Pimento Cheese Popovers

I recently purchased a popover pan and have been playing around with it with mixed results.  I looked all over Pinterest and through cookbooks, looking for the perfect recipe.  After much trial and error, it turns out the simplest recipe was the most successful.  Go figure.

In my last post, I wrote about my pimento cheese recipe.  That recipe yields over a pound, which is more than enough to feed a crowd.  However, Tom and I are just two people, so preparing that recipe means lots of leftover pimento cheese.  I tried adding pimento cheese to the simple popovers recipe and was very happy with how they turned out.  They were slightly crispy on the outside and pillowy soft and cheesy on the inside.

Pimento Cheese Popovers

Vegetable oil
2 large eggs
1 cup skim milk (I use skim only because that's what we drink.  This is by no means a light recipe.)
1 cup all-purpose flour
Pinch kosher salt
1/2 cup Lisa's pimento cheese

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Add a generous 1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil to each cup of a popover pan or muffin tin.  Put the oiled pan in the oven to warm while you mix the remaining ingredients.

In a large bowl, lightly beat eggs.  Add the milk, flour and salt and stir with a whisk just until smooth.  Fold in the pimento cheese, stirring lightly to combine.  Ladle the batter into the heated pan, filling each cup about 2/3 full.

Bake the popovers for 20 minutes at 450.  Turn the oven down to 350 degrees and continue to cook for 15 to 20 more minutes until you reach your desired amount of browning.  I like mine more on the browner side so I went the full 20 minutes.

When you take the popovers out of the oven, immediately take a sharp knife and pierce the top of each popover.  This will allow steam to escape and keep your popovers from getting soggy.



Popovers are perfect for dunking in hot soup or chili

These popovers would be good with a hearty chili or soup.  Or you can eat them my favorite way, hot out of the oven, slathered with butter.  Yum!

Pimento Cheese for Grown-Ups

One of my favorite things in the world is pimento cheese.  Trouble is, the pre-made stuff you buy at the grocery store can be too sickly sweet.  I searched for years for a decent recipe, trying to find the perfect balance between the savory cheese and the sweet peppers.

 

Finally, I bought Craig Claiborne’s book Southern Cooking.  The late Craig Claiborne, the long-time food editor for the New York Times, was a restaurant critic and a Mississippi native.    There are dozens of traditional Southern recipes in this book, and I recommend it for anyone looking to learn more about our regional cuisine.

 

Kicked Up Pimento Cheese

While I credit Craig for his pimento cheese recipe, I really used it as a jumping off place to develop a recipe specifically suited to my taste.  I replaced the canned pimentos with fire roasted fresh peppers, the full fat mayo with light mayonnaise, adjusted the amount of green onions and added a cayenne kick.  I consider it Pimento Cheese for grownups.

Lisa’s Kicked Up Pimento Cheese

1/2 pound mild Cheddar

1/2 pound sharp Cheddar
3 or 4 small sweet pimentos or 1 large red bell pepper
1/2 cup chopped green onions
1/2 cup light mayonnaise (In my house, that means Duke’s)
2 teaspoons lemon juice
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
Generous dash of Frank’s Red Hot
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Grate the cheeses, or buy the already shredded kind and combine in a large bowl.

Whole Foods has great organic pre-shredded cheese.  It's a convenience food you can feel good about.

Next, roast the peppers.  I have a gas stove, so I just put them directly on the burner, turning them as they blacken and blister.  Alternately, you can toss them with a little olive oil and broil them, turning after they blacken on one side and repeat on the other side.  After roasting them, place them in a Ziploc bag and seal it.  Let the peppers rest for about 15 minutes.

Fire-roasting the peppers

At this point, the skin should rub off of the peppers easily.  After removing the skin, seed, stem and dice the peppers.  Add to the cheese with the green onions and toss.

Roasted peppers taking a rest.

Leave a bit of the blackened skin on the peppers for extra smoky flavor. 

Combine the mayonnaise, lemon juice, garlic, Worcestershire, Frank’s, black and cayenne peppers. Pour into the cheese/pepper mixture and stir well to combine. 

