Almost no effort: Slow cooker ribs

Yesterday while I was drinking my morning coffee before going to church, I put together a supper of ribs in about 15 minutes. I took a short cut, using bottled barbecue sauce, so this was one of the simplest dishes I've cooked in a long time. Here's the recipe:

Over medium high heat, brown 1 pound of country-style boneless pork ribs in 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (brown for about 4 minutes, turn and brown 4 minutes more.) Chop a large sweet onion into about 8 chunks. Place ribs and onion pieces in the slow cooker. Pour one bottle of commercial barbecue sauce over the ribs. Cook on low for 8-10 hours, stirring occasionally to make sure ribs are coated with sauce.

Winter treat: Salmon & grilled potatoes

It's been so frozen cold the past few weeks in Wichita. So when it hit the high 50s yesterday, it felt like summer. After a day spent playing outside with the pup, we grilled salmon, potatoes and veggies for dinner, as if it were August.

I've blogged before about grilling tiny potatoes on skewers. Yesterday I cut red potatoes into medium-size chunks, skewered those and brushed with a generous dose of olive oil. Dave grilled these for about 40 minutes. They were great-- crispy on the outside, cooked to perfection inside. We grilled our salmon fillets in foil, after I rubbed them with excellent seafood rub that was a Christmas present from my sister (dubbed "Rub With Love," it's marketed by Seattle restaurateur Tom Douglas of Dahlia Lounge fame. Molly sent me a whole set, including rubs for steak, pork, chicken and crab cake mix. Very good stuff, available at Tom Douglas' Web site.)

I know I haven't been blogging much lately. My evenings have been too booked to do much cooking. Last weekend, however, I did make chili in the Crockpot with a pound of browned hot sausage, dry red beans that had been soaked overnight, a small can of green chilis, a big sweet onion, 2 cloves garlic and 3 tablespoons chili powder and three 15-ounce cans diced tomatoes. I cooked this on high for about 6 hours, then threw in a cup of frozen corn and heated 'til the corn was cooked. This is the time of year when I love throwing basic soup, stew or chili ingredients into the slow cooker. Makes for several days of nice suppers.

Chicken pot pie: Comfort food for company

Every time I make chicken pot pie, I wonder-- why don't I do this more often? It is so mouth-watering good. We had friends over for dinner last night and this is one of those dishes that keeps warm perfectly in the oven all through appetizers and a salad course. Here's my recipe, adapted from "The Best Recipe" from Cook's Illustrated. The crust turns out perfectly light and flaky. The filling has a subtle sweet flavor of cream sherry and thyme.

Chicken pot pie

Filling:

1-1/2 to 2 pounds chicken breast tenders
1 15-ounce can chicken broth plus water added to make two cups
3 medium carrots, diced into 1/2 inch pieces
1 large sweet onion, diced
3 celery stalks, chopped into 1/2 inch pieces
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1/2 cup flour
4 tablespoons butter
1-1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup frozen peas
1/3 cup cream sherry
1 teaspoon dry thyme
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Slice chicken tenders into 1-inch pieces. Put into a large heavy pan with the chicken broth. Bring to a simmer over medium heat. Cover and simmer 10 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. With a slotted spoon, spoon chicken into a large mixing bowl. Pour broth into a measuring cup. In the same heavy pan, heat vegetable oil. Add carrots, onion and celery. Saute for about 6 minutes over medium heat. Put vegetables into bowl with chicken. In the same heavy pan, melt butter over medium heat. Add flour and stir for 1 minute. Whisk in milk, chicken broth and thyme, bring to simmer and stir until fully thickened, about 1 minute. Add sherry and parsley. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Stir into bowl with chicken and vegetables. Stir in peas. You can cover this and refrigerate overnight if you like until ready to use. Reheat on the stove top before constructing your pie.

Pour filling into a 9-by-13-inch casserole dish. Top with pastry crust. In a small bowl, beat an egg white with 1 tablespoon water and brush over the top of the crust. Make five 1-inch cuts in the crust to vent. Bake at 400 degrees for 30 minutes. You can leave this in the oven once you've turned it off so you can enjoy appetizers with your guests before serving dinner.

Savory pastry crust:

1-1/2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 stick of unsalted butter, chilled
4 tablespoons vegetable shortening, chilled
3 tablespoons ice water

In a food processor, mix flour and salt. Cut butter into 10 or so slices, sprinkle into the flour, tossing a little to coat. Pulsate for 1 second, five times. Add shortening. Pulsate again for 1 second, five times. Turn into a mixing bowl. Sprinkle water into dough. With a rubber spatula, mix water into flour mixture with a folding motion. Add a fourth tablespoon ice water if needed. Shape into a disk, wrap in plastic wrap. Chill for 30 minutes or overnight.

