Casserole #18 - Barley Casserole

 The Year of Casseroles

Casserole #18 - Barley Casserole

    This recipe is in my 1990 edition of The Fannie Farmer Cookbook. The Fannie Farmer Cookbook was first published in 1896, titled The Boston Cooking School Cook Book, by Fannie Merritt Farmer. I wanted to try something different and this fit the bill. I liked this casserole; it felt pretty healthy with the use of barley. Serve it as a side dish, or add chunks of chicken to make it a main dish. I did make some modifications, which I will show in italics. Try it and let me know what you think. 

Ingredients:

3 tbs butter

1 cup barley

1 small onion, chopped

1/4 cup finely chopped green pepper (I used a whole, small green pepper)

1/2 cup cashews, chopped (I used cashews, but leave them out if you like)

3 cups chicken broth, boiling

salt (to taste)

pepper (to taste)

paprika seasoning to taste

3 slices thick cut bacon, diced (optional)

1/2 cup Kerrygold blarney cheese, shredded (this is a creamy Gouda style cheese) (optional)

toasted breadcrumbs (optional)

cornstarch to thicken the sauce, because my dish was very, soup-y when I placed it in a casserole (if desired)

 

Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees F. Melt butter in a large skillet. Stir in barley and onion. Cook, stirring often, until the onion is slightly cooked. Add the green pepper and cook for two minutes more. Add cashews, followed by the broth and seasonings. Cover and simmer for 25 minutes. Thicken sauce with cornstarch by mixing together a little water with cornstarch and pouring, while stirring, into the sauce. At this point, you can simply serve from the skillet. Pour into a lightly greased 2-qt casserole dish. Sprinkle with cheese, followed by toasted breadcrumbs. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, cool slightly and serve. 

Barley Casserole

Barley Casserole

Recipe Roulette - Recipe #1: Blitz Torte

 Recipe Roullette - Recipe #1

Blitz Torte

    A fun, new idea I had this week, was to play "Recipe Roullette". Recipe Roullette will be cracking open a cookbook and picking a recipe from whatever pages the book opens to. Exceptions will include recipes with shellfish (I've got an allergy), organ meats, anything more "exotic" than bison and if the recipes are too complicated, because I generally do not like recipes which are complicated. Anyhow, Blitz Tortes consist of a dense, yellow/vanilla cake baked with a layer of merengue. It is topped with cinnamon and slivered almonds. I guess most Bliz Tortes have all of the filling in between the two layers, but I decided to put a bit on top and sprinkle with more almonds. I also used almond extract instead of vanilla extract in the filling. I thought it was pretty good. The recipe I used is in my 1964 copy of the American Woman's Cook Book. My copy was given to someone named Lucy May, by a lady named Lucia on August 4, 1965. I assume Lucy May got married and this cookbook was a bridal gift. It does not look like it was used very, often, as it is in really good condition for a book which is sixty years old. 

Although there were a few steps, I am really glad I made this. I do want to note that the recipe calls for cooking the filling over boiling water (as in a double boiler). I did not do this. I simply used a medium sauce pan, and made sure to not burn the milk. The filling turned out great. I also did not blanch the almonds as the original recipe says to do; I liked it just fine without blanching them. I never do great with merengue, and I didn't feel like mine made little peaks, but it also turned out fine. Try this recipe and let me know what you think.  My modifications are in italics. 

Cake Ingredients:

1/2 cup shortening

1/2 cup sugar

1/8 tsp salt

4 egg yolks

1 tsp vanilla

3 tbsps milk

1 cup cake flour, sifted

1 tsp baking powder

4 egg whites

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup slivered almonds, blanched

1 tbsp sugar

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Cream Filling Ingredients:

1/3 cup sugar

3 tbsps corn starch

1/4 tsp salt

2 egg yolks

2 tbsps butter, softened

2 cups milk, scalded

1 tsp vanilla or almond extract

Cake Directions:

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Cream shortening. Gradually add sugar and salt and cream until fluffy. Add egg yolks one at a time, beating well in between additions. Sift flour and baking powder in a separate bowl. Stir flour mixture into the creamed mixture, alternating with the 3 tbsps of milk, and finishing with the vanilla. Spread this thick mixture into two 9-inch greased and lightly floured cake pans (do the bottom and the sides) Beat egg whites until soft peaks form and gradually add sugar. Beat until peaks "round over gently". Spread merengue over the batter in the pans. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup slivered almonds. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove from oven and cool on wire racks before removing gently from pans. Finish cooling cakes on wire racks. To complete the dessert, place one cake on a plate and spread cream filling on top, and gently placing the second cake on top. Optional: Reserve about 1 cup of cream filling; place the second cake on top of the first layer and spread the reserved filling on top. Sprinkle with the additional 1/4 cup slivered almonds. 

Cream Filling Directions: In a bowl, combine sugar, cornstarch, salt and egg yolks, beating thoroughly. Add butter and a little bit of milk, stirring to make a smooth paste. Pour the rest of the hot milk into a medium saucepan or top of a double boiler. Add the paste to the hot milk and stir constantly until the mixture thickens (If you are using a double boiler, you need to have boiling water and the bottom part). Remove from heat and cool thoroughly before adding vanilla or almond extract. Optional: 1/2 cup additional  slivered almonds or 1/2 to 3/4 cups blueberries.

Blitz Torte Layer Without Filling

Blitz Torte

Blitz Torte (Sorry for the shadow in the photo)

Appetizer #12 - Sweet-Sour Surprise Meatballs

 The Year of Appetizers

Appetizer #12 - Sweet-Sour Surprise Meatballs

    This recipe is based on a recipe in the Better Homes and Gardens New Cook Book published in 1969. I am also leaving out the 1/2 tsp of MSG called for in the original recipe. I made these meatballs for a church potluck and while I enjoyed the sauce, I wished I had used a better quality meatball. The recipe says you can use 1/2 pound tiny cooked mini meatballs, 1/2 pound cooked shrimp and 1/2 pound chicken livers (I'm not a liver fan, so "No, thank you"). I have a shellfish allergy and as I just mentioned, I won't eat liver, so I used all meatballs.  I used a zero-sugar pineapple juice drink for the pineapple juice, to lower the sugar and it worked well; you would have even more pineapple flavor if you used juice from canned pineapple. I feel this would work well also with chunks of cooked chicken. I had to cook these the night before my church potluck and even though I heated before serving, the sauce looked "chunky", not smooth as it was fresh. I would recommend cooking and serving these right away. Keep warm in a chafing dish or crock-pot if not served right away.

Ingredients:

2 tbsps cornstarch

2 tbsps sugar

1 chicken bouillon cube or equivalent of bouillon powder (1 1/2 tsps)

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup vinegar

1 cup pineapple juice or zero-calorie pineapple juice drink

2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce

1 tbsp butter or margarine

1 1/2 lbs cooked shrimp (shelled), beef liver, mini meatballs, pork or chicken (If using liver, pork or chicken, cut into small chunks)

Directions:

Combine cornstarch, bouillon cube/powder and sugar in a sauce pan. Stir in water, vinegar, pineapple juice, soy sauce and butter. Cook until mixture boils, stirring constantly. Cover and simmer on low for five minutes. Your mixture will have thickened up. Stir in your cooked protein (shrimp, liver, pork, chicken) and heat through before serving.  Pour into a serving dish and serve hot. You could also keep warm and serve in a crockpot (on low). You could serve this over rice as an entree.

Sweet-Sour Surprise Meatballs

 

Appetizer #11 - Rosemary Shortbread

 The Year of Appetizers

Appetizer #11 - Rosemary Shortbread

        All I can say is "Yummmmm". This was my first attempt at making shortbread and it turned out really well. While shortbread is really a dessert, I chose to make this as an appetizer,  because hey, we can have sweet & savory appetizers, right? This yummy recipe is in Southern Living's 50 Favorite Cookie Recipes, published in 2002.  It was super easy to make. Just make sure that when you're ready to make this, that you have softened your butter ahead of time. The original recipe calls for an electric mixer, but I mixed it by hand. Shortbread is a little "fragile" (at least mine was), so be careful when you are cutting pieces when your shortbread is cooled. I would definitely make this recipe again.

