Last Week!

Here's the lineup for our last week of the challenge!

Week 4: American (and Grenada) Week
Monday: Chicken Roti
Tuesday: Sloppy Joes with Butternut Squash Slaw and Bread and Butter Pickles
Wednesday: Chicken with Lemon, Garlic, and Parsley
Thursday: Farmer's Market Chili and Broccoli Bread
Friday: Fried Chicken, Creamy Tex-Mex Corn, and Cheddar Biscuits

And here's the shopping list:

May Have On Hand
olive oil
vegetable/canola oil
apple cider vinegar
red wine vinegar
cumin
cayenne pepper
salt
freshly ground pepper
garlic powder
chili powder
basil
parsley
paprika
rice
sugar
brown sugar
flour
honey
2 cups ketchup
1/4 cup mustard
1 egg
1 cup whole milk
2/3 cup milk
butter
minced garlic

May Need To Buy
1-1/2 cups buttermilk
4 oz plus 2 tbsp creamy goat cheese
1 lb cheddar
coriander
turmeric
garam masala
whole cloves
whole allspice berries
rum flavoring
pickling spice
1/2 cup dried cranberries
2 tbsp toasted walnuts
1 pkg Jiffy cornbread mix
2 cups biscuit mix
tomato paste
breadcrumbs
2 14.5oz cans diced tomatoes
1 15oz can white beans
1 15oz can kidney beans
1-1/4 cup chicken broth
4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 chickens, about 2-1/2 lb, cut into 8 pieces (or chicken drumsticks or pieces)
2 pounds boneless chicken
1-1/2 lbs ground turkey
8 Roti wrappers or non-baked large tortillas
3 cups corn kernels (frozen)
1 large shallot
4 onions
4 medium tomatoes
3/4 pounds potatoes
cilantro
ginger root
2 lbs fresh sorrel
3 pickling cucumbers (about 4 inches long)
1 lemon
1 lime
1 medium butternut squash
4 cloves garlic
flat-leaf (Italian) parsley
1/2 cup lemon juice (2 lemons?)
2 cups diced zucchini (2 zucchinis? depending on size)
3-4 carrots
1 head broccoli
fresh basil
fresh marjoram
fresh chives (1/4 cup)
Parker house rolls


Looking forward to another fun week!

Week 3, Day 5: Swedish Meatballs With Mashed Potatoes (and lingonberries)

I just have to take a minute to thank all of you who take the time to come and read and those of you to comment. It makes my day to read your comments. Thank you for your support! I'm working on the perfect gift to send out to our winners, I'll reveal it next week. Then we'll take the final vote and let you know who gets a prize!

Tonight was another great European recipe from my dear friend, Becky! I have to apologize a bit for this one, because I didn't make it exactly to the recipe. You see, I couldn't find lingonberries. I have no idea where I might find them, but I also looked for lingonberry preserves, to no avail. And I couldn't find mince. Since the recipe stated it was 3 parts beef to 1 part pork, I just mixed my own with ground beef and ground pork, hoping that was what it was meant to be since it's meatballs. However, I don't think I ended up with a full pound of meat (I was approximating a bit), and my meatball mixture was a bit wet, leaving me with melting meat blobs instead of beautiful meatballs.

I'll post the recipe as it is meant to be, but keep that in mind when you see my lovely picture and it's not quite what it should be.

Meatballs with Mashed Potatoes and Lingonberries

Meatballs

150 ml (generous 1/2 c) milk
50g (scant 1/2 c) breadcrumbs
1 small onion
500 g (1.1 lb) mince (3 parts beef, 1 part pork)
1 1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground white pepper
1 tsp sugar
1-2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 eggs
2 tbsp butter
50 ml (3 1/2 tbsp) carbonated mineral water - make sure it is mineral water not tonic water or club soda. the sodium content varies & mineral water usu has less sodium.
butter + rapeseed oil for frying

Pour the milk over the breadcrumbs and leave to swell 5-10 min. Chop the onion and fry it golden brown in a little butter. Mix into the mince: salt, white pepper, sugar, and mustard. Add the egg, milk mixture and onion. Mix until smooth. Splash on some mineral water. Test-fry a teaspoonful and add more seasoning if needed. Roll into large cherry-size and fry in butter and a little oil. Serve with mashed potatoes and instant lingonberry preserve.

