Way Down Yonder in the Paw Paw Patch

If you hear the word paw paw and immediately think it is some nonsensical fairy tale food or a child's name for a papaya, you are not alone.. but you are wrong. Many only know of paw paws from the old children's song, Way Down Yonder in the Paw Paw Patch.  Although unheard of by many, paw paws do exist and grow right down the street from me in good old Rochester, NY, which was how I ended up with some paw paws in my possession. When my neighbor left a bag of paw paws hanging on my doorstep, I was not quite sure what to do with them. With a quick Google search, I learned many interesting factoids about paw paws: they are native to North America; they are sometimes called the West Virginia banana; they are Ohio's native state fruit; and there are all sorts of Paw Paw festivals! I also found recipes for pies, breads, muffins, puddings and even wines using paw paws. Who knew?
So I set out to make a Paw Paw Pie
Paw paws start out green and turn yellow and then brown as they ripen. They are actually best when they outside looks like a brown rotten banana oddly enough.

Inside they have beautiful yellow flesh that tastes very sweet and similar to a banana. They also have little black seeds which can be a bugger to take out. But persist on, it is worth it!

Once you have peeled the paw paw and removed the seeds you are ready to make yourself a pie.
I used a graham cracker crust in mine but you can make a regular pastry crust as well.

In a saucepan, combine 3/4 cup of sugar, 1/4 cup of cornstarch, 3 egg yolks, 2 cups of milk and 1 cup of pureed paw paws. Cook slowly until thickened about 5-10 minutes. I added 1/2 cup of toasted coconut here to add a tropical flavor (this step is optional) Pour custard into your pie crust.
Take egg whites, 1/2 tsp of cream of tartar, 3 Tbl of sugar and beat into a meringue. When peaks form pour meringue on top of the paw paw custard. Bake at 350 for about 10 minutes or until peaks are browned.

While We're Talking Cauliflower...

Those purple cauliflower frozen florets previously mentioned were originally purchased to make this tasty dish, also a creamy delicious pasta spectacular. Make one or both!


Cauliflower Bagna Cauda Sauce
Simmer 1 head of garlic in water for about 20 minutes.
Cook 1 lb of fettucine in salted water until al dente.
Break cauliflower into florets. Steam in a large pan until tender.
In a saucepan, heat olive oil. Add 2 tins of anchovies. Stir until they break apart into the oil. Add mashed garlic, 3 Tbls of butter, 1 pint of cream or half and half, salt and pepper.
Toss the sauce, pasta and cauliflower together. Add some fresh parsley.

Eat up!

Creamy Chicken Cauliflower Lasagna Stylee

There are days when I look through my fridge, cupboards,  and freezer and find all sorts of random food items, bits and pieces of saved things that do not seem to go together in any appropriate fashion. In order to eliminate waste and to avoid grocery shopping, I try to mix up something creative with these items and create something spectacular (which sometimes does or doesn't happen). This happened to me last night.
Random Food Items
Half a box of lasagna noodles
2 Frozen chicken breasts
Frozen bag of purple cauliflower
1/4 bottle of Imagine Moore gratitude
Tupperware full of random blocks of Yancey Fancy cheese

Magical Dish- Creamy Lasagna!
In a pot of salted water, cook lasagna noodles.
In a large skillet, saute an onion in a bit of olive oil. Chop up chicken bits and cook until browned. Add chopped up purple cauliflower and 1/4 cup of white wine, salt and pepper to taste. Steam cauliflower til tender.

Drain lasagna noodles. In pot, melt 1 Tbl of butter and saute a few cloves of garlic. I added a ice cube size hunk of pesto (another random freezer item) but you could add dried basil if you choose. Add 1/2 cup of milk (if you have cream or half&half, this would prob be more delish). Bring to a simmer. Add 3 Tbl of flour. Cook til thickened. Add some shredded cheese to sauce. Add chicken/cauliflower mixture.

