Recipe Review from 4/19/2021

Two new recipes this week from Kevin Belton's New Orleans Celebrations. I was feeling in a Southern mood. A couple of repeat recipes: pizza dough from Cooks Illustrated and Butternut Squash Soup from the Irish Pub cookbook.

Didn't get to tour the museum; maybe next time.

The Meal Plan:
Sat (L) out (S) Squash Soup
Sun (L) Soup (S) Calzones
Mon (yoga) calzones and soup
Tues - calzone and soup
Wed (yoga) - leftover calzones
Thurs - Bacon Burgers
Fri - leftover burgers


Sausage Calzones (modified from Kevin Belton's New Orleans Celebrations)
My modifications were to use a 1/2 lb of regular Italian bear sausage, one red bell instead of half a red and half a green (I didn't have any use for leftover pepper this week), and I made my own pizza dough (Cooks Country recipe).

This made four rather substantial calzones. Too much for one person. So we shared a calzone and had either a salad or a small bowl of leftover squash soup to go along side. Yum! This was also "bready" enough that I had the olive oil on the table so we could dip the calzone into some olive oil drizzled on our plates. Double yum!

These are too putzy for a weeknight meal (unless you've got plenty of time), but by making on the weekend I had leftovers for three more meals. Bonus! These reheated beautifully, tasted great, and I would absolutely make them again. Recommended!
Serves 4 (but mine were large enough to share, so I had 4 meals for two, with a side of soup or salad)

1/2 lb hot Italian sausage, casings removed
1/2 cup chopped red bell pepper (I used one cup red pepper and skipped the green)
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1 cup thinly sliced yellow onion (I used a leftover shallot)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp Creole seasoning
1 tsp salt (omitted as there is salt in my Creole seasoning)
1 lb store-bought frozen pizza dough, thawed and at room temp (I made my own
All-purpose flour (for rolling out dough)
1/2 cup ricotta (I used cottage cheese)
1 1/2 cup grated mozzarella
1 large egg
1 tbsp water
1/2 tsp finely chopped fresh rosemary
Sea salt

Position a rack in the center of the oven. Put a pizza stone or upside down baking sheet on the rack and heat the oven to 450 degrees. Line a pizza peel or flat baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.

In a large nonstick skillet, cook the sausage, peppers, onion and garlic over medium-high heat, breaking up the sausage until the sausage is browned and the peppers an onions soft, about 5 minutes. Add Creole seasoning and salt (if using). Remove from heat and set aside.

Lightly flour a work surface and divide dough into four equal pieces. Using your hands or a rolling pin, stretch each piece into a 6-7" round.

Divide the ricotta (or cottage cheese) among the four rounds, placing it only on half of the dough and leaving room at the edges. Top with sausage and pepper mixture. Sprinkle with cheese. Fold the dough over the filling and pinch the edges to seal. Transfer to prepared pizza peel or baking sheet.

In a small bowl, whisk egg and water. Brush over the calzones. Sprinkle with rosemary and sea salt. Carefully slide the parchment and calzones onto the pizza stone or baking sheet. Bake 10-14 minutes (I baked mine 20 minutes - that produces the best pizza/calzone results for my oven), or until golden on top and bottom, rotating halfway through baking for even cooking.


Bacon Burgers (modified from Kevin Belton's New Orleans Celebrations)
My modifications are written below. For the full recipe, check out Kevin Belton's New Orleans Celebrations.

I modified this bur overall stayed true to the recipe. I halved the recipe, I omitted the fried pork belly, and I used jarred bacon jam rather than following the "homemade" recipe provided. I had the bacon jam in the pantry, seemed a good a time to (finally) use it.

These are tasty, could easily be cooked on the grill, and come together fairly quickly. Cooking the bacon adds some extra time to the assembly process but it's not too bad. Chopped bacon takes less time to cook than whole slices and I found them more palatable in the burger rather than trying to crunch through a whole slice on top.

If you're looking for a different flavor for a burger, give this one a try. Recommended.

Serves 4
1 onion, thinly sliced
1 lb lean ground beef
1/2 lb bacon
1 tbsp Creole seasoning
1 tsp kosher salt (less if there's salt in your Creole seasoning)
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tbsp vegetable oil
4 slices cheddar cheese
4 lettuce leaves
4 slices tomato
pickles
4 buns (I used large English Muffins)
Bacon Jam**

In a large skillet, add the bacon, bring heat to medium-high and cook until crisp. Remove bacon from skillet and set aside. Reserve 2 tbsp bacon grease.

