Stuffed Portabello Mushrooms

2 Portabello mushrooms
Balsamic vinegar
1 T olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 onion, chopped
2 large strips of roasted red pepper, chopped (from a jar)
1 Roma tomato, chopped
2 c fresh baby spinach
1/4 c breadcrumbs
1/2 tsp dried parsley
1/2 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
Mozarella cheese

Preheat oven to 375F.

Remove stem and gills from mushrooms. Drizzle about 1/2 tsp Balsamic vinegar over each mushroom.

Chop stems and saute with onions, garlic, tomatoes and seasonings in olive oil until vegetables are tender. Add chopped red peppers to heat through. Add spinach and cook until wilted.

Spoon filling on top of mushrooms, top with breadcrumbs and cheese. Bake for 15-18 minutes until mushrooms are cooked.

Chile Rellenos with Salsa

Salsa
3 tomatoes, coarsley chopped
2 bell peppers, coarsely chopped
2 Anaheim chiles, roasted, peeled and coarsely chopped
1/2 medium onion, coarsely chopped
3 garlic cloves, sliced
3 T caldo de pollo (powdered chicken broth)
½ tsp oregano
2 T tomato paste

Cover vegetables with water in large pot. Cover pot and boil vegetables for 15 minutes. Turn down heat and simmer for one hour, adding more water if necessary.

Add caldo de pollo, oregano and tomato paste and stir to combine. Using a slotted spoon, spoon salsa over cooked rellenos.

This salsa is good over fried eggs and excess broth can be used as a soup base.

Chile Rellenos
CHILE RELLENO
6 Anaheim chiles, roasted and peeled
6 egg whites
6 egg yolks
Jack cheese, cut into thin strips
Flour, small amount

Lay chiles on broiler tray and broil; turn chiles until charred and blistered on all sides. Remove from broiler pan and place in large Ziplock bag. Close bag and allow chiles to steam for 15 minutes.

Remove chiles from bag and peel carefully so as not to tear the chiles. Put peeled chiles on a plate and refrigerate for 20 minutes. Cut small slit in each chile and insert cheese.

Whip egg whites at high speed with electric mixer until stiff peaks have formed.

Heat the oil in a skillet until a drop of water sizzles when dropped into the pan. Beat egg yolks with 1 T flour.

Mix yolks into egg whites and stir until you have a thick paste.

Roll stuffed chiles in flour then dip in egg mixture, shaking off excess. Fry seam side down on both sides until golden brown. Place on paper towels to drain.

Put chiles on a serving plate, top with shredded cheese and microwave until cheese melts. Spoon salsa over chiles and serve.

Mexican Risotto

1/2 cup Arborio rice
1/2 onion, finely chopped
1 small jalapeno, finely diced
1 T olive oil
2 T tomato paste
2 cups hot water
1/4 cup white wine
1/4 cup pepper jack cheese, shredded
1/2 tsp chicken bouillon
1/8 tsp cumin

Heat olive oil in small saucepan. Add onion and jalapeno and cook for five minutes. Add rice and white wine. Cook until liquid has been absorbed. Add bouillon and cumin and stir well. Put tomato paste into hot water and stir until blended. Add 1/2 cup of hot water at a time into the rice until all is absorbed. If you need more liquid, plain hot water can be used.When risotto is done, add jack cheese and stir until melted.

Chile Verde

10 tomatillos

5 lbs boneless pork shoulder

2 T olive oil

1 T chicken bouillon

5 cloves garlic, peeled

1 onion, coarsley chopped (divided use)

2 large jalapenos, stemmed and seeded

1 (7 oz) can whole green chiles

2 corn tortillas

Remove wrapper from tomatillos and wash. In food processor, puree tomatillos, bouillon, garlic, jalapenos and green chiles. Add half the onion.

Remove fat from pork and cut into 1" pieces.

In large pan, fry meat until it loses its color. Add the sauce and mix well. Cook on low for 4 hours until meat is very tender.

