Author: Robert Andrews

Tenderloin on a Budget

Ingredients

1 Pork Loin or very thick Pork Chop
10 Shallots (peeled and thinly sliced)
3 carrots (unpeeled and cut into two inch pieces)
2 red potatoes (unpeeled and cut into large chunks)
1 CU vegetable broth (homemade is best)
4 TBL Olive Oil
3/4 CU white wine
2 TBL Balsamic Vinegar
2 tsp brown sugar
Salt to taste

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees
2. Toss carrots, potatoes and shallots in a bowl with olive oil, salt and balsamic vinegar
3. Remove all items (except the liquid, of course)
4. Set the pork into the liquid to marinade for an hour
5. Place 2 TBL of the liquid into an “oven-approved” pan, and heat until very hot
6. Put pork into pan and cover. Cook 2 minutes, allowing to brown..
7. Uncover, flip pork, cover, and brown another minute.
8. Remove pork and set aside.
9. Add remaining marinade, and heat.
10. Add shallots and saute for 3-4 minutes.
11. Add back the pork, followed by all other ingredients
12. Cover and roast in oven for 45 minutes.
13. Spoon some liquid from bottom of pan over top of the pork to moisten.
14. Serve with Sour Dough Bread (recipe is at this site)

Variations

You can substitute a thinly sliced red onion for shallots if more convenient.

 

Teki Salata

Ingredients

1 cucumber
4 roma tomatoes
1 red bell pepper (jullienne strips)
1 red onion (very thinly sliced)
black olives
feta cheese
1/4 CU red wine vinegar
1/4 CU olive oil
1 TBL oregano
a few mint leaves

Instructions

1. Peel, halve and de-seed cucumber
2. Cut cuke into 1/4 inch pieces and place in bottom of bowl
3. Cut tomatoes into eight pieces and place on top
4. Rinse sliced onion and distribute on top
5. Mix oregano, olive oil and red wine vinegar and drizzle on top
6. Top with a few mint leaves

Tartar Sauce – COLLECTION

Ingredients

Tartar sauce can be made in minutes, although it should be stored in the refrigerator for at least an hour before serving.

This popular accompaniment to fish contains a number of vegetables and herbs, which are blended together with mayonnaise and then refrigerated.

Tartar sauce can be bought in jars from the supermarket, however making your own sauce from scratch usually tastes better and in this case, is no hassle at all.

You can start off by making a simple tartar sauce, adding ingredients to your favorite brand of mayonnaise. For those with a little more experience in the kitchen, you could even make your own homemade mayonnaise, which you could subsequently transform into a delicious tartar sauce.

Tartar Sauce with relish

Ingredients

* 1 cup of mayonnaise
* 2 tbsp of lemon juice
* 1 tbsp of sweet pickle or dill relish
* 1 tbsp of minced onion
* salt and pepper to season

Method

1. Combine the mayonnaise, relish and minced onion in a small mixing bowl, stirring thoroughly to mix the flavors well.
2. Add the lemon juice.
3. Season with the salt and pepper and stir well.
4. Cover the bowl with cling film and place in the refrigerator for a minimum of 1 hour before serving.
5. Serve with deep-fried fish, seafood or fish cakes.

Special Steps Ingredients

* 8 fl oz (225 ml) of mayonnaise
* 1 tbsp of chopped gherkins
* 1 tbsp of chopped capers
* 1 tbsp of lemon juice
* 1 tbsp of freshly chopped chives
* 1 tbsp of freshly chopped parsley
* salt and pepper

Method

1. Make sure that all the ingredients that need chopping are finely chopped

Caper Tartar Sauce

1 CU mayonnaise
2 TBL lemon juice
1 TBL diced pickle
1 TBL minced onion
1 TBL chives
1 TBL parsley
1 TBL capers or diced sardines
1 tsp dijon mustard or Japanese mustard salt and pepper to taste

Ingredients

* ½ cup of mayonnaise
* 1 hard-boiled egg
* ¼ of a small chopped onion
* 1 chopped dill pickle
* 1 tbsp of capers
* 1 tbsp of lemon juice
* 1 tsp of chives
* salt and pepper

Method

1. Cut the hard-boiled egg, dill pickle and onion into small pieces.
2. Chop the chives into small pieces.
3. Place all of the ingredients into a blender or food processor and mix until the ingredients have combined together.
4. Transfer to an airtight container and refrigerate for at least an hour before using it.

