punch bowls were ubiquitous at gatherings in the summer months: the founding fathers drank 76 of them at the celebration following the signing of the Declaration of Independence.  It's around this time that the first mention of non-alcoholic punches appears made for ladies and children.

By the Victorian Age, those tee totaling punches ruled the day.  Queen Victoria disapproved of strong drink, so alcoholic punches gradually fell out of favor.  Frothy egg white-based and sherbet versions grew popular and continued to be served to ladies who lunched until the 1950's.  By that time, cocktail culture was in full effect and it was socially acceptable for women to drink in public.

Taken from "The Surprising History of Punch" by Stephanie Butler.

So now I have four non-alcoholic punches for you to try on your friends and families.  All of these book are available on my Amazon storefront for sale.  www.amazon.com/shops/oneofakindcookbooks .

Zesty Punch Sipper
2 bottles (32 oz. each) gingerale, chilled
6 cups pineapple orange juice chilled
1 can (6 oz.) frozen lemonade concentrate, thawed
1 orange, thinly sliced for garnish, optional
1 lime, thinly sliced for garnish, optional

Combine all ingredients in a large punch bowl.  Makes 20 servings

"Great American Brand Name Recipes Cookbook"-with more than 500 recipes using Brand Name products.

Cranberry Punch (they say for Christmas, but I would use it year round)
1 46 oz. can grapefruit juice
1 46 oz. can pineapple juice
6 (16) oz. bottles cranberry juice
2 (28) oz. bottles gingerale

Chill juices and gingerale several hours in refrigerator.  Pour over ice in a chilled punch bowl.  Makes 40 (6oz.) servings.

"Prairie Kitchen Sampler" by E. Mae Fritz-Sixty-six years of a Midwestern Farm Kitchen

Spicy California Punch
4 cups unsweetened grapefruit juice
4 cups orange juice
2 cups honey
1/4 cup lime juice
1 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. nutmeg.

In a 3-quart container, combine all ingredients.  Let stand at room temperature 1 hour to allow flavors to "marry".  Chill.  Makes 10 cups

"Ladies Home Journal Handbook of Holiday Cuisine" by Margaret Happel  & Elsa Harrington with over 150 Holiday recipes.

Lemonade-Cider
4 (6oz.) cans frozen lemonade
4 quarts apple cider

Combine concentrate for lemonade with chilled cider instead of water.  Pour into punch bowl over crushed ice.  Makes 36 servings.

"The Complete Holiday Cookbook" with over 200 favorite Holiday favorites.


Happy Cooking!




 

History of Macaroni and Cheese

It's great as a side dish, and serves well as a light dinner or a satisfying lunch.  It's a food that kids from 2 through 102 can sink their gums or teeth into.  Besides having a high like ability factor, this comfort food and American staple has an interesting history that reveals a patriotic past.

 

It is said that macaroni, a curved tubular pasta made from flour that had its origins in China and was brought to Italy by Marco Polo, has been cooked and served with cheese in Italian homes, Inns and restaurants for over 500 years.  By the eighteenth century, the dish, in one form or another, had become popular throughout Europe and colonists from England brought along their appetite and recipes for this cheesy treat to North America in the 1800's, recipes for various versions of macaroni and cheese appeared in many American cookbooks.  And so, a legend was born.

 

As times changed and women began to look for the life beyond the confines of the kitchen, convenience foods were introduced into the marketplace.  Since macaroni and cheese had already achieved status as a family favorite, Kraft decided the time was right to introduce a dinner in a box and called it Kraft Dinner in 1937.  Kraft macaroni and cheese hit grocery shelves in the U.S. and Canada and soon it became a huge success.

 

The product got a big boost with the start of World War II.  As part of the war effort on the home front, rationing went into effect.  Meat was at a premium.  Fresh milk and dairy products were in short supply.  And since millions of men were away from home and serving in the armed forces, many women joined the workforce.  After a hard day or night at work, Rosie the Riveters really appreciated the ease and speed of a ready-to-prepare macaroni and cheese dinner. 

 

 

 

There are so many macaroni and cheese recipes out there and I was craving macaroni and cheese, simple to make and for not so many people.  I found a basic macaroni and cheese recipe that is featured here that serves 4 main servings or 6 side dishes.  It is wonderful, exactly what I needed. 

 

This recipe comes from "The Really Useful Pasta Cook Book" by Paulo Episcopo with more than 100 recipes.  It can be found on my amazon storefront at www.amazon.com/shops/oneofakindcookbooks .

 

Macaroni and Cheese

 

Serves 4

10 oz. macaroni

4 oz. shredded cheddar cheese

 

Cheese Sauce

2 1/2 oz. butter

1 1/2 oz. flour

1 tsp. dry mustard powder

1 pint (or 16 oz.) milk

4 oz. shredded cheddar cheese

freshly ground black pepper

 

Cook pasta in boiling water according to package directions.  Drain well and turn into a large, greased, ovenproof dish.

 

Preheat the oven to 350F.  To make sauce, melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat.  Stir in flour and mustard and cook, stirring for 1 minute.  Remove pan from heat and whisk in milk.  Return pan to heat and cook, stirring for 3-4 minutes or until sauce boils and thickens.  Stir in cheese and black pepper to taste.

 

Pour sauce over pasta, sprinkle with cheese and bake for 20-25 minutes or until hot and bubbling and top is golden.

 

 

My findings and exchanges:  I tried this with lactose free milk and it took longer to come to a boil and thicken-about 10 minutes for me, but it worked!

 

Happy Cooking!

 

 

 

 

Oysters

The unknown and courageous soul who first ate a raw oyster was followed by such fanciers as Nero; Seneca; Casanova, who ate fifty a day; Henry IV, the "Evergreen Lover", who ate as many as three hundred at a sitting.  Louis XIV, who consumed nearly as many and had a royal preserve of them; Abraham Lincoln; and innumerable others.

In antiquity, oysters existed in a continuous band four thousand miles long from Scandinavia down past Britain and France, around into the Mediterranean, circling Italy; all the way to Greece.  That rich vein survives only in fragments today, and everywhere the abundance of oysters has diminished. 

 

It used to be a rule that raw oysters should be eaten only in months whose names included the letter r, that is, September through April.  Before the age of refrigeration, they could not be safely transported in hot weather.  Now;  however, they are safe year-round, though in May through August, oysters spawn and tend to be creamy rather than firm in texture.

 

Oysters are best when moderate size and from colder waters.  They are best eaten raw with only a squeeze of lemon or the vinaigrette and shallot mixture served in France.  Cold white wine makes them sacred.

 

Taken from "Life Is Meals" by James & Kay Salter.

 

This recipe is for my daughter-in-law, Jennifer, who loves oysters.  Me, not so much. Another friend asked me to make this recipe for him and he loved it.  So for you oyster lovers out there, happy cooking!

 

"Prairie Kitchen Sampler" by E. Mae Fritz, is a celebration of sixty-six years of a Midwestern Farm Kitchen.  So begins over 60 years of recipes and reminiscences from the life of Nebraska farm wife, Alice Mickish Hendrickson, as told to her daughter E. Mae Fritz.  Chronicling Midwestern farm life from the 1920's to the present.  It offers up over 375 melt-in-your-mouth recipes.  It records not only a bygone era of one family, but a part of our country's past.  The book tells of a time we all feel nostalgic about even if it was not part of our own roots.  It's a storybook as much as a cookbook.

 

This book is available on my Amazon storefront: www.amazon.com/shops/oneofakindcookbooks .

