Between Thanksgiving and Christmas

Between Thanksgiving and Christmas we had a graduation party and there were several things worthy of posting. First, I have been on a thirty-year search for the Best Salmon Dip (Spread or Pate) and after sampling a lot I think I have found it. Second, my tried and true Chocolate Truffles recipe was a hit and it is included here.

It has been raining and so dark in Portland that I could only think of soup and the beets at the market looked good, so yesterday we had Ukrainian Beef Borscht and Ratatouile. And because I am in the eggplant mood I am including a great recipe for Caponata, also known as: And the Priest Fainted, a great dip or topping for brushetta.
The secret to the Borscht, Ratatouile and the Caponata is the oven roasting, it makes a huge difference in taste.


SALMON DIP

Ingredients:
8 oz cream cheese, softened
½ cup sour cream room temperature
1 TBS lemon juice
1 TBS dill
1 tsp horseradish
½ tsp salt (depending on how the salmon is cured)
¼ tsp pepper
¼ lb smoked salmon, shredded and bone checked
(Optional – 1 tsp minced red onion, 1 tsp minced capers)

Cream the cream cheese and sour cream with a hand blender or small food processor. Add ingredients one at a time and blend. Add the salmon last and blend until smooth. Serve with Fresh dill.

CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES

Ingredients:
12 oz semisweet chocolate (Trader Joe’s works well but any good chocolate will do)
½ cup + 2 TBS whipping cream
2 TBS liquor (brandy, Kalua, Amaretto, or very strong espresso)

¼ cup unsweetened cocoa
¼ cup powdered sugar

Instructions:
Melt the chocolate in double boiler. Boil cream in separate heavy pan for one minute and then cool for about 5 minutes. Blend the melted chocolate into the cream with a whisk until smooth. Add liquor. Cool over night (in the winter I cover the bowl of chocolate and put it in the garage or outside on cement) or until you are able to mold the chocolate into walnut size pieces or pieces the size of one or two bites. Drop onto waxed paper and continue cooling. Do not chill in refrigerator, as the chocolate will bloom. Mix the cocoa and sugar in a bowl and when the chocolate is hard enough, roll each in the cocoa mixture and set into mini paper or foil muffin cups.

BEEF BORSCHT
Makes about 3 quarts

Ingredients:
1/4 cup plus 2 + TBS extra-virgin olive oil, plus 2 more TBS
2 pounds beef – chuck cut into small cubes
Sea salt and freshly ground pepper
1 tsp oregano
2 bay leaves
1 tsp garlic powder
1 medium onion, diced
1/2 cup dry white wine
4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
1 tsp oregano
2 bay leaves
1 tsp garlic powder

5 garlic cloves, quartered
1 cup of small celery sticks
2 medium carrots or a small bag of processed mini carrots
2 pounds beets
1 medium onion, diced
1-2 medium tomatoes cut into ½ inch pieces

2 cups Napa cabbage finely julienned
1 cup kale finely julienned

½ cup stewed tomatoes
1 TBS fresh lemon juice
2 TBS red-wine vinegar
2 TBS balsamic vinegar
2 TBS chopped parsley

1+ TBS dried dill
sour cream

Directions:
Preheat oven to 350.
Heat 1/4 cup oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Dredge the meat in the herbs and brown. Add 1 onion, and reduce heat to medium. Cook, stirring, until softened, about 4 minutes. Add the wine and broth; simmer for 1 hour or until the meat is tender.
Meanwhile, cut up vegetables, toss with the oil and place in Pyrex baking dishes or heavy non-stick lipped baking sheets. Place in oven and cook for about an hour or until the vegetables start to soften but are not close to being mushy. Cool the vegetable until they are cool enough to handle. You can either process them in a food processor or shred them on a medium grater.

Strain stock through a sieve, and remove the meat.
Heat 2 tablespoons oil in a heavy soup pot over medium heat. Add all the vegetables including the raw cabbage and kale. Add the meat, the stewed tomatoes, lemon juice, vinegars. Parsley and 1 TBS dill. Cook until just heated. Add enough stock to make it the consistency of a chili or unthickened stew. Cook for 20 minutes.
Serve with sour cream and fresh or dried dill.
To make it really special and meaty, add 1 cup fried bacon cut into small strips.


RATATOILLE
Makes about 2 quarts

Ingredients:
1 can (28 ounces) whole peeled tomatoes, drained( saving the juice) and cut into ¾ inch pieces or what I just did 2 fresh tomatoes, cubed, ¼ cup sun dried tomatoes, and 1/2 can stewed tomatoes
5 cloves garlic, quartered
6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large eggplant (1 pound), peeled and cut into 1-inch pieces
2 large yellow onions, diced large
2 red bell peppers, seeded and diced large
2 large zucchini, diced large
8 oz button mushrooms, quartered
Sea salt and ground pepper
1 bay leaf
1 TBS oregano
2 TBS red-wine vinegar
1 TBS balsamic vinegar

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Place tomatoes and garlic on a rimmed non-stick baking sheet or in Pyrex baking dishes. Drizzle with 2 tablespoons oil and bake until thickened, 30 minutes, stirring regularly.

