I often extol the virtues of English food in an attempt to counteract the bad reputation that it has earned over time.  Oh sure, just like any country’s cuisine, some of England’s unsavory food reputation has been well deserved, but let us not forget that we have Slim Jims and Spam ourselves.

As you can tell from reading my blog I am a real lover of unassuming, plain old simple cooking.  In England this spans the gamut from toad in the hole to bread and butter pudding.  Somewhere in between are some of my favorites, steak and ale pie, sticky toffee pudding and fish and chips.

Most every little village in the UK has their own jewel in the crown, the local fish and chip shop.  In addition to great fried fish, there are usually a few sides available here as well, most notably big chunky chips, and very often mushy peas and baked beans.  While baked beans are a big favorite a lot of times, it’s the mushy peas I really love with my fish and chips.  

In the UK mushy peas are most often prepared with marrowfat peas.  Marrowfat peas are peas that are allowed to mature and dry in the field instead of being harvested in their youth like garden peas.   You may recognize them as the peas used to make wasabi peas.  I found these giant super plump peas (sans wasabi coating) impossible to find here in the Denver area, so I set about replicating them with what I could find. 

I started out my hunt for the perfect American mushy pea recipe with frozen peas.  I cooked them per the package instructions, leaving a bit of the cooking liquid in the pan to add some additional moisture to my recipe.  I mashed them and whipped them around a bit and what I landed up with was pretty good, but it missed the mark.

Next I tried soaking and cooking dried peas.  I must admit from the start here that I found my plain old dried peas (not split peas which taste ok, but get too mushy) at my favorite rainy day hang out, my local Asian market.  You might have to do a little hunting to seek even these out, but it is worth the trouble if you are looking for great stateside mushy peas.

Dried Whole Green Peas

I soaked my peas overnight (or at least 8 hours) and then cooked them for close to 3 hours to get the right tenderness.  I removed the transparent skins that cooked to the top and then mashed them just a tad as they were already starting to breakdown.  I was so proud of myself for not spooning in a bunch of seasonings as I did have some fresh bacon drippings sitting right next to the pot.  I had to remind myself that it was simplicity I was after here not a spice rack full of ingredients.

The end result was the closest thing to English chip shop mushy peas on this side of the Atlantic.  Although time consuming, this was really a simple recipe. So if you love mushy peas as much as I do, or if you’d like to try something new, give this super simple recipe a try.

Mushy Peas

1 cup dried whole green peas

6 – 7 cups water, divided

1 to 1-1/2 teaspoons kosher salt

Black pepper to taste

Fresh lemon juice (optional)

Sort through the peas, place in a large sauce pan and cover with 3 cups of water.  Soak peas in water overnight or at least 8 hours.

Drain peas and cover with enough of the remaining water to cover by an inch or so.  Add salt to the peas and water and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to a slow boil, cover with a tight fitting lid and cook until peas are soft, approximately 2 – 3 hours. 

Remove the cover and stir well.  Mash the peas until about 50% of them are mashed.  Continue cooking to reduce the amount of liquid until the peas have the consistency of loose refried beans.  Add pepper and just a squeeze of lemon juice if desired to brighten the flavor.  Serve immediately.

Serves 4,  or in our case 2

*Some recipes call for baking soda to be added to the cooking water to help speed up the breakdown of the peas.  I’ve also read that some think it cuts down on the gassiness of the peas.  I can’t verify either of these theories as once I read it breaks down the beneficial thiamine (Vitamin B1) in the peas I just left it out.  I’ll leave this experiment up to you.

A little over a week ago the Omni Interlocken Hotel here in Denver hosted some area food bloggers to a tasting of their menu for their Simply Street Food promotion.  In an effort to get the word out about this temporary event, the Omni treated us to an afternoon of delicious food and drink in the cozy pub like surroundings of their casual Tap Room.

Our host for the afternoon Sous Chef Troy Micheletti, explained to us that the Simply Street Food menu is the result of a competition between more than 100 Omni chefs from San Antonio to Singapore, who were asked to create street food inspired dishes made popular in their homelands.  From all of these recipes, six of the best were chosen to make up this menu and we were lucky enough to have to tasted them all. 

With roots in Nigeria, Acaraje de Orixa is commonly sold in the streets of Bahia, Brazil and is the creation of Chef Josemar Passos of the Tivoli Ecoresort Praia do Forte. This Afro-Brazilian delicacy is prepared with a ground black-eyed pea and shrimp paste.

Duck Empanadas with Smoked Tomato Mayo, was created by Chef Gene Moss of the Omni La Mansion del Rio in San Antonio, Texas.  The crispy empanada is stuffed with flavorful duck confit and paired with a sweet and smoky tomato mayonnaise.

