Today is National Kitchen Klutzes of America Day in the US.
As always, all measurements are in US units. See http://www.onlineconversion.com/cooking_volume.htm for converting measurements.
* Cracker Barrel's Chicken Salad: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes2/06244.htm
* Southern Grilled Barbecued Ribs: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes2/06242.htm
* Cordon Bleu Casserole: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes/7153.htm
* Cajun Baked Shrimp: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes/7295.htm
* Red Potatoes and String Beans: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes1/07225.htm
* Fresh Tomato Basil Soup: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes/red49.htm
* Bratwurst with Smothered Cabbage: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes4/06067.htm
* Grilled Peaches with Raspberries: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes/6247.htm
* Low Carb Belgian Waffles: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes/lc26.htm
* Diabetic-Friendly Cream Cheese and Jelly Cookies: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes/diab24.htm
* Low Fat Cheese Ravioli: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes/lowfat22.htm
Kelley's Cooking Tips
=====================
Grilling Tips:
* Always preheat the gas grill for a good 10 minutes or, with charcoal, allow 20 to 30 minutes for it to turn to a light gray ash.
* Keep the grill vents open. This lets oxygen in which fuels the flame.
* Keep your grill clean. Scrub grill grates with a wire brush or spatula before and after cooking. Oil the grill grates so food doesn't stick.
* Season the food with dry rubs before cooking.
* Turn items only once (halfway through cooking time) and test with an instant-read thermometer.
* Keep grill cover closed for even cooking. Resist the urge to peek.
Have a cooking question? Kelley has your answer! kelley@e-cookbooks.net
For the Artichoke, Some New Helpers
by Mark Bittman
A lesson I learned this spring: if you have artichokes in your kitchen, you will find new ways to cook them.
While travelling throughout Western Europe intermittently since February, I saw them eaten raw, braised, sautéed and fried, served solo or with lamb, shrimp, octopus or pasta. And I internalised, as I never had before, that artichokes are not a precious ingredient but a regular vegetable and can be treated as such.
In a way they remind me of lobster: they’re so great steamed, with lemon or butter, that you forget that it’s easy enough to take them a step or two further.
On my extended periods at home, I bought artichokes whenever I saw decent ones. It didn’t hurt that they don’t seem too expensive this year.
I began not only duplicating beloved recipes from past years, a seasonal ritual with many of my favourite ingredients, but also improvising with them.
The best consequence of all that was this quick saute, in which as I was trimming my artichokes I began piling them, cut side down, into a pan filmed with hot oil.
(I’m not a big fan of soaking artichokes in acidulated water to keep them green, for three reasons: one, it’s a hassle; two, it doesn’t work that well unless you make the water so acidic that it changes the taste; and three, I don’t mind olive-green artichokes.)
With them, I cooked garlic, tomatoes and olives - I used oil-cured, but any good olives will do. It’s a simple and obvious enough combination, but a fabulous one as well.
The dish is a bit easier when made with little artichokes (or baby ones; they’re not exactly the same), whose chokes are either nonexistent or small enough to ignore, and which can therefore be prepped a little bit faster than their larger cousins.
You can deal with them at the rate of about one per minute, so a dozen or so doesn’t take much more than 10 minutes. (Details for trimming are in the recipe below.)
But if you can’t find the little ones, trimming the big ones (cut them in half lengthwise to remove the choke) doesn’t require much more time.
Little Artichokes, Provençal Style
==================================
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, crushed, then peeled
Fresh thyme or rosemary, optional
1/2 cup flavorful black olives, pitted
Salt
12 little (or baby) artichokes
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved or left whole, or about 1 1/2 cups any other tomatoes, chopped
Chopped fresh parsley leaves for garnish
1. Combine oil and garlic in a large skillet (cast iron is good), over low heat. When garlic sizzles, add herb, olives and a pinch of salt.
2. Meanwhile, one at a time, prepare artichokes: remove hard leaves, then cut off spiky end, about an inch down from top; trim bottoms, cut artichokes in half, and add them to pan as they are ready, cut side down. When about half of them are in pan, raise heat so they brown a bit; move them around as you add remaining artichokes so that they brown evenly.
3. When artichokes brown, add tomatoes and a splash of water. Cook until chokes are tender, 10 to 20 minutes. Add water if needed. Adjust seasoning, garnish and serve hot or at room temperature.
Jerk Pork
=========
1/4 cup allspice berries
1 1/2 inch piece of cinnamon
1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
6 scallions, including green tops, sliced
1 habañero pepper
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dark Jamaica rum
1 (4 pound) boned pork loin
Preheat the oven to 350F. Place the berries on a pie tin and roast for 10 minutes. Pulverise them in a spice mill with the cinnamon and nutmeg. Place the spice mixture in a food processor, fitted with a metal blade. Add the scallions and habañero. Season with salt and pepper. Process until a paste is formed. Add the rum and mix well. Rub the mixture all over the pork loin. Cover and allow to marinate for at least 1 hour at room temperature.
