Happy 4th

We had an enjoyable Independence Day. Good friends, good food, good times.

As you can see, we had fun with Jello.

We learned a few things too, like don't pour warm gelatin liquid on top of the whipped topping, or you will you end up with floating blue goo on top of your dessert. I chose to disguise it with more whipped topping and a cherry, of course. It was a hit.

But then, that's the magic of the Fourth of July BBQ, everything is a hit. Cook it on the grill and smother it with your favorite brand of bottled BBQ sauce, and it's your own little piece of heaven. They'll even eat their veggies-and like it.

You know, there's always something you forget to buy at the grocery store, and after two follow-up trips to pick up what had been forgotten, I was still missing that vegetable soup mix I usually use for the dip. I'd had enough of traveling in the heat and decided to improvise with whatever I had in the house. Here is the recipe I came up with. Feel free to substitute low-fat or fat-free versions of ingredients.

Spinach Dip

1 box frozen chopped spinach, thawed, excess water squeezed out
1 small red onion, finely chopped
2 medium tomatoes, finely chopped
2 cups prepared ranch dressing
1 cup sour cream

Put all ingredients in a bowl and mix thoroughly. Chill for 30 minutes before serving with chips and crackers or other dippers of your choice.

I used an envelope of ranch dressing mix and followed their directions to prepare the dressing, but you can use bottled ranch, creamy italian, blue cheese or other creamy salad dressing. Also consider adding chopped cucumber, chopped roasted sweet red peppers or other veggies you like to the dip.

Sausage and Potato Soup

The weather has cooled substantially, inviting thoughts of warm, filling soups and stews. While grocery shopping I noticed Basque sausages were on special at the meat counter and I simply couldn't resist. At home I started throwing things into the pot until it all 'looked right' and by golly, it turned out so perfectly good I didn't even need to correct the seasoning at the end. So here I share with you my own version of Basque Sausage and Potato Soup.

1 lb. uncooked Basque Sausages, cut into bite-sized bits
6 large potatoes, diced
1 large onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 large tomatoes, diced
1/4 cup olive oil
1 teaspoon celery salt
1 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
2 cups chicken broth
water as needed

In a 6-quart dutch oven heat olive oil over a medium flame and add potatoes, stirring occasionally to keep from sticking too badly. When the potatoes start to color a little add the sausage. When the sausage is mostly cooked add onions and garlic. Cook for a few minutes, scraping up the brown bits from the bottom of the pan as much as you can. Add tomatoes, chicken broth, celery salt, thyme and enough water to cover everything with liquid. Put a lid on the pot and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Serve with some crusty bread or over hot cooked rice.

Note: If you can't find Basque sausages where you live, just substitute your favorite sausage.

Summer Days

These hot summer days just leave me feeling drained. At the end of the day I don't have a lot of knitting energy or enthusiasm. I still want to work through my stash, however.

One solution for me is to make afghan squares. Sometimes I like to knit them, sometimes I like to crochet them. This week I'm crocheting granny squares.

I have a lot of colors in my stash, but no black to use for that neutral background that is so traditional in granny square afghans. I do have some very neutral taupe brown though, and that is what I'm using. We'll see how it turns out.

What we do have enthusiasm around here for is barbeque. It doesn't matter what it is, there's probably a way it can be cooked on the barbeque. We have a lot of fun trying to find ways to bbq most anything. Why not? It doesn't heat up the kitchen.

Here's a simple recipe that we enjoy whenever we can get really fresh corn on the cob.

Corn Roasted on the Barbie

6 ears of corn, shucked and cleaned
2 Tablespoons melted butter or olive oil
salt and pepper
aluminum foil
optional: a few teaspoons of minced fresh herbs like parsley, basil, dill or mint.

Pull off 6 squares of aluminum foil to wrap the ears of corn. Lay an ear of corn diagonally across one square of foil. Rub the corn with butter or oil until it is well coated. Sprinkle the corn with salt and pepper to taste and sprinkle with herbs if desired. Wrap the foil around the corn making sure it's completely covered. Repeat with remaining ears of corn.