This pimento cheese is best served after it is allowed one hour or two in the fridge for the flavors to marry.  It has creamy texture from the cheese, savory notes from the onions and garlic, the slightly smoky, sweet flavor from the fire-roasted pimento, followed up by a nice slight afterburn from the cayenne. Just yum.

You can serve this with crackers or celery for dipping.  We put it on burgers with Benton’s Bacon for a real treat.   It also makes an excellent picnic food.  Or just go old school and eat it on white bread and wash it down with a big glass of sweet tea.

Eggs and Peppers

When Tom and I first got married, I couldn’t get him to eat an egg to save his life.  I don’t know if this was due to some sort of childhood trauma or what, but the guy wouldn’t touch them.  Slowly but surely over the past 30 years, I have brought him around and now he is an egg fan.  Scrambled, fried, deviled, poached, frittatas or quiches, you name the egg dish, he’ll eat it.
 

Beautiful, Cage Free Eggs

The way I brought him around was to use added ingredients such as cheese, onions or peppers to spice up the taste of the eggs.  I have used spinach and mushrooms in quiches, chard and sausage in frittatas and - of course - bacon in everything.  By far, my favorite ingredient to add to eggs is peppers, any kind.  I wanted to share two of my favorite recipes for eggs featuring peppers.

On a side note:  One of the advantages we’ve enjoyed since joining a CSA is access to cage free eggs.  Discovering the difference between grocery store eggs and farm eggs was a real eye-opener.  I strongly urge you to seek them out.

Prosciutto Egg Cups

Olive oil

1 package prosciutto (I think it’s 2 oz. pkg.  Get enough to line 6 muffin cups)
1 red bell pepper
5 large eggs
1 glove garlic
2 tbsp. grated parmigiano reggiano
1 tbsp. chopped fresh basil

Rub the bell pepper with olive oil on all sides.  Place the pepper on a cookie sheet and broil it, turning frequently until it is blackened on all sides.  When you take it out of the broiler, put it in a plastic zip big and let it rest until it is cool enough to handle.  Rub the pepper gently until all of the skin comes off, then remove the stem and seeds.   Dice the roasted pepper, setting two tablespoons in a large bowl.  Reserve the remainder for another use.  (They are great in salads.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
 

Before the oven...

Brush the inside of each muffin cup with olive oil. Line each muffin cup with a single layer of prosciutto.  Add the eggs and remaining three ingredients to the bowl, whisking to combine.  Notice I am not adding any salt to this dish.  Between the prosciutto and parmigiano reggiano, there is plenty of seasoning.

Pour the eggs evenly into each muffin cups.  Bake in the 350 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes, until eggs are just set.  Makes 3 large or 6 small servings.



...All done!

 

This next recipe uses one of my favorite canned items.  Every year, I put up Sweet Jalapeno Slices.  They are the perfect combination of sweet and heat.  Sweet jalapenos are also available commercially.  Just look for them on the pickle aisle at the grocery store.

Sweet Heat Deviled Eggs

6 Eggs

½  tsp. baking soda
3 tbsp. mayonnaise – I prefer Duke’s mayonnaise
1 tsp. mustard
1 ½ tbsp. finely chopped sweet jalapenos
¼ tsp. salt or more to taste
¼ tsp. pepper
Sweet Jalapeno Slices (for garnish)

Put the eggs in a sauce pan and add cold water to cover.  Add the baking soda to the water.  This ensures the eggs will be easy to peel.  Bring the water to a strong boil.  Turn off the heat and put a tight lid on the pan.  Let set for 10 minutes, then take the eggs out, put them in a colander and run cold water over them until they are cool enough to handle.

Peel the eggs and cut them in half lengthwise.  Put the yolks in a small bowl and mash with a fork.  Combine the yolks with the mayonnaise and the next four ingredients in the bowl, mixing thoroughly.  Using a spoon (or if you want to be fancy, a piping bag) divide the filling between the whites.  Garnish with a sweet jalapeno slice.   Chill in the refrigerator for about an hour before serving.  Makes 6 servings.
 

Sweet heat!

