Thai Lettuce Cups

This is one of our favorites and I don't think I've ever posted it. It's a two-parter but neither part is very hard at all.

Cucumber Relish:
1 cucumber, diced small (about 1 1/2 cups)
1/4 cup roasted peanuts, finely chopped but really I don't usually chop them
3 Tbs rice vinegar

Mix all three in a smallish bowl and put it in the fridge to chill while you make the filling


Lettuce Cups:
One head of boston or butter lettuce--just separate and wash the leaves. You probably didn't need instructions for that.


Filling:
1 Tbs olive oil
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
1 cup frozen corn
12 ounces soy crumbles or your favorite ground meat
1/2 tsp Thai red chili paste (I use Thai kitchen, it's pretty common)

1. Heat oil in large non-stick skillet on medium-high. Add onion and cook 5 minutes or so until it browns. If you're doing meat, throw that in there and brown it at the same time. Or . . .
2. Add crumbles and corn and cook until nice and hot. Several minutes if they're frozen, 1 or 2 minutes if they're thawed.
3. Add chili paste and cook 3 minutes or so. The chili paste likes to clump up so make sure to stir it well. Season with salt and pepper, add the green onions, and remove from heat.

To serve, put generous spoonfuls of filling and relish on a lettuce leaf, fold it like a soft taco and eat. Or just tear up your lettuce and make some sort of Thai taco salad. ;)

By the way, I made our blog pages search-able so hopefully our personal 'search blog' gadget will start to work better.

New cheese!

They were handing out samples of this at the marke the other night, so we bit. It's amazing stuff: Dorset Drum English Farmhouse Cheddar. Pricey for a cheddar, but worth it for a splurge. It's basically your Platonic ideal of a cheddar: perfect balance between creamy and crumbly, with a sharpness that keeps building in your mouth as you eat it. Plus it comes in a nifty thick black wax rind.

That is all.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

 

PineappleUpside-Down Cake

It is said that thepineapple originated in the Caribbean Islands from a shipwreck. Thepineapple carried by an ill-fated Spanish ship was washed ashore. Itwas carried onboard, because the Spanish explorers ate it to preventscurvy – a disease that causes Vitamin C deficiency.

The pineapple upsidedown cake was first recognized in 1924, in a fund-raising cookbookand again in 1925 in a Gold Medal Flour ad. In 1936, Sears Roebuckadded it to its catalog; making is a familiar staple of Americanculture. 

 

Apineapple upside down cake begins with a layer of sweet pineapplethat is syrupy and glazed in butter at the bottom of a heavy skillet.This is topped with a cake batter and baked. After baking, thecreation is flipped over, producing a beautiful upside down pineapplecake.

I'm not sure how accurate the above information is but I thought it was an interesting story.  I made my first pineapple upside-down cake when I found the recipe in a magazine and decided to try it.  I seem to remember that we were living in Yakima, Washington.  Alongside the recipe, the magazine had an offer from the Dole company for a special cake pan so I sent for one and both Dad and I have used it for pineapple upside-down cake ever since.  Later on, I don't remember when, we picked up another pan in a thrift shop.  We must have done that twice over the years because when Dad got the pans out to make cakes for a party this year he found that we had three!  Since we never make more than two at a time, we sent the extra one home with Dena and promised to post our recipe on the family food blog.

This cake can be made in any kind of pan that you happen to have.  You can cut the pineapple slices to fit your pan and create your own design.  Should you, however, want the kind of pan that we have you can purchase one on Amazon.com   http://www.amazon.com/Nordic-Ware-Pineapple-Upside-Down/dp/B000237FSK   or search for a better price somewhere else.

Now – for ourrecipe! Pineapple Upside-Down Cake

¼ cup butter

½ cup brownsugar

5 to 7 slicesDole Pineapple

Maraschinocherries (optional)

1 package whiteor yellow cake mix for a one layer cake (such as Jiffy Cake) orone-half of a regular size package.

Melt butter,brown sugar and 2 tablespoons of pineapple syrup in an 8 or 9-inchskillet or cake pan or in special upside-down cake pan. Remove fromheat and arrange pineapple and cherries in mixture.

Prepare batteras directed on cake package. Pour over mixture in the pan. Bake ina preheated 350 degree oven 40 to 50 minutes, until cake tests done. Let stand 5 minutes. Invert on serving plate. Allow 2 to 3 moreminutes before removing the pan. Serve warm or at room temperaturewith whipped cream. Makes 5 or 6 servings.

French Peas

This recipe has been a family tradition from Mom's family, but I had never done it myself until this year. (My sisters and I had specialized responsibilities, but the pea sister was with her husband's family this year.) Now I get to decide whether to continue the tradition.

