Smoked Trout Dip

I was going to a party. No time to run to the store. What do I have on hand? Hmmm. Let's try this:

1-4 oz can of smoked trout in olive oil, slightly drained
1 hard boiled egg, peeled and coarsely chopped
2 Tbsp finely minced red onion
1 Tbsp finely minced chive
1/2 tsp yellow (not hot) curry powder
S & P to taste
1/3 cup light sour cream

Pulse trout, egg, onion and chive in food processor just a couple of times, to a consistency of coarse crumbles. Remove to a mixing bowl and stir in sour cream and curry powder. Add salt & pepper to taste. Garnish with a few long chive pieces and an extra sprinkle of curry powder on the top. Serve with something crunchy like pita chips or bagle chips. (I think this was a hit...!)

Great Grandma Savard's Chili Sauce

If you have tomatoes and peppers coming out your ears...try this!!!

30 tomatoes - peeled and quartered (boil down a bit and drain)
10 onions
7 red peppers (sweet)
3 hot red peppers (chop with red peppers and onions in food processor)
2 cups brown sugar
2 cups apple cider vinegar
4 tbsp salt

Spice Bag:
2 Tbsp mixed pickling spices
4 cinnamon sticks

Mix all ingredients into tomatoes. Cook slowly stirring occasionally until thick 2-1/2 to 3 hours. Place in sterilized jars, seal with sterilized jar llids and rims (must be hot).

This is delicious on ANYTHING! (Great Grandma Savard is Mike's Mom's Grandma)

Chocolate Chip Cookies with Chickpeas

This one is from Jessica Seinfeld's cookbook, Deceptively Delicious! Trust me, you might really enjoy these and never go back to Tollhouse! Hopefully your kids will like them...mine do!!

Nonstick cooking spray
1 cup packed light or dark brown sugar
3/4 cup butter or trans-fat-free margarine
2 large egg whites
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 15-oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 cups high quality semisweet chocolate chips
2 cups all-purpose flour (I like to substitute at least 1/4 to 1/3 of the flour with white whole wheat)
1/2 cup old fashioned oats
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat to 350. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray. Using a stand mixer, beat the sugar and fat of choice on medium speed until smooth. Beat in the egg whites and vanilla, then the chickpeas and chocolate chips. (Let the mixer mash the chickpeas until crushed but not smooth.) Add the flour, oats, baking soda and salt and mix until a thick dough forms.
Drop by tablespoonful onto baking sheet and press gently with a fork to flatten. Bake until the cookies are golden brown and set, 11 to 13 minutes. Do not overbake. Transfer to a rack to cool. Hope you like them!

Carnitas in the Pressure Cooker!

This is adapted from a recipe in my favorite Bon Appetit issue, May 2003, all recipes from Mexico! Their recipe requires 2 to 3 hours of cooking. Mine requires less than an hour if you have a pressure cooker. This is one recipe that my kids love!

1 cup orange juice
1 Tbsp frozen orange juice concentrate
1 tsp finely grated orange peel
1/2 c water
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp salt
3 pounds bone in country-style pork ribs, cut in half

Place all ingredients in pressure cooker and bring to high pressure for 25 minutes. Take off pressure with cold water and check to see if meat is very tender and falling apart. If it is done, remove meat to bowl to cool and bring liquid in pan to a low boil. Cook liquid until reduced to about 1/2 cup. Leave the liquid in the pan and add 1/4 cup brandy and continue cooking for 5 minutes. While the liquid is cooking down, shred meat (discarding any fatty parts) and add to pot after brandy has cooked off for 5 minutes or so. Continue to cook until the meat on the bottom begins to brown in the remaining fat. (If you do not have a pressure cooker, just cook the above ingredients with enough water to cover for 2 hours or so, until meat is very tender, but you will need to cook down the liquid for a LONG time to concentrate the flavor, adding the meat back in at the end.)

For serving, pile meat in warm flour tortillas with diced avocado and fresh salsa. We also use corn tortillas if that is all we have. This is very useful for other recipes too! You can make enchiladas with it or use it as a topping on cheese enchiladas. It is also great with a tomatillo-based salsa verde. I have used leftovers on nachos or cold in a sandwich. My kids LOVE this recipe.