Whale Sauce

  • 1 C Kraft Miracle Whip
  • Scant pepper and salt
  • 2 TBL white vinegar
  • 2 TBL white sugar
  • 2 tsp grain mustard

Whisk above well, drizzle in water for viscosity
Meld overnight in fridge

Taco Salad for Two

Ingredients

1/4 lb ground beef (browned) or cooked chicken
2 CU Romaine lettuce (shredded)
1 CU Cabbage (sliced very thin)
1/2 CU cheddar cheese (shredded)
1 or 2 roma tomatos (diced)
1/4 red onion (optional) (diced)
1/4 white sweet onion (optional) (diced)
1/2 handful cilantro (chopped)
4 scallions (chopped)
3/4 CU refried beans or black beans
1/2 red bell pepper (julienne strips)
1 jalapeno pepper (julienne strips)
black olives (optional)
artichoke pieces (optional)
guacamole or avocado (optional)
sour cream (for topping)
chives (for topping)

Instructions

Setup: Toss lettuce with cabbage

1. Dice onion, cilantro, scallions and tomatoes and set aside
2. Brown the meat and set aside
3. Heat the refried beans and set aside
4. Place a little bit of lettuce in the bottom of the bowl
5. Put a large spoolful of beans on the lettuce
6. Sprinkle with beef and cheese
7. Add a bit more lettuce on top
8. Sprinkle rest of intredients over top
9. Top with sour cream and chives
10. Serve with homemade salsa (recipe at this site)

See recipes for Taco Bowl and Salsa at this site.

 

Szechuan Beef, Chicken or Pork

Ingredients

1 LB flank steak
Marinade as described below
Canola oil
3 cloves garlic
5 green onions
Thai red chilis – to taste

Instructions

1. Put meat into freezer for 30 minutes to firm it up
2. Slice meat thin
3. Marinate 8 -12 hours
4. Dice green onions, garlic and Thai chilis
5. Bring canola oil up to smoke point in large skillet
6. Brown all ingredients till browned
7. Add remaining marinade and reduce liquid
8. Serve over brown rice

Special Steps Marinate meat in the following solution for about 12 hours:

1 TBL Kikoman soy sauce
1 TBL Sesame oil (Green writing on bottle)
1 TBL Sauchin Wine or Dry Sherry (or rice vinegar)
2 TBL black vinegar (Chinese market) or Balsamic
2 TBL ginger juice (grate using small grater and squeeze liquid)

Variations Handwritten notes to a similar recipe are scanned in PDF document at http://www.xml3.com/family/Recipes/Szechuan_Beef.jpg

 

Szechuan Beef

Ingredients

Flank steak (sliced thin)
1 tbl Kikkoman soy
1 tbl sesame oil
¼ cu black vinegar (alt balsamic)
1 tbl souchein wine (or dry sherry)
1 tbl sugar
canola oil
3 cloves garlic
2 tbl fresh ginger
3 tbl long cut chives
Thai red chilis
Chives (long cut)

Instructions

1. Marinate; 1 tbl soy, 1 tbl sesame oil, ¼ cu vinegar, 1 tbl wine, 1 tbl sugar. Marinate steak over night, partially frozen to cut.
2. Smoking hot wok w 2 tbl canola oil, heat 3 cloves of garlic, 2 tbl ginger, 3 tbl chives.
3. Add Thai redchilis and cook 3-5 min. Add meat, cook till brown, fold in sauce.

Serve over rice

 

Symbiotic Garden

Ingredients

Plant in a meter square box

Seeds for
– Squash
– Sweet Corn – Ready when you poke a kernel and it leaks Sugar starts to turn to starch immediately, so eat now
– Beans – Haricot vert – young beans

Instructions Beans put nitrogen into the soil
Corn provides a place for the beans to climb
Squash leaves help soil retain the moisture

Special Steps Squash options:
– marrow is a striped summer squash
– zucchini
– courgette
– summer squash
– sunset squash stays small
– pumpkins (ready in October) mildew on leaves is OK
– Ghost pumpkin – skin is white, green inside, tough skin, keeps long

Variations Plant in April, and harvest through October

Plant seeds along side of soil covered with burlap sack (hessian sack)

When leaf dries out, and melon sounds hollow, it is ready to eat

Notes Courgette is a small summer squash – the leaves are edible

Firm and fresh blossoms that are only slightly open are cooked to be eaten, with pistils removed from female flowers, and stamens removed from male flowers.

