Rebekka's Jambalaya

This jambalaya recipe is adapted by Rebekka from Chef Paul Prudhomme's Louisiana Kitchen and can be found on her blog: rebeatworld.blogspot.com. This makes a very spicy dish, but that is part of what makes it so grand.

Ingredients:

2 whole bay leaves
1 1/2 t cayenne pepper
1 1/2 t salt
1 1/2 t white pepper
1 t dried thyme leaves
1/2 t black pepper
1/4 t rubbed sage

2 T butter
1/2 pound chopped andouille sausage, about 2 cups
3/4 lb boneless chicken, cut into bite-size pieces, about 2 cups
1 T minced garlic
1 c chopped onions
1 c chopped celery
1 c chopped green bell peppers
1/2 c canned tomato sauce (I just use a whole little can of tomato sauce)
1 c chopped tomatoes
2 1/2 c low-sodium chicken broth
1 1/2 c uncooked converted rice

Directions:

1. Melt butter in a large skillet over high heat. Add sausage and cook for a few minutes, stirring frequently. Add chicken and continue cooking until chicken is brown, 3 to 5 minutes, stirring frequently, and scraping pan bottom well if it's not nonstick.

2. Stir in seasonings (bay leaf through sage), garlic, and 1/2 c each of the onions, celery, and bell peppers. Cook until vegetables start to get tender, 5 to 8 minutes, stirring.

3. Stir in tomato sauce and cook about 1 minute, stirring often. Stir in the remaining 1/2 c each of the onions, celery, and bell peppers and the tomatoes. Remove from heat.

4. Stir in the broth and rice, mixing well. Transfer mixture to an ungreased 9x13-inch baking pan (I found that the recommended 8x8 was much too small). Bake uncoverd in a 350 F oven until rice is tender but still a bit crunchy, about 1 hour. Remove from oven. Stir well and cool a bit before eating.


Note: The seasonings really are quite flexible. I haven't yet used the bay or the white pepper and it has turned out plenty spicy!

Thai Chicken Stir-Fry With Spicy Peanut Sauce

This is a recipe that the Robber found that we have now made twice together. It is tasty and a nice meal all in one dish, with the meat and rice and vegetables. I especially love the peanut taste! It comes from here: http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/0,1627,158167-247199,00.html, but we alter it by adding in a whole can of coconut milk to dilute the otherwise very strong peanut taste and to make the curry a little bit thinner. The recipe is quite versatile, really you can throw in anything you want. Onion, pepper, whatever in addition to the broccoli.

Ingredients:

2 whole chicken breasts, skinned, boned & cut into bite-size pieces
1/2 c. peanut butter
1/2 c. water
2 tbsp. soy sauce
1 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. peanut or vegetable oil
2 or 3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper
3 to 4 c. sliced broccoli or spinach

Directions:

In a small bowl, blend peanut butter, water, soy sauce and sugar; set aside. In a wok or large skillet, heat oil over high heat. Add garlic and pepper; stir-fry 30 seconds. Add chicken, stir-fry until firm and white, about 5 minutes. Add broccoli or spinach, stir-fry until bright green, about 3 minutes. Stir in peanut butter mixture. Cook, stirring constantly until sauce is smooth, about 3 minutes.

Serves 4.

Coconut Cream Pie

From The Joy: The Robber LOVES this pie. I made it on our ninth day of marriage and it just about blew his socks right off his Robber body. I love this man. Check out the bottom for a sweet picture of our pie!

Ingredients:

2/3 C. sugar
1/2 C. flour
1/2 t. salt
2 C. milk (Note: I use 1 C. coconut milk, 1 C. cow's milk)
2 whole eggs or 3 egg yolks
2 T. butter
2 t. extract -- vanilla, coconut, etc.
1/2 - 1 C. coconut

One baked half pie shell

1/3 C. toasted coconut
1/2 pint heavy whipping cream
Directions:

1. In saucepan, combine sugar, flour, salt, milk. Beat in eggs/egg yolks and heat, stirring continuously until thickened. Take off heat, add butter and extract.

2. Stir in coconut. Pour into pie shell, cover completely with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for three hours or until completely cooled and solidified. Cooling overnight is best.

3. Just before serving, toast coconut on cookie sheet in oven at 400F until it barely changes color. Whip cream and add a bit of sugar to sweeten it. Spread whipped cream over surface of pie and sprinkle toasted coconut over the whipping cream. Enjoy!

p.s. Check out this sweet pie plate the Robber's labbies gave us!

Buttermilk Waffles

I was packing and found, to my delight, a slip of paper with KT's dear buttermilk waffles recipe on it. Lacking a place to put the paper, I'm converting it to electronic form. Ah, the loss of the handwriting! But how lucky to be able to preserve it online for reference anywhere!

Ingredients:

4 C. buttermilk
4 eggs, separated
4 C. flour
1 T baking soda
1 t salt
1 C oil

Directions:

1. Combing dry ingredients in a bowl. Add oil, buttermilk, and yolks.

2. In separate bowl, whip egg whites and the fold into the milk/oil/flour mixture.

3. Cook in the waffle iron and eat fresh!

Sweet Potato Casserole

Another Epicurious recipe which I pulled out for Mormon med student dinner when I needed to make a vegetable side. Not truly a casserole, this is more accurately described as just twice-baked mashed sweet potato. This was easy, straight-forward, and good as far as sweet potatoes go. I, like the author of the recipe, like the simplicity of the recipe. No mini marshmallows, just the potatoes and a little orange juice*.

