Chilled Stuffed Pepper Wedges

Happily, the dried beef-cream cheese balls of the 60's reappeared, amped up a bit, to stuff peppers in the 80's.  They  make a visually attractive and delicious appetizer  for a tailgate or  any party.      I think I've stuffed  a few thousand appetizer  peppers over the years...they were a popular  choice when I was catering.     I use  red and green peppers at Christmas   and add yellow and/ or  orange other times of the year. Lately I've been stuffing the  bite-sized small  sweet mixed peppers that come bagged,  but  do miss that pop of green color.

Today I  used the small  yellow, red  and orange peppers, so I've added the original  1985 cookbook photo  to show  the  pepper wedges.  It's a photo of a photo, sorry 'bout the quality, but it serves its purpose.

For the wedges, be sure  to choose three similarly -sized and -shaped peppers  so they are uniform when  sliced.  Short and fat are preferable to long  and slender.  If the peppers are smallish you may want  to buy four. 

Using a mixer or food processor with a blade, process  8 oz. of cream cheese with 1c. ricotta cheese, 2 tsp horseradish, 1 tsp yellow mustard, 1/2 tsp. black pepper, & 1/2 tsp seasoned salt,  until smooth.  Stir in  about 3 oz. dried beef from a jar,  finely chopped,   2 minced radishes or water chestnuts,  4 TB  minced green onion.  Set aside in the fridge.

Remove the stems of three  bell peppers (one green, one red, one yellow)  by cutting a small, 1" circle around the  top.  Save the stem & top.  Scoop out the seeds and white membranes from inside the peppers.  Densely pack the cheese mixture inside the peppers, pressing to fill  solidly  to the bottom and edges. Top with the reserved stem. Wrap each pepper in plastic wrap or a baggie, and  seal.    This is the stopping point if you're making these a day or two ahead.

When ready to proceed, after  chilling for a minimum of 2-3 hours, discard the stems and cut each pepper in half lengthwise, then each half in four wedges. Arrange on a tray and garnish with pimiento strips or black olive slices. A longer  chilling time makes slicing  easier.

 You'll get 24 wedges from ordinary  peppers.  I've pushed  my luck when making dozens of these  ahead for a large party ......they start getting  soft instead of crunchy, and a little weepy, around the 48-hour period.. .. still OK to eat,  but   messier than they should be.   When slicing,  wipe your knife with a damp paper towel between cuts to keep the pepper from getting messy.

Serve the small  bagged peppers whole, cutting a little more from the stem end to reveal what's inside. 

Oh Gosh, Ganache

  I was telling a friend how to make a quickie little dessert, ( not the one pictured)  and that conversation was going along just fine until I added "then just put a ganache on them"   Whoa!  Her  reaction was "no way, I  can't do fancy stuff".   So here is my little ganache lecture for anyone who is similarly confused.

Ganache is just a harmless little  French word for a 2-ingredient concoction.  Really.   Ganache is  just a rich fudgy concoction made of cream and chocolate, melted together. It's a glaze, an icing, a sauce........  Pretty simple, and certainly not frightening.  You are braver than any ganache.

   Depending on how you let  it thicken - or not --  ganache is the smooth sheet of thick  fudge icing on a cupcake....a  rich hot fudge sauce for your ice cream,  a lovely filling for sandwich cookies,  a warm fondue sauce for dipping  fruit or cake cubes, a  brownie  or cake glaze or  doughnut  icing......   Or  fold cooled ganache into whipped cream for an instant chocolate mousse.  And  if that's not  quite enough chocolate, accompany any of those with a cup of hot chocolate made by  stirring ganache into warm milk for the ultimate jolt of cacao heaven. Yowza.