Ingredients:

1 cup butter (two sticks), softened (I used salted butter)

3/4 cup sifted powdered sugar

1/4 cup cornstarch

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 tbsp minced fresh rosemary

Directions:

Beat butter by hand or on medium with an electric mixer until creamy. Gradually add powdered sugar and cornstarch. Beat well, then stir in flour and rosemary. The dough will be a bit stiff. Divide dough in half. Shape one half into a 6 1/2" round on an un-greased baking sheet. Using a fork, crimp edges of the round. Using a large knife, cut dough into 8 pieces, but do not separate. Repeat the procedure with the second half of the dough. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for one hour.  Before the hour is up, pre-heat your oven to 300 degrees. When dough has chilled for an hour, bake for 30 minutes (or until done). Remove from oven and cool on the baking sheet for five minutes. Remove both shortbreads to a wire rack and cool completely.  This recipe yields 16 wedges of shortbread.  Serve as an appetizer or as a dessert! 

Rosemary Shortbread

Pie Number 22 - Lemonchick's Chicken & Vegetable Pie

 The Year of Pie

Pie Number 22 - Lemonchick's Chicken & Vegetable Pie

    This is my creation! 100% mine! I loved it. I really loved the seasonings I chose. The only two things I would do differently, is to bake at 375 degrees, not 350 degrees and I would make a gravy with 1 cup water, not 2 cups of water (it made too much gravy). I baked the pie for 35 minutes at 350, but ended up adding at least 15 more minutes. The crust never did get golden, but it was still a good crust.  If I'd baked it at 375 degrees for 35-40 minutes, I think the crust would have turned out more like how I wanted it to (golden). The first piece out of the pie pan did not come out very, well, but that was because it was still too hot. The second piece I had (the day after) came out just fine. I thought this creation of mine was really good and I hope you like it. 

Ingredients:

1 chicken breast diced

1 medium/large potato, peeled and diced

1/2 large onion, chopped

1 12oz bag frozen mixed vegetables, use the "steam in a bag" kind

1 cup water

1-2 tsp chicken bouillon (I used a low sodium variety)

3/4 tsp onion powder

3/4 tsp garlic powder, 

3/4 parsley flakes, 

3/4 tsp celery salt

3/4 tsp spicy chili seasoning 

3/4 tsp ground sage 

1/2 tsp salt, plus a sprinkle

1/2 tsp pepper, plus a sprinkle

canola oil

cornstarch

two-crust pie crust (unbaked)

Directions:

Heat oven to 375 degrees. Drizzle a bit of canola oil in a large heated skillet. In a saucepan, boil diced potato in water until softened, but not mushy. Drain cooked potatoes and set aside. Season diced chicken with a sprinkle of salt, sprinkle of pepper and 1/4 tsp of each of the rest of the seasonings and add to the skillet. Cook completely and remove from skillet. Add chopped onion to the same skillet and cook until translucent. Return chicken to skillet and turn burner to low. In a saucepan, boil 1 cup water and 1-2 tsp chicken bouillon. Use a little bit of water mixed with cornstarch, to thicken the bouillon into a gravy. If it is not thick enough, add a little more water/cornstarch mixture. 

Combine the gravy, potatoes, onion, chicken and vegetables. Pour into unbaked pastry shell, add top crust and crimp edges to seal crusts together. Cut slits into top crust and bake for 35 to 45 minutes or until crust is golden. Remove pie from oven and let cool. Serve pie with a sprinkle of parsley flakes if desired and serve with a garden salad. 

Serves 8

Lemonchick's Chicken & Vegetable Pie
(cooked by not golden)

The first piece of pie that I took out wayyyy too early.

The second piece of pie that came out wayyyy better.