|
Entrees
Asparagus Chicken Stir Fry
2 boneless chicken breasts, cut into ½-inch strips
3 Tbs. peanut oil
1 c. sliced celery
½ c. diced scallions
4 c. asparagus, sliced diagonally into 1-inch pieces
1 Tbs. sesame oil
1 garlic clove, minced
1 Tbs. ginger root, minced
2 tsp. grated orange rind
3 Tbs. light soy sauce
1 Tbs. cornstarch
½ c. water
¼ c. orange juice
2 Tbs. frozen organic juice concentrate
½ c. roasted cashews (if desired)
Heat 2 Tbs. of peanut oil in wok or large fry pan and stir fry celery for 1 minute. Add scallions and asparagus. Stir-fry 3-5 minutes until asparagus is bright green and tender. Transfer to a bowl. Heat remaining peanut oil and sesame oil. Add chicken, garlic, ginger, orange rind, and soy sauce. Stir-fry about 5 minutes until chicken is barely cooked. In a small bowl, combine cornstarch, water, and both orange juices. Return vegetables to wok. Add cashews and mix. Pour in cornstarch mixture and stir fry to reheat and let the sauce thicken, about 3 minutes. Serve hot over rice.
Recipe serves 6.
Return to top
Broadway Penne Pasta
(Pasta with Spinach, Mushrooms, Sun Dried Tomatoes & a Roasted Garlic Cream)
1 head garlic, roasted
1-quart heavy cream
2 cups white wine
2 cups chicken stock
2 pounds penne pasta
1 pound spinach, cleaned and chopped
10 ounces mushrooms, sliced
1 cup sun-dried tomatoes, julienne
2 Tbs. olive oil
salt and pepper, to taste
Place roasted garlic in a saucepan with the wine. Place over medium heat and bring to a simmer. Reduce the liquid until almost dry. Do not let the garlic burn. Add the chicken stock, bring to a simmer and reduce that to almost dry also. Add the heavy cream, bring to a simmer and reduce it by 25%. Salt and pepper to taste. Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta to your desired doneness.
Place a large sauté pan over medium high heat. When the pan is hot add the olive oil and sauté the mushrooms until they are slightly browned and they give up their liquid. Then add the chopped spinach and cook until it is slightly wilted. Add salt and pepper to taste. Place the mixture into a large bowl. Add the sun-dried tomatoes to the bowl.
When the pasta is done, drain it and add it to the bowl. Pour the roasted garlic cream, toss, correct the seasonings and serve.
Serves 4.
Return to top
Broccoli-Corn Quiche
(*Spring Brunch favorite*)
from Barbara Athanasiou, Eighth Street Community Gardener
2 cups finely chopped fresh broccoli
1 cup low-fat cottage cheese
3 eggs
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
2 drops of hot sauce
¼ cup finely chopped onion
1 (8 ¾ ounce) can whole kernel corn, drained
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded Swiss cheese
Vegetable cooking spray
Place broccoli in a small saucepan; add a small amount of water and simmer 5 minutes. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 5 minutes. Drain thoroughly. Place broccoli on paper towels and squeeze until barely moist. Set broccoli aside.
Combine cottage cheese, eggs, flour, salt, pepper, and hot sauce in a container of an electric blender. Cover and process until smooth.
Combine egg mixture, broccoli, onion, corn and cheese in a large bowl. Pour into a 9-inch quiche dish or pie plate coated with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes or until knife inserted off-center comes clean. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. Cut into wedges and serve warm.
Makes 6 servings (200 calories per serving)
Return to top
Glen’s Corned Beef Hash and Tomato Butter
(*Spring Brunch Favorite*)
From Glen Martin, Second Street Community Gardener
Proportion of corned beef to potatoes & vegetables is roughly 1:1 but this can be adjusted to suit one’s taste.
Clean fat off cooked corn beef. Dice into small pieces. (Following amounts based on approximately 4 cups corned beef).
Dice 2 cups boiled potatoes. Potatoes should be firm.
In butter, sauté 1 onion chopped, 1 green pepper diced, 2-3 ribs celery diced.
In a large bowl, add beef and potatoes to vegetables. Sprinkle with Worcestershire sauce and stir in a bunch of parsley chopped. Salt and pepper to taste.
Melt butter in a frying pan. Fry hash until slightly brown and crispy. Serve with tomato butter.
Return to top
Glen’s Grandmother’s Tomato Butter
7 lbs. tomatoes
3 lbs. sugar
1 pint cider vinegar
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon salt
Cook until thick.
Return to top
Ham Strata
(*Spring Brunch Favorite*)
8 loaves of bread (remove crusts)
2 cups ham, cubed
8 eggs
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons dry mustard
4 cups milk
1 lb sharp cheddar cheese
Cube bread and fill 13 x 9" baking pan. Mix cubed ham in. Beat eggs, salt, dry mustard and milk together and pour over ham and bread mix. Grate cheese and stir in, reserving some for the top. Let stand for 24 hours. Bake at 350 degrees for one full hour. Uncover during the last 15 minutes. (You can substitute veggies for the ham.)
