warning

Okay, its seems this week is going to be about my screw-ups this week. Tonights menu was to be O'Hana's chicken wings. Well, we have turkey wings. And instead of honey I'm using Molasses. I will give all the rotten details in the next blog. Please hold onto your seat for the giggles at my expense!

kitchen know-how>Betty Crocker circa 1961

When you read what I blog about I promised some humor. In todays rush rush hurry hurry times I found the following humorous. I am not picking on it, I just thought it was kind of far reaching.

REFRESH YOUR SPIRITS:
Every morning before breakfast, comb hair, apply makeup and a dash of cologne. Does wonders for your morale and your family's too!
Think pleasant thoughts while working and a chore will become a "labor of love"
Have a hobby. Garden, pain pictures, look through magazines for home planning ideas, read a good book or attend a club meetings. Be interested-and you'll always be interesting!
If you have a spare moment, sit down, close your eyes and just relax.

BE COMFORTABLE:
Wear comfortable shoes and easy-fitting clothes while working.
Stand erect. Good posture prevents fatigue.
Have sink, work table, counter tops at height that is comfortable to eliminate strain. If dishpan is set too low, set it on a box.
Use a dust mop and long handled dust pan. Use self-wringing mop to prevent stooping.

Some of it is useful to know the rest was just for fun.

chicken manchego>publix aprons

5 oz Deli Manchego Cheese (1cup)
1/2 cup roasted red peppers
2 tspn lemon zest
3 tblspn sliver almonds
4 tblspn olive oil, divided
1/2 tspn dried oregano
1/2 tspn salt
1/4 tspn pepper
1/4 crushed red pepper
1 3/4 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts
2 tspn lemon pepper seasonings

prep:
*Dice cheese and red peppers into small bite-size pieces
*Zest/grate lemon peel (no white)

1. Combine cheese, red peppers, lemon zest, almonds, 3 tblspn olive oil, oregano, salt, pepper; let stand 15-20 minutes for flavors to blend.

2. Preheat grill pan on med-high 2-3 minutes. Coat chicken with 1 tblspn olive oil; sprinkle with lemon pepper (wash hands). Place chicken in pan; grill 4-5 minutes on each side or until 165 degrees.

3. Slice chicken; top with cheese mixture and serve.

***
When you shop for the Manchego cheese (at publix, which is where I was) this cheese is very expensive. For 5-6 oz it was over $11.00. I asked the Deli manager for an equal for lesser cost. I bought Asiago. (I love the cheese on the bagels you can get from the bagel shops), however its not good for this recipe. The cheese melted but became lumpy and hard. If you decide to try this recipe make sure you use the cheese it calls for. I plan on trying this recipe again, but correctly next time and not be a cheapy.

Country Captain Chicken>Betty Crocker--1961

Its a tender chicken dish with subtle tomato sauce.

3-1l frying chicken, cut up
1/2 cup Gold Medal flour
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 cup oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
1 can (1lb) tomatoes (2 1/2 cups)
1 cup hot water
1 tsp salt
1 tsp curry powder
1/2 tsp each parsley, thyme
1/4 tsp pepper
3 to 4 cups cooked rice

Shake chicken in paper bag with flour, salt, pepper and paprika. Brown chicken on all sides in hot oil. Add onion and garlic and saute until onion is transparent. Add tomatoes, water and seasonings. Bring to boil. Cover and cook over low heat 45 minutes or until tender. Serve with fluffy white rice.
4 to 6 servings.

Tmc cooked this dish on her own. She did a wonderful job.
My only suggestion would be to start small on the oil and gradually add to it if need be.
The meal was very flavorful.

Pork Cutlets Mornay>Betty Crocker c

This is a wonderful dish. Very easy, took less than an hour.
Use boneless pieces of pork steak. Elegant for a party dish.

Flatten 1lb pork cutlets. Season and dip in beaten egg and bread crumbs. Fry in hot oil until golden brown on both sides. Reduce heat, add a small amount of water, cover tightly and braise until tender, about 30 minutes. Place on hot baking pan coated with tomato sauce. Cover with Sauce Mornay. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese and paprika.. Place under broiler until hot and bubbly.

Miss Mc cooked this part of the meal. She stated that is was fairly easy for a newby chef.
I prepared flattened the meat for her-I put the meat in between two sheets of wax paper to lessen meat splatter and tore up meat.

Sauce mornay:
2 tbsp butter
2 tbsp flour
1 cup cream
1/8 cayenne pepper
salt to taste
dash of white pepper
1/8 tsp nutmeg  (I grate mine fresh, according to people smarter than me-the taste is better than the already ground)

Melt butter over low heat. Stir in flour until well blended. Cook over low heat, stirring until mixture is smooth and bubbly. Remove from heat. Gradually stir in cream and cayenne pepper. Bring to boil stirring constantly stir in rest of ingredients. Stir in 1 cup diced sharp cheddar, Parmesan or Swiss cheese.

