| THIS WEEK'S FEATURES AND RECIPES:
> Article: A Condiment
Gets to Shine
> Wine Appreciation:
Evodia Old Vine Grenache 2009
> Food Funnies: The
Top 10 Food "Foolies"
S
E L E C T E D R E C I P E S :
* TGI
Friday's Pot Stickers
* Monterey
Chicken Rolls
* Slow-Cooker
Beef Short Ribs
* Brown
Sugar Baked Bologna
* Salisbury
Steak with Mushroom Gravy
* Fusilli
alla Caprese
* Buttered
Peas and Pearl Onions
* Sticky
Buns
Healthy Eating:
Low Carb: Green
Eggs and Ham
Diabetic: Berry
Ginger Shortcakes
Low Fat: Penne
with Artichoke Hearts
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This Week's Cooking Tips
* When you buy a container of cake
frosting from the store, whip it
with your mixer for a few
minutes. You can double it in size. You
get to frost more cake/cupcakes
with the same amount. You also eat
less sugar and calories per
serving.
* To warm biscuits, pancakes, or
muffins that were refrigerated,
place them in a microwave
with a cup of water. The increased
moisture will keep the food
moist and help it reheat faster.
* Before you pour sticky substances
into a measuring cup, fill with
hot water. Dump out the hot
water, but don't dry cup. Next, add
your ingredient, such as
peanut butter, and watch how easily it
comes right out.
* To get rid of pesky fruit flies,
take a small glass fill it 1/2"
with Apple Cider Vinegar
and 2 drops of dish washing liquid, mix
well. You will find those
flies drawn to the cup and gone forever!
More
Cooking Tips
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This Week's Culinary Quiz (Answer
at the bottom of page)
"Beschuiten", also known as
"Dutch rusks" are a popular type
of what?
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Personalized
Chef Coats
Kick it up a notch with
a touch of class! Create a
personalized and professional
look in your kitchen.
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Quote of the Week:
"The keynote to happiness
within the four walls that make any
home is plain, wholesome,
well cooked food, attractively served."
- Louis P. De Gouy,
The Soup Book (1949)
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UPCOMING FOOD HOLIDAYS:
April is: National Food Month
Fresh Florida Tomato Month
National Pecan Month
April 3 - National Chocolate Mousse Day
April 4 - National Cordon Bleu Day
April 5 - National Raisin and Spice Bar Day
April 6 - National Caramel Popcorn Day
April 7 - National Coffee Cake Day
April 8 - National Empanada Day
April 9 - National Chinese Almond Cookie Day
April 10 - National Cinnamon Crescent Day
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Mousepads Make Great Gift Ideas!
We offer hundreds of designs
geared to food lovers!
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A Condiment Gets to
Shine
By MARK
BITTMAN
This is a perfectly contemporary
dish: Manchurian in origin,
inspired by an Indian chef who lives
in New York and based on an
ingredient that is in almost every
refrigerator.
It's stir-fried chicken with ketchup,
and before you turn your nose
up, think of hoisin sauce, oyster
sauce, mayonnaise, Worcestershire
sauce, salsa and all the other condiments
that somehow are often
considered inferior in haute cuisine
circles.
Then think how good ketchup can
taste.
I learned about the genesis of this
dish from Suvir Saran, an Indian
chef in New York. In the version
he cooked for me, Mr. Saran tossed
cauliflower in a slurry of cornstarch
and egg, then deep-fried it.
The crust was exquisite, and the
cauliflower perfectly cooked. But it
was what happened next that really
got my attention: He finished the
cauliflower in a sauce, made in
about three minutes, containing
nothing more than ketchup, garlic
and cayenne pepper.
The garlic and cayenne gave the
ketchup a significant leg up, and
the brief cooking time caramelized
the sugars. In all, the ordinary
ingredient we all grew up with was
transformed into a glistening,
almost exotic sauce, one that latched
on to that cauliflower as if
the molecules had fused.
"This recipe is one of many dishes
created by Chinese immigrants who
now live in India," Mr. Saran said.
"You see it in Calcutta's
Chinatown, where it's sold on the
street, to be eaten off
toothpicks."
I tried making the dish with cauliflower
that I didn't deep-fry; it
wasn't the same. But when I floured
some chicken and seared it in oil
until it was quite crisp, then turned
that in the sauce, I knew I had
hit it: Manchurian-style chicken.
(And, yes, you can eat it with
toothpicks if you like.)
If you take to this dish, you might
start to play with it: cook some
peanuts with the chicken, toss some
slivered scallions or cilantro in
at the end (the color is brilliant,
as you can imagine), substitute
soy sauce for the salt, or start
with squid or shrimp. It's all
pretty flexible, and you already
have the main ingredient.