Here are two simple ways to make ganache: ( Actually, all ways to make ganache are simple)   In a microwave:     Place 8 oz semisweet or bittersweet chocolate (  finely chopped, or chips are fine) in a medium bowl.  In a glass measuring cup,  nuke 3/4 c. heavy  whipping cream  on high 1-2 minutes or until it comes to a boil.  Immediately pour it over the chocolate and  stir til smooth.  Cool just a bit- til slightly warm - and stir in 2 TB softened butter, unsalted is best, stir til melted.  Now , based on what you intend to do with it,  use it now, or let it cool a bit to thicken, or of you want it really thick, put in the fridge  until it's the thickness you want. Stir now  and then to check on the consistency.

or, use a saucepan -  put the cream and chocolate in together and slowly warm,  stirring,  over low heat, til its completely melted and smooth.  Let cool a couple minutes off the heat and stir in the butter.  Butter adds the shine. Because  I feel  that the  hot pan keeps the ganache warm and spoonable longer, I tend to use this method when doing large batches of cupcakes or brownies that take a little longer  to get them all iced.

3/4 cup   of cream to 12 oz chocolate will make enough to glaze an 8 or 9 inch 2-layer cake or  a 13x9 cake. 

To make a to-die-for ice cream sauce, use the saucepan method using  8 oz finely chopped chocolate and 1 cup whipping cream.  It can be covered and  stored in the fridge for  about a month.

And if you want to see the similarity between  making a ganache and  a super-duperly-easy  2  minute  'chocolat pot de creme', enter it into the search bar on this blog and laugh merrily as you   picture yourself saying modestly "oh gosh, it's  really just a ganache"!


You're very welcome. 

Bacon Bark

    

As though bacon addicts need any more incredibly awesome  bacon recipes?   A wonderful   sweet/salty  finger-food appetizer or bar snack, you can  jar this up  for gifts, or selfishly keep it all to yourself.  

I almost always use sugar free 'maple syrup' and brown Splenda or Stevia, so if you want to calculate  a carb count, it's essentially just nuts and the sweetener.  Using real maple syrup  tastes  only slightly more fabulous.  If you intend to make this low sodium, use real maple syrup and low sodium bacon, cut the salt amount down and/or use  Diamond Crystal kosher salt.

It's a quickie recipe.  Use two dishes-- one medium bowl for the nut mixture, and a large  shallow one..... like  a pie plate  or platter.for the bacon mixture.   Preheat the oven to 350 for at least 15 minutes. Prepare  a rimmed cookie sheet.  Non-stick is best but even so, be sure to use  parchment or foil or disposable baking sheets. Parchment is best - and  if you use foil give it a light spray of Pam.  There's bigtime stickiness ahead. 

Nuts:  In one bowl, place 2 c. pecan halves and 2c walnut halves, 1/2 c. light brown sugar, 4 TB maple syrup, 2 tsp pumpkin pie spice, 1 tsp Hungarian paprika, 1 tsp coarse salt, 1/2 tsp black pepper. mix well and set aside.  Do not  use chopped  nuts!  but slightly broken,  almost-half  pieces are OK to include.

Bacon:  Into the other dish, cut 12 slices of center-cut bacon  in  1"  pieces across the strips.  It's easiest to use scissors and cut  several strips at once, while the bacon is still cold and stuck together, then separate the pieces once they're cut... space them out in the flat dish so when  you add the other ingredients they'll  easily coat the bacon.  Then add  a mixture of  1/2 c. brown sugar, 1 tsp Hungarian paprika,  zest of  2 oranges or  lemons, salt and pepper. Pat it on and then with a fork or fingers , stir/toss   gently til all  bacon pieces are pretty much coated.  Then spread them  on the prepared pan and bake until the bacon is almost done and all the  sugar is bubbling, about 10 minutes.

Then add the nuts to the pan.   Using a  spatula, turn and mix, then spread out again and bake 15-25 minutes more, turning and spreading again halfway through.   It's done when the mixture has obviously turned caramel-ly and sticky.   The length of time will depend on how thinly or closely the mixture is spread on the pan.  Be sure that there are no large gaps --- you want it to stick together. Just slide the foil or parchment sheets off the hot pan to cool.

When cooling, you may want to flip the  pieces over a few times   to let the undersides harden a bit before storing them away so they  won't be sticky.  Let sit on the counter until it's 'dry' enough to  break or tear into  clumps. This may take several hours..   Edited to add that it doesn't need to be refrigerated in the  short term.  If saving for days on end I do pop it in the fridge

Scarf some  down while gooey and warm,  or let it cool and break it apart.   This recipe will make  about  6-7  cups of sweet,  spicy, salty, bacony, nutty  goodness.  No one will be the wiser  if you  claim  that you only made a half recipe...just be sure you get all the sticky evidence off your fingers.

