13-Minute Pepper Steak

I didn’t start out to set a record.  It was just that it was late, we had been out all day and we were hungry.  This is the time of year when the luxury of a leisurely cooked meal just isn’t always possible.  You need something and you need it now.  And we were both tired of frittatas.

I know some people can call for take out.  But we live too deep in the boonies for that to happen.  (The closest we’ve heard that a pizza shop will deliver is to rendezvous at a general store six miles away!)  And some people may plan better.  But at least we were well stocked and on our way home, I got my game plan together, slipped my shoes off when we got in the door, threw my coat on a chair and had dinner ready in 13 minutes! 

And it was fresh food!  The ramen noodles were the only real shortcut.  But boy, are they fast to get ready! 

This wasn’t exactly an authentic stir fry wokked by a master but it was good and fast and pretty and cheap and fresh.  The key was cutting everything thin and cooking over pretty high heat fast.  Good enough for a repeat.

The thyme in the picture?  Just for show.  (And I hung up my coat after dinner.)

13 Minute Pepper Steak

1 pound thinly cut round steak

Salt and pepper

2 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 green pepper, thinly sliced

1 red pepper, thinly sliced

1 yellow pepper, thinly sliced

1 onion, thinly sliced

2 tablespoons hoisin sauce

Two packages ramen noodle, sans seasoning packet

Start a pot of water to get boiling for the noodles while you make the beef.  Lightly salt and pepper the beef.  Cut the beef into thin strips, about ¼ inch wide and 2 inches long.  Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large skillet.  With heat on medium high, add beef and cook quickly stirring the beef constantly until beef is lightly browned.  Remove from pan.  Add the second tablespoon of oil.  Add the sliced peppers and onions and cook until softened.  Turn down heat and return beef to the pan.  In a cup, put the hoisin sauce and add enough water (about 1 tablespoon) to thin to the consistency you want and add to the beef, peppers and onions.  Put a lid on the pan and keep warm while you make the noodles. 

Breakfast for Non-Morning People: Granola Bars

There are morning people.  And there are not.  I am firmly convinced of this.  And I am not a morning person.

When people say they are morning people, do they mean that they wake up with a spring in their step, a song in their heart, and a smile on their face?  Nope, not me.

 

I can function, mind you. I might even start a load of laundry before 6 a.m., sort through mail, make the bed, do the dishes that didn’t get done the night before. In fact, I really love to do all these non-thinking type of tasks early in the morning. Gives me a great sense of accomplishment.  Anyhow, I can bark, “Whaddya mean, I’m not a morning person!?!  I did all this, didn’t I?”

But I am not sharp.  Or friendly.  Don’t ask me anything but the most basic of questions. You won’t like the response.

 

It took all I had to control my morning-ness when people had to get to school and work, dressed and on time.

But now that I don’t have children at home, or a regular job, it’s a lot easier to manage the morning.  It’s now become my best computer time.  With a cup of coffee (definitely coffee – tea won’t do) and maybe a little breakfast.

That’s the trouble with us non-morning people. We really don’t do breakfast.  And we should.  Might make us more pleasant.  So I’ve been giving granola bars a try.  Homemade ones.  And, you know?  They’re very good.    They’re not exactly cheap to make, but they’re very good.  And they put a smile on my face, if not a spring in my step.

I didn’t have wheat germ the first time I made these.  Instead I ground some Grape Nuts in the food processor. Good substitution.   And I didn’t have dried apricots.  That’s okay.  These have plenty of good stuff in them.

(By the way, I didn’t make these in the morning.) 

   

Homemade Granola Bars

from Ina Garten’s Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics

2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal

1 cup sliced almonds

1 cup shredded coconut, loosely packed

½ cup wheat germ

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

2/3 cup honey

¼ cup light brown sugar, lightly packed

1 ½ teaspoons vanilla extract

¼ teaspoon kosher salt

½ cup chopped pitted dates

½ cup dried apricots

½ cup dried cranberries

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Butter an 8 by 12-inch baking dish and line in with parchment paper.

