Super Bowl Perfection-Mediterranean Style Cheese Puffs

Most recipes for Super Bowl or Playoff parties are pretty standard.  This appetizer from sunny Spain in the Mediterranean is not standard.  It features creamy Manchego cheese which comes from sheep's' milk.  Genuine Manchego cheese comes only from the whole milk of manchega sheep bred and reared in the La Mancha region near Madrid. . If La Mancha sounds familiar, think , Don Quixote of La Mancha.  This cheese was mentioned in the novel.

This recipe, which comes from one of my favorite and most beautiful cookbooks, Mediterranean, also suggests using Gruyere cheese or another well-flavored cheese.  Be aware; these tasty little gems will get eaten up in a jiffy.  Give yourself time to make a few batches.  You'll need them.

Cheese Puffs

1/4 cup butter, cubed
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup water
2 whole eggs, plus one yolk
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1/2 cup finely grated well-flavord cheese, 
         such as Manchego or Gruyère


Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F. (About 218 degrees F.)  Bring the butter, salt and water to a boil in a pan.  Sift the flour onto a sheet of  waxed paper, then pour the flour into the boiling liquid and stir it in very quickly.


Beat the mixture with a wooden spoon into a thick paste that leaves the side of the pan clean.  Remove the pan from the heat.


Beat in the eggs and yolk, one at a time, then add the mustard, cayenne pepper and grated cheese.


Place teaspoonfuls of the mixture on a non-stick baking sheet and bake for 10 minutes.  Lower the oven temperature to 350F (176.6C) and cook for another 15 minutes, until well browned. Serve these hot or cold.


Make sure to have lots of olives.  They are a great accompaniment to the cheese puffs.

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Meal Stetcher Chicken, Broccoli and Noodles

In today's economy with the hike in the price of food, gasoline and everything else, I home cooks find themselves looking for ways to stretch the family  food budget. I always buy the value packs of chicken breasts and separate them into baggies and freeze them till I need them. Here is a recipes that really stretches one chicken breast and a bag of egg noodles. Just made this tonight for dinner from what I had on hand.  Yum Mee!

Ingredients

1 chicken breast, cut in half lengthwise
1 garlic clove, minced
1/2 chopped onion
1 16oz bag medium width egg noodles
1 cup noodle water
2 cups frozen brocolli florets
1 can cream of celery soup
1 small can mushroom stems and pieces (Do not drain)
2 Tbs light (or non-fat) sour cream
1 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp oregano or Italian seasoning
4 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs butter
garlic salt and pepper to taste

Directions

Cook egg noodles as directed in water seasoned with a teaspoon or so of garlic salt. Drain. Reserve 1 cup water.

Heat 2 Tbs olive oil to medium high heat. Add garlic and onions, cook for about 2 minutes until soft. Season chicken breast with garlic salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and dried thyme leaves. Put in pan and cook on each side for about a minute. Lower heat and add a cup or water of broth. Cook on low for about 15 minutes. Let chicken cool and cut into small pieces. Reserve liquid with onions and garlic.

In a saucepan heat 1 Tsp olive oil to medium heat. Add 2 cups broccoli florets and cook for about 3 minutes coating all florets with the olive oil. Add 1 cup water and cook for five minutes or to preferred degree of softness.

Cut up cooled chicken into small pieces. Add celery soup to chicken water. Stir until well mixed. Add mushrooms with juice and cook for about 1 minute. Cut off heat and mix in 2 Tbs sour cream. Pour mixture over noodles in pan. Add broccoli florets and i cup noodle water. Mix well. Taste and adjust seasonings.

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Charging On with San Diego Style Fish Tacos

A friend of mine is a San Diego native--hard to find out here in DC-for me, at least.  so, I asked her what a San Diego food would be.  She said that the locals love fish tacos, the likes of which she can't find here, although she keeps trying.  You can get them grilled, however, Robbye says there is nothing like San Diego fried fish tacos in a beer batter.  They are made with whitefish fillets such as cod, tilapia, halibut and even, mahi mahi. Since she doesn't cook, I searched for a recipe.  There are some some that are simpler, however, this looked authentic from what Robbye described.