 

Deluxe Scalloped Oysters

 

3 8-ounce cans of oysters

1/2 cup margarine

2 tbsp. minced green pepper

2 tsp. minced onion

2 tbsp. flour

Half a clove of garlic, pressed

1 tbsp. lemon juice

1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. salt

1/8 tsp. pepper

1 1/4 cups coarsely crushed cracker crumbs

Milk, enough to measure 3/4 cup when combined with oyster liquid

2 tbsp. margarine

 

Preheat oven to 375F.  Butter a deep two-quart casserole.  Drain oysters; reserve liquid.  In a small saucepan, melt 1/2 cup margarine and saute green pepper and onion until lightly limp but not browned.  Add flour, garlic, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper; blend thoroughly.  Place one-third of oysters in prepared casserole.  Sprinkle with one-third of seasonings and one-third of crumbs.  Continue to layer ingredients; end with a layer of crumbs.  Combine oyster liquid and milk; pour over layered ingredients in casserole.  Dot with 2 tbsp. margarine.  Bake 20 to 25 minutes.

 

Serves 6

 

Happy Cooking!

Sense of Taste

Human beings have an average of ten thousand taste buds, mainly on the tongue, but also on the palate and even as far back in the throat in the larynx.  Cows have more than twice as many which seems a bit of a waste.

 

Our taste buds are a kind of modified skin cell, and in their general arrangement register sweet (on the surface of the tongue), and bitter (at the back of the tongue).  Some individuals have a more acute sense of taste than others, but all humans seem to be born with an inherent liking for the sweetness evident even in infants, while appreciated of spicy or sour flavors is learned.  Taste buds are replaced every ten days or so and less frequently with age; accounting for a diminishing sense of taste as people grow older.  The complex wiring of the brain incorporates smells into our sense of taste, which is why the taste of food becomes flat or even nonexistent when you have a head cold.

 

An excerpt from "Life Is Meals" by James & Kay Salter.

 

This really has nothing to do with my next recipe.  Well, maybe it does.  Because it was the hit of a dinner party and my friends inhaled every last bite.  The recipe "Chili Cheese Squares" has also gone by the name of the "John Wayne Casserole".  This came from the cookbook Sedona's (like in Sedona, AZ) Red Rock Recipes by Eloise Carleton.   Which can be found on my Amazon storefront www.amazon.com/stores/oneofakindcookbooks for $9.99. 

 

Chili Cheese Squares

 

1/2 cup flour

1 tbsp. baking powder

12 eggs, well beaten

1 pint cottage cheese

2 small cans diced green chilies

8 oz. jack cheese, grated

8 oz. cheddar cheese, grated

1 stick butter

 

Combine flour and baking powder.  Add eggs, cottage cheese and green chilies.  Combine jack and cheddar cheeses, reserving a third, and add the remainder to eggs.

 

Preheat oven to 400F. Put butter in a 9"x13"baking dish and place in oven.  After butter melts, pour mixture over butter and top with reserved cheese.  Place dish in oven, reducing heat to 350F.  Bake 30-35 minutes.  Dish is fully cooked when knife blade inserted in middle comes out clean.

 

If served as an entrée, cut into 4" squares and serve hot.  If served as a hor d'oeuvre, chill and cut into 1" squares.  Makes 6 main-dish servings or 12 hors d'oeuvres.

 

My thoughts on this recipe:  This must have been made at high elevation.  The cooking times didn't work for me.  With the temperature at 350F, first I cooked it for a total of 50 minutes and it was still wet in the middle.  Then I turned up the temperature to 400F and cooked it for another 10 minutes.  I was running out of time and needed to leave.  I took it out of the oven and tested with the knife.  It still looked wet, but the knife came out clean.  So I went with it and it continued cooking internally on its own.  It was ready by the time (20 minutes later) I got to my friends' home.  It was a major success!

 

Happy Cooking!

The Sweet Potato Queens

I read this cookbook, end to end and the recipes are tremendous. The stories that go along with them, well not my cup of tea, but for those of who enjoy the humor of the Sweet Potato Queens, please look for this book on my Amazon storefront:  www.amazon.com/stores/oneofakindcookbooks and it sells for $9.99.  The actual title is (keep in mind this was a New York Times Bestseller) "The Sweet Potato Queens Big-Ass Cookbook (and Financial Planner).

I tried the following recipe, because I love cornbread and the idea of having sweet potatoes in it.  It was excellent.  Please note this recipe is as printed as in the cookbook.  They kind of ramble on, as they are doing the recipe.

 

Sweet Potato (Queen) Cornbread

 

Mix together the dry stuff: 1 cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup yellow cornmeal, 4 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. salt and 1/2 cup sugar. 

 

Separately, mix together the wet stuff: 3 sweet potatoes, cooked and mashed (or you may use 1 (16oz) can of sweet potatoes and in this recipe, it really is okay not to use home-cooked ones, I would tell you if it mattered), 2 eggs, 6 tbsp. milk and 3 tbsp. oil. 

 

Then mix the dry stuff and the wet stuff just until it's moist (don't beat it to death), then put in greased muffin tins and bake at 425F until done-usually about 15 to 20 minutes.

Happy Cooking!

 

 

Chopsticks

Chopsticks were invented in China over four thousand years ago, probably evolving from twigs used to spear food from a cooking pot.  Knives took over this function in the West, but Confucius, who considered knives instruments of aggression, encouraged the use of chopsticks as part of his teaching of nonviolence.  The name in Chinese is kuai zi which means "quick little fellows".  "Chop" came from the pidgin English for kuai.

 

Chopsticks spread throughout the Orient, those belonging to the rich were made of gold, silver, ivory or jade.  Most, however were-and are-made of bamboo, which was plentiful and cheap, with no taste or smell that could affect the food.  The Japanese made them from a variety of woods and lacquered them for durability.  It was not until the late 19th century that the disposable bamboo variety became popular.

 

Traditionally, Chinese and Japanese chopsticks differ in length and shape.  The Chinese are ten inches long, square, and blunt at the tip, while the Japanese are rounded, come to a point, and are a couple inches shorter.  They are efficient enough to pick up a single grain of rice, but the accepted way to eat rice is to use the chopsticks almost like a scoop, moving the grains from a small bowl held close to the mouth.

 

Chopstick etiquette says you should not gesture with them as you talk, nor should you use them to pass food.  And you're inviting misfortune if you drop them or place them crossed on your plate, unless you do it in a restaurant to show the waiter you're finished and ready for the check.

 

Taken from "Life Is Meals" by James and Kay Salter.

 

Which leads to my recipe today : Chicken Song (a stir-fry wrap sandwich).  I actually got 2 of these books, one for me, an older used edition and one brand new for $9.99 at my Amazon storefront  www.amazon.com/stores/oneofakindcookbooks.

 

Chicken Song

3 tbsp. soy sauce

1 tbsp. dry sherry

1 tbsp. minced garlic

1 tbsp. grated ginger

1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper

1 1/4 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, finely chopped

2 tbsp. olive oil

1 1/4 cups diced carrots

1 1/4 cups diced yellow onion

Kosher salt (if using table salt, decrease the amount by half)

1 tbsp. cornstarch

1/2 cup chopped green onion, white and green parts

1/2 cup chopped cashew nuts

3/4 cup hoisin sauce

4 large iceberg lettuce leaves, trimmed to fit inside tortilla

Four  10 or 11-inch flour spinach tortillas

 

Combine the soy sauce, sherry, garlic, ginger and red pepper in a medium bowl.  Add the chicken and toss to coat evenly.  Let marinate 15 minutes.

Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add the celery, carrot and onion.  Season with 1/2 tsp. kosher salt and cook until the vegetables are tender, 5 to 7 minutes.  Transfer to a medium bowl.

Wipe the skillet clean with a paper towel and return it to the stove.  Heat the skillet over high heat.  Sprinkle the chicken with cornstarch and add it to the hot skillet.  Cook until the chicken is cooked through and the pan juices have thickened, 3 to 4 minutes.  Add the vegetables, green onion, cashews, and hoisin sauce.  Line each tortilla with a lettuce leaf.  Divide the chicken mixture among the lettuce leaves and wrap. 

