Spinach Crepes with Mixed Mushrooms

I love crepes, but they scare me. They seem like they would be difficult to make, but you know what? They really aren’t! I saved this recipe for Thursday night because I was a little nervous about it. I set my oven on the lowest temperature (170 F) and put in a baking sheet, so that once I made a crepe, I could just put it on the pan to keep it warm. I don’t know if this is recommended in Crepe World, but it worked for me. The mushroom sauce to me seemed a little watery, so I added maybe a tablespoon of cornstarch, and that thickened it right up. I kind of forgot about the spinach on the stove, so it was overcooked, but I think it tasted fine in the crepe. I did not season the crepe or the mushrooms with salt and pepper, and I think they really could’ve used it. BUT- I really enjoyed this dish and I will serve it again (with some seasoning). We also had a caesar salad.

rating: 8.5

Spinach Crepes with Mixed Mushrooms
(from the cookbook “Crepes, Waffles & Pancakes!” by Kathryn Hawkins)

serves 4 as a main course, 6 as a starter

5 cups spinach, trimmed
1 quantity Basic Crepe batter
2 tsp olive oil
2 shallots, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1/4 stick unsalted butter
1 tbsp finely chopped fresh thyme
4 1/2 cups assorted mushrooms (button, oyster, chestnut, shiitake) wiped and sliced
4 tbsp dry white wine
1 1/4 cups heavy cream
salt and black pepper
fresh thyme, to garnish

Wash the spinach and pack into a saucepan while still wet. Cover and cook over gentle heat for about 5 minutes until the leaves are wilted. Drain well, pressing against the sides of a colander to extract as much water as possible. Allow to cool and then chop finely.

Prepare the batter and stir in the chopped spinach. Make the crepes and keep warm. Take care not to over-cook them as they will be thicker and more difficult to fold.

Heat the oil in a large frying pan and gently fry the shallots and garlic for 3 minutes until just softened. Add the butter and melt until bubbling, then stir in the thyme and mushrooms and cook, stirring, for about 5 minutes until browned and tender.

Stir in the wine and cream and bring to a simmer, heat through for about 3 minutes until piping hot. Season, then fill the crepes with the mixture. Garnish with thyme.

Basic Crepe Batter
1 cup plain flour
1 pinch salt
2 whole eggs
2 egg yolks
1 1/4 cups milk
1/3 cup unsalted butter, melted

Combine the flour and salt into a bowl. Make a well in the center, break in the eggs, then add the extra yolks. Add half the milk and gradually work into the flour using a whisk. Beat lightly until smooth, but don’t over-mix.

Add the remaining milk gradually, whisking gently until it is well combined. Transfer to a batter bowl, cover loosely and leave in a cool place for 30 minutes. Stir 1/4 cup melted butter into the batter before using.

Lightly brush a small frying pan with a little of the remaining butter and heat until hot. Holding the pan, pour in about 1/4 cup batter and tilt the pan from side to side so that the batter runs into a thin, even layer across the bottom of the pan.

Place the pan over moderate heat and cook for about 1 minute, or until the crepe browns around the edges and begins to curl away from the pan. Slide a palette knife under the crepe and flip it over. Brown the underside for a further minute.

Barbecue (Faux) Beef Cups

I saw this recipe in Rachael Ray’s magazine a while back, in the section called “Take 5, or fewer”. It’s where readers send in their favorite recipes that call for 5 ingredients or less (fewer?). I figured this one could work with the fake ground beef stuff, and sure enough, it did! I posted the whole recipe, but what I did is this: I heated up the whole package of the fake ground beef, then added the sauce and brown sugar like it calls for. I only had a muffin pan with 12 cups, so I put a biscuit in each cup, and stretched them to the top, like it says. I only had enough biscuits for 10 cups, so I just put water in the other two. I spooned in the ground “beef” mixture and topped it with cheese and put it in the oven. So easy! Toby ate four. I served these with mashed potatoes and grilled asparagus.

rating: 7

Barbeque Beef Cups
from the magazine “Everyday with Rachael Ray”

3/4 lb. ground beef (I used Morningstar Farms Crumbles)
1/2 cup barbeque sauce
1 tbsp brown sugar
one 16.3-ounce can refrigerated biscuits
3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. In a skillet, brown the beef over medium heat; drain off excess fat. Remove from the heat and stir in the barbeque sauce and brown sugar. Grease a 6-cup jumbo muffin pan and place a piece of biscuit dough in each cup, stretching the dough up the sides. Divide the beef mixture among the biscuit cups, sprinkle each with cheese and bake until golden, 10-12 minutes.

