Corn Buttermilk and Chive Popovers

I don't read Smitten Kitchen very often because I find the pictures confusing, so I'm not sure exactly how I stumbled across this recipe, but once I found it I knew I had to try it as I am on a kick about putting fresh fruit/veggies into everything these days. (And I love popovers.) I had a few women over for a pre-Relief-Society broadcast dinner and served these along with the Greek panzanella. They were delicious! I made 1.5 times the recipe in 12 muffin cups and added a little bit of chopped dill just because I had it. They shrank right out of the oven, but they were huge and puffy when I took them out. Don't know how to fix that, but for the flavoring is a nice twist on the classic popover that I enjoyed.

Adapted from Smitten Kitchen to make 12 popovers in a muffin tin:

http://smittenkitchen.com/2011/07/corn-buttermilk-and-chive-popovers/

Ingredients:

1 1/2 C. buttermilk

3/4 cup corn kernels (takes 1.5 cobs-ish)

5 large eggs

1 1/2 T. melted butter

1 1/2 C. all-purpose flour

1 1/2 T. yellow cornmeal

1 1/2 tsp. granulated sugar

3/4 teaspoon table salt

Freshly ground black pepper (I omit this)

1 1/2 T. snipped fresh chives

Optional: 1 1/2 T. chopped fresh dill

2 T. butter cut into 12 pieces

Directions:

1. Place buttermilk and corn in a blender together and blend for just 3 seconds — you’re looking to break up the corn a bit, not puree it. Add the eggs and the melted butter and blend for one second more.

2. Add the flour, cornmeal, sugar, salt, pepper, dill and the chives and blend again until barely combined, some lumps are fine.

3. Set the batter aside to rest while you preheat your oven to 375 degrees, about 15 minutes. Take pan out of oven and add a little piece of butter to each muffin cup, place back in oven until butter is melted and brown. Remove tin from oven and fill each muffin cup slightly almost full with batter.

4. Bake popovers for 10 min at 425F and then reduce heat to 350F and bake for 20 to 25 more minutes. Try not to open the oven door! Crack it just 1-inch to take a peak if absolutely necessary towards the end. Popovers are done when they’re tall and bronzed. Flip popovers out onto cooling rack and let cool for a few minutes before tearing in. Best if served warm.

Oven-Roasted Fries

From Word of Wisdom Living, some blog by some Mormon guy. There aren't that many recipes on it, mostly just health tips, but this is where I got the inspiration for my chicken enchiladas the Robber loves so much. I ran across these and they seemed to fit well into my otherwise-Annie meal. I love oven-roasted potato wedges and these didn't disappoint, but I can never seem to get my wedges crispy enough. :( Do I need to slice my potatoes thinner, or cook them at a higher temp, or make sure they are spread out more evenly? Hrmmmm.

Recipe here:

http://www.wordofwisdomliving.com/home/healthy-recipe-2-oven-roasted-fries.html

Ingredients:

2 T. extra virgin olive oil

1 tsp. minced garlic

1/2 tsp. dried basil

1/2 tsp. dried dill weed

1/2 tsp. dried thyme

1/2 tsp. dried oregano

1/2 tsp. dried parsley

4 large Yukon Gold potatoes, or potato of your choice

Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine oil and spices (except salt and pepper). Wash the potatoes and cut into wedges, leaving the skins on. (Thinner wedges are crispier and cook faster.) Add wedges to the bowl and coat evenly. Arrange on a foil lined baking sheet, add salt and pepper to taste.

2. Roast for 30-40 minutes at 425 degrees, flipping the potatoes after 20 minutes to brown on both sides.

Tomato-Watermelon Salad with Feta and Toasted Almonds

See link below. I made this for Mormon med school dinner. I added in some plums and pears, which I really loved in the salad, used grape tomatoes cut in half, and substituted balsamic for the red wine vinegar. I also omitted the arugula with no regrets. I venture to say that this was probably much, much better without it. Fabulous, but very watery so it is best eaten all in one sitting!