 

Serves 4

 

I did the prep work first, which made the cooking go very quickly.  I did have to buy most of the ingredients, so it became very expensive.  Next, I couldn't find 10 or 11-inch tortillas, only 8-inch, which I found is not big enough.  So this wrap sandwich for me is now "Lettuce Wraps" and it is excellent.  The stir fry, really the hoisin sauce is what gives this that special great flavor.  I will make my "Lettuce Wraps" again!

 

Happy Cooking!

 

 

 

 

 

How to Murder Your Husband Cookbook

The best way to stop a man's heart is through his stomach!  This is the beginning of my book "How To Murder Your Husband-a Killer Cooker" by Ann Altman & Marilyn Gonzalez.  This book is hilarious.  As well as having excellent recipes that are very rich, high in cholesterol and overall bad for you.  But oh well, you only live once.

 

 

                                                     "A Hymn from Her"

When I made a garden salad
     You called it rabbit food.
When I tried to steam or stir-fry
     You said "This ain't so good."
When I suggested walking
     You had to watch the game;
No matter what I did for you,
     It just turned out the same.
So I simply gave up caring:
     I just cooked what tasted best,
And you, my fat old husband,
     Can answer for the rest.
You look down at your belly
     And ask how it got there.
It's really not my problem.
     In fact, I just don't care.
The truth is that no one forced you
     To eat that cheese souffle',
Or to have that extra helping
     Of key lime pie today.
How about that pile of nachos
     That you balanced on your knee,
While sitting with a can of beer
     And watching the TV?
You gobble up those plates of fries
     With lots of added salt
And all the while you tell yourself
     It's someone else's fault.
Though weighted down with extra pounds,
     You still want sex a lot.
And you still think that I am interested,
     Which, by the way,  I'm not.
You really ought to ponder
     Why a man who seems so smart
Still cares so much about his pecker,
      And so little about his heart.

This book is available with my amazon storefront www.amazon.com/stores/oneofakindcookbooks for $9.99 used, like new condition.

Everyone knows how to make Caesar Salad, but I have chosen this recipe, because it is very good, very easy and the story that goes with it.

                                           Bury Your Little Dictator With A
                                                  Caesar Salad

The brilliant green of the romaine lettuce and the crunch of the croutons will lull your husband into thinking that you have made him a hearty dish.  But, as the demanding emperor's cook Rosa said (and often she is misquoted), "I cook to buy Caesar, not to praise him.

For the salad you will need:

1 egg and 1 yolk
3/4 cup olive oil
1 can anchovies
1/3 cup Parmesan cheese
1 tsp salt
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup lemon juice
Freshly ground pepper
1 head romaine lettuce

For the croutons you will need:

3 thick slices Italian-style bread, toasted and cut up in cubes
1/2 cup melted better
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1/4 cup grated Romano cheese

To make the croutons, mix all the ingredients together and toast at 350 F for 20 minutes or until golden brown.

To prepare the salad, mix the garlic and oil and let them get to know each other while you wash the lettuce and tear it into bite-size pieces.  Add the oil, garlic and seasonings.  Mix the egg, the yolk, the mashed anchovies and cheese with the lemon juice and add to the lettuce and oil.  Toss well and add the croutons.  Serve immediately.

As she served him, Rosa muttered under her breath, "This is for you, you brute." Caesar heard her and sighed, "Et tu, Rosa?"

Happy Cooking!

Chicken Empanadas on a a Hot Las Vegas Day

Today I have been cooking all day like a fool.  It's only 100 degrees out, so why not cook in a hot kitchen.  First I made guacamole with instructions on how to freeze it from Haas Avocados.  You have to puree the avocado with 1 tbsp. lemon juice or lime juice per avocado and then freeze it in any air-tight container.  This was from the professionals.  When I am ready to use it, I will de-frost it and add chopped tomatoes and onions.

Next, I made my trip to the grocery store, bought a rotisserie chicken, chopped it up and made chicken salad and chicken empanadas.  The chicken salad, I completed with shredded Colby-jack cheese, mayonnaise, onions & mustard-a little of this.

The chicken empanadas were for a future party at my home. And this is my recipe that I am featuring today.  This comes "Taste of Home Holiday Celebrations 2010" and sells on my amazon storefront for $9.99 as a used book in almost brand new condition.  www.amazon.com/stores/oneofakindcookbooks . This recipe used refrigerated pie crusts, that were a little thick for the empanadas.  Next time, I might roll out the pie crusts to a thinner crust.  The filling inside was tremendous.  I don't use much cumin usually, but this definitely brought out the flavor.  Next time I would add corn as well, because I like corn.  This was easy to prepare, it only took about 20 minutes to get this appetizer together and bake for 12-15 minutes.  Great appetizer for you to try.

 

Mini Chicken Empanadas

1 cup finely chopped cooked chicken

2/3 cup shredded Colby-jack cheese

3 tbsp. cream cheese, softened

4 tsp chopped sweet red pepper

2 tsp chopped seeded jalapeno pepper

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp salt

1/8 tsp pepper

1 pkg (15 oz) refrigerated pie pastry

 

In a small bowl, combine eight ingredients.

 

Then on a lightly, floured surface, roll each pastry into a 15-inch circle.  Cut pastry with a floured 3-in round biscuit cutter.  Place a heaping teaspoonful of filling on one side of each circle.  Brush edges of pastry with water.  Fold circles in half.  Place on greased baking sheets.  With a fork, press edges to seal.  Bake at 400F for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve warm.

2 1/2 dozen

 

Happy Cooking!

The Cheesecake Life

All of my life I have wanted to make the perfect cheesecake.  The cheesecakes have let me down many times.  But I have finally been rewarded my perfect cheesecake "Fresh Pineapple Cheesecake" from Cheesecake Extraordynaire by Mary Crownover available for sale on my Amazon storefront, www.amazon.com/stores/oneofakindcookbooks for $59.99 as a collectible.  With more than 100 sumptuous recipes for the ultimate dessert.

I am going to give you the recipe as it is, with a note: the crust calls for vanilla sandwich creme cookies that needed to be crushed & mixed with butter.  My opinion, too messy and a regular graham cracker crust would have worked just as well.  Also, there were many great recipes in this book, but I happened to have fresh pineapple to be used up.

 

FRESH PINEAPPLE CHEESECAKE

Vanilla Cookie Crust

11 vanilla sandwich cream cookies, crushed

3 tbsp. butter or margarine, melted

 

In a small bowl, stir together crushed cookies and melted butter or margarine till well combined.  Press crumb mixture evenly onto the bottom of a greased 9-inch spring form pan.

 

Pineapple Filling

27 ounces  cream cheese

3/4 cup sugar

5 tsp cornstarch

3 eggs

1 egg yolk

1/2 cup frozen pineapple juice concentrate, thawed 

1 tsp finely shredded lemon peel

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 cup pineapple, cored, peeled and finely chopped

 

In a large bowl combine cream cheese, sugar and cornstarch.  Beat with an electric mixer till smooth.  Add eggs and egg yolk, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat in pineapple juice concentrate, lemon peel and vanilla extract.   Stir in pineapple.  Pour the cream cheese mixture over the crust.

Bake at 350F for 15 minutes.  Lower the temperature to 225F and bake for 1 hour and 10 minutes or till the center no longer looks wet or shiny.  Remove the cake from the oven and run a knife around the inside edge of the pan.  Turn the oven off; return the cake to the oven for an additional 1 hour.  Chill, uncovered, overnight.  Makes 12 to 18 slices.

 

I needed a whole evening to make this masterpiece.  I had a small bite to make sure it was edible for human consumption the next day and then froze for a gathering at my place this upcoming Saturday.

 

I can now say I made a "great cheesecake".

 

Happy Cooking!

 

 

 

Cranberries

I was looking for an easy chicken recipe to serve to a crowd and found this recipe for cranberries and chicken.  But first a little history on cranberries.

