2011, Recipes 110-112: Casseroles and Such: Cabbage Casserole, Stuffed Shells and Stuffed Mexican Peppers

 Cabbage Casserole
*Combination of several recipes

• 1 small head cabbage, shredded
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 chopped onion
• 3 cloves garlic, minced  
• 1.5 pounds lean ground beef
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon thyme
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 teaspoon oregano
• 1 (16 oz.) can tomatoes

Cook the cabbage in boiling salted water until crisp-tender. DO NOT OVERCOOK. It will continue to cook in the oven and you want your cabbage to be a little firm. Meanwhile, in a saucepan, saute the onion in olive oil over medium heat until onion is translucent. Add ground beef and spices and brown. Drain. Drain cabbage and place half in a greased 2-1/2-qt. baking dish. Top with half of the ground beef, add half of the tomatoes. Repeat layers. Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees F for 30 minutes or until the cabbage is tender. 

Results: Quite yummy! Rashan is alternately scared of cabbage because of bad experiences as a kid but he liked this, too.

Stuffed Shells
Recipe courtesy of Allrecipes.com

• 1 (16 ounce) package jumbo pasta shells
• 4 cups large curd cottage cheese
• 12 ounces mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1 pinch garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon dried parsley
• 8 ounces sliced fresh mushrooms
• 1 (26 ounce) jar spaghetti sauce
• 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1. Cook shells according to package directions. Place in cold water to stop cooking. Drain.
2. Blend cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, 1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, eggs, mushrooms and garlic powder in a food processer. Rub the dried herbs in the palms of your hands to pulverize them, and stir into the cheese mixture. Stuff mixture into the shells using a ziploc bag with a corner snipped off.
3. Spread 1/3 of spaghetti sauce in the bottom of a 15 x 10 inch pan. Place shells open side up, and close together in pan. Spread remaining sauce over top, and sprinkle with remaining 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for 25 to 35 minutes, or until bubbly. Let stand 10 minutes before serving. 

Results: I made this recipe because Rashan requested it and hated every minute. I found it overly time consuming for the result. Some of my shells broke so I ended up just mixing it all together like a casserole. I think this also needed another flavor. Maybe spinach or meat. 

Stuffed Mexican Shells
Recipe courtesy of Jasgirl at Allrecipes.com with a few modifications

• 1 pound ground beef
• 1 1/2 teaspoons cumin
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup cooked rice
• 1 (14 ounce) can diced fire-roasted tomatoes, divided
•  4 large poblano peppers
•  2 cups shredded Mexican cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease a 9x13-inch baking dish.
2. Brown ground beef over medium heat with spices, breaking it apart into crumbles as it cooks, about 8 minutes. Drain excess fat. Stir in the cooked rice and 1/2 of the tomatoes; mix until thoroughly combined. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, and simmer 20 minutes. Mix in half of the cheese.
3. Meanwhile, cut the poblanos in half lengthwise. Remove stems, membranes, cores, and seeds. Place a steamer insert into a large saucepan, and fill with water to just below the bottom of the steamer. Cover, and bring the water to a boil over high heat. Place the peppers into the steamer insert, cover the pan, and steam until just tender, 5 to 7 minutes.
4. Place the steamed peppers into the prepared baking dish, and fill lightly with the meat filling. Spoon the remaining tomatoes over the peppers and cheese. Cover with aluminum foil.
5. Bake in the preheated oven until the peppers are tender and the filling is hot, 25 to 30 minutes. 

Result: Delicious! I might make a casserole-type version of this one again tonight!

