Peppermint Icebox Dessert

This was absolutely my favorite dessert as a kid. My grandmother, sister and I went into a formal mourning period when Thrifty Drugstores stopped carrying the peppermint ice cream that is an essential part of this dessert.  Eventually fancy Santa Barbara-based McConnell’s started to make peppermint ice cream. At first I could only find it in December, but I now I see it year-round. There are a number of store brands of ice cream that make peppermint. It seems like a perfect Valentine’s Day dessert to me. It’s so 1950s in look and taste. What could be better for Valentine’s Day than to harken back to a simpler time and a simpler cooking sensibility? This dessert makes me think of my maternal grandmother – who made this for me every winter. I have no idea where the recipe comes from. When my mother emptied my grandmother’s recipe box, there it was – written in pencil in her loopy cursive. Here it is for you, written in my loopy blog!

Peppermint Icebox Dessert (9 servings)

Crust:

• 2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• ½ cup ground pecans
• ¼ cup butter
• 2 tablespoons sugar

Chocolate Spread:

• ½ cup butter
• 3 ounces best quality unsweetened chocolate
• 3 eggs, separated
• 1 cup confectioner’s sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 quart peppermint ice cream

Crust:

Over low heat brown the graham cracker crumbs, nuts, butter and sugar.  Stir until lightly brown. Put half of the graham cracker/nut mixture in the bottom of a 9×9-inch pan. Reserve the remainder.

Chocolate Spread:

Place the chocolate in a double boiler and stir over medium heat until the chocolate is melted.  Take the pan off of the heat and allow the chocolate to cool slightly.  Beat the egg yolks with a whisk and gradually add the melted chocolate whisking constantly.  If you dump hot chocolate into the yolks you’ll have a concoction no one will want to eat.  Even the most obsessed chocolate lovers draw the line at scrambled eggs and chocolate.  Cream the butter with the powdered sugar and vanilla.  Add the chocolate/egg mixture.

Beat egg whites until soft peaks form. Fold beaten egg whites in to batter mixture.  It’s an odd looking mixture.  Don’t worry – it freezes well and tastes even better!

Spread half the chocolate mixture over crumbs.  Put in freezer for 20 minutes.  Spread 1-quart peppermint ice cream over chocolate mixture, freeze (this takes another 20-30 mins).  Keep the remaining chocolate spread in the fridge.  After the ice cream layer is frozen, spread remaining chocolate mixture over top. Sprinkle remaining crumbs on top of chocolate mixture, pressing them into the ice cream with a spatula. Freeze again.

Enjoy.

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BBQ Chicken Salad

This past week I was sent some Two Fat Guys Gourmet BBQ Sauce to taste test. The company founders, Kent and Bob, are childhood friends from Illinois who got their start in the food business running a catering company and have recently created a line of all natural, gluten-free BBQ sauces. I’m always compelled by small batch production, all-natural products. These BBQ sauces are really terrific and lend themselves to a number of different uses. We started with the Mild Gourmet BBQ Sauce and tossed it on some chicken. The recipe we came up with was a HUGE crowd pleaser. It would be perfect for a Superbowl Party, or Monday Night Football with the kids, or even a casual Birthday Party. I’m going to post a number of additional recipes in the coming weeks – and coming soon is a BBQ Sauce give-away. Check back for that!

BBQ Chicken Salad with Two Fat Guys Gourmet Gluten-Free Mild BBQ Sauce (serves 10)

• 3 lbs boneless skinless chicken thighs
• 2 cups Mild BBQ Sauce
• One 15-oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 2 cups sweet white corn (we don’t have any fresh corn in the store right now so I used defrosted “roasted” white corn from TJ’s)
• 3 cups diced fresh tomatoes (I prefer cherry or grape tomatoes)
• 1 cup fresh cilantro leaves
• 1 ½ cups finely diced green onion
• 1 ½ cups finely diced jicama
• 3 ripe avocadoes, diced
• 1 ½ cups grated Mexican Cheese
• 2 bags mixed greens
• 1 ½ cups crumbled tortilla chips
• 1 cup ranch dressing

Two Fat Guys BBQ Sauce

Toss the raw chicken thighs with half of the BBQ sauce, cover and marinate for at least 3 hours, or overnight.

