i pity the fool that don't eat my recipes

Triple-Ginger Loaf

2009-01-11T10:35:00.001-08:00

1 2/3 cup unbleached flour
1 tsp ground ginger
1tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp salt
6 tbls minced crystalized ginger (about 2 oz)
1 stick unsalted butter, room temperature
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 extra-large eggs
2 tbls grated peeled gresh ginger
1/2 cup buttermilk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inch loaf plan. Sift first 6 incredients into a bowl. Mix in 3 tbls crystallized ginger. Beat butter and both sugars in a large bowl until fluffy. Beat in eggs, 1 at a time. Mix in fresh ginger. Stir in dry ingredients alternately with buttermilk, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Pour mixture into prepared pan. Sprinkle remaining 3 tbls crystallized ginger over batter and lightly press into batter. Bake until toothpick instered into center comes out clean, about 50 minutes. Cool in pan for 10 minutes before removing. Serve with fresh fruit.

Kung Pao Shrimp

2008-12-28T14:42:00.000-08:00

3/4 lb medium shrimp, shelled and deveined
2 tblspn cornstarch
1 egg white, lighly beaten
1/3 cup peanut or vegetable oil
1/2 cup skinless roasted peanuts
1/4 teaspoon crushed hot red pepper flakes
1 (6 ounce) package frozen Chinese pea pods, thawed
1 (8 ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, drained
3 scallions, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 to 1 1/2 teaspoons chili paste with garlic
1/4 cup soy sauce
3 tblspn dry sherry
1 teaspoon red wine vinegar
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tblspn cold water

1. In a medium bowl, combine shrimp with 1 tablespoon cornstarch and egg white. Toss to mix thoroughly.

2. In a wok or 10 inch skillet, heat oil over high heat until hot. Add shrimp, and stir-fry until pink and loosely curled, 1 to 2 minutes. With slotted spoon, remove shrimp to a bowl.

3. Add peanuts to oil in wok and fry 30 seconds. Remove and drain on paper towels.

4. Drain off and discard all but 2 tablespoons oil from wok. Add hot pepper flakes, pea pods, water chestnuts, scallions, and garlic. Stir-fry over medium-high heat 2 minutes. Return shrimp to wok and stir-fry 1 minute longer. Mix in chili paste with garlic, soy sauce, sherry, red wine vinegar, sugar, and chicken broth until well blended.

5. Dissolve remaining 1 tablespoon cornstarch in cold water and add to wok. Cook over high heat, stirring, until sauce boils and thickens, about 2 minutes. Add peanuts and mix well. Serve immediately.

Sur La Table's Favorite Sugar Cookies

2008-03-16T18:12:00.000-07:00

1 cup butter, softened
1 cup granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup heavy whipping cream

In a medium bowl, cream together butter and sugar. Add eggs and vanilla. Sift together flour and baking powder; stir into creamed mixture, alternating with the heavy cream. Cover dough and chill for 2 to 3 hours until firm.

Preheat oven to 350 F degrees. Grease cookie sheets or use a Silpat liner. On a lightly floured surface, roll out dough to 1/4 inch thickness. Cut into desired shapes with cookie cutters. Place cookies 1" apart on prepared cookie sheets. Sprinkle with colored sugar if desired.

Bake for 12 to 14 minutes in preheated oven until bottoms and edges of cookies are light brown. Remove from baking sheet and cool on wire racks. Store in an airtight container. Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

Pasta e Fagioli Soup

2007-10-28T20:37:00.000-07:00

1 lb ground Italian Sausage
1 small onion diced
1 large carrot julienned
3 small stalks celery chopped
2 cloves garlic minced
2 14.5 ounce cans diced tomatoes
1 15 oz can red kidney beans (with liquid)
1 15 oz can great northern beans (with liquid)
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
1 12 oz can V8 juice
1 tsp salt
1 tsp basil
pepper
1/2 tsp thyme
1/2 pkg pasta

Brown the ground mean in a large saucepan over medium heat. Drain off the fat. Add onion, carrot, celery, and garlic and saute for 10 minutes. Add remaining ingredients, except the pasta and simmer for 1 hour.

About 50 minutes into simmer time cook the pasta in another pan and drain. Add the pasta to the large pot of soup. Simmer for 5 - 10 minutes and serve.

