WHAT NOT TO BRING TO THANKSGIVING POTLUCK.

Does this say "Thanksgiving" to you?

It's pizza casserole.  With all of the great traditional foods, it's hard for me to imagine someone having extra room in their stomach to handle this spicy, cheesy dish but, as you can see, much of it was eaten.  Fortunately, this did not show up at our house.  It was brought to the home of my dentist's administrative assistant (correct title?).  She and I got a bit of a laugh out of this dish that her sister brought to the family Thanksgiving meal!

For those of you who think this sounds good, if you do a Google search for "pizza casserole" you will get just under 1.8 million hits.  Good luck to you!

As for me, I think I'll stick with turkey, dressing, gravy, cranberries, pumpkin pie....

PHEASANT AND BRUSSELS SPROUTS

When we were children, my father would return from hunting trips with pheasant or deer.  Unfortunately, my parents were not good cooks, resulting in me not having much of an interest in deer (too strong of a flavor!) or pheasant (too much buckshot!).  Fortunately, today there is such a plethora of on-line recipes, that finding good options to use these meats is no problem.

Recently, one of our nice neighbors gave us pheasant - thoroughly cleaned, cut into pieces, with the small breast bones removed, and not one single buckshot.   Thank you!!!   I went online to www.allrecipes.com, and found a recipe that had great reviews for slow cooker pheasant.  The reviewers all said that this recipe resulted in meat that was moist and flavorful.   I agree!

To go with the Slow Cooker Pheasant with Mushrooms and Olives I made brussels sprouts.  This is a simple recipe but a serious upgrade from steamed brussels sprouts.

BRUSSELS SPROUTS IN PECAN SAUCE
1)  Steam one pound of brussels sprouts until tender, about 10 minutes.
2)  Heat 3 tablespoons of salted butter in a small saucepan.  Add 1/4 cup chopped pecans, and brown them in the butter.  Optional:  Stir in 1/4 teaspoon Worchestershire sauce.
3)  Pour browned butter pecan sauce over brussels sprouts, and serve.

I love these!!

ARUGULA: Salads, Pesto, Pizza

Arugula growing in my garden.  

Before we get into the many benefits of arugula, also known as "rocket,"  here is a fun little history from Wikipedia.

"Grown as an edible herb in the Mediterranean area since Roman times, salad rocket was mentioned by various classical authors as an aphrodisiac, most famously in a poem long ascribed to Virgil, Moretum, which contains the line: 'the rocket excites the sexual desire of drowsy people.' [English translation]  Some writers assert that for this reason during the Middle Ages it was forbidden to grow rocket in monasteries.  It was listed, however, in a decree by Charlemagne of 802 as one of the pot herbs suitable for growing in gardens.  Gillian Reilly, author of the Oxford Companion to Italian Food, states that because of its reputation as a sexual stimulant, it was 'prudently mixed with lettuce, which was the opposite' (i.e., calming or even soporific).  Reilly continues that 'nowadays rocket is enjoyed innocently in mixed salads, to which it adds a pleasing pungency.'  Arugula was traditionally collected in the wild or grown in home gardens along with such herbs as parsley and basil.  It is now grown commercially from the Veneto in Italy to Iowa in the United States to Brazil and is available for purchase in supermarkets and farmers' markets throughout the world."

The benefits of arugula, in so many regards, are tremendous!  We northern-state gardeners love arugula because we can simply put the seeds in the ground and, in no time at all, we have enough arugula to last most of the summer.  We also like that rabbits, squirrels, deer and other hungry critters do not like arugula.  How great is that?!

When we consider the health benefits of arugula, it really stands out as a great food.

Finally, I love the taste!!  It is peppery and piquant which makes it a delightful contrast to the sweetness of fruits or the tartness of lemons.

In salads it is often served with a simple lemon vinaigrette and Parmesan cheese.  If you'd like, you can add to that whatever is on hand, pitted black olives, marinated artichoke hearts, fresh basil, cherry tomatoes and so on.  For a sweet-salty salad, pair arugula with fruit (e.g. mango, fresh apricot, peach, etc.), crumbled feta cheese and toasted nuts (e.g. almonds or pecans).

