Olympic Cooking Night

Last night we celebrated the 2014 Sochi Olympics by sharing dishes from countries competing in the current Olympics. Naturally we also watched the Olympics during dinner! It was fun to see the women's teams (USA 1 & USA 2) get silver and bronze in bobsled.

Due to a fridge meltdown, Bonnie E was unable to make the Team Hungary dish she had planned. Instead she brought a delightful variety of drinks from around the world. Some were really good and some were "interesting". 

 

Team Ireland 

Linda did an amazing Arugula & Beet Salad accompanied by Irish cheddar

Beet and Arugula Salad

3 medium beets, trimmed

6 cups baby arugula

2 tablespoons finely chopped shallots

1 tablespoon white wine vinegar

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

¼ teaspoon salt

1/8 black pepper

3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

4 wedges (1 ounce each) aged Irish cheddar cheese

1.      Place beets in medium saucepan; add cold water to cover by 2 inches. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat; cook 35 to 40 minutes or until beets can be easily pierced with tip of knife. Drain beets; cool 15 minutes.

2.      Peel beets; cut into ½-inch cubes. Transfer to medium bowl. Place arugula in separate medium bowl. Combine shallots, vinegar, mustard, salt and pepper in small bowl. Slowly whisk in oil until well blended. Toss beets with 1 tablespoon dressing. Toss arugula with dressing.

3.      Divide arugula among four plates. Top with beets; garnish with wedge of cheese. Serve immediately.

4.      Makes 4 servings.

Team Ireland again with Apricot Crumb Bars

Team Denmark 

Amanda made Frikadellar (Meatballs)

Frikadeller:
• 3/4 lb ground beef
• 1 lb ground pork
• 1 large onion - grated
• 1/2 c. breadcrumbs
• 4 Tbsp flour
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• 1/4 tsp. nutmeg
• 2-3 cloves of garlic
• 1/2 tsp. sage leaves
• half & half (or milk) for consistency (1/4 to 1/2 c.)
• butter
•  
Gravy:
• 3/4 - 2 Tbsp drippings from Frickadeller
• tiny butter if needed
• 3 Tbsp flour
• 1 c. heavy cream (Milk works too)
• 1 Tbsp. beef bouillon
• salt & pepper

Instructions

Frikadeller:
• Combine beef, pork and onion. Add breadcrumbs, flour, eggs, salt, pepper, nutmeg, garlic, and sage leaves (it works best if you mix it with your hands).
• Slowly add half & half for consistency (you want them to be slightly sticky, you shouldn't be able to form them into a perfect ball). Coat large skillet well with butter. Drop clumps of mixture (a heaping tablespoon-size) onto the skillet.
• Fry on medium to medium low heat until brown (press the meat down a lightly with a fork so it flattens out a little.. it should look like a fat hamburger.. see picture below), then flip (approx 3-5 minutes per side). Add more butter with each batch.
• Serve with gravy (see below). **Don't wash the skillet-- you will want the brown bits and drippings for the gravy**
For the gravy:
• Add the flour to the drippings to form a roux (add butter if needed). Slowly add cream (or milk) until mixture reaches gravy consistency. Add beef bouillon, salt & pepper to taste.  

Team Denmark - Rødkål (Red Cabbage)

Ingredients

• 1 small head red cabbage, cored and shredded
• 2 cups white sugar
• 2 cups white vinegar
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 3 cups water

Instructions

• Place the cabbage in a large saucepan, and stir in the sugar, vinegar, salt and water. Bring to a boil, then cover and simmer over medium heat for 1 hour. This can be served immediately, or chilled and reheated later in smaller portions.

Team Germany 

Bonnie S made German Fruit Salad

2-3 cups grapes
2 cans (11 oz each) mandarin oranges, drained
1 can (20 oz) fruit cocktail, drained
1 container (16 oz) sour cream
1 TBLS mayonnaise
2 large red apples, cut into bite-size pieces
2 bananas, cut into bite-size pieces
chopped walnuts

Combine grapes, oranges, and fruit cocktail in large bowl. Combine sour cream and mayonnaise in medium bowl; stir into fruit mixture. Add chopped walnuts; mix well. Cover, refrigerate 2 hours. Add apples and bananas just before serving, mix well.