Chef Scott Mole of Omni Bedford Springs Resort in Bedford, PA,  created this Citrus Ancho Braised Lamb Tostada, which is a combination of delicate and tender lamb piled atop a crispy tortilla.  Braised in a secret family recipe that was inspired by the Mexican cuisine of his parents, this is a blend of simple, fresh ingredients served with a Latin twist.

The Chicken Musakhan Sandwich is inspired by Musakhan, a traditional Palestinian chicken dish which is a common Middle Eastern street food.  The flavors of this grilled chicken sandwich are vivid and unexpected with the addition of the dill pickle, mustard and ketchup.  Chef Mohamed Alaa Allaham of Emirates Palace Hotel, Abu Dhabi is the talented creator of this delicious dish.

Who wouldn’t love this sandwich?  Short Rib and Vermont Cheddar Sandwich, is the creation of Chef Gerard Tice of the Omni Parker House, Boston, MA.  Bursting with the flavors of fresh beef, native produce, Vermont cheddar cheese and artisan brioche, this sandwich is definitely a highlight of this colorful menu.

Famous Peddler’s Char Kway Teow is a popular dish served throughout Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia.  This version of the dish, developed by Chef Andy Oh of Pan Pacific Orchard, Singapore, features plump shrimp and flavorful bits of sausage tossed with flat rice noodles.

My photos are representative of the menu’s portion sizes which were served to us on our visit.  As you can tell with prices ranging from $9 – $15, these dishes are a pretty good value.  The Tap Room is open from Monday thru Thursday 4pm – 11pm, Friday 4pm – 2am and Saturday and Sunday 11am – midnight.  This special menu is available now through the month of March.  Be sure and pair any of these dishes with one of their beers from their amazing selection.  This definitely goes on my list of things to do on a cold snowy Saturday afternoon . . . or any other afternoon for that matter.

Since I always add a recipe at the end of my posts, I chose to prepare the duck empanadas as my featured recipe. Chef Moss just may burn my house down for this, but I felt I needed to make an executive decision and alter the recipe just a bit so home cooks might find it easier to prepare.  Since duck is often times expensive and hard to find, I made mine with some shredded turkey thighs which I found to be a nice substitute. 

I also abbreviated the Smoked Tomato Mayonnaise recipe a bit and it turned out pretty close to the original if I do say so myself.  If you would like to view and make the Omni original recipe, click on the link at the bottom of this page.  I know at first glance this recipe sounds a bit involved, but since all the components are prepared in advance, assembly is really quite quick and they take just a few minutes to shallow fry. 

“Duck” Empanadas with Smoked Tomato Mayonnaise, Adapted from Omni Hotels’ Simply Street Food

For the meat filling:

2 large turkey thighs (mine weighed 2 – 1/2 pounds)
Salt and pepper (and whatever other spices you like to season you protein with)

Season thighs.  Place in a preheated 350 degree oven. Cover and cook for approximately 1 hour or until juices run clear and meat is cooked through.  Uncover meat for the last 20 – 30 minutes of cooking time to give it a more colorful appearance.  Thighs can also be cooked over a medium high heat on an outdoor charcoal grill.  Remove cooked thighs from heat, allow to sit for 10 minutes before removing meat from the bone and shredding with a fork; set aside.

For the mayonnaise:

1 cup mayonnaise
2 tablespoons tomato paste
1/2 teaspoon liquid smoke
1/4 teaspoon granulated garlic
2 tablespoons finely diced onion
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 teaspoon red or white wine vinegar

Place all ingredients in a medium size bowl, stir well, cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

For the marinated cabbage:

1 – 1/2 cups finely shredded cabbage (approximately 1/8 of a small head of cabbage)
1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
1 tablespoon chopped fresh basil (I use 1/2 teaspoon dried basil which worked well)
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint (Not being real fond of mint I used just a pinch of dried, which is all I had on hand. Hey it’s winter!)
2 tablespoons finely chopped cilantro
1 teaspoon kosher salt
Black pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl.  Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

For the empanada dough (Adapted from Epicurious):

2 – 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon kosher salt
1 stick ice cold butter, chopped into 1/2″ cubes
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup ice water
1 tablespoon vodka or white vinegar

Place the flour and salt in the bowl of a food processor and process for a few seconds to combine.  Add the butter and process until the mixture looks like corn meal.

In a small spouted container  whisk together the egg, water and vodka.  With the processor running, pour the mixture into the flour and process until the dough is formed and pulls away from the side of the bowl.  Flatten to a disk, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for at least 1 hour.

Empanada Assembly:

Remove chilled dough from the refrigerator.  Divide into 12 equal portions.  Roll each portion into a 5″ round.  Place about 1/12 of the meat (about 1 ounce or a heaping tablespoon) and drained cabbage onto 1/2 of the circle.  Dampen the edges of the dough with just a bit of water. Fold the dough over the filling and press edges together.  Press the edges with the tines of a fork to decorate; repeat with all of the dough and filling, set aside.

