Erin's Easy Eats

Strawberries (or other fruity things) in the Snow

April 30th, 2008 by Erin

A coworker of mine made this for another co-worker’s birthday. Upon learning just how easy it is, I thought I’d make it, but I swapped cherries for strawberries, but the man likes cherries. Forget about y’all strawberry folk. (Really, I wanted peach because my hormones told me so, but cherry is actually my favorite, especially in canned pie filling land.)

Ingredients:

• 1 box yellow cake mix
• 1 small box cheesecake instant pudding mix
• 1/3 c. oil
• 1 c. water
• 4 eggs
• 8 oz. cream cheese (softened)
• 1 c. powdered sugar
• 12 oz. cool whip
• 21 oz. can pie filling (whatever flavor you like)

Mix cake mix, pudding mix, oil, water and eggs until well blended. Bake in 13×9 at 350 until done (about 30 minutes, but check it.) Remove from pan and let cool.

Combine cream cheese and powdered sugar and beat until smooth and slightly fluffy.

To assemble cake, slice cake into two thin layers and place one layer back in pan. Top with half of cream cheese mixture and half of cool whip. Place other layer on. Repeat cream cheese/cool whip layering. Top with pie filling. Refrigerate 2 hours or until ready to serve.

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Catfish Po’Boys

April 30th, 2008 by Erin

Now, I’ve seen lots of recipes for these, but I just couldn’t be bothered with following one, so today you get a recipe of my own creation. A lot of my recipes are simply muddled through versions of someone’s real recipe, but… well, if you cook enough, you’ll understand.  I am tired of being plagued by Popeye’s commercials and seeing catfish for dirt cheap in the grocery store, so I stood up and took action.  Plus, everyone loves a good sandwhich.  Overall, this meal took about 20 minutes to make (as long as it took me to bake the fries that went with it.)

Ingredients:

• 1 lb catfish nuggets
• 1/2 c. milk
• 1 egg, beaten
• 1/2 c. yellow cornmeal
• 1/2 Tbs Cajun seasoning and 1/4 tsp (divided)
• (a shake or twelve of Old Bay, if you live around my parts)
• 1/4 c. mayo
• 2 Tbs relish
• 1 Tbs grainy Dijon
• hot sauce to taste
• Sub rolls
• Fixin’s (I had lettuce and tomato with mine)

Combine relish, mayo, hot sauce, mustard, and 1/4 tsp. cajun seasoning in small bowl. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Combine milk and egg. Soak catfish in mixture. Combine rest of Cajun seasoning (and Old Bay if you’re using it) with cornmeal. Doing just a few pieces at a time, dredge catfish through cornmeal.

Here, you have 3 options to cook your catfish:

1. Deep fry it. I don’t know how to do this even though we have a fryer. It scares me
2. Start your fish in a little bit of oil in an oven-safe frying pan, to get it browned up, and then put it in the oven
3. Omit all the frying nonsense, and put it in the oven at 425 for 15 minutes

Split your sub rolls and broil them inside up for just a minute or two until they get crunchy. Slather with your hoppin’ mayo, top with fixings, and consume heartily. (Arr, matey.)

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Raspberry Butter Braid

April 28th, 2008 by Erin

I saw this recipe wandering around a few different feeds that I subscribe to. I seem to have tracked its original location to zesteasy.com, which is a fun blog with lots of interesting recipes, photos, and promotions.

I had a little trouble keeping the jam in the bread tube while it was baking. Most of it creeped out through the seams. I think next time I’ll wet with some water and crimp both sides (with a fork) for a pretty braid. The husband rated it “good, not great, with great points deducted” for oozing of jelly onto the baking sheet. He did like the glaze I made up mixed with the jelly though.

I cheated and used the bread machine (mixed all the dough ingredients and set the monster to dough, worked fine for me!) but here is the original recipe, which includes the hand done method (for all of you strong folk.)