Cranberries weren't always "cranberries".  For eastern Indians, they were "sammanesh", Cape Cod Pequots and Southern Jersey Leni-Lenape tribes called them "ibimi", or bitter berry.  And the Alogonuins of Wisconsin dubbed the fruit "atqua".  But it was the early Dutch and German settlers who started calling it the "crane berry", because of the flower's resemblance to the head and bill of a crane.

Cranberries are grown in the wild on long-running vines in sandy bogs and marshes.

It was the Native American's who took advantage of the cranberry's attributes.  By mixing mashed cranberries with deer meat, they made a survival food called pemmicana.  They also believed in the medicinal value of the cranberry, using the berry in poultices to draw poison from arrow wounds. 

The following recipe comes from the book "A Taste of Young Life", put together by a church's teen group in Northwest Atlanta, that offers summer camps to Teens all over the US, with about 300 recipes contributed from the various teen's family.  Very well put together.  You too can own this for $7.99 plus $3.99 shipping & handling, by contacting me at crazyvalbrown@yahoo.com.  This is not sold on my Amazon storefront: www.amazon.com/stores/oneofakindcookbooks , but there are more than 1600 cookbooks that are available at my storefront, so check out my other titles.

Cranberry Chicken

1 (16oz) can whole cranberry sauce

1 (1 1/4 oz) package Lipton Onion Soup mix

1 (8 oz) bottle Russian or Catalina dressing

6 boneless skinless, chicken breasts

Preheat oven to 350 F.  Combine cranberry sauce and next 2 ingredients in a bowl.  Place chicken in a 13x9x2 inch baking dish.  Pour sauce over chicken.  Bake for 1 hour.  Serves.

Easy Pizzy!

Again, note the spelling disclaimer-no spellcheck in my blogger, anymore.  Where it went anyone knows.

Happy Cooking!

Skinny Soups

It's 114 degrees here in Las Vegas and I made a Skinny Soup today.  I really like soup, any day of the year.  I prefer a cream base, vegetarian (very little vegetables and very few beans).  So today, in an effort to cut back on my eating habits, I made Easy Spinach-Pasta Soup with Basil from the cookbook "Skinny Soups".  It sells on my Amazon storefront for $9.98.  It offers over 100 hearty, low-fat, nutrition-rich, calorie-wise soups.  www.amazon.com/stores/oneofakindcookbooks.com 

What did I think of this Skinny Soup?  Very good, but I missed the Crunch Factor.  I added some croutons at the end and made my bowl of soup go from 210 calories to whatever.  It was very good and I have bagged it to freeze for future meals while I am travelling.  Did it fill me up, mostly....not completely.  Would I try another recipe-definitely.

But first some Motivational Weight Loss Tips that made me laugh.

"I tried every diet in the book.  I tried some that weren't in the book.  I tried eating the book.  It tasted better than most of the diets in the book."  Dolly Parton

"The first thing you lose on your diet is your sense of humor."  Unknown

"I've been on a diet for two weeks and all I've lost is fourteen days."  Totie Fields

"I never worry about diets.  The only carrots that interest me are the number you get in a diamond". Mae West

"The weight will come off some day, I just know it." Valerie Brown

Easy Spinach-Pasta Soup with Basil

1 (10oz) pkg frozen and thawed leaf spinach

2 tsp extra-virgin olive oil

1 small onion, finely chopped

1 small garlic clove, minced

6 cups chicken broth (non-fat)

1 cup water

3/4 2-in long pieces of uncooked vermicelli or other extra-fine spaghetti

1/4 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped or 1 1/2 tbsp dried basil leaves

1/4 tsp black pepper

1 cup Italian style (plum) tomatoes, drained and chopped

1 cup cooked garbanzo beans, or canned garbanzo beans, well drained

2 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese for garnish (optional)

Let spinach drain in colander.  Press down to remove as much excess water as possible.  Transfer spinach to cutting board.  Trim away coarse stems and discard.  Finely chop spinach and return it to colander to drain further.

In a very large pot over medium heat, combine oil, onion and garlic and cook, stirring frequently, until onion is tender.  Add broth and water and bring mixture to a rolling boil over high heat.   Stir in vermicelli and continue cooking 2 minutes.

Stir spinach, basil, pepper, tomatoes and beans into pot.  Continue cooking 6 to 7 minutes longer or until spinach and pasta are tender.  Serve immediately, sprinkled with a little grated Parmesan if desired.

5 Servings

Lack of spell-check disclaimer.  I hope I didn't mis-spell too many words.  No spell-check in blogspot.

Happy Cooking!

Fruit Salad Surgery

Fruit Song Trivia:

1.  What song did O.C. Smith take #2 on the Billboards Charts in 1968?

2.  What plant did Trini Lopez sing about in 1965?

3.  What flavor of alarm clock performed "Incense and Peppermints"?

4.  What stage name has Francine Barker, Marlene Mack, Linda Greene, Patrice Hawthorne all used?

5.  What fruit song was a hit for Harry Belafonte?

6.  Which group has performed  "When You're Gone", "Ode to My Family" and "Linger"?

7.  Led Zeppelin, Prince and Jimmy Dorsey have all performed songs with which one word fruit title?

8.  What group from the 1960's performed "Sitting By The Window", "8:05", and "Omaha" and got its name from the punch-line of a silly joke?

9.  Prince sang about what kind of fruit hat?

10.  In Carly Simon's song, "You're So Vain", what was the color of the scraf that was mentioned?

11.  In Simon and Garfunkel's version of "Hazy Shade of Winter", what is the singer drinking?

12.  What flavor of wine was in the title of a song by Elton John?

13.  Tom Waits sang about what moon (think fruit)?

14.  What song appears twice in the movie "Dr No"? (again think fruit)

15.  What band of white boys played that funky music in 1976?

Answers:  1."Little Green Apples".  2.  "Lemon Tree".   3.  "Strawbery".  4. "Peaches".  5.  "Banana Boat Song".  6.  "The Cranberries".  7.  "Tangerine".  8. "Moby Grape".  9.  "Raspberry Beret".  10.  "Apricot".  11.  "Vodka & Lime".  12.  "Elderberry"  13.  "Grapefruit".  14.  "Underneath the Mango Tree".  15.  "Wild Cherry".

Did you have any of the answers.  I had multiple choice and only got 11.

With that said, todays contribution to hot summer days is a Layered Fruit Salad.  "Love To Cook"  by Louise Thompson-Childs has over 500 great, easy recipes, created by a woman who really does "love to cook" in 1996.  This is not sold on my Amazon store front, www.amazon.com/stores/oneofakindcookbooks .  But if you are interested, please contact me at crazyvalbrown@yahoo.com.  The price is $9.99 plus $3.99 shipping and handling.

LTC LAYERED FRUIT SALAD

1 (8oz) pkg cream cheese
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 tsp grated lemon peel
1/2 cp whipping cream
1/4 cup powdered sugar
2 cups peach slices
2 cups blueberries
2 cups banana slices
2 cups strawberry slices
2 cups grapes
1 cup pecan pieces

Blend cheese, 2 tbsp of the lemon juice and lemon peel together until well- blended.  Dip sliced bananas in remaining lemon juice and set aside.  Beat whipping cream until soft peaks form.  Gradually add sugar, beating until stiff peaks form.  Fold in cream cheese mixture and chill.  Meanwhile, layer each fruit in a glass serving bowl.  Top with cream cheese mixture and sprinkle with pecans.  8 servings.

I am putting in a spell check disclaimer ahead of time.  I have lost my spell-check on this blogger program and I have tried to catch all errors.  Sorry if I didn't.

Happy Cooking!

Cabbage

Cabbage is not mentioned in the Bible, though it was eaten by both Romans and Greeks.  The Emperor Tiberius once required the Senate to vote on whether there was any dish in the world superior to to corned beef and cabbage.

     Diogenes, to a young courtier: If you lived on cabbage, you would not be obligated to flatter
          the powerful.
     Young courtier: If you flattered the powerful, you would not be obliged to live on cabbage.