Looo-siana Crawdad Spread !

  Crawdads, crayfish..... the flavorful  little critters by any name are  most delicious!   I've made this  for guests several times and have yet to remember to   photograph it before it disappears so this is the Southern Living photo.  Full credit to SL for the  easy  recipe, which I've tweaked just a tad.

If you are the sole human  not  within reach of a Wal-Mart, you're on your own  locating crawdad meat. Otherwise, you're in luck.  Two  of the three Walmarts  near us sells an 11-oz pack of frozen crawdad tail meat, ready to thaw & use.      Should  your own  store not carry it, the seafood manager in that store  can order it in for you.  Meijer stores sometimes have whole crawdads on ice in their seafood case, which is great if you're having a boil, but I am too lazy to cook and peel 7 lbs, which is what you'd need for one batch of spread. Meijer is great about sourcing items for customers, so it's worth asking them to special order the meat too. To avoid a runny spread, drain the 'dads well in a sieve and/or on paper towels. I dry them off with a paper towel.

In a  large saucepan with 1/2 c. butter, saute 1  diced green pepper and 1 c. chopped green onion (most of the green included), til the pepper is soft, about 8 minutes.  Then add  3 tsp.   Creole seasoning, 3 cloves minced garlic,  a 4 oz jar  of drained pimientos , and a few shakes of hot sauce or sriracha --- but just  for flavor, not for heat.      Stir it well, then add  16-24 oz.  crawdad meat. When I double the batch I use 33 oz. of meat, ( three packages of the size I buy) and  it's not too much.   The tails will be the size of  tiny shrimp. Don't chop them.

 Heat gently for about 15 minutes, then stir in 16 oz.  cubed cream cheese. Continue cooking a few minutes  until  it's all melted , stir now and then.   Curiously, quite a bit of liquid is  generated....the  crawdads must be very juicy -- but there's more juice than I want to deal with when spooning or spreading this dip onto toasts, so  on those occasions I drain much of it off before adding the cream cheese. ( of course some of the flavor departs too...)  Keep the heat  low, and  as the spread cools off a bit, it may thicken slightly.   I do like a little  juice to  soften the toasts if crisp, but more than that gets very messy.  Offer forks to  help capture all the goodies that fall off the toasts.

One batch  should serve about 8 people.  I wouldn't make it  in a crockpot.....if you want to keep it warm, make it on the stove, pre-warm your crockpot,  transfer the hot spread  & keep it in there on warm or low...but keep the lid off or cracked a lot.  Otherwise you will be serving a quite delicious crawdad soup.    A little garnish of  of green onion or parsley gives the finished dish some pretty color. .

Malaysian Cognac-Coconut Shrimp

15-minute meals always get my attention, and if you like  coconut with  shrimp, you'll be grateful for this entree, which elevates it  light-years  beyond the ubiquitous  coconut-crusted frozen  shrimp sold as appetizers  everywhere.

Here, the  toasted coconut is not a crust; it's  only on the shrimp as part of a very scant, very thin  but very delicious glaze  that is spooned over  shrimp and   brown, saffron,  jasmine,  or white rice.  Because we live far, far from civilization and I must grow my own red Thai bird peppers, this dish only appears  on our  table in summer.  I really need to experiment with more readily available hot peppers.

   Thai bird peppers can be  tiny, and if you don't like 'hot', no problem, they're not meant to be ingested here anyway----  use them whole  --- then  simply pluck them out  when serving or better yet, leave them in for color and remind people not to eat them.   But don't just skip using them; they add an important depth of flavor to the dish.

This goes together quickly, so have  all your ingredients next to the stove, and your rice  and sides ready before you begin the shrimp.  Shrimp toughens too quickly  for the cook to be  collecting  what you need as they're cooking.

Use a pound of the largest raw shrimp you can find  -  shell  & clean them well, rinse, butterfly,  and dry thoroughly  on paper towels.  In a small  dry skillet, toast 1/4 cup flaked or chipped coconut, stirring very frequently so it  browns evenly but doesn't burn. Set  aside. Chipped ( flat chips, flaked) coconut is worth looking for.