During last half-hour of cooking, add the other half of the coarsley chopped onion and two corn tortillas which have been cut into 1/2" dice.

Venison Tenderloin

1 to 1.5# venison tenderloin
3 garlic cloves, slivered into thirds
1 cup red wine
1/4 cup teriyaki sauce
3 slices bacon

With a small knife, cut slits in the tenderloin. Insert garlic cloves. Wrap bacon slices around tenderloin securing with toothpicks. Put in Ziplock bag; add wine and teriyaki sauce and refrigerate for three hours.

Remove tenderloin from refrigerator about 30 minutes before ready to cook. Put a little olive oil in pan heat until hot. Sear tenderloin on all sides in hot pan, about 4 minutes. Cover pan and put in the oven set to 450F for 18-21 minutes for rare.

Remove tenderloin from oven, tent with foil and let rest for 5 minutes. Slice and serve.

Oxtail Ragu

1.5# Beef oxtail
2 carrots, finely chopped
1 parsnip, finely chopped
4 stalks celery, finely chopped
1 large onion, finely chopped
3 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 bay leaves
2 cups red wine
4 T tomato paste, divided use
½ c tomato sauce
Olive oil

Soak oxtails in cold, salted water for an hour. Rinse and put them into a pan; cover with clean water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove oxtail and place on paper towels to dry. Discard liquid.

Heat olive oil in a heavy pan. Add oxtail and brown on all sides. Remove to a bowl and season with salt and pepper.

Add the carrots, parsnip, celery, onion and garlic. Cook until vegetables are soft. Return oxtails to pan. Add red wine, 2 T tomato paste and bay leaf and enough water to almost cover oxtails. Simmer for 4-5 hours or until meat is falling off bones.

Remove from heat. Remove oxtails and pull the meat off the bones. Put meat into a baggie and refrigerate overnight. Strain liquid, keeping vegetables and liquid in separate containers and refrigerate overnight.

The next day remove liquid from refrigerator and skim fat. Return sauce to a pan. Add remaining 2 T tomato paste and ½ c tomato sauce.

Put the soffritto, which has been drained into the bowl of a small food processor and pulse until vegetables are blended. Pour vegetables into sauce to thicken. Return meat to sauce and heat through. Serve over your choice of pasta garnished with grated parmesan cheese.

Oatmeal Cookies with Dried Apricots and White Chocolate

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 cups old-fashioned oatmeal
1/2 tsp baking soda
8 ounces (2 sticks) unsalted butter, softened
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1 cup packed light-brown sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 large eggs
8 ounces white chocolate, chopped
7 ounces dried apricots, chopped (1-1/2 cups)

Preheat oven to 350F. Mix flour, oatmeal and baking soda in a medium bowl. Cream butter and sugars with a mixer until light and fluffy. Reduce speed to low. Add salt, vanilla, and eggs, and beat until well combined, about 1 minute. Add flour mixture gradually, beating until just combined. Stir in chocolate and apricots. Cover, and refrigerate until cold, about 30 minutes.

Drop heaping tablespoons of dough onto parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing 2 inches apart. Bake until cookies are golden brown around the edges but still soft in the center, 14 to 16 minutes. Let cookies cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack; let cool. Cookies will keep, covered, for up to 1 week. Makes about 4 dozen.

Recipe from Martha Stewart Living, March 2009

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

1-1/2 c flour
1-1/2 c sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 c cooked, mashed carrots, room temperature
3/4 c vegetable oil
1 (8-1/4 oz) can crushed pineapple, drained
3 eggs
1 T hot water
1/2 c chopped walnuts
1/2 c raisins

Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, giner and nutmeg in a large bowl. Combine carrots, oil, pineapple, eggs and water; stir into dry ingredients, mixing until smooth. Stir in walnuts and raisins. Pour into greased and floured 9-inch cake pan. Bake at 350F for 45 minutes or until cake springs back when lightly touched. Remove from pan and cool completely. Frost with cream cheese icing.

