Jones Creek Beef #1 & I'm on a roll -- Casserole that is

Ever notice that you can cook almost anything in the universe at 350F? It's just that a rack of brontosaurus ribs will take longer than a Cornish Game Hen.... The first dish this week cooks much lower and slower though.

Jones Creek Beef #1 -- Bajan Pepperpot Beef Roast

At long last, I was able to find the local Walmarts carrying Jones Creek Beef tm. Special thanks to Mike W from the Jones Creek Beef Ranch in Springville, UT, for his assistance in my quest. Those of you outside Southwest Florida should not have the problems I did! Here in Fort Myers I found that the "new" Walmart on San Carlos Rd just off Summerlin Rd has The Good Stuff. There's also one in Naples at I-75 and Immoklee Rd. Others in the area will be getting JCB soon.

Bajan (bay-jaan) is what the people of Barbados call themselves. This former British possession in the Western Caribbean has a long history of beef in their island diet. Of course in the old days, the good cuts went to the upperclasses while the ordinary folks got the bits and pieces. Originally, Pepperpot was a dish similar to Ossa Bucco, made from joint meats and other marginal cuts cooked into submission low and slow to bring out all the flavor and goodness. Today you can make Pepperpot with a really nice cut of beef, like a Jones Creek Beef Rump Roast.

Bajan Style Pepperpot Beef Roast

This is not a quick recipe, but it's worth the time. Cook this in an electric skillet or slow cooker. This looks like a huge ingredient list; but it's "a pinch of this and a bit of that". Combine everything after the roast and the Bajan Seasoning in a bowl, and mix it up before you surround the roast with it.

2 lb Jones Creek Beef Rump Roast

1/4 cup Bajan Seasoning

--------------------

1 large Red Bell Pepper, diced large

1 cup Butternut Squash or Yam cubes

1 large Sweet or White Onion, sliced

½ Red Onion, sliced

2 cloves Garlic, minced

1 Tbsp whole Allspice Berries

1 Teaspoon whole Black Peppercorns

2 Bay leaves

4 oz Tomato Sauce

2 Tbsp Dark Brown Sugar

1 Lime, juiced

Optional -- for a bit more heat add a red Jalapeño or Scotch Bonnet pepper, minced.

When you unwrap the roast, you discover that it is a largish triangle of meat a couple inches thick. Sear the open roast in a very hot skillet. Not to seal in the juices, that's a fallacy. You're searing to get that extra tasty 'not quite burnt' crusty goodness!

Now put the Bajan seasoning on the "inside" of the meat, fold the meat back over itself,with the Seasoning in the middle, and pin it closed with a couple pieces of bamboo skewer.

Bajan Seasoning wrapped inside the Chuck Roast

Put the seared roast in an electric skillet or slow cooker. Surround the roast with the other "below the line" ingredients.

Roast surrounded by the 'gravy' ingredients

Cover and cook low and slow at 200-225F. The aroma while this is cooking is out of this world!

After 45 minutes, check the internal temperature with your meat thermometer. You really don't want "shredded beef" here, you want a sliceable roast. When the internal temperature reaches 135-140, take the meat out and put it on a platter with the surrounding veggies and liquid to rest for 10-15 minutes. Then slice thin and serve with a helping of the "gravy" of cooked veggies and liquid and whatever sides you like.

Pepperpot Roast, 'gravy' veg (top) and Bajan Chilled Vegetables

I gotta tell you folks, this is some TASTY beef! Tender, slightly sweet, and just a bit of fat. That means you really want to treat this right. If you do, you'll have slices of heaven on your plate! Thaw the roast naturally. Sear it brown, then cook, covered, low and slow with plenty of surrounding liquid to keep the meat moist (because grass-fed beef has much less fat than grain-fed/feedlot beef). Four to six hours in a slow-cooker would be just about right.  Then slice it thin and enjoy!

Jones Creek Beef is all-natural, grass-fed, humanely treated beef from happy cows. I hope you enjoy it as much as I am. Stay tuned for next week's JCB recipe.

Bajan Chilled Veggies

On a Caribbean island, anything chilled is extra special, like this simple vegetable side dish.  If the cabbage was sliced rather than shredded, you might call this a slaw.  I call it darn tasty, and served it alongside the Bajan Pepperpot Roast.