Cherry Clafoutis

I NEVER make dessert. Toby is not a big eater of sweets, and I really shouldn’t have any sweets in the house (they don’t last for very long). I came across this recipe in a new cookbook I just got, “Crepes, Waffles & Pancakes!” by Kathryn Hawkins. It sounded like something I could do, so I made it tonight, so that we can munch on it all week. I made a few substitutions (which I make note of in the recipe), but I think it still turned out great! Toby said it was a little too doughy for him, but to me, you can never have too much dough! I offered to finish his for him (’cause that’s the kind of wife I am), but he said no, and he ended up eating the whole thing. So it really couldn’t have been too doughy. Ha! Our dinner tonight was a chicken casserole (made with Morningstar Farms chicken patties (faux), peas, onions, cheese, mayo, green peppers), and a green salad with (faux) bacon bits and ranch dressing. Afterwards we enjoyed (some of us more than others) our Cherry Clafoutis topped with a vanilla frozen yogurt. Dang, I guess it will be just me grazing on this cherry stuff all week. Oh well! And by the way, this Clafoutis has the texture of a pudding/custard…some parts are a little more firm than others. I will make this again, even if it’s just for me.

rating: 9

Cherry Clafoutis
(from the cookbook “Crepes, Waffles & Pancakes!” by Kathryn Hawkins)

serves 6

2/3 cup plain flour
3 tbsp extra-fine sugar (I used Fine)
1/2 tsp salt
4 eggs, beaten
1 1/4 cups milk (I used Silk soymilk)
2/3 cup light cream
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp unsalted butter, softened (I used salted)
3 cups fresh cherries, pitted (I used canned)
confectioner’s sugar, to dust

to serve: light cream, optional

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F. Sift the flour, sugar and salt into a bowl and make a well in the center. Add the eggs and pour in the milk and cream. Gradually work the flour into the eggs and milk and whisk to form a smooth, thick batter. Stir in the vanilla extract.

Grease a 10″ round or shaped baking dish with the butter, add the cherries and pour the batter over them. Place the dish on a baking sheet and bake in the oven for about 45 minutes, until risen and golden- the middle should be just set. Serve warm, dusted with confectioner’s sugar and accompanied with light cream if liked.

Happy Memorial Day- and I’m not cooking

I don’t cook dinner on holidays, so for tonight’s dinner we had leftover pizza (we had pizza Sat. night, and it was buy 1 , get 1 free…this is the free one). It was a thin crust Margherita (although at this place they add red peppers to it- it’s really good!). New recipes to come starting tomorrow….

Cheesy Potato Corncakes

These looked so good in the magazine. And, well, they are good. But mine didn’t look anything like the picture. One thing, though, that I think could have been the problem: I halved the recipe. The recipe serves 8 and makes 30 of these corncakes, so I halved all the ingredients, and I bet if I had added that second egg, they would have held together better. Toby liked them. I still served them, all crumbly and scraggly-looking, because they tasted fine! I think next time I will still halve it (my mixture made like 12 cakes, I think, and not 15), but will add that second egg. I served these with a Boca Kielbasa-like sausage (on a hotdog bun with mustard and slaw).

rating: 8

Cheesy Potato Corncakes
(from the magazine Every Day with Rachael Ray)

2 pounds yellow-fleshed potatoes, peeled and chopped
salt
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup finely chopped chives
1/2 cup cornmeal
1 10-ounce box frozen corn kernels, thawed
6 ounces pepper jack cheese, shredded (about 2 cups)
pepper
3/4 cup vegetable oil

1. Place the potatoes in a medium pot and cover with cold water by 1 inch. Salt the water and bring to a boil, then lower the heat and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Drain, then mash the potatoes in the pot. Cook, stirring, over medium-low heat for 1 minute. Let cool, stirring occasionally, for about 20 minutes.
2. Meanwhile, stir together the eggs and chives. Place the cornmeal on a large, shallow plate.
3. Combine the potatoes with the corn, the cheese and the eggs mixture; season with pepper. Scoop out 2 rounded tablespoons and roll into a ball. Set on a sheet of waxed paper; repeat with the remaining mixture (you should have 30 pieces). Flatten each ball into a 1/2″ thick patty, coat in the cornmeal and transfer to a baking sheet.
4. On a griddle or in a large nonstick skillet, heat 1/4 cup oil over medium-high heat. Working in 3 batches, add the corncakes and cook until golden brown, about 2 minutes on each side. Transfer to paper towels to drain and season with salt.

