Posts Tagged Recipes

Our family is about to enter a new phase of soccer madness. Bun Bun made it onto an All Star team and, along with her sisters, is also playing soccer for her school.  Between the three of them, there’ll be about ten soccer commitments a week.  If we want to be fed, I have to make some dinners ahead of time, freeze them and then thaw and bake when needed.  I haven’t found too many great casserole recipes but I’m working on it.  Today, I decided to indulge my family with a tasty lasagna.  It requires work, sure, but within an hour I was able to put together two tins of the stuff – one for tonight and one for down the road.  It’ll easily feed our family of five with leftovers for a weekend lunch (and then a nap after.)

The traditional Italian lasagna includes, I think, spinach, nutmeg and béchamel sauce.  This is not that lasagna.  Cook some of the noodles, make a ricotta/mozzarella/parmesan mixture, and you can do just about anything you want and call it lasagna, as far as I’m concerned.  Make one layer a meat sauce, another just cheese, still another a vegetable mixture.  Go crazy, or just make this one I came up with and enjoy the different flavors of pesto, sun-dried tomatoes and Italian sausage.  I’ll serve this one with sourdough and Caesar salad and the kids will eat it up.  We’ll all have garlic breath in the morning that could curl hair.

I was lying before.  This took longer than an hour because I make my own red sauce and pesto.  I think my family is worth it.  If you don’t love your children or your guests as much as I love mine, by all means buy pre-made marinara and pesto.  It’ll make the whole job faster and easier, just not quite as tasty.

Jo’s Lasagna (for two 9×13 pans)

package of lasagna noodles (you’ll need 18 cooked for the two pans)

5-6 uncooked Italian sausage links (I use the Chicken Sicilian Sausage from Trader Joe’s)

marinara sauce (about six cups)

3/4 cup pesto (Butoni makes a good one as does Trader Joe’s, or blend garlic, basil, pine nuts, olive oil and parmesan together and make your own)

1 cup chopped sun-dried tomatoes, packed in oil

3 cups ricotta cheese

4 cups shredded mozzarella

3 cups shredded or grated parmesan

2 eggs

salt and pepper to taste

If you’re making your own red sauce, do that first.  Otherwise, add some salt and olive oil to a pot of water and boil the lasagna noodles.  Drain and separate by hanging them individually over the sides of the colander so they won’t stick together.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the ricotta, 3 cups mozzarella, 2 cups parmesan and eggs.  Add salt and pepper.  Divide this ricotta mixture evenly in two bowls.  To one bowl, mix in the pesto.  To the other bowl, mix in the sun-dried tomatoes.

Remove the casing from the sausage and brown in a heavy sauce pan.  Add three cups of red sauce.

Cover the bottom of the lasagna tin or pan with a layer of the remaining red sauce.  On top of this, place three lasagna noodles out side by side.  Using half the pesto/ricotta mixture (remember you’re making two of these – one for now, one to freeze), spread on top of the noodles.  Sprinkle with mozzarella and parmesan.  Layer with red sauce.  Next layer is three lasagna noodles.  Then spread out half of the sun-dried tomato/ricotta mixture, then half of the sausage/red sauce.  Sprinkle with mozzarella and parmesan.  Layer three more lasagna noodles, then red sauce and finally, sprinkle with mozzarella.  Cover in foil and cook in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 60 minutes and then uncover for an additional 20 minutes.  Let stand for 10 minutes before cutting and serving.

Using the remaining ingredients, make the second pan of lasagna.  Cover tightly and freeze.  Thaw in the fridge before heating.  It will need at least 90 minutes to cook if not at room temperature.

Look for additional make-ahead meals in the coming weeks.  More soups would be good.

Yeah, I'm just going to have these three.

I will have no less than six children over this afternoon.  Good thing I made some cookies.  Maybe you should do the same, even if it’s just you and the dog watching the “Grey’s Anatomy”/”Private Practice” crossover episode tonight.  I just love those crossover episodes!

This recipe makes about 60 cookies.  I usually mix in some walnuts with the last 8-10 spoonfuls of batter before I cook them.  My kids don’t like their cookies with nuts, so this assures me my fair share.

