British Christmas Dinner, Mushroom Oat Porridge, Turkish Stove Top Bread, Veggie Pot Roast

 Veggie Pot Roast

This may look like a HUGE complicated list of ingredients. But it's not that bad, really. Basically its an onion/broth/beer gravy poured over and around chunky vegetables and then baked or roasted to  enhance the flavors. Not everyone has a large oven proof skillet – I transferred the veggies and sauce to a Pyrex dish for the roasting.

1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 Onion, sliced
4 cloves Garlic, minced
3 Tbsp AP Flour
1 bottle Stout or other dark beer
1-2 cups Vegetable Broth
3-4 Tbsp Worcestershire Sauce
3-4 Tbsp Tomato Paste
1 Tbsp fresh Sage, slivered
3-4 Tbsp chopped fresh Basil, chopped
2 Tbsp chopped fresh Rosemary, chopped
Salt & Black Pepper, to taste
2 Portobello mushroom caps, stems and gills removed
1 cup baby Carrots
2-3 Yukon Gold Potatoes, unpeeled, cut into 1-inch pieces

Preheat the oven to 350°F.

Heat the olive oil in a large, ovenproof skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic, and cook for 3 to 4 minutes.

Add the flour to make a roux. Slowly add the beer and vegetable broth to make a sauce.

Add the Worcestershire sauce, tomato paste and herbs. Add the mushrooms and vegetables. Coat the vegetables with the sauce.  

I placed the mushroom-carrot-potato bits in a 9x9 baking dish 

and then poured the gravy overall:

Transfer to the oven. Roast for 45-50 minutes until the vegetables are tender.

Plate and serve.

Mushroom Oat Porridge/Soup
We got a great box of mixed mushrooms in our Co-op box the other day -- Oyster, Cremini and White, and I wanted a soup that wasn't pureed for once -- just unctuous chunks of mushroom, a simple vegetable or two, and a grain or beans in a broth.  We haven't had any grain-dishes lately (other than rice), so I found a recipe that utilized steel-cut oats, and of course "I did it my-y way!" as the song says.

1/2 Onion, diced
12 oz Mixed Mushrooms
2 sticks Celery, chopped
3/4 cup Steel-Cut Oats
1-2 Tbsp Mushroom Base
1-2 Tbsp Vegetable Base 
6 cups Water
3 Tbsp Worchestershire sauce
1-2 tsp Za-tar Seasoning - to taste
1-2 tsp Black Pepper -- to taste
a pinch of Truffle Salt
Green Onion, chopped, for garnish

Saute the onions, garlic and celery for a few minutes to soften.  Then add the mushrooms and cook a couple more minutes until they start to get fragrant.

Now add the water and the rest of the ingredients.  Simmer everything for 45 minutes to an hour until the oatmeal swells and the flavors all come together.  Garnish and serve.

Leftovers the next day were much thicker and porridge-like,

Turkish Stove Top Bread
A dulcimer friend in Ohio was asking about breads (yeast-risen or quick) cooked without an oven.  This is a Turkish risen version which makes a 10"-12" diameter loaf   2-3" thick.

1 pkt Dry Yeast
1 tsp Sugar
1 cup warm Water
1 cup Whole Milk
½ tsp Salt
5 cups AP Flour
1-2 Tbsp Olive Oil
Za'atar Spice blend, to taste

In a large bowl stir and dissolve together the first 5 ingredients. Add the flour and work into a dough ball. Drizzle oil over the ball and, while still in the bowl, knead the oil into the dough. Cover and raise for 45 minutes and the dough will about double. With oily hands, knock the rise back, and work the dough into a smooth ball again.

Put a splash of oil into a 10-12” heavy bottom skillet, set the ball in the center and spread the dough out into a disk. My heavy bottom copper clad pan is 10" in diameter and 3" deep.  Cover and cook on low heat (I used 3 on a 10 point dial) about 10 minutes. 

Since this is a Middle Eastern recipe, I figured the perfect spice to compliment the bread would be za'atar.  So I sprinkled that spice blend on both flats as they turned up "hot and vulnerable" as Alton Brown would say.  You could, of course incorporate the spice into the body of the dough as well.

Carefully release this first side from the pan, reaching underneath with a spatula.   Invert the dough onto an oiled plate and slide the loaf back in the pan with the just-cooked side up.

You can see in the 10 Minute photo above that I failed to get a good release and had sticking bits here and there which I pressed back into the round.   

