Grandma's Recipes #14 - Sweet and Sour Beets

I remember sitting at the kitchen table with my dad going through the recipe box asking him if there were any he remembered.  This was one he pulled out.  He said he hated them.  My dad was never a fan of beets.  I, however, love them and think this recipe sounds intriguing.  It's beet season at the farmer's market now, so I'd love to put these on the table next week.  That'll be difficult though because Grandma didn't include any cooking instructions.  I don't know if this is her recipe for canning beets or if this is a sauce that she put over canned or fresh beets.  Googling brings up similar recipes that use canned beets, and that sounds familiar from what I remember of the conversation with Dad.  Either way, I think beets are tasty and I like the idea of adding some Chinese 5 Spice powder to give them an Asian flair.  That's definitely NOT the spices Grandma had in mind, but I will likely experiment with this one and report back.

Sweet and Sour Beets
2 c       vinegar
1 c       water
1-1/2 c sugar
Salt to taste (1/4 tsp)
Spices

Grandma's Recipes #3 - Macaroni Salad

I must admit, I always hated this salad.  It was a staple at most family gatherings and one of my dad's absolute favorites so I felt like I had to make sure it was immortalized for the family to find.  That said, there will be no pictures of the finished product unless my cousins or someone else is willing to send me one.  The original recipe is difficult to follow, so the whole thing has been rewritten in a way that makes more sense.

Macaroni Salad
3/4 cup sugar
3/4 water
3 c Miracle Whip
2 1/2 c  elbow macaroni
2 tsp salt
1 can peas
1/2 cup carrots, sliced or cubed
2 onions, chopped
3 or 4 hard-boiled eggs, chopped
Cheese, cubed (no quantity given, but I would guess about 1/3 pound)
Ham, cubed (no quantity given, but it should roughly equal the cheese)

Cook 2 1/2 cups Macaroni in water with 2 tsp salt according to package directions.  Drain and rinse in cold water.

Meanwhile, boil the sugar and water to dissolve.  When cool, mix with miracle whip.  Combine with drained, cooled pasta, peas, carrots, onions, cheese, ham and eggs in a large bowl.  Keep cold.

Asian garlic and onion slow cooked beef ribs

My favorite Chinese restaurant in Dinkytown, Minneapolis makes a killer garlic prawn.  They're deep fried and super spicy, but have the perfect balance of heat to garlic.  I'm trying to recreate the same flavors of that dish, but in a slow cooked beef dish.

2 Boneless beef ribs (about 1.25 pounds)
1 c beef broth
1/4 c dark soy sauce
2 tsp rice wine vinegar
3 spring onions
3 cloves of sharp garlic
1 tsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp red pepper (I really wich I had some asian chilis to use instead, but this had to do)

Combine everything and stick it in the crock pot all day.  At least that's my plan.  When I get home I'll throw some rice on the stove and asparagus in the steamer and hopefully we'll have a very tasty meal.  I'll let you know how it goes in the comments.


*UPDATE:  This was WAY too salty.  Like, almost inedibly salty.  If I'd do this again, I'd probably halve the soy sauce and make sure to use low sodium beef broth.  Maybe even cut that with water.

Relatively guilt-free thin mint cookie milk shake

My husband has a Girl Scout cookie buying problem.  Last year, he bought an entire case of Thin Mints and another case of Samoas, plus one box of Thank You Berry Munch.  This year, he upped the ante and bought 27 boxes.  Despite making Thin Mint cheese cake, giving away boxes to family and friends, and eating an insane amount of them myself, I STILL have Thin Mints in my freezer from last year.    Desperate to use them up before I find two more cases of cookies in my kitchen, I came up with this relatively guilt-free thin mint cookie milk shake recipe.

4 small scoops of Fat Free Vanilla Frozen Yogurt.  I'd guess about 1.5 cups, but I didn't measure.
1/2 c low fat milk - This I did measure :)
4 - 6 thin mint cookies, depending on how chunky and minty you want your shake
Approximately 2 Tbsp chocolate syrup

Combine all ingredients in a blender until smooth.  I used our Ninja and it worked awesome.

These are really rich, and the best part is that if you use skim milk the only fat in the whole thing is from the cookies.  This will make one large glass of shake.  I was not able to finish mine.  I might recommend doubling the recipe and splitting it between three people.

A taste of Minnesota on the west coast

I was feeling a little homesick all week, and then I found a gold mine in our cupboard - half a package of Minnesota wild rice from the farmer's market that was right behind our St. Paul apartment.  I think one of the things I miss most about the midwest is coming in from a cold, snowy day and settling down for a fantastic bowl of hearty soup.  Growing up in Wisconsin, that was usually my mom's chili (with noodles, blasphemy to some of you, I'm sure), or my grandma's chicken and dumpling or rutabaga soup.  There's something so homey and welcoming about soup.  So tonight, I made cream of chicken, mushroom and wild rice soup.  It was good, not amazing.  I think I put in too much thyme, not enough salt, and the chicken lost a lot of it's seasoning by being frozen for several months, but it satisfied the craving for something from home.

