Posts filed under 'Misc'
You Don’t Have To Be Martha Stewart, Series 3 – A Helpful Rant
(From the Bread Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Sticky Buns
Okay, so now that you have your homemade Kahlua and Lemmoncello “maturing” in your dark closet we need to move on to other ideas for holiday gifts you can make and the recipient will love. Next in my mind, on the easy but really appreciated homemade gifts list are sticky buns. I give these year-round when I think they would be an ideal surprise for breakfast. Delivered hot and sticky on a holiday morning or just to be nice, they fill the house with that sweet smell you remember from visits to the corner bakery when you were growing up. You may also package them in a nice basket unbaked to be baked later. Frozen they last forever and when defrosted offer the perfect touch for a special morning.
The great part about these sticky buns is that they are very easy to make. Make the recipe for yourself and you will still have some leftover to share.
Sticky Buns
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 12 |
| Category: | Breads |
| Meal: | Company for Breakfast (Share-a-Meal Plans) |
| 2.5 | cup | flour, all-purpose |
| 0.25 | cup | sugar, brown |
| 1 | package | yeast, dried |
| 0.5 | tsp | salt, table |
| 0.75 | cup | water, hot |
| 4 | Tb | butter, unsalted |
| 1 | large | egg |
| 0.5 | tsp | cinnamon. ground |
| 8 | Tb | butter, unsalted |
| 0.75 | cup | sugar, brown |
| 1 | Tb | cinnamon. ground |
| 1 | cup | walnuts, chopped |
| 0.75 | cup | sugar, brown |
| 4 | Tb | butter, unsalted |
| 0.25 | cup | corn syrup, dark |
| 1 | cup | walnuts, halved |
(Makes enough for about 3 8 X 8 pans)
Dough- Mix flour, 1/4 cup sugar, yeast, salt, water, melted butter, egg and cinnamon in food processor, remove from processor, add enough flour to make a soft dough, let rise for 45 minutes.
Filling- Mix 1/2 cup softened butter, 3/4 sugar, cinnamon and chopped nuts together.
Roll dough to 15” X 24”. Spread filling on dough. Roll up and refrigerate for 15 minutes.
Topping- Put remaining 3/4-cup sugar, 1/2-cup butter, and karo syrup in pan, bring to a boil. Remove from heat, add nuts and pour into baking tray or pan.
Cut rolled dough into 3/4” pieces and place on top of topping in pan. Can be frozen or refrigerated at this point. When ready to bake, let rise for 30 minutes and bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes. Invert over plate and serve.
Note: When scaling this recipe be sure to adjust the ingredient proportions in this method section.
Add comment November 5, 2009
You Don’t Have To Be Martha Stewart, Part Deux- A Helpful Rant
(From the Misc Collection at emealsforyou.com)
start with these
Today’s suggestion for homemade liqueur is Lemoncello. This is a wonderfully smooth, lemony nectar that can be used in many ways. Besides serving as an after dinner drink it offers a unique flavor to sautéed garlic shrimp, (See Lemoncello Shrimp at emealsforyou.com) may be poured over cake or served with fresh fruit. Start this now and you will be all set to wow your friends at Thanksgiving dinner.
Creating gifts for the holidays for our friends and family requires a little foresight. Besides allowing for the time it will take for the homemade liqueur to mature you should be looking for interesting bottles to hold the finished product. Craft stores have numerous containers and bottles to choose from and you may be able to find interesting bottles in small antique and gift shops. Remember we taste first with our eyes so take the time to dress up your gift to make it special.
Homemade Lemoncello
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 12 |
| Category: | Misc |
| Meal: | N/A |
| 7 | medium | lemon zest, finely chopped |
| 1 | qt | vodka |
| 2 | cup | sugar, white |
| 2.5 | cup | water |
Wash lemons, zest lemons and place the zest in a large bottle or container with a lid. Pour vodka on top and close lid. Place in a closet and let stand at least 2 weeks, the longer the better. After this period combine water and sugar in a pan to form a simple syrup. Allow syrup to cool, add to lemon zest and vodka mixture and reseal and let sit for another 2 weeks. Strain liqueur to remove zest. Bottle Lemoncello, may be frozen until used.
Add comment October 21, 2009
Recipe of the Week – Breads
(From the Breads Collection at emealsforyou.com)
I found a new bread recipe the other day and decided I needed to get back into the bread baking mode. Maybe I overdid it a little but once you have flour all over the kitchen why not make more. My wife mentioned she would like to have some date nut bread; I call it date and nut bread but then again she “knows” better. ( updated correction: she looked it up on the Internet and looks like she is right and I am wrong; for the first time I might add) Anyway, so there I was making rye bread and the date nut bread and why not add some ciabatti to the mix.
