Pear Almond Tarts

Ingredients:
1 Package Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry
3 Bartlett pears, ripe (if you live in the NW, support Hood River’s growers and buy Hood River pears)
1 Can almond paste (in the pie filling section of the baking aisle)
Cinnamon
Sliced almonds to garnish

Preheat oven according to directions on puff pastry package. Unfold pastry and cut into six rectangles. Arrange on a lightly greased cookie sheet.
Peel and slice pears.
Open the can of almond paste and spoon about two tablespoons of paste onto each pastry rectangle, spreading evenly.
Arrange slices of pear over the paste.
Sprinkle with cinnamon and slivered almonds, and bake for about twenty minutes, until edges of pastry are golden.

The peach family

Pluots are a hybrid cross between plums and apricots.

Nectarines are really peaches with a genetic mutation to exclude the fuzz.

Amaretto flavoring is not actually from almonds, contrary to popular belief. It is generally made from the kernels of apricots. Sometimes the pits from apricots we buy in the store (depending on hybrid) smell like amaretto, though they are bitter tasting. This bitterness comes from a toxin that must be blanched out of the kernels (so don’t go munching on apricot kernels).

Marzipan is traditionally made up of sugar and almonds, with one bitter almond for ever 100 sweet ones.

Real Margaritas

If you don't like the artificial flavor of purchased margarita mixes, try this:

Ingredients:

2 oz Tequila (Sauza Hornitos is good, I don't like Cuervo that much)
1 oz Triple Sec or Grand Marnier
4 oz freshly squeezed orange juice
Lime wedges
coarse salt

Blend the tequila, triple sec, and lime juice.
Rub the rim of a margarita glass (the round bulbous wide mouthed kind) with a slice of lime, and dip in salt.
Add ice.
Pour the mixture into glasses and serve. Makes about two kickass margaritas!

Tim's Salmon

My brother Tim loves to cook salmon, and also works with a lot of Cambodians. One of them nudged him toward this recipe:

Ingredients:
1 filet fresh NW salmon (don't use Atlantic farmed!)
1 Lemon
Soy Sauce
1 T Sugar
Non-stick spray

Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
De-zest the lemon, then juice it. Chop the zest finely.
Mix the lemon juice and chopped zest with an equal part of soy sauce, and the sugar.
Spray a shallow baking pan with non-stick spray, and place the filet in the pan.
Pour the sauce over the fish and bake for 10 minutes per inch of thickness.
Salmon is done when a fork inserted and twisted flakes the meat away. Do not overcook!

Keep Your Artichokes Green!

Tired of prepping your artichokes for a good boiling, only to watch them blacken before your very eyes?

Prepare a bowl with cold water by adding two tablespoons of fresh lemon juice. Immediately after you cut your artichoke, soak it in the water for a few minutes. This prevents the flesh from oxidizing.

Kelly's Hors D'oeuvres

Kelly, my partner in crime at work, came up with this delicious sounding recipe. I can't wait to try it out!

Ingredients:
1 Can whole waterchestnuts, drained
1 12-0z pack of bacon
Barbecue sauce (your choice)
You will want toothpicks also.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Cut bacon in half, wrap each water chestnut in a half-slice of bacon.
Put on cookie sheet and smear as much barbecue sauce on them as you like.
Bake for about 10-20 minutes or until bacon is done.
Poke a toothpick in each...
And enjoy!

G's Tuna Melts

This is a tasty meal for two...

Ingredients:

2 slices Sourdough bread
1 can tuna, drained
1/4 c mayonnaise
chopped onion, celery, and/or capers if you wish
Olive Oil
Cheddar Cheese, shredded
Johnny's Seasoned Salt

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Spread a little olive oil in a glass pan. Place the bread in, and spread the oil around with it. This will make the underside of the melt nice and crunchy.
Mix the tuna, mayo, and anything you'd like to have in the tuna salad, like chopped onion, celery, capers, pickles, etc.
Spread the tuna salad evenly over the slices of bread. Sprinkle with shredded cheddar cheese and garnish with Johnny's Seasoned Salt on top.
Place in the oven, and bake until the cheese is melted and the underside of the bread is golden.
Then turn the oven up to broil and let the cheese on top brown a bit before removing from oven. Let cool for a few minutes, then serve and enjoy!

Baby Pineapple

We harvested my tiny pineapple last night and ate it. A bit more astringent than the ones you get in the store, but very flavorful. Unfortunately, it wasn't very big, as you can see by the shitty cellphone picture, held by G for scale:

I'm trying to root the top and begin again, this time in a waaaay bigger pot (I think that's why its growth was stunted).

