Spaghetti and Meatballs

Meatballs:

* 1 pound ground beef
* 1/2 medium onion, finely chopped
* 5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
* 2 tbs. olive oil
* ½ cup of bread crumbs
* ½ cup of grated Parmigiano-Reggiano
* 2 large eggs
* ½ tsp of oregano
* ½ tsp of basil
* 1 ½ tsp of salt

Cook onions and garlic in olive oil over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes stirring occasionally.

Preheat oven to 400°.

In a large bowl, add the onion/garlic mixture and all the other ingredients. Incorporate everything by hand until well mixed. Firmly form 2”meatballs by hand.

Prepare a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Heat olive oil in a skillet on medium-high heat. Brown meatballs and place on baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes in the oven.

Tomato Sauce

Prepare Tomato sauce while meatballs are baking:

* 1 (28-ounce) can diced tomatoes
* 1 medium onions, finely chopped
* 6 garlic cloves, finely chopped
* 1 tbs. of basil
* 1 tsp of salt
* 1 tsp black pepper
* 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
* 1 cup of finely chopped parsley.

Cook onions and garlic in oil in a pot over medium heat until softened, about 5 minutes stirring occasionally. Stir in tomatoes with juice reserved in a separate bowl. Simmer sauce, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until slightly thickened for 10 minutes. Add salt, pepper, oregano, basil, and half of the reserved liquid until sauce reduces for 5 minutes. *Add parsley at the end for garnish.

Putting it all together:

Cook a 1 lb box of spaghetti to al dente, drain, and plate it. Place a few spoonfuls of sauce on top of the noodles followed by a couple tablespoons of parsley and grated cheese. Place a meatball on top and serve.

Falafel and Tazikki

FALAFEL:

• 1 (15 ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup fresh parsley
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 egg
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 dash pepper
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon olive oil (I only used a tsp)
  
• 1 cup dry bread crumbs

1. Preheat oven to 425.
   
2. In a large bowl mash chickpeas until thick and pasty; don't use a blender, as the consistency will be too thin. In a blender, process onion, parsley and garlic until smooth. Stir into mashed chickpeas.
3. In a small bowl combine egg, cumin, coriander, salt, pepper, cayenne, lemon juice and baking powder. Stir into chickpea mixture along with olive oil. Slowly add bread crumbs until mixture is not sticky but will hold together; add more or less bread crumbs, as needed. Form 8 balls and then flatten into patties.
4. Spray oil a baking sheet. Place patties on sheet and bake on the bottom rack about 25 minutes flipping once.
5. Serve in pitas with tzatziki sauce or hummus.

TZATZIKI SAUCE

• 1 (6 ounce) container plain yogurt
• 1/2 cucumber - peeled, seeded, and finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon dried dill weed
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 tablespoon mayonnaise

Combine all ingredients and chill for 30 minutes. We added a little extra dill and some lemon juice!

Frances' Bistro Roast Chicken

Frances "I make this on a regular basis. The prep is quick even though the cooking time is long. Sometimes I put this on time bake at 400 for 1 hour 15 min. Serve the roasted heads of garlic on the side. Squeeze out the pulp and use it as a spread on baguette slices or as a condiment for the chicken. You can omit the garlic if you want. Makes 2 servings."

Ingredients

2 chicken leg quarters (about 1 1/2 pounds)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon dried basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon chopped fresh or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary, crushed
2 teaspoons olive oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 whole garlic heads
Preparation
Preheat oven to 375°.

Rinse chicken with cold water; pat dry. Trim excess fat. Loosen skin from thigh and leg by inserting fingers, gently pushing between skin and meat. Combine basil and next 5 ingredients (basil through pepper). Rub herb mixture under loosened skin. Place chicken on a broiler pan. Insert meat thermometer into meaty part of thigh, making sure not to touch bone.