On a floured sheet of waxed paper, roll dough into an 11-by-15-inch rectangle. Fold in half gently and then unfold to cover the chicken filling in your casserole dish. Tuck in overhanging dough to make a nice edge. Bake as directed above

Corn chowder is perfect January supper

The other day I ordered corn chowder for lunch, and got to thinking I gotta cook up some of this. So today that's what I did. I didn't crack open a cookbook; I just kind of threw this together. It's yummy. It'll make a perfect wintertime supper with the fresh wheat rolls I made this morning and a green salad.

Corn chowder

1 pound bacon, cut into 1-inch pieces
1 pound frozen corn
2 15-ounce cans creamed corn
5 unpeeled white or red potatoes, cut into 1-inch chunks
1 large sweet onion, chopped
1 large red pepper, chopped
1 4-ounce can diced green chile peppers
2 15-ounce cans chicken broth
2 cups half-and-half
6 jalapeno slices (from a jar)

In a heavy soup pot, cook bacon until cooked but not crisp. Spoon off excess fat from the pot. Add onion pieces. Cook over medium heat until onions are soft, about 10 minutes. Add chicken broth and potatoes. Bring to boil and cook for 15 minutes. Add creamed corn, red pepper, green chiles, jalapeno slices and frozen corn. Cook 20-25 minutes. Stir in half-and-half, simmer on low until ready to serve.

Greet the New Year with Hoppin' John

For the last several years, I've adopted the tradition of making a big pot of Hoppin' John on New Year's Day. This is something I learned from friends in Philadelphia who'd spent time in the South. We love this dish, which is supposed to bring good luck in the new year. Today I used the slow cooker-- in years past I've cooked this in a big soup pot on the stovetop, which too often results in a burnt layer at the bottom of the pan. No such misfortune with my Crockpot. Here's my recipe:

Hoppin' John

1 pound dry black-eyed peas
4 15-ounce cans diced tomatoes
7 mild Italian sausages, cut into 1-inch slices
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large onion, diced
2 15-ounce cans chicken broth
2 cups uncooked white rice
1/3 cup chopped jalapeno peppers
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 slices ham, cut into chunks

Soak black-eyed peas overnight according to package directions. In the morning, drain and put peas into the slow cooker. Add ham, tomates, broth, onions, jalapenos, garlic. In a large skillet, brown sausage in olive oil. Remove with a slotted spoon and add to slow cooker. Stir things up well. Cook on high for 3 hours. Then add rice. Continuing cooking until rice is cooked and liquid is absorbed, about 3 more hours.

You can use all ham or pre-cooked kielbasa instead of Italian sausage. This makes a lot of Hoppin' John; I suggest freezing a batch to enjoy later in the winter.

Celebrate a good year with elegant pasta

I loved 2007. What a great year. I turned 50, we had a dream trip to France, and at the end of the year I started a wonderful new job. This was the year daughter Jessie married Jake in Virginia-- what a picture perfect event. Our other children in all corners of the country are doing well. We adopted a puppy girl who is fun every minute. And in 2007, I started this blog.

My goals for 2008? Make more time for exercise, do what I can to make my new bosses happy they hired me, be a better wife, daughter, mom and friend, read more books, train the pup well, and keep cooking so I'll have lots to blog about.

Happy New Year to everyone and thanks for your great feedback and kind comments about the blog. Let's end 2007 with a recipe that I like to make after the holidays, when I always seem to have leftover ham on hand and half a carton of heavy cream in the fridge.

Pasta with ham and peas in cream sauce

2 tablespoons butter
1 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup water
2 cloves garlic
1-1/2 cups cooked ham, chopped
1-3/4 cup half-and-half or heavy cream
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 teaspoon dried marjoram
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/2 cup fresh grated Parmesan cheese
16 ounces rotini pasta

Cook pasta according to package directions. While pasta is cooking, prepare sauce. Melt butter in a large skillet over moderate heat. Add onion and water; cover and cook until softened, about 7 minutes. Add garlic. Cook, uncovered, two minutes more. Add ham and cream. Cook until thickened, about 7 minutes. Stir in peas and spices; cook until peas are heated through. Drain pasta, add to sauce and stir well. Stir in the Parmesan. Serve immediately with crusty bread and a nice salad.

