Cooking on a campout is always fun, and challenging. But, we are not your normal weenie and beans type folk. So, we do some big, group camp outs several times a year. Which require a pot luck. I wanted to do something with wild rice, and we did have access to electricity, so I had a crockpot. And a small grill. But any significant cooking or prep time would mean I would waste my entire day prepping my dish.
So, before I left the house, I had diced 2 onions, three large cloves of garlic, 3 large celery ribs, and 3 carrots. I packed one 4 cup container of chicken broth, 2 cans of cream of chicken soup and 2 cans of chicken breast. I could have brought some raw chicken breasts also, but this was what we had on hand. And a couple cans of water chestnuts.I had some Minnesota wild rice we picked up on our trip to pick up the bees earlier this spring, and some fresh tarragon out of the garden. We had also brought along fixings for other camping meals, so if I thought I needed to supplement, I had some other options.
I decided I wanted bacon, so I browned up some bacon in a pan, removed it and then sauteed the veggies in the grease, which worked perfectly. Then, I precooked the wild rice (about 1.5 cups) in the chicken broth and 1.5 cups of water. It was on for about 20 minutes, just started to burst open, then I put it in the crockpot on low, added the chicken soup, water chestnuts and tarragon, and some salt and pepper.
Then, on a wild hare, I decided I needed something else, and I added the remaining Italian sausage left over from breakfast. Let it sit all day on low in the crockpot, and it was divine ! I was almost worried we wouldn't have any leftovers, which I very much appreciate ! It's even better the next day !
Hoping to get some extra apple butter made this week, then canning this weekend. Green Salsa, tomatoes, sauce and salsa. Who knows what else. Craft Brew week,and hopefully a trip to Travail for some inspiration !
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Thursday, September 1, 2011
Crockpot Apple Butter
We have this very nasty crab apple tree in our backyard. And by nasty, I mean the apples are inedible. We attempted to make apple jelly with them a couple of years ago, but they apparently lacked pectin, so we ended up with some tasty apple syrup.
After some research online, I decided to try again and make apple butter. This experiment made something that is quite nice ! I loaded a small crockpot with apples that had been quartered and cores removed. I didn't want to peel them at this stage, because they are so small, I was sure I could deal with it after they were cooked. I layered them with brown sugar, cinnamon and thinly sliced ginger root. I was very careful not to add too much sugar, because I don't care for jams and jellies that are too sweet.
I added just a sprinkle of nutmeg and cloves, and about 2 tablespoons of vanilla. I apologize for the lack of measurements, but it will depend on the volume of apples you have, the amount of sugar in the apples, and your personal preference.
I left the mixture in overnight in the crockpot, and the smell was WONDERFUL in the morning. I turned off the heat, and let them cool enough to put through the food mill, so we could get the peels out of the mixture.
Ray was the master of the mill! I put the mixture in a saucepan, adjusted the seasoning (which was just a little extra cinnamon and sugar), and cooked it down some more. You could put it back in the crock pot at this point and let it go as well.
I canned these, so we could share our wonderful discovery. We ended up with four half-pint jars. The taste reminded me a bit of Thanksgiving !
After some research online, I decided to try again and make apple butter. This experiment made something that is quite nice ! I loaded a small crockpot with apples that had been quartered and cores removed. I didn't want to peel them at this stage, because they are so small, I was sure I could deal with it after they were cooked. I layered them with brown sugar, cinnamon and thinly sliced ginger root. I was very careful not to add too much sugar, because I don't care for jams and jellies that are too sweet.
I added just a sprinkle of nutmeg and cloves, and about 2 tablespoons of vanilla. I apologize for the lack of measurements, but it will depend on the volume of apples you have, the amount of sugar in the apples, and your personal preference.
I left the mixture in overnight in the crockpot, and the smell was WONDERFUL in the morning. I turned off the heat, and let them cool enough to put through the food mill, so we could get the peels out of the mixture.
Ray was the master of the mill! I put the mixture in a saucepan, adjusted the seasoning (which was just a little extra cinnamon and sugar), and cooked it down some more. You could put it back in the crock pot at this point and let it go as well.
I canned these, so we could share our wonderful discovery. We ended up with four half-pint jars. The taste reminded me a bit of Thanksgiving !
