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First, the recipe calls for mixing baking soda with water then incorporating the liquid into the raw meat. After sitting for 15 minutes, this will allow the meat to tenderize and brown better when cooking. While the meat rests, an onion is diced, and a portion is sautéed in butter until translucent.
Next the ground beef is broken into smaller pieces and spread in the pan. The meat is seasoned with black pepper, onion powder and salt; it’s cooked until browned and all the meat is broken up. Next, incorporated into the mixture is ketchup, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, salt and pepper. The mixture is served on a hamburger bun and is dressed with diced raw onion, dill pickles and a few squirts of yellow mustard. An unusual combination of ingredients, but they certainly made for a messy and tasty sandwich. It was easy to make and the combination of seasoning made for a flavorful sandwich. I bake cookies every week and this week I tried a recipe from King Arthur Flour for Strawberry Shortcake Cookies. It just so happened that I had all the ingredients on hand such as unsalted butter, granulated sugar, baking powder, table salt, an egg, vanilla, flour, heavy cream, coarse sparkling sugar, freeze dried strawberries and confectioners’ sugar. The one thing I’m in search of is a rolling pin rings to roll out cookie dough in a uniform thickness. I believe Shore Cake Supply in Ocean Township, NJ has them, but I know I can purchase them online. The recipe starts by preparing the dough and letting it chill for a minimum of 30 minutes or overnight. While it was chilling, I prepared the filling which is made with butter, berry powder, salt, confectioners’ sugar and some cream until it’s smooth and fluffy. I set that aside while I rolled out the cookies on a sheet of parchment dusted with flour. Once rolled out, I cut out 2-inch round cookies, placed on baking sheet and dusting half with coarse sugar (these will be the cookie tops). The recipe yields approximately 2-1/2 dozen. Once the cookies were done baking and cooling, it was time to spread the filling on the unsugared half. I must say, these cookies turned out beautifully. They weren’t overly sweet; the filling had a slight tart taste from the pulverized freeze-dried strawberries and looked so pretty once plated. I know my granddaughters will love these, especially the young one as pink is one of her favorite colors. When I’m up at my daughter’s house in Cranford I visit Perrotti’s Quality Meats and usually purchase their pork chops, which we love. I found an easy to prepare recipe in a cookbook by the Scotto Family, “Scotto Sunday Suppers and Other Fabulous Feasts.” You may be familiar with Rosanna Scotto from Fox News and her family’s restaurant Fresco by Scotto in Manhattan. The recipe, Prosciutto-Wrapped Pork Chops was mouthwatering. As my herb garden is now ready for the summer season, I was able to clip both sage and rosemary. I also needed to purchase prosciutto, which I’m finding some deli counters don’t know how to properly slice and package. While the meat was thinly sliced, they were not properly layered on the deli wrap paper which made them stick to each other and each layer…ugh! The herbs were finely chopped, the chops seasoned with salt and pepper and coated with the herbs. As best as I could, I wrapped the prosciutto around the chops and sautéed in a cast iron skillet with extra-virgin olive oil. They only needed to cook two minutes per side before going into an oven for 15 minutes or my preference, reach an internal temperature of 135°. There is carrying over cooking once they’re done and the temperature should rise another 10°; I prefer my meat a little pink. Wow, these pork chops were scrumptious . The combination of sage, rosemary and prosciutto infused the meat with a terrific flavor. I served them on a bed of orzo that I tossed with some homemade pesto. It was a great combination. Last week’s CSA box gave us strawberries, rhubarb, lettuce, asparagus, broccolini, bok choy and beets. I used the bok choy as a side dish to a meal we had the other night. This quick little recipe, Stir-Fried Bok Choy or Sturdy Greens, is by Martha Rose Shulman from The New York Times/NYT Cooking website. Besides the bok choy, you’ll need either chicken or vegetable broth or water, Shao Hsing rice wine or dry sherry, soy sauce, cornstarch, peanut or canola oil, garlic cloves, fresh ginger, salt, sugar and sesame seeds as garnish. The bok choy is trimmed, cleaned and cut into 2-inch pieces. It’s steamed for one minute, rinsed in cold water then placed in a kitchen towel to squeeze out any excess water. The broth or water, rice wine or sherry, soy sauce and cornstarch are mixed in a bowl. In a large flat bottom skillet or 12-inch wok, oil is added to the pan. The garlic and ginger cook until fragrant. The bok choy is added and seasoned with sugar and salt. The cornstarch mixture is stirred and the bok choy is cooked until tender. It’s garnished with sesame seeds, My husband and I really liked this preparation. We found it delightful as the flavors were wonderful with the ginger giving it a nice zing. Overall, a quick and easy side dish with this spring vegetable. I also found a recipe on The New York Times/NYT Cooking website for Rhubarb Crisp by Mark Bittman. As I share the box with my daughter, the recipe said you could also use strawberries with the rhubarb. I prepared half the recipe with the following ingredients: butter, rhubarb, white sugar, orange or lemon juice, orange or lemon zest, brown sugar, all-purpose flour, cinnamon, salt, rolled oats and pecans. For the citrus component I used an orange. I trimmed, removed any tough strings and cut the rhubarb in 1-1/2-inch pieces and placed in a bowl. The strawberries were beautiful, juicy and red all the way through. I cut those in half and added them to the bowl. The fruit was tossed with the sugar, orange juice and orange zest. Using a food processor, I added the butter, brown sugar, flour, cinnamon and salt and pulsed into pea size pieces. The oats and pecans were added an pulsed several times. The crumble went on top and I placed the casserole on a sheet pan in case the juices were to spill over. This was a delightful little dessert. The flavors were perfectly balanced and it wasn’t overly sweet. The topping had a nice crunch. I served it with a scoop of rich vanilla ice cream from Nicholas Creamery, which now has a location in Wall Township. The dessert was a delicious taste of spring.