Ingredients:

• 8 cups 1 1/4-inch chunks seedless watermelon (about 6 pounds)
• 3 pounds ripe tomatoes (preferably heirloom) in assorted colors, cored, cut into 1 1/4-inch chunks (about 6 cups)
• 1 teaspoon (or more) fleur de sel or coarse kosher salt
• 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, divided
• 1 1/2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 3 tablespoons chopped assorted fresh herbs (such as dill, basil, and mint)

• 6 cups fresh arugula leaves or small watercress sprigs
• 1 cup crumbled feta cheese (about 5 ounces)
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds, lightly toasted

Directions:

1) Combine melon and tomatoes in large bowl. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon fleur de sel and toss to blend; let stand 15 minutes. Add 4 tablespoons oil, vinegar, and herbs to melon mixture. Season to taste with pepper and more salt, if desired.

2) Toss arugula in medium bowl with remaining 1 tablespoon oil. Divide arugula among plates. Top with melon salad; sprinkle with feta cheese and toasted almonds and serve.

I tossed the watermelon with regular salt and placed it in a colander for some time while I cut up the plums, tomatoes, etc. I think this helped to reduce a little bit of the extra liquid, but even then it was still a pretty liquidy salad!

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Tomato-Watermelon-Salad-with-Feta-and-Toasted-Almonds-235588#ixzz0yavoNMRa

Cheddar Dill Scones with Simple Chicken Salad

I love to try something new when I feed the missionaries, but this time more important things prevailed. MH was in town and we went to the Moosewood in Ithaca to celebrate. This was only fitting because as MH said, "If men were restaurants, I would marry the Moosewood."

We had chickpeas over coconut rice and vegetarian enchilada pie and fresh bread and creamy spinach dressing on salad and pomegranate Italian soda. And banana cake to go. Our server sat us in the sun at a perfect table. He probably dug us. We were, of course, in full charm.

But then after bouncing along rural New York roads in the truck we realized that we had to throw together a meal pronto, so we turned to an old Melville classic-- the cheddar dill scone. Only this time we served it with a twist-- the scones split open and served with chicken salad on top, akin to the pepper and onion shortbread espoused by the Moosewood.

We served it with grapes, bananas, pink lemonade, and multi color icecream cones for dessert. Perfecto. While a bit daring, we found that the stronger flavors of the scones blended perfectly with the mild flavors of the salad, creating a wonderful mix of textures and flavors in the mouth that was surprisingly pleasing. I would definitely serve this combo again. The chicken salad recipe is below:

Ingredients:

4 boneless chicken breasts

4 stalks celery

1 cucumber

1 medium sized package slivered almonds

1 small container mayonnaise

Spices to taste (I use salt, garlic salt, paprika, oregano, white pepper, and just a bit of cardamom)

Directions:

1) Preheat oven to 375F. When heated, spread almonds out on baking sheet and toast in oven ten minutes or until golden brown. Remove from heat and cool.

2) Fill large pot 4 inches full of water, add salt, bring to boil. Once boiling, add chicken (make sure water is covering chicken thoroughly) and boil until cooked thoroughly. Cut chicken into smaller cubes/chunks and allow to cool.

3) Peel cucumber and cut into wedge-shaped slices. Wash and chop celery into desired size pieces.

4) When chicken and almonds are cool, combine everything in large bowl with mayonnaise and stir. Add spices to taste.

5) Serve cold over warm scones.

Pepper & Onion Shortcake

This recipe is also from the New Moosewood Cookbook by Katzen, and drove the making of the cornbread, see below. After a few days of perpetual exhaustion right before finals later this week, I needed something warm and comforting. I also had some chopped vegetables left over from Mormon Med Student dinner on Sunday, so in the spirit of Vegetable Tuesday I went looking for a recipe that would use the vegetables I had while satisfying my need for sustenance. In the end, I was surprised by homeyness of the simple combination of cornbread and sauteed vegetables. Why did we never try this at home? I think the coarser cornbread that my mom makes would suit this dish even better. After eating, I went and studied for three and a half hours without falling asleep and came home and did my Lenten exercise while watching The Office.

Ingredients:

1 batch corn bread (see previous post)
2 Tbs. olive oil, butter, or margarine
2 cups thinly sliced onion
1/2 tsp. salt
3 medium sized bell peppers (any color), in thin strips
1/2 tsp. cumin (optional)
black pepper and cayenne to taste
3 medium cloves garlic, minced
1/2 cup yogurt at room-temperature (optional: add 1 to 2 Tbs. sour cream)
freshly minced dill, if available
paprika

Directions:

1) Make a batch of corn bread ahead of time. You can warm it in a 300F oven while preparing the topping, or toast corn bread chunks or slices just before serving. This makes a perfect lunch on a chilly day, especially when served with Spicy Tomato Soup.