Saturday, August 20, 2011
Smoked Pork and Leek Bread Pudding
So, we had this AMAZING smoked pork for our wedding, and were fortunate to have some left over. In fact, we roasted a whole hog, very dramatic! We also had a massive number of leftover yeasty dinner rolls. After eating pork sandwiches for three days, I was looking for a different way to use up some of the leftovers, so here is what I came up with !
Smoked Pork and Leek Bread Pudding
4 cups diced bread
1 1/2 cups chopped cooked pork (or ham)
2 medium leeks, sliced thin and rinsed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup chopped roasted red pepper
1/4 cup spicy mustard
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
6 large eggs
1 cup milk
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup shredded swiss cheese
Saute leeks in butter and olive oil. Combine together with bread, pork, and red peppers. Put mixture in a greased 9x13 pan.In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, mustard, tarragon, salt and pepper. Pour over bread mixture. Press down,cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove foil, sprinkle with cheese, and bake 10 more minutes until golden and cheese is melted. Remove from oven, let rest, and serve.
Smoked Pork and Leek Bread Pudding
4 cups diced bread
1 1/2 cups chopped cooked pork (or ham)
2 medium leeks, sliced thin and rinsed
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup chopped roasted red pepper
1/4 cup spicy mustard
1 tablespoon chopped fresh tarragon
6 large eggs
1 cup milk
Salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup shredded swiss cheese
Saute leeks in butter and olive oil. Combine together with bread, pork, and red peppers. Put mixture in a greased 9x13 pan.In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, mustard, tarragon, salt and pepper. Pour over bread mixture. Press down,cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove foil, sprinkle with cheese, and bake 10 more minutes until golden and cheese is melted. Remove from oven, let rest, and serve.
Friday, August 19, 2011
Long time no blog !
I can't believe it has been almost six months since the last time this blog was updated. Well, in my defense, there was this small thing called a WEDDING that we have been working on. Now happily married to my Italian, we can settle back into our foodie bliss. So, my commitment to making sure this gets updated on at least a semi-weekly basis is renewed. I will updated soon on the latest...a savory bread pudding made with leftovers from the wedding reception !
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Drunken Rabbit and Mushroom Quinoa Risotto
Continuing two of our resolutions, to eat healthy, and to get some items out of the freezer, I decided to pull out a rabbit ! My favorite way to prepare rabbit is very simple. I put it in the crockpot with 2 large, sliced onions, 6 cloves of garlic, salt, pepper and some powdered mushrooms. Then, pour an entire bottle of white wine over it, and cook on low 6-7 hours. Remove it from the crock pot, let it cool, and pull the meat from the bones. You need to be very careful, as the rabbit bones are quite small. I put the rabbit meat in a small sauce pan with some of the broth from the crockpot, put a lid on it and simmer while you prepare the quinoa.
Quinoa is a grain that you can substitute for rice, but it has protein so it is better for you. The texture is actually more like couscous. I have to admit, when I cooked this, it looked a little like Malt-o-Meal, but it tasted wonderful !
Mushroom Quinoa Risotto
4 scallions, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup baby bella mushrooms, chopped
1 cup quinoa
4 1/2 cups stock **use leftover broth from cooking rabbit, and supplement with chicken stock to bring up to 4 1/2 cups
1/2 cup shredded parmesan
1/2 pound fresh spinach, stems removed (optional)
Put stock in a sauce pan and keep warm while you work. In a very large saute pan, melt butter. Saute scallions and garlic until translucent.
Add quinoa and stir through until it starts to brown. Add 1/2 cup of stock to quinoa and stir until absorbed. Continue to add stock 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until it is absorbed before adding more. Add mushrooms when this process is about half way through. After the last addition of stock, add spinach. This process should take 20-25 minutes. You will need to stir constantly to make sure your risotto is creamy. When you have finished, stir in the parmesan, and remove from heat. Let sit for 5 minutes. Serve with rabbit on top of the quinoa.
Quinoa is a grain that you can substitute for rice, but it has protein so it is better for you. The texture is actually more like couscous. I have to admit, when I cooked this, it looked a little like Malt-o-Meal, but it tasted wonderful !