Pour enough oil into a medium size sauce pan so that it comes up the sides at least 1″.  Place over medium heat and heat until the oil is hot and shimmering.  Drop empanadas into the hot oil one or two at a time (do not crowd).  Watching carefully fry empanadas for just a minute or two on each side or until they are golden brown.  Drain on paper towel lined tray.  Keep warm until ready to serve.  Serve with the Smoked Tomato Mayo

Makes 12

Looking for more information about this event?  Be sure and visit Barb at Creative Culinary, Ansh at Spice Roots, Holly at A Baker’s House or the Omni Hotel website where you can find links to recipes and more information about Simply Street Food.

Anyone who has been reading my ramblings here for the past few years might be familiar with my stories about Caterer Chris. Even though I only worked with her for a very brief time back in the 90s, the recipes that I learned under her direction are some of my favorites to this day.

Included in the short but important list of her great recipes, is one for $100 Chocolate Cake. This recipe claims to have had its beginnings in the dining room of the famous Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City, but now in the days of the internet I have found that its origins just might not be so clear.

So the urban legend goes, this cake was so good that the Waldorf’s resident chef, weary from so many recipe requests, would gladly pass on the recipe for this cake, and a bill for $100.00 right along with it. As you can well imagine, this must have certainly cut down on the constant recipe requests from their patrons.

Through much Googling and reading, I have discovered that the original recipe for the Waldorf’s cake very well might have been for more of a red velvet recipe than this one. As with most urban legends, the true story has been lost long ago, but that in no way takes away from the taste of this particular delicious chocolate cake recipe.

Caterer Chris’s recipe that she passed on to me calls for more of a mocha/coffee frosting, but my family didn’t like it nearly as much as I do. Consequently, I have been in search of a worthy substitute for all these years. Finally, I can now emphatically state that I have found the perfect frosting for this delicious cake.

This Swiss Buttercream recipe, introduced to me by one of my pastry chef friends is easy to make, light and fluffy and stable at room temperature. It is also easy to work with, and I am happy to say that the family loves it.

So here you go, a recipe for a great chocolate cake with a buttery Swiss Almond Buttercream frosting and you didn’t have to pay a penny for it. You can thank me later.

$100 Chocolate Cake with Swiss Almond Buttercream Frosting

4 squares unsweetened chocolate (I used a cocoa powder substitute which is 3 tablespoons cocoa powder plus 1 tablespoon cooking oil per square)
1/2 cup (1 – 4 ounce stick) butter (I used Churn 84, but any high butter fat content butter will work)
2 cups sifted flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 – 1/2 cups milk

Line the bottom of 2 – 9 inch round cake pans with parchment and spray with non-stick cooking spray; set aside.

Heat chocolate and butter in a sauce pan over low heat until melted and smooth. Transfer mixture to a large bowl; set aside to cool.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sift together flour, baking powder and salt in a medium size bowl; set aside.

With an electric mixer set to medium low speed, blend the sugar with the eggs. To this add the vanilla and the chocolate mixture, continue beating until well combined.

With the mixer at low speed, add the flour mixture and the milk, starting with 1/4 of the flour mixture, followed by 1/3 of the milk, repeating until all the ingredients are well combined.

Pour batter evenly into the prepared pans. Bake 30 – 35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out ALMOST clean. Top center of the cakes will be soft so the perfectly done cake will not spring back in the middle if touched with a finger.

Cool cakes in pans for 5 minutes before turning out onto cooling racks to cool completely.

Frost with Swiss Almond Buttercream, recipe follows.

For high altitude, I decreased the baking powder to 1-1/2 teaspoons and increased the flour by two tablespoons.

Swiss Almond Buttercream

1 – 2 ounces sliced almonds
4 egg whites from 4 large to extra large eggs
1-1/2 cups granulated sugar
Pinch of salt if desired
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoons almond extract
1 pound high butter fat butter, softened to room temperature

Place almonds in a pan set over medium heat. Toast, stirring frequently until they are golden brown and they become aromatic. Transfer to a cool plate and set aside until ready to use.

Whisk egg whites and granulated sugar in the top of a double boiler or in the metal bowl of a stand mixer set over a pan of gently simmering water.  If desired, you can add a pinch of salt at this time. Heat, while whisking constantly until all of the sugar is dissolved and no “grit” can be felt when rubbing a bit of the mixture between your fingers.

Transfer the hot mixture to a mixing bowl and whisk with an electric mixer set to medium high. Whisk until mixture is completely cooled and resembles marshmallow fluff, about 10 minutes.

Once cooled, add the butter a large pinch (about a tablespoon or two) at a time to the egg white mixture, blending well between additions. Add vanilla and almond extracts.

After all the butter is added, increase the mixer speed to high and whip until the mixture looks like over beaten whipped cream, approximately 2 minutes.

