"Rachael Ray Express Lane Meals - A 30-Minute Meal Cookbook" - Leek-y Chicken and Couscous

Date I made this recipe:  Sunday, October 22, 2017

Rachael Ray Express Lane Meals – A 30-Minute Meal Cookbook by Rachael Ray

Published by Clarkson Potter/Publishers

ISBN: 1-4000-8255-2; © 2006

Purchased at: Paperback Exchange, Minneapolis

Recipe: Leek-y Chicken and Couscous – p. 22-23

Reader, I don’t know when I’ve been so decisive on selecting a cookbook and recipe, but this was a new a new record for me.  In fact, I wasn’t even trying when I pulled it off the shelf.  This is not normally how it goes for me, but maybe I should try this more often?

To set the stage, I had a couple of other dishes on deck to make this weekend, but when I ran them by Andy, he was rather “meh” about them and so I tabled them for another day.  I was also torn between making something that said “fall” but then our weather warmed up and something warm and heavy didn’t seem appropriate.

That said on Saturday, I attended a pot luck and one of the attendees brought pulled pork (which to me says “fall”) and dang, did that taste good!  So, hmm, maybe a crock pot meal?

At this point, I still had a fairly decent window to make something in the crock pot without going too late into the evening, and so I did a quick scan of my collection, and up on one of my very top shelves, I spied Slow Cooker cookbook.  Alas folks, nothing in there floated my boat, so I re-shelved it and was rethinking my options when I found myself eye to eye with several Rachael Ray cookbooks and decided to look through Express Lane Meals.  To be clear, Rachael Ray is famous for her 30-minute meals, so there went the crockpot idea!  This turned out to be a good thing though, since Andy and I had a few stops to make before we could get to a grocery store and by that time, the afternoon was flying by.

I’ve mentioned before that Rachael’s chipper personality can be grating but her recipes are spot on and Andy and I have enjoyed almost everything we’ve made; this dish was no exception.  In fact, to quote Rachael, this was “delish!”

At this point, I had totally lost interest with heartier and/or slow-cooked fare and decided I needed something “light.”  Not “salad” light, but along those same lines.  Fall may be the season of hearty and comforting food, but I am slow to embrace fall; bring on endless summer!

As you’ll see below, the book’s “Table of Contents” was brief which was fine except I had to take the time to go through each page to find recipes of interest; I prefer a more streamlined approach.  Our chapters were:

• ·       “Meals for the Exhausted” (76 pages of recipes and instructions)
• ·       “Meals for the Not Too Tired” (104 pages of recipes and instructions)
• ·       “Bring it On! (But, Be Gentle.)” (44 pages of recipes and instructions)

 You see?  How were these categories helpful?

Further, I just had to chuckle over the first two categories, “Meals for the Exhausted,” and “Meals for the Not Too Tired.” Let’s break this down, starting with the interpretation of what was written, particularly the “for the” designation as in:  these meals are being made FOR people who are exhausted or not [yet] too tired.  Well, where does that leave the cook?  What if I’m the one who is exhausted or not [yet] too tired? What result?

Assuming then, (dangerous, I know), that Rachael intended these recipes to be made BY me or others who are exhausted or will be shortly, let’s look at how many pages there are for us to review.  If you’re already exhausted, then you must look through 76 pages of recipes and instructions.  If you are merely working your way up to being exhausted, then you need to review 104 pages.  I’m going to go out on a limb here and suggest that reading that many pages will change your status from “not too tired” to “exhausted” in a Rachael-Ray minute!

Okay then, since the possibilities of me ending up on my couch instead of in the kitchen cooking were high, I decided to make it easy on myself and look for recipes that were easy and light and concluded that this meant chicken, seafood, or pasta sans heavy sauces.  This meant that I could pretty much tear through the cookbook, saving my strength for the cooking to follow.

Happily, it didn’t take me long to find what I was looking for because right there, on page 22, was the recipe I selected:  Leek-y Chicken and Couscous.  This recipe was very easy, and I did appreciate that it was not too taxing for me to make seeing as how I was already “exhausted” and everything!

Here were some other contenders:

• ·       Cacio e Pepe (Cheese and Pepper Pasta) and Spinach with White Beans – p. 30
• ·       Toasted Garlic and Sweet Pea Pasta (I love peas!) – p. 52-52
• ·       Cowboy Spaghetti (with fire-roasted tomatoes and Cheddar cheese) – p. 60-61
• ·       Smoky Black Bean and Rice “Stoup” – p. 64-65 (Rachael likes to call something that is a soup/stew a “stoup.”  I can’t say that word does much for me but it’s her word so she gets to use it.)
• ·       Everything Lo Mein – p. 114-115

There were a few others of interest and there were some other heartier recipes that I might have made on another day, but I liked the sound (and the taste) of chicken and leeks. 

Once I selected the dish of the day, it was time to go shopping and since I needed to go to Kowalski’s (local, family-owned grocery store) to get a few things, I thought I’d pick up the chicken there, and so I got two packages of chicken tenders and went home to start cooking.

Folks, as I walked into the house, I smelled something rather awful and could not figure it out until I took the [still sealed] packaged chicken out of my grocery bag.  Ew, that did not smell good!  Then I opened it and ew x 2, that really did not smell good. I called Andy over for a second opinion and he thought one didn’t smell too bad, but the other smelled “interesting.”  Well, I am totally my mother’s daughter, and I don’t “do” chicken that smells “interesting” or is “not too bad” so I called Kowalski’s and asked to speak to the meat department.

Folks, if you live in the Twin Cities and are close to a Kowalski’s you need to visit them because here’s what happened next.  I spoke to Brian in the meat department on Grand Ave and said, “Maybe it’s just me, but I don’t think this chicken smells right.”  He said, “Well, rather than take a chance that it’s gone bad, if you want, you can bring it back to us and we’ll exchange it for a product that does work for you, no charge, and we’ll give you a gift certificate for your trouble.

