Sometimes, on a chilly day, you just need a bowl of hot, creamy, cheesy soup for a comforting meal, just not all the calories and fat though.
I found a plethora of recipes on the internet for broccoli soup and settled on this healthier version of it, a recipe courtesy of Food Network Kitchen.
Woo hoo!!!The heat has arrived in Northern Illinois, bringing with it the craving for cold pasta salads!
There’s nothing quite like a crisp cool salad to dig into at your backyard barbecue when the thermometer soars.Pasta salads are not only quick and easy to make ~ they can be prepped in advance, allowing you more time to join the esprit de corps of your guests.
Honey Poppy Seed Pasta Salad can be easily adapted to your taste with whatever flavors you favor.Start with wagon wheel pasta and add colorful veggies of your liking, combining it all in a honey, poppy seed and Dijon mustard dressing for the finishing touch.
This versatile salad recipe was published in our local newspaper, The Northwest Herald, recently.I made a vegetarian version of it using shrimp; however, it is really delicious using cut-up chicken, as in rotisserie chicken ~ or you could try it with ham.The recipe also includes one diced apple and one cup grape halves and toasted slivered almonds which I omitted, catering to individual tastes.
If you like colorful chilly pasta salads in the heat of summer, I guarantee you’ll be wild about this one!It’s a perfect pasta salad for your guests to relish!
Honey Poppy Seed Pasta Salad w/Shrimp
Adapted
Ingredients:
1 pound wagon wheel pasta
1 pound medium shrimp, (30-30 per pound), peeled and deveined
1 yellow bell pepper, cored and diced
1 red yellow bell pepper, cored and diced
1 orange bell pepper, cored and diced
1 cup snow pea pods, sliced into thirds
4 scallions, thinly sliced
½ cup mayonnaise
¼ cup honey
3 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Zest of ½ orange
1 tablespoon poppy seeds
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
Method:
To a large pot of boiling salted water, add pasta and cook until al dente.
Rinse in cold water to stop the cooking, drain well and set aside to cool.
In a large bowl, combine the shrimp, bell peppers, snow peas and scallions.
In a small bowl, whisk together the mayonnaise, honey, vinegar, mustard, orange zest, poppy seeds and salt and pepper.
When the pasta has cooled, add it to the bowl with the veggies and shrimp, then toss to combine.
Add the dressing and stir to coat.
Chill for 1-2 hours and serve.
Makes 12 servings
ENJOY!!!It’s delicious!!!
Be sure to visit my friend, Linda’s blog @My Kind of Cooking for great tips and recipes.She’s having a Double Giveaway now!
Fresh pineapple is my favorite sweet, sunny fruit and always reminds me of the pineapple plantations we saw in Hawaii ~ not to mention the Pacific Ocean, beaches, palm trees and Hilo Hattie.
During Colonial days, the striking visual attractiveness, the rarity and the expense of the pineapple made it the ultimate exotic fruit. It was served only on special occasions and quickly became a symbol of hospitality.
This recipe is from our local newspaper, The Northwest Herald. It combines the jerk seasoning with pork chops and pineapple. In Jamaica, the jerk method of cooking involves seasoning meat with a sweet-hot secret mixture of peppers, spices and herbs, then slowly cooking them. The blend of allspice and thyme in this recipe captures the taste of the islands perfectly.
Its Jamaican jerk, made with thick, juicy pork and succulent fruit. Pineapple has a meatier side and if you like flavorful dishes, this sweet and savory dish is for you!
Jerk Pineapple Pork Chops
Ingredients:
1 small pineapple
1 bunch scallions, sliced cross-wise into 1-inch pieces
1 jalapeno pepper, stemmed and seeded
2 teaspoons dried thyme
4 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
1½ teaspoons ground allspice
4 bone-in pork chops
Salt and pepper, to taste
2 teaspoons olive oil
Method:
Cut four ½-inch-thick rounds from pineapple; set aside.
Cut remaining pineapple into large chunks, discarding core.
In a food processor, combine pineapple chunks, scallions
chile, thyme, garlic and allspice and pulse until coarsel
chopped.
Reserve ¾ cup pineapple marinade and refrigerate.
Season pork with salt and pepper and place in a 9-by-13-inch
glass baking dish along with pineapple rounds.
