Maggaliscious is Back

After more than a year I finally got the urge to write again and share some recipes and food stories.  Life threw me a few curves and put out the flames that fueled my desire for doing this. Those curves have straightened out some and now it's time to write again.  There isn't much that I enjoy more than having friends in to enjoy something delicious to eat! I think I enjoy having them here more than they enjoy coming!

I was out with a few friends for a Birthday dinner (not mine) and during the conversation, I described what I had made for breakfast that day.  They all thought it sounded so good, so I suggested a Brunch at my house.  It turned out to be a small group, but it was so much fun.
The menu:  Poached Eggs with Creamy Cognac Mushrooms, Turkey Bacon, Turkey Sausage, Smithfield Ham Slices, Toasted English Muffins and Fresh Pineapple.   Oh, and let's not forget the Mimosas! OK, here is how it all goes.

Setting up for Mimosas

MIMOSA.  Use Champagne or any sparkling white wine.  One of my guests brought  some Spumanti sparkling wine for us and it was a giant bottle!  She also told me that if you take the handle of a metal spoon and put it into the neck of the bottle after it's opened (but don't let it touch the sparkling wine), it will keep the bottle from going flat.  I can only believe her since the bottle was still bubbly later in the evening.  Fill your flute a little less than half full of orange juice and then fill the glass with sparkling wine.  I prefer an orange juice without pulp for this. (I enjoyed three of them!)


The day before I made the CREAMY COGNAC MUSHROOMS.
2 T butter or olive oil
24 oz. white button or crimini mushrooms
1 small shallot, diced finely
1/2 t. salt
1 T. flour
2 T Cognac or brandy
1/2 to 3/4 c chicken stock
2 T Half and Half (I used fat free)
Clean up the mushrooms by wiping them clean with a paper towel.  You should never run mushrooms under water.  They are very absorbent and will end up being chewy when they are cooked because of all the liquid in them.  Slice all the mushrooms fairly thinly and saute them with the shallot in a fairly hot skillet to evaporate the liquid as they cook, about 3 - 4 minutes.  Add the flour and keep stirring until the flour cooks up a little.  Add another pat of butter if you like.  Now add the salt and the cognac.  Stir well and add half of the chicken stock.  Keep adding chicken stock until you get a nice consistency.  Add the cream and simmer for a minute or two.  Done!  Set aside to warm later.

Now cook up some bacon, sausage or ham, whatever you like and as much as you like.

Next poach or fry or scramble some eggs.  I made them to order for each person since I didn't have a large crowd.  If you have a large crowd, you can make them in advance a little, but be sure not to overcook since you'll want to reheat a little when it's time to eat.   Most of my guests wanted poacched, so I poached 8 eggs.  I made one order of scrambled too, with a little cheese and some salt and pepper.  He liked them quite moist so I got them out of the skillet before they were done, and let them set up a bit more while I finished up the poaching.

Perfect Poached Eggs  There is a lot of discussion about how to poach an egg properly and there isn't really a single way.  I used a large deep skillet so I could do 4 at a time.  Be sure the water is deep enough to cover the eggs. But there are a couple of secrets to poaching a nice egg.  One, I greased the bottom of the pan lightly with butter before filling it with water.  This helped a little so the eggs didn't stick to the pan.  Two, don't drop your eggs into boiling water!  The boiling water will send your egg whites all over the pan.  So once the water boils, turn the water down to a gentle simmer.   Three, use the freshest eggs possible.  Eggs that aren't as fresh will spread out much more than afresh egg.  Crack each egg into a small bowl or shallow cup and very gently pour the egg into the hot water. Let them poach for about 3 - 4 minutes.   Cook them until they are the doneness you like.  You can check by gently pressing on the yolk to see how hard it is getting.  Some people like to put a little vinegar in the water.  Supposedly this helps to set the egg whites.  I prefer not to use the vinegar.   When the eggs are done the way you like, gently use a slotted spoon to remove them to a shallow baking dish for serving.

 
When the eggs were done, I had already loaded up the empty serving dishes on the buffet counter with the breakfast meats and we were ready to eat. 

I had toasted some English Muffins earlier.  We served it up kind of like Eggs Benedict.  A muffin underneath, Mushroom sauce on the muffin, an egg on top and a nice selection of meat and a little pineapple.  Some coffee and another Mimosa and we started eating and enjoying some conversation. 











Everyone has gone home to enjoy the rest of their Saturday.

We must do this again!