Meanwhile, toss the cut up eggplant, onions, bell peppers, zucchini, and mushrooms in remaining olive oil and cook for an hour or until the vegetables are softening, browning around the edges but not mushy. Add the cooked tomatoes and vegetable to a large heavy bottomed stock pan. Add saved tomato juice and spices and vinegars and cook for about 15-20 minutes until flavors blend but the vegetables do not fall apart. Correct seasoning to taste and remove bay leaf before serving.


CAPONATA

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/2-3/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
1 red bell pepper, seeded and diced
1 zucchini, diced
1 large sweet onion, peeled and chopped
2 ribs celery, chopped fine
1 medium firm eggplant, peeled and diced

1/2 cup large green olives, pitted and sliced
1/2 cup black kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
1 3-ounce jar capers, drained
1/2 cup golden raisins (a couple of handfuls)
Salt
1 32-ounce can diced tomatoes
2 T tomato paste

1 T balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted

1/4 cup flat-leaf parsley, chopped (a handful)

Preparation:
This recipe also benefits from roasting the raw vegetables in oil in a 350 oven for an hour and then adding them to a heavy bottom pot and cooking them with the remaining ingredients but you can follow the more traditional frying method, it is just a flatter, less sweet taste, still good.

Place cutting board near the stovetop. Preheat a deep pot over medium heat. Add oil, garlic and crushed pepper. As you chop vegetables (peppers, onion, celery and eggplant), add them to the pot. Once vegetables are all in, increase heat a bit.

Stir in olives, capers and raisins. Add tomatoes and paste and stir well to combine. Cover pot and cook caponata 15-20 minutes, until vegetables are tender. Correct seasoning with salt. Stir in vinegar, parsley and pine nuts and remove pan from heat.

Gluten Free Thanksgiving Dinner

Gluten Free Thanksgiving Dinner

Cooking Thanksgiving with friends is the best, but this year I did it on my own and with the help of cds by Pink Martini I had a ball. Only a very crazy person would make all of this (I speak from recent experience) but I have just created and cooked all of the recipes and can vouch for them if you are willing to take on any one.

We had:

Scottish Oat Crackers, Mascarpone and Chutney

Trader Joe’s Sparkling Apple Cider

Brined, Butterflied Roast Turkey with a Cranberry Glaze.

Wild Rice and Cornbread Dressing

Arugula Salad with Marinated Root Vegetables

Mashed Potatoes with Garlic

Gravy with Potato Starch

Cranberry Sauce with Pomegranate and Orange Juices

Green Beans with Bacon and Balsamic

Pumpkin Pie with Cognac

Raspberry Pie with Lime Curd and Mascarpone Cream

So here it goes:

VERY EASY APPETIZERS

1 box Nairn’s or other Scottish Oat Crackers

1 container of mascarpone

1 jar Mango Ginger Chutney (we used Trader Joe’s brand)

Each cracker, spread with mascarpone, add a small dollop of chutney, plate.

THE TURKEY PROCESS

15 lb kosher turkey butterflied and brined. (see below) I brined the turkey whole and butterflied it afterwards, before roasting. My one mistake was to not rinse the brine off more thoroughly because leaving it on made the bed of stuffing saltier than I would have liked but it was still very good.

TURKEY BRINE MIXTURE

1 cup very coarse sea salt

¼ c sugar

½ cup dried cranberries

½ cup chopped dried apple

The peel of one orange, cubed

3 cloves of garlic, chopped coarsely

1 TBS dried thyme

1 TBS dried rosemary

1 TBS dried sage

1 TBS black peppercorns

Boil 1 qt of water, add the brining mixture and stir until dissolved. Cool and add another qt of water and pour into a thick plastic bag (I double bagged this to insure no leaks but I also left the bagged turkey overnight in an ice chest). Add the turkey and another qt and a half (6 cups) of ice cubes to the bag. I let the turkey brine for 24 hours, that is all the time I had. 48 hours is recommended but I was totally satisfied with the moisture content and tenderness of the turkey after 24 hours so I am not sure how much better a result 48 hours of brining would have produced.

After 24 hours and just before roasting, rinse the turkey in very cold water and pat dry with towels. I strained the contents of the brining bag to save the chunky ingredients and of that, set aside about ½ cup to make the glaze.

