Fried baguette with fresh spinach

We have had some amazing meals but I have not blogged them. The last week has been a special kind of crazy. On a whim, I started grad school (first step toward an MA in European History). And I broke my ankle.

Between boredom and necessity, I started experimenting in the kitchen and developed these:

So good I had to plate them on my fancy Royal Doulton. 

The ingredients are all hunks of leftover things... A day-old baguette, a random chunk of mutilated cheddar, some fresh spinach that is trying so hard not to wilt and a partial stick of butter my eleven-year-old daughter removed from the wrapper so she could use the wrapper to grease a pan.

I sliced the day old baguette thinly, to increase the chances that a layer of butter smeared across it and heated in the cast iron skillet would restore its edible potential.

I prepared each slice with a thin layer of butter on each side, dropping them directly over the center of the skillet preheated on medium. This allowed them to heat quickly and brown nicely on the edges. I flipped the bread over, topped with a very small piece of cheddar, a spinach leaf or two and a second small piece of cheese.

The assembled discs I pushed to one side of the pan, farther from the heat, and covered. I wanted to melt the cheese but not burn the bread. Probably 60 seconds.

I sprinkled with the tiniest bit of garlic pepper and some crushed red pepper flakes. I will be expanding on the concept for dinner.

Orange pepper steak

I bought steaks last night. At Target. Two steaks, normally $8.99 for the pair. They had a use or freeze date of today, so they had a coupon for $3 off. Plus I found a cartwheel coupon for 5% off Sutton and Dodge steaks. That brought the price of my steaks down to $5.59. Subtract my team member discount (55 cents) and then the red card discount (another 25 cents!) and the price is down for $4.80. 

My husband oiled my Le Creuset skillet with coconut oil and we slapped in the steaks. We covered them with fresh ground four color pepper.

I sliced a yellow pepper and added them to the pan. After the pan got hot, we added a tablespoon of butter.

As that cooked, we took some leftover plain white rice from the fridge. My husband warmed it, drizzled it with extra virgin olive oil and sprinkled parsley in it from my garden.

When the steaks were almost done, I poured triple sec all over them and turned up the heat to make a glaze. I added a pinch of nutmeg to keep the orange flavor from getting to strong.

This was so simple tasting and a refreshing blend of flavors.

Breakfast for lunch

Ham, spicy cheddar omelet and parsleyed fried potatoes

Hot tuna rolls

In a skillet:
- pour a tablespoon oil and sprinkle with a 1/2 teaspoon Ras el Hanout
- slap 1 tortilla shell in warm skillet
- spread with Boursin herbed cheese
- scatter with prepared tuna
- sprinkle with grated extra sharp white cheddar
- leave in skillet, careful not to burn shell, until cheese gets melt
- roll

Yes, I burned mine

Perfumed Pineapple Oat Crumble

This is a favorite from the French cookbook my friend Jessica brought me. The original attempt (with way too much butter after the conversion from metric and translation) is here:

http://angelfoodcooking.blogspot.com/2009/07/perfumed-pineapple-crumble-crumble.html?m=0

I did some alterations today, trying to make it heartier/healthier.

Ingredients:
- 2 small pineapples
- real vanilla
- brown sugar
- butter
- flour
- oats

Cut the pineapple and 'perfume' with about 2 teaspoons vanilla.

Grease dish with butter. I used my Le Creuset skillet today.

Sprinkle with brown sugar. The original suggests 3 tablespoons. I didn't measure.

Arrange pineapple in the bottom of the dish.

Make sandy crumbs with remaining ingredients. The recipe suggests 2 more teaspoons vanilla, 2 cups flour and 2 cups brown sugar. And butter -- at room temperature.

I tried:
- vanilla
- one cup unbleached flour
- one cup oats
- one cup brown sugar
- 1/2 stick butter

Cover pineapple with crumbs and bake for 45 minutes at 350.

Venison Stew

I started a stew this morning and quickly discovered I had none of the ingredients.