Take all of the salad ingredients and place them in individual small serving dishes. You will have ¾ cup of BBQ sauce leftover at the end of the cooking process. Place it in a serving dish next to the ranch dressing.

Heat your BBQ grill on medium-high heat. Spray your grill with vegetable spray. Lower the grill temperature to medium and cook your chicken thighs, turning them once or twice, until they are just cooked through. Depending on how cold they are when you put them on the grill this should take about 12 minutes in total cooking time. Remove the chicken from the grill. Place on a cutting board and cut into cubes. Place the cubed chicken in a medium-sized mixing bowl. Toss with ¼ cup of the BBQ sauce. Place in a serving dish.

Allow your guests to serve the mixed greens plus all of the toppings. Drizzle a small amount of ranch dressing and a small amount of additional BBQ sauce over each salad. Enjoy.

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Southwestern Chicken Cacciatore

My father always makes chicken cacciatore as soon as the weather turns.  In California it isn’t a major turn, more like a minor bend in the road.  The leaves start to change color, the evenings and mornings are colder, the daytime temperatures hover below 70, and our cooking choices start to embrace cozier, more robust dishes.  My time in Albuquerque and Santa Fe are still weighing heavily on my cooking choices.  Having at least partially exhausted the dishes that can be made with corn, onions, squash and green chilies my mind has started to wander or wonder about what other dishes in my repertoire could stand a jolt of Southwestern energy? Chicken Cacciatore came to mind.  It’s a robust dish anyway and the addition of fire-roasted chilies seems an obvious iteration, variation, even consummation.  It’s all Helen’s fault.  She invited me to Albuquerque.  She foisted upon me those savory fire roasted Anaheim chilies straight from the local farmer’s market.  I’m a changed woman.  I might even consider investing in a dedicated freezer to house the little monsters.  The chilies that is, not my offspring.

Southwestern Chicken Cacciatore (serves 6-8)

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 cup onions, diced
• 2 leeks, sliced lengthwise and then thinly sliced
• 3 cloves garlic, finely diced
• 1 cup dry white wine
• One 14.5-oz can fire roasted tomatoes with green chilies
• One 15-oz can tomato sauce
• 4-oz can fire roasted green chilies
• 2 cups chicken broth
• 30 green olives, sliced in half
• 10-oz crimini mushrooms, sliced
• 2 ½ lbs boneless, skinless chicken breasts
• 3 packets chicken concentrate (such as Trader Joe’s Savory Broth Chicken Flavor Reduced Sodium Chicken Concentrate – other brands are fine too, but more expensive!!)
• 2 cups of Yukon gold potatoes, diced (don’t peel them)

Heat the olive oil in a soup pot or Dutch Oven.  Add the onions and leeks.  Cook over medium heat until they are soft, 10-12 minutes.  Add the garlic and sauté for 2 minutes.  Add the white wine, bring it to a simmer for 2 minutes.  Add the fire-roasted tomatoes, tomato sauce, green chilies, chicken broth, green olives, mushrooms and chicken.  Bring to a low simmer.  Simmer for 60 minutes.  Add the potatoes and simmer until they are tender, 15-20 more minutes.  Taste.  Add salt and pepper as necessary.  Serve in a low bowl over flat noodles, rice, or just plain.  Can be topped with diced green onions and sour cream.

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Baked Halibut with Kalamata Olive Puree

This is another dinner that can easily go from fridge to table in 20 minutes – you just need to remember to preheat your oven a few minutes before you get started cooking. The sauce and salsa can be prepped while the halibut is baking. Halibut is in season and relatively fairly priced (it’s all relative, isn’t it?), especially at stores like Costco. Baked quickly at a high temperature it will be firm and moist. Make sure not to over-bake it. Dry halibut is disappointing, but avoidable if you pay attention. We had dry halibut at a fancy-pants restaurant (not to name names but it was at the high-end restaurant at the Montage in Laguna Niguel). They had cooked that fish so long and so hard that it would have been great as a doorstop, or paving material. It was all I could do to resist the urge to storm the kitchen to lecture the line cooks on how easy it is to cook halibut correctly. I find baking fish at 400 degrees for 20 minutes works like a charm for salmon, halibut and swordfish.