Toss the oatmeal, almonds, and coconut together on a sheet pan and bake for 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until lightly browned.  Transfer this mixture to a large mixing bowl and stir in the wheat germ.

Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees F.

Place the butter, honey, brown sugar, vanilla, and salt in a small saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat.  Cook and stir for a minute, then pour over the toasted oatmeal mixture.  Add the dates, apricots and cranberries and stir well.

Pour the mixture into the prepared pan.  Wet your fingers and lightly press the mixture evenly into the pan.  Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until light golden brown.  Cool for at least 2 to 3 hours before cutting into squares.  Serve at room temperature.

Makes about 12 to 16 bars.

Make Limoncello for Christmas Gifting

If you got right on it this weekend, you could easily be giving away beautiful bottles of your own homemade limoncello for Christmas.  It’s really very simple and only takes about a half-hour or so hands-on time. It's just the steeping that takes time.   The only hard part is planning far enough ahead to allow that steeping.  And, like I said, if you start this weekend . . . .

I made some a few years ago in preparing for a big summer blast we hosted.  (It was so big, we haven’t had one since!) That same year, I also made mojitos.  Must have been when they first came into vogue.  Trouble was that both those drinks are really best when it’s hot and you need a really refreshing, cool beverage.  Wouldn’t you know it was blowing rain and 45 degrees the day of our soiree?  That’s probably the real reason we haven’t had a bash in a while!  So . . . although the mojitos still went, I had lots of limoncello left.  But I didn’t complain; I like it a lot.  It’s great on its own or mixed with club soda, or spiking up some lemonade.  I haven’t tried it on ice cream, but I hear that’s good, too.

My sister made up this batch.  It’s on its last leg of mellowing and will be ready to decant into pretty bottles for holiday gifting.

After helping her finish the concocting, I figured out why mine didn’t sell so swell – and I can’t blame it on the weather.  This batch was nice and clear and I recall my first batch was a bit cloudy.  Her recipe clearly cautioned to make sure you let the simple syrup cool to room temperature before adding in the second step.  If you add the syrup while it’s still warm, you’ll get a cloudy mixture.  (Now they tell me!)

The person who submitted this recipe to food.com -- (McMysteryShopper) -- in 2006 said the secret to this particular version was the addition of the zest of one lime.  The contributor also stressed removing the zest only; if you use a peeler and any white pith remains, get rid of it.

So order yourself some pretty bottles online this weekend and you’ll be ready to share some very festive and warming homemade gifts.  Italian or not, they'll love it.

Limoncello

from food.com

The zest of 12 lemons

The zest of 1 lime

2 (750 ml) bottles 100% proof vodka, divided

2 cups water

2 cups granulated sugar.

Place the lemon and lime zest in a large jar with a screw-top lid and cover with one bottle of vodka.  Leave mixture to mellow for 2 weeks in a dark place.

After mixture sets, combine sugar and water in a small saucepan, bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring frequently, until the sugar has dissolved.  Allow the syrup to cool to room temperature.  (This is very important.  If the sugar syrup is still warm the limoncello will become cloudy instead of clear.)

Using a coffee filter or a fine sieve, strain the vodka from the zest and mix it with the remaining bottle of vodka and the syrup.  Pour the liqueur in bottle, seal tightly and let mellow in a dark place for at least 10 days before using – or gift giving.

For drinking straight, store the limoncello in the freezer.

To Brine or Not to Brine Thine Turkey: The Verdict

If you're still undecided about what to make for Thanksgiving dinner, then shame on you! Whether you're just looking for the very best way to make your family's tried-and-true or you want a brand new dish to spice up tradition a little, there is absolutely no shortage of ideas and possibilities out there, be it from magazines, television, cookbooks or the thousands of food blogs and food sites that are tempting us! I don't think I've ever seen so many good things to choose from.as I have these past few weeks. It's overwhelming!


