Pork Chops & Chicken

Dried Tart Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies

I had some dried tart cherries to get rid of. I was looking for a decent recipe for chocolate chip cookies when I found this little gem of a recipe tucked away. It was hiding under recipes with dried cranberries. No big deal switching the cranberries for the cherries, but what really piqued my interest was the call for almond extract and not vanilla.

These cookies are the effing bomb.


Dried Tart *Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies




Ingredients

• 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1 cup (2 sticks) butter
• 2 large eggs
• 1 teaspoon almond extract (Recipe called for 1/2 tsp. but 1 tsp. is better.)
• 1 cup dried cherries*
• 1 1/2 cups semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 cup chopped nuts (Pecans)

Directions

Preheat to 375 degrees

1. In a medium bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt until well dispersed.

2. Cream the sugars and butter together. Add the eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Beat the mixture until light and creamy. Add the extract.

3. Add the dry ingredients to the creamed ingredients, mixing until combined. Add the cranberries, chips, and nuts.

4. Drop heaping teaspoons two inches apart on an ungreased sheet. Bake for 9 to 10 minutes. Cool on a wire rack.

Mean Jean Meat Sauce (Spaghetti and Meat Sauce with Garlic Bread)

(I love that this picture shows hot steam coming from the plate.)

There is no real correlation to the name and this particular meat sauce. It entered my head and refused to leave. Mean Jean Meat Sauce is what this sauce will be called henceforth.

This is a meat sauce that I like to make from time to time. It varies with some of the ingredients, but you will notice the "optional" next to the ingredients I use or sometimes skip.

This is a recipe ideal for large families or for freezing copious amounts of leftovers. Be advised to have a pot or pan large enough to cook this massive recipe in. I use a large wok and still this sauce was almost too big.








Mean Jean Meat Sauce

Ingredients:

2# ground Beef or Turkey
2 1 pound jars of Pasta Sauce (Prego ect.)
2 cans Stewed Tomatoes not drained (optional)
1 large White Onion
1 large Green Bell Pepper
1 Large Yellow Bell Pepper
1 Large Red Bell Pepper
10 to 15 large White Mushrooms
1 to 2 Large carrots
2 stalks Celery
4 or 5 cloves of Garlic finely minced
1/2# Pancetta or a big chunk of a Prosciutto End (optional)
2 Bay Leaves
1/2 tbls. Chili Powder
1/2 tbls. Sage
1 tbls. Oregano
1 tbls. Basil
1 tbls. Italian Seasoning
1 tbls. Onion Powder
1/2 tbls. Garlic Powder
2 or 3 dashes Cinnamon (Optional)
1/3 cup Sugar (Optional)
Salt and Pepper to taste

*A couple of notes before we start. The stewed tomatoes are optional. I add them because I like them in my sauce. If you build a base sauce without the pasta sauce you can add plain tomato sauce and tomato paste with the stewed tomatoes. Just spice the sauce heavily. It's much easier to use a premade pasta sauce though.

The Pancetta or Prosciutto end add a wonderful salted pork/ham flavor to the pasta sauce. It's totally optional but I find it works well. It was a tip given to me by a cook a few years ago that I have adopted and kept on with. You won't need much salt added to the sauce if you add this step to your sauce.

I also add a pinch of sugar and cinnamon to my sauce. The sugar helps tone down the acid in the tomato sauce. If you have heart burn you might want to think about adding sugar to your sauces. I add a touch of cinnamon for a unique angle to my sauce. It will make your sauce smell like cinnamon but does not overwhelm or dominate the sauce. Believe me when I say, I know how weird this sounds. It's just and interesting option that I happen to like when balancing the salty meats added to the sauce. Sweet and Savory.

Method:

 

Wash all vegetables. Peel carrots and thinly slice them. Slice bell peppers in half and empty the cores. Cut the ends from the celery. Finely chop the peppers and celery and place in a bowl and leave on the side for now. 

Next thinly slice mushrooms and place in a separate bowl an leave on the side.

Chop onions and garlic and very fine.

In a large pan or pot begin to cook ground beef or turkey on medium high heat with onions and garlic. Once the meat is fully cooked drain off any excess water and grease.

 

Reduce heat to medium. Add sauce, stewed tomatoes, spices, vegetables, and mushrooms.

Allow the sauce to cook for a few minutes. Then add pancetta or prosciutto end and allow sauce to simmer for 20 to 30 minutes. Stir occassionally while simmering. Adjust heat to make sure you have a perfect small bubble simmer.

While the sauce is simmering begin prepping Garlic bread. 

Once the sauce has simmered, remove pancetta from the sauce. Trim the fat from the pancetta and dice the meat and stir the meat back into the sauce. 

Allow to simmer for a few more minutes and then turn the heat off of the sauce. Begin boiling your pasta adding some olive oil and salt.

