Stew Dumplings

You ever noticed how sometimes folks start doing something because they think it's convenient and then they forget there ever was an original way to do it? I think stew dumplings fall in that category. When was the last time you had chicken and dumplings with dumplings made from scratch? It seems like everyone now just throws some refrigerator biscuit dough in their stew and calls it good.

There are only two problems with this practice that I can see. First: Biscuit dumplings have a weird texture that in no way resembles scratch dumplings. I find the refrigerator dough dumplings to be very chewy and dense. The real thing is just slightly chewy on the outside and somewhat fluffy on the inside. Second: It only takes me 2.4 minutes to mix up a batch of dumpling dough from scratch. Is that really more trouble than trying to open a roll of store bought biscuits?

Mix this dough together and drop by the tablespoon full on top of any stew you're cooking and see what a difference it makes! You may never look back!

Stew Dumplings
Yield: approximately 6-8 dumplings
Adapted from the New Better Homes & Gardens Cookbook

2/3 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup milk
2 TBS cooking oil
1/8 tsp salt
pinch of dried herbs (such as parsley, thyme, or oregano)

Stir together all ingredients. For the most tender dumplings, do not over mix the dough. Drop tablespoon sized blobs of dough onto any finished, bubbling stew (you will not want to have to mix anything else into the stew after you add the dumplings). Reduce heat to just maintain a simmer. Cover the pot and cook 10-12 minutes until dumplings are just cooked through.

Phyllo Dough Shortcut

Good news! Your life is about to get easier.

For a long time now, I've wondered, do I have to brush phyllo dough with butter to get the best results? I love baking with phyllo dough... those flaky layers get me every time, but I hate brushing each layer with butter. And, in this case, I really mean hate.

So, the other evening I conducted a test. I built two stacks of plain phyllo dough and baked them for comparison. On one I brushed butter like I usually do, on the other, I sprayed plain old cooking spray on each layer. First, I want to let you know that building the stack using the cooking spray was a breeze! It was wonderfully easy and I could control the amount of fat I used somewhat too. When you're trying to brush tissue paper thin sheets of dough with butter, there's no such thing as going easy on the stuff.

I purposefully made the stacks with no flavorings whatsoever. I wanted to be see if I could discern a difference in flavor between the two, because - as we all know - butter has a special flavor profile and if there was a difference, the hassle of brushing might be worth it.

And the good news is: knock yourself out with the cooking spray. Not only was the result just as flaky and puffed as the butter (in fact, maybe even more so), there was no significant flavor difference between the two. Make your life easy! Make phyllo with cooking spray!

NOTE: The cooking spray tower is on the right in the above picture, the butter on the left. When I bit into them, there was really no significant difference in flakiness. I think the difference you see in the picture is due to the edges of the layers sticking more with the butter when I trimmed around each stack before baking. Another kudos to the cooking spray, I suppose!

Spinach and Scallop Casserole

I have a confession to make. I've got some serious casserole woes.

Perhaps it's because about the closest thing to a casserole I had growing up was lasagna. Perhaps it's because when I first moved out on my own and really started cooking, I didn't have a working oven. Who knows why these things happen. But, just ask my husband... casseroles are a challenge for me.

My husband loves casseroles. So, occasionally, I try and go outside my comfort zone and make the guy a dish. Of course, it doesn't help that his favorite casserole, named - if you can believe - Dump Casserole - is a mixture of ingredients I just can't hardly bear to put into one dish.

Yet, I've got to try and help a guy out, and it's been a little bit of a rocky road. Some have turned out OK, some... haven't. But I keep trying. Fortunately, pasta casseroles are a little less daunting to me, I guess because I never really considered them casseroles. But, alas, this little dish I put together for my husband the other night turned out great. It's creamy and cheesy (which is never a bad thing, in my book). I love the combination of the shallot and spinach and how the hint of sherry brings out the best from the scallops.

Yup, this casserole, at least, was a smashing success.


Spinach and Scallop Casserole
Yield: 6-8 servings

3 cups elbow pasta (large elbows if you can find them)
1 tsp olive oil
1 shallot, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb bay scallops
3 TBS olive oil
3 TBS flour
2 cups warm milk (whole, preferably)
2 TBS cream sherry
1 cup shredded Gruyere cheese
1 cup thawed and pressed chopped frozen spinach
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Boil the pasta as instructed on the package until just al dente. Drain and hold until ready to use. If your pasta is ready way before your sauce is, add a little drizzle of oil to the pasta once it's drained to keep it from sticking together too much.

