Tag Archives: vegetables

May28

Skillet-Baked Eggs with Mushrooms and Spinach

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This is especially for Steve Neal, a VSI guest from 2005,  who asked in a recent email:

“I do remember a spinach and egg breakfast you made on Sat. or Sun. morning but do not remember how you did it. I know you cooked the spinach some how and poached the eggs on top I believe it was delicious. I wish I remembered how you did it. ”

Thank you for remembering and asking Steve.  Memories are precious and you have made my day!!!  Here  is the recipe:

Skillet-Baked Eggs with Mushrooms and Spinach

 I so admire something that has had a long history of use and has pretty much stayed the way it always has been, but yet is still used in our modernized world. Cast iron vessels fit that bill. They have been used for cooking for hundred of year’s way before the modern stove was invented.  At that time, they were admired for their durability, their ability to retain heat, and for being a perfect cooking tool to hang over a live fire. In spite of being a bit heavy to handle, they are still wonderful in today’s world to use stove top for searing, frying or cooking stews and such; they also are fabulous to use for baking a dish started on the stove top and finished in the oven; or for baking cakes, cornbread and such. I most of the time serve my skillet dish straight out of it—with a pretty scarf or napkin tied around the handle.

Ingredients:

16 oz. fresh baby spinach or 1 (12 oz.) bag thawed frozen leaf –barely cooked, drained, and pressed/squeezed well to let the entire excess liquid out.

1 onion chopped

1 clove of garlic, chopped fine

6 oz. mixed or same kind mushrooms thinly sliced

2 Tblsp. sweet butter

1/3 C. heavy cream

1/8th tsp. nutmeg

S&P

4 large eggs

2 Tblsp. grated Parmesan cheese

Instructions:

Preheat oven to 450

  1. In a large cast iron or oven safe skillet, heat the butter over medium heat.
  2. Add the onion and cook till translucent (3-5 minutes). Increase the heat to medium nigh and add the mushrooms.  Cook, stirring occasionally until softened and any liquid is released (about 4 minutes).
  3. Add the garlic and cook until fragrant (about 45 to 60 seconds).  Add the cream, nutmeg, and spinach. Season with S&P.
  4. Remove skillet from heat and using the back of a spoon, make 4 “nests” in the mixture.  Break an egg in each indentation. Season the eggs with S&P and sprinkle with cheese.
  5. Bake in preheated oven until the whites are set and the yolks are still runny (about 8 minutes.)
  6. Tie a pretty scarf around the handle and serve out of skillet at your dining room table.

As always, Bon Appetit!!~!!

Apr20

Orange Scented Pork & Veggie Stew

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Orange-Scented Pork and Veggie Stew

Serves 6

The weather report is saying: tomorrow a little snow with rain; the day after a chance of sun, cloudy and partly cloudy and warmer with temps ranging from 30 to 60; the day after that a little snow with a chance of thunder; well you get my drift.  It’s spring and wait one minute because the weather will not be the same as it was the minute before.  Spring is fun and full of surprises. I’ve never down hilled with lightening and thunder looming overhead, however, the other day I thought that might have been a possibility. Anyway, one thing is for sure, here in our gorgeous mountains it’s perfect weather now to enjoy this wonderful stew.  Pork can be a nice surprise for the shopper in these difficult economic times because it’s usually priced very reasonably—depending on the cut of course.  A stew can use many different cuts of meat and in this recipe I actually used the thinner pork loin chops which truly were priced very well.  So, here you go and I hope that you’ll enjoy this as much as I have.

Ingredients:

2 ½ Lbs. boneless pork shoulder cut into 2 inch cubes or I used the thinner pork loin chops (with a bone) cut the meat into cubes and inserted the chop’s bones in the cooking process.  I took the bone out before serving.

S&P

2 Tblsp. Olive Oil (more if needed)

2 Onions Diced or Thin Sliced (I like mine thin sliced)

1 Tblsp. Minced Garlic

2 Cups Italian Style Diced Tomatoes With Juice (if you wish a thicker stew, drain the tomatoes before adding them.)

1 Tblsp. Brown Sugar

Zest of 1 Orange (Removed in a 1 long strip if possible, if not, that’s OK)

3 C. Chicken Broth

1 C. Dry White Wine or Dry Vermouth

4 Carrots–halved lengthwise, then cut in 1” lengths

2 Parsnips- prepared like the carrots

4 Tblsp Chopped Fresh Mint Leaves

Vermicelli, for serving with the Stew—Rice is OK as well

Directions:

1.        Parboil in very little water the carrots and parsnips for 3 minutes.

2.        Season pork with S&P. Place the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat and brown the pork for about 6 minutes.  Remove and set aside.

3.        Reduce the heat to low, adding more oil if needed, and cook the onions and garlic until soft, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

4.        Add the tomatoes, sugar, orange zest, chicken broth, and white wine.  Return pork to the pot and bring to a boil over high heat.  Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, partially covered for 1 hour. (If you used the thinner pork loin chops, the time may be only 30 to 45 minutes) Stir in carrots and 2 Tblsp.of the mint.  Season with some more S&P if needed. Cook partially covered until the pork is tender, about 15 minutes longer.  Remove and discard orange zest if you wish-however, I think it’s sort of fun to keep it in.

