Antipasto Salad

Whenever I have leftover green beans I make some sort of "antipasto salad". It is so easy and I change it up every time, depending on what I have in the larder.

The main ingredients that are a must are the cooked green beans, salami and red onion. The rest of the components are up to you. Use whatever canned or jarred beans/peppers you have on hand.

This is terrific served on a buffet as a first course, and is great any season.

Here is how I made it this week.

Antipasto Salad:

1 lb. cooked green beans, halved
some good Italian salami, chopped
1/4 cup red onion, minced
1 red pepper, chopped (you can use roasted peppers too)
1 jar of marinated artichokes, drained
1 can garbanzo beans (ceci, chick peas)
1 jar of Lupini beans, pop skins off (these are a pain, but so delicious)

If you don't want to use the Lupini beans, which are cured in brine, and pretty salty, then use kalamata olives instead.

red wine vinegar & good olive oil, salt and black pepper

Mix all ingredients in bowl and make dressing as per your taste. I like more vinegar than oil in this one.



Tomorrow, I will add a can of Italian tuna fish packed in oil to this salad.
A healthy and low fat lunch, and boy do I need it!

Weekend Eats & a Cheese Spread

This weekend we visited friends who live on apple/peach/pear orchards in Germantown, Columbia County, upstate New York, about 100 miles north of New York City. A totally rural farming area, except for the little town of Hudson, where art galleries and antiques shops abound.



There are a lot of cottage industry food businesses, local farms that sell raw milk and handmade cheeses, terrific butchers that sell organic meats and chickens and all local New York State produce is used at all the interesting little restaurants.



We stopped at a working farm called Pleroma Farms and bought fresh eggs and farm raised chickens (to roast this week!) and met the owner, Ana, a Dutch woman who has owned the farm since 1986.



What I thought so amazing was that you pay with the honor system. There is a price list and you help yourself to what you want in the refrigerated case, then write your name and what you are taking on a sales slip type of pad, and leave the cash in a cigar box!!! I guess this is why people live up here.



We stopped at a great little market called Otto's in the postage size downtown shops (5 shops in total) of Germantown.



We bought excellent cookies & rum balls homemade by Otto, pickles from Rhinebeck, NY, handmade by a girl named "Spacey Tracey" (I was instantly interested, since some people still call me "Spacey Stacey"), and sampled some really delicious cheese spread called Pimento Cheese Spread, also made "in house".



At first I was leery. Pimento Cheese Spread? I was told it is a Southern thing. The sign in front of the samples said "this sounds weird, but it's good!"
It was really delicious and I am no cheese log type of gal.

I tried to recreate Otto's delicious spread, and after googling and finding many different variations, this was as close as I could get and it was terrific!

Pimento Cheese Spread: (adapted from Otto's Market by me!)

some shredded muenster cheese (most recipes used sharp white cheddar)
some chopped pimentos from a jar
lots of dill weed
small amount of chopped red onion
very little mayo to bind
dash of tabasco sauce

This was great served on a crusty baguette or just with plain Carr's crackers.
Notice the beautiful apple trees (in winter mode) in the background.

Ghosts of New Years Past

Yes, that ghost would be me! Don't be frightened, it's just a negative.

We got a new camera phone and were playing around with artsy images while I was preparing the New Years Eve meal.

We had a 2 day feast.
An open house for New Years day and some family for New Years eve dinner.
Lots of food & lots of cooking. So what else is new?

The beautiful big ass beef tenderloin, this time cooked in MY OWN kitchen! Came out just right. Served with a horseradish cream sauce.




Steakhouse potatoes.
I have seen so many good looking gratins on blogs lately, and decided instead of my usual gruyere w/ leeks and potatoes, to do a more basic recipe w/ cheddar cheese & breadcrumbs, how could you go wrong?




A lasagne made with my homemade pork shoulder ragu, pesto and fresh mozzarella.










Roasted Brussels sprouts. Good winter veg.



I also served a turkey for the non meat eaters and an easy salad of mixed greens topped with sliced pears and gorgonzola w/ spiced pecans.





What a great way to ring in the new year. Good food shared with the people you love!


(The real me in pajamas preparing the lasagne for the open house. Not a ghost!)

Best of 2008

I don't really know if these are the BEST recipes you will ever try in your lifetime, but they are my own original recipes and have been requested many times!

These 6 recipes were the most popular and most downloaded recipes on Stacey Snacks in 2008.

