This recipe comes from a 1960s-era hardcover large format cookbook: Sunset Quick and Easy Dinners
2 Lb tender zucchini
About 1 C water
1/2 Pt (8 oz) sour cream
Cut stems off zucchini but do not peel. Shred on large side of a grater. Place in a saucepan with the 1 C water. Cover, bring to a boil, and cook until tender (about 4 minutes). Drain well.
Add sour cream to well-drained zucchini, return to pan to warm gently, season with salt and pepper, and serve,
Friday, October 31, 2014
Roast chicken with tarragon and dijon mustard
This recipe was adapted from "Chicken Tarragon Loki" from The Country Gourmet Cookbook by Sherrill and Gil Roth. Chicken leg quarters were on sale, so we ended up buying 5 leg quarters and expanded the recipe to accommodate that number of chicken pieces. We used an inexpensive Dijon mustard, and think we should have either used more or a more strongly-flavored one. That said, this was a delicious dish that we will further adapt and cook again!
3 medium onions, cut into slices (maybe should double next time)
1 Tbsp olive oil, plus 1 tsp (needed more because of the quantity of chicken)
1/2 tsp salt (more)
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper (more), extra to sprinkle over chicken
2 tsp dried tarragon (or 2 Tbsp fresh) -- needs more!
1/4 C dry white wine or vermouth (need at least twice this amount)
5 chicken leg quarters (instead of one 3.5 Lb chicken in original recipe)
Several Tbsp of Dijon Mustard (instead of 3 Tbsp plus 1 tsp in original recipe)
Prepare chicken leg quarters by cutting away any backbone (using kitchen shears or a cleaver), but no need to separate the legs from the thighs. Prepare a baking dish that will hold all the chicken pieces by lining with foil. Wash chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Set aside.
Separate onion slices into rings and toss with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, salt, pepper, and tarragon.
(Alternately, you may saute the onions in olive oil (2 or so Tbsp oil per each three sliced onions) until limp and soft. ) Place onions in the bottom of baking dish. Pour wine over the onions.
Start by placing chicken quarters skin side down, and spread liberally with mustard. Mix olive oil (a couple of teaspoons) with additional mustard (a couple of tablespoons) -- instead of a teaspoon of each -- place chicken quarters on the onions in baking dish skin-side up, and spread with the mustard-oil mixture. Add a few grindings of black pepper over top.
Bake in a 375 degree oven, basting with the wine and juices in the bottom of pan. Cover for last 1/2 hour to prevent from getting too brown, removing foil for last 5 - 10 minutes to crisp up the skin.
Delicious.
3 medium onions, cut into slices (maybe should double next time)
1 Tbsp olive oil, plus 1 tsp (needed more because of the quantity of chicken)
1/2 tsp salt (more)
1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper (more), extra to sprinkle over chicken
2 tsp dried tarragon (or 2 Tbsp fresh) -- needs more!
1/4 C dry white wine or vermouth (need at least twice this amount)
5 chicken leg quarters (instead of one 3.5 Lb chicken in original recipe)
Several Tbsp of Dijon Mustard (instead of 3 Tbsp plus 1 tsp in original recipe)
Prepare chicken leg quarters by cutting away any backbone (using kitchen shears or a cleaver), but no need to separate the legs from the thighs. Prepare a baking dish that will hold all the chicken pieces by lining with foil. Wash chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Set aside.
Separate onion slices into rings and toss with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil, salt, pepper, and tarragon.
(Alternately, you may saute the onions in olive oil (2 or so Tbsp oil per each three sliced onions) until limp and soft. ) Place onions in the bottom of baking dish. Pour wine over the onions.
Start by placing chicken quarters skin side down, and spread liberally with mustard. Mix olive oil (a couple of teaspoons) with additional mustard (a couple of tablespoons) -- instead of a teaspoon of each -- place chicken quarters on the onions in baking dish skin-side up, and spread with the mustard-oil mixture. Add a few grindings of black pepper over top.
Bake in a 375 degree oven, basting with the wine and juices in the bottom of pan. Cover for last 1/2 hour to prevent from getting too brown, removing foil for last 5 - 10 minutes to crisp up the skin.
Delicious.
Quick Mixing Crepe Batter Recipe from Julia Child (using Wondra)
By using Wondra, this batter only needs to rest for 20 minuts or so after mixing - this allows crepes to be made sooner after mixing than when using a traditional batter (which requires hours of resting before use).
3 large eggs
2/3 C milk
2/3 C water (plus a little additional if needed to thin batter later)
1/4 tsp salt
3 Tbsp oil (peanut or grapeseed - high smoke point preferred, or may substitute part melted butter)
1 C Wondra instant mixing flour
A little oil to prepare pan
Beat eggs lightly in a medium (4 C capacity) bowl, then add the milk, water, and oil. Stir in the Wondra flour, whisking it in until smooth. Let batter rest before use for 20 - 30 mins, or longer in the refrigerator. If batter has become a little too thick, thin with a little more water, adding a few drops at a time until reaching the desired batter thickness for the crepes of your choice.