I especially like the ciabatti and rye breads as they develop their taste and “crumb” texture by resting overnight on the counter. Once you learn how to deal with the really moist, sticky dough it is a simple task to shape the loaves and bake them. The date / nut bread takes about 5 minutes to mix; although you have to let the dates and nuts sit in hot water for 15 minutes. I usually bake them in small loaves, then freeze them. A minute in the microwave when I feel like eating some is quick and always a special treat.
The recipes are on the website: emealsforyou.com along with many more. Now that Fall is coming I will begin to try different artisan breads and pass along the ones that work to you.
Date & Nut Bread
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 10 |
| Category: | Breads |
| Meal: | other (General) |
| 1 | cup | Dates, dried, chopped |
| 1 | cup | walnuts, chopped |
| 0.33 | cup | karo syrup, dark |
| 1.5 | tsp | baking soda |
| 0.5 | tsp | salt, kosher |
| 3 | Tb | butter, unsalted |
| 0.75 | cup | water |
| 2 | large | egg |
| 0.75 | cup | sugar, white |
| 0.5 | cup | flour, wheat |
| 1 | cup | flour, all-purpose |
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a 81/2 X 41/2 X 3 inch loaf pan.
Put dates, walnuts, baking soda, salt, karo syrup and butter in a bowl. Heat water to the boil and pour on top of date mixture. Let stand for 15 minutes.
Beat eggs and sugar together in a large bowl. Add the flours and stir. Add in the date mixture and stir until well blended. Pour batter into the loaf pan and bake 40 -50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Slide a knife around pan and invert over a serving plate. May be frozen.
Add comment September 7, 2009
Recipe of the Week – Artichoke Potato Salad
(From Salad Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Artichoke Potato Salad
In a recent post I told you that my NY City son, make that Tony Award winning son (apologies for the bragging but you gotta do what you gotta do), asked me to come up with a cookie recipe for a cookie he had in NY City. So it was not a total shock when my mother-in-law was speaking to my wife about a delicious potato salad she had just had at a luncheon and wanted to know if I could re-create it. Here is what was given to me to help in coming up with the recipe, ” it was a potato salad with artichokes but mainly the dressing was the oil that the artichokes came in.”
I look at these requests as challenges; although it does make it easier if I have actually tasted the food. Not having that advantage I try to think about what would taste good using those particular ingredients. I think I got pretty close but won’t know for sure until my mother-in-law makes this herself. What I can tell you is that the recipe below is really good, different and easy to make. Give it a try and let me know what you think.
Artichoke Potato Salad
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 6 |
| Category: | Salad |
| Meal: | Other (General) |
| 2.5 | lb | potatoes, red |
| 12 | oz | artichoke hearts, marinated |
| 3 | Tb | onion, red |
| 0.33 | cup | vinegar, white |
| 0.25 | cup | oil, olive |
| 1 | tsp | pepper, fresh cracked |
| 1 | Tb | parsley, flakes |
| 1 | Tb | oregano, dried |
| 1 | Tb | sweet basil |
| 2 | tsp | salt, kosher |
Boil potatoes with the skins on for 25 minutes or so, until they are just tender without falling apart. Slice artichokes into bite sized pieces, place in a large bowl along with the oil from the jar. Add vinegar and oil and blend. Add chopped red onion, parsley, sweet basil, cracked black pepper and oregano and stir. While potatoes are still warm cut into bite size pieces with skins on. Pour mixture over potatoes and stir. Let stand on counter for an hour, stirring occasionally to blend. Add salt to taste.( you may want to add some salt just prior to serving as the potatoes will absorb the salt) May be refrigerated at this point; be sure to allow the potato salad to come to room temperature prior to serving.
Add comment June 15, 2009
Recipe of the Week – Caution!!! Mint Julip
(From The Misc Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Mint Julip
It don’t know anything about horse racing, seriously nothing. Once a year horse racing brings me to a point I look forward to… the Kentucky Derby and that brings me to the Mint Julip. This decadent drink is served at the Kentucky Derby. It is sooooo good and sooooo dangerous that we only drink it the first weekend in May; and maybe into that first week finishing off the leftovers.
My own attachment to the Mint Julip started in my twenties when the over exuberance for life led myself and others down the path of “it’s Derby Day let’s have a party.” We started with normal gatherings and then each year was spent “out-doing” the previous years. The one that finally put an end to the “destruction” was a costume party: each guest was required to dress up for the derby. There were Civil War Generals, southern ladies in big hats and a horse and jockey. I especially remember that one as I was part of the horse, and I am pleased to announce I manged to get the front part in the duet and not forced to be the horse’s a.. anyway the costumes are gone but the Mint Julips live on.