Use immediately or cover bowl and store in a cool place. Refrigeration is not recommended until after you frost your cake as the butter hardens making it difficult to use until it returns to room temperature. Sprinkle with toasted almonds.

This recipe makes enough frosting to generously frost a two layer cake.

Butterball Farms, the makers of Epicurean Butter, recently sent me a sample box of their new European style butter, Churn 84. At 84% butterfat content, this butter surpasses the usual 80% found in most butters on the market today. Presently only available to food service companies, Churn 84 is available in butter sheets for making croissants and pastries, butter pats, rolls and blocks. 

I talk to my daughter at university probably three times a day. No, I don’t make her, I am just that fun. She calls me first thing in the morning to let me know she’s alive (I do insist on this one). She calls me at lunchtime because she’s wondering what I’m up to, then she calls me at night to let me know that she’s all buttoned down and going to bed. Then we start all over again the next day. She’s a good girl and I love her more than I can say. Thank goodness for cell phones and her good taste in the people she wants to talk to.

When I was her age there were no cell phones. If my parents couldn’t find me when I went underground they’d either have to hire a detective or wait it out. When I think about what they must have gone through worrying about me it makes me realize how spoiled I am always (well, almost always) being able to contact my kids when I want.  

When I was in my early twenties my newly found, all-grown up freedom and I went to Natchitoches, Louisiana (pronounced NACK-uh-tush) with a group of friends for the town’s annual Christmas Festival of Lights.  In all the excitement I forgot to call my parents and tell them I was leaving town, so by Sunday night when I got back home to Houston the National Guard was on high alert. Man, they were mad!  Now that I have a couple of children of my own, I know how frantic they must have been when I forgot to call and tell them I’d be gone for three days. Oops!

The weekend started out when one of my friends somehow got the keys to his family’s weekend house in Louisiana. As I remember it, it was a rustic little place on the edge of a swamp nestled among the cypress trees with the snakes and alligators. We had planned a wonderful weekend of drinking, dominoes and festival making. The only kink in this plan was that the septic tank was broken so there was no working bathroom in the house. Not good a good situation with four women who are drinking beer. Since we all refused to go outside and use the restroom in the bushes (see photo below), we spent most of the weekend driving to the closest gas station with a public toilet.

Louisiana’s outdoor restroom attendants

Since every time we turned around we were running to town anyway, we spent a lot of time hanging out at the festival eating. You might be familiar with the town and this festival and not know it. The movie Steel Magnolias was filmed here and the festival they show in the movie is this one. They have every Christmas scene you can imagine fashioned from lights and placed on one side of the Cane River which runs through the center of the historic part of town. The fireworks show which is on the opening weekend of the celebration, is so spectacular that even the fluorescent yellow nacho cheese sauce that I sat in in my new wool coat to watch them couldn’t kill the fun.

Like many festivals around the country, the food here is delicious mainly because it has been perfected  over the years by generations of amateur home cooks. Even though great food abounds, the one dish they are most proud of and famous for is their meat pies. They love them so much that they even have their own separate celebration for them in September.  These pies are made from a simple recipe of ground beef and pork with Cajun flavors wrapped in a soft dough and deep fried. How can you go wrong with this combo?

Those meat pies were so good that I have never forgotten the flavor and have planned on making them for years now. Well, this is the year and I’m happy to tell you that they were really simple, the hardest part being rolling the dough, but even at that not a deal breaker. This recipe made 16 pretty large pies but I think it would also be great to downsize them a bit and make 24 smaller ones for party appetizers. This is really a great base to expand on or change.  I could see where this recipe could be easily altered to make Mexican, Asian or Italian versions, so I hope you’ll have fun experimenting with it. I know I will.

Natchitoches Meat Pies

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 pound 80/20 ground beef

1 pound ground pork (I tried it with pork sausage and it was great)

1 bunch green onions, finely chopped

1 small bell pepper, finely chopped (green is more traditional but you can use any color that you like)

1 large garlic clove, crushed

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme (my own addition)

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes (optional)

Salt and black pepper to taste

4 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for preparing surface

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 cup shortening

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup milk

Pour vegetable oil in a large frying pan set over medium high heat; brown meat in oil. Add the onion and bell pepper; cook, stirring frequently until vegetables are soft, approximately 5 minutes; add garlic and sauté for 1 minute longer. Add thyme, red pepper flakes and salt and pepper to taste before sprinkling 1 tablespoon of the flour you borrow from the dough ingredients over the meat; stir well.  Remove from the heat and set aside until ready to use.

Sift the remaining flour, salt and baking powder together into a large bowl or in the bowl of a food processor (this makes quick work of this step); process or cut in shortening by hand until it looks like cornmeal. Stir the eggs and milk together before slowly mixing into the flour mixture; mix well to form a soft dough.

