March 2010—Hillary & Nanette

 "Cowboy Up" Gourmet Club
Hillary & Nanette

Olive Cheese Bread

thepioneerwoman.com

Ingredients

1 loaf French bread

6 ounces, weight pimiento-stuffed green olives

6 ounces, weight black olives

2 stalks green onions (scallions)

1 stick butter, room temperature

1/2 cup mayonnaise

3/4 pounds Monterey jack cheese, grated

Preparation Instructions

Roughly chop both black olives and pimiento-stuffed green olives. Slice green onions into thin pieces.

Combine butter, mayonnaise, cheese, olives and green onions in a mixing bowl. Stir together until thoroughly combined. Spread mixture onto French bread that has been sliced lengthwise. Bake at 325ºF for 25 to 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and browning.

Mixture can also be refrigerated (up to two days) and used as a dip. Great with crackers.

Jalapeño Poppers with Crab, Corn and Cheese

To stead the stuffed jalapeños on the grill, line them up in the spaces between the grates.  This will keep them from tipping over.

12 jalapeños

1 cup lump crabmeat

1/2 cup fresh corn kernels

4 oz cream cheese, softened

2 oz goat cheese, softened

1/4 cup scallions, chopped

Juice of 1/2 a lime

Salt to taste

1/4 cup crushed tortilla chips

1/4 tsp chili powder

Preheat grill to medium-low.  Cut jalapeños lengthwise, slicing off about 1/3 of the flesh.  Scrape out the white membrane (pith) and seeds.  (Wear gloves to protect your hands from the chilies’ volatile oils.)

Blend crab, corn, both cheeses, scallions, lime juice, and salt in a fowl.  Stuff each jalapeño with a generous 3 tablespoons of the mixture.  Combine chips and chili powder; sprinkle on jalapeños.

Grill jalapeños stuffing side up for 10 minutes, or until charred, but still firm.

www.cuisineathome.com

Oatmeal Crispies

Ingredients

1 cup shortening (Crisco)

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 cup sugar

2 whole eggs

1 tsp vanilla

1-1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

3 cups quick oats

1/2 cups finely chopped pecans

Preparation:

In a large mixing bowl, cream shortening with both sugars until well combined.  In a separate bowl, beat eggs together. Add vanilla and stir to combine. Add to the shortening/sugar mixture and mix well.

In a separate bowl combine the flour, salt and baking soda. Mix carefully into the egg/shortening mixture until well combined. Now add the quick oats and mix well again. Finally add the finely chopped pecans and mix well to combine.

Divide the dough in half and place each half of the dough onto a sheet of waxed paper. Roll the dough into a log and then wrap it tightly in the waxed paper. Now you can either chill or freeze the dough until later or you can go ahead and slice the dough evenly into cookie rounds.

When you are ready to bake them place them on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes until they are golden brown.

Asian Noodle Salad

Ingredients

Salad:

1 package linguine noodles, cooked, rinsed, and cooled

1/2 heads sliced Napa cabbage, or more to taste

1/2 heads sliced purple cabbage, or more to taste

1/2 bags baby spinach, or more to taste

1 whole red bell pepper, sliced thin

1 whole yellow bell pepper, sliced thin

1 whole orange bell pepper, thinly sliced

1 bag bean sprouts (also called mung bean sprouts)

Chopped cilantro, up to 1 bunch, to taste

3 whole scallions, sliced

3 whole cucumbers peeled and sliced

1 can (about 10 oz) whole cashews, lightly toasted in skillet

Dressing:

1 whole lime, juiced

8 Tbsp olive oil

8 Tbsp soy sauce

2 Tbsp (up To 3 Tbsp) sesame oil

1/3 cups brown sugar

3 Tbsp fresh ginger chopped

2 cloves garlic chopped

2 whole hot peppers or jalapeño’s, chopped

Chopped cilantro

Preparation:

Mix salad ingredients together. Whisk dressing ingredients together and pour over salad. Mix with tongs or hands and serve on a platter.

Note: dressing keeps for up to three days before serving, without cilantro.