 

Sweet Sour Pork

Ingredients

1 ½ LB pork
1 LB cooked ham or beef
1 TBS peanut oil
20 oz can pineapple chunks with juice
1 CU pineapple juice (in addition)
1 pkg brown gravy mix
3 TBL vinegar
1 tsp minced ginger
1 green pepper, chopped

Instructions

1. Freeze pork just until it is slightly rigid
2. Slice into very thin strips
3. Brown meat in frying pan or wok using peanut oil
4. Drain juice from can of pineapple – save chunks for later
5. Add all pineapple juice to wok
6. Stir in brown gravy mix, vinegar and ginger
7. Add green peppers
8. Simmer about ten minutes or until liquid starts to thicken
9. Add pineapple and heat three more minutes
10. Serve over rice

Sweet Red Pepper Sauce

Ingredients

1 1/2 tsps olive oil
4 red bell peppers, seeded and chopped
2/3 CU thinly sliced carrots
1 CU diced, drained, canned tomatoes
1/3 CU tomato puree
1 tsp minced garlic
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
1/2 CU peeled and chopped fresh pears
1/2 tsp fresh diced basil

Instructions

1. Heat oil in a large skillet. Sauté the peppers and carrots until soft.
2. Add tomato, tomato puree, garlic, pepper, pears and basil. Simmer for 30 minutes or until vegetables are soft.
3. Place in blender and puree until smooth.
4. Serve over pasta.

 

Sweet Potato Fries

Ingredients

2 sweet potatoes
oil and salt

Instructions

1.Cut potatoes into half three times – will result in 16 pieces
2. Place in cold water with ice. Chill at least 30 min.
3. Towel dry-as dry as possible.
4. Toss in canola oil
5. Sprinkle lightly with salt (or toss in bag with salt)
6. Bake on cookie sheet at 400 degrees for 30 minutes

 

Sweet Onion Bisque

INGREDIENTS

  • 1 Vidalia onion – sliced thin
  • 3 TBL Butter
  • 1 C Stock
  • 1/2 C Milk
  • 1/2 C Heavy cream
  • 1 egg yolk
  • 2 Chives – minced
  • 1 TBL Sour cream

STEP BY STEP

  1. Slice onion in half, and then very thin.
  2. Sweat onion in butter on low heat one hour.
  3. Add stock and bring to a boil.
  4. Reduce to a bare simmer and add milk.
  5. Bring back to a simmer, then remove from heat.
  6. Mix in heavy cream.
  7. Temper in your egg yolk.  CLICK HERE to see how to temper.
  8. Puree carefully and strain or run through a food mill.
  9. Garnish w/ sour cream & Chives

 

Super Duper Egg Sandwich

Ingredients

Multiply ingredients by the number of people to be served
1 egg
1 english muffin or 2 slices bread
1 TBL chives
1 TBL grated sharp cheddar (or other) preferred topping/spread for bread

Instructions

1. Heat oiled pan to medium heat
2. Put bread or muffin in toaster
3. Mix egg, chives and cheese in small bowl
4. Pour egg into skillet using spatula to form the egg into shape of the bread
5. Once formed, let it fry just like you would if it were a hamburger
6. Flip the egg patty, cooking the other side
7. Put on bread and serve (My dad likes ketchup on his!)

 

Try serving with ham on the sandwich too.

 

Sunny Side Up Egg

Ingredients

  • 1 egg
  • 1 tsp oil
  • 1 TBL water

Instructions

1. Break your egg into a small bowl making sure the yolk does not break.
2. Heat oil over low heat until it shimmers. If it smokes, your oil is too hot.
3. Gently slide your egg into the pan
     Use a spatula to gently form into a circle.
4. Let cook for about 15 seconds
5. Add your water into a part of the pan without oil and cover
6. Let cook 2 minutes then serve.

You can also make this with two eggs together.

