Christmas Peppers

On Christmas Eve, I harvested a goodly lot of peppers. What else can you do when you have so many, but dry them for spices?

When this batch was completely dry, on Christmas day, I ground it all - in a single batch - to powder. 

This is, in my completely subjective opinion, the best tasting pepper powder I've ever made: fruity and hot and full of complex flavors!

Components:

• Lemon Drops were the primary flavor component, and gave the spice its fruity elements. 
• There are only two Jalapeno peppers here. The others that look like them are Felicity: a nearly heat-less version of Jalapeno. These kept the flavor up, but the heat under control.
• There are two small Habanero peppers in the back.  
• Two Hungarian Cherries contribute substance and a bit of heat. 
• Two Big Jim peppers (large, green) are good, mild flavor. These also kept the heat  under control.
• And I think the smaller green ones are Serrano: modest heat. 

These were so good that I made another batch the following week. 

Montreal Chicken Seasoning

INGREDIENTS
4 tsp coarse salt
4 tsp garlic flakes
3 tsp onion flakes
2 tsp cracked pepper
2 tsp parsley
2 tsp crushed red pepper
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp paprika
1 tsp thyme

INSTRUCTIONS
Combine ingredients in a glass jar and shake well to combine. If seasonings are whole, process in a blender or food processor so that they're still large, but not whole.

Twice Baked Sweet Potato Casserole

Ingredients:

 

1 smallish sweet potato. 

1 egg

1 stick of celery. Diced small (¼”)

¼ cup diced onion.

1 strip of bacon, diced, cooked

2 oz cheddar cheese. Shredded. Divided.

¼ teaspoon (more or less) curry powder.

¼ teaspoon (more or less) roasted garlic powder.

½ teaspoon dried sage.

Salt and pepper to taste.

3 oz roasted chicken, diced small.

Directions.

Peel and roast the sweet potato until it’s soft.

Cook the bacon. Sauté the onions and celery to soften them.

Mash the cooked sweet potato with the egg in a bowl. Mix in celery, onion, bacon, chicken, spices and half the cheese.

Fill a soufflé dish or other oven-safe bowl with the mixture.

Bake at 350⁰ oven for 25 minutes, or until the dish is cooked through.

Ten minutes before you’re done, top with the rest of the cheese. Let it melt and bake on top.

Rosemary Salmon with roast veggies

Ingredients:

For Vegetables:

1 cup or more  new potatoes

1 cup or more Brussels sprouts, halved

½ tsp Everything But the Bagel seasoning salt.

½ tsp lemon pepper

    (I used ground pepper and dehydrated lemon)

A couple sprigs of fresh rosemary, chopped finely.

A small pinch cayenne pepper

Olive oil

For Salmon:

1 good size (6 – 10 oz) salmon steak.

Olive oil.

Salt & pepper to taste.

Several sprigs of rosemary, whole

1 lemon (divided).

3 cloves of garlic, halved

Instructions:

Wash the vegetables. Drain well. Put them in a larger mixing bowl. Mix spices together. Drizzle olive oil over the vegetables. Add spices and stir well, until veggies are coated.

Spread coated veggies on parchment paper on a baking tray, and bake at 375º for 10 minutes.

Brush salmon with olive oil. Heat frying pan. Add garlic, lemon, rosemary. Drizzle with olive oil. Add fish to hot fry pan next to the other goodies. If your fish has skin, score it gently and rub a small amount of salt into the slices, then cook it skin side down, with a little oil. When the fish is about ⅔ cooked (you'll see it if you look at the side of the fish) then flip over onto the bed of rosemary.

After the first 10 minutes, turn veggies, and bake for another 10 minutes. Then broil for 5 minutes.

Serve the fish on the rosemary bed, with veggies next to it.

Candlelight is optional.

Herb Crusted Mahi Mahi Fillets

For two:  

Ingredients: 
2 small Mahi Mahi fillets
(I took one frozen fillet from Costco, defrosted it, and sliced it into two small fillets.)
(Honestly, any competent whitefish would probably do.)

1 small tomato, cubed
1 medium shallot, sliced
  (Or dice some onion)
3 leaves of fresh basil, chopped

1 slice heavy bread (homemade?)
3 or 4 sprigs parsley
⅓ cup shredded Parmesan

salt & pepper

olive oil. 