Asparagus Soup

Here’s another one I got from May’s issue of Southern Living. It seemed like it was too simple to be really good, but it was great! I, of course, used veggie broth in place of the chicken broth it calls for. Also, I baked the aparagus about 5 more minutes than it calls for. It says that this makes 8 servings, but we had enough for 3 big bowls full. Maybe our bowls are just too big. But this was really good, and I will make it again. I served this with a green salad and some bread.

rating: 9

Asparagus Soup
(from the May 2008 issue of Southern Living magazine)

1 lb. fresh asparagus
Olive oil cooking spray
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp pepper
4 tbsp butter
1 sweet onion, diced
2 medium-size red potatoes, peeled and diced
4 cups chicken broth (I used veggie broth)
salt and pepper to taste

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Snap off and discard tough ends of asparagus. Coat asparagus lightly with cooking spray, and arrange in an aluminum foil-lined jelly-roll pan. Sprinkle with 1/2 tsp kosher salt and 1/2 tsp pepper.
2. Bake at 400 degrees F for 16 minutes or until tender and slightly browned, turning after 8 minutes. Remove from oven, and let cool.
3. Meanwhile, melt 2 tbsp butter in a large Dutch oven over medium0high heat; add onion, and cook, stirring frequently, 3 minutes or until tender. Add remaining butter, and stir until melted. Add potatoes, and cook, stirring occasionally, 3 minutes. Stir in chicken broth. Bring to boil; reduce heat to medium, and simmer 6 minutes or until potatoes are tender.
4. Chop asparagus into 1/4″ pieces. Add chopped asparagus to soup; cook, stirring occasionally, 4 minutes. Remove from heat, and let cool 10 minutes.
5. Process asparagus mixture, in batches, in a blender or food processor 8-10 seconds or until smooth, stopping to scrape down sides. Return asparagus mixture to Dutch oven. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately. Makes 8 servings.

Easy Cheesy Potato Casserole

I tore this one out of the latest Southern Living. And you know what, it WAS easy! It says to let it sit 5 minutes after you take it out of the oven. I would say maybe 10. It was almost too hot to eat! But once it cooled down, it was really good. I asked Toby what he thought of it, and he said it was good. I said, can you make any other comment other than good? So he says this is a “stick to your ribs” kind of recipe, and that it’s “good, hearty fare”. Alrighty then. I served this potato casserole with some herbed Quorn cutlets and some jazzed-up green beans (my mom’s recipe). Toby went back for two more helpings!

rating: 7.5

Easy Cheesy Potato Casserole
(from the May 2008 issue of Southern Living magazine)

1 20-ounce package refrigerated hash browns
1 1/2 cups (6-ounces) 2% reduced-fat shredded Mexican four-cheese blend
1 10 3/4-ounce can reduced-fat cream of mushroom soup
1 8-ounce container reduced-fat sour cream
1/3 cup chopped fresh chives
1 garlic clove, pressed
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp freshly ground pepper

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cook hash browns in a lightly greased large nonstick skillet over medium heat, stirring occasionally, 12 minutes or until golden brown.
2. Stir together hash browns, 1 cup shredded cheese, and next 6 ingredients. Spoon mixture into a lightly greased 8″ square baking dish, and sprinkle with remaining 1/2 cup cheese.
3. Bake at 350 degrees F for 40-45 minutes or until edges are lightly browned. Let stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Baked Cajun French Fries