I chopped my venison cubes into bite-sized chunks and cooked them over medium-high heat in the Le Creuset skillet with some canola oil, fresh ground pepper, and country herb blend.

When that finished, I added about a half cup of balsamic vinaigrette. Then, in my Le Creuset cassoulet, I placed a can of condensed beef vegetable soup, about four cans water and another half cup of vinegar in my Le Creuset cassoulet.

I added the meat and its juice into the cassoulet and let it come to a boil and then reduced it to a simmer. I also threw in two carrots, nicely chopped.

It turned out to be one of my best stews.

Top Round Steak

This is a combination of recipes I found online to do something a little different with the one pound top round steak I bought at Target for $3.50.

In my large Le Creuset skillet, I placed the steak, with about one teaspoon of cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil.

I preheated the oven to 350 degrees.

On the steak, I scattered the following:
- 1 clove diced garlic
- about 1.5 teaspoons fresh ground pepper
- about 2 teaspoons country herb blend
- about two teaspoons balsamic vinegar
- about one teaspoon low sodium soy sauce
- about two teaspoons lemon juice

I threw one can of potatoes around the steak and plan on baking it for about an hour. I placed my large pfaltzgraf platter over the top as a cover.

Simple crôque monsieur

When we had that **REALLY** unhealthy shopping trip last Thursday, I picked up the basic makings for crôque monsieur, my favorite French sandwich which I hated when I visited Paris as a 20-year-old.

I lent my Barefoot in Paris cookbook to the owner of my favorite Mexican restaurant (MexTex Trio) so I had to wing it... Which considering I had heavy whipping cream instead of heavy cream.

I started with two tablespoons of butter in my Le Creuset tiny saucepan (I love Kev and Tracy for giving me their cast-offs).

I blended in one tablespoon flour with a silicone spatula. Then, over low heat, I added about a cup of cream. Pinch of nutmeg. Pile of shredded domestic Swiss, mild stuff.

Toasted eight slices of bread in the oven 3-4 minutes each side at 450, piled black forest ham on one side, topped with more cheese and about a tablespoon of the sauce. Topped each sandwich and poured sauce all over them.

Transferred to a smaller cookie sheet and drained cheese sauce back onto them from the big one.

Bake for about 10 minutes until bubbly and starting to brown.

* I tried tuna on some. It's boring. Ham is better.

Fried bologna

My father-in-law brought my husband bologna and provolone. As I was occupied ALL MORNING with my Econ homework, I must have lost my mind when I opted for this lunch.

Serves two.

- 2 tortilla shells
- 1 tablespoon butter
- 3 slices bologna
- 3 slices provolone
- condiments of choice

Melt butter in skillet.

Drop in one tortilla, arrange provolone on it, add bologna as another layer, then top with other tortilla.

Press down with hand or spatula/turner. Flip when cheese will hold it together.

Brown and serve.

Cut into triangles and offer condiments as dipping sauce

Pan-seared sesame tofu cutlets

I don't have a good record with tofu. I don't like working with it. But every few years I make the attempt. In June, I found tofu on sale, on clearance, at Target so I figured I'd give it another go.

I bought two blocks. The first ended up cubed for a curry stir fry.

This one had the usual tribulations. I started with a pound of tofu, I think.

I pressed, drained and sliced the tofu. Pressing typically involves sandwiching the tofu between two plates with a heavy pile of books on top. I use vegetarian cookbooks.

I screwed up the marinade, so this is an approximation.

- 2 tablespoons low sodium soy sauce
- about 3 tablespoons Newman's Own Sesame Ginger Salad Dressing
- 2 tablespoons sesame oil
- 2 tablespoons canola oil
- 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
- 3/4 teaspoon curry powder
- 1/2 cup water
- 1/4 cup Iron Chef orange ginger sauce

I marinated for two hours.

For the coating, I mixed 50% corn flake crumbs and 50% sesame seeds. It stuck nicely because of the high oil content in the marinade.