Layer noodles, CreamyCC mix and shredded cheese about 3 times in that fabulous order. Bake at 350 for about 20-30 minutes or until bubbly and browned on top. Serve with the rest of that leftover wine.
...and you know what they say, "Lasagna is always better as leftovers." This is true. I'm eating the leftovers right now.

homemade yogies

I had been meaning to try homemade yogurt for maybe a year or so, because we eat a lot of it around here and the good stuff -- the greek stuff! -- is expensive. It is unbelievably easy and you don't need a fancy yogurt maker.. just a crock pot.

to start - you need one cup of plain yogurt with live active cultures, and one half gallon of milk. my first try, I used regular vitamin d milk. you know, the kind in the front of veg-mans (I say that with a heavy german accent all of the time). I've read the less pasteurized and the more whole the betta.

if you start this at 4pm-ish, you can leave it overnight and wake up to morning yogurt numminess. put your milk in your pot de la crock and turn it on LOW for 2.5 hours. after that, shut the crockpot off and leave it, covered, for another 3 hours. after the 3 hours, stir in the cup of yogurt (once you have some made you can use that as the starter) until there's no more lumpies in your lovely lady humps. unplug your CP -- swaddle it in a large towel (to help it maintain as much heat as possible overnight) and leave it alone for 8ish hours. I put it in my oven so that nothing would disturb it overnight, such as a random cat or a ninja. hey, just playing it safe, you never know.

in the morning, you will have thick yummy yogurt! if you like it thicker (insert inappropriate weiner comment), let it strain in the fridge for the day. line a strainer with cheesecloth or coffee filters (<-- classy) and put it in a bowl and the whey will drain out after a few hours.

we've been mixing it with a spoonfuls of strawberry or blackberry jam and honey, but I want to whip up some lemon curd so I can mix that with some blueberries frozen from the summer!

creamychickenpiccatapastaaaaaaa

I have had a long, long, long love affair with capers and any recipe that includes them is on my to-try-yesterday-girlfrienddd list (which is a serious list to be on, fyi). chicken piccata is perfection in my book and I came across a recipe that layered the picatta with pasta and cream. I mean, all it needs is bacon (I left that out but reading Col's bacon posts make me think that it would be a great idea for next time). it also is a recipe in which to use your lemon reamer. I mean, c'mon.

for da chicken:

juice of one lemon

3 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp minced garlic

1/2 tsp basil or oregano

salt n' peppa, to taste

2 chicken breasts

for da pasta:

2 c. dried penne

2 tbsp butter

juice of 2 lemons

1 tbsp minced garlic

1/2 c. half and half or heavy cream, your choice! tough decision, I know.

2 tsp dried basil

2 tbsp capers (I used about a half a jar. 2 tbsp... clearly not enough.)

1/2 c. grated parm cheezzzee

combine the first "for da chicken" ingredients to form a marinade - marinade the chicken overnight, or maybe just for a few hours if you forgot to do that overnight step (which I did. it's okay. we're only human).

grill chicken until done and slice into strips to serve over pasta.

while the chicken is grilling, cook the pasta! drain it out of the pan when done to your liking. reserve a half a cup of the pasta water to use to loosen up the sauce you are about to make, if necessary. in the pan, melt the butter, add the garlic, and add the lemon juice. pour in the half and half slowly and whisk it until it's all hot and smelling good. add the salt and pepper if you want, then add the cheese, basil and capers and heat it all up until everything is melted and nice and saucy. add the pasta and the sliced chicken. bonus points if you add bacon!

Bacon Testing, Testing 1,2,3

I know this blog is followed by a bunch of lovers of bacon! So when I tell you about last week and my desire to eat bacon every night of the week because I had found so many delicious recipes, I know you will not judge me but whoop for joy at the recipes am I about to share that involve those delectable strips of cured pork belly.

bit o bacon humor

Test One:
Pasta Carbonara
So simple. So perfect.
In a pan, cook up 5 strips of bacon in a large pan. In the meantime, bring a pot of salted water to boil for your pasta. When bacon is finished, remove and chop into bits. Chop up half an onion and some garlic. Saute until translucent in bacon grease and splash of olive oil. In a seperate bowl, mix up 3 eggs with a splash of boiling pasta water. Cook spaghetti until al dente. Add 1/3 cup of white wine to onion mixture. With tongs, add spaghetti to pan with onion and wine. Never fear the extra water clinging to your pasta will help keep your sauce together. Add bacon, eggs and 1/3 cup of parmigiana cheese. Toss pasta with tongs and simmer for a few minutes. Plate up and top with more parmigiana cheese, some parsley and fresh ground pepper.. ah Say Wheen!