Optional: 

a couple of garlic cloves, halved lengthwise

a couple of sprigs of fresh thyme

a tiny bit of hot (habañero or cayenne) pepper.

Instructions: 

Defrost fish. Bring it to room temperature. Rub/brush with olive oil. Salt & pepper to taste.

Heat a skillet (cast iron is fine) to medium high. Add olive oil. Optional: add garlic halves and thyme sprigs to the oil and stir gently for several seconds. Add fish to (seasoned) oil: sixty seconds only on each side: the goal is color, not completely cooking. Remove from frying pan to a baking tray, lined if you prefer. Preheat oven to 350º.

Add to the hot frying pan: diced tomatoes and shallots. If you used the optional garlic and thyme, consider mashing the garlic now and removing the thyme sprigs, and stripping them of leaves. Re-add thyme leaves to the pan when the tomatoes are partly done, with the chopped basil. Remove from heat. Optional: add a touch of hot pepper here. Just a touch.

Mix bread crumbs together with parsley and Parmesan cheese in food processor until they’re mixed well and small pieces.

Divide the tomato-shallot salsa among the fish fillets. Layer generously. Cover with bread crumb mixture. Press bread crumbs onto the fish, and add a little more loosely on top.

Bake at 350 for 5 – 7 minutes. Finish by broiling for 2 or 3 minutes to get a nice brown top.

Northwest Potato Apple Soup

Ingredients:

4 slices bacon (1 oz. total), chopped

½ teaspoon olive oil

¼ cup sliced celery, plus leaves for garnish

¾ cup diced peeled Yukon Gold potato

1 medium (or two small) tart apple, peeled and chopped

½ onion, peeled and chopped

2+ cloves minced garlic

Freshly ground pepper, to taste

About 1 tsp chicken bouillon

1 cube (1 TBSP) frozen or fresh pesto

4 – 6 fresh sage leaves, minced

1½ cups apple cider or juice

1 TBSP flour stirred into 1 cup milk

3-4 oz gruyere cheese (or substitute cheddar & parmesan) shredded.

Plus some more for garnish

Optional:

Enough hot pepper to give it some bite.

Celery seed for garnish

Instructions:

In a large cast iron pan over high heat, stir bacon until browned, 3 to 4 minutes. Transfer bacon to paper towels to drain.

Add oil to pan; when hot, add onion, celery, apple, and garlic. Stir often over medium heat until onion is very limp and beginning to brown, about 20 minutes.

Add potatoes, chicken bouillon, and apple juice; bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat and simmer, stirring occasionally, until potatoes mash easily, 25 to 30 minutes.

Add flour-milk mixture and stir in. Add the cheese and stir in. Cook, stirring often, an additional 8 or 10 minutes until cheese is entirely melted and flour is cooked. Adjust seasoning during this time.

Serve and garnish. Goes well with homemade sourdough bread.

Sourdough that Works

Ingredients:

·         A batch of sourdough starter. Feed it for a couple of days. Get it growing well.

·         The goal is about four cups of flour, with enough water to make a good dough.

·         2 TBSP of olive oil.

·         1 TBSP sugar.

·         1 tsp salt.

·         2 TBSP gluten.

Mix it all together well. Really well.

I kneaded this by hand for another 5 minutes or so, and formed it into a bread loaf. It looked too big, so I cut off a small bit, and made two.

Pans: coat the insides with oil, and dust (heavily) with flour. Set the dough in it to rise for 8 or 12 hours. Then into a hot oven for 25 minutes.

 Best sourdough I've ever made. 

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Ice Cream:

For the Ice Cream: 

Ingredients: 

¾ cup Hershey’s cocoa powder

⅓ cup granulated sugar

⅓ cup packed dark brown sugar

pinch salt (oops. Forgot this.)

2 cups Half & Half

½ TBSP vanilla extract

For the Cookie Dough: 

½ package Nestle Toll House cookie dough

    (I used Ultimates Turtle Cookie Dough)

Powdered sugar.

Cut the dough into small pieces.

Roll into little balls (pea to marble size).

Coat in powdered sugar to keep separate.

Freeze for at least an hour before using.

Directions: 

·         Mix the ice cream ingredients together. Alternate stirring and waiting (no cooking, no cooling) every few minutes until the sugar dissolves (might take 20 minutes).

·         Load it into your ice cream maker and fire it off.

