Creative Turkey Cheese Ball

Friend Margaret shared this, just in time for the Holidays.
What would a party spread be without a good cheese ball (or three) for our guests to "gobble" down, and this one has a great presentation.

Cheese-Ball Ingredients: 

• 16 oz cream cheese 
• 4 oz onion dip (like for potato chips) 
• 2 cups shredded colby and monterey jack cheese combined (you may substitute cheese of your choice) 
• 1/2 TB Worcestershire sauce 
• 1/2 A-1 steak sauce 
• Juice of 1/2 lemon 2 TB Mrs. 
• Dash original salt substitute. 
• 1 celery stalk finely chopped 
• 1 green onion finely chopped 

• 1/4 cup carrots finely chopped (may sub: shredded Ritz cracker crumbs or seasoned bread crumbs) 

Preparation:

Mix together Worcestershire sauce, A-1 and lemon juice.
Combine ingredients and cream together by hand.
Form into desired shape. Coat with cracker crumbs, or more shredded cheese.

Used to make the turkey cheese-ball:

Small piece of red bell pepper or tomato (for turkey wattle)
Pepperidge Farms Cracker Trio Directions: Set aside cracker crumbs. (They will be used to coat the outside of the finished cheese ball.)
Other Ideas:
For turkey-shape body. Use cracker crumbs to coat body and use Pepperidge Farm Cracker Trio for tail feathers and wings
Use chopped nuts for the eyes
A sliver of cheese for the beak
A red bell pepper or tomato for the wattle.

Oatmeal Pancakes with Roasted Apples

Perfect Variation on the Ordinary and just in time for the Autumn Morning.  Absolutely Delish.

Ingredients:

Apples:

• 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 2 tablespoons maple syrup, plus more for serving, optional
• 3 large Jonagold or Gala apples (or a combination of both), peeled, cored and cut into 1/2-inch-thick slices

Pancakes:

• 1 1/2 cups rolled oats
• 1 cup buttermilk
• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
• 4 eggs
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2 tablespoons pure maple syrup
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• Canola oil or melted butter

Directions:

• For the apples: Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. In a large bowl, toss the apples with the cinnamon, nutmeg and maple syrup. Place the apples in a 9-inch glass baking dish, pour the syrup mixture over and roast until caramelized and soft, stirring a few times, about 30 minutes.
• For the pancakes: Combine the oats and buttermilk in a medium bowl and let sit for at least 15 minutes and up to 30 minutes.
• Stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and nutmeg in a large bowl until combined.
• Whisk together the eggs, milk, maple syrup and vanilla until smooth, and then stir in the oat mixture. Add the wet mixture to the dry mixture and mix until just combined (can be lumpy). Cover and let rest for 15 minutes.
• Place a nonstick griddle or nonstick frying pan over medium heat and brush with oil or melted butter. Pour the batter in scant 1/4 cup portions onto the griddle and cook until pancakes are browned on the bottom and the edges begin to look dry, about 2 minutes. Carefully turn over with a spatula and cook another 1 1/2 to 2 minutes. Repeat. Serve immediately topped with the roasted apples and more maple syrup if desired.

Weiner Schnitzel

After dining at The Black Forest last week-end, I can't get their schnitzel off my mind; and I'm going to whip up my rendition of the German Classic this week-end.
I haven't made this in awhile, but it's a very easy to prepare and is delish.  This will be great for Sunday Dunch with a bit of Fettuccine Alfredo.

The real "secret" to this dish is finding great veal cutlets for use in the recipe.

Standard Ingredients:

• 4 half-inch thick Veal or Pork Cutlets
• 1/2 cup Flour
• 1 large Egg
• 1 cup of Dry Breadcrumbs
• 4 Tbsp of Vegetable Oil
• Salt and Pepper to taste
• 2 whole Lemons

Instructions:

• Trim and clean cutlets
• Pound cutlets to 1/4 t0 1/8 inch thickness
• Salt and Pepper cutlets lightly and set aside
• Spread Flour on a dry plate or cutting board
• Beat Egg in large shallow container
• Spread Breadcrumbs on another dry plate or cutting board
• Heat 6-8 Tbsp of oil in a large pan on med-high heat
• Flour one cutlet on both sides
• Flip floured cutlet in Egg
• Cover Egged cutlet heavily in Breadcrumbs
• Fry cutlet until browned (2-3 minutes per side)
• Salt lightly while frying
• Place cooked cutlets on paper towels to drain oil
• Repeat process for each cutlet
• Serve each cutlet with freshly cut lemon halves or quarters

Note: Though I will be using the traditional veal in this week end's dish, it can be produced with either pork tenderloin or chicken breast.  