2 cups shredded Carrots

1½ cups Green Beans, steamed

1½ cups shredded White Cabbage

1 Cucumber, Shredded

2 cloves Garlic, minced

½ tsp Black Pepper

3 Tbsp Barbados sugar (use Mexican pillocillo, turbinado, or just plain Dark Brown)

3 Tbsp Cider Vinegar

1 Lemon, juiced

1 tsp ground Turmeric (I used part of a Badia Sazon Tropicaltm spice packet)

Combine carrots, green beans, cabbage and cucumber in a bowl. In another container mix together the remaining ingredients as a dressing. Toss the veggies in this dressing and chill for 4 hours or more before serving.

Whatchagot Leftover Casserole

Whattyado with leftover chicken breast, aroz amarillo, some broccoli stems and a wedge of Bruschetta Jack cheese? Especially when you need something fast? Make a casserole, of course!

In a 9x9 dish I laid down some leftover rice which had been cooked with Sazon Tropicale tm . On top of that, I layered peeled and sliced rounds of raw broccoli stems leftover from Sunday night's broccoli side dish. That was followed by slices of cooked chicken breast also from Sunday's "lunches for Sally" chicken cooking. Pop it in a pre-heated 350F oven for about 25 minutes and there you are!

Asparagus-Onion-Mushroom Casserole

This is loosely based on a Paula Deen recipe. I had all those butt ends leftover from making two Asparagus Tarts in the last couple weeks, and needed the space in the freezer.

1/3 cup butter
4 cups of 1" cut pieces of 'pencil' Asparagus (see Sally's note, below)
1 cup diced Onion
1 (8-ounce) package sliced baby bella Mushrooms
1/4 cup all-purpose Flour
1 1/2 cups whole Milk or half & half
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
zest of 1 Lemon

Salt & Pepper to taste
1 (6-ounce) can French-fried Onions (see my substitution, below)

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

In a large skillet cook the asparagus, onion, and mushrooms for 6-8 minutes, or until vegetables are tender and the liquid has evaporated.

In another pan, melt the butter and add the flour to make a roux. Cook for 2-3 minutes, don't let the roux go brown. Add the milk, whisk to break up the flour-fat mix, and you have a Béchamel or White sauce. Stir until the sauce thickens. Add the lemon and cheese to make a Mornay sauce and season with salt & pepper.

Combine the asparagus-mushroom-onion mixture with the Mornay sauce. Spoon into the baking dish and bake for 30 minutes, until hot and bubbly. Top with the 'French Fried' onions, and bake for another 5 minutes. I found these wonderful baked Vidalia Petals tm, which were cheaper and tastier than the traditional can of French-fried Onions. If you can find them locally, they're MUCH better than the others.

Wow!  Is this every a rich recipe!  All that cheesy Mornay goodness! 

Sally Says: If you make this with the butt ends rather than tender tips, cut the asparagus into much less than 1" pieces, and cook it really well done before adding it to the casserole. Otherwise the asparagus can be too stringy and fiberous.

I think some diced ham (Sally said chicken) would go well in this dish too. Of course it would go well with a good bunch of bacon crumbles (doesn't everything?).  If you cut the 'gras small, it would also make a great dip/topping for bruschetta or crackers.

If I were to make it again, I would add some smoked paprika, Cajun spice, the zest of the lemon -- something to cut the almost cloying richness of the cheese sauce.  As much as we both love cheese, this was almost too much of a good thing.

Bajan Seasoning, Updates, and more.

Kinda slow this week for some reason. Not that I haven't been cooking, but it's been dishes I've told you about long ago.

Bajan Seasoning

We brought some of this back from Barbados two years ago, but it's long gone. Since I'm going to do a Bajan Pepperpot recipe for the Jones Creek Beef posts, I knew I had to buckle down and make a batch rather than trying to shop around and buy the pre-made stuff. 

There's no such thing as a single recipe for Bajan Seasoning, although you can buy it in packets and jars on the island of Barbados and certain special places in the U.S. Every good cook has his/er own version. This is mine. 

Bajan Seasoning is great for everything - meats, fishes, poultry, soups and stews, etc. A tablespoon or two will kick up the flavor of almost anything (well, maybe not ice cream...). Vinegary, oniony, a touch spicy, you'll really like this, trust me!

