Cheddar Ranch Dip

 

I’m not going to lie, now that I am an adult and can do what I want with never any scolding, there are times when I’ve had dip for dinner. Not just spooning it out of the bowl, mind you, but serving it with a nice array of freshly cut vegetables, as well as crackers, and the occasional bit of rolled salami — cigarette style — that I use as a dipper. Today I decided to use this dip as a topper for a baked potato. Why not? I mean, think about it. You top potatoes with sour cream, bacon bits, chopped scallions, and shredded cheese, why not combine all of that into one, making it so much easier to deal with, and far less messy. It's also amazingly delicious when dolloped on top of an omelet. Seriously, you cannot go wrong with this delicious dip that is suitable for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

Cheddar Ranch Dip

16 oz. sour cream

3 T. (1 packet) Ranch dressing mix

1 3-oz. pkt. bacon bits

1 c. shredded Gouda cheese

2-3 scallions, chopped

 Whisk together sour cream and dressing mix in a medium bowl. Fold in remaining ingredients. Cover and store in the fridge overnight before serving.

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Fresh Zucchini-Tomato Salsa

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My five cherry tomato plants that were rather lackluster all summer long are beginning to bear, and I have cherry tomatoes like crazy! I’ve been experimenting with a variety of recipes, and, today roasted them along with other vegetables to make salsa. My mother used to make a delicious side dish of zucchini and tomatoes, which is what gave me the idea to include roasted zucchini in with the mix. If you can’t get kids to eat their vegetables, this is an excellent way to do it. Fresh Zucchini-Tomato Salsa is a truly healthy and delicious snack.

Fresh Zucchini-Tomato Salsa

2 c. cherry tomatoes

2 Melissa's shallots, quartered

1 zucchini, quartered lengthwise and cut in half

6 cloves garlic, unpeeled

1-2 medium jalapeno peppers

1 T. olive oil

⅓ - ½ c. firmly packed fresh cilantro leaves

1 lime, juiced

½ t. ground cumin

Pinch dried oregano

¼ - ½ t. kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Pinch cayenne pepper, or to taste

Set oven rack about 6 inches from the heat source and preheat the oven's broiler. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil. Spread tomatoes, shallots, zucchini, garlic, and jalapeno peppers onto prepared baking sheet. Toss with olive oil to coat, and spread out on sheet.

Roast under the preheated broiler for 5 minutes. Turn the baking sheet and continue broiling until vegetables are charred, about 5 minutes more. Cool slightly. Remove garlic from skins; discard skins.

Blend tomatoes, shallots, zucchini, peeled garlic, jalapenos, any accumulated juices from the baking sheet, cilantro leaves, lime juice, cumin, cayenne pepper, and oregano in a food processor or blender until salsa is smooth. Transfer to a bowl, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until flavors blend, at least 2 hours. Season with salt and black pepper.

Tarragon Creamed Corn

If you are a regular reader of this blog, then you know that I subscribe to a lot of foodie newsletters.  One of my favorites is Tasting Table because of the unique recipes they post, as well as interesting bits about new restaurants, wine pairings, places to dine while on the road, AND they have an app!  I LOVE apps!

I discovered this recipe in a recent TT newsletter.  As I’m still cooking for my dad while my mom is working her little heart out in rehab, and since I didn’t scare him away with last week’s purple potatoes, decided to give this tarragon-infused creamed corned a try.  If you’re anything like me, the creamed corn of your youth (and seriously, how many adults would eat that stuff?) was not a whole lot more than insipid lumpy mush in a can.  This recipe is going to change the way you feel about creamed corn.  It will come out of the deep, dark, depths of your pantry onto the elegant dining table you’ve set for guests.  Dad, a.k.a. Mr. Meat-and-Potatoes, deemed it “excellent,” and I have to agree.  I did lighten up my version by using whole milk in place of the cream, and substituted same for half of the water.