Return to top
Mrs. Defazio's Polenta with Sausage & Mushrooms
1 lb Italian Sausage
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 lb mushrooms cleaned & sliced
2 ½ cups canned tomatoes
1 teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon pepper
3 cups water
1½ teaspoons salt
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup cold water
Grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
Cut sausage casing, remove sausage, and crumble into small pieces with a fork. Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add sausage and mushrooms to skillet. Cook slowly, stirring occasionally, until the mushrooms and sausage are lightly browned. Slowly stir in the tomatoes, 1 teaspoon salt and pepper. Simmer 20-30 minutes. While the tomato and sausage mixture is simmering, bring 3 cups water with 1 ½ teaspoons salt to boiling. Gradually stir in the cornmeal and 1 cup cold water. Continue boiling, stirring constantly, until mixture is thickened. Cover, lower the heat and cook slowly 10 minutes or longer, if necessary. Transfer the cooked cornmeal to warm platter and top with tomato mixture. Sprinkle with cheese and serve immediately.
Makes 6-8 servings
Return to top
Sausage & Egg Brunch Casserole
(*Spring Brunch Favorite*)
From Ellie Pattison
6-8 slices of cubed bread
1 ½ lbs little link sausage, fried and cut up
¾ lb grated sharp cheddar cheese
1-2 4 ounce canned sliced mushrooms, drained
2-¼ cups milk
1 teaspoon dry mustard
4 eggs
1 can mushroom soup
½ soup can of milk
First, mix and beat together 2-¼ cups milk, mustard and eggs in one bowl. In another bowl, mix together the mushroom soup and ½ can milk. Set aside.
Place cubed bread in greased 8 x 15" baking pan and layer cheese, sausage and mushrooms. (Two layerings if doubling in bigger pan)
Pour first mixture evenly over ingredients in pan. Cover with foil and let stand overnight in refrigerator. May be frozen at this point.
Remove from refrigerator or completely thaw approximately one hour before baking. Spread top with second mixture (soup and milk) and bake covered at 325 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour.
Return to top
Spanakopita
(*Spring Brunch Favorite*)
From Chico Christopher
1 ½ to 2 lbs fresh spinach
8-oz phyllo sheets (approximately 10 sheets)
¾ cup chopped green onions
1 lb crumbled feta cheese
2 tablespoons chopped parsley
2 eggs, beaten
pepper to taste
1 stick of butter, melted
Additions:
2 tablespoons Kafaloteri or Parmesan cheese
1 cup white (Bechamel) sauce
Substitutions:
½ Ricotta or farmer's cheese for ½ lb feta cheese
swiss chard or similar greens for spinach
Wash spinach well. Discard stems if ambitious. Steam the spinach over boiling water in convenient size batches until is wilts; spinach will continue to cook in the pie. Drain and pat dry in paper towels or spin dry. Coarsely chop into bite size pieces. Allow to cool. Combine the spinach, onions, feta cheese, parsley, and eggs in a large bowl. Make substitutions and additions at this time. Season and stir well.
Using a pastry brush, brush a baking dish with some melted butter. Unfold the phyllo and place under a damp towel or plastic wrap to keep it from drying out. Remove one sheet of pastry at a time and place half the sheet in the dish. Butter, fold over and butter again. Repeat using a total of 4 sheets of phyllo. Pour in the filling. Stack the remaining phyllo sheets, buttered and folded in half, on top of the filling. Brush the top of the pie with butter.
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Reduce temperature to 325degress and bake 45 minutes to 1 hour or until golden brown and puffed. Allow cooling for 5-10 minutes, cutting into squares and serving.
Return to top
Béchamel Sauce
¼ cup butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 hot cups milk
salt and white pepper
Melt butter in a saucepan, add flour and stir until smooth. Remove from heat and gradually stir in the hot milk. Use a wooden spoon to prevent the sauce from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Return to the heat and cook, stirring constantly, until smooth and thickened. Reduce heat and cook a few minutes longer. Season to taste. Keep warm in a tightly covered pan over hot water.
Return to top
Spinach Enchiladas
(*Spring Brunch favorite*)
From Doug Burns, former Community Gardener
1 medium onion, chopped
two bunches of spinach leaves, chopped
two small handfuls fresh cilantro, chopped
½ cup red salsa
Vegetable oil
Package of corn tortillas
Monterey Jack cheese, grated
Sauté onion in oil. Sauté spinach until soft, and then pour off the liquid. Combine onion, spinach, cilantro and salsa. Warm tortillas individually for 10 seconds each in microwave oven. Stuff each tortilla with mixture, roll it up and place in casserole dish; top with grated cheese. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes - cheese should be melted.
Return to top
Veal & Beef Bourguignon
(*Spring Brunch Favorite*)
From The Tavern at Sterup Square in Troy
1 lb veal stew meat
1 lb top round meat
1 ounce flour
½ cup shallots chopped small
1 cup mushrooms (Shitakes sliced thin with no stem)
1 cup oyster mushrooms, julienne thin
3 cups port wine
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 bay leaves
2 garlic cloves
1 gallon veal or beef broth
1 teaspoon fresh thyme
3 teaspoons roux (flour & melted butter in a thin, paste-like consistency)
Lightly flour all meat and start to brown on all sides in hot, thick saucepan. Then add shallots and cook until they start to brown. Next, add tomato paste, all seasonings and half the port wine. Let juice reduce by half, then add beef broth and remaining wine and mushrooms. Simmer on low for 1½ hours or until meat is tender. Add roux slowly while whisking rapidly. Cook for 10 more minutes. Taste and adjust salt and pepper if necessary.
Return to top
|