This photo shows the nicely cooked side 2 after 20 minutes:

Notice too that the loaf has continued to rise.  Repeat the flip every 10-15 minutes or so until you get both sides nice and golden and an internal temperature of 190-220. A total 50 minutes on the heat was what my loaf need.    

There's a good crumb; it's dense but not heavy.  It cuts well, has good spring back, and tastes really great.  The za'atar gives it a very slight exotic "Yum, what is that..." taste.

Christmas Dinner
The one day of the year that I do not cook!!  Sally and Holly together make this traditional English style Beef Roast with roasted potatoes and parsnips, roasted green beans and Brussels sprouts, and molded Yorkshire Puddings.  For dessert, Christmas Pudding, of course.  Photos by Holly Decker.

Upper Left:  Christmas Pudding being double boiled to warm it through
Upper Right:  Two Bone Rib Roast
Bottom:  Molded Yorkshire Pudding trees and hearts

The full dinner.  Clockwise:  roasted potatoes & parsnip; green beans and Brussels sprouts, slab of roast with gravy, Yorkshire puddings to soak up the gravy and juices. 

Somehow we missed a photo of this year's Christmas Pudding, but here's one from a couple years back.  Brandy is poured over the 'Pud, and the vapors ignited for a dramatic presentation before being served with a dollop of custard.

Blackberry Custard
Here's another use of custard.   Simmer blackberries for about 15 minutes in water with a bit of brown sugar, grated nutmeg and ground clove.  Place berries in fancy dishes, top with custard made with scalded milk and Bird's Custard Powder.

Baked Feta with Kale, Baked Apples, Purple & Green, Composting Success

I'm putting dessert first,  It's my blog!

Baked Apples
This is really a technique more than a recipe.  I made these for Sally's Holiday Luncheon with her girlfriends.   

4 Sweet Apples -- I used Fuji -- not uber sweet, but not those Granny Smiths
1/4 cup Brown Sugar
1 tsp Cinnamon
1/8 tsp ground Cloves
1/4 cup Chopped Walnuts
1/4 cup  chopped Raisins, Sultanas, or dried Currants
1 Tbsp Butter
3/4 cup boiling Water

Preheat oven to 375F.

Core the apples from the stem end, but leave 1/2" closed at the bottom.  There was a time I would have done that with a thin-bladed knife.  These days I actually own a corer -- useful for apples, pears and assorted other produce.

Combine the sugar, nuts and fruit.  Stand them up in a 9x9 baking dish.  Pack the cleaned cores with the sugar-fruit mix, and top with a dab of butter.

Pour the boiling water around the apples and bake for 30-45 minutes until the apples are tender but not mushy.  

Baste the plated apples with the baking juice, and serve.

Baked Feta With Kale
This was the starter/salad course for Sally's Holiday Brunch dish.  The main course was a whole Buttercup squash stuffed with the Nut Loaf recipe from a couple weeks back.  I also made a pitcher of chilled NoEgg Nog from last week's post.  

15 oz Chickpeas, canned or cooked from dry
3 cups packed Kale, stemmed and torn
3 Tbsp EVOO
Salt & Pepper to taste
1 tsp Smoked Paprika
¼ tsp Cayenne
2 (4-oz.) blocks Feta, halved horizontally to make 4 thick slices
¼ cup Pumpkin Seeds

Dressing
1 Tbsp Tahini
3 Tbsp EVOO
Juice of 3 lemons

Preheat the oven to 400ºF with a sheet pan inside.

Slightly wilt the kale in a skillet or the microwave.  Toss the chickpeas and kale with the EVOO, salt, pepper, and spices.

When the oven is ready, remove the baking tray and carefully lay the feta slices on the sheet and surround with the chickpea blend. Top with pumpkin seeds.

Return the baking sheet to the oven and bake until feta has softened, the kale has browned in spots, and the chickpeas browned and crisp —15-20 minutes. 

Meanwhile, in a small serving bowl, whisk together the tahini, extra-virgin olive oil, juice of 2 lemons, salt and pepper to taste.   Reserve.

Remove the tray and squeeze the rest of the lemon juice on the greens and chickpeas. Divide between plates and serve with the dressing on the side.

Purple & Green

Here's a simple vegetarian meal idea.  Roasted purple potatoes, steamed broccoli, and (you can just make it out on the right) a dish of curry spiced lentils for protein.  I made a simple Hollandaise sauce to dress up the potatoes and broccoli.

Composting
For the past 4 months or so we've been running a kitchen waste composting experiment, which has been very successful, and has cut down our landfill contribution significantly!  Where previously we would have 2-3 28 gallon trash bags going out every week, we are now down to just one.  Doing our part to help the environment!