Baked Halibut with Kalamata Olive Puree and Tomato Salsa (4-6 servings)

• 1 ½ -2 lbs fresh halibut
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• One 12-oz jar pitted Kalamata olives packed in olive oil (do not drain)
• 2 large cloves garlic (or 3 small ones)
• ¼ cup grated Parmesan cheese
• ¼ cup mayonnaise
• 2 cups cherry or grape tomatoes, chopped
• 3/4 cup Vidalia or Maui onion, finely diced
• 2 tablespoons chives, finely chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Brush half of the olive oil on a sheet pan, or cookie sheet. Set the halibut on the sheet. Brush the remaining olive oil on the fish. Do not salt the fish – the kalamata puree is salty, you don’t need any additional salt on the fish. Bake the fish for 18-20 minutes until it is just cooked through (the exact time will depend on the thickness of the fish and how cold it was when you popped it in the oven).

While the fish is baking place the kalamata olives and the olive oil in which they were packed in a blender. Add the garlic, Parmesan cheese and mayonnaise. Process on high until smooth. This is one of the easiest sauces to make. You’ll likely have some left over. Use it as a spread on sandwiches, or with a quickly sautéed chicken breast. It might even work as a facial scrub, I just haven’t had time to try it.

In a medium bowl mix together the tomatoes and the onions.

Once the halibut is cooked cut it into four-six servings. Spoon kalamata puree over the fish. Split the tomato/onion mixture into equal servings and spoon over the fish. Sprinkle the chives on top. Serve immediately.

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Romesco Sauce

This recipe comes from my friend, Chef Anne McAllister.  She made a lovely dinner for us a few years ago that included this sauce.  The dinner was memorable because it was the first real dinner with a nice tablecloth, and wine glasses, and casual conversation that we had after my father had been in a terrible car accident.  A reckless driver struck my father while he was sitting quietly waiting for a red light to change.  In the aftermath, our lifelong habits of home cooked meals and suppers as a family went out the window.  We ate take-out sitting at the hospital, and threw together simple meals while we wrestled with insurance paperwork, police reports and doctor’s appointments.  And then finally, my father was well enough to be a part of family meals again – not preparing them, but at least joining us at the table.  Chef Anne came over and cooked for us.  She made swordfish, and Israeli couscous, and we chatted, and ate, and moved a step or two towards normalcy.  A well-cooked meal eaten with family and friends – its recuperative powers should never be underestimated.

Romesco Sauce (3 cups)

• 3 large plum tomatoes
• 2 large red bell peppers
• 1 onion, peeled and halved
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds
• 1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
• 3 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tablespoons Sherry wine vinegar
• 1 slice wheat bread, toasted, cut into ½ -inch cubes (about ½ cup)
• 1 teaspoon smoked paprika

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Feeling Saucy?

Toss tomatoes, bell peppers, and onion in small baking dish with 2 tablespoons olive oil.  Roast until partially charred, turning every 15 minutes, about 45 minutes.  Cover with foil; let stand 15 minutes.

Peel and seed tomatoes and bell peppers; place in a blender.  Chop the onion and add to blender.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in small skillet over medium-high heat.  Add almonds; sauté until lightly toasted, about 1 minute.  Add garlic, sauté for just 30 seconds, stirring.  Transfer to blender.  Add ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil, vinegar, bread, and paprika to blender; blend to coarse puree.  Transfer to a bowl; season with salt.

I think Anne’s Romesco sauce is particularly good over Swordfish, or other steaky white fishes.  It’s even good over sole, but you want to use a bit less of it.

