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Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
My girlfriend has made a rare appearance at the old homestead, and coincidentally it happens to be her birthday. She has requested a pineapple upside-down cake…I sure didn’t mind since I knew where to look to find a simple and fabulous recipe. This is a direct copy from ” Book of Cooking” from the American Hostess Library(1955). I have only made this a couple of times, but I distictly remember it as simple and great—I am making it tonight, so I may have some edits later on—
A cast iron skillet
1/3 cup butter
1 cup pecans
8 slices drained canned pineapple ( we looked for fresh—too green on this day)
1 cup cake flour
1 t. baking powder
4 eggs (separated)
1 T. melted butter
1 t. vanilla
1 cup sugar
2 pinches of salt
Over medium heat, melt the 1/3 cup butter in the skillet; add the brown sugar, stir until melted. Lower the heat a bit and add the pecans, then the pineapple. Let brown a bit and start the oven at 325 at the same time. Remove from heat.
In a mixing bowl. add the flour and baking powder together and mix.
Beat the egg yolks till until light, add the 1 T. melted butter, vanilla nad mix.
Beat the egg whites and the salt until stiff. Gradually add the sugar one T. at at ime to the egg whites, beating well after each addition. Fold in the egg yolk mixture, then fold it the flour, about 4 T. at a time and mix well. Pour over the pineapple and bake about 30 minutes. It is an upside-down cake so you have to a little work here—flop it over to a serving plate, let the juice and sauces drain for a minute or two…You may have to help it along a bit, but if the skillet is properly seasoned, it shouldnt be a problem at all.
Posted by admin on January 5th, 2010 under General | Comment now »Garlic Chicken Stew
This is a 99% copy of Mark Bittman’s column from back in September 09…Absolutely delicious and couldn’t be easier…
Make sure you have a LOT of garlic on hand!!!
3 T. olive oil
8 chicken thighs (skin on or off—doesn’t matter)
salt and pepper
1/4 cup minced—Chinese ham or pancetta or prosciutto or bacon or sausage (I used Chinese bacon, but that’s another column)
40 cloves peeled garlic
1/2 cup white wine
3 T. sugar
5 nickel thick slices of ginger
1 t. Sichuan peppercorns
1/3 cup soy sauce
a pinch of cinnamon
chopped fresh cilantro for garnish
Put oil in a large skillet and heat to med-high. A minute or two later add the chicken (skin side down). Cook, and adjust heat so as not to burn. browning nicely on the one side. Turn over and cook another minute or two, then remove the thighs to a plate; Remove all but 3 T. of fat (if desired-I usually leave it all in!).
Return the pan to med-high heat and add the “pork” along with the garlic and cook until the garlic is nicely browned-DO NOT BURN Add the wine, scraping the yummy bits on the bottom of the pan; add the sugar, ginger, cinn, peppercorns and soy sauce. When the sugar is dissolved, add about 1/2 cup of water and then add the chicken back to the pan, again skin down. Simmer gently for about 15 minutes…The chicken should nicely done at that time…Ideally you want a slightly syrupy sauce, so use a little more heat to reduce if necessary.
Posted by admin on December 31st, 2009 under Low Carb, Poultry, General | Comment now »Makin’ Bacon
I put all my bacon posts together…
First of all, you by one of these babies…
Yeah, I splurged! Michael Ruhlman and Brian Polcyn wrote a wonderful book called “Charcuterie-the craft of salting, smoking, and curing”. That 25 dollar book is really starting to cost me! 100 bucks for certain supplies at Butcher-Packer, another wad of cash for a Grizzly sausage stuffer, and now this—
I can’t wait to order the pork belly from Niman Ranch and get started on some bacon…
And step 2
Buy a pork belly (I purchased mine from Niman Ranch)
and next…
Step 2 is very simple…Add this gloppy mess (curing salt, dextrose, brown sugar and maple syrup) to the pork belly and spread it liberally. It will go in a 2 gallon freezer bag, then into the refrigerator for 7 to 8 days.
We have this after the smoke and cure…just lovely…
And then we spend a few moments cooking, and have this!
One isn’t going to save any money doing all this work, but it is well worth the effort and it’s a ton of fun besides!
Posted by admin on September 6th, 2009 under I'm Smokin', Equipment, Pork, Low Carb, General | Comment now »Spice Rub
There was a Tri-Tip at the store yesterday with my name on it…I had some old spice rub I had put together last year so I dumped that (too old) and looked at the recipe I had written. I was less than enthralled with my original, so I started over and came up with this one. I may make some adjustments as we are getting closer to grilling season, but I liked this one quite a bit.