Roasted Corn Salad

4 ears corn on cob with husks still attached

Salt, as needed

6 cups mesclun lettuce mix, rinsed and dried (we used romaine too)

3 red beefsteak tomatoes, sliced

2 avocados cut into slices

1 medium red onion, sliced thin

1 cup small-diced aged Cheddar Cheese (we used Swiss)

3 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Cook corn on grill or in the oven. If in oven, preheat to 400. Roast the unhusked ears of corn until tender, about 45 minutes. Check their doneness after about 30-45 minutes; pull the husk partially away from the biggest ear. If you can pierce a kernel easily with a fork, it is done. Remove from the oven and cool.

Shuck the corn and cut the kernels from the cobs. Place corn kernels in a mixing bowl and toss with 1 tsp of the salt. Keep the corn at room temperature if you are making the salad right away, or cover and refrigerate for up to 12 hours. Prepare lettuce. Add tomatoes, avocados and onion. Sprinkle with cheese and corn. Season with salt and pepper.

Recipe courtesy of The Culinary Institute of America, Vegetables Cookbook

Gratin of Cauliflower with Gruyère

Gruyère's nutty, earthy flavor is a nice match for subtle cauliflower, and crisp breadcrumbs add texture. Substitute broccoli for the cauliflower, if you prefer. You can prepare all the elements for the dish a day ahead, if necessary. Refrigerate the sauce, the cauliflower, and the breadcrumb mixture separately, and simply assemble before baking.

Cooking Light, November 2008

6 servings

Ingredients:

1 medium head cauliflower, trimmed and cut into florets (about 2 lbs)

Cooking spray

1/2 tsp kosher salt, divided

2 tsp butter

1/3 cup panko (Japanese breadcrumbs)

1/2 cup (2 oz) shredded Gruyère cheese, divided

2 Tbsp finely chopped fresh chives

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

1 garlic clove, minced

3 Tbsp all-purpose flour

2 cups 2% reduced-fat milk

3 Tbsp chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

1/4 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 400°.

Place cauliflower in a 2-quart broiler-safe baking dish lightly coated with cooking spray; coat cauliflower with cooking spray. Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon salt; toss. Bake at 400° for 30 minutes or until almost tender. Cool 5 minutes.

Preheat broiler.

Melt butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Remove from heat. Stir in panko. Stir in 1/4 cup cheese and chives.

Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion to pan; sauté 4 minutes or until almost tender, stirring frequently. Add garlic; sauté 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add flour; cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk; bring to a boil. Cook 3 minutes or until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat; stir in remaining 1/4 cup cheese, remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt, parsley, and pepper. Pour milk mixture over cauliflower mixture; toss. Top evenly with cheese mixture. Broil 3 minutes or until golden brown and thoroughly heated.

Pulled Pork BBQ Sandwich with Coleslaw

8 servings

www.rookie-cookie.com

For the sandwiches:

4 lb Boston butt pork roast

2 onions, sliced and divided

Kosher salt and ground pepper

6 whole cloves

Splash of liquid smoke

Coleslaw (see recipe below

16 oz bottle of your favorite BBQ sauce (see recipe below)

6 Kaiser rolls, split

Place one sliced onion at the bottom of a slow cooker. Stud the pork roast with cloves and season with salt and pepper. Place roast in slow cooker on top of the sliced onion. Cover with the second sliced onion and add enough water to fill the slow cooker 2/3 of the way. Add liquid smoke to the water. Cover and cook on low for 8 to 12 hours.

Remove roast on to a cutting board and let sit until cool enough to handle. Remove and discard cloves, bone and fat as well as any water, onions and grease remaining in the pot. When the pork roast is cool enough to handle, use a fork or your fingers to pull it apart until the entire roast is shredded. Return the pulled pork to the slow cooker. Mix in the BBQ sauce and cover. Heat on high for 30 minutes.

Notes: For the pork, I put everything together the night before, minus the water and liquid smoke, and put it in the fridge. The next morning, I put the pot in the slow cooker and turned it on at 7:30 am. It was done at 5:30 pm. Also, the roast was frozen almost rock solid when I started the slow cooker and it still was perfect when it was done cooking. So don't worry about the roast being thawed too much.

