Sunday, September 21, 2014

Cinnamon Blueberry Crumble Muffins

It's Sunday and I feel like cooking a sweet treat before the football game!

Theses Cinnamon Blueberry Crumble Muffins (say that three times) will be a hit with your football crowd!!

INGREDIENTS:

  • 2 (17.5 ounce) Pillsbury Grands cinnamon rolls (5 rolls each)
  • 21 ounce blueberry pie filling
  • For the Crumble:
  • 1/4 cup butter, cold
  • 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup light brown sugar
  • 1 cup pecans, chopped
  • For the Icing Drizzle:
  • the can of icing with the cinnamon rolls
DIRECTIONS:

    For the Cinnamon Rolls:
  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Generously spray a jumbo muffin tin with non stick cooking spray and set aside.
  3. As gently as possible separate cinnamon rolls.
  4. Using a serrated knife, cut each roll horizontally in half.
  5. Place the bottom half of each roll into the prepared muffin tin.
  6. Add 2 tablespoons of the pie filling.
  7. Top with 1 tablespoon of crumble.
  8. Place the top of the cinnamon roll on top of the pie filling and crumble, press top down.
  9. Add another tablespoon of crumble.
  10. Bake 25 minutes or until the top is golden brown.
  11. Cool in the pan 10 minutes, run a knife or off set spatula around the edges to release the sides and continue cooling an additional 20 minutes.
  12. Cool completely on wire rack.
  13. Take the lid off the icing and microwave 5 to 7 seconds.
  14. Drizzle on cooled rolls.
  15. For the Crumble:
  16. In a small bowl add the butter, flour, sugar and pecans.
  17. Using your fingers blend the crumble together until well combined.
Notes:
This recipe is from Lady behind The Curtain

 Enjoy this and root for your team....In my case...I'm from Philadelphia so....GO EAGLES!
Eat and snack well my friends!

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Vegatable Friatta

Howwwwwwwwwwww about something totally different for a Saturday Morning...The last Saturday of summer 2014?  How about a vegatable Friatta?

Detective Carlotta Rodriguez-Wallace, my charactor from my fiction and poetry blog, ESCAPADES (shameless plug for my other blog) swears by it....
Here is her recipe :

INGREDIENTS:
  •   tablespoon 
    margarine or butter
  • 1/4  cup 
    sliced fresh mushrooms
  • 1   
    whole tiny new potato, thinly sliced
  • 1   
    green onion, sliced
  • 2   
    eggs, beaten
  • 2   tablespoons 
    milk
  • 1/4  teaspoon 
    dried basil, crushed
  • 1/8  teaspoon 
    salt
  • Dash pepper
  • 1/4  cup 
    shredded herb-flavored cheese or Swiss cheese
  • 2   
    cherry tomatoes, quartered
DIRECTIONS:
.
1.In a 6-inch skillet melt margarine or butter. Add mushrooms, potatoes, and green onion. Cook over medium heat until potato is tender, turning occasionally.
2.
Meanwhile, in a small bowl combine eggs, milk, basil, salt, and pepper. Pour egg mixture into skillet. Cook about 2 minutes or until egg mixture is set, running a spatula around edge of skillet and lifting mixture to allow uncooked portion to run underneath. Remove from heat. Top with cheese and tomatoes. Makes 1 serving.
Piece of cake right?

Try this.....It is a piece of heaven....

Enjoy and Eat well my friends !   (Thank you Carlotta!)

Monday, September 8, 2014

Provençal Pork Sandwich


It's Football season again...and there are non-traditional sandwiches that can be enjoyed both at home and at the game....(Provided you can sneak this one in...I doubt they are selling this at any stadium!) The Provencal Pork Sandwich...

Simply stated... While your favorite players are enduring an on-field pounding in pursuit of a win, you can be enjoying a much more pain-free victory in the comfort of your home in front of your flat screen TV or at a friends house with some friends...

This simple, delicious sandwich can be prepared ,I'm told in just 30 minutes.

INGREDIENTS: 

  • 1/4 cup(s) all-purpose flour
  • 1 large egg
  • 1 cup(s) panko breadcrumbs
  • 1/2 cup(s) Grana Padano or Parmesan cheese, grated
  • 1 pound(s) thin pork cutlets
  • 1/4 cup(s) pure olive oil
  • 1/3 cup(s) light mayonnaise
  • 2 tablespoon(s) pesto sauce
  • 1 loaf(s) French bread, halved lengthwise
  • 4 cup(s) frisée or mesclun salad greens
  • 2 tablespoon(s) red wine vinaigrette dressing
  • 1 jar(s) (12-ounce) roasted red and yellow bell peppers, drained, cut into wide strips
  • mixed olives, for garnish
DIRECTIONS:
  1. Place flour on a sheet of waxed paper. Beat egg with a fork in a small, shallow bowl and place bowl next to flour. Mix panko and grated cheese on another sheet of waxed paper and place on other side of beaten egg. Working with 1 cutlet at a time, dredge cutlet in flour, patting off excess flour, then dip into beaten egg, then into the panko mixture to coat. Repeat with remaining cutlets.
  2. Heat olive oil in a large skillet, preferably cast iron, over medium heat, until oil is shimmering. Fry cutlets in 2 batches, 2 minutes per side, or until golden and crisp. Drain cutlets on paper towels.
  3. Mix mayonnaise and pesto and spread on cut sides of French bread. Toss frisée with vinaigrette and line bottom half of bread. Top with cutlets, then peppers and the remaining dressed frisée. Replace top of bread and cut into four portions. Serve with olives, if desired.

Friday, September 5, 2014

Celery,Apple and Fennel Slaw


Heyy folks...I'm back!  On this Blog at least.....Here is something you can fix that is good and doesn't cause you to have to turn an oven on during these last lazy crazy and hot days of summer...It's called Celery,Apple and Fennel slaw...

