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Recipes from Bluesbaby

Have you ever found a great recipe online and then later when you wanted it, you just couldn't remember where it was located? This is my method of hanging on to our family recipes and others too good to lose. You may have to scroll all the way down for the archives and link sections.

Monday, September 27, 2010

Not Cooking Much

So my situation is such that I am not really cooking much. That's a huge change for me so I don't know what to say in my blog. I'm still eating well but I have only made a few things recently, mostly salads, bacon spaghetti, and sandwiches. I do miss it a little but its not my kitchen.

After the Farmer's Market I did make a salad from several kinds of peppers: red, green, and purple, red onion, several varieties of tomatoes in vinigarette, and sprinkled with salt, coarse ground black pepper, and cotija cheese which is a strong salty cheese like feta. It was really good and of course, the end of it went to work with me to be added to a container of lettuce I brought separate.

The majority of lunches are left overs and man can Nancy cook! In between I have peanut butter sandwiches for breakfast or cheerios. Glad she is not making me breakfasts too or I would be 300 pounds in no time. Anyway the cooking blog may have some gaps here and there but now you know why.

Sunday, September 26, 2010

Herb Roasted Butterfiled Chicken

Tonight we are having this, losely based on this NY Times Recipe - no lemon, no rosemary and we mixed oil and spices with some sliced potatoes and added them to the pan on a rack.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/30/magazine/30food-t-001.html
Butterflied Chicken With Cracked Spices

By PETE WELLS
Published: May 26, 2010

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 teaspoons fennel seed

1 teaspoon coriander seed

1/2 teaspoon black peppercorns

1/4 teaspoon cumin seed

2 teaspoons coarse sea salt

1/2 teaspoon hot paprika or pimentón

Lemon halves or fat wedges.

1. Light a grill or set your broiler on high and give it a 15-minute head start. Cut out the chicken’s backbone with poultry shears, a cleaver or a sharp, heavy chef’s knife. (If you think you will make stock at some point, by all means tightly wrap the backbone in plastic and put it in the freezer.)

Place the chicken skin side up in a roasting pan and press firmly on the breast with the heels of your hands until it cracks and flattens. Position the legs so they lie flat and the drumsticks point out. Tuck the wingtips over the tops of the wings to hold them in place, or cut them off. Rub the bird with the oil. (Don’t worry about any extra oil that may fall onto the pan.) Now wash your hands.

2. Coarsely grind the fennel, coriander, peppercorns and cumin with a mortar and pestle or with 8 or 9 pulses in a spice grinder. Mix in the salt and paprika or pimentón and sprinkle this rub on both sides of the bird, with the emphasis on the skin.

3. Set the chicken skin side down on a grill or skin side up on a broiler rack positioned so the highest point of the bird is 5 or 6 inches from the flame. When the skin begins to brown after 6 or 7 minutes, flip the chicken over. (The easiest way is to grab the knobby ends of both drumsticks with several layers of paper towels if you are in the kitchen, or with clean oven mitts if you are grilling.)

After about 10 minutes, when the bony side is browned, lower the heat to medium-high, flip the chicken again and cook another 10 minutes, or until the skin is very crisp and brown and the thickest part of the thigh reaches 165 degrees when checked with a meat thermometer.

Let it rest about 5 minutes before carving. (If you are grilling, set it on a platter.) Spoon over any juices that have collected in the broiler pan or the platter.

Serve with lemon. In springtime, try to serve this with tender young bitter greens — like arugula, watercress or baby dandelions — tossed in a sharp vinaigrette. Serves 3 to 4.
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This sounds great too but is more work and takes 18-24 hours depending on if its lunch or dinner

http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/312785

America's Test Kitchen roast chicken - the best! (long)
On a recent episode of ATK I watched their revised technique for high-temperature roasted chicken with pan-roasted potatoes. Don't leave the potatoes out, their purpose is to soak up the chicken fat so you don't smoke up the kitchen.

The link is here (requires registration):
http://americastestkitchen.com/recipe...

If you're not a member, here's my paraphrased version, with my variations below it.

Ingredients:
1 roasting chicken, 3.5-4 lbs
1 cup kosher salt or 1/2 cup table salt
1/2 cup sugar
1.5 Ts olive oil

2.5 pounds roasting potatoes, russets or Yukon Golds
3/4 ts salt
ground black pepper
1 Tb olive oil

Compound butter:
2 Tb butter
1 clove garlic, mashed
1 Tb dijon mustard
1 ts minced fresh thyme
ground black pepper

Brine chicken in solution of 1 cup kosher salt (or 1/2 cup table salt) and 1/2 cup sugar to 1/2 gallon water for 1 hour.