Place the foil wrapped corn packets on your barbeque grill over medium coals and close the lid. Turn the packets every 5 minutes or so to prevent scorching. Check them after about 20 minutes for doneness. If you begin to smell cooking corn, it's probably done. The corn usually darkens in color when it's ready.

Hot Artichoke Dip

I found a recipe in a magazine for a warm dip to serve during the holidays that I wanted to try. It looked like a promising recipe, but it turned out to be rather disappointing. "There's something missing" one family member said, "It's a little bit too bland" said another. So I experimented until we found a version that was satisfactory. I share it with you here and wish you a Happy New Year!

Hot Artichoke Dip

1 leek, washed well and chopped
1 Tablespoon butter or olive oil
1 14-oz. can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
2 4-oz. jars sliced pimientos, drained
1 cup mayonnaise (not fat free, or it will be runny)
1 cup plus 2 Tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 envelope Good Seasons Italian Salad Dressing Mix
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 Tablespoons minced fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 350°F. In skillet, cook leek in butter or olive oil until tender. Remove from heat. Stir in artichoke hearts, pimientos, mayonnaise, 1 cup Parmesan cheese, Italian salad dressing mix, pepper and 1 Tablespoon of the parsley.

Spread mixture into a 9" pie plate or casserole dish. Sprinkle with remaining 2 Tablespoons Parmesan cheese and 1 Tablespoon parsley.

Bake 20 minutes or until heated through. (You may microwave the dip instead for about 6-8 minutes at 70% power, turning the dish halfway through if you don't have a turntable.)

Serve with vegetable dippers and torn bread.

Happy Thanksgiving

Happy Thanksgiving morning. I want to share with you all my recipe for a simple yet elegant pastry I like to make for my family for holidays or special occasions.

Please note, this is not a low-fat recipe, that's why I only make it for special occasions.


Cheese Filled Pastry

1/2 package frozen prepared Phyllo dough
1/4 cup butter, melted

Filling:
1 8-ounce package cream cheese or neufchatel
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract (or flavoring of your choice)
pinch salt

Preheat oven to 350f/175c. Brush a baking sheet with melted butter and set aside.

In a small bowl mix together the filling ingredients until smooth.

Open the package of phyllo dough and cover the stack of sheets with a damp cloth to keep them from drying out and breaking while you work. Working on a clean and dry board or counter top, carefully lay a sheet of dough on the dry surface and brush it with melted butter. Lay another sheet on top of the first and brush with butter. Continue until you have 8 layers assembled.
Spoon the filling along one short edge of the rectangle of dough and start rolling it, tucking the edges under to seal the ends, brushing with butter to make the dough stick together.
Place 2 more sheets of dough on work surface and place the rolled pastry on top of it diagonally, brush with butter and wrap the dough around it envelope style to seal the pastry.

Place the rolled pastry on the buttered baking sheet. Brush the pastry with butter one last time, sprinkle with a little sugar and bake it until well browned, about 30 minutes.

Serves 4-6.

Recipe for Yams

This is what became of Yamzilla. Traditionally, my family has always served candied yams at Thanksgiving. Sickly sweet and high in calorie, I wanted to update our recipe to make something a bit more healthful but still satisfy the craving for familiar flavors. This is what I came up with. Even my mother (who is resistant to change in our food traditions) liked it and has asked that we do it this way from now on. Here's my recipe:

Yams with Marshmallows

1-1/2 lbs. yams or sweet potatoes
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1 package miniature marshmallows

Peel yams and cut up into chunks. Place in a large pot and add water to cover. Bring to boiling, reduce heat and simmer until yams are tender. Drain and mash with potato masher. Stir in butter and spices. Spread yam mixture in a large shallow casserole or 9x13-inch pan. Top with marshmallows and bake in a 350 degree oven until the marshmallows melt and begin to brown. Serves a crowd of 12-16 people.

To reduce calories further, you may omit the marshmallows and serve as you would mashed potatoes.