In a small bowl add—
3 T. Hungarian paprika (hot)
2 t. salt
1 t. onion powder
1 t. garlic powder
1 t. dry mustard (colmans)
1 t. chipotle chile powder
1 t. anchiote
and in a spice grinder, add—
1 t. black peppercorns
2 bay leaves
1 t. coriander
1/2 t. oregano
1/2 t. cumin seed
and grind well. Add all the ingredients together and mix well. This will yield a little over 1 1/2 oz. of rub which should be enough for two tri-tips. Remember all those old spice jars you threw away? That’s where you store this stuff!
Posted by admin on September 5th, 2009 under Condiments, Pantry, General | Comment now »Hot and Sour Soup
I have had this recipe for a very long time…I think it was a combination of all the hot and sour recipes I found in the many Asian cookbooks I have read. I just tried it again and made a few small changes, and I think it is for the better!
Enjoy…
1/2 pound cooked chicken (cut into bite size pieces-1/2 inch cubes is a good place to start)
1/2 pound raw shelled jumbo shrimp (cut to same size as the chicken)
2 cups chicken stock
2 T. white wine vinegar
1 T. dry sherry
1 T. chili garlic paste
1 T. soy sauce
1 chopped jalapeno (chopped very fine)
zest of one small lime
1 T. fish sauce
1 or 2 T. chopped cilantro
3 cloves garlic (chopped fine or pressed)
1 T. ginger (chopped very fine)
2 T. fresh lime juice
2 kaffir lime leaves (optional-hard to find)
4 to 6 oz mushrooms (coarsely chopped)
details later—this was just so i didnt forget anything…
Posted by admin on February 18th, 2009 under Soups, Seafood, General | Comment now »Beef-Vegetable Chili
It’s finally getting a bit chilly around here, so I thought I would start on one of my winter favorites.
1 pound beef (ground beef is fine, this time I am using top sirloin which I minced to about 1/4 inch cubes)
salt and pepper
2 T. olive oil
1 med. onion (chopped medium)
2 cups sliced mushrooms (about 5 oz)
1 zuchini (chopped into 1/2 inch cubes)
1 carrot (chopped to 1/2 inch cubes)
1 red (or green) bell pepper (chopped 1/2 inch squares)
1 jalapeno (chopped very fine)
1 or 2 cloves of garlic (chopped)
2 T. chile powder
2 t. cayenne
1 or 2 t. oregeno
2 cans (14 1/2 oz) chopped or whole tomatoes with juice
1 cup (or more as needed) beef stock or water
Brown the meat in the hot olive oil, and add the onions. Let cook a couple minutes over medium heat and then add the rest of the ingredients. Cook over a low heat for an hour or so.
Easy and delicious, and right now I am waiting for the cornbread to finish baking….
Posted by admin on December 3rd, 2008 under Recipes, Beef, General | Comment now »Bolognese
I had a special request for this recipe, so I thought I may as well type it out here. Here we go…It’s awesome in a lasagne or over tagliatelle…
2 T. olive oil
2 T. butter
1 medium onion (chopped fine)
1 stalk of celery (chopped fine)
1 carrot (chopped fine)
3 or 4 cloves of garlic (chopped fine)
1/2 lb ground pork
1/2 lb ground beef
5 oz of pancetta (minced)
1 cup milk
1 cup red wine
1 can (14 1/2 oz) chopped tomatoes
1 cup water (as needed)
salt (a pinch to the onions; a pinch or 2 when you add the meat)
Heat olive oil and butter over a medium burner; add onion, celery and carrot and cook till almost tender (about 6 or 7 minutes); add the garlic and cook another minute or two.
Add the pork, beef and pancetta and cook until you see no more raw color.
Add the milk, lower the heat a bit and let the milk simmer away.
Add the wine, and let it simmer away.
Stir in the tomatoes and add a pinch of red pepper flakes, some ground pepper and a touch of grated nutmeg. When you see a bubble, turn the heat down to a very lazy simmer for about 3 hours (uncovered). Add a bit of water from time to time if the sauce is looking too thick.
Posted by admin on November 15th, 2008 under Sauces, Beef, General | Comment now »Brian’s Chicken
My friend Brian asked me a little while ago to give him some simple, tasty and quick recipes using chicken breast. I was more than happy to comply even though that particular cut is not my favorite. Life has been keeping me very busy, but I will try to have a few more postings this week.