In a skillet, over medium to medium-high heat, saute the shallots and garlic in a teaspoon of olive oil. When the shallot is soft and starting to brown slightly, add the scallops and saute just until they are barely cooked. They cook very quickly, so give them your full attention while cooking them. Turn off the heat and let cool while preparing the sauce.

In a stock pot or Dutch oven, heat 3 TBS of olive oil and then stir in the flour. Cook for a minute or so and then add the warm milk slowly, stirring the whole time. Slow is the key if you do not want a lumpy sauce. Continue stirring over medium heat until the milk thickens and just starts to boil. Turn off the heat and add the sherry, cheeses (reserve a small bit of cheese to sprinkle on top of the casserole), and spinach. Stir to distribute the ingredients and then add the drained pasta and scallop mixture. Mix and then pour into a greased 9x13 (or similar) pan. Sprinkle the remaining bit of cheese on top.

Bake at 400 degrees F for 30-35 minutes or until the top is nicely browned and bubbly. Let cool for 5-10 minutes before serving.

Greek Rice

Every now and again I try a recipe that I think looks intriguing but that ends up not being that great. I'd had my eye on a stuffed squid recipe for some time. It ended up looking pretty, just as nice as the picture in the recipe book:


However, there was something about the texture of the squid (fairly rubbery) that was an unappealing contrast to the texture of the rice filling. When cooking squid, the rule is typically cook it really fast or really long; anything in between is a recipe for dining on rubber bands. Unfortunately, to obtain a safe internal temperature on the eggs in the stuffing, I think it ended up crossing the "tender" boundary... if you can ever really call squid tender.

What was a pleasant surprise was how delicious the filling was. There was more filling than was needed to fill the squid I had, so I decided to saute it up with some added scrambled egg. What a delightful combination of flavors! The contrast of the sweet currents, the tangy lemon, and the nutty edge from the pine nuts was fabulous... and beautiful! While I can't recommend the squid application, I can whole-heartedly recommend this rice dish.

You need pre-cooked rice for this dish. Either use left over rice or cook some ahead of time. You need 1 1/2 cups of cooked rice. I advise toasting the pine nuts first. Nuts just have so much better flavor when they're toasted.


Greek Rice
Yield: 4 side servings

2 TBS olive oil
2 scallions, diced
1 1/2 cups cooked rice
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts
1/4 cup currents
2 TBS minced fresh parsley
2 tsp lemon zest
3 eggs, divided

Mix the scallions, rice, pine nuts, currents, parsley, and zest with one of the eggs that has been slightly beaten in a bowl and set aside. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Scramble the two remaining eggs in the skillet. When the eggs are almost cooked through, add the remaining ingredients and saute, stirring regularly, until the rice is heated through.

Brownie Pudding

Who here likes ooey-gooey brownies? If you do, read the following post at your own peril. This recipe may be the simplest rich and decadent dessert around. You can make it less than six minutes. How's that for wonderful... or dangerous?

I'm almost embarrassed to post this recipe. It came about as a result of my uncontrolled and unabashed sweet-tooth. When my husband is out of town and I want to indulge - but only once - this is what I've come up with; making a whole batch of anything is just too dangerous. This gem works great because while it is absolutely sinful and will completely and utterly cure what ails you, there won't be any leftovers.

My husband had a brownie hankering the other night, but as we've really been trying to not be so co-dependent about our eating, I thought I would introduce him to this treat. He's sold! Cured his hankering without compelling us to consume an entire pan of brownies between the two of us.

Now, I'm not saying this treat is good for you or reduced calorie... it really, really, really isn't. But provided you only make one serving per person, you can only imbibe once.

Brownie Pudding
Yield: 1 generous serving (multiply as many times as necessary)

1/4 cup semi-sweet or bittersweet chocolate chips (I prefer the bittersweet, myself)
1 1/2 TBS butter
2 TBS sugar
1 whole egg
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
3 TBS all purpose flour

In a microwave proof glass bowl, heat the chocolate chips, butter, and sugar over medium-high heat in 30 second increments until the chips are almost melted. Stir until the chips are completely melted and the butter and sugar are incorporated. The texture will be somewhat grainy at this point from the sugar; have no fear.