They are among my favorites and I make them all the time. Try them and enjoy!

DEADHEAD BREAD



ROASTED CHERRY TOMATO PASTA



BEST HOT ARTICHOKE DIP



BEST ROAST TURKEY BREAST



JERSEY GIRL POTATO SALAD



AUTUMN PASTA WITH SAUSAGE & BUTTERNUT SQUASH

Smoked Salmon on Cucumber Rounds & a Happy New Year

This time of year it seems that we eat a lot of heavy, rich foods.
Lots of cookies, candies, cakes and just too much of everything.

Here is a great appetizer that takes 5 minutes to put together, it is healthy and low in fat because there are no crackers or bread.
The smoked salmon provides a great source of protein.



You can even use low fat cream cheese if you like.
These would be great to serve tonight for New Years Eve, so we can get our "healthier eating" resolution going early (except all the champagne drunk tonight will negate that one!).

These are guilt free!

Smoked Salmon on Cucumber Rounds:

Cream cheese mixture:
I use Philadelphia whipped cream cheese and mix in chopped chives & lemon zest.
(You can use low fat cream cheese or any flavored cream cheese that you like).

Cucumber Cups:
2 English hothouse (seedless cucumbers), peeled and sliced 1" thickness.
Lay on paper towels to drain out all liquid before filling the cucumber cups.

With a melon ball scooper, cut small scoops out of each slice of cucumber, about half way thru, without going thru to the bottom. This will make a little cup!

1 package of Scottish smoked salmon, cut into 2" pieces.

About an hour before serving, fill your cucumber cups with a little of the cream cheese lemon zest mixture.
Lay a slice of salmon over the cream cheese and garnish with a sprig of fresh dill.


I wanted to wish all of you a Happy and Healthy New Year in 2009.

I have enjoyed meeting so many terrific people thru my blog this year and have even made some new friends. Go figure, and no one turned out to be a stalker or a weirdo (well maybe one person who keeps sending me licorice in the mail).

I appreciate that you take the time to read my words and even try my recipes! Thank you!

Have a Happy New Year!
Stacey

The Cupboard is Bare: Shrimp Scampi

What do you make for dinner after a week of holiday EATING and DRINKING?

I have nothing in the house, except for a bag of frozen shrimp. My cupboards are bare! How about a scampi?
Ok, only if my neighbor can lend me some garlic! Can you believe I have no garlic in the house? That's a first!

You don't really need a recipe for Shrimp Scampi. It is basically butter, oil, lots of garlic and shrimp. How hard can that be?

It is totally satisfying. Fresh chopped parsley makes it even better.

I personally don't like my scampi sauce swimming with butter, so I use only half a stick.

You can make this in a casserole dish and top with buttered breadcrumbs and put under the broiler for a few minutes, or serve it on top of linguine.

Stacey Snacks Shrimp Scampi over Linguine: serves 4

~ 1 lb. linguine
~ 1 bag of large frozen shrimp w/ tails, defrosted and butterflied (defrost in the sink under running cold water)
~ 5 cloves garlic, sliced
~ half a stick of butter
~ 1/4 cup of good olive oil
~ handful of fresh chopped parsley
~ juice of 2 fresh lemons
~ 1 lemon for slicing to throw in as a garnish (optional)
~ dash of hot pepper flakes

Cook your linguine as per directions, about 7 minutes in salted water.
While your pasta is cooking, make your scampi.

In a large heavy skillet, heat olive oil w/ butter and cook garlic until fragrant, about 3 minutes, watch so the garlic does not burn.
Now throw in your shrimp and toss until pink, about 5 minutes.
Squeeze your lemon juice, pepper flakes, and chopped parsley and turn off heat.



When pasta is done, drain and toss in the skillet w/ the shrimp and sauce.
Toss in thinly sliced lemons for garnish. So simple!
Serve immediately!
Eat immediately!

Old Fashioned PICKLED EGGS

What?
You read it right. Pickled eggs. Very 1950's.

They are so pretty and tasty, how can you not love them?
Perfect on a spinach salad.



There are so many old fashioned recipes for pickling eggs. I make mine the easiest way.

Add the liquid from a jar of pickled beets, 1/2 cup cider vinegar, ground black pepper and 6 whole cloves to a container.





Add 6 peeled, hard boiled eggs to this mixture.
Seal tightly.
Keep in fridge at least 48 hours and not longer than a week.



