Ann Romney’s Meatloaf Cakes

Had to post Ann Romney’s Meatloaf Cakes recipe after the Meatloaf endorsed Mitt.

Ann will make a wonderful First Lady and bring an American Dynamic back to The White House.  

 

 

Time: 45 minutes
Yield: 6 small meatloaf cakes (3 to 6 servings).

For the meatloaf cakes:

1 1/2 pounds ground beef
4 slices bread, crumbled into small pieces or 3/4 cup dried breadcrumbs
1 large egg
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup lemon juice
2 teaspoons seasoned salt

For the sauce:

1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice

For the meatloaf cakes: Heat oven to 350ºF. In a large mixing bowl, combine the ground beef, crumbled bread or breadcrumbs, egg, onion, lemon juice and seasoned salt. Mix lightly but thoroughly and shape into six small loaves. Space evenly on a baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes; meanwhile, prepare the sauce.
In a small bowl, mix together the ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, cloves and allspice. When the meatloaf cakes have baked for 15 minutes, brush each loaf with sauce and return to the oven. Continue to bake until the meatloaf cakes read 165ºF in the center when tested with an instant-read thermometer, about 20 more minutes. If desired, serve with scalloped potatoes and steamed vegetables. Pass additional sauce separately.

Nannie’s Catfish Cakes

Great use for the Ol' Cast Iron...
I had not been a fan of Catfish until a visit to my mother's in July.  She fried up a batch that didn't have the musky flavor I remember.



Since I've a new appreciation for the fish, I thought this would be an excellent way to prepare it: AND IT WAS! (not to mention how easy the recipe is).  This "Come Back Sauce" is also terrif!

serves 4; makes 8 (2 ½-inch) cakes

Ingredients:

1 sleeve premium saltine crackers
2 tbsp. butter
1⁄4 cup finely diced onion
1⁄4 cup finely diced yellow bell pepper
1⁄4 cup chopped green onions
8 fried catfish fillets
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
4 tsp. Tabasco sauce
4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1⁄4 cup olive oil
Come Back Sauce (Link)

Preparation:

Place the crackers in a food processor and grind to crumbs; pour crumbs into a shallow bowl.

Melt the butter in a medium cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add the onion, bell pepper, and green onions; cook, stirring often, until tender.

Place the catfish fillets in a medium bowl and use your fingers or the back of a fork to mash them into bits. Add the beaten eggs, Tabasco, and Worcestershire; season with salt and pepper to taste. Add the onion mixture and stir well. Pat the catfish mixture into 8 cakes about 2 ½ inches wide and 1 ½ inches thick. Gently dredge the cakes in the cracker crumbs, coating well on both sides.

Heat a 12-inch cast iron skillet over medium-high heat and add the oil. Gently place the catfish cakes in the hot skillet and cook, in batches, until golden brown on both sides. Drain on a paper bag and serve with Come Back Sauce.

Croissant French Toast With Fresh Strawberry Syrup

Bring inspired French flavor to your brunch table this weekend. Stale croissants work best in this recipe, so pick them up mid-week and try to resist the temptation to gobble them up before it's time. Top with fresh strawberry syrup and sweetened whipped cream.(no need to edit such great copy)

Ingredients:

4 large day-old croissants
3/4 cup milk
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
Sweetened Whipped Cream (optional)

Fresh Strawberry Syrup (Link)

Prepartation:

Slice croissants in half lengthwise.
Whisk together milk, eggs, and vanilla. Pour into a shallow dish. Dip croissant halves into egg mixture, coating well.
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat. Add four croissant halves, and cook about 2 minutes on each side or until golden brown. Repeat procedure with remaining butter and croissant halves. Sprinkle with powdered sugar; top with Sweetened Whipped Cream, if desired, and Fresh Strawberry Syrup.

Cream Puff Dessert

This was one of those hard-to-format recipes I run across, sometimes.  We decided to try it on a whim and it was terrif.  So...I did my best with cut and paste.  I'm going to remember it next time my friend's kids come over.  It's a simple and fast way to have the wonderful Cram Puff taste without all the work.

Ingredients:

Dough:

1 C water

1/2 C butter

1 C flour

4 eggs

1 C chocolate chips 

Filling:

1 1/2 C milk

1 (3.5 ounce) package of instant vanilla pudding

8 ounces cream cheese, softened 

4 ounces frozen whipped topping (cool whip)

Garnish:

2 ounces of shaved chocolate (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a medium sized saucepan, bring water and butter to a rolling boil.  Reduce heat to low and stir in flour.

