Tag: KOA

Gulliver’s Vegetables

Gulliver’s Prim Rib Restaurant has been a favorite in Orange County, CA since 1970.

Ingredients:

  • 1 lb baby carrots
  • 1 lb baby zucchini
  • 2 stalks celery, cut in 2 inch pieces
  • chicken broth

Directions:

  1. Bring carrots and celery to boil in chicken broth.
  2. Cook until carrots are al dente.
  3. Turn off.
  4. At the last minute, when ready to serve, bring back to a boil.
  5. Add zucchini.
  6. Turn off.
  7. Let sit 5 minutes.
  8. Drain and serve.

Serves:  6 – 8  (count the veggies)

Source:  Orange County Register

Garlic Parmesan Instant Mashed Potatoes

Instant potatoes get fancy!  No harm in a little help making good food.  You really can liven up instant mashed potatoes and make them taste a whole lot better without spending any extra time.

Ingredients:

  • 2 c instant mashed potato flakes
  • 2 c water
  • 2 Tbs butter
  • ½ – 1 tsp garlic powder (to taste)
  • ¾ c heavy cream (you can also use milk)
  • ⅓ c shredded or grated Parmesan cheese
  • 3 Tbs chopped fresh chives

Instructions:

  1. In a medium saucepan, heat the water, garlic powder and butter just until boiling.
  2. Remove from heat and stir in the milk.
  3.  Add the potato flakes, Parmesan cheese and chives.
  4. Gently stir and fluff with a fork to remove any lumps.
  5. Serve and enjoy!

Serves:  6

Source:  Recipe by Moms Need To Know

Quick and easy tips that make the potatoes taste more “real”. 

Replace the water: Try chicken broth, milk, half and half, or dilute evaporated milk.

Make it thicker:  The easiest way to thickent the potatoesis to  add more potatoes – ie. a can of diced potatoes, leftover baked potatoes (scoop out the pulp), or even more potato flakes.  Mayonnaise, sour cream, cream cheese or plane yogurt will thicken the potatoes while providing a rich, tangy flavor. If you decide to add any of these, start with a little less water than called for on the box.

Stir in some flavor:  Minced garlic or garlic powder enhances potatoes, especially when followed by a healthy sprinkling of shredded cheese.  Bottled ranch dressing or dry ranch dressing mix offers a zesty kick. Other favorites are dill, chives and crumbled bacon. If all else fails, top them with lots of butter, sprinkle with salt and pepper and drench them with gravy.

Asparagus and Mushroom Salad

This can go from plain to fancy – which lettuce? Romaine/spinach, baby spring mix.  Which mushrooms?  white or Enoki, shiitake, crimini (baby bellas).  What about tomatoes?  Diced Romas? or Tiny Sweet 100s , Rainbow cherry tomatoes, dead ripe home grown Heirlooms.  For a really fancy touch check out edible flowers!

Ingredients:

  • 2 lb trendy lettuce
  • 2 lb romaine
  • 200 small to medium asparagus
  • 2 – 3 lb mushrooms – Enoki, Crimini  (or several mixed varieties)
  • 2+ lb cherry tomatoes
  • 2 c Creamy Parsley Dressing (on the blog)

Directions:

  1. Wash and dry the lettuce (paper towels or spinner)
  2. Tear into bite size pieces.
  3. Trim the tough ends off the asparagus.
  4. Cut into 1 inch pieces.
  5. Drop into boiling water (in small batches) then remove quickly. (I find using a strainer to raise and lower saves a lot of water.)
  6. Drop the blanched asparagus in ice water.
  7. Dry.
  8. Rinse and dry mushrooms
  9. Rinse and dry tomatoes (Are you getting a trend here?  No one wants a watered down salad.)
  10. Place everything but the dressing in a bow.
  11. Toss gently.
  12. Add half the dressing.
  13. Toss gently.
  14. Does it need more?  Add it.
  15. Toss again.
  16. Serve.

Or:  for really fancy – compose the salad:  Place a serving (scant cup) lettuce on plate, top with asparagus, mushrooms, tomatoes arranged artfully.  Drizzle on dressing.  Garnish with edible flower.

Serves:   50  but you can cut it down you know.