Aren't they pretty?

HOLY CANNOLI

The word cannolo means "little tube" in Italian.
Cannolis are little fried pastry tubes filled with ricotta. Some people use mascarpone, but the traditional Sicilian cannoli recipe that originated in Palermo calls for ricotta cheese.

You can add candied orange peel, chopped pistachios, marsala wine and/or chocolate chips. Personally, I like all of the above in my cannolis!

This is my sister's recipe. She made a bunch and served them for Christmas.
They are made to order! Pipe the filling in right before serving.

They are so simple to make, especially if you are buying the pre made cannoli shells at the Italian bakery. (I have been told that Costco sells the pre made shells too).

Eden's Cannoli Recipe:
makes approx. 30 small cannolis

2 lbs. (32oz) ricotta cheese
3/4 cup confectioners sugar
2 tbsp vanilla
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup MINI chocolate chips
1/2 cup of candied orange peel
30 small cannoli shells

chopped pistachios for garnish (optional)
confectioners sugar for dusting the shells

Mix your ricotta with rest of ingredients. Beat until smooth.
Pipe ricotta mixture into shells. If you don't have a pastry bag, then put your filling in a ziploc freezer bag and twist the bag tight. Cut a hole at one corner of the plastic bag to create a piping bag. I always do it this way, so I don't have to wash my pastry bags!!!

Sprinkle powdered sugar over the shells, and garnish with chopped pistachio meats if you like!
Enjoy!

Holiday Scenes

One Week's Worth of Calories

Chocolate Cherry Trifle

Amazing Christmas Cookies

Romantic Stocking Stuffers

Onion Goggles & an Ove Glove.......no vacuum?

A Wonderful Gift from our Niece & Nephew

A donation to a local food bank

*and another nice note: NJ Bloggers Raised $6000. on 12/15 from their posts for New Jersey Food Banks!

Panettone Bread Pudding

Panettone is a traditional Italian Christmas bread. It can be found all over Italy, but originated in Milan in the 15th century by a baker named Antonio (Tony's Bread), so the story goes.
It is made traditionally with candied fruits and raisins, and served sliced with a glass of sweet wine.

I make a panettone bread pudding once a year, on Christmas morning. It is very much like a French toast, but you can assemble it the night before and leave it in the fridge.
When you wake up Christmas morning, you just pop it in the oven.
It is so yummy! It is great for a Christmas brunch buffet. Kids love it too.

Stacey Snacks Panettone Bread Pudding:

3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup brown sugar, packed
1 tbsp water
1 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream
6 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

8 2-inch slices panettone



Melt 1/2 cup butter in a saucepan over low heat. Add brown sugar and water until combined. Spread this mixture over the bottom of a 9x13-inch glass baking dish.

Whisk together milk, cream, eggs, vanilla and cinnamon, set aside.
Lay your slices of panettone bread in your glass pan, overlapping each other.
Pour egg and cream mixture over panettone, coating all slices. Press down with a heavy spatula to soak up liquid. Don't worry, the liquid will absorb into the bread. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Next morning, preheat your oven to 350°F. Bake French toast uncovered for 35—40 minutes until lightly golden.
I drizzle maple syrup over the slices.
Delicious!!!

Birthday Snacks

Yesterday was my birthday.
40 something years young.

I had the night off from cooking.

Our friends Sally & Scott hosted a birthday dinner for me, so today will be a guest chef post!
Sally Snacks.

We started with champagne and hors d'oevres. Lots of beautiful cheeses and great crostini w/ caramelized onions, blue cheese & candied walnuts.
Homemade baba ghanoush with warm pita bread.







The main dish was a fantastic cod & shrimp stew over vinegar mashed potatoes. A Rachel Ray recipe. This would be another terrific Christmas Eve dish for the Feast of Seven Fishes. Can't wait to eat the leftovers tomorrow!



Rachel Ray's Cod & Shrimp "Stoup" (bad name) w/ Vinegar Mashed Potatoes:

4 large baking potatoes, peeled and thickly sliced
Salt
3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 onions, thinly sliced
3-4 ribs celery from the heart, with leafy greens, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 large bay leaf
2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves, chopped
Grated peel and juice of 1 lemon
Pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup chicken broth
One can diced or stewed tomatoes (14.5-ounces)
1 1/2 pounds thick cod fillets, cut into chunks
1 pound large shrimp, peeled and deveined
1/4 cup white balsamic vinegar or white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons butter

In a deep pot, add the potatoes and enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, salt the water and cook the potatoes until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain.