Potato Mash

500 g (1.1 lb) peeled potato, ideally a floury sort like King Edward
2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
150 ml (generous 1/2 c) milk
75 g (2 3/4 oz) butter
freshly ground white pepper
grated nutmeg (optional)

Boil the potatoes until soft. Pour off the water and let the potatoes steam in the saucepan. Add salt, white pepper, sugar, butter, milk, and optionally, nutmeg. Mash with a potato masher. Add more milk if needed to make the mash smooth. Taste and season more if desired..

Instant Lingonberry Preserve

500 g (1.1 lb) lingonberries
80 g (scant 1/2 c) sugar

Mix the lingonberries and sugar by hand and stir until the sugar dissolves.

The Verdict: 4 thumbs up, 1 thumb medium. The meatballs were delicious, and very flavorful. The potatoes were tasty, and very similar to our traditional recipe (which is good when serving young children!). I have to admit I was a bit relieved I didn't have to serve it with the lingonberry preserves. But it also meant that I didn't make IHOP's Swedish pancakes (since I chose it because I thought it would be a good use for the leftover preserves). Instead, we just went to IHOP last night.

We didn't make this, but I loved the history Becky sent with it so much that I had to share it, so consider this a bonus!

Rice Porridge

A mainstay of the Swedish Christmas Smorgasbord. Also, good for breakfast with fruit (craisins, blueberries, etc). Traditionally, Swedish families hide an almond in the porridge and whoever gets it gets a special task for the day. In the old days, if a single young man or young woman found the nut, it was a sign that the coming year would bring true love.

40 g (4.7 oz) of pudding rice or short-grain rice
300 ml (1 1/4 c) water
3/4 tsp salt
600-700 (2 1/2-3 c) milk
1 cinnamon stick
1 tsp sugar
1 tbsp butter

Serve with cinnamon (and sugar, optional) and one almond and fruit (optional).

Boil rice, water and salt. Let boil quietly under cover for 10 minutes. Add milk and the cinnamon stick and stir well. cover again and let the porridge swell for 30 minutes at very low heat. Don't uncover or stir. Remove from the heat and leave for another 10 minutes. Then add the sugar and butter. Hide an almond in the porridge. Serve with cold milk and ground cinnamon.

Week 3, Day 4: Pizza Margherita

Another yummy Italian recipe from Becky! Pizza Margherita is famous in Naples (or so she says, I've never been), and we had the real thing.

Pizza Margherita

Pizza Dough

(original recipe - makes enough for 4 large pizzas)

1 oz fresh yeast
2 c warm water
2 1/4 lb all-purpose flour or tipo 0 flour
pinch of salt

How I converted and reduced it to make one pizza:
1 1/2 tsp yeast
1/2 cup warm water
about 2 cups flour
pinch of salt

Dissolve the yeast in a little of the warm water. Sprinkle in a handful of the flour and mix well. Shape into a small ball and leave to rise in a dry place for 30 min. Make a well in the center of the flour and add the yeast mixture, remaining warm water, and a pinch of salt. Knead vigorously on a floured work surface for about 10 min, adding some warm water a little at a time until the dough is smooth but not sticky. Place on an oiled baking sheet and flatten out the dough with your hands, then cover with the topping of your choice. You can freeze this dough to use later, but it is at its best when fresh.

To make 2 large pizzas: (Okay, I'll be honest, I used this amount of everything on one pizza, and mine was a medium-sized pan, I think.)

1/2 quantity of above pizza dough
14 oz canned peeled plum tomatoes
Salt for taste
2-3 tbsp olive oil
5 oz fresh cherry tomatoes
5-7 oz fresh mozzarella, drained and sliced

Take pizza dough and shape into rounds. Using your knuckles, lightly press down around the edge of the dough about 1 1/4 inches in from the edge, to make a slight rim. Drain canned plum tomatoes in a colander, pressing down gently to remove any excess juice. Roughly chop, then spread the tomato evenly over the dough, leaving a border of about 1 inch. Season with salt and drizzle generously with olive oil. Spread over 5 oz halved cherry tomatoes and mozzarella cheese. Scatter basil leaves over the pizzas. Sprinkle with a little grated Parmesan, to taste. Slide onto an unglazed terracotta tile, pizza stone, pizza pan, or baking sheet, and bake in the center of a preheated oven at 450- 475 degrees for 8-10 min, or until crisp.