Peppers add holiday color to potato medley

It's not often that a vegetable dish catches much attention at a holiday buffet. But at my company's Christmas party this season, I was struck by how pretty one potato side dish was. Red and green bell peppers provided a little Yuletide color. Sweet potatoes and new potatoes made for a nice combination. So, when I cooked our rib roast for Christmas dinner, I did my best to duplicate this dish. The results were yummy:

Holiday potatoes with red and green peppers

Wash three large sweet potatoes, and pierce several times. Bake these on a foil-lined cookie sheet at 375 degrees for about an hour. Let them cool completely, then peel and cut into 1-inch chunks. Boil five or six new potatoes for 15 minutes. Cool completely and cut into 1-inch chunks. Chop a large sweet onion, a red bell pepper and a green bell pepper. In a wok, heat 2 tablespoons olive oil. Add peppers and onions and cook for about 4 minutes. Then add sweet and new potato pieces and stir-fry. Add salt, pepper to taste. If you like, top with a little fres-grated parmesan cheese. (Since Christmas doesn't officially end until the Feast of the Epiphany on Jan. 6, I see no need to wait 'til next year to try this again!)

White Christmas calls for spicy white chili

We're having a white Christmas in Wichita this year, and this weather put me in the mood for a steaming spicy pot of white chili. I cooked this in the slow cooker day before yesterday and it made for a nice supper before we headed to church last night. I tell ya, slow cooking is the way to go when cooking dry beans. They just cook up perfectly on low in about 8 hours. I adapted this from a recipe Dave's had in his files for many years. It's best to make this a day before you're going to serve it. Cover and refrigerate 'til ready to reheat.

White chili

4 15-ounce cans chicken broth
16-ounce package of dry navy beans
1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/3 to 1/2 cup canned jalapeno peppers, chopped
2 teaspoons oregano
1-1/2 teaspoons cumin
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1-inch pieces (or leftover Christmas turkey)
2 tablespoons olive oil

Soak beans overnight according to package directions. In a heavy skillet, stir-fry chicken pieces in olive oil over medium high heat about 8 minutes, until evenly browned. (If using leftover chicken or turkey, you can skip this step.) Put meat into slow cooker with beans. Add remaining ingredients and stir things up. Make sure broth covers the beans completely. If it doesn't, add a bit of water or open another can of broth. Cook for 8-10 hours on low heat. Serve with grated Monterrey jack cheese and chopped cilantro. Add red pepper flakes if you prefer a little extra heat.

A happy accident: Pumpkin bread pudding

Here's a recipe I came up with by accident, after I baked two loaves of pumpkin bread the other day that stuck to the pans. Trying to pry the loaves out, I broke them into pieces unsuitable for packaging up as the Christmas gifts I'd intended them to be. The bread was delicious though (Click here for the recipe from Epicurious.com) and I didn't want to throw it out. So I made pumpkin bread pudding. I took this to a dinner party last night; we heated it up and served with whipped cream. I have to say, this is a good way to use up any extra pumpkin bread you may receive from friends this holiday season.

Pumpkin bread pudding

Two small loaves pumpkin bread, broken into 1-inch chunks (about 4 cups)
8 large egg yolks
1-3/4 cups whole milk
1/3 cup maple syrup

Place pumpkin bread pieces into a buttered 8-by-8-inch baking dish. Toast at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, turning once. In medium bowl, whisk together egg yolks, milk and syrup. Pour mixture over the bread chunks, pressing on bread to completely coat. Cover with foil and refrigerate 30 minutes. Bake covered at 350 degrees for about 45 minutes, until pudding is set and firm to the touch. Serve immediately, or refrigerate and reheat when ready to serve.

Happy Holidays: Cinnamon apple roll-ups

I love these days right before Christmas, when our packages are mailed off (most of 'em, at least...) and I can decorate the cookies I've already baked and we can enjoy the treats friends have given to us, and relax a little. My neighbor Lisa trudged through the snow drifts this morning to bring over a beautiful tray of cookies. I had bread dough rising and decided to use some of it to bake apple bread rolls to take over to her. They're just out of the oven, and I tried one; they're nice-- not too sweet. I ended up with enough to make a couple of gift plates of a half dozen or so.