·         When you’re just about ready to take it out of the machine, drop in the cookie dough balls, one at a time, letting them mix evenly into the ice cream.

·         Freeze for an hour or two (or more) before eating.

First Sourdough Bread

TRADITIONAL SOURDOUGH BREAD

Here’s a good theory. This is what it's supposed to be like. 

Ingredients:

2 1/3 cups fresh sourdough starter

3 1/3 cup flour

1 to 1 1/2 cups water

Scant tablespoon salt

Instructions:

Mix sourdough starter, flour, and salt together. Add 1 cup water, then more as needed to make a moist bread dough.

Knead dough until it passes the “window pane test.” That is, a small piece of dough will stretch between four fingers thin enough to allow light to pass through without breaking.

Split the dough in half. Shape each half into a loaf.

Place in a loaf pan (9 x 5 x 3 inches), proofing basket, or on a board. Cover lightly with a towel and proof 4-24 hours. While a second proofing period is not required, if desired, punch dough down after 4-12 hours, reshape, and proof again.

Slice an X shape in the top of the loaf with a very sharp knife or razor blade to allow the loaf to expand during baking without splitting in unexpected places.

Bake at 400°F for 30-60 minutes, depending on loaf size, or until the internal temperature reaches 190° to 210°F.

Use an instant-read thermometer inserted into the bottom or side of the loaf.

Cool before slicing.

Here’s my first real-world experience with Sourdough:

Ingredients:

A big batch of fresh sourdough starter (this was pretty moist).

Lots more flour: a couple of cups at least.

1 to 1½  TBSP water

Oops. Forgot the salt. Need to remember the salt.

Instructions:

Mix sourdough starter and a cup or two of flour together in a blender with a bread hook. Add a tiny bit of water because everybody knows you add water to a dough.

Knead dough and keep adding flour trying to thicken the dough. It kept getting thicker, but never formed the ball I’m used to; this was stickier than oobleck.

Split the dough in half. Shape each half into a loaf.

I used a loaf pan; buttered the pan lightly. Not going to do that again. I covered the sticky dough with plastic wrap and let it rise on the warm back porch for 10+ hours. It raised nicely, but when I removed the plastic wrap, it tore the top off the loaf, and the remainder fell an inch or so.

I baked at 375°F for 40 minutes, one at a time, in the toaster oven. Sprinkled some flour on the second one. Didn’t help.

Results: Meh. I wasn’t impressed. The flavor surely needed the salt, and the crust (all sides) was rock hard while the inside was kind of spongy. Came out of the pan nicely, though.

Next time:

• Remember the Salt.
• Don't chicken out on adding flour and water: work pretty hard to get this to “bread consistency.”
• Forget the loaf pan. Use a flat tray: shred bread.
• Bake it hotter. 425° - 450°. Maybe bake in the barbecue.
• Use some whole wheat or rye flour. White is boring. 

Basil Custard Ice Cream

We first tasted basil ice cream in a castle in Germany. We had to have more! So I found some recipes and combined them.

Here’s the theory:

INGREDIENTS

2 cups whole milk

3 tablespoons chopped fresh basil

½ cup sugar

4 large egg yolks

½ cup well-chilled heavy cream

Special equipment: an instant-read thermometer

an ice cream maker

PREPARATION

Bring milk, basil, 1/4 cup sugar, and a pinch of salt to a boil in a 2-quart heavy saucepan, stirring, then remove from heat and let steep 30 minutes. Transfer to a blender (reserve saucepan) and blend until basil is finely ground, about 1 minute.

Beat together yolks and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a medium bowl with an electric mixer until thick and pale, about 1 minute. 

Add milk mixture in a stream, beating until combined well. Pour mixture into reserved saucepan and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until mixture coats back of spoon and registers 175°F on thermometer (do not let boil).

Immediately remove from heat and pour through a fine-mesh sieve into a metal bowl. Set bowl in a larger bowl of ice water and stir until cold, 10 to 15 minutes.

Stir in cream and freeze in ice cream maker. Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden, at least 2 hours.

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Now here’s what I actually did. The result was delicious, but it was yellow (from the yolks), not green!