Stir until it sticks together and pulls away from the sides of the pan.

Remove from heat; stir in eggs, one at a time, mixing well after each one.

Continue to stir until you get a creamy (sticky) consistency.

Spread into an ungreased 9 x 13 inch pan. 

Bake in preheated oven for 30-35 minutes (It will be golden brown).

Remove from oven and sprinkle on chocolate chips. Wait a minute until they begin to melt, then spread evenly over the dough; set aside to cool.

Whisk milk and instant vanilla pudding together, set aside to thicken.

Cream together the cream cheese and frozen whipped topping.

Now add the thickened vanilla pudding into the cream cheese mixture and mix again until it's all blended together.

Pour mixture onto the chocolate covered dough.

Sprinkle on some shaved chocolate. Cool in refrigerator for an hour before serving.

Slice, serve and enjoy!

"Come Back" Sauce

This sauce originated at the Mayflower Cafe in Jackson, Mississippi, where it was the house salad dressing. It got its name because diners kept "coming back" for it. Come Back Sauce pairs well with any kind of fried food (try fried green tomatoes) and also makes a tasty dip for cold boiled shrimp.






Ingredients:

1 tbsp. grated onion (using the large holes of a box grater)
1 cup mayonnaise
3 tbsp. fresh lemon juice
1 tbsp. vegetable oil
1 tbsp. prepared chili sauce
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. dry mustard
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper

Preparation:

Combine all the ingredients in a medium bowl and stir well. If the sauce is too thick to drizzle, add 1 tbsp. water to thin.  Refrigerate in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.
Try it with "Nannies Catfish Cakes"; wonderful!

Pumpkin Sugar Cake

An Easy recipe, and perfect to have on hand for "Sunday Drop-bys" during Autumn.





Yield: 12 to 15 servings

DOUGH:

• 1/4 cup lukewarm water (105° to 115°F)
• 1 packet (2-1/4 teaspoons) active dry yeast
• 3/4 cup mashed or canned pumpkin
• 1/2 cup milk, slightly warmer than body temperature
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 large egg plus 1 yolk, at room temperature
• 1-1/2 teaspoons salt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 cups all-purpose flour

Pour the water into a small bowl and sprinkle with yeast. Stir to blend, then set aside for 5 minutes.
Meanwhile, combine the pumpkin, milk, sugar, oil, egg and yolk, salt, and vanilla in a large bowl. Stir in the dissolved yeast. Whisk well. Add 2 cups of the flour and beat well with a wooden spoon for 2 minutes. Stir in the remaining 1 cup of flour, 1/3 cup at a time, beating well with the spoon for 1 minute after each addition. Do not skimp on the time: This hand beating eliminates the need to knead. Set the dough aside long enough to butter a 13x9-inch baking pan. Scrape the dough out of the bowl and into the middle of the baking pan. Set aside for 5 minutes.
Tear off a sheet of plastic wrap a little larger than your pan and oil it or coat it with nonstick spray; the oil will ensure that the plastic doesn't stick to the dough. Place the plastic on top of the dough with the oiled side toward the dough, center the plastic, and press the dough out evenly in the pan. Take your time to make it reasonably level. Remove the plastic and cover the pan with a fresh sheet of plastic wrap. Set aside at room temperature for 1-1/2 hours to rest (it won't seem to rise very much).

TOPPING:

• 3/4 cup packed light-brown sugar
• 3/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 7 tablespoons unsalted butter

While the dough rests, put the brown sugar, walnuts, and cinnamon into a food processor and pulse until the nuts are very finely chopped. Set aside.
After 1-1/2 hours have passed, preheat the oven to 350° F. Remove the plastic and cover the dough evenly with the brown sugar topping. Using a fingertip, make 12 deep indentations in the dough (three evenly spaced rows of four holes). Melt the 7 tablespoons of butter and spoon evenly over the top, letting some of it drip into the holes. Bake on the center oven rack for 35 minutes. The top will be a rich golden brown, but the best indicator of doneness is total baking time. Cool in the pan on a rack for 10 minutes before slicing and serving.