Hovězí Guláš – Beef Gulash

Serves 4 easily

Ingredients:

5-6 larger onions (yellow)
about 1.8 kg beef shank and some marrow bones (without the marrow)
3-4 tbsp sweet hungarian paprika
1-2 tbsp hot hungarian paprika
chilli flakes/dried chilli if you have it, about 1 tsp
1/2 (ish) cup of water
oil or lard for the pan
salt and pepper

Preparation:

1. Heat a good amount of oil or lard in a large, heavy bottomed pan
2. Add chopped onions and sautee until glassy and golden- you may throw in the bones at this point as well
3. Toss in the beef shank- cut into roughly 4×4 cm chunks (it helps if you just cut along the connective tissue) keep in mind that the meat will shrink a lot and release all of the collagen that will thicken the sauce. This is why we use cheaper, tougher cuts of meat.
4. Cook at a medium heat until the meat is seared on the outside
5. Cover the pot/pan with a lid and cook for about ten minutes/ until juices are released
6. Preheat your oven to 320 F or 160 C
7. Once the juices have been released, add salt and pepper to taste, paprika, some water, put it in the oven, and LEAVE IT ALONE for at lease 1.5 hours- of course check on it occasionally to make sure it hasn’t dried out and add water if necessary. You can eventually turn the oven off, and leave the pot of guláš inside (even overnight).
8. Serve with fresh rye bread or dumplings and some fresh raw onions

Spinach Cheese Squares

"From the 1980 edition of The Philadelphia Orchestra Cookbook."

Ingredients

• 4 tablespoons butter, melted
• 1 teaspoon salt
• pepper, to taste
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup flour
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1 small onion, minced
• 16 ounces cheddar cheese, grated
• 2 (10 ounce) packages frozen spinach, chopped, thawed and drained
• 1 tablespoon pine nuts (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 180C/350°F.
2. Pour melted butter into 9 X 13 baking dish and swirl around to cover sides.
3. In medium bowl combine salt, pepper, baking powder and flour and set aside.
4. In large bowl, beat eggs with milk. Add flour mixture and combine thoroughly.
5. Add onion, cheese and spinach, mixing after each addition.
6. Pour mixture into baking dish and sprinkle with pine nuts, if using.

Old-fashioned Meatloaf

This Southern meatloaf recipe features Creole and Greek seasonings and a hint of garlic. A few tablespoons of Worcestershire sauce spice up the traditional ketchup topping.

Southern Living APRIL 2005

Yield: Makes 6 to 8 servings
Cook time:1 Hour, 7 Minutes
Prep time:20 Minutes
Stand:10 Minutes

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon butter
• 3 celery ribs, finely chopped
• 1/2 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 pounds lean ground beef
• 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce, divided
• 1/2 cup Italian-seasoned breadcrumbs
• 1/3 cup ketchup
• 2 teaspoons Creole seasoning

• 1 teaspoon Greek seasoning
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 (8-ounce) can tomato sauce
• 3 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1 tablespoon ketchup
• Garnish: chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley

Preparation

Melt butter in a medium nonstick skillet over medium heat; add celery and onion, and sauté 7 minutes or just until tender.
Stir together celery mixture, ground beef, 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, breadcrumbs, and next 5 ingredients in a large bowl.
Shape into a 10- x 5-inch loaf; place on a lightly greased broiler rack. Place rack in an aluminum foil-lined broiler pan.
Bake at 350° for 45 minutes. Stir together remaining 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce, tomato sauce, tomato paste, and 1 tablespoon ketchup until blended; pour evenly over meatloaf, and bake 10 to 15 more minutes or until no longer pink in center. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Southern Fried Oysters

Oyster Items
1 pint Southern oysters (usually 20 to 30, preferably no larger than a half dollar), shucked and stored in their own liquor

Breading Ingredients
1 pint buttermilk 1 dry pint cornmeal (about 2¹/³ cups)
1 dry pint all-purpose flour (about 2¹/³ cups)
1 tbsp. Creole seasoning
1 tsp. kosher salt

Preparation
Reserve buttermilk in separate container. In a mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients until well blended. Remove oysters from liquor, draining excess so oysters are still wet but not dripping. Place all of the oysters in buttermilk. One at a time, remove each oyster from the buttermilk, allowing the excess to drip back into the container. Toss to coat all sides in the breading (gently press the breading onto the oyster to help it adhere). Transfer to waxed-paper-lined plate or cookie sheet until oysters are all breaded.

In a heavy stockpot with high sides fitted with a deep-frying (or candy) thermometer, bring at least two inches of peanut oil to 375ºF.

Keeping the heat at a steady 375ºF and working in batches of six, fry the oysters until they are golden brown and just cooked through, about 90 seconds. (The oysters will curl slightly when they are done.) Using a slotted spoon, remove oysters and drain on brown-paper-bag-lined plate. Serve immediately with a side of rémoulade .

Rémoulade

Ingredients

1 cup mayonnaise (preferably homemade)
½ cup Creole mustard (like Zatarain’s)
2 tbsp. hot sauce (preferably Louisiana style, like Crystal or Trappey’s)
1 tbsp. honey
1 tsp. finely chopped garlic
¹/8 tsp. cayenne
½ tsp. filé powder
¼ cup minced green onion

Preparation
Place ingredients in mixing bowl and whisk until well combined. Transfer to storage container, cover, and refrigerate for up to one week.