Tomato Granite

I knew the day would come that I would find one that I hated. H A T E D. Well people, that day has come. I give you a recipe that I cannot recommend you make. But I am still listing it here, incase you are brave.

I love tomatoes. I love basil. I love Granite. This I didn't love. The tomatoes turned tart and akward. and the basil just sorta was blah. The chief commentator said it was the worst thing he ever had in his life. He said, he'd rather take a jar of Safeway chunky salsa and freeze it and eat it, then eat this again. Even the tomatoe eating kid didn't seem to like it.

The only positive thing we can say, was it had great texture. What a waste of good garden tomatoes.

This one came from the Napa Register, I'm guessing at least 20 years ago.

Tomato Granite

1 lb vine-rippened tomatoes (must be very ripe)

1 cup loosely packed basil leaves

1/4 cup tomato paste

1/3 cider vinegar

2 tablespoons sugar

2/3 cup V8

Core tomatoes and lightly score on one side. Plunge into boiling water for 10 seconds then transfer to ice water. Squeeze seeds out into a strainer, reserving the juice. Using the same boiling water, blanch basil for 15 seconds and transfer to ice water for 30 seconds or until ready to use. Combine all ingredients into blender, blend until smooth and freeze in your favorite ice cream machine. Return mixture to freezer in a bowl stirring every 10 minutes for about 1 hour until it is frozen and granulated. if you do not have an ice cream machine, combine all ingredients into bowl and place directly into freezer. Once the mixture is partially frozen, stir it every 10 minutes until it is frozen and granulated. serve as a refreshing first course or intermezzo between courses.

serves 6.

Gazpacho Salad

My friends know this one as my 'bread salad' that I get asked to bring to parties on numerous occasions because everyone loves it so much. I don't have a photo of it, mostly because it was so good, it was gone before I could take any. I originally got this recipe from my past co-worker Lisa. It's been a staple for a long long time. Adopt it into your recipe book too. Especially right now, when Tomatoes are at their peak - fresh from the garden.

8 Servings

Tomato Vinaigrette:

3 large ripe tomatoes, peeled and seeded.

1/2 medium red onion, cut into chunks

2 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped

6 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil

salt and freshly ground black pepper

Salad:

6 cups diced crustless hearty country bread 1/2 inch pieces

3 cups finely diced ripe tomatoes

2 cups finely diced peeled and seeded cucumbers

1 cup finely diced red bell peppers

1 cup finely diced green bell peppers

1/2 cup minced red onion

1/2 cup finely chopped fresh flat leaf parsley

1) make the vinaigrette. In a food processer, puree the tomatoes, red onion and garlic. Transfer the puree to a bowl and stir in the vinegar. Whisk in the olive oil in a thin stream. Season with salt and black pepper.

2) In a large bowl, toss the diced bread with half the vinaigrette. Let stand for 30 minutes.

3) Add the tomatoes, cucumbers, bell peppers, onion and parsley to the bread and toss. Add the remaining vinaigrette, toss well and serve.

I like to sprinkle a little feta cheese over the servings to add another dimension to the salad.

Cheif Commentator LOVED it. Delicious. delicious. delicious. He wouldn't change a thing, and he likes it with the cheese too.

oops I did it again...

Behold. it is a new recipe book. I bought it the other day because i just couldn't say no to such an awesome cover. It's empty, and so so pretty. I am going to be filling it with recipes, of stuff that I actually make, that are 'mine' the things we eat for dinner most nights, but because they aren't from one of the original cook books, fall between the cracks of every day life, and this blog.

I will be posting the 'favorites' that are lucky enough to make the pages of this book. Perhaps I'll refer to it as "samantha's grown up recipes"... or not.

Chocolate Rocks

Linda was over the other night, and I was making dinner -- while I was cooking I threw my pile of cookbooks at her, and told her to 'look for a dessert recipe that didn't involve powdered sugar' as I didn't have any. After much reading (because it turned out I didn't have several other things too)

We came across this recipe for chocolate Rocks

1/2 cup butter

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 cup cocoa

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup chopped raisins

3/4 cup mini chocolate chips (i cheated and used full size)

1/2 cup chopped pecans

preheat oven to 375. Grease two cookie sheets, set aside in a large mixing bown, cream butter and sugar until light. Add egg and vanilla extract, beat until well blended. On a sheet of wax paper, combine cocoa, flour, salt and baking soda. sir into creamed mixture to form a soft dough (I threw it all in the kitchen aid) stir in raisins, chocolate chips and pecans (again kitchen aid) spoon 1/4 teaspoon (Yea RIGHT.. I used a teaspoon...) of dough 1 inch apart onto cookie sheets and bake 6-7 mins (9-11 for the size I made) cool on wire rack (what rack is that skinny? mine barely fit) makes about 120 (makes about 45)

Chief Commentator: Good, little candy like cookies. Raisns add a nice surprising touch when eatting.

