Guilty Pleasures

• Just because a recipe calls for it doesn't mean you have to use it (I hate cilantro but love parsley)
• Do not ever believe the number of servings because it makes a big difference on who you are feeding
• Good cooking does not have to be or should it be difficult
• Not everything has to be made from scratch
• Great ideas come from food magazines but be daring and change them up
• Cooking for family and friends is good for the soul

 
  

 

In most cases I prefer home made food to fast food or some restaurant food.  But we all have our guilty secret pleasures.  In the restaurant category there is one that stands out above the rest and it's Carson's Au Gratin potatoes.  Many of the Carson's restaurants have closed and Boston Blackie's which also served them has closed too.  I can't begin to describe how wonderfully cheesy these potatoes were and the texture was divine.  Unlike some au gratin recipes, the potatoes weren't sliced, they were cubed.  I have been tinkering with recreating this recipe for the last six months and when I think that it is as close as I can get I'll post it for you and you can see what I mean.

My fast food guilty pleasure- Jack in the Box tacos and I'm not the only one.  I used to deliver these for friends when I was lucky enough to have a Jack in the Box one half mile from my house.  All the Jack in the Box restaurants in my neck of the woods have closed.  The closest one to me now is 4 1/2 hours away and I am seriously considering planning my next vacation based on this location.  They are definitely not your Mexican restaurant tacos.  They're greasy, mushy, with American cheese and chopped lettuce with a mild sauce.  In other words wonderful. 

Before I started this post I did an internet search to see if I could come up with clones for these recipes.  When I entered the search for Jack in the Box tacos I saw that a few recipes had been removed due to the "U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act."  I guess someone got really close to the true recipe.   I'm going to be doing a post about recipe copyright and patents soon.  Some recipes remained so I can only assume that they're missing something from the original recipe.

I am printing one of those recipes here and hope that the U.S. Digital Millennium Copyright Act doesn't come looking for me.  Warning: I haven't tried this recipe yet but when I do I'll let you know if it comes close.

Jack-In-The-Box Tacos

1 Pound Ground beef
1/3 Cup Refried beans
1/4 Teaspoon Salt
2 Tablespoons Chili powder
1/4 Cup Ortega Taco Sauce -- Mild
12 Each Soft corn tortillas
3 Cups Cooking oil
6 Slices American cheese (each cut in half)
1 Head Lettuce -- chopped fine

Slowly brown the beef over low heat, using a wooden spoon to chop
and stir the meat, keeping it very fine and smooth. When the beef is
brown drain the fat. Add the refried beans and use the wooden spoon
to smash the whole beans into the mixture creating a smooth texture.
Add the salt, Chili powder, and Taco Sauce to the mixture.
Remove from the heat.

In another skillet heat 1/4 inch of oil until hot. Test with a
small piece of tortilla - it should bubble when dropped into the oil.
Spread 1/2 of the beef mixture on the center of each corn tortilla.
Fold the tortillas over and press so that the beef fillng acts as an
adhesive and holds the sides together.

Drop each taco into the pan of hot oil and fry on both sides until
crispy. When cooked, remove the tacos from the oil and place them on a
rack or some paper towels until they are a little cooler.
Pry open slightly and add 1/2 slice American cheese and some lettuce.
Top with additional Taco Sauce to taste.

When I try this recipe I'm going to ask the butcher to do a fine grind on the ground beef.  The texture in this taco recipe is really important.

I Should Have Seen it Coming

• Just because a recipe calls for it doesn't mean you have to use it (I hate cilantro but love parsley)
• Do not ever believe the number of servings because it makes a big difference on who you are feeding
• Good cooking does not have to be or should it be difficult
• Not everything has to be made from scratch
• Great ideas come from food magazines but be daring and change them up
• Cooking for family and friends is good for the soul

 
  

 

"Familiarity breeds contempt."  This is referenced in an Aesop Fable.  In the world of food, familiarity breeds high prices.  I was channel surfing the other day and I stopped on an episode of "Happy Days'.     It was the one where Fonzie was going to do a dangerous motorcycle stunt and Arnold was selling chicken to the spectators.  Arnold was pushing everyone to sell the wings.  "No one likes the wings."  The show took place in the 50's and there were few of us who liked the wings.  It was a happy time for me.  No one fought me for the delicious wings of the chicken.  They looked upon me as the strange child and gobbled up the breasts, thighs and drumsticks.  All of which are vastly inferior to the wing.  In  those days wings were practically a toss out.  Now chicken wings cost about 50 cents a pound more than boneless, skinless chicken breasts.  Nobody in the 50's would ever have believed it.

