Smoked Pork Bread Pudding with Leeks

I originally created this recipe because we had a lot of left over pork after our wedding. And we still do, in the freezer. We had been eating left over pork on small sandwich buns for days and days, and I wanted a way to use the leftovers, but not eat any more sandwiches.We enjoyed it so much, I wanted to make it again. And since we are coming up on our six month anniversary, it was time to get the pork out of the freezer.

I realized the pork had lost some of its smoky flavor in the freezer, but we are lucky enough to have a handy gadget called a smoking gun. This is a hand held device that can infuse smoke flavor in a short period of time. So, Ray loaded it up with some applewood, hickory and a little bit of rosemary, and we put some pork in a bowl and covered the bowl with plastic wrap. We did get a little smoke in the kitchen (something like a campfire!), but the pork now tasted nice and smoky, so I could begin the cooking !

Smoked Pork Bread Pudding with Leeks

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.

Stout Brownies

I saw this recipe on another food bloggers site (http://nimmow.blogspot.com), and being a home brewer, I love any recipes than incorporate beer. We also had some oatmeal stout left from our recent tript to Fitger's Brewery in Duluth, so the timing was perfect.

This was not the easiest recipe to execute. And although Ray is raving about the results, I had to make a couple of modifications to the original to make it work, and I still think I might do some fixing the next time I make these. The "frosting" should be a bit more creamy, or maybe more like a glaze, and maybe a little less fleur de sel on top. But yes, there will be a next time, because they are lush, decadent, and a nice mix of sweet, bitter and salty. Below is the recipe as I made it this time.



Stout Brownies

1 cup stout beer
16 ounces bittersweet chocolate, divided
2 1/4 sticks unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
Fleur de Sel, for topping

Preheat oven to 350. Spray a 9 inch square pan with nonstick. Bring the stout to a boil in a small pan, and reduce to 1/2 cup, then let cool to room temperature. Reserve 1/4 cup of the stout.

Place 12 ounces of the bittersweet chocolate in a bowl with 2 sticks of butter, cut into pieces. Place the bowl over a small pan of simmering water and stir until melted and smooth. In the meantime, whisk together eggs, sugar and vanilla in a large bowl (I just used my stand mixer). Gradually add the chocolate mixture, then add 1/4 cup of the reduced stout. Stir in flour and 1 1/4 teaspoons of salt. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake brownies until the surface begins to crack, and a tester comes out with just a few crumbs attached. Let cool for at least 20 minutes before adding topping.

Put a medium bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, and combine the remaining chocolate, butter and stout. Stir just until melted, and then quickly spread across the top of the brownies. Top with a light sprinkling of Fleur de Sel. Let cool completely, then cut into squares with a warm, wet knife.

Shepherds Pie with Stout and Horseradish Mashed Potatoes

Here is a perk of having a food blog: when you don't feel well, your husband can look up recipes and make you dinner! So, thank you Ray, for making this for dinner last night.

We discussed making my shepherd's pie, because we had some stout that went flat in the refrigerator, and topping it with the horseradish mashed potatoes (decadent, I know). The results were out of this world ! So, here is the new, hybrid recipe, and thanks Ray for putting it together !

Shepherds Pie with Stout and Horseradish Mashed Potatoes

For the potatoes:
4 cups Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and diced into 1 inch chunks
2 teaspoons salt
1/2 cup whole milk
4 ounces cream cheese
2 tablespoons prepared horseradish
4 tablespoons butter
Salt and pepper to taste

Place potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Add 2 teaspoons of salt and bring to a boil. Boil until potatoes are fork tender. Drain water from potatoes, Add milk, cream cheese, horseradish and butter and mash to desired consistency. Salt and pepper to taste.

For the filling:
Saute in a large pan:
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced fine

When onion becomes translucent, add:
1 pound ground beef or venison
1 cup sliced mushrooms
2 teaspoons Montreal steak seasoning

Cook until meat browns. Add 3/4 cup stout beer and 1/2 cup beef stock. Cook down until liquid is almost evaporated. Put mixture in a large, deep dish pie pan. Top with 1/2 cup of frozen peas or mixed vegetables.

Spread potatoes on top of the pie, sprinkle with paprika and bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before serving.

Greek Lemon Chicken Soup

It was almost a year ago exactly that I first tasted this soup at a Greek restaurant in Chicago. I had never heard of it before. As it turns out, it is a very classic Greek soup, and it is very easy to make. I love the fresh flavors, and most of the ingredients we always have on hand.

It's a good way to use up left over chicken, and quick to prepare on a weeknight. I sent this recipe to my dad after he had heart surgery also, because he is trying to cut back on salt. Other than the salt in the stock, there is really no need for additional salt, unless you feel the need to add some at the end. We never do, it is delicious and perfect just the way it is.

Greek Lemon Chicken Soup-Avgolemono

8 cups chicken stock
1 cup arborio rice
2 cups cooked chicken, shredded or cut into chunks
2 eggs separated
1/4 cup fresh squeezed lemon juice
Chopped fresh cilantro, for garnish
Salt and pepper to taste, if needed

Bring chicken stock to a boil, and stir in rice. Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add chicken and cook 5 more minutes. In the meantime, whisk egg whites until frothy, then add egg yolks and lemon juice and whisk until smooth. When chicken and rice is finished cooking, remove 1 cup of the stock and gradually whisk into the egg mixture, being careful not to "scramble" your eggs. Add a second cup of the stock in the same manner. Remove the soup from the heat and slowly stir the egg mixture back into the soup. Serve garnished with cilantro.