Puddin’ Chocolate Chip Cookies

2 sticks of butter

1 cup brown sugar

½ cup granulated sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla

2 ¼ cups whole wheat flour

1 small box vanilla instant pudding

1 teaspoon baking soda

2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

coarse salt

walnuts (optional)

Heat the oven to 350°.  Mix the butter and sugars together.  Add eggs and vanilla.  Mix again.  Add wheat flour, pudding and baking soda and mix together to form cookie dough.  Stir in chocolate chips and try not to eat too much of the batter.  You might end up feeling sick, like I do right now.

Drop in rounded spoonfuls on cookie sheets.  Bake for 9-11 minutes or until the edges of the cookies are just brown.  Now here’s the really wacky part.  Just out of the oven, sprinkle some coarse salt over the top of the cookies.  We got really into Trader Joe’s Sea Salt Caramels over the holidays and we’ve been in withdrawal.  You’ll be amazed how good the salt tastes with the chocolate.

Tomorrow: more Friday fodder

ON THE EIGHTH DAY OF THANKSGIVING, MY TRUE LOVE GAVE TO ME: EIGHT MASHED POTATOES, 7 yams a-sweetening, 6 cups of green beans, 5 decorative gourds, 4 colanders, 3 fancy breads, 2 turkeys brining, and a pork shoulder of carnitas.

Are you really hoping to get the recipe for Jo’s Famous Garlic Mashed Potatoes? Now? Really? ‘Cause I don’t have a recipe. I use lots of butter, salt, garlic, whole milk and black pepper. Did I mention the butter, salt and garlic? I just made about 15 pounds of the stuff and I’m exhausted. I’m not sure how I’m going to get down to my sister’s and park myself on the couch to watch football and then eat. Thanksgiving can be so tough. But all right, if you really insist, and you haven’t made your mashed potatoes yet, here’s what I’ve come up for about 15 people.

8 large russet potatoes, peeled and boiled until you can easily stab them with a fork
1 stick of butter
4 large garlic cloves
1 cup of whole milk
Salt
Pepper

I use a ricer to mash the potatoes. Then I chop the garlic and sauté in the butter. When the scent of garlic has thoroughly wafted through the house, I add the milk and heat it almost until boiling. I add this to the potatoes and add so much salt, you would be appalled. I’m also generous with the pepper, because I like pepper. Using a hand mixer, I try and get all the lumps out and make it nice and smooth, and pretty fluffy. If it’s not really fluffy and you could spackle a wall with it, add more milk (and butter if you want). Serve it nice and hot.

I have a separate batch that I added a container of bleu cheese to, and eliminated the garlic. Cool, tangy flavor.

By the way, are you wondering how I can claim my potatoes are famous? They were mentioned last week on a radio station in Chico, California. The fact that the DJ was my nephew, I think, is only slightly coincidental.

Thanks for hanging in there during these 8 days. I’m hoping next year, people from Maine to Minnesota, Hawaii to Florida, are singing it around the table. What do you think? Unrealistic?

Happy Thanksgiving to all and to all a good night.

ON THE SEVENTH DAY OF THANKSGIVING, MY TRUE LOVE GAVE TO ME: SEVEN YAMS A-SWEETENING, 6 cups of green beans, 5 decorative gourds, 4 colanders, 3 fancy breads, 2 turkeys brining, and a pork shoulder of carnitas

My mother is a very practical woman, so I was aghast and conversely pleased when I discovered that her marshmallow yams were made with the real thing – peeled, boiled and smooshed. No canned yams for my mom, oh no, not her. The dish is as much for the kids to get their potassium, fiber, and A/B/C vitamins (you could put marshmallows on chicken liver and kids would eat it), as it is to add great color to your feast.

I know. I know. It’s the night before Thanksgiving and if you don’t have your groceries by now, you’re thinking about eliminating certain dishes because you’re exhausted and Turkey Day resentments have begun to set in. Well, buck up, tuck the kids in, and head to your local Ralph’s, which is open 24 hours and is still well stocked with whatever you need, which for my Mom’s Marshmallow Yams, is the following: 

(This will feed about 20, so adjust accordingly.)
7 medium size yams
2 cans crushed pineapple (in juice, not syrup – and yes, CANS, because you’re running out of time)
½ stick butter, melted 
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 bag miniature marshmallows

Peel and boil yams; strain and place in mixing bowl. Add pineapple (I drain most of the juice first), butter, ginger and nutmeg. Mix well and pour into 13×9 baking dish. 
Heat oven to 350°. Place marshmallows in one layer over yam mixture. Bake for approximately 25 minutes or until marshmallows are golden. Serve immediately.

