Steak Fries

I am embracing the fact that we have a large grill on our patio. Usually, I would do mashed potatoes for the side of grilled meat. This time, I am adapting Bobby Flay's recipe for "Old Bay" Grill Steak Fries. Online reviews recommended simply buying Old Bay spice at the store. The only difference would be that here you get to adjust the flavor to your liking. Otherwise it might be cheaper just to buy the ready made spice.

Feeds many:

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon ground bay leaves
2 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
1 1/2 dry mustard
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 teaspoon paprika
6 or more russet potatoes, scubbed - the recipe recommends idaho but russet is what I usually have
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 cup vegetable oil

additional optional ingridients that I did not use: white pepper, cloves, red pepper flakes, mace, cardamom.

Directions:

• Place potatoes in a pot of cold water, add scrubbed potatoes. Salt water. Make sure that the water covers all potatoes. Cook potatoes until they are tender but still firm. You can use a toothpick to teste potatoes. Make sure not to over cook them as then they would fall apart.  Drain, let cool and cut each potato lengthwise into 8 slices.
• While potatoes are cooking or cooling, combine all spices in a small bowl
• Heat grill to high
• Brush potatoes with oil and season with the spice rub. Grill until golden brown and cooked through. Use a grill plate or foil for several batches.

Simple Lasagna

The comfort food for all. Easy to make. Easy to find ingredients. Good for a crowd or if you like to have leftovers. This one is adapted from a Simply Recipes food blog.

Serves 8ish

1 lb lean ground beef or turkey
1/2 medium sweet white onion, diced
1 zucchini, cut into small pieces
mushroom to taste (I used half a package of baby bella)
1/2 lb dry lasagna noodles (requires 9 lasagna noodles - unbroken, boil half a box)
1/4 cup sugar
1 28 oz can tomato sauce
14.5 oz stewed tomatoes
3 oz tomato paste
1 lb Ricotta cheese
1 1/2 lb Mozzarella cheese (I bought a 3 pound rectangle and cut slices)
3/4 lb freshly grated parmesan cheese (I used freshly grated the first time and already grated this time)
Garlic Powder
Oregano
Italian Spice
Salt
Garlic Salt
Parsley (fresh or dried)
1 Garlic Cloves, minced
White wine vinegar

This first part can be done in the morning or the night before to cut down on your dinner cooking time.

• Brown lean ground beef in skillet until lightly browned and cooked through. Remove beef with a slotted spoon and put it in a bowl with paper towels. After all the browned beef has been removed from the skillet, drain off and dispose of excess beef fat. Wipe skillet clean with paper towel.
• Add diced zuchcini. mushrooms, and onion to skillet. Brown for a few minutes on medium high heat, add browned beef back to the skillet, lower the heat to low and continue to cook for 5 more minutes stirring frequently.
• Transfer browned beef, mushrooms, zucchini and onions to 3 Qt. pot. Add tomato sauce, tomato paste. Open stewed tomatoes, drain, and dice, then add to 3 Qt. pot. Add oregano, parsley, Italian Spice Mix to taste, about 2 teaspoons of each. Add a pinch of garlic powder and a pinch of garlic salt, to taste. Add a dash of white wine vinegar. Add sugar a tablespoon at a time, until desired level of sweetness, no more than 1/4 cup of sugar. Taste, add, taste, taste, until you reach the desired taste and consistency. Stir and allow sauce to simmer 15-45 minutes to thicken (do not scorch bottom, stir frequently). Remove from heat.