I preheated my Le Creuset skillet with canola over medium heat. Half of them fried perfectly, some lost their breading but not nearly as many as I usually mangle. My husband said they were good. My daughter didn't like the high volume of seeds. And I forgot to eat some before I left for work.

Brats with broccoli and cheese

So, as I may or may not have mentioned last week, I received several packs of bratwursts. Today for lunch I thought I'd heat the brats and make some nice crispy hash browns, some leftover broccoli in cheese sauce and a side of Dole Southwest Salad.

But instead of my hashbrown pan, I used my Le Creuset skillet and I don't know if it got too hot too fast or not enough oil, but my hashbrowns were a soggy mess but not greasy. The crispy ones adhered solidly to the pan.

To compensate, I poured the broccoli in cheese sauce on top, heated, and served it like sauerkraut on top of the brats. I loved it.

Pesto ravioli primavera

I started a cream sauce while browning beef kielbasa (which I divided into four segments and froze three of them) but I never got the cream sauce done... So, I made this:

- about 1.5 cups diced beef kielbasa
- 2 tablespoons butter
- 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil
- 2 teaspoons flour
- about 2 tablespoons garden fresh dill
- 1 large leave sorrel
- about 7 basil leaves
- 2 cups peas
- 2 cups cauliflower, carrots and broccoli
- 2 packages trader Joe's ravioli

I put the butter in my Le Creuset skillet and browned the meat. I carefully pushed the meat to the side, added the oil, and incorporated the flour as if I were going to start a cream sauce. I added all the herbs.

Meanwhile, I cooked the ravioli and added the vegetables so it could all cook at the same
time.

The sauce smelled so fragrant I opted not to make the cream sauce after all. The family ate it all.

Cheeseball broccoli buffalo mac and cheese

To celebrate the end of the school year (and use up some very stale utz cheeseballs), I wanted to make cheeseball/buffalo blue cheese dip broccoli. I thought I could mix it into a Mac and Cheese for a one dish meal, but I had some ingredient malfunctions.

My daughter helped me, and by the end I was sure we had invented something inedible.

It was surprisingly incredibly delicious.

Ingredients:
- 7 ounces whole wheat rotini
- 2 tablespoons Earth Balance margarine
- 5 fresh stalks of chives from the garden
- 1 1/4 cup unsweetened Silk soy milk
- 1/2 cup vanilla silk
- salt
- pepper
- garlic powder
- 6 ounces extra sharp cheddar
- 2 ounces mozzarella
- 1/4 cup Archer Farms buffalo blue cheese dip
- 1 cup chopped spinach
- 6 broccoli spears
- 2 cups crushed Utz cheeseballs

Preheat oven to 375. grease skillet withthin layer of canola oil. Cook pasta. Drain. Set aside.

Melt margarine and cook chives in a 3 quart saucepan. Add salt and pepper. Reduce heat. Add milks, cheese, and dip. Stir constantly until well melted. Add spinach.

Pour 80% of the sauce over the pasta. Pour pasta into skillet. Sprinkle a light layer of garlic powder over the pasta.

Add broccoli artfully on top. Cover with remaining cheese sauce. Sprinkle cheese ball crumbs over everything. Cover skillet with foil and bake for 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake 10 minutes more.

Pork with apples without apples and with peaches

I made an incredible lunch today from last night's leftovers and that made me realize that I didn't blog yesterday's meal. So, to try and remember...

- 5 thin boneless pork chops
- apple juice
- brown sugar
- canola oil
- country herb blend
- one can sliced peaches
- 1/4 cup Archer Farm lemon dill mustard

Cook the pork chops in one tablespoon canola oil, five minutes each side in the Le Creuset skillet.

Add about 1 teaspoon country herb blend, one cup apple juice, 1/2 cup brown sugar, the peaches (drained) and the mustard. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat and let simmer about 15 minutes. Add frozen greenbeans, serve when the greenbeans are cooked.