BUTTERFLYING THE TURKEY

To butterfly the turkey, simply get a pair of strong cooking shears and cut along the backbone, on both sides.  It is not nearly as hard as the YouTube videos make it and you do not need a guy to help you ladies. You may need a large, strong knife to hack through some of the bones stouter than the ribs but it is not a big deal to take the backbone out of a 15lb bird. Larger than this you may need help but butterflying is worth it. It took less time to cook and the drumsticks were not dry at all (one of my biggest complaints about cooking turkey.

TURKEY BROTH

All the parts you have left from the turkey: neck, backbone, etc.

Cover the turkey bits with cold water and bring to a boil along with:

1 onion, very coarsely cut

2 stalks celery, very coarsely cut

1 carrot, very coarsely cut

2 cloves of garlic, smashed

1 tsp salt

Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer and cover and cook 1-2 hours until the meat is falling off the bones. Cool and strain in a colander. Discard the bones after removing the meat and reserve the vegetables. Place the meat and veggies in a bowl with enough of the saved liquid to cover and blend with an immersion blender or place in a blender or food processor and process until very smooth. Cover and set aside in the refrigerator.

THE CRANBERRY GLAZE

½ cup cranberry sauce

½ cup melted butter

¼ cup olive oil

½ cup brining spices

Combine in a bowl and either blend with an immersion blender or in a processor until smooth. Put blended mixture through a strainer and set aside to baste on turkey later.

CRANBERRY SAUCE WITH POMEGRANATE AND ORANGE JUICES

1 bag (12 ounces) fresh or frozen cranberries

1/2 cup pomegranate juice

½ cup orange juice

¼ cup packed brown sugar

¼ cup white sugar

½ tsp cinnamon

pinch of salt

1 TBS Grand Marnier liquor

1/2 cup pomegranate seeds

Cook all the ingredients above except the pomegranate seeds in a medium heavy bottomed saucepan over medium high heat until the mixture comes to a boil. Reduce to a simmer and cook for about ten minutes until the cranberries burst and the mixture thickens. Set aside to cool.

WILD RICE AND CORNBREAD DRESSING

The day (or early morning) before:

1 qt chicken broth

1 cup raw wild rice

1 tsp salt

Bring the broth and salt to a boil, add the wild rice, return to a boil and reduce to a simmer. Cover and cook for 45 minutes or until the rice is done but still a bit toothy (or not falling apart tender.) Set aside for assembly.

Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free Cornbread Mix

I followed the directions on the package, except that I used buttermilk instead of plain milk. I baked the mix in a buttered Pyrex baking pan and when it was cooled I cut the entire pan into three large strips, removed them from the pan and carefully, with a serrated bread knife, cut each slice horizontally in three slices and then cubed each slice so that I had left only cubes about ¾ inch square. I then toasted these on cookie sheets in a 350 degree oven until they were crispy, turning the cubes several times to release the moisture. I cooled these and put them in a plastic bag until I was ready to assemble the dressing.

The day you roast the turkey:

WILD RICE AND CORNBREAD DRESSING (CONT'D)

2 large onions, diced

½ bunch of celery, diced

1 carrot, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

½ lb mushrooms, diced

1 apple, diced

2 TBS olive oil

2 TBS butter

1 TBS dried sage

1 TBS thyme

salt and pepper to taste

Melt the butter and olive together in a very large frying pan. Add the onions, celery, carrots, apples and mushrooms and sauté until just barley done. Add the herbs and set aside.

1 pound bulk turkey or pork sausage (gently pre-fried in olive oil in walnut size chunks until just barely done)

1 cup coarsely chopped baked chestnuts (from the shell is best, purchased already processed are good but they do tend to get lost once cooked, fresh chestnuts will retain their integrity better when cooked under the bird)

To a large bowl add the wild rice, cornbread cubes, fried vegetables and herbs, cooked sausage, and chestnuts. Add just enough of the prepared turkey broth to barley moisten.

To a large, buttered, at least 12x15 inch, heavy roasting pan add the Dressing Mixture in a layer on the bottom. Place the butterflied rinsed and dried turkey on top. Brush with olive oil. Preheat oven to 425. Cook the bird for 30 minutes and then reduce the temperature to 325 and cook for another 1-2 hours or until the internal temperature is 170 degrees. Remove from oven and let the bird rest on the dressing for 45 minutes until removing and carving.

MASHED POTATOES WITH GARLIC

1 ½ lbs medium red potatoes, unpeeled, cubed

3 cloves garlic, smashed

1 tsp salt

2 TBS butter

¼ cup warmed milk

salt and pepper to taste

Boil about 2 qts of water in a medium saucepan and add the potatoes and salt, return to a boil, add the garlic and then reduce to a simmer and cook for about 10 minutes or until the potato cubes are tender. Drain the cooked potatoes in a sieve. Return the potatoes to the warm pan, add 2 TBS butter and enough of the ¼ cup warm milk to make the mashed potatoes the texture you want. Blend with an immersion blender or hand potato masher. Add salt and pepper.