If you like the muffin pan and deviled egg plate pictured in this post, they are made by Temp-tations.  I collect it in the black Old World pattern.  Love it!!!  It’s available at www.buytemp-tations.com or www.qvc.com.  They have lots of colors and patterns.  I’ll warn you though, it’s addictive.

I hope you try these egg dishes and love them as much as we do!

 

 

 

Creamed Corned Beef with Crispy Rye Waffles

Occasionally when I was a kid, my mom would make creamed chipped beef on toast for us.  I absolutely loved it.  After all, what’s not to love? I never understood why it gained the infamous moniker “Sh*t in a Shingle”.  Tasty beef in a creamy sauce sounds good to me. 

I was looking for recipes that I could make to use up the mountain of corned beef I have left over from St. Patrick’s Day.  We had already had corned beef hash and Reuben sandwiches, so what next?  I thought why not Creamed Corned Beef?  The classic recipe calls for dried beef cooked with onions in a white sauce served over toasted white bread.  Since my recipe uses my own home-cured corned beef, just plain white toast wouldn’t cut it.  Rye bread goes perfectly with corned beef but I still wanted to kick it up a notch.  Then it came to me:  Crispy Rye Waffles.  I have got to try this.



Mise en  Place

Creamed Corned Beef

1 cup chopped onion

¼ cup butter
¼ cup flour
½ tsp. salt
2 cups milk
1 ½ cups diced corned beef

Melt butter in a heavy sauce pan and then sauté onions until tender and translucent.  Add the flour and stir to combine and cook for a couple minutes to get rid of the flour-y taste. 

Cooking the flour with the onions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Add the salt, and then slowly add the milk, stirring constantly.  Bring the mixture to a simmer, stirring constantly, while the sauce begins to thicken.  Once the sauce has reached your desired thickness, stir in the corned beef.  If the sauce has trouble thickening, stir together a slurry of 1 tablespoon cornstarch and 1 tablespoon water.  Add this to the sauce and it will tighten up very quickly. Keep the sauce warm while you make the waffles.

Creamed Corned Beef

Crispy Rye Waffles

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup rye flour
1 Tbsp. baking powder
2 Tbsp. sugar
Generous pinch kosher salt
2 cups milk
1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
1 Tbsp. caraway seeds

Mix together the flours, baking powder, sugar and salt in a large bowl.  Whisk in the milk and oil until thoroughly combined and smooth.  Stir in the caraway seeds.  You can keep the batter in the fridge for an hour or two if you need to.
 

Waffles...yummm

When you are ready to make your waffles, preheat your waffle iron.  When it is hot, brush the hot iron plates with a little vegetable oil.  This will prevent sticking.  (You could use non-stick spray, but that stuff is full of wax and chemicals – yuck.)  For each waffle, pour about ½ to ¾ of a cup onto the waffle iron and close the iron.  Cook the waffle according to the waffle iron manufacturer’s recommendation for crispy waffles.  With my iron, that is about 4 ½ to 5 minutes.  Repeat this process with the remaining batter, being sure to brush the iron plates with oil in between each waffle.  You should end up with six to eight waffles total.

Ladle the hot Creamed Corned Beef over one or two waffles and serve.
 

Creamed Corned Beef on Crispy Rye Waffles

I was thrilled with how this recipe turned out.  The crispy, savory waffle was the perfect bed for the creamy sauce studded with bits of salty, garlicky corned beef.  This will now be a post-St. Paddy’s Day tradition.     

I was Canning when Canning wasn't Cool

I may be dating myself with the title of this entry, but it’s true.  There seems to be a trend recently in the food magazines putting an emphasis on canning and preserving local foods.  Canning has been a passion of mine since the late 80's.  Call me old fashioned or a trendsetter, I’ll take either one.

Typical Water Bath Canner - Used for canning high acid foods

Canning has always been a Zen experience for me.  I love taking all the wonderful fresh ingredients of summer, cooking them down and turning them into jars that look like little jewels.  It’s wonderful to crack open a jar of jam in January and be able to spread the taste of summer peaches on a biscuit.  I give away most of what I make and it’s a gift that’s more personal and from the heart than anything I could ever get from the store.

