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What a glorious day weather-wise today, the sun came out after a gray start to the morning. I had a nice 2.5 mile walk on the boardwalk then it was time to get busy doing something.
 
When I spoke to my granddaughter the other evening, she requested pink scones. Of course, Nana couldn’t refuse her request, but I had no red food coloring. What I did have was a can a beets that I purchased just before the great food rush for COVID-19. I thought a bit of beet juice in my wet ingredients would do the trick and it did. After incorporating the wet with the dry, the dough was a lovely soft pink color.  I found an easy to prepare vanilla scone recipe on the King Arthur Flour website. 
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It’s déjà vu being homebound during the corona virus outbreak. During Super Storm Sandy, our town was without power for two weeks and everyone was homebound until power was restored.  Our current stay at home situation is better as you have lights, heat, internet and cable television.
 
But, there’s only so much sitting still I can do. I prefer to keep my hands busy, hence cooking and baking. I’ve gone through my recipe archive and found some recipes that work with what I have on hand. In one instance, I had half a head of cabbage leftover that I turned into two recipes. Part of the cabbage was made into Cole slaw (minus the green pepper) and the rest went into unstuffed cabbage roll casserole. The unstuffed cabbage needs just a pound of ground beef, 28 ounce can of chopped tomatoes and whole caraway seeds. This recipe is perfect as the cabbage stretches the protein for 6 servings. Add some crusty rye bread with caraway seeds and you’re set. Whole Foods carries delicious organic rye Jewish seeded bread from a local baker for $4.50 (1 lb. 4 oz.)
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In my daily email newsletter from NYTCooking, I came across a quick and easy recipe for Black Pepper Beef and Cabbage Stir Fry (by Sue Li). The recipe takes a quick 20 minutes, plus a few minutes for prepping the cabbage and feeds 2 to 4 people. Ingredients needed for this recipe are whole black peppercorns, garlic, light brown sugar, cornstarch, 3/4 pound sirloin steak, neutral cooking oil, soy sauce, 1/2 head small green cabbage, sherry vinegar, sesame seeds, scallions and rice.
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Last week I made my eighth recipe from the New York Times Cooking supplement, “One Pot/Pan/Skillet,” Baked Chicken with Potatoes, Cherry Tomatoes and Herbs.
 
For the recipe you’ll need 3 to 4 pounds of bone-in, skin-on chicken thighs, rosemary leaves, either 2 dried red chiles or red pepper flakes, Yukon Gold potatoes, large yellow onion, cherry or grape tomatoes, dry white wine and fresh basil sprigs.
 
What I didn’t do, because I didn’t read the recipe thoroughly, was to marinate the chicken for 30 minutes at room temperature. I was hesitant to keep poultry at room temperature, so I placed it in the refrigerator. You can also marinate in the refrigerator for up to 8 hours. As a personal preference I used bone-in chicken breasts over thighs. Despite the error, the chicken did pick up the flavor, but I imagine that if done correctly, the flavors would be more intense. 
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My husband and I just had “Cheesy Baked Pasta with Sausage and Ricotta” (recipe by Melissa Clark), the seventh recipe out of The New York Times Cooking, “One Pot/Pan/Skillet.” This recipe did not disappoint either. It was also a first for me cooking dried pasta in tomato sauce; not boiling water.
 
For this recipe, you’ll need extra virgin olive oil, 3/4 pound of bulk hot or mild Italian sausage (pork, chicken or turkey), garlic, oregano, fennel seeds, red pepper flakes, 28 ounce can of whole peeled tomatoes with their juices, a 14 ounce can of crushed or strained tomatoes, bay leaves, 12 ounces of dried pasta (small shells, farfalle or other shaped pasta), 8 ounces fresh mozzarella, Parmesan cheese and basil leaves.
 
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There are a total of 24 recipes in the NY Times Cooking supplement issue of “One Pot/Pan/Skillet, 24 Brilliant Recipes for Everyone Who Hates Doing the Dishes.” So far, I’ve made 6 of them. This week I was called upon to pick up my granddaughter at daycare as her parents had late work days. Instead of my husband getting to try Dijon and Cognac Beef Stew, my daughter and her family got the opportunity.
 
The recipe calls for salt pork (I substituted bacon), an onion, shallots, 2 pounds beef chuck, cognac (I substituted brandy), beef stock, Dijon mustard, Pommery mustard or other whole grain Dijon mustard, carrots, mushrooms and red wine. This recipe is a one pot meal that takes approximately 3 hours from start to finish. The recipe says that it serves 4 to 6 people. I feel it more adequately feeds 3, possibly 4, people based on the fact that I had just slightly less than 2 pounds of beef chuck. 
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There was an insert in the February 16th issue of the New York Times titled, “One Pot/Pan/Skillet, 24 Brilliant Recipes for Everyone Who Hates Doing the Dishes.”  The supplement had 34 recipes that included poultry, beef and vegetarian meals. Helpful suggestions also included pro tips, side dishes, slow cooker instructions, substitutions, additions and fun facts. All the recipes are fairly quick and easy, but for the recipes done in the oven, you are roasting at 400° and above. It is essential that your oven is clean, otherwise be prepared for your smoke alarm to go off. ​
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Everyone has their favorite type of kitchen gadget in their kitchen. Here are few things I can’t live without.
 
Early in our marriage my husband and I took possession of our parents stainless steel hand cranked meat slicer. My husband occasionally would use the slicer to slice leftover holiday turkey breast into uniform slices. However, several years ago to better control the sodium level and use a variety of seasonings, I decided to roast my own boneless turkey breast and have my husband slice it for lunches,
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Recently I was reading the February 2020 issue of Bon Appétit Magazine and saw a recipe for Pork Marbella in the “Home - Family Meal” column. This is Bon Appétit’s twist on Chicken Marbella from the Silver Palate Cookbook that was published in April 2007. Their chicken version cooks for 50-60 minutes whereas switching to pork tenderloin the cooking time is just 22-26 minutes. You can marinate the pork overnight, which I decided to do, but you don’t.
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I’m slowly finishing up the various cuts of venison my husband’s friend shared with us. Recently I used the ground venison for chili. I did an internet search and found a recipe that used common pantry items. The recipe is from a a website called Fox Valley Foodie. It was an excellent recipe and quite tasty. The recipe needed to simmer for three hours, so this would be a do ahead meal. 

The recipe called for two pounds of ground venison. Our friend must have included some type of ground fat in the venison (you could literally see it) straight venison would be too lean. Besides the venison, the recipe called for one 28 ounce can of diced tomatoes, 2-cans of chili beans, 1-15 ounce tomato sauce, 1-6 ounce can tomato paste, red onions, poblano peppers, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, beef broth and flour. Due to my oversight, I unintentionally misread the recipe and adjusted a few quantities and omitted some. For starters I purchased two cans of diced tomatoes, omitted the tomato sauce, used yellow onions not red, red kidney not chili beans, omitted the flour and used approximately 1-1/2 cups of beef broth. With these changes my 8 quart Dutch oven was filled to the brim!


​meet donna

A former teacher, shop-a-holic, empty-nester redefining quick, family approved dinners.

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