3 large eggs
2/3 C milk
2/3 C water (plus a little additional if needed to thin batter later)
1/4 tsp salt
3 Tbsp oil (peanut or grapeseed - high smoke point preferred, or may substitute part melted butter)
1 C Wondra instant mixing flour
A little oil to prepare pan
Beat eggs lightly in a medium (4 C capacity) bowl, then add the milk, water, and oil. Stir in the Wondra flour, whisking it in until smooth. Let batter rest before use for 20 - 30 mins, or longer in the refrigerator. If batter has become a little too thick, thin with a little more water, adding a few drops at a time until reaching the desired batter thickness for the crepes of your choice.
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Red Clam Sauce and Fettucine
I got the original version of this recipe from Ceil Dyer's book: More Recipes from the Backs of Boxes, Bottles, Cans, and Jars. It was written as Red Clam Sauce and Linguine, using a recipe from the Hunts Tomato Paste can.
(Note: Since HB doesn't like spaghetti or linguine much, I substituted fettucine, and it worked fine, but the original recipe used linguine.)
1 onion chopped
1 clove garlic minced
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 6 1/2 oz cans minced clams (if using chopped clams, mince them up a bit before adding to the saute pan)
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1 C water (want to try part or all wine sometime)
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley (I didn't use this the first time, because I didn't have it)
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp rosemary (bruised and slightly ground in Japanese mortar and pestle)
1/4 tsp ground thyme
8 oz dry fettucine pasta
Saute the onion in oil until very soft, add garlic, and saute anther minute or so.
Add clams and their juice, tomato paste, water (or part wine?), lemon juice, parsley, sugar, rosemary, and thyme.
Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes or so -- the mixture will thicken up as it reduces -- may take a bit longer or shorter depending on how fast it's simmering.
While sauce is simmering, cook up the 1/2 pound of fettucine pasta until al dente - mix pasta into the simmering sauce and serve. Sprinkle with parmesan if desired.
When I made this, we liked it enough that it would have made sense to double the recipe. Also, I may add some whole baby clams along with the chopped ones to add a little twist.
(Note: Since HB doesn't like spaghetti or linguine much, I substituted fettucine, and it worked fine, but the original recipe used linguine.)
1 onion chopped
1 clove garlic minced
2 Tbsp olive oil
2 6 1/2 oz cans minced clams (if using chopped clams, mince them up a bit before adding to the saute pan)
1 6 oz can tomato paste
1 C water (want to try part or all wine sometime)
2 Tbsp lemon juice
1 Tbsp chopped fresh parsley (I didn't use this the first time, because I didn't have it)
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp rosemary (bruised and slightly ground in Japanese mortar and pestle)
1/4 tsp ground thyme
8 oz dry fettucine pasta
Saute the onion in oil until very soft, add garlic, and saute anther minute or so.
Add clams and their juice, tomato paste, water (or part wine?), lemon juice, parsley, sugar, rosemary, and thyme.
Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes or so -- the mixture will thicken up as it reduces -- may take a bit longer or shorter depending on how fast it's simmering.
While sauce is simmering, cook up the 1/2 pound of fettucine pasta until al dente - mix pasta into the simmering sauce and serve. Sprinkle with parmesan if desired.
When I made this, we liked it enough that it would have made sense to double the recipe. Also, I may add some whole baby clams along with the chopped ones to add a little twist.
Wednesday, October 22, 2014
Knee Notes - October 22, 2014
My left knee continues to be a challenge, but worked out really hard this week at Physical Therapy (yesterday) with some walking without a crutch. Although painful, I am seeing definite progress.
I am scheduled for a radio-wave saphenous nerve block on next Wednesday (10/29), so hopefully that will be a big help. If nothing else, it will allow us to know what pain is attributable to the saphenous damage and which is not.
I am scheduled for a radio-wave saphenous nerve block on next Wednesday (10/29), so hopefully that will be a big help. If nothing else, it will allow us to know what pain is attributable to the saphenous damage and which is not.
ripe tomatoes this week
Picked some tomatoes and am delighted to have ripe Sweet Orange II cherries, a few Amethyst Cream Cherries, some Quedlinburger Frue Liebe, and an almost ripe Cherokee Lime Stripe.
I plan to save seeds from these, and will save others when at HB's house this weekend.
There are a couple of tomato plants in the Vassar Ave garden that were planted by James and Karen, and they've become full of blossoms, so I need to figure out what varieties they are. There are also eggplants and my artichoke plant.
Hopefully we'll be able to harvest fruit and veggies before the first killing frost.
I plan to save seeds from these, and will save others when at HB's house this weekend.
There are a couple of tomato plants in the Vassar Ave garden that were planted by James and Karen, and they've become full of blossoms, so I need to figure out what varieties they are. There are also eggplants and my artichoke plant.
Hopefully we'll be able to harvest fruit and veggies before the first killing frost.
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