For the coleslaw:

2-1/2 lb green cabbage, cored and shredded

1 red onion, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

1 cup shredded carrots

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

1-1/4 cup mayonnaise

1/3 cup cider vinegar

2 tsp sugar

Toss all vegetables in a large bowl with 1 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Whisk together mayo, vinegar and sugar, then toss with slaw. Chill, covered, stirring occasionally, at least 1 hour.

Note: The best way to get this slaw mixed together is using your hands.

Mound a pile of pork on a Kaiser roll and top with coleslaw. Scarf and enjoy!

Neely’s BBQ Sauce

2 cups ketchup

1 cup water

1/2 cup apple cider vinegar

5 Tbsp light brown sugar

5 Tbsp sugar

1/2 Tbsp fresh ground black pepper

1/2 Tbsp onion powder

1/2 Tbsp ground mustard

1 Tbsp lemon juice

1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce

Directions:

In a medium saucepan, combine all ingredients. Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat to simmer. Cook uncovered, stirring frequently, for 1 hour 15 minutes.

Bandera Cornbread

Moist sweet and amazing cornbread from the Bandera chain of restaurants owned by Houstons. To accurately clone the restaurant’s version, use small cast iron skillets, however this can just be made in one large cast iron skillet.

Makes 16 slices

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup yellow cornmeal

1/4 tsp salt

4 tsp baking powder

1 (15-oz) can creamed corn

2 oz green chili peppers (1/2 small can, roasted style)

1 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup cheddar cheese (shredded)

1/2 cup Monterey jack cheese (shredded)

4 eggs

Preheat oven & skillet to 300 degrees.

Mix flour, cornmeal, salt & baking powder and set aside. Melt butter and combine with sugar, creamed corn and chili peppers. Mix to combine. Add eggs one-by one and mix until well blended.  Add cheese. Fold-in flour mixture until mixed well, clumps are okay.

Carefully remove cast iron skillet from oven and evenly coat top and sides with canola/vegetable oil. Pour in cornbread batter (be careful, it may splatter). Bake 30-45 minutes, or until top is golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Honey Butter

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup marshmallow cream

1/4 cup honey

Mix all together.

Jalapeño Jelly

3 jalapeños

4 bell peppers

1 cup white vinegar

3 drops green food coloring

5 cups sugar

1 box liquid pectin (2 pouches)

Instructions:

Remove the seeds from the jalapeños and bell peppers. Mix jalapeños, peppers, vinegar, food coloring, and sugar in a blender. Bring the mixture to a boil and boil for 10 minutes.

Add pectin; boil all together hard for 1 minute. Put in bottles and process for 5 minutes. 1 batch makes 3 pints. Do not double the recipe.

Preach Crisp with Maple Cream Sauce

thepioneerwoman.com

Ingredients

5 whole to 6 whole fresh peaches (best when not overly ripe or soft)

1 cup flour

1/2 cups sugar

1/2 cups light brown sugar, firmly packed

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/4 tsp salt

1 stick butter (1/2 cup)

1/2 whole lemon

7 Tbsp real maple syrup, divided

1-1/2 cup whipping cream

3 Tbsp light corn syrup

Preparation:

In a medium bowl, mix flour, sugar, light brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg and salt using a fork or pastry cutter. Cut butter into small pieces and gradually add to flour mixture until evenly mixed.

Peel peaches into a bowl. Add the zest from half a lemon. Squeeze juice from lemon half and stir in with peaches and zest. Add 2 tablespoons real maple syrup to peaches, stir well.

Pour peach mixture into a small pan (8” or 9” square) and cover evenly with crumb topping. Cover with foil and bake at 350ºF for 15 minutes. Remove foil and bake for an additional 20 to 30 minutes or until crisp and brown on top.

Maple Cream Sauce:

Pour whipping cream into a saucepan. Add 5 tablespoons real maple syrup, 3 tablespoons corn syrup and stir over moderate heat until thickened and reduced by about one-third, approximately 15 minutes. Refrigerate mixture until it is cold and thick, or set the saucepan into a small bowl of ice (the ice will melt and turn into ice water). Stirring your mixture, it will cool and thicken in about 15 minutes. Drizzle sauce over peach crisp. Serve warm.