Tom's Worcestershire Meatloaf

 

A very light, not heavy, meatloaf

I had a desire for meatloaf, but not the traditional tomato-based ones like I usually make.  I had the meatloaf mix of meat (pork, beef and veal) available.  From there, I totally improvised this recipe based on tastes I knew I liked.  Probably, if I had searched long enough, I would find something like this, but I did not have the energy to go looking.  So I made up this concoction.

I have made this two or three times now.  I am quite proud of this recipe.  The key is the very dry, light bread cubes and crumbs and the simplicity of the Worcestershire sauce.  

 --Tom

Orange Pistachio Pound Cake by Barbara

Orange Zest and Pistachios 

During our recent trip to Dayton to visit friends, we were given some shelled pistachios as a gift, which we promptly opened and nibbled on.  By the time we got home, there was less than a cup left in the bag, so I wanted to use them up before they were no longer fresh.  Pistachios tend to do that.  Go off easily.  Great one day, then soggy the next. Plus they are expensive. Hate to waste them.  

I had clipped this recipe from the Lodge Cast Iron newsletter a while back so thought I'd give a try... but use a traditional metal loaf pan instead.  The flavor combination of orange and pistachio is excellent.  Tom loved it but it was a little too buttery for me, so next time I make it, I am going to cut back on the butter and sugar.

--Barbara

White Chicken Chili (NYTimes) by Tom

 

Packed with chicken, corn and beans

As the weather starts to be more fall-like, I get the itch to make chili.  This recipe showed up in the NY Times Cooking section, and I was intrigued.  It looked good and had a technique I had never used before.  Smashing the beans against the side of the pot to thicken the chili.  It works and the result was a satisfyingly thick chili.  Perfect for fall weeknight dinners.

---Tom

Panzanella Salad by Barbara

Panzanella is a type of Tuscan salad.  It simply means that you incorporate stale bread in with the mix of greens, tomatoes and vegetables.  Surprisingly good if you've never tried it.  

I make this version using the antipasto salad with order from our local pizzeria, Aniello's. They make fantastic bread in addition fantastic Neopolitan-style pizza.  So, their leftovers make a great panzanella salad.  You can easily create the same salad with store-bought items.  

---Barbara

Deviled Eggs by Barbara

Deviled eggs are one of the easiest, most popular dishes to make as an hors d'oeuvre. I made these with a dill mustard and light mayonnaise.  The key to a good deviled egg is a light fluffy mixture which is almost whipped.  

   ---Barbara

Honey Apple Puffs by Barbara

I'm going to make these again this weekend.  They were one of my experiments that turned out very well.  Had five early season apples that were getting too old to eat raw, i.e., they were a little spongy. I knew I wanted to make a compote for inside the pockets of puff pastry.  I chose to cook the apples down with a little honey and Calvados, which is a French liqueur made from apples. The compote is yummy on its own. When baked in the puff pastry, the pockets of honey apple make a very delicious pastry.

     

     ---Barbara

Couscous Herb Salad by Barbara

Fresh, light and minty

 
I could eat this salad every single day in the Fall.  It’s when the herbs in our garden are abundant.  I use lots of chives, parsley and mint. I add a little sage and rosemary, too, but not too much.   The salad is best when served at room temperature.  It is also excellent cold.  It keeps well in the refrigerator over several days. I really enjoy it cold as my lunch. The crunchy cucumber and fresh mint make it special. 

---Barbara

Peach Cobbler [Pie] with Nutmeg Sauce (Edna Lewis) by Barbara

It overflowed but it still tasted great.

Southern cooking legend, Edna Lewis(1916-2006), is one the first people I consult for what to do with fresh ingredients.  She and James Beard are my go-to's for how to make simple, tasty American food. 

Her “In Pursuit of Flavor” cookbook is a classic.   That's where I found this recipe.  It really isn't what I would call a cobbler as she does. It’s what I would call a lattice pie.  

Well, I made a big tasty mess.  My peaches from Benton Valley Farms in Penn Yan were SO big and SO juicy, that I misjudged how many to use and did not use a deep enough pie plate to contain the juices.  The oven started to smoke but I kept going until the pastry was fully baked.  The next day it was a real chore to clean the burnt sugary drippings off the bottom of the oven.

Nonetheless I am glad I tried her recipe, and I will try again.  

I didn't make the nutmeg sauce because my pie’s peach juices were so sweet and delicious.  But I will in the future so I included it with her full recipe.  My additions are in [ ].

---Barbara

Baby Back Ribs with Hibiscus BBQ Sauce by Barbara

Just before broiling them

Wish I had a better photo of these ribs because they were soooo good!