GREEN BEANS WITH BACON AND BALSAMIC

1 pound of small green beans or haricot verde

5 strips of fried or oven roasted bacon cut into small strips

1 TBS extra virgin olive oil

½ TBS good balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper

Steam the beans until just done. In a bowl toss the beans with the bacon and oil and vinegar. Adjust to taste (may need to add more vinegar.) Add salt and pepper if needed.

TURKEY GRAVY

3 cups turkey broth from above

1 Tbs melted butter

1 TBS olive oil

2-3 TBS potato flour

salt and pepper to taste

Bring the turkey broth to a boil, reduce to simmer.  Remove ½ cup to allow to cool. To the melted butter in a small bowl add the olive oil. Gradually stir in the potato starch. As the mixture thickens add some of the cooling broth. Stir in the lump less potato starch mix to the simmering broth with a whisk and whisk until smooth.

ARUGULA SALAD WITH MARINATED ROOT VEGETABLES

3 cups of arugula

1 cup of spinach

3 scallions, sliced

½ cup cherry or grape tomatoes, sliced

1 golden beet, sliced

1 red beet, sliced

½ cup tiny carrots, sliced as thick as the beets but on the diagonal

Dressing:

6 TBS olive oil

3 TBS balsamic vinegar

salt and pepper

½ tsp thyme

½ tsp oregano

1 clove garlic minced or pressed

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp Dijon type mustard

Steam the beets and carrots until just tender. While still warm marinate for several hours in the dressing ingredients. Drain. Assemble the salad with the arugula and spinach, tomatoes, scallions, the drained root vegetables and then add enough of the remaining dressing/marinade to lightly cover.

PUMPKIN PIE WITH COGNAC

One premade 9 inch frozen gluten free single piecrust

1 15 oz can of pumpkin

1 tsp ground cinnamon

½ tsp fresh grated nutmeg

½ tsp ground ginger

¼ tsp ground cloves

½ tsp salt

1 ½ cup heavy cream

¼ cup white sugar

½ cup plus 2 TBS brown sugar

1 TBS molasses

2 TBS cognac

2 eggs plus 4 eggs yolks, lightly beaten together

1 tsp vanilla

Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl and beat with a whisk or an electric mixer until smooth. Pour into the raw piecrust. Bake at 425 for 15 minutes, reduce the heat to 350 and cook for another 35- 45 minutes or until the pumpkin custard is set. Cool and serve with slightly sweetened whip cream.

RASPBERRY PIE WITH LIME CURD AND MASCARPONE CREAM

Ingredients:

Raspberry layer:

20 oz frozen raspberries

12 oz (2 cartons) fresh raspberries

1 cup juice (may need water to make full cup)

3 1/2 TBS corn starch

1/3 cup sugar + 2 TBS

½ tsp salt

1 tsp lime or lemon juice

4 egg yolks

2 drops almond extract

1 TBS butter

Defrost the frozen raspberries and place in a large sieve over a bowl to drain and save juice. When thoroughly thawed crush the berries with the back of a spoon to the sieve and collect more juice. Carefully wash and rain the fresh raspberries keeping them in tact.  If you do not have 1 cup of juice add water to make the amount. To a medium heavy bottomed saucepan add the cornstarch and sugar and salt. Gradually add the raspberry juice and stir to eliminate lumps. Add the saved raspberry pulp and seeds and lemon/lime juice and cook over medium high heat stirring constantly while the mixture thickens. Remove from heat. Add a few TBS of mixture to the beaten egg yolks in a separate bowl, stir well and then add tempered mix to the saucepan. Cook over medium heat for two minutes. Remove from heat and add the almond extract and butter. Chill.

Mascarpone Cream Layer:

1 cup heavy cream

1/3 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 cup mascarpone cheese

Whip the cream with the powdered sugar and vanilla. In a separate bowl whip the mascarpone. Fold the two creams together and chill.

Lime Curd Layer:

2 cups lime curd (jarred or if you want to make it recipe follows)

Homemade Line Curd

Makes about 4 cups

3/4 cup water

1 1/2 cups lime juice

6 tablespoons butter, divided in half

3 cups sugar, divided

6 extra-large eggs

4 extra-large egg yolks

In a large, non-reactive saucepan over medium-high heat, combine water, limejuice, half the butter and half the sugar. Bring to a boil and let simmer until sugar completely dissolves. In a large bowl, combine eggs, yolks and remaining sugar. Whisk to combine. Temper the egg mixture by adding a small amount of the warm mix and combine the two mixtures in pot. Over medium heat, stir constantly until thickened to curd consistency, scraping the bottom and sides of pot so eggs do not overcook. Have a mesh strainer set up over a bowl within a bowl ice bath and force curd through strainer into bowl. Add remaining butter to curd, whisking until butter is fully incorporated. Store the Lime Curd in the refrigerator with vented plastic film touching the curd so a skin does not form and chill well.

