Recipes: The week of November 14th – 20th, 2022
Artichoke Heart Dip [ American- & Italian-influence ]
Ingredients: Cream cheese, Greek yogurt or Sour cream, prosciutto diced or bacon, parmesan, plain artichoke heart chopped, oregano, thyme, red pepper flakes, cayenne, and paprika.
Directions: Cream cheese allowed to soften, whipped with Greek yogurt or Sour cream, Ham prosciutto diced or bacon, parmesan, plain artichoke heart chopped, oregano and thyme, a touch of red pepper flakes or cayenne, and a sprinkle of paprika are all mixed in.
Beef Burgundy [ French-influence ]
Ingredients: beef, bacon (it is not traditional – I added it), onion, carrots, mushroom, garlic, red wine, beef stock, bay leaf, and thyme.
Directions: A traditional French beef stew, prepared in a simplified manner without lacking the flavors. It includes chopped bacon, cubed beef, onion, carrots, mushroom, garlic, red wine, beef stock, bay leaf, and thyme. Like all stews, start by cooking the bacon, remove, use the fat rendered with a bit of oil to brown the cubes of beef (chuck cut of beef), remove; drain excess fat (if any) and use what remains in the pot to saute the vegetables; remove. Deglaze with red wine (I prefer merlot or pinot noir. It is not as astringent as Cabernet Sauvignon); return all ingredients to the pot. Cover with enough beef stock, and some water with tomato paste, bay leaf, s+p, and thyme. Place on medium fire to get it started, then lower to a simmer covered and let cook till the meat is nice and tender. You may thicken with cornstarch slurry, and cook for an additional 10 minutes while stirring gently till it thickens to a light gravy consistency, and there is no taste of starch in the mixture.
Tandoori Chicken in Peanut Sauce [ Indian-influence ]
Ingredients: Chicken breast, Greek yogurt, lime juice, olive oil, cumin powder, turmeric, cayenne, clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cardamom.
Directions: Chicken breast sliced in strips (can use a mix of thighs as well), marinated in a mixture of plain Greek yogurt (1 c uses 2 Tbsp lime juice, 4 Tbsp Olive oil, ½ tsp each of cumin powder, turmeric, ¼ tsp cayenne, 1 tsp salt, ½ tsp black pepper, ¼ tsp each clove, cinnamon, nutmeg, ½ tsp ground cardamom. Chicken can be pan-seared, and if kept whole, can be grilled.
Peanut Sauce
Ingredients: peanut butter, coconut milk, soy sauce, fresh ginger, ginger powder, sesame oil, tamarind paste, and lime juice.
Directions: 4 Tbsp peanut butter, ½ cup coconut milk, 4 Tbsp soy sauce, grated fresh ginger or 1 tsp ginger powder,
1 Tbsp roasted sesame oil, salt, black pepper, Tamarind paste (if available), or a squeeze of lime juice.
Orange Cake [ Sicilian-influence ]
Ingredients: eggs, sugar, flour, baking powder, butter, Greek yogurt, orange, and vanilla extract.
Directions: Place the sugar and eggs in a large bowl and beat with a mixer until light and fluffy. Sift the flour with the baking powder then add to the mixture in the bowl a little at a time along with the softened butter. Continue to mix until completely blended, then stir in the yogurt. In a food processor, process the whole orange until it is almost pureed. Add this orange to the cake mixture (along with the vanilla if you used plain baking powder) and stir until evenly combined, then put the batter into the prepared tin. Bake for 50-60 minutes (depending on your oven), but test with a skewer to make sure the orange cake is done before removing it from the oven. Allow to cool for about 15 minutes, then remove the side of the springform pan.
Based upon Christina Scucina’s Silican Orange Cake
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