Cookin' In Texas: October 2007

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Every Cookie Imaginable!!

Monday, October 29, 2007

Artichokes in Meat Sauce

Carciofi nella Salsa di Carne

I know you see those crazy things with the spikes on, but how in the world do you cook 'em?

Well, my entire life these have been staples in the Venezio household. Even my finicky, picky husband ate 'em up!

Here's how Nona makes them!

Serving Size: 2

2 Artichokes

1 lb Ground Beef (the leaner the better)

1 Can tomato sauce (my Nona would kill if she knew I said that - but come on, who has 4 hours too cook some gravy (what we call red sauce in the North East))

Basil, Oregano, and Italian Parsley (finely chopped)

First you have to cut off the tips of the artichokes. When you buy them you will see that each petal comes to a sharp point. You have to snip the tips, so they form the shape of a U with a flat top. It is pretty easy, it just takes a little patience.

Take the raw ground beef out of package and add Basil, Oregano and Italian Parsley. You can add as little or as much as you like, it really depends on your taste. Then take spoonfulls of raw meat and stuff them inside each petal. Not too much or it will fall out. A tip is to start on the bottom and work your way up. It will get harder and harder to stuff as the petals get tighter together.

Once that is complete, add sauce to a large pot. Turn on Medium- Low, add meat stuffed artichokes and put a lid on. Simmer for 45 minutes.

The artichokes should come out tender and the meat and sauce should be almost ready to fall out.

Poor sauce on top and serve hot!

Sunday, October 28, 2007

Stuffed Peppers - Venezio Style!!

As most of you know, my father is a phenominal chef! He's had no lessons, just an Italian mother who nailed good cooking into his brain :)

Most Sunday's Matt and I head over here for a delicious dinner. This evening we got one of my personal favorites, Peperoni Imbotiti Ai Risotto - Risotto stuffed peppers!

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
6 large red and yellow bell peppers
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1 cup risotto
1/2 cup green olives, pitted
1/2 cup black olives, pitted
4 tablespoons capers (optional) rinsed
1 tablespoon dried oregano
1 bunch Italian parsley, finely chopped to yield 1/4 cup
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup progresso bread crumbs

First chop off tops of peppers, saving top and scooping out seeds and veins.

Then cook Risotto. If your not familiar there is a recipe here http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Gourmet-Mushroom-Risotto/Detail.aspx. Delete the mushrooms. And remember... always stir!

Mix capers, and both types of olives in the risotto, constantly.

Let the rice, olive mixture cool. When cool, place in peppers.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees, poor wine in bottom of dish and cook for 20 minutes.

This was our finished product :) Enjoy!

How to cook Fresh Pumpkin

Ever wondered how that can of pumpkin goodness actually gets in the can??
I have the answer!

This is an easy how-to way to cook a pumpkin and have fresh pumpkin for scones, pies or bread!!

1. Wash the outside of the pumpkin in warm water.

2. Cut Pumpkin in halves

3. Scoop out seeds and stringy meat. Either place the seeds on a cookie sheet or throw them away.

Make sure all the stringy meat has been taken off. It will give a bitter taste if left on.

4. Cut into pieces - the larger the better, the easier to peel! (We made the mistake of cutting it in small pieces:) Then place in microwavable safe bowl with lid. Put 2 inches of water on the bottom and nuke!

5. Remove pumpkin from microwavable container - but be careful - steam leaves a nasty burn!
Take a spoon and spoon meet into food processor.

6. Food process and store what you don't need. It should be a lot fluffier and lighter in color than a can.

Enjoy!!

Friday, October 26, 2007

Veronica's Apple Pancakes

I got this recipe on http://www.allrecipes.com/
This is Veronica Martin's recipe.

It is so full of fat but divine! It is like desert for breakfast!!
I also posted a comment a woman left so you can make it low cal, I haven't tried the low cal version yet! I also made them with whole wheat flour, and it really gave it an amazing texture!

Veronica's Apple Pancakes

1/4 cup butter, melted
1 egg
1 cup milk
1 cup shredded tart apple
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon white sugar

In a large bowl, combine butter, egg, milk and apple. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, cinnamon and sugar. Stir flour mixture into apple mixture, just until combined.

Heat a lightly oiled griddle or frying pan over medium high heat. Pour or scoop the batter onto the griddle, using approximately 1/4 cup for each pancake. Brown on both sides and serve hot.