Pie Crust

One 9 inch prebaked, cooled gluten free pie crust

Raspberry Jam Glaze

1 cup of raspberry jam

1-2 TBS Karo syrup

Heat the raspberry jam in a small saucepan. Pour the warm, melted liquid jam through a small mesh sieve to remove all the seeds. Add 1-2 TBS syrup to mixture. Cool.

Assembly:

To the cooled piecrust add the 2 cups lime curd to the bottom layer, smooth. Gently pour the mascarpone cream to the second layer and smooth. Gently add the raspberry custard to the third layer. Place the clean, dry fresh raspberries on the third layer in concentric circles to fill the top.

To gild the lily. When you have the pie assembled and the fresh raspberries in place spoon the raspberry glaze over each raspberry to coat. Chill. It is stunning!

A Recipe From a Great Natural Cook

One of the best, most creative, adventuresome and enthusiastic cooks I know is my friend Tina. We have shared many meals and also share the willingness to try almost anything but have especially bonded over Kabul's Afghani Restaurant food in Sunnyvale. On my most recent visit to Tina she fixed me a "road dish" (food she lovingly prepares to see me from California to Oregon but is almost always consumed long before the border.) I recommend this so highly. The various flavors explode in your mouth and you can chose the proportions of the various ingredients. Tina made her own plum sauce, which was delicious, and dried her own mushrooms which were semisoft. This dish is a jumping off point for your own creative additions but it is worth your while to try it in its original form. It was a wonderful surprise for me as I sat at a rest stop with all the little piles of ingredients, the final product was unexpected and became an instant classic. This would make a great and fun company starter.

TINA’S LETTUCE WRAP

INGREDIENTS:

Butter lettuce – the smaller center leaves

Chop finely and kept in separate containers or piles:

Ginger - after peeling the "meat" only

Jalapeno - as hot or mild as you like it

Shallot

Lime - the pulp center not peel

Cilantro

Toasted coconut (unsweetened, natural is best)

Salted peanuts

Savory mushroom

Or

Dried shrimp

Chinese plum sauce

DIRECTIONS:

Pile the chopped ingredients on the leaf, top with plum sauce, wrap and gobble down!

It's been since February...

Truthfully, I got discouraged. This blog has been an act of faith and I went into it never having looked at another blog. Blogs really need some kind of feedback and I was only getting feed back from my daughters. When I actually looked at other cooking blogs I realized that I am missing the visual element. I do not have a professional camera or macro lens but food photographs seems like an obvious inclusion into a cooking blog. I will try. I would appreciate it if anyone is actually looking at this site or, heaven forbid, cooking any of the recipes, that they post a quick note to: foraminifera@msn.com to let me know that there is a someone out there.

I sent a recipe for Gluten Free Pineapple Upside Down Cake to my friend Carole who loved the dessert from this summer at camp. I just made it today with a gf cake mix and it turned out so good that I would eat it even if gluten wasn't an issue in our home. I am also including a recipe we cooked this summer: Graham Cracker Bars. They are rich, brownie like cookies that my Grandmother Short made every Christmas for my entire childhood. I found the recipe in my mother's handwriting that I had tried many times, each time a failure and finally I pictured my grandma making the bars and I realized that mother had left out some critical steps and doubled the amount of sugar. After correcting the recipe I made it for the kitchen crew this summer and it was a hit.

GF Pineapple Upside Down Cake

INGREDIENTS:
Hodgson Mills GF Yellow Cake Mix or any other brand
1 cup butter (2 cubes) room temperature
2 large eggs (room temperature)
1 20 oz can of pineapple chunks in pineapple juice, drained, save the juice separately
1 cup liquid = 1/2 cup sour cream or Greek Yogurt + 1/2 cup reserved pineapple juice + 1 TBS lemon juice
1 TBS vanilla
1/2 cup brown sugar + 2 additional tablespoons

Preheat oven to 350. If available, use a 15x10 non stick rimmed cookie sheet (like a jelly roll pan) or a similar sized pyrex baking dish but if using glass you need to grease the sides first with butter. In a mixing bowl by hand cream 1/2 cup or 1 cube butter, add the cake mix and blend throughly. Add the eggs and vanilla and mix. Add the liquid mixture, the remaining pineapple juice and 2 tablespoons of brown sugar. The batter will be thick. In a separate bowl melt the remaining cube of butter with the 1/2 cup brown sugar. To the pan add the drained pineapple cubes, then pour the butter/sugar mixture around the pineapple on the bottom of the pan. Pour the cake batter over the pineapple and brown sugar making sure that all the pineapple is covered. Bake in oven for 15 minutes or until the cake done. The top will not get too dark but the sides will get golden. This is a very moist and rich cake, not too thick made this way. If you want to make it in smaller pans you need to increase the cooking time.

GRAHAM CRACKER BARS

INGREDIENTS:
4 eggs, separated, room temperature
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla
¼ teaspoon salt
32 (2 cups) finely crushed graham crackers (you can use either traditional graham crackers or S'moreables Graham Style Crackers by Kinnikinick but these are pretty much only crushable with a blender)
1 cup walnuts, chopped

DIRECTIONS:
Beat the 4 egg yolks with the brown sugar until the mixture is thick. In a separate bowl whip the egg whites until frothy and then gradually add the white sugar until the mixture forms soft peaks. Mix the two egg mixtures and with the graham cracker crumbs and then add the vanilla, salt and walnuts. Try not to over mix since there is no leavening except the eggs and you will get flatter bars if you mix too much. Pour the batter into a greased and floured 8 inch square pan. Bake in a pre-heated 350 oven for 25-30 minutes or until a pick poked into the center comes out clean. Allow to cool in the pan. Cut into 1½ inch squares and serve with a dusting of powdered sugar.

Everyone swears there is butter in the recipe but there really isn’t any.
.
If you want the Bearskin S’Mores variation, add to the “immediately out of the oven” top of the bars:
1 cup miniature marshmallows and ¾ cup semisweet chocolate chips
Return to the oven for just a few minutes or until the marshmallows and chips begin to melt. Remove from oven and gently stir the topping. Allow to cool and dig in. Warning: this version is super sweet.

My thoughts have turned to the garden

Cooking has been left aside while the sun shines in the Northwest but I did manage to cook a couple of "publishers" as Alison calls the "Ready for Prime Time" recipes


I have been making this salad for over 30 years, with some modifications. It was one of the backbones of my catering business in Seattle in the 80’s. Even people who turned up their noses at pasta salads loved this version. I just saw it ‘discovered’ by Cook’s Illustrated this month. It is nice to know that they love their recipe as much as my family loves ours. You can try this word for word or customize it to your family’s definition of what has to be in antipasto. The recipe below is the smallest quantity I have ever made and it feels strange not to be feeding masses with it but this serves 4-6 easily.

PESTO ANTIPASTO PASTA SALAD

INGREDIENTS:
12 ounce package of gluten free pasta (penne, elbow, etc.) (We just made this yesterday with Bionature gluten free which is a combination of rice, potato and soy flours and it holds it shape well)
1 tablespoon salt
6 ounces (10 to 12) 1 – 1 ½ inch mushrooms, quartered
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons of prepared pesto sauce
2-3 ounces sliced salami (or cubed in ¼ inch pieces if you have a whole tube)
6 ounces mozzarella, provolone or jack (can be sliced or cubed in ¼ inch pieces)
8 ounces sugar plum or cherry tomatoes, halved
½ cup kalamata olives, pitted and halved
¼ cup capers
¼ cup diced red bell pepper
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion (green, shallots or any kind of mild onion)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
salt
Optional:
1 small jar diced artichoke hearts and/or
¼ cup sliced cornichons and/or
¼ cup chopped pepperocini or mild pickled pepper (packed by Peter Piper) and/or
¼ cup chopped fresh basil when in season

INSTRUCTIONS:
Bring 3 quarts of water to a boil with 1 tablespoon salt in a large pot. Pour in the dried pasta, stir well and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a strong simmer and cook according to the package directions until the pasta is al dente. While the pasta is cooking heat in a medium frying pan over medium heat I tablespoon olive oil, 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar and 2 tablespoons pesto. Add the quartered mushrooms and fry for about 5 minutes, gently until the mushrooms are done. Set aside. When the pasta is ready drain it and transfer it to a large bowl, do not rinse in cold water. Add the cooked mushrooms and cooking juices and toss until coated. Place it in the refrigerator (or if you live in the Northwest just put it in your garage for a half an hour) to cool. While it is cooling place the salami slices on a paper towel on a microwave safe plate, cover with another layer of paper towel. Microwave the salami for 45 seconds to remove some of the fat before it goes into the salad. This process does not affect the flavor. Slice the salami into strips and set it aside to cool. When the pasta has cooled add another 1 tablespoon olive oil and 1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar and then all the prepared ingredients and toss well. Adjust the salt to taste. Because pastas vary in how much liquid they can absorb, taste the pasta and if it is too dry add more olive oil and vinegar or if you like a stronger pesto flavor you can add more pesto but make sure you melt it a bit (20 seconds in the microwave) to insure that it will coat the cool pasta.

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Last year this became a favorite at camp. We had both gluten free and wheat based Chexs in our Bearskin pantry and in desperation for a new snack made this for the people with gluten issues. It was such a success that the rest of camp began pilfering the gluten free leftovers and we decided to make it for the parents for a Coffee Talk treat. It was a surprise hit. Many of the parents had never had it before and more moms asked for this recipe than any other (except for cheesecake) dessert. So here it is. The actual recipe is on the back of some, but not all, Chex boxes. It along with other gluten free recipes can be accessed at http://www.chex.com/Recipes/GlutenFree.aspx I have put a modified-for-size version first because it is so good we really don’t want 9 cups of the sweet stuff in the house so we halve the box recipe but I have put the full recipe amounts in parenthesis. (Just to let you know a ½ cup serving is 2 carbs and 210 calories so it really is an occasional snack.) Of course, for camp we make it 3-5 boxes at a time.

Muddy Buddies or Puppy Chow

4½ cups corn or rice chex cereal (9 cups)
¼ cup butter (1/2 cup)
¼ cup peanut butter (1/2 cup)
½ cup semi sweet chocolate chips (1 cup)
½ teaspoon vanilla extract (1 teaspoon)
¾ cup powdered sugar (1 ½ cups)
1 gallon plastic bag (2 gallon bag)

In the microwave melt the butter, peanut butter and chocolate chips together in a microwave safe container for 30 seconds to a minute or until al the ingredients are melted. Add the vanilla and stir. Pour the chex into a large bowl and quickly pour the melted ingredients over them. Stir carefully with a wooden spoon or spatula so that the individual chex are coated but not broken. Scrape the mixture into a gallon plastic bag and add the powdered sugar. Close the bag and gently shake until all the chex are evenly powdered with the sugar. You can cool the treats on a parchment or waxed paper coated cookie sheet, this also helps to separate the chex that are melted together. Store whatever remains in the bag. It does stay good in the bag for a while. We only found this out because the bag got lost in the pantry. Usually it does not make the one-day-leftover mark.

Alison says this one is a "keeper"

This meal happened because our local market had pork loin for $1.99/pound and because I wanted Alison to experience a sauce/gravy that is easy, elegant and requires zero flour. It cooked while I walked the dog and after dinner Alison voted enthusiastically for it to be included in this posting. She also wanted me to include a wine tip (very rare for us) - Trimbach Pinot Blanc goes really well with this meal.

There are no herbs or spices in this recipe but it depends instead on the richness of the brandy and the meat juices along with the sweetness of the apples and prunes to develop a delicious sauce. It goes really well with potatoes and below is a simple and pretty way of serving small potatoes called Hasselback. If you have never done Hasselback potatoes they are very rewarding and not that much work compared to the ‘Ooooh’ factor you experience when you serve them. The other nice thing is that you can easily coordinate the cooking of the potatoes with the pork roast. One more thing, this is a recipe, slightly modified, that my cooking guru Janie served me years ago. Janie's talent and kindness just keep going.

PORK ROAST WITH APPLES AND PRUNES

INGREDIENTS:
12 medium pitted prunes
2 tablespoons brandy (or one tiny airline bottle)
3-5 pound pork loin roast
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons canola oil
½ cup white wine
½ cup heavy cream
1 tart apple, peeled, cored and cut into ¼ inch slices
1 teaspoon lemon juice
salt
pepper
1 tablespoon dried onions
1 tablespoon red current or other red jelly (e.g. Pomegranate)

INSTRUCTIONS:
Preheat oven to 350. In a small saucepan pour the brandy over the prunes. Bring to a boil. Set aside while you prepare the meat. Melt the butter with the oil in a Dutch oven or roasting pan with a lid. Brown the roast on all sides (about 5-8 minutes.) Remove the browned roast to a plate while you prepare the sauce in the browning pan. To the hot oil add the wine and bring to a boil. Add the cream and bring to a boil again. Add the apple, prunes and brandy, lemon juice, salt and pepper and dried onions and let simmer gently for about 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Return the roast to the pan, cover with a little of the sauce, cover the pan with the lid and put in the oven for 30 minutes (the internal temperature should reach about 130.) Remove the roast and transfer it to a lightly oiled Pyrex roasting pan and return to the oven uncovered. Cover the roasting juices and sauce in the Dutch oven and return that to the oven. Cook until the roast reaches an internal temperature of 170 + (about another 30 - 45 minutes depending on the weight of the roast.) When done set the roast aside to rest before carving. Return the Dutch oven to the stovetop. Bring the sauce to a simmer and add the red jelly. Stir with a whisk, gently blending and breaking up the prunes and apples. Adjust the salt to taste. Slice the roast and serve the meat and Hasselback potatoes with the sauce.

