Recipe # 9: Oven Fries

Pres is grilling steaks. I was going to make mashed potatoes with roasted garlic, but we are somehow out of garlic. Instead, I am going to make oven fries.

Classic Oven Fries
from Good Housekeeping

2 tablespoon(s)	olive oil
3 medium	(about 8 ounces each) baking potatoes
3/4 teaspoon(s)	salt
1/4 teaspoon(s)	coarsely ground pepper

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Brush 2 large cookie sheets with 1 tablespoon oil.
2. Cut each unpeeled potato lengthwise into quarters, then cut each quarter lengthwise into 2 wedges (or, cut potatoes crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices).
3. In large bowl, toss potatoes with salt, pepper, and remaining 1 tablespoon oil until evenly coated.
4. Divide potatoes between cookie sheets, spreading each batch into an even layer. Place cookie sheets on 2 oven racks and oven-fry potatoes 25 minutes or until tender and crisp, turning potatoes over once and switching pans between upper and lower racks halfway through cooking.

Chicken Pot Pie (Recipe #8)

Chicken Pot Pie
from Allrecipes.com

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast halves - cubed
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup frozen green peas
1/2 cup sliced celery
1/3 cup butter
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1/4 teaspoon celery seed
1 3/4 cups chicken broth
2/3 cup milk
2 (9 inch) unbaked pie crusts

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C.)
2. In a saucepan, combine chicken, carrots, peas, and celery. Add water to cover and boil for 15 minutes. Remove from heat, drain and set aside.
3. In the saucepan over medium heat, cook onions in butter until soft and translucent. Stir in flour, salt, pepper, and celery seed. Slowly stir in chicken broth and milk. Simmer over medium-low heat until thick. Remove from heat and set aside.
4. Place the chicken mixture in bottom pie crust. Pour hot liquid mixture over. Cover with top crust, seal edges, and cut away excess dough. Make several small slits in the top to allow steam to escape.
5. Bake in the preheated oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until pastry is golden brown and filling is bubbly. Cool for 10 minutes before serving.

Pie Crust Dough
from Grand Central Baking Company

1 lb. or 3 cups Unbleached Flour
2/3 lb. European Style Butter*
2 Tbsp. White Sugar
2 tsp. salt (reduce to 1 t if using salted butter)
¼- ½ c Icy Water

By Hand

Chill high-sided metal or ceramic mixing bowl with flour, sugar and salt in it, in refrigerator for at least 2 hours, overnight is best. With a knife cut cold butter into ¼ to ½ inch chunks. Mix butter into chilled dry ingredients with a pastry blender or with you fingers by rubbing chunks of butter together with flour. When the flour changes from a silky texture to a mealy texture stop mixing. This should only take a couple minutes. It is good for there to be a few big chunks of butter left. Make well in the mixture and drizzle 4-5 Tbs. of icy water into the mixture and combine with a fork. Check dough hydration by pinching a handful; if it sticks together you're ready, if it is too dry to hold together add remaining water. The exact amount of water you will need depends on flour moisture content, whether conditions, and butter quality, so it is very important to check you dough and stop adding water as soon as it will combine into a ball or disk. Form two disks out of dough, wrap in plastic and chill for at least two hours before rolling and forming pie.

With a Mixer

At home I like to use my 5-quart Kitchen Aid Mixer with the paddle attachment for piecrust. Chill bowl with dry ingredients then cut in cubed butter on speed 3 or 4 for about 2 minutes. Once again the goal is for the flour to shift from a silky texture to a mealy texture with some big chunks of butter. Turn mixer to speed 1 and drizzle 4-5 Tbs. of ice water while the paddle is turning. Check hydration, if dough will hold together when you grab a handful you're done adding water, if it is still dry and crumbly add a bit more water. Form dough into two disks, wrap in plastic, and chill for at least 2 hours before rolling and forming into pie.

Broiled Halibut, Gorgonzola Pasta (Recipe #6), and Golden-Crusted Brussels Sprouts (Recipe #7)

I have broiled halibut a few times before, so it does not count as one of my 156 new recipes. To make the halibut, I put the halibut in a cast iron skillet, cover it with pesto, and broil it for four minutes on each side.

Gorgonzola Pasta
from Cooking Light

Ingredients

1 slice day-old hearty white bread (such as Pepperidge Farm), torn
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 garlic cloves, minced
8 ounces uncooked fettuccine
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1/4 cup (1 ounce) crumbled Gorgonzola cheese
3 tablespoons chopped walnuts, toasted
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat oven to 250°.

Place bread in a food processor; pulse 10 times or until coarse crumbs measure 2/3 cup. Place breadcrumbs on a baking sheet. Bake at 250° for 30 minutes or until dry.

Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add minced garlic, and cook 30 seconds, stirring constantly. Remove garlic mixture from heat, and let stand 5 minutes. Return pan to heat. Stir in breadcrumbs; cook 6 minutes or until lightly browned, stirring mixture frequently.

Cook the fettuccine according to package directions, omitting salt and fat; drain. Place fettuccine in a large bowl. Add the breadcrumb mixture, parsley, Gorgonzola, walnuts, lemon juice, salt, and black pepper; toss gently to combine. Serve immediately.