Ponder that a second:  Not only did they give me new product for free, no questions asked, but they rewarded me for letting them know and bringing it in.  I LOVE this grocery store even more than I already did! I dispatched Andy to go to the grocery store to do the deed, and he too, came back glowing.  I even posted this on my Facebook page because getting any type of services these days is a miracle, but getting this type of service was outstanding.

Okay then, now on to the recipe and how we fared.  This was a very easy recipe to make and one that seemed healthy and that was what I was looking for.  First, you make the couscous, then you make the chicken and leeks and ta-da, you are done!  That Rachael – when she says “30 minutes” she means “30” minutes!  Enjoy!

Leek-y Chicken and Couscous – 4 servings

1 ½ cups chicken stock

2 tablespoons butter

¼ cup golden raisins, a couple of handfuls, chopped

1 ½ cups plain couscous

2 tablespoons EVOO (extra-virgin olive oil), twice around the pan

1 ½ pounds chicken tenders, cut into large bit-size pieces

Salt and black pepper

2 medium leeks or 1 large leek

1 cup dry white wine (eyeball it), about ¼ bottle

A handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped

Heat the chicken stock and 1 tablespoons of the butter in a medium pot with a tight-fitting lid.  When the liquid boils, add the raisins and couscous.  Take the pan off the heat.  Stir the couscous and place the lid on the pot.  Let it stand.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat and add the EVOO.  Add the chicken in a single layer and season it with salt and pepper.  While the chicken browns on all sides, trim the rough tops and the root ends off the leeks.

Cut the leeks in half lengthwise, then cut them into 1-inch half moons.  Place the leeks in a colander and run them under cold water.  Separate the layers to release the dirt and grit.  Rinse well, then drain well.

Add the leeks to the chicken and wilt, 2 to 3 minutes.  Add the wine and let it cook down by half, 3 to 4 minutes. The leeks should still have some color but should be tender and the chicken should be cooked through.  Add the remaining tablespoon of butter and swirl into the sauce.

Fluff the couscous with a fork and stir in the parsley.  Place a bed of couscous on each dinner plate and top it with the chicken and leeks.

"Good Food Ideas - Kraft Cheese Cookbook" & "Cooking in Door County [Wisconsin]" - Cheddar Meatloaf and Mushrooms and Macaroni a la Creme - Packer/Viking football

Date I made this recipe: Saturday, October 15, 2017 – The eve of the annual Packers v. Vikings game, game 1 of 2

Good Food Ideas – Kraft Cheese Cookbook by Kraft Kitchens

Published by A Benjamin Company Book

© 1977

Purchased at Arc’s Value Village Richfield

Recipe: Cheddar Meatloaf – p. 45

Cooking in Door County (Wisconsin) by Pauli Wanderer

Published by Voyageur Press

© 1985

Purchased at BCPA (Bloomington Crime Prevention Association) Annual Sale

Recipe:  Morels (or another mushroom) a la Crème – p. 51

All right then, so yesterday (Sunday) was the annual [Green Bay] Packers (my team) v. [Minnesota] Vikings game.  It is a game that is always fraught with peril and this year it was a disaster as the Packers quarterback broke his collarbone halfway through the first quarter and the backup quarterback had to finish the game.  “We” as in my Packers lost 23-10.

This was not supposed to happen.  Nope.  You cannot believe the anti-jinxing rituals I go through just to make sure we win each one our games, and as faithful readers know, these rituals extend to my cookbooks and the game day recipes I select to spur my team to victory.

This time around, I found two cookbooks, one, a cheese cookbook from Kraft kitchens, and the other, a cookbook from Door County, Wisconsin.  (Door County is a “resort” area in northeastern Wisconsin, just north of Green Bay.) Since food is love and I love my team, I felt sure that the two recipes I selected would bring good luck their way.  I even made them the night before for an extra good luck push and to free me up on game day. Both recipes even had cheese for crying out loud which is the food of the gods in Wisconsin.  It is not for nothing that Packers fans are called “Cheeseheads!”

All sign then pointed to “yes.”  Unfortunately, the recipes were good but not great and that should have been my first clue to the upcoming Football Apocalypse (2017).  More on that in a minute.

So that was Saturday night, and on Sunday morning, my birthday twin and fellow Packer fan, Deb, and I went to breakfast for a late birthday celebration.  We agreed originally to meet at 11:00 and that was fine by me.  Then Deb texted me asking if we could change that to 10:00 (yes) and switch venues so she could watch the game. 

Ten o’clock was fine but watching the game was a problem for me and so stay with me while I explain it. 

In addition to trying to make food befitting a football game (not all Packers games, just some of the more important ones), I have come to believe that sometimes it is more helpful to the team if I don’t watch the live broadcast.  I always record it and will run it back no matter what, but I have found they win if I’m not watching them.  It’s crazy thinking to be sure, but it seems to work. There are also times, like this past Sunday, when my schedule doesn’t always allow for me to be at home when the game is on.  This week’s exciting task that took me away from the game grouting our new tile for our upstairs bathroom remodel. Three hours and a lot of grout dust later, we finally finished but alas, at that point, it was all over but the crying (and the last 45 seconds of the game).

Anyway, Deb said that if she watches them, they win.  I suggested to her that we just canceled each other out which was not good!  This is also foreshadowing of the debacle that followed.

Okay, so to recap, I made a Packer-related dinner, Deb and I canceled each other out on watching live/not watching live, and this brings us to the third and final nail in the coffin:  team apparel/team colors.

My unwritten rule of “game” apparel is this:  Thou shalt not wear “enemy” (i.e. opposing team) colors three days before game time.  By “apparel” I mean everything from underwear to eye wear.  I say this because for years now, I have had a pair of purple glasses and a pair that is not purple.  I do not wear the purple frames games at all three days before a game, regardless of whether it is the Packers v. Vikings game, because purple is a Viking team color and I don’t want to send any good juju their way, only bad!

You can call me crazy if you like, but all this is mild compared to some fans I know.  It’s all about not jinxing our team so that all they do is “win, win, win, no matter what!” (Thanks, DJ Khaled!)