Make a batch and store it in an airtight jar in the fridge -- it will last for a couple months at least. Pretty fast and easy to make, too -- if you've got decent knife skills. Still easier and faster to make if you have a food processor rather than good knife skills.

1 bunch of Green Onions, minced

1 Red Jalapeño pepper, minced (want it hotter? Use a Scotch Bonnet or Habañero.)

1 cup minced Parsley

1/2 cup minced fresh Dill (or 1 Tbsp dry)

2 Tbsp Thyme (dry) or 2-3 fresh sprigs of leaves, minced

2 Tbsp Marjoram (dry) (fresh seems very hard to find for some reason)

12 leaves fresh Basil, minced

3 pressed Garlic cloves (minced fine, if you don't have a garlic press)

3/4 cup minced Onion

1 Tbsp grated fresh Ginger

Juice of 3 Limes

1/2 cup White Wine Vinegar

Salt and Pepper to taste

Mince, chop, grate everything as fine as possible, and combine in a bowl. Makes 1-2 cups depending on how fine you chop and whether you used many dry herbs rather than fresh. Seal in a zip top bag or snap top container and let it 'marry' in the fridge for a few days before using. 

The result should be sort of like a pesto.

But this pesto is a flavoring agent for meats, fish, stews. etc You can think of this Seasoning as the Bajan equivalent of Sofrito, the Cajun Trinity or a French Mirepoix -- a collection of vegetables and herbs used a flavor base for hundreds of dishes, which enhances the flavor of each and every one.

Asparagus Tart Update

It was so good the first time we just had to have it again. Here's a better photo to show you what the whole thing looks like. This time, rather than the expensive Gruyere cheese, I used shredded (not grated) Parmesan. Equally tasty and half the cost. Stay tuned for more variations (cheeses, dressings, spices, who knows).

Jones Creek Update

Speaking of beef, I finally got the Wal-mart Gift Card frome the Jones Creek marketing folks. But then I discovered that, oops!, the products aren't here in Florida yet. According to the Jones Creek folks and marketing company, it will be "a week or so" before the beef gets to two of my local Wal-Mart Superstores. "An-tic-i-pa-tion, is makin' me late; keepin' me wa-ait-n'."

Punjabi Chhole

No that's not a finger-stumble typo on the keyboard. It really is spelled C-h-h-o-l-e (don't ask why). Chhole is a Punjabi name for Chickpeas/Garbanzos. Chhole Masala means "chickpea spice blend", and it can be found in virtually every Indian Market in the world. This recipe comes driectly from the spice box, and couldn't be simpler. The only bad thing about making dishes from dried chickpeas is that they seemingly take forever to cook -- about two hours of simmering. This, I've decided is a good use for a pressure cooker if you have one (I don't). If you had a PC, cooking the beans would probably take 20-30 minutes... rather than two hours.

8 oz dry Chickpeas

1 large Onion, diced

1 Roma Tomato, diced

1 Poblano Chile, diced (use jalapeño or guajillo or serrano peppers for more heat)

1" fresh Ginger, minced

1-3 tsp Chhole Masala spice blend

Cook the chickpeas in at least 4 cups of water, simmering about 2 hours. Add more water as necessary, until they are plump and tender.  I added a teaspoon of Chhole Masala spice to the cooking water, to "pre-flavor" the beans a little.

Meanwhile, dice the onion, tomato, chile and mince the ginger. Cook the vegetation in a small pan until the onion is soft and the tomato is pretty well dissolved.

Drain the chickpeas, reserving the remaining liquid. Add the cooked veg to the beans, and add back some of the cooking liquid. Add 2 teaspoons of the Chhole Masala and stir to combine. Simmer for a couple minutes and taste. Need more masala? Add some a teaspoon at a time. If 2 teaspoons of masala is too spicy for you, add a 1/4 cup of plain yogurt to the bean pot and stir to combine.  The yogurt will mellow things out a lot as well as adding a creamy texture to the sauce.

This is a great side dish to a curry, or any meal for that matter. This time I made the dish for Sally to take to work for an appreciation potluck lunch, where at least two of the guests were from the Indian subcontinent, and many others were vegetarians.

Leftover Lamb Crumble Crackers. What???

Now you've got to read all the way to the end! 