We bought this EJWOX brand kitchen waste composter drum from Ebay.  It took me about an hour to assemble the heavy gauge recycled plastic panels into the drum and hang it from its stand.  The drum hold 43 gallons between two compartments.  

The idea being that you fill up one side while the other is undergoing the composting process.  As you can see, we set it up in a mostly shady spot on the side of the house under the mango tree.  NO decomposition aroma!!  Very happy about that.

To collect the scraps, peelings, leftovers, etc.  we bought the one gallon countertop bucket which you see -- with its replaceable filters, there is absolutely no aroma.  I'm emptying this at least every other day into the composter drum.   To the scraps we add a percentage of  'brown' materials -- leaves (lots of those under the mango) and similar organic waste.   No cat poop or litterbox material though, that stuff is too acidic.

So I got one side about half full to start, then let it begin compositing while I've been adding scraps to the other side.  After about a month or so we got a good bucket of useable garden compost from the side A.  Now that side B is almost full I've emptied the compost from side A and have now started adding to it again, while side B composts over the next few weeks. 

The degree of decomposition is really very good.  Some sticks that should never have been added are still sticks; and one or two eggshells that for some reason didn't break down yet.  The brown round things in my scoop in the photo below are actually a nice large mushrooms. 

  

Stuffed Peppers, Stovetop Clafouti, Penne Campania, NoEgg Nog

 They say --  that's the infamous "they" -- that one of the food trends for 2021 is going to be "comfort foods".  Frankly, that's a lot of what I'm been making these last 9 months of Covid!  Anyway, here's my first entry for Comfort Food Of The Year 2021 -- 

Stuffed Peppers
Stuffed Peppers are really a technique, more than a recipe.  Everyone has their own take on them.  For years I made the rice-tomato-ground beef version.  Then I experimented with other grains beside rice -- barley, faro, bulgur wheat, even quinoa.   Now that I'm mostly pescatarian/vegetarian, I've eliminated the meat element entirely, and come up with this version.

                          

How many peppers?  That's up to you.  I made 4.  Quantities of ingredients are vary also, depending on the number and size of peppers you're trying to fill.  Don't worry -- there's no such thing as too much stuffing!

Preheat the oven to 400F.

Cut the tops off your peppers and remove the white webbing from the walls of the shells.

Do not pre-cook the peppers to be stuffed.  You want them al dente so they stand up and hold the filling and don't collapse when you serve them.  They'll get cooked during the final process.

For the filling, simmer together some:

Chopped Celery

Diced Onion
Diced Bell Pepper -- I like to use green peppers in the filling, and stuff red peppers
Pine Nuts

Chopped Olives

Raisins or Sultanas or Currents

Parmesan Cheese

Pasta Sauce or chopped Tomatoes (not much you don't want a watery filling)

Italian Seasoning blend or individual spices -- Rosemary, Oregano, etc. to taste
Panko or other bread crumbs added at the end to tighten the filling up.
Shredded Cheese for topping

Stuff the peppers to the top and add some shredded cheese for a topping.  Leftover stuffing can be placed around the peppers in the baking dish.  

Bake for about 30 minutes until the pepper shells are starting to soften and the cheese on top has melted.

Plate the peppers and add additional cheese topping just before serving.

Stovetop Clafouti
The classic French clafouti that I learned to make years ago was always started on the stovetop and finished in the oven.  Not such a bad thing if you live in cool/cold climates, but not good if you're pre-heating the kitchen 20 minutes to bake something for 15 minutes here in the tropics!  Consequently I'm always looking for stovetop recipes for things that usually require an oven -- breads, desserts, you name it.  Just recently I found this stovetop version  of clafouti.  You'll need an 8"-9" wide shallow sauce pan or similar skillet, with a lid.

12 oz Fruit -- traditionally cherries, but any berry, or diced apple/pear/nectarine will do
3 Eggs
pinch of Salt
1 tsp Vanilla Extract
1/3 cup Sugar (white or brown)
1/2 cup AP Flour -- unbleached if you can find it.

In a bowl, combine the eggs, salt, extract, sugar and flour, and whisk into a batter.  

Spray your pan/skillet with cooking spray. Heat it hot enough that drops of water sizzle on contact.   Pour in the batter.

Scatter your fruit evenly across the batter.  Cover.  Reduce heat to Low.  Cook for 30-35 minutes until batter is cooked through, like a pancake. 

Remove from the heat and rest 5 minutes.  Carefully remove clafouti from the pan and plate.

Slice into quarters and serve warm.