Every year I try to find something new to try.  If it’s a hit, it becomes part of the list of “must make” recipes for the next year.   Last year’s new additions were Cherry Preserves, Apple Butter and Sweet Jalapeno Slices.  This year’s new favorite is Heirloom Hot Sauce, made with heirloom tomatoes and Serrano peppers from our CSA share.  My list of “must make” recipes is up to 12 recipes now, so my summers are pretty busy in the kitchen.

Heirloom Tomatoes - They have amazing flavor

 

There can be no discussion about my canning passion without revealing the truth of why I started doing it in the first place.  It was the summer of 1988 and Tom and I had been living in our new house for about 6 months.  I was in a very domestic frame of mind and was looking to expand my cooking repertoire.  My mom had canned pickles a few times over the years so I thought I would give it a try.  I made Bread & Butter pickles and was pretty pleased with how they turned out.  The Gwinnett County Fair was coming up that September and on a lark, I submitted a jar to compete in the Adult Food Preservation contest.

And then it happened.  I won the blue ribbon! 

I couldn’t believe it.  To give you an idea how excited I was, I immediately ran to the bank of pay phones (pre-cell phones) and called my mom and my mother-in-law.  I had never won anything in my life and it felt good.  I was hooked.  I liked winning and I wanted to do it again. 

So I did. 

Over the years since that first win, I have managed to win 60 ribbons.  To date, I have 29 Blues, 14 Reds and 17 Whites under my belt.  I don’t have them on display; they are tucked away in a special box just for them.  It’s good enough for me just to know I have them. 
 

Every year I convince myself that the streak is going to end and we won't win anything.  I am nervous up to the point we go to the fair and look at the winner's list.  But  happily, we had another winning season at this year’s fair.  We took away 2 Blues, 2 Reds and 1 White. (I am making a point to say we because none of this is possible without Tom.  He is in this as much as I am.  He has carted bushels of produce; pitted mountains of cherries and been an unwavering source of support the whole way.)   

One of this year’s Blues was awarded to one of my most consistent winning recipes:  Peach Pineapple Orange Conserve.  (I am reluctant to give out any of my winning recipes but my niece Anna specifically asked for this one, so I must oblige.)  This spread is also one of my most versatile recipes.  It is delicious slathered on toast or biscuits.  It also makes a fantastic glaze for ham.  I have mixed it with a little bit of soy and used it to glaze a chicken on the smoker.  I think it would be beautiful glaze for salmon.  Or, if you are so inclined, just eat it straight from the jar.

This never gets old!

Peach Pineapple Orange Conserve

 8 to 10 medium peaches

2 medium oranges
1 8 oz. can crushed pineapple (undrained) – I use juice packed
6 cups sugar

Peel, pit and then finely chop peaches in a food processor to yield 4 cups of fruit and juice.

Wash but don’t peel oranges.  Remove any seeds and finely chop the oranges in a food processor.
 

Thank God for food processors!  Chopping these oranges would take forever with a knife.

Put the chopped peaches and oranges into a 6 to 7 quart pot.  Add the crushed pineapple and sugar and stir until well combined.  Cook uncovered over medium heat, stirring frequently, for about 35 minutes until thickened.

Big ol' pot of yummy goodness!

While the conserve is cooking, sterilize your jars.  Put 10 clean half pint jars into your canner (a lidded stockpot with a wire cake rack in the bottom will work as a canner), fill it with water to cover the jars and boil the jars for 10 minutes.  Keep the jars in the hot water until ready to fill your jars.  Prepare your two-piece lids just before beginning to fill your jars by putting them in a pan or bowl and pouring boiling water over them.

When the conserve is ready, fill your jars, one or two at a time, up to 1/8 of an inch of the rim.  (Anything you can should be very, very hot when you pack into the jars.)  Wipe the jar rim and put on the two piece lid, tightening the ring portion of the lid.  Wiping the jar rim carefully is very important, as if there is anything between the lid and the jar rim, the lid won’t seal properly.  Return the filled jar to the rack in the canner.  After all the jars have been added back to the canner, the water should be at least two inches about the tops of the jars.  Add more hot water if needed.

These two accessories are essential for canning.  The jar lifter and lid lifter
 keep your hands far away from the hot water.  They are found easily at the grocery
store or online.