5.        Sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons of mint and serve over the vermicelli or rice.

6.        Since you still have one left over orange this is what I serve the stew with: a fresh lettuce that has thinly sliced raw red onion and cut orange segments in it ;or I thin slice some Brussels sprouts and sauté them gently in a mixture of butter/olive oil and some brown sugar. Right before they are done, I add the cut orange segments.

 

  Are you a frustrated, overworked or timid cook? Call Margot for help @ 721-3551

& please feel free to email her @ margot6@mindspring.com for comments or ideas

Margot is a self-taught enthusiastic & passionate cook. Having been an inn-keeper for 5 years at her own inn, she accumulated a lot of good recipes which she loves to share.

 

 

Apr19

Vinaigrette Dressing (hearty & also good for artichokes,etc.)

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I have a green singing Finch named Bandit because he has a little mask on. He sings prettier than any canary and loves his greens. In his salad bowl I place lettuce, kale, broccoli, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage all of which he loves.  He knows what’s good for him and so do I.  I often make myself a huge raw chopped vegetable salad bowl including the same foods as Bandit eats plus some more goodies like onions and anchovies—either the more pricey mild white kind or the normal stronger tasting variety.  The anchovies, onions and this really yummy vinaigrette dressing I don’t give to Bandit, however, I sure do enjoy them for myself.

Vinaigrette Dressing

(Makes about 1 ½ Cups)

In a blender put the following and blend at high for about 20 seconds:

¼ C. Red Wine Vinegar

¼ C. Balsamic Vinegar

¼ C. Lemmon Juice

1 C. Olive Oil

¼ Tsp. Pepper

1 Tsp. Dry Mustard

6 Stuffed Olives (I use my martini green olives with pimentos)

1 Tblsp. Drained Capers

2 Green Onions coarsely cut or 2 Tblsp. Chopped Regular Onion

¼ C. Either/Or Combo of Chopped Parsley and Cilantro

2 Cloves of Garlic (either put in blender with the above or chop fine and put in dressing after blended)

Pour into a jar, cover, and store in refrigerator.  To un-gel from refrigeration, place bottle in a cup of warm water.

This vinaigrette is also very good as a dipping sauce for cooked and chilled artichokes.

 Are you a frustrated, overworked or timid cook? Call Margot for help @ 721-3551

& please feel free to email her @ margot6@mindspring.com for comments or ideas

Margot is a self-taught enthusiastic & passionate cook. Having been an inn-keeper for 5 years at her own inn, she accumulated a lot of good recipes which she loves to share.

Apr19

Scalloped Yams and Parsnips

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IMG_2786scalloped yams and parsnips with orange

Scalloped Yams and Parsnips

Serves about 10-12

No one will guess what the middle layers (parsnips) are.  This is really a delicious dish full of good nutrients and though tasting very rich, is really quite light on the belly.  This is a perfect dish to accompany your plentiful Thanksgiving fare. It’s also an overnight dish so that makes it a bit easier for the cook making the big day fixings on Thanksgiving Day.

3 ½ lbs. yams

1 ½ lbs. parsnips

1 orange

1/3 C. brown sugar divided in 2 parts

4 oz. (1 cube)  unsalted butter divided in 2 parts

2 tsp. grated nutmeg

S&P

2 C. boiling water

2 Tblsp. honey

Pam spray 9 X 12 baking dish or 10” round pyrex

Preheat oven to 400

  1. Peel yams and parsnips and slice in ¼ inch thick slices. Roughly divide the yams in 3 parts and the parsnips in 2 parts to make layering easy.
  2. Zest 1 orange and after juice it. Then take the remainder of  the orange and place in a blender with a splash of water if necessary. Blend on liquidize and use half or more for this dish.
  3. Put in a dish the orange zest; put in a dish the pulverized pulp;  put  ½ of the brown sugar and the 2 oz. (1/2 a cube) of the sweet butter in a microwave dish, micro a minute or so  and then put in the nutmeg, and S&P to taste. These ingredients will be sprinkled over your five layers.
  4. Make 3 layers of yams with 2 layers of parsnips in between sprinkling on each layer the mixture ingredients listed in #3.
  5. Mix together orange juice, some more pulverized pulp if any is left, and the 2 C. of boiling water and pour over yams and parsnips. If you wish you can add 1 heaping Tblsp. of honey to this mixture.
  6. Cover the baking dish tightly with foil and bake in the upper third of a 400 degree oven for 20 minutes.  Reduce the heat to 350 degrees and bake 20 minutes more.
  7.  Put in frig. overnight.
  8. The next day remove dish from frig. and heat in microwave the other ½ of the brown sugar, 2 Tblsp. honey, and the other 2 oz (1/2 a cube). of butter and pour over top of dish.
  9.  Let dish get to room temp and place in a 375 degree oven for approximately 20 minutes or when more of the liquid is absorbed and the top is brown.  To decorate even more, you can sprinkle a bit of cranberry sauce on top.