Bran Refrigerator Muffins

2007-09-10T22:51:00.000-07:00

2 3/4 cups of All Bran
1 1/2 cups Sugar
2 1/2 cups Flour
2 1/2 teaspoons Baking Soda
1 teaspoon Salt
1 Cup butter
2 eggs
1 pt buttermilk

Stir together the dry ingredients, then mix in the wet ingredients. May be refrigerated after mixing. Use a small ice cream scoop to fill the greased muffin cups. Bake in a preheated oven at 425 degrees for 15 - 20 minutes.

cioppino (fish soup)

2006-10-07T19:41:00.000-07:00

We recently used this recipe with sturgeon that we caught on the Columbia River in Astoria Oregon. It's a spicy soup that is nice to have with garlic bread.

2 teaspoons olive oil
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes (use less if you don't like spicy)
6 garlic cloves - crushed
3 cups of clam juice
1/2 cup fresh parsley, chopped
1/2 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspooon dried thyme
1 jar of your favorite meat-free tomato-based pasta sauce
1 lb sturgeon (or other white fish) cut into 1/2 inch peices
1 lb uncooked peeled shrimp
1/2 lb uncooked scallops
1/2 cup white wine (optional)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups torn spinach

Heat 2 teaspoons olive oil in a large pot. Add pepper flakes and garlic. Cook for 30 seconds.

Add clam juice, parsley, basil, thyme, pasta sauce, sturgeon, and scallops. Cover and cook for 10 minutes.

Add wine, salt, pepper, sturgeon, and shrimp. Cook for 5 more minutes.

Add spinach before serving.

mojitos

2006-07-06T22:35:00.000-07:00

The Mojito is perfect drink on a hot summer day. It's a drink the whole family can enjoy because it can easly be served "virgin".

Last weekend, we tried to make mojitos for the first time and it was an incredible success.

Fill a glass about half way with crushed ice. Add a few splashes of rum (optional), the juice of half a lime, a spoon full of sugar, and 10 or so mint leaves. Take a kitchen pestle and lightly beat the mint leaves into the ice cubes. This will release the delicious mint flavor into the drink.

Once done, fill the glass with your favorite lemon-lime soda. Enjoy!

home made pizza

2006-07-06T19:32:00.000-07:00

One of my earliest memories of pizza was home-made pizza made by my mom and dad. The crust was made with a “jiffy mix” from the store. It was ok, but not as good as restaurant pizza. In the late eighties, my dad tried something that was ingenious. He bought some Rhodes bread dough from the freezer section of the grocery store, thawed it, and used it as a pizza crust. It was great! For many, many years we had a tradition of putting out two loaves of frozen bread dough at the beginning of the day so that we would have crust for our pizzas on “Pizza nights”.

Recently, I took a pizza cooking class from one of the world’s master pizza makers. After taking the class, I realized that making pizza of his caliber requires a lot of time and a lot of forethought. In my opinion, you’re better off going to his restaurant and ordering his pizza. But some day, when I have time on a weekend to devote to the crust making process, I will make his pizza!

For now I have a pizza recipe to share for people like us who can’t devote days to making a pizza crust. This crust utilizes my Zojirushi bread machine as a kneading/rising tool. You could do it on your own, but if you have a bread machine, use it.

Add the following ingredients to your bread machine and set it on “dough manual”. The cycle takes about 2 hours in “The Zo”.

1 bottle of flat beer
3 ¾ cup all-purpose flour
2 tbsp sugar
1 ½ tsp salt
1 ½ tbsp olive oil
1 ½ tsp active dry yeast

The dough will be very sticky. Once the dough is complete, divide it into 4 dough balls, wrap each with plastic wrap, and put it in the refrigerator. The time in the refrigerator is key to making the dough taste good. Dough that has been in the fridge for a couple days will taste better than dough cooked immediately.

When you’re ready to make your pizza, lightly cover the dough ball with flour until it’s no longer sticky in your hand. Use your hands to transform the dough ball into a flat crust. Don’t smash it into a pancake. Instead, hold the edges of the crust and let gravity and a little hand action stretch the dough into nice pizza crust. My pizzas are rarely perfect circles.

When you have a nice looking crust, put it on to a metal grated pizza pan. It’s the kind that you can see through. They’re available at restaurant supply stores. Then put about ¼ to ½ cup of pizza sauce on the crust if the sauce is pasty. Use a more generous amount for "saucy" sauces. My favorite ready-made pizza sauce is the Trader Joes brand sauce, but any sauce will work.