Divide the dough into 16 equal portions. Dust a clean dry surface with flour. Roll each dough portion into a ball. Place each ball on the floured surface one at a time before rolling it into circle about 6 – 7” in diameter. Spoon approximately 2 heaping tablespoons of the meat mixture onto one side of the circle, leaving a 1” clean edge all around. Brush edges with a little warm water. Fold the circle over the meat mixture matching the edges, forming a semi-circle. Fold the edges in half up towards the meat leaving a 1/2″ edge. Press the edge with the tines of a fork to crimp. Repeat with the remaining meat and dough.

Heat deep fryer oil or pour enough oil into a medium size frying pan to come up to a 1” depth in the pan; heat over medium high heat. When the oil is hot and shimmering place 1 – 2 pies in the pan and fry to a golden brown on each, approximately 3 minutes or so. Remove from the heat and drain on paper towels. Serve hot or at room temperature.

I love my association with Applegate. They produce clean meat products without hormones or antibiotics, and I like clean meats without hormones or antibiotics. Win, win I’d say.

A few days ago the folks at Applegate sent me a box with a couple of packages of their Good Morning Bacon inside. In my opinion it is not exactly traditional bacon by definition, but pretty darn close. This bacon is made with meat from the pork shoulder instead of the belly, resulting in a cut of meat that is 60% lower in fat than regular bacon but is still pretty tasty.

Now, I didn’t exactly admit to Applegate (like I am admitting to you now) that I am not a real breakfast girl. All I know is they said “bacon”, and I said “yes”. If given a choice I would much rather have leftovers from the night before for breakfast than eggs any day. When it comes to bacon though, I can eat it 3 times a day, so I think I am qualified.

For this post I did actually consider doing something breakfasty like an egg sandwich, but I believe that most people already have their own favorite recipe for those. I also thought about making some pancakes and spiking them with bacon, but it seems like I already did that a few months ago. So to be true to myself, I decided to use this delicious, super lean bacon in one of my favorite soups, cream of mushroom.

I stopped buying most canned soups years ago. Once I discovered how easy most of them are to make, I kicked the can in favor of homemade. The biggest trick of all to making homemade soups is not getting carried away and making too much. Who needs 6 gallons of soup for a family of four? The only other problem I ever had was adding too much rice or pasta. After years of dry soups in the fridge, I now only put about half as much pasta or rice in as I feel inclined to. Thanks to this rule and lots of bacon, they now turn out great every time.

For more information about Applegate and their products, including their Good Morning Bacon, please click here.

Creamy Bacon, Mushroom and Onion Soup

This soup certainly isn’t just something that you add to casseroles, although you certainly can if you like. This soup is a meal in itself. Flavorful, hearty and elegant enough to serve to your mother-in-law. Make this once and you’ll kick the can too.

4 ounces Applegate Good Morning Bacon or lean streaky bacon, chopped
3 nice big shallots (or 1/2 of a small yellow onion), finely chopped
2 tablespoons butter or light olive oil or a combination of both
8 ounces crimini mushrooms, coarsely chopped
1 large clove garlic, crushed
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1-3/4 cup HOT chicken or vegetable stock
1/4 cup of your favorite white wine (can be substituted with additional stock)
1-1/2 cups heavy whipping cream (Whole milk can be used but you will have to increase the flour by an additional tablespoon to thicken the soup. If heated too high for too long, milk can curdle, so I advise adding it at the end of the cooking time, just long enough to heat it through.)
1 healthy pinch white pepper
1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary
Salt and pepper

Place bacon in a large saucepan set over medium high heat. Cook, stirring frequently until it is browned. Add the shallots and cook for 1 – 2 minutes longer or until they start to sweat. Add the Mushrooms and cook for 2 – 3 minutes longer, stirring frequently. To this stir in the garlic and cook for 1 minute longer.

Sprinkle the flour over the top of the mushrooms in the pan. After stirring and cooking for about a minute longer, slowly add the hot stock while stirring constantly. Add the white wine, whipping cream, pepper and rosemary. Bring to a boil before reducing heat to low, covering and simmering for 5 minutes.

Before serving add salt and pepper to taste. Serve piping hot with croutons or crumbled bacon sprinkled on top.

This recipe serves 2 large dinner size portions or 4 small appetizer size portions.

Many years ago I worked part-time for a wild woman caterer in Dallas. Chris was 100% Italian American with thick dark curly hair and an extra couple of pounds around her middle. She had a sharp sarcastic wit that no one could escape, but that was OK because we all knew if she picked on you that meant she loved you.

Probably her most important quality was her ability to cook anything well. She had some of the world’s greatest recipes up in that head of hers. Many of them were for the delicious variety of sandwiches that she sold out of her store front at lunchtime. Her tuna and egg salads were two of my favorites and I now admit that for some strange reason they are startlingly close to the ones featured here on my site (thank you Chris).

