Books for Foodies II

On an earlier post, I made a quick summary of some "Foodie" books I read. I've since read a couple more books, so here's my take on them.

Paula Deen: It Ain't All About the Cookin' by Paula Deen with Sherry Suib Cohen

For me, watching Paula Deen on the Food Network has always been enjoyable. She's so cheerful, warm, and she has a great laugh. Her recipes look yummy, but I hadn't tried any of them before reading this book. The reason? I'm constantly trying to find recipes that use less butter, not more.

However, I enjoyed reading this book from start to finish. As I read, I felt like I was listening to an old friend chat with me over a cup of tea. Her story is truly inspiring because she started out with nothing. She is a success today because of a lot of hard work, determination, and a little bit of luck.

Before reading this book, I felt like her sons (whom you constantly see on her shows) were riding on their mother's coattails. (I mean, they even have their own show?) Now I see that they were an integral part to building the empire that she is today.

The details about her agoraphobia are shocking and graphic. You feel her pain, and when you finish the book you will like her even more.

I was inspired to cook one of the "recipes" she describes in her book. I said "recipes" because you're going to laugh when you see how easy it is, but it is SO GOOD.

Paula's Romantic Puff Pastry Dessert

Buy a box of puff pastry and let it defrost. Cut the pastry into squares (about 5" X 5"). Brush each square with some milk, and then place a mini chocolate bar in the center. (I used mini Snickers bars.) Bring the corners up to form a small package and seal the edges. Bake in a 425 degree oven until brown. (I made four in my toaster oven.)

Oh. My. God. So good! You must try making these at your next dinner party. People will flip.

Even though it seems that I see Paula's name on every kitchen product around these days, I think she deserves every penny! A great read.

Julie & Julia by Julie Powell

I was inspired to read this book after enjoying the movie. Loved, loved the movie.

The book, however, did not work for me. As a fellow-semi-foodie-blogger, it was interesting at the beginning. I enjoyed reading about how she cooked each dish, what went wrong, right, finding the ingredients, etc., and then it started to feel repetitious. Then it continued to feel repetitious. Then I felt bored. So quite honestly, I stopped reading it when I was about half-way through. Is that wrong? But I highly recommend the movie.

Here's a link to my earlier post on Books For Foodies.

Fall River Chow Mein

Sunday, July 19, 2009

Are you familiar with Fall River Style Chow Mein? Fall River Style Chow Mein is unique to our part of the country. Usually, it is made with ground pork, ground beef, and some vegetables such as bean sprouts, onions, and green peppers.

People from Fall River and the surrounding towns love their Fall River style chow mein. It is sometimes even served in our schools. Add a glass of ice cold coffee milk, and you're all set.

The company (Oriental Chow Mein Company) that makes the mix of noodles and gravy, Hoo Mee Chow Mein, had a fire last summer, so the noodles weren't available for a while. It was terrible! But I'm happy to report that they have re-opened. For local chow mein lovers, that means the crunchy, dark noodles are back and better than ever.

In this photo, I poured the gravy over rice because my kids ate most of the crunchy noodles. It tasted delicious, but it was more like a chop suey than a chow mein.

My favorite way to eat Fall River Style Chow Mein is as a "Chow Mein Sandwich." Quite simply, you just serve the crunchy, dark noodles and gravy on top of a hamburger bun.

Chicken with Pesto-Mushroom Cream Sauce

Boneless chicken breast is a staple in my house, my family will attest to that. I figure it is a healthy way to get protein into our diets.

Sometimes, however, we get chickened out. How many times can you eat grilled chicken breast in a summer? Looks like I'm on my way to setting a record.

A few days ago, I made homemade walnut pesto which I used as a sandwich spread in one of our favorite sandwiches, which we affectionately call "tomato mozz". You can put fresh basil in the sandwich, or you can use pesto. Both ways make for a delicious sandwich.

Then I had a little pesto leftover. This recipe uses two of my favorite ingredients - boneless chicken breast and pesto. I modified it so that there is not much "cream" in it. If you want it to be thicker and richer, feel free to increase the cream and decrease the chicken broth. It was delicious!

Chicken with Pesto-Mushroom Cream Sauce

1-1/2 lb. boneless chicken breasts
3 T. olive oil
10 oz. white mushrooms, sliced thinly
5 cloves of garlic
1/2 cup half & half
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1/4 cup pesto
2 T lemon juice

Heat 1 T. olive oil in large skillet over medium high heat. Cook chicken until golden brown, about 3 minutes per side. Transfer to a plate and cover with foil.

Add 2 T olive oil to skillet and cook mushrooms until browned, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic and cook about 30 seconds. Add half & half, broth, and chicken to skillet and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer until chicken is cooked through (about 15 minutes).

Transfer chicken to serving platter and cover with foil. Return skillet to high heat and simmer until sauce is thickened (about 5 minutes). Off heat, stir in pesto and lemon juice, season with salt and pepper. Pour sauce over chicken and serve.

Blueberry Buckle

Warm blueberry buckle is like a big hug from Mom. Juicy blueberries are mixed into a light, moist buttery cake, topped with cinnamon scented crumbs. This is comfort food at its finest.

Think of it as a coffee cake, but it does have a bit of healthy fruit in there. I know this is a stretch, but can we all agree it's a way to get more antioxidants into our diets? Humor me.

Serve it for dessert or as a snack with a nice hot cup of coffee. I recommend that you take the extra time to zap it in the microwave when you snack on it the next day, if it lasts that long.