Cover the sauce with cheese. You can get pre-grated “pizza cheese” at the store. Then add your favorite toppings. Fewer toppings are often better than more. Try to stick with less than three.

Cook the pizza in a convection oven at 400F degrees for about 14 – 16 minutes. If you have a conventional oven, cook at 425F degrees for 16 – 18 minutes. In my opinion, convection ovens cook a crisper, yummier crust.

basic, can-free, salsa

2006-06-27T10:36:00.000-07:00

1 and 1/2 lb diced fresh tomatoes
1 large minced jalapeno (remove the seeds if you prefer less heat)
1/4 of a sweet onion, diced
3 garlic cloves, minced or crushed
1/4 cup of fresh chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon salt
6 or 7 cranks from the pepper grinder
lime juice from half a lime

Blend all the ingridents; done and done.

If you prefer thicker salsa, put the tomatoes in a collander to remove unwanted liquid.

Buttermilk-free Buttermilk Pancakes

2006-06-12T18:41:00.000-07:00

Have you ever wanted to make buttermilk pancakes, but didn't have any buttermilk and didn't want to go to the store? Here's the recipe for you! It's the best pancake recipe that I've ever tasted. It's definately better than any mix. We often make the recipe in 1/2 becuase it makes quite a bit. Thanks to Darigold for this great recipe.

2 cups flour
6 tablespoons powered buttermilk (Ok, technically it's buttermilk)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 eggs, unbeaten
2 cups water
1/4 cup melted butter (we use Smart Balance instead of butter)

Mix dry ingredients together well. Add wet ingredients and stir minimally until the batter is moist. It's ok if it's think and lumpy. Drop 1/4 cup of batter onto 335F degree griddle and cook for about 3 minutes on each side.

Caesar Salad

2006-05-18T19:51:00.000-07:00

This is a delicious caesar salad recipe from the owner of Apizza Scholls, Brian Spangler. It's not very hard to make, but our experience has been that it taste best if it is prepared in advance so that it can sit in the refrigerator for a while before being eaten.

1. Get out your food processor and mix 2 eggs with 1 tbsp of dijon mustard.

2. Slowly add 1 cup of extra virgin olive oil while blending in the food processor for about a minute.

3. Add 2 tbsp of anchovies, 2 tbsp chopped garlic, salt to taste, 1 tbsp sherry vinegar, 1 tbsp worcestershire sauce, 2 tsp black pepper, and blend for another minute.

4. Add juice from half a lemon, and 1/3 cup parmesan cheese. Blend for 30 seconds.

Now you've got your dressing!

Apizza Scholls uses whole romaine hearts and so do we. Top with fresh ground pepper, parmesan cheese, and enjoy.

Ginger Cookies

2006-04-17T14:01:00.000-07:00

Special thanks to "Henry" for this incredible cookie recipe that he posted on his blog. I'm reposting his recipe with his permission.

Ingredients:
4 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 tsp ground ginger*
2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon*
1 tsp ground cloves*
1/4 tsp salt1 1/2 cups butter (3 sticks), room temperature **
2 cups granulated sugar
2 eggs1/2 cup molasses
3/4 cup coarse sugar or granulated sugar

* Can substitute the ginger, cinnamon, and cloves for an equal amount of pumpkin pie spice.

** For a little healthier touch, I like to substitute apple butter for some of the real butter. For this recipe, about one half cup apple butter and 3/4 cup real butter. Less butter, plus a touch of apple to the molasses and ginger (mmmmmm).

1. In a medium mixing bowl stir together flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, cloves, and salt; set aside.

2. In a large mixing bowl beat together butter with the 2 cups granulated sugar. Beat until combined, scraping sides of bowl occasionally. Beat in eggs and molasses. Beat in the flour mixture, using a wooden spoon.

3. Shape dough into 2-inch balls using 1/4 cup dough. Roll balls in the 3/4 cup coarse or granulated sugar. Place about 2-1/2 inches apart on an ungreased cookie sheet.

4. Bake in a 350°F oven for 12 to 14 minutes or until cookies are light brown and puffed. Cool on cookie sheet for 2 minutes. Transfer cookies to a wire rack to cool. Store in a tightly covered container at room temperature for up to 3 days or in the freezer for up to 3 months.