Looking back, I’m not sure if it was my ability to work both the front and back of the house or the fact that my husband had a pick-up truck with a top, but I was always asked to work every event.

Anyone who has ever worked in catering will testify to the fact that transporting food and supplies to a venue is an art in itself. Sometimes the better part of an hour is used packing, wedging and propping boxes, crates, jars and tubs just right so there won’t be any catastrophic events on the drive to the destination. I’m here to tell you no matter how hard you try to secure everything you usually land up trying to navigate the freeway while steadying a bus tub of meatballs in teriyaki sauce with your foot.

I’ll never forget on one occasion arriving at a small rental hall to set up for a wedding reception only to find that one of the chafing dish lids had taken flight during the trip and landed into the second tier of the wedding cake. Thanks to a bunch of fresh flowers, a couple of cans of Betty Crocker frosting and lots of imagination, we were able to camouflage it so well that even Bridezilla’s mother never knew the difference (thank you Jesus).

The one recipe that had to be the most requested by her clients was Chris’s recipe for pepperoni Stromboli. She started with homemade dough and filled it with tons of cheese and pepperoni. Since learning how to make her recipe all those years ago, I have no doubt made versions of it a hundred times for parties of my own. I have made it with caramelized onions, olives, mushrooms, roasted garlic, sundried tomatoes and every combination of cheese and meat you can imagine.

A couple of weeks ago when I was trying to decide what snack I would bring to my first food blogger meeting, this popped into my head. Since it is just as delicious warm or at room temperature it is perfect as a potluck dish. I have to say that it even held its own around the other bloggers’ delicious dishes and that is saying a lot.

I highly recommend this recipe if you really want to present something extra special to your guests. Serve this with a side of olives and some chilled white wine and you’ll swear you’re in some place exotic like Dallas in the early 90s.

Pepperoni Ham and Cheese Stromboli

1 cup warm (110 degrees F) water
1 (1/4-ounce) envelope active dry yeast
1 teaspoon sugar
1 tablespoon oil
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 – 8 ounce package shredded Italian blend cheese
1 cup shredded Asiago cheese
1/2 – 1 teaspoon Italian seasoning, depending on taste
12 ounces thinly sliced pepperoni or 6 ounces thinly sliced pepperoni and 6 ounces thinly sliced deli ham, chopped
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese

In a large bowl, combine the water, yeast, sugar, and oil and stir to combine. Let sit until the mixture is foamy, about 5 minutes.

Add 1 1/2 cups of the flour and the salt, mixing by hand until it is all incorporated and the mixture is smooth. Continue adding the flour, 1/4 cup at a time, working the dough after each addition, until all the flour is incorporated but the dough is still slightly sticky. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth but still slightly tacky, 3 to 5 minutes.

Spray a large mixing bowl with non-stick cooking spray. Place the dough in the bowl and turn to oil all sides. Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and set in a warm, draft-free place until nearly doubled in size, 1 to 1 1/2 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Roll dough out on to a lightly floured surface. Divide dough in half and roll each half our to a large rectangle that is about 1/4″ thick. Sprinkle with half of the cheeses (leaving a 1″ border on one long edge), followed by the Italian seasoning, pepperoni and/or ham or any other desired topping. I’ve seen some recipes that call to have the ingredients overlap but I like leaving some gaps so that the layers will stick together when it is sliced. Brush the clean long edge and short edges with beaten egg.

Starting with one of the long sides, roll dough and fillings up jellyroll fashion. Pinch edges to seal. Transfer roll to a non-stick baking sheet seam side down. Let rise for 15 minutes. Repeat with the remaining dough and ingredients; brush tops with beaten egg before placing in the preheated oven. Bake for 15 – 20 minutes; sprinkle with the Parmesan cheese and return to the oven for another 5 minutes. Remove and cool for 10 minutes before cutting into thick slices diagonally and serving.

Makes 2 loaves

This is really a fun a rewarding dish to prepare just don’t rush it. I encourage to use your imagination with your filling ingredients. You really can’t mess it up if you use your favorites.

I always hesitate to post recipes for ethnic foods that I am new to cooking. I’m afraid that someone will read this who is an expert and be appalled at my amateurish attempt. How embarrassing. So, OK, I’m going out on a limb here, but I recently tasted a recipe that I have to share, and I hope that it will get the stamp of approval from most of you, expert or not.

Steamed pork buns are delicious little pastries filled with a sweet shredded pork filling. Steamed or baked, these buns are a favorite of dim sum lovers of which I count myself as one. I’ve eaten lots of pork buns in my day and think these are pretty darned good even if my assembly technique still needs a bit of work.

I wish I could take credit for this particular recipe but it is mostly courtesy of Sur la Table. I have made a couple of tweaks, most notably the quantity of pork. The original recipe calls for 2 pounds of boneless pork country-style ribs which I found to be at least 8 – 10 ounces too much for the amount of dough that the recipe makes. Of course you could always make 2 pounds which will leave you with plenty to nibble on.