Pumpkin, squash, Brussels sprouts, beans, cranberries, sweet potatoes, veggies and desserts galore!


And then there are the turkey debates!  Who knew there could be so many -- and varied -- opinions about the best way to cook a turkey!  (Let's not even talk about turkey alternatives. (Are folks really still intrigued by tofurky?)


Roast at a  high temp.  No, go slow, Stuff, don't stuff. Breast up, breast down. Baste a lot, don't baste at all. Try deep frying.  Put it on the grill.  Yikes!  Have to admit, I have tried a few experiments that veered from the good ol' fashioned way my mom taught me:  "Stuff the bird, put it in a 325 F. oven for four to five hours, baste every half-hour or so, tent it with foil when it gets too brown.  It's done when the leg moves easily from the body.  Let it rest while you make the gravy.  Don't forget the giblets."


And none of them really made a whole lot of difference until I tried brining.  Soaking the bird in a salt/sugar solution for a day really does guarantee moist meat throughout.  It just means planning further ahead, making sure you have either the fridge space to keep it cool, or a big enough cooler, and plenty of muscles to hoist that baby around.  But it is a bit of extra effort.  But Thanksgiving is just once a year after all.

I'm not hosting the big feast this year and, because I'm a bit selfish, I wanted to be sure Mr. Rosemary and I had turkey sandwiches next weekend.  And, of course, I'm a cook who enjoys experimenting.  So I set myself to brining.  I had brined a chicken once before -- with great results.  Now it was the turkey's turn.


After all the reading I did, I turned to two trusted blogs:  Dara from Cookin' Canuck and Linda from Ciao Chow Linda.  Both provided excellent blow-by-blow instructions.  I used Linda's brine and Dara's roasting how-to.


And we had one great turkey.  Moist and tender meat throughout, even all the white meat.  Nice mahogany glaze.  A success.  It was a 22 pounder (all for Mr. Rosemary and me!) so I made several freezer packs of meat and a few containers of stock.  It's comforting to know the freezer's well-stocked.


The verdict?  Brine! I have to admit brining assures a moist bird.  I'm not sure Mom would agree it was worth the extra work, but I bet she would have liked it.  


So . . . .  how are you cooking a turkey this year?  

*********************************************************************************

Turkey Brine
from Ciao Chow Linda
1 cup kosher salt
1/2 cup sugar
1 gallon water
2 T. black peppercorns
1 T. allspice berries
1 onion, sliced
1 large bunch sage
6 bay leaves
ice cubes


The day before (or night before) you want to cook the turkey:  Using a 5-gallon bucket, line it with a plastic bag. Put the salt, sugar, onion, herbs and spices in a pot on the range with only two cups of water taken from the one gallon of water called for in the recipe. Bring to a boil and stir everything to blend the flavors. Remove from the heat and add some ice cubes to cool it off, plus about half of the remaining water. Put the thawed turkey in the plastic bag in the bucket and add the water and herb mixture. If the bucket needs more water to cover the turkey, add it now.


Here's how Linda keeps the turkey (I kept mine in a covered cooler, well-iced in the garage):  Since I can't fit the bucket into my refrigerator, I always place it outdoors on the deck, adding ice cubes to the water to make sure it stays cool. It's never been a problem here in New Jersey in late November, and sometimes it's gotten so cold that the top layer of water has frozen.  I don't want to take any risks though, so I always add the ice cubes. Twist the top of the bag and secure it closed. To keep squirrels or birds from pecking into the bag during the night or before it goes into the oven, place a flat baking pan on the top and weigh it down with something heavy. Let it sit overnight and soak.


The next day, drain the turkey from the liquid before roasting.  Pat dry, then place your hand between the skin and the breast meat and spread some butter inside with some sage leaves. Alternately, make an herb butter, mixing some softened butter with minced sage, rosemary or other herbs.