Golden-Crusted Brussels Sprouts
from 101Cookbooks.com

24 small brussels sprouts
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for rubbing
fine-grain sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup grated cheese of your choice

Wash the brussels sprouts well. Trim the stem ends and remove any raggy outer leaves. Cut in half from stem to top and gently rub each half with olive oil, keeping it intact (or if you are lazy just toss them in a bowl with a glug of olive oil).

Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in your largest skillet over medium heat. Don’t overheat the skillet, or the outsides of the brussels sprouts will cook too quickly. Place the brussels sprouts in the pan flat side down (single-layer), sprinkle with a couple pinches of salt, cover, and cook for roughly 5 minutes; the bottoms of the sprouts should only show a hint of browning. Cut into or taste one of the sprouts to gauge whether they’re tender throughout. If not, cover and cook for a few more minutes.

Once just tender, uncover, turn up the heat, and cook until the flat sides are deep brown and caramelized. Use a metal spatula to toss them once or twice to get some browning on the rounded side. Season with more salt, a few grinds of pepper, and a dusting of grated cheese. While you might be able to get away with keeping a platter of these warm in the oven for a few minutes, they are exponentially tastier if popped in your mouth immediately.

Shrimp Scampi (Recipe #4) and Roasted Asparagus (Recipe #5)

Recipe #4: Shrimp Scampi with Artichokes
From Ellie Krieger of Food Network

2 tablespoons olive oil
4 large cloves garlic, minced (about 4 teaspoons)
2 medium shallots, thinly sliced (about 1/3 cup)
1 1/4 pounds large shrimp (about 20), peeled and deveined
1 (11-ounce) package frozen artichoke hearts, thawed, or 1 (14-ounce) can artichoke hearts, rinsed, drained, and quartered
1/3 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley, plus more for garnish
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Heat the oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and shallots and cook, stirring until softened but not browned, 2 to 3 minutes. Add shrimp, artichoke hearts, wine, and lemon juice and cook until the shrimp are cooked through, 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in the parsley, salt and pepper. Divide among 4 plates, garnish with additional parsley, and serve.



Recipe #5: Roasted Asparagus
From Food Network's Barefoot Contessa

2 pounds fresh asparagus
Good olive oil
Kosher salt, plus extra for sprinkling
Freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Break off the tough ends of the asparagus and, if they're thick, peel them. Place the asparagus on a baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, then toss to coat the asparagus completely. Spread the asparagus in a single layer and sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Roast the asparagus for 25 minutes, until tender but still crisp.

Recipe #3: Baked Pasta Casserole

I am going to make the pasta casserole tonight instead of tomorrow night, because it looks easy and I also need to use up some of the strawberries.


Baked Pasta Casserole
from 101Cookbooks.com

extra-virgin olive oil
3/4 pound whole wheat pasta shells
sea salt
1 large yellow onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, chopped
4 cups well-chopped fresh spinach
1 1/2 cups sliced almonds, lightly toasted
zest of 2 lemons
8 ounces mozzerella, shredded or torn into small pieces

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Butter/oil a large casserole dish or baking pan - something roughly equivalent to 13x9-inch pan.

Boil the pasta in salted water per package instructions. Drain pasta, toss with a glug of olive oil. Set aside.

In the meantime, heat a bit of olive oil in a skillet over medium-high. Saute the onions with a couple pinches of salt for a few minutes (or if you want a bit more depth of flavor until caramelized). Stir in garlic. Stir in spinach. Cook for just about 20 seconds, until the spinach collapses a bit. Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup of the almonds and 1/2 of the zest. Add to pasta and stir and stir - mixing extremely well, a minute or so.

Now sprinkle the bottom of baking dish with the rest of the zest. Add a layer of the pasta to the bottom of the baking pan, now sprinkle with some of the cheese, add more pasta, then more cheese. Finish with a layer of cheese. Cover with foil and bake for 30 minutes or until cheese on top is bubbly and melty. Serve sprinkled with the remaining almonds.

Results so far...

The strawberry cake (Recipe #1) on Sunday was very good. The cake was a little dense. I think I needed to let the butter soften more, instead of just tossing the cold butter in the mixer.

The fried green tomatoes were good; however, next time I will mix up goat cheese and lemon juice instead of Allouette.

The pot roast (Recipe #2) was awesome....probably one of the best meals that I have ever made. I substituted red wine for water and ended up cooking it for an extra 90 minutes.

Waiting for the Pot Roast to be Ready

While the pot roast simmers, I am making fried green tomatoes. Besides going completely overboard with 12 pints of strawberries on Sunday, I also bought several green tomatoes with the plan of making fried green tomatoes this week. I am not sure when I will have another chance to make them, so I am going to have them before dinner and just try the pot roast when it is finally done later tonight. I am planning to top them with Tomato Basil Allouette, instead of the goat cheese mixture in the recipe. I have made this recipe already, so I'm not counting it as one of the 156 recipes.