In Russia, cabbage soup or shchi, is made from cabbage, carrots, meat, onions, celery and garlic, with a sour flavoring from apples, sour cream, or sauerkraut juice.  A favorite for at least a thousand years, it can be found in Russian poems and prose, on the table of both rich and poor and in the fond memory of every exile.

Taken from an excert of Life Is Meals by James and Kay Salter.

Which brings us to coleslaw and the advent of summer.  I am on my way to Canasta's at Joanne's and I have made this recipe for my contribution.

This book: Keepers, The Recipe Collection is by Helene Randolph Moore was printed in 1980.  It has over 400 excellent recipes, just waiting for you to try them.  This sells on my Amazon storefront for $8.88.  www.amazon.com/stores/oneofakindcookbooks .

Cabbage Slaw

1 small head of cabbage, halved

1 green pepper, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

1 cup sugar

1 cup vinegar

3/4 cup salad oil

1 tbsp salt

1 tsp mustard seed

1 tsp celery seed

Shred half of cabbage head.  In large bowl, layer cabbage, half of green pepper and onion.  DON'T STIR. Mix vinegar, salad oil, salt, mustard and celery seed; stir throughly.  Drizzle over top of vegetables.  DON'T STIR.  Cover and let stand 4 hours before serving.  Stir before serving.  Will keep in refrigerator for several weeks.  6-8 servings.

Does it get any easier than this? And you have a great salad to last for weeks (well maybe not in my house, but you get the picture).

Happy Cooking!

Artichoke Trivia

In the U.S., Artichokes were first grown in Louisiana, brought there by settlers in the 19th century.

In 1947, Marilyn Monroe was crowned the First Queen of Artichokes.

Castroville, CA is known as the Artichoke Capital of the world. (It is where Norma Jean (Marilyn Monroe) was crowned the Artichoke Queen in 1947).

Cynar(part of the Artichoke) is an Artichoke flavored aperitif made in Italy.

Artichokes are actually a flower bud, part of the thistle family; if allowed to flower, blossoms measure up to seven inches in diameter and are a violet-blue color.

My recipe today comes from a cookbook not found on my Amazon website.  .www.amazon.com/stores/oneofakindcookbooks . But you can buy it from me directly at crazyvalbrown@yahoo.com   for $7.99, plus $3.99 s&h. Quick & Easy Cooking for All Seasons featuring Ultrex. Ultrex is a kitchen appliance.  This is a quick appetizer recipe that I have used for my last few parties that I have been to.  Everyone loves it and wants the recipe to make themselves.

Hot Artichoke Dip
1 cup mayonnaise
8 oz shredded mozzarella cheese
1 small jar marinated artichokes, drained and chopped
2 green onions, minced

Combine the mayonnaise, cheese, artichoke hearts and onions in a medium saucepan.  Stir and cook over low heat, until the cheese has melted and the ingredients are well-blended.  Serve warm with tortilla chips.

I used a small crock pot to combine and melt the ingredients-it took about a hour, but even after unplugging stayed hot for a long time.

Just to let you know, the book has some water damage, but nothing that affects the recipes.

Also, many of you knew that I went on a Trans-Atlantic Cruise 2 weeks ago.  It was so much fun and I met so many nice people that I am going again next April.  April 20th with Celebrity Cruises, again from Ft. Lauderdale to Rome, but now with stops in Gibraltar, Madeira (both off of the African coast), Sicily, Sardinia and Naples.  Can't wait for the next one!

The Soup Nazi-"No Soup For You"

"The Soup Nazi" is the 116th episode of the NBC sitcom Seinfeld, which aired in 1995.  This was inspired by New York restaurateur and soup-slinger Al Yeganeh. After the airing of that episode, Jerry Seinfeld was banned from "The Original Soupman" Restaurant in Manhattan.  After closing the restaurant in 2004, he sold the rights to The Original Soupman, which currently operates 22 franchises and sells their soup in many grocery stores in the US and Canada.  If you want to take home any of the "Original Soupman's renowned seafood bisque's or spicy chilies, you still must obey Yeganeh's rules, spelled out clearly on the restaurant's website: Pick the soup you want!  Have your money ready!  Move to the extreme left after ordering!  www.originalsoupman.com

I love soup.  In fact, on my recent cruise, I had soup every day.  I don't care if it's 110 degrees out, I love my soup!  Today, I have 2 recipes and 2 soup cookbooks that I am promoting.  One is called The Art of Making Real Soups by Marian Tracy published in 1967.  This is a great book with lots of recipes, that call for a lot of ingredients.  Many European recipes included.  In this book, I will be featuring Cream of Fresh Tomato Soup.  The other book is Twelve Months of Monastery Soups by Brother Victor-Antoine d'Avila-Latourrette, bringing easy, delicious soul-satisfying soup recipes from the monastery to your kitchen.  In this book, the recipe is Neapolitan Zucchini Soup, because zucchinis are in season right now.

Neapolitan Zucchini Soup

7 small zucchinis, sliced

3 tbsp butter

6 cups water

salt and pepper to taste
3 eggs
4 tbsp grated Parmesan cheese
bunch of parsley and basil, finely chopped
croutons (optional)

Place the finely sliced zucchinis in a good-sized soup pot.  Add the butter and cook slowly over low heat for about 5 minutes.  Stir constantly.
Add the water, salt and pepper, bring it to a boil, and continue cooking until the zucchinis are tender (about 20 minutes).  Cover the pot.
Beat the eggs in a large bowl, add the cheese, chopped parsley and basil, and mix it all thoroughly.  Add the mixture to the soup and stir.  Allow it to cook for another 4 to 5 minutes, maximum.
serve hot, adding some croutons on top as garnish.  6 servings.

Cream of Fresh Tomato Soup

In this packaged age, one can get anything from Swedish instant rose hip soup to instant snail butter from France, but homemade cream of tomato soup made from fresh tomatoes tastes like an entirely different soup from that which comes in cans.

4 large or 8 small tomatoes
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup hot water
2 cups milk
2 cups half-and-half
1 1/2 tsp dried tarragon or 1 tbsp chopped fresh tarragon
1 clove garlic
salt and pepper

Quarter the tomatoes and squeeze out the seeds and juice and discard.  Simmer the tomatoes in the butter in a covered pan until tender and thickened, about 20 minutes.  Put through a sieve or puree' in a blender and add the rest of the ingredients.  The garlic clove can be cut in half and fished out later.  Serves 4

Both of these books can be found on my Amazon storefront www.amazon.com/stores/oneofakindcookbooks for $19.99 each.

Happy Cooking!

Stinky Fruit

Every year, my friend Patty goes to Hawaii to get her "stinky fruit" or Durian-it's real name.  This is a very fragrant fruit, that is eaten outdoors.  Once peeled, the odor is incredible and if eaten inside, it would permeate the house.  But I am told it is fresh, sweet and wonderful.

Which leads to my book choice for today.  Out of print, it reads like a travel book "Hawaii Cookbook and Backyard Luau" by Elizabeth Ahn Toupin.  It sells on my Amazon storefront www.amazon.com/stores/oneofakindcookbooks for $39.99.  Now that's a lot of money, but if you are a caterer or chef-this book is invaluable.  I even considered doing my own luau with roasted pig, because it is so well written, that even a non-Hawaiian could do this. This book includes pupu platters, backyard luau, Hawaiian Luau, complete Hawaiian Dinners with menus and recipes and Christmas in Hawaii. Here is the recipe I selected from this book:

Chicken Luau

2 chicken fryers, cut up and weighing at least 6 pounds

4 tbsp butter

1 1/2 tbsp salt

1 1/2 cups water

Salt and Pepper to taste

1/4 tsp monosodium glutamate (keep in mind, this book was published in 1964-I'm sure this is optional now)

3 pounds taro leaves or fresh spinach

3 cups coconut milk

Brown chicken in butter.  Add salt and water.  Simmer till chicken is tender.  Drain chicken.  Season broth with salt, pepper and monosodium glutamate.