Remove white papery skin from garlic heads (do not peel or separate the cloves). Wrap each head separately in foil; place on broiler pan with chicken. Bake at 375° for 45 minutes. Increase oven temperature to 450° (do not remove chicken from oven). Bake 30 minutes or until thermometer registers 180°. Cover chicken loosely with foil; let stand 10 minutes. Discard skin.

An Argument For Cast Iron

Cast Iron

Oatmeal Peanut Butter cookies

Oatmeal Peanut Butter cookies

Ingredients:
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup quick cooking oats
3 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1/2 cup smooth peanut butter
2 1/2 tablespoons heavy whipping cream
Directions:
1. In a large bowl, cream together 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup peanut butter, white sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla. Add egg and beat well.
2. In another bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add these dry ingredients to the creamed mixture. Stir. Add oatmeal and stir.
3. Using a cookie scoop, make uniform cookie dough balls and then cut them in half down the center. Roll each half into a ball and place them onto a greased baking sheet pressing each mound down with the palm of your hand to 1/4 inch thick cookies. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 10 minutes, or until cookies are a light brown.
4. To Make Filling: Cream 3 tablespoons butter with the confectioners’ sugar, 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter, and the cream. Fill the filling into a pastry bag or large ziplock bag (cutting the corner to make a make-shift pastry bag) and squeeze filling onto half of the cooled cookies, then top with the other half to form sandwiches. Enjoy!

Blueberry Muffins

Blueberry Muffins

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups fresh blueberries (you can use frozen, just make sure that you dry them as best you can)
1 stick (8 tablespoons) butter, room temperature
1 cup granulated sugar
zest of 1 lemon
2 large eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk
1-2 tablespoons turbinado sugar for sprinkling (optional, but you should invest in some because it makes everything just that much better!)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper muffin cups and spray with Pam.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.
3. In another bowl, toss the blueberries with about 1 tablespoon of the flour mixture. This will help them to stay afloat in the muffins instead of sinking to the bottom. Set aside.
4. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using your paddle attachment, beat the butter, sugar, and lemon zest on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, about 3-5 minutes. THIS IS IMPORTANT! Beating your sugar and butter together properly really does make your baked goods that much better.
5. Add the eggs one at a time and beat well, then mix in the vanilla extract.
6. Gradually add the flour mixture and beat just until moistened. Add the milk and beat just until combined. Do not overbeat!
7. Lightly fold in the blueberries using a rubber spatula, careful not to squish them. Divide the batter evenly among the muffin cups so that each one is 2/3 full. Sprinkle a small amount of turbinado sugar over the batter in each muffin cup for an extra special crunch (it makes the muffins so good, seriously).
8. Bake until the muffins are golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center of one of the muffins comes out clean, about 25-30 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack or another surface to cool. Remove muffins from pan and let cool completely.

Breakfast Casserole III

INGREDIENTS

• 6 baking potatoes
• 1 pound ground pork sausage
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 1 onion, sliced
• 2 teaspoons seasoning salt
• 1 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
• 12 eggs, lightly beaten
• salt and pepper to taste

DIRECTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a medium baking dish.
2. Prick potatoes with a fork, place on a medium baking sheet, and bake 30 minutes, or until tender but firm. Remove from heat, cool, peel, and cube.
3. Cook and stir sausage in a medium saucepan over medium heat until evenly browned; drain.
4. Melt butter in a large saucepan over medium heat. Stir potatoes and onion into saucepan, and cook until potatoes are browned and onion is tender, about 10 minutes. Sprinkle with seasoning salt. Place potato mixture in the prepared baking dish. Cover with sausage. Sprinkle with cheese, top with eggs, and season with salt and pepper.
5. Bake 30 minutes in the preheated oven, or until eggs are fully cooked.

Whoopie Pies

Whoopie Pies

Mom’s Famous Whoopie Pies
makes about 14 after batter & cookie sampling
brought to you by very fortunate family ties.