In a Dutch oven or a large, deep skillet with a lid, heat the olive oil, 3 turns of the pan, over medium high heat. Add the onions, celery, garlic, bay leaf, thyme and lemon peel; season with salt and pepper. Cook until the onions are softened, 7-8 minutes.
Pour in the wine and cook for 1 minute. Stir in 1/2 cup chicken broth and the tomatoes with their juice; bring to a simmer. Add the cod in a single layer, cover and cook for 3 minutes. Gently stir in the shrimp; season with salt and pepper.

Cover and cook until the cod and shrimp are just opaque throughout, about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice; discard the bay leaf.

Mash the potatoes with the remaining 1/2 cup chicken broth, the vinegar and butter; season with salt.

To serve, mound the potatoes into shallow bowls. Ladle the stoup around the potatoes.



For dessert we had a fantastic layered carrot cake with butter cream frosting and the best card trick!

Holiday Appetizer: Smoked Trout in Endive

At our house we celebrate both Christmas and Hanukkah.

I usually serve some type of smoked fish along with latkes (potato pancakes) for Hanukkah.
Last night I made this great appetizer of smoked trout in Belgain endive and zucchini potato pancakes (recipe to follow).

This would be a great appetizer for either holiday! You can serve it for Christmas Eve if you are making the Feast of the 7 Fishes.



Belgian endive only became popular in the States in the 70's. It was discovered in Belgium in 1830 and is from the chicory genus, very similar to radicchio.
If you buy it from a good source and get it fresh, then it can be sweet, but if it sits in the fridge too long, it will be very bitter. It is in the bitter greens family to begin with.

The growing season is November-April, and I always use endive as part of my holiday appetizer menu.
The leaves are perfect little "boats" or vessels to carry whatever you want them to!

You can make this 2 hours ahead of time. It takes about 5 minutes to put together!



Stacey Snacks Smoked Trout in Endive Spears:

4 heads of Belgian endive (if you can find the red ones, then use both red & white)
2 smoked trout filets, remove skins and flake
1/4 cup Hellman's full fat mayonnaise
1 tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp of fresh chopped dill
handful of chopped scallions

In a small bowl, mix your mayo with your trout and the rest of the ingredients.
Cut your endive heads at the stem to make individual leaves.
Spoon small amounts of your trout salad into the spears and arrange on a platter.
Garnish w/ fresh dill sprigs.

To make the little rose in the center of the platter, just use the bottom stem of the red endive head.


Happy Merry!

Scenes from a Dinner Party

I really wanted the title of this post to be:
"Cooking in Someone Else's Kitchen".


Have you tried this? Cooking in someone else's kitchen?

I don't like it. I actually cooked for a small dinner party at my friend's house on Saturday night. She has a GORGEOUS huge custom kitchen, and I thought it would be a good idea and I would get to use her beautiful new La Cornue French enamel blue DOUBLE oven!
Yes, a double oven! My dream!
I can cook one dish on one side at 350 degrees and the other dishes on the other side at 425!
So, of course I said YES.

Well, I have to be honest with you. I like my little kitchen better. All I have to do is turn around in one twirl and I am at the sink. I don't have 16 drawers to find Saran Wrap and who puts paper towels under the sink? She does.
I couldn't find anything in HER kitchen, because it wasn't MY kitchen.
At least her knives were shiny and sharp (from lack of use!!).

My review of the La Cornue:
It is beautiful, like a piece of fine furniture. It is the focal point of the room.
It is the price of a one carat diamond with E color.


It cooks way too hot, you have to turn the temperature down 25 degrees to get it right. It cooked a gorgeous beef tenderloin (which should've been medium rare) more like medium well, and I took 15 minutes off the time!


Another thing I disliked about it is that when you open the heavy doors, the hot steam singes your eyelashes! Look out! This thing definitely takes some getting used to. My large cookie sheets did not fit into this large blue monster, it's all talk, no action.

I am not complaining, just telling it like it is.
The dinner still came out delicious.
I will never curse my tiny kitchen again.


Beef Tenderloin: Coat meat all over with lots of kosher salt & black pepper and a bit of olive oil. Sear in a pan to brown a few minutes. Transfer to roasting pan and depending on size, roast at 425 for about 30 minutes for medium rare (I use a meat thermometer and when it registers 135, I take it out, it will cook more on the counter).
Tent loosely with foil for 10 minutes before slicing.