 

Stuffed Meat Roll

Ingredients

2 CU Easy Home-made Stuffing (see recipe)
1 large chicken breast or large flat cut of meat
1 TBL olive oil
6-12 pices of cotton string approx 10-12 inches
Several large radishes

Instructions

1. Pound meat flat, into pallard
2. Spread stuffing length-wise
3. Roll meat into as tight a roll as possible
4. Tie every 1-2 inches
5. Sear in skillet on high heat in 1 TBL olive oil
6. Place on baking sheet and cook at 350 degrees for 15 minutes
7. Cut in between strings to serve
8. Put some type of leafy greens (or microgreens) on the side
9. Place Radish Flowers (see recipe) on each plate

 

Stuffed Butternut Squash

Ingredients

1 large butternut squash
2 TBS canola oil
½ CU minced scallions
2 cloves garlic (1+ tsp)
1 TBS grated/chopped fresh ginger
pinch salt & black pepper
½ CU bread crumbs

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400
2. Split squash in half (or lop off end caps. Use middle tomorrow.)
3. Remove seeds
4. Cook (cut side up) for about 45 minutes
5. Meanwhile-
6. Saute scallions for 3 minutes in canola oil
7. Add garlic and ginger, cook another minute or two, then set aside
8. Let all items cool, then mix everything except bread crumbs
9. Spoon into shells
10. Sprinkle with bread crumbs and cook for another 20 minutes

Try with other types of squash

 

Stuffed Bell Peppers

Photo from rejuvenatedforlife.com
Photo from rejuvenatedforlife.com

INGREDIENTS

  • 1/2 lean ground beef, chicken or turkey
  • 4 medium (wide) green red or yellow bell peppers
    – Select peppers that sit flat on their bottoms
  • 1/2 C raisins
  • 1/2 C orange juice
  • 1 C rice in 2 C water – long grain Basmati rice
  • 4 TBL butter
  • 1 diced onion
  • 3 chives – white chopped and separated from greens
    green cut at an angle and separated from whites
  • 8 basil leaves
  • 1 chopped yellow bell pepper
  • 1 small can mushrooms
  • 1 small can green chiles

STEP BY STEP

  1. Soak plump raisins in orange juice – set aside
  2. Cook your rice in the water – set aside
  3. Heat oven to 350 degrees
  4. Brown your meat in the skillet
  5. Add your onion and chive whites
  6. Add your butter, salt, pepper and diced yellow bell
  7. Add mushrooms and green chilies
  8. Add 1 deseeded and diced tomato
  9. Add your rice and mix all
  10. Cut tops off bell peppers, remove seeds
    NOTE: Choose wide pepper with a base that sits properly
    ALT: Lay bell on its side and cut off the top, leaving stem for presentation
  11. Combine filling ingredients, mixing lightly but thoroughly
  12. Spoon equal amount into each pepper – Fill, but don’t pack
  13. Place on baking dish
  14. Put a tab of butter on each one, or sprinkle with EVOO
  15. Cover dish tightly with aluminum foil
  16. Bake 60 minutes at 350°
    Uncover the last 10 minutes

Tortilla Soup

INGREDIENTS and STEP BY STEP

  • 2 tomatoes – quartered
  • 1 onion – quartered
  • 4 tomatillos – quartered
  • 6 cloves of garlic
  • 1 jalapeño – deseeded
    – Toss the above in 3 TBL EVOO
    – Place on baking sheet and sprinkle with salt
    – Bake at 350º for about 30 minutes – meanwhile in a large bowl
  • 1 zucchini – chopped
  • 2 ears of corn – cut off cob
    – Toss with
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp dried oregano
  • 1 tsp salt
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
    – Set aside for a few minutes
  • Bring 2 C chicken stock up to a boil and pour into a blender
    – Add tomatoes, etc to the blender
    – Put zucchini and corn on the now empty tray and put them back in the oven for 10 minutes
  • Add 1 handful of cilantro, 3 leaves Swiss chard, 2 TBL agave syrup, 2 TBL lime juice to the blender
    – Blend well
    – Return chicken mixture to a deep pot and bring back up to a simmer
    – Add the zucch and corn to the pot
  • Cut corn tortillas into strips, spray with oil and bake in oven until browned, using the now empty tray
  • Add 1 C garbanzo beans to the pot
  • Optional: Add shredded pork
  1. To serve, put crispy strips onto a plate, top with some chunky parts of the soup, dress with a little bit of broth.
  2. Garnish with some radish cut really thinly, strips of avocado and cilantro leaves.