Okay, so now that you know this, here’s what happened at breakfast:  Deb inadvertently wore a sweatshirt containing lettering in purple and yellow and yellow, the other Vikings color. Vikings colors are enemy colors and sheesh, talk about picking the wrong day to wear that outfit! I learned that Deb does not take things as far as I do but she should because look.what.happened.

In conclusion, and as I mentioned earlier, we were now up to three signs of the upcoming Football Apocalypse (2017):  Bad Juju Moment #1 – Saturday dinner; Bad Juju Moment #2 – Watch/don’t watch, and Bad Juju Moment #3 – Enemy apparel.  We inadvertently doomed our team before they even took to the field.

Our sincere apologies to Packer Nation for these actions.

Let’s backtrack then to the recipes that I made and how they fared.  First up:  Good Food Ideas – Kraft Cheese Cookbook.

This cookbook contains recipes for every type of cheese dish imaginable.  Naturally, Kraft wants us all to use Kraft cheese products, but I cheated and purchased a Wisconsin cheddar at Trader Joe’s. Now for all I know, this private label product was made by Kraft but I didn’t really care because the label said “Wisconsin” cheddar and that’s all I needed to know. 

Okay then, so let’s take a look at the Table of Contents:

• ·       Social Snacks
• ·       Hot and Hearty Soups and Stews
• ·       Feature Attractions
• ·       Zesty Vegetables
• ·       Special Salads and Salad Dressings
• ·       Savory Sweets
• ·       Wonderful Happenings
• ·       From Oven to Table – Homemade Bread
• ·       Sandwiches to Remember
• ·       Sauce Sorcery
• ·       Eye Openers – Breakfast and Brunch
• ·       Microwave Magic
• ·       Enough for a Crowd
• ·       Perfect Partners – Cheese and Wine (no recipes)
• ·       Through the Ages with Cheeses (no recipes)

 I must say that the only chapter that gave me slight pause was the “Savory Sweets,” but I shouldn’t have been alarmed because most of the recipes used other Kraft products such as cream cheese or Parkay Margarine (yuck) and only a few used cheese.  Even then, those that did, such as an apple pie crust made with cheddar cheese in the crust, made sense. 

I finally decided on the Cheddar Meatloaf from the “Feature Attractions” chapter because it had cheddar cheese in the mixture.  I pictured it as a great big cheeseburger with cheese molten like lava flowing out of the middle. Naturally, that is not at all what I got.

You can tell I’ve been watching too many episodes of Food Network’s “Chopped,” because I told Andy “I like it, but the tomato soup flavor overpowers all the other basket ingredients.” 

I am totally qualified to be a judge on that show.

Not only did the tomato soup overpower the other ingredients, but the cheese seemed to disappear in its entirety.  I’m not sure it was supposed to but it did.  This was not a good sign.

Still, we ate it because it was tasty even if it was a tad on the tomato-y side.

And then there’s the second book, Cooking in Door County (Wisconsin) which looked cute and all, but I must tell you that I was hard-pressed to find a recipe in this book to my liking.  Why?  Well, because of a smattering of recipes such as these: “Smelts” (a tiny bony fish, more fun to catch than eat); “Brussels's Belgian Tripe;” “Pickled Pig’s Feet,” and “Head Cheese.”  Now if I was on Chopped, cooking with these ingredients would be one thing but I’m not on Chopped so I was free to ditch those ingredients, thank goodness, and continue my search. 

Sadly, it only seemed to get worse.  Take for instance, this chapter - Water and Shore- and some of the offerings: “Whitefish Liver Pate,” “Mud Lake Mallards,” “Wild Goose and Red Cabbage,” and “Venison Pot Roast.”

Eesh!  I suppose I could be persuaded to eat whitefish but not a whitefish liver pate, nope. As to the duck and the goose, my dad used to hunt and so I’ve eaten both but cannot get past the gamey taste and smell.  Same goes with venison.  No matter how my mom prepared it or what she added to it, I just didn’t like it which of course did not make my dad very happy.

The rest of the recipes in this cookbook was a complete mishmash.  Woods and Byways contains lots of wild mushroom recipes and it’s a shame that morel season is over because I love morels.  My dad used to go and pick them and sauté them in butter and they were delicious.  The rest of that chapter though, is dicey except for a few recipes for wild jams that sounded interesting.

Overall, Orchards and Fields yielded the most edible recipes such as “Door County Cherry Pie,” “Swedish Apple Cake,” and “Zucchini Stew.”  Alas, I just wasn’t struck by any of these enough to go ahead and make them.

Roots is the chapter that yielded some of the god-awful dishes mentioned above although thankfully, other recipes balanced that horror such as “Vivian’s Pea Soup, “and “Swedish Meatballs.”

Since I was in a cheese sort of mood, I decided on Morels and Macaroni a la Crème from the Woods and Byways chapter, only I substituted shiitake mushrooms for morels.

Just like the Cheddar Meatloaf, this recipe had potential to be blockbuster but wasn’t.  Turns out there was an unspecified amount of time to keep this on the stove top so it would stay rich and creamy and I went over that limit (apparently) by just enough to cause the cheese to coagulate.  Damn and blast!  The result was totally edible but the appearance suffered.  We’re talking minutes here people, minutes if not seconds.  Moral of the Morel and Macaroni Mixture? Keep your eye on the prize!

As with the meatloaf, the mushroom flavors got buried under the cheese and macaroni and that irked.  If I made this again, I would cut down on the macaroni, amp up the mushrooms, and definitely add a lot more salt and pepper. Oh well, live and learn.

In conclusion, all my attempts to will my Packers on to victory failed and so now Packer Nation must pick up the pieces and move on. My husband always says “It is so hard to be a Packers fan” and he is not kidding! As I said, the recipes were good, but keep your eye on both the oven and the stove and perhaps adjust your ingredients to bring out other flavors.

Cheddar Meatloaf – 6 servings – from Good Food Ideas Cheese Cookbook by Kraft

1 ½ pounds ground beef

1 ¼ pounds dry bread crumbs

1 4-ounce package Kraft shredded sharp natural cheddar cheese

1 10 ¾-ounce can condensed tomato soup

1 egg

¼ chopped onion

2 tablespoons chopped, fresh parsley

½ teaspoon salt

Dash of pepper

Combine all ingredients; mix lightly.  Shape into loaf in 11 ¾ x 7 ½-inch baking dish.  Bake at 350° F, 1 hour.