Uber easy to make. tastey, and kinda like eating one of those chunky bars from when we were kids with the chocolate and raisins together.

Italian Cassarole

We made another nights meal for Chief Commentator's friend. It was another casserole from Grandma Mary, because well, what do mid-westerner's do well? They cook casserole. In fear of making it a little too bland for California palate, I did take a liberty to the recipe. I'll explain as I take you through it.

1lb cooked large shell macaroni

1/4 cup butter

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

2 medium onions

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

1/4 teaspoon garlic salt

1/8 teaspoon pepper

1 pound sharp cheese, grated

2 cans (8oz each) tomatoe sauce

2 cans (3 oz each) chopped mushrooms with liquid

3/4 cup burgundy wine

in a large skillet, brown meat. saute onions until tender. Drain off excess fat, add salt, garlic salt, and pepper. Toss cooked macaroni with 1/4 cup melted butter and place in two (2quart) cassaroles. Add 2/3 of chees to meat mixture and stir until cheese melts, add 1 can tomato sauce and mushrooms and pour the mixture over the macaroni. Top with second can of tomatoe sauce and sprinke with remaining cheese. Bake uncovered for 1 hour and 40 mins in 325 degree oven. When ready to serve pour on wine. Serves 8.

Again another recipe from "Fan" which I'm starting to think means a fan of the column, of the Saint Paul Pioneer Press Dispatch.

Ok so what I did differently. I drained all the mushrooms, cause homie doesn't do mushroom liquid. I also substituted pasta sauce for tomatoe sauce to add some flavor. and instead of garlic salt (too much sodium in this dish) I made it garlic powder.

oh and when baking. Don't bake it for an hour and 40 mins, it would have been glop. 45 mins is all it needs, it's all pre cooked anyway.

Chief Commentator liked it alot. the 8 person serving, served 3 kids, him and I with maybe left overs for lunch tomorrow... the kids ate double portions, so it's a really good kid friendly dish. Everything mixed well together. It's your typical 70's hotdish if you are from the midwest, it will take you back to being a kid, and eatting thatkind of thing for dinner. Pair it with a salad to lighten it up a bit. We ate it with some good old fashioned PBR...

Spareribs

Oddly enough my Grandma Mary only has 1 spare rib recipe. She was more the meat eater then the other one, yet the other one has a bunch. Instead of attempting the mass quantites of Grandma Mel, I opted for the 1 recipe of Grandma Mary.

Pretty glad I did.

This one comes from Fan in Saint Paul, circa the Saint Paul Press Dispatch Newspaper, and again I'm guessing well over 30 years ago. there is an ad on the back of the clipping for Mink Coats, and they are $2495 new, or $1295 bucks pre owned.

I'm not sure many people can remember a day, when departments stores advertised that they even sold Mink Coats.

Spareribs

2.5 pounds spareribs, cut into serving pieces (ok, I left mine whole on the rack)

3 tablespoons worcestershire sauce

3 tablespoons dark brown sugar

2 table spoons frozen orange juice concentrate

1/2 cup finely chopped onion

3/4 teaspoon salt

Place ribs on rack in baking pan. bake at 400 for 45 minutes. Pour off pan drippings. Combine remaining ingredients and mix well. Brush sauce over ribs. Reduce oven heat to 350 degrees and bake 3o minutes longer or until tender, turning occasionally and brushing with remaining sauce. Serves 4.

well... I kinda cheated with this one. I double the sauce recipe and split it in 2. I marinated the ribs in half before backing, and then the last 30 mins, I pulled them out and threw them on the grill, and cooked them, while basting with the left over sauce.