Fried Green Tomatoes
from The Flying Biscuit Cafe via Food Network

6 cups canola oil
4 green tomatoes, medium size
3 cups all-purpose flour (1 1/2 cups of flour reserved for the cornmeal breading mix)
2 1/2 cups milk
2 large eggs
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 tablespoon celery salt 1/2 tablespoon cayenne pepper
1 tablespoon ground black pepper
1 teaspoon onion powder
Pinch paprika
4 ounces goat cheese
2 cups The Flying Biscuit Cashew Relish, recipe follows

While preparing the dipping process for the tomatoes, heat oil in large pot until the oil reaches 350 degrees F. You will need a slotted spoon to drop the tomatoes into the hot oil. De-core and cut the ends off green tomatoes. Cut tomatoes 1/2-inch thick and set aside in medium bowl.
In small bowl, set aside 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour. In medium bowl, mix milk and eggs to create an egg wash. In large bowl, combine remaining flour, cornmeal and salt. Add celery salt, cayenne, pepper, onion powder, and paprika. This is the cornmeal breading mixture for the tomatoes.

Line a sheet pan with parchment paper to place the breaded tomatoes on after final dredging.

Begin the dipping process by dredging the tomatoes in the all-purpose flour, then the egg wash, and finally through the cornmeal breading mixture. Repeat this process until all the tomatoes are breaded. Once the oil has reached 350 degrees F, begin frying until golden brown. Tomatoes will float to the top when finished cooking. Drain on paper towels. Garnish with cashew relish and finish with a dollop of goat cheese.

Cashew Relish: 1/3 cup fresh cilantro 2 large red jalapenos 1 1/2 cups cashews 3/4 cup honey 1/3 cup white vinegar

Clean and pick cilantro leaves off stems. Cut stems off jalapenos and roughly chop. Combine cashews, chopped jalapenos and cilantro in food processor and pulse until combined. Do not puree, it should be a rustic mix. Pour mixture into bowl, and add honey and vinegar and mix thoroughly.

Recipe #2: Pot Roast with Vegetables

Pot Roast with Vegetables
From Food Network's Tyler Florence

1 (3 to 4 pound) piece beef chuck roast, trimmed of excess fat
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 can crushed tomatoes
1 cup water
2 yellow onion, halved
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1 bunch baby carrots
2 celery stalks, sliced
1 cup button mushrooms, stems removed and sliced in half
2 sprigs fresh rosemary
4 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves

Season all sides of the beef with a fair amount of saltand pepper. In a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot that has a tight cover; heat 2 tablespoons of the oil over moderately high heat. Brown the meat on all sides, taking the time to get a nice crust on the outside. Pour in the tomatoes and the water. Scatter the vegetables and herbs around the pot roast, season with salt and pepper; and drizzle with the remaining tablespoon of oil. Cover the pot and reduce the heat to low. Braise for about 3 hours, basting every 30 minutes with the pan juices, until the beef is fork tender.

Slice the pot roast and arrange on platter surrounded by the vegetables. Serve with the pot juices.

Recipe #1: Strawberry Cake

I somehow talked Pres into getting a whole flat of Louisiana strawberries today at the produce market. To use of some of them, I'm making a strawberry cake. I could not find a recipe that I liked, so, against my better judgment, I am combining two recipes. The first is a recipe for yellow cake (modified from a white cake recipe) and the second is the frosting.

Classic White Cake
from Gourmet Magazine via the Food Network

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 cups all purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 large egg whites (3/4 cup)
3/4 cup milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Set rack at the middle level in the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.

Butter the bottom of two 9-inch round or one 13 by 9 by 2-inch pan. Line bottom with parchment or waxed paper.

In a large bowl, beat butter and sugar for about 5 minutes, until light and fluffy. Stir together flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside. Combine egg whites, milk and vanilla extract. Add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the butter mixture then add half the milk mixture. Continue to alternate beginning and ending with flour mixture. Scape the bowl and beater often.

Pour the batter into prepared pan(s) and smooth top with metal spatula. Bake cake(s) about 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center emerges clean.

Cool in pan on rack for 5 minutes, then turn out onto a rack, remove paper and let cool completely.

Note: For a classic yellow cake- Substitute 3 large eggs and 1 yolk for the egg whites.

Icing

2 (8 ounce) packages cream
cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups heavy cream

In a mixing bowl fitted with a whisk attachment, combine the cream cheese, sugar, vanilla and salt. Beat at medium speed until smooth. Pour the heavy cream in a slow steady stream while the mixture is whipping until the mixture has fluffed up and can hold a stiff peak. Don't let it get grainy looking though. Scrape the bottom of the bowl with a spatula occasionally to remove any lumps.

Slice the cooled cake horizontally into three layers. Arrange strawberries on the bottom layer with the top ends facing outward. Fill in the remaining space with more berries. Spoon some of the whipped cream over the berries and spread evenly. Place another layer of cake on top and repeat the process. Place the top layer on the cake and cover with the remaining cream. Arrange remaining berries over the cream.

Back from the honeymoon...

Now that the wedding and honeymoon are over and we are home, I want to cook regularly and start trying new recipes. My goal is to try at least three different recipes each week and then share the recipes (and the results) on this blog.