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WCC #35: Snake Eyes

By mlb, on December 17th, 2008%

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This month, Weekend Cookbook Challenge is all about appetizers. MMMmmmmm…snacks. This one is interesting. I was intrigued. It’s an olive, in a cheesy dough ball. The recipe is in a little book of appetizers and cocktails called, “Shag Party.” It also has lots of illustrations by Shag. Duh.

Oh and I promise I’ll post more next week. Really. I’m even going to try for one more post on Friday!

Snake Eyes
From the Book Shag Party by Adam Rocke
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 cup butter, softened (1 stick)
1 cup AP flour
1 dash Worcestershire sauce
1 (5 oz) jar of pimiento-stuffed olives

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Mix cheese and butter in a mall bowl until blended. Mix in flour and W. sauce to make a dough. It’ll eventually come together. At least mine did. The liquid in the olives later will actually help a lot.

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Roll dough on a board and pull off pieces to form around your olives.

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I found the best way to do this was to put a piece of dough in my palm, put an olive on the dough and make a fist to press the dough around the olive.

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Bake olives on parchment-pappered . . . → Read More: WCC #35: Snake Eyes

6 comments   Appetizers, Cheese, Cookbooks, Weekend Cookbook Challenge

Close-Roasted Pork with Mole-Inspired Spice Rub

By mlb, on December 11th, 2008%

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I really like listening to The Splendid Table Sunday nights while I make dinner. A few weeks ago, I heard this recipe and could not wait to make it. I just did and wow, so good. jwa was raving.

Close-Roasted Pork with Mole-Inspired Spice Rub
from The Improvisational Cook by Sally Schneider, as heard on the Splendid Table
2 1/2 tbsp Mole-Inspired Seasoning (recipe follows)
1 tbsp plus 1/2 tsp kosher salt
1 tsp sugar
3-1/2 pounds pork shoulder, trimmed of excess fat, tied to make a compact Roast (bone-in is preferable, though boned is fine)
1 head of garlic, broken into cloves but not peeled

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In a small bowl, combine the mole seasoning, salt, and sugar. Rub all over the pork shoulder and place on a plate. Marinate for 1 hour unrefrigerated, or 2 to 24 hours refrigerated.

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Preheat the oven to 275 F. Place the pork in a Dutch oven or deep-lidded roaster just big enough to hold the roast snugly. Scatter the garlic cloves around the roast.

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Place a large piece of aluminum foil over the pot, then press the lid down securely. Alternatively, wrap the meat in a tightly sealed foil package . . . → Read More: Close-Roasted Pork with Mole-Inspired Spice Rub

3 comments   Comfort Food, Mexican, Pork, Spices

Crockpot Bean & Bacon Soup

By mlb, on December 8th, 2008%

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Sometimes I crock pot overnight, which is convenient, but slightly weird in that I tend to dream about food then. It is, however, much better than setting up your George Forman grill the night before to cook bacon, bed-side in the AM. Still my favorite Office episode of all time. The country crock? Nice Dwight? The van with the spray bottles? Ha!

Anyway. Soup here. Lots of beans. Add some bacon. Wine. Broth. Veggies. Cook it while you sleep and dream about beans. Or, cook it while at work and have a nice dinner waiting for you when you get home! Awesome!

My bean mix was 16 17 kinds of beans and some barley (“17 Bean and Barley Mix”, to be exact). I got it at Trader Joe’s. Use any bean/barley combination you’d like. You can even use all white beans and no barley. Or just 16 beans. You get the idea. Just don’t use an actual soup mix that already has seasonings and stuff in it.

Crock pot Bean & Bacon Soup
1 lb dried beans
7 cups chicken, turkey, hen or vegetable stock
5 slices of bacon, diced
1 medium onion, diced
3 medium carrots, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
1/4 cup white wine
leaves . . . → Read More: Crockpot Bean & Bacon Soup

2 comments   Beans, Comfort Food, Pork, Slow Cooker, Soups & Stews

Spinach & Chicken Meatball Soup or Thanksgiving Wedding Soup

By mlb, on December 5th, 2008%

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This was a quick and tasty soup fashioned together out of Thanksgiving leftovers. Since we had hens for our holiday dinner, there was no turkey meat but I did have a TON of homemade hen stock. The rest will be used in some bean and bacon soup later in the week.

If you do have turkey or other poultry leftovers in the freezer, you could always opt to omit the meatballs and use pieces of the leftover turkey.

This turned out really, really good. It’s kind of like an Italian Wedding Soup. My stock had a lot of flavor as I made it with many garlic cloves, veggies and rosemary sprigs. If you use store-bought, you may want to season the soup up a bit more with your favorite dried or fresh herbs at the end.

Spinach & Chicken Meatball Soup or Thanksgiving Wedding Soup
1/2 lb uncooked chicken sausage (you can also use pork sausage)
1 egg
3 herb rolls, processed to make breadcrumbs (this will give you about 1 cup of breadcrumbs — you can also use regular bread to make the crumbs, but if you do, add 1/2 teaspoon of each, chopped: fresh rosemary, fresh sage, and fresh oregano or . . . → Read More: Spinach & Chicken Meatball Soup or Thanksgiving Wedding Soup

3 comments   Chicken, Comfort Food, Herbs, Holiday, Soups & Stews, Vegetables
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