Miss Tm made the sauce. Because of her taste we didn't use the cayenne pepper. Because of my Old timers-I forgot the paprika. On the baking pan I put waxed paper down, and poured spaghetti sauce instead of the tomato sauce then add a little bit of sugar. Miss M put the pork on the sauce, Tm poured the sauce. Again for personal tastes we didn't add the extra cheese.
With all that said it was a very good dish. The girls did a wonderful job for their first effort on this recipe.

Aloha Chiffon Cake>Betty Crocker circa 1961

My Niece and I made this cake for a family meal. It took less than 2 hours to complete. I'm not including the cooling time in this. It was a light cake and the topping was perfect because of the summerish temperature.

Large Cake;
2 1/4 cups flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegetable oil
5 egg yolks, unbeaten
3/4 cup cold water
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp grated lemon rind
1 cup egg whites (7 or 8)
1/2 tsp cream of tartar

Heat oven 325. Use a tube pan. DO NOT GREASE PANS.
Measure flour by dip-level-pour method or by sifting. Blend flour, sugar, baking powder and salt in bowl. Make a well and add in order; oil, egg yolks, water, vanilla and rind. Beat with spoon until smooth. Measure egg whites and cream of tartar into large mixing bowl. Beat until whites form very stiff peaks. Pour egg yolk mixture gradually over beaten whites, gently folding with rubber scraper just until blended. Pour into ungreased pan. Bake. Invert on funnel. Let hang until cold.
Bake 10" tube at 325 for 55 min, then 350 for 10 to 15 mins
Bake  9" tube at 325 for 50 to 55 minutes.

The good news is you can slightly screw the recipe up and it still comes out wonderful! I didn't add the water at the time I was supposed to, I added it at the end when the batter didn't look right. Folded the batter together with the egg yolk mixture-it all came out good. 
With just that part of the cake there are a lot of varieties the book offers. I chose this one b/c I had a helper and it seemed like a recipe Miss Tc and I would enjoy working on together.
The part to make it the Aloha part is now coming up

Split the Chiffon Cake into 3 layers. Whip 3 1/2 cups whipping cream and 1 cup sifted confectioners sugar until lit forms soft peaks. Put cake together with Fillings (below). Frost cake with remaining whipped cream, to which 2 tsp rum flavoring has been added. Cover entire cake 1 1/2 cups crushed peanut brittle, about 1/2 lb. Chill or freeze cake before serving. If frozen, thaw 2 to 3 hours before serving.

Pineapple filling:To 2 cups whipped cream, add a few drops green food coloring, 1 /2 tsp vanilla and 1 cup well drained crushed pineapple.

Coconut Filling:To 2 cups whipped cream, add a few drops red food coloring, 1 1/2 vanilla and 1/2 cup shredded coconut, cut up.

You could probably get away with using whipped topping in the fillings, but I love the taste of homemade whipped topping better than the store bought. Also I didn't have the peanut brittle, but I had these really cute tropical marshmallows, so we cut them in half and used them instead.

A big thanks go to Miss TC, the cake wouldn't have been the same without her.

Anna Potatoes>Concourse Steakhouse @ Disney's Comtemporary Resort

The prep work a bit, however the result was worth it. Its very scallop potato-ish. I do not want to give the impression that its hard.

2 1/2 lbs baking potatoes (4to5 large potatoes)
vegetable oil cooking spray
1/2 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese
6 tblspn butter, cut into small pieces
1/2 cup finely chopped shallots
1/4 cup snipped fresh chives
2 tspns minced garlic
3/4 tspn salt or to taste
1/4 tspn coarsely cracked black peppercorns or to taste


1. Preheat oven to 400F. Place a 12-inch cast iron skillet over medium-low heat.

2. Peel the potatoes and slice lengthwise as thin as possible; 1/16 is ideal.
(I used Vidalia onion wizard-basically mandolin-it made life easier and I used more of the potato)

3. Spray the bottom and the sides of the hot skillet with the vegetable oil cooking spray. Cover the bottom and sides with 1 layer of potatoes.

4. Sprinkle the potatoes with 1 layer of Parmesan cheese, butter shallots, chives, garlic, salt, and pepper. Cover with another layer of the potatoes, leaving no gaps. Add another layer of cheese, butter and the seasonings. Follow this with a layer of potatoes, then cheese, butter and seasonings, and finally potatoes.
(To be honest, I forgot to add the butter in between each layer of potatoes. So I melted it and poured it over the potatoes. Since I haven't repeated the recipe yet, I don't know if it made a real big difference.)

5. Spray the top layer with vegatable oil cooking spray. Bake in the preheated 400F oven for 40 to 50 minutes, or until the top is browned and crisp.