This update of the Waldorf salad has so much crunch, we skipped the walnuts. Serve with grilled pork, fish, or chicken  even beef!

INGREDIENTS:


3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

2 1/2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

1 1/2 tablespoons coarsely chopped fresh tarragon

2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice

1/4 teaspoon sugar

3 celery stalks, thinly sliced diagonally, plus 1/4 cup loosely packed celery leaves

2 small fennel bulbs, thinly sliced crosswise, plus 1 tablespoon chopped fennel fronds

1 firm, crisp apple (such as Pink Lady, Gala, or Granny Smith), julienned

Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper.


DIRECTIONS: 

Whisk first 5 ingredients in a medium bowl.

Add celery and celery leaves, thinly sliced fennel and chopped fennel fronds, and apple; toss to coat.

Season to taste with salt and pepper.

And that's it...

Simple huh?

Enjoy!  Eat well my friends!


Food Safety Tips
Protect yourself against food-borne illnesses.


1. Use a "refrigerator thermometer" to keep your food stored at a safe temperature (below 40 degrees fahrenheit).

Cold temperatures slow the growth of bacteria. Ensuring that your refrigerator temperature stays at 40 degrees Fahrenheit or colder is one of the most effective ways to reduce your risk of food-borne illness. You can buy a refrigerator/freezer thermometer at appliance stories, home centers (i.e. Home Depot), and kitchen stores including online ones, such as Cooking.com.

2. Defrost food in the refrigerator, the microwave, or in cold water... never on the counter!

Perishable foods should never be thawed on the counter for longer than two hours because, while the center of the food may remain frozen, the outer surface may enter the Danger Zone, the range of temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees fahrenheit, in which bacteria multiply rapidly. If you’re short on time, use the microwave or you can thaw meat and poultry in airtight packaging in cold water. Change the water every half-hour so it stays cold and use the thawed food immediately.

3. Always use separate cutting boards for raw meat/poultry/fish and cooked foods/fresh produce.

Bacteria from uncooked meat, poultry, and fish can contaminate cooked foods and fresh produce. An important way to reduce this risk is to use separate cutting boards for raw meat/poultry/ fish, and cooked foods/fresh produce.

4. Always cook meat to proper temperatures, using a calibrated instant-read thermometer to make sure.

One effective way to prevent illness is to use a food thermometer to check the internal temperature of meat, poultry, and egg dishes. The USDA Recommended Safe Minimum Internal Temperatures are as follows:

* Beef, veal, and lamb (steaks and roasts), fish - 145 degrees fahrenheit

* Pork and ground beef - 160 degrees fahrenheit

* Poultry - 165 degrees fahrenheit.

Cook meats like roasts and steaks to lower temperatures, closer to medium-rare, so that they retain their moisture. It is recommended that those who are at high risk for developing food-borne illness (i.e. pregnant women and their unborn babies, newborns, young children, older adults, people with weakened immune systems, or certain chronic illnesses) should follow the USDA guidelines.

5. Avoid unpasteurized/raw milk and cheeses made from unpasteurized milk that are aged less than 60 days.

Raw milk is milk from cows, sheep, or goats that has not been pasteurized (heated to a very high temperature for a specific length of time) to kill harmful bacteria that may be present. These bacteria, which include salmonella, E. coli and listeria, can cause serious illness and sometimes even death. The bacteria in raw milk can be especially dangerous to pregnant women, children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems or chronic illnesses. Raw milk cheeses aged 60 days or longer are okay, since the salt and acidity of the cheese-making process make for a hostile environment to pathogens.

6. Never eat "runny" eggs or foods, such as cookie dough, that contain raw eggs.

Even eggs that have clean, intact shells may be contaminated with salmonella, so it’s important to cook eggs thoroughly until both the yolk and the white are firm. Casseroles and other dishes containing eggs should be cooked to 160 degrees fahrenheit and you can use an instant-read food thermometer to check. Eggs should always be cooked fully and those who are at high risk for developing foodborne illness (pregnant women and their unborn babies, newborns, young children, older adults, and people with weakened immune systems or certain chronic illnesses should follow the USDA guidelines. If you can’t resist runny eggs or sampling cookie batter, use pasteurized eggs. They’re found near other eggs in large supermarkets.

7. Always wash your hands in warm soapy water for at least 20 seconds before handling food and after touching raw meat, poultry, or eggs.

You can pick up a lot of bacteria out in the world, so it’s important to always wash your hands before you eat or prepare food. You should also wash your hands after touching any uncooked meat, poultry, fish, or eggs, as the bacteria from these foods can contaminate cooked foods and fresh produce. Use soap and warm water and wash thoroughly for at least 20 seconds.

8. Always heat leftover foods to 165 degrees fahrenheit.

The USDA recommends heating all cooked leftovers to 165 degrees fahrenheit in order to kill all potentially dangerous bacteria.

9. Never eat meat, poultry, eggs, or sliced fresh fruits and vegetables that have been left out for more than two hours or more than one hour in temperatures hotter than 90 degrees Fahrenheit.

If you leave perishable foods out of the refrigerator or freezer for more than two hours they may enter the Danger Zone—the unsafe temperatures between 40 and 140 degrees Fahrenheit, in which bacteria multiply rapidly.

10. Whenever there’s a food recall, check products stored at home to make sure they are safe.

You should discard any food that’s been recalled because it’s associated with the outbreak of a food-borne illness. But, according to a survey conducted by Rutgers University during the fall of 2008, only about 60% of Americans search their homes for foods that have been recalled because of contamination. For more information on food recalls, visit the website Recalls.gov






Cavier & Vodka
Courtesy of The Lady (Bug) of the Household