Asian-inspired Meatballs

1/2 lb ground pork
1/2 cup minced, drained water chestnuts
1/3 cup finely chopped pine nuts
1 carrot, finely chopped
1/3 cup minced green onion
3 Tbs sherry
2 Tbs soya sauce
1 Tbs minced fresh ginger
1 large egg, beaten
1/2 tsp fresh-ground black pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup seasoned bread crumbs

In large bowl, mix until well combined. Form into 1-inch meat balls. Place on foil-covered tray and bake at 375 F for 50 minutes.

Serve with Asian noodles (recipe to follow) for a main-course dish, or with dipping sauce for an appetizer.

Dipping Sauce

Rhubarb - the pie fruit

I have access to a very bountiful rhubarb patch, which produces more than I can keep up with. I've been searching for something new to do with it, beyond muffins, cake topping, stewed rhubarb and, of course, rhubarb crisp. Luckily, I came across a great recipe the other day for a rhubarb custard pie. I modified the recipe slightly to suit my tastes and I was really pleased with the outcome. This has to be one of the tastiest desserts I've had in a long while, and I look forward to experimenting by substituting different fruits as the season progresses.

Rhubarb Custard Pie

1 pie shell

1 cup white sugar

¼ tsp salt
3 tbsp white flour
2 tsp vanilla

3 Tbsp cream

2 eggs, beaten

3 cups diced rhubarb (cut ½”)

Topping:

½ butter

½ cup all-purpose flour

½ cup packed brown sugar

½ cup quick-cooking oats

Preheat oven to 375°F. Prepare pie crust and line a 9 inch pie plate with pastry. Prick all over with fork.

In large bowl, combine sugar, salt, 3 tbs flour, cream, and vanilla. Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. Stir in rhubarb. Pour into the prepared pie plate.

In another large bowl, mix flour, brown sugar, and oats. Cut in butter until mixture looks like coarse sand. Spread evenly over top of pie filling.

Bake for 45- 50 minutes. Let cool and serve.

More muffins

Definitely on a muffin kick today. It's still cold and dreary, so I thought I'd make something really warming for supper. However, I wanted to keep it simple and light, so here's what I came up with. Tomato soup with cheddar cayenne muffins. The muffins have a nice little zip that gets your circulation going.

Cheddar Cayenne Muffins

2 cups flour
1 tbs baking power
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cayenne
1 large egg
1 cup milk
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs grainy dijon mustard
1 cup sharp cheddar (I like Sussex Old)

In a large bowl, combine the first four ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix together all the remaining ingredients except the cheese. Add the liquid mix to the dry mix and stir until combined. Stir in cheddar. Spoon into greased muffin tins. Bake at 375 F for 20 minutes. Let stand 5 minutes before transferring to rack to cool. (Actually, we ate them steaming hot with the soup and they were great!)

If Life Gives You a Lemon of a Day -- Make Lemon Cheesecake Muffins!

Every spring, our church choir holds a plant sale. The following week, the leftover plants join numerous other plants in our driveway for a follow-up plant sale to raise money for our kids' various environmental ventures. Usually, the day of the first sale is cold and wet. As the man of the house is a member of the choir, he's up at an unearthly hour setting up for the sale. I also have to wake up earlier than I would prefer to ferry child number 3 around. Today, being no exception to the rule, is wet, chilly, and overcast. I headed out early to see Miss C. off on her canoeing/camping trip, then went up to Kents' to purchase bedding flowers for our garden. Next, I came home to tackle the laundry and see to the dog. Back home in the warmth, I started to feel sorry for the workers at the plantsale and I figured some nice warm muffins would go over well. I sorted through the recipes and came up with this one - Lemon cheescake muffins. Added bonus, getting to use up some of the vodka-infused lemon zest leftover from my limoncello experiment.

Lemon Cheesecake Muffins

2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 cup butter
1 egg (large)
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1 tbs lemon zest (see note above)
250 g. cream cheese (1 block)
1/4 cup sour cream
1/4 cup sugar

In large bowl, combine first four ingredients. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Combine the next five ingredients and stir well. Add to dry mixture and stir until combined. Fill greased muffin tins.
Beat the remaining three ingredients well. Spoon a dollop on each muffin and spread slightly. Bake at 375 F for 20 min. Let stand in pans for 5 minutes before turning out on to racks to cool.

Makes 12 regular muffins or about 36 jewel-size muffins.

Friday is pizza night

When I first got married, a very nice lady I worked with (now passed on unfortunately) told me "Friday is pizza night". She meant, you've worked hard all week and put meals on the table every night, so Friday is the night you order or go out for pizza (or whatever turns your crank). I quickly learned, however, that hauling little kids to restaurants was to be avoided at all costs....and thus got out of the habit of dining out. We all love pizza, but I've always been partial to the artisanal style as opposed to the generic pizzaria style. Making my own seemed like a good option. Over the years, I've experimented with crusts, stuffed them with mozza at the kids' insistence, made my own pizza sauce, etc. Here's my favorite combination.

Dough:

1 c. very warm water

1/2 tsp salt

2 1/4 tsp yeast (1 pkg)

1 Tbs olive oil (plus more for greasing the bowl)

3+ cups flour
2 tsp grated parmesan
1 tsp oregano

Combine water, salt, yeast and oil in bowl. Stir in 1 cup flour and mix to loose dough. Add remaining flour, parmesan, and oregano. Stir to mix in or use electric beaters fitted with dough hooks. Turn onto lightly floured surface and knead until dough is smooth and elastic. Form into a ball and place in well-oiled bowl, turning dough to coat in oil. Cover loosely with plastic wrap and set in warm, draft-free area to rise for about 1 hour or until doubled in size.

Divide into 2 equal portions and roll out to desired thickness. (Makes two 12 in round pizzas or one 15 in square pizza.

Sauce:
1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

Warm water (enough to fill empty paste can)
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan or romano cheese
1 tsp minced garlic
2 Tbs honey
3/4 tsp onion powder
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried marjoram
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon dried red pepper flakes
1 tsp salt
Mix all the ingredients together in a small bowl and let stand at room temperature for about an hour before using. Enough to cover at least 2 pizzas. Leftover can be refrigerated and used later for chicken dishes or added to soup or pasta sauce.


Toppings:

Add whatever you like and top, or not, with cheese. I like red onion, broccoli, pineapple and pepperoni with lots of mozzarella and parmesan. Another favourite is red onions, thinly sliced pears and brie.

The Merry Month of May

Just back from a flying visit to Georgia, where I enjoyed sunny days, warm weather, mellifluous bird songs, and really great food. Inspired by the many delightful meals I had there and by a wonderful thrift store find, Cooking across the South, I'm now back to blogging about my culinary experiments. Yesterday had me whipping up a buttermilk banana bread that has great texture and taste. Today, I'm going for garlic baked chicken breasts on creamy egg noodles accompanied by roasted asparagus and sliced tomatoes. All will be served on my recent E-Bay purchase of vintage Melmac (Royalon Corsage pattern) - I got tired of chipped china and oversized plates. Melmac brings a touch of nostalgia to the dinner table and is appropriately sized to ensure that portions are moderate. Plus, it coordinates really well with my kitchen colors! My husband's not all that impressed ("It's like going camping everyday"), but eventually I hope he'll adapt.

Garlic Baked Chicken

2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 tsp each salt, pepper, oregano, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder

Preheat oven to 375 F. Spray oven-safe dish with oil. Combine spices in shallow dish and dredge the chicken breasts in the mixture. Place chicken breasts in oiled dish and sprinkle any remaining spices on top. Bake for 40 minutes, turning at the halfway point.

Creamy Noodles

1 pkg. (340 g) egg noodles
1 c. whipping cream
1/2 c. milk
2 tsp chopped fresh chives
1/2 tsp fresh ground pepper
2 tsp grated parmesan

Prepare noodles according to package directions. In small, heavy saucepan,  combine cream and milk. Bring to boil over medium heat, then simmer on low until reduced to thick, nutty sauce, whisking occasionally. Stir in chives, pepper and parmesan. Toss into drained noodles.

Roasted Asparagus

4-5 spears asparagus per person
Fresh grated gruyère
Sea salt
Olive oil

Place asparagus in lightly oiled pan. Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle sea salt lightly over top and grate cheese over all. Bake at 375 F for 20 minutes.

Salads to remember...

OK, just lost this whole post, so here goes again.

Great salad at Reagan National (who knew?): Romaine, blue cheese, walnuts, dried cranberries, pear halves, grilled sliced sweet potato, champagne dressing.

Pines of Florence: sliced fresh tomatoes, sliced fresh mozzarella (or bocconcioni), fresh basil leaves, balsamic vinaigrette (thick), followed by spinach manicotti, tiramisu, shiraz\

Cafe Kreticou: dolmados (stuffed grape leaves), fresh bread, olive oil mixed with basil and garlic, tzatziki, spanokopita, amazing baklava, merlot

Other salad: romaine, mandarins, dried cranberries, praline pecans, grilled chicken or shrimp, sesame thai dressing.