Grandma's Kitchen Table

Wednesday with Donna Hay: Rice is Nice - Spinach, Feta, and Pine Nut Baked Risotto

My 154th recipe with the Wednesday with Donna Hay group is Spinach, Feta, and Pine Nut Baked Risotto, was chosen for the theme, Rice is Nice, and can be found online here.

       The ingredient list: arborio rice, chicken stock, grated parmesan cheese, butter, salt, freshly ground pepper, baby spinach leaves, feta, and pine nuts.

       I've heard all the pros and cons of baking risotto rather than stirring it stovetop.  I've tried it both ways.  I like both results just fine.  When I saw this recipe, I was in the mood for a Mediterranean slant to a meal and this one sounded good...spinach, parmesan, feta, pine nuts...all snuggled in some creamy rice.  This is so very good.  It works well for a lunch or as an accompaniment to a meal, the recipe makes a whole lot (I made a fourth of the recipe and it gave me 4 servings instead of the one serving indicated).  Don't add any extra salt as both cheeses have plenty of salt...I waited to see as I thought this would be the case, and it was perfectly seasoned without the additional salt. I did toast the pine nuts, such a rewarding thing to do. The recipe is on the site in the link above, I hope you try it as it is easy enough for a busy weeknight if you have something like a piece of salmon or some chicken in the oven already.  It took my rice only 25 minutes.  Definitely a repeat.

       Wonder what the others made?  You can find that by clicking here.  Next week's theme is Not Bread Alone.  Join us and leave a link to your post at the website, no commitment required.
        NOTE:  In our posts, we do not publish the recipes from Donna Hay's books as those belong to her, we like to honor that and encourage you to buy her books to get the recipes. There are also many of her recipes at her site here.  We know you will enjoy using Donna's books again and again as we all do and that your money will be well spent. 

 

Cookbook Countdown #14: Slow Cooker Beef Stew With Sweet Potatoes

        This month for Cookbook Countdown #14, I have chosen to use the cookbook Skinnytaste Fast and Slow by Gina Homolka, you can learn about it here. Each recipe has the calorie, fat, sat fat, cholesterol, carb, fiber, protein, sugars, and sodium counts listed.  The recipe that I have made for this week is Slow Cooker Beef Stew With Sweet Potatoes, on page 69.      
        Ingredient list: olive oil, onion, celery, tomato paste, beef chuck shoulder steak, salt, flour, beef stock, Worcestershire sauce, sweet potato, mushrooms, carrots, thyme, bay leaves, pepper, and peas.
        This is soup/stew season without a doubt, crockpot season always as I love the idea of leaving the house and having my own little personal chef (aka the crockpot) cook the dinner while I am away so that when I return, everything is nicely done and the kitchen is filled with a comforting aroma.  I make a fair number of soups and stews so it is fun to find new ones to try and I can't remember ever having a beef stew recipe that called for sweet potatoes so I was eager to test this out and see the result.  Results are in and are very favorable.  The sweet potato is so tender and soft (the carrot retains a bit of solidness) and has just a touch of sweetness which compliments the acidity of the tomato paste and beef stock.  Such great colors in this stew, lovely flavors, and it felt like eating a bowl of fresh vegetables with a tasty piece of roast.  Definitely worthy of a repeat. 
        To see what the others have cooked this month, click here.  It is the policy on this blog not to publish recipes that are not mine, the people who publish recipes go to a lot of time, trouble, and expense to do so and I like to honor that by encouraging others to purchase the book or check it out from a lending library.  Thank you for understanding.  I do post the general ingredients for each recipe so perhaps you can have a go at it from that alone.

Cookbook Countdown #14: Sweet 'n' Spicy Salmon with Stir-Fried Veggies

        This month for Cookbook Countdown 14, I have chosen to use the cookbook Skinnytaste Fast and Slow by Gina Homolka, you can learn about it here. Each recipe has the calorie, fat, sat fat, cholesterol, carb, fiber, protein, sugars, and sodium counts listed.  The recipe that I have made for this week is Sweet 'n' Spicy Salmon with Stir-Fried Veggies, on page 211.      
        Ingredient list:  salmon, salt, Thai Sweet Chili Sauce, Sriracha Sauce, canola oil, garlic, fresh ginger, bok choy (or other green vegetable), shiitake mushrooms, red and yellow bell peppers.
        This is my absolute favorite new way to serve salmon...oh, my goodness is the combination of sweet and spicy and also spicy&spicy a really good one, I may be making this one every week for the whole month.  This particular combination of stir-fried vegetables is also very nice, and easy to find at the market always. The textures are all different and the flavors compliment each other nicely.  Definitely worthy of a repeat, over and over and over. 
        To see what the others have cooked this month, click here.  It is the policy on this blog not to publish recipes that are not mine, the people who publish recipes go to a lot of time, trouble, and expense to do so and I like to honor that by encouraging others to purchase the book or check it out from a lending library.  Thank you for understanding.  I do post the general ingredients for each recipe so perhaps you can have a go at it from that alone.