In a large wok or pan, heat 1-2 TB  veg oil til just  it begins smoking and add the shrimp just briefly- a minute or two, until you think they are about halfway cooked; then remove from the pan.  Add 3 green  onions, green and whites,  cut in 2" lengths, a TB of chopped garlic, a big pinch of salt and  maybe a half dozen little  red Thai bird peppers.  Don't skip the peppers!  Stir just briefly, for less than a minute, before adding 4 TB butter, 6 TB cognac, 2 tsp sugar. Reduce a minute or two, then return the shrimp to the pan and finish cooking   for a couple minutes more.  The sauce should  glaze  the shrimp.  Stir in the  toasted coconut and serve immediately, spooning the sauce over the shrimp.  It's tempting to use a very large pan, but your sauce will  cook off too quickly over a larger surface and there won't be enough; better to use a medium skillet,  cook the shrimp in two batches, then combine them  at the end.

Credit for this recipe may go to Jaden Hair, although I've seen it several places...once a recipe circulates thru magazines and the internet, it's hard to know who invented and who tweaked what. In any case,  it's  simply delicious!

Panzanella- an Italian Bread Salad

I can't think of a better way to use up a big batch of ripe tomatoes and a load of fresh basil.  The crusty bread soaks up the tomatoes' juices, the basil and onion flavors, and the red-wine vinaigrette, yet doesn't  get soggy.  As  a variation, I sometimes add  very thinly sliced, then shredded, hard or Genoa salami.

Panzanella's aren't new, but whenever I  serve this salad it's  invariably  a new  concept for someone, and certainly a conversation-starter, as they dubiously  consider  trying soaked bread. It only takes a bite to make  them panzanella fans. It's  the perfect dish for an outdoor meal, since there are no  concerns about refrigeration or spoilage in the heat of a summer day.

Unless you are fortunate to live somewhere where tomatoes are grown year round, this will be a seasonal dish, because supermarket tomatoes imported from who knows where just won't cut it. It's simple to make a half-batch if you prefer , but don't let the initial amount of bread alarm you --- it reduces dramatically in size when it absorbs all those lovely summery flavors.

For 12-15 servings:    In a very large bowl,  whisk together 1 1/2 c. extra virgin olive oil, 2 1/2 tsp finely chopped  garlic, 1/2 c. red-wine vinegar and 1 1/2 tsp kosher or sea salt.

Add to the bowl: 2 lbs. crusty,  firm  bread- such as French or Italian - torn in  half-dollar size pieces.  Two lbs is about 24 cups of bread -- hey, I  warned you it  will seem crazy -- but  not to worry, it 'shrinks'.  Add 3 lbs ( 9 cups) of garden-ripe tomatoes cut in 1/2 " chunks,  3 cups of loosely packed, coarsely chopped fresh basil, and 1 medium red onion, thinly sliced and then chopped.     Toss it  well,  til the bread is coated,  and let it stand for at least 30 minutes.  An hour or two is fine. Really.  Sogginess isn't an issue for at least a day or two.   Don't refrigerate this salad, except for  overnight leftovers, and then let it come to room temperature again..    

 

Bacon- Tomato Jam and Bacon-Wrapped Strawberries

 

 

There's no point in suggesting you  need new ways to use up 'extra' bacon  - is there such a thing?  but we often have loads of  vine-ripe tomatoes that need to be used.    Here are  two ways.    The jam recipe  just makes one pint, so take your neighbors up on  their offers  of ripe tomatoes next time and make a big batch  to share.  I've never  used purchased tomatoes  for this so can't vouch for what they'd taste like.

Tomato Bacon Jam

In a large skillet over medium heat cook ½ lb smoked bacon til crispy. Transfer to paper towels to drain, blotting dry if necessary.   In a large saucepan combine 2 lb. very ripe tomatoes, cored and chopped; 1 medium yellow onion, diced; 1 c. sugar; 2 ½ TB cider vinegar, 1 ½ tsp salt, ¼ tsp black pepper. Bring to a boil, stirring often, then reduce heat .  Crumble the bacon into the mixture and simmer til very thick, about 1  hour.  Season with salt and pepper if needed (probably not salt).  Let the jam cook briefly, then ladle into jar.  Refrigerate a week or two, or freeze for 2-3 months.  If freezing, freeze in several  small containers.  Let thaw overnight in the refrigerator.  If you like some heat, add more black pepper, or finely diced jalapenos. A great condiment for grilled cheese sandwiches,  burgers,  on a cracker, or with toast  or  bagels   for breakfast.