6. Remove the skillet from the oven and let the potatoes stand for 10 minutes. Carefully invert the potato cake onto a large serving plate. Slice and serve immediately, or let cool and then reheat just before serving.

**Next time I make this dish I plan on using a different type of cheese. I'm thinking of packaged shredded cheese, ie the mexican or italian blend.

Beef Bourguignon>Chef Mickey's @ Disney's Contemporary Resort

This meal was wonderful. And it really wasn't that hard to prepare.

3 tblspn olive oil
2 lbs beef tips cut into 1-inch cubes
1 1/2 cups diced Spanish onion
1 cuup quartered fresh crimini mushrooms
1 cup fresh button mushrooms
2 tblspn all-purpose flour
3 tblspn tomato paste
1 1/2 cups burgundy wine
1 tblspn coarse salt
1 tspn freshly ground black pepper
2 bay leaves
1 cup beef broth
4 tblspn butter, softened

1. Heat olive oil in a large saute pan over medium-high heat. Sear the beef tips well on all sides, cooking for 5 to 8 minutes.

2. Add onions, mushrooms, flour, and tomato paste. Stir well to combine and cook for an additional 5 to 6 minutes. Add wine, stirring to loosen browned bits off the bottom of the pan. Stir in salt, pepper, bay leaves and beef broth.
(I also added a garlic mixture, and some complete seasoning by Badia)

3. Cover with tight-fitting lid and reduce heat to low; simmer about 45 minutes, stirring occasionally.
(Depending on what grade of meat you buy it may take longer for the meat to tender-I know for me it took a little over an hour b/c I was cheap.)

4. Remove from heat and stir in butter. Serve immediately.
(Just b/c I like the taste I used 5 1/2 tablespoons of butter)

Note: Serve over egg noodles, rice or mashed potatoes.
( We used egg noodles)

Okay, its me again. Here are a few thoughts on the recipe to be able to call it your own.
*If you like mushrooms add more-I bought the mushrooms in the containers at the store and didn't use all I had. I love mushrooms so I should have.
*I added a little more salt than called for-I salted to my taste and I was told it still could have used more.
Disney sells a brand of seasoning from THE SPICE & TEA EXCHANGE. From this company I used the Applewood smoked sea salt (for a very light smoky flavor) and I used Viks Garlic fix.
*Hindsight, I wish I had used paprika-I really enjoy the smoky flavor that it gives.

Northern Bean Soup from (The village restaurant @ Disney Village)

This soup was best Bean soup I've made yet. I used the following recipe and of course tweeked it to my taste. I will give my adds and what I didn't do during the instructions and at the end.

1 pound of dried white beans
1/4 cup rendered bacon fat or vegetable oil
1 cup diced onion
1 cup diced celery
1/4 tspn coarse salt
1/4 tspn ground white pepper
2 large cloves of garlic-diced
1/4 tspn cumin
1 cup diced fresh tomato
4 cups reduced sodium chicken broth
1 cup water


1.Rinse beans and place in large dutch oven. Add 6 cups cold water. Let soak for 6-8 hours or overnight.
(Per my mom,to do them a little different- the night before rinse the beans, then put them in a pot with just enough water to cover them. Bring them to a hard boil then reduce heat and let them boil for 15 minutes, shut them off, rinse them again. Put them back in pot, cover again with water and let them set over night in the fridge*** Alternate way to reduce the gas in the beans also add 1/4 tspn of baking soda )Drain.

2. Drain beans and return to pot. Fill pot with 6 cups of water. Bring to boil, reduce heat to medium and simmer until beans are tender, about 1 1/2 hours. Drain beans and set aside.
3. Heat the bacon fat or oil in dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion and celery and cook for 4 minutes or until slightly softened. Add salt , white pepper,  garlic and cumin and cook for 5 minutes more. Add cooked beans, tomato, broth, and water; cover pot and simmer until vegetables are tender about 10 minutes.
(Okay, here I really veered off the path. I didn't have bacon fat laying around, so I chopped 1lb of bacon into small pieces and fried them up, some softly some crispy. Pulled the bacon out to make room for veggies. Then cooked the celery in the fat. Once all this was done, I added the bacon fat, bacon, and veggies to the broth. Sorry to say I didn't add the tomato, I just didn't have one.)  

4. To thicken the soup, place 1 cup soup in a food processor or blender and pulse until pureed.
Add puree back to the pot. Alternatively, gently mash soup with a potato masher until desired texture is achieved. Serve hot.
(Again, Mom says she uses instant mashed potato mix to thicken the soup. I've also seen the idea to add a chopped potato to the soup)

Allrighty now, here are the rest of the changes I incorporated into the soup. For health reasons of my family I didn't add the onion. But I did add a stick of butter and a good dose of paprika-to your taste of course. My plan for the next soup is to use leeks and put over yellow rice. 
And cornbread goes perfectly with this also.

I hope I've given you thought for food.