 

Turn the heat under the canner to high and bring the water to a rolling boil.  Your processing time begins only when the water reaches a full boil.  Process the conserve for 15 minutes.  After 15 minutes, carefully remove the jars and set them on the counter that has been covered with a kitchen towel.  The glass jars are at their most fragile state when they are fresh out of canner and the towel makes a nice soft surface for cooling.

As the jars cool, you will begin to hear a little pop as each lid seals. After the jars have completely cooled, to check if the lids have sealed, press down on each lid with your finger.  If it moves up and down, the lid did not seal and you will need to put that jar in the fridge and eat the contents within a couple of weeks.  If you are diligent about wiping the jar rims, this shouldn’t be an issue.

So there, my secret is out.  I can say that being thrifty, preserving local foods and giving homemade gifts are my motivation for canning and I would be telling the truth.  But the whole truth would have to include the simple, All-American desire to win and keep winning.  I can live with that.

Summertime is Fresh Herb Time

My freshly planted herb garden

One of the best things about summer is the abundance of fresh herbs.  Every year I have an herb garden in pots on my deck, just steps from my kitchen.  I grow parsley, thyme, chives, rosemary, mint, sage and of course, two kinds of basil.  Throughout the summer we enjoy Caprese salad with tomatoes, basil and mozzarella, beautiful pesto, fresh herb vinaigrettes and more, all washed down with big glasses of iced tea with mint.

In addition to the herbs I grow, there is always a cache of herbs in my CSA share each week.  Gwendolyn and Brennan, the owners of Phoenix Gardens, also include a recipe or two each week using one or more of the ingredients that are in the share.  In a recent share they gave us a recipe for savory French cheese puffs or gougères.  These fluffy little bites are studded with Gorgonzola cheese and earthy sage.  You will definitely not be able to eat just one.

Sage & Gorgonzola Gougères

½ Cup Water
3 Tbsp. Butter, diced
½ tsp. Salt
½ Cup All-Purpose Flour
2 Eggs
1 tsp. Minced Fresh Sage
¼ Cup Gorgonzola Cheese crumbles

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

In a medium saucepan, heat the water, butter, and salt until the butter melts. Be sure to not let it boil. Quickly stir in the flour until it is fully incorporated. Continue to cook over medium heat, stirring constantly for another minute to cook out any floury taste.

Cook and stir a whisk to remove the floury taste

Remove the flour mixture from the heat and transfer from the pot to a bowl and cool for 5 minutes. Stir in the eggs, one at a time. The first egg should be fully incorporated into the flour mixture before stirring in the second egg.  Fold in the sage and Gorgonzola.



Folding in the cheese and herbs with a spatula

Drop spoonfuls of the dough onto a cooking sheet lined with parchment paper.  You can vary the size of the puffs but I found that a generous teaspoon makes the perfect bite. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes and then lower the temperature to 375 degrees for 15 more minutes.  After you take them out of the oven, poke each puff with a skewer or sharp knife to release the steam to avoid them getting soggy.



I forgot to use the parchment paper but thankfully they didn't stick.

These little puffs are a perfect accompaniment to cocktails.  They are super easy to make but give the impression you spent a lot of time making them.  Now that you have the basic recipe, you can change it up too.  I made a variation that used minced prosciutto and grated parmigiano reggiano instead of the Gorgonzola and sage with excellent results.  Try them with finely shredded cheddar and crumbled bacon or feta cheese and fresh oregano.

No discussion of summertime herbs would be complete without talking about the Mother of all herbs:  Basil.  This herb, especially when paired with fresh tomatoes, epitomizes everything that is good and fresh about summer.  The way I make that fresh flavor last well into fall and winter is to make and freeze batches of pesto.   My basic recipe for pesto uses basil, parsley, parmigiano reggiano and pine nuts.  You can mix this up by using spinach in place of some or all of the herbs, almonds or walnuts instead of pine nuts, really just whatever suits your taste.

Fresh Basil Pesto

2 Cups firmly packed fresh basil leaves

1 Cup firmly packed Italian parsley
1 Cup grated parmigiano reggiano
½ Cup pine nuts
2 large gloves garlic
½ Cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Cheesy, Herby Goodness!