Blueberry Buckle

3/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup shortening (I used butter flavored Crisco)
1 egg
1/2 cup milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
2 cups fresh blueberries
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 cup butter, softened (I used less)

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease one 8x8 inch pan.
2. Cream together 3/4 cup sugar, shortening, and egg. Sift into the bowl 2 cups flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir in blueberries. Pour into greased 8x8 inch pan.
3. To make topping, combine 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, cinnamon, and butter. Sprinkle over cake batter.

4. Bake at 375 degrees F (190 degrees C) for 30 - 40 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Tomato, Basil and Feta on Penne

Today we had the good fortune to go to a farmer's market. Included in my many purchases were some juicy tomatoes. For dinner tonight, I wanted to do something with the tomatoes and the gorgeous basil that is multiplying like crazy on my back porch. I made this pasta dish, and it is summer on a plate!

The great flavors of garlic, tomato, fresh basil and feta cheese combine to give you something different to put on that pasta of yours. (Aren't you so sick of marinara. Enough already!) We always have feta on hand. As we always say in our family, "Feta makes it betta."

This recipe is so simple and so delicious. You can eat it hot or cold (think summer buffet), although tonight we had it warm with some grilled lemon chicken, salad, and corn-on-the-cob. It was my first time making it, but it won't be my last.

Tomato, Basil, and Feta on Penne

2 cloves garlic, crushed

2 T olive oil

2 cups tomatoes, seeded and chopped

1/2 pound penne pasta

3 T chopped fresh basil

1 cup chopped feta cheese

Cook penne according to pasta. Meanwhile, warm olive oil in saute pan. Saute garlic for a minute or two (do not let it brown). Add chopped tomatoes. Let it simmer for 5 to 10 minutes so the natural juices come out. Season with salt and pepper. Once penne is cooked, drain and toss with tomato mixture. Add fresh basil and pasta. Toss to combine.

Baked Stuffed Cod

Tonight we had baked stuffed cod. It's a tried and true, and we all love it. This delicate, mild fish needs a boost of flavor, and this recipe always delivers.

This recipe uses very little butter and oil. If you're trying to achieve the type of dish you would get at a restaurant, you may want to add more butter or oil. As an alternative, I use a splash of chicken broth to make the topping moist. You could probably try using a little clam juice if you have that in your cabinet.

Baked Stuffed Cod

1-1/3 pounds cod

1/2 cup fresh bread crumbs

1/2 cup crushed Ritz cracker crumbs

1 T. olive oil

1 T. butter

1 t. lemon juice

splash of white wine

splash of chicken broth

1 large (or 2 small) garlic cloves

In a saute pan, warm olive oil and butter over medium low heat. Add garlic, and saute until soft (a couple of minutes). Do not let the garlic brown. Add the bread crumbs and Ritz cracker crumbs and continue to brown for a few minutes. Add the lemon juice, wine and broth. Continue to cook at a medium heat for five to ten minutes more. The mixture should be somewhat moist. If it's not, you can add a bit more chicken broth.

Cut the cod into four serving pieces. Spray a baking pan with cooking spray. Place the pieces of fish in the pan, and cover each piece with some of the bread crumb mixture.

Bake uncovered in a preheated oven at 400 degrees. It should take about 20 to 25 minutes for it to cook through. You'll know it's done when it can flake easily with a fork.

Roasted Beets and Sauteed Beet Greens

At the farmer's market today, I was moved to buy beets. They looked too pretty and fresh to ignore.

I have only eaten sliced beets from the can, usually cold, usually in a three bean salad with red wine vinegar. When I went to college, I ate canned beets on my cottage cheese and lettuce during my I'm-a-vegetarian phase. Nowadays, I rarely have a can of beets in my cabinet.

Now I'm older (much), and I realize I've been missing something by not buying fresh beets. When I saw the price tag, just $1.79, I said "Why not?" I'm glad I tried them. They are tender, delicious, and nothing like what you get in a can.

I must come clean and admit that not everyone in my family will try these. My daughter had a bite of the beet and she liked it. That's about all I'm going to get out of the whole family. Nonetheless, I will continue to expose them to all kinds of foods so that one day they may like more foods.

I read a book in April, "Anticancer, the New Way of Life" by David Servan-Schreiber which described the many health benefits of beets. Among them, beets protect against heart disease, birth defects and certain cancers.

Although the oven made my kitchen so hot (today of all days, I decide to make these), it was well worth it. It really is a simple process to cook fresh beets. Just peel after they are cooked! You mustn't let the beet greens go to waste either. I liked them just as well as the beets themselves. Two side dishes in one!

Roasted Beets

Cut off the greens from one bunch of beets. Wash well. Put the beets in a dish coated with cooking spray. Drizzle a tablespoon of olive oil. Cover with foil, and bake in a 350 oven for about 1 hour, 10 minutes or until they are cooked to your liking. You'll know they are done when a knife can be inserted easily. I like the beets to be fairly tender. After they come out of the oven, let them cool. Peel. Slice thinly. Serve simply with butter, salt and pepper, or drizzle some red wine vinegar.

Sauteed Beet Greens

Wash greens very well. Cut into three to four inch pieces. In a large saute pan, warm a tablespoon or two of olive oil. Add a clove or two of garlic, depending on your taste. Saute the greens on medium heat until they are wilted. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle a little sugar (about 1 teaspoon) and sprinkle in some red wine vinegar (about 1 tablespoon).