Briam, Blueberry Drop Scones, Mushroom Dinner Quesadilla, Persimmon Jam

Briam
Although Sally and Holly didn't make it to Corfu on their recent trip, I found this interesting Corfu-an dish on a Chef Rick Stein food/culture documentary where he visited the island among others in the Mediterranean.  Briam is basically a "deep dish" roasted veggie 'casserole' with whatever is ripe, plus a splash of good olive oil.  

Potatoes
Tomatoes
Eggplant
Zucchini
Onion
Green Bell Pepper
Garlic
Oregano

Fresh herbs -- any combination of:
Parsley
Mint
Dill
Basil

Cut everything into finger-sized pieces.  In a large bowl drizzle good EVOO over all the veg (not the herbs),  and toss to coat.  Now -- you can arrange everything in pretty rows of overlapping slices -- or just chuck it all randomly in a 2" or deeper baking dish.  Top with your fresh herbs.  Drizzle a bit more EVOO on top, add about 1/2 cup of water or broth (or even wine) and maybe some crumbled feta. 

Top with foil and bake at 400F for 45 minutes or more, until the potatoes are done.    I made a 9"x9"  baking dish batch -- 3-4 tomatoes, a couple skin-on potatoes, a couple Japanese eggplant, a couple zucchini, a bell pepper and an onion, plus fresh dill and parsley and dried mint and oregano.  Dinner for two easily.   Serve with Kalamata or similar olives and fresh bread to sop up the juices...

Blueberry Drop Scones
I got the urge the other day to make some blueberry scones.  Drop scones, not formed scones.  Not overly sweet, "Simple to make, simple to bake" as they say.  Not pretty, perhaps, but tasty.

2-1/2 cups Bisquicktm or similar baking & pancake mix
1/4 cup Sugar
1/4 cup cold Butter, shaved or cut into small bits
1/4 cup Dairy -- real or plant milk or cream
2 Eggs
2/3 cup Blueberries 00 fresh or frozen (still frozen)

Preheat the oven to 400F

In a largeish bowl stir together the baking mix and sugar.  "Cut" the butter into the flour until well distributed.  

Beat together the eggs and dairy

Add the wet ingredients to the dry and cold to combine.  Lastly carefully fold in the berries until well distributed.

DROP (hence the name Drop Scone) spoonsful of the dough spaced well apart.  Or... drop the whole batch of dough onto a parchment lined baking sheet.  With a wet spatula spread the dough in a rough circle or rectangle about 3/4" thick.  

Bake for 10 minutes, remove from the oven and slice the rectangle into squares or wedges.  Return to the oven and bake another 10 minutes until you get a nice golden top.

Cool on the baking pan for a few minutes, then split one, slather with butter and enjoy!

Mushroom Dinner Quesadilla
My own take on an upscale dinner version of a quesadilla.

Large (9") Burrito size Tortilla
2 Eggs Beaten
Mushrooms, sliced
Onion, diced
Bell Pepper, diced
Taco Seasoning
Feta Cheese
Cheddar or Mexican blend shredded cheese
toppings of choice

Beat together the eggs while you fry the mushrooms, bell pepper and onion is a large non-stick skillet.

Pour the eggs over and around the veggies.  Use a spatula to try and keep the eggs in a 9" circle.
Dust the cooking egg/veg mix with taco seasoning, and sprinkle some shredded cheese and cheddar on top.

Lay a tortilla on the still runny mixture and press it down to adhere.

Flip as you transfer to a plate, then return the quesadilla to the skillet -- tortilla-side down.
Cook for a couple minutes to brown the tortilla.  Add more cheeses.

Fold in half and transfer back to the plate.  Top with salsa or whatever you choose, and serve.

Persimmon Jam
Simple, easy and will keep, tightly closed, in the fridge for 6 months or until it's gone...  The lemon juice acts like pectin to help the jam set up.  

8-10 Ripe Persimmons
1 cup Sugar
Juice of half a lemon
½ teaspoon Cinnamon
½ teaspoon Nutmeg or Mace
1/4 teaspoon Allspice

Cut the tops off the persimmons and peel them. Cut into pieces and with your food processor puree the fruit, sugar, spices and lemon juice to a smooth consistency.

Cook the puree in a saucepan with the burner on medium-low for 30-45 minutes, stirring every 10 minutes to cook out excess water and thicken significantly.  Don't let it stick to the bottom of the pan!

Ladle into a screw-top jar(s) and let it cool on the counter before you transfer to the fridge.

Persimmon Pie, Creole Comfort Food, Turkish Mussaka, Shell Pasta Salad, Apple Dessert Quesadillas

 Persimmon Pie
Persimmons are, in many places, a very under-rated fruit because people tend to pick them too soon and don't let the sweetness develop.  To avoid the rather stringent un-ripe taste, you want 'mushy-firm' fruit, with the skin not quite bursting ripe.  

There are tons of fancy persimmon custard and other recipes out there, but this simple “jam tart” is about as easy as it gets, and it showcases the fruit. When I was at our Farmers Market I could only get 5 ripe persimmons --  which made about 2-1/2 cups of pulp, so I added half a cup of unsweetened apple sauce to give me a nice full pie shell.