IHCC: Stuffed/Filled Dishes (Tessa Kiros) - Piperies Yemistes Me Feta (Peppers Stuffed with Feta)

     The theme for this week for I Heart Cooking Clubs is Stuffed/Filled Dishes (Cook any dish for this theme from any of the selected IHCC chefs).  The recipe I chose for this week is Piperies Yemistes Me Feta (Peppers Stuffed with Feta) from Tessa Kiros' cookbook Food From Many Greek Kitchens, on page 146.  The recipe can also be found online here.  (Note:  This is a small plate and the peppers themselves are only about 3-4" long.)

      The ingredient list:  sweet peppers, feta, olive oil, dried oregano. 

      Whenever you go to Greek restaurants, they always have a nice selection of little bites/appetizers to share while waiting for your meal, so when I saw this recipe, I thought it would be an easy, quick, and tasty bite to serve while dinner was cooking.  We were not disappointed, these are really good...the heat makes the feta all warm and melty and the oregano in there makes it all feel very Greek and very summery, even on a cold winter's day. This was delicious.  Definitely a repeat.  

     Please visit I Heart Cooking Clubs to see what the others made, just click on their photo entry to link to their post.  Next week:  February 13-February 19:  Heidi Swanson: recipe for a dish with one (or more) of your favorite ingredients.

 

Eating with Ellie: Stuff It! - Portobello Panini With Gorgonzola and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

       The 89th recipe I made with the Eating with Ellie group is Portobello Panini With Gorgonzola and Sun-Dried Tomatoes, and can be found in Ellie Krieger's book The Food You Crave, on page 65.  You can also find the recipe online here.  The theme for the week was chosen by Peggy:  Stuff It!  

        Ingredient list:  Portobello mushrooms, olive oil, gorgonzola, sun-dried tomatoes, salt and pepper.  
        This cheese and tomato stuffed mushroom looked like a good idea when I was shopping around for a recipe with something stuffed into something else for this week's theme.  I like all the ingredients, so letting them all keep close company seemed like a fine deal.  I don't know if this was a case of "too many things touching" or if I didn't like the combination of them together, but whatever it was, this will not be a repeat recipe.  The first indication that this wasn't going to fly was that the mushroom was great on the plate but then as it sat for even a very little bit, it got watery/weepy and that leakage was unappealing on the plate as I was trying to eat it.  The addition of salt was unnecessary as it was plenty salty with the bleu cheese, which I think is a really salt cheese on its own, so it was really salty in taste.  The sun-dried tomatoes got sort of lost in the overpowering taste of the cheese, so I couldn't taste them as much as I wanted to, maybe it would have been better for me to have twice the amount of tomatoes as cheese.  I did it eat for my lunch and it wasn't a total loss, but it won't be on the repeat list.  I will say, if you really like bleu cheese, this might be your recipe as that flavor was the most pronounced.

       If you wonder how the others did this week, click here to follow their post links.  You can also find the recipe schedule there for the coming weeks.  Next week's recipe theme was chosen by me and is Valentine's Week: Your Heart's Desire.  Please come and join us at any time, just leave the link to your post that week so that week so we know where to find you.

        Note:  In our posts, we do not publish the recipes from Ellie Krieger's book as those belong to her, we like to honor that and encourage you to buy her books to get the recipes.  You can also find her recipes at her site here, at her weekly newspaper article here, her recipes online here, and at her current tv show site here.  We know that you will enjoy using Ellie's books again and again and that you will feel your money was well spent.

 

Wednesday with Donna Hay: Onions, Any Way You Slice Them - Onion Marmalade

       My 153rd recipe with the Wednesday with Donna Hay group is Onion Marmalade, was chosen for the theme, Onions, Any Way You Slice Them, and can be found online here.