Before my Kentucky friends write in to complain that only bourbon made in Kentucky is truly bourbon I apologize in advance for my Jack Daniels thing. Really any good bourbon, or “sour mash” as the others are called will work. Just make sure that you serve these very, very cold, lots of ice and more importantly sip. Drinking these down with an open mouth will result in severe state of remorse and lots of aspirin.
Mint Julip
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 8 |
| Category: | Misc |
| Meal: | Derby Day (Theme Meal Plans) |
| 1 | cup | sugar, white |
| 1 | cup | water |
| 2 | oz | mint, fresh |
| 16 | oz | bourbon, Jack Daniels |
Make a simple mint syrup* by boiling sugar and water together for 5 minutes; cool. Place in a covered container with 6 or 8 bruised (crushed against the side of glass with a spoon) mint sprigs. Refrigerate overnight.
Make a julep by filling a glass with crushed ice, then adding 1 tablespoon of mint syrup and 2 ounces of bourbon. Stir rapidly with a spoon to frost outside of glass. Garnish with a fresh mint sprig
We paired the Mint Julips with finger foods and light desserts in our Derby Day theme meal at emealsforyou.com.
Add comment April 27, 2009
Recipe of the Week – Irish Coffee
(From The Misc Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Irish Coffee
Every year around this time I am reminded of this “perfect” way to end a dinner meal or just a casual gathering to enjoy the spring air. I am a bit of a purist on this issue and have tried over the years to get passed the overall sweetness usually associated with Irish Coffee; what with the whipped cream and sugar added to the coffee, not to mention the overly sweet Irish Mist. You see, I take my coffee black, no sugar… so just give me a shot of Jameson Irish Whiskey and let me dump it into my coffee.
This recipe is like the porridge in the Three Bears story; just right. Start with strong black coffee, add just a touch of sugar and then add the Jameson with just a little unsweetened, thickened cream on top. Sit on the deck or patio, throw your feet up and enjoy the sunset; maybe a leprechaun or two will stop by to help you pass the time.
Irish Coffee
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 4 |
| Category: | Misc |
| Meal: | Other (General) |
| 20 | oz | coffee, fresh brewed |
| 4 | tsp | sugar, white |
| 6 | oz | Jameson Irish Coffee |
| 6 | oz | cream, whipping |
Place 1 tsp of sugar in the bottom of a wine glass. Add 5 oz of fresh black coffee, pour in a jigger (1.5 oz) of Jameson Irish Whiskey. Whip the cream until it just starts to thicken, gently pour equal amounts on top of each glass. No stirring!
2 comments March 24, 2009
Recipe of the Week – Stuffed Red Peppers
(From The Vegetables Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Stuffed Red Peppers
Hopefully winter is leaving; at least we have some warmer weather mixed in with the cold. Last weekend, when deciding what to cook for a dinner party, my wife told me she would like to have roasted, stuffed red peppers and maybe a pork roast to go along. Since the weather was cooler it turned out to be a good idea; hopefully a great send-off to this winter season.
When I think of stuffed peppers I think of ground beef and rice stuffed “nothings”, can you tell I am not a fan. Well I have been making this recipe for many years now and they always are the hit of the meal. NO ground beef here, just caramelized onions, garlic and tomatoes, slow-roasted in the oven. Great tasting and great looking, these will add a pleasant surprise to any meal.
Roasted, Stuffed Red Peppers
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 4 |
| Category: | Vegetables |
| Meal: | other (General) |
| 2 | large | pepper, red |
| 1 | cup | tomatoes, cherry |
| 2 | Tb | oil, olive |
| 2 | cloves | garlic, chopped |
| 0.75 | cup | onions, sliced |
| 1 | tsp | thyme |
| 1 | tsp | sugar, brown |
| 0.125 | tsp | pepper, fresh ground |
| 0.25 | Tb | salt, kosher |
Cut peppers in half lengthwise, discard the ribs and seeds.
Sauté onions and garlic in 1 TB oil until lightly brown, add thyme, sugar and black pepper. Remove from heat, add tomatoes and salt.
Brush peppers with remaining oil, fill with mixture. Place in an ovenproof pan. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes, serve warm.
(Add these to the Stuffed Pork recipe at emealsforyou.com for a great meal)
Add comment March 5, 2009
Recipe of the Week – Ciabatta Bread
(From the Breads Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Ciabatta
I have no patience; this is not just my wife telling me, I know this of myself. One way to overcome this was to learn how to bake bread. You see baking bread takes patience, lots of patience. Most people think it is hard to bake bread; truth is it is fairly easy but requires short periods of activity and then lots of waiting, patience is a virtue, especially in bread baking.