Ingredients:

1 cup milk
1/2 cup butter, cut into pieces
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 envelope dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1 large egg, beaten to blend, room temperature
4 cups (about) unbleached all-purpose flour (you might need less - I needed all of it because it was so humid yesterday)
3/4 cup raspberry jam (or other filling of your choice)
1 large egg, beaten with 2 tbsp. water

Scald milk in heavy, medium saucepan. Add butter, sugar, and salt. Let stand until butter melts. Pour mixture into large bowl. Cool to 105 to 115 degrees. Sprinkle yeast over 1/4 cup warm water in small bowl; stir to dissolve. Let stand 10 minutes at room temperature. Add yeast mixture and 1 beaten egg to milk mixture. Here is where I deviated. I scalded the milk, and let it cool, and then dumped everything, through 3 1/2 c. flour, into the bread machine. I had to add another half cup of flour because it was still so runny.

Stir in enough flour, 1/2 cup at a time, to form soft, slightly sticky dough. Lightly grease large bowl. Add dough, turning to coat. Cover bowl with kitchen towel and let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.

Grease two heavy large cookie sheets. Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface and knead until smooth, 2 minutes. Divide dough in half. Divide each half into 3 pieces. Roll each piece out between hands and floured surface to 18 inch long rope. Using a rolling pin, roll each rope flat, into about, a 3 inch wide strip.

Spoon about 2 tablespoons of jam (or filling of your choice) down the length of each strip. Fold dough over filling to seal in jam in the ropes. You can brush the edges of the dough with a bit of water to help seal the dough.

Arrange 3 ropes side by side on 1 prepared sheet. Braid ropes (it helps to start in the middle and work your way out.) Pinch ends together and tuck under loaf. Repeat process with remaining 3 ropes on second cookie sheet for second loaf. Cover each loaf with kitchen towel and let rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled in volume, about 1 hour.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Brush egg wash over loaves. Bake until loaves are golden brown and sound hollow when tapped on bottom, about 20 - 25 minutes. Transfer to racks and cool.

I glazed mine with a combination of about 2 Tbs melted butter, 1/2 tsp of vanilla, a pinch of salt, about a Tbs of milk, and about 3/4 c. powdered sugar. Mix until it looks like icing and your husband lets you take pictures of him looking like this and does not care.

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Coming up this week…

April 28th, 2008 by Erin

Raspberry Butter Braids - my jelly laden foray into breakfast bread (still tasty, but sticky!)

Catfish Po’Boy Sandwhiches

“Crispy thing with the chicken and the onions and the orange”  (As titled by Rick, after I had no idea what he meant at first)

Breakfast for dinner!  (I’m not posting recipes since we’re having breakfast sausage, scrambled eggs, and Rick is making pancakes.  A master flipper.)

Turkey Cutlets in Mustard Wine Saucewith Sauteed Mushrooms

Chorizo and Cheddar Biscuit Sandwiches with Marinated Grilled Chicken

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Moosewood’s Sunday Salmon

April 17th, 2008 by Erin

I love lox. I could eat it every day for breakfast with onions, and toast, and a little bit of creme fraiche. It is just that good. Forget breakfast - I would gladly eat it any time. This recipe always makes me think of Kenny, a co-worker of mine who has the same taste in salmon as well as the last name of the actual recipe, which is “Stein Sisters’ Sunday Salmon.” Kenny (Stein, not Salmon) is retiring this year, and perhaps I’ll manage to sneak him out a wedge of this stuff if it doesn’t disappear before tomorrow morning.

This recipe pulls double duty as a good brunch dish (with fresh fruit and bagels) or as dinner (with a greens salad with a tangy dressing.)

Ingredients:

• 4 medium potatoes (fist sized) sliced into thin half moons
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 Tbs butter
• 1/4 lb. lox, cut into pieces
• 2 Tbs fresh minced dill (or about 3/4 Tbs dried)
• 1/2 lb fresh salmon steak (or go for those vacuum packed ones. Don’t get the cheap canned stuff, as I did this time, and have to spend 15 minutes picking tiny bones and scales out. Ew.)
• 8 oz. cream cheese, cubed
• 4 eggs
• 3/4 c. milk (the original recipe calls for 1 1/4 c. but I found that it NEVER set so I reduced it a bunch)
• sweet (not hot) paprika

Boil potato slices for about 7 minutes, or until just tender. Line the bottom of a oiled (or sprayed) casserole dish. Meanwhile, sauté onions in butter until just translucent. Add lox and dill and saute for a few minutes more. Season with salt and pepper.

If you’re using fresh salmon, boil an inch of water in the bottom of a saucepan. Place salmon in a steamer rack or metal colander, sprinkle with salt and pepper, cover, and steam 5-6 minutes. Flake into lox mixture. If you’re using vacuum packed (or, heaven forbid, canned) salmon, dump it out and break it up a bit. No need to steam. Add to lox mixture.

Distribute cubes of cream cheese evenly around the casserole dish (seriously, the cream cheese is the best part, so make sure everyone gets an equal chance to consume its delicious goodness), and then top with lox-onion-salmon mixture. Mix eggs with milk, and pour over entire thing. Sprinkle with paprika. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until set.

Posted in breakfast, dinner, fish, potatoes, recipes || 2 Comments

Pioneer Woman’s Sheet Cake

April 10th, 2008 by Erin

This cake was waited for all week.  This cake has pieces of it promised to people I work with.  I will have to wrangle it out of my house in the cover of night to let it see the light of day tomorrow.  It will be quickly consumed.  It is that good.  (Even though, for some reason, this batch is sub par.)  When The Pioneer Woman tells you it is the Best Chocolate Sheet Cake. Ever. you should believe her, because she it is not lying.

I omitted the nuts from this recipe because my husband hates them. I have never made it with nuts, so I cannot vote either way. My baking soda also seems to have been a bit old, because this batch of cake was not as fluffy as it normally is.

Pioneer Woman Chocolate Sheet Cake
Combine in a mixing bowl:
2 cups flour
2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt

In a saucepan, melt:
2 sticks butter
Add 4 heaping tablespoons cocoa. Stir together.
Add 1 cup boiling water, allow mixture to boil for 30 seconds, then turn off heat. Pour over flour mixture, and stir lightly to cool.

In measuring cup, pour 1/2 cup buttermilk.
Add:
2 beaten eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
Stir buttermilk mixture into butter/chocolate mixture. Pour into sheet cake pan and bake at 350-degrees for 20 minutes.

While cake is baking, make icing:
Chop 1/2 cup pecans finely.
Melt 1 3/4 sticks butter in a saucepan.
Add 4 heaping tablespoons cocoa, stir to combine, then turn off heat.
Add:
6 tablespoons milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 lb minus 1/2 cup powdered sugar
Stir together.
Add pecans, stir together, and pour over warm cake

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Potato Crusted Salmon with Cream Sauce

April 10th, 2008 by Erin

Another one of those fancy meals! I used to make this for St. Patrick’s day. I didn’t this year because we went to my parents’ house (where I ate chicken fingers and everyone else ate corned beef, ew.) I serve this fish with either “frizzy salad” (all those fancy leaves) or mixed veggies, for the uncultured. I imagine if you like carrots, this would be great with steamed carrots.  (I hate carrots, even though you see them on the plate below, they were quickly moved elsewhere.)

Fish:

• 2 large potatoes, peeled
• 4 4oz. salmon fillets or steaks (I personally think fillets work better, but with skin/scales removed)
• 4 tsp. country Dijon mustard
• 1 egg

Grate potatoes on large holes of grater. Mix grated potatoes with egg. Pat fish dry, and lightly season with salt and pepper. Rub one side of each fillet (use 1 tsp on each) with Dijon mustard. Cover the mustard with enough potatoes to coat entirely. Wrap in plastic wrap to firm and press excess water/space out. Preheat oven to 425. In an ovenproof nonstick pan, heat 2 Tbs olive oil. Place fish potato side down. When they have started to get golden, flip CAREFULLY (get the best flipper in your house - that’s the husband, not me) to flip it over. Pop into oven for 5-10 minutes, until fish is opaque in center.

Serve with Chive Cream Sauce…

• 1 Tbs olive oil
• 5 scallions, sliced as thin as you can, white part only
• 1 Tbs chopped garlic
• 3 Tbs white vinegar
• 3 Tbs water
• 1/2 c.chardonnay (or whatever white you have around)
• 1/2 c. evaporated skim milk
• 1 tsp. cornstarch mixed with 1 Tbs water
• 6 chives, chopped

Heat olive oil, and add scallions, sauté two minutes. Add garlic until fragrant. Add water and vinegar, let cook to almost dry. Add wine and reduce by half. Add evaporated milk and cornstarch mixture, remove from heat as soon as it boils and stir in chives, add salt and pepper to taste.