I guess the start to all  this was someone in a bar in Buffalo came up with Buffalo wings in  the 60"s.  In Buffalo they just call them wings.  There are various stories out there about how this came to be but the damage was done and I blame New York.  It took awhile for people to get wise to the wings superior flavor and they didn't really start to flourish until the late 70's early 80's.  Now they are everywhere.  I think it would be easier to name the restaurants that didn't serve them.

There is also every version of chicken wings imaginable --- Buffalo, Parmesan garlic, barbecue, Asian, honey mustard, bacon wrapped, salt and vinegar--- it goes on and on.  So, now everyone loves wings and  I  have to pay a lot more money to eat them.  And it isn't fair---see I was the one who always liked them.  If  I had been really smart I would have purchased chicken wing futures and then I'd have enough money to cover the increased cost of my vodka thanks to all of you who turned vodka into another hot commodity.  I never realized  I was so ahead of the times.

Looking for a wing recipe, I don't think so.

Porketta (Porchetta) Roast

• 1 tablespoon dill seed
• 1 tablespoon fennel seed
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon lemon pepper
• 1/4 teaspoon onion powder
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 4 pounds  pork roast   

Preheat oven to 325.  Combine all the dry ingredients and rub all over pork roast.  Roast for 1-1 1/2 hours (internal temperature should be 145)

Note:  The internal temperature for pork is no longer 160 degrees.  Pork is safe and not overcooked at 145. 

A Special Time

• Just because a recipe calls for it doesn't mean you have to use it (I hate cilantro but love parsley)
• Do not ever believe the number of servings because it makes a big difference on who you are feeding
• Good cooking does not have to be or should it be difficult
• Not everything has to be made from scratch
• Great ideas come from food magazines but be daring and change them up
• Cooking for family and friends is good for the soul

 
  

 

It was always a special occasion when my nephew came to visit.  Sean lived in New York and we lived in Illinois so the visits weren't as often as we all would have liked.  He also had the privileged status of being my Mom's only grandchild.   There were always fun things to do, going to a Cub's game, visiting the zoo, Kiddieland, Enchanted Castle, and a Wendella Boat ride. You know, all the fun stuff with none of the discipline.  A grandma, aunt and uncle to spoil him rotten.

Sean was also a very good helper.  When I would barbecue in the backyard, he'd help me carry everything downstairs and set the table.  I think one of my Mom's best times was when Sean wanted to help her make dinner.  My Mom knew Sean loved pasta, so off they went to the grocery store to get the fixings.  When they got back Sean told my Mom that he wanted to help, to really help cook.   She let him stir the sauce, mix the filling and sprinkle the cheeses.  He couldn't wait to tell us he helped make dinner.  It was one of those special grandma times.

Before we sat down to eat, the adults had cocktails and Sean had a Coke.  While I was making my Mom's only drink of choice, a gin martini, Sean became fascinated.  My Mother was very particular about the amount of vermouth in her martini, so much so that we actually used an eyedropper to measure out exactly three drops of vermouth.  That looked like a lot of fun to my nephew so I let him make the second martini.  He was so very careful not to let that eyedropper accidentally get to four drops. 

I can just imagine what it was like when Sean got home.  "Mom, I helped grandma make dinner and I learned how to make the perfectly dry gin martini."  Not something the parents of a six year old want to hear.

In my family we decided a long time ago that we would rather have our birthday celebrations at home and we got to pick our dinner.  My Mom would have picked turkey but her birthday was too close to Thanksgiving so she usually went with shrimp de jonghe.  My husband varies between blue cheese steak or St. Louis barbecue ribs.  Mine has always been my Mom's Party Spaghetti.  That was the dish she and Sean made together and that I got to have twice that year.

Now when I make this I have an angel sitting on each shoulder, one giggling over the eyedropper and the other tsking my use of store bought sauce.