INGREDIENTS

2 cups half & half

½ cup finely chopped fresh basil

½ cup sugar

4 large egg yolks

1½ cups more well-chilled half & half

PREPARATION

Bring milk, basil, 1/4 cup sugar, and a pinch of salt to a boil in a 2-quart heavy saucepan, stirring, then turn heat down and let it simmer 30 minutes. Transfer to a food processor (save the saucepan) and blend until basil is finely ground, about 1 minute.

Beat together yolks and remaining 1/4 cup sugar in a medium bowl with a whisk until thick and pale, about 1 minute. Add some of the milk mixture in a stream, beating until combined well.

Pour mixture into reserved saucepan and cook over moderate heat, stirring constantly with a wooden spoon, until mixture coats back of spoon (do not let boil). Warning: this may be quick. Taste regularly to make sure it’s yummy. Add the rest of the half & half. Taste some more.

Refrigerate the mixture for half an hour or so. Freeze in ice cream maker. Transfer ice cream to an airtight container and put in freezer to harden, at least an hour.

Results: Really, really good.

Serving Suggestions:

·         Grille some nectarines (perhaps in a honey/cayenne rub?), and serve with the ice cream.

·         Sprinkle fresh raspberries on top, maybe a sprig of fresh basil beside. 

Peanut Butter & Banana Ice Cream

I love peanut butter on bananas.
So I thought I'd try peanut butter & banana ice cream.

Peanut Butter Balls
In advance: 
1/2 cup or more of peanut butter,
A couple of tablespoons of butter

A couple of tablespoons of powdered sugar or honey.

Mix it all together.
Make little balls, either by spooning onto a plate full of powdered sugar (so it doesn't stick), or by using a (greased) ice cube tray for tiny ice cubes.
Freeze these balls/cubes for several hours ahead of time.

Ice Cream ingredients: 
2 cups half & half, well chilled
4 over-ripe bananas

1/2 to 3/4 cup granulated sugar

1 – 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract, to taste

In a blender, combine the ingredients until the sugar is dissolved.

Turn machine on, pour mixture into freezer bowl through ingredient spout and let mix until thickened, about 25 – 30 minutes. Then add peanut butter balls, mix well, then freeze for a couple of hours. Thaw for 10 minutes or so before serving. 

This is pretty darned good, flavorful but simple. Worth remembering. 

German Bread

One pound loaf

5 oz wheat flour

4 oz whole wheat flour

9 oz rye flour

150g Seitenbacher sourdough

1 packages dry yeast

12 oz warm water

1 TBSP sugar

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground caraway (optional)

Directions:

1. Mix rye, wheat and whole wheat flour in a salad bowl.

2. Using a stand mixer on low, mix sourdough, yeast, sugar and salt (and ground caraway?) with the warm (not hot!) water.

3. Slowly add the flour mix to the liquid mix and mix/knead it together.

4. Mix the dough in the machine for probably another 6-10 minutes.

5. Form the dough to a ball and place it back in the bowl. Sprinkle some flour over it and cover the bowl with a damp towel (or Saran wrap?). Place in a warm place let dough rest and rise for 2-3 hours. This is slow.

6. Once the dough has doubled in size, knead it well. Then brush it with warm water, and using a knife, cut (very shallow) in the surface diamond-shaped if you like (makes it look more dramatic!).

7. Sprinkle with flour and let it rest and rise another 30 minutes.

8. Place the dough in the middle of the cold oven. You can do it without a pan, just place it in the middle of the oven on a sheet of baking paper.

9. Don't forget to place a small oven proof bowl filled with water at the bottom of the oven. The evaporating water will keep the dough moist!

(I used a hot barbecue: pan with water, cooling rack, pan w/ bread, sprinkled water on bread and on barbecue’s diffusers.)

10. Turn the heat up to 475°F and bake the loaf for 20 minutes.

11. After that turn the temperature down to 375°F and bake for another 35 minutes.

12. Remove the loaf from the oven and let it cool down a little bit.

 

Comment: Excellent (and really quite "German tasting" bread!)

Chicken Shepherd’s Pie

This might serve four if you have a salad with it.

Filling Ingredients:

½ cup pearl onions, diced

3 cloves garlic, diced

½ large (or one whole normal-sized) chicken breast, roasted, diced.

1 can Campbell’s Cream of Mushroom soup (NOT reconstituted)

½ cup frozen beans, cut into 1” pieces

2 fresh carrots (¾ cup), diced and steamed until beginning to get tender

¾ cup frozen corn

1 frozen cube pesto

Butter for frying

Layers

1 medium baked potato, cooked, but firm, sliced thin (3/16”?)