       The ingredient list: brown onions, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, white wine vinegar, and brown sugar.

       In the past I have made Caramelized Onions and Onion Jam for various Donna Hay recipes, but I had never tried her Onion Marmalade recipe until today.  Since it was Onion Week, I decided to make a topping for my ham and cheese slider by trying this recipe.  Having a relish that featured onion, vinegar, and brown sugar with my ham and cheese was definitely a good choice.  All the flavors went so well together and complimented each other nicely.  I love the tang of sour and sweet with ham.  My only note is that it took twice as long to simmer down to the correct consistently than the recipe stated but that was not a big deal as I was spiffing up the kitchen and could keep an eye on it.  Definitely a repeat.

       Wonder what the others made?  You can find that by clicking here.  Next week's theme is Rice is Nice.  Join us and leave a link to your post at the website, no commitment required.
        NOTE:  In our posts, we do not publish the recipes from Donna Hay's books as those belong to her, we like to honor that and encourage you to buy her books to get the recipes. There are also many of her recipes at her site here.  We know you will enjoy using Donna's books again and again as we all do and that your money will be well spent. 

 

TWD Dorie's Cookies: Rose-Hibiscus Shortbread Fans

       For February, the Dorie's Cookies group participants can chose from one of two recipes to post, one on the first Tuesday and the other being the post for the third Tuesday.  I chose to make the Rose-Hibiscus Shortbread Fans for this first Tuesday.  This recipe can be found in Dorie's Cookies on pages 191-193 and also online here.
       Ingredient list:  all-purpose flour, white rice flour, sugar, hibiscus tea leaves, butter, salt, vanilla, rose extract, powdered sugar, milk. and rose colored decorating sugar.   
       Margaret at Tea and Scones and I were chatting about the fact that neither of us thought much about making this particular recipe, but that we were really surprised how much we loved the cookies.  Absolutely delicious...buttery, sugary, lightly flavored of floral scents, tea, and vanilla...oh, yes, they are very good cookies.  As we always say here at TWD, "Trust Dorie" as she always knows best. She just does.
       The recipe goes together easily and quickly and the baking time is just 25 minutes.  There was the option to add icing and decorative sugar or not, so I did half of that and left the others plain as they were perfectly delightful either way.  I could taste the tea in the cookie, which did surprise me, and it tasted just perfect, not too overpowering, and just enough to say, "interesting in good way," while I was eating it.  Definitely a repeat, absolutely delicious and fun...and it gave Margaret a chance to use her new fancy-pants shortbread pan, go check it out, makes her cookies look so pretty. 
       The Tuesdays with Dorie group is now baking from Dorie Greenspan's new book, Dorie's Cookies.  The posts will be the first and third Tuesdays of the month and can be linked at the main Tuesdays with Dorie website here.  You can also find the information on joining in and/or see the posts from those in the group baking along at this location. 

Avid Baker's Challenge: Smitten Kitchen - The Browniest Cookies

        Back in 2010 the Avid Baker's Challenge started up using Flo Braker's recipes for two years.  At the time, a couple of baking pals encouraged me to join in, and I did want to, but at the time I had a lot of cooking/baking with other groups so I didn't follow through...fast forward to 2017 and Margaret mentioned that we should bake with them this year as they are using Smitten Kitchen's recipes, we both like her recipes, and well, one thing led to another, and I found myself whipping up some brownie cookies this afternoon for the February recipe, much to Mark's delight.  The group, after all, only publishes one recipe a month, seems manageable at this particular time. 
       The recipe for The Browniest Cookies can be found on Smitten Kitchen's blog here.
       Ingredient List:  butter, unsweetened chocolate, brown sugar, white sugar, eggs, vanilla, baking soda, salt, unsweetened cocoa powder, all-purpose flour, and chocolate chips.

       The recipe goes together much as most brownie recipes, the significant difference being the addition of a greater amount of flour (probably to hold the cookies into shape as they bake as unlike brownies, they don't have the support of a pan with nice sturdy sides). They baked for less than 12 minutes, so you can really put these together with very little time involved.  Mine turned out a little flatter than did the domed ones pictured on her blog, I used a larger scoop to make them so that they were a nice big cookie, so maybe that is the reason.  Apparently they were very good and Mark loved them, he said they were very chocolatey, and that was a good thing as far as he was concerned.  They were very brownie-like. He liked the crunchy edges.  These were a big hit with a request being made for more soon (justifiably so as I gave away 14 of the 18 that I made to other happy chocolate lovers).  Definitely a repeat.
        The March Avid Baker's Challenge recipe is for Liege Waffles and is found here if you would like to join in.  Make it and post on March 1, 2, or 3.

