“Weapons of Destruction” aka kitchen tools

So, you’ve got to cut onions and saute’ them for your sauce. Which weapon do you favor? Tell me why in the comments. Is your choice based on ease of clean-up or efficiency of chopping or some other reason?

Thanks! Here’s cookin’ at cha.

WHAT’S A LASSIE?

  Which of these is a “lassie?”

          

You are right!

No matter which one you picked, you are right because they are all “lassies.”

Lassie-the dog; lassie-the girl; and lassi-a drink in India (spelled a bit differently, pronounced the same way and a yummy smoothie!)

And what does this have to do with the price of eggs in China a plane ticket to India?

My daughter is having her first baby and I want to go to India to be with her.

What can you do to help?

For the price of an Indian lassie ($5.00) you can help me go to India. If you have enjoyed my blog site or just love me!!!! and want to help by donating $5.00, click here.…..

…..click here……

…..click here…..

and you will be taken to a paypal site to give your donation.

I need 359 more contributions by April 20th.

THANK YOU, MY LASSIE (OR LAD)

Pizza Pockets (Frango redo)

Frango means chicken in Portuguese so I can’t call these by that name, there’s no chicken in them like the ones in my cookbook. But, I made these just like I do the old and new frangoes.

“What had happened wuz”….”Mom, what’s for lunch?”

After emptying the refrigerator of possible ingredients, Pizza Pockets was created.

My leftovers included: Artichoke Parmesan marinara sauce, some Velveeta cheese, mozzarella cheese, eight slices of pepperoni, and a can of crescent rolls.

Preheat oven to 400.

I began to build the pizza pockets:

Open the rolls and separate them. In the widest part of the triangle, place a slice of pepperoni. On top of that put a small square of Velveeta cheese and top that with a small spoonful of the marinara sauce. Sprinkle the shredded mozzarella on top. 

Starting from the wide end of the triangle, begin rolling up the dough, pinching the edges together, then continuing until the stuffing is covered and nicely tucked away.

Place on greased (I use cooking spray) cookie sheet evenly spaced.

Bake for about 14 minutes or until toasty and brown.

Best when fresh out of the oven but can be reheat in the microwave.

See how yummy this looks. The cheese is nicely melted, the sauce and pepperoni make it taste just like a pizza.

I guess you’ve got the idea that you can put anything inside these crescent rolls and have a tasty dish!

As a serving suggestion, sprinkle grated Parmesan cheese on top of the warm pizza pocket.

What would you find in your refrigerator to fill this pastry? Oooo, go check and report back. Better yet, make it and take pictures and post here to share with the world!

(When I say “the world,” I mean it. This blog post is seen in many different countries.  Go ahead and check in with your country name in the comments.)

And, if you’ve enjoyed this post, I invite you to go here OR check this out.

When the world gives you duck eggs, make cookies, of course!

What a day for surprises!

My first surprise.

I had a record number of visitors to my blog on this day, all because of one post! Thanks for liking it. Update: 259 lattes to go in 44 days.

My second surprise:

A carton of duck eggs delivered just when I was thinking of making chocolate chip cookies. Hannah, a basketball team player came over for a ride to practice and brought the fresh free range gift.

Hannah’s surprise:

We (my daughter and another player) acted as though we had no idea she was turning 15 on that day. We “spontaneously” declared the cookies made were for her special day and we sang happy birthday. Her surprise came at basketball where she was given a surprise birthday party by her team which included awesome panda bear cupcakes.

Here’s the recipe for the cookies, an adaptation of the chocolate candy cookies from my cookbook, A Dollop and A Pinch: Recipes and Stories from The Baron York.

Preheat oven to 350˚

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1 stick butter

1/2 cup butter flavored Crisco (or shortening or another stick of butter)

2 duck eggs

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups chocolate chips

Instructions:

In a large bowl, cream sugars, butter and Crisco. Add eggs and vanilla and mix thoroughly. Sift together flour, baking soda, and salt and add to creamed mixture. Blend well. Fold in chocolate chips. Drop by spoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheet. (Make them tiny for tea or giant for sugar-overload!)

Bake for 9-11 minutes or until edges are brown.

My daughter’s surprise:

She loved the cookies and THEN found out they were made with the duck eggs she had declared she wouldn’t eat.

SEND ME TO INDIA

I’m going to be a Grandmother!

