Sisters Dinner November 2010

Here's our spread from our November 2010 Sisters' Dinner.

I made Boston Brown Bread, and a Bohemian Vegetable Soup (and pumpkin muffins, but not from the Sisters Cookbook, so recipe later). Emily made a Beer Bread and Nick made Sweet and Sour Shrimp. Nancy and Robert were "tired" so they didn't come. Just kidding, Nanc-:). But we did miss you, though. December's dinner is at your house.
Okay, first that Boston Brown Bread (pg. 62) on the far left...it's brown...duh.

1 c. white flour
2 c. whole wheat flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 c. milk
1/2 c. molasses
1 c. raisins

Sift the first 4 ingredients together and set aside. Dissolve soda in milk. Add molasses. Dump into sifted dry ingredients; beat. Add raisins. Place batter in 2 greased loaf pans. Bake in a preheated 350 oven for 45 to 55 minutes.

First of all, what SIZE pan? Apparently, two little ones not big ones cuz that's what I used. Scott called this bread a brick. Oh! Yer so mean! It was okay, I would have liked to taste more of the molasses and less raisins so next time I wouldn't put them in. I probably won't make it again, though.

Next, Bohemian Vegetable Soup (page 17). I chose this recipe because I had a turnip to use. Why did I have a turnip to use up, you might ask? What? Turnips aren't a staple at your house? What kind of person are you? Well, I had a baby food recipe to make and, while I was at the store, I couldn't remeber if the recipe called for a turnip or a parsnip so I guessed and got the turnip. Wrong. Shows you how much I know about turnips...or parsnips. Anyway, so I wanted to use it and that's why I made this recipe.

Also, something that's funny about this soup is that it's called a vegetable soup but the second ingredient is BACON. I guess I could be a vegetarian if I could eat bacon too. :)

Emily also thought it was funny that the handy "tip" at the end says "to reduce fat, use less bacon and substitue 1 cup milk instead of cream." Duh. But also, it calls for half and half NOT cream.

Anyway, I won't make this again. But now I know more about turnips. It really wasn't that bad. For the leftovers, I put cheese on top and more bacon and that was tasty...but really, you could put cheese and bacon on cardboard and it would be good, right? I mean, cheese and bacon...good.

1 large onion, chopped
1/2 lb bacon, cut in pieces
1 med. potato, peeled and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and chopped
2 white turnips, peeled and chopped
2 to 3 c. chicken bouillon
1/2 c. half and half
1/8 tsp nutmeg

Brown onion and bacon; drain off grease. Add vegetables and bouillon and cook until vegetables are tender. You may need to add water (up to 2 cups). Season with salt and pepper. Puree and return to cooking pot and add cream and nutmeg. NOTE: To reduce fat, use less bacon and substitute 1 cup of milk intead of cream.
Fishermen's Oriental Sweet 'N' Sour Shrimp (pg. 90). This was the star of the night. Nick did a great job. Yummy! I would make this. Nick said that he would add some more cornstarch, though to thicken it up. I loved the almonds in the rice, too.

1 1/2 c. apple juice
1/2 c. vinegar
1/3 c. sugar
1/4 c. catsup
2 T. oil
1 T. soy sauce
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 c. carrots, diagonally sliced
1/2 c. green peppers, cubes
1/4 c. green onions and tops, sliced
2 T. cornstarch
1/4 c. apple juice
1 lb. shrimp, cooked, peeled and deveined
1/2 c. slivered, blanched almonds, toasted
2 c. hot cooked rice

Combine 1 1/2 cups apple juice and the next 3 ingredients and bring to boiling point. Add carrots and simmer for 15 minutes. Add green pepper and onion and cook 5 minutes longer. Dissolve cornstarch in 1/4 cup apple juice and add gradually in hot sauce, cooking until thickened, stirring constantly. Add shrimp; heat. Add almonds to rice. Serve shrimp sauce over rice. Serves 6.

Love this photo of Nick holding Seth with Zoe right there. So cute.