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Breakfast Sausage Pancakes

This is the perfect make-ahead school day breakfast.  I prep an entire batch, allow them to cool and then freeze them either in individual containers with just enough for my family for breakfast – or in a large container with the fritters separated by wax paper.  In the morning I preheat my oven (or toaster oven) to 400 degrees.  I place the fritters on a cookie sheet and heat until they start to sizzle.  This takes 10-12 minutes in my oven.  I like the fact that the kids are getting vegies included in their breakfast (as well as protein, calcium and carbs). It’s a pretty good start to the day.

Breakfast Sausage Pancakes (makes 24 silver-dollar sized cakes)

• 1 cup vidalia or Maui onions, finely diced
• ¾ lb raw breakfast sausage (we use chicken sausage from Trader Joe’s)
• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2/3 cup buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon grapeseed or canola oil
• 1 cup Bisquick
• 1 ½ cups grated Gruyere/Swiss cheese mix (sold already grated at TJ’s)
• 1 ½ teaspoons salt
• ½ teaspoon white pepper
• ½ cup yellow pepper, finely diced
• ½ cup orange pepper, finely diced
• 2 cups cooked rice (I use one packet of Trader Joe’s Organic Frozen Jasmine Rice, prepared according to the package instructions – but any cooked rice will do)
• 1/3 cup finely chopped green onions

Using a pair of kitchen scissors cut your breakfast sausage into tiny pieces.  Place them in a nonstick skillet with the diced onions.  Sauté for 8-10 minutes over medium heat until the sausage is completely cooked through and the onions are soft.  You won’t need any added oil for this.  The sausages will quickly release a little fat – just enough to properly cook the onions.  Once this is done allow it to rest for a minute or two.  If you didn’t manage to cut your sausage into tiny chunks, place it on a cutting board and chop it up a bit more.

In a medium bowl whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, oil, Bisquick, cheese, salt and white pepper.  Add the remaining ingredients and stir until blended.

Heat an electric griddle or non-stick frying pan to medium-high heat (325 degrees works best for me).  Lightly oil the griddle or the frying pan with grapeseed oil (or canola).  Using a ¼ cup measure, spoon out the fritter batter.  Place it on the griddle and using the backside of the ¼ cup measure, flatten the fritter until it is 1/3 of an inch thick.  Grill until the fritter is a deep golden brown (at medium-high on my griddle it takes about five minutes per side).  Flip and grill the second side.  They should be cooked through and slightly crispy on the outside.  Serve immediately with salsa and sour cream.

If you plan to keep these for another day allow them to cool completely, wrap well and store in the fridge for 4-5 days, or place in the freezer.  To reheat, preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Place the fritters on a cookie sheet.  Bake in the oven just until the fritters start to sizzle.  This will take about ten minutes depending on how cold they were before you put them in the oven. If I’m doing this on a school day mine go straight from the freezer to the oven – and they are still ready to eat in 10-12 minutes. I don’t recommend using a microwave – they get pretty soggy.

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Chicken Zucchini Fritters

I’ve left my quiche obsession and moved into a new phase I’m calling – just how many ways can you fry a fritter?  My fritters are really more of a savory pancake, since I don’t deep-fry them.  They end up with the texture of a pancake, but I wouldn’t advise serving them with maple syrup, try my cilantro sauce instead.  This makes a lovely savory brunch, and a perfect breakfast for kids.  I make them ahead and freeze them, six in a package.  They reheat in a snap at 400 degrees on a small cookie sheet.  Far better for your kids than pancakes, they are full of protein and vegetables – a perfect way to start they day.  I’ve discovered that 24 of them don’t go very far in my house.  My older son, now 12, ate SIX of them as a snack after school yesterday, leaving me with far fewer of them than I expected.