My daughter, Bethany, and her husband, Abe, live in northern India and they are expecting their first child. This Grandmarmee wants to be there!

If you have enjoyed the recipes I’ve posted or had fun reading my post, would you consider “BUYING ME A GARGANTUAN LATTE?” (the cost is $5.00)

Deadline: April 20. Got to buy the ticket soon!

Please send this email along to anyone who might be interested in helping out.

They climbed that mountain in the distance! It is really big, just doesn’t look like it from so far away. Read about their adventures in India.

When the world gives you onions, make French onion soup.

Again and again, I have been blessed with gifts of food and the kitchen challenge begins. With more onions than I could put on a sandwich or dice for spaghetti sauce, I decided to make French onion soup.

8 large onions, sliced
3 Tablespoons olive oil
2 Tablespoons minced garlic
15 beef bouillon cubes (or equivalent)
8 cups water
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
Bread slices of choice, toasted
Cheese slices of choice (I use provolone but Swiss
is typical.)

Instructions:
Sauté onions in olive oil and garlic until clear. Dissolve beef cubes in 2 cups hot water and add to onions with the rest of the water. Add Worcestershire sauce and heat thoroughly.

Cut bread slices with round biscuit cutter, top with cheese slice and broil to melt cheese.
Serve soup topped with cheese toast.

Now in digital!

If you’d like to know a great recipe to use with the leftovers, order my cookbook. I make Cream of Steak and Mushroom Soup!, one of the favorite offerings at my restaurant.

Or, if you’ve enjoyed my recipes or reading my posts, would you consider “BUYING ME A LATTE” to send me to India to be with my daughter when she has her baby in August?

A New Frango

Some of you may know of the Frango from my cafe or my cookbook, A Dollop and A Pinch: Recipes and Stories from The Baron York.  Frango is Portuguese for chicken and I had fashioned a dish after my favorite Brazilian treat. The original filling had many delicious ingredients with the chicken. But, the other day when a meal was needed, those things were not on hand so A New Frango was recreated. It was very well received.

Ingredients:

shredded, baked chicken

Alfredo sauce

Parmesan cheese

mozzarella cheese

cream cheese

crescent rolls (refrigerator tube, not baked)

Mix the first four ingredients. Open the rolls and separate. Lay out a triangle of dough and place a dollop of the cream cheese in the widest part of the roll. Top the cream cheese with a generous portion of the chicken mix. Roll up the roll from the large end, pinching the sides, toward the small end.

Spray a cookie sheet or grease it and place rolled up chicken pastries on the sheet with generous space between them.  Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

Coming Soon!!!

Now available!

A digital copy of A Dollop and A Pinch: Recipes and Stories from The Baron York

What would you do?

What would you do if the world gave you limes?

Again, I have been on the receiving end of free food. This time I have limes, a number of them. I don’t use them as a main ingredient but as garnish. Seems a waste to have so many and not do something special with them. What would you do?

Please leave your suggestions and, if you have it, a recipe. I might even be able to do more than one recipe, who knows!!!

Thanks….

Here’s to cooperative cooking.

When the world gives you chicken, have biology class.

Occasionally I am on the receiving end of free food. Today I received two whole chickens.

What does a homeschooling mom do with whole chickens? Why, have impromptu biology class, of course. Neither of the girls had ever cut up a chicken or even seen it done. I demonstrated the process, even cutting out the wish bone, and included an inspection of the heart and de-boning and skinning the breast. They were “grossed out!” and determined to wait a while before eating chicken and went back to other studies.

Now what do I do with the cut up chicken and the second whole chicken? The meaty pieces were made into a casserole, the bony parts were used to make a soup broth (tomorrow’s post).

Casserole time.

When you don’t know what to prepare, throw what ever you can find into a dish and bake it! The result this time was Chicken and Rice with Pineapple Sauce (inspired by the can of chunk pineapple that stared at me when I opened the cupboard). I used the big, meaty pieces from the chickens.

Preheat oven to 350°.