Wash spinach and break into large pieces.  Cook without additional water in covered saucepan over low heat till tender.  Add 2 cups of hot-but-not boiling coconut milk to the spinach and simmer for 2 minutes.

Arrange chicken pieces in the center of a large deep dish.  Arrange the spinach in coconut milk around the chicken pieces.  Heat the remaining cup of coconut milk with chicken broth and pour over chicken and spinach.

To prepare ahead: Follow instructions and cook chicken and spinach in the morning.  Make coconut milk.  Refrigerate chicken in its seasoned broth; the spinach in coconut milk.  Reheat separately.  Arrange and serve as instructed.

Happy Cooking!

Rum

1655, Admiral William Penn, whose son of the same name became the famed American colonist, seizes Jamaica, a relatively unimportant provisioning base, from Spain.  Rum, distilled there and throughout the West Indies, began to replace beer as a British seaman's ration in the Caribbean waters.  The custom would later spread throughout the fleet and remain in effect until 1970.

Distilled from sugar cane juice or molasses, a process that occurs almost naturally in the hot climate of the islands, rum is essentially colorless.  Caramel, added as a matter of style, makes it pale gold, amber, tawny, or dark brown.  There is mention of it in Barbados in 1600 and it became the overwhelmingly favorite drink of American colonists, as well as an essential part of the triangular trade that made considerable fortunes for New England ship owners.  Their ships sailed to Africa with a cargo of rum, returned to the West Indies with black slaves to work on the plantations, and took molasses from there back to New England to be made into rum.  When Paul Revere started out on his famous ride to warn of the coming of the British, he began shouting only after a stop and several drinks of rum at the house of a distiller, Isaac hall. 

Many fine rums have beautiful island names:  Rhum Barbancourt from Haiti; Demarara from Guyana; Mount Gay from Barbados, rich and smooth; Rhum St. James and Rhum Clement from Martinique, the latter aged for six years; and Ron Rico and Bacardi from Puerto Rico.  Were it not for rum, who would ever have heard of the tiny West Indies island called Dead Man's chest. 

Cuba was once famous for rum, and, in fact Bacardi originated there in 1862 but later moved to Bermuda and Puerto Rico.  A mass producer, it has come to dominate both the U.S. and world markets.

Legend says that when Horatio Nelson was killed at Trafalgar, his body in order to be preserved, made the voyage back to England in a cask filled with the spirits of the navy-rum-although, in fact, it was brandy.

Taken from "Life is Meals" by James and Kay Salter.

The following book is not for sale on my Amazon storefront.  This is one of those spiral cookbooks, "Atlanta Cooks for Company", published in 1968 by The Atlanta Music Club and sells for $7.99.  If you are interested, place contact me by email crazyvalbrown@yahoo.com.  I still have 1400 cookbooks though available at www.amazon.com/stores/oneofakindcookbooks.

Rum Angel Food Cake

1 1/2 cups milk

2 eggs

1/2 cup sugar, granulated

1/4 tsp salt

1 envelope plain gelatin

1/2 cup cold water

1/4-1/2 tsp rum extract (or I'm sure you could add the real thing)

1 1/2 cups heavy cream

1 Angel Food Cake

Blend first four ingredients together in top of double boiler. (Do not let water boil in bottom).  Stir until mixture is of custard consistency and coats spoon.  Remove from heat.

Add plain gelatin softened in 1/3 cup cold water.  Add to custard and heat.  Add rum extract.  Chill until firm.

Whip heavy cream into peaks and fold into chilled custard.  Pile onto angel food cake!

Happy Cooking!

Cookie Trivia

Americans consume over 2 billion cookies a year, or 300 cookies for each person annually.

The official state cookie of Massachusetts is the chocolate chip cookie, invented in 1930 at the Toll House Restaurant. (Pennsylvania is also considering the chocolate chip cookie as their official cookie.)

Eel Cookies: Unagai Pie, a speciality of Hamamatsu, Japan are cookies made with fresh butter with crushed eel bones, eel extract o.r garlic mixed in (yech).

Nabisco produced 16 billion Oreo cookies in 1995 at it's factory in Chicago, IL.

My next books is once again, one of those spiral books, not sold on Amazon, but a wonderful book filled with hundreds of recipes from St. Mary's Hospital Medical Center Auxiliary of Madison, WI, published in 1981.  It's called Come Share With Us.  It sells for $7.99 and if you are interested in buying this book, please email me at crazyvalbrown@yahoo.com.

Of course, I still have over 1400 books on my Amazon storefront-so don't forget to look at those.  www.amazon.com/stores/oneofakindcookbooks.

Also, I will be on a two-week cruise, starting April 14th and I will still be publishing my blogs, but they may not be on Facebook, until after I get back (they need phone verification each time on Facebook-international charges are too much for me).  So sign up on my blog www.cookbookval.blogspot.com, so you don't miss anything!

This cookie recipe seemed interesting.  I haven't made it yet, but I know that it would work-sometimes you can just tell.
Skillet Cookies

Mix together: 2 eggs, beaten, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup chopped dates.
Melt in skillet 2 tbsp butter and date mixture.  Cook over low heat 10-15 minutes, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat and add the following:
2 cups rice krispies, 1 cup chopped nuts, 1 tsp vanilla.  Mix well and drop by tsp into bowl of coconut and form into small balls.  Cool and serve.

Happy Cooking! 

Movies

Food isn't featured as often in movies as sex, but screen meals leading up to or following it are often more memorable.  One unforgettable scene centers on Albert Finney and Joyce Redman gluttonously devouring a chicken and soon each other in Tom Jones.  Another is the more decorous Grace Kelly in To Catch a Thief, with white gloves and carrying her chicken n a picnic basket.  "Breast or leg?" she said sweetly.

Movies with food as a theme have been made around the globe: The  Baker's Wife from France, Babett's Feast from Denmark, Tampopo from Japan, Like Water for Chocolate from Mexico, Monsoon Wedding from India, La grande bouffe from France/Italy, Life is Sweet from Great Britain, and Eat Drink Man Woman from Taiwan.  American contributions to the field run the gamut from Diner and Big Night in which there's a lot of action, to My Dinner with Andre and The Big Chill, in which talk at the table is the main thing going on, or nearly.  And who is able to leave The Godfather without the desire to go get some pasta-perhaps because of the length.

Taken from Life Is Meals by James & Kay Salter.

Now a recipe.  This is not a book sold on Amazon, because it doesn't have and ISBN number that is required.  This is one of those books you see with the spiral plastic spine.  Favorite Recipes from the American Rose Society Members of Shreveport, LA probably printed in the 60's .  This will sell for $7.99, but if you are interested in purchasing this, please send me an email and we will see what we can do.

There are hundreds of recipes in here and the closest thing I could find to Cajun or Southern was this:

Chattanooga Cheese Grits

4 cups water

1 tsp salt

1 cup hominy grits

1 stick butter

4 eggs, slightly beaten

1/2 cup grated cheese

Add salt to water, bring to a brisk boil.  Add grits slowly.  Cover and cook slowly for 1 hour or until grits are soft, stirring occasionally.  Remove from heat, stir in butter and milk.  Cool to lukewarm, beat eggs in and our into greased 2 quart casserole.  Bake at 350F for 1 hour or until knife inserted in center comes out clean.  Ten minutes before dish is done, sprinkle cheese on top and bake until golden brown.

Serves 6 or more as a side dish.

And of course, I have another 1400 books available for sale on my Amazon storefront, www.amazon.com/stores/oneofakindcookbooks.

Happy Cooking!

Popcorn Trivia

Please note that I am getting ready for my cruise, working nonstop and my Amazon account is not"live" at this time.

By the time Europeans arrived in the New World, more than 700 varieties of popcorn were grown by Native American tribes in both Americas.  Clay or metal cooking vessels were sometimes used-the Chicago Natural History Museum has a number of pre-Incan 1,500-year-old popcorn poppers.