Blueberry And Apple Crumble

Here's the dessert I made for Easter Sunday brunch. Sally wanted apple and blueberry, and I wasn't sure I'd care for the flavor combination. It was tasty, but I'd still rather have just blueberry or just apple.

For the filling:
3 Apples, peeled and cored1-1/2 cups Blueberries (18 oz box, or frozen)

 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tbsp Sugar
1 tbsp Water

For the crumble:
1 3/4 cups AP Flour
1/3 cup Brown Sugar
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 cup melted Unsalted Butter

Chop the apples into 1/2 inch cubes. Combine with cinnamon, sugar and water in a small saucepan. Cook, covered, over a low heat for 12–15 minutes, until apples are soft but still hold their shape. You will need to stir them occasionally. Allow the apples to cool.

Preheat the oven to 350F and find your 9x9 baking dish.

Spread the apple mixture over the base of the baking dish, top with blueberries, and stir to combine.

Combine the crumb ingredients with a fork in a medium bowl until all the flour is incorporated. Hint: It's not really "crumbly" but that's OK. Crumble the mixture in an even layer over the fruit. Bake for 30 minutes, until golden.

Leg of Lamb Moroccan Style

A departure for us. This year Sally suggested leg of lamb for Easter dinner. We found a nice boneless leg at a good price from Costco.

4 lb boneless Leg of Lamb

1-2 Tbsp Ras al Hanut Spice Blend

3 lbs Baby New Potatoes, coated with EVOO

Peas & Carrots (I spiced them with a shake or three of Everglades Seasoning)

Liberally rub the room temperature roast (still tied) with the Ras al Hanut. Place roast and potatoes in a pan (or pans) and roast at 350F for about 20 minutes per pound of lamb. Time isn't the key; use your meat thermometer and cook to an internal temp of 135 for the dark side of Medium Rare. Remove from oven when temp equals 130F and it will continue to cook during the 15-20 minute rest. 

 

Mary Berry's English Mint Sauce

Well known English baker, food writer and television presenter, Mary Berry is the senior judge of the best cooking show on TV -- The Great British Bake Off. Not just a baker, here's her recipe for classic English Mint Sauce. You'll never use mint jelly again!

1 small bunch of Mint (1 oz packet from the produce department)

2 Tbsp Honey or Golden Syrup (I used Cane Syrup)

2 Tbsp White Wine or Cider Vinegar

Pick the leaves off the stems and chop them as fine as possible. Mix together the vinegar and syrup, add the mint, and stir to combine. Let rest at room temperature to extract all the wonderful mint flavor, before serving. Spoon a bit on your lamb, and SHAZZAAM! 

 

Great Leftover Discovery! Mary's Mint Sauce, with the addition of a bit more vinegar and some EVOO makes a fabulous viniagrette salad dressing!

REAL Shepherd's Pie

This is what you do with leftover leg of lamb in England.... Shepherd's Pie DOES NOT contain beef, or pork. It's Sheep Herder Pie, not Cowboy Pie or Pig Farmer Pie!

3/4 lb Lamb, minced

15 oz bag of Frozen Peas

1/2 Onion, diced

3 Tbsp Worchestershire Sauce

1-2 Tbsp Bisto tm gravy powder

Potatoes for mashing (I used 4 large reds, skin on)

Milk, Butter, Yogurt for making mashed potatoes

Paprika for dusting

Cut up the potatoes, boil until done, and make a batch of mashed potatoes. I like mine rustic - that means "skin on" in this case.

Combine the onion, minced or fine-diced lamb and frozen peas, in a deep baking dish. Pour the Worchstershire sauce over all. Dust with a tablespoon or so of Bisto, and stir to combine everything. Use a spatula to layer the mashed potatos over the entire surface of the pie. Dust with paprika and bake at 400F for 45 minutes or so until the potatoes are crusty.

Leftover Moussaka

Other cultures, other leftovers! Here's a classic Greek casserole of eggplant and leftover lamb. 

2 medium Eggplant (or 1 large)

3/4 lb ground/minced Lamb

1/2 large Onion, diced

2 Tbsp (at least) Garlic, minced

8oz Tomato Sauce

1 tsp dried Oregano, to taste

Salt to taste*

Fresh ground Black Pepper to taste*

Olive Oil, as needed

For the cheese sauce:

3 Tbsp Butter

1⁄2 tsp Salt*

1⁄2 tsp Black Pepper*

2 Tbsp AP Flour

1 cup Half-and-half

1 egg

1⁄2+ cup grated Parmesan Cheese

* substitue Cavenders Greek Seasoning for salt & pepper.