They were slow roasted, then slathered in Hibiscus BBQ Sauce, then broiled until deeply charred.

I have been experimenting with ways to make ribs in the oven.  I think I hit the nail on the head with this rub and technique.

Mesquite salt gives them a deep smoky flavor.  I used cayenne for heat.  And my surprise element is garam masala in the rub.

---Barbara

Tomato Cornbread Frittata by Barbara

Delicious Hot or Cold

Our neighbors' grandson, Owen, started selling us eggs from his family's chickens recently. Deliveries are on Thursdays.  As a result, I am now working at using up a dozen eggs a week. 

Luckily I saw Lydia Bastianch demonstrating how to make a frittata on her cooking show.  A great way to use six to eight eggs! 

An Italian frittata is a crustless egg dish, similar in texture to a quiche, or a stuffed omelette.   

Lydia uses cubes of day old bread in hers but I had cornbread, so that’s what I used instead. 

Worked very well.  I've made this frittata three times now. 

We've had it for dinner first.  Then reheat it the next day for breakfast or lunch.  

—Barbara

Lemon Blueberry Bread by Barbara

It's blueberry season here.

This is a great quick bread recipe to have in your repertoire. Very moist and tender with lots of bursts of blueberry flavor.  Love the lemon zest, too.    

---Barbara

Ginger Lemon Muffins by Barbara

A Cheerful Muffin

A surprisingly good combination. The ginger isn't overpowering. The lemon is bright.  These muffins are light and fluffy. They remind me of financiers. I think this recipe would make a nice 8-inch round cake.  I'll try that next time.  

---Barbara

Hibiscus BBQ Sauce (NYTimes) by Barbara

A vinegar-style spicy and sweet BBQ sauce

I had some hibiscus flowers so when NYTimes Cooking posted this recipe, I said "I am going to try that!"  Hibiscus flowers are edible and often used in tea and Mexican and Indian cooking. 

 

I paid $1.27 for .4 ounces in the bulk tea section at Wegman's 

Purchased back in 2019, I didn't really like them as an herbal tea, so they've been in the pantry ever since.  

I wasn't afraid to try them in BBQ sauce because I had once made an interesting BBQ sauce using rhubarb with great results, too.  See Oven-Roasted Rhubarb BBQ Chicken .

It's a pretty BBQ sauce, too.  

What's nice about the hisbiscus flowers is the ruby red color they produce when hydrated.  

---Barbara

Smoky Swiss Chard Enchiladas (Smitten Kitchen) by Barbara

Meatless!

This is a very good, very filling, very satifying recipe for enchiladas.   

Started with Deb Pearlman's recipe from her new cookbook Smitten Kitchen Keepers but I really didn't like her sauce (and having to pull out the food processor to make it.) But I did like the fact that she used swiss chard, black beans and corn.  

My head of swiss chard was so large that I had enough filling to make two full pans of enchiladas.

I added mesquite salt to the beans and chipotle hot sauce which makes them smoky.  We bought our mesquite salt in Arizona near the Mexican border, but there are grocery store options, like McCormick's Mesquite Seasoning.

---Barbara

Rustic Mashed Potatoes You Can Freeze by Barbara

Whenever I make potato salad --see my recipe here --- I always have to buy more potatoes than I need.   I end up with two extra pounds.  

So, I became curious --- could I turn the extra potatoes in to mashed potatoes and freeze them?

The answer is yes.  But they will need a little TLC to make them creamy again.  

    ---Barbara

Pickled Slaw by Barbara

Tom likes spicy dill pickled things.  Dill pickles, dilly beans, dilled asparagus, etc.  So, I made pickled slaw from him using the extra cabbage we had from making coleslaw and his leftover pickle juice.  He says it tastes a little bit like kimchi.  

It's so easy.

Pound Cake (Smitten Kitchen) by Barbara

I've been trying recipes from Deb Pearlman's "Smitten Kitchen Keepers" cookbook which we received as a Christmas gift from Sarah & family.  This recipe I am likely to make again and again. The pound cake tastes great on its own, or with fresh fruit and a little whipped cream.  

   ---Barbara

Cinnamon Bread (King Arthur) by Barbara

Tastes like a cinnamon roll

We loved this cinnamon bread.  Although it's made with yeast, it only takes a total of two hours start to finish.  Mix, let it rise for an hour, then bake for 45 minutes. Very easy.  The recipe was on the back of the bag of cinnamon sweet bits we bought when we stopped at the King Arthur Baking store in Vermont last fall.    We used the delicious cinnamon sweet bits to make two loaves of this bread, and Tom used the rest for waffles.  They also can be used for making scones, which is how we discovered them.  Several years ago, we took a class at the King Arthur Baking School and they taught us how to make cinnamon bit scones.  

