Runner Up Turkey Recipe is still a Winner.

Back in February 2011 I posted my recipe for Four Cheese Chicken Pasta Bake which is a decadent blend of cheeses baked with penne pasta and chicken. Later on in the year, Taste of Home magazine was running a recipe contest featuring leftover turkey. Since my recipe featured poultry already, changing from chicken to turkey wasn't a big step. I submitted my recipe with the change and under the name "Four Cheese Turkey Pasta Bake".

While it did not win, it is being featured as a Runner Up recipe in Taste of Home's November 2011 issue; their photo is on page 71 while the recipe is on page 72. This recipe is a good example of comfort food and is versatile as it can feature not just poultry, but beef or seafood as well.

Taste of Home only made a couple of minor adjustments, but primarily kept my recipe as I submitted it. It's not available for viewing online yet, so I'm posting the recipe as I wrote it and with my photo.










Four Cheese Turkey Pasta Bake
(Runner Up Recipe, Taste of Home November 2011 issue, page 72.)

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp butter

1 small onion diced

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1 (10 ¾ oz) can cream of mushroom soup

1 (4 oz) can or jar sliced mushrooms cut mushrooms in half

1 (8 oz) package cream cheese

½ cup each of shredded parmesan mozzarella and Swiss cheese

1 cup each heavy whipping cream and warmed milk

¼ tsp each ground black pepper and nutmeg

2 cups cooked turkey breast ( ½” cubes)

½ lb cooked penne ziti or small rigatoni

½ cup Italian seasoned dried bread crumbs

3 Tbsp melted butter

Preparation:

Preheat oven to 350F. Spray a 2 qt casserole dish with nonstick spray.

In a small skillet, on medium heat, sauté onion in butter till softened; add garlic and cook for 5 minutes more.

In a large bowl, mix together thoroughly the soup, mushrooms, all cheeses, cream, milk, black pepper, nutmeg, turkey, pasta and the onion-garlic mix. Spread evenly into the casserole dish.

In a small bowl, mix together bread crumbs and butter completely; spread over the mixture in casserole dish.

Bake for 30 minutes, covered with aluminum foil. Uncover and bake for additional 15 minutes, or until topping is golden brown. 

Makes 8 servings.

Mary Cokenour

Home Run Inn's Frozen Pizza.

Home Run Inn is an actual pizza establishment in Illinois, so when they say real Chicago pizza, they mean it.  The pizza business itself started in the 1940's and has expanded into 8 restaurants and the frozen food market.

While shopping at City Market in Moab, Utah, I noticed a new display in the frozen pizza section; what really got my attention was the "Chicago's Premium Pizza" written on the box. I wondered if this was just an advertising ploy by another California chain, but no, the company is from Illinois. I purchased one of the cheese pizzas, went home and tried it out; the next day we went back and purchased a few more.

Home Run Inn does NOT use preservatives; check the ingredient label and you'll find you do not need a degree in chemistry to read it. After baking in the oven, you can better see all the cheese, sauce and other toppings, depending on which type you purchased, and the taste is awesome.

Our one big problem is the crust; we just can't seem to agree on it. Cheese pizza #1 - baked directly on rack in oven; the outer rim was very hard while the bottom was crispy, but it had an overall good taste.

Cheese pizza #2 - baked on top of aluminum pizza pan that had air holes in it - the outer rim was now crispy while the bottom was not as crispy as the first pizza we made; however it was cooked all the way through.

Sausage Deluxe - baked on top of aluminum pizza pan that had air holes in it - the outer rim was crispy while the bottom was not at all; it was very dense.

Now I'm not going to fault the crust on Home Run Inn; the directions do say to bake directly on rack, but I used a pan to avoid getting an overdone crust, but ended up with somewhat or heavily underdone. Will I make Home Run Inn frozen pizza again? Most definitely, but I'm following their directions; as a frozen pizza, it is the closest to fresh baked than any other on the market. The sauce, cheese and toppings are outstanding!!! I just have to get that crust baked correctly, but that's on me.

Mary Cokenour

Chinese BBQ Sauce? Hoisin Sauce.

The first time I'd had Hoisin sauce, or should I say knowingly had it, was at a Chinese restaurant in New York City's Chinatown.  I had been asked to a celebration dinner which consisted of many delicacies, one being Peking Duck.  There was a thick, dark sauce served with the duck; smearing just a small amount onto a Chinese pancake, a few slivers of duck and scallion were then wrapped within the pancake.  The first bite was a surprise, but the continuing bites lead to ecstasy; such a rich, heady flavor came from the sauce.

My next conscious experience with Hoisin was having Mhu Shu (also written as Moo Shu or Mu Shu) Pork; a pork and vegetable mixture which is eaten inside a pancake smeared with Hoisin. A most excellent dish and if pork is not to your liking, it can be prepared with shrimp, chicken, beef or a combination.