Blend	Add
1/4 c Crisco	2 c flour
1 c milk	1/4 c + 1 tbsp cocoa
1 c sugar	1.5 tsp baking soda
1 egg	1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla

Drop by the small tablespoonful onto an ungreased cookie sheet—a tablespoon-sized bakery scoop works best. Bake exactly 8 minutes at 375^o, see if a toothpick comes out clean, and if it doesn’t, bake another 2 minutes (10 total). Upon extraction from the oven, remove from pan immediately to wire rack to cool.

And now the creme filling (reminder: it’s not frosting, guys)

1/2 c margarine or butter (room temp is best)
1/2 c Crisco (my mother is insistent that this MUST be Crisco and CANNOT be generic shortening, nor substituted in any way . . . but if you do get it to work with a substitution, please let me know!)
1 c sugar
1 tbsp flour
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 c warm whole milk (20 seconds in the microwave should do it)

Beat with a mixer (stand or hand, your choice) for-freakin-ever. It will start out just like, well, lumps of Crisco floating in milk, then bits will get smaller and smaller, then it’ll slosh around for a little bit, and, much like the butter making process, you’ll be wondering if this will ever become anything or if you maybe messed it up somehow. Suddenly, about five minutes later, your mix will look weird for a second, and within moments your slushy mess will turn into a glorious white creme, smooth and perfect in a way rarely seen outside the confines of uber-processed food with chemicals you can’t pronounce that are not even available to the consumer in their pure form.

Assembly

As soon as the whoopie cookies are cool, match each whoopie with its closest brother in size—even if yours didn’t all come out the same size, evenly matched whoopies will look much much nicer. Spread some filling on the flat side of one, then place the second on top. Repeat. This does not need to be done immediately before serving, as the filling tends to maintain its consistency surprisingly well, and some (like my mom) would argue that a day-old whoopie pie is even better than fresh. I like them all.

No need to refrigerate, sealed plastic or plastic wrap will keep them fresh.

. . . and that’s it. Congratulations! You just made the best whoopie pies known to man.

Tripple Lemon Chiffon Cake

Tripple Lemon Chiffon Cake

FOR THE CAKE:

MAKES A 9-INCH TRIPLE LAYER CAKE
8 eggs, separated
1/4 cup walnut oil**
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice
1 tablespoon of lemon zest
1/3 cup water
1/2 teaspoon of cream of tartar
1 and 1/2 cups of sugar
1 ans 3/4 cups of cake flour*
1/2 teaspoon of baking soda
1/2 teaspoon of salt
[*1 cup of cake flour is equal to 3/4 cup of AP flour plus 2 tablespoons of corn starch]

[**equal amount of either almond oil, hazelnut oil, or canola oil]

Preheat the oven to 350*degrees F. Line the bottoms of three 9-inch pans with parchment paper but do not butter or grease the pans.
In a med-large bowl whisk together the egg yolks, oil, lemon juice, lemon zest, and water.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, whip the egg whites with the cream of tartar on medium speed until light and frothy. Slowly add 1/2 cup of sugar and continue to beat until soft peaks form.
Sift the flour, remaining sugar, baking soda , and salt into a large bowl. Whisk gently to combine. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients. Pour in the egg yolk mixture and mix to create a smooth paste. Add one-fourth of the egg whites and fold in to lighten the batter. Fold in the remaining egg whites and divide the batter among the three pans.
bake for about 16 minutes or until a cake tester comes out clean. Transfer to wire racks to cool in the pans. Once cool run a knife around the cake to in order to un-mold the cakes. Carefully pull off the parchment paper from the bottoms of the cakes.
To assemble the cake, place one layer on a cake stand. Top with a heaping 1/4 cup of lemon curd and spread it evenly. Repeat with the remaining layers. Frost the top of the cake and the sides with the lemon cream frosting.