Once pasta is cooked, drain and add a touch more olive oil to prevent noodles from sticking. Plate the noodles and cover with copious amounts of sauce. Serve with garlic bread.

 

Garlic Bread

1 large French Baguette

1 to 2 sticks of butter (I used two because my baguette was large.)

1 tbls chopped garlic

1 1/2 tbls Italian seasoning

1 tsp garlic salt

1 tsp onion salt

Preheat oven to 375° Slice baguette in two inch pieces without cutting all the way through. Place baguette in foil and slightly wrap it up in foil.

Melt butter in microwave. Add garlic and spices and mix well. Drop a teaspoon of garlic butter between each slice of the baguette. Coat the top of the baguette with remaining mixture. Finish wrapping baguette in foil and place in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes.

Modified Fish Tacos With Pineapple And Papaya Coleslaw And Sopa Fideo

Yep I made beer battered fish tacos. I am a bad ass.

I have decided to cook more verses baking sweets and desserts. I am through being intimidated with actual cooking. I can do anything in a kitchen, the harder it seems the easier it is for me. But for some reason I avoid cooking actual meals and bake instead. Silly.

So in an effort to take more control of my kitchen I made fish tacos. And even better, I modified this recipe for a much more suitable outcome.

For this recipe I will only link the original source. A lot of it is intact but I will reference every thing I have changed with an asterisk.

Also included in this recipe, is a recipe for Sopa Fideo. My brother-in-law used to make this all the time. I thought it would be good for a side dish to the fish tacos. That's why you will see other ingredients in the picture below.



Fish Tacos with Pineapple and *Papaya Coleslaw

   By Matthew Goudge and Modified by Candice Alström


Ingredients:

For the coleslaw: Make 2 hours in advance

*1 cup of cabbage, shredded (I used 2 cups coleslaw mix)

*1 cup of red cabbage, shredded

1/2 cup red wine vinegar

*1/2 cup canned cubed pineapple with juice

*1/2 cup fresh Papaya skinned and cubed or 1 half small papaya

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon salt

1 tablespoon mustard

 

Mix all of the ingredients for the coleslaw in a large bowl and let sit in the refrigerator for several hours to let the flavors combine.

For the fish:

*Fresh Cod cut in to 6 to 8 two inch pieces

*2 cups all purpose flour

*2 cups  or one 16oz Tall Boy Narragansett Lager

1 egg

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 tablespoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

2 teaspoons onion powder

Oil for frying

8 corn tortillas for serving

 

Mix the flour, beer, egg, salt, baking powder, cayenne pepper, and garlic powder into a bowl until it has the consistency of pancake batter. Dip each piece of fish in the batter and then put aside so the batter sets.

*I dropped the fish in the batter and left it in there until my grease heated to proper temp. The original recipe called for rice flour. I used the 2 cups and found my self still using all purpose flour to thicken the batter and actually make a real batter. The rice flour was gritty and terrible. I didn't mind it as much blended but it still had a gritty texture. Skip it and use regular all purpose flour. Just make sure your batter has the right consistency and is not too thick or runny.

Also, the use of Narragansett was the right beer for this batter. Something highly carbonated and tasty. So many people (Beer Geeks) think they have to use extravagant beers when cooking. You absolutely can, but why not drink the good stuff and use the cheap stuff for the cooking? Not that Narragansett isn't worthy of drinking. Unless you need a beer with a specific flavor, like when I used a raspberry beer for Belgian Raspberry Brownies with Espresso Ganache. But we're talking about a beer batter here. Blonde ales or effervescent carbonated beers work just fine. Narragansett is a classic cheap lager that tastes great and added good flavor for this batter. And being in 16 oz tall boys, it's perfect for the recipe calling for two cups.

Heat the oil to 350 degrees or medium high heat. Fry each piece of fish until golden brown and cooked, about 6 minutes. Remove to a paper towel and sprinkle with salt.

For the sauce:

1/2 cup ranch dressing

3 tablespoons taco seasoning

2 teaspoons sugar

To make the sauce, mix the ranch and the taco seasoning right before serving the fish tacos.

Wrap the corn tortillas in a wet towel and microwave for 30 seconds to make them pliable. Use two tortillas to form the shell instead of one. Fill the taco with two pieces of fish then add a heaping pile of slaw and top with sauce.

 

 

Sopa Fideo

Ingredients

8 oz Fideo or Italian Vermicelli (I mixed the vermicelli with small pasta)
1 8 oz can plain tomato sauce
1 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp cumin
1 1/2 cup chicken stock
1 tsp chili powder
2 tbls canola oil



In a small pan add canola oil and heat on medium to medium high heat. Add pasta to the oil and coat with the oil until pasta begins to brown.



Add half of the can of tomato sauce and 1 cup of chicken stock to the pasta. Add spices and stir. Cook until pasta has soaked up nearly all liquids.

Add rest of tomato sauce and stock and and simmer for ten minutes until thick and creamy like. Remove from heat serve hot.