Grilled Bacon-Wrapped Strawberries

Clean the berries ( small-medium ones work best for one-bite  portions) and wrap each in 1/3  slice of raw bacon - fasten with two toothpicks, which may catch fire  but  that's OK.   You can also try  lightly coating  the "inside'  of the bacon strip in brown sugar before wrapping.    Place on a hot grill and turn often til crisp. Remove the picks of course, and enjoy warm, possibly with a drizleof balsmic.   Fresh  pineapple is good too, but then what  isn't  good wrapped in bacon?

   

S'mores To Go

 

Hardly a recipe but an idea....  a fun way to serve a bite of deliciousness..... skewer a marshmallow, dip in melted semisweet chocolate, and immediately roll it  in  graham cracker crumbs.  Place on foil or parchment .      Pop the tray into the fridge for  a few  minutes to help harden it; this is not necessary, but I  think any chocolate that  tempers ( hardens)  in cooler temps  is much  less  likely to soften/melt  later.  To dress up the skewer, you know, for formal   s'more occasions, leave the pointy end UP and put a chocolate-covered raisin on it.   If made a day ahead, cover the  tray so the exposed marshmallow area stays soft, but don't cover tightly. Don't  store in the fridge, but they do freeze well  for future s'more emergencies.

Spaghetti with Crab and Lemon

Fresh lemon is essential for this dish, so  don't even think about using bottled juice, or worse yet,  using fake "krab" !  I can hardly type it without shuddering.  It'  goes together quickly and tastes like the sea.

Cook  a pound of spaghetti or fettuccine in a pot of boiling salted water to al dente.   While it's cooking, heat 2 TB extra virgin olive oil in a large skillet.  Gently stir in a  pound of cooked lump crab meat and heat til it's warmed through.  Add  1/4 c. white wine.  Bring the liquid  just to the boiling point, then turn the heat down and add 1/2 c.  fresh lemon juice and lots of salt and pepper.

Drain your pasta and be sure to save about 1/2 c of the pasta water.   Add the pasta to the skillet along with 1/2 c. freshly grated Parmesan cheese and a handful of  chopped fresh parsley.  Add a little of the reserved pasta water  as needed to loosen it slightly, and  serve with  more Parmesan. Serves at least  4.

Pineapple Upside Down Carrot Cake

No need to choose between pineapple upside down cake and carrot cake.....  there's  cream cheese inside instead of  on top as icing, and raisins, nuts, and a crushed pineapple topping. 

Preheat oven to 350.

Melt 1/2 stick butter in   a 10" square or round pan, then sprinkle it with 3/4 c. light brown  sugar, packed,  then  (SAVE the juice)  spread a 20-oz can of well drained,  crushed pineapple  over that, and finally, sprinkle on 2 TB chopped walnuts or pecans.

With a mixer, cream 8 oz  room-temperature  cream cheese  til smooth, then add 1 c sugar.  Mix, then add 2 eggs, one at time, beating well.  Blend in  1/4 c. reserved  pineapple juice or syrup, and 1/2 c.  veg oil ( not olive).   Mix dry ingredients  together ( 1 3/4 c. flour, 2 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, 1/4 tsp salt, and 1 1/2 tsp cinnamon. )      Add dry  mixture  to wet mixture,  beat til well combined.   Fold in by hand: 1 cup finely shredded raw carrot, 3/4 c. raisins,  2 TB finely chopped nuts.   Blend well. This is a heavy batter.

Spoon batter evenly over the pineapple topping.   Bake about 30-35 minutes. Remove and let sit on a wire rack for 3-4 minutes - don't let it cool there.  Run a knife around edges to loosen the cake, then invert onto a serving plate.  Let the pan sit on it for a minute or two so  any syrup will drain off onto the cake.  Let cool.