Beer Bread. (pg. 70) WE DON'T DRINK BEER! Emily had to go find a place that sold them individually and we didn't even know you could do that till she did. Did you wear a fake mustach and sunglasses and a big floppy hat when you got the beer, Emily? :) The fact that this recipe only has 3! ingredients, Emily had to try it. It didn't rise at all, though. Have any of you made anything like this? The recipe is very simple, too simple. We needed more details.

3 c. self-rising flour (Hey, Emily, did you use self-rising flour or just regular flour?)

2 T. sugar

1 bottle beer

Mix together and pour into a loaf pan. Bake in a preheated 350 oven for 1 hour. After the first 1/2 hour, brush top with melted butter.

Over all, very fun. It's fun just to experiment and try stuff we wouldn't. And it's so fun hanging out with each other!

Clam Chowder

I just made this for an Enrichment Night and some friends wanted the recipe so here it is! It's yummy and easy and I can't take the credit.


Bratten's Boston Clam Chowder-Maria Wittwer

2-6 1/2 oz. minced clams
1 c. onion, chopped
1 c. celery, chopped
2 c. potatoes, diced
3/4 c. butter
3/4 c. flour
1 quart half and half
1 1/2 t. salt
a few grains of pepper
1/2 t. sugar

Drain juice from clams and pour over vegetables in med. saucepan. Add enough water to barely cover and simmer, covered, over med heat until potatoes are tender. In the meantime, melt butter, add flour and blend and cook a minute or two. Add cream and cook and stir until smooth and thick, using a whisk to blend. Add undrained vegetables and clams and heat through. Season with salt, pepper and sugar.

Cinnamon as Savory

Butternut Bisque

I HAVE to put this soup recipe in! It was SO delicious. You all must make it! I think it was the first savory thing I've made that called for cinnamon. But it wasn't the last. I just made Emily's Butter Chicken, another savory recipe with cinnamon. It was fabulous! You all must make it too!
I'll give you the recipe as I had it (from the mini magazine Everyday Foods) but also a tip from Stephanie that makes the recipe a lot easier.

Okay, Steph's tip: The hardest part about this recipe is the stinkin' peeling of the butternut squash so instead of doing that Steph suggested cutting it in halves, flipping the cut sides onto a baking pan and roasting it. That way you can scoop out the flesh from the squash shell. MUCH EASIER! I'll do that next time. Thanks, Steph!

3 Tbp. butter
1 medium onion, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, sliced
1/2 tsp. dried thyme
1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/8 to 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (optional)
coarse salt
1 large butternut squash (about 4 lbs.), peeled, seeded, and cut into 1" cubes
1 can (14.5 oz.) reduced-sodium chicken
1 c. half and half
1 Tbp. fresh lemon juice
sour cream, for serving

1. In a large saucepan, heat butter over medium. Add onions, garlic, thyme, cinnamon, and cayenne. Season with salt, and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is softened, 5 to 7 minutes.
2. Add squash, broth, half and half, and 3 cups water. Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer, and cook until squash is tender, about 20 minutes.
3. Working in batches, puree in a blender until smooth. Stir in lemon juice; season with salt. Serve bisque with sour cream, garnished with cayenne, if desired.

I love soup

Well, I have decided to revive the food blog since my life so revolves around food and now that I am getting the hang of gluten free eating, I thought I would post some of those recipes as well. I am writing the recipes gluten free and putting (GF) for gluten free when necessary. Just ignore that if you don't care about gluten.

These are two of my most favorite soups of all time. I find that soups are generally fast and tasty at the same time so I try to make them once a week. My kids don't love the Hot and Sour Soup but Vaughn and I think it is fantastic and way better than any restaurant's! It makes great leftovers.

Hot and Sour Soup

1-2 pork chops
3-4 mushrooms
3 C chicken broth (GF)
3 T. cider vinegar
2 tsp. soy sauce (GF)
½ tsp. cayenne pepper
¼ C sliced bamboo shoots, cut into shreds
4 water chestnuts, chopped
½ pound firm tofu cut into ½ inch cubes
2 T. corn starch
1 egg, lightly beaten
½ tsp. pepper
Salt

Cut pork into thin strips. Slice mushrooms. Bring broth to a boil. Add vinegar,soy sauce and cayenne then add pork and stir to cook and separate. Add bamboo, chestnuts and tofu. Bring to a simmer. Combine cornstarch with ½ cup water and add to soup. Bring to a boil to thicken. Drizzle in the beaten egg then stir the soup gently to break up the egg. Add salt and pepper to taste.

