Tuna Cakes

I made these to get my daughter to eat more protein...but they are actually pretty good in general! Serve with a salad and a sour cream based sauce and it is a nice dinner.

Also, all of the veggies are for the obvious reason to get her to eat a lot of vegetables as well!

Ingredients:

2 large cans of tuna in water, drained (about 2 cups of tuna)

1/2 cup parsnips, grated

1 cup carrots, grated

1/4 cup celery, grated

1/4 cup onion, chopped very finely

1 clove garlic, chopped very finely

1/2 cup red bell pepper, chopped finely

1 cup corn, copped roughly (I use frozen and thaw in the microwave)

1 tsp Old Bay seasoning

2 tsp paprika

1 1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup mayonaise

3/4 cup bread crumbs

3 eggs

2 tablespoons olive oil

Directions:

Take parsnips, carrot, celery, onion and garlic and sautee in a little olive oil until soft.

In a bowl, break the tuna down in to small pieces and add in the red pepper, corn, Old Bay, paprika, salt, mayo, eggs, olive oil, breadcrumbs and softened vegetables. Mix together well.

Heat a sautee pan over medium heat and wipe bottom with a little oil. Make patties about 3/8 inch thick and 2-3 inches in diameter. Cook for 3-4 minutes and flip, cooking 3-4 minutes more. Both sides should be golden brown.

You can also add in a little hot pepper (which I like). And, if the patties fall apart, you can add a little milk plus more breadcrumbs to help hold it together.

Butternut Mac and Cheese

Ingredients:

1 Medium butternut squash (about 2 1/2 pounds before cutting) deseeded and cut into 1-2 inch cubes (you can leave the skin on or peel it)

1 small onion roughly chopped

3 large cloves garlic roughly chopped

2 medium carrots roughly chopped

2 stalks celery roughly chopped

15 oz container of ricotta cheese

16 oz mozzarella cheese, grated

1 1/2 cups parmigiano reggiano, grated

1 pound rotelle pasta (wagon wheels)

2 cups water (or chicken or vegetable stock)

1/4 teaspoon cayenne

1/2 teaspoon fresh grated nutmeg

3 tablespoons olive oil

Salt and pepper

Directions:

Cook pasta about 3-4 minutes less than the package instructions (very al dente) in salted water. Drain and set aside.

Over medium high heat put olive oil, onion, carrots, garlic and celery along with salt and pepper and sauté until just tender and with some caramelization, about 15 minutes. Add in the cubed butternut squash and water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer until squash is very tender.

Puree with an immersion blender (or in batches in a regular blender). Taste for seasoning adding in salt and pepper as needed (or extra nutmeg). Add to the pasta along with the ricotta, 1 cup of the parmigiano reggiano and half of the mozzarella and blend well. Place in a buttered large baking dish and top with the remaining mozzarella and parmigiano.

Bake in a 375 degree oven, uncovered, for about 40 minutes, or until it is bubbling and the top is brown.

Texas Dry Rub

This is based on a dry rub associated with Zion Missionary Baptist Church in Texas (supposedly some of the best barbecue you will find...I can't wait to go there!).

Ingredients:

1 1/4 tablespoons kosher salt

1 1/2 tablespoons dark brown sugar

1 tablespoon sweet paprika

2 teaspoon garlic powder

2 teaspoon mustard powder

1 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander seed

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme

JC adds:

1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/2 teaspoon ground chipotle

Sub oregano (Mexican if possible) for the thyme

Up the coriander

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

Cuban Pulled Pork

This was...awesome. I should have made 10 pounds...

Ingredients:

1 pound pork shoulder lightly trimmed

1 tablespoon ground cumin

1 teaspoon ground coriander seed

1/2 teaspoon hot pepper flakes

1 tablespoon salt

1 tablespoon fresh ground black pepper

3/4 cup orange juice

1/4 cup lime juice

Olive oil

Directions:

Heat the oven to 250 degrees F.

Use about a tablespoon of oil and coat the pork shoulder. Add the spices and salt and pepper and coat well. In a hot pan with a couple of tablespoons of olive oil brown the shoulder on all sides. Add in the orange and lime juice and bring to a boil.

Put the pan in the oven, covered, for two hours. Check that the meat should pull apart easy. Uncover the pot and cook for another 30 minutes to reduce the sauce and further brown the meat.

Remove from the oven, and put the shoulder in a separate bowl and shred with two forks. Add as much of the juice as you would like (I would suggest all of it).

Serve with tortillas, over saffron rice, with potato and apple latkes (awesome) or just eat it out of the bowl and lie to your friends that the dog ate it.

White Bean Crostini

As with any crostini, just get some really good bread, slice medium thick and toast. Put on any appropriate toppings...this is one of my favorites.

Ingredients:

1 16 oz can of cannellini beans, rinsed and drained

2 cloves garlic chopped fine

1 tablespoon chopped fresh sage, marjoram or tarragon

1 cup water (or stock for a richer taste)

Salt and pepper

Olive oil

1/2 teaspoon hot pepper flakes (optional)

Instructions:

Sautee the garlic over medium low heat until just starting to get light brown. Add in the beans, water and hot pepper (if using). Turn heat up to medium high and cook until beans are very tender (you may need to add a little more water). Towards the end add the herbs and salt and pepper to taste.

Remove from heat and mash roughly with a fork. Serve slightly warm.

Homemade Merguez Sausage

I didn't use any casing on this, but it is very tasty! Serve on a roll with a yogurt sauce, or with lentils or couscous.

1 pound ground lamb

3 cloves garlic chopped, then mashed in a mortar/pestle with 1 T salt

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper and 2 tsp fennel seeds, crushed in a mortar/pestle

2 Tbl paprika

1 tsp cayenne

Lots of fresh cracked black pepper

2 Tbl olive oil

Mix all the ingredients together. Form into small, sausages or meatballs and fry in a non-stick pan until brown. Turn and finish cooking, being careful not to overcook, making them dry.

Yorkshire Pudding

Marlene’s Yorkshire Pudding (from Michael Rhulman's blog at rhulman.com).

1 cup/140 grams all purpose flour

1 teaspoon mustard powder

4 or 5 large eggs, enough to make 1 cup

1 cup/250 milliliters whole milk

6 teaspoons vegetable oil or beef fat drippings

Equipment

1 six-well popover pan or 12-well muffin tin

Sift the flour and mustard powder together into a large bowl. Add the eggs and milk and blend on high speed with a hand mixer until fully incorporated. Let the batter rest for 2 hours at room temperature, re blending now and then.

Preheat the oven to 475 degrees F./240 degrees C./gas 9

Place one tsp of fat in each cup of a popover pan or half a tsp of fat in the well of each muffin cup. Place the pan on a baking sheet and slide it into the oven to heat the oil when the oven is heating. When the oven has reached temperature, reblend the batter, remove the pan and pour the batter into the cups , dividing it evenly and filling the cups three-fourths full. Place the pan in the oven and turn on the light so you can watch them rise. After 10 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 450 degrees F. and continue baking without opening the oven door, until the puddings are puffed and golden brown. 15-25 minutes depending on your oven. Serve immediately.

Yield: 6 popovers of 12 small muffins; you can also bake it in 9×13-inch baking dish or in the beef’s roasting pan.