• Cook 1 lb lasagna noodles in 6 Qt. Pot per cooking directions (al dente). (Note noodles may be cooked in advance.) Stir often to prevent from sticking and be sure that water remains at a low boil during the entire cooking to prevent noodles from sticking. Add salt and/or olive oil as usual while cooking pasta. Drain in colander and place in cool water filled pan to keep from drying out and sticking together.
• In dry lasagna pan, ladle one cup of sauce and spread along the bottom of the pan. Apply a layer noodles 3 length wise (edges overlapping). I used 10 x 13 dish and the edges did not overlap. In fact, it was very easy to cut and portion out. Ladle in sauce sparingly into center trough of 3 noodles. Apply a layer of mozzarella cheese slices on top of lasagna sauce. Place ricotta cheese dollops (about a Tablespoon) every 2 inches in center of noodles on top of mozzarella cheese slices, sprinkle grated parmesan cheese in thin even layer on top of ricotta cheese. Apply second layer of noodles, repeat three time topping with noodles. If you have extra sauce and cheese you can spread that over the top. Tent lasagna pan with aluminum foil (not touching noodles or sauce). Bake at 375°F for 45 minutes. Allow to cool before serving. Delicious the first day, second day, third day... you get the point.

Leeks in Mustard Sauce

With every magazine, book, and dietary commentary advising us to eat leeks, it was time to try it. It is super easy yet super tasty. Adapted from "500 All-Time Great Recipes".

I ran out of eggs so didn't use them this time around. However, it seems that eggs would definitely add to the flavor.

Serves 4

8 slim leeks (or cut long ones to about 5" pieces)
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
1 hard boiled egg, halved lengthwise
5 tablespoons light olive oil
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley (optional)
salt and pepper

• Steam leeks over a saucepan of boiling water until they are just tender
• Stir together the mustard and vinegar in a bowl. Scoop the egg yolk into the bowl and mash thoroughly into the vinegar mixture using a fork
• Gradually work in the oil to make a smooth sauce, then season to taste with salt and pepper
• Lift the leeks out of the steamer and place on several layers of paper towels and pat dry (I skipped this step)
• Transfer the leeks on a serving dish while still warm, spoon the dressing over them and let cool. Garnish with shopped egg white and parsley as desired.

The picture does not do the dish justice. The leeks were quite delicious.

Tishpishti (nut cake)

Here is a delicious nut cake adapted from "The Complete Guide to Traditional Jewish Cooking" by Marlena Splieler. This cake cake is popular among sephardic jews. I won't claim to know a lot about the traditional aspect, but the cake is indeed super moist and easy to make.

Serves Many

2 1/2 cups caster sugar
4 cups cold water
1 cinammon stick
1 tbsp rose water (this can be purchased from ethnic stores, I got mine from a Persian grocery store)
1 tbsp lemon juice
5 eggs
4 oz walnuts
4 oz blanched almonds
2 tbsp pine nuts (optional)
1 tsp ground cinnamon

• Put 1.5 cups of sugar in a heavy pan, add water and the cinammon stick. Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring until the sugar dissolves, then boil without stirring for about 5 minutes to make a syrup. Set aside and when it's cool, add the rose water and lemon juice.
• Grind walnuts and almonds (I did this in a blender in a few batches). Mix with the eggs, the 3/4 cups remaining sugar and pine nuts, if you got them.
• Scrape the mixture in a round cake pan. The recipe recommended 12", I put this into 10" and think that 9" or even 8" would do just fine. Bake at 350F for 1 hour.

• Pour the cold syrup over the hot cake and sprinkle with cinammon. Leave to cool. Refridgerate. Serve the next day at room temperature or out of the fridge.

Zucchini Bread

This recipe I made straight from Smitten Kitchen blog. I love that site and check it at least once a week. Everything I've made from it has been delicious (but not always as good looking as in pictures on the site).


Yield: 2 loaves
3 eggs
1 cup olive or vegetable oil
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 cups grated zucchini
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
1 cup dried cranberries, raisins or chocolate chips or a combination thereof (optional). I always have raisins so that's what I put in.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

• Grease and flour two 8×4 inch loaf pans, liberally. I used 8x4 once and 9.5x5.5 second time around and must say that the shape of bread was better out of 8x4.
• In a large bowl, beat the eggs with a whisk. Mix in oil and sugar, then zucchini and vanilla.

• Combine flour, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder and salt, as well as nuts, chocolate chips and/or dried fruit, if using.
• Stir this into the egg mixture. Divide the batter into prepared pans.
• Bake loaves for 60 minutes, plus or minus ten, or until a tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

This is great served with honey and butter. In fact, that's the only way it should be eaten!