Arugula makes a nice pesto to serve on grilled fish or chicken.  Puree 2 cups of packed arugula with 2 cloves of garlic, 1/2 cup of olive oil, and 1/4 cup of toasted walnuts.  Add 1 tablespoon of lemon juice, and season with salt and pepper to taste.

If you make your own pizza, top your pizza crust with basil pesto, cover that with a handful of arugula, sprinkles of fully-cooked Italian sausage and, finally, shredded mozzarella cheese.  Bake or grill as you wish.

For a delicious summer dinner, put a small mound of arugula in the center of your plates, then top the arugula with grilled steaks and their juices.  Shave Parmesan cheese on top.  Absolutely delicious!!

CHEFS' ABODE - MAPLE-CAYENNE BACON

A new cooking school, Chefs' Abode, recently opened at 805 Sibley Memorial Highway in Lilydale.  www.chefsabode.com

To spread the word, they offered an online coupon for a discount on a cooking class.  Lucky for me, my niece, Colette, purchased two for us to use together.  On Sunday we attended our participation class:  "Holiday Brunch at Home."  Here was the menu:
*  Belgian Waffles
*  Dried Cherry Scones
*  Roasted Vegetables
*  Roasted Vegetable Frittata
*  Parmesan Croustades
*  Hash Browns
*  Maple-Cayenne Bacon
*  Roasted Apple Bourbon Bread Pudding with Pecans

What a fun way to blow my low-carb diet!

If you want any of these recipes, just let me know and I'll post them.  In the meantime, I know I have some bacon-lovers out there who read my blog so I thought I'd share the bacon recipe with you.  This is outstanding!

MAPLE CAYENNE BACON
*  1 pound bacon
*  1/4 cup pure maple syrup
*  1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Preheat oven to 375ºF.  Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper.  In a small bowl, stir together the maple syrup and cayenne.  Place the bacon in a single layer over the parchment, and with a pastry brush, brush the bacon slices with syrup.  Bake for 15 to 20 minutes until bacon is cooked but not crisp.

ROAST PORK LOIN WITH GARLIC AND ROSEMARY

We got our first snowfall this past Saturday, and we will now put our grill away for the winter.  Continuing the theme of easy comfort foods for when we enjoy having our ovens on, the recipe below is for a delicious, moist, and very easy pork roast.

ROAST PORK LOIN WITH GARLIC AND ROSEMARY  Serves 8.
Preheat oven to 425º.  Combine the following ingredients in a small bowl:
*  4 large garlic cloves, pressed
*  4 teaspoons chopped fresh rosemary or 2 teaspoons dried
*  1-1/2 teaspoons coarse salt
*  1 teaspoon ground black pepper
*  3 tablespoons olive oil
Rub mixture all over a 2-3 pound boneless pork loin roast.  Place the pork, fat side up, in a roasting pan and roast the pork until a thermometer inserted into the center registers 150º, about 50-60 minutes.  Remove roast from the oven and let stand 10 minutes.   Slice pork crosswise into 1/3 inch pieces; arrange on a platter, and pour pan drippings over the meat.  Garnish with a sprig of rosemary and serve with applesauce.

BEEF POT ROAST.

Now that cooler weather has returned we can resume using our ovens to make great winter comfort foods.  First up - Beef Pot Roast.  Here is an easy and reliably delicious recipe.

Beef Pot Roast.  Serves 4+
*  1 tablespoon olive oil
*  2-3 pounds boneless chuck roast
*  2 cloves of garlic, minced
*  1 large onion, chopped
*  2 bay leaves
*  Other optional herbs/spices such as anise/fennel; thyme; coriander...
*  1/2 teaspoon salt
*  1/2 teaspoon pepper
Preheat oven to 325º F.  Heat a heavy Dutch oven on top of the stove over medium high heat.  Add oil, and sear the beef well on both sides.  Remove the beef to a plate.   Add the remaining ingredients to the pot; stir; and return the beef, slightly nestling it into the other ingredients.  Cover the pot and cook the beef in the oven for 30 minutes at 325º.  Then reduce the heat to 300º and continue cooking for 1-1/2 hours.  Remove the roast to a platter and let rest about 10 minutes.  Slice and top with onions and meat juices.