The Verdict: 2 thumbs up, 2 thumbs medium, 1 thumb down. I really enjoyed learning a new method for pizza dough, and it's a very different dough than the soft one I usually make: crisp, and authentic. Despite my insistence that they are essentially the same, Isaiah was adamant that tomatoes have a different taste than tomato sauce, though. I think it would be really fun to use the dough recipe to make mini individual pizzas and let everyone put on their own toppings.

Week 3, Day 3: Sweet Potato Burritos

Tonight's recipe comes from a dear friend . . . that I've never met. Yes, you read that right. Christina is one of a tight group of women that I've known for about 8 years (I think). We met on the Martha Stewart Baby message boards back when a bunch of us were planning to become pregnant and having babies. We lovingly refer to each other as "imaginary friends," and secretly hope to all meet (on Oprah, so she can pay for us to get together) someday.


Christina is an amazing mom of four boys, two of whom are twins. They are adorable, and they keep her busy, but not too busy to constantly be working on crafty projects. She taught school, so I feel like she's a kindred spirit, and she inspires me with her faith and energy. I am so glad she passed some recipes on to me because she has some awesome food hanging out in Crafty's Cafe. Check it out!


Just so you know, I do know that burritos aren't European. And I did declare this European Week, but I had a couple of recipes that had to be squeezed in where I had spaces. There wasn't any room left in Mexican Week, and I had this perfectly free day here, so this is where it ended up. Here's the original recipe, complete with step-by-step pictures, which really did help me.

Addictive Sweet Potato Burritos

1 can refried black beans
2 large sweet potatoes (or more depending on who you're feeding)
8 oz shredded Monterrey jack cheese
10-12 burrito size tortillas

1. Roast your sweet potatoes until they start to ooze, split open and are easily pierced with a knife. Peel and mash up those potatoes until nice and smooth. Get a baking sheet ready with foil and a little cooking spray on it. (NOTE: since this step takes a good hour +, it works well to make it ahead, even the day before.) *Rachel's note: it took me 65 minutes at 425 degrees*
2. Get your ingredients ready assembly line style: refried beans and spreader, mashed sweets, shredded cheese, tortillas.
3. Heat up a couple tortillas in the microwave to help make them soft and malleable- spread on a little refried beans- keep them away from the edges. I usually spread enough to make an oval shape in the middle of my tortilla- remember you're rolling them up and you don't want them to ooze out on the baking sheet. Then spoon a couple tablespoons of sweet potatoes. Lastly, sprinkle on some Monterrey jack cheese.
4. Roll 'em up and line 'em up on your baking sheet. Keep going until you have enough or you're out of ingredients.
5. Bake at 375 until hot- about 12-15 minutes. I rub a little olive oil on top of the tortillas to crisp them up and b/c it tastes good!

The Verdict: 2 thumbs up, 1 thumb medium, 2 thumbs down. I guess it just goes to show, no matter how many times I keep trying the sweet potatoes, they just aren't a favorite at our house. Next time I'll probably use less sweet potatoes and more beans, or add a bit of meat of some kind, and see if they go over better. This was such an easy, filling meal, and surprising in how delicious it is, so I recommend you try it before you take my kids' votes to heart.

Week 3, Day 2: Spaghetti and Meatballs with Fried Mozzarella

The main dish tonight came from my own recipe files, and the fried mozzarella came from America's Most Wanted Recipes, the cookbook Katie gave me for my birthday.

Spaghetti and Meatballs

Okay, I'm going to tell you a secret. The spaghetti sauce was Ragu. Yeah, I cheated. Honestly, I rarely use canned spaghetti sauce normally. I love to make my own sauce, but tonight I was in a huge rush, and I am getting a little burned out on cooking. So when I was rushing around, stressed as I tried to make everything before Isaiah went to karate for the first time and with a couple of extra kids in the house, I saw the bottle of Ragu in the pantry and I took the shortcut. So, there you go. I give you permission to do it, too.

Rachel's Meatballs (adapted from a Martha Stewart recipe)

1 lb lean ground beef
2 slices bacon, finely chopped
1 tbsp dried parsley
2 tsp minced garlic
3 tbsp grated Parmesan
1 tbsp dried breadcrumbs
1 large egg
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
coarse salt and ground pepper

1. Combine all ingredients in a large bowl. Shape mixture into meatballs using a tablespoon to measure (36-40 meatballs).
2. (This step is optional, the recipe uses about twice what we eat in a dinner, so I always make the full batch and freeze half. Or a make a double batch to freeze when I find ground beef for a great deal.) Arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet, freeze 1 hour. Once frozen, transfer to an airtight container (I like to double bag them in gallon-sized freezer bags).
3. Place meatballs on a rimmed baking dish lined with foil. Bake in a 400 degree oven, 10-15 minutes if fresh, 15-20 if frozen. Drain on paper towels before adding to sauce or soup.
*Frozen meatballs can also be cooked right in the soup or sauce: Simmer meatballs, covered, in liquid until cooked through, about 10 minutes. (I prefer to drain the grease, however.)