Ingredients:

1/2 stick butter

2 cups raw rice

4 cups water

1 tablespoon powdered chicken bouillon

cut up chicken

1 can pineapple chunks

1/4 cup brown sugar

2 Tablespoons soy sauce

1/4 cup prepared mustard

salt and pepper to taste

Dissolve the bouillon in the water. Brown the rice in the butter in a range-proof dish, then add the water. Place the chicken pieces on top of the rice and water. In a blender (I used my favorite Vita-Mixer), combine the pineapple chunks and juice, brown sugar, soy sauce, and mustard. Mix to blend but not liquefy the fruit. Then pour the sauce over the chicken and rice. Cover with aluminum foil and bake four about an hour. Check to see if it is done by cutting a thick piece of chicken. The rice will be done in less time but can continue cooking with the chicken.

Serve with a toss salad or green vegetable.

When the world gives you bread, make bread pudding!

On Christmas Eve, Tom, Melea and I went to a nearby Golden Corral for dinner. It seemed odd for a December 24th but we had already had “Christmas” the week before in Atlanta with all the stateside children we could gather. Five out of eight was a pretty high number. After we finished eating but were still seated and talking, we witnessed a constant parade of people carrying boxed baked goods, fruits and vegetables into a back room of the restaurant. My curiosity insisted so I had to ask someone who looked in charge. “What’s going on? Do you need help bringing in the food?” We had discovered the preparation activities of a “Feed the Hungry” meal that was to happen the next day. For over thirty years the diminutive, cropped-blonde overseer had developed a system and was making it work. She enlisted us to join the work force and gave us our marching orders. Melea and I each took four trips hauling the precious cargo. Then the boss-lady insisted that we take home some of the goods. After investigating more about the big event, we discovered we could sign up for next year sometime in November to help with the serving. They already had a full staff for the next day this year. Approximately 1500 people would be served from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM. I thought of so many people I knew who would benefit from the meal the next day. If I couldn’t get them there for the meal, I could take home some of the leftovers to distribute. On Christmas Day, I was able to gather a couple of people to take for the free meal at Golden Corral. A benefactor pays the restaurant (in part or in whole, I’m not sure) to prepare turkey, ham, green beans, dressing, rolls and mashed potatoes with gravy along with drinks. For some reason the crowd was not as big as usual and there was more than enough to take home. So much food was left at the 2:00 hour, we made take out meals. Also, a box of 24 French bread loaves from Jersey Mike’s made it’s way to my car. What to do with all that? Baron’s Bread Pudding! And, I still had some of the sauce in the freezer. Whoop. (This recipe is in my A Dollop and A Pinch cookbook.)

Baron’s Bread Pudding
Preheat oven to 350˚
3 cups milk
1 24” day old (NOT FRESH) French bread loaf, cut into 1 1/2”-2”
cubes (about 12 cups)
2/3 cup craisins
1/4 cup salted butter, melted 4 eggs
1 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt

Instructions

Scald the milk in a heavy medium saucepan. Remove
from heat and add butter to melt. Allow to cool for about 5 minutes. Pour over bread cubes and craisins and mix thoroughly. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs and add the sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt. Mix well and add to bread mixture.
Butter a 3-4” deep baking dish thoroughly on all inner surfaces. Pour mixture into it and distribute evenly. Bake uncovered for 1 hour. Check to see if knife inserted in the
center comes out clean and the top begins to brown forming a rough crust. If not, bake an additional 10 minutes, or so.

Serve warm or chilled with Honey Bourbon sauce (see below) and whipped cream.

Baron’s Honey Bourbon Sauce
1 1/4 lbs butter (whole block and 1 stick)
2 2/3 cups granulated sugar
9 egg yolks (use whites for black bean brownies or
meringues)
1/2 cup half and half
4 teaspoons corn starch mixed in 1/2 cup of cold water
5 Tablespoons of Honey Bourbon Whiskey
Melt butter and dissolve sugar over double boiler. Add egg
yolks and whip vigorously so that egg yolks do not curdle.
To this mixture add half and half and corn starch mixture.
Let cook over double boiler for 5 minutes. Remove from
heat and add whiskey. Use 2 oz per serving. (or pour the sauce over the hot bread pudding if serving the whole pan like a sheet cake)

Now, the bread can be shared with many in its reincarnated form. That is, if I will share it…it is so yummy. It tastes almost like French toast with a special syrup. With all those eggs and milk, it IS a nutritious breakfast, right? Right? Baron’s Bread Pudding fits in the real food category not the dessert category, right?….. So, I’ll do a few more miles on the tread mill. It’s that delicious.