Return skillet to medium-high heat. With reserved bacon grease, cook onion until caramelized, about 5-7 minutes. **Toward the end of the cooking, add 1 tbsp of bacon jam if using. Set onions aside.

Combine ground beef, bacon, Creole seasoning, salt, pepper and garlic oil. Form into equal sized patties. Heat skillet and remaining 1 tbsp of bacon grease over medium-high heat. Cook for 3-4 minutes, flip, and cook another 3-4 minutes (depending on the thickness of your patties, the kind of meat you're using and taste preferences, I cook mine to 160*-170*). Turn off the heat, add the cheese and let melt slightly.

Assemble burgers on the bun with a schmear of bacon jam, patties and cheese, grilled onions, tomato, and lettuce.

Win by Harlan Coben (Windsor Horne Lockwood III)

Win by Harlan Coben
My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Jacket Blurb: From a #1 New York Times bestselling author comes this thrilling story that shows what happens when a dead man's secrets fall into the hands of vigilante antihero—drawing him down a dangerous road.

Over twenty years ago, the heiress Patricia Lockwood was abducted during a robbery of her family's estate, then locked inside an isolated cabin for months. Patricia escaped, but so did her captors — and the items stolen from her family were never recovered.

Until now. On the Upper West Side, a recluse is found murdered in his penthouse apartment, alongside two objects of note: a stolen Vermeer painting and a leather suitcase bearing the initials WHL3. For the first time in years, the authorities have a lead — not only on Patricia's kidnapping, but also on another FBI cold case — with the suitcase and painting both pointing them toward one man.

Windsor Horne Lockwood III — or Win, as his few friends call him — doesn't know how his suitcase and his family's stolen painting ended up with a dead man. But his interest is piqued, especially when the FBI tells him that the man who kidnapped his cousin was also behind an act of domestic terrorism — and that the conspirators may still be at large. The two cases have baffled the FBI for decades, but Win has three things the FBI doesn't: a personal connection to the case; an ungodly fortune; and his own unique brand of justice.

Read as an audio book.

If you've read the Myron Bolitar series by Harlan Coben, then you've been introduced to Win. This...this is Win's book. Myron is mentioned a lot, but he's not present nor does he make an appearance, so it may be helpful to read the Bolitar series. If you haven't, you'll get the jist that Myron is Win's dearest friend.

As I mentioned, this is Win's story. By all rights, Win should be a despicable character - filthy rich, entitled, elitist, despicable (um...murder,anyone?), questionable methods, but yet, yet...we revel in his money, applaud his morals, and admire his devotion and dedication to those he has picked as "friend".

Why is that?

This first installment (of what I hope will be at least several books), bounces between the past and the present. Rare paintings were stolen, an uncle murdered, a cousin kidnapped, and a group known as the Jane Street Six committed an act of vandalism that lead to the deaths of several people and an FBI agent was shot in the line of duty. In the present, one of the paintings resurfaces and when the FBI contacts Win to help, this kicks of a chain of events that unravels everything.
This was, simply, classic Harlen. It was the perfect commute "read" where I could sit back and let the plot unfold and just enjoy the story.

But that's not to say I didn't have any quibbles. There is - repeated - mention of a "Hut of Horrors". The overuse of the "nickname" to this circumstance became a bit...much. There was an instance of someone getting shot in the shoulder. My impression was this was a through-and through (I don't remember mention that this was just a "graze" - it may have been?). From a medical standpoint, one does not get shot in the shoulder (assuming the through-and-through) and pick up with life as normal five days later. So...I'm hoping it was a graze and I misunderstood, but, even then, stitches, itching, clothing is going to irritated it, and you can't change a bandage on your back by yourself.
So, some minor quibbles.

Still, I'm thrilled that Win has been spun off from the Bolitar series and I look forward to seeing where this goes. Recommended.

View all my reviews

Recipe Review from 4/12/2021 and crafty update

No new recipes this past week. I needed a respite from cooking so went super simple. This did include, however, some freezer reduction: I used up a chicken and a package of ground pork. I should mention, the rice and beans from the week previous used up some of the beans we grew last year.