2) Heat oil (or melt butter or margarine) in a medium-large skillet.

3) Add onion and salt, and saute over medium-low heat for 10 to 15 minutes, or until onion is very soft and beginning to brown.

4) Add bell peppers, cumin, black pepper, and cayenne, and continue to saute until the peppers are tender (about 10 minutes more.)

5) Add garlic, and cook just a minute or two more. Remove from the heat and stir in the yogurt (and optional touch of sour cream).

6) Serve immediately, spooned over split chunks of warmed or toasted corn bread and garnished with dill and paprika.

Having cut my vegetables previously, they were mostly diced instead of thinly sliced, but I don't think that affected their cooking time or meshing with the cornbread too much. But then, I haven't had the original. I used Mayan Sweet Onion, a green and yellow bell pepper (it would have been prettier with red), and Italian sweet pepper, some celery, and a little bit of green onion along with fresh garlic and dill. I thought about adding some mushrooms, and refrained. I seasoned it according to the recipe, adding a just a bit of black pepper and a dash of cayenne.

This might be another recipe that's forgiving of some vegetable mix-and-match, but I can imagine some larger vegetables (like broccoli) being hard to mix with the cornbread.

Pirozhki

Still needing to find things to do with the monster cabbage (which I kept in the fridge wrapped up in tin foil), I came upon this pirozhki recipe on Epicurious under the five fork category which would use the potatoes and some of the remaining dill. I made the dough and the filling up on a Thursday night and baked them on a Saturday morning. Pirozhki are a baked Russian potato-cabbage dumpling.

The original recipe can be found here:
http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/PIROZHKI-11648

Ingredients:

For the dough
2 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon double-acting baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks (3/4 cup) cold unsalted butter, cut into bits
2 large egg yolks
1/2 cup sour cream (I used 1/4 C. sour cream and 1/4 C. plain yogurt)
1 tablespoon cold water if necessary

For the filling
3/4 pound russet (baking) potatoes
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 onion, chopped fine
3/4 teaspoon caraway seeds (I omitted these)
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
3 cups chopped cabbage
3 tablespoons sour cream (I used 3 T. plain yogurt)
2 tablespoons water if necessary
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh dill

an egg wash made by beating 1 large egg with 1 teaspoon water

Preparation

Make the dough:
In a food processor blend together the flour, the baking powder, the salt, and the butter until the mixture resembles meal. In a small bowl whisk together the egg yolks and the sour cream, add the sour cream mixture to the flour mixture, and blend the mixture until it just forms a dough, adding the water if the dough seems dry. Divide the dough into fourths, form each fourth into a flattened round, and chill the dough, each round wrapped well in wax paper, for 1 hour or overnight.

Make the filling:
Peel the potatoes, cut them into 3/4-inch pieces, and in a steamer set over boiling water steam them, covered, for 12 to 15 minutes, or until they are very tender. Force the potatoes through a ricer or food mill into a bowl and stir in 1 tablespoon of the butter. In a heavy saucepan cook the onion and the caraway seeds in the remaining 1 tablespoon butter and the oil over moderate heat, stirring, until the onion is golden, add the cabbage, and cook the mixture, stirring, for 5 minutes. Cook the mixture, covered, over moderately low heat, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes more and stir it into the potato mixture with the sour cream, the water if the mixture is too thick, the dill, and salt and pepper to taste. The filling may be made 1 day in advance and kept covered and chilled.

On a lightly floured surface roll out 1 piece of the dough 1/8 inch thick, keeping the remaining pieces wrapped and chilled, and with a 3-inch cutter cut out rounds. Brush each round with some of the egg wash, put 2 level teaspoons of the filling on one half of each round, and fold the dough over the filling to form a half-moon, pressing the edges together firmly to seal them and crimping them with a fork. Gather the scraps of dough, reroll them, and make more pirozhki with the remaining filling and dough and some of the remaining egg wash in the same manner. The pirozhki may be made up to this point 5 days in advance and kept frozen in plastic freeze bags. The pirozhki need not be thawed before baking.

Arrange the pirozhki on lightly greased baking sheets and brush the tops with the remaining egg wash. Bake the pirozhki in preheated 350°F. oven for 25 to 30 minutes, or until they are golden, and serve them warm or at room temperature.