You can add as much or as little of the pork, bamboo, water chestnuts or tofu that you want. Since you don't use the whole cans of bamboo shoots and water chestnuts I freeze them for later and they seem to be just fine.

Baked Potato Soup

While I was poking holes in the potatoes with a fork to bake them for this soup, I wondered does it really make a difference. I found out about an hour later when I heard a big boom. I went searching through my house to see if anybody knew what it was but nobody did so I gave up. It wasn't until I checked the potatoes later that I realized one had exploded in the oven. Bits of burning potato were stuck on the walls and floor while the smoke set off my fire alarm. The funny thing was I thought I had poked them all anyway! I guess it is necessary to poke the potatoes before baking.

4-10 baked potatoes
1/4-2/3 C butter
2/3 C flour (or Rice flour)
6 C milk
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
Chicken broth or more milk

Toppings I like:
Chopped bacon
Sautéed mushrooms
Shredded cheese
Green onions
Sour cream

Bake potatoes in 400* about an hour, or until done. This can be done ahead. When they can be handled, cut in half and scoop out the insides and coarsely chop. Discard skins or use later for filled potato skins. In large pan melt butter and stir in flour cooking about 1 minute. Whisk in milk a little at a time stirring until thickened. Add potatoes and salt and pepper to taste. I have added poultry seasoning (rosemary, marjoram, thyme) and often need chicken broth to thin the soup. I like to really mash the potatoes so sometimes it gets too thick. I always dish up the soup and let everyone add their favorite toppings themselves. You can tell from the picture I like a lot of toppings.

Potato Skins

Brush with olive oil or butter. Top with marinara sauce or pesto and top with shredded cheese. Bake in 400* until crisp and golden. Other topping ideas that sound good to me are olive oil, rosemary, kosher salt, pepper, crumbled bacon and shredded cheese. Or garlic butter with cheese. Or maybe just some plain blue cheese.

No Bake Noddles, Mango Salsa, Asian Meat Ball Soup

This picture is a couple months old but I thought I stick it with Emily's lasagna. It's made with those no bake noddles, too. I have used two types of no-bake noddles: Barilla, in a blue box and American Beauty in a red box (recipes on the back of the boxes). For your info, I like the American Beauty best. Barilla has separate directions for a 2 inch pan rather than a 3 inch pan to protect against spillage. (It seems like most people would have 2 inch, but whatever.) But it still spills! And I have made it twice with Barilla and both times it spills over and I've made lasagna a ton of times using American Beauty with no problems. ANYWAY, my advise just use American Beauty no-bake lasagna noodles.
This was the first time that I've made a mango salsa. YUM!! I loved it! I made it for fish tacos which were pretty good except for the fish part. I hate to admit this but next time I think that I'm just gonna buy frozen fish fillets and use those with the same recipe (in the Better Homes, & Gardens Cookbook).
One of my favorite soups: An Asia Meatball Soup. I double the meat balls and add more broth but I also always add too many noddles.

Meatball and Spinach Soup

Meatballs:

1 large onion, divided
½ lb lean ground sirloin
3 T. seasoned bread crumbs
¼ t salt
1 large egg, beaten
2-3 T. milk

Soup:

1 T. olive oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 quarts chicken broth
4 oz vermicelli or angel hair pasta (I use more)
2 small yellow squash, sliced
1 bag spinach, very clean
1 T. Red wine vinegar (This is what gives it an Asian-type flavor.)

Grate 2 T. onion with beef, bread crumbs, salt, egg and milk. Dice remaining onion. In a 4 quart sauce pan, heat oil over medium high heat. Add onion cook for 8 minutes. Add garlic. Pour chicken broth and bring to a gentle boil. Shape meat mixture into meat balls and gently drop them into the soup. Cook meat balls for about 5 minutes. Add pasta and cook till tender. Add spinach and let wilt. Then add squash and vinegar. I like the squash al dente so I don’t cook the soup for much long after adding in along with the vinegar. If you like a more Asian flavor, add more vinegar.