Ann’s Note:  I made a half recipe and so used half the can of soup and I still thought the tomato flavor overpowered the cheese so you might want to hold off on using the entire can if making the full recipe.

Morels (Shitake) and Macaroni a la Crème – serves 8 to 12, depending on appetites

1 pound macaroni

6 tablespoons butter

1 pound Swiss cheese, grated

4 egg yolks, gently beaten

2 cups cream

1 cup morels, chopped fine (Ann’s Note:  or substitute shitake or chanterelle)

Pinch nutmeg

Salt and pepper

Boil the macaroni and drain.  Melt the butter in a large, heavy-bottomed pan.  Frizzle the morels for a minute.  Add the macaroni, the egg yolks mixed with the cream, and the cheese.  Mix the cheese in gradually as you stir and life over a low heat.

When all the ingredients have reached a creamy consistency (this will be in a matter of minutes), stir in the nutmeg and salt and pepper to taste.*  Heap this delicious mess on a large, deep platter and garnish with tomato slices.

*Ann’s Note:  One minute, the mac and cheese was all creamy and dreamy, but I left it on the stovetop just a hair too long and that made the cheese coagulate.  What the author failed to mention is “Remove from the heat immediately and then serve.”

"Cooking with [Winnie the] Pooh - Yummy Tummy Cookie Cutter Treats" - Piglet's No-Haycorn Pizzas - for my Aunt Mary's 96th birthday

Date I made this recipe:  October 10, 2017 – my Aunt Mary's 96^th birthday!

Cooking with Pooh – Yummy Tummy Cookie Cutter Treats by Marlene Brown

Published by Disney Enterprises, Inc.

© 1995

Purchased at:  BPCA (Bloomington Crime Prevention Association) Annual Sale

Recipe:  Piglet's No-Haycorn Pizzas ('Haycorn' is Piglet's word for acorns)

"I'm planting a haycorn, Pooh, so that it can grow....up into an oak tree, and have lots of haycorns just outside the front door instead of having to walk miles and miles, do you see Pooh?"

I love Winnie the Pooh and his friends and his stories and his adventures.  I always have, always will. 

These characters, brought to life by A. A. Milne, informed my childhood as I read and re-read many a Pooh story.  I remember being particularly confused and scared about the "heffalumps" until I got old enough to realize that is what Pooh called "elephants."  Ah.  Makes a difference, it does!

The main character (besides Pooh), and the subject of an upcoming movie, "Goodbye Christopher Robin," was Christopher Robin, Winnie the Pooh's young owner. Christopher Robin was the real-life son of A.A. Milne, Pooh's creator and the movie preview looks great.

In fiction and in real life, Christopher Robin and his bear, Winnie the Pooh had many adventures and were the very best of friends.  When I was a kid, there was a song about Christopher Robin called "They're Changing Guards at Buckingham Palace," that played on Captain Kangaroo.  The main refrain is "They're changing guards at Buckingham Palace, Chris-to-pher Robin went down with Alice..." and even though I heard it as a young child, that song always stuck with me. I loved the Captain, loved the show, loved the song – loved

So speaking of "love," just before Andy and I got married, we bought a greeting card for someone with a quote from Pooh and Christopher Robin.  We loved it so much that we tracked down a second card, found the full quote, and decided to have it be one of our wedding readings. I asked my Aunt Mary to do the honors and  I believe I've written in a pervious blog that she got up in front of everyone, said very solemnly "This is a reading from Winnie the Pooh," and then cracked up laughing.  We did too!

Twenty six years later, my aunt is still with us and in fact, just turned 96 which is a major accomplishment.  We were always close (my birthday is the day before hers) and ever since the wedding, we have grown even closer over our love of Pooh.  Thanks to Hallmark, I am able to find a Winnie the Pooh (original illustration) for about every occasion including this year's birthday card.

The Winnie the Pooh characters in this cookbook/booklet are the more contemporary ones from Disney Enterprises. I have vague recollections of a Winnie the Pooh TV show from my earlier years and these more contemporary renderings were the one in that show.  I must confess though, that I have a fondness for the "original" characters are drawn by E. H. Shepard, and I hope I'm not the only one who found it amusing that both the author and the illustrator went by initials instead of full names.

Unlike the mega-paged The Playboy Gourmet cookbook that I used last week, this booklet contains 10 and only 10 recipes, all of which are intended to be made by kids with adult supervision. Each recipe has the name of a Pooh character and of course, all of Pooh's recipes contained honey, or "hunny" as he liked to spell it.

Since there are only 10 recipes, here's the list:

• Pooh's Honey Cookies on a Stick
• Eeyore's Rainy Day Cinnamon Crisps
• Christopher Robin's Gingerbread Friends
• Pooh's Best Lunch-Wiches
• Piglet's No-Haycorn Pizzas
• Rabbit's Double-Double Chocolate Cookies
• Tigger's Bouncing Rainbow Animals
• Pooh's Holiday Ornament Cookies
• Kanga's Animal Biscuit Surprises
• Roo's Painted Cookie Friends

As good as all these recipes sounded, I tend to favor savory over sweet and so made "Piglet's No-Haycorn Pizzas." Piglet calls acorns "haycorns," and I wish I could elaborate further on why it's important that this is a no "haycorn" recipe but I can't so I won't!

The pizza recipe is simple and delicious although I did not do two things called for in the recipe:  I did not use "grown-up" help to turn on my oven, and I did not cut out little pizzas with cookie cutters.  I also added an ingredient that wasn't called for in the recipe – Cipollini Onion that were marinated in balsamic vinegar – yum!  They were in the same olive bar from which I got my "ripe olive slices" and figured why not?  I cut them up in small pieces and they were a tasty addition.