Hoisin sauce is the Chinese version of barbecue sauce which, besides grilling, can be used in stir fries, marinades, as a condiment or a thickener. It is a soy based sauce having the components of salty, sweet and spicy due to the additional ingredients of garlic, vinegar, sweeteners and chilies. The texture of the sauce is usually thick, but can be thinned with the addition of sesame oil or water until the desired consistency is achieved.

While Hoisin can be purchased in a store, it can just as easily be made at home. Having a mortar and pestle handy in the kitchen is an asset for creating the paste quality of some of the ingredients. Patience is also necessary as it needs a good amount of mixing to help the ingredients meet and marry together; using a blender is quite useful for this and easier on the wrist.

Hoisin Sauce
Ingredients:

6 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp each creamy peanut butter and black bean paste
1 Tbsp each honey and dark molasses
2 tsp white vinegar
¼ tsp each garlic and onion paste
2 tsp sesame oil
1/8 tsp ground black pepper
Hot sauce – dependent upon how mild, medium or hot is desired, or add pieces of chopped chilies to the garlic and onion when creating the paste.

Preparation:

Add all ingredients into a medium bowl, or into a blender, and mix until smooth. The texture will be thick; if a thinner consistency is desired, add a teaspoon of sesame oil or water until achieved.

Makes ½ cup.

One item I like to use Hoisin on is salmon; giving the fish a rich, smoky flavor from the sauce and a mild sweetness and spice from the glaze it creates. As a side dish, I make up my Oriental Chicken, Vegetables and Noodle recipe, but leave out the chicken of course.

The salmon has the skin and bones removed and cut into 4 to 6 ounce portions; depending on how large the side of salmon is. Preheat the oven to 350F and line a jelly roll pan with aluminum foil. Use a pastry brush to spread a half cup of Hoisin sauce over the foil, wherever the salmon will be lying. Place the salmon on the foil and brush it liberally with sauce; sprinkle a little ground ginger over all. Bake the salmon for 20 minutes; test for doneness in the thickest part of the filets. While the salmon is baking, the side dish can be made.

Simple and quite delicious!

Mary Cokenour

These Shells you won't find at the seashore.

Last week I was going to make lasagna. I got out the 6 qt crock pot, placed in the ingredients to make homemade pasta sauce; but also browned a pound of lean ground beef with diced onions and minced garlic to make a meat sauce. After 6 hours of cooking, the sauce was ready to be used, but now I wasn't in the mood to make lasagna. So what do I do now after all that work, do I freeze it all to have ready for next time, or...? Until I remembered that I had purchased large shells to make stuffed shells sometime; guess this was that sometime.

The filling for stuffed shells is basically the one I would use for lasagna, but I use my immersion blender to make the cheese smoother. I also had no small curd cottage cheese on hand, so used ricotta, mozzarella and romano exclusively. If you don't have an immersion blender, a handheld mixer will do the trick of smoothing out the cheeses for easier filling.

Stuffed Shells

Ingredients:

20 large shells
3 lbs ricotta cheese
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided in half
1 cup shredded provolone cheese
1 cup grated Romano cheese
1/2 cup mixture of minced fresh herbs (oregano, parsley, basil and thyme)
3 eggs, beaten
1 tsp ground black pepper
6 cups homemade meat sauce

Preparation:

Bring a large pot of salted water to boil on high heat; cook shells for 10 minutes, or until al dente. Strain shells out and place in large bowl of cold water to stop cooking process and keep shells from sticking together.

While waiting for water to boil and shells to cook, prepare the filling by place all remaining ingredients, except one cup of shredded mozzarella and the meat sauce into a large bowl. Use an immersion blender or hand mixer to smooth out the cheeses.

Preheat oven to 350F; spray a 4 qt baking dish with nonstick baking spray; spread 3 cups of sauce over bottom of dish. Use a teaspoon or piping bag to fill each shell, so there is just enough room for the edges of the shells to just touch. Place each shell, open side up, into the baking dish; when all shells are filled, spoon remaining 3 cups of sauce over them. Evenly spread the remaining mozzarella cheese over the shells; cover with aluminum foil.

Bake for 30 minutes and let rest for 5 minutes before serving; serve 2 stuffed shells per person.

Makes 10 servings.

Mary Cokenour
June 10, 1982

Meatloaf Again...Stuff It!

So there I was, staring at the package of ground beef and wondering, "what do I serve with the meatloaf this time?"  There was the leftover macaroni and cheese; wow, how original, can you tell I just wasn't feeling it?  I'm not really sure how it happened, but sometime during the ingredient gathering process, this idea popped into my head and wouldn't let go.  What if I wrapped the meatloaf around the mac n' cheese?  Could I even achieve such a thing; what the heck would it look like; more importantly, what would it taste like???  Ok, call me crazy, but I just had to try it, just to see if I could do it mostly.

I took photos of the process to go along with the recipe.  The aroma in the kitchen was awesome, but the taste of the final product was out of this world.  Now I can't wait to try out other types of fillings, but don't worry Roy, I will make my regular meatloaf from time to time as I know how much you like the original.  Trial and error...who would have thunk it?