Team Russia

Glory made Beef Stroganoff & Mashed Potatoes

INGREDIENTS

• 1 1/2 pounds beef tenderloin, sliced into thin strips
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 small carrots, grated
• 4 garlic cloves, finely minced
• 10 white mushrooms, sliced
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 1 cup beef stock
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1/4 teaspoon smoked paprika
• Minced chives for topping
• Serve with pasta or potato puree

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat a large sauté pan over medium heat and add ½ tablespoon butter. Clean and slice mushrooms and add to hot pan. Season with a pinch of salt and sauté for a few minutes before adding onion, carrot and garlic. Continue to sauté until mixture is browned. Remove mixture from pan.

2. Into same pan, add additional tablespoon of butter and add sliced beef tenderloin. Season meat with salt and sear meat on medium/high heat until well-browned.

3. Meanwhile, in small sauce pan, melt the 1 tablespoon butter and whisk in flour to make roux. Cook over medium heat for 2 minutes, then slowly incorporate the milk, whisking constantly so no clumps form. Cook until milk thickens, then add stock. Pour sauce over the browned beef and return the mushroom and onion mixture to the pan. Add black pepper and paprika. Simmer mixture over medium heat for 8 to 10 minutes and add additional salt to taste, if necessary. Serve immediately with pasta or potato puree. Can add minced chives for contrasting color.

The complete dinner plate

Team New Zealand

Janna made Pavlovas with cream & fruit

3egg whites
1 pinch of salt
1 cup white sugar
1 TBLS corn starch
1 tsp lemon juice
1 1/4 cups heavy whipping cream
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
Fruit to top with

Directions

Preheat oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C). Line a sheet pan with parchment paper. Draw a 9 inch circle on the parchment. An easy way to do this is to draw around the outside of a 9 inch pan with a pencil. 

In a large bowl, beat egg whites on high speed until soft peaks form. Add 3/4 cup of the sugar gradually, while continuing to whip. Make sure sugar is completely dissolved. Mix together the remaining 1/4 cup sugar with the cornstarch; lightly fold into meringue with lemon juice. 

Spread a layer of meringue to fit circle on parchment, approximately 1/4 inch thick. With remainder of mixture, pipe or spoon swirls around the edges to form a shallow bowl shape. 

Bake at 300 degrees F (150 degrees C) for 1 hour. Turn off oven, but leave meringue in oven for an additional 30 minutes. When cool, the meringue should be hard on the outside, and slightly moist on the inside. 


In a large bowl, combine the cream and half a cup of confectioners sugar, and whip until thickened. Decorate with fruit of your choice; strawberries are excellent. 

Team France
  

Lyra made a chocolate french silk pie with coconut crust 

Despite its chic appearance, this dessert is really an uncomplicated icebox pie at heart. And it's gluten-free, to boot. The pie requires only four ingredients - butter, chocolate, cream, and shredded coconut. The press-in crust comes together in seconds in a food processor. After it's baked, the shell is filled with velvety ganache, which sets to a lovely, smooth sheen.

Ingredients
For the crust

• 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• 11 ounces (about 6 cups) sweetened shredded coconut

For the filling

• 1 cup heavy cream
• 8 ounces bittersweet chocolate (preferably 61 percent cacao), finely chopped

Directions
1 Make the crust: Preheat the oven to 350°F. In a food processor, process butter and one-third of coconut until mixture forms a ball, 1 to 2 minutes. Transfer to a medium bowl. Sprinkle remaining two-thirds coconut over mixture and combine with your fingers.

2 Place a 9-inch pie plate on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Press coconut mixture into bottom and up sides of pan to form crust, leaving top edges loose and fluffy. Place a foil ring over edge to prevent burning. Bake until center begins to brown, 10 to 15 minutes; remove foil and bake until edges are browned, 4 to 5 minutes more. Transfer crust to a wire rack to cool completely.

3 Make the filling: Bring cream just to a boil in a small saucepan; pour over chocolate in a medium heatproof bowl. Let sit 10 minutes, then stir until chocolate is completely melted and mixture is combined. Pour into coconut crust. Refrigerate until filling is set, 1 hour or up to 1 day.

Makes one 9-inch pie.

Coming soon: The Olympics

We'll be choosing countries represented in the 2014 Winter Olympics to make dishes from.

Fall Food Celebration

This cooking club was devoted to some of the fall foods we love best. (Remainder of recipes to follow soon)

Sadly I missed getting a picture of Bonnie S's sweet potato pie. 