Be sure the mixture is not too hot (if it is, let it cool down slightly) before adding the remaining ingredients as you do not want to scramble the eggs. Stir the egg, extract, and flour together with the melted chocolate until well mixed. Microwave on medium-high heat for one minute. Stir and then microwave on medium-high heat in 30 second increments, stirring between each, until you start to see the batter turn into a cake-like substance. At this point, go slow, heating just until most of the batter is no longer runny. If you over-do the cooking, it will not be as moist and gooey, so go easy.

Spoon into a serving bowl and top with whipped cream, if desired. I like how the whipped cream helps cut the chocolaty richness of the pudding and melts as it hits the heat. Yum! Yum! Yum!

So... what have I been up to?

Here's our backyard before. Before sanity was restored to an insane place. The vines! The brush! The over-zealous trees! What's a girl to do?

Sweat.

Sweat and then sweat some more. Dang, but it's been hot. Hot, hot, hot. And humid, too. Drippy, nasty humid. Sheesh!

But it's been worth it. Just doesn't quite look like the same place, does it? And now I have some space to grow a few vegetables. It's not the same as the third of an acre garden I had in Ohio, but it's better than nothing!

It's not 100% done, but it's darn close. I've been laying some stone in an area of the yard that is too shady for lawn, but I ran about ten pavers shy of finishing the job. But I'm so close, I can taste the sweet refreshing scent of air conditioning. The good news is that I have been cooking some... I just need to get around to sharing the recipes with you. Stick around! New posts are just around the corner!

Meatball Soup

Well, today is my last day in beautiful Seattle. The weather has been quite cool the last few days and I am worried about returning to the hellish sauna called "home" tomorrow. I have had a wonderful time on this visit seeing family and friends and traveling around the state looking at cool rocks. After two weeks, though, I am a little ready to get back into my routine of home.

This week we're going to have our lawn re-sod and I am will be installing a small patio of flagstone and finishing some other odd jobs I haven't quite finished outside. Prepare to sweat!

In the meantime, while enjoying my last sweat-free day in a while, I'll share with you a recipe I whipped up before coming out here. This soup has a great, robust flavor that is both hardy and delectable. It's like a French onion soup with meat! A great compromise of flavors between my husband and me.

First, you need to make the meatballs. Forgive the slightly creepy look of the ingredients in this bowl. The roll of sausage just looks weird, I know, but when it's mixed with breadcrumbs, eggs, onion, and seasonings, they're mighty tasty.

Simply mix the meatball ingredients together and form one-inch balls out of the meat. Set aside on a plate or tray until the soup is ready for them.

In the meantime, start caramelizing a bunch of onions. I always start my onions over medium-high to high heat and then turn the heat down to medium-low once I see them starting to brown. It takes a bit of time to properly caramelize onions, so be patient. I think this amount of onions took me about 30 minutes. Once they have a nice color like you see here, proceed with adding the broth. Bring to a boil and add the meatballs. Cook for 10 minutes at a low boil (reduce heat as necessary) and then at the very end add the Madeira (a fortified cooking wine) and chopped spinach. The soup can then be served immediately.

Meatball Soup
Yield: 6 servings

2 onions, halved and sliced
1 TBS butter

1 lb pork sausage
1/3 cup minced onion
1 tsp minced parsley (fresh or dried)
1/4 cup plain bread crumbs
1 egg
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp salt

6 cups chicken broth
2 TBS Madeira
2 cups loosely packed, chopped fresh spinach

Heat a skillet over medium-high to high heat. Melt the butter and add the sliced onions. Toss onions to coat with butter and then cook, stirring occasionally until they just start to brown. Reduce heat to medium-low and continue cooking, stirring from time to time, until the onions are caramelized and show a nice, rich, brown color. It should take about 3o minutes.

While the onions are cooking, mix the meatball ingredients together and form into one-inch balls. Set aside completed meatballs on a tray or plate.

When the onions are done, add the broth and bring to a boil. Add the meatballs gently to the broth and cook for 10 minutes. Reduce heat as necessary to maintain a gentle boil. Once the meatballs are cooked through, add the Madeira and the spinach. Serve immediately.