Cream Cheese Icing
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 c butter, softened
1 pound powdered sugar

Beat cream cheese and butter until fluffy. Gradually add sugar to desired consistency. Frosts on 9-inch cake.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

For the meatballs:

1# hamburger (or 1/2# hamburger and 1/2# pork sausage)
1/2 c finely chopped onion
1/4 c finely chopped fresh parsley
1/2 tsp granulated garlic
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 c water
2 T olive oil

Mix burger with onion, parsley, water and seasonings. Roll into 2" balls. Put olive oil in large frying pan and brown meatballs. Remove from pan with slotted spoon leaving the oil in the pan.

For the sauce:

1 anchovy filet
3/4 c chopped onion
1-1/2 tsp granulated garlic
1 bay leaf
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper
1-1/2 tsp chopped basil
8 oz sliced mushrooms
1/4 c white wine
1 (29 oz) can tomato sauce
2 T tomato paste

Put the anchovy in the oil and let it melt. Add onions and cook for 5 minutes. Add garlic, bay leaf, black pepper and basil and stir to combine. Add mushrooms (adding more oil if necessary) and cook until juices have been released. Add wine then tomato sauce and tomato paste. Stir to combine.

Add browned meatballs to the sauce and simmer for 1 hour until meatballs are cooked through.

Nutty Roasted Cauliflower Soup

1 head cauliflower, cut into 1” flowerets
10 garlic cloves, peeled and left whole
1 onion, sliced
2 carrots cut into matchsticks
5 T olive oil
1 cup walnut halves, toasted
3 cups chicken broth
¼ cup white wine
½ roasted red pepper
¼ cup fresh parsley
½ tsp dried thyme
1 bay leaf
1/8 tsp freshly ground nutmeg
1 cup half and half

In a large baking pan, toss cauliflower, garlic, onion and carrots with oil to coat and roast at 425 F for 40 minutes or until vegetables are golden.

Put walnuts into dry pan on stovetop and toast until slightly browned, stirring occasionally. Cool slightly and process in food processer until finely ground.

In a large saucepan, simmer broth, wine, roasted cauliflower mixture, ground walnuts, roasted red pepper, parsley, thyme, bay leaf and nutmeg 30 minutes or until cauliflower is very tender.

Discard bay leaf. Using immersion blender, blend all ingredients until smooth. Salt and pepper to taste.

Add half and half and heat over moderate heat until just heated through.

Smoked Salmon Baked Potatoes

3/4# smoked salmon
6 baking potatoes
1/2 cup hot milk
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
1/2 cup fine bread crumbs
1/4 cup melted butter

Bake potatoes as usual. Cut in half lengthwise while still hot. Carefully scoop potato out of sheels keeping shells intact for stuffing. Mash potato, adding hot milk and beat until fluffy. Flake and mash smoked salmon and add it along with the chopped parsley and onion to the potatos. Beat egg and seasonings together and combine with mix, folding all together. Heap mixture into potato shells. In a small bowl, mix bread crumbs with butter, then sprinkle over potatoes. Bake 20 minutes at 350F or until browned.

You can find this recipe online here.

Snow Pudding with Custard Sauce

Pudding
¾ cup sugar ¼ cup cold water
¼ tsp salt 2 egg whites, beaten stiff
2 cups boiling water 1/3 cup lemon juice
5 T cornstarch

Combine sugar, salt and boiling water. Blend cornstarch and cold water. Add to sugar mixture in medium saucepan. Heat to boiling, cook for 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Cool slightly in refrigerator in same pan.

Pour mixture into a bowl. Fold in beaten egg whites and lemon juice. Refrigerate until it reaches the consistency of Jell-O.

Custard Sauce
1 egg yolk, beaten 1 cup milk, scalded
½ cup sugar ½ tsp vanilla
1 tsp cornstarch Pinch of salt

Combine sugar and cornstarch. Combine egg yolk and scalded milk. Combine both mixtures in a small saucepan. Heat until slightly thickened. Add vanilla and salt. Cool. Serve over Snow Pudding