Mushroom Quinoa Risotto
4 scallions, chopped
2 tablespoons butter
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup baby bella mushrooms, chopped
1 cup quinoa
4 1/2 cups stock **use leftover broth from cooking rabbit, and supplement with chicken stock to bring up to 4 1/2 cups
1/2 cup shredded parmesan
1/2 pound fresh spinach, stems removed (optional)
Put stock in a sauce pan and keep warm while you work. In a very large saute pan, melt butter. Saute scallions and garlic until translucent.
Add quinoa and stir through until it starts to brown. Add 1/2 cup of stock to quinoa and stir until absorbed. Continue to add stock 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until it is absorbed before adding more. Add mushrooms when this process is about half way through. After the last addition of stock, add spinach. This process should take 20-25 minutes. You will need to stir constantly to make sure your risotto is creamy. When you have finished, stir in the parmesan, and remove from heat. Let sit for 5 minutes. Serve with rabbit on top of the quinoa.
Saturday, February 19, 2011
The Chicago Foodie Tour
We have been trying, since the first of the year, to eat healthy. We took a break from this to go on a foodie tour of Chicago last weekend, hosted by our dear friends, JT and Soraya. We are not your typical tourists, we didn't want to see the Sears Tower, or Wrigley Field (although that probably wasn't an option in February anyway). When we first landed, we went to the Swedish bakery for breakfast. We loaded up on enough pastries to last the weekend. Most notable for me was a small marzipan frog, filled with raspberry creme. If it was any larger it would have sent me into a sugar coma, but the combination of the marzipan, raspberry, spongecake and chocolate was perfect. We also had danish, almond horns, small almond cakes and I can't even remember what else, all of it glorious !
Lunch was a place called Hot Doug's, where we stood in line for the once in a lifetime opportunity to experience duck fat french fries, and a rattle snake hot dog with a dijon mayonnaise and cranberry wensleydale cheese. I realize it sounds strange, but the talent of the staff at Hot Doug's is creating the perfect flavor profile for these gourmet dogs, and it was truly amazing. And, of course, we also had to sample the classic Chicago dog.
After all of that, we had a pesto pizza, Chicago style, of course ! We went to a place called Edwardo's, and they did something really interesting with the pesto. They added some extra olive oil so it was more like a dipping sauce. They served some thin baked pizza crust (like a cracker) as an appetizer before hand, and we ate so much of it we almost couldn't eat the pizza ! The pizza was thick, cheesy and perfect with more of this yummy pesto on top.
The next day, we headed to three Floyds Brewery, not only to sample some of the best beer in the US, but to try one of the best burgers I have ever had. Three Floyds uses the grain left over from the brewing process to feed the cattle used for the beef in their hamburgers. We ordered ours rare, with goat cheese, and it was served on a pretzel bun. Ray also had his first taste of bone marrow, which was served on crostini with a pickled grape. We were quickly headed to a food coma.
We toured and shopped, working our way to a late dinner in Greektown. The name of the restaurant was Pegasus, and we ordered one of everything on the menu, I think ! Not really, but we had an excellent sampling, and I won't remember all of the names. But look for some Greek recipes to start showing up in the blog !
WHEW ! And there was one more really stellar meal. We went to a very special restaurant, Anthony's in Hammond IN, where JT and Soraya got engaged, and had their wedding reception. We had caprese salad, bruschetta, and some broiled mushrooms that WILL be recreated here. Ray and Soraya both had a blackened steak and mushroom risotto that was delicious, JT had a seafood pasta and I had a chicken fra diavolo, and no one was able to finish the very generous portions. We had to leave our leftovers, so our hosts had lovely lunches all week long. And, we also had desserts, bananas foster and a triple berry sorbet.
I cannot say enough about our wonderful trip and our awesome hosts, and can't wait to do it again. We didn't even begin to scratch the surface of all there is to offer.
Lunch was a place called Hot Doug's, where we stood in line for the once in a lifetime opportunity to experience duck fat french fries, and a rattle snake hot dog with a dijon mayonnaise and cranberry wensleydale cheese. I realize it sounds strange, but the talent of the staff at Hot Doug's is creating the perfect flavor profile for these gourmet dogs, and it was truly amazing. And, of course, we also had to sample the classic Chicago dog.
After all of that, we had a pesto pizza, Chicago style, of course ! We went to a place called Edwardo's, and they did something really interesting with the pesto. They added some extra olive oil so it was more like a dipping sauce. They served some thin baked pizza crust (like a cracker) as an appetizer before hand, and we ate so much of it we almost couldn't eat the pizza ! The pizza was thick, cheesy and perfect with more of this yummy pesto on top.