Okay, true confession #4:  I did not roll out the dough as directed.  I tried it and it kept sticking to my non-stick rolling pin (How did that happen?) and still got stuck when I tried flouring first the rolling pin and then the dough.  I finally gave up and just pulled the dough into the rectangle desired and then added my toppings.  I'm just going to say again that I do not enjoy rolling out pie or pizza dough but my husband does which is why he is known as the "Pie Guy" and I am not!

I have always wished that my aunt lived closer as we have so much fun when we are together ("You're the best Pooh reader, ever, Auntie Mare!") but I'm pretty sure she would have enjoyed her Piglet Pizza as well as this charming Winnie the Pooh children's cookbook.

Piglet's No-Haycorn Pizzas – makes 12 to 14 mini pizzas or 1 large cookie sheet

1 8-ounce can refrigerated crescent roll dough

A few tablespoons all-purpose flour

1/3 cup pizza sauce

12 top 14 pepperoni slices, cut in half

12 to 14 ripe olive slices

½ cup pre-shredded cheddar or mozzarella cheese

With grown-up help, preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. 

Sprinkle flour on the countertop or a large cutting board.  Remove the dough carefully from the can in two sections.  Unroll one section of the dough on the board; unroll the second section of dough next to it to make a square.  With your fingers press the edges together to make one large piece of dough.  Ann's Note:  The tricky part will be pressing the edges of each crescent roll triangle and then keeping them pressed together.

Put some flour on the rolling pin.  Roll the dough carefully to make an 11x10-inch rectangle.  Dip your cookie cutters in some flour, then cut out shapes from dough.  Ann's Note:  I skipped this part but for those of you who want to use cookie cutters, follow the next steps below.

With a metal spatula, put your pizza cut-outs on the cookie sheet.  Shape the dough scraps into a ball.  Roll it out and cut more pizzas.  Put them on the cookie sheet.

With a small spoon spread some pizza sauce on each pizza.  Put two half-slices of pepperoni on top.  Put one slice of olive on each pizza.  Sprinkle each pizza with some cheese.  Try not to get any cheese on the cookie sheet.

With grown-up help, bake your pizzas for 12 to 14 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown and the cheese is melted.  With help, take them out of the oven.  Cool them for 2 minutes.  With the metal spatula, take the pizzas off the cookie sheet to serve to your friends.

"The Playboy [Magazine] Gourmet" - Minute Steak, Beer Gravy and Baked Potatoes Stuffed with Spinach - RIP, Hugh Hefner

Date I made this recipe:  October 8, 2017 – in memory of Hugh Hefner

The Playboy Gourmet by Thomas Mario

Publisher:  A Playboy Press Book

© 1972

Purchased at: Kitchen Arts & Letters, NYC

Recipes: Minute Steaks, Beer Gravy – p. 126; Baked Potatoes Stuffed with Spinach – p. 370

Hugh Hefner passed away last week at the age of 91.  For those of you who don't know, Hugh founded Playboy magazine, a rather tame "girlie" magazine that men jokingly said they read "for the articles," (said "articles" were rather well-written), as well as several Playboy [men's] Clubs, and the Playboy Mansion.  "Hef," as he was known, was a pretty savvy businessman who made a lot of money publishing a magazine full of naughty pictures.  At the time of his death, his net worth was somewhere between $50 and $110 million dollars.  (By the way, the Playboy Club in NYC was featured in an episode of Man Men.) 

Because I like to be thorough, I would be remiss if I didn't mention that while many men obviously loved the magazine, many women thought Hefner was the next best thing to a pimp and/or a pervert, "taking advantage" of women by featuring them in all their naked glory in the centerfold.  I particularly remember the outrage ramping up during the 60's and 70's during the women's movement when  independent women everywhere made it clear they had no time for anything or anybody that kept women in their place or cast women in a particular mode.

You might find it interesting that the late actress, Marilyn Monroe, graced Playboy's first cover in 1953.  Marilyn went on to have a movie career (Some Like It Hot is one of my favorites) before dying at age 36 from a drug overdose. 

At any rate, so that's the Cliff Notes version of Playboy magazine.

As I mentioned, "Hef" also created several Playboy Clubs in various cities like New York and Vegas.  These wining and dining establishment were devoted almost exclusively to men and required membership to enter.  Servers at these clubs were usually well-endowed and were dressed in a form-fitting rabbit costume earning them the nickname, "Playboy Bunny."  It is interesting to note that author and feminist, Gloria Steinem, went undercover as a "bunny" in order to write an expose on life as a bunny.  The article was published in 1963 in Show Magazine.  One of these days, I need to read that as it is no doubt enlightening. 

As to the cookbook, once again, timing was everything.  I found this book on Etsy years ago and marked it as a "Favorite," and kept it as a "Favorite" even though the book was sold before I could get my hands on it.  This summer, while at Kitchen Arts & Letters (a cookbook store), in NYC, I saw it on the vintage shelf and purchased it along with some other books.  As always, I shipped it back home which was a smart thing to do given that this book is quite the hefty tome.

As I suspected, the recipes in this cookbook were originally targeted toward men (this book was likely revised many times over if the copyrights [plural] are anything to go by), and so I wanted to find something "manly" to cook this past weekend.  This was not a hard task at all and so let's look at their extensive Table of Contents:

• Hors d'Oeuvres
• Soups
• Seafood
• Meat
• Poultry
• Game
• Carving
• Outdoor Cookery
• Sauces
• Casseroles
• Cheese
• Eggs
• Sandwiches
• Pasta, Pizza and Pancakes
• Vegetables, Potatoes and Rice
• Salads and Cold Plates
• Desserts
• Coffee

 All told, there are 456 pages of recipes in 18 categories from which to choose which is quite a lot.  That said, there are a few categories I eliminated right off the bat, not because they sounded awful, but because I was looking for a "man's man" type of dish. 

And by a "man's man" dish, I mean your basic steak and potatoes.  Sure, these days men enjoy a wide variety of dishes, but this cookbook was published originally in 1954 (my version is 1972) and that was what men wanted on the dinner table, period. 