Stir-Fried Chicken With Ketchup
=========================
1 1/2 pounds boneless
chicken, preferably dark meat, in 1/2- to
1-inch
chunks
1/2 cup flour, more
as needed
4 tablespoons neutral
oil, like corn or canola
Salt and pepper
2 tablespoons slivered
garlic
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
pepper, or to taste
1 cup ketchup
1. Toss chicken with flour so that
it is lightly dusted. Put 2
tablespoons oil in
a large skillet, preferably nonstick, and turn
heat to high. When
oil smokes, add chicken in one layer. Sprinkle
with salt and pepper.
2. When chicken browns on one side,
toss it and cook until just about
done: smaller pieces
will take 5 minutes total, larger pieces
about 10. Remove to
a plate. Turn off heat and let pan cool for a
moment.
3. Add remaining oil to pan and turn
heat to medium high. Add garlic
and cayenne pepper
and cook, stirring, about 2 minutes. Add
ketchup and stir; cook
until ketchup bubbles, then darkens
slightly. Return chicken
to pan and stir to coat with sauce. Taste
and adjust seasoning,
then serve. Yield: 4 servings.
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This Week's Wine Selection
Evodia Old Vine Grenache
2009 Price: $10
Sexy, high-pitched aromas of strawberry
preserves, black raspberry,
minerals and pungent flowers. Concentrated
but not at all heavy;
sweet raspberry and blackberry flavors
are lifted by a hint of violet.
Very suave, especially at this price;
finishes with silky tannins and
excellent clarity.
Serve With:
Leg of Lamb with Garlic and Rosemary
==============================
1 (7-pound) semi-boneless
leg of lamb, aitchbone removed, fat
trimmed
to 1/4 inch thick, and lamb tied
4 garlic cloves
1 tablespoon fine sea
salt
2 tablespoons chopped
fresh rosemary
1/2 teaspoon black
pepper
1/4 cup dry red wine
or beef broth
Pat lamb dry and score fat by making
shallow cuts all over with tip
of a sharp small knife. Pound garlic
to a paste with sea salt using
a mortar and pestle (or mince and
mash with a heavy knife) and stir
together with rosemary and pepper.
Put lamb in a lightly oiled
roasting pan, then rub paste all
over lamb. Let stand at room
temperature 30 minutes.
Preheat oven to 350F. Roast lamb
in middle of oven until an instant-
read thermometer inserted 2 inches
into thickest part of meat (do not
touch bone) registers 130F, 1 1/2
to 1 3/4 hours. Transfer to a
cutting board and let stand 15 to
25 minutes (internal temperature
will rise to about 140F for medium-rare).
Add wine to pan and deglaze by boiling
over moderately high heat,
stirring and scraping up brown bits,
1 minute. Season pan juices with
salt and pepper and serve with lamb.
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FOOD FUNNIES: The Top 10
Food "Foolies"
10. Most pound cakes are actually
only 14 oz.
9. Misspelling a word on the label
absolves the manufacturer of
any liability
resulting from the public consuming substandard
ingredients.
Example: Cheez Whiz
8. The USDA food pyramid has the
same foundation as the Great
Pyramids of Egypt:
Dirt.
7. Think about it: If you eat a
healthy enough diet, even crack
cocaine can be
"part of a balanced breakfast".
6. Eating fried pork fat because
it’s low in carbs is like trying
to knock out
a headache with a baseball bat.
5. Of course Jared lost a few hundred
pounds. What they neglect
to mention is
that his neighborhood Subway outlet is at the top
of a mountain.
4. Sometime in the past, some crazy
pastry chef replaced the
Bavarian cream
with vanilla pudding to see if anyone could tell
the difference.
Next time it’s going to be Elmer’s glue.
3. The French don’t actually like
eating snails; they just started
doing that to
see if they could get us to do it.
2. If brussels sprouts are supposed
to be *so good*, how come
nobody puts them
on a pizza?
... and the #1
Food "Foolie" ...
1. Girl Scout Cookies don’t actually
contain any amount of Girl
Scout, or any
girl at all, for that matter.
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Free Recipes and Cookbooks =+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=
TGI Friday's Pot Stickers
===================
Dough:
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup hot water
1 tablespoon shortening
or oil
Filling:
1 lb. ground pork
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame
oil
1 teaspoon grated ginger
Pinch of sugar
Salt and pepper to
taste
3 green onions, chopped
1 egg
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1 can water chestnuts,
finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
Dipping Sauce:
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup white vinegar
1 teaspoon chili oil
1 green onion, chopped
Combine the flour, salt, hot water
and shortening in a bowl and
incorporate into a smooth dough.
Allow the dough to rest for 20
minutes, covered.
Combine the filling ingredients.
Combine the dipping sauce
ingredients. Roll the dough out
about 1/8 thick. Use a biscuit cutter
or a glass to cut out 3 inch circles.
