Good Enough to Eat (32 page)

Whisk stock and eggs in large bowl until combined. Stir in soy sauce, mustard, cumin, bread crumbs, parsley, salt, pepper, and onion mixture. Add ground turkey; mix gently with hands until thoroughly combined, about 1 minute. Transfer meat to sheet pan and shape into a 10 x 6 inch oval about 2 inches high. Smooth top and edges of meat loaf with moistened spatula. Bake until an instant-read thermometer inserted into center of loaf reads 135 to 140 degrees, 55 to 65 minutes. Remove meat loaf from oven and turn on broiler.

While meat loaf cooks, combine chili sauce, brown sugar, and sherry vinegar in small saucepan; bring to simmer over medium heat and cook, stirring, until thick and syrupy, about 5 minutes. Spread half of glaze evenly over cooked meat loaf with rubber spatula; place under broiler and cook until glaze bubbles and begins to brown at edges, about 5 minutes. Serve with remaining glaze on the side.

For the glaze: Mix ½ bottle barbeque sauce, brown sugar, tomato paste, and maple syrup in saucepan; set aside.

For the meat loaf: Heat oven to 350°F. Heat oil in medium skillet. Add onion and garlic; sauté until softened, about 5 minutes. Set aside to cool while preparing remaining ingredients.

Mix eggs with thyme, salt, pepper, mustard, Worcestershire sauce, and milk. Add egg mixture to meat in large bowl along with crackers, fried onions, parsley, and cooked onion and garlic; mix with fork until evenly blended and meat mixture does not stick to bowl. (If mixture sticks, add additional milk, a couple tablespoons at a time, until mix no longer sticks.)

Turn meat mixture onto work surface. With wet hands, pat mixture into an approximately 9 x 5 inch loaf shape. Place on foil-lined (for easy cleanup) shallow baking pan. Brush with half the glaze, then arrange bacon slices, crosswise, over loaf, overlapping slightly and tucking only bacon tip ends under loaf.

Bake loaf until bacon is crisp and loaf registers 160 degrees, about 1 hour. Cool at least 20 minutes. Simmer remaining glaze over medium heat until thickened slightly. Slice meat loaf and serve with extra glaze passed separately.

Mix dry ingredients in medium bowl. Pour buttermilk and milk into 2-cup Pyrex measuring cup. Whisk in egg white; mix yolk with melted butter, then stir into milk mixture. Dump wet ingredients into dry ingredients all at once; whisk until just mixed.

Meanwhile, heat griddle or large skillet over medium-high heat. Brush griddle generously with oil. When water splashed on surface confidently sizzles, pour batter, about ¼ cup at a time, onto griddle, making sure not to overcrowd. When pancake bottoms are brown and top surface starts to bubble, 2 to 3 minutes, flip cakes and cook until remaining side has browned, 1 to 2 minutes longer. Re-oil the skillet and repeat for the next batch of pancakes.

Serve with warmed maple syrup, melted butter, and crispy bacon or sausage.

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and mix well.

In a separate bowl, lightly beat eggs and egg whites together; add buttermilk and agave nectar.

Add wet ingredients to dry and stir until just moistened; do not overbeat. Add melted margarine and apples and mix until just combined.

Spray hot skillet with cooking spray. Pour 3 tablespoons of batter per cake, and flip when top of each cake is covered with tiny bubbles and bottom is browned. Brown other side and serve hot.

Put stock in small saucepan over medium heat. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in pan with olive oil. Add shallots and cook until translucent. Add rice and stir until each grain is coated. Add wine and saffron threads and stir until wine is totally absorbed. Add stock one ladle at a time until absorbed, and then add next ladle. Stir continuously. When it begins to take longer for stock to be absorbed, taste rice. You are looking for al dente, not mushy or gummy. When you are getting close to al dente, add chicken and artichokes to heat through, along with lemon zest, salt, and pepper. When rice is perfectly cooked, stir in remaining 1 tablespoon butter, cheese, and parsley, and do a final taste for seasonings.

This dish is actually not too bad for you. To make it decadent, add 2 more tablespoons butter and another ¼ cup Parmesan at the end, swap the chicken for cooked sweet Italian sausage chunks, and stir in ¼ cup mascarpone just before serving.