I made a Gorgonzola Sauce to go with the meat.
Sour cream, gorgonzola cheese, a tbsp Worcestershire sauce, black pepper.


Roasted Beet & Orange Salad over Arugula (click on link to recipe)


Potato Galette w/ Thyme:
Slice about 5 large Yukon Gold potatoes w/ mandolin. Butter a gratin dish.
Saute 2 onions, that have been thinly sliced in butter and olive oil.
Add potato slices, 2 tbsp fresh thyme and your sauteed onions with 1 cup Gruyere cheese, 2 cup heavy cream, salt & pepper. Pour into your greased gratin dish and press down. Bake at 350 for about an hour on a baking sheet.






Chloe, the Whippet waiting for some table scraps!

Snow Day: Belgian Carbonade

What could be better than being a kid and waking up to that radio announcement saying "SCHOOLS ARE CLOSED due to inclement weather!!!!" (I am dating myself, nowadays they do it via email!).

Yay! A snow day! We can sleigh ride, make snowmen and make snow angels!



Well, now that I am grown up (or so they tell me) I still love snow days.

Friday, we received 5" of the white fluffy stuff, the first of many annoying snow days!
But for me, I like this day because I am forced to stay indoors.
What do I do with my confinement?
Cook. Shovel the walk, cook, shovel the walk and cook.
What else?

Today I decided to make my yearly Belgian Carbonade. It is the perfect comfort food for a cold snowy day. It makes a lot! so I freeze it for future meals.

This is a traditional Belgian beef stew made w/ good Belgian beer and simple ingredients.
It is traditionally served over potatoes, but we like it over egg noodles too.

There are many variations of this recipe, but most use beer. I have seen some with vinegar. This is my favorite of all the recipes I have tried. It is adapted from Real Simple magazine from years ago. It is always a winner....

Belgian Beef Carbonade:

3 lbs. good quality chuck meat (stew meat)
3 onions, sliced thick
2 cloves garlic, chopped
4 slices bacon, chopped
2 bottles Belgian dark beer (I used Leffe)
2 tbsp light brown sugar
1 tbsp chopped fresh thyme
1 tbsp chopped fresh rosemary
1 14 oz. can of chopped tomatoes
kosher salt and pepper

In a heavy dutch oven, cook your bacon until crisp. Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a bowl.

Put a little olive oil in that same pot.
Now salt and pepper your beef cubes, and cook for about 7 minutes per side until browned.
I do this in 2-3 batches.
DON'T CROWD YOUR MEAT OR IT WILL STEAM! It is time consuming, but you want a nice crusty exterior.

Remove your beef and transfer to the bowl with the bacon.



Cook your onions and garlic a few minutes until wilted. Now add your tomatoes, brown sugar, herbs and 2 bottles of beer. Bring to a boil then turn down to a simmer for 10 minutes.



Place your pot in a 350 degree oven for 2 hours to braise.
This is gorgeous stuff. The house smells so yummy.

I have to go now and shovel the walk!

Did You Know This?

I received this in email this week.

Some useful information, in case you didn't already know.
If you did, then you are way smarter than me!

(Don't you even try and act like you already knew this, either.)

I had to go into the kitchen and check this out for myself. Whoever looks at the end of your aluminum foil box? You know when you try to pull some foil out and the roll comes out of the box. Then you have to put the roll back in the box and start over. The darn roll always comes out at the wrong time.

Well, I would like to share this with you.

Yesterday I went to throw out an empty Reynolds foil box and for some reason I turned it and looked at the end of the box. Written on the end it said, Press here to lock end. Right there on the end of the box is a tab to lock the roll in place. How long has this little locking tab been there? I then looked at a generic brand of aluminum foil and it had one, too. I then looked at a box of Saran wrap and it had one too! I can't count the number of times the Saran wrap roll has jumped out when I was trying to cover something up.

I'm sharing this with my friends. I hope I'm not the only person that didn't know about this.

Panforte: Siena Fruit Cake

Ask anyone who really knows me and they will tell you that I am nuts about PANFORTE.

Panforte is an Italian Christmas fruit cake, very dense and flat in shape, meant to be sliced thin and eaten with your hands.
It is the traditional Christmas cake from Siena, in Tuscany. It is always made with high quality dried fruits and different kinds of nuts. I have had it every way. Nero, dusted with cocoa, or Traditional Margherita, dusted with confectioners sugar.