4 or 6 slices of bacon, baked crispy, crumbled

1 cup “Mexican Shredded Cheese” (yellow & white)

Topping

1 ½  cups all-purpose flour

1 ½  teaspoons baking powder

1 ½  teaspoons kosher salt

1 stick unsalted butter, melted

1 ½  cups whole or 2% milk

Instructions:

In a 10” cast iron frying pan, fry the onions and garlic until beginning to get tender. Add chicken. When it’s hot, add soup. When that gets warm, add veggies and pesto. Simmer for a bit to let it thicken. Stir a bit, making sure nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan.

Preheat to 375⁰. Mix the topping. It’ll whisk up nicely, and it will be runny.

In the frying pan, layer the potato over the filling mixture, and spread the cheese over the potatoes. Then pour the topping on top, covering it all.

Put on a tray in the oven (your pan will likely be pretty full!). Bake for 45 minutes, or until brown on top. 

Review: This was really pretty darned good. I very much like the biscuit crust on top. Might need a little more pepper and other spices, but this is a keeper! 

I may need to learn how to halve this recipe.

Bacon Apple Pie

I saw a photo online and had to make it.

I used a store-bought pie crust.

Filling:

4 small Granny Smith apples

2 medium Gala apples (this is what I had around)

1/3 cup sugar

½ tsp (or so) cinnamon.

Just a bit of butter, in chunks

Topping:

¾  cup all-purpose flour

½  teaspoon ground cinnamon

½  cup packed brown sugar

   (I didn’t have brown sugar, so I used white sugar with 2 TBSP maple sugar.)

¾  cup rolled oats

   (Oops. I forgot these.)

1 teaspoon lemon zest

   (Oops, forgot this, too.)

I mixed all this together in a Cuisinart. If you mix it by hand, it may be easier to work with.

Top Coat:

6 half-size slices of bacon

Lay ‘em out on paper towels on a baking tray. Bake ‘em until they’re beginning to get crispy. Set aside. Note: you’ll probably want to bake much more than this, but be sure to keep enough around for the pie.

Instructions:

Put the pie crust in the pie pan and set it in the freezer. It seems a frozen crust will resist damage from apple slices.

Preheat oven to 375⁰. Mix up the filling. Make sure you have enough. Load the filling into the frozen pie crust, spread a bit of butter (maybe 1 TBSP total) in little slices around the top of the apples.  Bake for 10 minutes. Cover loosely with aluminum foil and bake for another 30 minutes. Add the topping in little crumbles, and bake, uncovered, for 10 or 15 minutes until brown.  

Add the bacon while the pie is still hot. Let ‘em cool together.

Sardines and Rice

Ingredients

 

¾ cup Arborio Rice

1 TBSP olive oil

1 TBSP avocado oil

1 TBSP butter

Lots of water

½ cup dried anchovies. Suggested: rehydrate ‘em first. ==>

    (or use a tin of sardines, diced?)

2 small shallots, sliced and chopped.

4 cloves fresh garlic, smashed and finely chopped

2 TBSP chopped green onions

1 jalapeño pepper, sliced and chopped.

4 young kale leaves, sliced finely

¼ tsp vegetable bouillon (consider chicken?)

½ roasted chicken breast, chopped small

2 TBSP Pad Thai sauce

1 large egg

1 or 2 TBSP sesame seeds

Instructions

Halfway through the process

Heat a large cast iron frying pan. Add the oils and butter, and sauté the shallots, garlic. Add the rice and chopped dry anchovies and sauté some more until the rice is a golden brown.  

Add half a cup of water (expect a lot of steam), while stirring. Every time the rice mixture absorbs (or boils off) the water, add more, always stirring. This will take at least half an hour.

Throughout the process, add other things. I added the bouillon, green onion and jalapeño early in the process, the kale and roast chicken late in the process. I’d always add the ingredients, stir briefly, add the water, and stir quite a lot more.

Immediately after one of the last additions of water, dig a hole in the middle of the pan and crack the egg into it. Scramble it in place, then mix it in with the rest.

Add Pad Thai sauce and ⅔ of the sesame seeds, and stir them in.

Serve, and garnish with remaining sesame seeds.