Low Cal Version

I altered these to make them less caloric, and they still came out fabulous! My daughter loved them. I substituted 2 Tbsp. Splenda for the sugar, 1/8 c. applesauce for half of the butter, two egg whites for the one egg and used nonfat milk. I also doubled the cinnamon. I ate mine completely plain - was almost like dessert instead of breakfast!

Frech Onion Soup!

This is Alton Brown's http://www.foodnetwork.com/ recipe

Ok... now this took a really long time to make, but it turned out absolutely amazing! I subsituted the wine with Chicken Broth and Doubled up on the Beef Broth. When I am not pregnant, I will try it with the wine!

French Onion Soup

5 sweet onions (like Vidalias) or a combination of sweet and red onions (about 4 pounds)
3 tablespoons butter
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups white wine
10 ounces canned beef consume
10 ounces chicken broth
10 ounces apple cider (unfiltered is best)
Bouquet garni; thyme sprigs, bay leaf and parsley tied together with kitchen string
1 loaf country style bread
Kosher salt Ground black pepper
Splash of Cognac (optional)
1 cup Fontina or Gruyere cheese, grated

Trim the ends off each onion then halve lengthwise. Remove peel and finely slice into half moon shapes. Set electric skillet to 300 degrees and add butter. Once butter has melted add a layer of onions and sprinkle with a little salt. Repeat layering onions and salt until all onions are in the skillet. Do not try stirring until onions have sweated down for 15 to 20 minutes.
After that, stir occasionally until onions are dark mahogany and reduced to approximately 2 cups. This should take 45 minutes to 1 hour. Do not worry about burning.

Add enough wine to cover the onions and turn heat to high, reducing the wine to a syrup consistency. Add consume, chicken broth, apple cider and bouquet garni. Reduce heat and simmer 15 to 20 minutes.

Place oven rack in top 1/3 of oven and heat broiler. Cut country bread in rounds large enough to fit mouth of oven safe soup crocks. Place the slices on a baking sheet and place under broiler for 1 minute. Season soup mixture with salt, pepper and cognac.

Remove bouquet garni and ladle soup into crocks leaving one inch to the lip. Place bread round, toasted side down, on top of soup and top with grated cheese. Broil until cheese is bubbly and golden, 1 to 2 minutes.

Pumpkin Spice Scones

I found this recipe online at http://www.pinchmysalt.com/

I altered it a little, because when I made it I didn't want to make the icing, and it wasn't as sweet as I would have liked.

Pumpkin Spice Scones:

1 C. all purpose flour
1 C. cake flour
1 C. white sugar
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground nutmeg
1/4 t. ground allspice
1/4 t. ground ginger
6 T. unsalted butter
1/2 C. raisins (optional)
1/3 C. pumpkin puree
1/3 C. heavy cream
6 T. brown sugar
1 t. vanilla

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Get out a baking sheet and line with parchment paper (not required but makes cleanup easy!). Cut the butter into small pieces, put it in a small bowl and put it back in the refridgerator. In a medium bowl, combine both flours, sugar, baking powder, salt, and all spices. Whisk together well. Place bowl in freezer (refrigerator is fine if you have no room in freezer).

2. In a separate bowl, combine pumpkin, heavy cream, brown sugar, and vanilla. Whisk together well. Put this bowl in freezer (or refrigerator) and take the other bowl back out. Get the butter pieces out of the fridge and dump them into the bowl with the flour mixture. Cut the butter into the flour using a pastry blender or rub it in with your fingertips until it resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in the raisins if you are using them.

3. Get the liquid mixture out of the freezer and pour into the flour mixture all at once. Stir with a wooden spoon until everything is just moistened. The dough will be very crumbly, this is the way it should be. Turn the mixture out onto the counter and push the pile together with your hands. It should stick together fairly well. Knead it just a couple of times until everything is together. Don’t knead it too much or the dough will get too sticky.

4. Pat the dough out into a rough circle, 3/4 to 1 inch thick. Cut it like a pie into 8 pieces. Place pieces on the baking sheet so that they are not touching. Sprinkle sugar on top. Bake scones for about 15 minutes at 425 degrees. They should be light brown on the bottom, the tops will darken as they cool.

Cookin' In Texas