Meat and Cheese Loaf

This is my favorite meatloaf recipe. It's from the New York Times Heritage Cookbook. 

2 pounds ground beef chuck (or a mixture of 1/3 ground beef chuck, 1/3 ground veal, 1/3 ground pork. This comes as a package in the grocery meat case as meatloaf mix)

1 1/2 c. grated swiss cheese

2 eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 c. chopped onion

1/2 c. chopped green pepper

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

1 teaspoon celery salt

2 c. milk

1 c.  dry bread crumbs

4 slices lean bacon

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees

2. Mix all the ingredients except the bacon together. Pack into a large loaf pan (glass or metal). Top with the bacon and bake one and one-half hours or until meat thermometer reads 160 degrees in the center of the loaf. Dad likes it best when you bake it with ketchup on the top.

Yield: Eight servings

Rhubarb Custard Cake

This cake is from my mom's friend Judy who is pretty much the best cook (after my mom of course). It's ridiculously easy and has been nicknamed 'crack cake' by friends of mine because once you start eating it, you cannot stop and always need more, more, more. Just like crack. So I hear, at least...

4 c. rhubarb (if frozen, thawed, I've used fresh when in season and it's great)
1 c. heavy cream
1 c. sugar
1 box of yellow cake mix

Mix the yellow cake mix according to the instructions. Spread in a greased 13x9 inch glass baking dish. Sprinkle the rhubarb over the cake batter. Then sprinkle the sugar over the rhubarb. Finally, pour the cream over the top evenly. Bake at 350 for 40-50 minutes until brown on top. Let it cool for a bit and then eat till you're sick.

What ends up happening is everything sinks to the bottom and forms this kind of rhubarb custard with a layer of yellow cake on top.

Zeppoles

Greg saw a cooking show and wanted to make Italian doughnuts called zeppoles (mostly because he liked saying the name I think). The hardest part was getting the hot oil temperature right so the doughnuts would be crispy but also done in the middle. These came out well.


Here is the recipe. I highly recommend using a thermometer in the oil. And a heavy dutch oven...

• 1 vanilla bean (substitute for 1 tsp vanilla extract in the batter)
  
• 1/2 cup sugar, plus 3 tablespoons
• 2 tablespoons ground cinnamon
• 1 stick butter
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
  
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 4 eggs
• Olive oil, for frying

Cut open the vanilla bean lengthwise. Using the back of a knife, scrape along the inside of the vanilla bean to collect the seeds. Scrape vanilla bean seeds into a small bowl. Add the 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon and stir to combine. Set aside. (If not using bean, just combine sugar and cinnamon).

In a medium saucepan combine the butter, salt, 3 tablespoons of sugar, and water over medium heat. Bring to a boil. Take pan off the heat and stir in the flour. Return pan to the heat and stir continuously until mixture forms a ball, about 3 to 5 minutes. Transfer the flour mixture to a medium bowl. Using an electric hand mixer on low speed, add eggs, 1 at a time, incorporating each egg completely before adding the next. Add 1 tsp vanilla extract if not using bean in the cinnamon-sugar coating. Beat until smooth. If not frying immediately, cover with plastic wrap and reserve in the refrigerator.

Meanwhile, pour enough oil into a large frying pan to reach a depth of 2 inches. Heat the oil over medium heat until a deep-fry thermometer registers 375 degrees F.

Using a small ice-cream scooper or 2 small spoons, carefully drop about a tablespoon of the dough into the hot olive oil, frying in batches. Turn the zeppole once or twice, cooking until golden and puffed up, about 5 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Toss with cinnamon-sugar. Arrange on a platter and serve immediately.

Ann's Thanksgiving leftovers turkey sandwich

on a roll: mayo and/or mustard, cranberry relish (ours has horseradish and onions in it), turkey, stuffing, mashed potatoes, a dollop of gravy. Microwave for 45 seconds. 

A Very Boozey Thanksgiving

Booze reigned supreme this year at Thanksgiving. Attempts were made to sneak it into every recipe. That didn't quite work but here are some new classics:

Chocolate Guinness Cupcakes. Complete with "foamy" icing to imitate the head on the beer. The batter was very thin and bubbly from the stout. Baking soda made them very light and airy.


Beef Stew with Brown Ale or "Booze Stew." An adapted recipe from Bon Appetit magazine by me and John. FYI: beer makes anything delicious.

Homemade granola bars

I've made granola before so I figured granola bars couldn't be that hard. I found a version of this recipe on the interwebs. It's super quick and easy. The only somewhat fussy part is mixing in all the oats, nuts, fruit, etc. with the syrup/nut butter but you can usually make it work when you press it into the pan...

2 c. rolled oats
1/2 cup nuts
1 c. nut butter (I used natural almond butter. I imagine the oilier the better.)
1/2 c. brown rice syrup
salt
1 tsp. vanilla
1 c. puffed rice cereal (I used that puffed kamut hippie cereal because it was cheap)
1/2 c. dried fruit (I used chopped up dates and raisins)

UPDATE: I made them again and added 4-5 tablespoons (I think) of honey. They turned out better--sweeter and more chewy.

Preheat oven to 350. Spread oats and nuts on a baking sheet and put in oven. Stir occasionally till toasted and brown but not burnt. Combine nut butter and brown rice syrup in a nonstick sauce pan (large enough to accommodate all the other ingredients too) over medium-low heat until combined.
Add salt to taste (don't add a lot if nut butter is salted) and vanilla.
Take the nuts/oats out and reduce oven to 200 degrees.
Add oats and nuts to syrup mixture. Combine it as well as you can (I used 2 wooden spoons). Make sure everything is coated or the bars will crumble apart.
Press really firmly into a greased 9 x 13" pan.
Bake for 15-20 minutes in the 200 degree oven.
Allow to cool and cut into bars. (I cut them when they were still just slightly warm and it worked well. It seemed like it'd be tough after they totally cooled because they harden up).
YUM.


Maybe somebody can post something about oh... menu planning or mole sauce. I'm just throwing something out there. I've heard someone named pj makes a mean chocolate ganache too...

Crock Pot Chicken Masala

Since the weather's cooler, I have dusted off the Crock Pot. I've realized this is the greatest invention for a busy person who cooks for one. This recipe is pretty good and kind of authentic-tasting. It would be great with some naan (I think some stores sell it frozen) or some cool cucumber sauce. It's hot (pleasantly warm) but not spicy. I put in juice from a whole lemon and it was a bit much for my taste. I didn't use milk either but just one of those small 6 oz. plain yogurt containers but I'm sure it'd be better with that fancy Greek yogurt. I also stirred everything together in a bowl first before putting it in the pot.

1 1/2 pound skinless, boneless chicken breast diced into large cubes
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
2 ounces milk
5 ounces natural yogurt
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 small (8oz.?) can of tomato sauce
5 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/2 can chopped green chilies
2 tablespoons paprika
2 tablespoons garam masala
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric