A Little Early

Today we made a "Thanksgiving Dinner Cake" -yes, it's a little early but we won't be making Thanksgiving dinner on Thanksgiving. Plus, I got a turkey cheap (.38/lb. at Wegman's) so it was too good to pass up.

Here's how I made my cake:

In a springform pan I layered mashed potatoes, then stuffing, then turkey (cut into bite sized slices with a little gravy), then mashed sweet potatoes. Bake covered for 50 minutes at 325 (all the cake ingredients were chilled leftovers). Uncover, top with marshmallows and broil for a minute or two (watch it, those marshmallows will burn quickly!). Spread homemade cranberry sauce (yum!) in center. Serve with hot gravy on the side.

It's a really pretty way to serve those turkey leftovers.

A Favorite Dinner Revised

OK, how do I make creamed spinach on a nondairy diet. With coconut milk!

"Coconut milk is considered very healthy in Ayurveda, and in modern times has been found to have hyperlipidemic balancing qualities as well and antimicrobial properties in the gastrointestinal tract and topically. It is also used for healing mouth ulcers. In a study with rats, two coconut based preparations (a crude warm water extract of coconut milk and a coconut water dispersion) were studied for their protective effects on drug-induced gastric ulceration. Both substances offered protection against ulceration, with coconut milk producting a 54% reduction vs. 39% for coconut water."

I added garlic to the coconut milk, brought it to the boil and added a bag of baby spinach. Served alongside my baked sweet potato, topped now with EVOO, and all I can say is "Yum!"

Lychee Pork With Forbidden Rice

I sometimes get badgered for not using my impulsive "gourmet goodie" purchases filling up my pantry. Here's how I used my can of lychees yesterday.

Lychee Pork With Forbidden Rice

6 boneless pork loin chops (taking up space in my small freezer)
3 T soy sauce
3 T cornstarch
3 T peanut oil

Cut chops into 1 inch chunks (while partially frozen, it's easier). Marinate in soy sauce for about one hour. Dust with cornstarch. Heat peanut oil in wok and fry dusted pork chunks till brown. Save the leftover slurry marinade.




Remove pork from wok. Set aside. Add to wok:

2 carrots, cut into 1/4 inch diagonally slices
1 red bell pepper, cut into 1/4 inch squares


Saute for couple of minutes till carrots are tender then add:
lychees, drained and cut in half
pork

And mixture of:

1 T dry sherry
3 T hoisin sauce
4 T lychee juice, from can
leftover marinade slurry (add about 1/4 cup water)

Heat through till pork is cooked - about 5 minutes. Top with:
3 scallions, sliced on the diagonal
2 T toasted sesame seeds

Serve with Forbidden Rice [1 cup Jasmine Rice (uncooked) mixed with only 1-2 T black rice (also uncooked) - this is enough to turn the rice purplish. Cook as you normally would.] My 10 lb. bag of black rice is going to last a long time!
Enjoy!!

Flower Pot Cupcakes

Today's cupcakes were made with buttermilk giving the chocolate a nice tang. Under the frosting lies half a marshmallow which I stuck on while the cake was still warm adding height without additional frosting. Looks good, doesn't it?

Meat Loaf Sundae

Surprise Meat Loaf

2 pieces whole wheat pita bread
3/4 cup milk
2 T ketchup
1 T dijon mustard
1 T Worcestershire sauce
1 lb. ground chuck
1 lb ground turkey
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Salt and pepper to taste
4 hard boiled eggs
1 package frozen chopped spinach, squeezed and drained
3 T ketchup for decorative topping

Process pita bread to crumbs. Mix with milk, add ketchup, mustard and Worcestershire. Soak at least 30 minutes. Add to meats with eggs and salt and pepper. Do not overmix. Press half of mixture into loaf pan. Spread a strip of 1/2 of the spinach down the center of meat. Line 4 hard boiled eggs lengthwise down center on top of spinach. Top with remaining spinach and then remaining meat. Decorate top with ketchup swirls. Bake at 375 at least 1 hour until internal temperature reaches 140. Enjoy hot, warm or cold.

Colorful Gems

These Farmers Market cherry tomatoes were not only beautiful they were delicious.

EZ Roast Halibut

1/2 lb halibut
8 cherry tomatoes, halved
1 pkg boursin cheese

Preheat oven to 400 F. Spray baking dish with Pam, place fish in dish, spread boursin over fish, top with halved tomatoes. Bake for 20 minutes (approx.) Delicious served with steamed fresh spinach.

Enjoy!

Baseball Cake

I made this cake for Jim's birthday tomorrow. Here's my recipe for a delicious easy frosting:

White Chocolate Cream Cheese Frosting

1 stick butter (softened)
1 8 oz. pkg cream cheese (softened)
1 box confectioners sugar (sifted)
6 oz. white chocolate chips (melted) (1/2 bag)
1 tsp vanilla
Beat well, spread on cooled cake, keep refrigerated.

Pork in Lettuce Cups

I finally tried making stuffed lettuce cups - the kind you have as an appetizer at PF Changs.
Here's my recipe:

1 small package cellophane noodles
1 lb. ground pork
1 celery rib, diced
1 can water chestnuts, chopped
1 14 oz can baby corn, chopped
2 scallions, chopped
1 tsp crushed garlic
1 T minced ginger
1 T soy sauce
1 tsp sugar
2 T ground bean sauce
2 T fish sauce (nam pla)
juice of 1 lime
1 T sesame oil
1/2 tsp sriracha

Soak cellophane noodles in boiling water. Saute pork in wok, add celery, water chestnuts, corn, scallions. Cook about 2 minutes, add garlic and ginger and saute another minute. Scoop noodles from water - add to wok, don't worry about adding some water as well. Finally, add soy, sugar, bean sauce, fish sauce, lime juice, sesame oil and sriracha and cook till heated. Serve warm or at room temperature in lettuce cups. I used iceberg lettuce which proved to have leaves which were too big. The crunchiness was nice but I think butter lettuce leaves might be more manageable.

Yum-mee!!