RICH LEMON CURD

MAKES 1 CUP
3 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
1/2 cup of sugar
1/2 cup plus 1 tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice (about 4 lemons)
grated zest of three lemons
4 tablespoons of unsalted butter, at room temp.
Whisk together the whole eggs, yolks, sugar, lemon juice , and lemon zest together in a medium bowl. Transfer to a small non-reactive saucepan. Gently heat the mixture, whisking until it thickens enough to coat the back of a spoon. make sure not to boil the mixture. Pour the mixture through a sieve into a heatproof bowl. Stir in the butter and cover the curd with plastic making sure the plastic touches the curd. This should prevent a skin from forming on the curd. Refrigerate until cold. Then remove 3 tablespoons of curd and set it aside for the icing.

LEMON CREAM FROSTING

MAKES 3 AND 1/4 CUPS
1 and 1/2 cups of heavy cream
2 tablespoons of sugar
3 tablespoon of lemon curd
Whip the cream and sugar in a large chilled bowl until stiff peaks form. Fold in the lemon curd, forming a stiff frosting.

Teppanyaki

Teppanyaki
This simple, Japanese style of cooking is idea for thinly sliced breast of chicken. You can use thin turkey scallops, if you prefer. Just a note: Mirin is a rich, sweet rice wine from Japan- You can buy it in Asian supermarkets, but if it is not availble, add 1 tablespoon soft, light brown sugar to the sauce instead. Also, double the recipe for the dip if you need to.

by Bec

15 min | 5 min prep

SERVES 4

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 medium red bell pepper
• 1 medium green bell pepper
• 4 scallions
• 8 baby sweet corn cobs
• 3 1/2 ounces bean sprouts
• 1 tablespoon sesame oil or sunflower oil

Dip for chicken and vegetables

• 4 tablespoons soy sauce
• 4 tablespoons mirin
• 1 tablespoon grated fresh gingerroot

1. Slice the chicken breasts at a slight angle, to a thickness of about 1/4 inch.
2. Seed and thinly slice the red and green bell peppers and trim and slice the scallions and baby corn cobs.
3. Arrange the bell peppers, scallions, baby corn cobs, and bean sprouts on a place with the sliced chicken.
4. Heat a large ridged grill pan, then lightly brush with sesame or sunflower oil.
5. Add the vegetables and chicken slices, in small batches, leaving enough space between them so that they cook thoroughly.
6. Put the soy sauce, mirin, and ginger in a small serving bowl and stir together until combined- Serve as a dip with the chicken and vegetables.

No-Knead Artisan Bread

Recipe: No-Knead Bread

Adapted from Jim Lahey, Sullivan Street Bakery
Time: About 1½ hours plus 14 to 20 hours’ rising

3 cups all-purpose or bread flour, more for dusting
¼ teaspoon instant yeast
1¼ teaspoons salt
Cornmeal or wheat bran as needed.

1. In a large bowl combine flour, yeast and salt. Add 1 5/8 cups water, and stir until blended; dough will be shaggy and sticky. Cover bowl with plastic wrap. Let dough rest at least 12 hours, preferably about 18, at warm room temperature, about 70 degrees.

2. Dough is ready when its surface is dotted with bubbles. Lightly flour a work surface and place dough on it; sprinkle it with a little more flour and fold it over on itself once or twice. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and let rest about 15 minutes.

3. Using just enough flour to keep dough from sticking to work surface or to your fingers, gently and quickly shape dough into a ball. Generously coat a cotton towel (not terry cloth) with flour, wheat bran or cornmeal; put dough seam side down on towel and dust with more flour, bran or cornmeal. Cover with another cotton towel and let rise for about 2 hours. When it is ready, dough will be more than double in size and will not readily spring back when poked with a finger.

4. At least a half-hour before dough is ready, heat oven to 450 degrees. Put a 6- to 8-quart heavy covered pot (cast iron, enamel, Pyrex or ceramic) in oven as it heats. When dough is ready, carefully remove pot from oven. Slide your hand under towel and turn dough over into pot, seam side up; it may look like a mess, but that is O.K. Shake pan once or twice if dough is unevenly distributed; it will straighten out as it bakes. Cover with lid and bake 30 minutes, then remove lid and bake another 15 to 30 minutes, until loaf is beautifully browned. Cool on a rack.

Yield: One 1½-pound loaf.