Leftover Wild RIce

Friday night I had two friends over for dinner. I made Salmon, Rosemary Chicken Breasts and Wild Rice. Yummy. We had a lot of fun and opened two bottles of wine! But Saturday meant leftover salmon, chicken and rice.

I shredded the piece of salmon that was left, added that to half of the rice (about 1 cup) I had leftover , along with one beaten egg, and some dried dill. I made this mixture into little patties and fried them in a little olive oil until they were super crispy. They were wonderful!

Sunday there was still a batch of rice leftover and the rosemary chicken. I did the same with the chicken. Diced it up, added some more rosemary, a beaten egg and a little salt and cracked black pepper. Patties in the skillet until very crispy. Yummy! I'll have these for breakfast tomorrow!

NO COOKING LAST WEEKEND

PEPPERS AND PIZZA
Last weekend was just too busy to cook. I had to cut the grass, and had a birthday party to attend. Although I did make some more of my Pickled Sweet Banana Peppers! I had two jars of the brine left so they were easy to make. The recipe for the peppers is at the bottom of this post.

I took a jar of them to a Pizza Party last Friday night. A friend was having a party and wanted to have a pizza buffet. I made small individual pizza crusts made with dough I purchased from a local pizza shop. Mione's is, in my opinion, the best pizza in this town. She had all the toppings on the counter when I arrived. I also brought a jar of the pickled sweet banana peppers, not even knowing how they would taste. I made them the week before the party and hadn't tasted them. They were wonderful! So I may make more if the garden will yield a nice batch of fresh peppers.

Everyone made their own pizza choosing from all the goodies on the table: sauce, basil pesto, cheese, hot and mild Italian sausage, fresh sliced green peppers, onion, mushrooms, jalapenos, pepperoni. It's so much fun to make your own pizza. You get exactly what you want and you can have all the pepperoni you want! Four pizzas went in the oven at a time, baked for about 7 minutes and came out hot and bubbly! The trick was remembering which pizza was the one you built! They were delicious and the Mione's crust did not disappoint ... crunchy and chewy at the same time. The kids adored making their own mini pizzas and at every last bite of their own creations.

One of the other guests made a dessert pizza: Brownie Pizza with all kinds of wonderful toppings. I'm not even sure what was on it but I do know it had chopped candy bars (maybe they were Snickers), m&m's, crushed pretzels, chopped pecans, mini marshmallows, and then it was drizzled with melted chocolate! Absolutely sinful, but delicious and a fabulous party dessert!

And of course, that wasn't enough so she also made Sweet Kabobs! Skewers threaded with strawberries, caramels, Oreo cookies, pretzels and marshmallows, also drizzled with melted chocolate. They were absolutely decadent and beautiful and made a very impressive presentation! I would recommend them for any party and the kids will love them! However, I will add that the gal who made them said she would leave the Oreos out next time. These would be wonderful using anything you like that would taste good with chocolate drizzle: fresh pineapple chunks, or banana chunks.

I made myself and extra pizza to go and just had it for breakfast while writing this blog. Yum! I love pizza for breakfast sometimes!

Here is the recipe for the Pickled Sweet Banana Peppers: Some of my peppers had ripened to a pretty red color and they look so pretty in the jar.

1/2 lb. of sweet banana peppers, seeded, sliced (enough to stuff 2 pint jars)
1 med sweet onion (like Vidalia), sliced thin
2 c. white vinegar
1 c. sugar
1/2 c. brown sugar
3 T. of pickling spice instead of the mustard and celery seed (you can buy a little bottle almost anywhere)
The pickling spice has more spices and will give you the flavor of bread and butter pickles. That's what I use.

You'll need 2 canning jars that have been washed thoroughly in hot soapy water and rinsed well.

Fill the jars with the sliced peppers and onions. Go ahead and pack them in tightly if you have to, but leave about 3/4" from the top.

Bring all the other ingredients to a rolling boil in a medium pot. When the liquid has boiled, ladle it over the peppers and leave about 1/2" of space in the jar. Be sure to clean off the rim of the jar so there is NO pickling liquid on it. Use a damp paper towel. Put on the lid and ring and tighten the ring so it won't leak. Now turn the jars upside down on a board, cover with a dark towel and let them sit for at least 24 hours. Done!

Hope you enjoy these! They will be wonderful on a pizza, on a sandwich, in salads or on hot dogs or burgers.

BUBBLE AND SQUEAK

Sounds like a kids game or a problem with your tummy! But Bubble and Squeak is a traditional dish from the United Kingdom and was originally a concoction made to use up leftover potatoes during food rationing times. But it's become a favorite, still using leftovers if you have them, and it's a wonderful dish for a brunch. Of course the dish can be made from fresh food too. You don't have to have leftovers to enjoy this hearty dish.