Now, with the leftovers, I chopped the pork and the peaches very small. I put them and the leftover juice in the skillet. Cook until. Add about 1-1 1/2 cups cooked spaghetti. Swirl with about 2 teaspoons sesame oil. Cook until noodles are hot, stirring constantly. Sprinkle liberally with sesame seeds.

Packaged stir fry

Someone had gifted us a bag of Green Giant create-a-meal sweet and sour stir fry. I'm not one for such mixes as stir fry is easy enough to make without everything assembled in one bag.

But tonight, I was ill-prepared for dinner.

Now the directions say to make pork or chicken to put in this... But I didn't. I drizzled some canola oil into the Le Creuset skillet, added the vegetables into the skillet while the rice was in the steamer.

I added some leftover sesame broccoli from the other night and some sesame seeds and I sliced one boca chikn patty for some extra protein.

It was better than I expected.

Venison stew

I made venison stew last night for my family to eat while I was at work. I didn't intend it as stew, but it happened that way.

As usual, I didn't have enough time or ingredients to follow a recipe so I did an internet search for venison loin and experimented from there.

Everyone seems to suggest soaking venison in salt water/vinegar to lessen the game taste. They recommend a few hours and even better overnight. I gave it an hour, so who knows if it even did anything but... My brine solution was salt, pepper, one cup water, 1/4 cup apple cider vinegar and almost a cup of white vinegar. And my "country herb" blend.

After I got the loin pieces out of the marinade/brine, I dredged them in flour and cooked them on medium high in canola oil in my Le Creuset skillet. Meanwhile, in the crockpot, I poured a can of Progresso French onion soup (which has BUTTER in it, but more MSG than butter... So, is that a little butter or a lot of MSG? Either way, scary. I hope to never come in contact with this soup again.) And a cup of water. Which later we added another 12 ounces of water at least...

I cooked the meat about five minutes on each side and then I poured a cup of water over it and allowed that to boil most of the way off. I poured the meat and all the drippings into the crockpot. My husband added chopped potatoes. We cooked on high about four hours then reduced to low for another three to four. (I'm not sure when they ate dinner.)

About 20 minutes before they ate, they added frozen carrots.

They loved it and devoured it as stew.

Vegan pizza

I always use too much sauce, so I had to add more "cheese"

Our foray into dairy-free has been good, with daughter bringing her thermos of juice to school diligently. We've eaten Meditterannean food, beans, and homemade baked goods, and spaghetti... But tonight we're adapting our pan pizza.

Daughter prefers it thin crusted so I did my best to press the very sticky homemade dough into the cast iron skillet. The dough was unbleached white flour, whole wheat flour, cornmeal, stoneground rye, sesame seeds and flax.

We grated some carrots for in the sauce. Layered carrots, then sauce, then veggie slices cheddar flavor and finally black olives. Liberal sprinkles of Italian seasoning and garlic salt.

Husband picked the "cheese" because he remembered this brand and flavor being most tolerable during our vegan days. Our vegan experiment was more than a decade ago, so I hope they've made strides with fake cheese.

More pizza

Tonight we made pizza. Used the recipe for crust I devised in April for skillet pizza (tried to link above). Clicking pizza or le creuset below could lead there...

Only one cheese tonight: mozzarella

The sauce was Wegmans chunky pizza sauce (selected for its high vitamin A count).

Toppings: whole black olives from Aldi that we sliced ourselves, Morningstar vegetarian bacon and spinach (canned, a 'gift.')

Christmas Tradition

Every year my husband's office cooks a ham for their holiday luncheon and ever year, we get leftover ham from this luncheon. We've developed our own holiday tradition of ham and cheese omelets, using leftover ham and the leftover cheese from the cheese and cracker platter.

This year the six-year-old ate TWO for Christmas breakfast.

Now I can finally reveal that I made my stepmom and my dad pork with apples in individual portions and probably the smoothest batch of mac and cheese I've ever made. I used cheddar and whole milk for the base of the sauce, with lots of chives from my garden, and some grated Parmesan and asiago.