Soy Lecithin

If you like to make vinaigrettes for you salads (oil and vinegar combinations sometimes with herbs thrown in), and tire of constantly shaking the vinaigrette every two minutes because it has separated, try this:

Mix a couple of teaspoons of soy lecithin into the dressing as you’re making it. The lecithin is tasteless and acts as an emulsifier, keeping the oil and vinegar blended for longer. You will still need to shake it, but only about once every meal. You can get soy lecithin in the health section of the store, and you should store it in the fridge. Be careful though, adding too much creates a laxative effect! We don’t want that! Unless we do.

Buckeye Balls

These delicious bonbons were introduced to my by a friend back when we were pre-teens. So, it’s so easy a twelve-year-old can make them.

Ingredients:
1-1/2 cups creamy peanut butter
1/2 cup salted butter or margarine (room temperature)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 16-oz package confectioners sugar
1 6-ox package semi-sweet chocolate chips (1 cup)
2 Tbsp vegetable shortening

Line a baking sheet with waxed paper. In a medium bowl, mix peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and sugar with your hands (yummy, can’t you just imagine a twelve-year-old doing this?) to form a smooth dough. You could use a spoon or mixer if you’re more civilized.

The mixture will be very stiff at this point. Shape the dough into balls, using 2 teaspoons for each. Place on waxed paper and put in fridge.

In the top of a double boiler over simmering, not boiling water, melt chocolate and shortening together. When smooth and fully melted, remove peanut butter balls from fridge.

Insert a wooden toothpick into each ball and dip into melted chocolate so that 3/4 of the ball is coated. Return to wax paper, chocolate side down, and remove toothpick. Resist the urge to pick your teeth, and pick up another naked peanut butter ball. Repeat. Refridgerate on waxed paper for 30 minutes or longer, until chocolate is firm.

Store balls in sealed plastic containers, with waxed paper between layers to keep them from sticking to one another. Makes a lot (about 5 dozen).

Caprese Salad

Ingredients:

2 Tomatos (heirloom is best, otherwise select a tomato that has a lot of meat)
1 Bunch Sweet Basil
1 Container Fresh Mozzarella (Bel Gioioso brand is good, oviline or perline is my preference)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil
Balsamic Vinegar (Optional)
Salt (Optional)
Pepper (Optional)

Slice the tomatoes 3/8” thick, and arrange slices on a plate.

If you are using the large mozzarella balls, slice in 1/4” slices and place one slice on each tomato slice. If you are using perline or ovoline, sprinkle them whole over tomatoes.

Separate a couple of nice looking sprigs of basil from the bunch, then chop the bunch up. Sprinkle the basil liberally over the plate.

Drizzle with olive oil, and balsamic vinegar if you wish (I’ve heard they don’t use vinegar in insalata caprese in Italy, but in America we seem to like it that way.

Season with Salt and pepper if you wish. Serves about 4.

Chicken Broccoli Braid

This recipe was adapted from that Pampered Chef pyramid scheme that makes the rounds to homes across the nation. That one contained frozen broccoli and precooked chicken.

Ingredients:

1 Package boneless skinless chicken breasts or breast tenders (1-2 lbs)
1 Head broccoli
1 Red bell pepper
1 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded
1/2 cup mayonnaise (none of that miracle whip crap, unless that’s truly your preference)
1 T Olive or Canola Oil. You can also use cooking spray.
1 T Dill, dried or chopped fresh
1 clove garlic, minced
Pepper to taste
2 Packages Pillsbury Crescent Rolls (the foil tubes that explode when you peel the wrapper, containing gooey triangles of uncooked dough)


Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Heat oil in a skillet on medium heat. Cut the chicken breasts up into bite sized pieces and sauté in skillet when oil is hot. Cook thoroughly, and until the outsides are golden.
While the chicken is cooking, chop up the broccoli (I often think of that SNL sketch with Dana Carvey back when he was funny, singing “Choppin’ broccoli”) and the red bell pepper. Place these in a large mixing bowl.

In a smaller bowl, measure out 1/2 cut of mayonnaise, and mix in dill, garlic, and pepper to taste.

Let the chicken pieces cool a bit before adding them to the vegetable pieces, then add the cheese and mayo mixture. Mix all of this stuff up – it will resemble a very colorful chicken salad. You can probably even use it as chicken salad if you wish, I’m sure it would be delicious.