My crocus are blooming! 

The Meal Plan:
Sat (L) rice/beans (S) Valentini's take-out
Sun (L) leftovers (S) Roast Chicken and veggies
Mon (yoga) leftover chicken
Tues - tacos
Wed (yoga) leftover chicken
Thurs - take-n-bake pizza
Fri - leftover tacos

Lunches: leftover rice and beans (yeah, that recipe made a lot) and wraps. Which reminded me WHY I by Stacy's tortilla's from the co-op and stopped buying Azteca's from the grocery store. Co-op tortilla's don't self-destruct halfway through eating.


Because this was an uneventful week recipe-wise, I'll add on a craft update.  I tried out a new bag pattern (project bag below). Some new techniques and interfacing involved for this one: I got to try working with fleece and foam interfacing and some different assembly. What I didn't like about this pattern was how the handles were constructed. You make a tube of fabric and insert a webbed strap. I found the tube wasn't the right size and had to modify to make it fit right. I much prefer making my own handles out of interfacing and fabric. Just as sturdy and less putzy.

And I made a handful of small bags:

Recipe Review from 4/5/2021

Hidden Falls Park, Port Wing, WI (Fall 2020)

This week won't have the recipes typed out or even a link to said recipe - too much typing!! I will instead be pointing you in the direction of the relevant cook book. Check them out from your local library and if you like what you see - purchase! You will need an instant pot or pressure cooker for two of the recipes. They could be adapted to stove top or slow cooker (Milk Street offers a slow cooker options), cooking times would have to be modified.

Sunday is typically meal prep day and my IP was being put through it's paces again - chicken stock and chicken for chicken salad wraps (1 1/2 hrs), Braised Chicken, (1 hr), Indian Beans (1 1/2 hrs), and basmati rice (20 minutes). Have I mentioned lately how much I love my IP? No? I HEART my IP! Though I do need to figure out how to do LESS cooking on Sundays because I confess, it gets a bit exhausting what with all the cleanup. But summer is around the corner and soon we'll be firing up the grill and smoker. Plus, not having to worry about "what's for dinner" is really nice during the week. It's in the fridge and all I or the Husband have to do is pull out and reheat. Makes a difference when I don't get home until 630p.


The Meal Plan:
Sat (L) leftover pizza (S) leftover gumbo and rice
Sun (L) spicy braised chicken (S) catfish courtboullion
Mon (yoga) leftovers
Tues - leftovers
Wed (yoga) leftovers
Thurs - leftovers
Fri - leftovers

Lunches: (me) Indian Spiced Beans with basmati rice; (The Husband) Chicken Salad wraps

Spicy Braised Chicken with Coconut Milk, Turmeric, and Cashews (Milk Street Fast and Slow)
From Milk Street Fast and Slow: This curry-like chicken braise is our adaptation of a recipe in "Buttermilk Graffiti" by chef Edward Lee, who featured the dish in a chapter on Houston's Nigerian-American community. the combination of coconut milk and cashews gives the sauce a delicious richness. Whole habanero chilies add a backdrop of spiciness bu not searing heat. ...Steamed rice is the perfect accompaniment to soak up all the creamy sauce.

Yes. That. Creamy and spicy. For this Minnesotan (who likes a bit of heat) using the habenaro's whole and removing was perfect. Except...I lost one habenaro in the dish. It might have disintegrated. Not sure. Recipe states 1 hour from start to finish, and they were about spot on. I did have a problem with the sauce triggering the "burn" notice on the IP, so I let everything finish under pressure and natural release. Just to be safe, I sauteed the chicken in the sauce for 10 minutes at the end (which was called for to thicken the sauce). I served over basmati rice that I made for the next dish.

Recommended! I will probably got four meals for two out of this (1 thighs/person with rice).

Indian-Spiced Bean Stew (Milk Street Fast and Slow) vegetarian
From Milk Street Fast and Slow: This is our version of the aromatic kidney bean curry call rajma. We season the dish with two spice blends - garam masala and curry powder - along with a good dose of cumin to add earthy notes, so its flavor is complex and robust. Blooming the spices in the oil brings depth and fullness to the dish You can offer the stew as a part of an Indian meal, but it's hearty enough to be a vegetarian main. If you like, garnish with plain yogurt and serve basmati rice or naan on the side.