For crispier, snap-type cookies, use all butter instead of substituting using the the apple butter, then flatten the dough balls very thin on the cookie sheet (I love them this way)
Makes two dozen 4-inch cookies.

patate arrosto

2006-04-04T09:55:00.000-07:00

One of the things that we loved while in Italy was the delicious roasted potatoes. This is a really easy recipe.

1. Cut potatoes into 1 inch pieces.

2. Put potatoes into a covered baking dish, making only 1 layer of potatoes.

3. Drizzle olive oil over potatoes.

4. Sprinkle with fresh rosemary, to taste. I usually go into the side yard and pull off a 4 finger length sprig.

5. 3 or 4 cloves of crushed garlic.

6. Sprinkle a generous amount of sea salt. Sea salt tastes better than regular table salt. Not sure why, but it does.

6. Mix it up really good.

7. Put it in the oven for about 40 - 50 minutes at 450F degrees.

french toast

2006-04-03T20:32:00.000-07:00

I hadn't made french toast in years until a few weeks ago when I got a wild hair. I started with a cookbook recipe and then made small changes until it was just right. The great part about this recipe is that no exact measurements are required. This recipe is for two slices of french toast, but it could easily be doubled, tripled, quadrupled.. you get the point.

Ingredients:
2 slices of cinnamon bread (Cinnamon Burst bread from Winco is great. Cinnamon Swirl bread from Upper Crust Bread Co. is good too)
1 egg
3 splashes of milk
1 small splash of vanilla extract
1 spoon of flower

Put the egg in a small bowl with the egg and vanilla. Blend them well with a whisk. After the egg is well blended with the milk, whisk in the flour.

Put the liquid in a dinner plate and dip the bread in the liquid for about 10 seconds on each side. Pop the coated bread onto a medium low heated pan. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes on each side until golden brown.

baked mac & cheese

2006-04-03T15:41:00.000-07:00

This mac & cheese is very creamy with a mild cheese flavor. You could probably use half muenster and half sharp cheedar for a deeper flavor.

Ingredients:
1 lb. macaroni (cooked)
2 cups béchamel sauce
2 cups yellow cheddar
2 cups Muenster cheese

Béchamel Sauce:
1 cups heavy cream
1 cups milk
4 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour

Make the béchamel sauce by heating the milk and cream together to a boil. Melt butter in saucepan. When melted, add all the flour, stirring constantly. Let cook for 4 to 5 minutes, continuing to stir. Remove from heat, and add warm milk and cream while whisking -- if sauce is too thick, add a touch more milk.

Add cheese to béchamel sauce and stir. (Save a bit of cheese for the topping.) Stir sauce into macaroni and place in a buttered casserole dish. Place in 350-degree oven until slightly brown and bubbly on top -- 25 to 30 minutes.

pumpkin spice roll

2006-04-03T15:17:00.000-07:00

About 5 years ago, I went down to Phoenix for Thanksgiving to see my dad and step mother. My step mother Pat made the most incredible dessert made with pumpkin cake and cream cheese frosting. It's actually a simple jelly roll, but the richness of this cake takes it to a new level. We really need to come up with a better name for this recipe, because "Pumpkin Spice Roll" doesn't do it justice.

Pumpkin cake
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
2/3 cup pumpkin
1 tsp lemon juice
3/4 cup flower
2 tsp Cinnamon
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp ginger
½ tsp salt
½ nutmeg
1 cup finely chopped walnuts

Filling
1 cup powdered sugar
8 oz. Cream cheese (room temp)
4 Tblspn butter (room temp)
½ tsp vanilla

Beat 3 eggs at high speed for 5 minutes. Add 1 cup Sugar... Stir in 2/3 cup pumpkin and 1 tsp. lemon juice. Mix 3/4 cup flour, 2tsp. Cinnamon, 1 tsp. baking powder, 1tsp. ginger, ½ tsp. salt, 1/2 tsp. nutmeg. Combine with pumpkin mixture and add 1 cup finely chopped walnuts. Sometimes, I like to spread the nuts on the jelly roll pan first and then press the dough over the nuts. This gives the roll the appearance of nuts on the outside of the roll. Grease and flour a jelly roll pan well. Bake at 375 degrees for 15 minutes.

Mix the filling ingredients at high speed until it’s nice and fluffy.

Roll the cake with a pastry cloth while it is still warm to give it the shape of a roll. The pastry cloth will prevent the cake from sticking to itself. After it is cools unroll the cake, spread the filling and roll it back up.