Guacamole!

So, here I am sitting on a hotel bed in the middle of nowhere, north-central Washington state, with my laptop out, posting about food. Isn't technology great? I've been home visiting family in Washington state for the last week or so and am currently out on a rock-hounding trip. Being a geologist, I love driving around checking out the rocks in new places... and, of course, bringing some home with me! There aren't a lot of rocks to be had in Florida, so I've been going through a rock-hounding withdrawal.

Tonight we're in Okanogan. Today was a lovely drive, punctuated by a few stops to do some antiquing, eating, and rock hounding. At one stop, I came across a herd of big horn sheep. There were about twelve of the buggers; I've never seen so many in real life before! I picked up some nice rocks too, so all is right in the world.

Unfortunately, the food scene today was only so-so. We had a nice lunch in Cle Elum, but we made the mistake of not going to dinner early enough here in Okanogan. Apparently, the world shuts up early here. Even driving to Omak didn't produce many more options... so, here I sit fondly reminiscing about this past Saturday night's meal.

My brother and his family came to dinner at my mom's, and I made some guacamole. This recipe is more or less pilfered from an authentic Mexican (versus Tex-Mex) restaurant down in Florida my husband and I have been going to. Easy to make and absolutely delicious, I recommend trying it even if you've never really cared for guacamole before. That was me, by the way, up until a month ago.

Here's the cast... a whole bunch of super fresh, tasty ingredients.

Be sure to choose some nice, large Haas avocados for this recipe. They're ripe when they are soft and the skin has turned evenly dark. Run your knife around the outside and twist to pull apart. The giant seed in the middle is nearly impossible to pull out unless you know the trick. Tap your knife into the seed until it is gently stuck and twist; the seed will twist out perfectly!

Just use a spoon to scoop between the skin and the flesh. Look how nice and green and creamy this avocado is! You don't need to cut the avocado, when it gets into the bowl, you can simply use a fork to mash the ingredients together.

Make sure to add the lime juice right away. Avocados oxidize really, really fast and look super unappealing when they're all brown and nasty. The lime juice not only adds great flavor but keeps things nice and green.

Mince the garlic, sprinkle the salt onto the garlic, and then use the edge of your knife to smear the salt and garlic together, forming a paste. Making a paste of the garlic allows the flavor to more evenly permeate the guacamole. Add the remaining ingredients and mash and stir it all together. While you can store this, covered, in the refrigerator for a few days, I like it best right away, at room temperature; I believe this provides the best texture and flavor.

Guacamole!
Yield: approximately 3 cups

2 large, ripe Haas avocados
1 lime
1 large clove garlic
1/4 tsp (or to taste) salt
1/3 cup seeded, diced tomato
1/3 cup diced red onion
2 TBS chopped fresh cilantro

Cut the avocado in half, remove the seed, and scoop the flesh from the skin into a medium bowl. Juice the lime and pour over the avocado. Mince the garlic and then add the salt to the minced garlic while it is still on the cutting board. Using the edge of your knife, smear the garlic and salt together to form a paste. Add the garlic paste and remaining ingredients to the bowl with the avocados and lime and mash and stir until everything is evenly mixed. Serve immediately, at room temperature. Guacamole will keep, covered, in the refrigerator for a few days, but tastes best if used immediately.

Beef Jerky

I honestly just don't know what's wrong with me! Twenty something days since my last post... you know why? Because I just haven't felt like cooking. .:GASP:. Say it ain't so!! Really. I've done very little cooking since July came around. The few times I have put something together, it very often is something I have already posted. The good thing is that means what I have posted so far are things that I think are good enough to make over and over.

I'm not sure what is to blame for this lack of kitchen-ness, but I suspect it might have something to do with our recent attempts to tame the jungle in our back yard. Most days, I can only make it out there for 2-3 hours, lest I kill myself from heat stroke. I don't know what my problem is... I mean, it's only been 117 degrees with the heat index lately. Fortunately, the yard is really starting to look like something. Anyway. I'm really not sure what has caused my recent reluctance to cook, but I'm sure it will go away soon. It better!

One thing that I did make recently, mainly because I saw London broil on sale at the market, was beef jerky. Homemade jerky is really nice because you get to determine the seasonings and how much salt you want to use. While some salt is really required if you want your jerky to have any staying power at all, it doesn't have to make your tongue burn!