Chocolate Ganache Cream Cheese Frosting

 (will frost 24 standard size cupcakes)

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips, or if you prefer use milk chocolate chips.
1/2 cup  bittersweet chocolate chips, or you can use good quality dark chocolate as well.
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 package  room temperature cream cheese
1 cup to 1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract

• Heat heavy cream  until it is hot and bubbles are forming on the surface, pour over small pieces of chocolate, cover  and let stand for 2 minutes. When covering a bowl, first, place a piece of clean dry paper towel over and then place a plate or a lid on top. This helps to keep any water  from condensation dripping into the ganache. Stir with a wooden spoon until smooth.Let cool to room temperature.
• Beat cream cheese and powdered sugar, until smooth.
• Gradually add room temperature ganache, add vanilla extract, beat until combined and smooth. 
• Taste, if needed add more powdered sugar. 
• If you find that icing is too stiff, add 1tbl heavy cream and beat until smooth and well combined.
•  Personally don't like frosting that is overly sweet, so you may have to add more sugar based on your taste.
• This is one luscious frosting. You can frost the cake or cupcakes using this frosting.

Broccoli Cheddar Soup

A knock-off of the famed and beloved Panera version, this version is a lighter homemade version where you control the ingredients. 
I’ve made this recipe a handful of times, sometimes adding a little cream in place of some of the milk, but it turns out fabulous each and every time.

Ingredients:

• 6 tbsp butter, divided
• ¾ cup onion, chopped
• 1 cup carrot, chopped or shredded
• 4 cups small broccoli florets
• 3 cups low-sodium chicken or vegetable broth
• ½ tsp onion salt (or onion powder if you can’t find onion salt)
• ½ tsp garlic powder
• 4 tbsp flour
• 2 cups milk (any kind)
• 2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese (do not use pre-shredded)
• Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper

Instructions:

1. In a large stockpot or Dutch oven, melt 2 tablespoons of butter over medium heat.  Add the onion and carrots to the pan and sauté until tender, about 5-7 minutes.  Stir in the broth, onion salt and garlic powder.  Bring the mixture to a boil, add the broccoli, then reduce the heat to a simmer.
2. Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan, melt the remaining butter.  Add the flour and cook for 1-2 minutes until lightly golden brown, whisking constantly.  Whisk in the milk and cook until the mixture thickens and bubbles, about 5 minutes.  Once the mixture has thickened, remove the saucepan from the heat and whisk in the cheese until completely melted.  Slowly pour the cheese sauce into the soup pot and stir to combine the mixtures.  Allow to simmer until warmed through and broccoli is tender.  Season with salt and freshly ground pepper to taste.  If desired, puree the soup with an immersion blender for a smoother texture.

Lamb Saagwala – An Indian Restaurant Favourite

This is my favorite Indian Dish!

In L.A. we order "Saagwala", but most American Indian Restaurants list this on their menus as a "Saag".  I've searched for a palatable recipe for the stuff and observed it being made by my Indian Friend's mother; but have had no satisfaction in my Recipe Quest.
I finally ran across this one (complete with all additional prep recipes) on The Curry Guy site.  At publishing, I have not produced it; will post a comment once I have.
In this recipe, use fresh baby spinach leaves.  The spinach is added raw just before serving and stirred into the sauce resulting in a saagwala dish that… well let’s just say you couldn’t ask for better!  The dish is both pleasing to look at and eat.

This is a British Indian Restaurant (BIR) style recipe so you will want to make your curry sauce and cook the meat ahead of time. Once this is done, you can cook and serve it in under ten minutes. 
(Though this dish is easy, it requires some preparation to make it so; top reading now if you want an Easy-Prep Recipe.)

Serves 4 (or me, with a bit left over for Midnight Munchies)

Ingredients:

900g (2 pounds) cooked lamb meat (recipe follows)
3 tablespoons ghee/vegetable oil
750ml (3 cups) homemade curry sauce (dividing recipe okay)
5 cloves garlic – smashed and finely chopped
1 inch ginger – grated and smashed into a paste
1 tablespoon cumin powder
1 tablespoon coriander powder
1 tablespoon red chili powder
250g – about two large handfuls of baby spinach leaves
3 – 6 fresh green chillies (I use a lot)
1 bunch fresh coriander leaves
Juice of two limes
2 tablespoons plain yogurt
salt and pepper to taste
1 tablespoon garam masala

Preparation:

Place all of the spinach, chillies, coriander and lime juice in a food processor and blend to a paste. You may need to add just a bit of water to do this. Set aside.
Now heat the ghee/oil in a wok or large frying pan over medium heat.
When hot, add the ginger and garlic pastes and allow to sizzle for about 30 seconds.
Pour in the cumin, coriander powder and red chilli powder and stir to combine.
After about 30 seconds, the room will fill with the amazing aroma of the ghee, garlic and spices. When this happens, add the curry gravy and meat.
Cook for about five minutes until the meat and sauce are both nice and hot.
Add the spinach puree and stir it into the red curry sauce. I love watching the green and red ingredients blend. It makes me hungry!
Cook for a further two minutes.
Check for seasoning and add the salt and pepper to taste.
Just before serving, add the yogurt one tablespoon at a time stirring it into the sauce.
Sprinkle with the garam masala and enjoy.****************************************************

Pre-Cooking Meat for Adding to Restaurant Style Curries

If you wish to cook your favourite curry house restaurant style curries, find yourself a good butcher and purchase the best quality you can find. Use leg of lamb as it is both tender and has loads of flavour.

Regardless of the cut you use, you will need to cook your lamb for about 45 minutes for leg and 70 to 90 minutes for shoulder. In restaurants this is almost always done ahead of time so that they can whip up great curries with tender lamb in minutes rather than hours.

INGREDIENTS:

Lamb meat cut into bite sized pieces
4 Tablespoons ghee
Restaurant style curry sauce (250ml or 1 cup for every 500g lamb meat)
turmeric (1 teaspoon for every 500g lamb meat)

Method:

In a large pan, melt the ghee. Add the turmeric. The turmeric will begin to get darker as it cooks.
Now brown the meat chunks. This can be done in batches if necessary.
Pour in a little curry sauce and coat the meat. Lower the heat and cover to cook slowly for about 45 minutes.
You may need to add a little water so the meat doesn’t burn.
When the meat is very tender, remove it from the pan and either use immediately with your favourite restaurant style curries or refrigerate for later.
*******

"In for a penny, in for a pound".  As long as you're taking the time to produce an International Recipe, here's a helpful link for you to use.  I must always use is on the Knorr Site:  Conversion Chart

Woodford Reserve Steak Marinade

Great marinating everything from steaks to ice cubes. 
Just use a great cut o' meat!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup Woodford Reserve
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup brown sugar
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/4 cup Dijon mustard
• 1/4 tsp. ginger powder
• 1/4 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil

Mix all ingredients together, add meat and refrigerate for at least 8 hours. Cook meat on grill, basting with remaining marinade. Serves 4-6.

Garam Masala

This easy-to-make spice blend is the heart of most Indian Dishes.

A combination of different spices, it probably has as many recipes as there are families in India! Here is a basic one. Once you get a feel for the taste it gives your cooking, experiment and alter it to suit your needs.

Garam masala is best made fresh just before you begin cooking, but if you haven’t got the patience (like me!), make a batch ahead and store for several months in an air-tight container in a cool, dark place.

Ingredients:

• 4 tbsps coriander seeds
• 1 tbsp cumin seeds
• 1 tbsp black peppercorns
• 1 ½ tsps black cumin seeds (shahjeera)
• 1 ½ tsps dry ginger
• ¾ tsp black cardamom (3-4 large pods approx)
• ¾ tsp cloves
• ¾ tsp cinnamon (2 X 1” pieces)
• ¾ tsp crushed bay leaves

Preparation:

• Heat a heavy skillet on a medium flame and gently roast all ingredients (leave cardamom in its pods till later) except the dry ginger, till they turn a few shades darker. Stir occasionally. Do not be tempted to speed up the process by turning up the heat as the spices will burn on the outside and remain raw on the inside.
• When the spices are roasted turn off the heat and allow them to cool.
• Once cooled, remove the cardamom seeds from their skins and mix them back with all the other roasted spices.

Grind them all together, to a fine powder in a clean, dry coffee grinder

The Best Chocolate Ice Cream

Doesn't this look mouthwateringly delicious? Would be a slam dunk for a dinner party.