Grease a 9 x 9-inch baking pan.

Peel the eggplant and slice 1/4-inch thick. Brush both sides with olive oil and seasoning. Broil about 5 minutes, turn and broil the other side. Repeat with all the eggplant. Reserve.

In a skillet, combine the lamb and onions and cook until the onions are soft; drain fat. Add the garlic, tomato sauce, oregano, and seasoning to taste.

Arrange half the cooked eggplant in the bottom of the baking dish. Pour half the meat mixture over the eggplant. Layer the remaining eggplant slices over the meat mixture, and top with meat sauce.  

Prepare the cheese sauce

Make a roux: melt the butter in a saucepan, whisk in flour, season to taste. Cook for a couple minutes, before gradually stirring in the half and half. Stir over medium heat until thick and bubbly and lump free.

In a small bowl or mug, beat the egg; stir in some of the hot cream sauce to temper the egg, then add the egg mixture to the cream sauce and mix well. Add the Parmesan cheese, and stir again until smooth.

Pour the cheese sauce over the layered meat and eggplant.

Bake in a pre-heated 350F oven for 45 minutes until the cheese topping is nicely brown.

Parmesan Cream Crackers

Got this recipe from Mark Bittman. Simple and easy and oh, so tasty.

1 cup AP flour

½ teaspoon salt

½ cup finely grated fresh Parmesan cheese

4 tablespoons unsalted butter

¼ cup cream or half-and-half

Coarse salt, pepper, sesame or poppy seeds, minced garlic or whatever for sprinkling. I like these crackers eithr plain, or with just a hint of Cajun seasoning!

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

While that's going on, line a baking sheet with parchment paper. Cut a sheet of wax paper to the same size.

Put flour, salt, cheese and butter in bowl and "cut" the butter into the dry mix (use your clean fingers or a pastry cutter) until the mix is fine crumbs. A teaspoon at a time, add the half-and-half ( used maybe 5 or 6 tsp). Mix with a spatula until the mixture just holds together but is not sticky. If it gets sticky, add a bit of flour...

Put the dough in the middle of the parchment paper and pat it flat. Top with the wax paper, and roll out gently until you get an 1/8" thin layer of dough between the two sheets. Gently peel away the wax paper and slide the dough-covered parment paper onto the baking sheet. Sprinkle with salt or other topping if desired.

Bake until lightly browned, 10-12 minutes. Cool on a rack; serve warm or at room temperature. Store in a tin for a few days (unrefrigerated) if you have any left after an hour!

Asparagus, Olivje, Aubergine & Brussels Sprouts

Rustic Asparagus Gruyere Tart

Our friend Melinda came down from Orlando last weekend. She and Sally made a real "girl's weekend" of it by going to a wine and paint class at Matlacha, lunch at the Waterfront Restaurant on Pine Island, and then a Spiro Gyra concert Saturday evening. To feed this frenzy of activity I made them a fabulous vegetarian tart for Saturday dinner.

Just a quarter of the Asparagus Tart

Rustic here means "freeform" -- the puff pastry dough is not constrained by a round pan, it's just rolled out a bit and laid on a baking sheet before being topped.

"Rustic Tart" just sounds better than Asparagus Pizza, doesn't it?

1 sheet Puff Pastry

1/3 cup Sour Cream

1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese

1 lb fresh Asparagus -- the thinnest stems you can find

EVOO, salt and pepper as needed

Bench Flour (flour on a work surface to prevent dough from sticking when rolling/kneading)

Pre-heat oven to 400F. Thaw one sheet of puff pastry until it unrolls easily. Throw down some bench flour and roll out the pastry into an approximately 10x16 rectangle. Leave about a 1" edge, and dock the rest of the dough with a fork at 1/2" intervals, so it won't rise as much. Bake for 10 minutes.