Pomodori al Forno (Tomatoes in the Oven)

This is one of the very best things I have EVER eaten. This is also the perfect way to preserve a taste of summer when you have more plum tomatoes than you know what to do with!!! It is best eaten on a lightly toasted slice of baguette with a little goat cheese crumble. The oil left behind is equally delicious to sop up with soft fresh bread. I also like it as a condiment on a sandwich (see recipe below for one idea). There is a lot of oil used for this dish, but I promise not one drop of it will go to waste. I will reuse the remaining oil from the last batch and add to it as needed for the next batch (kind of like "starter"), or I use it in salad dressings, marinades, anything that calls for olive oil. (Credit where credit is due...Bon Appetit, Sept 08.)

Preheat the oven to 250. Fill a glass baking dish with fresh plum tomato halves (cored, sliced lengthwise and seeded) just touching each other, cut sides up. Pour in enough olive oil to reach most the way up the sides of the tomatoes, but not covering the cut sides. This might be a cup or more. Sprinkle the cut sides with 1 tsp sugar, 1/2 tsp salt, 2 minced garlic cloves and 2 Tbsp minced fresh oregano (1-1/2 tsp dried if you must). Using a spoon, ladle some of the oil over the tomatoes.

Bake the tomatoes for 1 hour. Remove from oven and flip each one over. Return to oven for another hour. They should be wrinkled and darker red. If some are still larger or retaining their shape, bake an additional 30 minutes. Otherwise, allow to cool in pan at room temperature. I sometimes slip the skins off before storing, but they are generally very tender and hold the tomato flesh together better. Gently place the tomatoes in a glass jar or covered dish when cool. Pour olive oil over to cover, reserving extra oil for next batch or for other uses (it is delicious as well!) Keep refrigerated, but allow ample time to bring to room temperature as oil will cloud and solidify when cold.

Whatever you do, do not let this sit out where it can be eaten as a snack! It is highly addictive and you'll start putting it on your cornflakes!!! (also, not a bad idea to use your scissors and cut these in half when serving as an appetizer...)

Pan Bagnat (Big Tuna Sandwich)

I took this recipe from Bon Appetit a few years ago, but I have made so many changes to it, I might as well not give them credit! Best made a few hours ahead so the juices can soak into the bread. I use this method for many types of "Big Sandwich." We are fond of having a "car picnic" on Friday nights when we leave during rush hour to go to the cabin. For this I will make the "Big Sandwich" and cut into serving pieces and wrap each one tightly with plastic and weight the collection under a tray and heavy cans. When serving whole, I wrap the whole sandwich and weight it down, then slice just before serving. Enjoy!

1 Ciabatta loaf, sliced horizontally like a giant bun
12 oz oil packed tuna (smoked tuna is great, but very difficult to find), drained, oil reserved
20 large basil leaves
20 pieces of "pomodori al forno" (recipe above)
1/3 cup kalamata olives, chopped
juice of half a lemon
1 Tbsp kalamata olive brine (if brined, otherwise red wine vinegar)
3 Tbsp reserved tuna oil or baking oil from "pomodori al forno"

Mix last 3 ingredients together and add salt & pepper to taste, set aside. line bottom of bread with crumbled tuna to cover. Top with an even layer of the tomatoes (pomodori) and olives. Then layer the basil. Sprinkle evenly with the dressing. Spread the top bread with light mayonaise (optional) and cover sandwich. As noted above, wrap the whole sandwich tightly with plastic wrap, cover with a cutting board and weight with heavy cans. Can be made several hours (allow at least 2) ahead. Enjoy!

Best Thin Crust Pizza Dough!

This is adapted from a recipe in Saveur Magazine, Nov 08. This is best made the day before and proofed in the refrigerator. It will also work to make at 3:00 for later that night!

1 package active dry yeast (2-1/4 tsp bulk)
1 tsp honey
1/4 c warm water

Mix these 3 ingredients together and let sit until foamy.

3 c bread flour
3/4 c warm beer (I prefer a dark beer for added flavor)
1 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp kosher salt

Place flour in the bowl of a heavy stand mixer. Create a well in the flour and add beer, yeast mixture, olive oil and salt. Start mixer on low to blend, then knead for 10 to 12 minutes on a low setting with the dough hook. Allow to rise for 1-1/2 to 2 hours or refrigerate in a large zipper bag (divide into 2 pieces and put each in a bag - it will continue to rise in the refrigerator). Allow at least 1 hour to come to room temperature and have a final warm rise.

This will make 2 large pizzas or 4 smaller pizzas. When making pizzas, this dough should be rolled out very thin and baked on a pizza stone. Alternatively, I prebake the crust by itself on a Caphalon pizza pan for about 8 minutes, then remove from the pan to my peel. I add toppings and then slide onto the oven rack directly (or grill) to finish baking and crisp up the crust.