2011, Recipe 100: Smoky Chipotle Meatloaf

Recipe courtesy of Serenebeader on Allrecipes.com

• 2 eggs
• 1/3 cup hickory flavored barbeque sauce
• 2 cloves garlic, minced, or to taste
• 2 chipotle chilies in adobo sauce, minced, or to taste
• 2 tablespoons adobo sauce from chipotle peppers
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon coarse ground black pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon celery salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup dry oatmeal
• 2 pounds lean ground beef
• 2 tablespoons hickory flavored barbeque sauce

1. Preheat an oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Spray a 9x5-inch loaf pan with cooking spray.
2. Beat the eggs in a large mixing bowl until smooth, then whisk in 1/3 cup barbeque sauce, garlic, chipotle chiles, adobo sauce, kosher salt, black pepper, celery salt, cumin, and Worcestershire sauce until evenly smooth. Mix in the onion, oatmeal, and ground beef with your hands until evenly blended. Pack the mixture into the prepared pan. Brush the top of the meatloaf with 2 more tablespoons of barbeque sauce.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until no longer pink in the center, about 1 hour. An instant-read thermometer inserted into the center should read at least 160 degrees F (70 degrees C). 

Results: AMAZING!!!! You should definitely use the entire 2 lbs. of meat this recipe calls for because you will want it!!  I halved it and greedily, we ate the whole pan the same night.  I KNOW!!  Just shameful.  But it's truly that good!  I added diced onion & diced green peppers because I had them and needed to use them but the recipe really doesn't need it.

2011, Recipe 72: Chile Relleno Casserole

Recipe courtesy of Elise at Simplyrecipes.com

• 8 poblano chiles
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 cup chopped onion
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 28-ounce can tomatoes
• Salt
• 1 pound Mexican chorizo (or other spicy sausage)
• 1 cup crumbled cotija cheese
• 1 teaspoon minced fresh oregano leaves
• 12 eggs
• 1/3 cup flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 1/2 cup Monterey jack or mild cheddar cheese, shredded

1 Preheat broiler. Lay chiles in a single layer on a broiling pan (not a baking sheet that will warp in the heat of the broiler) or on a rack in a roasting pan. Position the the chilies one to two inches from the broiler element. Cook until chiles are blistering and black, a few minutes on all sides. Turn chiles over and broil until blistering and black all over. Put chilies in a paper bag or thick plastic bag. Let sit 15 minutes.

2 While the chilies are cooling, heat olive oil in a large sautée pan, on medium. Add the chopped onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for a minute more. Add the tomatoes (break up any whole tomatoes before adding to the pan). Add a pinch of salt. Bring to a simmer and lower the heat to low. Gently simmer for 15-20 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
3 Carefully peel and discard the blackened skin off of the chilies. Cut off the stem ends, remove the seeds and discard. Set chiles aside on a layer of paper towels to dry.
4 In a large frying pan over medium-high heat, cook chorizo, stirring occasionally to break up the meat, until cooked through, about 4 minutes.
5 Preheat oven to 375°. Pour tomato sauce into the bottom of an 8x12 inch baking dish (the tomato sauce should be the consistency of a thin spaghetti sauce. If it is too thick, thin it out with a little water).
6 In a large bowl, mix chorizo, cotija, and oregano. Stuff chiles with sausage mixture and lay them on top of the tomato sauce in the pan.
7 In a large bowl, whisk the eggs thoroughly. Whisk in the flour, baking powder, and a pinch of salt. Sprinkle chiles with half of the jack or cheddar cheese. Pour egg mixture over chiles and sprinkle with remaining cheese.
8 Bake until top starts to brown and the eggs are set but still soft, about 30 minutes.
Serves 8.

Results:  Good.  Rashan and I liked it enough to eat it after the first day.  It felt a little more like breakfast because of the eggs.  I halved the recipe (1/6 of a cup is 8 teaspoons) and used 5 eggs...  I can't say I really see the point of the eggs.  It was good but the eggs were strange.   And I love eggs so yeah...

Also for some reason, the casing would NOT come off of my chorizo!!  So crazy!  So I just chopped it and browned it and put it in the poblanos.  I'll be making chile rellenos again but probably not this recipe without modifications I can't quite put my finger on.  Maybe I just don't need a casserole.  Not sure.  Oh and I used fresh oregano, but I think dried might have worked even better because it probably would've been incorporated better.

Feed My Face!

So as you may or may not know, Z a g a t has a list of the 30 must-have foods in NYC this summer. Of that list, I chose 20 I'd like to try. Here are the ones I eliminated:

I crossed off 'a bucket of Corona's at the Frying Pan' b/c

1. I don't drink beer and

2. really? i'ma come to NY to drink something I can get ANYWHERE else?