Increase the oven temperature to 400F. Remove the meat and place in a roasting pan, and roast for 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350F and continue to roast for 1 1/2 hours, basting every 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
Receive The Leading Recipe Ezine On The Internet! http://www.e-cookbooks.net/sub1.htm
* Cracker Barrel's Chicken Salad: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes2/06244.htm
* Southern Grilled Barbecued Ribs: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes2/06242.htm
* Cordon Bleu Casserole: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes/7153.htm
* Cajun Baked Shrimp: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes/7295.htm
* Red Potatoes and String Beans: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes1/07225.htm
* Fresh Tomato Basil Soup: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes/red49.htm
* Bratwurst with Smothered Cabbage: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes4/06067.htm
* Grilled Peaches with Raspberries: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes/6247.htm
* Low Carb Belgian Waffles: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes/lc26.htm
* Diabetic-Friendly Cream Cheese and Jelly Cookies: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes/diab24.htm
* Low Fat Cheese Ravioli: http://www.e-cookbooks.net/recipes/lowfat22.htm
Kelley's Cooking Tips
=====================
Grilling Tips:
* Always preheat the gas grill for a good 10 minutes or, with charcoal, allow 20 to 30 minutes for it to turn to a light gray ash.
* Keep the grill vents open. This lets oxygen in which fuels the flame.
* Keep your grill clean. Scrub grill grates with a wire brush or spatula before and after cooking. Oil the grill grates so food doesn't stick.
* Season the food with dry rubs before cooking.
* Turn items only once (halfway through cooking time) and test with an instant-read thermometer.
* Keep grill cover closed for even cooking. Resist the urge to peek.
Have a cooking question? Kelley has your answer! kelley@e-cookbooks.net
For the Artichoke, Some New Helpers
by Mark Bittman
A lesson I learned this spring: if you have artichokes in your kitchen, you will find new ways to cook them.
While travelling throughout Western Europe intermittently since February, I saw them eaten raw, braised, sautéed and fried, served solo or with lamb, shrimp, octopus or pasta. And I internalised, as I never had before, that artichokes are not a precious ingredient but a regular vegetable and can be treated as such.
In a way they remind me of lobster: they’re so great steamed, with lemon or butter, that you forget that it’s easy enough to take them a step or two further.
On my extended periods at home, I bought artichokes whenever I saw decent ones. It didn’t hurt that they don’t seem too expensive this year.
I began not only duplicating beloved recipes from past years, a seasonal ritual with many of my favourite ingredients, but also improvising with them.
The best consequence of all that was this quick saute, in which as I was trimming my artichokes I began piling them, cut side down, into a pan filmed with hot oil.
(I’m not a big fan of soaking artichokes in acidulated water to keep them green, for three reasons: one, it’s a hassle; two, it doesn’t work that well unless you make the water so acidic that it changes the taste; and three, I don’t mind olive-green artichokes.)
With them, I cooked garlic, tomatoes and olives - I used oil-cured, but any good olives will do. It’s a simple and obvious enough combination, but a fabulous one as well.
The dish is a bit easier when made with little artichokes (or baby ones; they’re not exactly the same), whose chokes are either nonexistent or small enough to ignore, and which can therefore be prepped a little bit faster than their larger cousins.
You can deal with them at the rate of about one per minute, so a dozen or so doesn’t take much more than 10 minutes. (Details for trimming are in the recipe below.)
But if you can’t find the little ones, trimming the big ones (cut them in half lengthwise to remove the choke) doesn’t require much more time.
Little Artichokes, Provençal Style
==================================
1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
4 cloves garlic, crushed, then peeled
Fresh thyme or rosemary, optional
1/2 cup flavorful black olives, pitted
Salt
12 little (or baby) artichokes
1 pint grape tomatoes, halved or left whole, or about 1 1/2 cups any other tomatoes, chopped
Chopped fresh parsley leaves for garnish
1. Combine oil and garlic in a large skillet (cast iron is good), over low heat. When garlic sizzles, add herb, olives and a pinch of salt.
2. Meanwhile, one at a time, prepare artichokes: remove hard leaves, then cut off spiky end, about an inch down from top; trim bottoms, cut artichokes in half, and add them to pan as they are ready, cut side down. When about half of them are in pan, raise heat so they brown a bit; move them around as you add remaining artichokes so that they brown evenly.
3. When artichokes brown, add tomatoes and a splash of water. Cook until chokes are tender, 10 to 20 minutes. Add water if needed. Adjust seasoning, garnish and serve hot or at room temperature.
Jerk Pork
=========
1/4 cup allspice berries
1 1/2 inch piece of cinnamon
1 teaspoon grated nutmeg
6 scallions, including green tops, sliced
1 habañero pepper
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon dark Jamaica rum
1 (4 pound) boned pork loin
Preheat the oven to 350F. Place the berries on a pie tin and roast for 10 minutes. Pulverise them in a spice mill with the cinnamon and nutmeg. Place the spice mixture in a food processor, fitted with a metal blade. Add the scallions and habañero. Season with salt and pepper. Process until a paste is formed. Add the rum and mix well. Rub the mixture all over the pork loin. Cover and allow to marinate for at least 1 hour at room temperature.
Increase the oven temperature to 400F. Remove the meat and place in a roasting pan, and roast for 30 minutes. Reduce the heat to 350F and continue to roast for 1 1/2 hours, basting every 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and rest for 5 minutes before slicing.
Receive The Leading Recipe Ezine On The Internet! http://www.e-cookbooks.net/sub1.htm