During expeditions in 1948, ears of popcorn up to 2 inches long were found in Bat Cave in west central New Mexico.  The tiny ears have been identified by radio-carbon tests to be about 5,600 years old. 

Popcorn comes in the common colors of yellow and white kernels, but you can also find it in purple, rusty red and black/blue, but when popped it is still only yellow or white.

Popcorn is only a skinny 27 calories per cup and endorsed by the American Cancer Society and the American Dental Association as a wholesome snack.

You can findbook on my Amazon storefront www.amazon.com/stores/oneofakindcookbooks for $12.99.

This recipe for Caramel Fudge Popcorn, sounded too good to be true, so I had to try it.  Mmm.

Caramel Fudge Popcorn

1 14 oz package light caramel candies

2 tbsp heavy cream

3 quarts popped corn

1 6 oz pkg semisweet chocolate chips

In a 3-quart microwave-safe casserole, combine caramel squares and heavy cream.  Cover with lid or plastic wrap.  Microwave on high for 3 minutes, stirring after every minute, until mixture comes to a boil.

Pour caramel sauce over popcorn, stirring to coat evenly.  Quickly stir in chocolate chips.  Transfer mixture to a large sheet of aluminum foil.  When cool, break into small clusters.  Store in an airtight container for up to 1 week.

Happy Cooking!

Columbus

Eighty-eight men under Christopher Columbus set sail on August 3, 1492 from Spain aboard the Nina, the Pinta, and the flagship Santa Maria on a voyage intended to prove a radical notion, that the earth is round.  They sailed with enough food on board to last for a year.  The wooden casks that held it, however expanded and contracted in the sea air, allowing the brine that preserved the meats to leak out and dampness to invade and mold the dry supplies, including rice, beans, flour, and hard biscuits.  The spoiling meat and any fish that were caught were cooked on deck over a fire built of sand, then served in a communal bowl.  There was also salt cod, anchovies, almonds, raisins, molasses, honey, olives, and olive oil on board, along with a strong red wine.

It had been thirty-four days since they had stopped at the Canary Islands for fresh water, and the men were close to mutiny, fearing their captain was mistaken-that the world was, indeed, flat and that they were nearing the edge.  Columbus persuaded them to persevere for three more days, and on the very next October 11, they spotted land.

Taken from an excerpt from "Life is Meals" by James and Kay Salter

My cookbook featured today is "Pot on the Fire" by John Thorne with Matt Lewis Thorne.  This is the latest in the collection from John Thorne.  It celebrates a lifelong engagement with the elements of cooking, and with elemental cooking from cioppino to kedgeree.  From nineteenth century famine-struck Ireland to the India of the British Raj, from the Tuscan bean pot to the venerable American griddle.  An intrepid traveller who shares his experiences travelling, as well as the recipes of his travels. 

Reading about others' journeys, makes me long for my own travel adventures .  My next personal adventure will be a two-weeks transatlantic cruise April 13th from Ft. Lauderdale to Rome. Romance on the high seas?  Murder, Mayhem?  We'll just have to wait and see.

Tapenade
The Provencal shepherd or field hand might not have had a flask of olive oil with which to anoit hiss grilled slice, but he could rub it with olives and sprinkle it with bits of fresh herb.  To my mind (the author's), the best tapenade still has the feel of that olive-rubbed crust.  To make it prepare anchoiade (see below), but omit the vinegar, and mix into a large quantity of coarsely chopped black brine-cured olives, a much smaller amount of minced capers and garlic and a pinch of crumbled herbes de provence. It is all the better when made with two or three different types of cured olive.

Anchoiade

For each serving, you rinse and remove the the backbone from 1 or 2 salted anchovies and set these in a small skillet, pour over some olive oil and a touch of wine vinegar, and, on the lowest possible heat, allow everything to gently meld into a sauce.

This cookbook can be found on my Amazon storefront at www.amazon.com/stores/oneofakindcookbooks for $19.99

Happy Cooking!

Stalking the Wild Asparagus

When I first heard the name of this book "Stalking the Wild Asparagus" by Euell Gibbons, I thought how many ways can you cook asparagus, but okay, a new kind of cookbook.  When I looked at this book further, I found that it's so much more.  It is a book on recognition, gathering, preparation and use of the natural health foods that grow wild all around us. This book has detailed recipes for turning ordinary wild fruits and vegetables into tasty dishes that would grace any table.  This book sells on my Amazon storefront www.amazon.com/stores/oneofakindcookbooks for $19.99.

Have you heard of the tropical fruit Papaw?  The Papaw looks, tastes and smells like a tropical fruit, although it grows wild as far north as Michigan.  It ranges from New York to Florida, and west to Nebraska and all the way down to Texas.  Local names are False Banana, Michigan Banana and Custard Apple.  The papaw is a small, slender tree, usually eight to twelve feet tall, but occasionally reaching twenty-five or thirty feet.  It has large leaves, up to a foot long by five inches wide.  The flowers, which appear with the leaves in late April or May are peculiar.  They have six petals in two sets, the outer three larger and flattened out, and the inner ones standing more erect and forming a cup with three points.  The mature fruit is three to five inches long and is kidney-shaped with a smooth, yellowish-green skin.  The taste is described like mixed bananas and pears.  Usually these are eaten as fresh fruit.  However to make this as a dessert, just bake them in their skins or it can be be used as pie filling or served in parfait glasses.

Papaw Pie
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 envelope unflavored gelatin
1/2 tsp
2/3 cup milk
3 slightly beaten eggs yolks
1 full cup of strained papaw pulp
3 egg whites
1/4 sugar
9-inch graham cracker crust

In a saucepan, mix together brown sugar, unflavored gelatin and salt.  Stir the milk and 3 egg yolks into this.  Cook and stir the mixture until it comes to a boil.  Remove from the fire and stir in the papaw pulp.  Chill until it mounds slightly when spooned.  This will take 20 to 30 minutes in the refrigerator.  Shortly before the mixture is set, beat the 3 egg whites until they form soft peaks, then gradually add the sugar, beating until stiff peaks form.  Fold the partly set papaw mixture thoroughly into the egg whites.  Pour into a 9-inch graham cracker crust, or into parfait glasses and chill until firm. 

Happy Cooking!

Beauty With Food

Making your own skin and hair products is simple and inexpensive to do.  And you can be sure that the results will be totally natural and gentle to your skin.

Age spots.  Buttermilk:  Here's an old-time remedy, used back when buttermilk was readily available on the family farm.  Buttermilk contains lactic acid, an ingredient also found in some cosmetics.  Splash it on, then lightly blot it to coat your skin with a slightly acidic mantle.  A buttermilk coating may cause some gentle peeling of upper skin layers that helps fade superficial age spots.

Bad Breath.  Parsley:  This herb is packed with chlorophyll, a natural germ-fighting agent.  Chew 10 to 15 sprigs with all of your teeth, especially the back molars.  Grind slowly and methodically for a few minutes, allowing the parsley to mix with saliva until there's nothing left to swallow.

Dry or Damaged Hair.  Butter and Cream:  For a super conditioner, mix 3 ounces each of softened butter and heavy cream to 3 ounces your regular conditioner.  Work it through your hair, then cover your hair with a warm, damp towel.  Wait 15 minutes, then shampoo and rinse thoroughly.

Does it have to be the holidays for a good sweet potato recipe?  I don't think so.The following recipe is Sweet Potato Cheesecake Bars-these are good any time of the year!  This book, "Taste of Home, Best Holiday Recipes 2011" can be found on my Amazon storefront at www.amazon.com/stores/oneofakindcookbooks for $8.99.