This was my lunch for the week. And the weekend. I subbed Minnesota Cranberry beans for the kidney beans as I do not like kidney beans. MN Cranberry beans are similar to cranberry beans (bilotti) and look like a pinto bean. My thought was, these are an Indian version of our bbq baked beans - just made in the slow cooker or instant pot. The hour and a half assembly from start to finish is pretty accurate, and most of that is hands off. I did serve this over basmati rice.

Recipe notes this serves 4-6, I had closer to 8-10 servings with rice. This made a lot.

Catfish Courtboullion (Kevin Belton's New Orleans Celebration)
I got to use the shrimp stock from the previous week! So excited about that! This is, at its essence, a fish stew. Onion, red pepper and celery make the base, creole seasoning add some background flavor, Tabasco for a hint of heat, flour and shrimp (or fish) stock make a lightly thickend braise, and the catfish rounds everything out. It is recommended or traditional to serve over rice, but I already had two rice dishes on the docket for the week so I served some sour dough bread along side.

I got about 8 servings out of this recipe. Probably would have been more if I had served with rice.

Recipe Review from 3/29/21

Birds are migrating through this week, specifically the junco's, and the chickadee's have started their Twee-dee call in earnest. One day was warm enough that the peepers thawed out and a few brave souls were peeping. It'll be another month yet before they really get going. And we were able to enjoy our first afternoon cocktails on the porch! Lovely, just, lovely.

Amnicon Falls State Park, WI  Fall 2020

The Meal Plan:
Sat (L) leftover farro (S) Minnesota "poutine"
Sun (L) clean out fridge leftovers (S) gumbo w/potato salad
Mon (yoga) gumbo
Tues (Bkgrp) gumbo
Wed (yoga) gumbo
Thurs (7am Y mtg) pizza  gumbo with rice
Fri - Chicken with coconut milk  pizza

Lunches - crustless quiche (aka - egg bake)


BEST Potato Salad (Gimme Some Oven) I may have made this previously...not sure. So I'm posting it anyway because this was simple, fast, and doesn't use extraneous ingredients like mayo and sour cream or yogurt. I also simplified by cooking the potatoes in the instant pot and while they were cooling, did the same to the eggs. Faster, less water, less monitoring, less clean-up.

I did have to halve this recipe because I didn't have 3lbs of potatoes on hand. Which is not a bad thing since there's only two of us and eating 3lbs of potato salad for a whole week? Yeah, it's a bit much.

So I used 1.75 lbs of Yukon Golds, sweet relish for the dill pickle, a table spoon of white onion because that's what I had on hand. Other than halving and cooking in the instant pot, I assembled as directed. Recommended!

Photo from Gimme Some Oven

10-12 servings (with amounts below)
3 pounds Yukon Gold, Russet, or red potatoes*, cut into 3/4-inch cubes
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 1/4 cups mayonnaise
1/3 cup dill pickle relish (optional)
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
4 hard-boiled eggs, diced
2 celery stalks, diced
half of a small red onion, thinly sliced
sea salt and freshly-cracked black pepper
optional toppings: smoked paprika or Old Bay seasoning, chopped fresh chives, (extra) sliced hard-boiled eggs

Place the diced potatoes in a large stockpot and add enough water so that the potatoes are covered by 1 inch. Cook over medium-high heat until the water reaches a boil. Then reduce heat to medium to maintain the simmer, and continue cooking the potatoes for 5-8 minutes or until the potatoes pierce easily with a fork.

Drain the potatoes in a colander. Then return the potatoes to the stockpot, drizzle evenly with the vinegar, and let the potatoes rest for 20-30 minutes or until cool enough to handle.

Meanwhile, whisk together the mayo, celery salt, mustard and pickle relish in a medium bowl until evenly combined.

Once the potatoes are ready to go, add in the mayo mixture, diced eggs, celery and onion. Toss gently until evenly combined.

Taste and season with salt and pepper, to taste. (Also feel free to add in a tablespoon or two of pickle juice if you would like.)

Transfer the potato salad to a serving bowl, cover, and refrigerate for 1-2 hours to chill.
Serve chilled, or refrigerate in a sealed container for up to 3 days.