Notice there's not a lot of sugar or spice in this recipe. You want to taste the subtle flavor of persimmons, not bury it in sweet and spice.

2-1/2 cups pureed Ripe Persimmons – 4-6 fruit, topped, seeded and chopped with skin
½ cup unsweetened Applesauce
1/2 cup Sugar
Juice of half a Lemon
1 Egg, beaten
½ teaspoon Cinnamon
½ teaspoon Nutmeg or Mace

1/8 teaspoon Allspice
9” Pie Shell, homemade or store bought.

Blind-bake your crust so it won't get soggy

Combine the pureed persimmon with the sugar and spices and transfer to the par-baked crust.

Bake in a pre-heated 400F oven for about 45 minutes until set.

Cajun/Creole Comfort Food
All my own invention!  Sort of an upscale version of Macque Choux,  with hominy rather than kernal corn and salsa verde instead of cream or milk.

1 can White Hominy, drained
"some" Red Bell Pepper, diced
"some" Sweet  Onion, diced
"some" Celery, diced
"some" Salsa Verde
"some" Mushrooms, sliced
"some" Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoningtm or other Cajun/Creole spice blend, to taste

In a splash of oil or butter, saute the onion and bell pepper until the onion is translucent.  Add everything else, and maybe some water, and simmer until it's all heated through and fairly thick.  Serve with tortilla chips or tortillas.

Turkish Mussaka
Nearly everyone agrees, the basic concept of Mussaka or Moussaka came from the Ottoman invasions in the part of the world at the eastern end of the Med.  Nearly every culture there has some version of an eggplant (aubergine), onion and tomato 'stew', with as many version s there are cooks east of Rome and west of Moscow.  The common Greek version features a bechamel sauce topping, this Turkish version sticks to the basics -- roughly equal amounts of meat, eggplant and tomato, plus garlic and assorted spices.  Here's mine.

10-12 oz Eggplant, cubed -- any kind
10-12 oz Ground (minced) Meat.*  
3-5 cloves Garlic, minced
10-12 oz Fresh Tomato (I used a yellow and a dark red heirloom tomatoes
1 cup diced Peppers -- Poblano or Cubanelle would be perfect.  I had a Red Bell...
1 large Sweet White Onion, diced 
1 Tbsp ground Cumin
Aleppo or Hot Paprika to taste
1-1/2 cups Stock of your choice, or herbed water

The meat can be any combination of lamb and beef you want.  For us vegetarians I used Gardeintm brand ground beef flavored "veggie crumbles".

 With the tomatoes, you want some 'chunks' and some puree.  I cut each of my toms in half and pureed one half of each together, and diced the other two halves. and reserved both.

Fry the meat in a splash of oil with the garlic.  Remove from the skillet and reserve.  In the same skillet fry the eggplant in additional oil with a dash or to of Aleppo pepper or paprika.  Reserve.

Fry the onion with cumin until translucent.  Add the diced tomato.  Add the meat, tomato puree and diced peppers.  Add the stock, reduce the heat and simmer until thickened nicely.

  Serve with rice or another side veg and/or fresh bread.

Shell Pasta Salad
This is my take on one of my Mom's summer recipes.  Murphy only knows where she got the recipe originally, but I suspect the classic Red & White checked, ring-bound Betty Crocker Cookbook from at least 75 years ago...

She invariably used tuna, and hardboiled eggs in her riff on this classic.  Mine is just a little different.

That's pasta, radishes, celery, onion, red bell peppers and peas.  Fold them together and fold in "some" mayonnaise.  Dust with black pepper and paprika.

Chill several hours before serving

Apple Dessert Quesadillas
It's Fall, even here in Southwest Florida.  The perfect time for a perfectly simple Apple dessert. 
Make a batch of stewed apples from your favorite fruit.  Use them for sugar dusted quesadilla filling!

3-4 medium Apples - variety, skin on or off, slices or chunks it's all up to you.
2-3 Tbsp Butter or Oliviotm
2 Tbsp Brown Sugar or white sugar with a tsp of treacle or molasses
1 tsp Lemon Juice
Optional crumbled Cheddar cheese

In a largish pot, melt the butter/Olivio and toss in the rest of the ingredients.  Stir and simmer for 6-8 minutes until the apples are tender and the sauce is thickened.  Reserve.

Cinnamon Sugar = 1 Tbsp + 1/8 Tbsp mixed.

On a griddle or large skillet, bring the temperature to medium and dry-fry a large tortilla.  When the first side is starts to brown a bit, flip the tortilla and spread "some" stewed apples on half, and sprinkle "some" cinnamon-sugar on the other half 

Optionally add some crumbled cheddar  to the filling.  Fold the sugar side on top of the apples and cook for another minute or so, flipping to brown both sides.   Transfer to a warm plate and repeat as needed...