San Diego Fish Tacos Recipe

Ingredients:

1/2 cup canola oil

1 cup beer
1 large egg
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 - 8 ounce whitefish fillets cut cross-wise into 6 pieces
1 small to medium sweet onion such as Vidalia, 4 to 8 ounces
10 sprigs cilantro
1/2 cup light or regular mayonnaise
1/2 cup low-fat yogurt
1 small head green cabbage, 12 to 16 ounces
2 ripe but firm avocados
1 lime
1 12-ounce jar medium-hot salsa
12 flour tortillas, about 8 inches in diameter

Directions:

1. Put the oil in a large, heavy skillet over medium-high heat. Combine the beer, egg, and flour in a medium-size mixing bowl. Stir in the mustard, cayenne, salt, and several grindings of black pepper. Put 6 pieces of fish in the batter, coat well, and add to the skillet. Cook for 3 minutes, turn the pieces, and cook for 3 more minutes, or until golden brown. Drain on a paper towel-lined platter. Repeat with the remaining 6 pieces. Reduce the heat if needed to prevent burning.

2. While the fish cooks, peel and quarter the onion and remove the leaves from the cilantro sprigs. Put the onion and cilantro in a food processor and pulse several times, or until coarsely chopped. Add the mayonnaise and yogurt tot he processor and pulse just once or twice to combine. Put the onion-mayonnaise sauce in a small bowl.

3. Halve the cabbage lengthwise and remove the core from each half. Place each half, flat side down, on a cutting surface and cut into thin shreds with a chef's knife. (Or shred using the large holes of a four-sided grater or the grating attachment of a food processor.) You should have about 4 cups. Put the cabbage in a small bowl.

4. Halve, pit, and peel the avocados. Cut each half lengthwise into six slices. Lay the slices on a small plate. Cut the lime into 4 wedges and put in a small dish. Put the salsa in a small bowl with a slotted spoon (so you won't get a lot of liquid in your tacos).

5. Bring all the ingredients for the tacos to the table and allow diners to make tacos one at a time as follows: Put a few tablespoons cabbage in the middle of each tortilla. Top with 1 piece of fish, 1 tablespoon of the onion-mayonnaise sauce, 1 tablespoon salsa, 2 avocado slices, and a squeeze of lime. Fold, eat and enjoy.

Serves 4.

This recipe is from the book, Cooking to Beat the Clock by Sam Gugino.

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Minnesota Vikings Land Super Easy Wild Rice Recipes

Minnesota Vikings fans bask in the beautiful land of 10,000 lakes.  It turns out that there are really more than 15,000, lakes, rivers and steams.  Minnesotans boast some of the best and most creative wild rice recipes, due to the quality of wild rice that is grown in the state.  Interestingly, wild rice is not rice at all.  It's a water-grass seed actually grown in Minnesota's cold waters and must be harvested in the traditional Indian way.  Here are just a couple recipes that I like, in particular, because they are delicious and SUPER easy

Microwave Wild Rice Casserole

1 cup uncooked wild rice
**2 cups chicken broth
1 tsp salt
1 Tbs butter
½ cup butter
½ lbs sliced mushrooms
2 Tbs minced onion
2 Tbs minced green pepper
1 garlic clove, minced
¼ cup chopped pecans

Wash and soak wild rice 1 hour in boiling hot water or soak 2-3 hours covered with tap water.  Use a 3 quart covered casserole.  Cook broth, salt and 1 Tbs butter on high for 6-7 minutes.  Then add rice and cook on defrost for 50 minutes.  In 1 quart casserole melt remaining butter.  Add mushrooms, onions, pepper and garlic.  Cook on high 2-3 minutes until tender.  Stir each minute.  Add the pecans and cook on high for 1 minute.  Add to  the rice and cook on defrost 10-15 minutes until liquid is absorbed Let stand, covered, 5 minutes after cooking.

Serves 6-8

**To keep this vegetarian, I use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth

Shrimp and Wild Rice Loaf

1 cup wild rice
1 green pepper, chopped
3 ribs celery, chopped
½ can pimiento, chopped
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1can shrimp, deveined and rinsed in hot water
OR 1 can tuna, drained and rinsed
½ pound American cheese

Prepare rice. Heat mushroom soup and add cheese, stirring until smooth. Sauté celery, onion and green pepper in butter. Combine all ingredients with cooked rice and stir gently. Pat into greased loaf pan. Bake in 375° oven for 45 minutes. Cool for 10-15 minutes. Turn loaf out on platter. Serve with sauce as given below.

Shrimp Sauce

I can shrimp, rinsed and deveined
1 can cream of shrimp soup
1 can cream of mushroom soup

Heat together.
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Super Bowl Choice Crispy Fried Lamb Chops

Crispy Fried Lamb Chops Recipe

I love lamb and lamb chops are always a treat. As a kid, my mother never used mint jelly with lamb; we always had kosher dill pickles.  The lamb chop recipe that follows is one of my own. Use small chops and you can make more.  These would be great at a Playoff or Super Bowl party.  They are really finger-licking good.