Chieft Commentators comments: Citrus, good texture, loved the orange. loved. loved. loved it. it was simple and easier then most Bobby Flay recipes and also tastier (Sorry, Bobby, he likes my recipe better.. wanna challenge?)

oh and the photo doesn't do the ribs justice, but I paired it with several diferent vodka drinks that we were 'taste testing' after the final prep and sampling of the recipe, and as much as I'd love to include those drink recipies, they aren't from back when I made the cookbooks.

Upper Peninsula "Cornish" Pasties

I remember a long time ago, flipping through the pages of the cookbook of my Grandma Mary. I remember reading the titles out loud to my mom, and at some point she made a semi sarcastic comment to me about how my Grandma most likely didn't make ALL the recipies in the cookbook because she wasn't much of a cook, especially for things that took a long time. I was a little insulted at the time thinking OF COURSE she made every recipe... otherwise why would they be in her cookbook?

heh.

well years later, I know different. After filling 2 cookbooks myself with unmade recipes, and of course age, I've learned better. I'd still love to believe (for my childhood self) that she of course made every recipe that made it into the cookbook... but in the instance of the Pasties. I'd like to call b.s. on this theory. There is no way. NO, NO, NO way, (especially without the convenience of a kitchen aid) that my Grandma made these. And with that being said. I'm a little sad she didn't because I think she would have enjoyed them.

I have liked Pastie for a long time. Back in Highschool I dated a guy whose mom made them, based on a recipe she got from her Mother In Law. I'm guessing her crust was premade pie crust, since she wasn't exactly betty crocker... but again maybe I'm wrong. I don't remember her's tasting like this.

First a note about Suet: if you don't know what suet is, it's beef fat. Its the full slab of fat that is cut away from the underside of the beef. it's big. it's ugly, and if I can figure out ever how to post more then one photo per blog, I would show you, since I took a photo of all 6 pounds of the stuff that I had, before I had to grind it. I stuck it all in the kitchen aid food processor and it was done in less time then I thought, although the grease factor was less then pleasing when cleaning up. If you can get the suet ground from the butcher, by all means do. Also, call your butchers when you start this project. It's not as easy to find as I would have thought. Oliver's does carry it, and will stock extra if you call ahead. they may even be nice enough to grind it for you.

and with that I give you "Upper Peninsula "Cornish" Pasties.

Crust:

2 cups finely ground suet

3/4 cup lard

4 cups flour

2 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

water

With fingertips, work suet into dry ingredients until well-blended. Add lard and blend again, as for pie crust. Cut in enough water so dough is right for rolling. Divide dough into six equal parts.

Ok, so if you have never made pie crust from scratch, this step is a little daunting. You need to make sure that you make the dough moist and crumbly, but not too moist, because it won't roll. Also, cheat and use your kitchen aid with the dough hook.

Filling

2 1/2 pounds flank steak, cut into small cubes

6 medium potatoes, sliced or cubed

2 medium onions, chopped

1 small rutabaga, sliced or cubed

salt and pepper to taste

butter

Combine ingredients, mixing well. Divide into 6 equal parts. Roll out each portion of dough to the size of a dinner plate. On half of each circle, place one portion of filling. Dot with butter the size of a walnut. Cover filling by folding over the other half of the dough and seal edges by crimping. Prick top of pastie with fork to make air holes. Place pasties on an ungreased baking pan and bake at 350 degrees for an hour. Makes 6 servings.

The article came out of the Saint Paul Press Dispatch prolly 30 or so years ago, and it was from Gerry Loverich from South Saint Paul.

Ok.. so besides the major pain in the butt of dealing with the suet, and then having to roll out the dough, neither of which were my favorite, the flavor of the crust and the flakieness are worth the bit of labor. If I was making the crust by hand I'd say the difficulty was Hard, so that is what I'm sticking with.

The chief commentator's review: If you have only had pot pie, you never lived. He loved the rutabega in it, and would have lessened the quantity of potatoe and upped the quantity of the rutabega. It had the perfect texture and it was so good.

It also reheated really well. We put the back in the over at 350 for about 30 mins today, and served them to the commentator's kids and all loved them.

I have about 10 cups of suet frozen (ground) so I will be making this again. Also, I bought the big container of lard (as I forsee more of my grandma's recipes calling for the 'real deal') so I'm well stocked in the staples.

We ate it the first time with a bottle of Marrietta Bin 51 Red Wine Blend.