Shredding Chicken

Ingredients

1 whole chicken
1 onion
1 entire hand of garlic
1 carrot
1 stock of celery
3 branches of rosemary
1 bay leaf

Instructions

1. Cut off chicken legs and wings.
2. Half chicken right down the middle of the breast
3. Cut up onion, carrot and celery in big chunks
4. Half garlic
5. Put in bay leaf and rosemary
6. Cover with water, about 1 inch over top
7. Cover and bring to boil
8. Reduce heat and simmer 30 minutes
9. Remove chicken… leave everything else at a simmer
10. Let chicken cool 15 minutes then take meat off bones
11. Put bones back in stock and let simmer for another hour
12. Meanwhile… Discard chicken skin
13. Pull meat from larger pieces into nice little strips WITH the grain.
14. Put into mixing bowl
15. Add 2 TBL of the hot broth into the mixing bowl and mix to coat
16. Put IMMEDIATELY into container and into the refrigerator. – Do not let it cool on the counter, as bacteria will form

Sesame Spinach

Ingredients

1 LB fresh spinach
1 TBL Tamari soy sauce
1 TBL sesame oil
1 TBL garlic (minced)
1/4 CU rice wine
2 TBL brown sugar
1 tsp toasted sesame seeds

Instructions

1. Mix all ingredients except spinach
2. Wilt spinach in HOT salted water for about 1 minute
3. Remove from heat and plunge into ice water
4. Toss with dressing
5. Plate with slices of oranges

Stovetop Parmesean Chicken

Ingredients for chicken Parmesan

1 large chicken filet
Hard block of Parmesean cheese
Oregano
Basil
1/2 cup of ricotta, cottage cheese, or homemade cheese

Traditionally, Parmesan recipes also use Ricota cheese. Check out GrandpaCooks.com for our recipe on making your own homemade cheese. This does not have the exact taste of Ricotta, but we like it better. The main thing is that it does not melt, and it is fun and real easy to make.

Instructions

1. Get large chicken filet and slice lengthwise making a kind of pita pocket
2. Put strips of parmesan cheese inside the chicken
3. Sprinkle with just a bit of oregano
Season your chicken to taste
Dip in flour
Dip in egg
Dip in bread crumbs
Do not crowd pan or your breading will become soggy
4. Fry in covered pan with very little oil.
5. Flip occasionally.
6. When cheese starts to leak out, internal temp of chicken is hot enough and chicken is cooked

Top with hot marinara and serve or see next line for oven directions

If you have an oven available, sprinkle the Ricotta and greens on top, and broil for about five minutes

Steamed Beef

Ingredients

Nice cut of any type of meat
Seasonings desired
Fresh vegetables to steam and serve as a side dish

Instructions

This is a really easy recipe, but it requires some forethought and planning.

1. Cut any meat into pieces approx the size of a large bar of soap
2. Season as desired: salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder, chile powder, etc.
3. Fill pot with water to a level BELOW your steamer basket
4. Bring water to boil, then reduce heat maintaining simmer
5. Heat over hot water two hours – prepare vegetables for cooking during this time.
6. Remove meat and place vegetables in steamer basket
7. Bring skillet up to a hot temperature
8. Put meat onto hot skillet to sear
9. When vegetables are done put meat and vegetables on a plate and serve

 

Tips: Steak

All Steaks in General

  • Buy in October/November because price drops. They are “out of season” cause Grilling Season is over.
  • You can also buy roast beef and cut your own steaks.
  • Freeze them overnight, then seal them in a vacuum bag and they will be good for another 8 months.

Flank Steak

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Filet Mignon

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Porterhouse Steak

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Sirloin Steak

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Steaks in General

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Disection Charts

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flank-steak

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Steak Fries

Fried and Baked

Potatoes
Peanut Oil

Instructions:
Cut –half/thirds/half, cut in 12th.. Place in cold water with ice. Chill at least 30 min. Towel dry-as dry as possible. Heat peanut oil to 325º. Drop handful into hot oil. Stir-lime blonde about 10 minutes (oil will drop to 260º). Drain/cool/dry. 3-5 min in oil

RSUGG-bake @ 350 F for 8 min.

 

BAKED

  • Cut –half/thirds/half, cut in 12th.. Place in cold water with ice. Chill at least 30 min. Towel dry-as dry as possible.
  • Toss in oil and salt
  • Put on baking sheet and bake at 350º for 30 minutes
    • If using convection oven, turn on convection fan
  • Turn up heat to 450º and cook until browned – about 15 minutes.
  •  
  •  

.