Cool the pastry slightly. Brush the crust with sour cream, and sprinkle with the cheese. Trim the bottoms of the asparagus so they fit inside the border, and lay the stems down in a single layer, alternating tips and butts. Drizzle with EVOO, and sprinkle with salt & pepper as desired. Bake 10-12 minutes or until asparagus is tender. Serve with lemon wedges for drizzling on a hot slice of yummm.

Can't fine new spring thin-stem asparagus? You could make this by halving or even quartering thicker stems, and it would be almost as good.

Olivje (oh-liv-yuh)

A week or so back we had a couple of charming guests of Russian parentage, Irina and Ruslan, who have lived most of their lives in Germany. In our cabana guest book, they left me the recipe for Olivje, which they said could be a salad or a spread. The way it was written, it was hard to tell if the 4th letter was a U or a V, so I plugged the word into the internet and discovered some interesting history. But first, the recipe. Basically this is potato salad with additions:

4 Potatoes - cooked ( I used 4 large reds, skin on)

2 Carrots - cooked

2 Eggs - cooked

5-6 ounces Chicken or Turkey sausage - cooked

1 Onion - raw

3 Tbsp Mayonnaise

3 Tbsp Olive oil

Salt & Pepper - to taste

I'd never heard of a potato salad recipe that contained meat!!

Hard boil the eggs and cool them. Cut the potatoes (skin on) and carrots into 1/2" dice or thereabouts and cook them al dente. Chop the cooked eggs. Dice the onion fine. If you use bulk sausage it can just be cooked into crumbles, otherwise remove the sausage meat from the casings, and then cook. I used 6 oz of ground chicken with a teaspoon or so of Pride of Szged Chicken Seasoningtm, my new favorite poultry blend. Eight ounces would have even been better.

Mix everything together in a large bowl (I used a bit more mayo and no oil), adding liberal amounts of salt and pepper. 

Let the flavors 'marry' in the fridge for "several hours", although this is pretty darn good eaten warm like German potato salad. Serve as a side, put a big scoop on a bed of lettuce as a dinner salad, or serve as an appetizer spread on crackers or flatbread.

This salad was invented in the 1860s by the head chef at The Hermitage in St. Petersburg, Russia -- a Belgian gent named Lucien Olivier (Oh-liv-ee-aa). Hence the linguistic shift and the present name of the dish. The original recipe was very complicated and contained things like duck or grouse, crawfish, capers, and an assortment of other meats and vegetables with the potatoes and a proto-mayonaise dressing (oil and raw egg beaten together). Read all about at Olivier Salad on Wikipedia.

The recipe which Irina and Ruslan left me is for a simplified or "country" version of the dish, made from readily available ingredients. Many country versions also add diced dill pickle, which I did too -- about a half cup of diced pieces. The pickle adds a nice bit of texture, and the vinegar adds depth to the overall flavor without overpowering anything.

This is really GREAT potato salad, folks! Next time I'll add a bit more sausage and a dusting of nice paprika on the surface of the finished dish. That's the beauty of this recipe -- you can take it in all sorts of directions depending on what you have handy and what your wallet can afford -- quail eggs, capers, exotic poultry or other sausages. But make this simple, tasty, country version first, so you get a feel for the basic concept.

Shrimp Creole Stuffed Sicilian Eggplant

Sally and Mel picked up these two gorgeous Sicilian eggplants at the Sanibel Island Farmer's Market over the weekend, and I decided to stuff them.

Cut off the tops, and use a knife and spoon to hollow them out. You may want to microwave the hollowed aubergines for a minute or so, to make sure the meat inside is cooked a bit and isn't just a shell. As you can see in the cutaway, my 'shells' were quite thick and needed abitmore cooking time.

Saute about 3/4 of the removed 'meat' along with the Trinity - celery, onion and bell pepper. Add about a dozen cherry tomatoes, halved, plus a good amount of your favorite Cajun Seasoning -- I used the Healthy Solutions tm Cajun Seafood Blend. Don't forget the shrimp. I used eight large 21-24 deepwater Argentine shrimp, peeled, de-veined and chopped.

As things saute, a lot of liquid will be released. When the onion is tender, add about 1/4 cup of Panko or other breadcrumbs to soak up the yummy juices. Pack the eggplant globes with the saute mix, top with some shredded cheese, and bake at 350F for about 30 minutes.