I don't need to try the DitchPlains's mussels b/c I realize i'm not the biggest fan of them. I always get them rubbery. Send me oysters instead.

I don't want Gray's papaya drink b/c papaya may be the fruit I hate more than cantaloupe (but not more than guava).

I've decided to pass on a tiki drink from a place called Hurricane... if tiki drinks weren't invented in So.Fla, they were definitely perfected there.

I don't want ribs from anywhere above the Mason-Dixon, sorry Hill Country.

I'm not going to pay upwards of $12 for a yerbabuena ensalata which is nothing more than a dressed up caprese but instead of basil, they use mint (yech in food).

Starbux iced anything didn't make my list and neither did rosa mexicano's overpriced pom margarita (Which I happened to already have tasted whilst in DC).

I didn't add gownusyacht's 'beer and a burger' cause i already have a burger joint on my list and i'm kind of burgered out.

So what does that leave?

Black Forty's Crab Boil

The Bedford's Sangria

Big Gay Ice Cream Truck's Salty Pimp

Brookyln Farmacy's Egg Cream

Cafe Habana's Grilled Corn

CoolHaus' Ice Cream Sandwich

El Faro's Gazpacho

Grand Central Station's Oyster Bar's Oysters

Grimaldi's Pizza

Grom's Gelato

Luke's Lobster Roll

Mermaid Oyster Bar's Oyster Po Boy

Mr. Softee Ice Cream

Nathan's Hotdog

Nuela's Ceviche

People's Pops

Red Hook Ball Field's Huarache

Rouge et Blan's Soft Shell Crab Banh Mi

Shake Shack's Burger

Tacombi's Fish Taco

Zengo's Tequila Snow Cone

Also on my list is the requisite NY stuff. A hotdog from a vendor on the street and maybe a pretzel. I can live my life w/o eating pretzels so I'm not too pressed abt that one...

Stay tuned for the next episode of Feed My Face!

2011, Recipe 12: Seviche

I used a seviche recipe in my newest Rick Bayless acquisition that's very close to this one.

• 1 pound fresh, skinless snapper, bass, halibut, or other ocean fish fillets, cut into 1/2-inch dice
• 1 1/2 cups fresh lime juice
• 1 medium white onion, chopped into 1/2-inch pieces
• Fresh hot green chiles (2 to 3 serranos or 1 to 2 jalapeños), stemmed, seeded and finely chopped
• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro, plus a few leaves for garnish
• Salt
• 1 large or 2 small ripe avocados, peeled, pitted and diced
• Tostadas, tortilla chips or saltine crackers, for serving 

1. In a 1 1/2-quart glass or stainless steel bowl, combine the fish, lime juice and onion. Use enough juice to cover the fish and allow it to float freely; too little juice means unevenly "cooked" fish. Cover and refrigerate for about 4 hours, until a cube of fish no longer looks raw when broken open. Drain in a colander.
2. In a large bowl, mix the cilantro and chiles. Stir in the fish and season with salt, usually about 1/2 teaspoon. Cover and refrigerate if not serving immediately. Just before serving, gently stir in the diced avocado.

 Results: AWESOME!!  And so easy!  I'm never paying $10 for seviche again!!!!  I used tilapia and took this to a brunch.  It was a hit!  I did a duo of seviche.  One had roasted jalapeno, roasted tomatillo & roasted poblano.  The other followed this recipe.  The recipe one was a bigger hit at the party (who can resist avocado?) but Rashan & I loved both.  The 4 hour time is not necessary.  You can really serve it immediately if you like Peruvian-style seviche but an hour is plenty for your fish to have a bit of a bite and still be tasty.  I served this with tortilla chips.