 

Squash Soup

Ingredients

Onion
Squash
Brown sugar
Light sour cream

Instructions

1. Append to current recipe.
2. Saute onion to soften, but not caramelize.
3. Saute seeds and fiber, add 6 cu water and heat.
4. Simmer 60 min., steam squash using steam from above.
5. Squash on baking sheet, strain liquid, remove from skin, puree.
6. Add Brown sugar and light sour cream.

Grandpa’s Split Pea Soup

This is based on a Copy Cat recipe for Anderson’s Split Pea Soup

Ingredients

  • 1 CU fresh split peas (rinsed – no stones)
  • 2 CU chicken stock (see recipe here)
  • 1 C water
  • 2 TBL butter
  • 1 TBL EVOO
  • 1/2 stalk celery  (rough chopped)
  • 1 smallish carrots (rough chopped)
  • 1/2 sweet onion (rough chopped)
  • 3  asparagus spears (not the tips, but not the bottoms either)
  • scant thyme, red pepper, salt and black pepper
  • 1 large pinch fresh cilantro or parsley
  • 1 ham bone (or three chicken bones)
  • 1 bay leaf
  • 1/4 C cauliflower (optional)
    • Chopped ham (add near the end)

Instructions

  1. Rinse peas.  Remove stones and floaters.
  2. Let soak overnight.
  3. Dump soaking water and rinse peas one last time
  4. Put peas, ham bone, and bay leaf into a pot and add chicken stock
  5. Add water (if necessary) to cover the peas by about 1/4 inch
  6. Bring to a boil, then simmer 45 minutes.
    COOKING THE SOUP
  7. Rough chop all veggies (not peas, ham or bay leaf)
  8. Add veggies and butter and EVOO to a large pot
  9. Saute for 5 minutes
  10. Add peas (removing bones and bay leaf) to the pot
  11. Bring to boil, then simmer covered for 15 minutes
  12. Put all ingredients in blender, being sure to vent blender
    or use immersion blender – and blend until smooth
  13. Ieally, run through a food sieve on smallest grater
  14. Add ham and simmer for another 20 minutes
  15. Serve topped with a dollop of sour cream

Special Steps

Cauliflower adds nothing to the taste, but helps make a creamier soup without using something like heavy cream.

 

Spinach Salad

Ingredients

1 roasted pepper
4 artichoke hearts
10 black olives (calamata)
1 tbl balsamic vinegar
1 tbl mustard
1 tbl grape seed oil

Instructions

1. Roast pepper over flame till black, peel back black (discard). Julienne strips.
2. Quarter artichoke hearts and toss all w/ dressing.

Dressing

1 tbl each, balsamic vinegar, mustard, grapeseed oil.

 

Spinach Pasta from Scratch

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups of flour
2 large eggs
1/2 of a 10-ounce package of frozen chopped spinach, or use equivalent of fresh spinach a bit of olive oil or water if mixture is too dry or stiff
Some semolina to keep the pasta separated once it has been cut

Instructions

1. Cook the spinach according to package directions, drain well, and cool.
2. Squeeze as much water out of the spinach as you can, then squeeze again.
3. Chop the spinach finely. If you make a ball of the spinach at this point, it will be about the size of a large egg.
4. Put the flour on your working surface or in a large mixing bowl.
5. Make a well in the center of the flour large enough to hold the eggs and the spinach.
6. Add the eggs, then the spinach (in bits).
7. With a fork, mix the egg and spinach mixture, then slowly gather the flour into the egg with a fork.
8. If the pasta is too sticky to work with, add flour, one T at a time, but make sure that you are mixing well after each addition.
9. If the pasta is too stiff or dry, you can add a T or water or olive oil.
10. Knead the dough by hand for 8 to 10 minutes.
11. Add additional flour as needed, 1 T at a time.
12. Roll out the pasta with a rolling pin in a round sheet as thin as you can, or divide it into balls about the size of a ping-pong ball and run it through decreasing settings on your pasta machine, folding it over to maintain the width, until you are at the next to last or last (thinnest) setting.
13. Let the sheets dry for about half an hour – it should be dry to the touch but still flexible. If it sticks to your pasta machine, it is not dry enough.
14. Cut to desired width. You really need three hands for this – one to hold the pasta sheet, one to feed the pasta into the machine, and one to turn the handle…
15. If a ‘pass’ doesn’t work, re-form the pasta into a ball and roll it out in a sheet again.
16. Once you have cut your pasta, a bit of semolina helps to keep the pasta separated until you are ready to cook it.
17. You can also store the pasta loosely packed in an open ziploc bag in the refrigerator for one or two days.