Stuffed Meatloaf

Ingredients:

3 lbs lean ground beef
1 (12 oz) bag dried stuffing cubes
1 cup milk
1 (15.5 oz can) diced tomatoes with sweet onions
1 cup diced green bell pepper
2 Tbsp saltless seasoning mix
1 tsp ground black pepper
5 cups macaroni and cheese (see Note)
Ketchup for glazing

Preparation:
Preheat oven to 375F; line a 4 qt baking dish with aluminum foil and spray foil with nonstick cooking spray. Line a large jelly roll pan with parchment paper, wax paper or aluminum foil.

In a large mixing bowl, mix together all ingredients except the macaroni and cheese and the ketchup. Invert bowl over center of jelly roll pan and deposit mixture onto it. Flatten mixture out to edges of pan. Cut macaroni and cheese into 3 sections and line up edge to edge down lengthwise center of flattened meatloaf mixture.

Put hands under lining and carefully lift mixture over filling, press down firmly and carefully peal back lining; repeat with other long side. Seal the seam over the filling and the sides of the meatloaf; smooth the meatloaf mixture over to create a firm seal.

Turn the baking dish over the meatloaf; with one hand hold down the baking dish while lifting the jelly roll pan with the other hand; flip over and let the meatloaf drop into the baking dish. Remove the lining off the meatloaf; make sure to position the meatloaf down the center of the baking dish; smooth over any cracks that may have opened. Brush ketchup over top and sides of meatloaf to create the glaze.

Place baking dish on center rack of oven and bake for one hour; brush a second layer of ketchup over the top and sides and bake for one additional hour.

The meatloaf will be too large to remove from the baking dish, so cut slices and use a narrow spatula to remove to a plate.

Makes 12-14 servings depending on how large the slices are cut.

Note: (The Macaroni and Cheese used should have been made previously and refrigerated in a rectangular container to make for easier slicing.)

Mary Cokenour

Pillsbury Grands Breakfast Sandwich Doesn't Satisfy.

 

When I saw the television commercial for Pillsbury's new Grands Biscuit microwaveable sandwich, I thought, "great, something I can make quick when I'm in a rush.  Yes, it's quick to make, but disappointing when it comes to taste and texture. 

Inside the box are two packages; within each package is an open biscuit with chopped up pieces of scrambled egg and bacon on top of each.  There's supposed to be cheese, but it is very hard to see.  The instructions on the back of the box state the product should be microwaved while still frozen, and gives heating times dependent on the power of the microwave itself.

Test number one:  as stated on box, took product out of plastic wrapper, set on microwave safe dish, heated at the appropriate temperature and time.  Conclusion: so this is what hockey pucks taste like with eggs, bacon and cheese on them.  The biscuits did not fluff up and become flaky as insinuated on the commercial; the eggs and bacon were hard and tasteless, but a good dose of ketchup gave it flavor.  However, after the second bite, the rest of the sandwich ended up in the trash.

Test number two: let the second package defrost in the refrigerator; followed rest of the instructions but cut the cooking time in half due to its not being frozen any longer.  The biscuit was softer, but wet and mushy; however the eggs, bacon and cheese cooked up better; it still needed a good dose of ketchup though.

Overall opinion: this product is something I would not purchase or try again; I certainly would not recommend it to anyone.

Conclusion: best to give myself extra time in the morning and cook up my own all American breakfast of scrambled eggs, crisp bacon and buttermilk biscuits.  For the scrambled eggs, add one tablespoon of half and half for every two eggs, a dash of salt and pepper and some shredded sharp cheddar cheese.

Here you go Pillsbury, a breakfast worth all the time and work to prepare it. As to something quick when I'm in a rush, still working on that one.

Mary Cokenour

More from the Italian Bakery.

In Italy, nothing goes better with a cup of espresso than a sweet, crunchy cookie, and the best cookie for the job is Biscotti. Loosely translated, Biscotti are twice baked cookies; the dough is first baked in an oval or log shape, sliced into individual pieces and baked again to achieve the crunchy texture. Variety is certainly the rule for Biscotti; dipped in chocolate or not, candied fruits or chocolate bits, nuts or spices such as ginger, nutmeg, cinnamon or cloves.

At one time, you really couldn't find Biscotti unless you went to the local Italian bakery; but now these crispy gems can be found in any coffee establishment such as Starbucks or Seattle's Best; even in the cookie aisle of the local supermarket.  Of course, making them yourself gives you the control over taste and ingredients.  To get comfortable with the idea of baking Biscotti yourself, I recommend buying a book on them; the one I used to get started, and still do, is "Biscotti" by Lou Seibert Pappas. While I might change ingredients around to get a different variety of Biscotti, using the recipes from this book is a basic starting point.

Considering how many types of candy bits, candied fruits and chopped nuts there are available nowadays; the possibilities are endless.   One other idea, consider savory ingredients for a Biscotti which can then be used for dipping in soups or stews.  Happy Baking!

Mary Cokenour