Easy Crustless Quiche (The Kitchn) vegetarian option
In Minnesota-land, we call this an Egg Bake. A bit putzy in that I used some Italian sausage I had in the freezer and had to saute it, then I sauteed the mushrooms (need to get that extra liquid out), then I wilted the spinach (so much water in spinach!). Sausage in one end of the pan, diced (frozen) potatoes, mushrooms and spinach over everything. Cheese on top, pour in egg mix and bake. So, yeah, a tich putzy on the front end.

On the back end - I have pre-made lunches for two for four days. Awesome!

Photo from TheKitchn

10 large eggs
1 1/2 cups whole milk
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Any assortment of mix-ins such as:
About 2 cups coarsely chopped fresh greens, such as arugula or baby spinach
About 1 cup cooked vegetables, such as zucchini or eggplant
About 1 cup frozen hash browns or shredded potatoes
About 1 cup finely grated cheese, such as Gruyère, Swiss, or cheddar
About 1 cup cooked meat, such as bacon, ham, or sausage
About 1/4 cup finely chopped fresh herbs, such as Italian parsley or chives

Heat the oven to 375°F and prepare the baking dish. Arrange a rack in the middle of the oven and heat to 375°F. Lightly grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.

Whisk the eggs. Place the eggs in a large bowl and whisk until fully beaten.

Whisk in the milk, salt, and pepper. Add the milk, salt, and pepper, and whisk until frothy.

Add the mix-ins. Stir in any mix-ins such as meat, cheese, vegetables, or herbs. At this point the casserole may be refrigerated overnight, or frozen. (If freezing, thaw overnight before cooking and proceed to bake as directed below.)

Bake for 45 minutes. Pour into the prepared baking dish. Bake until puffed around the edges and a tester inserted in the center comes out clean, about 45 minutes.


Shrimp Stock (modified from Kevin Belton's Big Flavors of New Orleans and TLC in the Kitchen) **INSTANT POT**
I made SHRIMP STOCK! (Me! Dancing around the kitchen!) The ingredients and mental gears meshed this weekend and I realized I had not only the time, but also the ingredients to make shrimp stock for gumbo. I combined two recipes here - Kevin Belton's and TLC in the Kitchen. I think, like chicken stock, there's some basics and it's fluid around those basics.

You need shrimp shells, onion, celery, carrot. Optional - bay leaf, peppercorns. And it seems an acid like white wine or cider vinegar is called for.

With the instant pot it's assemble, walk away, come back, strain and use.  Seriously,  it's that easy. Where it's *not* easy is the timing - the shrimp need to be thawed to peel to allow for one hour of active IP cooking, and about 1 hour of natural release. So, planning ahead is imperative.

Would I do this again? Absolutely! The stock was a beautiful golden color and smelled fantastic. So looking forward to using it that gumbo!
What I did:
shrimp shells and tails from 2 lbs of shrimp (shrimp went into gumbo)
1/4 of an onion, WITH the dry outer skin included
tops of about 4 celery stalks (with the leaves)
six baby carrots, cut in half lengthwise
6ish whole peppercorns
1 bay leaf
splash of cider vinegar
6 -7 cups of water

Assemble everything in the steamer basket (not necessary, can do without) and place in Instant Pot. Pour water over everything till just barely covered (was about 7 cups for me).

Set manual/HIGH PRESSURE for 1 hour. Let natural release. Strain solids from liquid (feed everything but the onion to your chickens!), let cool and set liquid aside in the fridge until ready to use.

I ended up with 2 qts and 1 cup of stock.


Minnesota "Poutine" (Scifi with Paprika's kitchen)
This was my riff on poutine. I had tater tots in the freezer, I was feeling like some good comfort food, so I grabbed some cheese curds (Ellsworth Creamery) and made a small batch of gravy. MMmmm...tater tots with melty cheese curds smothered in gravy makes me happy.

Bake desired amount of tater tots according to direction on package.
Break cheese curds into bite sized pieces (so they melt better)
Make gravy (or used jarred)

When tots are done - either divide into individual portions or assemble on a larger platter, layering curds and tots. Pop back into oven (turned off) to warm the cheese curds, about, oh, 3 minutes or so. Remove, drizzle gravy over the top and serve with extra gravy on the side.