We are talking breads that need to rise, yeast breads not sweet breads. The main goal for those of us, who are learning patience, is a golden chewy,crust and an airy, moist “crumb” the dough part of the bread with lots of holes. See, here is where it gets a little dicey, trying to get all those things to happen by themselves. Most breads require kneading, folding and “TLC” and maybe some luck. Those of us who bake bread talk to everyone we know who bakes bread to try to find the answers. We trade recipes, equipment and mostly well wishes. So when Capt. Jim (Capt. Jim’s Tomato Focaccio ) sent me this recipe and told me it worked and was very easy, I decided to give it a go.
So if you find your life is a series of 5 minutes bursts, you like great bread or maybe you need to learn some patience here is Capt. Jim’s recipe.
Note the holes and moist "crumb"
Ciabatta
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 8 |
| Category: | Breads |
| Meal: | N/A |
| 4 | cup | flour |
| 0.25 | tsp | yeast, dried |
| 1.5 | tsp | salt, kosher |
| 2 | cup | water |
Add flour, yeast and salt to a large mixing bowl; stir in warm (not hot) water. Mix until a a very soft, very sticky dough forms. Cover with plastic wrap and let sit in a cool, dry place for 18 hours. Place dough on a floured surface, punch down and fold into itself in thirds. Place a piece of parchment paper; a little bigger than the dough on a work surface, flour the paper. Place dough on the parchment and shape into a long loaf. Cover with a white cotton towel and let rise for 2 hours. Dough will spread out but not up.
Preheat oven to 425º. Cut off any excess parchment showing around the ciabatta. Slide a pizza peel or an upside down cookie sheet under the bread. Slide the bread, paper side down onto the pizza stone or preheated cookie sheet. Spray the bread in the oven with a spray bottle with just water every 2 minutes for the first 12 minutes; this will give you a good crust. Bake for 35 minutes, until lightly brown. Remove from oven and let it cool for 10 minutes before cutting. May be frozen.
(Look for more recipes like this at emealsforyou.com)
2 comments February 19, 2009
Recipe Contest Winner – Kristy’s Herbed Cheesy Potatoes
We just finished a recipe contest with three of our favorite blogs: funcraftsandrecipes.com, momcooks.net, lisacooking.com. Their readers were asked to submit one of their favorite recipes and Elizabeth, Lisa, Valerie and myself chose the best three from each blog. Besides appearing in our blog here each recipe will be published on the emealsforyou.com website.
Kristy sends us this great recipe for that family gathering.
Kristy’s Herbed Cheesy Potatoes
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 6 |
| Category: | Starch |
| Meal: | other (General) |
| 4 | large | potatoes |
| 1 | cup | cheese, cheddar, shredded |
| 1 | cup | cheese, mozzarella, shredded |
| 3 | Tb | butter, salted |
| 0.5 | tsp | garlic salt |
| 2 | pinch | oregano, dried |
| 1 | pinch | pepper, fresh cracked |
Preheat oven to 425. Cut potatoes in thin slices; spread onto greased cookie sheet. Cut butter into pieces and add on top of potatoes. Sprinkle garlic salt and oregano over potatoes. Sprinkle cheese in alternating layers on top. Bake for 25-28 minutes, until golden. Sprinkle with pepper before serving.
Add comment December 23, 2008
Recipe of the Week – Date and Nut Bread
(From the Bread Collection at emealsforyou.com)
Date and Nut Bread
The holidays may mean house guests or maybe just a few lazier days in the morning. Around here while we may not stay in bed longer we do tend to putts around and then have a late, lite breakfast. My idea of a great breakfast is to have a basket of warm breads and rolls, some sweet, some salty, a hot cup of coffee and some orange juice.
The date and nut bread is something I remember growing up with. It came in a can or small loaves; always very moist and we spread cream cheese over the slices. Easy to make, easy to store, it may be frozen, why not make a batch and keep them in the freezer until that lazy morning hits.
Date & Nut Bread
| Complexity: | Easy |
| Serves: | 10 |
| Category: | Breads |
| Meal: | other (General) |
| 1 | cup | Dates, dried, chopped |
| 1 | cup | walnuts, chopped |
| 1.5 | tsp | baking soda |
| 0.5 | tsp | salt, kosher |
| 3 | Tb | butter, unsalted |
| 0.75 | cup | water |
| 2 | large | egg |
| 0.75 | cup | sugar, white |
| 0.33 | cup | karo syrup, dark |
| 0.5 | cup | flour, wheat |
| 1 | cup | flour, all-purpose |
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Grease a 81/2 X 41/2 X 3 inch loaf pan.
Put dates, walnuts, baking soda, salt, karo syrup and butter in a bowl. Heat water to the boil and pour on top of date mixture. Let stand for 15 minutes.
Beat eggs and sugar together in a large bowl. Add the flours and stir. Add in the date mixture and stir until well blended. Pour batter into the loaf pan and bake 40 -50 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Slide a knife around pan and invert over a serving plate. May be frozen.
Add comment December 16, 2008