Chicken Zucchini Fritters (makes 24 silver-dollar sized fritters)

• 4 eggs, lightly beaten
• 2/3 cup buttermilk
• 1 tablespoon grape seed or canola oil
• 1 cup Bisquick (or other baking mix)
• 1 ½ cups grated gruyere/Swiss cheese
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 cups zucchini, finely diced
• 2 cups cooked chicken, finely diced
• 2 cups cooked rice (I use one packet of Trader Joe’s Organic Frozen Jasmine Rice, prepared according to the package instructions – but any cooked rice will do)
• ½ cup chopped cilantro
• ½ cup finely chopped green onions
• ¼ cup diced canned mild green chilies (such as Hatch or Anaheim – you can use fresh chilies but you’ll need to roast them)

Cilantro Sauce

• 1 12-oz jar salsa verde (I use Trader Joe’s brand)
• 1 ½ cups fresh cilantro (you can use the leaves and stems – just cut off the last ½ inch and discard)
• ½ cup sour cream

Whisk together the eggs, buttermilk, oil, Bisquick, cheese and salt.  Add the remaining ingredients and stir until blended.

Heat an electric griddle or non-stick frying pan to medium-high heat (350 degrees).  Lightly oil the griddle or the frying pan with grapeseed oil (or canola).  Using a ¼ cup measure, spoon out the fritter batter.  Place it on the griddle and using the backside of the ¼ cup measure, flatten the fritter until it is 1/3 of an inch thick.  Grill until the fritter is a deep golden brown (at medium-high on my griddle it takes about five minutes per side).  Flip and grill the second side.  They should be cooked through and slightly crispy on the outside.  Serve immediately with cilantro sauce.

To make the cilantro sauce, place all of the ingredients in a blender and process until smooth.  Keep refrigerated until needed.  Will last 4 days in the fridge.

If you plan to keep these for another day allow them to cool completely, wrap well and store in the fridge for 4-5 days, or place in the freezer.  To reheat, preheat your oven to 400 degrees.  Place the fritters on a cookie sheet.  Bake in the oven just until the fritters start to sizzle.  This will take about ten minutes depending on how cold they were before you put them in the oven.

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Turkey Sausage Meatloaf

We always need a turkey moratorium AFTER Thanksgiving.  My thinking went this way – Thanksgiving was in November.  Turkey is by now a distant memory.  Hence – my post on turkey meatloaf. Meatloaf is one of those foods like quiche, or muffins, or soup – that can be made a thousand different ways.  Once you get the hang of the right ratio of meat to spices to eggs to bread crumbs you can go in whatever direction pleases you (or whatever direction your fridge contents push you).  My children and I love turkey sausage, especially Trader Joe’s sweet Italian turkey sausage.  We cook with it all the time.  It makes an excellent addition to meatloaf. This recipe can be made shopping solely at Trader Joe’s. Remember, I don’t work at TJ’s. I don’t know anyone who does. I don’t own TJ’s (though wouldn’t that be nice?). I just shop there, like you do.

Turkey Sausage Meatloaf (8 servings)

• 1 lb ground turkey
• 1 lb ground beef
• 1 lb raw sweet Italian sausage, casings removed
• 1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1 cup panko bread crumbs
• 2 eggs lightly beaten
• ¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons ketchup
• ½ cup onions, finely diced
• 2 large shallots, peeled and finely diced
• 2 cloves garlic, finely diced
• 3 tablespoons of chives, finely diced

Mix all of the ingredients together EXCEPT the last two tablespoons of ketchup.  Cover the meatloaf and put in the fridge for an hour, or overnight.  One piece of advice – it is important to really blend everything together.  I do it by hand, blending the meat as if I’m kneading dough.  If the meat is too cold this will be harder to do, and your hands will freeze, which is painful and slightly annoying.  Take the meat out of the fridge a good 30 minutes before you plan to blend everything together.  The process will be easier and your hands will thank you.

When you are ready to bake the meatloaf preheat your oven to 350 degrees.

Form the meat into TWO 9- by 5-inch oval loaves and bake on a lightly oiled 13- by 9- by 2-inch metal baking pan.  Just before putting it in the oven brush the meatloaf evenly with your last 2 tablespoons of ketchup.  Bake in middle of your oven until a meat thermometer inserted into the meatloaf registers 170°F, which should take 70 minutes, give or take.  If you don’t have a meat thermometer slice the meatloaf in half right in the middle.  The meat should be totally cooked through with no pink left in it.  The juices should be clear.  If it isn’t quite done, put it back in the oven.  Raw or under-cooked turkey is NOT ok.  If you don’t want to bake both loaves at once, bake one and freeze the other.  Or bake them both, allow them to cool and freeze one.  I have had success freezing them both ways (though not at the same time).