ADAPTED FROM A RECIPE AT  http://www.e-rcps.com/pasta/basics/

NOTES:

Making pasta with spinach is much the same as basic pasta – you want to make sure that the spinach is as well drained, as dry as possible. Even so, you will probably have to add more flour to compensate for the additional moisture in the spinach.

Fresh pasta cooks in about 3/4 the time as dried pasta.

 

Spinach Dip

INGREDIENTS

  • 8 oz sour cream
  • 8 oz mayo
  • 1 pkg Knorr veg soup (or similar)
  • 1 can water chestnuts – chopped
  • 2 TBL chopped onion
  • 2 TBL chopped chives
  • 1 TBL chopped or grated carrot
  • 1 lemon – lemon zest and juice
  • 1 pkg (previously) frozen chopped spinach (wring out)

STEP BY STEP

  1. Mix all ingredients together
  2. OPTIONAL:  Serve in hollowed out loaf of bread or a “red cabbage bowl”

 

Spiedie Sauce – Meat Marinate (Speedie or Spedie)

1 CU Olive Oil
3/4 CU Wine Vinegar
1/4 CU balsamic vinigar
1/8 CU Sugar
1 TBL Lemon Juice
1 med Onion – chopped
4 Cloves Garlic – chopped
1/2 tsp Salt & Pepper to taste
1 1/2 tsp Thyme
1 1/2 tsp Marjoram
1 1/2 tsp Basil
1 1/2 tsp Oregano
1/2 tsp Parsley
1 tsp spearmint or peppermint
1 TBL Rosemary ‘needles’
2 bay leaves
1 TBL cayenne pepper OR
1 tsp Tabasco

CopyCat recipe, compiled and adapted by Robert.

Instructions

1. Mix all ingredients in a large covered bowl.
2. Place 1 inch cubed meat to marinate (plastic bag) for 24-72 hours
3. Shaking or turning over at least twice each day.
4. Place on skewers to cook on grill for 12-15 minutes (do not overcook)
5. Use Italian bread to serve. Most people request ‘no ketchup, etc’

Originally from Italy, Spiedie Sauce is available through Lupo’s at www.spiedies.com
The product is reasonably priced, but shipping is in the dozens of dollars.

 

Fierce Fire Fruit Mucho Macho Mango Sauce

Mucho Macho Mango
Mucho Macho Mango

In Phoenix, there is a farmers’ market at Central Ave and Northern every Saturday morning.  One of the products sold is Fierce Fire Fruit Mucho Macho Mango Sauce.  It is not expensive, and is well worth the cost of a bottle.  It’s hot (but not too hot) and fruity (but not too fruity.)  If you have a limited budget, or cannot afford a plane ticket to Phoenix to buy the sauce, Here is my COPY CAT version of the sauce based on their label, plus creating two batches of my own.

  • 3 Serano Chili Peppers (seeds and veins removed)
  • 3 Jalapeno Peppers (seeds and veins removed)
  • Carrots (Peeled)
  • 1 Vadallia Onion
  • 1/2 stalk Celery
  • 1/2 C Water
  • 2 Ripe Mangos (skinned)
  • 1 Peach (skinned)
  • 1 Pomegranate (skinned)
  • 2 TBL Agave Nectar/Syrup
  • 2 TBL Extra Virgin Olive Oil
  • 1 TBL White Vinegar
  • 1 TBL Jalapeno Tabasco Sauce
  • 1 tsp Cumin
  • 1 tsp Kosher Salt

OPTIONAL:  I found that half an over-ripe banana gives it a nice sweetness.  Although it is not being true to the original recipe, I found that I like it.

Fierce Fire Foods is distributed by Lester Commercial Kitchen, which is located at 3770 W Whitton Ave. in Phoenix

Spinach Pie ( Fatayer )

This is a traditional recipe from Palestine

Active Time: 30 Minutes
Total Time: 2 Hours
Yield: Makes four 6-inch pies

The spinach filling in these fatayer is spiked with lemon and sumac, a tangy Middle Eastern spice. The pies are normally formed into triangles, but the half-moon shape here is simpler to do.