 

 

Mom's Party Spaghetti

2- 8 ounce pkgs of spaghetti

2 lbs. ground beef

6 cups vodka sauce

1 cup grated Parmesan

4 eggs, beaten

16 ounces shredded mozzarella

16 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

8 ounces ricotta

4 green onions chopped (white and green parts)

Preheat oven to 350.  Cook pasta a minute short of the direction time.  Brown beef and combine with vodka sauce.  In a large bowl toss the pasta with the Parmesan and eggs.  Mix cream cheese with the ricotta and green onions.  Layer half of the psata into a large baking dish (9 x 13) and cover with 1/3 of the vodka meat sauce.  Spread cream cheese mixture over the sauce.  Sprinkle 1/2 of the mozzarella over the cream cheese.  Over mozzarella spread another 1/3 of the vodka meat sauce.  Layer the remaining 1/2 of pasta over the sauce.  Top with remaining sauce and then the other half of mozzarella.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Let spaghetti sit for ten minutes before serving.

This recipe is better the next day.  If you make it ahead be sure to allow the spaghetti to return to room temperature and then reheat at 325 for 30-40 minutes.  I have  also made this with a mix of 1 lb. ground beef and 1 lb. of Italian sausage.  Try any kind of pasta sauce.  I've even made this meatless and it was delicious.

Easter Update

• Just because a recipe calls for it doesn't mean you have to use it (I hate cilantro but love parsley)
• Do not ever believe the number of servings because it makes a big difference on who you are feeding
• Good cooking does not have to be or should it be difficult
• Not everything has to be made from scratch
• Great ideas come from food magazines but be daring and change them up
• Cooking for family and friends is good for the soul

 
  

 

"There is no love sincerer than the love of food"--George Bernard Shaw.  This really says it and so did the Easter dinner I told you I was attending last week.  I also said I would print a retraction if I was wrong.  Well I was a little wrong but I'm not posting a retraction.  Here's why.  In my post last week I said the following would be served:

crepes, 

Easter pie

calzone

salad

potatoes

 a pasta dish of some kind

 baked ham

 rolls

 assorted breads

 an antipasto tray

cheese tray

Easter cookies

 candy

pies 

 brownies 

Technically, this is what I got wrong: salad and a pasta of some kind.  However, there were plenty of other things to make up for those two omissions:  

Deviled Eggs

Potato Salad (yes,in addition to the gratin potatoes)

Cole Slaw (not salad)

Meatballs (without the pasta)

Beef au Jus

 Cannoli

Cheesecake

Not just Easter cookies, oatmeal, chocolate chip and chocolate too

Peeps everywhere

So was I wrong?  Yes, in that I had understated it completely.   I swear I think Mr. Shaw must have dined with one of my friend's ancestors.  I also said there would be doggie bags--more like bushel baskets to take home.  My husband is known as the adult cookie monster and I now have seven pounds of leftover cookies sitting on my counter.  

Why all this food?  It is because of the joy that you get when you see people sit down, eat, laugh, talk and have a good time together.  It also has something to do with all the fasting that goes on during lent.  

So I stick with my statement about Italians and food and I half suspect that somewhere in George Bernard Shaw's family tree an Italian is lurking.

 Italian Chicken

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves, cubed
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped, or to taste
• 1/2 cup red cooking wine
• 1 (28 ounce) can Italian-style diced tomatoes
• 8 ounces small seashell pasta
• 5 ounces fresh spinach, chopped
• 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

1. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet with a lid over medium heat, and cook and stir the chicken and garlic until the chicken is no longer pink in the center, 5 to 8 minutes. Pour the wine and diced tomatoes with their juice into the skillet, and bring to a boil over high heat while scraping any browned bits of food off of the bottom of the pan with a wooden spoon.
2. Stir in the shell pasta, and return to a boil. Cook uncovered, stirring occasionally, until the shells have cooked through, but are still firm to the bite, about 10 minutes. Spread the spinach over the top of the pasta, cover, and simmer until the spinach leaves are cooked, about 5 minutes. Sprinkle the mozzarella cheese evenly over the skillet, and simmer until the cheese has melted and the pasta is bubbling, about 5 minutes.

Happy Easter

• Just because a recipe calls for it doesn't mean you have to use it (I hate cilantro but love parsley)
• Do not ever believe the number of servings because it makes a big difference on who you are feeding
• Good cooking does not have to be or should it be difficult
• Not everything has to be made from scratch
• Great ideas come from food magazines but be daring and change them up
• Cooking for family and friends is good for the soul

 

  

 

I am not making Easter dinner.  My husband and I have been invited to a very good friend's house for the holiday fare.  My friend is Italian which translates to "make seven main dishes when two would suffice and make enough for 100 guests when you have invited 40."  You can say I am being politically incorrect with that statement but so far it's held true for every Italian I've ever met and I know quite a few.  I've also noted that it get passed down through the generations as her children are the same way.