As you can see, I cooked this one a bit long, and blackened the bottom!  Better luck next time!  Still, minus the black bits it tasted pretty good!

Penne Campania
If you added capers to this dish, it would be Eggplant Caponata.  Without capers (Sally doesn't care for them) it's still a staple in the Campania region of Italy. 
                         

I really like these chunky pasta toppings rather than the pools of Italian-American red gravy sauces we grew up with.  

1 Globe Eggplant -- about a pound
1 Red bell Pepper, diced
1/2 White Onion, diced
2-4 cloves Garlic, minced
1/2+ cup pitted Olives -- green or kalamata
1/4 tsp dried Chili Flakes
1 pint Cherry Tomatoes, whole and halved
1/2 cup Tomato Sauce or pureed tomatoes
1 stick Celery, chopped
Italian Seasoning or Oregano, Basil, Rosemary, etc. to taste
Fresh Basil to taste

Cut the eggplant into 1/2" dice or a bit larger. Saute the onion, celery, garlic and bell pepper until almost tender.  Add the eggplant, season to taste, stir to combine and continue cooking. Add the tomato sauce and 1/2 cup water, the tomatoes and olives.  Continue cooking until everything is warmed through.  Toss in the basil during the last couple of minutes so that it wilts into the sauce.

NoEgg Nog
For those who are dairy and egg intolerant. 

1/2 cup raw Cashews, soaked 4 hours water and drained
1 cup full-fat Coconut Cream (not coconut milk)
1 cup unsweetened, unflavored Nut or Soy Milk
2-1/2 Tbsp Sugar
1-1/2 tsp Vanilla Extract
1 tsp ground Cinnamon
1/4 tsp grated Nutmeg
1/8 tsp powdered Cloves
1/8 tsp powdered Cardamon

Put everything in a blender and puree until smooth.  Refrigerate at least 4 hours before serving.   Yummmm:

Roasted Chestnuts, Nut Roast en Croûte , Greek Green Beans Eggplant Stacks, Roasted Beets,

Roasted Chestnuts 
No open fire?  You can still roast chestnuts for the holidays and holiday dishes -- in your oven.  Chestnuts are not cheap, but they are good value because a little goes a long way.

Chestnuts
Oven
Sharp Knife

Preheat the oven to 425F.

With a sharp knife cut an X through the skin in the rounded part of each chestnut.  This critical step keeps the nuts from exploding from internal pressure as they roast!  Place the nuts on a pan, and roast them 15-20 minutes until the Xs peel open and the meats are softened.  Time will vary depending on the nuts themselves. 

Remove the roasted nuts to a kitchen/tea towel.  Wrap them up and squeeze hard.  The nuts should crackle, loosening the crisped shells.  Let them set for a few minutes to cool.  Then pull, snap, and remove the dark skin and another, papery, skin between the outer skin and the nut.

Roasted peeled nuts will last in the fridge for a few days in an airtight container.  To store for a week or more, put them in a breathable container, or freeze them.  So what am I going to do with my roasted Chestnuts?  Look here:

Nut Roast en Croûte 

Best dish I have made in a long time!!! 

From Michelle at The Last Food Blog, recommended by our friend Fiona Barnes. To make this great recipe, you'll either need a package of frozen pre-made dough or a batch of Shortcrust Pastry (see below) which is simple and cheaper to make than to buy.   I made this beauty in my Ninja Flip Air-Fry Oven:

Filling Ingredients
1 tbsp EVOO
1 Onion diced
2 Carrots peeled and diced
8 oz Mushrooms chopped
¾ lb Butternut Squash cubed
3 cloves Garlic minced
1 Tbsp minced Rosemary
1/2 Tbsp dried Oregano
1/2 Tbsp Sage
6 oz Mixed Nuts – walnuts, almonds, cashews
6 oz chopped roasted Chestnuts
1 large Egg
3 oz Feta cheese
1 tsp cracked Black Pepper
½ cup Breadcrumbs

Preheat the oven to 400F. Lightly grease a baking tray with olive oil,  or lay down a sheet of parchment paper.

In a large pan sauté the onion and carrot until  soft. Add the mushrooms, squash, salt and pepper and cook for about 10 minutes. Now add the garlic and herbs and crumble in the chestnuts. Cook for about 5 minutes more then take it off the heat and leave to cool.

While the mixture is cooling, toast the nuts in a large frying pan for about 5 minutes. Whirr them in the food processor to get a rough crumble. Add the nuts to the squash and mushroom pan.  This can even be done the day before and refrigerated overnight...