 Here's a look inside the eggplant:

Pan -Fried Brussel Sprouts

A reader reminded me that I've mentioned Pan-fried Brussels Sprouts several times but never showed them, or really described how to make the dish. So here goes:

12-20 Brussels Sprouts (serves 2-3)

1+ tsp Your favorite spice blend (Creole, Evergladestm, Old Baytm, Cavender'stm, Emeril'stm, Fajita, Italian, etc)

Halve the sprouts from pole-to-pole, not at the equator. 

Rinse and shake them mostly dry. 

Place the still slightly damp cut sprouts in a plastic bag. I usually use one of those you get in the Produce Department. Sprinkle the seasoning blend over the sprouts, twist the bag shut, and shake well to distribute the spice.

Heat a griddle or large skillet and a tablespoon or so of oil. Place the sprouts cut-side down -- this is the finicky bit -- to start. Let them fry for 6 minutes or so, until you get some nice caramelization on the cut sides. 

 Now flip them over, more or less, and continue frying for another 6-8 minutes. At this point you can cover the pan if you like to speed the cooking process. Test with a fork, and when the sprouts are nicely al dente remove to a serving bowl. Want to be really decadent? Sprinkle finely grated Gruyere or similar hard cheese like Aurabela or Parmesan, on top.

Cheese-Cake, Salad, Pi(e) and a Review

Quesadilla Salvadoreña

NOT your madre's quesadilla!! No tortillas were harmed in the creation of this delectable treat. This isn't a cheesy Mexican snack, it's a Salvadoran dessert/coffee cake made with two cheeses. If you love cheese, and you love cake, you're gonna love this!

1 stick (8 tbs.) unsalted butter, softened
3/4 cup Parmesan cheese, grated (use the cheap generic stuff in a can)

3/4 cup Ricotta or fine curd cottage cheese, drained
3 eggs, separated
1 cup sugar
1 cup all purpose flour*, sifted
1 tsp. baking powder*

3/4 cup Milk, room temperature
1 - 2 Tbsp sesame seeds for garnish

* Or substitute 1 cup of Bisquicktm baking mix, sifted.

Combine sugar, flour and baking powder in a bowl. Reserve.

In another bowl combine the cheeses and butter; then add the milk. Reserve.

In a large bowl, with a mixer, beat the egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold in the beaten yolks with a spatula, then fold in the cheese mixture. Lastly, fold in the dry mixture, until just combined.

Pour the batter into a greased or parchmented 9" or 10" springform or pie pan. Sprinkle the top lightly with sesame seeds.

Bake at 325F for 30 to 40 minutes or until golden brown. It goes from yellow/unbaked to golden brown to burnt pretty quickly! Start checking done-ness at 30 minutes.

Cool slightly before removing from pan. Serve wedges with good strong coffee. This is real CHEESE-CAKE. It's slightly sweet, wonderfully cheesy, and has the texture of a dense poundcake!

Yellow Tomato, Mint and Feta Salad

I found the basic idea somewhere on the net, and of course modified it into my own recipe. The tuna salad that I made used tuna, celery, mayo, and Ras al Hanut, the Moroccan seasoning.

1 head Red Leaf Lettuce (or Romaine if you prefer) chopped

1 large Yellow Tomato cut into 8 wedges

1 large Red Bell Pepper

1/4 cup of minced Mint

1 batch of Tuna Salad (see below)

4 oz Feta Cheese, cubed

2 oz Mozzarella Cheese

Oil & Vinegar for dressing

Core and de-vein the pepper, and broil it skin-side-up for about 6 minutes, until you get some nice black spots. Cool and sliced into 3/4" squares.

Make the tuna salad -- 1 can of Solid White Albacore Tuna, 1 stick of celery chopped fine, 3-4 Tbsp of Mayo, and a couple healthy shakes of Ras al Hanut, the Moroccan spice blend. Combine with a fork until everything is well distributed.

Combine some EVOO and vinegar (say 3 Tbsp oil and 1/4 cup vinegar) for a dressing. You really don't want a dressing with a distinctive flavor here -- let the tasty salad ingredients shine through!

Lay down a bed of lettuce, then put tomato wedges at the cardinal points. Sprinkle the mint over all. Then lay down the red pepper pieces, cubes of feta, and mozzarella. Add a scoop of tuna salad, and drizzle the dressing all around.

