Corned Beef and Cabbage

https://web.archive.org/web/20140721063507/https://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Slow-Cooker-Corned-Beef-and-Cabbage/Detail.aspx

This is a yummy dinner. The cabbage is really important. DH likes the cabbage and carrots more than the potatoes and onion.

Yogurt Sauce

This is from Bon Appetit, part of the Lamb Kofte I made a while back. It goes well with middle eastern dishes. On gyros or falafels or something like that.

Yogurt sauce:

1 cup plain low-fat yogurt

2 tablespoons tahini (sesame seed paste)

1 tablespoon fresh lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon salt

Stir all ingredients in medium bowl to blend. Cover and chill.

Falafels

http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/2008/05/crockpot-falafel-recipe.html

This method of cooking falafels was not very successful. They tasted pretty good though. I would not do it in a crockpot next time. They cooked unevenly. I wanted to make falafel that was not deep fried, but I could always just do it in a skillet with a couple tablespoons of oil.

I served the falafel with leftover hummus and some yogurt sauce I mixed up quickly.

Hummus

Homemade hummus is easy to make so long as you have tahini paste (from sesame seeds) in the fridge. This is from about.com.

This is a great recipe. I used dried garbanzo beans that I soaked overnight and then pressure cooked for 45 minutes.

1 16 oz can of chickpeas or garbanzo beans

1/4 cup liquid from can of chickpeas

3-5 tablespoons lemon juice (depending on taste)

1 1/2 tablespoons tahini

1-2 cloves garlic, crushed (make sure not too large so you aren't overpowered)

1/2 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons olive oil

Drain chickpeas and set aside liquid from can. Combine remaining ingredients in blender or food processor. Add 1/4 cup of liquid from chickpeas. Blend for 3-5 minutes on low until thoroughly mixed and smooth.

Place in serving bowl, and create a shallow well in the center of the hummus.

Add a small amount (1-2 tablespoons) of olive oil in the well. Garnish with parsley (optional).

Serve immediately with fresh, warm or toasted pita bread, or cover and refrigerate.

Note: I have also just mixed the oil into the recipe and it works well.

Pork and Poblano Tamale Pie

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Pork-and-Poblano-Tamale-Pie-357537

This was so good. I was really taken with this recipe in every way, and that's pretty rare so I gave it an unheard of 5. I was in a rush and didn't want to let it simmer for as long as the recipe said, so I turned it into a partial crockpot recipe. I put the raw pork in a 3 quart crockpot with the garlic, green salsa, and chicken broth. I put in on low while I was gone (6 hrs). It was super tender when I got back, and then I finished the recipe. After sauteing the onions and adding spices, I threw everything together and only simmered for 10-15 minutes while I mixed the cornbread batter and then put it in the oven. This would have been fine in a casserole dish, but I just left it in the skillet I used since it happens to have a metal handle and is ok for oven use.

For the pork, I used a strip of "country style pork rib" that I chopped up. It wasn't boneless, but I removed the bones after I turned off the crockpot.

I consider poblanos to be a very mild pepper. So don't worry about the heat. If you are a wimp (like my mom), use fewer poblanos and more bell pepper.

Notes from 3/27/10:

-Don't skip the corn puree step, even it your equipment doesn't seem to work well. It makes a big difference in the texture of the final product.

-And don't skimp on meat.

-And don't use all wheat flour in the cornbread topping. If adding wheat, do 50/50 mixture with white.

-And don't leave the poblanos in the oven too long. They get tough and are impossible to peel. Bake them at 500 for 15 minutes or so, and call it good, even if not charred. Alternatively, char them on the stove to over open flame.

-It is possible to leave the skins on the peppers, but then you have skins floating around in the dish. It is less appetizing. I prefer the skins removed even though roasting takes extra time.

Creamed Kidney Beans and Lentils

This is from my San Francisco Chronicle cookbook. I really liked it. I cooked brown rice to go with it and it is superb. I didn't have hot chiles, so I sprinkled in some red pepper flakes. I used half and half instead of cream.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup dried red kidney beans, picked over

1/2 cup dried brown lentils, picked over

2 1/2 cups water

1 tablespoon unsalted butter

1/2 cup minced onion

1 teaspoon crushed garlic

1/2 tablespoon minced fresh ginger

2 fresh hot green chiles, stemmed and minced

1/4 cup tomato paste

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste

1/4 cup milk (low-fat or whole)

1/4 cup whipping cream or half-and- half

1 tablespoon minced cilantro

Instructions:

Wash the kidney beans in several changes of water. Place in a pan and add water to cover by at least 2 inches. Let soak for 8 hours or overnight.

Drain and rinse the beans. Rinse the lentils and combine with the kidney beans. Place in a large, heavy saucepan; add the water and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium, cover (partially at first, until the foam settles, then snugly), and cook until the beans and lentils are tender but still hold their shape, about 40 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand, covered, for 5 minutes.

Heat the butter in a large nonstick saucepan over medium-high heat. Add the onion, garlic, ginger and chiles and cook until the onion is lightly browned, about 4 minutes. Add the tomato paste, coriander, cumin and pepper; cook 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the cooked beans and lentils, the salt and milk. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until most of the liquid is absorbed, 6 to 8 minutes.

Add the cream and heat through. Transfer to a warmed serving bowl and garnish with cilantro.

Sicilian Chicken

This recipe is from my San Francisco Chronicle cookbook.