There is scientific evidence* that exercise before the Thanksgiving meal makes it taste, on average, seven times better than normal – or you could visit your local marijuana dispensary for the same result but you’d be hard pressed to find one open tomorrow. (They’re everywhere! Moratorium, schmoratorium.) So, think about a morning run, walk or hike before, during or after the Macy’s parade and you won’t feel so guilty tomorrow when you consume more calories in a meal than many of us do in a week. (It’s L.A. We’re mostly vain and mostly fit.)

*somewhere, I’m sure

ON THE SIXTH DAY OF THANKSGIVING, MY TRUE LOVE GAVE TO ME: SIX CUPS OF GREEN BEANS, 5 decorative gourds, 4 colanders, 3 fancy breads, 2 brining turkeys, and a pork shoulder of carnitas.

Let’s be honest. There’s a reason why all of those Betty Crocker-type/back-of-the-box/side-of-the-can recipes stick around year after year. They taste really good. Each Thanksgiving at my sister’s house, I always go back for a second helping of the broccoli-cheese casserole. The Ritz crackers proudly lay crumbled on top, the previously frozen broccoli spears swim happily around in the canned mushroom soup. Delicious. Thankfully, my cousin and not I, is responsible for providing this dish because I’m a bit of a snob when it comes to cooking. I’d insist on using fresh ingredients and mess the whole thing up. I have a need (sometimes) to make things from scratch. In doing so, I get a sense of accomplishment and then timely gratification that, when mothering my children, is mostly non-existent. So when given the time and opportunity, I make my own soups, tomato sauce, croutons, salad dressings, etc. Please don’t judge me. I use canned pumpkin, and the Trader Joe’s mac ‘n cheese in a box is a staple in my pantry. 

All that said, Emeril Lagasse created a green bean casserole recipe that’s a twist on the old classic. I simplified it because, well, I may be a little snobbish but I’m not crazy and I don’t have all day.

Relatively Simple Emerilized Green Bean Casserole
Ingredients:
3 tablespoons butter
Vegetable oil for deep frying
1 medium onion, thinly sliced into rings and 1 cup chopped onion
¼ cup Crystal hot sauce (because it’s full of flavor but not spicy like Tabasco)
about 1 cup of flour
¾ teaspoon Creole or Cajun seasoning
¼ cup celery, chopped
1 ½ teaspoon garlic, minced
½ pound mushrooms, cleaned with ends trimmed and sliced
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup chicken broth
¼ cup heavy cream
6 cups green beans, fresh with ends trimmed (this is supposed to be about 1 pound but that didn’t fit in with the “8 days of Thanksgiving”)
1/3 lb. Fontina cheese, rind removed, cubed 

Preheat oven to 350° and grease, with butter, an 8×8 casserole or other baking dish about that size.
Blanch (steam) the green beans in salted water and drain.
Heat about 2” of vegetable oil in a large saucepan or deep fryer. Separate the onion slices into individual rings and toss with the hot sauce. Then dredge in flour and cook in hot oil until just golden, working in batches. Transfer to paper towel.
Melt the butter in a large saucepan and sauté the celery, onions and garlic. Add the mushrooms, Creole seasoning and salt and cook until the mushrooms are soft. Sprinkle with about 1 ½ tablespoons flour and stir to combine, about 2 minutes. Add the chicken broth and heavy cream and continue cooking until mixture is thick and creamy.
In a large bowl, combine the green beans, mushroom sauce, and cubed Fontina cheese. Transfer to the casserole dish and top with the fried onions. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until hot and bubbly.
Serves 6-8, so double the recipe if needed.

I was going to recommend visiting your local Starbucks for the seasonal Thanksgiving blend which I’m drinking right now. It’s dark, nutty and a little herbal – but guess what? The day before Turkey Day, this coffee is nowhere to be found. You can ask the manager if they have any in the back, but my Starbucks already looks as if it threw up Christmas. Pity.

Next: 7 yams a-sweetening