Tarragon Creamed Corn

Adapted from Andrew Ticer & Michael Hudman, Hog & Hominy, Memphis, TN 

Yield: Serves 4

Cook Time: 20 minutes

INGREDIENTS

3 large ears corn--husked, kernels sliced off and cobs reserved*

1 cup heavy cream (I used whole milk)

1 cup water (I used 1/2 c. water & 1/2 cup whole milk)

2 sprigs fresh tarragon plus more to garnish

½ cup finely grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

DIRECTIONS

In a large saucepan set over high heat, bring the corn cobs, cream, water and tarragon to a boil. Turn off the heat and set aside for 10 minutes. Use tongs to remove and discard the cobs.

In a medium saucepan, add the corn kernels and strain the cob-infused cream mixture through a fine-mesh sieve over the kernels. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook until the corn is tender and plump, about 10 minutes.

Using a blender, purée one-third of the corn mixture with the Parmigiano-Reggiano until smooth, then return the mixture to the saucepan with the corn. Season with salt and pepper and serve warm.

*If you don’t have a Corn Zipper, hop on over to Amazon and get one, now!  It makes amazingly short work of extracting kernels from the cob.  Once you get one of these you’ll find yourself making good use of all of the seasonal corn when it’s available in your area in soups, chowders, stews, breads, creamed, or sliced right from the cob and lightly buttered.

Beef, Shiitake, and Snow Pea Stir-Fry

A number of food bloggers have started something called Wok Wednesdays.  Since I love to stir fry, I thought I’d join in on the fun.  My first recipe contribution yields a quick, delicious meal that can be on the table in half an hour providing you cut up your ingredients ahead of time.  A little bit of planning early in the day can be a big time saver come evening.  

Once the coffee maker has shut off and the breakfast dishes are piled into the dishwasher, I’ll start thinking about supper. This recipe is a favorite, and I had everything on hand, so while engrossed in a rerun of “CSI” I sliced up everything, jarring it in the order in which it was to go into the wok, i.e. ginger, garlic, mushrooms in one container, snow peas, scallions and half of the cilantro in another, etc.  I had the foresight to move a sirloin from the freezer into the fridge before retiring last night, so it was thawed just enough to be able to slice with ease, giving me nice, neat, thin slices. 

Start your rice when you heat up your wok and both will be ready simultaneously.

Beef, Shiitake, and Snow Pea Stir-Fry

Adapted from Bon Appétit, October 2010

1 1-pound top sirloin steak, cut into 2-inch-long, ¼ -1/8” thick slices

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon corn starch

1 tablespoon Asian sesame oil

1 tablespoon minced peeled fresh Melissa's ginger

1 teaspoon garlic, finely chopped

12 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, stemmed, thickly sliced

8 ounces snow peas

1 bunch green onions, sliced, divided

1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves, divided

5 tablespoons hoisin sauce

2 teaspoons chili-garlic sauce

½ cup beef stock

Slice beef as thinly as possible and place in a zippered plastic bag.  Stir together soy sauce and corn starch; pour over meat in bag, squish together and allow meat to marinate for 30 minutes.  Remove beef from bag, shake off excess marinate and place on plate. Sprinkle beef with salt and pepper. Heat oil in large wok or nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add ginger, garlic and mushrooms; stir-fry until mushrooms are tender, about 3 minutes. Add beef to skillet; stir-fry until beef browns but is still pink in center, about 1 minute. Add snow peas, half of green onions, and half of cilantro; stir-fry 1 minute. Stir in hoisin, chili-garlic sauce, and sauté until peas are crisp-tender, 1 to 2 minutes. Pour beef stock over all and season with salt and pepper. Transfer to bowl. Sprinkle with remaining green onions and cilantro.  Serve over rice.

This post is linked to:

What's Cooking Wednesday

Grow Your Own Leeks

As soon as I was old enough to pop a seed out of an orange and into the ground I became fascinated with gardening.  It was often to my mother’s dismay, as I had the windows and ledges in my bedroom full of little pots of dirt with various things growing in them.  The pots were small, so the cantaloupe vine, the pineapple top, the sprouted avocado, and the tiny little orange tree had no chance of bearing, but I stuck with them all the same.