Makes 50 pirozhki.

These were a LOT of work, but a really delicious finished product. If I ever do these again (and I might, they are really good), I would make larger pirozhki because it takes a long time to make 50 individual turnovers. Note: the egg wash on the inner side of the pirozhki is really necessary in helping the pirozhki dough stick to itself and make the crimped edge of the turnover. Also, the dough should not be rolled if unchilled-- it will be too sticky.

I still have 1/3 cabbage left.

Cheddar Dill Scones

Using the definition of vegetable broadly, I made these delicious scones for my PBL group which was meeting the next morning. These were a favorite from Melville, a Thomas family treat. The recipe is taken from K.'s recipe blog:

http://kt-recipe-box.blogspot.com/2008/06/cheddar-and-dill-scones.html

I made this recipe as described, only I omitted the pepper. The scones were well received by my group: P. ate three! I served them with pickle halves and wished I also had cranberry juice, although that might have been a little too pungent a combination. These are a perfect light breakfast food: savory, not sweet and easy to make.

Serves 12, or 4 P.'s.

Ingredients:

2 large eggs
1/3 cup plus 1 tablespoon buttermilk
1/3 cup minced fresh dill
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon pepper
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons (1 1/4 sticks) chilled unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 3/4 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese (about 6 ounces)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Lightly butter two 9-inch pie pans.

Beat eggs, buttermilk and minced fresh dill in medium bowl to blend. Combine flours, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, pepper and salt in large bowl. Add butter to flour mixture and cut in until mixture is crumbly. Stir in egg mixture. Add grated cheddar cheese. Stir to mix well. (Dough will be stiff and crumbly.) Knead gently until dough just holds together.

Divide dough in half. Pat each half into prepared pans to 1-inch thickness. Using long knife or pizza wheel, score each round into 6 wedges. Bake until toothpick inserted into each center comes out clean, about 30 minutes. Transfer pans to rack and cool scones slightly. Cut into wedges.

(I cut right out of the oven, and that seemed to work well also.)

Turkish Zucchini Pancakes

This Tuesday I tried out making some Turkish zucchini pancakes. I got this sweet recipe from Epicurious.com.

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/TURKISH-ZUCCHINI-PANCAKES-1208

Here's what Epicurious has to say about the recipe:

Ingredients:

1 pound zucchini, trimmed, coarsely grated

2 cups chopped green onions
4 eggs, beaten to blend
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup chopped fresh dill or 1 1/2 tablespoons dried dillweed
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons chopped fresh tarragon or 2 teaspoons dried
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground pepper
1/2 cup crumbled feta cheese (about 3 ounces)
2/3 cup chopped walnuts (about 3 ounces)

Olive oil

Preparation:

Place zucchini in colander. Sprinkle zucchini with salt and let stand 30 minutes to drain. Squeeze zucchini between hands to remove liquid, then squeeze dry in several layers of paper towels.

Combine zucchini, chopped green onions, 4 eggs, flour, chopped dill, parsley, tarragon, 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper in medium bowl. Mix well. Fold in crumbled feta cheese. (Zucchini mixture can be prepared 3 hours ahead. Cover tightly and refrigerate. Stir to blend before continuing.) Fold chopped walnuts into zucchini mixture.

Preheat oven to 300°F. Place baking sheet in oven. Cover bottom of large nonstick skillet with olive oil. Heat skillet over medium-high heat. Working in batches, drop zucchini mixture into skillet by heaping tablespoonfuls. Fry until pancakes are golden brown and cooked through, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer each batch of pancakes to baking sheet in oven to keep warm. Serve pancakes hot.

My Comments:

I made a few modifications to this recipe. I grated one yellow zucchini and one green zucchini and used maybe 1 1/2 cups of green onion. Also I used 1/2 C. dill, no pepper, and 4 oz. feta cheese.

These were super delicious, but next time I would cut some of the dill, add more cheese, and use a little more salt and just a pinch of pepper. These were a little more time consuming (total time about 2 hours) than I want most Vegetable Tuesdays to be, but today was fine because I didn't have a lot of homework today so it was pretty chill.

I ate mine with sour cream, which I found improved the experience. A. ate hers with ranch dressing and ate a second one the same way. B. and R. also had these without complaint.

I def. don't see little kids loving these, but for a vegetarian these could be another great vegetable option. Maybe next week we'll branch out of the zucchini.