Porchetta-Spiced Potatoes
By Kay Chun The New York Times/NYT Cooking Total Time: 40 minutes Servings: 6 to 8 Ingredients 5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil 3-pounds baby potatoes (such as creamer, baby white or new potatoes), halved Salt 1 tablespoon minced garlic 1 tablespoon ground fennel or 1 tablespoon whole fennel seeds, ground 1 teaspoon dried thyme 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh rosemary 1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh sage ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper ½teaspoon red-pepper flakes Chopped parsley, for garnish Preparation
Loose Meat Sandwich
By Kevin Pang The New York Times/NYT Cooking Total Time: 40 minutes Prep Time: 5 minutes Cook Time: 30 minutes Servings: 4 Ingredients ½ teaspoon baking soda 1-pound ground beef, at least 85 percent lean 1 medium yellow onion, finely diced 2tablespoons butter Salt 1teaspoon black pepper 1 teaspoon onion powder 2tablespoons ketchup 2 tablespoons yellow mustard, plus more for serving 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce 4 plain hamburger buns or potato buns Dill pickle rounds, for serving Preparation
Strawberry Short Cake Cookies
Recipe by Sarah Carey Prep: 45 minutes Bake: 12 to 15 minutes Total Time: 1 hour 30 minutes Yield: 2-1/2 dozen sandwich cookies Ingredients 8 tablespoons (113g) unsalted butter, softened 3/4 cup (149g) granulated sugar 2 teaspoons baking powder 3/4 teaspoon table salt 1 large egg 1 teaspoon King Arthur Pure Vanilla Extract 2 cups plus 1 tablespoon (248g) King Arthur Unbleached All-Purpose Flour 1/3 cup (76g) heavy cream coarse sparkling sugar, for top of cookies Strawberry filling 3/4 cup (15g) freeze-dried strawberries 6 tablespoons (85g) unsalted butter, softened 1/8 teaspoon table salt 2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (240g) confectioners' sugar, sifted if lumpy 2 to 3 tablespoons (28g to 43g) heavy cream Instructions
Prosciutto-Wrapped Pork Chops
“Scotto Sunday Suppers and Other Fabulous Feasts” Copyright ©2005 by Starjem Restaurant, Inc. HarperCollins Publishers Servings: 6 Ingredients 6 bone-in center-cut pork chops (about 10 ounces each, 4 pounds total) 1 tablespoon roughly chopped fresh rosemary leaves 1 tablespoon roughly chopped fresh sage leaves ¼ tablespoon freshly crushed black pepper ¼ pound thinly slice Parma prosciutto ¼ cup extra-virgin olive oil Preparation
Note: Center-cut pork chops should be at least 1-1/2-inches thick with the fat trimmed away from the bone.
Stir-Fried Bok Choy or Sturdy Greens
By Martha Rose Shulman “The Last of the Fresh Greens,” The New York Times, September 19, 2011 Total time: 15 minutes Servings: 3 to 4 as a side dish Ingredients 12 to 16ounces bok choy or sturdy greens, like collards, or packaged Southern greens mix ¼ cup chicken broth, vegetable broth or water 1 tablespoon Shao Hsing rice wine or dry sherry 2 teaspoons soy sauce ¼ teaspoon cornstarch 1 tablespoon peanut or canola oil 3 garlic cloves, smashed with the flat side of a chef’s knife or minced 1slice ginger, smashed with the flat side of a chef’s knife or minced Salt to taste ¼ teaspoon sugar 1 to 2teaspoons sesame seeds, to taste Preparation
Rhubarb Crisp
“Rhubarb Crisp That Stands Up to Pie,” By Mark Bittman, “The Minimalist” column The New York Times, May 14, 2010 Total Time: 1 hour Yield: 6 to 8 servings “When you think of rhubarb you probably think of strawberry-rhubarb pie, a quintessential spring dessert, especially if it’s made by someone who makes good pies. I usually manage around one pie crust annually, so I need alternatives. Thus, when the spring’s first rhubarb shows up, I adjust the execution and produce a crisp. If rhubarb is young and fresh, you can trim it in seconds. If it has fibrous outer strings, peel them off as you would those of celery. Toss the rhubarb with orange or lemon juice and zest, and only a little sugar. (You can also substitute strawberries for some of the rhubarb if you want the classic combination.) Blend the ingredients for the crisp topping in a food processor, crumble the topping over the rhubarb mixture, and bake — it is nearly effortless and as good or better than a pie.” Ingredients 6 tablespoons cold butter, cut into small pieces, plus more for greasing pan 2½ to 3pounds rhubarb, trimmed, tough strings removed, and cut into 1½-inch pieces (about 5 to 6 cups) ¼ cup white sugar 1 tablespoon orange or lemon juice 1 teaspoon orange or lemon zest ¾ cup brown sugar ½ cup all-purpose flour ½ teaspoon cinnamon, or to taste Pinch salt ½ cup rolled oats ½ cup pecans Preparation
Donna’s Notes: I prepared half a recipe using both rhubarb and strawberries and orange juice and orange zest.
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