I almost always pound the chicken breast (between wax paper) to even thickness, usually to about 5/8 of an inch. When we cook up some cutlets in later recipes, those will be pounded to about 3/8 of an inch.
For 2
1 or 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts
2 or 3 T. of AP flour
1 egg (beaten and poured into a shallow pan)
1/4 cup dried bread crumbs (panko if available)
1/4 cup Parmigiano Reggiano (grated)
1 orange
This first idea is a simple version of chicken parmesan. After thawing and pounding the chicken breasts, squeeze the moisture out of the chicken using paper towels. Sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper.
In a shallow pan or plate, mix the bread crumbs and cheese together.
Dredge the chicken in the flour, shaking off the excess.
Dip the chicken into the beaten egg, let it drip off a bit and dip into the bread/cheese mixture. Press into the chicken a bit; you are looking for a fairly even coating here.
In a 10 or 12 inch skillet (non-stick works best) heat about 3 T. oil (I use the cheap olive oil here) till med-hot.
Lay the chicken breast(s) into the hot oil and cook approx, 2 1/2 to 3 minutes per side.
After removing from the pan, add a pinch of salt and a fresh squeeze (1 or 2 T. on each) of orange. Garnish with an orange slice if desired.
Lemon can be used instead of the orange.
Simple and delicious, I prepared this in about 20 minutes. Add a salad and a vegetable side and off you go to a well balanced and easy meal.
Posted by admin on October 1st, 2007 under Recipes, Poultry, General | Comment now »Busy…
I haven’t updated much as I have been busy as hell. That doesn’t keep me away from the kitchen though, it just keeps me away from writing about it!
In the last couple weeks I have—
Made more vegetable pickles, worked on an avocado dressing, started a post about the late Barb Tropp and her crazy (but wonderful) “China Moon” cookbook, sent a salsa verde recipe to a good friend (and improved on it since), tried smoking a chicken (it was good, but needs less time in the smoker), made a BBQ sauce (it was fine, but not what I was looking for), started a post about getting fat and my new challenge of losing weight, and working on a Mexican style red sauce…
Updates soon…
Posted by admin on August 18th, 2007 under General | Comment now »A Post!
Just in case my few loyal readers thought I may have dropped off the map, I have continued to be busy in the kitchen.
I even have some pickles curing at the moment !
Posted by admin on July 27th, 2007 under Pantry, General | Comment now »Corn Chowder
I think of any chowder type soup as more of a winter-type fare, but the CSA has begun to inundate me ( I already had to freeze some!), so I came up with this one. I was pretty happy with the result and it quite pretty with small bits of the red bellpepper. Although I like jarred peppers for many things, I would not use them here at all.
This is a solid soup for four as a first course
3 slices of bacon (chopped onto small pieces)
1 small white onion (chopped very fine)
2 small red potatoes(chopped into 3/8 inch cubes)
1/2 red bell pepper (chopped into 1/4 dice) (about 5 oz)
1 1/2 cup half and half
1/3 cup chicken broth
corn from two ears
1 T. thyme (chopped very fine)
1. t salt
a pinch or 2 of white pepper
In a med-sized saucepan over med-low heat, cook the bacon about half way through (maybe 4 or 5 minutes), then add the onions, potatoes and celery. Add a pinch of salt, white pepper and thyme and let cook for several more minutes till almost soft. Add the broth at this point, and stir in the corn, red bell pepper, and thyme. Continue to taste for flavor and texture…After a few minutes, you will add the half and half, stir in and warm thoroughly.
Serve
Posted by admin on July 15th, 2007 under Vegetables, Soups, General | Comment now »Grilled Lime Chicken
I had a surprise phone call from a dear friend up north, pleading for a good and easy chicken recipe for the grill. Since the temperatures are reaching as high as 110 degrees, there was NO chance of cooking inside! I haven’t heard back from Tammy to see they liked it, but this has always been a reliable and tasty dish. It’s so damn hot here that I will be cooking this pretty soon myself, and add a picture at that time.
(edit) so here we go…
Marinade time-6 hours+/-
One 3 1/2 or 4 pound chicken (cut into the usual 8 pieces)
Marinate the bird in the following mix for about 6 hours.
3 cloves garlic
1 medium onion
1/2 cp lime juice
1/2 cp W wine
1/4 cp cilantro
1 T sugar
2 T chili powder
2 t gr. cumin
1 t salt
And on the grill it goes…
Posted by admin on July 8th, 2007 under Low Carb, Poultry, General | Comment now »