Place all of the ingredients except olive oil in a food processor and process, stopping several times to scrape down the sides, until pureed.   With the processor running at a slow speed, slowly add the olive oil until fully incorporated.

Divide the pesto into 6 portions.  Put each portion into a Ziploc bag and throw the bags in the freezer.  Each portion makes 4 servings of pasta.  Just cook 8 ounces of any pasta according to package directions and toss with the pesto until thoroughly combined.

This pesto is not just for pasta.  It is also excellent used as a brush-on for grilled shrimp or chicken.  It adds an extra kick when spooned into gazpacho or vegetable soup.  Try brushing baguette slices with it and running them under the broiler.

I hope you get a chance to try these recipes and experiment with ways to make them your own.  Let me know how they turn out!

Grill some Seafood!



Grilled Herbed Clams

It’s that time of year in Georgia when the temperature hovers in the low 90s most days.  This means that although we can grill out year round, in the summer it becomes our preferred method of cooking.  Anything to avoid heating up the house with the oven.  Because of this, I am always looking for ways to mix it up from the regular steak, burgers and chicken.  When in a rut, I always turn to seafood.

One of my favorite seafood recipes for the grill is Linguine with Herbed Clams.  There is some minor prep cooking done on the stove but the clams and sauce are cooked on the grill.  And of course, the pasta is cooked on the stove but your kitchen should stay nice and cool while preparing this dish.  This meal is easy to make but feels fancy when you serve it, so it would be great for company.

LINGUINE WITH HERBED CLAMS

24 Fresh Clams – Littleneck if you can find them

1 cup kosher salt
3 tablespoons cornmeal
3 tablespoons olive oil
6 cloves minced garlic
1 large Vidalia onion, sliced
4 to 5 anchovy filets (Don’t be afraid.  The filets melt away in the sauce and leave a yummy depth of flavor.)
½ cup dry white wine – I use Pinot Grigio
Crushed red pepper
1 cup chopped tomatoes
¼ cup coarsely chopped fresh basil
1 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano
8 sprigs fresh thyme
2 bay leaves
8 oz. linguine

Purge, Baby, Purge!

About an hour and a half before you want to start cooking, you will want to purge your clams.  A lot of clam recipes don’t include this step but I feel it is essential, simply because I prefer my clams sans sand and poop, thank you.  It isn’t hard and you will have nice clean clams.  First rinse the clams thoroughly with cold water and place them in a large bowl or pot.  Combine 1/3 cup of kosher salt with 2 quarts cold water.  Add 1 tablespoon of the cornmeal to the salt water and pour the mixture over the clams.  The cornmeal will irritate the clams and cause them to expel any sand into the water.  Allow the clams to soak for 20 minutes, then drain and rinse them well with cold water.  Repeat this process two more times.

While your clams are purging the third time, you can begin to prepare your sauce.  Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat.  Add the garlic and sauté for 30 seconds.  Add the onions and anchovies and cook for 5 minutes until onions are soft, stirring frequently.  Add the wine, a generous pinch of kosher salt, fresh black pepper and a generous pinch of red pepper and continue to cook for about 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and stir in tomatoes, basil and oregano.

Before the grill.....

Place clams in a foil 13 x 9 x 2 disposable pan.  If any of them have opened during the purging process, give them a quick tap with your finger.  If a clam doesn’t close right away, discard it.  Top the clams with the sauce.  Tie the thyme and bay leaves together into a bundle with kitchen string and toss in with the clams and sauce.  Cover the pan tightly with foil.  (Now is the time to cook your linguine.  When it is cooked, toss it with olive oil and keep warm.) Place the pan on the grill directly over medium high heat for 12 minutes until the clams open and the sauce is hot.  If a clam doesn’t open, discard it.  Discard the thyme and bay leaf bundle as well.

After!!!

When the clams open, they release their juices into the sauce, giving it briny, rich flavor.  Serve the clams immediately with the linguine and some crusty French bread to mop up the sauce.  A glass of chilled white wine and you have a perfect summer supper.