Now I don't have an advanced screening of the menu but I'll bet I'm right when I tell you that the following will be sure to appear in her spread (and if I'm wrong I'll print a retraction next week):  crepes, Easter pie, calzone, salad, potatoes, a pasta dish of some kind, baked ham, rolls, assorted breads, an antipasto tray, cheese tray, Easter cookies, candy, pies and brownies.  I'm sure about the brownies because that's what she asked me to bring.  And I'll also promise you that everyone will be leaving with doggy bags and she'll still have enough left over for a week.

Now, I'll tell you what won't be there-lamb.  Out of the 40 people dining together I think I'm the only one that likes lamb.  I can't understand it.  How could anyone not like lamb?  I think they have all had it badly prepared or, worse, they have had mutton and think that is the same as lamb.  Comparing lamb and mutton is like comparing a round steak to a filet mignon.  Spring lamb, properly cooked is fantastic and it certainly doesn't need mint jelly.  I don't know how the mint jelly carried over from bad mutton to good lamb but it's something that should certainly be discouraged.  Is there any other dish that asks for mint jelly?  No, and there's a reason for it-it is ghastly.

 

I promised my brother we wouldn't be dining on Easter bunny for Easter but I didn't say anything about having some wonderful baby lamb the next day.

 

Greek Lamb Chops

 

4 lamb chops

2 1/2 Tablespoons olive oil

juice of one lemon

1/8 cup dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

 

Throw everything into a plastic bag and marinate 4 hours or overnight.  Place rack in pan and drizzle with any remaining marinade.  Grill or broil at medium high heat for 3 minutes on each side for medium rare.

 

And absolutely no mint jelly!  This recipe serves my husband and I.  If I was ever having anyone over to my house that actually liked lamb I'd do a variation of this recipe with a leg of lamb.  You could add some garlic to the marinade or you could just rub the chops with olive oil and sprinkle with some garlic powder.  Or just fry 'em up in a pan with some salt.  Just don't get mutton.

 

 

Then and Now II

• Just because a recipe calls for it doesn't mean you have to use it (I hate cilantro but love parsley)
• Do not ever believe the number of servings because it makes a big difference on who you are feeding
• Good cooking does not have to be or should it be difficult
• Not everything has to be made from scratch
• Great ideas come from food magazines but be daring and change them up
• Cooking for family and friends is good for the soul

 

  

 

There used to be a place on the northwest side of Chicago called "Grover's Oyster Bar" which was a fun place to eat and have drinks.  It's now "Chicago Joe's" which has the same qualities and good food.  But what "Grover's" had that "Joe's" doesn't was a sign over the bar that said, "We Don't Serve Butchers After 6:00."  We toasted that sign often and a lot of other things as well.  I bet there aren't too many of us that would get that sign now.

Maybe some of you remember that you couldn't always just run into the store whenever you felt like it and buy meat.  Grocery stores couldn't sell meat before 9:00AM or after 6:00PM.  It didn't matter if the meat was already wrapped and in the meat case.  You couldn't buy it.  The butchers hours were regulated to a strict eight hour day and if there was no butcher, you couldn't sell the beef.  This also applied to chicken and fish.  

This explained why grocery stores were packed on Saturdays.  I remember my brother and I finding a spot (usually by the magazines) to stay with the cart while my Mom ran all over the store, coming back to our hide-away when her arms were full.  We read a lot of magazines that we never paid for during those trips to the store. The store was so crowded you couldn't maneuver the aisles.  I also remember it wasn't uncommon for us to be at the deli counter with number 412 while they were calling 102.  Mom shopped and we waited.  

 

Granted life is easier for the shopper now.  You can go buy T-bones at 2:00 in the morning if you feel like it.  But there are things from those days I miss.   During those same times there were butcher shops everywhere.  The butcher knew you and knew how you liked your beef ground and which cut of pork you preferred.  In addition to butchers everywhere, there were also wonderful bakeries always within walking distance.  In those days grocery stores didn't have their own bakeries.  Nothing beats walking home with a warm loaf of bread and some fresh baked danish in your arms.  Now locating a good butcher and a good bakery can be as difficult as finding Waldo and they're definitely not within walking distance.

I guess it's progress and it came in handy when I bought the fish for this recipe at 7:00PM but wouldn't it be nice if we could have it both ways?