I also made some of my homemade granola for my husband's brother-in-law and sister. This batch used my standard sauce of blackstrap molasses, brown sugar and canola oil. Fruits included raisins, dates, dried pineapples and prunes. Nuts included some unsalted cashews and several lightly salted nuts. Some candied ginger... Some peanut butter kid's crunch cereal...

Tonight I used some of the leftover beef from the Christmas dinner my stepmom had catered to make some chili as the family is all sick. I used the beef, my usual seasonings, some black beans, some light red and some dark red kidney beans. Then, I made vegan cornbread in my Le Creuset skillet. Delicious, if not a tad contradictory.

Dad's almost steak dinner

Dinner with Grandma and Pop-pop on the mountain was an awesome success. My stepmom was still raving about the pork from our previous dinner, and one again she could not believe that she ate vegetables! In this case, asparagus.

I kept things as simple as I could since I was cooking in a strange kitchen-- a new experience for me. My step-mom's stove has a slight slant opposite the one my stove has and in sink is across the room from her stove, which in my house, the sink and stove are neighbors.

Now, the ingredients for dinner probably cost between $16 and $20, to serve 5. Most of the ingredients came from Aldi. I splurged and bought a $12 bottle of French brandy (St. Remy, since I can't afford Hennessey).

The menu: steak au poivre (pepper steak in a brandy cream sauce), mushrooms, parsleyed potatoes and asparagus in lemon-dill sauce. 

Problem strikes right off the bat when I open the meat and see I got some sort of flank steak instead of real steak. It looks like the kind of meat you use to a make a real steak sandwich that's not a chip steak.

I worried what my dad would think, but I couldn't waste time on that. This was dinner and I had to make it. My husband trimmed the fat off and I turned my attention to my work-in-progress. I started the Le Creuset skillet on low with a smidgeon of extra virgin cold pressed olive oil from Forks Mediterranean  Deli. I spread it with my fingers to cover the whole pan and when it got hot I added a tablespoon of butter and the small can of mushrooms I picked up at Aldi. I sautéed them for a few minutes and added probably about three tablespoons of brandy and about 2 teaspoons of my organic four-color peppercorn that I've had for a while.

I opened three cans of whole new potatoes and drained them. I'm a relatively large saucepan I melted six tablespoons of butter with close to a tablespoon of dried parsley and a sprinkle or two of Italian seasoning. Then I added the potatoes and let them cook on low for the entire remainder of the cooking time. 

In a Pyrex dish, I arranged one bag of frozen asparagus spears (also Aldi) which I thought had thawed out during the drive. In a small saucepan, I combined about three tablespoons butter, the juice of one small lemon, and a teaspoon or two of it's a dilly seasoning, a former favorite McCormick spice that I'm almost out of. I poured this over the asparagus and the fats instantly re-hardened. Yeah, the asparagus was still frozen. Oops. So I put it in the oven on 250, my temp for holding the steaks.

So, now the steaks. I removed the mushrooms from the skillet and put them on the holding plate to go in the oven. The steaks have been seasoned on both sides with more four-color peppercorn, thanks to my husband's help.  We toss them in the skillet and their thinness and their lack of fat make them stick in the now hot pan. I quickly add two tablespoons of butter. 

I flip each piece of meat every two minutes because they are so thin, removing them to the holding plate when I think they're done enough not to make anyone ill. By the time all the steaks are done, I add some olive oil to the skillet and try to loosen the glazed bits. I add another 3 or 4 tablespoons butter, drain the meat juice from the holding plate into the skillet and replace the meat in the oven.

The asparagus is still frozen. But the plan is to microwave briefly and "fluff."

Back to the sauce... The butter and meat juices bubble and when they start to boil, I added the 1/2 cup brandy.  I reduce it down as the recipe says, 2-3 minutes, by half I think, and then I add 3/4 cup whole milk (my step mom doesn't have the constitution for heavy cream.). I repeat the boiling down. 

Then, we microwave the asparagus and serve everything. Everything disappeared. Everyone had seconds of everything. Except me. I don't like mushrooms.