Roasted Turkey with Herb Butter

From the kitchen of Cookin Canuck. Adapted from Bon Appetit Magazine

3/4 cup butter, softened

3 tbsp chopped fresh parsley

2 tbsp chopped fresh sage

2 tbsp chopped fresh thyme

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper

1 15-to-16 pound turkey

Salt and pepper to season cavity

1 1/4 lb. shallots, peeled and cut in half through the root

1 carrot, unpeeled

1 large celery stalk, cut in half crosswise

1 medium onion, peeled and quartered

3 cups (approximately) chicken broth

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.In a medium-sized bowl, mix together softened butter, sage, thyme and parsley until well combined.

Remove the neck and other innards from the turkey cavity. Season the cavity with salt and pepper. Place the carrot, celery and onion quarters into the cavity of the turkey.Tie the turkey legs together and tuck the wings underneath the turkey, using small skewers to secure, if necessary.

Starting at the neck end, slide your hands under the breast skin to loosen. Smear 3 tablespoons of the herb butter underneath the breast skin. Smear another 4 tablespoons of the herb butter over the entire topside of the turkey.

Place the turkey in the roasting pan, breast side up. Scatter the shallots around the turkey, on the bottom of the roasting pan.Cover the breasts with foil and place the turkey in the oven. Roast the turkey for 2 hours, basting it with 1/2 cup chicken broth every 30 minutes.

Remove the foil from the breast. If you find that the legs are browning too much, cover each drumstick with foil. Roast the turkey until a thermometer inserted in the deepest part of the thigh (be sure not to hit the bone) registers 170 degrees F, basting every 30 minutes with the pan drippings, about 1 hour total.

Remove the turkey from the oven, transfer it to a platter, tent with foil and let rest for 20 minutes before carving. Remove the carrot, celery and onion from the cavity and discard. Remove the shallots from the pan and serve with the gravy. Use the remaining brown bits on the bottom of the pan and the remaining herb butter to make the gravy.

"Little Old Ladies" and Pigs-in-a-Blanket

You can learn a lot from little old ladies; not so much from pigs in blankets. But they have a lot in common. They’re both comfortable and comforting. They’re old school with lots of staying power.  No-frills but classic. And they’re retro fashionable.

"Pigs-in-a-blanket" is the name we always gave stuffed cabbage, or cabbage rolls, while I was growing up. We never had these at home, mind you. It was only at the homes of more ethnic-inspired cooks that I had what I now know are properly called halupki, if you’re Slovakian, or golubki, if you’re Polish. All I remember is the wonderfully homey aroma they dispersed and my mental picture of the mama at one end of the table, papa at the other. And us polite kids, hands washed, grace offered, who said, “Yes, please,” as the mashed potatoes were passed. And “May I please be excused?” before running off to play again, but not before taking our plates to the kitchen. (I sound like I grew up in a “Father Knows Best” TV show or a Norman Rockwell painting!)

Dishes like this -- meatloaf, lasagna, pot roast – have hundreds of variations, don’t they? But, I have to admit, while I’ve made many of my own various versions of those classics, I never made stuffed cabbage. And it’s a western Pennsylvania tradition! I was inspired to make this thanks to a review copy of Little Old Lady Recipes I received courtesy of Quirk Books. The book’s subtitle is: “Comfort Food and Kitchen Wisdom.” And it delivers on that promise.

 Every single recipe is something familiar and comforting. Some are hardly recipes at all, like, “Oatmeal.” Or “Cinnamon Toast.” And then there are slightly more complex things like pierogies, goulash, chicken and dumplings, oatmeal raisin dropper, pound cake and gingerbread.

But nothing is fancy. And that’s what author and comedian Meg Favreau wants to share: “What the heck happened to food?” she queries at the start. The book is a tribute to all the simple, good and sassy women who have influenced our cooking over the years. Ms. Favreau says: “It’s time to get back to the comforting foods that made family dinners good. We should be following the advice of women who made those meals and alternated between doting mothers, and tough-as-nails disciplinarians, ladies who worked, raised families, hosted great parties and made the best out of the worst.”

