Saturday, December 05, 2009
Weekly Recipes: December 5
Loubiyeh bi Zeit (Slow Sauteed Green Beans)
I know, I know, it's a lot of oil. Trust me. It's great this way and you will love it.
1/2 cup olive oil
2 large onions, diced
8 cloves garlic
2 pounds green beans, washed and trimmed (can be frozen)
kosher salt to taste
Heat oil in large saute pan over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and stir to cook and soften, about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium low and add green beans. Stir to keep onions and garlic from burning on the bottom of the pan. Cook over medium low heat, stirring frequently, for 45 minutes. If it looks like the onions might burn, turn the heat down. Season with salt to taste. You will end up with soft green beans, dark, dark brown onions (but not burned!), and amazing flavor.
Saffron Buns for St. Barbara's Day
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons cold milk
zest of two lemons (to be used separately, so dividing them at the beginning is easiest)
3 cups bread flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
1 cup slivered almonds (I was out this year, so I used sliced almonds)
2 teaspoons yeast
1 cup golden raisins
Coarse Sugar
Heat milk and zest of one lemon together briefly, just to warm. Allow to cool slightly while the oils from the zest diffuse in the milk. Pour into bread machine pan. Add flour, sugar, eggs, butter, salt, saffron, slivered almonds and yeast. Process on dough setting. Add raisins and zest of remaining lemon to dough and process on dough cycle again, for about 5 minutes, stopping machine just after raisins are mixed into dough.
Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and knead slightly to form an elastic dough. Cut into 12 - 16 pieces and shape into figure eights, brush with water and sprinkle with coarse sugar and allow to rise on greased pan, covered with a damp towel, until doubled in bulk about an hour.
Bake in preheated oven, at 375 F, for about 20 minutes, until golden brown. Remove buns from pan to cool on rack. Serve warm.
Bleu Cheese Dressing
This is so easy to make, it makes us wonder why people buy it. The only bleu cheese I will eat is gorgonzola, so that is what we use. Also, I make the mayonnaise for the dressing, it is so fast and easy and better than store bought. You will never, ever, buy store bought again if you start making your own.
This is the recipe from Joy of Cooking, with a tiny amount of tweaking:
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
salt & pepper to taste
4 oz gorgonzola, crumbled
Mix it all together. Eat on salad or celery sticks. The end.
And a bonus recipe, because we enjoy this so much and I thought you might have extra pumpkin puree lying about. Sweet potato would work in this, too.
Pumpkin Spice Pancakes
I used whole wheat pastry flour, but was thinking of subbing 1 cup of the pastry flour with oat flour. If you try that, let me know how it tastes.
3 cups whole wheat pastry flour (I used freshly milled)
1/4 cup brown sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 cups milk
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 eggs
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves. Set aside.
In another bowl, mix milk, pumpkin, eggs and butter. I usually melt the butter in this bowl first, then add the rest of the stuff. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well, but don't worry about a stray lump or two.
Heat your griddle or your pan and cook these, using about 1/3 of a cup of batter, flipping after most of the bubbles formed on the top have popped. I have a really hot stove, so these get cooked at 2 on my stove setting, which is just above low.
I know, I know, it's a lot of oil. Trust me. It's great this way and you will love it.
1/2 cup olive oil
2 large onions, diced
8 cloves garlic
2 pounds green beans, washed and trimmed (can be frozen)
kosher salt to taste
Heat oil in large saute pan over medium heat. Add onions and garlic and stir to cook and soften, about 3 minutes. Reduce heat to medium low and add green beans. Stir to keep onions and garlic from burning on the bottom of the pan. Cook over medium low heat, stirring frequently, for 45 minutes. If it looks like the onions might burn, turn the heat down. Season with salt to taste. You will end up with soft green beans, dark, dark brown onions (but not burned!), and amazing flavor.
Saffron Buns for St. Barbara's Day
1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons cold milk
zest of two lemons (to be used separately, so dividing them at the beginning is easiest)
3 cups bread flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1/4 cup unsalted butter, softened
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon saffron threads
1 cup slivered almonds (I was out this year, so I used sliced almonds)
2 teaspoons yeast
1 cup golden raisins
Coarse Sugar
Heat milk and zest of one lemon together briefly, just to warm. Allow to cool slightly while the oils from the zest diffuse in the milk. Pour into bread machine pan. Add flour, sugar, eggs, butter, salt, saffron, slivered almonds and yeast. Process on dough setting. Add raisins and zest of remaining lemon to dough and process on dough cycle again, for about 5 minutes, stopping machine just after raisins are mixed into dough.
Turn dough out onto lightly floured surface and knead slightly to form an elastic dough. Cut into 12 - 16 pieces and shape into figure eights, brush with water and sprinkle with coarse sugar and allow to rise on greased pan, covered with a damp towel, until doubled in bulk about an hour.
Bake in preheated oven, at 375 F, for about 20 minutes, until golden brown. Remove buns from pan to cool on rack. Serve warm.
Bleu Cheese Dressing
This is so easy to make, it makes us wonder why people buy it. The only bleu cheese I will eat is gorgonzola, so that is what we use. Also, I make the mayonnaise for the dressing, it is so fast and easy and better than store bought. You will never, ever, buy store bought again if you start making your own.
This is the recipe from Joy of Cooking, with a tiny amount of tweaking:
1 cup mayonnaise
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup parsley, finely chopped
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon worcestershire sauce
2 cloves of garlic, peeled and minced
salt & pepper to taste
4 oz gorgonzola, crumbled
Mix it all together. Eat on salad or celery sticks. The end.
And a bonus recipe, because we enjoy this so much and I thought you might have extra pumpkin puree lying about. Sweet potato would work in this, too.
Pumpkin Spice Pancakes
I used whole wheat pastry flour, but was thinking of subbing 1 cup of the pastry flour with oat flour. If you try that, let me know how it tastes.
3 cups whole wheat pastry flour (I used freshly milled)
1/4 cup brown sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
1/8 teaspoon ground ginger
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
2 cups milk
1 cup pumpkin puree
2 eggs
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and slightly cooled
Whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves. Set aside.
In another bowl, mix milk, pumpkin, eggs and butter. I usually melt the butter in this bowl first, then add the rest of the stuff. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well, but don't worry about a stray lump or two.
Heat your griddle or your pan and cook these, using about 1/3 of a cup of batter, flipping after most of the bubbles formed on the top have popped. I have a really hot stove, so these get cooked at 2 on my stove setting, which is just above low.
Labels: Church Year, Family, Homemaking, Homeschooling, Recipes, St. Barbara, Tales from the Kitchen