Sweet Basil Cheesecake with Honey

I saw this recipe awhile back, and was intrigued with the idea of a savory cheesecake. Served as an appetizer, this was a fun addition to our little Super Bowl appetizer buffet.

What is nice about this recipe is the combination of the different kinds of cheese, and the honey really sets off the sweetness of the basil. I found some cornbread crackers to serve with this, and it was perfect. I am thinking we could increase the amount of goat cheese (because we love it) and possible change the kind of herbs, this is really a versatile recipe.

Sweet Basil Cheesecake with Honey

1/2 cup ricotta cheese, at room temperature
1/2 cup cream cheese, at room temperature
1/3 cup goat cheese, at room temperature
2 eggs
1/2 cup fresh basil, chopped
1 tablespoon honey
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350.Using a food processor, mix cheeses and eggs together until smooth. Add remaining ingredients, and blend until incorporated, but basil is still in pieces.

Line a small ceramic or springform pan with parchment paper, and butter sides of pan. Pour cheese mixture into pan and place in a larger pan, surrounded by boiling water. Bake for 50 minutes, until cheese is no longer "jiggly". Turn off the oven and leave cheesecake in the oven for 1 hour. Remove and refrigerate overnight. Serve with crackers.

Pizza with Whole Eggs and Sopressata

There has been a trend on food television lately to put eggs in things, so that when you cut or bite into them, you get the soft yolk spilling out over your food. I love eggs with the soft yolk so I can dip my toast in it, so I thought maybe I could do the same thing on pizza.

I remembered seeing something similar once before, but I wasn't sure how to do it, or how long to bake it. So, I winged it ! I made a sort of "well" with the sopressata so the egg would stay contained, and I had to take some of the white off the egg as it was too much liquid. When I do this next time (and yes, there will be a next time), I will just get smaller eggs !

And I did break one of the yolks getting the egg on the pizza, but my story is, that piece is for someone that doesn't like soft yolks (not anyone in our house, unfortunately). And the picture doesn't really do this pizza justice, it was delicious, the sopressata was crispy, the egg yolks were soft, and you could dip the crust. Yummy !

Pizza with Whole Eggs and Sopressata

1 pizza crust
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon garlic
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 cup shredded mozzerella
6 ounces sopressata
2 ounces goat cheese, crumbled
4 eggs, some of the whites separated
Fresh cracked pepper and salt

Preheat oven to 500. Spread pizza crust on parchment paper. Mix together tomato paste, olive oil, garlic and basil and spread mixture on crust. Spread mozzerella cheese on top of sauce. Dice the sopressata into small chunks and make 4 "wells" on the pizza to hold the eggs. Add the goat cheese along the borders you have created with the sopressata. Place pizza on a cookie sheet or baking stone and bake for 5 minutes, then remove from oven, and gently place an egg in each of the wells you have created. Place pizza back in the oven and bake another 5-6 minutes just until the egg whites are set. Remove from oven and top with salt and pepper.

You may cook the pizza longer if you like your eggs more solid.

Smoked Salmon and Goat Cheese Pizza

Yes, we still have smoked fish to use up. And I am alway envious of the creative combinations of "flatbread pizzas" we see on menus at restaurants. Since we had this great smoked salmon, I decided pizza was the way to go.

Ray wanted to try making crust from scratch, which I must admit I haven't done since the box kind when I was a kid. So I searched the internet for a thin crust pizza recipe, and made pizza. It was thin, but not like a cracker, which was good. And we tossed on some ingredients we had on hand, and made our first gourmet pizza.

Thanks to Ray for crafting this one, as I was a little under the weather.

Smoked Salmon and Goat Cheese Pizza

Crust for thin crust pizza:
(makes crust for 2 pizzas)
3/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 500 degrees. Preheat your pizza pan or stone in the oven. Heat the water in an oven-proof cup until it barely feels warm, then add the yeast. Whisk it well, then set it aside to let the yeast dissolve. In a large bowl, combine the flour and salt together. Make a large well in the middle of the flour mixture, and pour in the yeast mixture. Use your fingers to combine the two until the come together. When it comes together into a loose ball, turn it onto the counter along with any loose flour from the bowl, and continue to knead it until all the flour is incorporated and the dough is smooth and elastic to the touch. You may need to add more flour, one tablespoon at a time, until it is smooth and silky.

Split the dough into two parts, and use your hands to work one into a large disk. Place on a 12 inch piece of parchment paper. Then, use the heel of you hand or a rolling pin and press or roll the dough until it is about 1/2 inch thick. Leave on parchment paper to bake.

For the toppings:
Mix together:
1/2 cup Olive Oil
2 cloves crushed garlic
1/4 cup grated parmesan
2 tablespoons dried basil

Brush on crust, and save some for dipping !Then top with:
1/2 cup shredded smoked salmon
1/2 cup goat cheese, crombled
3 tablespoons sundried tomatoes, chopped
2 tablespoons basil, cut chiffonade
1/2 cup shredded mozzerella

Bake for 10-15 minutes until golden brown and cheese is melted.