Heat oil in large soup kettle over high heat. When oil shimmers and starts to smoke, add chicken in batches; sauté until brown on both sides, about 5 minutes. Put all chicken pieces back in pot, with vegetables, peppercorns, and thyme. Fill with water to just cover. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer about 40 minutes. Add 2 teaspoons salt and bay leaves. Barely simmer until chicken is cooked and broth is rich and flavorful, about 20 minutes.

Remove chicken from kettle; set aside. When cool enough to handle, remove skin, then remove meat from bones and shred into bite-size pieces; discard skin and bone. Strain broth; skim fat from broth, reserving 2 tablespoons. (Broth and meat can be covered and refrigerated up to 2 days.)

Cook new vegetables, if desired, in reserved chicken fat (or butter), and cook noodles according to package directions. Combine chicken, broth, new vegetables, and noodles. Adjust seasonings, stir in parsley, and serve.

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Whisk together soup, sour cream, cheese, sherry, and celery salt. Pour over noodles and turkey, and mix until all noodles are coated and turkey is mixed throughout. Pour into buttered 9 x 13 inch pan. Sprinkle bread crumbs evenly over top, and drizzle with butter. Bake 30 to 40 minutes until top is golden brown.

Serve with caution; people will fall in love with you.

For a healthier version, use all-white-meat turkey or chicken, reduced-fat soup, light sour cream, and whole wheat noodles, and replace the butter with 2 tablespoons olive oil.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Grease two 8-inch round cake pans (or spray with cooking spray). Cream butter and sugar until fluffy; add eggs one at a time and beat until smooth. Sift remaining dry ingredients together. Mash bananas in a bowl with sour cream and vanilla. Add dry ingredients and banana mash alternately to egg mixture in thirds, blending to combine each time but trying not to overbeat. Divide between the two cake pans and bake 27 to 34 minutes, until a skewer inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool on a rack completely before frosting.

To make the frosting: Blend melted chocolate with butter and vanilla, and then mix with sugar and salt, adding 1 teaspoon of coffee milk at a time until you reach a fluffy, spreadable consistency that holds a soft peak. Blend in sour cream and hold at room temperature until frosting the completely cooled cake.

Preheat oven to 375°F. Line a 12-cup muffin pan with paper muffin cups or spray with nonstick cooking spray. Sift dry ingredients together, reserving 1 tablespoon of flour. Mix in buttermilk, oil, egg, and bananas, being careful not to overmix. Toss walnuts and chips with reserved tablespoon of flour and fold into muffin mix. Fill muffin cups three-fourths full. Bake 15 to 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Put enough water in the bottom of a heavy roasting pan to reach a depth of about 1 inch. Season brisket with salt and pepper, and place in roasting pan with water. Put onion and celery on top of meat, then distribute chili sauce evenly over vegetables. Cook uncovered 90 minutes. Remove brisket from oven, pour beer over meat, cover tightly with foil, return to oven, and braise 45 minutes per pound of meat. Remove meat from gravy, defat liquid, and puree juices with vegetables. Put juice in container, and chill meat overnight in fridge. The next day, slice meat across the grain and place in a baking dish. Cover with gravy, and put back in fridge. Reheat at 350°F to serve (1 hour to indefinitely!).

Cook the noodles according to package directions. Toss with 2 tablespoons peanut oil and set aside.

Mix together soy sauce, vinegar, peanut butter, sesame oil, ginger, and sugar. (I often skip the sugar. Actually, I forgot it completely once and didn’t really miss it.)

Toast sesame seeds in large pot. Remove and set aside to cool. In same pot, sauté garlic in 2 tablespoons peanut oil; add red pepper flakes and sauté for 1 to 2 minutes. Add noodles and soy mixture. Toss and mix over medium heat just until heated through. Cool to room temperature. Garnish with chopped green onions and sliced, seeded cucumbers. Sprinkle with toasted sesame seeds. If serving as a main course, shredded chicken is really good mixed in.

Adjust oven rack to low center position; heat oven to 350°F. Sift flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt in medium bowl.

With electric mixer or by hand, beat butter until creamy. Add sugars; beat until fluffy, about 3 minutes, stopping to scrape down bowl as necessary. Beat in peanut butter until fully incorporated, then add eggs one at a time, then vanilla. Gently stir dry ingredients into peanut butter mixture. Add ground peanuts; stir gently until just incorporated.