Vegetarian Enchiladas w/ Pico de Gallo, Tortilla Chip Casserole, Beans on Marmite Toast

Vegetarian Enchiladas
Black beans, leftover rice and faux meat feature in these tasty beauties!

1 can Red or Green Enchilada Sauce
3-4 cups (or 2 cans) Black Beans rinsed/drained
1 can Roteltm Tomatoes with green chiles
1 Onion, diced
1 cup Faux Meat Crumbles -- your favorite brand.
1 cup leftover rice
Taco Seasoning packet
10" diameter Flour or Corn Tortillas
2 cups shredded Mexican Cheese blend
Diced Tomato, Salsa and Sour Cream or Siggi's Skyr to top

Saute the onion, then add the beans, tomatoes, rice, spice and faux meat simmer to thicken the filling.  Cool.

Nuke a tortilla of about 15 seconds. Add about 1/4 cup of filling and a good pinch of cheese to the now flexible tortilla, carefully roll up into a long tube about 1.5" diameter.  Place the roll-up seam-side-down in a 9x12 baking dish. Repeat until the baking dish is filled with  8 filled, rolled tortillas. 

Pour the enchilada sauce overall.  Top with the remaining cheese and bake @350F for about 30-45 minutes until the cheese is well melted and the enchiladas are heated through   Let rest before serving on a bed of shredded lettuce, topped with more cheese, salsa, yogurt or sour cream.  


Pico de Gallo
Pico de Gallo, a.k.a. salsa crude or salsa fresco, is the quintessential Mexican side "salad" served with practically every plate you order at a restaurante.

Simple and easy to make at home -- from diced onion, tomato, peppers, lime juice, a pinch of salt, and chopped cilantro if you like it.  I use equal amounts of diced white onion and diced peppers, and plenty of lime juice.   This batch included heirloom yellow tomato, red bell pepper, and a single red jalapeno por un poco caliente...  


Tortilla Chip Casserole
Think "baked nachos" here.   Make a "filling" of shredded chicken, diced onion, tomato and bell peppers and Chicken Taco Seasoning, simmered together with green chili enchilada sauce until nice and thick.  Of course if you're full vegetarian/vegan, you can use red or black beans and corn as a substitute for the chicken... 

Layer that with Tortilla Chips (I prefer White Corn, unflavored chips), and "Mexican blend" shredded cheese, and bake until melted and yummy.     Serve topped with shredded lettuce and a dollop of sour cream or Siggi's Skyr.

1 lb Shredded chicken
1  11oz bag low salt Tortilla Chips (I prefer white corn chips)
1 can Tomatoes with Green Chiles 
1 large Green Bell Pepper, diced
1 large Sweet Onion, diced
1 10oz can Green Chili Enchilada Sauce
2 packets, Chicken Taco Spice Blend
shredded lettuce and sour cream/skyr to serve

Saute the onion and bell pepper, adding one packet of spice blend and 1/2 cup water.  Add the chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce and second spice packet and simmer until 20-30 minutes until everything is heated through and the mixture thickened.

Crush some chips and lay them in the bottom of the dish.  Top with half of the filling.  Top that with flat chips and half of the cheese.  Repeat with the remaining ingredients.

Bake at 350F for 30 minutes until the cheese is nicely melted.  Rest the dish for 10-15 minutes. 

 Serve a porti0n atop a bed of shredded lettuce and top with a dollop of cream/skyr.

Beans On Marmite Toast
This one's for my UK and Oz readers, and others who know "a good thing" when they taste it.
Beans on Toast is a quintessential British dish.  Yep -- baked beans on toasted bread.   We eat it fairly regularly around here.   But someone posted this upscale version the other day and I just had to try it.

English "baked beans" are wimpy and unsweet by American standards, which is OK for BoT.  You really don't need that sugar!  We can get Heinz brand English Baked Beans (blue label can) in most megamart International aisles.  But boy are they expensive!   If you don't want to spend that much go down to the regular canned bean aisle and get some less sugary American baked beans.  Brand names like Bush's are 'way too tomatoey and sweet.  Also avoid the smokey, green chili "ranch" beans.

Put the beans in a pan and get them up to temperature.

Marmitetm is a love-it-or-hate-it kinda thing.  It's a thick brown paste made from the dregs of the brewing process -- very strong and very salty.  Down Under they make a similar paste called Vegemitetm which you may remember from the song Down Under by the group Men At Work.  Most people put just a thin schmear of Marmite or Vegemite on a piece of toast, with or without butter first. A little bit goes a looong way.  Taste the tiniest bit first and see just how strong it really is.   

So.  Make your toast.  One piece for lunch, two for dinner/supper.   I like mine thick cut,  middle dark, and a multigrain bread.  Butter the toast, then add a serious schmear of Marmite. Don't worry too much, we're gonna balance out that strong saltiness. in a minute.

Ladle a good scoop of hot beans on the toast.  Now crumble on top some nice sharp white or yellow Cheddar cheese, and dive in!

The transformation is magic.  The sweetness of the baked beans  balances  the strong saltiness of the Marmite, and the sharp cheese adds just the right finish.