red pepper sauce

When Don & Harald returned from their motorcycle trip last month, Harald cooked for us again. Daniel proclaimed the last meal Harald cooked as the best one he'd every had. This time Harald took slices of tenderized turkey breast & layered proscuitto & red pepper on top then rolled it up. Don cooked it on the grill. Harald then made a sauce where he sauteed red peppers, onion & garlic; added white wine which he let simmer then added cream & let it simmer some more. Then he flavored it all with the assortment of seasonings I keep on the counter. Finally he pureed the sauce. We used that on our turkey & it was wonderful. It was a treat to let him cook for us again. And I intend to try my hand at that sauce sometime.

capers

I loved my aunt, Geri, who passed away this spring. I loved her passion for cooking. She watched the Food Network & I enjoyed talking with her about different personalities on that channel. I once printed off a recipe from the Food Network & wrote her a letter on the back of it. On the day of her funeral family gathered at her home to visit after the burial & church luncheon were over. I was in the kitchen leaning against the counter & someone stopped to get a drink out of the refrigerator. And I noticed a jar of capers in the door of the frig. I was so surprised I grabbed the bottle & asked my cousins about it. Not only did Geri watch the Food Channel but she tried new recipes. Dianne, my cousin, said Geri would fix a holiday meal with all the traditional dishes & then have two to three new recipes. (I wish I'd been invited to that spread.) And then Dianne told me I could have the jar of capers. Really, a wonderful gift. But capers don't keep forever. So the other day I opened the jar & combined a good tablespoon of them (some say to rinse them off) with some diced onion, red peppers & olive oil and spread that on some toasted French bread. It was great. They add a wonderful saltiness to food. There's always a jar of capers in my frig. From now on they will remind me of Geri.

fusion food

Austin pointed me in the direction of a recipe for steamed pork buns. A Chinese recipe. I checked out this recipe & decided I didn't care to steam my buns so instead used the filling recipe for a batch of runzas. I used the spicy sausage from Super Saver (1 1/2 packages) & I ended up with a bit of leftover filling. They turned out great. I'll be making them again.

rich chocolate toffee bars

When we had our family reunion this summer we had a fantastic turnout of great food. I was not able to sample everything but I did have a bar that my aunt, Geri, had brought (one of many she baked). So I wrote her a note thanking her for all the food she brought & described the bar to her that I had tried. She knew which one it was & sent me the recipe! I wasn't expecting that but was delighted to have it. I've made this a couple of times already. It goes together quickly. They are rich like its name says, so cutting the pieces small is a good place to start. This isn't the first recipe Geri has sent me & I always love how at the end she writes "good luck"!

Rich Chocolate Chip Toffee Bars 2 1/3 cups flour; 2/3 cup packed brown sugar; 3/4 cup butter; 1 egg slightly beaten; 2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips, divided; 1 cup coarsely chopped nuts; 1 can Eagle sweetened condensed milk; 1 3/4 cup (10 oz pkg) English toffee bits, divided. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 13x9" pan. In large bowl stir together flour & brown sugar; cut in butter until resembles coarse crumbs. Add egg & mix well. Stir in 1 1/2 cups chocolate chips & nuts. Reserve 1 1/2 cups of the mixture. Press remaining mixture into bottom of pan. Bake 10 minutes. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly over hot crust. Top with 1 1/2 cups toffee bits. Sprinkle reserved crumb mixture & remaining chocolate chips over the top. Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown. Sprinkle remaining toffee bits on top. Cool completely & cut into 48 bars or as large as you wish. Good luck.

Harald cooks again

Last month Don went on a motorcycle trip with his brothers & Harald, his friend from Austria. Upon their return to Lincoln, Harald volunteered to cook supper for us one night. That was an offer we weren't going to refuse. Harald did not mind that I took a few photographs. Rex, Don's brother, accused me of making a documentary. Either way, Harald did not disappoint with this fish soup he called "goulash".

I sliced two leeks (white part only) which Harald sauteed in hot olive oil (lots of it) along with some diced red pepper & garlic.

I also diced 3-4 tomatoes. That got added along with 1 tsp chicken bouillon granules & 1 tsp brown sugar.

Zeke could smell something good cooking.

He also added a can of diced tomatoes & a can of crushed tomatoes. And 3/4 bottle pinot grigio wine.

Harald used compact white fish: tilapia & catfish. Seasoned them with Webers zesty lemon seasoning.

The fish were fried in more oil & then cut into chunks.

He let the soup simmer for 30 minutes. Seasoned with salt & pepper.

Harald also made a first course of salad & shrimp with asparagus.

Don introduced Harald to red beer.

We also had some bruschetta made with lots of tomato & garlic. It was a great meal.

apple sharlotka

I tried a new recipe a few weeks ago. The first time I made it I baked it for 45 minutes. The crust wasn't quite done & the apples definitely needed more time in the oven. I decided to try making it again & left it in the oven for about an hour. It turned out much better, although both times we ate it all up (we'll eat about anything at my house). I don't own a spring form pan so just used a round cake pan which may explain why mine didn't turn out like hers. Smitten Kitchen is still my favorite cooking blog. A favorite of others too since it made Times Best Blogs of 2011. For the recipe click here.

perogies

Today is Fat Tuesday. The day before Lent begins. So Saturday evening Don & I joined some friends to watch Jerry make perogies. This is the time of year that he makes them. He stuffs them with a mixture of mashed potatoes, sauerkraut & onions. Then he freezes the extras & eats them during Lent on Ash Wednesday & Fridays.



Jerry had help from Mary, who made the dough:
3-4 cups flour
3 eggs
1 tsp salt
3 tsp vegetable oil
water, about one cup
Mix together ingredients, adding enough water to make a soft dough.
















Jerry sealed the dough over the filling by either pinching the dough with his hands or by using a fork.



















Watching someone cook is not complete without some good beer. We drank Blue Blood beer compliments of Jerry & Vicki's son, Brian, who recently opened his own brewery.



Then the perogies needed to be cooked in salted boiling water. They are done cooking when they start to rise from the bottom of the pot.







To finish cooking them they are fried with some chopped onions & butter until brown.





Since Lent had not yet begun, we enjoyed our perogies with Stoysich sausage David brought from Omaha. Mary fixed sauerkraut (sauteed with bacon & apples) to garnish our sausage & perogies. A wonderful dinner with friends. Jerry was nice enough to send us home with our own perogies too. I couldn't resist taking this shot of Mary's napkins lined up on the table with the evening sun casting shadows.