I needed a side dish to go with a pesto-grilled cheese I had a hankering for, and these sounded like they would fit the bill. And they did! I noticed as I was cutting the potatoes, that, dang! This recipe really makes alot! So I had already measured out all of the dry spices in another bowl, but it didn’t look like too much, so I halved the amount of potatoes it calls for (so I used 2 instead of 4), but I kept all of the other ingredients the same. And I think they turned out great! They weren’t so spicy that I couldn’t eat them (I usually don’t like spicy food), but they had enough kick that Toby liked them. I think they were, though, a little too spicy for Liam, so he didn’t get any. I served them with the typical ketchup, but, new great food find, for my grilled cheese sandwiches that I served them with, I made a pesto mayo, and hello! That was great as a dip for the fries! So the grilled cheese I made: sourdough bread, pesto mayo (store-bought pesto mixed with mayo), 2 slices low-fat provolone (I know, why bother at this point), and 1 slice cheddar. I bought an olive-oil cooking spray today (like Pam) and sprayed my George Foreman grill with it, then put the sandwich in, and sprayed the top of the sandwich. They get nice and crusty and have little grill marks on them! I served the grilled cheese and baked cajun french fries with a green salad with a honey-balsamic dressing.

rating: 8

Baked Cajun French Fries
(from the cookbook “Vegan with a Vengeance” by Isa Chandra Moskowitz)

4 large unpeeled russet potatoes, cleaned and cut lengthwise into 1/4″ strips
2 tbsp olive oil
3/4 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp coarse sea salt

Preheat oven to 450 degrees F. Very lightly grease a large rimmed baking sheet.
In a mixing bowl toss the potatoes with olive oil to coat. Mix the spices and salt together and toss with the potatoes to coat. It’s ok if the mixture isn’t coating every part of each potato; as long as there is some of the spice on each one, you’re good.
Arrange the potatoes in a single layer on the prepared baking sheet; if they don’t all fit use a second sheet. Bake for 20 minutes. Use tongs to flip the potatoes, bake for another 12-15 minutes. The fries should be golden brown, Serve immediately.

Baked BBQ Tofu

Here’s another BBQ Tofu recipe. The tofu part is easy, it’s the sauce that takes a little time. But it’s mostly cooking time. In the sauce recipe, I didn’t have red pepper flakes so I added cayenne pepper instead. This was really good. Toby went back for seconds and now I have no leftovers. I served this with mashed potatoes, some jazzed up green beans (soy sauce, honey, garlic powder, walnuts), and yeast rolls. I had NOTHING left over for tomorrow’s lunch.

rating: 8

Baked BBQ Tofu
(from the cookbook “Veganomicon: The Ultimate Vegan Cookbook” by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero)

1 recipe Backyard BBQ Sauce or Apricot BBQ Sauce
1 lb tofu, drained and pressed, cut widthwise into eighths
2 tbsp peanut oil
1 tbsp soy sauce

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. In a 9×18″ (preferably glass or ceramic) baking pan, dredge the tofu in the peanut oil and tamari to coat on both sides. Bake for 15 minutes, then flip the slices and bake for 15 more minutes. Meanwhile, prepare whichever sauce you are using.

When the tofu is done baking, pour the sauce over it, smothering it all over. Return to the oven and bake for 15 more minutes. Remove from the oven and serve.

Backyard BBQ Sauce
(from the same cookbook)

1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium-size yellow onion, chopped as finely as you can
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp red pepper flakes
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
1/3 cup molasses
1/3 cup white vinegar
2 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp prepared yellow mustard (Dijon is fine, too)
2 tsp liquid smoke

Preheat a saucepan over medium heat. Place the onions in the pan and saute in oil until browned (about 7 minutes). Add the garlic and saute for another minute. Add all the other ingredients except the mustard and liquid smoke, and cook for at least 30 minutes and up to 1 hour, uncovered, stirring occasionally. Lower the heat if the sauce begins to splatter everywhere. Add the mustard and liquid smoke, and taste for sweetness/sourness. Adjust the flavors if you think it’s necessary, and cook for 5 more minutes. If you like a smooth BBQ sauce then puree it, but that’s not entirely necessary.

The best Mac-N-Cheese ever!

I made this mac-n-cheese once before, and it was heaven! It’s the sort of dish where, as you eat it, you can hear stuff clogging up your arteries, but it’s just so damn good you can’t stop eating it, so you put your hands over your ears? Yeah, that good. This time I used a fat-free half-n-half (hey, every little bit helps). It was still creamy and delicious. Of course Toby put hot sauce in his. I only used 1 egg, and I put some bread crumbs on the top.

rating: 9.5

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Four-Cheese-Macaroni/Detail.aspx