Thursday, November 12, 2009

Disappearing Tarte aux pommes, French crust redux

Using the tart crust recipe from my previous post, I made a very simple apple tart.  I call it the disappearing apple tart because not only are there never leftovers, but it disappears before I can get a piece!!!  I call that a baking success.

Ingredients
French tart crust
2 apples, I use 1 granny smith and 1 fuji (or any sweeter apple), peeled and sliced thinly
appx 1/4 apple sauce
cinnamon
sugar

Spread the apple sauce in the baked pie crust so there is a nice layer to nest the apples in.  Shake on some cinnamon (alternately, you can do cinnamon-sugar mixture on the top, but I prefer to hide it since I prefer to hide the darker color of the cinnamon.)  Spread the apples.  I like to do a pretty pattern (I circle the edge, then do an inner circle,) alternating slices of the two types.  Sprinkle with sugar.  Bake at 350F until the apples are tender but not burning.
Voila!

 

Blog Title

So while joking around about how many of my recipes involve hiding vegetables in meat, I came up with a possible alternate blog title:

Dr. Strangecook: Or how I learned to stop worrying and to love vegetables

Thoughts?

Date Night Dinner!

Tonight my husband and I are having a special evening out:  a show at the Fox and steak for dinner!

For the soup:
1 acorn squash
1 c chicken stock, optional
2T margarine, optional

Preheat oven to 375F.  Wash the skin of the acorn squash.  Pat dry.  Stab repeatedly with knife--this is very good for stress!!!  It also keeps it from exploding in the oven under the pressure of the steam from its flesh cooking.  Put on baking tray, to catch any leaking juices, and roast for 45 minutes or until tender.


Let cool.  It should be soft enough to pierce easily with a fork.
Cut in half.  Scrape out the seeds and innards, discard. 

Cut in four pieces and peel off the skin, discard.  Puree the flesh and add choice of liquid and spices to make a tasty soup to the desired consistency!

I added turmeric, a little coriander, a little ginger powder, and fresh ground black pepper. 

The puree can be frozen, and snuck into other veggie-less meals to pump up their healthiness.  Stealth veggies!!  You can also add brown sugar, orange juice, and milk or cream to make a sweeter soup, or blend in apple puree or parsnip puree to make a veggie side, sweet or savory respectively.

Steak

Ingredients
3 beef eye of round steaks
1/4 c sweet vermouth
1/4 c white vinegar (white wine or cider would have been better)
1/4 c olive oil
1 onion, diced
Salt and pepper

Salt and pepper both sides of the steak.

Marinade the meet in the vermouth, vinegar, oil and onion.
I never finished this post, because while the soup was delicious, simple and filling, the steaks were too greasy and underseasoned.  I should not have used olive oil, I should have used a more acidic marinade, and I should have kept the onions separate from the meat as they cooked at a different time and temperature.  Lesson learned.

Monday, November 9, 2009

Sausage, peppers and rice

Ingredients
2 onions, diced
sausage (I used about 6 inches of a Turkey sausage link)
2 bell peppers (I used 1 red, 1 yellow)
garlic
beer
chicken stock
rice (I used brown basmati rice)

Set the rice cooking, with just a little less water than usual since it will be finished in the frying pan.


Cook the sausage and onion in a frying pan, letting the fat from the sausage soften the onions.

Add the bell peppers and garlic.

When all the vegetables are softened, add some beer to deglaze the pan, about 1/4 c.  This keep things from burning and adds a little flavor.  Wait for that to heat up and start to cook off, and add the chicken broth, about 1 1/4 c.

When that reaches a boil, add the almost-cooked rice.

Let the rice absorb most of the liquid.
Serve and enjoy!

Monday, November 2, 2009

Silly Orange Halloween Dinner

Barbecue-Sauce Baked Chicken with Pumpkin-Mashed Potatoes and Roasted Carrots

Ingredients
2 Boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 c canned pumpkin
3 potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 T margarine
1/4 c chicken stock, or amount necessary for desired consistency
4 carrots, peeled and chopped into 1" pieces
olive oil
salt, pepper
BBQ sauce (store bought or recipe below)

Preheat oven to 375F.  Spread some BBQ sauce in a baking dish.  Set chicken breasts on the sauce.  Spoon more sauce onto the chicken breasts, being careful not to cross-contaminate.  Bake for 25 minutes.

On a baking tray or a second baking dish, place carrots, toss in olive oil.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  Put it in the oven for about 25 minutes as well, until tender.

Boil potatoes until tender.  Drain, return to pot, add pumpkin and heat a bit so that any excess water cooks off and the pumpkin warms through.   Add the margarine and chicken stock and mash with ricer, fork, or potato masher.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Barbecue Sauce
1 can tomato paste
white vinegar
brown sugar
cumin
chili powder
Worcester sauce

Blend all the ingredients into desired thickness and taste.  I just experimented until it tasted right.  You can also add hot sauce, diced onion, or whatever you like.

And voila!  A very orange meal for Halloween!