I would love to give you a link to this recipe on their site, but unfortunately there just isn’t one, so I am reproducing the recipe here in its entirety. To visit their site and access their other delicious recipes, please click here.

Steamed Pork Buns

Dough:
1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
3/4 cup warm water (110 – 115 degrees)
2 tablespoons vegetable oil plus more for oiling the bowl
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 pinch of table salt

In a small bowl, combine the water and yeast; when foamy add the oil and whisk to combine.

Sift the flour, sugar and baking powder into a large bowl and make a well in the center, add the yeast mixture and mix into a soft, pliable dough. Turn dough out onto a clean surface and knead for 5 minutes or until smooth, pliable and elastic (Dough should not be sticky at this point.  Knead in small amounts of additional flour if it is.) Place dough into a medium size oiled bowl (or place on a Silpat and cover with the oiled bowl like in my photo), cover with plastic wrap and place it in the warmest part of your kitchen to rise for about 1 hour or until doubled in size. Thank you for this tip Chef Celeste.

1 hour later . . .

Pork filling:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 – 2 pounds (2, if you like to have some extra to snack on), country-style pork ribs, bone in or boneless
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/4 cup hoisin sauce, divided
1/4 cup water
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons oyster sauce
2 tablespoons Shaoxing rice wine (Sherry is a good substitute)
2 tablespoons honey
2 tablespoons lightly packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon Chinese five spice powder
2 tablespoons freshly grated gingerroot
Lettuce or cabbage leaves (of any sort) for steaming

Pressure cooker method:

Heat a pressure cooker to medium-high and add oil. Season the pork with salt and pepper. When the oil is shimmering, add the pork and sear on all sides until golden brown.

In a small bowl combine 2 tablespoons of the hoisin sauce and the remaining ingredients, whisking well to combine. pour sauce over pork, lock the lid and cook for 45 minutes on high once pressure is reached.

Alternate Cooking Method:

Place salt and pepper seasoned meat into a pan that has been preheated with 1 tablespoon of oil. Brown on all sides, add hoisin mixture, reduce heat to low and cover. Cook until meat is fall apart tender, approximately 1 – 1/2 hours. This can also be done in a 325 degree oven.

Once meat is cooked, transfer to a medium bowl and shred the pork using 2 forks. Add 3 tablespoons of the cooking liquid and remaining 2 tablespoons hoisin sauce to the pork and stir to combine. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and more cooking liquid if mixture seems too dry. Set mixture aside while preparing dough.

To Assemble Buns:

Line a bamboo or metal steamer with lettuce or cabbage leaves, leaving areas open to allow steam to pass through.

Divide dough into 8 – 12 equal portions, depending on how big you want your buns to be. Roll each portion into a round ball. Shape the balls into discs about 4″ in diameter, leaving the middle just a bit thicker than the edges. Spoon about a tablespoon in the center of each round. Pull the edges up and pleat the dough around the filling, pinching as you work your way around the entire circle. As you can see from my photos, I need a lot of practice when it comes to forming my buns. Good thing I love making them!

To Steam Buns:

Pour water into a wok or large pot to a depth of 3 inches and heat over a medium high heat to a strong simmer. Stack bamboo steamers in the wok or place a steamer insert into the pot. Steamer should not touch the surface of the water. Arrange buns in the steamer at least 1″ apart. Cover steamer and steam buns for approximately 15 minutes or until they are puffed and fluffy.

Serve immediately.

Probably like most of you out there, I get many of my best recipes from friends. Some friend recipes are better than others, but a few of them are so good that I never forget them.

My friend Leslie is a world class self taught cook.  She and her husband Randy have been friends of ours for forever and a day. I actually went to high school with Randy.  His younger sister Sandy was a very good friend of mine and I was even in her wedding.  Yep, I was there standing on the end of the reception line in a peach dress with a sheer floppy hat and dyed to match shoes.  Gotta love those bridesmaid outfits.

I met Leslie for the first time on the same weekend that my friend Sandy got married.  Randy had come home from college for the wedding with his new super cute girlfriend in attendance.  All of the girls in our group were a little bit protective of Randy so I have to admit that I was all set not to like her, but she was one of those girls that you just couldn’t dislike.  Calm, relaxed and quick with a clever comeback, she was a girl’s girl and an instant hit with us all.

We all soon married and my husband and I somehow landed up living in the same city as they and our friendship was cemented forever.  I had the first baby and even though we had moved away by then, they were a natural choice for godparents for our daughter. For eighteen years Leslie made sure that a Hallmark ornament was in the mail for our daughter every Christmas.  If I would have known she was that loyal I would had made it a stipulation that godparents pay for college.  Well, that might be pushing it.