An interesting side note.. This recipe is based on a standard jelly roll recipe. Jelly rolls were created during the depression, because jelly could be inexpensively made with fruit that people grew themselves.

pomodoro sauce

2006-04-03T14:56:00.000-07:00

This rich and spicy sauce is simple to make and goes well with spaghetti, angel hair pasta, or gnocchi. I think the traditional pomodoro sauce is made without cream.

Ingredients
1 (28-ounce) can whole Italian tomatoes (drained)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon chopped garlic
Salt and pepper
Crushed chile flakes
6 to 8 large fresh basil leaves
chopped 1/2 cup cream

hummos

2006-04-03T14:40:00.000-07:00

This recipe is especially good with flat bread that is still warm from the oven.

Ingredients:
2 cans of cooked Garbanzos
1/2 cup of Tahini (sold at Int'l food stores-mashed sesame seed pulp)
1/2 cup of lemon juice
2 cloves of garlic (crushed)
1/4 cup of olive oil
2 T of chopped Italian flat leaf parsley
1 T of paprika (or ground red pepper-depending on whether you like it hot)
salt (to taste)

It is a good idea to boil the precooked garbanzo beans that come in the cans for an extra 10 minutes, it helps make the garbanzo easier to mash thus the final product will have less granularity in it.

Save some (about 15 garbanzo beans) whole to use for plate decorating once the hummos is done. Mash the rest of the garbanzo beans all by themselves in the food processor (you can add a bit-less than 1/4 cup- of water to help the processing along) once they are finely ground, add the crushed garlic, the tahini, and start adding the lemon juice then mix in the food processor. Every time you add a little bit and taste-test. (I usually put less than what the recipe calls for then increase the lemon juice slowly to the mix until I attain the level of tanginess that I like, so it would be a good idea to keep adding the lemon juice slowly, until the amount of tanginess you likeis attained). Use the same method with for salt, put a little bit than add as you go along. Once you are satisfied with the mix, put it in a plate, decorate with chopped parsley and whole garbanzos in bunches, then sprinkle the paprika or red pepper on top, and add the olive oil. Eat with flat bread.

stir fry

2006-04-02T22:30:00.000-07:00

We were at the grocery store today and saw a bag of fresh veggies for stir-fry. It had napa cabbage, celery, brocolli, and snow peas. We decided to give it a try.

Normally, we buy a stir-fry sauce when making stir fry. Today I decided to branch out and make a sauce from a recipe on the net. Here is a delicous recipe that I found on familywok.com

Ingredients:
1 1/ 2 tsp. sesame oil
1/ 2 tsp. minced garlic
1/ 2 tsp. minced ginger
1/ 2 cup chicken broth
1 Tbs. soy sauce
1 Tbs. brown sugar
1/ 8 tsp. Tabasco
1/ 2 tsp. salt
1/ 4 tsp. pepper
1 1/ 2 tsp. lemon or lime juice
1 1/ 2 tsp.cornstarch
1 Tbs. rice wine or sherry

In addition to the bag o' veggies, we put in a half pound of sliced pork. Instead of following their directions, I mixed it all together in a salad dressing shaker and poured it in while cooking. This stuff is delicous! I didn't have any lemon juice, so I used the juice of half a blood orange instead. I also used a little more sesame oil and soy than what is listed in the recipe.

grandma richardson's mandarin pineapple cake

2006-04-02T19:48:00.000-07:00

My grandmother Richardson first shared this delicious cake with us and a few years ago my cousin Carly distributed the recipe to the rest of the family. It's such a simple recipe, but makes an incredibly good cake that won't last long. Not that it needs it, but I like to have it was a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

Cake
1 package vanilla cake mix
1/2 cup veggie oil
4 eggs
One 11 ounce can of mandarin oranges undrained
Beat all of the above on med. speed 3 min
9 by 13 pan bake 350 for 30 to 35 min
Cool cake

Topping
One 9 ounce of cool whip
One small box of vanilla instant pudding
20 ounce can of crushed pineapple undrained
Mix up
Top cake and refrigerate

why start a recipe blog?

2006-04-02T19:36:00.000-07:00

I have certain recipes that aren't on the internet and I don't have in a cookbook. I often search through the house to find hardcopy recipes or search my PC for soft copy recipes. But wouldn't it be nice to just google the recipes that I want and share them with others?

Welcome to "i pitty the fool that don't eat my recipes". Named in the same Peewee Herman theme as my personal blog, "the basement of the alamo".