This then meant eliminating several chapters that didn't quite fit with the "man's man" image and dear reader, I overlooked the "Soups" chapter, "Game" chapter (yes, it's "manly" but no, I was not about to go hunting), "Outdoor Cookery" just because our weather was really rainy at the time, "Casseroles" (my late father was not fond of casseroles), "Sandwiches," and "Pasta, Pizza and Pancakes."  I remain puzzled that "Pancakes" were added to "Pasta and Pizza" chapter, first because "pancakes do not go with either of those two items, and second, it seems as if they were added to appeal to women; this woman was not amused.

I also scratched "Salads and Cold Plates," "Desserts" and "Coffee," leaving me with "Hors d'Oeuvres," "Meat," "Poultry," "Sauces (only because the recipe I selected might have called for a sauce)," "Cheese (my husband loves cheese)," "Eggs (only if I found a "dinner" egg dish)," and "Vegetables, Potatoes, and Rice."  I must confess I was not thinking about vegetables, potatoes or rice at all until my husband said "So you're going to serve [the steak I selected] with a potato or salad, right?"

"Oh, right.  Totally."

This is why you are getting two recipes from this cookbook instead of my usual and customary one per cookbook.

These were the finalists from those chapters:

• "Brandied Cheddar Spread"- p. 9 – Hors d'Oeuvres
• "Minute Steaks, Beer Gravy" – p. 127 – Meat/Beef
• "Steaks with Onions and Capers" – p. 129 – Meat/Beef
• "Cheese Soufflé with Brandy" – p. 289 – Cheese
• "Omelet with Mushrooms in Sour Cream" – p. 307 – Eggs
• "Baked Potatoes Stuffed with Mushrooms and Ham" – p. 369 – Vegetables, Potatoes and Rice
• "Baked Potatoes Stuffed with Spinach" – p. 370 – Vegetables, Potatoes and Rice
• "Pistachio Rice Pilaf" – p. 375 – Vegetables, Potatoes and Rice

And the winners were:  Minute Steaks, Beer Gravy and Baked Potatoes Stuffed with Spinach.  I could have easily gone with "Baked Potatoes Stuffed with Mushrooms and Ham" but felt that our meal was getting a little heavy and so, spinach!

Faithful readers know that the last two at bats with steak have not gone as well as I hoped as I overcooked the meat (the flavors were fine), but this time around, I nailed it and it was all because I asked a butcher a few questions.  I wish I had taken a video because it was pretty funny as follows:

Me:  (Reading from my photocopy of the recipe) "Hi, I need two boneless steaks, 8 to 10 ounces each, cut from the shell.  Do you know what the "shell" means?"

Butcher 1:  "What?  Never heard of that."  [Yells to coworker] "Do you know what steak cut from the shell means?"

Butcher 2: "What?  Never heard of that."

I then showed them the photocopy and I tell you, they kept looking at it and looking at it as if the answer would just magically appear for them; it didn't. Finally, I Googled it and showed the guy the results:  "Ah, it's the loin area. [Calls over to Butcher 2 "Hey, it's the loin area."]

I told him he now had me to thank for this important piece of steak information.

Anyway, he showed me where the loin cuts were and I selected one that Andy and I could split and then I said "The recipe calls for me to cook this in an electric skillet and I don't have one.  I plan to broil it so how long should I broil it for medium rare" and he said "About 5 minutes on each side, then let it rest until it hits 130."  He also suggested that I keep the steak out for a half hour so that the temperature read would be accurate.

It worked like a charm.  Mind you, Andy and I like rare beef but this was perfect.  I'm glad I asked.

The sauce, made up of stout, red wine, stock, shallots, butter and bouillon was very tasty, but I wish I would have left out the bouillon as it made the sauce just a tad salty.  Not overpowering salty, just a little.  I was also supposed to make the sauce in the electric skillet so that I could scrape up the drippings but I didn't and yet I don't think the sauce suffered for it.

As to the potatoes, the recipe served 8 and wow, we would have been eating potatoes for weeks so as per usual, I cut the recipe down, this time into 4ths instead of halves.  This meant that I then had to do cooking math on some of the ingredients and I could have done it but my husband was home and he's very good at math so he did it for me.  It was a total win-win:  He did the math, I did the cooking. 

As a reminder/word of warning, today's potatoes are the size of men's shoes and so the cooking time suggested was just that – a suggestion.  I ended up cooking the potatoes in both the oven and the microwave so speed up the process so we could get on with dinner, already.

All in all, this was a great meal and an easy one to pull together.  I'm glad that I had this book on hand as once again, it was a most timely purchase.  RIP Hugh Hefner.

Minute Steaks, Beer Gravy – Serves 4

4 boneless steaks, 8 to 10 ounces each, cut from the shell (Ann's Note:  look for a piece of loin like strip loin.)

Salt, pepper

¼ cup stout

¼ cup dry red wine

1/3 cup stock

1 tablespoons butter

1 tablespoon finely minced shallots or scallions

1 packet instant bouillon (Ann's Note:  I don't know if this is necessary as it added a bit more salt to the sauce than I wanted.)

Preheat electric skillet to 390°.  (Ann's Note:  I don't have an electric skillet so I used my broiler.) Slash fat edge of each steak in two or three places to prevent curling.  Sprinkle with salt and pepper.  Pan-broil steaks without added fat until brown on both sides or to degree of rareness desired.  (Ann's Note: I broiled them for 5 minutes per side and then let them rest.)  Remove steaks from pan.

Add all other ingredients to the pan.  (Ann's Note:  I made the sauce in a separate pan.)  Bring to a boil.  Scrape pan bottom to loosen drippings.  Simmer 2 to 3 minutes.  Pour over steaks on platter.

Bakes Potatoes Stuffed with Spinach – serves 8

8 large Idaho baking potatoes

½ cup butter

2 medium-size onions, minced extremely fine

Salt, pepper

11 oz. bag fresh spinach, washed and trimmed

1/3 cup heavy cream

Grated parmesan cheese

Salad oil

Preheat oven to 400°.  Bake potatoes about 1 hour or until soft. 