Source:  We were playing with food.

 

Puff Pastry Turnovers (Any Flavor) – Ridiculously Easy

Frozen puff pastry is an essential in your freezer.  So many sweets and savories to make.

Ingredients:

  • 2 puff pastry sheets (1 box)
  • 1 can of pie filling (any flavor)
  • 1 egg
  • 1 Tab water

For the Icing (optional)

  • 1 c powdered sugar
  • 2 Tab milk

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 400°.
  2. Thaw puff pastry sheets over night in the fridge.
  3. When thawed lay each square out on lightly floured surface.
  4. Using a knife (or pizza cutter) cut each sheet into four squares to make 8 turnovers.
  5. Scoop 1-2 Tablespoons per filling onto the center of each square.
  6. Dampen the edge of the pastry with water.
  7. Fold to form a triangle.
  8. Repeat until all turnovers are filled.
  9. Seal edges of each turnover together with the back of a fork.
  10. Place on ungreased baking sheet.
  11. Add egg and water to small bowl.
  12. Whisk with fork to combine.
  13. Brush egg wash on top of all turnovers.
  14. Bake for 18-24 minutes, or until puff pastry is golden brown.
  15. Let cool completely.

For the Icing (optional)

  1. Whisk together powdered sugar and milk with a fork in a small bowl.
  2. Add icing to ziplock bag and cut corner.
  3. Ice all turnovers as desired.

Serves: makes 8 turnovers

Source:   So Damn Delish

Toast Hearts

Dress up a super simple appetizer with a cookie cutter!  Go with the theme of the party – hearts, shamrocks, stars, animals, etc.

  • 4 oz goat cheese,
  • 1/4 c sun dried tomatoes packed in oil, drained
  • thin sliced bread (or roll out regular bread a little)

Directions: 

  1. Place cheese and tomatoes in food processor or blender.
  2. Blend until smooth.
  3. Toast bread on both sides (like in the toaster)
  4. Cut shapes out of toast.
  5. Spread cheese mixture on toast.
  6. Garnish with whatever is on hand – parsley, a piece of tomato, chive, etc.

Serves:  Depends on the size of the bread and cookie cutter.

Source:  What was on hand.

Fake Gravlax

Lox was traditionally only made from the belly of salmon, although other parts of the fish are now also used. The salmon is salt-cured or brined but never cooked or smoked, so it has a very silky, rich texture and translucency. Lox is the traditional topping of bagels with cream cheese and is most often served thinly sliced.

There are two other versions of lox where the preparation methods do vary a bit:
Nova Lox: This lox, which comes from Nova Scotia, is actually cold-smoked after the curing or brining process.
Gravlax: Gravlax is the Scandinavian preparation of lox, where lots of fresh dill and spices such as juniper berries and pepper, as well as some liquor such as aquavit or brandy, are additional ingredients used during the curing process.

Smoked salmon is a much more generic term than lox. Smoked salmon can be made from any part of the fish, and it starts with salt curing or brining, just as in lox.  The next step is where smoked salmon is different from lox. The salmon can be covered in spices or a dry rub after curing, then smoked in one of two ways:
Cold-Smoked Salmon: The salmon is slowly exposed to smoke in about an 80°F environment for a few days. The salmon doesn’t get cooked, so the flesh of cold-smoked salmon stays very moist and silky and has a beautiful translucent pink color. Cold-smoked salmon has a similar texture to lox, but has an additional layer of smoky flavor. It is also a common topping for bagels and cream cheese and is usually sold thinly sliced.
Hot-Smoked Salmon: The salmon is smoked with heat in the same way meat gets smoked. The fish gets cooked all the way through and ends up with a firm, flaky, and drier texture, but it also has a distinct smoky flavor. When shopping for hot-smoked salmon, it looks very similar to a piece of cooked or grilled salmon.

Source:   Kitchn

All lox is smoked salmon, but all smoked salmon is not lox.

Smoked salmon is a blanket term for any salmon: wild, farmed, fillet, steak, cured with hot or cold smoke.

Lox refers to salmon cured in a salt-sugar rub or brine (like gravlax). Nova is cured and then cold-smoked (unlike lox or gravlax). There’s also hot-smoked salmon, which is cured, then fully cooked with heated wood smoke.