When I moved into my own place the day after I graduated college I started digging an herb garden.  In the center of the garden I grew leeks.  Back then no one knew what a leek was, much less grew them, but they were easy to grow, heat tolerant, withstood my clay-like soil, and looked great in the center of my herb garden; I was the neighborhood pioneer!

I still grow them (thankfully they self-seed).  If you’ve ever found yourself shopping for them at the market and seen the high prices, you should consider growing them too.  They can be grown successfully from seed, but impatient gardener that I have become, I look for trays of leeks already sprouted, and well on their way.

I was thrilled to find these two six packs of leek plants when we went to historic Soulard Farmer's Market over the weekend. Those I planted years ago always come back, but I find myself using more and more with each passing season, and consequently needed to double my plantings. One of these six packs will go into the ground, the other into a container. 

If you’re a gardener and enjoy using leeks, I can’t encourage you enough to give them a try.  As with all homegrown vegetables, the fresh taste unsurpassable.

This post is linked to:

 Seasonal Sunday

Kale Chips

If you've ever tried the flash-fried spinach that seems to be so popular at restaurants these days, then you are going to love this recipe.  I had some kale left over from yesterday's pork roast (prior to yesterday's culinary adventure, I was a kale virgin), and wondered what the heck to do with it.  Then I remembered my cousin telling me (Thanks, Kelly!) that she tosses it with olive oil, sprinkles it with salt, bakes it in the oven and her kids (yes, her kids) love it.  She and her husband do too.  And now, so do we.  Can you imagine something crispy, crunchy, tasty, and healthy?  It tastes very much like the fried stuff, but this is baked.  I know, I couldn't believe it either.  You're just going to have to try it for yourself.  It goes together in no time.

Here's how:

Crispy Kale Chips

1 head kale, leaves separated, rinsed, 

dried, cut lengthwise in half, 

center ribs and stems removed

1 tablespoon olive oil

Dash of sea salt

Parmesan cheese (optional)

Preheat oven to 250°F. Place kale on a foil-lined baking sheet and drizzle it lightly with oil.  Toss together until the leaves are coated. Sprinkle sparingly with sea salt and pepper. Arrange leaves in single layer and bake until crisp, about 30 minutes.  Remove from oven and dust lightly with Parmesan cheese. Transfer leaves to rack to cool.

This post is linked to:

Foodie Friday
Food on Friday
Friday Favorites
Friday Fat Camp
Fantabulous Friday
I'm Lovin' It Friday

St. Louis-Style Cream of Broccoli Soup

A big broccoli score at the Farmer's Market had me searching for as many broccoli recipes as I could find.  An avid vegetable lover, I can eat broccoli any old way, even raw.  My family, however, does not share my zeal and consequently considers well-disguised broccoli as the best broccoli. So, years ago, in an effort to keep all of us happy, I created this soup recipe, calling it St. Louis-style because of the addition of St. Louis's own Provel cheese.  It, like the Velveeta this soup also contains, is a processed cheese, so not the apex of healthfulness, but boy, is it good.  Quick and easy to make, this soup is a crowd pleaser.  I like to think the goodness of the broccoli offsets the decadence of the cheese.  I served mine in cups with slices of the zucchini corn bread that I made yesterday on the side.

St. Louis-Style Cream of Broccoli Soup

1 large head fresh broccoli, separated into florettes
1 cup water
2 cups whole milk
1 cup half and half
1 cup Velveeta cheese, cubed
1 cup Provel cheese, grated
2 teaspoons chicken soup base (I use L.B. Jamieson) 1/2 cup flour  
1/4 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg (more or less to taste)

In a large saucepan, cook broccoli with bouillon in one cup of water until tender.  Do not drain.  In a small bowl, mix together milk, cubed Velveeta, Provel, flour, and half and half.  Add to cooked broccoli.  Heat until thickened, stirring constantly (about 3-5  minutes).  Remove half of soup from pan and blend with upright blender, immersion blender, or food processor until smooth.  Pour back into the pan, stir in nutmeg, heat through and serve.