Amanda's Roasted Pork Loin w/Cider & Chunky Applesauce

2 sprigs rosemary leaves, roughly chopped
2 sprigs sage, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, smashed
Pinch crushed red pepper
Salt
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 (6-chop) pork rib roast
2 large onions, sliced
1 bundle thyme, tied with string
3 bay leaves
2 quarts apple cider

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

In a food processor, combine the chopped herbs with the garlic, crushed red pepper, a generous pinch of salt and enough olive oil to make a paste. Brush the paste on the outside of the pork rib roast.

Toss the onions with olive oil, and salt, and place in the bottom of a roasting pan. Add the thyme, bay leaves and 2/3 of the cider. Place the pork on top of the onions and place in the preheated oven. Roast the pork at 425 degrees F for 20 to 25 minutes or until the pork has developed a lovely brown crust. Check the pork, stir the onions and cider if they are starting to burn. Add more cider when the level starts to go down.

Lower the oven to 375 degrees F and roast for another 30 to 35 minutes or until an instant-read thermometer reads 150 degrees F. If the crust on the pork starts to get too dark, cover it with foil. Remove 1 1/2 cups of the cider from the bottom of the roasting pan and reserve for the applesauce.

Let the pork rest for at least 15 minutes before carving. When ready to carve remove the pork from the bone and cut the loin into thin slices. Serve with the onions braised in cider and Chunky Applesauce.

Chunky Applesauce:
3 tablespoons butter
4 Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and cut into 1/2-inch chunks (toss the apples in lemon juice if not using right away)
1 1/2 cups of the reserved cider from the Roasted Pork Loin with Cider
1/4 cup apple cider
1 pinch ground cinnamon
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/2 cup walnuts, toasted and coarsely chopped

Melt the butter in a saucepan large enough to accommodate the apples. Add the apples and saute over medium-low heat until the apples start to soften. Add the reserved cider, apple cider and cinnamon and cook over low-medium heat until most of the cider has evaporated and the apples are cooked and very soft.

Add the heavy cream and walnuts and cook until the cream has reduced by half. The end result should be a very chunky, sweet/savory applesauce.

Amanda's Spiced Cider

 

 

 

 

16 cups (1 gallon) apple cider
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon allspice
Pinch grated nutmeg
2 teaspoons whole cloves
1 orange
Cinnamon sticks, for garnish

In a large pot over medium heat, add the apple cider. Stir in the brown sugar, allspice and nutmeg until the sugar is dissolved and bring to a low boil.

Stick the pointy ends of the cloves into the orange so that just the buds of the cloves are visible. The entire orange should be covered with the cloves.

Add the orange to the cider and reduce the heat to simmer. Cover and continue cooking for 20 minutes.Serve in warm mugs with a cinnamon stick garnish.

 Lyra's Potato Cheese Soup

Bonnie E's Pumpkin Wheat Honey Muffins & Apple Butter

Wendy's Molasses Glazed Butternut Squash

Butternut squash: 1 medium butternut squash, 1/2 apple, 1 tbs butter,
1/4 cup chopped walnuts, 1/4- 1/2 cup molassas.

Cook squash in the over at 350 degrees for 20 minutes to soften.
While it is cooking, chop walnuts and apple into small pieces.  Saute
them together in butter until tender.  Take out the squash, slice in
half lengthwise.  Remove seeds. Then put the apple mixture into the
space where the seeds were.  pour molasses over the entire squash
including the apple mixture.  Place in over for another 20 minutes,
and enjoy!

Glory's Green Bean Bundles & Spinach

Linda's Macaroni & Cheese

Janna's Assorted Fruit Butters

African Food

Amanda's Hertzog Cookies 

These cookies or jam and coconut tartlets are known as Hertzog koekies in South Africa.

They were named after General J.B.M. Hertzog, prime minister of the South Africa Union in 1924. According to legend, this was one of his wife's recipes and he loved it so much that she named the cookie after him.

5 cups cake flour / all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 pinch salt
1 cup sugar
2 sticks butter, room temperature
4 large eggs
1 cup sugar for filling
2 cups coconut
5 large egg whites
Smooth apricot jam

Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together. Cream margarine/butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add eggs one by one and beat thorougly after each addition. Add dry ingredients and mix to form a soft dough.

Add a little flour if dough is too moist, or a little water if dough is too dry. If you use large or jumbo sized eggs, this is normally not a problem.

Roll dough out thinly and press out circles. Line the base of greased patty pan tins with dough circles.
Spoon a teaspoonful of apricot jam into the middle of each circle of dough.

Beat egg whites until soft peak stage. Add the sugar gradually, while still beating. Add coconut and spoon egg mixture onto apricot jam filling. Bake in a preheated oven at 180C (350F) for 20 - 25 minutes. Turn onto a wire rack to cool.