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Cinnamon-Orange Crème Brûlée

April 9th, 2008 by Erin

For this dessert, I got to play with blowtorches. How awesome is that? I can think of nothing better. I was going to make a Cooking Light recipe, but then I found this one, which doesn’t have any “lowfat powdered milk” business, just cream, eggs, and sugar, basically. I kept the flavoring from the other one though, because I loved the idea, and that the orange/cinnamon would give the dish an exotic flair (get out your maracas!) If you do all of the cooking the day before, then all you’ll have to do is get out your blowtorch the day of.  When I tasted this the night before, I thought it was way too sweet, but it ended up being just fine.  The cinnamon and orange flavor were very subtle - so subtle in fact that I should have used more or let it steep longer if I really wanted to make that kind of impression.

This was my first time making creme brulee.  It is not photogenic, especially on wood tables.  It looks so yellow!  I was quite impressed with the ease of the blowtorch action, though.  And so much fun!

• 5 large egg yolks
• 6 Tbs sugar
• 1 tsp vanilla extract or 1 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
• 1″ square piece of orange rind
• 1″ long cinnamon stick
• 6 tsp. granulated sugar for caramelizing
• 1 1/2 c. whipping cream

Heat cream over medium heat until small bubbles form at edges but DO NOT BOIL. (Steam!) Add orange rind and cinnamon stick, cover, and let steep 10 minutes. Remove orange and cinnamon. Let cool to room temperature. Add vanilla and egg yolks, whisk to combine. Gradually whisk in sugar. Pour into custard cups or ramekins (divide among 6.) Place into 13×9 pan, and fill halfway with water. Bake 35-40 minutes at 325, until custard is set. Remove custards from pan, and allow to cool to room temp before putting into the fridge. Chill overnight. Sprinkle with remaining sugar (1 tsp each,) blast with blowtorch

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Shrimp and Ravioli in Lemon Cream Sauce

April 9th, 2008 by Erin

This meal is all about cheating. It is so good though, that no one cares. It’d make a great dinner if you were trying to impress guests and didn’t really have time…  It took just long enough for me to boil the water and cook the ravioli through.  Because I totally cheated and used pre-made Alfredo sauce, the shrimp and cream sauce were done in about 10 minutes total.

• 1 package refrigerated 4 cheese ravioli
• 1 lb shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 10 oz. Alfredo sauce (either make your own, or buy refrigerated or jarred… depending on how much time you want to invest here)
• 1 Tbs lemon juice
• 1 tsp. grated lemon peel
• Chopped fresh parsley
• 1 red bell pepper, seeded and sliced thinly
• 1 clove garlic, pressed through garlic press (or chop it finely but then go to the store and buy a garlic press the next day, really)

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, heat 1 Tbs olive oil and 1 Tbs butter in a non stick pan. Add shrimp and garlic and peppers, turning until shrimp are just cooked through. Add Alfredo, lemon juice and peel, parsley, and cooked pasta. Stir to combine, serve.  (My Alfredo sauce was a little thick, so I added some cream, because I haven’t used enough cream in the last two days.)

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Chocolate Mascarpone Mousse

April 8th, 2008 by Erin

I was going to make a plain mascarpone mousse (is there such a thing?) but the majority of the recipes I stumbled across had ricotta, which I detest the texture of unless it’s hidden under layers of cheese and tomato sauce. In my searches, I found this, which sounded wonderful, and went very well with some early strawberries.  The original recipe didn’t call for the folding in of whipped cream, but I found it too dense (very early on in the taste testing) and so I added it before chilling overnight.

Ingredients:

• 1/2 c. sugar
• 1/3 c. sifted unsweetened cocoa (this is regular Hershey’s cocoa, btw)
• Pinch of salt
• 2 tsp. espresso powder dissolved in 2 tsp cold water (or 3 tsp REALLY strong coffee, since I’m too cheap to spring for espresso powder)
• 1 Tbs rum
• 8 oz. mascarpone
• 1/2 c. whipping cream

Combine sugar, cocoa, and salt. In another bowl, combine coffee, rum, and marscapone. Slowly beat in sugar mixture first on low, then on medium, scraping down sides, until mixture is very smooth. Set aside.  Whip cream until stiff peaks (turn it into whipped cream, but not butter!) Fold in gently but thoroughly.  Chill at least three hours.

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