Now, to acknowledge the purists. Real, authentic lox is made from only the belly portion of the salmon. Yup, like pork, the belly of the fish is typically the richest, fattiest and most succulent portion. Cured and smoked, it’s saltier and more…uh…”aromatic” than its milder non-belly counterpart, and if you’re lucky enough to try it on a bagel with cream cheese, it’s hard to go back. When you buy lox anywhere other than an old-school appetizing counter, even if it’s clearly labeled “lox,” what you’re almost certainly getting is simply smoked salmon. And frankly, that’s fine by us.

Source:  Food Republic:

Therefor, in the interest of convenience and expense, we just use plane old Costo smoked salmon.  Accompany it with pumpernickel bread, cream cheese, diced red onion, mustard, and capers.  Good to go!

Crème Fraîche

While sour cream and crème fraîche are both used to add richness and tangy flavor, are they really just the same thing? And is it worth paying the premium for crème fraîche?

How They’re Made:  Sour cream is made by adding lactic acid culture to cream and sometimes milk to thicken and sour it. In France, crème fraîche was traditionally made from unpasteurized cream that naturally contained the right bacteria to thicken it. Since our cream is pasteurized here, crème fraîche is now made by adding fermenting agents with the necessary bacteria to cream.   → It’s cheap and easy to make your own crème fraîche: DIY Crème Fraîche
The Differences Between Sour Cream & Crème Fraîche:  Sour cream has a fat content of about 20% and may include ingredients like gelatin, rennin, and vegetable enzymes to stabilize it and make it thicker.  Crème fraîche has a fat content of about 30% and does not contain any added thickeners. Crème fraîche is thicker, has a richer flavor, and is less tangy than sour cream.
Which One Should I Use?  Choosing between the two all depends on how you plan to use it. Because sour cream has less fat but more protein, simmering or boiling it will result in curdling, so use crème fraîche in sauces or soups instead (unless you just stir sour cream into something once it’s cooked and off the heat).  If using in a salad or as a topping, they’re pretty much interchangeable and the choice is yours — some people like the tanginess of sour cream, while others like the richness of crème fraîche.  Since crème fraîche is a specialty grocery item and costs more than sour cream, think about what you’re making so you make the right choice at the market!

Sure, you can buy it in the store, but where’s the fun in that?! Especially when it’s just as easy–and most certainly cheaper–to make it at home.

DIY Crème Fraîche

  • 2 cu heavy cream  *  You want to start this process when your cream is still fresh.  Do not use cream that has been in your refrigerator for a week.  Use the freshest cream you can purchase.  Pasteurized cream is fine, but not ultra-pasteurized.
  • 2 Tbs buttermilk (or 1/2 c sour cream)
  1. Stir the buttermilk into heavy cream in a non-reactive container (like glass or stainless steel) that has a lid.
  2. Cover securely and shake 15 seconds.
  3. Leave the container partially covered, and let it sit at room temperature until it’s as thick as you like it–about 8 – 24 hours.  Stir once or twice during that time.  NOTE:  Cream will thicken faster if the room is warm.  If it turns out that it’s too thin, try to keep it in a warm place and continue fermenting it.  Hint:  Preheat oven at 200 degrees F.  Then turn oven off and place the jar with the cream in the oven.
  4. Stir the contents and refrigerate at least 6 hours before serving,
  5. Keeps for up to two weeks.

How does this work? Bacteria in the milk convert sugars (lactose) into lactic acid. The acid lowers the pH of the liquid and prevents the formation of any illness-causing microbes. At the same time, the liquid thickens and develops the pleasant tart flavor we love. Cooks love chemistry!

Source:  Kitchn & What;s Cooking in America

Peach Sticky Buns

One of the many variations on Sticky Buns.  Other jams will be just as good.  To really jazz it up, mix a tablespoon of brandy in the jam.