Eating with Ellie: Mexican Madness - Chipotle Orange-Glazed Pork Chops with Maple Squash Puree

      The 88th recipe I made with the Eating with Ellie group is Chipotle Orange-Glazed Pork Chops with Maple Squash Puree, and can be found in Ellie Krieger's book So Easy, on page 135.  You can also find the recipes online here and here.  The theme for the week was chosen by Gaye:  Mexican Madness.  

       Ingredient list: For the pork chop - maple syrup, orange juice concentrate, canned chipotle, adobo sauce, bone-in pork loin chops, salt; For the squash - frozen cooked butternut squash, water, maple syrup, butter, and salt.  
        Mark loves pork chops.  I am not that great with the execution of making pork chops, so through the years, we haven't had that many unless he was grilling them on the grill outdoors and he was in charge.  Lately, I have been seeing a lot of pork chop recipes that seem like ones I could execute with a fair amount of success so I have been experimenting this past month trying to see if I can make pork chops worth eating.  Turns out, I have come upon some nice recipes that guarantee success.  This is one of those recipes.  These were delicious, nicely done, and the flavors really made them shine, orange and pork really do go together, I was skeptical, but they do.  Definitely a repeat.
         Frozen cooked butternut squash is a new one for me, I didn't even know you could buy that, but turns out you can and it is easy to prepare.  You will want to make a puree or mash from it because the little pieces do not hold their shape when you heat them, so it lends itself well to a mash.  The butternut squash flavor was very good, I was surprised.  It was nice to flavor them to compliment the pork chop recipe.  Definitely a repeat. 
         I know these two recipes don't seem like Mexican Madness, the truth is that I'm not all that fond of Mexican food generally, but I do like certain ingredients and Chipotle in Adobo Sauce is one of those for sure, I love that smokey spicey kick, so I always have that on hand to add to chili.  And squash grows plentiful in Mexico, so I'm thinking that my selection can qualify for my version of Mexican Madness...check out the others who clearly have more experience in making Mexican food.

       If you wonder how the others did this week, click here to follow their post links.  You can also find the recipe schedule there for the coming weeks.  Next week's recipe theme was chosen by Peggy and is Stuff It.  Please come and join us at any time, just leave the link to your post that week so that week so we know where to find you.

        Note:  In our posts, we do not publish the recipes from Ellie Krieger's book as those belong to her, we like to honor that and encourage you to buy her books to get the recipes.  You can also find her recipes at her site here, at her weekly newspaper article here, her recipes online here, and at her current tv show site here.  We know that you will enjoy using Ellie's books again and again and that you will feel your money was well spent.

 

Wednesday with Donna Hay: Soups On! - Parsnip and Caramelized Onion Soup

       My 152nd recipe with the Wednesday with Donna Hay group is Parsnip and Caramelized Onion Soup, was chosen for the theme, Soups On, and is found in Donna Hay's site here.

       The ingredient list: olive oil, onions, parsnips, chicken stock, thyme, and freshly ground pepper.

       For the past month I have been on a parsnip kick, and as they have been running them on sale each week at the market, I have been buying them and trying different parsnip recipes with them.  When I saw this one for soup, I knew it was definitely the designated use for one of those bags of parsnips.  The soup comes together easily and quickly, the majority of the time spent simmering away on the stovetop to cook the parsnips to a soft stage so you can mush them up easily in the blender.  I don't have a store that carries onion jam here on a regular basis, so I just made my own (easy to do and the leftovers can be used in countless ways).  The recipe was very good, a nice warm comforting bowl of goodness on a cold winter day, and I would make it again.  The only change I would make would be to add some sherry vinegar, I think, to cut a little of the sweetness of the parsnips and onions.  Definitely a repeat.

       Wonder what the others made?  You can find that by clicking here.  Next week's theme is Onions, Any Way You Slice Them.  Join us and leave a link to your post at the website, no commitment required.
        NOTE:  In our posts, we do not publish the recipes from Donna Hay's books as those belong to her, we like to honor that and encourage you to buy her books to get the recipes. There are also many of her recipes at her site here.  We know you will enjoy using Donna's books again and again as we all do and that your money will be well spent.