       ---Barbara

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins by Barbara

Tender and lemony with plenty of poppy seeds

UPDATED 2023

My notes say that I first made these muffins back in 2012 for our grandson's First Communion brunch.  He is now a junior in college.  Since then, I have made many, many muffins, so I've updated the recipe to reflect the techniques I have learned for making tender, moist muffins. 

 

These muffins are very easy to make.  Recently, I made two batches and froze them for future use.  Now, I think the recipe is just right for a true muffin with lots of lemony flavor and a pleasant pop from the poppy seeds.  

For fun, I am posting the original recipe from 2012 which came from an old cookbook called Home-style by Ivy Vann.  Her recipe is very good, too, but it makes more of a cupcake than a muffin. 

    ---Barbara

Moroccan Chicken Tagine with Carrots, Onions, Greek Olives and Preserved Lemon

Morocco is credited with inventing the tagine in the 9th century.

What is a tagine?

It's a vessel with a conical shaped lid which has a hole in the top for venting.  Its unique shape cooks what's inside in a way that circulates the flavors while keeping the ingredients very moist and not making them mushy.  

For years, I wanted a tagine.  I know it's not practical.  It's a pain to store.  I know a covered casserole works almost as well. But I still wanted one. When I saw one pretty enough to sit out on display along with my other oversized ceramic dishes, I asked for it for Christmas. Santa Tom bought it for me at Williams-Sonoma.  

Fast forward 3 years.  It was still sitting in the window, unused.  Until now.  

The results were excellent. My recipe isn't probably an authentic Moroccan chicken tagine. I cobbled together ideas from a few recipes plus my experience with braising chicken. Definitely going to make it again.  Very easy to make.  The hardest part was finding the jar of perserved lemon in the grocery store.  It took two of us to figure that out.  

---Barbara

Buttermilk Biscuits

Buttermilk reacts to baking soda to produce gas to give biscuits lift.

Made two batches of these babies.   The first batch was a little flat so I added more leavening the second time which made them nice and fluffy. They freeze well.  Excellent for making breakfast sandwiches.  

--Barbara

Beef Short Ribs Adobo (NYTimes) by Barbara

Delicious!

This recipe has a well-deserved 5-star rating in the NYTimes recipe box.  It's Filipino. The meat is braised in a coconut broth with vinegar, soy sauce, garlic, bay leaf, and black peppercorn.     

---Barbara

Cast Iron Skillet Potatoes

Don't let the bacon fat go to waste

I have always been interested in cooking with cast iron, but only started using it about 5 years ago when I collected cast iron pieces belonging to my mother-in-law and her mother, Boo.  

I purchased a 12-inch Lodge skillet because it has a handy handle for lifting.  Cast iron is heavy!  It has become my go-to skillet for browning chicken. Sometimes I use it for making bacon and eggs.

Before mopping up the bacon fat and disposing of it, I've started roasting potato halves to use with future meals and soups.  

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.   Place the potatoes face down and roast in the oven for about 45 minutes.  The pan might smoke because the fat will be hot so be sure to turn on the fan.  Take extra care when removing the skillet from the oven to avoid being splattered by the fat.  

Cooling them on a rack prevents the potatoes from being greasy.  They are golden brown on the outside and soft on the inside.  

I've rewarmed them as a side, but also cut them into wedges for a cold Nicoise-style salad.  I've put them in Indian curries and vegetable soup.  I think they would work well in a frittata or quiche, too.  

Store them in tightly sealed containers in the fridge.  

---Barbara

Montreal-style Spice Rub by Barbara

Montreal Steak Seasoning is a popular mix sold by McCormick but we didn't have any on hand.  I thought I'd try making a version of it to put on boneless beef short ribs which I planned to roast in a slow oven for a long time.  Well, I put too much salt in the rub --- so here, I have dialed it back to edible levels.  

When preparing this post, I found an excellent article on Epicurious:  History of Montreal Seasoning.  Further research suggests I should have used dill instead of thyme.  But I thought I did a pretty good job!

---Barbara

Cranberry Tamarind Mustard Sauce with Pork Chop by Barbara

The sauce is under the pork chop.  Roasted sweet potato and green beans.

This is a restaurant-worthy sauce.  Best way to serve it is under the pork chop.  I used the leftover cranberry sauce from Thanksgiving and turned it into a savory sauce for pork by adding tamarind, mustard, garlic and a little honey. There is orange in my cranberry sauce so it tastes bright and tangy.  