It is usually imported to the states right before Christmas and I always buy it.
I have tried EVERY brand, and find the best is Marabissi brand from Siena, which I have found at Dean & Deluca Gourmet stores in NYC and even on line at amazon.com.
However, it is getting to be an expensive habit. At $25. a pop, I have decided to try and make it myself.

I chose Nick Malgieri's recipe because his was simpler than most, and Nick is my favorite baker of all time. His books are truly the best for Italian desserts.



You are going to think I am nuts, but I decided to make my own candied orange peel for the recipe. I made this a few days prior to making the panforte, since this took some time, and you need to dry the orange peel 3-4 hours.
Next time I buy the candied orange peel!!!

Panforte di Siena

"This medieval fruitcake is the ancestor of our modern ones. Sweet and chewy, panforte is best enjoyed in small wedges with coffee or sweet wine", Nick Malgieri

Makes one 8-inch (20-cm) cake.
About 20 small servings

2/3 cup honey
2/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup finely diced candied orange peel (click on link if you dare to make your own)
* 1 1/2 cups blanched almonds, lightly toasted and coarsely chopped
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon cloves
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
Flour, for dusting
Confectioners’ sugar, for dusting

(* I used a mixture of chopped almonds, pignoli nuts and walnuts).

Method

Set a rack in the middle level of the oven and preheat to 300°F (150°C). Line the bottom and sides of an 8 inch (20 cm) diameter pan 2 inches (5 cm) deep, with buttered foil.

Combine the honey and sugar in a medium saucepan. Stir well to mix, then place on low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture comes to a full boil, then remove from heat.



Stir in the candied fruit and almonds. Stir together the flour and spices, add them to the batter, then stir until smooth.




Scrape the batter into the prepared pan and smooth the top. Sift a couple of tablespoons of the flour into the top of the panforte so it doesn’t crust while baking, this will be removed later. Bake until the panforte is firm and gently simmering just around the edges, about 20-25 minutes. Cool in the pan on a rack.



When the panforte is completely cool, invert it to remove the flour from the top, use a dry brush to get it all off. Carefully peel away the foil and stand the panforte right-side-up. Wrap in plastic or foil and keep at room temperature, it keeps almost indefinitely.

To serve, sift a thin layer of the confectioners’ sugar over the top. Serve small wedges, they are eaten out of hand, not with a fork.

This is more like a confection or candy than it is a cake. It is dense, very hard to cut and you can only have a small bite.

This recipe came out FANTASTICO!!!! Better even than the real deal from Siena that uses nuts and fruits grown in the Tuscan sun!
Made in a little kitchen in New Jersey, go figure!

Green Beans & Crispy Leeks

I am always looking for an interesting way to prepare green beans for weeknight meals.

I found this recipe on 101 Cookbooks and it sounded simple, yet different.
The addition of the fresh dill definitely makes this dish. The frizzled leeks tasted a lot like those Durkee Fried Onions (remember those?). Kids would probably enjoy these beans!



Green Beans w/ Crispy Leeks: (adapted from 101 Cookbooks)

1 lb. fresh green beans, ends trimmed, and cut in half
2 leeks, trimmed and sliced thin
1/4 cup fresh dill, chopped
olive oil
kosher salt

I blanched my beans for 2 minutes because I don't love raw green beans, as the original recipe calls for. Blanching them for that short period of time just made them al dente, better than FULL crunch.
When in the colander, run under cold water to stop the cooking process.

Coat a heavy skillet w/ olive oil.
Saute your leeks for about 7 minutes on medium high heat until crispy.
Throw in your beans and dill and kosher salt. Saute another minute, and you are done!



I served this along side of my mustard chicken legs and it was a very nice EASY dinner!

Cake aux Olives et Jambon: Olive & Ham Loaf!!

I have this wonderful cookbook called PARIS BOULANGERIE PATISSERIE: Recipes from Thirteen Outstanding French Bakeries.

I have owned this book for 10 years and have never made a recipe from it!
Instead, I look at the photos of all the AMAZING pastries and artisan breads and drool.

I HAVE used this wonderful book as a guide to visiting the best bakeries while in Paris. I have never been disappointed. We have visited 5 out of the 13 bakeries so far. Hey, there is always next year.