RECIPE INGREDIENTS
1/2 C (rounded) AP flour plus more for dusting
1/4 C whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon active dry yeast
1/3 cup lukewarm water
Salt
3 TBL extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 medium onion diced
2 tsp ground sumac – see Note
1 tsp fresh lemon juice
Freshly ground pepper
10 ounce packages frozen spinach thawed and squeezed dry
1 large egg beaten

Tip: Sumac is a fruity, tangy spice made from dried, ground berries.  In Turkey, this is called adana

DIRECTIONS

  1. In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the dough hook, combine the all-purpose flour with the whole wheat flour, yeast, water, salt and half of your olive oil.
  2. Mix at medium speed until a soft, supple dough forms, about 10 minutes.
  3. Using oiled hands, transfer the dough to an oiled bowl.
  4. Cover with plastic wrap and let the dough stand in a draft-free spot until slightly risen, about 1 hour.
    MEANWHILE
  5. In a large skillet, heat the remaining olive oil.
  6. Add the diced onion and cook over moderate heat until softened, about 7 minutes.
  7. Add the sumac and lemon juice and season with salt and pepper.
  8. Stir in the spinach and let cool completely.
    PREPARE AND ASSEMBLE
  9. Preheat the oven to 450° and line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
  10. Divide the dough into 4 pieces.
  11. Form each piece of dough into a ball, dust with flour and let stand for 10 minutes.
  12. On a lightly floured surface, roll each ball of dough to a 6-inch round.
  13. Spread the spinach filling over half of each round, leaving a 1/2-inch border.
  14. Brush the rims with egg wash (1 egg white and 2 tsp water)  and fold the dough over to enclose the filling; pinch the edges with a fork to seal.
    BAKE
  15. Transfer the spinach pies to the prepared baking sheets and brush the tops with the beaten egg yolk.
  16. Bake the pies for about 18 minutes, or until golden; shift the pans from top to bottom and front to back halfway through baking.
  17. Transfer the spinach pies to a platter and serve warm or at room temperature.

Based on a recipe printed by Food and Wine Magazine

Taco Shell for Taco Salad

Ingredients

Regular sized flour tortillas
Vegetable oil
Large sized oven-safe bowl or large tomato can

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
1. Spray one side of the tortilla
2. Drape tortilla over can with sprayed side down – can should be approx diameter of tuna can, but slightly taller. Some nut cans offer this size. If all else fails, an old tuna can will work just fine.
3. Place cut lid of can on top of tortilla (where it will eventually rest on your place after cooking). This helps keep it from developing a bubble that prevents it from setting flat.
4. Bake @ 350 degrees for 6 minutes
5. Carefully remove flat lid, and flip shell. Remove can from the basin and cook for 4-8 more minutes only until browned.
6. See recipe here for Taco Salad ingredients.

Variations

There are tortilla bowl forms that you can buy online for under $10. In absence of a form, create an aluminum foil basin in a pan well-suited for the
oven.

 

Sweet Potatoes

Potato Info

  • Sweet Potato – yellow variety
  • Yam – 1930s orange variety of sweet potato
  • Related to morning glories, not potatoes
  • Sweets available year round – Flavor peaks in fall and winter
  • Heavy for size – no soft spots or sprouts
    FROM HERE
  • Speckled Purple – remain firm after cooking
  • Heirloom (Envy) – light, mild, moist, sweet
  • Jewel – Deep orange “traditional” sweet potato
  • Garnet – Red/purple skin – best for sweet potato pie
  • Korean Purple – chestnut flavor
  • Beauregard – most commercial because of consistency
  • O’Henry – Beauregard mutation – Dense when baked
  • Creamsicle – good for frying
  • Willowleaf – fairly rare – orange/red skin, orange flesh
  • Covington – malty sweet – popular in the south
  • Nugget – rosy skin, orange flesh –
  • Amish Bush Porto Rico – Grow in bushes – velvety and lush flesh
  • Purple – Pleasant tartness
  • Stokes Purple – Purple throughout – low moisture content – low heat
  • White sweet potato – Half Russett, half sweet – crumbly, dry, less sweet
  • Japanese Sweet – Okinawa – Tan skin – one of the most versatile
  • Boniato – Caribbean – dry white flesh, purple skin
  • Keep in dry cool, well ventilated
  • Bruise easily
  • Bake in the oven – takes an hour
  • Steam – convenient, quick, predictable
  • Uniform cubes
  • Steam 20 minutes
  • Put hunks back in and add 2 TBL butter and salt
  • Mash them
  • 1 chipotle minced – 1 tsp adobo sauce

Baked Sweet Potato

Sweet Potatoes and Yams are not starches.  Trying to lose weight?  Here is a great alternative for your potato fix.

Ingredients

  • 1 Sweet Potato
  • 2 TBL Oil
  • Salt / pepper to taste
  • 2 TBL Butter

Instructions

  1. Preheat oven to 400º
  2. Decide how you want to prepare your potato.  See below:
    • Whole:  Rub with oil, sprinkle with salt, bake 45 minutes
    • Medallions:  Toss in oil and salt, bake 40 minutes
    • Pieces:  Toss in oil and salt, bake 35 minutes
  3. After baking, apply butter somehow
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