Olive Garden's Fried Mozzarella

1 lb block mozzarella cheese
2 eggs
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 cups Italian bread crumbs
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp Italian seasoning
2/3 cup flour
1/3 cup cornstarch
vegetable oil, for deep-frying
2 cups homemade or store-bough marinara sauce (we used our spaghetti sauce)

1. Cut the mozzarella into either sticks or triangles.
2. Beat the eggs with the water and set aside.
3. Mix the bread crumbs, garlic salt, and Italian seasoning and set aside.
4. Blend the flour with the cornstarch and set aside.
5. Heat 2 inches of vegetable oil in a deep-fryer to 360 degrees (I did it on the stove).
6. Dip each cheese stick in the flour mixture, then in the egg wash, and then coat with the prepared bread crumbs.
7. In batches of 4, place carefully in the hot oil and fry until golden; this takes just a few seconds, so watch carefully. (I undercooked them at 5-6 seconds each. I'd try 8-10 seconds next time.)
8. When golden, remove the sticks from the hot oil and drain on paper towels.
9. Serve with the marinara sauce, for dipping.

The Verdict: (We voted on the mozzarella sticks, since the spaghetti and meatballs was a normal dinner.) 3 thumbs up, 1 thumb sideways, 2 thumbs down. Oh, dang, I can't count again! Actually, things were a little hectic because Isaiah was getting ready to go, and I think I missed his vote. But we had two 5-year-old visitors, so I took their votes instead. I undercooked them a bit, so I think they would have gotten better reviews if the cheese was entirely melted. I will definitely try them again, though, since Adam likes them and they were a good version overall.

Week 3, Day 1: Parmigiana Di Melanzane

Buongiorno! Last night's dinner recipe came from Becky McCollaum. It's a bona fide Italian recipe, as her Aunt and Uncle are stationed in Naples. She has all the connections! (Click here to read all about Becky and what I love about her.)

Parmigiana Di Melanzane

2 1/3 lb large eggplants
olive oil for cooking
1 garlic clove, finely chopped
2 1/4 lb ripe tomatoes, preferably plum, peeled and chopped (*see note*)
10 oz mozzarella cheese
2-3 oz Parmesan cheese, grated
3 or 4 large fresh basil leaves, finely sliced
Salt and freshly ground black pepper

Cut the eggplants into thick slices. Sprinkle with salt and leave in a colander, preferably overnight, to draw out the excess water. Rinse and pat dry with paper towels. Heat enough light olive oil for shallow-frying in a pan over medium-high heat and add the eggplant slices in a single layer. Shallow-fry on both sides for a few minutes until the slices start to brown slightly. Make sure that the oil is hot before adding the eggplants to the pan, so that they do not absorb too much oil. Remove from the pan with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Make a tomato sauce by heating a little oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until soft and transparent, before adding the tomatoes and basil. Season with salt and black pepper. Cook for 10 min until the tomatoes have broken up and reduced into a pulpy sauce.

As soon as the sauce is ready, arrange alternate layers of eggplant, tomato sauce, slices of mozzarella, and Parmesan in a greased baking dish. Make sure that you press down the ingredients well, so that you end up with compacted layers. Finish off with a layer of sauce and a sprinkling of Parmesan. Bake in the preheated oven for about 40 min. Let stand for a few min to allow the ingredients to set slightly, then cut into individual portions while still in the dish. Carefully slide out onto serving plates using a spatula, and serve hot.

*Note on peeling tomatoes: It is not such an onerous task, peeling fresh tomatoes. Simply score the skin slightly with a sharp knife, blanch in boiling water for 10 seconds or so until the skin starts to soften and split, then refresh in cold water. This makes it far easier to use a sharp knife to peel away the skin. (I did it and it worked like a charm!)