Pat chicken dry. Cut out backbone (their website has illustrations) to butterfly chicken. Flatten breastbone (just push down firmly).

Mix up compound butter - the website has some other compound butter recipes. With your fingers, loosen skin across breast and as far down drumsticks as you can, do not tear skin. Spoon butter under skin and work across as much of the chicken as possible. Rub 1.5 Ts olive oil over chicken.

Slice potatoes 1/8" to 1/4" inch thickness. Salt and pepper lightly, toss with 1 Tb oil.

Line bottom of grilling pan with heavy-duty aluminium foil. Spread potato slices across pan evenly.

Place grilling rack over potatoes. Arrange butterflied chicken on top, folding drumsticks inward so they cover part of the breast. Roast at 500 degrees for 20 minutes, turn pan around, roast for another 20 minutes or until internal temperature in breast is 160.

Remove from oven and allow to cool slightly. Take grilling rack off, pat potatoes which will have a fair amount of oil on them. Potatoes may stick to foil, peel as much off as possible. Cut chicken up and serve with potatoes. That's it.

I made this over the weekend and it is absolutely the best roast chicken I've ever tasted. It may be heresy on this board, but it beat the Zuni chicken by a mile. The skin is crispy, meat is juicy and loaded with flavor. The potatoes are simply fabulous, roasted in butter and chicken fat and juice how could they not be? Choosing between the potatoes and Zuni's bread salad is a toss-up. I'm thinking of ways to do this with bread as well.

My variations:
I brined for about 6 hours, after putting the butter under the chicken skin, I put the chicken in the fridge overnight.

I zested a lemon and used this instead of the garlic/thyme in the compound butter. In the TV episode they used 4 oz of butter so I did the same.

I took the chicken out at 150 degrees because I loathe dried-out meat. This reduced my roasting time to about 30 minutes, not 40. Because of this the potatoes weren't as crisp as they should have been - I think I'll let them cook a few minutes longer next time.

Last note: We had leftover chicken last night. It's so hot I didn't want to turn on the oven but I wanted the crispiness of the chicken skin. So we used our blowtorch to char the skin, it did an excellent job of recrisping it and improved the flavor by adding a bit of smokiness. Altogether this is a WINNAH!

Friday, September 17, 2010

Easy as Pie in a Slow Cooker - Crockpot

From http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/903/Pie-In-A-Crockpot137128.shtml
This recipe is ready in 2-5 hrs


Serves/Makes: 10


Ingredients:
1 can (21 oz. size) cherry pie filling
1 package yellow cake mix
1/2 cup butter melted
1/3 cup chopped walnuts, optional

Directions:

Add the pie filling to the bottom of the crockpot.

With a fork, mix the melted butter and the cake mix until crumbly. Sprinkle over top of the cherry filling. Add nuts to top if desired.

Cover and cook on Low 2-3 hours.

Tuesday, September 07, 2010

Mediterranean Tomato Salad

This easy to prepare Mediterranean-style salad complements almost any meal.
Mediterranean Tomato Salad Prep and Cook Time: 5 minutes

From: http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?tname=recipe&dbid=259&utm

Ingredients:

* 2 large ripe tomatoes, chopped into large pieces
* 1 medium red onion, sliced thin
* 2 cloves garlic, minced
* 1 TBS lemon juice or vinegar
* 3 TBS extra virgin olive oil
* 10 fresh basil leaves, torn into small pieces
* Sea salt and pepper to taste
* Optional:
* 1/2 cup mozzarella cheese
* 6 olives, chopped
* 2 tsp capers
* anchovies (use how much ever suits your palate)

Directions:

1. Slice onions and mince garlic and let sit for 5 minutes to bring out their health-promoting benefits.
2. Combine and toss all ingredients. Add salt and pepper to taste.

Serves 2

Monday, September 06, 2010

Pineapple Cobbler

From http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1875733
Yield: 8 Servings
Cost per Serving: $0.46

Ingredients
1 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch of salt
1 cup sugar
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 stick (1/4 lb.) unsalted butter, melted
1 (20 oz.) can pineapple chunks in juice, drained

Preparation
Preheat oven to 375°F. In a bowl, mix flour, salt, sugar, baking powder, milk and vanilla extract; stir until mixture forms a smooth batter. Gently stir in butter.

Spread batter evenly in a 9-by-13-inch baking dish (it will be a very thin layer) and scatter pineapple chunks evenly over batter.

Bake until pineapple has fallen to bottom of pan and top is puffed and golden brown and springs back slightly when touched in middle, 25 minutes. Cool cobbler slightly and then serve warm with vanilla ice cream or whipped cream, if desired.