To make the rolls, roll out yeast dough on a well-floured piece of waxed paper, then brush with melted butter. Peel and dice an apple and combine the pieces in a bowl with some finely chopped walnuts, a tablespoon of cinnamon and two tablespoons granulated sugar. Spread this evenly over the bread dough, and rolled it up tight. Use a sharp serrated knife to cut into 1-1/2 inch slices. Space these evenly on a parchment-lined cookie sheet. In a small bowl, combine 2 tablespoons melted butter with about 1/4 cup brown sugar. Sprinkle this over the top of the rolls and bake at 350 degrees in a convection oven for 20 minutes. (In a conventional oven, adjust heat to 375 degrees.) Cool on wire rack until ready to package up and deliver to the neighbors.

Sort of from scratch: Eagle Brand cookie kit

As I was shoppping for groceries this weekend to fill a basket for a holiday food drive, I found myself checking out some mixes in the baking aisle. I found a kit that wasn't so much a mix as a box of pre-measured ingredients to make "Magic Cookie Bars."

I remember as a kid making these treats with chocolate chips, coconut, nuts, a graham cracker crust and sweetened condensed milk. So I bought a couple of these kits, one for my food basket and one to try out myself. The kit included a packet of graham cracker crumbs to mix with butter to make a crust, and individually wrapped packets of chopped walnuts, sweet coconut, chocolate and butterscotch chips and foil-sealed packets of Eagle Brand sweetened condensed milk. Obviously, these were pretty easy cookies to put together. And they turned out exactly like what I used to make as a kid.

The price seemed a little steep to me-- around $5 for enough ingredients to fill an 8-by-8-inch baking pan. But if you're in the market for quick holiday baking that doesn't involve measuring anything, you might want to try a box.

You'll feel like a kid again: Mac & cheese

I started a new job this week, and I've been so busy I haven't done much cooking. We had takeout Chinese last night, and ordered pizza the night before. Finally tonight, I managed to cook dinner, even though we didn't have a lot of groceries on hand. What to fix? On hand, I found cheese, pasta and some milk and butter. So I made macaroni and cheese.

I'm kind of a purist about mac & cheese. I don't use processed cheese. I keep ingredients to a minimum. Noodles, cheese, milk, a few bread crumbs. That's about it.

This is a dish I don't cook often (especially since my kids left home) though I love it just about better than any other food available anywhere. Does mac & cheese have any redeeming social value? Not that I know of, but it's so go-o-o-ooo-oood.

Here's my basic recipe:

16 ounces macaroni or other pasta (such as penne or rotini)
2 to 3 cups sharp cheddar cheese, grated
1/2 stick butter
1 cup milk
Dried parsley flakes
1 cup saltine cracker crumbs or Panko crumbs
1 tablespoon dried parsley flakes

Boil pasta according to package directions. Drain. Return to cooking pot, add butter and mix well. Add cheese. Stir. Then add milk. Butter a 9-by-11-inch casserole dish. Add pasta and cheese mixture to casserole dish. Top with crumbs and parsley. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. (And then just try to limit yourself to only one serving!)

Sweet holiday aroma: Gingerbread cookies

Nothing says Christmas like the aroma of ginger. One of my favorite holiday traditions is baking cutout cookies, and today it was bitter cold outside, so I stayed inside and baked about 5 dozen gingerbread cutouts. These taste so good with coffee or hot cider or a steaming cup of cocoa.

I don't do anything fancy when it comes to icing cookies. I mix just a few drops of milk into a cup of powdered sugar and mix that with a fork. Then I spread this icing on my cooled cookies. I don't usually add food coloring, but I like to sprinkle iced cookies with colored green and red sugar.

This recipe, from "Better Homes & Gardens New Cookbook" produces a pretty dry dough that can be a little crumbly when you try to roll it. Work the chilled dough with your hands a bit to make it easier to handle before rolling out. Double this recipe so you'll have plenty of cookies to decorate. These freeze well too. I froze most of what I made today to decorate later.

Gingerbread cutout cookies

1/2 cup shortening
1-1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1 egg
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

Beat shortening on high speed with electric mixer 30 seconds. Add half the flour, and all remaining ingredients. Beat 'til thoroughly combined. Beat in the rest of the flour. Form into a ball and wrap in plastic wrap. Chill at least three hours.

Divide dough in half. On a flour piece of waxed paper, flatten dough with your hand. Then roll it out to 1/8-inch thickness. Cut into desired cookie cutter shapes. Place 1 inch apart on a parchment-paper-lined cookie sheet. Bake in 350-degree convection oven for 5 or 6 minutes (375 degrees for conventional oven), 'til edges are slightly browned. Cool on cookie sheet for a minute, then cool on a wire rack. Wait to spread on icing 'til the cookies are completely cool. Makes 36-48, according to the cookbook.