2011, Recipe 4: Black Bean Breakfast Burrito

Recipe courtesy of Good Life Eats

• 6 large eggs
• 2 tablespoons milk
• salt and pepper, to taste
• 1/2 cup cilantro leaves, rinsed and chopped
• 1 – 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 3/4 cup feta cheese, crumbled
• 1 avocado, diced
• salsa, your choice of heat
• 6 soft taco sized flour tortillas, warmed

Combine the eggs, milk, salt, and pepper. Hand beat the eggs using a whisk or fork until yolk and white are evenly mixed and the eggs are frothy, about 1-2 minutes.
Grease a nonstick saute pan and set it over medium-high heat. Add eggs to the pan. After the eggs begin to set, gently move them around in the pan with a spatula or wooded spoon. Move the eggs to the center while tilting your pan to redistribute the unset parts.
Break apart large pieces with your spoon or spatula. Turn the eggs as needed until the are cooked through. Stir in the chopped cilantro.
To assemble the burrito: divide the egg and black bean evenly among the tortillas. Garnish each burrito with feta, avocado, and salsa. Top with additional cilantro, if desired. Serve immediately.

Results: I used my leftover black beans for this. YUMMY if you add some lime.  It definitely needs the acid.  I enjoyed it and so did Rashan!  I've made something similar before but usually with my eggs over medium.  I think I prefer them over medium.

2011, Recipes 2 & 3: Garlic Lime Marinated Pork Chops with Seasoned Rice

Recipes (rice & pork) courtesy of Rick Bayless

1 cups chicken broth
Salt

vegetable oil 

1 cups white rice, preferably medium-grain
1 white onion, chopped into 1/4-inch pieces

3 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
2 sprigs fresh thyme

---

Directions

1.   Heat the broth.   Turn on the oven to 350°.  Measure the broth into a large (4-quart) saucepan.  Add 1 tablespoon of salt , if you are using salted broth, 2 tablespoons if you’re using unsalted broth.  Cover and set over medium-low heat.
2.   Fry the rice.   Set up a large strainer over a metal bowl; set beside the stove on a heat-resistant surface. With the pan of oil still over the heat, raise the heat to high and add the rice.  Stir regularly until the rice has turned from translucent to milky white (but not begun to brown), about 10 minutes.  Immediately (and carefully) pour the rice and oil into the strainer, making sure to get all the rice out of the pan.  Clean off any drips on the outside of the pan.
 3.   Cook the rice.   Without washing the pan, set it over medium heat.  If there isn’t a generous coating of oil on the bottom, spoon a little of the strained oil back into the pot.  Add the onion and cook, stirring regularly, until soft but not browned, about 5 minutes.  Add the garlic and stir for 1 minute.  Add the rice and broth.  Stir several times through all parts of the pan, making sure to scrape down any rice grains that are clinging to the sides above the liquid.  Drop the thyme sprigs on top of the rice.  Cover and place in the oven.  After 30 minutes uncover and test a grain of rice:  if it’s still a little chalky in the center and it’s clear that all the liquid has been absorbed, drizzle about 1/4 cup of water over the rice, re-cover and bake for 5 to 10 minutes longer.
 4.   Serve the rice.   When the rice is ready, sprinkle the fried plantains and chopped parsley over the top and gently fold them in—if you’re careful and stir all the way to the bottom, you’ll release a lot of steam, which will stop the rice from overcooking.

Results: This was some of the tastiest rice ever!  MMMM!

Pork Chops
garlic
lime
vegetable oil
1 serrano pepper (ribbed & seeded)
salt

Results: This marinade is supposed to be good for any meat.  I didn't really like it on the chops.  It decimated them in 2 hours and made the pork way too porky.  Not delicious.  Rashan liked it.  I couldn't stop tasting dead animal.  I PROMISE I'm not turning into a vegetarian!  Proof next week!  :)

As far as the black beans, I drained two cans, added chicken broth and a little lime juice, cumin and salt.  So yummy!  Black beans must be doctored!  And they will be delicious as a result!  And don't forget to garnish with cilantro.

For the guac, I just mixed avocado, lime juice, salt, minced garlic and finely chopped onion.  Yummy!!

For the margaritas, I tried a new mix from World Market called Powell and Mahoney.  One of the most delish mixes I've ever tasted.  A real sneaker.  Went down smooth.