Top pork and pineapple with remaining pineapple marinade
and turn pork and pineapple to coat.
Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate 1 hour (or up to 4 hours).
In a large nonstick skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over
medium-high.
Working in two batches, brush pineapple mixture off pork
and cook chops until browned and cooked through, about 20
minutes per batch, flipping once.
Add 1 tablespoon oil to skillet.
Brush pineapple marinade off pineapple and cook rounds
until golden brown in spots, about 5 to 7 minutes, flipping
once.
Serve with pork and reserved pineapple marinade.
It’s tropically delicious!!!
Now it’s award time: Times flies and a while back my Cajun friend, Marguerite at Cajun Delights, presented me with these 8 awards. I thank Marguerite and am honored that she chose my blog. Margueritenot only posts great Cajun recipes, she has music and dancing videos also. If her blog is new to you, you should check it out!
I am supposed to pass these 8 awards rolled into one off to 15 of my favorite foodie bloggers. So I am going to pass them on to these great people who inspire me with their winning recipes, and writing, and who are supportive of me with theircomments. Here they are, in no particular order:
Crescent Dragonwagon is the creator of this recipe and The Cornbread Gospels. It’s a unique cookbook though with all types of recipes using cornmeal.
Before I go on with the recipe, I just want to thank Kat @sweetkatskitchen for the fantastic “Gooseberry Patch Baking Recipes Organizer" I won in her giveaway. It’s filled with many pockets for recipes and great tips are on each pocket also. Kat has an excellent blog chocked full of delicious baked goodies. She has had a busy holiday season ~ baking for her customers. And now, I finally have a way to organize all my newspaper and magazine recipe clippings! Thanks so much, Kat! Go check out Kat’s website, you’ll be glad you did!
Cornbread is a good thing that turns into a great thing when they’re sticks! It’s like a little miniature cornbread of your own! They take being baked in a corn stick pan ~ a heavy cast-iron mold shaped like tiny ears of corn. Corn sticks have a great crunchy texture because a larger surface area is exposed to both the direct air of the oven and the cast iron molds. If you favor REALLY crunchy corn sticks like we do, use stone-ground cornmeal for extra crunch. Like I’ve said before in several posts, I can not buy stone-ground cornmeal locally so purchase it from Nora Mill.
Probably, most any batter can be used for corn sticks. Since it is easy for the batter to stick to the pan, the trick is to grease the molds very liberally and place them into the oven until sizzling hot, almost smoking, before adding the batter. The corn sticks turn out a beautiful golden color!
These Cheddar-Scallion-Black Pepper Cornsticks are in Crescent Dragonwagon’s words, “jazzy enough to make you say ‘WOW’ with each bite!” You want a sharp Cheddar cheese. “The scallion-black pepper mix is better than it has any right to be,” Crescent is right!
Here’s Dragonwagon’s recipe:
Cheddar-Scallion-Black Pepper Cornsticks
Adapted
Ingredients:
1½ cups flour
1¼ cups stone-ground yellow cornmeal
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 to 1½ teaspoons coarse freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 cups (8 ounces) very finely grated extra-sharp Cheddar cheese
2 eggs
1½ cups buttermilk*
¼ cup (½ stick) butter, melted
3 scallions, chopped very, very fine
Vegetable oil cooking spray (Crisco)**
Method:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt and black pepper in a large bow, stirring very well.
Remove 2 tablespoons of this mixture and toss it in a small bowl with the finely grated cheese. Set aside.
Beat eggs and buttermilk together in a medium bowl, then beat in the melted butter.
Stir this into the flour-cornmeal mix with just a few strokes-it shouldn’t be fully incorporated yet.
Sprinkle with the scallions and cheese and stir a few more times, just until combined.
Spray the corn stick pan very liberally with oil, and spoon the batter into the molds about three quarters of the way full.
Bake until the corn sticks are crusty and golden, 18 to 20 minutes.
Cool briefly in the pans, then turn out onto a rack to cool a little more.
Serve warm.
YUM!
Pam’s note: I used 1½ teaspoons pepper.
*The recipe calls for 1¼ cups buttermilk. It was a thick batter so I increased it to 1½ cups.