Now, add the breadcrumbs, feta and egg to the mixture and mix well. Reserve.

Roll the  pastry out into a 10" x 13" rectangle on a piece of waxed paper.. 

Put the filling onto the pastry and shape it into a “sausage”, leaving room along the edges -- enough room for the pastry to fold over. 

Fold the pastry over the filling, then fold up the ends. Turn the en croûte upside down onto the baking tray.

Brush the pastry with the milk then place on the middle shelf in the oven for 40-45 minutes, turning the tray around halfway through cooking.  

Let it rest a few minutes before slicing and serving.

Shortcrust Pastry
This classic recipe is used for all sorts of things -- tart crusts, en croute, and much more...  This recipe makes a nice slab of dough about 10 x 13.  The secret to good shortcrust (especially here in Florida) is to keep everything cold -- pre-chill the mixing bowl, ice cubes floating in the water, really cold butter, cold hands... the works.

2-1/4 cups AP Flour
2/3 cup Butter or Margarine -- I use Oliviotm
Pinch of Salt
6 Tbsp Ice Water

I mix the flour and salt in the mixing bowl then chill that for 15 minutes.  Quickly measure and cut in (with your cold hands) the butter.  Then add the water a tablespoon at a time while stirring with a fork. 

Continue stirring and the dough will come together in clumps.  Mash it all together, in the cold bowl, until you get a lump of dough, wrap that in clingfilm and return to the fridge for a 15 minute chill-down before rolling out.

Greek Green Beans
I had a huge batch of green beans, as well as a partial basket of cherry tomatoes that needed to be used up.  This is a good thing to do to them...

1 to 1-1/2 lbs Green Beans topped & tailed
1 Onion sliced into strips
18 Cherry Tomatoes, halved
4-6 cloves Garlic, chopped
1/4 cup Marinara or 1 Tbsp Tomato paste
2 cups Vegetable Broth + 2 cups Water
Dried Basil, Rosemary, Oregano and Sage to taste -- at least 1/2 tsp of each

Saute the onions in a splash of EVOO for a couple minutes, then add the green beans, garlic and a dash of each spice.  Add the broth and water.  Cover and simmer for 15-20 minutes until the beans are getting tender.  

Now add the marinara sauce and cherry tomatoes and continue simmering, uncovered until the liquid reduces and thickens.   Taste and adjust the spices as needed.

Eggplant Stacks
I found this giant round eggplant at a farmer's market the other day, and for $1,  I couldn't pass it up.  

We both love a simplified version of Eggplant Parmesan which I make, that we call  Eggplant Stacks.

Eggplant  sliced into 1/2" to 3/4" thick rounds
Greek or Italian seasoning, to taste
Parmesan Cheese
Shredded Cheese
Slices of Tomato and Onion
Panko or other breadcrumbs
Marinara Sauce of your choice

Drizzle the eggplant rounds with EVOO and dust them with seasoning.  Broil on both sides until just beginning to brown.  You don't want them cooked mushy.

Stack slices of grilled eggplant with layers of sliced onion, tomato, a dusting of Parmesan and panko in between along with a couple spoonfuls of marinara.  A good stack is 3 slices of eggplant.   Top each stack with additional tomato, onion, breadcrumbs, and shredded other cheeses.   Bake or broil a few minutes to melt the cheeses, and serve!  

Brit Pickled Beets
We got some HUGE beets in our produce box.  

Sally has only ever had British style pickled beets, not American, so I decided to try and replicate them.  The difference is in the vinegar and spices.  Most British pickled beets use malt vinegar, not white vinegar, seldom any sugar,  and minimal spices.  American pickled beets are significantly sweetened and use dry mustard and white vinegar.

I chose to roast my beets peeled and cubed rather than whole.  IMHO the "red menace" of juice and such is easier to clean up when raw rather than cooked.  At least there seems to be less of it to clean up!

To make a pint of pickled beets:

2 cups peeled cubed, roasted Beets
1 cup Malt Vinegar (just like you use for fish & chips)
1/2 tsp Pickling Salt (very fine grain, no anti-caking agents or iodine additives)
1 tsp Whole cloves 
1 tsp Whole Peppercorns
1/2 tsp Horseradish

In the bottom of your screwtop jar, place the herbs & spices. Now pack in the still warm beets. 

Warm but don't boil the vinegar, and whisk in pickling salt.

Pour the warm vinegar over all, to within 1/2" of the top.  Screw on the top and let it cool on the counter for a couple hours.    

For best results, store in the fridge for a couple days to a couple of weeks before sampling.  This gives the beets a chance to absorb the flavors.