The Verdict: 2 thumbs up, 1 thumb medium , 1 thumb down (one vote missing, as Isaiah was out with a friend). Not our favorite meal, but definitely not the worst, either. I was really worried serving essentially eggplant parmigiana to my non-vegetable loving family, but we all fared just fine. I assumed it was to be served over pasta, so I'm not sure if it was actually served correctly. (Sorry, Beck, we didn't have mineral water with it, either.) I actually cleaned my plate. But instead of a second helping, I filled up on garlic bread (which I made with the garlic butter from last week).

And dessert, also from Becky:

Zeppole Di San Giuseppe

9 oz butter
pinch of salt
14 oz Italian tipo 00 flour or all-purpose flour
12 large egg yolks
3 large egg whites
vegetable oil for deep-frying
confectioners' sugar for dusting
2 cups milk
7 oz sugar
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
9 oz black cherry jam, to decorate

Put 2 c water, butter, and a pinch of salt into a pan and bring to a boil. Remove from the heat and sprinkle in the flour, stirring continuously until the mixture comes away from the sides of the pan. Allow to cool a little, then beat in 9 of the egg yolks and the 3 egg whites using a wooden spoon. transfer the mixture to a pastry bag and, using a large piping nozzle, pipe small ring-shaped doughnuts onto wax paper or similar.

Heat enough oil for deep-frying in a heavy deep-sided saucepan over med-high heat. To test whether the oil is hot enough, carefully slide one of the pastries into the pan using a metal spatula - it should sizzle right away. Cooking in batches, deep-fry the pastries for 5 minutes, until golden. Remove from the oil using a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels. Cool slightly, then dust liberally with confectioners' sugar.

Meanwhile, to make the crema pasticciera (custard cream), combine the milk, sugar, the remaining 3 egg yolks, and the vanilla in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over gentle heat, stirring until thickened. Use to decorate the zeppole, piping a little custard cream into the center of each one. Dot a teaspoonful of black cherry jam on top of the custard cream, and serve the zeppole warm or cold.

I have to admit that I was really tired last night (that's why this post didn't get done until tonight), and so I was already out of steam by the time I started the desert. Apparently, I wasn't the only one, as both Max and Isaiah fell asleep before I finished making it. And, since I was so tired I didn't take the time to pay attention to the conversions of the ounces to cups as I measured out the ingredients on the food scale. So, you get it in ounces, too.

The pastries turned out really well, although the recipe said it serves 4, and we guessed it was more like 4 dozen. Once they were fried up and dusted with powdered sugar, they were delicious! But the custard never set up. I'm not sure what I could have done wrong. We cooked and stirred for nearly an hour before we gave up. After sitting in the fridge overnight it was a thick liquid, and tasted like a delicious custard, though. We didn't vote on it since it didn't turn out and half of us were asleep (or nearly so) before we finished.

Halfway through!

Here's the lineup for this week.

Week 3: European Week (Italian, Swedish, and misc.)
Monday: Parmigiana Di Melanzane
*Zeppole Di San Guiseppe for dessert
Tuesday: Spaghetti and Meatballs with Fried Mozzarella
Wednesday: Sweet Potato Burritos
Thursday: Pizza Margherita
Friday: Swedish Meatballs with Mashed Potatoes
*Swedish Pancakes for dessert

Here's the shopping list:

May Have On Hand
olive oil
vegetable oil
nutmeg
salt
freshly ground pepper
basil
oregano
white pepper
garlic salt
vanilla
cornstarch
flour
powdered sugar
sugar
spaghetti
1-1/2 cups Italian bread crumbs
Dijon mustard
4 eggs
minced garlic
yeast
12 oz butter
3 cups milk

May Need To Buy
carbonated mineral water (3 tbsp)
12 eggs
2 lb mozzarella cheese
2-3 oz grated Parmesan cheese
8 oz Monterrey jack cheese
Italian seasoning
Italian breadcrumbs
breadcrumbs
4 8oz cans tomato sauce
1 can refried black beans
black cherry jam
1 lb ground beef
1 lb mincemeat (3 parts beef, 1 part pork)
10-12 burrito-size tortillas
2 1/3 lb large eggplants
2 1/4 lb ripe tomatoes
3 or 4 large fresh basil leaves
14 oz can peeled plum tomatoes
5 oz cherry tomatoes
1 onion
1 1/2 lbs potatoes (King Edward, if possible)
1 lb lingonberries
2 large sweet potatoes

I'm running out of steam, but we're getting over the hump this week, right?