Test Two:
Roasted Cauliflower/Squash/Bacon/Cheese DELIGHT
Cook up 5 strips of bacon. Roast half a butternut squash in your oven. Remove cooked bacon. In bacon grease, saute one onion, 2 cloves of garlic and 2 Tbl of Sage, salt and pepper. Chop up a head of cauliflower. Toss with some olive oil and sea salt and roast on a cookie sheet for about 25 minutes. This can be done as the same time as the squash roasting. In a food processor, combine onion mixture, squash and 8 oz of goat cheese. Blend until it is a smooth sauce. Put cauliflower and bacon bits into a baking dish with 1 or 2 chopped apples depending on your preference. Pour squash mixture over top and stir up. Top dish with some shredded cheese. I chose Asiago and it was a smart choice. Cook in your oven for about 15 minutes.

Warning: This dish serves a lot which is fine because you will want to eat it every day for an entire week.
Another piece of Good News! This dish is gluten free if you're into that sort of thing.. Cholesterol free.. not so much.

Test Three:
Bacon Pastries
Bringing bacon back to its origin... Breakfast.

In a large bowl combine 1 package of yeast and 3 3/4 cups of flour. Mix in 1/2 stick of softened butter, 3 Tbl of sugar, 2 tsp of salt. Heat 1 cup and 2 Tbl of milk until warm. Add milk and 2 eggs to flour mixture. Mix up and dump onto floured surface.
Warning: This dough will be super sticky. Pull dough up and fold over itself continuously for about 7 minutes. It will get less sticky the more you work it. I had to add a few more Tbl of flour towards the end to make it workable but don't add a lot or you can ruin the softness of your dough.
Place in a lightly floured bowl. Let rise for 1 hour.

While dough is rising, make your bechamel as follows.
Heat 2 Tbl of butter in a pan until bubbling. Remove from heat and whisk in 2 1/2 Tbl of flour. Whisk in 1 cup of milk. Return to medium heat. Bring to simmer. Cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat. Add a pinch of nutmeg, 1 cup of gruyere cheese shredded and salt and pepper to taste.

Cut bacon into 3 inch pieces. Aim for about 20 pieces. Lay on cookie sheet and bake in oven until just cooked but not to crispy. 

When dough has risen, punch down and roll out on floured surface into a 21x15 rectangle. Cut into squares. In each square, put a spoonful of bechamel and a strip of bacon. Take two opposite corners and fold over the top like a pig in a blanket. Place on cookie sheet and let rise for another 30 minutes. Brush with egg and top with more cheese! I used a combo of cheddar and gruyere. Bake at 375 for about 15 minutes.

Bust out your fat pants and get frying!!

Coming Soon!! OKTOBERFEST dessert recipes and Paw Paws!

Response to Ricotta

Last week I posted one of my new most favorite obsessions... the recipe for homemade ricotta cheese. In case I haven't said it already, making your own cheese is one of the most fantabulous things a cook can experience. It really is magical how with a bit of milk, heat and curdling agent the curds and whey separate themselves yielding one of the greatest foods on Earth.. Cheese. I have yet to take my cheese making past ricotta and mozzarella but my hand built cheese press sits in my craft room waiting for the day to press some farmhouse cheddar or smoked gouda! When I posted the recipe for ricotta last week, I promised another recipe to go with it so here you go!

Quinoa Quiche
Who would have thought you could be alliterative with Q?? When I found this recipe, I was pumped. It combines two of my favorite things eggs and cheese into a healthy dish and you don't even need to mess with a pie crust!
Cook up 1/2 cup of quinoa in 1 cup of water for about a half hour or until water is absorbed. Place quinoa in bottom of a pie plate.  Saute in some olive oil 1/2 an onion and 2 cloves of garlic. In a bowl, mix 1/4 cup of milk, 3 eggs, 1/2 cup of ricotta. I also added a few Tbl of cream cheese because I had it lying about the fridge with nary a bagel to spread it upon. Add 1 cup of chopped spinach and onion mixture. Shred a thin layer of cheddar cheese over quinoa. Pour over cheesey egg mixture. Top with some more cheese I used more cheddar and a smidge of asiago.
Bake in the ol' oven for about 30 minutes or until not jiggly. Slice up and enjoy!

I served this with a roasted carrot soup but it was also quite divine on its own.