The next day, we headed to three Floyds Brewery, not only to sample some of the best beer in the US, but to try one of the best burgers I have ever had. Three Floyds uses the grain left over from the brewing process to feed the cattle used for the beef in their hamburgers. We ordered ours rare, with goat cheese, and it was served on a pretzel bun. Ray also had his first taste of bone marrow, which was served on crostini with a pickled grape. We were quickly headed to a food coma.
We toured and shopped, working our way to a late dinner in Greektown. The name of the restaurant was Pegasus, and we ordered one of everything on the menu, I think ! Not really, but we had an excellent sampling, and I won't remember all of the names. But look for some Greek recipes to start showing up in the blog !
WHEW ! And there was one more really stellar meal. We went to a very special restaurant, Anthony's in Hammond IN, where JT and Soraya got engaged, and had their wedding reception. We had caprese salad, bruschetta, and some broiled mushrooms that WILL be recreated here. Ray and Soraya both had a blackened steak and mushroom risotto that was delicious, JT had a seafood pasta and I had a chicken fra diavolo, and no one was able to finish the very generous portions. We had to leave our leftovers, so our hosts had lovely lunches all week long. And, we also had desserts, bananas foster and a triple berry sorbet.
I cannot say enough about our wonderful trip and our awesome hosts, and can't wait to do it again. We didn't even begin to scratch the surface of all there is to offer.
Sunday, January 30, 2011
"Irish" Veggie Pasta
Since have been trying to eat a bit more healthy in 2011, I am challenging myself to use more vegetables and less fat in my cooking.
We love pasta, but coming up with a way to include this in our menu is challenging. Then I rememebered a pasta dish we had when I was in Ireland, and decided to try to recreate it. I couldn't recall everything that was in it, but two unusual items stayed in my memory: green beans and chick peas (garbanzo beans). The sauce was tomato based and slightly spicy, but it was the odd combination of vegetables that made it memorable.
Using up some extra vegetables in the refrigerator, I created this ! Ray made a really beautiful thin linguine which was the perfect match to this sauce.
Irish Veggie Pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium onion, diced
1 small red pepper, diced
2 cups beet greens (or any green) chopped
1 cup fresh green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 quart chopped tomatoes (we used home canned)
1 can chick peas (about 1 1/2 cups), drained
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 pound fresh pasta, linguine or angel hair work best
1/2 cup fresh basil, cut in thin strips
Freshly grated parmesan
Start pasta water to boil and salt liberally. In a large saute pan, heat olive oil and saute garlic and onions until tender. Add red pepper and continue to saute until tender. Add beet greens, and green beans, and stir until all are tender. Add tomatoes, chick peas and spices and stir until heated through. Turn to simmer. Add pasta to boiling water and cook 2-3 minutes until al dente. Add pasta to the sauce pan, toss to combine and top with fresh basil and parmesan.
We love pasta, but coming up with a way to include this in our menu is challenging. Then I rememebered a pasta dish we had when I was in Ireland, and decided to try to recreate it. I couldn't recall everything that was in it, but two unusual items stayed in my memory: green beans and chick peas (garbanzo beans). The sauce was tomato based and slightly spicy, but it was the odd combination of vegetables that made it memorable.
Using up some extra vegetables in the refrigerator, I created this ! Ray made a really beautiful thin linguine which was the perfect match to this sauce.
Irish Veggie Pasta
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 medium onion, diced
1 small red pepper, diced
2 cups beet greens (or any green) chopped
1 cup fresh green beans, cut into 1 inch pieces
1 quart chopped tomatoes (we used home canned)
1 can chick peas (about 1 1/2 cups), drained
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 pound fresh pasta, linguine or angel hair work best
1/2 cup fresh basil, cut in thin strips
Freshly grated parmesan
Start pasta water to boil and salt liberally. In a large saute pan, heat olive oil and saute garlic and onions until tender. Add red pepper and continue to saute until tender. Add beet greens, and green beans, and stir until all are tender. Add tomatoes, chick peas and spices and stir until heated through. Turn to simmer. Add pasta to boiling water and cook 2-3 minutes until al dente. Add pasta to the sauce pan, toss to combine and top with fresh basil and parmesan.
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