This chicken was really good. I ended up baking it instead of cooking in on the stove, but you could do it either way. I baked it for an hour and the leg/thigh quarters weren't done.

Ingredients:

1 chicken, cut into serving pieces

10 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

1 cup fresh mint leaves

Juice of 3 lemons

3 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 cup dry white wine

2/3 cup chicken broth

3 to 4 ounces slivered almonds, lightly toasted

Instructions:

1. Combine the chicken, garlic, 2/3 cup of the mint, the lemon juice, 1 tablespoon of the olive oil, and salt and pepper in a plastic container. Cover tightly. Refrigerate overnight, or up to 2 days.
2. Remove the chicken from the marinade and wipe dry. Reserve the marinade.
3. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons olive oil in a saute pan. Add the chicken legs, thighs and wings; saute 20 to 25 minutes, turning several times.
4. Add the breast pieces and saute 15 minutes, or until the chicken is cooked through, turning occasionally. Remove the chicken and keep warm.
5. Discard the fat in the pan, then add the wine and cook over high heat until reduced by half. Add the chicken broth and reserved marinade and cook over high heat until reduced to 1/2 cup.
6. Taste for seasoning, then pour the sauce over chicken.
7. Garnish with almonds and the remaining mint.

All American Meat Loaf

http://www.bhg.com/recipe/beef/all-american-classic-meat-loaf/

This is the first time I've ever made meat loaf. I used wine instead of beef broth (it was more handy at the moment...) and forgot the worcestershire sauce. David liked it a lot more than I did. I think the wine made it taste strange. There was this bitter taste to it that I think came from the wine and sourdough flavor. Next time I'll use regular french bread and beef broth instead of wine.

I also used regular ground beef instead of ground beef chuck/sirloin.

Never Fail Pie Crust

This is my regular pie crust recipe. I use it for savory and sweet pies. It is a flaky crust. (if you put it in a mixer it is not as flaky but is still semi-flaky.)

This is for a double crust pie or two single crust pies. You can freeze what you don't use and it will be good for at least a couple weeks.

3 c. flour
1 1/4 c. shortening
5-6 T. cold water
1 T. vinegar
1 egg
1 t. salt

Put everything in a bowl and mix with a pastry cutter. Or by just throwing everything into a mixer (what I do). If you have a food processor that can hold 7+ cups, then use that. Chill the dough for a half hour (wrapped in plastic) or so and roll out on floured surface.

Note: I have made this using lard instead of shortening, and the results were great.

French Apple Pie

I made apple pie for Pi day (you know, 3.14). I used this recipe: http://noshwithme.com/2006/11/the-yummiest-crumble-apple-pie-ever-ever-ever/

I used pink lady apples and it turned out fantastic. I did not follow their recipe for crust, I used my own.

The crumble topping that is part of this recipe goes well as a topping for any fruit crisp. It makes quite a lot though, so a half recipe is more appropriate. I might halve the crumble topping next time I make this pie too, as the topping is a very thick layer. (I'm still not sure if it is too thick).

Hungarian Beef Goulash

This was really good. Very much like beef stew. From my "One Pot Wonders" cookbook.

1/2 cup butter

2 lb rump, cut into cubes

salt and freshly ground black pepper

1 lb onions

1/4 cup paprika

1/2 cup flour

1 T tomato paste

2 qts beef stock

1/2 lb carrots

1 lb potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks

chopped parsley, for garnishing

Preheat the oven to 400F. Heat the butter in a large, heavy casserole dish, season the rump, and add to the dish. Add the onions and cook for 2 minutes, stirring. Add the paprika and flour, mix well, and place in the preheated oven, uncovered, for 10 minutes.

Remove from the oven and mix in the tomato paste. Reduce the oven temperature to 350. Add enough of the stock to cover the meat. Bring to a boil on top of the stove, and season. Cover with a lid and return to the oven for 2 hours.

After 1.5 hours, mix in the chopped carrots and potatoes, and cook for another 30 minutes, or until the meat and vegetables are tender. Sprinkle with chopped parsley to serve.

Portobello Mushrooms and Polenta

This is a recipe from my San Francisco chronicle cookbook.

This was very different fare than we're used to, and I had strong aversion to one of the ingredients. David adored it though. I think it is my strong sense of smell that made me sensitive to the white truffle oil. I halved the recipe.

4 whole portobello mushroom, stemmed

1/4 cup olive oil

1 T chopped fresh thyme

1 T chopped garlic

2 t chopped fresh rosemary

1 t ground pepper

1 t salt

3.5 cups water

3/4 cup polenta

1/4 cup mascarpone at room temp

1 T white truffle oil

One day ahead: Rub both sides of the mushrooms with olive oil, thyme, garlic, rosemary, pepper, and salt. Cover the mushrooms and refrigerate overnight.

1.Bring the water to a boil in a heavy pot. Whisk in the polenta, reduce heat low and cook until thickened and cooked. Stir constantly.

2.Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

3.Combine the mascarpone and truffle oil and set aside at room temperature.

4.Place the marinated mushrooms in a baking dish. Cover with foil and bake 20 minutes.

5.To serve, divide the polenta among serving plates. Top each serving with a mushroom and a tablespoon of mascarpone mixture.

Serves 4.

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I added some garlic to the polenta to give it more flavor. Next time I make this, I won't use any truffle oil. It is too strong for me.