Open the two tubes of crescent rolls. On an ungreased cookie sheet, separate all the triangles and place them with one side together all down the line, kind of like you’re playing with tangrams. Squish them together in the middle so you have a thin wide area of dough with pointy edges. You will need to arrange the triangles in such a way that once you have spooned all the chicken mixture on top of them, you will be able to fold over the ends of the triangles creating a kind of fat braided caterpillar effect. The mixture should be applied in an oblong mound about four to five inches thick and about eight or nine inches long. You can stretch the ends of the dough to a point that it will cover the top.

Place the caterpillar in the oven and cook at 350 until the top is brown, the bottom is done, and the stuff inside is warmed. If the top browns quickly, reduce the oven temperature and place a piece of foil over it. As you might expect, the bottom will take a bit longer to cook because of the mass of filling you have piled on top of it.

Once cooked, remove from oven and allow to cool for just a bit. Then slice and serve. This meal reheats well. And if you’re feeling especially creative and would like to serve individual chicken pies, take four of the dough triangles and shape them into a pinwheel effect. Spoon a bit of the chicken mix on top, and fold the four flaps over. This would serve four.

Chicken Soup for the Stomach

I made a batch of the chicken soup I've been making since I was a wee lass the other day and thought I'd share the recipe. We're heading into the chilly months and if you're sitting around on the weekend, it's much easier to make this soup that you'd think (for those of you who think making chicken soup from scratch involves dumping in a can of chicken broth).

Ingredients (you don't really have to measure, just throw stuff in, it's funner):

1 whole chicken cut up - I usually throw the innards away after inspecting them to satisfy my morbid curiosity
2-3 onions with skins left on - just toss them in, the skins make a nice golden color
2-3 carrots - don't peel, and just break them in half.
2-3 sticks of celery - also while you're picking these out, purloin the leaves from other sticks of celery and slip them into your bag of celery (leaves have more flavor, and no one else who buys celery want the leaves, so the store won't mind)
2-3 garlic cloves, peeled
sprigs of rosemary, thyme, marjoram, FLAT leaf parsley (the curly leaf parsley is good for garnishing and that's about it)
2 bay leaves (I use myrtle leaves from my and G's trip to Bandon last summer)
small handful of peppercorns

salt
dried parsley
carrots, chopped
celery, chopped
thick noodles such as bow-tie, or frozen egg noodles
-or-
a potato and a rutabaga, peeled and cubed.


Put everything up to and including the peppercorns in a large stockpot and add enough water to cover the chicken. If you add too much water the broth will be weak and you will need to reduce it. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and let simmer for at least three hours, more like four, stirring occasionally. The longer you simmer it the more gelatin will be cooked from the bones, and this is ideal. Also of course, the more time the broth cooks, the more flavor will develop.

While it is simmering, you may get bored. Therefore it is not uncommon to find ways to amuse yourself. Some people dunk the chicken pieces with the spoon, some like to mash the carrots up. I personally like to squeeze the onions with the spoon, to make all the layers squish out.

Once the broth is sufficiently strong - you'll have to use your judgment, which some people find lacking, I know, but I'm not going to babysit you through this experience - get a large colander and another large pot (or bowl). Position the colander over the second pot and pour the entire contents of the first pot into it. It helps to do this in the sink, just in case you spill. Rinse any particles out of the first pot. Retain all the disgusting solids in the colander, you will be playing treasure hunt with it later.

Now, I employ many cooking gadgets, therefore I have a smaller strainer to catch the fine particles the first colander missed. I position this small strainer over the first pot and transfer the broth BACK into the first pot. I taste the broth and add salt to taste. I also add a good pinch of dried parsley leaves, just like they do in the commercial food industry for that home cooked look.

Let the unappetizing-looking contents of the colander cool until it's comfortable to touch the chicken. It takes less time if you actually remove the chicken pieces from the mess and throw the rest of it away. Once you can pick the meat from the bones without crying out in agony, have at it. Tear the chicken into bite size pieces, and place in the broth. I hope I don't have to tell you to leave out the bones and the skin.

Get some fresh carrots and celery, chop them into soup-sized pieces, and add them as well.

Now you can do one of two things for filler: you can add uncooked noodles (thick noodles or frozen egg noodles -not the ones you make stroganoff with), or you can cube up a peeled potato and a peeled rutabaga (looks like a peach-colored turnip, and is grossly underrated as a root vegetable) and add those.

Let the vegetables and or noodles soften (rutabagas take a longer time than potatoes), then serve with a nice loaf of warm bread and butter. Refrigerate or freeze the leftovers. If you've made the soup right, it will be almost the consistency of jello once it's cooled completely.