Brush a little water over the
circles and place about 2 teaspoons
of filling in center. Fold the
circles in half and press to seal,
making sure to squeeze out any
air. Stand the dumplings up on the
folded side and press slightly so
that they stand up nicely. To cook,
bring a pot of salted water to
boil, and boil the dumplings until
cooked through, about 5 minutes.
Drain well. The dumplings may be
frozen at this point for future use;
this recipe makes about 8 dozen.
Heat a skillet with about 2
tablespoons oil and fry the dumplings
on one side only, until nicely
browned. Drain on paper towels.
Serve with the dipping sauce.
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Free Recipes and Cookbooks =+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=
Monterey Chicken Rolls
==================
8 boneless skinless
chicken breasts
salt and pepper
1 (8 oz.) package monterey
jack cheese
1/2 cup butter, melted
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup breadcrumbs
1 cup parmesan cheese,
grated
Pound chicken breasts flat. Season
with salt and pepper. Slice
Monterey Jack cheese about 1/4"
thick and roll chicken around
cheese. Add garlic to the butter
and combine breadcrumbs with
parmesan cheese. Dip chicken in
butter, then in breadcrumb
combination. Place seam side down
in 9x13 baking dish. Bake
covered for 30 minutes at 350F in
preheated oven. Uncover and
bake for 15 minutes more or until
browned.
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Slow-Cooker Beef Short Ribs
=======================
1/3 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 1/2 lbs boneless
beef short ribs
1/4 cup butter
1 cup chopped onions
1 cup beef broth
3/4 cup red wine vinegar
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup chili sauce
2 tablespoons catsup
2 tablespoons Worcestershire
sauce
2 tablespoons minced
garlic
1 teaspoon chili powder
Combine flour, salt and pepper in
a bag. Add ribs and shake to
coat. Brown ribs in butter in a
large skillet. Place in slow
cooker. In the same skillet, combine
remaining ingredients. Bring
to a boil while stirring. Pour over
ribs. Cover and cook on low
for 9 hours.
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Brown Sugar Baked Bologna
=======================
1 (6 1/2-pound) all-beef
bologna
1/2 cup Dijon mustard
1 1/2 cups golden brown
sugar
1 loaf sliced white
bread
1 jar yellow mustard
Preheat the oven to 250F. Line a
large roasting pan with foil to
cover well. Using a small sharp
knife score the top of the bologna,
cutting about 1/4-inch deep, to
create a diamond design.
Place the bologna, cut side down,
in the foil lined pan and spread
a thin layer of mustard on the exposed
areas. Using your hands, press
the brown sugar onto the Dijon mustard
to create a coating. Carefully
turn the bologna over, so that the
cut side is facing up, and spread
the top and sides with the remaining
Dijon mustard. Press the
remaining brown sugar onto the mustard
to coat the entire bologna
well.
Place the bologna in the top third
of the oven. Bake for 5 hours,
rotating the bologna slightly during
cooking to keep the bottom from
burning. Remove the bologna from
the pan and place it on a large
platter. Slice the bologna 1/4 to
1/2-inch thick and make sandwiches
on fresh white bread with yellow
mustard.
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Salisbury Steak with Mushroom Gravy
=============================
1 pound lean ground
beef
1 (10 oz.) can condensed
cream of mushroom soup, divided
1/2 cup Italian bread
crumbs
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/2 cup onions, chopped
1 teaspoon steak seasoning
1 tablespoon canola
oil
2 tablespoons butter,
divided
1/4 cup cognac
1/2 lb. sliced fresh
mushrooms
2 cups beef broth
1 (1.2 oz.) packet
brown gravy mix
In a large bowl, combine beef, 1/4
can mushroom soup, bread crumbs,
egg, onions, and steak seasoning.
Mix thoroughly and shape into 4
oval patties. Heat oil and 1 tablespoon
butter in large skillet over
medium-high heat. Brown patties
on both sides and transfer to a
plate.
Add remaining butter and cognac
(remove pan from heat when adding
cognac.) Saute mushrooms for 7 to
8 minutes. Add beef stock and
whisk in gravy mix until smooth.
Stir in remaining mushroom soup.
Return patties to skillet and spoon
gravy over top. Cover pan and
simmer for 20 to 25 minutes. Serve
with mashed potatoes or rice.
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Fusilli alla Caprese
===============
1 pound fusilli pasta
3 tablespoons olive
oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups cherry tomatoes,
quartered (about 1 1/2 pints)
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly
ground black pepper
1/2 cup packed fresh
basil leaves, torn
8 ounces fresh mozzarella,
diced (about 1 1/4 cups)
Bring a large pot of salted water
to a boil over high heat. Add the
pasta and cook until tender but
still firm to the bite, stirring
occasionally, about 8 to 10 minutes.