The recipe reads to fill the molds about three quarters of the way full. I did this at first and after baking a couple, realized they needed to be filled almost full.
**I liberally greased the pans with Crisco, (no cooking spray) heated them in the oven until very hot before adding batter and baking.
ENJOY!
Be sure to visit my friend, Linda’s blog @My Kind of Cooking for great tips, recipes and cookbook giveaway!
Mushroom Strudel was, for many years, one of the most popular appetizers at The Berghoff Restaurant in Chicago; and for good reason, it's amazingly delicious!
First off, here’s a little info about the restaurant: The Berghoff has been described by many as a Loop institution, as “historic,” a “cultural icon,” and a “must eat there.” Few establishments were loved more than The Berghoff with its traditional German fare!
The original Berghoff Restaurant closed in 2006 after 107 years of serving its guests with a long, interesting history. Herman Berghoff came from Germany in 1856 and later brought his brothers and a brew master. They started brewing beer in Ft. Wayne, Indiana in 1887. Herman wanted to expand the market for the family’s beer and did just that by selling their beer at the Chicago World’s Fair of 1893. It was a hit; they then opened a café and bar selling sandwiches and beer in Chicago.
The bar remained opened during Prohibition by selling near beer, which is now Berghoff’s Root Beer, and eventually turned into a full-service restaurant. Once Prohibition ended, The Berghoff was issued Liquor License No. 1. The Berghoff was one of the last restaurants to have a men’s only bar. That ended in 1969 when 7 members of NOW (National Organization for Women) sat at the bar and demanded service.
The Berghoff was definitely one of our favorite restaurants in Chicago and we along with many other folks were saddened by its closing. Around 2006, the restaurant was remodeled and reopened as The Berghoff Catering and Restaurant Group, or “17 West,” by members of the Berghoff family with a somewhat changed menu.
Back to the strudel ~ the filling for this mushroom strudel can be made a day ahead and refrigerated, and the strudel is easy to assemble and bake. Once it’s baked, it keeps well.
Sautéing the mushrooms
Ready to roll
Ready for the oven
So, here is the recipe from The Berghoff Family Cookbook:
Mushroom Strudel
Filling:
2 tablespoons canola oil
1/3 cup chopped white onion
1/3 cup chopped celery
4 cups sliced portabello mushrooms (12 ounces)
3 cups coarsely ground white button mushrooms (9 ounces)
2½ cups sliced shiitake mushroom caps (7½ ounces)
4 tablespoons butter
¼ cup flour
1 cup Madeira
2/3 cup chicken broth
2 large eggs, beaten
1 cup dry bread crumbs
1 cup thinly slice scallions
2 tablespoon chopped fresh basil
To assemble:
4 sheets frozen phyllo dough, defrosted
1/3 cup (5 tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon) unsalted butter, melted
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese (½ pound)
Oregano or other green herb, for garnish
Edible uncooked mushrooms, for garnish
Make the filling:
In a large skillet, heat oil, add onions and celery, sauté over medium heat for 3 minutes.
Add all the mushrooms, sauté 5 minutes, stirring often.
Stir in 4 tablespoons of butter until melted, then add flour and mix until mushrooms are well cooked, about 3 minutes. Do not allow to burn.
Stir in wine, simmer for 5 minutes.
Add stock and simmer for 10 minutes more, stirring often.
Remove from heat.
Cool to room temperature, cover and refrigerate.
When cold, mix in eggs, bread crumbs, scallions and basil. Adjust seasonings.
This recipe makes approximately 5 cups of filling.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Assemble the strudel:
On a clean, flat surface, lay out one sheet of phyllo dough and brush with melted butter.
Place another sheet on top and brush with melted butter.
Repeat this process with the remaining two sheets of phyllo, saving some butter for the top of the strudel.
Spoon mushroom filling lengthwise down center of the stacked phyllo sheets and sprinkle evenly with the cheese.
Roll up securely and place the strudel roll, seam side down, on a baking sheet.
Seal the ends tightly by crimping together.
Brush the top of the roll with melted butter and bake for 30-35 minutes, until golden brown and heated through.
Remove from oven and let stand for 15 minutes before slicing.
Slice the phyllo roll into eight thick slices.
Serve warm or at room temperature.
Garnish with green herbs and/or uncooked mushrooms