---Barbara

Hot Skillet Cornbread by Barbara

Hot out of the Oven, Ready to Slice

Wish I could remember who told me about this technique!  You pour the batter into a very hot pan before baking.  I used a 12-inch cast-iron skillet and a favorite cornbread recipe by chef Tom Douglas.  

---Barbara

Roasted Red Grapes in White Wine and Balsamic Vinegar by Barbara

Grapey and Gooey

This is a great use of grapes that are past their prime in the fridge.  I thought, what have a I got to lose?  Try this or give them to the birds. Very pleased with the outcome.  

However, it did take a long time to get them to this state.  Three hours.  So plan an afternoon of letting them hang out in the oven, stirring them every so often, while you do something else.

They will keep in a tightly covered container in the refrigerator for a long time.  You can use them like you would chutney or as a side for a pork chop.  Not sweet like a jam or jelly but savory and goes well with roasted pork tenderloin, chicken or fish.  

---Barbara

Rotisserie Chicken Noodle Soup by Barbara

Thick and Hearty

Store-bought rotisserie chickens are one of the best bargains at the grocery store.  Here is a good way to use the leftovers.  You can freeze the carcasses until you have enough meat to make a soup.  Thaw completely before starting to make the soup.

---Barbara

Cream of Celery Soup by Barbara

Celery can be a Star 

It tastes similar to vichysoisse when cold or cream of potato soup when served warm.  Surprisingly good.  One of my better soups created when using up what's in the fridge before we have to go away.  

---Barbara

Curried Carrot Soup by Barbara

Pho- ish by Barbara

A Big Pot of Slurpy Deliciousness:   Homemade Pho-ish

One of Tom's favorite dishes to make is Beef Broccoli Lo Mein. I thoroughly enjoy it, but it generates quite a lot of leftovers because there is just the two of us.  So, I experimented with making a brothy soup, similar to pho, out of these leftovers.  Pho is pronounced "fuh" and is a delicious Vietnamese dish.  We don't have a Vietnamese restaurant around here, so we can't get the real thing.  Mine isn't authentic but it is pho-ish.  

---Barbara

Buckwheat Muffins with Coconut and Golden Raisins

Very Moist Muffins with Lots of Flavor

One of the best muffin combinations I've ever made. 

In the past, my "go-to" recipe for buckwheat muffins used dates and toasted pecans---and they are indeed excellent --see Buckwheat Date Nut Muffins-- but this one might top it! The coconut adds sweetness ---and moisture--- and texture ---and goes really well with buckwheat's earthiness.

Buckwheat is not wheat. It is related to rhubarb and is not technically a grain.  It is gluten-free.

---Barbara

Irish Buttermilk Brown Bread (King Arthur) by Barbara

Tender and Moist

When we traveled through Vermont on the way back from Maine last August, we stopped at King Arthur.  Highly recommend.  It's off I-91, on the border of New Hampshire.  It has a great bakery, coffee shop and gift shop in addition to the cooking school.  I bought their special blend of Irish-style flour with the hope I could bake bread similar to what we've had during our visits to Ireland.

Recently, I noticed that the "best buy" date is past due, so I decided I'd better use it up.  

This recipe is from the King Arthur catalog which they mail out to customers and it is also online here on their very nice website.

Darn, the bread isn't exactly what I am looking to re-create, but it is a good recipe, worthy of making again. Guess we'll just have to go back to Ireland...  

Made one to eat now, and one to freeze for later.    

In the past, when I haven't had access to this special blend of flour, I've used wheat bran and wheat germ to supplement the flour.  See this recipe on the blog:  Irish Brown Soda Bread 

---Barbara

Gary's Zucchini Casserole by Barbara

Their recipe is packed with veggies.

Last week Cynthia (Hovey) Dickerman and I were exchanging messages about a newspaper clipping I ran across from 45 years ago, in 1978.   I was doing research on Millie Orchard a radio host from back in the 70's here in Corning.  Back then, Cynthia and her husband, Gary, owned a natural food store called The Source.  

Cynthia said that they still make the recipe involved, so I thought it would be fun to try it.  So she sent me a photo of their recipe. Note that it is protected by plastic, a sign of a well-used recipe.

Tom and I made it together this weekend, and it is indeed tasty. Made 6 generous portions.  We reheated a couple of times and it was still very tasty.  

My additions were:  I added salt.  Extra marjoram.  Basil was in the pasta sauce we used.  Placed it on a cookie sheet for overflow control. 

The marjoram is all you need.  Don't be tempted to add garlic.   

---Barbara