Enjoy!

BACON

Last week I reported that I have a new book, "The Encyclopedia of Kitchen Secrets."  Here is a very helpful suggestion for cooking and storing bacon.

"If you have ever wondered how chefs serve bacon fast and have it be crisp and not greasy, here's the secret:   Cook the bacon by placing raw slices side by side on a rack in a baking pan and bake in the oven at 400ºF for 15 minutes or until it is not quite as crisp as you like it.  Cool the bacon, then place the strips in a single layer on foil and freeze.  When you want bacon, just remove the number of slices you desire and heat in a skillet over low heat."

Baking bacon is always the easiest way to cook bacon for a crowd.  But precooking the bacon simplifies the process when we only need a slice or two.  The added benefit is that bacon has no carbs so works well for those of us that are always watching our carbs.  So, the next time you need a few slices of bacon, cook up the entire package and store the leftovers in your freezer.  Then, reheat in the microwave (rather than in a skillet as suggested above).   Convenient, huh?

GIRLFRIENDS' MYSTERY TOUR.

This is my niece, Colette, in the Twins dugout.


My birthday is in October but my niece, Colette, and I finally were able to share her birthday gift to me - a "Girlfriends' Mystery Tour." The plan was to have Cole stay overnight on Friday so that we could catch the bus in Apple Valley first thing on Saturday morning. So, the fun began on Friday when she arrived. We made a simple dinner together consisting of pork tenderloin, sauteed zucchini "spaghetti", and toasted nut bread. Here's the recipe (from Lunds "Real Food") for the pork tenderloin:


GRILLED PORK TENDERLOIN WITH WORCESTERSHIRE-PECAN BUTTER. Serves 8.
Dry Rub:
* 1 tablespoon turbinado or brown sugar
* 1 tablespoon sweet paprika
* 2 teaspoons coarse salt, either kosher or sea salt
* 1 teaspoon ground pepper
* 1/4 teaspoon ground cayenne
Stir all of the above ingredients together in a small bowl and massage mixture into:
* 2 pork tenderloins, about 14 ounces each
Let sit, covered, at room temperature for 20 to 30 minutes.
Prepare grill.
Spray tenderloins with oil and arrange them on the grill over high initial, then medium, heat. Grill tenderloins, rolling to cook on all sides, until internal temperature reaches 155º, about 20 minutes.
Meanwhile, as the tenderloins are cooking, make:
Worcestershire-Pecan Butter:
In a dry skillet lightly toast
* 3/4 cup coarsely chopped pecans, stirring continuously, about 5 minutes. Add
* 1 stick (8 tablespoons) plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut in several chunks. When melted, add
* 2 tablespoons minced white onion
* Pinch of coarse salt
Cook until onion turns translucent and limp. Remove from heat and stir in
* 2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce.
When the tenderloins are done, remove them from the grill and let them rest for 5 minutes, covered with foil, before carving into thin slices. Give butter sauce a quick stir, over heat if necessary, and spoon over the tenderloin slices.

We were at the bus at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday morning and proceeded to make six stops on the Mystery Tour.
1) The Depot in downtown Minneapolis for an historical tour followed by a delicious breakfast buffet.
2) The new Target Field (Twins Stadium) for a thorough tour of the stadium including the field, dugouts, changing rooms, boxes, etc.
3) AAA in St. Louis Park. At AAA (American Automobile Association) we went to a lecture on how to pack most efficiently.
4) OM restaurant in downtown Minneapolis. This restaurant has awesome Indian food. At this stop we got appetizers and had our "Angel Cards" read. My Angel Card was "Vibrations" and Cole's card was "Creative Power."
5) Dance Studio on Snelling in St. Paul. Here we got a 20-minute lesson on the salsa. What fun!!!
6) Mediterrean Cruise Cafe in Burnsville for dinner, complete with an '80's band and dancing. They were great!

To summarize, Cole and I both concluded we loved sharing the day in this way. What a great gift! If you want more info, check out http://www.girlfriendsmysterytours.com/

Pic of me in the dug-out.