Ingredients:

  • 2 pounds frozen bread dough or 24 frozen dough dinner rolls, partially thawed for 1/2 hour and each loaf cut into 12 even pieces
  • 1 1/2 c brown sugar
  • 1/8 c cinnamon (2 Tab)
  • 3/4 c butter, melted
  • 1 c chopped pecans
  • 2 c peach jam

Directions:

  1. Generously butter a 9×13 baking glass or metal pan.
  2. Spread peach jam on the bottom of the pan.
  3. Sprinkle nuts evenly in top of the jam.
  4. Combine sugar and cinnamon in small bowl.
  5. Melt butter in separate bowl.
  6. Dip each roll or dough piece in butter, then in sugar mixture.
  7. Place dipped dough in pan in even rows.
  8. Mix remaining butter and sugar mixture.
  9. Distribute evenly over the tops of the dough.
  10. Cover with plastic wrap that is coated with cooking spray.
  11. Let rise until doubled.
  12. Bake uncovered at 350° for 40-50 minutes, until browned and done in center. (Cover loosely with sheet of foil in last 10-15 minutes, if browning too quickly.)  DONENESS TIP: For extra insurance that the center sticky buns are cooked completely, insert an instant-read thermometer half way down a center bun. The internal temperature should be 190-200°.
  13. Remove from oven
  14. Let cool in pan for 5 minutes.
  15. Invert onto serving platter.
  16. Serve warm.

MAKE AHEAD: (times may vary depending on the temperature of your house)
1. Assemble the night before, leave out to rise overnight (approx. 8 hours), and bake first thing in the morning.
2. Assemble 20-24 hours in advance, put in the fridge to partially rise. The next day, remove from fridge and allow to rise at room temperature for 2-3 hours before baking.
3. Assemble 44-48 hours in advance, put  in the fridge to rise. Remove from fridge and warm to room temperature for 30 minutes before baking.
4. FREEZER OPTION:  Assemble pan, cover and freeze for up to a month in advance. Remove from freezer before you go to bed and let them rise overnight–ready to bake the next morning.

FOR A SMALLER BATCH: Cut all of the ingredients in half to make 12 sticky buns instead of 24. Assemble 12 sticky buns in an 8×8 baking dish, 9″ deep dish pie plate, or 9″ round cake pan (with 2″ tall sides). Reduce the baking time by 5 minutes.

Serves: 12 2-bun servings

Source:    We sometimes get carried away with “A recipe is just a suggestion,”

Grilled Pizza – Quick and Easy

Not too fancy, but tasty – vary it to suite your desires.  Or let everyone make there own.

Ingredients:

  • 1 premade 12″ pizza crust
  • 1 p pizza sauce
  • 8 oz mozzarella cheese (shredded)
  • 1/2 c Parmesan cheese (shredded)
  • 4 oz pepperoni
  • fresh basil leaves (optional)
  • and any additional pizza toppings you want!

Directions: 

  1. Preheat a grill to 400°, the high temp will give your pizza the crispy bottom crust.
  2. Spread pizza sauce onto the pizza crust.
    Add cheese and pepperoni.
  3. Place pizza directly onto the grill grate. You can  use cutting board or a pizza pan, (turn it upside down, place your crust on it) to slide your pizza onto the grill.
  4. Close the cover and grill for 6-10 minutes or until cheese is melted and crust is brown on the bottom.  If you don’t have a covered grill, tent the pizza with foil.
  5. Remove from grill and slice.
  6. Serve with fresh basil leaves if desired.

Serves: 4

Source: Eating on a Dime

Curried Walnuts

A different kind of snack.  It would probably work with a variety of nuts.

Ingredients:

  • 1/2 lb whole walnuts
  • 3 Tab butter
  • 1 Tab light brown sugar
  • Kosher salt
  • 2 tsp curry powder, or to taste
  • 1 tsp  cinnamon
  • Pinch of cayenne pepper

Directions:

  1. Preheat oven to 375° .
  2. Spread walnuts in a single layer on a small baking sheet.
  3. Bake until hot, lightly browned and fragrant, 8 to 10 minutes.
  4. Remove walnuts from the oven.
  5. While still hot, toss on the baking sheet with butter, sugar, salt, curry powder, cinnamon and cayenne.
  6. Taste and adjust seasonings to your liking.
  7. Serve warm.

Serves:  about 2 cups

Source:By Olaiya Land, Former PCC Cooks Instructor (Puget Consumers Co-op)