This post is linked to:

Real Food Wednesdays
No Whine Wednesdays
What's on Your Plate
Cast Party Wednesday
What's Cooking Wednesday

Zucchini Gratin

Year after year I plant zucchini.  I have so many wonderful zucchini recipes to try that I always hope for a bumper crop.  Year after year I'm disappointed.  I just do not understand how some people can have oodles and gobs of them while I struggle for even one.  This year I got lucky.  I got two.  Two, very large, very healthy zucchini were the entire harvest of the four Buick-sized plants that have overtaken my garden.  Deciding which recipe to try was not easy, particularly since I have way more recipes than I do squash, but since Ina Garten has never failed me I chose her recipe for Zucchini Gratin from The Barefoot Contessa Cookbook and was not disappointed.  Unlike my husband, who can take a vegetable or leave it, I could make a meal out of vegetables alone.  This delicious dish and a thick slice of crusty bread was all that I needed to have a very satisfying dinner (and having been so virtuous, how could I say "no" to dessert?).  I hope you give it a try!

Zucchini Gratin

6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, plus extra for topping
1 pound yellow onions, cut in 1/2 and sliced (3 large)
2 pounds zucchini, sliced 1/4-inch thick (4 zucchini)
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 tablespoons flour
1 cup hot milk
3/4 cup fresh bread crumbs
3/4 cup grated Gruyere


Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
Melt the butter in a very large (12-inch) saute pan and cook the onions over low heat for 20 minutes, or until tender but not browned. Add the zucchini and cook, covered, for 10 minutes, or until tender. Add the salt, pepper, and nutmeg and cook uncovered for 5 more minutes. Stir in the flour. Add the hot milk and cook over low heat for a few minutes, until it makes a sauce. Pour the mixture into an 8 by 10-inch baking dish. 

Combine the bread crumbs and Gruyere and sprinkle on top of the zucchini mixture. Dot with 1 tablespoon of butter cut into small bits and bake for 20 minutes, or until bubbly and browned.

This post is linked to:

Foodie Friday
Food on Friday
Friday Favorites
Friday Fat Camp
Fantabulous Friday

Lettuce Rejoice!

Week One: I planted the Salad Garden kit (Mesclun Spring Mix).  The seeds sprouted in two days.  Look at them grow!

I am so excited!  And if you like growing things as much as I do, then this little gadget is something that you must have.  I was lucky enough to get my AeroGarden as a gift from my son about four years ago and it has been producing ever since.  The price has dropped significantly since I first got mine, and there are a wider variety of sizes, shapes, colors, and seed kits from which to choose.  I always used to find myself a bit bereft when the cool fall weather would roll in, knowing that the growing season had pretty much come to an end.  Not anymore!  Now I grow a variety of lettuces, herbs, seasonings, and flowers indoors, all year round.  I don't represent the company in any way, I'm just an avid gardener who loves fresh herbs and lettuces, and thrills at seeing the first shoot come up from out of its little seed pod.

Week Two: This picture was taken last week. I have since harvested lettuces daily and still can't keep up with the amount we're getting. Alas, I don' t have enough room in my kitchen for this, so it's in the guest room.

 Week Three: I had to move the Aerogarden from the guest room into my studio in order to be able to raise the light two notches to accommodate the lettuce's rapid growth this past week.  Isn't it gorgeous?

With the holiday season coming up, you just might mention this to Santa.  It really is a lot of fun and, I'd think kids would find it particularly interesting just watching how food grows and harvesting it themselves, rain, or snow, or shine!

Click on any of these seed kits for more information, and get growing!

This post is linked to:

Metamorphosis Monday, This Week in My Garden

Tuesday Garden Party