Drain pasta into a large bowl
and reserve 1/2 cup of the cooking
liquid.
In a medium skillet heat the olive
oil over medium heat. Add the
garlic and saute until fragrant,
about 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes,
salt, and pepper. As the tomatoes
cook and soften, smash them with
a fork. Continue to cook until the
tomatoes make a chunky style
sauce, about 4 minutes. Transfer
the tomato sauce to the bowl with
the pasta. Toss to combine. Add
the basil leaves and mozzarella.
Stir to combine. Add the reserved
pasta water, 1/4 cup at a time,
until the pasta is moist. Serve.
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Buttered Peas and Pearl Onions
=========================
1 1/2 pounds pearl
onions
1 cup chicken broth
1/4 cup (1/2 stick)
unsalted butter
3 teaspoons chopped
fresh dill
2 cups fresh sweet
peas, shelled
1/2 lemon, juiced
1 small bunch watercress,
washed and trimmed
Kosher salt and freshly
ground black pepper
Bring a large pot of salted water
to a boil. Toss in the pearl
onions and blanch for 3 minutes.
Drain them out and then shock them
in ice water to stop from over cooking.
Drain again. Pinch the pearl
onions out of their little skins
and set aside.
In a 3-quart saucepan over medium
heat, combine the chicken broth,
2 tablespoons of the butter, and
2 teaspoons of the dill. Once the
liquid gets hot, add the pearl onions
and peas. Cook and stir for
5 minutes until well coated and
thickened slightly. Add the lemon
juice, watercress, remaining butter,
and dill; season with salt
and pepper.
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Free Recipes and Cookbooks =+=-=+=-=+=-=+=-=
Sticky Buns
=========
Dough:
1 cup warm water (105F
to 115F)
4 teaspoons dry yeast
2/3 cup sugar
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted
butter, room temperature
1/2 cup dry nonfat
milk powder
1 1/4 teaspoons salt
2 large eggs
4 1/4 cups (or more)
all purpose flour
Glaze:
1 1/4 cups (packed)
golden brown sugar
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks)
unsalted butter, room temperature
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup dark corn syrup
1/4 cup water
2 cups pecan halves
4 teaspoons sugar
4 teaspoons ground
cinnamon
Make Dough: Mix 1/4 cup warm water,
yeast, and pinch of sugar in
small bowl. Let stand until foamy,
about 8 minutes. Using electric
mixer, beat remaining sugar, butter,
milk powder, and salt in large
bowl until well blended. Beat in
eggs 1 at a time. Mix in remaining
3/4 cup warm water and yeast mixture,
then 3 cups flour, 1 cup at a
time. Using rubber spatula, mix
in 1 cup flour, scraping down sides
of bowl frequently (dough will be
soft and sticky). Sprinkle 1/4 cup
flour onto work surface and knead
until smooth and elastic, adding
more flour if sticky, about 8 minutes.
Butter another large bowl. Add dough;
turn to coat. Cover bowl with
plastic wrap and let dough rise
in warm area until doubled, about
2 1/2 hours.
Make Glaze: Butter two 10-inch round
cake pans with 2-inch high
sides. Beat brown sugar, 1/2 cup
butter, honey, corn syrup, and
1/4 cup water in medium bowl to
blend. Spread half of glaze in bottom
of each prepared pan. Sprinkle 1
cup pecans over each.
Punch down dough. Divide dough in
half. Roll each dough piece out
on floured work surface to 12x9-inch
rectangle. Brush any excess
flour off dough. Spread remaining
butter over dough rectangles,
dividing equally. Mix 4 teaspoons
sugar and cinnamon in small bowl.
Sprinkle cinnamon sugar over rectangles.
Starting at 1 long side,
tightly roll up each rectangle into
log. Cut each log into 12 rounds.
Place 12 rounds, cut side down,
in each prepared pan, spacing evenly.
Cover with plastic wrap. Let buns
rise in warm area until almost
doubled, about 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 375F. Bake buns
until deep golden brown, about
30 minutes. Run small knife around
pan sides to loosen sticky buns.
Turn hot buns out onto platter.
Cool about 30 minutes and serve.
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This Week's Culinary Quiz
Answer: Bread
"Beschuiten" are a hard biscuit,
ideal for dunking in your favorite
hot drink or milk. They are also
put in yogurt for breakfast or into
minced meat to make light and fluffy
meatballs. They are a wholesome,
nutrious breakfast or snack anytime
of the day or night. Rusks were
originally prepared in South Africa
by the Dutch explorers traveling
long distances in a hot climate.
Rusks were a bread that would not
spoil as they are a round loaf,
cut into rounds, and each piece is
twice baked for its sweet crispness.
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