It’s simply a delightful little book. Small in scale but big on kitchen wisdom. There are very few photographs of food in the book. The focus is on “the little old ladies” that Ms. Favreau found and photographer Michael Reali framed. These are real women, with real pearls to share. Take a listen:

“Never taste from the mixing bowl. Or at least, don’t let anybody catch you.” 

Amelia, horse trainer, 88 

“Everyone’s afraid of lard now. 

 But it’s not what you eat; it’s how you work after you eat it.” 

Eleanor, farmer, 92 

“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.” Thelma, homemaker, 88 

“Condiments are used to hide bad food.” Loretta, nurse, 89 

There are lots more like that. And lots of good food and common sense, simple cooking. Although I didn’t follow the recipe in the book, I’m sure it would be “little old lady” approved. The recipe actually comes from Rachel Rapport’s first cookbook, Everything Healthy Slow Cooker Cookbook. You may recognize Rachel as author of the blog Coconut and Lime. 

Stuffed Cabbage 

from Everything Healthy Slow Cooker Cookbook

by Rachel Rappaport 

Water, as needed

1 large head cabbage

1 teaspoon butter

½ cup sliced onions

28 ounce canned whole tomatoes in puree

½ cup minced onions

1 egg

1 ½ cups cooked long grain rice

½ tablespoon garlic powder

½ tablespoon paprika 

1  pound 94% lean ground beef 

Bring a large pot of water to boil, enough water to sit below a steamer basket. Prepare the cabbage: Using a long knife, make 4 or 5 cuts around the core of the cabbage and remove the core. Discard the core and 2 layers of the outer leaves.

Peel off 6-8 large whole leaves. Place the leaves in the steamer basket and allow to steam over the boiling water for about 7 minutes. Remove the leaves with tongs and allow them to cool long enough to handle. Dice the remaining cabbage.

  

In a non-stick skillet, melt the butter. Add sliced onions and diced cabbage and sauté until the onions are soft. Add tomatoes and break them up with the back of a spoon, Simmer about 10 to 15 minutes. 

Ladle one-third of the sauce over the bottom of a 4-quart oval slow cooker. Mix the minced onions, egg, rice, spices and beef in a medium sized bowl. Stir to distribute the ingredients evenly. On a clean work area, place a cabbage leaf with the open-side up and the stem facing you. Place about ¼ cup filling on the leaf toward the stem. Fold the side together and then pull the top down to form a packet. It should look like a burrito. Do the same with the rest of the leaves. 

Arrange the cabbage rolls, seam side down in a single layer in the slow cooker. Ladle about half the remaining sauce over the rolls, lay another layer and cover with the remainder of the sauce. Cover and cook on low for up to 10 hours.

Good for You Pistachio Baked Salmon

I don’t think I tasted any fish until I was in my twenties.  I don’t think Friday nights eating deep fried no-name fish count.  (As my friend Peg so logically asks, “Can’t you eat fish other nights, too!?!”)   The frozen Mrs. Paul’s fillets don’t count either.  And as much as I love shellfish, and have since I was a kid, shrimp is an ineligible competitor.

But when I first tasted salmon, I was sold from the get-go.  It was meaty, had texture, this wonderful pink color and it didn’t smell – or taste  -- fishy.  And now I know that not only is it good, it’s really good for you.  Full of those wonderful Omega-3 rich fatty acids that form a shield against heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease and a host of cancers.  “Modest amounts” the experts say, 2 to 3 times a week.  

And then there are pistachios.  More sturdy soldiers to protect me.  Although all nuts aren’t exactly stingy on the calorie end, they’re great disease armor, too.  “A handful of pistachio nuts a day can help destroy bad cholesterol, ward off heart disease and prevent cancer,” according to a Penn State study.