Original recipe here: http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Sweet-Potato-Casserole-350516

Ingredients:

3 cups firmly packed unseasoned mashed sweet potatoes (about 3 pounds)
1/2 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup fresh orange juice
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter, melted
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest
1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg or 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt, or to taste
1/4 teaspoon black pepper, or to taste

Directions:

1. Pierce each sweet potato with a sharp-pronged kitchen fork, set on a baking sheet, then bake on the middle oven shelf for about 1 hour at 400° F. or until you can pierce a potato easily with a fork.

2. Cool the potatoes to room temperature, peel, then mash until light and fluffy.

3. Preheat the oven to 350° F. Butter a 2-quart casserole and set aside.

4. Combine all ingredients in a large mixing bowl, beating until smooth. Taste for salt and pepper and adjust as needed.

5. Scoop into the casserole, spreading to the edge and roughing the surface. Bake uncovered on the middle oven shelf for about 45 minutes or until tipped with brown.

6. Serve hot as an accompaniment to roast turkey, chicken, or pork. Good, too, with pork chops.

We ate these with pork chops and Caeser salad and rice pilaf and had was a lovely meal.

*Unlike most recipes, I actually followed most of the instructions exactly as is with this recipe. Except.... I substituted orange-peach-mango juice for the OJ! Just for a little kick, you know. And because it's what I had on hand. And that little move got universally approved. So feel free to experiment yourself.

Potato-Apple Pancakes

From Epicurious. First the original recipe, then my modifications:

Ingredients:

1 pound russet potatoes, peeled, cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1 medium onion, peeled, quartered
1 2-inch cube peeled celery root (celeriac)
1 medium Granny Smith apple (unpeeled), quartered, cored
1 large egg
1 green onion, finely chopped
1 tablespoon chopped fresh marjoram
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 cup all purpose flour

Vegetable oil (for frying)

Garnish

1 8-ounce container crème fraîche or sour cream
2 tablespoons drained prepared white horseradish
8 ounces thinly sliced smoked salmon
Chopped fresh chives

Directions:

Preheat oven to 325°F. Place baking sheet in oven. Place colander in large bowl. Line colander with kitchen towel. Using processor fitted with shredding blade, coarsely grate potatoes, onion, celery root and apple at the same time. Transfer potato mixture to towel. Gather towel tightly around potato mixture and squeeze out as much liquid as possible into bowl; discard liquid. Place potato mixture, egg, green onion, marjoram, salt and pepper in same bowl; toss to blend. Mix in flour.

Pour enough vegetable oil into heavy large skillet to cover bottom. Heat oil over medium-high heat. Working in batches, drop 1/4 cup pancake mixture into skillet for each pancake. Using bottom of metal spatula, flatten each mound to 3-inch round. Fry until cooked through and crisp, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer pancakes to baking sheet in oven to keep warm. Repeat with remaining pancake mixture, leaving behind any liquid that collects in bottom of bowl.

Mix crème fraîche and horseradish in small bowl. Arrange 2 pancakes on each plate. Garnish pancakes with dollop of horseradish cream and smoked salmon. Sprinkle with chives and serve.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Potato-Apple-Pancakes-with-Smoked-Salmon-and-Horseradish-102616#ixzz0kH1q6Yqh

Hmmmm, let's see, I:

Used 3 large russet potatoes
1/2 one large onion
Omitted the celery root (like virtually all the reviewers)
1 large fuji apple
2 large eggs
Omitted the green onion and the marjoram
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 cup all purpose flour
Added some various spices

I also did not make the garnish. I served these with cherry salsa and sour cream at an Easter dinner and they were well received! Not my favorite ever, but a good exercise in using what I already had to make something new.

Note, I think these cook better with less oil in the pan than with more.

Linzer Cookies

My sisters made these over the Christmas break for the Rawle-Matheson bash. They are so good! My sister-in-law R requested the recipe, so Mom sent me this and I blog it here in case I want to make these cookies some time in the future.

Linzer Cookies

Cookies inspired by the famous jam-filled Linzetorte. These are ideal for any occasion. This recipe taken from the insert which came with the linzer cutters.

Ingredients:

1 1/4 cups of whole nuts, hazelnuts or almonds
1 c. butter
2/3 c. granulated sugar
2 large eggs
1 t. vanilla extract
2 c. flour
1 t. baking powder
1 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. salt
1 t. lemon zest
Confectioner's sugar for dusting
1 c. seedless jam

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375F.

2. Place nuts in a food processor and process until medium fine in texture.

3. Line baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside until ready for use.

4. Beat butter and sugar together with an electric mixer on medium high until light and creamy in texture.

5. Add eggs and beat until smooth.

6. Add in the vanilla and beat until combined.

7. In a separate bowl, combine flour, nuts, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, and lemon zest.

8. Add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and beat to combine.

9. Place in freezer until firm, approximately 30-40 minutes.

10. Dust a clean surface generously with flour, and roll out the dough to approximately 1/8 inch thickness.

11. Using the linzer cutter without an insert, cut out cookies (at least 36) and transfer to the prepared cookie sheets--these will be bottom pieces.

12. Next cut out 36 more with an insert shape in cookie cutters--these will be the top pieced of the cookies. You can either re-roll the cutouts or bake them.

13. Bake all cookies for about 8 minutes until golden brown. Transfer to a wire rack until completely cooled.

14. Sift confectioners sugar over top pieces of the cookies.

15. Spread about 1 t. jam on each of the bottom halves and place the top half (cut out piece) on jam covered bottom half.

15. Cookies can be stored carefully in an airtight container for up to one week.