Makes about 60 - 72 cookies. Tip: To prevent the apricot jam from "leaking" during the baking process, add a teaspoon or two of flour to it.

 

Bonnie S & Linda's Moroccan Chicken

 

Ingredients

1 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast meat, cubed 2 teaspoons salt 1 onion, chopped 2 cloves garlic, chopped 2 carrots, sliced 2 stalks celery, sliced 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger root ½ teaspoon paprika

¾ teaspoon ground cumin ½ teaspoon dried oregano ¼ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric 1½ cups chicken broth 1 cup crushed tomatoes 1 cup canned chickpeas, drained 1 zucchini, sliced 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions

1.	Season chicken with salt and brown in a large saucepan over medium heat until almost cooked through. Remove chicken from pan and set aside.
2.	Sauté onion, garlic, carrots and celery in same pan. When tender, stir in ginger, paprika, cumin, oregano, cayenne pepper and turmeric; stir-fry for about 1 minute, then mix in broth and tomatoes. Return chicken to pan, reduce heat to low and simmer for about 10 minutes.
3.	Add chickpeas and zucchini to pan and bring to simmering once again; cover pan and cook for about 15 minutes, or until zucchini is cooked through and tender. Stir in lemon juice and serve.   Bonnie S & Linda's Ethiopian Lentil Salad (Yemiser Selatta) Ingredients ½ pound dried lentils   3 tablespoons red wine vinegar   3 tablespoons olive oil   1 teaspoon salt   black pepper  3 garlic cloves, minced   2 jalapenos, stemmed, seeded, minced  (I doubled the recipe but only used two jalapenos—big mistake. Next time I’ll use the full amount.) Directions Rinse the lentils under running water in a sieve. Then drop them into boiling water, enough to cover by 2 inches. Simmer the lentils for 30 minutes. Do not overcook. Drain thoroughly and set aside. Combine the vinegar, oil, salt, and black pepper in a deep bowl. Mix well. Add the lentils, garlic, and jalapenos, and toss gently. Let sit for at least 30 minutes before serving. (This salad is much better chilled, and it gets better every day it sits in the fridge. —Linda) Bonnie E's Peanut Butter Soup   2-3 pounds chicken legs, thighs and/or wings 3 Tbsp vegetable oil 1 large yellow or white onion, sliced A 3-inch piece of ginger, peeled and minced 6-8 garlic cloves, chopped roughly 2-3 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks 1 15-ounce can of crushed tomatoes 1 quart chicken stock 1 cup peanut butter 1 cup roasted peanuts 1 Tbsp ground coriander 1 teaspoon cayenne, or to taste Salt and black pepper 1/4 to 1/2 cup of chopped cilantro 1  Heat the vegetable oil in a large soup pot set over medium-high heat. Salt the chicken pieces well, pat them dry and brown them in the oil. Don't crowd the pot, so do this in batches. Set the chicken pieces aside as they brown. 2 Sauté the onions in the oil for 3-4 minutes, stirring often and scraping any browned bits off the bottom of the pot. Add the ginger and garlic and sauté another 1-2 minutes, then add the sweet potatoes and stir well to combine. 3 Add the chicken, chicken broth, crushed tomatoes, peanut butter, peanuts, coriander and cayenne and stir well to combine. Bring to a simmer and taste for salt, adding more if needed. Cover the pot and simmer gently for 90 minutes (check after an hour), or until the chicken meat easily falls off the bone and the sweet potatoes are tender. 4 Remove the chicken pieces and set them in a bowl to cool, until cool enough to touch. Remove and discard the skin if you want, or chop it and put it back into the pot. Shred the meat off the bones and put the meat back in the pot. 5 Adjust the seasonings for salt and cayenne, then add as much black pepper as you think you can stand—the stew should be peppery. Stir in the cilantro and serve by itself, or with simple steamed rice. Lyra's Chicken & Dumplings 12 Chicken Breasts 3 inches of broth from boiling the chicken down 1/2 cups of milk 1 stick of butter pepper salt 3 cans of Grands butter milk biscuits homestyle   Boil the grands butter milk biscuits homestyle a.k.a (dumplings) boil them for 5 minutes. Pat the dumplings do not stir them. Put the chicken in their.Then simmer for 20 minutes. Only have your pot 3/4 of the way full you need some room to expand if you need to.   Janna's Couscous