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HASSELBACK POTATOES

4-8 small potatoes, thin skin variety like red or Yukon gold, about 3 inches long by 1-1½ inches thick
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon salt
pepper
1 tablespoon parsley, finely chopped (optional)

Wash and dry the potatoes. The classic way to slice the potatoes is by placing them one at a time in a large, deep wooden or metal spoon. You slice across the potato in the short dimension with slices about 1/8 inch apart, cutting into the potato but not through, so that the potato is still connected at its bottom. By using a spoon you can keep the depth consistent. I do not have a deep enough spoon so I have learned to eye ball it and if you cut carefully this works well too. At the end you will have these lovely little tight fan-like potatoes. Melt the butter and olive oil in a Pyrex baking pan. Place the cut potatoes carefully in the oil and roll each one once to cover. Sprinkle the garlic powder, salt and pepper over the potatoes and cover the pan tightly with aluminum foil and place in the same 350 oven. After 30 minutes remove the foil and return to the oven to bake and slightly brown. Check in another 30 minutes to verify that the potatoes are done. (You can see that if you put the potatoes in the oven at the same time as the roast you can coordinate the potato/roast checking nicely.) Remove from the oven and sprinkle with parsley. Serve with the sauce from the pork roast.

THIS IS THE INDEX FOR 'RECIPES FOR BEARSKIN AND MORE'

I just realized that I do not have an organized way to find recipes. My first entry was "I am not a blogger" and I really mean that. So until I find a better way I am going to continue to add entries to this posting - so keep on looking here if you are looking for a recipe. I will list the Posting title, the date and the recipe name, Clear? My father would have said: "As mud!"

I am not a blogger   Dec 12, 2010
1 APPLE-CRANBERRY CRUMBLE
2 CHILI LIGHT
More recipes, less gluten   Dec 13, 2010
3 NUT FLOUR CAKE WITH CHOCOLATE FROSTING
4 POT DE CRÈME
Then there is always Christmas turkey leftovers…   Dec 24, 2010
5 CREAM OF TURKEY AND WILD RICE SOUP
6 KADU (AFGHANI SQUASH DISH)
7 KADU (AFGHANI SQUASH DISH) VEGETARIAN
Post Christmas, Pre New Years cooking   Dec 27, 2010
8 CHEESE AND BACON QUICHE
9 STUFFED GRAPE LEAVES
Happy Safe New Years   Dec 31, 2010
10 THIRTY MINUTE GREAT BEEF STEW FROM POT ROAST
11 NANTUCKET CRANBERRY CAKE
Small List of Ingredients, Big Tastes   Jan 6, 2011
12 PEPPERS, SAUSAGE AND PASTA
13 CHOCOLATE COCONUT MACAROONS
Vegetarians are gluten free too!   Jan 9, 2011
14 SESAME TOFU DIP AND DRESSING
15 ZUCCHINI SOUFFLE QUICHE
16 QUINOA TABBOULEH
Its mid January, cold, dark, rain, snow, sleet and its time for soup   Jan 12, 2011
17 CREAM OF TOMATO BISQUE SOUP
18 GREEK LEMON SOUP
19 ARTICHOKE CREAM SOUP
Been away, but am back   Feb 5, 2011
20 TOASTED GRANOLA
21 UZBEKISTAN PILAF RICE
Alison says this one is a "keeper"   Feb 7, 2011
22 PORK ROAST WITH APPLES AND PRUNES
23 HASSELBACK POTATOES
My thoughts have turned to the garden   Feb 19, 2011

24 PESTO ANTIPASTO PASTA SALAD

25 MUDDY BUDDIES OR PUPPY CHOW

It's been since February...   Aug 27, 2011

26 GF PINEAPPLE UPSIDE DOWN CAKE

27 GRAHAM CRACKER BARS
A Recipe From a Great Natural Cook   Mar 10, 2012
28 TINA’S LETTUCE WRAP
An Eleven Course Thanksgiving Dinner all GF Nov 23, 2012
29 VERY EASY APPETIZERS
30 TURKEY BRINE MIXTURE
31 TURKEY BROTH
32 CRANBERRY GLAZE
33 CRANBERRY SAUCE WITH POMEGRANATE AND ORANGE JUICES
34 WILD RICE AND CORNBREAD DRESSING
35 MASHED POTATOES WITH GARLIC
36 GREEN BEANS WITH BACON AND BALSAMIC
37 TURKEY GRAVY
38 ARUGULA SALAD WITH MARINATED ROOT VEGETABLES
39 PUMPKIN PIE WITH COGNAC
40 RASPBERRY PIE WITH LIME CURD AND MASCARPONE CREAM
41 LIME CURD
42 SALMON DIP
43 CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES
44 UKRAINIAN BEEF BORSCHT
45 RATATOUILLE
46 CAPONATA