Ingredients

• 4 slices bacon
• 4 green onions, chopped
• 1 cup finely shredded lettuce
• 1 Tbsp flour
• 1 cube chicken bullion
• ½ cup water
• 16 oz. peas
• 1 small can water chestnuts
• ¼ tsp salt

Directions

Fry the bacon in a large skillet over high heat until browned on edges. Drain the excess fat. Add the green onions, lettuce, and flour; cook over medium-high heat until some of the lettuce turns transparent, stirring frequently. Add bullion and water, and cook until thick. Add peas, water chestnuts, and salt; cook until peas are tender.

Makes 5-6 servings.

Comments

For six adults and three children, we doubled the recipe and had plenty left over. Lemon Verbena finds it a bit soggy, so it might be largely nostalgia for me. Nevertheless, I might experiment with less water and possibly different kinds of lettuce. Given that a co-worker has recently sung the praises of kale, that could be a good place to start.

Christmas ham glaze 2011

Usually I bake a ham for Christmas, and usually I put a glaze on it that evolved out of a recipe I found on the internet years ago. This year it evolved further, and it came out pretty good. Unfortunately I didn't measure, but here's more or less what went into it:

Ingredients:
1 can frozen concentrated apple juice
maple syrup (this is what I didn't measure - I used a lot, though, maybe a cup or more)
Gateway to the North Maple Garlic Seasoning - 1 tbsp
Sichuan pepper (but from Japan: goes under the name sanshō) - 1 tbsp

1. Mix the apple juice and maple syrup in a saucepan. Heat on medium until melted and mixed.

2. Mix in the spices and simmer for a while.

The Maple Garlic seasoning was something Joanna gave us for Christmas - very tasty stuff (thanks!). And it somehow mixed wonderfully with the sansho. Sansho, as the wiki says, is not at all the same as normal pepper - kind of peppery tasting, but has a nice herby fragrance that sets it apart. Anyway, it all went together nicely.

3. Heat your oven to 325. Put the ham (ready-to-eat) in a glass baking dish and pop in a meat thermometer.

4. Score the ham with a knife. Drizzle the glaze over liberally. We were only cooking for two, and the above measurements make far more than we needed for a 2-lb ham. But since juice concentrate only comes in one size, there's not much we could do about the extra. If we'd poured it all on the ham would have been swimming. The point for you is: this recipe will make enough glaze for a much larger ham.

5. Bake the ham, uncovered, until it reaches an internal temp of 145. While baking, take it out every 20 minutes or so to spoon the glaze over it.

The result: some of the excess liquid will evaporate, and what's left will have mixed with the ham's juices to leave a very sweet, very tasty gravy. We usually have ham with mashed potatoes and steamed peas, and the gravy is good on all of it.

Walley Family Sugar Cookies - Dena's Initiation

Dena has officially participated in the all-important Walley Family Sugar Cookie Initiation Rite and has passed with flying colors. Not only did she intuitively grasp the subtleties of cutting out Sesame Street cookies, as well as excel at the difficult-to-master "sugar flop," but she thoroughly understands the importance of not overbaking these delicate masterpieces.

In the course of bringing Dena into the circle of sugar cookie mastery, we did have a close call. Thinking to include Mom and Dad in the cookie fun, we made one batch using Splenda instead of sugar. This was the first batch out of the oven and since I was rolling out dough for the next batch, I had Dena try one of them. She took a bite and then simply handed me the cookie and watched carefully as I took a bite. Mind you, I have been bragging about the family sugar cookies for a long time and she knew the pressure was on to, even if I didn't. Well, that bite was initially good, as the sugar on top dominated the flavor. But as I chewed, I realized that not only had the Splenda made the dough dry and crumbly (even with milk worked in), and the cookies drier at baking, but the substitute sweetener had basically ruined the cookie. I didn't hear it, but I believe Dena let out a sigh of relief when I declared that the cookie was bad and not at all what it should be. The next batch, made with regular sugar, were much better and under interrogation, Dena agreed that they are among the best sugar cookies ever made (leaving herself wiggle room in case she ever tastes better ones, which we all know is impossible and she will learn in time). All is well.

Oh, and here's the recipe for posterity's sake.

Walley Family Sugar Cookie Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup shortening
• 1 cup (plain old white granulated) sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/2 tsp. lemon extract OR 1 tsp. vanilla extract (I'm thinking about almond extract)
• 2 cups flour (regular old general purpose white flour; sifted)
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 3 tablespoons milk
• Food coloring if desired

Directions
Blend shortening, sugar, egg, and flavoring in the mixing bowl. If you are going to make colored cookies, add the food coloring at this point. In a separate bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. (I often add the baking powder and salt directly to the wet mixture, then add the flour separately as follows.) Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture in about 3 phases, adding a portion of dry then a tablespoon of milk and repeating until all is mixed together in a good dough. (Do not try to finish mixing with your electric mixer unless you have a super-powerful stand mixer, or you might burn out the motor. Mix a reasonable amount and then finish by hand.) Chill the dough for at least an hour.