Anyway, like I said, Les is one of those naturally great cooks.  She is world renowned (well, in my world at least) for her Potatoes O’Brien.  Her succulent mustard encrusted barbecued turkey breast still lingers in my memory, but my all time favorite recipe discovery from dinner at her house has to be her Squash Rockefeller.

This dish, comprised of simple ingredients is one of my absolute favorite side dishes.  I mean, it really goes with anything and I haven’t met anyone yet that doesn’t like it.  Best of all?  You can make it ahead of time and pop it in the oven after the guests arrive.

I’ve been making this for years now and must admit that I lost her original recipe long ago.  Probably by now only the main ingredients are the same as her original recipe, but I think she’d still love this rendition. So here’s to good friends . . . and the recipes we steal from them.  Thanks for the inspiration Les!

Squash Rockefeller

4 small to medium size yellow squash
4 slices bacon, finely diced
1/2 medium size yellow onion, finely diced
1 large clove garlic, crushed
1 – 10 ounce package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and pressed until it is well drained
1 ounce cream cheese, room temperature
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 cup grated Swiss cheese
1 big ol’ heaping tablespoon Parmesan cheese
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Place whole squash in a large stock pot.  Cover with lightly salted water and place over medium high heat, bring to a boil, reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook until there is just a little bit of resistance when poked with a fork, approximately 10 minutes. Remove squash from the water and place on a plate to cool.

While squash is cooling, place a frying pan over medium heat.   Add bacon to the pan and cook until it is almost crisp.  Add the onion and saute until tender and transparent.  To this mixture add the crushed garlic and saute for 1 minute longer.

Add the drained spinach to the pan and stir until it is mixed well with the vegetables and heated through.  To this mixture add the cream cheese, butter, Swiss, Parmesan, salt and pepper.  Mix well to combine thoroughly; set aside.

Once the squash has cooled, cut in half lengthwise.  Carefully scoop out the seeds in the center of the squash.  Fill the cavity with a heaping tablespoon of the spinach filling.  Cover with bread crumbs (recipe follows) and place in a preheated 325 degree oven until heated through, 20 – 30 minutes.

Breadcrumb Topping

1 large slice bread
1 tablespoon butter

Place bread in a mini food processor and process or rub between your hands until you have medium fine crumbs.

Melt butter in a frying pan over medium heat.  Stir in the breadcrumbs and stirring frequently, pan toast until crumbs are a golden brown.

Now that spring has arrived and summer is around the corner, fried chicken recipes are popping up everywhere you look. I don’t know why it is, but fried chicken seems to be a seasonal favorite. Maybe it is because it reminds us of picnics and lazy Sunday afternoons, but whatever the reason, all this talk has made me fried chicken hungry.

For years I was part of the “no brine” camp of poultry cooks. I just really didn’t see the need of making a big deal out of frying a chicken or roasting a turkey, then I tried it and found out that what they say is true. This extra step elevates poultry (and pork) from good to glorious. All you need to do is mix a few simple ingredients together and give it all a little time to do its magic. Oh yeah, you might need to make some room in your refrigerator too.

This brine recipe is good for boneless or bone in chicken and pork chops of any size or thickness. Your meat will not only be moist and tender after cooking, but it will also have flavor all the way through. The only thing I have to say about pork is, if your chops are thick it is probably best to bake or grill them and leave off the breading which could come out soggy because of all the moisture.

Juicy Brined Chicken Tenders

These are delicious served with Louisiana hot sauce and blue cheese, barbecue sauce and ranch dressing or just plain old honey, but you can’t go wrong serving them with a pile of crispy waffles and lots of warm syrup. This is the stuff that legendary Easter buffets are made of.

1 tablespoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons lightly packed light brown sugar
1 large garlic clove crushed
3 cups water
2 pounds chicken breast, cut into strips
2 cups all-purpose flour
Oil for frying

Place salt, brown sugar and garlic in the bottom of a medium size, deep bowl. Add the water and stir until the salt and sugar are dissolved. Add the chicken strips (brine should cover the chicken); cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours, but preferably overnight.

When you are ready to cook, drain brine from chicken. Pour flour onto a large plate. Dredge the chicken strips through flour; mounding on a second plate as you do; set aside.

Pour enough oil into a large frying pan that it is about 1″ deep.  Heat over medium high heat until the oil is hot and shimmering.

If chicken breading has gotten a little sticky from the moisture while sitting, dredge through flour once again. Place one chicken strip into the hot oil. If the oil is ready it will immediately sizzle. Place several strips into the hot oil, being careful not to overcrowd. Fry for approximately 8 minutes on one side or until strips are golden brown. Turn and cook for an additional 4 – 5 minutes on the other side. Transfer to a rack set over a cookie sheet or baking pan to drain. Serve immediately.

Serves 4 – 6