Ingredients

10-12 rib or loin lamb chops (2-4 oz.)

1 cup seasoned bread crumb

¼ cup crushed Panko (Japanese bread crumbs)

¼ cup grated Parmesan or Pecorino Romano cheese

1 tsp garlic powder

½ tsp salt**

¼ tsp freshly ground black pepper

2 eggs, beaten

¼ cup Vegetable, Canola or Olive oil

Directions

Remove fat from the chops.  Layer chops between two sheets of plastic wrap and pound chops to flatten with a mallet.  On a plate or shallow bowl mix together the Panko, bread crumbs, grated cheese, salt, pepper and garlic powder.

**Grated cheese tends to be salty so adjust to taste.

Heat oil in a large skillet to medium hot heat.  Dip lamb chops in eggs.  Dredge the lamb chops in the seasoned bread crumb mixture. Coat well and shake off excess.  Slowly add chops to preheated hot oil, about 4 per batch. Cook about 3 minutes per side for medium doneness. Drain on a rack. Transfer chops to serving platter; keep warm. Repeat procedure with remaining chops.

Enjoy at room temperature

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Salmon Cakes: A Family Favorite

Sometimes you just want a comfort food.  One of my family favorites is Salmon cakes. These are tasty with your own special sauce or try my Creamy Homemade Tartar Sauce.  Kids love them and so do adults.  You can double the recipe and roll them into small balls and take them to a potluck dinner.  Enjoy.

SALMON CAKES   

1 (16 oz.) can salmon, drained
2 slices soft bread torn ino pieces
1/2 c. Italian-flavor bread crumbs
1/2 c. mayonnaise
2 eggs
1 tbsp. grated onion (Can use dehydrated)
1 tsp. Old Bay or Cajun seasoning
1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper or to taste
1heaping tsp. mustard
 Cracker meal 
1/4 c. cooking oil

Mash down salmon in a bowl. **Be sure to mash the bones completely.  Beat eggs.  Add eggs to bread and bread crumbs, mayonnaise, onion, Old Bay, and, mustard; mix well.

 Shape salmon mixture into 6-8 patties (cakes).  Chill for about 30 minutes, if desired. Before cooking, coat with additional bread crumbs until well covered. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat; brown cakes on all sides.


**You may remove the bones, if you like.

Creamy Homemade Tartar Sauce

1 cup mayonnaise
2 heaping tsps dill relish
Hot sauce to taste

Mix well.  Serve on Salmon Cakes

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Brooklyn-Style New York Pizza Recipe Day 16 of 30

Even though the New York Jets don't actually play in New York, the state's pizza is famous among pizza fanatics.   It is great for any football or Super Bowl party.  Try this one.  I am always tempted to add anchovies on my pizza!

Brick-Oven Pizza (Brooklyn Style) Recipe    

Ingredients

    * 1 teaspoon active dry yeast
    * 1/4 cup warm water
    * 1 cup cold water
    * 1 teaspoon salt
    * 3 cups bread flour
    
    * 6 ounces low moisture mozzarella cheese, thinly sliced
    * 1/2 cup no salt added canned crushed tomatoes
    * 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
    * 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
    * 3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
    * 6 leaves fresh basil, torn

Directions

   1. Sprinkle yeast over warm water in a large bowl. Let stand for 5 minutes to proof. Stir in salt and cold water, then stir in the flour about 1 cup at a time. When the dough is together enough to remove from the bowl, knead on a floured surface until smooth, about 10 minutes. Divide into two pieces, and form each one into a tight ball. Coat the dough balls with olive oil, and refrigerate in a sealed container for at least 16
hours. Be sure to use a big enough container to allow the dough to rise. Remove the dough from the refrigerator one hour prior to using.
   2. Preheat the oven, with a pizza stone on the lowest rack, to 550 degrees F. Lightly dust a pizza peel with flour.

   3. Using one ball of dough at a time, lightly dust the dough with flour, and stretch gradually until it is about 14 inches in diameter, or about as big around as the pizza stone.  Place on the floured peel. Place thin slices of mozzarella over the crust, then grind a liberal amount of black pepper over it. Sprinkle with dried oregano. Randomly arrange crushed tomatoes, leaving some empty areas. Drizzle olive oil over the top.

   4. With a quick back and forth jerk, make sure the dough will release from the peel easily. Place the tip of the peel at the back of the preheated pizza stone, and remove peel so that the pizza is left on the stone.

   5. Bake for 4 to 6 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the crust begins to brown. Remove from the oven by sliding the peel beneath the pizza. Sprinkle a few basil leaves randomly over the pizza. Cut into wedges and serve.

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