Let meatloaf stand 5 minutes before serving.

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Southwestern Soup

I am still longing for additional time spent in Santa Fe or Albuquerque, and as a consequence I keep making dishes long on Southwestern flavors.  I go into food phases. At the present moment I’m all about green chilies, corn, squash and onions.  Who knows what will be next?  Hopefully not pickled prunes (which my Grandmother made once and then spent a number of days supremely disappointed that no one wanted to taste them, let alone consume them).  This soup falls into my – super simple, make it in 20 minutes without thinking much – category of food prep.  You could add chopped chicken to it if you wanted a more meaty version, or swap in vegetable stock if you wanted the veggie version.  It’s all up to you, ‘cause really, it’s all about YOU.

Southwestern Soup (serves 8-10)

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cups vidalia or Maui onion, finely diced
• 2 shallots, finely diced
• 2 cups zucchini, diced
• 2 cups corns kernels (either fresh or defrosted frozen)
• 1 14.5-oz can diced fire roasted tomatoes with green chilies
• ½ cup canned green chilies (if you like a milder, but still flavorful soup, drop the green chilies)
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 4 packets chicken concentrate
• 12 cups chicken stock
• 2 lbs raw chicken, boneless skinless breasts or thighs
• 1 cup cream or half & half  (totally optional)
• ½ cup chopped cilantro

Heat olive oil in a soup pot or Dutch Oven over medium heat.  Add the onion and shallots and sauté until soft, 12 minutes.  Add the zucchini and sauté for three minutes.

Add all of the remaining ingredients except the chicken and the cilantro and bring the soup to a simmer.  Add the chicken and simmer for 20 minutes.  Remove the chicken with tongs, place on a cutting board and cut into cubes.  Return to the pot.  Stir in the cilantro and the cream.  Serve with a dollop of sour cream and some crushed tortilla chips.

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Gluten-Free Cranberry Mini-Muffins

I find that some of the gluten-free all-purpose flour mixtures taste a bit too much of beans, which some of them include. In my opinion King Arthur Flour’s Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour is the best of the bunch (available online at King Arthur Flour’s excellent online store, or at your local Whole Foods) but I also think that more complex flavors, like this fruity muffin, mask the nutty/beany aftertaste that gluten-free flour can give to baked goods. These make a perfect gluten-free snack to get you through a busy morning, or toss them in your kid’s lunchbox for a healthy dessert.

Gluten-Free Cranberry Mini-Muffins (makes 36 mini-muffins)

• 8-oz fresh cranberries
• ½ a large navel orange, cut into chucks (including pith and peel)
• ½ cup sugar

• ½ cup canola oil
• ¾ cup whole milk
• 2 eggs
• 2 ¼ cups Gluten-Free All-Purpose flour (we have used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour, but we strongly prefer King Arthur Gluten-Free All-Purpose Flour)
• 3 teaspoons baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• ¾ teaspoon nutmeg
• ¾ cup sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease your mini-muffin tins (I use vegetable spray for this task).

Place the cranberries, and navel orange sections in a Cuisinart. Process using the pulse setting until the fruit is finely chopped but NOT smooth. Remove from Cuisinart and blend in the ½ cup sugar. Set aside. Can be done a day or two ahead.

In a medium-mixing bowl beat the eggs. Add the milk and the oil. Blend well. Add the sugar, whisk until totally integrated. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and nutmeg.  Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and combine lightly. Add between ½ to ¾ cup of the cranberry-orange mixture. If you like a lightly fruity muffin stick with half a cup, if you like a really moist super-fruity muffin go up to ¾ cup. Either way will work. You’ll have a small amount of leftover cranberry/orange mixture. It’s great spooned over a grilled chicken breast, or spread on a turkey sandwich, or just eat it plain! Spoon the batter into greased muffin tins. Bake for 15 minutes. Serve.

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