Low-cal Pi Day Offering

The other day we celebrated Pi Day - 3/14/16 - which is the constant Pi rounded up from 3.14159. Every year has Pi Day (3/14) but this one was significant to another decimal point.

To celebrate, you of course need to make and eat Pi(e). This year's Pi Day was celebrated with a low-cal berry pie, using a recipe from the American Diabetes Association. The original recipe (below) called for three berries (straw, red rasp and blue), but my megamart had blackberries on sale alongside the locally grown strawberries, so what the heck! Notice there is no added sugar, and the only fat comes from the cooking spray. That's what makes this diabetic friendly. See the nutrition facts below.

10 sheets 9 × 14-inch frozen phyllo dough

Nonstick cooking spray

1 quart fresh strawberries, washed and cut into raspberry-sized pieces

2 cups fresh blueberries

1 pint fresh raspberries

Defrost the phyllo according to package directions.

Preheat oven to 425°.

Divide the phyllo into two stacks. One stack will be the bottom crust, the rest forms the top crust

Spray a 9-inch pie pan with nonstick cooking spray. Place a leaf of phyllo in the pie plate and spray it. Top with another sheet of phyllo and spray. Repeat with the first half of the phyllo to form the bottom crust.

Mix all the berries together and place in the crust.

Cut the remaining phyllo into 1-inch pieces and toss together. Place on top

of fruit. Spray with nonstick cooking spray.

Bake for 20–25 minutes until crust is golden. If crust gets too brown before 20 minutes, you can cover with aluminum foil.

Nutrition

CALORIES 105 | CALORIES FROM FAT 20

TOTAL FAT 2.0 g | SATURATED FAT 0.3 g

TRANS FAT 0.0 g | CHOLESTEROL 0 mg

SODIUM 70 mg | POTASSIUM 195 mg

TOTAL CARBOHYDRATE 22 g

DIETARY FIBER 5 g | SUGARS 9 g

PROTEIN 2 g | PHOSPHORUS 40 mg

Sorry to say this is one of those "fooler" recipes... you know the "healthy" ones with the name of something really good, that only vaguely resembles the original.

Yes this has berries, and yes there is a crust of sorts. But frankly, I'd rather just have a bowl of warm fruit than go to all the expense (phyllo dough isn't cheap) and time consuming hassle of making that "crust", prepping the fruit, and baking this recipe.

Nathan's Famoustm  Review

Nathan's Coney Island Hotdogs may be famous, but you'd think after being in the hot dog business a hundred years (yep 100 years) that they would have partnered with a bakery to solve the Too Long problem. You know -- either the dog is too long or the bun is. Here, the dogs are 'way to long for the bun.  Just not aesthetically pleasing!

I must say I was not impressed. First off, I hate dining in a warehouse -- too high ceilings without sound baffles that reflect every clatter and clash of the kitchen and all the babble from the guests, and subject the diners to the resulting high volume cacophony. Granted, it was a bright, clean and neat warehouse, but still a warehouse.

Second, the hot dogs weren't anything to write home about. I ordered the Nathan's Regular Hot Dog. A skinny naked signature hotdog on a bun.  Not a nice plump dog worth nearly $4 -- a long thin dog cooked on a roller table, but not browned to bring out any flavor. This is a famous hot dog?? Not to me. If I want a brand name hotdog, I'll take Sabrettstm -- better flavor and more eye-appealing -- and grill them at home.

The tiny order of signature crinkle-cut fries that I didn't want to pay for were more soggy than crispy. Sad, really. The 6 Fried Shrimp for $1.99 were barely worth $1.99, and I had to pay extra, not substitute them for the fries, which is what I wanted. They were sort of shrimp-flavored coins of crispy breading with a tail. The crispy breading was done right, I will say.  But the shrimp were so flattened they were almost non-existent. That's what you get when you buy undersized shrimp and smash them flat to make them look bigger. Still they were an interesting "loss leader", and better, IMHO than the hot dog or fries. Next time I'll get two orders of the shrimp and skip the hotdog.

Yeah, I'll go back -- to sample the co-brands offerings -- Arthur Treacher's Fish & Chipstm, and Kenny Rogers Roasters Chickentm.  Read the history of those two restaurant chains, on Wikipedia, for yourself.   I'm not holding my breath for great fast food here, but one can hope...