As a matter of fact, I made it because I has these beautiful little jewels of cabbages in my garden. The heads were small, but fully mature so I picked them and Bubble and Squeak came to mind immediately. You might wonder why that came to mind first. I first saw Bubble and Squeak on the Food Network when there was a show called Two Fat Ladies. They made this on their show and I've been making it now and then ever since.

It's a very inexpensive way to feed a lot of people, too.

Here are the ingredients:

2 T. Canola oil
1 medium white onion, chopped
1 medium head of cabbage, trimmed and chopped
2 carrots, peeled and sliced
4 - 5 sausages, casings removed and browned in a skillet
4 - 5 medium potatoes, cubed and boiled until just done.
Salt to taste
Pepper to taste
Eggs - optional

So in summary, before I even give you the whole recipe, here's how it's done, just so you see how easy it really is.

Saute onions
Add and cook cabbage and carrots
Brown sausage
Boil potatoes
Mix it all together in a big pot


In a very large skillet, add the canola oil and saute the onions until they are softened, but not browned.

Add the chopped cabbage and the sliced carrots, stir, and keep covered over med-low heat, stirring frequently until the cabbage cooks down and is soft and sweet. If you like, you can leave the cabbage a little less cooked if you like a bit of crunch left in it. This should take about 15 minutes to get all that cabbage cooked.

In the meantime, while the cabbage is cooking, remove the casings from your sausages and cook in a large skillet, breaking it up until it's all browned. When it's finished, add about 3 T. of water to this skillet and scrape up all the browning in the bottom of the pan. This will add a ton of flavor. Just set this aside until the cabbage is done. I used sweet Italian sausages. You can use any kind you like. Bob Evans breakfast sausage would work - use one or two of those 12 oz. packages, depending how meaty you would like your Bubble and Squeak. I used 4 sausages because that's what I had in the freezer.

Also in the meantime, wash and cut up the potatoes and get them boiling - just like you would for mashed potatoes. No need to peel the potatoes - I never do. Cook until they are just tender. Drain into a colander.

OK, now the cabbage is cooked, the sausage is browned, and the potatoes are done. If your cabbage skillet is large enough, put everything into it and mix well. If not, then get yourself a larger pot, like a soup pot, and put it all in there.

Serve this on a buffet for brunch or on the side like you would corned beef hash. This morning I chose to spoon some into a skillet, turned on med-low heat to let it brown slowly, and broke an egg over the top. Put a lid on it and let it cook until the egg was done. This took about 5 minutes.

Get Bubbling! This dish is so good it'll make you Squeak!

PEPPER POPPER DIP

More Sweet Banana Peppers in the garden. They are definitely the most prolific crop in the garden this year. It's been so hot and dry, no matter how much I water, some of the crops are just not responding. But the banana peppers grow and grow!

You've all most likely heard of Pepper Poppers? You know, those appetizers you can get in so many restaurants where a jalapeno or poblano pepper is stuffed with cheese and then baked to within an inch of it's life.

With all these peppers, it came to me that I could make a sort of Popper Dip! As it turns out, it's wonderful! All hot and bubbly, it's a fabulous dip for a party, or just for yourself. I've been dipping it on melba toasts or pita chips while I sip on a glass of wine and cook dinner. Mmmmm. Yummy

Basically I took a crab dip recipe I have, tweeked it a little and substituted the crab with sliced peppers. Play with the recipe -- add cumin -- leave out the curry - double the garlic - leave it out entirely - add a diced jalapeno. Make it your own by using ingredients and flavors you love!

Here's how I made it.

1 8 oz low fat cream cheese (DON'T use fat free - it's awful!**)
1/2 low fat or fat free sour cream
1 T curry
2 T fresh thyme
1/2 t. smoked or regular paprika
1 c. grated cheddar cheese
1 T hot sauce (or to taste)
pinch of red pepper flakes (more to taste or leave out entirely)
2 cloves fresh garlic finely minced
8 large banana peppers, seeded and sliced into thin rings
Salt to taste

In the microwave, soften the cream cheese so it will be easy to stir. Add all the other ingredients and mix well. Put into a lightly greased oven safe dish and bake until bubbly - about 15 minutes or so. If you want to use the microwave cook on high for 3 - 4 minutes. Stir, and cook for another 3 - 4 minutes . Stir and cook for 3 - 4 minutes once more making sure the dip is nice and hot.