This dough is slightly too thick, which is why
the edge of the boat didn't cut cleanly.

After chilling, take roll the dough out on a floured board/counter or a pastry canvas (never seen one in my life, but it sounds intriguing). You'll usually want to roll the dough to a thickness of about 1 cm.; however, the thickness can vary according to which cookie cutters you are using. If the dough flakes too much, dip your fingers in milk and work the dough until it sticks together better. If it's too wet and sticky, work in some more flour. Make sure to flour your cookie cutters before cutting out the shapes; this is especially important when using ones with "faces." Flip each cookie face-down onto a plate of sugar and pat gently, then place face-up on an ungreased cookie sheet. (You might want to cover the cookie sheet in foil if it is old or non-nonstick.)

Bake cookies at 400 degrees for 7-10 minutes. Technically! In reality, you only bake them until the cookies set and the edges are just barely thinking of turning the slightest bit brown. This often turns out to be at 6 minutes. If you take them out and they are still too soft to move from cookie sheet to cooling surface, leave them on the cookie sheet for another minute or two, then carefully move with spatula.

Reese says "Eat with milk!"

These cookies can be preserved by freezing; the important thing in all storage methods is to not let them dry out. Even so, dry cookies can be revived by dunking them in milk. Milk cures everything.

Mormon Gravy

Mormon Gravy

This is a recipe that I (being your mom) grew up on.  My mother made it often and always served it with Bisquick drop biscuits.  Dad's family had biscuits and/or cornbread on the table each day, always made from scratch whereas my mother made biscuits the easy way.  Anyway, back to our family history of eating "Mormon Gravy."  I'm sure that my mother grew up on this, too, since it's an easy way to feed a lot of people and she came from a family of 12 children.  

"Mormon Gravy" is a milk gravy and is a way of using pan drippings and little bits of meat left from whatever kind of meat was cooked for a previous meal.  Pioneers, including the Mormons had to use every bit of food they had in the most economical way they could and I'm sure this was often made with water when milk wasn't available.

Dad and I made it with ground beef, the way my mother did, but also used it with dried beef (the kind that comes in a little glass - you children probably remember having those as juice glasses when you were growing up).  When we made the gravy with dried beef torn into little pieces (chipped beef) we often served it over rice.  When Dad was in the Army it was served over toast but I won't tell you what the soldiers in the mess hall called it - ask him!

Ingredients

3 tablespoons meat drippings Not being as poor as the pioneers, we always started by cooking some ground beef, as did my  mother.  Sometimes, she would make hamburgers the night before and save the pan with a little bit of meat to make Mormon Gravy for breakfast in the morning.  We stretched a pound of ground beef to feed a growing family by leaving all of the beef in and using it as a main meal.  Obviously, it can be made with whatever meat one has and, if a little more oil is needed some can be added.

3 tablespoons flour

2 cups milk 

Salt and pepper

Directions

Leave 3 tablespoons fat drippings infrying pan in which meat was cooked. Add flour and brown slightlywhile stirring. Remove from heat and add milk, stirring well toblend. Return to heat; cook and stir until mixture is thick andsmooth. Season to taste. Serve with potatoes, biscuits, or cornbread.Note: This gravy is usually made from fried beef drippings, but othermeat drippings are commonly used.

Making this is not an exact recipe.  There are numerous recipes for this type of gravy on the Internet.  This happens to be closest to what my mother (your Grandmother Munroe) made.  Amounts may vary so feel free to experiment should you decide to try it.  


Below is a copy of a little handout that I gave the Relief Society Sister in our Branch in New Delhi when I taught a Homemaking Meeting and we talked about the Mormon Pioneers.


Side Pork andMormon Gravy

*Mormongravy, common fare among the early settlers and apparently a creationof necessity expressly for the times, is still hearty and nourishingfor many of this generation who like to make it with ground beef orfrizzled ham or bacon and serve it over baked potatoes.

* Iate a lot of “Mormon Gravy” while growing up. My mother made itwith ground (minced) beef and always served it with biscuits and aside dish of peas. In America, biscuits (in India, biscuits refer to cookies)refer to small quick breads, which use baking powder or baking sodato make them rise. They are tender and light. The tradition ofeating “Mormon Gravy” is one that was passed down throughgenerations from my Mormon Pioneer ancestors. – Sister Walley

8thick slices side pork (or thick-cut bacon strips)

4tablespoons meat drippings

3tablespoons flour

2cups milk

Salt,pepper, paprika

Cookmeat on both sides in heavy frying pan until crisp. Remove from panand keep warm. Measure fat and return desired amount to skillet. Addflour and brown slightly. Remove from heat and add milk, stirringwell to blend. Return to heat and cook and stir until mixture isthick and smooth. Season to taste. Serve with side pork on potatoes,biscuits, cornbread, or even pancakes.