Wash spinach several times in clear cold water.  Drain.  Place in saucepan with ½ cup water.  Cook, covered, until spinach is tender.  Drain spinach, press to eliminated excess water, then chop spinach fine.

Slice a cap about ¼ inches thick off the top of each potato.  Remove insides of potatoes carefully with a tablespoon, keeping shells intact; a thin layer of potato should be left in each shell to keep skins from tearing.  Put potatoes through potato ricer.

Sauté onion in butter only until onion is barely tender.  Add onion and butter to potatoes.  Add spinach, cream and salt and pepper to taste.  Stuff potato mixture back into shells, forming a neat, smooth, flat mound on top each potato.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese.  Sprinkle lightly with oil.  Chill.  Preheat oven to 375°.  Bake 25-30 minutes.

Ann's Note:   Since I was running late getting this on the table, I didn't chill the potatoes as directed.  Even if I did though, it didn't say for how long. I imagine long enough for the filling to set, maybe 15-20 minutes? Or not!

"Vietnamese Cookery" - Sweet-Sour Short Ribs - For Ken Burns' "Vietnam" documentary

Date I made this recipe:  October 1, 2017 – For Ken Burns' Vietnam documentary

Vietnamese Cookery by Jill Nhu Huong Miller

Published by Charles E. Tuttle Company: Publishers

© 1968; sixth printing 1986

Purchased at annual Bloomington Crime Prevention Association (BCPA) sale

Recipe:  Sweet-Sour Shortribs – p. 41

So listen, the first part of this blog is going to be rather depressing because I just have to talk about Ken Burns' most-recent documentary, Vietnam, as well as my recollections of growing up during that period. Can't be helped. 

Let's start with the basics:  Once upon a time, the country of Vietnam was a French colony.  The  Vietnamese wanted nothing to do with the French and so in 1954, the Geneva accord was drafted kicking out the French and dividing Vietnam into North Vietnam which was communist, and South Vietnam that was democratic.

The North Vietnamese wanted control of the south and so they started a civil war shortly thereafter.  The United States which at the time didn't have a stake in the game, decided that it did not want to see the communists take over the south and so we started sending troops to help the South Vietnamese. Prior to that, we were minimally involved in the country.

In 1961, President Kennedy, a Roman Catholic who did not favor the communists, started ramping up the U.S. involvement and thereafter, every president not only sent more troops but helped escalate the border war into the disaster that Ken Burns documented.  The U.S. finally left Vietnam for good in 1975 (under Nixon) utterly defeated as we failed and failed miserably.  Not only did we fail to prevent the communist takeover, but for the first time in a long time, we failed to outright win a war.  This did not sit well with WWI and WWII veterans and military personnel.

That's the dime version.  To get the long version, you should watch Burns' documentary which as always, was thorough and compelling.

When I think about the Vietnam era, here are some impressionable moments from the past that come to mind:

Watching the war on TV.  Yup. As unbelievable as it sounds, at six o'clock every night, my family, along with millions across the country, tuned into CBS News to get updates on how things were going for the U.S.  Answer?:  Not good.  We saw footage from the field, we saw body bags being loaded onto airplanes, and we got daily totals of those killed in action (KIA), missing in action(MIA), and prisoners of war (POW) all relayed to us by the calming voice of "Uncle Walter," CBS News anchor, Walter Cronkite. 

I know, it's weird.  It's actually a little morbid when you think about it, but it was all we knew.

The "Domino" Effect.  The domino effect was how the U.S. justified our ongoing involvement in Vietnam and it went like this:  "If we let South Vietnam fall to those godless communists from the north, then other neighboring countries will fall like dominos to communist control as well." 

Well, this created a problem for many peace advocates like my very-Catholic mother.  She didn't want us in the war, but she didn't want the communists to take over, either.  She was not alone in her thinking which is probably why our involvement in Vietnam lasted as long as it did. 

The 1970 Kent State (University in Ohio) Massacre made an indelible impression on me.  On May 4, 1970, anti-war protests on Kent State's campus escalated such that the Ohio National Guard was brought in.  Although I've read that the guard was supposed to have used rubber bullets (which raises the argument "Why shoot in the first place?"), that didn't happen, tensions escalated between protestors and the guard, shots were fired and four people died leaving nine more injured. One photographer, who later won a Pulitzer Prize for his photographs, took a photo of a woman on her knees next to a man who was laying face down on the ground, her arms out, and her expression one of complete disbelief if not horror.  If you Google "Kent State Massacre," that is likely the first photo to appear.

To put this in perspective, this happened when I was not quite 12 years old and was in 6^th grade.  Never mind that I still had six years to go until I started college, I was completely freaked out and decided right then and there that I shouldn't go to college because what if I got shot like those students?  It took me forever and a day to calm myself down and I don't think my parents ever suspected my anxiety over this event.  To make matters better, or worse if you will, the band Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young immortalized that event with their song "Ohio" (1971) which is one of their best songs even though it was about this depressing event. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TRE9vMBBe10

The "Fall" of Saigon.  The city of Saigon was not only the south's capitol, but it was home to the U.S. Embassy as well.  Although many Americans had already left the area, many were left behind to work at the embassy. These people were ordered to leave and started packing up when things became very dire:  word reached the embassy that the North Vietnamese were advancing on Saigon at which point, the U.S. started making preparations to leave in a burning hurry.

Complicating matters though, was the promise to evacuate several thousand South Vietnamese families, particularly those families who assisted with U.S. war efforts.  You have probably seen video footage of the evacuation and I just have two words to say about that:  widespread and chaos.

Although my husband and I differ slightly on our interpretation of the urgency of the situation, I tell you what:  I will never forget watching this unfold on TV and being frightened that all these people would not get out in time. Once again, this was something that was broadcast on TV and also repeated in the documentary.  I was 16 years old at the time.  What a childhood.

Of the thousands of Vietnamese who were evacuated by the U.S., many came to the United States to live, assisted by Lutheran Social Services and Catholic Charities.  A good number of Vietnamese refugees relocated to Minnesota, specifically St. Paul, and once they got settled, opened Vietnamese restaurants so that we here in the Twin Cities, could experience the fare they once enjoyed in their homeland.  It was the first win-win of the war.