Tortilla Española

AKA Spanish Tortilla

In Spain, the tortillas are not the thin things that we are used to in Phoenix, but rather thick potato quiches.
In Spain, tortillas are not the thin things that we use here in Phoenix, but rather thick potato quiches.

INGREDIENTS

  • 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1-1/4 pounds waxy potatoes, peeled and thinly sliced
  • 1 medium onion, thinly sliced
  • 8 extra-large eggs
  • Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
  • Optional:  Cheese mix: See notes at bottom of this page.

STEP BY STEP

  1. Heat half of your oil in a large skillet till hot, but not smoking.
  2. Add the onion and stir occasionally.  Onion should sweat and soften, but not caramelize.
  3. Gently toss the potatoes in with the onion, seasoning with salt and pepper along the way.
  4. Reduce the heat to medium, and cover.
  5. Simmer – stirring occasionally and adjusting the heat if necessary so that the vegetables do not brown, until the potatoes are tender when pierced with the tip of a parking knife, 15 to 20 minutes.
  6. Meanwhile, beat the eggs with salt and pepper to taste in a large bowl.
  7. Heat the oil in a large cast-iron or nonstick skillet over medium-high until very hot but not smoking.
  8. Gently temper the potatoes and onion into the eggs
  9. Pour the entire thing into the skillet, spreading the potatoes evenly in the pan.
  10. Cook for about 1 minute, just to set the bottom of the egg mixture.
  11. Reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for 20 minutes, or until almost set through.
  12. Carefully flip the tortilla over (invert it onto a plate if you must, then slide it back into the pan, bottom side up) and cook for 5 minutes longer, until set.
  13. Flip out onto a clean plate and allow to rest for 5 minutes.
  14. Serve warm or at room temperature.

NOTE

  • After reducing the heat to medium-low in Step 11, start checking for doneness after about 15 minutes. It may not take the 20 minutes mentioned depending on the pan you use. You don’t want to overcook the eggs or they’ll toughen and become dry.
  • You could, of course, Americanize this just a bit with cheese.  Option 1 is to use a Monterey Jack and cheddar mix.  Option 2 is to grate a nutty Gruyere, Manchego or Parmigiano-Reggiano and toss into the egg and potato mixture. It isn’t traditional but it adds another layer of flavor.
  • Use organic eggs if possible. There is a difference, especially in dishes like this one where eggs are the focal point.
  • Tortilla Española is essentially the national dish of Spain. You can eat it as a tapa, for breakfast, in a bocadillo (sandwich), or for dinner with salad and a bit of jamon. Basically anytime, anywhere. We had a great one at Valdubon and I think it’s because they weren’t afraid to use a lot of olive oil. No fear!

Reprinted from Spain: A Culinary Road Trip by Mario Batali with Gwyneth Paltrow, published by Ecco, an Imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, 2008 with adaptations by Robert (Grandpa) Andrews

 

Tortilla Chips

This recipe can use either corn or flour tortillas.  I prefer corn.
Place tortillas one on top of the other, brushing each with EVOO.
Sprinkle each layer with a bit of salt
Cut the stack into quarters or sixths
– For larger tortillas, you can cut them into squares
Spread onto a baking sheet so that each chips is isolated
Bake at 400º for 10-12 minutes

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Ingredients

Flour tortillas
Spray oil (preferably olive oil)

Instructions

1. Lay two or three tortillas on a cutting board.
2. Lay a storage zip-lock on top of the tortillas for sizing purposes.
3. Use a pizza cutter or knife to cut off anything that will not store FLAT
4. Put trimmed tortillas in zip-lock and store (we freeze four per bag)
5. Lay remaining scraps on a cookie sheet
6. Spray lightly with oil and bake at 350 degrees for 10-15 minutes

Note

You can cut the tortilla strips however you want, but we came up with this recipe as an answer to “How do we store flour tortillas in a 1 gallon zip lock bag?” The tortillas are about twelve inches in diameter, and the bags only about ten inches wide. Answer: Trim off the edges of the circle.

 

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