1 whole bag of pearl onions
8 cups chicken broth
1 massive carrot, chopped (probably about 2 cups)
1 cup of wild rice
2 tsp dried thyme
1 tsp dried rosemary
3 cloves of minced garlic
4 tablespoons butter
6 tablespoons flour
2 cups heavy cream
1/2 of a rotisserie chicken
1 1/2 c sliced portobello mushroom
sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste

1)  To peel the pearl onions easily, put them in a small sauce pan and cover with water.  Bring to a boil.   Let boil for a few minutes, then rinse thoroughly in cold water for 3 minutes.  Cut the ends off each onion and peel off the paper.
2) Mix the onions, broth, carrot, rice and spices.  Bring to a boil; reduce heat, cover and simmer until rice is tender, about an hour.
3) Melt butter, stir in the flour, and then mix in the cream.  Slowly mix the cream mixture into broth mixture.
4) Mix the chicken and the mushrooms in.  Simmer until heated through and soup has thickened.

Serve with fresh bread or crescent rolls and a big tall glass of milk.  Mmmm.... just like being a kid again.

Polenta Power

I like polenta. Scratch that. I LOVE polenta. I love polenta to the point where any time any of the Mountain View Google cafes are serving polenta I seek it out and eat a disgusting amount of it. It doesn't matter if it's soft, set, grilled, fried, whatever. It's tasty stuff. Unfortunately, my hubby is not a big polenta person. I've made it for us once before and he wasn't thrilled with it. Last night, though, I finally found a polenta recipe that he loves as much as I do. It was so good he was willing to eat the left overs for breakfast. So good, I figured I should share it with the world. The polenta recipe is based on this one from RecipeSource. The mushroom ragu is based on this recipe from Martha Stewart. I winged it on the arugula.

Smoky grilled cheddar polenta with portobello ragu and wilted arugula

3 cups low fat milk

3 cups water

2 cups instant grits

Approx 1/6 c shredded smoked cheddar ( I used Hickory Farms smoked cheddar and swiss blend)

Approx 2 tablespoons grated parmesan cheese

salt and pepper to taste

Butter for greasing your grill

2 Tbsp Olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

Approx 3 Tbsp minced red onion

2 large portobello mushroom caps, coarsely chopped

1.5 tsp dried rosemary

1/3 cup chicken broth

salt and pepper to taste

2 large portobello mushroom caps

3/4 c fresh arugula

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp pomegranate balsamic vinegar

You will also need

• a large, heavy sauce pan
• a large fry plan with a cover
• a standard jelly roll pan
• a grill or a panini maker (I used my George Foreman)

1. In a large, heavy saucepan, bring the milk and the water to a boil, making sure you don't scald the milk.
2. Slowly stir in the grits. Reduce heat and simmer until the porridge is thick enough for a wooden spoon to almost stand straight up.
3. Remove from heat and stir in the cheese, salt and pepper to taste.
4. Spread the mixture into the ungreased jelly roll pan and put in the fridge to set for 10 minutes or so.
5. In the meantime, rinse and chop the mushrooms, mince the garlic and onions.
6. Heat the olive oil on low in a large fry pan and add the onion and garlic. Cook until soft and the onion is translucent, about 4 minutes.
7. Raise the heat to medium. Add mushrooms and season with salt and pepper. Cook, covered, until the mushrooms release their liquid.
8. While the mushrooms are cooking, preheat the grill or panini maker.
9. Remove the set polenta from the fridge. Cut into large chunks. (I cut my pan into 12 pieces)
10. Butter the grill and then add the polenta.
11. Uncover the mushrooms and raise heat to high. Cook until the liquid has mostly evaporated and the mushrooms are brown - 3 to 5 minutes.
12. Add the chicken broth and rosemary. Cook until the skillet is almost dry.
13. Push the mushrooms to one side of the fry pan to keep warm. Add the remaining olive oil, arugula, and balsamic vinegar. Toss until lightly wilted.
14. Remove the polenta from the grill. Top with the mushroom ragu. Top that with the arugula.

This was fantastic on it's own, but it was made even better by serving it with my other fantastic creation from last night

Baked chicken legs and apples with rosemary brown butter gravy

5 chicken legs

2 granny smith apples

2-3 tablespoons olive oil

McCormick garlic pepper seasoning grinder to taste

2 Tbsp butter

2/3 cup chicken broth

Rosemary

corn starch

You will need

• A medium sized oven safe dish
• a small sauce pan

Preheat oven to 400F. Rinse and pat dry the chicken legs. Pour olive oil in the oven safe dish. Roll the chicken in the oil to coat. Season with the garlic pepper seasoning to taste. Slice the apples thinly and add them to the pan with the chicken, making sure that they've got a little bit of oil on them. Bake uncovered for 35-45 minutes or until juices run clear.

For the gravy, brown the butter in the saucepan over medium high heat. Add 1/2 cup of the chicken broth and simmer. Whisk cornstarch one teaspoon full at a time into the reserved chicken broth, making sure to break up lumps. I have no idea how much cornstarch I added. I kept adding until it was cloudy. Pour the cornstarch mixture back into simmering sauce pan. Add rosemary to taste. Simmer until thickened. Pour gravy over chicken and apples.

I put the gravy over the polenta, mushrooms and arugula too. It was fantastic. Like Carl-took-one-bite-and-his-whole-face-lit-up fantastic. I was quite proud of it.