Makes almost a quart

You'll need:
1 can (14-ounce/400 grams) sweetened condensed milk
3/4 cup (180 grams) whole milk
3/4 cup (175 grams) heavy cream
6 ounces (170 grams) bittersweet chocolate, chopped finely
1/4 cup (25 grams) cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon instant espresso powder (or two tablespoons freshly-brewed espresso)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
A pinch of fine sea salt
5 teaspoons (12 grams) cornstarch
2 tablespoons cold water

In a heavy-bottomed large pan, whisk sweetened condensed milk, whole milk and heavy cream until combined. Set the pan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil.

Take off heat and add the finely-chopped chocolate, cocoa powder, instant espresso powder, vanilla extract and salt. Whisk until the chocolate melts and the cocoa powder is completely dissolved.

Mix cornstarch and cold water in a bowl with a fork until completely dissolved, and add to the ice cream base. Whisk until combined.

Place the pan over medium-high heat and cook, whisking constantly, scraping the sides and the bottom of the pan to prevent burning, until thickened, for 8-10 minutes.

Transfer to a heatproof bowl and set aside, uncovered, to cool for half an hour. Don't worry if a skin forms on top. When the bowl is cool enough to handle, cover with plastic wrap and chill thoroughly--preferably overnight--in the refrigerator.

Before transferring the chilled ice cream to the freezer, stir or whisk to dissolve the skin on top and scrape into a container. Cover with plastic, this time pressing the wrap against the ice cream to create an airtight seal; put the lid on (or cover with an additional layer of plastic wrap) and freeze until firm enough to scoop.

Maple Bacon Pork Loin

With the Holiday Season coming up and our work schedules full, I'm looking for some Quick and Easy Meals to prepare.
This recipe from Zestuous fits the bill well since I do like a great pork loin.

 

Yield: 5 servings

• ½ lb. bacon
• 2 beets
• 2 potatoes
• ½ onion
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 tsp. ground black pepper
• ¼ tsp. ground marjoram
• ¼ tsp. ground coriander
• ¼ tsp. ground thyme
• ¼ tsp. smoked paprika
• 1 1/2 pounds pork loin
• ½ cup water
• ½ cup maple syrup
• 1 T. Worcestershire sauce

Cook the bacon in a large skillet. Drain and crumble.

Cube the beets, potatoes and onion. Add in the Crock-Pot with chopped garlic and cooked bacon.

Combine the seasonings and rub all over the pork loins.

Place the loins in the bacon fat and cook on medium heat for five minutes. Flip and cook for five more minutes.

Set the pork on top of the veggies. Combine the water, syrup and Worcestershire sauce and pour over the meat.

Cook on low for 8-10 hours.

Serve and enjoy!

Fresh Strawberry Syrup

Yield: 2 1/2 cups

Ingredients:

1 pound fresh strawberries, hulled and diced, or thawed frozen unsweetened strawberries (about 3 cups)

1 cup sugar

3 tablespoons fresh orange juice

1/2 teaspoon finely grated orange zest

Preparation:

In a medium saucepan, combine all the ingredients and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer until the strawberries are soft and the syrup is thickened and reduced by one-third to one-half in volume, 15 to 18 minutes.

Remove from the heat and let cool to room temperature before serving. (If thinner syrup is desired, strain the hot syrup through a fine mesh strainer into a clean container and let cool.)

Baked Pork Chops with Parmesan Sage Crust

My Crew and I like simple fried pork chops for a quick mid-week dinner.
This is a great recipe to "dress up" the chops for guests.  They are delish!





Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups fresh breadcrumbs made from crustless French bread
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese (about 3 ounces)
1 tablespoon dried rubbed sage
1 teaspoon grated lemon peel
2 large eggs
1/4 cup all purpose flour
4 boneless center-cut pork loin chops (each about 1 inch thick)
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) butter
2 tablespoons olive oil
Lemon wedges (optional)
Orange wedges (optional)

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 425°F. Mix breadcrumbs, cheese, sage and lemon peel in pie dish. Whisk eggs in medium bowl to blend. Place flour on plate; season generously with salt and pepper. Coat pork chops on both sides with flour; shake off excess. Dip chops into eggs, then coat on both sides with breadcrumb mixture.
Melt butter with oil in heavy large ovenproof skillet over medium-high heat. Add pork chops to skillet and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes per side. Transfer skillet with pork to oven. Bake until pork chops are crisp on the outside and meat thermometer inserted into pork registers 150°F, about 20 minutes.
Transfer pork chops to plates. Garnish with lemon wedges and orange wedges, if desired, and serve.