Today, one of the areas along the Green Line (light rail system) in St. Paul has been dubbed "Little Mekong," named for the Mekong Delta in Vietnam because of the plethora of Vietnamese businesses have set up shop in this area. One of our favorite restaurants on the Green Line in St. Paul is Ngon Vietnamese Bistro, a restaurant that features both Asian and French-influenced food.  Another, Bona, is on the Green Line in Minneapolis in Stadium Village at the University of Minnesota. We love their food and I particularly love Pho (pronounced "Fuh"), a noodle soup that is practically Vietnam's national dish.

This brings us now to this featured cookbook, the only one I have that focuses solely on Vietnamese food.  For those who haven't had Vietnamese food but have had Chinese food, the dishes are similar and yet not.  Vietnamese eggrolls are deep fried, same as their Chinese cousins, but I think are lighter and better.  Vietnamese egg rolls contain bean thread noodles in addition to pork and other ingredients.  The Vietnamese spring roll is very popular and is made with a rice wrapper stuffed with fresh shrimp, Thai basil, mint, and cilantro; this dish is not fried. I have been known to do a lot of damage to a plate of these puppies.

The Table of Contents for this cookbook is fairly brief and you should know that you can probably substitute other proteins for many of these dishes.  The lineup is:

• Basic Recipes
• Soups
• Pork Main Dishes
• Beef Main Dishes
• Seafood Main Dishes
• Chicken & Duck
• Salads
• Desserts
• Hors D'Oeuvres

 Recipes featured in the "Basic Recipe" category include all the essential Vietnamese sauces you will need as well as a recipe for cooked rice.  In the "Soups" category, I considered "Chicken-Long Rice Soup" – p. 37 but thought there were more interesting recipes elsewhere in the book. (By the way, in Vietnam, "long rice" is bean thread noodle which I love.)

Next we have the "Pork Main Dishes" category, and reader, I have a confession to make.  When I photocopied the recipe I made for "Sweet-Sour Pork Ribs" on page 41, I neglected to note that it was from the "Pork" category and so used beef short ribs.  Duh.  That said, the recipe was still delicious.

All the dishes in the "Beef and Seafood Dishes" categories sounded good but I passed on them but when I got to the "Chicken & Duck" category, I added "Baked Chicken" to my list of possibilities.  This dish is chicken marinated in soy sauce and fish sauce, sugar and garlic and then baked  Yum!

In the salad category, the "Cucumber Salad" recipe is one I've seen in Vietnamese restaurants and it sounded great. It's a mixture of cucumbers, boiled shrimp, boiled pork and Nuoc Mam Sauce which is fish sauce plus other ingredients. 

Okay, let me just say that I am seriously starving right now.

In the "Desserts" category we have a lot of dishes featuring coconut and also bananas as well as rice puddings.  I have to say that I don't think I've ever ordered dessert at a Vietnamese restaurant but I could be convinced to try any one of these.

The final category behind "Desserts" is "Hors D'Oeuvres" and here you will find many recipes featuring shrimp.  My favorite item here is "Shrimp Toast" (p. 106) which I could eat and eat and eat to my detriment as these are deep-fried but totally delicious!

Okay, now I'm really, really hungry.  Really.

In conclusion, if you haven't had the chance to watch the PBS documentary, I recommend you do so.  If you are of similar age to me and my husband (or older), it may be hard to watch but it was informative and even a little bit healing.  If you are younger, then definitely watch the show because Vietnam (and also Korea) go in the history books at the war the U.S. just couldn't win. 

And once you've done all that, eat!

Sweet-Sour Shortribs – Four Servings

1 ½ lb. shortribs (Ann's Note:  pork shortribs, not beef.  I didn't catch that and so I used beef.  Still delicious!)

4 cups water

2 shallots (or white part of green onions), thinly sliced

1 tsp. salt

1/3 fresh pineapple or small can crushed pineapple + 1 tablespoon vinegar

2 large carrots, shredded

1 large tomato, cut into eights

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 cup water

2 tbsp. fish sauce

½ tsp. cornstarch

Slice shallots in thin rounds. Cut lean short ribs into serving pieces.  Place in a large skillet and add shallots, salt, and water.

Ann's Note:  My short ribs were beef short ribs on the bone so cutting them into serving pieces didn't really work for me.  I decided to cook the ribs in a larger pot rather than a large skillet for the length of time listed below and then pull the meat off the bone.

Bring the shallots, salt, water and short ribs to a boil on high heat, cover and reduce heat to medium.  Simmer, covered, for 2 hours.  If water evaporates before cooking is completed, add about 1 more cup.  If all water is not evaporated at the end of 2 hours, bring heat to high, uncover and boil until water is all evaporated.

Clean pineapple, take out core, then cut into small chunks.  (Ann's Note:  These days, most grocery stores have pre-cut pineapple available.)  Squeeze chunks of pineapple between the hands, getting out as much juice as possible.  This will crush the pineapple.  (Ann's Note:  I used a potato ricer.)  Save the juice for drinking, salads, etc.

Shred the carrots, using a vegetable peeler or large section of grater.  (Ann's Note:  Next time around, I might grate the carrots or thinly slice it rather than use a vegetable peeler.)

Cut tomatoes into eights.

Crush the garlic and add to meat in skillet, which will begin to sauté in its own fat. (Ann's Note:  Not really!  Sure, had I cooked the ribs in a skillet as directed, this might be true, but if you did it like I did which was to boil them in a separate pan, then plan on adding some of that fat to the skillet or the pan will be too dry.)

Sauté the garlic and meat (and oil) on medium high.  When the smell of garlic begins to be noticeable, put in the pineapple, carrots and tomato.  Sauté about 1 minute, stir often.

Add the water and fish sauce, stir well, cover and steam about 10 minutes, still on medium high heat.

Take some of the juice from the skillet, mix the cornstarch with it so it won't get lumpy, and stir into the mixture in the skillet.  Let cook about 1 more minute.  Serve hot with rice.