A few months back my friend zen chef at Chefs Gone Wild blog made an interesting olive ham and gruyere loaf (he is French & knows what he is doing). It reminded me of the one we had at the famous STOHRER Patisserie located in the 2e arrondissement in Paris. (click on their website, it is a feast for the eyes).



A bit of history on this bakery:

Stohrer is the oldest bakery in Paris, and the original owner/baker was from Lorainne, France (I will be making a quiche Lorraine this week) back in the 1700's. The murals are gorgeous and were done in 1864 and are beautifully displayed behind gorgeous pastries and cakes. It is worth a visit. The cakes are works of art.

This cake is really a tea bread and is sold primarily on Fridays for Parisians to take to their country homes for the weekends.

Zen chef's recipe is different than the Stohrer recipe, but I liked zen's addition of sun dried tomatoes, so I made the Stohrer recipe but added the sun dried tomatoes.



If you make these in small loaf pans, they would make wonderful holiday gifts.



Cake aux Olives et Jambon: (from the book Paris, Boulangerie, Patisserie)

~ 2 cups minus 2 tbsp of flour
~ 2 1/2 tsp baking powder
~ 1/2 cup of dry white wine (I used a French Cotes de Rhone)
~ 1/2 cup of dry vermouth
~ 4 large eggs, beaten
~ 3/4 cup good olive oil (recipe calls for 200 ml)
~ 1 1/2 cups of chopped ham (I used smoked prosciutto), you can use bacon too
~ 1 1/2 cups of grated Gruyere cheese (I used the good AOC Comte...yummy)
~ 1 cups of green olives, *pitted and chopped roughly (use Lucques or Picholine please)
~ 1/4 cup of chopped sun dried tomatoes

* to pit the olives, just whack them with your chef's knife and the pit comes out easily

Oven at 350. Grease an 8 x 4 loaf pan.



Mix flour and baking powder in a large bowl. Make a well in the center and add the beaten eggs, wine and vermouth. Mix gently just to incorporate.

Add the olive oil a few spoonfuls at a time, mixing until you have a smooth dough.
Add the ham, cheese, olives and tomatoes, mixing until just incorporated.

Bake about 50-55 minutes. Leave in the pan until cooled, then remove.

C'est magnifique!

It is Better to GIVE than to RECEIVE

As you all know, this year is a tough one for most Americans.
Unemployment rates are the highest in 26 years.

Food banks & soup kitchens all over the country are really hurting and need our help.
They are running low on food supplies due to the increased number of hungry people showing up daily.

What can I do to help?
Good question!

You can click on this link to access your local food bank in your community. You can donate money, food or time to these very much needed organizations.
We can't let them fail.

I am a member of Jersey Bites, and Deb is in charge of a large statewide campaign this month raising awareness to this very important cause. Please check out her site for more information.

For all of you NJ readers, here is the link to the NJ Food Bank. Please support them especially during this tough time of year.

Lisa from Jersey Girl Cooks had a good idea: forgo your daily Starbucks latte this week and donate the $5. per day to the local food bank. Great idea!

Thanks for listening.
Happy Holidays

Goodbye Aunt Jemima

It's Saturday morning.
The first thing my husband says when he wakes up this a.m. is:
"Do we have any pancake mix?".

He has always liked pancakes in the winter on a weekend. I have never liked them because I find them too heavy and they lay in your stomach like lead all day.
I know, what kind of person am I that I don't eat pancakes? ( I do like French toast!).

Well, if I DO have pancake mix, then it's 2 years old. I went downstairs and checked to see if Aunt Jemima was in the cupboard. She was not.
You could hear the disappointed sighs.

How hard could it be to make homemade pancake mix? and why have I always bought a box of mix? I never thought about it.

I had a Swedish apple pancake recipe that I do in a cast iron skillet, so I modified it for breakfast pancakes and they came out FABULOUS!!!!
I feel so silly, this was so easy. I had a few bites and really liked them, they didn't have that chemical aftertaste that boxed mixes can have.

Sorry Aunt Jemima, I will not be buying you anymore. Goodbye.



Stacey Snacks Pancake Mix:
(makes about 12 pancakes, depending on size)

1 cup flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3 tbsp sugar

mix dry ingredients together and add:

1 egg
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 cup whole milk
1 tbsp water to thin (batter is very thick)

Pour into discs onto a hot skillet. Turn when bubbling.
Of course you can add blueberries, chocolate chips or whatever you like!

The sighs turned into smiles very quickly!