Here's to "Grover's"

Flounder with Tarragon and Lemon

4 flounder filets

1 teaspoon seasoned salt

2 Tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup chicken broth

2 teaspoons lemon juice (preferably fresh)

2 Tablespoons Dijon mustard 

1/2 teaspoon dried tarragon*

Rinse and pat dry fish.  Sprinkle with seasoned salt.  Heat olive oil and cook filets about 2 minutes on each side.  Keep warm in low oven.  Add broth and lemon juice to the pan.  Whisk in mustard and tarragon.  Heat sauce gently.  Serve sauce over flounder filets.

 

* I love tarragon so I would increase this to one teaspoon or maybe even more.  You might not like tarragon at all so feel free to use dill or whatever else you think might taste great.  You're the cook.

Oops!

• Just because a recipe calls for it doesn't mean you have to use it (I hate cilantro but love parsley)
• Do not ever believe the number of servings because it makes a big difference on who you are feeding
• Good cooking does not have to be or should it be difficult
• Not everything has to be made from scratch
• Great ideas come from food magazines but be daring and change them up
• Cooking for family and friends is good for the soul

 

  

 

It's going to happen.  The recipe you have been making successfully for ten years is going to turn on you.  And you know when it's going to happen---when you've invited guests to whom you've been raving about the same turncoat recipe.  Or, as in my case, it will happen just after you have posted the recipe to your blog.

I took out the cabbage, the potatoes, the carrots and the corned beef and plated it all up.  The vegetables were quite flavorful and cooked perfectly.  The corned beef, not so much.  It was tough!  My husband waited for me to say something.  He wasn't going to fire the first shot that could land him with frozen dinners for the next month.  "This corned beef seems tough," I say.  He breathes a sigh of relief and agrees.  I am quite confused as I have made this same exact recipe in the same exact way for at least ten years.  So, of course, my first thought---it was a bad corned beef.  I don't even know if that's possible.  Some are fattier than others but bad?  No, I had either over or under cooked it.  If it was over cooked, I couldn't fix that.  Undercooked could be dealt with.  

Having absolutely nothing left to lose, I threw  it back in the pot and cooked it for another 2 1/2 hours.  Viola!  I had my corned beef cooked to perfection and could happily construct my reuben sandwiches the next day.  Some times you can fix a recipe gone bad.  

But what caused this fiasco?  In retrospect I realized that this particular cut was thicker and more compact that any I had made before.  I should have adjusted the cooking time for this cut.  Now, I know.

Now, what you should know is this---don't ever tell your guests you're having them over for some wonderful dinner you have been making for years.  Instead, tell them to come over for a new recipe that you want to try out.  This way if your recipe goes rogue on you, your guests won't think you haven't any taste buds and you can say "well I guess this one isn't a keeper."  And if it turns out perfectly, like it always has before, your friends will think you have a great sense for recipes.  It's a win, win.

Now this recipe has worked before but I'm not telling anyone.

Stuffed Peppers

1 pound ground beef

1/2 cup uncooked long grain rice

1 cup water

6 red, orange, yellow or green peppers

1 8 ounce can diced tomatoes

1 8 ounce can tomato sauce

1 Tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 teaspoon garlic powder

1/4 teaspoon onion powder

salt and pepper to taste 

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Put a pot of water on to boil.  Cut peppers in 1/2 and scoop out membranes and seeds.  After water comes to a boil put the peppers in for 4-5 minutes and then plunge into a cold bath.  This step reduces the cooking time and keeps the beef mixture from drying out.  Place the rice and water in a sauce pan and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat, cover and cook 20 minutes.  In a skillet over medium heat, cook the beef until browned.  

In a bowl mix the browned beef, the cooked rice, one can diced tomatoes, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, onion powder, salt and pepper.  Arrange peppers in a shallow baking dish and divide the mixture among the peppers.  Mix the tomato sauce and Italian seasoning in a bowl and pour over the stuffed peppers.

Bake twenty minutes in the preheated oven, basting with sauce after ten minutes.

These freeze well.  Or if you want to make less, reduce the number of peppers and freeze the leftover rice and beef mixture for easy prep the next time.  And remember, its your recipe, if you feel like it you can throw some shredded cheese on top of the peppers before you pour on the tomato sauce.  Or you can try making it with ground lamb or a mix of ground pork and ground beef.  You can throw some chopped green onions in the beef rice mixture.  Make it yours.