Transfer the dip into a nice bowl and serve hot with pita chips, tortilla chips, or crostini toasts. Your friends will love this! Enjoy!

** As I mentioned, don't use fat free cream cheese. I'm all for low fat and fat free products - I use them all the time. But fat free cream cheese tastes like paste! It's awful and there is nothing you can do to make it taste better. I once made a Boursin Cheese Dip out of it. I tried adding more garlic, more herbs, salt, I even added some soft butter to it to try to make it richer. Nothing worked. It still tasted like paste.

GARDEN TO TABLE

Lots of veggies picked today.
What to do? Make a fabulous vegetarian platter and add a beautiful piece of fish if you like!

Smoky Zucchini and Yellow Squash

Sliced 1 med zucchini and 2 med. yellow squash into halves and then into slices to get half moon pieces. Place in a bowl.Toss to coat with:
1 T olive oil
1/4 tsp liquid smoke
1 t salt
Saute in a hot skillet until just tender. Remove to a platter.

Sliced Radishes with Tarragon
3 cups of sliced radishes. Slice radishes into 1/2 inch circles. (The radishes I used happen to be a giant variety that look almost like a red carrot, but any kind of radish will work.
1 T. olive oil
1 T butter
1 t. salt
1 T. dried tarragon
Dash of agave syrup or honey - maybe 1 teaspoon.

Saute the radishes in the oil and butter until they are just tender. Add the salt and the dried tarragon and syrup or honey. Stir for 1 minute and the set aside on the platter.

Baby Spinach with Garlic

Wash about 5 cups of baby spinach leaves and drain well. Saute in a large skittle with
2 T. Olive oil,
2 T dried garlic
1/2 t. salt.
Saute until the spinach has given off most of its liquid and evaporates from the pan. Set aside on the platter.

Mashed Potatoes with Garlic and Chives
6 small red or white potatoes- cut into quarters
Boil until they are tender.
Drain the potatoes. Add:
1/2 c. non fat canned milk
1 T butter
2 - 3 T. Greek Yogurt
1 - 2 cloves very finely minced or pressed garlic cloves
1 T salt
2 T. fresh chopped chives.
Mash all together until as smooth or chunky as you like. Add more milk or yogurt as desired for consistency.

Salmon
Saute lightly salted salmon steaks in a skillet with a little canola oil. Cook for about 3 - minutes a side until done. Set aside on the platter.

Dill Cream
1/2 C. plain greek yogurt
1 t dried dill
2 t. tabasco sauce
1 t dried shallot or onion
1/2 t. salt.
Mix all in a small bowl and garnish salmon with it.

Now make yourself a plate from all the beautiful vegetables you just prepared!

SWEET BANANA PEPPERS

After harvesting only one eggplant, a little lettuce and a few peas so far this year, I had several large sweet banana peppers ready for picking! They will end up on a Sweet Pepper Pizza tonight with a base of a little low fat cream cheese, a little sausage and a few thin slices of red onion.

1 Homemade, or prepared 12 inch pizza crust
4-6 sweet banana peppers, cleaned and sliced into rings
1/2 medium red onion, sliced thinly
1 link of fresh (sweet or spicy) sausage, fried and crumbled (optional)
1 - 8 oz. low fat cream cheese
1/2 t salt
1/2 c. plain Greek yogurt
2 cloves finely minced garlic, or about 1 t. dried garlic (more to taste)
crushed red pepper flakes (optional)
Olive oil to drizzle (optional)

If you are making homemade crust, prepare your crust and par bake it until it feels done, but lacks color.

In a small bowl, mix the cream cheese, garlic, salt and the yogurt together and spread on the pizza crust. Top the cheese with the sausage, sliced peppers, and onions. Drizzle with a little olive oil and sprinkle with a few red pepper flakes if you like.

Bake at 425 for about 6 - 8 minutes, until bubbly and brown.


My basil plants also needed cutting back. So I put most of it into a container of water to use from the counter all week, and the loose leaves will be made into a compound butter. Anything I don't use in a few days, I'll hang to dry.

1 stick unsalted butter, soften to room temp
1/2 chopped basil
2 cloves fresh garlic, chopped
1/2 t kosher salt

Add the all the ingredients to your food processor and whiz until just blended. If you don't have a food processor, just make sure everything is very finely minced when you blend it with the soft butter. Then put the butter into a airtight container and refrigerate.

Use this butter on anything! Melt a little on top of a char grilled steak. Spread on a piece of toasted crunchy bread, melt into a little cooked pasta for the kids!