Nutritional Information
Calories: 314
Fat: 12g (sat 8g)
Protein: 3g
Carbohydrate:50g
Fiber: 1g
Cholesterol: 33mg
Sodium: 231mg
All You, SEPTEMBER 2007

Sunday, September 05, 2010

S'mores Nachos

From http://www.tablespoon.com/recipes/smores-nachos-recipe/1/

8 rectangular graham crackers
3/4 cup milk chocolate chips
1 1/2 cups miniature marshmallows


1 Break each graham cracker into 4 pieces. Pile pieces in ungreased pie pan. DO NOT USE GLASS. Top with chocolate chips and marshmallows.
2 Broil 6 inches from heat for 30 to 60 seconds or until marshmallows are puffed and golden, watching to prevent burning.

If using glass make in the microwave use grahm crackers for dipping.

Pinwheels

Italian Pinwheels

2 oz. (1/2 cup) shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 cup sliced pepperoni, finely chopped
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano leaves
1 egg yolk
1 (8-oz.) can Pillsbury® Refrigerated Crescent Dinner Rolls
1 egg white, beaten


1 Heat oven to 375°F. In small bowl, combine cheese, pepperoni, oregano and egg yolk; mix well.

2 Separate dough into 4 rectangles. Firmly press perforations to seal. Spread each rectangle with about 3 tablespoons pepperoni mixture.

3 Starting at shortest side, roll up each rectangle; pinch edges to seal. Cut each roll into 6 slices. Place, cut side down, 1 inch apart on ungreased cookie sheet. Brush with beaten egg white.

4 Bake at 375°F. for 12 to 15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm.

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Mediterranean Pinwheels

1 (8-oz.) can Pillsbury® Refrigerated Crescent Dinner Rolls
1/2 lb. prosciutto or cooked ham, thinly sliced
4 oz. (1 cup) crumbled feta cheese
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil
6 tablespoons chopped fresh basil


1 Heat oven to 375°F. Spray cookie sheets with nonstick cooking spray. Separate dough into 4 rectangles; place on lightly floured surface. Firmly press perforations to seal. Press or roll each to form 8x5-inch rectangle.

2 Arrange 1/4 of prosciutto slices evenly over each rectangle. In small bowl, combine cheese, pepper and oil; mix well. Sprinkle mixture evenly over prosciutto on each rectangle. Sprinkle with basil.

3 Starting at short side of each rectangle, roll up; seal long edges. With serrated knife, cut each roll into 5 slices. Place, cut side up, on sprayed cookie sheets.

4 Bake at 375°F. for 15 to 20 minutes or until golden brown. Remove from cookie sheets. Serve warm.

Friday, September 03, 2010

Pastatta

They call it Pastatta but I say its awesome! The recipe and pics are here:
http://www.thefoodinmybeard.com/2008/12/pasttata.html

I gotta try this soon but right now its time to go play with the fresh fruit in my kitchen. If you scroll down they have some neat ideas for using hash browns to make a quiche.

Thursday, September 02, 2010

Saurkraut salad

take 1 bag or 1 jar of saurkraut and rinse all the dressing off it
If you don't have saurkraut, you can use shredded cabbage.
add
1 cup of chopped carrots
1 cup diced bell pepper (red, orange or yellow is pretty)
1 cup diced purple onion
1 cup diced celery
Mix together in a large bowl.

In a sauce pan bring together
1/2 cup vinegar
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup oil

Bring to a boil and remove from heat. Pour over veggie mixture and put in fridge to cool. Serve chilled.

Wednesday, September 01, 2010

Making Infused Liquor

Infusing
http://www.tablespoon.com/recipe-blog/2010/08/16/how-to-infuse-vodka/

http://www.infused-vodka.com/vodkainfusionstep-by-step.aspx

http://mixthatdrink.com/skittles-vodka-tutorial/

http://buildmakecraftbake.com/2009/02/diy-infused-vodka-update-and-recipes.html

Lots of flavors here
http://www.sfbg.com/38/08/x_bottle_rockets.html

Blueberry Vodka
From http://chowhound.chow.com/topics/307139
Put the blueberries in a jar, filling it. Add 1 teaspoon of lemon juice. The acid keeps the flavors and colors bright and fresh and won't add any discernable flavor. Gently mash the blueberries just enough to pop every berry. Fill the jar to the top with vodka and seal. Store and age for one month in a cool dark place, gently shaking the jar every few days. Filter through paper towels or coffee filters. Use in cocktails right away or for sipping let it age another 2 weeks to smooth out.

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