I think London broil is really a good choice for making jerky. There are other cuts you can use such as flank or skirt steak, but London broil is so easy to cut into nice strips and it isn't overly fatty. This is a good thing because too much fat means your jerky can turn rancid on you pretty quickly.

I slice mine about 3/8 of an inch thick. You can partially freeze the meat to facilitate cutting even strips, but I find as long as my knife is sharp, I can do a good job with thawed meat. Cut the meat across the grain, unless you really like to chew and chew... and chew.

Marinate the meat in a seasoning mixture. I like to use soy sauce as my base, but you could use teriyaki or even just use spices alone. You can experiment with spice blends, but my favorite is Chef Paul Prudhome's Meat Magic. It has a slight smokiness and blend of spices that I think is great in a jerky. Set the meat aside, covered, for about an hour.

Lay the strips out on the racks of a dehydrator leaving plenty of space between each slice. You can do this in an oven, but I find the results are less than spectacular. I think the reasons are two-fold: the lowest temperatures available in most ovens are not low enough and there isn't as much air flow.

If you don't already have a dehydrator and are in the market to get one, I strongly advise getting one that provides some temperature control. Depending on what you are dehydrating, you'll want to use different temperature settings. To dry meats, you want a temperature somewhere between 150 and 170 degrees, but most herbs want a more delicate temperature of less than 100 degrees.


Beef Jerky
Yield: approximately 3/4 lb of jerky

2 lbs London broil, trimmed of fat and sliced across the grain 3/8 inch thick
1/3 cup soy sauce
1 TBS Chef Paul Prudhome's Meat Magic seasoning blend (or any other you prefer)
1/4 tsp cracked black pepper

Marinate meat strips in the soy sauce and seasoning, covered, at room temperature for one hour. Place, spaced out, in a single thickness on the trays of a dehydrator. Dry at approximately 165 degrees for 4-6 hours. The time it takes will vary depending on the meat and the climate. Be careful not to over dry or the meat will end up very hard to eat. When you take it out of the dehydrator it will be somewhat inflexible. Place in an airtight container immediately to store. Jerky will soften somewhat once cooled and be easier to eat than when fresh off the dehyrator tray.

Corn Salad

I just noticed that I had a typo in the ratio for the simple syrup. Sorry it took me so long to notice it! I make my own sugar water for the hummingbirds and use a ratio of 1 to 4 sugar to water. When I make this salad, I just steal a little of that liquid, which I store in the refrigerator. You can simply mix 1/2 cup of water and 2 TBS of sugar, if it's easier for you.

Knee high by the Fourth of July... you ever heard that? That used to be the old adage about corn. With all the new hybrids and what not, it doesn't hold very true anymore. In fact, we've been seeing some pretty darn good local sweet corn in the markets for a little while now.

This is a perfect recipe to serve on the Fourth. It's quick and easy, holds well on a hot day, and is sweet, crunchy, and super delicious. Back when I was going to the farmer's markets in Ohio, one of my fellow sellers would while away the time eating corn fresh off the cob... you know... raw. I'd never seen anyone do that before and it seemed kind of odd to me. Who the heck knew that raw corn is so stinking wonderful? I like to cut it off the cob, myself, otherwise you splash corn juice over four counties, but it is really good stuff. Raw corn is much crunchier and sweeter than when it is cooked. Put it together in a salad like this, and you'll get rave reviews every time!

Corn Salad
Yield: approximately 2 quarts of salad

5-6 fresh ears of corn, kernels cut off
1 cup minced sweet onion
1 cup seeded, diced fresh tomato
1 mostly peeled, seeded, diced cucumber

2/3 cup red wine vinegar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup simple syrup (a 1 to 4 ratio of sugar to water, i.e. about 2 TBS sugar)
3/4 tsp beau monde seasoning
1/4 tsp dried dill
1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)
dash ground pepper
1/8 tsp guar gum (optional - helps emulsify dressing)

Mix together all ingredients and put in the refrigerator for at least one hour before serving. When cutting the kernels off of the corn, try not to cut too far back in the cob or you will get the tougher part of the kernel in with your salad. Do not scrape the cob for the milk like you would if making creamed corn. I like to peel my cucumbers most of the way for taste but leave a little peel on for color.