That’s a double whammy!  The fact that they’re two of my favorite foods made this recipe easy to swallow and easy for me to tell Mr. Rosemary, “But honey, it’s healthy!!” (Well, except for the little bit of sugar.)

And it’s easy to prepare, except for the fact that I had to shell all the nuts, and broke a nail in the process.  The only thing to be careful about is to not overcook the salmon.  It’s easy to do, especially when you’re dealing with the thin pieces I’m able to get.  Unless I make a special trip to the “big city” I need to rely on frozen fish here and salmon, since it’s a firm fish, holds up to freezing really well.  For me it’s a workhorse and I’m glad it’s working hard for me in return, keeping me healthy. 

Pistachio Baked Salmon

slightly adapted from Better Homes and Gardens

1 cup salted dry roasted pistachio nuts, chopped

½ cup brown sugar, packed

3 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

1 teaspoon dried dillweed

1 teaspoon coarsely ground black pepper

½ teaspoon dried red pepper flakes

6 6-ounce (each) skinless salmon fillets

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.  In a small bowl combine pistachio nuts, brown sugar, lemon juice, dillweed, black pepper and red pepper flakes.  Set aside for a minute.

Line a baking pan with foil, spray it with vegetable and place the salmon on it.  Spoon mixture onto salmon pieces and press lightly to form a crust.

Bake for 4 to 6 minutes, depending on how thick your pieces are. 

Makes 6 servings.   About 390 calories each.

At Long Last -- Chicken Tortilla Soup

I may be the last person on earth to make chicken tortilla soup, let alone eat it.  But it was worth the wait.  (Even though I wish someone would have told me before now just how good it is.  I’ve wasted a lot of time here.)

 

When I announced that we were going to have chicken tortilla soup, our son-in-law said something like, “Oh, we just had that at such-and-such."  And "Didn’t we just make that at home last week, hon?” 

  

And silly me thought this would be novel. For me it was a tad novel because I often just build a soup with what I have on hand.This time I followed a recipe, The Pioneer Woman's.  Almost to the letter! That definitely makes it novel.  

The reason I made this soup – like the reason I make a lot of things – was not so much based on a grand plan or my weekly menu.  Nope.  It was just because I had a couple fresh jalapenos on hand.  From little jalapenos, great soups grow.

I veered off the printed recipe path only twice:  by using the two measly jalapenos I had in the fridge and by using flour instead of corn tortillas.  No, wait.  I veered three times.  I also didn't cook a chicken; I used rotisserie chicken from the supermarket. Next time I will use the corn tortillas. More authentic. And . . . I'd be following the recipe!

I didn’t realize – although I certainly should have – that the tortillas, when cut into skinny strips, would behave just like fettuccine noodles. Sometimes it doesn’t take much to amuse me.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

slightly adapted from The Pioneer Woman

3 cups cooked chicken, shredded

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 cup diced onion

¼ cup diced red pepper

¼ cup diced green pepper

2 jalapenos, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon cumin

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 can (10 ounce) Rotel tomatoes and green chilies

32 ounces low sodium chicken broth

3 tablespoons tomato paste

4 cups hot water

2 cans (15 ounce) black beans, drained and rinsed

3 tablespoons cornmeal

5 whole tortillas (flour or corn) cut into uniform strips, about 2 inches long 

  

Heat olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.  Add onions, red and green peppers, jalapenos and minced garlic.  Stir and begin cooking, then add cumin and chili powder. Stir to combine and add the shredded chicken.  Stir again.

Add Rotel, chicken broth, tomato paste, water and beans.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to simmer.  Simmer for 45 minutes, uncovered. 

Mix cornmeal with a small amount of water to make a paste and add to the soup.  Simmer for another 30 minutes. Check seasoning, adding more chili powder if needed.  Turn off heat and allow to sit for 15 to 20 minutes.  Five minutes before serving gently stir in the tortilla strips.

Garnish with any or all of the following:  sour cream, shredded cheese, diced red onion, chopped scallions, cilantro, avocado.