Palta Reina

This is from Peru, we had it a couple of times while we were there. It’s very refreshing, especially on a hot day when you don’t want to cook.

Ingredients:

1 Avocado
1 can White Meat Chicken
1 Carrot
1/2 cup Cheddar Cheese, (buy pre-shredded or you’ll have to shred)
1 Small Onion
1 Bunch Fresh Green Beans
1/4 cup Frozen Peas (canned peas are too mushy)
1/4 cup Mayonnaise
Salt and Pepper to taste

Halve the avocado and scoop out of the skin, discard pit. You can either keep the two halves whole, which makes for interesting presentation, or slice, which makes for easier eating.

Shred the carrot and the cheese. Dice the onion. Cut the green beans into 1/2" pieces. Thaw the peas, but do not heat up. Drain the can of chicken.

Mix the carrot, cheese, onion, beans, peas, and chicken in a bowl with mayo to moisten. Salt and pepper accordingly.

Serve the chicken salad over the avocado. Muy bueno!

Basil Tuna-Stuffed Pasta Shells with Tomato-Basil Salsa

This one is from our favorite, Betty Crocker.

Ingredients:

8 Jumbo Pasta Shells
1 can Albacore Tuna or White Meat Chicken
1 Carrot
1 small Red or Sweet Onion
2 Roma Tomatoes
Mayonnaise to Moisten
Bunch of Basil
Salt
Pepper
1/4 cup Red Wine Vinegar
½ cup Olive Oil

Boil the Jumbo Shells in salted water for 10-12 minutes. They take longer to cook than you’d think.

While they are cooking, dice the tomatoes, chop the onion, and chop the basil. Shred the carrot. Open the can of tuna or chicken, drain the water, and feed the water to the cats!

Mix the drained tuna with the carrot and half of the onion. Add about a tablespoon of chopped basil and mayo to moisten. Add pepper to taste.

Mix the tomatoes with the rest of the onion and the rest of the basil. Add vinegar and oil to taste, so all ingredients are moistened, and you like the flavor of the oil and vinegar. If you have soy lechithin, adding a teaspoon of this will keep the oil and vinegar mixed for a while. Salt and pepper to taste.

Once the shells are finished cooking, and are al dente, rinse in cold water until cooled, and drain.

Stuff each shell with the tuna mixture, and drizzle with the tomato-basil salsa. Serve in a shallow bowl so the shells and salsa don’t slide and drain every which way.

Cucumber Salad

Ingredients:

1 Cucumber
1/4 cup Red or Walla Walla Onion (any sweet onion)
Vinegar (I like red wine vinegar, but you can also use white. I wouldn’t suggest Balsamic, as it has an overpowering flavor)
Pepper

Slice the cucumber thinly (1/8”). Coarsely chop the onion. Place both in a bowl.

Drizzle some vinegar on the vegetables, to taste, really. If you were to take all the vegetables out of the bowl after adding the vinegar, you probably want to see about 1/4 cup of vinegar in the bottom of the bowl. If it’s too vinegary, add a little water. If not enough, add more vinegar!

Add pepper to taste, toss. This salad needs to be tossed whenever you serve some, since the vinegar sinks to the bottom.

Cream-free Potato Salad

Ingredients:

8-10 Potatoes – small reds or fingerlings are best. I don’t recommend baking potatoes as they cook differently.
3 or so Green Onions
3 or so Hard Boiled Eggs
1/2 to 3/4 cup Kraft Zesty Italian Salad Dressing

Boil the eggs beforehand and refrigerate, or boil while the potatoes are cooking, but cool them thoroughly in cold or ice water before putting them in the salad.

Leave skins on potatoes, this makes them hold together better. Plus the skins are healthy! Slice the potatoes into 1/4” to 3/8” thick rounds if they are on the small side, but if they are a bit bigger halve them prior. You pretty much want bite sized pieces, but not thicker than 3/8”, since they will cook into mashed potatoes if not careful.

Steam the potato slices or boil carefully. Steaming seems to keep them from crumbling, however, do not overcook them, as they will crumble no matter what. Cook until a fork stuck in one slides through easily, but they still LOOK firm. Cool immediately in cold water.

While the potatoes are cooking, slice the green onions thinly. Chop the eggs coarsely. I like yolks, so I usually throw in an extra yolk.

Mix all cold ingredients together. Add the salad dressing to taste. Toss and serve. This salad keeps well for a few days in the fridge; in fact, the eggs gain an interesting yet improved texture from the dressing, in my opinion. Toss or stir before serving.