Sweet Potato Cheesecake Bars
1 package (18 1/2 oz) yellow cake mix
1/2 cup butter softened
1 egg
Filling:
1 can (15 oz) sweet potatoes, drained
1 pkg (8 oz) cream cheese, cubed
1/2 cup plus 1/4 cup sugar, divided
1 egg
1 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 cup (8oz) sour cream
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
Topping:
1 1/4 cups granola without raisins
1/2 cup white baking chips
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice

In a large bow, beat the cake mix, butter and egg until crumbly.  Press onto the bottom of a greased 13x9 inch baking dish.
Place the sweet potatoes, cream cheese, 1/2 cup sugar, egg and pie spice in a food processor; cover and process until blended.  Spread over crust.
Bake at 350F for 20-25 minutes or until center is almost set.  Meanwhile in a small bowl combine the sour cream, vanilla and remaining sugar.  Spread over filling.  Combine topping ingredients; sprinkle over top.  Bake 5-8 minutes longer or just until set.  Cool on a wire rack. 
Refrigerate for at least 2 hours.  Cut into bars.  Refrigerate leftovers.

Happy Cooking!

Pretzels

The pretzel is said to have been invented almost fourteen hundred years ago in a monastery in southern France where a monk frugally twisted leftover scraps of dough into a shape like that of arms folded in prayer, with the three openings representing the Trinity.  They were called pretiola, meaning "little reward" in Latin, and were given to children who learned their prayers.  The name evolved into brachiola, which means "little arms" and then to bretzl or pretzel when they became popular in Germany and Austria.

Sold by street vendors as early as the 15th century, pretzels were associated with good luck and even became part of wedding ceremonies, used in "tying the knot".  Pilgrims brought them to the New World and found the Indians eager customers, and a century later the Pennsylvania Dutch created the first commercial pretzel bakery in America.

From the beginning, pretzels were made, as the best still are today, of the simplest ingredients, the same as those for bread: wheat flour, water, yeast, and salt.  At first they were baked like bread, too, to be soft.  The story is that a baker fell asleep and overcooked a batch, resulting in the perfect, crisp, golden-colored pretzel.  No sugar, no fat and no cholesterol.

An excerpt from "Life is Meals" by James & Kay Salter.

With that said, I am going to offer a recipe from "Party Foods", presented by Home Economic Teachers and includes lots of recipes for Appetizers, Dips, Salads & Desserts.  This sells for $9.99 on my Amazon storefront www.amazon.com/stores/oneofakindcookbooks .  This recipe is a salad dressing that I have made many times.

Apricot-Sesame Dressing

1 tbsp cornstarch

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1/8 tsp ground ginger

1 (5 1/2 oz) can apricot nectar

1/4 cup red wine vinegar

1 tbsp honey

1 tsp sesame oil

1 tsp toasted sesame seeds

In a small saucepan combine cornstarch, garlic powder, and ginger.  Stir in apricot nectar, vinegar, honey, and oil.  Cook, stirring constantly, until thickened and bubbly.  Add sesame seeds.  Cook and stir 2 minutes more.  Chill covered.

Makes 2/3 cup

Apricot nectar replaces most of the oil in this low-fat dressing.

Happy Cooking!

My love affair with cheese

I love cheese!  Unfortunately, I am lactose intolerant, but that doesn't stop me.  Moderation in everything, right?

Some cheese history: 
A News-Making Camel Ride

The first legend concerns a long-ago desert tribesman who set out on a journey with a container of milk-probably mare's or camel's milk-in that day's ordinary milk container, the dried stomach of a sheep.  In the broiling desert sun he mounted his camel and took off on a ride as bumpy and lurchy in those days as a camel ride remains in this day.

When he stopped to refresh himself, he found the milk separated into a thin, watery substance (whey) and a thickened mass (curds)-a result of the warmth of day and the churning motion of the ride he had taken, helped along by the action of the rennet, an enzyme in the sheep's stomach.  he tasted the mass of curds and was delighted.  We can imagine that he could hardly wait to get home to share his great discovery with his family and friends.

Taken from The Complete Cheese Cookbook by Kraft.  This sells in my Amazon storefront for $6.99. The actual title is The Complete Cheese Cookbook (everything from legends to recipes from the cheese makers).The recipe that follows is also from this cookbook.

Double Cheddar Cornbread

1 cup yellow cornmeal

1 cup flour

1 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 cups shredded sharp Cheddar cheese

1 cup milk

1/4 cup butter or margarine, melted

1 egg beaten

1/2 tsp dry mustard

4 slices crisply cooked bacon, crumbled (for Vegetarians, this could be omitted)

1 green pepper, cut in rings

Preheat oven to 425F.  Sift together dry ingredients.  Stir in 1 cup cheese.  Combine milk, butter and eggs; add to dry ingredients.  Pour into a greased 9-inch layer pan.  Top with remaining cheese, mixed with mustard.  Sprinkle with bacon; top with green pepper rings.  Bake 25 minutes. 6-8 servings.

Happy Cooking!

Simple Home Solutions

I am back home after a week's cruise, well rested and ready to start blogging again!

This is actually the name of my book "Martha Stewart Living Simple Home Solutions" which sells on my Amazon storefront www.amazon.com/stores/oneofakindcookbooks for $9.99. This book is filled with hundreds of great ideas for the kitchen and your home.  Here are just a few of them.

Baking Powder Test-To ensure that baking powder is still potent, drop a half teaspoonful into a glass of warm water.  If it immediately foams and rises to the top, it's still sufficiently active.

Perfect Egg Whites-Just a speck of yolk can make egg whites impossible to whip and wear out even the most determined cook's arm.  To remove small bits of yolk, use the egg shell as a scoop.  The yolk will be attracted back into their shell, and a jagged edge will capture even the tiniest spot of yellow.

Saving Tomato Paste-Keep tomato paste from going to waste when your recipe calls for just a tablespoon or two.  Open both ends of the can; discard  one end, and keep the other in place.  Wrap the can in plastic wrap; freeze overnight.  Use the metal end to push the frozen paste out of the open end; discard can.  Tightly wrap unused portion, and store in the freezer for up to three months, slicing off what you need as you cook.

Quick-Peel Kiwi-Here's a great way to skin a kiwi.  Trim both ends of the fruit, then carefully ease a tablespoon between the flesh and the fuzzy peel.  Turn the kiwi, gently pressing the back of the spoon against the peel as you go.  The flesh should slide right out in one piece, perfect for cutting into neat, round slices.

The recipe I have chosen is from "The Silver Palate Good Times Cookbook" by Julee Rosso & Sheila Lukins, which sells for $59.99.

I have chosen a Flank Steak recipe.  Flank steak is wonderful when cook properly.  Normally, I marinate the flank steak with a soy sauce for a couple of hours, but this recipe is a complete change from what I make and it's wonderful.  I use leftover flank steak to make steak tacos or quesadillas.

Flank Steak with Garlic-Ginger Sauce

1 flank steak (2 pounds)

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 tbsp sesame oil

Make the sauce (below).  Preheat the broiler.  Sprinkle both sides of the steak with the soy sauce and sesame oil and rub into the meat.  Broil 6 inches from the heat for 5 to 7 minutes per side, depending on desired doneness.  Cut the steak diagonally into thin slices.  Overlap 5 or 6 slices on each serving plate and top with several spoonfuls of the garlic-ginger sauce.  Serve hot or at room temperature.

Garlic-Ginger Sauce

3/4 cup olive oil

6 cloves garlic, finely minced

3 tbsp chopped fresh ginger root

4 large carrots, peeled and cut into small dice

5 scallions, sliced

1 cup dry white wine

1/2 cup water

1 tbsp dried oregano

Pinch red pepper flakes

1/2 cup chopped fresh Italian parsley

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Heat the oil in a medium-size skillet over medium heat.  Add the garlic, ginger and carrots and saute for 10 minutes.  Stir in the scallions and saute' 2 minutes more.  Add the wine, water, oregano and red pepper flakes and simmer uncovered over low heat for 30 minutes.  Stir in the parsley and season to taste with salt and pepper. 3 1/2 cups.

Happy Cooking!